Assassination of Hamas, Hezbollah leaders spark escalation fears, impact Gaza truce talks Xinhua) 08:22, August 01, 2024 JERUSALEM/GAZA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Within 24 hours, Israeli forces allegedly assassinated a top Hezbollah commander and Hamas's chief political leader, moves likely to heighten regional violence and jeopardize ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Before dawn, Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an airstrike in Iranian capital Tehran, who was there to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president. Both Iran and Hamas attributed the attack to Israel, though Israeli officials have yet to confirm their involvement. Hours before the assassination, Israeli forces executed airstrikes in Beirut, killing Fouad Shokor, a senior Hezbollah commander in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed 12 youngsters in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights over the weekend. Following warnings of harsh retaliation from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, Israel was bracing itself for "days of fighting," a government official told Xinhua. The country was closing its airspace from the north to central Israel, but the Defense Ministry said in a statement that there was no change to the Homefront Command's defensive guidelines for civilians. The killings could provoke retaliation from Hezbollah and its ally Iran, and may prompt Hamas to withdraw from months of Gaza truce negotiations. Israel's state-owned Kan TV news, citing Israeli diplomatic sources involved in the negotiations, reported that Haniyeh was a key figure in the talks, and his assassination is expected to "significantly impact" the negotiations. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's chief negotiator, expressed doubts about the continuation of talks. "Political assassinations and the continued targeting of civilians in Gaza during negotiations lead us to ask: how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners," he wrote on the social media platform X. Egypt, which leads the negotiations alongside Qatar, condemned the attacks. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated that the killings "further complicate" the talks and undermine efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire and negotiate the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas. Israel has repeatedly threatened to kill all Hamas leaders involved in the Oct. 7 surprise attack last year, including Haniyeh. However, his assassination came at a sensitive time, just as mediators awaited Hamas's response to a revised deal proposal from Israel. Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow for Israeli Affairs at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Xinhua that the timing might have been influenced by "an operational opportunity" due to Haniyeh's presence in Iran rather than in Qatar or Turkiye, where Israel avoids such attacks. "It could also be tied to other events happening in Lebanon and Iraq, showcasing the linkage between the different components of the Iran axis," he said. Retaliation attempts and "some sort of escalation" are expected, but international mediators should work to prevent it from spilling over into a full-fledged war, Goren said. Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, thinks that an all-out regional war is unlikely. "Neither side wants a war," Goldberg said. According to Goldberg, Israel is overextended with domestic turmoil and the ongoing Gaza war, depleting its resources, while Hezbollah, facing severe conditions in Lebanon, risks losing power if war occurs. Ahmed Rafiq Awad, a Ramallah-based political expert, told Xinhua that the assassination will no doubt impede the truce talks and lead to the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip. The expert noted that the axis of resistance might respond to the attack with "large and dangerous" operations, further expanding the current conflict. Jihad Harb, a Ramallah-based analyst, said the assassinations in Lebanon and Iran portrayed Netanyahu before the Israeli public that he can make decisions regarding the operation, and restores confidence and part of the deterrence on the external level for the Israeli army. Harb noted that it is still too early to predict the possibility of a regional war, but there's a chance that the Iranian government will respond to the attack at a certain time, and Israel and Hezbollah expand their confrontations on the northern front. Enditem (Nick Kolyohin from Jerusalem also contributed to the story.) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Foreign tourists enjoy cultural experiences in NW Chinas Xian People's Daily Online) 10:45, August 01, 2024 International tourists dressed in antique style Chinese attire pose for photos with Chinese tourists at the Grand Tang Mall, a bustling pedestrian area, in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jialin) Since the beginning of this year, an increasing number of foreign tourists have come to Xian, capital of northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province, to experience the beauty and unique cultural resources of a city with 3,100 years of history, 1,100 of which it served as the capital for 13 dynasties. Growing popularity On April 7, following China's visa-free policy implemented on March 14 for six European countries, including Austria, Shaanxi welcomed its first large-scale international tourist group. The group consisted of 80 Austrian tourists, most of which were members of the Vienna University Philharmonics Symphonic Womens Choir. During their stay in Xian, a music tour of choral art and cultural exchange activities was held in the Qujiang Hall of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Center. In addition, they visited scenic areas including the world-renowned Terracotta Warriors, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, the ancient Xian City Wall, and the Datang Everbright City, a tourist landmark featuring a grand street designed to resemble an ancient street of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). They also watched a dance show on the Tang Dynasty, attended a dumpling banquet, and savored local snacks. Veronika Schmid, deputy head of the tourist group, said they managed to make a trip to China after the visa-free policy was implemented. Noting that visiting the Terracotta Warriors had been her dream for years, she said she would organize more Austrian visitors to travel to Shaanxi in the future. As inbound tourism gains momentum, streets in Xian are packed with more and more foreign tourists. Recently, 35 American students and teachers arrived in the ancient city for a summer camp. They visited historical sites, including the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, and experienced the charm of intangible cultural heritages like shadow puppetry, clay sculpture, and paper cutting. The Terracotta Warriors are so cool, said an American student who loves Chinese history. Data shows that from January to April this year, Xian welcomed 132,500 inbound tourist visits, and Alipay transactions by inbound tourists in the city increased nearly seven times compared to the same period last year. Diverse Experiences As night fell, the Datang Everbright City lit up with colorful lanterns and was teeming with tourists. Dressed in Hanfu, the traditional attire of the Han ethnic group, Antonio from Spain and his family members had an immersive experience of the culture of the Tang Dynasty. The mix of traditional and modern elements is truly mesmerizing, Antonio said, adding that they felt the charm of the lighting, music, and traditional Chinese architecture at the tourist attraction. People here are very friendly, he noted. At the Huaqing Palace scenic area, another spectacle unfolded. Oliver, an Australian visitor, watched the live historical dance drama The Song of Everlasting Sorrow with his Chinese friends. The performance narrates the legendary love story of Tang Emperor Li Longji and his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan. The unique costumes of the performers and the ever-changing stage lighting are very distinctive, Oliver said. Especially impressive is how the mountain behind the stage becomes part of the performance. It's breathtaking, Oliver added. New scenes, forms, and industries enable foreign tourists to enjoy a diverse range of unique travel experiences as they wander through the ancient city of Xian. Convenient visits Thanks to a series of measures, Xian has become much more welcoming and accessible to foreign tourists. A service platform for the Emperor Qinshihuangs Mausoleum Site Museum was launched on April 3, allowing overseas tourists to buy tickets online. By the end of May this year, the platform provided services in 24 languages, enabling tourists from 39 countries and regions to use 29 currencies when making visit reservations. More than 15,000 foreign visitors had booked tickets on the platform, said Zhou Ping, deputy director of the museum. At the 12 ticket booths of the ancient Xian City Wall scenic area, POS machines accept payments with international bank cards like Visa and MasterCard, as well as UnionPay, facilitating swift entry, according to Shang Chuqiao, a staff member of the scenic area. These POS machines can be found at all the citys 5A-class tourist attractions, the highest level obtainable in Chinas tourist attraction rating system, Xian metro stations and railway stations, the Xian Xianyang International Airport, as well as many shopping malls, convenience stores and restaurants. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Former President Donald Trump speaks with Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois. His answers were disgraceful. Scott Olson/Getty Images The dumpster fire otherwise known as former President Donald Trumps appearance Wednesday before the National Association of Black Journalists was an act of arson. The culprit was Trump, a walking kindling of grievances and fury. The incendiary devices he used were his lies, crassness, petulance, ignorance, arrogance, racism, misogyny and inability to handle tough questions and facts. Wednesday morning, Trump posted on his social media site, Crazy Kamala disrespectfully refused to attend the National Association of Black Journalists Conference, but I am on my way to meet with them now in Chicago. The disrespect he showed toward Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was simply a smoke signal for the disrespect he showed his hosts at the conference, especially the three Black female journalists who interviewed him onstage. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Whether Trump should have been invited to the conference had been a source of heated contention among NABJ members because of his past comments, but he is a former president and the 2024 Republican nominee. Its important to ask candidates tough questions. Thats what happened Wednesday. The interview began late because of Trumps objection to NABJs plan to live fact-check his comments, but once it started, ABCs Rachel Scott asked him: I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today, Scott said. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congressmen, women of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like 'animal' and 'rabid' to describe Black district attorneys. Youve attacked Black journalists, calling them a 'loser,' saying the questions that they ask are, 'stupid and racist.' Youve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar a Lago resort. All that Scott said was correct and too much for Trump, who attacked Scott rather than address the substance of the question: I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, he said. Dont even say, 'Hello, how are you? ' Are you with ABC? Because I think theyre a fake news network. It never got better. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Trump said he was the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. He claimed that immigration was taking away Black jobs and Hispanic jobs while not explaining what Black jobs and Hispanic jobs are. Asked if he would pardon the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters who assaulted police officers at the Capitol, Trump said, Oh, absolutely I would. If theyre innocent. When Scott responded, Theyve been convicted, the audience laughed and Trump said, Well, they were convicted by a very tough system. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But of the many absurd comments Trump made, none was as insulting as questioning the ethnicity of Harris, the nations first Black and Asian-American vice president. The semi-truck driver who lost his life Wednesday at Mormon Island was Verlin Hunt of Battlefield, Missouri, according to the Hall County Sheriffs Office. Hunt, 69, was the driver and sole occupant of the truck, a portion of which wound up in a lake at Mormon Island. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. He died from injuries in a collision, said Hall County Chief Deputy Josh Berlie. Hunt was traveling east on Interstate 80, crossed over the median and across the westbound lanes and entered the park, Berlie said. He drove through some trees before hitting the water. Hall County deputies and State Troopers were called to the scene at 5:40 p.m. The Grand Island Fire Department water rescue crew was dispatched to the scene. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Berlie said. The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI), Mr. Babatunde Ruwase, has advised the federal government to ensure appropriate measures are put in place to protect vulnerable sectors of the economy and to ensure that there is effective enforcement of the rules of origin. According to the chamber, the economy has been characterised by uncertainty which had affected investor confidence in the country and have caused a deceleration in the tempo of economic activities. He noted that the apprehension of investors about the possible outcomes of the electioneering process as well as the electoral campaigns in the country had become worrisome to economic managers and business operators in the country. Ruwase, made the disclosure in Lagos at a press briefing organised by the chamber in Lagos, recently. Commenting on the countrys visa policy, Ruwase said the policy should be more liberal. We should grant nationals of selected advanced economies visa free entry into Nigeria for a maximum of 30 days, he said. This, he said was the practice in many of the emerging economies, saying such economies have benefitted tremendously from the policy, which according to him, impacts on the FDI, hospitality and tourism industry. Ruwase, noted that the series of Executive Orders focused on promoting the ease of doing business were impacting positively on growth in the business environment. He requested that the PEBEC secretariat should be further strengthened and the scope of its activities broadened to cover all sectors of the economy and all agencies of government that interface with the private sector, We believe that the economy will be positively impacted if this is done. On state of power in the country, Ruwase said efforts made by government to improve liquidity in the power supply chain caused the drastic reduction in the debt owed to gas suppliers and the generating companies, improvement in power generation, and the enhancement of carrying capacity of the transmission grid. He further stated that the power situations continue to pose challenges to business operators and that there have been complaints across all sectors about high energy cost especially high expenditure on diesel. Ruwase, further maintained that the situation had worsened with the increase in global crude oil price. Many businesses spend as much as 20 to 30 per cent of their total operating cost on generating power to run their businesses. We propose that policies and incentives be put in place to encourage decentralisation and more off grid solutions. The government should encourage and facilitate more off grid power generation for improved access to power. The Aba and Sura market power initiatives should be widely replicated across the economy, he added. Nwolisa A Nigerian man has reacted to the recent increase in the number of people committing suicide in the country as he said they should be dumped in the evil forest. The man identified as Nwolisa Onyeozi who mocked RCCG pastor, Michael Arowobaiye for killing himself said the act is a taboo in Igbo tradition. While sharing photo of the RCCG Minister who recently took his own life, he wrote: It is not right for you to type RIP for someone who commits suicide, in our tradition as an Igbo people we dont mourn them, we threw them away in an evil Forest, what they commit is an abomination it is a taboo you dont have right to take your life we consider it evil ,so be careful so as not to cause calamity in your family thank you all BLOOMINGTON The second of two defendants convicted of murder in the 2020 shooting death of a Bloomington man has been sentenced to 103 years in the Department of Corrections by a McLean County judge. Kevon Moon, 25, of Chicago was convicted in May alongside co-defendant Malcolm Johnson, 31, of Riverdale, after a six-day jury trial and roughly five hours of deliberations in the fatal shooting of Jaleel Johnson, a 20-year-old Bloomington man, on Oct. 12, 2020 in the 1600 block of Iowa Street in Bloomington. Prosecutors argued Moon and Malcolm Johnson killed Jaleel Johnson with a motive of revenge. A second man was also injured in the shooting, but he survived the attack. A third suspect, James Moon, Kevon Moon's brother, is believed to have been involved in the shooting as well. He remains at large, wanted on McLean County warrants for the murder of Jaleel Johnson. Danielle Matthews, Jaleel Johnson's mother, thanked the police for doing their job in this investigation, when she spoke to The Pantagraph after the sentencing. "All of my thanks go to that guy right there," she said, gesturing toward Detective Ty Klein, lead investigator in this case. In an altercation at a party two days before the fatal shooting, Jaleel Johnson and another man were reportedly involved in a dispute with a relative of Malcolm Johnson. Malcolm Johnson sought revenge on the two men, enlisting the aid of Kevon and James Moon in his act of retaliation, the prosecution said during trial. Hal Garfinkel, defense attorney for Malcolm Johnson, told the jury his client was not the shooter, noting Johnson was also shot in the back during the incident. Moon's defense attorney, Patrick Fagan, said his client "was not even there," during opening statements for the trial. The investigation into the fatal shooting led police to videos on social media that showed Kevon and James Moon holding a Glock 33 and Glock 27 the weapons prosecutors said were used in the shooting only two days prior to the shooting. "Twin Glocks," the brothers said in the video. "What might you use twin Glocks to do?" First Assistant State's Attorney Brad Rigdon asked, rhetorically during his closing statement. "Murder Jaleel Johnson and try to kill (the other individual injured in the shooting)." The Glock 27 was found with another person who is not believed to be connected to the shooting, and testing could not definitively determine the handgun to be the exact murder weapon, according to evidence presented at trial. However, forensics analysists said it was likely this was the handgun used, based on rifling characteristics and the .357 shell casings found at the scene. Garfinkel suggested the individual found with this gun to be an alternate suspect. The state argued the defendants had gotten rid of the evidence connecting them to the murder, resulting in this handgun being in another man's possession. Evidence recovered from Kevon Moon's cellphone showed him posting pictures of the gun on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, 2020 with captions advertising a possible trade. Fingerprints were collected from a vehicle the state said the defendants used as a getaway car from the address on the 1600 block of Iowa Street, matching Moon's fingerprints and connecting him to the crime. This vehicle was seen on surveillance cameras dropping Malcolm Johnson off at the hospital shortly after the shooting to be treated for his gunshot injuries. In attempting to obtain samples to test for gunshot residue, an officer visited Malcolm Johnson in the hospital. Johnson wiped his hands on the blanket of the hospital bed, preventing the officer from collecting a sample, the officer testified during trial. Police seized Johnson's clothing to test, finding the left cuff of Malcolm Johnson's sweatshirt tested positive, meaning it was in the environment of or in contact of a discharged firearm. Each of the two defendants present during the May trial were found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, mob action and obstructing justice in this offense. Both men were set for a sentencing hearing on July 22, but after they each filed claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, Judge William Yoder re-set Moon's sentencing to Thursday, Aug. 1, to allow for a proper amount of time to conduct Krankel hearings for each defendant. Johnson's sentencing proceeded on July 22 after a Krankel hearing, which is a type of hearing in which a defendant can address their accusations of ineffective counsel, prior to his sentencing. Yoder upheld his rulings made during trial and deemed Garfinkel fit. The Krankel and sentencing hearings together lasted approximately five hours. Yoder ultimately sentenced Johnson to 123 years in the Department of Corrections. On Thursday, another Krankel hearing commenced for Moon's accusations against his attorney. Moon cited seven issues he wanted to address to the court and said his Sixth Amendment right was violated "all around," during trial. Moon said he "didn't see any" of his discovery. After he educated himself about the law and discovered he was entitled to this information, including digital evidence, he said he thought the social media pictures and videos showed him in "bad character" and said the Snapchat account used against him was not his account. During trial, Fagan had mentioned Moon having previously been in custody. Moon said allowing this information to be known to the jury may have swayed their opinions on him. "This case was very fragile, and I just feel like my image was destroyed during trial," Moon said. Fagan disagreed with Moon, saying he did share discovery with his client with the exception of items he was prevented from sharing by court order. He also said he discussed trial strategy extensively with his client during at least a dozen jail visits. Yoder ruled Fagan was fit. The attorney continued to represent Moon for the sentencing hearing. Fagan filed a motion to grant a new trial, arguing the state failed to prove Moon guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Maintaining Moon's innocence, Fagan said "errors that were made necessitate a new trial." Yoder found he had made appropriate rulings at the time of trial and denied this motion. Sentence recommendations Assistant State's Attorney Aaron Fredrick asked Yoder to sentence Moon to 55 years in prison, to be served at 100%, plus the 15-year firearm enhancement for the first-degree murder charge, 25 years to be served at 85% plus the 15-year firearm enhancement for attempt murder and three years to be served at 50% for obstructing justice. In total, the state asked Moon be sentenced to 113 years. "He endangered everyone in that neighborhood that day," Fredrick said, noting the shooting took place outside, with rogue bullets hitting residences nearby. Fredrick brought attention to the defendant's prior criminal history including past prison sentences. "This defendant and his accomplices hunted their victim," Fredrick ended his argument. Fagan asked for the minimum sentence for his client. Each defendant in this case was eligible for a sentence ranging from 58 to 148 years. 'Nobody wins' Matthews, Jaleel Johnson's mother, took the stand to give a victim impact statement during the hearing. "I'm at peace because I know who my son was," Matthews said. Although she lost her son, she said she is confident in the man she raised him to be. "Jaleel Johnson was a man at 20," she told the court. "He was a family man. He did what he was supposed to do." Corey Johnson, father of Jaleel Johnson, was not available to be at the sentencing, but he wrote a victim impact statement, which was read to the court by his wife, Kiara Armstrong. He recalled last speaking to his son in October 2020, without knowing it would be his last opportunity to talk to his only son. He wrote that he had asked about his grandchildren. "Your children will also feel the impact of your actions," Johnson wrote, noting Jaleel Johnson will never be able to see his children again. "You didn't have the right to take my son's life. You have contributed to a national problem, nobody wins," he continued. Moon declined the opportunity to give a statement to the court. Sentencing After hearing from both sides, Yoder sentenced Moon to 65 years for first-degree murder, 50 years plus 15 years added for the firearm enhancement because the jury found he was in possession of a firearm when he committed the offense. For attempt first-degree murder, he will serve 20 years plus the 15-year enhancement, totaling 35 years to be served at 85%, and three years for obstructing justice to be served at 50%. His sentence is to be served consecutively and followed by three and a half years of mandatory supervised release. Moon earned 1,220 days of credit for time served. Yoder noted he considered all factors in aggravation and mitigation, victim impact statements and the complete history of the defendant in making his decision. Yoder said while Moon took many classes during his time in jail, which provided evidence in mitigation, he had significant rule violations while in jail as well. Fagan declined to comment after the hearing. New research finds young gun violence survivors experience lasting physical and mental trauma New research finds young gun violence survivors experience lasting physical and mental trauma Firearms are the leading cause of death among children How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region. 100 years ago Aug. 1, 1924: That one of the biggest years in the history of the school is expected for 1924-25 is the news that comes from the north-side Wesleyan university. Prospects for the biggest freshman class In history are great, despite the fact mat more strict entrance requirements are set each year and that the standard of the school grows more and more fine. 75 years ago Aug. 1, 1949: Fire at the Anthony A. Ottis electric motor repair shop at 213 S. Center St. razed the rear half of the roof, damaged machinery extensively and resulted in a stack of debris shoulder-deep at the rear of the shop before Bloomington firemen were able to squelch it after a 45-minute workout. The one-story building, which is sandwiched between two taller brick buildings, was filled with smoke when firemen showed up at 2:55 a.m. 50 years ago Aug. 1, 1974: Darla Price, 17, was chosen from five contestants Wednesday night (July 31) as the 1974 queen of the McLean County Fair. The runner-up was Candi Neubauer, 18, R.R. 1 Shirley. Darla, who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Price, R.R. 1, Chenoa, will be eligible to represent McLean Count yin an upcoming state contest for county fair queens. 25 years ago Aug. 1, 1999: Work continues on the expansion and remodeling at Eastland Mall in Bloomington. Famous-Barr is on schedule for a Nov. 19 opening and Kohl's 20,000-square-foot expansion is now visible. Along with Bergner's remodeling, it's a constantly changing picture at the mall. From stilettos to sneakers, Pantagraph shoe ads through the years Moore & Lain's - Sept. 8, 1891 Boston Shoe Store - July 3, 1896 McLean Moore - April 2, 1909 W.H. Roland - April 5, 1909 Gerhart Shoe Co. - April 13, 1909 William Fahey - Aug. 31, 1923 Gerhart's - Oct. 6, 1926 Carl's - March 4, 1938 Hanger Boot Shop - April 26, 1938 Bunnell Bros. - May 6, 1938 Penney's - May 31, 1946 Town & Country Shoes - Dec. 17, 1948 War Surplus Store - March 29, 1949 Schiff's Shoe Store - April 4, 1949 Schiff's Shoes - April 26, 1949 Kinney's - June 2, 1949 Schiff's Shoe Store - June 2, 1949 Schiff's Shoe Store - June 3, 1949 The Bootery - June 5, 1949 Livingston's - June 5, 1949 Carl's - June 5, 1949 Gerhart's - June 5, 1949 Gerhart's - Sept. 19, 1954 Schiff's Shoe Store - Sept. 19, 1954 Livingston's - Jan. 2, 1956 Roland's - Feb. 22, 1957 Schiff's Shoe Store - Sept. 5, 1958 Branom's Junior Boot Shop - Sept. 7, 1958 The Bootery - Sept. 7, 1958 Livingston's - Aug. 7, 1959 Carl's - Sept. 3, 1959 Barkers - Dec. 1, 1960 Roland's - June 6, 1963 Livingston's - June 6, 1963 Marben's - May 5, 1967 Murray's - Sept. 3, 1973 Roland's - Sept. 3, 1973 Mary Jane Shoes - Sept. 6, 1973 Bergner's - March 30, 1980 Read's of Normal - Aug. 21, 1981 Brown's Sporting Goods - June 3, 1982 Hush Puppies - Feb. 2, 1984 Brown's Sporting Goods - Aug. 9, 1984 Bergener's - Nov. 10, 1985 JC Penney - April 10, 1992 Bergner's - May 26, 1999 Murray's Shoes - June 2, 1999 Bergner's - June 3, 1999 CREST HILL Civil rights lawyers representing people incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center filed a court motion on Wednesday requesting that the state transfer or release them no later than Sept. 20, citing the aging prisons degradation and deterioration. The state has announced plans to tear down the sprawling facility in Crest Hill, near Joliet, and build a new prison on the Stateville site as part of a nearly $1 billion project that would also include demolishing Logan Correctional Center in downstate Lincoln, a womens prison, and possibly rebuilding it on the Stateville grounds. Lawyers for the Stateville inmates are trying to force the state to move ahead on the plan quickly, arguing the living conditions for people incarcerated at the nearly century-old prison are appalling. Right now theres over 420 residents at Stateville who are at risk of dire injury due to the structural vulnerabilities, degradation and deterioration of those buildings that put them at risk of serious physical injury or even death, attorney Heather Lewis Donnell said in a news conference at the law firm Loevy + Loevy. While the motion is premised on these decaying buildings, we also know that every condition at Stateville the water, the excessive temperatures, heat and cold, the vermin, the birds are all exacerbated and compounded when the structure is not secure and when it is vulnerable. The states project to tear down and rebuild the two prisons is expected to take three to five years. In addition to the lack of a start date, state officials have not laid out a plan for how those housed in the prison will be handled during the transition. The motion filed Wednesday asks the court to direct the Illinois Department of Corrections to come up with a plan that details the transfer of all (plaintiffs) from Stateville to another facility and/or their release by August 12. The motion also calls for the court to direct IDOC to transfer and/or release all (plaintiffs) from Stateville by no later than September 20. An IDOC spokesperson declined to comment on the motion. State officials have said the process of closing Stateville could begin as early as September. At Wednesdays news conference, former Stateville inmates shared complaints about the prisons conditions that included falling concrete, electrical outages and a lack of ventilation amid excessive heat. Advocates say some of those conditions contributed to the death of 51-year-old Michael Broadway, who was incarcerated at the facility and died during a June heat wave. The Will County coroners office has not released a cause of death for Broadway, who graduated last year from Northwestern Universitys Prison Education program. I know from my experience, the heat, the way it was, and Michael having passed perhaps due to the heat, I really want to see that Stateville is closed and that no other harm comes there, said James Soto, who was incarcerated for more than 40 years after being wrongfully convicted in a 1981 double homicide before being released from the prison last year. This is really a public health issue, a safety issue of those that are in there. Benard McKinley, who was also formerly incarcerated at Stateville, said the prison has so many inhumane conditions that it has to close. When that water comes down and goes for that foundation it creates what is called black mold, so when you go in these cells and you have black mold in your cells, they contribute to respiratory issues, McKinley said, noting Broadways respiratory problems. These conditions is pure torture. The court motion describes floors, beds and sinks covered in bird feathers and excrement and discolored, bad-smelling drinking water from faucets. Although some repairs have been made at Stateville, the facility continues to be extremely dangerous, according to the motion. The structural damage and disrepair to Statevilles many compromised buildings pose an ongoing risk to (plaintiffs), as well as those employed there. In one of the footnotes of the motion, plaintiffs alleged the state has stopped investing in quality care for the living and common areas and that since Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the plan to close the prison, staff has stopped coming to work or has refused to do their jobs while at the prison, leaving (the plaintiffs) to suffer in abject conditions. Asked about the court motion at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday, Pritzker said the safety concerns at Stateville are the very reasons why were taking action to replace Stateville and Logan and why were going to have to continue to make upgrades and changes in our Department of Corrections. But he stopped short of offering specifics as to when Stateville could be shut down. We want to make sure that were doing it in the right way, in the way that keeps people safe but also moves us forward with the broader plan with the Department of Corrections, Pritzker said. Meanwhile, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, a union that represents IDOC employees, disagreed with the idea of relocating people incarcerated at Stateville at this time. Instead, the union said it supports building a new prison on the Stateville grounds while keeping the current facility open during construction and continuing to make repairs as needed. We have not seen any sound rationale for beginning to move individuals in custody out of Stateville Correctional Center. There is no evidence that these individuals would be safer elsewhere in the system, AFSCME said in a statement. Deferred maintenance is a problem throughout the Department of Corrections, as are staffing shortages and outbreaks of violence. aYo Intermediaries Ghana LTD (aYo Ghana), the microinsurance subsidiary of MTN Ghana, has again won three prestigious industry awards this year, confirming its position as the leader in mobile insurance and a promoter of financial inclusion in the country. At the recent Ghana Corporate Brands Awards 2024, aYo Ghana received the Mobile Insurance Brand of the Year award, confirming its outstanding performance. Again, at the Ghana Insurance Awards 2024, aYo grabbed the Mobile Insurance Leadership Award. Its innovative and inclusive motor insurance product, aYo Pay & Drive, also won the Product Innovation of the Year Award. Under its CEO, Francis Gota, aYo Ghana has made significant strides in insurance penetration, covering up to 25% of the Ghanaian population, particularly those in the low-to-middle income bracket. This achievement is notable in a country where insurance penetration is still less than 2%. Mr. Gota dedicated the awards to his team, stating, "Your dedication and resilience are truly appreciated. I am so proud of all the achievements of the team for the past few years and last year in particular. We wouldnt be where we are today without each employee's input and hard work. Thank you for making us successful. He charged aYo employees to remain positive and continue striving to better lives with customer-centric products and services. Over the past 7 years, aYo has committed to creating a future where every Ghanaian not only buys insurance but uses it to improve their quality of life. With over 8.2 million customers and more than GHS20 million claims paid to over 47,000 policyholders and beneficiaries, aYo remains the leading microinsurance company in Ghana. In partnership with MTN and MobileMoney Ltd, aYo provides accessible, affordable, easy-to-use microinsurance products and solutions to all MTN subscribers. Leveraging technology and underwritten by Sanlam Allianz Ghana (Life and General), aYo offers Hospitalization and Life Insurance cover to policyholders and their family members through airtime deduction or MoMo. Currently, aYo offers four main products which are Recharge with Care (RwC), RwC Annual Cover, aYo Family Cover, and the recently introduced aYo Pay & Drive, which aims to revolutionize motor insurance in the country. aYos products also help low-income Ghanaians cover funeral expenses for loved ones while strengthening household resilience to risk. Often, covering funeral expenses relies on family members, loans, and trading capital, leading to emotional distress and financial strain. The hospital cash benefits cover hospital bills and income replacement for the policyholder's income loss during hospitalization. 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 Chairman of the Government Assurances Committee of Parliament has deeply expressed his displeasure over the Lands Commissions failure to provide an up-to-date data on public lands and how the lands have been used so far. The Committee posits that the data they require of the Lands Commission is to tackle the issue of fraudulent activities that have allegedly engulfed the commission in recent times. According to the committees Chairman, the instances where government lands have been registered as private lands is nothing to write home about, hence, the need to have the Lands Commission furnish the committee with the requisite data to enable them unravel the mystery behind the lands Commissions activities. During the committees sitting in parliament on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, the Chairman for the committee, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, noted that, all efforts made to get the Lands Commission to provide the data has proven futile since 2022. Mr. Ablakwa said, If this data is put together and provided, it will help all of us. These instances of government lands being registered as private lands and the fraud that is going on at the Lands Commission, as exposed by the Soul Enquirer, the only way to stem this, to prevent this, to forestall this, is to have the data, to put the data together." That is why I am clear in my mind that there are elements at the Lands Commission who dont want the Ghanaian people to have this data. However, Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, explained that the Commission is doing all it can to transition from the manual system of operation to the digital system. Samuel Abu Jinapor said, The Lands Commission for all these years has been operating manually and it is just recently that we have started making efforts to digitise the records of the Lands Commission. The information I have from the Commission since I gave them the instructions to compile this list is that compiling the list from the 16 regions of the Lands Commission across the country from 1993 to now is an extraordinary undertaking and therefore they have not been able to put it all together as yet. And so I am unable to provide it now, but there is work in progress. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video "Invasive alien birds" sounds like the strapline to a scary Hollywood blockbuster but for the people of coastal Kenya it is not a matter of fiction. The authorities there are so worried about the nuisance created by Indian house crows that they have begun the process of culling a million of them. They have not targeted humans, as in the Alfred Hitchock horror film The Birds, but these ones have for decades caused widespread disruption, by preying on wildlife, raiding tourist areas and attacking poultry farms. Poison is now being used in the towns of Watamu and Malindi to kill the first tranche of the ruthless sub-species. This ambitious poisoning campaign is aimed at halting the crows advance towards the capital, Nairobi. The birds, known on the coast as "kunguru" or "kurabu", originated from India and other parts of Asia, often spreading elsewhere by travelling on trading ships. But they are believed to have been intentionally introduced in East Africa around 1890s in a bid to tackle a mounting waste problem on the Zanzibar archipelago, then a British protectorate. From there, they spread to the mainland and up the coast to Kenya. They were first recorded in the port of Mombasa in 1947 and since then, their numbers have exploded, thanks to the growing human population and the accompanying mounds of rubbish, which provide an ideal environment for the birds to feed and breed. They also have no natural predators. The Indian house crows, considered one of the worlds most invasive and destructive birds, have continued their northward journey. "They prey on the indigenous species, not just birds but also mammals, reptiles - and so their impact on biodiversity is devastating," Jaap Gijsbertsen, a Dutch bird expert, who is visiting Kenya's Watamu area, told the BBC. Conservationists say that the crows have significantly reduced the number of small indigenous birds in the region, such as weavers and waxbills, by ripping their nests apart while targeting eggs and even chicks. "When the population of local birds declines, the environment begins to suffer. There will be a possible increase of harmful pests and insects that the birds prey on," Lennox Kirao, a research scientist with conservation group A Rocha Kenya, said. 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 Nigerian police have fired live bullets and tear gas to try and disperse thousands of protesters in the northern city of Kano rallying against the rising cost of living. Many businesses across the country have closed as demonstrators in major cities chant slogans such as: We are hungry. In Kano, which has seen the largest crowds so far, the gunshots were fired after protesters set alight tyres to make a bonfire in front of the state governors house. Four wounded people have been taken to hospital. The protests have been organised via social media and inspired by the recent success protesters in Kenya who forced the government to scrap plans to increase taxes. Officers have also sprayed hot water on the crowds in Kano, but they remain on the streets. Looters have also broken into a warehouse near the governor's house and people have been seen carrying away 25-litre cartons of vegetable cooking oil and mattresses. On Wednesday night, a court ordered that protesters in the capital, Abuja, to keep to the National stadium, which is located on the citys outskirts. But after gathering at the stadiums gate on Thursday morning, the demonstrators - who have also been shouting the refrain End bad governance - began heading into the city centre. This prompted police to fire tear-gas canisters to try and stop the procession, which is affecting traffic. The security forces are deployed at strategic locations within the capital, where even banks are closed, and in surrounding towns. 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 This is the disturbing moment Turkeys president slapped a child on the face for refusing to kiss his hand. Footage shows Recep Tayyip Erdogan extending his hand for the boy to kiss it a traditional sign of respect in the country. The child appeared to hesitate for a moment and the politician flicked his wrist, hitting him on the cheek. Erdogan then extends his hand again until the boy finally pecks it. The incident happened at the opening ceremony of the Aider Plateau Protection and Renewal Project in the northern Rize province on July 27. It was televised on Dokuz 8 TV and the clip has since been widely circulated on X. The child appeared to be giggling following the slap and remained unfazed by Erdogans treatment. He then hugs the president alongside a second boy also on stage at the event. Both boys were then handed some money as a gift. Although some people did not take the slap seriously, arguing that it was light, it has sparked a discussion on social media. One said: "I wonder how he treats people behind closed doors if he can do that in front of camera." Some people came to Erdogans defence. One said: "Kissing the hand of your elders, parents, grandparents is a sign of respect especially in Turkey. "If you dont do it you get corrected. Especially at a young age." This is also not the first time the Turkish leader has hit a child publically. In 2021, he hit a child on the head at an opening ceremony for the offence of cutting a ribbon too early. Watch the recent video below. Turkeys wannabe autocrat Erdogan slaps an infant boy for not immediately kissing his hand. pic.twitter.com/UKdoVrxDu1 Pyotr Kurzin (@PKurzin) July 28, 2024 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 Personal possessions including 11 luxury Hermes bags were stolen from the luggage of the sister-in-law to the Emir of Qatar while she took a Nice to Paris train at the weekend to watch the Olympic games. The unnamed royal family member boarded the TGV at Cannes (one of the first stops on the route) on Saturday, July 27, it has been revealed. She was travelling with her housekeeper, according to a police source, but soon into the trip realised her belongings, including the bags, were missing. The two informed guards on board, who stopped the train service for around 20 minutes at Toulon station whilst they searched for the missing luggage but were not able to find it. The case has been referred to the Toulon Criminal Court, which opened an investigation into the theft. The town of Toulon is thought to be where the thief or thieves got off the train. The Olympics officially opened in Paris on Friday, July 26, and continue through Sunday, Aug. 11, although some team events started on July 24. The opening ceremony was held on the Seine river, which flows through Paris. The closing ceremony, which includes a parade of flags and athletes, will take place on Aug. 11. 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 MTN has closed all its offices and customer service centres across Nigeria after a weekend of customer outrage. Many customers had their lines disconnected, and despite the NCCs order to reactivate them, some lines still werent working, leading to escalations. In a viral video, customers in Lagos tore down the fence of an MTN office in FESTAC town and stormed the area in protest. Its not clear if they got inside the building. The Lagos State Police stepped in to restore order, with the local DPO and his team quickly calming the situation. MTN announced theyre shutting down all offices for the day but are available 24/7 through digital channels. Source: Asaaseradio.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 robotics team of Vine Christian High School (VCHS), has emerged victorious at the Pan African Robotics Competition held on Sunday 28 July, 2024 in Dakar, Senegal. This prestigious competition, which drew top robotics High School teams from across the continent, witnessed the VCHS team securing first place with their innovative design and exceptional performance. The Pan African Robotics Competition challenges teams to design, build, and program robots to complete complex tasks and compete in a series of trials. VCHS, who are also the Ghana Robotics Competition 2023 Champions, demonstrated extraordinary skill, creativity, and teamwork, earning the top spot among a field of highly competitive teams. The competition featured about 400 top young minds from across 14 African countries including Mali, Uganda, Lesotho, Madagascar, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. Our students have put in several hours of hard work, dedication, and innovation to reach this milestone, said Mr. Triumph Tetteh, Head of the Coding and Robotics Department at Vine Christian High School. Their success at this competition is a testament to their commitment and passion for robotics. We are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. The team, which was made up of Miss Alexine Seiba Amoako-Mensah, and Masters Zachary Opoku, Joshua Sunkwa-Mills, and Joshua-Caleb Dadzie, used their diverse skills and a strategic approach to achieve their success. This achievement highlights the growing excellence of VCHS in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education and its commitment to fostering young innovators. The schools administration extends its congratulations to the team and expresses gratitude to the community and parents who have supported their journey. VCHS celebrates this remarkable achievement, to the glory of God, and is excited about the future opportunities for its talented students. About Vine Christian Schools Vine Christian Schools is a renowned educational establishment committed to delivering excellence in academic rigour, Christian values, and student achievement. The institutions approach creates a nurturing, inclusive and harmonious learning environment that fosters the holistic development and academic success of its students. Founded in October 2005 by Dr. Michael McCarthy and Mrs. Georgette McCarthy, the school has experienced steady growth and expansion over the past nineteen years. Currently, Vine Christian Schools offer comprehensive preschool and primary education, as well as a secondary school with Cambridge and GES programmes catering to students from Years 1 to 11, providing diverse opportunities for advancement and growth. 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 Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh has been k!lled during a raid at his residence in Tehran, according to the Palestinian military group Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Haniyeh was k!lled on Wednesday, July 31, after attending the swearing-in inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Hamas said in a statement. The Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh's de@th in a separate statement. "Early this morning, the residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and one of his bodyguards' martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon," the Revolutionary Guards said. Hamas declares to the great Palestinian people and the people of the Arab and Islamic nations and all the free people of the world, brother leader Ismail Ismail Haniyeh a martyr, the terse statement said. In another statement, the group quoted Haniyeh as saying that the Palestinian cause has costs and we are ready for these costs: martyrdom for the sake of Palestine, and for the sake of God Almighty, and for the sake of the dignity of this nation. Haniyeh was the exiled political chief of the militant group and had spent much of his time in recent years in Qatar and Turkey. Considered a pragmatist, he had acted as a negotiator in the ceasefire talks during the Israel-Gaza war, liaised with Hamass main ally, Iran, and met with the Turkish president. Haniyeh was also said to maintain good relations with the heads of the various Palestinian factions, including rivals to Hamas. He was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure having become Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following an upset victory by Hamas in that years parliamentary 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 Following former President John Dramani Mahamas commendation of Judges that adjudicated the Ambulance Purchase case at the Court of Appeals, the National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, has slammed Mr. Mahama over what he describes as selective outrage at the judiciary. He accused the NDC flag bearer of hypocrisy after Mr. Mahama expressed his satisfaction with the courts decision. On his official Facebook page on Tuesday July 30, Mr. Mahama applauded the Court of Appeals acquittal and discharge of former deputy Finance Minister and incumbent Minority leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, describing it as a victory for the rule of law. To him, the Appeals Court decision confirms his long-held view that the case was a form of political persecution. Inyetestingly, the NDC which has on several occasions openly condemned the judiciary, sometimes even alleging that they work in tandem with President Akufo-Addos government appointees and its cronies, turned around to hail the ruling as a triumph for justice. It is on the basis of this that the NPP National Organiser descended heavily on former President Mahama and the NDC for praising the judiciary because the outcome of the case went in their favour. He described their double standards on judiciary matters as regrettable and stated that their actions do not bode well for democracy. Nana B expressed hope that the NDC and Mahama will not change their stance if the Supreme Court reverses the Court of Appeals decision. Suddenly, John Mahama and the NDC are singing the praises of the judiciary they have bastardised and maligned for several years. Suddenly, the rule of law is at work because they have won. Suddenly, the court is no longer an appendage of government. Suddenly, the judges appointed by Akufo-Addo are not partisan. He re-echoed, The double standards of the NDC is regrettable and does not bode well for our democracy. While we disagree with the decision of the Court, we accept it in good faith and hope Mr Mahama and the NDC do not change their chorus should the decision of the Court of Appeal be reversed by the Supreme Court. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghanas Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, who doubles as the President of the Executive Committee of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA), Mrs. Jean Mensa is set to host a delegation made up of women who are Chairpersons from eight Election Management bodies in Africa. The women chairpersons are from Cape Verde, Liberia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In a press release from Ghanas Electoral Commission, dated 31st July, 2024, the EC indicated that the meeting is under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Service Centre for Africa and the United Nation's Electoral Assistance Division in collaboration with International IDEA, the Association of African Election Authorities and the Electoral Commission of Ghana. The purpose of the meeting is to offer opportunity for women leaders of EMBs to establish a network that will open up a continental opportunities for them in their various chosen fields of work. It will also establish a continental network of Senior Electoral Administrators to foster peer support among women in Election Management Leadership in Africa. The Commission also noted that the meeting, which is scheduled for the 5th & 6th of August, 2024 will seek to review international and regional normative frameworks on women's political participation in the continent of Africa. Your browser does not support iframes. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Russia's Wagner mercenary army acknowledged Monday that it suffered heavy casualties while battling Tuareg rebels in Mali, where a pro-independence coalition claimed to have killed dozens of soldiers and foreign fighters. In a rare statement, the Wagner Group said its troops fought alongside the Malian army last week near the country's northeastern border with Algeria, Reuters reported. The mercenaries were commanded by Sergei Shevchenko, whose call sign was "Pond" and who was among those killed, Wagner said. Wagner didn't detail the number of casualties but a message posted Saturday on the Telegram website said, "The three of us stayed. We continue to fight," according to Reuters. A spokesperson for the CSP-DPA coalition, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said Saturday that the rebels "routed the entire column of Malian army and Russian mercenaries" during a two-day battle on the outskirts of the village of Tinzawaten, according to the Associated Press. Ramadane said that "the enemy suffered huge losses in terms of lives and equipment, including dozens of dead and wounded" and that some Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries surrendered to the rebels. A Tuareg commander said 54 Wagner fighters and seven Malian soldiers were killed, along with seven rebels, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Video clips posted on social media showed the bodies of several white men and Malian soldiers lying on the ground near destroyed vehicles, AP said. On Friday night, the Malian army claimed it killed about 20 rebels and destroyed several vehicles during a rebel attack that killed two soldiers and wounded 10 others. In its statement, Wagner said the fighting took place from July 22 to 27. "On the first day, the 'Pond group' destroyed most of the Islamists and put the rest to flight," Wagner said on Telegram. "However, (an) ensuing sandstorm allowed the radicals to regroup and increase their numbers to 1,000 people." The Kremlin-linked Wagner Group sent mercenaries to Mali in December 2021 to support the country's ruling military junta, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, D.C. The Wagner troops reportedly set up an operating base next to the Modibo Keita International Airport near the capital of Bamako, with personnel and equipment believed to have been transported on Russian military aircraft. Former CPP General Secretary and a devoted member of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church, James Kwabena Bomfeh alias Kabilla has issued a stern warning to the Electoral Commission over the date of the elections this year. James Kwabena Bomfeh strictly backed his church's decision not to participate in the elections if the Commission doesn't change December 7 which falls on Saturday, the Sabbath Day of the church. The Sabbath Day is the SDA's sacred day and, to them, December 7 is a breach of their religious faith, hence Kabilla calls on the Commission to review the time for the election since it is final that the election will be held on Saturday. To Kabilla, should the EC fail to make room for the Adventists, "something can happen". "If the State fails to accommodate, encourage and promote us, something can happen...I, as a student of democracy, the last thing that any State should do is to allow anything that will discourage the slightest or minutest minority from participating in that election", he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has taken a shot at the opposition National Democratic Congress and their leader, John Mahama, over the launch of their national campaign over the weekend. The National Democratic Congress held their campaign event on Saturday, July 27, at Tamale Jubilee Park. During the event, Mr. Mahama asked Ghanaians to vote for him and his party on December 7, telling them he will be honest and accountable to the citizenry. But Kwamena finds the NDC's campaign launch as a "panic reaction", stating Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party, has sent shivers down the spine of the opposition party and their leader, hence their "rush" to launch their campaign in the North. He listed some development projects that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has brought to the North, stating projects ranging from better roads to hospitals and a facelift to the Tamale airport among others. "When you compare Bawumia and Mahama, you will see that Bawumia is far, far ahead of his time; think and look ahead", he opined during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The minority NDC in Parliament appears to have been hit by the overwhelming endorsement government has received across the country following the commissioning of District Road Improvement Project (DRIP) on Wednesday by President Akufo-Addo in Accra. The equipment, government has explained, is to facilitate the rehabilitation of bad roads in every district by their respective MMDAs. The DRIP equipment includes 6 x 4 tipper truck, water tank truck, wheel loader, motor grader and roller. Following the commissioning of the equipment and the praise for government, the NDC questioned the source of funding. Mahama Ayariga, NDC MP for Bawku Central, on the instructions of Minority Leader, wrote to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development asking for the source of funding and how much each equipment cost. Despite the letter admitting it was aware Parliament approved funds for the acquisition of the equipment, the Minority still requests cost analysis as well as payment schedule for the equipment. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah has disclosed that lack of trust in the judiciary system is a recipe for chaos in the upcoming December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. According to him, if politicians do not trust the judiciary, it is becomes difficult for peace to prevail before, during and after the elections. Speaking at an election forum in Accra, the National Security Minister admonished politicians to desist from passing comments that have the tendency of inciting political party sympathisers to engage in violence which will mar the peace of the country. He, therefore, urged politicians not to run down the judiciary with their unsavoury comments during the campaign period. As Ghana prepares to go to the polls come December 7 2024, the various political parties and independent candidates have started making their manifestos known to the electorates. The ruling New Patriotic Party faces a fierce contention from the National Democratic Congress, whose flag bearer had lost to the incumbent President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. The NDC desires a come-back while the NPP seeks to retain the power, thereby, breaking the 8-year cycle. There have been constant backlash from the opposition party as well as the leader, John Dramani Mahama, who have accused the judiciary of working in favour of the ruling government, however, the national Security Minister, shares the opinion that, such comments should not be taken into the campaign as it would have a dire repercussion on the electoral integrity of the country. We may for the first time experience a situation where none of the major political parties will be willing to explore the courts to address their grievances. Indeed I have heard some senior people in the political space saying that, that they have lost faith in the courts ability to address their concerns when it comes to elections. So this can create a situation that can set the stage for chaos. And it underscores the need for us to build a robust and transparent electoral system where results coming from same will be acceptable by all parties. The Minister further urged citizens to prioritise peace in the upcoming polls. Ghanaians must also be aware of their responsibilities. They must not allow themselves to be used by politicians who lose elections. Peace is very expensive and sometimes we have to make sacrifices one time or the other to maintain it. So may nobody participate in violence. So those who lose, accept it peacefully, he said. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, is currently in the Western North Region to campaign and canvass for votes for her husband and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, towards the December 7 general election. The Second Lady, who is touring the area for six days, is expected to engage some key stakeholders and the general public to discuss the vision and policies outlined by the NPPs presidential candidate. She will highlight, among others, the reasons the NPP should be retained in power to continue the progress and development of Ghana. The Communication Officer of the NPP in Western North Region, Addo Yaw Harry, said the Second Lady started the visit on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 adding that she will pay a courtesy call on the Omanhene of Sefwi and meet with queen mothers. He said Samira Bawumia and her entourage will also visit Aowin, Bodi, Juaboso, Suaman, SefwiWiawso Market, Akontombra, Bia East, Bia West and Bibiani/Ahwiaso/Bekwai. He encouraged the residents to actively participate in the various engagements, to gain insights into the NPPs plans and policies for the countrys future. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 former Central Regional Minister and a member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwamena Duncan has said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC)s campaign launched in Tamale, the capital of the Northern region on July 27, 2024, was borne out of fear and panic. The NDC launched their campaign in Tamale. The campaign launch witnessed an array of political liturgies from the rank and file of the party. Present at the campaign launch in the heart of the Northern region was the revered National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the flag bearer of the party, John Dramani Mahama, his running mate, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, amongst many national and regional executives of the party. However, Kwamena Duncan, during a live radio discussion on Peace FMs 'Kokrokoo' morning show on Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, stated that, the launch of the campaign was as a result of panic reaction from the pressure being mounted on them by the flag bearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NPP at large. "NDCs campaign launch in Tamale on Saturday, if you will be truthful to yourself, was a panic reaction done out of fear. If you observe carefully how the organization of the campaign went, you will realise that the NDCs effort could not match NPPs Dr. Mahamudu Bawumias constituency by constituency campaign. Theres grave fear in the NDC and John Mahama which resulted in the rush to have their campaign launched, he stressed. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, running mate of Mr John Dramani Mahama, the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked women, particularly traders, to be patient with their husbands who are unable to provide funding to support their businesses, saying the deteriorated economic situation is to blame for that predicament. Most of the time, when you are unable to get credit from the financial institutions to support your trade, you turn to your husbands for help, but they cannot help because they are either out of jobs or their businesses are not doing well due to the economic difficulties in the country. Be patient with them because it is not their fault. The poor economic management has created all this hardship, she said. Addressing market women in Dunkwa Mfoum in the Central Region as part of her tour of the region, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the NDC has taken cognisance of the hardship facing Ghanaians, especially traders and small-scale enterprises, and has developed measures to effectively address the challenge of poor access to credit and high cost of doing business. In that regard, she said the next NDC government would introduce the Womens Development Bank to facilitate effective access to credit without any hindrances such as collateral and high interaction rates. According to her, the Womens Development Bank is one of the many interventions that the next NDC administration would roll out to enhance the lot of women in Ghana. More than one million women are expected to benefit from easy access to loans from the Womens Development Bank, she said. But she reminded them that the plans can only materialise when women vote to ensure that the NDC regains the power to implement that vision. When women get access to funding to grow their businesses, it will positively affect men, children and households, she said. She also commented on the exorbitant cost of food items which has led to dwindling patronage for traders in markets across the country, reminding the market traders that they have an opportunity to change the situation. You have the opportunity to vote for change, she said. 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 In the quest to reverse the economic downturn that has engulfed the country, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Running Mate to Mr John Dramani Mahama, the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has urged manufacturing companies and traders to prepare for the 24-hour economy envisioned by the next NDC government. According to her, the 24-hour economy policy is a key component of the agenda by the NDC to rescue and reset the country from the effects of economic mismanagement by the present government. While providing benefits to companies in the form of tax waivers, reduced tariff rates and increased productivity, the job shift system will create more employment and financial dependence for workers and households, she explained. Speaking at a durbar of Chiefs at Denkyira Bibianiha in the Upper Denkyira East constituency of the Central Region today at the start of her regional campaign tour, Prof Opoku-Agyemang urged all organisations to actively take part in the incoming national 24-hour economy. Her remarks on the 24-hour economy were in response to concerns raised by the chief of Denkyira Bibianiha, Nana Appiah Kubi, about the high rate of joblessness and poverty in the area, which has created a hopeless situation for the youth in the area. The NDC will restore hope and rebuild the economy to meet the aspirations of the Ghanaians, she said. Prof Opoku-Agyemang, who had interacted with traders at the market in the town, noted that the government must provide the needed support, including credit, to enable small-scale enterprises to grow. In addition, she said it was the duty of the government to provide the necessary infrastructure that will facilitate the rapid development of areas such as Dunkwa and Denkyira. She reminded the Chiefs that all the major infrastructure projects such as roads, health centres and schools were provided under the previous NDC governments, and therefore urged them to vote massively for the NDC to continue its good works in the area. We have done it before, and you can trust us to do it again for you, she said. 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 Actor and comedy skitmaker, Ebenezer Akwasi Antwi, popularly known as Dr Likee, has announced his intention to retire from acting. In an interview circulating on social media, Dr Likee explained the reasons behind his decision. Despite his dedication and hard work in helping up-and-coming actors and content creators succeed on YouTube, he expressed frustration over false accusations and negative remarks directed towards him. Two weeks after I return to Ghana, I wont do it again. I am not going to act nor will I produce movies again, he stated. Dr Likee highlighted the demanding nature of his work, noting that he often works from 6am to 6pm, which has taken a toll on him. He also addressed accusations of favoritism, asserting that he has worked with a wide range of creators and refuted claims that he has preferred collaborators. Present all the creators here and point out who I have not worked with before, he challenged. Dr Likee has been instrumental in the recent resurgence of the Kumawood movie industry. His popular YouTube comedy skits have not only entertained audiences but have also provided a platform for many emerging talents, including Kyekyeku, 39/40, C-confion, Jordan, and Sobolo, among others. When I quit, I wont be accused or blamed for anything, he concluded, hinting that his departure would bring him peace from the scrutiny and false allegations. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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: Demographic model of North African populations obtained with the GP4PG algorithm. Credit: Genome Biology Made up of Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria, north Africa is a melting pot of cultures with two predominant human populations with their own language and culture: the Arabs and the Imazighen. Part of their history has been buried beneath the desert, from which some research has extracted human remains up to 300,000 years old. However, their origins remained a mystery. Now, research led by David Comas, a full professor at the UPF Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) and principal investigator at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and Oscar Lao, also an IBE principal investigator, has discovered, using artificial intelligence tools, that the Imazighen (Amazigh in the singular) and the Arab people of north Africa have different genetic origins. For the first time, the study reveals that the two separated more than 20,000 years ago and sheds light on the region's complex demographic history. The work is published in the journal Genome Biology. The ancestors of the Imazighen reached north Africa more than 20,000 years ago Due to its geographical location, north Africa is a conclave of cultures that has received people from Europe, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa for thousands of years. This confluence of populations has enriched the population genome of the region, generating a complex phylogenetic puzzle. To shed light on the origin and evolution of the Arab and Imazighen populations, the team conducted a comprehensive analysis of 364 complete genomes from different populations. To do so, it developed an innovative computational model with natural computing methods, within the field of artificial intelligence, dubbed "genetic programming for population genetics" (GP4PG). The results reveal that the differentiation between the Arab people and the Amazigh took place far earlier than expected. "The new GP4PG model has allowed a more precise, robust and refined analysis, which for the first time clearly separates the two peoples more than 20,000 years ago, when the Imazighen returned to Africa from Eurasia in the movement known as 'back to Africa'", says Oscar Lao, principal investigator of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE). "Human remains from about 22,000 years old have been found in Morocco that, according to these results, could be the ancestors of today's Imazighen," says David Comas, a full professor of Anthropology at the MELIS-UPF and a researcher at the IBE. Arabs and Imazighen reached north Africa thousands of years apart The Arab and Amazigh peoples arrived in north Africa with the migratory phenomenon known as "back to Africa," after the departure by human populations out of Africa, a population movement whose genetic legacy endures today in its inhabitants. "With this study we have seen that Arabs and Imazighen have not separated recently due to a question of geography, culture or language, but the genomes confirm that they became genetically differentiated about 20,000 years ago due to the different times at which the two populations colonized north Africa," David Comas comments. Previous studies argued that the region's current Arab population originated in the Neolithic. However, research reveals that the majority of the Arab population colonized north Africa from the Middle East much later, during the "Arabization" of the 7th century AD. Thus, this would be the cause of the close genetic relationship between today's Arab populations of north Africa and those of the Middle East. "With the GP4PG model we can observe that the arrival of the Arab people around 600 AD generated a gradual genetic gradient that declines from east to west, from the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa," Oscar Lao comments. More information: Jose M. Serradell et al, Modelling the demographic history of human North African genomes points to a recent soft split divergence between populations, Genome Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03341-4 Journal information: Genome Biology The U.S. Park Police is seeking the public's help in identifying six vandals accused of spray painting pro-Hamas graffiti on historical landmarks during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial visit to Capitol Hill last week. The individuals, who appear to be five men and one woman, are also responsible for assaulting a police officer at Columbus Circle in Washington, D.C., authorities alleged. The Israeli leader's speech to Congress Thursday sparked waves of chaos near Capitol grounds. Bystander video showed a dramatic scene of police dressed in riot gear pepper spraying, striking, and arresting pro-Palestinian protesters outside Union Station, where demonstrators also set fire to the American flag. Pepper spray deployed as police make arrests outside Union Station in DC pic.twitter.com/irjE5tt4XI Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) July 24, 2024 A separate clip appeared to show extensive vandalism to the Columbus Fountain, with the phrase, "Hamas is Coming" spray painted across. The Liberty Bell was also subject to similar defacement. During his address to Congress Thursday, Netanyahu vowed "total victory" in the Israel-Hamas conflict and called American critics of the war "idiots," according to the Associated Press. Netanyahu continues to face immense pressure from his cabinet members to reject a deal that would eliminate the possibility of an attack on Rafah. The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, with 80% currently sheltering in Rafah after forced from their homes amid Israel's destruction throughout the enclave. 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: New Dehli, India. Credit: Hakan Nural from Pexels As global temperatures continue to rise, India is grappling with increasingly severe heat waves. As early as April, many Indian cities, including New Delhi, the capital, have experienced record temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Recurring heat waves in recent months have killed more than 100 people, including dozens of poll workers, during India's recent six-week election. Scorching temperatures are also responsible for over 40,000 suspected cases of heat stroke. Extreme heat poses unique challenges to the world's largest democracy due to its geographic, economic and infrastructural context. Located in the tropical belt, India and neighboring countries experience significant heat and the impact is exacerbated by factors that differ greatly from those in wealthier nations. "While countries like the United States have extensive networks of air-conditioned spaces and robust safety nets, India's capacity to mitigate the effects of heat waves is limited," said Teevrat Garg, associate professor of economics at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy, whose research focuses on environmental policy and energy transitions in low-and middle-income countries. "In cities like New York and Chicago, heat advisories prompt the activation of cooling centers in public libraries and schools, which often shut down to protect children. Conversely, in India, air conditioning remains a luxury, accessible to only a small fraction of the population." The penetration of air conditioning in India is hampered by high costs and the unreliability of the electricity grid. On the hottest days, when the demand for electricity peaks, the grid often becomes congested, leading to frequent power outages. This makes owning an air conditioner a less effective adaptation strategy if the power supply is not consistent, according to Garg, who is a faculty affiliate with the campus's 21st Century India Center and Deep Decarbonization Initiative. An expected link between outdoor occupations, heat exposure and children' test scores A significant portion of India's workforce is employed in outdoor occupations, such as agriculture and construction. Unlike office workers who can stay indoors, these laborers face direct exposure to extreme heat. To add to that, India's large population of subsistence workers cannot afford to miss a day of work, even in extreme heat. Many live hand-to-mouth, relying on daily earnings to buy food. Garg's research finds an unexpected consequence of extreme heat's impact on reduced work for agricultural laborers lower test scores for children. While there is ample evidence that heat impacts cognitive functions, astudy by Garg and co-authors published in theJournal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists found that hot days during the growing season in the previous year, were affecting students' academic performance in the current year, rather than heat in the non-growing season. "We know that heat has a direct effect on the brain, so it shouldn't matter whether heat happens in the growing season or the non-growing season," Garg said. "Either one should have the same effect on academic performance, but the fact that we saw all of these effects coming from the growing season told us that these impacts are really being driven by an agricultural income mechanism." Essentially, children in India had lower test scores, likely because their parents experienced income loss due to lower crop yields. "It could be because parents couldn't afford to pay for books and other school supplies, or put as much food on the table, so children may be hungrier," Garg said. The paper underscored the importance of social protection programs in helping vulnerable populations cope with climate-induced stresses. Specifically, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), a major workfare program in India, was found to significantly weaken the link between high temperatures and reduced test scores. By providing a safety net for the poor, NREGA attenuated the negative effects of temperature on test scores by 38%. No amount of money can buy relief when working outdoors in extreme heat Another study from Garg also evaluating extreme heat's impact on outdoor laborers revealed that no matter how motivated employees may be, they will reach a breaking point at certain temperatures. In a field experiment in neighboring Indonesia, workers were randomly assigned to perform duties in forested and deforested areas. The black globe temperaturewhich measures how hot it feels in direct sunlightin deforested areas was 30 to 50 degrees warmer compared to forested areas. Not surprising to Garg and co-authors of a study published in Nature Communications, workers in deforested areas had to take many more breaks compared to those working in much cooler, forested settings. However, the authors were surprised to find that when the workers in hot settings were paid twice as much to perform each task, there was no difference in productivity compared to workers getting base pay in the same setting. "What that tells us is that reduced productivity during extreme heat is not behavioral preferenceit's not that people are working less hard because they're just uncomfortable, heat actually represents a binding constraint on productivity," Garg said. "People literally cannot work harder in these extreme conditions." Heat not only hurts productivity, but it's also bad for collaboration Garg and Elizabeth Lyons, professor of management at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, wanted to explore how warmer conditions impact cooperation between team members, an area previously unexplored. In a field experiment in Bangladesh, their working paper focuses on the varying impacts of warm conditions on individual and team performance working in indoor settings and in cognitively demanding occupations. "These occupations are increasingly located in high-temperature regions with limited climate control, like India, and neighboring countries in South Asia," Garg said. The study found that individual computer programmers working in warm rooms performed comparably to those in control rooms. However, teams in warm rooms significantly underperformed relative to teams in control rooms and individuals in both temperature settings. Teams in warm environments were less likely to make progress on tasks. "There's a breakdown in communication and interaction between workers when it's hot," Garg said. "When it's hot, you're more irritable and annoyed and therefore less likely to work collaboratively with people, which is essential for creativity and innovation." Climate change, decarbonization and sustainability are among the 21st Century India Center's research focus areas, as increasing temperatures pose unique difficulties to the country. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The New Jersey Conservation Foundation, a major environmental group working within the state, is pleading with wildlife officials not to remove bald eagles from the endangered species list as planned, saying a virus that's killing peregrine falcons will inevitably prove lethal to eagles. In June, the state's Department of Environmental Protection said the bald eagle has made such a remarkable recovery that it was proposing to remove it from the state's endangered species list. There was only one nesting pair in the state in 1970. As of last year, there were 267. But Emile DeVito, who wrote Monday to the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife, asked officials not adopt the change because of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that is striking peregrine falcons along the coast. DeVito is manager of science and stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. "The peregrine falcons are dying left and right," DeVito told The Inquirer. "And they are dead within 24 hours of showing symptoms. What we know about it from Michigan and Wisconsin is that it's going to be huge problem." DeVito wrote in his letter, which was sent as a formal comment on the endangered species list removal proposal, that the HPA is "already serious and ongoing" and removing the bald eagle from the list would weaken protections. 'Actively discussing the issue' Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the DEP, said that Fish and Wildlife officials are aware of the spread and impact of HPAI on wildlife. "It is premature for us to take a position regarding the potential impacts HPAI is having on our wildlife, including bald eagles, but we are actively discussing the issue and reviewing data," Hajna wrote in an email. DeVito said he had learned of the spreading flu to eagles at a briefing of New Jersey's Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee. HPAI is a highly contagious disease known as bird flu or avian flu, transmitted from bird to bird. It does not normally infect humans, but it has sporadically. At the briefing, Fish and Wildlife officials said that 44 N.J. nesting peregrine falcons have been identified so far this year as falling ill with the disease and that 21 adults, or nearly half, had died. Losses were higher in coastal nests. The loss ratios are similar in Virginia and Maryland's Eastern Shore. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation initially supported the state's removal of the bald eagle from the endangered list, which the peregrine falcon remains on. DeVito was on the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee for 25 years but recently left it. "We shouldn't be delisting them now," DeVito said. "This is highly transmittable." He said that the avian flu has already infected some eagles and that the birds get the disease while eating infected prey. "It's not widespread yet," DeVito said. "But it's just starting to impact them. Chances are next year, there's going to be a big hit to the population." Seeking public comment The delisting of bald eagles is part of a larger rule proposal currently open for public comment, Hajna said. The bald eagle is just one of many species being proposed for either listing or delisting for various categories in a process that the state takes on sporadically. The public can comment on the rule through Aug. 24. If adopted, the rule would move the bald eagle from New Jersey's endangered species list and categorize it as a species of special concern. The bald eagle would still remain listed as a non-game species, meaning it cannot be hunted. DeVito believes it would be easier to remove the bald eagle from consideration for now. It could then be reintroduced separately for delisting later if the avian flu runs its course. Bald eagles have made a remarkable comeback nationwide since DDT was banned in 1972. They were removed from the federal government's endangered species list in 2007. Pennsylvania has also removed the raptor from its endangered or threatened list, but it is protected under the state's Game and Wildlife Code. It was not immediately clear of the strain of avian flu that is striking peregrine falcons and bald eagles. But the Centers of Disease Control reports that the HF or H5N1 bird flu, forms of HPAI, has struck nearly 10,000 wild birds across the U.S. in wild birds, including bald eagles. It has struck at least 593 bald eagles since early 2022, according to an Inquirer analysis of the data. Two cases were logged in New Jersey this year in Mercer and Bergen Counties. William Bowerman, a professor of wildlife ecology and environmental toxicology, wrote a letter "with urgency" to the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June, stating that he's studied bald eagles in Michigan and the Great Lakes for 40 years, and said his findings indicate the first regional population declines since the DDT era. Bowerman wrote that the decline is, "likely caused by" HPAI. 2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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: Art depicts the Roman Emperor Henry III viewing the supernova explosion of 1054. The stars aren't fixed and unchanging, unlike what many ancient people thought. Once in a while, a star appears where there wasn't one before, and then it fades away in a matter of days or weeks. The earliest record of such a "guest star," named so by ancient Chinese astronomers, is a star that suddenly appeared in skies around the world on July 4, 1054. It quickly brightened, becoming visible even during the day for the next 23 days. Astronomers in Japan, China and the Middle East observed this event, as did the Anasazi in what is now New Mexico. In the second half of 2024, a nova explosion in the star system called T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, will once again be visible to people on Earth. T CrB will appear 1,500 times brighter than usual, but it won't be as spectacular as the event in 1054. I am a space scientist with a passion for teaching physics and astronomy. I love photographing the night sky and astronomical events, including eclipses, meteor showers and once-in-a-lifetime astronomical events such as the T CrB nova. T CrB will become, at best, the 50th brightest star in the night skybrighter than only half the stars in the Big Dipper. It might take some effort to find, but if you have the time, you'll witness a rare event. What is a nova? In 1572, the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe observed a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. After reporting the event in his work "De Nova Stella," or "On the New Star," astronomers came to associate the word nova with stellar explosions. Stars, regardless of size, spend 90% of their lives fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. How a star's life ends, though, depends on the mass of the star. Very massive starsthose more than eight times the mass of our Sunexplode in dramatic supernova explosions, like the ones people observed in 1054 and 1572. In lower mass stars, including our sun, once the hydrogen in the core is exhausted, the star expands into what astronomers call a red giant. The red giant is hundreds of times its original size and more unstable. Eventually, all that is left is a white dwarfan Earth-sized remnant made up of carbon and oxygen. White dwarves are a hundred thousand times denser than diamond. Unless they're part of a binary star system, where two stars orbit each other, they slowly fade in brightness over billions of years and eventually disappear from sight. T CrB is a binary star systemit's made up of a red giant and a white dwarf, which orbit each other every 228 days at about half the distance between Earth and the sun. The red giant is nearing the end of its life, so it has expanded dramatically, and it's feeding material into a rotating disk of matter called an accretion disk, which surrounds the white dwarf. What the Los Angeles sky will look like on, as an example, Aug. 15, 2024, at 10 p.m. local time. The view will be very similar across the U.S., but T CrB will get closer and closer to the horizon and will be halfway between where its shown here and the horizon by early September. By early October, it will be right on the horizon. Credit: Vahe Peroomian/Stellarium Matter from the accretion disk, which is made mostly of hydrogen, spirals in and slowly accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf. Over time, this blanket of hydrogen becomes thicker and denser, until its temperature exceeds 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (10 million degrees Celsius). A nova is a runaway thermonuclear reaction similar to the detonation of a hydrogen bomb. Once the accretion disk gets hot enough, a nova occurs where the hydrogen ignites, gets blown outward and emits bright light. When will it occur? Astronomers know of 10 recurrent novaestars that have undergone nova explosions more than once. T CrB is the most famous of these. It erupts on average every 80 years. Because T CrB is 2,630 light-years from Earth, it takes light 2,630 years to travel the distance from T CrB to Earth. The nova we will see later this year occurred over 2,000 years ago, but its light will be just reaching us later this year. The accretion of hydrogen on the surface of the white dwarf is like sand in an 80-year hourglass. Each time a nova occurs and the hydrogen ignites, the white dwarf itself is unaffected, but the surface of the white dwarf is wiped clean of hydrogen. Soon after, hydrogen begins accreting on the surface of the white dwarf again: The hourglass flips, and the 80-year countdown to the next nova begins anew. Careful observations during its past two novae in 1866 and 1946 showed that T CrB became slightly brighter about 10 years before the nova was visible from Earth. Then, it briefly dimmed. Although scientists aren't sure what causes these brightness changes, this pattern has repeated, with a brightening in 2015 and a dimming in March 2023. Based on these observations, scientists predict the nova will be visible to us sometime in 2024. How bright will it be? Astronomers use a magnitude system first devised by Hipparchus of Nicaea more than 2,100 years ago to classify the brightness of stars. In this system, a difference of 5 in magnitude signifies a change by a factor of 100 in brightness. The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the star. To find Corona Borealis, locate Arcturus, and then look about a handspan above. In dark skies, the human eye can see stars as dim as magnitude 6. Ordinarily, the visible light we receive from T CrB comes entirely from its red giant, a magnitude 10 star barely visible with binoculars. During the nova event, the white dwarf's exploding hydrogen envelope will brighten to a magnitude 2 or 3. It will briefly become the brightest star in its home constellation, Corona Borealis. This maximum brightness will last only several hours, and T CrB will fade from visibility with the naked eye in a matter of days. Where to look Corona Borealis is not a prominent constellation. It's nestled above Bootes and to the west of Ursa Major, home to the Big Dipper, in northern skies. To locate the constellation, look due west and find Arcturus, the brightest star in that region of the sky. Then look about halfway between the horizon and zeniththe point directly above youat 10 p.m. local time in North America. Corona Borealis is approximately 20 degrees above Arcturus. That's about the span of one hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinky, at arm's length. At its brightest, T CrB will be brighter than all the stars in Corona Borealis, but not as bright as Arcturus. You can also use an interactive star chart such as Stellarium, or one of the many apps available for smartphones, to locate the constellation. Familiarizing yourself with the stars in this region of the sky before the nova occurs will help identify the new star once T CrB brightens. Although T CrB is too far from Earth for this event to rival the supernova of 1054, it is nevertheless an opportunity to observe a rare astronomical event with your own eyes. For many of us, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. For children, however, this event could ignite a passion in astronomy. Eighty years in the future, they may look forward to observing it once again. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. 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: During the interviews, the researchers used a method called mental sketch mapping to invite young participants to contribute to the conversation through drawings/paintings/sketches of their rooms, homes, streets and neighbourhoods. As the interviews continued, they asked children prompt questions to find out the story behind the drawings, what home meant to them and how children relate to those places. Credit: University of Waterloo There have been ongoing accusations that international students are flooding university towns and taking up all the affordable housing. These narratives paint international students as the culprit, but a new study affirms that there is no basis for blaming international students for Canada's housing crisis and looks to change the narrative. The study was led by a team of researchers at the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Environment and debunks popular myths about international students. For example, international students are often perceived as temporary visitors who are young, hyper-mobile and care-free individuals. While some may fit this demographic, the researchers point out that the reality is much different. Currently, one in five international students is estimated to live with their partner and children during their studies, and these families are overlooked in Canada's policy and planning in higher education, migration and housing. "The needs of international student families haven't really been discussed," says Dr. Alkim Karaagac, researcher in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management and principal investigator of the new study. "There is an invisibility and silence, which is a perfect recipe for vulnerability and exploitation." Focusing on this vulnerable population, the researchers conducted a two-year case study on the housing experiences of 21 international student families living off-campus in the Waterloo region. The region is a unique location to investigate given it has the largest purpose-built student housing market in the country and is reported to have one of the least affordable housing markets among Canadian university towns. Their interviews centered on the lived experiences of international students making a home in Canada and the challenges they face in the housing market. The findings suggest that all international student families face many hurdles to finding adequate housing, plus there are not enough diverse options to meet their needs. "We talked to a family who had been living in an Airbnb for the last eight months who used up all their savings on tuition and housing," Karaagac says. "While the Airbnb is expensive, when you settle somewhere and the kids start school, you cannot just move somewhere else. Especially when there aren't a lot of options." Other countries don't share these problems. Subsequent interviews with experts that can speak about the housing crisis detailed how the United States and United Kingdom support their international students with subsidized housing. From these conversations, plus a review of government documents and reports, Karaagac and her team put forward a series of recommendations. "We don't have to wait years for major policy changes. There are small changes that we can make now to have a positive impact. One thing is that international students should receive accurate information on university housing, waiting lists, cost of living and housing in the local context. They also need hands-on support when applying for housing, so they don't fall victim to fraud, and help upon arrival as they navigate their first week," Karaagac says. The researchers believe these short-term actions can be complemented by longer-term actions, such as implementing polices and bylaws that curb rental scams and discrimination by property owners. They also share that creating partnerships with housing market actors can lead to creative affordable housing solutions and that it is essential to expand how universities in towns can be more interconnected with town centers. At Waterloo, international students comprise 19% of our total graduate student body. Developing solutions within the institution and with partners to improve the graduate student housing experience is a key area of focus. For example, the Graduate Student Association, a key project partner, is using the findings to propel their advocacy work for affordable housing in the region and recently held an event with international student families. Moving forward, they would like to continue creating events to bring together international student families and share resources and programs available within the region. Later this year, Karaagac and the team will be presenting their findings and recommendations with actors in the community. They are also scheduled to present at conferences held by the Canadian Association of Geographers and British Association of Geographers. "We need to see international students as complex and more than one type of student. They are a diverse group which you can't house in a standard dormitory. We need to step up and be prepared as towns, universities and provinces to support them." More information: Learning from International Student Families, Making a Home in Canada: https://www.makeahome.ca/publications 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) The specific structure of a natural biological cell membrane, which owns an ultrathin structure and a dual hydrophilic-hydrophobic character. (b) Interface strain as the driving force to curl the ultrathin nanosheets into nanovesicles. Credit: Science China Press Inspired by the cell membrane structure, researchers, led by Dr. Xiaoqing Huang (State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University) and Dr. Qi Shao (College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University), propose a biomimetic strategy for synthesis of nanovesicles by utilizing the interfacial strain as the driving force to curl the ultrathin nanosheets into nanovesicles. Meanwhile, the electrocatalyst with the vesicular structure displays excellent HOR activity and stability. To study the formation mechanism of RhRu nanovesicles, morphologies and compositions of the reaction intermediates were initially collected using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-angle annular dark-field scanning TEM (HAADF-STEM) line scan and TEM energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS) analysis, respectively. It was found that the pure Rh small nanosheets were formed in the beginning stage; then the small nanosheets grew gradually along the lateral direction. As the reaction time went on, the Ru element was gradually reduced and the nanosheet began to bend to form a bowl-like structure. Prolonging the reaction time, the bowl-like structure gradually formed a vesicle structure. The researchers conclude that the introduction of Ru atoms plays a critical role in the curling growth of the nanosheet structure. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the Ru atoms make the curling of the nanosheet more favorable in thermodynamics. Owing to the unique vesicular structure, the RhRu nanovesicles/C displays excellent hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) activity and stability. The mass activity of RhRu nanovesicles/C at an overpotential of 50 mV is 7.50 A mg (Rh+Ru) 1, which is 24.19 times higher than that of Pt/C (0.31 A mg Pt 1). Moreover, the RhRu nanovesicles/C-based membrane electrode assembly (MEA) displays a high peak power density (PPD) of 1.62 W cm2, possessing a potential application in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell (HEMFC). This work shows that it is feasible to design new structures by the biomimetic strategy, which can draw rapid attention in biomimetic synthesis. The research is published in the journal National Science Review. More information: Juntao Zhang et al, An all-metallic nanovesicle for hydrogen oxidation, National Science Review (2024). DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwae153 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: Trends of outer cortex fruit firmness (M1maximum hardness at region one) and inner cortex fruit firmness (M2maximum hardness at region two) at-harvest ('H') and after-storage ('S') of Phase Two (P2) selections and individual reference cultivars from 2005 to 2019. Credit: Fruit Research (2024). DOI: 10.48130/frures-0024-0020 A research team at Washington State University has demonstrated considerable advancement in enhancing apple firmness and its retention during cold storage, which is vital for fruit quality. The study analyzed 15 years worth of data from, from 2005 to 2019, emphasizing increased inner cortex firmness, which was influenced by cultivars like "Cripps Pink" and "Honeycrisp." This research underscores the value of genetic selection in breeding programs, potentially leading to apples with superior storability, which aligns with the program's goal of improved fruit quality during cold storage. The trend analysis of breeding records revealed that the Washington State University apple breeding program (WABP) has been focusing on the selection of apples with improved eating quality and storability. Current research predominantly measures outer cortex firmness, with relatively limited attention paid to inner cortex firmness. The study, published in Fruit Research on 2 July 2024, aims to address the gap by focusing on after-storage retention of inner cortex fruit firmness, examining the genetic contributions of key cultivars, and assessing the WABP's overall progress in breeding for improved fruit storability. The phenotypic distribution of maximum hardness in R1 (termed M1) and maximum hardness in R2 (termed M2) values for both "at-harvest" and "after storage" samples over multiple years was analyzed using penetrometers to measure outer and inner cortex firmness. For M1 measurements, most "at-harvest" (H) samples ranged between 16 and 22 lbs, with higher variance in certain years. "After-storage" (S) samples showed reduced firmness. M2 measurements followed similar trends, with "H" values typically between 24 and 31 lbs and "S" values consistently lower. The data revealed that M1 and M2 firmness values were generally highest for "H" selections, followed by "H" cultivars, "S" selections, and "S" cultivars. Notably, selections exhibited better after-storage firmness retention in comparison to cultivars. Year-to-year analysis showed smaller deltas in firmness loss for selections than for cultivars. Additionally, the average allelic representation (AAR) indicated increasing genetic contributions from "Honeycrisp" and "Cripps Pink," while "Golden Delicious" remained consistently represented. This study highlights the effectiveness of the WABP in selecting apples with enhanced firmness and storability, emphasizing the genetic influence of key cultivars on these traits. According to the study's lead researcher, Kate Evans, "This 15-year trend analysis showed that the WABP has been selected for increased fruit firmness (particularly of the inner cortex), and retention of inner cortex firmness among the P2 selections. This breeding progress also aligns with one of the three WABP's overarching objectivesimproved fruit storability." In summary, the WABP resulted in enhanced apple firmness and storability over a 15-year period, as evidenced by data collected from 2005 to 2019. The study revealed that the selected cultivars exhibited superior and more sustained firmness, particularly in the inner cortex, influenced by "Cripps Pink" and "Honeycrisp." Future efforts will focus on breeding strategies and leverage genetic insights to further elevate apple quality and align with consumer demands. More information: Soon Li Teh et al, Multi-year trends of retention of fruit firmness after storage and influence of cultivar representation among apple breeding selections, Fruit Research (2024). DOI: 10.48130/frures-0024-0020 Provided by TranSpread This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01888 Viral vectors hold much potential for gene editing and gene therapy, but there is a pressing need to develop quality control methods to minimize potential side effects on patients. Addressing this, researchers from Japan developed a nanosensing-based approach that can differentiate between functional and faulty viral vectors at the single-particle level. This convenient and inexpensive technique will hopefully get us one step closer to advancing treatments for genetic disorders. Over the past few decades, there has been remarkable progress in genetic manipulation technologies, bringing us closer to the point where genes can be modified in vivo. Such tools would open up the way to gene therapy, ushering in a new era in medicine. Thus far, the most promising strategies for gene therapy involve leveraging the existing molecular machinery found in viruses. In particular, adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have recently garnered significant attention from the scientific community, given their potential to serve as nucleic acid vaccines for diseases such as COVID-19. However, during AAV vector manufacturing, some particles may carry only a partial copy of the intended genome, while others may be empty. These defective vectors can lead to unexpected side effects, underscoring the urgent need for robust quality control methods in their production. Addressing this challenge, a team of researchers from Japan recently reported a novel nanosensing technique to measure viral vector characteristics. Their findings were presented in their latest paper, published online on 5 June, 2024, in ACS Nano. The team includes Associate Professor Makusu Tsutsui and Professor Tomoji Kawai from the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University; Lecturer Akihide Arima from the Institute of Nano-Life-Systems at Nagoya University; Specially Appointed Professor Yoshinobu Baba from the Institute of Nano-Life-Systems Institutes of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University; Project Researcher Mikako Wada, Assistant Professor Yuji Tsunekawa and Professor Takashi Okada, all from the Institute of Medical Science at The University of Tokyo. The proposed approach involves measuring the ionic current that flows through a nanopore opening when a voltage differential is applied to a solution containing AAVs. When the nanopore is unobstructed, the measured ionic current is relatively constant. But when a viral particle passes through the nanopore, the flow of ions is partially blocked for a brief moment, producing a spike or pulse in the ionic current readout. Interestingly, because AAV vectors with full genomes are heavier and slightly bulkier than empty or partially filled vectors, it's possible to discriminate between them as they pass through the nanoporefaulty vectors produce a "signature" in the measured ionic current that is noticeably different from that of full-genome vectors. The team verified this through experiments, finite-element simulations, and theoretical analyses. "By designing a sensor with an optimal structure, we identified for the first time the gene-derived sub-nanometer-scale differences in the size of the viral vectors," explains Tsutsui. This technique allows for the convenient and inexpensive quality control of AAV vectors, which thus far has relied on complex methods such as mass photometry, transmission electron microscopy, and analytical ultracentrifugation. "The present work may revolutionize medicine by providing a tool for preparing AAV vectors with ultra-high quality for safe and effective gene therapy," highlights Tsunekawa. "It may be key in the development of production and purification systems for AAV vectors," he adds. Moreover, beyond AAV vectors, this approach holds promise for studying other types of viral vectors, potentially opening new avenues for effective gene therapies and advancing our understanding of viral biology. Moreover, ensuring the high quality of clinically used AAV vectors could allow for lower patient doses, thereby minimizing side effects. More information: Makusu Tsutsui et al, Identifying Viral Vector Characteristics by Nanopore Sensing, ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01888 Journal information: ACS Nano 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: Thursday's rainfall in Lahore breaks a record dating to July 1980. Pakistan's second-largest city of Lahore was deluged with record-breaking rainfall on Thursday, the national weather agency said, with hospitals flooded, power interrupted and streets in the metropolis submerged. The eastern city was lashed by almost 360 millimeters (14 inches) of rain in three hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said. "This was record-breaking rainfall," the agency's deputy director Farooq Dar told AFP. The previous record dates to July 1980, when 332 millimeters fell over three hours. "Look at all these buckets and how much water has accumulated. We're exhausted from trying to remove the water," Sadam, a 32-year-old shopkeeper, told AFP as he took stock of his considerable losses. The PMD had forecast a wetter-than-usual monsoon season this year for Pakistan, one of the countries experts say is most vulnerable to extreme weather being spurred by climate change. Over the past three days, 24 people have been killed by rainfall in the country's mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said. In Lahore, a city of 13 million in the eastern Punjab province, one person was killed by electrocution as a result of Thursday's cloudburst, according to local police. The city's commissioner declared an emergency and said offices and schools would be shut for the day. Yasir Ali, a 26-year-old resident, said it was a "sad day for the nation". "For a poor person it is heartbreaking that he's been unable to go to work today," he told AFP. 'Pay some attention here' Two government hospitals in Lahore reported flooding in their wards, and there were intermittent power outages continuing into the afternoon. Roads were also submerged, bringing traffic and businesses to a standstill. Ahmed Khan, 48, who earns a daily wage, appealed to the government "to pay some attention here and resolve this water issue". Maryam Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province, posted on X that "the entire government machinery is in the field" to drain the water. The summer monsoon brings to South Asia about 70 to 80 percent of the region's annual rainfall between June and September. It is vital for agriculture, but changing weather patterns that scientists attribute to climate change are putting both lives and livelihoods at risk. Earlier this year Pakistanhome to 240 million peoplewas hit by a succession of heat waves and this April was the wettest since 1961. At least 143 people died from lightning strikes and other storm-related incidents in April. In neighboring India, at least 160 people, most believed to be laborers and their families, have been killed by torrential rains causing landslides in the southern coastal state of Kerala. In 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost $30 billion, according to a World Bank estimate. 2024 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Four decades ago, fragile falcon eggs were saved from certain death by Ken Yager and a small team of expert climbers from a nest on Yosemite's El Capitan sheer granite wall, as protective parents dive-bombed from the sky. Those rare eggs hatched a new generation of baby birds, then another, testament to one of the most successful conservation stories in California historyand proof of the power of human partnerships to protect a species that was once on the brink of extinction. The number of breeding pairs of peregrine falcons, the world's fastest animal, has doubled during a 15-year-long collaborative recovery plan involving climbers, the National Park Service and Yosemite Conservancy, the park announced on July 31. This spring, there were 17 breeding pairs in the Park, up from only eight pairs in 2009. A total of 51 nesting sites have been counted since 2009, yielding 385 baby birds. "It feels wonderful," said Yager, now 65 and living in Mariposa. "I thought that the project had a very slim chance of working. I am glad I was wrong." The relationship between rock climbers and the cliff-dwelling birds could have been a fraught one. Majestic birds, peregrine falcons choose cliffs for their nesting sites because the sheer walls protect chicks from terrestrial predators. The high altitude allows the birds to spot potential threats as they approach from below. Their dive speeds can exceed 200 miles per hour. But the presence of rock climbers can scare birds away from their nesting sites, leaving their young unprotected from predators, according to research. An assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading information source on the global extinction risk status of animals, lists rock climbing as a threat to the species. Yosemite's Peregrine Falcon Protection Program protects the birds by temporarily closing off some climbing routes. In its early years, it enlisted rock climbers as a valuable resource for the bird conservation project, traversing hard-to-access habitats. "By avoiding off-limits areas and educating fellow adventurers, climbers help ensure falcon fledglings have the best chance of survival," said Jesse McGahey, a Yosemite park ranger. Before the mid-20th century, there were more than 3,800 adult peregrine pairs in the United States. But by 1974, only 324 pairs remained in the U.S., killed off largely by widespread use of the synthetic insecticide DDT. An accumulation of DDT in birds caused them to lay eggs with very thin shells that easily broke. Peregrines were declared a federally endangered species in 1970, and they were added to the California endangered species list the following year. DDT was outlawed in the U.S. in 1972. In Yosemite, the birds vanished. The last pair was spotted in 1941 on Mount Broderick, above the Mist Trail. In 1978, climbers Dale Bard, Hugh Burton, Bruce Hawkins and Ron Kauk were startled to discover an active nest while ascending "New Jersey Turnpike" on the southeast face of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot-high granite monolith that looms above the valley floor, according to Yager. This spurred a recovery effort. The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group hired climbers to gather egg shell samples from the nest ledges for testing. Then the group launched a bold plan: take the thin-walled eggs from nests, incubate and hatch them in the safety of a laboratory, and return the young to the nests. Yager and his group ascended to a second nest on the left of an 80-foot Ponderosa pine and removed the eggs. The eggs were placed in foam-protected containers and passed from climber to climber"like a fire brigade," said Yagerto a backpack. Then a lab-hatched chick, carried in a small blue fabric cage during the climb, was gently placed in the nest. "I was terrified," he recalled. Overhead, "the peregrines would sort of stall out, flying upward about 150 to 200 feet. When they lost their airspeed, they would do a wingover and tuck their wings in and drop like a rock." "Just when I thought I was going to die, they would flare their wings above my neck and glide off, just inches from me," so close that Yager could feel the breeze. Fellow climber Rob Roy Ramey, who was supervising the process, was hit on his pack. But he didn't fall. Carrying the eggs, the climbers rappelled down. Within a half hour, the adult birds returned to the nest, feeding their new baby. With climbers' help, these captive breeding programs successfully released over 1,000 young peregrines back into the wild. Peregrines are versatile enough to nest in cities, but national parks are intended to conserve the birds' natural ecosystems. Now the Peregrine Falcon Protection Program, launched 15 years ago by the late wildlife biologist Jeff Maurer and supported by donors and a large gift from Maurer's family, protects the peregrines through targeted closures of climbing areas. Rather than issuing indiscriminate route closures, Yosemite implemented a plan based on routine monitoring of dozens of cliff sites. Buffer zones above the cliffs prevent helicopters from flying unnecessarily close. The park imposes, adjusts or lifts closures based on each peregrine family's activity. No more than 5% of climbing routes at a time are closed, starting in March. Once the babies have left their nests in mid-July, the routes are re-opened. This year, for instance, the park closed routes on Higher Cathedral Rock between and including "Power Point" and "The North Face," routes on The Rostrum in Lower Merced Canyon, and parts of the southwest face of El Capitan, between and including the routes "Octopussy" and "Dihedral Wall." Elsewhere around the nation, about 85 to 100 climbing areas nationwide are closed to protect falcons, as well as golden eagles, during their nesting period. "Without help, peregrines probably would have disappeared from the park," said Yager, who still climbs almost daily. "I am proud that I was able to have a small part in their future survival." 2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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: While many welcome the return of wetland wildlife to the delta, local authorities are bracing for battle with farmers who want it drained again. Tour guide Eugen Grigorov steered his boat past half-underwater combine harvesters and last year's flooded crops in a part of Romania's Danube Delta reclaimed by the great river. After a dike burst last summer near his village of Mahmudia, swathes of the delta once drained for farmland were submerged again, creating the region's second-largest lake and a paradise for the region's battered biodiversity. "Isn't it lovely now? Less pollution than with tractors and herbicides," the 51-year-old said, marveling at the hundreds of wild pelicans, ducks and gulls flocking to the lake. But while many welcome the return of wetland wildlife to the delta, local authorities are bracing for battle with farmers who want it drained again. 'Let the lake remain' Grigorov remembers how the delta first made way for crops in the 1980s, when communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu had the reed islands burnt down and the marshes drained to turn them into farmland. Since the floods the area has returned to what it was like 40 years ago, Mahmudia's mayor Ion Serpescu told AFP, adding the town was "happy" after the dike breached. Serpescu pointed to the fishermen and tourists drawn to visit his village by the lake, saying that "more than 15 guest houses have been built in two years" to accommodate them. After a dyke burst last summer near the village of Mahmudia, swathes of the delta once drained for farmland were submerged again, creating the region's second-largest lake and a paradise for the region's battered biodiversity. Estimating the cost of rebuilding the dike at 20-30 million euros ($22-32 million), the 67-year-old believed there was little point in draining the lake again. "Let the lake remain as it is," he said. Many of Mahmudia's 2,000 residents hope the Romanian government will agree, after a commission of experts issued an opinion in favor of the delta's ecological restoration. And during a visit in June, Romania's Environment Minister Mircea Fechet said that nature was "already repairing" the damage and "the delta has done nothing but reclaim its own land". But others were less keen on the idea, with businessman Emanuel Dobronauteanu suing the local authorities for damages after losing 730 hectares (1,804 acres) of wheat, corn, sunflower and alfalfa in the floods. Demanding "just compensation", the 58-year-old said the estimated two million lei ($435,000) in damages caused by the floods was too low a figure. But even he said that he was not completely opposed to the lake's return, telling AFP he would be "most happy" to "go out there to fish" if he was compensated adequately. Fishermen and tourists have been drawn to visit the village by the lake. Many of Mahmudia's 2,000 residents hope the Romanian government will agree to keep the lake, after a commission of experts issued an opinion in favour of the delta's ecological restoration. Environmentalists say that leaving the lake flooded would speed up the restoration process. The ruptured dyke, which local authorities have blamed on a series of construction flaws, came as no surprise to biologist Dragos Balea. 'Nature takes its due' In 2012, Romania launched a project aimed at restoring the Danube Delta's damaged ecosystems with the help of funding from the European Union. Environmentalists say that leaving the lake flooded would speed up the restoration process. "Aquatic ecosystems recover much faster than forests," said biologist Dragos Balea, who coordinates the conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)'s programs in the delta. "If you leave an aquatic ecosystem alone, in 10 to 15 years it will recover more than 70 percent" of its original biodiversity, Balea told AFP. The signs are already encouraging. "More and more birds are showing up," he said, with his project monitoring more than 90 species in the delta. The ruptured dike, which local authorities have blamed on a series of construction flaws, came as no surprise to the biologist. "You can't mess with nature. Nature takes its due," he said. 2024 AFP Three men accused of helping orchestrate the Sept. 11 terror attacks struck a plea deal with prosecutors, according to the Department of Defense. Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi "entered into pretrial agreements" with Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, the DOD announced Thursday. The men, who had been in U.S. custody since 2003, agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy in exchange for life sentences, instead of standing a death-penalty trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The New York Times reported, citing prosecutors. The plea deal was approved by a senior Pentagon official, according to a source with knowledge on the arrangement. Family members of victims were first notified of the plan in a letter from federal prosecutors. "In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet," the letter authored by Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh read, according to the Times. Rugh admitted that after "12 years of pretrial litigation" the decision "was not reached lightly. However, it is our collective, reasoned and good-faith judgment that this resolution is the best path to finality and justice in this case." Mohammad is accused of devising the plan to hijack airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, and crash them into New York City buildings. He presented the idea to Osama bin Laden and helped train the terrorists, prosecutors said. 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 researcher collects a sample of bedrock from the Queshque Glacier in the Peruvian Andes Mountains. The samples show tropical glaciers have retreated to their smallest size in more than 11,700 years based on cosmogenic nuclide measurements of recently exposed bedrock, an international team of scientists, led by Boston college researchers, reports in the journal Science. Credit: Emilio Mateo, Aspen Global Change Institute Rocks recently exposed to the sky after being covered with prehistoric ice show that tropical glaciers have shrunk to their smallest size in more than 11,700 years, revealing the tropics have already warmed past limits last seen earlier in the Holocene age, researchers from Boston College report in the journal Science. Scientists have predicted glaciers would melt, or retreat, as temperatures warm in the tropicsthose regions bordering the Earth's equator. But the study's analysis of rock samples adjacent to four glaciers in the Andes Mountains shows that glacial retreat has happened far faster and already passed an alarming cross-epoch benchmark, said Boston College Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Jeremy Shakun "We have pretty strong evidence that these glaciers are smaller now than they have been any time in the past 11,000 years," said Shakun, a paleoclimatologist and co-author of the report. "Given that modern glacier retreat is mostly due to rising temperaturesas opposed to less snowfall, or changes in cloud coverour findings suggest the tropics have already warmed outside their Holocene range and into the Anthropocene." In other words, the glaciers may no longer be classified as being of the Holocene interglacial period, a significant epoch that saw the birth of civilization, where the flow of water and sea level dictated where towns and cities formed, and where agricultural and commercial activity emerged. Instead, they may be best classified by an epoch that may be well on its way to spelling their end: the Anthropocene. The findings signal more of the world's glaciers are likely retreating far faster than predicted, possibly decades ahead of a grim climatological schedule. "This is the first large region of the planet where we have strong evidence that glaciers have crossed this important benchmarkit is a 'canary in the coalmine' for glaciers everywhere," said Shakun. Glaciers have been retreating worldwide over the past century but it has been unclear how the magnitude of this retreat compares to the range of natural fluctuations over the past several millennia, Shakun said. The team set out to determine how small tropical glaciers are today compared to their range over the last 11,000 years. Researchers who formed the international team of scientists traveled to Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia to measure the chemistry of bedrock only recently uncovered in front of four melting glaciers spanning the tropical Andes. Two rare isotopesberyllium-10 and carbon-14build up in bedrock surfaces when they are exposed to cosmic radiation from outer space, Shakun said. "By measuring the concentrations of these isotopes in the recently exposed bedrock we can determine how much time in the past the bedrock was exposed, which tells us how often the glaciers were smaller than todaykind of like how a sunburn can tell you how long someone was out in the sun," Shakun said. Shakun led the project with former BC graduate student Andrew Gorin, partnering with researchers from the University of Wisconsin and Tulane University on the American Cordillera project, then seeking samples and data from colleagues at Aix-Marseille University, the National University of Ireland, Aspen Global Change Institute, Ohio State University, Union College, University Grenoble Alpes, and Purdue University. "We found essentially no beryllium-10 or radiocarbon-14 in any of the 18 bedrock samples we measured in front of four tropical glaciers," said Gorin, now a Ph.D. student at UC-Berkeley. "That tells us there was never any significant prior exposure to cosmic radiation since these glaciers formed during the last ice age." Twenty years ago, researchers at the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru, the largest tropical ice mass in the world, found rooted plant remains melting out of the ice margin as it retreated. Radiocarbon dating showed that those plants were 5,000 years old, indicating Quelccaya had been larger than its size at the time of that study for that whole interval otherwise the plants would have decayed away if there was a prior period of exposure, Shakun said. Those Quelccaya findings suggested that modern ice retreat has been abnormally large, but was not yet progressing to an alarming level compared to ice melt across the entire Holocene, Shakun said. He and his team wanted to study a larger number of glaciers and use a technique that can unambiguously show if a glacier was ever smaller than today. Shakun and his colleagues have been applying the same technique to glaciers along the entire length of the American Cordillera, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. The team previously published the results of its North American sampling last year and aims to publish the results from southern South America soon. "Once we do that, then these studies can all be put together into a global perspective on the current state of glacier retreat," said Shakun. More information: Andrew L. Gorin et al, Recent tropical Andean glacier retreat is unprecedented in the Holocene, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adg7546. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg7546 Journal information: Science 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: An illustration of the visualization bias that can occur due to the trade-off between temporal and spectral resolution. Credit: Ecology and Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11636 Research, conducted by The University of Warwick and the University of New South Wales in Australia, analyzes animal sounds from endangered species including types of elephants, whales and birds. It uses a new method adapted from tech used to analyze brain waves in neuroscience. The study is published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. Analysis of animal sounds can be used to estimate their population size, to identify what animals live in a particular area, to understand their migration patterns, and to understand any negative impacts they may experience due to the increasing levels of noise created by human activity that are occurring in most of their habitats. Such insights are vital in developing environmental management and conservation strategies. The new method was shown to be more accurate than the conventional methods for analysis of animal sounds. While testing this new method, called the Superlet transform, the study also revealed some previously unreported or disputed details in animal sounds: The Asian elephant call isn't just made up of continuous tones, but also contains sounds that are "pulsed," or comprised of regularly timed bursts of sound energy. Pulsing was also shown in the southern cassowary (a large bird similar to an emu) and American crocodile calls. New evidence was uncovered that helps to solve a debate around the characteristics of the Chagos pygmy blue whale's song. These are not conclusive findings, as each one is based on just a single recording. To confirm them, more sounds will need to be analyzed. They illustrate, however, the power of this new method to clarify details that previously might have been ambiguous. Lead Researcher Ben Jancovich, a Ph.D. candidate from The University of New South Wales, and visiting Ph.D. student at The University of Warwick's Mathematics Institute, said, "Our new study highlights that sometimes, the accepted tools that we've become comfortable with, may not actually be the best tools for the job." "This is especially true in cross-disciplinary fields like bioacoustics, where the methods are highly technical, and require expertise in multiple fields." "The new method we demonstrated offers increased accuracy and requires less expertise to use, so it should prove to be a hugely valuable tool for animal sound researchers that don't have an engineering background." Current methods (including the "Short-Time Fourier Transform," STFT) have difficulties in accurately revealing both the rhythms and pitch of sounds at the same time. These limitations are more pronounced at lower frequencies, affecting the analysis of sounds like those made by blue whalesgentle giants of the sea, sadly listed as an endangered species. The new technology will be available for people to use for free, via a simple-to-use app, making it easy for researchers from different fields to use, without needing extensive knowledge of audio signal analysis. More information: Benjamin A. Jancovich et al, BASSA: New software tool reveals hidden details in visualisation of lowfrequency animal sounds, Ecology and Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11636 Journal information: Ecology and Evolution 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: Researchers examine evidence of animal fossils, which are about 550 million years old, in field work in Namibia. Credit: Rachel Wood/University of Edinburgh A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals. The study, published in Science Advances, reveals clues into the forces that drove the evolution of the earliest organisms, from which all major animal groups descended. Ancient fossils A team from the University of Edinburgh studied a compilation of rocks and fossils from the so-called Ediacaran-Cambrian intervala slice of time 580510 million years ago. This period witnessed an explosion of biodiversity according to fossil records, the causes of which have baffled scientists since Charles Darwin. The early animals found from this era were all sea-dwellers, at a time when oxygen levels in the air and ocean were much lower than today. While the very first lifeforms before this time were mostly single-cell and simple multi-celled organisms, creatures in the Ediacaran Period started to become more complex, with multiple cells organized into body plans that allowed them to feed, reproduce, and move across the ocean floor. This era also marked the emergence of so-called bilaterian animalswhich display symmetrical body plans, in common with most present-day species including humans. Biodiversity timeline By compiling data from different sourcesincluding radioactive dating and geochemical information about the layers of rock in which fossils were foundthe team mapped all major fossil finds and various environmental datasets onto a single timeline. The new chronology allowed the team to study trends in biodiversity for the period in question with more detail than before. They combined these insights with further chemical clues from the geological recordconfirming a link between major changes in global sea levels, intervals when shallow marine environments gained more oxygen, and the appearance and diversification of early animal groups. This dynamic set the stage for several significant bursts in biological diversity, known as the Avalon, White Sea, and Cambrian assemblages, each marking the arrival of new animal groups and the decline of others. By reconstructing environmental conditions in deepest time, the study unlocks new insights into the ancient forces and pressures that shaped the earliest life on our planet. The team also identified gaps in the fossil record, suggesting that current knowledge about early animals is biased by the clusters of sites worldwide where fossils have been found and studied. "Constructing a timescale of early animal evolution using the rock record is a daunting task, only made possible through international and interdisciplinary research. But an integrated global approach is crucial. It exposes biases in our records, while also revealing patterns in fossil appearances, sea level cycles, and environmental oxygen," says Dr. Fred Bowyer. "Knowing what drives biodiversity is a fundamental piece of knowledge in the puzzle of life. I feel very privileged to have built upon decades of interdisciplinary global research, and contributed to a better understanding of the role that sea level plays in early animal evolution," says Mariana Yilales Agelvis. More information: Fred T. Bowyer et al, Sea level controls on Ediacaran-Cambrian animal radiations, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado6462 Journal information: Science Advances 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: Inshore coral reef at Yunbenun Magnetic Island. Credit: Matt Curnock, CSIRO Griffith researchers are among the 200 experts who have contributed to the most comprehensive and rigorous review about the effects of land-based activities on Great Barrier Reef water quality and ecosystem condition: the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement. The Statement brings together the latest scientific evidence to understand how land-based activities can influence water quality in the Great Barrier Reef, and how these influences can be managed. Led by C2O Consulting and funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, the Statement involved more than 200 experts including 78 authors and 69 reviewers from Australia and overseas. The outputs are based on evidence from more than 4,000 publications. Australia's Chief Scientist Dr. Cathy Foley provided oversight of the process to ensure that the approaches used were best practice, credible and robust. She says, "The 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement is an exemplar of the academic methods for reaching scientific consensus. The public can trust the processes used to develop the Statement, and the conclusions can be relied upon and trusted to inform decision-making." Experts addressed 30 priority questions examining evidence from the catchment to the reef. The questions cover values, conditions and drivers of the health of the Great Barrier Reef, sediments and particulate nutrients, dissolved nutrients, pesticides and other pollutants, as well as human dimensions of water quality improvements and emerging science. All outputs were independently peer reviewed by local, national, and international experts. Based on the evidence, 35 scientific experts reached consensus on eight overarching conclusions, Concluding Statements and a Summary report. Overarching conclusions Historical and continuing land management and catchment modification impair Great Barrier Reef water quality through extensive vegetation degradation, changed hydrology, increased erosion, and expansion of fertilized land uses, urban centers and coastal developments. Pollutant loads from the catchment area to the Great Barrier Reef have increased from pre-development loads by 1.4 to 5 times for fine sediments, and 1.5 to 3 times for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (with variations depending on basins). Poor water quality, particularly elevated levels of fine sediments, nutrients and pesticides, continues to have detrimental impacts on Great Barrier Reef ecosystems. The greatest impacts are on freshwater, estuarine, coastal and inshore marine ecosystems. Human-induced climate change is the primary threat to the Great Barrier Reef and poor water quality can exacerbate climate-related impacts. Good water quality is critical for healthy and resilient ecosystems and supports recovery from disturbances such as mass bleaching and extreme weather events. Meeting water quality improvement targets within the next ten years is imperative. While several land management practices and remediation actions are proven to be cost-effective in improving water quality, translating these into more substantial pollutant reductions will require significant scaling up of the adoption of these actions, prioritization of pollutant hotspots, and greater knowledge of the costs and potential co-benefits of practice adoption. Greater focus on locally effective management solutions can encourage faster adoption, especially when designed and delivered using collaborative approaches involving landholders, Indigenous communities, the broader community, policy makers and scientists. World-leading monitoring, modeling and reporting programs underpin the Great Barrier Reef ecosystems and provide essential knowledge to inform water quality improvement strategies. These programs could be strengthened and refined by increasing their spatial and temporal coverage to capture regional and local differences, provide more balanced coverage across land uses and ecosystems, improve trend analysis and quantify uncertainties. Ten Griffith University experts contributed as authors to the Statement, including three as lead authorsAssociate Professor Andrew Brooks, Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido and Professor Michele Burford. "There is good evidence that the remediation of large alluvial gullies applying treatments typically used on major civil engineering projects, is both highly effective and highly cost-effective. Fine sediment reductions over 90% were demonstrated within one to two years of remediation. "The 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement confirms that gully and streambank erosion represent around 80% of all sediment delivered to the Great Barrier Reef," Associate Professor Brooks said. "The evidence for riparian management was, however, more equivocal. The review found that while there was a sound theoretical basis for the sorts of management activities currently being undertaken to reduce channel erosion through riparian management, the scientific evidence specific to the Great Barrier Reef does not yet exist to back this up." More information: 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement. www.reefwqconsensus.com.au/ 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: Fluorescence microscopy image of Paramecium bursaria showing Chlorella spp. algal symbionts in green. Credit: Dr. Ben Makin Hotter conditions prevent two tiny organisms working together for mutual benefit, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists studied a single-celled organism (Paramecium bursaria) which can absorb and host algae (Chlorella spp). This pairing is common in freshwater worldwide, and their symbiotic relationship provides benefits including trading of nutrients and protection for the algae. But when scientists made the water 5C warmer, the partnership stopped workingand the results suggest the algae may even become parasitic. The breakdown of such relationships could have a major impact on ecosystems. The paper, published in the journal Aquatic Biology, is titled "One year of warming leads to the total loss of productivity in a widespread photosymbiosis." "This kind of relationshipcalled photosymbiosisis an important part of freshwater and ocean ecosystems," said Dr. Ben Makin, of the Environment and Sustainability Institute on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall. "To illustrate their importance, these relationships provide around half of all marine photosynthesis. "A well-known example is found in coral reefswhere the reef-building corals host resident photosynthetic partners. In recent years, we have seen many high-profile 'bleaching' eventswhen corals expel these partners, often due to high temperatures, leaving them at risk of stress and mortality. Fluorescence microscopy image of Paramecium bursaria showing Chlorella spp. algal symbionts in green. Credit: Dr. Peter Stilwell "That is a short-term, 'immediate' reaction to changing conditions, but in this study we wanted to find out the possible evolutionary effects of high temperaturesoccurring over multiple generations. Such effects remain virtually unknown, as they are difficult to study in slow-growing organisms. "The single-celled organisms we chose in our study have short lifespans, so by testing them in sustained high temperatures we were able to examine how they respond over many generations." The Paramecium bursaria and Chlorella spp. in the study had been kept in lab conditions at 25Ca realistic temperature for these species in the environment. The researchers kept some at 25C as a control group, while others were exposed to cooling (20C) or warming (30C) for 295 days. "With 5C of warmingconsistent with worst-case climate scenarios by the end of this centurythe relationship between these species appears to be fundamentally changed," Dr. Makin said. "While some algae stayed within host cells, the relationship was strongly degraded in warmer conditions. "Net photosynthesis and carbon-use efficiencyin effect the amount of energy produced by the algae for its host and the capacity for the association to use that energy to growboth strongly declined to zero. "The complete loss of net photosynthesis was a striking result. Alarmingly, this implies the photosynthesis rates provided globally by these associations could be at risk over evolutionary timescales under warming. Paramecium bursaria with Chlorella spp. (red) and nucleic acid (bright greenyellow), highlighting the nucleic acid in symbiont nuclei and ribosomes. Credit: Dr. Ben Makin "It also means the algae no longer provide the key photosynthetic benefit to their hosts, with the association showing signs of becoming parasitic." This is an 'inversion' of the mutualistic association these photosymbioses typically formwhich means the species no longer receive benefits from one another, and instead partners can exploit or harm the other. It is hoped that evolution can "rescue" some species, allowing them to adapt quickly enough to rapid environmental changes being caused by humans. While these species did manage to raise their "growth rate thermal optimum" (their ideal temperature for reproduction), they did not evolve to save their symbiotic relationship. This type of algae usually relies on organic nitrogen sourced from its host, but in the study, more and more of the algae became free livingexisting outside the host and now relying on inorganic nitrogen found in the water. Dr. Makin concludes, "Warming has the power to erode these relationships over evolutionary timescaleswith serious implications for global, highly productive photosymbiotic associations, like those found in coral reefs." More information: B Makin et al, One year of warming leads to the total loss of productivity in a widespread photosymbiosis, Aquatic Biology (2024). DOI: 10.3354/ab00769 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: Zeynep Talip, Rugard Dressler, and Dorothea Schumann (left to right) are happy about the result of a years-long effort on the half-life of samarium-146, which plays an important role in the astrophysical and geological determination of time. Credit: Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Markus Fischer Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the Australian National University have re-determined the half-life of samarium-146 with great precision. The result fits perfectly with the data astrophysicists and geochemists have obtained from extraterrestrial samples. The study is published today in Scientific Reports. Samarium-146 has a half-life of 103 million years. Or 68 million years. Or maybe 98 million years? Until now, it wasn't known precisely, because researchers have repeatedly come up with contradictory results since the first measurements in the 1950s. For astrophysicists and geochemists, this is a major problem. They need to know the half-life of samarium-146 as accurately as possible to explain the formation of asteroids and planets and to precisely date rocks. Now their uncertainty is over. Samarium-146 has a half-life of 92 million yearswhich aligns very well with the age assessments of meteorites and moon rocks. The most precise result to date This result was achieved by a team of researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Villigen, Switzerland, and the Australian National University in Canberra. "Our result is the most precise to date," says Dorothea Schumann, who led the team. The fact was also acknowledged by the peer reviewers who assessed the work: "This is an outstanding paper. It's like Columbus's egg," they wrote. They particularly highlighted that, in this publication, all steps were described in a comprehensible manner and thus the result is fully traceable. "I am impressed by the detailed documentation and quantification of possible artifacts," state the reviewers. There are good reasons for this. In 2012, a team from Japan, Israel, and the U.S. published a surprisingly low value for the half-life of samarium-146: 68 million years, with an uncertainty of 7 million years. That caused worldwide consternation among geoscientists, as this value neither matched the older experiments nor the measurement data from meteorites used to date the formation of our solar system. Because no one could definitively conclude which of the outcomes was the more correct result, a team of experts recommended using this new value and the previously established value in parallelan untenable situation for researchers. For moon rocks, for example, this would result in differences of 90 million years, which corresponds to about 35% of their formation age. Then relief came in 2023: The authors of the 2012 publication identified an inconsistency in one of the steps during the sample preparation and consequently withdrew their paper. A problem postponed With that, though, the problem was merely postponed. Geoscientists still required a more accurate value for the half-life of samarium-146 and some other radionuclides that play important roles in dating the formation of planets. What all these radioisotopes have in common are half-lives of many millions of years. That's how long it takes for half of the radioactive material to decay. Samarium-146 is a pure alpha emitter; the atom emits a helium nucleus and decays into neodymium-142. Because you obviously can't wait millions of years for a significant amount of a material to decay, other methods are needed that can produce results more quickly. In theory, that is quite simple. To determine the half-life of any radioactive isotope, you only need to determine the number of atoms in the sample as well as the activity, that is, the rate of decay. The quotient then gives the half-life up to a constant factor, the natural logarithm of 2. "Only" is a very optimistic little word here, however, because the path to determining the two values exactly is complicated and paved with experimental pitfalls. But the team found solutions for all of these challenges. The experiment was divided into three parts. First came the extraction of sufficient quantities of the isotope samarium-146, which does not occur naturally on Earth. For this purpose, tantalum samples irradiated at PSI's Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ turned out to be the most suitable material. After a series of highly selective chemical separations, an extremely pure solution of a samarium compound was obtained to produce a very thin sample for the activity measurement. Part of the solution was deposited on a carbon film only 75 micrometers thick. Second was the activity measurement: The carefully prepared samarium sample was placed at a well-defined distance from an alpha radiation detector. The samarium film was only a fraction of a micrometer, so it would not stop the alpha particles. By determining the energy, the researchers could also discern whether or not an alpha particle actually came from the decay of samarium-146. The apparatus had been calibrated with a very precisely determined sample of americium-241 produced by the German Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt PTB in Braunschweig. Because of the tiny amount of samarium-146even a grain of icing sugar weighs 10 times morethe team had to carry out measurements for three months to determine the activity with sufficient precision; the rate was almost 54 decays per hour. Third was the determination of the number of atoms: Here the samarium solution was examined for its composition using various mass spectrometers at PSI and at the Australian National University by counting the number of atoms of samarium-146 as well as all other samarium isotopes present in the sample. After adding additional quantities of natural samarium, which contains no samarium-146, the total amount of all samarium isotopes and also of samarium-146 could be determined accurately. Because the mixture also contained an additional artificial isotope of samarium that emits gamma radiation, the researchers were able to deduce how many samarium-146 atoms were deposited on the thin foil: exactly 6.28 times 1013 atoms or only 0.000018 milligram samariumoxide (146Sm 2 O 3 ). In addition, the team was able not only to claim the high purity of the sample, but also to actually prove it through additional measurements. "This is the specialty of our lab at PSI, and the reviewers of our publication have particularly underlined it," says Rugard Dressler from the Laboratory for Radiochemistry. Once all these experimental challenges had been overcome, the rest was a case for the pocket calculator. The result for the half-life of samarium-146 is 92.0 2.6 million years. Only possible at PSI These measurements were made entirely and exclusively feasible thanks to the ERAWAST initiative (Exotic Radionuclides from Accelerator Waste for Science and Technology), a long-term project that reuses radioactive accelerator waste from PSI for research purposes. In PSI's proton accelerator and the Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ, many radioactive isotopes are produced in various nuclear reactions. Most of these only cause serious issues through their radioactive decay and are therefore categorized as radioactive waste, but some of them are extremely rare and highly desired in fundamental research. The researchers of the Isotope and Target Chemistry group at the Laboratory for Radiochemistry at PSI, managed by Schumannproject leader, initiator of the ERAWAST initiative and also co-author of the samarium paperhave developed techniques to chemically separate many isotopes of interest from the waste and to produce samples of high purity over the last 15 years. "Only in this way was it possible to obtain a sufficient amount of samarium-146 for the precise determination of its half-lifea possibility that is not available anywhere else around the world," says Zeynep Talip, who now heads the research group and is also a co-author of the samarium paper. For Dressler, the work on samarium-146 is complete for now. For others, it's just now getting started. The physicist from the Laboratory for Radiochemistry at PSI emphasizes, "There is no finally correct value for the half-life of samarium-146. Our result is very precise indeed, but now it needs to be confirmed and, if possible, improved by other groups." More information: Nadine M. Chiera et al, The 146Sm half-life re-measured: consolidating the chronometer for events in the early Solar System, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64104-6 Journal information: Scientific Reports 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 helicopter looks to make a drop of water as the Quarry wildfire burns in the foothills near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, southwest of Litteton, Colo. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski A wildfire burning in Colorado's heavily populated Front Range region has burned dozens of homes and outbuildings, while a second fire crept within a quarter-mile of evacuated homes near Denver on Thursday. Authorities said they were hopeful that hundreds of threatened homes could be saved. But firefighters working in the tree-covered foothills on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains faced sweltering temperatures, and some were sidelined by heat exhaustion. The struggle to contain the blazes came after authorities said Wednesday that a person was killed in a wildfire west of Lyons, Colorado. The person's remains were found inside one of five houses that burned. Almost 100 large fires are raging across the West. The largest, in Northern California, has burned more than 400 houses and other structures, officials reported. New, large fires were reported in Idaho, southeast Montana and north Texas. About two dozen homes and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed in a wildfire near Loveland, Colorado, authorities disclosed after an initial survey of the burn area. Meanwhile, the Quarry Fire southwest of the Denver suburb of Littleton encroached on several large subdivisions after people in 600 homes were ordered to evacuate. Onlookers gather at a roadblock to watch as a wildfire burns in the mountains near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Wednesday, July 31, 2024, southwest of Littleton, Colo. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski By Thursday afternoon, firefighting aircraft zipped back and forth between the blaze and a nearby reservoir. Planes skimmed the surface to scoop up water and hovering helicopters pumped water into their tanks before returning to the fire to dump their loads. Jim and Meg Lutes watched from an overlook near their house northeast of the fire as smoke plumed up from the ridges. Their community west of Littleton was not under evacuation orders, but the couple had been ready to start packing a day earlier when flames could be seen blanketing the mountains. "It can come over that hill pretty quick if the wind changes," said Jim Lutes, 64, pointing to a nearby ridge. Five firefighters were injured Wednesday, including four who had heat exhaustion, said Mark Techmeyer, a spokesperson with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The fire was in steep terrain that made it difficult to access but had been held to less than one square mile (1.8 square kilometers) with no houses yet destroyed, authorities said. It remained a major hazard, with hot temperatures and low humidity elevating the danger. A helicopter heads in for a water drop as the Quarry wildfire burns in the foothills near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, southwest of Littleton, Colo. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski The fire was discovered Tuesday night by a deputy on patrol in what authorities described as "open areas." It was small at first but quickly spread. "I think anytime that you see a small fire in an area like that at 9:00 at night, it makes you scratch your head a little bit," Techmeyer said at a Wednesday briefing when asked if he thought the fire was suspicious. On Thursday he said the fire has "proven to be one of the most challenging firefights I've seen," as helicopters passed overhead. He was flanked by hillsides where firefighters labored to keep the blaze from hopping a road separating the conflagration from populated areas. "If we lose that fight, the fire is coming this way," Techmeyer said, motioning toward dense neighborhoods and Littleton. The ranks of firefighters more than doubled since the day before, from 75 to 155, most of them volunteers. No structures had been lost as of Thursday afternoon but authorities expected the battle to be a long one. Helicopter heads toward a ridge to make a water drop on a wildland fire burning near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Wednesday, July 31, 2024, southwest of Littleton, Colo. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski A helicopter collects water from a small lake to use in a drop on a ridge as the Quarry wildfire burns in the foothills near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, southwest of Littleton, Colo. Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which operates a large facility just outside the evacuation zone, closed it as a precaution. Miles to the north near Lyons, officials lifted some evacuations and reported making progress on the Stone Canyon Fire, which has killed one person and destroyed five houses. The cause is under investigation. California's arson-caused Park Fire northeast of Chico continued to grow, covering about 610 square miles (1,590 square kilometers) as of Thursday morning. That's more than 25 times the size of New York's Manhattan Island. Losses also increased. The latest updates tallied 437 structures destroyed and 42 damaged, according to Cal Fire. The fire was 18% contained. Authorities said they faced critical fire weather in the coming days with potential triple-digit temperatures, thunderstorms and erratic winds. Almost 6,000 personnel were helping battle the Park Fire as more fire crews arrived from Utah and Texas. Scientists say extreme wildfires are becoming more common and destructive in the U.S. West and others parts of the world as climate change warms the planet and droughts become more severe. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Two Texas railroad workers have been charged in connection with an alleged scheme to steal Garmin watches during shipment and resell them, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas announced Wednesday. Gerald Ditz, 31, and Michael Alaniz, 35, both of El Paso, Texas, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, one count of mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and one count of mail fraud. According to the indictment, between May 2023 and May 2024, Ditz and Alaniz allegedly used their employment at a freight contracting company that serves a train station in Santa Teresa, N.M., to access Garmin watches that were en route to the company's warehouse in Olathe, Kan. Garmin produces a variety of sports, outdoor and fitness watches, including smart watches. Ditz and Alaniz allegedly stole the Garmin watches from their shipping container and resold dozens of them online to unwitting buyers. According to the indictment, some of the watches stolen from the shipping container also have registrations connected to more than a dozen people assigned or formerly assigned to the Santa Teresa train station, or about 15% of the workforce. Both men were arrested in Texas, and made their initial court appearances this week in the Western District of Texas. -With TMX For Geneseo police detective Jamie Shoemaker, building trust in her community is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. Without much prompting she can rattle off success stories of community members shes connected with, like a mother shes helping with managing substance abuse. It was one day I went to speak to her and check on her, that her daughter came up and gave me a hug, and the daughter recognized me as a person that was there to help their mom, not take their mom to jail. Thats a huge one, Shoemaker said. Shoemaker heads the department's Integrated Model Police And Crisis Team, or IMPACT, a crisis prevention task force focusing on people with mental illness or facing difficulties with substance abuse. Shoemaker said that their work has evolved over the years to ensuring that people get care past the point of their crisis. Sometimes thats as simple as following up with a phone call or going on a walk with someone making connections and advocating for people that otherwise might not have support. As one of the multiple hats she wears with the department, Shoemaker helps plan and host IMPACTs annual conference for first responders. Held this past Friday, July 26, at Augustana College in Rock Island, the conference promotes local collaboration by connecting attendees with presenters and vendors that all work to address mental health in area communities. Law enforcement in general over the last few years, a lot of what we deal with are mental illness calls and substance abuse calls, Shoemaker said. You have limited resources. So, we can complain about the problem, or we can create a solution to help with the problem. Some of this year's speakers were police Crisis Intervention Team trainers; a retired police officer-turned mental health advocate; a former drug user that works with Illinois Recovery Oriented System of Care; and a representative of The Gray Matters Collective. They discussed responding to mental health crises; mental health struggles faced by police, firefighters, dispatchers and nurses; and firsthand experiences with addiction, despair and recovery. A point of emphasis throughout the conference is that mental health challenges can affect anyone. Its been taboo in the past. We dont talk about mental illness, we dont talk about our loved one that has the methamphetamine addiction, Shoemaker said. But the more conversations Ive had with people, I realize that this is close to home for a lot more people than what I think has been previously talked about. This year's keynote speaker was Ernie Stevens, former San Antonio police officer and one of the stars of the HBO documentary, Ernie & Joe Crisis Cops. The documentary focuses on Stevens and his partner, Joe Smarro, as they respond to people experiencing mental health crises. Shoemaker said watching this documentary was instrumental in informing the approach her department takes to mental health. The IMPACT conference is only in its third year but continues to grow. This is the biggest event yet, with more than 100 attendees including the vendors. At the conference there were organic conversations between different responders and agencies, exactly the sort of connection Shoemaker hoped to see. Despite the challenges and stigma surrounding mental health, Shoemaker thinks that IMPACTs approach has so far been a success. I know for a fact that its working, because people are coming to me now going, Would you help us do this? Shoemaker said. Its building that trust within law enforcement, its building that trust within the mental health and substance use communities, so they know were not just here to show up on their bad day, but we also want to be there before it gets to that point. Shoemaker said that there are already plans forming to have the conference again next year. Gray Matters at Augustana College 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-001 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-002 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-003 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-004 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-005 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-006 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-007 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-008 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-009 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-010 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-011 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-012 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-013 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-014 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-015 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-016 020519-qct-qca-mentalhealth-017 A Florida man has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for bringing a loaded firearm into a terminal at Tampa International Airport and trying to hide it in a bathroom, prompting an evacuation. Abraham Othman Yacoub, 26, of Lakeland, pleaded guilty in April to violating airport security requirements and attempted possession of a dangerous weapon on an aircraft, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a statement announcing the sentence on Wednesday. On Aug. 4, 2023, Yacoub arrived at Tampa International Airport to board a flight to Las Vegas. He placed his backpack, shoes and other items into a Transportation Security Administration bin and proceeded through TSA screening. During the X-ray scan of Yacoub's items, TSA agents observed a firearm in the backpack. While the agents searched for the bag, Yacoub removed it from the conveyor belt and took it to the nearest men's restroom, where he wrapped the gun in toilet paper and hid it in a trash can. Upon leaving the restroom and returning to the TSA screening area, he was met by an agent and his backpack was re-screened. When the gun was no longer inside, agents questioned Yacoub, who claimed he had not brought a gun the the airport. The terminal had to be evacuated, delaying flights, until the firearm was found. The Tampa Airport Police Department arrived and questioned Yacoub, then searched the restroom. They located a black Glock 19 partially wrapped in toilet paper with 14 nine-millimeter rounds of ammunition inside a magazine loaded into the gun. The gun and ammunition, which Yacoub agreed to forfeit, were seized. According to prosecutors, this was Yacoub's second time bringing a firearm into a Florida airport. In 2020, Yacoub brought a gun into the TSA screening area at an airport in Miami-Dade County. In that case, Yacoub pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed firearm in 2021. A man who recently was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison has become the second person charged in connection with the March 2023 shooting death of 34-year-old Dimitri Larese Martin. Sylvester George Taylor Staples, 31, formerly of East Moline, is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of first-degree murder, a Class A felony under Iowa law that carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Staples also is charged with one count each of assault while participating in a felony causing serious injury, and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Each of the charges is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. He also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years, and use of a dangerous weapon in commission of a crime, an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of two years. Trevelyan J. D. Pugh, 24, of Davenport, was arrested July 25 on the same charges. Staples was arrested July 26 on the Scott County charges while in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the Muscatine County Jail. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Detective Brandon Askew, police and firefighters responded to a report of shots fired in the area of West Third and Ripley streets at 12:45 a.m. March 3, 2023. Man charged with first-degree murder for 2023 fatal shooting in Davenport A 24-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a fatal shooting on March 3, 2023, in Davenport. Martin, of Rock Island, was found lying on a bench located on the north side of Third Street at Ripley Street. Martin had suffered numerous gunshot wounds and was taken to Genesis Medical Center-East Campus, Davenport, where he died of his injuries. According to the affidavits, Staples and Pugh approached Martin and fired multiple shots. Martin was struck multiple times. During a hearing on July 10 in U.S. District Court, Davenport, Staples was sentenced to 13 years and five months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and violating his federal supervised release. He has appealed his sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Staples was on federal supervised release when he allegedly participated in the shooting of Martin. There is no parole in the federal prison system. Staples' bond on the murder charge is $2 million, cash only. Pugh is being held in the Scott County Jail on a cash-only bond of $100,000. Guns are the leading cause of childhood death in the US. Here are 6 tips to safely store firearms at home How to safely store firearms at home WARNING: This story contains disturbing details about residential and boarding schools. If you are feeling triggered, here is a resource list for trauma responses from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in the U.S. In Canada, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-866-925-4419. Editors note: This story will be updated as ICT receives additional reactions to the report. The U.S. Department of the Interior released its final investigative report Tuesday on the ugly history of federal Indian boarding schools, calling for a formal apology from the U.S. government and ongoing support to help Native people recover from the generational trauma that endures. The second and concluding report from the departments Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative also calls for return of lands that once housed the boarding schools, and construction of a national memorial to honor the children who were separated from their families and forced to attend schools that sought to wipe out their culture, identity and language. The overarching theme of the boarding school initiative report and recommendations is that of healing for Indian Country, with a list of specific ways the federal government can tangibly assist tribal nations and peoples. The federal government facilitated by the department I lead took deliberate and strategic actions through federal Indian boarding school policies to isolate children from their families, deny them their identities, and steal from them the languages, cultures and connections that are foundational to Native people, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, said in a statement released with the report. These policies caused enduring trauma for Indigenous communities that the Biden-Harris administration is working tirelessly to repair, said Haaland, who became the first Native person to be included in a presidential cabinet when she was tapped by President Joe Biden to lead the department. The Road to Healing does not end with this report it is just beginning, she said. The report and its recommendations were authored by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community. For the first time in the history of the United States, the federal government is accounting for its role in operating historical Indian boarding schools that forcibly confined and attempted to assimilate Indigenous children, Newland said in a statement. This report further proves what Indigenous peoples across the country have known for generations that federal policies were set out to break us, obtain our territories, and destroy our cultures and our lifeways, Newland said. It is undeniable that those policies failed, and now, we must bring every resource to bear to strengthen what they could not destroy. It is critical that this work endures, and that federal, state and tribal governments build on the important work accomplished as part of the Initiative. Ruth Anna Buffalo, president of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, said the report is a good step but that more research and effort are needed. The coalition has led efforts to bring the facts of the boarding school era out of history's shadows, focusing its efforts on the people most impacted by the schools especially the Native ancestors who died at the schools but remain uncounted. "The report is important for the families of those directly affected, for those left with no answers," said Buffalo, a citizen of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation. "It's a heavy topic that deserves to be handled with love and care. ... Our ancestors were very spiritual people and I find it hard to comprehend how they were treated in such a way." The wounds of the era hit home for Buffalo and her family. "Unfortunately, it's a common thread for the First Peoples of these lands," to have personal, lived experience with boarding school era trauma, she said. "There is much more work that needs to be done." Hundreds more deaths The Department of the Interiors final report of the Federal Boarding School Initiative largely makes good on promises from its initial report issued in May 2022, which called for continuing the investigation into the scope of the federal boarding school system. Haalands initiative and the launch of the investigation in 2021 represented the first official U.S. effort to acknowledge the existence of the boarding school era and its negative impact on Native peoples. The initial report for the first time included historical records of boarding school names and locations, and the first official list of burial sites of children who died at the schools. The latest report, which officials said included a review of more than 100 million pages of documents, expands on those findings to report that student deaths at boarding schools are nearly double what had previously been reported, increasing from an estimated 500 to 973. The estimated number of identified boarding schools also increased, from 407 to 417, and the number of other institutions such as orphanages and asylums with similar missions of assimilation increased from 1,000 to 1,025. Researchers verified the identity of 18,624 students who attended boarding schools from 1819 to 1969, and identified 74 marked or unmarked burial sites at schools versus 53 sites shared in the first report. The report also estimates that the U.S. government budgeted more than $23 billion, converted to 2023 U.S. dollars, on the federal boarding school system. Notably, the latest report contains additional findings and recommendations that are more specific than those found in the past document, and in all cases, authors stated that the actual numbers in all categories will likely increase as research continues. The latest report comes as Congress is making progress on legislation in the House and Senate that would create a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies with authority to investigate not just federal schools but also private and church-run schools. A series of recommendations The latest report outlines a series of eight recommendations that appear to be guided, at least in part, by steps that Canada took in response to that countrys Indian residential school history, which closely mirrors the U.S. Unlike the U.S., however, which has only recently recognized such a history existed, Canada began its work with an apology in 2006 before moving on to reparations and other substantive actions. The U.S. commission would be patterned after the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was created as part of the 2008 Indian Settlement Act. Canada eventually paid to residential school survivors more than $3 billion in reparations, which are notably absent from the U.S. initiatives recommendations. The Canadian government also collected survivor stories, provided traditional and mainstream mental health supports, issued a government apology, collected and made boarding school records publicly available and helped locate unmarked graves of children who died and were buried at the schools. The U.S. Indian boarding school system served as a model for Canada and operated far more schools, with 417 schools compared to 139 in Canada. Haaland and Newland traveled the country on an historic Road to Healing tour, with 12 stops that provided Indigenous survivors the opportunity to share for the first time with the federal government their experiences in federal Indian boarding schools. Transcripts of the tour, which finished in late 2023, are available on the Federal Boarding School Initiative website. The Interior Department also launched an oral history project documenting and making public experiences of generations of boarding school survivors. Funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is interviewing survivors for what will be a collection of first-person narratives that will be shared with the public. This report further proves what Indigenous peoples across the country have known for generations that federal policies were set out to break us, obtain our territories, and destroy our cultures and our lifeways, said Newland. It is undeniable that those policies failed, and now, we must bring every resource to bear to strengthen what they could not destroy. It is critical that this work endures, and that federal, state and tribal governments build on the important work accomplished as part of the Initiative. Ongoing efforts The report also states that the Department of the Interior is working with tribes to repatriate or protect human remains and funerary objects from Indian boarding schools sites located on U.S. government lands, and will do so under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The efforts will include remains at the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where nearly 180 students who died at the school are buried. The site is controlled by the U.S. Army. The Land Back recommendation will also be ongoing, with calls for return to tribes of the Indian lands that the government provided to religious organizations and states for the purpose of building schools. In many cases, the lands were to have reverted back to tribal ownership if organizations stopped operating schools. Churches and other organizations, however, continue to hold some of this land today long after boarding schools closed. In an independent investigation, ICT found that Catholic entities may continue to hold more than 10,000 acres of these lands. The report also identifies 127 treaties made between the federal government and tribes in which boarding schools figure highly, and calls for the U.S. to make good on its promises in treaties and other legislation to provide quality education for Native Americans as well as essential Indigenous language preservation curriculum. Anger and hurt Reactions from tribal leaders were mixed. Peter Lengkeek, the chairman of the Great Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, welcomed the report but said the wounds from the boarding school era remain deep. I believe it is a step in the right direction, he said. But coming into the tribal office I stopped different [individuals] and asked their opinions. If someone was to come to you and say they want to make it right with tribes, what would that look like? The common (answer) was, It doesn't matter what they do, I still have this anger and hurt in my heart. The pain from the era is still alive on Lengkeeks reservation, which is not far from the St. Joseph Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota. The school is still in operation but no longer operates under the policies of the boarding school era. My brothers went to Vietnam after and fought in war. To this day what bothers them is St. Joseph Indian School, not the war. The school. I cant imagine what they went through for that to be worse than war, Lengkeek said. Report highlights The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiatives second and final investigative report released Tuesday, July 30, 2024, by the U.S. Department of the Interior includes eight recommendations from Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, who authored the report. Here are recommendations: *Apology: The U.S. government should acknowledge its role in a national policy of forced assimilation of Native children and issue a formal apology to individuals, families and tribes that were harmed by U.S. policy. *Investments: The U.S. should invest in tribal communities in five key areas: individual and community healing; family preservation and reunification, including supporting tribal jurisdiction over Indian child welfare cases; violence prevention on tribal lands; improving Indian education; and working to revitalize First American languages. *A national memorial: The U.S. government should establish a national memorial to acknowledge and commemorate the experiences of Native people within the federal Indian boarding school system. *Repatriations: The government should identify children interred at school burial sites and help repatriate their remains *Return school lands: The government should work to return the federal Indian boarding school sites to tribal ownership. *Tell the story: The government should work with institutions to educate the public about federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on communities. *Further research: The government should study how policies of child removal, confinement and forced assimilation have impacted generations of families, particularly the present-day health and economic impacts *Advance international relations: The government should work with other countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand with their own similar but unique histories of boarding schools and assimilationist policies, to determine best practices for healing and redress. A 26-year-old Vale woman was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after being convicted of sexual contact with a minor on July 25. District Judge Karen Schreier sentenced Leslie White to a 30-year sentence followed by 10 years of supervised release and an order to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $29,424.20 in restitution. White will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023 for production of child pornography by a parent. White pleaded guilty May 1 According to the press release from the United States Attorneys Office, the FBI received a tip on Dec. 13, 2022, about a married couple producing child pornography of their minor daughter. The pornographic images were found on a social media platform Wickr. After investigation, it was determined White and her husband, Timothy White, were trading images and videos containing child pornography involving their daughter to other individuals. When White spoke with law enforcement on Dec. 15, 2022, she told them she is pictured in some of the images, and her husband took the photos and video, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.. At that time, the account was still posting. On Dec. 19, 2022, law enforcement arrested Timothy White while he was working at the Spearfish Emergency Ambulance Service. He admitted he produced the images in Utah and South Dakota and identified the woman pictured in the images as his wife. He told law enforcement he is a nudist and was "educating" the child. After searching White's locker at the fire department and the couple's Vale home, law enforcement seized 33 devices. Evidence on three devices showed 169 videos, 443 images, and eight live photos of the child. At least 37 of the pornographic images were distributed. Timothy White distributed over 500 images of other victims and received over 11,000 images and videos that law enforcement found on several devices, officials said. He also asked someone else to have their child engage in sex acts on a web camera. White pleaded guilty to the attempted enticement, exploitation, and receipt of child pornography charges in November 2023. In exchange, the government dismissed additional charges of sexual exploitation, enticement, and child pornography distribution. Chief Judge Roberto Lange sentenced Timothy White on Feb. 5 to 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor, 45 years in prison for attempted enticement of a minor, and two years in prison for receipt of child pornography. All sentences will run concurrent to each other. Lange also sentenced Timothy White to 10 years of supervised release and ordered he pay $28,000 in restitution and $300 to the federal Crime Victims Fund. Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia since being arrested in 2023, is on his way back to the United States after being released as part of a massive prisoner swap, President Biden announced on Thursday. Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan have been freed as part of the deal. Both men were held on espionage charges. Also released were Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimire Kara-Murza. "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we've negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia-including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country," President Joe Biden said in a statement. Under the deal, the United States will return prisoners to Russia. President Biden said he hoped to greet the former prisoners when they arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He called the negotiations that led to their freedom as "difficult" when talking to reporters at the White House. They took the ballots, sealed in their manila envelopes since Election Day, out from the Goochland County Circuit Court vault just before 7:30 a.m. Thursday and, under the watchful eye of clerk Amanda Adams, marched them over to the Parks and Recreation Department gym. So began one of the biggest recounts in Virginia in years, repeated in the 23 other counties and cities of the 5th Congressional District. Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, requested a recount of his 374-vote, 0.6 percentage-point loss to state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, in the June 18 Republican primary. The count will determine whether McGuire unseated Good, who since 2021 has represented the sprawling Southside district that extends from western Hanover, Louisa, Goochland and Powhatan counties in the Richmond area, south to the North Carolina line. Its an elaborate, formal process that was unlikely to end until early Friday morning. A special three-judge recount court was to review results from all 24 city and county recounts, resolve any disputes over what ballots say, check that the numbers all match total votes cast, totals for each candidate, total of ballots that were blank or unreadable and then certify a winner. Recounts are unusual but not unheard of in Virginia elections. In the past 20 years, two statewide contests for attorney general went to recounts, with Republican Bob McDonnell winning in 2005 and Democrat Mark Herring in 2013. In 2018, with control of the House of Delegates at stake, a recount for a crucial Newport News seat and a courts decision on one disputed ballot resulted in a tie. Republican David Yancey won the seat when the head of the State Board of Elections picked Yanceys name out of a bowl in a random drawing. How the process works In the gym on Thursday, Goochland General Registrar Ryan Mulligan had set up tables covered with blue cloth, with four seats at each and a tabulating machine at one end, ready for the six election officials and six observers two officials and two observers for each machine who would spend most of the day on their part of the recount. The tabulating machines they look a bit like dark gray rolling trash bins but contain a computer that can count ballots read the blacked-in bubbles that show who a voter chose and spit out yards of paper tape tallying results. The six election officers raised right hands at 8 a.m. and swore to perform the duties of this recount according to law and to prevent fraud, deceit and abuse. The first step in the recount was for those officers, Mulligan and the observers to check that the seals he had put on the machines after testing them and resetting counters to zero were unbroken. Then when Mulligan broke the seal and flipped open the top of each tabulator, a laptop screen popped up, asking for a password. But before punching that code in, Mulligan unlocked the doors at the bottom of each machine, pulled out the bin inside, to make sure they were empty and so could not affect the count, as the officials and observers watched. All the while at the back of the gym, Adams and deputy clerk Kendall Hutchinson stood guard over the ballots. After Mulligan punched in the passwords, the officials ran tests that double-checked that the machines had been programmed and that their counters had been set to zero. One official watched the pop-up screen; the other checked the yards-long paper test reporting on the test. It all took time; it wasnt until about 8:35 that Keith Flanagan and Joanne Cousins stepped over the table where Adams and Hutchinson were guarding the ballots to sign out the envelope for Precinct 101. Electoral Board chair Pam Johnson and board member Bob Walker watched the handover and that Hutchison and Flanagan filled the paperwork for the handover and signed the papers. It was Flanagans job to feed the ballots, some 1,080, one by one into the machine. Cousins riffled through each batch she handed him to make sure none was sticking together. She also placed the 37 ballots that the machine kicked out back on the table. It took about 20 minutes to do this for one of the smaller precincts in the county 101, in the rural western part of Goochland. Flanagan and Cousins then sat across from each other. As an observer from the Good campaign and another from the McGuire campaign watched, they checked each kicked-out ballot to see why the machine rejected it. In this case, all 37 were ballots cast for the Democratic primary that day. If a voter had filled in a choice in both the Republican and Democratic primary or had circled a name or used a check mark or made some other kind of marking on the ballot, it would initially be up to Flanagan and Cousins to try to figure out what the voter intended. If they couldnt, the job would fall to Johnson and Walker. And if they couldnt, it would go to the recount court. It went like that throughout the day, precinct by precinct, for all 10 precincts plus the absentee, in-person and mail-in ballots. It has to balance By early afternoon, most of the way through the recount, there were only two unreadable ballots basically, voters had circled the name of their choice rather than filling in the right bubble and it was easy to see what the voter intended, Johnson said. If the Goochland officials couldnt, the unclear ballot would have to go the special, three-judge recount court. Once the six officials handed in all of the precinct results, two Goochland sheriffs deputies took the ballots back to the courthouse vault, where they will stay for the next three years. Adams took the election officials paperwork to Goochlands 198-year-old circuit court courtroom, where the special recount court will check all the paperwork, and make sure all numbers of votes cast for each candidate add up to the total of ballots counted. It all has to balance, Johnson said. From the Archives: A look back at the Chincoteague Island pony auction Authorities make new Foatqroo Trust to replace Fonatur official Cancun, Q.R. A new trust to replace phased-out Fonatur has been officially created. On Wednesday, state authorities signed the new Trust Agreement for the Strengthening of Tourism Activity in Quintana Roo (Foatqroo). The official signing was made July 31 between the State Government through the Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, the Secretary of Finance and Planning, Eugenio Segura Vazquez and representatives of Banco Multiva, SA, Multiple Banking Institution, Multiva financial group, Fiduciary Division. The signing was held with the objective of serving as an administration vehicle and source of payment for the operation, maintenance and conservation of the Cancun Integrated Planned Center (CIP Cancun) and the Cozumel Integrated Tourism Project (PTI Cozumel), as well as for the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment and composting plants in Cancun and Cozumel. With the signing of this trust, the State Government complies with the collaboration agreements signed with Fonatur and Fonatur Infraestructura SA de CV with the objective of receiving the operation of the services provided in the CIP Cancun and the PTI Cozumel. The new Fideicomiso para el Fortalecimiento de la Actividad Turistica en el Estado de Quintana Roo (Foatqroo) will replace Fonatur. Photo: CGC July 31, 2024. The new Fideicomiso para el Fortalecimiento de la Actividad Turistica en el Estado de Quintana Roo (Foatqroo), which was created earlier this month, will allow the development of a modern, sustainable, resilient and quality tourism infrastructure, respectful of the environment and the conservation of natural resources, promoting sustainable and comprehensive development and generating social well-being. Authorities say criminal group responsible for 12 year old Cancun beach shooting identified Cancun, Q.R. State authorities have identified the criminal group responsible for a beach shooting Sunday that left a 12 year old dead. State prosecutor and head of the FGE, Raciel Lopez Salazar, said great progress has been made regarding their investigation. The investigations are making great progress. We have already identified who the attacking group is. It was a regrettable event. The family arrived, like many others here in Cancun, who went to enjoy the beaches with their family and were about to leave, but, unfortunately, the minor was hit when these criminals arrived who will soon be brought to justice, Lopez Salazar reported Wednesday. We are moving forward with this investigation and we will soon have results. It was a regrettable, tragic situation that occurred on Sunday. We will not allow this type of situation, he said. He reported that they are working with Cancun Hotel Zone hotels to better position existing cameras as well as install additional security. Raciel Lopez Salazar, head of the Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) We held a strategic meeting immediately after the Sunday shooting to design the corresponding securing of the hotel zone so that such a regrettable event does not happen again, he said. According to Salazar, the family were getting ready to leave the beach when the shooting happened. Photo: July 28, 2024. Governor Mara Lezama said hotels have already been asked to direct their surveillance cameras toward the beaches of Cancun in order to reinforce surveillance. She also said they are working on ways to install cameras on beaches. We are constantly working with hotels to find a way for them to install cameras on the beaches. We are working on that request, she said. State and municipal governments will also install video surveillance cameras to complement and reinforce those security systems that businesses have already installed, she added. Cancun hotels are being asked to face their security cameras toward the beaches. Photo: Riviera Maya News Lezama said that technology has helped authorities carry out arrests and operations and that they will continue to work to strengthen this area since money allocated for security will never be considered an expense. Volaris announces start of new Tulum-Guadalajara route in December Tulum, Q.R. Mexican airline Volaris will connect the Tulum International Airport with the city of Guadalajara as of December 5, 2024. The new direct route will become operational after a signed collaboration with the government of Quintana Roo. In a statement, Volaris said the collaboration was signed in April during the Tianguis Turistico Mexico 2024 in Acapulco. Volaris, the Mexican ultra-low-cost airline that operates in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, announced the launch of its new route that will connect Tulum and Guadalajara starting December 5, they announced. The new Tulum-Guadalajara route was one of three collaboration agreements made. The airline also signed collaboration agreements with the governments of Baja California and Nayarit with the aim of strengthening the countrys connectivity and contributing to state, regional and national economic development. The opening of Tulum-Guadalajara route joins the international route previously launched by Volaris to connect Cancun with McAllen, Texas, which began July 3. The opening of these routes responds to Volaris commitment to meet the growing need for connectivity within and outside the country for the benefit of customers who are looking for new and better options to travel at the lowest prices to these destinations, which also contributes to boosting and strengthening the economic development of these regions and their communities, said Omar Carrera, Commercial Director of Volaris. On December 5, Volaris will offer the Tulum-Guadalajara route Monday to Sunday, leaving Guadalajara at 09:15 hrs and arriving in Tulum at 13:04 hrs. The reverse flight will leave the Tulum International Airport at 1:45 p.m., arriving in Guadalajara at 3:34 p.m. Regarding the agreements signed with the government of Quintana Roo, Volaris seeks to take a more active role in supporting regional economic development, collaborating in the execution of projects for the promotion of tourism in the three states by promoting air connectivity in each of the entities, they said in a statement. Despite the odds and social disapproval, there are women having large families as part of their vocation to fulfill Gods purposes in their lives. And theyre finding great personal satisfaction along the way. Its trendy for pundits and politicians to advocate for declining birth rates, but a new book tackles one of the most pressing global crises over the next century: depopulation in industrialized countries. Catherine Pakaluk, empowered by her faith and armed with sound economics, introduces us to the women quietly defying this trend in her new book, Hannahs Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth. Pakaluk holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and is a mother of eight. Its an interview-based, qualitative research project with autobiographical insights. Throughout Hannahs Children, we learn how to apply the economic way of thinking to the calculus of family size, a deeply personal matter with profound social implications. The books title references the biblical Hannah, who deeply desires a child and promises to give her firstborn to God. She becomes the mother of King Samuel. Her faithfulness is rewarded, and she finds her purpose in motherhood, much like the mothers in Hannahs Children. Pakaluk and her colleague Emily Reynolds hit the road to interview 55 women with five or more children in 10 American regions: if we can understand their stories, we can productively revise our theories about birth rates and population growth. Today, a little more than 8 billion people are alive, with a population growth rate of about .91% last year, resulting in 73 million new human beings. Thats good and bad news. Humans are essential for human flourishing, so population growth is definitely good, as depopulation creates a demographic and economic catastrophe. The troubling news, however, is that the population growth rate is declining, particularly in wealthy countries like the United States and western Europe, as well as in South Korea and Japan. The primary source of population decline is falling birth rates. Pakaluk reminds us of Thomas Malthus now famous 1798 essay, arguing that unconstrained population growth would always outstrip the food supply. Almost 200 years later, the apocalyptic book The Population Bomb by biologist Paul Ehrlich argued that the end was in sight and that nothing could be done to avoid the social calamities of overpopulation. Despite being wildly incorrect for 50 years, in 2023, at age 90, Ehrlich appeared on 60 Minutes, unironically doubling down on these claims. Whether one perceives declining birth rates as positive or negative hinges on individual religious, political, and economic positions. People who view the world as a zero-sum game are terrified about population growth. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised the question in 2019 about whether it is still OK to have children given her assumption that things are getting worsethe climate is getting warmer, for example, and people are the culprit. On the political left, anti-natalists and pseudo-trendy BirthStrikers regard human beings as a blight on the planet and call for depopulation. On the right, however, the natalists are having three or more children and more likely are Republican voters, yielding red-diaper babies. In the U.S., family size correlates with voting policy. The false overpopulation hysteria infects even our humanitarian aid. It assumes that poverty results in part from overpopulation and that poor women are perhaps too stupid to understand they need to reduce their family size. The reality is that they live at subsistence levels, and they have many children because child mortality rates are high relative to the rich world. Macroeconomic trends matter, such as astounding post-WWII economic growth and the innovation of birth control. Nobel laureate economist Robert Lucas refers to the first demographic transitionthe reduction in fertilitywhich occurred after the first Industrial Revolution, when economic growth surpassed population growth for the first time in human history. Pakaluk argues this was fostered by better nutrition, health, education, and family stabilityin and of themselves all good things. She then highlights scholars who debate whether there was a second demographic transition in the mid-20th century, during which modern choices around family life changed again. Rising cohabitation and divorce rates began in the 1960s, for example, which altered decisions about the timing and quantity of children. Pakaluk is keen to point out a paradigmatic shift: women went from adopting contraception to avoid a pregnancy to stopping contraception to start a pregnancy. One of her subjects, Hannah, puts the shift another way: Do we fit ourselves into the narrative of having children, or do we fit children into the narrative of self? Relying on sociologists work, the book explores the influence of expressive individualism, where individuals increasingly reject the idea of fitting themselves into traditional roles in marriage. Part of that narrative is that children hold women back from fulfilling their career goals. I am reminded of my microeconomics class and learning about corner solutions, the all-or-nothing tradeoff. Women feel pressured to choose a prominent career and have no children or many children and no career. Enter the women of Hannahs Children, who defy the trends. They see children as gifts to the world, part of an eternal story that begins in marriage. These mothers defy simple caricatures and are from across the country; some come from big families, while some have no siblings. The most important common underlying variable is their faith: they are Mormon, Catholic, evangelical, and Jewish. They know what they are doing is different and even countercultural, but they dont view themselves as revolutionaries and ask for no public praise. In their faith communities, they find solidarity and support in their decisions. And support is definitely needed. There are no atheists in foxholes, as the saying goes, and motherhood presents profound foxholes, including postpartum depression, loneliness, feeling out of control, panic at the weight of the responsibility, and the sheer horror of failing at every stage of the childs life. It is no accident that there are no atheists interviewed in the book. The astounding faith of these women carries them through the high costs of their decisions. Each of these women had challenging moments: some suffered multiple miscarriages, many faced scorn from strangers and were misunderstood even by old friends. They all tell a story of allowing God to guide them and to reveal how their family would grow. That pushes them through loneliness, estrangement, and ridicule. Angela, mother of five and a college professor, declares that, while we have free will to make these decisions, This is not your show. She understands God to be in charge. The women in the study repeatedly disclose that God is changing them through motherhood, so they view the cost and benefit calculus differently. Many of the mothers with large families surveyed continued to work and have significant careers, even if they worked part-time, including professors and medical doctors. Others were trained in graduate school and decided not to pursue their career upon having children; in every case, their husbands were partners in the decision to have a large family. It was also clear that, with each birth, the couples would reassess and try to determine if they should have more. Discerning this brought them closer in their marriages and closer to God. Those women with advanced degrees knew that their professional peers generally discouraged or disagreed with the decision to have large families because it would restrict their careers. I will never forget telling my dissertation adviser in graduate school that I was getting married. He looked me square in the face and said, Thats fine, but dont you dare have a baby. This is the advice that women are getting. That was 20 years ago, and it still stuns me. Did he give the same advice to his male students? Hardly. Yet this is a terrible idea, and scary for a young graduate student. In his twisted way, he was trying to help me. He knew that, statistically, getting pregnant meant that a student was more likely to drop out. The stories in this book help us understand that we dont have to listen to that advice, nevertheless. Its not the case that you can either be an academic or have a large family. But Angela knows she would have written a book had she chosen to have fewer children; she was not a superstar careerist, but she has both the fulfillment of a large family and a career she enjoys. Publishing a book is less important to her than each decision to have another baby. As the great Thomas Sowell argues, There are no solutions, only tradeoffs. These women are deliberate and committed to the tradeoffs they make without being sanctimonious. Economics is about understanding choices in the context of cost-benefit analysis. Pakaluk masterfully weaves into her story the economic way of thinking, bringing us back to the framework of cost, choices, incentives, and scarcity on a topic that, frankly, economics cannot itself solve. Family size is a personal decision, yet economic thinking helps us understand why this small but mighty band of mothers is defying the trends and why it matters. As they grow their families, they learn something that expected cost-benefit analysis cant tell us, and its a counterintuitive lesson. Before choosing, we can only judge what we anticipate about the costs and benefits. We dont realize the total costs or benefits until the choice is made. This leads to more of the corner solution world, where women feel like they must postpone children or not have them at all. Postponing children is risky because, as you wait, your fertility declines, and your ideal family size may over time become unobtainable. Yet, the women in Hannahs Children dont look at children as merely adding expense to the family; they see the value they add over and above the costs, and they seem to agree that the benefit grows as you have more. We can learn this only through lived experience, which is why this book is so compelling. By reading their stories, we get to participate in and imagine not only a countercultural but also a counterintuitive narrative about large families. At one point in Hannahs Children, the claim is made that three is the most challenging number of children to have! Three means you move from one-on-one to zone defense, but apparently, after that, it gets easier, as older children become involved with and cherish their new siblings. These mothers helicopter less and give their kids more freedom because time constraints dictate it, allowing them to keep having children. Their kids are never alone and must learn to sacrifice, so they understand early that the world doesnt revolve around them. Pakaluk observes that it also changes the parents. Living with young children for an extended period fosters other-regarding virtues, including empathy, generosity, solidarity, and self-denial, which are all necessary for the extended social order to function well. Financially, raising a large family is difficult but not impossible; what matters is the willingness of the parents to make it work. They remark that its not a deal-breaker to move from driving a minivan to driving a passenger van and that feeding six is doable if youre already feeding five. The incomes of the surveyed women vary; some are married to doctors and some to pastors. Yet it was not income that most persuaded them one way or the other; it was a desire to live according to Gods purposes for their lives. No one surveyed argues that this lifestyle is prescriptive for other families; they recognize that this is not for everyone. But they want others to know how wonderful it is. Moreover, to overcome the birth dearth, Pakaluk calls us back to our faith, not to some newfangled government program to stimulate births, because this is a matter of the heart, not a matter of policy. Like the biblical Hannah, the women in this book find their ultimate purpose in motherhood and, with that, a joy they didnt know was possible. They forgo extra vacations and fancier cars because this is their vocation. Unlike the Malthusians, who see people as problems to be solved, they know their children are made in the image of God, problem solvers, and essential to the future of humanity. The State Department is urging Americans to "reconsider" travel to Jamaica because of the high instances of violent crime including sexual assaults and the absence of health care. A new travel advisory said while crime occurs throughout Jamaica, tourist areas see lower rates than the rest of the country, whose homicide rates are among the highest in the Western Hemisphere. "The U.S. Embassy routinely receives reports of sexual assaults, including from U.S. citizen tourists at resorts. U.S. citizens report slow or unsatisfactory response to serious criminal incidents. When arrests are made, cases are infrequently prosecuted to a final verdict and sentence," the State Department said in a statement issued this week. It also said that U.S. citizens should not expect to see the same level of healthcare in the Caribbean nation that they experience at home. "This includes generally lower levels of emergency service response times or routine care for illness or injury. Private hospitals require payment up front before admitting patients and may not have the ability to provide specialized care," it said. "Ambulance services are not always staffed with EMTs or always readily available, especially in rural areas," the statement continued, adding a recommendation that Americans carrying extra prescription medications with them because they could be hard to obtain in Jamaica. For those traveling to Jamaica, the State Department urges people now to bring firearms or ammunition, noting penalties can include lengthy prison sentences. It also advised not to walk or drive at night, avoid public buses, stay away from secluded places, do not resist a robbery attempt, and keep a low profile. DILLON, S.C. Dillon School District Four is opening a new Dillon Elementary School on Monday. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). The principal will be Jan Powers-Penuel with assistant principals Jenise Bracey and Frankie Camp. 20240716_083631.jpg Dillon School District Four will open a new Dillon Elementary School on Monday. The new Dillon Elementary School was built without cost to the taxpayers of Dillon County through Covd-19 relief funds, the State Department of Education and legislative channels. The new 120,000-square-foot school sits on 40 acres. Its features include: A mini-gym which includes the Lu Interactive Playground which makes the mini-gym an active learning space. The LU improves student engagement and collaboration during physical education, so no student is left out during class. A library with more than 10,000 new books that also includes a video production room. A cafeteria that includes a stage with a sound and projection system including menu boards to display the food choices. New playground equipment that is also handicapped accessible. An art room with a display case for student work and a music room to provide students with up-to-date musical experiences. All classrooms are specifically designed for the appropriate age groups with age-appropriate furniture. The latest Promethean panels with built-in features to engage students and help teachers showcase instruction. The Epic system, a modern PA system. Microphones for classroom teachers are provided to reduce vocal strain, allowing teachers to speak in a natural tone, increase student engagement, and improve test scores. An Access Control security system that determines who is allowed into the building at various times. Modern video surveillance cameras to monitor the campus Digital signage to provide school-related information to parents when entering the building. An outdoor digital sign to provide updated information for parents and the community. IN PHOTOS: DSD4 opens new Dillon Elementary School Close Dillon School District Four will open a new Dillon Elementary School on Monday. Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). Dillon School District Four is proud to announce the opening of the new Dillon Elementary School on August 5, 2024 for students. The PreK- grade 3 facility combines the former schools of East Elementary (1926), South Elementary (1954) and Stewart Heights Elementary (1962). +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 A ribbon cutting will be held in September. My brother-in-law, Don, was a Communications Professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio. He died too young. As everyone knows who has lost a loved one to death, its astonishing how quickly the time seems to pass. Im surprised to realize that hes been gone 10 years. And yet, it seems like an entire lifetime since I last saw him. He passed away five years after my husband Dave died and two years before their mom went home to heaven, where Im sure that the three of them had a wonderful reunion. My mother-in-law Joan told me that she prayed for Don for 40 years to come back to the Lord. He left his faith while he was in college, a time when many young people question their beliefs. Thankfully, as he was dying, Don came home to the Lord. When Joan told me the good news, I thought of a Bible verse that describes her faithful petitions. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (James 5:16b). Don loved talking about his students, the New York Yankees, life growing up, and anything that made a good story. He was a great storyteller. He saw stories everywhere he went. I know that even my family was a subject of some of his stories, especially the ones he shared with his students during class. One time when he was visiting, we were playing Scrabble. Don was extremely competitive and unusually good at games. He played to win. No one expected him to show any mercy and no one was ever disappointed. During our Scrabble game I said, Oh, if only I had the letter d I could make a great word. Dave picked up a d from his pile of letters and handed it to me. Don was shocked. You cant do that! he said to his brother. Dave replied, What does it matter if I lose a game by giving her one of my letters? Its only a game. And if it makes her happy, it makes me happy. Don thought about it and surprisingly said, Youre right. What does it matter? He was always so intent on winning that hed never thought about anything else when it came to games. Later, he told us that this incident was part of one of his lectures. I admired the fact that even though Don always assumed that he was right, he was also willing to learn something new and to see a different perspective. Another time, when cell phones were becoming more popular, Don told us about something hed recently observed. He noticed two students, who were very good friends, walking across campus. Both were looking down at their cell phones as they walked forward. They werent talking to one another at all. I remember how shocked Don was. He said that this was the first time hed observed this type of behavior. As a communications professor, he couldnt understand why these two werent communicating with one another. They were communicating, just not with the friend walking beside them. Maybe they were reading their email. I dont think that Facebook was very common at this time. Maybe someone texted them and they were reading that. Or maybe they were sending a text. Whatever they were doing, they were good friends who werent talking to one another. Fast forward many years. If you go out to eat, how often do you see two people sitting together and both of them are looking at their phones instead of talking to one another? They could have stayed home and done the same thing. Do we do the same thing with the Lord? Do we spend countless hours on our cell phones and very little time with Him? What distractions exist in our world that pull us away from spending time with our Savior? Communication is so important, especially communication with our Lord. And its so easy. Before there were cell phones. Before there were rotary dial phones or phones that hung on the wall with party lines. Before the telegraph existed. Before anything in this world, there was God. He was, and is. and always will be. He is truly the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. God wants us to pray to Him. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16). King David asks an important question in Psalm 8 that we might all think about. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers the moon and the stars that you set in place what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care about them? (Psalm 8:3-4). And the fact that He seeks a relationship with us is truly amazing. For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them (Ezekial 34:11). God not only wants to communicate with us, He wants to take care of us just like a shepherd takes care of his sheep. Communication is important with those we love and especially with our Lord. Never stop talking to God. Never stop praying for one another. If even a Communications Professor can say a few words on his deathbed and surrender his life to the Lord, maybe a lost sheep you love will do the same. Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at Kathyyoder4@gmail.com. The family of Mica Miller and her estranged husband, John-Paul Miller, have settled a lawsuit following her suicide in April. Both parties have agreed to end all legal disputes and called on protesters to drop demonstrations in front of Miller's Market Common church. However, Mica's family and the pastor are now calling on state lawmakers to implement a coercive control law in her memory. Attorneys announced the joint initiative following a hearing at the Horry County Porbate Court. The combined stance means all pending lawsuits between Mica's family, John-Paul, and his Solid Rock Ministries have been addressed through a global settlement but under confidential terms, including Mica's estate, according to WBTW-TV. "This is over. This global agreement is Mica's justice. The next step is the legislative goal. We only ask that you remember Mica as the wonderful, beautiful person that she was," said Russell Long, an attorney for John-Paul Miller. The compromise also means that Miller will not face any civil wrongful death claims related to his wife's suicide at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County on April 27. It was shortly after her death that her sister, Sierra Francis, filed the petition to become special administrator of her estate, but attorneys revealed that the request was withdrawn on Monday. "I know that some of you are going to be disappointed," said Regina Ward, a Conway-based attorney representing Mica's family. Ward noted that it could unfortunately take years for litigation of this magnitude to go through a court system. John-Paul Miller, a senior pastor at Rock Solid Church and founder of its umbrella, Solid Rock Ministries, has continually blamed Mica's family for withholding medication that reportedly kept her mentally stable, whereas the family believes it was his abusive behavior that drove the 30-year-old to suicide. Since her death protestors have been outside the church every Sunday demanding "Justice for Mica." Long expects Monday's settlement to put an end to the demonstrations. "The Francis family just asked them, through their attorney, to focus their energy on something else. She asked them to focus their energy toward the passing of this coercive control act," he said. A South Carolina lawmaker filed a bill four years ago that would criminalize "coercive control," with punishments of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. But efforts to adopt the law have stalled in both chambers of the General Assembly. Several states, including California, Connecticut, and Hawaii, have adopted "coercive control" laws. Meanwhile, similar efforts are pending in Florida, Maryland, New York, and Washington. On Wednesday, the United States government announced that it had reached a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammedthe accused principal architect of the 9/11 attacksand two alleged co-conspirators, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi. All of them have been held at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba since 2003. In a letter to families of the Sept. 11, 2001, victims sent by the Defense Departments Office of the Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions, the government explained that In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet, and to be later sentenced by a panel of military officers. This news puts opponents of the death penalty in an awkward position. Surely, if anyone deserves the ultimate punishment for their horrible crimes, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his collaborators would be at the top of the list. They would qualify as being among what law professor and death penalty supporter Robert Blecker calls the worst of the worst. Abolitionists should not be afraid to say that. But deservedness is not all there is in any punishment decision. Other things come into play, including the costs in time, money, and emotional distress of seeking a particular punishment. Advertisement Related From Slate Why Joe Biden Couldnt Hold Back on Supreme Court Reform Any Longer Read More When deciding about punishment, we rightly weigh pragmatic considerations, including whether any given punishment will make us safer or instead incite others to commit new crimes. And for abolitionists, cases of mass murder and terrorism are the hardest cases and the most difficult politically. Should abolitionists take solace in the plea deal for the 9/11 terrorists and use this case to remind Americans that no one, not even the three terrorists in Guantanamo, ever deserves to die? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is a losing proposition. It puts abolitionists out of the moral mainstream. And even if that battle could be won, it could come at the cost of associating the campaign against the death penalty with some of the worlds most heinous killers. Advertisement Before looking more closely at what it means to spare the lives of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others, lets recall that the plea deal was accompanied by the agreement of the terrorists to participate in a process in which they would respond to questions submitted by VFMs regarding their roles and reasons for conducting the September 11 attacks. This process borrows from what has been done in certain truth and reconciliation proceedings worldwide, which seek to convert knowledge into acknowledgment, though the analogy is imperfect here. Moreover, neither that process nor the sentencing of the terrorists will happen quickly. The letter to the victims families indicated that the earliest the first sentencing hearing will occur is the summer of 2025. Advertisement During those hearings, the government guaranteed an opportunity for families to testify about the impact the September 11 attacks have had on you and your loved ones, and to provide a victim impact statement that will be considered by the military jury in determining a sentence. Advertisement That may be a small consolation for people who lost someone on 9/11 and who have been waiting for two decades to see justice done. Last August, more than 2,000 family members wrote to President Joe Biden asking him to stop any plea deal for KSM and the other defendants because it would prevent a public trial and remove the possibility of the death penalty. Thus, it is unsurprising that many of them were outraged by what the government has just done. As the brother of a New York City policeman who died on 9/11 said, The prosecution and families have waited for 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They committed the worst crime in the history of our country. They should receive the highest penalty. Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman for the New York Fire Departments Uniformed Firefighters Association put it this way, We feel betrayed and disgusted that these terrorists were offered a plea deal which will allow them to live into old age with contact with their families. Three hundred and forty-three New York City firefighters died on that day, and hundreds have died since then. We are betrayed. We feel betrayed and disgusted that they will not face the ultimate justice of the death penalty. Advertisement Advertisement What do people opposed to executing terrorists have to say to those demands for justice? The best arguments are purely pragmatic. Writing in 2001, months before the 9/11 attacks, Harvard Universitys Jessica Stern said, One can argue about the effectiveness of the death penalty generally. But when it comes to terrorism, national security concerns should be paramount. Advertisement Stern warned, The execution of terrorists has effects that go beyond retribution or justice. The executions play right into the hands of our adversaries and enhance the public relations and fund-raising strategies of our enemies. Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon agrees. Some may argue that capital punishment will diminish terrorism. This is not true. Experience has shown that putting terrorists to death serves as propaganda for their movements by making their macabre recruiting campaigns more effective. Stern offers another reason that may apply with particular force to KSM. She says, Our most powerful weapon against terrorists is our commitment to the rule of law. We must use the courts to make clear that terrorism is a criminal act, not jihad, not heroism, not holy war. And then, we must not make martyrs out of murderers. Martyrdom is exactly what KSM had been seeking for years. Advertisement In 2008, during an arraignment for a commission that ultimately got canceled, he pleaded guilty to multiple murder counts and told his judges, This is what I want. Im looking to be a martyr for a long time. Advertisement But, as a 2012 report in Wired suggested, KSM wants something else: a soapbox. Hes after an opportunity to tell the world, again, what he thinks, why he did it, how hes really the good guy and a commanding general on par with George Washington, leading an insurgent army fighting the oppressive forces of tyranny and evil. Wired quotes Josh Meyer, author of The Hunt for KSM, who said the terrorist wants to die because it fits into his massively egotistical narrative. Hes like Napoleon. Wasting away in a cell is not his style. Going out in a bang of glory is. Advertisement Or, as retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who was once chief commissions prosecutor, explained, The worst thing we could do to KSM is to keep him alive for as long as possible while making him totally irrelevant. Not mattering matters more to him than dying. These are not arguments about what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi deserve. They are warnings about what executing them would mean to them and other terrorists. Abolitionists can agree that they deserve to die even as they support the governments decision not to pursue death sentences. They can remind us that it is sometimes wise, even if wrenchingly difficult, not to give people what they deserve, and also be grateful that in the case of KSM and the others, wisdom has prevailed. With the all-but-certain elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to being the Democratic nominee for president, a flurry of criticism has flooded the airways in recent days. The most talked about is the notion that she was just a DEI hire. When asked about this sentiment at the convention for the National Association of Black Journalists, former President Donald Trump evaded the question and chose to query Vice President Harris racial identity, stating, She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she wentshe became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, DEI, is not a slur or offensive term. However, suggesting that the vice president was only selected because of her racial or gender demographic not only ignores her career and professional credentials but is also an insult to the millions of Americans who have worked hard to earn their achievements and just so happen to be a woman, person of color, or other underrepresented demographic in government. (In terms of underrepresented demographics, its worth noting that if elected, Trump would be the first to occupy the Oval Office as a convicted felon and after being found civilly liable for sexual abuse.) DEI does not mean underqualified or not qualified. The concept is focused on talent and, more specifically, the best talent. These initiatives are intended to recruit and retain talented, qualified individuals who are underrepresented or who have historically been denied access or limited participation and promotion within an organization due to specific demographic characteristics. In government institutions, DEI initiatives aim to produce innovative thought, more innovative solutions to incredibly complex and complicated problems facing the national security apparatus today. These solutions will not be found within a government of homogenous citizens, but only through the collaborative efforts of our brightest strategic minds. As the talent pool that holds these minds has diversified, DEI initiatives are essential to ensuring that the best cache of eligible citizens is recruited, retained, and elevated in all government and defense establishments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The diversification of the government service and military talent pool can be traced back to the early 1940s. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, directing that Black Americans be accepted into defense-sector job training programs, prohibiting employment discrimination by defense contractors, and establishing the Fair Employment Practices Committee to enforce the new policy. During World War II, the Army became the nations largest employer of people who identified as minorities. Of note is that Roosevelt, who served from 1933 to 1945, contracted polio in 1921 at age 39, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Using a wheelchair and leg braces during his tenure, FDR, as a disabled American, might be called a DEI president. Advertisement Related From Slate The One Thing You Need to Know to Understand Usha Vance Read More After FDR passed away, the U.S. military remained at the forefront of DEI efforts. Following the war, in 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 mandating the desegregation of the U.S. military. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Hart-Celler Act, which removed restrictions that limited immigration from Asia, Africa, southern and Eastern Europe, and the Americas. Johnson also signed the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting. This critical legislation solidified the voting rights for Black Americans as well as immigrant Americans whose native language was not English empowering them with political and social influence. In 1965, the U.S. population was around 193 million people, 13 percent of whom were people of color; 59 years later, people of color represent almost 35 percent of the nations population. Advertisement Advertisement As the racial and ethnic diversity of Americas population has steadily increased, so has the number of Americans who openly identify as queer, transgender, or nonbinary. Seventeen percent of young adults (below the age of 30) identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; 8 percent among those ages 30 to 49. Similarly, 5.1 percent of young adults (below the age of 30) identify as transgender or nonbinary, and 1.6 percent among those ages 30 to 49. Advertisement Meanwhile, women have become more prominent and integral to the United States economy and workforce. In 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that womens labor-force participation rate was 56.8 percent. Women own nearly 10 million businesses, accounting for roughly $1.4 trillion in receipts. Advertisement Executive Orders 8802 and 9981, along with the Hart-Celler and Voting Rights Act, ushered in a new era for the United States. By facilitating the growth and empowerment of women, racial minorities, and immigrants from all over the world, America transformed. It birthed a diverse, newly empowered population; the pool of talent was no longer homogenous. In recent years, many Republicansnot those criticizing Harris as a DEI hire, obviouslyhave begun to see the benefits of diversity. Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy recently described standing behind the president at a State of the Union, seeing a sea of white faces on his side of the aisle, and realizing something wasnt right. I look over at the Democrats, and they stand upthey look like America, he said. We stand upwe look like the most restrictive country club in America. And I decide then, either I am going to be the leader of a declining end of a party or I have to change the opportunity in this party. Since that time, weve elected the most women Republicans, the most minority Republicans ever to the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCarthy understood the importance of diversity in government institutions. To serve the people, the government must relate to and reflect them. The longevity and effectiveness of any government institution lie in its ability to account for and adapt to the nations evolution. Again, its worth looking to the military: Prominent members on both sides of the aisle have recognized the necessity of having a diversified and inclusive military force. The FY20 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Department of Defense to implement a five-year plan to expand DEI initiatives, was sponsored and introduced by Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, passed by a Democratic-controlled House (37748) and Republican-controlled Senate (868), and signed into law by Republican President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement A nation that seeks to be a global leader and force for democracy must first recognize the talent derived from its diverse population and not allow antiquated ideas regarding demographic differences to dictate qualifications for leadership. As Americans aim to counter the spread of authoritarianism, we must lead by example in showing that although we may not all look, love, or think alike, we can still relate and reflect the same democratic values. All aspects of American life, from our political parties and fashion and music industries to our science, technology, and industrial business sectors, reflect our diversity; we are a democratic republic of blended cultures. Advertisement Demographics cannot and should not be the sole metric shaping our collective decisionmaking, nor should they be the defining characteristic of one individual. Whether a presidential ticket comprises two women, a heterosexual person and a homosexual person, or a person of color and a white person is irrelevant. If Americans have learned anything from the past few years, rational, unhinged, unethical, and deceitful are characteristics that come in all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. It doesnt matter if a candidate is a woman, a man, a person of color, white, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, heterosexual, short, tall, disabled, or otherwisewhat matters is their talent, qualifications, and ability to get the job done. The best known of the three Klak hills is the one with the distinctive rocky nose in Mala Fatra. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Back in 2017, a group of far-right extremists prompted a wave of jokes after they climbed the wrong hill. Instead of the iconic Krivan peak in the High Tatras, climbed by Ludovit Stur and other significant Slovak nationalists, they climbed Velky Krivan, the highest hill in the Mala Fatra mountains. A similar mistake is imminent if you decide to climb Klak, as there are three hills with this name in Slovakia. The best known is Klak hill in the Mala Fatra, known by its distinctive rocky nose. Another Klak is in the neighbouring mountain range of Velka Fatra, while even their heights are similar 1,352 and 1,394 metres above sea level, respectively. To climb the third Klak, the highest one, 1,409 metres above sea level, you should head to the Slovenske Rudohorie mountains in central Slovakia. Never before had I scaled Klak hill in the Mala Fatra, even though I had been in this area of Slovakia several times. Thus, when the TK Jamp, a group of enthusiastic tourists, announced that it has been organising a bus trip to Klak, I immediately registered. The advantage of their trips, apart from sharing the company of the same aficionados, is that the bus always picks hikers up at a different place. They do not need to return to the starting point of the hike. This was the case of the Klak hike. It started in Fackovske Sedlo saddle and ended in Rajecka Lesna, a small distinctive pilgrimage village. It is famous for its Bethlehem, a large nativity scene carved from wood, as well as the Baby Jesuss Christmas post office. Children can write him about what they dream of finding under the Christmas tree. Inspired by American ambulance drivers in world wars, former U.S. official Brock Bierman takes on similar mission to war-torn country. Used emergency medical vehicles from America and Europe make a stop in Slovakia in June 2024. (Source: US Embassy Bratislava) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share On February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Brock Bierman, a former U.S. public official, found himself in Slovakia for work instead of his planned destination, Moldova. The unexpected detour was due to the temporary closure of the airport in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. Ive visited Slovakia countless times. Its a beautiful country, and I love it, Bierman, a Rhode Island native and former employee of the U.S. Agency for International Developments Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, told The Slovak Spectator. This time though he didnt stay in the country long enough to enjoy that beauty. After calling a friend, he travelled to Ukraine, where he travelled across the western part of the country, speaking to everyone from plumbers to doctors, asking about their needs as the number of internally displaced people swelled. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway and other Americans who volunteered as ambulance drivers during WWI, Bierman started driving ambulances to help Ukraine in its efforts to resist the Russian invasion. Radicals from across Europe, the US, and Russia were using Telegram to plan attacks on LGBT+ communities and other minorities. A couple is pictured at this year's Rainbow Pride in Bratislava on July 20, 2024. (Source: SITA) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share The Czech police have apprehended a minor suspected of plotting an armed attack on the Rainbow Pride event in Bratislava, which drew thousands on July 20. The arrest, first reported by Czech news outlet Voxpot, helped expose a disturbing network of young radicals connected via Telegram, a social media platform founded by Russian siblings. The group, which included several hundred - and often underage - members from across the globe, was co-founded by a Slovak national and the underage suspect from Moravia, Czech Republic. As Voxpot reports, extremists from the EU, the United States, and Russia were utilising this Telegram channel to plan attacks not only on LGBT+ communities but also on other minorities, including Muslims and migrants. Two days before planned attack Just two days before the planned Pride event in the Slovak capital, Slovak authorities disclosed that they had dismantled a dangerous extremist cell, averting what could have been a catastrophic attack. These channels were a breeding ground for neo-Nazi symbolism, hate speech, and calls for violence or terrorist acts against minorities, the Slovak police stated on July 18. A source involved in the investigation described the situation as extremely critical, highlighting the imminent danger. The Telegram group reportedly contained Russian-language materials offering instructions on weapons-making. The arrested Czech youth allegedly intended to produce these weapons, though it remains uncertain whether he had begun the process. Now facing severe charges, including the promotion of movements aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms, as well as supporting terrorism, the young man could be looking at a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. Far-right extremism as a European problem This foiled plan to attack the queer event comes less than two years after a tragic incident in Bratislava, where a 19-year-old gunman killed two queer individuals, Matus Horvath and Juraj Vankulic, outside a local bar before taking his own life. Voxpots story sheds light on Slovakias troubling status as a hub for far-right and neo-Nazi online communities. Figures like Pavol Benadik, known by the pseudonym Slovakbro, have been instrumental in spreading extremist ideology, including a self-radicalisation manual. This alarming rise of far-right extremism is not confined to Slovakia. On July 26, the European Union took the unprecedented step of designating the international neo-Nazi group The Base as a terrorist organisation. As the first far-right entity to make the EUs terrorist list, The Base views immigration, sexual diversity, interracial relationships, and declining birth rates as existential threats to the white race, aiming to exploit existing societal crises and conflicts to hasten societal collapse, with the hope of establishing a new world order. Kelia Gallina, 11, surfs her home shore break during a break in the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. While Teahupo'o has been a coveted destination for surfers from around the world for decades, it's only in more recent years that local surf culture and talent has begun to develop across Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (AP) As the heavy, barrel-shaped waves of Teahupoo, Tahiti where the Paris Olympics surfing competition is being held crashed in the distance, another, smaller surf session was underway just off the shore. Go, go, go! one lanky teenager with sun-bleached hair yelled in French to another, sitting on their surfboards in the ocean. Allez, allez! Seconds later, whoops and whistles of approval from other young surfers in the water and parents sitting on the beach filled the air, as 14-year-old French Polynesian surfer Kiara Goold cruised along a 4-foot-high (1.2-meter-high) wave, smiling. It's a sight locals and visitors to Tahiti would not have been able to see until recently, 38-year-old French Polynesian professional surfer Michel Bourez said. Back in the day, there were no kids surfing, said Bourez, who first hopped on a board as a teenager. While Teahupo'o has been a coveted destination for surfers from around the world for decades, it's only in more recent years that local surf culture and talent among younger generations began to develop across Tahiti. With two French Polynesian surfers included in the 2024 Olympics, the surfing community expects local interest in the sport to grow. Locals said Bourez has been a steward in the development of local surfing talent and culture in recent years. Partly driven by the lack of resources he had when starting out and then finding success in his own career, Bourez said he began training talented young local surfers he spotted across the island's shores. Otherwise, all the knowledge that I gained during all these years will be gone and for no reason," Bourez said. "We have to give back to the local community and surfers. Goold is one of the young local surfers Bourez has mentored. Growing up in French Polynesia, Goold said she has spent time on the ocean since before she could remember, but only got serious about surfing around age 8. I challenge myself by doing things that maybe I don't want to do, she said. That means hitting the gym and surfing when the waves are really big. "I just try to train really hard. Goold said she feels it's paid off: she's traveled internationally to compete and won youth tournaments at home in French Polynesia. But most days, she can be found with other young surfers along the shores of Tahiti, catching waves and playfully competing against each other. We keep pushing each other, Goold said with a laugh. We just hang out, and its super fun. The inclusion of two French Polynesian surfers Vahine Fierro and Kauli Vaast in the Paris Olympics also has been a major boost for the promotion and development of local surfing, Bourez said. They've become kids' idols here," he said. Fierro and Vaast know they have inspired young local surfers. This is the best thing in the world, because I was them a couple years ago," Vaast said after winning his second round heat. "We try to do our best, to give the best energy, the best personality for them. We try to be the best example possible. Vahine, who was the first Tahitian wild card to claim a victory during the World Surf League at Teahupoo, said the shift in surfing culture for French Polynesian women has been especially noticeable. Ive really seen the change, whether its out here at home, or on the beach breaks. Theres almost as many girls as men, and its really cool to see," Fierro said. While Goold plans to have years of surfing and competition ahead of her, she said she already knows what she will say to the next generation of French Polynesian surfers who might come asking her for advice. Im going to say, Follow you dreams the only thing you can do for now is work really hard and stay positive. Have fun. ___ AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games Back in 2023, Starbucks rolled out a new drink, the Oleato, created by then-CEO Howard Schultz himself. A mix of coffee and olive oil, the concoction was met with a range of responses, from not that bad to makes you poop your pants. While not the wildest coffee combination to go viral in the post-COVID world, the Oleatos widespread rollout to all US Starbucks-operated and licensed cafesas well as to locations in Canada, France, Japan, England, and Chinaleft many scratching their heads as to how the divisive drink could have made such a splash. Turns out, it may be because Schultz was looking to do a little double dipping. Partanna, the brand of olive oil used in all Oleato beverages, is partially owned by the former Starbucks CEO. As reported by Semafor, Schultz bought a 19% stake in the company named after the Sicilian city it calls home. Between Q4 2022 and Q3 2023, Starbucks has paid Partanna a cool $26.5 million for their olive oil. And its not just buying Schultz-brand olive oil, Starbucks is hyping it up by name. On their page for the Oleato, the brand mentions Partanna no less than four times. Schultz himself has even been quotes as saying, people are going to add a tablespoon of Partanna extra-virgin olive oil into their drink. Im sure of it. Schultz and Starbucks rolled out the Oleato after doing no consumer research. Instead, Schultz was trusting his gut, believing that the Oleato would transform the coffee industry. Per Semafor, Schultz offered Starbucks the opportunity to invest in Partanna when he was acting as CEO but left the decision up to incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who was in the middle of a CEO apprenticeship and ultimately decided to pass. In a statement about the relationship between Schultz and Partanna, Starbucks states, Starbucks through its Board and multiple audit committee meetingshad a strong governance process in place in the establishment of the business relationship with Partanna/United Olive Oil This included a thorough review of conflict of interest, including ensuring Howard had no role in business decisions related to the Partanna/United Olive Oil relationship. Im sure its all just a big coincidence, the Starbucks drink nobody asked for that bypassed all market testing just so happens to line the pockets of their on-again-off-again CEO. So the next time youre enjoying an Oleato, no doubt hovering over a toilet just in case, you can thank Howard Schultz and his olive oil. Farmers in NE China's Heilongjiang cultivate thriving rice business People's Daily Online) 16:08, August 01, 2024 In Bohai township, Ning'an, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the village of Shangguandi can be found. The village is a core area for one of the worlds unique resources, the Shiban, translated as rock board, fields and the Shiban rice they produce. Photo shows Shiban rice fields in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ning'an, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Chu Lijuan, Party chief of the village, is a veteran rice grower. Her daughter, Chen Yujia, returned to her hometown to embark on an entrepreneurial journey eight years ago. The mother-daughter duo has led local villagers in transforming Shiban rice into wealth. Aerial photo shows Shiban rice fields in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Jiangrui) Ningan city, known as the Hometown of China's Volcanic Rice, boasts 85,000 mu (about 5,666.67 hectares) of Shiban fields. Around 10,000 years ago, volcanic eruptions unleashed lava that eventually cooled and solidified, creating vast stretches of land made up of basalt. After thousands of years of erosion and weathering, a layer of loose, fertile humus soil was formed on the land. The soil, ranging from 10 to 30 centimeters thick, is rich in organic matter and minerals. These conditions are what have allowed the growing of Shiban rice. Photo shows a clear view of the cross-section of a rice field. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) How though, can rice be grown on rock boards? Chen says, Buried beneath the earth, these honeycomb-shaped stones work like heaters, soaking up warmth during the day and emitting it at night. This heat retention guarantees superior maturation of Shiban rice. This process is one of the reasons it has a superior taste to ordinary rice. The local rice growers employ traditional farming methods like manual transplanting and harvesting to effectively protect the fields. They also use organic fertilizers to ensure rice quality. With the help of weather monitoring equipment and field cameras, they achieve traceability and ensure quality and safety. In addition, solar powered insect traps are used to reduce pests in the rice fields. Photo shows a water channel for irrigation in a rice field located in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Beyond just growing quality rice, they are also taking steps to effectively market it. In a glass-walled live-streaming room, live-streaming sessions are done to promote and sell locally grown rice on e-commerce platforms. Chen, using the name rice girl, hosts livestreams where she explains the advantages offered by the Shiban fields and the ecological environment of the area. An expert now, but eight years before she was a complete outsider to the industry and could barely tell the difference between crops and weeds. Farmers sell locally grown rice during a live-streaming session in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) In 2008, Chu took the lead in establishing a cooperative in the village, rallying the local villagers to cultivate organic rice. However, traditional sales methods proved to be a hurdle, and the villagers faced difficulties in making a decent living. Despite having high-quality rice, Chu grew worried about the lack of sales channels. In 2016, Chen made the bold decision to leave a stable job and return to the village to assist in selling the rice. Photo shows plots of rice fields remotely owned by individuals in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Some villagers doubted Chens decision, believing she would soon return to the city. Chen persevered and with determination steadily built a foundation. Chen has introduced an innovative model that allows individuals to remotely become rice field owners in spring and receive organic rice in autumn. This distinctive approach provides them with an immersive experience that includes the planting and harvesting of the rice. By enhancing the consumer experience through order-based agriculture and exploring new e-commerce channels, the rice brand has gained popularity and entered the national market. Today, the cooperative has garnered 157 members. The scale of organic rice cultivation has surged from an initial 50 mu to 1,800 mu, resulting in an annual production of over 1.5 million kilograms of high-quality rice. Chen Yujia (left) and a villager check on the growth of rice in the fields in Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Tourists ride on a little train to enjoy the picturesque rural scenery. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Photo shows a bowl of Shiban rice. (People's Daily Online/Su Jinggang) Arial picture shows Shangguandi village, Bohai township, Ningan, a county-level city administered by Mudanjiang city, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Li Xiangrui) (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) A Florida man is facing charges for allegedly intentionally setting a house fire that killed four people and three dogs, officials said. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said a fire was reported on South County Line Road, just southwest of Lakeland, at around 12:08 a.m. Wednesday. While extinguishing the blaze, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue discovered four deceased adults inside the mobile home, along with three dogs. Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said during a press conference Wednesday that detectives located a suspect, 25-year-old Shawn Gossett, "adjacent" to the residence. Gossett allegedly admitted starting the fire at the home in which he lived, with the "intent to burn the house down," by using a "BIC lighter" to ignite "some paper towels," Maurer said. Gossett's motive for allegedly starting the fire is still under investigation, Maurer said. Although the sheriff's office described Gossett as a "resident" of the home, Maurer described him as being "friends with the family" that lived there. He said detectives were "still working" to uncover the extent of their relationship, as well as how the family became "trapped" inside the home. "I know that they could not get out. The manner and reason why they could not get out, I cannot get into that right now. We're still working through that," Maurer said. The victims were not named pending positive identifications and family notifications. Gossett was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder while engaged in arson, three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, and one count of arson of a dwelling. "This is an utterly senseless and horrific crime where four innocent lives were tragically taken due to the evil actions of this man," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "I want to commend our detectives and our partners at Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for their swift actions which resulted in the arrest of this individual and their relentless efforts to ensure justice is served." --with reporting by TMX https://sputnikglobe.com/20240731/oas-fails-to-adopt-resolution-pressing-venezuela-to-be-transparent-with-election-results-1119588517.html OAS Fails to Adopt Resolution Pressing Venezuela to Be Transparent With Election Results OAS Fails to Adopt Resolution Pressing Venezuela to Be Transparent With Election Results Sputnik International The Organization of American States (OAS) failed to adopt a resolution calling on Venezuela to be transparent with the results from Sunday's presidential election. 2024-07-31T23:46+0000 2024-07-31T23:46+0000 2024-07-31T23:46+0000 americas nicolas maduro venezuela caracas organization of american states (oas) newsfeed presidential election https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/0b/14/1090873358_0:104:2048:1256_1920x0_80_0_0_e093e31be16b3bccf78c798396b70aed.jpg The resolution needed 18 votes to pass on Wednesday but only had 17 votes in favor. No OAS member states voted against the measure but 11 abstained. The presidential election of July 28 saw Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro win a third term in office. The announcement of the results sparked protests in the capital of Caracas and other cities. The Venezuelan government also accused several countries of election meddling. The proposed OAS resolution did not include any language about rejecting the election results, but the measure pushed the Venezuelan government to be fully transparent about the election results in order to guarantee credibility. Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the election after securing 51% of the vote. On July 29, protests started in Venezuela. Clashes between the police and protesters began in Caracas. Protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers. The Prosecutor General's Office said 77 law enforcement officers were injured; 1,062 people were detained on charges of destruction of state infrastructure, incitement of hatred and terrorism. americas venezuela caracas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International oas resolution on venezuela, venezuelan presidential election https://sputnikglobe.com/20240731/zelensky-calls-us-presidential-election-challenge-risk-for-ukraine-1119588142.html Zelensky Calls US Presidential Election Challenge, Risk for Ukraine Zelensky Calls US Presidential Election Challenge, Risk for Ukraine Sputnik International Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the upcoming presidential election in the United States could pose a challenge and risk for Ukraine. 2024-07-31T23:28+0000 2024-07-31T23:28+0000 2024-07-31T23:28+0000 world donald trump volodymyr zelensky kiev ukraine us congress https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/06/05/1118796584_0:25:3072:1752_1920x0_80_0_0_1d8dcf1614e31392cf4f64325b6b9609.jpg "The current situation in the United States is a challenge. There are risks that cannot be predicted ... If Donald Trump wins ... we do not know what our dialogue will be. It used to be quite reasonable, but we do not know what will happen after the election," Zelensky said on Wednesday in an interview with French media, including Le Monde newspaper. At the same time, Zelensky believes that the majority in the US Congress will remain supportive of Ukraine. The US presidential election will be held on November 5. Earlier in July, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party's nominee for US president. Former US President Donald Trump secured the Republican Partys nomination earlier this month and picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate. The selection of Vance was described as a "disaster" for Ukraine by EU officials. Vance has been vocal in his opposition to providing Kiev with additional aid.In May, Trump claimed that he would end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours, and reportedly reiterated his intention to end the conflict in a phone call with Zelensky. Earlier this month, the Trump campaign's communication director Steven Cheung confirmed that negotiating an end to the conflict in Ukraine will be "a top priority in [Trump's] second term will be to quickly negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war." https://sputnikglobe.com/20240716/eu-official-calls-trumps-vice-president-pick-vance-disaster-for-ukraine---reports-1119387498.html kiev ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International will trump end the ukraine war, trump and ukraine, what will a trump presidency mean for ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/f-16-delivery-to-ukraine-means-escalation-lack-of-any-restraints---russian-deputy-foreign-minister-1119596917.html F-16 Delivery to Ukraine Means Escalation, Lack of Any Restraints - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister F-16 Delivery to Ukraine Means Escalation, Lack of Any Restraints - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sputnik International Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday, commenting on the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, that escalation and the fact that there are no restraints left are a problem. 2024-08-01T18:42+0000 2024-08-01T18:42+0000 2024-08-01T18:42+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine sergey ryabkov ukraine russia kiev nato russian foreign ministry f-16 f-16 fighting falcon foreign aid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106320051_0:113:3241:1936_1920x0_80_0_0_3414c476eceaaee3b67dec500889d400.jpg Media reported on Wednesday that the first batch of several F-16s had been delivered to Ukraine and had already made the first flights in an "air defense" capacity. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said earlier on Thursday that Kiev would not comment on reports about the arrival of F-16 fighters. The Russian diplomat added that no Western equipment, including the delivery of the NATO-supplied F-16s, will not change the situation in the special military operation area for Ukraine. He reiterated that any means and forces used against Russia during its special military operation in Ukraine are legitimate targets for the Russian military. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/the-only-answer-is-to-destroy-them-how-russia-plans-to-handle-ukraines-western-supplied-f-16s-1119595320.html ukraine russia kiev Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International military aid for ukraine, is us giving more money to ukraine, why is us giving more money to kiev, whats happening to money given to kiev, will us give more money to kiev, how much money does ukraine get, how much money us gives to ukraine, how much money eu gives to ukraine, how much money europe gives to ukraine, what weapons does ukraine receive, does us give ukraine new weapons, f-16 sent to ukraine, f-16 aided to kiev https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/hamas-chief-assassination-to-have-disruptive-effect-on-gaza-peace-talks---experts-1119591582.html Hamas Chief Assassination to Have Disruptive Effect on Gaza Peace Talks - Experts Hamas Chief Assassination to Have Disruptive Effect on Gaza Peace Talks - Experts Sputnik International The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as well as Israel's strike on a senior Hezbollah official, will have a detrimental effect on the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, experts told Sputnik. 2024-08-01T07:24+0000 2024-08-01T07:24+0000 2024-08-01T07:24+0000 world ismail haniyeh israel defense forces (idf) israel masoud pezeshkian tehran middle east hamas hezbollah iran https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/06/18/1119087129_0:261:3072:1989_1920x0_80_0_0_d24e8e727da9b9b371e08b86ca548402.jpg Ceasefire and hostage release are becoming even less probable. Furthermore, the death of Haniyeh, which is "a major blow for Hamas and a huge embarrassment for Iran," will increase the risk of the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalating into a regional war, the expert added. At the same time, Iran's options are limited as Tehran "knows that it cannot defeat Israel on the battlefield," the expert also said. Meanwhile, Kanishkan Sathasivam, a professor in the Political Science department at Salem State University, believes that the ceasefire negotiations will continue, although the situation is "very fluid" at the moment. The situation between Hezbollah and Israel is not quite as simple, he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas confirmed that Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli attack on his residence in Tehran after he took part in the inauguration of newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. On Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had carried out a strike in a southern suburb of Beirut, adding later that the "most senior military commander" of Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, had been killed in the attack. A local source told Sputnik on Wednesday that Shukr's body had been found under the rubble. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/us-eu-holding-talks-to-prevent-large-scale-conflict-after-haniyehs-death---reports-1119590611.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240731/dod-decline-comment-on-posture-changes-amid-report-iran-ordered-retaliatory-strike-on-israel-1119586954.html israel tehran iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International middle east, mideast crisis, middle east peace talks, israel violence, hamas assassination, hamas violence, israeli-arab war https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/iranian-analyst-warns-of-harsher-response-to-haniyehs-killing-than-previous-strike-on-israel-1119593044.html Iranian Analyst Warns of Harsher Response to Haniyeh's Killing Than Previous Strike on Israel Iranian Analyst Warns of Harsher Response to Haniyeh's Killing Than Previous Strike on Israel Sputnik International Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli attack in Tehran. Hamas and Iran blamed Israel and the US, vowing retaliation. 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 world middle east ismail haniyeh iran israel hamas hezbollah tehran palestine-israel conflict iran-israel row https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/06/18/1119108266_0:253:3168:2035_1920x0_80_0_0_8ad1f83d0698df8664898db493d2a54f.jpg Irans retaliation to Tel Aviv for killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will be more severe, more painful to the Israeli regime than what Tel Aviv experienced after it attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at Tehran University, tells Spuntik.Marandi believes that "any escalation will simply make things worse for the regime in Tel Aviv," predicting that Iran and other members of the Axis of Resistance will deliver a "major response" to recent actions by Israel.Marandi elaborates that "the Israeli regime has lost the war."Marandi also warned that if the US were to intervene, they would "lose" and face severe consequences, including being expelled from Iraq and seeing their bases in the Persian Gulf region destroyed.At the same time Marandi argues that only the Americans and the Europeans are able to stop the full-fledged war in the region.They are the ones who are supporting this Holocaust. They are the ones who are enabling the regime in Tel Aviv to continue raping prisoners and murdering children. This is a war that they endorse. They are providing the funding, the ammunition, the weapons, the political cover. Without full Western support Tel Aviv would not be able to continue this war for two weeks. So we all know that the leash is in Washington, so it's up to the Americans to make a decision, he says.On Wednesday, Palestinian movement Hamas confirmed the death of Haniyeh as a result of an Israeli strike on his residence in the Iranian capital. According to the movement, Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli "raid" on his residence in Tehran after his participation in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Iran."The death of the hero Ismail Haniyeh after his participation in the inauguration of the Iranian president will not affect the decisions of the leadership [Hamas] and its structures. Israel will pay the price for this crime and for all crimes against our people," Hamas representative in Algeria Youssef Hamdan told Sputnik on Wednesday.Later that day, Iran's Foreign Ministry stated that Tehran has an inalienable right to respond appropriately to the murder of the Hamas politburo chief. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240731/blatant-assassination-of-haniyeh-may-have-been-crossing-a-red-line--ex-cia-officer-1119576337.html iran israel tehran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International gaza genocide, is israel committing genocide, whats happening with gaza, israeli genocide against palestinians, will israel be charged with genocide, whos backing israel, un hearing on gaza, current developments in gaza, whats happening to palestinians, us military aid to israel, us arms supplies to israel, us violating international law, what weapons is israel getting from us, israeli strikes, israel strikes gaza, israel kills civilians, operation in rafah, incursion into rafah, palestinian statehood, palestine independence, israeli hostages, jewish hostages, how many people did hamas abduct, how much money does us give israel, military aid to israel, financial aid to israel, hamas leader killed, haniyeh assassination, israel lebanon https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/israel-reports-successful-strike-on-hamas-military-chief-deif-1119592407.html Israel Reports Successful Strike on Hamas Military Chief Deif Israel Reports Successful Strike on Hamas Military Chief Deif Sputnik International The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that it can confirm the elimination of the chief of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, in the Gaza Strip. 2024-08-01T09:58+0000 2024-08-01T09:58+0000 2024-08-01T09:58+0000 world palestine-israel conflict israel defense forces (idf) israeli-palestinian conflict israel-gaza conflict https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/01/1119592241_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_6c29e675d9b7b1ce0d940f4518999372.jpg According to the statement, Israeli fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis and following an intelligence assessment." The Commander of Hamas' military wing Mohammed Deif was killed in the strike. According to the statement, Deif allegedly initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre, in which 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 251 hostages abducted into the Gaza Strip." Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 The Israel Defense Forces say they eliminated the leader of Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Mohammed Deif. Sputnik International The Israel Defense Forces say they eliminated the leader of Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Mohammed Deif. 2024-08-01T09:58+0000 true PT0M08S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International israel vs hamas, israel-iran row, idf strikes, idf strike on deif, israeli airstrikes https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/over-10-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-gaza-school---palestinian-civil-defense-1119595734.html Over 10 Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza School - Palestinian Civil Defense Over 10 Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza School - Palestinian Civil Defense Sputnik International More than 10 people were killed as a result of a strike by Israel on a temporary refugee camp in a school in Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, a representative of the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, said on Thursday. 2024-08-01T16:56+0000 2024-08-01T16:56+0000 2024-08-01T16:56+0000 world middle east gaza strip israel palestine israel defense forces (idf) hamas palestine-israel conflict https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/05/07/1118304358_0:160:3073:1889_1920x0_80_0_0_50e189773613c63de0be5f8f2d137c3d.jpg "A new massacre by Israeli security forces took place today. Some time ago, one of the schools in the Shejaiya area, where a large number of families lived, was hit ... at the moment, the bodies of 10 victims have been taken to the hospital," Basal told reporters, adding that dozens of people and the bodies of the dead still remain under the rubble. The airstrike was prompted by intelligence indicating that Palestinian movement Hamas was using a compound at the school to plan attacks against Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said later in the day. Before the attack, "numerous steps were taken" to reduce civilian casualties, the IDF added. On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. In response, Hamas fighters infiltrated the border areas, opened fire on the military and civilians and took more than 200 hostages. According to the authorities, about 1,200 people were killed during the raid. In retaliation, the IDF launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which included strikes on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave, cutting off supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicines. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli strikes on the enclave since October 7 has exceeded 39,400, with more than 91,100 people injured. gaza strip israel palestine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International gaza genocide, is israel committing genocide, whats happening with gaza, israeli genocide against palestinians, will israel be charged with genocide, whos backing israel, un hearing on gaza, current developments in gaza, whats happening to palestinians, us military aid to israel, us arms supplies to israel, us violating international law, what weapons is israel getting from us, israeli strikes, israel strikes gaza, israel kills civilians, operation in rafah, incursion into rafah, palestinian statehood, palestine independence, israeli hostages, jewish hostages, how many people did hamas abduct, how much money does us give israel, military aid to israel, financial aid to israel, hamas leader killed, haniyeh assassination, israel lebanon https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/prisoner-exchange-involving-russia-us-germany-other-countries-underway---reports-1119593727.html Prisoner Exchange Involving Russia, US, Germany, Other Countries Underway - Reports Prisoner Exchange Involving Russia, US, Germany, Other Countries Underway - Reports Sputnik International A large scale prisoner exchange involving Russia, the United States, Germany and other countries is currently underway, CNN reported on Thursday, citing a senior administration official. 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 2024-08-01T12:52+0000 world russia germany us evan gershkovich prisoner swap https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/07/13/1119430940_0:247:2762:1801_1920x0_80_0_0_b684708b7fa5384c00fa745249a38f69.jpg The transfer of prisoners is currently underway and American prisoners are expected to soon be in US custody, the administration official said. The administration official did not provide the names of the detainees or the parameters involved in the swap. Meanwhile ABC News, citing a senior Biden administration official, separately reported that Russia and the US have agreed to a multiparty prisone swap that would allow Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan to return to the US. russia germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us, russia, prisonor swap deal, evan gershkovich, prisoner exchange, prisoners swap https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/russia-willing-to-cooperate-on-ukraine-crisis-resolution-seeks-solutions-considering-its-interests-1119592593.html Russia Willing to Cooperate on Ukraine Crisis Resolution, Seeks Solutions Considering Its Interests Russia Willing to Cooperate on Ukraine Crisis Resolution, Seeks Solutions Considering Its Interests Sputnik International Russia is ready to cooperate with all those who seek to facilitate the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, taking into account Russian interests and current realities, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik. 2024-08-01T10:15+0000 2024-08-01T10:15+0000 2024-08-01T10:15+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis us arms for ukraine russia-nato showdown vatican maria zakharova pietro parolin https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/07/19/1119498690_0:104:3271:1943_1920x0_80_0_0_fdf948a73b7716d4c52420b94e4b8344.jpg Commenting on the recent visit by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to Ukraine, she said his statements in general are in line with the Vatican's mediation efforts. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is open to a diplomatic resolution, yet the same seemingly does not hold true for Ukraine. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240731/russia-open-to-peace-initiatives-in-ukraine-but-no-reciprocity-on-kievs-part-1119585931.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukrainian crisis, russia' special military operation, ukraine crisis, ukrainian conlict, ukraine conflict, ukraine peace resolution https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/southport-stabbing-suspect-charged-with-murder---police-1119591777.html Southport Stabbing Suspect Charged With Murder - Police Southport Stabbing Suspect Charged With Murder - Police Sputnik International A 17-year-old boy suspected of stabbing three children to death in the UK town of Southport has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, the Merseyside Police department has said. 2024-08-01T07:44+0000 2024-08-01T07:44+0000 2024-08-01T07:44+0000 world united kingdom (uk) refugees refugee crisis southport https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107938/98/1079389853_0:102:2005:1230_1920x0_80_0_0_7e08a2cb16311f32b1390b43792a7d33.jpg "We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July," the police said in a statement on Wednesday night. The suspect was not named for legal reasons. He was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Thursday. County police detained three people during riots on Wednesday following a deadly attack on a children's dance club in Southport, in northwestern England. The stabbing left eight other children and two adults injured, many of them critically. In London, protesters clashed with police amid unconfirmed reports that the knifeman was a refugee. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested for violent disorder, assault and breach of protest conditions. Some of them suffered minor injuries. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230608/at-least-4-children-2-adults-injured-in-knife-attack-in-eastern-france---reports-1111007236.html united kingdom (uk) southport Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International uk, uk stabbing, uk knife stabbing, uk refugee crimes, uk migrants, uk crime knife Sean Patrick Cirillo, 34, pleaded guilty and admitted to issuing deadly threats against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday. In three separate incidents in November 2023, Cirillo called the Washington, DC, office of US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and made multiple threats while speaking to staffers. "I got a bead on her. Like a sniper rifle. A sniper rifle. And I'm gonna kill her next week. I'm gonna murder her," he said on one occasion. "I'll kill you too if you want," and "You're gonna die. Your family is gonna die," Cirillo threatened in another call. "Threatening to kill a public official is reprehensible," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "Our office will not tolerate any form of violence, threats, or intimidation against public officials. The prosecution of individuals who threaten the lives and welfare of public servants is a top priority for our office as well as for our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners," he added. Cirillo, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate threats. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "We will not normalize violent threats in America, whether targeting elected officials or average citizens," said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "Our democracy depends on the ability of members of Congress to do their jobs without fearing for their safety. We will continue to prosecute threats against public servants made in any form." https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/the-us-failed-to-coup-maduro-because-he-has-the-respect-of-the-people-1119590032.html The US Failed to Coup Maduro Because He Has the Respect of the People The US Failed to Coup Maduro Because He Has the Respect of the People Sputnik International The West failed to coup President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela because he has the support of his people, geopolitical analyst Christopher Helali told Sputnik. 2024-08-01T03:44+0000 2024-08-01T03:44+0000 2024-08-01T04:34+0000 analysis hugo chavez nicolas maduro venezuela venezuelan national endowment for democracy (ned) white house us the critical hour https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/01/1119589875_0:0:3075:1731_1920x0_80_0_0_f97baff73ab1a86586657ce39fb7cdbb.jpg The United States hoped to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by supporting a coup. It failed because the people of Venezuela support Maduro and the Bolivarian revolution, researcher and geopolitical analyst Christopher Helali told Sputniks The Critical Hour on Wednesday.Of course, weve seen this playbook before not only in Latin America, weve seen it in Eastern Europe, weve seen it in the Caucasus in Georgia, weve seen it all throughout Central Asia, Helali explained. Anywhere the United States feels that its interests are threatened, or that a country doesnt kowtow to Washington or Brussels.On Monday and Tuesday, supporters of the opposition started violent riots in the streets, utilizing Molotov cocktails and firearms to fight police. By Wednesday, the government had regained control and tens of thousands of Venezuelans from across the country traveled to the capital Caracas, and took to the streets supporting Maduro. The President joined them in what appeared to be a jubilant and peaceful celebration.[The West] already were giving people the heads up that there was going to be chaos and disorder if President Maduro was reelected. And, lo and behold, it happened. They said it. It happened, he explained. Theyre trying to spin it as a crackdown by the government, but thats not the case. In fact, the government is trying to maintain peace and order. Its the opposition that wants disorder and chaos, [which is] just the recipe for the US to come in and gobble up all of Venezuelas oil and natural resources and begin plundering the country like they did before Hugo Chavezs time.While the United States has a long history of successfully supporting coups in other countries, it has had a string of failures that raise the question of whether it is as effective as it used to be.Helali noted that they may not have the support of the elite in the countries who have dreams of plundering the countries once more with the help of the West. However, the working class is fighting to defend their sovereignty and their territorial integrity and their own mode of development and prosperity outside of Western imperialism.Ultimately, the people decided that they were not going to allow some gringos from the north to come and take [Venezuela] and plunder it, Helali said.The United States has been trying to overthrow the democratically elected government of Venezuela since Hugo Chavezs time and the leader of the opposition, Maria Corina Machado, was arrested for taking payments from the US-funded Non-Governmental Organization National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the early 2000s and met with then-US President George W Bush in 2005.Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks revealed that the meeting was primarily designed to strengthen the opposition and anger then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.Opponents of President Chavez greeted the May 31 meeting with high fives for poking Chavez in the eye, and momentarily put aside differences, reveling in having one of their own being received at such a high level, the diplomatic cable read.On balance, in our judgment, the attention the White House meeting brought Sumate [the Venezuelan NGO founded by Machado] has been exceptional. It is important now to let the organization ride this surge largely on its own. A continuing, too evident, public identification with the U.S. could now be counterproductive. At the same time, however, we need to ensure that Sumate has the resources it needs to exploit this new vantage point it enjoys.As was the case during the Cold War, the United States remains desperate to stop socialist countries from succeeding, particularly in the Western hemisphere, because they fear success could cause it to spread.Why does America fear little Venezuela? Because they know that if Venezuela becomes a shining beacon, an example, it will be another pink tide across Latin America. They dont want that. They dont want the Venezuelan people to stand up and thats the real point of this. Its the Monroe Doctrine continued on. This is the United States hemisphere and nobody can go beyond that," Helali explained. venezuela venezuelan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ian DeMartino Ian DeMartino News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Ian DeMartino nicolas maduro election, coup in venezuela, us support of opposition in venezuela, ned in venezuela, cia in venezuela https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/trump-facilitated-collapse-of-us-russia-arms-control-by-scrapping-inf-treaty-1119598173.html Trump Facilitated Collapse of US-Russia Arms Control by Scrapping INF Treaty Trump Facilitated Collapse of US-Russia Arms Control by Scrapping INF Treaty Sputnik International Trump made a "stupid mistake" by deciding to scrap the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, as the consequences of that fateful decision have paved the collapse of strategic arms control policies between the US and Russia. 2024-08-01T21:35+0000 2024-08-01T21:35+0000 2024-08-01T21:33+0000 analysis us russia donald trump philip giraldi edward lozansky soviet union cia inf treaty https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105803/36/1058033601_0:0:3001:1688_1920x0_80_0_0_14d73b8bbaa26c2237c6f0a89157e218.jpg The INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, banned the countries from developing and possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500-5,500 kilometers. In 2019, Trump withdrew the US from the treaty, which prompted Russia to suspend its participation in the Cold War-era accord in response. August 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the US' formal withdrawal from the INF Treaty. Restraint Abandoned"The consequences have been that strategic arms control policies between Russia and the US/NATO have largely been abandoned and both sides have developed nuclear capable intermediate range missiles that raise the likelihood that they will be resorted to in a potential escalating conflict like in Ukraine," former CIA analyst, founder and chair of the Council for the National Interest Philip Giraldi said. There were sharp differences of opinion in the Trump administration on whether to retain the treaty, in spite of both sides' claims that there was "cheating," Giraldi recalled. "The neocons predictably won the argument." Back in the 1980s, despite hawkish governments in London and Bonn, popular sentiment across Europe, especially in Germany overwhelmingly favored creating the treaty, Giraldi emphasized. "Interestingly enough, I was in the CIA German station in Hamburg 1982-5 when the whole issue of intermediate range missiles, which theoretically allowed for no warning devastating nuclear capable attack, was being debated," he said. "There were huge demonstrations in all German cities against the deployment and in favor of an agreement," Giraldi reported. "The US Consulate General was located near Hamburg's central lake, the Alster and thousands of demonstrators would gather along the lakefront and storm the front of the building by crossing the access road that surrounded the lake." Attempt to Show He's 'Tough' on RussiaAmerican University in Moscow President Edward Lozansky, a former Soviet nuclear physicist, noted that Trump had heeded his two most influential advisers at the time, CIA chief and then secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, both of whom were determined to kill the treaty. One can excuse Trump for being a "political novice who miraculously won in 2016 and found himself in an ocean of sharks," he added. The recent events show that "the Deep State learned the 2016 lessons" and the chances of Trump repeating the miracle of that year are quickly decreasing, at least for now, according to Lozansky. "Almost each of the next 100 days till November 5 elections might bring unexpected events, not all of them bright for America and mankind," the expert concluded. https://sputnikglobe.com/20201101/giant-mistake-reagans-secretary-of-state-condemns-us-withdrawal-from-inf-treaty-with-russia-1080945070.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20210111/pompeo-says-obama-risked-us-lives-by-complying-with-inf-treaty-1081725863.html russia soviet union Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International what is the inf treaty, strategic arms control policies, us-russia arms control measures https://sputnikglobe.com/20240801/ukraine-will-not-restore-transit-of-russian-oil-to-slovakia-hungary---prime-minister-1119589552.html Ukraine Will Not Restore Transit of Russian Oil to Slovakia, Hungary - Prime Minister Ukraine Will Not Restore Transit of Russian Oil to Slovakia, Hungary - Prime Minister Sputnik International Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he will not resume the transit of Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary. 2024-08-01T03:19+0000 2024-08-01T03:19+0000 2024-08-01T08:02+0000 world europe peter szijjarto robert fico slovakia hungary ukraine european commission lukoil russia https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103887/51/1038875192_0:144:3130:1905_1920x0_80_0_0_168bbaacbffcc598b68b06475fccb9d6.jpg In July, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Ukraine had stopped the transit of Lukoil's oil. The Slovak Economy Ministry confirmed that the country was no longer receiving oil from the Russian oil giant, which was sanctioned by Ukraine. He added that the parties agreed on another intergovernmental meeting in October to continue "pragmatic dialogue." On July 22, Szijjarto said that Hungary and Slovakia had launched consultations of the European Commission with Ukraine due to a stop in the transit of oil from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline. On July 24, the commission postponed the consideration of the appeal, citing the need for additional information. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240725/eu-denies-support-to-hungary-slovakia-after-ukraine-halts-russian-oil-transit---reports-1119496931.html slovakia hungary ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International lukoil in ukraine, slovakia issues with ukraine, hungary issues with ukraine, russian oil in europe, oil prices in europe Jeremy Smith was involved in a racing accident on June 15 and has made his way back to the racetrack, and the winners circle, in spectacular fashion at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The accident happened when GD Western Joe and Chris Page went down in the 13th race and the three horses directly behind the duo could not get out of the way and fell. All three drivers of those horses were taken to local hospitals, while the rest of the drivers, and all the horses, walked off the track. The 44-year-old Smith, from Washington Court House, took it easy for a whole 12 days before attempting to come back racing. I wasnt ready to be honest, said Smith. My head was telling me I could, but my body said I couldnt. My back on the left side was hurting too much. Smith, however, did make a successful return to the track at Eldorado Scioto Downs. On Friday, July 19, Smith had 11 drives on the 14-race card, with three wins and five total on the board finishes. His first win came with the two-year-old Twin B Beachside for trainer Mike Polhamus, followed by two wins for Antonia Storer with Rose Run Warner and Premier Dancer. All told since return on the 19th, Smith has 94 starts with 26 wins and 43 total on the board finishes. His win percentage is at 27.7, which is 4.2 per cent higher than any other driver at Scioto during that time period. Now that I am back, I am ready to go. My body feels great, its all systems go, continued Smith. The timing was not the greatest right before the two-year-olds started qualifying as I thought I was going to get a real opportunity, but we will make the most of every opportunity. Smith started his driving career with a couple qualifiers in 2001 and since has amassed 28,599 starts with 3,683 wins and more than $31 million in earnings. Prior to June 15, Smith was the leading driver at Scioto and while he had dropped to fifth in the standings before his return, it shouldnt take him long to get right back into contention. Smith drove 365 starters prior to July 19 with 62 wins. Currently, Dan Noble sits atop the Scioto driver standings with 138 wins in 764 starts and Chris Page is second with 119 wins in 679 starts. Tyler Smith is sitting third with 90 wins and Brett Miller is tied with Smith with 88 wins. The 90-day 2024 Eldorado Scioto Downs race meet runs through Saturday, Sept. 14. (Scioto Downs) "You get a very minute taste of it when you're at the racetrack as a spectator, or if you've placed a wager. This Unfiltered series takes you right behind totally behind the scenes. Unfiltered. This is the real deal." The second episode of Ontario Racing Unfiltered is set for release on Thursday, Aug. 1. The first episode aired on July 18, providing a look at the four harness racing participants this year: Tyler Jones, James MacDonald, Bob McClure and Doug McNair. In case you missed it, here's the first episode. In advance of the second episode, show participant Kelly Spencer joined CP24 Breakfast on Wednesday, July 31 to discuss the upcoming season. "Season Two really shines a light on what's happening underneath, psychologically and emotionally," noted Spencer. "The Olympics are on right now, we're looking at all the athletes' mental outlooks and psychological thinking going into their events and that's really what this is...this docuseries is a sneak peek of what's under the surface of these professional athletes who are then driving these professional athletes the racehorses. "It's a great character study, I think people will find it very compelling even if you know very little about horse racing. Very, very compelling cinema." In episode two, Unfiltered profiles the participants from the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse side of the industry. Emma-Jayne Wilson and Rafael Hernandez return as featured jockeys, with up-and-coming rider Sofia Vives joining the series. Trainers Kevin Attard and Mark Casse complete the lineup as those two individuals set their sights on the 2024 King's Plate. Woodbine's Jeff Bratt was a guest on CTV Your Morning on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming season and that amazing bond between the people and horses. "To watch these thousand-pound majestic animals with a 100-pound jockey on their back, and they have to be in sync, and the horse has to trust that human so much...I think that's really kind of the storyline for me. " On the Quarter Horse side, trainer Lauren Spada and jockey Alexis Sanchez join the cast. The trainer-jockey duo are a tandem both on and off the track, second-generation participants looking to ascend to new heights in their respective fields. The second episode of the four-episode season will be available on multiple digital platforms on Thursday, including Crave, tsn.ca, ctv.ca and affiliated YouTube channels. A full schedule breakdown can be found below: Episode 1 - July 18 Episode 2 - Aug. 1 Episode 3 - Aug. 15 Episode 4 - Sept. 12 (Standardbred Canada) Fashion Green, who has launched his career with three straight victories including a pair of stakes wins will try to extend his unbeaten streak in Fridays $160,336 USD Pennsylvania Sires Stakes leg for freshman colt and gelding trotters, known as the Florida Pro, at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The card also features an $80,000 USD PA Stallion Series leg. First post is 5:10 p.m. Fashion Green looked nothing if not precocious in grabbing a Sire Stakes split at The Meadows, where he took his mark of 1:55.2, and a Pennsylvania All-Stars division at Pocono Downs. But his trainer, new U.S. Hall of Fame inductee Jim Campbell, notes that his path to early success has had twists and turns. He broke in like a really nice colt and did everything we wanted him to, said Campbell. Then he started messing up a bit, making breaks for no reason and not paying attention to his work. Thats when we decided to geld him. Hes come back really nicely from that. Hes pretty easygoing and drama free. Fashion Green is a homebred son of Greenshoe out of the Broadway Hall mare Fashion Athena, who won the Kentucky Futurity at two en route to $308,290 in lifetime earnings. Moreover, Fashion Athena produced Millies Possesion, who wowed the harness world at three her only year on the track by opening her career with nine consecutive wins before finishing second in the Hambletonian Oaks. That strong family is what persuaded Campbell and owner Jules Siegel of Fashion Farms to keep the colt and race him rather than send him through the auction ring. Fashion Athena has been a really good producer weve trained most of her foals so there was no doubt we would keep him and train him. Known for his conservative approach to bringing young horses along, Campbell has mapped out just such a campaign for Fashion Green. I always take it one step at a time, he said. Right now well follow through on the PA Sires trail and see how that goes. He has some major stakes in the fall, but well see how hes doing. Fashion Green goes from post six, race eight, with Dave Palone aboard. The other division of the Florida Pro goes as race nine and features local phenom Wapiti Blue Chip, who, on July 12, became the fastest two-year-old gelding trotter ever at The Meadows when he triumphed in 1:54.2 for Braxten Boyd. Boyd again will be in the sulky for trainer Mahlon Martin and owners Ashley Berslem, Steven Mullen and Gregory Garton. (Meadows Standardbred Owners Association) My sincere hope is that I am just one of many people in your life saying this: we need and want you here in Nebraska. Generation Z will have a massive impact in our state, especially in rural Nebraska. You have come of age in a world of constant change and technological advancement, shifting like the braids of the Platte River under a powerful current. Your formative years unfolded amid a pandemic, recessions and political unrest but also abundance and cooperation. You have, with technology youve known since childhood, forged new forms of connection by cultivating communities across national and international borders. Navigating a world in a permanent state of flux has made you resilient and inquisitive. Its unlikely that the rate of change will slow anytime soon. Your adaptability will be an incredible asset in the decades ahead. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most diverse generations of Nebraskans in recent history. With that comes a predisposition to inclusivity that can change the long-held misconceptions people have about our state. For Nebraska to have a future, it must be a place where everyone belongs. For you, this is an obvious foundation for success, and you arent afraid to have your voice heard on the matter. Your curiosity and insistence on innovation will carry our state into the future. Have dreams of starting your own business? I speak with homegrown entrepreneurs every day who credit their success to community support, something they say they never would have found in a big city. Many of them are young, fresh out of college or still enrolled in classes, but their communities have welcomed their dreams to build something new and contribute to shared well-being. Gen Z, you crave purpose, not just a paycheck. The research shows young Nebraskans and other members of your generation are values driven, perhaps more so than any generation before you. You are attracted to work be it paid or volunteer that lights your fire. In Greater Nebraska, the opportunities for making a tangible impact are abundant. In fact, we work with thousands of volunteers of all ages who share your desire to leave the world better than you found it. Trust us, they are looking for bright minds and passionate hearts like yours to lead the way. But perhaps your generations most admirable quality is your authenticity something that will serve you well in the leadership roles you fill in the future. Your awareness of mental health is long overdue and something that would serve those before you well. Nebraska Community Foundation and its network of affiliated funds hope to play a part in empowering your generation. Over the last five years, weve sponsored dozens of Hometown Interns across our state. These college students return to their hometowns for the summer and dive headfirst into discovering the hidden potential of their places. Many have returned to the program after their first year because they found it so eye-opening. One of those young Nebraskans is Jadyn Schultis of Diller in Southeast Nebraska. Jadyn joined the program in 2022 and has returned in both 2023 and 2024. In her first year, supervisors challenged her and another intern to innovate ways to involve youth in community-building efforts. Together, they created the Diller Serviceship Camp, an event that educates elementary students on Dillers history and assets before asking them to generate their own ideas for projects that could make Diller even better. The camp has been a major success for Diller, and its broadened Jadyns horizons regarding the role she can play in crafting the future of her hometown. Jadyn tells us she now feels like a changemaker and leader for communities throughout the state, thanks in part to her internships. Thats exactly the feeling we want young Nebraskans across the state to experience. Dear Young Nebraskan, know that we your elders see ourselves in you. We too once felt misunderstood and underappreciated. Sometimes our eagerness for change was met with doubt and negativity. But without change, there cannot be progress. You will not be alone in this pursuit. Community leaders throughout this state are ready to listen, extend an invitation and make space for you and your peers. Dear Young Nebraskan, stick with it. Our future depends on you. Cowlitz County Superior Court is barring a former Kalama city councilmember from having guns after telling his therapist he wants to shoot the local leaders who wronged him, court records show. The court granted the protection order against Matthew Michael Merz, 45, of Kalama earlier this month, preventing him from accessing firearms for a year. The order protects the more than a dozen people ranging from elected officials to private citizens named in lawsuits Merz filed in Cowlitz County Superior Court. Merz accuses locals of libel, misconduct and even making a false arrest, which led to his emotional distress and, in some cases, loss of business due to a tarnished reputation in the city of roughly 3,000. People protected in the order include Kalama Mayor Mike Reuter, Kalama Police Chief Ralph Herrera and Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman. In all the current lawsuits, Merz represents himself. The litigation stems from longrunning disputes between Merz, Kalama citizens, his former city councilmembers, and the citys police department. Merz only served a single term in office from 2020 to 2023. A jury found him guilty of felony computer trespass and data theft after a two-day Cowlitz County trial, preventing him from holding the seat under state law. Merz illegally accessed the email account of another city councilmember in 2022 in an effort to uncover misconduct involving the Kalama police and the citys elected officials, the jury found. But officials never discovered evidence of misconduct in Kalama, and a whistleblower claim filed by Merz with the state on the issue found he wasnt the subject of retaliation by the city, the state office on administrative hearings reports. Threats Merz never served jail time for his convictions, only community service, but his desire for retribution lives on, court records show. Merzs therapist reported to the Kalama police in June that he said in theory he would find and shoot the people that are responsible for his convictions, though he plans to see how his current lawsuits go first. By state law, health professionals are required to tell authorities after reasonable threats of violence. The therapist said Merz told him he thinks about his wrongful convictions all day. He did not reveal exact names of targets, just that he would like to harm the people involved in his lawsuits, the order states. The therapist thought Merz had access to guns, the order continues, though Merzs father told police his son could not reach the four handguns in the safe of their shared Kalama home. Merz told The Daily News the allegations are clearly an act of retaliation against me for filing a lawsuit against, in part, the citys police chief, as the police department filed the petition to have his firearms access revoked. Chief Herrera was also granted a temporary restraining order against Merz in Clark County based on the protection orders reported threats. In court filings, Merz attests the inexperienced therapist violated privacy laws while trying to help Merz with anxiety attacks brought on by the very people he is suing. The Rio Grande as it flows near Eagle Pass. Persistent drought has raised tensions between the U.S. and Mexico. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer A worker harvests grain sorghum on farmland in Cameron County, not far from the Rio Grande. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News WASHINGTON For almost a century, farmers in Texas and Mexico have maintained a tense but workable compact around the water that flows through the Rio Grande, vital to irrigating crops in a hot climate prone to water shortages. But that relationship has grown increasingly fraught in recent decades as repeated droughts limit water flows into the river, driving heated political attacks on both sides of the border. Tensions reached new heights this year as Mexico fell far behind on its water deliveries to the Amistad and Falcon reservoir systems through which the Rio Grande flows, threatening the livelihoods of farmers in Texas Rio Grande Valley, a major producer of sorghum, grapefruit, oranges and other crops. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brian Jones, a farmer in Edcouch and a member of the board of the Texas Farm Bureau, said hed only planted half his fields this year knowing he wouldnt have water to irrigate with, leaving him at the mercy of nature. Were just waiting and praying on a tropical storm, he said. The Rio Grande Valley has already lost its sugar cane crop, and citrus is next. Under a water treaty signed in 1944 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mexico and the United States divvy up water supplies from the rivers that mark and cross their borders the Rio Grande in Texas and the Colorado River in Arizona and California. With much of the watershed for the Rio Grande flowing from mountains south of the border, Mexico agreed to deliver 1.75 million acre feet of water to U.S. reservoirs every five years the equivalent to more than 500 billion gallons with the United States delivering water from its portion of the Colorado River watershed to Mexico. But beginning in the mid-1990s, Mexico struggled to keep up with its obligation, repeatedly missing its targets, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission that manages water supplies on the Rio Grande. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The current deficit is the worst yet, with Mexico only delivering 396,000 acre feet, or 22% of its five-year water obligation, almost four years into the cycle. That has prompted discussions between the U.S. State Department and Mexicos government, with U.S. officials urging Mexico to deliver desperately needed water at the earliest possible date, a State Department spokesperson said. The Mexican Embassy in Washington did not return requests for comment. Complicating the situation is the ongoing drought, which has diminished tributaries flowing into the Rio Grande from the United States and Mexico alike, said IBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, an appointee of President Joe Biden. Overall drought has started to reduce the hydrology of the river. The increase in temperatures warms the soil so you get a lot more drying and when it rains, less of that water accumulates, she said. The management of the basin needs to be changed, to better understand the hydrology and improve conservation and build up drought resilience, but we are also pushing Mexico in the short term because the region needs the water. Those efforts have done little to assuage Texas politicians, including Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who have called on Congress to reduce U.S. funding to Mexico if it doesnt deliver 350,000 acre feet of water, the annual average for deliveries under the treaty, to the United States each year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The current situation is unsustainable and unacceptable. The U.S. must use every diplomatic tool at its disposal to ensure Mexicos compliance, they said in a joint statement earlier this year. Meanwhile in Mexico, politicians are under pressure from farmers in the north, one of the countrys most important agricultural areas, not to release more water to the United States. That region is struggling from water shortages too, with the IBWC reporting Mexicos reservoirs on the Rio Conchos, one of the largest tributaries to the Rio Grande, at less than 20% capacity due to declines in water flow. Mexican officials last year walked away from negotiations with the United States that would have made water transfers to the Untied States easier. Under constitutional reforms passed in 2012, access to water is a fundamental right in Mexico, and ahead of Mexicos national election in June President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador came under increased pressure not to release water to the United States, said John Mckiernan-Gonzalez, a history professor at Texas State University. You can see why Texas farmers are pressuring the federal government to force Mexico to release the water, he said. But on the other side, northern Mexico is going through a historic drought. A lot of the large landowners were not big fans of AMLO, and they dont want to give up their water even though its part of this diplomatic agreement. Advertisement Article continues below this ad With climate change causing more intense heat waves and changing weather patterns, the potential for prolonged droughts in the United States is increasing, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Texas Water Development Board is projecting the states existing water supplies to decline 18% by 2070, and is the middle of figuring out a solution at a time Texas population and thirst for water continues to grow. With Mexico struggling under near similar conditions, tensions on the two sides show little sign of abating anytime soon. In the meantime, federal water officials are coming under increasing pressure to renegotiate the 1944 treaty in hopes of creating more dependable water supplies, Giner, the IBWC commissioner, said. Thats not our decision. Thats up to Congress, she said. But were not recommending it. There could be unintended consequences. It could get better; it could get worse. Birlasoft reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024. Birlasoft is part of the $3 bn CK Birla Group, which has over 35,000 employees and operates 52 manufacturing facilities globally. Mr. Angan Guha, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Birlasoft, said, Our performance during the quarter under review reflects a challenging operating environment and tightened discretionary spends by customers. In that backdrop, I am pleased to note that our Infra and ROW businesses, both historically smaller contributors to our revenue, have done particularly well on the back of our efforts to enhance our capabilities and footprint there. Our deal wins during the quarter are also up 10% year on year at $160 Mn. We continue to invest in our business across our verticals and service lines to strengthen our position as a domain and emerging tech capabilities-led player. Ms Kamini Shah, Chief Financial Officer, Birlasoft, said, Our revenue during the quarter under review grew 5.1% year on year to Rs 13,274 million. PAT for the quarter grew 9.2% year on year to Rs 1,502 Mn. Our quarterly collections continued to be strong, resulting in a 46% rise year on year in cash and cash equivalents to Rs 19,143 Mn. Our DSO improved sequentially to 52 days and on this key parameter we continue to be among the best in the industry. We have started the new financial year with a robust balance sheet and healthy cashflows that enable us to keep investing in capabilities for future growth even as we navigate through the current challenges in the macro-economic environment. Key Financial highlights for Q1 FY25 In INR Revenue at 13,274 M, up 5.1% YoY EBITDA at 1,951 M; EBITDA margin at 14.7% PAT at 1,502 M, up 9.2% YoY translating to basic EPS (not annualized) of 5.41 Cash and cash equivalents increase 45.9% YoY to 19,143 M In USD $ Revenue at $159.1 M, up 3.6% YoY In constant currency terms, revenue up 3.8% YoY EBITDA at $ 23.4 M; EBITDA margin at 14.7% PAT at $ 18.0 M, up 7.6% YoY Other operating highlights Growth during Q1FY25 driven by BFSI and E&U among verticals, by Infra among service lines, and by ROW among geographies BFSI up 8.4% and E&U up 3.7% QoQ while Manufacturing and Lifesciences & Services (LSS) registered a sequential decline among verticals Infra up 36.1% QoQ The number of $1Mn+ clients increased from 87 to 88 QoQ and the number of $10Mn+ clients remained stable QoQ. Revenue from Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20 clients grew YoY by 12.7%, 10.0% and 5.5 % respectively Signed deals of TCV $ 160 M during the quarter with new deal wins TCV of $ 94 M and renewals of $ 66 M. Active Client Count at 258 in Q1FY25 (compared to 259 in Q4FY24 and 285 in Q1FY24), reflecting rationalisation of the tail. Cash & Cash equivalents rise to $229.7 M by end of Q1FY25 versus $209.2 M at end of Q4FY24. In rupee terms, cash and cash equivalents increased to 19,143 M at the end of Q1FY25 from 17,447 M at the end of the preceding quarter DSO improved to 52 days , led by continued strong collections . Workforce strength increased to 12,865 as on 30 th June 2024 and attrition improved further QoQ to 11.6% during Q1FY25. During the quarter under review, Birlasoft attained AWS Migration Consulting Competency. This underscores Birlasofts expertise in helping enterprise customers migrate applications and legacy infrastructure to AWS, evident through successful client solutions across diverse industries. As an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, Birlasoft has demonstrated extensive technical proficiency and professional services excellence in guiding businesses through every stage of migration on AWS, from initial discovery and planning to migration and ongoing operations. Key deal wins for the quarter Awarded a key contract from one of the top global Insurance companies to migrate their SharePoint from On-Prem to Cloud Initiated engagement with one of the top 3 US banks on GenAI based Data Center Optimization Secured an order from a Fortune 500 automotive component manufacturer in North America for carve out/integration support across the infrastructure and security stack. Signed a new key customer (an S&P 500 company) in the P&C Insurance space. Won and executed a vendor consolidation exercise in one of the top custodian banks, enabling seamless technology integration for multiple wealth management products. Won a Cloud FinOps consulting services deal from a large agro-industrial customer in the Americas geo. Awards & Recognitions 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 health care worker walks by the Big Red Bus from OneBlood outside at Cano Health in Hialeah, Fla., July 29, 2020. Oneblood, which serves much of the southeast United States, is facing a ransomware attack, officials said Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Credit: David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP A not-for-profit blood center serving much of the southeastern United States is facing a ransomware attack, officials said Wednesday. OneBlood said the attack had disabled its information technology, forcing it to operate at a reduced capacity in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. To manage its blood supply, the blood center was asking more than 250 hospitals to activate their critical blood shortage protocols. The blood center also was using manual processes to maintain basic operations, officials said. OneBlood is working with cybersecurity specialists as well as federal, state and local agencies to determine the scope of the attack and how to respond, officials said. "We are working diligently to restore full functionality to our systems as expeditiously as possible," Susan Forbes, OneBlood's senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations, said in a statement. Blood centers across the U.S. were sending extra blood and platelets to OneBlood, which said there's a particular need for O-positive and O-negative blood. 2024 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: The automated mosquito pupa sex sorting system. Credit: Jun-Tao Gong. From Science Robotics (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adj6261 A team of engineers and pest control specialists in China has developed a machine that is capable of gender-sorting 16 million mosquito pupae a week. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they designed and built their sorter and how well it has worked during testing. Prior research has shown that mosquitoes carry viruses such as Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya and dengue, as well as parasites such as those responsible for the spread of malaria. Scientists have been looking for efficient ways to reduce their numbers in places that are most susceptible to the diseases they spread. One approach involves breeding millions of sterile male mosquito pupae and releasing them into the wild. The sterile pupae develop into mosquitos that take the place of fertile males in mating with females, resulting in fewer viable mosquito larvae and eventually fewer mosquitoes overall. Such breeding efforts require that the female mosquitos produced during breeding are not released into the wild; thus, the pupae need to be sorted by gender. Currently, the process is inefficient because it is done manually. The research team developed a machine that is able to do the job automatically, approximately 17 times faster and with fewer mistakeswhich the researchers claim comes to approximately 17 million pupae a week. The researchers note that the machine, which has a special sorting glass, is capable of collecting, loading and sorting millions of pupae every day. Given the potential variation in mosquito immature development across different batches, the sorter was calibrated for each batch of pupae at the beginning of sex separation to optimize the accuracy by adjusting the technical parameters, including the slope of the outer sorting glass, through the touch screen on the control panel. Once calibrated, sex separation operated automatically until all pupae were sorted. Credit: Jun-Tao Gong The research team has already tested their sorting machine on two kinds of mosquitoes in parts of Guangzhou, China. They report that use of their sorting machine resulted in significant reductions in mosquito populations in the area. During testing, they also discovered that their device was so easy to operate that one person could run several of them at the same time. Several of the machines have already been sold to customers in Italy, France, the U.S., and Mexico. More information: Jun-Tao Gong et al, Upscaling the production of sterile male mosquitoes with an automated pupa sex sorter, Science Robotics (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adj6261 Journal information: Science Robotics 2024 Science X Network 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 Tesla logo is shown on Feb. 27, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Authorities in Washington announced Tuesday, July 30 that the Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle in April was operating on the companys Full Self Driving system. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File U.S. road safety investigators say they will look into an April crash near Seattle after authorities determined that a Tesla was operating on the company's "Full Self-Driving" system when it hit and killed a motorcyclist. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it is gathering information on the crash from law enforcement officers and Tesla. Investigators from the Washington State Patrol determined that the system was in use after downloading information from the event-data recorder on the 2022 Tesla Model S involved in the crash, agency spokesman Capt. Deion Glover said Tuesday. No charges have been filed against the driver but the investigation is still under way, Glover said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that "Full Self Driving" should be able to run without human supervision by the end of this year. He has been promising a fleet of robotaxis for several years. During the company's earnings conference call, he acknowledged that his predictions on the issue "have been overly optimistic in the past." Musk is staking much of Tesla's future on development of self-driving software and a humanoid robot. He has told investors that Tesla should be seen as a robotics and artificial intelligence company, and he has scheduled an event in October to reveal a new robotaxi. Tesla did not return messages seeking comment. Tesla has two partially automated driving systems, "Full Self-Driving," which can take on many driving tasks even on city streets, and Autopilot, which can keep a car in its lane and away from objects in front of it. Sometimes the names are confused by Tesla owners and the public. Tesla says at present neither system can drive itself and that human drivers must be ready to take control at any time. "Full Self-Driving" is being tested on public roads by selected Tesla owners. Twice NHTSA has made Tesla recall "Full Self-Driving" because it disobeyed traffic laws. It also forced a recall of Autopilot, alleging that Tesla's system for making sure drivers pay attention was inadequate. In April, the agency began investigating whether the Autopilot recall actually worked. 2024 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: Union executives gathered on Thursday outside Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong's house. Leaders of a South Korean union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics staged a protest Thursday outside the house of the company's chairman and heir, after fresh negotiations failed. Thousands of union members stopped working on July 8 for what was initially meant to be a three-day strike, part of a long-running battle over pay and benefits. The union subsequently extended the work stoppage "indefinitely". It is unclear exactly how many workers have downed tools, and Samsung has said the action is not affecting production, posting record growth and profits earlier this week for the second quarter. "If a delay occurs in semiconductor processing, the effects won't be immediate. It takes weeks or months," Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), told AFP. The union engaged in eleventh-hour talks with management for three days, until Wednesday, but has failed to reach an agreement. Union executives gathered on Thursday outside Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong's house, holding pickets that read "Samsung Electronics' strike, Lee Jae-yong should be accountable". Another displayed a picture of Lee holding a finger to his mouth with the caption, "Shh! Labor union, what's that? Samsung strike, what's that?" A handful of police were deployed at the premises and the protest was interrupted by the police warning the union they were not allowed to chant. "In the 25 days since the strike began, all Lee has done is attend the wedding of the son of Asia's richest man and give out Samsung phones to Olympic athletes that are worth over 30 billion won ($22 million)," union member Kim Jae-won told reporters. Lee was a guest at the wedding of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant in July. Last week he attended a banquet co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the Louvre Museum. The union claimed that the company was trying to break the strike with illegal means, including creating a "blacklist" of strike participants. "We will publicize all of this," Son Woo-mok, head of NSEU, told AFP. "Labor suppression, unfair labor practices, industrial accidents, the list continues." Samsung said Wednesday it was "communicating and discussing to ensure that this labor union strike ends early", adding there was "no problem with responding to our customer volume". The first labor union at Samsung Electronics was formed in the late 2010s. The National Samsung Electronics Union, which has around 36,000 members, or nearly a quarter of the company's total workforce, claims labor organizing remains taboo at the company. Two years ago, the union staged a demonstration in front of Lee's residence, successfully securing three additional holidays. In 2020, former Samsung employees faced criticism for their unorthodox protest methods, which included grilling pork belly, drinking soju, and strumming guitars outside Lee's home. 2024 AFP 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: Purdue University professor Luna Lu, at left, and students in her lab made the discoveries and conducted the experiments that have led to the development of a promising new concrete strength testing method and commercial product. Cihang Huang, at right, a Ph.D. student in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, is part of Lu's research group. Credit: Purdue University /Greta Bell A Purdue University invention that may shorten construction timelines and increase long-term durability of concrete highways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure is emerging as a viable alternative to methods that have been used for decades to estimate when newly poured concrete is mature enough to withstand heavy loads such as those from trucks and other vehicles. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Committee on Materials and Pavements (AASHTO COMP) has approved the Purdue-developed method as a new national standard. AASHTO membership is comprised of the departments of transportation (DOT) of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The creation of this standard, published Wednesday (July 31), puts the method on a path for states and contractors to consider looking into it as a new practice. Embedded directly into fresh concrete, the Purdue invention uses sensor technology to provide engineers with relatively precise and consistent real-time data on concrete's strength, which may be comparable or even surpass the accuracy of several current tools and methods. For highways and bridges, less uncertainty associated with determining when concrete pavement is strong enough to handle heavy truck traffic can potentially allow newly repaired road sections to open sooner, which could save money spent on those repairs and increase convenience for the traveling public. In the long term, a more precise determination of strength gain of the concrete over time can also help pavements last longer by not loading them too soon and inducing early damage or fatigue, affecting durability. Opening roads sooner to traffic after construction and improving their condition could also result in financial savings for the commerce sector by reducing delays for the transportation of goods and services and leading to less wear and tear of long-haul freight trucks. "The majority of our infrastructure was built in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, the population in the U.S. was only half of the current population," said Luna Lu, Purdue's Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, who invented the sensor technology. "This means that all this infrastructure was not built and designed for the volume of traffic, the frequency of use and the amount of people we have today. We have to think of a better way to communicate with our infrastructure." The Indiana Department of Transportation in June conducted a verification test of REBEL sensor technology, a beta product of the startup Wavelogix that was invented by Purdue researchers. Sensors were installed within a bridge deck in Anderson, Indiana. Credit: Purdue University /Rui He Working with states on a promising new idea Concrete pavement makes up less than 2% of U.S. roads but approximately 20% of the U.S. interstate system, which supports much of the nation's traffic. As part of a Federal Highway Administration pooled-fund study, Purdue researchers and Wavelogix, a startup Lu founded in 2021, have been testing the invention as a commercial beta product in these states: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Utah and California. Rui He, a Ph.D. student in Purdue's Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, has led the team's work in completing more than 20 tests over the past year, installing the sensors into highways, bridge decks and retaining walls. Initial results from testing in these states indicate that the sensor technology is potentially more accurate and consistent than some of the existing concrete strength tests which are considered to be "state-of-the-practice." The Purdue-Wavelogix team also has plans to test in other states. However, creating awareness of this new AASHTO standard is a crucial step toward DOTs officially adopting this method into their state construction and materials testing specifications. As awareness grows, more state DOTs will likely experiment with the new method to validate and attain their own experience and expertise. If during this process state DOTs conclude this new method is viable, they will gradually implement its use through specifications for construction project contracts. Whether the new AASHTO standard gains traction in the field leading to widespread acceptance will not likely be known for several years to come as innovation and change generally happen gradually in the construction industry. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), which has funded the sensor technology since the beginning of its development, proposed the method as a standard to AASHTO COMP's technical subcommittee on hardened concrete last summer, as the Purdue invention was starting to become a commercial product. "There have been wins all along in the lab and with the technology," said Mike Nelson, a concrete engineer in INDOT's Division of Materials and Tests, who has worked with Lu and her team throughout the entire process of establishing this technology as a new concrete strength test. Purdue University researchers and the startup Wavelogix worked with a crew to test REBEL sensor technology, invented by Purdue, within a section of Interstate 25 in Colorado last summer. Credit: Purdue University /Rui He This process has included a handful of tests in several Indiana highways and bridges to develop the model that Wavelogix launched to market in December as a commercial product called the REBEL concrete strength sensing system. Wavelogix licenses the technology from the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which has applied for patent protection on the intellectual property. INDOT is currently conducting its own verification tests of the REBEL product and has added this technique to its Indiana Test Methods Index, which will allow the technology to be used in Indiana once it is validated by field trials and pilot projects. "The implications of this technology are staggering because everybody who pours concreteit doesn't matter whether you're building a skyscraper or a roadwhat you want to know is the strength of the concrete so you can move on with construction. There's nothing anywhere else in the world that can determine concrete strength in place like this does," Nelson said. Daniel Tobias, a member of AASHTO COMP's technical subcommittee on hardened concrete and the engineer of concrete, soils and metals for the Illinois Department of Transportation, also saw the value of this method and assisted with the drafting of the standard based on INDOT's proposal. In November, DOT representatives in the subcommittee and the parent Committee on Materials and Pavements voted to advance this standard to publication. "The committee agreed that the idea and the research had worth based upon the introduction of the work from Indiana and its sponsors, and so we decided to try to move it forward," Tobias said. "If we can get a reasonably good estimate of concrete strength quickly, that gives us a faster answer about when we can open the road or the bridge to traffic. We're always looking for new ways to do that. This was a novel application that was developed from scratch that nobody had seen before." Challenging the status quo in concrete strength testing Lu and her lab started developing this technology in 2017, when INDOT requested help in more accurately determining when pavement is ready to be opened to traffic. From beneath a concrete pour, this black circular sensor transmits data about concrete strength levels through a cord plugged into an aboveground device called a data logger. Engineers receive real-time data from this device through an app. Credit: Purdue University /Greta Bell The most common method that the industry has used for decades calls for testing large samples or "cylinders" of hardened concrete at a lab or on-site facility. Using that data, engineers estimate the strength level that a particular concrete mix will achieve after being poured and left to cure at a construction site. Although these tests are well understood by the industry, discrepancies between lab and outdoor conditions can result in inaccurate strength estimates due to the different cement compositions, the temperature of the surrounding area and other factors. Another less frequently used method for determining strength is known as the maturity concept, which uses a recently established time and temperature history of a particular concrete to develop a maturity-strength curve. Measurement of the heat given off over time during the chemical reaction of cement with water provides a reasonable estimate of strength gain over time, but this method is very specific to a particular mix used at a particular time and place. "You might think that it's super straightforward to measure the strength of concrete, but it's not as exact of a science as you might think it is," Tobias said. With the technology Lu and her team invented, engineers no longer have to rely on concrete sample cylinders or the maturity concept to estimate when fresh concrete has cured enough. Instead, they can more directly monitor the fresh concrete and accurately measure its strength and temperature. Construction workers install the sensors by securing them to reinforcement or placing them on the subgrade, a layer of soil that provides the foundation for paving concrete. After pouring the concrete, they plug each sensor cable extending from the concrete's formwork into a reusable handheld device that automatically starts logging data. Using the app, workers can receive information on real-time growth in the concrete strength for as long as the strength data is required. "Every time I've handed a sensor to a contractor, the only question they've asked me is 'When will this be available?' The value added to the industry is so apparent to the people who would be using this technology on a day-to-day basis," Lu said. Lu's lab invented this sensor technologybased on its discovery that vibrations in concrete could be used to detect rigidity and other mechanical properties that convey the concrete's strength. This technology uses electrical energy to excite the sensors, which vibrates the concrete, and then converts the mechanical energy of these vibrations back to electrical energy. The sensors measure the change in the frequencies of the vibrations of the concrete over time and correlate this change to concrete strength gain. Purdue University professor Luna Lu holds the REBEL concrete strength sensing system, which her lab invented to improve estimates of in-place strength of concrete structures. As a beta product of Wavelogix, founded by Lu, the REBEL sensor technology is being tested in several states. Credit: Purdue University /Greta Bell A mathematical model that Lu's lab developed to describe this physical phenomenon and later create the software for the REBEL product was awarded the Alfred Noble Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2022. "This was an indication from the scientific perspective that people see this as a very important discovery," Lu said. The technology has received numerous other accolades over the course of its development. In April the REBEL product was recognized as a gold winner of an Edison Award in the category of Critical Human Infrastructure. The innovation has appeared on Time's Best Inventions of 2023 list and Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech for 2022, and it was named a "Gamechanger" on the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The process of turning this invention into a commercial product has also been supported by multiple awards from the National Science Foundation. Wavelogix recently received a $3 million investment from Rhapsody Venture Partners and has secured support from a group of angel investors. Lu is optimistic about the technology's future and the benefits it will bring to concrete infrastructure throughout the U.S. "What has me really excited is getting the industry's feedback and seeing a matching of the technology to a problem," Lu said. "Invention is when you develop something, but when this something solves a bigger problem, that is innovation." More information: T 412, Standard Method of Test for Real-Time Estimate of In-Place Concrete Strength Using Acoustical Resonance Method, store.transportation.org/Item/ cationDetail?ID=5264 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The Uber logo appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Aug. 16, 2019. The ride sharing giant Uber and Chinese automaker BYD plan a partnership to introduce 100,000 BYD model EVs on the Uber platform in Europe and Latin America, eventually expanding to other markets, the companies announced. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, File The ride sharing giant Uber and Chinese automaker BYD plan a partnership to introduce 100,000 BYD model EVs on the Uber platform in Europe and Latin America, eventually expanding to other markets, the companies announced. The arrangement would offer Uber drivers access to favorable pricing, insurance, financing and other services for BYD vehicles, the companies said in a statement seen Thursday. Plans call for the partnership to expand to the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. The companies said the plan would help accelerate the switch to EVs and that they also plan to collaborate in introducing autonomous-capable EVs on the Uber platform. BYD, China's largest EV maker, has fast been expanding its reach into world markets after switching entirely to production of EVs and hybrids in 2022. The BYD logo is pictured during the press day at the 91th Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. The ride sharing giant Uber and Chinese automaker BYD plan a partnership to introduce 100,000 BYD model EVs on the Uber platform in Europe and Latin America, eventually expanding to other markets, the companies announced. Credit: Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP, File The rapid emergence of low-priced EVs from China is shaking up the global auto industry in ways not seen since Japanese makers arrived during the oil crises of the 1970s. The European Union imposed provisional duties on Chinese electric vehicles in June, alleging that government subsidies give automakers in China an unfair advantage. BYD EVs aren't being sold in the U.S. now largely because of 27.5% tariffs on the sale price of Chinese vehicles when they arrive at ports. But Chinese makers are moving production overseas. BYD, has opened a plant in Thailand and plans to build factories in Brazil, Hungary and Turkey. 2024 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: Toyota aims to sell 1.5 million pure electric vehicles annually by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030. Toyota reported a small rise in net profits on Thursday as a weak yen and cost cuts helped the Japanese auto giant overcome a drop in production and sales in its home market. The firm said first-quarter net income rose 1.7 percent to 1.33 trillion yen ($8.9 billion) and operating profit jumped 16.7 percent to 1.31 trillion yen. Revenues climbed 12.2 percent to 11.8 trillion yen. The world's largest automaker by sales also stuck to its full-year forecasts, predicting net profit of 3.57 trillion yen, marking a drop of 27.8 percent, on sales of 46 trillion yen, which would be a gain of 2.0 percent. Toyota said the rise in profit was "despite a decrease in production and sales volume in Japan, due to the effects of foreign exchange rates and cost reduction efforts". "Despite the inability to maintain stable production in Japan due to factors such as certification issues and recalls, we achieved an increase in profit, thanks to the support of all our stakeholders, including suppliers and dealers," a statement said. In June, the government instructed five firmsToyota, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki and Yamahato stop delivering certain vehicle models within Japan because of certification issues. This week Toyota was also slapped with a correction order by the transport ministry over a failure to comply fully with national vehicle inspection standards. That followed inspections in June by officials at its headquarters in the central Aichi region to probe breaches declared by the company related to domestic shipment certifications. Toyota last year reported record bumper results, with net profit doubling to 4.94 trillion yen and revenues soaring by a fifth to 45.1 trillion yen. The results were driven by strong sales of hybrid vehicleswhich combine internal combustion engines and batteriesan area that Toyota pioneered with the Prius. Electric challenge But it has been criticized along with other Japanese automakers for being slow to embrace purely battery-powered vehicles, allowing firms like Tesla and China's BYD to steal a march and gain market share. However, there are signs consumers are going cold on pure EVs because of high prices and worries about reliability, range and a lack of charging points. The firm is also hoping to mass-produce solid-state batteries, a potential game-changing technological breakthrough that could mean faster charging times and greater range. On Thursday Toyota's rivals Honda and Nissan said that they would cooperate on research in batteries for EVs and other areas. The news follows an announcement in March that they were exploring a "strategic alliance" to join forces to cope with a "once-in-a-century" upheaval in the car industry. Japan's number two and three automaker also confirmed in a statement that Mitsubishi was considering teaming up with them. "The partnership was initiated when the top management of both companies recognized that the global automotive industry is undergoing dynamic structural changes due to technological innovations in intelligence and electrification, and that companies that cannot cope with these changes will be eliminated," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a news conference. "The Japanese auto industry, like many others globally, is facing unprecedented challenges. These challenges include the rapid transition to electric vehicles, stringent environmental regulations, and intense competition from both established foreign carmakers and new entrants, particularly from China and the US," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida told AFP. "While alliances can provide significant benefits, the success of such collaborations will depend on effective integration and execution," he said. 2024 AFP Amanda Drane is the energy investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle. Amanda is responsible for holding major energy companies, power providers and their leadership to account. She works to help audiences make sense of these companies roles and responsibilities in major news events, while diving into some of the consequences of their choices and decisions in our region. Before joining the papers business desk in May 2020, she worked as a City Hall reporter in Massachusetts, where she won regional awards for covering issues such as police accountability and the exploitation of undocumented restaurant workers. The Hall County Election Office has rejected 60 or 70 ballots that voters have filled in for this months by-mail election involving the possible creation of a Good Life District economic development program. Hall County Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet reported those numbers at a Good Life question and answer session Wednesday. Many of the flawed ballots have been corrected, Overstreet said Thursday. When phone numbers are available, the Election Office staff calls people to tell them their ballot problem needs to be cured, Overstreet said. A new ballot envelope is being used in the election. Nebraskas new Voter ID law requires voters to not only sign the envelope, but also provide their drivers license or state ID number on the envelope. Ballot envelopes that do not have Voter ID information and a signature that matches data on file with the Hall County Election Office will be rejected. The envelope has two security seals and a privacy flap to cover the voters signature and Voter ID number. Those voters who do not have a drivers license or state ID number must provide a photocopy of a different form of identification, such as a concealed carry permit, a passport, or a Nebraska college ID. Voters using a drivers license or state ID number do not have to provide any photocopies. Overstreet encourages voters to write their phone numbers on the ballot. Ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. Tuesday, August. 13 to be counted. Many voters are delivering their ballots by hand to the Hall County Election Office or depositing them in the ballot drop box at the east entrance of the Hall County Administration Building. The election office is in the Hall County Administration Building at 121 S. Pine St. If people plan to mail their ballots, Overstreet encourages voters to get them in the mail by this Saturday, Aug. 3. The phone number of the election office is 308-385-5085. A complete list of acceptable IDs can be found at the Nebraska Secretary of States website at https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/voter-id. Voters can go online to Nebraska Voter Check to check if their ballot was accepted. Nebraska Voter Check is at https://ne.gov/go/votercheck. Headlining the Aug. 1, 1974 Grand Island Daily Independent, Grand Island Public Schools superintendent Dr. Glenn Lundstrom reported on assuming his new duties as the director of the systems secondary curriculum program. The storied educator looked back over his 15 years of service to the district in the article, noting he was proud of the dramatic changes that took place under his superintendency. When school opened in the fall of 1959, there were 5,300 students and a staff of 240 housed in eight elementary buildings and the secondary schools, he recalled. The budget that year was $1,580,000 and the valuation of the school district was $36.7 million. In the article, written by Kyle Lawson, Landstrom further explained that then (in 1974), enrollment had grown to more than 6,400 students, with a staff of 390. There were then 13 elementary schools an three secondary schools. The budget was well over $5 million. When you have growth like that, its bound to be dramatic, Lundstrom said. The superintendent attributed the growth in budget to staff. We increased our curriculum and, of necessity, we had to increase our staff, he said. This can be seen in our expanded programs in the fields of special education, special reading, media aides, elementary physical education, elementary vocal and instrumental music and on the job training at Grand Island Senior High. He further credited the districts use of federal funds to help sustain its growth noting he looks back on it with pride. The Grand Island schools have consistently been recognized as an educational leader and as an AA accredited school, he said. Barr and Walnut Junior Highs were among the first junior highs in Nebraska to be admitted to the North Central Accrediting Association. I am very proud of that. Large construction projects, including the building of Barr Junior High, Knickrehm and Jefferson elementary schools, and an addition al Newell. Other schools also underwent large changes during this period and the planning of the new Starr Elementary school (under construction in 1974) took place. The development of this educational system during my 15 years as superintendent could not have been possible without strong community support and the elected board of education, he said. ...This leadership for Grand Island Public Schools should continue, providing administrators are permitted to function in their respective roles. Lundstrom died at the age of 79, in June of 1991, in Omaha. I always thought a lot of Glenn Lundstrom, said then-Superintendent Marv Maurer. The Grand Island Public Schools grew more during the years under Glenn Lundstrom than ever before. Lundstrom was also remembered by colleagues as a very personable person, a caring kind of person. Lundstrom was born in Ceresco and received his bachelors degree from Midland College and masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska. Her served as a principal at Bruning and superintendent in Carlston, North Bend, Hebron, Blair and Beatrice, as well as Grand Island. According to his obituary, published on June 24, 1991, Lundstrom was a veteran of the United States Navy, serving in WWII as a Lt. J.G. in the Southwest Pacific. He was survived by his wife, Marjorie Darlene Lundstrom, as well as a son, Tom, and two daughters, Mary Hoover and Doris Jones. Other surviving relatives included brothers, step-children and eight grandchildren. Indian pharma giants eye $200 mln investment in Vietnam By Tri Duc Thu, August 1, 2024 | 4:07 pm GMT+7 Indian pharma giants SMS Pharmaceuticals and Sri Avantika Contractors aim to invest $200 million in building a high-tech pharmaceutical park in Vietnam that can attract investments of $4-5 billion, executives said Wednesday. Ramesh Babu, chairman and managing director of SMS Pharmaceuticals, and Narendra Reddy, managing director of Sri Avantika Contractors, presented the parks proposal at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during the latters three-day state visit to India. Ramesh Babu, chairman and managing director of SMS Pharmaceuticals, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right), meet in New Delhi, July 31, 2024. Photo courtesy of the government news portal. The two firms and their Vietnamese partner have established a joint venture to prepare for the investment. The facility, within Nghi Son Economic Zone in Vietnams central province of Thanh Hoa, can attract $4-5 billion in the next decade for exporting products to the United States and Europe, the executives said. So far, 50 investors have expressed their interest in investing in the facility, Babu said, adding that Vietnams favorable investment environment and dynamic economy were strong attractions. Dharmesh Shah, chairman and founder of BDR Group, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) meet in New Delhi, July 31, 2024. Photo courtesy of the government's news portal. Also Wednesday, Dharmesh Shah, chairman and founder of BDR Group, told PM Chinh that the firm plans to invest and manufacture medicines in Vietnam. As the biggest manufacturer of cancer medicine in India with 80% of the market share, BDR currently provides input materials for several medicine factories in Vietnam and is preparing to distribute cancer medicines in the country, he said. Aiming to become a strategic and long-term investor in Vietnam, BDR was researching suitable areas to invest in Vietnam, alongside making technology transfers, he added. Welcoming the initiatives of Indian firms, PM Chinh said Vietnam encouraged, facilitated and offered incentives for pharmaceutical investments. Indian products now account for about one-third of the medicine market in Vietnam, he added. He asked Vietnams Ministry of Health and local authorities to cooperate with the Indian firms to deploy the projects. He also urged Indian firms to make suggestions on Vietnams ongoing efforts to update its legal framework. Chinh also emphasized Vietnams advantages, including the large population of 100 million, participation in many free trade agreements and abundant materials for medicine production. Frisco is a fast-growing suburb north of Dallas. You get there by driving on one the many anonymous toll roads that ring the outer limits of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Frisco is often mentioned in those articles about Californians moving to Texas, with the low cost of housing being the main driver of the West Coast influx. On a recent visit, I crept up the toll road on a weekday rush hour heading to the Frisco location of Hutchins Barbeque, a venerable Dallas-area barbecue joint. Dry rub baby-back rib box at Ribbee's, Fort Worth J.C. Reid/Contributor Ribbee's in Fort Worth J.C. Reid/Contributor Menu at Cattleack BBQ, Farmers Branch J.C. Reid/Contributor Fleet of smokers and line of guests at Hutchins Barbeque, Frisco J.C. Reid/Contributor Brisket at Cattleack BBQ, Farmers Branch J.C. Reid/Contributor Ribbee's in Fort Worth J.C. Reid/Contributor Ribbee's in Fort Worth J.C. Reid/Contributor Cattleack BBQ in Farmers Branch J.C. Reid/Contributor Advertisement Article continues below this ad I was in town a few days to survey the DFW barbecue scene, and since Hutchins was open for dinner, I figured Id swing in and grab a quick bite to kick things off. Instead, I was greeted with a full parking lot, part of which was filled with a fleet of free-standing, trailer-mounted barrel-smokers. Beyond that, a line snaked out of the front door and into the lot, even as temperatures hovered in the high 80s on this early evening. What gives? You rarely find an hourlong wait in line at a barbecue joint for dinner. Certainly, a booming population of hungry suburbanites fed the frenzy, along with a recent visit from a highly influential TikTok food critic. Ultimately, though, it comes down to the quality of the experience and smoked meats, and Hutchins excels at both. Especially for a location that does such a large volume, the barbecue here is great and the staff is welcoming and engaging. The main barbecue tour began in earnest the following day. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I hadnt been to Dallas for barbecue since the early days of the craft barbecue movement, when places such as Pecan Lodge, Lockhart Smokehouse and The Slow Bone were the new kids on the block. My first stop was Cattleack Barbeque, founded by Todd and Misty David and now owned by employee Andrew Castelan. Starting around 2010, I began bumping into Todd David at various events around Texas where hed tell me about his upcoming barbecue joint. I finally got to visit, and Todd David is still working the pits and the cutting block. The barbecue here is some of the best in Dallas, and I was happy to catch up with him, though briefly, as he cut the meat and assembled my tray. Over the next few days, I visited a selection of DFW-area barbecue joints, both old and new, including the classic Sonny Bryans Smokehouse, Daynes Craft Barbecue in nearby Aledo, Sabar BBQ in Fort Worth and the Tex-Mex-influenced Sosas Barbecue pop-up. My final stop was at Ribbees, a bright-red former Sonic location that specializes in baby back ribs. Conceived by the owners of nearby Goldees Barbecue (the No. 1 barbecue joint in the state according to Texas Monthly), Ribbees is a clever concept meant to economize and simplify the growing menu choices at many barbecue restaurants. The focus here is on the crowd-pleasing and user-friendly cut of pork known as a baby back rib that can be mixed and matched with various dry rubs and wet glazes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ribbees is one of my favorite new barbecue joints in the state, both for the unique concept and quality of barbecue. Overall, my impression is that DFW certainly holds its own in the overall quality of the barbecue there, though I feel it lacks the breadth, depth and diversity of barbecue in Houston. Theres still plenty of room for DFW barbecue to grow, so that may someday change. Hutchins BBQ 9225 Preston, Frisco Open daily for lunch and dinner. Cattleack Barbeque 13628 Gamma, Farmers Branch Open for lunch Wednesday-Friday only. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Crinkled slats from tin roofs and splintered wooden beams were among the debris strewn along Broughton Street on Wednesday morning. A Tuesday night microburst, with straight-line winds, is to blame. There was no tornado. Tuesday nights thunderstorm in Orangeburg resulted in a cell merger event, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Meteorologist-in-Charge Richard Okulski said. What we see by the damage was we had a microburst, with straight-line wind damage that occurred, Okulski said Wednesday. Those are difficult to pick up on radar, he added. We had several thunderstorm warnings just south of here. We had a special weather statement for wind gusts up to 50 mph, he said. He visited the heart of the damage at the intersection of Broughton Street and Russell Street. Referring to one building, he said, It took part of the roof off and put the damage out on the street. The storm occurred between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services Director Billy Staley said. Its like the bottom falling out of a thunderstorm. When the microburst comes down, all of the wind comes straight down to the ground and when it gets to the ground, it fans out like a fan. And when it fans out, you get damage in all directions and all of it pointed outward, he said. And thats what were seeing. Storm damage was reported as far away as five miles out of the city limits. Weve got one house thats damaged off of Brentwood Drive and then weve got several structural damages downtown near the intersection of Russell and Broughton, in addition to some damage at Mirmow Field, he said. Today were out doing damage assessments. (The Orangeburg Department of) Public Safety is out making sure everything is safe, as they did last night, Staley added. Staley noted his agency and others were documenting the damage on Wednesday. The push today is to try to make sure weve got everything as safe as we can make it, get our dollar figures in how much damage we actually have, he said. There were no reported injuries. Staley urges property owners and residents to have plans for emergency events. He suggests: Keeping insurance up to date Having adequate supplies on hand to get through the first few hours Calling 911 to report emergencies Reporting structural property damage to the Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Director Charles Austin Sr. said some homeless people often seek shelter in some of Orangeburgs vacant buildings. With that storm and significant wind elements, I had concerns someone was in one of those buildings and suffered injuries, but that didnt happen and were grateful, he said. Exotic Styling Salon, located at 1061 Broughton Street, is a few feet from where debris covered most of the street. It was not damaged. Salon owner Jackie Elmore stepped out of the salon wearing a shirt that said, Woman of Faith. Its a blessing. I mean God is so awesome, she said. Thats why I love me some God because it couldve gone the other way. I actually worked last night and right when I got off, it started raining real hard. I could barely see to get home, she said. I had no idea all of this was going to appear. When I got here this morning, Im like, Oh my God! but Im grateful. I am forever grateful, Elmore added. And to come here and see all of this just feet away from where I work and our place is still intact. No leaks. Its just amazing. Im just grateful to God that he spared us, she said. Me and my co-worker, Mrs. Jean Goodwin, we are grateful that were able to still be able to work and come in and help people and transform them by making them extra pretty, she added. I am truly a woman of faith. I believe in God with all my heart. I always put him first. Hes amazing, she said. Gilbert and Shirley Williams own ETR Truck Repair, located at 582 Broughton Street. Their rollup garage doors were damaged and cement blocks fell from an upper wall onto the ground. And there was a gas leak. Shirley Williams said she and her husband had just left tending to a family member in Denmark before returning to Orangeburg on Tuesday night. They received a text message containing a photo of their damaged business. Go to the shop! Go to the shop! Go to the shop! Shirley Williams said to her husband. The two dogs and the cat who live at the shop were fine. She noted, Were not going to try to stay closed for long. Gilbert Williams said, We have a school bus in there to get out. We have a truck in there to get out. It is what it is, he added. A pine tree from Veronica Richardsons yard, on Woodbine Drive, fell onto the street. The storm woke Richardson. The whole house felt like something just shook it, she said. I couldnt see because it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing, she said. When I looked out the dining room window, I saw limbs blowing around the yard, she added. Richardson has lived in the home for 13 years and hasnt experienced what she did on Tuesday night. Workers from the S.C. Department of Transportation cleared the felled tree Wednesday morning. Over on Sherwood Drive, Kenneth and Ada Fairey were watching television around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when the weather got bad. We heard what sounded like the wind getting up, then we heard hail, Kenneth Fairey said. As the wind got up, we heard pinecones hitting the house, he added. His wife suggested turning the television channel to get a weather report. And then Boom! Thats when the tree fell down, he said. An oak tree from a neighboring property fell onto the house. The Williams werent physically injured. Local officials arrived and turned the electricity off in their home. The Williams stayed with a niece for the remainder of the night. The storm also knocked a tree onto Cannon Bridge Road. At Mirmow Field, off Whaley Street, the storm damaged a block outfield wall, roofing over part of the bleachers and one of the stadiums light towers. (TBTCO) - Theo bao cao tai chinh hop nhat quy III/2024 moi uoc cong bo, Cong ty CP Tong cong ty ia oc Sai Gon (ma CK: SGR) ghi nhan doanh thu gap 3 lan va loi nhuan sau thue tang hon 2 lan so voi cung ky nam truoc. Tuy nhien, du ket qua kinh doanh quy III kha quan nhung SGR van con mot chang uong dai e at uoc muc tieu nam, khi moi chi hoan thanh uoc 13,1% ke hoach e ra. The Sugar Land City Hall at 2700 Town Center Boulevard, Sugar Land. Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Sugar Land will implement a new tenure-driven step pay plan for public safety employees this week, after city leaders determined a merit-based pay system made it more difficult to attract new hires. The updated city compensation policy for the city totals $8.8 million annually, with $4.74 million allocated to the step program for police, fire, EMS, dispatch, detention and other public safety employees. Non-public safety employees will continue to be paid on a merit-based system. The new compensation plan will be implemented for the remainder of the current fiscal year, going into effect for the next pay period on Aug. 3, and will be worked into the budget for next fiscal year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Paula Kutchka, Sugar Lands director of people and culture, presented the plan to council members before they approved it July 24. Because the majority of the cities and agencies we actively compete against for public safety staff utilize grade and step systems, we found that we were increasingly struggling to attract talent, said Kutchka. Further, we were risking the loss of talent, both current employees, and possible future hires to these agencies that highlighted their compensation commitment through career progression steps. City Manager Mike Goodrum confirmed the new policy would not result in a tax increase. City spokesperson Doug Adolph said city officials will find ways to be more efficient, which could mean not filling some vacant positions. "This will not result in anyone losing their job, and we will not cut essential services important to our residents," Adolph said. "This means we will work together to find savings necessary to fund the plan." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Combining the allocations for Fire/EMS, Dispatch, and Police, we arrive at $4.74 million set aside for the step program for public safety personnel. City of Sugar Land How does step pay work? A grade and step pay system is a structured approach to employee compensation. Employees are assigned levels based on the complexity and responsibility of their roles, plus steps within their roles that represent incremental salary increases based on factors such as years of service, experience, or performance. The step program establishes the minimum pay as $75,605 for police officers, $71,490 for firefighters, and $55,016 for dispatchers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad FORT BEND INSIDER: Never miss a story with our bi-weekly newsletter The revised compensation policy allows us to utilize a compensation plan and salary structures that demonstrate our commitment to employee growth and development, not only in their current role with the city, but throughout their career at the city, said Kutchka. They ensure that we're paying employees appropriately for the positions they hold, and that we value the experience and knowledge. Councilors express concerns over short notice Councilors Stewart Jacobson, Suzanne Whatley, and William Ferguson said they felt the plan was being rushed but ultimately approved it. "It's a fundamental change in the way we pay our employees," Jacobson said during the meeting, noting the compensation committee had only found out about the change the day before. "We've been a merit based city, we pay on merit. And in less than an hour we're being asked to change. I want some time to study this thing." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayor Joe Zimmerman said the change has been a topic of discussion for years. We have known since 2020 we needed to address compensation, he said. You invest in your people. Well, we haven't been investing in our people quite frankly, we've gotten behind. A recent compensation study found Sugar Land police officers were earning $20,000 less annually than the market average, while firefighters and sergeants were $15,000 below the average. We've been looking at financial forecasts for the last five years that have shown expenditures exceeding revenues we have to become more efficient as an organization, we are going to have to do more with less, Goodrum said. The council unanimously approved amending the current budget to incorporate the new compensation plan and agreed that further work was required to address financial implications during the budget process for next fiscal year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Budget workshops will start Aug. 8, Zimmerman said. Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced that it had signed MoUs worth up to $50 billion with six leading Chinese financial institutions aimed at boosting co-operation in key sectors. These institutions are Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BoC), China Construction Bank (CCB), China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) Export-Import Bank of China (Cexim) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. These agreements cover areas of cooperation such as encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity, and come as part of PIFs strategy to foster institutional partnerships globally, said a top official. "The MoUs demonstrate our strong and deepening relationships with leading financial institutions and accentuate our commitment to enhancing partnerships globally," remarked Fahad AlSaif, the Head of the Global Capital Finance Division and Head of Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division, at PIF.-TradeArabia News Service UAE-based Azizi Developments has announced that 97% of the construction work has been completed on its premium condominium project - Amber - located within Al Furjan community in Dubai. The key project, featuring a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, is set for completion in Q3. Giving a project update, Azizi said the structure, blockwork, internal plaster, MEP, and HVAC work are now fully completed at Amber, along with the tiling, swimming pool, and elevator jobs. External works and facade works are 90% and 98% complete, respectively with the overall finishes now standing at 98%. Lauding the steady progress, CEO Farhad Azizi said: "We are excited to share the remarkable progress at Amber. Our proactive and meticulous strategy in material procurement and our partnerships with some of the most premier, renowned contractors and suppliers across the globe are propelling our progress forward, both in terms of speed and quality."" Situated in one of new Dubais most promising growth corridors, Al Furjan - positioning it at the heart of the action yet at a comfortable distance from the daily hustle of the city - Amber is nestled within a booming community, amidst lush greenery and mega-retail stores. It features several premium amenities, including a variety of retail and dine-in options, landscaped walking areas, a well-equipped gymnasium, childrens play areas, two swimming pools, ample parking and 24-hour security, said Azizi. "As we near completion, our unwavering dedication to enhancing lives through the communities and properties we create remains central to our mission," he added.-TradeArabia News Service UAE and Azerbaijan have agreed to develop their existing economic tie-up in the sectors including entrepreneurship, SMEs, tourism, aviation, industry, innovation, technology, agriculture, renewable energy and investment. This was decided at the ninth session of the UAE-Azerbaijan Joint Intergovernmental Commission (JIC) for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation between the two countries which was held in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, chaired by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; and his Azerbaijani counterpart Mikayil Jabbarov. The session was attended by several senior officials and government and private sector representatives from both sides. Both parties agreed to establish joint work teams consisting of members from relevant entities from both sides to explore further opportunities for economic collaboration in priority sectors at both government and private sector levels. They will also provide comprehensive support for exporters and importers to facilitate and enhance the exchange of goods and services, as well as to diversify them. Trade gateway This is particularly significant given that the UAE serves as a vital trade gateway, facilitating the movement of Azerbaijani exports to regional markets. The meeting also explored promising investment opportunities in the food and manufacturing industries and sought to create new communication channels between the two business communities. Al Marri said the UAE and Azerbaijan share strong bilateral relations and economic bonds that have evolved over more than three decades. These relations are characterised by the frequent exchange of high-level visits between the two countries. The most recent of them was the visit of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, to Azerbaijan last January, during which, MoUs were signed between the two countries in areas of mutual interest. He said: "The latest JIC session is a milestone in strengthening the economic ties between the UAE and Azerbaijan. The meeting discussed several vital economic sectors that have the potential to drive the sustainable development of both economies. We are keen to work closely with our Azerbaijani partners to open up new avenues for collaboration and create diverse opportunities in various sectors, thereby supporting the sustainable growth of both economies. Al Marri reviewed the opportunities and advantages offered by the UAEs business environment, most notably the amendments made to the Commercial Companies Law to allow 100% foreign ownership. The amendment led to the registration of more than 275,000 new companies in the UAE within a year and a half. Thus, the total number of companies operating in the UAE exceeded 788,000 by the end of 2023. In addition to this, visa and residency systems were revamped, and self-employment and green residency routes were introduced, thereby promoting the country's attractiveness to talents, competencies, and entrepreneurs in various strategic sectors. Wooing Azerbaijan's private sector Al Marri urged the Azerbaijani private sector to capitalise on the flexible and competitive policies offered by the UAEs business environment, which facilitate the establishment and launch of new ventures. He noted that the recent updates made to various legislations, including the family businesses law, commercial agencies, cooperatives, and trade through modern technology means, have contributed to ensuring a more supportive business climate. Furthermore, he emphasised the UAE's commitment to driving sustainable economic growth through promoting circular economy, particularly highlighting the UAE Circular Economy Agenda 2031. The agenda is key to enhancing sustainability in the countrys development journey through the next decade. Entrepreneurship and SMEs The UAE and Azerbaijan explored the potential for implementing tailored programmes and initiatives to boost the growth of startups in both markets. The discussions focused on enhancing investment opportunities and enabling exports to access new markets. The two sides agreed on the importance of motivating SME-owners and entrepreneurs to invest in new economy sectors, thereby increasing their contributions to the GDP of both nations. Tourism The UAE and Azerbaijan expressed their interest in organising joint tourism exhibitions, events, and conferences to highlight the key tourism and historical attractions of both countries and to leverage their diverse tourism offerings The collaboration is expected to boost tourism inflows from across the globe, particularly given that there are over 185 flights connecting the two destinations every month, operated by the UAE's national carriers. Digitalisation and Innovation Both parties discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in the areas of digitalisation, innovation, and technology. The need to exchange insights on the development of an innovative ecosystem and promote cooperative efforts between the government entities focused on AI and innovative solutions in both countries was highlighted. Agriculture and food security The UAE and Azerbaijan explored the means to strengthen cooperation in food security and agriculture through increased trade in food products as well as agricultural and livestock goods. The two sides also reviewed the latest trends in the agricultural sector. Energy and Renewable Energy The strengthening of cooperation and investment exchanges in the energy and renewable energy sectors was another major area of focus. The JIC session further explored prospects for partnerships to launch new projects, particularly in power generation, and for organising workshops for experts from both countries on energy efficiency improvement. Investment and trade relations The UAE is Azerbaijan's number one trading partner in the Arab world, accounting for 40% of its trade with the region. In 2023, the value of non-oil trade between the two countries surpassed $1.64 billion (AED6 billion), reflecting an impressive growth of 68% compared to that of 2022. Preliminary figures also suggest a rise in non-oil trade between the two countries during the period from January to April 2024, which has reached $617 million (AED2.3 billion), reflecting a 62% growth compared to the same period in 2023. The UAEs investments in Azerbaijan are estimated at $1.1 billion by the end of 2022, which makes the UAE the largest Arab and seventh largest global investor in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani investments in the UAE amounted to over $210 million as of the end of 2021.--TradeArabia News Service The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has signed nine substantial contracts with the private sector worth over SAR1 billion ($266.4 million) as part of its efforts to significantly boost the development of industrial cities across the kingdom. This initiative is strategically designed to establish and enable an industrial and investment environment that perfectly aligns with Modons vision to become the preferred destination for investment growth and the primary partner in the industrial sector, in line with the objectives of the National Industrial Strategy and the Kingdoms Vision 2030. The new projects include infrastructure development works for the initial phase in the third industrial city in Jeddah and another for the initial phase of second industrial city in Makkah, along with allocating 4.3 million sq m of land for investment to enhance its investment system, in line with the expectations of local and international investors. A contract was also signed to develop the infrastructure in the third industrial city in Dammam and allocate 2.5 million sq m of land to meet the growing demand for industrial investment in the Eastern Province. Modon also sealed a deal to establish 132 kV overhead lines in the industrial city of Tabuk, with a capacity of 100 MVA, and another contract for the establishment of 115 kV overhead lines in the industrial city of Hafar Al-Batin, also with a capacity of 100 MVA, to improve operational efficiency and fulfil the electrical energy requirements of industrial investors. Modon is dedicated to developing industrial cities that adhere to international standards, supporting Saudi Arabias transformation into a prominent industrial force and logistics hub. At the beginning of 2024, it launched Modon Oasis in Jeddah as part of its initiatives to attract quality industries, promote entrepreneurship projects, and assist small and medium-sized enterprises. Since its inception, Modon has successfully developed over 209 million sq m and has implemented a comprehensive infrastructure system. It currently oversees 36 industrial cities, including six industrial oases across the kingdom, housing over 6,500 industrial facilities that bolster the industrial sector and contribute to significantly increasing national exports.-TradeArabia News Service Ozon Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with Tecom Group for establishing its new manufacturing facility on a 150,700 sq ft area in Dubai Industrial City, the regions leading industrial and logistics hub. The new AED293 million ($79.7 million) facility, coming up at Dubai Industrial City, is being built in two phases and is set for complete operation by next year. Ozon is the latest medical leader to join Dubai Industrial City, which is home to more than 1,000 local, regional, and international customers, including Standard Carpets, Himalaya Wellness, IFFCO Group, and Unilever and over 300 operational factories. The Phase 1 of the project will be developed at an investment of AED110 million and will have a production capacity of more than 300 million tablets a year. Upon completion, the facility will serve key markets in the GCC and regional countries such as Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya, reported Wam. In the initial phase, 100 employees across specialisations such as quality assurance, pharmaceutical control, and manufacturing will work at the facility, featuring advanced medicine tracking systems to provide traceability and security through all stages of the product development lifecycle. The musataha agreement was signed by Saud Abu Alshawareb, Executive Vice President of Industrial at Tecom Group, and Dr Mustafa Khalaf, General Manager at Ozon Pharmaceuticals, on the sidelines of Innoprom 2024 in Ekaterinburg in Russia. The signing ceremony was attended by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. "Localised medical manufacturing strengthens supply chains, response times, and self-sufficiency, all of which are essential levers to embed resilience in the healthcare sector," said Abu Alshawareb. "Such socioeconomic security through the manufacturing sector is among the visions of Operation 300bn, Make it in the Emirates, and Dubai Economic Agenda D33 strategies, he stated. Dr Khalaf said: "Our vision through the launch of this facility is to have a positive impact on the manufacturing and healthcare sectors in the UAE, the wider Middle East, and the CIS regions by ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality medicines." "We also aim to foster technological innovation and elevate the standards of healthcare delivery in these regions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Valu, Menas leading universal financial technology, has announced a partnership with Truecaller to enhance customer safety and streamline business communication. Valu, understanding the crucial need for a trustworthy, safe, and secure experience for its partners and customers, has onboarded Truecaller Verified Business Caller ID solution. This will enhance phone-based communication by instilling trust and ensuring safety through verified communication channels. It empowers users to distinguish genuine business calls, vastly improving their communication experience. By leveraging Truecallers Verified Business Caller ID solution, Valu is enriching the customer experience through verified and contextual business communication, featuring elements such as the brand name, logo, category name, verification tick, and a distinctive green badge. This solidifies Valu's presence as a consumer-centric brand in the market. Language localisation By providing a call reason, Valu empowers users with additional context before answering, fostering trust and boosting communication efficiency. Additionally, language localisation ensures regionally relevant communication, further enhancing the user experience. Mostafa El Sahn, Group Chief Risk Officer of Valu, commented: At Valu, customer safety is paramount. Our partnership with Truecaller empowers us to provide a secure and reliable communication channel for our users. Truecaller's Verified Business Caller ID solution fosters trust and transparency, allowing users to confidently identify and engage with Valu representatives." Commenting on the partnership, Priyam Bose, Global Head G & Developer Products, Truecaller, said: Truecaller stands for reliability and security in communication. We equip businesses with capabilities that enhance communication efficiency and their brand's credibility and ensure secure consumer interactions. We are excited to collaborate with Valu, enabling them to provide an effective and secure communication experience for customers in the Mena region. Valu is building customer trust and satisfaction by leveraging our Verified Business Caller ID solution, making financial communications seamless and customer-centric for the industry. Egyptian fintech landscape Since its inception at the end of 2017, Valu has continued to revolutionise the Egyptian fintech landscape through its innovative offerings as part of its broader strategy to improve peoples quality of life and contribute to promoting financial inclusion across the country. Over the years, Valu has consistently pushed the boundaries of the market by introducing innovative and deeply integrated financial solutions. Today, Valu is a household name in Egypt; it plays a pivotal role in fostering financial empowerment and inclusivity within the market. Under its product universe, Valu pioneered Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) solutions in the Mena region through U and its newly introduced high-value purchases financing product, Ulter. Valu also offers investment products, an instant cash redemption programme, savings solutions, and a financing solution to facilitate the purchase of big-ticket items in the luxury space and e-gift cards through the AZ Valu fund, and EFG Hermes ONE, Sha2labaz, Akeed, Ulter, and Flip respectively. In addition, Valu offers business-to-business solutions through Valu Business. Valu has also recently introduced its prepaid card and its credit card in collaboration with Visa. Truecallers Verified Business Solution empowers business calls with brand identity and context, fostering reliable customer communication. Over 2,500 active businesses worldwide have benefited from the Verified Business Caller ID and other advanced communication capabilities. This solution enhances business call efficiency and significantly reduces phone call-related frauds and scams, promoting heightened customer safety in business communications.--TradeArabia News Service It's All in A Day fashion show is making a return to Dubai for its third season, taking place for the first time show in the land of technology and innovation the Dubai Silicon Oasis from November 9-10, in partnership with IFZA, the Free Zone Community in the UAE. The show, which promises a unique fusion of high fashion and cutting-edge surroundings, will showcase the exceptional talents of 10 outstanding fashion designers who will present their latest ready-to-wear and couture masterpieces, showcase their creativity, craftsmanship, and trend-setting collections. We are thrilled to bring 'It's All in A Day' fashion show back for its third season, especially with the incredible support of IFZA," said Kevin Oliver, co-founder & Creative Director. This partnership allows us to elevate the event to new heights, offering an immersive experience that goes beyond traditional fashion shows. With the combination of fashion, art, music, and theatre, we aim to inspire and captivate our audience in a way that has never been done before, said Martin Victor Al Masri - co-founder & Partnerships Manager. The two-day extravaganza will feature not only stunning fashion displays but also live performances, art installations, and musical acts, ensuring a dynamic and engaging experience for all attendees. Fashion enthusiasts, industry professionals, and the general public alike are invited to witness this groundbreaking event that celebrates the convergence of various forms of artistic expression. TradeArabia News Service Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy reported that Japan's oil imports from the UAE in June amounted to 25.84 million barrels, representing 41.3% of total imports, Emirates News Agency, WAM, said. In June, Japan imported approximately 62.54 million barrels of oil, of which 96.4%, or 60.26 million barrels, came from four other Arab countries besides the UAE, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Milaidhoo Maldives, a luxurious resort, has appointed Paul van Frank as its new General Manager. With over three decades of experience in luxury hospitality, Paul brings a wealth of expertise in boutique resort management and a proven track record of success in remote and prestigious destinations worldwide. His career includes leadership roles at properties such as Fregate Island in Seychelles and Maradiva Villas Resort & Spa in Mauritius. Before joining Milaidhoo, Paul served as the General Manager at Le Jadis Beach Resort & Wellness Mauritius, formerly known as Angsana Balaclava Mauritius, where he rebranded and optimised operational efficiencies. His strategic leadership contributed to significant financial improvements and enhanced guest experiences, showcasing his commitment to excellence in hospitality management, a statement said. "Joining Milaidhoo is an honour," said Paul van Frank. "I look forward to working and leading the Milaidhoo family to further enhance our private island resort's reputation as a premier destination, offering unparalleled guest experiences amidst the natural beauty of the Maldives." "We are delighted to welcome Paul van Frank to Milaidhoo," said Shuhan Ahmed, Director of Operations for Universal Resorts. "His extensive experience, strategic vision, and commitment to excellence makes him the ideal leader to guide our resort into its next chapter. -TradeArabia News Service The prevalence of bullying in our school system has become a critical issue that demands immediate attention. Too many students face harassment and intimidation from their peers, which can have severe emotional and psychological impacts. This toxic environment not only affects the victims but also creates an atmosphere of fear that hinders the overall learning experience for all students. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: Re: the June 25 article Hobbs water-bill veto is missed opportunity for states future. As the Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, I am writing to take issue with the opinion column by Scottsdale Rep. Alexander Kolodin, which attacked Governor Katie Hobbs for her veto of SB 1172, the so-called Ag to Urban bill. Like much of the debate over this bill, Rep. Kolodin relies on broad generalizations while overlooking the need for real data and analysis to support critical water-policy decisions. Gov. Hobbs was right to veto SB 1172 because, while the policy might have proved beneficial, we must take the time to get it right and base our policy on science not self-interest. Rep. Kolodin is correct that agriculture is more water-intensive than residential or municipal uses, but that simple statement does not get to the heart of the issues the Gila River Indian Community began to raise early during the consideration of SB 1172, both with Senator Shope, the primary sponsor in the Senate, and with Governor Hobbs office. Our concerns focused on both the policies proscribed by the bill and the process being followed to consider it. On the policy side, the Community was concerned that there was no data or analysis to back up the major policy choices the bill included, such as how much water could be transferred to obtain the benefits sought and where the water could be used. We raised these concerns in February, only to be ignored by the proponents of the bill. It was not until very late in the process that the Arizona Department of Water Resources provided an analysis of the bill. This analysis showed that SB 1172 would harm the aquifers in the Pinal AMA, not help them, and that potential benefits to the Phoenix AMA had been overstated. Rep. Kolodin brushes off this analysis as ostensible concerns, but the data clearly demonstrated that the bill needed more work to ensure it worked for everyone. Rep. Kolodin makes it appear that this bill was the result of a considered, open, and transparent process. Nothing could be further from the truth. This bill was the product of closed-door meetings of one set of stakeholders who purposefully sought to keep out anyone who raised legitimate questions about the bill including the Community. I know this because I specifically asked to participate in these meetings beginning in February and was told I was not welcome. Gov. Hobbs set up a Water Policy Council to consider such groundwater policy changes, with representatives from all affected parties to ensure an open, transparent process. I am honored to sit on the Council and Im pleased that, after she vetoed this bill, Gov. Hobbs indicated she wants to have the Council consider the policy behind SB 1172 to see if we can come up with a better bill. I look forward to doing just that. Finally, I want to call out Rep. Kolodins gratuitous slur of the Communitys intentions in raising objections about this bill. Our aquifers are in both the Pinal and Phoenix AMAs. This water supply is directly affected by the major changes proposed in SB 1172. ADWRs analysis shows we were right to be concerned by the bills potential impact on the Pinal AMA and its overly generous allowances for transfers in the Phoenix AMA. As to his innuendo about the GRIC benefiting financially by opposing SB 1172, the Communitys record speaks for itself. Since 2016, the Community has undertaken a consistent policy of shifting its water supplies to conservation in Lake Mead for the benefit of every Arizonan. We have conserved over one million acre-feet of water to date with more committed at a value much lower than if we used our water in a different way. To put GRICs contribution in perspective, this conservation has raised the elevation at Lake Mead by over 15 feet, enough to ensure the state avoids a Tier 2 drought condition today. It is our sacrifice that keeps the State out of Tier 2 drought. Rep. Kolodin would do well to remember that before he makes such insulting comments about the Community again. Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World Scene Writer Follow Jimmie Tramel 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 Oklahomans who have dreams of being on American Idol can take their shot Wednesday, Aug. 14 when Idol Across America visits Oklahoma via Zoom. American Idol hopefuls can sign up to audition face-to-face in front of producers and receive real-time feedback for a chance at making Idol history and being crowned the ABC shows next champ. For the fifth year in a row, Idol Across America, the live virtual nationwide search for the next superstar, features audition days for all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. Visit americanidol.com/auditions for more information on Idol Across America and specific audition details, locations, full eligibility requirements, submission forms, terms and conditions. The Tulsa World is where your story lives MUSKOGEE You could say Tony Corbell, executive director of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, is feeling like a million dollars, but that would be underselling the figure by about $1.4 million. More than 100 people, including officials from the city and state, attended a Wednesday event at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame to unveil a $2.4 million renovation and rebranding project for OMHOF. This project is being funded by public and private sources, according to a news release, and will result in a redesign of the historic OMHOF building, museum, concert hall, exterior and overall branding to create an engaging, interactive experience celebrating Oklahomas rich musical heritage. The redesign will be led by Narrate Design in collaboration with Hampton Creative. The goal is to start construction in the first quarter of 2025 in anticipation of an opening in the second quarter of 2026. Fittingly, the unveiling of redesign details was preceded by a drumroll. Obviously, Im pretty energized, Corbell said after the one-hour launch event. When I came to work here, my main thrust and my main goal was to raise visibility somehow. This landed in my lap. I didnt go do this. Im the beneficiary of this. But it absolutely ties in what what I hoped we could do, which we have a hidden gem and we didnt have enough people knowing about it. Nobody was talking about it. Nobody was coming very often. The hall of fame has had some trouble over the years keeping it going. And, all of a sudden, there is an influx of enthusiasm and excitement. The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame debuted in 1997 and is located in the historic Frisco Depot in Muskogee, not far from where Merle Haggard recorded the song Okie From Muskogee for a live album. Inducted music artists honored inside OMHOF include Haggard, Woody Guthrie, Gene Autry, Patti Page, Vince Gill, Wanda Clark, Bob Wills, Hank Thompson, Color Me Badd, Hanson, Roger Miller, Leon Russell, Hoyt Axton, Carrie Underwood, Kristin Chenoweth, JJ Cale, B.J. Thomas, Elvin Bishop and dozens of others. Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell described the renovation as a years-in-the-making project. He said many of Nashvilles biggest stars grew up in Oklahoma, and the states musical heritage is hard to beat. From the earliest traditional folk and country songs of Oklahoma Territory to our states role in gospel and blues and, later, contemporary rock and even rap, our state has produced a variety of sounds and artists, he said. We should have a hall of fame museum that is worthy of that legacy. Narrate Designs Hank Spieker, principle project architect, introduced the audience to renovation plans that include a new entry, a new reception area and added exhibit space. OMHOF will continue to have a performance area. Were not changing the magic of the room, Spieker said. Were just enhancing it. OMHOFs rebrand is built around the tagline Music Lives Here. Music is alive, Nate Olsen of Hampton Creative said. Its breathing. Its always moving forward. New branding imagery will reflect the states rich and diverse music history and will have appeal as a lifestyle brand. If it doesnt look good on a T-shirt, why would we do it anyway? Olsen said. FYI, the renovation will include a merch shop. Shelley Zumwalt, executive director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, credited Pinnell for his role in the project and said the project is not just an investment in OMHOF, but rather an investment in the rich musical history of the state and the Oklahoma artists of tomorrow. The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame project makes it the premier music venue in northeast Oklahoma, Muskogee mayor Patrick Cale said. Muskogee has a rich history of music that crosses cultures and genres. Muskogee is centrally located in a way that draws music goers from all over, and this remodel project keeps Muskogee on the path to being great. Corbell began his remarks by crediting former Mayor Marlon Coleman for his role in the renovation becoming reality. Something is happening here, and I am overwhelmingly excited about it, Corbell said. There is just so much energy around this. Claremore High School recently hired Owasso resident Michelle Butler as the new director of the Claremore Learning Center, the schools alternative learning program. Under her leadership, the Learning Center will focus on life skills, career skills and academics, preparing students for success both in the classroom and beyond. I have always believed in the power of alternative education to transform lives by providing students with opportunities to learn outside the traditional classroom setting, Butler said in a release. My goal is to help grow the program for Claremore students and ensure they have the support and resources they need to succeed. Butlers background in public education spans 29 years, during which she has dedicated her career to fostering educational opportunities for students in alternative settings. an alumna of both the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, Butler has worked in Oklahoma and Missouri, most recently serving as an alternative education specialist for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Her approach is centered on empowering students to take ownership of their educational journeys. She emphasizes the importance of connecting students with mentors from the Claremore community to help them discover and harness their talents. Butlers vision for the alternative learning program includes creating an environment where students are passionate about their work, acquire essential skills for college and careers and develop the mindset necessary for lifelong success. All students have potential. Sometimes they need mentors to help them discover their talents and how to use them best, Butler said. Students must want to be here, and once they are, we will work together to overcome challenges and achieve great things. The district added: Claremore High School is excited to welcome Dr. Butler and looks forward to her positive impact on the students and the community. Her leadership and passion for alternative education will undoubtedly drive the Claremore Learning Center to new heights. Butlers hiring follows the retirement of Chrissy Province, who served in CPS for 26 years. The billboards of Pusch & Nguyen is photographed at Gulf Freeway northbound and Telephone Road Wednesday, July 31, 2024 in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer To a passing motorist on Houstons stretch of Interstate 45, personal injury lawyers Anthony Pusch and Chi-Hung David Nguyen flaunt an unabashed affinity for puns and each other. Behind the scenes, their law school friendship and business venture appears to be on the outs. One of the lawyers, Pusch, has accused his law partner of theft and other grievances in a recent lawsuit that outlines their fraught relationship. The lawyers, both South Texas College of Law graduates, are behind a creative billboard blitz, with one sign at the northbound Telephone Road exit near their offices hailing the legal duo as Avocados at Law a play on abogados, the Spanish word for lawyers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The two famously use homophones for their surnames in the advertising slogan: We Push, You Win. A billboard of Pusch & Nguyen is photographed at Gulf Freeway northbound and Telephone Road Wednesday, July 31, 2024 in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Pusch accused Nguyen of taking $1 million in recent settlement earnings from their law firms joint bank account without authorization in June, as both lawyers negotiated the end of their partnership, according to a civil suit filed last month. Like all good relationships, they sometimes come to an end, Puschs lawyer, Rodney Drinnon, said. He declined to say whether a police report had been filed in connection with the $1 million withdrawal. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Drinnons petition, filed on Puschs behalf, also accuses Nguyen and his brother, the firms chief operating officer, of receiving disproportionately large compensation from the companys revenue. Pusch and Nguyen own equal 45% shares of their firm, while Puschs father, also an attorney, owns the remaining amount, documents show. Nguyen rejected claims of theft in a response to the court filings this week, saying he was entitled to the $1 million and that he voiced his intent in June to withdraw the funds to buy land for a new business. By then, the lawyers were in the thick of mostly amicable separation discussions, with Nguyen telling his longtime law partner that it seemed best to wind up the business of the firm and go their separate ways, his attorney wrote. The two formed their law firm in 2018. Nguyen also questioned the spending of the elder Pusch and son on their litigation. He urged the father-son duo to audit their expenses on several occasions and skipped his share of earnings for several months in 2023 to save the firm money, his attorney wrote. Pusch and his father conducted an audit at some point prior to the lawsuit, according to the court document. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Nguyens lawyer, Joe Little, thinks both lawyers would benefit by reviewing their books together. The allegations against Mr. Nguyen are absolutely false and result from an unfortunate misunderstanding between law partners, Little said in a statement. We expect this situation to be resolved quickly, either by agreement or through the judicial process. The lawsuit has also accused Nguyen of disparaging his partner to employees and those outside the firm, as well as attempts to poach those employees for a new law firm the latter of which Nguyen denied. Another of Puschs grievances pertains to their oft-used slogan. Nguyen registered the phrase WE PUSH YOU WIN with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under his own name, rather than that of the law firm, in October, federal records show. He defended his registration of the slogan, saying Pusch stood idly by and watched rather than help him for two years as he tried obtaining the trademark protection. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Federal records show Nguyen first applied to trademark the slogan in January 2022. OKLAHOMA CITY Bixbys superintendent has drawn the ire of State Superintendent Ryan Walters for going public about a significant delay in notices to schools about their federal funding allocations. What were trying to figure out is how much money were going to have, how we will divide it up based on the number of students at each site who qualify for Title I services and whether or not we will have the funding to pay for additional teachers, tutors, staff or resources, whatever the case may be, said Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller. The issue is not isolated to this one, large suburban school district. Tulsa Public Schools, the states largest school district, as well as the Jenks, Sand Springs and Union districts all confirmed Wednesday that they, also, have yet to receive notice from the Oklahoma State Department of Education about their federal Title I allocations for the fiscal year that began July 1. Each year, the federal government distributes billions of dollars in Title I grants for school districts based on the number of low-income children they serve. The funding is intended to help address those students extraordinary academic needs, with such things as more teachers, tutors and school counselors. Christine Gonzales, director of federal programs at Union Public Schools, said: It is very hard to plan when you dont know your funding level ... The abnormality here is not having an allocation in August, when weve already had to rehire teachers for which we may not have the funding. Walters was called out by a lawmaker about the exact same delay on June 20, when he appeared before a legislative panel about a new report that put his handling of federal funds for public schools under a microscope. At the time, state Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, peppered Walters and his staff about why school districts are not being notified about their annual federal funding allocations as early in the summer as they were under all previous state superintendent administrations in recent memory. Walters and his team responded that the process is a complicated one and that they have to wait for more information to determine how much charter schools and private schools will receive before calculating all other schools allocations. Walters Chief Academic Officer Todd Loftin claimed to Provenzano that districts already knew their Title I allocations for the upcoming year at that point in June. They do know, he told her. No, they dont, Provenzano responded Provenzano told the Tulsa World on Wednesday that she herself called and spoke to a supervisor at the education department this week and was told nothing had been communicated to districts. Ive heard concerns from more than 10 districts around Green Country that have not been notified even of their preliminary budget figures. School starts in two weeks, Provenzano said. This supervisor in the Office of Title Services told me they will receive roughly the same amount as last year. I asked, When was that communicated to districts? She said it hadnt been. It was very apparent to me that the office is understaffed and unable to even communicate properly. At the conclusion of Wednesdays state Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, reporters asked Walters about a Sunday tweet from Miller, questioning when his district would receive its initial Title I allocation. Walters accused the Bixby school leader of lying and attention-seeking. Hes a liar. I mean, hes really a true embarrassment. He knows every year when he gets the Title I funds, and were dealing with all kinds of financial problems with his district that were hoping to address right now. So you know, Rob Robs a clown and a liar. So he knows that, Walters said. Same time every year at least late August. Its the same way its been every year for, my team tells me, over a decade. So he knows that has been communicated to districts. Robs never reached out, never indicated theres an issue. Theres not an issue. He made it up. So he wants his name in the press. Miller said his district has not had any financial issues other than trying to budget for the 24-25 year without having a preliminary Title I figure to work with, particularly given that an additional Bixby school now qualifies for Title I supports. As recently as the 2022-2023 school year, he said, districts received a preliminary figure in the spring from OSDE about how much to expect in Title I funds. Its just information, he said. While he (Walters) is correct about funding going out in late July or August, the difference is the preliminary numbers. Staff writer Melissa Jacques contributed to this report. Melissa Jacques Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer Follow Melissa Jacques Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today OKLAHOMA CITY Several lawmakers were denied access Wednesday to a State Board of Education executive session, despite an advisory email from Attorney General Gentner Drummond affirming their right to sit in on such closed sessions. State Superintendent Ryan Walters defended the decision, saying, Were looking legally, and it doesnt appear that she has jurisdiction. Walters referred to state Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, who was one of the lawmakers who wished to join Wednesdays executive session. She had attempted to join the executive session at a previous meeting, as well, but was denied. Its disturbing that the superintendent and board continue to ignore the law that clearly allows legislators to observe their executive sessions, even after Attorney General Gentner Drummonds office has stated they must, Boren said in a statement issued after the meeting. In addition, they did not follow their published agenda. I believe a violation of the Open Meetings Act has occurred, nullifying those votes. In a statement issued after the meeting, the attorney generals office said it was very concerned by what appeared to be a willful violation of the Open Meeting Act. Our office will look further into the matter and take appropriate action. The board first went into executive session to determine whether they would allow the lawmakers to sit in on the second closed session on the agenda. During the second, they planned to discuss revoking or suspending teacher licenses. The board asked the lawmakers who wished to sit in on the executive session to offer proof of jurisdiction before they would be permitted to join. This goes directly against the advice sent by the attorney general on the issue. After citing the statute that allows legislators to enter executive session with boards and commissions, the email says, First, this provisions use of the word shall removes any discretion from the state agency, board, or commission to disallow a legislator from entering executive session. The board returned from executive session and tabled the discussion on lawmakers. They then voted on revoking or suspending several different teachers certificates without returning to executive session as scheduled. After the board meeting, Walters said that the board was holding off on allowing lawmakers into its executive session because clarification was needed from the attorney general. Because we want to make sure that everything were doing is clear, everything were doing is well within the law, and that we feel very confident in what were doing, Walters said. Walters also said that the attorney general should offer clarity on the rule in light of the difficulties he said Borens presence presented. Ive got left-wing Democrats like Mary that want to come in and make it where we cant remove pedophiles from the classroom. So what shes wanting to do, shes wanting to disrupt that process, Walters said. The Tulsa World is where your story lives OKLAHOMA CITY State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced at Wednesdays Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting that school districts will soon be expected to give an account of the overall cost of teaching undocumented students. What we will be doing in the upcoming weeks is issuing guidance to districts where they will be helping us to find accurate and effective accounting of the costs and burden that illegal immigration has not only on their schools, but on the taxpayers of the state of Oklahoma, Walters said. However, under federal law, public school districts are prohibited from asking about citizenship or immigration status of any student or their family and are required to provide equal access to all children. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Plyler v. Doe that states and school districts cannot bar a student from enrolling based on their immigration status. In 2021, the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey counted 649,000 children nationwide between the ages of 5-17 who have been in the country for three years or less and an additional 1.5 million immigrant children who had been in the United States for four years or more. The federal government has failed to secure our borders, our schools are suffering over this and where the federal government has failed to act, Oklahoma will step up, Walters said. So we will step in. We will make sure that we understand the costs to taxpayers so that our kids can get the best education possible. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, released a brief earlier this year urging states to start charging public school students tuition if their parents are undocumented immigrants or the children themselves are unaccompanied minors. That practice was explicitly barred under the Plyler ruling. The Heritage Foundations president, Kevin Roberts, was among the appointees announced in July charged with helping overhaul Oklahomas academic standards for social studies. Walters initial announcement did not provide any additional details as to when or how districts are expected to carry out this directive without violating the law. He did not take any questions after Wednesdays meeting about his announcement. Indian corporations and billionaires have expressed their commitment to invest billions of U.S. dollars in a series of projects in Vietnam, contingent on the Southeast Asian country providing preferential policies. This commitment was discussed during meetings between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian business leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday, as part of the premiers visit to India. PM Chinh and his delegation arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday evening (local time) to begin a state visit aimed at enhancing multifaceted cooperation under the comprehensive strategic partnership with the South Asian nation. His visit, which concluded on Thursday, was made at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The top Vietnamese official received dozens of Indian business leaders and attended the Vietnam-India Business Forum on Wednesday. At the meetings, the prime minister pointed out some fields where Vietnam is attracting foreign investment, including infrastructure, seaports, airports, pharmaceuticals, energy, and oil and gas. Several Indian investors have come to Vietnam to survey the market and explore cooperation opportunities, while also anticipating the removal of certain obstacles to implement projects in these areas. Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of Adani Group, the largest Indian conglomerate specializing in infrastructure and energy, expressed his desire to invest in seaport and energy plant projects in Vietnam. He wanted to pour 100 percent of the capital, equivalent to over $2 billion, into a smart port project in Lien Chieu District, Da Nang City, central Vietnam but the intention seems to be hindered by the regulation on foreign investment, which allows foreigners to own just 49 percent of the total investment, he said. Adani also expected to invest in the Chu Lai and Long Thanh airport projects, as well as the Vinh Tan 3 thermal power plant with a combined capital of nearly $3 billion. Therefore, he hoped the Vietnamese side would create more favorable conditions related to investment procedures and climate to smooth the firms plans. Besides, multiple pharmaceutical firms such as SMS Pharmaceuticals, Sri Avantika Contractors, and BDR Pharmaceuticals Internationals Pvt. Ltd. presented their intention to inject some $5 billion into a pharmaceutical production facility in Nghi Son Economic Zone in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam. These firms also want to build a cancer medicine manufacturing plant in the Southeast Asian nation. Moreover, many other secondary investors plan to transfer technology and train employees, smoothing the path for Vietnamese firms to strengthen the local pharmaceutical ecosystem. As for the oil and gas field, Arun Kumar Singh, chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), expected to exploit oilfields in Vietnam. Addressing the meeting with the prime minister, Shikhar Malhotra, director of HCL, said that the Indian firm has cooperated with Vietnams Viettel in 5G services and IT infrastructure. Also, numerous Indian firms showed their interest in the Vietnamese market at the forum attended by PM Chinh. Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Electronics and Information Technology, underlined that Vietnam boasts a dynamic, developing economy with in-depth international integration. Indias Look East Policy Speaking at the forum, PM Chinh reiterated Prime Minister Modis statement about the Look East Policy of India, which has fostered bilateral ties, with a focus on the economic sphere. The Vietnamese premier called on Indian enterprises to expand their reach in Vietnam and upskill staff in the semiconductor, innovation, pharmaceutical, hydrogen, renewable energy, and digitalization areas. He affirmed that the Vietnamese government always creates favorable conditions and offers incentives to lure investors. Vo Xuan Vinh, deputy director general of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that India sees Vietnam as one of the cornerstones of its Look East Policy,' which is the effort by the Indian government to boost economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asian nations. He suggested the Vietnamese government perfect the legal system to attract and retain foreign investors. In addition, Vietnam and India should effectively deepen their partnership in some spearhead sectors such as software, semiconductor, green energy, AI, hi-tech agriculture, defense, and medicine and medical equipment production. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Youths walk by the windows of the dining hall on their way to lunch Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006, at the Giddings State School in Giddings, Texas. Giddings State School is a juvenile detention facility east of Austin and one of those named in the DOJ's report released August 1, 2024. BRETT COOMER, STAFF / HOUSTON CHRONICLE Juveniles detained in facilities across Texas face rampant sexual abuse, violence, discrimination and inadequate access to mental healthcare and education, according to a new report from federal authorities. The report is the culmination of a joint investigation by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Districts of Texas that began in October of 2021. Officials found that staff at the Texas Juvenile Justice Departments five secure facilities frequently sexually abused, beat and pepper sprayed juveniles. The conditions in the facilities are unacceptable, said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas in a news release Thursday. Our investigation found that children in these facilities face sexual abuse by staff and other children. Tragically, this is not the first investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at TJJD facilities. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A spokesperson for the Texas agency said they worked closely with investigators to identify deficiencies in their facilities. "TJJD worked closely with DOJ investigators during their site visits in 2022, the peak of the agencys unprecedented staffing shortages. We provided extensive responsive material and appreciate the DOJs professionalism throughout this process." A growing concern The juvenile justice department currently operates five secure facilities in areas across Texas. These detention centers are designed to house juveniles convicted of serious offenses, according to the department. In 2023, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association called for a moratorium on sending juveniles to these facilities following the release of an early version of the DOJs findings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Less than a week prior, the Chronicle reported on the departments systemic issues. At the time, a spokesperson for the department said they were already taking steps to improve conditions across their juvenile detention centers. But the allegations in the DOJs investigation showed otherwise. The report said officials found reasonable cause to believe the juvenile justice departments treatment of inmates routinely violated both the Fourth and Eighth Amendments, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to our report, TJJD falls short of creating an environment that fosters rehabilitation, said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. Instead, some of its personnel engage in the use of excessive force and subject children to prolonged isolation, both of which are damaging. Texans know that this is not how we rehabilitate our children. Pepper spray, violence frequently relied on The DOJ alleged the state agency staff made inappropriate use of both chemical and physical force as a deterrent to treat inmate behavior. Corrections personnel often pepper sprayed inmates without first attempting to de-escalate the situation, according to the report. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The investigation includes quotes and testimony from inmates and staff that provide a glimpse into the life within the states juvenile facilities. One inmate, who was given the pseudonym Emily, was verbally berated and goaded into attempting to assault a staff member, the report said. The DOJ alleged staff swore at Emily before daring her to do something, and subsequently pepper sprayed her. The departments use of pepper spray is further compounded by inadequate access to decontamination, according to the report. As soon as the threat is over, individuals should flush their eyes with cool water to alleviate the burning sensation, wash affected skin with mild soap and receive a medical evaluation, the report stated. As a result, children who are pepper sprayed are generally not decontaminated until after transport to the RSU. The Regulation and Safety Unit is the juvenile justice department's term for solitary confinement, which the report also accused the department of being overly reliant on. In some cases, the investigation found inmates were placed in the RSU for reasons unrelated to disciplinary issues, like one individual who spent eight days there while awaiting transfer to a halfway house. Advertisement Article continues below this ad TEEN DIES IN CUSTODY: 7 prison officials face dismissal after teen commits suicide at Fort Bend psychiatric unit Cameras often turned off The reports findings may only represent a small portion of the story, however. An internal audit conducted by the Sunset Commission in 2021 found that two-thirds of the officers reviewed turned off their body-worn cameras during interactions with inmates and other staff. This is directly contrary to department policy that prohibits turning off body cameras when interacting with juvenile offenders, a department spokesperson told the Chronicle. Texas authorities have 49 days to address the concerns outlined in the report. After that, the U.S. Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit against the state. Adani, India's leading infrastructure and energy group, expressed its keen interest in mega seaport, airport, and thermal power projects in Vietnam during a Wednesday meeting between its chairman Gautam Adani and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is in India for a state visit through Thursday. The Indian firm revealed its plans to invest in the Lien Chieu seaport project in central Da Nang City, the Vinh Tan 3 thermal power project in south-central Binh Thuan Province, as well as Chu Lai Airport in central Quang Nam and the second phase of Long Thanh airport in southern Dong Nai Province. Adani said the group had proposed investing in the Lien Chieu seaport project and submitted dossiers, including a pre-feasibility report. It sought to fully fund the project with a capital of over US$2 billion. Adani also wanted to invest $2.8 billion in the Vinh Tan 3 thermal power project and cooperate with its Vietnamese partners to get involved in aviation and logistics projects in the Southeast Asian country. Le Quang Nam, vice-chairman of the administration in Da Nang, said the Lien Chieu Port project had been approved and the city was attracting investors for it. Some Vietnamese and foreign enterprises have expressed their interest in the project. However, foreign enterprises are allowed to contribute 49 percent of the needed capital for each logistics project, according to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. Dung suggested Adani study and choose appropriate investment models. As for the Vinh Tan 3 thermal power project, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien asked Adani to provide sufficient documents for consideration. Prime Minister Chinh expressed his gratitude to Adani for extending condolences to the Party, the state, and the people of Vietnam over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Party General Secretary Trong passed away on July 19 in Hanoi at the age of 80. Chinh welcomed the Indian firms proposals to invest in infrastructure projects in Vietnam, affirming that infrastructural development is a key strategy of Vietnam. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Adani chairman Gautam Adani during their meeting in India on July 31, 2024. Photo: Ngoc An / Tuoi Tre Vietnam aims to choose competent and experienced investors to conduct such projects. PM Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese government would create favorable conditions for Adani to choose investment models appropriate to Vietnams law and the investors demands. Vietnam may weigh allowing foreign investors to fully fund infrastructure projects. PM Chinh also recommended that Adani get involved in a free trade zone project in Da Nang. As for airport projects, he advised the Indian firm to focus on the Chu Lai airport project as it is connected with three large national highways. Some 1,200 hectares of land has been cleared for the project and the airport will become an international one in the near future. Chu Lai Airport is located at an ideal site and a transit site for many international tourists and investors. Concerning Adani's proposal to join the Vinh Tan 3 thermal power project, PM Chinh noted that after COP26, Vietnam and other countries committed to reducing emissions. As a result, Vietnam is now encouraging investment in clean energy. He, therefore, urged Adani to invest in clean energy projects. The Vietnamese government leader added that Vietnam would offer preferential policies to the Indian group, provided they transfer technology to and collaborate with Vietnamese enterprises. He urged Adani to immediately work with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities. Expressing his gratitude to PM Chinh for removing obstacles, Adani said his group would immediately deploy projects meeting international standards, comply with Vietnams law, and create a pervasive effect on the Vietnamese economy. PM Chinh and his entourage arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday evening (local time) for the state visit to India. This is the first state visit by PM Chinh as the head of government and also the first business trip to India by a Vietnamese prime minister in 10 years. Last year, two-way trade reached nearly $15 billion, a 2.5-fold increase over seven years, according to official figures. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Indias leading pharmaceutical enterprises, including SMS Pharmaceuticals, Sri Avantika Contractors, and BDR Pharmaceuticals International Pvt. Ltd., committed to their investments in pharmaceutical projects in Vietnam during their meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday (local time). The Vietnamese prime minister is in the South Asian country for a state visit through Thursday. P. Ramesh Babu, chairman and managing director of SMS Pharmaceuticals, and Narendra Reddy, managing director of Sri Avantika Contractors, proposed developing a 500-hectare pharmaceutical park at Nghi Son Economic Zone in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam. The project will initially carry a price tag of some US$200 million. The investment will be increased to $4.5-5 billion in the next decade. The park will gather vaccine, antibiotic, and anti-cancer drug factories, whose products will be exported to the U.S. and European markets. About 50 secondary investors are willing to participate in the project. We want to become a partner of the Vietnamese government and bring secondary investors to Vietnam to create jobs and incomes for local residents and support local startups as well as Vietnams pharmaceutical sector, Babu said. They had worked with authorities in Thanh Hoa Province and secured great support, the Indian entrepreneur noted, adding that Vietnam is a dynamic country in Southeast Asia and a leading destination for investment. After the COVID-19 pandemic was kept at bay, many international investors have chosen Vietnam as an ideal investment destination. Babu expected the Vietnamese government to create favorable conditions in land banks, site clearance, investment procedures, tax incentives, and other policies. Dharmesh Shah (L), chairman and founder of BDR Pharmaceuticals International Pvt. Ltd., seeks to invest in an anti-cancer drug production project in Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc An / Tuoi Tre Meanwhile, Dharmesh Shah, chairman and founder of BDR Pharmaceuticals International Pvt. Ltd., expressed his interest in a cancer drug production project in Vietnam. Prime Minister Chinh praised Indian pharmaceutical companies for their plans to invest in Vietnam, stating that their decisions are wise given the high demand for pharmaceutical products and medical checkups and treatments in the country. Up to 33 percent of pharmaceutical products in Vietnam are imported from India. Vietnam has a large population, diversified materials for pharmaceutical production, and a high demand for high-quality pharmaceutical production, PM Chinh said. He asked Indian investors to use land sparingly and effectively, prioritize high tech and technology transfer, and participate in policy improvement, infrastructure development, and manpower training. Indian firms should continue working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and other relevant ministries and localities to carry out projects in line with regulations, the Vietnamese government leader noted. He stressed that the Vietnamese government always supports and is willing to make legal frameworks favorable for investors, including Indian companies. The Vietnamese prime minister and his entourage arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday evening (local time) for a state visit to India. This is the first state visit by PM Chinh as the head of government and also the first business trip to India by a Vietnamese prime minister in 10 years. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! CHOORALMALA, India -- Hopes of finding survivors began to fade as hundreds of rescuers worked through slush and rocks and pulled out bodies from debris in the hills of India's Kerala state on Wednesday, a day after 167 people were killed in monsoon landslides. Steady rain that intensified as the day progressed and the rising water level in a local river hampered the rescue, with a temporary bridge built to connect the worst affected area of Mundakkai being washed away. The weather department has forecast more heavy rain over the next 24 hours, Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said and urged people to be on "high alert". Volunteers eat food as rescue operations continue after multiple landslides hit the hills in Wayanad district, in the southern state of Kerala, India, July 31, 2024. Photo: Reuters Heavy rain in Kerala, one of India's most popular tourist destinations, led to the landslides in its Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept. It was the worst disaster in the state since deadly floods in 2018. Experts said the area had received heavy rain in the last two weeks that softened the soil. Extremely heavy rainfall on Monday then triggered the landslides. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from the hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates, authorities said on Wednesday. They said at least 167 people died, while the local Asianet news TV channel put the death toll at 230. More than 8,000 people were being sheltered in camps across the district, authorities said. Wayanad's district administrator said people had been asked on Wednesday to shift to camps "as soon as possible as there is a danger". Rescuers hold a stretcher as the search for survivors continues after several landslides hit the hills in Wayanad district, in the southern state of Kerala, India, July 31, 2024. Photo: Reuters Rescuers had found 24 bodies and six body parts on Wednesday and were not hopeful of finding any survivors more than 36 hours after the tragedy, one official in Chooralmala town said. The landslides were mostly on the upper slopes of hills which then cascaded to the valley below, M R Ajith Kumar, a top state police officer, told Reuters. Warming Arabian Sea Nearly 350 of the 400 registered houses in the affected region have been damaged, Asianet reported, citing district officials. The Indian Navy said its disaster relief team had reached the area on Tuesday night and search and rescue helicopters were deployed early on Wednesday but adverse weather conditions due to "incessant rains" posed challenges. India has witnessed extreme weather conditions in recent years, from torrential rain and floods to droughts and cyclones, blamed by some experts on climate change. "Climate change has led to significant alterations in our environment. We need to take proactive steps to address and adapt to these changes," Chief Minister Vijayan said. "Effective measures should be taken to prevent impending disasters." An excavator clears tree branches as rescue operations continue after sevaral landslides hit the hills in Wayanad district, in the southern state of Kerala, India, July 31, 2024. Photo: Reuters The region hit by the landslide was forecast to get 204 millimeters (8 inches) of rainfall but ended up getting 572 millimeters (22.5 inches) over a period of 48 hours, Vijayan said on Tuesday. "The Arabian Sea is warming at a higher rate compared to other regions and sending more evaporation into the atmosphere, making the region a hotspot for deep convective clouds," said S Abhilash, head of the Advanced Center for Atmospheric Radar Research at Kerala's Cochin University of Science and Technology. "Deep developed clouds in the southeast Arabian Sea region were carried by winds towards land and produced this havoc," he told Reuters. A drone view shows Army and rescue teams building a temporary bridge to cross a river at a landslide site after multiple landslides in the hills in Wayanad district, in the southern state of Kerala, India, July 31, 2024. Photo: Reuters The European Union (EU) sees Vietnam as one of the leading partners in its Indo-Pacific Strategy and wishes to elevate relations with the Southeast Asian country to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time, its senior official has said. Josep Borrell Fontelles, Vice President of the European Commission (EC) and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the statement at his meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi on Tuesday, as part of his three-day visit to Vietnam, which started on Monday, at Minister Sons invitation. After their talks, the two officials co-chaired a press conference providing the main details of their meeting. Affirming that Vietnam is a crucial partner for the EUs Indo-Pacific Strategy, Borrell expressed his wish that his visit would kickstart a process to raise the relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership. Borrell stated that Vietnam currently holds the most cooperative agreements with the EU among Southeast Asian countries, including a Free Trade Agreement and a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. I would like my visit to be the moment to launch the process to upgrade our relations. And one of the most important deliverables of this meeting will be the decision to start working, from today onward, to upgrade our relations toward the level of Strategic and Comprehensive [Partnership], the European External Action Service cited Borrell as saying. The EC Vice President said the EU is actively implementing various strategies, policies, and specific projects to beef up cooperation with Vietnam as well as the broader Asia-Pacific region, while coordinating with the Southeast Asian country to address global challenges, the Vietnam News Agency reported. He affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner in implementing the EUs Indo-Pacific Strategy and wished to further strengthen cooperation between the two sides in this strategy. The EU supports Vietnams goal of achieving net-zero emissions through the effective implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and seeks to enhance collaboration with Vietnam under frameworks like the EUs Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to promote the global transition to carbon-neutral economies. An overview of the meeting between the Vietnamese delegation led by Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and the EU delegation headed by Josep Borrell Fontelles, Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in Hanoi on July 30, 2024. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Minister Son told the media that the two sides are effectively implementing four cooperation agreements and eight dialogue mechanisms in various fields to promote their partnership. Vietnam is the first ASEAN country to have all pillars of cooperation in politics, economics, defense, and security with the EU, Son said, adding that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has achieved positive results after nearly four years of implementation. He proposed that the EU continue providing official development assistance to Vietnam through bilateral and multilateral cooperation channels, as well as regional programs. The focus should be on urgent areas such as public governance capacity building, green economy, digital economy, circular economy, and sustainable fishery development. The minister also asked for support from the bloc in financial aid, technology transfer, and human resource training for Vietnams effective JETP implementation, including the establishment of a carbon credit market connected to the international market and the development of green hydrogen projects. Welcoming the EU to play an active role in the Indo-Pacific region, Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge for the grouping's cooperation with the region, including strengthening the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership and implementing their action plan for 2023-27, Son affirmed. He proposed that the EU remove its illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing yellow card warning, which has been imposed on Vietnamese seafood since 2017. The diplomat also urged EU member countries that have not yet ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to do so promptly for mutual benefits. On this issue, Borrell stated that he would intensify efforts to encourage the remaining EU member states to ratify the EVIPA, facilitating a breakthrough in bilateral investment cooperation. On the East Vietnam Sea issue, Minister Son said that Vietnam welcomes and highly appreciates the EU's active contribution to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the waterway, based on international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Borrell stated that the EU supports Vietnam and ASEAN's stance on freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as peaceful settlement of disputes in compliance with international law, particularly the UNCLOS. Minister Son expressed sincere thanks to Borrell for attending the state funeral for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away on July 19. The EC Vice President highlighted the late Party chief's significant contributions to strengthening the position of Vietnam on the global stage and fostering Vietnam-EU relations. Currently, the EU is Vietnams fourth-largest trading partner while Vietnam is the blocs largest trading partner in ASEAN. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Prime Minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin directed all governmental agencies and state-owned enterprises across the country to lower national flags to half-mast on August 1 and 2 to commemorate General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnam News Agency cited the Thai Secretariat of the Cabinet. Party General Secretary Trong passed away on July 19 in Hanoi at the age of 80. Prime Minister Srettha, representatives of many Thai ministries and agencies, as well as dozens of delegations arrived at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to pay tribute to the late Party leader. The prime minister wrote in the condolence book for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, On behalf of the government and people of Thailand, I would like to send my deep condolences to the government and people of Vietnam over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the government and people of Vietnam during this difficult time. Prime Minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin (sitting) writes in the condolence book for Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand. Photo: VOV Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong drew his last breath at 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi despite the efforts of leading doctors and healthcare experts to treat his age-related serious illness. A state funeral was held for him on July 25 and July 26. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday evening, commencing a four-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam. The top Timor-Leste leader and his entourage were welcomed at Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport by Chairman of the Presidential Office of Vietnam Le Khanh Hai, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Ta Van Thong, along with several senior officials from Vietnam. This is the fourth high-ranking visit by a top Timor-Leste official to Vietnam since the two countries established their bilateral diplomatic ties in 2002. President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta (L, 2nd) walks at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, July 31, 2024. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Jose Ramos-Horta, who received the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, paid his first official visit to Vietnam as Timor-Leste president in April 2010, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Speaking to the press, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Vietnam Joao Pereira said that Timor-Leste looks to promote and deepen cooperation with Vietnam in such priority sectors as science-technology, agriculture, and fisheries. The ambassador elaborated that both sides have huge potential for cooperation in various sectors such as agriculture, oil and gas, fisheries, infrastructure development, consumer goods, education, culture, and many others. Import-export activities between the two countries have been almost one-way over the past years, with rice accounting for more than 90 percent of Vietnams exports to Timor-Leste and the rest including consumer goods and processed food items. As for multilateral cooperation, Vietnam continued to team up with other ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat to support Timor-Leste in making preparations for joining the bloc. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Department of Health of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that eight bank employees in the provincial capital city of Bien Hoa were hospitalized on the same day for carbon monoxide poisoning. They showed symptoms of dizziness, headache, and shortness of breath before being rushed to Hoan My Dong Nai Hospital. Among them was a woman who is 29 weeks pregnant. The carbon monoxide poisoning allegedly resulted from generators which were used after a power outage. These patients tried to work indoors, leading to the poisoning, while some others went out after suffering headache and shortness of breath. After receiving intensive care, seven of the eight were released from the hospital on Thursday. The pregnant woman, identified as B.T.A.N., remains in hospital for further monitoring. She is now in stable health, said a doctor. Dr. Vo Van Ut at the emergency department of the hospital said that carbon monoxide is a gas that has no odor, color, or taste and is very dangerous. The gas is produced by burning wood and charcoal and the operation of generators, furnaces, and engines powered by gasoline, said the doctor. When breathing carbon monoxide, people become sleepy and glassy-eyed. Carbon monoxide poisoning can affect the brain and organs, and can even cause death. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, Dr. Ut advises residents not to use gas stoves, furnaces, and wood-burning stoves in poorly ventilated spaces. When detecting someone developing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, rescuers should open windows, wear anti-poison face masks, and quickly take the victim to a safe place. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read what is in the news in Vietnam today: Politics -- President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday evening, starting his four-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese State President To Lam. -- Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai on Wednesday hosted a reception for a high-ranking delegation from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party led by Deputy Minister of Technology and Communications Santisouk Simamlavong. Society -- The Department of Health of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that eight employees of a bank in Bien Hoa City were hospitalized on the same day over suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. -- Heavy rain is forecast to continue battering the northern region of Vietnam on Thursday with rainfall estimated to reach up to 250mm, while the central and southern regions will experience showers, plus thunderstorms, late in the afternoon, according to the national weather center. Business -- Several major Indian firms active in the technology and oil & gas fields expected to invest in Vietnam, heard meetings between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian business leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday, as part of the premiers ongoing visit to India. -- National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and India's Innovation India on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration in enhancing the two countries economic, investment, cultural, and tourism connections, reported the Vietnam News Agency. Lifestyle -- The Ba Den Mountain Tourist Area in Tay Ninh Province, southern Vietnam starts halving the price of each cable car ride at night on August 1 to attract tourists during the upcoming Vu Lan Festival, a major Buddhist holiday held annually on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The price reduction is set to stop at the end of September. -- Quang Tri Province in north-central Vietnam will host the Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture Festival in September, which will feature the participation of 17 localities, to honor traditional cultural values of Vietnams 54 ethnic groups. Sports -- The Vietnam Football Federation on Wednesday named Cristiano Roland, a retired Brazilian footballer, as head coach of the U16 men's national football team for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U17 Championship 2025, replacing Tran Minh Chien. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Old walls in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, south-central Vietnam have been given new coats as they now feature colorful and eye-catching paintings of local landscapes thanks to efforts by students from the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City. With their skills, artistic thinking, and simple tools, over 20 students from the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City have joined hands with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter in Phu Yen Province to paint pictures on the walls along Le Duan Street in Tuy Hoa City. Renowned destinations in the province, such as Ganh Da Dia (Reef of Plates), Nghinh Phong Tower, Ganh Den Lighthouse, Mui Dien (Dien Cape), and Nhan Tower, are featured on the walls. Students from the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City create the paintings with great care. Photo: Nguyen Hoang / Tuoi Tre Tran Triet Vi, a sophomore at the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, said he arrived in Tuy Hoa in late July to join the universitys Mua He Xanh (Green Summer) volunteer campaign there. They do the paintings from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm every day. "We painted the walls with a white base layer, then used acrylic colors to draw the pictures and covered them with a glossy paint layer to protect the artwork," Vi shared, adding that all of the paintings were done with great care. Dong Thi Thuy Vy, a fourth-year student at the university, said they came up with ideas and sent them to the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter in Phu Yen Province for approval. Paintings feature culture, tourism, and people in Phu Yen Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Hoang / Tuoi Tre Le Hoai Phuc, a 35-year-old resident of Tuy Hoa, expressed her excitement about the new walls, noting that popular destinations in her homeland were painted beautifully. "The walls may become a new highlight of Tuy Hoa City in the future. Locals and tourists will visit the walls," Phuc added. According to Vo Duy Kha, deputy secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter in Phu Yen Province, the students efforts helped promote tourism in Tuy Hoa City and Phu Yen Province as a whole. "The activity was creative and practical," Kha noted. Students mix paints. Photo: Nguyen Hoang / Tuoi Tre A student from the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City paints on a wall in Phu Yen Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Hoang / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! EXCLUSIVE: Lingo Pictures is developing a television drama around the RoboDebt scandal which plagued successive Coalition governments, for ABC. Lingo Pictures, led by producers Jason Stephens & Helen Bowden, has secured the rights to adapt upcoming book Mean Streak by journalist Rick Morton. The mini-series Robodebt is being developed for ABC iview and ABC TV and tells the emotionally compelling story of one of the most egregious, large-scale failures in Australian government history. The Robodebt scandal resulted in Australias largest class action; it cost the Government $1.8 billion dollars; and it involved compensation being paid to more than half a million Australians. It is a story of shocking hubris and of incredible bravery. With the mounting cases, miscarriage of justice and royal commission, is a subject some have likened to being Australias own Mr. Bates vs the Post Office. Lingo Pictures secured the rights for Mortons book from publisher HarperCollins. The writing team will be led by Stuart Page (Total Control), with Magda Wozniak (The Messenger) and Sophie Miller (Family Law). Helen Bowden will produce for Lingo Pictures with Jason Stephens and Stuart Page as Executive Producers. Rick Morton said: Writing Mean Streak is the most difficult thing I have ever done but it is a story that deserves to be seen and heard by as many people as possible. I am so grateful that Lingo Pictures are creating the top tier drama it deserves; a production that will show all Australians and others around the world what happens when crude government systems encounter real people. Helen Bowden said: Lingo Pictures is very excited to be working with Rick Morton to bring the story of the Robodebt scandal to Australian screens. Its one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Australian history and we will focus on the human stories: the grieving mothers whose sons took their own lives; the Centrelink worker who blew the whistle after decades of loyalty; and the digital activists who helped bring the scandal to light. We are very grateful to so many of these people who are working closely with us to bring this story to the screen. We believe it will make great television drama. ITV Studios Global Distribution will handle international sales. Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite and Houston Mayor John Whitmire are shown during a media conference about the police department's report on the origin and cause of the Suspended-Lack of Personnel code Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Interim Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite speaks to reporters during a press conference to announce Noe Diaz, at right, as the new police chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite are shown during a media conference about the police department's report on the origin and cause of the Suspended-Lack of Personnel code Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite leaves after speaking to Mayor John Whitmire and City Council members about the police department's report on the origin and cause of the Suspended-Lack of Personnel code Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite speaks to Mayor John Whitmire and City Council members about the police department's report on the origin and cause of the Suspended-Lack of Personnel code Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Cadets from Houston Police Academy Class 263 take their oath of office during their graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 6, 2024 in Houston. Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite welcomed 68 new officers to the police force during the ceremony. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Interim Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite looks over at Noe Diaz, the incoming police chief, during a press conference to announce Diaz as the new chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Samphors Ruth, who is from Cambodia, receives her badge from Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite during the graduation ceremony for Houston Police Academy Class 263 on Thursday, June 6, 2024 in Houston. HPD welcomed 68 new officers to the police force during the ceremony. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite speaks to Mayor John Whitmire and City Council members about the police department's report on the origin and cause of the Suspended-Lack of Personnel code Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Houston Police Department investigators are reexamining a 2018 auto-pedestrian crash, later determined to be a deliberate killing, more than six years after it was first reported, because the case was one of 264,000 suspended over lack of personnel. The case is one of two homicide investigations in HPD's ongoing suspended cases scandal but the only one that is being investigated. Details about the homicide investigations came after Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite confirmed that two slayings had been included in the list of 264,000 cases that were suspended with an internal code citing a lack of personnel. The other homicide case was tagged with the internal SL code but was included mainly because of a clerical error police made an arrest in the investigation the night of the crime, and charges were filed the next day. The SL code was entered later, when a detective accidentally reopened the case while trying to add information to it. That case is considered closed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad MORE FROM HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Former Police Chief Troy Finner alleges he was pushed out to bury HPD scandal Both homicide cases originated in the vehicular crimes division, which handles all road deaths but usually forwards intentional deaths to the homicide division, according to Jay Coons, a professor at Sam Houston State University who retired from the Harris County Sheriff's Office in 2018. Police have to pick up investigation 6 years later The earlier of the two cases came in 2018, when vehicular crimes investigators responded to the scene of an auto-pedestrian crash in the 5600 block of Bellaire Boulevard, according to a news release at the time. Paramedics declared a 61-year-old man, later identified as Nicholas Martinez, dead at the scene. Witnesses told police a man in a black Ford Expedition had hit Martinez before fleeing the scene. As of Thursday, detectives hadnt made any arrests in connection with the case. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Calls to the victims family werent immediately returned. A spokesman for the department declined to say whether the case being suspended had opened an internal affairs investigation into its handling but said detectives were looking into the case as part of the larger review of suspended cases. Family members in May spoke with Houston television station ABC13, saying they hadn't known that the case was suspended before a reporter contacted them and that they feared the delay meant officers could have missed out on crucial evidence, such as video of the crash. Second case a clerical error and closed HPD officials described the codes use in the second homicide case as an administrative error. While the investigation ended up logged in internal records with the SL code, officers made an arrest on the night of the death in October 2020, according to records. A then-18-year-old man was charged with murder in connection with the death of Joe Puentas, 22, according to Harris County court records. The case was dismissed this past April, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence to prove the mans guilt. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Detectives in 2020 alleged that they watched the 18-year-old and Puentas sell narcotics in a gas station parking lot before leaving and breaking traffic laws, according to the HPD. Officers attempted to pull their vehicle over, but it instead sped away. During an ensuing chase, the arrested man's vehicle slammed into a concrete barrier on Byram Street where the road ends, police said. Puentas was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other man was taken to a hospital. The night after the chase, charges had been filed in state District Court in Harris County. These are cases where some of this should have been more delineated in department policy, said Coons, the professor. Cases part of larger scandal Coons said that from the start of the suspended cases scandal, hes assumed the code began with good intentions but was a bad idea the public wouldnt accept contentions that bore out in the release of an HPD report Wednesday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad MORE FROM HOUSTON CHRONICLE: What to know about the Houston Police Department's dropped cases scandal Satterwhite brought up the two murder cases while detailing the results of the investigation before Houston City Council on Wednesday. He attributed the cause of the scandal, which led to the ouster of former Chief Troy Finner, to a systemic failure of leadership. The report echoed many findings already made public about the codes spread through divisions, including that the code was born out of a 2014 audit, that it spread rapidly through the departments divisions with poor oversight and that an antiquated records management system has stifled efforts to contain it. Coons said different divisions in law enforcement agencies handle their affairs differently and that while policy should dictate how case transfers should happen, individuals frequently play a bigger role in the proceedings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad BNP Paribas SA BNP PARIBAS ENTERS INTO EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS WITH AXA FOR THE ACQUISITION OF AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP IN ASSET MANAGEMENT Press Release Paris, 1 August 2024 The BNP Paribas Group announces today that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with AXA to acquire 100% of AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM), representing close to 850bn1 assets under management, together with an agreement for a long-term partnership to manage a large part of AXAs assets. BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance business of BNP Paribas, after having directly proceeded to the proposed transaction as principal, would have the opportunity to rely on this platform for the management of up to 160bn of its savings and insurance assets1. With the combined contribution of BNP Paribas asset management platforms, the newly formed business, which total assets under management would amount to 1,500bn1, would become a leading European player in the sector. Specifically, it would become the European leading player in the management of long-term savings assets for insurers as well as pension funds, with 850bn of assets1, leveraging powerful platforms of public and private assets. The acquisition would also allow the combined businesses to benefit from AXA IM Alternatives leading market position and track record in private assets which will drive further growth with both institutional and retail investors. The agreed price for the acquisition and the set-up of the partnership is of 5.1bn at closing, expected mid-2025. With a CET1 impact of circa 25 bp for BNP Paribas, the expected return on invested capital of the transaction would be above 18% as soon as the 3rd year, following the end of the integration process. The signing of the proposed transaction, expected by the end of the year, is subject to the information process and consultation of the employees representative bodies. The closing of the transaction is expected by mid-2025 once regulatory approvals have been obtained. This project would position BNP Paribas as a leading European player in long-term asset management. Benefiting from a critical size in public and alternative assets, BNP Paribas would serve its customer base of insurers, pension funds, banking networks and distributors more efficiently. The strategic partnership entered into with AXA, the cornerstone of this project, confirms the ability of both our groups to join forces. This major project, which would drive our growth over the long-term, would represent a powerful engine of growth for our Group. said Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, Director and CEO, BNP Paribas. Story continues AXA Investment Managers has been a homegrown success story for the AXA Group. Over the past 25 years, we have built an exceptional franchise anchored in investment expertise, a relentless client focus and a proven track record on sustainability. Thanks to the quality of its teams, AXA IM is today a leading player, notably in Alternatives in Europe. said Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA. By joining forces with BNP Paribas, AXA IM would become a global asset manager with a wider product offering and a mutual objective to further their leading position in responsible investing. I would like to thank all AXA IM employees for their unwavering commitment, and their continued focus on delivering value for our clients. The creation, within the Investment & Protection Services (IPS) division of the BNP Paribas Group, of a European leader in the management of long-term insurance and savings assets, would enable the IPS division to exceed EUR 2 trillion of assets entrusted by its clients. This operation would allow BNP Paribas Cardif to benefit from premium access to the services of an asset management expert on the asset classes required for insurance management. The combined expertise of the BNP Paribas Asset Management and AXA IM teams in public and private assets, as well as their leadership in sustainability, would be valuable assets to better meet future needs of clients. said Renaud Dumora, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Investment & Protection Services, BNP Paribas. Press contact Sandrine Romano sandrine.romano@bnpparibas.com +33 (0)6 71 18 23 05 About BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is the European Unions leading bank and key player in international banking. It operates in 63 countries and has nearly 183,000 employees, including more than 145,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services for the Groups commercial & personal banking and several specialised businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Turkey, and Eastern Europe. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group's performance and stability. Disclaimer This press release includes forward-looking statements based on current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future events, operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance and synergies. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and assumptions about BNP Paribas and its subsidiaries and investments, developments of BNP Paribas and its subsidiaries, banking industry trends, future capital expenditures and acquisitions, changes in economic conditions globally, or in BNP Paribas principal local markets, the competitive market and regulatory factors. Those events are uncertain; their outcome may differ from current expectations which may in turn significantly affect expected results. Any forward-looking statement contained in this press release speaks as of the date of this press release. BNP Paribas undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. 1 Based on assets as at 31.12.2023 Attachment High Arctic Energy Services Inc. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAW CALGARY, Alberta, July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- High Arctic Energy Services Inc. (TSX: HWO) ("High Arctic" or the "Corporation") wishes to provide an update on the previously announced reorganization of High Arctic to separate the Corporation's North American and Papua New Guinea businesses, by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") between the Corporation and High Arctic Overseas Holdings Corp. (SpinCo). Although the Corporation has been working toward completion of the Arrangement by July 31, 2024 as previously announced, it is not yet in a position to do so. The Arrangement was approved by shareholders, along with a distribution of $0.76 per share to its shareholders by way of return of capital (the "Return of Capital") and other matters, at the annual general and special meeting held on June 17, 2024. On June 27, 2024, the Court of King's Bench of Alberta granted its final order approving of the Arrangement, and the Return of Capital was distributed to shareholders on July 17, 2024. The Corporation has received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) for the listing of the new High Arctic common shares to be issued concurrently with completion of the Arrangement (the New High Arctic Common Shares). It is a condition of closing of the Arrangement (which condition may be waived by the Corporation) that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"), or another acceptable stock exchange, approve the listing of the common shares of SpinCo (SpinCo Common Shares) to be issued concurrently with the closing of the Arrangement. The Corporation remains engaged with the TSXV and expects to receive conditional approval from the TSXV for the initial listing of the SpinCo Common Shares. The Arrangement and the listing of the New High Arctic Common Shares remain subject to the final approval of the TSX. As at the closing of the Arrangement, each shareholder will receive one-quarter of one (1/4) SpinCo Common Share and one-quarter of one (1/4) New High Arctic Common Share for each current common share of High Arctic. The Corporation will continue to update shareholders and other interested parties of the progress towards approval from the TSXV for the initial listing of SpinCo Common Shares and the completion of the Arrangement. For more information on the Arrangement and the Return of Capital, please see the management information circular of the Corporation dated May 9, 2024, and news releases dated May 11, 2024, May 21, 2024, May 29, 2024, June 12, 2024, June 18, 2024, June 27, 2024, and June 28, 2024 available on the Corporation's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Story continues About High Arctic High Arctic is an energy services provider. High Arctic is a market leader in Papua New Guinea providing drilling and specialized well completion services and supplies rental equipment including rig matting, camps, material handling and drilling support equipment. In western Canada, High Arctic provides pressure control and equipment supporting the high-pressure stimulation of oil and gas wells on a rental basis to exploration and production companies, from its bases in Whitecourt and Red Deer, Alberta. For further information, please contact: Lonn Bate Chief Financial Officer 1.587.318.2218 1.800.668.7143 High Arctic Energy Services Inc. Suite 2350, 3305th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 0L4 website: www.haes.ca Email: info@haes.ca Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "seek", "propose", "estimate", "expect", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Corporation's current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Corporation's actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those described in this press release. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this press release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements pertaining to the following: the Corporation's ability to obtain TSXV approval for the listing of the SpinCo Common Shares, the Corporations ability to obtain final approval of the TSX for the listing of the New High Arctic Common Shares, and the closing of the Arrangement. The Corporation's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors set forth above and elsewhere in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. These statements are given only as of the date of this press release. The Corporation does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law. From Mr. Duarte's 2021 Demons 1 & 2 4K UHD Review Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava, son of "Spaghetti Horror" maestro Mario Bava, joined forces to provide gore-hounds everywhere with a perversely twisted spectacle of demonic possession run amok in Demons. With Argento in the producer's chair, Bava is given free rein to splatter the screen with grisly details, a vibrant, colorful palette thanks to cinematographer Gianlorenzo Battaglia, and one of the wildest soundtracks. While the disgusting special effects stun and shock audiences to their wits, the fast-paced screeching sounds of the heavy-metal tunes blast through the speakers, creating a tensely energetic and frantic complement to the visuals. Adding a subtle comical atmosphere to the gorefest is Claudio Simonetti's original musical score, particularly the main composition at the beginning, which has to be one of the best and most memorable pieces for a horror movie. The creepy but highly spirited circus-like undertones are bizarrely fun. Revisiting this childhood favorite for the umpteenth time, I'm amazed the cult Italian horror classic still holds up surprisingly well, overwhelming its audience with a heavy-metal madness that's as comically contagious as it is sensationally over-the-top. Admittedly, the tense, action-packed moments can also seem somewhat corny and screwball, especially when one character rides a dirt bike through the aisles of a theatre while wielding a samurai sword, but they nonetheless remain visually exciting to behold. Meanwhile, Gianlorenzo Battaglia's cinematography works in surprisingly perfect harmony, generating a bonkers movie-going experience that electrifies audiences into cheering the gruesome mayhem. To be clear, I'm referring to the humans and their fight for survival, not the monstrous creatures with glowing eyes, torn fingernails, and sharp, mangled teeth. They're ugly, horrifying ghouls! When charging into battle, I have my "ghetto blaster" and a mix tape at the ready. Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray Demons bites its way to 4K via Synapse Films. the sole 4K Disc is housed inside a hard, black plastic case. This is the same BD-100 disc fans found in the Demons 1 & 2 4K UHD set Synapse released in 2021. There is no cardboard sleeve. There is the golden replica ticket from Metropol and a Synapse product catalog. The artwork is reversible. One side features the original movie poster art and the other features the iconic demon only from a movie still. Beijing Declaration: China Palestine Diplomacy Trumps Again By hosting a historic signing of a unity agreement, Beijing Declaration, between 14 Palestinian political parties in Beijing on July 23, China has, once more, shown its ability to play a global role as a peace broker Friday August 2, 2024 0:32 AM , Dr Ramzy Baroud Chinese diplomacy has done it again. By hosting a historic signing of a unity agreement between 14 Palestinian political parties in Beijing on July 23, China has, once more, shown its ability to play a global role as a peace broker. For years, China has attempted to play a role in Middle East politics, particularly in the regions most enduring crisis, the Israeli occupation of Palestine. In 2021, China announced its four-point plan, aimed at comprehensively, fairly and permanently resolving the Palestinian question. Whether the plan itself was workable or not, it mattered little, as neither the Israeli government nor the Palestinian Authority were prepared to ditch Washington, which has dominated Middle East diplomacy for decades. For the Israelis, their interests lie largely within their historic alliance with the United States, which has translated into very generous aid packages, military support and political backing. As for the PA, since its inception in 1994, it revolved largely within a US-foreign policy sphere. With time, the Palestinian leadership grew even more reliant on American-western financial handouts and validation. Thus, allowing China to flex its diplomatic muscles in the Middle East, at the expense of the US, would be considered a violation of the unspoken agreement between Washington and Ramallah. Consequently, the Chinese efforts yielded nothing tangible. But Chinas success in ending a seven-year rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran re-introduced Beijing as a powerful new mediator, in a region known for its protracted and layered conflicts. The latest horrific war in Gaza has further highlighted the possible role of China in Palestine and the region at large. For years, China attempted to find the balance between its historic role as a global leader, with clout and credibility in the Global South, and its economic interests, including those in Israel. That balancing act began eroding soon after the start of the war. The Chinese political discourse on the war was committed to the rights of the Palestinian people and their historic struggle for freedom and justice. The above notion was highlighted in the words of Chinas ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, when he said that the establishment of an independent state is the indisputable national right of the Palestinian people, not subject to questioning or bargaining. Such language, which came to define Chinas strong stance against the war, the massive human rights violations and the urgent need for a ceasefire, continued to evolve. On February 22, Chinas representative to the Hague, Ma Xinmin, said that in pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian peoples use of force to resist foreign oppression () is (an) inalienable right well founded in international law. His statement was made during the fourth day of public hearings held by the ICJ to address Israels decades-long occupation of Palestine. The Chinese, and other countries efforts, paid dividends, as the ICJ released its Advisory Opinion on July 19, stating that the sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying Power and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law. It is within this context that The Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity was signed. The agreement was not a mere document, similar to those signed between rival Palestinian parties in the past. It proposed a three-step initiative that includes a comprehensive, lasting and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, followed by a post-conflict governance plan, which is itself predicated on the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine. The final step seeks long-term peace, all of which is achieved through broad-based participation of regional and international players. In other words, ending the domination of a single country over the future of Palestine and her people. There will certainly be attempts to undermine, if not cancel, the Chinese efforts entirely. But there are reasons that give us hope that the diplomatic push by China may, in fact, serve as a foundation for a change in the global attitude towards justice and peace in Palestine. The fact that western European countries like Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognized Palestine shows that the US-dominated western diplomacy is breaking apart. Moreover, the growing role of the Global South in supporting the Palestinian struggle suggests another seismic shift. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, much of the world has been sidelined from the struggle in Palestine. This is no longer the case. Chinas growing role in Palestinian and Middle East politics is taking place with changing global dynamics, and the practical end of the US traditional role as the honest peace broker. The war on Gaza has presented China with the opportunity to play the role of an advocate for Palestine. This has given Beijing the needed credibility to achieve the most comprehensive agreement among Palestinian groups. Time will tell if the agreement will be implemented or thwarted. But the fact remains that China is now officially a peace broker in Palestine and, for most Palestinians, a credible one at that. [Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out. His other books include My Father was a Freedom Fighter and The Last Earth. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.] Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. 'A Hero Taken Away Too Soon': Colleague Pays Tribute to Journalist Killed in Gaza Your death, Ismail al Ghoul, is the latest reminder of how Israel has silenced so many of us, too many to name, but each one is forever lodged in our memories as a hero taken away too soon. All for practicing journalism Thursday August 1, 2024 9:58 PM , Maram Humaid Deir el-Balah (Gaza, Palestine): I sat on my knees, heartbroken and trembling. We were on the cusp of marking 300 days of the Gaza war a tragic milestone. But tragedy wasnt nearly done with us. We had woken up on Wednesday to the news of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh , the Hamas political boss. Peoples faces were marked by sorrow and frustration as I reported on the reactions to his killing from Gaza. As they mourned a prominent leader, Israeli raids continued. I finished my interviews and went to the Al Jazeera tent at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to write. Amid my work, I watched ambulances bring more bodies to the hospital, saw people crying and collapsing in grief. I stared silently, then remembered my urgent article and resumed writing. When youre a journalist, reporting on a war and at the same time being a victim of the war, theres no time to process feelings amid the chaos and madness. As I pressed send, my colleague Hind Khoudary arrived to start her TV shift, frustration etched on her face. It was our usual exchange: about our psychological fatigue and the futility of our situation. We ended the conversation. We each had plenty to do. I went home to my family and children. Thats when the messages started coming on WhatsApp: Our colleagues Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera journalist, and Rami al-Rifi, his cameraman, had been killed after Israel struck the car they were travelling in with a missile. We didnt want to believe it, but then, the confirmation came from colleagues out in the field. And I collapsed on my knees. It was a fresh slap in the face of all journalists in Gaza. According to our count, 165 journalists have now been killed since the start of the war on October 7. Yet each time, the shock is indescribable. Its the same shock that sweeps over us every time we lose a journalist colleague despite our knowledge that everyone is under the guillotine of war and everyone is a target. And its the same shock that reminds us of the bitter truth that no one hears us, no one cares about us. A woman told me on Wednesday that the world is tired of us and our news. Bored of the war on Gaza, indifferent to our suffering. She was right! The world is tired of us, oh, my colleague Ismail. Tired of seeing you on screen for 300 days, broadcasting live news around the clock from northern Gaza. Tired of you reporting, hungry and unable to find food. You wrote about your hunger, lost your brother and father in the war, were arrested and tortured at al-Shifa Hospital, separated from your displaced wife and children in the south of Gaza. The world was tired of you until the screen reported on your killing, your head severed from your body in a brutal reflection of the war that you covered. You were a kind, humble and persistent colleague. My colleague Marah Al-Wadiya told me how you used to check on her house after every Israeli operation in her area and reassure her it was fine. Another colleague, Mohammad Al-Zaanin, said you checked in on his family in the north and did your best to provide them shelter after their house was demolished. Mohammad also wont forget how you brought bread for his mother. Your death is the latest reminder of how Israel has silenced so many of us, too many to name, but each one is forever lodged in our memories as a hero taken away too soon. All for practicing journalism. Since when have journalists been targets? Since the world turned its back on Gaza, stripping us of humanity and denying us international and human rights protection in times of war and crises. But from now on, I wont ask where the world is. What world? There is no world here. Not even our blown-up heads in press uniforms or the dismembered bodies of our children changes anything. This false world is not our place, dear Ismail. Perhaps today, for the first time in 300 days, you sleep peacefully and comfortably, understanding the full meaning of truth. The truth that all Gaza residents now know well: Its only a matter of time. We are all awaiting our turn in this war, and in heaven, we will not forgive anyone. [The writer, Maram Humaid, is Al Jazeera English's digital correspondent in Gaza. The above article is originally published by Al Jazeera English .] Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Watch Malaysia PM Anwars Tribute to Ismail Haniyeh removed by Facebook Tech giant Meta is facing flak from the Malaysian administration for removing from the Facebook page of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a post tagged with a video paying tribute to slain Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh. Watch the video here. Thursday August 1, 2024 2:04 PM , ummid.com Social Media Desk [Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim with slain Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh when the former met him in Qatar May this year (Image posted on X by Anwar Ibrahim)] Tech giant Meta is facing flak from the Malaysian administration for removing from the Facebook page of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a post tagged with a video paying tribute to slain Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh. Ismail Haniyeh assassinated Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a guided rocket attack on his residence in the outskirts of Iranian capital Tehran Wednesday July 31, 2024. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the swearing-in-ceremony of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a day before. Palestinian Resistance Group Hamas has called Ismail Haniyehs brutal killing assassination and blamed Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the incident. It had however in the past on several occasions vowed to eliminate Palestinian leadership. Before his assassination Wednesday, Haniyeh had already lost a number of his family members, including his three sons and 14 grandchildren in Israeli raids. Several world leaders - including from Russia, China, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and others condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. Joining the world leaders, who decried the killing of Hamas political leader calling it a heinous crime, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim too issued a statement which was also posted on Facebook and other social media platforms. The tribute post was however disappeared from Facebook soon after it was posted by Anwars office. Anwar Ibrahim's post removed by Facebook In his tribute to Ismail Haniyeh, which has now been removed from Facebook, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said: It is patently clear that this could only have been carried out in an environment of utter impunity. Only the heedless and unconscionable will not see the need to intensify pressure on Israel to stop their murderous rampage. I am deeply concerned about what this tragedy would mean for the Palestinian people, who have already been so cruelly subjected to so much pain, hardship and suffering for so many decades. Detractors who have criticised me for meeting with Haniyeh in the past, fail to appreciate Haniyehs profound desire for a peaceful Middle East and a Palestinian nation restored to its rightful dignity. I mourn the loss of a dear friend and a valiant advocate for his people. Al-Fatihah, he said. Anwar's conversation with Hamas leader Tagging with the post, Anwar also uploaded a video of him having a teleconference with Hamas Political Bureau Member, Dr Basem Naim, during which he reiterated Malaysias stance in supporting the Palestinian struggle and fight for an independent Palestinian state. Ismail Haniyeh is one of the pillars in this (Palestinian) struggle and one of the things that is being fought for is a peaceful resolution to defend the rights of the Palestinian people. Clearly, theres an element of sabotage. They dont want this to succeed. They dont want this peaceful resolution, he said while talking with Dr Basem. During the conversation with Dr Basem, Anwar also expressed his anger at the failure of the international community to ensure peace and justice and defend the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people, saying that he would continue to do his level best to condemn the atrocities committed by the Zionist regime. "Cowardice, disgraceful" Malaysia has accused Meta Platforms of cowardice while condemning the removal of Anwar Ibrahim's tribute to Ismail Haniyeh from Facebook. Meta has once again acted disgracefully and has insulted the struggle of the Palestinian people by removing the video and condolence post criticising the assassination of the late Ismail Haniyeh, Anwar posted on Facebook this morning. Malaysia has previously complained to Meta over its takedown of content, including local media coverage of Anwars last meeting with Haniyeh in Qatar May this year, which was later restored. Meta at the time said it was not deliberately suppressing voices on its Facebook platform and was not restricting content supporting the Palestinians, according to Reuters. It has however did not respond to the news agency's request for comment on the removal of Anwar Ibrahim's latest Facebook page. Meta has designated Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, as a dangerous organization and bans content praising the group. It also uses a mix of automated detection and human review to remove or label graphic visuals. Watch Video Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands attended the funeral of Ismail Haniyeh held in Tehran Thursday August 01, 2024. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei led the funeral prayers. Ismail Haniyeh will be buried in Doha, Qatar after the final funeral prayers at Doha Central Mosque Friday August 02, 2024. The funeral of Ismail Haniyeh in Doha on Friday is likely to see representation by a number of countries including Russia, China and others. [With inputs from thesun.my] Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. A woman puts down flowers on Sunday, May 20, 2018, in front of the Santa Fe High School where 10 people were shot. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Houston Chronicle More than six years after the mass shooting in Santa Fe High School, the tragic event is back in the news because of the start of a civil trial involving the parents of the victims and the accused shooter. The civil trial that started this week in Galveston County will be the first time questions about responsibility are litigated inside a court room. The accused shooter hasn't gone to trial because of questions about his mental health and ability to aid in his own defense. The families are seeking damages from the accused shooter for battery and from his parents over claims that they should have intervened before the shooting took place. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The trial revealed new details about what happened in the days leading up to the shooting. Here's what to know about the tragedy while the trial is under way. What happened at Santa Fe High School? On the morning of May 18, 2018, a 17-year-old student walked into hallway inside the Santa Fe High School and began firing into an art classroom with a shotgun and handgun, killing students and teachers inside, including some who had taken shelter in a closet. Police responded to the shooting within minutes, and exchanged gunfire with the student. One of the officers was shot, but survived. After a standoff, the student, later identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a high school senior, was arrested and charged with capital murder of multiple persons and aggravated assault against a public servant. Warrior Spirit is unveiled as a remembrance of the ten victims, survivors of the Santa Fe shooting during the fifth year anniversary remembrance ceremony and dedication of the Warrior Spirit sculpture at Santa Fe High School on Thursday, May 18, 2023 in Santa Fe. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Who were the victims? Eight students and two teachers were killed inside the school. Another 13 people were wounded. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The dead were teachers Cynthia Tisdale and Glenda Ann Perkins, and students Jared Conard Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Riley Garcia, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Anglique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Chris Stone and Kimberly Vaughan. Sheri Shubert looks at her son Rome Shubert, 16, glad he returned home alive after he got shot during a shooting at his school, Santa Fe High School, Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle ) Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle What is the status of the accused shooter? Pagourtzis was arrested on the day of the shooting and charged with capital murder of multiple people and aggravated assault of a police officer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Pagourtzis was held in Galveston County for about a year ahead of the planned start of his criminal trial. In November 2019, however, a district court judge ruled he was mentally unfit to stand trial and could not aid his own defense. Since then, Pagourtzis has been treated at a state hospital in north Texas. Prosecutors have maintained hope that he will be restored to competency, but it's unclear if that will happen. The criminal trial is on an indefinite hold until then. In a Monday, May 21, 2018 file photo, Santa Fe High School freshman, Jai Gillard writes messages on each of the 10 crosses representing victims in front the school in Santa Fe, Texas. Texas, which for years has buckled to pressure from the National Rifle Association, has quietly gone around the organization by slipping a $1 million public safety campaign on gun storage into a massive spending bill now headed to Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts desk. Steve Gonzales, MBO / Associated Press What is the Santa Fe civil lawsuit about? Shortly after the shooting, the parents of the one of the victims, Chris Stone, sued the alleged gunman and his parents in civil court. The lawsuit accuses Pagourtzis of battery and his parents of negligence for not securing their guns or seeking treatment for his alleged mental health issues. The lawsuit was ultimately joined by the families of seven people killed, as well as four people who were wounded. A jury trial is planned to begin in Galveston on July 29. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The lawsuit also at one time included Luckygunner, an online ammunition seller, as a defendant. The victims accused the company and its executives for failing to verify the accused gunman's age before selling him the ammunition used in the shooting. Luckygunner and the families settled the lawsuit last year for an undisclosed amount of money. The company also agreed to create an age verification system for its sales. The company in statement after the settlement it would continue to use the age-verification it put it place in 2019 -- the year after the shooting -- and called the lawsuit a failed attempt to put it out of business. Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks about the shooting at Santa Fe High School, during a press conference at the Santa Fe ISD Agricultural Center Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe. Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Houston Chronicle What changed in Texas after the shooting? The Santa Fe shooting spurred the legislature to increase some security in schools across the state, but the tragedy had little affect on the state's firearm laws. In the shooting's aftermath, Gov. Greg Abbott held a series of roundtables about policies that could reduce mass killing. Ideas at the time included requiring people report their lost or stolen firearms, clarifying laws that make parents responsible for the safekeeping of guns to children under the age of 18, arming teachers or creating "red flag" laws that could allow authorities to take guns from people exhibiting potentially violent behavior. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A month after the shooting, Abbott tweeted that he didn't advocate for red flag laws. In 2019, Abbott signed a law allowing more teachers to have guns in school, increasing mental health services for students and funding programs to "harden" schools against future attacks. In 2021, Texas abolished its law requiring people to have a license to open carry a handgun. HCM CITY The southeast region must enhance its logistics services, establish robust logistics companies to support import-export operations, develop high-quality brands, and promote regional trade, speakers said. Speaking at a trade promotion conference held in HCM City on Wednesday, experts recommended stakeholders in the region advocate for improvements in logistics systems to ensure the efficient and secure transportation of goods. Numerous businesses in the region have expressed concerns over the inadequacies of logistics infrastructure and the rising costs associated with logistics activities. These challenges have resulted in reduced storage durations for goods, leading to an increased incidence of product damage. Nguyen Van Dung, deputy chairman of HCM Citys Peoples Committee, said businesses in the region should capitalise on the free trade agreements in which Viet Nam is a signatory. They should also diversify markets and supply chains, he said. Its important to also enhance regional connectivity, which allows localities to leverage their inherent advantages in enhancing trade, he added. The city is focusing on exporting to key markets, particularly those with which Viet Nam has established free trade agreements (FTAs), according to Dung. ang Phuc Nguyen, a representative from the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that geopolitical conflicts have led to increased shipping costs and transit times for agricultural products. He recommended businesses target nearby markets such as Japan, China, and South Korea. Ly Kim Chi, chairwoman of the HCM City Food Association, also expressed concern over the insufficient availability of cold storage facilities, which adversely affects the food industry. She said it was essential to prioritise training and developing human resources, as well as attracting talent and fostering innovation and creativity. Phan Thi Thang, deputy minister of Industry and Trade, said it was vital to enhance human resources to bolster the competitiveness of Vietnamese logistics companies. The region has established itself as an economic leader and the foremost centre for trade, industry, tourism, and service development in Viet Nam. This achievement is attributed to its natural advantages and its strategic, economic and political positioning. The region has also emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors and a promising area for the relocation and restructuring of supply chains. Despite constituting only 7 per cent of the countrys total land area and 19 per cent of its population, the southeast region has contributed over 30 per cent of Viet Nams GDP, 38 per cent of total State budget revenue, and 32 per cent of total exports. As part of the event, an exhibition showcased local products and facilitated trade connections between regional suppliers and import-export businesses. The southeast region encompasses HCM City and five provinces: ong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh, forming the countrys largest economic hub. In May, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved the master plan for the development of the southeast region for the period of 2021-2030. According to data from the General Department of Customs, the regions import-export turnover in the first half reached $115.7 billion, accounting for 31 per cent of the nations total trade. Exports from the region are present in nearly 200 countries and territories, primarily in markets with which Viet Nam has free trade agreements, including China, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN nations. Last year, this regions growth was estimated to exceed 5 per cent, and it attracted nearly $11.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), accounting for over 31 per cent of the countrys total FDI. The event was co-organised by the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the HCM City Peoples Committee. VNS HA NOI Developing human resources is critical for Ha Noi to build an ecosystem for the semiconductor industry, a conference held on Wednesday morning heard. The conference was organised by Hanoi Promotion Agency (HPA) under the instruction of Ha Noi Peoples Committee within the framework of three-day Ha Noi Semiconductor Investment Festival 2024, discussing solutions for the capital city to exploit potential and affirm the position in the global technology map. According to Nguyen Nhat Quang, director of Viet Nam Science and Technology Institute under Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association, building a semiconductor ecosystem needs to be placed in harmony with building digital and green industries. He stressed that the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is digital transformation and green transition. Ha Noi has shown determination in developing into a smart city in its planning, Quang said, adding that to fulfill the goal, the capital city will need to develop a strong and secure digital information infrastructure. The process will require large numbers of semiconductor chips. It is critical for Ha Noi to develop corresponding capacity in electronic technology and semiconductor industry to build and operate smart city safely and sustainably, he said. There are significant opportunities for major cities of Viet Nam like Ha Noi and HCM City to develop a semiconductor ecosystem, said Nguyen Thanh Yen, general director of Korea invested CoAsia Semi in Viet Nam. Yen said that early preparations, especially in human resources, are critical for Ha Noi to engage in the global semiconductor value chain. Experts at the conference also stressed that semiconductor is a global industry and no one country can master it from A to Z. Thus, Ha Noi needs to position itself in the global semiconductor ecosystem and prepare a workforce to be able to seize the opportunities. Ha Noi Semiconductor Investment Festival 2024, which closed on Wednesday, provided a platform for policy makers, industry insiders and enterprises to discuss solutions to promote investments and enhance cooperation in the semiconductor industry in Viet Nam. VNS SYDNEY Viet Nam has a market economy, if the pace of reforms it has undertaken from the oi Moi (Renewal) period in 1986 to now is taken into consideration, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Australias Deakin University Dr Cong Pham has assessed. Viet Nam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 and has since signed numerous multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with various countries, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the Viet Nam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. The FTAs signed have increasingly integrated Viet Nam into the global economy with stringent competitive rules and also encouraged the country to adopt practices of free competition, the scholar said. According to the expert, another point showing Viet Nam has rapidly transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a market one is the emergence of private companies and startups. He noted that the private sector has grown alongside a reduction in the number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) through the equitisation of small- and medium-sized enterprises. He pointed to six factors that prove Viet Nam is a market economy. First, the private sector has grown rapidly, and now accounts for nearly 45 per cent of GDP, contributes one-third of the State budget, provides 40 per cent of investment capital, and employs 85 per cent of the countrys workforce. Second, Viet Nam has reformed its foreign investment laws, and attracted over US$18 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of this year. Third, Viet Nam has developed a competitive market environment across various sectors. Fourth, the legal framework has evolved to support the growth of the private sector, with the promulgation of intellectual property protection laws, the Enterprise Law, and the Investment Law. These laws, introduced in the mid-2000s and revised several times, have become crucial in creating a transparent environment, stated Cong Pham. Fifth, Viet Nams financial market is developing rapidly, with significant increases in stock market capitalisation over the past time. Sixth, Viet Nams national target programme for poverty reduction for 2021-2025 aims to reduce the poverty rate by 1-1.5 per cent per year on average. According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the poverty rate is projected to be around 0.9 per cent by the end of 2025, he added. VNS Quynh Anh Originally from Switzerland, Michael Gerber has called Viet Nam home since 2018, captivated not only by its stunning landscapes but also by its promising terrain for sport tourism lovers, leading him to run a motorbike tour community for foreigners when they are in Viet Nam. Joining Namduro, a prominent motorbiking community in Ha Noi four years ago, Michael has since embarked on countless adventures exploring Viet Nam on two wheels. With extensive experience navigating Viet Nam's diverse landscapes on motorcycles, he is in the process of setting up guided motorcycle tours and creating their merchandise. I moved to Viet Nam in early 2018 and have been working as an English teacher but also as a guide for motorbike tours, he told Viet Nam News. The low cost of living compared to my home country, allows me to experience a lifestyle I wouldnt be able to back home and affords me the luxury of being able to regularly go on trips to explore the beautiful country and surrounding ones. After living here for a while, I have formed some incredible lifelong friendships and a great relationship, which played a big part in my decision to stay here for so long. I have many years of experience travelling Viet Nam by motorcycle and have organised and run many tours myself, as well as helped a lot with running and organising the previous Namduro events. When the founders of Namduro decided to leave Viet Nam, they entrusted him with taking over due to his deep passion for riding motorcycles and organising events firsthand. "I have decided to continue what they started with the goal of turning it into a profitable business while sharing Viet Nam's hidden gems with other motorcycle enthusiasts, " he said. With the knowledge I have gained through that, I believe that I can provide unforgettable experiences to my customers with the highest quality standard." After six years as an expat in Viet Nam, this place has left Michael with a deep appreciation. Through his lens, Viet Nam has incredible landscapes that are amazing to explore by motorcycle. "The country's beautiful landscapes are truly captivating, and the hospitality of the people is heartwarming. Plus, the delicious food is a major highlight for me. "Travelling by motorcycle is the most common way for Vietnamese people to get around. Therefore, the country is set up very well for motorcycle travel, as there are mechanics and petrol stations even in the most remote locations. "Travelling by motorcycle allows tourists to reach destinations they couldn't reach by other means of transport which ensures an incredibly unique travel experience." He believes Viet Nam has tremendous potential to become an attractive and safer destination for foreign tourists with a few key improvements. One area that could make a big difference is simplifying the visa process. "If Viet Nam could offer more affordable visas and a smoother application process, perhaps even introducing a visa on arrival option, it would significantly boost its appeal to international visitors," Micheal said. "Additionally, many tourists might not realise that a one-month visa isn't enough to fully explore all that Viet Nam has to offer. "Making it easier to extend visas would encourage longer stays, allowing visitors to enjoy the country's rich cultural heritage and stunning landscapes at a more relaxed pace." He sees traffic safety as another area where improvements can have a positive impact. "With the recent increase in cars, the streets have become more congested, affecting the overall experience of walking around cities. However, it's encouraging to see the government actively working on various projects to address this issue." As he prepares to relocate to Hoi An for the next chapter of his journey, he said: "I am looking forward to living near the beach and in a quieter place with less air pollution. I still have a lot of love for Ha Noi and I'm looking forward to visiting it regularly in the future." Since Michael continues to weave his love for adventure with his admiration for Viet Nam, his tours stand as a testament to the country's allure and the endless possibilities it holds for those willing to venture off-road. If you're an off-road motorbike travel lover, come to Viet Nam for riding now. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday hold talks with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi, hoping that the Viet Nam-India relations will enter a new phase of growth following his official visit. The Indian minister sends his condolences on the passing of the late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a great friend of the South Asian country. Sending his gratitude to the Indian leaders and delegation who travelled to Viet Nam to pay respects to the late Vietnamese Party chief, PM Chinh also expressed his appreciation to the Indian external affairs ministry and the minister himself for their effective coordination in preparation for the visit. This trip is one of the first state visits by a foreign leader since Indian PM Narendra Modi was re-elected for the third term. PM Chinh also commended foreign ministers of both country for the successful 18th India-Viet Nam Joint Commission Meeting in September last year, an important step for this visit as well as the finalisation of the action plan for the Viet Nam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 2024-2028 period. The Vietnamese government leader hoped to further discuss with India key areas of cooperation in the near future, including delegation exchanges, economic-trade-investment cooperation with the bilateral trade turnover aimed at US$20 billion, as well as emerging sectors such as green transition, digital transformation, innovation, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. He hoped that the two foreign ministries would continue their focus on coordinating with relevant departments to realise the high-level agreements between Viet Nam and India. The two countries also agreed to maintain their cooperation in international and regional forums, and their support for the ASEANs stance on the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea). VNS HA NOI President To Lam on Thursday hosted a red-carpet welcome ceremony for President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta who is paying a state visit to Viet Nam from July 31 to August 3. Following the welcome ceremony, the two leaders started their talks to evaluate the cooperation results over the past time, and pen orientations for collaboration in the future. They will witness the signing and exchange of several cooperation documents. This is the second trip to Viet Nam by Jose Ramos-Horta following the first in 2010, and the fourth by a high-ranking leader of Timor-Leste. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations on July 28, 2002, Viet Nam and Timor-Leste have seen substantial development in their friendship and multi-faceted cooperation. They have maintained close ties and supported each other in the international arena, while leaders of both sides have kept high-level contacts. The two nations have enhanced collaboration and coordination at both regional and international forums. Viet Nam, together with other ASEAN nations and the ASEAN Secretariat, has always supported Timor Leste to fulfil the criteria necessary for ASEAN membership. Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Timor-Leste remains modest, mainly driven by Viet Nam's rice and garment-textile exports to Timor-Leste. Last year, Viet Nam's shipment to the country stood at US$15.49 million, while its import was worth $371,000. In the first five months of this year, Viet Nam sold $6.09 million worth of goods to Timor-Leste, up 29.4 per cent year-on-year Regarding investment, Viettel Telemor run by Viet Nam's Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) has gained a firm foothold in the market with its investment capital rising to $15 million from the initial $500,000 in 2012, becoming one of the three largest telecom service providers in the country. Timor-Leste holds substantial potential for Viet Nam's exports like rice, processed food, milk and dairy products, footwear, beverages, household utensils, and machinery. Meanwhile, to serve its economic activities in the coming years, Viet Nam will need more inputs such as fuels (oil and gas), raw wood, and minerals, which are of Timor-Lestes potential. Jose Ramos-Hortas state visit is of significance to consolidating political trust while creating opportunities for both nations to continue discussing measures to boost their cooperation and deepen the bilateral ties, thus tightening the traditional friendship that has been nurtured over the past time. VNS BANGKOK Thailand decided to fly flags at half-mast on August 1-2 to commemorate General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong. According to the Secretariat of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had directed all government agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) across the country to lower flags on the first two days of August to show respects to the late Vietnamese Party leader. Previously, Prime Minister Srettha, along with representatives from various Thai ministries, visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to pay their respects to General Secretary Trong. In the condolence book, the PM extended his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the passing of Party General Secretary Trong. Our thoughts and prayers are for his family, the Government and people of Viet Nam during this difficult time, he wrote. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away on July 19 afternoon at the age of 80. VNS Caroline Wilburn is a breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle. A May graduate of Texas A&M University, Caroline worked as an election stringer for the Associated Press and as a breaking news fellow at the Texas Tribune. At the Tribune, she got a crash course in interpreting data, distilling complicated policy and following statewide trends on a tight deadline. Shes also a skilled video editor and podcast producer. She won a first-place award for audio news production at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang suggested that Viet Nam and Chinas Hong Kong work together to enhance the quality and effectiveness of cooperation in key areas such as economic and trade relations, investment, finance, tourism, law enforcement and citizen protection. He made this statement on Thursday during talks with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee Ka-chiu, during his official visit to Viet Nam from July 31 to August 2. Deputy PM Quang warmly welcomed Chief Executive Lee on his first official visit to Viet Nam and expressed confidence that the visit would mark an important milestone, making a tangible contribution to promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between Viet Nam and Hong Kong. He congratulated Hong Kong on its significant achievements, which have continued to strengthen and enhance Hong Kongs position as a leading economic, financial, trade, science and technology hub in the region and globally. The Deputy PM affirmed that Viet Nam always supports and encourages local ministries and sectors to deepen and enhance friendly exchanges and comprehensive cooperation with Hong Kong. Chief Executive Lee expressed his pleasure at making his first official visit to Viet Nam. He emphasised that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region places great importance on the mutually beneficial relationship with Viet Nam and is ready to advance cooperation in various fields to achieve deeper and more effective results, benefiting the people and businesses of both Hong Kong and Viet Nam. Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the robust development and positive results of Viet Nam-Hong Kong relations, with economic and trade cooperation, investment and tourism continuing to stand out. Viet Nam is currently Hong Kongs second-largest trade partner in ASEAN and its seventh-largest trade partner globally. In turn Hong Kong is Viet Nams seventh-largest trade partner and fifth-largest investor. The two sides agreed to continue exploring and leveraging the opportunities, potential and advantages of both Viet Nam and Hong Kong, expanding the scope of cooperation to achieve mutually beneficial and developmental goals. Deputy PM Quang welcomed Hong Kongs corporations and businesses to actively engage in the Vietnamese market, undertake high-quality investment projects and increase the import of goods from Viet Nam. He also urged Hong Kong to continue supporting and facilitating the stable education and employment of the Vietnamese community and to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students. Furthermore, the Deputy PM suggested enhancing cooperation within multilateral mechanisms and forums, with particular emphasis on Hong Kong's support and close coordination during Viet Nam's hosting of APEC 2027. Chief Executive Lee welcomed Viet Nam's participation in the 9th Belt and Road Summit held in Hong Kong and encouraged Hong Kong businesses to expand their investment cooperation in Viet Nam. He also proposed enhancing exchanges between the two sides in areas such as finance, trade, investment in transportation services, the digital and green economies and science and technology. He emphasised leveraging Hong Kong's role as a super connector to further develop and make economic cooperation between the two sides more effective and substantial. Chief Executive Lee also expressed a desire to further promote people-to-people exchanges, tourism and educational training, and to advance cooperation in multilateral forums. During the meeting, Chief Executive Lee extended a formal invitation for Deputy PM Quang to visit Hong Kong. At the end of the talks, the Deputy PM and the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region witnessed the signing of cooperation documents between the two sides in the fields of finance, trade, investment and aviation. VNS NEW DELHI Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over an official welcome ceremony for visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on Thursday morning. At the ceremony, the national anthems of both countries were played by a military band, followed by PM Chinh reviewing the Indian Armed Forces' guard of honour. Afterwards, the two PMs introduced the members of their respective delegations to each other. The state visit marks PM Chinh's first trip to India in his capacity as head of the Vietnamese government, and the first one by a Vietnamese PM to India in a decade. It aims to strengthen political trust and deepen multifaceted cooperation between Viet Nam and India, driving their comprehensive strategic partnership toward tangible and effective outcomes in various fields, including politics, diplomacy, security, defence, economy, trade, and investment. The trip also provides an opportunity for both nations to share their stances on regional and international security and strategic issues, affirming their mutual support within multilateral forums of common interest. Also on the morning of August 1, PM Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation laid a wreath in tribute of Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial complex in New Delhi. In the guestbook, PM Chinh wrote that the ideology of Gandhi the "great soul" of the Indian people will forever resonate as an eternal symphony in the hearts and minds of the people of India, Viet Nam, and other countries around the world. VNS QUANG NINH A ceremony to commemorate the heroes and martyrs who bravely fought and gave their lives in the battles on August 2 and 5, 1964 was held on Thursday in Cua Luc beach of Bai Chay, Ha Long City. Jointly organised by the Viet Nam People's Navy and Quang Ninh Province, this event marks the first victory of the Viet Nam People's Navy. Recalling the victory, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Bong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Political Commissar of the Navy, emphasised that the victory demonstrated the political and spiritual strength of the entire nation, as well as the resolve and capability of the Navy and the people of the north to fight and win. This victory was the first notable achievement of the force nine years after it was established, marking the beginning of a glorious combat history for the heroic Viet Nam People's Navy. It also represented the first victory of the military and the people of the north in the resistance war against the United States. In this battle, many officers, soldiers, and citizens bravely fell and were wounded, among them, 78 naval officers and soldiers were killed. Their blood soaked the sacred soil and waters of the nation's islands and seas, adding glory to the flag of the Party, illuminating the image of 'President Ho Chi Minh's soldiers' and enhancing the proud history of the heroic Viet Nam People's Army. These individuals embodied the shining examples of revolutionary heroism, selfless sacrifice for the country and the people. In a solemn and respectful atmosphere, the delegates revisited the past victory, remembering and expressing boundless gratitude to the previous generations, thereby recognising the significant responsibility in the current mission of building and defending the country. Lieutenant General Bong noted that the global and regional situation continues to evolve in complex and unpredictable ways and so the task of protecting maritime and island sovereignty imposes new and urgent demands on the Navy. Under that circumstance, he added, the Navy must thoroughly grasp the resolutions and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence. It must also uphold the glorious traditions of the Army, the Navy and the victorious first battle, fostering unity and coordination, continuously improving overall quality, and combat readiness and strength to excellently fulfil its core mission of firmly protecting the sacred sovereignty of the nation's seas and continental shelf, deserving the trust and love of the Party, the State, the Army and the people. VNS HA NOI National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man hosted a reception in Ha Noi on Thursday for Tokai Kisaburo, member of the House of Representatives of Japan and Chairperson of the Policy Research Council under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). On behalf of the Party and State leaders and people of Viet Nam, Man expressed sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nukaga Fukushiro, President of the House of Councillors Otsuji Hidehisa, and members of the Japanese Parliament for their messages of condolences on the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He also thanked former PM Suga Yoshihide, Senior Advisor of the Japan-Viet Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, who, as a special envoy of Prime Minister Kishida, led a Japanese delegation to the state funeral in Ha Noi. This gesture reflects the appreciation and respect of the Government, Prime Minister, and people of Japan for General Secretary Trong and the Viet Nam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Affirming that the Viet Nam-Japan relationship is currently at its best stage, the NA Chairman stated that bilateral political trust continues to be strengthened, with frequent exchanges of high-level and all-level delegations; economic, trade, and investment cooperation boosted in an in-depth, more substantive, and effective manner; and labour and education cooperation, and collaboration between localities, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges becoming closer. To further enhance the bilateral relations, the Vietnamese top legislator suggested continuing to intensify the exchange of high-level and all-level delegations, increase exchanges between parliamentarians, especially young and female parliamentarians, and strengthen the sharing of legislative experiences between the two countries. Regarding economic cooperation, Man proposed Japan continue to support Viet Nam in its industrialisation and modernisation efforts and in ensuring economic independence and integration into the global economy, improving the investment environment and addressing issues related to official development assistance (ODA) and foreign direct investment (FDI) cooperation between the two nations. He expressed his hope that Tokai will support and prompt the Japanese Government to provide new generation ODA, with high incentives and both simple and flexible procedures, to Vietnam, focusing on large-scale strategic infrastructure development projects such as urban and high-speed railways, promoting investment and technology transfer of Japanese enterprises, supporting Vietnamese enterprises engagement in the global value chain of Japanese partners, and considering the opening of the market to Vietnamese fruits. Man also proposed the Japanese official to push the Japanese Government to simplify procedures and move towards visa exemption for Vietnamese people entering Japan to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges. Regarding education and training, he suggested Japan continue to support Viet Nam in training strategic-level officials and leaders, andboost cooperation in student exchanges by increasing the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students to go to Japan. There are currently nearly 600,000 Vietnamese people in Japan, making it the second-largest Vietnamese community in the world. Man proposed that Japan offer preferential policies and create conditions for the Vietnamese community to study and work in Japan, as they make a significant contribution to Japan's socio-economic development and serve as an important bridge for the bilateral relationship. As for cooperation in new areas, the top legislator suggested the two countries pay attention to and ramp up cooperation in green transition, digital transformation, emissions reduction and energy transition; and continue to promote more cooperation programmes and new projects within the framework of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Initiative. He asked for Japans support for Viet Nam in achieving the goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030. Man also voiced his hope that the two sides will strengthen coordination in, share stances, and cooperate on regional and international issues of shared concern, including the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) issue. Tokai Kisaburo, for his part, extended his deepest condolences to the Party, State, and people of Viet Nam over the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He expressed his confidence that under the leadership of NA Chairman Man, the Vietnamese legislature will develop further, and the relationship between the two parliaments will continue to be strengthened in the time ahead. He said that his visit aims to intensify bilateral collaboration in education-training, science-technology, and innovation. Agreeing with Man's proposals, the Japanese official expressed his hope that the Vietnamese legislature will continue to build a transparent legal corridor, improve the investment and business environment, simplify administrative procedures, and create favourable conditions for Japanese firms to invest and do business in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI President To Lam on Thursday held talks with his Timor-Leste counterpart Jose Ramos-Horta, affirming Viet Nams support for Timor-Lestes growth and their bilateral cooperation. This is Ramos-Hortas third visit to Viet Nam and the second in his position as Timor-Leste president. The Vietnamese leader also congratulated Timor-Leste on its socio-economic achievements and hoped for the success of the countrys Strategic Development Plan for 2011-30, aiming for better international integration and contributions to peace, prosperity and growth in the region. Expressing his gratitude for the warm welcome, President Ramos-Horta said Timor-Leste sees Viet Nam as a development model and hopes to further improve the relations between the two countries. The two leaders agreed that bilateral relations have seen remarkable progress with practical high-level delegation exchanges. In terms of trade and economic relations, import-export turnover between the two countries reached over US$15.9 million in 2023. Telemor, Viet Nam's Viettel Group, has also positively contributed to Timor-Lestes socio-economic growth. The two countries expect to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, in addition to the effective implementation of the Framework Agreement on Technical and Economic Cooperation, as well as the first meeting of the Viet Nam-Timor Leste Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation at the ministerial level. They are also aiming for new bilateral mechanisms. President Lam underlined that Viet Nam is ready to supply rice for Timor-Leste to ensure food security, adding that the two countries should extend or renew their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the rice trade. The Vietnamese state leader also encouraged Timor-Leste to increase the imports of Viet Nams high-quality products, including textiles, footwear, as well as food and dairy products. He hoped that Timor-Leste would soon ratify the bilateral trade agreement signed in 2013 and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to scale up their operations and investment in Timor-Leste. Thanking President Lam for sharing Viet Nams valuable experiences in development and international integration, the Timor-Leste leader agreed to strengthen coordination for better bilateral trade-economic-investment cooperation. They should expand cooperation to other highly potential sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, forest and mineral resource mining, he added. Agreeing with Viet Nams recommendation to take advantage of new trends for growth, President Ramos-Horta hoped that Timor-Leste would continue to receive assistance from Viet Nam to improve human resources, ensure food security and eradicate poverty. The two countries also expect to expand their effective cooperation to other key sectors, notably agriculture, aquaculture, telecommunications, education, oil and gas, infrastructure, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. Discussing regional and global issues of mutual concern, they agreed to strengthen support and cooperation in regional and international forums. President Lam also highlighted Viet Nams support for Timor-Lestes roadmap to ASEAN full membership, giving high regard to Timor-Lestes efforts and determination in this matter. President Ramos-Horta also affirmed his countrys support for Viet Nams candidacy at multilateral mechanisms, including the United Nations (UN) Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council. Regarding the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) issue, the two countries commit to the rule of law in maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in this area. They also expressed their support for resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the negotiation for the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC). Following their talks, the two state presidents witnessed the signing of the bilateral visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders. VNS NEW DELHI As part of an official State visit to India, following the solemn welcome ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi held official talks. PM Chinh conveyed the warm greetings of President To Lam and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to PM Modi, the Indian leadership, and the people of the nation. He sincerely thanked the Indian leaders for their condolences and for sending the National Security Advisor Ajit Dova to pay respects to the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a distinguished and exemplary leader who dedicated his life to the country and the people of Viet Nam. PM Modi, on behalf of himself and 1.4 billion Indians, expressed his deep condolences for the great loss suffered by the Vietnamese people. He affirmed that General Secretary Trong was a close friend of the Indian people, and India highly values his significant contributions to the bilateral ties. The two Government leaders had an extensive, sincere, and trusting exchange on bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. They stressed that the Viet Nam-India relationship has deep historical roots, nurtured by generations of leaders and people from both countries, highlighting the need to cherish and preserve the traditional and strong friendship, a valuable asset between Viet Nam and India. The two PMs expressed satisfaction with the remarkable progress since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016 during PM Modi's visit to Viet Nam. This relationship has achieved significant accomplishments in various areas from political trust, defence and security cooperation, economic and trade cooperation and investment, to culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges. Bilateral trade has tripled from over US$5 billion in 2016 to $15 billion in 2023. In 2019, airlines from the two countries launched the first direct flight route, significantly boosting Indian tourism to Viet Nam by 2.5 times (from 170,000 visitors in 2019 to 400,000 in 2023), with now 56 weekly flights between major cities in the two countries. Building on the strong foundation of 52 years of bilateral relations, the two leaders affirmed their determination to strengthen and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and India in the coming years, meeting the legitimate aspirations and interests of the peoples of both countries. PM Chinh and PM Modi agreed to consolidate traditional areas of cooperation further and expand into new potential areas with the guiding principle of "Five Mores": more political trust; more defence and security cooperation; more substantial and effective economic, trade, and investment cooperation; more cooperation in science and technology, and innovation; and more cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Both sides agreed to maintain regular exchanges and high-level contacts, including annual meetings between the two PMs either through visits or on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. They also agreed to enhance the role of the Joint Committee co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of both countries, in reviewing and concretising areas of cooperation and effectively implementing the Action Plan for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2024-28 period. The two leaders highly appreciated the effective implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Viet Nam Defence Partnership towards 2030 (signed in 2022). They agreed to expand cooperation in defense and security industries, enhance maritime security cooperation, foster reliable cyber security cooperation, and exchange intelligence and counter-terrorism information. India agreed to continue supporting Viet Nam in training and capacity building for its defence and security forces. The two leaders expressed their commitment to strong measures aimed at doubling bilateral trade and investment by 2030 compared to current levels. They agreed to instruct relevant agencies to regularly exchange through existing mechanisms to remove trade barriers and promote other trade promotion measures. PM Chinh requested India to consider positively the proposals from Vietnamese businesses regarding the issuance/renewal of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certificates for Vietnamese imports. He also suggested signing agreements on e-commerce and bilateral trade to maximise the retail market's potential in line with new trends. He encouraged major Indian corporations and technology billionaires to invest in Viet Nam, creating large symbolic projects of economic cooperation, seizing the shift in supply chains and helping both countries better participate in global supply chains. The two leaders proposed expanding cooperation in science and technology, especially in core technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and innovation, as well as cooperation in rare earth mining and processing, information technology development, and IT workforce training in each country. They agreed to move towards establishing a Digital Partnership Forum and signing a Digital Partnership Agreement. The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in education and training, culture, and tourism and deepen people-to-people exchanges based on shared cultural, historical and spiritual values, including Buddhism and Yoga. Discussing regional and international issues, the two leaders agreed to continue supporting each other and cooperating closely at regional and international forums, especially the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and ASEAN-led mechanisms. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring a peaceful, stable, secure, safe, and free maritime and aviation environment in the South China Sea (known in Viet Nam as the East Sea); resolving disputes through peaceful means based on respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. They also agreed to exchange and share information and enhance cooperation to make the East Sea a region of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation, and development. The two PMs also announced the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Enhancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and inaugurated the Military Software Park in Nha Trang. The two PMs also witnessed the signing of nine cooperation documents between the two countries and their respective ministries, agencies, and organisations. In addition to the "Viet Nam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Program 2024-28" and the Diplomatic Note on Viet Nam's accession to the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), the two sides signed and exchanged cooperation documents in the fields of law and justice, radio and television, finance, culture and cultural preservation, tourism, medicinal plant production, agriculture, education and training. PM Chinh expressed his gratitude to PM Modi and the Indian government for their warm and respectful reception and invited PM Modi to visit Viet Nam again in the near future. VNS NEW DELHI Viet Nam and India have released a joint statement on strengthening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries following the talks between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday, as part of the former's State visit to India. Below is the full text of the joint statement: 1. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, H.E. Pham Minh Chinh paid a State Visit to India from 30 July - 01 August 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accompanied by a high level official delegation including Ministers and leaders of many ministries of Viet Nam. 2. On 01 August 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and he visited Raj Ghat to pay floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. This was followed by bilateral talks between the two Prime Ministers. Thereafter, the Prime Ministers witnessed the signing and exchange of bilateral documents. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the banquet hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on President of India H.E. Droupadi Murmu and the Vice President of India H.E. Jagdeep Dhankhar. External Affairs Minister of India H.E. S. Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also delivered a policy speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs and addressed at the Viet Nam - India Business Forum and held discussions with Indian businesses. POLITICAL RELATION 3. The delegation level talks between Viet Nam and India were held in a warm, cordial and friendly atmosphere. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on winning a historic third term and expressed his belief that India would continue strong development course and have an increasingly greater role and position in the international arena under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 4. The leaders reviewed the deep-rooted and long-standing friendship between India and Viet Nam and expressed their satisfaction with the strong development of bilateral relations since the elevation of the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. The leaders agreed to continue the effective implementation of the outcomes of high level talks and visits in recent years, including the India - Viet Nam Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People in 2020, and the outcomes of the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on 01 August 2024 in New Delhi, among others. 5. The leaders agreed to maintain regular exchanges at all levels. The leaders agreed that the current geo-political realities call for closer cooperation between India and Viet Nam. They recognised convergence in their world view and expressed support for a greater voice and role for Global South in international affairs. The leaders agreed to further strengthen the Viet Nam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in all areas. 6. On the basis of the existing excellent bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to maintain regular exchanges at all levels. 7. The leaders appreciated multi-dimensional institutional mechanisms between the two countries in the fields of foreign policy, security and maritime domain, defence cooperation, parliamentary exchanges, trade and investment, agriculture, healthcare, civil aviation, information and communication technology, science & technology including space & nuclear technology, tourism and culture. They agreed to intensify and strengthen the bilateral dialogue in various domains, including the Joint Commission for Economic, Trade, Science and Technology for mutual benefit. They welcomed the signing of the Plan of Action for the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the period of 2024-2028. ECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION 8. As two rapidly growing economies, the leaders of India and Viet Nam agreed to reinforce cooperation at the level of governments and businesses for increasing two-way trade, investment and technological partnership. The leaders agreed to further elevate trade from the present level of around US$15 billion. Both sides also agreed on the need for closer cooperation on removing trade barriers with a view to facilitating and enhancing bilateral trade. They concurred that the ongoing review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should generate a more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative regime for both countries. 9. The leaders agreed to continue efforts to promote investment flows between the two countries. Viet Nam welcomed investment from India in infrastructure, high technology, source technology, clean technology, information technology, support and manufacturing industries, textile, automobile and materials industry, green agriculture, smart agriculture, innovation and startups, semi-conductors, renewable energy and energy conservation projects, electricity generation, biogas and polyester fabrics, among others, in Viet Nam. India welcomed investment from Viet Nam in agriculture, agro-processing, aquaculture, wood processing, urban development and infrastructure, production of bamboo and forestry products, hospitality and tourism, digital technology, e-vehicles, healthcare and services in India. This mutual commitment aims to further strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries. 10. India welcomed Viet Nams decision to join the Coalition on the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and early completion of domestic procedures to officially join the International Solar Alliance. Viet Nam appreciated Indias Global Bio-fuel Alliance initiative. 11. As two coastal countries in the region, they agreed to bolster cooperation in oceanography, marine sciences and blue economy, as well as in capacity building in this area. The leaders also reiterated their mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including exploration and production in Viet Nams continental shelf. 12. The leaders agreed to enhance sharing of experiences in building regulations and policies supporting the promotion of e-commerce and digital economy. Support businesses from both sides to participate in e-commerce and digital platforms to take advantage of e-commerce in improving export capacity and participating in regional and global value chains in a sustainable way. They also encourage relevant government agencies and businesses of both sides to explore cooperation opportunities in green economy, circular economy, digital economy and critical industries such as rare earth elements, semi-conductor, nano materials. DEFENCE AND SECURITY COOPERATION 13. The leaders commended the effective implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Viet Nam Defence Partnership towards 2030 and strengthening of defence cooperation between the two countries in recent years covering dialogues, training and capacity building cooperation, exchange of best practices, exercises, defence policy and industry cooperation. They agreed to further enhance defence cooperation based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries which will also contribute to greater stability in the wider Indo-Pacific region. 14. The leaders agreed to continue enhancing cooperation in various areas including human resource development and maintaining collaboration in peace-keeping operations, hydrography, cybersecurity, information sharing, strategic research, maritime security, maritime safety, search and rescue operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster management, and emergency response and relief. 15. The leaders agreed for the early operationalisation of the Implementing Arrangement on Hydrography and forming a Joint Committee. 16. The leaders welcomed the signing of Loan Agreement under US$ 300 million Line of Credit extended by the Government of India to the Government of Viet Nam for defence procurement. INNOVATION AND SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION 17. The leaders reiterated the significance of digital technologies and encouraged the development of a framework to promote bilateral cooperation in financial innovation and digital payments between Viet Nam and India. 18. Recognising the national priorities of both countries for digital transformation and energy transition, the leaders decided to encourage greater exchanges and cooperation in areas such as digital public infrastructure, space technology applications, renewable energy, biotechnology and disaster resilience technologies. 19. The leaders noted with satisfaction the ongoing collaboration in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy and agreed to intensify follow-up on various avenues of further cooperation emerging from the 3rd India-Viet Nam Joint Committee Meeting on atomic energy. 20. They welcomed the progress towards the establishment of ASEAN-India tracking, data reception station and data processing facility in Viet Nam. DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE, TOURISM COOPERATION AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES 21. The leaders appreciated bilateral development cooperation under the framework of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation through quick impact projects, ITEC training and educational scholarships. They appreciated the establishment of Centre of Excellence for Software Development and Training at the Posts & Telecommunications Institute of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City with Indian cooperation. They also welcomed the establishment of Army Software Park at Telecommunications University, Nha Trang with support of the Government of India. 22. The leaders encouraged greater student, faculty and research exchanges between universities, think-tanks and other institutions of the two countries in the context of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and Viet Nams vision to become a high-income developed country by 2045. They also supported collaboration among institutions on issues of interest to Global South. 23. They appreciated increase in direct flights between the two countries which have expanded two-way travel and tourism flows. They encouraged further increase in connectivity and tourism between India and Viet Nam. 24. Recalling historical and heritage bonds between the two countries, the leaders encouraged greater exchange of Buddhist scholars, monks, pilgrims, students, and in this direction welcomed the ongoing development of Buddhist and other spiritual sites and institutions. Viet Nam appreciated Indias commitment for the restoration and conservation of My Son UNESCO World Heritage Site and the work done by Archaeological Survey of India in the A, H and K Blocks as well as the forthcoming project in the F Block. 25. India appreciated Viet Nams support for the annual organisation of the International Day of Yoga in a large number of Vietnamese cities and provinces. The leaders expressed support for greater cooperation among yoga institutions of the two countries and the bilateral exchanges in the field of traditional medicine, including the field of medicinal plants. They also agreed to enhance cultural exchange and media cooperation between the two countries. REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 26. The leaders agreed on the key role of ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture for regional peace, stability and prosperity. They supported further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which complements bilateral relations with respective Member States. The leaders appreciated the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region which provide opportunities for further cooperation between the AOIP and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. They agreed to continue strengthening cooperation and mutual support at all international fora. India appreciated Viet Nams consistent support for Indias permanent membership in the reformed United Nations Security Council. 27. Underlining the link between prosperity and security, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea (East Sea as known in Viet Nam), while pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to threat or use of force. Both leaders underscored the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, and avoidance of actions that could further complicate the situation or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability. Both leaders emphasized the legal framework set out by the UNCLOS within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, and that UNCLOS is the basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and legitimate interests over maritime zones. Both leaders further called for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and the substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS, that does not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of all nations including those not party to these negotiations. 28. Both leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. They stressed the importance of international collaboration in combating this menace in accordance with international law, particularly the principles of the United Nations Charter, and reiterated their commitment to joint efforts in this endeavour. 29. The leaders welcomed the signing of various bilateral cooperation documents, which are annexed. 30. The Prime Minister of Viet Nam appreciated the arrangements for the visit and hospitality extended to him and his delegation. He extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of India to visit Viet Nam. New Delhi 01 August 2024 List of India-Viet Nam Agreements/MoUs/Announcements NEW DELHI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed Viet Nam and India implement measures to double two-way trade, investment and tourism by 2030. He was speaking following talks with Indian President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on Thursday. Chinh congratulated India on obtaining great achievements in economic development, science-technology, defence-security, infrastructure development and constantly improving people's lives. He thanked the Indian President and the Government of India for their condolences and touching gestures upon the passing of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, an outstanding leader of the Vietnamese people, a close friend of the Indian people. The Prime Minister emphasised that Viet Nam always remembers India's valuable support in the past cause of national liberation struggle, as well as the current process of national construction and development. He delivered his thanks to India for supporting Viet Nam during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of ventilators, oxygen generators and masks. Viet Nam also donated a number of ventilators and medical equipment to India, showing that the two countries are always standing side-by-side in difficult times. Viet Nam always supports and wishes India to grow stronger and have an increasingly higher role and position in the regional and global arena, he said. The Indian President noted that the two countries have a long-standing traditional friendship, diligently nurtured by generations of leaders and people. She expressed her joy that in recent years, the bilateral relationship has grown vigorously, especially since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. Exchange of delegations and cooperation have been intensified at all levels and through all channels, she said. She highly appreciated the results of the talks between Prime Minister Chinh and his counterpart Narendra Modi, especially the adoption of a joint statement on strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Chinh proposed India to continue to support Viet Nam with preferential credit packages and capacity training. He also proposed increasing the frequency of direct flights to promote people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges. Chinh also used the occasion to convey President To Lam's greetings and invitation to Indian President Droupadi Murmu to arrange a visit to Viet Nam in the near future. VNS HA NOI President To Lam wished that Chinas Hong Kong will continue to facilitate entry visas for Vietnamese citizens to work, travel and study. He made the request during his meeting with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee Ka-chiu on Thursday. Lam said that on a consistent basis, the development of cooperative and friendly relations with China is considered a strategic choice and a top priority in Viet Nam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of international relations. Viet Nam always respects and supports the policy of "one country, two systems", Hong Kongs Basic Law and related regulations as well as its own prosperity, development and peoples happiness. President Lam pinned high hope that the two sides will increase high-level and all-level exchanges as well as strengthen cooperation in economics, trade and investment. He proposed the bolstering of cooperation at multilateral mechanisms and forums of which Viet Nam and Hong Kong are members. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to developing mutually beneficial cooperation with Viet Nam, especially in economy, trade, investment, culture, education and tourism. He wished the two sides encourage individual businesses and business associations to connect and further promote cooperation in trade, investment, finance, banking, tourism, aviation and emerging fields such as science and technology, digital economy, digital transformation and clean energy. VNS NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday had a meeting with Vice President and Chairman of the Indian Upper House (Rajya Sabha) Jagdeep Dhankhar on the occasion of his state visit to India. The Vietnamese government leader thanked Dhankhar for sending a message of condolences over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, saying this reflects the sincere friendship between the two countries. PM Chinh suggested the the Indian Upper House to continue supporting cooperation with Viet Nam in all areas, especially traditional, key fields such as defence-security and economy-trade, while expanding it to new and potential areas like science and technology, information and communications, renewable energy, green economy, digital economy, and artificial intelligence (AI). Dhankhar stressed Viet Nam is a traditional friend and an important comprehensive strategic partner of India, adding that the two peoples have a long-standing and close relationship rooted in their spirit and civilisation connections. He lauded positive results of the talks between PM Chinh and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying those contribute to strengthening and deepening the Viet Nam India relations. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies, and share experiences between their specialised committees and deputies. PM Chinh took the occasion to conveyed greetings and an invitation from National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Dhankhar to visit Viet Nam in the coming time. VNS The electric interconnection to CenterPoint at Calpine Deer Park Energy Center, 5665 Hwy 225, is shown Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Deer Park. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer CenterPoint Energy won an international award last month for its use of mapping and data analysis technology news that perplexed some Houstonians after the companys outage tracker had experienced multiple issues during the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl. CenterPoint was one of 197 organizations to receive a 2024 Special Achievement in GIS Award from the software company Esri during its user conference in mid-July. Winners were selected from more than 100,000 Esri clients worldwide. GIS, or geographic information systems, is technology that can be used to create, manage, analyze and map all types of data, according to the Esri website. The technology can help users better understand patterns and improve communication. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Esri spokesperson Jo Ann Pruchniewski said the award was not for a specific CenterPoint map, but instead intended to demonstrate appreciation for the organizations who use GIS to "reveal patterns and trends from data to address some of the world's most pressing challenges." Some Houstonians took to Reddit to express their confusion with CenterPoint's recent award. "I worked in GIS for a long time, and their maps are a joke," one comment reads. One commenter said "Whataburger should have won," referring to the Whataburger App map Houstonians used to track power outages after Hurricane Beryl. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In recent months, customers have expressed frustrations with CenterPoint's outage tracker map, claiming it was inaccurate. After May's derecho, CenterPoint said its outage tracker was not functional. Alyssia Oshodi, director of communications for CenterPoint, told the Chronicle that the company would work to improve the map in the future. The outage tracker map was still down in the days before Beryl made landfall in Houston as a Category 1 hurricane. After the storm knocked out power for roughly 2.2 million customers, residents expressed concern and frustration when the company wasn't able to provide an answer regarding when they might get power back. As crews worked to restore power across the city, CenterPoint provided customers with a temporary outage tracker map, indicating which areas were "energized." However, customers were quick to point out that the map was inaccurate, showing areas of the city as "energized" even though power hadn't been restored. Advertisement Article continues below this ad CenterPoint said the map's inaccuracies were likely due to "nested outages" caused by a smaller, separate problem like a damaged transformer, service line or weatherhead causing an outage even after power has been restored to an area by fixing the main issue. HA NOI President To Lam and visiting President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta on Thursday toured the Ha Noi-based Ho Chi Minh Museum, a repository of documents, artifacts, and original films about the life and revolutionary career of the late Vietnamese leader. The two leaders were guided through exhibits tracing President Ho Chi Minh's life from his early years to his revolutionary activities and eventual passing. Key milestones, such as his journey to seek a path for Viet Nam's independence and the nations ongoing efforts to fulfill his testament, were highlighted during the tour. President Ramos-Horta expressed his profound admiration for President Ho Chi Minh's illustrious career and Viet Nam's revolutionary struggle for national independence. The Ho Chi Minh Museum, inaugurated on May 19, 1990, coinciding with the 100th birth anniversary of the President, was a decision made by the Politburo and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam following his death. The 18,000 sq.m museum now stands as a vital educational resource, fostering patriotism and inspiring future generations to carry on Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary spirit. Over the past 34 years, tens of millions of visitors, both at home and abroad, have visited the museum to learn more about Ho Chi Minh's life and ideals. VNS HA NOI National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man has expressed his hope that parliamentary cooperation would become a key pillar in the partnership between Viet Nam and Timor-Leste, via sharing experiences in law-building, supreme supervision, and decision-making on key national issues. During a meeting with President of Timor Leste Jose Ramos-Horta in Ha Noi on Thursday, Man underlined Viet Nam's respect and admiration for the achievements made by the State and people of Timor-Leste in their struggle for national independence in which the President was a key leader honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. He also congratulated Timor-Leste on being accepted in principle as the 11th member of ASEAN. Praising the substantive and extensive talks between President To Lam and President Jose Ramos-Horta, Man welcomed the signing of a bilateral agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports. The Vietnamese NA supports and will create a favourable legal framework to promote the signing and implementation of cooperation agreements between the two countries, he said. The top legislator of Viet Nam proposed that both countries increase the exchange of all-level delegations to raise mutual understanding, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and accelerate the organisation of the first meeting of the Viet Nam-Timor-Leste Joint Commission to review, study and outline specific measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various fields. He also urged the two countries to promote economic and trade ties via the promotion of exports and imports of goods with high potential and demand, such as rice, apparel, footwear, beverages, and processed food. He encouraged joint work in other potential areas, including agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas, infrastructure, education, training, and tourism. The host asked the Timor-Leste President to support delegation exchanges and experience-sharing between the two parliaments' specialised committees and parliamentarians in parliament operations and issues of common interest. He also stressed the need to offer mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums. Ramos-Horta, in turn, stressed that Timor-Leste values and wishes to further foster its friendly relations with Viet Nam, especially in agriculture to ensure food security. He expressed a desire to learn from Viet Nam's experience in areas where the country holds strength. Noting the considerable potential for bilateral collaboration, the guest hoped that the Vietnamese NA would support collaborative efforts, especially in areas where Timor-Leste has specific needs. VNS HA NOI Warnings about declining birth rates in Viet Nam have been highlighted in many places by many experts recently. They said that Viet Nam's fertility rate is heading down below the 'replacement level'. Over the 19 years since reaching the replacement level in 2005, for 15 years the fertility rate has been lower than the level needed to maintain the population. Professor Nguyen inh Cu, former director of the Institute of Population and Social Issues under the National Economics University, said that after 45 years of family planning, Viet Nam achieved its goal of reducing birth rate in 2005. At that time the birth rate dropped to approximately 2.1 children per mother (which is that replacement level) and has been lowered since then. Childbirth has changed from a natural, instinctive behaviour to a planned behaviour, from passive to active, from large quantity and low quality to small quantity with high quality, from less responsible childbirth to a more responsible one. This is truly one of the most profound social changes in Viet Nam in the past 80 years, having a positive impact on life quality of each individual, family, community and the countrys sustainable development, said Cu. However, Viet Nam's fertility rate is showing a tendency to fall below the replacement level. In particular, the entire urban and southern regions have fallen below the replacement level for about 25 years now. Last year, the average number of children per woman at the end of childbearing age in urban areas was only 1.7 while in rural areas it was 2.07, in the southeast it was 1.47 and in the Mekong Delta it was 1.54. Cu is concerned that the birth rate will continue to decline if there are no new policies to respond to and prevent the downward trend. The birth rate in some regions and provinces of Viet Nam has decreased sharply, but on average across the country, it is still around the replacement level. Therefore, the serious challenges of the issue have not yet been fully expressed. However, lessons learnt from developed countries with similar cultures can warn of the challenges caused by the trend of deep decline in birth rates, both at the macro and micro levels, he said. First of all, at the macro level, many countries with prolonged low birth rates are suffering population decline, labour shortages, a high elderly population, slow and even negative economic growth. Cu analysed that at the micro level, a very low birth rate of one child for a long time will lead to the '4-2-1 syndrome', meaning four grandparents, two parents and one child. When the only child is young, he/she is taken care of by six people including parents and grandparents. But conversely when he/she grows up, he/she is responsible for taking care of six people. Being taken care of by many people and having to take care of many people are disadvantageous to both the development of the only child and the familys life quality in general. The sad reality can also be that parents with only one child are left alone, when their children die from accidents or illnesses. In addition, in many localities, the low birth rate has led to a sharp decrease in the number of primary and secondary school students. As a result, local authorities must merge schools from two different communes or wards into one new school. Support Cu proposed a solution to increase the birth rate, suggesting that the State should support families with small children. If having children not only benefits the couple and the family, but also benefits society, providing human resources for society, then of course, raising children cannot be the sole responsibility of the family, especially when the cost of raising children is increasingly large compared to the income of young couples, said Cu. Therefore, the State, family and society need to work together to raise and educate children. The State needs to diversify the forms of sharing costs of raising and educating children with couples, such as an one-off payment, annual allowances, reduction of personal income tax, exemption or reduction of obligations to contribute to the community when raising small children, exemption or reduction of tuition fees, he said. In addition, Cu also proposed that couples with young children enjoy flexible working conditions, such as reduced working hours, coming in late and leaving early, unpaid leave and working from home. In Korea, female workers enjoy 90 days of maternity leave whereas male workers whose wives give birth are entitled to ten days of leave. Childcare leave is up to one year for both male and female workers. Workers can choose the appropriate time to take time off to care for their children until their children are eight years old. At the same time, the State should have policies for couples treating infertility. Viet Nam has more than one million infertile couples, accounting for about 7.7 per cent. Thus, technical and financial support for infertility treatment is a great economic need, along with having great humanitarian significance and is a solution to increase birth rates. Other proposed solutions include promoting research and communication on the declining birth rates in the country, creating forums for people, especially young people, to discuss the immediate and long-term consequences of late marriage and low birth rates, innovating policies and laws related to birth rates, ensuring social security for the elderly and developing a system of family support services. VNS NGHE AN Viet Nam has recorded a decreasing number of children who have drowned every year. The fall in numbers was confirmed by Nguyen Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) at a recent workshop on the issue in the central province of Nghe An. According to a report from MOLISA, the drowning rate among Vietnamese children has been steadily decreasing, with an annual reduction of 3-5 per cent, equivalent to 100 fewer cases of children drowning each year. Deputy Minister Ha emphasised that these results are evidence of the effectiveness of the coordination mechanism and the robust efforts of ministries, local authorities and international organisations. Over the past five years, with support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Health Policy Advocacy, the child drowning prevention programme in Viet Nam has provided free swimming lessons to more than 29,000 children aged 6-15 and water safety education for more than 50,000 children in schools. They have also funded technical training for almost a thousand teachers and healthcare workers and 900 community-based swimming instructors. However, drowning still claims the lives of nearly 2,000 children under 16 and it remains one of the top ten causes of death for children aged 6-15. The child drowning rate in the country is higher than that of countries in the Western Pacific region and is ten times higher than that of developed countries. Children in rural areas are twice as likely to drown as those in urban areas. Additionally, 55 per cent of drowning deaths occur among children from poor rural households. Efforts to prevent accidents and injuries among children, particularly drowning, have consistently received the attention and support of the National Assembly, the Government and various levels of local authorities. The Child Law mandates the States responsibility to implement measures for preventing child accidents and injuries. The child accident and injury prevention programme for the 2021-2030 period includes comprehensive, multi-sectoral interventions aimed at reducing child drowning fatalities. This programme focuses on implementing solutions and models to teach water safety skills to children and ensuring a safe living environment for them. To accelerate the progress of the child drowning prevention programmes and achieve the goals set by the Prime Minister for preventing child injuries, the Inter-sectoral Coordination Plan for Child Drowning Prevention for the period 2022-2030 has been signed between the MoLISA and nine other ministries and relevant organisations. At the workshop, Kelly Larson, Director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Injury Prevention Program, praised the multidisciplinary coordination mechanism for drowning prevention in Viet Nam. With its innovative approaches and the dedicated efforts of relevant authorities, Vietnam is considered a model for child-drowning prevention that other countries can learn from. Viet Nam is a pioneer in drowning prevention, she said. They have developed a very strong programme to reduce drownings amongst 6 to 15 year olds, and they have done that in a number of different ways. "They first have identified a best practice curriculum to teach children how to swim. I highly appreciated the collaboration between nine ministries to ensure that survival swim instruction can be brought to 6 to 15 year olds across the country and the engagement and support from provincial governments. Bloomberg Philanthropy is very pleased to partner with Viet Nam in this effort to protect childrens lives and ensure them a sustainable future. In addition to multidisciplinary cooperation and local government commitment, community engagement, especially from schools and parents plays a crucial role in executing child drowning prevention activities. Agarwal Vandana Shah, Vice President for Health Systems Strengthening at CTFK/GHAI said: Drowning prevention cannot be solely a top-down intervention from the government, it requires the collective effort of various ministries and the community, particularly schools and parents. Therefore, we commit to working alongside the Vietnamese government, local authorities, and partners to enhance awareness among schools and families about ensuring child safety from drowning risks and to facilitate children's participation in survival swimming classes. The national programme for child injury prevention for the 2021-2030 period, initiated by the Government of Viet Nam, aims to reduce child drowning fatalities by 10 per cent by 2025 and by 20 per cent by 2030. Teaching children safe swimming skills and promoting water safety are among six low-cost, evidence-based intervention strategies recommended by the WHO and constitute a vital component of the government's drowning prevention initiative. Additional measures include training lifeguards and first responders, enhancing regulations for boats, managing flood risks, installing barriers near water sources and providing safe play areas away from water for young children. Protecting the health and lives of citizens also has significant economic implications. Research indicates that for every VN1,000 (US$0.04) invested in drowning prevention, there is a benefit of VN9,000. VNS HCM CITY The HCM City Peoples Court has sentenced seven former employees of a Ha Noi-based lending firm to prison terms ranging from one year and five months to four years and six months for extortion. The court on Wednesday found that the former employees of F88 Investment JSC (F88), Viet Nams largest pawn shop operator, sent threatening messages to hundreds of thousands of customers to coerce debt repayments. One of them harassed a female debtor by repeatedly contacting her and even following her daughter to school to intimidate the mother. During the proceedings, the defendants, all of whom reside in HCM City, admitted their wrongdoing and sought leniency, citing financial pressures. In March last year, police raided the lending firm following public complaints, uncovering evidence of extortion in its debt collection practices. F88, which is seeking a US$1 billion valuation in its upcoming initial public offering, last year received $50 million in funding from Mekong Capital and the Viet Nam-Oman Investment Fund. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Ha Noi, F88 operates at over 800 locations nationwide. VNS From July 22-25, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) hosted a vocational education and training delegation to Vietnam, focusing on partnership opportunities in the healthcare sector by matching Australias training advantages with industry needs. Following the visit by Ho Chi Minh Citys chairman Phan Van Mai to Australia in mid-May, there are now more prospects of collaborations between Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, universities, and colleges with the Vietnam-Sydney Institute, which was launched in June. Australian institutions and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy are now training healthcare professionals, while there is also joint research taking place with Pasteur Institute, and regular visits from the Australian Association of Nursing to childrens hospitals in knowledge exchange conferences. Austrade has acknowledged that, as Vietnam experiences significant demographic and socioeconomic shifts, the demand for comprehensive healthcare services is rising, particularly in elderly care. However, Vietnam's elderly care sector is still in its early stages compared to more developed countries. While there has been some progress, such as the establishment of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the sector faces several challenges. Vietnam's demographic landscape is undergoing rapid transformation. The percentage of the population aged 60 and above is projected to increase from 12 per cent in 2019 to 25 per cent by 2050. This shift has led to an increased demand for elderly care services, as older individuals often suffer from non-communicable diseases and multiple comorbidities, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, mental disorders, and neurological diseases. The healthcare system is striving to keep up with these demands by developing new facilities that adhere to international standards. Discussion session on the healthcare sector in Vietnam at a seminar held by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission The Vietnam government has established a supportive legal environment that encourages growth of the healthcare sector. This creates opportunities for the development of facilities to provide high-quality care for both domestic and international patients. According to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, the US magazine Travel + Leisure reported in May that Vietnam is among the top 10 most affordable retirement destinations. Therefore, healthcare tourism and the influx of foreign retirees also contribute to the expansion of this sector, highlighting the countrys potential as an excellent medical hub in the region. However, there is a significant shortage of trained healthcare professionals specialising in geriatric care, and low pay and demanding work exacerbate this challenge. According to the Ministry of Health, the current capacity for training doctors nationwide is about 13,000 graduates per year. By April 2024, there was already a labour force shortage of 23,000 workers across preventive medicine and the public health sector. To achieve the governments goal of 35 doctors, 4.5 pharmacists, and 90 nurses per 10,000 people by 2050, Vietnam needs 20,000 new graduates per year, Austrade says. Of great assistance can be Australia's vocational education system, which is highly regarded internationally. It is characterised by strong industry alignment, flexible delivery and robust systems which ensure consistent quality outcomes for learners. Australian graduates are in demand in research and healthcare institutions across the world. Work-integrated learning, including work experience, is part of most courses. A networking session between Australian training organisations and potential partners in Vietnam Vietnam and Australia have already had a strong education tie for 50 years. Starting with a bilateral scholarship programme, the relationship in the education sector has rapidly developed in terms of both depth and breadth. There is a growing number of Australian institutions with programmes delivered locally in Vietnam and research collaborations with Vietnamese institutions. Currently, there are 350 collaborative training programmes, which include articulation and joint training programmes between Australian and Vietnamese institutions. Over 100,000 Vietnamese alumni graduated from Australian education institutions currently work in Vietnam. By leveraging Australias training capabilities, Vietnam can enhance the country's healthcare workforce, ensuring that professionals are well-equipped to meet the rising demands for international standard elderly care services. Australian Education Delegation visits hospitals and medical facilities in Hanoi Visit StudyAustralia to explore Australias vocational education and training system: https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/vi/plan-your-studies/vocational-education-and-training Another step forward in Australia-Vietnam relations Australian industries and businesses are taking a close-up approach to the Vietnamese market through establishment of the Australian Industry Hub Vietnam (AusHub). VIRs Bich Ngoc talked with AusHub manager Edwin Law on his assessment of the platform after a year of operation. How do you evaluate the demand for purchasing renewable energy electricity of tenants in industrial parks? Tran Dang Khoi, general director of Hero Future Energies Vietnam LLC under Hero Group Understandably, the demand for using renewable energy by tenants in such areas is so high because it is one of the mandatory requests from international customers or brands (for example in the garment and textile industry). Currently, textile and garment products have not been included in the first phase of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism application. However, textiles and garments are also a group of products that have a large environmental impact in the EU, so they are in the group of 30 risky products which can be included in the mechanism from now until 2030. Meanwhile, Vietnam is considered a production hub of many large garments and textiles, so using renewable energy in production is an essential requirement of the textile industry. In addition, in the context of a difficult economic situation, using renewable energy at a lower price compared to Vietnam Electricitys (EVN) electricity price has become a need to reduce operating costs to optimise profits. If in the past, businesses and manufacturers only cared about the profit created from the business activity, now one dollar saved is one dollar in profit, thus using renewable energy in production is receiving a lot of attention. Is this mechanism completely open to make it convenient for the sale and purchase of renewable energy electricity for businesses? If not, what pending problems are there? This mechanism received positive responses from many parties, from renewable energy project developers to units having demand to use clean energy, however, to make to sale and purchase go smoothly, both the buyer and the electricity supplier still have a series of challenges to solve. Regarding popularity, it is important to have a bright to help the electricity sellers and buyers know the demands of each other and find each other. According to the issued Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), projects that want to participate in the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism need to satisfy a series of internal conditions, but almost all of these projects are entangled in legal procedures. Over 150 solar farm projects, which can participate in DPPA with a total capacity of 13,837MW, were inspected at the end of 2023 due to a lack of legal basis for planning. Meanwhile, it may take a year or more to completely solve the problems of these projects with the eager involvement of the authorities. In light of this, it can be seen that the gap between the mechanism promulgation and the feasible implementation is huge due to several pending issues. Is the current grid-connected renewable energy system ready to serve this trading activity, and do fire prevention regulations cause difficulties in this electricity purchase transaction? Basically, the grid system applied to projects participating in DPPAs is the power grid approved for projects planned in the PDP8, so the availability of the power grid has been taken into account if approved. Regarding fire prevention and fighting, it will be also calculated during the projects development and operation process, so it should not be worth worrying about. It is necessary to add that the above content is only for utility-scale (or solar farm) projects, not to mention solar rooftop projects participating in DPPAs. What suggestions do you have for the DPPA mechanism to be implemented feasibly? So as to implement the DPPA mechanism in a truly feasible manner, several recommendations need to be considered by competent state agencies. It is necessary to quickly review the problems of projects approved in PDP8 that are still in trouble so that these projects can participate in DPPA as soon as possible. When it comes to projects that do not have legal problems but are delayed in implementation for more than 6-12 months due to the investors weak capacity, the investors status needs to be revoked and then the planned project will be bid or transferred to other potential investors, with the requirement of committing to specific months for installation. Furthermore, it needs to quickly clarify the kind of DPPAs fee that shall be charged in case using EVNs transmission line. Last but not least, it is necessary to develop an information portal to create a playground for investors and electricity buyers to meet each other. This portal is similar to EVNs portal for the rooftop solar segment. DPPA decree may require supplements The draft decree on direct power purchase agreements, if adopted, will be a convenient mechanism for both renewable energy power generation projects and large customers, but there are still concerns about power transmission and expanding the number of electricity buyers. DPPA streamlining closer to acceptance The business community has asked for relaxed regulations for large customers to be able to buy and sell electricity directly. Vietnam authorises DPPA for rooftop solar and biomass projects A recently issued government decree permits rooftop solar, waste-to-energy, and biomass projects to engage in direct power purchase agreements (DPPA) without routing through Vietnam Electricity (EVN). US applauds Vietnam for approving DPPA decree The United States Mission to Vietnam has applauded the government for approving a decree on the direct power purchase agreement. During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's state visit to India from July 30 to August 1, the PM met with Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, on July 31. At the meeting, Adani proposed investing $2 billion in Lien Chieu Port in Danang to complete the logistics ecosystem for Danang and the central region. Additionally, Adani plans to invest $2.8 billion in Vinh Tan 3 Thermal Power Plant in Binh Thuan province. The group also expressed interest in participating in the construction of the second phase of Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai province and Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam province. Prime Minister Chinh assigned Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and relevant agencies and localities to discuss the projects with Adani Group, addressing related issues and reaching a consensus on implementation and investment procedures in line with regulations. At a follow-up meeting, Minister Dung addressed questions and concerns raised by Adani regarding investments in Vietnam. He urged relevant stakeholders to expedite the investment procedures for the Lien Chieu Port project and other initiatives. For the Lien Chieu Port project, the Vietnamese side advocates selecting a general infrastructure investor, allowing foreign enterprises to cooperate with domestic companies in exploiting the port project. Therefore, Adani and its joint venture with Vietnam's Anh Phat Investment Construction & Trading JSC need to complete the necessary procedures in accordance with Vietnamese law. Minister Dung asserted that the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) would coordinate with competent authorities to study, support, and remove obstacles for the investor. A representative of Adani Group stated that the company would expedite the investment procedures and closely coordinate with the MPI and other Vietnamese authorities to implement the projects soon. The group also plans to engage in additional projects in Vietnam, leveraging its financial and technical capabilities. India's Adani Group gets nod to develop a port in Danang Indian multinational Adani Group plans to build a port in the central city of Danang in a bid to develop infrastructure abroad to capitalise on opportunities from increasing trade. Energy and transport in sights for Adani Vietnam is continuing to increase its attractiveness to top names in the likes of renewable energy and transport, with new billion-dollar plans being crafted. Vietnams carbon market can benefit from this growing demand, providing lucrative investment opportunities in carbon credit projects. Companies in developed countries might seek carbon credits from Vietnam to meet their compliance and voluntary offset targets. Vu Trung Kien, director Climate Change Resilience Centre The proactive government policies help push up the countrys efforts, primarily for compliance with Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments. The Vietnamese government has shown a commitment to climate action through policies and initiatives that support carbon market development. Government backing can create a favourable environment for investors, including financial incentives and regulatory frameworks. Vietnams national scheme on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation aims to attract investments in forest conservation and sustainable management. The Law on Environmental Protection of 2020 provides the framework for the carbon market; Decree No.06/2022/ND-CP articulate articles 91 and 139 of the law; and Decision No.01/2022/QD-TTg listed the sectors and facilities subjected to article 9 of Decree 06. These and others provide good preparation and platforms for action. Some policies are constantly being reviewed and sometimes revised as a reality check. Vietnam offers relatively low-cost options for emission reductions compared to developed countries. Investors can achieve cost-effective carbon credits by investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable agricultural practices. Renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind farms, can generate carbon credits at a lower cost compared to similar projects in higher-cost regions. Abundant natural resources, including forests, wetlands, and coastal areas, are suitable for carbon offset projects. Investors can develop projects in afforestation, reforestation, and blue carbon (coastal and marine ecosystems) to generate carbon credits. Mangrove restoration projects in Vietnam can sequester significant amounts of carbon while providing additional benefits like biodiversity conservation and coastal protection. International funding and partnerships with global organisations have focused on climate change mitigation. Investors can leverage these collaborations to access technical expertise, financial resources, and market access. Programmes like the Green Climate Fund and bilateral agreements with countries aiming to meet their NDCs can provide support for carbon projects. Green finance mechanisms have been integrated to support sustainable development. Investors can take advantage of green bonds, climate finance initiatives, and other financial instruments to fund carbon projects. Issuing green bonds to finance renewable energy projects can attract socially responsible investors looking for sustainable investment opportunities. The taxonomy for green bonds is being worked upon by the State Bank of Vietnam, to be issued within 2024. Boosting effectiveness Multinational companies operating in Vietnam are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprints and adhere to sustainability commitments. Investors can partner with these corporations to develop and implement carbon offset projects that meet corporate sustainability goals. A global corporation might invest in local renewable energy projects in Vietnam to offset its carbon emissions and enhance its corporate social responsibility profile. Advances in technology can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of carbon reduction projects. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, such as advanced satellite monitoring for forestry projects or AI-driven energy management systems, can enhance project outcomes and carbon credit generation. Using drones for forest monitoring can provide accurate data on carbon sequestration rates, improving the verification process for forest carbon credits. There is a growing emphasis on building local capacity and expertise in carbon market mechanisms. Investors can benefit from investing in training programmes and capacity-building initiatives that enhance local skills and knowledge, ensuring the sustainability and scalability of carbon projects. Partnering with local universities and research institutions is a way to develop specialised initiatives in carbon accounting and project management. There remain huge challenges ahead, though. The carbon market in Vietnam is still evolving, with potential changes in policies and regulations. Regulatory uncertainty can pose risks for investors, affecting the stability and predictability of the market. Changes in national policies on carbon pricing or emissions trading could impact the feasibility and profitability of carbon projects. Ensuring accurate measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of emission reductions is critical for the credibility of carbon credits. Limited local expertise and infrastructure for MRV can hinder the development and validation of carbon offset projects. Inaccurate or inconsistent MRV processes can lead to disputes over the validity of carbon credits, affecting market confidence. The carbon market in Vietnam may be fragmented, with multiple standards and methodologies in use. Investors might face difficulties navigating different schemes and ensuring the compatibility of credits across various markets. Differences between national and international carbon credit standards can complicate trading and limit market liquidity. Carbon offset projects can face operational, environmental, and social risks that affect their success. Managing these risks requires careful planning and ongoing management to ensure projects deliver expected emissions reductions. A reforestation project might encounter challenges such as land tenure disputes, community opposition, or natural disasters. Economic conditions and market dynamics can impact the carbon market in Vietnam, influencing the supply and demand for credits. Investors need to be prepared for potential volatility in carbon credit prices and market conditions. Economic downturns or changes in energy prices can affect the attractiveness of carbon offset investments. A landscape to navigate As the carbon market grows, competition for high-quality projects and resources can increase. Investors may face higher costs and reduced availability of prime project locations and partners. Increased competition for land suitable for reforestation or renewable energy projects can drive up prices and complicate project development. The infrastructure for trading carbon credits in Vietnam is still developing. Investors may face difficulties in accessing reliable market platforms and services for buying and selling carbon credits. The absence of a well-established national carbon exchange can limit market liquidity and increase transaction costs. Ensuring that carbon projects adhere to robust environmental and social safeguards is crucial for their success. Projects that fail to meet these safeguards may face legal challenges and opposition from local communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). A hydropower project might need to address concerns about its impact on local fisheries and water resources to gain community support and regulatory approval. Navigating the legal and contractual landscape for carbon projects can be complex. Investors must ensure that contracts are clear, enforceable, and compliant with both national and international laws. Legal disputes over land ownership or carbon credit ownership rights can delay project implementation and reduce investor confidence. Reliable data is crucial for the accurate assessment and verification of carbon credits. Limited availability of high-quality, transparent data can hinder the monitoring and evaluation of carbon projects. Inadequate data on baseline emissions and sequestration rates can complicate the calculation of carbon credits and reduce investor confidence. Securing financing for carbon projects can be challenging, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Investors may need to explore innovative financing solutions to support the development and scaling of carbon projects. Establishing dedicated climate finance funds or leveraging public-private partnerships to mobilise capital for carbon reduction initiatives. Effective coordination among various stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector, NGOs, and local communities, is essential for successful carbon projects. Misalignment of interests and lack of coordination can lead to project delays and conflicts. A carbon offset project that involves multiple landowners and regulatory bodies may require extensive coordination to ensure smooth implementation and compliance. By understanding the prospects and barriers, investors can better navigate the complexities of Vietnams carbon market, mitigate risks, and leverage potential benefits for sustainable and profitable investment. Vietnam seals major carbon credit deal, fetching $53 million Vietnam has successfully executed a landmark transaction, selling 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 emission credits to the World Bank for nearly VND1.25 trillion VND ($52.74 million), as confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the prime minister on December 28. Training course sheds light on emission trading system, carbon market An ongoing training course on the emission trading system (ETS) and carbon market has gathered 145 participants from relevant state agencies, organisations, and enterprises, making the first capacity-building activity in Vietnam with participation from both public and private sectors. Authorised agencies and related ministries from Vietnam and Japan will hold several meetings before the end of 2024 to discuss Japans schemes to provide more official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam. Japan is also expected to expand trade and investment by opening its doors to more Vietnamese products, especially farm produce. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expects that Vietnam and Japan will soon consider new mechanisms to create bigger breakthroughs to boost their bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation, the Government Office said two weeks ago following a Hanoi meeting between PM Chinh and Shindo Yoshitaka, Japans Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy. In addition to calling for more Japanese investment into Vietnam, PM Chinh proposed that Japan continue supporting Vietnam in boosting national industrialisation and modernisation with new projects based on science, technology, innovation, green growth, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, and knowledge-based economy. The Japanese fund is partly helping to push forward key metro line and other transport projects in Vietnam, Photo: Le Toan Vietnam also suggested that Japan boost the consideration and opening of its doors to more Vietnamese products, including fresh fruit, starting with pomelo and then assorted grapes, passion fruit, and Japanese peaches. Japan is also proposed to facilitate Vietnamese businesses engagement in Japanese companies production and supply chains, as well as export-import chains. Two-way trade reached $45.3 billion last year, including $23.5 billion worth of Vietnamese exports and imports of $21.8 billion. In the first half of this year, the total trade hit $21.7 billion, including Vietnamese exports valued at $11.3 billion up 1.8 per cent on-year, and imports worth $10.4 billion, up 1.7 per cent on-year, according to Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade. Besides the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership forged in November 2023, Vietnam and Japan are also members of many other free trade agreements and economic cooperation frameworks, most recently the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. These cooperation frameworks play an important role in promoting trade, investment, and business relations between the two countries to a new level, according to the Vietnamese Government Office. Last December, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio told PM Chinh at bilateral talks in Japan that his country would continue assisting Vietnam in industrialisation and modernisation, and building an independent, self-reliant economy that deeply integrates into the global community. The Japanese leader expressed his desire to continue to actively support Vietnam through ODA in the sectors where Japans technology and expertise can be utilised. Vietnam and Japan have exchanged cooperation documents involving the fourth loan agreement for Ho Chi Minh Citys urban railway construction project, the Japan Development Scholarship project, and the equipment supply project for Vietnams K Hospital, with a total sum of 42.3 billion (nearly $300 million). Construction progress of the Japanese-funded Metro Line No.1 Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, worth over VND43.7 trillion ($1.82 billion) in Ho Chi Minh City has reached about 98 per cent, and this project is expected to begin commercial operations at the end of 2024. At a meeting in Japan last December between PM Chinh with Tanaka Akihiko, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he suggested that Japan continue providing new-generation ODA for Vietnam with more incentives regarding lending rates and loaning time, with a focus on five key sectors: strategic infrastructure development, emerging sectors such as digital and green transformation, human resources training, healthcare and education, and environmental protection. Earlier, JICA effectively worked with the Vietnamese side to implement procedures for a new-generation ODA sum valued at 50 billion ($332 million) and ODA-funded projects, making Japan the largest ODA provider for Vietnam. Vietnam and Japan have welcomed the prospect that the actual amount of yen loans in the fiscal year 2023 from Japan could exceed 100 billion ($664 million). JICA will continue providing high-quality ODA for Vietnam to implement in a wide range of sectors such as infrastructure, health, human resource development, and climate change, Sugano Yuichi, chief representative at JICA Vietnam told VIR last week. Cooperation in such fields will make significant contributions to Vietnams economic growth and social security. It will also help it attract more private investments, including those from Japan. JICA signs ODA loans for socioeconomic development The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on July 4 signed three loan agreements with the Vietnamese government of Vietnam to provide three official development assistance (ODA) loans worth up to $421 million in total over three years. Japan steadfast in ODA acceleration goal The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is planning continued provision of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam in the future. Sugano Yuichi, chief representative at JICA Vietnam, discussed with VIRs Thanh Dat about the direction of this cooperation. JICA sign $290 million ODA agreement for Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Urban Railway The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Vietnamese government in Hanoi on December 29 to provide an official development assistance (ODA) loan of approximately $290 million for Line1 of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway project. ODA continues to play vital role Vietnam is cooperating with Japan on new schemes of official development assistance. Sugano Yuichi, chief representative at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, spoke with VIRs Thanh Dat about how these ties will be implemented in 2024 and beyond. South Korea to boost ODA to Vietnam by 50 per cent this year Overseas development assistance (ODA) funds from South Korea to Vietnam are expected to hit more than $52 million in 2024, an increase of 50 per cent on year. A view of some of the pieces of African art being stored at the Harris County Reed Road Warehouse by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis is shown Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, in Houston. Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The Harris County Reed Road Warehouse where African art is being stored at theby Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis is shown Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff photographer A Houston area art buyer whose collection was scheduled for auction in July might get to keep most of the pieces after all. A Harris County judge granted a temporary restraining order on the artwork, marking the second delay in the sheriffs sale of the collection owned by Sam Njunuri. Plaintiff will suffer immediate and irreparable harm and will have no adequate remedies under the law, reads the order, granted on July 25. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Harris County Judge Ursula Hall signed off on the temporary restraining order the same day art enthusiasts hoped to get a look at the pieces and bid on them. On April 4, Njunuri filed bankruptcy under Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code also the same day as the auction. UP FOR SALE: African art collection up for sale again after owner files bankruptcy The collection consists of more than 1,000 sculptures, tapestries and other pieces curated by Njunuri over time. The Chronicle previously reported that in 2022, District Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier ordered Njunuri to pay nearly $1 million to Darlene Jarrett and Sylvia Jones after a 2021 jury verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The case dates back to 2015 when Jarrett and Jones entered into a lease agreement with Njunuri to rent a home in the 1700 block of Cleeves Drive in Richmond. Jarrett and Jones said they moved furniture and personal items to Njunuri's property at the end of July ahead of the "lease commencement" that began on Aug. 15, 2015. But, after returning from a trip to Arkansas around Aug. 15, Jarrett and Jones found their belongings had been either sold or taken, plus the locks on the rental had been changed. Now, Judge Hall has asked Njunuri to identify at least two pieces in his collection that can cover the costs of the $990,000 owed to Jarrett and Jones. Njunuri has until Aug. 22, to turn over one or two pieces to the defendants' lawyer, Joseph Walker. Court documents show Njunuri must ensure that the appraisal for the pieces gets completed no later than Aug. 15. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ON HOLD: Sale of African art collection halted as owner files for bankruptcy In the event that, after appraisal, the appraiser determines that no one or two pieces of the African Art have a total value of at least 990,000, then, in that event, plaintiff shall make arrangements with the owner(s) and/or property manager(s) of the office building to obtain access to the African Art for the purpose of allowing the appraiser to catalogue and appraise, at Plaintiffs sole expense, the entire lots constituting the African Art, court documents read. Sustainability linked loan agreement signing ceremony on July 31 in Hanoi In line with the global trend towards green growth, Vietnam is focusing on green transformation in agriculture, including reducing emissions and fulfilling its climate change commitments. Mavin Group, a leading player in Vietnam's agri-food sector with 20 years of experience, is actively contributing to this transformation by building a modern, environmentally friendly business model. Mavin Group aims to become a net-zero-emissions enterprise by 2050, aligning with the governments commitment. To qualify for a sustainability-linked loan under the "Sustainability Linked Loan Agreement," Mavin not only demonstrated positive business results but also underwent a rigorous sustainability assessment by HSBC and KPMG. The assessment reviewed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for sustainable development, confirming that Mavin has met its goals, including reducing energy consumption, minimising waste, and maintaining a safe working environment. The sustainability-linked loan from HSBC will support Mavins working capital, particularly in payments to suppliers, thereby reinforcing its commitment to sustainable operations and further improving core sustainability indicators from its 2023 targets. David John Whitehead, chairman of Mavin Group, commented, Sustainable development is not just about being 'green'; its about integrating sustainable practices into every facet of the companys operations. This shift underscores that sustainability is both an environmental and a business imperative, impacting profit, brand reputation, and long-term success. He added, Over the past 20 years in Vietnam, Mavin Group has consistently pursued sustainable production and business practices, ensuring alignment between business interests and environmental and social benefits. This commitment is supported by all Mavin employees and is central to our long-term strategic development. Mavins commitment is evident in its actions throughout the production and supply chain, including sustainable waste management, efficient use of energy and resources, and ongoing improvement of business operations. In 2024, Mavin became the first company in its industry to issue a separate Sustainability Development Report, focusing on enhancing business efficiency, creating a positive work environment, and contributing to the community. Mavin is also a leader in transitioning to green agriculture, applying circular economy models and regenerative agriculture in its investment projects across various provinces. With this green loan, Mavin Group will continue its journey towards sustainable development, aiming to reduce emissions and advance towards a more sustainable future. The company believes that responsible and sustainable business practices will benefit current and future generations, contributing to a prosperous and environmentally conscious society. Green investment requires collective efforts from all Sustainability is taking centre stage in Vietnams development plan. Amanda Murphy, head of Commercial Banking for South and Southeast Asia at HSBC Asia-Pacific, discussed with VIRs Luu Huong the pivotal role of public-private partnerships in facilitating green financing tools and emphasises the importance of clear policymaking for sustainable investments. HSBC allocates $1 billion to scale up digital platform businesses in ASEAN HSBC has announced a $1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund to help scale up platform players in the regions booming digital economy. Vietnam and Denmark cooperate on food and agriculture Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Jacob Jensen is leading a high-level delegation to Vietnam from May 14-16. Low-carbon answers reach agriculture Businesses offering low-carbon agricultural solutions are increasingly securing new funding to expand in Vietnam. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, general director of Sao Do Group, the developer of Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Park (IP), noted that sustainable IP development is an inevitable trend in Vietnam, particularly in Haiphong. Nam Dinh Vu IP with green, clean and synchronous infrastructure Following this trend, Nam Dinh Vu IP has become a prime location for investment, thanks to its strategic geographical position, which is favourable for logistics. This comprehensive, multi-sector IP caters to Haiphong's burgeoning socioeconomic development needs. Nam Dinh Vu IP stands out as the only IP in Haiphong with an internal international seaport, Nam Dinh Vu Port, and it boasts four functional areas with modern infrastructure, including a container terminal and a liquid cargo terminal. The IP also features a synchronous logistics ecosystem, attracting a variety of projects and forming a continuous, cyclical chain during operation. It provides a range of IP infrastructure products and services, including support for recruiting and training high-quality human resources. In line with its commitment to sustainable development, Nam Dinh Vu IP is positioning itself as a green IP. The IP is promoting the implementation of rooftop solar power projects, installing solar panels to convert light energy into electricity, thus reducing carbon emissions and minimising environmental pollution. Nam Dinh Vu IP - A successful destination for investors Sao Do Group operates the IP based on the principle of creating a continuous chain in product and service provision. This approach helps businesses and investors reduce production costs, time, and transportation expenses, supporting the group's focus on sustainable and ecological development. The demand for infrastructure and premises in IPs continues to rise, especially among foreign investors who require modern warehouses and connections to support services. These services facilitate investment and business procedures, training and recruitment of human resources, and connections to transport and logistics infrastructure, allowing businesses to coexist, share resources, and exploit opportunities together. Building sustainable IPs offers numerous benefits, including increased attractiveness and competitiveness, both economically and socially. These benefits include reduced environmental impact, energy and resource savings, increased innovation and collaboration, enhanced reputation and brand image, and a reduction in potential risks and legal issues. Moreover, a sustainable IP creates a better working environment and offers benefits to the broader community. Experts highlight the importance of green and sustainable trends in increasing IPs' appeal to investors, as this is a global trend. Investors are increasingly focusing on the circular economy. Vietnam aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, driving the demand for greener industrial real estate not only from sustainable development requirements in the manufacturing sector but also from government initiatives. Nam Dinh Vu International Internal Port According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of July 20, total registered foreign investment capital in Vietnam surpassed $18 billion, a 10.9 per cent increase over the same period in 2023. Foreign investors have invested in 18 out of 21 sectors of the national economy, with the processing and manufacturing industry ranking first. This sector has attracted over $12.6 billion, accounting for 70.3 per cent of the total registered investment capital, up 15.7 per cent. Vietnam is also poised to benefit from the fourth wave of foreign direct investment (FDI), focusing on high-tech sectors such as electronics, semiconductors, AI, and renewable energy. The development of these sectors will directly impact industrial real estate by increasing the demand for factories that meet infrastructure and service requirements. Nguyen Thanh Phuong emphasised that the greatest challenge of the fourth wave of FDI is human resources. The government, along with manufacturing, service, and commercial enterprises, is well aware of this challenge. Consequently, the government has focused resources on attracting tech giants by crafting open policies and requesting support in training human resources for Vietnam. Simultaneously, the country continues to improve the local investment environment, reducing administrative procedures and sublicenses to create a clear corridor for investment Green Saturday event in response to Environmental Day at Nam Dinh Vu IP In Haiphong, a locality known for its success in attracting FDI, the first half of 2024 saw an FDI volume of $1.55 billion, achieving over 77 per cent of the full-year plan. The positive aspect of Haiphong's FDI attraction is not only the registered capital volume but also the number of projects in high technology, processing, manufacturing, and logistics at IPs and economic zones (EZs), reaching over 93 per cent. This success indicates that Haiphong's FDI attraction strategy is on the right track, focusing on attracting new-generation FDI flows. According to data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, by 2030, about 40-50 per cent of localities nationwide will plan to convert existing IPs into eco-IPs, and 8 to 10 per cent of localities will have orientations to build new eco-IPs. Construction of new Vietnam-Singapore IP begins in Lang Son The Lang Son provincial Peoples Committee and the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park and Township Development Joint Stock Company (VSIP JSC) on June 14 commenced the construction of VSIP Lang Son project the 16th of its kind in Vietnam. The pros and cons of IP relocations There are many old industrial parks located in or near densely developed and populated urban areas in Vietnam that fail to provide adequate environmental protection. Timothy D. Van Epp, fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and Mai Nguyen of the American Planning Associations International Division, explain why new rules or incentives may be needed to implement the governments relocation policy. "Finding 50 hectares of contiguous land in the Mekong Delta for high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation presents significant challenges. I have surveyed extensively, but it's difficult to find and gather 50 hectares from 40 households as some agree to participate while others do not," said Ngo Xuan Chinh, deputy director of the Centre for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer at the Southern Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (IASVN), during the "2024 Green Agriculture Investment Development Forum" on July 30. Chinh is among the experts involved in the "One million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice" project in the Mekong Delta, set to be completed by 2030. According to the IASVN, green agriculture involves production methods that balance agricultural development with natural resource protection, aiming for sustainable development and ecosystem balance. Implementing this requires smart farming practices, organic fertilisers, reduced chemical use, efficient irrigation, and technology for management. At the fourth United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2023, Vietnam reiterated its goal of becoming a transparent, sustainable food producer and supplier, meeting food security and export requirements. Significant green agriculture projects in Vietnam include the 200,000-hectare sustainable rice-shrimp model in Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, and Tra Vinh provinces, and mechanised straw collection for mushroom cultivation in Dong Thap, Tien Giang, and Hau Giang provinces. Experts believe that while green agriculture is developing strongly, it has not yet reached its full potential. Sustainable production requires large-scale farming areas, yet agriculture in Vietnam remains largely fragmented. According to the General Statistics Office's 2020 mid-term rural and agricultural survey, the average Vietnamese household owns 2.8 plots of land, equivalent to 2,026 square metres, significantly less than other countries in the region. Le Minh Dung, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Farmers' Association, acknowledged that small-scale production is one of the challenges for green agriculture. "We need to continue encouraging farmers to form groups, clubs, and cooperatives. Only through collaboration can green agricultural models be expanded," he said. Chinh said that solving the issue of green production areas requires large-scale planning. "Currently, there is no specific plan or separate policy to support organic production; it is mainly integrated into other programmes," he said. In addition to fragmented farming, green agriculture development faces challenges such as lack of infrastructure and policies related to reducing emissions in the processing of agricultural by-products or livestock. For instance, the "One million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice" project aims for 100 per cent of straw to be removed from fields and recycled to create added value, replacing on-site burning which causes carbon emissions. However, only an estimated 10 per cent of straw in Vietnam is collected and recycled. Product demand is another barrier. "Domestically, it's not that people in Ho Chi Minh City and other places can't afford organic products, but they don't trust them," Chinh said. "Therefore, it is necessary to develop traceability technology systems and promote organic labels, so customers can be informed and confident." For the export market, Tran Chi Dung, secretary general of the Vietnam Logistics Service Association (VLA), mentioned that the association is piloting several hubs between the West Coast (US) and Vietnam to facilitate tax, customs, and quarantine procedures for agricultural products. "When international market access is smoother and higher requirements are met, domestic producers will be compelled to adopt better farming standards," he said. In the first half of the year, the total export turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products reached $29.2 billion, up 19 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. Hoang Quang Phong, vice chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), predicted that the annual turnover could reach $57-58 billion, $2-3 billion higher than the governments target. "Agriculture has truly become an important pillar of the economy and is increasingly expected to lead the green development trend," he said. Vietnam considers differential solar rates for north The Ministry of Industry and Trade is to assess the feasibility of raising the purchase rate for excess electricity to 20 per cent in the northern region - double that proposed for the rest of the country. Thammasak Sethaudom, president and CEO of SCG, said, SCG's operating results for the second quarter of 2024 have improved from the previous quarter due to increased sales volume from SCG Chemicals and stronger spending power in the ASEAN market, particularly in Vietnam and Indonesia. Furthermore, dividend income from associated companies contributed to a total revenue of $3.54 trillion, an increase of 3 per cent on-quarter, with a profit of $102 million, up 53 per cent. For the first half of 2024, revenue was $6.98 trillion, close to last year's figure. The sales composition included 39 per cent from SCG Chemicals, 27 per cent from SCGP, 16 per cent from SCG Cement and Green Solutions, 13 per cent from SCG Smart Living & SCG Distribution and Retail, and 5 per cent from SCG Decor." Despite SCG being impacted by the petrochemical trough, geopolitical conflicts, intense market competition from Chinese imports, and a slow domestic economic recovery due to weak spending power, SCG has enhanced its business agility and operational resilience through several strategic measures. First is energy cost management. For example, the cement business in Thailand has increased the use of alternative fuels to 47 per cent. The company has also increased its focus on potential growth business, such as comprehensive solar energy solutions for residential markets, plants, and industrial estates. Efforts are also made to improve the supply chain and distribution of products by employing technology for delivery planning and goods receipts to reduce working time, minimise damage, and reduce errors in the receipt and delivery process. SCG is also promoting the application of AI for operational efficiency. In particular, SCG Chemicals utilises AI solutions from REPCO NEX to precisely manage machinery maintenance, achieving 100 per cent reliability. The company also delivers solutions that meet both the functional and pricing needs of customers, such as CPACs compact concrete mixer trucks. They are designed for urban construction down narrow alleys, and capable of transporting up to 2 cubic metres of concrete per trip, facilitating efficient cement usage and reducing waste. In the first half of 2024, SCG's new products development achieved sales of $1.07 trillion, accounting for 20 per cent of total sales. High-value added products and services registered sales of $2.13 trillion (39 per cent), while SCG Green Choice, environmentally friendly products, recorded sales of $3.76 trillion (54 per cent). SCGs revenue from operations outside Thailand, combined with export sales from Thailand for the first half of 2024, registered $3.08 trillion, constituting 44 per cent of total revenue from sales. For the second half of 2024, the overall economic landscape remains challenging, but SCG is prepared to respond with agility and stability. The company holds cash and cash under management totalling $2.18 trillion, along with innovative solutions that meet comprehensive customer needs. In Vietnam, Long Son Petrochemicals (LSP) is expected to restart the entire complex, with both upstream and downstream operations, in early August to begin commercial operations in October. It is anticipated that commercial revenue will be approximately $600 million in 2024 and $1.5 billion in 2025. However, challenges persist due to the global economic slowdown and oversupply in the chemical industry. LSP, being a capital-intensive project, is expected to incur annual depreciation and interest expenses. Despite the challenges, SCG's existing chemical operations in Thailand remain profitable due to its focus on efficiency and product offerings. For SCGs operations in ASEAN (excluding Thailand), revenue from sales in the first half of 2024 recorded a 12 per cent increase on-year, amounting to $1.32 trillion. This growth was primarily driven by improving market conditions in regional operations, especially in Vietnam. This contributed to 19 per cent of SCGs total revenue from sales. This figure includes sales from both local operations in each ASEAN market and imports from Thai operations. As of June 30, SCG's total assets amounted to $25.77 trillion. Of these, the total assets of SCG in ASEAN (excluding Thailand) were $11.79 trillion, or 46 per cent of SCGs total consolidated assets. In Vietnam, the company reported revenue from sales for the first half of 2024 at $656 million, marking an increase of 12 per cent on-year. This rise was mainly due to an increase in sales from LSP. SCG in Vietnam is driving sustainable investments to bolster both the local and global economic recovery. The flagship project LSP will commence commercial operations in Q3 to meet local plastic resin demand and support related industries. These resins can be converted into essential products, such as plastic packaging, auto parts, and electrical appliances, enhancing quality of life. To cater to the northern market, Duy Tan Plastics, part of SCGP, has launched a flagship showroom in Long Bien, Hanoi. This showroom is SCG's largest investment in Vietnam, after Ho Chi Minh City and Danang. In line with the "Collaboration for Greener Vietnam" strategy and the national goal of net zero by 2050, SCG Cement and Green Solutions introduced SCG Low Carbon Super Cement. This environmentally friendly product reduces carbon emissions by 20 per cent during production, meeting sustainable building standards and promoting SCGs strategy of inclusive green growth. To pursue its commitment to reducing inequality as part of SCGs ESG 4 Plus strategy, SCG is focusing on educational programmes. The ESG Engagement programme for 100 SCG Sharing the Dream scholars promotes an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) mindset through plant tours and a camp for developing community-help ideas. SCG named in top 1 per cent in S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment SCG has been honored as the Top 1 per cent S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment in the Sustainability Yearbook 2024 by S&P Global Inc. SCG provides career opportunities, creating sustainable future for children with disabilities SCG is continuing its collaboration with Ba Ria - Vung Tau School for Children with Disabilities through the My Career Dream initiative, in celebration of International Children's Day 2024. SCG is the first ASEAN company to be selected for the DJSI World Index since the Sustainability Yearbook's inception in 2004, reflecting its long-standing leadership in sustainability for 20 years along with the DJSI. The recognition is a testament to SCG's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 and shape a green and sustainable future for ASEAN, including Vietnam. The S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is an annual evaluation of a company's sustainability practices. It scores companies on 100 points across industry-specific economic, environmental, and social criteria. To be listed in the Yearbook, companies must score within the top 15 per cent of their industry and must achieve a CSA Score, which is the S&P Global ESG Score without the inclusion of any modelling approaches, within 30 per cent of their industrys top-performing company. This CSA research process has been tested in practice for more than 20 years, attracting the interest of both business leaders and investors. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Yearbook, SCG has consolidated its place in the top 1 per cent for its outstanding sustainability performance. In particular, SCG achieved high scores for its environmental policies, climate strategy, and human capital development initiatives. Additionally, SCGP, a packaging subsidiary of SCG, has been ranked in the top 1 per cent in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment in the containers and packaging industry, out of more than 50 companies worldwide. Chana Poomee, vice president and chief sustainability officer of SCG, said, SCG is greatly honoured and proud to receive this award. It reflects SCGs unwavering commitment over the past 20 years, earning widespread recognition as a global leader in sustainability. This award signifies SCG's success in implementing comprehensive sustainability initiatives encompassing ESG dimensions, as reflected in the CSA by S&P Global, which evaluated 9,400 companies across 62 industries worldwide. SCG is an organisation that continuously embraces opportunities and challenges, adapting and developing to remain resilient and ready to navigate crises and opportunities that arise. We are ready to advance towards transitioning to a low-carbon society through the concept of Passion for Inclusive Green Growth. Our commitment is to create a sustainable net-zero society through green innovations, ensuring that no one is left behind. This involves developing the economy alongside environmental stewardship, creating sustainable opportunities and value for all sectors, and driving ASEAN society towards a sustainable future, he added. Kulachet Dharachandra, country director of SCG, Vietnam, said, We evaluate our performance not only on business results, but also on social and environmental benefits because we believe that both are important for sustainable business operations in the long term. Operating in Vietnam for over 30 years, SCG and its member companies have actively adopted ESG practices, from low-carbon innovations to green manufacturing, to tackle climate change and achieve net zero. Most recently, SCG Low Carbon Super Cement has been rolled out into the Vietnamese market, underscoring its commitment to contribute to Vietnams net-zero target by 2050. This innovation is a low-carbon cement produced using green technologies and sustainable practices that significantly minimise 20 per cent carbon of emissions during the production and use processes. Meanwhile, SCGP has successfully developed sustainable packaging solutions that minimise waste and are fully recyclable. One of its green innovations is SCGPs Green Carton, which minimises material use by 15 per cent to make carton boxes more eco-friendly and lighter. As a result, 21 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 7.16 million tonnes of carbon, were slashed by SCG in 2023 compared to 2020. Particularly in Vietnam, Vina Kraft Paper Company (VKPC), a subsidiary of SCGP, has also equipped its factory with a 4MW solar power system to generate renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions. As a pioneer in ESG, SCG also fosters collaboration to drive Vietnams transition towards a sustainable future. Over the past few years, the group has teamed up with the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to organise the Vietnam Circular Economy Forum, bringing stakeholders together to discuss the pathway to a circular economy. At the forum, SCG shared its expertise on ESG principles and how it implements ESG practices to ensure seamless implementation across the organisation. Moreover, SCG and its member companies strive to promote a sustainable and healthy working environment for all. Accordingly, employees receive fair and equitable treatment without being discriminated against based on their gender, age, or ethnicity. This gives employees more chances to reach their full potential in their current roles and prepare for future changes. In particular, the group and its subsidiaries provide ongoing training and communication to raise employees' awareness of ESG practices and encourage them to make sustainable decisions. In addition, SCG is dedicated to enhancing quality of life and promoting sustainable development, firmly committed to its ESG 4 Plus strategy. The group has launched several social and environmental initiatives to achieve common goals. One remarkable initiative is the flagship annual SCG Sharing the Dream Scholarships, which has been organised for the past 17 years. Besides financial support, over 5,500 Vietnamese students have been given the chance to engage in meaningful activities, from factory tours to workshops, extracurricular activities, and the ESG Camp to gain insights into real-world ESG practices. Meanwhile, SCG has also collaborated with Ba Ria - Vung Tau School for Children with Disabilities to improve the quality of education and life for disabled students for the past 15 years. This year, the group launched the "My Career Dream" initiative to help disabled students explore career opportunities, thereby contributing to reducing inequality in society. In pursuit of sustainability and ESG initiatives, SCG has been making headway into the zero-emissions economy. This explains why SCG has been ranked number one in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for ten years and has consistently been in the top three for 14 years in the construction material industry since 2004. Additionally, SCG has been recognised as a global sustainability leader through two leading indices: ESG Risk Ratings, achieving the ESG Industry Top Rated status in the industrial business sector by Morningstar Sustainalytics, and MSCI ESG Ratings, receiving an AA rating in the construction material industry from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). SCG launches its first SCG Low Carbon Super Cement in Vietnam SCG, ASEAN's leading conglomerate, has announced the launch of SCG Low Carbon Super Cement in Vietnam to contribute to the Vietnamese target of net zero by 2050. SCG spreads spirit of humanity for Year of Dragon In the year 2024, SCG has implemented many meaningful activities to spread the message of kindness and sharing with a view to reducing social inequality. The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) remained steady at 54.7 in July, indicating a continued robust strengthening of business conditions in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector. This growth rate was last surpassed in November 2018, with notable improvements across consumer, intermediate, and investment goods categories. New orders increased for the fourth consecutive month, with the expansion rate only slightly slower than the near-record pace observed in June. The rise in new business was attributed to stronger market demand and an increase in customer numbers. However, new export orders grew at a much slower rate, with some firms citing high shipping costs as a hindrance to export demand. To meet the surge in new orders, manufacturers ramped up production in July. The output expansion rate was the second-fastest on record, surpassed only by the initial data collection in March 2011. Despite the significant increase in production, firms had to dip into existing stockpiles to fulfill new order requirements, resulting in the second-largest depletion of finished goods stocks on record, following February 2014. To expand capacity, firms increased their purchasing activity and employment at the start of the third quarter. Input buying rose markedly, reaching the fastest pace since May 2022. However, staffing levels grew only modestly and at a slower rate than in June. Meanwhile, backlogs of work accumulated for the second month in a row. Manufacturers benefited from a slight improvement in suppliers' delivery times for the second consecutive month, despite some delays in sea transportation. However, stocks of purchases continued to decrease for the eleventh month in a row, with the sharpest decline since April. Expectations for rising new orders over the coming year bolstered confidence in the production outlook. Approximately 40 per cent of respondents expressed optimism, although sentiment eased to its lowest level since January and was below the series average. Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence said, "The fact that the Vietnamese manufacturing sector was able to sustain the strong expansion seen in June through into July adds to optimism that we are at the start of a good spell of growth that will help drive the wider economy forward." "The main issue for firms at present is keeping up with demand. While production was ramped up, firms were still forced to dip into warehouse stocks to help meet new order requirements, resulting in one of the sharpest depletions of inventories on record. Manufacturers will need to expand workforce numbers more quickly and continue to secure additional materials should current trends in new orders be sustained in the months ahead," he added. Manufacturing confidence jumps to one-year-high Sustained growth in new manufacturing orders has prompted a renewed increase in employment, while business confidence has jumped to a one-year-high. Chinese battery manufacturer Sunwoda to pour $300 million into Bac Giang Chinese battery manufacturer Sunwoda plans to make an additional $300 million investment in the northern province of Bac Giang. Garments and textiles are among the industries that reported double-digit import turnover in H1 of this year, Photo: Le Toan The General Department of Vietnam Customs last week reported that to July 15, the economys total import value this year has hit nearly $195.4 billion, up 17.6 per cent on-year. This has helped exports gained a revenue of $207.3 billion, up 15.2 per cent on-year. Total trade surplus sat at $11.87 billion. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) highlighted that such a big rise in imports are reflecting a recovery of domestic industrial production. This will also help facilitate exports. Importation of input materials has been boosted in the recent months, and this demonstrates a fact that exports in the months to come will continue to be increased strongly, stated Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang. Cyclically, demands for goods are augmenting both at home and abroad in the remaining months of the year. Vietnam is benefiting from a surge in shifting orders from the US and it also has many advantages in boosting exports to China, Thang added. According to the MoIT, since early this year, the structure of imports is showing very positive signals as nearly 90 per cent of the total import turnover is for goods and materials necessitated for domestic production such as machinery, equipment, tools, and materials. Their total value reached $158.2 billion in the first six months of the year, up by more than 18 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. This showed very positive signals for recovery of production and exports as demands for importing machinery, equipment, tools, and materials have increased to a high level, the MoIT said. For example, the import turnover of computers, electronics, and spare parts thereof is estimated to reach nearly $49 billion, up close to 27 per cent on-year and accounting for 27.4 per cent of the countrys total six-month imports of $178.5 billion. The key producers of these products include Samsung, LG, Intel, and Cannon, among others. In addition, the six-month import turnover of many other key items also recorded a double-digit increase, such as assorted mobile phones and spare parts thereof (22 per cent), assorted steel (24 per cent), electrical wires and electrical cable (30 per cent), material plastic (15 per cent), materials for footwear, garments, and textiles (17.5 per cent), and assorted apparel (11 per cent). In Vietnam, the remaining average 10-15 per cent of materials in general are locally produced because the countrys supporting industries remained weak. The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that as compared to the same period last year, the added value of the whole industrial sector in the first six months of this year rose 7.54 per cent on-year, only lower than the on-year ascension of 8.32 per cent in the corresponding period of 2022 in the 2020-2024 period, generating 2.44 per cent in the added value increase in the economy. Under the GSOs Q2 survey on enterprises manufacturing and processing released in July, when it comes to production volume, about 39 per cent of the respondents said their production volume in Q2 was higher than in Q1; some 44.5 of the surveyed companies said their Q2 volume was kept stable. Only nearly 21 per cent said the volume decreased. Meanwhile, in Q3 as compared to Q2, 40 per cent of the respondents said that they expect a rise in production volume, and 45.8 per cent expect stable production, and merely 16.2 per cent of the survey enterprises said they predict a reduction. The global economy and trade are recovering and expected to grow better in 2025. According to the World Trade Organization, the worlds commodity trading volume is projected to increase 2.6 per cent in 2024 and 3.3 per cent in 2025. This has consolidated confidence that Vietnams exports will continue witnessing positive growth in the latter half of 2024, the MoIT said. Many enterprises have already secured orders until the end of Q3. The government has set a goal that in 2024, the total export turnover will be $376 billion up 6 per cent from the recorded figure in 2023 of $354.7 billion, and total import turnover will be $352.5 billion up 8 per cent from $326.4 last year. Total trade surplus will be $23.5 billion. According to the MoIT, with positive export performance since early this year, the whole-year export target will possibly be reached due to rising demands in the remaining months of the year. However, more efforts must be made. The MoIT is required to make frequent updates about the new developments and new regulations, standards, and conditions of foreign markets, and to advance recommendations for localities, associations, and enterprises so that they can adjust their production and business plans, and also can look for new orders from suitable markets, stated the prime minister in a dispatch sent to ministries and localities on key related tasks for Q3. The Ministry of Finance, meanwhile, has been ordered by the PM to effectively implement policies on extending the time for paying taxes and land rental, and on keeping VAT reduced as well as lowering fees and charges that have been already promulgated. In the second half of this year, the government will continue carrying out the policy of exempting and reducing lending rates from bank loans. It will also postpone and restructure debts, and exempt, reduce, and extend the payment of assorted taxes, fees, charges, and land rental for businesses and individuals so that they can soon escape from difficulties. The government will apply this fiscal policy in the latter half of 2024, with the total value of about $4.08 billion, including VAT remaining at 8 per cent. VIR and Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association sign deal Vietnam Investment Review, the press agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association signed a cooperation agreement at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City on July 30. Industrial developers honoured for green transformation strategies 17 industrial infrastructure developers were honored for their green transformation strategies in 2024 at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024, held on July 30 in Ho Chi Minh City. On the morning of July 31, during his visit to India, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with leading Indian pharmaceutical corporations to discuss significant investment proposals for Vietnam's pharmaceutical sector. P. Ramesh Babu, chairman and managing director of SMS Pharmaceuticals, and Narendra Reddy, managing director of Sri Avantika Contractors, proposed establishing a 500-hectare pharmaceutical manufacturing park in Nghi Son Economic Zone in the central province of Thanh Hoa. The initial investment for the project is approximately $200 million, with plans to expand total investment to $4.55 billion over the next decade. This project aims to create an eco-industrial park housing vaccine production facilities, antibiotic manufacturing plants, and anti-cancer drug factories. Numerous secondary investors are expected to participate in producing and exporting products to the United States and Europe. "There are currently about 50 secondary investors ready to join this project. We want to partner with the Vietnamese government to bring secondary investors to Vietnam, create jobs and income for the Vietnamese people, help Vietnamese businesses start up, and develop Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry," said Babu. The Indian pharmaceutical leaders explained their choice to invest in Vietnam by highlighting their collaboration with Thanh Hoa province and the significant support they have received. They noted that Vietnam is a dynamic country in Southeast Asia and a top investment destination. Post-COVID-19, Vietnam has become an attractive investment hub, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. They expressed hope that the Vietnamese government would facilitate land acquisition, site clearance, investment procedures, tax incentives, and other supportive policies. Dharmesh Shah, founding chairman of BDR Pharmaceuticals, expressed his intention to invest in a high-tech anti-cancer drug production project. "BDR aims to manufacture finished products and transfer technology to Vietnam, contributing to elevating Vietnam's position in the pharmaceutical sector," said Shah. Welcoming the interest of Indian pharmaceutical corporations in investing in Vietnam, PM Chinh described the decision to invest in Vietnam as a smart choice. "The demand for pharmaceuticals, medical treatment, and healthcare among the Vietnamese population is currently very high, while Vietnam imports up to 33 per cent of its pharmaceuticals from India," he said. Novo Nordisk Vietnam Ltd. welcomes first shipments of products as FIE Denmarks Novo Nordisk Vietnam Ltd. on July 9 announced its first shipments of products as a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) with a Certificate of Satisfaction of Pharmaceutical Business Conditions in Vietnam. Leading industry experts and business representatives convened on the afternoon of July 31 in Hanoi to discuss Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry and its journey towards globalisation. The seminar provided a platform for sharing insights, experiences, and solutions for advancing Vietnam's medicine sector. A doctor giving medicine to patients Le Van Truyen, chairman of the Advisory Council for Drug Registration at the Ministry of Health, highlighted the significant changes in Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry over the past decade. "Vietnam has experienced rapid growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.3 per cent. The current pharmaceutical market is valued at approximately $7 billion, with an average per capita drug consumption of $70a 10-fold increase since 2000," Truyen said. He noted that Vietnam is now among the countries with the highest pharmaceutical market value and growth rate globally. The market value surged from $2.7 billion in 2015 to $5.1 billion in 2018, and reached $6.1 billion in 2020. According to the World Health Organisation classification, Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry is at level 3, signifying the capability to produce generic drugs and export some pharmaceutical products. Vo Thi Tuan Anh, chairman of Newtechco Group, which focuses on investment and connections in Vietnam's healthcare sector, also highlighted the potential for growth in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market. "The healthcare sector has made significant strides, ensuring a proactive supply of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. With improved industry capabilities, many leading global pharmaceutical companies are eager to transfer new inventions to Vietnam, confident in the sector's potential," Anh said. Tran Thi Thu, vice chairman of the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Enterprises Association, emphasised that the National Strategy for the Development of Vietnam's Pharmaceutical Industry outlines clear principles, goals, and a development roadmap. "Vietnam aims to become a high-value pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in the region by 2030, with domestically produced drug exports reaching approximately $1 billion," Thu said. The national strategy focuses on developing Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry to be on par with advanced countries in the region. It aims to ensure affordable drug access for citizens, enhance research capacity, and apply technology to produce original drugs and new formulations, with the goal of establishing Vietnam as a centre for manufacturing and technology transfer of original drugs in Southeast Asia. Outlook for pharmaceutical stocks in 2024 At a macro level in which there is still complexity, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue witnessing positive business results in 2024. Promoting Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry The Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry is seeing great advantages. According to the National Hurricane Center, a tropical wave of low atmospheric pressure has a strong chance of developing into a tropical depression in the coming days. National Hurricane Center Houston still shouldnt worry about another hurricane hitting the Texas Gulf Coast just yet, but a low-grade tropical system in the Atlantic Ocean near the Dominican Republic and Haiti has the potential to enter the Gulf of Mexico and become a tropical depression as early as this weekend. The well-defined tropical wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters were projecting that the tropical wave of low atmospheric pressure which on Thursday was drifting across the Dominican Republic on the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola would move west-northwest through the Bahamas, then cross the Florida Straits and enter the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. LA NINA SEASON: What could the emergence of La Nina mean as the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season approaches? Advertisement Article continues below this ad The National Hurricane Centers tracking map shows the system heading into the Florida Peninsula and its Panhandle, but the projected path only represents where the storms rotating center could be. As Hurricane Beryl reminded us last month, the effects of a tropical cyclone can extend beyond the center. That said, the tropical system is expected, for now, to stay well to the east of Texas. Houston and the rest of the Texas Gulf Coast, though, should be mindful of updated projections from the National Hurricane Center and daily local forecasts. This cluster of clouds in the center of this weather satellite photo taken Thursday indicates a tropical wave of low atmospheric pressure. The National Hurricane Centers latest projected path for the tropical system has it heading into the Florida Peninsula and toward its Panhandle. NOAA/National Weather Service What is a tropical wave? A tropical wave is basically an elongated area of low atmospheric pressure that forms in the Atlantic and gets pushed westward by prevailing winds. If these tropical atmospheric disturbances garner enough heat energy and moisture, they can organize into cyclones with stronger winds that rotate counterclockwise. Advertisement Article continues below this ad TROPICS EXPLAINED: Want to watch the tropics for the next potential hurricane? Here are tips from weather experts Although the tropical waves development has been stymied by atmospheric factors, including wind shear and dry air as a Saharan dust plume moved across the Atlantic, hurricane center forecasters gave the wave a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico or near the Florida Peninsula. A tropical wave of low atmospheric pressure has a 30% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours. National Hurricane Center Development of this system should be slow to occur during the next couple of days while it moves west-northwestward over portions of the Greater Antilles, the National Hurricane Center said in a forecast update Thursday. However, environmental conditions are forecast to be more conducive for development after the wave passes the Greater Antilles. TEXAS HURRICANE AND STORM TRACKER: Keep an eye on tropical storms and hurricanes as they approach the Lone Star State Advertisement Article continues below this ad What is a tropical depression? A tropical depression is the earliest, weakest kind of a tropical cyclone. Once a tropical wave has organized deep thunderstorm activity and begins to form rotating winds around a well-defined center, it becomes a functioning tropical cyclone that can extract heat energy from the atmospheric moisture over warm ocean water. A tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of up to 38 mph. If the winds grow stronger, the system is designated a tropical storm, which packs sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph. The cyclone attains hurricane status once maximum sustained winds reach and exceed 74 mph. If this tropical wave develops into a stronger tropical cyclone, it would be named Debby, following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris this hurricane season. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called for answers Tuesday over the "communication breakdown" between Pennsylvania law enforcement and the Secret Service that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. Text messages, police body camera footage and an after-action report obtained by Grassley provide the most detailed picture yet of security failures surrounding the shooting at the July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Grassley, appearing Tuesday on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" ahead of a Senate hearing with the FBI and Secret Service, said "there's just a lot of shortcomings" about law enforcement lapses in the hours before the attempted assassination of Trump. "It's just bad when a member of Congress has to get his information from local law enforcement instead of from the federal agencies," Grassley said. "(I've) turned over everything (I) have now, and if (I) get more, (I)'ll turn it over. I believe in transparency. The public's business ought to be public, and the protection of a presidential candidate ought to be a top priority." The acting director of the Secret Service said Tuesday he "cannot defend" why the roof used by the gunman was not secured, the Associated Press reported. Ronald Rowe became acting director last week after Kimberly Cheatle resigned amid mounting criticism by members of Congress over a lack of substantive answers during a hearing about the communication failures preceding the July 13 shooting. Rowe testified Tuesday before two Senate committees. He was joined by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. Grassley pressed Rowe about the failed vetting and communications procedures that led to the near-assassination of the former president. Rowe said he "had no explanation" for some of the Secret Service's shortcomings at the July 13 campaign rally, and committed to improving certain agency procedures and providing "rolling" updates to Congress and the public. Grassley also asked about the Secret Service and local law enforcement's use of a drone to monitor the rally location. In a letter last week asking for the Secret Service's operational plan and other records, Grassley included a document showing that a Counter Unmanned Aerial System operator was on the list of personnel for the rally. NBC News has reported that deceased gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks flew a drone over the rally site a few hours before Trump began speaking. "According to the Secret Service, the drone system was supposed to be operational at 3 p.m. that day," Grassley said during his questioning of Rowe. "However, we've been told by Secret Service that because of cellular bandwidth problems, it wasn't operational until about 5:20 (p.m.) on that day. If the system was operational, Secret Service would've had the ability to detect the shooter and his own drone use. Why is the Secret Service dependent upon local cellular networks? Does Secret Service have back up plans in place?" Rowe said the Secret Service's failure to detect the shooter's drone has "cost me a lot of sleep." Had the Secret Service's platform been operational, Rowe noted, it might have been able to locate Crooks and intervene. Rowe committed to leveraging Department of Homeland Security resources to provide the Secret Service guaranteed connectivity to its drone. He said the lapse "is something that I have struggled with to understand." "It is something that I feel as though we could have perhaps found him," he said. "We could have maybe stopped him." According to documents released by Grassley's office, law enforcement officers knew of and communicated presence of Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania., at the rally to federal counterparts more than 90 minutes before he climbed onto a roof of what's known as the AGR Building and fired eight rounds toward Trump. CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells, center, speaks to Jimmy Glotfelty, a commissioner with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, during a meeting Thursday, July 25, 2024, in the Commissioners Hearing Room at the William B. Travis State Office Building in Austin. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks to CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells during a PUC meeting Thursday, July 25, 2024, in the Commissioners Hearing Room at the William B. Travis State Office Building in Austin. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer FILE - Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Houstons prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl has some fed-up and frustrated residents taking out their anger on repair workers who are trying to restore power across the city. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi, File) Lekan Oyekanmi/Associated Press A convoy of electric trucks from several different states gather to support power outage efforts the day after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Houston causing mass power outages on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer A convoy of electric trucks from several different states gather to support power outage efforts the day after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Houston causing mass power outages on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Nearly $2 billion in surprise storm costs would be enough to scare most companies into an existential crisis, if not shutter them completely. But CenterPoint has little reason to fear. The regulated utility provider can easily pass its costs to Houstonians, as it plans to do with the $1.8 billion it says it spent restoring the citys power after a rare derecho windstorm in May and Hurricane Beryl in July. Houstonians could see a 2% increase in their electricity bills for the next 15 years to pay down the debt plus interest assuming CenterPoints request to recover the costs from customers is successful. FOOTING THE BILL: Patrick says CenterPoint should shoulder $800 million in generator costs Advertisement Article continues below this ad Houston became 60% of CenterPoints business after it learned the hard way that expanding too fast into too many states was not in its best financial interests. Now, the company says it is working to get back to our roots of serving its core utility business in the region. Despite floods, freezes and windstorms, CenterPoint enjoys a profit that is nearly guaranteed as part of its monopoly over the network of poles and wires serving disaster-prone Houston, the nations fourth largest city and among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas. As Houston grows, so does CenterPoints opportunity to build its costs and profits into bills paid by the citys residents and businesses. Its a sweet deal for CenterPoint, said state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who during a legislative hearing this week described the companys ability to pass on costs to customers and recoup 9.4% profit as a pretty amazing business model. Last year, the company earned $917 million in profit. For all of our business owners out there, Kolkhorst said, Wouldnt we love that? Rates of return are relative. A technology company, for example, might expect a rate of return that is much higher than 9.4%, while a restaurant would generally expect something lower than 9.4%. What stands out for CenterPoint is the reliability of that rate. Public Utility Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson said during the hearing that historically there is very little risk on that return. Advertisement Article continues below this ad State senators werent the only ones asking CenterPoint tough questions this week. The publicly traded company headquartered in Houston was in the hot seat on two fronts as the timing of its second quarter earnings call coincided with the first hearings of a special legislative committee tasked with examining the companys response to Beryl. Was CenterPoint incentivized to do right by Houston? That was a question Kolkhorst was particularly interested in answering during Mondays hearing. She urged Gleeson to revisit the states incentive structure so it aligns with the needs of CenterPoints customers. Obviously, they did not during Beryl, Kolkhorst said, and I dont think they do going forward unless we make major adjustments. The challenge is that customers and shareholders dont always want the same things. Reliable electricity service is paramount for Houstonians paying for it; shareholders prioritize cash returns. CENTERPOINT DEPARTURES: Head of CenterPoints electric utility business leaves company Advertisement Article continues below this ad Short of regulatory intervention, CenterPoints shareholders call the shots. CenterPoint President and CEO Jason Wells acknowledged as much Monday during the hearing, noting the companys compensation incentives are heavily weighted toward its earnings per share. And indeed CenterPoint delivered for shareholders during the earnings call Tuesday, when it reaffirmed its commitment to grow shareholder dividends by as much as 8% this year. The company announced $228 million in second quarter profits, bringing its yearly profit earnings to $578 million. However, as CenterPoint comes under heightened regulatory scrutiny for its Beryl failures, investors are nervous there is risk that politicians will be too punitive on the company, said Shahriar Pourreza, a utility analyst with the investment bank Guggenheim Securities. This could make it harder not only for CenterPoint but all Texas utilities to attract funding, he said. The investor base is very nervous that this turns to the old Texas when Scott (Prochazka) was running the company, he said. We review the proposals for a 6-seat and 9-year limit on so-called INEDs, along with other changes that do nothing to address HK's corporate governance deficit. Meanwhile, a slow-motion disaster is underway in the UK as it scraps fundamental investor rights. Meaningless board games at HKEX, and how the UK FCA has just made an awful mistake Over the last quarter century, Webb-site has written repeatedly about the fundamental problem with Hong Kong's so-called Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs): they are not independent. Nearly all (about 90%) of HK-listed companies have controlling shareholders, and these controllers vote to elect the INEDs. So the INEDs are only as independent and competent as the controlling shareholders want them to be. Even the good INEDs (and there are a few) serve at the pleasure of the individual, family or Government that controls the company. INEDs should be elected by Independent Shareholders All of this could be simply solved with a rule change requiring that on the election of any candidate (whether proposed by the board, or by shareholders), the controlling shareholders and those directors who are non-INEDs must abstain, leaving the decision to independent shareholders. Their electoral mandate would empower INEDs to ask the difficult boardroom questions that they should be asking if they are performing their duties properly, without fear of removal by controlling shareholders. Remember, in HK the board is only required to have at least one-third of its seats occupied by INEDs, so the controller can still call the shots through the other seats. Each of the INEDs should also be required to confirm, in each annual report, whether he/she is satisfied with the corporate governance and if not, what the issues are. Remember that it is the INEDs who are supposed to opine on whether transactions between the company and its controlling shareholder are "fair and reasonable" and whether to accept a privatisation offer, from the same controller who currently elects them. The whole system is a charade and it would be better if regulators just admitted that under this system, there are no INEDs, only NEDs. In its latest proposals announced on 14-Jun-2024, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX, 0388) via its subsidiary The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd (SEHK) does nothing to address this problem and instead engages once again in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, oblivious to how this poor standard of governance is driving investors away from HK, lowering valuations, increasing cost of capital and undermining the prosperity of our country (China). A lower cost of capital would make the nation more competitive. Instead of addressing the election process, SEHK proposes cosmetic changes including that nobody should have more than 6 HK-listed issuer directorships and that no INED can serve more than 9 years, both rules to become effective at the AGMs to be held in 2028, and allowing them to come back on board after a 2-year cooling-off period, so they could serve 18 years out of 20 or 27 out of 31. Predictably, the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies (CHKLC) came out last week to oppose even these reforms, accusing SEHK of micromanagement. They do have a point: it would be far better to allow independent shareholders in each case to decide whether a candidate has too many jobs or has served too long. With an independent shareholder vote on the elections, that would be the case. A crappy INED with only 1 board seat would still be crappy from day one - there's no reason to think that they would only be crappy after 9 years or when they have more than 6 jobs. It's worth noting, however, that SEHK has chosen the 6-seat limit to affect only 23 people as of 31-Dec-2023. If they had set the limit at 3 (the limit in mainland China) then 270 people would be "over-boarding". The Blackout Rule and quarterly reporting Incidentally, despite its name, don't assume that CHKLC is representative of HK-listed companies. It only has 224 companies in its membership, many of them sharing the same controlling shareholders, or about 8.5% of the 2,625 current HK-listed companies. It is very much a fringe group with a committee populated by representatives of HK property tycoons, although a few other large companies have, perhaps accidentally, signed up. CHKLC's history includes opposing in 2009 the "Blackout Rule" which proposed a ban on directors' share-dealing from the end of the financial period until the results were published. They succeeded, and to this day, there's an incentive to release results at the last possible moment so that directors have longer to deal in the shares (until 2 months before annual results, 1 month before half-year results). The Listing Committee, in reversing its decision to implement the Blackout Rule, did state: "To ensure a regular flow of timely information concerning issuers financial performance and position, the Listing Committee believes that the Listing Rules should be enhanced to require issuers to report to the market on a quarterly basis." That was of course quietly dropped, and the requirement for quarterly reporting on the junior GEM board was abolished effective 1-Jan-2024. The regulators' theory is that the deterrent of being taken by the SFC to the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) for withholding Inside Information is sufficient to incentivise voluntary financial updates. It isn't. The MMT, chaired by retired judges, operates with sloth-like speed and can only handle a handful of cases per year, including insider-dealing cases. We continue to frequently see full-year "profit warnings" from listed companies some 8 months after their previous half-year ended, revealing earnings surprises (usually negative) that should have been obvious much earlier to any competent board receiving monthly management accounts. Some institutional investors and brokers rather like this system because they can get inside information through company visits and calls, but that leaves other investors out in the cold, degrading market quality. Quarterly reporting remains a "Recommended Best Practice" (RBP) in paragraph D.1.5 of the Code on Corporate Governance. RBPs are "comply or don't explain", and apart from HKEX itself, almost zero HK-listed companies voluntarily report quarterly. If you see a HK-listed company reporting quarterly, then it is usually because it has an overseas listing - including mainland China, where quarterly reporting has been mandatory since 2003, and USA. Genders In other proposals, SEHK proposes a "Code Provision" (comply or explain) that the Nomination Committee should have different (at least 2) genders. This is meaningless given that the Nomination Committee on a controlled board normally only considers a single candidate put forward by the controlling shareholder. There is no real recruitment process, the jobs are not advertised, and independent shareholders are not consulted on possible INED candidates. In any event, in our view, boards should obtain the best mixture of skills and experience they can get regardless of sex, gender, race, sexual preference, number of legs or any other irrelevant characteristic. As part of a previous review, SEHK has already passed Listing Rule 13.92 requiring boards to have at least 2 genders by the end of 2024. That may be politically correct, but the peer-reviewed academic literature provides no statistical evidence that such rules significantly improve corporate performance. Anyway, at least as far as INEDs are concerned, if the decision is left to independent shareholders then they can decide for themselves whether to elect a man to an all-female board, or a foreigner to an all-Chinese board, or vice versa. Capital discipline In another crucial area, SEHK makes no material progress on getting cash-hoarding companies to return surplus capital to shareholders. Back in 2016, we proposed a simple "cash shell test" that would require that any company with more than 50% of its audited net tangible assets held as net cash or liquid investments should be required to propose a distribution of the excess, for independent shareholders' approval at the AGM. If a board can persuade independent shareholders that it is in their interest not to have the money back then the resolution would be vetoed. The cash shell test would provide the sort of capital discipline for which regulators in Japan, South Korea and Mainland China have recently been calling. 50% is a rather generous limit which would capture relatively few companies but it would at least put a cap on the extent of capital hoarding, boost returns on equity and make HK more attractive to outside investors who would have less risk of being caught in a "value trap". Instead, SEHK proposes that companies which have a dividend policy should explain what factors they take into account. Such a requirement is easily satisfied with meaningless boilerplate text, and places no obligation on capital hoarders to change their ways. Board navel-gazing SEHK also proposes a Code Provision (comply or explain) requiring boards to conduct a "board performance review" every 2 years. This is yet another piece of window-dressing that will, if it ever becomes mandatory, simply increase the costs of being listed and create a gravy train for consultants who are hired to tell the board that they are doing a good job. Shareholders and INEDs should be the judge of that, if the INEDs are ever elected by independent shareholders. Indeed, SEHK seems to have pulled this proposal out of the oven in such a half-baked state that it doesn't know what it wants, and simply says "we will provide further guidance on the areas to be covered in a board performance review" in paragraph 65 of the Consultation Paper. Conclusions These feeble proposals will do nothing to enhance corporate governance in HK and attract investors back to our market. The opinion poll we conducted in 2011 on the election of INEDs is as valid now as it was then, so we won't bother to repeat it. HKEX, with the staunch support of the HKSAR Government which controls the majority of its board, continues to dodge the real issues and has spent most of the last decade weakening the rules in the mistaken belief that the consequently higher-risk, lower-valuation market will somehow attract high quality listings. Meanwhile in the UK That's not how markets work, and on that subject, we should just mention with sadness that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority has embarked on exactly this course, scrapping its "Premium Listing" category and no longer requiring independent shareholders' approval for connected transactions with controlling shareholders, despite widespread opposition from institutional investors. Both the new and previous UK Governments appear to have drunk the Kool-Aid from City lawyers and bankers who see their IPO gravy train drying up, but attracting companies that see the lack of checks and balances on their behaviour as being the worth the discount for risk will only dilute market quality and increase the UK's cost of capital. If that were to happen in HK, it would be disastrous - allowing controllers of listed companies to inject or strip out assets, or borrow money from the company, on any terms that are not completely absurd, backed up by an opinion from a cheap adviser and nodded through by INEDs elected by the same controllers. The UK will come to regret this choice. New UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed that it would bring the UK "in line with international counterparts" (read:USA), but that conveniently overlooks that the USA has a much stronger litigation and class-action system that deters egregious behaviour and often motivates companies to seek independent shareholders' approval anyway. Want to make a submission to HKEX? E-mail response@hkex.com.hk . You won't find that address in the consultation paper - they try to force you to use a survey form instead. Webb-site.com, 2024 Organisations in this story Topics in this story Sign up for our free newsletter Recommend Webb-site to a friend Copyright & disclaimer, Privacy policy Back to top U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack, pictured in 2008. Todd Yates/AP Judge Janis Graham Jack has brought welcome oversight to a system desperately in need of change. Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff Photographer After 13 years of fighting a lawsuit over Texas troubled foster care system, state lawyers are now trying to remove a longtime judge from overseeing the case a bitter escalation in a case concerning thousands of children in the states long-term custody. U.S. District Judge Janis Jack has presided over the suit since 2011, and she ruled in 2015 that the state was leaving foster children more traumatized than when they entered the system. Since then, she has regularly battled with state leaders as shes pushed them to work with court-appointed monitors and comply with remedial orders intended to provide better care to foster children. Advertisement Article continues below this ad State attorneys say officials have complied with the remedial orders to near perfection an assertion that Jack and lawyers representing the some 9,000 foster children find ludicrous. Court monitors regularly find new examples of abuse and neglect that werent investigated properly, and dozens of children are still sleeping in hotels and other unlicensed placements. But the state contends that Jack has a deep-seated bias against child welfare officials that has affected her ability to be fair and impartial and see the overarching positive trends in foster care metrics. Attorneys say she regularly tears into state leaders in court hearings and orders the state to take costly, time-consuming actions without attempting to connect them to any remedial order, they wrote in a June filing asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene. Its difficult to avoid the conclusion that a high degree of antagonism and appearance of a lack of impartiality regrettably requires reassignment on remand, they wrote, adding later: The concerns over the appearance of bias and prejudice are only heightened by the district courts stated position that there is no end in sight for its supervision of the states foster-care system. There is a hearing set for Monday, when the appeals court is expected to address the states request for reassignment. IN DEPTH: Meet the Houston lawyer whose charity work sparked the epic battle over Texas foster care Advertisement Article continues below this ad The request marks Texas officials most dramatic move yet to wrap up the long-running case, which has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in lawyers fees, payments to court monitors and upgrades to the foster care system. The 5th Circuit, the most conservative appeals court in the country, is no stranger to the case. In 2017, it mostly upheld Jacks ruling that the state had violated foster childrens constitutional rights, but it has also at times found that she overstepped her authority. State officials spent years regularly calling on the 5th Circuit to intervene, but they seemed more compliant after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered them in 2020 to fully comply with the remedial orders at issue and submit certifications of compliance by the required dates in order to avoid unnecessary fines. His directive came after Jack found the state in contempt for the second time and threatened to levy more fines. A sharp-tongued adjudicator The tide turned again after Jack found the state in contempt for a third time in April for failing to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect in a timely fashion. She fined the state $100,000 a day until it made the fixes she requested. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It is the courts ongoing concern that caregivers failure to report as required is a systemic issue and not merely anecdotal, Jack said in a 427-page order listing more than a dozen examples of insufficient investigations. The state has a responsibility to follow-up and investigate outcries made by the children in its care and ensure each childs safety and well-being. The state immediately appealed Jacks order, and the 5th Circuit ruled that Texas did not have to pay the fines. A three-judge panel said the state could not reasonably respond to the quick timeline she implemented. It acknowledged that the state has not adequately completed every investigation it launched, but the number of children affected was relatively small. In their June filing, state attorneys said the April contempt finding was an example of Jack's apparent bias, noting that the appeals court has now overturned three of her decisions. They also argue that Jack has adopted a disturbing line of questioning and suggested that leaders of the states child welfare agencies should be thrown in jail. Attorneys pointed to one incident in which Jack told commissioners for the Department of Family and Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission that she didnt know how you all sleep nights, referring to an incident in which a 13-year-old girl in the care of Child Protective Services was raped after she ran away from a Waco home that police described as being in a high-risk location. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The plaintiffs, led by Houston attorney Paul Yetter, wrote in a brief that the states request to have the case reassigned appeared to be its latest strategy for evading its constitutional and moral obligation to keep children safe. Though Jack has developed a reputation as a sharp-tongued adjudicator, the plaintiffs argued that her institutional knowledge and expertise on the particulars of the foster care system make her the right judge for the case. They said she has consistently focused on finding solutions for the beleaguered department. The state has denied the dangers, then opposed reforms, and now wants a new judge who doesnt know the system or the harm it is causing, Yetter said. The message is unavoidable: the State of Texas just doesnt care about keeping these children safe. "Moving the goalposts" Its unclear exactly what it would take to wrap up the litigation. Similar lawsuits in other states have taken more than 20 years to come to a conclusion, and Jack and the plaintiffs say it shouldnt end until the state is fully compliant with the remedial orders, which cover topics such as timely investigations, reasonable caseloads for state workers and updated technology to track and care for foster children. Advertisement Article continues below this ad State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said Jack has earned the right to rebuke state authorities for their alleged failure to safeguard the children in their care. Wu, who has authored several bills related to the foster care system and represented families in court against Child Protective Services, noted that those children represent the most vulnerable populations in Texas and dont have the means to stand up for themselves. As far as I know, Judge Jack has not done anything biased or unethical. She's been holding the state accountable to the people its supposed to serve, Wu said. Theyve been doing this for 13 years, and (the state) still cant get their act straight. I would hope the judge is angry with them. But state Rep. James Frank, a Wichita Falls Republican who chairs the House Committee on Health and Human Services, said Jack is often condescending to state leaders and picks apart individual anecdotes instead of highlighting overall positive trends in the foster care system. He said Jack is constantly moving the goalposts for the state. While the states child welfare system isnt perfect, Frank said the case could benefit from a judge who can set clear benchmarks and focus on progress over perfection. Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (31 July 2024) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. The Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 42nd Mechanised Brigade, 82nd Assault, 92nd Air Assault, 57th Motorised Infantry brigades, and 36th Marine Brigade near Tikhoye, Staritsa, Liptsy, and Volchansk (Kharkov region). Two counter-attacks launched by enemy assault groups have been repelled in the past 24 hours. The Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered losses of up to 350 troops, one U.S.-made HMMWV armoured fighting vehicle, one 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and one 100-mm Rapira gun. One ammunition depot was wiped out. The Zapad Group of Forces continue to take more advantageous lines and positions. The Group inflicted fire damage on the 30th and 67th mechanised, 3rd Assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, and 1st Territorial Defence Brigade near Sinkovka (Kharkov region), Novosadovoye, Krasny Liman (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Nevskoye, and Makeyevka (Lugansk Peoples Republic). Two counter-attacks launched by AFU assault groups were repelled. The enemy lost up to 470 troops, nine motor vehicles, one UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, one UK-made 105-mm L119 gun, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, and two 122-mm D-30 howitzers. In addition, three AFU ammunition depots were destroyed. The Yug Group of Forces improved its tactical position, inflicted fire damage on manpower and military hardware of the 24th, 32nd, and 54th mechanised, 79th Air Assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Chasov yar, Verkhnekamenskoye, Seversk, and Katerinovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). One enemy counter-attack was successfully repelled. The AFU units lose up to 710 troops, one German-made Leopard tank, one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, three U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzers, two motor vehicles, one UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, two UK-made 105-mm L119 guns, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, two 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and two Anklav-N EW stations. Three ammunition depots of the enemy were eliminated. The Tsentr Group of Forces continue advancing to the west. The Group has engaged the 31st, 32nd, 47th, and 53rd mechanised, 151st motorised infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and 111th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Dzerzhnisk, Zhelannoye, Novogorodskoye, Grodovka, and Vozdvizhenka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). In addition, three counter-attacks launched by the enemys assault detachments have been repelled. The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost up to 350 troops, one tank, one armoured personnel carrier, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, five 122-mm D-30 howitzers, one U.S.-made 105-mm M119 gun, and one 100-mm Rapira gun. The Vostok Group of Forces improved its positions on the front line and caused fire damage to manpower and military hardware of the 116th Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 108th, 120th, and 129th territorial defence brigades close to Rovnopol, Velikaya Novosyolka, Vodyanoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), and Zaliznichnoye (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses amounted to 150 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, six motor vehicles, two 155-mm self-propelled artillery systems (Polish-made Krab and U.S.-made Paladin) as well as one 152-mm D-20 howitzer. The Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 35th Marine Brigade, and 121st Territorial Defence Brigade close to Lugovoye, Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region), and Tyaginka (Kherson region). The enemy lost up to 100 troops, seven motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155-mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-36 electronic warfare radar, and one 152-mm D-20 howitzer. Moreover, one AFU ammunition depot was wiped out. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 143 areas during the day. Air defence units shot down two U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, one Neptune long-range guided missile, and 42 unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, 631 airplanes and 278 helicopters, 28,734 unmanned aerial vehicles, 556 air defence missile systems, 16,732 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,393 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 12,597 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 24,225 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. Tags: WtR Vice President Kamala Harris addresses attendees during a Celebration of Life Service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Vice President Kamala Harris addresses attendees during a Celebration of Life Service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Vice President Kamala Harris addresses attendees during a Celebration of Life Service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Elwyn Lee, husband of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, center, is comforted after the Celebration of Life Service Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Democratic leaders praised the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lees legacy, urging support for Harris' presidential bid as a way to continue the congresswomans fight for womens and civil rights. Jackson Lee, 74, died on July 19 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her celebration of life service Thursday at Fallbrook Church was the last in a series of memorials paying tribute to the congresswoman this week. The ceremony showcased her toughness, her love of Houston and her often relentless resolve. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, delivered a eulogy for Jackson Lee before returning to Washington, D.C. A fellow member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Harris described her late sorority sister as both tough and caring, unrelenting and encouraging, and one of the smartest and most strategic legislators in Washington, D.C. Now, there were times, I will admit, if I saw her walking down the hall, I would almost want to hide because I knew whatever else may be on my mind, Sheila Jackson Lee would require a very serious and specific conversation with you about what she had on her mind, and then she would tell you exactly what she needed you to do to help her get it done, Harris said, drawing laughter from attendees. Vice President Kamala Harris addresses attendees during a Celebration of Life Service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer The event featured tributes from over two dozen national and local elected officials, community leaders, family members and friends. A photo of the late congresswoman, dressed in a white suit with one of her signature scarves, was displayed above the stage. White flowers adorned Jackson Lees casket. Among the speakers were Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford, former Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, George Floyds family, Mayor John Whitmire and around 50 members of Congress were also in attendance. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Musician Stevie Wonder performed Falling In Love With Jesus by Jonathan Butler and Kirk Whalum, as well as his song As, to cheers from the audience toward the end of the service. The vice president said she understood Jackson Lees intensity came from a desire to fight for her country and constituents, from helping immigrants with their visa applications to keeping Houston pools open amid a historic heat wave to spearheading bills to protect the rights of Black residents, LGBTQ communities, women and children. She never allowed anything to be mediocre, Harris said. She always expected in all of us that we would rise to a point of excellence, knowing life was too short, and theres too much to be done. National leaders remembered Jackson Lees contributions Hillary Clinton said the passing of Jackson Lee marked a significant loss for Democratic leaders and supporters, especially as they face the upcoming November election. The work of trailblazers like Jackson Lee has paved the way for the potential election of the first woman president in the countrys history, said the former secretary of state. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We lost her too soon. We could use her voice now, Hillary Clinton said Thursday. But come next January, when our first woman president takes up office, Ill be thinking of Sheila, wondering what up in heaven shes wearing, what magnificent long scarf she has wrapped around herself, what hairdo she has managed to achieve for this special occasion. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the Celebration of Life Service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Jackson Lee had been a staunch supporter of the Clinton family for decades. In 2008, the congresswoman defied many Black leaders and her own constituents to endorse Hillary Clinton over former President Barack Obama in the Democratic Party presidential primary, leading to her being booed by hundreds of Obama supporters at a local event. Bill Clinton, who also delivered a speech, said Jackson Lee was the only freshman member of Congress who made it to his just say yes list when he was president, meaning whatever it is they want, sooner or later youre going to do it. One of her critics once said shes an acquired taste, and I said I acquired it, Bill Clinton said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jackson Lee and her husband, Elwynn Lee, had been married 51 years. He is a vice president at University of Houston, and they met when they were students at Yale. The Clintons also met at Yale. Jackson Lee served the 18th Congressional District for nearly three decades and was poised to win her 15th term in office this fall after a decisive victory in the March primary. One of the most recognizable members of Houstons congressional delegation, she was known among Democratic leaders as a prominent voice on social justice issues. The congresswoman, among other accomplishments, led the rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act and championed the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal said Jackson Lee was the only person she knew who managed to get an amendment into every bill that came before them. As one of the first progressive women of color to have a national platform, she used that platform to speak with deep moral clarity at every opportunity despite rampant racism, sexism and discrimination, Jayapal said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Local leaders and supporters praised Jackson Lees legacy Turner, Jackson Lees longtime friend and ally in Houston politics, recalled her many efforts big and small to support local communities in an impassioned speech. He highlighted her leadership in trying to prevent the shutdown of the North Forest Independent School District, helping an Acres Home church make repairs at no cost, getting unhoused residents wraparound services and setting up numerous COVID-19 testing sites during the peak of the pandemic. Hidalgo said she had struck up a unique friendship with Jackson Lee despite their disparate personalities and the generational gap. Initially put off by Jackson Lees curt approach, which stood in contrast to her own warm and fuzzy tone, Hidalgo said she later realized that the toughness commanded respect. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks during the celebration of life service for Sheila Jackson Lee while Commissioner Rodney Ellis laughs at Fallbrook Church on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer At first I felt a bit taken aback by her approach. I wondered if she was trying to control me, tell me what to do, Hidalgo said. But then I realized it was much simpler than that. She had an abundance of toughness and wasnt afraid to show it. Glenn Rushing, one of Jackson Lees longest-serving employees and chief of staff from 2011 to 2022, said Thursday that behind the congresswomans Type-A, perfectionist and demanding personality was her strong work ethic and commitment. I know firsthand the long nights working with her from 12 and 1 a.m. in the morning and back at 9 a.m., Rushing said. I know about her attending multiple hearings at the same time, maybe late, but debating bills and making floor statements daily. I know about her attending hundreds of funerals and birthday parties and attending every high school graduation ceremony in her district. Several attendees of Thursdays service told the Chronicle they were struck by the high energy and celebratory atmosphere throughout the event. It was a really beautiful service for the GOAT of Congress people, said Isaiah Martin, one of Jackson Lees former interns, using an acronym for "greatest of all time." It was very dignified. It was like the home going for a queen. To see a former president on the stage, to see a future president on the stage, future speaker, former speaker, you had ambassadors there it was regal. The congresswomans children expressed pride in their mothers accomplishments, saying they will honor her legacy but will not attempt to match her brilliance. I wore her cape. I wore her cloth. But I will never wear her crown, said Jackson Lees daughter, Erica Lee Carter, draping herself in her late mothers clothes. Jackson Lees son, Jason Lee, shared a similar sentiment. Human evolution is about one generation exceeding the next, he said. Thats not in the cards for us, and if I had any doubt, after today, it is clear I will not be greater than the generation before me, and thats OK because the bar was set so high. In the tight race for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, voters favor incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown over Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, but only by four percentage points. When the lens moves to voters 50-plus, the race flips and Moreno takes a slight lead, according to an exclusive AARP poll released today. The survey shows Brown ahead of Moreno 46 percent to 42 percent among all Ohio voters surveyed. Among voters 50-plus, however, Moreno leads Brown by just two percentage points. The outcome of the race could help determine the overall balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Members only Pollsters interviewed 1,384 likely Ohio voters about the U.S. Senate and presidential races and about the issues motivating them to vote. The bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research conducted the AARP-commissioned survey from July 23 through July 28. AARP (Source: Getty Images) Bob Ward, a partner with Fabrizio Ward, said older Ohio voters are more likely to support candidates who champion policies to help older adults as they age. The Senate race in Ohio is a toss up among voters 50-plus, Ward said. If a campaign wants to appeal to older voters, they need to be talking about issues like supporting family caregivers and supports to allow seniors to age at home." When it comes to the race for president, more Ohio voters say they plan to cast their ballot for former President Donald Trump, a Republican, than for Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, according to the AARP poll. Among Ohio voters of all ages, 52 percent favor Trump, compared with 42 percent for Harris, a 10-point spread. That lead widened to 18 points among voters 50-plus, with 57 percent for Trump compared with 39 percent for Harris. Black voters over 50 overwhelmingly prefer Harris, 87 to 8 percent. AARP (Source: Getty Images) Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president after President Joe Biden announced July 21 that he wouldnt seek reelection and endorsed her. When pollsters asked voters who they would support in a race between Trump, Harris and third-party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 48 percent of voters favor Trump, 39 percent support Harris, and 9 percent favor Kennedy, who has not yet gained access to the Ohio ballot. Jeff Liszt, a partner with Impact Research, said the poll results indicate Ohio voters could split their tickets in November, rather than voting along party lines. Liszt noted that Trump is ahead in the state at the top of the ticket, while in the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Brown is up over Republican Moreno among voters of all ages. Abby Church is a City Hall reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at abby.church@houstonchronicle.com. Before coming to the Chronicle, Abby covered Tarrant County government at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As an Air Force brat, she spent her childhood everywhere, but she claims Virginia as home. She graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and creative writing. June 2024 Quarterly Activities Report Sydney, July 31, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tamboran Resources Corporation ( ASX:TBN ) ( TBNNY:OTCMKTS ) ( NYSE:TBN ) completed an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), issuing approximately 3.4 million shares (including the underwriters' partial exercise of the overallotment option) of Common Stock at US$24.00 per share. The proceeds of US$82 million (before fees) are expected to fund Tamboran's two well 2024 drilling program, which are planned to supply the Company's proposed Shenandoah South Pilot Project. Tamboran announced an average IP90 flow test for the Shenandoah South 1H (SS-1H) well of 2.9 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) over a 1,644-foot (501-metre) horizontal section within the Mid Velkerri B Shale (normalized at 5.8 MMcf/d over a 3,280-foot (1,000-metre) horizontal section). The flow results were the highest normalized rate produced in the Beetaloo Basin to date. In April 2024, Tamboran announced a binding, long-term take-or-pay Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) to supply the Northern Territory Government (NTG) with 40 TJ per day (~19 TJ per day net to Tamboran) for an initial term of nine years from the proposed Shenandoah South Pilot Project. In June 2024, Tamboran was granted Major Project Status (MPS) by the NTG for the development of the Company's Beetaloo Basin assets. The MPS designation demonstrates the NTG's support for Tamboran's integrated development of the Beetaloo Basin. In July 2024, Tamboran was granted an Interim Agreement by the NTG over its 420-acre (170- hectare) site at Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct. The agreement provides Tamboran with exclusivity over the acreage until the end of 2027 (with two 1-year extensions). Tamboran continued operational activities in preparation of the upcoming two well 2024 drilling program. The program includes the first ~10,000-foot (~3,000-metre) horizontal sections and 60 stimulation stages in the basin. Drilling of the first well is expected to commence in Q3 2024 and stimulation activity is planned for Q4 2024 ahead of the announcement of gas rates in Q1 2025. As at 30 June 2024, the Company had a cash balance of A$111.6 million (US$73.9 million), which does not include the US$7.4 million gross proceeds from the over-allotment. Tamboran Resources Corporation Managing Director and CEO, Joel Riddle said: "Tamboran successfully delivered on several key milestones during the quarter, including the highly anticipated NYSE listing. Tamboran raised approximately US$82 million (before fees), which is expected to fund our upcoming two well 2024 program, which includes the longest lateral section drilled in the Beetaloo Basin to date. We hope to demonstrate the impressive flow rates from the 500-metre section in the Shenandoah South 1H (SS-1H) well are replicable over the extended 3,000-metre horizontal section. "The NTG continues to demonstrate strong support for our Beetaloo Basin and Middle Arm developments. During the quarter, Tamboran signed a binding, long-term Gas Sales Agreement with the NTG for 40 TJ per day over an initial nine-year period and was granted Major Project Status for our Beetaloo Basin development. We have also received an Interim Agreement for exclusivity for our Middle Arm site for our proposed NTLNG project having demonstrated significant progression through the Concept Select phase. "We are progressing activities to deliver further drilling success during the second half of the year with the Shenandoah South 2 pad 1H (SS-2H) and 2H (SS-3H) wells in EP 98. These wells will be key to demonstrating the production profile for 10,000-foot lateral sections within the Mid Velkerri B Shale and lay the platform for our future drilling programs across our proposed Phase 2 and 3 projects." *To view the full quarterly report, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/6M0O167H About Tamboran Resources Corporation Tamboran Resources Corporation (ASX:TBN) is a natural gas company that intends to play a constructive role in the global energy transition towards a lower carbon future by developing low CO2 unconventional natural gas resources in the Beetaloo Sub-basin within the Greater McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Tamboran's key assets are a 25% working interest in EP 161 and a 100% working interest in EP 136, EP 143 and EP(A) 197 which are located in the Beetaloo Sub-basin. Related Companies Arrow Expands Bulks Presence with Major Bauxite Transaction Perth, Aug 1, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Arrow Minerals Limited ( ASX:AMD ) is pleased to announce it has entered into a Share Purchase Option Agreement (Agreement) to acquire the Niagara Bauxite Project, located in Guinea (Niagara Bauxite Project or the Project). See Appendix 1* for a summary of the Agreement. Highlights - Arrow expands its bulk commodity presence with agreement to acquire Niagara Bauxite Project located in Guinea, the world's largest exporter of high-grade low-impurity bauxite - Niagara Bauxite Project is an advanced asset with a significant exploration history - Simandou railway, due for commissioning in 2025, is located only 100km from the project - Niagara Bauxite Project, combined with Arrow's Simandou North Iron Project, are projects with significant scale potential and operating synergies - Arrow's future work program will focus resource drilling, economic studies, permitting and development pathways - The agreement is structured as an option agreement, with an option fee of $400,000 payable in cash and shares, with $2,000,000 in cash or shares payable upon option exercise - Provides Arrow and its shareholders with the opportunity to rapidly progress a project at a time when bauxite prices and analysts have noted a strong outlook Arrow Managing Director David Flanagan said: "We are delighted to significantly expand our bulk commodity exposure, leveraging our rapidly growing presence, strong relationships and reputation in country. Past exploration on this project has identified 6 high quality bauxite targets for resource drilling. This agreement gives the Company up to 12 months to test and evaluate the project before completing the acquisition. On visiting the site and reviewing the prospects, and in light of access to the multi-user railway due to be commissioned from end of 2025, coupled with the strong prices and outlook for bauxite, it presents a highly compelling and potential value transformational opportunity for the Company." "As indicated by historical technical studies on the Niagara Bauxite Project, there is substantial potential based on historic foreign estimates indicating excellent potential for direct shipping grade mineralisation." "Arrow, with the assistance of its technical advisors have reviewed a compilation of historic work completed on the Niagara Bauxite Project tenure as part of the significant bauxite prospectivity works led by Dr V.I. Mamedov, and summarised in the 2010 two volume publication "Geologie de la Republique de Guinee". As the source drilling and chemical analysis information used in preparation of these foreign estimates is not currently available to the Company, the Company is unable to verify and validate these foreign estimates at this time." "The Arrow team is dedicated to growing the Company, and has a strong track record of delivering logistics supply chains, developing new mines, exporting bulk commodities and engaging productively with the community. This asset is strategically located in our back yard and compliments what we are doing at the Simandou North Iron Project," Mr Flanagan added. Background on Niagara Bauxite Project The Niagara Bauxite Project is located approximately 100km north of the Simandou multi-user railway, which extends roughly 285 km to the Morebaya port (Figure 1*). The project falls within the three prefectures of Mamou, Dalaba and Tougue, and includes bauxite plateaux from the studied and documented Dabola and Tougue bauxite regions shown in Figure 1*. Foreign Estimates on the Niagara Bauxite Project A compilation of historic work was completed on the Niagara Bauxite Project tenure as part of the significant bauxite prospectivity works led by Dr V.I. Mamedov, and summarised in the 2010 two volume publication "Geologie de la Republique de Guinee". The Company's independent consultants have advised that these foreign estimates are assumed to be aligned with the Russian GKZ system, however no details have been found to date to verify the basis for these estimates. As the source drilling and chemical analysis information used in preparation of these foreign estimates is not currently available to the Company, the Company is unable to verify and validate these foreign estimates at this time. The Company's independent consultants have also advised that these estimates should be treated as historic foreign estimates, and with caution, until a verification program has been conducted which supports (or not) the summary tonnages and grades reported therein. These foreign estimates should not be considered equivalent to an estimate that follow contemporary best practices and are reported in line with a modern international reporting code that is a member of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards ("CRIRSCO") or the JORC Code. Next Steps As at the date of this release the Company plans to: - Endeavor to locate and acquire the source information and documentation that support the historic foreign estimates given in Mamedov et al (2010). - Evaluate the methods and analytical techniques used to inform the historic foreign estimates. - Transcribe and digitize all historic information for use in validating the historic foreign estimates. - Validate historic drill and assay data by completing an expedited drill program during 2024. - Conduct further exploration drilling as required to inform the estimation of Mineral Resources in accordance with the JORC Code. - Conduct economic studies and permitting and development pathways. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/T28WX0H9 About Arrow Minerals Ltd Arrow Minerals Ltd (ASX:AMD) is an exploration and development company focused on delivering long-term shareholder value through the discovery of economic mineral deposits in West Africa. The Company has implemented a systematic science-based exploration philosophy whilst remaining commercially nimble to ensure we capture and retain value. Related Companies Vice President Kamala Harris steps off Air Force 2, Wednesday, July 31, 2024 in Houston. Harris visits Houston for a private fundraiser, speech, and to attend Sheila Jackson Lees memorial. Ishika Samant/Staff photographer Vice President Kamala Harris used a pair of speeches in Houston on Wednesday to deliver a sobering message to supporters after a whirlwind 10 days running for the White House, where expectations are skyrocketing. Harris acknowledged a big fundraising burst and a surge of volunteers signing up for a campaign that is making gains on former President Donald Trump. But she warned that despite the enthusiasm, she still has an uphill climb to win in November. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We are the underdog in this, Harris told a crowd of more than 340 people at a private fundraiser in a ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel. This is not the time to raise up our hands. This is our time to roll up our sleeves. Public polling makes clear what Harris is talking about. A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday showed Trump leading Harris in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin all states President Joe Biden won in 2020 en route to a narrow victory. Just 30 minutes later, speaking to thousands of Black sorority members with Sigma Gamma Rho at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Harris detailed what she needs from supporters around the nation, with 97 days left in the campaign. At this moment, once again, our nation is counting on you to organize and to mobilize, to register folks to vote, and to get them to polls, Harris said. It was her second stop in Houston in just a week. Last week she spoke to teachers unions and met with city officials to get an update on the recovery from Hurricane Beryl. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Harris was staying overnight in Houston and was expected to attend the memorial services of the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on Thursday morning. In both Wednesday speeches, she warned that Trump had already succeeded in banning almost all abortions everywhere in the South including in Texas and is a threat to sign a nationwide ban, though Trump says he would not support such a measure. Our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot, Harris said. Harris warned that is Trumps elected, his allies are going to push him to enact extreme policies such as eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, ending Head Start preschool programs, and ending the Affordable Care Act that provides health care to millions of Americans. Harris also responded to Trump, who earlier in the day said he had been aware of Harriss Indian heritage but didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. Speaking in Chicago to the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump added that Harris now wants to be known as Black. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In Houston, Harris said Trumps attack showed he is putting on the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced that Microsoft and other tech companies must pay if they seek to continue scraping the website's data for training their AI models. The social network forum has already inked deals with Google and OpenAI, allowing them to scrape the site's content for AI training legally. Reddit Seeks Mutual Agreements With Tech Companies for Data Scraping Last June, the company announced that its Robots Exclusion Protocol would be implemented in the following month. The robots.txt prevents bots from other tech companies from scraping data from its site to train AI models. Huffman is keen on securing agreements with companies before allowing them to continue scraping content from Reddit. He disclosed that Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity have been refusing to negotiate. "Without these agreements, we don't have any say or knowledge of how our data is displayed and what it's used for, which has put us in a position now of blocking folks who haven't been willing to come to terms with how we'd like our data to be used or not used," he said in an interview. Reddit Actively Blocks Data Scrapers Without Agreements Last week, search engine users experienced a decreased appearance of recent Reddit discussions on non-Google search results. The blocking of results is part of the company's strategy to prohibit non-consented crawling of the website. Search engines like Bing, Mojeek, and DuckDuckGo no longer show results from the site's recent discussions. Other search engines have also started to experience limited results outside Google's engine. The company is actively blocking commercial entities from scraping Reddit. The Robots Exclusion Protocol aims to stop others from benefiting from the site's content for any use case that they want. Reddit sealed an annual $60 million agreement with Google, allowing the company to take advantage of its content. The Generative AI market is estimated to reach $0.64 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 46.32% between 2024 and 2030, leading to a market volume of approximately $6.28 billion by the year 2030 as per industry reports. The reports also suggest that Generative AI has the potential to boost the GDP of India by $359-$438 billion by 2030. Generative AI or Gen AI provides several advantages for marketers, by way of automation of the marketing communication process and in saving time, resources, and capital for strategic thinking and brainstorming. It helps in generating targeted and personalized ads, by identifying the appropriate customer segments and developing engaging, interactive content tailored to their tastes and preferences. The processes such as gathering insights for marketing campaigns, content design, execution, targeting, etc., that used to take much time, can now be done in less amount of time. Moreover, Generative AI gathers data and research about the target consumer personas and their preferences at a rapid pace, aiding marketers in gathering and analysis of data, enabling automated testing and hyper-personalisation. Even if Gen AI is not integrated entirely into the marketing communication process, it can be a great tool for marketers to get new ideas in less time and deal with tight deadlines. According to a McKinsey report, Gen AI could contribute up to $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity. In the marketing sector alone, the productivity gains could increase marketing spend efficiency by 5-15 per cent, translating to approximately $463 billion annually. Gen AI also helps employees to invest their time and energy towards more complex tasks, by the way of automation of manual ones and others such as drafting emails for email marketing campaigns, generating imagery, videos, etc. It further helps to offer product recommendations and to decipher customer feedback, resulting in reaching the right product and service to the right consumer. It assists in exploring opportunities for product innovation, however comes with risks of adherence to data privacy, copyright violation, and generation of unverifiable facts. However, Gen AI is not without its downsides. According to digital marketing experts in the US, one of the biggest risks of utilizing Gen AI in marketing are legal and ethical concerns as per a report by NP Digital, along with serving wrong information, mechanical or similar content with a lack of human creativity and SEO. A Forbes report suggests relying too much on AI for generating content can lead to the loss of the brands voice and its authenticity factor. It can also lead to communicating messaging that is in non-alignment with the values of the brand, requiring accurate quality control measures. In this two-part series, Adgully seeks to understand the pros and cons of utilizing Gen AI in marketing, how it is helping to create targeted and personalized ads, the cost factors involved in utilizing Gen AI in marketing, how it is enhancing marketing efforts and impact and the various ways in which Gen AI is helping marketers, as well as the Dos and Donts of using Gen AI in marketing. Weighing in the Pros and Cons Speaking about the pros and cons of utilizing Gen AI in marketing and how Gen AI is helping in the creation of targeted and personalized ads, Swati Nathani, Co-Founder, Team Pumpkin, said, Gen AI is a game-changer for marketing. Its like having a super-smart assistant that knows your customers inside and out. It can identify specific customer segments, predict preferences, and generate tailored ad copy and visuals. This level of customization leads to higher engagement, click-through rates, and conversions. But, like any powerful tool, it comes with risks. Privacy concerns, ethical questions about biases, and the potential to spread misinformation are real challenges that need careful handling. Valay Lakdawala, Co-Founder & Director - Client Relations, Neoniche, commented, Imagine every marketers dream: reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time and place. This is what Generative AI has in store for marketers. It brings us closer to achieving hyper-personalization at scale, making marketing more efficient and effective. Gen AI offers numerous advantages, such as enabling hyper-personalization, improving efficiency, and providing deeper customer insights, which collectively enhance the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Hyper-personalization: Delivers highly relevant content tailored to individual preferences, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. Delivers highly relevant content tailored to individual preferences, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. Efficiency: Automates content creation and testing, reducing time and effort. Automates content creation and testing, reducing time and effort. Scalability: Generates content at scale, ensuring consistent messaging across multiple platforms. Generates content at scale, ensuring consistent messaging across multiple platforms. Customer Insights: Analyzes vast amounts of data, providing deeper insights into customer behavior and trends. Analyzes vast amounts of data, providing deeper insights into customer behavior and trends. Innovation: Helps marketers identify new opportunities and innovate faster, staying ahead of the competition. Commenting on the cons of utilizing Gen AI in marketing, Lakdawala said, However, challenges include a reliance on high-quality data, privacy concerns, high initial costs, and the potential risk of inaccuracies and over-reliance on AI, which can stifle human creativity. Data Dependency: Requires high-quality data to produce accurate results; poor data quality can lead to ineffective strategies. Requires high-quality data to produce accurate results; poor data quality can lead to ineffective strategies. Privacy Concerns: Extensive use of customer data raises privacy issues, necessitating robust data protection measures. Extensive use of customer data raises privacy issues, necessitating robust data protection measures. Initial Costs: High setup costs for AI tools and skilled personnel. High setup costs for AI tools and skilled personnel. Risk of Inaccuracies: Can produce plausible but factually incorrect outputs, requiring human oversight. Can produce plausible but factually incorrect outputs, requiring human oversight. Over-reliance: Risk of stifling human creativity and intuition due to dependence on AI. Speaking on how marketing can effectively use Gen AI, Ambika Sharma, Founder & Chief Strategist, Pulp Strategy, said, Generative AI is adding advantage to the marketing landscape by enhancing personalization, efficiency, and data-driven insights. This is not to say it replaces a good marketer, but it has its advantages in time saved in repetitive tasks. On the positive side, it enables the creation of highly personalized ads by analyzing vast amounts of data, ensuring that the content resonates with individual consumers, thereby boosting engagement and conversion rates. It also reduces the time used in content creation, allowing marketers to produce larger volumes of tailored content swiftly and efficiently. Gen AI offers deep insights into consumer behaviour and preferences, informing more strategic marketing decisions. On the flip side, poor use of the tech is the bigger fear, garbage in garbage out, it cannot solve poor input or incorrect use. There are also the high initial costs associated with implementing Gen AI, including investments in infrastructure, and software, and the largest cost which is training, can be a significant drawback. There are privacy concerns, as the use of consumer data for personalization must be carefully managed to avoid breaches. There is the matter of balance: while AI-generated content is highly efficient, it lacks the creative nuance and emotional depth that human marketers bring to campaigns, so using it in a balanced form, keeping the creativity for creative humans is my current recommended best practice. Neena Dasgupta, CEO & Founder, The Salt Inc, added here, Generative AI is progressively reshaping the marketing landscape, it has significantly maximized what marketing can achieve. If properly utilized, it can help marketers accelerate content creation, enhance data analysis, and enable hyper-personalization. However, like all new technology learning curves, proper deployment of Generative AI requires extensive research, experimentation, and talent training. Accelerating this learning curve and consistently managing human oversight across the process are the two main barriers that marketers need to tackle to leverage Gen AI. Crafting highly personalized experiences for each customer is a key application of AI in marketing. Generative AIs quick data analysis capabilities enable predictive modelling to understand and anticipate consumer behaviours and interactions, this segmented identification tooled with real-time content generation empowers marketers to deliver highly targeted and personalized ads. Upasna Dash, Founder & CEO, Jajabor Brand Consultancy, noted, AI and Gen AI have rewired the way brands interact with consumers. While these advancements have streamlined many processes and SOPs, the essence of strategizing and choosing the right fit and narrative for the brand still lies with the brand custodians. Gen AI serves as a supplementary aide in this context, assisting rather than replacing human decision-making. On the positive side, Gen AI excels in personalizing data, enhancing efficiency by automating tasks, and processing vast datasets to identify patterns and extract actionable insights. However, there are significant data privacy concerns, integration challenges that require careful planning and technical expertise, and high implementation costs, which can be a barrier for smaller businesses. Dash further said, In creating targeted and personalized ads, Gen AI is transformative. It identifies specific patterns and information through vast databases, analyzing data to uncover trends and valuable insights. This enables marketers to segment their audience effectively, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions. AI tools also automate tasks like content creation and campaign optimization. With continuous learning capabilities, AI algorithms improve over time, fine-tuning their predictions and recommendations to deliver better outcomes. While challenges exist, the benefits of Gen AI in marketing are profound, offering a competitive edge in creating ads that resonate with audiences. Manjul Wadhwa, Founder and CEO, Anagram Media, said, Understanding how Gen AI personalizes marketing is easy. Think of it as hiring this amazing intern. But not your average intern this one is a super-smart, all-rounder who can handle anything from research and planning to executing complex marketing strategies working tirelessly and can process mountains of data in seconds. So, imagine you have a campaign to run. You need detailed market research, audience segmentation, personalized ad copies, and more to make it successful. You dont have to do it all yourself, Gen AI steps in here. It analyzes customer data like a pro, identifies key trends, and helps you craft messages that speak directly to individual customers. Its like having an intern who remembers every little detail about each customer and knows exactly what they want to hear. One of the biggest perks is the efficiency. Tasks that used to take days or even weeks can now be done in a flash. Plus, Gen AI is cost-effective. By automating repetitive tasks, it frees up your human team to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of your campaigns. However, you need to watch out for a few things. Despite its capabilities, Gen AI can sometimes miss that subtle human emotion and empathy that make marketing truly personal. Gen AI follows instructions perfectly but cant always gauge the nuances and emotional depth behind them. Thats why you must oversee it to ensure the messages remain genuine and relatable. According to Ritesh Saraf, Co-Founder & CEO, Promilo, following are the pros and cons of Gen AI in marketing: Pros: Gen AI enhances marketing by creating personalized ads based on user data such as browsing history, preferences, and demographics. This personalization increases engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, Gen AI automates content creation, campaign management, and data analysis, streamlining processes and reducing costs. The technology also provides valuable insights by analyzing large datasets, helping marketers understand customer behaviour and optimize strategies. Cons: However, the use of Gen AI in marketing presents challenges. Privacy concerns arise from the collection and use of sensitive user data. The effectiveness of AI models heavily depends on the quality and accuracy of this data, which can be a limiting factor. Moreover, the initial implementation of Gen AI systems can be costly, requiring investment in technology, training, and integration. He further added, Gen AI helps create targeted ads by analyzing data to predict user preferences and behaviours. It tailors content to individual interests, making ads more relevant and engaging. This leads to higher click-through and conversion rates, improving overall marketing effectiveness. However, maintaining data privacy and ethical use remains crucial to sustaining consumer trust. Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions, pointed out, Gen AI leverages vast datasets to craft highly personalized ads, improving customer engagement and conversion rates. AI analyzes user behaviour, preferences, and purchase history to tailor content to individual needs. Automating repetitive tasks like data analysis, content creation, and customer segmentation saves time and resources, allowing marketers to focus on strategy and creativity. AI provides actionable insights by identifying trends and patterns in customer data, enabling more informed marketing decisions and better targeting. AI systems can handle large volumes of data and execute campaigns across multiple channels simultaneously, ensuring consistent messaging and broad reach. Pointing out the cons, Hamidani said, The extensive use of personal data raises privacy issues. Ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR and gaining user trust can be challenging. Integrating AI technologies requires significant investment in infrastructure, software, and talent, which may be prohibitive for smaller businesses. The effectiveness of AI-driven marketing heavily relies on the quality of data. Inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to poor targeting and ineffective campaigns. The use of AI can raise ethical concerns, such as biased algorithms and the potential for manipulation through hyper-targeted ads. Gen AI helps create targeted and personalized ads by analyzing vast amounts of data to identify individual preferences and behaviors. It uses machine learning algorithms to segment audiences and predict future actions, allowing marketers to deliver relevant content at the right time. For example, AI can recommend products based on previous purchases or browsing history, ensuring that ads resonate with the user's interests. This level of personalization increases engagement, drives conversions, and enhances the overall customer experience. Discussing the pros and cons of utilizing Gen AI in marketing, Joydeep Sen. Thinking Director, Speaking Mirror, said, Generative AI offers significant advantages in marketing by enabling the creation of highly targeted and personalized advertisements. Its ability to analyze large datasets and learn consumer preferences allows marketers to craft content that resonates with specific audience segments, enhancing engagement and conversion rates. For example, AI can generate personalized email campaigns, recommend products based on browsing history, and tailor advertisements to match individual consumer interests. However, while the benefits are substantial, there are also challenges to consider. A primary concern is the risk of data privacy breaches, as AI systems require access to vast amounts of consumer data. Additionally, the reliance on AI-generated content could lead to a lack of human creativity and authenticity in marketing campaigns, potentially alienating some customers. Balancing the efficiency of AI with the need for genuine, human-driven interaction is crucial for maximizing its effectiveness in marketing. AI is poised to revolutionize traditional teaching methods by serving as a powerful tool to enhance both instruction and learning experiences. With advanced data analytics, AI can conduct real-time assessments, providing insights into student engagement, which will further guide teaching methods. By analyzing the time spent on specific topics, AI can predict students comprehension levels, enabling teachers to modify approaches for key areas where students may need additional support or enrichment. Another positive impact on student learning could be in the form of sentiment analysis. Such an analysis will help educators monitor student emotions and stress levels, allowing them to adjust the curriculum to optimize content delivery and pace, remarked Prashant Bhonsle, Founder of Kuhoo of Edtech. Shivani Kamdar, Associate Creative Director, SoCheers opined: "The first pro is definitely the faster turnaround time in terms of conceptualisation and production. With the data that it shares, your ad creative can be based on targeted messaging thus making them a more personalised and effective piece of communication. Gen AI can generate new ideas and approaches, inspiring marketers to think outside the box and also prove to be a time efficient tool. The cons or the risks if we have to evaluate - first would be and its a no brainer - the lack of emotional connect! Thank God and technology for this, we wont be replaceable with AIs for the sheer lack of emotional resonance. The other problem that I see is that with everyone using the tool, somewhere storytelling might get templatised and well experience a fatigue period, unless there are any upgrades." Delphin Varghese, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, AdCounty Media commented: "Cutting-edge innovations within the realm of generative AI have had a transformative impact on marketing. From augmenting automation to powering hyper-personalization, generative AI has been an indispensable part of every marketers toolkit. Generative AI makes scalable content creation seamless and less time-consuming. Besides, it also offers insights into consumer behaviour and trends that help marketers craft tailored ad campaigns and make data-driven decisions. Personalisation fosters improved customer experience that boosts brand loyalty and customer retention.On the downside, Generative AI can pose data privacy and security risks. Besides, AI might often fail to understand the nuances of human creativity and seem repetitive or incoherent in terms of quality of the output." (Tomorrow: Part 2 of the report will dwell on the cost factor involved in using Gen AI for marketing, how Gen AI is helping marketers, the Dos and Donts manual for marketers, and more.) Kia India, a leading premium carmaker, today announced the appointment of Mr. Joonsu Cho as the Chief Sales Officer. Mr. Cho was elevated to the CSO role from being the company's Regional Manager (Eastern Region) for the company. In his new role, Mr. Joonsu Cho will be responsible for driving the company's sales initiatives, enhancing operational efficiencies, and steering its long-term growth plans. Mr. Joonsu Cho brings 32 years of experience in the automotive industry. He has held leadership positions globally, including Kia headquarters in Australia, the UK, and Europe. Before his tenure in India, he held the role of CEO to Kia Australia, playing a pivotal role in driving the company's growth and success in the country. Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Joonsu Cho, Chief Sales Officer, Kia India, said, I am excited to step into the role of Chief Sales Officer at Kia India. Our commitment to delivering innovative products and fostering sustainable growth is stronger than ever. As we expand our product line, I will focus on enhancing our sales strategies, strengthening our dealer network, and ensuring we continue delivering innovative products that resonate with Indian consumers. Together, we will drive forward and continue shaping a bright future for our company and customers. Kia India continues to strengthen its leadership team, reaffirming its commitment to delivering cutting-edge products and sustainable solutions to its customers. Landor announces the promotion of Lulu Raghavan to the role of President, APAC. Lulu has been with Landor for 23 years and brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the branding industry. Throughout her tenure, she has held various roles across several geographies (San Francisco, New York,London and Mumbai). She will remain based in Mumbai and report to Christian Schroeder, Global President of Landor. Lulu Raghavan said: "I am honoured to take on the role of President for the APAC region. This is an exciting time for Landor, and I am eager to build on our strong foundation and continue to drive innovation and growth. I look forward to working closely with our talented teams across APAC to deliver exceptional value to our clients." Christian Schroeder, said; "We are very excited to see Lulu step into the APAC President role. Her extensive experience, dedication, and innovative approach make her the perfect fit to lead the region. I am personally delighted for Lulu, and confident that she will continue to drive growth and excellence across our APAC offices." Meta Platforms has reported total revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, an increase of 22% year-over-year. Revenue on a constant currency basis would have increased 23% year-over-year. Ad impressions delivered across Metas family of apps increased by 10% year-over-year. Average price per ad increased by 10% year-over-year. Family daily active people (DAP) was 3.27 billion on average for June 2024, an increase of 7% year-over-year. Commenting on the Q2 performance, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO, said, We had a strong quarter, and Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year. Weve released the first frontier-level open source AI model, we continue to see good traction with our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, and we're driving good growth across our apps. CFO Outlook Commentary Meta expects third quarter 2024 total revenue to be in the range of $38.5-41 billion. The companys guidance assumes foreign currency is a 2% headwind to year-over-year total revenue growth, based on current exchange rates. Meta expects full-year 2024 total expenses to be in the range of $96-99 billion, unchanged from its prior outlook. For Reality Labs, Meta continues to expect 2024 operating losses to increase meaningfully year-over-year due to its ongoing product development efforts and investments to further scale its ecosystem. In addition, Meta will continue to monitor an active regulatory landscape, including the increasing legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the US that could significantly impact its business and financial results. In a pivotal move towards empowering women entrepreneurs and spurring economic growth, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is excited to unveil the Women Entrepreneurship Program. This initiative, aims to tackle the challenges faced by women in entrepreneurship by offering crucial skills, knowledge, and networking opportunities. The program has been launched with the introduction of complimentary self-learning basic entrepreneurship courses available in multiple languages on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). Upon completion of these courses, participants will receive a co-branded certificate from NSDC, Britannia Industries and National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), acknowledging their entrepreneurial skills and competencies. This initiative aims to empower approximately 25 lakh women across India, providing them with the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to start and grow successful businesses. The initiative will culminate in a grand finale where the top 50 contestants will present their business ideas to a distinguished jury. To further encourage innovation and excellence, Britannia Industries will award financial grants of 10 lakh rupees each to 10 of the most successful contestants. At the launch of this program, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, GOI said, It is our privilege that Britannia has partnered with us, focusing on women entrepreneurship. We have achieved significant progress in entrepreneurship through NIESBUD and special programs with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development and other ministries. We are also collaborating closely with other corporates and government departments, to provide skill training to women's self-help groups, whether individually or collectively, and to help organize them into various business entities. In the skilling segment, under Jan Shikshan Sansthan, 82% of our trainees are women. In the PMKVY short-term training program, close to 45% of the participants are women. Echoing this sentiment, Shri Ved Mani Tiwari, COO (Officiating CEO), NSDC & MD, NSDC International stated, Today, this program is about women-led entrepreneurship and aligns with the Prime Ministers vision for women development. One of the most important component of this is that private and public sector organisation are going together telling women to have entrepreneurial ambitions. From Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to Lakhpati Didi, India has travelled a lot of distance when it comes to women development. Speaking about Britannias motivation to join forces with NSDC, Shri Rajneet Singh Kohli, CEO and Executive Director, Britannia Industries, said Britannia Marie Golds vision is to help women entrepreneurs to soar together to do more. Our MoU with the National Skill Development Corporation is a game-changer for women's empowerment in India. By providing free courses and advanced training to millions of aspiring women entrepreneurs, we are not just opening doors but breaking down barriers. This partnership amplifies our commitment to creating a nurturing ecosystem where women can lead, innovate, and drive our economy forward. Together, we are empowering women to reach their full potential. The Indian government is dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs through opportunities for essential skills development, access to free self-learning courses, and comprehensive incubation support. This program is designed to address the distinct challenges that women face when starting and growing businesses. In partnership with Britannia Industries Limited, the initiative will also offer financial grants and feature their products and services on the Skill India Digital Hub, reflecting a strong commitment to fostering an inclusive environment for women entrepreneurs. Aligning with the governments commitment to fostering women's entrepreneurship, this program will be implemented in multiple phases to ensure comprehensive support and maximum impact. Divided into two phases, NSDC, with support from the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), will offer free online self-learning entrepreneurship courses through the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). These courses, available in multiple languages, will cover crucial topics such as entrepreneurial skills, enterprise setup, finance basics, digital skills, and market analysis. In the next phase, NSDC extends robust incubation support to 10,000 shortlisted contestants across 100 business models. This support encompasses business model selection, entrepreneurship development programs, industrial workshops, business registration assistance, project report preparation, and guidance on funding through various government entrepreneurship and startup schemes. Additionally, participants products and services will be highlighted on SIDHs e-commerce platform, UdhyamKart and Britannias digital ecosystem for women entrepreneurship. NSDC will conduct periodic impact assessments to evaluate the success and sustainability of the supported businesses, ensuring the programs long-term effectiveness. This initiative marks a significant effort to broaden the reach and visibility of women-led enterprises, creating a supportive ecosystem that empowers women entrepreneurs to realize their full potential. The partnership between NSDC and Britannia highlights a shared commitment to cultivating an environment where women entrepreneurs can flourish and significantly contribute to Indias economic advancement. Authored by Kumar Saurav, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, AdCounty Media India has witnessed an upward trend when it comes to smartphone adoption and it can be hailed as the cornerstone of Indias advertising landscape. Seamless internet connectivity alongside the availability of affordable and feature-packed smartphones have propelled the industry to unimaginable heights. This has been the driving force behind brands utilising mobile advertising to tap into a heterogenous user base in a country populated by 141.72 crores people. India ranks 2nd after China in terms of smartphone users (659 million, as of 2024). Businesses can make the most of this ecosystem of mobile advertising to connect with potential customers in innovative and impactful ways. Mobile advertisers can leverage this humongous user base to craft targeted ad campaigns which would consequently boost the overall engagement and conversion rates. A Dentsu report suggests that the digital advertising industry is projected to surpass the Rs 62,000 crore mark, by 2025, with mobile advertising claiming a significant share in the ever-changing digital advertising terrain. Around 73% of the Indian advertising revenue is expected to come from mobile advertising by 2027 (IBEF report). Social media has become an indispensable part of humans with an increasing number of people glued to their screens 24*7.A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) suggests that roughly 84% of Indians check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. An App Annie report suggests that Indian users spend approximately 4.6 hours everyday on their mobile phones, making it a lucrative opportunity to tap into a vast user base. Advertisers can capitalise on this trend to reach out to their audiences through the device they are most active on to drive user engagement. With approximately 462 million social media users (as of January 2024), applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can serve as fertile grounds for building stronger connections with consumers. From enabling hyper-personalisation to providing sophisticated targeting options, these platforms help brands to establish real-time connections with their audiences and boost brand visibility. There has been an unprecedented rise in video content in the mobile marketing realm in recent years. The major reason behind is the undeniable power of videos to capture attention and drive engagement. A Google study reveals that mobile video ads have the highest click-through rates in contrast to other ad formats.Video ads have the ability to evoke emotions unlike static image or text-based ads. According to SocialPilot video will constitute 82% of the total internet traffic. The video ad spending is projected to cross $450 billion by 2025. Brands can use platforms like YouTube, Instagram, etc. to showcase their products and services by creating visually appealing bite-sized videos that are easy to comprehend and engage with. Content consumption habits have undergone a massive change since the proliferation of smartphones. Apart from being immensely engaging, video ads help brands connect with their audience at an emotional level through story-telling. Programmatic video ads and personalised video content offer a more personalised experience and interactive elements incorporated within them foster better engagement rates. The importance of mobile marketing is also underscored by the e-commerce boom and the rise of online shopping. E-commerce giants heavily invest in mobile advertising to peak interest of consumers, and to acquire and retain them. Technological innovations like AI and ML, will unlock greater opportunities within the mobile advertising environment. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and Adgully.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. WPPs Leading marketing transformation company VML India today launches a report titled Employee Experience (EX) and why it matters. Findings from the report show that improving EX can influence organisational credibility, perception management and ultimately, Customer Experience (CX) and revenue. Organisations need to understand what matters to the employees and provide them with the right environment, people, resources and ways of working. An optimal EX is an intricate symphony of integrating functional operations, culture and human elements to significantly enhance brand performance. The report reveals that a superior EX is associated with a 27% increase in revenue from new products. Furthermore, employees with a positive experience are 1.5 times more likely to find satisfaction in customer interactions. According to the report, Employee Experience (EX) has moved from a series of isolated projects into a dynamic, continuously evolving process, influenced by industry and cultural factors. EX programs are distinctly different from traditional HR initiatives: they are organic and driven by Employee Data Experience (EDX), focused on addressing the organisation's unmet needs, and require strong leadership backing. Additionally, EX programs are measurable and must be designed with clear metrics in mind. VML's approach to EX represents a connected, system-based strategy that integrates various aspects of employee experience and their impact on organizational performance. The agency believes that EX Transformation is movement of shared goals which cannot be achieved top-down. To create a movement, an organisation needs to stir emotions, incite action, provide pathways, and rally employees, with quick wins, to achieve a shared business goal. Babita Baruah, CEO - VML India said, " We believe that unlocking the potential of the employee experience is an important part of customizing brand experiences. Our research demonstrates factors that derive from brand loyalty, such as service quality, quality of deals, quality of inventory, and personalized experience, are directly influenced by employee experience. Improving EX requires organizations to have a clear strategy tailored to their unique challenges, supported by continuous listening and improvement." Payal Vaidya, Chief Experience Officer, VML India said, EX has evolved into a dynamic, ever-changing process unique to each department. Identifying the right mindset helps align thoughts that influence how clients perceive their path to success. By integrating EX, employees can identify the resources needed to excel in their specific roles with the organization. The VML EX Approach begins with a clear strategy designed to solve problems unique to every organization, paving the way for continuous execution and success. VML's EX transformation focuses on fostering a mindset of success by identifying key areas and drivers of change. It's crucial to understand that employees will embrace their mindset and practices towards BAU only if they see a point in the change and agree with it. Also read: Saurabh Saksena launches Next Wave Worldwide after departing VML India A pair of young creatives based in India is among the select group of winners from 11 countries in the 2024 Ascenders competition from the Type Directors Club, the worlds leading typography organization. Winners for 2024 based in India are Namrata Goyal, a type designer in Alwar, and Maithili Shingre, a type designer at Ek Type Mumbai. Ascenders, which celebrates typographers, lettering artists, and type designers ages 35 and under, is the worlds premier portfolio-based competition dedicated to type in all its versatile forms, and the inspiring designers individuals or duos who are elevating the medium. This years Ascenders, selected by an esteemed jury of typography and type design professionals, join prominent past winners, including Au Chon Hin (2022), Kevin Cantrell (2018), Roxane Gataud (2022), Gemma OBrien (2022), Juan Carlos Pagan (2018), Tre Seals (2018), and others. TDC, part of The One Club for Creativity, will host a reception for the 2024 Ascenders and scholarship winners on August 14, 2024, at the clubs gallery space in New York. Wavemaker India, the most awarded agency of GroupM, has recently bagged the integrated media mandate for Taco Bell, the well-known American fast-food chain that offers Mexican-inspired cuisine. The account will be handled out of Wavemakers Delhi Office. Wavemaker India will be responsible for developing and executing innovative media strategies across various online and offline channels. The partnership will focus on bolstering Taco Bell's brand visibility, and establishing the brand as a leading player in the rapidly growing Indian fast-food landscape. Speaking about the partnership, Kunal Malhotra, Chief Marketing Officer Taco Bell said, We are delighted to partner with some of the best minds at Wavemaker as we set out to build Taco Bell as one the most loved QSR brands in India. We are sure that with the media prowess at Wavemaker, we will together establish Taco Bell as food which the new generation of Indian consumers love, by giving them a Loaded with More experience - with Taco Bell Food as well as our communication. Taco Bell in partnership with Wavemaker, recently launched its latest large scale campaign Loaded with more, showcasing the brand's commitment to delivering crave-worthy, Mexican-inspired cuisine. Orchestrated by Wavemaker and brought to life by the creative powerhouses Media.Monks and Creativeland Productions, the campaign encourages consumers to explore new offerings like the Loaded with More Crispy Chalupa Taco or the 7 Layer Burrito. The revamped Taco Bell menu promises an enhanced dining experience with more taste, flavors, fillings, portion sizes, and variety, all while offering exceptional value to customers. Commenting on this partnership, Ajay Gupte, CEO South Asia, Wavemaker, We are excited to welcome a dynamic brand like Taco Bell to our family. We are thrilled to explore new opportunities and build innovative strategies that resonate with Taco Bell's unique vision. By fusing our expertise with their bold spirit, we're confident of creating something truly exceptional. Shekhar Banerjee, Chief Client Officer and Office Head for West, North & East, Wavemaker India stated, Taco Bell isnt just about food; its about creating memorable, engaging experiences. Winning this mandate is a call to unleash unparalleled creativity and collaboration that Wavemaker is known for. Our debut large-scale campaign, Loaded with More, exemplifies this vision. Our media strategy for this dynamic brand was focused on maximizing mental availability in a high cluttered category and sparking conversation and 'wow' factor that truly resonates with consumers. We will continue to harness diverse channels, our exclusive partnerships and platforms for Taco Bell. Taco Bell is a global leader in Mexican inspired Cuisine. Started in 1962, the brand has over 7000 restaurants across multiple countries globally. In India, Taco Bell has a strong presence of 130+ restaurants across 30+ cities. Meta has agreed to pay a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas to clear its privacy lawsuit over allegations of using facial recognition data of users without consent. The company faced the same allegations and settled it with a $650 million agreement last 2021 as Facebook in Illinois. Read Also : Meta Oversight Board Recommends Update on Deepfake Policies Meta Resolves Biometric Lawsuit With Texas In a statement, Meta shared that the situation is now resolved. The company also stated that it is looking forward to creating opportunities, especially the potential of developing data centers in the state. "This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world's biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' privacy rights," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit, filed in 2022, argued that Meta has violated the state law that prohibits companies from collecting and selling biometric information, such as face and fingerprint, without any permission. Meta Experiences Increased Expenses With Settlements According to a Chicago-based class action attorney Jay Edelson, Meta has already paid more than $2 billion to settle lawsuits against its biometric privacy violations. In 2021, Facebook decided to delete and remove its facial recognition procedure. More than a third of Facebook's daily active users had chosen to use the facial recognition feature to log in to their accounts. The social media platform also stopped the automatic facial tagging and left the choice to its users. "That is a huge signal to other companies that they should be extremely careful if they want to trade in individuals' biometric information," Edelson added. The $2 billion cost of settlement is only a small portion of Meta's overall revenue which totaled $36.46 billion for the first three months of 2024. Image: Reuters Hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday said that his nation has delivered crushing blows to enemies in the last few days, CNN reported. Netanyahu, during the address to the nation, however, didnt claim Israels responsibility for Haniyehs killing. Notably, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyehs assassination. Three weeks ago, we attacked the military chief of Hamas, Mohammad Deif. Two weeks ago we attacked the Houthis, in one of the farthest attacks the Air Force has carried out. Yesterday we attacked the military chief of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, the Israeli PM said. Netanyahu said Israel is facing challenging days and it will settle score with anyone who harms the country. These are challenging days. There are threats From Beirut. We are ready for any scenario. We are prepared, CNN quoted him as saying. Well settle the score with anyone who harms us, anyone who massacres our children, anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who hurts our nation, blood is on his head, Netanyahu added. He further affirmed that Israel will keep fighting until the aims of the war are achieved. Netanyahu referenced previous calls he has received to end the war in Gaza, saying, I did not give in then and I am not giving in today. Reacting to Haniyehs death, the White House said it cant confirm or verify reports from Hamas that the groups political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, however, acknowledged that the deaths of Haniyeh in Tehran and Fuad Shukr in southern Beirut Tuesday certainly dont help with the temperature going down. Im not going to be Pollyannish about it were obviously concerned about escalation, Kirby told reporters during Wednesdays White House press briefing. All of this adds to the complicated nature of what were trying to get done. In another development, Hezbollah confirmed the death of senior commander Fuad Shukr on Wednesday, as reported by CNN. We celebrate the great jihadist leader, dear beloved brother Fuad Shukr (Moshin), as a great martyr on the path to Jerusalem, Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday. Israel said on Tuesday itself, that its strike in Beirut killed Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly Saturday attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 children. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas announced a national day of mourning Wednesday over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as he condemned the killing as a cowardly act and dangerous development., the Times of Israel reported. Palestinian flags were flown at half-staff for the day, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported, as Palestinian factions announced a general strike and called for demonstrations in the West Bank. Notably, the mourning for the leader of the terror group marked a rare moment of Palestinian unity amid fragmentation and uncertainty about Gazas future leadership after the war. SC Refuses to Stay Patna HC Decision Striking Down Hike in Quota in Bihar 2 The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Patna High Courts decision striking down the law introduced to enhance reservation from 50 per cent to 65 per cent for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Bihar. Refusing to pass any interim relief, a Bench presided over by CJI Chandrachud agreed to examine the state governments plea seeking restoration of the quota hike, which was applicable in jobs and educational institutions in Bihar. The matter is listed for final hearing in September, 2024. In a major blow to the state government, the Patna High Court, in its June 20 judgment, nullified amendments passed by the Bihar Assembly in 2023, saying that they violated the equality clause under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution. The quota was raised by the Bihar government after it carried out a caste survey in the state. In a notification issued in November 2023, it sought to amend the existing reservation laws. Several petitions were filed in the Patna High Court challenging the decision of the Nitish Kumar government. The pleas contended that as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court judgments, reservation cant extend beyond 50 per cent. The impugned law would have brought the quota to a total of 75 per cent in the state, which included 20 per cent for SCs, 2 per cent for STs, 25 per cent for Extremely Backward Classes, 18 per cent for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 10 per cent for Economically Backward Classes. Wayanad Landslides: Over 200 Deaths, Bodies Being Recovered, Says NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi 2 Over 200 deaths have been reported and bodies are being recovered in the aftermath of massive landslides that struck Wayanad, Kerala, early Thursday. DIG Mohsen Shahidi stated that numerous central force teams are on the ground to aid in the rescue operations. The landslides in Mundakkai and Churalmala have led to extensive destruction and injury to hundreds, as confirmed by the Kerala Revenue Department. Rescue teams, including the Indian Army and NDRF, are working tirelessly to recover bodies and provide aid. More than 150 people were rescued on the first day, and the efforts continue. Keralas Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a meeting to discuss the ongoing rescue operations and assured swift rehabilitation for the affected. Rescue efforts are further supported by assistant collectors from neighboring districts. The Chief Minister plans to visit the affected areas later today. U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) unveiled two bills Wednesday that aim to help families, workers and businesses amid the growing child care crisis. The legislative proposals hope to make child care more affordable and accessible for families, provide financial bonuses for child care workers and incentivize businesses to offer child care. The bills would expand parents tax credits and increase resources for local businesses. My husband, Wesley and I had our own challenges as we went through the journey as new parents, Britt said Wednesday. By addressing affordability and accessibility, our legislation will save hard working parents money. More than half of all American families live in child care deserts, according to the Center of American Progress. In 2022, almost 85,000 Alabama families needed access to child care but had no affordable, quality options in their communities, according to the Womens Foundation of Alabama. Over the last three decades, the cost of child care has increased by 220%, forcing families to make impossible choices between work, bills and child care. In Alabama, mothers have reported having to file for bankruptcy or having to choose between buying household essentials like toilet paper or paying for child care. Those choices cost the countrys economy, to the tune of $122 billion in economic losses each year, according to a 2023 Council for a Strong America report. When the cost of child care is that high, parents face the question of whether or not its financially rational to return to work, and for many its not even a question. Its unaffordable, and it leaves them with no realistic option, Britt said. On top of that, child care workers are struggling to make ends meet, with some opting to leave the industry for better wages, and child care providers are struggling to simply stay afloat. Britt said this new legislation will provide relief for all parties. In a news release, Kaine added that he was proud to work on the issue. Britt said she believes the legislation is realistic and has a chance of passage. The legislation would increase the size of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (not to be confused with the existing Child Tax Credit) and make it refundable, allowing lower income working families with out-of-pocket child care expenses to benefit from the credit for the first time. The proposal expands the maximum tax credit to $2,500 for families with one child and $4,000 for families with two or more children. The proposal also would strengthen the Dependent Care Assistance Program by allowing families to deduct 50% more in expenses, up to $7,500. Britts plan could also bolster the Employer-Provided Child Care Tax Credit to encourage businesses to provide child care to their employees by increasing the maximum credit from $150,000 to $500,000 and the percentage of expenses covered from 25% to 50%. The legislation also includes a larger incentive for small businesses, a maximum credit of $600,000, and allows for joint applications for groups of small businesses who want to pool resources. Our state is made up of main streets full of small businesses that give character to each and every community. We want those small businesses to thrivewe think that this will be a game changer for so many of them, Britt said. For child care workers, the Child Care Workforce Act will establish a competitive grant program for states, localities, tribes and tribal organizations that are interested in adopting or expanding pay supplement programs for child care workers to reduce turnover. This story has been updated. This is another installment in Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series Beyond the Violence. Sign up for the newsletter here. Jerica Magee, 29, a single mother of five, got help paying her rent one month last spring. The reason? Her three oldest children logged perfect attendance at Oxmoor Valley Elementary School. I wasnt working at the time and was asking my family to help me. It was a struggle to get the money that I needed to pay my rent with my childrens needs, and household needs and bills, Magee said. So this was a big blessing to me because I was struggling and I was in need. Birmingham, which recently has seen high rates of absenteeism in the city school district, started a program in January to encourage more families in public housing to get children into classrooms. Each month, students with perfect attendance are entered into a monthly Every Day Counts drawing where one qualified household is chosen from each of the housing authoritys 13 eligible properties. The awards, $300 toward the households rent, are sponsored by community partners and coordinated by the City of Birmingham, Birmingham City Schools and the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District. Officials say the program is improving school attendance. And with the districts first day of school quickly approaching on Aug. 5, theyre going to keep drawing names through the 2024-25 school year. Magee said that with the money she saved on rent, she bought diapers and household products for her children, ages one, two, six, eight and 10. She said she always made sure they got to school on time every day, so she was happy for the additional reward. Its definitely important to get your kids to school on time and make sure that they go to school every day because education is just so important, Magee said. I definitely believe that children being in school keeps them out of trouble. Birmingham City Schools faces a high rate of chronic absenteeism; last year, local officials sounded alarms about the amount of students missing school. About 23% of local students were chronically absent in 2022-23, higher than the statewide rate of 18%, according to the most recent information available. Many districts have seen increasing rates of absenteeism since the pandemic. Regular school attendance of school-aged children is a requirement of housing authority lease agreements and state law. Kids stay home for many reasons: finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying or generally feeling unwelcome at school, experts say. Absent students miss out not only on what is being taught in class but also on all the other things schools provide such as free meals, counseling, socialization and safety. Students who are chronically absent are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out. Addressing absenteeism often requires addressing those root causes. When children are not in school, there are issues that arise. The impact that we see is that when theyre in school, theyre not getting into trouble or getting mixed up in crime, or violence or things like that, said Larry Williams, chief housing and program officer of the housing authority. The department also is working with residents to ensure students have transportation and help with homework. Some of them have actually been in financial situations to where this has really helped them prevent eviction, Williams said. Were helping kids get to school by tackling the underlying issues and providing supportive services. Williams said every month the pot has more names to draw from. That shows, officials said, that more families are making a point of getting children to classrooms every day. At the first Every Day Counts drawing in January, there were only 2 qualified households in the drawing. In February, there were 135 qualified households, 155 in March, 210 in April and 196 in May, according housing authority officials. So far, officials have awarded 53 families a total of $16,000. All parents should know that its important for their children to be at school, to get an education, so that they can grow and be successful as possible, Magee said. Alaina Bookmans role at AL.com and the Beyond the Violence collaborative is supported by Report for America and individual contributions. Support her work today. Besides juggling class registration, extracurricular activities, and sports, students must also consider dress code and policies on prohibited items. Some Alabama school districts are updating their dress code and their messaging to families about appropriate attire before the first day of school. Some rules are familiar; some may leave families scratching their heads. On Wednesday, parents at Sparkman High School in Madison County received a notice saying students could not wear Crocs. Later, in another email, the school clarified that students can wear the popular sandals, but should be cautious when the ground is wet. Madison Countys dress code specifies no hats or sunglasses at school; no bonnets or bandanas; no tights as pants; no pants with holes above the knee; and no headbands. And no house shoes or slippers. Bessemer City also wants to crack down on shoes. No flip-flops, slides or slippers (house shoes) are allowed, according to current the student handbook, circulated this summer. Shoes with heels are inappropriate for elementary school students. Only shoes appropriate for the school environment, with safety being the primary concern, may be worn. Baldwin County kindergarten through sixth graders are ditching uniforms this year, and will follow the districts dress code, which similarly has safety and modesty rules. Foley Elementary reminded parents that shirts shouldnt depict logos or words that are graphic or vulgar. And elementary school students shouldnt wear flip flops or Crocs. Safety and the ability to consistently monitor student activities are a concern for many rules. Several school systems, such as Bessemer, mandate clear, transparent, or mesh backpacks and bookbags. Some Tuscaloosa County schools recently told parents that students can only bring a clear water bottle to school for refills. When in doubt, check your local schools recent emails and messages, and the handbook. Rules may vary from school to school within districts. Keep these tips in mind to prepare for the first day of school: 1) Many schools require that students should wear closed-toe and closed-heel shoes. That means no slippers or flip-flops. 2) Ensure students wear jackets or long-sleeved shirts to stay warm inside. Several school systems, like Tuscaloosa City Schools and Madison County Schools, allow children to wear casual clothing like hoodies, but ask that students keep hoods down and faces uncovered on school premises. 4) When in doubt, check the handbook: Schools and school systems generally include a dress code in the student/parent handbook. Ask school administrators how to obtain a copy and ask if its up to date. In its long and colorful 94-year history, The Ark restaurant in the small St. Clair County town of Riverside has had just four owners. Now, after nearly a century, the iconic Alabama restaurant famous for its fried catfish and butterfly shrimp has a second home, too. Kyle Ostermeyer, who bought The Ark two years ago, has opened a new location in Springville, about a 30-minute drive from the one in Riverside. The second-edition Ark, on Main Street in the heart of downtown, was formerly the longtime home of the old Springville Cafe and, more recently, Top Notch Cafe and Catering. The main draw for Ostermeyer was Springvilles small-town charm, he says. It still has that, I like to call it, Hallmark movie feel -- that small town, Norman Rockwell-ish type feeling, Ostermeyer says. With who we are as a restaurant and how we started in a small town, Riverside, I thought that was pretty cool. Since opening the restaurant, Ostermeyer says he is seeing lots of new faces that he never saw in Riverside. I would say its probably about 80 percent new business, he says. Theres a lot of people that just never made it out there (to Riverside). So, its the word of mouth, he adds. Its like, Hey, did yall hear The Ark opened in Springville? . . . Youve got to try it. [Want good news about Alabama delivered to your inbox each week? Sign up for This is Alabamas weekly newsletter.] Shirley Abts bought The Ark restaurant in Riverside in 2013 and ran it for nearly a decade before she sold it to current onwer Kyle Ostermeyer in 2022. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com) A new beginning Before buying The Ark, Ostermeyer worked as a food sales rep, and he used to call on each of the Riverside restaurants previous two owners -- Shirley Abts, who ran The Ark for more than a decade, and her predecessor, Sylvia Cornett, who, along with her husband, Bob, owned the restaurant for more than 30 years. So he is well-versed in the restaurants history. Abts had come out of retirement to buy The Ark from Sylvia Cornett in 2013, but after running it for nearly a decade, she mentioned to Ostermeyer that she was ready to sell the restaurant and retire for good this time. Ive never had a restaurant before, but my whole life has been in the food and beverage industry in some form, Ostermeyer says. You go into these restaurants, and you call on successful owner-operators and you see what works. . . . Shirley was wanting to retire, he adds. It was one of those things. I hadnt thought about buying it. It wasnt on the top of my list. And then one day, Im just like, What do you think? Me and my wife talked about it and decided its something that we wanted to do. I mean, there were very few restaurants I would have bought, but that one had everything, Ostermeyer continues. It had the history and the customers and the story behind it. This rustic sign, which is almost hidden by trees, lets customers know they have arrived at The Ark restaurant in Riverside(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com) A colorful history That history goes back to around 1930, when A.J. Bud Thompson took an old river barge and converted it into a restaurant and bar that he christened The Ark. At a time when both St. Clair and Talladega counties were dry and didnt allow alcohol sales, Thompson got around that inconvenience by anchoring The Ark about 30 feet out in the Coosa River. Customers arrived by boat or via a narrow walkway that led from the riverbank to the barge. The floating restaurant, as Marie West Cromer wrote in a 1990 Birmingham News story, was like an oasis between dry counties. RELATED: The colorful history behind a timeless Alabama restaurant The old barge later burned and sank, according to newspaper accounts, and Thompson moved The Ark to dry land, building a log-cabin structure on the west bank of the Coosa River. When a fire destroyed that building, too, The Ark settled into its current location on U.S. 78, just south of the Coosa River bridge, in the early 1960s. With its proximity to the nearby Talladega Superspeedway, which opened in 1969, The Ark became a destination for visiting NASCAR drivers and their fans on race weeks at the Talladega track. The Ark is famous for its fried catfish and butterfly shrimp, which have been featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die."(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com) A tried-and-true menu In 1997, the Catfish Institute named The Ark one of the Top 10 restaurants in America to eat catfish, and more recently, the restaurant was a finalist in the 2018 Bamas Best Catfish Restaurant Challenge sponsored by the Alabama Catfish Producers. The Arks catfish and shrimp have also been included on the Alabama Tourism Departments list of 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die. When he took over The Ark two years ago, Ostermeyer was wise not to tinker with the menu or the recipes although he was tempted. Id rather put green onions in the hush puppies, but you dont reinvent the wheel, he says. Its working. It doesnt matter what I like. It matters what the customers like. Im not changing anything, he adds. Our coleslaw is four simple ingredients, and weve been doing it that way forever. Im not about to change it. In addition to its famous catfish and shrimp, The Ark menu includes a ribeye, a hamburger steak, chicken tenders, chicken livers, po boys, a burger and a Philly cheesesteak, along with a selection of appetizers, salads, sides and desserts. The Ark restaurant began in Riverside in 1930, and current owner Kyle Ostermeyer opened a second location in this building in downtown Springville in April 2024. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com) A second home Last summer, Ostermeyer reached out to another one of his old clients from his food rep days, Top Notch Catering owner Tommy Jones, who had opened a lunch spot to go along with his catering business in the old Springville Cafe location. They got to talking, and when Jones expressed an interest in selling the building, Ostermeyer told him he might want to buy it as a second home for The Ark. As he did when he bought the Riverside Ark, Ostermeyer felt a connection to the building and the town. I know what that building means to the community, he says. I remember it being the Springville Cafe and Tina (Baran) owning it, and I remember calling on Tina. I had a good feeling about what this would do here. Ostermeyer closed on the building last fall and spent the next few months giving it a total makeover -- knocking out an interior dividing wall to open the dining room, replacing the ceiling with black vinyl tiles, staining and sealing the concrete floors, painting the exterior charcoal gray and installing corrugated tin awnings over the entrance. We essentially bought a shell of a building, and we redid everything, he says. There were a lot of tears because we did a lot of that on our own. The restaurant, which seats 116 guests, opened in early April. Were doing well, Ostermeyer says. Its good to see those new people coming in the door. . . . Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday after church are our biggest days. Ostermeyer and his wife, Amanda, live nearby in Trussville, and he splits his time between the old Ark in Riverside and the new location in Springville. I dont have off days, he says. Im three days at Riverside and four days here. The new-look Ark in the old Springville Cafe features black tile ceilings and polished concrete floors. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com) The next chapter After buying the old restaurant and opening a new one, its Ostermeyers turn to write the next chapter in The Arks history. Im the fourth owner in 94 years of The Ark, he says. I was the food rep for the previous two owners, so Ive been part of The Ark in some form or fashion for a while. We try to do a good job, he adds. Shirley (Abts) did the same thing before me, and Sylvia (Cornett) did the same thing before her. . . . . Thats the scariest thing, is to make sure that it succeeds to the next owner. The Springville location of The Ark is at 6204 Main Street. The phone is 205-467-0252. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The Riverside location of The Ark is at 13030 U.S. 78. The phone is 205-338-7420. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, go here. For those who havent eaten at Magnolia Point, the new restaurant in a 90-year-old building on Birminghams Southside, Saturday may be your day to check it out. Thats when the restaurant -- which boasts a billboard-sized mural of the late Willie J. Perry, the everyday hero known as Birminghams Batman -- will celebrate Willie Perry Day with a special menu and cocktail in his honor. From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Magnolia Point will offer some of Perrys favorite foods -- including fried chicken, mac and cheese, pinto beans and chocolate cake -- as well as a Kool Aid-inspired cocktail. Commemorative placemats at each table will share more about Perrys story, and guests will have an opportunity to get photos of themselves alongside the Birminghams Batman mural. In the early 1980s, Perry cruised the streets of Birmingham in a 1971 Ford Thunderbird that he called the Rescue Ship, helping stranded motorists whose cars were out of gas or had a flat tire or a dead battery. He was also known to drive those without a car to their doctors appointments and to give kids a ride in the Rescue Ship on their birthdays. He was the AAA for the inner city, Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, who was in elementary school when Perry was making his rounds, said in a 2015 interview with AL.com. He was the AAA we never had. He was the Meals on Wheels. He was the party organizer. This photograph of the late Willie J. Perry's Rescue Ship was taken when the car was on display at Old Car Heaven in Birmingham in 2015. Perry's family now has the car in storage.(Tamika Moore/tmoore@al.com) Like the Batmobile, Perrys Rescue Ship was equipped with all sorts of electronic gadgetry, including a TV, a stereo system, an Atari video console, a toaster oven, and in the days before Waze, an electric address finder. Youll find people are not going to stop for anyone whos in trouble, especially in rush hour, Perry said in a 1982 interview. Batman was known for helping people in distress. And thats my image, too. Perry died in 1985 of carbon monoxide poisoning when the door to his garage closed while he was working on his Rescue Ship. In 1982, then Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington Jr. declared Aug. 3 as Willie Perry Day in Birmingham, and its been celebrated with sporadic events ever since. RELATED: New restaurant breathes life into an old Birmingham building Michael Mouron of Capstone Real Estate Investments owns the Magnolia Point building, and he commissioned Birmingham street artist Marcus Fetch to paint a mural on the north wall of the restaurant. It was Fetchs idea to honor Perry and his Rescue Ship Everybody loved him, Fetch told AL.com earlier this year. The whole city loved him. He was an icon. Fetch and his partner, spray paint artist Dewon Moton, finished the mural earlier this year. While they were painting, Moton dressed up in a red jumpsuit and white helmet to channel the spirit of Perry. Willie J. Perry was a beloved Birmingham legend whose Good Samaritan acts left an indelible mark on the city, Mouron, the developer, said in a statement. By commissioning this mural at Magnolia Point, our hope is to not only pay homage to his story and impact but also remind the community the importance of treating others the way we would all hope to be treated if in need. Magnolia Point is at 2234 Magnolia Ave. South in Birmingham, Ala. The phone is 205-732-7146. For more information, go here. The Admiral Hotel, a downtown Mobile landmark since 1940, has reopened after extensive renovations that leave it with a new identity heavily predicated on the French heritage of one of Mobiles founders, and a top-tier steakhouse due to open later in August. The hotel was built in 1940 and named The Admiral Semmes in honor of a Confederate commerce raider, Raphael Semmes, who became an honored public figure in Mobile after the Civil War. Its fortunes rose and fell in the following decades. For a period in the early 70s, aspiring songwriter Jimmy Buffett played in the Admirals Corner bar for $10 a night plus tips. The hotel closed in 1978 and was on the verge of a new life as a retirement home, Admiral Semmes Manor, before damage from Hurricane Frederic put an end to that plan. The building changed hands several times from the 80s onward and underwent at least two major renovations. The last was in 2014, and sometime after that, the Semmes and with it the names Confederate connotation -- was quietly dropped from the name. Avocet Hospitality, an independent company that operates historic hotels in its home base of Charleston and in Chattanooga, bought it for a reported $21 million in June 2022 and announced plans for a makeover in summer 2023. The bar area of The Admiral Hotel is named, simply, The Living Room" for an inviting feelCourtesy of The Admiral Hotel The hotels decor, and its new flagship restaurant, pay tribute to French explorer Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur dIberville, a pivotal figure in the establishment of Mobile in the early 1720s as the capital of the territory of French Louisiana. Our revival of The Admiral Hotel seeks to honor Pierre Le Moyne dIbervilles legacy in a way thats never been done before, Jon Weitz, the owner of Avocet Hospitality, said in a statement released by the company. We delved deep into Mobiles origins, exploring its identity beyond its Mardi Gras roots. This journey ignited our passion for Pierres story, leading us to create a destination that mirrors the grandeur and elegance of the French court. Today, every traveler who steps through our doors will feel like a guest of King Louis XIV himself. The new interior look was designed by Avocet co-founder Lisa Weitz. Avocet says it captures the vibrant soul of Mobile while introducing a touch of cosmopolitan sophistication. Bright jewel tones of purples and gold pay homage to the citys French-colonial and Mardi Gras heritage, creating a space where guests can revel in moments of discovery. The upside-down oak tree chandelier, reminiscent of the majestic oaks lining Governor Street, symbolizes the blend of nature and culture that Pierre so admired. Meanwhile, walls adorned with mirrors and portraits evoke the splendor of the Palace of Versailles, transporting guests to another era. A 34-ounce Tomahawk steak is one of the flagship dishes in Le Moyne's Chophouse, a restaurant in The Admiral Hotel.Courtesy of The Admiral Hotel Le Moynes Chophouse, which has begun taking reservations for service starting Aug. 19, uses high-end steaks and locally-sourced ingredients to tell the destination story through cuisine, according to Avocet. One signature dish is Oysters Louis, featuring oysters farmed by Baldwin County-based Admiral Shellfish Co. that have been charbroiled in Wagyu beef fat and garnished with Pernod pearls, aromatic herbs and caviar. Le Moyne's Chophouse in The Admiral Hotel offers high-end steaks and locally-sourced ingredients.Courtesy of The Admiral Hotel A sample menu for Le Moynes incudes steaks ranging up to a $99 34-ounce Tomahawk and a 15-ounce A5 Wagyu (no price listed); a Chilled Seafood Tower including lobster claw, red royal shrimp, lump blue crab salad and oysters ($69 or $130); and Duck Leg Confit ($34). A recent media preview dinner also revealed some excellent and distinctive sides, including Conecuh Mac & Cheese, Crawfish Risotto and a Pomme Puree take on mashed potatoes. For reservations or more information about The Admiral Hotel, visit theadmiralhotel.com. An Alabama couple is facing multiple charges including capital murder in the death of their toddler foster child. Brooklyn Paige Posey Grimes, 31, and Mason John Grimes, 36, are charged with capital murder of a child, murder, felony murder and aggravated child abuse under the age of 6, according to court records made public Wednesday. The 18-month-old boy arrived at a Blount County hospital in November, emaciated and cool to the touch. He was pronounced dead that day. I have handled dozens of cases classified as child abuse cases during my career,' said Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey. But this case is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. The photos of this child from Nov. 22 are heartbreaking,' Casey said. This child needed food. This child needed medical care,' she said. This child deserved to be loved just like any other child regardless of any congenital anomalies in the childs appearance or development. The couple, who live in Oneonta, were booked into the Blount County Jail between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The indictments against them were issued by a grand jury on July 24. Mason Grimes attorney, Edward Lowe, has request bond be set. Lowe said his client is not guilty of the charges against him, has extensive family ties to Blount County, no prior felony convictions, no substance abuse issues, and his home has been an approved, thoroughly investigated foster placement for years. The attorney also noted that Mason Grimes does not have an active U.S. passport. Court documents do not yet show that Brooklyn Grimes has an attorney. According to a motion to deny bond for both filed by Casey and Assistant District Attorney Scott Gilliland, the boy was placed in the Grimes care on Aug. 5, 2022, when he was just 3 months old. The child flourished for about a year, the records state. But on Sept. 25, 2023, the boy was taken to Childrens of Alabama and diagnosed with multiple congenital disorders and genetic testing was performed. The child was to return to the Birmingham hospital on Oct. 20, 2023, but the Grimes didnt take the child to the appointment or return follow up telephone calls. On Nov. 22, 2023, the Grimes took the boy to St. Vincents Blount because he wasnt breathing. Upon arrival, the child was severely emaciated, asystolic, and cool to the touch, prosecutors wrote. The boy had lost about one-third of his body weight since Sept. 25. There is no evidence of the child receiving any medical care subsequent to being diagnosed as having multiple congenital disorders, prosecutors wrote. Mason Grimes in a Mothers Day 2024 post on Facebook said he and his wife have fostered 17 children over five years. He lashed out at DHR for the handling of the boys care. The couple was licensed through Marshall County. Two days ago, he posted this: God help us for what me and Paige are about to endure this week. You would think others involved in this case would have eventually grown a conscience, come to our aid, and scream from the roof tops this wrong. But this is a sign of the times, evil has penetrated every part of this system. Please pray for us, the truth will be revealed. The couple is set for arraignment on Aug. 29. Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon has scheduled a Thursday press conference to discuss the arrests. The Washington State Patrol revealed that the Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle was under the Full Self Driving (FSD) mode during the incident. The 2022 Tesla Model S was investigated after an incident that caused death last April. Read Also : Tesla Cybertrucks May Soon Join California Police Forces Washington Authorities Reveal Details From Tesla Incident Investigators of the case found that the car was operating in FSD mode at the time of the crash which hit and killed a motorcyclist. The data came from the downloaded information from the event data recorder of the car. The driver of the car shared with the police that he activated the Tesla Autopilot system. The autonomous driving mode allows the driver to look at his cell phone while the car continues moving. "The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him," the trooper wrote in a probable-cause document. The driver was then arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide due to his stated actions on the car. Tesla's FSD Continues to Bear Problems for Company The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that there have now two fatal accidents involving the company's FSD software since August 2022. The agency also stated that there were 75 recorded crashes while the FSD mode was used. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously stated that the company targets to achieve its full self-driving capability within the next year. The company also showed more interest in pushing the FSD feature to more customers. The EV company is looking forward to launch its much-awaited robotaxi vehicle on October 10. The initial release was delayed and was supposed to be revealed on August 8. This story is republished with permission from The Birmingham Times With a love for creativity and self-expression, the men behind the Broken Dreams clothing brand knew they were destined to partner for a bigger purpose. After much deliberation, Jonathan Blanks, Carlton Gamble, and Anthony Sears, whove known each other since they were teenagers, decided to collaborate and debut their first collection in 2014. The brand is for all genders and all ages, with a colorful yet simplistic stylebut there is also something else at play. The whole concept behind the brand is to keep pushing, keep your faith, and always believe in yourself, said 32-year-old Gamble, also known as Tae. As you keep pushing, things will start to manifest, and youll be able to see things come together for you, he added. keep pushing and keep your faith regardless of what might happen. A strong pillar for the Broken Dreams team is brotherhood, which is the foundation of the partnership. Inspiration Blanks, 32, and Sears, 33, met in middle school, and then attended Minor High School in Adamsville, Alabama. They met Gamble through a mutual friend later. The three have been a trio ever since, but it wasnt until they all transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that they reconnected and their friendship grew into a business relationship. We kind of just all had a passion for it, had an interest in it, Blanks said, adding that the group came up with a plan, a concept, and a name inadvertently. Although fashion had always been something the three gravitated toward, they didnt know anything about the business. One night, while they were hanging out in Blanks apartment, the conversation turned toward starting a business. Someone threw out the idea of a clothing line, and they each agreed that it was something they could accomplish. They came up with the name that same night. It was just natural for us, recalled Blanks. The [origin of the name] connected with us because it has many layers to it, and we each can give our own interpretation of it. The foundation of the name represents overcoming any obstacles or setbacks that may come in life. Never stop working toward your dreams and goals. Their inspiration for clothing designs can come from anywheremusic, their travels, anything positive. They each bring ideas to the table, which brings diversity to the brands image because we all have unique styles, but [theyre] kind of the same, said Gamble. We might start with something as small as a jacket, and then we might just add on from there, he said. We might have a certain silhouette we like, but then we might eventually put our own touch on it. Its a group effort for sure. Once they come up with a concept, Gamble is usually the team member who designs the mock-up, which they all review, suggesting changes or next steps. After that the team discusses fabrics, cuts, colorways, samples, marketing ideas, and more to complete the final product. Then they send it to the manufacturer, and it takes approximately two weeks to get their sample product back. Broken Dreams designs clothing for men, women, and children at a price point that ranges from $12 to $185. We put a lot of thought into the pieces and the quality of the product, Sears said. Blanks added, Were not just here to make a quick dollar. We could easily just throw out anything just to try to sell it, [but] we go out of our way, spend more on high quality, and cut our profit to give the people a better product. We pride ourselves on customer service, said Gamble. A Shoulder to Lean On The best part of being part of this team is that if one of us is lacking, if one of us is going through something, if one of us is not able to perform at our highest level, you know your brother is going to have your back, Blanks said. Ive been through a lot of different things in life. There were times when I was down and just couldnt be part of certain things at certain points, but it wasnt an issue for the brand at all because [Sears and Gamble] had my back and vice versa: If they go through something, Ive got their back. Sears said, I look at them like they are my brothers. If they ever need somethingI know they probably wouldnt ask, but they can askand Ive got it, Ill give it. Loving each other is what kind of keeps us from butting heads. Gamble added that a valuable piece of their friendship is that there are no egos, and they mesh as friends: Were brothers, and we know how to separate the business from the brotherhood. Were not getting in our feelings about anything. We dont really have fallouts. Its a brotherhood, no egos, and weve been going for 10 years plus. Because each team member is a co-founder, the responsibilities of taking care of the brand are shared. I know a lot of people say, Dont start a business with your friends, but we havent experienced [problems with working together] at all. Its actually been the total opposite, Blanks said. I wouldnt want to do this with anybody but these guys. Making Mama Proud The brotherhood held Blanks, Gamble, and Sears together not only within their Broken Dreams clothing business but also during their hardest times. The co-founders all share the trauma of losing their mothers. Sears mom passed in 2005, Gambles mother passed in 2011, and Blanks lost his mother in 2019and theyve all been there to lift one another up. I had to depend on my brothers to help me through that, as well as help me with the brand, Blanks said. These guys definitely inspire me, and for sure my mom does. [Im] just trying to keep going and make her proud. In addition to being inspired by one another, they also all share the sentiment that their mothers are a substantial driving force when it comes to the brand. Although there isnt one special collection dedicated to their mothersyetthe team believes in some way each collection is dedicated to their mothers. Ever since [my mothers death], its just kind of been like, I gotta make it happen, gotta get to it, you know, dont fall off because she wouldnt want you to, Gamble said. Falling off and quitting are not options for this group. Its actually what they want to be a piece of their legacy. Never quitting regardless of the circumstances is part of life, to be honest, said Sears. Everybody is going to have circumstances that will either inspire them to go further or inspire them to quit. [I want to] keep going and do it with love. The Broken Dreams team is eying the future on a grand scale. Gamble wants the clothing line to be a Birmingham staple, like the statue of Vulcan at the Vulcan Park and Museum or the Birmingham Museum of Art: [We want] to be one of the biggest fashion brands, or just brands period, because we plan to expand outside of fashion, [to] have different layers, he said. Blanks added, We dont have small goals when it comes to the brand. We want to be the biggest brand possible. Were trying to be worldwide. Its not easy to get people to buy your product at all, but its definitely not easy, honestly, to get Birmingham to stand behind you. Being able to accomplish that was a big milestone for us. To learn more about the Broken Dreams clothing line, visit https://shopbrokendreams.com; you can also follow the brand on Instagram (@brokendreamsclothing), Twitter (@BrkDreamsClothg), and TikTok (@brokendreamsclothing). A group that takes care of feral cats, feeding them and having them sterilized, says that Birmingham Animal Control has been capturing the cats and taking them off the streets, which they say is a bad idea. As part of its recent Safe Streets Initiative, Birmingham has been clamping down even more on stray animals, which included the recent capture of a pig, along with numerous dogs and cats. The city released a statement defending its animal control tactics after complaints by Kitty Kat Haven and Colony Cats of Birmingham. The City of Birmingham Animal Control follows and enforces the City Code Ordinance 6-1-14, which states that it is unlawful for animals to roam at large unrestrained and, whether restrained or not, allows for the possession of no more than four animals, the city said in its statement. The City of Birmingham only handles the capture and transport of these animals. Beyond that, the Greater Birmingham Human Society Animal Control manages any next steps. In a Facebook post, Colony Cats of Birmingham said that people who feed feral cats have been threatened with fines. Several weeks ago we were contacted by our friends at GBHS letting us know Birmingham Animal Control had brought in cats from an established colony we had already fixed, vaccinated, and returned, they wrote. We initially believed it was an honest mistake and realized if Birmingham Animal Control caught a cat they legally had to bring in to the Humane Society. We got the first round of trapped cats from GBHS and returned them to their colony and caretaker. And then, there were more cats trapped from the same colony and brought in to GBHS again. At this point we were getting really concerned about what was happening. The colony caretaker reached out to us and let us know Birmingham Animal Control approached her and told her they would be continuing to trap and remove the cats and would issue her citations for $100 per cat that she feeds. We reached out to Birmingham Animal Control, but they never contacted us back. Unfortunately, cats have continued to go missing; from Birmingham neighborhoods like East Lake, Roebuck, Titusville, Crestwood, etc. As recent as yesterday, Birmingham Animal Control was at another one of our colonies in Roebuck harassing their caretaker at her front door. They told her they would give her 72 hours to find homes for each of the feral and fixed cats in the colony. They even tried to take the one 15-year-old friendly cat in the colony from her! Dont worry, he is safe now. They gave her the same ultimatum and said if you continue to care for the feral cats the first citation would be $100 per cat and if it continued it would be $250 per cat. They were rude from the beginning and tried to bully her into submission. Allison Black Cornelius, CEO of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, said theres no need to capture cats as part of a Safe Streets Initiative. GBHS was not aware that animals would be included in an initiative of this kind, she posted on Facebook. And none of us are aware of a cat killing anyone or needing to be included in making streets safe. A former FBI agent was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl while serving as an Alabama state trooper. Alabamas state police hired Christopher Bauer even after he was kicked out of the FBI amid earlier claims he raped a co-worker at knifepoint. An Associated Press investigation showed Bauer, 45, moved from one law enforcement job to another with the help of a forged letter making it appear he was eligible for rehire. The forgery prompted an FBI investigation but federal authorities held off charging Bauer as the state proceedings played out. A jury convicted Bauer in June of first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse of a child under 12 following a weeklong trial in which defense attorneys claimed the girl made up the allegations. Shackled and wearing an orange jail uniform, Bauer told Montgomery Circuit Judge Jimmy Pool that he never imagined he would end up on the prisoner side of a jail cell. He said juries dont always get it right. It seems no matter what I say, no one wants to believe Im innocent, he told the judge. All it took was an accusation to strip me of everything. The girls mother stood with prosecutors, who asked for the maximum sentence. Daryl D. Bailey, the Montgomery County district attorney, called Bauer a sexual predator following his conviction, saying he needed to be removed from our streets forever. Hes a monster, the girls mother told the judge. Bauer, she added, used the badge to project the image of a good person. He had everyone fooled, she said. Pool told Bauer as he pronounced the life sentence that he believed every single word of the victims testimony. Bauers defense attorneys argued the disgraced lawman deserved leniency following his own abusive childhood in foster homes and orphanages. He was removed from his parents at the age of 5 and later diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. Several instances stick out to Mr. Bauer, including once when he was pushed out of the third floor of a building and another when he was left in a burning apartment, his attorneys wrote in a court filing. Bauer, who was arrested in 2021, faces similar child sex abuse charges outside New Orleans. Louisiana State Police said they intended to extradite him following the Alabama case. During the Alabama trial, the child who is now a young teen testified through tears that she was repeatedly abused by Bauer for years, too scared to say no or to tell anyone what was happening. Jurors saw a recording of her interview with a child abuse investigator in which she described the same abuse. Law enforcement became involved after the girl eventually told a friend and the friends parent alerted the school. Bauer took the stand in his own defense during the trial, responding no, never when asked if he had abused or sodomized the child. If she said I did something to her, then yes thats a lie. Bauers time in the FBI was not discussed in detail at the trial. The judge granted a defense request to exclude statements about allegations by a co-worker in Louisiana that he had raped her at knifepoint. The FBI has said Bauer forged a letter that scrubbed his record clean and helped clear the way to his hiring by the Alabama state police in 2019. The document, obtained by AP, confirmed his decade of creditable service and deemed him eligible for rehire, but the FBI told AP the letter in question was not legitimate. Alabama authorities have refused to explain how Bauers earlier misconduct was overlooked. APs investigation found he omitted his ouster from the FBI on his application to the state police, including that he had been suspended without pay and stripped of his security clearance in 2018 amid a string of sexual misconduct allegations he faced working in the FBIs New Orleans office. Many of the allegations played out in Louisiana court filings that had been public for a year when Bauer was hired in Alabama. The woman who accused him of rape, a co-worker at the FBI, wrote in an application for a restraining order that Bauer had choked her and made her scared for my life. Bauer disputed those claims, telling colleagues the acts were consensual. But the woman previously told AP that Bauer sexually assaulted her so frequently her hair began to fall out. It was a year of torture, she said. He quite literally would keep me awake for days. I couldnt eat. I couldnt sleep, and in six months I went from 150 pounds to 92 pounds. I was physically dying from what he was doing to me. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bauers sentence. The agency has refused to release records from its internal investigation into Bauers hiring, with a spokeswoman saying only there were no disciplinary actions taken as a result of the review. A former Walker County Jail corrections officer has agreed to plead guilty after being charged in connection with the 2023 death of Anthony Tony Mitchell and the assault of another inmate the year before. Joshua Conner Jones, according to federal court records, this week signed plea agreements involving the death of Mitchell and in a 2022 case in which an inmate was beaten in the head and face with a chemical spray can. The documents do not name either inmate, but the dates of Individual 1 and the circumstances of his arrest are the same as Mitchells case. Mitchells attorney, Scott Brower, confirmed the proposed plea agreement deals with Mitchells death. Brower declined to comment further. The Walker County Sheriffs Office had no comment. According to the 18-page plea agreement made public late Wednesday, Jones has agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter involving reckless conduct in Mitchells death and faces up to life in prison. He is set for arraignment on Aug. 15, at which point a federal judge will set a date to accept Jones plea. Other individuals could be charged in the case. The documents reveal the horrific conditions which Mitchell was forced to endure before his death. The records, citing statements from Jones, said Mitchell was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces as he was held in jail in a notoriously cold cell with no sink, toilet, or running water. From welfare check to death in jail Mitchell, 33, died Jan. 26, 2023 at Walker Baptist Medical Center, just over two weeks after he was arrested on charges that he shot at Walker County deputies as they responded to a welfare check requested by his family. The county coroners death certificate listed Mitchells manner of death as homicide and listed the causes as hypothermia and sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect. Lawyers for Mitchells mother, Margaret Mitchell, filed a federal lawsuit in March 2023, claiming that jail deputies tased Mitchell and locked him in a freezer, causing his death. The lawsuit alleges abuse and medical neglect of Mitchell at the hands of Sheriff Nick Smith and staff at the county jail, including corrections officers, nurses and an investigator. A response to the lawsuit filed by jail nurses disputed Mitchells familys claims that he was locked in a freezer. Attorneys for the sheriffs office also said Mitchell was never placed in a freezer, and asked that the allegation be removed from the lawsuit. He was not held in a freezer, the document stated. In fact, the only times that he left the booking area was to attend his 72-hour hearing and to be transported to the hospital. Mitchell family attorneys responded by saying the claim was mischaracterized. They said the claim about the freezer was not definite, but rather a likely possible explanation for Mitchells death and that a physician they interviewed for the case told them as much. If defendants had another means of bringing an inmates body temp. to 72 degrees or lower, plaintiff will uncover that during the discovery phase of this case, the familys lawyers argued. The plea agreement states that the Walker County Jail had eight booking cells that could be directly observed by officers at the booking desk several feet away. Among the eight cells, BK5 was unique in that it was essentially a cement box with a small grate on the floor that opens into a hole for fluids to drain from the cell, documents state. BK5 was often referred to as the drunk tank in that it could easily be hosed down when inebriated people held there would vomit,' documents state. BK5 was unlike all other cells in the jail, but for observation cell AH3, which had no hole in the floor and was used only for detainees for hours at a time. It did not have a sink, toilet, access to any running water or a raised platform to be used as a bed. BK5 was notoriously cold during winter months and the temperature on the bare cement floor was even colder,' the plea agreement states. Medical and mental health services were provided by an outside contractor hired by Walker County. As part of the booking process, all detainees were supposed to receive a medical and mental health screening to ensure that emergent and urgent health needs were met. He gets what he gets On Jan. 12, 2023, Walker County deputies responded to a mental health check at Mitchells home. He was arrested after authorities said he allegedly fired a gun while deputies were on his property, the documents state. Jones, the documents state, was informed that he was being brought in because he shot at deputies. When Mitchell arrived, he was met at the jail sallyport by corrections officers and supervisors including Jones and and five other unnamed co-conspirators. Mitchell could not walk or stand on his own, was disoriented, non-combative and could not follow directions, records show. These observations were obvious to everyone who removed Individual #1 from the car and defendant Jones believed that Individual #1 needed to be taken to the hospital or mental health facility rather than being incarcerated at the jail,' the plea agreement states. Mitchell was taken to a changing room to put on a jail uniform and was not capable of undressing or dressing himself. After several attempts, records state, officers simply wrapped a suicide smock around him which is known as a turtle suit. Mitchell was taken by wheelchair to the medical unit which was attended by the health services administrator, two nurses, and four of the unnamed co-conspirators. The nurse told the group that she wanted to wait referring to instructions from one of the co-conspirators to deny the initial fit for confinement screening. Mitchell was taken by wheelchair and placed in BK5. Jones said in the plea agreement that Mitchell never received any medical evaluation until the morning of his death, two weeks after he was arrested. The corrections officer said he worked seven shifts during Mitchells two-week incarceration and said neither he nor any of the other jailers made efforts to provide him with medical care nor alter the conditions of his confinement. To the contrary, the document states, Jones and the co-conspirators actively denied medical access to Mitchell by falsely telling medical staff that Mitchell was too combative to be evaluated when in truth that was not the case. Calling (Mitchell) combative was an excuse to mistreat him,' documents state. There was no conduct that could have been committed by (Mitchell) that would have justified the denial of medical access. The efforts to deny Mitchell medical and mental health care persisted event though he was frequently expressing severe mental health symptoms such as talking incoherently about demons and portals. He was often covered in feces, which was an indication that he could not care for himself,' records state. Jones, in his plea agreement, said he observed Mitchell deteriorate over the course of his incarceration. At the time he passed, (Mitchell) was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket,' the records state. By the second week of being jailed, the agreement states, Mitchell was largely listless and mostly unresponsive to questions from officers. Repeatedly during Mitchells incarceration, records show, corrections officers actively chose not help him and would dismiss his needs by saying, (Expletive) him, he gets what he gets since he shot at cops, or words to that effect,' the document states. The officers also repeatedly made comments that Mitchell should have been killed because he shot at deputies rather than being brough to the jail,' the document says. At times, Jones (and the other jailers) spoke directly to (Mitchell) saying that he was now in their house and that he had to deal with them (the officers),' records show. On the morning of Jan. 26, 2023, one of the unnamed officers told Jones that a nurse had seen Mitchell and ordered that he be taken to a hospital. The officers were told by the nurse that Mitchell could die if he was not taken to the hospital, according to documents, and one of the co-conspirators replied, Ill tell you what, next time youre on the toilet taking a (expletive), Ill call you to bother you with something unimportant. According to Jones, two co-conspirators - both jail supervisors - failed to arrange for Mitchell to go to the hospital for more than three hours after officers reported the nurses urgent instructions. Jones said after he transported several detainees to court, he was instructed to join others at Walker Baptist Medical Center Hospital where Mitchell had been taken in the back of a patrol car - rather than an ambulance. Jones said in the plea agreement that when he arrived, he learned that Mitchells mother had been called to the emergency room and overheard her giving permission to medical staff to remove Mitchell from life support. In the case of the second inmate, Individual 2 was a pre-trial detainee held in A-Dorm. The inmate was placed in a cell with two other inmates that would have caused the cell to be unnecessarily overcrowded, records state. When the inmate complained, an unidentified officer placed him against a wall in the cell and hit him. Jones then hit the inmate in the face three times with a can of O.C. spray that he carried with him, according to the plea agreement. The investigation found that no force was necessary, and that Jones hit the inmate so hard that the lever or trigger on the chemical spray can broke with the force of the blows and O.C. spray was dispersed throughout the cell. Jones and the other unidentified officer then wrote false reports stating that inmate advanced on them in a way that justified force. A massive prisoner swap involving the United States and Russia was underway Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because details had not been publicly disclosed, did not specify who is included in the deal. But Americans considered by the U.S. to be wrongfully detained in Russia include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. Both had been convicted of espionage charges that the U.S. government considered baseless. In a statement posted online, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus acknowledged media reports that a journalist working for the broadcaster, Alsu Kurmasheva, would be released as part of the deal. Capus said the broadcaster welcomed news of Alsus imminent release and are grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia. Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. The deal would be the latest exchange in the last two years between Washington and Moscow, including a December 2022 trade that brought WNBA star Brittney Griner back to the U.S. in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout and a swap earlier that year of Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. President Joe Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, the Democrat said, Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. Russia has long been interested in getting back Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich that Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. U.S. officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have also said were false and trumped up, and he is serving a 16-year prison sentence. Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including those involving Reed and Griner. Salaries for employees of the city of Bessemer range between a little over $25,000 to more than $150,000 annually, according to a list published by Alabama Messenger earlier this year. When The Birmingham News contacted Bessemer City Clerk Wanda Taylor for the citys public salary records, she directed reporters to Alabama Messenger. Since 2003, Alabama law has required that all cities and towns in Jefferson County provide their salary lists to a weekly newspaper once a year. The race to replace John Rogers in the Alabama state House isnt over yet. Republican Erskine Brown Jr., has jumped into the race to challenge Democrat Kelvin Datcher for the House seat representing parts of Birmingham and the suburbs in Jefferson County. Brown and Datcher will both be on the ballot in a special election on Oct. 1, according to Laney Rawls, director of communications for Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen. Brown told AL.com that, if elected, he wants to increase benefits for seniors, and bolster support for healthcare and education support. He said he also supports strengthening Birminghams curfew ordinance for kids younger than 17. Browns late entrance to the race came as a surprise to political observers who initially called the election for Datcher, a senior aide to Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. When Datcher won the Democratic primary runoff on July 16, there was no Republican challenger following the withdrawal of Carols Crum. The district, which includes parts of Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood and Mountain Brook, will have a new representative for the first time since 1982. John Rogers, who held the seat for more than 40 years, resigned and pleaded guilty in a kickback scheme involving public money intended to benefit nonprofits. A federal judge this week sentenced Rogers to 13 months in federal prison. The district is heavily Democratic. Brown, 67, first ran for office as a Democrat four decades ago in an unsuccessful state senate race. He said the party back then did not support him. Just give me a chance, Brown told AL.com today. They didnt want to give me an opportunity 40 years ago. The Democratic party didnt even want me to qualify to run. I think they were looking at my age at that time. Now Id rather for (voters) to just give me a chance. Brown is retired and works as a caregiver. He grew up in a political environment as the son of the late Erskine Brown Sr, a longtime lobbyist, and former member of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center Authority. The Republican Party submitted Browns name on Wednesday morning, just before the noon deadline, Rawls said. Democratic officials question the timing of Browns candidacy and whether the GOP followed the rules for substitute candidates. We do have questions as to whether or not the Republican party followed the proper procedures to get Mr. Brown on the ballot, and the state party is going to investigate that, Jefferson County Democratic Chairman Wayne Rogers told AL.com. We would expect that Wes Allen would enforce the rules against Republicans the same way hes enforced them against Democrats, and if proper procedures were not followed that Mr. Brown would not be allowed on the ballot. Rawls said Allens office had not received a complaint by Thursday afternoon. Turnout in the special election primary was dismal with just 1,506 voters participating in a district with 34,245 registered voters. Thats a turnout rate of about 5 percent. Alabama Republican Party John Wahl in a statement to AL.com Thursday evening said that Browns entry into the race represents the GOPs interest in competing in all state political races. The Alabama Republican Party is committed to being competitive across the entire state, because we believe our values and principles liberty, freedom, and economic prosperity are ones that resonate with all Alabamians, Wahl said. We are excited to have an outstanding nominee in Erskine Brown, Jr., who will fight for the people of his district in Montgomery, not special interests, and look forward to the general election on October 1. Two men convicted in the fatal 2020 shooting of another man in Mobile County were sentenced on murder and other charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Michael Youngpeter sentenced George Green Jr. to30 years in state prison in connection with the fatal Dec. 6, 2020, shooting of Antonio Rowe Jr., 26, said Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood. Green was sentenced to 30 years for murder and 20 years for shooting into an occupied vehicle. The sentence is to run concurrently, meaning Green will serve 30 years. Nathaniel Henderson, who was found guilty of murder and who prosecutors claimed acted as the driver of the getaway car used after the slaying, was sentenced to 20 years and one day in state prison. I am committed to ensuring that violent criminals are held accountable and face substantial prison sentences, reflecting our dedication to justice and public safety, Blackwood said in a statement. Green and Henderson were convicted by a Mobile County grand jury in May. Its a blazing hot Monday afternoon, the temperature topping 110 degrees in the deserts of southern Arizona, and Maria Rodriguez is on a mission of mercy. Shes delivering a huge load of dog food to the Mexican border town of Sasabe, Sonora. By her count, some two hundred and fifty stray dogs roam the streets hunting for whatever food they can find to stay alive. The town itself has largely been abandoned. Shootouts between cartel factions fighting to control smuggling routes into the U.S. have reduced the population of almost a thousand people to about fifty, in Marias rough estimate. The trouble began last October. The fighting was so intense that residents grabbed a few valuables and left as fast as they could. Months of quiet led some to trickle back, but more gunfire erupted in late May and they left again. [See also previous AT piece on Sasabe here -ed.] Sasabes basically a ghost town, says Maria, who for safety reasons asked that her real name not be used. But when people fled for their lives, they left their dogs behind. Feeding the dogs of Sasabe is deeply personal for Maria Rodriguez, a way of soothing the heartbreak she feels at whats happened to her hometown. She was born there and remembers it as a happy place where kids played in the streets, families all knew one another and parents didnt worry for their kids safety. But in 2005, with the danger from cartel activity increasing, Marias parents moved the family to Tucson, eventually becoming citizens. Maria was eleven. She does her volunteer work for Paws Without Borders, a Tucson-based 5013c charity founded in 2021 by Kimberly Kelly, a medical anthropologist for a healthcare company. Paws came together almost by accident. Folks doing rescue work in Agua Prieta, Mexico, were struggling to handle a dog in a wheelchair. I had experience with that and brought him here to get the care he needed, says Kelly. Eventually we found him a home in Canada. I saw there was a lot of need and we got started after that. On this Monday afternoon, Maria drives seventy-two miles southwest of Tucson to the border at Sasabe, Arizona. Her toddler sits comfortably in his car seat and the flatbed of her pickup is stuffed with eight hundred pounds of donated dog food. After consulting U.S. Customs agents on the American side, she drives into Mexico, chats briefly with Mexican National Guard troops temporarily manning the international crossing, then meets a woman from Sasabe, Sonora, who parks her truck beside Marias to transfer the food from one flatbed to another. The woman Maria normally works with is unavailable this day. She has twenty dogs of her own and refused to leave them and her home when the trouble began. She knew she was taking a big risk. But her mentality was, I have nothing to do with the smuggling so theyll leave me alone, and they have to this point, says Maria. Her whole life is feeding the dogs and trying to stay alive. As Maria and her partner work, about fifteen skin-and bones dogs bark and jump around knowing a meal is coming. The women take a break from hoisting the fifty-pound bags to feed kibbles to the animals. A stray cow wanders in from the desert and she chows down, too. With the work done, Marias partner turns around and drives back to Sasabe, Sonora to fill the feeding stations set up around town. Maria is careful to drive no more than fifty yards into Mexico. Its too dangerous to enter Sasabe itself. Cartel gunmen, young men who, as Maria says, are sometimes drunk and sometimes drugged up, drive the streets carrying big guns and thinking they own the world. They cover their faces, she says. It reminds you of the Taliban. The fighting is part of a drug war raging across Sonora, prompting the U.S. State Department to advise Americans to reconsider going to certain areas of that Mexican state, due to widespread crime and kidnapping. The charitys efforts to save Sasabes dogs faces more than a food problem. Dead cows litter the land, due in part to the cartel taking over ranches in the surrounding area, especially those abutting the Arizona border, and using them to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S. Of those outlying ranches, Maria says, Its a no mans land out there now. The starving dogs feed on the dead cows and a few of the remaining locals seed the carcasses with poison, killing the dogs. Maria says it represents an old-school attitude that some still have toward strays. That practice, combined with starvation and a myriad of health problems, takes its toll on the stray population, especially puppies and their mothers. Maria sometimes picks up sick dogs at the Sasabe border and drives them to a vet in Nogales, Sonora to have them treated and quarantined for the required two weeks before they can be brought into the U.S. But the process is expensive. For the nine animals she recently brought to Nogales, two adults and seven puppies, the cost was $4,500. For her part, Kelly, the executive director at Paws, searches for people to adopt the dogs. She has done some of that, but with their numbers so large, she says, We will never adopt our way out of this problem. The long-term answer has to be spay and neutering. A small such effort is underway. A vet from the Mexican town of Altar, two hours from Sasabe, has agreed to spay and neuter, free of charge, dogs that can be brought to him. But with gangsters controlling roads around Sasabe, its unclear how many animals can be taken there. Meanwhile, Paws relies on kind-hearted donors to keep its mission going. Itd be amazing if we could bring awareness to this huge problem and get help down here, says Maria. My Sasabe dogs are really struggling. Leo W. Banks is a writer in Tucson. His latest novel, The Flying Z, is about an Arizona family fighting a drug gang trying to take over their ranch. Reach him at leowbanks.com Image: Leo W. Banks As street protests over the nakedly fraudulent election result dissipate across Venezuela and the Maduro regime sends in its henchmen, rounding up hundreds of dissidents and issuing arrest warrants for opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, the White House seems to be stirring from its torpor. According to The Hill: The Biden administration is ratcheting up its tone on Venezuela, pushing President Nicolas Maduro to publish automatically generated election results to back up his claims of winning Sundays election. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a White House briefing Wednesday that the administration is reaching the end of its rope with Maduros deflections. Our patience, and that of the international community, is running out, running out. Im waiting for the Venezuelan electoral [authority] to come clean and release the full detailed data on this election so that everyone can see the results, Kirby said. Kirby was referring to precinct-by-precinct printouts of election tallies, which Venezuelas electronic voting machines automatically emit at the end of a voting day. Those printouts, the opposition says, will show a landslide victory for Edmundo Gonzalez, a former ambassador and the unified oppositions presidential candidate. The opposition has already gotten hold of most of those printouts, or actas, as they are called in Spanish, and knows it won the election. It posted its results online below. Aca agarre los datos de https://t.co/r2Gd0giENy y los grafique por distrito. 1. Actas digitalizadas pic.twitter.com/1NRK1XISaQ Andres Snitcofsky (@rusosnith) July 31, 2024 Maduro claims his side won instead, but piece by piece, the actas add up to approximately a 70% to 80% vote in favor of Machado and Gonzalez, and about 15% for the miserable Maduro. Voters don't want that guy. Rather than take their word for it, as many Latin American presidents have done, particularly Argentina's libertarian president, Javier Milei, Kirby is still calling on Maduro to release what he's got soon, which, while better than the previous mealy-mouthed responses seen so far, could be problematic, based on this credible report from conservative Colombian former vice president and ambassador to the U.S., Francisco "Pacho" Santos, who by trade is a journalist: " Former Vice President of Colombia, Pacho Santos, reveals that in the CNE warehouses in Filas de Mariche,there is a team of 150 employees from the Venezuelan electoral body, supervised by a group of Chinese engineers, with the purpose of creating false documents!! pic.twitter.com/VHdYahbPUI Gateway Hispanic (@GatewayHispanic) July 31, 2024 BREAKING: EX-COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR ALLEGES ELECTORAL FRAUD IN VENEZUELA Francisco "Pacho" Santos, journalist and former Colombian ambassador to the United States, has made serious allegations of electoral fraud in Venezuela's recent presidential election. Santos claims the https://t.co/fCBijvMshf pic.twitter.com/7QFAMuU00y Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 31, 2024 He's got sources. His report is buttressed by the Cuba-watchers, who can see the supporting role. This is from the daughter of a top Cuban dissident who was murdered by the Castroite oligarchy several years ago: This, from someone who has had bitter experience with brutal dictators https://t.co/8Kq2JwpnJi Eric Farnsworth (@ericfarns) July 31, 2024 Meanwhile, Maduro's Chinese and Russian sponsors have moved quickly to give Maduro the support he needs to cling to power, given their stakes Venezuela as their catspaw ally to check Uncle Sam up north. Which is why we see such a confident rounding up of dissidents now: General Prosecutor Tarek W. Saab threatens human rights NGOs and says security forces detained 749 citizens. "I want to give a preliminary figure that may grow over the course of the day, so far there are 749 of these criminals detained," he reported. https://t.co/lmle3yh4qt Caracas Chronicles (@CaracasChron) July 30, 2024 BREAKING: Maduro and his thugs have launched a wave of arrests of election observers who saw too much and spoke out in public. This woman thought she would help safeguard honest elections. Now, she gets arrested from home while just in her underwear. Via @AlertaMundoNews pic.twitter.com/O866LgfyGf Visegrad 24 (@visegrad24) July 31, 2024 #BREAKING | The regime of Nicolas Maduro created an app so that Chavistas can denounce their opposition neighbors for demonstrating against the fraud. Then, the regime's security forces kidnap the demonstrators from their homes. Orlando Avendano (@OrlvndoA) July 31, 2024 They're also trying to memory-hole their violence: Maduros chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab is on live TV saying that the opposition have been staging deaths by taking pictures of protesters covered in ketchup laying on the ground. Caracas Chronicles (@CaracasChron) July 31, 2024 And much of the press is following: Ughhhhh Venezuela is getting pushed WAY down on major US news outlets this morning by Hamas - but also other news. Go look. Much of worlds attention is already moving on. It shouldnt. Brian Winter (@BrazilBrian) July 31, 2024 This tweet, by the way, was from a sitting Reuters correspondent, a good one. Maduro got the foreign backing from the world's rogue states he wanted, while the U.S. is still chasing pieces of paper of "proof" that the election was stolen, which turns out are easy to forge with the time Biden has given them. They're always in a reaction mode. As for Maduro, he's asking for even more time so his Chinese worker-ants can get the job done to produce the results to his liking for gullible Western observers and his leftist amen-corner in the West. He has this additional excuse to stall them: This was always going to be the strategy. Maduro will say the voting data was corrupted by a fascist cyberattack. https://t.co/LqVIXOAfnQ Brian Winter (@BrazilBrian) July 31, 2024 Soon enough, he'll come out with the actas of the Chinese and Cuban making, and then the White House will have to try to prove that they were not the actas, which will mean weeks and weeks of wrangling and argument, while Maduro keeps rounding up the dissidents and consolidating his power further and the Bidenites will wonder why they can't prove anything. Had the Biden administration called out the fraud immediately, there would not have been time for this current charade that stands to waste a lot of time and will only give Maduro the space he needs to make his dictatorship stronger, viler, and nastier. The Russians and Chinese acted quickly because they know they have got a lot at stake. The U.S. also has a lot at stake, as in, are we safe from Russian weapons and spying while Maduro runs Venezuela, and will we get another seven million fleeing migrants once this guy seals his power? The Bidenites got to quit reacting to events and call a fraud a fraud. It's a sensitive topic for them, of course, for obvious reasons. Anybody think Joe Biden or his minions are up to that? Image: Twitter screen shot First, the good news: The scheme to feed our troops lab grown meat while confined in operational environments is now officially defunct, according to a press release from the National Cattlemens Beef Association via Cowboy State Daily. Now, for the not-so-good news. The plan doesnt appear to be entirely dead but just on ice, with the schemers having simply adjusted fire, seemingly setting their sights on an easier target: school children. Allow me to break it all down. In June of this year, Adam Kredo at The Washington Free Beacon reported on a collaborative effort between the Department of Defense and BioMADE (at taxpayer expense of course) to grow and expand the lab-grown meat industry using our troops as guinea pigs, because of global warming or something: BioMADE, a public-private company that has received more than $500 million in funding from the Defense Department, announced earlier this month that it is seeking proposals to develop innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at ... DoD operational environments, according to an online announcement. These include novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein, or lab-grown meat, a product that is still in its experimental phases. Lab-grown meat is a filthy and disgusting product with a far greater (negative) environmental impact than traditional ranching and is wholly barbaricunlike sourcing meat the old-fashioned way from your local farmeras the cultures largely used in the process come from aborted cow fetuses: Foetal Bovine Serum: Lab-grown meat relies heavily on animal serum, particularly foetal bovine serum (FBS), sourced from slaughtered pregnant cows. FBS is a versatile option compared to other serums, as it contains an array of proteins suitable for growing and duplicating different types of animal cells. (And wouldnt you know it, the pseudo-bleeding hearts cry about the barbarity of murdering an unborn cow, yet still support abortion.) Anyway, the revelation prompted serious outcry, because lab-grown meat is experimental, and laced with unknown chemicalsthis is proprietary information which needs to be kept away from the prying eyes of the publicwhich is why the NCBA fought back hard, and for now, can claim a victory. (And as you might have been able to guess, there are just two degrees of separation between BioMADE and Bill Gates; Gates was part of a $275-million investment into Ginkgo Bioworks, which is one of the industry members of BioMADE.) However If you go to the BioMADE website, you see that the companys mission includes large-scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain, and education and workforce development. And, some of those public collaborators are public school districts; I count no fewer than four on the BioMADE website: Davis School District (Utah) Eden Prairie School District (Minnesota) Murray School District (Utah) Worcester Public Schools (Massachusetts) Are these schools handing out free lunches? Whats really in the food in the cafeteria? Furthermore, its even more concerning considering that history provides us with a plethora of examples in which the the government has poisoned Americans, particularly military members and school-aged children, for the sake of sick science experiments. From the Smithsonian: When Fred Boyce and dozens of other boys joined the Science Club at Fernald State School in 1949, it was more about the perks than the science. Club members scored tickets to Boston Red Sox games, trips off the school grounds, gifts like Mickey Mouse watches and lots of free breakfasts. But Fernald wasnt an ordinary school, and the free breakfasts from the Science Club werent your average bowl of cereal: the boys were being fed Quaker oatmeal laced with radioactive tracers. The Fernald students experiment was just one among dozens of radiation experiments approved by the Atomic Energy Commission. Between 1945 and 1962, more than 210,000 civilians and GIs were exposed to radiation, often without knowing it. What seems unthinkable in today's era of ethics review boards and informed consent was standard procedure at the dawning of the Atomic Age. Oh, and how could we forget when the National Institutes of Health funded research that tested novel AIDS drugs on minority foster children, from infancy into the teens; heres this, from an NBC News report: In one study, researchers reported a disturbing higher death rate among children who took higher doses of a drug. That study was unable to determine a safe and effective dosage. Parents, let this serve as a sobering reminder that the government cannot be trusted, especially when it comes to the health and welfare of our precious children. Image: Free image, Pixabay license. As the Left grows more confident of its sway upon our country, it also becomes less mindful of the growing pushback from the American people; its ugly vulnerability is in open view. Their values have decayed into a chimerathe vile Olympic ceremonies and Harriss role models at her rallies are current cases in point. Furthermore, as a federal priority against the people, the administrative state, a.k.a., The Swamp, has burgeoned into a lawless fifth estate, branching out to spy on us, opening our borders, and grabbing, every which way, powers, far beyond our wildest expectations. (The Founders were not unaware of these dangerssee their separation of powers, largely dissed in current practice.) Joe Bidens recent foray into bruising the Supreme Court for his own personal aims against Trump, of course to protect himself, is yet another example. Which leaves the American peoplewhere? Well, where we have always beenin our homes, doing our jobs, biding our time, and increasingly confident that the federal government, and its obliging state media arm, are our biggest enemies. Its timely to consider the rise and fall of communist and socialist regimes; we may yet see one of these rises. Of the three women befriended by my mother in the 1950s in D.C., attracted to their grace and steadiness, all three had separately fled from the then-communist regimes in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. If they had stayed in Eastern Europe, they would have been killed. They had lost family (murdered) and fortune. All three had a certain qualitythey, their families, and friends, had all endured the worst of oppressive, heartless systems, and all felt blessed to have survived and gotten out. To them, U.S. citizenship was the ultimate blessing of their lives. Melania Trump, in her amazingly tranquil steadfastness, reminds me of these three womenfor similar reasons. Melania is quite clear about what it means to be an American. She is not afraid to thank God for that. So, okay, what if we do getin the fullness of timea uniparty, say a newly minted Democratic partyor socialism or communism for real? What if we are forced into the same experiences as our fellow-citizens who have lost their God-given liberties? Theyve been killed, imprisoned, scorned, and hated by what is becomingin one of the spectacularly consistent ironies of these brutish progressive systemsthe ruling class. A total reversal of America the Free (as it is not even now) would be earth-shaking for us and felt around the world. Our miseries challenge us every moment. We feel the tickling of their hateful whips, we see their tasteless delusions multiplying, we sense the tremors of fear of them even in our beloved countryside. Just to be clear, everything, each iota of the Obama/Biden/Harris agenda, along with every work of its ugly administrative state, is blatantly unconstitutional. Will the Bill of Rights survive? When our illiterate youth do not even know what is the Bill of Rightshaving had a lousy public educationis there really any hope? Yes, there is. Even if it is over, it will not be over. Our hope lies in reclaiming the Judeo-Christian faith that empowers every single document for liberty, the same one that our founders so extraordinarily deployed to get America on its feet. The Left hates this Jewish/Christian thing, because of course they do. Faith in God makes demands upon our morals, our respectfulness, our consciences, and our souls; those spoiled by prideful ways and erring wills simply cannot stomach. Yes, there are other belief systems, and we have no argument with them. But America was not founded nor made great on other belief systems. If you pull the Founders faith and fortitude, you pull the rug. What patriotic Americansmillions strongfeel now is the tickling of the Lefts whip on our legs, but they have just begun. We will and must now take the offense, and have faith, not fear. We need far more from our elected leaders from now onand quickly. They need to understand that when our countrys virtue just comes down to the American people, decisions will be taken out of federal hands. The American people have been taking it, fast and hard, from Biden/Harris Inc. since 2020and from Obama for eight years beforehand, of very much the same. It is important that we do not abandon the fray. It is important that we play offense and stand firm. We hope to be at the beginning of a big turning towards the good. We must hold our strength close, act in faith, and be ready to effect that good change. Image: DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr, unaltered. Not satisfied with erasing Confederate names, DoDs Star Chamber has reconvened, this time to strip the Medal of Honor from the 20 soldiers who received it during the incident at Wounded Knee. Wielding the club of "presentism," they will review those citations through the 21st-century social justice lens. This effort was spearheaded by Representative KaialiI Kahele (D-HI) and championed in the past by Senator Elizabeth Fauxcahontas Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Reuben Gallego (D-AZ). Somehow, Congress allowed this farce to make it into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) while omitting more important actions for inclusion. At the time, the Medal of Honor was the only valor award; today, there are many grades of valor awards (rank-ordered from lowest to highest), from the Commendation Medal with V (valor) device to the Bronze Star with V device to the Silver Star, the Distinguished Service, Navy, and Air Force Crosses, and finally, the Medal of Honor. A significant problem with this foray into the past includes questions on what definitively sparked the incident, supposedly the accidental discharge of a rifle being taken away from a Native American, nor an accurate account of the number of Native American casualties; estimates range from 150 to 300. Twenty-five soldiers were killed. That indicates a two-way fight. Citations for the Medal of Honor are sketchy and brief, ranging from distinguished bravery to went to the rescue of the commanding officer who had fallen severely wounded, picked him up, and carried him out of range of the hostile guns. Again, the lowly soldier is accountable for being placed in a dangerous situation by inept and feckless senior political and military leadership. A more appropriate target would be Major General James Forsyth, then a colonel and the commander during this episode. Will Camp Forsyths name at Fort Riley be changed? Im sure those 20 soldiers will have adequate representation during this objective historical witch hunt. Would this review have happened if the 9th or 10th Cavalry (all black units commanded by white officers) were involved? Are all of their actions on the frontier squeaky clean? Or is it the continuation of the DEI push to purge the imaginary toxic white extremism and masculinity from our Army? See Pete Hegseths The War on Warriors on this subject. As if the purge of Confederate names from DoD wasnt enough to negatively impact the recruiting crisis, let's purge Irish and German immigrant names from the Medal of Honor role, too. Large numbers of those ethnic groups comprised the Army on the frontier, as witnessed in the names of those on the chopping block. German names: Mosheim Feaster, Joshua Hartzog, Bernhard Jetter, Jacob Trautman, Herman Ziegner, Paul Weinhart, and Adam Neder. Irish names: Albert McMillin, Thomas Sullivan, and John Clancy. These men represent fifty percent of those awarded the Medal of Honor for that action. The remainder have mostly British surnames. Ive seen this rewriting of history before for political reasons, such as when Mary E. Walkers Medal of Honor was restored in the era of feminism and the effort to add the Equal Rights Amendment. The Left's efforts to make her the American Joan of Arc for progressivism are nauseating. She wasnt even in the Army but a contractor and received it for meritorious services. At least the soldiers at Wounded Knee received theirs for gallantry and heroism in combat. Given the threats facing our homeland, perhaps these resources would be better used to fix the recruiting crisis plaguing our army. Who is setting the priorities? Until significant reforms and a personnel house cleaning at the Pentagon, aka the Puzzle Palace, are implemented, this retired Army officer cannot and will not recommend anyone enlist in the military. Cincinnatus is a retired Army officer and Army civilian with 40 years of service in the Department of Defense, 18 of which were overseas. He holds three Master's Degrees in International Relations-Strategic Studies, US History, and Secondary Education. Image: U.S. Government Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and countless other Democrats have called President Trump and his supporters irredeemable, deplorable, terrorists, racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes, xenophobes, Hitler, fascists, dictators, and the greatest existential threat to our freedom and survival, and that is all just a-okay; Democrats are uniters who want to bring the country together. But it is supposedly repulsive and the most vile and divisive rhetoric ever spoken if Trump points out that Kamala used to play up her Indian heritage for political points before she focused on being black. It is also not okay to say she is a DEI hire, even though Biden said he was going to pick a black woman as VP specifically for diversity purposes. In 2016, Kamala and the media cheered that she was the first Indian-American senator. Now they act like Trump just pulled that comment out of thin air. KJP says no one should ever question how someone identifies, even when they play the race card every day. One day you can identify as a man, the next minute as a woman, and no one should question it. After all, Democrats cant seem to tell the difference between men and women anymore, while they falsely claim they are the party of science. No one is allowed to bring up how liberal Kamalas voting record was as a senator or what her policies are: BREAKING: GovTrack just DELETED their 2019 page that ranked Kamala Harris as THE MOST LIBERAL of all 100 Senators It would be a shame if we made it viral: pic.twitter.com/Pi6KvngOTh End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 24, 2024 We arent allowed to bring up the fact that she was put in charge of the disastrous border, as the complicit media members attempt to gaslight into thinking she was never named border czar by Biden: The media is claiming that Kamala Harris was NEVER Biden's border czar. Unfortunately for the regime, we have . Here's the moment she got the title: pic.twitter.com/n78ovTOLA4 End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 24, 2024 They are even pretending that 10 million illegals coming across during Bidens time in office is the fault of Trump and other Republicans. Questions about Kamalas lack of accomplishments seem to be off-limits to people posing as reporters. Her professional record is as irrelevant and uninteresting to journalists as the Biden family business of collecting kickbacks. The public is also not allowed to know how Kamala crawled up the political ladder, and how corruption charges surrounding her sugar daddy Willie Brown were dropped as soon as she took office. We are supposed to believe that she is tough on crime and that no one is above the law. From The Federalist: The Media Wont Tell You Political Corruption Defined Kamala Harris Affair With Willie Brown The New York Times says its sexist to question why Harris had an affair with a powerful political boss twice her age but the facts theyre not telling you are damning. ... Once in [the DAs] office, Harris then dropped or pled out corruption charges against friends of Willie Brown that Hallinan had been pursuing. There were a number of Browns friends let off the hook, but most notably this included a sweetheart plea deal for a notorious city contractor caught defrauding the city by using inferior recycled concrete in sensitive projects such as parking garages and the Bay Bridge. This compromised the structural integrity of those projects and endangered lives. But Harris dropped all the fraud charges and accepted a guilty plea on a single count involving an environmental violation. Harris office had no explanation for why it dropped the concrete case, reported the Chronicle. We were also not allowed to see how Obama moved up the political ladder, or point out his relationship to terrorist Bill Ayers or political fixer Tony Rezko. Just remember, the media and other Democrats dont care about facts or corruption or science. They havent for a long time. They only care about power! And also remember it is Biden and other Democrats who think they are entitled to black votes no matter what they have or havent done. Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr, unaltered. What do people after their eighth, ninth, or tenth election is stolen in front of their faces? And in this recent election, in the most brazenly, nakedly, fraudulent way possible? Probably the same thing California's voters do, after getting the same result over and over again in the solid blue state. Axios found a poll indicating what people in Venezuela would do: More than 40% of Venezuelans polled in the past few months said they'd consider emigrating if Maduro stayed in power. Nevertheless, advocates say hope is pushing people to keep fighting. What they're saying: "Obviously, if [President Nicolas] Maduro stays in power, there's going to be a new exodus. That's a fact," Adelys Ferro, Venezuelan American Caucus executive director, told Axios Miami. The New York Times on July 18 found a second poll showing that a third of Venezuelans would flee the country if Maduro stays in power. One private poll by the company ORC Consultants, conducted in June, suggests that as many as one-third of Venezuelans are considering the possibility of migrating if the current government remains in power. Half of those said they would leave in the six-month period after the July 28 vote. ... and ... For thousands of Venezuelans, the decision to remain or flee their homeland depends on a single date: July 28. On that day, the country will vote in a high-stakes presidential election. If the countrys authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, declares victory, they say they will go. If the opposition candidate wins, they will stay. Everyone says the same thing, said Leonela Colmenares, 28, the opposition activist. If Maduro wins, they are leaving. World Population Review notes that Venezuela has 29.4 million people as of 2024. The Times notes that a quarter of that population has already fled the country, meaning, 8 million people, probably over the course of a few years. Whether that means the country had 32 million people as of that counting, or that Venezuela now has 21 million people to use the recent World Population Review chart, or the population used to be 37 million people (I don't think it was ever that high), give or take a few hundred thousand, is unknown, as the numbers don't match up entirely. But what it could mean, rounded up to 30 million, is that the numbers who would flee, at the lowest end of the scale, would be about 10 million, based on the World Population Review numbers, to take the one-third figure from the ORC poll, or about 13 million, to take the Axios-found poll, which is more than the 8 million whom the United Nations says have already fled. Most are real refugees who take the first country of refuge, meaning, they tend to be spread among their neighbors in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Panama and the like. But 750,000 or so, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a leftist think tank, are here, and the number is likely low, given the various ways Venezuelans have to get into the U.S., including through Joe Biden's special app for "parole in place" for Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, which lets 30,000 into the country each month to file asylum claims and live here while they wait for adjudication. Venezuelans are already the largest group let in through that program. It does not include other ways of getting in, such as through illegal border crossings known as "encounters" or "gotaways" whose numbers are truly unknown. Migrants tend to move where their families are, so Florida, where most Venezuelan migrants live, is likely to get inundated, much as it already is from Cuba and Haiti. Axios notes that Florida officials are getting ready. Whatever the number is, it's likely to be more than the number who are already here. It's sorry stuff, because this stolen election is being stolen based on the swift support provided to the Maduroites from its allies in Russia, Cuba and China, who know what they have at stake if the Venezuelan voters throw Maduro out, along with the slow, pokey, show-us-the-proof, and get the international organizations to make rulings first reactive response of the Biden White House. It's almost as if Biden and Harris want this huge migrant wave, even if the people coming are likely to have very cold views of election fraud. Why not bankrupt the state of Florida with more migrants as well as re-populate the blue states that have seen population fleeing in order to hold onto congressional seats? It's a seemingly cynical move, but more likely, just the Bidenites not thinking anything through as they hem and haw about "transparency" and Maduro runs away with another electoral theft amid all the time wasted. Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, all led by radical leftists, are gumming up the basic condemnation of what happened in the Organization of American States now. The Bidenites should have called out the fraud immediately, as President Javier Milei of Argentina did, and not taken any guff, nor fraudy data manufactured and released by the Maduroites which is coming up for the international left to tout and promote as 'fact.' Time wasted is Maduro's and Russia's advantage. No wonder people there just want to leave. As if having Russia and China ever more entrenched in Venezuela to spy on and harass us isn't enough of a problem for the U.S. with this stolen election, the migrant surge that follows from it is bound to be big and hit the U.S. hard. Are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ready for it? Of course they aren't. That means the U.S. taxpayer pays, and pays again, for the upcoming wave. But who's counting under this ignorant and reactive administration? Image: Thomasbelloofficial, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED They are doing everything possible to detach VP Kamala Harris from the Biden-Harris record. I can understand why, but it won't work because the evidence is overwhelming. This is from Jim Watson: Democrats now insist that Vice President Kamala Harris, the partys presumptive presidential nominee, was never actually the border czar in the Biden administration and instead only had responsibility for a small slice of the immigration portfolio -- tackling the root causes of migration from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. It's easy to see why theyre downplaying her role: The border has been, and remains, one of the Biden-Harris administrations biggest electoral liabilities. Cities and states are struggling to house an unprecedented surge in immigration, with even blue states like Massachusetts imposing new restrictions on shelter for migrants. The blame for this ultimately lies with President Biden. Harris, though, is a senior member of the administration and deserves her share of the responsibility for its border fiasco. Even judging her just on what the vice president was said to be responsible for, however vaguely defined, she still fell short: Harris barely addressed the true root causes of immigration over the past three and a half years. Yes, she fell short objectively. However, her biggest mistake was not taking the task seriously, an insult I would think to the President who appointed her. The VP never spoke with border governors like our own Governor Greg Abbott of Texas. She took a meaningless trip to look for the root causes when everybody knows that the issue is an open border and lack of enforcement of laws. So the VP cannot escape the issue because she made it worse with her lack of respect for Americans impacted by the issue. It's on her and that's no joke, as her boss would say. P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. Image: AT via Magic Studio Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelen, both of whom have been languishing in the Soviet, I mean, Russian prisons for years on trumped-up espionage charges, have been released. It appears that their release is part of a larger, multi-nation prisoner swap that includes the exchange of prisoners from Germany, Great Britain, the US, and Slovenia on the one side and Russia and Belarus on the other. The basis for the suspicion about the multi-national, multi-prisoner release is the sudden disappearance and possible removal of prisoners in Russia from their places of incarceration and, as-of-yet unconfirmed reports online that at least six special Russian government planes had flown to and from the regions where their prisons were located. Additionally, a host of Russians imprisoned in the U.S. are no longer in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons database. Both Gershkovichs and Whelans releases are long overdue, along with the as-yet-unreported release of former teacher Marc Vogel, convicted in 2022 for possession of pot. It is a badge of shame that these men have languished in Soviet Gulags, I mean, Russian prisons, for as long as they have. Image: Evan Gershkovich. YouTube screen grab. If they and several other wrongfully imprisoned Americans are indeed freed and returned (one hopes in good health), lets not overlook the timing of this. By agreeing to this prisoner swap, Putin is signaling his support for Harris. He knows a Harris presidency is a continuation of a weak America on all fronts, foreign and domestic, which makes room for increased Russian (and Chinese) hegemony. There can be no doubt this is a campaign ploy by Biden and Harris so they can brag on the campaign trail about their foreign policy prowess and strength and look tough on crime, tough on foreign policy, and tough on Russian oligarchswhitewashing their history of pusillanimity, of bending the knee and bending over to our enemies while kicking our allies in the behind. Russians, in particular former Soviets, think Americans are stupid, and they themselves are brilliant. When I lived in St. Petersburg, this was one of many things I detested among the people I met there. It is in that spirit that Putin will likely continue to think he is the most clever guy in the room for this move, but the reality is he just played his hand: he fears Trump and a Trump presidency. He knows Trump will push him to end the war with Ukraine, a war Putin wants to continue until Ukraine is either crushed into submission or obliterated in its current form. He knows Trump will again cripple the Russian economy by providing American energy to the Europeans. He knows Trump will strengthen a faltering US economy and that an economically healthy America with strong leadership threatens Putin, his ally China, and their terrorist allies in the Middle East. He knows Trump will not hesitate to employ economic sanctions and any other tools available to make life difficult for Putins brand of Soviet-style, I mean, oligarchical governance. He knows America is likely to find her center under a Trump presidency and return to normalcy in the culture wars, making her more united and stronger, whereas Harris will plunge America into deeper despair and cultural chaos, allowing her enemies to move in for the kill. Putin trembles at the possibility of a Trump Administration. What do we do with that information? Celebrate the release and regained freedom of these Americans, but remind your friends that when they step into the voting booth, a vote for Harris is a vote for Putin and China, and a vote for Trump is a vote for America. Since Colorado turned blue, Democrats have done significant damage in the Legislature and have created some disastrous consequences. Here is one outrageous example. It is a cautionary tale for voters in other states. During the 2024 Regular Session of the Colorado House, Rep. Sheila Lieder (D) sponsored HB24-1344, the Sunset Plumbing Board bill. Her cosponsor was Rep. Naquetta Ricks (D). (My husband Peter is running against the incumbent Lieder, which is why I learned about this travesty.) The bill to keep the Colorado Plumbing Board from expiring was a pretty good bill through the first two readings, after all had made minor changes. However, before the third reading, Rep. Ricks added an amendment, and Lieder seconded it, ruining the bill and causing havoc. The amendment changed a clause that said certified backflow prevention assembly testers are exempt from the licensed plumber requirements to say that those testers are not exempt. It meant that only licensed plumbers could now perform the work. According to a letter from Colleen Morrison of Morrison Backflow Testing to Governor Jared Polis, The Sunset Review: State Plumbing Board made recommendations in October of 2023. Nothing in this report made recommendations to change the licensure requirements for backflow testing. On March 21, 2024, Mr. Sean Wyatt, representing the Plumbers Local 3, testified to amend the bill. Dave Miller, representing the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. This appears to be motivated by commercial interests of the plumbing industry. Were commercial interests a good reason? Thats questionable, because licensed plumbers dont want to do the testing, generally its not worth their time and the effect of the change will be terrible. Note: Representative Lieder is known to be supported by unions and was a lobbyist. Also, she does not seem to have much expertise on subjects such as plumbing. Backflow is important. It is reversed water flow within a plumbing system and can contaminate clean water supplies. Morrison said in a 9News interview, A backflow prevention device prevents any used water from getting into our public drinking water. So, a big deal. Indeed. Annual backflow prevention assembly testing is a requirement under public health rules, and failure to conduct the tests is a violation that can result in notices and even the shutdown of water systems. Said Morrison to Governor Polis, I am requesting you take Executive Action on HB24-1344 section 18 prior to July 1, 2024 to prevent this legislation from going into effect. This bill will impact my small backflow business and many others. We have been a Colorado business for 17 years. Our company tests and repairs backflow prevention assemblies. It has never been a requirement in the State of Colorado to be a licensed plumber to test and repair backflow assemblies. This bill affects more than small businesses testing backflows. By confining the testing and repair of backflows to a small group of licensed individuals that are not capable of taking on the tremendous amount of work, it will have a larger impact on Colorados economy. As water districts will be forced to shut off water to businesses and residents for non-compliance; Impacting tourism, health care providers and housing to name few. Denver Waters CEO and manager, Alan Salazar, confirmed and expanded what Morrison told the governor in a letter to the Colorado Plumbing Board with 11 municipal water providers and others. As you are aware, this change drastically reduced the pool of available backflow assembly inspectors around 80-90% of whom are not licensed plumbers. Consequently, Denver Water and water utilities across the state have lost the ability to obtain timely test results. For perspective, Denver Water alone has 44,000 inspections that must occur throughout its system each year, and with each passing week the number of outstanding tests increases. This will create an insurmountable backlog that will put drinking water at risk, increase the potential for customers being shut off from water, and lead to unnecessary and costly violations for Colorados water utilities. ... Denver Water is already 42% behind schedule for testing in July. The costs associated with this delay ultimately passed onto our customers will be extreme. Indeed, the cost of testing a backflow assembly when done by licensed plumbers is $200 to $300 per test, or more, at least two to three times the average pricing by certified testers. The Colorado Plumbing Board has instituted a temporary stay, but fines may still be imposed by government agencies. What a mess. Democrat legislators caused damage to Coloradoans through poor legislating. At least one may be hiding what she did from voters. Learn by this negative example: choose carefully whom you vote for in local races this November! CS Boddie writes for Meadowlark Press, LLC. Image via Pixabay. Make America Great Again is perhaps one of the greatest political slogans Ive ever heard: its easily abbreviated, unambiguous, and infuriates the opposition. But, its now got some competition, unsurprisingly from the same side of the political aisle that brought us MAGA. Its memorable, damning, and utterly conclusive: Kamala supports this alongside images or stories of destruction, chaos, injustice, and death. Heres the tweet that seemingly started it all, from John LeFevre: Kamala Harris supports this Vote accordingly. pic.twitter.com/RHJzfrQlvv John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) August 1, 2024 A man gives a smaller, weaker woman such an unforgiving beating that she has to pull from the competition less than a minute into the boutKamala supports that. But the ludicrousness of Kamalas agenda doesnt stop there, so I feel compelled to go through a brief list of what else she supports. Kamalas historic first was visiting an abortion mill during operating hours earlier this year, in a state that permits the murder of preborn children at any gestational age, for any reason. Abortion has been at the center of Harriss senate and presidential campaigns, which means Kamala supports this: Bevelyn Williams, a wife and mother to a 2-year-old daughter, was just sentenced to over 3 years in federal prison for protesting the murder of preborn babies. Abortion is the #1 killer in the Black community. In New York City, where Bevelyn was protesting, more Black babies pic.twitter.com/pIJDPCKNhW Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) July 30, 2024 And this: Today, outside SCOTUS, we held up pictures of five viable babies killed by abortion right here in DC. The opposition turned their heads, refusing to acknowledge the five. America must know the truth. There must be justice for the five. #JusticeForTheFive @eternallystoked pic.twitter.com/lu3oywZQRT Mark Lee Dickson (@MarkLeeDickson) June 27, 2022 Kamala has the blessings of countless LGBTQ++ organizations as a great ally to the cause, which means she supports this: Biden Faces Backlash After Trans Activist Goes Topless At White House Pride Event: A Disgrace To Our Country https://t.co/9NEwxnsa3G pic.twitter.com/3hpbJN7UXu Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 13, 2023 The individual pictured above, bare-breasted on the White House lawn, has since been accused of sexually assaulting a handful of peoplewho knew a mentally ill male with perverse sexual fetishes and a tendency to stripping in public might not care about other peoples personal boundaries? Kamala also supports transitioning children, which means she supports doing this to their precious little bodies: Im on the side of history that doesnt do this to children pic.twitter.com/81c8OECd7s DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) April 3, 2023 Kamala supports this: Republicans are creepy and weird pic.twitter.com/saId5fFR9h Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 29, 2024 Kamala also supports this: NEW: The illegal suspects in the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray accuse each other of her brutal r*pe and killing Franklin Pena, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, are both charged with capital murder in connection to Jocelyn Nungarays death Pena denied touching pic.twitter.com/8jlwRGLJcD Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) July 24, 2024 Kamala the border czar is pro-migrant and anti-border, which means she supports this: NEW - Illegal immigrants arrested, and then released without bail, for brutally beating NYPD police officers flip-off reporters giving them the middle finger. pic.twitter.com/oNI0LNroEl Constitutionalist (@Kc_Casey1) February 1, 2024 Kamala is for green energy, which means she supports this: A dead whale washed up in NJ on Feb 13,2023. It's the 6th dead whale along the Jersey Shore (+another 3 in NY) since Dec 5 following construction of wind turbines off the coast Mayor Paul Kanitra asks Governor,when do these stop becoming coincidences?How many more will it take? pic.twitter.com/W2GsLazk4p John Carter (@JohnEdgarCarter) February 15, 2023 And this: On a sparkling perfect beach day on #CapeCod, doesn't everyone want to go shell-seeking and styrofoam collecting? This lovely 3-inch cube was found today in West Harwich, ~40 miles across the ocean from Nantucket. At least we can subtract 2 ounces from the 70 tons of debris pic.twitter.com/DEs4O55HaU Cape Cod Concerned Citizens-Legal Citizens First! (@CapeCodCitizens) July 27, 2024 And this: If you drive an electric vehicle to do your bit to save the planet, it is more than likely that the vehicle has a battery with cobalt in it. Over 40,000 child slaves mine the cobalt in horrific conditions in Congo. Electric cars are now the biggest source of cobalt demand. pic.twitter.com/BdniRiapn2 James Melville (@JamesMelville) July 26, 2024 Kamala is viciously against a persons God-given right to keep and bear arms, which mean she supports leaving little girls like these defenseless against deranged killers: These are the young girls that lost their life during the mass stabbing in Southport yesterday. Six-year-old, Bebe King Seven-year-old, Elsie Dot Stancombe Nine-year-old, Alice Dasilva Aguiar RIP Angels pic.twitter.com/6wrLmWod6z Western Invasion (@WesternInvasion) July 30, 2024 As LeFevre added, Vote accordingly. Image: YouTube video screen grab, edited. Democrats have apparently decided that their new line of attack against Donald Trump and J.D. Vance is to call them weird. Weird. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Think of Biden alternately yelling and whispering during an address, then turning to shake hands with someone who isnt there. Or Kamala Harris describing her love for yellow school buses and Venn diagrams, then cackling like the Joker. Conjure up the image of Sam Brinton, a non-binary Biden administration nuclear official whose hobby is stealing womens suitcases from airport baggage claims. Or of Admiral Rachel Levine, U.S. assistant secretary for health, a man who once donned a necklace and called himself a woman. Then try to un-conjure up those images. I dare you. Sorry. And what of Hillary, AOC, Nancy Pelosi or Ilhan Omar, who (allegedly) temporarily married her brother? Or Maxine Waters, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, et al.? Weird? Shall I go on? I thought Democrats didnt like labels, found them triggering and hurtful. Why are they being so mean-spirited and exclusionary? This is simply more preposterous projection, the repulsive but sadly effective tactic todays Democrats use more than any other. After all, its all theyve got. They accuse others of doing what they are doing and being what they are. (See also Russian collusion, racists, white supremacists, authoritarians...etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam.) In a saner world, that would be considered weird. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. President Trump was invited by the Black Journalists of America to be a guest at a debate or conversation with his opponent. But no opponent showed up; it was a set-up thats what the left does. ABCs Rachel Scott submarined the former president right off the bat. She was arrogant, rude, and so unserious. She was just a hit-person, disrespectful and oozing contempt. Like the rest of the left, she didn't play fair. But, no matter, Trump can handle himself with far more aplomb and respect for his interrogators than those on the left ever do. Harris Faulkner is one of the fine exceptions to the rule. She is the real deal, an actual journalist. Rachel Scott? Not so much. She was so very concerned to hear from Trump, Was Kamala Harris a DEI hire? Of course, she was. Biden made that abundantly clear at the time. He pledged to appoint a black woman. Someone had a binder and Kamala Harris was the lucky hire because she filled the bill. Yes, she was appointed because she is nominally black but not African-American. She is Indian-Jamaican. She has zero experience as an African-American person because she is not African-American. She hails from Berkeley, California, and the part of her childhood that wasn't there was spent in Montreal, Canada. She ran for the public offices she eventually held in California as an Indian-American. Only after becoming Bidens DEI hire did she suddenly identify as black. Pity the American blacks who fall for her pretensions that she cares a bit about them. She does not. Of that, you can be sure. Just ask the young black men she threw into prison for petty offenses and kept there beyond their terms in order to have their captive labor to fight wildfires. Those of us in California are meant to forget what we know to be true, that she is a woman without any core beliefs beyond her ambition to power. She got every job, and every promotion to higher office she eventually got, thanks to patronage from a powerful man and her submission to such men. She was a terrible, craven, politicized district attorney. Before she became pro-criminal, she put thousands of black men in prison for marijuana possession! She dropped cases her donors found inconvenient including numerous sex abuse cases involving priests. The San Francisco Catholic Church had donated generously to her campaign. She also dismissed cases against her husbands clients. She is nothing more than a tool of the left and/or whoever pays the big bucks. That she is a candidate for the president of the U.S. is an affront, an assault, and an insult to all patriotic Americans whose family members have sacrificed their lives for generations to keep America a free and democratic republic. As a vice presidential candidate, she raised money to bail out countless rioters who committed all manner of crimes during the George Floyd riots that she wholeheartedly supported. That cash she raised bailed out criminals who went on to commit more serious crimes with impunity. ABCs Rachel Scott is hardly unique or special. She is just another anti-white racist like Joy Reid, the women of The View, Rachel Maddow, Whoopi Goldberg in her current incarnation, etc., women hired to incite racial rage. Racial rage sells. The media is chock full of such women (and men) white and black, who believe their path to fame and power is full-scale anti-white sentiment. Thank you, Barack Obama. What is more convenient to their cause than Trump-bashing? That is where their contempt becomes their full-scale campaign to destroy the man that stands opposed to everything they stand for: Open borders, the thorough restriction of fossil fuel, irresponsible spending ($35 trillion debt), the imposition of censorship of speech, religion and the Second Amendment and the mandated sexualization of children. The defining characteristic of the American left today is their contempt for traditional Judeo-Christian values, for the family as the basis of Western civilization. Rachel Scott is the poster child of the lefts contempt for all things essentially American. She has no gratitude for her opportunities, her obvious success in this not-racist nation. She has only contempt, even for the man who did more for black Americans than any president since Lincoln. Perhaps Rachel Scott, like Kamala Harris, does not know that it was the Republican party that freed the slaves, that got the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s passed despite the Democrats opposition. Maybe she does not know that it was Democrats who imposed the Jim Crow laws that were meant to prevent American blacks from succeeding and that it was Republicans who overturned those laws. Rachel Scott, again like Kamala Harris, is very likely ignorant of the actual facts relevant to black Americans throughout U.S. history. She is one of those easily indoctrinated, mind-numbed souls who learned at the seat of far-left professors who embrace CRT and DEI at USC. (She knows DEI is destructive but will never admit it.) Thanks to forty years of anti-American indoctrination in our public schools, she was likely taught from an early age to loathe the country of her birth that has given her every opportunity to become massively successful and perhaps famous. Gratitude is not a left-wing value as Dennis Prager has reminded us for decades. Her verbal abuse of President Trump was despicable but hardly surprising, given who our corporate media seek to hire. Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer people watch ABC, or NBC, or CBS, or CNN, or MSNBC? The left is about one thing, one thing only contempt. They are intolerant. They hate any and all things truly American: the national anthem, faith, the flag, families, love of country, sovereignty, the rule of law, the protection of innocence, and common decency. For inexplicable reasons, they cannot fathom why Trump is a hero to millions of Americans who see their country slipping away into some version of Orwells 1984. Rachel Scott and Kamala Harris are the poster pols for that arrogance and contempt. ABC should be ashamed but they are probably proud of Scotts incivility. Contempt is the name of their game. It is what characterizes the American left, the Democrat party of today. Image: LiveNOW from Fox video, screen shot, via YouTube The hype around Samsungs next-gen mobile flagships is starting to build. Past leaks have revealed some of its specs and features. Now, a Samsung executive has hinted at key areas of the Galaxy S25 series that will get notable upgrades. It seems that the South Korean giant is planning major improvements in several specs for the Galaxy S25. In recent years, Samsung has been conservative when it comes to upgrades, which has made it lag behind other big names. However, the next devices in the Galaxy S line could show a slightly different approach. Samsungs executive confirms top-of-the-line upgrades for the Galaxy S25 series Daniel Araujo, Vice President of Samsung MX, spoke to the companys shareholders during the second quarter earnings call. Regarding the Galaxy S25 series, Araujo said that areas such as camera, display, SoC, RAM, and AI will get top-of-the-line upgrades. Interestingly, the executives words seem to confirm the rumored Galaxy S25 RAM bump. The improvements in camera and display were to be expected considering were talking about Samsung. The company has its own divisions dedicated to developing and manufacturing some of the best displays and image sensors on the market. However, it will be interesting to see if there will be a big jump from the previous generation. Araujos words invite us to be optimistic about it. According to leaks, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will arrive with a 200 MP main camera, a 50 MP telephoto camera (3x optical zoom), a 50 MP periscope camera (5x optical zoom), and a 50 MP ultra-wide camera. Regarding the chip, the company will maintain the dual strategy, implementing the Exynos 2500 in most markets and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in others. Google helping to develop AI with natural language understanding Plus, it seems that Samsung continues to work hand in hand with Google for the development of its AI features. The company debuted its Galaxy AI suite earlier this year alongside the Galaxy S24 series. According to Araujo, Google is helping Samsung implement a natural conversation and experience across [its] devices. So, the company is also working on AI services with better contextual understanding. The Galaxy S25 series is expected to launch in early 2025. Currently, the company is working on the One UI 6.1.1 rollout and One UI 7. Canalys has just revealed that Samsung shipped the most smartphones in Q2 2024, 53.5 million of them. The company actually shared numbers for all five top smartphone manufacturers in Q2. Samsung shipped out 53.5 million smartphones in Q2 2024 Just to be clear, in mid-July, Canalys did share information for the second quarter of the year (top smartphone OEMs), but without actual shipments per brand. Well, those numbers are now here. We also know that the market has grown for the third time in a row. Before we get down to breaking down each brand, lets just say that the overall sales reached 288.9 million units. That is 12% more compared to the same period last year. As already mentioned, Samsung sold most devices with 53.5 million shipments. The company claimed 19% of the market. Apple shipped out 45.6 million phones, claiming 16% of the market, and is second-placed. Xiaomi took the third place, followed by Vivo & TRANSSION Xiaomi sits in third place, and its not that far away from Apple. The company shipped out 42.3 million smartphones and claimed 15% of the market. Xiaomi is followed by Vivo. That Chinese company shipped out 25.9 million phones and took 9% of the smartphone market. The last company that squeezed into the top 5 list is TRANSSION. That is a company behind TECNO and Infinix, by the way. It shipped out 25.5 million smartphones, so its not far away from Vivo. TRANSSION took 9% of the smartphone market as well. That leaves 33% of the market for all the other companies out there. Together, they shipped out 96.2 million smartphones in Q2 2024, less than Samsung and Apple combined. It will be interesting to see how will things proceed from here. Samsung recently announced new, powerful foldables, while Apple is expected to strike back with the iPhone 16 series in September. Xiaomi also recently announced compelling foldables, at least one of which is coming to global markets. Folks over at Zimperium discovered a massive SMS stealer campaign That SMS stealer campaign affected Android devices in 113 countries, and weve asked Google for a comment before reporting on it. Google offered up a response to a massive Android SMS stealer campaign The company behind Android did offer up a comment, and its good news. Well, its good news for those of you who use a smartphone with Google Services, as youre protected by default in this case, it seems. A Google spokesperson told us the following: Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services. Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play. So, Google Play Protect does protect against the known versions of this malware. As long as you didnt disable it (as its on by default), youre good to go. The companys spokesperson also emphasized the importance of having Google Play Protect enabled. This SMS-stealing malware managed to steal one-time 2FA passwords for over 600 services This malware campaign targeted Android devices all over the globe. It utilized thousands of Telegram bots in order to affect them. That SMS-stealing malware also managed to steal one-time 2FA passwords (OTPs) for over 600 services. Zimperium also reported that the operation used 2,600 Telegram bots in order to promote various Android APKs. They were controlled by 13 command and control (C2) servers. The vast majority of victims of this malware are located in India and Russia. Brazil, Mexico, and the US also have a significant number of victims, the company said. The whole point of this malware was to generate income, of course. The vast majority of such scams are motivated by financial gain, and this one is no different. Reddit is one of the most popular social platforms, boasting millions of daily active users. Therefore, it can be a very valuable source of data in the age of AI. However, the company does not want big companies to take advantage of its data for free. Reddit CEO has said publicly that they want Microsoft and others to pay for use of its content. Reddit has already reached agreements with such big names as Google and OpenAI for the use of data in LLM training. This allows the company to receive compensation, while AI-powered third-party services have access to a gigantic data library. However, things have not been so easy with Microsoft, who seems to have a different point of view. Microsoft should pay for using Reddit content in AI training, Reddit CEO says It is public that, with respect to AI, Microsoft considers most of the content available on the internet to be free to use. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of the Microsoft AI division, made this clear in a public interview. Suleyman said that they do not take content whose author explicitly requests not to be used for AI training. However, the executive considers the rest of the content on the internet as freeware. Of course, this goes completely against Reddits intention of making Microsoft pay for using the platforms content. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman not only criticized Microsoft for taking data without paying but also other AI companies such as Anthropic and Perplexity. A Reddit spokesperson told The Verge that Microsoft and Reddit have attempted to negotiate on the matter. However, they were unable to reach a satisfactory agreement for all parties. Meanwhile, Huffman warns that they will implement blocks for companies taking data from Reddit without authorization or compensation. Reddit blocked Bing from accessing content on the platform In fact, the company has already implemented some blocks. For example, by not reaching an agreement with Microsoft, Reddit blocked Bings access to its data in search results. The Reddit dev team even has a Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt) designed for this purpose. Still, Huffman admits that applying blocks to such large companies is a real pain in the ass, so hed probably rather not have to. Reddit CEO says the company is selective about who we work with and trust with large-scale access to Reddit content. Only time will tell if Reddit and Microsoft resolve their dispute and come to an agreement, or if we will see blocks on a larger scale in the near future. After all, Huffman and Suleymans views regarding the use of content available on the Internet seem totally antagonistic, and someone would have to give in. The Tecno Phantom V Fold2 has arrived on the Google Play Console, which suggests it could launch soon. The foldable smartphone has also appeared on TUV Rheinland certification, revealing some key specifications and features. The Tecno Phantom V Fold2 Google Play Console listing reveals key specs Tecno isnt a big brand like Samsung or Xiaomi, but its pretty popular in some regions like Africa. However, the company has been launching devices that compete with several smartphones that are way above their price range. Tecno launched the Phantom V Fold back in February of 2023. It was one of the most aggressively priced foldable Android smartphones. It had appealing features and capable hardware. The Tecno Phantom V Fold2 first surfaced on Geekbench way back in January, and now it has reportedly appeared on the Google Play Console. Tecno Phantom V2 Fold 5G/Phantom V Fold2 5G has received Bluetooth SIG certification, suggesting that its launch is imminent.#Tecno #TecnoPhantomV2Fold pic.twitter.com/6gd09TlEap Vinish Keshri (@vinishkeshri12) June 24, 2024 The listing confirms Tecno has embedded a MediaTek chipset inside the foldable smartphone with the model number MediaTek MT6983Z/TCZA. The octa-core chipset has a single Prime Performance core clocked at 3.2GHz, three cores clocked at 2.85GHz, and four Efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz. The SoC is packing a Mali G710 GPU clocked at 955MHz, which suggests Tecno may have opted for a Dimensity 9000+ SoC. Some reports suggest Tecno may have used a slightly tweaked version of the same SoC that powered its predecessor. Previous reports have suggested the foldable Tecno smartphone is packing 12GB of RAM. The outer display could have a 1.5k resolution, while the inner display could have a 2000 x 2296 pixels resolution with a 480 PPI screen density. The TUV certification for the device reveals Tecno has opted for a dual battery setup comprising 2973mAh and 2637mAh. This means the Tecno Phantom V Fold2 should have a combined battery capacity of 5610mAh. Tecno might be offering two foldable smartphones It is interesting to note that Tecno is readying the Tecno Phantom V Fold2. The device isnt named Phantom V2 Fold. Moreover, the Google Play Console listing mentions the model number AE10, which is also present in the TUV and the EEC certification. Back when the device surfaced on Geekbench, it had the model name Phantom V2 Fold. It is possible that the company could be readying two foldable smartphones. The Tecno Phantom V Fold2 should be a foldable smartphone with a regular screen on the front, and a large screen when unfolded. This is because Tecno already offers a clamshell-style foldable smartphone called the Tecno Phantom V Flip. Hence, it is more likely that Tecno might launch two identical smartphones with different names for different regions. Regular exercise can lessen your risk of dementia (Getty Images) (Halfpoint Images via Getty Images) Dementia affects nearly 1 million people in the UK, with the latest projections estimating that this number could rise to 1.4 million by 2040. However, a new major report has earmarked several health conditions that, if reduced or eliminated, could essentially halve the amount of dementia cases worldwide. A previous study from 2020 found 12 risk factors that could lead to a dementia diagnosis, including obesity, smoking, depression, lack of physical activity, low level of education, high blood pressure, diabetes, excessive drinking, hearing problems, traumatic brain injury, air pollution, and social isolation. This new review, published in The Lancet journal, has added vision loss and high cholesterol to this list. The researchers said that the potential for prevention is high, in that some of these conditions can be prevented or reversed. "Nearly half of dementias could theoretically be prevented by eliminating these 14 risk factors," the study said. Getting help with mental health could lessen your dementia risk. (Getty Images) (Westend61 via Getty Images) In fact, the authors estimated that 45% of our risk of the disease can be changed by preventing or reversing these conditions. "Its never too early or too late to take action," lead author Prof Gill Livingston, from University College London, told the BBC. Governments must reduce risk inequalities by making healthy lifestyles as achievable as possible for everyone. The researchers have also provided a recommendations list for healthcare systems to use when looking to reduce the likelihood of dementia. This includes: Ensuring hearing aids are accessible Investing in good quality education Emphasis on exercise and sports Encourage people to stop smoking Treating high cholesterol and blood pressure Preventing obesity Reducing problem drinking Eyesight screening Air pollution reduction Ensuring people are not isolated or lonely While there are some factors on the list that may be out of your control, such as hearing loss, a traumatic brain injury, and poor eyesight, there are others where you can take action in order to prevent the likelihood of dementia. Quitting smoking can lessen your dementia risk. (Getty Images) (JGI/Tom Grill via Getty Images) If you suffer from, or are affected by, social isolation, excessive drinking, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, many of these are modifiable lifestyle factors that you can speak to your GP or a qualified healthcare professional about. There are also organisations that offer support for some of the conditions stated, such as mental health charity Mind, Alcohol Change, or the NHS Smokefree National Helpline on 0300 123 1044. Health: Read more One of the cutest things that almost all animals do is get the zoomies. They run! They jump and play! They have fun getting out all of that pent-up energy in a short amount of time! I've seen a lot of animals with the zoomies, but one that I hadn't seen before was a giraffe with zoomies. TikToker Gerald's Life posted a video of an adorable baby giraffe named Finn who had a case of the zoomies, and it's the cutest thing you'll see today! Gerald posted the video on Monday, July 29th. Finn, whose mom is close by watching, is ready to tackle the new week and is filmed running around his enclosure. The video is set to the song Footloose, which fits it perfectly! I could watch this video on repeat! Well, where can I get a baby giraffe?! I wish the video was longer because it was the cutest thing ever! Commenters loved Gerald's video of Finn as much as I did. One commenter said, "Thats a Finn sized package of pure happiness!" @KimAdams15 pointed out, "That sweet baby wants to play!" and @brighteyes92 added, "Baby Finn has moves!" Related: Baby Giraffe Being Allowed in the Big Boy Enclosure for the First Time Is Too Cute Fun Baby Giraffe Facts Giraffe babies are born big, really big! At birth, they weigh between 110-150 pounds and stand at 6 feet tall. They are born with their eyes open and come out feet first. They look like miniatures copies of mom, but their horns, called "ossicones", don't stick straight up. They're born folded against their head, and it takes a few hours for them to stand up straight. Baby giraffes are pretty active almost from the moment they are born. Within an hour or so after being born, the baby (called a calf) is ready to take its first steps. And not only does it walk, but it can run soon after, with zoomies not far behind! While giraffes are born big, they grow fast as well. Giraffes double in size within the first year...talk about growing up quickly! Even though they are "big" babies, they'll nurse from mom for 9-12 months. In the wild they'll stay with mom for up to their first two years. Females will return to visit mom and the herd throughout her life, and males like Finn set off on their own around 15 months old. Normally, they'll join an all-male herd to learn how to fight, protect themselves, and how to care for themselves before they are old enough to mate, around 7 years of age. One of my favorite facts about giraffes has to do with how little they sleep. Giraffes have one of the shortest sleep durations among all land mammals and it's probably a lot less than you might guess. Wildlife FAQ explains, "On average, adult giraffes sleep for about 30 minutes a night, and their entire sleep cycles are typically around 35 minutes or shorter. This brief period of sleep is divided into short bursts that rarely exceed five minutes. Despite their limited sleep time, giraffes seem to function well and thrive in their natural habitat." Baby giraffes don't sleep a whole lot more than that; just a few hours a night total. Adults sleep so little for two main reasons: to protect themselves from predators and because they're constantly on the move for food. They prioritize feeding over sleep, and spend their time grazing and digesting food. Needless to say, I'm glad that I'm not a giraffe because I prefer sleeping over eating! Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. A current BBC employee and a former member of staff at the broadcaster have been critical of an internal inquiry into Huw Edwards behaviour following them speaking to the corporations investigation team. The veteran broadcaster, 62, admitted accessing indecent images of children earlier this week, and the corporation was aware he was arrested on suspicion of serious offences in November. Edwards, who resigned in April, was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBCs latest annual report. Last year, one current and one former BBC worker told BBC News that they had received inappropriate messages from Edwards. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards at Westminster Magistrates Court, London. (Aaron Chown/PA) The staff member said they felt like we had an obligation to report it, and during the internal investigation they felt the whistleblowing team had all the questions they hoped they would. Then I was sort of surprised that I havent been informed about the findings or how the report was used, they said. I certainly dont feel like Ive heard anything of substance about how the investigation went. In a way thats disappointing because it was quite a stressful thing to go through. It was all a big ordeal. The former BBC employee claimed Edwards was pushy for them to see each other, and invited him to a hotel room that was paid for by the corporation, during the coverage of the funeral of Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh. They claim they gave everything and co-operated, which included a photograph sent by Edwards of his suite. They say the BBC not publishing findings, doesnt seem transparent, it seems like things have been swept under the carpet, theyve marked their own homework. The BBC did publish another report, which was commissioned in the wake of the Sun alleging that Edwards paid a young person for sexually explicit photos, in February, that looked into the complaints process. The family of the young person received an apology, and the review highlighted failures in the complaints process, and promised improvements. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter, but the mother of the young person told the Sun that she feels vindicated following Edwards guilty plea on Wednesday. She said: It sickens me to my core that he had those videos of that little boy when he was also talking to my child and asking them for sexual pictures. I knew he was an abuser but now I know he is truly a monster. She added: It felt like we were just the little men, so could be easily brushed aside. They all said we had destroyed Huws life and seemed to think we just wanted money. Their comments, and comments like theirs by other presenters, caused a massive backlash which even made me doubt myself. I couldnt eat, I couldnt sleep, I felt so alone. Even family members turned against me after reading all of this. I thought is it even worth it?. But now I can at least say it was. I hope they will apologise. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams. The BBC and the legal team for Edwards have been contacted for comment. The BBCs share of the time people spend listening to radio in the UK has fallen to a post-pandemic low, despite some of its flagship stations seeing an increase in audiences, figures show. The corporations stations accounted for 42.6% of radio listening in April to June, down from 43.4% the previous quarter, according to data from research body Rajar. The figure was 50.9% in July to September 2021 when the reporting of radio listening figures resumed after a break at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. ((PA Graphics) The downward trend for the BBC looks to have been driven mainly by a slow decline in the number of people listening to local and regional services. The average weekly audience for these stations was 7.0 million in April to June, down from 7.7 million 12 months earlier and a drop of more than two million since July-September 2021, when the figure was 9.2 million. BBC local and regional stations accounted for 4.3% of total radio listening in the latest quarter, compared with 5.7% a year earlier and 6.1% in July-September 2021. In its annual report for 2023/24, the BBC said efforts to increase the depth and volume of local news stories online had seen an increase in the size of audiences consuming local news online but this had necessarily resulted in schedule changes for audiences across local radio, with more sharing of programmes, off-peak and at weekends. NUJ members on the picket line at Broadcasting House (James Manning/PA) Proposals to reorganise its local radio stations to share more content and transmit fewer programmes unique to their areas resulted last year in BBC local journalists going on strike, as well as long-running work-to-rule action, with the dispute formally resolved in November. Several of the BBCs flagship stations fared far better in the last quarter, with Radio 1 up by 11%, taking its average weekly audience to 8.1 million. Coverage of Radio 1s Big Weekend in May is likely to have contributed to the 812,000 increase in weekly listeners since the previous quarter. Radio 5 Live enjoyed an increase of 10% on the quarter, bringing its average to 5.4 million, thanks to coverage of major sporting events including the Euro 2024. England at Euro 2024 (Adam Davy/PA) After facing turbulence over the departure of veteran presenter Ken Bruce, Radio 2 listenership appears to be holding more steady with an average weekly audience of 13.3 million, similar to its 13.2 million level during the previous quarter and 13.5 million a year ago. Bruce left the station in March 2023 after more than three decades hosting the mid-morning show, to join Greatest Hits Radio, taking his PopMaster quiz with him. The commercial station, which is also now home to former BBC DJ Simon Mayo, had been enjoying an increase in listener numbers for the past two years but its rise seems to have slowed as this is the first quarter since June 2022 that its average audience has not increased. Despite the 2% dip to 7.5 million compared with 7.7 million last quarter, Greatest Hits Radio has still had a 30% increase from the 5.8 million average a year ago. While some stations across the spectrum have seen drops, the total average weekly radio audience in UK passed 50 million people for the first time since post-pandemic records began. The steady increase over the last few years suggests there is still a major appetite for radio amid changes to the digital landscape. Ken Bruce (Jonathan Brady/PA) The BBCs chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, said: Im delighted to see the strength of the audio landscape with a record number of people listening to radio and podcasts across the UK. She also celebrated the increases for Radio 1 and 5 Live as she said there would be more world class coverage on sporting events. Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: Were incredibly proud that Radio 2 remains the UKs favourite station with over 13.3 million people tuning in each week, and delighted that The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and Vernon Kay on weekday mid-mornings continue to be the UKs most listened to shows. The latest Rajar figures also show: The audience for Radio 4s Today programme was broadly unchanged, with an average of 5.5 million listeners in the most recent quarter, compared with 5.6 million in January to March and 5.5 million a year earlier. Zoe Balls Radio 2 breakfast show had an average audience of 6.4 million, down from 6.6 million the previous quarter and 6.7 million a year ago. Greg Jamess breakfast show on Radio 1 held steady with 4.0 million listeners, up from just under four million in the previous three months, with comparable year-on-year figures not available due to a change in the shows transmission time. This comes after James saw an increase in his salary in the past year to a pay bracket of 415,000 to 419,999 for 2023/24, up from between 395,000 to 399,000 in 2022/23. The BBC Asian Network hit a post-pandemic high of 644,000 listeners in the latest quarter, while BBC 1Xtra saw its second highest figure since the pandemic of 829,000. Among the smaller speech-based stations, GB News recorded its best quarter since launching in 2022, with an average weekly audience in April to June of 518,000, up from 455,000 in the previous quarter and 317,000 a year earlier. Times Radio had an average of 478,000, down on the previous quarter (503,000) and a year ago (523,000), while Talk Radio had an audience of 689,000, also down on the quarter (757,000) and the year (727,000). Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinskys 3.57 billion takeover deal for the owner of Royal Mail has been called in by the UK government under security rules. International Distribution Services, the parent company of Royal Mail, agreed a takeover deal by Mr Kretinskys EP Group in May. The PA news agency understands that the Cabinet Office has now launched a review process into the bid under the National Security and Investment (NSI) act. Mr Kretinskys EP Group and the Cabinet Office declined to comment. The process will assess whether the sale to Mr Kretinsky, who is already IDSs largest shareholder, could affect the UKs economic infrastructure or pose a security risk. The BBC reported that Government officials will particularly look into links to Russia, with the billionaire investor owning stake in a major gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. Government officials could block a deal or ask for specific commitments from the suitor if the review raises major concerns. The review process is expected to take up to two months. Sources close to the process told PA that a review under the NSI act is not a surprise, with the Government taking a similar process when Mr Kretinsky increased his shareholding in Royal Mails owner to 27.5% in 2022. Last week, Labours Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds indicated the new Government was likely to call in the takeover, stressing that we would speak with Mr Kretinsky directly. Labours General Election manifesto pledged that it would ensure that any proposed takeover is robustly scrutinised. Mr Kretinsky has vowed to maintain the services requirement to deliver letters six days a week throughout the UK, known as its Universal Service Obligation. However, last month Martin Seidenberg, IDSs chief executive, doubled down on the groups calls to reform the service requirement as letters continue to dwindle. Police officers line a street in Westminster on Wednesday during the 'Enough is Enough' protest, following the Southport stabbings. (PA) (Jordan Pettitt, PA Images) A second night of unrest in the wake of the Southport stabbing led to the arrest of more than 100 people in central London. Protesters gathered in Westminster on Wednesday evening to attend the Enough is Enough demonstration, two days after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street in Merseyside. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed when a knifeman entered the dance class. Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in critical condition while two adults were also critically hurt. In London, arrests were made after demonstrators clashed with officers. The Metropolitan Police said: Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries. Demonstrators were seen launching beer cans and glass bottles at a line of police in riot gear in front of Downing Street and throwing flares onto the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Violent incidents linked to the deaths of the three young girls were also seen in Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot. Police in Hartlepool were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs, Cleveland Police said. A police car was set alight during the violence after a large group of people gathered in the Murray Street area of the North East town on Wednesday evening. A group of around 40 people, including children and young men wearing balaclavas, gathered outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road in what appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel. Chants of "we want our country back" and "shame on you" were yelled by the group, some of whom were parading cardboard banners around, as glass bottles were hurled at police vans, with eggs also smashed in the road. The protests came a day after riots broke out in Southport, leading to several arrests. Police officers were attacked and riot vans were set alight as violence erupted in the area on Tuesday, following a vigil for the girls. The unrest comes as a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Nigel Farage has rejected claims he whipped up protesters. (PA) (ZUMA Press, ZUMA Press, Inc.) Nigel Farage has rejected criticism that comments he made online had whipped up rioters in Southport, as the Reform UK leader was branded nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit. Farage doubled down on remarks he made in a social media video in which he questioned whether the truth is being withheld from us following the killings of three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday (29 July). The newly-elected MP has come in for strong criticism from Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, who told BBC Radio 4s Today programme on Wednesday (31 July) that Farages remarks were right out of the Trump playbook and make him nothing better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit. Over 100 arrests in London after flares thrown at Downing St gates as unrest breaks out across UK over Southport attack Protesters clashed with police outside Downing Street following the stabbing incident in Southport. (Alamy) (See Li/Picture Capital) More than 100 people have been arrested in London as further protests took place across the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The prime minister will host senior police leaders in Downing Street on Thursday afternoon in the wake of violent unrest in multiple parts of the country. He is expected to remind the police that people exploit the right to protest in order to sow hatred or commit violent acts should be met with the full force of the law. Fifth arrest after police 'recognise man' in Southport riot video A police van set alight during a violent protest in Southport on Tuesday evening. (PA) (Richard McCarthy, PA Images) A fifth man has been arrested after violent scenes broke out during a protest in Southport on Tuesday... Merseyside Police confirmed that a 39-year-old man from Southport is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with the violent disorder. The arrest came after officers were called to a report of a domestic incident in Southport on Wednesday, where it was reported a man had made threats to a family member. Police deal swiftly with violent mob in London and Hartlepool after previous Southport riot Firefighters tend to a burning police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday. (PA) (Owen Humphreys, PA Images) In Hartlepool, County Durham, a number of arrests were made after protesters clashed with riot police in the centre of town as they attempted to march towards a nearby mosque, reports suggest. Social media reports claimed protesters hurled missiles at the police on Murray Street, in the centre of town, as they attempted to make their way towards a Mosque in the area. The Northern Echo reported that men in balaclavas were seen hitting police with wooden bats as waves of protesters clashed with officers. Helen Glover hinted her glittering rowing career is over after being denied a third Olympic title by the wafer-thin margin of 0.18 seconds. Just 24 hours after Team GB womens quadruple sculls crew claimed gold by the margin of 0.15secs, Glover, Rebecca Shorten, Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave were on the wrong side of a race to the line as the Netherlands held on in a thrilling finale. Glover, who won pairs gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016 with Heather Stanning, took four years out of the sport before the Tokyo Olympics to start a family with her husband Steve Backshall, the naturalist, explorer and TV presenter. The Team GB rowers about to receive their silver medals for the womens four event (John Walton/PA) She took another 12 months off after those Games before deciding to come back for more in the womens four boat, despite now being a mother of three and trying to balance family commitments with rowing. Half the team think Ill carry on, but I dont plan to carry on, said Glover, 38, whose children and husband were among the crowd at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. My focus has been on crossing the finish line and then well see. Right now I just want to spend time with my family and enjoy being mum. Im not really thinking about rowing and Ill take my time to reflect on the Olympics. British rower Helen Glovers husband Steve Backshall watches his wife race at the Paris Olympics alongside their children (John Walton/PA) Its been totally different (build-up to Paris 2024) as my world doesnt revolve around rowing or results. My world revolves around my kids, and this is just a really awesome extra I get to do. The British crew conceded early water to the Netherlands, with the world champions signalling their intentions from the start. Pressure was gradually applied on the Dutch and it was anyones race with 500 metres remaining. The two went stroke for stroke in the final 250 with the Netherlands holding on to win in six minutes 27.13secs and New Zealand nearly two seconds behind Britain in third. As far as our internal plan was concerned it went to plan and we did what we could, said Glover, who would have become the first British woman to win three Olympic rowing golds. We all have to hold our heads high that we raced with heart and should be pretty proud coming away with a medal. You never think you have it won, but both crews would have believed the whole way that they could. You have to expect fine margins when you race the best in the world. IT'S BRONZE What a journey this team have been on! pic.twitter.com/zVvNT12PP0 Team GB (@TeamGB) August 1, 2024 We felt we raced every stroke we could and for these guys to win their first Olympic medal is a massive achievement. The mens four were also on the podium with Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson collecting bronze. Brushing off a sedate start that left them at the back, the British crew gradually moved into the medal positions with 800 metres to go. The United States held off New Zealand in a frantic fight for gold, with Britain over three seconds down on the winning boat. Davidson said: Its been a great group of guys racing the fours in this Olympiad. The fours field is a savage field and it seems to have got more and more savage as we have gone through the Olympiad, so Im just glad we have got ourselves onto the podium. Helen Glover missed out on a third Olympic title as Great Britain were agonisingly edged out in a dramatic womens four final at Paris 2024. The mum-of-three, who won pairs gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, took four years out of the sport before the Tokyo Olympics and 12 months off after those Games before deciding to come back for more. Alongside Rebecca Shorten, Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave, the 38-year-old helped the British crew gradually close the gap on the Netherlands after a fast start from the Dutch. It was anyones race with 500 metres to go with the two crews neck and neck, and Britain looked as if they would just get the upper hand as they pushed for glory. Great Britains Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde with their bronze medals for the womens double sculls (John Walton/PA). But the Netherlands held on to cross the line in six minutes 27.31 seconds 0.18secs ahead of the British boat. Afterwards Glover said: I think today we put it all out there, we raced the plan we wanted to race, we raced together with so much heart. You know what, there cant be regret looking back and knowing you did all you can. I think no matter how we do, they (family and friends) are the people we go back to who love us no matter what. So its really nice to have everyone out there and everyone whos supported us from near and far. Great Britain mens four followed up immediately with a bronze medal. The quartet of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson produced a patient race, coming right through most of the field after a watchful start. The British crew swept past Italy 800 metres from home into third place, eventually settling for bronze with the United States taking gold and New Zealand silver. IT'S BRONZE What a journey this team have been on! pic.twitter.com/zVvNT12PP0 Team GB (@TeamGB) August 1, 2024 Earlier the womens four secured the first British medal of the day with a bronze in the womens double sculls. Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, in lane two, went out hard from the start and led at the 500m mark with Romania taking over by halfway. New Zealand eventually moved into pole position for gold to edge out Romania, but Wilde and Hodgkins Byrne staved off a late challenge from the Netherlands to take bronze. It was quite an achievement for the pair to win medals as Wilde had surgery on her forearms 10 months ago and Hodgkins Byrne took time away from the sport after Tokyo 2020 to have her son Freddie, now two. Hodgkins Byrne said: Secretly to ourselves, we were determined to try and get on the podium and thats what weve done. Wilde added: Mathilda has been such a great woman to have in the bow. I have learned so much and I just know if I do my job, push as hard as I can, she will get me over the line. The States failure to provide for the needs of homeless asylum seekers is a breach of their fundamental rights, the High Court in Dublin has ruled. The court made the ruling after the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) took a case against the State over its failure to provide adequate accommodation to people seeking asylum in Ireland. Mr Justice Barry ODonnell delivered the judgment on Thursday afternoon, saying the court found that the approach adopted by the State breached the human rights of the relevant unaccommodated IP (International Protection) applicants. Tents that were pitched by asylum seekers along Dublins Grand Canal before they were removed (Cillian Sherlock/PA) By failing to meet their basic needs and leaving unaccommodated IP applicants without accommodation or the means to access accommodation, the State has breached the rights of those persons as provided for in Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the judge said. The IHREC asked the court to make declarations that the state has failed its obligations and is breaching applicants rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. On December 4 last year, the Government stated that it could no longer offer accommodation to men seeking international protection. However, the court did not grant the mandatory orders sought by the IHREC. While the court is satisfied that declarations to that effect are warranted, the court will not grant the mandatory orders sought by the Commission, Justice ODonnell added. Very briefly, the court is not satisfied that there is a basis for concluding that the State will ignore its obligations. The State has made clear, and the court accepts, that it is making strenuous efforts to redress the situation. Moreover, in response to the decisions of the High Court in 2023, the State in fact altered its approach by taking steps to improve the provision for unaccommodated IP applicants. While those steps were not sufficient to avoid a breach of the rights of those applicants, it demonstrated that the State did not intend to ignore the court orders. In the premises, it is not appropriate for the court to take the very serious additional step of making mandatory orders to support the declaratory relief sought by the Commission. It was the first time that the Commission took legal action in its own name to defend the human rights of others. The Commission sought orders to compel the State to fulfil its legal obligations to provide food, shelter and access to basic hygiene facilities to asylum seekers. In its judgment, the court said that the State has raised the weekly payments to homeless IP applicants by 75 euro and has an arrangement with charities to provide those with food, hygiene facilities and health supports. The Commission argued that increasing the weekly allowance to 113.80 euro for all eligible applicants was insufficient. The State also argued that applicants are also provided with a 100 euro shopping voucher to cover the initial period before their weekly allowance is first received. The Commission claimed that the new efforts by the State are not effective in addressing the core difficulties facing unaccommodated IP applicants. The case was heard over three days in June. In its judgment, the court said that it is satisfied that the financial assistance provided is not adequate to ensure that these IP applicants can access housing where it is not being provided directly by the State. In a statement, the Commission welcomed the judgment. Michael ONeill, head of legal at the Commission, said: The Commission welcomes this significant judgment. Not only has the Court clarified important points of law, but critically, it has recognised that the States failure to meet the basic needs of IP applicants has put them in a deeply vulnerable position where they cannot live in dignity and security. When we began these proceedings in December, 259 IPAs were unaccommodated by the State. That number now stands at 2,352. The Commission notes the expectation of the Court that the State will comply with its decision. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has urged actors in the Middle East to avoid miscalculation as he visited Lebanon in an effort to prevent escalation of tensions. Mr Lammy was joined by Defence Secretary John Healey to meet with the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Bou Habib. The Foreign Secretary and his Cabinet colleague also visited Qatar on Wednesday to call for de-escalation of the fighting and to press for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Fears about escalation in the region have grown after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an air strike on Iranian capital Tehran which the militant group blames on Israel. Foreign Secretary David Lammy was joined by Defence Secretary John Healey to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Bou Habib (FCDO/PA) Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over Mr Haniyehs coffin during his funeral at Tehran University on Thursday while Irans new president Masoud Pezeshkian stood next to him. State television later showed the coffins placed in a truck and moved on the street toward Azadi Square in Tehran, and people throwing flowers at them. The Israelis have, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for a strike on a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, targeting the Hezbollah commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. Earlier in the week the Foreign Office advised all British citizens to leave Lebanon, with Mr Lammy warning they risk becoming trapped in a warzone if they stay in the country. Following his meeting with Lebanese officials, Mr Lammy posted to X: We must prevent further escalation in the Middle East and avoid miscalculation. We must prevent further escalation in the Middle East and avoid miscalculation. I visited Lebanon with Defence Secretary @JohnHealey_MP for talks with PM @Najib_Mikati, Speaker Nabih Berri and FM Bou Habib. It is in no ones interest for others to be drawn into this conflict. pic.twitter.com/UaoWTiQGBn David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 1, 2024 He added: It is in no-ones interest for others to be drawn into this conflict. Israel had pledged to kill Mr Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the groups October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The strike came just hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Irans ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Iran supports Hamas, as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said all parties in the Middle East must avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have welcomed the prisoner swap between Russia and the West which has seen British nationals Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan released. Among those released by Moscow are Mr Whelan, a corporate security executive with joint British nationality from Michigan, who has been jailed since 2018 on espionage charges he and Washington have denied. Also freed was Mr Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality and is a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who was serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated. Mr Whelan was designated as wrongfully detained following his arrest in December 2018 after he had travelled to Russia for a wedding. He was serving a 16-year sentence. Their release comes as part of the biggest prisoner swap between the US and Russia in post-Soviet history. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer posted on X saying: I welcome the release of a number of prisoners held in Russia, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. My thoughts are with them and their loved ones as they are reunited. We will continue to call on Russia to uphold freedom of political expression. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: I strongly welcome the news that Russia has released a number of prisoners today, and am particularly relieved that British nationals Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan will soon be reunited with their families. Mr Kara-Murza is a dedicated opponent of Putins regime. He should never have been in prison in the first place: the Russian authorities imprisoned him in life-threatening conditions because he courageously told the truth about the war in Ukraine. I welcome the release of a number of prisoners held in Russia, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. My thoughts are with them and their loved ones as they are reunited. We will continue to call on Russia to uphold freedom of political expression. Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 1, 2024 I pay tribute to his familys courage in the face of such hardship and hope to speak to him soon. Paul Whelan and his family have also experienced an unimaginable ordeal. I look forward to speaking to him as he returns home to his family in the United States after over five years in detention. Others freed include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the US vehemently denied and called baseless; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected; associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; and a German national arrested in Belarus. The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations, despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West. A Maoist cult leader who committed a string of sex assaults and kept his daughter captive for three decades was found dead in bed in his prison cell, an inquest heard. Aravindan Balakrishnan, 81, called himself Comrade Bala and brainwashed his cult into thinking he had godlike powers and could read their minds. He was jailed for 23 years in 2016 following a trial at Southwark Crown Court. Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan, 81, died in prison from natural causes (Hannah McKay/PA) Devon Coroners Court heard Balakrishnan was found dead by a fellow inmate at HMP Dartmoor in Devon on April 8 2022. He was on a wing for prisoners who were either in poor health or regarded as vulnerable. The inquest heard he was suffering from diabetes and vascular dementia and was described as pretty frail. After being alerted by the inmate, prison officers attempted CPR but were unable to revive Balakrishnan. Devon and Cornwall Police were informed of his sudden death, but an investigation did not find any suspicious circumstances. Pathologist Dr Russell Delaney found Balakrishnan had died from a lower respiratory tract infection, with secondary causes of vascular dementia, diabetes and ischemic heart disease. No external injuries were found and a test for Covid-19 was negative. Aravindan Balakrishnan was found dead at HMP Dartmoor (Ben Birchall/PA) Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, recorded a conclusion of natural causes. On April 8 2022 Aravindan Balakrishnan was discovered deceased in his cell at HMP Dartmoor where he was serving a sentence of imprisonment, he said. He died of natural causes and my overall conclusion will be natural causes. No members of his family attended the brief hearing at County Hall in Exeter. Balakrishnan, previously of Enfield, London, had been convicted of four counts of rape, six counts of indecent assault, two counts of ABH, cruelty to a child under 16, and false imprisonment. Following his sentencing, his daughter Katy Morgan-Davies waived her right to anonymity to speak out about the years of psychological and physical bullying she endured at her fathers hands. It was horrible, so dehumanising and degrading. I felt like a caged bird with clipped wings. The pensioner idolised tyrants Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein and wanted to be bigger than all of them, his daughter said. He ran his tiny south London cult, the Workers Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, with an iron fist banning his daughter from leaving the house or mixing with other children, and sexually assaulting two of his followers by appointment. To keep his devotees in check, Balakrishnan invented an invisible war machine called Jackie which he said could kill or trigger earthquakes if anyone went against his will. The datacentre will be in the Science Park, a tax-free zone near the capital, Montevideo. The centre is predicted to add 2.7% to Uruguays CO2 emissions. Photograph: Parque de las Ciencias Googles plans to build a datacentre in Uruguay have angered environmentalists, who say the project will release thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and hazardous waste. Uruguays environmental authorities recently approved the datacentre, which will use air conditioning to cool its servers. The company initially proposed using millions of litres of fresh water to cool its infrastructure, but this caused an outcry in a country that suffered its worst drought since 1950 last year, causing its capital city to run short of drinking water. However, Daniel Pena, an academic at the University of the Republic in Montevideo and an environmental campaigner, said using air conditioning would be equally damaging to the environment. Based in Canelones, southern Uruguay, the datacentre is predicted to release 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and generate 86 tonnes of hazardous waste, including electro-electronic residues, oils and chemical packaging, according to the governments environmental assessment report. It will provide internet services for Googles users worldwide. However, Pena said: For Uruguay, it will provide nothing except toxic waste and greenhouse gases. The datacentre would be in a tax-free zone, he added, the company not pay tax. Environmentalists are concerned that the datacentre will significantly impact Uruguays carbon footprint. According to Penas calculations, based on official figures, the countrys carbon dioxide emissions from energy production would increase by 2.7%. Uruguays carbon emissions are very low because it generates more than 90% of its electricity from renewables one of the highest rates in the world. But during periods of high electricity usage or water scarcity, like last year, the country relies on oil-based power stations. Maria Selva Ortiz, from Friends of the Earth in Uruguay, said the datacentre would put added pressure on the countrys energy grid, forcing it to rely on fossil fuels more often. The environmental organisation calculates that the datacentre would require the same amount of energy as 222,898 households in a country with a population of little more than 3 million people. We feel that foreign multinationals come to use our natural resources with no benefit to us, Selva Ortiz said. In addition, the new project was approved so rapidly, she said, there has been no time for scrutiny of the proposals. Environmental groups were not informed when the government approved the datacentre more than a month ago, and the 30-day period for legal appeals has expired. Ana Filippini, from the Movement for a Sustainable Uruguay (MOVUS), said: The environmental impact is uncertain as the studies requested by citizens have not been completed. Greenhouse gas emissions will increase, and we do not know how the waste from the plant will be disposed of. She added: Protests by civil society achieved important changes in the Google project, which was initially going to use large quantities of water. However, the new plan has been approved under time pressure, making it hard to assess its impacts. Related: Uruguays green power revolution: rapid shift to wind shows the world how its done A Google spokesperson said: Weve engaged extensively with local authorities, community members and local leadership to share the project details and follow the regulatory process to secure all the necessary permits. The spokesperson added: Once built, the datacentre will operate within the standards approved by the local authorities, and it will be part of Googles longstanding commitment to sustainability across areas such as accelerating the transition to a net zero future and innovating to run the most efficient infrastructure. The company also argued that Google products were widely used and that the infrastructure generated investment in the country. Datacentres power products that help billions of people around the world, like search, YouTube and Gmail, and were proud to keep investing in infrastructure in Latin America, the spokesperson said. Uruguays environmental ministry did not respond to the Guardians request for comment. However, its environmental assessment report said there was a management plan to deal with waste from the datacentre and the impact of this waste on the environment was of low significance. The Google datacentre would account for just 0.3% of all carbon dioxide emitted by Uruguays energy sector, the report said. An Apple store in New York City on Thursday. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA Apple reported better-than-expected earnings in the third quarter of 2024, with buzz about its new AI features offsetting a continuing decline in its key China market. Earnings exceeded analyst predictions despite a year-over-year decline in iPhone sales, with revenue rising 4.9% to $85.78bn in the three months ending 29 June, beating the average analyst estimate of $84.53bn. The company maintained its cash dividend at 25 cents for each share. The strong report represented a bright spot in the tech space after difficult earnings reports from other tech giants like Amazon, Snap and Intel. The market saw a sell-off on Thursday amid disappointing results, including from Intel which announced plans to cut more than 15,000 jobs as it tries to cut billions of dollars in costs to turn its business around. Amazons stock also dropped more than 4% on Thursday after the company reported lower-than-expected sales this quarter and forward-looking statements indicating a continued slowdown in the next. Related: Intel announces plan to cut 15,000 jobs to resize and refocus business Investors were keen to get updates on Apple sales in China, the companys third-largest market, where its market share has been on the decline. Apple dropped out of the top five smartphone providers in the country for the first time earlier this year, overtaken by local brands like vivo, OPPO and Huawei. Third quarter earnings results showed China sales declined 6.5% to $14.73bn more dramatically than the decline of 2.4% analysts had predicted. In a call with investors, Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, addressed these concerns, attributing some of that lag to fluctuating exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, Cook said, the decline was less than 3% and iPad sales have returned to growth there. We continue to be confident in the long-term opportunity in China, he said. I dont know how every chapter the book reads, but were very confident in the long term. Although China sales struggled, overall iPhone sales were better than expected falling 0.9% to $39.30bn, a smaller decline than the 2.2% drop analysts expected. That improvement is due in part to rising demand in anticipation of Apples launch of its artificial intelligence features, which it announced at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. The tech firms foray into artificial intelligence includes a range of generative AI tools integrated into the operating systems of its devices, including a partnership with OpenAI that integrates into its voice assistant Siri. Those AI features will only be available iPhone 15 Pro models and later, but analysts say this report shows a strong start. Apple typically announces new devices in September, so analysts will be looking ahead to determine how the AI announcements affect future sales. Its an incredibly solid quarter for Apple, which validates the companys turnaround toward becoming the leading player in the AI-to-consumer space, said Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com. These numbers should look even better once the AI features hit the market in the quarters ahead. The company also reported substantial growth in iPad sales. The segment increased 23.7% to $7.16bn, above analyst expectations of $6.61bn, after Apple launched a new AI-focused iPad Pro and a larger iPad Air in May to revive demand for a product line that had languished for the past two years. In the companys wearables segment, which represents sales of Apple Watches and AirPods headphones, sales fell 2.3% to $8.10bn, compared with analyst estimates of $7.79bn. Reuters contributed reporting James Dawkins used information from Dean Youngs position as a commonwealth employee at Australia Post to place dozens of bets on the awards between 2017 and 2019. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP Two high school friends used insider information to bet on the winner of three Australian of the Year awards, and pocket thousands of dollars, a court has heard. James Dawkins, 39, and 38-year-old Dean Young fronted Dandenong magistrates court in Melbourne on Thursday after details of their plan came to light. Young pleaded guilty to one charge of abuse of public office and Dawkins pleaded guilty to aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the abuse of public office. Dawkins used information from Youngs position as a commonwealth employee at Australia Post to place dozens of bets on the awards between 2017 and 2019. At the time, Young was working as a project coordinator at Australia Post, where stamps featuring Australian of the Year winners were being printed before the awards were announced. Australian federal police alleged Dawkins, from nearby Mount Martha, received $13,302 from the bets. In 2017 alone, the friends won $9,363 from 20 bets while they made $2,614 the following year and $1,325 in 2019. Winners over the three years included biomedical scientist Alan Mackay-Sim, quantum physicist Michelle Simmons and Thai cave rescuers Craig Challen and Richard Harris. The mens plan came undone when the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission reported betting irregularities in the 2022 Australian of the Year awards. This involved examining phone calls Young made to Dawkins hours after he was told the identities of the winners despite previously signing a non-disclosure agreement. Related: Victorias tobacco wars: police investigate suspicious fire that destroyed Melbourne shop Youngs lawyer, Stephen Schembri, told the court he was extremely remorseful for his involvement in the bets but didnt provide a reason for the behaviour. He still cannot explain why he would act in such a stupid irresponsible way he calls it the worst thing that hes ever done, he said. Hes no master criminal clearly, neither is Mr Dawkins. AFP Det Supt Glenn Tod said authorities were committed to disrupting major financial crime based on inside information. The misuse of official or privileged information erodes public trust in our institutions, Det Supt Tod said. The consequences for those abusing positions of trust can be extremely serious. The matter was adjourned for sentencing at a later date. Fin whale numbers globally are thought to be rising, but remain vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Photograph: Francois Gohier/VWPics/Alamy The Australian government is deeply disappointed by Japans decision to add the worlds second-largest whale species to the list of species its commercial whale hunters will target. Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, attacked Japans decision to hunt fin whales the worlds second-longest whale and considered vulnerable. The Japanese government this week confirmed it would allow itself to take up to 59 fin whales in its commercial hunt, which is confined to the countrys economic zone. Related: The vast new whaling mother ship that Japan hopes will revive a shrinking industry Japans new US$47m (A$71m) whaling ship, the Kangei Maru, is being readied for its maiden hunt and has a deck long enough to haul whales up to 25 metres long. Australia is deeply disappointed by Japans decision to expand its commercial whaling program by adding fin whales, Plibersek said. Japan left the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 2019 after previously killing whales under a clause that allowed whaling for scientific research a rationale challenged by conservationists. Japan already catches Brydes, minke and sei whales. Fin whale numbers globally are thought to be rising, but remain vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The giant mammals can live up to 90 years. Plibersek said: Australia is opposed to all commercial whaling and urges all countries to end this practice. Australias efforts through the International Whaling Commission have contributed to a whaling-free Southern Ocean and a decline in commercial whaling around the world. Australia will continue to advocate for the protection and conservation of whales and the health of our ocean for future generations. Darren Kindleysides, a whale campaigner and the chief executive of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, called the hunts inhumane, cruel and unnecessary. We welcome this strong statement from [Plibersek] in protection of whales and opposing commercial whaling, he said. Australia has a long and bipartisan history of opposing commercial whaling and we expect Australia to take a strong stance when the IWC meets next month in Peru. In 1986 the IWC put a global moratorium in place on commercial whaling. Norway and Iceland have remained members of the commission, but have hunted under loopholes. Whales are also caught by a small number of countries under IWC rules that allow for some indigenous and subsistence whaling. Kindleysides said: The worlds great whales have populations that are threatened. We still know relatively little about whales, but we do know for species like fin whales that they are at risk following the legacy of whaling in the 18- and 1900s, so we must do what we can to protect them. We have learned that whales are worth more alive than dead. We have a multimillion-dollar whale watching industry now on the back of the recovery of humpback whales. Sir Keir Starmer has been keen to build closer ties with the EU - Stefan Rousseau/AFP via Getty Images Sir Keir Starmers plans for a speedy defence and security pact with the EU have suffered a blow from senior figures in Brussels. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister leading the drive for Sir Keir, briefed EU ambassadors last week that he wanted substantive talks lasting into spring 2025. But The Telegraph has talked to figures both at the EU end and inside the UK Government who fear the proposed timeline is too optimistic if a significant deal is to be secured. Senior positions in the European Commission and European Council will only be finalised later this year, potentially making it difficult to make progress before then. The EU is also understood to be unclear about what the UK wants. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is believed to have sought answers when he saw Sir Keir in July 2024. It is also unclear if wider security issues, involving energy and immigration, will be discussed alongside the proposed deal or separated from it. Step by step is the way to go These challenges have led to cautionary comments from EU figures about whether negotiations intensifying in March, April and May 2024 are really deliverable or whether longer is needed for the talks. An EU diplomat said: Its an ambitious timeline and stuffing all kinds of things into a security pact isnt going to make it easier. From the EU side, taking this step by step on areas of common interest is the way to go. There is still a lot of Brexit-PTSD going around here. Lets not overburden ourselves and ruin the good thing we got going since the Windsor Agreement [on Northern Ireland]. An EU official said if there is a will there is a way but cautioned that given the timings for commission appointments, progress can only begin to be made from November. A UK government source monitoring developments sounded downbeat: You go into a negotiation with very clear aims, what we want out of it, what we are willing to give up and what our red lines are. We dont have any of those things. The wider you go, the more difficult it is. Three broad areas are emerging in what the pact could include, according to discussions with figures involved from both sides. The first is some form of regular dialogue. Mr Thomas-Symonds has said publicly he wants a UK-EU summit, as Labour attempts to build on its reset in relations since taking office. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, will attend a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in October, becoming only the second UK minister to do so since Brexit. The second area is more complicated. The UK wants to see improved defence industrial cooperation, which would allow UK and EU defence companies to work closer together. Brussels is working on a defence union with a flagship project to create an air defence network solely through EU firms. Britain could seek to join the scheme but would have a difficult time in convincing Mr Macron to endorse the move, as he seeks to end Europes traditional reliance on the US for its security. The EU official did not rule out the possibility but said it would be difficult without almost entirely aligning to the blocs rules. Might not be as easy as with Norway Anything is possible if there is a will on both sides, the official said. But practically it might not be as easy as with Norway since Norway is aligned with the EU to 90 per cent on all legislation and other things, like the single market and Schengen. Its easier for them and this might make it more cumbersome for the UK but again its important to have the will and the way to get there will then be worked out. Norway, a non-EU member, has been invited to take part in Brussels-funded schemes to donate weapons to Ukraine that only provide cash to companies based in the bloc. A third area is broader security issues, which remains ill-defined. This could include topics such as energy with Ed Miliband, the Energy Security Secretary, said to be keen for scoping out a deal here with the EU. Meanwhile, the commission has warned Britain that its failing to fully implement the Windsor Framework, the deal that prevents a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, could complicate future negotiations. Sources in Brussels told The Telegraph that the commission has become frustrated by the inaction in carrying out the required trade checks on shipments between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Telegraph understands that seven complaints were set out in a document that was shared with Westminster. They include demands that British officials punish traders not using not for EU labels correctly, British customs officials begin turning back consignments that dont meet the EUs rules and full implementation of a new pet passport system that requires microchips checked on every animal crossing the Irish Sea. A commission spokeswoman said: The EU is committed to a positive agenda with the UK, based on the full respect and the faithful and timely implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which are the cornerstone for the EU-United Kingdom relationship. The CEO of Djirra, Antoinette Braybrook says Aboriginal women in Victoria are 45 times more likely to experience family violence. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP Indigenous mental health experts say serious action is needed after the latest Closing the Gap data showed suicide, child protection and incarceration rates are all worsening. The Productivity Commissions annual report released this week found only five of the 19 measures monitored are considered to be on track, with the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned, taking their own life and losing children to out-of-home care all increasing in the first Closing the Gap report since the voice to parliament was defeated in the referendum. Gayaa Dhuwi Australia a group of the nations leading Indigenous health and mental health professionals said the trend will continue to worsen unless something is done. Our people deserve to live long and happy lives, enjoying high levels of social and emotional wellbeing, said Gayaa Dhuwi chair, Prof Helen Milroy. Prof Milroy said governments were not undertaking partnership actions in the spirit in which they were drafted. Wide scale systemic changes are needed including genuinely sharing decision making with and building up the community-controlled sector, addressing institutional racism and providing access to locally-relevant data, Prof Milroy said. There was no available data on some targets including access to clean drinking water, sewerage treatment, electricity, and the proportion of women and children experiencing family violence, according to NACCHO, the peak body for Aboriginal health. This data gap stresses the necessity for comprehensive and transparent reporting to ensure all aspects of community well-being are addressed, a NACCHO statement said. Indigenous domestic and family violence organisations also expressed frustration and disappointment at the worsening figures. Related: Walk with me: new Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy wants a new kind of discourse The CEO of Djirra, a family violence support organisation for Aboriginal women, Antoinette Braybrook, said family violence is the single biggest driver of the vast over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. If you are an Aboriginal woman in Victoria, you are 45 times more likely to experience family violence perpetrated by men from all backgrounds than other women, Braybrook said. Yet again, the Closing the Gap report does not provide an update on progress towards a 50% reduction by 2031 of all forms of family violence and abuse against First Nations women and children. This is completely outrageous. You cannot manage what you dont measure, she said. CEO of First Nations advocates against family violence, Kerry Staines, agreed current measures to assess domestic and family violence are inadequate. The only current indicator used to capture domestic and family violence data is based on the rates of hospitalisation for family violence assaults of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, which as a data source is a skewed observation as physical injuries are just one way of observing the impacts of violence, Staines said. Data should capture the prevalence of murdered and missing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, she said, adding they have some of the highest homicide/missing persons rates, which are not currently captured in the progress report. Long and healthy lives Improving, but not on track 71.9 years was the life expectancy for males born in 2020-22, while for females it was 75.6 Early childhood education On track 101.8% of children were enrolled in preschool in 2023 Criminal justice Worsening 2,265.8 per 100,000 adults in prison in 2023 Youth justice No change 29,8 per 10,000 young people were in detention 2022 - 23 Child protection Worsening 57.2 per 1,000 children were in out-of-home care in 2023 Social and emotional wellbeing Worsening 29.9 per 100,000 people took their own life in 2022 Land On track 4,213,978km2 were subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's rights or interests in 2023 Waters On track 113,461km2 were subjected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's rights or interests in 2023 Children thriving Worsening 34.3% of children commencing school were developmentally on track in 2021 Student learning potential Improvement, but not on track 68.1% of people ages 20-24 years had attained year 12 of equivalent in 2021 Further education pathways Improvement, but not on track 47% of people ages 25-34 years had completed a tertiary qualification in 2021 Youth engagement Improvement, but not on track 58% of people aged 15-24 years were fully engaged in employment, education or training in 2021 Economic participation On track 55.7% of people aged 25-64 years were employed in 2021 Housing Improvement, but not on track 81.4% of people were living in appropriately sized housing in 2021 Coalition of Peaks co-convener Catherine Liddle said the targets that were being met were ones where community control was in place. Its clear that when we control our services we get better outcomes for our people, she said. The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, described some of the data as deeply troubling. Related: Domestic violence perpetrators could be tracked by specialised agency, Australian crime institute says I am determined to work in partnership with First Nations Australians, the Coalition of Peaks and state and territory governments to bring about positive change, McCarthy said on Wednesday. I will be reaching out to my colleagues across the parliament to seek a bipartisan approach to Indigenous affairs. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his government was committed to closing the gap and working with Indigenous communities and defended the governments funding record, including the $4bn spend in remote housing for Northern Territory communities. Quite clearly governments of all persuasions at all levels have not done well enough in the past but we are committed to working with those communities and also, of course, working with the private sector as well to make a difference, Albanese said. The ACCC has called for greater policing of Centrepay, a service for people receiving Centrelink payments which makes automatic deductions. Photograph: Darren England/AAP The consumer watchdog has joined a group of regulators, lawyers and financial advocates calling for a crackdown on predatory businesses using the government-run Centrepay to cause financial harm to welfare recipients, including Indigenous Australians. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Catriona Lowe said the watchdog had heard complaints about Centrepay a debit system giving businesses early access to peoples welfare money for many years. Related: Corporate regulator urges crackdown on Centrepay after more than 40% of businesses found to be non-compliant Lowe, a leading consumer advocate prior to her appointment to the ACCC, alleged unscrupulous businesses had signed welfare recipients up to Centrepay payment arrangements for goods they do not want or need, or could not afford. The ACCC is also aware of circumstances where it is alleged that consumers experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, including some First Nations consumers, have been signed to Centrepay arrangements where they have not given their free, prior and informed consent which has also led to those consumers experiencing financial harm, Lowe said in a submission to a current Centrepay reform process. Centrepay was established in 1998 under the Howard government as a voluntary bill-paying service for people receiving Centrelink payments to make automatic deductions for essentials like rent and utilities. It currently has more than 620,000 users. A large percentage of them are receiving disability support payments. Almost a third are Aboriginal people, predominantly women, from remote areas, receiving jobseeker or parenting payments. Over time Centrepay has expanded to include a range of businesses and services. There are now more than 15,000 companies approved to access Centrepay, which facilitated 23.7 million transactions last year worth $2.7bn. Each transaction incurs a 99c fee, paid to the government by businesses using the system. Over the past decade, consumer advocates have raised concerns that several of the businesses registered to access Centrepay may be causing financial harm to vulnerable customers. The corporate regulator is investigating dozens of companies. At least four that it has already penalised remain on the system. In May 2024, the government announced a full review of the system to increase compliance, transparency and strengthen auditing processes. Services Australia, which operates the system, says it is working towards improving delivery. In 2022-23, contracts ended for 12 Centrepay businesses due to non-compliance. The ACCC has added its voice to a growing group calling for greater policing of the Centrepay system, including the corporate regulator Asic, energy and water ombudsman agencies in four states, the Australian Energy Regulator, the Law Council of Australia and an alliance of Australian financial counselling groups. A Guardian investigation earlier this year revealed how the system had been used by major energy retailers allegedly including AGL to continue taking money from the welfare payments of former customers, sometimes over a period of years, and by rent-to-buy businesses to charge remote Indigenous communities exorbitant rates for low-value home appliances. The investigation also revealed how an extreme and controversial rehabilitation centre, which allegedly practised exorcisms and gay conversion practices, had forced its vulnerable clients on to Centrepay and then used their welfare money to prop itself up financially. The ACCC said the government should adopt a robust compliance model administered by Services Australia to stop Centrepay being used for financial abuse, aided by a high-profile public information campaign to incentivise improved compliance. A robust compliance framework is particularly important, as the ACCC considers that some consumers, including those experiencing vulnerability, may be reluctant to complain about the conduct of Centrepay businesses for fear of losing access to the service, Lowe said. Asic has voiced its concern over the high rate of non-compliance among the small number of Centrepay-approved businesses investigated by Services Australia. In 2022-23, the government only investigated 382 of the 10,205 registered Centrepay businesses about 4% for their compliance with the rules. About 42% were found to be non-compliant. The Law Council of Australia, in its submission to the Centrepay reform process, said there was an ongoing reticence to enforce the Centrepay rules on businesses. Consequently, approved provider business practices remain largely unchecked, and customers remain vulnerable to financial exploitation and harm, the council said. A joint energy and water ombudsman submission from watchdogs in four states New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia also warned they had identified a string of problems with the way energy retailers were using Centrepay. In some cases, energy companies were continuing to deduct money from the welfare payments of people who were no longer customers. In others, they were changing Centrepay deduction amounts without telling the customer, which reduced their welfare payment without warning. Some retailers were stopping Centrepay deductions without informing customers, meaning that consumers [were] unknowingly accruing debt because Centrepay deductions were not occurring, according to the submission. The joint ombudsman submission called for greater transparency and communication with customers when problems are identified, including when energy retailers have been found continuing to take money from former customers. When overpayments occur and the account has been closed, it is critical for consumers to receive refunds and any other relevant redress such as customer service gestures as soon as possible, the submission said. When an overpayment issue is identified, we consider Services Australia and the relevant businesses should promptly alert impacted consumers. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is now pursuing AGL in the federal court over its alleged receipt of overpayments via Centrepay. The company was accused of taking more than $700,000 in Centrepay payments from about 575 vulnerable people who had ceased being AGL customers years earlier. Related: Unscrupulous businesses abused Centrepay to take welfare money from women fleeing domestic violence, advocacy groups claim After the Guardians investigation, the government referred a further three energy retailers to the AER. The regulator said it was awaiting a decision in the AGL case before deciding whether to launch further legal action against other energy companies. In its submission to the reform process, the AER said energy retailers were taking an excessive period to identify and remediate instances of non-compliance with the Centrepay framework. The regulator added Services Australia should be given the power to compel energy retailers to audit their own use of Centrepay. We have concerns that businesses may not have adequate policies, systems and procedures in place to monitor compliance with the Centrepay framework, the AER said. Services Australia has previously acknowledged the system needed improvement and said reform was a priority. It has also previously said it was committed to further consultation after reviewing the submissions. There will be more consultation ahead with the community, and particularly those who have direct experience using Centrepay, as we progress towards meaningful reform, spokesperson Hank Jongen said. Huw Edwards charges did not come to light until two days before his court appearance - Jonathan Brady/PA Wire The decision to charge Huw Edwards with child sex offences was not publicised by the police or prosecutors amid concerns over his mental health, The Telegraph understands. The former BBC presenter was arrested in November 2023 on suspicion of receiving indecent images of children as part of a WhatsApp exchange with a 25-year-old convicted paedophile and was charged on June 26 2024. Edwards pleaded guilty to possessing seven category A images, 12 category B images and 22 category C images of children in his first appearance in front of a court, at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday. He is due to be sentenced on Sept 16. But despite the huge public interest in the case, details of the charges and his pending magistrates court appearance were not made public at the time, as would be normal practice. Instead, news of the case only emerged on Monday when a media organisation spotted that he was due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday and demanded details from Scotland Yard. Both the Met and Crown Prosecution Service have denied suppressing information or giving Edwards preferential treatment but one former attorney general has questioned the decision not to release the information earlier. Sources have now told The Telegraph concern over Edwards vulnerability and mental health played a part in the decision to withhold information until the last minute. The source, with knowledge of the case, said: In a situation like this, where there is so much public interest, it would be standard practice for the police or CPS to inform the public as soon as the person was charged. But concern over Edwards mental health was certainly a factor in deciding not to release all the details immediately. The intention was to release details of the charges the day before he was due in court. This was not an attempt to cover it up but simply to manage the inevitable frenzy that would follow the news being made public. The important thing was that justice was seen to be done. The decision not to publicise that Edwards had been charged is understood to have raised eyebrows among some of those who worked on the case, who feel it is out of sync with normal practice. Stephen Parkinson, the head of the CPS as director of public prosecutions, took up the post in October 2023 and is now expected to face pressure to explain why the prosecutors took the approach they did in Edwards case. Edwards mental health struggles had been well publicised after he was suspended by the BBC in July 2023 when it emerged that he was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a young man. His wife revealed that he was being treated for serious mental health issues in hospital and, in April 2024, he resigned from the broadcaster on medical advice. In 2022 Caroline Flack, the TV presenter, took her own life after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend. The police and CPS came under fire at the time for pursuing the case after Flacks boyfriend said he did not support the prosecution. TV presenter Caroline Flack took her own life after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend - Ray Burmiston/BBC The CPS has already faced criticism for breaching open justice principles. One former attorney general told The Telegraph: It is very puzzling that the CPS did not release the charge details to the media. Normally, with high-profile cases, an announcement is made that charges have been brought. This notifies members of the media that a first court appearance is imminent to allow them to report on it, in accordance with the principles of open justice. Im therefore puzzled that the CPS did not announce charges when they were brought in June, as at that point it became a public matter. In a statement issued earlier this week, the CPS denied it had deliberately suppressed details about Edwards being charged or given him preferential treatment. A CPS spokesman said: Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment. Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues. Scotland Yard also denied it had taken a different approach in informing the media in the case of Edwards. A spokesman said: The approach taken in this case isnt unusual. Quite often when there is a lengthy gap between the date someone is charged and their first appearance we will publish the details immediately before the first appearance. The purpose of us releasing the details is to allow [the] media to cover the court proceedings so providing it is prior to that date we have met that requirement. Let's get ready to rumble: In an era of celebrity fights perhaps Maduro vs Musk would be the most bizarre? Elon Musk has accepted an invitation by Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, to a fight following criticism of his contested re-election. Mr Musk, the worlds wealthiest man, repeatedly criticised Mr Maduro on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, accusing him of major election fraud and labelling him a dictator. Mr Maduro was declared the winner in Venezuelas election on Sunday, but electoral authorities have failed to disclose detailed results to back up the claim. The result has been widely called into question, with the US and EU demanding Venezuelan authorities release detailed voting data. Shame on Dictator Maduro, Mr Musk wrote on X on Sunday. In response to Mr Musks attacks, Mr Maduro declared on national television in Venezuela on Monday: Do you want to fight? Lets do it. Elon Musk, Im ready. Im not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Lets fight, wherever you want. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Musk tweeted: I accept, adding that Mr Maduro will chicken out. If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela, Mr Musk posted to X. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars. Analysis shows Maduro lost by 30 percentage points Sundays elections were held in the shadow of Mr Maduros warnings of a bloodbath if he were to lose. Venezuela has been thrown into uncertainty following the results, which Mr Maduro claims show he received 51 per cent of the votes. Mr Maduro had promised to lead a free and fair election, but opponents have flagged issues including the barring of his oppositions main leader Maria Corina Machado from running and reports that witnesses for his opponent were allegedly denied access to the centralised vote count. The opposition claims their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, is the rightful winner. They have released extensive voting data they argue shows Mr Gonzalez defeating Mr Maduro by a significant margin, in line with pre-election polls. On Wednesday, the New York Times released an analysis showing Mr Gonzalez beat Mr Maduro by more than 30 percentage points. The news outlet made the conclusions based on partial election results, provided by a group of researchers associated with Venezuelas main opposition alliance. The researchers estimated a result of 66 per cent for Mr Gonzalez versus 31 per cent for Mr Maduro, which closely matches the findings of an independent exit poll conducted nationwide on election day. Maduro said he was ready to present 100 per cent of the records, as he addressed journalists outside the Supreme Court of Justice, where he filed an appeal against what he termed an attack against the electoral process. But he voiced outrage at opposition leaders Ms Machado and Mr Gonzalez, saying they should be behind bars. Detentions and forced disappearances Protests have erupted across the country, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen individuals and the arrest of more than 1,000. On Monday, security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets against Venezuelans who flooded the streets chanting Freedom, freedom! and This government is going to fall! Ms Machado reported 177 detentions and 11 forced disappearances, while Tarek William Saab, the attorney general, stated that over 1,000 people had been arrested during the protests, with some potentially facing terrorism charges. He added that one military officer was killed and 77 officials were injured. Mr Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, during which time GDP has plummeted by 80 per cent, prompting over seven million of Venezuelas 30 million citizens to emigrate. He faces allegations of imprisoning critics and harassing opponents amidst a growing climate of authoritarianism. Mr Maduros previous reelection in 2018 was widely condemned as a sham by numerous Latin American countries and other nations, including the US and members of the EU. Prison regulations required Evan Gershkovich to write a letter to Vladimir Putin requesting clemency as one last formality - so he included a cheeky proposal at the bottom of the form - Dmitri Lovetsky/AP As he was released from his Russian jail cell, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had a dazzling parting shot for Vladimir Putin. Prison regulations required him to write a letter to Putin requesting clemency as one last formality. He was happy to do so, relying on the past 16 months he had spent honing his Russian language skills in custody. A journalist to the last moment of his confinement, he scribbled a cheeky proposal at the bottom of the form: would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview after his release? Mr Gershkovich, 32, became a free man on Thursday as part of a historic prisoner swap in which eight Russian criminals were exchanged for a group of 16 comprising German nationals, Russian political prisoners and US citizens. Former detainees in Russia: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan pose with a US flag as they celebrate their freedom - US Government/Handout via REUTERS The breakthrough that secured the deal appears to have come in April 2024 when President Joe Biden made a phone call to Olaf Scholz, his German counterpart. At that time Germany was working to release a group of citizens languishing in Russian prisons on dubious espionage and criminal charges. Berlin also held the key to a deal for Mr Gershkovich: Vadim Krasikov, a notorious hitman whom Putin keenly wanted to free, was serving a life sentence in a German prison for gunning down a Chechen dissident in Tiergarten in Berlin. Sources in the White House said the moment had come to bring Mr Scholz deeper into the negotiations - without his assent to release Krasikov, the deal risked collapsing. During their call, the two leaders discussed an earlier written proposal which fleshed out the key details of a prisoner swap. It envisaged trading Mr Gershkovich, the ex-US marine Paul Whelan and some German citizens and Russian dissidents for Krasikov, plus some other notorious Russian prisoners. Vadim Krasikov assassinated a Chechen dissident in Berlin's Tiergarten park in 2019 Basically, Chancellor Scholz responded to the President, saying for you, I will do this, a US administration official said. The president then turned to Jake [Sullivan, US national security adviser] and said get it done. The official added: It became clear that the Russians would not agree to the release of these individuals without an exchange that included Vadim Krasikov, a Russian criminal who was in German custody. [He was] not someone we could offer ourselves. Another key figure was Mr Gershkovichs mother, Ella, who tirelessly lobbied US officials for his release. She even confronted Mr Biden at the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, imploring him: You are the only one who can bring my boy home. According to the Wall Street Journal, she finally learned that a deal had been done on the 491st day of Mr Gershkovichs detention, at a meeting in the White House with Mr Biden. Tell no one, she was warned. A third important figure was Mr Bidens chief hostage negotiator Roger Carstens, who goes by the nickname of Captain America due to his maverick tendencies, the Wall Street Journal reported. The nations of Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey also played a role, according to Mr Biden, who hailed the prisoners release as a feat of diplomacy. All those efforts led to what US officials called a package of eight individuals of interest to Russia for the 16 individuals including German nationals, Russian political prisoners and US citizens being agreed upon. Three of the prisoners released by Russia in a prisoner swap operation include Evan Gershkovich (front left), Alsu Kurmasheva (front right), and Paul Whelan (front second right) Prior to this, there had been serious bumps in the road during late 2023 and early 2024. At that time, US efforts had partly been focused on setting free Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, as part of the swap - but he was killed in a penal colony, plunging the negotiations into turmoil. According to The Insider, an investigative news website, Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, had also felt deeply uncomfortable about releasing Krasikov, a notorious contract killer serving a life sentence for the Tiergarten murder. Ms Baerbock reportedly felt that releasing Krasikov would signal weakness in Berlin, a view shared by some other figures in Germanys coalition. However, they were all eventually brought around to support the deal by the autumn of 2023. In April 2024 another breakthrough was secured, around the same time that Mr Biden made his phone call to Mr Scholz. Germany felt it needed Putin to offer much more than just US prisoners in order to fully justify the release of Krasikov, and suggested the idea that Moscow also set free a number of political prisoners of Russian nationality. The BND, the German equivalent of MI6, was brought on to shepherd the deal through to its final stages. Putins replacement of Sergei Beseda, a top FSB official, with a new foreign relations chief, Alexei Komkov, may also have removed some outstanding hurdles. Once the deal was done, Krasikov was among the Russian list of prisoners flown to Ankara, where Russian officials picked him up. Turkish television footage captured the moment that both sides exchanged their hostages, passing each other as they crossed the tarmac. Another video of the prisoners release showed a stoic Mr Gershkovich being led out of a prison bus by a masked Russian guard, who gripped his elbow. On Thursday night, Mr Gershkovich was due to land back in America at Andrews Air Force Base, where his family was waiting to greet him. Meanwhile, a group of Russian journalists and dissidents had also gathered at Berlin airport on Thursday evening, hoping to celebrate the former prisoners freedom. As all the concerned families and friends waited for proof of their loved ones release, there was, at last, a flash of joy. A US government photo was released showing a beaming Mr Gershkovich holding an American flag, alongside Mr Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmashava: they were free. A national capability will be established to tackle violent disorder and rioters, Keir Starmer has announced, as he warned social media firms they had a responsibility to clamp down on misinformation. Speaking after violent disorder followed the Southport stabbing attack, the prime minister said the initiative would pull together intelligence and action across the countrys police forces. This would range from the immediate challenge, which is clearly driven by far-right hatred and all violent disorder that flares, regardless of motivation. Starmer appeared furious during a press conference on Thursday afternoon as he condemned the tiny mindless minority in society a gang of thugs [who] got on trains and buses, went to a community that is not their own, a community grieving the most horrific tragedy, and then proceeded to throw bricks at police officers police officers who just 24 hours earlier had been having to deal with an attack on children in their community. He said the new plan was designed to show that Britain would not allow understandable fear to curdle into division and hate in our communities and that will not permit, under any circumstances, a breakdown in law and order on our streets. He added: Lets be very clear about this. Its not protest. Its not legitimate. Its crime and violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. The national capability will aim to improve intelligence gathering and sharing on extremist troublemakers after police were surprised by the scale of disorder on Tuesday in Southport, with further unrest in London, Manchester, Hartlepool and Aldershot on Wednesday night. The new initiative should identify agitators from all parts of the ideological spectrum, while enhancing the sharing of community tension indicators and the coordination of mutual aid, where specially riot-trained officers are rushed from one area to another, Starmer said. The prime minister said there was a balance to be struck when it came to social media platforms efforts to tackle misinformation online, with discussion needed on whether they could face consequences if they failed to act. Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, its happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere. That is the single most important duty of government; service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe. Starmer said nobody but nobody involved in the rioting or spread of misinformation should pretend they are speaking for the grieving families. The far right are showing who they are we have to show who we are in response to that, he said. Asked what his message was to Muslims who may be concerned after mosques were targeted, he said: In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear: I will take every step thats necessary to keep you safe. He held the press conference after meeting senior police chiefs, including the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Dame Lynne Owens; Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside police; BJ Harrington of the National Police Chiefs Council; and Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions. Starmer thanked police officers who stood up to intimidation and violence, adding: Im not going to pretend to you that they werent affected by what they had had to witness, what theyd had to deal with. They said to me, as they always do, I was simply doing my job, and of course, they were, but theres no way what they had to endure was anything other than extraordinarily challenging. It is hoped that increasing the number of specialist public order officers who can be rushed into an area of trouble will increase the number of arrests when violence breaks out. The new officers will sit with the national police operations centre, which is part of the National Police Chiefs Council. The plans were drafted by Downing Street, and a source said heads of police meeting Starmer in No 10 on Thursday were in broad agreement. The financing and full details are yet to be ironed out. Consideration is to be given to the potential greater use of live facial recognition at places where disorder is expected or has broken out. There was 'widespread mistrust' of the misconduct reporting process, the watchdog said - E+ Fire services are covering up abhorrent abuse of staff, by bullying the whistleblowers who raise concerns, the official watchdog has found. Victims are failing to report bullying, sexism and racism for fear of reprisals from managers, said HM inspectorate of police and fire services. Some who reported misconduct said that an ally of the perpetrator was then appointed to investigate their allegations, in what amounted to a cover-up, inspectors revealed in a report published on Thursday. In an exclusive article for The Telegraph, Roy Wilsher, the chief fire service inspector, said the widespread and often deep mistrust of the misconduct process was one of the most worrying findings in his report. It meant there were still pockets of abhorrent behaviour across fire services in England including bullying, harassment, intimidation, abuse of power and racist, sexist and homophobic language, said Mr Wilsher. And women were more likely to fear reprisals for blowing the whistle than men, he said. Roy Wilsher, a former chief fire officer, heads the watchdog - Paul Grover for The Telegraph A lack of faith in the confidentiality of the process means they fear repercussions if they report an issue. Tellingly, we found women were more likely than men to express a fear of reporting. This begs the question; how can we root out misconduct if people are scared to report it? he asked. Abuse of power More than one third of nearly 4,500 firefighters surveyed by the inspectorate said they had suffered bullying, harassment, abuse of power and racist, sexist and homophobic language. More than 40 per cent said they had witnessed such misconduct in the last year. The report was commissioned by the Government after an investigation last year uncovered bullying, harassment and discrimination in every fire and rescue service in England. Cases included a male firefighter telling a colleague he would rape her and a senior officer using a racial slur. The Inspectorate said there had been an improvement in the culture since then but it still found compelling evidence of a widespread fear among firefighters to report the behaviour, in case reprisals damaged their career prospects. Some whistleblowers told the inspectors they had been singled out and overlooked for promotion, which they felt was a direct result of reporting misconduct. This fear and mistrust was so widespread that many staff members doubted whether our survey was truly confidential and expressed concerns that they would be vulnerable if they disclosed information to us, said the report. Whistleblowers persecuted One former firefighter told the inspectors that staff were almost persecuted, vilified, because they have blown the whistle on individuals. Another said: Some people are just taking the abuse, the harassment, because they dont want to put a target on their back. Many firefighters believed the misconduct system was biased and not impartial, which was closely related to the fear of reprisals. They told us investigations were sometimes conducted by someone close to the person alleged to have perpetrated the misconduct, such as their line manager. They considered such cases to be cover-ups, said the inspectors. Women most often expressed a fear of reporting. For example, one firefighter told us she did speak to her line manager about something and it wasnt dealt with. The manager breached her confidentiality and she felt humiliated by her peers. She was adamant she would never raise a concern again. Another firefighter said when she raised a concern to her manager, she was told it would be held against her when she went for promotion. Because of this fear of reporting, it is likely that the actual level of misconduct within FRSs [Fire and Rescue Services] is higher than the evidence suggests. Many staff members decide to just put up with unacceptable behaviour rather than use the systems they distrust so thoroughly. Staff in many of the services we visited told us that people dont want to put their heads above the parapet. A Home Office spokesman said: The findings from the Inspectorates report are deeply concerning. There is no space for misconduct in our Fire and Rescue Services, and we expect it to be addressed at the earliest opportunity. We will be carefully considering the recommendations, and will be kept updated by HMICFRS on progress made. We will also continue to work with closely with the fire sector to ensure that the highest levels of integrity are maintained across services. We cannot allow this bullying, harassment and abuse to continue By Roy Wilsher What makes a good working environment? For me, its trust. Trust in your colleagues and your leaders. And, crucially, trust that if anything goes wrong theres a system there to protect you and your team. This becomes even more vital when the work youre doing can be tough, risky and take a physical and emotional toll. Thats why the findings of our latest report into the fire and rescue service remain concerning. Firefighters and fire and rescue staff carry out a vital public service, with thousands of people helping our communities every day. But at His Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), we have repeatedly found evidence of poor values, culture and behaviour in the fire and rescue sector. Our report on values and culture in the sector, published last year, was a wake-up call. It led to the Government commissioning us to review the handling of misconduct in the fire and rescue service. Today we have published our findings. We were pleased to find early signs of improvement. On the whole, senior fire and rescue leaders have demonstrated a commitment to creating a positive, inclusive culture. And they recognise that tackling unacceptable behaviour is a big part of this. Most services have made it a priority to raise awareness of expected standards of behaviour and have action plans in place to get better at identifying, managing and investigating misconduct. Distrust of misconduct process But our review also paints a stark picture. One of the most worrying things our inspection team found was a widespread and often deep distrust of misconduct processes. This is holding back progress and positive culture change. Most staff who want to report an issue know where to go and what to do. But many lack confidence in the process. They dont believe their voices will be heard or that bad behaviour will be addressed. A lack of faith in the confidentiality of the process means they fear repercussions if they report an issue. Tellingly, we found women were more likely than men to express a fear of reporting. This begs the question; how can we root out misconduct if people are scared to report it? To try to change this, we are calling for a more rigorous and well-resourced misconduct process in every one of the 44 fire and rescue services across England. Trust and confidence in the system is a priority. All fire and rescue staff need to know they can report unacceptable behaviour without fear of reprisal. They must feel safe in the knowledge that their service will investigate issues fairly and thoroughly, and that sanctions will be appropriate and just. Until this happens, some will suffer in silence, while others will remain free to bully, harass and discriminate against their colleagues without challenge. Racism, homophobia and misogyny During this inspection, it was extremely disappointing to find that pockets of abhorrent behaviour persist across the fire and rescue service. An unacceptable number of staff told us they had experienced and witnessed misconduct, including racism, homophobia and misogyny, during the last 12 months This cannot continue. This kind of behaviour is, of course, deeply damaging to the people involved. But it also has far wider implications. To protect the public, firefighters need to be able to work effectively together in high-pressure, emergency situations. Without trust and respect within teams, their ability to do this is eroded. In the longer-term, a continued overhaul of values and culture is required: one that will help prevent this type of behaviour from happening in the first place. But, right now, we need to see more and faster progress towards fire and rescue services that swiftly and effectively challenge and deal with unacceptable behaviour. This can only be achieved by getting the fundamentals right. Positive change We have made 15 recommendations in our report to help bring about positive change. These are intended to directly improve the way misconduct is handled and help to earn the trust of staff. For example, we want to see the introduction of the right training and support for all staff investigating misconduct, and for every service to have access to a professional standards function to support fair and transparent investigations. We also recommend that robust probationary policies are put in place, so early serious misconduct leads to dismissal. Fire and rescue workers deserve better. They protect the public day in and day out. By taking these practical steps, fire and rescue services can continue to bring about lasting cultural change. Change that is long overdue for their staff and for the public they serve. Roy Wilsher is HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services Rico Krieger, a German who was sentenced to death in Belarus but has now been pardoned. Photograph: Belteleradio Company/Reuters The German government has said it did not take the decision to release a jailed FSB hitman lightly, as it confirmed its involvement in a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the west. Chancellor Olaf Scholzs spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said the deal involving the release of Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany for murder had been arranged in close and trusting cooperation with the United States and European partners, making it possible to secure the release of 15 people who were unlawfully detained in Russia and a German national [Rico Krieger] who had been sentenced to death in Belarus. Hebestreit said their liberation was only possible by deporting Russian nationals with a background in intelligence who were in prison in Europe and transferring them to Russia. He confirmed that among them was Krasikov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany after murdering a Georgian citizen in a Berlin park. The German government did not take this decision lightly, Hebestreit said. The states interest in carrying out the prison sentence of a convicted criminal was weighed against the freedom, physical wellbeing and in some cases ultimately the lives of innocent people imprisoned in Russia and those unjustly politically imprisoned. Our duty to protect German nationals as well as solidarity with the USA were important motivations, he said. Krasikov, a high-ranking officer in the Russian secret service the FSB, was serving a life sentence in a German jail for the 2019 murder of an opponent of the Russian regime in a central Berlin park. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian-born Chechen dissident registered as an asylum seeker in Germany, was shot dead in broad daylight by Krasikov. The assassin had entered Germany using false papers. Sentencing Krasikov in 2021, the Berlin court called the killing state-ordered murder, a claim that Russias president, Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin denied. The assassination sparked a diplomatic crisis involving the expulsion of two Russian envoys from the German capital. Krasikov was long seen as a potential linchpin in securing the release of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and the former US marine Paul Whelan, who were both freed on Thursday. Putin alluded to Krasikov in an interview with the rightwing US media personality Tucker Carlson in February, saying the release of Gershkovich could be secured in a prison swap involving a man whom he described as a patriot serving a life sentence in a US-allied country after being convicted of liquidating a bandit. Krasikovs name had reportedly surfaced as early as 2022 in the context of a potential cold war-style prisoner swap. However, German government representatives had long resisted the overture, reportedly floated by US diplomats, given the severity of Krasikovs crime and the independence of the justice system. Berlin also remained tight-lipped in response to accusations earlier this year by Maria Pevchikh a close ally of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a Russian Arctic penal colony in February that US and German negotiating partners had dragged their feet in two-year-long talks over his possible release in a swap in early 2023. Hebestreit said on Thursday that Germany hoped all those freed today would recover from their physical and psychological suffering, in the company of their family and friends. Our thoughts go out to all those who are still imprisoned in Russia today for expressing their opinions and telling the truth about Putins war of aggression against Ukraine, Hebestreit said. Their courage should be an example to all democrats. The German government called on Russia and Belarus to release all other political prisoners who are being unjustly held. Vaughan, the head at Pool Hayes primary school in Willenhall, accused the watchdog of failing to put in place reasonable adjustments to accommodate her disability Photograph: Handout A primary school headteacher with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been paid damages in a landmark disability discrimination case against Ofsted, after her request to postpone an inspection over a relapse in her symptoms was refused. Kelly Vaughan, the head at Pool Hayes primary school in Willenhall, in the West Midlands, accused Englands schools watchdog of failing to put in place reasonable adjustments to accommodate her disability. Ofsted apologised for the distress caused and has since agreed to introduce mandatory equality, diversity and inclusion training for inspectors and other staff. It will also meet with disabilities charities to help with organisational change. However, the schools inspectorate said Vaughans request for a deferral was refused in line with Ofsted policy and that a number of reasonable adjustments had been made during the inspection. The case, which was settled out of court, has raised fresh concerns about the culture at Ofsted, which has been widely criticised and subject to scrutiny after the death of Ruth Perry in January 2023. Perry, who was the headteacher of Caversham primary in Reading, killed herself in January 2023 after her school was downgraded from the highest Ofsted ranking to its lowest. Berkshires senior coroner found that the inspection had contributed to Perrys death. Related: Headteachers demand end to inhumane school ratings in England Vaughan, in the run-up to the Ofsted inspection, had been suffering from laryngitis, which caused a relapse of her MS symptoms, impairing her coordination and thought processes. She asked for the inspection to be deferred, but Ofsted refused. According to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), who supported her case, Vaughan struggled to respond quickly to inspectors demands for information during the inspection, explaining that her laryngitis, combined with her underlying MS, meant she was unable to think clearly and multitask. She was also critical of some of the conduct during the inspection. Vaughan submitted a disability discrimination claim to the Central London county court, accusing Ofsted of breaches of the Equality Act 2010 including failing to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate her disability, harassment and discrimination. My last year was an extremely challenging one and no other education professional should go through the same thing, she said. As leaders and as professionals, we hope to be treated fairly by those who come to inspect us and unfortunately this hasnt always been the case. I hope the changes won in my case help to ensure Ofsted deliver positive change in their wider culture as well as for other education professionals living with disabilities. An Ofsted spokesperson said: We are sorry for the distress Ms Vaughan describes. A number of reasonable adjustments were made during the inspection, including encouraging Ms Vaughan to be assisted during meetings, providing regular breaks and adjusting how we conducted the inspection. But we recognise the impact on Ms Vaughan. In response to this case, we have strengthened our guidance and training to make sure that inspectors can better support leaders with disabilities on inspection and consider any reasonable adjustments needed. Paul Whiteman, the NAHT general secretary, said the case showed how far Ofsted had to go to fix its deeply entrenched culture. He said: Ofsteds refusal to listen and its determination to try to defend the actions of its inspectors for so long raises serious concerns and shows that despite the recent change in leadership the organisation has a very long way to go if it is to rebuild trust with the profession. The Labour government has said it will scrap Ofsteds headline judgments, such as inadequate and requires improvement, and replace them with a report card system. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Nigel Farage The tragedy in Southport and the unnecessary violence that followed it are likely to be an early test for Starmers government. One unfortunate distraction has been the Twitter tussle between Jess Phillips and Nigel Farage. While facts from the attack first dripped out, the Reform leader speculated whether the truth is being withheld, a nod to rumours about the identity of the attacker in response, the Minister for Safeguarding and Victims criticised Farage for not turning up to parliament, accusing him of grift[ing] instead. Nigel Farages comments were designed to inflame the situation he knows the power of floating rhetorical questions before the facts are fully known. It was an unacceptable play into conspiracies that were already whirling. He did not solely provoke the violence that followed, but he certainly added to a febrile situation that already threatened to spill over. Yet, the correct response from the government is not to pick a further fight with him. MPs have a duty to calm rather than inflame, but this is even heavier upon Ministers. Responding in anger is often understandable. It is, however, rarely a course of action that improves the situation. Most people will form their own views of Farages comments, and those who support him will only be encouraged by Labours disdain, not dissuaded. Instead, ministers should get to grips with the underlying causes and tackle them. Phillips holds an important brief that she cares deeply about. She also understands the dangers of online rhetoric. She has spoken powerfully about threats and harassment she has received, including during her recent re-election campaign. Picking fights with Farage is a poor way to continue this work. The way in which both the violence in Southport and support for Palestine can spill over into ugly incidents has similar causes. They lie in marginalisation, poverty, and sections of society where people, mostly men, are prone to violence and seize upon a cause as a flimsy excuse for this. Farage played into this when he made his remarks, but going after him only plays into his games. He, and his supporters, relish in the disdain of people like Phillips. Its the sort of behaviour that flies in Opposition but cannot stand in government. Those who chose to turn Southports tragedy into an excuse for violence are a real problem, but they are a problem the government needs to understand as it tries to fix it. This doesnt mean appeasing the mob, but it has to go further than simply picking online fights. The problem of opposition, as the Tories are learning, is that you can only take potshots from the sidelines. You give that up when you enter government and gain the ability to actually engage with the problems. As Labour gets used to governing, they need to understand that there are some fights you are better off not picking. Unguarded comments about foreign leaders undermine diplomacy, while hurried responses on domestic issues can stoke the same sort of division you are responsible for quelling. While Farage was clearly beyond the pale, understanding why such a febrile environment emerged after the Southport attacks is probably more important than attacking him for stirring it. Alex Williams has reportedly gone into hiding since his messages to Edwards were revealed. Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures The man who shared indecent images of children with the former BBC presenter Huw Edwards is a 25-year-old fellow Welshman who was given a 12-month suspended jail term earlier this year. Alex Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, was sentenced in March at Merthyr Tydfil crown court after pleading guilty to seven offences related to possessing and distributing indecent images. On Wednesday, Edwards was ordered by a Westminster magistrate not to contact Williams after the former BBC news presenter admitted accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven. In court, Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children after he was sent 41 illegal images by Williams. The court was told that seven of the indecent images shared with the broadcaster by Williams were classed as the most serious type, known as category A. The Metropolitan police have confirmed that their investigation into Edwards began in November after they were passed information by South Wales police. The Welsh force, as part of their investigation into Williams, found he had forwarded indecent images of children to the BBC presenter. South Wales police confirmed to the Guardian that Williams was arrested in August 2022 and bailed as its investigation continued. Williams was charged in December 2023 and appeared in court in January. He pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children. The final indecent image he sent to Edwards was in August 2021, Westminster magistrates court was told on Wednesday. It was a category A film featuring a young boy. Messages showed that Williams told the newsreader that the child was quite young looking and that he had more images that were illegal, the court heard. Edwards told him not to send any illegal images and no more were sent, the court heard. The pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022. Williams has gone into hiding since his messages to Edwards were revealed, according to the MailOnline, which made contact with his parents. They told reporters Williams was no longer living in their home and they had not seen him for up to four months. They denied knowledge of his conviction for sexual offences. His grandmother, who also had no knowledge of his conviction, told the Times that he has been working in Cardiff after graduating from university in the city two years ago. Victorian premier Jacinta Allan says the health department is testing and cleaning cooling towers in response to the legionnaires disease outbreak, with cases expected to rise. Photograph: James Ross/AAP At least 60 people in Melbourne now have legionnaires disease, with a further 10 suspected cases being examined, Victorias health department has confirmed. Dr David Lister, the states acting chief health officer, on Thursday issued an alert that said the number of confirmed cases in the outbreak had risen by 20 over a 24-hour period. Most cases have required hospitalisation, with multiple admissions to intensive care for severe community acquired pneumonia, the alert said. It is Victorias largest outbreak of the infection since 2000, when more than 150 fell ill and four people died after Melbourne Aquarium cooling towers became infected with legionella pneumophila bacteria. According to the alert, authorities were still looking for a contaminated water source most likely a cooling tower responsible for the outbreak that first emerged on Friday. All cases mostly in adults aged over 40 years have visited or reside in metropolitan Melbourne. Earlier in the week, the health department had narrowed the cases down to the north-west suburbs. The premier, Jacinta Allan, said it would take some time to determine the precise source of the outbreak. As people are presenting with the illness, thorough testing is being undertaken and those tests take a number of days to go through processing, she said earlier on Thursday. It is helping to identify a geographic range around the north-west of the city. Further work is being undertaken to pinpoint precisely that location and advice will be provided [when it is available]. She said the health department was testing and cleaning cooling towers across the city as part of its response to the outbreak. Allan urged anyone with symptoms of the illness, including chills, fevers, a cough or feeling unwell, to seek medical attention. Particularly for people who may have other underlying conditions or who may be vulnerable or immunocompromised, this can be quite a severe illness, Allan said. There are many people in ICU and many who are currently hospitalised as theyre getting treatment for this illness. Related: Legionnaires outbreak: Australians are contracting the lung disease, what is it and do I need to worry? Sanjaya Senanayake, an associate professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, said cases of legionnaires disease could be difficult to detect because very few of the people exposed to the bacteria get seriously ill. For a lot of people, they may only present with mild systems and they get better by themselves, he said. He said there was also evidence cooling towers with legionella could send aerosols out into the air for more than a kilometre. People can inhale it even though theyre not right next to the cooling tower, and thats what also makes it a challenge, from a public health outbreak point of view, trying to pin down where people have been to isolate the cooling tower source, he said. Certainly, theyll be looking at things like that with the patients here. Was there a single exposure? Did they all go to some big event or have they just been walking within the kilometre or two of a cooling tower thats spitting out Legionella into the air? He said it was important for people most at risk including people with a weakened immune system, smokers and those with chronic lung, heart and kidney issues to remain vigilant until the source is located. The health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, conceded it was concerning they were yet to locate the source. Its not an infectious disease. So we need to locate the source and thats how we resolve the impact, she said. The health department said legionella was found in natural bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, creeks and hot springs. It is also found in spas, warm water systems and artificial systems that use water for cooling, heating or industrial processes such as cooling towers, as well as potting mix. Writing in the Conversation, Flinders Universitys Richard Bentham said the large number of cases in a short period indicates a single source. A cooling tower attached to a building is most likely responsible. Most explosive outbreaks of legionnaires disease are associated with cooling towers, Bentham said. Chidimma Adetshina was born in Soweto and lives in Cape Town. Photograph: Miss South Africa Organisation A South African beauty pageant contestant with a Nigerian father has been subjected to relentless online abuse and interrogations of her right to compete for the Miss South Africa title, as a persistent strain of xenophobia against immigrants from other African countries has resurfaced. Since Chidimma Adetshina, a 23-year-old law student who was born in Soweto and lives in Cape Town, was announced on 1 July as one of the contestants in the running to represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant, there has been constant questioning of whether she is a South African citizen. In recent days, politicians have waded into the debate, media figures have come to her defence and TV news and talk radio shows have discussed her nationality. Adetshina said last week that, after about three weeks of the unexpected online onslaught including questions over whether she favoured Nigeria after a video of her celebrating with Nigerian relatives went viral she began to ask whether it had been worth entering the Miss South Africa competition. I accept criticism, Adetshina told the Sowetan SMag, in an interview where she also clarified that her mother is South African with Mozambican roots. But its just a matter of you trying so hard to represent a country, and you wear it with so much pride and so much grace, and the people that youre representing are not even in support of you. She added: Im still finding my feet as to how do I go about [it]. Not taking away from the fact that I am South African, but also understanding that I am still proudly Nigerian and I am proudly South African and just being that symbol of peace and unity. However, the tide of questions has continued. This includes from South Africas minister of sport, art and culture, Gayton McKenzie, who told a radio station on Wednesday: I have to go and investigate. Minister Gayton McKenzie speaks on the Miss SA saga involving Nigerian born contestant Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina @NkosinathiShazi pic.twitter.com/vcHCEfyzVS POWER987News (@POWER987News) July 31, 2024 It would be a travesty for this country to be represented globally by someone who identifies more with Nigeria than South Africa, but I made it clear that I hadnt made up my mind, said McKenzie, a self-described reformed bank robber who leads the Patriotic Alliance party, which calls for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. The intense scrutiny and vitriol aimed at Adetshina reveal a continued colonised mindset among many South Africans, the leftwing Economic Freedom Fighters party said in a statement on Wednesday. It said that white and Asian former Miss South Africa contestants with foreign parents had not received the same Afrophobic scrutiny. Chronically high rates of unemployment more than four in 10 adults are out of work and violent crime have fuelled anti-African immigrant sentiment in South Africa. Operation Dudula, which was founded in 2021 and takes its name from the Zulu word meaning to push away or drive back, has attacked people accused of being foreign drug dealers, as well as businesses thought to have had non-South African employees. Riot police stand guard after violent clashes near the Southport Islamic Society Mosque on Tuesday. Photograph: Roland Lloyd Parry/AFP/Getty Images Police forces have been urged to step up patrols outside mosques and asylum seeker accommodation amid plans for at least 19 far-right rallies across England in coming days. Violent demonstrations have spread from Southport to London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot after the stabbing atrocity at a childrens holiday club on Monday. Community leaders on Thursday said they were increasingly fearful of further unrest after mosques and asylum seeker accommodation were targeted by crowds of intimidating agitators. The riots began after misinformation circulated widely online about the identity and motives of the suspect in the Southport murders, who was named on Thursday as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana. The media had been unable to name the teenager, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, because he is under 18. But a judge, Andrew Menary KC, said his name should be reported on the basis that continued anonymity risked allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread disinformation in a vacuum. Rudakubana, is next due to appear in court in October accused of murdering Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, and attempting to murder 10 others. Mosques in Southport and Hartlepool were attacked by rioters on Tuesday and Wednesday amid unfounded online rumours that the suspect was Muslim, when little if anything is known about his beliefs or motivation. In Manchester and in Aldershot in Hampshire, asylum seeker accommodation was targeted by demonstrators carrying placards that read deport them, dont support them and no apartments for illegals. In central London, demonstrators threw flares and cans while chanting rule Britannia, save our kids and the mantra of the previous Conservative government: Stop the boats. Mosque Security, a company that advises faith leaders on protection, said it had received inquiries from more than 100 mosques seeking help in recent days. Shaukat Warraich, its director, said the firms online security recommendations had been downloaded in their hundreds as a result of the false anti-Muslim narrative being peddled following the Southport murders. There were also anecdotal reports of mosques cancelling events this weekend because of security fears. The Guardian has seen details of at least 19 far-right rallies being planned for the coming days in towns and cities across England. Many of the events are taking place under the banner enough is enough and protect our kids the same slogan used by demonstrators outside Downing Street on Wednesday evening. More than 110 people were arrested after protesters clashed with police. Counter-demonstrations are due to take place in Manchester and Liverpool amid fears that anti-immigration groups are feeling emboldened by the unrest inspired by the Southport murders. One online group said its membership had absolutely rocketed in the past few days. Tell Mama, an organisation that tracks Islamophobia, called for greater police protection for mosques. Iman Atta, its director, said: We absolutely need to see the police organise and step up their patrols around mosques and asylum seeker accommodation. It would be good to see neighbourhood teams change their patrol times to provide additional reassurance to the communities. Last week has demonstrated how the far right can organise online and promote hate and misinformation towards Muslim communities, refugees and asylum seekers. We ask communities to keep calm, look out for each other and to remain vigilant. Nahella Ashraf, of Stand Up to Racism Manchester, said it would be great to see more police patrolling far-right activity this weekend but said this would not solve the longer-term problems behind the riots. Before the election, with all the attacks on asylum seekers, its not surprising were seeing this unleashed, she said. Weve had years where people are feeling angry and neglected and the cost of living crisis feeds into it. Its the climate the politicians have set. Mark Webster, the chief constable of Cleveland police, said the unrest in Hartlepool was mindless thuggery. Asked what the motivation was for the disorder, he said: There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. I dont think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. I think there is some mindless thuggery and thats why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. Theres no excuse for last night. Sir Keir Starmer at a briefing with Merseyside Police chief Serena Kennedy following the knife attack in Southport - TEMILADE ADELAJA The Prime Minister will host police leaders from around the country on Thursday to discuss disorder which has spread across the country in the wake of Southport stabbings. Sir Keir Starmer is to meet force chiefs after violent protests in the Merseyside town spread to London and Hartlepool. Fifty-three police officers were injured in clashes in Southport on Tuesday that followed the deadly knife attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday. Dozens of far-Right protesters were arrested on Wednesday night after a rally outside Downing Street, while riot police faced down men in balaclavas at a march in Hartlepool. The unrest came after incorrect claims were made on social media that the suspect who was charged overnight was an asylum seeker who arrived in the United Kingdom in a small boat. A No 10 spokesman said: The Prime Minister will convene senior policing leaders in Downing Street today to offer them the Governments full backing following multiple high-profile incidents of extreme violence and public disorder on our streets. At a roundtable this afternoon, he will say that the shocking events in Southport this week serve as a reminder of the bravery of our emergency service workers and the vitally important work they do to keep the public safe. The spokesman said the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, but added: He will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law. He will commit to working in partnership with police forces across the UK and reiterate that they should not hesitate to use their powers to stop mindless violence in its tracks and make sure justice is served. Sir Keir and Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, have said those responsible for the violent scenes should face the full force of the law. The rioting in Southport followed a peaceful vigil to remember the three girls killed in the attack six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar that took place nearby. Patrick Hurley, the MP for the town, accused the mob of using the death of little kiddies for their own political purposes. Calling the protesters beered-up thugs, he pointed to intelligence that suggested the vast majority of those taking part were from out of town and said the peaceful memorial was representative of the real Southport. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has suggested the English Defence League (EDL) could be proscribed as a terror group in the wake of the Southport riots. Supporters of the EDL were blamed by police for violence outside a mosque on Tuesday night, in which a police van was set on fire and officers were attacked with rocks. Wednesdays Enough is Enough rally in Whitehall was promoted by Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who founded and once led the EDL. The Metropolitan Police issued a warning ahead of the planned rally saying that any disorder will be dealt with swiftly. The force told protesters to remain in the immediate vicinity of the Downing Street entrance gate and to leave by 8.30pm, sweeping in to make arrests after the deadline passed. Crowds hurled bottles and pyrotechnics towards police officers as they shouted chants including England till I die and We want our country back. Writing on social media, Richard Tice, the chairman of Reform UK, accused the establishment liberal class of trying to smear anyone who asks questions as far-Right. Mr Tice added: But violent protest against police is utterly wrong and plays into the Lefties hands We have condemned riots of any kind and attacks on police. But we are also the only party asking serious questions about lawless Britain. The Sussexes were in Nigeria in May in a visit linked to Prince Harry's Invictus Games. Colombia has also entered a team to the tournament for sick and wounded veterans - Sunday Alamba/AP The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are going on tour to Colombia, it has been announced, days after Prince Harry said it was too dangerous to bring his wife to Britain. The Sussexes, who visited Nigeria earlier this year, are to travel to the South American country this summer at the invitation of its vice president. They are said to be planning to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress as well as enjoying the vibrant locations of Bogota, Cartagena and Cali. Francia Marquez, the vice president of Colombia, said in a statement: I am pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country. The trip follows the Sussexes trip to Nigeria, which was linked to Prince Harrys Invictus Games. Colombia has also entered a team to the tournament for sick and wounded veterans. The Duke is not known to have previously visited Colombia during his official royal duties, and it is not part of the Commonwealth. Their 2024 trip will come ahead of the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which takes place on Nov 7 and 8. Ms Marquez says the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have 'the opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress' - CARLOS ORTEGA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The trip was announced via the vice presidents office, shortly after Prince Harry said he would not bring his wife to Britain because of the security threat to his family. Last week, in an ITV interview about tabloid phone hacking, he said of the UK: All it takes is for one lone actor who reads this stuff to act on what theyve read. Whether its a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. Its one of the reasons why I wont bring my wife back to this country. The Duke of Sussex has a long-running dispute with the Home Office and Royal family over his security in the UK, and has lost a case demanding its review. He is currently required to give 28 days notice of visiting his country of birth if he is seeking Met Police protection, with decisions being made by Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec). In America and overseas the Sussexes use a private armed protection firm, with the countries they visit sometimes providing additional official security. US cautions against travel to Colombia Colombia is described by the US government as a Level 3 or orange risk, with advice stating: Reconsider travel due to crime and terrorism. Exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping. In the country summary published by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, it says: Violent crime, such as homicide, assault, and armed robbery, is widespread. Organised criminal activities, such as extortion, robbery, and kidnapping, are common in some areas. The UK government advice for the country suggests only essential travel to some regions of the country, but all three areas the Sussexes plan to visit are considered safer and marked green. In 2012, Colombia launched a major campaign to overcome its reputation for kidnapping and violence, under the slogan: Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay. Cartegena now hosts a branch of the Hay Festival and is a major cruise destination. Ms Marquez said of the upcoming visit from the Sussexes: During their trip, The Duke and Duchess will join me in visiting Bogota, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. In addition to these meaningful interactions, the Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia, she said. Timing of visit significant Ms Marquez added that the couples visit would be at a particularly significant time as it will precede the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, to be held in Colombia this November. The Archewell Foundation, founded by the Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment. The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world. During their visit, the Duke and Duchess, as well as the Archewell Foundation, will engage in several activities related to this important topic. We are confident that their visit will further illuminate Colombias role as a beacon of culture and innovation. The Duke and Duchess will also speak about child safety online in a television interview due to be broadcast on Sunday. Speaking to CBS, the American television channel, they will talk about their Archewell project to help parents protect their children online. THIS SUNDAY: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex talk with Jane Pauley this Sunday about a new program supporting parents of children affected by online harm. Jane also interviews parents in the pilot program about its impact on their healing. pic.twitter.com/YNRMA86I65 CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) August 1, 2024 In a promotional clip, Meghan says: Our kids are young, theyre three and five. Theyre amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them. So as we can see whats happening in the online space, we know that theres a lot of work to be done there and were just happy to be a part of change for good. As the reporter Jane Pauley begins to say that every parent hopes someone is there to help their children, Prince Harry interrupts to add: If you know how to help. At this point weve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder. And even the best first responders in the world wouldnt be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this. The interview is due to be broadcast in full on Sunday. Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in jail in Russia in July. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images Prisoners leaving Russia Evan Gershkovich A Wall Street Journal reporter, Gershkovich became the first western correspondent to be arrested for espionage since the fall of the Soviet Union. Detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Ekaterinburg, Russian authorities claim he was collecting information for the CIA, but have never made public any of their supposed evidence. Gershkovich, his newspaper and the US state department have all denied the charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail in July in a speedy, closed trial. Related: Russia frees Evan Gershkovich and others in biggest prisoner swap since cold war Paul Whelan Arrested in 2018 on espionage charges, the former US marine has been in Russian prison since. Whelan, who also holds UK, Irish and Canadian citizenship, has always said the evidence against him was falsified. In a recent interview with the BBC, he said he spent his days stitching overalls and hats in a prison factory, and that his barracks were mouldy and unheated. Late last year, Whelans family said he had been hit in the face by another prisoner, breaking his glasses. Alsu Kurmasheva A 47-year-old editor for Radio Liberty, based in Prague, Kurmasheva is a joint US-Russian citizen. She was arrested last year during a family visit to the city of Kazan, and accused of failing to register as a foreign agent and for spreading false information about the countrys armed forces, under harsh censorship laws enacted after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ilya Yashin Yashin is one of Russias best-known opposition leaders, a longtime ally of Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in 2015, and Alexei Navalny, who died in prison earlier this year. In an interview last year with the Guardian, written from prison, Yashin said he had stayed in Russia rather than emigrate because he felt that after the invasion of Ukraine it was important to remain and speak out. I understood that an anti-war voice should be speaking in Russia, he said. Oleg Orlov A veteran of the Soviet-era dissident movement, 70-year-old Orlov is one of Russias most respected human rights defenders, and for the past two decades was one of the leaders of Memorial, an organisation that won a share of the Nobel peace prize in 2022. Orlov was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail earlier this year for criticism of the Russian army. Sasha Skochilenko A 33-year-old anti-war artist, Skochilenko was jailed for seven years late last year after she replaced price tags in a St Petersburg supermarket with anti-war messages. Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience. Vladimir Kara-Murza A 42-year-old longstanding opposition politician and activist, Kara-Murza has accused the Kremlin of trying to poison him twice, in 2015 and 2017. He was jailed for 25 years last year for his criticism of the war in Ukraine and for links with an undesirable organisation. His family said Kara-Murza, who has dual Russian-UK citizenship, had suffered health problems in prison, as an after-effect of the earlier poisonings. Kevin Lik Nineteen-year-old Lik is the youngest person to be convicted of treason in Russia. He was sentenced last December to four years in jail, apparently for emailing photographs to representatives of a foreign state at the time of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Lik is a German-Russian dual national; he was born in Germany but moved to Russia at the age of 12. Rico Krieger Unlike everyone else in the swap, Krieger was held in Belarus, not Russia. His case became public only in recent weeks, when it emerged he had been sentenced to death in the country, supposedly for carrying out a terrorist attack on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence. He appeared in an emotional interview on state television, begging for clemency and asking the German government to intervene. According to Belarusian authorities, the 30-year-old Krieger was arrested late last year after setting off an explosion in the country in which nobody was injured, though no evidence was presented publicly. On Tuesday, the Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, pardoned Krieger. Ksenia Fadeyeva An associate of the late Alexei Navalny in the Siberian city of Tomsk, Fadeyeva was with Navalny when he was poisoned with the novichok nerve agent in the city in 2020. She later won election to the municipal council. However, Russian authorities outlawed Navalnys organisation in 2021, and last year Fadeyeva was sentenced to nine years in jail on charges of organising an extremist group. Liliya Chanysheva Chanysheva was another of Navalnys regional coordinators, running his office in the city of Ufa. She was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for organising an extremist community, and the sentence was extended by a further two years in April, after prosecutors said the initial sentence was too lenient. Vadim Ostanin Ostanin was another former coordinator of Navalnys office in the Siberian city of Barnaul. In July 2023, he was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of extremism. Andrei Pivovarov Pivovarov is a Russian opposition politician who served as the head of Open Russia, which was outlawed in 2021. In 2022, Pivovarov was convicted of carrying out activities of an undesirable organisation and was sentenced to four years in prison. Dieter (Demuri) Voronin Voronin is a dual Russian-German national, and a political scientist. In March 2023, he was sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison on charges of state treason. He was implicated in the case of Russian journalist Ivan Safronov, who was accused of state treason for passing classified information to foreign nationals and sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2022. Safronovs lawyers have said he was only using publicly available information in his work. Patrick Schobel Schobel is a German national who was arrested earlier this year at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg in February when gummies containing cannabis were allegedly found in his possession. He had been detained since and was facing drug-smuggling charges, the outlet said. German Moyzhes Moyzhes is a dual Russian-German national, and a lawyer who had been helping Russians obtain residence permits for countries in the EU including Germany. He was arrested in May this year in St Petersburg, and accused of committing state treason. His trial was still pending. Prisoners returning to Russia Vadim Krasikov Vladimir Putin had long indicated Krasikov as his number one demand in any swap. He was arrested in 2019 after shooting dead the Chechen exile Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in broad daylight in a Berlin park. Believed to be a former FSB officer, Krasikov travelled to Germany on a false identity. German authorities believe the assassination was an officially sanctioned mission a Berlin court called the hit a state-ordered murder. In his interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Putin described Krasikov as a person who eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals, due to patriotic sentiments. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva The pair were illegals deep-cover Russian spies who are dispatched abroad on long-term missions that can last decades, posing as foreigners. Artem and Anna pretended to be a married Argentinian couple named Maria Meyer and Ludwig Gisch, a gallerist and IT entrepreneur respectively. They lived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with their two children, from where they are believed to have carried out tasks for Russian intelligence across Europe. When they were arrested in late 2022, a source told the Guardian there was so much cash found in their office that it took hours to count. Their two minor children are also believed to have been included in the swap. The two had been taken into foster care after their arrest and continued to attend school in Ljubljana. Mikhail Mikushin Another Russian illegal, Mikushin was arrested in Norway, where he used the Brazilian identity of Jose Assis Giammaria. He was arrested in the northern Norwegian city of Troms, where he worked as a researcher at a university, ironically engaged in assessing hybrid security threats. He was due to stand trial in September. Vladislav Klyushin A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin, Klyushin, 43, was sentenced in September 2023 by a court in Boston to nine years in prison for his role in a $90m insider-trading scheme involving hacked secret earnings information about multiple companies. Klyushin, the owner of a Moscow-based IT company that worked with the Russian defence ministry, was one of the highest-profile Russians in US custody. Roman Seleznev The son of a Russian Duma deputy, Seleznev, 40, was arrested on holiday at an airport in the Maldives in 2014 and sentenced three years later in Washington to 27 years in prison, the longest-ever hacking-related sentence in the US. Seleznev, known by his hacker name Track2, was accused by a US court of perpetrating a cyber-assault on thousands of American businesses resulting in $169m in losses. Vadim Konoshchenok Konoshchenok, 49, was arrested over a scheme to export American-made technology intended for use by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Initially detained in Estonia and later transferred to the US, Konoshchenok was alleged to be involved in the Serniya Network conspiracy. This network, comprising seven Russians and Americans, was implicated in illegally sourcing and shipping millions of dollars in western military hardware to Russian military contacts. Pablo Gonzalez/Pavel Rubtsov A dual Spanish-Russian national, Gonzalez was a journalist who had worked for many years for Spanish publications, frequently in Russia and Ukraine. He was arrested in Poland, near the border with Ukraine, in March 2022 and has been held in jail in Poland since, accused of being a Russian spy. Polish officials said he worked for GRU military intelligence, using cover as a journalist to travel the world and gain access to conflict zones. Poland had been criticised by press freedom groups for not making any evidence against him public, and Gonzalez had denied the charges. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich Amid the desolation of the war in Ukraine and its fallout, the West can allow itself one moment of celebration today to mark the release of several high-profile Russian political prisoners. In what can confidently be called the largest prisoner swap with Russia since the Cold War, the West has secured the release of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian opposition politicians Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin and former US marine Paul Whelan, amongst others. Some of those released, such as Gershkovich, Whelan and Kara-Murza, have become well known in the West since their wrongful incarcerations. Others, such as the artist Sasha Skochilenko, who was sentenced to seven years in jail last year for swapping supermarket stickers with anti-war messages, less so. All those being released to the West by Russia were innocent of the crimes the Kremlin accused them of: treason, spreading fake information and discrediting the Russian army, espionage. The same cannot be said of those the West has traded them for. Returning to Russia today are the married Russian spies Artem and Anna Dultsev, imprisoned until today in Slovenia, and the hitman Vadim Krasikov, serving a life sentence in Berlin for the murder of a Chechen dissident in 2019. Meanwhile, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznev are common criminals: both had been serving sentences in the US for, amongst other things, fraud. Handing them over to freedom in Russia before justice has run its course is a bitter pill to swallow. The Kremlins motivation for releasing so many of what were in reality political hostages in one fell swoop is, as yet, unexplained. Some have suggested that, with Novembers US presidential election drawing ever closer, and great uncertainty as to what the diplomatic landscape will look like in its aftermath, there was an desire on both the Russian and Western sides to seal a deal before their many months of negotiations were frittered away by a change of administration in the White House. Joe Bidens decision last month to step away from the presidential race may have made the decision a little easier for the Kremlin to accept. But Russias decision to negotiate and agree to the largest prisoner swap in 35 years has left Putin without a stockpile of political pawns to manipulate the West with. This should concern us. With the war in Ukraine still raging, it would be a mistake to regard todays prisoner swap as a thaw of any kind in West-Russia relations. So what will Putin do next? Sooner or later, Putin may have to sit down at the negotiating table opposite Ukraine and its western allies to hash out an end to the bloody conflict he began two and a half years ago. Could the behind-the-scenes negotiations for todays exchange have been a way for the Kremlin to test the water for the Wests receptiveness to striking a deal with Russia ahead of any peace negotiations? And if things dont go his way, could the President sanction the arrests and false imprisonment of yet more Westerners? Today the West can breathe a sigh of relief that innocent people can be brought to safety. But the danger posed by Russia has by no means passed. Demonstrators in Abuja complaining of hunger mainly caused by a hike in the cost of everyday essentials. Photograph: Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters As many as seven people have died, according to reports, after clashes between Nigerian security personnel and citizens on the first day of a weeklong nationwide protest against bad governance and a cost living crisis. The newspaper Daily Trust reported that six people were killed on Thursday during clashes with police during an attempt to dislodge a roadblock protesters had installed in Minna, the capital of Niger state. One person was killed and another critically wounded by stray bullets fired by police in Kano, where another set of protesters breached the seat of government in the city. In Abuja, the capital, police fired teargas at demonstrators. Elsewhere, hundreds of people came out in force across Kaduna and Katsina in the north, and Lagos and Yenagoa in the south, in the #EndBadGovernance protests. Security personnel and armoured trucks were deployed in many cities and towns. In Lagos, where many businesses were closed for the day, one middle-aged woman carried an empty pot, drumming and chanting as she followed younger marchers. The catalyst for mass action nationwide was the hike in everyday commodities owing to multiple policy changes, in particular the removal of a popular but controversial fuel subsidy. That has caused hunger for millions and squeezed more people out of Nigerias thinning middle class, forcing youth groups to mobilise for mass action. The protests began a few days before schedule in Niger state, despite being planned for Thursday. Analysts say the change in timing and the fact they began in the north, where for decades protests against socioeconomic conditions have been slower to catch up, indicates the depth of frustration in the country. Ikemesit Effiong, the head of research at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, said this was because the much poorer region, which was experiencing an acute malnutrition crisis, was disproportionately impacted by a triple whammy of high insecurity particularly from jihadists and kidnap rings elevated levels of political instability and a food-growing crisis which has left many families hungry, frustrated and seething. The government has been scrambling for several weeks in the buildup to the protests, fearing a Kenya-type mass action. On Thursday, there were more security personnel than protesters in some cities. Scores of pro-government protesters were also out to counter demonstrations in part of Lagos, but found little resistance. On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, one commentator said the governments efforts to stifle the protests had instead triggered a Streisand effect that is, it served to give them even more publicity. The turnout is largely a case of Streisand effect. The Government made the protests more popular in their effort to control and quell it. The racket that was created didnt help either Ayobami (@dondekojo) August 1, 2024 On the eve of the protests, religious figures continued to plead with young people to stay indoors and talk instead, while government officials rushed to secure multiple court orders restricting protesters to certain areas. One such injunction was defied in Abuja on Thursday. Today is the hunger day, we all promise you that we are going to be on the streets of Abuja, one protester told Channels TV in the capital. Hunger has brought me out. Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli (left) and premier Steven Miles. The Labor government and the LNP opposition are both campaigning on a tough on youth crime platform. Photograph: David Clark/AAP New data released by the Queensland Police Service shows youth crime rates in the state have fallen to near-record lows. With a state election looming and the unofficial campaign in full swing, the Queensland youth crime crisis or epidemic has become a totemic issue. Labor and the Liberal National party continue to push tough and tougher plans to address community concern. The government says police statistics showing a reduction in youth offences last financial year are proof that its police-led policies, including high-arrest saturation operations, are working. Experts, however, warn that crime suppression operations will only ever have a temporary effect and that any reduction in crime is simply kicking the can down the road until after the election. What are the major political parties saying? The Labor government has twice suspended the states Human Rights Act to implement more punitive policies, as it reacts to public concern about youth crime. Most recently, it removed the international law principle of detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act. It claims its policies are the toughest in the nation. The LNP opposition announced last month that it would introduce an adult time for adult crime policy that would remove sentencing concessions for children convicted of a range of serious offences. Challenging the notion there is a youth crime crisis has proved borderline scandalous. Last year a Labor backbencher, Don Brown, described youth crime as a media beat up in a Facebook post. He was quickly forced to backtrack. What does the data (and the experts) say? The data suggests that youth crime has consistently decreased in Queensland over the past two decades. The Queensland Government Statisticians Office (QGSO) shows that the rate of unique child offenders has consistently decreased and reached its lowest-ever level in 2021-22, during the Covid pandemic. The rate increased slightly in 2022-23 (by 2.7%) and was described in media reports as an alarming spike in youth crime. According to the Queensland Police Service, the rate of child offenders dropped by 2% in 2023-24. Since 2012-13, rates have decreased by 18% The QPS said offence numbers dropped by a greater amount (6.7%) last financial year. The former president of the childrens court, John Robertson, has said statistics completely refute the notion of a major youth crime wave. Has there been an increase in serious crime? At the same time, while offender numbers are down, there have been concerns about a small cohort of young people dubbed serious repeat offenders, who are the ones most-often targeted by police operations and government policies. When the government suspended the Human Rights Act to introduce a new criminal offence for children breaching technical bail conditions, it justified the move by saying that 17% of youth offenders commit almost half of the offences. This amounted to, it claimed, an exceptional crisis situation. QGSO data shows that as the rate of youth offenders has decreased, those who do come before the courts are, on average, facing more charges. The most recent police data shows that while youth offences have dropped across the state, offences against the person have increased. William Wood, a criminologist at Griffith University, says the long-term trends certainly dont show a youth crime epidemic. Its more accurate to say that during and immediately following Covid there were regional increases, in some cases substantial increases, in certain offences and offender types. Theres a uniform understanding that compared to 10 or 20 years ago crime rates are far lower. In most western industrial nations, they really peaked in the 90s for youth crime and theyve continued to decrease overall since then. Why is the community on edge? Much of the community concern about crime has followed very serious incidents, including fatal car accidents, home invasions and alleged murders. Those high-profile incidents have often galvanised community concern and prompted government policy shifts to meet community expectations. Experts have also warned that the growing prevalence of anti-crime Facebook groups can amplify the scope and seriousness of crime within a community and fuel calls for more extreme responses. Victims of crime groups say statistics mean little to those living with the effects of the offending. You can throw whatever statistics you want out there, but when you are a victim and someone kicks down your door, what difference does the crime rate make? a Townsville resident, Jenny*, said before the 2020 election. What does a number mean to me when Im having to buy new locks again? Everyone knows someone who has been a victim. No one I know will support that [the idea that the crime crisis is exaggerated]. How is the government responding? Queensland has more children in custody than ever before. The state already locks up more children than anywhere else in Australia and has been promoting arrest numbers from police saturation operations such as taskforce Guardian. The large numbers of children in the system have create serious problems in the detention system. Detention centres are overcrowded and last year Guardian Australia reported on the extensive use of separation another word for solitary confinement in youth detention. Where places are not available in detention centres, children are kept for indefinite periods sometimes weeks at a time in police watch houses. The Queensland Family and Child Commission says children in the detention system almost invariably reoffend. A recent report found that up to 96% of children leaving detention reoffended within 12 months of release. Is the recent drop in offences proof that this works? The police and the state government have claimed declining youth offending rates are evidence that their strategies including operations such as taskforce Guardian are working. Experts and advocates warn that the results will only be temporary, and that problems will emerge in the long term. The chief executive of the Youth Advocacy Centre, Katherine Hayes, says that the approach simply hides issues and risks making them worse in the long term by keeping more children in custody in the lead-up to a state election. The youth crime figures [might] do go down momentarily, but thats just shifting the problem into the watch house and not preventing it from recurring, she says. Wood says suppression tactics work only in the short term. Any time you flood areas with police officers you do get a crime suppressing effect, he said. The thing that we know [is] you cannot arrest or incarcerate your way out of a youth crime problem. The US tried this for 20 years, it was an abysmal failure, youre just kicking the can down the road. If you wanted to write a playbook about how to turn younger kids [into offenders] this is it. How will this affect the election? Concern about youth crime is nothing new. Last year, ABC Brisbane combed through old newspaper reports and showed that the same tropes spoilt children, irresponsible parents, and lenient judges have been blamed for youth crime since the late 1800s. The issue was a factor at the 2020 election, particularly in Townsville, where Labor held on to marginal seats despite last-minute promises by the LNP to introduce a youth curfew. This time, the opposition leader, David Crisafulli, appears to have managed to cut through. He is well ahead in the polls and frequently spends time in regional Queensland, platforming victims of youth crime. Polling shows the LNP well ahead of Labor with less than three months until election day. Tom Tugendhat Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, Civil wars tend to be marked by a distinct lack of civility. The early signs are that the latest Conservative party leadership contest will conform to type. Former colleagues know each others weak points even better than other political parties. Blows can be aimed to inflict maximum discomfort and tend to land. This can most clearly be seen in the various lumps that three of the candidates Suella Braverman, 44, Robert Jenrick, 42, and Tom Tugendhat, 51 have been taking out of each other. In September 2022, the trio were thrown together in the Home Office by Rishi Sunak in an uncomfortable partnership for all three, but by all accounts ended up forming an effective if unlikely alliance. And yet the match-up between Braverman and Jenrick, in particular, has resulted in some of the sharpest barbs of the contest so far and ultimately resulted in the former home secretary having to pull out of the race. It gives a fascinating insight into both the nature of the fight to become the next Tory leader and the likely key issues. Braverman has long been a darling of the Right wing of the Tory party. Tugendhat has generally been considered to be part of the centrist One Nation group of Conservative MPs. Jenricks position has shifted over time, from a Remain-supporting loyalist during David Camerons premiership, to one of the partys most outspoken voices on the perils of high levels of migration. Suella Braverman turned on her former Home Office colleagues before pulling out of the leadership contest - Reuters At the time that Sunak installed Braverman as home secretary the appointment was seen as a snub to Jenrick, who despite being touted for the job, became her effective number two, as immigration minister. Supporters of Jenrick encouraged rumours that he was at the Home Office as a lieutenant to Sunak, to keep an eye on Braverman. But the pair were contemporaries at Cambridge University and ended up uniting over two key issues: immigration and extremism. Indeed, shortly after her subsequent sacking last autumn, Braverman described her close working relationship with Jenrick, saying: We were partners at the Home Office. Tugendhat, another unlikely ally of Braverman, registered protests at the political views of his Home Office superior in private conversations with colleagues. In April 2023, he publicly distanced himself from the then home secretary in his response to a tweet which criticised the fact you could even contemplate a position working for @SuellaBraverman. Tugendhat responded: I dont. I work for the country. But in a further unlikely twist of fate, Braverman, Jenrick and Tugendhat all ended up joining forces last autumn, following the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas. As the police drew flak for an insufficiently robust response to anti-Semitic slogans and material surfacing at pro-Palestine protests, Braverman, Jenrick and Tugendhat, who was security minister, were united behind the scenes in their disgust at the behaviour being allowed on Britains streets, and worked together to encourage senior officers to take tougher action. Initially Robert Jenrick and Braverman were united by the threat of anti-Semitism in the UK following Hamas attacks - Maja Smiejkowska Chris Philp, who was policing minister at the time, was also part of the effort, which also included putting pressure on Downing Street to take a tougher line. Public statements by all four demonstrated their anger and frustration at the police and other institutions they believed were failing to take sufficient action. They wanted the police to take a more proactive approach to anyone glorifying or promoting terrorism, or celebrating the attacks, said one source familiar with the efforts. There was frustration, particularly in the initial weeks after Oct 7 that officers were failing to take action against numerous examples of anti-Semitism at protests being documented by videos and photographs posted online. Braverman, Tugendhat and Jenrick also warned that universities should use stronger disciplinary measures to tackle anti-Jewish hate on campuses. In the meantime, Braverman and Jenrick had also teamed up to present a united front on immigration in negotiations with No 10, continually attempting to persuade Sunak to do more to bear down both on legal and illegal arrivals amid deep public dissatisfaction over the Tories handling of the issue. Soon after Braverman was sacked as home secretary towards the end of last year, Jenrick, the then immigration minister, heaped further pressure on Sunak by suggesting he was keen to consider her idea of a radical Australian-style cap on annual net migration numbers. Within weeks, Jenrick resigned from the cabinet saying the Governments emergency Rwanda legislation wouldnt work. In March, he claimed both he and Braverman repeatedly pressed Sunak on the importance of failing to take legal migration seriously enough but that the then Prime Minister didnt want to talk about it. And yet, at the beginning of this month, before any candidates had announced they were running for the Tory leadership, Braverman publicly turned on her erstwhile Home Office colleague. She described Jenrick as a centrist Rishi supporter and a Remainer from the Left of the party in a speech to the National Conservatism Conference in Washington. He definitely comes from the Left of the party, Braverman told The Telegraph soon after the speech. He voted for Remain in the Brexit referendum. He was a big, kind of centrist, Rishi supporter. I remember talking to him about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights a year ago, and him looking horrified by that prospect. Braverman also judo-threw the old story that was briefed to journalists about Jenrick having been placed in the Home Office to keep an eye on her. Back then, this was seen as evidence of Jenricks level of influence. He was also given a seat at cabinet. Now, Braverman was using the anecdote to damn Jenrick by association with the Prime Minister who led the Conservatives to a historic defeat. Braverman took shots at Jenrick as they jockeyed in the leadership battle, calling him a 'centrist' Remainer - Eddie Mulholland Supporters of Jenrick point to the fact that Bravermans comments came at about the same time that Sir John Hayes, who backed Braverman in the last leadership contest, and Danny Kruger, another of the former home secretarys key allies, announced they would be supporting Jenrick. These endorsements were said to have effectively grounded her leadership bid before it ever took flight. Braverman appeared to fear that Jenrick was taking the role of true blue candidate whether or not his views were as deeply held as hers. For his part, Jenrick has been somewhat more magnanimous in his comments about Braverman. When asked what he made of Bravermans recent claims that he is a Left-winger, he said hed been friends with Suella since we met at freshers week at university and is never going to say a bad word about her. Bravermans recent attacks tap into mixed feelings about Jenrick on the right of the party. One insider describes the MP for Newark as a plastic, cosplay Right-winger. However, another believes that Jenrick was radicalised by his time in the Home Office and now displays the zeal of the convert. Hayes has in the past described Jenrick as a true believer on immigration. Braverman dropped out of the contest, earlier this week, days after Tugendhat announced his bid to lead the Tories in an article for this newspaper in which he suggested he was willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR) if such a move was necessary for Britain to regain control of its borders. Braverman, in a subsequent article announcing that she would not put herself forward after all, contained a clear swipe at her old colleague: Reader, beware of those reinventing themselves as ECHR-sceptics. Critics have pointed out that Tugendhats carefully crafted position on the ECHR is little different to the formulation that Sunak employed while prime minister. Tugendhat distanced himself from his superior Braverman when they worked together at the Home Office - Jamie Lorriman Jenrick is due to officially launch his candidacy at an event on Friday. There is speculation about whether he will repeat his previous commitment to leave the ECHR. This would likely play well with the Tory party membership but be less appealing to the MPs who must whittle the six candidates down to just two before the leader is picked by members. The remaining Tory MPs are not a bunch of rabid wets but they are not overly Right-wing either, says one insider. James Cleverly and Priti Patel are two other candidates who have held the position of Home Secretary. The former only did so in the dying days of the Conservative government. But the latter presided over a period in which immigration peaked and is likely to face questions about this during the leadership contest. Priti objected to pretty much every attempt to weaken the rules during her time at the Home Office, says one adviser who worked in the department at the time. However, she was often overruled at cabinet with other departments and especially the Treasury constantly making the case for extra visas. The various spats illustrates the extent to which the Conservative Party leadership is likely to be marked by candidates attempting to disassociate themselves from past Tory failings and arguments about who can come up with the most credible solutions to legal and illegal immigration, one of the topics believed to have resulted in Conservatives supporters defecting to Reform. And because the Tory party faithful have grown used to hearing lots of pledges about immigration being made only to see them broken soon after, the contest is likely to hinge on which candidate appears the most trustworthy (and can paint their opponents as the least trustworthy) when it comes to the promises they make. Thats why the race has the potential to get very personal very quickly. The swipes exchanged between the three former Home Office colleagues may just be the amuse-bouche. Earlier this week, Bob Blackman, the new chairman of the Conservative 1922 committee that will oversee the race, said he will issue a yellow card and a public dressing down to those leadership candidates who attack their rivals. However, sceptics have questioned the effectiveness of such a warning given that the most vitriolic briefings tend to be anonymous. Time will tell whether the various candidates are the best of enemies or the worst of friends. Or both. The Schrammsteine rocks are among the national parks highlights in a hikers paradise of table mountains, elevated plains, cliff tops, rock needles, gorges and woods. Photograph: Michael Breitung/Getty Images Look at that on the rock. Do you know what it tells us? Kristin Arnold, my guide in south-east Germanys Saxon Switzerland national park, points at a large mass of light green moss growing on a boulder. It tells us that the air quality is great here, says Kristin. This moss doesnt grow if theres any pollution around. She inhales deeply, causing the backpack buckles strapped across her chest to creak. Its contagious, like a yawn. The chirrupping of unseen birds and drizzle on fern mix with the sounds of our breath as we fill our lungs with premium Saxony oxygen. Saxon Switzerland crosses Germany and the Czech Republic, and got its name when two 18th-century Swiss painters, Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff, noted that the beauty of its sandstone mountain landscape was reminiscent of their homeland. The area has attracted hardcore hikers for centuries, but the western edge of the 94 sq km national park has become easily accessible to skinny-calfed amateurs like myself. This is thanks to Bad Schandau, a spa town on the bank of the Elbe River, served by direct trains to Dresden, Berlin and Prague to the south. A night train connects Zurich and Bad Schandau, and in March the European Sleeper running between Brussels and Berlin was extended to here. From Bad Schandau station, a dinky passenger ferry takes me across the Elbe to Hotel Elbresidenz an der Therme, where Im given a free public transport card: standard issue for tourists. The town is walkable, buses and a tram run to hiking trails, and an art nouveau elevator built in 1904 connects Bad Schandau to the suburbs. Kristin says that most tourists head to Bastei Bridge, built in 1851 to connect bulbous rock formations, or the nearby grand hilltop Konigstein Fortress. She smiles with relief when I ask for an excursion that is non-Tripadvisor, then takes me to a trail beginning at the Schrammsteinbade bus stop. We duck under forested sandstone ridges, climbing slowly upwards on metal ladders through craggy crevices. A huge jagged sandstone wall looms over the forest: a gnarly ridge with wiry trees sprouting from its midriff. Winter scenes like this inspired Caspar David Friedrich, the German Romantic artist, to paint works such as his 1818 masterpiece Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. Kristin says this area, Schrammsteine, becomes crowded with selfie-seekers during summer, but today it belongs to us. A huge jagged sandstone wall looms over the forest. Scenes like this inspired Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich Kristin points out small metal boxes on some of the most perilous-looking stone peaks. They contain logbooks in which climbers can record their vertical conquests. Leisure climbers have been scaling the 90-metre Falkenstein, the areas most famous climbing rock, since the mid-19th century, but Kristin says tools dating back to medieval times have been found on it. She opens a picnic box containing salami made from local wild pig and walnuts, plus local cheese. Kristin doesnt accept hiking groups of more than eight people, to help minimise her tour businesss impact on the national park. Climate change poses a big enough problem for the park without the added troubles of overtourism, she says. Over the past few years, bark beetles have chomped through the parks spruce trees, as warmer winters fail to kill off the bugs. Kristin says some local businesspeople dont want the national park, which has 250 miles of trail routes, to continue as a protected area, so they can put up zipline parks and bring more tourists. Id rather help protect it for future generations. Sustainability is also promoted in Schmilka: a one-street village on the border with the Czech Republic and a short bus ride east from Bad Schandau. While eating sausage and lentil soup in the village restaurant, Gasthof Zur Muhle, I admire antique wooden pinball games attached to the wall: they are part of a collection owned by entrepreneur Sven-Erik Hitzer. Hitzer started playing a form of rustic Monopoly in Schmilka in the late 2000s, buying and renovating buildings until he owned almost every venue here. His friendly employees show me a 200-year-old wooden bread oven in the village bakery, which was then their organic brewery. Some sustainable measures, such as a huge water-powered wooden wheel that grinds grain, are for show. However, Kristin tells me that although Hitzer is a canny businessman, he focused on sustainability before it became an industry buzzword. Heat from the bakery and brewery helps power the village, and electric car chargers were recently installed. After two serene days among the mountains of Saxon Switzerland, Id probably marry a clump of Saxony moss if it proposed Im tempted by the steam rising from Schmilkas outdoor wooden hot tubs, but instead I end my trip in Toskana Therme, the large pool and sauna complex I have free access to as a guest at Hotel Elbresidenz an der Therme. After being scolded by an attendant for not removing my trunks quickly enough in the sauna room, I float in the circular Liquid Sound pool, my breathing slowing as tinkling classical music emanates from underwater speakers. While watching purple jellyfish shapes cast on to the ceiling, I initiate a whispered chat with a dreadlocked man floating near me. His name is Andreas Ullrich, and hes an artist from Dresden who founded an artists residence here to attract more creatives making works inspired by the great outdoors. The drama of life plays out here, says Andreas. Theres a tree with cherries that we visit, and consider family. At our house, a bird comes in the morning and taps on the window. Maybe this is just the romantic view of a guy who was in a city most of his life, but these sensations feel deep and rich. Normally, talk of friendly trees and anthropomorphic birds would have me sprinting to wash the hippie from my system. But after two serene days among the mountains of Saxon Switzerland, Id probably marry a clump of Saxony moss if it proposed. Travel from London to Brussels was provided by Eurostar (from 38 each way). Travel from Brussels to Dresden was provided by Omio, whose app allows travellers to compare different transport methods simultaneously. Accommodation in Bad Schandau was provided by Hotel Elbresidenz an der Therme (doubles from 190 B&B, with Toskana Therme entry), via Tourism Association Saxon Switzerland. The European Sleeper train runs between Brussels Midi and Bad Schandau station (one-way couchette from 69) The ATO says more than $557m was paid to scammers engaging in identity fraud between July 2021 and February 2023. Photograph: Fairfax Media/Getty Images Scammers are duping Australian taxpayers out of thousands of dollars by fraudulently accessing online government accounts during the annual rush to complete tax returns. Federal government platforms are not immune to scams with users of myGov being targeted in recent weeks. How do victims fall prey to those criminal scammers and how can people protect themselves? Its tax time are tax scams on the rise? MyGov users who use the platform to access the Australian Taxation Offices online services say their accounts have been fraudulently accessed in July with tax refunds diverted to scammers. Related: Labors planned anti-scam laws are too complicated, too lenient and too slow, advocates say The ATO received 2,464 reports of impersonation scams in June, the last month of the financial year and the latest available data. Thats a 48% increase from the previous month. The tax office said there were no reports of payments being delivered to scammers in June. In June 2023, there were 1,793 reports of impersonation scams and the following month the ATO revealed more than $557m had been paid to scammers engaging in identity fraud between July 2021 and February 2023. Dr Henry Cheung, a lecturer in cybersecurity, risk and privacy at the University of New South Wales, said tax season came with heightened scam activity related to the ATO and myGov. You can expect scams about tax from June to October, he said this week, adding that after that time scammers continued to target taxpayers by shifting their messaging to falsely warn individuals they have missed the tax window and needed to take action. What kind of scams are they? Generally, its phishing. Methods include individuals receiving a text message which contains a link to a fake myGov site. Victims are then prompted to enter their details, unwittingly giving criminals access to their genuine myGov accounts linked to their ATO accounts. The scammers immediately change phone and email details preventing the real user from receiving any notifications from myGov, before altering tax returns and bank account details so that falsely inflated tax refunds are redirected to the scammers accounts. The entire process takes just minutes. In online forums, victims have in recent weeks reported having their ATO accounts hacked, losing from $3,000 to $8,000 to criminals. Another myGov user said she had been repeatedly blocked from her account in the past week after scammers had attempted to access it many, many times. She was notified by email and then encouraged to change her password by an automated phone system, but was unable to speak to a human to seek advice about improving her account security. How secure is myGov? Last year, Services Australia and partners responded to more than 6,000 scams attempting to impersonate myGov, the federal minister Bill Shorten said in April. MyGov users have queried why the site does not require users to sign up for two-factor authentication or to use passkeys secure alternatives to passwords such as a fingerprint. Neither are compulsory and users can choose to use secret questions and answers instead. A spokesperson from Services Australia, which runs myGov, confirmed the platform only holds names and phone numbers along with email and postal addresses. Bank account and other sensitive details are held by the individual agencies linked to myGov accounts such as the ATO, Medicare and Centrelink. Who do myGov scammers target? Cheung said that the most susceptible people were first-time users of ATOs online platform and older people. The Services Australia spokesperson suggested many victims were online-savvy and used to sharing personal details remotely. Its everyone, scammers target everyone, they said. All demographics. Cheung said scammers operated seasonally and responded to policy changes. In February, a high number of Medicare scams were reported, possibly the result of changes to bulk billing practices. Scammers were also targeting superannuation accounts. What is myGov doing to reassure users? The Services Australia general manager, Hank Jongen, said tax season was a timely reminder for everyone to keep their myGov accounts secure in a challenging global security environment. Jongen said myGov was continually evolving to combat increasingly sophisticated scams, identity theft and other cybersecurity threats. A new myGov personal security overview will prompt users to update settings to better secure accounts. The overhaul was funded in the 2024-25 budget. Related: Australian of the Year betting scandal grows to three arrests for allegedly using inside information How can myGov users protect themselves? Never click on a hyperlink that has been texted or emailed. Both myGov and the ATO have policies to never send a hyperlink in a text message or email part of a growing recognition by large organisations and businesses that links are used by fraudsters. Enable two-factor authentication and set up a passkey such as facial or fingerprint recognition. Both myGov and the tax office encourage users to use the myGovID authentication app. MyGov encourages anyone with security concerns to contact its specialised scams and identity theft helpdesk. The ATO urges those who believe they may have divulged personal information to call its helpline. Are scams in general on the rise? The number of scams is on the rise 601,000 scams were reported in 2023 up from 507,000 in 2022. However, losses from scams are decreasing, according to a National Anti-Scam Centre report published in April. The crime is believed to be under-reported. The centres Scamwatch received reports of 143,106 scams in 2024 to June, amounting to financial losses of $134.47m. Phishing such as the scams targeting myGov accounted for $9.65m with text messages the top contact method. NSW was the most scammed state. Brian Whittle is one of two declared candidates in the race to be the next Scottish Tory leader - KEN JACK/GETTY IMAGES Scots are ready for a conversation about scrapping free tuition and prescriptions, a contender for the Scottish Tory leadership has claimed, as it emerged that Douglas Rosss successor will be named next month. Brian Whittle, the former Olympian who is one of two declared candidates, said it was time for the Tories to begin asking hard questions about the viability of universal perks and whether those who could afford to pay for them should do so. The next Scottish Tory leader will be named on Sept 27 after party chiefs rejected calls for a lengthy contest. Nominations for the post will formally open on Aug 8, and will close two weeks later at noon on Aug 22. All those running will have to get the backing of 100 party members before they can stand and take part in hustings including a national digital event. So far, Mr Whittle and Russell Findlay, the partys justice spokesman at Holyrood who is seen as the front runner, are the only declared candidates. However, it is expected that several more will declare their candidacy in the coming days. Brian Whittle celebrates winning gold as part of the British men's 4x400m team at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki - PA/ALAMY Mr Whittle, a South Scotland MSP who competed for Britain as a runner in the 1998 Seoul Olympics, claimed that the Scottish Tories were as guilty as every other Holyrood party of engaging in blame game politics rather than proposing solutions. Writing in The Telegraph, he said that his party must come forward with practical, serious policies that will make things better, and that this must include reconsidering universal freebies which the Scottish Tories have previously said they would maintain. That starts with being willing to ask the hard questions about the viability of things like free prescriptions and free university tuition for those who could afford to pay, he said. Having these conversations will be hard, not least because Labour and the SNP will see it as a golden opportunity to attack us, but I believe Scotland is ready to have those conversations. Before more voters will back us, they need to respect us. Few things make me respect someone more than them telling me something that I might not want to hear, but definitely need to. In contrast to the UK party, the Scottish Tory manifesto at the last Holyrood election backed continuing to provide free university tuition. It also endorsed expensive SNP welfare policies and backed an expansion of the Scottish Child Payment, a Scottish-only benefit for low income families. Timetable criticised Murdo Fraser, a high-profile party veteran who has called for a commission to be created after the 2026 elections that could consider setting up a new Scottish centre-Right party for Holyrood elections, is also considering standing. Other possible candidates include Meghan Gallacher, the deputy leader at Holyrood, and Jamie Greene, seen as being on the Left of the Holyrood group. Mr Greene criticised what some saw as a truncated timetable that would favour Mr Findlay, seen as the preferred choice of the party establishment. My immediate reaction was that they may as well just hand the keys to the leaders office to their preferred candidate now, and we can all have a nice summer, Mr Greene said. But the race to save the partys future is now formally on, although its a strange race given that one of the runners appears to have left the starting blocks early. If the party was serious about a meaningful member-led discussion about its future it wouldnt be cramming that hugely important debate into a two-week window during the school holidays. Russell Findlay is the front runner in the Scottish Tory leadership race - KEN JACK/GETTY IMAGES Under the timetable announced on Thursday, ballot papers will be sent out to party members on Sept 4, with members having until Sept 26 to return them. The winner will be announced the following day. Mr Findlay, a former investigative crime journalist, said he was looking forward to a positive contest about our partys future. He added: Change is coming in Scotland. I want us to lead it and to do so as proud and passionate Conservatives. Im standing to unite our party behind a common-sense Conservative platform with aspiration and opportunity at its heart. I want to invite everyone to join my campaign to build a modern, dynamic and member-led party that can deliver the electoral success that conservative Scotland needs. Scottish Tories need to challenge the consensus and offer solutions By Brian Whittle What problem are we trying to solve? Its the first question I ask myself whenever Im thinking about how to achieve a goal. Over time the goal has changed from improving my running technique, to advising entrepreneurs looking to grow their business or, more recently, to scrutinising legislation at Holyrood and developing policy ideas. So, when it comes to the future leadership of the Scottish Conservatives, what problem are we trying to solve? For me, the central problem is how do we win? I dont think the answer is to be found in the comforting, but unproven, idea that Scotland is full of Conservative voters who dont vote for us because were not spending enough time talking about conservative values. Every Conservative leader believes in conservative values, as does every potential candidate in this race. We all see the value in fostering individual talent, entrepreneurialism and ambition in people; because its those attributes that grow the economy that pays for the public services everyone relies on. Services should be effective We all believe that those services should be effective, efficient and empower people; not bloated, bureaucratic or trapping people in dependency. I could go on, but you get the idea. Our values as Conservatives are important to us. However, to the voting public, the solutions we offer are far more important. After a difficult few years with Covid and the cost of living crisis, people are frustrated about services that havent recovered. Roads full of potholes. Councils unable to fund services. A planning system that holds back investment and alienates communities. Schools short of teachers. A police service that cant promise to turn up if youre the victim of a crime. Worn out ferries and wildly expensive taxpayer funded replacements. Colleges and universities that cant afford to educate everyone who wants to learn. Businesses crying out for trained staff. People are angry People are angry, and they should be. But instead of offering solutions, Scottish politics has become a blame game. Were as guilty as every other party of focusing on recriminations more than solutions. We argue about how we got here; selectively trading statistics to persuade the public that its someone elses fault or argue that because its worse somewhere else, we should be satisfied with the situation here. But thats just noise. It doesnt solve the problem. Already, this leadership contest is making a lot of noise. About presentation, branding and our relationship with the UK party. But if this leadership election becomes only about those issues, then well have missed a prime opportunity to show the public that were thinking about more than just ourselves. Change for a purpose The party needs to change, but that change must be for a purpose. Labour won at Westminster promising change, and Scottish Labour plans to do the same at Holyrood. Whether that change will amount to anything more than a new name above the shop remains to be seen, but as Scottish Conservatives we need to ask ourselves what change we want to see in Scotland and what we need to do to make it happen. That means showing voters that we have practical, serious policies that will make things better. That starts with being willing to ask the hard questions about the viability of things like free prescriptions and free university tuition for those who could afford to pay. Having these conversations will be hard, not least because Labour and the SNP will see it as a golden opportunity to attack us, but I believe Scotland is ready to have those conversations. Before more voters will back us, they need to respect us. Few things make me respect someone more than them telling me something that I might not want to hear, but definitely need to. Define ourselves As a party weve allowed ourselves to become defined by what others say about us. Under my leadership we will decide how we define ourselves and give voters the opportunity to see that we are more than the stereotypes our opponents make us out to be. In a Scottish political landscape full of vague promises of better futures, unspecified change and short-term, quick fixes for headlines, we can be something different. We can be the party that challenges consensus, that asks the difficult questions and offers solutions to problems. We can be the party the public sees as a credible future government for Scotland. Brian Whittle is a Scottish Tory MSP for South Scotland who is standing to become the next Scottish Tory leader This years Eyemouth Herring Queen, Holly Blackie, centre, with her lady in waiting, Dee MacDonald, and maids Lucy McKirdy, Aila Akhtar, Faye Aitcheson and Cassie Black. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian The sun is battling the clouds, but the forecast rain holds off as the flotilla enters the harbour. Lining the quayside, hundreds of local people and tourists cheer each boat as it appears, and the sound of a pipe band skirls on the breeze as families crane their necks. They are looking for WaveDancer, the final, most important vessel. Today it is carrying an honoured passenger: the Eyemouth Herring Queen. Fourteen-year-old Holly Blackie is the 80th Eyemouth Herring Queen (EHQ) and this year is particularly special as 50 former queens have travelled from all over the world to witness her coronation. Many are wearing sashes identifying the year they were crowned; knots of women grouped according to decade, friendship or family ties chat and reminisce. One thing they all agree on is that nothing compares with the thrill of passing into the harbour on that boat and seeing the cheering crowd. Holly Blackie is crowned by the outgoing Herring Queen, Sophie Crowe Coming in on the boat was just magic, remembers the oldest surviving former EHQ, 93-year-old Anne Collin, nee Rosie, of her coronation day in 1946. We were just coming out of the second world war and all the deprivations. Everyone was buoyant, she says, as the fishing boats that had lain dormant throughout the war were finally out at sea. They all sailed out to find a new queen to bring prosperity to Eyemouth. Crowds welcome the boat carrying the new herring queen, Holly Blackie, as it enters Eyemouth harbour A pipe band escorts the new herring queen, Holly Blackie, and her court of attendants from the quayside This part of the Scottish Borders has many longstanding often ancient summer traditions, akin to the May Queen, in which young community members are chosen to carry out duties aimed at ensuring peace and abundance. On the coast, two towns Berwick-upon-Tweed in England and Eyemouth in Scotland choose a salmon and herring queen respectively. While Eyemouths celebration has modern roots in a peace picnic held after the first world war, the origins of Berwicks festival is widely believed to date back to 1292. The roles of herring and salmon queen are not merely ceremonial. Blackie and her Berwick counterpart, Darcy Martin, will represent their towns at civic events throughout the Borders and raise funds for charity. Fifty former queens gathered on the steps of Gunsgreen House. The group includes the only mother-daughter queens in the events history: the oldest EHQ, Anne Collin, and her daughter Margaret (queen in 1969); and the new queen, Hollie Blackie, and her mother, Lynne Blackie, nee McFarlane (queen in 1993) Anne Collin, left, at this years Eyemouth celebrations and as queen in 1946, right But beyond the pipes and parades is a darker reality. Both towns have areas of deprivation, in part linked to the almost total decline of the industry they are celebrating. The North Sea herring fisheries that once brought wealth to Eyemouth are now closely managed since overfishing in the 1970s led to a collapse of the population. Instead, boats from Eyemouth go out hoping for a catch of crab, langoustine and lobster or carry day-trippers and divers. Today, two of the towns most striking features are the new Neart na Gaoithe windfarm operations base, which dominates one arm of the harbour, and the holiday park on the cliff overlooking the bay. Crab and lobster, not herring, are the main catch now in Eyemouth Sailor boys Noah Wilson, Reagan John Strachan and Ruaridh Mutch during the coronation ceremony Im hearing from fishermen that they wouldnt want their children to get involved in this industry any more, says Caitlin Turner, of the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust. Fishing villages are about men. The Eyemouth Queen is about women. And a womans voice, a womans speech and women coming together Emma Dixon Its heartbreaking because so many of our coastal island communities are built upon fishing. Its integral to them; it runs within their language, their culture, their history. Related: Holy Island vicar leads fight against fishing ban that would rip the heart out of Lindisfarne The story is perhaps even starker over the border in Berwick-upon-Tweed. The collapse of the Atlantic salmon population means that fishing on the River Tweed itself is limited to one remaining commercial fishery and strictly licensed rod-fishing for sport, with catch and release of the salmon strongly promoted. At the Eyemouth crowning ceremony, the toll on the communities is well illustrated by the presence among the face painting and beer stalls of a gazebo carrying the logo of a mens suicide prevention charity Andys Man Club (AMC). Meetings have recently started in Eyemouth and Berwick and the enthusiastic take-up has surprised even the charity. David Windram, an AMC volunteer who used to fish for a living, agrees that for many the shift from traditional jobs has been painful. Suddenly youre scraping about trying to find different work, so youre no longer the provider, he says. Youre struggling with the stress. The childrens procession, led by a pipeband, opens the festivities. In the fishing industrys boom years, a child would represent each boat in the harbour Being chosen as queen or part of the court is a huge honour; households buy and install plaques to celebrate their childs achievement and display them all year, while flags bearing the pictures of former queens adorn lamp-posts Farming in the area has been similarly affected, says Windram, and the jobs that were promised as part of the new windfarm development have mostly gone to those commuting from elsewhere. That doesnt mean to say that there [arent] any other opportunities, he says. I think you need to have a positive mentality. A spectator and her dog appear to be wearing matching tartan as a pipe band passes Eyemouth harbour is much quieter these days than when the herring queen festival began Against this background of change, the herring queen festival harks back to a bygone era, but in some ways is more relevant than ever. You have it [being queen] for life, says Wendy Lough, a member of the festival committee. And it is clear that just as the queens promote and support their community and heritage, so in turn they benefit from becoming part of a wide-ranging network of women keen to help one another succeed. Former queens have gone on to become everything from civil servants to pilots, and while not all stay in the town, they are all fiercely proud of it. Find me a fishing village that celebrates women like this, says Emma Dixon, nee Ross, a headteacher who was herring queen in 2002. Fishing villages are about men. The Eyemouth Queen is about women. And a womans voice, and a womans speech and women coming together. And then using that to gain confidence, to go into next steps, to get places within the community. Nothing else is like that outside of Eyemouth. Flowers and tributes left for the victims of Mondays attack. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after 13 people, including 11 children, were stabbed at a dance class in Southport while violence has flared in Manchester following on from rioting elsewhere sparked by disinformation about the suspect. In Manchester on Wednesday, demonstrators gathered outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road at about 6pm, the Manchester Evening News reported. About 40 people including children and men wearing balaclavas were reportedly involved in what the paper said appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel. Hours beforehand, Merseyside police said they had charged the Southport suspect, who is from the village of Banks, Lancashire, with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of an offensive weapon. He was due to appear at Liverpool city magistrates court on Thursday morning. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed, while five children remain in critical condition after they were attacked while taking part in a dance and yoga class on Monday morning. Two adults, who were injured trying to protect the children, were also in a critical condition. The suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on Monday. Earlier on Wednesday, detectives were granted more time to question the teenager. The only details released about the suspect were his age, that he is from the village of Banks, about five miles from where the stabbings took place, and was born in Cardiff. Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside police, said: A 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday 29 July. The 17-year-old cannot be named for legal reasons as hes under 18. Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire police and counter-terrorism police in the north-west. I would like to thank all the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the north-west. Sarah Hammond, chief crown prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. Our thoughts remain with the families of all of those affected by these harrowing events. Manchester on Wednesday night became host to the latest in a series of flare-ups egged on by far-right agitators spreading lies online. Two men were arrested after the group outside the Holiday Inn threw bottles, bricks and at officers who were in riot gear, the Manchester Evening News reported. A bus driver also appeared to have been assaulted by a group of young men who jumped in front of his doubledecker on Grimshaw Lane, the news outlet said. This is the moment riot cops clashed with protestors in Newton Heath tonight. Officers have been pelted with rocks, bricks and bottles. @MENnewsdesk pic.twitter.com/gjCSoqdlTM James Holt - M.E.N (@jameshjourno) July 31, 2024 The Newton Heath, Clayton and Openshaw division of Greater Manchester police said: Due to the early intervention from our officers this criminal behaviour thankfully didnt cause any serious injury or damage. Two men aged 18 and 25 were later arrested for violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker and remain in custody at this time for questioning. Enquiries into a further related report of an assault of a bus driver [are] ongoing at this stage. Local councillor John Flanagan condemned the sickening incident and the mindless thugs attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems. They have been in a place of safety. Earlier on Wednesday, crowds of protesters marched on Downing Street in London. In Whitehall, demonstrators threw flares and cans while chanting Rule Britannia, save our kids and stop the boats, while police were seen wrestling a man off the road and on to the pavement next to the Cenotaph, near Downing Street. Others attempted to kick down a fence and were confronted by riot police while some threw flares on to the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Police said more than 100 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker while several police officers suffered minor injuries. There was also a protest in Hartlepool, County Durham, which resulted in eight people being arrested after police officers had missiles, glass bottles and eggs thrown at them. Late in the night a police vehicle was set alight in the town centre. Several officers suffered minor injuries responding to the disorder, Cleveland police said. In a later statement after the protesters had been dispersed they said a full criminal investigation was under way and that we expect further arrests to be made in the coming days. Jonathan Brash, the Labour MP for the town, said he was deeply concerned about the situation and would be meeting with police to discuss their response to the incident. Brash wrote on X: These events do not represent what Hartlepool is or the values that our people hold. Violence is never the answer. In Aldershot, local MP Alex Baker condemned the violence in her community, stating that there was no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. I have been liaising with Hampshire police this evening regarding a significant incident at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, where a peaceful protest descended into intimidating behaviour, she said. More than 50 police officers were injured in far-right riots in Southport on Tuesday night, which broke out as the town reeled from the knife attack. Five people were arrested over the disturbances, police said. The mother of Elsie, one of the children who was killed, intervened. This is the only thing that I will write, but please, please stop the violence in Southport tonight, Jenni Stancombe said. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we dont need this. Alex Goss, assistant chief constable for Merseyside police, said: Our work to identify all those responsible for the despicable violence and aggression seen on the streets of Southport on Tuesday continues. We have been inundated with images and footage from members of the public who were outraged at the destruction carried out. The individuals involved in the disorder had no regard for the families and friends of those who so tragically lost their lives, and a community in grief. It has been heartening today to see the reaction of the whole community, who have pulled together to clean the streets, rebuild walls and reglaze broken windows. PA Media contributed to this report Stella Maris became rector at the University of St Andrews in November - University of St Andrews The rector at one of Britains top universities has been dismissed from its ruling body after inflaming tensions on campus by accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. Stella Maris has been stripped of key positions at the University of St Andrews after she repeatedly refused to accept the findings of an independent report highly critical of her conduct in the wake of Israel launching its offensive against Hamas. Ms Maris, who became rector in November 2023, issued a message to thousands of students that month denouncing weeks of genocidal attacks by the Israeli government against Gaza and referring to apartheid. The websites linked to included material that was offensive and appears to be in the conspiracy theory zone, according to the independent report. St Andrews University Court admitted it was a 'difficult and unusual' decision - Jane Barlow/PA Wire On Thursday, the University Court, its governing body, stripped Ms Maris of her role as its president and as a charity trustee, in what it admitted was a difficult and unusual move. She will no longer sit on the court, described as being the institutions supreme governing body. It said it had been left with no choice after Ms Maris refused to accept the findings of an investigation that her statement and combative and hostile social media activity created division. Ms Maris vowed to appeal the judgment and repeated her claim that there was a genocide, a position she said was supported by a majority of students. Ray Perman, the senior lay member and chairman of the University Court, said that there had been extensive attempts at dialogue over three months with Ms Maris. Serious breach of responsibilities However, he said court members concluded that she was guilty of a serious and persistent breach of her responsibilities and can no longer sit as president. Mr Perman added: We wish to stress most explicitly that the rector has never been asked to diminish or change her support of the Palestinian cause, only to acknowledge that in her handling of this matter she caused distress and fear to some students, whom it was her duty to support and represent. As the chairman of University Court, I wish to offer an apology to all students, and others, who were upset or feared for their safety as a consequence of the rectors handling of this matter, and those who were subsequently upset by the rise in tensions and disagreements which ensued. Ms Maris, an English and philosophy graduate at the university, will remain rector until 2026, a post in which the holder is traditionally expected to represent students. She had insisted that she had an obligation to speak about what she believed did amount to a genocide and to use that term. Very poor judgment However, Morag Ross KC, who carried out the investigation, found that she had displayed very poor judgment and ignored the possibility her outspoken statements might encourage the expression of anti-Semitism by others, especially in a tense and divided environment. Ms Ross went on to describe it as a concern that Ms Maris sees and responds to one group who are distressed, on her own side of the debate, but dismisses, and even disparages, the distress of another group. The investigation found that for some St Andrews students, the rectors words had been an important source of comfort. However, they provoked a backlash among others, with an open letter calling for a retraction being signed by hundreds of students and alumni. In her report, Ms Ross said that some Jewish students were very distressed and angry, with feelings of fear for their safety as a result of Ms Mariss interventions. The rector said she was disappointed by the decision. She claimed it shows a lack of respect for the role of the rector in speaking independently for students and sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech in higher education. Adding that she would appeal the decision, Ms Maris said: It is clear that I have been removed from University Court because I called for an end to Israels war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide. Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar died Follow our Southport stabbing live blog for updates as the suspect appears at Liverpool magistrates court today. A teenager has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder over the attack on a holiday club in Southport. The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates Court on Thursday. Three girls six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar died after being stabbed while they were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop on Monday. Eight other children suffered stab wounds, with five in a critical condition. Local businessman John Hayes was stabbed in the leg while trying to disarm the attacker and Leanne Lucas, one of the workshop organisers, was seriously wounded while trying to protect the group of children. Both adults remained in hospital after undergoing surgery. Police confirmed in a midnight press conference that they had charged a suspect with three counts of murder, ten attempted murders and the possession of a bladed article. Leanne Lucas was hurt while protecting the children - Instagram Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Merseyside Police to charge a 17-year-old male, of Banks, Lancashire, with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder following the tragic incident that took place in Southport this week. He will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates Court on Thursday August 1, 2024. We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. Social media theories about the attacker have fuelled clashes - Owen Humphreys A man during a demonstration in London on Wednesday - Jordan Pettitt She added: Our thoughts remain with the families of all of those affected by these harrowing events. News of the charges came as police quelled violent demonstrations which spread across Britain on Wednesday night. Riots started after false information shared Hundreds gathered in the centre of London before some rioters were seen hurling beer cans and lighting flares near British Prime Minister Keir Starmers residence. The crowd was shouting, Save our kids, We want our country back and Stop the boats, as well as English football chants. In Hartlepool, Co Durham, a number of arrests were made after violent groups clashed with riot police in the centre of town as they attempted to march towards a nearby mosque, reports suggested. A police car was set on fire and officers at the scene said they were also attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs. Clashes were seen between agitators and officers Firefighters and police were deployed again to Hartlepool on Wednesday night - Owen Humphreys In Manchester, children and men in balaclavas were part of a group of 40 people gathered outside the Oldham Road premises in what the Manchester Evening Standard said appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel. Violence first broke out amid claims that the police were not telling the truth about the suspects background and his motives, with rumours swirling on social media. It came after social media users incorrectly named the attacker and also wrongly claimed he was an asylum seeker. Tributes continued to pour in at the scene - Christopher Furlong Police faced rioters on Murray Street in Hartlepool - TEBL Southport locals, who were cleaning up after clashes erupted in their streets on Tuesday, described the protests as a disgraceful hijacking of our tragedy, and a failed attempt to divide us. Jenni Stancombe, the mother of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, appealed on social media for the violence to end. She said: The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours, and they and we dont need this. This is the only thing that I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight. Suspect is quiet teenager Neighbours reported seeing a heavy police presence at the semi-detached house where the suspect was living with his parents in the village of Banks, three miles from the scene of the attack,. People who knew the teenager described him as an introvert who had been interested in karate and theatre, having once performed in a show at a West End theatre. He was born in Cardiff but later moved to Merseyside with his parents, originally from Rwanda, and his brother. The siblings went to school locally but also became involved in a performing arts group, where they produced shows and films with other youngsters. Jonathan Hayes was stabbed in the leg while trying to disarm the attacker - Alice Hepple I was in the same group as him, a friend told The Telegraph. He was quite quiet. They kind of just turned up and they said, oh theyve moved here from somewhere else, they are brand new to the community, they are trying to branch out and make friends and stuff. Thats what we got told. He just kind of turned up one day in class and we were told to make him welcome. Hes come from quite far away. The friend said the group involved musical theatre, TV production and singing and dancing and also making making their own movies, adding that one of the major events was a show in Londons West End. It was just working in groups collaborating with people. Theyd have a musical every year, like a big production and that would sometimes get done with other groups, the friend said. He was at one in London, he went to one in London on the West End. A police car on fire in Hartlepool - TEBL Riot police in Hartlepool - Owen Humphreys The friend added: I was in the same group as him. He was enjoying it, but he was never really... you know how musical theatre kids [are]; they are very extroverted. He wasnt, he was very quiet. He got involved, but he was a lot quieter. Didnt really talk about himself that much He added that he didnt really talk about himself that much but did mention his family were originally from Rwanda. However, he said that his older brother was more outgoing, he was a lot more talkative, he was more in the crowd, adding: His Dad came across quite educated. He presented well. The father of the suspects friend said that while the suspect appeared to enjoy the theatre group, he was not pushing to be at the front of the stage. He wasnt a normal theatre kid, he said. He wasnt pushing for main leads and stuff like that. When they went to London hed just got involved [in the group], he enjoyed it. Dame Priti Patel said: 'We cannot let anyone undermine our freedoms and democracy' - Carl Court/Getty Images Threats to MPs should be treated as terrorist offences, Dame Priti Patel has said. Dame Priti, a Conservative leadership candidate and former home secretary, condemned abuse targeted at parliamentarians as an attack on democracy. Her remarks came after Jonathan Hall KC, the reviewer of terror legislation, said police must be open to launching terrorism investigations into threats of violence to MPs. Dame Priti said: I agree. Threats towards MPs are an attack on democracy, and should be treated in the same way as terrorism. I have seen too many friends and colleagues from all parties both afraid and physically hurt, and not a day goes by where I dont think about my dear friend Sir David Amess. As leader of the opposition, I would continue to work with Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Government, and the police and security services to ensure that the safety of our public servants is paramount. We cannot let anyone undermine our freedoms and democracy. Sir David, who was the Conservative MP for Southend West, was killed by an Islamist terrorist during a constituency surgery in October 2021. In June 2016, Jo Cox, who was the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered in her constituency by a far-Right extremist. Fresh concerns around the security of MPs were raised after a number of senior politicians were targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters. The family home of Tobias Ellwood, who lost his seat at the general election, was targeted by around 80 protesters who accused him of being complicit in genocide. Frontbenchers including Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, and Jess Phillips, a Home Office minister, spoke of intimidation by pro-Gaza activists ahead of the election. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, was attacked twice on the campaign trail, with a milkshake thrown over him in Clacton and wet cement and a coffee cup thrown at him in Barnsley. In an interview with The House magazine, Mr Hall said terrorism was absolutely whats in play when politicians receive threats of violence. The police should be open to carrying out terrorism investigations if they find concerted and organised threats not use of violence but threats of violence to MPs, he said. The police shouldnt take that off the table just because its done under cover of being protest activity. However, he rejected the idea that terrorism [legislation] should suddenly rain down when abusive posts were directed at MPs on social media. Mr Hall said: The definition of terrorism is really simple. Its violence or threat of violence in order to advance a cause for example, a political, racial, religious cause and its done with the intent to influence the Government or intimidate the population. This is absolutely whats in play where MPs are being threatened with rape or death. You can see how the foundations of the shared state could begin to be shaken if politicians felt they couldnt vote in a certain way. Sir Lindsay, the Commons Speaker, came under fire in February after breaking convention over a Labour amendment about its position on a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. He later apologised and said he had been motivated by concerns about the targeting of MPs over how they voted on the issue. Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists had gathered outside Parliament shortly before the vote to demand that Labour backed an unconditional and immediate ceasefire. Dame Priti is one of six candidates in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the Tory leader. She is up against James Cleverly, another former home secretary, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride. Donald Trump shakes hands with Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor, after speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago - Vincent Alban/Reuters Donald Trumps claims that Kamala Harris had only recently turned black have been criticised by his fellow Republicans. In a rare rebuke of their presidential nominee, a number of Republicans voiced concerns over the remarks, which have been condemned as racist. I think the better approach is to focus on the policies of Kamala Harris - thats what Ive been talking about, said Senator Steve Daines of Montana, the GOP campaign chief. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri also told reporters it was not a great idea for either of the parties to be playing racial identity politics. And Thom Tillis, the North Carolina senator, said he clearly didnt like what he heard from Trump. Appearing at a convention for black journalists on Wednesday, Trump asked if Ms Harris, the US vice-president and presumptive Democrat nominee, was Indian or black. I respect either one but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became black, he continued. Ms Harris responded by saying the American people deserve better than such divisiveness and disrespect. Ms Harris did not directly address Trump's remarks but said he had put on the 'same old show' of 'divisiveness and disrespect' - KEVIN LAMARQUE/AFP via Getty Images Trump, 78, then doubled down on his controversial remarks. On his Truth Social page, he posted a previously published photograph of Ms Harriss mothers family wearing traditional Indian clothing. Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago, he wrote with apparent sarcasm. Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated. JD Vance, Trumps running mate, piled on at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening, mocking the way Ms Harris had spoken at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the battleground states. And you guys saw yesterday she was in Georgia, and she put on a southern accent for a Georgia audience, said Mr Vance. She grew up in Vancouver. What the hell is going on here? She is not who she pretends to be. Ms Harris, 59, is of mixed race. Her father is Jamaican and her mother Indian. She spent her teenage years in Montreal, where her mother, a breast cancer researcher, worked at a hospital and university. She served as Attorney General of California before being elected as senator for the state. A tougher fight than Republicans expected After barely 10 days of campaigning, she is running level with Trump in battleground states, and Republicans are realising they face a tougher fight than most anticipated. Politico reported that virtually every Republican it contacted was flat-out distraught by what they perceive as a self-inflicted wound not only for Trump, but for Republicans down the ballot. Without mentioning Trump by name, former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a GOP candidate for the Senate, said it was unacceptable and abhorrent to attack vice-president Harris or anyones racial identity. Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist, told CNN that Trump cr---d the bed in his appearance at the NABJ convention. The only question is whether hes gonna roll around in it or get up and change the sheets, he added. Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator for Alaska, listed a series of recent mishaps by Trump and Mr Vance when talking about Ms Harris recently. Childless cat women, DEI candidates, now, Is she black? Is she Indian? she said Democrats also condemned the comments. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, termed Trumps appearance a meltdown that showed he was unfit for office. Mark Kelly, a senator from Arizona and one of the favourites to become Ms Harriss running mate, said the remarks were overtly racist. Another potential pick, JB Pritzker, said Trumps comments showed racism coming through him. This is not the first time Trump has been accused of race-baiting. For many years he spearheaded the birther movement that falsely claimed Barack Obama was not born in the US and thus not eligible to run for president. Believing it was a distraction for Americans, Mr Obama released his full birth certificate showing he had been born in Hawaii as he had said. In 2016, while running for president, Trump finally admitted as much, saying: President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. People rally outside of a polling location for people to vote uncommitted in the Democratic primary in Dearborn, Michigan, on 27 February 2024. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images The Uncommitted National Movement has announced a number of demands in the run-up to the Democratic national convention (DNC) later this month, part of an effort to use its voting power to influence Kamala Harris and the Democratic partys stance on Israels war in Gaza. In a press call on Thursday, movement leaders demanded that the DNC allow Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American physician whos worked in Gaza, to speak at the convention about the humanitarian crisis that she witnessed first-hand. They have also requested that an uncommitted delegate be given five minutes to speak at the convention, and for Kamala Harris to meet with movement leaders about their concerns. Uncommitted leaders say that hearing from Haj-Hassan will help the Democratic party and Harris make informed policy decisions on Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, according to health officials. More than 700,000 Americans voted uncommitted or its equivalent in the Democratic party primaries this year in a message to Joe Biden that he could not count on their support if he did not change his approach to the war. The movement has particular influence in Michigan, where more than 100,000 people cast uncommitted ballots in the primary. It will send 30 delegates to the DNC in Chicago. Related: Kamala Harris says I will not be silent on suffering in Gaza after Netanyahu talks The movements latest appeal follows demands announced last week that include an arms embargo on Israel and support for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Convention planners received the demands in writing, say movement leaders, but they have yet to receive a response. Still, Abbas Alawieh, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan, said that the movement is hopeful that the vice-president will take this opportunity to turn a new page as it relates to Gaza policy, and hopefully that can start with this specific initiative. During the Thursday call, several doctors who volunteered in Gaza and have experience in other conflicts said that the scale of atrocities they witnessed in Gaza were the worst that theyd ever seen. Haj-Hassan shared that shed seen Palestinians being killed in 1,001 ways. In the emergency department, she often saw the dead bodies of entire families, with only one surviving child who was fighting for their life. We received children maimed, killed, beheaded, shot, she said. And it is for that reason I have decided to become very vocal and go beyond my capacity as a pediatric intensive care doctor confined by the walls of the ICU, said Haj-Hassan, to get on the media to speak to politicians and to advocate for this genocide to come to an end. Last week, Haj-Hassan and dozens of other US doctors and nurses delivered a letter to Biden that described the scene in Gazas hospitals and urged him to withdraw military support for Israel. Alawieh said that Harriss team has signalled a greater openness to engaging with their movement than Biden did. Shes expressed a level of concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza that perhaps we werent seeing from the president, said Alawieh. He was also encouraged that her team was in touch with Arab and Muslim American leaders. Were getting more engagement than we did under President Biden being at the top of the ticket, and so Im hopeful that we can move in a direction that leads to her engaging directly. Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American organizer with the Uncommitted National Movement, said a meaningful response from Harris could influence her success against Donald Trump in November. To have any chance in fighting authoritarianism and fascism that will be on the ballot in November, then the demands of Uncommitted need to be taken seriously. The movement plans to host programming at the convention regardless of the DNCs response to their demands, said Elabed, and referenced the famous address at the 1964 DNC delivered by civil rights giant Fannie Lou Hamer, who recounted the violence that she experienced when registering to vote and called for integration of the all-white Mississippi delegation. We will find a way for Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan to speak officially or unofficially, one way or another, said Elabed, in the tradition of Fannie Lou Hamer and the civil rights movement, who made moral witness in the 1964s convention to human suffering. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said he has no doubt Glasgow will reject the far right ahead of a planned protest. A pro-UK rally has been planned for the citys George Square on September 7, with English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon promoting the event on social media. Plans for the rally come after violence in Southport, Merseyside, this week following the killings of three young girls in a knife attack. Police say the scenes were sparked by supporters of the far right, claiming those present backed the EDL although the organisation has not existed for around a decade. Three girls died in the attack on Monday (James Speakman/PA) Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Mr Sarwar said the single most important issue was to support the families of the children who were killed: Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and the wider community of Southport. His comments come as the 17-year-old charged with the murder Axel Rudakubana appeared in court. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. On Wednesday evening, more than 100 protesters were arrested in Whitehall, where bottles and cans were thrown at police, and violence broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham, where a police car was set alight. Speaking to journalists on Thursday, the Scottish Labour leader mentioned the planned rally. Im a son of Glasgow, I was born in Glasgow Glasgow is my city, he said. I know as a Glaswegian, that we have always had a view we cant be complacent, we cant pretend that there arent issues here but weve always been a city that regardless where you come from, regardless of where you were born, when you come here youre one of us and were one Glasgow. There have been attempts by the far right before to do protests here or to sow divisions here. Every single time the far right has tried to do that in Glasgow, Glasgow has overwhelmingly rejected them. I have no doubt Glasgow will do that again if this happens. Mr Sarwar was joined by Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken, who wrote on social media site X: Glasgow City Council has received no notification of any rally but then we know Tommy Robinson and his ilk dont really care about respecting laws or public places. Hes not welcome in Glasgow, and neither is anyone who chooses to align with his poisonous rhetoric. Violence targeting police officers, the public, and mosques, all to drive forward the far-right's hateful ideology. Rhetoric is not enough. We need to take action against the far-right. I have asked the Home Secretary to use her powers to proscribe the English Defence League. pic.twitter.com/9orWrKUiop Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) July 31, 2024 In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Wednesday, former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf urged her to proscribe the EDL and its offshoots under terrorism legislation, making it illegal to be a member of the groups. Asked about such a move, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency every option should be on the table. Mr Yousaf also said in the letter that the UK has a far-right problem, but Mr Sarwar suggested such a characterisation could portray such movements as being more mainstream. They want to pretend that they are a mainstream movement that represents a significant level of the population, he said. Im not pretending there isnt an element, Im not pretending there isnt a challenge we have to push back against, but I continue to believe that the overwhelming majority of our country, whether that be here in Scotland, across the rest of the UK, are fair minded, decent individuals who believe in pulling our communities together rather than pulling our communities apart. Mr Sarwar went on to call on social media firms to do more, saying the far right is recruiting, organising, amplifying, fundraising online. He added: All of that can stop if the social media platforms take the appropriate action. Elsewhere, Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has written to his fellow Glasgow MSPs calling for a united response to the rally. Glasgow is a proudly multicultural city with a long history of standing up against the far right, he said. Theres no place for the fear, hate and division of these gangs here, nor for the violence and criminality they bring. Pinky Jolley travelled to Turkey for weight loss surgery. (SWNS) A woman who suffered from a botched weight loss surgery saw her organs turn to concrete which left her unable to eat for two years. Pinky Jolley, 46, travelled to Turkey for gastric sleeve surgery in 2022 after feeling unhappy with her 17st 11lb weight and her diabetes diagnosis. "They totally botched the operation and left my insides so infected they were all hard and like concrete the doctors said," Jolley explains. "It's been a horrible ordeal. I just want to be well again. Looking back it was so cheap that I really should have thought twice but I just got so swept up." Jolley had been told to lose weight after medical complications left her in a wheelchair. She raised 2,100 via GoFundMe for the accommodation, flights, and surgery. The surgery saw 85% of her stomach removed but she suffered from intense stomach pain, vomiting, and dehydration straight after the surgery. Four days after the procedure, Jolley returned home to the Wirral in Merseyside where her GP recommended an immediate visit to the hospital. Pinky was told to lose weight after medical complications left her wheel chair bound, but her weight loss surgery saw her being fed through a tube. (SWNS) A CT scan revealed that a serious leak in her stomach had led to an infection, which left a ball of concretised pud inside of her. She then underwent emergency life-saving surgery in January last year which involved three doctors jet-washing the inside of her stomach. Since the operation, Jolley has been using a feeding tube to eat and was told that she may never eat solid food again. However, she received a pioneering operation this week to build her a new stomach. The surgeons also released her colon, liver and spleen which were stuck and out of position. "I know that it wont correct everything and it wont be a cure, but I will be able to eat again," she says. "I will be able to go out with friends, to have a life. I feel misled and upset that something that was meant to help has caused me so much suffering. "I lost four stone in four weeks because my stomach was so tiny. I wanted to lose eight stone within two years. I've had to have a feeding tube to help but everything is so painful." Jolley wants to celebrate her new stomach by eating her favourite dish of garlic mushrooms and cheese. After not being able to eat solid foods for over two years, Jolley now weighs 11.5st and went from a size 24 to a size 18. Professor Rishi Singhal, who performed the stomach restoring surgery, said that Jolleys stomach was "like cutting through concrete". Pinky has now had her stomach reconstructed. (SWNS) "This is normally routine surgery but because of the state of her insides, on a scale of one to 10, this is an 11, he added. "Surgeons elsewhere in the NHS have declined to do it. "We have to try to avoid the septic mass if we cut into it, then she could become septic very quickly and die." According to the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS), around 5,000 Brits travel abroad for weight loss surgery each year, while 4,500 have it on the NHS. Additional reporting by SWNS. Health: Read more More than 100 arrests in London after unrest in response to Southport attack More than 100 people have been arrested in London as further protests took place across the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Violent incidents linked to the deaths of three young girls have been seen in Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot. Police in Hartlepool were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs, Cleveland Police said. A police car was set alight during the violence after a large group of people gathered in the Murray Street area of the North East town on Wednesday evening. In Manchester, demonstrators turned out in large numbers outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road at around 6pm, the Manchester Evening News reported. A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool following violence on Wednesday (Owen Humphreys/PA) Around 40 people, which the paper reports included children and men wearing balaclavas, gathered outside the Oldham Road premises in what the paper said appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel. In Aldershot, local MP Alex Baker took to social media to rebuke violence in her community, stating that there is no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. I have been liaising with Hampshire Police this evening regarding a significant incident at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, where a peaceful protest descended into intimidating behaviour, she said in a statement shared on X. I have visited the scene myself this evening and have been in touch with the Chief Inspector. This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest. I would like to pay tribute to the brave police officers who worked hard to restore order. There is no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming into our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community. In London, a large protest was staged under the title of Enough is Enough, with arrests made after demonstrators clashed with officers in Whitehall on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police arrested 111 people after officers were attacked and subjected to assault during the protest, the force said. Demonstrators were seen launching beer cans and glass bottles at a line of police in riot gear in front of Downing Street and throwing flares onto the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. People attending the Enough is Enough protest in Parliament Square, London, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday in Southport (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The angry scenes also included loud chants of we want our country back and Oh Tommy Robinson, referring to the right-wing activist. Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said. All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality. A dedicated team of officers is working to bring charges, the force said. Cleveland Police also said it had made eight arrests for various offences including public order and affray after violence broke out in Hartlepool on Wednesday, with more arrests expected. Road closures have been lifted, but a visible police presence remains in the area, the force said. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community. In Manchester, local councillor John Flanagan took to social media to respond to the violence, labelling those involved in the sickening incident as mindless idiots. Id like to condemn these mindless thugs, attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers. They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems. They have been in a place of safety, the councillor for Newton Heath said. Its sickening to think they are being targeted because of their race or their religion, and I hope this isnt tied with the disgraceful scenes in Southport where a mosque was attacked last night. Videos on social media show a crowd of people in a street, with one showing a youth throwing objects at a line of police in riot gear holding shields (Owen Humphreys/PA) These idiots are attacking innocent people. My initial reaction is to contact GMP and support them. The whole of the city and reasonable thinking people will be horrified and sickened by these actions. Idiots is too soft of a word I hope the police use the full force of the law. We cannot allow our country and our city to descend into anarchy, which seems to be being driven by madness on social media. It comes after violence erupted in Southport on Tuesday following a vigil for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club. Police officers in Southport suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during violent protests. The disorder near the towns mosque came after false rumours were circulated online about the suspect. In an effort to avoid a second night of rioting, Merseyside Police were given extra powers, under S60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, on Wednesday to stop and search people suspected of carrying weapons. Community Inspector Doug Chadwick said the public was shocked and disappointed by the disgraceful scenes of rioting and called on the public to come forward with information about what they had seen. Five people have been arrested over the unrest so far, which saw 53 officers and three police dogs injured. The unrest comes as a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in critical condition while two adults were also critically hurt. The 17-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear on Thursday, August 1, at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square. Oil firm Shell has revealed profits of 14 billion dollars (10.9 billion) for the first half of the year after a stronger-than-expected second quarter. The energy giant saw a slowdown in earnings over the three months to June after previously warning about lower fossil fuel prices, refining margins and an impairment hit linked to plants in Singapore and Rotterdam. Nevertheless, it still delivered 6.3 billion dollars (4.9 billion) of earnings for the period, surpassing analyst guidance. Shell told shareholders on Thursday that earning were 19% lower quarter-on-quarter due to weaker liquified natural gas (LNG) trading and refining profitability. The company somewhat offset this through stronger profit margins and total volumes in its marketing division. The company also confirmed plans for further returns to shareholders through an extended 3.5 billion dollar (2.7 billion) share buyback programme. Chief executive Wael Sawan said: Shell delivered another strong quarter of operational and financial results. We further strengthened our leading LNG portfolio, and made good progress across our Capital Markets Day 2023 financial targets, including 1.7 billion dollars of structural cost reductions since 2022. We continue to demonstrate that we are delivering more value with less emissions. The update showed that Shell posted a 187 million dollar (147 million) loss in its renewables business, while it reduced its pipeline of renewable projects from 4.6.GW to 3.8GW for the past half-year. Last month, it paused construction on its major biofuel plant in Rotterdam. Bosses at the company stressed on Thursday that it will still be on target to meet carbon reduction targets, with it set to have invested between 10 and 15 billion dollars (7.8 billion to 11.8 billion) between 2023 and 2025. The fresh results came amid an update of political upheaval, with a raft of major elections across the world this year and potential for changes to energy policy and tax regimes. Earlier this week, the new Labour Government in the UK confirmed it would increase energy windfall taxes. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said it would increase the Energy Profits Levy by three percentage points and remove a 29% investment allowance in order to draw in more tax revenues. Mr Sawan told reporters that Shell has been engaging with new governments, including in the UK. We have been engaging with the UK Government and expect to speak more with them in the coming week, he said. We are a willing partner for any government as long as we recognise that there is strategic sense, and we have backed that up with a lot of investment in recent years. The one thing we do wish to see will be stability in policy and an ecosystem that allows us to grow with our investments. It comes days after rival BP also posted higher-than-expected profits, despite write-downs and weaker refining margins. Sir Keir Starmer has said action will be taken following violent disorder in parts of England in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The Prime Minister summoned police chiefs to Downing Street on Thursday afternoon following scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight, while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense stand-off with riot police. At the meeting, he told the senior officers: I wanted to send a message to each of you and, through you, your officers to say that this Government supports the police, supports what you are doing, and to be absolutely clear: This is not protest, this is violent disorder and action will be taken. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist and Deputy Commissioner Lynne Owens arrive in Downing Street for the meeting with the Prime Minister (Yui Mok/PA) This Government will make sure you have got the powers you need and will back you in using those powers. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson also attended the meeting with the police leaders. They included Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones, director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson and His Majestys Chief Inspector Andy Cooke. Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told the meeting by videolink that the force is determined to get justice for the deadly attack on Monday, and to identify all those who took part in rioting on Tuesday in the seaside town. Sir Keir is also set to hold a press conference to address the disorder at around 4pm on Thursday. In London on Wednesday, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Demonstrators wearing England flags and waving banners saying enough is enough and stop the boats had congregated outside Downing Street in the wake of the killing of three young girls in the Southport knife attack, which social media posts had wrongly claimed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. Demonstrators in Hartlepool set fire to a police car during clashes with officers on Wednesday (Owen Humphreys/PA) The angry scenes also included loud chants of: We want our country back and: Oh Tommy Robinson, referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary. The Met arrested 111 people for alleged offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions. Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected. Axel Rudakubana, centre, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court charged with the murder of three young girls (Elizabeth Cook/PA) Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. The string of violent incidents followed similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. The meeting in Downing Street came after a 17-year-old charged with the murder of three girls in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class appeared at Liverpool Crown Court and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. He is charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport on Monday. He is also charged with the attempted murder of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. The leader of Edinburgh City Council has called on First Minister John Swinney to intervene and prevent refuse workers from taking strike action during the Scottish capitals busy summer festival period. Cammy Day warned the eight-day strike later this month, announced by three local government unions, will be a tough time for the council, adding the impact will not be pleasant over the festival time. Having already warned strikes could lead to a stinking Scottish summer, the unions Unison, Unite and the GMB all announced waste and recycling staff will walk out over pay from 5am on Wednesday August 14 to 4.59am on Thursday August 22, with in 26 of Scotlands 32 councils affected. The action comes after the unions rejected the 3.2% pay rise offered, which local government body Cosla insisted was at the limit of affordability for councils. STRIKE ACTION. Members of the trade unions GMB & Unite are planning strike action in Edinburgh from 14 22 August. Bin collections & street cleaning services will be severely disrupted across the city during this time. Please read the updates & follow the advice in this thread pic.twitter.com/6fdtPuvIFx The City of Edinburgh Council (@Edinburgh_CC) July 31, 2024 A similar strike in 2022 was only resolved when the Scottish Government stepped in and provided additional funding for council workers pay. With the unions insisting the offer is less than that being made to their counterparts in England, Mr Day urged Scottish ministers to find that little more to avert strike action. He told BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme: It is now time for John Swinney or his Cabinet secretary to intervene with a solution, that is what we are waiting for. Twenty-six councils will have strike action in two weeks time, and the only resolution to that will be if Cosla and the Scottish Government can work with the trade unions to find a solution. What were asking is for Cosla and the Scottish Government to get round that table and find that little more to avert strike action across the 26 councils all over Scotland. First Minister John Swinney, centre, has been urged to intervene after talks involving his Finance Secretary Shona Robison failed to find a deal (Jane Barlow/PA) The Labour councillor insisted local authorities are not able to stump up more cash themselves, saying the 3.2% offer was already a stretch for many of them and any more would mean reductions and cuts in services from local government. Talks took place on Tuesday involving Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison, Cosla leaders and the unions. While no new deal was agreed Ms Robison said afterwards that her officials will work with local government to understand what an improved negotiating envelope may look like. Mr Day said his understanding is the unions expect no less than the national settlement, which was around 4%. He added: I think we are nearly there, but local governments across Scotland are stretched to their maximum and we need the Government, as they have done the last few years, to support local government and our trade unions and Cosla to find that little bit more and avert strike action. Speaking to journalists later on Thursday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged the Government to get unions and local authorities back to the table to ensure the strikes do not become an annual event during the festivals. Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesperson Willie Rennie also demanded action from ministers, saying: Two years ago, stinking columns of rubbish were allowed to pile up in the streets, and now this SNP Government has allowed it to happen again. Ministers need to skip the posturing and bring something meaningful to the table. But the Lib Dem MSP added: The unions need to be reasonable too, they are not the only public sector workers who need a pay rise. A Hawaii resident was found dead in his home days after being identified as a suspect in the 1991 murder, rape and kidnapping of a 23-year-old woman, police said. Dana Ireland was attacked on a fish trail in the Kapoho area of Hawaii Island on Dec. 24, 1991, the Hawaii Police Department said Monday in a news release. She died the next day at the Hilo Medical Center, police added. For 33 years, our Department has been resolute in investigating the Dana Ireland case, Hawaii Police Department Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz said in the release. Using "evolved" DNA technology, investigators were able to identify 57-year-old Albert Lauro Jr., who lived in the Kapoho area at the time of the murder, as a potential suspect in the case, according to the department. Before police had enough evidence to charge Lauro Jr. for Ireland's murder, he was found dead in his home on July 23 from an apparent suicide, Moszkowicz said, per ABC News and KITV. "This case is still under investigation. Albert Lauro Jr. has been linked to the victim by DNA; however, his exact involvement is still under investigation. And his death was ruled a suicide by the forensic pathologist," Hawaii Police Department Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins told USA TODAY on Thursday. Albert "Ian" Schweitzer, who had spent more than 20 years in prison for Ireland's murder, was released a year ago based on new evidence. Pictured is Dana Ireland, a 23-year-old woman who was murdered, raped and kidnapped in Hawai'i on Christmas Eve in 1991. How did Hawaii police identify Albert Lauro Jr.? The Hawaii police's initial investigation involved several pieces of evidence being recovered, including some that contained DNA evidence. DNA was recovered from a swab taken from Ireland's body, from a sheet used to transport Ireland to the hospital and from a t-shirt found at the scene. None of the DNA evidence analyzed at the time matched any DNA in the department's database, but police did learn that it belonged to a male. The DNA evidence was sent to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California in 2008, where it remains today as part of a cooperative agreement with the Innocence Project, police said. With the DNA found at the scene, analysts were able to build a family tree based on the known DNA from relatives. Earlier this year, an FBI agent in the Honolulu Field Office shared with police investigators some names of people who could potentially be matches for the DNA found at the scene. One of those names was Lauro Jr. Once police had a name, officers surveilled Lauro Jr. to gather more evidence. In early July, they collected a utensil Lauro Jr. had been using after he threw it away. The DNA from the utensil was analyzed and matched the unknown male's DNA investigators found at the scene of Ireland's murder. Albert Lauro Jr. went to the Hawaii Police Department's station for court-ordered cheek swab Once Lauro Jr.'s DNA matched the DNA found at the murder scene, police asked him to come into the station on July 19 for a court-ordered buccal swab. Lauro Jr. spoke to investigators, did the buccal swab and left. Police sent the buccal swab to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in California, along with a request to rush the analysis and return the results as soon as possible. The swab confirmed that the DNA collected at the crime scene again matched Lauro Jr., police said. Albert Lauro Jr.'s 2017 drivers license photo. Although police now had probable cause that Lauro Jr. committed the offense of rape, the statute of limitations for that charge ran out several years ago, according to the department. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from unwarranted search and seizure, Moszkowicz said in the release. In order to obtain a search warrant, investigators would have to have established probable cause for the crime of murder and explained specifically what evidence it was seeking. Police hope Lauro Jr.'s cell phone will help them, and that family and friends who knew him well will help investigators determine what happened on Christmas Eve in 1991, Moskowicz said at a news conference live streamed from Hilo. We remain focused on Dana Ireland, a young woman who was brutally murdered. There is still a lot about this case that we do not know and our investigation into this case continues to push forward. Our search for the truth is not over, the chief said in the release. Schweiztzers convicted of Dana Ireland's murder Frank Pauline Jr. and Ian Schweitzer were convicted in 2000 for Ireland's murder. Pauline Jr., who was beginning a 10-year prison sentence for sexual assault and theft when he became a suspect in 1994, was killed by another inmate while incarcerated in New Mexico on April 27, 2015. Shawn Schweitzer, Ian Schweitzer's brother, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter and kidnapping of Ireland on April 17, 2000, after he saw juries convict his siblings. He received credit for nearly a year served and five years of probation. Pauline Jr. was indicted for Irelands murder, rape, and kidnapping, on July 30, 1997, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Two months later, on October 9, 1997, Ian, 20 at the time, and Shawn, 16 at the time, were indicted on the same charges. Although the Hawaii County Prosecutors Office dismissed the indictments against Ian and Shawn Schweitzer On Oct. 20, 1998, the brothers were charged again when a man told prosecutors that Ian Schweitzer confessed to him about his involvement in Ireland's murder. In October 2023, a Hawaii court judge dismissed the cases against Ian and Shawn Schweitzer and reversed their convictions based on new DNA evidence that clearly exonerates them, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported. For me, the hardest part was having to put my brother out of my brain, so I wouldnt think about him, miss him, or be angry at the world for what happened to us. I had to put him in a closet in the back of my brain so I wouldnt have breakdowns every day," Shawn Schweitzer told KITV after being exonerated. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dana Ireland murder Suspect dies by suicide after Hawaii police ID him Two Al Jazeera correspondents were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza, on Wednesday, sparking condemnation from advocacy groups and highlighting the dangers for local reporters covering the horrors of Israels offensive. Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, who lived in the besieged enclave, were killed in an airstrike on their car in Al-Shati, according to the Qatar-based network. The journalists, both aged 27, were reporting live for much of the day from a location close to the family home of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday. Al-Ghoul was wearing a press flak vest when he was killed, according to his colleague. He had not seen his wife and two-year-old daughter Zeina, who were displaced in central Gaza, in 10 months. These days are not like any other, he said in a post on X in June. Zeina began running, talking, asking questions She was growing up without me seeing her. A third Palestinian, 16-year-old Khaled Al-Shawa, was also killed in the strike on Wednesday, according to local reporters. Footage on social media filmed in the aftermath of the attack shows his lifeless body sprawled in the street. Al-Shawa was an only child, reporters told CNN. The teenager had been riding his orange bicycle to deliver food for an elderly resident in the local neighborhood, before he was killed, according to Saudi-backed broadcaster Al-Arabiya. Al Jazeera condemned what it claimed was the targeted assassination of its journalists by Israeli forces, claiming the attack was part of a systematic targeting campaign against the networks journalists and their families since October 2023. In a statement to CNN Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Security Agency alleged Al-Ghoul was a member of Hamas military wing and had participated in the attack on Israel on October 7. The IDF alleged that as part of his role in the military wing, Al-Ghoul instructed other operatives on how to record operations and was actively involved in recording and publicizing attacks against IDF troops. His activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas military activity. The IDF did not provide CNN with any proof for their allegations. The IDF did not allege that Al-Ghoul had a direct combat role in its statement to CNN, nor did it address the killing of his colleague Rami al Rifi in the same strike. Al Jazeera denied what it called baseless allegations made by the Israeli occupation forces in an attempt to justify its deliberate killing of our colleague, journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, and his companion, cameraman Rami Al-Rifi. It said the IDF had made accusations against Al-Ghoul without providing any proof, documentation or video, and accused Israel of a long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes. Al Jazeera bureau chief for Israel and Palestine, Walid Al Omari, said that Israeli forces had previously arrested (Al-Ghoul) in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza when they invaded it in mid-March. They detained him for twelve hours, then released him unconditionally. If their claim were true, would they have released him? It is clear that the occupation authorities are trying to justify their crime by claiming that he was one of the elite and participated in the October 7 attack. The IDF has said previously that they had no record of detaining Al-Ghoul. Without Ismail, the world would not have seen Al Jazeeras managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, said in a post on X that Al-Ghoul was renowned for his professionalism and dedication, bringing the worlds attention to the suffering and atrocities committed in Gaza Without Ismail, the world would not have seen the devastating images of these massacres. More than nine months of Israels bombing campaign has shredded the besieged enclave, erased entire neighborhoods and deepened a humanitarian crisis. Palestinian reporters have become the eyes and ears of those suffering under the shadow of war. Both Israel and Egypt, which control Gazas borders, have so far refused to give international journalists unfettered access to the strip, saying that they cannot guarantee their safety. It is the photos, footage and reporting from local reporters, often gathered at great personal risk, that have shown the world what is happening. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has marked the deadliest period for journalists since 1992. As of July 31, at least 113 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 108 of whom were Palestinian according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). A reporter in Gaza who had spent much of the day with the Al Jazeera crew told CNN on Wednesday that he was 300 meters away from the missile that hit their vehicle. Video from the scene shows the burnt-out shell of a small saloon car that appears to have been targeted from above. I was going home close to where we were filming when one, exactly one missile from a drone targeted Ismail and Rami, said Ayman Abed, a resident of Al-Shati camp. There was nothing unusual except the sound of drones in the sky humming. It was one strike on their car. Israel launched its military offensive after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others abducted. Israeli strikes in Gaza have since killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and injured another 90,000, according to the Ministry of Health there. Israel must stop killing journalists Palestinian journalists and press freedom groups paid tribute to Al-Ghoul and Al-Rifi in the wake of the strike, demanding greater accountability for those responsible for attacks on reporters in Gaza. Reporters Without Borders urged the Israeli government to immediately commit to ending violence against journalists and described such actions by the IDF as flagrant examples of war crimes. The CPJ asked Israel to explain the killing of both Al Jazeera staffers, in what it said, appears to be a direct strike. Jodie Ginsberg, the CPJ chief, added: Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted. The worlds largest union for journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, also criticized the strike, in a post on X: We are running out of words to condemn this massacre. Israel must stop killing journalists. Khader Al-Zaanoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, recalled his friendship with the Al Jazeera journalist. Its a difficult and painful feeling to cover this horrific story; hes my friend and colleague, and were together in the field most of the time during this war, he said. Dozens of Palestinian journalists protested on Thursday against the killing of their colleagues in an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza, on July 31. - Dawouod Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty Images CNN video filmed in the aftermath of the attack on Wednesday showed dozens of Palestinians gathered outside the nearby Al-Ahli Baptist the Hospital in Gaza City, as they mourned the loss of Al-Ghoul and his colleague. Al Jazeera reporters Yousef Al Saudi and Anas Al Sharif could be seen breaking down as they held Al-Ghouls bloodied flak jacket. Our colleague Ismail was wearing this blood-stained vest, fellow Al Jazeera journalist Yousef Al Saudi said, as he removed the PRESS sign from the jacket. The sign was covered by blood to silence the world and the images in Gaza. The pictures continue and the coverage continues, God willing. Choking back tears, Al Sharif said: Dear Ismail, we will complete the mission after you. Another video shows journalist Wadi Shehandeh addressing a crowd, saying: By targeting us as media professionals, they want this coverage to stop, and to silence us. But no, by God, if only one of the media professionals remained in northern Gaza, they will continue to share the images. He said journalists in Gaza would not cease their coverage, adding, Ismail is not dead. Ismail lives in our hearts. His message will continue. CNNs Sarah Dean, Jon Passantino, Mick Krever and Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting. Khader Al-Zaanoun of WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, also contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Dogs are naturally adventurous creatures. They love to sniff and explore new and unfamiliar territories, using fundamental parts of their instincts. These experiences not only provide them with the physical activity they need but also give them plenty of mental stimulation. Going out to see new things also helps strengthen the bond we share with our beloved pets. If youre planning a trip to Northern California with your four-legged friend, this is a hike you wont want to miss. Watch this video from July 30th to discover this captivating location. How beautiful! This amazing trail is in Mill Valley, just 14 miles north of San Francisco. Hikers, along with their dogs, are welcome to explore these trails and admire the stunning sight of majestic horses. Bernies (@bigcitybernie) mom considers it one of her favorite spots in California, and its easy to see why. While some parts of the trail allow dogs to be off-leash, she advises us to keep them on lead if youre unsure how theyll react to horses. This ensures that the horses are treated with respect and helps keep your dog safe and unharmed. Related: Village in England Where Ponies Run Free Is Like Something Out of a Fairytale Things To Know about the Horses of Mill Valley Horse Hill offers a mix of natural beauty, recreational activities, and community involvement, making it a beloved location. This stunning open space is leased by the non-profit Alto Bowl Horse Owners Association, and up to 14 horses can be seen grazing in the area. These are not wild horses but cherished pets that are boarded here. During their stay, they are still under the care of their parents. Since they are privately owned, feeding or approaching these horses is strictly prohibited. According to the Horse Hill website, our furry friends are welcome, but Dogs must be leashed on the trail, and under voice command on fire roads, with a leash readily available. As Bernies mom pointed out, unless you are certain about how your dog will behave, its best to keep them leashed at all times. If you plan on hitting this trail, visitors are asked to be courteous and safety conscious when sharing these roads and paths. During the rainy season, trails may be muddy, so its essential to dress accordingly for the conditions. They also advise us to steer clear of the poison oak, bring plenty of water, and caution that there are no restrooms. If youre planning a visit to wine country, this hiking trail is roughly 45 minutes south of Sonoma and just over an hour from Napa Valley. Its a great place to take the areas beauty and get in a few extra steps before indulging in the incredible food and wine. Airlines would no longer be allowed to charge parents extra fees for their kids to be seated next to them under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration. White House officials say their fee-free family seating proposal could potentially save parents up to $200 per round trip flight. Families dont need any additional stresses or costs when flying on top of how demanding it can be to be a parent flying with your kids, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters when announcing the proposed rule. Buttigieg said, The idea that parents ought to be seated next to their own children on a flight is common sense and also seems like something that ought to be standard practice. Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard echoed that sentiment, saying, No parent should have to pay a fee to sit with their child when they fly. Its just that simple. Todays ban on family seating fees could save a family of four as much as $200 per round trip. That might not matter much to wealthy Americans, but it could be the deciding factor on whether to take a family trip for working Americans. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address, while watched by Vice President Kamala Harris and then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2023. - Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images/File The move is one that President Joe Biden himself had previewed in his 2023 State of the Union address as part of the administrations ongoing effort to protect consumers from having to pay junk fees. Well cap service fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events and make companies disclose all fees upfront. And well prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families just to sit together, Biden said in 2023. Baggage fees are bad enough they cant just treat your child like a piece of luggage. The rule, an administration official explained, would require airlines to seat children 13 and under next to their parents within 48 hours of purchasing the ticket. If adjacent seats are not available, then the airline would need to provide you the option of a refund if you no longer want to take that flight, the administration official added. Some airlines already do not charge passengers extra to sit next to children. Alaska, American, Frontier and JetBlue will seat children under 13 next to an accompanying adult at no additional cost, according to a dashboard on the Department of Transportations website. The proposed mandate still needs to clear a public comment period and is unlikely to be enacted until sometime next year. Airlines For America, an industry lobbying group, said its member airlines, which include the major carriers in the US, make every effort to accommodate customers traveling together especially those traveling with children. Each carrier has established individual policies, but all make every effort to ensure families sit together. A4A passenger carriers do not charge a family seating fee. This week, a federal appeals court sided with airlines by temporarily blocking a rule that would have required carriers to show passengers the total cost of a trip including checked baggage fees. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Joe Biden on Thursday celebrated an extraordinary prisoner exchange that freed several Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, calling it a "feat of diplomacy and friendship" in remarks from the White House. Biden was surrounded by family members of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza as he spoke about the efforts involved in the swap, which is the largest since the Cold War involving 24 people and several countries. "This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here," Biden said. "It's a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country, who've been praying for this day for a long time." MORE: Why were Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan being held prisoner in Russia? PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Americans detained in Russia during brief remarks from the White House, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) Biden took a moment to describe the three American citizens and one legal permanent U.S. resident being brought back to the U.S. He said each was arrested, convicted and sentenced by Russian authorities "with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever." "And now their brutal ordeal is over and they're free," Biden said. Biden, who officials said was directly involved in helping negotiate the deal, had gathered the families at the White House earlier Thursday to inform them that the release was underway. Biden said he and the families were able to contact the freed Americans over the phone. When asked what he said to them, Biden replied: "I said, 'Welcome almost home.'" PHOTO: President Joe Biden, right, reaches out to hold hands with Elizabeth Whelan, left, as he delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) The multipart prisoner swap is the product of months of detailed, painstaking negotiations, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The nations involved also included Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. A senior administration official said even the day Biden announced he was no longer seeking a second term, he was on the phone working to secure this deal. Sullivan, who addressed reporters at the White House daily briefing, choked back tears as he emotionally talked about the extensive effort to secure the deal and said it "was vintage Joe Biden rallying American rallying American allies to save American citizens." Biden, in his remarks, touted his administration's work and the power of global alliances while also seemingly criticizing his Oval Office predecessor Donald Trump. "For anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter," he said. "Our work did not start just on Day 1. It started before Day 1," Biden said. "During the transition, I instructed our national security team to dig into all the cases of hostages being wrongfully detained, which were inherently -- well, we inherited them from the private -- the prior administration." "I wanted to make sure we hit the ground running, and we did," Biden continued. "As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. Many since before I took office." Later, when asked by a reporter about Trump's repeated claims he could've gotten the hostages out of Russia without concessions, Biden took a more direct jab at his former political opponent. "Why didn't he do it when he was president?" Biden responded. PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Americans detained in Russia during brief remarks from the White House, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) MORE: Russia agrees to free Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in multi-country prisoner swap Speaking further on Thursday's release, Biden noted several of the 16 individuals freed on Thursday were Russian political prisoners who "stood up for democracy and human rights" and were subsequently jailed by their own leaders. He took a moment to contrast that with the work of the U.S. and its partners. "The United States helped secure their release as well. That's who we are in the United States," he said. "We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice, not only for our own people, but for others as well. And that's why all Americans can take pride in what we've achieved today." As he closed his remarks, Biden turned back to the families gathered in the State Dining Room, saying he couldn't imagine what they've endured these last few years. He then led the singing of "Happy Birthday" to Miriam, the daughter of Kurmasheva, an American-Russian journalist who was freed on Thursday. Biden said Mariam will turn 13 on Friday and will now be able to celebrate with her mother. "That's what this is all about. Families able to be together again, like they should have been all along," Biden said. "So, I want to thank you again to everyone who did their part. In just a few hours, we'll welcome home our fellow Americans." The two top Republicans in Congress issued a joint statement calling the Gershkovich and Whelan release "encouraging news" but then went on to cite the "costs of hostage diplomacy." "Without serious action to deter further hostage-taking by Russia, Iran, and other states hostile to the United States, the costs of hostage diplomacy will continue to rise. As we renew our call for the return of all persons wrongfully detained by the Kremlin, we recognize that trading hardened Russian criminals for innocent Americans does little to discourage Putin's reprehensible behavior," House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said. ABC News' Lauren Peller contributed to this report. Biden tells Americans freed from Russian detention, 'Welcome almost home' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said former President Trumps comments on Wednesday questioning Vice President Harriss heritage as a Black woman represent an effort to deflect from key issues in the election and divide the country. This is a standard playbook for Donald Trump to try to deflect and divide, Booker said in an interview on MSNBCs 11th Hour on Wednesday. He brings up things that he knows will be considered outrageous by people on our side of the aisle, and all we want to do now is talk about that, Booker continued. And this is really his ability to deflect from what the real issues of this election are and try to divide our country against itself and opportunistically capitalize on that. Booker pointed to Trumps past inflammatory remarks, from falsely claiming former President Obama was not born in the U.S. to calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. This is what he does, Booker said. As opposed to bringing our country together for common aspiration and common purpose and, really, the sense of common cause, he divides us against each other, using racial tropes as his tool. Ive seen this in the Republican Party too much. Booker called on Democrats and Harris supporters to ignore Trumps comments and refocus their attention on positive messages that matter to voters. Think about this for a second: We are talking about whether a Black woman is Black, and all these people are rushing to say, Oh, Shes in AKA, and she went to a historically Black college. Enough of that. Lets talk about the economy. Lets talk about health care. Donald Trump doesnt want to talk about that, Booker said. Bookers interview comes after Trump took part in a heated question-and-answer event on Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalistss (NABJ) annual convention in Chicago. Trumps combative interview drew some negative and animated responses from the crowd, including when he questioned Harriss heritage. Harris is Indian American and Black. Her mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica. She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said of Harris. So I dont know, is she Indian, or is she Black? But you know what, I respect either one, Trump said. But she obviously doesnt. Because she was Indian all the way then, all of a sudden, she made a turn. And she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that. Harris responded to Trumps comments on Wednesday night, saying at a convention of a prominent Black sorority in Houston that the American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us they are an essential source of our strength, she said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A former FBI agent and Alabama state trooper convicted of child sexual assault was sentenced to life in prison Friday. Christopher Bauer, 45, was sentenced in Alabama Circuit Court after a conviction in June on charges of first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years of age. "It is always extremely disappointing when someone who is supposed to enforce and uphold the law commits a crime against the people they have sworn to protect," Mongomery District Attorney Daryl Bailey said in a news release. "He is a bad apple a depraved monster who abused his power to irreparably harm a vulnerable, innocent child." An Associated Press investigation found that Bauer used a forged letter in his application to join the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to hide that he was kicked out of the FBI after repeated sexual assault allegations were levied against him when he worked at the FBI's New Orleans field office. The Bureau had no comment on the sentencing Thursday. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not respond to a request for comment. Former FBI agent convicted of abusing 5-year-old On April 23, 2021, the victim, told a friend that she was being abused by Bauer, who she testified had been sexually assaulting her since she was 5-years-old, the Montgomery Advertiser a part of the USA TODAY Network reported. A few days later, her friend shared what was happening to the victim with her own mother, who reported it to the victims school. School administrators then contacted the Montgomery Police Department, and the investigation began. Bauer was arrested and charged the same day, records obtained by the newspaper show. The Associated Press found that Bauer is wanted on similar charges in Louisiana. Public defenders listed in court documents as representing Bauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christopher Bauer, ex-FBI agent who assaulted Alabama girl, gets life WASHINGTON Vice President Kamala Harris said "the American people deserve better" as she responded to former President Donald Trump's combative interview with the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention that included false claims about her racial identity. "It was the same old show the divisiveness and the disrespect," Harris said Wednesday night in Houston, while addressing members of a historically Black sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, during its 60th Biennial Boule. "The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength," Harris said. More: Trump questions Kamala Harris' racial identity at NABJ, says she 'happened to turn Black' U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boule event in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Adrees Latif In his interview earlier Wednesday with the NABJ in Chicago, Trump questioned the Black racial identify of Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, who is half Black and half Indian-American. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said of Harris. Is she Indian or is she Black? Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person. Harris, whose father is Jamaican and mother Indian, attended Howard University, a historically Black college. She is the first female vice president in U.S. history and also the first Black woman to hold the office. Trump's remarks came as Harris is enjoying polling momentum in her still-young campaign for president after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race July 21. The Trump campaign has set out aggressively to define Harris and calling into question her racial identity appears to be part of that strategy. "Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, doubling down on his false claims from his interview. Speaking at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pa. later Wednesday night, Trump accused Harris of adopting a "new southern accent" when she spoke the previous night at a campaign event in Atlanta. A big screen above Trump's stage prior to his remarks at the rally featured a photo of a smiling Harris and a 2016 Associated Press headline that read, "California's Kamala Harris becomes first Indian-American US Senator." Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent Alban Warming up for Trump at the rally, his attorney Alina Hubba told the crowd up Trump supporters, "Unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are. I know where I come from." Trumps vice presidential running-mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, in a speech Wednesday in Arizona said, Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her. It isn't the first time Trump allies have attacked Harris' racial identity. Similar suggestions were made in 2019 about Harris when she was a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary. The Harris campaign back then compared the assertions to Trump's birther claims against President Barack Obama in which Trump falsely suggested Obama was born in Kenya. "The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president," Michael Tyler, the Harris campaign communications director, said in a statement Wednesday following Trump's NABJ interview. "Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us," Tyler said. Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris responds to Trump's false claim about her Black identity By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea wants to reopen nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump is re-elected as president and is working to devise a new negotiating strategy, a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea told Reuters. The escape of Ri Il Gyu from Cuba made headlines globally last month. He was the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to the South since 2016. In his first interview with international media, Ri said North Korea has set Russia, the U.S. and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities for this year and beyond. While bolstering relations with Russia, Pyongyang was keen to reopen nuclear negotiations if Trump - who engaged in both fiery brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea during his previous term - won re-election in November, Ri said. Pyongyang's diplomats were mapping out a strategy for that scenario, with the goal of lifting of sanctions on its weapons programmes, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and eliciting economic aid, said Ri. His comments signal a potential about-face from the North's current stance after recent statements ditching the possibility of dialogue with the U.S. and warning of armed confrontation. A summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump in Vietnam in 2019 collapsed over sanctions, for which Ri partly blamed Kim's decision to entrust "inexperienced, clueless" military commanders with nuclear diplomacy. "Kim Jong Un doesn't know much about international relations and diplomacy, or how to make strategic judgment," he said. "This time, the foreign ministry would definitely gain power and take charge, and it won't be so easy for Trump to tie North Korea's hands and feet again for four years without giving anything." RUSSIAN TIES, JAPAN AID By forging closer ties with Russia, North Korea received help with its missile technology and economy. But a bigger benefit could be to block additional sanctions and undercut existing ones, Ri said, adding it would raise Pyongyang's bargaining power against Washington. "The Russians got their own hands dirty by engaging in illicit transactions and, thanks to that, North Korea no longer needs to rely on the U.S. to lift sanctions, which essentially means they stripped the U.S. of one key bargaining chip," he said. In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he wants to meet Kim, but the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s has long been a stumbling block. According to Ri, Kim would seek to hold a summit with Japan, aiming to get economic assistance in return for concessions on the abductee issue. Tokyo believes 17 of its citizens were abducted, five of whom returned to Japan in 2002. Pyongyang sees the issue as settled, having admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese nationals and saying those unaccounted for had either died or their whereabouts were unknown. Ri said Kim would be willing to change that position, established under his father Kim Jong Il, in order to obtain economic support. "They're saying that the issue was resolved, but that's just to boost negotiating power until he makes concessions at a summit," he said. RESENTMENT AND DEFECTION Having studied at a French school in Algeria and lived in Cuba alongside his late father, who was a state media reporter, Ri says he had imagined a life in South Korea since his childhood, but never acted to flee until he was bullied by a diplomatic colleague for refusing his demand for bribes. Then the defining moment came when Pyongyang instantly refused his request to get medical treatment in Mexico, at his own expense, for a ruptured disc in his neck. "That exploded all the resentment I had been harbouring towards the regime," he said. The COVID-19 lockdown deepened hardships at home and for those stationed overseas, with most telephone lines to Pyongyang cut to prevent any information from spreading in the outside world, Ri said. Financial troubles have also forced North Korea to shut down a dozen of its 54 diplomatic missions. "When they began reopening and summoning those working abroad in early 2023, they asked to bring everything from used toothbrushes to spoons back home, saying there's nothing there," he said. Ri had also witnessed - and in his job tried to impede - the launch of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a Cold War-era ally of North Korea. "I had done everything to block that from happening, but establishing relations with Cuba was the best thing South Korea had done since last year," he said. "It was a model example of how the tides of history have turned, and where a normal civilisation of the international community is headed." (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Alex Richardson) More than 160 leaders directly impacted by incarceration and criminalization have sent a letter to Vice President Harris calling on her to create a campaign platform that addresses mass incarceration. The Hill received an exclusive look at the letter to the likely Democratic nominee, which calls on Harris to reject harmful language around the criminal justice system, including the narrative that this years match-up between her and former President Trump is between a tough-on-crime prosecutor and a criminal. Such language, the leaders state, is harmful to both Harriss campaign and those impacted by the criminal justice system. First, we believe you have been and will be a criminal justice reform leader. And, also, words like criminal and felon paint with a broad brush that stains more than 70 million Americans with criminal records including the 1 in 3 Black men who have felony convictions, the letter reads. Signatories of the letter include Norris Henderson, co-founder and steering committee member of the Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement; DeAnna Hoskins, president and CEO of JustLeadershipUSA, an organization dedicated to criminal justice reform; and members of the National Council for Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Though the total number of people incarcerated has dropped significantly since the 2008 peak of almost 2.4 million people, according to FWD, a bipartisan political organization focused on reforming the criminal justice and immigration systems. Mass incarceration and the subsequent consequences disproportionately affect Black and brown Americans. The national incarceration rate of Black Americans is six times the rate of white people, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Before joining the Senate, Harris was an attorney general and a prosecutor. She has leaned into this history since announcing her bid for the presidency last week. Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general, as Ive mentioned, of California. And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor, Harris at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., the day after President Biden announced he was dropping out and endorsed her. In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trumps type. But the letter argues Harris can hold Trump accountable for his conduct and the impact of his actions and policy proposals without the outdated fear-mongering rhetoric that dehumanizes us and opens the door to the ridicule and slander that has long plagued us since the Black Codes. Shouting felon! without acknowledging the injustices taking place daily in courts, prisons, and jails depresses the tremendous electoral potential of engaging with the tens of millions of us who have criminal convictions and the even greater number of American voters who love us, the letter states. The letters signatories acknowledge that in 2019, Harris was the first candidate to agree to attend the criminal justice reform presidential town hall held inside a shuttered prison. You spoke directly to the millions of us on both sides of the prison walls who have been personally impacted by mass incarceration about your plans to prioritize safety and justice for our families, the letter states. Leaders added that they hope Harris will create a criminal justice reform platform, as there is nothing less than freedom on the line. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Climate change is drastically impacting the world around us, including the way people travel and the destinations themselves. Green Travel is a seven-part series delving into how climate change is transforming the landscape of travel. OAHU, Hawaii Hawaiis most famous coastline, Waikiki Beach, is not going to be the same in the next 50 years. Oahu is the most visited Hawaiian island, with its iconic Waikiki neighborhood serving as a central base for many travelers, but it has already been changing. The beaches flanking Waikiki have narrowed, and in some areas, are nonexistent. During high tide or if theres a swell, waves crash onto walkways, soaking passersby. These issues didnt exist decades ago, at least not as noticeably as theyve become today. And its only expected to get worse. In as little as 20 years, roads, condos and resorts located just a few blocks from the water could be flooded as groundwater continues to rise. In the future, storm drains could fill up imagine a bathtub running over and the beaches could continue to disappear. Waikiki was actually built on top of water, a wetland that was drained then filled for development, although youd never think so looking at the high-rises and concrete today. Get more news like this delivered to your inbox by signing up for our Travel newsletter here. The famous Waikiki Beach is likely the most popular in Hawaii, and groins and breakwalls protect the sand from eroding. Thats a huge problem in Waikiki and its probably ground zero for this problem, said Charles Fletcher, the Interim Dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and one of the leading climate scientists in the state. Its not just rising waters and stronger swells from the makai (ocean) side, but heavy rainfall and flooding from the mauka, or mountain side that threaten Waikiki, which has the highest density of hotels in the state and accounts for $7.8 billion in visitor dollars. Confronted by climate change, Waikiki and the broader Hawaiian islands are rethinking their future to ensure survival, including an adaptation plan for the tourist hub. Recognizing the high stakes such as the fact that tourism accounts for a quarter of the economy both private and public sectors are collaborating to build Hawaii's resilience for future generations. Beaches are a big part of the tourism experience and with sea level rise and this applies to every coastline in the world Hawaii is facing some serious challenges in getting out of the way of the migrating shoreline, said Fletcher. So far, we are having a hard time winning the battle of preserving beaches against a rising ocean. Pacific islands, including Hawaii, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as intense storms, wildfires, and coral reef bleaching, due to their remote oceanic locations. Swift action is being taken to address these challenges. Whats happening to Hawaiis beaches? Stronger swells and rising sea levels mean waves crash onto walkways and into seawalls, like at this beach on the eastern end of Waikiki. Hawaii's beaches are disappearing, with about 13 of the state's 750 miles of coastline gone, according to the 2022 Annual Report by the Climate Resilience Collaborative, which is funded by the Office of Naval Research and partners with researchers at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Seventy percent of Hawaii's beaches are chronically eroding. One big reason for that is rising sea levels. Its extremely urgent, it's an impact today, its not a tomorrow issue, said Matthew Gonser, Chief Resilience Officer at the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, which was established through a city charter amendment approved by public vote in 2016. Alongside rising sea levels, coastal erosion on Oahu is exacerbated by a common beach management practice. As seen on the ends of Waikiki, the ocean has swallowed up the beach. No sand, just water crashing into the seawall. These types of barriers are known as shoreline hardening, a manmade way to prevent the ocean from flooding land and development behind it. Unfortunately, this has caused more harm than good. Nearly one-third of Oahus beaches are hardened, according to a 2020 study by the Climate Resilience Collaborative. Using computer models, the researchers predicted that by 2050, nearly 40% of the islands beaches could be lost. Sea level has been rising over the last century, and its projected to continue to rise and actually rise faster than it has been, so what that means is most of our beaches are wanting to migrate inland, said Kammie Tavares, a graduate researcher who led the study. In the past century, sea levels in Hawaii have risen over six inches, according to the City and County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission. The loss of beaches carries more than just the economic implications of tourism. Natural systems depend on the beach like sea turtles that nest and endangered Hawaiian monk seal that raise their pups along the sand. The beach is part of a crucial marine life cycle, so its disappearance will impact the livelihoods of fishermen. Theres also a cultural loss as many Hawaiian ancestral bones have been buried in the beaches and risk being exposed. Then of course, theres also us, Tavares said. When we lose beaches, we lose our connection to our spaces. However, the main strip of Waikiki Beach, situated in front of the iconic pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel, is a different story: its a completely man-made beach. Historically, sand is vacuumed from offshore to resupply sand on the beach. Most recently, this was done in 2021 with 21,700 cubic yards of sand, but will likely happen every five to 10 years in the future as the shoreline erodes faster. Groins and break walls have been built into the water to protect the sand from the water. Prior to that, we hadnt put sand there for 20, 25 years, said Dolan Eversole, a coastal geologist and the Waikiki Beach Management Coordinator for the Hawaii Sea Grant Program. (Now it is like) whoa, we have to do something here because its getting really bad. Whats next for Oahus beaches? It will take four feet of sea level rise to drown nearly half of Waikiki, and researchers plan on one foot of sea level rise by 2050 and four to six feet by 2100. One foot, we can adapt, but four to six can be catastrophic, said Eversole. Its not going to be pretty. This isnt news to government officials. For the past decade, scientists and officials have had their eye on Waikikis fate, Fletcher said. The state is pushing for regenerative tourism, where travelers help steward the islands and natural resources are properly managed and protected. Currently, the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency has sensors in different storm drains throughout Honolulu to evaluate if water is coming back up. In partnership with the Board of Water Supply and other public agencies, monitors will be placed underneath Waikiki to track if water is getting closer to the surface. Several projects are underway, including constructing a groin along a section of Waikiki Beach in front of the Halekulani Hotel and the OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, which has nearly eroded. The plan involves replenishing the beach with sand, and the groin will protect this sand from the waves. The beach in front of the OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort was a small pocket of sand but is virtually gone. Before Oahu communities face the daunting and contentious task of migrating inland, the primary focus is on adaptation. The Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency also engages with the community, having met with neighborhood boards in 2016 to get their input. In a place like Waikiki, its so important and most people agree, were going to have to adapt, Eversole said. Eversole serves as an advisor for the Waikiki Special Improvement District Association, which was created in 2015 to focus on the areas resiliency and made up of stakeholders such as property owners to government officials and hotels themselves. The organization is working on an adaptation plan for the neighborhood and is in the visioning stage. Some ideas being floated include raising Waikikis streets into walkways to allow water to run under or more canals (right now, theres just the Ala Wai Canal running along the mountain-side of Waikiki). Another is to build a boardwalk. We need to be, in my opinion, innovative and creative in how we picture adaptation in Waikiki and whats possible, Eversole said. Currently, $800,000 in state funding is appropriated for the Waikiki Adaptation Plan. Although significant work remains, the future holds strong potential. Im confident and the reason why, working with government officials right now, theres a wild acceptance we need to do something, he said. Some researchers are also finding value in going back in time to Native Hawaiian stewardship practices. After all, these people took care and lived off the land for centuries before heavy development. Centuries-old indigenous knowledge and history can help better inform scientists and current resource management systems. Resiliency is a big push for us, said Fletcher. It doesnt exist yet, but we are working to create it. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii could lose 40% of its beaches by 2050. What happens now? A 26-year-old woman had a near-death experience when she got stuck in a remote canyon in northern Arizona. Madison Hart, 26, was stemming down the Wildcat Tank Canyon in Page, located just by the Utah border when she got stuck. Stemming is a technique used to travel up or down a slot canyon and requires a lot of effort from the legs. In a detailed video on TikTok, Hart shared that she and her friend had started their hike around 12 p.m. that day and reached the top of the canyon around 1 p.m. Hart said temperatures were high that day and that she and her friend had "underestimated" how it hot it actually would be. Temperatures touched 103 degrees on July 19 in Page, according to AccuWeather. Watch: Hart captures video from where she got stuck 'I just slid to the bottom' They had stemmed about 100 to 200 feet when the heat and exhaustion took a toll on Hart, and she became shaky and started sliding. "I started panicking...and I slid," Hart said. "I started going deeper into the canyon and I just slid to the bottom, and she (Hart's friend) also did, but then she kept going because she had more stamina than me." Hart was unable to pull herself out and ended up getting stuck from her hips and was only able to twist side to side, adding she couldn't lay down or go back further because the canyon curved in and there was a puddle of water right beneath it. If I went forward or backward, I would have been stuck completely and gotten a crush injury where I'm not able to move and then I basically suffocate, Hart said, adding that she "decided to stay put," to avoid further incidents. No signals for emergency call While Hart was stuck in the canyon, her friend sprang into action, lighting a fire as a signal, moving some rocks to try to get Hart out and calling for help, despite limited to no coverage. Hart, who also had her phone with her, said she attempted to call 911 several times but was unable to get through due to lack of service. "When she got service, she called 911 and they answered for about like 10 seconds," Hart said. "They said they couldn't hear us and then it disconnected." After about three hours of being stuck in the canyon, Hart's friend was able to send some messages via Snapchat. Her roommate responded to one of them and told them that they'd send for help. A spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriffs Office, Jon Paxton, told USA TODAY Thursday they were notified of the stuck hikers around 5:30 p.m. on July 19 by the National Parks Service. Paxton said rescue teams with multiple agencies responded to the situation and were able to remove the stuck women. Hart's friend was rescued first since she had "climbed out a little further up the canyon and was uninjured." Hart, who was a "another hundred yards back down the canyon" and was unable to climb up, as per the sheriff's office, was rescued after. Stuck for almost 13 hours Hart said by the time help came and she was rescued, she'd been stuck in the canyon for almost 13 hours and had been without water for almost nine hours. Rescue officials with the Page Fire Department were able extradite Hart from the canyon and flew her to a local hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. Hart said she initially declined medical assistance since she didn't have medical insurance, but first responders advised her that the accident had impacted her kidneys due to standing in one position for so long and was dehydrated. Hart said she spent a night at the hospital and was discharged the next day, though her kidneys are still healing. "My legs had turned purple from standing for so long, Hart told Storyful about her experience. Hart said she also damaged a nerve in her arm and the sheriff's office said she had an ankle injury when she was rescued. Hart also recorded the moments while she was stuck in the canyon, saying that she only started filming when she was sure that help was coming and the two would be going home. The video captured by Hart shows her deep inside the narrow canyon. 'Accidents happen' Hart said that she's previously "been through a lot of canyons," and to those that are way more technical but "accidents happen" and cannot be predicted. "The whole thing was embarrassing," Hart said. "I did not anticipate getting stuck. I did feel like a failure. It was very embarrassing. I never wanted to be those people. I never did want to waste resources or waste people's time or energy." However, she thanked rescue officials and the medical team for saving her and her friend's life. "Thank you, guys," Hart said. "Just glad to be alive." Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman gets stuck while stemming down Wildcat Tank Canyon: Watch video A 43-year-old man has been killed outside a Philadelphia mosque in an execution-style shooting that's been condemned by Pennsylvania's governor. Officers found the man, later identified as Raheem Jefferson, unresponsive on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds on Tuesday afternoon, including at least one to his head and multiple to his torso, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly afterward. The killer fired at least 17 shots using a large-caliber semi-automatic weapon, police Chief Inspector Scott Small said a news conference on Wednesday. Security footage reviewed by police shows Jefferson and another man walking to the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society for prayer service when a suspect approaches from behind before opening fire, Small said. "It's all caught on camera," Scott told reporters. "The shooter stands over the victim from just a few feet away and continues firing shots at this 43-year-old victim while he lays on the parking lot. So clearly, an execution-type homicide." Suspect remains at large with motive uncertain No arrests have been made in the case and police haven't determined a motive but Small said it appears Jefferson was the intended target of the crime. The shooter was seen getting into a vehicle and fleeing the parking lot while wearing dark-colored clothing, Small said. A $20,000 reward has been offered for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The shooting happened at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society mosque, established in 1989 in the lower northeast neighborhood of Kensington. Its goal is to "maintain the Islamic Identity and to protect and sustain the Islamic Community in Philadelphia," according to its website. Governor comments on shooting Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned the incident on X and shared his condolences. Violence outside of a house of worship is deeply painful and traumatizing for those simply showing up to worship and practice their faith. As an investigation into this killing proceeds, I'm praying for Philadelphia's Al-Aqsa Islamic Society community, a place Ive been several https://t.co/g5Slc0oIMf Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) July 30, 2024 "Violence outside of a house of worship is deeply painful and traumatizing for those simply showing up to worship and practice their faith," Shapiro wrote. "As an investigation into this killing proceeds, I'm praying for Philadelphia's Al-Aqsa Islamic Society community, a place Ive been several times, and hoping they find peace in each other and in their faith." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man killed execution style outside Philadelphia mosque; no arrests On Nov. 6, 2016, doctors told Aisha McClellan her cervical cancer had metastasized, spreading to her liver, lungs and lymph nodes Aisha McClellan Aisha McClellan poses in a selfie with her three kids while going through cancer treatment. Aisha McClellan learned in November 2016 that her cervical cancer had metastasized, spreading to her liver, lungs and lymph nodes Doctors told McClellan, a mom of three, she had three months to live Now, 7 years later, McClellan is in remission When Aisha McClellan sat in her doctor's office on Nov. 6, 2016, she felt oddly calm. She even took photos around the hospital, finding it surreal to be back. It had been three months since the single mom finished her treatment for stage 2B cervical cancer. She was diagnosed in May 2016, just two days before her 32nd birthday, after experiencing irregular bleeding and back pain. But as the doctor entered the room, McClellan, who was unusually chatty and upbeat, noticed the medical team acting strangely. "I asked, 'What's going on?' " McClellan, now 40, recalls in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. It was then that the doctors informed the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, native that her cancer had metastasized, spreading to her liver, lungs and lymph nodes. They told her she had about three months left to live. According to the Cleveland Clinic, metastasis occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor, enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system and spread to other parts of the body. "The very first thing I said was, 'So you're telling me that I have 90 days left to be with my children?' " McClellan says of her kids Lia, Tyler and Arianna, who were 7, 8 and 9 years old at the time. "I was hysterical," she adds. "There was nobody else who could take care of my kids. I'm very close with my children. Now I only had 90 days to teach them things they need to know for the rest of their lives? I was thinking about their graduations, about what would happen if they got hurt and needed someone to clean them up or if they just needed someone to tuck them in at night." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Aisha McClellan Aisha McClellan's three kids Lia, Tyler, and Arianna. Related: Woman's Finger Amputated After Shocking Discovery That Stiff Hand Was Actually Benign Tumor (Exclusive) McClellan remembers how doctors explained that, even with treatment, her life might only be extended by a few months. But she knew that if she could spend even a few more days with her kids, she would take the chance. Now, seven years later, McClellan is beyond grateful to have made that decision. After McClellan chose to undergo a combination of two chemotherapies along with targeted therapy, her cancer went into remission. "The first few years were really nerve-wracking," she says. "Your battle just changes. You're fighting to get rid of the cancer, then you're just terrified of it coming back and so you're fighting to keep it gone. I was really nervous, but every scan that went well, my doctor would say, 'Your chances of recurrence get lower and lower each time.' " Aisha McClellan Aisha McClellan in the hospital during cancer treatment. Since going into remission, McClellan has shared her cancer journey on TikTok, including the pivotal role her children played throughout and how she talked to them about the possibility of her dying. "I didn't even tell any of my friends or anybody really about my page just because it was like, what if I'm saying all this and two people see it?" she adds. "I was thinking about the likes or the validation at first. Then I was like, you know what? Hey, if this helps one person, that's what I need to do." Looking back on the day when she received the diagnosis, McClellan recalls how she put on a brave face before driving to pick up her kids from school to break the news to them. "They asked, 'How long did they say you have to live?' " McClellan recalls. "I told them what the doctors said. Then I added, 'But there's a 14 percent chance that people with this cancer live longer than three months. So I'm going to be one of those people. There's always hope.' " "For everything that scared or saddened them, I tried to focus on how much we've already overcome. I spoke to them with gentleness and maturity because I didn't want them to be naive about the situation." Aisha McClellan Aisha McClellan takes a selfie with her three kids. McClellan recalls how, during her second treatment, her children witnessed some of her most difficult moments. Still, she remained determined to maintain a sense of normalcy. After her chemotherapy treatments, she would throw on a scarf and head to work before heading home and preparing dinner for the kids, even if she felt terrible. "I remember one night after getting home, I was in the bath and couldn't hold back the tears. I tried to be quiet, but my daughter either woke up or needed the bathroom and found me upset," she recalls. "She said, 'Mommy, you don't have to do this alone. You don't have to pretend you're okay when you're not.' " She continues: "It was such a touching moment. She gave me permission to be vulnerable and showed me that I didn't have to maintain a strong facade for them. The next morning, they made me breakfast and tried to be nurturing." Aisha McClellan Aisha McClellan poses with her three kids at the beach. Since entering remission, McClellan continues to find solace in her children, now ages 17, 18 and 19. "The love I feel for them saved my life," she says. "Every day, I strived to get better for them. They gave me the strength to heal and be there for them, and I can't imagine where I would be if they weren't a part of my journey." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. John Stossel (right) interviews Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Stossel TV Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won applause at the Libertarian National Convention by criticizing government lockdowns and deficit spending, and saying America shouldn't police the world. It made me want to interview him. This month, I did. He said intelligent things about America's growing debt: "President Trump said that he was going to balance the budget and instead he (increased the debt more) than every president in United States history$8 trillion. President Biden is on track now to beat him." It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our debt. "When the debt is this largeyou have to cut dramatically, and I'm going to do that," he says. But looking at his campaign promises, I don't see it. He promises "affordable" housing via a federal program backing 3 percent mortgages. "Imagine that you had a rich uncle who was willing to cosign your mortgage!" gushes his campaign ad. "I'm going to make Uncle Sam that rich uncle!" I point out that such giveaways won't reduce our debt. "That's not a giveaway," Kennedy replies. "Every dollar that I spend as president is going to go toward building our economy." That's big government nonsense, like his other claim: "Every million dollars we spend on child care creates 22 jobs!" Give me a break. When I pressed him about specific cuts, Kennedy says, "I'll cut the military in halfcut it to about $500 billion.We are not the policemen of the world." "Stop giving any money to Ukraine?" I ask. "Negotiate a peace," Kennedy replies. "Biden has never talked to Putin about this, and it's criminal." He never answered whether he'd give money to Ukraine. He did answer about Israel. "Yes, of course we should," "[Since] you don't want to cut this spending, what would you cut?" "Israel spending is rather minor," he responds. "I'm going to pick the most wasteful programs, put them all in one bill, and send them to Congress with an up and down vote." Of course, Congress would just vote it down. Kennedy's proposed cuts would hardly slow down our path to bankruptcy. Especially since he also wants new spending that activists pretend will reduce climate change. At a concert years ago, he smeared "crisis" skeptics like me, who believe we can adjust to climate change, screaming at the audience, "Next time you see John Stossel and [others] these flat-earthers, these corporate toadieslying to you. This is treason, and we need to start treating them now as traitors!" Now, sitting with him, I ask, "You want to have me executed for treason?" "That statement," he replies, "it's not a statement that I would make today.Climate is existential. I think it's human-caused climate change. But I don't insist other people believe that. I'm arguing for free markets and then the lowest cost providers should prevail in the marketplace.We should end all subsidies and let the market dictate." That sounds good: "Let the market dictate." But wait, Kennedy makes money from solar farms backed by government guaranteed loans. He "leaned on his contacts in the Obama administration to secure a $1.6 billion loan guarantee," wrote The New York Times. "Why should you get a government subsidy?" I ask. "If you're creating a new industry," he replies, "you're competing with the Chinese. You want the United States to own pieces of that industry." I suppose that means his government would subsidize every industry leftists like. Yet when a wind farm company proposed building one near his family's home, he opposed it. "Seems hypocritical," I say. "We're exterminating the right whale in the North Atlantic through these wind farms!" he replies. I think he was more honest years ago, when he complained that "turbineswould be seen from Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard Nantucket.[They] will steal the stars and nighttime views." Kennedy was once a Democrat, but now Democrats sue to keep him off ballots. Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich calls him a "dangerous nutcase." Kennedy complains that Reich won't debate him. "Nobody will," he says. "They won't have me on any of their networks." Well, obviously, I will. I especially wanted to confront him about vaccines. In a future column, Stossel TV will post more from our hourlong discussion. COPYRIGHT 2024 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC. The post RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It appeared first on Reason.com. LONDON (Reuters) - South Korea lost an appeal on Thursday against a ruling that required it to pay U.S. hedge fund Elliott more than $100 million in a dispute over the 2015 merger of two affiliates of electronics group Samsung. Last year the South Korean government was ordered to pay around $108.5 million, including damages, interest and legal fees, by the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration. South Korea sought to appeal against that decision at London's High Court, arguing the PCA did not have jurisdiction to make the ruling under a free trade agreement with the U.S., but its legal challenge was rejected on Thursday. Elliott welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement that the decision was "the proper outcome based on well-established principles of English law". Elliott had sued over the role played by South Korea's National Pension Service in approving an $8 billion merger between Samsung C&T, in which Elliott was a minority stakeholder, and Cheil Industries. The 2015 merger has also prompted similar legal action from New York hedge fund Mason Capital Management which in April was awarded about $32 million plus interest and separate criminal proceedings in South Korea. Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee was found not guilty of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by a Seoul court in February, a ruling which is under appeal by prosecutors. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by David Holmes) After a turbulent year for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants that saw both its 2023 titleholders resign for the first time ever, both events are returning this week to Los Angeles to crown two new winners. To vie for the titles, the 51 contestants from each competition will showcase themselves through multiple rounds: swimsuit (Miss USA) or athletic wear (Miss Teen USA), evening gown, and an onstage interview, as well as a preliminary interview with the judges. The reigning Miss USA, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, is last years first runner-up who stepped into the role two weeks after Noelia Voigt resigned in May. She will crown her successor, but she may also crown the new Miss Teen USA, since that role remains vacant another first in the pageants history. Former Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava gave up her title just days after Voigt, and the competitions first runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, declined to take the title in the aftermath of the astonishing week that rocked the pageant world. Why did the 2023 titleholders resign? In early May, Voigt and Srivastava separately announced on social media that they were relinquishing their crowns Voigt citing mental health reasons, and Srivastava citing a clash in personal values with the Miss USA organization and have yet to speak publicly on the specifics. (Internet commenters quickly pointed out that Voigts cryptic post appeared to contain the hidden message I am silenced, sparking rumors of a strict non-disclosure agreement that kept her from further explanation.) However, Voigts resignation letter to the Miss USA organization, which was obtained by CNN, shed light on her experiences. In the letter, her concerns ranged from frustrating administration issues that she said led to a delay in her receiving her prizes including an apartment and a car, as well as more serious allegations. Among those, Voigt noted a toxic work environment and the absence of an effective handler that she claimed led to her being sexually harassed during a parade appearance. She also alleged that the pageants president Laylah Rose had slandered her character in conversations with other people within and outside of the organization, including calling Voigt mentally ill. Laylah Rose has served as president for Miss USA since last year. - Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock Rose is an entrepreneur and CEO of the VIP Pageantry Network, who took over Miss USA in 2023. The Miss Universe Organization and Rose, through Miss USA, did not respond to CNNs requests for comment in May. At the end of the month, Rose released a statement, reported by the Los Angeles Times, refuting the allegations. What has happened since the titleholders resigned? Soon after the double resignations, CNN spoke with several insiders who described a pageant organization in disarray. The pageant queens mothers, Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastava, also appeared on Good Morning America together, calling the experience a nightmare and asking for an apology from the parent organization Miss Universe, which has yet to respond to the claims. They also sent a warning to the state titleholders competing in 2024. We just dont want these families and these girls to go through what were going through, Jackeline added. Miss Hawaii 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz at her Miss USA coronation in Honolulu. She filled the role after Voigt resigned. - Erik Kabik/MediaPunch/AP Gankiewicz was crowned on May 15 amid criticism in a ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii. She did not respond to CNNs requests for comment at the time. Her reign has been particularly short at less than three months. What are this years prizes? This year, Miss USAs website is absent of information about the prize package or who hosts and judges will be, though it has shared an Instagram post that Garcelle Beauvais of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will take up hosting duties. For Miss Teen USA, Rachel Lindsay of The Bachelorette and Justin Sylvester of E! News have promoted themselves as hosts on their respective accounts. In the past, the winner of Miss USA has reportedly received a six-figure salary, a Los Angeles apartment and a luxury car for one year as she makes appearances and supports causes on behalf of the organization, as well as other perks like designer clothes, five-star resort stays and guest spots on television shows, according to previous versions of its website. Miss USA did not answer CNNs questions about the forthcoming pageants. Who can participate in Miss USA? An eligible Miss USA participant must be a US citizen and either a permanent resident, full-time student or full-time employee of their given state for a set period of time. They must also affirm they are recognized medically and legally as female, according to the pageant website. The pageant saw its first openly trans woman compete only three years ago, when Miss Nevada USA Kataluna Enriquez competed in 2021 but was eliminated before the finals. In 2022, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) announced that married, divorced and pregnant women could compete for the first time at Miss Universe and Miss USA. Previously only legally single women without children could compete. Miss Maine USA 2023 Juliana Morehouse became the first married woman to compete in Miss USA. Marissa Teijo was a hopeful for Miss Texas USA following the pageant organization's loosening of age restrictions, but she did not move on to compete in Miss USA. - Courtesy Marissa Teijo Last year, MUO announced that it was eliminating its age restrictions, too, allowing contestants 28 and older to compete in Miss USA and Miss Universe. That opened it up to competitors like Marissa Teijo, a 71-year-old grandmother from Texas who hoped to take home the state title Miss Texas USA in June but did not move forward. However, several women in their late 20s and older did win their state titles this year, the oldest being 41-year-old Miss Arizona USA K Johnson, while 33-year-old Miss Indiana USA Stephanie Sullivan was the first married mother to win her state title. Sullivan has expressed online that she is hoping to continue to make history at Miss USA. Whats the difference between Miss America and Miss USA? Miss America and Miss USA are both major national beauty pageants, but they are two different brands with a shared history. Miss America began in 1921 as a small Atlantic City boardwalk beauty contest and grew to national prominence. In 1952, a sponsor of Miss America, Catalina which made swimwear founded Miss USA in response to the defiance of the 1950 Miss America titleholder Yolande Betbeze, who refused to appear in bathing suits during her reigning year. Today, Miss America is a non-profit that promotes itself as a scholarship program, while the Miss USA franchise is part of MUO, and its winners automatically go on to represent the United States at the international pageant Miss Universe. In 2022, the Thai conglomerate JKN Global Group bought MUO for $20 million and filed for bankruptcy days before the 2023 Miss Universe. Miss America Yolande Betbeze inadvertently caused the founding of Miss USA when she refused to wear swimsuits during her reigning year, prompting the pageant's swimsuit sponsor to create a competing event. - AP Miss Universe has had a number of owners during its tenure, and headline-making controversies are not unfamiliar to the brand. It was famously owned by former President Donald Trump for nearly 20 years, who sold it in 2015 after his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants led to NBC, the pageants broadcast partner at the time, refusing to air the Miss USA pageant that year. Today, Miss USA is managed by Rose, but before she was appointed as president, it was led by Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart, who left the organization after she was embroiled in scandal that included claims of favoritism toward the 2022 winner RBonney Gabriel. (Gabriel later went on to win Miss Universe). Stewart denied allegations that the pageant was rigged. Onstage, there are differences as well. Miss America has a talent portion, while Miss USA does not. And, ironically, Miss America got rid of its swimsuit portion altogether in 2018, two years after Yolande Betbeze died at 87 years old. How to watch Miss USA and Miss Teen USA The finals of the 42nd edition of Miss Teen USA will take place August 1, followed by the 73rd edition of Miss USA on August 4 at the Peacock Theater. Both finals will air on The CW at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local time). Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the oldest competitor of Miss USA 2024. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The day before Sonya Massey was fatally shot by a deputy in her kitchen, her mother detailed in a 911 call that her daughter was having "a mental breakdown," asked police not to send any "combative" officers, and said "I don't want you guys to hurt her." The emergency call was one of three recordings and several dispatch reports released to the public Wednesday morning by Sangamon County. They detail several interactions between Massey, 36, and local law enforcement on the day before she was shot and killed by former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy, Sean P. Grayson. In one of the calls, a woman police believe was Massey said people were trying to hurt her. In another, Massey called 911 and said her neighbor hit her with a brick, after which Massey checked into a hospital "to seek treatment of her mental state," the dispatch record says. Grayson has been charged with Massey's murder. He pleaded not guilty in Sangamon County Court on July 18 and remains in custody. It's unclear whether Grayson and the other deputy, who did not fire his weapon, knew about the 911 calls or Massey's mental health history when they responded to Massey's home over a possible intruder. Donna Massey mourns the loss of her daughter, Sonya Massey, who was fatally shot in her home on July 6. Donna Massey was attending a protest in front of the Sangamon County Building on July 12, 2024. A former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy has charged with murder. Massey's family members and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, have acknowledged on several occasions that Massey struggled with her mental health. "She was dealing with some issues," Crump said in an appearance in Springfield on July 22. "She needed a helping hand. She didn't need a bullet to the face." In the 911 call placed shortly after 9 a.m. on July 5, Donna Massey described her daughter's behavior and what she was experiencing. "The mental health people told me to call 911 because she could get in her car and kill herself or somebody. She's run a couple of red lights," she told dispatch. Donna Massey said Sonya Massey wasn't a danger to herself and "she's not a danger to me." "I don't want you guys to hurt her, please," she added. Just before the end of the call, Donna Massey told dispatch about not sending any "combative policemen who are prejudiced. I'm scared of the police. Sometimes they make (the situation) worse." Talking to Springfield police at her mother's house about an hour later, Sonya Massey said she didn't want to seek treatment. She spoke to emergency medical technicians at the scene and "both cleared her," the report read. But Massey did go to a hospital later that afternoon "to seek treatment of her mental state" after an alleged confrontation with her neighbor. There, Massey told Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy Shane Matli about a neighbor who broke the driver's side window of her Chevy Equinox with a brick. Massey then told the deputy she broke the window on the back driver's side "in an attempt to get into the car to get away. She was unable to get in through the back, so she ripped out the driver side window in order to gain entry into the vehicle" resulting in some minor scrapes. The narrative mentioned that Massey recently had been released from a mental health facility in Granite City. Massey shared paperwork with Matli from the Mobile Crisis team, a co-responder program between Springfield Police and Memorial Behavioral Health, dated from July 3. Massey was out with Mobile Crisis and Springfield Police "who attempted to run her off the road," she told Matli. Protesters make their way from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church to Comer Cox Park on July 22, 2024, during a peace march for Sonya Massey. The 36-year-old Black woman was fatally shot in her home by a Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy on July 6. A seven-minute 911 call placed at 12:49 p.m. on July 5 features an expletive-filled conversation that seemed to be between Massey and the neighbor. It also was believed that Massey called 911 at 10:27 p.m. on July 4 about "(somebody) trying to hurt me." When the dispatcher asked who was trying to hurt her, she replied "a lot of them." In a message from 2:02 the morning of the shooting, someone writes that "(we) were under the impression it was self-inflicted until just a minute," according to a dispatch report. The fact that the Illinois State Police were called in shortly after the shooting "raised questions with us, too," a response said. Several family members last week insisted they weren't able to get a straight version of what happened to Massey at the scene. Jimmie Crawford, the father of Massey's youngest daughter, Jeanette "Summer" Massey, said a family friend heard police telling HSHS St. John's Hospital nurses that Massey killed herself. "Not once was I told the officer did it," Crawford said. Crawford was at Massey's house later on the morning of the shooting. Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY Contact Steven Spearie: sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sonya Massey's mother asked police not to 'hurt' daughter in 911 call NORTH TEXAS The founder of a North Texas adoption agency has been arrested on allegations of paying pregnant female inmates in the Tarrant County Jail to put their unborn babies up for adoption. Jody Hall, head of Adoptions International Inc., posted a $50,000 bond after being booked into a Central Texas jail last week. She is an attorney and founder of an adoption agency promoted as a licensed nonprofit. Back in May, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said it began looking into what it calls unethical adoption practices involving Hall. Jody Hall / Credit: Tarrant County Sheriff's Office "During this investigation, information was discovered that Jody Hall was paying money to multiple, pregnant Tarrant County inmates for the purpose of placing their unborn children up for adoption with Hall's agency," the sheriff's office said in a statement. Two months later, sheriff's detectives served arrest warrants on Hall at her home in Kyle, Texas. In 2019, the U.S. State Department canceled Adoptions International's accreditation, which prevents the agency from engaging in adoptions outside the U.S. for failing to maintain standards. The crime of selling or purchasing a child is a felony in Texas. It's unclear at this point whether any inmates in the Tarrant County jail actually received any money or put their babies up for adoption. CBS News Texas has not been able to reach Hall for a comment. New video shows moments before Trump rally shooting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle open up about online bullying Trump makes false claims about Harris' racial identity in contentious NABJ interview A 65-year-old Texas woman was sentenced to life behind bars on Tuesday for her role in a Ponzi scheme targeting senior citizens. Debra Mae Carter worked with William Neil Gallagher, a Christian radio host who called himself the "Money Doctor," to scam more than 170 people out of around $31 million, Tarrant County prosecutors said in a news release. Gallagher brought in the money which Assistant DA Lori Varnell described as retirement savings while Carter made sure the victims couldn't recover their money. "These were hard-earned retirement (dollars) which got put into her account over and over again," Varnell said. Carter laundered the money through rental homes, land and fake charities. Investigators found around $200,000 in gold and silver when they searched her travel trailer. Carter represented herself during the trial. Victims spoke out during sentencing about the impact the Ponzi scheme had on them. Brenda Wilkerson, 84, lost savings in the scheme. She said that without the money, she'll be stuck making mortgage payments on her home until she dies. "Debbie Carter deserves life in prison," Wilkerson said. "She has ruined so many lives." Carter and Gallagher planned to retire to a ranch together, prosecutors said. Gallagher was sentenced on Nov. 1, 2021, to three life sentences in prison, plus another 30 years, on charges including forgery, theft of property and exploitation of the elderly. The sentences are to be served concurrently. Before his conviction, he ran the Gallagher Financial Group. The group advertised on Christian radio with the tagline, "See you in church on Sunday," CBS Texas reported. Gallagher promoted his investment business in books such as "Jesus Christ, Money Master." Varnell described Carter as "a blight on society," adding, "She's just a liar. That's what she does." Man confesses to the murder of his best friend: "He was in a panic - I was in a panic." Estranged husband kidnaps his wife at gunpoint How Stimulating Our Microcirculation Can Have Macro Health Effects Thinking about a last minute vacation? Well don't count boat travel out if you're hoping to bring your pet. A woman on the Queen Mary 2 recently shared the fancy digs her two dogs shared while on the ship and TBH it's actually pretty nice. Traveling with dogs can be tricky, but the woman's sneak peek into her dogs' accommodations on the ship is pretty darn interesting. Dog mom Katie was of course going to bring her Pug/Beagle/Bulldog mix Piper and Brussels Griffon Penny with her as she traveled from the United States to Germany. But like the good dog mom that she is, she made sure her two pups would be as comfortable as possible. Related: Cruise Ship Captain Gets Unwelcome Surprise After Making Her Cat a Birthday Cake There are lots of neat features at the dogs' kennel area. Like a special "potty deck" where the dogs can go to the bathroom and a special room where ship guests can spend time with their animals. Only guests who have pets are allowed to visit the animal area, which means that her two fur-babies were always safe and secure. Commenters were here for pets traveling in style. "This is so helpful to see this thank you!" praised one person. "Wait, I actually love this. It takes the stress out of traveling with your dog and keeps the anxious ones from disturbing other guests," another commenter pointed out. "Omg thank you so much for sharing this. New pup owner, and I do plan to travel with her as she gets older so Im just starting my research so I greatly appreciate all of this," another person gushed. Best Ways to Travel With Your Dog Obviously how you decide to travel with your pet depends heavily on where you're going. No amount of hours spent in the car will get you from the United States to Europe (unfortunately). But if you do have a choice, what's the right one to make? The truth is that there are lots of different factors that go into this decision finances for one. And many people find air travel to be especially risky, given that you sometimes can't be with your pet while you travel. Planes are also a risk for dogs with "smushed in" faces, like Pugs or Bulldogs, because they could suffer from oxygen deprivation or heat stroke. No matter which option you choose, make sure to read through any pet travel guidelines carefully. Try and choose the shortest routes possible (including direct flights) and get your dog microchipped with current information before boarding. Put identifying information on your dog's carrier as well, in case the worst happens. Don't be afraid to ask questions. When it comes to traveling with your animal, it's always better to have the answers than to be left wondering what if. Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. Local Pennsylvania authorities released a one-page report Thursday outlining how the man who attempted to kill former President Donald Trump died. Butler County Coroner William Young determined Thomas Crooks, 20, died from a single gunshot wound to the head at 6:25 p.m. on July 13. He ruled the official cause of death a homicide. A counter-sniper team shot Crooks while on the white roof of the warehouse owned by AGR International near the rally site. Butler County declined a request from the USA TODAY Network for a full copy of the autopsy results, citing the states record law that specifically exempts it. It is unknown whether officials tested Crooks for chemicals or medications as is standard in autopsy examinations. Congressional oversight committees have been critical of federal officials for slowly releasing information about the shooting. In recent weeks, Sen. Chuck Grassley released a raft of local video and investigative materials publicly. The autopsy does add one more specific to the timeline of the shooting released this week by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which showed that local law enforcement had identified Crooks as suspicious shortly after 5 p.m., more than an hour before the shooting. At around 5:30 p.m., SWAT operators saw him using a range finder and browsing news websites on his phone, then at 5:56 p.m. with a backpack. Crooks was observed climbing HVAC piping outside the warehouse, and traversed across multiple rooftops to his ultimate shooting position, leading a local police officer to be boosted onto the roof at 6:11 p.m., where he spotted Crooks and immediately dropped to the ground. FBI officials say 25 to 30 seconds later, Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump. He was then shot and killed by the Secret Service counter-sniper. Contributing: Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump shooter autopsy reveals cause of death By Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom (Reuters) - United Nations Security Council countries on Wednesday called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to avert a wider Middle East conflict after the killings of two militant leaders raised tensions. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early on Wednesday, sparking threats of revenge against Israel and fueling concern the Gaza conflict was turning into a wider Middle East war. The assassination occurred less than 24 hours after Hezbollah's most senior military commander was killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. "We fear the region is at the brink of all-out war," Japan's deputy U.N. representative, Shino Mitsuko, said on Wednesday, urging international efforts to prevent such a conflict. China, Russia, Algeria and others condemned Haniyeh's assassination, which Iran's U.N. ambassador called an act of terrorism, while the U.S., U.K. and France raised what they said was Iranian support for destabilizing actors in the region. Fu Cong, China's ambassador to the U.N., said failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza was responsible for worsening tensions. "Countries with major influence must put more pressure and work more vigorously ... to put out the flames of war in Gaza," he said. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward urged calm and restraint, reiterating a call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. She said Israel and Hamas needed to recommit to a peace process that would result in a two-state solution with a secure Israel and a sovereign Palestinian State. "The path to peace must be through diplomatic negotiations. Long-term peace will not be secured by bombs and bullets." Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called for members of the Security Council with influence over Iran "to increase pressure on it to stop escalating its proxy conflict against Israel and other actors." Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tehran has consistently exercised maximum restraint but reserved its right to respond decisively. He called on the Security Council to condemn Israel and punish it with sanctions. Israel's deputy representative to the U.N., Jonathan Miller, called on the Security Council to condemn Iran for support of regional terrorism and increase sanctions on Tehran. "We will defend ourselves and respond with great force against those who harm us," Miller said, calling on the world to support Israel. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A near-total abortion ban will remain on hold in Utah after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality. Democrats cheered the decision, which means that abortion will, at least for now, remain legal up to 18 weeks under another state law that has served as a fallback as abortion rights have been thrown into limbo. The panel wrote in its opinion that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had legal standing to challenge the state's abortion trigger law, and that a lower court acted within its purview when it initially blocked the ban. Their ruling only affects whether the restrictions remain on pause amid further legal proceedings and does not decide the final outcome of abortion policy in the state. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to determine whether the law is constitutional. The trigger law that remains on hold would prohibit abortions except in cases when the mothers life is at risk or there is a fatal fetal abnormality. A separate state law passed last year also allows abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest. Utah lawmakers passed the trigger law one of the most restrictive in the nation in 2020 to automatically ban most abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. When Roe fell in June 2022, abortion rights advocates in Utah immediately challenged the law, and a district court judge put it on hold a few days later. Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, celebrated the ruling Thursday and said she hopes the lower court will ultimately strike down the trigger law so they can continue serving patients without political interference. Todays decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah, Boyd said. While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he was disappointed by the court further delaying the laws implementation, but hopes it will only be a temporary setback. Sen. Dan McKay, the sponsor of the trigger law, told reporters Thursday after the ruling that the Legislature will likely seek to bring down the existing 18-week limit to a six-week limit as a short term solution while the trigger law is tied up in litigation. A special legislative session on abortion is a possibility this year, he said. In a joint statement, Utahs Republican legislative leaders, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, accused the state Supreme Court of undermining the Legislatures constitutional authority to enact laws for the people of Utah. Several other Republicans who had worked to pass the law, including Rep. Karianne Lisonbee of Davis County, criticized the court for keeping it on hold. Its deeply unfortunate that Utahs strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision, resulting in the deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state," Lisonbee said. Meanwhile, House Democrats praised the decision and urged their district court colleagues who will be reviewing the law to consider how it could jeopardize the health and well-being of Utah residents. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision, most Republican-led states have implemented abortion bans or heavy restrictions. Currently, 14 states are enforcing bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks of pregnancy before many women realize theyre pregnant. Besides Utahs, the only other ban currently on hold due to a court order is in neighboring Wyoming. When the U.S. Supreme Court determined there was no right to abortion in the federal Constitution, a key legal question became whether state constitutions have provisions that protect abortion access. State constitutions differ, and state courts have come to different conclusions. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an abortion ban adopted in 1864 could be enforced but lawmakers quickly repealed it. Abortion figures to be a major issue in Novembers elections, with abortion-related ballot measures going before voters in at least six states. In the seven statewide measures held since Roe was overturned, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates each time. As part of the largest post-Cold War prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia executed on Thursday, American officials agreed to release Russian nationals held within its prisons for crimes ranging from hacking to money laundering. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are being welcomed back to the U.S. in a swap that involved the release of 16 people previously detained in Russia in exchange for eight held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was arrested in Russia in 2023, was also released from Russia along with Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian British dissident. "Their brutal ordeal is over. And theyre free," President Joe Biden said on Thursday in an address from the White House. Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan, who were detained in Russia, pose with a U.S. flag as they celebrate their freedom in this undated handout photograph obtained on August 1, 2024. Here's what we know about some of the freed Russian prisoners: Vadim Konoshchenok Vadim Konoshchenok was accused of illegally providing U.S. electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. He was extradited from Estonia and charged last year with conspiracy in a money laundering scheme on behalf of the Kremlin. This defendant, who is suspected of having ties to the (Russias Federal Security Service), smuggled hundreds of thousands of illicit munitions in support of Moscows war machine, using front companies to conceal his criminal enterprise, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in a Department of Justice news release last year. Konoshchenok allegedly identified himself as an Federal Security Service "colonel" in communications, with a photo of himself in a security service uniform. He used a front company in Estonia to help smuggle more than half a ton of military-grade ammunition into Russia, an indictment said. He was facing up to 30 years in prison. Vladislav Klyushin Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin was sentenced last year to nine years in prison for a "hack-to-trade scheme" that raked in about $93 million for the trading of corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks, the DOJ said. He was also ordered to pay over $34 million in fees and additional restitution. He was extradited from Switzerland in 2021. Mr. Klyushin hacked into American computer networks to obtain confidential corporate information that he used to make money illegally in the American stock market, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in September after sentencing. He thought he could get away with his crimes by perpetrating them from a foreign base, hidden behind layers of fake domain names, virtual private networks and computer servers rented under pseudonyms and paid for with cryptocurrency. He found out otherwise and will now spend nearly a decade of his life in a U.S. prison." Klyushin and four co-conspirators worked at his Moscow-based IT company M-13. From January 2018 to September 2020, he used hacked and stolen information earnings reports and other information that hadn't been made public to trade in the stock market. Roman Seleznev Roman Seleznev, son of a Russian lawmaker, was handed a 27-year sentence in 2017 for a massive hacking scheme that targeted point-of-sales systems to steal credit card information, which resulted in $169 million in losses. The sentence from a Washington state federal court was the longest ever imposed for hacking crimes in the U.S. Seleznev was also serving two concurrent sentences of 14 years each for racketeering in Georgia and conspiracy to commit bank fraud in Nevada. From 2009 to 2013, Seleznev targeted businesses that included several small businesses in Washington. Broadway Grill in Seattle went bankrupt after Seleznev's cyberattack, the DOJ said. Seleznev would hack into the point-of-sale systems, steal the credit card numbers and then sell them in illegal networks. The credit card numbers were then used in fraudulent purchases. Released from Germany: Vadim Krasikov Considered the biggest concession from another nation toward releasing those detained in Russia, Vadim Krasikov was convicted of a 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park. He was serving a life sentence in Germany. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously hinted he might want Krasikov traded for Gershkovich's release in an interview with Tucker Carlson in February. An undated picture obtained by Reuters shows Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov who was sentenced to life in 2021 for the assassination of a Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park. Germany's government confirmed Krasikov's release and said it was "not an easy decision," but it was motivated by protecting German nationals and solidarity with the U.S. Contributing: Joey Garrison, Kim Hjelmgaard and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY; Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prisoner swap: Who were the Russians released? TALLINN, Estonia (AP) One spent over 5 years behind bars in Russia while other, higher-profile detainees were released ahead of him. Another was jailed for only a few months. They include journalists, veteran political activists and those simply opposed to the war in Ukraine. The youngest is 19, the oldest 71. Among the Russians jailed in the West were alleged sleeper agents who lived double lives. Others were convicted of hacking computers. One was imprisoned for the brazen, daytime shooting death of a man in a Berlin park. On Thursday, they walked free part of the largest East-West civilian prisoner swap since the Cold War: Released by Russia and Belarus EVAN GERSHKOVICH, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in March 2023. Without providing evidence, authorities accused him of gathering secret information at the CIAs behest about a military equipment factory an allegation that Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently denied. Jailed since then, a court convicted Gershkovich, 32, of espionage in July after a closed trial and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. PAUL WHELAN, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was arrested in 2018 in Moscow, where he was attending a friends wedding. He was accused of espionage, convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan, 54, has rejected the charges as fabricated. ALSU KURMASHEVA, a dual U.S.-Russian national, was arrested in 2023 in her hometown of Kazan, where she was visiting her ailing mother. The Prague-based editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Tatar-Bashkir service was accused of not self-reporting as a foreign agent and was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military charges rejected by her family and employer. Kurmasheva, 47, was sentenced to 6 years in prison. VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, a dual Russian-U.K. citizen and prominent opposition politician, was arrested in 2022 after criticizing the war in Ukraine that had begun weeks earlier. He was convicted in 2023 of treason and other charges, and sentenced to 25 years in prison in a case he called politically motivated. A columnist for The Washington Post, Kara-Murza, 42, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize this year. He fell ill in 2015 and 2017 from near-fatal poisonings he blamed on the Kremlin. His wife said his health deteriorated in prison as a result of the poisonings. ILYA YASHIN is a prominent Kremlin critic who was serving an 8 1/2-year sentence for criticizing Russias war in Ukraine. Yashin, a former member of a Moscow municipal council, was one of the few well-known opposition activists to stay in Russia since the war. ANDREI PIVOVAROV, 42, headed the opposition group Open Russia, outlawed in 2021. He was pulled off a flight and arrested that same year. In 2022, he was convicted of carrying out activities of an undesirable organization and sentenced to four years in prison. OLEG ORLOV, a veteran human rights campaigner, was convicted of discrediting the Russian military and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in February for his protests of the war in Ukraine. Orlov, 71, is co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial. SASHA SKOCHILENKO, 33, was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in November 2023 for replacing several price tags in a supermarket with anti-war slogans. KSENIA FADEYEVA, LILIA CHANYSHEVA and VADIM OSTANIN are former coordinators of regional offices of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny. They were arrested after Navalnys political network was outlawed in 2021 and later convicted of extremism. Fadeyeva, 32, and Ostanin, 47, each were sentenced to 9 years in prison, and Chanysheva, 42, got a 9 1/2-year term. KEVIN LIK, 19, a dual Russian-German national, was arrested in southern Russia in 2023 and accused of taking photos of a military unit and sending them to a representative of a foreign state. Court officials said he opposed to the war in Ukraine. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to four years in prison, with rights advocates saying Lik, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, was the youngest person convicted of that crime. RICO KRIEGER, a German medical worker, was convicted in Belarus of terrorism charges in June, and sentenced to death. He was pardoned Tuesday by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. DEMURI VORONIN, a dual Russian-German national, is a political scientist who ran a consultancy that reportedly collaborated with journalists. He was arrested in 2021, convicted of treason in 2023 and sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison. He was implicated in the treason trial of Ivan Safronov, who allegedly passed him information on Russian military activities, which Voronin allegedly then gave to German intelligence. PATRICK SCHOEBEL, a German national, was arrested in February 2024 at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg when gummies containing a psychoactive component of cannabis were allegedly found in his possession. He has been detained since then, facing drug-smuggling charges. GERMAN MOYZHES, a dual Russian-German national, is a migration lawyer who helped Russians apply for European Union residence permits. He was arrested in May in St. Petersburg and reportedly accused of treason, but little else is known about his case. Released by the West VADIM KRASIKOV was convicted in 2021 of shooting to death Zelimkhan Tornike Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity, in a Berlin park. The German judges concluded it was an assassination ordered by the Russian security services. Krasikov, 58, was sentenced to life imprisonment. President Vladimir Putin this year hinted at a possible swap for Krasikov. PAVEL RUBTSOV, also known as Pablo Gonzalez, a journalist working for Spanish media, was arrested on espionage charges in eastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border, in the first days after Russias full-scale-invasion in 2022. Polands Internal Security Agency identified him as a Russian intelligence agent, although some rights groups criticized Warsaw for holding him for more than two years without charge, and Reporters Without Borders called for his release. ROMAN SELEZNEV, the son of a Russian lawmaker, was convicted in the U.S. in 2017 of hacking into more than 500 businesses and stealing millions of credit card numbers, which he then sold on websites. Seleznev, a Russian citizen, was sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $170 million in restitution to his victims. VLADISLAV KLYUSHIN, a wealthy businessman with ties to the Kremlin, was convicted in Boston in 2023 of charges including wire fraud and securities fraud in a nearly $100 million scheme that relied on secret earnings information stolen via hacking U.S. computer networks. Klyushin, 43, who was said to have personally pocketed $33 million in the scheme, was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was arrested in Switzerland and extradited to the U.S. in 2021. VADIM KONOSHCHENOK, a suspected officer in Russias Federal Security Service, was extradited to the United States from Estonia last year to face charges he smuggled ammunition and dual-use technology to help Moscows war in Ukraine. U.S. prosecutors say he was detained in 2022 while trying to return to Russia from Estonia with about three dozen types of semiconductors and electronic components. ARTEM DULTSEV and ANNA DULTSEVA, a Russian couple arrested on espionage charges in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2022, pleaded guilty Wednesday and were sentenced to 19 months in prison, and released on time served. Posing as Argentine citizens, they reportedly had used Slovenia as a base since 2017 to travel to neighboring countries and relay Moscows orders to other Russian sleeper agents. They have two children. MIKHAIL MIKUSHIN was arrested in Norway in 2022 on espionage charges. Norways domestic security agency PST said Mikushin entered the country saying he was a Brazilian citizen. He was in Norway under a false identity while working for a Russias intelligence service, Norwegian investigators said. - Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland, Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed. A woman captured the moment that her baby walked down the aisle at her wedding and by baby we mean her Silver Labrador Retriever. Lexi just knew that she wanted her dog Scout to be part of her big day. So naturally she gave her a key part of the ceremony, which now has people online in tears. There was no way Scout wasn't going to be part of the proceedings. Her mama loves her as if she were her own biological child. In fact in the footage she shared, Lexi joked that the Silver Labrador Retriever was "raised by a woman who thinks she actually birthed me." Doesn't that sum up so many of our relationships with our pets? Related: Wedding Couple's 'First Look' with Their Dog Couldn't Be More Precious The video shows the Lab walking down the aisle with a well-timed sign in her mouth. It reads, "Daddy here comes mommy!" The video then cuts out, but something tells us Lexi followed in her wedding dress. People in the comments section were so emotional by the video. "You can tell by the walk thats a happy dog," wrote one person. "The happy prance. That dog did the job well, deserves extra love and treats," someone else wrote. "I could never do this because my dog would want to say hi to everyone," joked another commenter. "Babeey, she made you from scratch!" teased another commenter, addressing the pup. Video of Teen Abusing His Dog Leads to Arrests There's another reason why the dog mom shared the footage. A 2023 video showing a Louisiana teenager allegedly beating his dog has bubbled up again online. Hot 1079.1 reports the original video showed the teenager getting frustrated while training his Labrador Retriever to be a bird dog. When the dog didn't respond, the teen allegedly beat the dog in a pond while his friends recorded beside him and laughed. A recent press release from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office seems to indicate an arrest has been made and states the dog in the clip has since been surrendered. "On Saturday, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office was made aware of a video that was circulating on social media showing a male abusing a dog on what appeared to be a hunting trip," the press release from July 30, 2024 states. "It was determined this incident occurred in the Manchac area a year-and-a-half ago (early 2023) and that there were three people involved in the video who are all 15-year-old boys today." "One was arrested on one count of Animal Cruelty; the other two were each arrested on one count of Principal to Animal Cruelty," they added. The main suspect's family has since agreed to give the dog up to a new home. It will receive a full medical evaluation before it is rehomed. It's not clear if the teens have obtained a lawyer at the time of this reporting. Clearly the story has still touched many pet owners online, who could never imagine hurting their fur-children, including Lexi. "Loving my baby extra hard after seeing that video," Lexi wrote in the caption of her video. "My heart breaks for that poor dog." Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. 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. A top line priority for Cisco in 2024 is to ensure customers have an agile and secure environment to capture the benefits of the technology transitions the industry is currently facing. This includes enabling customers to use software-defined environments to provide agile networks and ensuring these are designed to provide security from the ground up. Partners play a role in helping customers achieve their business outcomes all while helping them choose and deploy technology and what can sometimes be a very crowded and confusing market, Cisco A/NZ managing director of partner and routes to market, Rodney Hamill said. As a partner-led business, Cisco relies on partners to ensure our customers get the best of their technology investments. Strategic key focus areas for Cisco remain within the AI and cyber security landscape. Hamill said AI will increasingly play a role in the way partners and customers interact with technology. He pointed to one example in the launch of Ciscos AI assistants across much of the Cisco portfolio. The aim here is to access an unmatched breadth and scale of data to guide and inform decision-making more intelligently. AI innovation like this will transform the way technology is used and managed, he said. Partners need to start thinking about the role AI will play in their business model and how they will assist their customers in achieving the best out of AI technologies. This technology has the ability and promise to revolutionise the way we operate network infrastructure and secure and manage the ever-increasing cyber threat landscape. In the realm of security, Cisco is seeking to revolutionise the landscape with AI-native security for data centres and the cloud through Cisco Hypershield. Hypershield is an AI native security platform that will redefine how businesses safeguard their infrastructure, data and digital assets in the era of sophisticated cyber threats. As a diamond sponsor for Dicker Datas TechX roadshow this year, Hamill said the two companies have maintained a long standing partnership, helping to deliver technologies, market-wide. Cisco and Dicker Data maintained a long-standing partnership that helps our partners deliver the best-of-breed technologies in the Australian market, Hamill said. Dicker Data has made significant investments to align Cisco in driving portfolios such as security and focusing on how our partners can grow in the Australian market. Ciscos acquisition of Spunk, which was completed in March this year, set the foundation for delivering visibility and insights across an organisations digital footprint. Hamill pointed out this was also a key area in which partners should start to consider and understand the opportunities ahead as the power of Cisco and Spunk comes together. Cisco offers the most comprehensive partner-led GTM program on the planet, Hamill said. Coupling this with the breadth of our portfolio, our value to partners is unrivalled. By choosing Cisco as a key vendor, partners can address many of their customers needs and truly help their customers transform their business. From ensuring they can operate an agile and secure network environment to ensuring application performance in hybrid and cloud environments and to having the best collaboration technology to engage with their staff and customers. HPE recently announced new solutions, programs and resources, providing greater partner value by helping them to adopt the latest technology trends. During Dicker Datas TechX, HPE South Pacific Vice President and Managing Director, Chris Weber said it will be sharing its latest updates in the AI space, including enhanced HPE GreenLake capabilities and new HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi 7 innovations along with the expanded hybrid cloud offerings within its virtualisation capability for HPE Private Cloud. Our comprehensive channel enablement tools allow partners to advance their expertise and create new exciting growth opportunities, Weber said. We are laser focused on customer needs and offering the right solutions that partners can capitalise on. We know that from a customer perspective, their focus is on removing risk from their organisation, creating new revenue streams, driving automation and improving security measures as the landscape develops. Weber outlined a series of solutions to support these outcomes including a new partner AI enablement program in collaboration with NVIDIA, which offers new capabilities and resources spanning AI, compute, storage, networking hybrid cloud, and sustainability. In offering enhanced security, Weber said the SASE framework continued to be critical to business success and the latest Wi-Fi 7 solutions, as well as opportunities with private 5G. We are always looking to grow and nurture our partner ecosystem so we thoroughly enjoy meeting new faces at TechX while continuing to educate and catch up with our current partners, he said. Were looking forward to sharing HPEs key announcements and strategy, to help our partners find new opportunities in the market. Weber said it will also inform partners of its new revenue-growing updates as part of the HPE Partner Ready Vantage program. Weber said HPE can help channel partners win in the market by addressing the three mega trends of edge, hybrid cloud and AI, backed by compute technology. We are helping partners increase their relevance with their customers by combining HPEs innovation with partner value-added services to capture the latest trends and opportunities, he said. We are laser focused on helping partners grow their profitability by becoming order-makers and unlocking margin-rich opportunities through HPE Partner Ready Vantage. We are expanding capabilities for participating partners to add their own value and IP to our solutions, while further aligning our competency roadmap to key workloads, industry trends, and customer needs. The majority of businesses are turning to hybrid cloud to modernise their legacy IT environments and drive efficiency, agility and innovation, Weber said. We are constantly investing in our hybrid cloud offerings to make HPE GreenLake the future-proof hybrid cloud destination for businesses, he said. HPE Aruba Networking is partner-first, and our priority is to ensure partners are empowered to take the growing portfolio to customers and build solutions, he added. We are proud to be the first vendor to offer a full suite of enterprise-grade capabilities and services across the hybrid cloud technology stack, through HPE and HPE Aruba Networking solutions, Weber said. This means partners can provide customers with a single-vendor full-suite of capabilities that minimises technology and operational risk, while streamlining management. Weber anticipates AI adoption will grow and mature considerably therefore partners need to be on the front foot when it comes to offering the right expertise and tools for their end-customers to seamlessly expand on their AI capabilities. To support this, HPE is offering AI acceleration workshops including a readiness assessment, tools for building tailored AI growth strategies and a roadmap for AI service practices, he said. We encourage our partners to engage with us wherever they are at on their AI journey, and our workshops will go a long way to setting up those newly embarking on their AI learning. At HPE we are constantly delivering on new innovations to stay ahead of market demands and assist our partners and customers with technology that streamlines their operations and creates competitive opportunities. The collaboration with Danfoss to deliver HPE IT Sustainability Services Data Centre Heat Recovery is an example of this. Its partnerships like this which show HPE is constantly looking to build the blueprints for the next generation of sustainable technologies, he said. Our HPE Aruba Networking portfolio is also continuing to deliver on the innovation that helps partners meet the needs of their customers. Register for Dicker Data TechX today! by Gianni Criveller The editor-in-chief of AsiaNews recounts his trip back to the Chinese capital, which he had to forcibly leave in 2011 when his visa was cancelled in one of the moments of friction between China and the Holy See. The tale of "a great modern metropolis which, like it or not, shares the uncertainty of a generation struggling to survive with many other cities in the world. A social and existential emergency that transcends the boundaries of political systems and ideologies". Milan (AsiaNews) - Last June I went back to Beijing for a few days. It was an exciting trip: it was the first time I had been back there since I was stopped at Beijing airport in July 2011 and prevented from returning to my workplace. Over the past months, friends in Beijing have written to me: 'It is time for you to come back and visit us! I was already planning a trip to Macao and Hong Kong: I thought the time was right. There was a facilitation: a new experimental scheme allows Italian (and other European) citizens to enter China without a visa for 15 days. This is, I believe, an opening on the part of the authorities who fear economic setbacks to the significant decrease in the number of tourists, businessmen and visitors from abroad. There are five ancient churches in Beijing: I know their founders, their complex historical events, the protagonists of a long missionary season, the decades in which they were closed and put to other uses. Visiting them is like a pilgrimage for me. They speak to me of the faith and the testimony of a small people that yesterday as today, in ever difficult circumstances, maintains the faith with a moving resilience. The churches have evocative names: church of the north, south, east and west. The northern church is now the cathedral and has beautiful new stained glass windows. Seat of the Portuguese Jesuits, it was later the headquarters of the French mission. The southern church, which was also a cathedral in past decades, was started by Matteo Ricci on the site where he resided. The east church formerly housed works of art by the favourite court artist of three emperors, Giuseppe Castiglione, a Jesuit missionary. It is majestically located in Wangfujing, the pedestrian island that has become Beijing's most glamorous shopping and tourist street. The west church was built by Lazarist missionary and court musician Teodorico Pedrini. There is a fifth church, dedicated to St Michael, closest to Tiananmen Square, in the former foreign legation area. The churches are restored and open. Masses are in Chinese, of course, but there are many celebrations in various world languages, and foreign faithful flock to them. I have seen a large Korean community fill the Church of the West. They celebrate in English (and on Sunday mornings also in Latin) in all the churches. In the northern one, they also celebrate in Italian and Spanish. I do not have the feeling that the Chinese Catholic faithful have increased. Rather the opposite. As in other world metropolises, the churches are crowded more by foreigners than by residents. And I fear that the transmission of the faith to the younger generations is rather difficult, as it is everywhere in the world. What is more, the rules of religious policy require minors not to attend church, amplifying the effect. The old Beijing, that of the districts with their characteristic small, low houses and narrow streets, called hutongs, no longer exists. There are a few exceptions, dedicated to tourism. Today Beijing is a very modern city, with palaces, wide streets, and an extensive and well-functioning underground network. Traffic is very heavy: I visited Beijing for the first time in 1992; it was still crowded with bicycles then the main means of transport. If you took a taxi, you could cross the city in a few minutes. Now this is no longer the case. In the past decades, factories have been moved away from the cities in order to improve air quality. Only electricity or gas can be used for winter heating, and no longer the polluting coal. The results are there: I have seen the sky as blue as I can remember seeing it in the past. Many other things have changed in these 13 years: Beijing is highly digitised. To visit Tiananmen Square you have to register online; cash has almost completely disappeared, everything goes through mobile phone apps. Even ordering in restaurants and shopping, almost everywhere, is done digitally. These procedures simplify many things, especially for those who are familiar with using their mobile phones. The city is safe: hardly any theft or violence happens, I was told. The network of cameras that pervades the area certainly contributes to this. Many admit that individual privacy certainly cannot be invoked as a priority. In its history, China has alternated between phases of openness to the world and its novelties and phases of exaltation of its national resources and centralisation of thought. I believe we are now in the latter phase. If you do not stay overnight in a hotel, you have to register at the nearest police station. The foreign visitor is only asked one question: do you have faith? And as a secondary question: do you attend church? I find this a rather curious question, and that visitors even find it bizarre! Years ago it would not have been asked of a foreigner. The Covid crisis has had a major impact on people's lives, especially the younger generation. In Beijing and China, as in many other cities and nations around the world, young people are emotionally, psychologically and structurally fragile. Two teacher friends told me that, unfortunately, discontentment, inner anger, hostility towards the world, depression and suicide are widespread among young people in their early years of university. They are the ones who have emerged from an adolescence spent in covid closures. Many of them know that they will not find a job after graduation, and face their university years with deep uncertainty. Until a few years ago this was not the case: it was difficult to get into university, but then you came out with an assured career. The authorities now recommend teachers not to be too strict towards students, but rather to evaluate their academic performance with great generosity. In short, Beijing, a great modern metropolis, like it or not, shares with many other cities in the world the fatigue of these difficult years and the uncertainty of a generation struggling to make a living. I was struck by the fact that some social and existential emergencies have no boundaries, and even transcend political systems and their ideologies. Chinese children are more like their peers around the world than their older compatriots. There is a well-known saying of Confucius that I often thought of in those days: "a friend from afar: is this not a great joy?" It describes the excitement of catching up with some people whom I had not even been able to say hello to in July 2011 and with whom it had been difficult to keep in touch since I feared I was under control after what had happened to me. I thought back to that night spent at the airport, isolated in a waiting room and after hours of being awake, with my visa cancelled, put on the first plane to Hong Kong. Although I was always treated with kindness, it was a rather traumatic experience: I was forced to do things I did not want to do and I realised very well that it was the anticipated end of a life project to which I had devoted so much energy and hope. A project that had Beijing as its destination. Nineteen years after my first arrival in Taiwan (1991) and after having resided for a long time in Hong Kong and Macau, I had finally settled in Beijing in 2010. It felt like exactly where I was supposed to be. I had even calculated that Matteo Ricci, the missionary to whom I have devoted many years of study and who is an ideal reference point, had taken the same number of years - 19 in fact - for his 'ascent' to the capital of the empire (Macao 1582 - Beijing 1601). I had just a few weeks before obtained a work visa valid for 13 months, and was the research director of a study centre at a university in the capital. I was rejected in retaliation: the Holy See had formalised the excommunication of some Chinese bishops who had agreed to be ordained illegitimately. The Chinese authorities did not take it well, and some people, including me, were prevented from returning to China. I was included in the list, I have reason to believe, because of some articles I had written years before on religious politics. There followed for me a period of bitterness and a sense of failure, which I overcame thanks in part to six wonderful sabbatical months in Jerusalem. After five years the ban was lifted and in the spring of 2016 I was invited to speak at a conference dedicated to Ricci in the city of Nanchang, the fourth leg of his ascent to Beijing. PIME superiors then called me to Italy (first to Monza and then to Milan), and I was never allowed to return to Beijing, Ricci's last stop, where his tomb still lies. And to Beijing, God willing, like Ricci, I would like to return and stay. "RED LANTERNS" IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHINA . WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY THURSDAY ON YOUR EMAIL? SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER AT THIS LINK by Vladimir Rozanskij The meeting of the economic ministers of the body that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa was held in Moscow and recently expanded to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Common criticism of "green protectionism" while talks continue on "an inclusive system of faster and cheaper interstate payments". Moscow (AsiaNews) - The economy and trade ministers of the Brics countries have met in Moscow, agreeing on a common position within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The ministers assessed the customs conditions of their mutual relations, with the intention of cancelling taxes on technology deliveries to each other's markets, as a Kommersant report explains, illustrating the dimensions of the trade union of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which has been underway for 15 years and which other countries such as Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates have joined. Russian Economy Minister Maksim Resetnikov, who led the Russian delegation, stated that 'many countries are concerned about the raising of trade barriers with the justification of the defence of national security interests'. The final communique states that 'the Brics countries oppose the anti-competitive trade measures, which damage the process of industrialisation and economic modernisation of various countries', and also speak out 'against the increasingly complex restrictions' that are being decided against various companies and businesses, which makes any procedure of technology export and related payments very difficult. The agreements reached in the Moscow talks presuppose that the representatives of the Brics countries will start a procedure to compare positions on these issues, with the revision of the arbitration mechanisms against the WTO, whose appeal tribunal does not function properly due to a shortage of judges, whose appointment was blocked by the US. In fact, the appeals have not been resolved since 2019. The greatest harmony between the countries of the 'alternative' union occurs on climate issues, in the common criticism of 'green protectionism', and they declare themselves ready to represent this position not only before the World Trade Organisation, but in all other international bodies. As the head of the Trade Negotiations Department, Ekaterina Majorova, explains, 'disputes in the WTO are becoming more and more complicated, and the agreement of Brics positions can strengthen the ability to achieve results'. In particular, the most disputed issue at the moment is the conversion of plastics, which is being addressed at the UN level. The final document highlights the fact that the Brics countries are among the main holders of natural resources, including those 'critical' and most needed today, which can be fed into trade chains to achieve a leading position in green energy globally. The Brics view with considerable scepticism the EU's efforts to gain access to these resources, in its various trade negotiations in all directions. They also note the need to join forces to more actively develop logistical solutions for trade routes, with 'economic and legal stimuli for the realisation of joint industrial projects and investments', with technology exchange 'for the structural transformation and industrialisation of all Brics-related countries', integrating regional connections with various transport options. Particularly delicate are the issues of financing, for which 'a faster and cheaper inclusive system of interstate payments' is needed, and on this the contents of the Moscow negotiations have been kept in the strictest secrecy. The President of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, did, however, observe at the press conference that 'the process of achieving these results will not be short', and new 'digital' share issues will be necessary, a procedure for which both Russia and China are still at the stage of 'pilot projects' that cannot be immediately translated into economic carriers. However, he has set a number of preconditions to the talks that will be difficult to meet. The Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) leader has been in jail for about a year. Meanwhile, the population has been protesting for days about rising energy prices and army violence in Belucistan. Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) is ready to hold talks with the military establishment. He told local journalists this from Adala Prison, where he has been held for about a year to serve a sentence he says was imposed on him on charges designed to keep him out of power. However, the former premier has set a number of preconditions for the talks, including the release of the other PTI leaders, the return of the government mandate to his party (Khan had been ousted in a vote of no confidence by Parliament in April 2022) and the holding of transparent elections. In the February elections, the PTI candidates had been forced to stand as independents and, despite winning a majority of the votes, they were sidelined by what are called the establishment-controlled parties, i.e. the Pakistani army, which has also ruled the country for a long time in the past. Imran Khan said he had appointed Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a close political ally and a known critic of the army, as his representative in any talks. "If the military leadership appoints its representative, we will start conditional negotiations," he continued on social statements. "We prefer negotiations with the military leadership, who are the real decision-makers," he continued, refusing to sit at the table of talks with the current government (described as a "puppet" by PTI) led by Shehbaz Sharif. The army responded by releasing a video clip of a press conference dating back to May in which the spokesman, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, declared that it was not possible to support 'any political ideology, any political leader or any political group involved in attacks on its army'. Imran Khan and his supporters are in fact accused of storming some army bases and the headquarters of institutions during the protests that broke out after Khan's first arrest last year. Government spokespersons did not take the news about the former premier's intentions well. They accused him of seeking the army's pardon only because he fears that he will be given harsh sentences for the various cases in which he is accused. In the meantime, Pakistan continues to be rocked by protests: at least 3,000 people supported by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party blocked one of Islamabad's main roads at the beginning of the week against the increase of electricity taxes. Before the end of June, the government had increased the cost of the bills by 26%, which then increased by another 20% on 13 July. Officials repeated that this was a necessary measure to obtain a USD 7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, Belucistan is also shaken by demonstrations: thousands of people protested against the army's violence towards the local population. For decades, various groups have been demanding independence for the south-western province of Pakistan, but the government has always tried to quell aspirations for autonomy, often resorting to internet blockades and forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The Beluci people have also long denounced the exploitation of the region's natural resources, to the detriment of the local population. The port of Gwadar, part of the Economic Corridor between China and Pakistan, has often been the epicentre of these protests and Chinese workers also targeted with armed attacks. At least one person has died in the violence in recent days. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a human rights group, issued a statement addressed to the government in Islamabad: 'In the last two days you have created an apocalypse in Belucistan, injured many people, martyred a young man and forcibly displaced hundreds of people. Some government representatives are trying to achieve a peaceful resolution with the leaders of the protests. Chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev has met with the residents of Gabala's Duruj village in the framework of the project "Tourist Village", Azernews reports. During the meeting, residents were informed about the plans and tasks to be done on the efficient use of the village's tourism potential, and their opinions were heard. Chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev brought to the attention that the work to be done in Duruja village within the framework of the "Tourist Village" project by the State Tourism Agency will be carried out in two stages. The first stage envisages the construction of the main tourist infrastructure in the village and the implementation of improvement works, including the installation of informative and other tourist boards, renovation of fences, restoration of two springs, formation of mountain-pedestrian trails, etc. Next stage covers implementation of measures for further development of infrastructure and expansion of tourism activities will be implemented in the village. At the meeting, it was noted that the village has a wide potential for nature and active tourism, that work is underway on the organization of hiking tours to the Duruja Waterfall and the preparation of a hiking route, as well as that it is planned to conduct training for residents who want to operate as a guest house, and guide training for tourist tours. The Tourist Village project is being implemented by the State Tourism Agency under the task of "Creation of tourism infrastructure in accordance with the concept of Tourist Village" in villages with tourism potential" mentioned in the Action Plan of the "2022-2026 Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan". The main goal of the project is to increase the tourist attractiveness of villages through improvement works in villages with tourism potential, to develop rural tourism by providing alternative recreation places for local and foreign tourists, to contribute to the creation of new types of economic activities in villages and the formation of new jobs. It is also planned to carry out works within the framework of this project in the villages of Ilisu and Saribash of Gakh district, Leza village in Gusar district, Duruja village in Gabala district, Gryz village in Guba district, Bibiyoni village in Lerik district and Ivanovka village in Ismayilli district. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 09:00 (UTC+04:00) Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Greece to the Republic of Azerbaijan Christos Kapodistrias met with the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. At the meeting, views were exchanged on preparations for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will be hosted by Azerbaijan this year. At the same time, environmental protection and future cooperation opportunities between the two countries were discussed at the meeting. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 11:25 (UTC+04:00) President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, Azernews reports. The letter reads: "Dear madam President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my sincere congratulations to you and all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Swiss Confederation. I believe that the relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland will continue to develop based on friendship and cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in line with the interests of our peoples. I am confident that we will cooperate closely with Switzerland in the fight against climate change within the framework of COP29, which will be hosted by our country in November. On such a remarkable day, I wish you robust health, success in your activities, and the Swiss Confederation everlasting welfare and prosperity. Sincerely, Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku, 29 July 2024" --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 12:44 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more During a working visit to USA, Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments Elchin Amirbayov met with Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Europe at NSC Michael Carpenter, Azernews reports, citing the post shared by Azerbaijan's Embassy to US on its official "X" account. "Constructive and useful discussions were held covering bilateral Azerbaijan and USA agenda, current state of affairs in the Azerbaijan and Armenia peace process and recent developments in the region" post reads. During a working visit to Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments Elchin Amirbayov met with Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Europe at NSC Michael Carpenter @mikercarpenter, Assistant Secretary of State for European and pic.twitter.com/YLJGLufwox Azerbaijan Embassy US (@azembassyus) August 1, 2024 --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 16:36 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more A meeting was held at the Ministry of Health with Yuri Husev, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Azerbaijan, Azernews reports. Health Minister Teymur Musayev emphasised that bilateral relations between the two countries are successfully continuing in many areas. The Minister noted that after the restoration of independence, friendly relations were established between Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and effective bilateral relations were developed. T. Musayev stated that the organisation of a rehabilitation course for Ukrainian children aged 7-17 deprived of parental care at the Sanatorium-Resort Rehabilitation Centre with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan is a clear confirmation of this. The minister also mentioned the significant potential for the development of bilateral relations in the healthcare sector. He highlighted that President Ilham Aliyev pays great attention to and prioritises the development of national healthcare, modernization of the sector, digitalization, development of human capital, and strengthening the healthcare economy. Additionally, the Minister informed that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change would be held in Azerbaijan in November this year. In conclusion, the Azerbaijani Minister of Health expressed confidence that cooperation would further develop in the future. Yuri Husev expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani state for its humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Ambassador emphasized the high level of inter-state relations and noted the existence of historical and traditional friendly relations between the two countries. He acknowledged the importance of COP29 and highlighted that Azerbaijan has always organised important international events at the highest level. The diplomat noted the great potential for expanding cooperation with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health and its subordinate institutions. Yuri Husev also thanked for organising the rehabilitation course for Ukrainian children in Baku. The meeting emphasised the importance of medical education, the training of professional personnel in this field, and the exchange of experience between medical universities. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 17:16 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, met with the First Deputy Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mirzatillo Tillabayev, and the Director of the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Murodjon Turqunov, Azernews reports. During the meeting, the Commissioner noted the close friendship and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, highlighting the effective cooperation in various fields, including the protection of human rights and freedoms. She expressed gratitude for the construction of a school in the liberated Fuzuli region by Uzbekistan. The Ombudsman provided detailed information to the guests about her activities in the field of human rights and freedoms, emphasizing the importance of cooperation with international organizations and mentioning the existing relationships with foreign ombudsmen and national human rights institutions. The Commissioner discussed the amendments to the Constitutional Law "On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan," stating that her mandate has been expanded in areas such as the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and children, and the prevention of discrimination. Aliyeva also talked about the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism, noting that visits are conducted to places where individuals cannot leave of their own free will, and the conditions of treatment and detention are investigated. She highlighted that Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change this year, and mentioned that preparations for the event are underway at a high level. The Ombudsman also announced the upcoming Baku Forum of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on a number of other issues of mutual interest and future cooperation prospects. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 21:38 (UTC+04:00) The first floating natural gas production platform to be included in the energy fleet, FPSO, has set off from Singapore. The platform, which will be active in the Sakarya Gas Field, will meet the needs of 5 million households. The giant ship, which is a floating industrial facility, is expected to arrive at Filyos Port within 2 months. The new addition to Turkey's energy fleet, the floating production, storage, and discharge platform (FPSO), departed from Singapore yesterday. After a journey of approximately 2 months, the platform will enter Turkey through the Dardanelles Strait and will undergo maintenance at a shipyard in Marmara before proceeding to Filyos Port. The floating industrial facility will produce enough natural gas to meet the needs of 5 million households daily. The platform is reported to be 298.45 meters long and 56 metres wide. With a maximum gas processing capacity of 10.5 million cubic metres, it is set to commence production in the Black Sea in 2026 and will continue to operate for 20 years. As part of the first phase of its operations in the Black Sea, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) aims to increase production to 10 million cubic meters per day. Currently, TPAO produces more than 5.5 million cubic metres of gas per day from the Sakarya Gas Field. During the first phase, production will be ramped up to 40 million cubic metres per day in Phase 2. TPAO is preparing for Phase 2, which will involve processing raw gas from the depths of the Black Sea on the platform and delivering it to land via pipelines. The platform's production capacity will be increased to 20 million cubic metres, which is the target for Phase 2. With the FPSO, Turkey will become the 6th country to operate such a platform, following the USA, Russia, Brazil, Norway, and Malaysia. There are also suggestions for naming the platform. It is rumoured that the platform may be named 'Republic' in honour of the Republic's centennial. Other name suggestions include 'Gazi' and 'Ertugrul.' Turkey's energy fleet currently includes 4 drilling ships and 2 seismic research ships. Drilling operations are ongoing in Turkey's sea areas with the Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni, and Abdulhamid Han ships, while seismic data collection is being carried out with the Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa and Oruc Reis ships. There are 40,000 data collection points in the Sakarya Gas Field Development Project. Turkey aims to first bring Black Sea and Mediterranean gas into production and then shift focus to the Aegean. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 19:21 (UTC+04:00) Turkiye's natural gas imports decreased by 21.9 percent in May compared to the same month last year, reaching approximately 2 billion, 882 million, and 340 thousand cubic metres. According to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority's "Natural Gas Market Sector Report" for May, 2 billion, 336 million, 480 thousand cubic metres of imports were made through pipelines, and 545 million, 860 thousand cubic metres were made through liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. Total natural gas imports decreased by 21.9 percent compared to 3 billion 692 million 270 thousand cubic metres in May last year, reaching approximately 2 billion 882 million 340 thousand cubic metres. The highest natural gas imports in May were made from Azerbaijan, with 1 billion, 8 million, and 580 thousand cubic metres. This country was followed by Russia with 734 million 410 thousand cubic metres and Iran with 593 million 490 thousand cubic metres. During this period, 371 million 640 thousand cubic metres of LNG were imported from Algeria. Gas consumption in residences decreased by 53.3 percent. Total natural gas consumption in the country decreased by 26 percent on an annual basis in May, falling to 3 billion, 203 million, and 640 thousand cubic metres. Natural gas consumption in the industrial sector increased by 9.7 percent and was recorded at 1 billion 99 million cubic metres. Natural gas consumption in power plants decreased by 20 percent, falling to 633 million 960 thousand cubic metres. Natural gas consumption in residences decreased by 53.3 percent in May, falling to 851 million 530 thousand cubic metres. Turkiye's natural gas stock decreased by 21.1 percent in May compared to the same month last year, reaching approximately 3 billion, 685 million, and 300 thousand cubic metres. Approximately 3 billion 412 million 220 thousand cubic metres of natural gas stock are in underground storage facilities, while 273 million 80 thousand cubic metres are in LNG terminals. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 08:00 (UTC+04:00) After Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement was killed in Tehran, European and American high-ranking diplomats held urgent talks in the Middle East to prevent a large-scale war in the region, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets. According to sources, Enrique Mora, Undersecretary General for Political Affairs of the EU External Action Service, held "vital" talks in Tehran, while Brett McGurk, the Middle East and North Africa coordinator of the White House National Security Council, was in Saudi Arabia. The unnamed officials told the media that the discussions were aimed at persuading Iran to either not respond to the attack, which it blames on Israel, or to limit itself to symbolic actions. "Since last night, everyone has been pressuring Tehran not to respond and to hold back," a Western diplomat participating in the negotiation process told the publication. It should be recalled that earlier "The New York Times" reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered direct strikes on Israel in response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Tehran. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 10:41 (UTC+04:00) Meetings between Azerbaijan and Armenia continue. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this in an interview with the "Sabah" publication. He said that if relations normalise, Ankara will prepare a certain scenario. "In the end, we can implement a positive scenario, i.e., we can open the border with Armenia." Recall that the fifth round of meetings between the special representatives for the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkiye, Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Klc, took place at the Armenia-Turkiye border early this week. The borders between Turkiye and Armenia have been closed since April 3, 1993. After Armenia's occupation of Garabagkh, Turkiye closed its borders, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were suspended. However, in July 2022, the Turkish Ministry for Foreign Affairs announced that the two countries, in the context of a general thaw of their relationship, plan to reopen the border "at the earliest possible date," albeit only for third-party nationals. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz . 1 August 2024 18:43 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The tourism departments of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation plan to continue developing cooperation, including the implementation of joint investment projects, Azernews reports. According to the press service, a working meeting of representatives of the trade mission, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Tourism under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Jamshid Abdusalamov took place in Tashkent the day before, during which prospects for cooperation in the field of tourism were considered. It is noted that the parties discussed the further development of bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism, including the coordination of mutual visits of tour operators of the two countries and the implementation of joint investment projects. During the meeting, it was also reported that in the coming days an Uzbek delegation will visit the regions of Russia to present the tourism potential of the republic. According to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, over the past four years, the number of trips of Russian tourists to Uzbekistan has increased more than 10 times from 37 thousand to 403 thousand people. At the same time, in 2023, Uzbeks made more than 800 thousand trips to Russia, which is twice as much as in 2022. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 23:30 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee will meet on Thursday in a videoconference format to analyze the current situation in the oil market, Azernews reports. This time, only a meeting of the monitoring committee is scheduled. At such meetings, the state of the oil market is usually analyzed and a recommendation for further OPEC+ oil production policy is determined. At the same time, the committee may, if necessary, request a general ministerial meeting of OPEC+ at any time. Meetings of the monitoring committee are now held every two months. The last such meeting was held on the same day as the meeting of all the ministers of the alliance - on June 2. At a meeting in June, OPEC+ extended the parameters of the deal with minor changes until the end of 2025. Only one country, the UAE, will increase the permitted level of oil production next year by 300 thousand barrels per day (b/d), but not immediately, but gradually - from January to the end of September 2025. The remaining decisions concerned voluntary reductions, which have been adhered to by several OPEC+ countries since the first quarter of 2024, including Russia and Saudi Arabia. Thus, the "volunteers" extended production cuts totaling 2.2 million b/d for the third quarter. And starting from October 2024, these countries will gradually restore production until the end of September 2025. In addition, the same OPEC+ countries from the spring of 2023 to the end of 2025 voluntarily reduce oil production in total by 1.66 million b/d. At the same time, by the end of September 2025, three countries that had previously undersupplied oil production - Russia, Iraq and Kazakhstan - should gradually compensate for these volumes. The total amount of their "debt" to reduce production is 2.284 million b/d. Of these, most of them are in Iraq - 1,184 million b/d. Russia will have to gradually reduce 480 thousand b/d, Kazakhstan - 620 thousand b/d. As the Reuters news agency notes, citing sources in the OPEC+ delegations, the alliance's monitoring committee is unlikely to make changes to any parameters of the deal and obligations for voluntary reductions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 August 2024 21:55 (UTC+04:00) Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister, met with Mehmet Samsar, Director General for Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Azernews reports, citing the ministry. During the meeting, the sides discussed the current alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, cooperation within multilateral formats, as well as regional and international security. The two emphasized that reciprocal visits and consultations between the foreign ministries are crucial for detailed discussions on bilateral and regional issues. They stressed the necessity of enhancing cooperation between the two countries within international and regional organizations, including the Organization of Turkic States, and through various trilateral and multilateral formats. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov highlighted the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He underlined the challenges facing the peace process, including ongoing claims against Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty, issues related to Armenias constitution, and steps threatening regional stability, such as the militarization of Armenia by third countries. The minister underscored that these threats impede peace, stability, and regional cooperation, and hinder the development of regional transport relations, stressing the importance of their elimination. The meeting also covered other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Like her colleague Joe Biden, Kamala Harris seems to be allergic to unscripted press conferences. Since entering the presidential race, she has gone ten days and has not had one yet. Most presidential candidates hold an unscripted press conference the very day they announce, but not Harris. If she ever does one, will it be a stage managed affair like all of Biden's press conferences? Is she afraid she will let her guard down and start cackling? Is she afraid another word salad will come out of her mouth? Is she afraid of being asked about all of her radical stands on issues as a senator and attorney general? https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/07/31/hiding-kamala-no-press-conferences-10-days-after-announcing-presidential-run/ https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/07/31/kamala-harris-is-evading-press-conferences-why-n2177587 On the other hand, Trump went into the lions den with a convention of black journalists in Chicago today and handled himself well and with confidence. It began with an interview with a very hostile ultra left wing reporter from ABC News. Trump drew good crowd response from the other journalists several times as he responded to her questions, including once when he described ABC News as "fake news". Kamala Harris was invited to the same event but she ducked it. https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/07/31/larry-kudlow-trump-went-into-the-lions-den-and-came-out-a-big-winner/ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/fireworks-chicago-crowd-erupts-after-president-trump-unleashes/ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/crowd-erupts-laughter-as-trump-mocks-kamala-harriss/ If you can't handle the American media, how can a presidential candidate be expected to handle tough situations with foreign leaders? Most of the American media tilts pretty heavily to the left, so why is Kamala afraid of them? Of course, one of the reporters injected race into the questioning, asking Trump if he was saying Harris was only chosen vice president because she was a black woman. Trump responded that Harris has been fluid about her ethnicity, in the past telling the media that she was the "first Indian-American senator". That has sparked internet interest and her birth certificate has gone viral which lists her parents ethcity as "Indian", "Jamaican" and "Caucasian". Kamala also grew up in Montreal, Canada from elementary school through high school, so maybe at some point she will also claim to be Canadian. The family of a patient who died during a colonoscopy in 2018 at the Portland (Ore.) Clinic is suing the facility for $50 million, according to an Aug. 1 report from the Courtroom View Network. A jury heard opening arguments in the case July 31. The family of Erric Gilbert is suing the clinic and a team of medical providers. The lawsuit accuses medical staff of failing to provide emergency resuscitation in time after Mr. Gilbert's vital signs began to crash. The clinic, meanwhile, has placed the blame on an anesthesiologist who settled out of the case. The family is seeking approximately $7.7 million in economic damages and $50 million in non-economic damages. Mr. Gilbert scheduled a colonoscopy in 2018 to determine the cause of blood in his stool. Despite having high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea and a high body mass index, the Portland Clinic sent Mr. Gilbert to its affiliated surgery center, the Alberty Surgical Center, for the procedure. Shortly after David Stellway, MD, administered anesthesia, Mr. Gilbert's blood pressure began to rise and his blood oxygen levels began to fall, according to testimony presented in court. Young Choi, MD, the gastroenterologist performing the colonoscopy, continued with the procedure even when Kathryn Carlson, the sedation nurse, noted signs of respiratory distress, according to the report. Dr. Stellway implemented an external respiration mask but did not have Dr. Choi stop the procedure. Eventually a surgical technician in the room called an EMS team, at which point Mr. Gilbert was in full cardiac arrest, the report said. CPR began 22 minutes after Mr. Gilbert stopped breathing, and he was transported to a local hospital, declared brain dead, and died shortly afterward. Dr. Stellway was brought before a state medical board due to the incident and subsequently surrendered his medical license, according to the report. Becker's has reached out to Portland Clinic for and will update this story if more information becomes available. After earning a net revenue of $5.1 billion in the second quarter of 2024, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare cemented its status a major player in the healthcare market at large. Further, United Surgical Partners International, Tenet's ASC arm, remains a longstanding leader in the outpatient surgery sector, both by number of facilities and net revenue earning $1.14 billion in the second quarter. Here is a brief introduction to the financial playmakers at both companies: Tenet CFO: Sun Park Mr. Park serves as both executive vice president and CFO at Tenet. He joined the company in January 2024, and previously served as executive vice president and group CFO for pharmaceutical distribution and strategic global sourcing at pharmaceutical company AmerisourceBergen. Sun Park Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Michael Maloney In his role, Mr. Maloney handles Tenet's acquisition, divestitures and joint ventures strategy. He previously served as managing director and head of not-for-profit investment banking at J.P. Morgan. Michael Maloney USPI CFO: Patrick Roberts Mr. Roberts joined USPI in April 2024. He previously served as CFO and vice president of strategic partnerships at Dallas-based Baylor Scott and White Health. He joined Tenet in 2015. Patrick Roberts Here are 23 ASCs opened or in development in July, as reported by Becker's: 1. Little Rock-based Arkansas Children's received a $1 million donation in support of its $235 million expansion project to expand hospital capacity, redesign clinical spaces and add an ASC 2. Shorepoint Medical's multi-specialty center opens in North Port, Fla. 3. Memorial Healthcare and Florida State University, both based in Tallahassee, are planning a joint venture with an ASC in Panama City, Fla. 4. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth moved forward with plans to build a 48,000-square-foot medical office building and a 17,585-square-foot freestanding emergency room. 5. The University of Florida and UF Health broke ground on UF Health Durbin Park, a 42.5-acre health and wellness campus in St. Johns, Fla., that will house a hospital, a medical office building and an ASC. 6. BayCare Health System set an opening date for its new hospital in Plant City, Fla. 7. The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson is opening a new ASC in the nearby suburb of Ridgeland, Miss. 8. Winston-Salem, N.C.- based Novant Health is opening a new community hospital in Wilmington, N.C., the Novant Scotts Hill Medical Center, featuring Atlantic SurgiCenter, an outpatient surgery center. 9. Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health filed a certificate of need with the state to develop an $18.9 million ASC in the area. 10. Florence S.C.-based McLeod Health is expanding its campus to include an ASC. 11. Stafford, N.J.-based Southern Ocean Medical Center broke ground on a $34 million expansion project that will add an ASC. 12. Johnson City (Tenn.) Eye Surgery Center broke ground on their new ASC. 13. Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine proposed a new medical office building at its Hunley (Ill.) location. 14. Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist opened a 20,000-square-foot medical office building in Greensboro, N.C. 15. Manitowoc, Wis.-based Renovo Health opened a direct-pay ASC that aims to cut out the need for payers. 16. Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital's new pediatric ASC in Beachwood, Ohio, opened July 23. 17. Snoqualmie (Wash.) Valley Health is moving forward to build a $71 million ASC and medical office building next to its hospital. 18. Minneapolis-based medical real estate firm Davis opened Eagan (Minn.) Specialty Center. 19. University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System affiliate UAB Medical West opened a 127,000-square-foot, seven-story medical office building. 20. Saratoga Hospital announced plans to demolish and rebuild a new office building to house several specialists. 21. Las Vegas Urology opened their most recent surgery center. 22. HCA Surgery Ventures opened a five-operating-room ASC in Kansas City, Mo., in a partnership with 20 physicians. 23. Osage Beach, Mo.-based Lake Regional Health System set their fundraising goals for a 21,000-square-foot ASC, Lake Regional Surgery Center Lebanon (Mo.). UAB Health System in Birmingham, Ala., is set to open its new nine-story replacement facility for UAB Medical West, which will begin treating patients Aug. 3. The new facility in Bessemer, Ala., includes the 200 bed-hospital with 12 operating rooms and a seven-story medical office building. UAB Medical West's former location built in 1964 was also in Bessemer. "To move to our new campus marks a novel chapter for our healthcare facility," UAB Medical West CEO Keith Pennington said, noting the system has been planning for the past year with local officials and transportation services for the Aug. 3 move. Development of UAB Medical West began in 2017 with the selection of the site, breaking ground in 2021. The facility cost $400 million, funded through a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan program designed to build and improve community facilities. In addition to the new hospital, UAB Health is looking to acquire a five-hospital subsidiary system in central Alabama from St. Louis-based Ascension for $450 million. Hospitals continue to deal with the fallout of a ransomware attack on a large blood supplier. OneBlood, which operates blood donation centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, has been experiencing an IT outage, caused by a cyberattack, since July 30. The organization alerted more than 250 hospitals to activate their critical blood shortage protocols. Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial HealthCare had to postpone two complex elective surgeries to preserve its blood supply amid the ransomware attack and make a deal with another blood distributor, WCTV reported Aug. 1. "Our comprehensive response efforts are ongoing and we are working diligently to restore full functionality to our systems as expeditiously as possible," said Susan Forbes, OneBlood senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations, in a statement. The American Hospital Association noted Aug. 1 that this cyberattack, along with two others in recent months that disrupted the blood supply, should put hospitals on notice. "These incidents provide ample reason and impetus for [healthcare delivery organizations], hospitals and health systems to review contingency plans for possible disruption to the blood supply chain and other mission and life-critical medical supplies," the AHA stated. If you're looking for an academic health system, don't expect to find "university" in its name. From UPMC to UNC Health to UChicago Medicine, many of these organizations have gone with shorter, snappier monikers because their brands are so recognizable already, health system leaders told Becker's. "I think that the University title makes it cumbersome, and true academic health systems like UPMC and Penn don't need to remind people that they are academic health systems," said Thomas Beeman, a professor of the practice of healthcare administration at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and former executive with Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine (formerly known as University of Pennsylvania Health System). "They already have very strong brands." The rise of acronyms for academic-affiliated systems reflects the shortening of health system brands overall, following years in which words like "hospital" and even "system" were largely dropped from the names. Other health systems didn't include "University" because they aren't technically owned by a university. For instance, Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, which rebranded in 2017, is not part of the University of Colorado but works closely with CU School of Medicine. "After extensive research conducted with more than 4,000 participants, the decision to name the new hospital system UCHealth was to further differentiate between the university and the healthcare system, while also preserving the partnership, which is very important to providing the best care options for patients," said Manny Rodriguez, chief marketing and experience officer of UCHealth. Some of the names end up looking pretty similar. There is Seattle-based UW Medicine and Madison, Wis.-based UW Health, for instance. Meanwhile, Cincinnati-based UC Health differs from its Colorado counterpart by only a space in the name. UCHealth no space is a recognizable-enough brand in Colorado and surrounding states where there isn't confusion locally, but the health system sometimes has to correct national organizations or news outlets that confuse it with UC Health, according to a spokesperson. Morgantown, W.V.-based WVU Medicine launched its new brand in 2015. "WVU, which is shorthand for West Virginia University, was already a well-established, highly regarded, and widely recognized brand in West Virginia and the surrounding region," said Tony Condia, chief marketing and communications officer of WVU Medicine. "We leaned into our university's shortened name and strong brand and leveraged its goodwill and equity as we created our health system's identity." The health system will sometimes spell out "West Virginia University" in the name when it promotes in outside markets or presents at national or international conferences, where people might not be as familiar with "WVU," Mr. Condia added. Greenville, N.C.-based ECU Health formed via the 2021 merger of East Carolina University and Vidant Health to create a new academic health system. The organization never considered another name because ECU is the official branding of the university, according to an ECU Health spokesperson. Really, the decision to go with shorter names has been quite simple for many academic health systems. "We've always been UAB Medicine or UAB Health," said Rosie O'Beirne, chief digital strategy and marketing officer at UAB. "We've always used UAB because the acronym is shorter than us using the University of Alabama at Birmingham." Cigna is planning to vigorously defend its pharmacy benefit manager from scrutiny. On an Aug. 1 call with investors, Cigna Group CEO David Cordani said the company will be more aggressive in communicating the value of its PBM to lawmakers, customers and the public. "We challenge ourselves to be much more aggressive and complete relative to communication and engagement in support of our clients, be they employers or health plan customers, collaborating even more deeply and intensely with independent pharmacies and working on the Hill, of course," Mr. Cordani said. Mr. Cordani's comments come as PBMs are under intense scrutiny in Washington. In July, a Federal Trade Commission report alleged PBMs show favoritism toward their own pharmacies and hold vast market control, affecting both medication access and affordability. Cigna operates Express Scripts, one of the largest PBMs. In July, the CEOs of Express Scripts, OptumRx and CVS Caremark testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. According to The Wall Street Journal, the FTC is preparing to sue Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health over their PBM business practices. Mr. Cordani told investors PBMs are the "only part of the drug supply chain who works to drive down costs," and negotiations to settle on prices can "at times generate friction in the system." "This friction has spilled into and now reached heightened levels in the political arena and media, with winners and losers being declared in every report and every headline," he said. The current environment requires Cigna to be "more proactive," Mr. Cordani said, both in its messaging on the value of PBMs and in reducing drug costs. "In 2023, 1% of the patients in the U.S. experienced out-of-pocket costs above $2,000 a year. From our point of view, that's too many. We accept the responsibility to accelerate innovation to make medications more affordable while continuing to improve outcomes and finding solutions for every person we serve," he said. Three Texas health systems are facing major potential changes for their health plans amid the state's decision to remove them as Medicaid administrators earlier this year. "We were all formed at roughly the same time specifically to serve the Medicaid and CHIP populations, and none of us are in any other lines of business at the current time," Karen Love, President of Cook Childrens Health Plan, told Becker's. "We are exploring some other options, but this is dire if we are not awarded this contract." In March, Texas tentatively awarded a majority of its Medicaid STAR and CHIP contracts to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Molina Healthcare, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, which are collectively worth $116 billion. If the new contracts are implemented, nearly 1.8 million Medicaid beneficiaries in the state will have to move to new insurers by next year. Fort Worth-based Cook Children's Health Plan, Houston-based Texas Children's Health Plan and Corpus Christi-based Driscoll Children's Health Plan were all denied contracts in the tentative award process. Executives at Cook Children's and Driscoll Health told The Texas Tribune in April that their health plans will likely shut down if they are not awarded the Medicaid contracts from the state. Texas Children's has not said the same a system spokesperson told the newspaper that the health plan "has a long and storied history of serving the children and women of Texas and looks forward to continuing to support Texass Medicaid population." Collectively, the three plans serve more than 700,000 people. "This would take a significant amount of top level revenue from our system," Ms. Love said. "Last year, we were in the neighborhood of $900 million in premium revenues. Above all, this would dismantle our ability to collaboratively coordinate care for these kids, most of whom have a relationship with one or more providers. This change is going to hurt the families we serve much more than it's going to hurt Cook Children's." Cook Children's is challenging the new Medicaid contract awards in court. Texas HHS has also rejected challenges from Cook Children's and seven other organizations disputing the contract awards, a process that is still ongoing. "We're seeing a disturbing trend nationally of more and more contracts going to these big national Medicaid companies, and the landscape is getting tougher for provider-sponsored plans," Ms. Love said. "We are an integrated delivery system with hospitals, a physician group and the payer all under one umbrella. To take the health plan out of that is removing one of the key pillars of our pediatric system." The procurement is still considered open until all protests and appeals have been resolved. If the procurement is not successful, it would mark the state's third unsuccessful attempt within six years to award new Medicaid contracts, the Texas Tribune reported. In response to evolving demands within the healthcare landscape, hospitals and health systems are reconfiguring their C-suites and leadership teams to align with organizational priorities. Among the recent developments, several institutions have introduced new roles to their executive teams. Editor's note: This article was updated Aug. 14 and will continue to be updated. Here are new roles hospitals and health systems have added to their C-suites since Feb. 2: Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota graduated its first cohort from its BA/MD program. The program started in 2017 for freshmen students interested in becoming physicians. The seven-year education program allows students to graduate in any degree from the college of liberal arts before moving straight into their four-year MD program, Ana Nunez, MD, vice dean of diversity, equity and inclusion of the medical school, told Becker's. "We also focus on underrepresented students in medicine and sciencethose from rural areas, first-generation college students and immigrants," Dr. Nunez said. "These students often face unique challenges that can derail their academic trajectory. Our goal is to provide holistic support to help them overcome obstacles and stay on track. This support includes addressing developmental needs, such as improving presentation skills or gaining research experience, and ensuring they have the resources to handle any bumps in the road." The program is competitive with about 200 applicants considered for the 12 slots each year. Any student who shows an interest in a career in healthcare can be considered. Interested students are evaluated until the final 12 students are selected. Those in the program are provided with scholarships to reduce the economic burden. Five students graduated in the first cohort. Of those, one will work within MHealth Fairview and the others have taken positions in neighboring systems. Dr. Nunez said they expose students to a variety of health professions and celebrate whichever path they chose. "Effective communication and strong partnerships are essential for the success of longitudinal programs," she said. "Our collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts and ongoing feedback from students are crucial for refining the program. It's important to recognize and support the incredible talents of underrepresented students in medicine and science. By reducing barriers and increasing access, we can harness their potential and contribute to advancing health equity." Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, N.H., is integrating Valley Regional Hospital into its network. Dartmouth Health has previously collaborated with 25-bed Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, N.H., for many services, including cardiology, oncology, pathology and radiology. With the acquisition effective July 31, the hospital will now formally integrate with Dartmouth Health to share in its technology, clinical research and network of more than 2,000 physicians and providers. Dartmouth Health negotiated the acquisition terms with New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella this spring. Dartmouth Health is New Hampshire's only academic health system and the largest private employer in the state. Philadelphia-based Jefferson and Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network completed their merger Aug. 1. Here are 10 things to know about the combined system: 1. The combination creates one of the 15 largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S. with 32 hospitals and more than 700 sites of care. 2. Jefferson brings 18 hospitals to the combined system: 15 in Pennsylvania and three in New Jersey. LVHN brings 14 hospitals, all in Pennsylvania. 3. The combined system employs more than 65,000 people. 4. In fiscal 2023, Jefferson posted total revenues of $9.7 billion. It posted an operating loss of $78.5 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. 5. In fiscal 2023, LVHN posted total revenues of $4.1 billion. It posted an operating income of $10.4 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. 6. Jefferson and LVHN first shared plans to unite in December after signing a non-binding letter of intent. They signed a definitive agreement to merge in May. 7. Jefferson CEO Joseph Cacchione, MD, will serve as chief executive of the Jefferson enterprise. He joined Jefferson as CEO in September 2022 from St. Louis-based Ascension, where he served as executive vice president of clinical and network services. 8. LVHN president and CEO Brian Nester, DO, will serve as executive vice president and COO of the Jefferson enterprise and president of the legacy LVHN. He served as LHVN's president and CEO since 2014. He joined the health system in 1998 as chairman of the emergency department at Lehigh Valley HospitalMuhlenberg in Bethlehem, Pa. 9. Patients in the region served by LVHN will soon have access to Jefferson Health Plans, the system's health insurance business. 10. Dr. Cacchione told The Reporter that LVHN will undergo some type of rebranding, but final decisions have not yet been made. He said the Lehigh name "will be preserved and will not go away. The Lehigh Valley name has a lot of brand equity, its a very important brand one of the reasons for our whole plan." San Francisco-based UCSF Health has acquired two Dignity Health hospitals. Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary's Medical Center, both also located in San Francisco, bring a total of 1,800 employees and providers onto the UCSF Health team, according to an Aug. 1 news release. The two parties signed a $100 million definitive agreement for UCSF Health to take on the hospitals in February. In early July, UCSF Health and California Attorney General Rob Bonta signed a cooperative agreement that preserved key services and cleared the way for the two hospitals to join UCSF Health. The hospitals shed their religious affiliation and are now known as UCSF Health Saint Francis and UCSF Health St. Mary's under the acquisition. The facilities will keep their existing services and UCSF Health will also retain employees from both hospitals, the release said. UCSF plans to immediately invest $100 million to support the integration of the two hospitals over the next two years. "At this time, all Saint Francis and St. Mary's patients will continue to access services just as they do today at the same locations, through the same telephone numbers, and using the same digital health tools," the release said. "Patients will be able to continue to receive primary and specialty care from their current providers." The acquisition includes a $430 million investment to expand the number of patients seen, improve physical facilities and upgrade technology at the hospitals. UCSF Health's commitments under the acquisition include $10 million in annual charity care from the two hospitals and at least $12.3 million in annual combined community benefit spending, with a 2.4% annual increase for charity care and community benefits at the hospitals. Several staff members at Temple University Hospital-Episcopal Campus in Philadelphia were injured including a specialist who was stabbed with a needle in a struggle with a patient on July 31, CBS News Philadelphia reported. A 39-year-old male patient arrived with EMTs at the hospital, and he was agitated and behaving violently when a nurse tried to administer medication with a syringe. Police said the patient knocked the syringe from the nurse's hand and it poked a security guard in the arm. A recovery specialist tried to intervene, but the patient grabbed the used syringe and stabbed them twice in the arm with the needle. The patient tried to stab a third staff member who was able to back away, but that person accidentally elbowed a nurse in the head. The nurse was rendered unconscious, ABC affiliate WPVI reported Aug. 1. When police arrived, the patient had been restrained by hospital staff and was taken into custody. He is charged with several counts of assault. All those injured are in stable condition. "The safety of our employees, patients and visitors is our first priority at Temple University Hospital-Episcopal Campus," a hospital spokesperson told Becker's. "We are working with police as they continue to investigate this incident. We are offering onsite support and resources to those impacted." From the warehouse to a hospital storage cabinet, supply chain leaders see a direct connection between employee satisfaction and patient care. George Godfrey, chief supply chain officer for Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida, and Steven Chyung, chief supply chain and procurement executive for Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, told Becker's how they support and empower their employees. Satisfaction Both leaders stressed the necessity for employee satisfaction, specifically within a supply chain environment they see as a service. "Satisfied employees are engaged employees," Mr. Chyung said. "It's probably the most critical aspect to making sure we're delivering quality services to our members and clinicians." "It's easy to get lost in the boxes and forget what the end result is," Mr. Godfrey said. "We are dealing with a loved one's care; it's very important that we get it right." Engagement Mr. Chyung said Kaiser Permanente promotes employee engagement through targeted initiatives. The company launched three programs after the pandemic to address employee emotional and physical well-being, learning and development, and reinforce the company's "speak up" culture. One aspect of those programs are the wellness calls Kaiser Permanente uses to support employees' overall health and wellness, providing tools that support healthy eating and encourage mental health awareness. At Baptist Health South Florida, Mr. Godfrey holds weekly huddles to keep his team connected. Different team members host and participate in the huddle each week. The huddles include a problem-solving session, where more than 100 supply chain employees watch a few colleagues work through a problem in real time. The result? Fewer problems. "Now I have 100 people solving problems before they become problems," Mr. Godfrey said. Improvement Mr. Godfrey and his team utilize data and technology to create tools that allow supply chain employees to self-manage everyday tasks. These tools assist with processes including inventory management, contract and invoice administration, vendor communication and workload management. "Employees have better satisfaction because they're managing a process," Mr. Godfrey said. "Letting the computer manage the transactional, weedy-type stuff [instead]." Kaiser Permanente utilizes biannual anonymous surveys to take the "pulse" of employee satisfaction and identify opportunities for improvement. "We look at things like engagement, team dynamics and culture of health. It's something we're continuously measuring," Mr. Chyung said. "As a result of the programs that we've launched, we can see our engagement scores continue to track very positively. Employees feel like they belong, that they're adding value." Leadership Within all the initiatives and huddles, both Mr. Chyung and Mr. Godfrey said leadership holds a key to continued employee satisfaction. Mr. Chyung noted how leadership participation in wellness initiatives is crucial to employee engagement and leads to a sense of inclusion. "It's leading by example," he said. "When we talk about mental health, people have to see that their leadership is demonstrating, in a very tangible way, the things that we say are important." Mr. Godfrey expressed how important it is for communication between a leader and their team to not only be frequent, but consistent and meaningful. Trust is equally important, he added, for employees to feel like their boss is "ready to go" if they need help. "Leadership has to be committed to the cause," he said. "Having employees know they can go to leadership escalate an issue and it will be addressed. Those elements are critical to having a very successful operation." From physician independence to data collection, spine surgeons are thinking about the future of autonomy in their field. Five spine surgeons discuss their perspectives on autonomy and its future. Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity. Question: What will spine surgeon autonomy look like in five to 10 years? Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (West Bloomfield, Mich.): In five to 10 years, spine surgeon autonomy may involve advanced AI-assisted decision-making tools, enhanced minimally invasive techniques, and improved patient engagement through telemedicine. Surgeons will likely have greater access to real-time data personalized care, fostering collaborative approaches while maintaining their expert judgment in treatment decisions. Vijay Yanamadala, MD. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare: Autonomy is an evasive term in medicine. Today, we continually face prior authorizations that question our recommendations to patients. This is not necessarily a bad thing we are all human beings and not infallible. In theory, having checks and balances is a good thing. However, prior authorizations have become more of a hoop to jump through, a hurdle to climb over, than a process through which we can collectively optimize care for patients. Rarely is the patient involved in this process either, which is perhaps its most important failure. I think even more important than spine surgeon autonomy is patient autonomy will patients be free to choose their own care, based on their own values, goals and desires? Will they be adequately informed to make those decisions, and can we as surgeons make sure of this? We never had autonomy as surgeons only the privilege to honor the autonomy of our patients. How do we ensure that this autonomy of patient's choice is honored and respected, not eroded? Morgan Lorio, MD, of Advanced Orthopaedics and Pain Management (Orlando, Fla.) and ISASS president (2024-2025): In the next five to 10 years, advancements in robotics, AI, and advanced imaging will enhance spine surgeons' decision-making and reduce the need for invasive procedures. AI, trained on large datasets, will ensure patient-specific outcomes, while telemedicine and mobile health technologies will expand surgeons' reach and improve patient care. Advances in genomics, bioinformatics, and AI will enable personalized treatment plans by identifying unique patient phenotypes. Collaborative networks will allow surgeons to leverage collective expertise while maintaining autonomy, and evolving healthcare policies will support disease prevention and early detection through AI and precision medicine. Continuous medical [spine] education will keep surgeons updated on new techniques and technologies, enabling them to handle complex cases independently. The convergence of AI and precision medicine will revolutionize healthcare by addressing challenges with patient-specific diagnostics and treatment. This synergy will enhance spine surgeon autonomy, focusing on prevention, early detection, and personalized care, ultimately reducing the disease burden and healthcare costs. The amalgamation of more granular ICD-10 codes for discogenic back pain with interventional algorithms, including MRI spectroscopy, will further ease the cost of managing low back pain. The integration of patient-centered high-value spinal endoscopy, including fusion procedures, will improve outcomes by minimizing invasiveness and recovery times. Rasch analysis will complement this process by providing a robust statistical framework to measure patient-reported outcomes and treatment effectiveness, ensuring interventions are precisely tailored to individual patient needs. Additionally, Rasch analysis will enhance surgeon experience by offering data-driven insights into treatment success, allowing for continuous improvement and refinement of surgical techniques and patient care strategies. Lali Sekhon, MD, PhD. Spine Surgeon at Reno (Nev.) Orthopedic Center: It will be reduced. Already payers who verbally state 'they dont practice medicine,' through their prior authorization system, practice medicine. Vendor consolidation will occur and hospital systems will more and more limit access to vendors to reduce cost. All this will reduce surgeon autonomy. Christian Zimmerman, MD. St. Alphonsus Medical Group and SAHS Neuroscience Institute (Boise, Idaho): Healthcare economics and its direction will factorially depend on political lean, as the costs to the insured escalate, demand/expectations continue to rise, and specialty care becomes scarcer. Proclamation of dissolving private insurance and 'Medicare for all' decrees will surely bury an already overburdened system. Elections do have consequences. The scale of practice management and overhead, especially in this area, has led to the closure of private surgical facilities and bankruptcy of previously formidable medical groups. Upgrades of EHR alone and other technology are staggering and prohibitive. Being an independent practitioner carries great financial risk and is not the choosing of the timid. Best practices for the complex spinal surgeon and meeting the needs of the OR and its expenditures remain employment models and ventures with larger institutions. Select Medical and Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai launched a specialized spine care program for acute or chronic spine patients, according to a July 31 news release. The physical therapy program will be offered at 11 Select Physical Therapy locations in the Los Angeles region. Plans will be tailored to each patient and their goals. "This partnership reflects our conservative spine care philosophy to offer patients non-invasive therapeutic options before turning to surgery, and it allows us to combine our medical and surgical expertise with Select Medical's extensive network and physical therapy experience," David Skaggs, MD, co-director of Cedars-Sinai Spine, said in the release. Cedars-Sinai and Select Medical entered a joint venture partnership in 2021. The first outlet of hot chocolate chain Knoops on the island of Ireland is due to open in Belfast's Victoria Square. Hot chocolate outlet Knoops is to open a location in Victoria Square, Belfast. Victoria Square will become home to the first outlet of the hot chocolate business on the island of Ireland. Their websites page for their Belfast store says: We're really looking forward to opening our Belfast store in Victoria Square Shopping Centre. The news is welcome for Victoria Square, which has seen several businesses leave in recent months. The fashion store Tessuti, which opened at the site of the former Topshop in December 2022, has been holding a closing-down sale. Signs in the shopfront of the flagship location said it would close in August. H&M also left Victoria Square after opening a location at The Keep in Castle Lane. Outdoor wear shop Craghoppers also announced it was ceasing trading from its store in Victoria Square, although they still have a location in Boucher Retail park. And fashion retailer Ted Baker is also expected to close its store in the centre along with all its other shops around the UK. Speaking in July, Russell Banham, UK head at property company Commerz Real, which owns Victoria Square, said: There continues to be strong interest from market-leading retailers who recognise Victoria Square as Northern Irelands premier shopping destination. We are currently in advanced discussions with a number of exciting, well-known brands who will be announced in the coming months. Knoops proposed Belfast opening was first reported in the Irish News. The first Knoops outlet opened in 2013 in East Sussex, and it currently lists over 20 stores on their website, with several due to open shortly. The company was founded by Jens Knoop, who grew up in the German countryside. They sell a number of different blends of hot chocolate both to go, and to sit in. They also sell their blends online. They recently opened their first stores in Scotland with two locations in Edinburgh, and are set to expand across the Irish Sea. East Belfast company secures new $25m loan with lenders Harland and Wolff have secured an additional $25m of loans from existing lenders. The former chief executive of Harland & Wolff has left the company, it announced on Thursday. It had been announced last month that John Wood was taking a leave of absence following the failure to secure a government loan guarantee. However, Mr Wood is now no longer a member of the board, it was confirmed today. The company also announced a new $25m (19m) loan with existing creditors, which takes its overall debt to $140m (109m). It has also ceased operations on Scilly Ferries to focus on core business functions. The famous shipbuilder has been facing financial uncertainty in recent weeks, after it failed to secure a 200m loan guarantee from the Government. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that after reviewing the loan application, the government believed there was a very substantial risk that taxpayer money would be lost. Harland & Wolff is part of a consortium with a 1.6bn contract to build new fleet solid support ships for the Royal Navy. The firm, whose UK shipyards include the famous east Belfast location, has employed the financial services company Rothschild & Co to assess strategic options for the group. After announcing Mr Woods departure, it was confirmed Russell Downs and Alan Fort are due to become board members. Malcolm Groat, chairman of Harland & Wolff, said: "We are grateful to our lenders in continuing their funding commitment to support Harland & Wolff Group's ongoing stabilisation and long-term strategy objectives. "We also look forward to working with the very experienced team from Rothschild & Co to help us achieve that objective. The board look forward to Russell Downs and Alan Fort joining us once their appointment formalities are completed and, in the meantime, I wish to place our thanks to John for his invaluable contribution to the company's business and wish him the very best in his future endeavours. The company has also closed its Scilly Ferries service between Penzance and St Marys on the Isles of Scilly, which are located off the coast of Cornwall. Harland & Wolff said the planned service was overly ambitious given the current circumstances. They said that everyone with reservations for the Atlantic Wolff fast ferry will be directly contacted, and that all impacted staff have been advised. The vessel itself is to be returned to its Dutch manufacturer Damen. Speaking about the decision to terminate Scilly Ferries, Mr Downs, the interim executive chair, said: We understand that this will be difficult news for those affected immediately and for the community it was intended to support. It is important to note that this is an isolated and unique situation within the group which continues to deliver its business as usual, serving its ship repair fabrication and ship building customers. Mr Groat said: It is regrettable that we have taken the tough decision to terminate the fast ferry, but we need to focus our energies and resources in continuing to grow the core business across our four delivery centres. "This decision aligns with and brings us back to our fundamental five markets and six services strategy. "Our ferry service team will be working closely with passengers and other counterparties to ensure a smooth transition out of this business." At the Chambers of Distinction, a fabulous boutique hotel on Belfasts Malone Road, each of the rooms are named after well-loved figures with links to the city. And it has been such a hit with guests, owner Melanie Harrison is expanding the venue with a major investment. Inside, as well as the Heaney and Lewis rooms you will find, among others, the Bronte, Samuel Beckett, Percy French, John Lavery and Jonathan Swift bedrooms. Each opulent space tells a story about a famous person with strong ties to Belfast and celebrates their life. The Bronte room The Swift - named after the Anglo-Irish author who wrote Gulliver's Travels - is in a French style with a mountain view No two rooms are the same, with owner Melanie Harrison going to extreme lengths to fill each with unique items synonymous with the rooms namesakes. For example, the Heaney Room gives a real nod to Bellaghy, the poets homeplace. Tweed and leather cushions evoke thoughts of traditional farmers jackets while Seamus Heaneys works of poetry and prose are available to read on the shelves. Plates on the wall and a crystal lamp in the room with some Irish lace throughout and an antique typewriter lend to the theme. The dark green colour gives a stylish, elegant feel. Cosy yet spacious for a single traveller with a double sleigh bed. Melanie Harrison Melanie said: Belfast has given the world so much and this city has been home to so many extraordinary people that I wanted to create somewhere which really celebrates them. What better way to get acquainted with a city than through the people who helped shape it? We are a city of storytellers, and we find the rooms are really helping us portray interesting and important stories about Belfast in an entertaining way. Described as a bohemian bolthole, the hotel currently comprises 16 elegant rooms, but this is about to change with Melanie investing in an adjoining property. We are located on what I believe is one of the most stunning rows in Belfast, with the building originally built in 1879 as Victorian merchants residences. Our expansion will create a further 11 suites, a piano lounge, larger kitchen, dining spaces and pleasant communal areas, she said. I am so proud of the progress we have made in the short time since opening in 2020. We were in the midst of the pandemic and the world was a very different place back then, it was quite a scary time to be opening a new hotel. But the reception from our guests has been wonderful. The Chambers of Distinction is a place where you check in as a guest but check out as a friend, we create a real homely feel with a warm Irish welcome. We are located close to the Lyric Theatre and the Grand Opera House as well as the Crescent Arts Centre, Mandela Hall and Queens Film Theatre, so its not uncommon for those performing or attending shows to either stay with us or enjoy our hospitality in the lounge afterwards. Harrison Chambers, Belfast Read more Jamie Dornan lands deal worth millions as new face of popular drink Prior to 2020, Melanie had returned from living in France and was living in the top-floor apartment in the home next door and renting out five bedrooms. She then acquired the property next door, taking the plunge and transforming the two buildings into the Harrison Chambers of Distinction. Now, just four years later, she is in expansion mode again with a further acquisition. Melanie restored the historic buildings to their former glory and is currently in the process of doing the same to the newly acquired building. I have spent a large part of my life travelling and have lived in places such as America, New Zealand, Luxembourg, England and France. It was on my travels that I fell in love with hospitality and of course meeting new people, she explained. Opening the hotel has transformed my life and given me a new energy. It has been the best thing I have ever done. We really went the extra mile when refurbishing the building. Its such a beautiful and historic property so we wanted to be really sympathetic to that when it came to fixtures and fittings. There was beautiful period cornicing and as we got further into the refurbishment the building started to give up original features which had been hidden behind plaster board when the properties were transformed into offices and apartments in the 1960s. It was such a joy to discover these original pieces which add so much character and charm to each room. We have also added local features like floorboards from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, carpets from Ulster Weavers and handmade Arroll radiators everywhere you look there is a story to be told. The Ruby Murray room The rooms have everything from four-poster beds, rolltop baths, huge bay windows, antique furniture and sumptuous velvet curtains. They are both decadent and elegant but always with Melanies personality woven in through the use of eccentric curios and one-off pieces of furniture. I have a real passion for auctions and antique shops, and I am always scouring them for unique pieces or quirky items which will be perfect for the hotel. But far from being a living museum, the Chambers of Distinction has everything a modern traveller expects. Guests dont have to compromise on modern facilities to stay in a hotel which is brimming with old-world charm. From powerful rain-showers to professional customer service, we have thought of everything, said Melanie. As well as the seal of approval from guests, the Chambers of Distinction has also won a series of awards during the short time it has been open. One year after launch it won the prestigious National Geographic Best of the World Award. It has also won the Irish Independents Fab 50 Award these are awarded to Irelands best 50 places to stay. Melanie reveals, It has been a real whirlwind since we opened but I have loved every minute. The work is hard, but it is so rewarding, and I adore meeting new people. We are currently in the middle of refurbishing the new building and I am so excited for the next chapter in the life of the Harrison Chambers of Distinction. That new chapter has been supported by the British Business Banks Investment Fund for Northern Ireland through a 160,000 loan which was facilitated by Whiterock. The news follows the recent announcement of the funds first deal which was with the new owners of the Bucks Head in Dundrum, Co Down, Alex Greene and Bronagh McCormick. A 100,000 loan enabled them to refurbish the popular restaurant ahead of a grand re-opening. Melanie recalled, The process of working with Whiterock was very straightforward and the team really helped and guided me. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to other business owners. I had been a bit nervous of meeting my deadlines, but Whiterock helped me feel really assured and when the loan was agreed the funds were transferred in a really timely manner which helped me with my plans to buy the property. The deal with the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland will really help us go to the next level, building on what we already have and attracting even more people from all around the world. The 70m fund offers a range of commercial finance options including debt finance and equity investment to support businesses from all sectors in Northern Ireland and at different growth stages. Whiterock manages the debt fund, offering loans of 25,000 up to 2million while Clarendon Fund Managers provide equity stakes in smaller businesses up to 5million. To book a stay at the Harrison Chambers of Distinction, visit www.chambersofdistinction.com. To find out more about the fund, visit www.investmentfundnorthernireland.co.uk A Co Antrim woman who knocked down and severely injured a pedestrian in the car park of her local Tesco was today banned from driving for a year. Imposing the 12-month disqualification on Lesley Kennedy (64), District Judge Nigel Broderick said the case highlighted that, with a lot of things going on in supermarket car parks, drivers have to have your wits about you, including for other vehicles and pedestrians. Photo from Fr McCaffertys student ID card when James Donaghy's abuse was at its worst The Bishop of Down and Connor has apologised for the misjudged and unfair manner in which it handled the case of a vulnerable young cleric who was abused by predator priest James Donaghy. It comes almost six months after the diocese received the final report of a review led by Dr Tony McGleenan KC into how the late Bishop Patrick Walsh dealt with a complaint by Fr Paddy McCafferty. Bishop Alan McGuckian said the protection of children and vulnerable adults must always be a priority for the Church, but he acknowledged its focus on child sex abuse had eclipsed the clerics report of being abused by the paedophile priest as a vulnerable young adult. Fr McCafferty came forward out of concern for others who could be at risk, he said. He showed courage and leadership in the face of incredulity, disbelief and animosity on the part of many, including clergy of the diocese. At the time of the abuse Fr McCafferty was a vulnerable young adult. It is clear now that the report of his abuse was eclipsed by the dioceses focus on child sexual abuse. This should not have occurred. What Fr McCafferty reported in extensive written detail, in 2003, was clearly criminal. The Bishop said that in contemporary Church law the sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult victim is of no less magnitude than the abuse of a minor which was not recognised at that time in the case of a dominant adult abuser and a vulnerable young victim. The senior cleric also referred to a newspaper article published in 2012 after Donaghy had been convicted that printed assertions by the diocese that there was an equal standing between an adult abuser and a vulnerable adult and described the stance taken as misjudged and unfair to Fr McCafferty who was not believed and supported by the diocese when he should have been. On behalf of the diocese, I apologise to Fr McCafferty most sincerely and I readily acknowledge the toll all of this has taken on him over the years since his initial reporting in 2001, Bishop McGuckian continued. An earlier statement made by the diocese in 2006, following the decision of the PPS not to prosecute James Donaghy, supported the then alleged perpetrator at the expense of his victims. In the light of his subsequent conviction as an abuser, the statement was ill-judged. The 2006 diocesan statement also clearly compounded the hurt and pain for all the victims. Bishop McGuckian said that even when Donaghy was finally convicted there was a lack of demonstrable regret in the apology from the diocese for the wrongs done to his victims. I want to take this opportunity now to apologise sincerely to all the victims in that case and all cases, he added. Courageous victims have led the way in uncovering abuse. Fr Paddys speaking out has encouraged others to come forward. I welcome this and in turn I encourage anyone who has suffered abuse to come forward. We, as a diocese, will ensure that our response is victim-centred, professional and just. The diocese encourages anyone who has concerns, suspicions or allegations of abuse to come forward and to report that abuse to the statutory authorities or to the appropriate safeguarding representatives. Donaghy was dismissed from the priesthood by Pope Francis in 2015 for the good of the Church while serving a 10 year jail sentence for abusing three victims following a trial in 2011. The paedophile, who had already stepped down in 2004, was convicted again of indecently assaulting a boy and in 2013 was given two more years in jail to run concurrently. Fr McCafferty helped jail Donaghy and has published a book about the silence of shame after suffering years of rapes and violent sexual assaults at the hands of Donaghy when he was a young student training for the priesthood. On Thursday, he accepted the apology as an important step towards further healing and recovery on what has a very long and painful road. When I was being raped and abused as a young adult, by the then Fr Jim Donaghy, the way I coped was to dissociate and pretend it wasnt happening, said. I didnt feel anything even though I was being physically subjected to violent acts of depravity. I left my body and became an onlooker to what he was doing to me. For decades, I have suffered, since the abuse stopped, with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Two and a half years ago, the enormity of what Donaghy inflicted hit me like a ton of bricks. This is because I was now strong enough to face the horror of what I suffered. I welcome todays apology from Bishop Alan on behalf of the diocese of Down and Connor. NI TikToker Kyle Thomas will be the subject of a new documentary commissioned by BBC Three and BBC Northern Ireland NI TikToker Kyle Thomas will be the subject of a new documentary commissioned by BBC Three and BBC Northern Ireland Controversial TikToker Kyle Thomas is set to be the subject of a new documentary film which will follow his efforts to build a zoo for his exotic animals. Kyle Thomas originally from Kent but based in the Lisburn area is one of the UKs most popular video personalities on the social media platform. His videos regularly document his collection of animals, frequently posting videos of them online to his 35.4 million TikTok and 1.5 million Instagram followers. He was also featured on this years Forbes Under 30. The 19-year-olds efforts to open the zoo, which was to be based in Stoneyford in Co Antrim, will now be the subject of a documentary commissioned by BBC Three and BBC Northern Ireland and produced by Waddell Media. In January it was reported the land on which Mr Thomas zoo was situated had been sold and the animals moved from the site. The official logline for the documentary states the one-off film digs into the social media sensations controversial past when he posted clips of his animals that drew criticism from animal rights activists and the media alike. "As he tries to move on and find suitable forever homes for his 39 animals (and after a failed attempt to create his own sanctuary), Kyle teams up with Co Tyrone builder Phil Hughes, and the duo are now planning to turn Phils existing modest petting farm into a world class wildlife park for Kyles animals and other unwanted exotics. The controversial past refers to how earlier this year, it was revealed Thomas was being investigated by police and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) over the death of the capybara, named Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. However, Daera recently said it had closed its investigation, having found no welfare concerns. It is understood the PSNI has now also closed its criminal investigation pending further evidence. Three people were prosecuted for illegally importing the capybara a species native to South America into Northern Ireland. Mr Thomass mother, Zena Foorde, was convicted of keeping a wild animal without a licence. Her conviction came after a vet alerted the authorities after treating the capybara, which later died, for an illness. The highly social rodents normally inhabit forests and savannas. It is not against UK law to own one. Thomas continues to post videos on TikTok about his wild animals and recently said he is planning on travelling to Malaysia for a unknown project with Channel 4. Smoke plume seen across Dublin as firefighters battle large blaze Emergency services are battling a large fire at an industrial premises in the Clonshaugh/Coolock area of North Dublin, which can be seen from across the city. A large plume of smoke can be seen from across the city and by passengers flying in and out of Dublin Airport. Gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade are currently attending the fire at Clonshaugh Industrial Estate in the Clonshaugh/Coolock area of Dublin 17. Flights at the airport have not been affected, although local people have been advised to remain indoors. An image of the scene in the Clonshaugh area. Source: Dublin Fire Brigade The fire is understood to be at a business premises that neighbours a data centre owned by US tech giant Amazon. Gardai from Santry Station are currently providing assistance to Dublin Fire Brigade at an industrial fire occurring at a premises in the Clonshaugh are of Dublin 17, a garda spokesperson said. Six fire engines including a turntable ladder are at an industrial unit fire off the Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock, Dublin Fire Brigade said. At 16.59 hrs Dublin Fire Brigade received multiple 999 calls reporting a fire in an industrial unit off the Oscar Traynor Road. At present six fire engines including a turntable ladder are fighting the fire and Dublin Fire Brigade are advising as a precaution for local residents to close all windows and doors if affected by smoke. "This is an ongoing operation and we expect to be at scene for the foreseeable, Dublin Fire Brigade said in an updated statement. If you can smell smoke we're advising local residents to close all windows and doors as a precaution Smoke is drifting across the locality, they advised. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content A garda spokesperson added that Dublin Fire Brigade currently have primacy at the scene. "Gardai are assisting with traffic management at this time, they said. The industrial premises is around 2km from the disused former Crown Paints factory earmarked for asylum accommodation that has been the focus of protests and arson attacks in recent weeks, leading to initial online speculation that that premises was again on fire. However, this evenings fire is at a different location. Dublin Airport has said the fire, close to the airport, is not impacting any flights. A fire in the Santry area is resulting in smoke blowing towards the airport this evening. This is not impacting on operations at the airport and flights continue to operate as normal. "The airport team, in collaboration with AirNav Ireland, continue to monitor the situation, a spokesperson for airport operator DAA said. Social media users from across the city have been posting pictures and videos of the large blaze. Emergency services are at the scene of a massive fire in Coolock in north dublin @rtenews pic.twitter.com/o4EIpuw75X Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) August 1, 2024 The fire is visible from Dublin Airport also. A fire in North Dublin, seen from Dublin Airport pic.twitter.com/XVE7vvL3NO Diari Liffey (@DiariLiffey) August 1, 2024 Here is the fire from a closer angle posted by one social media user Huge fire has broken out in Dublin. It wouldn't surprise me if it's something to do with batteries (smoke looks very much like other battery fires I've posted)pic.twitter.com/fQgxfl85xQ Volcaholic (@volcaholic1) August 1, 2024 More to follow... Irelands premier has welcomed the release of Irish citizen Paul Whelan from prison in Russia. Mr Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan who also holds Irish citizenship, was designated as wrongfully detained following his arrest in December 2018 after he had travelled to Russia for a wedding. He was convicted of espionage charges which he and the US said were false, and was serving a 16-year sentence. His release comes as part of the biggest prisoner swap between the US and Russia in post-Soviet history. Others released by Moscow include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality. Taoiseach Simon Harris said he had received confirmation from the US government that Mr Whelan was part of a prisoner exchange on Thursday. The process had been negotiated for months. Mr Harris said: I have spoken to the US ambassador in Ireland who confirmed the news. I know this will be an enormous relief to his family who have campaigned for many years for his release. I would also like to thank Irelands diplomatic team in Russia and our consular team in Dublin for their years of tireless work on this case. An Irish teenager has been arrested in Portugal on suspicion of attempted homicide after several Dutch holidaymakers were attacked (PA) An Irish teenager has been arrested in Portugal on suspicion of attempted homicide after several Dutch holidaymakers were attacked. Police in the Algarve said that an intense and violent fight broke out between a number of Irish and Dutch holidaymakers. On Wednesday, the 19-year-old Irishman was arrested for attempted qualified homicide following the alleged fight, which happened in the popular area of Albufeira on Monday. The Judicial Police (PJ) said that the victims, four men, were attacked with a sharp weapon, causing injuries that put their lives in danger and required hospitalisation. According to the investigation by the Southern Directorate of the PJ, the attacks occurred following an argument, which led to an exchange of insults and which quickly escalated into a physical confrontation. The attacks were carried out in an intense and violent manner between three Irish citizens and nine Dutch citizens, aged between 17 and 21, inside the apartment complex where they were staying, a spokesman for the PJ said. During the investigations carried out, evidence was collected that led to the complete identification of the suspect and subsequent arrest outside of flagrant crime. The detainee will be brought before the competent judicial authorities for the first judicial interrogation and application of coercive measures. The investigation is led by the Public Prosecutors Office, Department of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution of Albufeira. Officers walk past a burnt out police vehicle as they are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool (PA) Sir Keir Starmer has warned social media carries responsibility over tackling misinformation in the wake of violent protests around the country following the stabbings in Southport. The Prime Minister said the Government would uphold the law everywhere, including online, where far-right groups have been accused of inciting violence and stirring division in the wake of the tragedy, which has led to unrest in Southport, London and Hartlepool. Speaking directly to social media firms during a press conference in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, its happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere. That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer answers questions during a press conference in Downing Street (Henry Nicholls/PA) But he added that it was important for Government and tech firms to work together to keep the country safe, saying government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers does not work well. The Prime Minister said there is a discussion to be had about companies striking the right balance, warning social media carries responsibility, but suggested he wanted to work together to keep the country safe. He added: What has not worked well recently with the previous government, in my view, is the performative politics of a government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers. That approach to me is not effective. My approach is different, which is to roll my sleeves up, get the relevant people around the table and fix the problems, and meet the challenges that we have as a country. We did that with law enforcement and police this afternoon similar approach with social media, which is not performative politics which gets us nowhere, but the politics of service, which is to actually work together to address the challenges that we have and make sure that we keep the country safe and respect the values of our fellow citizens, which are about law enforcement, security and safety. Earlier this week, Merseyside Police issued a warning over the spreading online of an incorrect name for the Southport attacker now named as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana and a false story around his background. People attending the Enough is Enough protest in Westminster (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Sunder Katwala, director of the think tank British Future, highlighted a number of high-profile online figures, including Laurence Fox and former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who were sharing that false information on X, formerly Twitter. A number of experts said this misinformation had been used by a vocal minority to sow division and fuel their own agenda and trigger a summer of thrill-seeking impulsive insurrection following violent disorder in Southport, London and Hartlepool in the days since the attack. John Coxhead, a professor of policing at Staffordshire University, said groups were being cynically stirred up by opportunistic populists with nothing better to do. Social media giant X has come under increased scrutiny since being taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in late 2022. Mr Musks approach to running the platform has been heavily criticised after he substantially cut staff numbers and rowed back on the sites verification and content moderation systems, claiming he wanted to allow absolute free speech on the site. Under his leadership, the company has also restored the accounts of many figures previously banned for breaking site rules around hate speech, including far-right figures in the UK such as Tommy Robinson real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Katie Hopkins. Since then, many users claim to have seen an increase in hateful content, as well as pornography and spam posts and accounts, despite Mr Musk claiming he would defeat the bots after taking over the company. Court artist drawing of 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana (centre) covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, following a knife attack in Southport (Elizabeth Cook/PA) A 17-year-old charged with the murder of three girls in the Southport knife attack has now been named as Axel Rudakubana. Questions were raised after the teenagers arrest about why his identity had not been made public while detectives were given more time to question him. He has also since been charged with the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults, as well as possession of a kitchen knife. At Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Andrew Menary KC ruled he would not impose reporting restrictions to keep the defendants identity anonymous and said: Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum. Earlier in the day, Rudakubana appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court, which was sitting as a youth court where automatic reporting restrictions were applied due to his age. The boy was not identified earlier this week because of his age amid active ongoing criminal proceedings. The criminal age of responsibility in England and Wales is 10-years-old, meaning children aged between 10 and 17 can be arrested and taken to court if they commit a crime. The identity of defendants and witnesses under the age of 18 who are subject to criminal proceedings in youth courts is protected by automatic reporting restrictions under Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. If a child is charged with an offence and is facing criminal proceedings in adult courts magistrates and crown courts then magistrates and judges have legal powers to grant anonymity to a child defendant, witness or victim under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. Police officers and a police van block the vehicle entrance at Liverpool Magistrates Court (Danny Lawson/PA) Both of these laws ban the press from publishing a child defendants name or any detail which could lead to them being identified while the reporting restrictions remain in place. This is why media reports sometimes say they cannot identify a child involved in a criminal court case for legal reasons. The automatic restrictions technically begin once court proceedings are active when a suspect has been charged and is appearing in court for the first time. But media organisations typically refrain from identifying any child arrested on suspicion of a crime, having considered their ethical and other legal responsibilities, because there is the prospect this could then lead to prosecution and court proceedings where the reporting restrictions in question will activate. Press regulator IPSO advises editors to generally avoid naming children under the age of 18 after arrest for a criminal offence but before they appear in a youth court unless they can show that the individuals name is already in the public domain, or that the individual (or, if they are under 16, a custodial parent or similarly responsible adult) has given their consent, adding: This does not restrict the right to name juveniles who appear in a crown court, or whose anonymity is lifted. If restrictions are imposed, or automatic restrictions apply, child defendants remain anonymous throughout legal proceedings and the rulings can be challenged usually by reporters after the court case has ended. If a child is convicted of a crime, having either pleaded guilty or been found guilty after a trial, magistrates and judges have powers to lift reporting restrictions so the defendant can be identified in some circumstances, including if this is considered in the public interest. Media may try to challenge the anonymity order if identifying the child could help to maintain public confidence in the justice system, or deter others from offending, by allowing full details of the case to be reported. There could be a strong public interest in lifting reporting restrictions when the convicted child had been involved in significant disorder so the public can be satisfied an offender has been brought to justice, or if the case involved serious offences which undermined the publics confidence in the safety of their communities, for example. In February, teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were identified for the first time as they were both handed life sentences for the sadistic 2023 murder of transgender 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, after a judge lifted a ban on them being named by the press. But the restrictions automatically end when the child turns 18. In Rudakubanas crown court hearing, in light of applications by lawyers to impose a section 45 restriction, Judge Andrew Menary said: Whilst I accept it is exceptional, given his age, principally because he is 18 in six days time, I do not make an order under section 45. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Irans supreme leader and representatives of Palestinian militias he backs prayed on Thursday over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over Mr Haniyehs coffin at Tehran University while Irans new president Masoud Pezeshkian stood next to him. State television later showed the coffins placed in a truck and moved on the street toward Azadi Square in Tehran and people throwing flowers at them. After the funeral services in Tehran, Mr Haniyehs remains are to be transferred to Qatar for burial on Friday. Mr Haniyeh came to Tehran to attend the inauguration of Mr Pezeshkian. Associated Press photos showed the Hamas leader seated alongside leaders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and Hezbollah, and Iranian media showed him and Mr Pezeshkian hugging. Mr Haniyeh had met earlier Ayatollah Khamenei. Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard in Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP) Hours later, he was killed in an airstrike that hit a residence Mr Haniyeh uses in Tehran. Iranian authorities said the attack is under investigation but have not provided details. Israel had pledged to kill Mr Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the groups October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The strike came just hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Irans ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Iran supports Hamas, as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said all parties in the Middle East must avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict. Speaking in the Mongolian capital of Ulaaanbataar on Thursday, Mr Blinken appealed for countries to make the right choices in the days ahead and said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was the only way to begin to break the current cycle of violence and suffering. Mr Blinken did not mention Israel, Iran or Hamas by name in his comments. Bitter regional rivals, Israel and Iran risked plunging into war earlier this year when Israel hit Irans embassy in Damascus in April. Iran retaliated, and Israel countered in an unprecedented exchange of strikes on each others soil, but international efforts succeeded in containing that cycle before it spun out of control. During Mr Pezeshkians inauguration ceremony, in his speech, he spoke in support of Palestinians, saying: Iran demands a world where no Palestinian childs dreams are buried under the rubble of their home. We are seeking a world where the proud people of Palestine are freed from occupation, oppression and imprisonment and genocide, Mr Pezeshkian said. On Thursday, Irans Revolutionary Guard said that an Iranian military adviser died in the Israeli airstrike in Beirut earlier in the week that killed a senior Hezbollah commander. In a statement on its website, the Guard identified the adviser as Milad Bidi, saying he had been operating in Syria and Lebanon. The Guard has advisers in both countries working with key allies Hezbollah, the Syrian government and other militias. The Guard did not specify the day of the strike that killed Mr Bidi, but Tuesday evenings attack was the only Israeli strike hit in the Lebanese capital since January. The strike hit a building in a Beirut suburb, killing Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, along with at least five civilians. Mr Shukurs funeral was set to take place on Thursday in Beirut. Singapore said it is deeply concerned about developments in the Middle East, including the killing of Mr Haniyeh, who was involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza. This puts at risk efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement that would allow for the release of all hostages and facilitate humanitarian assistance to the civilian population, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Singapore called on all parties to take steps to de-escalate tensions to avoid a wider regional conflagration. Al-Qassam previously holding a celebration and a military parade to honour the families of the martyrs in northern Gaza (Alamy/PA) Mohammed Deif, Hamass longtime shadowy military leader and one of the alleged masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, is said to be dead following an Israeli airstrike last month. The Israeli military said it killed Mr Deif in a massive strike in southern Gaza on July 13, citing an intelligence assessment. One of the founders of Hamass military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s, Mr Deif led the unit for decades. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel and often did. He gained mythical status among Palestinians, surviving a string of Israeli assassination attempts and not showing his face in public for decades. For years, he topped Israels most-wanted list. Israel says Mr Deif and Hamass political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, were the chief architects of the October 7 attack. Together they succeeded in foiling Israels vaunted border defences, surprising the regions most powerful military and unleashing an unprecedented attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 others hostage into Gaza. A graphic released by Israel Defence Forces announcing the death of Mohammed Deif (Israel Defence Forces via AP) The attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. On the morning of the attack, Hamas issued a rare voice recording of Mr Deif announcing the Al Aqsa Flood operation. In the message, he railed against military raids in the occupied West Bank and violence in east Jerusalem and called on all Palestinians to rise up and take part. Enough is enough, he said. Kill, burn, destroy and block the roads. Make them understand that the Al Aqsa Flood is more powerful than they think and believe. The militarys claim that he was dead came a day after Hamass political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an alleged Israeli strike on Tehran. Those developments could help set the tone for the remainder of the war. They could imperil ceasefire talks and raise fears of a regional escalation. But the alleged demise of Mr Deif, a long-wanted figure said to be behind the deadliest attack in Israels history, would also be a major win for Israel. It could present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a political off-ramp to end the war, allowing him to retreat from his lofty promises of total victory while showing Israelis that Hamass military capabilities suffered a debilitating blow. At the same time, his killing would be a significant setback for Hamas, both symbolically and strategically, since it may have lost a unique player in the Palestinian armed struggle against Israel, even if that struggle likely will not end with Mr Deifs alleged death. Born Mohammed al-Masri and believed to be 58 or 59, his nom de guerre, Deif, means guest in Arabic a moniker that reflected his tendency to change locations frequently to hide from Israel. Mr Deif, like Mr Sinwar, grew up in a refugee camp of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis in the mid-1960s. Gaza is home to several such camps whose inhabitants fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel during the war surrounding the countrys establishment in 1948. Palestinians evacuate a body from a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13 (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) He is believed to have joined Hamas shortly after the formation of the Islamist Palestinian group in the late 1980s, at the onset of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising. The groups ideology calls for armed resistance and the violent destruction of Israel. In 1989, during the height of the uprising, Mr Deif was arrested by Israel but later released. Michael Koubi, a former director of the investigations department at Israels Shin Bet domestic security agency, is one of the few Israelis to have met Mr Deif personally when he was a quiet, bookish 16-year-old imprisoned in a detention facility in Khan Younis for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers. He was very, very patriotic, very involved in the intifada, Mr Koubi said. He would go on to found Hamass network in the West Bank in 1993, the year that Israel reached an interim peace agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Israeli military said. That same year, he was also promoted to the head of Hamass armed wing, it said. Israel holds Mr Deif responsible for plotting many attacks that killed scores of Israeli civilians, including the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldier Nahshon Wachsman in the West Bank in October 1994, and suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon in 1996. The attacks in the mid-90s are widely believed to have tipped the 1996 Israeli election in favour of Benjamin Netanyahu, who eked out a surprise victory over the more moderate front-runner Shimon Peres. Under Mr Netanyahus lengthy leadership and his successive nationalist governments, the prospects of an independent Palestinian state have grown dimmer, chances that have further diminished because of Hamass attack and the war. Under Mr Deifs watch, Hamas developed its rocket programme, beginning with rudimentary weapons capable of travelling just a few kilometres and evolving into an arsenal that struck deep inside Israel, reaching its seaside metropolis Tel Aviv and the foothills of Jerusalem. He was also in command when soldier Gilad Schalit was kidnapped into Gaza in 2006. Mr Schalit would be released five years later in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a trade that set Mr Sinwar free. Mr Deif is also thought to have helped expand Hamass labyrinth of underground tunnels in Gaza where he is believed to have hidden during the ongoing war. Mr Koubi said Mr Deifs fingerprints were all over the October 7 attack, from its sweeping scope to the more surprising aspects such as the paragliders who flew over the fence and landed in the border communities at the start of the attack. He was very creative, he said. There are few photos of Mr Deif, and he is thought to be unrecognisable to most Palestinians. He has been so elusive that even his appearance was a point of speculation. Some media reports say he was paralysed and used a wheelchair for years following injuries he sustained during past assassination attempts, while others reported he was able to walk unassisted. In 2014, Palestinian media said his wife and two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, one of the many failed attempts to kill him. Moshe Fuzaylov, a long-time investigator and former senior official for the Shin Bet, said that if Mr Deif was killed, it could open a window of opportunity where Hamas will be in disarray, including over Mr Haniyehs death. It could push the group toward a ceasefire with Israel while they are in a weakened state. Its a morale hit and a very strong operational hit, and it changes this organisation from something that has two legs to lean on to one that is limping, he said. But it would not necessarily be a death blow for Hamas. Israel has targeted Hamas political and military leaders in the past, said Khaled el-Gindy, an analyst specialising in Palestinian affairs with the Washington-based Middle East Institute. But leaders are always replaceable. Public Domain In today's society, a Saint is most commonly associated with the Catholic Church. While the Catholic Church does not maintain a definitive list of named saints, the number is easily over 10,000. However, popular Catholic saints are not just related to the Church; many religions and cultures have identified individuals as saints, and we as a culture have embraced those individuals and their life stories. It is often said that the Church does not make a saint; God does. Individuals who become names as saints most often demonstrate the qualities of being a positive role model and teacher who exemplifies generous and unselfish behavior. Often, saints are believed in their lifetime to be channels for God in some fashion. Saints are believed to have a life mission where they intercede for the salvation of others and help humanity to evolve. In many cases, the life of the saint, over time, becomes something of legend that inspires, guides us toward our truth and tells of the time in which they lived. A specific group chooses Saints at times or causes because of the values that the saint espoused to be the Patron Saint for the group or cause. While saints are not to be prayed to or worshiped, often we keep pictures or statues of those saints whose struggles or virtues are relevant to what we face in our own lives nearby, just as we keep pictures of our ancestors nearby in order to magnify the feeling that they are close to us, especially in times of crisis. The following ten famous saints are shared across many religions and cultures. Learn about their lives and virtues to find a Catholic saint who can help to motivate and inspire you along life's journey. St. Patrick St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His symbol is the shamrock. Ironically, St. Patrick was not Irish. He is believed to have been born in Scotland. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by pirates and forced into slavery in Ireland as a sheep herder. After six years in captivity, legend says he received a dream from God guiding him to escape. He continued his life, becoming a priest and then a bishop, returning to Ireland after another dream guided him to do so. St. Patrick spent the rest of his life traveling through Ireland, converting the country to Christianity and writing his Memoir. Legend also speaks of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland; while there is no evidence that there were ever snakes in Ireland, the snakes could have been a metaphor for the eradication of pagan religions. St. Patrick was humble and courageous. St. Patrick has been said to help those who interpret dreams and follow divine guidance. St. Francis of Assisi St. Francis was born in Italy to a wealthy family. He served as a soldier. During the war, he was captured as a prisoner of war and held for ransom, which his father paid after nearly a year of imprisonment. During his imprisonment, St. Francis began receiving visions that told him to build God's church. After his release from prison, he abandoned his life of luxury to spread the word of God. Later in his life, legend says that he received a vision that left him with "the stigmata of Christ," meaning marks that resemble the wounds Christ suffered at his crucifixion. St. Francis is the first recorded person to receive the stigmata. St. Francis is known for his compassion and his deep connection to all beings, particularly the animal kingdom. During his lifetime, he cared for the sick and the poor. St. Francis traveled the countryside delivering sermons to humans and animals. He believed all creatures were his brothers and sisters under God. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. St. Valentine Little factual information is known about this saint. Some legends claim he was a priest or possibly a bishop who went against the direction of the Emperor by marrying young couples. It was the Emperor's theory that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers. Other legends claim that the Emperor simply forbade the marrying of Christians. Whatever the reason for the mandate, it is believed St. Valentine was beheaded for defying the Emperor's edict around 270 A.D. St. Valentine is believed to have been a kind-hearted and compassionate soul. As with many who go on to become saints after their death, St. Valentine was persecuted for his beliefs. It was his courageous behavior demonstrated by acting as he believed was right despite the consequences that led to his death and also his martyrdom. Some scholars believe that St. Valentine was not actually recognized at the time but that it was actually the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer who rewrote history, creating Valentine's Day as a holiday. However, romance and love are not all St. Valentine is known for. St. Valentine is known as the patron saint of lovers and romance. St. Valentine also is the patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy. St. Christopher According to legend, St. Christopher was a very tall, strong man who served as the king of his time. St. Christopher determined he wanted to serve the greatest king, so he left his human king's service to serve the devil. While serving the devil, St. Christopher saw that the devil was afraid of the cross and Jesus Christ. Seeing this, St. Christopher left the service of the devil in search of Jesus Christ so that he could serve the greatest of kings. For some time, St. Christopher believed he was serving God by carrying people across a dangerous river on his shoulders. Because of his size and strength, he could easily carry people across the river, while others of lesser strength would succumb to the currents and drown. One day, a small child asked St. Christopher if he could carry the child across the river. As they entered the river with the child on his shoulders, the river became turbulent, and the child became heavier than anyone St. Christopher had ever carried. When they reached the other side, the child revealed that he was, in fact, Jesus Christ. This story has been passed down from century to century. It is because of this legend that St. Christopher is known as the patron saint of travelers. St. Bernadette St. Bernadette lived in Lourdes, France. As a teenager, she began receiving visions from the Virgin Mary. Throughout her life, she was reported to receive 18 visions from the Virgin Mary. These visions guided her to dig in the ground, where there appeared only to be dry dirt, to open up a spring. The spring at Lourdes still flows today. The water from that spring is believed to have healing properties. When Bernadette reported her visions, she was interrogated and threatened with imprisonment. However, St. Bernadette did not waiver and continued to speak her truth. Later visions instructed St. Bernadette to build a chapel. Today, Lourdes, with its healing spring and chapel, is a pilgrimage site for people all over the world. Over the centuries, many who have made this pilgrimage have experienced miraculous healing after drinking the spring water. St. Bernadette is the patron saint of illness, those who are ridiculed for their beliefs, people experiencing poverty and shepherds. St. Anthony was born into Portuguese nobility. He was very intelligent and spent most of his youth focusing on his studies, especially those related to theology, sacred texts and the church. After the death of 5 Franciscan monks who were murdered in Morocco by the Moslems, St. Anthony was so moved by their faith and suffering that led to their death that he decided to dedicate his life to preaching the gospel to the Moslems. St. Anthony was an eloquent and passionate preacher who claimed to preach by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through him. Throughout his life, St. Anthony spent his time preaching the gospel, organizing relief efforts for the poor, the abolition of debtor's prisons and advocating for the release of prisoners of war. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things, lost causes and, most importantly, lost souls. St. Augustine St. Augustine was the son of a minor officiant of the Roman Empire. He was born on the northern coast of Africa in 354 A.D. At 16, his parents sent him away to attend university in Carthage. Soon after leaving for school, St. Augustine's father died. After his father's death, St. Augustine took to a life of partying and sin, living with his concubine and the mother of his child. While St. Augustine was interested in religion and mythology, it wasn't until he was 32 that he experienced a spiritual awakening that would lead him to renounce his career and life of sin and partying to dedicate his life to God. For the rest of his life, St. Augustine committed to living a life of poverty. Ultimately, St. Augustine became a bishop of the church and wrote over 800 sermons and letters on religious topics at the time. St. Augustine's miraculous conversion is shared as an inspiration for those who are struggling with a vice or a habit they are trying to break. It is because of this conversion and his partying ways as a young man that St. Augustine is known as the patron saint of patron of brewers and of those who struggle with a vice or habit they wish to break. St. Joan of Arc Joan of Arc was born a peasant girl in France during medieval times. It was during these times that France and England were embroiled in what historians now refer to as the Hundred Years' War. As a child, Joan took care of the family's animals and became a skilled seamstress. Around the age of 10, Joan of Arc began having spiritual visions that instructed her to live a virtuous and God-fearing life. As Joan of Arc grew, the visions she received became more and more vivid. At 16, Joan's visions instructed her to lead an army into war to support the efforts to take back France from the English and restore the French thrown. Joan and her army won their first battle, known as "The Battle of Orleans"; however, in a subsequent battle, she was captured and taken prisoner. Ultimately, Joan of Arc was turned over to the church, which charged her with multiple crimes, including witchcraft, heresy and dressing like a man. St. Joan of Arc was convicted of the charges and publicly burned at the stake at the age of 19. St. Joan of Arc is a patron saint of soldiers, prisoners, captives, the Woman's Army Corps and France. St. Joan of Arc's integrity, courage and strength of character are an inspiration and remind us that anyone can make a difference. St. Catherine St. Catherine was born to nobility in Alexandria, Egypt, sometime in the 4th century. Nothing factual is known of her life, and legends vary. She is thought to have been very beautiful and intelligent. Legends say that she was a student of philosophy medicine and spoke numerous languages. She loved to read, and it was through her love of reading that she learned about Christianity. She never married, refusing to marry any man she did not consider her equal. At the age of 18, legends say that she challenged the emperor on the issue of Christianity. The emperor is said to have brought in 50 philosophers to debate her ideas on Christianity. The outcome of this was that she converted all 50 of them and others, including the empress herself. When the emperor ordered St. Catherine to be his mistress, she refused and was subsequently tortured on a spiked wheel. When the wheel miraculously fell apart, the emperor had her beheaded. St. Catherine is said to be one of the voices heard by Joan of Arc. Some legends believed her to have had a mystical marriage to Christ. She is the patron saint to philosophers, wheelwrights, mechanics, millers, scribes and preachers. She is considered a protector of young girls. St. Padre Pio St. Padre Pio was born in a small farming town in Italy in 1887. His family was a strong family of faith, and by the age of 5, St. Padre Pio dedicated his life to God. Even as a small child, his family reported that he loved to pray and loved the church. In early childhood, St. Padre Pio communicated with spiritual guides, angels, Jesus and the Virgin Mary. St. Padre Pio joined an order of Friars at 15 years old and, by the age of 23, was ordained as a priest. It is said that even spending a few moments in St. Padre Pio's presence was life-changing. St. Padre Pio suffered from ill health his entire life, although the cause of this was never found and after offering himself as a "victim for poor sinners and souls in purgatory," at the age of 31, the stigmata of Christ, the wounds of Christ, appeared on his hands, feet and side remaining there painfully for 50 years. St. Padre Pio was a tireless worker, being of service in the church and hospitals, consistently working 19-hour days without ever being known to take a vacation day in all of his 51 years. His miraculous healing and protection from harm are legendary. St. Padre Pio is the patron saint of civil defense workers, adolescents and stress relief. Each of these ten famous Catholic saints has an amazing life story that tells of faith, courage and bravery in the face of adversity. Their stories are inspirational. Not only do these stories motivate us to become the best we can be, but they also provide us with a unique historical perspective of the time in which each saint lived. Select a saint that you connect with or a patron of a cause you are passionate about and learn more about them. Open yourself up to allow that saint to help you, to motivate you and to inspire you along your life's journey. Dawn Demers is a Strategic Coach, Change Master and speaker. Dawns training includes Pranic Healing, Reiki and other healing modalities in addition to traditional bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in business and psychology. Learn more about Dawn at ACORDA Strategic Coaching. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Cloudy. Some light rain will fall throughout the day. High 56F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low around 40F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. PITTSFIELD Theres a splash pad at The Common, and another at Clapp Park, providing cool summer fun for children of all ages. Chances are, if youve seen kids playing in the water at either park, you havent seen them frown. So why not a splash pad at Durant Park, too? Residents of the West Side wanted one. So they asked. And the answer was yes. Theres no timeline for construction and completion. But James McGrath, the city's park, open space, and natural resource program manager, hopes a third splash pad for city children can be up and running within the next 24 months. On Thursday, the Conservation Commission will consider the proposal from the city of Pittsfield Parks and Recreation Department. If permits are approved, McGrath said, that will allow the department to finalize construction costs and seek funding. The project is presently estimated at between $350,000 and $450,000, McGrath said. This has been a project we have been working on the past year. Its something that was brought to our attention by the users of Durant Park and other park stakeholders, McGrath said. Given that theres [a splash pad] at the Common and one at Clapp, they felt its important for the park to provide one at Durant as well. We felt the same way. Tony Jackson of West Side Legends, a community nonprofit group dedicated to improving the neighborhoods quality of life, said the idea was first raised at a Smart Growth America meeting convened by the Berkshire Regional Planning Council. That's where someone asked why Durant Park didnt have a splash park while two others did. Collectively the group decided to ask [for the splash pad], and there was more than agreement, Jackson said. They said Yeah, lets make it happen. The proposal requires Conservation Commission approval because the park, at John Street and Columbus Avenue, is adjacent to the West Branch of the Housatonic River, and within the river's 100-year flood plain. One positive for the project: Durant Park already has city water service, and a building on the site with bathrooms and room for water controls. The benefit of restrooms on site is incredibly important for these types of operations to be successful, McGrath said. About that water infrastructure: It uses copper pipe to comply with state plumbing codes, and a few people see dollar signs where most others see a public good. Thieves stole copper pipe from both the Common and Clapp Park earlier this year, leading to delays in reopening those splash pads. "The city is making security modifications to many of our park restroom buildings," McGrath said when asked if the Durant Park splashpad would be designed to minimize that risk. "This will include better locks, alarms and cameras." According to the application, brought forward by Berkshire Design Group on behalf of the city, the pad will be 700 square feet and will connect to other park features with asphalt paths. The finished splash pad will not affect the amount of water the floodplain can hold, according to the submission. Durant Park, formerly Pitt Park, has seen a number of upgrades since it was renamed for the late Rev. Willard Durant and his wife, the late Rosemary Durant, in 2015 amid overwhelming support. It's annually the home of the city Juneteenth celebration. The Rev. Durant, who died in 2013, was pastor at AME Zion Price Memorial Church, and executive director of The Christian Center on Robbins Avenue. Rosemary Durant, who passed in 2010, was The Christian Centers program director. You are the owner of this article. PITTSFIELD Lack of transportation and cell service. Income eligibility. Staff retention. Those were among the topics of concern Wednesday as state education officials met with Western Massachusetts child care and early education advocates. During a listening session at Berkshire Community College, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw, among other officials from other state departments, welcomed feedback on how to bolster child care and early education in the state. Many families whod like to access child care simply cannot afford it, Kershaw told The Eagle. Many classrooms are not able to open because theyre not able to recruit and retain teachers. Wages are too low, benefits are too few and far between, so we know we need to adjust those. The discussion was the 11th of 14 such listening sessions held specifically to gather information to develop the Early Education and Child Care Task Forces strategy to secure affordable and effective child care statewide. An executive order from Gov. Maura Healey in January resulted in an all-out effort to improve the states comparatively lackluster early education and child care system. Every department in state government is involved in the endeavor. Studies have ranked Massachusetts lower than expected, given the state's reputation for education, on issues like spending for preschool. "We're first in the country in so many things K-12 education being among the top and we should also be a leader in child care and early education," Kershaw said. "[It] couldn't be clearer that child care is among the top challenges" for Massachusetts workers. Since the executive order in January, the task force has come together and planned its report, including collecting best practices based on the listening sessions, concluding the sessions in August, completing an interim report the same month, and putting out the Year One report in December. Tutwiler said the sessions, in part, are meant to hold up a mirror to state government, ensuring that its agencies are less siloed. We acknowledge the importance of the sector in terms of creating opportunities for families and caregivers to engage in their professional dreams, he said, to engage with higher education, to have the time and the wherewithal to do whats necessary for their families. Alice Barber, a child therapist for Northampton Public Schools, spoke of the traumatic impact the pandemic has had on some young children. It is important that early childhood programs are equipped to handle the mental health challenges children may face, Barber said, adding that small classes, a safe outdoor space and supportive teachers/staff are essential for children, the latter of which involves better retention of teachers. Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative grants, one of several state funding sources for preschool programs, establish a districtwide preschool program across classes in public and community-based early education and care programs, according to the governors office. Tamara Stephens of Childcare of the Berkshires said she hoped state money, which has been helpful, would continue to come in. Stevens was one of several to bring up better recruitment of educators. The grades are improving, but we have to make the child care rates comparable and competitive with public schools if we want a high-quality staff, Stevens said. Sarah Lipinski, also of Child Care of the Berkshires, pointed out that the money for community programs had only increased 2.7 percent overall in five years. Our budget has not increased at all in that time, Lipinsky said. Were spending more time trying to find other funding sources. Melissa Fawcett owns Ready Set Learn, a child care center in Pittsfield that is private pay-only. She said her business lost $30,000 when state grant funding was decreased. Kellie Brown, the COO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Westfield, urged for certain early education and child care workers to receive the same benefits as state workers. Katherine von Haefen of Berkshire United Way discussed staffing, noting, A skilled, consistent educator in the classroom creates long-lasting change for children and our families. She advocated for a search for solutions, which could start regionally, and criticized the current system in the state, as it doesnt provide all educators with basic financial stability. Folks leave the field because we are unable to make their finances work, she said. In addition to struggling with transportation, affordable housing and lack of mental health resources, we are also seeing a huge rise in economically challenged households. This still from Season 6, Episode 1 of "Love Is Blind" shows a top-down view of the "pods" that participants meet each other in as part of the experiment. The pods allow romantic hopefuls to meet without actually seeing each other. Stay up to date on Berkshires news with Berkshires in Brief, our free daily newsletter NORTH ADAMS The new North Adams Regional Hospital wont have to worry about money like the old one. Berkshire Health Systems announced Thursday that NARH has been deemed a critical access hospital. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the designation on July 31, which applies retroactively to July 12. Since opening in March, NARH has provided outpatient services to people while waiting on the vital designation, which frees up federal Medicare and Medicaid money. Reestablishing inpatient beds at the new North Adams Regional Hospital is a key component of our organizations strategy to keep health care services and care close to home, as often as possible, BHS CEO Darlene Rodowicz said in a news release Thursday. In an interview with The Eagle on Thursday, Rodowicz noted that the designation means NARH can become a swing bed facility: Critical access hospitals with swing bed services allow patients to recover from acute care in the hospital, rather than a nursing home, before heading home. More importantly, the designation allows us to know well be able to keep the hospital open because the cost of Medicare and Medicaid services we provide will be fully reimbursed, Rodowicz said. We give up the opportunity to create a profit margin. For Medicare and Medicaid, we wont have a loss, but the best well do is break even. Rodowicz hopes there will be a high enough volume of commercial insurers such as Blue Cross, United, Cigna and Health New England to at least break even and hopefully create a small margin. A 1 percent or 2 percent profit margin would allow the health system to be able to continue to make the capital investments health care requires. The hospital at this time has the staff to fill up to 12 beds. Under the current plan, the number of beds could increase to 18. Rodowicz credited U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, as well as the Berkshire delegation of state legislators and others in the region. Neal said in the release that the designation will have an enormous impact on the Northern Berkshire community. This designation works to resolve stark inequities in rural and underserved communities as it relates to our nations health system, Neal wrote. I have long advocated for legislation that addresses health equity, allowing everyone to have a fair and just opportunity to achieve their highest level of health, regardless of who they are or where they live. After multiple surveys from the state Department of Public Health on behalf of CMS, NARH has achieved a yearlong goal with its critical access hospital designation. Apart from the widely recognized need to get a hospital back in North Adams after NARH abruptly closed in 2014, the main reason BHS was able to open the facility was a change in federal guidelines that would allow for NARH to become a critical access hospital. The designation triggers increased cost-based reimbursement for provided services, which Rodowicz has said would prevent a reopened North Adams Regional Hospital from operating at a loss. Before the federal change, which was finalized last year, a hospital with inpatient care in the city was not viewed as financially viable. I am pleased, Neal said, that the work of my colleagues in Congress working with the Biden/Harris administration has led to this Critical Access Hospital designation for North Adams Regional Hospital. Obtaining the designation was years in the making. Rodowicz said, Its been 10 years of watching the regulations and hoping thered be a time North Adams would be eligible for a critical access hospital. GREAT BARRINGTON It was their 31st wedding anniversary, and one of them spent it on the toilet. She had been sitting there for days. Not just one strain of bacteria had rioted in the body of Suzi Banks Baum. There were two bugs: E. coli and campylobacter. My body was saying, Just absolutely no nothing can be inside of us, Banks Baum said of what were five full days and nights of diarrhea and an inability to keep food and drink down. She had gone swimming in Lake Mansfield the evening before the trouble started. The evening before health officials closed the lake to swimming due to "hazardous levels" of E. coli bacteria. That was July 24. The town announced Wednesday that the lake had reopened. But when she went for a swim that fated evening, Banks Baum didn't know a bacteria problem was brewing there. The main suspects of the bacteria? The geese that have taken a liking to the beach area, town officials say. The problem was their droppings. Bacteria levels fell after the geese were shooed away and the droppings cleaned up. And while there is no way to scientifically trace Banks Baums illness back to her neighborhood lake, she and a local health official suspect it, she said. Officials had closed the lake on July 24 due to E. coli counts that were more than 40 colony forming units, or CFUs, above the safety threshold as of July 23, according to the state's Interactive Beach Water Quality Dashboard. As of July 30, E. coli levels had dropped from 275.5 CFUs to 10.9 CFUs. The town retested late afternoon on Wednesday, said Rebecca Jurczyk, the towns health agent. Municipalities have to test public swimming areas weekly during the warm season. When asked how many E. coli and campylobacter cases she is seeing this summer, Jill Sweet, the lead public health nurse for the Tri Town Health Department, referred questions to Jurczyk. Jurczyk said she had heard from Sweet of two cases of campylobacter attributed to the lake. The Department of Public Works came to the rescue, said Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Ilana Siegal. The DPW is using a combination of tactics, she said, to keep the geese away. These include sound, light and motion like construction tape streamers that make the geese uncomfortable. Geese have wreaked havoc on summer fun at at least a few Berkshires beaches. Card Pond in West Stockbridge has been closed all summer due to high E. coli levels. A Pittsfield resident complained in a letter to the editor published Wednesday about geese droppings befouling the grounds at Onota Lake where the free Live on the Lake concert series is held every summer. With some extra work, there are solutions. Since the relentless attention from the DPW, Siegal said, the geese havent been back as of Tuesday. It was likely construction at the beach and recreation area that led geese to settle in, she added, because there were no people or dogs around to scare them off. The beach and recreation area were reopened to the public July 1. Residents have been fed up. Someone apparently set off firecrackers on the beach last week to scare the geese off. Others took a long-term approach. They implored the DPW to act. And before the DPW stepped in, Paige MacKenzie Turner told DPW Superintendent Joe Aberdale in an email that she spent $63 on pooper scoopers for the lifeguards, according to the neighborhood Google chat group. And Banks Baum said she was beginning to feel better on Monday, after the antibiotics started kicking in. She said she'll be wary in future of swimming while the water is "bathtub" warm. Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia ARCHIVE - Relations between Moldova and Russia are tense. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa Keystone The Republic of Moldova, which lies between Romania and Ukraine and is striving to join the EU, has expelled a Russian diplomat. SDA The Russian ambassador to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry, Oleg Vasnetsov, was personally informed of the decision, according to the authorities in the capital Chisinau. The embassy employee had carried out activities that were incompatible with diplomatic status, it said. Previously, allegations had been made that a Russian diplomat had recruited an employee of the Moldovan parliament and an employee of the border guard service. According to a statement from the public prosecutor's office, both Moldovans had been provisionally arrested the previous day. A search was also carried out in parliament rooms. They are being investigated for high treason and conspiracy against Moldova, it said. The recruitment attempts had already taken place in 2023. The Russian embassy denied the allegations. Moldova had already expelled 45 Russian diplomats in 2023 amid accusations of espionage. Russia is bothered by the Eastern European country's western orientation under President Maia Sandu. Moldova has been a candidate for EU membership since 2022 and has officially begun accession talks. In October, a referendum on accession to the European Union is planned alongside the presidential election. SDA Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Police are working to establish if social media calls for anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend will materialise on the ground, the chief constable has said. Jon Boutcher urged people in society to push back against the poisonous nonsense being propagated by those seeking to organise demonstrations against the Islamic faith. Advertisement At the monthly meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the PSNIs oversight body, independent member Marian Cree asked the police chief if he was aware of social media posts calling on people to attend a series of anti-Islamic events on Saturday. We are aware of it, were still trying to understand whos behind it, said Mr Boutcher. Theres no set organisation showing themselves on social media which sort of defines the cowardly nature of the people who do this nonsense. There is obviously, from the social media calling, an intention to try and do something on Saturday. Advertisement We have got a gold (command) structure in place around this. Were looking into the intelligence now to see who, if anybody, is actually involved and going to respond to this. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton (PA) Advertisement His comments came after two nights of disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday. Violent unrest has been witnessed in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. I would point people to what happened in London yesterday and Hartlepool, and obviously Southport, this is based on poisonous nonsense, Mr Boutcher told the board meeting in Belfast. It has no basis in a society thats seen what hatefulness can do to a society and I would appeal for everybody, everybody to push back against any of this utter awful nonsense. Advertisement But if there is going to be any gatherings, we will police them and we will police them effectively. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said he was aware of a social media post calling for a gathering at Belfast City Hall and a subsequent protest march. He warned that any march needed the permission of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission. To date no such procession has been notified to the Parades Commission, he said. Advertisement Id advise that if anybody was planning on attending that, the fact that thats not notified, of course, could mean that they could see themselves liable to a criminal investigation. Protest is a fundamental human right. But everything that the chief has said is right, you know, our real concern around this is that, in fact, its simply people intent on stirring up fear and hatred. And I would ask that anybody that does intend to engage in any form of protest activity follows the advice that we issue to the public regularly on this, the advice is you should engage with the police and to stay lawful, you must not endanger the safety of yourself or anybody else. You should not block any road or foot path, you should respect the rights of others and the Parades Commission must be notified in respect of any procession. Alliance board member Nuala McAllister expressed concern that some of the posts had urged women and children to take the lead in the protests. Mr Singleton replied: I think that was a sinister element that weve seen, and I think it speaks volumes potentially about the mindset of those that are involved in this activity. But, again, let me reassure you, from a policing perspective our response will be proportionate. As the chief says, itll be policed effectively. Despite protests, asylum seekers will be housed as planned at properties in Coolock in Dublin and Dundrum, Co Tipperary. This comes following violent scenes at the former Crown Paints site in recent weeks, that included arson attacks, while a number of gardai were injured. Advertisement On Wednesday night in the High Court, residents of Dundrum, Co Tipperary were refused an injunction to stop asylum seekers being put up locally in the Dundrum House Hotel. The Minister for Integration says they will continue to engage with communities about their concerns. But Roderic O'Gorman said the state has an obligation to accommodate International Protection applicants. We will respond to the issues that protestors are raising. Im clear we need to provide this accommodation, so families arent left homeless, he told Newstalk on Thursday morning. A Co Clare retailer has told a court that she and her staff "now operate under a cloud of fear" after three armed robberies on her businesses over the space of 10 days. At Ennis Circuit Court, Flora Crowe said that the three armed robberies last October have had a profound effect on my family, our staff and also the sense of safety within our community. Advertisement Ms Crowe said that prior to the robberies last October, the family run business had been very fortunate never to experience a robbery, let alone an armed robbery over the past 40 years. In the case, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a three year-one month prison term on Dylan Considine Kelly (23) of no-fixed abode for the robberies with the final nine months suspended resulting in a two year-four month jail term to serve. Judge Comerford said that he could see how terrifying it was for an Irish town to have this series of robberies with threats of violence in a short space of time. In her victim impact statement, Ms Crowe said: During each of these traumatic events, armed robbers entered our store, threatened the well-being and safety of our staff." Advertisement She said: The fear and uncertainty experienced during these robberies cannot be overstated." Two of my dedicated staff members have resigned, unable to cope with the recurring threat of violence. Additionally, three others were so terrified by these incidents that they were unable to produce their own victim impact statements today. Ms Crowe said: These crimes have not only shaken our sense of security but have also undermined the trust and community that we have in Sixmilebridge. Many of our staff are female and youth workers so it adds to the vulnerability we face. Advertisement Ms Crowe stated that the emotional and psychological toll on my employees and myself has been significant. We now operate under a cloud of fear, constantly worried about the possibility of another robbery." She said: I myself was pregnant at the time of the robberies, and it added to the real sense of fear that I had when I had when I had to lock up each night until the suspect was caught. Our store has always been more than just a place to buy groceries; it has been a gathering spot; a place where neighbours meet and support each other. Ms Crowe said: The repeated violations have eroded that sense of safety and community. We live only two minutes from our shops and to know that these armed robberies could happen when we live so close by frightens me. Advertisement In the case, Considine Kelly pleaded guilty to the robbing spree that commenced at 8.29pm on October 14th, Tim Crowes shop at Ministers Cross, Bunratty taking 500 in cash and 800 cigarettes where Considine Kelly was armed with a claw hammer. Seven days later, Considine Kelly robbed Tim Crowes Gala shop, The Green, Sixmilebridge of 400 in cash, armed with a scissors. He later robbed Tim Crowes shop, Ministers Cross, Bunratty armed with another make-shift weapon, stealing 500 in cash and 900 in cigarettes. Judge Comerford said that Considine Kelly - of no fixed abode but staying at Laurel Lodge in Ennis at the time - was in receipt of 129 social welfare per week while spending 500 per week on his cocaine addiction. Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman has expressed concern that more than a fifth of Irish voters believe the establishment is replacing white Irish people with non-white migrants. That is according to a recent survey carried out on behalf of the Electoral Commission on the publics view of immigration. Advertisement Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr OGorman said that the statistic came from an online dialogue that had originated in the United States and had now travelled here. I think that's hugely, hugely concerning. And I think it stems from the fact that there are large chunks of the population now who, I suppose, are sucked into rabbit holes on social media and don't get the opportunity to hear other sides of a particular debate. And I think that is concerning. "And I think when we see some of the protests that have taken place in terms of refugee accommodation, we see these conspiracy theories trotted out as fact. It's very hard to refute that when someone is so convinced that anybody who has an alternative view is themselves kind of somehow corrupted by it. Advertisement When asked about reports that there could be a 20 increase in the old age pension in the forthcoming Budget, Mr OGorman said there was a range of considerations when it came to allocating the social protection budget. I'm particularly interested in supporting families who are at risk of poverty but may be looking to return to work. So I think something like the working family payment is really important. The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, said gardai are re-examining the original Garda investigation into shocking allegations that late Bishop Eamonn Casey sexually abused a number of children, because concerns had been raised about the original Garda investigation into the claims. Mr Harris was speaking to reporters in Limerick at the launch of Garda body worn cameras to beef up Garda crime detection measures and provide additional safeguards for Garda members on duty. Advertisement When asked what form the review of the original Garda investigation, into the claims against Bishop Casey, would take, Mr Harris revealed the reason he sanctioned a fresh review of the investigation was because concerns had been raised about the original probe. Clarifying why he ordered the review, Commissioner Harris said: Maybe a couple of different elements of things were said last week in terms of prolific sex offending, so, in respect of Bishop Casey, what I have asked for is for the original file to be examined. "There was a query as to, actually, the nature and efficiency and effectiveness of that investigation. I want to be sure as to the standard of the (original) investigation that was conducted and that is what is happening in respect of that file, Commissioner Harris added. Advertisement The Garda Commissioner refused to say if An Garda Siochana had received any fresh complaints of a sexual nature in respect of Bishop Casey, following on from last weeks television documentary by Irish Daily Mail journalist Anne Sheridan, broadcast on RTE television, which revealed that Casey allegedly molested children, including his niece Patricia Donovan, and that he had had a number of sexual relationships with adult women. When specifically asked if gardai had received any new complaints since the documentary aired on July 22d, Commissioner Harris replied: Im not going to comment on individual complaints coming forward, thank you. When asked if he had watched the documentary, Mr Harris responded: No, I didn't see the documentary. The Limerick Catholic Diocese, where Casey began is ministry, told Ms Sheridan it paid 100,000 to an alleged victim of child sexual abuse by Casey. Advertisement The compensation was one of a number of explosive revelations in the documentary. Casey, who was born in Kerry but grew up in Adare, Co Limerick, and went to school in St Munchins College, Limerick, was once credited with tackling inner city poverty and homelessness in parishes in Limerick and later in England. However, while Caseys fall from grace over fathering a child with his distant cousin Annie Murphy was widely reported in the 1990s, Ms Sheridans investigative reporting into the allegations that Casey had sexually assaulted children, has once again rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland. Speaking publicly for the first time, in the documentary, Caseys niece, Patricia Donovan, alleged he sexually abused her for a number of years from when she was five years old. Advertisement Ms Donovan said: Some of the things he did to me, and where he did themthe horror of being raped by him when I was five, the violence...and it just carried on in that vein. Ms Donovan said Casey had no fear of being caught and that he thought he could do what he liked, when he liked, how he liked. He (Casey) was almost incensed that I would dare fight against him, that I would dare try and hurt him, I would dare try and stop him It didnt make any difference. Ms Donovan, in her 60s, reported the abuse claims about her uncle in 2005, but Casey, who was forced to resign as Bishop of Galway in 1992, after his affair with Ms Murphy came to light, was never charged with or convicted of any sexual offences. Advertisement Despite her claims, Ms Donovan has not received any compensation from the church. However, the Galway Diocese did pay for physiological counselling on her behalf. The explosive documentary, Bishop Caseys Buried Secrets, highlighted a total of eight allegations of child and adult sexual assaults and child safeguarding concerns against Casey, who was and still is, despite the claims, revered by some. The former chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, Ian Elliot, said that in his opinion, Casey, who died aged 89, was a sexual predator. Mr Elliott said he found Patricia Donovans claims as entirely credible. In 2019, the Galway Diocese, where Casey was bishop from 1976 to 1992, told Anne Sheridan that it had received just one allegation of child sexual abuse against him. However, Sheridan revealed in the documentary that Galway has since confirmed it had records at that time of five people who had complained of childhood sexual abuse against Bishop Casey relating to alleged events in every Irish diocese where Casey worked Limerick, Galway and Kerry. The first known allegation of paedophilia against Casey was made in 2001 by an unidentified female who claimed that she had been sexually abused by Casey on two occasions, when he was a chaplain to St Josephs Reformatory School in Limerick in 1956. This woman later took High Court proceedings against Casey for personal injury damages, alleging Casey sexually assaulted her in Limerick, when she was aged fifteen. This woman was eventually awarded a financial settlement through the Residential Institutions Redress Board. The documentary also revealed that the Vatican confirmed it had actually banned Bishop Casey from ministry before 2006 and that his ban was reiterated to him formally in 2007 after they received multiple child sex abuse complaints against him, including the 2001 complaint, as well as the complaint by Ms Donovan in 2005. A spokesman for Limerick Diocese said it received the first complaint about Casey in 2001. However, despite the Limerick Diocesan Office passing on Ms Donovans complaint to the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton, England, where Casey was serving, Casey - who should have then been suspended - remained active in ministry for a further four years, because the complaint went missing. A statement provided to the documentary by the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton read: Had this allegation been made today the police would have been informed immediately. We are deeply disappointed that this course of action does not appear to have been taken in 2001. We have undertaken a very thorough search of diocesan records. Regrettably, given the passage of time, we have been unable to locate relevant written records or to speak to anyone able to shed light on Limerick Dioceses communication in 2001. The current Bishop of Limerick, Dr Brendan Leahy, who has access to documents relating to complaints against Casey which were made in the Limerick diocese, has expressed his deep sorrow and regret to anyone who has been wounded by clerical abuse, including the people referred to in this documentary. They deserve our respect, belief and support. Without commenting on any specific allegation, I have no reason to disbelieve any of the allegations made, added Bishop Leahy. Casey, who died in 2017, had always vehemently denied all allegations against him of sexual abuse. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris admitted that a body worn camera (BWC) system, which is currently being piloted in garda divisions in Dublin and Limerick, is open to potential abuse by rogue gardai. Commissioner Harris also warned Garda members that they will face dismissal from the force, and potential criminal prosecution, if they are found to have shared or leaked footage of incidents captured on Garda BWCs. Advertisement In a warning to gardai, Mr Harris said: An investigating member obviously has to review the footage in terms of (preparing) a file, so if somebody really wants to act outside our rules and instructions and indeed our discipline code, then on their head be it. Commissioner Harris said the BWC system is secure and cannot be tampered with or altered. However, he admitted that Garda members would have the opportunity to record the footage from a third party screen, such as a mobile phone, and share it with others. Commissioner Harris said the system had built-in safeguards to try to prevent a garda/civilian from directly recording footage from he BWC, but, he admitted that while the opportunity for someone to take a recording (of the footage) is exceptionally limited it is possible. They would, in effect, have to be recording it from a screen during a playback session, and that in effect then would be regarded very seriously, a breach of privacy, and in certain circumstances, it would have to be regarded as a complete breach of trust, and, in effect, gross misconduct, Mr Harris told reporters at a launch of the BWC system in the Limerick Gardai Division on Thursday. Advertisement Commissioner Harris further warned that such a breach would be dealt with accordingly, and there may well also then be breaches of criminal law as well, we would regard that as a very serious matter. The garda chief said, in his opinion, any garda found to have shared BWC footage externally, would be guilty of a complete breach of trust. While the BWC system has yet to be rolled out nationwide, and is currently being piloted to the tune of 3million in Limerick, Dublin and soon to be in Waterford, there have been no incidents of any garda sharing or leaking BWC footage, Mr Harris said. He said BWCs worn by members attached to Store Street Garda Station were very effective in policing and managing serious disorder in Coolock where over 30 persons were arrested following recent rioting. Advertisement Audio recordings built-in to garda BWCs are as important as video footage as this can also provide gardai with key evidence as to whats been said, and the intent of individuals, the Garda chief said. The Commissioner revealed that, gardai had secured forty-eight pieces of evidential footage from a single deployment of members to the recent Coolock riots. This footage is to be submitted as part of witness evidence, CCTV evidence to identify persons who may have committed offences and will subsequently be reported to the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions). Mr Harris said gardai have reported to Headquarters that BWCs are also helping members diffuse situations as well as providing very important evidence be it during arrests in terms of drink driving, searches, domestic abuse incidents and incidents of sexual assaults where you are recording the first complaint of the victim. Advertisement Hundreds of pieces of evidence from BWC footage are either awaiting DPP approval or have been used in the courts. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who also attended the BWC launch in Limerick City, said: I want every member of An Garda Siochana to have access to body worn cameras - it is absolutely vital to ensure we can, in so far as is possible, keep gardai safe. Ms McEntee said gardai using BWCs in Dublin have reported they feel more protected and that the cameras have deescalated, potentially-dangerous stations. The minister revealed that in the month and half since BWCs have been rolled out in Dublin, body worn camera evidence has been used in court cases where we have had 12 hundred pieces and, in particular, 300 that have been marked as evidence. Advertisement Ms McEntee said she was also, as a matter of urgency, intent on publishing legislation, after the Dail summer recess, that would allow gardai more powers in using facial recognition technology which she said, may include linking retrospective evidence from body worn cameras, to potentially identify suspects. This would free up garda resources by doing away with the current system trawl through thousands hours of footage on BWCs to identify suspects. The States failure to provide for the needs of homeless asylum seekers is a breach of their fundamental rights, the High Court has ruled. The court made the ruling after the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) took a case against the State over its failure to provide adequate accommodation to people seeking asylum in Ireland. Advertisement Mr Justice Barry ODonnell delivered the judgment on Thursday afternoon, saying the court found that the approach adopted by the State breached the human rights of the relevant unaccommodated IP (International Protection) applicants. Tents that were pitched by asylum seekers along Dublins Grand Canal before they were removed. By failing to meet their basic needs and leaving unaccommodated IP applicants without accommodation or the means to access accommodation, the State has breached the rights of those persons as provided for in Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the judge said. Advertisement The IHREC asked the court to make declarations that the state has failed its obligations and is breaching applicants rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. On December 4th last year, the Government stated it could no longer offer accommodation to men seeking international protection. However, the court did not grant the mandatory orders sought by the IHREC. While the court is satisfied that declarations to that effect are warranted, the court will not grant the mandatory orders sought by the Commission, Justice ODonnell added. Advertisement Very briefly, the court is not satisfied that there is a basis for concluding that the State will ignore its obligations. Advertisement The State has made clear, and the court accepts, that it is making strenuous efforts to redress the situation. Moreover, in response to the decisions of the High Court in 2023, the State in fact altered its approach by taking steps to improve the provision for unaccommodated IP applicants. While those steps were not sufficient to avoid a breach of the rights of those applicants, it demonstrated that the State did not intend to ignore the court orders. In the premises, it is not appropriate for the court to take the very serious additional step of making mandatory orders to support the declaratory relief sought by the Commission. Advertisement The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) welcomes the ruling of the High Court declaring that the Irish governments failure to provide for the basic needs of asylum seekers amounts to a breach of Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. MASI supported this court action by IHREC and is pleased with the declaration which confirms our belief that the government is undermining the rights of people who have no way of meeting their basic needs. It is disgraceful that we have a government that restricts the right to work for asylum seekers and fails to provide for their basic needs. MASI calls on the Irish government to reflect on this ruling and its conduct and implement changes that improve the quality of life for asylum seekers. None of the reforms that the government has introduced improved the standard of living for asylum seekers and we are concerned that homeless asylum seekers are being interviewed to assess their asylum claim while they are still homeless. A London-based rabbi accused of travelling to Ireland to perform an illegal circumcision on a young child has been refused bail. Jonathan Abraham, 47, was arrested in Dublin on Tuesday and is charged with carrying out a surgical procedure, male circumcision on a child, without being a registered medical practitioner at an address in Dublin 15. Advertisement The father-of-10 appeared before Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court on Thursday. Detective Garda Megan Furey told the judge that Mr Abraham "made no reply" when charged at Blanchardstown Garda station. There were objections to bail due to the seriousness of the case. The detective said the offence, contrary to the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, could result in a maximum fine of 130,000 and five years' imprisonment. Advertisement Detective Garda Furey said there was strong evidence in support of the charge. Gardai entered an address in Dublin 15 just after 1 pm on Tuesday with the homeowners' consent. According to the detective, they observed the accused "dressed in a white robe, a doctor's-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand." The court heard there was a table in the middle of the room with a changing pad, scissors and other medical supplies and implements. "Gardai at this time also observed a very young child on the changing pad naked," she said, adding that they established that a circumcision procedure had already been carried out on another child at the premises. Advertisement The detective told the court that a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and "it's envisaged that there will be multiple further charges in due course". Citing "significant flight risk" fears, she said that the accused flew into Ireland on July 30th around noontime and had a return flight booked for the same evening. She added that he had no ties to this jurisdiction and did not have any property, assets or dependents in this country. She described him as a man of means and had grave concerns that he would evade justice, adding that he had a strong incentive to leave the country. Cross-examined by defence solicitor Tertius Van Eeden, she agreed that if the DPP directed that the case stay in the District Court, the penalties would be considerably lower: a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to 5,000. Advertisement He put it to the detective that she left that out during her bail objections and that it was too enthusiastic to suggest the case would go to a higher level, but she did not accept that suggestion. In later exchanges with the defence, the detective agreed that the accused had not held himself out to be a doctor, and she accepted that he was a rabbi. The garda detective claimed he had not given any information about his training and that he used the name rabbi Y. Abraham. The solicitor replied that the Y was for Yoni, Hebrew for Jonathan. The solicitor said his client was a member of the Initiation Society, which governs the practice or procedures of the Jewish faith, specifically circumcisions. Advertisement Mr Van Eeden added that his client, who did not address the court, was registered as a Mohel, the Hebrew word for a person qualified to carry out circumcisions. The detective conceded she was informed of this and said enquiries were still being conducted. When asked if she had done any Google research about that, she said she only learned this at about 8 pm on Wednesday. Pleading for bail, Mr Van Eeden said the Initiation Society was the oldest Anglo-Jewish organisation founded in 1745. As a Mohel, he was allowed to perform circumcisions and had done so for more than 13 years, and he was fully trained medically and ethically to perform them. The solicitor submitted that in the Jewish community, only a Mohel could perform such procedures, and he was insured to do them. Mr Van Eeden submitted that if his client had performed the same procedures in England, it would have been completely legal. However, the judge pointed out that it was a separate jurisdiction. The solicitor stressed that these were allegations at this stage, and his client had no prior convictions and had the presumption of innocence. The court heard he was the primary breadwinner for his family and also received state benefits while his wife worked part-time tutoring children with learning difficulties. The solicitor said that his client could face a lengthy period in custody, and the trial venue has not been confirmed. He added that a 5,000 independent surety could be offered, and Mr Abraham would obey conditions not to perform such procedures in Ireland. Judge Connellan refused bail due to the seriousness of the case, potential flight risk and strength of evidence. Legal aid was granted to the accused, who was remanded in custody pending directions from the DPP. Mr Abraham has yet to enter a plea and will appear again on August 6th at Cloverhill District Court. This weeks top book takes you back in time to the Roaring Twenties Fiction 1. Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott is published paperback by Faber & Faber. Available now Advertisement (Faber & Faber/PA) Were in New York, and Patricia is splitting up from her husband, Peter. This is not 2024, but 1924, the setting for Ursula Parrotts Ex-Wife. Reissued 95 years after it became a bestseller, its vivid descriptions of the cocktails, the clothes, the speakeasies, the dancing and the romances jump off the page and spin the reader into a giddy whirl of the Roaring Twenties. However, along with the glitz and glamour comes a dark side of violence and shame. The book is witty and smart although some lines are undoubtedly problematic and jarring for the reader of today. Author Parrott, as intriguing as the characters she expertly builds, was one of the most successful female writers of the 1930s but died aged 58, destitute and alcoholic. Through Ex-Wife a tale of love, heartbreak and friendships, which still resonates after almost a century her voice lives on. 9/10 (Review by Eleanor Barlow) 2. The Villa by Jess Ryder is published in paperback by Penguin. Available now Advertisement THE VILLA by Jess Ryder A gripping read that switches between two timelines when Aoife's life ended tragically during her hen party in Marbella The four friends reunite at the villa, but rivalries & secrets simmer beneath the surface A fairly engaging story #writingcommunity pic.twitter.com/2rcPm0Wrkt Kathryn Caraway (@UnfollowMe_KC) June 6, 2024 Advertisement Why would a group of women return to the Spanish villa where they spent a hen weekend three years ago and where the bride-to-be was murdered? To find out who killed their friend, and discover answers to a series of tragic events leading to the murder. The women quickly realise it was a bad idea, as they fall out with each other, rekindle dreadful memories and dice with death themselves. Different versions of the murder keep the group confused and angry, but at least one of them is determined to stay until the truth is known. Youll love the way the chapters switch from the weekend of the murder to the return visit, as the hunt for the killer takes some unexpected, and violent, turns. The Villa looks destined to be Jess Ryders most successful psychological thriller yet as long as you dont read this in a Spanish villa on a hen weekend. 8/10 (Review by Alan Jones) 3. The Echoes by Evie Wyld is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape. Available August 1st Advertisement Advertisement Written in an intriguing style that keeps you turning page after page, author Evie Wyld takes you back and forth in time following the narratives of partners Max and Hannah. Starting with Max having died and living as a ghost in their house, the reader gains insight into their deteriorating relationship and his reflections on it from the afterlife. Wyld also weaves through Hannahs childhood past in Australia that she struggles to confront in the present and keeps secretive from Max, making her a particularly complex, unpredictable character to follow. Its an enjoyable read, but has an ending that might leave you wanting more. 6/10 (Review by Anahita Hossein-Pour) Non-fiction 4. Iconic: My Life In Fashion In 50 Objects by Zandra Rhodes and Ella Alexander is published in hardback by Bantam. Available now We are thrilled to announce that Zandras first ever memoir, co-written by Ella Alexander will be published on July 18 2024. Iconic: My Life in Fashion in 50 Objects is available to pre-order now via the link below @TransworldBooks https://t.co/OJrnFCR8nx pic.twitter.com/VOfR4uchLs Dame Zandra Rhodes (@Zandra_Rhodes) January 25, 2024 British fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes new memoir explores her fierce and multifaceted life through 50 of her most treasured possessions. From fly spray to Diana, Princess of Wales watercolour sketch, Rhodes disparate objects culminate in humorous and heartwarming stories. Unusually, it is a memoir that doesnt require to be read chronologically, as its form lends itself well to leafing through one object at a time. Iconic isnt filled with jaw-dropping celebrity gossip, perhaps aside from Rhodes relationship with Vivienne Westwood, rather the book relays the trials and defiance of a young woman making her way in the fashion industry in 1960s Britain. Uninhibited and humorous, Iconic is an astute read for anyone interested in fashion tales from the swinging Sixties and beyond. 7/10 (Review by Lara Owen) Childrens book of the week 5. Were Moving House by Mick Jackson, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh, is published in hardback by Walker Books. Available now (Walker Books/PA) A small child completely misunderstands what his mum means when she tells him theyre moving house in this picture book. He suddenly has a vision of his home having to be picked up and moved, and worries about the logistics of it all creating a few fascinating scenarios captured in interesting detail in the illustrations, with lots of things to point at. It will be helpful to any parent wanting to explain to small children about a move especially as it ends on a really positive note. But also any child fascinated by cranes, boats, lorries and helicopters will have their imagination piqued. Mick Jackson, nominated for the Booker Prize for adult novel The Underground Man, can clearly write for small children too. 7/10 (Review by Bridie Pritchard) BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 27th HARDBACK (FICTION) 1. The Book Of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves & China Mieville 2. You Are Here by David Nicholls 3. When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker 4. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon 5. The Book Of Bill by Alex Hirsch 6. Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors 7. All The Colours Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker 8. The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness 9. Long Island by Colm Toibin 10. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Compiled by Waterstones) HARDBACK (NON-FICTION) 1. So Good by Emily English 2. Pinch Of Nom Air Fryer by Kay & Kate Allinson 3. Autocracy, Inc by Anne Applebaum 4. My World by Ami Charlize 5. Paris 44 by Patrick Bishop 6. Ask Not by Maureen Callahan 7. Iconic by Zandra Rhodes & Ella Alexander 8. Greekish by Georgina Hayden 9. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 10. Restore by Will Kirk (Compiled by Waterstones) AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION) 1. Message Deleted by K. L. Slater 2. Atomic Habits by James Clear 3. Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance 4. None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell 5. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 6. The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz 7. A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 8. MILF by Paloma Faith 9. Unruly by David Mitchell 10. The School For Good And Evil Audio Collection: The School Years (Books 1-3) by Soman Chainani (Compiled by Audible) A significant proportion of women experience problems linked to pelvic floor damage up to 26 years after giving birth, new research suggests including urinary and faecal incontinence and pelvic floor prolapse. The study by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), which involved 8,000 women whod given birth in 1993-1994, found 61% had recently experienced urinary incontinence, 22% had faecal incontinence and 17% had symptoms pointing to prolapse. Rates for mothers whod had a Caesarean delivery were slightly lower, at 53%, 16% and 9% respectively Advertisement So, what exactly is the pelvic floor, how does it get damaged during pregnancy, and is there anything you can do to restore it? What is the pelvic floor? (Alamy/PA) Advertisement Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris, former nurse turned personal trainer and womens health expert, explains that the pelvic floor is a layer of muscles and connective tissue that stretches from the pubic bone to the tailbone, which acts a bit like a hammock. These muscles play a crucial role in supporting the bladder, bowel and in females the uterus. Hollie Grant, founder of pre- and post-natal fitness platform The Bump Plan, agrees, adding: There are three holes within the pelvic floor, the urethra, vagina and anus. The pelvic floor muscles wrap quite tightly around these holes to help keep the passages closed. These muscles, just like many other muscles of the body, can be voluntarily contracted and hence strengthened. The difficulty for many women is that without being able to see these muscles, it can be hard to know if they are activating the correct ones. How can pregnancy and giving birth damage the pelvic floor? Advertisement Pregnancy puts extra pressure on pelvic floor structures, and hormonal changes can also have an impact, leading to a higher chance of weakening. During vaginal births, the babys head passing through the vagina can stretch and potentially tear muscles, with prolonged pushing straining them too. For those who have deliveries that involve instruments like forceps or vacuum, these can also increase the risk of pelvic floor damage due to the pressure and force they can use, adds Sanchez-Morris. For C-sections, the abdominal incision can affect pelvic floor nerves, leading to possible dysfunction. Much like with vaginal births, C-sections can also damage the pelvic floor due to the pressure from the babys weight and position. Advertisement What problems can women be left with? There are lots of different symptoms women can struggle with due to pelvic floor damage or dysfunction, including urinary or faecal incontinence. Prolapse is another issue that can occur. Women can also struggle with urinary or faecal urgency, which means they have less time to make it to the bathroom. This can be really stressful and anxiety-provoking, says pelvic health physiotherapist, Clare Bourne. Pelvic organ prolapse is much more common than we realise, and is where one or more of the pelvic organs (bladder, bowel and womb) move downwards into the vagina due to changes to the support of the vaginal walls. This can feel like a heaviness or dragging sensation in the vagina, and it can significantly impact a womans mental health. The support and awareness around prolapse can be very poor and leave women feeling alone, she adds. Advertisement Another common symptom can be pain with intercourse. This is not exclusive to after birth, however it can be a new symptom due to scar tissue from perineal tears, or due to temporary dryness due to altered hormones postpartum, especially if breastfeeding. This is not in your head and there is lots that can be done to help. Can you prevent pelvic floor damage in pregnancy? (Alamy/PA) The good news is, there is lots women can do to help both prevent and improve pelvic floor weakness. Pelvic floor exercises are a great way to prepare think of it as training the muscles ahead of birth. Kegels are a popular method, which involve squeezing the muscles, while other physio exercises can also help. By strengthening these muscles, you can help reduce the risk of dealing with physical issues from a weakened pelvic floor post-birth, says Sanchez-Morris. Perineal massages can also be great, with regular massages helping to increase tissue elasticity and possibly reduce the risk of tears during birth. It is best to consult your midwife for guidance on techniques that will be best. If you are worried about your pelvic floor head of birth, it is best to consult a health professional who will be able to give tailored advice. What can be done post-birth to help? When you feel comfortable after birth, you can incorporate pelvic floor exercises and deep breathing into your routine (always seek advice from your doctor or midwife if you experienced any complications or severe tears). This will also help improve Diastasis recti, a separation of the abdominal muscles, says Sanchez-Morris. There are exercises that can help strengthen these muscles but the hardest part for many people is first identifying the right muscles to target. The best way to do this is to imagine you need to stop the wind bring the anus to the vagina (closing the gap) and then gently lift from front to back, she adds. The muscles you feel contract as you do this are the pelvic floor muscles. The key to exercising these muscles is to use the squeeze and release technique. To do this, contract the muscles for five seconds (it should feel like a tightening and lifting process) then relax them for five seconds, remembering to breathe throughout. As you practice this and the muscles strengthen, steadily increase the duration of each contraction, the number of repetitions, and the positions in which you perform the exercises. Like with any strength-building, remember consistency is key. Seek professional advice if you are experiencing symptoms and incontinence that doesnt improve or is impacting your quality of life these things are very common and help is available. BBC director-general Tim Davie will face tough questions from UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy about what the corporation knew about Huw Edwardss case after the veteran broadcaster admitted accessing indecent images of children. The corporation has said it knew of the veteran broadcasters arrest on suspicion of serious offences in November, but continued employing him until April. Advertisement Questions will surely be raised about why he continued to receive his large salary as the highest paid newsreader at the corporation for five months after his arrest on charges of making indecent photographs of children. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards (Jonathan Brady/PA) Before he resigned in April on medical advice, Edwards was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBCs latest annual report. Advertisement This last salary marked a 40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health. Advertisement The corporation added: The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. Advertisement UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy (Jeff Moore/PA) During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. Davie was expected to hold urgent talks with Ms Nandy over the phone on Thursday, according to BBC News. The public currently pays 169.50 a year for the licence fee and questions will surely be raised if Edwards salary was the best use of that money. Advertisement The fact Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams will also likely raise serious questions of trust in figures at the BBC. The scandal with Edwards comes in the wake of the crimes of Jimmy Savile, the TV star and serial sexual abuser who managed to conceal his crimes until after his death in 2011. It also comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report in the conduct of former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades. Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing. He has not been charged with a criminal offence. At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards 40,000 pay rise, saying: We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound. BBC director-general Tim Davie (Peter Byrne/PA) But what youre trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately. I think thats what we did but I think we wouldnt have wasted money if we werent doing the right thing. Edwards resigned from the BBC in April on the basis of medical advice from his doctors after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter but the mother of the young person has said she feels vindicated following Edwards guilty plea on Wednesday. She told The Sun: It sickens me to my core that he had those videos of that little boy when he was also talking to my child and asking them for sexual pictures. I knew he was an abuser but now I know he is truly a monster. She added: It felt like we were just the little men, so could be easily brushed aside. They all said we had destroyed Huws life and seemed to think we just wanted money. Their comments, and comments like theirs by other presenters, caused a massive backlash which even made me doubt myself. I couldnt eat, I couldnt sleep, I felt so alone. Even family members turned against me after reading all of this. I thought is it even worth it?. But now I can at least say it was. I hope they will apologise. The family of the unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and he was publicly named by his wife as the TV presenter at the centre of the allegations the following July. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16th. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, England. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Advertisement Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in a critical condition while two adults were also critically hurt. Advertisement Violent disorder has broken out across the country following the attack, with more than 100 people arrested at a protest in Whitehall on Wednesday night. Speaking at a press conference just after midnight on Thursday, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Serena Kennedy said: A 17-year old-boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday July 29th. The 17-year-old cannot be named for legal reasons as hes under 18. He has been remanded in custody to appear (today), Thursday August 1st, at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square. Advertisement Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and counter-terrorism police in the North West. The boy, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. Advertisement A police van was set alight as trouble flared during the far-right protest on Tuesday (Richard McCarthy/PA) Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following the violence. Advertisement After rioting broke out, Elsies mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we dont need this. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had hijacked a vigil for victims and will feel the full force of the law, while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as violent attacks from thugs on the streets, which she branded appalling. On Wednesday, a cleanup operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. Protesters, chanting youre not English any more and throwing bottles and cans at police in riot gear, were detained on Whitehall. Police officers on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest (Owen Humphreys/PA) A Met Police spokesman said: Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries. In Hartlepool, County Durham, a police car was set alight and glass bottles and eggs were thrown at officers. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community. US vice president Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that former president Donald Trumps false assertions about her race were the same old show as she emphasised the need for black women to organise for his defeat this November. Addressing the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc one of Divine Nine historically black fraternities and sororities in Houston, Harris told the crowd: When I look out at everyone here, I see family. Advertisement She drew knowing chuckles from the audience as she mentioned Mr Trumps comments earlier in the day at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Mr Trump said Ms Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past promoted only her Indian heritage. Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump waves to supporters after speaking at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Matt Rourke/AP) Advertisement I didnt know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she black? Mr Trump said while addressing the NABJ in Chicago. Ms Harris responded briefly during her address to the sorority, saying Mr Trumps display was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. She added: And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. Our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength, Ms Harris said. Advertisement Referencing the combative tone of Mr Trumps interview at the NABJ convention, she said: The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. Ms Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US. As an undergraduate, Ms Harris attended Howard University, one of the nations most prominent historically black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a US senator, Ms Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Advertisement Speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho members, Ms Harris said the nation is counting on you to register people to vote and ensure they go to the polls. When we organise, mountains move, she said. India on Thursday offered a 300 million-dollar (234 million) loan to build up Vietnams maritime security, as the two sides said they want to double their trade and investment within five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that India considers Vietnam a key pillar of its policy toward Southeast Asian nations and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision. Advertisement After their talks, Mr Chinh said the world faces fierce security challenges but there are opportunities for co-operation. The Asia Indo-Pacific region is a locomotive for growth, but it is also where major politics is taking place fiercely, he said. We need an approach and methodology that is global and upholding multilateralism. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh as the latter arrives for talks in New Delhi, India (AP) Advertisement The prime ministers said both sides wanted to further their co-operation in defence and other areas such as semiconductor and green technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and climate action. Mr Modi and Mr Chinh virtually inaugurated the Army Software Park in Vietnam, an educational facility set up with Indias help to train Vietnamese soldiers in digital skills. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2022 grew 27% and reached 14.14 billion dollars (11.04 billion). Indian exports to Vietnam touched 6.7 billion dollars (5.23 billion), while Indian imports from Vietnam amounted to 7.44 billion dollars (5.81 billion) in the same period, Indias Ministry of External Affairs said. Indian exports to Vietnam include iron and steel, cotton, cereals, meat and fishery products, electrical machinery and equipment, vehicle parts, cement, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Advertisement Indias import basket from Vietnam mainly includes electrical and electronic equipment, inorganic chemicals, machinery and mechanical appliances, copper and rubber, coffee and tea, spices, iron and steel. Indias investments in Vietnam are estimated at around 1.9 billion (1.48 billion) in energy, mineral exploration, agriculture, information technology and other areas, according to the countrys External Affairs Ministry. Vietnam has invested more than 28.5 million dollars (22.3 million) in India, mainly in pharmaceuticals, information technology, chemicals and building materials. A massive prisoner swap involving the United States and Russia was under way on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because details had not been publicly disclosed, did not specify who is included in the deal. Advertisement But Americans considered by the US to be wrongfully detained in Russia include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive with joint British nationality from Michigan. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in court (AP/File) Both had been convicted of espionage charges that the US government considered baseless. Advertisement And Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality, has been imprisoned in Russia since April 2022 for speaking out against the war on Ukraine. The deal would be the latest exchange in the last two years between Washington and Moscow, following a December 2022 trade that brought basketball star Brittney Griner back to the U.S. in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Russia has long been interested in getting back Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of some unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich that Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison. Advertisement The US released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Brittney Griner (Charlie Neibergall/AP) Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Advertisement Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the US. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pre-trial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. US officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and President Joe Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after travelling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the US have also said were false and trumped up, and he was serving a 16-year prison sentence. Advertisement Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the US released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Ms Griner, who had been jailed on drug charges. North Korea wants to reopen nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump is re-elected as president and is working to devise a new negotiating strategy, a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea told Reuters. The escape of Ri Il Gyu from Cuba made headlines globally last month. He was the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to the South since 2016. Advertisement In his first interview with international media, Ri said North Korea has set Russia, the US and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities for this year and beyond. While bolstering relations with Russia, Pyongyang was keen to reopen nuclear negotiations if Mr Trump - who engaged in both fiery brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea during his previous term - won re-election in November, Ri said. Pyongyang's diplomats were mapping out a strategy for that scenario, with the goal of lifting of sanctions on its weapons programmes, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and eliciting economic aid, said Ri. His comments signal a potential about-face from the North's current stance after recent statements ditching the possibility of dialogue with the US and warning of armed confrontation. Advertisement A summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Mr Trump in Vietnam in 2019 collapsed over sanctions, for which Ri partly blamed Kim's decision to entrust "inexperienced, clueless" military commanders with nuclear diplomacy. "Kim Jong Un doesn't know much about international relations and diplomacy, or how to make strategic judgment," he said. "This time, the foreign ministry would definitely gain power and take charge, and it won't be so easy for Trump to tie North Korea's hands and feet again for four years without giving anything." Russian ties, Japan aid By forging closer ties with Russia, North Korea received help with its missile technology and economy. But a bigger benefit could be to block additional sanctions and undercut existing ones, Ri said, adding it would raise Pyongyang's bargaining power against Washington. Advertisement "The Russians got their own hands dirty by engaging in illicit transactions and, thanks to that, North Korea no longer needs to rely on the US to lift sanctions, which essentially means they stripped the US of one key bargaining chip," he said. In Tokyo, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida has said he wants to meet Kim, but the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s has long been a stumbling block. According to Ri, Kim would seek to hold a summit with Japan, aiming to get economic assistance in return for concessions on the abductee issue. Tokyo believes 17 of its citizens were abducted, five of whom returned to Japan in 2002. Pyongyang sees the issue as settled, having admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese nationals and saying those unaccounted for had either died or their whereabouts were unknown. Advertisement Ri said Kim would be willing to change that position, established under his father Kim Jong Il, in order to obtain economic support. "They're saying that the issue was resolved, but that's just to boost negotiating power until he makes concessions at a summit," he said. Resentment and defection Having studied at a French school in Algeria and lived in Cuba alongside his late father, who was a state media reporter, Ri says he had imagined a life in South Korea since his childhood, but never acted to flee until he was bullied by a diplomatic colleague for refusing his demand for bribes. Then the defining moment came when Pyongyang instantly refused his request to get medical treatment in Mexico, at his own expense, for a ruptured disc in his neck. Advertisement "That exploded all the resentment I had been harbouring towards the regime," he said. The Covid-19 lockdown deepened hardships at home and for those stationed overseas, with most telephone lines to Pyongyang cut to prevent any information from spreading in the outside world, Ri said. Financial troubles have also forced North Korea to shut down a dozen of its 54 diplomatic missions. "When they began reopening and summoning those working abroad in early 2023, they asked to bring everything from used toothbrushes to spoons back home, saying there's nothing there," he said. Ri had also witnessed - and in his job tried to impede - the launch of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a Cold War-era ally of North Korea. "I had done everything to block that from happening, but establishing relations with Cuba was the best thing South Korea had done since last year," he said. "It was a model example of how the tides of history have turned, and where a normal civilisation of the international community is headed." South Korea has offered to send aid supplies to North Korea to help the country recover from heavy rains and floods that submerged thousands of homes and huge swathes of farmland. It is unclear whether North Korea would accept South Koreas proposal for help. Advertisement Animosity between the war-divided rivals is at its highest in years over the Norths growing nuclear ambitions and the Souths expansion of combined military exercises with the US and Japan to counter the Norths threats. South Koreas Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the South was willing to swiftly provide supplies to address the humanitarian difficulties facing North Korean residents following the recent storms. A flood-hit area in Sinuiju city, North Phyongan province, North Korea (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) Advertisement The ministry in a statement urged North Koreas Red Cross to respond promptly to its calls for discussions to determine the types and amounts of South Korean supplies and how to deliver them. North Korea did not immediately respond to the Souths offer. North Korean state media said on Wednesday that recent heavy rains left 4,100 houses, 7,410 acres of agricultural fields and numerous other public buildings, structures, roads and railways flooded in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighbouring town of Uiju. The North has not reported details about casualties. Advertisement In an emergency Politburo meeting on Wednesday in Sinuiju, leader Kim Jong Un asked authorities to strictly punish those who he said neglected their responsibilities for disaster prevention and caused even the casualty that can not be allowed, according to the Norths Korean Central News Agency. North Korea has suspended virtually all co-operation and diplomacy with the South after its larger nuclear negotiations with the US derailed in 2019 over disagreements on lifting crippling US-led sanctions and the Norths steps to wind down its nuclear and missile programme. The North had also rejected South Koreas offers for help while battling a Covid-19 outbreak in 2022. Tensions between the rivals have worsened since 2022 as Mr Kim used Russias war on Ukraine as a distraction to further accelerate the expansion of his nuclear arsenal and issued belligerent threats toward Washington and Seoul. Western countries and Russia have completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. Among those released by Moscow are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive with joint British nationality from Michigan and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality. Advertisement The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Negotiators in backchannel talks at one point explored an exchange involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny but after his death in February ultimately stitched together a seven-nation, 24-person deal that required significant concessions from European allies, including the release of a Russian assassin, and secured freedom for a cluster of journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners and others. Advertisement US President Joe Biden trumpeted the exchange, by far the biggest in a series of swaps with Russia, as a diplomatic feat while welcoming families of the returning Americans to the White House. But the US and allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents and others imprisoned by the countrys highly politicised legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up. Deals like this one come with tough calls, Mr Biden said but added: Theres nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad. Advertisement Under the deal, Russia released Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the US government vehemently denied. The papers editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a joyous day. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been freed (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evans behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, Welcome home, Evan, she wrote. Advertisement Also released was Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. Mr Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, was also released along with multiple associates of Mr Navalny. Vladimir Kara-Murza is among those who have been released (AP Photo, File) Advertisement Other freed Kremlin critics included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner convicted of discrediting the Russian military, and Ilya Yashin, a former member of a Moscow municipal council who had been imprisoned for criticising the war in Ukraine. The Russian side secured the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison for killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Throughout the course of negotiations, Moscow had been persistent in pressing for his release, with Mr Putin himself raising it. At the time of Mr Navalnys death, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving Krasikov. But with that possibility erased, senior US officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, made a fresh push to encourage Germany to release Krasikov. In the end, a handful of the prisoners Russia released were either German nationals or dual German-Russian nationals. Paul Whelan, centre, is escorted by Russian Federal Security Service agents as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the US, including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian politician, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicion of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained on espionage charges. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, Mr Biden said while joined by the families. Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza have endured unimaginable suffering. Today, their agony is over. Because of President Bidens leadership, they are on their way home. pic.twitter.com/yu6HZ7MD3P The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 1, 2024 Seven nations participated in the deal, which was executed in Ankara in the final months of his administration and during the course of a presidential race upended by his decision not to seek re-election. Mr Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In an Oval Office address discussing his decision to drop his bid for a second term, Mr Biden said: Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. At one point on Thursday, he grabbed the hand of Mr Whelans sister, Elizabeth, and said she had practically been living at the White House as they tried to free Paul. He then motioned for Ms Kurmashevas daughter Miriam to come closer and took her hand, telling the room it was her 13th birthday, and then asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday with him. She wiped tears from her eyes. Alsu Kurmashevas daughter wiped away a tear during Mr Bidens White House address (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) His administration has now brought home more than 70 Americans detained in other countries, deals that have required the US in the past to give up a broad array of convicted criminals, including for drug and weapons offences. The US governments top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, has defended the swaps against criticism that they incentivise future hostage-taking, saying the number of wrongfully detained Americans has actually gone down. We know the US government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice, Ms Tucker, the Journals editor, wrote, saying there needed to be a dynamic change. But for now, she added, we are celebrating the return of Evan. Former president Donald Trump, who had claimed that if elected he would immediately get Mr Gershkovich home, bashed the deal and speculated incorrectly that the US had given cash to Russia. Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the US as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter were nearly killed in 2018 in Salisbury by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Elevation Worship - "When Wind Meets Fire" | Merge PR CHARLOTTE, NC / NASHVILLE, TN (AUGUST 01, 2024) Multi-Platinum, GRAMMY-Award winning group Elevation Worships latest release, When Wind Meets Fire, tops Billboards Top Christian Albums Chart. This is the groups eighth No. 1 chart debut, the most Top Christian Album No. 1s of any artist. Speaking with Billboard, Elevation Worships Chris Brown said, Were so grateful and honored to have this new album hit No. 1. Our hope is that these songs will continue helping people encounter Gods presence just like they have for our church over the past year. In addition to the No. 1 album debut, Elevation Worships hit song Praise continues to resonate with listeners as it entered the 20th week at No. 1 on Billboards Hot Songs Christian Chart. This is only the ninth song in the genre to reach this milestone in the charts history. The song was also nominated for two GMA Dove Awards last week as Song of the Year and Worship Recorded Song of the Year. Four dates remain for Elevation Worships Praise Party Summer Tour, including seven outdoor major-market shows and three special club-style shows. The tour will conclude with a sold-out show at the historic Ryman Auditorium next week. Praise Party Summer Tour will be followed by Elevation Nights this fall featuring Elevation Worship, Pastor Steven Furtick, and ELEVATION RHYTHM. The sold-out spring run of Elevation Nights became one of the largest Christian tours in history, averaging more than 11,600 tickets sold each night. Tickets for Elevation Nights are on sale now by visiting ElevationNights.com. Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator - "History of House" | Shore Fire Media The South Africa-based, 3x GRAMMY-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, and Australias first Superstar DJ, the electronic artist Groove Terminator, will release their joint album, History of House, this Friday, August 2nd, via Music is Fun (a division of Seeker Music), House of Latroit, and Gallo Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Dennis White, aka Latroit, the album is a truly global reimagination of the most iconic dance tracks of the last 50 years. Dreamt up back in 2019, the project began as a live show series featuring the Choir and Groove Terminator performing dance music covers that showcased the evolution and History of House from the 70s through th 2000s. When the pandemic put live shows on pause, the concept took on a recorded element and ultimately grew into a multi-pronged collaboration intended to honor the Black history of the genre, and bring opportunity to artists and creators across Africa. When Groove Terminator (Simon Lewicki) first conceptualized History of House, his appreciation for the roots of dance music within Africa pointed him in the direction of Soweto Gospel Choir, which was founded in 2002 to celebrate African Gospel music, and has since collaborated with everyone from U2 to Beyonce. As the 16-member Choir put their own spin on the House staples, the decision was made to record, primarily in Zulu, and to incorporate more elements of South African culture in both the musical and visual aspects of the project. And to ensure the recordings kept that classic House vibe, Latroit was brought onto the project. Some of the tracks on the album include Zulu versions of Good Life (originally written and recorded by Kevin Saundersons seminal Detroit Techno group Inner City in 1988, when Latroit was the group's music director), Everybodys Free (To Feel Good), a cover of Zimbabwean artist Rozallas 1991 dance anthem, World Hold On by Parisian DJ Bob Sinclar & a stunning rework of Ride Like The Wind by Christopher Cross Listen to Good Life HERE, and check out remixes of the song commissioned by a cultural exchange program created by Latroit, Mbongasani Dube (leader of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce Youth Commission), and Ivan Turanjanin (the visionary behind the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival) called Orna Create HERE. Started specifically to create opportunities, discover, and promote emerging artists from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, Orna Create ran contests for regional musicians and producers to work on several songs on the album. The resulting collaborations with some of Southern Africa's most promising emerging artists, came together to even more effortlessly fuse the global beats, Afro house, Amapiano, and house music styles on History of House. The new album is composed of predominantly live musical performances - a rarity for the genre. Check out the full track listing below, and catch Soweto Gospel Choir and Groove Terminator bringing History of House to life at the Sydney Fringe Festival this September if youll be in Australia. History of House tracklist: Silence Troubled Good Life (Chantty Natural remix) [Inner City cover] World, Hold On Phumula Everybodys Free (Stakev Remix) [Rozalla cover] Ride Like The Wind Pride (A Deeper Love) Free Children You Got The Love Soweto Gospel Choir, Groove Terminator, and Latroit on History of House: Shimmy Jiyane from the Soweto Gospel Choir said, We met Groove Terminator when he came to watch our show at the Sydney Opera House and he was blown away by the choir. That is when we started putting everything together and discussing how we are going to work on the History of House project together. In South Africa, we have twelve official languages with Zulu being the most popular language all around the world and its easy to catch the words, so we decided to use languageSoweto Gospel Choir has been translating songs into language for many years now. Groove Terminator explains how the History of House album came together: Traveling to South Africa in early 2020 to workshop the live show in Soweto Theatre became a transformative experience. Driving into Soweto each day, rehearsing amidst the community's vibrancy, and witnessing Soweto Gospel Choir's full-throated renditions of Zulu lyrics fused seamlessly with House beats was awe-inspiring. Their ability to imbue songs first with phonetic, then English lyrics, while maintaining emotional resonance, underscored the universal language of music for me. This collaborative journey with Soweto Gospel Choir has not only illuminated the transcendent power of music but also affirmed its capacity to bridge cultures and histories. I remain profoundly grateful for the opportunity to fuse my passion for House music with the choir's rich heritage, creating something that speaks to the soul and embodies the enduring spirit of unity and joy. GRAMMY-winning producer Latroit adds, Simon called me a couple years ago to talk to me about the live show History of House, with the aim of adding an album to the concept. He had one song recorded, You Got The Love. He sent the vocals, I put a demo together, and it was instant chills for us, and anyone that I played it for. We knew we were onto something special. Our mission from the start of the project was to use its energy and international access to create opportunities for South African artists. With leadership from the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce Youth Commission, we decided to create a cultural exchange program called Orna Crea+ with the launch of a remix context for the first History of House single Good Life'. From this initiative, we were introduced to an incredible wealth of talent from the Southern African region, with two of the remixes (Chantty Natural & Stakev) featuring on the album. CREDITS: Executive Producers: Andrew Kay & Toni Rudov FOLLOW SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | SPOTIFY | APPLE | YOUTUBE FOLLOW GROOVE TERMINATOR FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | APPLE FOLLOW HISTORY OF HOUSE WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM Hes a bundle of conflicting emotions, she believes in reason and moderation. Byrne is a gifted comic because you can always detect a cautious streak underlying the wackiness. But this time round shes all caution, playing straight woman to Cannavales mercurial moves between boisterous humour and tearful desperation. His parents, Jenna and Max, adore him but cant agree on the right school for him or the best way to handle his outbursts. Played by Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, who are married in real life, they present a neat study in contrasts. Ezra is a nine year-old boy with autism who is highly intelligent and articulate, has a violent hatred of bananas and an aversion to being hugged. Max is a former comedy writer who has decided to take his chances as a stand-up comedian. Since he and Jenna have broken up, he lives with his father, Stan (Robert De Niro) and their acerbic exchanges are among the films highlights. Stan, who was once a successful chef, is one of the subtler additions to De Niros burgeoning gallery of grumpy old men. His notorious irascibility comes with a measure of self-knowledge that proves useful when hes dealing with his sons impetuousness. The film was written by Tony Spiridakis, a Hollywood veteran inspired by his experiences with his own autistic son and the marriage break-up that occurred during the boys adolescence. Its directed by Tony Goldwyn, who also plays Jennas boyfriend, Bruce, a hard-headed lawyer she may well regard as an antidote to life with Max. Things reach a climax when Ezra is sent to a special-needs school, where hes miserable. Maxs solution is to kidnap him from Jennas house and take him on a road trip. Designed as a father-son bonding expedition, this turns into a manhunt after Jenna is reluctantly persuaded to tell the police. It sounds like a cliche and some of the time, it plays out like one. Maxs protests become tediously repetitious but the trips saving grace is his relationship with Ezra, played by William Fitzgerald, who is autistic, with a fragility offset by a bracing dose of mature commonsense. Max likes to take him along to his comedy gigs, seeing him as a sort of talisman, and just as youre wondering if hes motivated by concern for his sons welfare or his own, Ezra voices the same thought. Im not your mojo. Im not your buddy. Im your son, he says in what turns out to be the most effective line in the film. If the FWC fails to win court approval for an administration, the federal government has flagged passing legislation to force through its reforms. Because it is not deemed a law enforcement agency, the FWC is incapable of accessing significant police intelligence holdings that cast light on suspected union corruption and relationships between union officials and underworld figures. The general manager of the FWC, Murray Furlong, acknowledged the limits of his agencys powers and jurisdiction in a letter dated July 16 which stated many of the allegations that have been made in the media coverage to date fall outside this jurisdiction. In the letter, Furlong also wrote the FWC was committed to working with law enforcement agencies and sharing information with other regulatory agencies where appropriate. However, police sources from Victoria and NSW said state police were deeply reluctant to launch their own investigations because of resourcing concerns and, in the case of Victoria, were referring potentially important police witnesses to the FWC. The FWC is unable to access information gathered via phone taps, listening devices or coercive questioning hearings held by agencies such as the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission or Victorias Office of the Chief Examiner. This means it will not have key evidence and intelligence from major police investigations revealing alleged involvement of CFMEU officials and delegates in improper activities, including dealings with bikie gangs and underworld figures. Between 2017 and 2021, two major state-federal taskforces uncovered detailed information exposing the alleged involvement of still serving union officials and delegates in kickback and corruption schemes. In Victoria, Operation Pantile gathered extensive phone tap material suggesting Victorian union assistant secretary Derek Christopher may be involved an alleged kickback scheme in which he is suspected of receiving $200,000 worth of supplies and labour from commercial building companies seeking CFMEU favours. Victoria Police recently said Pantile was an ongoing investigation, while official sources told this masthead that the force had not only compiled voluminous material implicating Christopher in alleged wrongdoing, but material implicating another influential CFMEU insider. There is no suggestion from this masthead that Christopher is guilty of an offence, a finding that can only be made by a court. Derek Christopher. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui In NSW, detectives from a second joint taskforce operation covertly recorded hours of two serving union officials suspected of corruption. A third Victorian police inquiry, Operation Spitfire, has recently scrutinised two bikie figures who worked as union delegates, including a sergeant at arms of the Rebels bikie gang. Separately, a federal police taskforce operating in Sydney and Queensland covertly recorded conversations between a still serving senior union official and a notorious underworld figure previously implicated in the bribery of a now retired union boss. Because the FWC is not deemed an enforcement agency under commonwealth legislation, it is prohibited from accessing much of the material gathered in these police investigations. However, the commission will be able to access some police evidence if it is eventually aired in court. The Fair Work Ombudsman, which is investigating misconduct around making CFMEU agreements, also acknowledged criminal matters are outside its jurisdiction and it is limited to looking at coercion, misrepresentation or unions failing to disclose benefits. A Victorian inquiry into the construction industry, initiated by Premier Jacinta Allan and due to provide an interim report by the end of the month, also had no public channel to receive evidence until Thursday. After questions were asked by this masthead a link was published on its website. The independent investigator, Geoffrey Watson, SC, hired on Tuesday by the CFMEUs national office to probe allegations of corruption and criminality has even less power than the Fair Work Commission and ombudsman. Both watchdogs are also hampered in their ability to access information held by the federal police as part of the investigation that led to NSW District Court Justice Jennie Girdhams May 2022 conclusions about a businessman who, between 2017 and 2020, bribed three CFMEU officials, including two who are still serving. While the businessman and union officials are given pseudonyms in the judges remarks and cant be named publicly for legal reasons their identities are known to CFMEU executives. In the previously unreported judicial remarks, Justice Girdham described a scheme in which the building company owner paid almost $31,000 in bribes to secure the unions help in winning contracts on NSW construction sites. The judge concluded that the scheme not only infected the unions integrity but potentially tainted the honest assessment of tenders to the detriment of other parties or competitors in the industry. Girdham said the corrupting of the union was serious and deliberate and while the sums of money involved were not large, it is recognised that in cases of bribery that a relatively small bribe may still have a very substantial corrupting effect. Glorious sunny weather will continue through the weekend offering great conditions for outdoor recreation. Australias longest-running hot rod and rockabilly festival, Greazefest runs all weekend at Redland Showgrounds, with music, flashy cars, markets, food trucks and a lot of tattoos. Alana Wilkie at Greazefest, Australias longest-running hot rod and rockabilly festival. Credit: Mark Greenmantle On Sunday, the annual Winter Design Market comes to the forecourt of the Gallery of Modern Art/Queensland Art Gallery from 9am to 4pm. Shop for local craft and design, with music by DJ Aidan Beiers. Four locations across the Gold Coast are the hubs for the Bleach festival, the 12-day arts festival which launched yesterday and features a number of free concerts and dance performances. Indoors, the Brisbane Portrait Prize opens at the State Library on Saturday. This free exhibition showcases winning and shortlisted paintings and photographs of distinguished Brisbane people. A new Holey Moley putt putt has opened at the Westfield in Mount Gravatt offering 18-hole mini golf, karaoke and challenge rooms along with pizza and cocktails. An exhaustive exhibition on the 112-year-old disaster Titanic: The Human Story continues at Uptown with relics from the ship, recreations of cabins, large-scale photographs and an engrossing audioguide. The Albanese government has warned that the conflict in the Middle East is at risk of severe escalation and urged Australians in Lebanon to return home after the deaths of key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Israeli airstrikes. Israel said it had killed Hezbollahs most senior military commander Fuad Shukr on Wednesday in an airstrike on Beiruts southern suburbs that also killed at least one woman and two children and wounded dozens of others in escalating hostilities with the Lebanese terrorist group. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Australians in Lebanon to come home. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Hours later, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran, which the terrorist group said was a Zionist airstrike on [Haniyehs] residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of Irans new president. Irans leaders vowed to retaliate for Haniyehs death having been carried out on their soil. Iran supports Hamas, as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza. Find out who the candidates are and the key issues in your local area in our in-depth coverage of Victorian council elections. Independent councillor Jamal Hakim will run for Lord Mayor of Melbourne in the upcoming local council election and is pushing to change donation rules to make candidates disclose campaign donors. Its time for change, Hakim said. Its about making the change that the city needs to move forward. Councillor Jamal Hakim is running for Lord Mayor and is calling for transparency on campaign donations. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui Hakim is running on a platform advocating for transparency and integrity and is calling on all candidates to declare donations to their election campaign in real time. For election campaigns, you dont know whos donating to campaigns until well after the election, he said. There is no requirement to declare donations up front, which means that you dont know who are the people who are playing behind the scenes, who is truly making the decisions in town hall, and how decisions are being considered. He was disappointed there were no recommendations to relocate affected residents within the retirement village or to buy back their homes. A lot of us have come here at later stages of life seeking peace and security and all thats happened is we have lost our wealth. The government should recognise that, he said. Korkliniewski said there was enough evidence laid out in the report about faults in the planning process for a class action to be considered. Its not a question of if we get flooded again, its a question of when, he said. We in the west get treated like second-class citizens. The impact to property values at Rivervue is spreading beyond just homes that were inundated in 2022. One unit that was not flooded has not received a buyer offer in the two years since it was put on the market. A property expert with knowledge of the situation, but who asked not to be named to speak freely, said it was frustrating that a buyback scheme was rejected by the parliamentary committee. Theres the contagion impact of the village being known as flood-prone. I feel for those who have actually been flooded because their houses are worth virtually nothing, he said. The report found that inadequate record-keeping by Melbourne Water regarding the Rivervue development resulted in a lack of transparency about the decision-making process in the early 2000s. A Melbourne Water spokesman confirmed that it was the relevant referral authority that had reviewed the proposed retirement village plan. Melbourne Water found the developer had removed the flood risk despite this, the village flooded in 2022. The spokesman said Melbourne Water had, since the village flooded, been working with Rivervue residents to support development of an emergency management plan for the site. He also said retrofitting could be an appropriate response to flood risk in some cases. David Ettershank, a Legalise Cannabis MP and the inquirys deputy chair, said Melbourne Waters inability to explain what had happened because of historical events was not good enough. Loading In a dissenting report, Ettershank said it was hardly likely to encourage public confidence that lost in the mists of time barely extends back 15 years. Ettershank had hoped the report would deliver more solutions for flood-hit residents along the Maribyrnong River. What weve not come up with are long-term resolutions for these peoples terrible problems, he said. Its absolutely incumbent upon government to actually start looking at solutions for those people, not simply noting their complaints. The report noted the Flemington Racecourse flood wall built by the Victoria Racing Club in 2007 had increased the extent and duration of the flood in [the suburb of] Maribyrnong. The flood wall around Flemington Racecourse on October 14, 2022. Credit: Aisha Dow The wall increased flood levels by up to three centimetres in some residential areas and lengthened its duration. Some properties flooded would likely have avoided inundation had the wall not been built, an earlier report overseen by Melbourne Water found. The parliamentary report found that construction works on the river, designed to offset the impact of major flooding on locals, failed to work. The Allan government has until January to respond to the report. Water Minister Harriet Shings spokeswoman said the government was considering the reports recommendations. She said the state was investing more than $22 million for council flood planning and spent $2.5 billion with the Commonwealth supporting flood-hit communities. Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said the report showed major failures in Victorias planning system. While the report makes some good recommendations, Im disappointed that residents ... are still facing significant costs and uncertainty for poor government decisions. These residents deserve justice and compensation. Rivervue Retirement Village in Avondale Heights. Credit: Rivervue The report questions the reliance on mitigation works to justify floodplain development, but Maribyrnong Community Recovery Association president Madeleine Serle criticised the lack of mitigation solutions for at-risk residents. We want to continue to push for federal climate change disaster funding to do whole-of-catchment mitigation work, she said. Other recommendations in the report include overhauling the states early warning system and emergency management, and disclosing when a property is flood-prone in vendor statements. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This article is part of Travellers Holiday Guide to the worlds greatest road trips. See all stories . Route 66 is a ghost highway. It officially vanished in 1985 but try telling that to the good folk of Springfield, Missouri. This Springfield (one of 67 in the US) is nicknamed the Buckle of the Bible Belt, thanks to its hundreds of churches. Even while Uber-ing from the airport to my Route 66-themed motel, my driver confesses he glimpsed heaven the previous night as he hunkered down during a minor tornado. A few years ago, a reporter calculated Springfield has six times as many churches as Chinese restaurants, which is saying something considering many residents are addicted to a local invention called cashew chicken. The city of 180,000 mostly God-fearing people is also the birthplace of another pivotal development it was from here that a telegram was sent to federal officials on April 30, 1926, suggesting the new diagonal highway connecting Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast be christened 66. The designation was approved on November 11, the highways official birthdate. Route 66 was born and Springfield, in the Missouri Ozarks, wrote itself into the history books (although Tulsa, Oklahoma, this year claimed the Capital of Route 66 title, as the guy who first noticed the 66 designation was available was a Tulsan). While this part of Middle America might be unfamiliar to many Australians, its the perfect place to start exploring the near-mythical highway that ran almost 4000 kilometres through eight states. With these states and their retro roadside attractions already gearing up for an influx of visitors in 2026, nows the time to do the route as it was meant to be done: in a leisurely fashion, so you can shoot the breeze with characters you meet along the way. Tracking down the routes historic wisps of blacktop, superseded by more efficient but less interesting interstate highways, can take grunt work, though. Many Route 66 attractions can help, as they sell guidebooks describing exactly how to trace that journey back to simpler times. It also helps that, as the eight states increasingly recognise the power of Route 66 tourism, brown-and-white Historic Route signage has sprouted alongside the former highway, turning the ephemeral into something more concrete. Time travel on four wheels What do travellers hope to find beyond photo opportunities as they journey along whats also called the Main Street of America? I have no idea, but my nostalgia trip starts on Springfields West College Street. We snap pictures of the 1929-built Rockwood Motor Court a fine example of whats known as giraffe-rock architecture (where sandstone or limestone is collected, sometimes split and then mortared in place, creating a pattern that resembles a giraffes hide) and head to College Street Cafe. Inside the tiny diner, a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash brown, toast and percolated coffee makes for a classic American diner experience right on Route 66. Before taking leave, we ink our name on the walls as many others have done. Advertisement Old motel sign along the route. Credit: iStock Right out front, a Route 66 badge is painted onto the road. We snap selfies then stroll over to the Route 66 Car Museum a vast display space for businessman Guy Maces collection of historic and movie-themed vehicles, including a Batman-inspired 1971 Gotham Roadster and a Ghostbusters ECTO-1. Im an unusual collector in that I drive most of my cars, says Mace, whose favourite set of wheels is a bronze 1967 Austin-Healey, while the most expensive (valued at $US1.5 million, or $2,240,000) is a 1936 Horch. Many vehicles on the museum floor are on trickle chargers to keep their batteries in shape. If you want to see the true America travel Route 66 and youll see a lot of small towns. People want to see the real America, he says. With up to 40 per cent of the museums visitors drawn from overseas, Mace says: Its just incredible the mystique that Route 66 has worldwide. Gary Turners Gay Parita. Equally amazed, even though he meets Route 66 tourists every day, is George Bowick of Gay Parita, a replica Sinclair gas station 37 kilometres west of Springfield on Old 66. The stop is a mere dot on the map but it illustrates how 66 is really about something other than landmarks: its about people. Bowick is continuing the legacy of his gregarious father-in-law, Gary Turner, who died in 2015 but is fondly remembered as a route ambassador. Hed spend hours shooting the breeze with passers-by and giving tips for the best stops along the route. Some people thought that with the passing of the one-of-a-kind Turner (and his wife, Lena, just a few months later), thatd be the end of Gay Parita. Advertisement Clearly, theyd never met Bowick (he and his partner, Turners daughter Barbara, lived way off the route in Charleston, South Carolina, until duty called). Here in south-west Missou-rah, this stretch of Route 66 is known as the ghost stretch because so many things have faded away, says Bowick in his cigarette-roughened voice. Hes lounging on the porch of the gift shop-cum-museum from where, in summer, he watches goldfinches dive-bomb his sunflowers. On the quiet road out front, an oversized Route 66 painted badge provides a perfect photo op. Were keeping all of Mister Garys traditions we do things exactly the same way Gary did, he says. Perhaps not everything. Its hard to know what Miss Lena would have made of the 3D Sinclair green dinosaur (the fuel companys logo), christened Lena and gussied up with red lipstick and toenail polish, which has joined the memorabilia collection. This memorable pit-stop has been saved but, because of the mom-and-pop scale of many little businesses along the route, some have shuttered while others, such as Californias Bagdad Cafe, are struggling to stay open. Click and connect If you think Route 66 is only about collecting clicks (on your camera) think again. Its also about slowing down and chewing the fat. Route 66 is just a road its always been a road, nothing but a road, says Bowick. Its always been about the people and, when folks are travelling Route 66, if they keep that in mind they will not have missed the boat on anything. You wont meet a better bunch of people on the planet. Advertisement Carthage Courthouse. Between his place and Missouris western border, we clock up other iconic Route 66 experiences. In Joplin, where Bonnie and Clyde holed up for several weeks in 1933 and a 2011 tornado ripped through the city, killing 158 people, art is helping recovery. Striking murals, along with half of a 1964 red Corvette, feature at the Route 66 Mural Park. Fifteen minutes drive out of Joplin is the teeny-tiny Supertam On 66 Ice Cream Parlour and Superman Museum home to 2500-plus items celebrating the Man of Steel along with ice-cream flavours such as Superman, Fat Elvis and Exhausted Parent. On the way to Carthage, we snap the 66 Drive-In, which would make a very cool night out if youre staying at the nearby Boots Court Motel. After showing us around the Streamline moderne-style motel where Clark Gable was a guest, manager Jeremy Morris takes us to another quirk. He lives in an old-timey house called The Parsonage at Red Oak II a recreated community that is part art installation, part open-air museum just off Old 66. Visitors can stroll around the collection of early 20th-century buildings that include a Phillips 66 gas station, schoolhouse and general store. A road divided Detouring from the route to catch nearby sights was de rigueur for yesteryears road-trippers so we follow in their tyre tracks. Near Springfield is the ride-through-in-a-jeep-drawn-tram Fantastic Caverns and, on the way to St Louis in the states east, youll find Meramec Caverns, which the outlaw Jesse James used as a hideout. The Meramec caverns. Advertisement Yet Route 66 isnt all nostalgia for everyone. As Springfields History Museum on the Square reminds us, journeying through segregated America was fraught for African-American motorists. To help them find places to eat, drink and stay, African-American New York City mail carrier Victor Hugo Green published The Negro Travellers Green Book from 1936-66 (a copy of the annual guidebooks 1956 cover is displayed in the museum). The guide included Grahams Rib Station and Motel in Springfield. Springfields unofficial historian, David Eslick, said a 1960 campaign visit by then Vice-President Richard Nixon led to a significant moment for racial integration in the city. As Nixons press delegation included two African-Americans, a local hotel was forced to change its segregation policy. Two years later, it reversed its stance, saying the Springfield area unfortunately is not quite ready to accept desegregation on a broad or unlimited scale. History Museum, Missouri. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for hotels and motels to discriminate based on race. Another poignant spot along the route is the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge on St Louiss outskirts. Cyclists and pedestrians who cross the bridge, themed with Route 66 signage, to reach Illinois will find a plaque honouring two young women murdered here in 1991. A museum like no other Among all its other monikers, Route 66 is also called Americas Longest Museum and its easy to see why. Heading east from Springfield, we tick off the very silly fudge factory at Uranus, spend the night at Cubas classic Wagon Wheel Motel and explore the Old 66 displays at both Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Centre and at Route 66 State Park (where the visitors centre is fashioned from a 1935 roadhouse that serviced the route). Advertisement As one senior US official noted Wednesday, the Israelis could have killed Haniyeh, one of the main interlocutors on a ceasefire and prisoner-exchange deal that appears imperilled again, anywhere in the Middle East. Loading The official noted that the Israelis chose to do it in Iran during the inauguration. Foreign dignitaries from more than 80 nations were at the ceremony, where security was tight. The message was obvious. The assassins were not only retaliating against Hamas leaders for the October 7 terror attack in Israel that killed more than 1100 civilians, but were also reminding Irans new leaders that they, too, were within easy reach. But as Pezeshkian is bound to discover as Iran considers its options, measuring the right response without tipping the country into a devastating war, is no easier for the new president than it was for the previous eight men who have held the office since the Iranian revolution. The attack injects a major crisis for Irans new president on his first day on the job, Ali Vaez, head of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, said on Wednesday. Pezeshkian ran on a pledge to rebalance Irans foreign relations and to relieve sanctions, a vow he made in his inauguration address to the country. A regional escalation against a key US ally will shut the already extremely narrow window there might have been for diplomatic engagement, Vaez said. In truth, that window was all but shut before the killing. Iran was engaged in indirect negotiations with the Biden administration in 2021 and 2022, and at moments the two sides seemed close to reviving some version of the 2015 nuclear deal, which put sharp limits on Irans nuclear fuel production, in return for sanctions relief. As president, Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018. But President Joe Bidens effort to fashion a new accord collapsed in talks with the government of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May. With the American presidential election so close and the prospect of Trumps return to office the Iranians had little incentive to revive the conversation. For Pezeshkian, the news that a key ally and a guest at his inauguration was killed was also a personal blow, according to two members of his advisory committee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the record. He emerged from an emergency meeting with Khamenei and members of Irans Supreme National Security Council to accuse Israel of staging the attacks. We will make the occupying terrorist regime regret its action, he said in a statement. Loading But attending the meetings and influencing the decision-making on retaliation are different. It is unclear that a man who was elected to relieve social tension, touting a platform of liberalising social rules on wearing the hijab and use of the internet, will have influence over the Revolutionary Guard, which was particularly humiliated by the strike. Pezeshkian has said that he fully backs Irans state policy toward Israel and supports the militant groups in the region. My sense is Pezeshkian will not have an impact on the decision, said Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and a long-time Iran expert. He was never a part of the inner circle on security. Maloney said it was possible that the supreme leader, in ordering a direct retaliatory strike on Israel, meant a missile attack similar to what it attempted April 13, its biggest and most overt attack on Israel since the 1979 Iranian revolution. It launched hundreds of missiles and drones in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, which killed several Iranian military commanders. But even that show of force was telegraphed well in advance. General Michael E Kurilla, who heads US Central Command, had time to organise a comprehensive missile defence that included US, Israeli and Jordanian forces, among other allies. Nearly all the weapons were shot down and little damage was done. Now the United States is likely to try to assemble that coalition which some US officials describe as a nascent NATO-like defensive alliance to fend off another attack in days or weeks. They will urge the Israelis not to escalate when and if an attack comes, noting that in April, the fears of a regional war dissipated after Israel dropped a few weapons into Isfahan, Iran, while keeping them far from the nuclear sites surrounding that city. Other forms of retaliation could also follow. While US officials believe that neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants a war on the territory of Lebanon, the possibilities for an accident or overreaction are ripe. The riskiest move would be crossing the line from developing fuel for a nuclear weapon to developing the weapon itself. Instead of being at least a year away from having breakout capacity to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon, theyre probably one or two weeks away from doing that, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 19 at the Aspen Security Forum. Where we are now is not a good place. In Iran, Israels great rival in the Middle East, a grinning Haniyeh was welcomed as a hero. Waving and pressing his heart in gratitude, his white beard neatly trimmed, he glad-handed dignitaries at President Masoud Pezeshkians inauguration in the Iranian parliament on Tuesday. Chants from politicians of death to Israel, death to the USA rang out at the ceremony. Pezeshkian embraced Haniyeh warmly before the Hamas leader was granted an audience with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans Supreme Leader. Haniyeh wished Khamenei a long and healthy life during their meeting. In a matter of hours, he would be dead in the veterans residence where Irans proxy warriors were being hosted. A young woman reacts during a protest to condemn the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, at al-Bass Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon. Credit: AP The 2am explosion that killed Haniyeh and his bodyguards was reported by Israeli media to have been an air strike launched from within Iran. Deep, perhaps unprecedented, Mossad infiltration Whether the munition was delivered by drone or a different kind of projectile, a launch from inside Iran would suggest deep, perhaps unprecedented, infiltration by Mossad. It was a missile, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, told reporters in Tehran. Hundreds of protesting Iranians take part in a protest against the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Palestine Square in Tehran. Credit: Getty Images The missile targeted the room where Ismail Haniyeh was present. The impact of the missile caused the windows to shatter and the walls to collapse. Investigation by our Iranian brothers is ongoing. The assassination came less than 24 hours after a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in revenge for the death of 12 children in a missile attack. Haniyeh escaped an earlier attempt on his life in the early 2000s before he won fame in 2006 after leading Hamas to an election victory and ultimately its takeover of the Gaza Strip. Israeli air strikes killed three of Haniyehs sons and four of his grandchildren in April. Even so, he continued the ceasefire negotiations. My father survived four assassination attempts during his patriotic journey, and today Allah has granted him the martyrdom that he always wished for, said Abdul Salam Haniyeh, the dead terror chiefs son. We affirm that this assassination will not deter the resistance, which will fight until freedom is achieved. The assassination has plunged the Middle East into dangerous waters. It was an escalatory crime that will push towards more tension and chaos in the region, Sufyan Al-Qudah, a spokesman for Jordans foreign ministry, warned. Loading I dont think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think theres always room and opportunities for diplomacy, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said in the Philippines. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyehs death but, as far as a humiliated Iran was concerned, there was no doubt who was responsible. As loudspeakers on mosques relayed the news of Haniyehs death across Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, the Islamic Republics leaders vowed harsh and painful revenge. Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand, and today, I must take his body on my shoulders, Pezeshkian said. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Leader attended a meeting of Islamic Republics Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning to plot the response. Irans embarrassment was compounded by the boasts of its outgoing intelligence minister just six days ago. Esmail Khatib had crowed that his biggest achievement in office was breaking up Mossads infiltration network. We are waiting for our officials to kill someone in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv for Tehran, one presenter raged on Iranian state TV. Outside the University of Tehran, a few dozen people gathered to chant Death to Israel. The Zionists have just dug their own graves with their own hands, one Revolutionary Guards official told The Telegraph. We have been at war with Israel for the past four decades, and they have just made it official. Calls for all-out war And a member of the Basij paramilitary group, calling for all-out war said: We should use the opportunity they gave us to show them who is the real power in the region. There was anxiety as well as anger within Iran. I was hoping that with the new president, we would have some peace, but now I am worried that we may have to leave Tehran again, said Afshin, a shopkeeper in the capital. Loading He and his family fled Tehran when Iran fired about 300 suicide drones and missiles at Israel in April, almost all of which were shot down by the US, UK, and Israel. Why should this guy be here? Everyone knows Israel is looking for him, and we host him in the heart of Tehran, added Afshin. Iran has declared three days of mourning for Haniyeh, whose funeral will be held in Tehran on Thursday. The government will take a call on whether to continue the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme in September, which coincides with the borrowing calendar discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a senior government official said, requesting anonymity. A view on continuing SGB is likely to coincide with the RBI borrowing meeting in September. We see SGB not as a social security scheme, but as an investment option. Also, the government is not looking for an alternative to the gold bond scheme for now, the official said. The perspective aligns with the Union Budgets decision His deportation has raised concerns about freedom of the press and access to information in Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters) A 73-year-old British-American author and journalist, who sought an interview with Pakistan's jailed former premier Imran Khan, has been deported after his tourist visa was revoked, a media report said on Thursday. Charles Glass, an author, journalist, broadcaster, and publisher who specialises in the Middle East, was told by law enforcement agencies on Wednesday that his visa had been cancelled and he had five hours to leave the country, the Dawn newspaper reported. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Glass has served prominent media organisations such as Newsweek, ABC TV, and The Telegraph, among others, and currently works as a freelance journalist. He had been trying to secure a meeting with Khan. Sources told the paper that Glass, who was recently spotted outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi alongside Khan's sister Aleema, was at the residence of Islamabad-based senior journalist Zahid Hussain when they were visited by a large police contingent. Around noon on Wednesday, a team led by an assistant superintendent of police (ASP) arrived, initially saying they wanted to meet the foreign journalist. They then informed Glass that his visa had been cancelled, After arguing for nearly an hour, the ASP reportedly told the journalist he had to leave the country by 5 pm. "Mr Glass wondered how he would secure a flight and said his luggage is still at [his lodgings]. The ASP offered to accompany him to the hotel to collect his luggage and informed him that there was a flight to Abu Dhabi available at 4 pm, which he should take to leave the country. The ASP said he had a clear order to deport the journalist, the paper quoted sources as saying. Sources said that Glass was initially taken to his lodgings to collect his luggage, and then deported to the Middle East. Shahzad Akbar, a former aide of ex-PM Imran Khan, also mentioned the incident on social media. There are reports of the deportation of British journalist Charles Glass who was visiting Pakistan to see @ImranKhanPTI at Adiala prison, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Sources said that Glass had been trying to secure an interview with Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, and it was possible that his tourist visa was cancelled because of this. However, Kohsar police station chief Shafqat Faiz, in whose locality the journalist was staying, denied any such activity within their jurisdiction. The Dawn newspaper also reached out to Islamabad police chief Ali Nasir Rizvi for comment on the issue, but he did not respond. His deportation has raised concerns about freedom of the press and access to information in Pakistan. This story has been updated. The heavy rains in Delhi on Wednesday caused water to leak into the lobby of the newly inaugurated Parliament building, raising concerns about the weather resilience of the structure, which was built at a cost of Rs 971 crore. The construction was completed just last year. Additionally, waterlogging was noted around the premises, particularly near the New Parliaments Makar Dwar, with several videos of the flooding going viral on social media. Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav shared a video of the leaks with the caption: "The old parliament was better than this new parliament, where even the old MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the parliament built with billions of rupees. People are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well thought out design." Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp , , , -- , , pic.twitter.com/PpJ36k6RJm August 1, 2024 Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha, urging the formation of a specialised committee to investigate and address the issue. Background of the new Parliament building The foundation stone of the new Parliament building was laid on December 10, 2020, and it was inaugurated on May 28, 2023, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The building was first used for official business on September 19, 2023, during a Parliamentary Special Session where the landmark women's reservation bill was passed. The need for a new building emerged in the early 2010s due to stability concerns with the older structure, which was a 93-year-old building suffering from inadequate space and structural stability issues. The new Parliament building, constructed to be modern, efficient, and earthquake-resistant, has been designed with a projected lifespan of over 150 years and incorporates diverse Indian architectural styles. The project, led by HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Ltd with architect Bimal Patel, cost an estimated Rs 971 crore and covers an area of 64,500 square meters. Details of the leakage inside the Parliament Manickam Tagores adjournment notice stated that the water leakage occurred along the path used by the President of India when entering the new Parliament building. He emphasised that the incident highlights potential issues with the building's weather resilience, just one year after its completion. Tagore proposed forming a specialised committee, including MPs from all parties, to inspect the building thoroughly. The committee would investigate the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials used, recommend necessary repairs, establish a maintenance protocol, and ensure transparency by publicly sharing its findings. The Lok Sabha released a statement addressing these leakages stating that displaced adhesives used to attach glass domes to parts of the building to allow natural light flow, were the cause of the leakage. The press note said, "... in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the Building, including in the Lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilised in day to day work of the Parliament. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the Building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby." "The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed. Similarly, accumulated water opposite Makar Dwar also got drained out quickly," the note added. Previous structural issues with Parliament building Despite its modern design, the new Parliament building has faced several issues since its inauguration. The special session of Parliament in the new building experienced technical glitches, including snags in the microphones and earphones provided to members of Parliament and a faulty acoustics system that generated echoes in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers. During its inaugural session, the biometric and barcode security system was not yet activated, leading to confusion and strict entry restrictions in the new Parliament building. Beautiful but inefficient: MPs struggle to communicate During the special Parliament session in September 2023, while many appreciated the buildings aesthetic appeal and intricate design work, there were clear signs of work in progress. Some people noted that the huge chambers made it difficult for MPs to interact with each other and the visitors and press galleries, unlike in the old building. Additionally, the new uniform for the staff was met with dissatisfaction due to its design and quality, and the biometric and barcode security system was not yet activated, leading to confusion and strict entry restrictions. Specialised committee to investigate leakage On Thursday, Congress MP Manickam Tagore highlighted that the water leakage could point to potential issues with the buildings weather resilience and called for the formation of a specialised committee to address these concerns. The proposed committee would investigate the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials used, recommend necessary repairs, establish a maintenance protocol, and ensure transparency by publicly sharing its findings. Parliament session continues amid downpour Despite the disruption caused by the leakage, the parliamentary proceedings continued as scheduled. Key items on the agenda for Thursday include the introduction of a bill to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in both Houses of Parliament by Amit Shah and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to move the statutory resolution regarding Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The monsoon session of Parliament, which commenced on July 22, is scheduled to conclude on August 12. Despite the heavy rains and ensuing challenges, the legislative business continues to address crucial issues and proposals. Bank of Maharashtra raised only Rs 811 crore through a 10-year infrastructure bond issue at a coupon rate of 7.8 per cent on Thursday. The bank had aimed to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore, but bids totalled only Rs 1,390 crore, with most proposals seeking higher rates. The issue had a base size of Rs 500 crore and a greenshoe option of Rs 2,500 crore. Investors sought returns between 7.85 per cent and 7.9 per cent, but the bank opted to stick with 7.8 per cent, which limited the amount raised. Market sources noted that bids totalling roughly Rs 500 crore were placed at 7.85 per cent. A dealer at a state-owned bank commented, Most bids exceeded 7.8 per cent, and the bank was not prepared to meet those rates. The dealer added that only Rs 500 crore of the total bids were at 7.85 per cent. In contrast, Canara Bank secured Rs 10,000 crore at a 7.4 per cent coupon rate on July 16. State Bank of India raised Rs 10,000 crore on July 10 at a 7.36 per cent rate for a 15-year tenor, and another Rs 10,000 crore at the same rate on June 26. Bank of India also sold Rs 5,000 crore in 10-year bonds at a 7.54 per cent rate on July 19. Earlier, Bank of Maharashtra raised Rs 1,000 crore through Basel III Tier II bonds with a 7.89 per cent rate. On July 18, the banks board approved raising up to Rs 10,000 crore through long-term infrastructure bonds this financial year, in multiple tranches via public issues or private placements. The missile that killed Hamas Qatar- and Turkiye-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has likely substantially weakened the chances of peace in the Israel-Hamas war and escalated the conflict in West Asia in unpredictable ways. Haniyeh was Hamas chief negotiator. His death, which Iran claims was orchestrated by Israel, which is yet to formally claim responsibility, silences a relatively moderate voice within Hamas. He had been an advocate of a ceasefire with Israel, often clashing with other Hamas officials. Not surprisingly, leaders in Egypt and Qatar, key mediators in ceasefire talks, have raised serious doubts about If you were to walk into your nearest electronics store to buy a Sony TV, chances are you would get confused by how different models are named. Take the X90 or X95, for example. Dont confuse them with the A95 or A90, please. The X series are LED televisions, while the A series are higher-end OLED televisions. So you can buy a Sony A95L or Sony X95 or some other such TV. Doesnt quite roll off the tongue, does it? Well, over the decades, Japanese electronics companies have adopted rather strange nomenclature systems. There have been exceptions of course. Sony does that even when it comes to its headphone or earphone ranges. Take its flagship wireless headphones, for example, the WH-1000XM5. The M5 is said to stand for Mark 5. The previous generation was an M4, for example. These are Sonys top-of-the-line personal headphones in the market these days, retailing for somewhere around Rs 30,000 (MRP is Rs 34,990). While the world raves about the sound they deliver, the name isnt really a branding success. Well, not quite like the AirPods Max from the house of Apple. Or even the AirPods Pro. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Not that Sony hasnt tried to change things. It has a series of smart TVs under the Bravia brand name. Simpler naming conventions. Like a series of smartphones. Or its latest range of personal audio products in the ULT series. The series includes some speakers and a pair of headphones. Sony ULT lineup has three speakers and a pair of headphones, the ULT Wear. You can read our review of ULT Field 1, the smallest speaker in the series here. The Sony ULT Wear is the focus of this review, and here is what Sony promises: 40 mm drivers (allowing for deeper bass) Ear detection sensors (the audio automatically gets paused if you take the headphones off) 30 hours of battery life with noise cancellation, 50 hours without it 1.5 hours of playback with a charge of just 3 minutes 5 hours of playback with a charge of just 10 minutes 360 reality audio Multi-device pairing (lets you pair both your mobile phone and laptop to the headphones) Quick attention mode The Sony ULT Wear retail for around Rs 16,500 (MRP Rs 24,990). Even the ULT Wear carries an MRP Rs 10,000 lower than the flagship XM5s, the street prices are much lower. This is a good bargain price for a new product that tries to bridge the gap between the XB and the XM series. Till now the XB series promised extra bass, something the ULT Wear delivers with ease too. Active noise cancellation (ANC) is now a necessary feature, even in budget headphones or earphones. Like other premium Sony headphones, the ULT Wear doesnt disappoint when it comes to this feature. You could be in the middle of a loud crowd, and the headphones would make you feel as if you are on an island alone, immersed in your favourite music. How easy is it to switch between the ANC mode and the non-ANC mode? Just put your hand on the right ear cup, and the headphones switch from the noise cancelling mode to ambient noise mode while lowering the playback volume simultaneously. Sony calls it the Quick Attention Mode. You can get them in three colours: Off white, black, and forest gray. They come with Sony 360 Reality Audio, Sonys version of spatial audio, and it works well. Even without pressing the ULT button on the headphones, they deliver deep bass thanks to the 40 mm drivers (in comparison, the XM5 have 30 mm drivers). If you still feel the need for more bass, just press the ULT button and they will deliver it. We, however, found the sound to be a bit muddy with ULT on. There isnt much to choose between the XB910, ULT Wear, and the XM5s when it comes to weight. At 255 gm, ULT Wear is comfortable for walking or sitting, but it may not be the most comfortable if you are lying in bed, listening to your favourite music. We checked out old Hindi film classics, classic rock numbers, and the latest pop sensations, and the headphones sounded good. The long battery backup, good ANC, and quick charge options make these headphones perfect companions for a commute. There is no sound leakage, either, so the person sitting next to you in the metro is unlikely to be disturbed. With their easy thump, ULT Wear is likely to be really popular with younger users, even as those who prefer a more balanced sound veer towards the XM5s. In a contentious exchange at the National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) on Wednesday, former US President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris's ethnicity. Hours later, far-right commentator Laura Loomer posted Harris's birth certificate, listing her mother's ethnicity as "Caucasian," ostensibly supporting Trump's claim that Harris is not Black. The post was met with mixed responses, with many pointing out the lack of logic in it, stating that Harris's father could be both Black and Jamaican. This echoed Trump's comment where the Republican nominee could not seem to understand that Harris could be of both Indian and Black origins. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Kamala Harris' heritage Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was an Indian-American biomedical scientist, and her father, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American professor emeritus at Stanford University. Despite these facts, Trumps questioning of Harriss racial identity has stirred significant controversy. In response, Harriss team issued a statement condemning Trumps remarks: "The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people." Fact-checkers clarify Harris' certificate does not mention race Fact-checkers, including Snopes, have clarified that California birth certificates in the 1960s often did not specify a child's race. Harris's team reiterated that her mothers listing as "Caucasian" does not alter her identity. Controversy around Obama's ethnicity and birthplace This incident also echoes similar allegations faced by former US President Barack Obama. During and after his 2008 campaign, Obamas birthplace and citizenship were widely questioned, with theories falsely claiming he was born in Kenya or that he lost his US citizenship by becoming an Indonesian citizen. These claims have been largely characterised as racially motivated attacks against Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. Ultimately, Obama had the White House release his birth certificate in 2011, while he was in office, to end conspiracy theories around his birth and citizenship. Trump's interview with Black journalists During his interview at the NABJ event in Chicago, Trump repeatedly questioned Harriss racial identity. When pressed about his previous comments questioning the birthplace of prominent Black figures, including Obama, and why Black voters should support him in the 2024 elections, Trump deflected, criticising the interviewers "hostility" and the network they represented. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump remarked. One of the moderators tried to point out that Harris has always identified as Black and attended a historically Black university; however, their comments were ignored. In a bizarre move, Trump went on to compare himself to Abraham Lincoln, claiming he was the best President for Black voters since Lincoln, who ended slavery and paved the way for civil rights. Additionally, Trump reiterated his promise to pardon January 6 rioters, including those convicted of assaulting police officers. This latest incident highlights the enduring racial tensions and controversies in American politics, highlighting the challenges faced by minority leaders in their pursuit of public office. According to a Bloomberg poll, Harris is currently leading in five of seven battleground states against Trump. The US presidential polls are scheduled for November 5. Pakistan is all set to launch its own home-developed messaging platform, "Beep Pakistan," initially for government employees with plans for a wider public rollout, according to a report by Al Jazeera. This initiative follows growing concerns about WhatsApp's performance in the country, which some users attribute to possible internet restrictions. The Beep Pakistan messaging app is currently being used within the IT Ministry. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Officials highlight the app's strong security features and data privacy, positioning it as a more secure alternative to foreign platforms. Beep Pakistan to be launched in 45 days for public State Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khwaja was quoted by the report as saying that the app is designed robustly enough to eventually offer it to the general public if desired. Haque, who heads the National Assemblys standing committee on IT, noted that the government plans to roll out the application to all its employees within the next 45 days. Although previously referred to as a "WhatsApp killer," the government now emphasises that Beep Pakistan is not intended to compete with existing platforms. Instead, it is presented as a tool to protect sensitive information and enhance digital sovereignty. The push for a domestic messaging app follows a December 2019 incident where Pakistani officials were targeted by Pegasus spyware, raising concerns about WhatsApp's security. While the government denies plans to ban WhatsApp, the promotion of Beep Pakistan indicates a preference for a homegrown solution. The former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government announced the app in 2021. Amid disruptions and bans across all social media platforms, Pakistan announced the development of the Beep app in August 2023. Government officials are reportedly already using the app for internal communications. Development officially began on July 27. Why are Pakistani citizens anxious about the new messaging platform? According to a report by the Times of India, critics view the app as part of a broader government strategy to control online discourse and restrict information access. The recent disruptions to WhatsApp, along with the development of Beep Pakistan, have raised concerns about the governments commitment to a free and open internet. Digital rights advocates suspect that the countrys testing and deployment of an internet firewall, aimed at suppressing dissent and limiting free speech, might be contributing to these disruptions. In recent months, users have lodged complaints with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) about internet throttling and reported difficulties in accessing multimedia content on WhatsApp such as images, documents, and voice notes. According to Beep Pakistans privacy policy as reported by Al Jazeera, the application will collect various information about the device used to access it, such as location, connection information, and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, among other data. Additionally, the privacy policy states that this information will be stored on local servers at the National Telecom Corporation (NTC), the official telecom and information communications technology provider to the government of Pakistan. The privacy policy assures that personal information will not be shared, rented, or sold to other parties and will only be stored on NTC local servers. However, it also notes that the app would be legally obligated to disclose relevant personal information if required by law. Samsung has made important headway in its comeback, including winning the long-awaited approval from Nvidia. | Representative Picture By Yoolim Lee Samsung Electronics Co.s chip business leader warned that Koreas largest company risked getting caught in a vicious cycle if it didnt revamp its workplace culture, in an unusually harsh memo issued to employees months after taking the helm. Jun Young-hyun, who ascended to the role after his predecessor allowed SK Hynix Inc. to take a big lead in AI memory chips, said his divisions recent turnaround was based largely on a market rebound. To sustain that recovery, Samsung must take steps to eradicate communication barriers between departments and stop hiding or avoiding problems, he said in a staff memo seen by Bloomberg News. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The executives communique reflects frustration over Samsungs missteps in the hot new market of supplying memory chips for Nvidia Corp. AI accelerators. While the company this week reported its fastest pace of net income growth since 2010, Jun listed a litany of issues eroding Samsungs long-term competitiveness. Still, the conglomerate is beginning to make progress in narrowing the gap with SK Hynix. We need to rebuild the culture of fierce debate that is unique to semiconductors, the 63-year-old engineer wrote in his brief memo. If we rely on the market without restoring fundamental competitiveness, we will be stuck in a vicious cycle that will repeat last years situation. Samsung has made important headway in its comeback, including winning the long-awaited approval from Nvidia for a version of its high-bandwidth memory chips called HBM3, Bloomberg News reported this week. It also anticipates approval for the next generation, HBM3E, in two to four months. Its unusual and humbling for South Koreas largest company to be playing catchup. Historically, Samsung has led the way in the market, capitalizing on its scale and engineering expertise. We are currently in a difficult situation, Jun said. With our accumulated research experience and know-how, we are confident that we will quickly regain our competitive edge. Global IT firm FPT Software, a subsidiary of FPT Corporation (FPT), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ebm-papst, a global manufacturer of fans and motors headquartered in Germany with 30 production sites worldwide. This partnership will see the two companies commitment to driving digital transformation and co-innovating to enhance industry standards. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730760228/en/ The MoU signing ceremony took place at FPT Tower, Hanoi, with the participation of ebm-papsts CTO Dr. Tomas Smetana, FPT Software Deputy CDO Mr. Le Hai, and other executives from both sides (Photo: Business Wire) Given the rising trend of integrating advanced technologies in the manufacturing sector, FPT Software will assist ebm-papst in enhancing operational efficiency, quality, and sustainability. The solutions to be applied include IoT and Digital Twins technologies, which create replicas of objects and conditions in the physical world for effective management, while gathering data to drive performance, conduct testing, and anticipate issues before they occur. FPT Software will help us fulfill our mission of delivering sustainable, intelligent, and innovative air and heating technology solutions to customers worldwide, said ebm-papsts Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Tomas Smetana. FPT Software has been a trusted digital transformation partner of several manufacturing giants around the world. With our global workforce, wealth of experience, and diversified delivery model, we are well-positioned to accompany ebm-papst in their digital transformation journey. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration that will set a new benchmark for the manufacturing sector," said FPT Softwares Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Delivery Officer, Le Hai. The partnership with a top-tier company like ebm-papst reaffirms FPT Softwares position as a trusted partner in digital transformation and highlights the companys extensive experience in the European market. Since establishing its presence in Europe in 2012, FPT Software has dedicated over 1,000 employees globally to projects in this region, providing digital transformation services and solutions to Europes leading companies across industries, including E.ON, Schaeffler, Viessmann, Covestro, and Siemens. Specifically for the manufacturing domain, the company leverages advanced technologies such as Cloud, AI, RPA, and digital twins to enable resilient and agile businesses, helping clients adapt their infrastructure and smart manufacturing operations. About FPT Software FPT Software, a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, is a global technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam, with $1 billion in revenue (2023) and over 30,000 employees in 30 countries. The company champions complex business opportunities and challenges with its world-class services in Advanced Analytics, AI, Digital Platforms, Cloud, Hyperautomation, IoT, Low-code, and so on. It has partnered with over 1,100 clients worldwide, nearly 100 of which are Fortune Global 500 companies in Aviation, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, Healthcare, Logistics, Manufacturing, Utilities, and more. For more information, please visit https://fptsoftware.com/ About ebm-papst The ebm-papst Group, a family-run company headquartered in Mulfingen, Germany, is the worlds leading manufacturer of fans and motors. Since it was founded in 1963, the technological leader has set international industry standards with its core competencies in motor technology, electronics, digitalization, and aerodynamics. ebm-papst offers sustainable, intelligent, and tailor-made solutions for virtually every requirement in ventilation and heating technology. ebm-papst sets the benchmark in almost all sectors, such as ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technology, heating technology, information technology, mechanical engineering, intralogistics, and medical technology. In the 2023/24 financial year, the Group generated a turnover of EUR 2.408 billion. It employs just nearly 14,000 people at 30 production sites including in Germany, China, and the US, as well as 50 sales offices worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730760228/en/ Novotech, the global full-service clinical Contract Research Organization (CRO) that partners with biotech companies to accelerate the development of advanced and novel therapeutics at every phase, has released its latest industry report, Oesophageal Cancer Global Clinical Trial Landscape. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240729339816/en/ This detailed analysis focuses on the extensive research and innovative treatments being developed to combat oesophageal cancer (OC), the seventh leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, and the 11th most diagnosed cancer globally, with Asia accounting for nearly 70% of cases. Other areas of the report detail the research pipeline for OC, highlighting significant advancements in treatments aimed at improving patient outcomes as well as providing a robust analysis of the funding landscape from both public and private sources, which is currently led by entities based in China and the USA with approximately $5B USD in investment across those two nations. The Novotech research analyst team provides these expert reports monthly, highlighting key metrics on the current status of specific diseases and outlining future trends that may impact the development of treatments. This is provided completely free of charge. Key takeaways from the report: Global Clinical Trial Activity: Since 2019, over 1,530 clinical trials for OC have been initiated globally, with the Asia-Pacific region (49%), North America (28%), and Europe (18%) leading the research efforts. Countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and the USA are at the forefront of trial activities. Rising Incidence: OC is the 11th most diagnosed cancer globally, with approximately 511,000 new cases and 445,400 deaths in 2022. By 2050, the annual incidence is projected to rise to 923,000 new cases, an 80.5% increase. Innovative Treatment Approaches: The treatment landscape is shifting towards personalized medicine, with systemic therapies based on disease stage and molecular markers being recommended by the 2024 NCCN and 2022 ESMO Guidelines. The development pipeline is robust, with over 90 drugs in progress, including numerous Phase III trials focusing on diverse mechanisms of action. Funding and Investment: Significant investment has been channeled into OC research, with China leading with $2.9 billion USD and the USA following with $2.1 billion USD. Other notable contributors include Switzerland, Singapore, Canada, and Japan. Market Leaders: The report identifies key players in the OC treatment market, including Advanz Pharma Corp. Ltd, BeiGene Ltd., InnoKeys Pte. Ltd., and Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. Strategic Insights: The report includes a SWOT analysis, demonstrating the effectiveness of current treatments in managing symptoms and improving quality of life, while also identifying areas where emerging techniques may offer improvements. Download the report here About Novotech Founded in 1997, Novotech is a global full-service clinical Contract Research Organization (CRO) focused on partnering with biotech companies to accelerate the development of advanced and novel therapeutics at every phase. Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023, the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2023, the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award since 2006. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of services including laboratories, Phase I facilities, drug development consulting, regulatory expertise, and has experience with over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. With a presence in 34 office locations and a dedicated team of 3,000+ professionals worldwide, Novotech is a trusted end-to-end strategic partner of choice. For more information or to speak to an expert team member visit here View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240729339816/en/ Today, Lenovo has joined forces with Databricks to drive AI adoption amongst its customers. As a Databricks Consulting & Systems Integration (C&SI) Select Tier Partner, Lenovo will work with businesses to help them take advantage of enhanced data management capabilities, streamlining access to data from multiple sources and removing barriers to successful AI usage. The offering will run through the Lenovo AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE), designed to help customers put AI to work for their organizations quickly, cost-effectively and at scale, with solutions that bring AI from ideation to reality. Working with the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, Lenovo will help businesses to bring their data sources together, allowing them to increase the use of generative AI, improve their data analytics capabilities and drive innovation. The Lenovo AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) will provide services to help customers define outcomes and rapidly innovate with the Databricks Platform to meet the unique needs of their organization. Weve spoken to many customers at various stages of their AI journeys and, while most want to reap the benefits and feel the urgency to do so, their organizations arent ready, commented Linda Yao, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategy, Lenovo Solutions & Services Group. Our latest study showed that 90% of the CIOs we surveyed see AI as a game changer, yet over half feel their organizations lack the technical skills to scale AI quickly. By adding Databricks to Lenovo's ecosystem of leading software vendors, we can further enable our AI for all vision and bring the technology to a broader set of customers." Starting in the Greater China and Asia Pacific Region, then rolling out globally, Lenovo will offer end-to-end expertise in solutions and services for data management, including cloud, data and AI strategy, data platform modernization, data migration, pre-built code for quick implementation, optimization, governance and audit management, and AI and ML use cases. "Our partnership with Lenovo showcases our unwavering commitment to democratize data and AI for all organizations. We are proud to see our relationship with Lenovo transform from customer to key partner. Together, we are driving unprecedented innovation, accelerating growth, and delivering exceptional value to our customers on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform," said Greg Taylor, VP of Partners, Databricks. Lenovo was awarded partner status due to its broad and deep expertise in IT solutions, including over 10 years of public cloud solutions practice and rich operational experience gained in more than 15 years of data platform construction. The new offering forms part of Lenovos comprehensive AI Services practice that provides training and tools to help customers maximize their use of AI. Based on insights from the recent Lenovo CIO report, most organizations struggle with how to deploy AI-powered solutions quickly, effectively, and securely. To support customers globally, Lenovo announced a comprehensive AI services portfolio aligned with the Gartner Five Critical AI Adoption Phases. The Lenovo AICoE aims to accelerate these services and use cases to deliver faster outcomes and improve efficiency by harnessing AI to unlock the value of their data. "With an experienced and expert team on hand, our collaboration with Databricks will accelerate AI readiness and move customers closer to responsible and efficient AI adoption, added Art Hu, SVP & CIO for Lenovo, and Chief Technology and Delivery Officer for Lenovos Solutions and Services Group. "From architecture and data management, through to implementation and governance, we can provide end-to-end solutions that remove obstacles to AI integration and help customers get to the benefits at pace." A relationship built on Lenovos own experience with the Databricks Platform Lenovos work with Databricks builds on a relationship that started in 2022, with Lenovo creating its own enterprise-level global data warehouse through Databricks and fundamental Azure services. Incorporating corporate common data models and 200 core KPIs to date, the warehouse supports the breadth of the organization, from product and production to supply, sales and services. With its experience in digital and intelligent transformation and now as an implementation partner for Databricks, Lenovo is able to provide data and AI solutions based on Lenovos Hybrid Cloud infrastructure. The Lenovo and Databricks collaboration means customers will benefit from a modern data platform with streamlined data governance to help them accelerate their enterprise reporting and analytics and the adoption of AI applications. About Lenovo Lenovo is a US$57 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #217 in the Fortune Global 500, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the worlds largest PC company with a pocket-to cloud portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services. Lenovos continued investment in world-changing innovation is building a more equitable, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY). To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub. LENOVO is a trademark of Lenovo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2024 Lenovo Group Limited. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731568838/en/ Sonar, the leading Clean Code solution provider, has expanded its SonarCloud offering with the availability of two new plans, SonarCloud Enterprise and SonarCloud Team. SonarCloud, the companys fully managed SaaS solution for improving the quality and security of human-developed and AI-assisted code at scale, is used by thousands of organizations to analyze proprietary and open source projects. With the new Enterprise and Team plans for SonarCloud, Sonar empowers development teams of all sizes to deliver Clean Code with confidence. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731528446/en/ Sonar Introduces SonarCloud Enterprise and Team Plans for Advanced Analysis of AI-assisted and Developer Written Code. (Graphic: Business Wire) When code isnt clean, it can cause business outages, security risks, and poor application performance. Sonars Clean Code solutions help developers catch bugs, quality concerns, and security flaws early in the development process, as code is being created. This allows them to find and resolve issues before they can make it through to production, improving developer productivity, software quality, and business performance. Our ROI in SonarCloud kicked in from the first month. We were able to gain a better understanding of the quality of our code and start rolling out suitable adjustments for the engineering team, said Furkan Yavuz, QA lead for Recognyte, an AI-driven real estate intelligence company. As organizations increasingly adopt AI assistants to write code and develop software, having scalable, flexible solutions, with high availability and built-in security has become a business imperative. The new SonarCloud plans ensure developer teams can leverage SonarCloud as their needs grow, to continuously reduce exposure to risk at all levels and sustain the performance of their software, growing business through systematic development and delivery. The adoption of AI coding assistants and the push for faster software development have increased code volume and raised reliability concerns. However, most code scanning tools are just adding to the growing list of issues that are potential threats to business, most of which are false positives. Developers need to be empowered to find issues early and be motivated to fix them with the tools they love and have confidence in. Development teams who use SonarCloud are able to pinpoint and remediate as early in the development process as possible, said Fabrice Bellingard, VP of Product at Sonar. Features Made for the Enterprise SonarCloud Enterprise offers organization-wide portfolio management, new authentication and security features, executive reporting functionality, simplified administration, enterprise service-level agreements, and dedicated commercial support for all customers. Additionally, SonarCloud Enterprise is available on AWS Marketplace, ensuring simplified procurement and onboarding. Centralizing Controls. Managing multiple organizations in a DevOps environment can be difficult, causing a lack of visibility into the overall security of the companys software and the needed actions to improve it on various levels. Specific features include: Enterprise hierarchy, portfolio creation, organization-wide configurable settings, project PDF reporting for technology leads and managers, and security standard reports for IT security teams. Authentication and Security. Organizations tend to use a combination of different tools in their DevOps toolkit to ensure code quality and security, on top of multiple linters to support the complexity that comes with leveraging a variety of languages. Managing organization and group membership to various solutions and ensuring they are synchronized can be a large administrative effort, and lead to security risks. Features that support this and ongoing security assurance include: Single Sign-On (SSO), synchronized access management, and more scalable token management. Simplified Administration. At onboarding, default settings can be prepared and applied to all projects with organization-wide project configuration. This relieves the tedious and slow task that large enterprises face of configuring a high number of projects, project by project. Automated project creation at scale also supports ease in standing up SonarCloud. It enables the auto-creation of projects in SonarCloud that were initially built in an enterprise DevOps platform. Additionally, enterprise billing means that billing can be done as a single entity while being applied to multiple organizations. More about the SonarCloud Team Plan Flexible plans to meet the needs of all organizations. SonarClouds existing Private Repo plan has been replaced by SonarCloud Team and will continue to provide the reliable, SaaS solution that users trust and rely on today. At an affordable price, SonarCloud Team provides all the benefits of the SonarQube Community Edition plus additional features like branch analysis, pull request decoration, and injection flow detection. With the Team plan, developers can scan both public and private projects for actionable insights that enable consistent and efficient Clean Code delivery all in a simple, fast time-to-value SaaS model hosted by Sonar. Teams also have control to define the quality standard they want their codebase to follow. As a company rooted in open source, the Free plan of SonarCloud will continue to be available and will evolve through the year. SonarCloud on AWS Marketplace SonarCloud is available on AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog of independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This enables seamless access to Sonars SaaS solution and acceleration of its deployment for AWS customers globally, whether on the Enterprise or Team plan. Hosted at AWS and replicated across multiple availability zones, data remains accessible in case of hardware failures or natural disasters. In addition, Sonar has joined the AWS Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Program, which will help it to provide improved customer support and cloud cost management. Through its membership in the program, Sonar will increase the visibility of its services to AWS customers and partners. More information about SonarCloud on AWS Marketplace can be found here. When developers arent burdened by fixing issues downstream, they have more time for creativity, quicker release cycles, and advanced problem-solving, which all support a more positive developer experience and contribute to higher retention and lower recruitment costs, added Bellingard. Features described in this release will be made available throughout 2024. To learn more, visit our SonarCloud page, here. About Sonar Sonar's Clean Code solutions, SonarQube, SonarCloud, and SonarLint, help developers prevent code quality and security issues from ever reaching production. Sonar analyzes all code, regardless of who writes ityour internal team or genAIresulting in more secure, reliable, and maintainable software. Rooted in the open source community, Sonars solutions support over 30 programming languages, frameworks, and infrastructure technologies. Today, Sonar is used by 7M+ developers and 400K organizations worldwide, including the DoD, Microsoft, NASA, MasterCard, Siemens, and T-Mobile. To learn more about Sonar, please visit: https://www.sonarsource.com/products/all/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731528446/en/ State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code Friday, July 26, 2024 at 10:29AM Embed from Getty Images CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz announced today that 97% of sensors are back online following last week's widespread outage. In a LinkedIn post, Kurtz acknowledged that the company's work is not yet finished and reiterated their commitment to fully restoring all affected systems. Yesterday, CrowdStrike released a comprehensive report detailing the software update that caused a crash affecting 8.5 million Windows machines. The report also outlines steps the company plans to take to prevent similar incidents in the future. Source Ellen O'Donoghue Despite protests, asylum seekers will be housed as planned at properties in Coolock in Dublin and Dundrum, Co Tipperary. This comes following violent scenes at the former Crown Paints site in recent weeks, that included arson attacks, while a number of gardai were injured. On Wednesday night in the High Court, residents of Dundrum, Co Tipperary were refused an injunction to stop asylum seekers being put up locally in the Dundrum House Hotel. The Minister for Integration says they will continue to engage with communities about their concerns. But Roderic O'Gorman said the state has an obligation to accommodate International Protection applicants. We will respond to the issues that protestors are raising. Im clear we need to provide this accommodation, so families arent left homeless, he told Newstalk on Thursday morning. David Raleigh The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, said gardai are re-examining the original Garda investigation into shocking allegations that late Bishop Eamonn Casey sexually abused a number of children, because concerns had been raised about the original Garda investigation into the claims. Mr Harris was speaking to reporters in Limerick at the launch of Garda body worn cameras to beef up Garda crime detection measures and provide additional safeguards for Garda members on duty. When asked what form the review of the original Garda investigation, into the claims against Bishop Casey, would take, Mr Harris revealed the reason he sanctioned a fresh review of the investigation was because concerns had been raised about the original probe. Clarifying why he ordered the review, Commissioner Harris said: Maybe a couple of different elements of things were said last week in terms of prolific sex offending, so, in respect of Bishop Casey, what I have asked for is for the original file to be examined. "There was a query as to, actually, the nature and efficiency and effectiveness of that investigation. I want to be sure as to the standard of the (original) investigation that was conducted and that is what is happening in respect of that file, Commissioner Harris added. The Garda Commissioner refused to say if An Garda Siochana had received any fresh complaints of a sexual nature in respect of Bishop Casey, following on from last weeks television documentary by Irish Daily Mail journalist Anne Sheridan, broadcast on RTE television, which revealed that Casey allegedly molested children, including his niece Patricia Donovan, and that he had had a number of sexual relationships with adult women. When specifically asked if gardai had received any new complaints since the documentary aired on July 22d, Commissioner Harris replied: Im not going to comment on individual complaints coming forward, thank you. When asked if he had watched the documentary, Mr Harris responded: No, I didn't see the documentary. The Limerick Catholic Diocese, where Casey began is ministry, told Ms Sheridan it paid 100,000 to an alleged victim of child sexual abuse by Casey. The compensation was one of a number of explosive revelations in the documentary. Casey, who was born in Kerry but grew up in Adare, Co Limerick, and went to school in St Munchins College, Limerick, was once credited with tackling inner city poverty and homelessness in parishes in Limerick and later in England. However, while Caseys fall from grace over fathering a child with his distant cousin Annie Murphy was widely reported in the 1990s, Ms Sheridans investigative reporting into the allegations that Casey had sexually assaulted children, has once again rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland. Speaking publicly for the first time, in the documentary, Caseys niece, Patricia Donovan, alleged he sexually abused her for a number of years from when she was five years old. Ms Donovan said: Some of the things he did to me, and where he did themthe horror of being raped by him when I was five, the violence...and it just carried on in that vein. Ms Donovan said Casey had no fear of being caught and that he thought he could do what he liked, when he liked, how he liked. He (Casey) was almost incensed that I would dare fight against him, that I would dare try and hurt him, I would dare try and stop him It didnt make any difference. Ms Donovan, in her 60s, reported the abuse claims about her uncle in 2005, but Casey, who was forced to resign as Bishop of Galway in 1992, after his affair with Ms Murphy came to light, was never charged with or convicted of any sexual offences. Despite her claims, Ms Donovan has not received any compensation from the church. However, the Galway Diocese did pay for physiological counselling on her behalf. The explosive documentary, Bishop Caseys Buried Secrets, highlighted a total of eight allegations of child and adult sexual assaults and child safeguarding concerns against Casey, who was and still is, despite the claims, revered by some. The former chief executive of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, Ian Elliot, said that in his opinion, Casey, who died aged 89, was a sexual predator. Mr Elliott said he found Patricia Donovans claims as entirely credible. In 2019, the Galway Diocese, where Casey was bishop from 1976 to 1992, told Anne Sheridan that it had received just one allegation of child sexual abuse against him. However, Sheridan revealed in the documentary that Galway has since confirmed it had records at that time of five people who had complained of childhood sexual abuse against Bishop Casey relating to alleged events in every Irish diocese where Casey worked Limerick, Galway and Kerry. The first known allegation of paedophilia against Casey was made in 2001 by an unidentified female who claimed that she had been sexually abused by Casey on two occasions, when he was a chaplain to St Josephs Reformatory School in Limerick in 1956. This woman later took High Court proceedings against Casey for personal injury damages, alleging Casey sexually assaulted her in Limerick, when she was aged fifteen. This woman was eventually awarded a financial settlement through the Residential Institutions Redress Board. The documentary also revealed that the Vatican confirmed it had actually banned Bishop Casey from ministry before 2006 and that his ban was reiterated to him formally in 2007 after they received multiple child sex abuse complaints against him, including the 2001 complaint, as well as the complaint by Ms Donovan in 2005. A spokesman for Limerick Diocese said it received the first complaint about Casey in 2001. However, despite the Limerick Diocesan Office passing on Ms Donovans complaint to the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton, England, where Casey was serving, Casey - who should have then been suspended - remained active in ministry for a further four years, because the complaint went missing. A statement provided to the documentary by the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton read: Had this allegation been made today the police would have been informed immediately. We are deeply disappointed that this course of action does not appear to have been taken in 2001. We have undertaken a very thorough search of diocesan records. Regrettably, given the passage of time, we have been unable to locate relevant written records or to speak to anyone able to shed light on Limerick Dioceses communication in 2001. The current Bishop of Limerick, Dr Brendan Leahy, who has access to documents relating to complaints against Casey which were made in the Limerick diocese, has expressed his deep sorrow and regret to anyone who has been wounded by clerical abuse, including the people referred to in this documentary. They deserve our respect, belief and support. Without commenting on any specific allegation, I have no reason to disbelieve any of the allegations made, added Bishop Leahy. Casey, who died in 2017, had always vehemently denied all allegations against him of sexual abuse. Michael Bolton There has been a partial building collapse during a fire at an industrial estate in Dublin. Six fire engines are fighting a very large blaze at an industrial unit in North Dublin. It's off the Oscar Trayor Road in Coolock. Smoke from the blaze can be seen across the city, even as far as St Stephen's Green. 5 Five fire engines including a turntable ladder are at an industrial unit fire off the Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock If you can smell smoke we're advising local residents to close all windows and doors as a precaution Smoke is drifting across the locality pic.twitter.com/JidEwtLrnm Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 1, 2024 Dublin Fire Brigade has advised local residents to close all windows and doors to protect from smoke. In a statement from gardai, they said: "Gardai from Santry Station are currently providing assistance to Dublin Fire Brigade at an industrial fire occurring at a premises in the Clonshaugh are of Dublin 17." The smoke plume is close to Dublin Airport. However, a spokeswoman for airport operators DAA said flights were so far unaffected. A fire in the Santry area is resulting in smoke blowing towards the airport this evening. This is not impacting on operations at the airport and flights continue to operate as normal. The airport team, in collaboration with AirNav Ireland, continue to monitor the situation, the DAA spokeswoman said. It is understood the incident is not believed to be connected with recent fires at the Crown Paints site around 3km away. By Cillian Sherlock, PA The Taoiseach has welcomed the release of Irish citizen Paul Whelan from prison in Russia. Mr Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan who also holds Irish citizenship, was designated as wrongfully detained following his arrest in December 2018 after he had travelled to Russia for a wedding. He was convicted of espionage charges which he and the US said were false, and was serving a 16-year sentence. His release comes as part of the biggest prisoner swap between the US and Russia in post-Soviet history. Others released by Moscow include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality. Taoiseach Simon Harris said he had received confirmation from the US government that Mr Whelan was part of a prisoner exchange on Thursday. The process had been negotiated for months. Mr Harris said: I have spoken to the US ambassador in Ireland who confirmed the news. I know this will be an enormous relief to his family who have campaigned for many years for his release. I would also like to thank Irelands diplomatic team in Russia and our consular team in Dublin for their years of tireless work on this case. By Cate McCurry, PA An Irish teenager has been arrested in Portugal on suspicion of attempted homicide after several Dutch holidaymakers were attacked. Police in the Algarve said that an intense and violent fight broke out between a number of Irish and Dutch holidaymakers. On Wednesday, the 19-year-old Irishman was arrested for attempted qualified homicide following the alleged fight, which happened in the popular area of Albufeira on Monday. The Judicial Police (PJ) said that the victims, four men, were attacked with a sharp weapon, causing injuries that put their lives in danger and required hospitalisation. According to the investigation by the Southern Directorate of the PJ, the attacks occurred following an argument, which led to an exchange of insults and which quickly escalated into a physical confrontation. The attacks were carried out in an intense and violent manner between three Irish citizens and nine Dutch citizens, aged between 17 and 21, inside the apartment complex where they were staying, a spokesman for the PJ said. During the investigations carried out, evidence was collected that led to the complete identification of the suspect and subsequent arrest outside of flagrant crime. The detainee will be brought before the competent judicial authorities for the first judicial interrogation and application of coercive measures. The investigation is led by the Public Prosecutors Office, Department of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution of Albufeira. James Cox Daniel Wiffen's Olympic gold medal victory sparked joy both north and south of the border this week, but questions over the swimmer's home county soon emerged. The 23-year-old won gold in the 800m freestyle in Paris on Tuesday night, and his family were there to celebrate with him. Down GAA posted on X, formerly Twitter, to congratulate Wiffen: Congratulations to Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin who won the Gold Medal for Ireland in the pool this evening. A wonderful achievement for Daniel, and joy for his family and the community of Magheralin. Congratulations to Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin who won the Gold Medal for Ireland in the pool this evening. A wonderful achievement for Daniel, and joy for his family and the community of Magheralin. pic.twitter.com/jhb50Z7Mqh Official Down GAA (@officialdowngaa) July 30, 2024 Armagh were also quick to claim Wiffen. Armagh GAA posted: ARMAGH GOES GOLD AGAIN. Here Daniel Wiffens twin can be seen watching the Armagh game on Sunday before watching his brother grab Gold at the Paris Olympics today!! Well done to Daniel Wiffen! The pride of Armagh (past pupil of St Pats Armagh) & Ireland along with our county players. ARMAGH GOES GOLD AGAIN Here Daniel Wiffens twin can be seen watching the Armagh game on Sunday before watching his brother grab Gold at the Paris Olympics today!! Well done to Daniel Wiffen! The pride of Armagh (past pupil of St Pats Armagh) & Ireland along with our pic.twitter.com/fa1AojBGD0 Armagh_GAA (@Armagh_GAA) July 30, 2024 Wiffen's family are from the village of Magheralin. While it is in Co Down, it is right at the border with Co Armagh. It seems Wiffen and his father have now clarified his home county. Jonathan Wiffen told BBC Ulster: "My daughters are saying there's a big debate. The postcode for our house is County Armagh, although the village is in Co Down. The boys went to school in Armagh so they consider themselves County Armagh." Meanwhile, Wiffen said his gold medal is another win for Armagh after their All-Ireland success. What can we say? Were All-Ireland champions and Olympic gold medallists. What a great county." By Cillian Sherlock, PA Sinn Fein has pledged to deliver 50,000 affordable homes over five years if elected to government. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said the target was achievable as she unveiled a new policy document on Thursday. Sinn Fein said it would also deliver 75,000 social homes in the same period. It says the plan will see the State fund the delivery of 50,000 affordable homes through local authorities, approved housing bodies (AHBs) and community housing trusts at a cost of 13.2 billion. That figure comes from 6.9 billion euro in voted Exchequer funding as well as 6.3 billion in borrowing by local authorities and AHBs from the Housing Finance Agency and other sources. Sinn Fein said the homes will be available to buy for prices between 250,000 and 300,000, or to rent at or below 1,000 per month. Along with price, Sinn Fein said the difference in its plan and the Governments is the scale of ambition. For comparison, the Government delivered more than 4,000 affordable housing options last year. Ms McDonald said the coalition was delivering unaffordable homes at a cost of up to 500,000 or 1,800 per month in rent. The 50,000 figure breaks down to 25,000 one-to-three bedroom homes to buy for households with mortgage approval, a gross household income of up to 90,000, do not own a home at time of purchase and whose savings are insufficient to purchase a home on the open market. It said that affordable cost rental should be no more than 33 per cent of net income and that mortgages in affordable purchase should also be less than a third of net disposable income. Sinn Fein said it can achieve a lower price by separating the cost of land and site servicing from the cost of building the home. In essence, the State would for all land related costs and retain ownership of the land while the purchaser pays the price of construction. It would mean the householder would own the home but not the land, but would be able to sell the property on at an affordable rate. Sinn Fein also plans to deliver 25,000 similar size homes for households with a net income of up to 66,000 in Dublin and 59,000 outside of the capital. Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA. Speaking to reporters for the launch of the document on Thursday, Ms McDonald said: We have the finance, the land and the builders to solve this crisis, what is needed is the right plan and Sinn Fein has that plan. She added: People that dont have time out to wait any longer. Were in a situation of real stress and crisis in peoples lives and that needs to be addressed. A core component of that is those people who earn too much to qualify for social or council housing if there was council housing and those who are completely priced out currently of having any prospect of purchasing their home. And indeed those people who will struggle and are struggling hard to afford rent, who have been promised affordable rental and close rental homes and it hasnt materialised. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin took aim at current Housing Minister Darragh OBriens response to the opposition partys policy platform. He said: Given that homelessness is at the highest levels in the modern history of the State, that house prices and rents are higher than theyve ever been before and that he misses every single target of his own, he would spend his time doing his job and not wasting his officials time emailing me for political stunts. This is too serious for the kind of nonsense that we get from Darragh. Darragh should do his job. Hes had four years, and hes showed he cant, hes failed. Thats why were setting out a clear and radical alternative, so people can make up their minds. Mr O Broin also said that increased delivery of affordable homes would have a moderating effect on house prices in the open market, but said that impact would be over a long term and unpredictable. Housing Minister Darragh OBrien. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. Mr OBrien said the Sinn Fein document is really very weak. In a statement, he said: There was absolutely no detail in it and a complete failure to answer even basic questions. What we do know from it is that the affordable leasehold purchase scheme is not home ownership, and worse still, they have not confirmed with commercial lenders that its actually possible. As well as that, its an exclusionary scheme. A Garda and a teacher on point five of their respective salary scales would not be eligible for apply for these homes. Unlike the Government schemes which contain no arbitrary salary caps. Its clear from this document that the Sinn Fein alternative homes plan is built on foundations of sand, he concluded. Sinn Fein said it would publish its full five-year housing plan in September. By Cate McCurry, PA The States failure to provide for the needs of homeless asylum seekers is a breach of their fundamental rights, the High Court has ruled. The court made the ruling after the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) took a case against the State over its failure to provide adequate accommodation to people seeking asylum in Ireland. Mr Justice Barry ODonnell delivered the judgment on Thursday afternoon, saying the court found that the approach adopted by the State breached the human rights of the relevant unaccommodated IP (International Protection) applicants. Tents that were pitched by asylum seekers along Dublins Grand Canal before they were removed. By failing to meet their basic needs and leaving unaccommodated IP applicants without accommodation or the means to access accommodation, the State has breached the rights of those persons as provided for in Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the judge said. The IHREC asked the court to make declarations that the state has failed its obligations and is breaching applicants rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. On December 4th last year, the Government stated it could no longer offer accommodation to men seeking international protection. However, the court did not grant the mandatory orders sought by the IHREC. While the court is satisfied that declarations to that effect are warranted, the court will not grant the mandatory orders sought by the Commission, Justice ODonnell added. Very briefly, the court is not satisfied that there is a basis for concluding that the State will ignore its obligations. The State has made clear, and the court accepts, that it is making strenuous efforts to redress the situation. Moreover, in response to the decisions of the High Court in 2023, the State in fact altered its approach by taking steps to improve the provision for unaccommodated IP applicants. While those steps were not sufficient to avoid a breach of the rights of those applicants, it demonstrated that the State did not intend to ignore the court orders. In the premises, it is not appropriate for the court to take the very serious additional step of making mandatory orders to support the declaratory relief sought by the Commission. The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) welcomes the ruling of the High Court declaring that the Irish governments failure to provide for the basic needs of asylum seekers amounts to a breach of Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. MASI supported this court action by IHREC and is pleased with the declaration which confirms our belief that the government is undermining the rights of people who have no way of meeting their basic needs. It is disgraceful that we have a government that restricts the right to work for asylum seekers and fails to provide for their basic needs. MASI calls on the Irish government to reflect on this ruling and its conduct and implement changes that improve the quality of life for asylum seekers. None of the reforms that the government has introduced improved the standard of living for asylum seekers and we are concerned that homeless asylum seekers are being interviewed to assess their asylum claim while they are still homeless. First a light novel and a webtoon, Solo Leveling has been on every anime fans lips this year, as its first season produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex rolled out globally on Crunchyroll in January. While working on the second season and in the midst of their world tour going from one anime expo to another, the creative team stopped in Paris a few weeks ago for Japan Expo 2024, providing a rare occasion to dive deeper into anime production. There, fans and professionals alike had the chance to chat for over an hour with Atsushi Kaneko, producer at A-1 Pictures, and Yoshihiro Kanno, action director and key animator. For their team, it was the first time they had adapted a webtoon. Kaneko, whos been with A-1 Pictures for over ten years, recalled how the project came to him: The idea was brought to me by Mr. Sota Furuhashi [producer in charge of Solo Leveling at Aniplex] back in 2020. I knew nothing about it, so I checked it out and asked around my team who had heard of this story. Their feedback was enthusiastic, and I saw the opportunity to make a great action anime with this material. Yoshihiro Kanno, who had already worked on several A-1 Pictures anime including Sword Art Online: Alicization, was also excited by the project. It took me some time to start reading it, he said, but eventually I found it really interesting. I love stories and characters with ranks and levels, and starting with Sung Jinwoo at the lowest rank of this universe was appealing to me. Plus, there were some killer action sequences to be made. The project kicked off pre-production in April 2021, with animation starting in October 2022. To complete the 12-episode first season, A-1 Pictures and its partners worked tirelessly. Kaneko explained the process in greater detail: In my team at A-1 Pictures, there were twelve people including myself, but the total workforce of the production must have been between 500 and 600 people throughout the whole process. As producer, my role was to push these teams forward, to go beyond what we had done before with projects such as Sword Art Online. I remember Mr. Furuhashi telling me, We have to destroy Sword Art in terms of animation! For each episode, it took the teams between eight and ten months to complete animation, working synchronously. But pushing them doesnt mean pushing my ideas upon them, I prefer to let them elaborate, and then decide with them what remains and what gets cut. For example, the giant snake fight was interpreted in a new way in the anime, an idea brought by my colleague Yoshihiro Kanno. Anime production is often strongly compartmentalized, but as action director, Kanno had the chance to step beyond those lines. He said: Usually, when you have that role on a project, you mostly correct animation made by others. However, I wanted to put my fingers into it this time. I had been working mostly with pen and paper until then, but I switched to digital drawing during this production due to the huge amount of animation and the high quality standards needed for this adaptation. Jinwoo has a distinctive combat style, kind of a brutal-yet-amateuristic vibe, and I studied a lot of live-action fight sequences in order to portray this flow perfectly. I think my interest for animation first expressed itself when I saw the action scenes and visual storytelling of Princess Mononoke back in the day, but in Solo Leveling the fighting is mostly urban, which brings a different approach. In natural settings, backgrounds are made by background artists, while when you draw fights in an urban environment, you can use background as part of the scene. You can throw it, you can break it, you can smash it into characters, and it makes for much more fun. But also a lot of extra work. One particular scene spoilers ahead stuck out during the behind-the-scenes the team provided in Japan Expo. In episode eleven, Jinwoo surpasses himself in order to defeat Blood-Red Commander Igris, his strongest foe to date. To convey this climactic moment, Kanno, who storyboarded and animated most of the sequence, worked closely with showrunner Shunsuke Nakashige and the production supervisors. It was decided early in the process that we would retain a white-on-black style for the final moments of the fight, Kanno said, and then I was able to play with the material, deform the lines and monitor the whole shot. As I explained before, usually we dont get to do our own backgrounds and coloring, but the fact that I was drawing digitally, along with the particular style we were looking for, allowed me to combine those aspects myself. The level of animation provided by A-1 Pictures and its partners is definitely the kind that seduces global audiences. But for Kaneko, the original material also plays a big role in this success. Solo Leveling is driven by universal themes and motives that appeal to modern audiences, while providing a new way of telling this story. This world that sometimes mirrors role playing games while sometimes paying tribute to great anime and mangakas is definitely part of what captivated audiences. And were working very hard to blow them away with season 2. Following the release of a first teaser for season two (embedded below), Kaneko shared some behind-the-scenes drawings on X (formerly Twitter). Kanno is also back to work on season two. For those who may want to dive deeper into Solo Levelings transition from light novel to anime, Crunchyroll offers a 40-minute documentary on the making of the first season, which now streams exclusively on the platform. The internationally acclaimed childrens short Luce and the Rock (2022) has launched online. Every kid young and old will want to see it. Young Luce lives a simple, cozy life in a small village with her family and neighbors. That peaceful existence is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of a giant boulder that demolishes all the village homes. An irate Luce decides to confront the boulder and give him a few choice words. This beautifully designed fable, dominated by sea blue, red, and yellow hues, is a story about compassion, friends, and overcoming misguided fears. In an era where people are often too swift to judge and condemn others, Luce and the Rock is an earnest call for exchange and empathy. It reminds us that were all human and sometimes need to step outside our comfort zones and see things from others perspectives to truly understand who they are. Luce and the Rock, which has played in over 200 festivals and won over 40 awards, is the Belgian-born animators second professional film following her award-winning debut, Catherine (2016). Raes is currently developing multiple projects, including a series, a special, and a childrens book. Luce and the Rock was produced by Thuristar in co-production with La Cabane, Studio Pupil, VRT-Ketnet and RTBF, with the participation of France Televisions. A neighbor of a Hixson man taken down at his home by some 20 SWAT Team members testified Wednesday that it was "so cruel and inhumane I think I could have gotten sick and thrown up." Judy Dixon, who lives directly across Crabtree Road from the home of Ray Rzeplinski, said the sudden appearance of the SWAT Team "was the most scary thing I've ever seen in my life." The state earlier closed out its proof against Rzeplinski after rolling in two cartloads of rifles found at his home, including in two gun safes. There were 54 guns in all. Rzeplinski is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of a firearm with a conviction of a prior violent felony. Judge Amanda Dunn, at the close of the state's proof, ruled out the reckless endangerment. In the incident on Aug. 16, 2019, Ms. Dixon said she was in her dining room planning a party for her daughter when she "suddenly saw a whole team of officers with guns squatting down." She said she saw Rzeplinski come out of his garage with his hands up, then he went to his knees halfway down the driveway with his hands still up. She said the officers "began piling on him and dragging him down to the street." The witness, who described Rzeplinski as "my neighbor, my friend and my plumber," said, "They just kept piling on." Ms. Dixon said about the time the SWAT Team arrived an officer knocked on her door and asked to come in so he could view the Rzeplinski house. She said he watched the incident from her living room window. She said, on reflection, she might not should have let him in. An earlier state witness said he heard Rzeplinski fire off a gun earlier in the day. Detective Jason Maucere said he had been contacted by Rzeplinski earlier that week, and he was upset about alleged embezzlement at his plumbing business. The detective said he did a background check on Rzeplinski and noticed "a red flag." He said he learned through one police source that he had a felony conviction in Bradley County back when he was 19. He is now 50. He said that meant he was not suppose to be in possession of weapons. Detective Maucere said he went himself to Bradley County to get a copy of the document. Attorney Ben McGowan told the jury earlier that Rzeplinski went to a meeting the morning of that Aug. 16, but he was told the detective was not going to be meeting with him and he became very agitated about that. Detective Maucere said Rzeplinski did not show up for the meeting. Questioned by attorney McGowan, the witness said the fact that there was no video of the SWAT Team takedown may have been because officers at that time had not been issued body cameras. Attorney McGowan said Rzeplinski had surveillance cameras, but he said they may have been cut by the SWAT Team. Attorney McGowan said the night after the trial opened that he was given a packet of information in which Rzeplinski had bought numerous guns openly and with background checks. Detective Maucere said it was "an oversight" that he did not turn that over earlier. Attorney McGowan said the TBI did not have Rzeplinski listed as a felon in its records. He said Rzeplinski as a teen was involved in an incident in which he and other youths knocked out a window on a closed store and stole some cigarettes. He pleaded guilty to burglary (a felony) and theft under $500 (a misdemeanor). He got three years on the burglary, but received probation after serving 30 days in jail. Attorney McGowan said as a result of the SWAT Team arrest Rzeplinski suffered a head injury and spent four days in the Intensive Care Unit. Photos submitted to the jury showed a large amount of blood on the driveway. None of the officers were injured. The attorney said Rzeplinski will lose "his valuable gun collection and it will be sold with the proceeds going to law enforcement." . A new partnership between the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Erlanger will provide UTC students the opportunity to obtain their Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) license for free and secure employment at Erlanger while also training Erlangers non-certified medical assistants. Starting in August, UTC pre-health student services, the UTC Center for Professional Education (CPE) and Erlanger Baroness Hospital will launch a CMA training program for UTC students aspiring to attend medical or physician assistant (PA) school. A CMA is a health care professional who focuses on administrative tasks such as managing patient records, insurance claims and appointment scheduling.Erlanger will fund an initial cohort of 10 seats in the CMA course offered by the CPE, with more seats offered during the spring semester.Partnering with UTC to provide the opportunity for medical assistants to earn their certification is a natural fit for Erlanger, said Haley Johnson, director of nursing for Erlanger Medical Group. With our 130-year history of teaching and caring for the community, we are proud to extend those hands-on learning opportunities to a new group and, ideally, help them along their professional journey.The partnership aims to provide UTC students with valuable hands-on experience and professional training in a clinical setting desired by professional schools. Selected participants will have the opportunity to earn their CMA license, benefit from unique clinical training and mentorship opportunities, and enhance their readiness for medical or PA school applications.UTC student participants in the new program will commit to one of two work arrangements following the completion of the training and obtaining certification: Working full-time for one year in an Erlanger-run clinical setting, which is ideal for students planning a gap year before starting professional school. Working part-time for two years, allowing students to gain experience while continuing their studies.As part of the collaboration, the CPE has also developed a prep program to help non-certified Erlanger employees prepare for the CMA exam.Investing in our staff and the future of health care not only benefits Erlanger but also the community, Ms. Johnson said.Erlanger, as one of Chattanoogas regional hospitals, has decided to step up and invest in UTC students by providing them the opportunity to further their education and acquire national certifications at no cost to them, CPE Workforce Development Specialist William Watson said. Erlanger is investing this money in UTC students so that they can better themselves for life after UTC.In turn, UTC is upskilling the current workforce at Erlanger. When you think about UTC and how we are Chattanoogas University, this is a great opportunity to underscore our investment and commitment to supporting local employers, local job opportunities and local students.Theresa Blackman is UTCs assistant director of pre-health student services and an advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. She said UTCs pre-health career tracks include medical, dental, physician assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy.We think this opportunity to get the CMA and paid medical experience is going to be something that a lot of students are going to be able to benefit from, Ms. Blackman said. Students with this type of experience on their resume are trending higher in their medical school application acceptance rates.This is the second partnership with Erlanger benefiting UTC pre-health student services launched in 2024.From early February through late April, a collaboration between the pre-health advising program, Erlanger and the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine Chattanooga provided an opportunity for 76 UTC students spanning 11 majors to job shadow in the Erlanger Baroness Hospital Emergency Department, obtaining valuable experience watching emergency room doctors and other medical personnel in action. We are very thankful for this partnership with Erlanger and for everything they are doing to immerse our pre-health students in the medical field, Ms. Blackman said. An historic partnership for the state of Tennessee and the nation is being launched with an $800,000 funding award from the National Science Foundation. EXPAND TN (Experiential Learning in Advanced Manufacturing towards Novel and Diverse Career Opportunities for Rural Tennessee Students) was successfully proposed by Dr. Bradley Harris, director of the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The partnership represents a multi-institutional collaboration between UTC, Cleveland State Community College, and the PIE Innovation Centera first-of-its-kind workforce development hub, working together with local industry to address an anticipated workforce shortage in advanced manufacturing. Success at the end of the three-year project could lead to replication elsewhere in the U.S. The initiative will allow at least 120 high school students from counties in rural southeast Tennessee to explore careers in engineering and technology. These students will participate in a six-week, hands-on learning program as part of a dual enrollment mathematics course offered by Cleveland State to high schools in three rural districts, which primarily serve low-income, first-generation students. Upon successful completion of the dual enrollment course, students from the class can apply for a paid, six-week summer internship with industry partners at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. These students also will be eligible for college scholarships if they pursue an engineering or advanced technologies degree at Cleveland State or UTC. We wanted to partner with Cleveland State because of dual enrollment courses they offer, Dr. Harris said. They have this workforce development center called the PIE Center, for Partnerships for Industry and Education. It offers certificate programs, workshops and dual-enrollment credit. Advanced manufacturing is among multiple emerging technologies identified by NSFincluding advanced wireless, biotechnology, semiconductors, microelectronics and morein its call for proposals. Harris said EXPAND TN focuses on advanced manufacturing because it involves a broader range of local manufacturers. The experiential learning project involves making a solar energy cell. On July 26, Dr. Harris and his co-principal investigator on the project, Dr. Stephanie Philipp, held a train the trainer workshop with Cleveland State faculty on incorporating the solar energy cell project into their Technical Calculations classes. Those faculty will teach Cleveland State students about existing solar cell technology, potential innovations and drawbacks, along with assembling a cell capable of generating actual electrical current. Dr. Harris explained that NSF is using this funding opportunity to recruit people into the workforce and sectors of the economy they might not otherwise pursue. Its also not his first experience with an NSF-funded project targeting underrepresented populations. He was co-principal investigator for ASSETSor Academic Intervention, Social Supports and Scholarships for Engineering Transfer Studentsawarded $1 million by NSF from 2018 to 2023 in support of high-achieving, low-income UTC students with financial need. Over its five-year timeline, the project funded two-year scholarships for 28 students and three-year scholarships for eight students. Two key takeaways from that experience influenced the EXPAND TN proposal, Dr. Harris said. One is that Cleveland State courses for future engineering transfer students could be better integrated with UTC engineering curriculum. The other is the need to support a sense of community among transfer students. We have a very, very well-oiled machine in students coming from Chattanooga State to here, and the programs they offer have been tailored to UTCs engineering degrees, but the pathway from Cleveland State to here was a little bit rougher, Dr. Harris said. Realizing that, I went for another NSF award, a research experience for faculty opportunity that was funded, This is actually our final summer of offering (yearly) educational and research training for faculty in STEM fields from five feeder colleges in the Chattanooga area. When it comes to transfer students, we found with the S-STEM (NSF engineering scholarships program) program that community is what they lack the most. As simple as this sounds, we did a few hours of orientation for those scholarship cohortsand they also had faculty and peer mentors and that was also valuableand we saw them form connections within their cohort and have a really beneficial sense of community. Dr. Harris said this most recent NSF funding program seemed an opportunity to benefit from the lessons learned from his experiences with the previous two. He also said hes learning, since joining UTC in 2015, that hes increasingly drawn to finding solutions to challenges to student success. Its very important that we pursue breakthroughs in the body of knowledge, and we are, Dr. Harris said, but the area I find myself to be more and more interested in is what I can do that benefits my students, and how that may ultimately benefit the workforce. The Chattanooga Heart Institute at CHI Memorial welcomes Tyler Emerson, MD. Dr. Emerson earned his medical degree from University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a general cardiovascular medicine fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He worked as a critical care nurse and nurse leader for five years before returning to school to earn his medical degree. Dr. Emerson is board-certified in internal medicine and a member of the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Preventive Cardiology. At The Chattanooga Heart Institute, Dr. Emerson joins 28 cardiologists and four cardiothoracic surgeons. This team of experts is the regions heart leader providing compassionate care while effectively treating heart disease, no matter how complex. The Chattanooga Heart Institutes board-certified cardiologistsincluding specialists in interventional procedures, electrophysiology, imaging, and vascular diseaseexceed national standards for education, training, and skill. Their collaboration with cardiothoracic surgeons means they can offer the most comprehensive cardiac care in the area. In July, CHI Memorial was named best regional hospital by the U.S. News and World Report for the 10th year. The health systems cardiac team was also recognized by the U.S. News as high performing in the treatment for heart attack, heart failure, and heart bypass surgery. The team is dedicated to providing patients with exceptional care using cutting-edge technology. Earlier this year, CHI Memorial was also named one of the 2024 PINC AI 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. The Chattanooga Heart Institute offers seven convenient locations in Tennessee and North Georgia. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 423 697-2000. In this 2019 photo, Dist. 11 Tribal Councilor Victoria Vazquez talks to Cherokee Nation citizens about the economic impact the tribe has on the Craig County area at a community meeting on at the Vinita Health Center. Vazquez announced her resignation from the Council on Thursday, Aug. 1. Chosen by Kristin Elizabeth Couch, author of Deep Roots, Good Fruit: Seeing the Fruit of the Spirit Through Story and Scripture . Illustration by Elizabeth Kaye / Source Images: Unsplash Keeping the Heart John Flavel Sign up for CT Books Each issue contains up-to-date, insightful information about today's culture, plus analysis of books important to the evangelical thinker. Email* Sign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up. Please click here to see all our newsletters. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. This book, written by an English Puritan minister, is an alluring masterpiece: ancient, beautiful, and true, shining a spotlight into the souls crevices. To produce authentic spiritual fruit, Flavel declares, a heart must first be soft and tender. He writes, To keep the heart, then, is to carefully protect it from sin, which disorders it, and maintain that spiritual frame, which fits it for a life of communion with God. In stunning prose, Flavel implores Christians to remember that God has obliterated our stony hearts and made them new. We are meant to walk circumspectly, bowing low before God as the Holy Spirit generates godly fruit. The Mystery of the Holy Spirit R. C. Sproul Sproul deftly unpacks the mysteries surrounding the Holy Spirit, showing through Gods Word who he is and what he does in the heart of every true Christ follower. Many have been swept away by false teachings regarding the third person of the Trinity, and Sproul graciously guides the readers gaze back to the Bible. As he explains, the Holy Spirit is God himself, and he has chosen to take up residence within each Christian, stirring up the heart while convicting, comforting, helping, and guiding. The Character of Christ: The Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of Our Saviour Jonathan Landry Cruse This short book is a perfect delight. Cruse, a Presbyterian pastor in Michigan, guides us to Jesus, who manifested the Spirits fullness of perfect fruit. With captivating writing, Cruse heartens the reader to cling to the true vine, Christ, forever bearing in mind that spiritual fruit is the result of Gods work in us rather than the product of our own striving. The chapters move along with the Spirits fruit as listed in Galatians 5, punctuated by vivid examples from common life. The Hiding Place Corrie ten Boom Dutch Christians Corrie and Betsie ten Boom suffered inconceivable tortures in a Nazi concentration camptheir punishment for hiding Jews in their home. During their captivity in Ravensbruck, the sisters discovered that triumphant living is possible anywhere, in all circumstances, with God as their souls hiding place. Bed bugs, selfishness, brutality, and pain became the sisters portal to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as they embraced the Holy Spirits work. Readers can trace the Spirits luscious fruit as it ripens in this unforgettable tale, beholding magnificent sanctification forged in the hothouse of dark affliction. Safely Home Randy Alcorn Alcorns novel introduces the characters Li Quan and Ben Fielding, who met as college roommates at Harvard. Decades later, Quan resides in China, facing daily persecution and death threats as he heeds the Holy Spirits governance and ushers his beloved family into the perilous underground church. Meanwhile, Ben has scaled the American corporate ladder, simultaneously experiencing financial wealth and spiritual bankruptcy. While on a business trip in China, Ben reconnects with Quan, and a masterful story unfolds, full of darkly unexpected twists and turns. Alcorn brilliantly reveals what happens when the Holy Spirit stirs and softens, taking up residence in the human heart. In a moment of great fear, Sonya Massey understood the power of the name of Christ. We should too. Aashish Kiphayet / AP Images / Edits by CT It was the early 90s when I was first introduced to the idea of rebuking the Enemy in the name of Jesus. My sister and I had just finished watching the horror movie Candyman, and I was scared out of my mind. I cried when the movie was over, terrified to be alone, and I was certain that the man on the screen was out to get me. For days, the Candyman lingered in my thoughts, making it impossible to focus. I was lost in my fears until I shared them with my Aunt Judy, a God-fearing woman. As she listened to me and saw my tears, she reminded me that I did not have to be afraid. All you have to do, she said with a confident calm, is rebuke the Enemy, and he will flee from you. I needed to hear that because, in my young mind, Candyman was not just an enemy from a movie but the Enemy. The next time thoughts of him entered my mind, I took a deep breath, gathering my small courage, and with eyes closed and fists clinched, shouted out loud, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus! Sign up for Moore to the Point Join Russell Moore in thinking through the important questions of the day, along with book and music recommendations he has found formative. Email* Sign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up. Please click here to see all our newsletters. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. Peeking out of one eye, I felt calm for the first time since Id watched the movie. My childish conception of evil may have been a little confused, but the peace and deliverance from the sense of foreboding evil that the name of the Savior brought me was deep and real. Evil takes a different form when we become adults, a subtler and cleverer shape. Talk of the Devil is relegated to charismatics, and those who speak of Satan are often dismissed as unreformed, uneducated, or holdovers from the naive hellfire-and-brimstone version of Christianity that we moderns work hard to forget. Maybe people in developing countries, where witchcraft is vibrant and corruption prevails, are seeing manifestations of evil, we might allow. But that doesnt happen here. Not in America. Here, when we think of evil, were more likely to think of those across political and ideological divides. We might well rebuke them, but that has little to do with Jesus. Yet the Bible is clear about the reality of evil and the importance of rebuke. God regularly exercises this power, from the cursing of Satan in Genesis (3:1415) to the rebuke of Satan in Peter (Matt. 16:23) and the chastening of believers who do not repent (Rev. 3:19). In the Old Testament, we see God cursing operatives of the Enemy and reproving kings who do evil (Mal. 1:3; Ps. 11:5; Isa. 59:18; Jer. 22). In the New Testament, Jesus scolds religious leaders who act with evil intent (Matt. 23). Scripture assumes that evil is real, that it is the enemy of God, and that it is overcome by the name of Christ. As believers, we still have the authority to rebuke in order to resist Satan and the evil of this world. Scriptural rebuke is not a personal power to be manipulated for our own purposes and rivalries. It is a weapon of spiritual warfare in Gods plan to destroy the devils work (1 John 3:8), a sign of the intolerability of evil in the presence of a holy God. Perhaps this is why Sonya Masseys last instinct, before being fatally shot by a police officer in her Illinois home last month, was to rebuke evil in the name of Jesus. Massey was reportedly having a mental health crisis when she asked police to come to her home to look for a possible prowler. We dont know exactly what was going through her mind in her final exchange with the officer who shot her. But we do know that in extremis, in a moment of great fear, she understood that evil is defeated by the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17). She understood the truth that when we resist the Enemy, he will flee (James 4:7). I dont think, as some have speculated, that Sonya believed the officer who killed her was literally a demon. But because he had the audacity to authenticate his threat to shoot her in the face, there is no doubt that evil was present. As believers, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12)and these are the enemies Sonya was right to rebuke in her final moments. She called on the only name that could save her. And while her life was not spared on this side, because of her faith in Jesus, we can be confident she has attained the eternal life for which we long. Sonyas story is a reminder of the necessity of rebuking evilof refusing to be so sophisticated that we imagine ourselves not in need of Gods help in the face of the Enemy. With every generation, we yearn for the coming of Christ who will wipe every tear and finally destroy the advancing darkness of this world (1 Cor. 15:2426; Heb. 2:1415; Rev. 21:4). But until that time, it is our duty to rebuke the evil around us. The tactics of the enemy are not to be placated or normalized. They are to be bound and defeated. For this reason, we must rebuke the evils of racism and sexismnot because we simply dislike them, but because they work against the equality of believers (Gal. 3:28) and the goodness of God. We must rebuke political idolatry and apathy to violence not because they are a threat to us, but because they are a threat to the power and peace of God. Our calling, as followers of Jesus, is to hate the evil that Jesus hated and to love the truth Jesus loved. While the Enemy is not always clear to us, and evil isnt always easy to discern, God will overcome the Enemy once and for all. The timing of that final victory is unknown, but Gods promise is sure. I pray that the church can find courage to hate evil as we cling to what is good (Rom. 12:9). The power to rebuke the Enemy is a privilege we cannot take lightly, a reiteration of the victory of Christ. The one who overcame death on the cross is the same one who overcame my childhood fearsand the same one who heard and loved Sonya Massey as she cried out for his help. In him, God has already triumphed over evil. In him, we can embrace the power of spiritual rebuke with confidence that, one day, evil will surely end. Nicole Massie Martin is chief impact officer at Christianity Today. Courtesy of A24 As a reporter, I sometimes receive mail from those behind bars who have story ideas or who keep in contact after a prison interview. Recently, I had a note from someone in a New York prison suggesting I see Sing Sing, a new movie about a theater program at Sing Sing, the maximum security prison in New York . This person hadnt seen the film, but he had heard the buzz about it and that it was about redemption. A movie about prison? One look at the Christianity Today news section this summer will tell you why I didnt feel like watching something that would make my spirits lower than they already were. Im sure Im not alone in feeling that way lately. But oddly enough, Sing Sing, in theaters August 2, parted the clouds for me. For one thing, its a very good movie. Led by the twin talents of Colman Domingo and Clarence Divine Eye Maclin, its generating Oscars chatter for its actors performances. Sign up for The Daily Briefing Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. Email* Sign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up. Please click here to see all our newsletters. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. It wasnt the movies award chances that raised my spirits, though. It was its vision of community, its stunning use of the word beloved in one line of dialogue. Thats what the movie is about: how being beloved can change someone, can make the irredeemable redeemed. The person who wrote me that letter was right. Sing Sing is based on a real theater program at Sing Sing called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), where a group of men behind bars puts on productions of Shakespeare and other plays. When we join the story, the men are skipping the Bard to do a production of their own making, featuring time travel, Westerns, ancient Egyptand sure, a little Shakespeare. They title it Breakin the Mummys Code. The film is funny and its heartbreaking. It depicts the heaviness of prison without being gratuitous; it depicts people changing their stories without being naive. The men dont become better by reading self-help books, embarking on a private program of personal growth. Instead, its their community that hauls them by the collar into a better version of themselves. When one man doesnt understand a stage direction, the other men jump in to explain; when one is angry, the others try to de-escalate the situation; when one is crying, another listens and comforts through the prison wall. Without spoiling anything, youll want to stay for the credits. At one point in Sing Sing, the director of the play says, Who would have thought the healing of the planet could start behind the walls in Sing Sing? The healing of the planet? At moments, the movie has this almost-too-earnest dialogue. But Christians know what the character is talking about. Restoration of all thingsof the whole worldcan come from unlikely places. Like a stable, or a prison. In Surprised by Hope, theologian N. T. Wright comments on John 21:17: that moment when Jesus, after his resurrection, asks, Simon son of John, do you love me? There is a whole world in that question, a world of personal invitation and challenge, of the remaking of a human being after disloyalty and disaster, Wright says. Resurrection, Wright argues throughout his work, is not just about going to heaven but about restoring all things. That restoration happens not through individuals figuring out the big questions of life on their own, but through the entire body of Christ working togethera restored community of head, hands, feet, and elbows. RTA is not a faith-based program, but in real life, its working toward aims similar to those of Christian organizations behind barsorganizations that want to give the incarcerated some measure of a restored life, that want to remake a human being after disloyalty and disaster, as Wright describes it. After seeing Sing Sing, I spoke to Sean Pica, who grew up in New York prisonshe went in at age 16 and was released at 34. Pica says his years in Sing Sing should have been the worst of his life after he failed everyone. Instead, he was restoredand became the first in his family to earn a college degree. Pica recalled that when he first arrived at Sing Sing as a skinny teenager, a group of older Black men came to his cell. They told him to make his bed and sign up for school. They wouldnt take no for an answer, he said. They pushed him to get a high school diploma. Pica did. He went on to get an undergraduate degree from Nyack College, a now-shuttered Christian college that had a program at Sing Sing at the time. Then he got a masters degree from the now-shuttered New York Theological Seminary. He also experienced the benefits of RTA; while incarcerated, he became the carpenter for the productions and built sets. He knew the men portrayed in the film. A free man for 22 years now, Pica runs Hudson Link, a nonprofit college education program behind bars that has 700 students enrolled (it had early ties to Nyack before Nyack began to struggle). Hes not quite sure how he ended up leading a college program. That is Gods hands all over that, he said, underlining how he needed community to get to where he is now. Its not a solo [expletive] sport. The film hits close to home for Pica, literally: Hudson Link operates within a 30-yard radius of RTA, so the organizations ties are close. Pica still builds sets for the theater productionsincluding the sets for Breakin the Mummys Code, the production depicted in the movie. When A24, the studio behind the film, held a screening at Sing Sing this year, they invited Pica. He was in disbelief, sitting in the packed chapel auditorium in the maximum security prison and watching men he knew quoting Shakespeare on the big screen. He didnt care if the film screened anywhere else. And what did he think of the film? Its the real deal, he said. I cried through most of it. Emily Belz is a staff writer on the news team. Home News Black preachers condemn Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood: 'Nothing is more racist in America' LEESBURG, Virginia Black faith leaders featured in "The 1916 Project," a documentary about Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and her influence on society's views on sexual morality, urged black pastors to oppose abortion during a segment of the film highlighting Sanger's views on race and eugenics. White Rose Resistance screened "The 1916 Project" last Monday at the Cornerstone Chapel, one of many churches nationwide planning to screen it this year. The documentary's title refers to the year Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States. It is also an allusion to The New York Times' "The 1619 Project," which critics argue presents an inaccurate, anti-American view of history. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The film featured interviews White Rose Resistance founder Seth Gruber conducted with faith leaders and historians on a series of topics, including abortion, birth control, Sanger's history and what the documentary called "the secular moral revolution." Two faith leaders Gruber interviewed for the documentary were John Amanchukwu, the youth and young adult pastor at North Carolina's Upper Room Church of God in Christ, and the church's Bishop Patrick L. Wooden Sr. Wooden condemned Sanger and declared that he would not endorse any politician who praises the Planned Parenthood founder. Wooden said the role of black pastors is "to preach God's truth with power and authority and without compromise." "In my opinion, what we're seeing is too many ministers being influenced by political parties," Wooden said. "And many preachers today are more Democrat than they are Gospel preacher when it comes to things like preaching against abortion, the slaughter of the unborn." "Nothing is more racist in America than the abortion industry," he added. Amanchukwu also bemoaned an unwillingness on the part of black ministers to speak out about Sanger, stating that many have instead become "parrots" for Planned Parenthood. The outspoken faith leader described Sanger's agenda as "wicked," arguing that the Planned Parenthood founder intentionally sought to destroy the United States' black population and those she deemed "unfit." Gruber cited Sanger's endorsement of the Supreme Court's 1927 decision in Buck v. Bell, which allowed states to sterilize people deemed 'unfit' without their consent. He highlighted other controversies surrounding Sanger's views that resulted in Planned Parenthood distancing itself from the organization's founder in 2021, citing her association with white supremacist and eugenicist groups. In 1939, Sanger sent a letter to birth control advocate Dr. Clarence Gamble describing one of the most controversial campaigns in the birth control movement called "The Negro Project." Sanger wrote about the need for black ministers to help lead the project and gain the trust of African American communities, writing, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members." While some defenders of Sanger argue that the Planned Parenthood founder merely used the language of racists to help advocate for birth control, critics still contend that many would classify Sanger's views as racist and ableist today. Amanchukwu recounted a conversation he had in 2020 with a black man while he was praying outside of a Women's Choice abortion facility. The man was wearing a "Black Lives Matter" shirt, according to Amanchukwu, and he asked the youth pastor, "Why are you out here fighting a white man's issue?" "Now, I was taken aback when he said that because a majority of people out there praying, trying to save the babies, are white," Amanchukwu said. "But the majority of the moms in the clinic prepared to abort their babies, they're black, including this gentleman's girlfriend." "But he could only see a racial issue in that I was over there with the white people, trying to worship and pray and save babies," the youth pastor said. White Rose Resistance, a pro-life organization founded by Gruber, is named after a youthful resistance movement against the Nazi regime in Germany. During the Third Reich, White Rose members, including Hans and Sophie Scholl, distributed leaflets condemning the Nazis and urging German citizens to cease to remain apathetic to the regime's actions. Home News 'Duck Dynasty' star Willie Robertson on turning darkness into light one conversation at a time As people of faith, we have all been there. You find yourself in a situation that begs for you to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but for whatever reason, you stop short. The timing isn't right, the logistics are bad, or you feel awkward and out of place doing it. The problem is that it just doesn't feel natural. Perhaps you fear the other person will not be receptive or will become hostile about hearing the Good News. Or, you don't know where to start. Whatever the reason, sharing your story of faith and what it means to you is one of the hardest activities a Christian will ever face. But sharing your faith is not complicated. In fact, the more you share Jesus with others, the easier it gets. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Christian reality television star Willie Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" fame found salvation in Christ in large part because a stranger went outside his comfort zone to have a spiritual conversation with his father, Phil Robertson. Phil Robertson accepted Christ and then shared the Gospel with his family. If that conversation had never taken place, Willie Robertson may never have found his salvation. Thus, his life would have taken a completely different path, one that may have been filled with misery and doubt. "My dad was the guy just preaching the Gospel to everyone, including my own family," Willie Robertson shared. "He wasn't a pastor. He was a duck call builder, but man, he would share the Gospel with anyone, publicly or personally. Him sharing the Gospel with me changed everything in my life." In his latest book, The Gospeler: Turning Darkness into Light One Conversation at a Time, Willie Robertson tells readers how they can talk comfortably about Jesus with their family, friends, neighbors and even complete strangers they meet in everyday life. In the book's 224 pages, he stresses that sharing the Gospel is not preaching but simply having a conversation. The key is to focus on what's truly important (Jesus) instead of what's not (religion). "People sharing their faith is, in a lot of ways, sort of gone by the wayside," explains Willie Robertson, the CEO of Duck Commander. "I think people expect their pastors to do it. They think that's why you go to church. And so this book is hopefully to get us to start talking about this the other six days out of the week, even besides Sunday. These are the conversations that happen at work, in our homes with our children, people we know, perhaps a stranger that we're sitting beside somewhere." Willie Robertson joins us on the "Crossmap Podcast" to discuss why well-meaning Christians often shy away from sharing the Gospel with people. Listen as he shares why it is so important to understand that sharing the Gospel is not preaching but simply having a conversation. LISTEN NOW: Home News 'Satan Cannot Destroy Us': First Baptist Dallas members cling to faith after massive fire The congregation of First Baptist Dallas in Dallas, Texas, is holding on to hope after their historic sanctuary was destroyed by a massive fire. While questions remain and the pain caused by the incident is evident, Christian Post reporter Jon Brown spoke with members who believe God will use the tragedy for good. Brown joins host Billy Hallowell on a recent edition of "The Inside Story" to explore what unfolded and what church members are saying. Read the full story here. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The Inside Story takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff writers and editors will help you navigate and understand whats driving each story, the issues at play and why it all matters. Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app and be sure to subscribe to The Inside Story on your favorite platforms: Edifi Anchor Breaker Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Pocket Casts RadioPublic Spotify Home News Liberty University faces civil rights lawsuit after firing trans-identified employee The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the legal group Butler Curwood have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Liberty University on behalf of a trans-identified former employee fired after telling his employer he identified as a woman. Filed Monday, the lawsuit claims that the Evangelical institution founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Christian Post reached out to Liberty University for comment. A response is pending. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The complaint alleges that Liberty hired 30-year-old Jonathan Zinski to work as a full-time information services apprentice at its IT Helpdesk in February 2023 and that a supervisor at one point told him he was on the path to success. On July 5, 2023, Zinski emailed Libertys human resources department about his ongoing hormone replacement and his intent to legally change his name from Jonathan to Ellenor. On July 8, Zinski was told via email that the human resources department would eventually respond to the email. After waiting for a response for over a month, Zinski followed up on Aug. 8, and a meeting with the human resources department was scheduled for later that day. The legal filing states that Zinskis employment was terminated effective immediately at the meeting in which two Liberty executives were present. No one should be fired because of who they are but Liberty University made it clear thats exactly why it fired Ellenor, said ACLU of Virginia Senior Transgender Rights Attorney Wyatt Rolla in a statement. The ACLU reports that during the meeting, officials read a termination notice to Zinski stating that denial of biological and chromosomal sex assigned at birth is in conflict with the universitys doctrinal statement listed in the employee handbook of personnel policies and procedures. The doctrinal statement lists denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender among many other acts and behaviors that are sinful and prohibited by God. The plaintiff is seeking damages of $300,000 in addition to back-pay with interest and attorneys fees. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII employment law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, ruling that a Michigan-based Christian-owned funeral home was wrong to fire a male employee after he transitioned to female. The opinion applied to three cases Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Aimee Stephens & EEOC. The progressives and the Biden administration have relied on the Bostock ruling to bolster their arguments that federal civil rights protections for sex extend to gender identity and sexual orientation. The majority opinion, delivered by Justice Neil Gorsuch, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, held that while federal law doesnt specifically mention gender identity or sexual orientation, LGBT identity is still linked to sex. Gorsuch was joined on the majority by five of his colleagues. The statutes message for our cases is equally simple and momentous: An individuals homosexuality or transgender status is not relevant to employment decisions, the majority opinion stated. Thats because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex. However, the majority held that claims made by religious employers under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might supersede Title VIIs commands in appropriate cases. But how these doctrines protecting religious liberty interact with Title VII are questions for future cases too, Gorsuch stated, ruling that the funeral home did unsuccessfully pursue a RFRA-based defense in the proceedings below. So while other employers in other cases may raise free exercise arguments that merit careful consideration, none of the employers before us today represent in this Court that compliance with Title VII will infringe their own religious liberties in any way. Home News Lutherans, Orthodox Church reach agreement on 1,000-year debate over Nicene Creed The Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church have announced an agreement on the debate over the Filioque clause of the Nicene Creed, which prompted the schism between Western and Eastern churches over 1,000 years ago. Meaning and the Son in Latin, Filioque was added to the Nicene Creed during the Medieval Era to make the statement of faith say that the Holy Spirit proceeded from both God the Father and the Son. The dispute over whether the Holy Spirit proceeded from both personages of the Trinity helped lead to the Great Schism of 1054, which split Christianity into a Western Church and Eastern Church. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In a joint statement released Tuesday, the LWF and Orthodox leaders explained that they agreed to suggest that the translation of the Greek original (without the Filioque) be used in the hope that this will contribute to the healing of age-old divisions between our communities and enable us to confess together the faith of the Ecumenical Councils of Nica (325) and Constantinople (381). Renewed focus on the original wording of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed may encourage renewed theological reflection on the Trinity and the role of the Holy Spirit, they continued. Moreover, we both affirm that in our Trinitarian doctrine the Father is the cause (i) of the generation of the Son and of the procession of the Spirit. Also known as the Common Statement of the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the LWF and the Orthodox Church, the statement is the byproduct of 40 years of dialogue between the two denominational bodies. LWF and the Orthodox leaders also view the Common Statement as a sign of reconciliation in advance of 2025, which will mark the 1,700 anniversary of when the Council of Nicaea took place. Named after Nicaea, an ancient city located in modern-day Turkey, the Nicene Creed was originally written in 325 and later revised at the Council of Constantinople in 381. The creed was formulated in response to Arianism, an early church heresy that claimed, among other things, that God the Father created Jesus and thus were not coequal as a part of the Trinity. The filioque clause was first reportedly added to the Nicene Creed at the Third Council of Toledo in 589, as a way to further emphasize the equality of God the Father and God the Son. However, many Eastern churches took issue with the phrasing, believing that it did not properly reflect the relationship between the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. This, along with concerns over the power that the bishop of Rome was attempting to exert over other regional bodies, led to the Great Schism of 1054. In 1999, the LWF signed an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church known as the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification," which sought to resolve theological differences between the two bodies over the nature of justification by faith. Later signed by representatives of the World Communion of Reformed Churches in 2017, the Joint Declaration said that Catholics and Protestants "are now able to articulate a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ." "It does not cover all that either church teaches about justification; it does encompass a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification and shows that the remaining differences in its explication are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations," stated the declaration, in part. The LWF was founded in 1947 and is based in Geneva, Sweden. It has a reported 150 member churches in nearly 100 countries, representing more than 77 million Lutherans. Home News Nigerian bishop leaves UMC amid homosexuality schism; regional bodys future uncertain The bishop of the United Methodist Churchs Nigerian Episcopal Area has reportedly resigned from his position, with some or all of the African-based regional body possibly leaving with him in response to the denomination allowing same-sex marriage and ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. A UMC Council of Bishops spokesperson emailed The Christian Post a statement on Tuesday in which the denominational leadership announced that they accepted the resignation of Bishop John Wesley Yohanna. Council of Bishops President Bishop Tracy Smith Malone sent a letter to her fellow bishops confirming the resignation, saying it became effective on Monday. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe We are saddened by his decision to no longer continue ministry with The United Methodist Church. I invite us to pray for our former colleague and the church in Nigeria, especially those who choose to remain in The United Methodist Church. This is a very difficult and confusing time for them, wrote Malone. Malone stated that the UMC bishops are working with the West Africa College of Bishops and Episcopacy Committee to enact interim episcopal leadership for the region. Until then, Malone urged bishops with covenantal relationships with UMC congregations in Nigeria to immediately withhold sending funding and escrow the funds until new episcopal leadership is in place and new mechanisms are in place. Malone's request was made of the denominations general secretaries, as there are concerns that church funds will not go to the UMC ministry and mission in the African nation. On Monday, Yohanna sent a statement to Nigerian state officials explaining that at a special called session of the Nigeria Episcopal Area held last week, the entire regional body voted to leave the UMC and join the Global Methodist Church. The GMC was officially launched in 2022 as a theologically conservative alternative to the UMC. Thousands of congregations in the United States have already switched their affiliations to the GMC According to Yohanna, the decision to disaffiliate from the UMC came in response to the denominations decision earlier this year to allow for same-sex marriage and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. Therefore we want to make a statement that since the church has derailed from Biblical principle we cannot be in this church where homosexuality can be celebrated, said Yohanna. Yohanna warned that any UMC congregation agreeing with the changes would find themselves at odds with Nigerian law, which prohibits both same-sex relationships and LGBT advocacy groups. A group of Nigerian UMC church officials released a statement disputing Yohannas claim that the Episcopal Area had disaffiliated. They claimed instead that the former bishop and around 10% of the regional body opted to leave. Even though we are saddened by their exit, we hold them in our prayers and wish them Gods guidance in their new found faith community, read the statement. We also wish to make it categorically clear ... that our denomination does not permit them to leave with any of the United Methodist property in the way and manner the left. The local church officials called on Yohanna and his allies to treat their exit with integrity and not tamper with any of the UMC properties. CP contacted the GMC for more information. A spokesperson said the denomination is aware of the Yohanna statement and that we do not have any further information to share. In June, it was claimed that the UMC Nigeria Episcopal Area had held a special called session earlier this month at Jalingo in the Taraba state, where delegates voted to leave the denomination. The conservative Methodist blog People Need Jesus posted a copy of the resolution, which explained that the Nigerian regional body believed that the UMC prioritizes the LGBT community over the traditional beliefs held by many United Methodists in Nigeria. The resolution also claimed that the current United Methodist Church has altered the original language of our Discipline to accommodate cultural values divergent from ours. The UMC presence in Nigeria is divided among four annual conferences, which reportedly have a total membership of more than 560,000 members. However, when reached for comment by CP at the time, a UMC spokesperson replied that the denomination cannot respond until they receive an official report from the Nigerian conference. Others disputed the claim that the session was an official gathering of the regional body. Dianne Burnett, spokesperson for GMC, told CP in June that we are actively praying for" Nigerian Methodists "as they discern their future. The Global Methodist Church maintains strong connections with the leadership of the Nigeria Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church, she stated earlier this year. We are informed about the recent votes by clergy and laity concerning the direction of the Nigerian church. Currently, the Global Methodist Church does not have any member churches or clergy in Nigeria. However, we are aware of the interest from churches and clergy in aligning with us. As the Nigerian church makes crucial decisions, we stand ready to collaborate with and support their leadership in any way we can. In the spring, delegates at the UMC General Conference voted to remove language from the UMC Book of Discipline that prohibited the blessing of same-sex unions, the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and the funding of LGBT advocacy groups. The moves came after approximately 7,500 mostly conservative congregations disaffiliated from the mainline denomination because of the decades-long debate over the hot-button issues in which progressive leaders within the denomination weren't enforcing the Book of Discipline rules. While the UMC voted to allow LGBT ordination and same-sex weddings in June, many within the UMC have stated their intention to not host same-sex weddings at their churches or have been moved to leave the denomination. Soon after the changes were made, the Cote d'Ivoire Conference, a West African-based regional body with over 1 million members, voted to leave the UMC because the Book of Discipline had been amended. Malone said in a statement at the time that the denominational leadership was working with the Ivory Coast-based conference as it becomes autonomous. While we are not all of one mind in all things, the strength of our connection is love, respect, compassion and a shared commitment to faith in Jesus Christ, stated Malone. The General Conference decisions that removed the restrictive language in the Book of Discipline related to LGBTQIA persons do not force pastors or churches to act contrary to their conscience and can make decisions in their missional contexts. Home News Planned Parenthood executive, pastor sues abortion giant for racial, religious discrimination An ordained pastor and the first black man on Planned Parenthood of Greater New York's executive leadership team recently filed a civil rights lawsuit accusing the organization of discrimination. The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Samuel Ricarlos Mitchell, Jr., alleged that the plaintiff had been subjected to a "campaign of discrimination" since he was hired as an interim chief operating officer in September 2021. He later moved into a permanent COO role in April 2022. The defendants listed in the lawsuit are PPGNY and several women who hold executive or board member positions Wendy Stark, Andrea Hagan, Anne Davis and Gillian Dean. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe According to the complaint, PPGNY required Mitchell to "endure a disproportionate number of background checks due to his age, race, color, disability, and gender." "In fact, PPGNY required Plaintiff to undergo a disproportionate number of background checks which is so far above what younger, Caucasian, and non-disabled prospective employees go through as to be clearly discriminatory and harassing," he claimed. In October 2021, Mitchell claimed that after Hagan, the organization's board treasurer, discovered the COO was an ordained pastor, several board members insinuated that Christians and religious leaders "were not welcome to work for PPGNY." The complaint accused members of the board of attempting to investigate whether his church held pro-life beliefs, which the lawsuit described as an "invasive attempt to terminate Plaintiff's employment." After the plaintiff filed a formal complaint in October 2021, Mitchell alleged that Hagan "began disproportionately and excessively monitoring and micromanaging" him in retaliation for the complaint. In August 2022, Mitchell alleged that he was passed over for the position of interim CEO in favor of his white colleague, denying him a salary increase of $13,000. As COO, Mitchell was the "second in command," and a "long standing policy" at the organization meant that he should have received the promotion, according to the complaint. The plaintiff also has a southern accent and a "neurological condition," which causes him to stutter when stressed, which he claims subjected him to other forms of discrimination. During a November 2021 team meeting, Mitchell claims he was mocked for his accent and stutter. In another meeting in September 2022, a younger, white subordinate of Mitchell's presented a report on his behalf. The COO's colleagues allegedly said the woman was a "much better communicator" than him. "These comments were in direct, discriminatory reference to the symptoms of Plaintiff's disabling condition," the lawsuit reads. Mitchell also accused PPGNY staff, including Davis and Dean, of using "racist terms" to refer to him, such as "angry, aggressive, and out of control." The complaint stated that each term "plays into cruelly racist stereotypes about black, African American men in the workplace and beyond." Another alleged incident of racial discrimination involving Dean occurred in February 2022, with Dean stating, "She was a loud black woman," in reference to PPGNY chief equity and engagement officer Merle McGee. "This lawsuit is meant to shine a light on the discriminatory and retaliatory employment practices that permeate the organization and bring justice to Mr. Mitchell for the unrelenting discriminatory practices he has and continues to endure," the lawsuit reads. In a statement published by The Daily News, Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Jacquelyn Marrero denied "the spurious allegations made by a recent addition to our executive team." "PPGNY vehemently renounces any form of discrimination or retaliation. Our top priority for our team members is a safe, diverse and equitable workplace that supports our mission to provide access to reproductive health for all," she stated. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Allegations of racism against Planned Parenthood are not new, as Mitchell's lawsuit noted. In October 2022, Nicole Moore, Planned Parenthood's former director of multicultural brand engagement, filed a lawsuit claiming the organization had a "structural racism" issue. Moore, who worked for Planned Parenthood from January 2020 to November 2021, alleged that "racism was widespread at the organization." She accused the corporation of reprimanding her for "raising her concerns about racial disparities in leadership" and of holding black employees to a "double standard regarding contract work." As CP reported, over 120 black American leaders signed a letter asking Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson to renounce the organization's founder, Margaret Sanger, and to address the impact of abortion on black communities. "Today, we are saying emphatically and unequivocally that Planned Parenthood must confront its racist founding, mission and practices. Too many Black lives have been lost to abortion. All Black lives matter," the letter reads. Louisiana state Sen. Katrina Jackson, Georgia state Rep. Mack Jackson and Michigan's Kent County Commissioner Monica Sparks, all Democrats, are just a few individuals who signed the letter. Republican signers included then-Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and former Texas state Rep. James White. In April 2021, Johnson published a New York Times op-ed addressing questions about Sanger's views on race and eugenics. In the op-ed, the Planned Parenthood president acknowledged Sanger's association with "white supremacist groups" and endorsement of Buck v. Bell, a Supreme Court decision permitting the sterilization of those deemed "unfit." Johnson promised that the organization would make "Margaret Sanger less prominent in our present and future." However, she maintained that Planned Parenthood's founder remains an influential part of our history and will not be erased." Mitchell's lawsuit attests to the organization's troubling past. "Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger who was an unabashed racist, eugenics believer and KKK sympathizer," the legal filing states. "As late as April 2021, Planned Parenthood's leadership acknowledged that Sanger was coddled by the organization and protected despite her discriminatory animus." "[T]he reality is that Planned Parenthood continues to be run by people who are openly hostile to racial minorities, the disabled, older workers and those who complain about discriminatory practices." Home News Russell Brand slams Olympics opening ceremony 'decadence,' shares favorite Bible verse Comedian Russell Brand spoke out against the recent controversial Olympics opening ceremony and shared one of his favorite Bible verses in recent social media posts. "There are times that I've told you when I felt far from Christ," Brand said in a video he posted to Instagram on Wednesday. "This is the verse that brought me back into connection with our Lord." Brand went on to read Isaiah 43:1, which reads: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "My feelings of faith have altered lately, because I've had the sense that through fear I might take back my self-will, that I might through fear think I have to be in control of the situation," Brand said. "If you feel that you're being attacked, if you are under threat, it seems obvious, rational, sensible to take back control." Brand went on to explain that he has found a new freedom in surrendering to Christ in faith and relinquishing his desire for control, which he said is not a concept he understood before becoming a Christian. "But the sensation of faith allowing Christ in His sub-molecular potency, right down to the granular, right out into the cosmological to order all things for we are dealing with the King of eternity," he said. "And this is something I never understood before I was a Christian, but you are stepping out of the cubic reality afforded to you by materialism and rationalism and into a transcendent realm where you are given grace where, once I've accepted sin, and surrendered, and allowed Him to carry me, I'm granted a new freedom. "'Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I've called you by your name, you are mine.' I don't belong to myself anymore," he added. "And that is true freedom." In another post, Brand also blasted the recent opening Olympic ceremony in Paris that drew global backlash for its mock portrayal of the Last Supper with , exposed male genitalia, and an obese, lesbian DJ in the place of Jesus. "I'm pretty down with inclusivity and diversity," he said. "I think people should be able to be who they want to be, whether you've got a traditional or progressive lifestyle. In a decentralized culture, where you're not continually being cajoled and bludgeoned by a powerful state backed by commercial interests, you might choose to be a traditional Christian or a Muslim or a Jew or an atheist. And you might want to be a drag queen or whatever. It's actually no one else's business." Brand, who has been open about the hedonistic lifestyle he renounced to become a Christian, suggested the spirit of the opening ceremony seemed to fly in the face of inclusivity. He said they represented instead the destructive values he personally fled in the wake of multiple sexual assault allegations against him, all of which he has denied. "What was extraordinary, I suppose, to me [about the opening ceremony] appears to be the deliberate evocation of Christian imagery in order to what? Deride it? In order to what? Attack it? Undermine it?" "What are the values that are being proposed here? Is it hedonism? Is it decadence? Is it individualism? Is it that the self your own personal set of decrees, desires and edicts are the apex and supreme hierarchy of ideologies? That there is nothing superior and supreme to which we have to surrender?" In another post, Brand suggested the Olympic opening ceremony is an example of the pervasive decadence that reminds him of biblical descriptions of the End Times. During an interview with Tucker Carlson last year in the months leading up to his conversion, Brand said, "Like many desperate people, I need spirituality. I need God, or I cannot cope in this world. I need to believe in the best in people." He acknowledged that he "didn't have enough self-discipline to resist the allure of stardom" and "fell face-first into the glitter, and I'm only just pulling myself out now." Brand made international headlines earlier this year when he converted to Christianity following a lengthy public wrestling with faith. In April, he was baptized in the River Thames, along with Bear Grylls and another friend. During an interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, earlier this month, Brand said he believes a "spiritual darkness" is becoming increasingly apparent in society. Home News Sen. Mike Lee warns of 'increased hostility' toward Christianity in Washington Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, believes that federal lawmakers have grown increasingly hostile toward Christians in recent years and some feel justified in discriminating against them to a degree unprecedented in United States history. During a two-hour interview with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson on the Tucker Carlson Network earlier this week, Lee answered affirmatively when Carlson asked if he noticed "this hostility toward Christianity increasing in Washington." "I think there is increased hostility toward Christianity, toward organized religion in general in Washington," said Lee, who is a Mormon. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Everyone in Washington knew Joe Biden was senile. At times he couldnt operate a cell phone. Sen. Mike Lee was there. (0:00) Obama Kicking Biden Out (8:13) Bidens Impairment (20:33) Bidens Scripted Phone Calls (23:17) The Federal Government Is Too Powerful (36:02) The pic.twitter.com/MxObwUhfOy Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 30, 2024 While he said the Senate has "a pretty healthy culture" of religious toleration among colleagues, Lee has noticed unconstitutional religious tests for judicial nominees emerge during the Trump administration. "I've started seeing a couple of things that are disturbing that I never thought I would see, just in the last few years," said Lee, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I remember during the Trump administration, we started to see, for the first time ever, a couple of my Democratic colleagues, including some on the Judiciary Committee, who would say things like this: 'I'm not comfortable with this nominee because I fear that the dogma lives loudly within her.'" Lee was referencing the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who suggested during Justice Amy Coney Barrett's 2017 confirmation hearing to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that her Roman Catholic faith would interfere with her ability to be impartial. "She was afraid that she was too Catholic and because the Catholic dogma, as she put it, 'lives too loudly,'" Lee recalled. "I thought that was a little unsettling." Lee recalled the time he confronted Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, in 2019 after she asked then-D.C. Circuit Court nominee Neomi Rao during her confirmation hearing if she believes gay relationships are a sin. "I felt the need to weigh in at that meeting because sometimes we need to do that in order to set the record and to give the member an opportunity to pare it back," Lee said. "So I thought, I'm not sure she meant I'm not sure she realized exactly how far she went in saying that." Lee noted that Hirono remained unapologetic about her line of questioning. Carlson, who said Hirono is not considered "a genius" by the outside world, questioned whether people like her are "self-aware enough to know that they're the religious fanatics." Lee noted the apparent antipathy toward Christians who want to serve in government is unchartered territory for the U.S., which he noted has been historically Christian. "Relative to not just the founding generation, but pretty much all generations of Americans until very recently, those who are hostile toward Christian beliefs or toward any belief system when it comes to somebody's worthiness to serve in government," he said. "That's historically aberrational. That's extreme." "Culturally also, throughout most of our history, we have been a religious nation. We are still a religious nation," he added. Noting how someone would not be able to get away with opposing a nominee for being too Jewish, Carlson asked how discrimination against Christians gets a pass. "I really don't know, other than that the the media won't go after you," Lee said, to which Carlson replied, "Because they share the view." Lee said he has personally witnessed President Joe Biden's decreasing mental acuity since his first year in office, including when he asked Lee's wife twice if she worked in the White House despite having met her before. He also recounted a time when he saw Biden appear too confused to take a phone call. Home News Trump pressed on calls for police 'immunity from prosecution' after Sonya Massey killing Journalists pressed former President Donald Trump on his support for qualified immunity for police officers during an appearance in Chicago after the murder of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in her Illinois home earlier this month. Trump answered questions during a Wednesday discussion organized by the National Association of Black Journalists. Kadia Goba of Semafor, a news outlet founded by former BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith, asked the Republican presidential nominee if he believed the deputy who shot Massey should receive immunity. Former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson shot Massey on July 6 after responding to a call from the woman about a prowler in the area. After body-camera footage of the encounter was shared online, Grayson was charged on July 17 with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The shooting occurred not long after Trump vowed during a May rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that, if elected president, his administration would "give our police their power back" and ensure they have "immunity from prosecution." In response to Goba's question, Trump replied that he didn't know the full details of the case, stating that he "saw something, and it didn't look good." When Goba pressed again about whether officers should receive immunity, Trump explained that he did not mean that officers like Grayson should receive immunity. He went on to cite Chicago crime statistics as an example of why certain police need immunity, highlighting the dangers associated with the job that can force officers to have to make a quick decision that may result in a fatal shooting. "I'm talking about people that are much different cases, and that we need police to protect ourselves," he said, pointing to the series of shootings that took place throughout Chicago over Fourth of July weekend, where 19 people were killed and over 100 shot in over 74 shooting incidents. The youngest victim, 8-year-old Bryson Orr, was killed in a shooting in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the morning of July 4, NBC News reports. The number of shootings over the July 4 weekend this year surpassed last year's numbers. In 2023, 11 people were killed over the holiday weekend and 62 were injured, the outlet notes. "Nobody wants that. We need to have our police officers have the respect and dignity back. In this particular case, I saw something that didn't look good," Trump said on Wednesday. "I didn't like it at all." Trump said that for the most part, people are protected by their police unions or their police departments. "There's a big difference between being a bad person and making an innocent mistake," he added. "If someone made an innocent mistake, I would want to help that person." "Sometimes you have less than a second to make a life and death decision, and sometimes very bad decisions are made," he continued. "They're not made from an evil standpoint, but they're made from the standpoint of 'they've made a mistake.'" During an interview shortly after the Massey shooting, the woman's father, James Wilburn, told CBS Mornings that he believes his daughter "feared for her life." "There was something, some premonition that she had, and it seems like [Grayson] was just an emissary of Satan. And that's what caused him to do what he did. It's just unexplainable," Wilburn said. Family members of Massey told CBS Evening News after the shooting that Massey had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia days before the incident. In video footage of the shooting, Massey appears agitated, and she told the two deputies who responded to her 911 when they arrived, "Please don't hurt me." At one point, Massey walked over to a boiling pot of water after Grayson requested that she check on it. As the woman removed the pot, the deputies backed away and ordered her to move away from the boiling pot. "Oh, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," Massey is heard saying in the video. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." "You better f not, or I swear to God I'll f shoot you in the f face," Grayson told her. Massey, who appears in the video to be holding the pot next to her running faucet in her sink, can be seen taking her hands off the pot while still holding what looks like mittens in her hand. The woman placed her hands over her ears, and Grayson advanced toward her with his gun drawn, shouting "drop the f pot" and firing several shots. The officer later stated in the video that he had shot the woman in the head and implied that he did not see the need to provide her medical attention, arguing that Massey was likely dead anyway. In a statement, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell called the shooting "unjustifiable and reckless." "Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson," Campbell said. "Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office. He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement. Ms. Massey needlessly lost her life, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them." Bidens Plan To Reform Supreme Court, Christian Discrimination In Scotland, Deadpool And Wolverine Criticism link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 07:54 07:54 Top headlines for Thursday, August 1, 2024 In todays episode, President Biden proposes Supreme Court reforms, the United Methodist Church faces controversy over same-sex marriage and clergy ordination, and the 2024 GMA Dove Awards nominees are announced, celebrating gospel musics unity and impact. ?Follow Us on Social Media ?Get the Edifi App ?Subscribe to Our Newsletter ?Links to the News Home News 2 Ukrainian priests released by Russia after 19 months were likely tortured, church says Two Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, have been released from Russian captivity after more than 19 months through a prisoner exchange facilitated by diplomatic efforts involving the Vatican. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church announced that Levytsky and Geleta, hieromonks of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, were released last Friday after initially being arrested on Nov. 26, 2022, in the occupied city of Berdiansk. In a recent interview with Ukrinform, a church leader said that the church received "alarming signals" that the priests were being "tortured regularly." Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe "His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed his deep gratitude to the Apostolic See for the rescue of the UGCC priests," the announcement reads. "He conveyed special thanks to Pope Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the entire Vatican diplomatic corps. Special gratitude for mediation was expressed to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine. Each of them contributed invaluably to making this event a reality." Pope Francis publicly expressed his thanksgiving after the priests' release, according to National Catholic Reporter. I give thanks to God for the freeing of the two Greek Catholic priests, the pope said after the Angelus prayer on Saturday, calling for prayers for all prisoners of war. Supporters say the priests were arrested after military items were falsely placed in their church, leading to charges of illegal possession of weapons. When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, Levytsky and Geleta chose to stay in the occupied territories and served both Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic communities as a "beacon of hope for people under occupation," the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church contends. "They were arrested, followed by some military items being planted in the church and accused of illegal possession of weapons," the statement continued. "There were reports that they were being tortured mercilessly to extract a confession to a crime they did not commit." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a social media post on X, announced the release of Levytsky and Geleta among 10 prisoners returned to Ukrainian authorities. President Zelenskyy acknowledged the Vaticans pivotal role in securing their release, conveying gratitude towards the Holy See. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Ombudsman, told the Interfax news agency that this is the first instance of the Vaticans direct involvement in the repatriation of Ukrainian adults, indicating a new potential channel for further civilian returns. He claims that Russia is illegally detaining over 14,000 Ukrainian citizens. Numerous cases of detainment and torture of Ukrainian clergy have been reported from occupied Ukrainian territories. The Rev. Stepan Podolchak, 59, of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, disappeared on Feb. 13 in the Ukrainian village of Kalanchak after Russian occupation forces took him away for questioning in his bare feet with a bag over his head. The priest had chosen to remain with his church after Russians invaded the village in the southern Skadovsk District of the Kherson Region in early 2022. His battered body was found on a village street by a passer-by, and taken to the morgue. Lubinets said at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. in February that Russian soldiers and occupation officials had committed at least 76 acts of religious persecution in Ukraine since the invasion of February 2022 as part of an attempt to destroy national identity. Additionally, he alleged that Russian forces had killed or captured at least 29 clerics or religious leaders in Ukraine since the war began. Since the invasion, he said Evangelical Christians, including Baptists, Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists, had suffered greatly. The Russian military has repeatedly threatened the total physical elimination of all Evangelical believers, calling them American spies, sectarians and enemies of the Russian Orthodox people, Lubinets said. To kill a person, to demolish a church, the Russians do everything to destroy us as a nation. Home News A feat of diplomacy: Biden hails Russia-US prisoner swap Update Appended President Joe Biden hailed as historic the recently announced prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, which included freeing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich, 32, was one of three Americans and one American green card holder whose freedom was confirmed on Thursday. Five Germans and seven Russian political prisoners, some of whom had been imprisoned for years, were also released. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Along with the Journal reporter, American Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive who was jailed on espionage charges, and Radio Free Europe reporter Alsu Kurmasheva were also freed in the swap. In return, the United States and assorted European nations gave Russia several prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, a former intelligence officer and hit man who had been serving a life sentence in Germany after being convicted of murder. In a statement released Thursday, Biden described the negotiations process and the deal that led to their release as a feat of diplomacy that was aided by Americas allies in the region. I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon, stated Biden. Biden also promised that he will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family, citing over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world, he added. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong. In their reporting of Gershkovich, the Journal described the prisoner swap deal as the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. According to the Journal, Gershkovich had been imprisoned by Russian authorities for over a year on a false allegation of espionage, and had been sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony following a hurried and secret three-day trial. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the arrest of Gershkovich, claiming in an interview with Tucker Carlson in February that the journalist "was caught red-handed when he was secretly getting classified information." Putin also told the former Fox News opinion host that Russia was willing to release Gershkovich, but that there were certain conditions that are being discussed between special services." During a press conference, Biden was asked to respond to comments made by Donald Trump in which the Republican presidential candidate said that he would have gotten the American hostages released without giving anything in exchange. "Why didn't he do it when he was president?" Biden replied before leaving the conference. While Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018, which was during the Trump administration, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva were detained while Biden has been president. Update, 8/5/2024 Article updated to include the press conference comment by President Joe Biden about the hostages and when they were first detained. Home Opinion Media rewrites Kamalas record Which senator had the most liberal voting record in 2019? According to GovTrack.us in January 2020, it was then-Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Today, that same webpage can no longer be found, nor can the page for Harris 2019 report card. The internet Wayback Machine first noticed the pages missing on Monday. Coinciding with this disappearance was only one relevant change: last weekend President Joe Biden announced via X that he would not seek reelection and endorsed Harris as his replacement. Is the media scrubbing the web of Harriss past liberal record? According to GovTrack.us in July 2024, there was a perfectly innocent-sounding explanation for the sudden scrubbing of a 5-year-old webpage. That page was based on a single calendar year. Several years ago we discontinued creating new single-calendar-year report cards because a single year of data is not sufficient to create a reliable portrait of the activity of legislators. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe It is true that more years of data provide a fuller picture. However, having only served in the Senate for four years, Harris didnt develop a large legislative record there. In 2017 (also archived), GovTrack.us ranked Harris as the 8th-most liberal senator by voting record. In 2018 (live), she ranked as the 4th-most liberal. Harris was the most liberal in 2019, and in 2020 (also live) she ranked as the 2nd-most liberal senator. In 2021, she became vice president. But arguing that a reliable portrait of a legislators activity required information from multiple years is not an explanation for deleting pages from certain years and not others. Indeed, deleting any record of voting scores seems beneath an organization described as a non-partisan government transparency site. Their poor excuse for deleting the 2019 report card (and a 2019 page ranking all senators ideologically), combined with the suggestive timing of the move, only stoked suspicions that GovTrack.us deleted the pages to obscure Harriss voting record, which was the most liberal of the year. What made GovTracks coverup even more embarrassing is that their patchwork deletions did not even effectively obscure Harriss consistently liberal voting record. When CBS news anchor Norah ODonnell asked Harris about the most-liberal ranking in an interview for 60 Minutes, Harris first deflected, then characteristically laughed it off. You supported the Green New Deal, you supported Medicare for all, youve supported legalizing marijuana. Joe Biden doesnt support those things, ODonnell pressed. Harris did not deny that statement. Instead, she responded, What I will do and I promise you this, and this is what Joe wants me to do, this was part of our deal I will always share with him my lived experience as it relates to any issue that we confront. And I promised Joe that I will give him that perspective and always be honest with him. Two things seem to be true at the same time. On one hand, Kamala Harris is on the far-left flank of the American political spectrum, or at least she wants the support of that constituency. On the other hand, Harris also has national political ambitions and enough political instincts to recognize that being the most liberal senator doesnt play well in most places outside of California. The best explanation to be offered so far for GovTrack.us deleting Harriss record from their site is that they, too, recognize the political liability of being the most liberal senator, and they removed the page as an intangible contribution to Harriss campaign for president. If they wish to dispute this, let them offer a better explanation to convince us. The American people know when we are being gaslighted. Border Czar? GovTrack.us is not the only organization to be exposed for polishing up Harriss record by, well, denying what they had previously said about it. In the past few days, Axios claimed Wednesday, the Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the border czar title which she never actually had. Again, the urge to exonerate Harris of any responsibility for the border serves the short-term, political goal of separating her from the unpopular border policies of the Biden-Harris administration. Yet this critique would surprise Axios writers from five years ago, when they unironically called Harris the border czar. The very same writer who is now denouncing Republicans use of the label border czar, Stef Kight, wrote an article on March 24, 2021 titled, Biden puts Harris in charge of border crisis. As with all American applications of the word czar, the border czar refers colloquially to the person in charge of an issue, not to that persons technical title. Even worse, this shifts the focus of history revisionism from Harriss Senate career to her record as vice president. In other words, it memory-holes Harriss actions not from a role she held five years ago, but from a role she holds right now. In other words, to identify Axioss infinitesimal distinction, their readers would not only have to rewrite their memory of their recent past but also override their current political knowledge about the present. Axios knows better, and their readers do too. But they went ahead and published this ridiculous argument for cheap political points, hoping no one would notice that they had drawn a distinction without a difference. After getting called out in a community note on X, Axios doubled-down on their recent resolve to split hairs. At the bottom of their most recent article, an editors note now declares that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a border czar in 2021. Theres some kind of oligarchy there thats running the country, declared Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Washington Watch Thursday. Youve got the massive cover up and cleaning up of the image of Kamala Harris, who has bungled everything that shes been put in charge of, like the border. She was the border czar, Biggs added. Everybody calls her that. And if you dont like border czar, she was appointed to lead the border effort. She was the manager. She was the director, whatever you want to call it. The bottom line is still the same. She failed, and Joe Biden, stuck with her. Rioter bailouts Yet another attempt to rehabilitate Kamala Harriss political image came when CBS News claimed, Trump falsely accuses Harris of donating to Minnesota Freedom Fund, bailing out dangerous criminals. The Minnesota Freedom Fund was a Democrat-organized fundraiser to bail out violent activists who were arrested for attacking police, torching businesses, and terrorizing neighborhoods during the height of the George Floyd riots in the summer of 2020. Again, its obvious why Harris and her supporters would want to distance themselves from such a politically unpopular policy. CBS News got tagged by a community note informing their readers that Harris publicly promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund in a June 1, 2020 tweet that is still live, If youre able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. CBS has since updated its headline to read, Despite Trump claim and 2020 tweet showing support, Harris never donated to Minnesota Freedom Fund. In other words, to salvage the news story, CBS twisted it into a story about something a politician didnt do four years ago. Do these people ever listen to themselves? Even if they hadnt descended into absurdity, its hard to see that Harris appears in a better light after CBSs amended story. Perhaps she didnt personally donate to the rioter bail fund. But she promoted it and encouraged others to donate to it. If the point was to distance the presumptive Democratic nominee from a radical, unpopular stance she took four years ago, the mission was most definitely not accomplished. In late 2023, The New York Times Magazine ran a lengthy profile of Harris that described how she is still struggling to make the case for herself and feels she shouldnt have to. The bottom line is that many Americans have never been very enamored with the radical, leftward-pressing fringe of the Democratic Party that Harris so often represents. Until recently, it was okay for the media to say so. But, with Biden bowing out of the race, and no other Democrat stepping forward to challenge Trump, refurbishing Harriss rusty image has become the prime objective. In unburdening Harris from what has been, it seems the media is not above rewriting the past. Originally published at The Washington Stand. Home Opinion The war on education: Overcoming evil with good The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. / Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. / Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it. / The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. / Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Proverbs 22:4-8 The threat of globalism and neo-Marxism has become increasingly apparent over the last decade. What began as a group of theorists and power-hungry bureaucrats meeting once a year has turned into a demonic assault on Christianity, the family, and education. Families in many countries, even in the United States, have experienced the repression of homeschooling as their governments work tirelessly to funnel them into the government mind-grinder the public school system. Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released its 17 global goals for the year 2030 the fourth of which is quality education. Their vision is simple: Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In addition to free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030, the aim is to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education.[1] Those familiar with the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles will recognize this agenda from The Communist Manifesto. In his renowned political pamphlet, Marx outlined ten steps or planks necessary to implement in order for communism to be established in a society. The tenth plank reads Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of childrens factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c, &c. Both UNESCO and Marx agree that the implementation of free universal government-run education with the aim of industrial production is absolutely necessary to achieve their utopian ends. The fact that UNESCO aligns its vision with the deadliest idea known to history is telling. When internationally powerful people insist on controlling the upbringing of your children, what ought you to do? Are they too powerful to resist? Should we hand them our children in exchange for their free money? Of course not! In the face of the globalist threat, the best tactic to overthrow their tyranny is to raise and educate your own children in the way they should go independently from the state. Praise God, millions of parents are doing just that. Raise your children Sadly, countless parents around the United States have been convinced that their job is simply to drop their precious babies off at daycare to be nurtured, ship them off to free government schools to be trained in humanist religion and Critical Theory, only to be reunited as stakeholder (pesky conservatives might even deign to call them mom or dad) and product on the day of graduation when the tassel goes from Right to Left. The effects of this have been undeniably disastrous whether you examine the breakdown of the family, the dumbing down of the American mind, and the rise of humanist globalism in the West. Let me be clear: we should not slander the parents who have fallen for this lie because the Left has always been good at marketing. A big sign that says, Free stuff here! always looks enticing. So, it should not be surprising when millions of otherwise reasonable people join the fray calling for free public education. They do not know that the very minds, bodies, and souls of their children are at stake. Thankfully, millions more parents have not been persuaded by the Left to divorce themselves from their children. These mothers and fathers, rather than offer up the bodies, souls, and minds of their children to father government, have taken upon themselves the God-given duty to have, nurture, raise, and educate their beloved children independently from the state. The truth is that our Creator, sustainer, and Savior God has given parents, and parents alone, the jurisdiction to raise their children in the way they should go. If you are skeptical of this point, I would encourage you to search the Scriptures for a verse that suggests that the state has a role to play in the upbringing and education of children. Furthermore, a brief overview of history will expose government schools as a radical and novel idea, foisted upon society by humanists with the aim of uprooting Christianity and implementing Marxism. Alex Newman makes this case undeniably clear in his groundbreaking book Indoctrinating Our Children To Death. By raising your own children independently of the government, you are depriving the Marxist, humanist, globalist elites of the thing they need most the next generation. Educate your children Keeping your children out of the governments reach is not the final step that parents must take. They also must educate their children. What is the purpose of education? In modernity, the perceived purpose of education is perfectly in line with the Marxist and globalist vision. UNESCO said, the aim is to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education. Just think we go to high school to get a diploma so we can go to the university to get a degree for a job so we can be a productive member of society. Today, education is strictly a matter of establishing social roles. We want more for our children! Traditionally, education is about the soul, the mind, the heart, and the desires of an individual. It is meant to cultivate virtue and instill wisdom. By removing the soul from education, modern Marxist school tyrants have nulled the desire of individuals to search out and know truth, beauty, and goodness. As The CIRCLE Institute says, The purpose of classical education is to cultivate virtue and wisdom. The classical Christian does not ask, What can I do with this learning but What will this learning do to me? Briefly put, education is a matter of the soul as much as it is of the mind. Thankfully, though men have forgotten the truth about education, Christians can still rejoice in the Proverbs when it says: How much better to get wisdom than gold! / To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver (Proverbs 16:16). The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper (Proverbs 19:8). The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7). Through education, we can prepare our children to be sent out as sheep among wolves, being wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). Through education, we can teach our children to be virtuous men and women, full of wisdom and understanding, and equip with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6). This is how we will protect children from globalist manipulation and humanist lies. Overcome evil with good Oftentimes, it can feel like we have already lost the battle. It can seem like the elite class has all the power required to shape the world into their image but take heart, Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). As we continue to pierce souls with the sword of the Spirit, let us not be discouraged by the fiery arrows of the devil. By raising and educating your own children, you are depriving the globalists of the one thing they require the bodies, minds, and souls of your children. Without control of the next generation, they are incapable of implementing their wicked agenda. So, as you continue to walk the straight and narrow, do not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6), Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5-6), and Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). [1] United Nations (2016, January 1). Quality Education. Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved July 11, 2024, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/#:~:text=When%20people%20are%20able%20to,more%20healthy%20and%20sustainable%20lives French Christians ask for respect after Paris Olympics 'Last Supper' controversy Evangelicals in France have taken their concerns about the Paris Olympics Opening ceremony to the French government. Organisers were accused of mocking Christianity over a scene with drag queens and a haloed lesbian DJ that many Christians interpreted as a representation of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. In response to the backlash, Paris Olympics spokeswoman Anne Descamps said, "If people have taken any offence we are, of course, really, really sorry," while artistic director Thomas Jolly said he had wanted "to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus". "You'll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone," he said. "I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity." Even the apology caused anger among Christians, though, as some felt it was insincere. CNEF was among the critics of Friday's ceremony. It questioned why Christianity had apparently been targeted if the aims were fraternity and inclusion. It said the scene had caused "distress" and "deep hurt" to many Christians., although it said it accepted the organisers' apology. CNEF president Erwan Cloarec raised concerns about the controversial tableau during a meeting this week with the office of the Minister of the Interior. He asked that the French government "guarantee that everyone, believers or not, will be respected in their essential convictions within a Republic that wants to unite". CNEF is encouraging Christians to use the controversy as an opportunity to witness to the Christian faith and engage with culture. "For months ... we have dreamed that these games would be an opportunity for Christians to share in words and deeds the Gospel that animates them," said Cloarec. "Let us see in the situation that arises a real opportunity to bear witness to our faith as the person of Christ has just been placed at the centre of these games. "Let us hear the cries of the heart and the need for reconciliation of our contemporaries, their quest for identity and belonging. "They cry out in a pluralistic society; let us show them how to cry out louder to the one who invites them all to his table and offers true reconciliation, true identity and belonging. "During these Games and beyond, let us share with all peoples the Good News that we have received." Would a third province undercut the ecclesiology of the Church of England? In an open letter responding to a statement from the conservative 'Alliance' grouping in the Church of England the Bishop of Oxford has declared that the creation of a conservative third province in the Church of England, as proposed by the Alliance, would be something that 'undercuts the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology.' In this article I shall set out the ecclesiology of the Church of England and then ask whether, in the light of this evidence, the bishop's claim is true. The Church of England is the historic Church of the English people Contrary to a popular misconception, the Church of England did not come into existence at the time of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. We can see this, for example, from the fact that the Venerable Bede, writing in the eighth century, refers to the Ecclesia Anglicana, the 'Church of the English people.' This Church was formed in the seventh century as a combination of three streams of Christianity, the remnants of the Romano-British church which had a history going back to the first century, the mission from Rome led by St Augustine of Canterbury which began in 597 when he landed in The Isle of Thanet and began to evangelize the kingdom of Kent and the Celtic tradition coming down from Scotland and associated with figures such as St Aidan and St Cuthbert. The 'Church of England' is simply the modern name for Bede's 'Church of the English people,' Britian's oldest continuously existing institution. The Church of England is a Church with a clear set of core beliefs At the Reformation, the Church of England repudiated the authority of the Pope and reformed its theology and practice in line under the influence of the mainstream Protestant reformation. When challenged that it had therefore become a heretical church, the theologians of the Church of England replied by arguing that the Church of England still held to the basic principles of faith and practice that the Church as a whole had always held. The classic example of this sort of argument is the Apology of the Church of England published by the Bishop of Salisbury, John Jewel, in 1562, a work which is generally forgotten today, but which laid the groundwork for subsequent defences of the position of the Church of England. In this work Jewel responds to the charge that those in the Church of England are 'heretics' who 'have nothing to do, either with Christ, nor with the church of God' by setting out that 'faith wherein we stand.' He begins by stating that the Church of England believes in the Trinity: 'We believe that there is one certain Nature and divine Power, which we call God; and that the same is divided into three equal Persons, into the Father, into the Son and into the Holy Ghost; and that they all be of one power, of one eternity and one Godhead; and of one substance.' He then moves on to the person of Christ. He first of all declares that: 'We believe that Jesus Christ, the only Son of the eternal Father (as long before it was determined before all beginnings), when the fulness of time was come, did take of that blessed and pure Virgin both flesh and all the nature of man.' He then adds: 'We believe that for our sakes He died, and was buried, descended into hell, the third day by the power of His Godhead returned to life, and rose again; and that the fortieth day after His resurrection, whiles His disciples beheld and looked upon Him, He ascended into heaven to fulfil all things, and did place in majesty and glory the self-same body wherewith He was born, wherein He lived on earth....From that place also we believe that Christ shall come again to execute that general judgment, as well of them whom He shall then find alive in the body as of them that be already dead.' After that he turns to the Holy Spirit, writing that the Church England believes: 'that it is His property to mollify and soften the hardness of man's heart' and that 'he doth give men light, and guide them unto the knowledge of God; to all way of truth; to newness of the whole life; and to everlasting hope of salvation.' Having looked at what the Church of England believes about the Trinity, Christ and the Holy Spirit, Jewel then turns to what it believes about the Church, stating that it believes that there is 'one Church of God, and that the same is not shut up (as in times past among the Jews) into some one corner or kingdom, but that it is catholic and universal, and dispersed throughout the whole world.' Furthermore, he adds: 'we believe that there be divers degrees of ministers in the Church; whereof some be deacons, some priests, some bishops; to whom is committed the office to instruct the people, and the whole charge and setting forth of religion.' Next, Jewel explains that those in the Church of England: '.... receive and embrace all the canonical Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, giving thanks to our God, who hath raised up unto us that light which we might ever have before our eyes, lest either by the subtlety of man, or by the snares of the devil, we should be carried away to errors and lies. Also, that these be the heavenly voices, whereby God hath opened unto us His will: and that only in them man's heart can have settled rest; that in them be abundantly and fully comprehended all things, whatsoever be needful for our salvation.' Jewel goes on to say that the Church of England holds that there are two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The former is, he says, 'a Sacrament of the remission of sins, and of that washing, which we have in the blood of Christ.' The latter is 'is a Sacrament; that is to wit, an evident token of the body and blood of Christ' by means of which 'Christ Himself, being the true bread of eternal life, is so presently given unto us as that by faith we verily receive his body and his blood.' Furthermore, the Church of England believes in justification by faith in the sense that: 'We say also, that every person is born in sin, and leadeth his life in sin: that nobody is able truly to say his heart is clean: that the most righteous person is but an unprofitable servant: that the law of God is perfect, and requireth of us perfect and full obedience: that we are able by no means to fulfil that law in this worldly life: that there is no one mortal creature which can be justified by his own deserts in God's sight: and therefore that our only succour and refuge is to fly to the mercy of our Father by Jesu Christ, and assuredly to persuade our minds that He is the obtainer of forgiveness for our sins; and that by His blood all our spots of sin be washed clean.' However, the Church of England does not say that justification by faith means: '.... men ought to live loosely and dissolutely: nor that it is enough for a Christian to be baptised only and to believe: as though there were nothing else required at his hand. For true faith is lively, and can in no wise be idle. Thus therefore teach we the people, that God hath called us, not to follow riot and wantonness, but, as St. Paul saith, "unto good works, to walk in them.' Finally, Jewel notes that the Church of England holds, 'that this our self-same flesh wherein we live, although it die, and come to dust, yet at the last day it shall return again to life, by the means of Christ's Spirit which dwelleth in us.' The beliefs set out by Jewel remain the basis of the faith and practice of the Church of England. They are reflected in the theology found in Thirty-Nine Articles of 1571 and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal, the three 'historic formularies' which are normative for Church of England's theology, liturgy and view of Christian ministry. To put it simply, the Church of England is a church which holds these basic beliefs and reflects them in its practice. The Church of England is a Church with a clear historic pattern of church organisation The Church of England has a clear pattern of church organisation, which it has maintained for over a thousand years. It has two provinces, Canterbury and York, each of which has its own Archbishop, and which governs itself by means of a Convocation of bishops and clergy and an attendant House of Laity. The two provinces are subdivided into dioceses overseen by bishops, which are in turn divided into archdeaconries overseen by archdeacons, and parishes overseen by the parochial clergy. Each diocese has a cathedral, which is the mother church of the diocese, is the place where the bishop has their official seat or 'throne', and is the setting for formal diocesan services such as ordinations. In ecclesiological terms, the two provinces of the Church of England are churches in their own right because they have their own archbishops and are self-governing. Therefore the Church of England is, strictly speaking, a federation of two churches linked by a joint legislative body, the General Synod, in which the Convocations and Houses of Laity of the two provinces meet to make decisions about matter of common concern and to enact joint laws in the form of measures and canons. A third province would not undermine the Church of England's ecclesiology. A conservative third province in the Church of England, established to provide a space within the Church of England where the Church's historic teaching that marriage is between one and one woman - and the only legitimate place for sexual activity is within marriage thus defined - would be permanently maintained, would not depart from any of the elements of the Church of England's ecclesiology set out above. It would still form part of the historic Church of England. It would still adhere to the basic Christian beliefs set out by Jewel and reflected in the historic formularies. It would still uphold the Church of England's historic pattern of Church organisation and would take part in the meetings of General Synod. What would be different about it would be its willingness to use the powers of self-government which the two existing provinces already possess, to legally safeguard the Church of England's traditional teaching on marriage and sexual ethics. The Bishop of Oxford is thus simply wrong. Todays CIOs face unprecedented challenges in modernizing their data centers to accommodate the rapidly rising demands on their infrastructureswhile also facing increasingly constrained budgets. Generative AI (genAI) burst onto the scene in November 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, surprising almost everyone in the industry with its capabilities, and suddenly every CEO and board of directors began telling their CIOs to get genAI capabilities online as fast as possible. Its common knowledge that genAI workloads are demanding, but the scale of additional power, cooling, and processing that CIOs will need to provide to support them is hard to comprehendespecially considering the increasingly short turn times companies have come to expect from IT initiatives. According to Sajjad Moazeni,1 a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington, given that ChatGPT receives hundreds of millions of queries daily, its likely consuming 1 GWh every day, enough to power 33,000 US homes over that same time period. Even more worrisome, the decades-long scale-up for enterprise computing has already stretched global electrical supplies to the limit, and the new demands of AI data centers threaten to surpass current capacity. In 2022, data centers accounted for 4% of US energy consumption, and in 2026, theyre projected2 to account for 6%, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report. AMD GenAI isnt the only factor putting pressure on CIOs to modernize. Business models, licensing costs, and modern, highly demanding workloads are also concerns. If a CIO is working with older hardware that requires more cores to deliver the desired level of performance, IT could be looking at big increases in costs without changing anything significant in the stack. Power and cooling costs continue to rise, and aging data center infrastructure is becoming less reliable and more expensive to maintain. At the same time, demands from the business to support new workloads are growing daily. However, data centers have very little unused space or power drops for deploying additional gear to handle the increase. IT leaders will need to find ways to meet intense resource requirements without expanding their real estate footprint or consuming additional power. AMD Data centers must become far more efficient, and AMD EPYC CPUs can play a significant role in achieving these goals. 4th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs enable data centers to use fewer servers and less power to do the same amount of work when compared to the competition. For instance, the AMD EPYC 9474F CPU enables data centers to use up to 47% less power and up to a 42% reduction in software licensing cost when compared to legacy Intel Platinum 8280 CPU-based servers3. Additionally, with the savings realized from upgrading to AMD EPYC CPUs, a customer can fully recoup the cost of the hardware investment to upgrade in, approximately, two months. The older Intel servers are the type of target highly suited for replacement, given their relative inefficiency, and are often beyond the depreciation cycle. AMD The change from older servers to AMD EPYC CPU-based systems can be surprisingly simple. AMD has deep technical relationships across the server ecosystem, from OEM manufacturers and OS vendors to hypervisors and application providers. You can still buy from known and trusted suppliers. The only things CIOs might have to give up are a hefty chunk of their current power billand all of their worries about supporting the coming workload onslaught.Learn how AMD can help your organization get ready to say yes to AI: https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/server/epyc/ai.html 1 Q&A: UW researcher discusses just how much energy ChatGPT uses | UW News (washington.edu) 2International Energy Agency (IEA) report 3SP5TCO-073: As of 06/18/2024, this scenario contains many assumptions and estimates and, while based on AMD internal research and best approximations, should be considered an example for information purposes only, and not used as a basis for decision making over actual testing. The Server Refresh & Greenhouse Gas Emissions TCO (total cost of ownership) Estimator Tool compares the selected AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon CPU based server solutions required to deliver a TOTAL_PERFORMANCE of ~9020 units of VMmark3 matched pair performance based on the published scores (or estimated if indicated by an asterisk) for Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC CPU based servers. This estimation reflects a 5-year time frame.This analysis compares a 2P AMD 48 core EPYC_9474F powered server with a VMmark 3.1 score of 26.95 @ 26 tiles, compared to a 2P Intel Xeon 64 core Platinum_8592+ based server with a VMmark 3.1 score of 27.52 @ 28 tiles, versus legacy 2P Intel Xeon 28 core Platinum_8280 based server with a VMmark 3.1 score of 9.02 @ 9 tiles, Environmental impact estimates made leveraging this data, using the Country / Region specific electricity factors from the 2020 Grid Electricity Emissions Factors v1.4 September 2020, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. Results generated by: AMD EPYC Server Refresh & Greenhouse Gas Emission TCO Estimation Tool version 1.51 PRO AI regulation in the European Union is getting serious. The text of the EU AI Act was published in the Official Journal of the EU on July 12, 2024, and the set of rules around the development and use of AI tools officially entered force at the beginning of August. The measures take effect in stages: Affected companies have to follow the first rules in just six months. In the industry, AI regulation is viewed with mixed feelings. While some welcome guardrails for the correct use of AI tools, others warn of a bureaucratic monster associated with it and fear that the rules could slow down further innovation. Read the first comments on the launch of the AI Act here. Bitkom: AI Act must not become a stalemate For Ralf Wintergerst, president of German digital association Bitkom, many questions remain unanswered even after the entry into force at both national and European level. Whether Germany and Europe become innovation locations for artificial intelligence or laggards depends crucially on the further design and implementation of the AI Act. The implementation must not become a stalemate for companies: Long legal uncertainty, unclear responsibilities and complex bureaucratic processes in the implementation of the AI Act would hinder European AI innovation. The goal must be to consistently advance the use of AI both in business and administration as well as in society. This can only succeed if the implementation is carried out with little bureaucracy and in a practical manner, he said. Adobe/tete_escape The Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator have published guidance on how to give with confidence to registered charities helping people affected by the stabbings in Southport. Earlier this week, Merseyside police reported that three young girls had died as a result of injuries sustained in a knife attack in Southport on Monday morning. Following the attack, the Community Foundation for Merseyside, Sefton Council for Voluntary Service and Sefton Council launched an urgent fundraising appeal on JustGiving to support victims, survivors and their families. The charity regulators said they want to ensure that every donation reaches its intended cause, and urged the public to follow their recommended safer giving checks . We want to ensure every donation reaches its intended cause At the time of writing, the Southport Strong Together Appeal had raised over 60,000. Its fundraising page says that donations to the appeal will go directly to those who have lost loved ones or sustained physical or psychological injuries and be awarded as grants to charities providing vital support services to those affected. The Commission and Fundraising Regulator advised anyone who wants to donate to a charity in response to the attack to check its name and registration number on the charity register . They said donors should ensure a charity is genuine before giving any financial information and be careful when responding to emails or clicking on links within them. The regulators also recommended that donors look for the fundraising badge and check the Fundraising Regulators directory of organisations that are committed to fundraising in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice. David Holdsworth, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: My heart goes out to the families of the victims of this horrific attack. Their pain is unimaginable. Many Charity Commission staff are based in Merseyside, and this tragedy has deeply affected all of us who live and work here. As so often, charities are bringing people together to provide support for the victims and the wider community. That, along with the generosity of people who are showing their support by making donations, is heartening, and people can continue to give to registered, established charities knowing they are well placed to get that help to them quickly. Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, said: The attack in Southport is horrifying and devastating. In the aftermath of this tragedy, we know the British public will be eager to support those affected. We want to make sure that every donation reaches its intended cause, and one of the ways of making sure this happens is by following our recommended safer giving checks. Giving through registered charities like the Community Foundation for Merseyside appeal will ensure your donations reach their intended destination and are used for the purpose they were fundraised for. Well be taking an active role, to support those raising money for the community. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. For thirty-four minutes on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump, former president of the United States, current Republican nominee for that same office, and popularizer of the idea that the free press is the enemy of the people, held forth about his achievements in office (the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln); the purported deficiencies of his Democratic opponent, who he alleged had not passed the bar exam; and the nasty disposition of one of his interviewers at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. The audience in the packed Waldorf ballroom at the Chicago Hilton at various points gasped, sighed, and grumbled in response to the discussion taking place between Trump and three Black women interviewers. Word of the invitation for Trump to participate in a staged Q&A at the convention was divisive among the organizations ranks. Karen Attiah of the Washington Post resigned her position as a co-chair of the convention in the wake of the Trump announcement. Ken Lemon, the president of NABJ, defended the decision as an opportunity to pose tough questions to the Republican nominee in service of the audiences NABJ members serve. The organization has a tradition of inviting presidents and presidential aspirants to address the organization, but Trump had declined multiple invitations during his presidency. While in office he had also verbally attacked several Black women journalists, including April Ryan, Abby Phillip, Yamiche Alcindor, and Jemele Hill. On Wednesday he added Rachel Scott of ABC to that list, accusing her of posing her questions in a horrible and hostile manner and working for a fake news network. Scott was part of a trio of interviewers that also included Kadia Goba of Semafor and Harris Faulkner of Fox News. Trump has been in the unusual position of struggling for media attention in the eleven days since Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and Kamala Harris emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee. (Harris was also invited to address the gathering, but cited a scheduling conflict and plans to do a Zoom call with NABJ members in September.) The contentious context in which the event took place ensured, even before any of the participants walked onstage an hour late, that it would not be a typical campaign stop. Donald Trump has been a central figure in American political life for nearly a decade, yet the debate about his appearance in Chicago illustrated the extent to which the press is still grappling with the same questions that attended his emergence in 2015. Lemons defense of the Trump invitation cited the standard protocols of political journalism: pose tough questions to powerful people in the interest of the public. At the outset, Scott noted, As journalists we use opportunities like these both to inform our reporting but also to help voters understand the choices they face in a consequential and historic election year. Yet, as Roland Martin, host of Roland Martin Unfiltered and a longtime NABJ member, noted ahead of the event: Youre not dealing with a normal situationthis is not Bob Dole and Jack Kemp when they came to NABJ in Nashville in 1996. It was important, he said, to recognize when a media forum is being used as a political prop. The trade-off for this style of engagement, whether conscious or unwitting, is that a journalists ability to pose these questions to a figure of Trumps temperament and mendacity in no way correlates to the likelihood of getting serious answers. Moreover, the very pursuit of this information grants him the ability to spread great volumes of disinformation. NABJ hoped to offset this final dynamic by partnering with Politifact for a live fact-check of the event. This presented a kind of platform asymmetryTrumps misleading commentary would be articulated in public, but corrections would be issued via social media. The irony: the theme of this convention was Journalism Over Disinformation. Sign up for CJRs daily email The event, which was scheduled to start at noon, didnt begin until 1pm. Onstage, Trump blamed an unspecified problem with NABJs audio equipment for the delay. But Philip Lewis, deputy editor of the Huffington Post, tweeted during the delay that the event was being held up because Trumps people were arguing with the journalists about the terms of the real-time fact-checking. The abbreviated discussion featured direct, mostly tough questions. Scott began by asking Trump about his history of spreading false narratives about the birthplaces of Nikki Haley and Barack Obama, attacking Black journalists, and having dinner with a known white supremacist. Goba asked him about his unflagging advocacy for greater police immunity in the face of incidents like the killing of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman shot in her home by an Illinois police officer. Faulkner asked Trump what specifically he planned to do if reelected to the White House. He was asked about his running mate J.D. Vances disparaging comments about childless adults, and he was pressed on his views about abortion. En route to responding to these questions Trump falsely asserted that Vice President Kamala Harris had not identified as Black until comparatively recently and that she had not passed the bar exam before conceding that she might have qualified to practice law. (Harris was admitted to the California bar in 1990.) Trump exaggerated the level of his support for historically Black colleges and universities (they were stone-cold broke and I saved them) and reiterated the false argument that millions of undocumented migrants are driving up crime rates and taking away Black jobs. With every minute of his appearance onstage, Trump generated headlines but produced very little actual information. His articulation of his support for exceptions to abortion bans in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother was significant considering the weight reproductive rights will likely carry in the coming election. But the pursuit of this fractional portion of reportable information facilitates the spread of many more statements that will require diligent corrections, contextualization, and explanation. The event was scheduled to run for a full hour but ended abruptly after just over half the allotted time. In the ballroom after the event, Attiah pointed out the problems with this approach to covering Donald Trump: He steamrolls over this format every single time. And the lies are almost impossible to keep up with by design. Kevin Merida, the former editor of the Los Angeles Times, was present for the discussion and pointed to the need for journalists to engage with public figures: I do think its good to bring newsmakers to our convention. I think thats the right thing. But he conceded that Trump presented particular challenges that require journalists to fine-tune how we approach him. Alcindor, of NBC News, who sat near the front of the room during the event, noted that Trump had succeeded simply by walking in. Hed wrested the spotlight away from his rival, drawn attention to his presence in Chicago and her absence, and galvanized an audience, albeit not necessarily the one gathered on the second floor of the Hilton. None of this is necessarily novel. Political figures have always engaged with the press in self-interested ways. The calculation for journalists, however, is the line at which that self-interest represents an unacceptable conflict with our own professional mandates. The forum at NABJ was combative, at points ridiculous, and, in the aftermath, just as divisive as it had been beforehand. It was, in other words, exactly what we should have expected. Jelani Cobb is the dean of the Columbia Journalism School. A Colorado man who aided a former insurance claims adjuster in an auto insurance claims scheme was sentenced this week. In 2020, Brassfield, 55, of Aurora, reportedly aided former Travelers Insurance employee Colette Palin, 63, of Aurora in committing fraud. An internal company investigation by Travelers flagged several of Palins claims as suspicious, and revealed that Brassfield, a known associate of Palin, was the beneficiary of two claim checks she issued. Palin admitted she issued fraudulent payments to herself, Brassfield, and another associate, Malee Lor, 47, a former Thornton police officer. After Travelers referred the case to the Financial Fraud Unit in the Criminal Justice Section of the Colorado Department of Law, the states investigation found Palin issued 64 fraudulent payments totaling $268,530 between 2018 and 2020. Brassfield received $23,344 and Lor received $31,495. All three pleaded guilty to felony theft and insurance fraud. Brassfield was sentenced to eight years of probation, ordered to pay $23,344 in restitution and serve 80 hours of community service. Palin pleaded guilty to felony theft and fraud charges in June and is scheduled to be sentenced August 19. Lor was sentenced to 10 years of probation and 120 hours of community service. Lor will pay restitution equal to the amount stolen. Software company Pegasystems convinced a Virginia appeals court on Tuesday to throw out a $2 billion jury verdict for rival Appian in a court battle over Pegasystems alleged theft of Appians trade secrets. The award from 2022 had been the largest damages verdict in Virginia court history, the Court of Appeals of Virginia said in the decision. We are extremely pleased by todays decision throwing out an award we believe was never rational, a Pegasystems spokesperson said in a statement. An Appian spokesperson said in a statement the company would appeal the decision. McLean, Virginia-based Appian had said in a 2020 lawsuit that Pegasystems hired a contractor to steal confidential information from Appians software platform in order to improve its own products and better train its sales force. Appian said that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Pegasystems referred internally to the contractor as a spy and to its scheme as Project Crush, with Pegasystems employees using fake credentials to access Appians software. Pegasystems characterized Project Crush as competitive research in a 2022 statement. A jury in Fairfax County, Virginia state court determined in 2022 that Pegasystems misappropriated Appians trade secrets with willful and malicious intent and ordered it to pay Appian nearly $2.04 billion in damages. Pegasystems CEO said in a statement following the verdict that Appians CEO could not identify one trade secret that Pega had allegedly misappropriated during the trial. A Pegasystems attorney told the appeals court during a hearing last year that the verdict was the result of a series of cascading errors that pose a threat to trade secret law and to competition in Virginia, according to a court transcript. Judge Frank Friedman agreed on Tuesday that the trial court had committed a series of errors related to jury instructions and evidence that required a new trial. (Reporting by Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Marguerita Choy) Norfolk Southern got a boost during the second quarter from insurance payments related to last years disastrous East Palestine derailment, but it also made progress in reducing its expenses and getting more efficient. The Atlanta-based railroad said it earned $737 million, or $3.25 per share, in the quarter, but there were several unusual factors influencing the results. And last years $356 million profit, or $1.56 per share, was heavily weighed down by costs related to the derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. But CEO Alan Shaw is most proud of the $250 million in productivity and safety gains the railroad has made this year. Norfolk Southern also hauled 5% more freight during the quarter thanks to the efficiency and new business it was able to attract. Related: Insurers Seek Subrogation Against Norfolk Southern Over Ohio Train Derailment Im really encouraged by our progress and Im really confident in our future, Shaw said. We did everything we said we were going to do. The $156 million in insurance payments the railroad received as it recovered some of the more than $1.7 billion it has spent in response to the February 2023 derailment in eastern Ohio more than offset the $91 million in costs this quarter. That resulted in a $65 million net boost to earnings. Much of the derailment costs, including the $600 million class action settlement the railroad agreed to this spring, will likely eventually be covered by the railroads insurance. Further complicating the financial picture is the fact that Norfolk Southern spent $22 million in the quarter to fight back against investor Ancora Holdings campaign to take over the board and fire the railroads management. Ancoras nominees ultimately won three board seats, but not enough to take control. Related: Norfolk Southern to Pay Civil Penalty, Cleanup Costs Over 2023 Ohio Derailment Without any of those unusual factors, Norfolk Southern estimated that it would have earned $694 million, or $3.06 per share, in the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expected the railroad to report earnings per share of $2.86. Its stock rose almost 7% in after-hours after the earnings report came out. Norfolk Southern endorsed all of the recommendations the National Transportation Safety Board made in its final East Palestine report, and the railroad said it has largely addressed the safety concerns the Federal Railroad Administration raised in a report last year. But the rail industry has been lobbying against many of the proposed regulations Congress has been considering. During the proxy fight, Shaw hired a new operations chief and promised to make the railroad more efficient, though he still says he doesnt want to cut so deep that Norfolk Southern wont have the resources it needs to handle additional freight when the economy does improve. The railroad said has already parked more than 320 locomotives and pulled some 7,000 cars off its network as it moved to run fewer but longer trains to handle the same freight without as many engines or crews. Over the next two years, Norfolk Southern predicts will improve productivity by about $550 million and boost its profit margin. Already, the railroad reported improvement in every single performance metric in its quarterly report Thursday with everything from the average velocity of its cars to the amount of time trains spend in railyards getting better. Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said Norfolk Southern has been steadily improving its efficiency and put together a really solid quarter. The railroads revenue grew 2% to $3.04 billion in the quarter, in line with Wall Streets forecast. Norfolk Southern is one of the nations largest railroads operating trains across the eastern United States. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. CLEVELAND, Ohio Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee will have his next start pushed back until at least after this weekend and will not face the Orioles after experiencing tightness in his right shoulder, manager Stephen Vogt told reporters Thursday. Bibee allowed a pair of runs on seven hits over six innings in his last start in Detroit on Monday. Vogt said his shoulder tightened up after the outing and that he will not pitch until after Baltimore leaves town. We just want to make sure that were being smart, Vogt said. So were going to push him back to after the weekend. Rookie left-hander Joey Cantillo will start Saturday for Cleveland against Baltimore righty Zach Eflin. Cantillo allowed three runs on four hits, including a pair of home runs to Kyle Schwarber, in his major league debut on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Guardians went on to win that game, 4-3. bet365 BET $5, GET $150 BONUS OR $1,000 FIRST-BET SAFETY NET CLAIM OFFER Promo Code: CLEXLM GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL OR TEXT 1-800-GAMBLER (AZ, CO, IN, KY, LA, NC, NJ, OH, VA) or 1-800-BETS OFF (IA). 21+ only (18+ in KY). Must be present in AZ/CO/IA/IN/KY/LA (select parishes)/NC/NJ/OH/VA. Deposit required. Paid in Bonus Bets. Bonus Bets wager excluded from returns. New Customers only. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply. Air quality continues to be a focus this summer as ferocious wildfires burn in the West, prompting air quality alerts across Oregon and parts of California, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho and Washington. It comes a little over a month after the U.S. Supreme Court further curtailed the federal governments power to regulate certain air and water pollution types. In June, SCOTUS paused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Good Neighbor initiative, which would have restricted smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. The 6-3 conservative majority has decreased the agencys authority to fight all kinds of pollution, including a landmark ruling in 2022 preventing the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants contributing to global warming. More significantly, the court also struck down the Chevron Doctrine , a 40-year-old ruling that required judges to defer to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous laws. Judges will now be able to interpret the laws themselves, altering the balance of power between the branches of government. This all comes as record-breaking fires scorch the western states, including mega-fires in Oregon and California. As of Tuesday, there were around 89 large active wildfires nationwide, including 31 in Oregon and 10 in California and Idaho, according to the National Interagency Fire Center . The active fires cover more than 2 million acres. The Durkee Fire in Oregons Blue Mountain region is the countrys largest current wildfire and the fifth largest in state history. Since lighting ignited the fire about two weeks ago, it has burned around 300,000 acres and is more than 50% contained. The states dozens of other large wildfires are close to collectively surpassing the massive and destructive 2020 wildfire season , which burned around 1.2 million acres and thousands of homes. Californias Park Fire has burned close to 400,000 acres but was allegedly started on purpose, according to local law enforcement . That fire is around 20% contained. While current air quality data is available for all counties in the U.S., it doesnt appear in formal reports until the following year. The EPAs most recently available data shows that regions affected by wildfire smoke often have the worst air quality, although temporary. It also shows places affected by more present forms of pollution, like pesticides and diesel emissions from heavy traffic. It includes pollution types regulated under the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (PM10 and PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). It ranks using the number of days each county experienced different air quality levels, categorized as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG), Unhealthy (U), Very Unhealthy (VU) and Hazardous (H). Here are the ten counties with the worst air pollution from 2023. 10. Imperial County, California Days: 11 USG, 1 U, 2 VH, 3 H Main Issue: Pollution from Mexico and local agricultural emissions Action: Participates in cross-border air quality monitoring initiatives. 9. Inyo County, California Days: 12 USG, 2 U, 5 H Main Issue: Dust storms and wildfires Action: Studying and implementing measures to mitigate the impact of dust storms. 8. Cook County, Illinois Days: 27 USG, 7 U Main Issue: Cross-state pollution from Wisconsin, local vehicle emissions, industrial activities Action: Implementing green infrastructure projects to improve air quality. 7. Tulare County, California Days: 35 USG, 4 U Main Issue: Agricultural activities, industrial emissions, vehicle pollution. Among the worst air qualities in the nation. Action: Part of a regional effort to reduce agricultural emissions through sustainable farming practices. 6. Duchesne County, Utah Days: 22 USG, 11 U, 1 VH Main Issue: Emissions from oil and gas extraction and wildfires Action: Monitoring and regulating emissions from local industries. 5. Maricopa County, Arizona Days: 51 USG, 4 U Main Issue: Vehicle emissions, construction dust, industrial activities Action: Deploy dust control teams to reduce particulate matter from construction sites and unpaved roads. 4. Uintah County, Utah Days: 16 USG, 18 U, 3 VH Main Issue: Oil and gas extraction Action: Natural gas from local wells is used to power public transportation, reducing local air pollution. 3. San Bernardino County, California Days: 48 USG, 7 U, 1 VH Main Issue: Vehicular emissions, industrial activities and wildfires Action: Frequent Spare the Air alerts advise residents to limit outdoor activities. 2. Riverside County, California Days: 46 USG, 19 U, 2 VH, 3 H Main Issue: Traffic and industrial pollution. Pollutants are trapped due to geographical factors. The county consistently ranks among the top five worst counties in the U.S. for ozone pollution. Action: Notable for high vehicle emissions, wildfire smoke, and industrial activities. 1. Bannock County, Idaho Days: 1 USG, 31 H Main Issue: Frequent large wildfires lead to high PM2.5 particles, posing serious health risks. The regions topography traps pollutants pollutants Action: Implementing no-burn days during high pollution periods. WASHINGTON Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the mastermind of al-Qaidas Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The development points to a long-delayed resolution in an attack that killed thousands and altered the course of the United States and much of the Middle East. Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week. Defense lawyers have requested the men receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty pleas, according to letters from the federal government received by relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed outright on the morning of Sept. 11. Terry Strada, the head of one group of families of the nearly 3,000 direct victims of the 9/11 attacks, invoked the many relatives who have died while awaiting justice for the killings when she heard news of the plea agreement. They were cowards when they planned the attack, she said of the defendants. And theyre cowards today. Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the full terms of the plea bargains. The U.S. agreement with the men comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaidas attack. It comes more than 20 years after militants commandeered four commercial airliners to use as fuel-filled missiles, flying three of them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Al-Qaida hijackers headed the fourth plane to Washington. But crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit, and the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The attack triggered what President George W. Bushs administration called its war on terror, prompting the U.S. military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and years of U.S. operations against armed extremist groups elsewhere in the Middle East. The attack and U.S. retaliation brought the overthrow of two governments outright, devastated communities and countries caught in the battle, and played a role in inspiring the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprisings against authoritarian Middle East governments. At home, the attacks inspired a sharply more militaristic and nationalist turn to American society and culture. U.S. authorities point to Mohammed as the source of the idea to use planes as weapons. He allegedly received approval from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to craft what became the 9/11 hijackings and killings. U.S. forces killed bin Laden in 2011. Authorities captured Mohammed in 2003. Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding 183 times while in CIA custody before coming to Guantanamo, along with other torture and coercive questioning. The use of torture has proven one of the most formidable obstacles in U.S. efforts to try the men in the military commission at Guantanamo, owing to the inadmissibility of evidence linked to abuse. Torture has accounted for much of the delay of the proceedings, along with the courtrooms location a plane ride away from the United States. Daphne Eviatar, a director at the Amnesty International USA rights group, said Wednesday she welcomed news of some accountability in the attacks. She urged the Biden administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which holds people taken into custody in the so-called war on terror. Many have since been cleared, but are awaiting approval to leave for other countries. Additionally, Eviatar said, the Biden administration must also take all necessary measures to ensure that a program of state-sanctioned enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment will never be perpetrated by the United States again. Strada, national chairperson of a group of families of victims called 9/11 Families United, had been at Manhattan federal court for a hearing on one of many civil lawsuits when she heard news of the plea agreement. Strada said many families have just wanted to see the men admit guilt. For me personally, I wanted to see a trial, she said. And they just took away the justice I was expecting, a trial and the punishment. Michael Burke, one of the family members receiving the government notice of the plea bargain, condemned the long wait for justice, and the outcome. It took months or a year at the Nuremberg trials, said Burke, whose fire captain brother Billy died in the collapse of the World Trade Centers North Tower. To me, it always been disgraceful that these guys, 23 years later, have not been convicted and punished for their attacks or the crime. I never understood how it took so long. I think people would be shocked if you could go back in time and tell the people who just watched the towers go down, Oh, hey, in 23 years, these guys who are responsible for this crime we just witnessed are going to be getting plea deals so they can avoid death and serve life in prison, he said. Burkes brother, New York City fire captain Billy Burke, ordered his men out but remained on the 27th floor of the North Tower with two men whod stayed behind: a quadriplegic who, because the elevators had gone out, was essentially stuck there in his wheelchair and that mans friend. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The fight against impunity must continue in Guinea, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday, welcoming the long-awaited verdict in the trial into the 2009 massacre at a stadium in the capital, Conakry RAWANews, July 30, 2024 Reports of the Taliban abducting young girls in various parts of Afghanistan frequently appear on social media and local Afghan media. Taliban fighters arrest these girls under various pretexts and then subject them to sexual abuse and rape. Due to the sensitivity of the issue and the stigma it brings to families, these incidents often go unreported. The body of a 16-year-old girl from Shirin Tagab district in Faryab province has been widely circulated on social media. This girl was first gang-raped by a group of Taliban and then murdered. The body of a 16-year-old girl from Shirin Tagab district in Faryab province has been widely circulated on social media. This girl was first gang-raped by a group of Taliban and then murdered. The most recent case that received widespread media attention is the abduction of a 19-year-old girl named Tahira in the Panjab district of Bamiyan province. This girl, who owned a tailor shop in the center of Panjab district, was forcibly taken by the Taliban while returning home and was thrown into a military vehicle. It is said that she was held by the Taliban for three days, during which she was sexually assaulted. She was released in the city of Bamiyan after protests and efforts by the local people. Tahira filed an official complaint against the Taliban, but no one came to her aid. (An image of her complaint form was circulated in the media.) Tahira, forced by circumstance, went back to her home in Tagab Berg village, Panjab district, and word quickly got around. Sadly, she was killed at her house on the night of July 27, 2024. There are different accounts of her deathsome claim she took her own life, while others suggest the Taliban broke into her home and killed her to hide their wrongdoing. Local sources said that Tahira was 19 years old, had studied up to the ninth grade, and had turned to tailoring due to her family's economic problems. Several other reports of suicides of young girls in different parts of Afghanistan have been released in recent days. However, Tahira's death is one of the rare cases that has been reflected in more detail in the domestic media. The abduction and mistreatment of girls by the Taliban have deeply worried Afghan families. This crime by the Taliban leads more families to prevent their daughters from leaving the house, which adds to the suffering of the girls. BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for modernizing the country's border, coastal and air defense to make it strong and solid as he chaired a leadership group study session prior to the country's Army Day, which falls on Aug. 1. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at the study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Tuesday. Xi extended Army Day greetings to all service personnel, as well as the members of the militia and reserve forces, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC. Huang Jizhong from the CMC's Joint Staff Department elaborated on issues concerning the building of modern border, coastal and air defense systems and put forward suggestions. Members of the Political Bureau then had a discussion. After hearing the briefing and discussion, Xi made an important speech. He said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has spearheaded a raft of major institutional reforms and led a series of key border, air and sea defense actions. These efforts have vigorously safeguarded China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as upheld the strategic initiative of national security and development, Xi said. However, he noted that China's border, coastal and air defense is faced with new opportunities and new challenges, and stressed the need to strengthen overall planning to enhance the border defense capability. Xi called for intensified efforts to boost infrastructure connectivity and joint development to forge a border, coastal, and air defense that is conducive to both national security and economic and social development. Xi also said greater emphasis must be placed on integrating science and technology into national defense efforts, and urged more efforts to enhance friendly and practical cooperation with neighboring countries to foster a conducive environment for China's defense development. The Chinese leader also underlined the importance of improving air traffic management, boosting the sound growth of the low-altitude economy, and optimizing the civil air defense model. George Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive officer of Crowdstrike Holdings Inc., during a Bloomberg Technology television interview at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. CrowdStrike has been sued by shareholders who said the cybersecurity company defrauded them by concealing how its inadequate software testing could cause the July 19 global outage that crashed more than 8 million computers. In a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night in the Austin, Texas federal court, shareholders said they learned that CrowdStrike's assurances about its technology were materially false and misleading when a flawed software update disrupted airlines, banks, hospitals and emergency lines around the world. They said CrowdStrike's share price fell 32% over the next 12 days, wiping out $25 billion of market value, as the outage's effects became known, Chief Executive George Kurtz was called to testify to the U.S. Congress, and Delta Air Line s reportedly hired prominent lawyer David Boies to seek damages. The complaint cites statements including from a March 5 conference call where Kurtz characterized CrowdStrike's software as "validated, tested and certified." In a statement on Wednesday, Austin-based CrowdStrike said: "We believe this case lacks merit and we will vigorously defend the company," Kurtz and Chief Financial Officer Burt Podbere are also defendants. The lawsuit led by the Plymouth County Retirement Association of Plymouth, Massachusetts, seeks unspecified damages for holders of CrowdStrike Class A shares between Nov. 29, 2023 and July 29, 2024. Shareholders often sue companies after unexpected negative news causes stock prices to fall, and CrowdStrike could face more lawsuits. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian told CNBC on Wednesday that the outage cost his airline $500 million, including lost revenue and compensation and hotels for stranded fliers. CrowdStrike shares closed on Wednesday down $1.69 at $231.96. They closed at $343.05 on the day before the outage. The case is Plymouth County Retirement Association v CrowdStrike Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-00857. Apple's fiscal third-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday mark the next big test for a market struggling to recover from a recent tech wreck. Analysts forecast earnings to come in at $1.35 per share, and revenue to hit $84.53 billion for the period, per LSEG. iPhone sales are expected to reach $38.64 billion and decline more than 2% year over year as the company grapples with a stretch of stagnant growth. AAPL YTD mountain Shares performance this year That makes guidance the most critical component of Apple's print, especially as it readies for what some analysts are calling the most significant upgrade cycles in years this September, driven by new artificial intelligence features dubbed Apple Intelligence. "We expect iPhone commentary to be the key catalyst this quarter with bullish statements about iPhone 16 expectations and continued stability in China likely to drive shares higher," said Evercore ISI's Amit Daryanani, who has an outperform rating. "We think the AI features coupled with a sizable portion of the base up for refresh should drive an iPhone Super Cycle in the Dec-qtr and through FY25." Barclays analyst Tim Long, who has a neutral rating on Apple, referred to the September guide as the "main event" that should determine share performance. He lifted his estimates for the September quarter but retained a neutral rating on shares given the stock's recent run. Long also echoed concerns the new iPhone won't be enough to fuel a "meaningful" upgrade cycle to support the premium. "We believe the stock has already run in anticipation of iPhones bottoming and the upcoming ramp of AI features," he wrote. AI-fueled upgrade cycle Apple's September quarter is expected to include about a week of new iPhone sales. This should enable iPhone revenues to return to growth, said Evercore ISI's Daryanani. The delayed launch of the new AI features should also extend in this cycle, some analysts say. That push-out could bode well for the stock and create a period of "sustained growth" versus a strong cycle and "digestion" period, said Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi. Several Wall Street analysts have boosted their price targets in recent weeks, citing AI tailwinds. JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee upped his target to $265 from $245 and placed a positive catalyst watch on shares. The revision reflects roughly 19% upside from Wednesday's close. Revenue upside from this opportunity should fuel revisions to full-year earnings and "ease investor concerns around a premium valuation multiple," he added. Baird's William Power upped his target to $240 from $200 a share, reflecting 8% upside from Wednesday's close. He estimates that every additional 10 million iPhone units could contribute $9 billion in revenue, or 12 cents to 2025 earnings per share estimates. "Following years of slowing upgrade rates, including new lows for AT & T and Verizon this week, we believe Apple Intelligence could provide a much-needed upgrade catalyst, boosting revenue and EPS growth meaningfully," he wrote in a recent note to clients. Wall Street will also keep a close watch on China sales following an 8% decline during the second quarter. Analysts warn that ongoing share losses in China to Huawei could hurt iPhone revenues. "While Greater China sales remain sluggish, mainland China iPhone sales have been stronger than expected and we are encouraged by iPhone demand picking up in emerging markets," said Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri. A test tube is seen in front of displayed Biogen logo in this illustration taken on, December 1, 2021. Biogen on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and hiked its full-year guidance, as the company's cost cuts showed progress and sales of its breakthrough Alzheimer's drug, Leqembi, and other new products beat expectations. Biogen now expects full-year adjusted earnings to come in at $15.75 to $16.25 per share, up from a previous forecast of $15 to $16 per share. The biotech company also expects 2024 sales to decline by a low-single-digit percentage. Biogen's previous outlook was a low- to mid-single-digit percentage decrease from last year. Leqembi, which Biogen shares with Eisai, became the second drug proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer's to win approval in the U.S. last summer. The therapy's launch has been gradual due to bottlenecks related to diagnostic test requirements and regular brain scans, among other issues. But uptake of Leqembi appears to be picking up, with roughly $40 million in sales for the quarter. That's above the $31 million analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount. The drug posted just $10 million in sales last year following its launch. Biogen did not disclose how many patients are currently on Leqembi. The company in May said roughly 5,000 people were taking the drug. Still, Leqembi faces hurdles in Europe, where a drug regulator recommended against approving the treatment due to its risk of brain swelling and bleeding. Biogen was "quite surprised and rather perplexed" by the decision and will seek a reexamination of it, the company's CEO Chris Viehbacher told reporters on a press call Thursday. Biogen hopes Leqembi and other new products will drive growth as it reduces costs and grapples with plunging demand for its multiple sclerosis therapies, some of which face competition from cheaper generics. "I can say today that all of the launches are in line with or ahead of expectations," he said. The company is on track to achieve roughly $1 billion in gross cost savings, or $800 million in net savings, by the end of 2025, according to Viehbacher. Viehbacher added that "while you can see a significant decline in our operating expenses, we have at the same time, been able to invest massively in our new product launches and in those research and development projects that we think are the most important." Here's what Biogen reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: $5.28 adjusted vs. $4.03 expected $5.28 adjusted vs. $4.03 expected Revenue: $2.47 billion vs. $2.38 billion expected Biogen booked sales of $2.47 billion for the quarter, which is roughly flat from the year-earlier period. The drugmaker posted net income of $583.6 million, or $4 per share, for the second quarter. That compares with net income of $591.6 million, or $4.07 per share, for the same period a year ago. Adjusting for one-time items, the company reported earnings of $5.28 per share. Investors are closely watching other newly launched drugs apart from Leqembi. That includes Skyclarys, which came from Biogen's acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals in July 2023. The treatment booked $100 million in sales for the second quarter. Analysts had expected the drug to take in $92.3 million for the quarter, according to StreetAccount. The Food and Drug Administration greenlit Skyclarys last year, making it the first approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can impair walking and coordination in children as young as 5. As tensions escalate in the Middle East , investors should consider adding gold and oil as a hedge. "A wider regional war could affect oil supplies, which would likely lead to quick price spikes. Gold, meanwhile, should serve its role as a more conservative asset," UBS analysts led by Tilmann Kolb told clients in a Wednesday note. Israel and Iran appear on the verge of a direct conflict after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this week. Iran has vowed to retaliate, with sources telling The New York Times that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel. Days prior, a rocket launched from Lebanon killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah and launched a strike in Beirut that killed one of the militia's senior commanders, Fuad Shukr. "We do not believe anyone has a clear interest at the moment to broaden the war, but the risk of any retaliation or miscalculations triggering a wider military conflict is high," the UBS analysts wrote. Gold has risen since the Beirut strike, "underlining its risk hedge characteristics," the analysts said. High demand from banks and a likely uptick in demand when the Federal Reserve lowers rates should also push gold prices higher, they said. This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here . Rate cut on horizon The Federal Reserve expectedly kept its benchmark rate steady at 5.25% to 5.50% on Wednesday, but Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the U.S. central bank could cut the rate in its September meeting. The Fed's overnight borrowing rate, currently at its highest in 23 years, has held steady over the past year but is widely expected to come down this year as inflation begins to ease. U.S. stocks rally U.S. stocks jumped after Powell said a rate cut in September was "on the table." The S&P 500 closed 1.58% higher, the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.64%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.24%. Nvidia soared 12.8%, its best one-day performance since Feb. 22, after better-than-expected results from rival Advanced Micro Devices brought chip bulls back. Boeing added 2% even as it reported a bigger loss and weaker revenue than what analysts had expected and named a new CEO. Treasury yields fell after the Fed announcement while gold rose. Meta shines Meta beat expectations as second-quarter revenue grew 22% to $39.07 billion while net income jumped 73% to $13.47 billion, boosted by higher advertising on Facebook and Instagram. The results come a week after Alphabet reported an 11% increase in Google ad sales. Meta expects "significant capital expenditures growth in 2025 as we invest to support our artificial intelligence research and product development efforts." The stock rose 7% in after hours trading. Oil gains U.S. crude oil futures rose 4% on Wednesday after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. Iran accused Israel of the killing, which comes a day after Israel said it had eliminated a senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut. Oil also got a boost from declining U.S. oil and gas stockpiles, a positive sign for demand. The West Texas Intermediate September contract last traded at was last trading at $78.63 per barrel. Japan currency intervention Japanese authorities spent 5.53 trillion yen, or $36.8 billion, to support the yen in July, official data showed. The size of the intervention was nearly in line with estimates and came after several warnings from authorities against heightened volatility in forex markets. The yen fell to a 38-year low against the U.S. dollar in early July. [PRO] Rate cut beneficiaries CNBC Pro screened for stocks in the S&P 500 that tend to rise the most when short-term rates start to decline. These names could surge if rates decline in the near future. Crude oil futures fell 2% on Thursday, as anxiety about the U.S. economy overshadowed red-hot tensions in the Middle East. The manufacturing sector contracted in July for a fourth consecutive month and jobless claims surged last week, renewing fears that the U.S. economy could tip into a recession. Here are Thursday's closing energy prices: Oil prices had rallied Wednesday after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran heightened the risk of a regional war in the Middle East. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to the killing of Haniyeh, three Iranian officials told The New York Times. Khamenei ordered the direct strike at an emergency meeting of Iran's national security council Wednesday morning after the Hamas leader was assassinated, the officials told the Times. Top Iranian officials are scheduled to meet Thursday with representatives of Yemen's Houthis, Lebanon's Hezbollah and militant groups in Iraq, five sources told Reuters. "The assassination of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh overnight in Tehran moves this conflict appreciably up the escalatory ladder and edges the region closer to a wider war," Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told clients in a note Wednesday. Iran and Israel traded direct strikes in April, pushing oil prices to the highest point of the year, but the enemies ultimately pulled back from a full-scale war. "At the time of writing, we are not certain whether the same containment dynamics will prevail, especially given that this current chapter involves Hamas, Hezbollah, as well as Iran," Croft wrote. "At a minimum, the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks appear to be severely imperiled," she said. An Eli Lilly & Co. Zepbound injection pen arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Eli Lilly 's weight loss drug Zepbound showed benefits in patients with a common type of heart failure and obesity, according to late-stage trial data the company released Thursday. The findings add to mounting evidence that Zepbound and other popular GLP-1 drugs have health benefits beyond promoting weight loss and regulating blood sugar, which could potentially lead to broader insurance coverage for those treatments. Eli Lilly said it plans to submit the results from the phase three trial to regulators in the U.S. and other agencies starting later this year. Shares of Eli Lilly closed more than 3% higher Thursday. Patients who took Zepbound were 38% less likely to be hospitalized or die because of heart complications, and less likely to need to increase their heart failure medication compared with those who received a placebo, the study found. Zepbound also significantly improved heart failure symptoms and physical limitations, Eli Lilly said in a release. For a median of two years, the trial followed more than 700 patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, and obesity. Some patients also had diabetes. HFpEF refers to when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Eli Lilly said the condition is linked to a "high burden" of symptoms and physical limitations that affect a patient's daily life, including fatigue, shortness of breath and a lower ability to exercise, among other issues. Roughly 6.7 million adults ages 20 and above have heart failure in the U.S., according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eli Lilly estimates that HFpEF accounts for almost half of all heart failure cases, and in the U.S., nearly 60% of patients impacted also have obesity. Musk later said on X that Lemon's approach "was basically just 'CNN, but on social media,' which doesn't work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying." "We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently," Lemon said of Musk when he announced that the partnership had fallen apart. The deal to host "The Don Lemon Show" on X was scrapped in March, shortly after the taping of its premiere episode, a one-on-one interview with Musk. Lemon had "incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses" in preparing for the show, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit alleges that Musk who bought Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and later renamed it X used news of a partnership with Lemon to boost the media company's profile, then reneged on the deal without compensating him. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon sued Elon Musk on Thursday, accusing him of making false promises to entice the journalist into a canceled deal to host a show on the billionaire's social media platform. Thursday's lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court alleges that Musk and his co-defendants "deliberately misrepresented what they intended to do." If they "accurately represented" that their plan was to use Lemon to "rehabilitate Defendants reputation and draw in advertisers to the X platform," Lemon would never have agreed to it, the suit says. Lemon accuses Musk and X of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of name and likeness, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. He is seeking damages and other relief. Lemon's attorney, Carney Shegerian, in a statement Thursday said that X's executives "used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don's name through the mud." "You don't have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here," Shegerian said. "Don's a hard-hitting journalist who's committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court." Lemon was fired from CNN in April 2023, following a sexist on-air remark about then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley and a Variety report about his behavior behind the scenes during his 17 years at the network. Lemon's spokesperson at the time said that report was "riddled with patently false anecdotes" and old gossip. The 29-page lawsuit says Lemon, after leaving CNN, was a "top prospect" for Musk and X, who were looking for "reputable figures" to help in the struggle to keep advertisers on the platform. "A gay, Black man with an excellent reputation and a household name, [Lemon] was the perfect candidate to partner with to aid their dying advertisement revenue," the lawsuit alleged. Lemon in mid-December met with X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Brett Weitz, another X executive, at a New York City restaurant, to discuss a potential exclusive partnership. They assured Lemon that he would have "full authority over his work," and later promised "a revival of his career," the lawsuit says. "You're set up for a lot of $$ this year," Weitz allegedly told Lemon in a Dec. 30, 2023, text. The lawsuit does not say Lemon signed a contract, but alleges that the defendants agreed to pay him $1.5 million, plus other financial perks, for a one-year deal. The suit alleges Lemon was "rushed" into agreeing to the partnership, in part because he was told that the offer would be withdrawn unless he attended the CES Conference in Las Vegas and publicly announce the partnership on the same day. Within one day of Musk's March 8 interview with Lemon, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO texted the host's agent that Lemon's "contract is cancelled," the lawsuit alleges. Weitz then allegedly told Lemon that he would not be paid "because there was no signed agreement, despite Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to 'fill out paperwork.'" "To this day, Defendants have not compensated Lemon pursuant to the exclusive partnership deal that Defendants induced Lemon to enter into," the lawsuit says. Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked legislation that would have expanded the child tax credit, a key tax break for millions of families. Despite strong bipartisan support for the House bill passed in January, the legislation met resistance from Senate Republicans. Thursday's procedural vote was not expected to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to move forward. However, Senate Democrats forced the vote to show election-year positions. "Today's a good opportunity for both sides to show we back up good talk with strong action," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said from the Senate floor before the vote. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, in a statement described Thursday's vote as a "blatant attempt to score political points." He said Senate Republicans have concerns about the policy, but are willing to negotiate a "child tax credit solution that a majority of Republicans can support." More from Personal Finance: Harris: 'Building up' middle class is a defining goal. Here's how she may do it Working remotely from a cruise ship? Here's why the IRS still expects taxes The Fed sets the stage for a rate cut. What that means for your money Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucus with Democrats, also voted against the measure. "That is a vote against giving families with children a tax cut, against reducing child poverty, against lowering rents, against fiscal responsibility and against bipartisanship," National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said in a statement. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will "continue to fight for an expanded child tax credit," she added. If enacted, the bill would have improved access to the child tax credit and retroactively boosted the refundable portion for 2023, which could have triggered refund checks from the IRS. Roughly 16 million children would have benefited during the first year of the proposed child tax credit expansion, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Eligible families could have seen an average tax cut of $680 for 2023 taxes, based on estimates from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. "It's a sad day for these 16 million kids," especially after the support from House Republicans, said Chuck Marr, vice president for federal tax policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But expanding the child tax credit is still a "top priority for Democrats," particularly as the 2025 tax cliff approaches, he said. An employee stands by a logo for Glencore Agriculture in Glencore Plc's offices in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Glencore's former head of oil Alex Beard has been charged with bribery offences relating to the Swiss commodity trader's operations in Africa, Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Thursday. Beard, 56, is charged with two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, the SFO said. He is one of five ex-Glencore employees charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments and is the most high-profile commodity trader to have been charged in Britain for alleged corruption. Beard joined Glencore in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and became head of oil in 2007, a position he held until he retired in 2019. Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga and Martin Wakefield have also been charged, relating to Glencore's operations in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. Gibson and Wakefield are also charged with conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011. All five are due to appear at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on Sept. 10. A Glencore spokesperson said the company noted the charges and had "cooperated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022". "This (alleged) conduct has no place in Glencore and we are committed to acting ethically and responsibly across all aspects of our business and have taken significant action towards building a best-in-class ethics and compliance programme," the spokesperson said. Neither the individuals charged nor their representatives could immediately be reached for comment. SFO Director Nick Ephgrave said in a statement: "Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. "Today's action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account." Goldman Sachs added four new stocks to its conviction list going into August for equity investors looking to capitalize on the bull market. Introduced in June, Goldman's new "Conviction List Directors' Cut" curates 20 to 25 of the firm's most differentiated fundamental buy-rated ideas across its U.S. stock coverage. Dollar General , Philip Morris International , S & P Global and Woodward were the newest additions to the Wall Street firm's coveted stock list. For Dollar General, Goldman analysts believe the worries around low-income consumer discretionary spend and competition are overdone. Meanwhile, Goldman said the market is underappreciating the growth opportunity for Philip Morris as the company innovates around its smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes. Dollar General shares have fallen more than 11% since the start of the year, but Philip Morris stock has been gaining momentum and is up more than 22% in 2024, with a 14% jump over the past month. Goldman also said S & P Global is "well-positioned" to continue to benefit from a strong debt issuance business, while Woodward is expected to deliver more products to plants under a relatively new management team, the firm said. Both S & P Global and Woodward have recorded solid gains so far this year, rising 11% and nearly 17%, respectively. The conviction list also included Royal Caribbean , Ally Financial , Citigroup, Amazon and Nvidia . Alexa Graham had long dabbled in video editing for fun, whether it was cutting One Direction clips together or creating movie trailer-style Marvel videos. Her fan content creation was just a hobby, until one Marvel TikTok edit landed her a job. Graham, 26, had been working as a student advisor at Westcliff University in Irvine, California, when she first posted the video complete with dramatic fade-ins, carefully timed action sequences and the constant echo of Kendrick Lamar's "DNA." in the background. "This edit took 20ish hours so if you could take a second to watch I'd really appreciate it," Graham said at the beginning of the 2021 TikTok. As of July 2024, the edit has 2.5 million views with just over 400,000 likes. It was because of that edit, and the attention it received, that Graham was offered a job as a contractor for New Rockstars in 2021, a YouTube channel that focuses on Marvel, among other franchises. Graham called the start of her professional editing career "a gift from God." "I was too scared to pursue film school or leave my job to try and get into editing," Graham tells CNBC Make It. "So, He's like, 'Here, I'm going to hand it to you on silver platter.'" Graham has secured other editing roles since then, but she's not the only person who's pivoted her fan-driven hobby into full-time work. Emily Levine is the executive vice president of recruiting firm Career Group Companies, where she has recruited for clients in New York and Los Angeles. Even with the rise of artificial intelligence, "it's really hard to compete with the creative aspect of someone's mind," she says, which actually gives job seekers an advantage. "I think if somebody is a really good editor or really good content creator, digital marketer, those are people's ideas versus math, versus writing a simple paragraph with ChatGPT," Levine says. "People have the ability to be storytellers and I think that goes hand in hand with the fandom and sharing a perspective or a story." Levine says those skills are "super transferrable" and can be applied to multiple industries. Here are three pieces of advice for folks looking to transform their fan skills into professional assets. Own your interests Cailey Merulla, 23, is aware of how people view fans, but rather than shying away from her interests, she places them front and center. Her LinkedIn page is a melange of posts related to her work at an ad agency, her YouTube channel, which chronicles moments in her K-pop fan journey, and her work as social media editor for EnVi Media, a "fan-project turned media company." Her YouTube channel is what helped her secure a job at Impactable B2B Ad Agency, where she is now the head of the content. When she applied, she included a video that did well, just as an example of skills she could transfer, Merulla says. But recruiters went through the rest of her channel. Merulla's YouTube channel, which showcases her life as a K-pop fan, helped her secure a job at her current company, as she highlighted transferrable skills applicable to her role. Photo: Cailey Merulla "They said that they watched a couple other videos on my channel," Merulla says. "They found that I had the skills, but they also learned my personality and they liked that I had passion for something outside of that, but I can still transfer it to what I'm doing professionally." If you're worried that your experience as a fan might be met with skepticism during an interview, Levine suggests calling out those potential doubts early on. Once you've acknowledged that there might be preconceived notions about being a fan, you can start highlighting all the tangible skills you've gained. Levine has worked with folks who are switching careers to something that seems completely unrelated, like going from nannying to becoming an executive assistant. She told them they can say something like, "I know that some people may feel this way about this profession. I really want to take the time to highlight not only what I learned but the recognition I'm getting from it so far." That kind of preface signals to recruiters "that you have that self-awareness and that you're able to relate to them," she adds, after which you can explain the benefits of that experience and underscore the positives. Highlight results Davonna Gilpin, 32, never thought the work she did as a fan could ever translate to a job. As a fan of boy bands and K-pop groups, like NLT and Wonder Girls, she spent years planning fan events, organizing Myspace campaigns and bolstering trends on a very nascent Twitter, now known as X. But when she started her career in insurance in 2016, she dialed back her work as a fan. As Gilpin volunteered her time outside of the job she described as making her feel "so miserable" to help record labels track fan engagement, one of her friends told her that people are paid to do that sort of work. "I was like, 'Wait, what?'" Gilpin says. She quit her insurance job and began to consider social media marketing as a possible career. After freelancing, she went on to land jobs at creative agencies, where she has since managed the social media strategy for clients like Amazon Music and Levi's. Gilpin, who is also deputy editor at EnVi Media, credits her unique perspective as a fan to her success, but she also recommends folks drive home that experience with quantitative results. Don't rattle off that type of data in an interview, Levine says, but instead list those metrics on a resume or within your portfolio. Gilpin suggests tracking in-app insights for platforms like X and Instagram to understand who's viewed your posts and the rate of engagement. "Numbers are always going to be your best friend," Gilpin says. "So, if you have a social media account that has 10,000 followers, make sure you note that you grew that account from scratch to 10,000 followers." In an interview, Levine says it's a good idea to have work samples ready to go, just in case you have time to walk the recruiter through examples of your experience. Emphasize your professionalism Blog Archive: Oct 2024 (45) Sep 2024 (149) Aug 2024 (155) Jul 2024 (155) Jun 2024 (150) May 2024 (153) Apr 2024 (149) Mar 2024 (155) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (156) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hold party flags as they celebrate Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on June 9, 2024. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images There is an "internal battle" happening within India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over inviting Chinese investments, as the country strives to become Asia's manufacturing powerhouse, Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis said. In the country's annual economic survey released last week, India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran proposed promoting foreign direct investments from China as a better option than increasing trade activity between the two countries. He reports to the finance minister. This proposal was shot down by Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday who said that there was "no rethinking at present" on allowing Chinese investments into India, Reuters reported. "Nobody wants to put up with the consequences in terms of how this will affect the BJP's image. Indians will not like this policy, but Modi and his finance ministry realized that this is needed," Garcia-Herrero told CNBC in an interview. CNBC did not immediately receive a response from the BJP on whether there was an internal strife within the party on the issue. The world's fastest growing economy aims to attract $100 billion in FDI annually over the next five years, Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, told Bloomberg in June. It received $70.95 billion of FDI inflows in financial year 2024. Subscribe now Get a weekly roundup of news from India in your inbox every Thursday. Experts told CNBC that Chinese investments are needed in India's solar panel and battery manufacturing sectors two areas that a report, citing Indian government sources last week, mentioned could see easing restrictions on Chinese investments. "U.S. and Europe are a little bit hesitant to invest in India's manufacturing sector, most of the foreign investments have gone to the ICT [Information and Communication Technologies] sector, such as digital services," Herrero said. Harsh V. Pant, vice president for studies and foreign policy at New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation, shared a similar stance, saying that India needs to be "plugged into Chinese supply chains" if it wants to meet its aspirations to become Asia's manufacturing hub. However, he added that this is not just an economic issue, especially since the Asian giants have been at loggerheads on the Himalayan border issue. Armoured vehicles of the Indian army at a military camp in Eastern Ladakh on May 19, 2024. Tauseef Mustafa | Afp | Getty Images "From an economic point of view, you need Chinese investments in certain sectors and a perfectly logical argument can be made. But the government of India is going to take a whole approach where national security and geopolitical dimensions are going to come into the calculus." Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, India's Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said relations with China were "not good [and] not normal right now." In June 2020, 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in a faceoff in the western Himalayas. Although no shots were fired, this was the biggest loss of life in combat between the two countries since 1967. India increased scrutiny on Chinese investments into the country, and also blocked several Chinese mobile apps including TikTok following the incident. Sectors in focus India aims to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50% of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030. But generation of solar power the country's largest source of renewables totaled just 113 terawatt-hours (TWh) last year, compared to 584 TWh in China, and 238 TWh in the U.S., according to energy think-tank Ember. "India really can't afford missing on Chinese investment for manufacturing. It's trade deficit with China has increased enormously last year, mainly because of green tech," said Herrero said, adding that China also has the lowest, most effective and least costly production of green technology. India has little choice but to rely on China to enhance its renewables sector, choosing to improve domestic production through more Chinese investments would be a better choice rather than to increase imports, Herrero said. "At least there will be more money to create jobs." An employee walking past solar panels at an Adani Group factory in Mundra on Jan. 11, 2024. Punit Paranjpe | Afp | Getty Images A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on March 4, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel's military on Thursday said it killed the chief of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July. "We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated," the Israel Defense Forces posted on their official X account. The military said it spent weeks trying to confirm whether Deif, the target of the strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, was killed in the blast, while Hamas denied his death. Hamas did not immediately comment on Thursday's IDF announcement when contacted by CNBC. Israel says that Deif and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' top leader in the Gaza Strip, were the chief planners of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took a further 253 hostage. Around 116 of those captives have since been freed. The October attack set off the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, now in its 10th month, and the Israeli military offensive in Gaza that local authorities say has killed more than 39,000 people there. The Israeli military said that the strike that killed Deif took place on July 13 and hit a compound on the outskirts of Khan Younis, near a tent encampment for displaced Palestinians. More than 90 people were killed in the strike, many of whom were living in the tents, Gaza health authorities said at the time. The IDF announcement comes just one day after the killing of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in a strike on Tehran, Iran. Hamas and Iran say this was carried out by Israel, while the Jewish state has declined to comment on Haniyeh's death. Haniyeh's death was preceded by an Israeli strike on southern Beirut just hours earlier that the IDF said killed Fuad Shukr, a senior leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah who had directed and been involved in numerous terror attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets. The triple deaths of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders announced over barely three days mark a severe blow to Hamas, but also a serious blow to any hopes of a cease-fire in the near term, regional analysts say. Melinda French Gates' three children grew up in one of the world's wealthiest families. Not wanting to raise entitled kids, their parents worked to give them something resembling a "middle-class" upbringing, French Gates says. "I think it was much more of an upbringing like I grew up in: a very middle-class household where money did dictate whether I got an extra pair of shoes that year or not, right? And I thought that was a good principle to have," French Gates told The New York Times on Sunday. The billionaire philanthropist grew up in Dallas, one of four children to an aerospace engineer and a homemaker. She married Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1994, and the couple raised their three children together before getting divorced in 2021. In the interview, French Gates was asked how wealthy parents can possibly "ground kids" meaning raising them to be well-adjusted and not entitled. Her answer was simple, and relatable to parents across the country: allowances. "First of all, they had an allowance, so we absolutely did not just buy them things," French Gates said. "And they either had to buy [something] with their allowance or put it on their wish list, that maybe they'd get it from their grandparents or us on their birthday or Christmas." The Gates children, who are now all in their 20s, were also encouraged to save at least one-third of their allowances for donations to charity, which their parents would match, French Gates told Time in 2014. French Gates was frank with her children about how coming from a family with a lot of money could isolate them from their peers: She warned them to never boast about extravagant trips, as if that sort of thing was typical for everyone, she said. She never wanted to raise the sort of wealthy kids who'd see their family's name on a building and believe they were entitled to special treatment, she added. "You know what?" French Gates told The New York Times. "I went to school with some of those kids at Duke University, and I vowed to myself that if I ever had resources at my disposal, those were not the kind of children I wanted to raise." Whether their families are wealthy or not, children who earn an allowance or get a job learn how to work for what they want, and the importance of managing their own finances, according to wealth advisor and author Coventry Edwards-Pitt. Mark Cuban, another billionaire parent, agrees. The serial entrepreneur and investor's three children grew up with a mandate that they'd have to get a job and earn money to buy the things they wanted, Cuban told Steve Harvey during a 2020 episode of "STEVE on Watch." "I tell them: After your health, my No. 1 thing for you all is, I don't want you to be entitled jerks," said Cuban, adding: "I'm not going to write you checks. You don't just get a credit card. You can't just buy whatever you want." If you avoid simply giving your kids everything they want, you can more effectively help train their future work ethic, psychotherapist Amy Morin told CNBC Make It last year. Children who grow up to become highly successful adults typically learn early that "if they want to succeed, it may not come naturally," Morin said. Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," which features Mark Cuban as a panelist. Want to stop worrying about money? Sign up for CNBC's new online course Achieve Financial Wellness: Be Happier, Wealthier & More Financially Secure. We'll teach you the psychology of money, how to manage your stress and create healthy habits, and simple ways to boost your savings, get out of debt and invest for the future. Start today and use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off through September 2, 2024. The Moderna Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Moderna on Thursday reported second-quarter revenue that beat expectations but slashed its full-year sales guidance, citing lower expected sales in Europe, a "competitive environment" for respiratory vaccines in the U.S. and the potential for deferred international revenue into 2025. The biotech company now expects 2024 product revenue to come in between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, down from previous guidance of $4 billion. Shares of the company closed more than 20% lower on Thursday. The company has started shipping doses of its vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, called mRESVIA, in the U.S. following its approval in May for older adults. It's Moderna's second-ever commercially available product after its Covid vaccine, which has seen demand plunge as the world emerges from the pandemic and relies less on protective shots and treatments. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC there has been "more intensity of competition" for both RSV and Covid vaccines. He noted that mRESVIA is the third RSV shot to enter the market following jabs from Pfizer and GSK , the latter of which dominated the market last year. He added that "we've been having quite intense discussions with governments across Europe" to get Covid vaccine supply from Moderna. But "some countries, as recently as of last week, have told us that because of a very tight budget they just don't have the capacity to buy more vaccine than they need because they already have" another contract, Bancel said. He is referring to the European Union's massive renegotiated Covid vaccine supply contract with Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech . He also pointed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which is straining government budgets. Still, Moderna expects to return to sales growth in 2025 and to break even by 2026, with the launch of new products, Bancel said. Here's what Moderna reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Loss per share: $3.33 vs. loss of $3.39 expected $3.33 vs. loss of $3.39 expected Revenue: $241 million vs. $132 million expected The company booked second-quarter revenue of $241 million, with product sales from its Covid shot dropping 37% from the same period a year ago. Moderna reported $344 million in revenue in the prior-year period. The company said the revenue decline came in part from an expected transition to a seasonal Covid vaccine market, where patients typically take their shots in the fall and winter. But Bancel said Moderna had a "good spring season" in the U.S. for seniors, who are recommended to receive an additional dose of the latest round of Covid shots. Moderna posted a net loss of $1.28 billion, or $3.33 per share, for the second quarter. That compares with a net loss of $1.38 billion, or $3.62 per share, reported for the year-ago period. Bancel said the company lost less than Wall Street expected in part due to its progress in cutting costs. US journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, smiles from inside a glass defendants' cage prior to a hearing in Yekaterinburg's Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, 2024. Whelan, a businessman who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend's wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and had been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony. The U.S. has denied those charges. Gershkovich, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg, an industrial city east of Moscow. In July, he was convicted of espionage in a Russian court in a trial widely condemned as a sham as his publication vociferously advocated for his release across its front pages. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison . The massive deal, cut among six nations, involves 24 people, including 12 German nationals held in Russia, and eight Russians imprisoned in the U.S., Germany, Slovenia, Norway and Poland. Four U.S. residents including journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan were released Thursday, part of a major multinational prisoner exchange the likes of which has not been seen since the Cold War. Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained and accused of espionage, stands inside a defendants' cage during his verdict hearing in Moscow, Russia June 15, 2020. Whelan was excluded from two previous prisoner exchanges, and in an interview from prison last December, Whelan told the BBC that he considered the U.S.'s decision to leave him behind a "serious betrayal." President Joe Biden had gathered with the family members of those being returned to the U.S. ahead of the swap being announced, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. "This morning, the president is gathering the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House to share with them the news that an exchange is underway to secure the release of their loved ones from Russia," he said before the swap was finalized. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was and Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a dual Russian-British national and U.S. permanent resident who was jailed on treason charges for 25 years in April 2023, were also released. The prisoners in Russia were flown to Turkey before heading home. The complex prisoner swap is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including from sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine starting in 2022. Relations between the two countries had been strained before the war, following Russian interference in the 2016 election and its annexation of Crimea. The most notable Russian prisoner released as part of the swap is Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist, in what prosecutors believed was a Russian state-sanctioned assassination. Russian authorities say they believed Khangoshvili was involved in multiple attacks on Russian soil, including the 2010 suicide bombings on the Moscow Metro. The U.S. released three Russian prisoners, including an intelligence operative facing charges of smuggling U.S. technology and ammunition to the Russian military. Slovenia released two Russian prisoners, Norway and Poland each released one. Russia released 12 German prisoners, most of them connected to opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in prison in February, following a yearslong struggle against official corruption and President Vladimir Putin's government that included several poisoning attempts. The Biden administration has been working on Thursday's swap since December 2022 after the most recent high-profile prisoner swap, when WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged for notorious Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death." Griner was arrested at an airport near Moscow after two vape cartridges containing hashish oil were found in her luggage. The swap raised a debate about the risks of exchanging wrongfully detained Americans for Russian prisoners, with critics pointing out that there was no equivalence between the crimes Griner and Bout were convicted of, and that it may encourage foreign adversaries to kidnap Americans abroad and use them as bargaining chips. Discussions involved several swap offers with Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the first U.S. official to reach out to Russia, through his counterpart, and national security adviser Sullivan engaged his German counterpart, a senior administration official said. A breakthrough came in January 2024, when Biden called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and invited him to the White House, telling him a swap would be on the agenda. The goal was for a deal to include Russian opposition leader Navalny, and the release of Krasikov. Scholz later indicated he was receptive. Then, days later, Navalny died at an arctic penal colony in Russia, setting off a new round of discussions that led to Thursday's larger swap, the senior administration official said. In this article TSLA ROKU Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT WASHINGTON The White House announced a massive, multinational prisoner swap Thursday between the United States, Russia and other nations. As part of the historic deal, the Russian government released high-profile Americans held in captivity there, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had been in a Russian prison for more than a year. Also included in the trade were a number of Russians who had been arrested for various crimes and held in prisons in the U.S. and other countries. Among that group was a wealthy young Russian entrepreneur named Vladislav Klyushin who was incarcerated in a federal prison for his role in one of the most damaging insider trading schemes in Wall Street history. For much of the past year, CNBC has been working on a documentary about the spectacular rise and fall of Klyushin and his business empire. That story begins in early 2021, when a private jet carrying an up-and-coming young Russian oligarch and his wife touched down at tiny Sion airport high in the Swiss Alps. Vladislav Klyushin, an owner of an information technology company with ties to the Russian government, is seen in an undated photograph attached to a U.S. Department of Justice filing. U.s. Department Of Justice | Via Reuters Sion is the gateway to the famed ski resort of Zermatt, where the world's elite go to ski and party. But the airport is still an hour's drive from the slopes, so the truly wealthy walk across the tarmac and board helicopters to take them directly to the resort. The young oligarch was at the absolute height of his powers. He had built a fabulously successful company in Moscow and cultivated connections at the highest levels of the Russian government. Vladislav Klyushin, who was sentenced to nine years in an American prison for his $93 million hack-to-trade conspiracy. Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts His efforts won him the ultimate prize: He worked for the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin. What the oligarch did not know was that U.S. law enforcement had been monitoring his flight ever since it left Moscow. Or that they were planning to capture him and charge him with crimes that cut to the heart of the American financial system. The man on the private jet in Switzerland was Vladislav Klyushin, and he owned a cybersecurity company in Moscow called M-13. But M-13 was a front for Klyushin's real business hacking into American companies and stealing confidential information, then using it to make trades on Wall Street before that information became public. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The homepage for the Russian cybersecurity firm M-13, which was stealing financial information from American companies. Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts It was a multilevel crime: illegal insider trading made possible by illegal hacking. And it had made Klyushin very rich. The victims of his crimes are investors in iconic American companies like Tesla , Roku and Skechers . Welcome to the dangerous underworld of the global financial system. Here, markets are just another sphere for the great powers to demonstrate their strength and undermine their rivals. The Kremlin sees America's capital markets as one the country's key strengths, and therefore a prime target for attack. "It's a war right now happening between Russia and the West. Finances and banks and financial sector itself is just one of the battlefields," said a former high ranking member of the Russian FSB intelligence service. CNBC granted him anonymity to describe these crimes in detail because he fears for his safety. CNBC's Eamon Javers speaks to a former Russian spy, who asked to remain anonymous, about the Klyushin case. CNBC CNBC has spent months investigating this criminal network, which represents one of the most damaging episodes of insider trading in Wall Street history. But it's not over yet. On the contrary, our reporting revealed a persistent, ongoing, threat to American companies, investors, and to the markets themselves. The product of this yearlong project is the documentary above, called "Putin's Trader." It features exclusive access to the FBI agents and U.S. prosecutors charged with bringing down the criminal organization, and new reporting on the incredible lifestyle of the oligarch and his friends as they profited from their illegal trading. A limited podcast series called "The Crimes of Putin's Trader" will be released Aug. 15. As for Klyushin, federal prosecutor Steven Frank said, he was, "a lot like the kind of people that we prosecute for white-collar crime here in the United States every day. Who don't really need to turn to white-collar crime in order to be successful, because they're already successful." watch now CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz back stage with soon to be Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan at Starbucks Headquarters during Investor Day in Seattle, Washington Tuesday September 13, 2022. Days before reports surfaced that Elliott Management had amassed a significant stake in Starbucks , the activist investor proposed a settlement that would involve board expansion and governance improvements but would allow CEO Laxman Narasimhan to keep his job, according to people familiar with the matter. Elliott submitted its offer to Starbucks weeks ago, but the coffee chain's board, chaired by Mellody Hobson, hasn't responded, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Looming over the negotiations is Starbucks' former CEO Howard Schultz, who stepped off the board last year but remains one of the company's top shareholders and is forever entitled to attend Starbucks board meetings unless barred by Starbucks' directors. Schultz has privately expressed to some directors his opposition to Elliott's settlement offer, The Financial Times reported earlier. A Starbucks spokesperson declined to comment on whether Schultz, who has a close relationship with Hobson and other Starbucks directors, had attended board meetings where Elliott's settlement offer was discussed. Elliott has accumulated a stake that could worth as much as $2 billion, CNBC has previously reported. No disclosure has been filed to indicate its stake in the company and it's unclear what specific governance improvements Elliott is seeking. A spokesperson for Elliott declined to comment. Schultz, meanwhile, has been unusually vocal in his criticism of the company's direction under the leadership of Narasimhan, his hand-picked successor, who has leaned on discounting and new product launches to try and revive the business since taking over in March 2023. Schultz hasn't said why he opposes Elliott's offer, and his representatives didn't return multiple requests for comment. Starbucks has faced successive quarters of falling sales, with steep declines in China and weakness in the core U.S. business. Starbucks' stock price is down 18% this year, badly underperforming the broader market, as the S&P 500 has climbed 16% in 2024. Demonstrators burn rubber and objects during a protest against reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for the 3rd term one day after the Venezuelan presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela on July 29, 2024. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images Shops and public transport across Venezuela shut down on Wednesday as tensions over a fiercely disputed presidential election and rumors of more opposition arrests and sporadic violence kept many people home. Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled since 2013, was proclaimed the winner of the Sunday vote by the electoral council. But the opposition says its tally of about 90% of votes shows that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, received more than double the support attracted by Maduro. As the dispute entered its third day amid growing calls for more transparency, the government insisted it had not produced comprehensive vote totals at the polling station level because of a system hack originating in North Macedonia for the extended delay, without providing any evidence to back that up. The U.S.-based Carter Center, one of the few independent monitors allowed to observe the election, announced in a statement late Tuesday that the election "cannot be considered democratic." It said the process was slanted in favor of Maduro and flawed throughout, describing the electoral authority's failure to publish disaggregated results a "serious breach." watch now In remarks broadcast on state television on Wednesday, Maduro said he rejected all threats, including the possibility of new U.S. sanctions. Maduro pledged that his socialist party is ready to release all of its vote tallies, and said he has asked the top court to force opposition parties to do the same. Early Monday morning, Venezuela's electoral authority which the opposition accuses of being in Maduro's pocket - announced that he won another term in office, attracting 51% of the vote, with a seven-point margin over Gonzalez. But shortly afterwards, Venezuela's main opposition alliance launched a website with detailed ballot box-level vote counts covering tallies from the vast majority of the country's 30,000 voting machines, including scans of vote tally print-outs from the machines. As of late afternoon on Wednesday, the website showed opposition hopeful Gonzalez with 67% of the vote versus 30% for Maduro, representing nearly 82% of polling station data. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of each individual tally. Independent exit polls, however, showed a similar margin of victory for Gonzalez. Meanwhile, international pressure on the government has mounted to release full results, including from regional heavyweights the United States and Brazil. At a session of the Washington-based Organization of American States, Brian Nichols, a senior U.S. diplomat for Latin America, said the reason Venezuela's electoral authority has failed to release full vote tallies is "obvious." Either officials do not want to confirm Gonzalez's lopsided triumph, or they need more time to falsify results, he argued. A Toyota logo is seen at the New York International Auto Show Press Preview, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 27, 2024. Toyota Motor said on Thursday it posted a 17% rise in first-quarter operating profit, as the Japanese automaker got a boost from cost reduction efforts and a weak yen that helped offset lower sales and production volume at home. The world's top-selling automaker said operating profit for the three months through June totaled 1.3 trillion yen ($8.70 billion), matching the average of six analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. "Despite the inability to maintain stable production in Japan due to factors such as certification issues and recalls, we achieved an increase in profit thanks to the support of all our stakeholders," Toyota said in a statement. The automaker's challenges include a tough market in China and fallout from a certification scandal, which has also involved Toyota and Lexus-branded cars and hurt sales in Japan. Its consolidated vehicle sales declined 3% in the quarter, presentation materials showed, with the share of petrol-electric hybrids in sales reaching about two fifths. Toyota maintained its forecast of 4.3 trillion yen profit for the full year, versus a 5.3 trillion yen average of 18 analyst estimates. The automaker is grappling with a series of scandals at group firms over botched product certification test procedures that are undermining its reputation for safety and quality. The transport ministry ordered Toyota on Wednesday to take drastic steps to prevent a recurrence of misconduct after discovering new wrongdoing in certification procedures. Toyota's share price, which was down 5.5% just before the earnings release, fell further immediately afterward and was down 8.4% at 2,702 yen by 0446 GMT. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Text: Speaking at the HLPF 2024 (United Nations, New York), side event titled Good Practices and Challenges in the 2030 Agenda Showcasing ongoing inclusive strategies of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives [1] from Canada, Spain, Colombia, North Macedonia, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as a representative from UN Women acknowledged the importance of addressing Discrimination based on Work and Descent (DWD) as critical towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Numbering close to 270 million people across the globe, Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) are known by many names depending on where they live and the languages they speak. They are the Dalits and Burakumin in Asia, the slave caste, Osu, Haratin and others in Africa, the Quilombola and Pelanque in Latin America, and Roma in Europe to name a few.Discrimination based on Work and Descent or DWD [2] is any distinction exclusion, restriction, or preference based on inherited status such as caste, including present or ancestral occupation, family, community or social origin, name, birth place, place of residence, dialect and accent that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life. This type of discrimination is typically associated with the notion of purity and pollution and practices of untouchability, and is deeply rooted in societies and cultures where this discrimination is practised.At the event, representatives from the UN member states endorsed working collaboratively by coming together as an informal working group -- a critical step on the journey towards a UN resolution. Leading the expressions of support for this approach, H.E. Robert Rae, Ambassador & Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN said, I can assure you that we will continue to talk about these issues and figure out how we can create this informal discussion at the UN in New York. I know there are some discussions about it in Geneva but it is something we need to talk about more and more.In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Ljubomir Danailov Frchkoski, Permanent Representative of the Republic of North Macedonia to the UN, outlined several good practices and reform measures that, if adopted and implemented at the national and regional level can go some way in meeting SDGs for CDWD. He said, there are no excuses for countries not to adapt good practices on the ground [in spite of their different legal and political systems] which can fulfil the transition period from the status quo to the real deep law reform which we are all waiting for but in this transition period, effective improvement of this situation can be done..and there is no excuse to skip.Ms Anita Paudel also highlighted cases of good practice implemented by the Government of Nepal in relation to Dalits such as the constitutional provisions prohibiting untouchability and discrimination on the grounds of caste; as well as affirmative action policies for the upliftment of Dalits.Ms Paula Fernandez-Wuff outlined specific measures taken by Spain to address anti-Roma sentiment including through strong legislation in the criminal code, a national Roma integration strategy that focuses on eradicating poverty and promoting social inclusion of the Roma, in particular in the areas of education, employment, health and housing and, to acknowledge the historical debt and repair the harm done to the Roma community in Spain, the appointment of a commission of memory and reconciliation. Mr. Gustavo Bolivar, emphasised education and the integration of a gender perspective into government programs to address social castes. The first step to end discrimination is education, he said.Notwithstanding the adoption of good practice measures at the national level for specific communities, the side event panellists underscored the need for deeper long term reform to address the structural issues faced by CDWD as a whole. This includes the establishment of group-specific norms in international human rights frameworks. Queen Bisseng, Africa Coordinator, GFoD, stated, What we are asking for is a UN Resolution on the Rights of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent. Lisa Kudrow is obviously doing quite well right now, considering that shes starring in the new Time Bandits show on Apple TV+ and presumably has a Scrooge McDuck-esque vault full of Friends royalty checks. But there was a time when Kudrow was still a struggling young actor, and had to grapple with the pain of losing out on a role in one of the 90s most successful sitcoms that in no way involved singing about malodorous cats. While guesting on the SmartLess podcast, Kudrow chatted about how she was hired, and promptly fired, from Frasier after being cast as Frasiers sassy, relentlessly-shamed producer Roz Doyle. It was devastating to get fired, Kudrow revealed, recalling that she was told by director James Burrows this isnt working, while performing the pilots run-through, and let go shortly afterwards. Don't Miss I think they did make a casting mistake, the Friends star reasoned, because I went to the network with Peri Gilpin. Peri should have always been Roz. Although she did admit that it was devastating for her at the time possibly even more so than when David Duchovny lost out on the chance to play Uncles Joey or Jesse. For fans of the show, its hard to imagine anyone other than Gilpin as Roz. As Frasier executive producer Peter Casey once explained, after Kudrow and Gilpin auditioned for NBC, Kudrow was ultimately cast, not because she was right for the role as it was written, but because her line readings always got laughs. Lisa didnt exactly fit the mold of what we were looking for in terms of a strong-willed character, but she was really funny, Casey stated. Her quirkiness made lines that werent intended as jokes hilarious. Burrows has said in the past that what ultimately convinced him that Kudrow wasnt right for the part was the climactic moment in the pilot when Roz convinces Frasier to be more tolerant of his father with a monologue about the death of Hollywood starlet Lupe Velez. Advertisement You had to do that speech with some toughness, and Lisa did it, but it was more ditzy, Burrows told an interviewer from the Television Academy. Advertisement Advertisement Because Kudrow was booted from Frasier, she was free to appear as Ursula the waitress/future identity thief porn star in Mad About You and, eventually, to star in Friends, which again required working with James Burrows. I was the only cast member for Friends that had to audition for Jimmy Burrows, Kudrow told the SmartLess hosts. Because I had just gotten fired from Frasier. Advertisement After her audition for Burrows, Kudrow was simply told no notes but understandably wasnt sure if that meant that it was hopeless or perfect. Clearly it was the latter, because she got the job. Who knows, maybe well eventually get to see Kudrows take on Roz when the Frasier reboot inevitably runs out of ideas and introduces the concept of the multiverse, a la Marvel. You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time youre reading this). If you trust news outlets quoting unnamed network executives and anonymous showbiz insiders, then we have a comedy front-runner to host the Academy Awards next year. The job opened up after Jimmy Kimmel, a four-time host who has handled the duties for the past two years, decided to take a pass. You cant say he didnt warn us when Kimmel took the job in 2023, he declared, I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times. Many assumed Oscars next host was already waiting in the wings. Thats John Mulaney, the hot new name to assume the job after killing it as host of the Governors Awards last year. Don't Miss He passed that audition, as well as delivered one of the most memorable moments during last years Academy Awards ceremony. When the Hollywood Reporter asked Mulaney in 2022 if hed take the job one day, the comedian sounded ready. Sure, why not? he said. It would be really fun. Its hosting the Academy Awards. Johnny Carson did that. Carson did, but Mulaney wont not yet anyway. He reportedly passed on an offer to take over for Kimmel, citing prior commitments for next winter, including what sounds like another run for his well-received Netflix talk show, John Mulaney Presents: Everybodys in L.A. Advertisement Advertisement So if Kimmel and Mulaney are out, whos in? The U.S. Sun is reporting a clear front-runner: Anthony Anderson, the ABC comedy star who got good reviews after hosting the Emmys last year. ABC insiders are claiming Anderson is Kimmels likely successor, providing these anonymous quotes to the Sun: Advertisement Advertisement Anthony is well-liked across the network both as an actor and entertainer. "He is respected, considered easy to get on with, a great collaborator and is friendly with many major Hollywood stars. He is on the shortlist to present the Academy Awards, especially after his performance at the Emmys. Hollywood A-listers love seeing him live, as he has that talent to be cheeky rather than snarky about many of them in his jokes. His appeal to audiences across many age groups is also a huge plus. "He is seen by many at the network as being in the hot seat. All good reasons to put Anderson at the front of the line when Oscar hires its new host. A bonus? Additional insiders (or the same insiders?) say Anderson has the Jimmy Kimmel seal of approval. Anthony has Jimmys backing to take the Oscars gig and also feels he would make a great go at his late-night role when he leaves," said the anonymous Kimmel confidante. Jimmy and his production team rate Anthony so highly and feel being a late-night host allows him to show off his stand-up comedy skills and natural gift of being funny and clever on screen. The fact he has hosted in his place over a dozen times speaks volumes too. It has not gone unnoticed how smooth the transition is and the laughter from the audience during recordings. Advertisement The anonymous nature of the endorsements raises suspicions about their veracity, but Anderson does make sense. After scoring as Emmys host, reporters did ask him about taking over the Oscars next. I would love to host another one, Anderson said. Youll have to ask the Academy that. Janno Lieber, facing the abyss. Photo: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Janno Lieber, chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, stood before his board on Wednesday and put a hopeful face on a nearly hopeless situation. We do take the governor at her word that she is committed to funding the capital program, Lieber told the MTAs board of directors. Governor Kathy Hochul, of course, decided two months ago to indefinitely pause congestion pricing, the tolling plan that would pour $15 billion into the transit system. The ripple effect from that decision just keeps growing at a cost to her credibility, weeks into the mess without detailing a realistic alternative to replace funding, and to the finances of the MTA, where Lieber continues to say Hochul will find a way to fill the giant hole she punched into his budget, even as his accountants quietly warn of a crippling financial mess. On July 30, shortly before Lieber addressed the board, Hochul pulled $54 million from a previously untapped $85 million state account to fund some utilities-relocation work for the future 106th Street Station of the Second Avenue Subway. Lieber celebrated the decision in his remarks, recognizing that it means the project is not, for the moment, dead. Then he brought up the rest of the subway system and dropped the hammer. Concrete and steel, you poke holes in it, subject it to water and salt for 100 years, its going to give out. And that is whats happening and we must do something about it. Im optimistic that the decision-makers in Albany, all of them hint, hint understand the need and that they will respond. After all, $54 million down means that theres $14.94 billion (give or take) to go. Lieber has to cling to hope in part because Hochul is his boss, in part because her decision is just getting more expensive. The MTA has commitments from the federal government for an additional $1.5 billion to capital projects like the Second Avenue line and its money that arrives only if the MTA comes through with its share, so it too is in jeopardy. But the loss of new subways is just the start. Without that funding, the MTA will have to slow down its bus orders and keep running older vehicles that need more maintenance: Thatll cost $50 million in 2025 and grow to $150 million by 2027. Ditto delays on replacing old commuter trains ($20 million a year). The agency will have to spend more on overtime and on-call contractors to keep up with breakdowns in signals, switches, and other systems that were set to be replaced, costing $90 million a year by 2026. Congestion pricing was going to cut the number of cars entering the Manhattan core by 17 percent, which would have meant faster buses, again saving the MTA some money: Thats another $10 million per year. Officials also forecast that it would increase overall transit ridership by about 1.25 percent, and thats another $70 million in potential revenue taken off the books. It gets even worse. The MTA has roughly 7,000 permanent employees providing labor on construction projects flaggers for track work, for instance who wont have any projects to work on. Theyre prized union jobs, and having them idle will cost $100 million in 2025 and another $200 million in 2026. That cost will likely go away by 2027 because officials hope to attrit (their word, not mine) the MTAs payroll. It would likely take a brutal hiring freeze to shrink the MTAs overall payroll by about 10 percent (or execute enormous layoffs). Bonds that were set to go out in 2030 to finance projects far down the line will instead go as early as 2027. Thats another $300 million in unexpected expenses. Altogether, this comes out to roughly $245 million for 2025, another $490 million for 2026, and potentially $640 million in 2027 a total of nearly $1.4 billion in onetime and recurring costs over three years. Put that on top of the $16.5 billion that would pay for new subway cars, commuter trains, buses, expansion of subway lines, wholesale replacement of decrepit La Guardiaera mechanical signals, and on and on. Its $18 billion at risk from one decision by Hochul, with no plan B ready to go. Lieber knows that there are three possible outcomes here, and he laid them out. He openly beseeched Hochul and the Democratic leaders in Albany to avoid the first and worst of them: Everyone fails to come to a deal or agrees that the easiest way to deal with the mess is just to shove it all under the carpet, knowing that it will take a few years for the lack of maintenance to show up in ways that really hurt straphangers, after which they can blame MTA management. After all, generations of Albany leaders did exactly that and basically got away with it until the 2018 Democratic primary, when Andrew Cuomos opponent, actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, managed to put a catchy hashtag on his stewardship: #CuomosMTA. (Not that it stuck well enough for her to win.) Second, and perhaps even more cynically, Hochul and lawmakers strike a deal (likely via the state budget) that forces the MTA to borrow against money that would otherwise be used to run buses and trains. Thats what happened two decades ago during George Patakis governorship, when politicians loaded up the agency with debt to finance East Side Access, the first leg of the Second Avenue Subway, and a whole host of other projects. Extra debt service burdens the operating budget, and that will force the board again to deal with the grim options: layoffs, service cuts, fare hikes, Lieber said. He also noted that Cuomo who struck the budget deal that ordered up congestion pricing, then came out for its cancellation warned that the toll was needed to avert a 30 percent fare hike, which if enacted now would take us to about $3.80. And if you think a toll is unpopular, try jacking the fare. Then theres Door No. 3: Hochul finds the money somewhere and the MTA has publicly professed that it doesnt care where it comes from. But the politicians will. Hochul justified whacking (sorry, indefinitely pausing) the toll by saying that it would hurt businesses in New York City, yet her first proposal to replace the money quickly rejected by lawmakers was to tax those very businesses. Other Albany ideas for raising more money include the perennial suggestion of casinos as well as their mutually opposed twin, expanded online gambling. Or, of course, congestion pricing could come back. Hochul has, depending on the day, argued that this really is just a pause; complained that the proposed peak toll rate of $15 is too much at this time; reportedly floated a lower rate to lawmakers (who then floated it to the New York Times); and told a forum organized by the Albany Times-Union that she was examining all options. But, when pressed a few days later, she told a roomful of reporters, Im looking at options. I dont know how you define on the table. Her staff got her off the podium shortly after that exchange. Hochul is not the only person to say theyre afraid the toll would crimp Manhattans recovery which leads to the great paradox of Manhattan in the post-pandemic era. Theres no shortage of traffic. Theres a shortage of people. The streets are full and maybe never have been fuller backups to the tunnels and bridges are commonplace well after rush hour ends, and buses and ambulances have never been slower. Theres no space left for cars. Yet, entire office towers sit empty and Broadway theaters struggle to sell out. Manhattan, after all, is smaller than DallasFort Worth International Airport. Even if every car were smaller than a Mini Cooper, say ten feet long and five feet wide, that still adds up to one person per 50 square feet. That space on a subway train can move two dozen people at a time. The shift from trains to cars has itself become a major drag on Manhattans recovery, and the sooner we get back to the business of bringing people into Manhattan instead of traffic, the sooner we get Manhattan back in business. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn When my mother-in-law, Marta, invited her 100-year-old mother to move in with her, she didnt have a spare bedroom and she knew her mother wouldnt be able to go up to the second floor anyway. So she put up a curtain to divide the first-floor study and picked up some furniture at Ikea with her mothers needs in mind: a dresser with easy drawer pulls that wouldnt aggravate her arthritis, a daybed with a metal railing on three sides to help her get in and out of bed. Marta soon found the bed wasnt high enough, the bedside table tipped over too easily, and the lamp switch was too hard for her mother to reach. As a pharmacist who has worked in hospitals for decades, she had seen the assistive furniture she needed in medical settings, but none of it was easily available (or affordable) for her at home. Like Marta and her mother, the vast majority of baby boomers prefer to age in place, as the phrase goes, opting to stay at home or in the home of a family member as they get older, rather than move into an assisted-care facility. Marta and her husband are just entering their 70s, and when I ask if they have adapted their house for themselves, she says, We havent gotten that far. I dont blame her. A general taboo around aging and limited mobility is compounded by the fact that theres not much out there for the home that is exciting or even remotely aesthetically pleasing. Who wants to see a couch rail jutting out of their sofa or a Wonder Pole safety bar while they shower? Designers have, of course, been thinking about this problem for a long time. This year, the Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi organized an exhibition of elegant even playful walking sticks at Milans Triennale in May. Student prototypes like Swiss designer Sarah Hosslis elegant Lotte armchair offer extended armrests to help anyone safely get in and out of the seat; these have hit the market in Europe but are available only on a commercial scale. More recently, during the 3 Days of Design festival in Copenhagen, Danish designer Anker Bak presented a selection of what he calls everyday assistive furniture, like a walker with integrated storage and a cane with a seat, that follow a rolling crutch Bak designed for his grandmother in 2014. Yet most of these products are also generally difficult for the public to purchase. Perhaps one of the few firms that have consistently brought accessible design to the general public is Michael Graves Design. Graves, who made his name as a postmodernist architect, expanded his practice to health and assistive industrial design after he became paralyzed from the chest down in 2003. His firm already had pioneered bringing design to the masses; it was the first to launch a Target collaboration of household goods back in the 1990s and had worked with brands like Alessi, Steuben, and Disney. For the past 20 years, its consultations with occupational and physical therapists, social workers, and people of different abilities have led to collaborations with CVS and Stryker on medical equipment such as walkers and shower stools. This month, it launches designs that are much bigger than a teakettle or cane: bedroom furniture for Pottery Barn. As MGD president Donald Strum says, the community that needs this kind of design hasnt been underserved, its been ignored. But now theres enough of us that were setting our own trend. The Sausalito dresser now comes with a raised edge that helps support someone standing or in a wheelchair and prevents items from falling off. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn Instead of creating something new, the firm tweaked Pottery Barns best-selling Cayman, Farmhouse, and Sausalito bedroom collections with features that are probably most notable for how unobtrusive they are. Theres no plastic or chrome in sight but there is, for example, enough ground clearance below the pieces for wheelchair users to get close to the furniture, plus raised edges on the dressers and side tables that people can grab onto and that prevent items from falling to the floor. Other design changes are more ergonomic: Two new armchairs, the Yardley and the Bradford, have a firm foam density and a seat height that allows users knees to bend at 90 degrees, the ideal nose over toes position recommended by occupational therapists. Youre not going to get lost in this chair that someone has to come to rescue you, says Strum. The Bradford chair is height-adjustable and includes a rear grab rail to facilitate furniture surfing, i.e., allowing users to support themselves on it as they walk. And the problem Martas mother had with her Ikea daybed has also been addressed with wooden armrests on the sides of the bed to push yourself up. The Farmhouse canopy bed was redesigned to include a rail near the head of the bed frame. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn From left: The side table has easy-to-reach power outlets and can hold medical equipment. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn A rear grab rail on the Bradford chair for someone who may need more support to get around. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn From top: The side table has easy-to-reach power outlets and can hold medical equipment. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn A rear grab rail on the Bra... more From top: The side table has easy-to-reach power outlets and can hold medical equipment. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn A rear grab rail on the Bradford chair for someone who may need more support to get around. Photo: Michael Graves/Pottery Barn All of the pieces in the collections look like they can be incorporated into anyones bedroom. And thats partly the point. Designing to accommodate aging or disabled people often makes the world more comfortable and accommodating to everyone. Who wouldnt want a rail to help get out of bed, or a nightstand with concealed outlets for your phone and tablet that can also hide a bulky sleep apnea machine or any other device of your choosing? We like to say everyone is either disabled or not yet disabled, says Ben Wintner, the CEO of Michael Graves Design. This is Pottery Barns second foray into accessible furniture, after it introduced ADA-compliant features into some of its collections in 2022. And the prices of its latest collections are more approachable too, compared to bespoke designer pieces; they range from $349 for an armchair to a $2900 King canopy bed. Even when accessible furniture is marketed to everyone, shopping for it still makes a lot of people self-conscious. There needs to be a cultural shift around this, says Vancouver-based industrial designer Kaly Ryan. She remembers as a child seeing her grandfathers home get adapted so he could age in place there. It granted him 25 more years of at-home independence. There are so many families like mine that need better options, Ryan says. With her startup, Capella Design, she created a shower seat from high-end decking material that looks like wood but is a breeze to clean. Plus, it looks nothing like the plastic shower stools that get thrown out immediately after someone recovers from a temporary disability. We want it to be useful for everyone, she says, and part of what will reduce stigma is that anyone can use a shower seat. Laura Portugal, an occupational therapist, thinks about beds and bathrooms all the time. She works with patients to improve their New York City homes to minimize the risk of falling or getting injured and often recommends things like a shower chair or a raised toilet seat along with devices to help raise beds. Most of our recommendations are from durable medical-supply companies and cost-effective assistive-device items from Amazon, she says. I would honestly love to see more high-end designer durable medical-equipment items we could offer to clients as they age in place. Adani Ports clocks record net profit at Rs 3,107 crore in Q1, revenue Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Thursday posted the highest-ever net profit at Rs 3,107 crore (up 47 per cent year-on-year) along with record EBITDA at Rs 4,848 crore for the quarter that ended June 30. The Adani Group's flagship company posted the highest-ever quarterly revenue at Rs 7,560 crore, a 21 per cent growth, as volume grew 8 per cent to 109 MT in the April-June quarter. FY25 has begun on a strong note for us with a stellar performance on both financial and growth fronts. On the financial front, we posted all-time high earnings. But for the temporary disruption in Gangavaram Port, which is now fully restored, our Q1 cargo volume would have been at 114.7 MMT, a 13 per cent increase, said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ. On the growth front, we won two new port concessions and a port O&M contract. We are proud that four of our ports featured in the World Banks Container Port Performance Index 2023, Gupta added. The cargo volume growth was primarily driven by containers (up 18 per cent YoY) and liquids and gas (up 11 per cent YoY). The company had a temporary disruption leading to a loss of 5.7 MMT at the Gangavaram Port, which is now fully restored. Mundra port handled the highest quarterly volume by any Indian port (51 MMT) in the quarter. Mundra, Kattupalli, Hazira, and Krishnapatnam featured in the World Banks Container Port Performance Index 2023. The index benchmarks ports globally across multiple parameters, including productivity, efficiency and reliability. Adani Ports signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority to operate and manage Container Terminal 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port, Tanzania. The quarter also saw the first mothership arriving at the Vizhinjam Port, Indias first trans-shipment port equipped with South Asias most advanced container handling technology. Last month, 'San Fernando', a vessel of the world's second-largest shipping company Maersk, arrived at the Vizhinjam Port with over 2,000 containers on it. Vizhinjam Port is a perfect example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's triple focus -- Ports for Prosperity, Ports for Progress and Ports for Productivity. The guy-wired Verizon cell tower that will be replaced by a new monopole tower on the Hamburg Road cell tower site. 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been closely monitoring the situation in Himachal Pradesh in the wake of heavy rains and a cloudburst, sources said on Thursday. He has asked officials to ensure all possible assistance to the affected as relief operations are underway. Two bodies were recovered and over 50 people went missing due to multiple cloudbursts in Kullu, Shimla and Mandi districts. Two additional battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed by the Centre for the relief and the rescue operations, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu told the media in Shimla. After chairing a high-level meeting to review the rescue and relief operations, the Chief Minister said Rampur tehsil in Shimla, Padhar tehsil in Mandi and Jaon in Nirmand village of Kullu were the worst hit. The Army and the Air Force have been requested to remain on high alert to handle any exigency as the Met Department has predicted heavy rainfall would continue for the next 36 hours. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Chief Minister Sukhu to assess the situation following the cloudbursts that caused significant disruption in the Samej Khad area in Rampur in Shimla District. The Home Minister has assured the Chief Minister of the Centres assistance and the support of the NDRF. The Chief Minister, who is visiting disaster-hit areas, said two bodies were recovered and teams of NDRF, SDRF, police, Home Guard and fire services have been engaged in relief, search and rescue operations. Union Minister and BJP Chief J.P. Nadda also spoke to the Chief Minister and assured all possible help from the Central government. Nadda also spoke to former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and directed all BJP workers to engage in relief operations. * China is on the cusp of an industrial revolution powered increasingly by basic research, where AI technology is rapidly emerging as a key catalyst for the advancement of frontier sciences. * The Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the National Natural Science Foundation of China, launched a project to harness the power of AI in advancing frontier scientific research. * "AI4Science has enormous potential and will comprehensively transform the process from scientific research to industrial application," said E Weinan, a professor from Peking University. BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At a state-of-the-art lab, a researcher scribbles a chemical formula on the smart glass surface. Instantly, with a digital command, the robotic "scientist" empowered by artificial intelligence (AI) launches into executing a sequence of tasks including material retrieval, reagent addition, reaction initiation, monitoring and testing, all with the ease and precision of a culinary expert preparing a dish. This vivid scenario unfolds within the cutting-edge automated laboratory at XtalPi's Shanghai headquarters. Here, AI is revolutionizing the field of new drug discovery, infusing the process with unprecedented efficiency and innovation. China is on the cusp of an industrial revolution powered increasingly by basic research, where AI technology is rapidly emerging as a key catalyst for the advancement of frontier sciences. In recent years, the prowess of machine learning and the emergence of generative AI technologies in tackling complex mathematical challenges have combined to usher in a transformative approach to scientific inquiry -- AI for Science (AI4Science). This innovative paradigm is redefining the boundaries of research, enabling deeper exploration and discovery across various scientific disciplines. Last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the National Natural Science Foundation of China, launched a project to harness the power of AI in advancing frontier scientific research. The project is designed to deploy sophisticated AI models and algorithms to drive breakthroughs in genetic studies and stimulate significant progress in the field of biological breeding. NEW MODELS Earlier this month, OpenLAM, a Chinese open-sourced large language model (LLM), introduced a suite of seven innovative model solutions tailored to address complex challenges in areas such as alloy development, pharmaceutical small molecules, solid-state battery technology, semiconductors and high-temperature superconductivity. AI technology has also made significant strides in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of weather forecasting, revolutionizing the way that people predict and prepare for meteorological events. A Shanghai team has developed an AI weather forecast system named FengWu, based on multi-model and multi-task deep learning architecture, capable of generating high-precision global meteorological forecast results for the following 10 days in just 30 seconds. Compared with traditional physical models, FengWu reduces the rate of error by 19.4 percent and extends the forecast range to 10.75 days based on reanalysis data, according to the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, one of its developers. "The FengWu model exemplifies the transformative potential of AI within the realms of Earth sciences and beyond," said Ouyang Wanli, the lab's lead scientist. Pangu Weather, another cutting-edge model developed by Huawei, is also making waves in the field of meteorology with its precise weather forecasts. Its predictive accuracy, ranging from a period of one hour to seven days, has surpassed that of several meteorological centers in Europe and the United States for these same periods. According to the Central Meteorological Observatory of China, the model showed impressive performance in the trajectory prediction of Typhoon Mawar in June 2023 and was successfully utilized in forecasting Typhoon Doksuri last year. Moreover, in the vast expanses of the universe beyond our planet, AI is proving its capabilities, contributing to our understanding and exploration of the cosmos. In a pioneering collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatories, Tencent, a Chinese tech giant, is spearheading a star exploration initiative that utilizes AI to boost the efficiency of pulsar searches conducted by China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). Remarkably, this AI-assisted approach can complete data processing work in three days that would otherwise have taken a year. The initiative has already detected two fast radio bursts via the processing of celestial survey data, thereby contributing to studies that aim to deepen our understanding of the universe's origins. NEW DISCOVERY A research team in China's eastern coastal city of Yantai has successfully trained an artificial intelligence system for the purpose of catalyst screening. From an extensive pool of more than 14,000 potential candidates, they have pinpointed four molecular formulas, all of which have yielded highly satisfactory outcomes. "Using conventional approaches, a seasoned analyst could perform approximately 20 experiments annually. To explore such a vast array of candidates, it would have required the efforts of 20 analysts over the span of 35 years," said Liao Zengtai, chairman of Wanhua Chemical. "However, with the adoption of AI, this extensive endeavor was completed in a mere six months," Liao added. The chemical supplier stands out as a pioneering enterprise that has mastered comprehensive manufacturing technology across the entire production chain of nylon 12, a polymer with excellent mechanical and corrosion-proof properties. Another team from the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has leveraged AI algorithms to design a de novo type of enzyme called cytochrome P450, which is known as a "universal catalyst" in the field of industrial biotechnology. The catalytic capability of this enzyme has seen a 1.3- to 3.5-fold enhancement, according to the researchers. AI technologies are instrumental in the intelligent optimization of chemical synthesis pathways, thus enabling the automation of lab procedures and expediting the discovery of new materials through sophisticated high-throughput screening, said Yang Jinlong, a professor from the University of Science and Technology of China. Zhang Linfeng, the president of the AI for Science Institute in Beijing, cited an example of the enigmatic growth of lithium dendrites, which can render lithium batteries inoperative and remains an unsolved puzzle. This is largely due to the limitations of conventional techniques in capturing the rapid, millisecond-scale transformations involving hundreds of thousands of atoms, according to Zhang. Zhang's team and scientists from Peking University have worked with CATL, China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, to develop new battery materials. "The use of AI, particularly large language models, offers a promising avenue to achieve both precision and efficiency in this challenging domain," Zhang explained. Zhang is also a founder of DP Technology, a Beijing-based startup that utilizes AI for molecular modeling to offer industrial design across a spectrum of industries, including bio-pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and chemical engineering. DP Technology has been listed in CB Insight's AI 100 ranking in 2024. This exemplifies the significant shift of China's AI4Science from the confines of research labs to the broader market arena, emerging as a highly sought-after investment opportunity. MindRank, a Hangzhou-based biotech firm, utilized its own AI drug discovery to develop a small molecule medication. The AI tool assisted it to achieve an impressive feat which saw the research team identifying a preclinical candidate among nearly 100 molecules in just eight months. The drug MDR-001 has now received clinical trial approvals in both China and the United States, targeting conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. AI4Science is set to exert a deep and lasting influence on the realm of basic sciences, with ripple effects extending to subsequent technological innovations and the field of smart manufacturing, according to a report by Crystal Stream Capital, a Beijing-based venture capital investor. "AI4Science has enormous potential and will comprehensively transform the process from scientific research to industrial application," said E Weinan, a professor from Peking University. "It represents the best opportunity in the history of China's sci-tech innovation," he added. (Video reporters: Sun Qing ; Video editors: Zhang Nan, Wei Yin, Liu Yutian, Wang Han) Power has gotten to his head, SC raps Delhi CMs aide in Swati Maliwal assault case The Supreme Court on Thursday rapped Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, who approached the apex court seeking bail in AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal's assault case. "We don't want to read in open court. But once she tells him (Bibhav Kumar) to stop because of this particular physical condition, this man continues. What he thinks, the power has gotten to his head?" said a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant. The Bench, also comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan, remarked that the accused did not feel shame to assault a young woman. Responding, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on the accuseds behalf, said that the question of assault is a subject matter of trial and the apex court was dealing with the bail plea. Singhvi submitted that Maliwal suffered simple and non-dangerous injuries as per the MLC report contrary to the allegations contained in the FIR. He added that Maliwal did not lodge an FIR on the date of the incident, though she went to the police station, but after three days on May 16. At this, Justice Kant-led Bench said, But she did dial emergency number 112 on the date of the incident. Ultimately, the apex court agreed to examine Bibhav Kumars special leave petition against the decision of the Delhi High Court refusing to admit his bail plea. Listing the matter for next Wednesday, it asked the petitioner to place on record the copy of the charge sheet and other documents, including the MLC report. In its impugned July 12 order, a bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta of the Delhi High Court rejected Bibhav Kumars bail plea saying that at this stage, the possibility of tampering with the evidence or influencing the witnesses cannot be ruled out by the accused, who happened to be the personal secretary of Delhi CM. Earlier on May 27, a Delhi court refused to release CM Kejriwal's aide on bail. Bibhav Kumars counsel contended that Maliwal went to the CMs residence with the intent to malign his aide. Questioning the three-day delay in lodging the FIR, he argued that Bibhav Kumar was not present at the CMs residence at the time of the incident and Maliwal had no appointment. Kumar was arrested on May 18 in connection with the assault on Maliwal on May 13 and produced late at night before a local court which sent him to five days of police custody. Delhi Police registered a case against Kumar after he allegedly assaulted Maliwal at the Chief Minister's residence. The FIR at the Civil Lines police station includes charges under Sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354(B) (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. For all his faults, Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, was always very fond of his grandmother. His best-selling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, is a love letter to her. His grandparents were, he says, 'the best things that ever happened to me' though his grandmother, whom he called 'Mamaw', was far from cuddly. Her favourite show was The Sopranos and she particularly admired the main character, Tony Soprano. 'Though he murdered countless enemies . . . Mamaw respected his loyalty and the fact that he would go to any length to protect the honour of his family.' Born in 1933, and pregnant by 1946, Mamaw 'came from a family that would shoot at you rather than argue with you'. For all his faults, Donald Trump 's running mate, J.D. Vance , was always very fond of his grandmother, whom he called Mamaw Aged 12, she spotted two men stealing the family cow. 'She ran inside, grabbed a rifle, and fired a few rounds. One of the men collapsed the result of a shot to the leg and the other jumped into the truck and squealed away. 'The would-be thief could barely crawl, so Mamaw approached him, raised the business end of her rifle to the man's head, and prepared to finish the job. 'Luckily for him, Uncle Pet intervened. Mamaw's first confirmed kill would have to wait for another day.' Eek! Mamaw was clearly a far cry from the grandmother celebrated by our very own St Winifred's School Choir in their Christmas 1980 chart-topper: There's no one quite like Grandma She always has a smile She never hurries us along But stays a little while. Indeed not. Mamaw had a temper. She once poured a canister of petrol over Vance's drunken grandfather, Papaw: 'She lit a match and dropped it on his chest. 'When Papaw burst into flames, their 11-year-old daughter jumped into action to put out the fire and save his life. 'Miraculously, Papaw survived the episode with only mild burns.' No matter how random or violent her behaviour, Vance sets Mamaw up as the great American role model. For instance, she once ignored the direction signs on a highway and drove straight towards the oncoming traffic. Vance (pictured earlier last month) paid tribute to his granny in his speech to the Republican convention in Milwaukee, as he officially accepted Trump's vice presidential nomination 'I was screaming in terror, but after a U-turn on a three-lane interstate, the only thing Mamaw said about the incident was, 'We're fine, goddammit. Don't you know Jesus rides in the car with me?' You or I might see this as the behaviour of a madwoman, but not Vance, who draws a cosy, cracker-barrel moral from it. 'In Mamaw's contradictions lay great wisdom,' he reflects. 'It provided a message I needed to hear. 'To coast through life was to squander my God-given talent, so I had to work hard. 'I had to take care of my family because Christian duty demanded it . . . I should never despair, for God had a plan.' Vance paid tribute to his weirdo granny in his speech to the Republican convention in Milwaukee, as he officially accepted Trump's vice presidential nomination. He told delegates that, after Mamaw died in 2005, 'we went through her things [and] we found 19 loaded handguns' pause for cheers 'now, the thing is, they were stashed all over her house. 'Under her bed, in her closet. In the silverware drawer. And we wondered what was going on.' And here comes the moral . . . For one reason or another, Vance (pictured on Tuesday) failed to mention how his grandmother kept '19 loaded handguns' in her home in Hillbilly Elegy, even though he covered his grandmother's death and its aftermath. Did he consider it too sinister to mention? Or possibly more likely did he, invent it for his speech? 'It occurred to us that towards the end of her life. Mamaw couldn't get around very well. And so this frail old woman . . .' she was, in fact, six years younger than Donald Trump is now, but best not mention it 'made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arm's length of whatever she needed to protect her family. 'That's who we are! That's who we fight for! That's American spirit!' (More cheers from the crowd, accompanied by chants of 'USA! USA! USA!') For one reason or another, Vance failed to mention this episode in Hillbilly Elegy, even though he covered his grandmother's death and its aftermath. Why not? Back then, did he consider it too sinister to mention? Or possibly more likely did he invent it for his speech, thinking, rightly or wrongly, that it would boost his electoral appeal? There's no one quite like Grandma She always has a gun She never needs to hurry us She knows that we will run. A sex scandal involving a group of swinging Mormon momfluencers in Utah is being turned into a reality show. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will premiere on Hulu in September and follows a group of glamorous influencer moms who had their faith and friendships rocked by a viral couple-swapping incident. The series is produced by the team behind Netflix's My Unorthodox Life, which followed designer Julia Haart after leaving her strict orthodox Jewish community behind to become a hotshot in the fashion world. 'The scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers implodes when they get caught in the midst of a swinging sex scandal that makes international headlines,' teases a press release. 'Now, their sisterhood is shook to its core. Faith, friendship and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?' A sex scandal involving a group of swinging Mormon momfluencers in Utah is being turned into a reality show for the Hulu network The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows a group of glamorous influencer moms who had their faith and friendships rocked by a viral couple-swapping incident The group first came to national attention in 2022, when Mormon TikTok star Taylor Paul, now 30, publicly revealed that she was part of a group of Utah couples who indulged in 'soft swinging' a practice where partners are swapped but only with the understanding that they don't have full penetrative sex. But Taylor caused a sensation when she admitted that she had broken the cardinal rule and ended up losing her husband and father of her two children Tate Paul, who divorced her over the incident. She also lost a lot of her friends, who turned on her and denied their involvement in the couple-swapping situation. While The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has a large cast, it's unclear which of the ladies - if any - were involved in any swinging shenanigans. One thing the cast does have in common is their enviable social media followings, with many of the women already boasting hundreds of thousands of fans across Instagram and TikTok. The current cast, who are all aged in their 20s and early 30s, include Demi Engemann, Jennifer Affleck, Jessi Ngatikaura, Layla Wessel, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Mathews, and Whitney Leavitt. The women are already embracing their impending reality TV fame by teaming up for group TikTok dancing videos and gushing about the gig on their social media pages. The group first came to national attention in 2022 when Mormon TikTok star Taylor Paul (pictured) exposed her swinging friend group on social media Taylor lost her husband and the father of her two children Tate Paul (pictured) after she broke one of the rules in their 'soft swinging' arrangement The 30-year-old was also arrested last year after a drunken domestic dispute with her new boyfriend resulted in her five-year-old daughter Indy accidentally being hit with a chair While it's unclear what storylines will play out on the series, Taylor has certainly been in her fair share of drama since exposing the secret swinging in her Mormon sisterhood. After divorcing husband Tate, the mother-of-three found love with real estate agent Dakota Mortensen - a former reality star and fellow TikTok star who went viral for sharing his struggles with drugs and alcohol on social media. However, things took a turn for the worse in February, 2023, when Taylor was arrested in a domestic violence dispute after throwing a chair at Dakota that ended up striking her five-year-old daughter Indy. She also threw her phone at him, and made him 'fear for his life', according to court records. The records say Dakota told Taylor to stop throwing things at him because he was standing next to her five-year-old daughter, but that she carried on. The sizzling hot cast includes glamorous boy mom Layla Taylor, who has 26,000 TikTok followers Whitney Leavitt has two million TikTok followers and 250,000 Instagram followers Blonde bombshell Mayci has 1.3million TikTok followers and has launched her own brand of gummies Taylor is pictured filming a scene with one of her castmates for the new series Eventually, one of the chairs hit the child in the head and left her with a 'goose-egg' injury, the records claim. Bodycam footage obtained by DailyMail.com later revealed that the fight was sparked when Dakota refused to take a heavily intoxicated Taylor to a concert - causing her to fly into a rage. The Mormon mom 'went ballistic' and eventually threw the chair that would accidentally hit her daughter. When police arrived at the scene in a Salt Lake City suburb, the influencer told them she was so scared she had 'peed' herself. She was charged with two counts of third degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child with injury, a Class A misdemeanor of child abuse with injury, and Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief. Self-proclaimed 'cool mom' Jen Affleck already has over 1.1 million TikTok followers Hairstylist Jessi Ngatikaura (left) has over 100,000 followers on both TikTok and Instagram, while Mikayla Matthews (right) boasts 2.4million on TikTok alone The stylish Demi Engemann already has over 300,000 followers on TikTok However, she was able to reach a plea deal after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, and the rest of the charges were dropped. Dakota spoke with DailyMail.com after the incident, insisting that Taylor is a 'good mom.' 'She's so broken right now. I tried to help her,' he said. 'She's a good mom, she's going through a lot in her life right now. Taylor's been struggling, it's been a hard year for her. She is racked with guilt on her cheating scandal that cost her her marriage.' The couple have since repaired their issues and in April, they welcomed their first child together - a son named Ever True. Taylor already has daughter Indy, six, and Ocean, three, with her ex-husband Tate. All six episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premieres on Hulu on September 6. They eventually decided to meet up in person - and the rest is history Each on the verge of divorce, they decided to sign up for Ashley Madison A couple who met two decades ago through the pro-infidelity dating site Ashley Madison has revealed they have zero regrets and feel that their marriage is as happy as can be. Back in 2004, Michael Oshust and Stephania Meyer, of Nova Scotia, were both married to other people but neither marriage was going well, as they told Business Insider. Michael, 55, was in the midst of a divorce with his wife, who he'd been with for six-and-a-half years. For her part, Stephania, 52, had been with her now-ex husband 11 years, and had two daughters with him - but was desperately unhappy and leaning toward divorce. Back in 2004, Michael Oshust, 55, and Stephania Meyer, 52, were both married to other people - but neither marriage was going well As Michael was amidst a divorce, and Stephania's split with her husband was imminent, the two separately decided to sign up for Ashley Madison Stephania and her ex had in fact implicitly agreed to put off splitting up until after the next Christmas to give their daughters one last holiday together as a family. At the same time, Ashley Madison was ramping up its marketing efforts, and would soon gain widespread notoriety for its tagline: 'Life is short. Have an affair.' 'I heard numerous radio ads for Ashley Madison and it peaked some curiosity as I was missing companionship in my marriage,' Stephania told DailyMail.com in 2019, then on the occasion of their 15th anniversary. The brazen way that the service championed infidelity even led to its ads being banned in Singapore in 2013 for its 'flagrant disregard of our family values and public morality.' Still, it gave Michael, then an IT project manager, a discreet option for starting to date other people with the finalization of his divorce not yet realized. As for Stephania, then a stay-at-home mom, she claimed that she had initially signed up out of curiosity rather than with the express intent of finding an affair partner. In any case, the pair, both based in Ontario at the time, found each other through Ashley Madison and began chatting. Michael described to BI that both were 'yearning' for a deeper connection and 'intellectual conversations.' After six weeks of exchanging messages, the two met for the first time in real life at a coffee shop - and the rest is history Stephania and Michael went ahead and tied the knot in a 2007 wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with two friends in attendance Stephania recalled that most of her messages were requesting nudes - but only Michael had asked her how she was. They also bonded over a shared affinity for the same rock music. 'It intrigued me, so I just sent a little note back,' Stephania told the outlet. 'And then we just kept messaging. We had so much to talk about. 'It got to the point where every day I'd get the kids off to school and race home to get online just to chat with Michael.' She eventually began developing real feelings for her new online beau. 'It scared me because I'm not a cheater per se,' she admitted, adding: 'It just felt so different. Natural, even.' Six weeks after their first messages were exchanged, the duo met in person at a coffee shop in October 2004. 'I opened the door, and I gently gave her a nice kiss. And that was the best feeling I'd ever had in my life at that point,' Michael recalled to BI. After relocating from Ontario to Nova Scotia in the years after their wedding, the two opened and currently run a house-painting business From there, they kept seeing each other more and more frequently, but keeping everything clandestine. Nonetheless, it only took a month from their first in-person meeting for Stephania's husband discover emails from Michael and realized what was going on. From there, he kicked her out of the house. After her divorce was finalized, Stephania recalled her ex admitting that he knew something was going on as she'd started to glow and take better care of herself. It didn't take long for Stephania and Michael to move in together - in a location nearby her two girls, who were then five and seven years old. Though Stephania did her best to be a constant presence in her daughters' lives, she was devastated when they eventually cut off contact with her, even blocking her 'on everything.' And she became something of a pariah amongst her other family and some friends. But she and Michael were undeterred and went ahead with tying the knot in 2007, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with two friends in attendance. Eventually, the two relocated to Nova Scotia and now co-own a house-painting business. Two decades after their first meeting, Stephania reflected of their relationship: 'I wouldn't trade it for the world.' A young man has admitted he is 'extremely miserable' living Down Under and blames the 'cliquey' culture for his inability to make new friends. The man, in his 20s, is from an African family and has lived in Western Australia since he was a baby. While he loves the education, safety and healthcare and has no intention of 'bashing' life in Australia, he admits he is incredibly lonely despite being a naturally 'bubbly' person. 'Making and keeping friends here is very hard as many people tend to keep their school/work/uni friends around which can be very cliquey,' he wrote on Reddit. '"Hey would should totally catch up" is said on a regular basis, when usually its just a courtesy to not straight up decline an invitation to hang out.' The self proclaimed 'proud Aussie' also said that people his age are only into smoking and drinking, and while he's not against that, the desire to do other activities further contributes to his isolation. He has tried visiting beaches, parks, and workshops but nothing changes - with everyone in their 'little groups' still reluctant to engage with strangers. The young man, who thinks 'adulting sucks', also pointed to the harsh cost of living and the fact that Aussies definitely live to work, and don't work to live. Sydney was once ranked by Time Out as the third worst city in the world for making new friends, but many agree Australia can be incredibly isolating Even the hard water in Australia makes his skin break out with painful cystic acne, which also doesn't help when it comes to making new friends. 'I just need to know if anyone else feels the way I do about living here?' he asked. People were sharply divided, with some saying that Australian culture wasn't to blame, but that making new friends is just universal problem once you reach a certain age. 'As someone who was born and raised in Australia but hasnt lived there for quite some time, most of the things you have mentioned are just adulthood problems and ones not unique to here,' one woman said. Others believed that the focus on work and people being too tired and set in their own ways had nothing to do with Australia but more to do with the global economy in general. One in six Aussies struggles with feelings of loneliness according to the Australian Institute of Health and Wellness 'It sounds like its not Australia thats depressing you, its capitalism,' one man said. Some defended the country and said that while adulthood is hard, the laid back culture actually means that people place less emphasis on work than they do in other countries. 'A better work/life culture might be one of the main reasons people from other cultures choose to make the move to Australia,' one expat said. Most recommended some time living abroad for the man to get out of his depressed rut, suggesting it would offer some new perspective on what Australia was really like. Others said he was just living in the wrong part of Australia if it was new friends he was after, as some of the bigger cities such as Sydney and Perth were notoriously difficult for meeting new people. Australians who have relocated to Perth have dubbed it a lonely city and a very hard place to make new friends 'If you can stand the heat, come to Darwin! One of the least clique-ish places Ive ever lived and everyones out walking and talking in the evening along the foreshore. Its a very international community,' a resident said. A few people thought that location had nothing to do with the man's depression and that he needed to address his emotional and mental health. 'You are taking yourself wherever you go. If you want to be happy, start working on yourself,' one woman said. But many people argued that Aussies were in fact to blame, and could be a lot more open when it comes to letting new people in. 'You are definitely right that Australia has become extremely socially fragmented and people experience high rates of social isolation and loneliness. Thats a fact and I dont know why people would try to dispute that,' a woman said. 'I think Australia is turning into a bit of a social hole where people have no meaningful social or community connection anymore,' another woman agreed. 'I think people say "Lets catch up" as a performance just to feel like they have a social connection.' The Australian Institute of Health and Wellness says that one in six Australians struggle with loneliness. The original poster's age bracket of 15 - 24 year olds experience more loneliness on average than females of the same age. People also acknowledged that Australians can be especially hard to befriend if you're not partial to a beer at the pub. 'Ever since I stopped drinking alcohol and didnt want to go out to nightclubs or bars/pubs it seems like you get cast aside. Australian culture is heavily dependent on alcohol to have fun. Its a mandatory requirement for lots of people here,' one man said. An Aussie who agreed that the country's culture still has a long way to go offered some interesting insights on the reasons why. 'Mate, Australia is stressful cluster f*** of gender separation and entitlement where the vast majority are insecure as heck and have forgotten what happiness means,' he said. One labelled the poster very brave to share his true feelings as he thinks Australians are a bit touchy when it comes to hearing anything negative about themselves or their culture. 'I find us to be incredibly defensive when Australia is criticised even gently. I get piled on as a white Australian immigrant for trying to suggest that we should improve some things,' he said. 'I can't imagine what it's like to say the same as an Australian immigrant who isn't white. 'Don't let them convince you that you're ungrateful/wrong/an idiot just because they have no imagination.' One lonely Aussie who had given up on trying to make new friends has some sage advice for the young man. 'Life is miserable sometimes, so I got myself a dog and a therapist.' Meghan Markle wears clothing from smaller brands that is 'not possible to alter' and is 'too controversial' for bigger fashion houses, experts have claimed. The Duchess of Sussex, 42, has often opted for floor-length garments over the past six years - most recently wearing a pair of 360 trousers to a business summit in the Hamptons over the weekend. For the occasion, the mother-of-two - who is preparing to launch her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard - paired the beige linen trousers with a matching single-breasted waistcoat, which is also by the Australian brand St Agni. At one point, Meghan posed for photos with makeup mogul Bobbi Brown and fashion designer Misha Nonoo - and fans noticed the Duchess' feet were totally obscured by her trousers. Speaking to FEMAIL, celebrity stylist Rochelle White claimed Meghan's trousers were potentially a sample pair from St Agni and therefore not possible to alter to her 5ft 6in frame - either because they have to be returned or because they've been given to the stylist rather than directly to Meghan herself to keep. Pictured: The Duchess of Sussex (with Misha Nonoo and Bobbi Brown) opted for a 700 beige linen co-ord set by St Agni for the Hamptons business summit The expert said: 'I know that wide leg long trousers are in fashion and trend piece right now. They have been dominating instagram and runways, so I think she likes the style. 'They are great at cinching the waist but adding leg and depth to an outfit. They can also be flattering and comfortable and not so restrictive. 'But the Duchess could also be working with either a designer, fashion house, or stylist where it might not be possible to have alterations done so that they are more fitting to her leg length. So, as a result they are longer.' What's more, fashion expert Giorgina Ramazzotti has also claimed that while Meghan has worn Dior and Givenchy in the past, she could be seen as too 'controversial' a figure to get free samples from some major fashion houses. Giorgina said: 'As a celebrity and actress before joining the royals, Meghan would have been very used to a world in which everything is given on loan for photoshoots, an appearance or borrowed from wardrobe as part of her character in Suits. 'Celebrities rarely have to part with cold hard cash in exchange for fashion items. Often items are given as gifts, given on loan for special events, or the star is given a heavy discount to shop the brand, and whilst Meghan wasnt a well-known actress before meeting Prince Harry, she would still have been given freebies albeit from smaller brands. 'When she joined the royals, she quickly found out that loans and gifts from designers were forbidden, and the star was no doubt given an allowance to dress something Im sure she was glad to throw out of the window when she left the royal fold. 'It can be noted that Meghan rarely wears big designer brands such as the French fashion houses Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Saint Laurent etc. These brands are very careful with their image and getting loans from them for lesser or controversial stars (as Meghan, in some circles, now is) is like getting blood from a stone.' Pictured: Meghan Markle wore another pair of floor-length trousers for the Invictus Games in Germany in September 2023 Meghan Markle wore floor-length trousers to visit Edinburgh Castle during her first official joint visit to Scotland with Prince Harry in February 2018 In June 2023, French fashion house Dior denied that they had signed a 'megabucks' deal with the Duchess, who was rumoured to become the face of the brand. It had been speculated any deal could be worth as much as 15million to the couple. What's more, the stylist argued that the Duchess favours floor-length trousers and skirts as she is trying to channel an 'old money' aesthetic. Giorgina explained: 'Meghan tends to favour minimalist, understated luxury; simple separates, neutral colours, and classic tailoring think Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy meets 21st century style and her latest look from St. Agni encompasses all this to a tee.' The expert says Meghan could be 'carving out her own version of "quiet luxury", which has proven to be a popular trend over the past few years and means favouring unbranded designer clothing in neutral colour palettes. Giorgina continued: 'Larger than life amounts of cloth has long been a design of wealth the epitome of old money style so prevalent with Gen Z and Millennials. 'Where a maxi dress on the high street usually clings and rarely reaches below the calf, in luxury stores their summer dresses use much more fabric to create volume and length often billowing and reaching to the floor. Where lower price points scrimp on fabric, luxury brands know that their clients want to look put together with no corners cut.' Celebrity stylist Rochelle thinks Meghan wears longer outfits that cover her feet to look taller than she is. Above: Meghan in September 2022, Germany The Duchess of Sussex is pictured in a long ballgown at the Variety Power of Women Los Angeles in November 2023 Meghan Markle wears a long ruffled dress as she visits Lightway Academy in Abuja, Nigeria, in May 2024 But while Meghan's trouser and skirt lengths may be 'scoffed at' by some, Giorgina says her style is always 'chic and on point'. Following Meghan and Harry's 'tour' of Nigeria in May, Rochelle argued that the Duchess frequently wears floor-length garments to give her the illusion of height. She said: 'Long dresses and trousers, depending on body type, can help to elongate the body and shape. 'They can make you look taller and depending on the styles can help to define areas of the body you either want to highlight or cover up.' When the royal couple spent a week in Frankfurt last summer to attend the Invictus Games, Meghan wore an all-brown ensemble on a day that saw them both watching events and attending a NATO meeting. This was made up of a chocolate-coloured blouse and creased taupe trousers that trailed along the floor. She stood next to Prince Harry - who is a whopping 6ft 2inches in height - and although she barely came up to his shoulder, Rochelle says she appears taller because of her outfit choice. She said: 'Looking at Meghan, I feel that these styles make her look taller and highlight her silhouette. I feel it makes her look taller. 'I feel that she knows her body and the things or items that work for her best and is tapping into that with her looks.' In 2018, during Meghan's trip to Edinburgh with Harry, she proudly donned a pair of lengthy, flared black trousers which were too long for her despite wearing a pair of heels. As the Duchess was busy greeting people who braved the unpredictable Scottish weather to see the former royals, the slacks were pulled along the wet concrete, gathering dirt on the bottom of them. A popular YouTuber has been accused of 'grooming' his ex-girlfriend, because they met when she was 14 - and he was 21 years old. Zach Justice, 28 - co-host of the successful Dropouts Podcast which has more than 1.27 million YouTube subscribers - has come under fire for his past relationship with musician Indiana Massara, 21. Both have vehemently denied the allegation that there was anything romantic before she was well over 18, but social media users have still remarked that they're still 'disgusted' at the situation. It is understood that the pair dated sometime between 2020 and 2022, before breaking up, but stayed in touch as friends and even made content about being exes together. In March, Indiana, who is originally from Australia, appeared on Dropouts - of which she also used to be a host - to address how their relationship is viewed. Zach Justice, 28 - co-host of the successful Dropouts Podcast which has more than 1.27 million YouTube subscribers - has come under fire for his past relationship with musician Indiana Massara, 21. Pictured: Aged 20 and 27 while dating She explained that the pair met when she was 14 and he was 21 because her mother hired him to edit her videos. 'He worked for, I guess pretty much my mum at the time,' she said. 'He edited my YouTube videos and in exchange had a room in my mum's apartment. 'Literally I cant even express to you how much nothing happened. 'Yeah, I sure hope not you were 14 years old,' Zach added. Indiana continued: 'There have been some many things... comments, Reddits, TikTok videos, everything. 'Saying that I'm this victim, saying that Zach groomed me, like all of these things - and I would like to set the f***ing record straight. 'Number one - I am not a victim. Every time you guys are consistently drafting these narratives of this bull***t that happened when I was 14, you are constantly devaluing real victims and real people that have been in those situations. Both have vehemently denied the allegation that there was anything romantic before she was well over 18, but social media users have still remarked that they're 'disgusted' at the situation. Pictured, the pair as friends when she was 15 and he was 22 It is understood that the pair dated sometime between 2020 and 2022, before breaking up, but stayed in touch as friends and even made content about being exes together 'I have been in those situations with some horrible people and Zach is not one of them. 'I have been in abusive relationships. I have been in situations with older men who were taking advantage of younger women in California, and that didn't f***ing happen - it never happened.' 'I edited for her mom for a couple of months, whatever it was, and then I didn't [Indiana] for years,' Zach added. Indiana confirmed that they then didn't connect until around two and a half years later. Old Instagram photos show Zach going to a movie with her when she was about to turn 16, and him, 22. In March, Indiana, who is originally from Australia, appeared on Dropouts - of which she also used to be a host - to address how their relationship is viewed The pair then recounted how, around then, they realised they worked well together on video and were encouraged to make more content together. Zach said that he expressed, at the time: 'Only way I'm doing this is if it's brother and sister content, 'cause I don't want anyone thinking were something because we weren't.' Indiana added that she also had a boyfriend during this period, and didn't see Zach in a romantic lens. She also opened up about being in an abusive relationship in her teenage years - and is since understood to have taken out a restraining order against the ex-partner - which Zach had helped her heal through. 'You were in an abusive relationship with someone and you kind of came to me as a friend,' he recounted. The pair have recounted how, around then, they realised they worked well together on video and were encouraged to make more content together. Both pictured at Indiana's 19th birthday Despite the pair denying any grooming allegations, viewers have slammed Zach as a 'creep' and 'predator'. The pair in 2020 'And I just talked to you, and I wanted to be there for you like a big brother... ' It is not clear when the pair officially started dating, but online accounts have speculated that Indiana was around 20 years old. Zach - who was 5.5 million followers on TikTok - has also denied dating Indiana when she was 'freshly 18' on a podcast episode. Photos from her Instagram show the pair in coupley photos, cuddling close, from around 2021, when she would have been 19 and Zach, 26. However, it is not confirmed if they were together then. In a 2020 podcast episode of Wesam's World, when the pair were still just friends, and said they met when Zach edited her videos and stayed with Indiana's family for a few months. It is not known exactly why Zach and Indiana broke up. As reported by Distractify, Indiana was struggling with her mental health and experiencing frequent panic attacks, whereas Zach claimed 'he had never been treated worse in a relationship than he was with her'. The pair are understood to have parted ways by late 2022. Despite the pair denying any grooming allegations, viewers have slammed Zach as a 'creep' and 'predator'. It is not clear when the pair officially started dating, but online accounts have speculated that Indiana was around 20 years old. Zach has also denied dating Indiana when she was 'freshly 18' on a podcast episode. Pictured in January In a 36 minute video earlier this month, creator Film Cooper recounted the signs of grooming and compared it to the duo, claiming that old footage of the pair being close and cuddly when Indiana was a teenager now appears uncomfortable. TikTok creator Zina (@zinaaweemaa) also remarked that Zach was consistently leaving comments and liking Indiana's posts when she was a teenager. 'It's obviously banter, it's obviously flirty,' she said. 'Like what business do you have as a 22 year old on this 15 year old girl's Instagram.' Zach commented on the video, saying: 'Actually I would never as am actually a respectable human being. Twisting things t make someone a villain is a strange pass time. 'Hoping you can figure your life out. Rooting for you.' In a follow up, Zina then said: 'Can we explain how this is OK? How does it make sense as someone in your twenties to know a girl for years until she becomes 18 and then date her.' She then referenced jokes Zach has made about another influencer friend of his, Tara Yummy, 24, who he has in a podcast 'jokingly' called a 'peadophile's dream' because she is 'small and dainty'. Zina has also shared DMs Zach sent her insisting that he is not in the wrong - but she has continued to double down on her content, and stressed that influencers must be held accountable. Indiana's representatives told MailOnline that they had 'no comment at this time'. MailOnline has also reached out to Zach for comment. What's the worst chocolate bar of all time? Have your say in our poll below Nearly everyone appreciates a good chocolate binge, whether it's as part of a meal deal or the luxurious share-sized bars (which usually end up being eaten in one sitting). But if you think all UK chocolate bars are equally valued by the British public, then you need to think again. This week a furious debate was ignited by discount comparison website LatestDeals.co.uk, which asked 'What is the worst chocolate bar?' - and people were quick to share their very strong opinions. Now, almost 22,000 MailOnline readers have had their say and the question has been settled once and for all - with one very controversial bar receiving by far the most votes. MailOnline readers have voted for their least favourite chocolate bar and the Fry's Turkish Delight was a clear non-starter with more than a third of the votes The chocolates included were Bounty, Turkish Delight, Snickers, Milky Bar, Twix, Crunchie, Cadbury Fruit and Nut and Boost. Mars, Caramac, Milky Way, Double Decker and Picnic also made the list. But one chocolate outranked the others by far, gaining 36 per cent of the vote share after nearly 8,000 people ranked it in last place. Clearly, a very sweet bar is not for everyone - as Fry's Turkish Delight was officially crowned the worst chocolate bar in the UK. One person said: 'Fry's Turkish delight is absolutely disgusting and it shouldn't be called that.' They added that they 'couldn't find an emoji' bad enough to express their thoughts on the classic chocolate. Others said: 'The fresh stuff with no chocolate is delicious.' Even though one person came to its defence, saying they 'love' the treat, it clearly wasn't enough to save it from its fate at top of the leaderboard. In second place was a perhaps surprising contender, as Caramac managed to out-rank Bounty on the hate scale with 13 per cent of votes. In tubs of Celebrations, Bounty famously gets a bad name and the coconut-filled treat is often the last remaining in the box. Bounty still proved its polarising nature and was ranked as Britain's third worst chocolate bar with 10 per cent of the vote. In joint fourth place was Double Decker, Milky Way, and Boost, with six per cent each - considerably lower than the winners, perhaps due to Turkish Delight taking so many votes. The British public mainly took issue with Fry's Turkish Delight, with one person branding it 'absolutely disgusting' The chocolates included were Bounty, Turkish Delight, Snickers, Milky Bar, Twix, Crunchie, Cadbury Fruit and Nut, Picnic, Boost, Mars, Caramac, Milky Way, Double Decker Though people had complained of the raisins in Picnic bars, it ended up performing surprisingly well with five per cent of the vote share. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the table, Twix seemed to be chosen as the least controversial chocolate bar in the UK, only attracting two per cent of the vote. The delightful biscuit-y treat was joined by the likes of Mars bars and Crunchie as the UK's favourite sweet treats. Previously, MailOnline revealed Britain's most hated biscuit, with readers naming the variety they want banned from supermarket shelves. Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk said: 'It's fascinating to see how preferences vary so much when it comes to chocolate. 'While some flavours are cherished, others clearly don't hit the sweet spot for everyone. The results certainly spark a debate about the nation's taste buds!' An Aussie man was shocked after learning the reason why his electricity bill had increased by a staggering $400. At first the Sydneysider struggled to pinpoint what caused the sudden spike in price then made the infuriating discovery after investigating his unit's power source. To his surprise, he claimed a neighbour had plugged their extension cord into his outlet at the communal power box. Unsure how to react, he sought assistance on Facebook and wrote: 'After some investigation I saw that one of the other two tenants on the floor is regularly using our power socket. What do you recommend?' Others couldn't believe how brazen the neighbour's behaviour was and offered advice - and some took a harder stance. 'This person should be confronted,' one man said. 'Ask them for reimbursement, if they refuse then contact the police,' another added. But many recommended a less direct approach to dealing with the situation and suggested talking to the strata managers directly to have them solve the issue. At first the Sydneysider struggled to pinpoint what caused the sudden spike in price then made the infuriating discovery after investigating his unit's power source. To his surprise, he claimed one of the two neighbours had plugged their extension cord into his power outlet Others said that plugging a power cord into someone else's outlet was 'rude' at the very least. One thought that the only proper response was for the man to use their neighbour's power outlet and see how they liked it. 'Lock yours up and start using theirs for the same amount of time they have been using yours, maybe they will politely ask you to stop,' he suggested. 'Cut the cords,' another man said. While most were certain the neighbour's behaviour was deliberate and not an honest mistake, others said it was best not to assume anything. Unsure how to react, he sought assistance on Facebook and wrote: 'After some investigation I saw that one of the other two tenants on the floor is regularly using our power socket. What do you recommend?' (stock image) 'Maybe they don't realise their error, you would be surprised how dense some people are,' one woman said. 'Have the strata replace all the power points with ones that are lockable,' another advised. Many pointed out that most hardware stores sell covers and locks that are easy to install over any power outlet. One woman took more of a compassionate view of the matter and told the original poster that the theft was probably due to hard times. 'Leave a small fruit basket at their door acknowledging they are obviously in financial hardship to resort to taking power without asking,' she said. 'Then explain as we're all experiencing similar struggles you have put a lock device on...wish them well, be mindful and kind.' A recent dispute between neighbours over parking in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool erupted into a 'full blown war' after a Hindu family was attacked by their neighbours. The family accused their neighbours of vile acts including smearing feces on their mailbox. The dispute continued even after the family, who admitted both parties were at fault, had moved 20km away. 'He still continues to drive past our house and beep the horn, we don't know how they got our new address and the police wont do anything,' the family told Daily Mail Australia. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon sued X and its boss Elon Musk, alleging the social media company misrepresented its plans for an exclusive interview show and unfairly benefited from his likeness before refusing to pay him after a tough interview with Musk. Evan Agostini/Associated Press Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and X, formerly Twitter, alleging the billionaire businessman owes him money after a content deal fell through with Musks social media site. Lemon brought the suit in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging fraud, breach of contract, and misappropriating Lemons name and likeness. In the complaint, Lemon said he struck a deal with Musk and X for an interview show that would appear exclusively on the site, with a guaranteed $1.5 million annual salary along with other bonuses and incentives. The show fell apart after one interview with Musk that appeared on the site. Lemons attorneys said he was never paid, but X profited from its association with him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A request for comment from the company resulted in only a generic, automated response. On Friday, a day after the suit was filed, Musk wrote on X that Lemon had made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal. After Musks purchase of the site, he laid off a significant portion of the staff and lifted bans on some controversial accounts, causing some advertisers to pull away. In an attempt to create exclusive content on the site to lure back advertisers, X reached out to Lemon, according to the complaint. Initially wary, Lemon was eventually swayed by the companys promises. But the complaint said the company intentionally deceived him, knowing that if they accurately represented to Lemon that the purpose and meaning of the exclusive partnership deal was to use Lemons name, likeness, reputation, and identity to rehabilitate Defendants reputation and draw in advertisers to the X platform, Lemon would never have agreed. Lemon was in a vulnerable state, the filing said, having been fired by CNN in 2023 after making comments about then Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being past her prime. When Lemon met with X CEO Linda Yaccarino in New York last year, she and other company executives promised him total control of his show and any content he produced for the site, the filing said. They also allegedly egged him on with the promise of significant earnings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Shortly before signing, X informed Lemon that the terms of their offer would be withdrawn unless he attended the CES Conference in Las Vegas and that Lemon make a social media post announcing their partnership to the public on the same day, which he did. Lemon then spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up a company and studio and striking production deals to record interviews for his show. Two months after signing, Lemon interviewed Musk for the first episode of The Don Lemon Show. That interview saw Lemon press Musk on his views on conspiracy theories, which he has promoted on the site, hate speech, and other sensitive topics. Musk became irritated towards the end of the interview. I dont have to answer questions from reporters, Musk told Lemon at one point. Musk allegedly texted Lemons agent shortly thereafter that Lemons deal was canceled. Xs head of brand and content Brett Weitz later told Lemon he would not be paid because there was no signed agreement, despite Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to fill out paperwork. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The lawsuit is seeking payment as well as punitive damages and compensation for psychological and emotional distress, humiliation, and mental physical pain and anguish. Premium British chocolatier set to open four sites across Yorkshire over summer A premium British chocolate manufacturer is set to open its first bakery and hot food offer, with the move set to rival high street bakery chain Greggs. Hotel Chocolat is expanding its Velvetiser Cafe format, with four new bakeries opening at sites across Yorkshire over the summer. As the chocolate specialist's new owner Mars begins its store investment plans, the concessions are due to arrive in Harrogate, Leeds Springs and Leeds Trinity cafes in August, with a fourth site set to open in Ilkley in September. The menu items on offer have all been developed in-house and are based on dishes from the Hotel Chocolat restaurant, as reported by The Grocer. Providing a unique twist on the typical steak bake, a range of savoury pasties will be available, including Piton Pulled Pork and Soufriere Spinach flavours, inspired by the brand's resort in St Lucia. Hotel Chocolat is expanding its Velvetiser Cafe format, with four new bakeries opening at sites across Yorkshire over the summer Customers will be able to enjoy a variety of delectable sweet and savoury goods, with products ranging from a Chocolatier's Carrot Cake to a Caribbean Chicken Curry pasty. Other sweet bakes include a Cacao Pod Pastry and a Hazelnut Crownie, which has been described as a cross between a cookie and a brownie. To support the rollout, the retailer has converted the upper floors of its Leeds Trinity shop into a bakery, where goods will be manufactured for all the new sites. Head of Velvetiser Cafe Ian Mackie said: 'This launch represents a significant milestone for the Velvetiser Cafe, as we expand our offerings to include a diverse and delectable menu inspired by our commitment to quality and innovation. 'Each item is crafted with care and precision, using the finest ingredients, sourced responsibly, reflecting our dedication to ethical and sustainable practices.' He added: 'We cannot wait for our customers to experience the unique flavours and the exceptional quality that define Hotel Chocolat.' It comes after Mars snapped up Hotel Chocolat for a staggering 534m in November, stunning experts in the industry. Mars is now hoping to use its new purchase to tap into the luxury chocolate market, following in the footsteps of several other firms. To support the rollout, the retailer has converted the upper floors of its Leeds Trinity shop into a bakery, where goods will be manufactured for all the new sites The menu items on offer have all been developed in-house and are based on dishes from the Hotel Chocolat restaurant With sales of chocolate forecast to grow by 13 per cent between 2022 and 2027 and hit a stunning 6.66 billion, firms have been racing to stand out from the crowd. And they have identified luxury chocolate as the next big trend in the market amid the success of firms like Tony's Chocolonely and H!P Chocolate - created by the great-great-great grandson of the original Mr Cadbury. Earlier this year, Paramount Retail Group splashed out to purchase Montezuma's, a luxury chocolate firm struggling in administration. Helen Pattinson, co-founder of Montezuma's told MailOnline that during tough financial times, people tend to turn to little luxuries to treat themselves - and fancy chocolate seems to be an increasingly popular choice. She said: 'It is well documented that people like to continue to treat themselves during a recession or tough financial times, and a special bag of truffles costs a lot less than taking the family out for dinner so often chocolate wins during these hard times.' Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark died age 85 in an Athens hospital The Greek Royal Family donned sombre black ensembles today as they led the way at Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark's burial in Athens. The royal, who was a first cousin to Prince Philip and a renowned writer and historian under the name Michel De Gres, passed away at a hospital in Athens, it was announced on Sunday. He was 85. Family members arrived at the First Cemetery of Athens at midday to commemorate Michael, who was the last remaining grandson of George I with a lineage to the defunct House of Bourbon through his mother's side of the family. The funeral procession took place in the Orthodox Church of Saint Theodores situated in the First Cemetery of Athens, with the burial taking place at the Tatoi Cemetery. Crown Princess Marie Chantal and Crown Prince Pavlos - who is now the head of the Greek royal family - cut elegant figures in all-black attire, with Marie opting for a belted short sleeved shirt dress and suede pumps. Queen Sofia of Spain, whose father King Pavlos of Greece was Micheal's first cousin, looked sombre as she spoke to guests. Pallbearers are seen at the Orthodox Church of Saint Theodores, in the First Cemetery of Athens, in Athens to mark the funeral of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark The family are seen gathered outside the church. From left: Pavlos of Greece, Princess Anne-Marie of Greece, Marie-Chantal Miller and Princess Olga of Greece Crown Princess Marie Chantal of Greece arrived at the funeral of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark in the First Cemetery of Athens at midday Queen Sofia of Spain along with her sister, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark is pictured at the funeral Queen Sofia speaks to Stephane Bern outside the Orthodox church Princess Alexandra, Queen Anne Marie and Marina Karella embrace in a sweet hug Pallbearers carry the coffin outside the Orthodox church in Athens Prince Micheal of Greece is laid to rest in Athens, with many of the royal family paying their respects Mourners opted for traditional gear as they headed into to the church The royal was laid to rest in an Orthodox ceremony Pavlos, son of former king of Greece Constantine II, attends the funeral of Michael, cousin of the late Prince Philip Flowers and flags were laid out to rest Queen Marie joined her son, 57, and daughter-in-law, 55, at the venue and looked typically sophisticated in a black midi dress. Michael was the first cousin of the late King Constantine, who was wife to Queen Marie and father to Pavlos. The family requested that in lieu of flowers, guests at the service donate to ELIZA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Michael's widow, Marina Karella, went against the norm and donned a white suit for the service. He was well known for his devotion to his wife Marina Karella and his turbulent personal life which saw him tragically lose his father at the age of just one. Prince Michael had to give up his rights to the Greek throne to marry Marina in 1965 as despite being an acclaimed painter and sculptor, she was not a member of the royal family. Prince Michael was born in 1939 on the eve of great change in Europe and in the Greek Royal Family. The only child of Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark - who was the younger brother of Prince Philip's father, Prince Andrew - and his second wife Princess Francoise d'Oleans of France, his youth was characterised by upheaval. Princess Anne-Marie of Greece attends the funeral of Prince Michel (or Michael) of Greece, at the Orthodox Church of Saint Theodores Traditional black dress was worn despite the blistering August heat Queen Sofia, whose late father was a first cousin of Prince Micheal, looked sombre Queen Anne Marie, Crown Princess Marie Chantal, and Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece entered the burial service together Queen Anne Marie cut a sophisticated figure in a black belted midi dress, which she matched with a pair of black and nude pumps Prince Michale of Greece and Denmark's funeral took place at the First Cemetery of Athens, Greece. Pictured: Queen Sofia of Spain along with her sister, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark was a renowned writer and historian under the name Michel De Gres (seen in 2013) His father died at the age of 51 in 1940 after a short illness, while his mother passed away in 1953 leaving him an orphan at the age of 14. Being shuttled around Europe and north Africa in the midst of the Second World War, Michael was raised in Paris following the cessation of hostilities, where he developed a fascination with Greece and its history from afar. He would return to the country as an adult, joining its army and serving in the Cavalry-Armoured Corps and becoming the only royal to gain Greek citizenship. His love for the country kept it close to his heart and even when spending long periods away from the country, he always returned in good time. When the government fell to a right-wing military coup in 1967, Michael was the only member of the Greek Royal Family to remain in the country after his nephew King Constantine failed in his attempts to overthrow the Junta. Despite this, it was his marriage to Marina Karella that captured the hearts of the nation. The couple had met through mutual friends at a party and Michael was immediately smitten with the 'absolutely charming' woman. Anne Marie, who is the widow of King Constantine II, complimented her outfit with pearl necklaces The 77-year-old Queen greeted friends and family at the First Cemetery of Athens before the service Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark's widow, Marina Karella, opted for an all-white ensemble for the sombre occasion The 57-year-old Crown Prince of Greece greeted guests with a hug outside the cemetery Princess Theodora of Greece also attended the burial service in Athens to commemorate Michael Mourners greeted one another outside the cemetery before the service took place Guests arrived at the funeral procession that took place in the Orthodox Church of Saint Theodores Marina, who was the daughter of Athenian industrialist Theodoros Karella, had studied Fine Arts in Greece and Paris - the latter of which gave them something to talk about as Michael's mother was French and he had grown up in the country. Michael recalled the moment in his memoir, saying: 'She was just so lovely and gracious with me. It didn't take long to decide that I wanted to marry her. 'I remember I was dancing with her at a party, and I just looked at her. It was like a revelation it was her and no one else.' Just a few weeks later they got engaged, and despite some trepidation on her part, it would be a match made in heaven. Their marriage took two years to negotiate, with Michael forced to give up his rights to the Greek throne in order to marry a commoner. But when they did tie the knot on February 7, 1965, at the Royal Palace in Athens it was an event to be remembered, with the guest list including Queen Frederica, King Constantine, Queen Anna-Maria and, the Count and Countess of Paris. He later said he 'didn't hesitate' to give away his birthright for love, adding that by doing so it 'gave me a sense of freedom' and meant he was no longer beholden to the Royal Family, allowing him to choose his own profession. Photographers lined the venue as mourners arrived at the sombre service on Thursday afternoon While some mourners opted for all-black attire for the occasion, other attendees donned white Attendees opted for full black attire to mourn the passing of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark The service at the First Cemetery of Athens was attended by close friends and family of Michael Mourners arrived for Prince Michael's burial service in Greece on Thursday afternoon Mourners turned out in their dozens to pay their respects Princess Marie-Chantal was among the mourners 'It was love at first sight it has never, ever changed,' he said last year, adding: 'Now we are married 58 years Marina and my country Greece are the same.' The freedom he felt upon giving up his birthright gave Michael an insight into the weight working royals carry with them, including King Charles. Speaking following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, he expressed his sympathy for Charles having to take to the throne following the death of his mother. Referring to the new monarch, he told Fox News: 'I don't know if he's perfect or not 'What I know is that he can hardly do better than what he does now. I think he does his best. [Queen Camilla], too. 'It's very difficult I do not envy him at all, really poor guy. And he does it with dedication, with a sense of humour. She, too. But I would not like that job at all.' The job he ended up doing was a dream come true - the prince became a celebrated novelist, writing about historical subjects including Ancient Greece, the Ottoman Empire, as well as the European royal families. He started his career in 1970 and worked each day researching topics of interest to him which he based his books around. Prince Michael wrote fictional biographies as well as novels in French. He is survived by his wife Marina Karella, their daughters Princess Alexandra and Princess Olga, and their five grandchildren. Ballerina Farm's Hannah Neeleman has spoken out following the explosive profile centered around her family and lifestyle, claiming it 'couldn't be further from the truth' and called it an 'attack' on their family. The 34-year-old, who gained online fame for her captivating 'trad wife' content, was the subject of intense scrutiny following an article published by the Times of London. In a recent Instagram clip, Hannah addressed the article admitting she and her husband, 35-year-old JetBlue heir Daniel Neeleman, were 'shocked' when they read the published piece. 'A couple of weeks ago, we had a reporter come into our home to learn more about our family and business,' the mom-of-eight began. 'We thought the interview went really well,' she said. 'We were taken [aback] however, when we saw the printed article - which shocked us, and shocked the world by it being an attack on my family and my marriage.' Ballerina Farm's Hannah Neeleman has spoken out following the explosive profile centered around her family and lifestyle Hannah said the insinuations she was unhappy in the article 'couldn't be further from the truth' Although she didn't name the publication in the clip, it was insinuated she was referring to the Times article. She added that the article painted her as 'oppressed, with my husband being the culprit.' 'This couldn't be further from the truth,' she declared, adding that she believes the article's angle was 'predetermined' before it was even written. 'Together we have built a business from scratch,' she continued. 'We've brought eight children into this world, and have prioritized our marriage all along the way,' Hannah said. 'We are co-parents, co-CEOs, co-diaper changers, kitchen cleaners and decision makers, we are one,' she said passionately. 'I love him more today than I did 13 years ago, many dreams still to accomplish,' adding: 'We aren't done having babies.' Hannah concluded the clip saying at the moment, she's doing what she loves 'the most' - being a mother, wife, business woman and farmer. Hannah said at the moment, she's doing what she loves 'the most' - being a mother, wife, business woman and farmer Hannah left New York City and her dreams of being a dancer behind to instead live on a farm in Utah She makes looking after her enormous brood - while also running a successful company, managing the family's farm, and balancing her booming pageant career - seem like a breeze In a follow-up Instagram post, Hannah urged people to read 'our story in my own words' and visit the Ballerina Farm website. Hannah, who was an aspiring ballerina, moved to New York City at 17 to study at Juilliard, but met her now-husband Daniel not long after. The couplewho are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often share glimpses of their idyllic life on social media, posting under Ballerina Farm, the name of their shared company. Hannah and her husband launched their company Ballerina Farm in 2019 - which now sells an array of products made from their livestock like ground beef and pork, as well as fresh desserts and produce. She has amassed millions of followers on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube from her 'trad wife' content, a term short for 'traditional wife,' which describes a woman trading modern femininity for domestic duties, involving cooking, cleaning, and having children. Hannah, who was an aspiring ballerina, moved to New York City at 17 to study at Juilliard, but met her now-husband Daniel not long after Last week, fans of the Utah-based content creator have expressed their concern following the article published by the Times of London article, which described her as 'Queen of the Trad Wives,' portraying a less-than-idyllic life than her social media presence suggests. Readers were in shock over the in-depth piece, which showed Hannah often being spoken over by her husband and noted that she was left so exhausted from her hectic lifestyle that she was bed ridden for days. The couple are raising their eight children -Henry, 12, Charles, 10, George, nine, Frances, seven, Lois, five, Martha, three, Mabel, three, and Flora, six months - on their 328-acre farm in Utah. However, at times, author Megan Agnew expressed her skepticism over her happiness with the article making several remarks about it not being the life Hannah initially wanted. A woman in Massachusetts puzzled doctors when her dementia caused a frighteningly rapid deterioration. In just five months, the 78-year-old went from living independently to struggling to form sentences and needing help with basic tasks such as bathing and eating. A relative had died weeks before the deterioration, so the woman's daughter attributed the symptoms to grief - until it became clear something was deeply wrong. Doctors struggled to reach a diagnosis, which meant the woman was repeatedly sent for tests at some of the finest hospitals - including Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Calgary. The 78-year-old woman began experiencing unexplainable rapid and severe cognitive decline (stock photo) She was eventually found to have undiagnosed lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes, as well as a toxic build up of amyloid proteins in her arteries. The woman was diagnosed with paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis (PEM), inflammation in the brain and spinal cord that leads to confusion, brain bleeds, cognitive decline and difficulty with thinking and speaking - similar to Alzheimer's. PEM is a rare neurological disorder that affects fewer than one in 100,000 people each year. It develops because of the presence of cancer somewhere in the body. The patient's case was detailed in The New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors said her symptoms began with a 'flat affect,' which the patients daughter had attributed to grief after the death of the woman's sister. 'More severe memory issues' then developed and she was admitted to the hospital after a frightening episode that saw her struggle to speak. An MRI revealed areas of her brain tissue were damaged from a repeated lack of blood supply, indicating she may have experienced a stroke. But with no conclusive answers, doctors sent her home. Just 10 days later, the patient was becoming more impulsive, confused and more forgetful. Her primary care doctor prescribed medication to treat 'possible depression.' Over the next several weeks, the woman's condition continued to rapidly deteriorate and she began needing more help with daily life and bathing, as well as being reminded to eat. The above brain scans are suggestive of a stroke, brain tissue damage and narrowing of the brain's vessels Her daughter, once again, brought her to the hospital about four months later where she underwent more extensive testing, including blood work, a spinal tap, X-rays and another MRI. Testing revealed the woman had brain abnormalities, with damage to brain tissue and brain vessels, affecting the way blood and oxygen are supplied to the organ. After her formal diagnosis, the patient underwent treatment with steroids but did not receive chemotherapy due to her family's concern about her poor memory and confusion. She did undergo immunotherapy, however, for six months. The patient was also given a drug meant to treat seizures and the authors of the case report wrote her confusion decreased slightly and her awareness improved. She was discharged from the hospital to a nursing facility on a course of steroids. However, she became paranoid and confused and her memory worsened. Once her steroid treatment concluded, she developed respiratory distress and pneumonia and was admitted to the intensive care unit. As her condition began to deteriorate, the family chose to forego intervention and offer end-of-life comfort care instead. The woman died at a hospice facility. GPs have voted to take major industrial action from today onwards which aims to bring the NHS 'to a standstill' and that experts warn 'will hit patients' hard. More than 8,500 family doctors in England took part in the British Medical Association (BMA) ballot, with 98.3 per cent backing the mass action. It means GPs, who earn up to 700,000 according to NHS data, could slash the number of daily appointments held in England by a third. Family doctors have warned their industrial action could last for 'months'. So what does this mean for your GP appointments? How have the Government responded? What other parts of the NHS will be affected and how? Here MailOnline explains everything you need to know about the upcoming action. Your browser does not support iframes. What does this mean for my appointment? GPs are now being asked to take part in up to 10 forms of protest, including one which would put a cap on the number of daily 'patient contacts'. This includes face-to-face appointments, remote consultations and online messages. Under recommendations implemented by the BMA and European Union of General Practitioners, GPs should not deliver more than 25 appointments a day to ensure 'safe care'. Patients over the cap would be diverted to 'local urgent care settings' such as 111 or walk-in clinics when the total is hit. As many as 3million GP appointments a month could disappear if family doctors push ahead with the plans, according to estimates by primary care leaders. What are the 10 forms of protest backed by the BMA? Limiting daily patients to 25 - around a third fewer than normal Stop engaging with the e-referral and guidance service, which allows one GP to seek advice from another clinician Serve notice on any voluntary services currently undertaken that plug local commissioning gaps Switching off NHS software that allows discounted or free prescriptions for some people Referring patients directly to specialist care rather than following more complex NHS processes Refusing to share patient data unless it is in the best interests of a patient Withdraw permission for data sharing agreements that use data for secondary purposes Freeze sign-up to any new data sharing agreements or local system data sharing platforms Defer making any decisions to accept NHS pilot programmes Switching off GP software that allows coding into the GP clinical record by third-party providers Advertisement But GP practices are still required to open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday during collective action. NHS England has urged patients to come forward for care as usual. The appointment cap comes, in part, because some family doctors are reportedly overwhelmed by patient demand. Some have reported having to cram in nearly 90 patients a day in 'conveyor belt' style appointments which senior family doctors say is unsafe for patients. The average number of daily appointments per GP currently stands around 37. Other measures included in the industrial action include refusing to co-operate with standard NHS systems, such as those used to refer patients to hospital specialists or to share data with local health planners. Earlier this week, Dr Bramall-Stainer said the action aimed to 'bring the NHS to a standstill very quickly'. However, she insisted: 'It is industrial action, but the target isn't patients. The target is NHS England [and the] Department of Health.' BMA leaders have said the measures will remain in place until ministers agree to a new GP contract. Is the action about pay? Yes and no. Family doctors across England were balloted amid a row over the new funding contract for GP services. According to the data from NHS Digital average GP pay, across all levels, hit 118,100 in 2021/22. This data set includes figures for GP partners as well as the family doctors employed to provide services. GP partners in England those own their own practice and make up the majority of family doctors pocket an average of 153,400 a year. For comparison, the average pay for salaried GPs was 68,000. This is up from 64,900 in 2020/21 and 63,600 in 2019/20. But a freedom of information request to NHS Business Services Authority also showed in 2023 at least one GP in England pocketed a pensionable salary of over 700,000. The medic is likely to be benefiting from a contract that allows them to run several surgeries and earn money for providing extra treatments. Six also earned between 250,000 to 300,000, with 32 recording salaries of between 200,000 to 250,000. More than 8,500 family doctors in England took part in the British Medical Association (BMA) ballot, with 98.3 per cent backing the mass action. Health secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) has insisted any collective action 'will only punish patients' Announcing the ballot result today, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer (pictured), chairman of the BMA's GP committee said GPs are 'at the end of their tether'. She added: 'We have no choice but to move ahead with collective action to protect our practices, and our patients' So why are GPs taking action? The union say GP funding is being squeezed and the terms of a new NHS contract a 1.9 per cent funding rise for 2024/25 means 'many surgeries will struggle to stay financially viable'. GP surgeries have also faced rising levels of harassment, assaults and verbal abuse targeted at staff in recent months. Doctors have been told they can 'pick and choose' from measures designed to wreak chaos across the health service. Announcing the ballot result today, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chairman of the BMA's GP committee said GPs are 'at the end of their tether'. She added: 'We have no choice but to move ahead with collective action to protect our practices, and our patients. What does the latest GP appointment data show? Appointments held: 28.5million Attended: 90.2 per cent Seen by GP: 44.6 per cent Seen by nurse: 19.6 per cent Face-to-face appointment: 64.8 per cent Phone appointment: 25.6 per cent Same day: 44 per cent Up to one week wait: 25.5 per cent One to two week wait: 12.8 per cent Two to four weeks wait: 12.6 per cent NHS England data for June Advertisement 'This will not be a "big bang". It will be a slow burn. It's likely that impact may not be felt for some time. 'We hope this will give the new Government time to consider our proposed solutions including fixing our contract once and for all. 'General practice should be the front door of the NHS, not the doormat. 'We don't want to have to take this next step but must if we're to stop our services from collapsing completely. Family doctors launched a formal dispute over the issue in April after a referendum carried out by the BMA saw 99 per cent of 19,000 GPs rejected the contract. But patients' groups have already said the plans are 'selfish' and GPs risk losing the support of the public in an attempt to argue against contracts which are already generous. Why is it difficult to access an appointment? There are now more than 950,000 GP appointments on average in England every day an increase of more than 40,000 since 2018/19. But despite this undeniable rise in demand, the number of GPs working in the NHS has actually stagnated. Increasing numbers of doctors are reducing their working hours and retiring early. Some are leaving for the private sector or abroad because of the soaring pressures. While the number of NHS consultants growing by 18 per cent between 2016/17 and 2021/22, the number of GPs has only increased by just four per cent over the same period. Nationally, there were 27,487 fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs working in England in December, equating to one GP for every 2,078 patients, on average. Health chiefs say the ratio of patients to every one fully qualified GP should never exceed 1,800. The ratio is widely recognised by local medical committees local representative committees of NHS GPs as the 'safe limit'. The Office for National Statistics projects there will be an extra 6.6million people living in the UK as of 2036. Assuming this growth kept in line with current demographic trends, this would see England's population hit 62.2million. Under this figure, 34,000 GPs would have to be working in the NHS to meet the one per 1,800 patient ratio, meaning an additional 7,000 family doctor positions are required over the next 12 years. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Have GPs taken industrial action before? GPs have not staged collective action since 1964 when family doctors handed in undated resignations to Harold Wilson's Labour government. A proportion of GPs, however, staged industrial action in 2012 in protest against increases in pension contributions and a later retirement age for doctors. Estimates suggest between a fifth to a third of practices took part in the action. It's currently unclear how many GP practices will take part in the current action. How has the Government responded? Commenting before the ballot result was published Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisted any collective action 'will only punish patients'. Also to the announcement, the Government today announced it had added GPs to the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS), in the hope practices will be able to hire 1,000 more doctors this year. The ARRS scheme was introduced in 2019 and lets primary care networks, groups of GP surgeries operating in the same area, hire for other roles such as podiatrists and occupational therapists and claim reimbursement for their salaries. Mr Streeting added 82million to the 1.4billion ARRS pot to fund what he described as an emergency measure. The expansion of the scheme aims to allow practices to hire 'newly-qualified GPs' who face potential unemployment this summer. This announcement follows the Governments commitment earlier this week to increase GP pay by 6 per cent, following the doctors' pay review body recommendation. But senior medics claimed the uplift did not go far 'enough to address the erosion' of GP funding. Labour's election manifesto carried no promises of increased investment in general practice, but in his previous role as shadow health secretary, Mr Streeting had claimed that GPs have 'a lot to look forward to' under a Labour Government. Why is patient satisfaction with GPs currently so low? Patient satisfaction has, as a result of the never-ending appointments crisis, plunged to its lowest level in four decades. According to the 2023 GP Patient Survey, a poll of 759,000 Brits, just seven in ten (71.3 per cent) described their overall experience of their GP practice as 'good' overall. Fewer than half of patients (49.8 per cent) said they find it easy to get through to their GP practice on the phone, down from 52.7 per cent in 2022 and 80.8 per cent in 2012. And one in four people (24.2 per cent) said it was 'not at all easy' to get through, five-times higher than the 5.4 per cent in 2012. Only one in six patients (16.4 per cent) were 'always or almost always' able to see their preferred family doctor, with 19.3 per cent saying they can 'never or almost never' see them. Equally, patients have continually expressed frustration over a lack of face-to-face appointments. Just over two thirds of all appointments on average are now held in person, compared to roughly 80 per cent pre-Covid. Despite this, top doctors have suggested the figure may never return to this level arguing patients shouldn't get a face-to-face appointment if there is no clinical need for one. Some campaign groups, however, have disagreed, warning that telephone or online calls are not appropriate for everyone and aren't always the best way of diagnosing patients. Instead, disgruntled patients have abandoned NHS surgeries in favour of going private or visiting swamped A&E units instead. One in 20 British adults went overseas for dental care last year amid difficulty finding an NHS dentist and soaring private costs, a report reveals. The cost of treatments in the UK was the main reason cited by the 6 per cent of adults who headed overseas, according to the UK's dentist regulator General Dental Council (GDC). People also told the GDC they went abroad for treatment after having tried, and failed, to join a dental practice at home or had been unable to get an appointment locally. Younger adults were more likely to have opted in for dental tourism compared to older age groups, with rates rising to 18 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds. People reported getting dental care in nearly 30 different countries, including France and India. The cost of treatments in the UK was the main reason cited by the 6 per cent of adults who headed overseas, according to the General Dental Council (GDC)M One person even told the GDC that they built dental care into their regular holidays to Greece after being unable to register with an NHS dentist near to their home in the East Midlands. The findings are part of a wide-ranging survey of 2,000 adults, conducted by on behalf of the GDC, into the state of dentistry in the UK. It revealed the publics confidence in NHS dentistry and their ability to access it has fallen in recent years, amid growing reports of dental deserts. Some 20 per cent said they had tried to book an appointment for dental care or treatment during the past year but been unable to do so. Among those who had not accessed care in the last 12 months, some 31 per cent said they had not gone because of the cost. How much does NHS dentistry cost? There are 3 NHS charge bands: Band 1: 25.80 Covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish, and planning for further treatment. Band 2: 70.70 Covers all treatment included in Band 1, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment and removing teeth (extractions). Band 3: 306.80 Covers all treatment included in Bands 1 and 2, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges. For comparison, check-ups can cost between 20 and 120 at private dentists, according to Which?. Dentures and bridges can also cost up to 2,520, the consumer watchdog says. Advertisement Fewer than two in three people (64 per cent) said they had visited a dental practice in the past year. But a third (30 per cent) said they did not have a regular dental practice; 24 per cent said they were dissatisfied with the affordability of their treatment; and 19 per cent were dissatisfied with how long they had to wait for an appointment. Of those who had received some sort of private care, 42 per cent reported that they had only started having private dental treatment in the past three years. Most who opted to go private did so because they had difficulties accessing NHS care. The GDC said that some people had been prioritising treatment over preventative dental care due to the cost of living crisis. Stefan Czerniawski, executive director of strategy at the GDC, said: The findings highlight the ongoing challenges facing dentistry and the need to make progress in addressing these systemic issues to improve access to timely appointments and the affordability of dental care across the UK. It is particularly concerning that the research shows clear evidence of patients concerns that the recovery of dental services after the Covid pandemic has not only stalled but may have gone into reverse. That has worrying implications for the oral health of patients and the public, which need urgent attention. Louise Ansari, chief executive at Healthwatch England, said NHS dental care is one of the main reasons the patient champion is contacted by the public. She added: Even when people can access NHS dentistry, many cant afford dental fees. We now call on the new government to tell the public, when and how it will roll out the 700,000 extra appointments it has pledged to deliver under a new Dental Rescue Plan. Your browser does not support iframes. We also call for NHS dental charges for 2025 to be frozen at current levels to prevent more people being put off seeking help. In the long-term, more fundamental reforms are needed, to give everyone a right to register with a local NHS dentist, in the same way as they can with a GP, to access ongoing check-ups and appointments. Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, which represents dentists, said: Cost-of-living and access crises have converged, leaving millions with no options. Some are heading abroad for needed care, but many more are simply going without. The public arent seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for NHS dentistry. It will take bold and ambitious action to save it. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: It is unacceptable that so many people struggle to simply get a dental appointment, and this research lays bare the scale of the situation. There are large parts of the country where NHS dentistry barely exists any more. We will rebuild NHS dentistry, starting with an extra 700,000 emergency dentistry appointments. We will also reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients. Prevention is better than cure, so we will also introduce supervised tooth brushing for three to five-year-olds. These changes are fundamental to us building an NHS that is fit for the future. GP industrial action could lead to 'disaster' in cancer care and worsen A&E waiting times, experts have warned. More than 98 per cent of family doctors in England today backed the proposed British Medical Association (BMA) disruption. It means from today, BMA GPs can 'pick and choose' from 10 measures designed to wreak chaos across the health service, including a daily 25 appointment cap per family doctor, which could see the up to a third of appointments slashed. Health leaders and campaigners labelled the action 'very damaging' and warned it would pile 'huge extra pressures' on the rest of the health service. Experts even said family doctors working-to-rule could 'have a far greater impact on patients than the junior doctors' strike'. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. More than 98 per cent of family doctors in England today backed the British Medical Association (BMA) disruption. Health secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) has urged GPs not to punish patients Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, a campaign group for elderly Brits which advocates for better access to GPs, told MailOnline the action was 'potentially very damaging for patients' and 'premature'. 'If patients are turned away from the GP practice, they will ring 111, visit A&E or worst of all they will just head back home and hope they get better by themselves,' he said. A&E waiting times will 'of course' worsen, he added. 'If GPs take this action there will be huge extra pressures on the rest of the system. All the performance areas will go downhill.' Mr Reed also said: 'The fact that the government has settled with the other unions in the health service, should mean that GPs give the Government a chance at least to actually come up with some proposals. What are the 10 forms of protest backed by the BMA? Limiting daily patients to 25 - around a third fewer than normal Stop engaging with the e-referral and guidance service, which allows one GP to seek advice from another clinician Serve notice on any voluntary services currently undertaken that plug local commissioning gaps Switching off NHS software that allows discounted or free prescriptions for some people Referring patients directly to specialist care rather than following more complex NHS processes Refusing to share patient data unless it is in the best interests of a patient Withdraw permission for data sharing agreements that use data for secondary purposes Freeze sign-up to any new data sharing agreements or local system data sharing platforms Defer making any decisions to accept NHS pilot programmes Switching off GP software that allows coding into the GP clinical record by third-party providers Advertisement 'To go straight into industrial action is extreme and we would certainly ask them to hold off because patients will suffer.' Professor Karol Sikora, a world-renowned oncologist with over 40 years' experience, was also concerned about the impact on patients. He told this website: 'This is a disaster for those developing symptoms that could be caused by cancer unless it is resolved quickly. 'Cancer survival is much higher at the early stage of the disease for all the main cancers. 'Symptoms are often vague to start with and may not cause great alarm. So getting sorted out quickly is crucial. 'Access to primary care is already appalling in the UK and this will just make it much worse. 'The GPs' action will have a far greater impact on patients than the junior doctors' strike.' He added: 'My advice is to persist to get sorted out. Use urgent care centres, NHS 111 and if necessary book a private scan to get to the front of the queue. 'The whole system is creaking but polite persistence will usually work. 'On no account get aggressive it's not the receptionist's fault.' Catching cancer early, when it's most treatable, can boost survival odds up to eight-fold, data shows. More than 320,000 people in England or 900 a day are diagnosed with cancer each year, with prostate, breast, bowel and lung the most common types. But NHS cancer services are repeatedly fail to achieve their targets. Figures released earlier this month showed NHS England met just one of its three cancer diagnosis targets. Of the 273,810 urgent cancer referrals made by GPs in May, 76.4 per cent were diagnosed or had the disease ruled out within 28 days. The target is 75 per cent. Fewer than two-thirds (65.8 per cent) of patients started their first cancer treatment within two months of an urgent referral. Health service guidelines state 85 per cent of cancer patients should be treated within this timeframe. NHS England has said the public still must come forward for care as they would normally during GP industrial action. If patients have appointments already booked in, they should also still attend unless informed otherwise. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Health leaders and campaigners labelled the action 'very damaging' and warned it would pile 'huge extra pressures' on the rest of the health service. Experts even said the action could 'have a far greater impact on patients than the junior doctors' strike' The BMA has also insisted they don't want patients to be 'piggy in the middle' of the dispute, insisting patients 'won't come to harm' from any action. Instead, the union said it wanted the impacts of their action to be felt by policymakers and administrators. But they acknowledged, patients seeking care over the daily 25 appointments would be diverted to 'local urgent care settings' such as 111 or walk-in clinics when the total is hit. As many as 3million GP appointments a month could disappear as a result of family doctors imposing the cap, according to estimates by primary care leaders. Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists' Association, said pharmacists are braced to see 'significantly more patients' as the action takes effect. What does the latest GP appointment data show? Appointments held: 28.5million Attended: 90.2 per cent Seen by GP: 44.6 per cent Seen by nurse: 19.6 per cent Face-to-face appointment: 64.8 per cent Phone appointment: 25.6 per cent Same day: 44 per cent Up to one week wait: 25.5 per cent One to two week wait: 12.8 per cent Two to four weeks wait: 12.6 per cent NHS England data for June Advertisement Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of Independent Pharmacies Association, meanwhile, told MailOnline: 'This industrial action will only place a heavier burden on already stretched community pharmacies. 'Our sector is severely underfunded and overworked we kept our doors open throughout the pandemic and have worked non stop for the NHS delivering accessible care. 'Over 1300 pharmacies have already closed their doors for good due to the underfunding, yet we are asked to do more for less. 'It is a shame that NHS bosses have no way of rewarding a sector that has gone over and beyond for the NHS. We cannot continue being taken for granted.' National Pharmacy Association Chair, Nick Kaye, also said: 'Where GP practices limit their number of daily appointments, it's likely that more patients will come to community pharmacies for healthcare advice, reassurance and over-the- counter medicines. 'However, community pharmacy's ability to be an effective shock-absorber for disruption elsewhere in the healthcare system has been eroded by persistent underfunding, which has created serious capacity challenges in our own sector.' Announcing the ballot result today, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of BMA's GP committee for England, argued GPs are 'at the end of their tether'. She added: 'This is an act of desperation. For too long, we've been unable to provide the care we want to. 'We are witnessing general practice being broken. 'The era of the family doctor has been wiped out by recent consecutive governments and our patients are suffering as a result. 'We understand that the new Government has inherited a broken NHS, and we've had some positive conversations with the new Health Secretary about the situation in general practice. 'This will not be a "big bang". It will be a slow burn. It's likely that impact may not be felt for some time. 'We hope this will give the new Government time to consider our proposed solutions including fixing our contract once and for all. 'General practice should be the front door of the NHS, not the doormat. Announcing the ballot result today, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer (pictured), chair of BMA's GP committee for England, argued GPs are 'at the end of their tether'. She added: 'This is an act of desperation. For too long, we've been unable to provide the care we want to' Your browser does not support iframes. 'We don't want to have to take this next step but must if we're to stop our services from collapsing completely.' The BMA has said the new GP contract, which will see services given a 1.9 per cent funding increase for 2024/25, means many surgeries will struggle to stay financially viable. GP surgeries have also faced rising levels of harassment, assaults and verbal abuse targeted at staff in recent months. During the action, practices are still required to be open between 08:00 and 18:30 Monday to Friday. The BMA said it was 'not recommending which actions practices take'. Instead, the union outlined 'it is for each practice to pick and choose as they see fit'. GPs have not staged collective action since 1964 when family doctors handed in undated resignations to Harold Wilson's Labour government. A proportion of family doctors, however, staged industrial action in 2012 in protest against increases in pension contributions and a later retirement age for doctors. Estimates suggest around just a fifth to a third of practices took part in the action. The collective action also comes after the Department of Health and Social Care made a new pay offer to junior doctors in England potentially bringing months of strike action to an end. Junior doctor members of the BMA are now voting on whether to accept the deal, which is worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. In the cut-throat world of US technology, there has been no rivalry greater than that between Apple and Microsoft. This almost mythological enmity dates back to the early 1980s, when underdog Apple waged a ferocious battle with Microsoft for dominance in the personal computer market, portraying the far larger company as a copycat. Apples celebrated 1984 TV advertisement, directed by Ridley Scott, depicted a sledgehammer attack against an Orwellian Big Brother monopolist. Microsoft was clearly the target. The idea of a partnership between the two would have seemed outlandish. However, these tech behemoths appear now to be making up. Both started out in the mid-1970s, a fact that may surprise young tech devotees. Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Microsoft was set up a year earlier by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Apples celebrated 1984 TV advertisement, directed by Ridley Scott, depicted an attack against an Orwellian Big Brother monopolist, with Microsoft clearly the target Unsurprisingly, the driver behind this new spirit of co-operation is the generative artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and the pressing need to prove that the billions of investors pounds and dollars being splashed out on this groundbreaking innovation will actually reap a return. Apple has linked with OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT AI system. Microsoft has already invested $13bn in OpenAI, so the move creates a link between Apple and its old sparring partner. Apple Intelligence, scheduled to launch in the autumn, will put generative AI which can create new content straight into newer iPhone handsets. This will enable the production of more sophisticated text and visual content, including more expressive emojis and proof-reading tools that can rewrite text and alter the tone according to whether you want it to be professional or informal. Although much of Apple Intelligence will be powered by the companys own technologies, the partnership with OpenAI is a major move. It will beef up Apples AI offer significantly by enabling Siri, the voice assistant on the iPhone, to answer more complex questions, for instance. OpenAIs ChatGPT will in future be able to kick in if Siri is stumped. Sam Altman, the CEO and founder of OpenAI, says the Apple Intelligence joint venture aligns with his companys vision to make advanced AI accessible to everyone. Apple has linked with OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT AI system, while Microsoft has invested $13bn in the software, creating a link between the two old sparring partners Apple Intelligence should be good for iPhone sales. Customers will only be able to make full use of the tools if they have an iPhone 15 Pro model or better. About 270 million people worldwide have not upgraded their phones for a while and may be tempted to do so in order to gain such features. The rapprochement between the erstwhile adversaries has triggered huge speculation in tech circles. Does the alliance mean Microsoft finally - sees Apples many millions of iPhone customers as an opportunity rather than a threat? Or does it signify Apple lost its awesome talent for innovation and is now forced to go into partnerships with third parties? Focus on the relationship between the two tech titans has intensified in the wake of slightly disappointing results posted by Microsoft this week. These showed lower-than-expected growth from cloud computing the infrastructure companies need to put in place in order to incorporate AI into every aspect of their business. And the soul-searching comes as worries are mounting over the valuations of the Magnificent Seven Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Nvidia, Amazon, Googles owner Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta. The shares of the Magnificent Seven were propelled into the stratosphere by the conviction that their generative AI gamble would yield fortunes. Doubts are now simmering over how quickly these riches will arrive. What does it mean for me? Though you may not own shares in Apple, Microsoft or any other of the Magnificent Seven directly, many UK private investors will be a holder through their Isa, pension and through investment trusts and funds. Millions of Britons, therefore, have a personal interest in the truce between Apple and Microsoft. So we should be observing this entente: it looks cordiale, but will it last? And what might it mean for their shares? Stashing some money away in Apple and Microsoft shares makes sense, provided you are realistic. The price gains of 2023 are unlikely be repeated. The major online platforms AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor enable to buy and sell shares and place them in an Isa. Should I take a bite of Apple? The worlds love affair with Apples sleek devices, designed by the British creative genius Jony Ive, is one of the great romances of the 21st Century. Veteran investor Warren Buffett argues that Apple shares are not a bet on technology, but on a company thats beloved by customers. His leviathan Berkshire Hathaway fund has a substantial holding in Apple based on the principle that the business has wide moat a dominant market position protecting the brand in the same way that a moat filled with water shields a castle. Tim Cook, Apples CEO, argues all of us have to make sure we are using AI in a way that is for the benefit of humanity, not to the detriment of humanity The deal with OpenAI has breathed new life into Apple shares. They had fallen back amid fears consumers were at a peak iPhone moment and that Apple was no longer an all-conquering creative force. The original Mac computers changed the world in the 1980s and 1990s, and the iPod and iPhone created an even bigger splash. However, the Apple Watch could be described as a modest success at best. Far less popular than the iPhone, it is more an optional add-on than a distinct product line. The much-hyped Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset has generally been regarded as a flop. Its eye-watering starting price of 3,499 has kept it in the realm of being a niche product and the reviews have been mixed at best. Yet there are also reasons to be cheerful. Tim Cook, Apples CEO, argues all of us have to make sure we are using AI in a way that is for the benefit of humanity, not to the detriment of humanity. This suggests he knows how to take a long-term view. Apple is also sitting on a 50bn pile of cash thanks to the hefty profit margins on iPhones. That cash mountain opens the door to two things investors love: big dividend payouts and share buybacks. When a company buys its own shares, this reduces supply, which in turn can push their price up. Apples diversification into streaming is another source of confidence. Apple+ whose dramas include British spy thriller Slow Horses may be far behind the market leader Netflix. But Apple+ has one key advantage over Netflix the ability to cross-sell streaming services to iPhone, iPad and Mac owners. The hope of bumper iPhone sales has boosted Apples value to $3.35trillion (2.7trillion). This is more than all the companies in the UK blue chip FTSE 100 index which are together worth about 2.1trillion. Apple and Microsoft may not be kindred spirits, but they do have something in common: strained relations with regulators in America and Europe. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are keen to curb the power of Big Tech. Apple was recently admonished by the European Commission over claims its App Store has been stifling competition unfairly. The sagacious Buffett seems entirely happy to continue to own Apple and this is also the view of most analysts, with Goldman Sachs being the most enthusiastic advocate of the stock. The shares currently stand at $218. The average analysts target price is $226, but Goldman has revised its target upwards to $265. Veteran investor Warren Buffett argues that Apple shares are not a bet on technology, but on a company thats beloved by customers, giving it a 'wide moat' in the stock market Can I make money on Microsoft? Microsoft which is valued at $3.11trillion 2.4trillion does not inspire the same level of affection as Apple. Earlier this year, though, one analyst did describe the companys impressive figures for the second quarter as a masterpiece that should be hung in the Louvre. Despite such effusions, the gains of last year when shares soared by 53pc are unlikely to be repeated this year. Microsofts relations with its users are somewhat strained in the wake of the global meltdown caused by the CrowdStrike glitch. This disabled 8.5 million computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. The Windows product is one of Microsofts largest revenue streams. Other key activities include gaming Microsoft owns Xbox and Activision Blizzard, the company behind the Call Of Duty franchise. Azure, the cloud computing platform, is seen as the engine of growth. Satya Nadella, Microsofts CEO, has spent lavishly on this arm of the group. But this weeks results mean there will be more questions about this strategy in the weeks to come. Nadella urges employees to be constantly adapting. His catchphrase is: Dont be a know-it-all, be a learn-it-all. That philosophy may ensure Microsoft continues to be regarded as the member of the Magnificent Seven posse most likely to make serious money from AI. This is thanks to its investment in OpenAI, but also its ability to combine AI with its Microsoft 365 office products. Analysts at JP Morgan say that this is a tailwind that will only build over time. Its Copilot AI service is already proving hugely popular. This carries out laborious and time-consuming processes such as summarising scores of emails into bullet points. Office workers armed with Copilot are reported to finish their tasks almost 30 per cent faster. AI is also boosting the effectiveness of GitHub, Microsofts platform for software developers. Microsoft is in hot water with the EU over its investment in OpenAI, which some consider to be a merger by any other name. There is long-running tension between Microsoft and the UKs Competitions and Market Authority (CMA). The watchdog is currently investigating the dominance of Microsoft and Amazon in the cloud computing market. One expert says if you have to pick just one tech company to invest in, make it Microsoft as it is a one-stop shop bet on every aspect of the AI revolution Microsoft has accused the CMA of making a misleading analysis of the situation and threatened that it will reduce its investment in the UK. The CMA is also looking into the OpenAI deal and the $1.3bn in funding given to US start-up Inflection AI, which could also be seen as a merger. Most analysts rate Microsoft a buy, despite the results from cloud computing, with JP Morgan reinstating its view that the shares were worth a bet immediately after the figures. The shares currently stand at $422, but JP Morgan has set a target of $470. The average target price is $498, with one optimist believing that $600 is a possibility for those who are patient. As Ben Barringer, of Quilter Cheviot, emphasises: AI integration into business processes takes time. This will be reassuring news for anyone with money in the popular Fundsmith fund, where Microsoft is one of the major holdings. Which should I choose? It makes sense, if you are a tech fan, to invest in both. But Barringer says if you have to pick just one, make it Microsoft. Why? It is a one-stop shop bet on every aspect of the AI revolution. Apple, though it has notched up prodigious achievements and innovations, could be considered a luxury goods supplier, due to the appeal of its designs, rather than a tech company. Shares in some companies selling luxe products, including Burberry, LVMH and Tiffany have been hit by fears wealthy shoppers may tighten their belts. Departing HSBC boss Noel Quinn (pictured) dished out 26.7bn during his final 18 months in charge HSBC shareholders will be given a 2.3billion share buyback as chief executive Noel Quinn bows out. The lender, which is based in the UK but makes most of its money in Asia, had already announced a 2.3billion buyback earlier this year. Investors are also set to receive 1.4billion in fresh dividends. In total, 26.7billion has been dished out during Quinns final 18 months in charge as part of a strategy that helped to fend off calls to break up the bank, led by its top shareholder, Chinas Ping An Asset Management. The departing boss said yesterday that his five years steering the bank had been a joy. Chief financial officer Georges Elhedery replaces him in September. Dual structure: Mining giant Rio Tinto has a primary listing in London and also trades shares on the Sydney market Rio Tinto has rejected calls from an investor to ditch its UK listing and concentrate on Australia in a boost for the London Stock Exchange. The mining giant has a primary listing in London and also trades shares on the Sydney market. But activist investor Palliser Capital had urged the group to unify the corporate structure in Australia and ditch the London listing. Palliser also argued that the miners dual structure is a barrier to making acquisitions and had resulted in Rio Tinto shares trading at a 24billion discount to those listed in Australia. But chief executive Jakob Stausholm told the Wall Street Journal yesterday: Its very clear that it does not make economic sense to unify Rio Tinto. Our conclusion is that it would destroy value. A still frame from a San Francisco police officers body-worn camera during an officer-involved shooting that occurred on July 21 at Willow Street and Van Ness Avenue. Courtesy of SFPD The man who was shot and killed by police earlier this month in San Francisco fired a weapon at an officer while fleeing, footage released by police on Wednesday shows. On July 21, just before midnight, San Francisco police fatally shot the armed man suspected of stealing a red-and-black scooter in the Tenderloin. Footage released by the San Francisco Police Department at a virtual town hall Wednesday showed the suspect firing back at an officer before the officer returned fire. Alexander Antonio Lopez, the 28-year-old identified as the suspect, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At the town hall, Chief Bill Scott called the incident resulting in Lopezs death tragic. Id like to express my deepest condolences to Lopezs surviving family members, Scott said. Click here to see the video. Warning: Graphic and disturbing content. Police responded to reports of an armed robbery near United Nations Plaza, in which the victim said a man with a gray pistol stole his scooter. Officers said they later found Lopez, who matched the suspect description and was in possession of the scooter, on Willow Street between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street. He then ran west on Willow Street toward Van Ness Avenue, police said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Body camera and surveillance camera footage provided on Wednesday shows a man who police identified as Lopez firing back once at an officer pursuing him after multiple commands to stop. The officer returned fire as Lopez pointed his gun a second time and Lopez fell to the ground, police said. Four gunshots were heard in the video. Capt. Jason Sawyer of the departments Northern Station expressed gratitude that there were no additional injuries. The officers displayed incredible bravery under extreme circumstances and upheld the core tenets of what it takes to be a San Francisco police officer, Sawyer said at the town hall. Please be patient and allow the necessary parties to complete their part. The incident remains under investigation. Huw Edwards suggested a junior colleague could stay over in his BBC-funded hotel suite on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral and sent a picture of the room including the bed, it was reported today. The recent ex-Beeb employee said that the newsreader reached out and said there had been 'plenty of room' to stay the night. Edwards allegedly urged the unnamed TV worker to join him - but the young producer declined because it would have breached strict Covid-19 restrictions that saw the Queen sat alone at her husband's funeral in St George's Chapel, Windsor. The Sun claims that on the day before the service, Edwards had texted to say he was 'staying there overnight then all day Saturday', adding: 'If youre around tomorrow night let me know'. The next morning, the day of the funeral, Edwards apparently texted again and said: 'Missed a good night. 'You could have stayed here. 'We had a nice evening after the show'. A young BBC worker claims that Huw Edwards invited him to stay in his hotel suite on the eve of presenting coverage of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 (pictured) Huw apparently sent a picture of his suite and said there was 'plenty of room' for him The text messages said to have been sent to a junior colleague Alone in grief, the Queen sat alone as she said goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary and poignant circumstances due to the pandemic Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Mr Edwards is said to have moved from the family home he shared with wife Vicky Flind in south London The producer asked if there had been a spare room and Edwards replied: 'Not spare but plenty of room'. Edwards apparently messaged the producer on social media before asking to switch to WhatsApp. Married father-of-five Edwards' first messages started with: 'Hello beauty', The Sun has said today. The TV worker told them: He wanted to meet in private and put quite a lot of pressure on me to do so. I thought it was odd and very inappropriate given his position and the age gap. When asked about Edwards' conviction over indecent images of children, he added: 'I am shocked but it just shows what sort of person he is, and that people were right to try to speak out'. Edwards has made a 'mockery' of the BBC and was aided by a small band of his bosses who kept his arrest secret for months, betrayed staffers said today. The corporation faces yet more damaging questions after another of its biggest stars was revealed to be a sex offender after Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and others. 'It's unforgivable and makes a mockery of the organisation. There will be lots of people who are very angry with Tim Davie', one BBC employee said today. And BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall said: 'The facts are the BBC continued paying Huw Edwards his vast salary for five months after he was arrested,' adding: 'Why, also, did they let him leave on his own terms?'. 'In the end, this was a judgement call for the people at the very top of the BBC and the optics are reputationally damaging. The BBC spent taxpayers' money on a man now guilty of serious offences. Many people will believe the corporation made the wrong judgement', she said. The Director General has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago There are also reports that someone in the Met Police called BBC management to alert them that Edwards had been charged, before it was made public. Nicky Campbell, one of the BBC's most senior radio broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to social media calls for the BBC to get back the 200,000 of licence fee money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he might agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'. Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago Writing for the BBC website Katie Razzall said: 'Why didn't the BBC sack Edwards, in light of his arrest, instead of giving him the space to leave, apparently on his own terms, albeit with no pay off? 'There will have only been a handful of people in the room where these conversations were taking place. 'The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The decisions they took can't have been easy and they will have been weighing up different scenarios - and competing advice. 'It's important to note that BBC News, where I'm employed, is editorially independent from the corporate side. We didn't know about the arrest or charges until earlier this week when the story broke'. She added: 'Senior HR and legal advisors will have advised the BBC it had a duty of care towards Edwards as an employee. They will likely also have said he would have a legal case against the corporation if he was sacked unfairly. The BBC says it was made aware of significant risk to his health. 'But it is difficult to see this specifically through an HR or legal prism'. Former BBC broadcaster Roger Bolton said today: 'The nature of what Huw Edwards has done is so disgusting and dreadful that I think any residual sympathy for him has gone.' 'The questions are, when did they [the BBC] know? What did they know?' 'There is the BBC at the very highest level, the executives, and BBC News. It's absolutely clear that BBC News and all its editors did not know until this week that Huw Edwards had been charged. 'But we now know the BBC executives were told in confidence that Huw Edwards had been charged. When did they know he was charged? And the big question is, why did they continue to pay him so much money in these circumstances?'. It came a BBC insider claimed it was common knowledge that married father-of-five Edwards had messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years. The source believes that bosses 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him as an asset. The disgraced BBC anchorman, 62, yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. A BBC insider said last night: 'It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ''protect the star'' stuff.' Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile kAlex Williams, it has emerged. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday Yesterday, Edwards appeared in court to admit three charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of the 41 images sent to the presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of them were 'Category A', the most serious type. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philip's funeral to the nation. Just this week, the BBC would not reveal if it had been aware of Edwards' arrest in November. But it tried to defend its actions in a statement last night. The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' It continued: 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' An airline passenger who refused to move in first-class for a six-year-old whose mother failed to book a nearby space for their child is the latest big travel bust up to hit the headlines. With the summer holidays well underway, horror stories about blazing rows on planes, trains and buses over seats, excessive noise and drinking are also all over the news. Here MailOnline reveals the ultimate travel etiquette guide with the help of three of the world's leading experts. Today these authorities on the subject give definitive answers on burning questions including whether a man should always stand up for a woman and who deserves a seat more out of a pregnant woman, the elderly, the disabled and children. They also have the last word on at what point in a flight it is acceptable to start drinking, whether it is fair to recline seats or lift armrests on planes at all and when and how it is best to intervene with parents if their child is screaming, or watching loudly on a tablet or phone with no headphones. Etiquette guru Sara Jane Ho, host of the Daytime Emmy-nominated Netflix series Mind Your Manners, reveals her travel etiquette tips to MailOnline Philip Sykes, Founder and Principal of the British School of Excellence, believes that the disabled and pregnant women should get priority seats over the elderly. While etiquette expert and tutor Jo Sykes insists that parents with children shouldn't be given priority boarding on planes Should a plane passenger refuse to give up a first-class seat so a child can sit with their mother or father? The debate over travel etiquette exploded after it was revealed how a plane passenger refused to give up her first-class seat so a six-year-old boy could sit with his mother. The airline seat incident emerged on Reddit's popular 'Am I The A**Hole' thread and has opened a can of worms. Etiquette guru Sara Jane Ho, host of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Mind Your Manners, told MailOnline today that she agreed with the passenger who refused to budge. She said unless a child is very young - or difficult - they 'can sit on their own because it's not like they're going to get lost on a plane'. 'A parent should think of these things in advance and seat their kids with them when checking in', she said. If an old person gets on a bus at the same time as a disabled person or pregnant woman - who should get a priority seat? When people ride buses there can be a case of musical chairs as people stand up and move when pregnant women or the disabled get on board. On other occasions there are just steely, cold stares from those people who refuse to move from their seats for someone older or less mobile - with culprits often looking down at their phones or out of the window to avoid contact. Etiquette expert Philip Sykes, Founder and Principal of the British School of Excellence, believes there are clear social rules about who people should move for. 'I feel the priority should typically go to the disabled person or pregnant woman, as they may have a more immediate need for seating', he told MailOnline. But others believe that it should be less rigid and left to judge the situation. Jo Bryant, a leading etiquette expert and tutor offering courses in British etiquette including travel and dining, said: 'If you are sitting in a priority seat, be ready to move and give it up to someone else more in need both willingly and quickly'. And should children get somewhere to sit over the pregnant and disabled? A relatively new trend has been to treat children, not just those carrying a child or disability. MailOnline's etiquette panel are largely clear: children shouldn't come first - but also it women who are in the early days of pregnancy shouldn't expect a seat either. Philip Sykes said: 'I feel that pregnant women and disabled individuals should be given priority for seats over children, as their need for seating is generally greater. If the parents have a seat, their children can sit on their laps'. While Netflix star Sara Jane Ho said: 'I'm not sure that a pregnant lady or a disabled person should be kicked out of their seats for a child. 'And I guess, you know, with pregnant women as well, it depends on long depends how far along they are. If, you know they're sort of up to three months, not even showing, I mean, it might be harder to make a case. 'But if they're like seven or eight months and really about to pop and they're waddling around and they're uncomfortable, the last thing you want to do is make those make them even more uncomfortable by shifting them around. 'Same thing with a disabled person. I mean, like a disabled person really comes first to the top of the of the top of the pecking order'. But Jo Bryant said it should be done on a case by case basis. 'The priority seat should be given to the person who needs it the most. This is a a matter of common sense, consideration and honesty', she said. Should I intervene if I think someone should give up a seat for a pregnant, elderly or disabled person? If so, what is the politest way to do it? Sara Jane Ho says the decision to intervene 'depends on how close you're sitting'. If you're sitting like on the same row, or the one in front or behind then it is acceptable to say something. But being a 'nosey parker' and chipping in from further afield isn't. She said: 'Let's say you are sitting in that area. And you feel strongly that somebody should have this seat. First, if you're being such a gentleman or gentlewoman, you could give up your seat. Be the role model, right? That's what I've done. When I see an older person that's a on the subway and they don't have a seat. First thing I do is I jump up and I say "please take my seat". 'Firstly, it should come from within. But if you don't have a great seat but you think somebody else should move. 'Let's say it's a young person. A young man, you can say something like: "Ah, why doesn't this nice young gentleman here give up your seat for this disabled person?" "So if you couch it in a way that is complimentary, and sort of fun, as opposed to critical and judgmental, then that is the best way to do it'. 'Or you could say: Excuse me, would you like to sit here? This keeps the situation respectful and avoids any potential conflict'. Philip Sykes agrees. Passengers can say something as long as it doesn't cause conflict. He told MailOnline: 'Yes, you can intervene politely. The best approach is to address the person who should be offered the seat directly rather than confronting the seated person. 'You could say, Excuse me, would you like to sit here? 'This keeps the situation respectful and avoids any potential conflict'. Should men stand up for women and offer them a seat? Is chivalry dead? Many think so, although etiquette experts do still think that it is a good thing when men stand up for women to give them a seat. Sara Jane Ho says: 'I would say that tradition would say yes, feminists would say no, I'm somewhere in between. 'But if a man is going out of his way to be a gentleman by offering his seat then I'm impressed and I'm grateful'. But she also says that age is a factor. 'I often say that etiquette is about context. There's no black or white. And, I mean, if it's like a really elderly gentleman if it's like you know, grandpa or somebody who was in the 80s or 90s, well, then he's geriatric, and he should not have to go out of his way. If it's a young man in his 20s or 30s, and and the woman is old, then you know, he should go out of his way', she said. Jo Bryant says gender is irrelevent now. 'Gone are the days when men were required to give up seats for women; today, anyone should offer their seat to someone who needs it more than them, regardless of gender', she said. Should passengers be able to eat what they want on planes or public transport? Nothing can be more unpleasant than the stench of strong food on packed public transport. Sara Jane Ho says that people should even think about the kind of fruit they eat around others. She said: 'Strong smelling pungent foods in any kind of enclosed space, whether it's on a plane, on a train or even in your office should be a no no' - citing curry and fish. She went on: 'Things that do not do not have a strong smell and and will bother other people. Even some fruits like oranges have a strong smell and even though oranges smell kind of nice, but not everybody may like oranges that remember in these enclosed spaces. It's not like you could open a window on an airplane or most trains'. Philip Sykes cited the ban on strong-smelling in foreign countries. 'It is considerate to avoid eating strong-smelling food on trains to prevent discomfort for other passengers. In Hong Kong, food and drink are banned on public transport', he said. Jo Bryant is in agreement. She said: 'Avoid eating smelly foods on trains; pungent smells from meal and snacks are amplified in a train carriage, so think about your choice and opt for something that wont be unpleasant or overwhelming for fellow passengers'. Should nuts be banned on buses and trains, as well as planes? The family of a teenage girl who died after suffering an allergic reaction on a plane today demanded airlines clamp down on passengers eating peanuts - after another girl passed out at 30,000ft over her nut allergy. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died in 2016 after suffering an anaphylactic shock to sesame seeds in a Pret a Manger baguette she had bought at Heathrow before catching a flight to Nice. Some airlines have banned nuts from flights completely. Others read out a warning before take-off if someone on board has an allergy, Outspoken Ms Ho has said believes that airlines have gone 'too far' with blanket bans on nuts and passengers should be able to eat them unless there is someone with a known severe allergy on board. She said: 'Peanuts are the largest cause of food related deaths and if somebody has an allergy the last thing you want to be is on a plane because you don't have access to the hospital. 'So if elements wanted to completely eliminate the risk of not allergy shocks or deaths, then they can just not serve it, but I think it's going too far now. 'Because if somebody else wants to bring their own nuts onto the plane, they should have the right to bring them and take them'. Philip Sykes says that a blanket ban is sensible. He said: 'Yes, I feel they should be banned due to the fact that nut allergies are very serious; in turn, it would protect passengers with severe allergies and prevent potential allergic reactions in confined spaces. 'You may recall the tragedy on the Easyjet flight a few years ago, where a person died from a sandwich prepared at Pret a Manger - known as Natasha's Allergy Law'. Should families with children be allowed to go to the front of the queue when boarding a flight? Some have said that one of the oddities of plane travel is letting on families with children first. MailOnline's etiquette experts are split. Philip Sykes said: 'In my opinion, this does make sense for families with young children to board first to allow extra time for settling in and storing luggage. This, in turn, will also benefit other passengers by reducing overall boarding congestion and delays'. But Jo Bryant disagrees. 'There is no need to queue-barge with kids. Airlines usually offer families the option of a designated boarding time, often first, or if not, you must wait until your row is called. Boarding early with kids isn't always the best idea - some savvy parents prefer to board later, preventing children from sitting on the plane for longer than necessary and getting bored before take off', she says. Is there an acceptable time on a flight to recline your seat? People have the right to recline - but should choose when carefully. Philip Sykes says that air passengers should wait until everyone has eaten if people are having a meal on board. He said: 'Its courteous to wait until after the meal service is over before reclining your seat. 'I would always suggest you recline slowly and check behind you to ensure the passenger behind is not inconvenienced'. Sara Jane Ho says the ruled are clear that 'you're not allowed to recline your seat as takeoff or landing'. But added that it's fine after that. She said: 'If you want to recline, you can recline your seat when the plane is not at an angle - ie when it's going up or it's going down, because then it's just uncomfortable for the person behind you. 'But if it's flat, then you can recline. You can recline your seat. Remember when when you do it, don't do it suddenly, because you don't know what the person has behind you behind you. You want to do it smoothly and gently'. Plane armrests: When should they come down - and who gets ownership of the middle seat ones? Experts say that armrests should never be raised - unless you are with family or a loved one. But anyone in the middle on a row of seats has the worst seat so should get the armrests to themselves. 'Armrests are usually down on takeoff and should remain down for the duration of the flight for comfort and separation of space. In my opinion, the person in the middle seat typically has the right to both armrests, as they have the least space', Philip Sykes said. Sara Jane Ho added: 'The person sitting in the middle seat tends to have a worse seat. So they usually get both armrests. 'And on armrests: as long as you're sitting next to a stranger they should always be down. Because do you really want to basically share seat with a stranger? I don't think so. Right? You need that divider. That's what the armrest is. 'If you're traveling with your significant other or family member and you want to have a bit very close to each other, then you don't have to put the armrest down but if it's a stranger put it down'. In the day and age of having to book specific seats for extra cash on many airlines, can you ask to move to a different empty seat once on board? Yes, absolutely. Philip Sykes says: 'You can ask to move to an empty seat once the plane is in the air, but its courteous to wait until the plane has reached cruising altitude and to ask a flight attendant for permission. 'This ensures there are no last-minute seating adjustments needed and respects the booking system'. Sara Jane Ho says that you should stay in your seat and not disrupt boarding before moving. 'Let's say there were like rows and rows of empty seats. You have to wait till the doors closed. The last thing you want to do is to be switching seats around with the doors not closed yet. 'That's just annoying for everybody. So you wait until the plane doors are closed. And then ask the air steward or stewardess: "Can I move to that row?" That is fine because you're not bothering anybody'. Is it 'cheeky' for newlyweds or people flying for a special event to ask for an upgrade on a plane? Airlines are well used to being asked for a class upgrade by newlyweds. But in fact there are more people asking becaiuse of birthdays, special holidays and graduations, for example. Etiquette experts say that as long as passengers ask with charm - they are ok to 'try their arm'. Philip Sykes said: 'It really boils down to asking with charm and good manners - chancing your arm a bit. As we all know, the upgrade is not guaranteed; I do know that some airlines sometimes accommodate these requests if space and policies permit, but there's no obligation for them to do so. 'It's generally seen as a goodwill gesture rather than a standard expectation. Again, in my opinion, airlines could dine out on this offer, especially if there is space for the honeymooners. In turn, the honeymooners will rave about the airline, what a lovely story to tell'. Jo Bryant agrees - people should feel comfortable with asking - but it should be in a nice way. 'Why not? As long as its done politely, with the awareness its a cheeky ask you can only be refused', she said. Is putting a bag on a seat on an empty seat okay? If a passenger does it - should they have to pay for an extra ticket? It is a scene repeated on every train, bus and sometimes even planes around the world. A passenger places their bag on the seat next to them - often to stop someone sitting there. Sometimes on a quieter day, there are plenty of seats to go around. But on busier services - the fireworks can fly. One of MailOnline's experts believes that if you want a bag on the seat next to you, you need to pay for it! Philip Sykes says simply: 'If someone wants to occupy a seat with their bag, they should purchase an additional ticket to account for the space'. But Sara Jane Ho and Jo Bryant say that no one would believe you if you said you had a ticket for your bag. Ms Ho said: 'Well, listen, if there's nobody sitting next to you, you can put your bag on the seat. 'But if I mean it, just bizarre, I don't think you should have to pay an extra ticket. But also, I don't think you should be putting your bag on your seat. 'If there's nobody, if there's somebody sitting there, right. If it's somebody's seat, like, that's somebody's seat. But if it's an open seat, then yeah'. She says it is also ok on a plane. She said: 'I'll be in an aisle. There'll be a person on a window, and then there'll be a middle seat that's open. Both of us will put our hand back, so that's totally fine'. But Jo Bryant says it is not convinced. 'Bags shouldnt be stored on seats unless you have the luxury of an empty carriage or bus etc. Put them away in luggage racks, on the floor or on your lap. No one will believe or realise you have bought an extra ticket for your bag, so best be practical and store it sensibly and considerately instead', she said. Are there any circumstances where it is acceptable for someone to put their bags in the aisle of a train? No. Sara Jane Ho goes further, and says that you should store luggage safely and always where you can see it. 'The aisles should always remain clear. You're supposed to put it at the end of the carriage. Make sure that if you do that you sit in a direction facing where your bag is because with with thieves these days. 'I've had friends where we've been on the train in Switzerland or in the UK, and they put the bags in the back of the carriage. They sat in a way where the bags were behind them and lo and behold, the bags was stolen'. Philip Sykes says that it doesn't matter how busy a train is, luggage in the aisles is not acceptable. Even if it ends up on your lap. 'Leaving bags in the aisles of a busy train is generally not acceptable as it can obstruct movement and pose a safety hazard. Always store bags in the designated luggage areas or keep them with you without blocking the aisle. There are usually overhead racks and, on some trains, specific areas for luggage', he says. Can you sit in first class if the rest of the train's carriages are full? Is it even acceptable on a plane? Another question many commuters ask themselves - sometimes daily - is whether they dare sit in first class if standard is fill. The experts are split. Philip Sykes says: 'No, you should not sit in first class unless you have a first-class ticket, regardless of how full the other carriages are. I have been on a few train journeys where the trains were full, and the guard offered to passengers that they may occupy the empty first-class seats; that is thoughtful and kind'. Jo Bryant agrees that you should wait for guidance. She said: 'If the area is declassified and it has been announced so, then go for it. Otherwise you obviously risk a fine if you dont have top ticket'. But Sara Jane Ho is more open to the idea. 'Well, I don't think it's up to you to decide if you can sit in first class if the standard carriages are full', she said. She also believes that there is even a chance to go to first class on a plane. 'If the plane is full, then you know they won't be allowed on but if there are no shows and they will be allowed. So let me just say it's not up to the traveler, where they sit. It's really up to the or the air stewardess to decide'', she said. Is it acceptable to decline someones request to switch seats? Whats the best way to decline a request? The debate around swapping seats still rumbles on. Many passengers are certain they'd never give up their assigned seat - but others much more willing to move. However, according to Sara Jane Ho, declining a seat-swapping request is perfectly acceptable. 'You are not obligated to switch seats with anyone, she says. Of course, she explains, this depends on which seat they want to move to. 'If its better, take it gladly. If its worse (like a middle seat) then you are justified [to decline].' Sara advises to politely brush it off. '"I paid a lot for this seat, thank you for understanding,"' is a good dismissal, she claims. 'Nobody knows exactly how much you paid anyway.' She adds: 'Or you can say, "32G is my lucky seat, I always have to fly in this seat otherwise I get anxiety."' Is there any good reason to ask to swap seats on public transport? For example if you have longer legs Experts say that asking to swap seats on a train or bus where no seats are reserved is fine when done politely - but don't be offended if your request is declined. Experts say that asking to swap seats on a train or bus where no seats are reserved is fine when done politely - but don't be offended if your request is declined. Sara Jane Ho says that the person in the seat you want has every right to refuse if they were there first. She said: 'If it's public transport, technically, you're not assigned seats. But that means technically it's first come first served. 'So if somebody first got there and has a seat, then they that is their seat. You don't really have a right to kick them out of their seat. You can always ask I mean if you don't ask, you don't get but you should not feel entitled'. Philip Sykes believes there is no harm in asking. And in fact the person in that seat should perhaps be proactive themselves if sat next to someone very tall. 'Its acceptable to politely ask to swap seats if you have a legitimate reason, such as needing more legroom or easier access to the toilet. Simply explain your reason and be understanding if the other person prefers not to switch. 'On the other hand, passengers could be observant and offer a taller person their seat if it were doable', he said. How should passengers deal with someone else's noisy or upset children? Be prepared for noisy youngsters on public transport. To quieten them down, Sara advises non-verbal communication such as eye contact to begin with before speaking to the parents Cacophonous children are almost a given on public transport. To quieten them down, Sara Jane Ho advises non-verbal communication to begin with. 'Eye contact should be enough of a warning,' she says. 'If it really is getting out of hand, you can try to come across as though you are giving advice [to the parent] out of the goodness of your heart. [With babies, for example] something like, "Poor baby, do you want to try changing their nappy?"' And her message for parents. Sara says: 'Look apologetic and at least appear to look like youre trying to pipe them down.' Is it ever acceptable to play something on a phone or iPad without headphones on planes and trains? 'It's never okay to have your phone on speaker phone in public. Wear headphones if your volume is on', says Sara There has been a plague of people blaring out music and videos using their phones. All over the country Britons squirm in their seats as they ponder intervening. When up in the air or in the middle of a long train journey, passengers may want to unwind by watching a movie or listening to music on their devices. But, there's one thing they should keep in mind. According to Sara Jane Ho: 'It's never okay to have your phone on speaker phone in public. Wear headphones if your volume is on. 'It is unacceptable. For anybody child or adult to watch stuff on public transport loudly. 'It smacks of lack of consideration and respect for the people around you. And unfortunately this does happen a fair bit. 'I believe public transport is not as bad as in enclosed space such as on the plane or the train. 'If let's say the subways are ready loud, noisy and rattling anyway, then okay if you have it on low volume, so that it's so that not everybody can hear it. 'Maybe just you and the person listening to left or right can hear it. I mean that's still borderline and still not great. But if you're in a quiet closed area, then absolutely no sounds'. Philip Sykes says that children can listen without headphones if it keeps them calm and quiet. But not so it disturbs others. He said: 'Its generally considered courteous for children to use headphones when watching iPads on public transport. This minimises disturbance to other passengers. 'If headphones arent available, keeping the volume very low is a considerate alternative. However, I still feel that it should not be a loud'. Drinking alcohol on trains or the Tube? Is it ever acceptable? Experts believe it is acceptable on trains if it is allowed - but getting drunk isn't. Philip Sykes said: 'Follow the specific rules of the transport company you are using. If alcohol is allowed, drink responsibly and be mindful of your fellow passengers. It's never acceptable on the Tube, where it is banned'. Sara Jane Ho added: 'I think it's acceptable - if you don't get drunk. 'Of course, not everybody is able to control themselves. Listen, if it's a beer, some people want to kick back with a beer. So this is really just up to the company and what their policy is'. And what about drinking on planes: What stage of a flight can you start hitting the booze? Philip Sykes says drinking from the start of the flight is completely acceptable - but don't let it go too far. He said: 'Drinking alcohol on planes is generally acceptable and often served by the airline. Its appropriate to start once the beverage service begins, usually after takeoff. 'Always drink responsibly and be mindful of your fellow passengers. The crew have the authority not to serve alcohol if they deem it to be an issue with a drunk passenger'. But Sara Jane Ho is less supportive - if a person can't handle their drink. 'To drink on planes is legal right now and it is acceptable. But remember, it's not actually good for you because on a plane you're dehydrated. 'And as you climb higher and higher and the altitude in the bubbles will have the alcohol will have a bigger and bigger effect. It's highly not advised, especially for your own health. 'But hey, it's your choice - as long as you're able to control your liquor and not get rowdy or emotional'. What should you say to someone talking loudly to their companion in a quiet carriage of a train? Is there any recourse I should take if it continues - or should I silently fume? 'Start with a polite request: Excuse me, this is a quiet carriage. Would you mind keeping your voices down?, says Philip Sykes. 'If the noise continues, you can seek assistance from a train attendant to handle the situation, as they are trained to enforce carriage rules'. But if the problems continue - it is ok to push for people to be ejected. 'I was at a cinema a month ago, and the three people in front of us kept talking and looking at their phones. Having been asked at the beginning of the film to turn their phones off and keep quiet during the film, I asked them twice to refrain, to then be sworn at. So I got up and informed the officials, who in turn informed security, and they were removed', he said. Ms Ho says that a polite way to confront it is to claim you were asleep. 'This is one of my pet peeves. I will actually just look over I will make eye contact which usually you know, when they catch your eyes, they should have the wherewithal to lower their voice. Or I say, I say excuse me, "I'm trying to take a nap and I can hear every single word of a conversation and this is the quiet carriage. Do you mind? Do you mind you know lowering your volume?" But she says move yourself if you can if people are being too loud in a normal carriage. She said it happened to her on one occasion. 'This American man had a full on loud conversation that the whole carriage could hear, unfortunately, I was sitting on the same row as him and I was fuming. 'But you know what? I wasn't in the quiet carriage so I couldn't quite say anything. What I ended up doing was moving to the quiet area'. The Warsaw Uprising, which broke out exactly 80 years ago today, was the largest and most savage insurgency against Nazi occupation ever seen. Starting on August 1, 1944, by the time it ended 63 days later, close to 85 per cent of the Polish capital had been decimated. Around 18,000 insurgents were killed during brutal fighting and another 25,000 injured. More than 180,000 civilians were also killed in German mass executions and bombings. Although the German atrocities and acts of Polish heroism are well documented, lesser known is that the insurgency also saw hundreds of men and women from 18 different countries involved in the fight for Warsaw's survival. One of them was Birmingham RAF pilot John Ward, who had been shot down over France and then imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp in occupied Poland. Also involved was Irish-born nurse Eileen Short, French pilot Jean Gasparoux, and Nigerian musician August Agboola Browne, who is thought to have been the only black person to have taken part in the Uprising. Birmingham RAF pilot John Ward fought on the Polish side in the Warsaw Uprising - which began 80 years ago today - after being shot down and then escaping from a prisoner of war camp. Nigerian musician August Agboola Browne also fought in the Uprising against the Nazis Eileen Short and her husband Jozef Galinski after the war. The couple joined the Polish resistance movement known as the Home Army (AK) After escaping from the POW camp he was in, Ward joined the Polish resistance movement known as the Home Army (AK). When the Uprising broke out, the 25-year-old began sending reports directly to London, where they were shared with British prime minister Winston Churchill. Ward, who sent more than 100 dispatches, was counting on the Allies to paradrop arms and supplies to the insurgents, which they initially did. When Joseph Stalin's Red Army arrived on Warsaw's east bank shortly after the Uprising broke out, it was widely expected that the Russian troops would cross the river and fight alongside the Poles. But Stalin refused to help. Instead, Stalin decided to 'wait the battle out', and refused to let British planes enter its airspace to drop supplies to the Polish fighters. His plan was to let the Nazis win so the Red Army could then roll in and take the Polish capital. In a plea for supplies from the Allies, on August 28, 1944, Ward wrote: 'Extremely urgent, to Sir Archibald Sinclair, Minister of Air. The situation in Warsaw is critical. 'We do not have sufficient quantities of arms and ammunition to conduct any offensive operations. 'The losses are colossal. There is not a house that has not been shelled by artillery, mine throwers or aircraft. 'The inhabitants of the city are desperate.' In another dispatch, Ward wrote: 'The time of the uprising is measured not only by the fatigue of the insurgents, but also by the number of dead. 'The dead are everywhere. Sometimes it seems that there are more of them than the fighting.' In his last dispatch on September 29, three days before the resistance surrendered, Ward wrote: 'There are only two Polish "islands" of resistance left - in the north and in the city centre. 'The lack of food is so severe that even front-line soldiers have nothing to eat.' Following the collapse of the Uprising, Ward fled Warsaw and continued fighting with the resistance. Around 18,000 insurgents were killed another 25,000 were injured in the Warsaw Uprising. Above: A soldier from the Polish Home Army looks down a ruined street August Browne getting married in Krakow before the war. He had emigrated from Nigeria - then a British colony - to Warsaw in 1922 Jazzman August Brownes application for membership of a Polish veterans organisation Stills from 1953 propaganda film 'Soldier of Freedom', which Browne appeared in In 2019, a monument to Browne was erected in Warsaw's Old Town district Jean Gasparoux's 'Baszta' unit. The French pilot challenged a German officer to a pistol duel By 1945, the Soviet troops had taken control of large swathes Poland and began hunting down AK members and executing them. Ward at first dodged both German and Red Army troops, but was then captured by Soviet secret police when he returned to Warsaw in March 1945. After being interrogated he was thrown into a cell. Incredibly, he escaped once again - this time with the help of an American captain - and returned to England. Dodging both German and Red Army troops, in March he returned to Warsaw where he was captured by the Soviet secret police and after being interrogated was thrown into a cell. The following day he managed to escape and with the help of an American captain eventually managed to return to England. He died in 1995 in London. When Irish-born Eileen Short, from Liverpool, arrived in Warsaw in 1935 to teach English to a wealthy Polish woman she had met in Windsor, it must have seemed she'd arrived on a different planet. With its cocktail parties, high-class restaurants and heady nightlife, the Polish capital was dubbed the 'Paris of the East'. It was a far cry from the industrial port city ravished by unemployment she had left behind. A year later, the 24-year-old met and fell in love with a dashing army lieutenant named Jozef Galinski. But life as she knew it was thrown into disarray following Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939, an act of aggression which triggered the outbreak of the Second World War. The couple married four days after the war erupted and then joined the AK movement. Eileen narrowly avoided being arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, after her husband was seized and sent to notorious death camp Auschwitz. Insurgents are seen fighting in the streets during the Warsaw Uprising Polish insurgents are seen holding weapons during the Warsaw Uprising When the Uprising started, Eileen joined a combat unit called 'Kryska' as a nurse. Alongside Polish actress Malgorzata Lorentowicz, they first saw action in the riverside district of Powisle, where they came up against Hitler's equivalent of the Dirty Dozen. It was an SS division led by a child molester and made up of psychopaths, murderers and rapists. They executed captured AK soldiers, raped nurses and shot civilians in a rampage of brutality. After retreating to a nearby district, Eileen's unit found itself penned in on three sides. Two more weeks of bitter fighting saw Kryska reduced to just 200 makeshift troops. When the Uprising eventually ended, more than 700 members of Eileen's unit had been killed. She was arrested after stumbling from a bombed out hospital, where she had been tending to the wounded. To avoided being shot, she and other resistance nurses pretended to be civilians. After being taken to Gestapo HQ, six of the women were immediately executed. Eileen survived and was dumped along with other civilians in a disease-ridden transit camp destined for forced labour camps in Germany. After fleeing the camp, she went into hiding before making her way back to the UK, where she began work as a translator for the exiled Polish government. Remarkably, she was reunited with her husband after the war ended and was later awarded some of Poland's highest medals for bravery. She died in 1990 and was buried in Gunnersbury cemetery in Kensington, London. Also involved in the fighting was 26-year-old French pilot Jean Gasparoux, who became known for challenging a German officer to a pistol duel. He was one of five Frenchmen to take part in the Uprising but the only one to survive. The rest were killed during the fighting. The mustachioed second-Lieutenant had escaped from a German POW camp before joining the AK's 'Baszta' unit, where he became known as 'the mad Frenchman'. During fierce fighting in the centre of the capital, insurgent Wojciech Militz, who fought alongside Gasparoux, later recalled him standing in a broken window and challenging a German officer. Saying that both sides had 'ceased fire' following the challenge, Militz said: 'Jean and the German shot at each other several times. 'Neither of them hit each other, because as we know it is very difficult to hit with a handgun. 'Up close it is possible, but at a distance of several dozen feet you have to be well-trained. 'So he must be crazy.' In another incident, during heavy fighting at the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth church, the beret-wearing Gasparoux stunned both sides even more. On August 27, 1944, German tanks began blasting a building where the insurgents had put up a barricade. Militz said: 'We saw him suddenly stand up in front of German tanks 20 feet away, take out a small umbrella and, dancing and singing tra-la-la, he crossed the entire street to the other side without receiving even a scratch.' Gasparoux is said to have survived the war but it is not known what happened to him. During last year's Uprising anniversary, the French consulate in the Polish city of Krakow posted a photo of Gasparoux's unit alongside a small dedication to the Frenchman. As well as the French, there were five Dutchmen, around 12 Italians who had deserted from Mussolini's forces and even a German - a Luftwaffe NCO pilot named Willy Lampe - involved. He had joined the Bartkiewicz unit after switching sides and taught the resistance fighters how to use captured German weapons. Female members of the Polish resistance seen during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The fighting began 80 years ago today The 36th Waffen SS Grenadier Division. It was the unit made up of rapists and murderers that Eileen Short's unit went up against Polish soldiers are seen after being captured by Nazi forces following the Warsaw Uprising Another foreign fighter on the Polish side was Australian Walter Edward Smith, a former barman who signed up to the Army after the outbreak of the war. He was captured during the Nazi invasion of Crete, escaped from a POW camp in Germany and managed to make his way to Poland, where he was taken in by members of the resistance. Despite the AK trying to convince him to go to England, Smith decided to stay. During the Uprising, he fought in the city's downtown area and also relayed messages to London asking for support. After the resistance failed, he fled to the Polish city of Krakow where he met a priest who advised him to report to the Germans saying he was lost. They beat him senseless and sent him back to the POW camp, Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf in what is now Silesia in Poland. After the war, he returned to Sydney and only revealed his wartime experiences in the late 50s. Perhaps one of the more surprising participants was a Nigerian jazz musician. In 2019, Warsaw locals woke to the news that a new monument had been erected in the city's Old Town. The block of polished stone was embossed with the name August Agboola Browne, who had emigrated from Nigeria - then a British colony - to Warsaw in 1922. He had wowed Warsaw's pre-war nightlife with his intricate percussion skills, but when war broke out, the twice-married jazz player, who fathered four children, is said to have distributed underground newspapers and hidden Jews who had managed to escape the Warsaw Ghetto. At the start of the Uprising, he joined an AK unit named 'Iwo' and adopted the codename 'Ali'. Little is known about his activities, which only came to light in 2008 when a Polish archivist at the Warsaw Uprising Museum came across a document with Browne's photo. The document was an application form Browne filed in 1949 for membership of a Polish veterans' organisation called the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. Members of the Polish resistance seen fighting during the Warsaw Uprising The form contained his date and place of birth, his parents' names and the name of his commanding officer during the Uprising. After the defeat, the officer was taken prisoner by the Germans. A former member of Browne's unit later recalled: 'I saw a black man in the command of the Iwo battalion at Marszakowska 74 street. 'I think he worked in communications. I don't remember anything more.' After the war, it is known that Browne stayed in Warsaw, where in 1949 he was employed in the city council's Department of Culture and Art. He continued playing jazz, and appeared in a 1953 Communist propaganda film about the Uprising called 'Zolnierz Wolnosci' (Soldier of Freedom). In the late 50s, Browne moved back to the UK with his second wife and their children. He died at the age of 81 in 1976 and is buried in Hampstead cemetery. Mark Kelly was a public figure but by no stretch a politician when a deranged gunman shot his wife Rep. Gabby Giffords in the head while she was meeting with constituents in a supermarket parking lot. Now, leading Democrats and even some Republicans say he is a natural choice to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, citing his background as a naval aviator and an astronaut and as someone who summoned the horrifying family tragedy to push for gun control and reducing gun violence. 'What I know is that he and Gabby are really close, and its very touching to me how much hes embraced the cause that she has championed,' said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who knows Giffords from his time in the House and who was the first senator to publicly call on Joe Biden to step back from his presidential campaign. 'Its just a very moving story of a loving couple turning their tragedy into hope for so many people,' he told DailyMail.com, calling it 'inspiring.' After an initial flurry of reports about a handful of centrist governors who might help carry Harris to victory in a battleground state, Kelly has risen to be a leading prospect who might help Harris shore up political weaknesses on the border while getting a lift from his inspiration biography. 'The guys done more days of active military service than anybody in Congress. Hes got two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Hes been vetted by life beyond what most people could ever imagine. Hes the closest thing weve got to a national hero,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), another booster. Ready to rise? Sen. Mark Kelly is on VP Kamala Harris' short list for vice president. He spent a total 54 days in space, and has pushed to secure the southern border 'The guy doesnt play politics. But he knows more about the ships and the planes and the armaments we use to defend our country than anybody in Congress, to my knowledge. Everything hes done has been in service of his country,' he added. At a time when potential picks have been hogging the airwaves Kelly took to the airwaves to defend Harris and rip Trump Wednesday Kelly's low-key approach could provide assurances that the astronaut won't outshine Harris. 'He doesnt go out and beat his chest. You dont see him doing the talk show circuit. Hes a public servant. And the nice thing about him, if I was looking at Vice President Harris point of view, he doesnt need a lot of oxygen. He doesnt need to take up a lot of space. Its going to be the president there whos going to be the real leader of this country. And hes going to be a partner for her [if chosen]. But my God, what a good partner hed be,' Hickenlooper added. The data points on his resume inside and outside of politics were enough to vault Kelly onto a short list that includes governors who could help deliver battleground states (Donald Trump holds a narrow poll lead in Arizona, which Biden won in 2020). - He flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm as a Navy pilot. - He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses. - He traveled to space four times as an astronaut, spending 54 days high above earth. - He piloted the space shuttle Endeavor, lived aboard the International Space Station, and even flew aboard a Russian rocket. - Kelly, 60, took part in a NASA twins study along with his brother Scott. Kelly entered politics after his wife Gabby Giffords was shot while meeting with Arizona constituents Harris has travel planned for next week with her running mate, and is considering swing state governors Vice presidential immunity: Kelly and his twin Scott Kelly (above) took part in a NASA twins study while Scott Kelly was in the international space station. Here Scott Kelly gets a flu shot The Trump camp continues to lob criticism at Kamala Harris over border intrusions Kelly served in Operation Desert Storm and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses before taking part in four space shuttle missions. Hes the closest thing weve got to a national hero,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) And he has occasionally taken on the Biden administration by calling for tough action at the border, where his state receives a regular influx of migrants making illegal crossings from Mexico. That gives him the opportunity to help compensate for a top weakness of Harris, who Republicans continue to blast for her effort as 'border tsar' who failed to step a migrant influx. His appeal even earns him plaudits from Republicans in the clubby Senate. 'I know Mark. He's a good guy. I like him. I mean he's got one of the most incredible stories you could have,' said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. 'I think he's got a unique resume. He'd be a tough pick,' said Graham, who has traveled with Kelly. Elected in 2020 to fill the seat vacated by Sen. John McCain, a war hero known for taking on his party at times, Kelly has made frequent visits to the border and pushed the Biden administration to fill gaps in the border wall. An Armed Services Committee member, he is accustomed to speaking on some of the global issues that could trip up a governor on the debate stage, at a time when there are feast of an expanding war in the Middle East. When it comes time to vetting at a time when comments by Republican Sen. J.D. Vance keep coming back to cause headaches the former astronaut has been poked and prodded more than any politician in recent memory, save for the late Sen. John Glenn (R-Ohio). Kelly took part in a unique NASA twins study that monitored his physiology and even his cognitive function compared to his twin Scott, who was also an astronaut. Mark Kelly was on the ground while his brother spent about year in space in 2015 and 2016, in effect serving as the baseline, having not been in space for years at the time. 'For a few measures, persistent changes were observed even after 6 months on Earth, including some genes expression levels, increased DNA damage from chromosomal inversions, increased numbers of short telomeres, and attenuated cognitive function,' according to the study, which was meant to study how humans could handle extended space flight. The brothers each got flu vaccines, had their cardiovascular systems analyzed, and even had their genes studied. Kelly met privately with Harris' vetting team, Politico reported. A regretful young Aussie said she should have thought more beforehand about how much it was going to cost her to go to university after racking up $83,000 in student debt. Jessica Herbert, who now works in disability and community service, said if she had her time over, she would have chosen different areas of study and pursued a career in nursing or teaching. Ms Herbert completed two Masters degrees after she studied a Bachelor of Business majoring in Event Management and Marketing. 'I don't regret going to university, but I do regret not thinking it through with the cost,' Ms Herbert told SBS Insight. 'I think if I had chosen something that wasn't as heavily saturated like event management ... it would have led me down a different path.' Ms Herbert was forced to drop out of her Masters' degree due to a lack of government funding for the course. She later spent 10 years working in event management for music festivals and bush doofs. While she was working, her HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) debt soared due to the annual rate of indexation. Jessica Herbert (pictured), who works in disability and community service, said she would have pursued a career in nursing or teaching to reduce her massive HECS debt The figure is adjusted every year in June to reflect cost-of-living rises. Ms Herbert, who was employed as a contractor, wasn't earning enough to pay the fees back. The annual rate soared to a massive 7.1 per cent in 2023 - the biggest increase in 33 years. The current income threshold over which students must make compulsory repayments on HECS loans is currently $54,435. Ms Herbert said that on reflection, she might have felt differently about pursuing higher education if she'd chosen different courses because it would have reduced her overall HECS debt. She experienced additional hits to her income during the Covid-19 pandemic when many outdoor events were forced to shut down. Eventually Ms Herbert decided to pursue more education and did a six-month community services course at TAFE. Figures by leading comparison website Finder found that 28 per cent of people with student debt are extremely concerned about their ability to pay the loan back. The indexation rate, which is adjusted each financial year, soared to a massive 7.1 per cent in 2023 - the biggest increase in 33 years (stock image) The survey, which featured 271 respondents, also found that 12 per cent believe they will never be able to pay back their debt. Another Aussie student Alicia, 28, who has racked up $81,000 in debt due to indexation, said she fears she will never be able to repay the money. The high school teacher completed a double degree in science before she went on to do a Bachelor of Environmental Town Planning. She then did a Masters in teaching, but the degrees combined set her back $71,000 in student debt before indexation was applied. Alicia said even though she doesn't regret going to university, the cost structure of student loan repayments needs to be revised. 'It is frustrating that even on a good salary, my HECS seem to just keep increasing; I was so shocked when I saw that amount doing my tax this year,' she recently told news.com.au. HECS allows students to avoid paying tuition fees upfront. While the loan is interest free, the amount is indexed during the financial year. The current rate of indexation is 4.7 per cent. The family of a police officer who was killed by a repeat criminal in Missouri found itself at the center of a contentious GOP primary in the state. The two Republican candidates for state attorney general - current AG Andrew Bailey and Trump attorney Will Scharf - are running on very similar platforms. They also both received strong endorsements from former President Donald Trump, in a unique feat. Despite almost no daylight policy-wise between Scharf and Bailey, the race has become so intense that it is now one of the most expensive down-ballot races in the country at nearly $20 million. Bailey's record on crime is in the spotlight in a new ad and mailers being funded by a political action committee supporting Scharf. It blames Bailey for the death of police officer Mason Griffith, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in March 2023 at age 34. Now, the widow of the slain cop is demanding that her late husband be left out of the contentious campaign as she raises two young sons. The widow of a slain cop in Missouri is demanding those backing Trump attorney Will Scharf, who is running for attorney general, stop throwing her late husband into the middle of his campaign Jennifer Griffith says the ads have sent her family spiraling once again and is demanding they cease. 'They're hitting this pretty hard,' Griffith told DailyMail.com, adding that she's received three mail ads, countless phone calls, surveys and text messages with videos exploiting her husband's death. 'I have to explain to my son every time he sees a commercial on TV why Kenneth Simpson's face is on TV,' she added, referring to her husband's alleged killer. Alleged cop killer Kenneth Simpson had a long history of run-ins with the police beginning in 2004. He spent the next decade in and out or prison, according to court records. The ad primarily hits Bailey for his time as assistant prosecutor in Warren County in 2017 when he handled multiple cases involving Simpson. Simpson was arrested, charged and released on bond multiple times in the fall of 2017 for allegedly punching his father in the face and possessing brass knuckles, two misdemeanors. He ended up spending 10 days in jail for unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia under Bailey's prosecution. A judge sentenced him to another six months for unlawful possession of a weapon. The pro-Scharf PAC's attack ads and mailers go on the offense against Bailey, saying Simpson's short sentences allowed him to commit more crimes. 'As a prosecutor, Bailey went easy on a violent career felon who once shot up a cop car,' the contentious ad states. 'Bailey knew that, and yet charged him with mere misdemeanors after he struck again, out within months,' the ad went on. At the time of the shooting, Simpson had been out on bail for crimes that were being prosecuted after Bailey had left the prosecutor's office. Kelly King, Bailey's successor in the Warren County prosecutor's office, claimed she had asked a judge to revoke Simpson's bail but was denied. After his arrest for shooting Griffith, Simpson told police he was on the run for several warrants.He told them he believed he was going to die and decided to commit 'suicide by cop.' He is accused of killing police officer Mason Griffith and wounding officer Adam Sullentrup. Police said Simpson had six felony warrants out of Warren County and one misdemeanor warrant from Franklin County. Bailey's team is accusing the pro-Scharf PAC of 'exploiting' the tragedy during the campaign. Scharf, as a candidate, is prohibited from coordinating with PACs like Defend Missouri on messaging or strategy. Sgt. Mason Griffith is survived by a wife and two young sons, above Tribute to Griffith 'Will Scharf and his supporters at Defend Missouri PAC are exploiting this tragic death to spread lies, Bailey campaign spokesperson James Lawson told DailyMail.com. 'Their deceitful ads not only disrespect Mason's memory but also jeopardize the prosecution of his killer.' Now, calls for the ad to be taken off the air have grown so loud that even the state's governor, Republican Michael Parson and the state's fraternal order of police have joined in. 'Sergeant Mason Griffith's wife, children and mother have had to witness live-action footage from the most terrible day of their lives play over and over again in a political television advertisement,' Parson wrote on official state letterhead to Defend Missouri PAC. 'I call on the Defend Missouri PAC to remove the footage of this tragic event. NO family should be forced to be revictimized by the sensationalism of the man charged with shooting their loved one.' Jennifer Griffith, meanwhile, is asking for an apology and for the onslaught of ads to stop. She said she's reached out to Scharf's campaign and the PAC and has not gotten a response. After Simpson's 2023 arrest, his neighbors told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch they were completely unsurprised to find out he'd been involved in the shooting. One said: 'He's always had problems. That officer should not be dead.' Angela Koepke, Jennifer Griffith's mother, has been leading the charge to have the ads taken down by contacting the campaigns, writing op-eds and letters to the editor across the state. She said she even plans to contact Trump's campaign since he endorsed Scharf. Scharf said the ads were not his doing, but stood by the sentiment expressed in them. The ad was launched by a group that supports Bailey's opponent, Will Scharf Ad accuses AG Andrew Bailey of being too lenient on a cop killer 'My campaign has no control over these independent ads,' Scarf told DailyMail.com. 'Mason Griffith's death was a terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to all of those who knew and loved Mason Griffith. When prosecutors don't do their job and lock up violent repeat offenders, tragic consequences ensue.' 'Missourians who care about law and order should be deeply concerned that Andrew Bailey has a history of treating violent criminals with kid gloves. But Koepke argues Scharf could distance himself from the ads in public statements. 'His willingness to use a fallen officer and grieving family as political pawns is a testament to his character,' Koepke said in one letter. 'We urge voters to reject Scharf's tactics and honor Mason's legacy by supporting those who respect the rule of law and the sacrifices of law enforcement.' Donald Trump brought on stage the staff member he credits with saving his life and said he decided he didn't need to be more 'nice' to Democrats after he came close to death. The former president returned to Pennsylvania just 17 days later after the historic assassination attempt where he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as Margaret Thatcher as he looked to woo voters in the battleground state. If Trump had not turned his head to look at an immigration chart on the screen at his Butler rally, it's likely the bullet would have gone into his head rather than graze his ear. The Republican nominee said the woman who made the graphic is the reason he is alive and brought her on stage. While many speculated Trump was 'changed' after the shooting, he continued the attacks and unveiled even more nicknames for his new 2024 rival Kamala Harris at his latest rally just his third since being shot. Donald Trump brought on stage at a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania rally the staff member who created the graphic that caused him to turn his head and likely avoid death at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month 'Thrilled to be back in this beautiful state,' Trump said. 'As you know this is my first return to the state since my rally in Butler.' He vowed: 'We're going back to Butler, by the way.' Just 225 miles from the scene where he walked away from his rally with a bloody ear, Trump was back to his usual programming hurling a barrage of insults against Vice President Harris. Speaking at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Trump railed against the 'personality makeup' he claims has attempted to turn Harris into beloved late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He also flaunted the immigration chart that 'saved my life' and brought on stage for the first time the staffer who created the graphic and who he credits to preventing disaster. 'I love that chart. I'm going to sleep with that chart for the rest of my life,' Trump said. The campaign staffer who made the graph came on stage and quickly said 'hi' into the microphone. 'She's a computer genius. She saved my life,' the former president lauded. Trump called Kamala 'crazy' before stopping himself and explaining why he didn't 'When I got hit, everyone thought I was going to be a nice guy and they thought I changed. Remember? Right before the Republican Convention,' Trump said. The Republican nominee said the woman who made the graphic is the reason he is alive and brought her on stage President Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania for the first time since he was shot at a rally in the Keystone State just 17 days prior. He explained why he is not more 'nice' after the assassination attempt and claimed he only felt that he might be changed for a few hours after he was shot Trump says that media are attempting to change the view of the vice president. 'Kamala is now being given a personality makeover. Don't forget, four weeks ago, she was like the worst. And all of a sudden she's the new Margaret Thatcher' he said, referencing the beloved late conservative British Prime Minister The former president claimed everyone thought he was 'going to be a nice man now' because 'he came close to death.' 'And I really agreed with that for about eight hours or so,' he said to laughter. 'And then I realized they were trying to put me in prison for doing absolutely nothing wrong.' 'I was nice for about three, four, five hours. And then I said, these are bad people.' At his rally in Butler on June 13, shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Trump in the ear just centimeters from a potentially fatal shot. The only thing that saved his life was the last-second turn of his head to look at the chart on a screen at his rally. Crooks was neutralized by Secret Service, but not before he was able to kill a rally goer, critically injure two others and graze Trump's right ear with his father's AR-style rifle. Pennsylvanian MAGA fanatics went absolutely wild for the former president's return to the Keystone State and were happy to boo his new lines about Harris. 'The radical and Democrat party bosses have installed a puppet candidate to fight only for themselves, she's totally strictly owned and controlled by the donors,' Trump claimed. 'After lying to the country for years about Joe Biden's mental and physical condition, Kamala is now being given a personality makeover. Don't forget, four weeks ago, she was like the worst,' he said of the vice president. 'And all of a sudden she's the new Margaret Thatcher.' 'Everything about the Kamala rollout is phony and it's fake,' he said. Thousands lined-up outside the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg to hear from the former president upon his return to Pennsylvania on Wednesday Trump was shot in his right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 The FBI, Secret Service and multiple congressional committees are investigating the incident, and specifically looking at security failures that allowed Crooks to get on a roof just 130 yards from where the former president was speaking that day. Kimberly Cheatle, who was Secret Service Director, resigned after a brutal House hearing where she faced blistering questions and bipartisan calls to step down. New Holland Arena boasts 7,318 wooden seats with chipped blue, red and orange paint but the floor can hold another several hundred chairs. With every seat filled in the stadium, along with floor seating and some standing, it seems there were approximately 8,000 attendees at the Wednesday evening rally. While Ismail Haniyeh was described as 'moderate and pragmatic' by the BBC yesterday, the bloodthirsty Hamas terror leader was anything but. As his terrorists poured over the border to rape and slaughter 1,200 Israelis on October 7, he was seen watching gleefully on a TV from his luxury apartment in Doha. Later, referring to the atrocity, he told his followers: 'The blood of the women, the children and the elderly we are the ones who need this blood, so it awakens within us the revolutionary spirit.' Born in a refugee camp in Gaza while it was under Egyptian control in 1963, Haniyeh became a founding member of Hamas. Rising through the ranks, he was jailed by Israel for three years in 1989 before being exiled to Lebanon. He returned to Gaza and by the time Israel withdrew in 2005 he was head of the Hamas office in the strip. He finally became leader of the political bureau in 2017 and moved to Qatar. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran after attending the inauguration of the country's new president, Iran and the militant group said early Wednesday Ismail Haniyeh was described as 'moderate and pragmatic' by the BBC yesterday, sparking backlash But Israel considered him one of the key players in the October 7 attack and has hunted down his family throughout the war. When his sons were killed last April, he showed little emotion. 'May God have mercy on them,' he said. As the US would not allow the Israelis to strike while he was on Qatari soil, given it is an ally, they finally took their chance while he visited Tehran. He was seen chanting 'Death to Israel, death to America' in Iran on Monday. Less than 12 hours later, he was dead. A BBC article stated on Wednesday: 'Despite his tough rhetoric, he was generally seen by analysts as moderate and pragmatic, compared to the more hardline Gaza-based leaders.' On the BBC Radio Four Today Programme earlier yesterday, a presenter stated: 'Ismail Haniyeh had been overseeing talks on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. 'Despite his tough rhetoric he was generally seen by analysts as moderate and pragmatic compared to the more hardline Gaza-based leaders.' Last night, critics slated the BBC for their account of Ismail Haniyeh, which was repeated multiple times on and published online on Wednesday. Dave Rich, author of 'Everyday Hate: How antisemitism is built into our world & how you can change it' said: 'If Ismail Haniyeh was 'moderate and pragmatic' as every media outlet claims, that means his open Jew-hate and repeated calls for the violent destruction of Israel are a 'moderate and pragmatic' position to hold. 'And what does that tell us about the status of Jews today.' Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrives at the Iranian parliament to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, hours before his death Palestinian group Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh attends Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran Labour MP Mike Tapp, a former solider, told The Sun: 'Ismail Haniyeh was a dedicated antisemite and the leader of a proscribed, genocidal terrorist group which on 7 October perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. 'To describe such an individual as moderate and pragmatic is grotesque and an absolute disgrace.' Greg Smith, Conservative Shadow Business and Trade Minister, added: 'Its absolutely outrageous for the BBC to dare call a Hamas terror chief moderate. 'In what reality can the head of an organisation responsible for so much death, sexual violence and hate be called moderate? 'Hamas want to wipe Israel from the face of the earth and kill Jewish people simply because they are Jewish, yet the BBC think theyre pragmatic.' Earlier this year, former attorney general Sir Michael Ellis said that the BBC was 'institutionally anti-Semitic' and has inflamed community tensions due to its 'biased' reporting of the Gaza conflict. He also said that the broadcaster's impartiality had been brought into 'disrepute' over its coverage of Israel and Hamas. Opening a Westminster Hall debate on the subject, he warned that the corporation's reporting had 'fuelled the appalling rise of anti-Semitism' and 'harmed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the violence'. The incident he was referring to an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital was initially reported by the BBC as being caused by an Israeli air strike. It later admitted it was wrong after growing evidence emerged that it was due to a failed rocket launch by terrorist group Islamic Jihad. But the dispute sparked a row with Israel, and there were suggestions it could have contributed to US President Joe Biden abandoning his Middle East peace summit at the time. 'The BBC has found itself at the centre of ever-increasing controversy in recent years and it is the organisation's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, which has led it to comprehensively fail the British public,' said Sir Michael, who is Jewish. Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala and Palestinian group Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh attend Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2024. A man watches the news on a tv after Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iran on July 31, 2024 The assassination on Haniyeh in Tehran came hours after Israel also targeted a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024, hours before the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran 'A careful review of BBC output shows a clear failure to uphold its obligation to impartiality and, in doing so, BBC News's broadcasting and online content has actively inflamed community tensions here in the UK, fuelled the appalling rise in anti-Semitism, and in one particularly shocking case at least, harmed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the violence.' A BBC spokesman said at the time: 'We don't agree with this opinion which we reject entirely and is not borne out by the facts.' The Mail Online has reached out to the BBC for comment. Iran's supreme leader has vowed to inflict severe punishment on Israel after the political head of Hamas was assassinated in Tehran early yesterday. Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed with a guided missile launched from within Iran in a 2am attack that risks sparking an all-out regional war. Experts say he was the fourth hit on an Israeli kill list of Hamas leaders drawn up after October 7, with only two still alive. Hamass military chief Mohammed Deif, 58, was targeted in a strike on Khan Yunis last month, although his death has not yet been confirmed. The terror groups deputy chairman Saleh Al-Arouri, 57, was killed by a drone in Beirut in January, while deputy military commander Marwan Issa, 59, died in an air strike in Gaza last March. Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed with a guided missile launched from within Iran in a 2am attack that risks sparking an all-out regional war. Experts say he was the fourth hit on an Israeli kill list of Hamas leaders drawn up after October 7, with only two still alive Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran after attending the inauguration of the countrys new president, Iran and the militant group said early Wednesday The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, 61, is hiding in the territorys vast tunnel network Meanwhile, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, 61, is hiding in the territorys vast tunnel network, while 68-year-old Khaled Mashal, head of Hamass overseas political bureau, is alive in Doha, Qatar. Yesterdays strike, for which Israel has not claimed responsibility, is embarrassing for Tehran, coming straight after the inauguration of its new president. Only 12 hours earlier, Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, the military leader of Hezbollah and another Iranian proxy, after 12 Israeli Druze children were killed in a rocket attack last weekend. The Middle East is already dangerously unstable due to the war in Gaza where nearly 40,000 have died but now it risks spreading into a regional conflagration. Israel was last night bracing for a multi-front response from Iran, which has proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged to avenge the death of Haniyeh, saying it was Tehrans duty. Head of Hamass overseas political bureau, Khaled Mashal, is alive in Doha, Qatar Hamass military chief Mohammed Deif, 58, was targeted in a strike on Khan Yunis last month, although his death has not yet been confirmed. Pictured: Deif in 2001 Hours from death: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Ismail Haniyeh (L) before Israel's lethal strike on the Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran July 30, 2024 Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrives at the Iranian parliament to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, just hours before his death Palestinian group Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh attends Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran Israel's Defence Forces seized the chance to hit Haniyeh and conducted a daring missile strike on his residence in Tehran just hours after the event, killing the Hamas leader and a security guard The assassination on Haniyeh in Tehran came hours after Israel also targeted a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has paved the way for its own severe punishment, the supreme leader said. Haniyeh had been visiting Tehran for the inauguration of president Masoud Pezeshkian on the day before his death and joined in chants of: Death to Israel, death to America. Mr Pezeshkian warned Israel it would regret this cowardly killing. Four dead two alive on Israel's hit-list Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was killed with a guided missile launched from within Iran in a 2am attack early Wednesday. Experts say he was the fourth hit on an Israeli kill list of Hamas leaders drawn up after October 7, with only two still alive. Hamas deputy political leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, by a drone strike on January 2, while Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas' military wing, was killed in a strike on a tunnel complex under the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza in March. Hamass military chief Mohammed Deif was targeted earlier this month by Israeli forces, however there has been no official confirmation that he was killed. Meanwhile, Head of Hamass overseas political bureau, Khaled Mashal, is alive in Doha, Qatar and the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, 61, is hiding in the territorys vast tunnel network. Advertisement It was initially reported that the Hamas political chief was killed by a drone or aerial strike. But last night local media claimed his bedroom was targeted by a short-range Israeli-made Spike missile launched from a building nearby . Haniyeh was killed with his bodyguard in the official guest house of Irans Revolutionary Guards in the Shahran neighbourhood in the north of the capital. Iranian media reported that the terror leaders close protection team leaked information leading to his assassination. The Iranian regime is reportedly in shock over the strike in the heart of its own territory. Ismail Khatib, Tehrans minister of intelligence, recently claimed to have dismantled [the Israeli secret service] Mossads infiltration network, calling it a turning point for the ministry. There are fears that Iran could use proxies to hit Israeli embassies abroad. In Britain, the Community Security Trust urged members of the Jewish community to keep gates and doors closed at all times and avoid congregating outside communal buildings and events. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not confirmed the strike, with the Israel Defence Forces saying it is conducting a situation assessment, but vowed his country was prepared for all scenarios. Israelis were yesterday celebrating the death of one of their biggest enemies. Amos Yadlin, ex-IDF intelligence chief, said there were now only two key Hamas leaders left to kill after Haniyehs death. Israel is basically implementing here the Munich Olympics revenge that took about a decade to assassinate all those who were involved in Munich 72 massacre, he added. A man watches the news on a tv after Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iran on July 31, 2024 We are now four out of six of the top leaders that have already been punished for what they have done for October 7. It is feared the latest killing could derail hostage negotiations that appeared to be edging towards a compromise. Haniyeh, based in Doha, Qatar, was one of the key players in the November ceasefire and was heavily involved in talks. Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said: How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side? Major General Yadlin said the attack might freeze the negotiations but would make Hamas leaders realise Israel could come for them next, which will improve the chances. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said America was not aware of or involved in the attack and that nothing takes away from the importance of getting to the ceasefire. A strong cold front moving across the country will keep temperatures low throughout the weekend. A cold front is moving into South Australia and will bring a few showers and thunderstorms, primarily along the coastal areas, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The system will spread across Victoria and NSW this weekend, but it won't be as intense as previous cold fronts and won't extend far inland. As for the winds barraging the country's south-east, particularly New South Wales' Central Coast, conditions should start to ease from Thursday afternoon. 'A low pressure system over the Tasman Sea is causing those strong winds across the NSW coast and gusts in south-east Queensland,' Weatherzone meteorologist Yoska Hernandez told Daily Mail Australia. 'Today, those gusty winds around Sydney will start to ease in the afternoon and further weaken to light winds tomorrow.' Large areas from Central Queensland down to southern Victoria are set to see frost on Friday morning, as well as Western Australia's south. A strong cold front moving across the country is set to cause temperatures to remain cold over the weekend. Sydney Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Light winds becoming southerly 15 to 20 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the late afternoon. Min 6, Max 15. Saturday: Partly cloudy. The chance of morning fog. Light winds. Min 8, Max 17. Sunday: Mostly sunny. The chance of fog and frost in the west in the morning. Light winds. Min 7, Max 16. Melbourne Friday: Mostly sunny. Patches of frost and the chance of fog in the morning. Winds northerly 25 to 35 km/h. Min 5, Max 15. Saturday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds northerly 25 to 35 km/h turning west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the afternoon. Min 9, Max 14. Sunday: Partly cloudy. The chance of morning fog in the northeast suburbs. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Light winds becoming west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then becoming light during the afternoon. Min 4, Max 14. Brisbane Friday: Sunny. Light winds. Min 9, Max 22. Saturday: Sunny. Light winds becoming southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min 10, Max 23. Sunday: Mostly sunny. The chance of morning fog in the west. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min 9, Max 23. Perth Friday: Cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Light winds. Min 8, Max 17. Saturday: Sunny. Light winds. Min 7, Max 19. Sunday: Sunny. Light winds. Min 6, Max 19. Adelaide Friday: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the late afternoon and evening. Winds north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h tending north to northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the evening. Min9, Max 17. Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. The chance of morning fog about the northern suburbs. Light winds. Min 7, Max 15. Sunday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Light winds becoming northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the afternoon. Min 6, Max 16. Hobart Friday: Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming northerly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day. Min 3, Max 14. Saturday: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely during the morning and afternoon. Winds northerly 15 to 20 km/h becoming light during the morning. Min 6, Max 13. Sunday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending westerly during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min 4, Max 13. Canberra Friday: Areas of frost and the chance of fog in the morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Light winds. Min -3, Max 14. Saturday: Partly cloudy. Areas of frost and the chance of fog in the morning. Light winds becoming northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min -3, Max 14. Sunday: Patches of frost and the chance of fog in the morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Light winds becoming northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then becoming light during the afternoon. Min -2, Max 14. Large areas from Central Queensland down to southern Victoria are set to see frost on Friday morning, as well as Western Australia's south (forecast for Friday morning pictured: frost marked in pink, fog in grey, rain in light green, possible storms in dark green) Darwin Friday: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 20 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the late afternoon. Min 21, Max 33. Saturday: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning then turning north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon. Min 20, Max 32. Sunday: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min 21, Max 31. The federally mandated point-in-time count of homelessness relies on a one-night observation. While experts say thats a valuable source of information, its widely understood to result in a vast underestimate of the true scale of homelessness, missing some types of homelessness entirely. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle 2022 How many homeless people are in San Francisco? It depends on where you look. According to an annual one-night tally, the most frequently cited measure, the city had about 8,300 people experiencing homelessness in January 2024. Thats the number thatll be repeated by public officials, compared to counts from previous years and weighed by state agencies to help determine where funding should go. Its also widely cited in the media, by the Chronicle and others. But theres another, lesser known metric that counts how many people accessed San Franciscos homelessness services, including from outreach teams. That measure suggests that there were at least 20,100 homeless people in 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The reason those numbers differ so much is that they reflect different ways of measuring homelessness. The federally mandated point-in-time count, or PIT count, relies on volunteers and workers observing people sleeping on streets and in shelters and vehicles over a single night. While experts say thats a valuable source of information, its widely understood to result in a vast underestimate of the true scale of homelessness, missing some types of homelessness entirely. As a result, many advocates and researchers say the PIT count should be paired with the kind of service use data San Franciscos homelessness department collects. A pedestrian walks past tents on 19th Street at Mission Street on May 7, in San Francisco. The most recent point-in-time count tallied about 8,300 people experiencing homelessness in the city. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle A pedestrian walks past tents under the Central Freeway along Division Street next to Showplace Square on May 7, in San Francisco. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle A tent is pitched on a sidewalk on 19th and Mission streets on May 7, in San Francisco. While the city tallied 8,300 people experiencing homelessness in Januarys point-in-time count, another metric suggests that there were at least 20,100 homeless people in 2023. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle What is the PIT count? Advertisement Article continues below this ad Since 2005, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has required local governments to count the number of homeless people in their areas every two years in order to receive federal funding. The timing and methodology of the count has generally stayed the same with some exceptions and even those who criticize the PIT count say its chief strength is that consistency. If you want to know whether homelessness is going up or down over time, the PIT count is your best bet. The count is also usually paired with a more detailed survey that can reveal specific disparities, often indicating that Black, Latino and LGBTQ people make up disproportionate shares of the homeless population. Its not that (the PIT count) is a bad thing, said Emily Cohen, director of San Franciscos Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Its just (only) good at what its good at. What are its flaws? HUD provides guidance to jurisdictions on how they should conduct their count, which in theory should ensure that trends in one area are comparable to those in another. But in practice, locales have a fair degree of leeway in how they run the PIT count. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For example, while most Bay Area counties did a count this year, Santa Clara County which typically reports more than a quarter of the regions homeless population pivoted to conducting its count on odd-numbered years like it did before the pandemic. That makes calculating Bay Area-wide homelessness trends difficult. Regions may also have methodological differences. Many jurisdictions rely on volunteers, while San Francisco recently switched to using staff and contractors who have experience working with homeless people. Some counties aim for a full census, while others estimate the total based on a partial tally. Advocates for people experiencing homelessness also argue that the count itself does a poor job of capturing some types of homelessness. Volunteers are generally told not to disturb people in tents or vehicles, forcing them to make an educated guess about how many individuals are inside. Homeless people living in hotels or staying at friends homes are excluded from the count, as are those in jails and hospitals. HUD told the Chronicle that the PIT count isnt meant to capture every unhoused person throughout the year, but that its the most accurate source of national homelessness data. The department has also considered changes to its methodology such as requiring more counts throughout the year and door-to-door surveys to determine how many people are couch surfing, a spokesperson said, but decided theyd take too much money and staffing. Shannon McConville, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, said that the PIT count is whats available, and Id say its the most often used, but we do just need better resources to try to understand both this problem and how well were doing. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What do experts recommend? Homelessness experts told the Chronicle that counties should pair the PIT count with other sources of data, especially numbers showing how many people access homeless services throughout the year. That longer-term look would more accurately show the scale of homelessness, said Jamie Chang, a homelessness researcher at UC Berkeley. I do think that leaning toward service utilization data will give us much clearer estimates, and those clearer estimates are essential for (research), Chang added. Leaning on service use data would also allow officials and researchers to better understand which demographic groups are becoming homeless and which programs are most effective, said Dr. Margot Kushel, director of UCSFs Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. That, in turn, would help service providers develop more targeted and effective initiatives. Californias Homeless Management Information System already collects, de-duplicates and reports some service use data from each region, though Chang said its not very detailed. In San Francisco, the homelessness and public health departments track how many unhoused people access their services, which the city uses for planning alongside the PIT count. By the time of the next count in 2026, the city could be using administrative records as its main source of data, said Cohen, the homelessness department director. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Were close to having that level of data, but not quite to the level of the confidence we need to do that, she said. Thats not to say that administrative or service data is perfect, experts warn. It only measures the people who use homelessness services or interact with outreach times, and not all unhoused people do. Expanding or cutting services over time could make it seem like more or fewer people are becoming homeless. And its also sometimes difficult to verify whether someone who stayed at a shelter at one point is still homeless later in the year, if theyre no longer accessing services. Perhaps most importantly, not every community has enough funding to collect and analyze service data, or extensive enough services to reach most of its people experiencing homelessness. Ultimately, Kushel said, neither the PIT count nor administrative data should stand alone. A major Mexican supermarket chain has been forced to shutter all of its stores in a troubled region after a striking rise in incidents involving drug cartels and gangs. Oxxo, Mexico's largest chain of convenience stores, announced late last week that it was closing its 191 stores and seven gas stations in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. The problem came to a head when Femsa corporation, which operates the chain, said they had been dealing with cartel demands concerning fuel distributors. However, in recent weeks gang members abducted two store employees and demanded they act as lookouts or provide information to the gangs. Since convenience stores are used by most people in Mexico, the gangs see them as good points to keep tabs on the movements of police, soldiers and rivals. Oxxo, Mexico's largest chain of convenience stores, announced late last week that it was closing its 191 stores and seven gas stations in Nuevo Laredo Mexican soldiers stand guard outside an Oxxo grocery shop near the Tamaulipas Chamber of Commerce, where its president Julio Cesar Almanza was killed, in Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Veronica Cisneros) Robert Campa, Femsa's director of corporate affairs, told local media: 'We had incidents in stores that consisted of them (gangs) demanding we give them certain information, and they even abducted two colleagues to enforce this demand.' In a statement Monday, Femsa said its stores in Nuevo Laredo remain closed this week 'due to acts of violence that put our colleagues safety at risk.' Cartel violence in Mexico has long been focused on smaller businesses, where owners are abducted or approached by gang members for extortion payments. But Femsa is the largest soft drink bottler in Latin America, the largest Coca Cola bottler by sales volume and is listed on the Mexican stock exchange. Nuevo Laredo has long been dominated by the Northeast Cartel - an offshoot of the old Zetas cartel - but the problem is starting to hit larger companies nationwide. Sectors ranging from agriculture, fishing and mining to consumer goods have been plagued by cartels trying to essentially take over their industries. On Monday, Julio Almaza, head of the business chambers' federation in Tamaulipas, gave interviews in which he complained about drug cartel extortion in the state. Hours later on Tuesday, Almaza was shot to death outside his offices in the city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. Mexican soldiers stand guard near the Tamaulipas Chamber of Commerce, where its president Julio Cesar Almanza was killed, in Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Veronica Cisneros) In one of his last interviews, he said: 'We are hostages to extortion demands, we are hostages of criminal groups. 'Charging extortion payments has practically become the national sport in Tamaulipas.' This week, the American Chamber of Commerce, whose members tend to be larger Mexican, American or multinational corporations, released a survey of its members in which 12% of respondents said that 'organized crime has taken partial control of the sales, distribution and/or pricing of their goods.' That means drug cartels are distorting parts of Mexico's economy, deciding who gets to sell a product and at what price. In return they are apparently demanding sellers pass a percentage of sales revenue back to the cartel. In the past, cartels have carried out violent attacks, arson and even killings of those found selling goods that had not been 'authorized' by them or bought from distributors they control. Almanza, seen here, was shot to death outside his offices in the city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas Investigators collect evidence at the site where Almanza, president of the Tamaulipas Chamber of Commerce, was killed in Matamoros About half of the 218 companies in the American Chamber survey said that trucks carrying their products had suffered attacks, and 45% of the companies said they had received extortion demands for protection payments. Of the companies that reported how much they had to spend on security measures, 58% said they spent between 2% and 10% of their total budgets on security; 4% spent at least a tenth of their total outlays on security measures. On Tuesday, Femsa said in a statement that it was making progress in talks with authorities that might provide guarantees for the safety of its employees and allow the chain to reopen its stores in Nuevo Laredo. Mexico's powerful drug cartels have expanded their income sources by both extorting money from companies and even taking over legitimate businesses. In 2014, authorities confirmed the Knights Templar cartel had essentially taken over exports of iron ore from the western state of Michoacan, and the ore trade with China had become perhaps its biggest single source of income. Cartels have also been accused of controlling production and manipulating domestic prices for crops like avocados and limes. And late last year, authorities in Michoacan confirmed one cartel had set up its own makeshift internet system and told locals they had to pay to use its Wi-Fi service or they would be killed. Dubbed 'narco-antennas' by local media, the cartel's system involved internet antennas set up in various towns built with stolen equipment. The group charged approximately 5,000 people elevated prices between 400 and 500 pesos ($25 to $30) a month. Femsa's Oxxo convenience stores are a target in part because they are so ubiquitous in Mexico: there are about 20,000 nationwide. In 2022, gangs set fires at about two dozen of the stores in the central state of Guanajuato to protest attempts to arrest a cartel leader. On Wednesday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - whose policy is to avoid confronting the cartels - displayed the recommendations authorities had made to Femsa in a meeting Monday. Those recommendations largely placed responsibility on the company, asking it to hire in-store security guards, install panic buttons and place cameras outside the stores. In 2009, police in the western state of Jalisco found at least four severed heads in Styrofoam coolers with the stores' logo on them; such coolers were sold to hold chilled drinks, but it became something of a trend for gangs to use them to hold decapitated heads. Meghan Markle wishes Prince Harry could 'let go' of the legal battle over their family's security as she wants the Duke to be 'free', sources have said. Harry is continuing to appeal against a UK High Court decision about his security, having lost several rounds of the case against the Home Office. A friend close to Harry said the Duke's calls to his father over the issues are going 'unanswered', according to a report by People magazine. Meghan wishes the Duke 'could let go of these lawsuits' and 'live in the moment', sources told the US magazine. The report quoted a former employee of the Sussexes' Archewell Foundation, who said: '[Meghan] wants him to be free of all of this, but she also knows that because of everything he's been through and his love for [her and their children], he can't. Meghan Markle wishes Prince Harry could 'let go' of the legal battle over their family's security as she wants the Duke to be 'free', sources have said A friend close to Harry said the Duke's calls to King Charles over the issues are going 'answered', according to a report by People Magazine Harry previously told an ITV interviewer that he 'won't bring my wife back to this country' over 'genuine concerns' about security 'She wants him to live in a world where he is not burdened by this.' Harry previously told an ITV interviewer that he 'won't bring my wife back to this country' over 'genuine concerns' about security. Earlier this year, a High Court judge ruled that Harry had 'comprehensively lost' a bid to appeal against a Home Office decision about his UK security. He had hoped for a judicial review over a decision made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) to remove his right to automatic police protection after he decided to exit the working Royal family. Harry still receives protection when he comes back to Britain in certain circumstances, but must give 28 days' notice on his plans. Harry allegedly believes that his father should intervene in the security issue to make sure his youngest son and family are safe when in the UK. The communication between Harry and Charles, the sources told People Magazine, has moved from frustration to 'complete silence'. Prince Harry and Meghan with Archie in May 2019, then a newborn son 'He's not asking his dad for a nicer house or nicer cars. He's asking because of the reality of the situation. He is at risk,' a source said. The legal battle has sparked fears that Charles may never reunite with his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet as Harry refuses to bring his family to the UK. Royal experts told The Mail on Sunday that the King will become 'more and more remote' from the children in an 'incredibly sad situation'. King Charles last saw Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, in June 2022 when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Newly-released body camera footage captured the horrifying moment a migrant who was stuck on the border wall pleaded for help before plunging to her death. Petronila Elizabeth Poma Perez, a 24-year-old Guatemalan national, could not be seen in the footage released by US Customs and Border Protection, but she could be heard repeatedly calling out for help. A Border Patrol agent tried to reassure her that help is on the way, but after more than 20 minutes Poma Perez slips and falls to her death from the top of the 30-foot wall in the California border city of Otay Mesa on March 21. She is said to have arrived with a group of other migrants that night, and brazenly scaled the wall in front of agents who warned her to stay put. Border Patrol now says the San Diego Fire Department did not arrive on the correct side of the border wall in time to help Poma Perez and provide her with a ladder down. Petronila Elizabeth Poma Perez, a 24-year-old Guatemalan national, tragically fell to her death from the top of the border wall in March The body camera footage shows an unidentified agent arriving on the scene between the primary and secondary fences separating the US and Mexico in California at around 10.30pm. He could be heard advising the woman not to go over the fence or scale down the north side, telling her in Spanish: 'Do not go down, do not go down.' But Poma Perez apparently does not listen and begins to scale the fence anyway, prompting the officer to advise her 'Don't do that, don't do that. 'Stay there, do not go down, please, please,' he could be heard telling the woman as he calls for help. He then promises the woman that the San Diego Fire Department is on its way to assist, telling her to hold tight until the firefighters arrive on the scene. At one point, another migrant approaches the fence and asks the agent if he could use a nearby ladder to rescue the woman - to which the officer replies that they need to wait for the fire department before they could take any action. Body camera footage shows a Border Patrol officer telling her not to scale the wall The officer then tells her to hold on, telling her that fire crews are on their way The fire department arrived on the scene about 14 minutes later - but is on the wrong side of the wall to help the woman. Making matters worse, the fire truck could not make the sharp turn through the nearest gate and had to take a longer route around. As they were doing so, Poma Perez could be heard crying that she was struggling to hold on. By 10.54pm, Poma Perez yelled that she was going to fall - and just moments later a loud thud could be heard as her body struck the elevated concrete base. A border patrol agent on the scene then finds her sprawled, unresponsive on the ground with massive head trauma and profuse bleeding. 'I think she's done, bro,' the agent could be heard telling another officer before calling EMS crews. As she waited for the fire crews to arrive on the correct side of the border wall, she yelled that she was about to fall The Border Patrol officer called for EMS help after finding her sprawled, unresponsive on the ground with massive head trauma and profuse bleeding Meanwhile, firefighters finally arrived on the correct side of the wall about 10 minutes after Poma Perez fell. An agent could then be heard in the body camera footage saying, 'They didn't make it in time, she couldn't hold on.' Poma Perez was pronounced dead at the scene. The San Diego Fire Department now says Customs and Border Protection officers directed the engine to the wrong side of the wall and had to perform 'lengthy maneuvers' to get to the correct location. 'While the environment at the border is very challenging, there are thousands of examples over the years where our crews, in concert with CBP agents, have saved lives,' the fire department told NBC San Diego. 'Our personnel feel horrible when a fatality occurs because our intent is always to rescue and render aid, and get those folks who need further medical care to the hospital.' The San Diego Fire Department said Customs and Border Protection agents called them to the wrong side of the wall But Poma Perez's death has prompted concerns about the protocols the Border Patrol follows when a migrant's life is in danger - with some human rights groups calling it part of a larger policy failure in Washington. 'If Ms. Poma Perez had the ability to walk up to seek safety at a port of entry as required by US law, instead of being forced to wait in danger in Mexico, she may have not tried to climb that wall,' Amy Fischer, the director of refugee and migrants rights at Amnesty International USA told Newsweek. 'People will risk their lives in order to save their lives, and this heartbreaking tragedy is one of far too many deaths that occur at the border because of cruel US policies at the border.' Pedro Rios, who advocates for migrants as the director of American Friends Service Committee, also told NBC San Diego that the 'tragic situation... could have been avoided. 'When we were advocating that 30-foot border walls would only bring more suffering and more death, this is exactly what we meant,' he claimed. Rios added that 'we should not be normalizing someone falling to their death and us not questioning why that is wrong.' Customs and Border Protection said its Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident. A long-running and highly regarded Melbourne restaurant has become the latest victim of a crisis slamming Australia's hospitality industry. Epocha, which styles itself as a European restaurant, announced on Wednesday night that after 12 years in business it will shut for good on September 14. Based in the inner suburb of Carlton, the imminent closure of the venue run by Angie Giannakodakis and Guy Holder led to an outpouring of grief from supporters. But no one is as sad as the owners, who wrote on social media that it was 'with a mix of heavy hearts and deep gratitude' that they came to the conclusion to close down. 'Looking at what's happened (with the economy) in the last three to four years, it takes a lot of strength and courage to get through these things,' Ms Giannakodakis told Daily Mail Australia. 'I live in an industry where we're very good at altering things and we're very good at pivoting and we're very good at adjusting and change. 'But the one thing that we can't do is (control) all the externalities, we can't change those things.' One of those externalities is the building the restaurant is based in. After its owner died last year, his family want to sell it and Epocha's owners can't afford to buy it. Epocha, which styles itself as a European restaurant, announced on Wednesday night that after 12 years in business it will shut for good on September 14. Co-owner Angie Giannakodakis is pictured This led to the hard decision that 'it was a wiser choice to close it now rather than allow it to go silent in the night', Ms Giannakodakis said. 'Hopefully in years to come, people will look back at this restaurant and go "That was a restaurant. That's the definition of a good restaurant".' Diners took to social media to comment on the closure, including one from a huge fan of the restaurant. 'I reckon this hits me the hardest of all the recent closures across our great city and across the country,' the commenter wrote. 'Epocha (and Elyros) were like a beacon of hope and ambition on opening, all these years ago now. So many great memories! 'Don't give up Angie Giannakodakis, you are one of our national treasures.' Ms Giannakodakis said she was 'truly grateful for all the messages that people have sent to us and also the comments from people who have replied to our post (online).' She added: 'It's a little bit overwhelming. But at the same time it's also great for the staff to see that, (so) they do know that they work for a good restaurant.' As words spreads that Epocha has just over six weeks left, its bookings have increased, so much so that they are trying to move people to some of the less popular nights such as Sunday evening, or Monday nights where they are specialising in catering for other hospitality workers. Though the building was the main catalyst behind the decision to close, Ms Giannakodakis said economic factors played a part too. 'I even see it myself when I go shopping. My money doesn't go as far as it used to,' she said. 'So I'm mindful about where I'm going to spend that dollar, and value for money is very important.' She is also very aware of how competitive the Melbourne market is for restaurants. 'As a Melburnian myself, one of the things that we pride ourselves on is, this is our social currency, dining out. 'We do this very, very well... apart from wearing black extremely well,' Ms Giannakodakis joked, still able to have a laugh despite the business she has put a dozen years of her life into being in its last days. She also spoke about her philosophy of what a restaurant should provide for its clientele, which she plans to carry on to whatever her next hospitality venture is. 'Restaurants should be more about (having customers) looking at a dish and going, "I want to eat that. It's good for me. It's wholesome. It's gonna warm me. I need it".' Ms Giannakodakis said creating that sort of feeling is vital and creates an 'essence of nourishment' beyond the food itself. 'If you put a beautiful roast chicken in front of them, the smile from (customers) is ridiculous (and other foods don't) have the same impact. 'I feel like people are looking towards (Epocha's) food in a different way ... what it's going to do to their body and their soul. 'But I think in essence, over the week they would go around thinking about that meal and going, "that was really good. I feel good this week because of that".' Epocha is one of the many long-established restaurants across the country shutting down in recent months, including Angler in Adelaide and Brisbane hipster restaurant Nota. The long-running and highly regarded Melbourne restaurant (pictured) has become the latest victim of a crisis slamming the hospitality industry Based in the inner suburb of Carlton, the imminent closure of Epocha (chefs pictured) led to an outpouring of grief from supporters Both said skyrocketing costs contributed to the decision to close. With the reputation earned at Epocha, Ms Giannakodakis and Mr Holder could be back in business in a new location before too long. 'The main thing right now is to look after our customers,' she said. 'Hold our people tight and make sure that the people that collaborate and also work with us are looked after.' When they do finally close, she said she wants 'to go home and I want to cook some dinner and I want to look at my family and have a bit of a think about the future.' A class action lawsuit has been filed after thousands of hospital patients were told they may have been exposed to various illnesses including HIV. Nearly 2,400 patients who underwent anesthesia at the Oregon facilities could also be at risk of infections such as hepatitis B and C, the Oregon Health Authority said this month. The tainted procedures were the fault of a since-fired anesthesiologist, they said - all administered between March 2022 and February 2024. All were informed the physician who administered anesthesia 'failed to adhere to infection control procedures' and, as a result, potentially exposed them to infections, the complaint filed by four people in Clackamas County claimed. They are suing Providence Health for negligence, as well as the Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG). The unnamed anesthesiologist was employed by OAG, but treated patients at various Providence medical centers. Scroll down for video: A class action lawsuit has been filed after thousands of hospital patients were told they may have been exposed to various illnesses including HIV. 'I don't think this fair for us to be going through this,' one of the potentially exposed patients told KATU News in Portland this week 'I don't think this fair for us to be going through this,' one of the potentially exposed patients told KATU News in Portland this week. 'Because, just imagine, people who go to take a blood test are going to go with the fear I can be infected.' She, like the others, received treatment at one of the centers in the aforementioned timeframe. The doctor, the hospital said, may not have followed 'infection control' practices when administering the anesthesia. The woman interview was not among those who filed the suit, which claims the hospital's actions have caused patients 'pain, suffering, shock, horror, anguish, grief, anxiety, nervousness, embarrassment, [and] humiliation' beyond belief. Their also suing for 'loss of enjoyment of life and other general and special damages', as the woman in the clip received treatment another, non Providence location owned by Legacy Health The healthcare company said it notified 221 patients who may have been exposed to infections at their clinics since they hired OAG last year, after Providence cut ties with them months before. The hospital chain said the provider worked at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham for less than six months, from December to May. She received potentially tainted treatments at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham at some point between December and May, when an anesthesiologist responsible for the exposures worked there Within that span, the woman interviewed was treated by the doc in question, who is no longer employed with OAG and is not treating patients at their facilities, the organization said. 'The safety of our patients is our top priority. When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician's termination,' OAG said in a statement earlier this month. 'Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.' The plaintiffs, meanwhile, are four Clackamas County patients who all received IV anesthesia during surgery at Providence's Willamette Falls Medical Center. One was tested for HIV and Hepatitis B and C and their results came back negative, the lawsuit filed Wednesday say, while three others are still awaiting their results. State officials well-versed on hospital-acquired infections are assisting the hospitals' investigations, as the hospital chains and the anesthesiology firm have kept relatively mum on the ongoing situation They have only said that there was a 'low' risk of potential infection and that new protocols have been put in place. The lawsuit, however, names Providence Health and the Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG) as defendants. Before moving to Legacy, the unnamed anesthesiologist - employed by OAG, - treated patients at various Providence medical centers like the one seen here Both Legacy and Providence are providing free screening for HIV and hepatitis B and C for patients potentially affected. The lawsuit states the patients now have to undergo medical treatment for exposure 'which would not have been necessary in the absence of [the d]efendants' violations alleged herein, and have to live with severe emotional and mental anguish due to [the defendants'] negligence.' It also notes that hepatitis and HIV are often not detectable for months initially, so the patient 'will live with the anxiety, stress, and emotional distress that they may be infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and/or HIV.' In addition to demanding a jury trial, the patients are seeking class action certification and also asking unspecified damages, injunctive relief, declaratory judgments, costs and attorneys' fees, per the complaint. 'Over 2,000 patients have now learned they were at risk of having contracted an infectious disease because of the defendants' alleged failure to implement proper protocols to prevent this possible exposure,' Adam Polk, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told ABC News. 'Since shortly after these notifications were sent out, we have been speaking with patients on a daily basis who were impacted by the potential exposure,' added attorney Joe Sauder, who is also on the case. The early 2,400 patients who underwent anesthesia at the Oregon facilities could also be at risk of infections such as hepatitis B and C, the Oregon Health Authority said earlier this month 'They are obviously distressed and concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones.' Providence previously said that patients were at low risk of exposure, while OAG said there were no investigations underway but 'acknowledge[d] the worry, pain and loss suffered by anyone affected by a health care-associated infection (HAI).' "Out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging these patients to get a blood test to screen for the aforementioned infections, at no cost," Providence said on July 11. 'If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss their test results and next steps.' The investigation into how the contaminations actually occurred remains ongoing. Medicare won't help despite it happening in Aus waters A P&O cruise ship passenger has shared a warning after her sister shattered her ankle and was told her injuries wouldn't be covered by Medicare. The pair were on board the Pacific Adventure from Queensland to NSW when her sister became injured on the dance floor. Doctors on the ship quickly tended to her and X-rays revealed her ankle had been dislocated and fractured. The woman was shocked to learn that despite her sister's injuries happening on Australian waters, Medicare would not cover the $8,000 medical bill. She took to social media to warn others that without travel insurance they would have been forced to pay the bill themselves. 'Don't play Russian roulette with your health and safety, get insurance,' she wrote. 'We don't leave home without it.' The injured woman will be transported to hospital for surgery once the cruise docks in Circular Quay where an ambulance will be waiting for her. A woman who injured herself on a domestic cruise was shocked to find that Medicare would not cover her $8,000 medical bill despite the injury happening in Australian waters Her sister wrote on social media that without travel insurance they would have been made to cover the costs themselves The woman's sister said the experience was a 'great reminder why insurance is so important' and added that theirs only set them back $60. She wrote that many other passengers said they did not think travel insurance would be needed for a domestic cruise. 1Cover head of marketing Natalie Smith agreed that it was a common thing Aussies overlooked. 'One of the biggest mistakes Aussies make is not buying travel insurance when cruising Australian waters,' she told Yahoo. 'You are not covered by Medicare or your private health fund if you need medical treatment once your ship has set sail. 'Without travel insurance, any medical fees and emergency transport expenses would be at your own cost and these can quickly soar into the tens of thousands of dollars.' The woman who injured herself on the dancefloor will be covered by Medicare again once she arrives back on land. Ms Smith said it was lucky that she did not require emergency travel back to the mainland - which is another cost Medicare would not cover. When buying travel insurance for cruises, Ms Smith advised travellers to opt for comprehensive cover with additional cruise benefits, which is usually an add-on. Additional cruise benefits cover passengers with any cruise-specific travel benefits, such as missed port cover, she said. A former corporate lawyer who worked up to 23 hours a day for weeks on end on million-dollar deals revealed she regrets 'every minute' of her 16-year career. Anjani Amriit said it was one patronising comment made to her as a teenager that led her to pursue a career in law. She told her school career adviser that she wanted to be the first in her family to go to university and was thinking of studying either law or medicine. 'He literally laughed in my face and said: "You can't be a lawyer, you're a woman," Ms Amriit told SBS' Insight on Tuesday. 'So I thought, "well, I'll show you".' Her hard-headedness would prove to have disastrous consequences, with the long hours demanded by her high-pressure position eventually leaving her physically, emotionally and spiritually spent. I hated every minute of it,' Ms Amriit said. It destroyed me from day one. Doing corporate mergers and acquisitions law, my typical days for months on end on deals were 22 to 23 hours. A former corporate lawyer who worked up to 23 hours a day for weeks on end on million-dollar deals said she regretted 'every minute' of her 16-year career 'I would literally fall asleep at my desk and literally wake up a couple of hours later. 'My secretary would come in in the morning and I would get her to buy me a new shirt and a new blouse and Id keep working.' Ms Amriit, who was speaking on part of a program discussing regrets in life, said she was eventually 'consumed' by her role at the expense of her relationships, social life and happiness. 'I lost 19kilos of weight and I didnt have that much to lose,' she added. 'I would run to the bathroom and have a panic attack in the bathroom and then come back to my desk and keep working.' She claimed the work left her with a 'black hole' at the heart of her being. Another motivation to pursue law had been to impress her family, even though she was more interested in studying journalism or archeology. I believed that going to university and getting a white collar job was something that I could do to make my family proud to make a life for myself that my m other or father didnt have,' Ms Amriit said. My father was actually a shepherd growing up in Cyprus so coming from those humble beginnings I thought that it was a life choice that would benefit not just me but my family as well. Anjani Amriit said it was one patronising comment that led her to pursue a career in law But her role isolated her from her loved ones and although she earned 'good money', it never made her happy. 'Looking back, I regret wasting 16 years of my life, burning out, almost killing myself trying to prove something to society, to my family, I don't know and doing something that was totally out of alignment with who I really am,' she said. Ms Amriit eventually quit her job, sold her house in Sydney and went to India to 'find herself'. She now helps others find their purpose in life through motivational speaking and writing. A Sydney motorist has warned drivers of a little-known law that could cost them five demerit points and $544 after police confronted him for using his phone while parked. Fred Khoury had been pulled over by police for failing to indicate while changing lanes, before he touched his phone as he sat in the car by the side of the road. He posted video on TikTok of the incident which happened in May 2022, and shows the officer speaking to Khoury through the driver's side window of his vehicle. 'You're in a motor vehicle. You can't use the mobile phone,' the officer said. Khoury fired back at the officer claiming the car 'is not in operation' while turning the ignition off. The officer again explained: 'The phone was in your hand and the car was running. You cannot use the mobile phone while the car's running.' Khoury argued with the officer that his car was parked and questioned whether it was an offence to use a phone while in a parked vehicle. 'Yes, you cannot operate a mobile phone while you're operating a vehicle,' the officer said. Sydney man Fred Khoury filmed his interaction with police after he was pulled over for failing to indicate while changing lanes. He was informed it was illegal for him to use his mobile phone despite his car being parked 'The car was still running, you took your foot off the brake and the car still moved forward. 'You can take your phone out to use your driver's licence when directed to by police but you can't just be pulling it out and waving it at the window while the car is running and you're operating a motor vehicle.' Khoury insisted: 'I wasn't operating it bro, the car was in park.' But the officer said the 'car was still running'. Khoury - who admitted he was released from jail on Monday after serving three years behind bars - told Daily Mail Australia the police officer was 'abusing his power'. 'I'm just trying to better my life and they keep trying to bring me down and I'm not committing any crime so why do they have to keep harassing me,' he said. He said he was being 'picked on' for an obvious reason: 'Coppers want to pin me for whatever they can. 'There should be better reasons for someone to be punished rather than that,' he said. 'I have recorded every interaction with police I've had while parked, thousands of them, and I've never been told that I can't use my phone while I'm parked. I wasn't doing anything wrong.' The NSW government website says under 'mobile phones and driving' that it is illegal to hold and use a mobile phone while stationary at traffic lights or stuck in traffic. It is also illegal for a motorist to touch their phone unless being instructed by a police officer to do so. A motorist is allowed to handle their mobile phone to access their digital driver's licence once asked by a police officer. If a driver needs to use their phone for functions - other than their driver's licence or navigation - including texting, emailing and social media they 'must be parked out of the line of traffic'. Police told the recently released inmate that his car needed to be turned off before he could touch his phone Illegal mobile phone use while operating a motor vehicle carries a fine of $410 - or $544 if detected in a school zone - and could incur a penalty of five demerit points. Social media users slammed Khoury for his attitude, claiming he should know the road rules. 'Y'all know its still illegal. Y'all know nothing about laws,' one person commented. 'I got fined for this too and went to court and lost. apparently the car must be off as well,' a second person wrote. 'If the car is on you can only use the phone if the cop says its ok. Sorry bud, them's the rules,' a third chimed. TikTok users have been left divided over Ring doorbell footage showing a mother who managed to evade a pair of burglars, but left her two children inside her home. Leah Amberly Wittsche, from Dallas, Texas, shared Ring footage of herself outside of her home she shares with her partner Jake and two sons in a frantic state. Wittsche is seen draped in a towel having been forced from her home due to two burglars as she frantically calls her husband for help. She can be heard telling her husband: 'Call the police. I was in the bath, I thought you were home. These two guys walked in, I begged them not to hurt the kids.' Wittsche can be seen clutching her dog as she shakes, but TikTok users were quick to point out why she didn't think to grab her children during the ordeal last July. Wittsche can be seen clutching her dog as she shakes, but TikTok users were quick to point out why she didn't think to grab her children during the ordeal last July One person commented on her video, which has since been seen over 32 million times, saying: 'She was in the bath, begged them not to hurt the kids then LEFT WITHOUT THE KIDS but grabbed her dog?!' Another added: 'So she took the dog with her out the house and left the kids?!' While another posted: 'I'm sorry why does she have the dog and not her child????' In another video, she explained how it came to be that she made it out of the house without her kids, and just what happened. Wittsche said she thought the two men who broke into her home were going to murder her after they made their way into her bathroom while she was in the bath. She said: 'I had just put my kids down for bed and I was upstairs in my house. I went into the upstairs bathroom, locked the door and went to take a bath. 'I heard a bunch of walking around upstairs like really loud stomping. I thought it was my husband. 'I thought that's weird, I had just checked his location and it said he was still at work. Didn't think much of it, I just thought his phone must not be working correctly.' Wittsche said she thought the two men who broke into her home were going to murder her after they made their way into her bathroom while she was in the bath Wittsche added that the two men made off with nothing and shared footage of a smashed downstairs door showing their point of entry Leah then claims she heard banging and someone trying the door to the bathroom, as well as shouting coming out from the hall. She said that the door handle then broke and two men dressed in black stormed into the bathroom. Wittsche continued: 'The guy standing closest to me looks me up and down and then smiles. 'I am in shock, I stand up and stare at them. Then it clicks, 'oh my god my children'. She claims the man then started screaming at her and threatened to kill her should she move before stealing her phone. Leah then claims she heard banging and someone trying the door to the bathroom, as well as shouting coming out from the hall After the two men fled the bathroom, she says she ran to both her son's bedrooms and checked on them. She claims she then managed to activate the alarm in her home, before making a dash for the front door in an attempt to get the attention of her neighbors. After nobody answered her, she then uses the ring doorbell on her front door to call her husband where she is seen in the original video begging for help. In yet another video, Wittsche added that the two men made off with nothing and shared footage of a smashed downstairs door showing their point of entry. She also added that the robbers left her phone behind, hiding it underneath a pillow in her living area. A thug murdered his partner by strangling her when she pulled the television plug out while he was watching it, a court has heard. John Higgins, 63, battered and choked Amanda McAlear on May 7, 2022. The 50-year-old's son Liam discovered her body when he visited her home in Barmulloch, Glasgow, the next day. Higgins had been due to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow. But via his KC, Michael Meehan, he instead pleaded guilty to the murder charge. The delivery driver now faces a life sentence when he returns to the dock in September. John Higgins, 63, battered and choked Amanda McAlear on May 7, 2022 when she pulled the television plug out while he was watching it Amanda McAlear. The exact details of the fatal attack are not known but prosecutors said Higgins grabbed Ms McAlear, repeatedly punched her on the head and body as well as strangled her Prosecutor Neil McCulloch told how Higgins had been to the pub before getting a taxi to Ms McAlear's flat. He had chatted in the cab about 'looking forward' to having an Indian takeaway and watching television. Ms McAlear also returned home, having visited her elderly mother. The exact details of the fatal attack are not known but prosecutors said Higgins grabbed Ms McAlear, repeatedly punched her on the head and body as well as strangled her. The court heard Higgins then left her and spent the night with his sister and brother-in-law. He claimed he had a 'fight' with his partner after she unplugged the television as he was watching it. Mr McCulloch said: 'He did not say anything about Amanda McAlear being injured or needing medical attention.' Lady Haldane adjourned the case for reports. She told Higgins: 'You have pleaded guilty to taking the life of your partner in the truly tragic circumstances described.' Chronicle higher education reporter Nanette Asimov (not shown) takes Kollegio AI college counseling software on a test drive and finds it eye-opening. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle After Chronicle higher education reporter Nanette Asimov wrote about an emerging class of software tools that use artificial intelligence to help students navigate the college application process and edit their essays, she was fascinated to try out one of the platforms herself. Her report: Chances are good that Im not as nervous as a real college applicant when I fire up Kollegio to see how this new AI-driven company my personal college counselor can help me get into a good school. But I know this: My head is just as empty of ideas for my application essay. Probably more so. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I log in, pleased that the service is free, and Im relieved to see that I have no upcoming deadlines. But when I click on my activities list, a must for getting into college, the artificial intelligence admonishes me for failing to list a single activity, whether science club or fly fishing. You definitely need to work on filling it up, it nags. My AI counselor doesnt talk, which is just as well. There are things my nearby colleagues in the office dont need to know. Im about to click on Essay Editor to begin that fearsome task, when a thought occurs to me. This would be better with a cookie. So I run down to the Chronicle cafe and buy one. Chocolate chip in hand, I click and face my first dilemma. Beneath the Create New Essay button are two options: Common App or Princeton University. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I know the Common App to be a magical document that, by filling it out once, will let me apply to 20 colleges if I want to. And yet there is Princeton, inexplicably, listed just below. Why? Does my AI adviser consider me to be somehow worthy of that great, Ivy League institution? Does it know something about me that I dont? It doesnt explain. I dont care. When Princeton extends a hand, you take it. Besides, the Princeton essay is 250 words. The Common Apps is 650. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ive eaten my cookie but have made no essay-writing progress. I click on Kollegio Resources for help. Suddenly, my screen is filled with tips, including one that is extremely helpful: I shouldnt write about drugs, sex or violence, as these topics can be an instant turn-off for admissions committees. Also, I learn that my essay doesnt have to be about me. It must, however, be from my point of view. My essay should also contain a personal reflection. Fortified by sugar and tips, I feel ready. Up pops my essay prompt: Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? Advertisement Article continues below this ad As I stare, my AI counselor nudges. It wants to know what Im writing about. Ok, ok. I type: My career as an education reporter. Then I recall my AI counselors seventh tip: My essay will need conflict and resolution. I delete my career and turn to our Chronicle archives for inspiration. Did I ever write about something that Princeton might be interested in? Advertisement Article continues below this ad After 20 minutes staring at old headlines, I decide that, no, I have not written about anything Princeton might be interested in. Then suddenly, like a movie script, Ive got it. I type: Why its OK to disclose difficult information. I click next. And what happens next floors me. My AI counselor has outlined my topic into five easy chunks: Introduction, Personal Story, Challenges Faced, Resolution and Learning, Conclusion. Not only does my looming responsibility feel easier, but my AI counselor has also told me how many words I should write for each part, and what kind of information to include. Im struck by a wave of relief. An hour ago, I had nothing. Now, I feel, its Princeton or bust. To begin with, my AI counselor says I should write 40 words that mention the importance of service. I type: The United States has been called a grand experiment because its unique in the world: a participatory democracy where citizens are not only expected to run the place ourselves, but to hold ourselves accountable for running it well. Journalists are among the nations watchdogs. OK, I did not actually write that on the first pass. I could sense my AI counselor fussing, so I cut out a bunch of words. Now comes 80 words of personal stuff. Im supposed to describe an instance where I had to disclose difficult information. So I write about a time when, in my stories for the Chronicle, I revealed financial problems at a beloved local college. In those stories, I explained, an accrediting agency complained about the colleges management, and the college defended itself. Next up, according to my AI counselor, I need 60 words explaining the backlash or criticism I received. I say that, as an impartial messenger, I was caught between both sides: faculty furious that my stories made the college look bad, and accreditors ticked at me for airing complaints about them. I write that it hurt when people stopped taking my calls and someone spit at me. Nearly done. Just 50 more words on how I handled the situation. I write: When the stories won a prize for keeping the public informed, honorees were told to restrict remarks to five (!) words. Four that applied were certainly these: Both sides hate me. But a fifth? I was supposed to be a watchdog. I chose, Good. For my final 20 words, my AI counselor says I need to connect everything back to Princeton. So Ill finish with this: As a research institution, Princeton teaches students to investigate the facts and fearlessly disclose the truth. Its what our participatory democracy demands and, I believe, its what Ive learned to do as a news reporter. OK! Im excited to run my essay through Kollegios review feature. Nervous, actually. My actual Chronicle editor is a kind person. I dont feel that I know my AI counselor well at all. It could be far less kind. My AI counselor is fast, Ill say that. Its instant critique starts with nice comments, including that my essay aligns with the values of Princeton. But its clearly buttering me up for worse. This sentence is unclear and lacks specificity, my AI counselor informs me, sounding quite a bit like my actual Chronicle editor. Awkward phrasing. Consider revising for clarity. Obviously, machines have achieved persnickety. I take a final look at my review and see something I hadnt noticed: This essay is suitable for university admissions. Princeton, here I come! Very movingly, the people of Southport yesterday rose at dawn to clear up the filthy, dispiriting mess left on their streets by rioting interlopers on Tuesday. They wanted to remove every trace of the shameful occasion and show that they had no part in it. The collective clean-up was an act of repudiation and coldly furious condemnation. It was also an eloquent and peace-loving statement of their close-knit town's support for civility and order, and of their solidarity with and deep sympathy for the victims of the appalling rampage killings at a dance class on Monday. This is surely how we in this civilised nation combat such evil. Yet the crime and what followed have left damage that cannot be undone, lives that cannot be restored and wounds that will not heal. Three beloved children, Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar who on Monday had their whole lives before them lie dead. Five other children were terribly wounded. So were two adults who bravely sought to protect them. Volunteers sweep Sussex road, after violent protests following a vigil for victims of the knife attack in Southport on July 31 Police officers suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during violent protests following a vigil for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday. (Pictured: Volunteers clean up after the protests) A homemade poster saying 'Leave our town' on a bridge near the mosque on Sussex Road in Southport that was targeted during the disturbance on Tuesday night Flowers and tributes outside the Atkinson Art Centre Southport, after three children were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport on Monday But, thanks to evil minds and stupid, dangerous rumour-mongering, this was not the end. Tuesday's squalid riot, stirred up by persons unknown, left 53 police officers injured, with several hospitalised. Whatever punishment eventually befalls these people, we hope they will never be able to forget the searing rebuke they received from Jenni Stancombe, mother of Elsie, who paused in the midst of her mourning to tell them with dignified scorn: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' After Southport's own potent condemnation of the rioters, outsiders can do little but endorse it with all their hearts. Only abject fools seek to destroy the peace and order of civil society. There is no telling where violence will end once it is unleashed, but it is very likely to devour those who begin it, along with everyone else. The span in time between the first hurled rock and first bullet is appallingly short, as the people of Northern Ireland can attest. What we can do is offer some sort of analysis of the problems which came together on Merseyside on Monday and Tuesday, in the hope that they can be prevented in future. Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle after disorder broke out on July 30, 2024 in Southport Rumours about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect in yesterday's deadly stabbing attack sparked violent protests According to authorities and media reports, the suspect was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, but the person cannot be named due to his age Quite rightly, we and other traditional media obey strict rules preventing us from naming arrested juveniles. We also scrupulously avoid saying anything which might prejudice a fair trial. For this responsible restraint we are falsely accused by morons of 'concealing' what they would like to be the truth but isn't. But the internet and 'social media', where poisoned rumours and plain lies were spread, continue to function like the Wild West, with authority taking little interest. This would be a very good moment for that to change, and for good. For now we see in the smashed windows of Southport's mosque and the howls of the self-righteous, pig-ignorant mob, looted bricks in their hands, where this folly can quickly lead. Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was confirmed to have died on Monday as nine other children and two adult women were rushed to hospital Six-year-old Bebe King was pronounced dead shortly after the attack in Southport on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday following the attack Yes, there are tensions in many of our cities and yes, sometimes the authorities seem too keen to pretend our multicultural society is more harmonious than it is. And the elite decision to pursue an undiscussed policy of large-scale immigration has created problems which will take many years to overcome. But these problems can and must be solved by open debate, not by rumour and riot. As Jenni Stancombe so rightly says, we do not need this. Huw Edwards messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed. The disgraced BBC anchorman, 62, yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. A BBC insider claimed that bosses at the corporation may have 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. A BBC insider said last night: 'It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ''protect the star'' stuff.' Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile kAlex Williams, it has emerged. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday Yesterday, Edwards appeared in court to admit three charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of the 41 images sent to the presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of them were 'Category A', the most serious type. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philip's funeral to the nation. Just this week, the BBC would not reveal if it had been aware of Edwards' arrest in November. But it tried to defend its actions in a statement last night. The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' It continued: 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' Her parents have broken their silence EXCLUSIVE The grieving parents of a mother-of-three killed in a fatal late-night lawnmower incident say their RAAF pilot son-in-law has been left heartbroken by the tragedy. Frances Crawford, aged in her 40s, was found dead at her home on Thomas Road at Upper Lockyer, southeast Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday. Her body was found after police were called to the property following reports she had been crushed by a ride-on lawnmower. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, Ms Crawford's parents Joke and Ben Pilon said their son-in-law Robert was devastated by his wife's death. They dismissed local reports police had previously been contacted due to domestic violence matters at the home and there is no suggestion that he was in any way involved in Ms Crawfords death. 'He's broken,' Ms Pilon said. 'They lived here happily together. It's rumours.' The Pilons said their daughter, a psychologist, grew up in the local Toowoomba area, and the community has been left reeling in the wake of her death. Frances Crawford, aged in her 40s, (pictured) was found dead at her home on Thomas Road, at Upper Lockyer, near Toowoomba, in south-east Queensland , at about 3.40am on Tuesday A police vehicle is seen at the rural property on Thursday morning One of the vehicles included a cop in an unmarked ute Ms Crawford leaves behind her husband, three children, her parents, and siblings. Her parents spoke out after detectives staged a massive swoop on the rural property on Thursday morning as investigations into the death continue. Ten police cars were seen arriving at the property, which is located in bushland at the end of a 1km-long driveway. The vehicles included two forensics vans, detectives in a four-wheel drive, a ute filled with forensics supplies, two patrol vehicles, and uniformed officers in an unmarked car. The Pilons said police have been poring over the home, which remains a crime scene, with Mr Crawford asked to temporarily vacate the property amid the investigation. Despite the huge police presence at the couple's home, detectives have yet to confirm how Ms Crawford's death is being treated. Mr Crawford is a RAAF cargo plane pilot and Squadron Leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, about 8km southwest of Ipswich. Over the past two decades, the couple have lived around Australia - including in Sydney, Adelaide and in Queensland - as Sqn Ldr Crawford worked numerous roles within Australian Defence Force. Husband Robert Crawford (pictured) is an squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Airforce Amberley Base Detectives spent Tuesday collecting evidence from the home (including the lawnmower, pictured) which has now been declared a crime scene Forensics equipment could be seen in one of the arriving cars Tributes have begun to flow for the respected psychologist, who has been remembered for her 'gentle nature' and kindness. Quality Life Psychology Services said she was a 'dearly loved and well-respected member' of their team. 'Frances always took the time to ask after others with kindness and consideration, often responding with humility and thoughtful humour,' the clinic said. 'Frances was easy to be around and her gentle nature will be sadly missed but long remembered by her colleagues, friends and clients at Quality Life Psychology Services. 'Our hearts and prayers are with Frances family at this tragic time.' Worried residents living near a creek locals describe as a 'hidden gem' were shocked after they discovered that the water had mysteriously turned a shade of bright electric blue. A member of the public noticed the water in Humpybong Creek at Moreton Bay in Brisbane's north had turned aqua blue on Monday morning. Officials from Queensland Fire Department (QFD) were alerted before three fire crews attended the scene following reports of a possible chemical spill. Fire crews determined that around five square metres had initially been affected by the unusual colour change. A QFD spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that scientists conducted tests and found that the substance was not poisonous. A Moreton Bay Council spokeswoman told Daily Mail they are investigating the unknown blue substance. 'There has been little dispersion and the spill remains localised. There is no indication of any current impact on wildlife,,' the spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman said council officers have taken samples for assessment. A member of the public noticed the water in Humpybong Creek, in Moreton Bay, (pictured) in Brisbane's north had turned aqua blue on Monday morning 'These tests will not be able to identify the exact substance, however the test will indicate if there is any presence of significant pollutants such as any increase in heavy metals,' the spokeswoman said. The type of substance is not known and it is unclear how it entered the water. Testing to determine what caused the water to so drastically change colour could take up to seven days. Officers have inspected the stormwater system within a 400m radius of the impacted area to determine where the substance came from. A Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) spokeswoman said DESI is aware of the contaminated water. The spokeswoman there is no indication of any environmental harm. Locals expressed their anger on social media over the bizarre sight and said it could impact animals living in the area. 'Heartbreaking for the wildlife,' one person wrote. 'I hope whoever is responsible is held accountable,' another local wrote. But others thought the bright colour made the creek look better. 'Looks amazing,' one person said. The water could be removed from the creek by pumping out the contaminated liquid before it is disposed of properly. Experts are also baffled by the strange discolouration. Head of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney, Professor Stuart Khan, said the type of substance will be determined by conducting a chemical analysis. Locals expressed their anger on social media after the colour of the creek - which normally looks like this - suddenly changed (pictured, Humpybong Creek at Moreton Bay in Queensland) 'It does look like copper contamination, which would be very easy to test for and confirm, 'Prof Khan told Yahoo. Prof Khan, who is also a water expert, said copper has been used as a chemical in ponds to kill algae. He said a significant amount of the mineral may have been used if this was the case. The creek is an important catchment that transports untreated storm water from several residential and urban areas. Kamala Harris has responded to Donald Trump's Wednesday rant where he claimed she 'happened to turn black' a few years ago. Taking the stage at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boule in Houston, Harris addressed the interview hours before, where Trump insisted that 'all of a sudden, she made a turn'. His comments came at a gathering of black journalists in Chicago, as an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republican sentiment that his rival is a 'DEI hire.' Asking the journalist 'to define DEI', he went on to question Harris's heritage. The Vice President, in turn, said 'the American people deserve better,' in a speech that also urged the African-American sorority to 'fight' because 'there is so much at stake.' While speaking the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boule in Houston Wednesday, Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump's claims that she 'happened to turn Black' a few hours before Trump's comments came at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago, as an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republican sentiment that his rival a 'DEI hire' 'This afternoon Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists', Harris said during her speech. 'And it was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. 'Let me just say, the American people deserve better. 'A leader who tells the truth,' she went on. 'Who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands our differences do not divide us. 'They are an essential source of our strength,' she added. She appeared to attempt to stay above the fray seen since the interview, however, electing to not directly quote it or refer to the comments aired by the conservative earlier in the day. Instead, she continue to talk down her competitor and his long-finished presidential term, which she framed as unsuccessful and something to be left in the rearview. The sorority she spoke to is a member of the 'Divine Nine,' a group of distinguished black sororities and fraternities that have rushed to vote on Harris's behalf. The sorority she spoke to is a member of the 'Divine Nine,' a group of distinguished black sororities and fraternities that have rushed to vote on Harris's behalf Harris thus thanked them for getting her and Biden elected, and suggested they have the power to do it again come November. 'I believe in the promise of America. And aren't so many of us empirical evidence of the promise of America,' Harris, who is a member of a different Divine Nine sorority, said. 'Greater service brings greater progress,' she continued, before listing some of the historic sorority's accomplishments. 'You helped elect Joe Biden as the president of the United States and me as the first woman Vice President of the United States.' 'Our nation needs you,' she went on. Vowing to take on big pharma, landlords, big banks, and corporations and champion the middle class, she defiantly declared: 'We are not going back.' Harris also spoke of the so-called 'promise of America' - one that she said consists of 'greater service and greater progress.' She addressed the current cost-of-living crisis and concepts like equal pay for women, before briefly touching on the elephant in the room - Trump's controversial comments. Vowing to take on big pharma, landlords, big banks, and corporations to champion the middle class, Harris at one point defiantly declared: 'We are not going back', in reference to another term of Trump It started when ABC's Rachel Scott, seated opposite the Republican, mentioned how a lot of people didn't think it was appropriate for him to be in Chicago considering his past comments about people of color, including Indian-American Nikki Haley. First of all I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump told Scott, calling the journalist 'nasty' and 'hostile' in a unintentional ode to his 2016 campaign. You dont even say hello how are you? Trump went on, before slamming ABC as a 'fake news network.' I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country, he continued. 'I think it's a very rude introduction. I dont know exactly why you would do something like that,' he said. That's when he offered his contentious comments about Harris, after also being asked if he felt it appropriate to refer to her as a 'DEI hire' as several Republicans already have. Among other things, he appeared to falsely claim Harris did not lean into her black identity until it became beneficial to do so. 'She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage,' Trump said. Earlier in the day, Trump appeared to claim Harris did not lean into her black identity until it became suitable - and beneficial - to do so. 'I didnt know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. 'And now she wants to be known as black. So I dont know. Is she Indian or is she black? 'Someone should look into that,' he concluded, to a combination of laughs and jeers - the latter outweighing the former. 'I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt.' Scott pointed out that Harris has always identified as Black, before asking if agreed with his contemporaries that Harris was a 'DEI hire.' Seemingly feigning confusion, the conservative countered, 'I really dont know - could be', before being met with a chorus of boos. Later on, after the interview's conclusion, Trump further claimed on Truth Social: 'Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. 'This is a big deal,' he continued. 'Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!' Scott pointed out that Harris has always identified as Black, before asking if agreed with his contemporaries that Harris was a 'DEI hire.' Seemingly feigning confusion, the conservative countered, 'I really dont know - could be' Harris went on to issue her own statement in response to the interview - one similar to the small section of her Houston speech. 'The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power,' she wrote. 'Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. She added how Trump, with his comments to the press and on social media, 'has already proven he cannot unite America. '[S]o he attempts to divide us,' she said. 'Todays tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trumps MAGA rallies this entire campaign. 'Its also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans,' she added, issuing yet another challenge to the GOP candidate. 'All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.' Earlier in the day, Harris claimed that though his comments to the press and those on social media, her rival 'has already proven he cannot unite America', and instead seeks to divide it Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a black woman, added that Trump's comment were 'insulting.' and that as vice president, Harris deserves 'respect.' 'No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify,' Jean-Pierre said. Shaking her head as NBC's Peter Alexander read aloud Trump's words, she added 'What you just read out to me, is repulsive. 'It's insulting for anybody - it doesn't matter if it's a foreign leader or former president - it is insulting. 'She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name.' Trump, meanwhile, told Scott earlier in the day: 'I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country Before leaving, he offered some memorable parting words. 'I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln.' As for Harris, she promised in her speech to reverse the recent nixing of Roe v. Wade with a new law, while daring a hesitant to debate Trump yet again, 'Bring it on.' She said she will be at ABCs September 10 debate - to which Trump and President Joe Biden had both already agreed - regardless of Trumps attendance. She suspected he was trying to access the First Home Buyers Grant A renter looking for a property to lease said she turned down one place because of a very suspicious request made by the landlord. Jill Clark, 26, had been struggling to find a rental in Sydney when a real estate agent offered her a lease on one condition: the electricity bill must remain in the landlord's name for the first six months of her tenancy. The offer fell through after Ms Clark told the agent such a request would be illegal to which he replied that it was 'what the landlord wants'. 'The unfortunate thing is that someone will be desperate enough for a property to accept that without question and real estate agents and landlords know this,' she told news.com.au. Ms Clark believed the landlord had been trying to take advantage of the First Home Buyer's scheme. The grant is available for first homebuyers who purchase a property under $1million. Applicants are only eligible if they live intend to live in the property for the first 12 months. Ms Clark believed the landlord wanted to keep their name on the bill so it appeared they were actually living at the house - and not renting it out. Jill Clark, 26, turned down a lease offer after a real estate agent said that the electricity bill had to be kept in the landlords name for the first six months The 26-year-old is a development manager and was working with a budget of up to $700 per week but still struggled to find a home in the 'difficult' market. Sydney currently has a vacancy rate of just 1.68 per cent and the median price of rent in the city has soared to $600. Ms Clark said that while some real estate agents were 'helpful' the one who asked her to keep the electricity bill in the landlord's name had been 'incredibly frustrating'. Ms Clark immediately suspected the real estate agent's request was an attempt by the landlord to access the First Home Buyer's scheme while renting out the property The First Home Buyers Grant varies by state but in NSW it can offer new homeowners a $10,000 lump sum towards their first property purchase. To be eligible however, the buyer must live in the property for the first 12 months. Ms Clark was told that in order to move into the home she would need to agree to the landlord forwarding the bill onto her. Eventually she declined the offer and continued hunting for a rental under immense stress. In her most dire moment Ms Clark revealed she was only two weeks away from being homeless. Despite working with a $700-per-week rental budget Ms Clark still struggled to find secure a lease in Sydney (pictured) which has a vacancy rate of just 1.68 per cent (stock image) Her lease was about to run out, she had no family in the city to fall back on in case for a place to stay, and she had a pet which made everything even harder. 'For those of us who dont have the option to couch surf with friends or move back in with family, the thought of having my lease ending before finding a new apartment is incredibly stressful,' she said. Luckily Ms Clark was offered a new lease at the last minute. 'But had I not been, there would have been no plan, honestly,' she said. A mother-of-three killed by her estranged husband fled the family home with her children almost a decade earlier after he hit her with a hammer and stomped on her, a jury has been told. Nelomie Perera, 43, was found dead in her kitchen in December 2022 after Dinush Kurera allegedly murdered her in what prosecutors alleged was a 'sustained, brutal and vicious attack' with a hatchet and kitchen knife. The 47-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the murder, and to assaulting his 17-year-old son. Kurera has admitted he killed his wife, but claimed he did so to save his own life, his lawyers told Victorian Supreme Court jury on Wednesday. 'He grappled with her over the knife, in her murderous rage, and he defended himself and the deceased was killed,' defence barrister John Desmond said. 'Rage met rage.' Ms Perera was found in a pool of blood with 35 separate injuries, after Kurera allegedly killed her in front of their children in December 2022. Kurera, who was assessed by paramedics and taken to hospital, had no signs of any physical injuries, prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said. Mr Gibson has alleged Kurera was fuelled by a 'deep-seated hatred' for Ms Perera when he killed her, after she told him she wanted a divorce and he discovered she was seeing other people. Dinush Kurera (pictured left) admits killing his wife but claims it was in self-defence Prosecutor Mark Gibson has alleged Kurera was fuelled by a 'deep-seated hatred' for Nelomie Perera when he killed her, after she told him she wanted a divorce and he discovered she was seeing other people. He said Ms Perera had discovered Kurera was cheating on her while he was on a trip in Sri Lanka and ended their marriage over the phone. She told him he could no longer stay at their family home, organised a storage unit where she moved his belongings and was allegedly fearful about his return to Melbourne, Mr Gibson said. About two days after he flew home, on December 3, 2022, Mr Gibson said Kurera purchased a 30cm crowbar and a fibreglass hatchet. That evening Kurera drove to the family home in Sandhurst, in Melbourne's southeast, and used the crowbar to break through the fence while wearing dark clothing and gloves. 'Mr Kurera, under the cover of darkness, approached Nelomie, taking her by surprise as she was about to have a cigarette on the back patio area,' Mr Gibson said on Tuesday. He alleged Kurera struck his wife in the head with a hatchet, which Mr Desmond said Kurera denies, and their two teen children ran down to their mother's screams. The family then moved to the lounge room where the estranged couple argued before Mr Gibson claimed Kurera again hit Ms Perera with the hatchet, which Kurera also denies. Their 17-year-old son tried to run for help when Mr Gibson alleged Kurera chased him and hit him with the axe, which the accused man further denies. Mr Gibson alleged Kurera, Ms Perera and their 16-year-old daughter moved to the kitchen where he grabbed a 30cm long kitchen knife and stabbed her. But Mr Desmond said this was a 'stark issue' for the jury to decide as Kurera claims Ms Perera came at him with the knife. 'Nelomie took the opportunity when it arose to get the kitchen knife and came at the accused in a wild rage, violently swinging this large kitchen knife at the accused, trying to kill him,' he said. 'He did what any person would do and was entitled to do in those circumstances - he defended himself.' Ms Perera's sister Minoli gave evidence on Wednesday afternoon, describing an alleged history of violence perpetrated by Kurera. The jury was told Ms Perera fled to her parents' home with her three children in 2013 after Kurera allegedly hit her with a hammer and stomped on her. 'She had bruises on her face and she was struggling to walk,' Minoli said. 'She told me that she couldn't leave (Kurera) because of the children.' She said when Ms Perera caught her husband cheating on her with a woman in Sri Lanka he denied it and said 'it was all in her head'. The trial continues. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Shocking video has shown the moment an Officeworks manager refused to laminate a Jewish man's newspaper because she is 'pro-Palestine'. The customer, who was wearing a yarmulke at the time of the incident, took an article from the Australian Jewish News newspaper to an Officeworks store at Elsternwick, in Melbourne's east, on March 4. The piece was titled, 'The indomitable spirit of our people', and featured a photo of a group holding Australian and Israeli flags. After seeing the newspaper, the Officeworks manager refused to serve the Jewish man, stating: 'I'm pro-Palestine.' She claimed Officeworks' policies gave her the right to deny the man service based on her political beliefs. Officeworks has since clarified that is incorrect. 'I'm not comfortable proceeding with it (the job),' the manager told the man. The customer asked: 'Maybe there's another staff member that's comfortable doing it.' An Officeworks worker refused to laminate the page of the Australian Jewish News newspaper because she was 'pro Palestine' She claimed Officeworks' policies gave her the right to deny the man service based on her political beliefs. Officeworks has since clarified that is incorrect The worker replied: 'You can wait for (another staff member) and see if she's comfortable doing it, but I know I'm not. 'I'm pro-Palestine and, for political reasons, I'm not comfortable.' The customer questioned whether Officeworks' policies gave workers the discretion to refuse service based on their personal beliefs. Embarrassingly, the staff member failed to find the words to justify her position when asked to explain her actions. 'We have the right to deny jobs, because I'm not comfortable proceeding with it,' she said. 'Israel and Judaism can be completely separate. The customer asked: 'From what?' The worker replied: 'From religion and ... um ... I can't find the word right now but you can separate the two.' Poll Did Officeworks make a mistake not firing the manager? Yes, it's not good enough No, their punishment was appropriate Did Officeworks make a mistake not firing the manager? Yes, it's not good enough 1040 votes No, their punishment was appropriate 131 votes Now share your opinion The worker then asked if she was being recorded by the man and threatened to call the police if he did not leave the store. The customer has since lodged a complaint with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, claiming Officeworks discriminated against his race and religion by refusing him service. 'This incident has caused my family and me significant distress and has raised concerns about whether it is safe to visit our local stores and conduct our usual activities,' he said. 'None of the staff intervened during the situation with the manager, and the embarrassment and harassment we experienced have left a lasting impact.' Officeworks has since apologised, but will not fire the manager, instead sending her for 'education and training', including a visit to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. 'We can confirm that we have taken this matter extremely seriously and, since the matter occurred, have investigated internally and taken the appropriate action to ensure this doesn't take place again,' they said. The Australian Jewish News publication that the worker refused to laminate 'In this particular incident, our policies were incorrectly applied and in accordance with our Officeworks' policies, the laminating should have taken place. 'Additionally, we have provided ongoing training and education to our team members so they are aware of the legal requirements in respect of discrimination and of Officeworks' policies and procedures.' Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, slammed the worker. 'Who would have thought that in Melbourne 2024, people would be denied a service because of their faith and for Israel?' he said. 'We should have zero tolerance for this kind of profiling and indefensible prejudice. 'No one should be singled out or denied service because of their ethnic origin, the country they support, gender, creed, faith, or sexual orientation. 'Being different should be a cause for celebration, not a liability that makes one subject to bias.' Dr Abramovich said the incident was a 'stain' on Melbourne's reputation as a multicultural and welcoming city. 'It is time for Officeworks to not just talk the talk but walk the walk by sending the unmistakable message that Jewish Australians and anyone supporting Israel are welcome in their stores,' he said. 'I urge the Human Rights Commission and the government to condemn this unacceptable conduct.' New Israel Fund Executive Director, Michael Chaitow, similarly criticised the worker's actions as 'regrettable'. 'We must be able to work together in this difficult moment, even if we disagree,' he said. 'While Officeworks' policies are there to protect the safety and wellbeing of their employees, which is critical, the customer's printing request does not pose a threat to their safety or wellbeing. 'As all sides of politics have emphasised, Israel's war with Hamas is a sensitive issue, one that affects people deeply and personally. 'However, discrimination based on religion or political views does not have a place in our society.' The mother of Sonya Massey, a black woman who was fatally shot in the face in her kitchen by a white police officer after she called 911 for help, pleaded with dispatchers to not send a 'prejudiced' officer to her daughter's home. The mother, Donna Massey, said in a 911 call on the day before her daughter's death that she was worried police would 'make the situation worse,' pleading with the dispatcher: 'I dont want you guys to hurt her.' 'Please don't send no combative policemen that are prejudiced, please,' the elder Massey said. 'I'm scared of the police. Sometimes they make the situation worse' Donna added that her daughter was suffering a 'mental breakdown.' Massey, 36, a mom-of-two from Springfield, Illinois, was shot dead by deputy Sean Grayson, 30, on July 6 after Grayson and another deputy arrived at her home to investigate a prowler. According to records released on Wednesday, Sonya had made two 911 calls in the days leading up to her death. Her mother Donna, seen here, said in one call on the day before her daughter's death: 'Please don't send no combative policemen that are prejudiced, please.' This undated photo provided by the family's lawyers in July 2024 shows Sonya Massey The distraught mom added: 'She is not a danger to herself, she's not a danger to me'. She referred to Massey's mental episode as 'paranoid schizophrenic'. The recordings also show that some officers and first responders discussed whether Massey had shot herself. An official says in a call to report the police shooting that, 'They are now saying it's self-inflicted'. Another adds: 'Either self-inflicted or they may have shot her', it's unclear where the wrong information about it being possibly self-inflicted came from. The Sangamon County Sheriff's Department is still trying to determine whether Massey's history of mental health issues were relayed to deputies responding. Body cam footage suggests they were not aware, with Grayson asking dispatch if there are any record of calls from Massey indicating mental health troubles. Such information is passed along if it's known, but there's no built-in mechanism that ensures it, said Jeff Wilhite, spokesperson for Sheriff Jack Campbell. Wilhite said: 'It's possible, if the dispatcher knew the calls were linked, but it's not an automatic. 'The dispatcher would have to know 'yes, it's the same person' and 'yes, it's the same address.' Massey was shot at three times by Grayson earlier this month after she called police to report a prowler Deputy Sean Grayson's gun drawn as Sonya Massey cowers for cover in her kitchen on July 6 Grayson's file was also released which showed that he has two drunk driving convictions within a year, the first of which led to discharge from the army. His psychological evaluation found him fit to serve, but added: 'He knows he can move too fast at times. He needs to slow down to make good decisions.' Footage captured the night Massey died shows her greeting deputies at her front door, saying 'don't hurt me', and appearing confused. After Grayson directed her to remove a pot of water from the stove she told him: 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.' Grayson then pulls his gun on the mother-of-two and yelled at her to drop the presumably scalding water before firing three times, hitting her below the left eye. Family members have said Massey struggled with mental health issues and had undergone treatment. Her son, Malachi Hill Massey, said he and his sister had to live with their fathers because Massey checked herself into an inpatient treatment program. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in Massey's killing At a press conference, Malachi told the audience that he could not bring himself to watch the bodycam footage which showed his mother's death Autopsy findings released Friday on Massey confirmed that she died from a gunshot wound to the head and that she died on July 6. The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey's family, denounced the killing by the ex-sheriff's deputy as senseless, unnecessary and excessive. In addition to the bullet striking her just beneath her left eye, Massey had 'minor blunt force injuries' to her right leg, the autopsy said. The bullet caused her skull to fracture and perforated her carotid artery, which caused her brain to bleed, before exiting the back of her upper neck. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in Massey's killing. He was fired by the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office and has been jailed without bond. READ MORE: Town furious over plans to hand land to an Aboriginal group A cleaner claims they were told by staff to flush a foetus after they discovered it in a toilet at an independent Aboriginal school. The cleaner, who did not want to be named, was working at Hymba Yumba Independent School (HYIS) in Springfield, southwest of Brisbane, on July 25, 2023. The school, which has almost 300 students from Kindergarten to Year 12, receives about $9million in funding from the state and federal governments annually. The worker said she was waiting for a group of girls - she believed to be in Year 6 to Year 8 - who were inside one of the toilet stalls to leave so she could clean the area. However, once the girls left, the cleaner made a gruesome discovery - a suspected foetus inside the toilet. 'I waited for them to come out I walked in there [and] on the bottom of the toilet there was a foetus,' she told NITV's Living Black. She immediately locked the cubicle and spoke with another cleaner who then agreed the discovery looked as though it was foetal tissue. The pair went straight to a staff member and reported the shocking find. A cleaner claims they were told by staff to flush a foetus after they discovered it in a toilet at an independent Aboriginal school The worker said she was waiting for a group of girls - she believed to be in Year 6 to Year 8 - who were inside one of the toilet stalls to leave so she could clean the area (stock image) However, the staff member claimed the women's suspicions were wrong and that it was not human foetal tissue. 'She took photos of it and [said] it wasn't a foetus, but we were trying to tell her that it was, because it had legs [and] hands but she still turned around to us and told us it wasn't,' the cleaner said. She said she was 'scared and traumatised' and told the staff member she would take the foetus out of the toilet so that they could conduct an investigation. 'She gave us a toilet brush lifted it up and just flushed it,' the cleaner said. The cleaner's aunty, local Elder Theresa Tyson, had concerns for the student's welfare and reported the incident to Queensland Police. 'I was thinking all the time [about] how this child's coping... She could have bled to death, or it could be a normal thing for her, getting sexually abused,' Ms Tyson said. The school claimed it reported the matter the very same day to police, with officers attending the school the next morning to investigate the incident. HYIS claims police established that what was found was not a foetus 'but a decidual cast' - which is when the lining of a uterus sheds in one piece. Police confirmed with Living Black that officers did in fact visit the school two days after the incident rather than the next morning as reported by the school. 'Ipswich Child Protection Investigation Unit attended the school,' QPS said in a statement. 'At the time, no child was identified as being involved, and no offences were detected.' Local Elder Theresa Tyson (pictured), who is the aunty of the cleaner, had concerns for the child's welfare and reported the incident to Queensland Police Service Police failed to interview the cleaners when they visited the school. Queenslands Child Protection Investigation Unit contacted the cleaners for an interview just this month - almost a year after the incident - only after the Living Black program questioned the handling of the investigation. A former teacher at the school, who was there when the incident occurred, said she was advised by the nurse counsellor to try and subtly find the student involved. However, on the morning the Child Protection Unit visited the school, HYIS school CEO Karla Brady put an end to staff investigations. In an email to a colleague, Ms Brady said she wanted to speak to a 'few girls' to tell them that 'the witch hunt needs to stop'. Ms Brady added she wanted to 'nip' the issue immediately so that the 'drama queens' don't make the incident bigger than what it was. HYIS adamantly denies that what was found was human foetus tissue. FibroGen, which has a headquarters in Mission Bay, announced it will be laying off 75% of its U.S. workforce. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Numerous Bay Area companies slashed hundreds of jobs in the past week, a sign that downsizings are continuing and expanding beyond the tech sector. San Francisco biotech firm FibroGen said it would cut around 75% of its U.S. workforce, following the failure of two pancreatic cancer drug clinical trials. The company plans to implement an immediate and significant cost reduction plan in the U.S. FibroGen had roughly 400 global workers last year, following 104 U.S. layoffs last summer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad CEO Thane Wettig said the company was deeply disappointed and thanked patients, clinical trial investigators and his FibroGen colleagues. San Francisco personal finance firm NerdWallet said it would lay off 15% of its staff to reduce operating expenses, or more than 100 employees. The company had over 730 employees at the end of 2023, down from more than 770 at the end of 2022. NerdWallet expects $8 million to $10 million in charges related to the layoffs. We are committed to building NerdWallet with a long-term orientation, and that sometimes requires difficult decisions, CEO Tim Chen said in a statement. This decision is part of a larger effort to improve our operational efficiency and better position NerdWallet to invest more in our most important long-term strategic initiatives. Moxion Power, which made batteries and raised $110 million, is laying off 247 workers at its Richmond headquarters and shutting down operations, according to a state filing. Two workers are also being laid off in Los Angeles County, after 101 workers in Richmond were laid off in June. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The company said in a letter to the state that it was unable to raise additional money to sustain operations and would close. Another Richmond energy company, SunPower, is laying off 290 employees, according to a state filing. Affected employees include 182 in Richmond, 20 in Berkeley, 11 in San Jose, 19 in North Hollywood, 18 in Ontario (San Bernardino County), 16 in Elk Grove (Sacramento County), 13 in Santee (San Diego County) and 11 in Anaheim. The company previously filed layoff notices for 358 workers across California in April. Despite the wave of layoffs, the Bay Areas unemployment rates are relatively low. San Francisco had a 3.6% unemployment rate in June, and Santa Clara County had a 4.1% rate. Although Contra Costa County was higher at 4.7%, that is still below Californias rate of 5.2%. San Francisco-based Humble Games also reportedly laid off its entire staff of 36 workers. Tech giant Intel, headquartered in Santa Clara, is planning to cut thousands of jobs, according to Bloomberg. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A Greens proposal to force Australians to cough up billions of dollars in reparations for climate change and 'colonialism' - and tax 'large' family inheritances - has been slammed as 'crazy'. Documents on the party's website outline a little known economic agenda that would heavily impact younger generations, who already face exorbitant rent and property prices, comparatively low wages, and inflated HECS repayments. According to the documents, the party has reimagined the idea of an inheritance tax - traditionally unpopular in Australia - and rebranded it as a 'dynastic wealth transfer' tax. New taxes would also apply to financial gifts, such as house deposits from parents to children who are unable to save money faster than the rising property prices. Further plans include $4.5billion for 'climate reparations' and 'the ongoing impacts and legacy of colonialism'. 'As a wealthy, colonial country, Australia has a responsibility to contribute its fair share of aid, and pay reparations for its role in the climate crisis and the ongoing damage caused by western imperialism,' the policy agenda read. The funds would be provided to a program named Official Development Assistance, which is run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and trade. It is unclear how exactly the funds would be linked to western imperialism. The party also outlines plans to wipe all debt owed to Australia in the hope that it would inspire other countries to follow suit. Greens leader Adam Bandt is pictured with his partner Claudia Perkins during the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Midwinter Ball in the Great Hall at Parliament House Pictured: People in Sydney protesting at an Invasion Day rally on January 26 Critics say the proposals - which were taken to the last election and are still on the party's website - go well beyond its agenda pushing environmentalist causes, renter-focused housing policy and sympathy to Palestine. Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie told Daily Mail Australia: 'The Greens continue to prove they are extreme, not green. 'The crazy economic policies of the modern-day Greens pose a grave threat to Australia. Their extreme agenda is detrimental to our way of life. 'Most concerning though, is their passion to disrupt social cohesion and tear down institutions which are vital to our prosperity, security and international partnerships.' He said the modern Greens party is a far cry from the environmental group Bob Brown founded in 1992. The documents, under the heading 'climate finance and reparations,' say that Australia 'must provide climate finance and reparations to affected countries and communities'. They also state that Australia's level of aid must be 'commensurate with our historical and ongoing contribution to the climate crisis,' but does not expand on the idea. The site also states that debts other countries owe Australia are 'the unjust result of colonialism and imperialism'. It does not identify which countries whose debt Australia would wipe. 'The Greens will cancel all of Australias bilateral debt and ensure we are a strong and principled advocate for global debt cancellation. 'By unconditionally cancelling repayment of these debts, Australia would signal its clear intent to advocate for wider debt cancellation.' A Greens spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the dynastic tax, climate change and colonial reparations policies were ideas it took to the 2022 election, and do not necessarily reflect its current beliefs. However, the party is yet to release its plans for the upcoming election, which is expected before May next year, and quite possibly earlier, given a recent Albanese government ministerial reshuffle. The significance of Greens' policies is particularly heightened this year with polls showing Anthony Albanese's Labor party is quite likely to be returned to power with a hung Parliament. That could force Mr Albanese to strike a deal with the Greens, crossbenchers or both in order to form a minority government - much as Julia Gillard did in 2010. The 2022 policies remain readily available on the party's website under the first menu tab, which is called 'Our Plan'. Greens leader Adam Bandt told Daily Mail Australia the party will put forward a plan to tax the wealthy, rather than taking money from the average young Australians. 'The Greens will be taxing billionaires and ending tax handouts to wealthy property investors to make sure that every Australian can afford to buy a home, and the country's billionaires aren't able to keep hoarding more money than everyday people could ever imagine,' he said. 'Our priority is making sure that renters and mortgage holders can afford to keep a roof over their heads, that parents can see their kids get a home, and that the price of groceries stops going up.' Last month, Daily Mail Australia revealed video emerged of young Greens federal MP Max Chandler-Mather explaining how the party plans to seize power in Australia by 2040. The 32-year-old, who has developed a reputation for getting under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's skin, is touted by Canberra insiders as a rising star who could well be head of that future Greens government. Mr Chandler-Mather told supporters that you get one vote for every three meaningful, genuine conversations you have with constituents. By that reckoning, if the Greens could have 1,866,216 meaningful conversations with Australian voters, they would get enough votes to seize power at a Federal level. According to his long-term strategy, the Greens should have won just one extra seat in the 2022 election. Instead they won three, including his own, putting them well ahead of target. In the 2024 or 2025 election, with an additional 1,633 volunteers, the goal will be to engage with 130,635 more voters with an anticipated yield of three additional lower house seats giving them six in total. Over the next five elections, that would then build up to 6,998 volunteers in the 2040 election reaching 559,865 households. Under the Chandler-Mather plan, the Greens would have nine seats by 2028, building to 15, 23 and 32 at subsequent elections, and then the 45 seats needed to form a minority government in 2040. By his reckoning, 45 seats would allow the Greens to be the senior party in a coalition with Labor which would have 44. A conservative political analyst said Donald Trump made a huge mess by questioning Kamala Harris 's race Wednesday. Scott Jennings appeared on CNN NewsNight when host Abby Phillip pressed him about the strategy behind Trump claiming that the vice president just 'happened to turn Black' a few years ago. 'He did crap the bed today,' the pundit and political strategist said, before offering an applicable metaphor. 'The only question is whether he's gonna roll around in it or get up and change the sheets.' Trump started the trash talk earlier in the day when he questioned whether his rival was Indian or black, in what amounted to an off-the-rails interview at the National Association of Black Journalists. The comments spurred responses from the White House, countless media personalities, and Harris herself - and was thus a featured talking point on Wednesday's CNN NewsNight. Scroll down for video: Conservative political analyst Scott Jennings - political director for President George W. Bush's 2000 Kentucky campaign - on Wednesday claimed Donald Trump shot himself in the foot by questioning Kamala Harris's race On the CNN program, Phillip started by asking Jennings whether he believes Trump's remarks were part of a premeditated strategy. 'I don't know if I agree with that,' Jennings replied. 'Look, first of all, I think he deserves some points for showing up at this thing and giving it a go,' he said. 'Where's Kamala Harris today? Not there,' he continued, citing her failure to show up to the anticipated event remotely as many believed she would. 'But, that having been said, he did crap the bed today. The only question is whether he's gonna roll around in it or get up and change the sheets.' Phillips, visibly intrigued, proceeded to ask for more insight. 'My advice would be, get up and change your sheets, and do what your campaign is doing,' Jennings answered in turn. 'The campaign knows how to prosecute the case, ok? 'They're on the air with it - to the tune of millions of dollars on her policy record,' he continued. 'That's what they should be doing.' Earlier in the day, Trump raised eyebrows when he questioned whether his rival was Indian or black in an off-the-rails interview at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago The comments spurred responses from the White House, countless media personalities, and Harris herself - and was thus a featured talking point The Vice President, on Wednesday, appeared to agree, when she 'the American people deserve better,' in a speech at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boule in Houston. There, she urged the African-American sorority to 'fight' because 'there is so much at stake.' 'This afternoon Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists', Harris said during her speech. 'And it was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. 'Let me just say, the American people deserve better. 'A leader who tells the truth,' she went on. 'Who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands our differences do not divide us. 'They are an essential source of our strength,' she added. During her speech, Harris also spoke of the so-called 'promise of America', and addressed the current cost-of-living crisis and concepts like equal pay for women, before briefly touching on the elephant in the room - Trump's comments. The Vice President, on Wednesday, appeared to agree, when she 'the American people deserve better,' in a speech at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boule in Houston They were offered hours earlier, when ABC's Rachel Scott, seated opposite the Republican, mentioned how a lot of people didn't think it was appropriate for him to be in Chicago considering his previous comments concerning people of color. Visibly outraged, Trump began, First of all I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, before calling the journalist 'nasty' and 'hostile' in an ode to his 2016 campaign. You dont even say hello how are you?' he continued, slamming ABC as a 'fake news network.' I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country, he pressed on. 'I think it's a very rude introduction. I dont know exactly why you would do something like that. That's when he offered his contentious comments, after being asked if he felt it appropriate to refer to Harris as a 'DEI hire' - as several Republicans already have. He appeared to falsely claim Harris did not lean into her black identity until it became beneficial for her to do so. 'She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage,' Trump said. Hours before, during his now widely seen sitdown, Trump seemed to claim Harris did not lean into her black identity until it became suitable - and beneficial - to do so To this, Jennings told host Abby Phillips, 'This is not gonna end the way he wants it to end. 'There's a better way to do this and they know what to do, but it's on him to do it. It's on him to do it' 'I didnt know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. 'And now she wants to be known as black. So I dont know. Is she Indian or is she black? 'Someone should look into that,' he concluded, to a combination of laughs and jeers - the latter outweighing the former. 'I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt.' Scott pointed out that Harris has always identified as Black, before asking if agreed with his contemporaries that Harris was a 'DEI hire.' Seemingly feigning confusion, the conservative countered, 'I really dont know - could be', before being met with a chorus of boos. To this, Jennings said, 'This is not gonna end the way he wants it to end. 'There's a better way to do this and they know what to do, but it's on him to do it. It's on him to do it. 'My strong advice is to perform,' the CNN staffer, who is frequently quoted as a political analyst concluded. Locals have described the horrific moment when they heard a woman scream in agony after a toddler was killed when he fell out of a car and was run over. The three-year-old boy died after he fell out of the station wagon as it headed north on Arthur Street at Dayton, in Perth's north-east, around 3.50pm on Wednesday. The boy, who it's believed was sitting in the back of the car, suffered critical injuries and died at the scene. Residents in the suburban street heard a woman scream in distress before emergency services rushed to the scene. A nearby resident, Sinikiwe Dumba, said she went outside after she had finished work and only realised what had happened when she saw several people gathered near a park. 'It was only after work when I came out I saw police cars and police people manning the roads and blocking the roads,' she told the West Australian. 'At the corner opposite the park, there were many civilians and police there and I heard a woman scream out of agony and I knew something was wrong.' The boy's grandmother is understood to have called tripe-0 in a state of panic after he was found unresponsive. The boy, who it's believed was sitting in the back of the car, suffered critical injuries and died at the scene (pictured) Resident Sinikiwe Dumba (picture) said she went outside after she finished work and heard a woman scream in agony Officers from Western Australia Police returned to the scene on Thursday morning. Police were seen door knocking homes along Arthur Street. The person driving the Kia station wagon at the time of the incident is not yet known. Another resident, Camila Filardo, told the newspaper it can be difficult driving a car with children seated at the back. 'I've got 11 grandchildren and I know what it's like. I always make sure they've got seatbelts on in the back,' Ms Filardo said. 'Major Crash investigators are conducting an examination of the scene,' WA police said on Wednesday. Anyone with CCTV and dashcam footage or information about the incident has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Anthony Albanese has again hit out at endangered airline Rex, saying the regional carrier should not have tried to break into the lucrative city routes. The Prime Minister says it is critical that regional communities 'continue to have access to aviation services'. But he has deflected criticism that his government's perceived lack of action on improved access to slots at Sydney Airport was part of the problem for Rex. 'There are a range of issues relating to Rex,' Mr Albanese said on Thursday. 'One is that a regional airline made decisions to invest in routes that they hadn't previously gone in. 'Sydney to Melbourne is not a regional route. It is one of the top-10 routes in the world and at various stages has been literally No.1 in the world. 'It is a tough industry, aviation.' Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie accused Mr Albanese of running a 'protection racket for his favourite airline Qantas'. Anthony Albanese is copping flack for saying that regional airline Rex should not have tried to fly its planes between cities: 'Sydney to Melbourne is not a regional route' The Prime Minister deflected criticism that his government's perceived lack of action on improved access to slots at Sydney airport might have been part of the problem for Rex She said Rex entered the capital city route competition with a $150m investment from its partners and when Virgin was grounded during the pandemic. 'For the Prime Minister to stand up and say that Rex doesn't have the right, the expertise or the skill to actually compete against his favourite customer, Qantas, I think says a lot about this Prime Minister's view of Qantas,' she told Sky News. 'He's run a protection racket for that particular airline since coming to power, and it continues.' Regional Express Holdings Limited went into voluntary administration late on Tuesday, leading to the cancellation of flights on its Boeing 737 services between capital cities. But flights between regional locations on its Saab 340 fleet are so far unaffected. The Transport Workers' Union said more than 600 jobs had been lost in the move, with 360 jobs set to be made redundant. Ernst & Young has been appointed as voluntary administrators for Rex, and Samuel Freeman, Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins are set to manage the administration. The government has repeatedly said Rex provided important links with regional communities, particularly with capital cities and would work with the administrators. The competition for access to major airports, such as Sydney, at prime times was considered to be an issue - which Mr Albanese rejected. Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie accused Mr Albanese of running a 'protection racket for his favourite airline Qantas' 'Regional slots have been guaranteed at Sydney airport for a long period of time (and) there is some reforms suggested that have been recent,' he said. 'The former government was there for a decade, didn't do anything about it. We are doing something about it as a result of the recommendations.' Senator McKenzie said the Albanese government needed to help Rex and improve competition in the aviation sector, dominated by Qantas and a revived Virgin. 'The government has to have a plan and longer term has to do something to improve competition for airlines in this country because we've seen two airlines who sought to bring competition to the table go into administration in under four months under his leadership.' Rex's fall into administration followed the collapse of upstart regional airline Bonza earlier this year. Senator McKenzie said the government could have changed the slots process, but neither Mr Albanese or Transport Minister Catherine King had acted. 'She put out a press release, she's done actually nothing to change the situation to make it easier for other competitors against Qantas.' EXCLUSIVE A serial rapist who has spent almost all his adult life in jail was caught viewing hardcore pornography after he asked an officer supervising his release from prison to help clear the browsing history on his phone. Police subsequently found that Wayne Wilmot's internet searches included looking for 'very very very extreme hard Asian threesome porn' and '16 men for one Asian girl'. Wilmot, now 51, was part of a gang who abducted, raped and murdered bank teller Janine Balding in September 1988 and has spent all but 20 months since then behind bars. He was paroled in October 1996 but committed further assaults against female victims and has continued his sexual offending against other inmates while in jail. In April, a Supreme Court judge declared Wilmot a high-risk sex offender and made him the subject of an interim extender supervision order (ESO). An ESO can be sought to provide ongoing monitoring of a high-risk sexual or violent criminal when his or her custodial sentence is over and they are let back outside. One of the conditions of Wilmot's order was that he not access, possess or view pornography, including X18 + restricted material. Wilmot was released in June and acquired a mobile phone the next day. Serial rapist Wayne Wilmot (above) was caught viewing hardcore pornography after he asked an officer supervising his release from prison to help clear the browsing history on his phone. Above, upon his initial arrest at 15 For the first five days of his freedom, he used the phone to make searches 'deemed appropriate' such as for the contact details for Service NSW, according to documents tendered in court. From then on, Wilmot began looking for pornography, starting with a simple request for 'porn site'. Two weeks after Wilmot's release he asked a Department Supervising Officer (DSO) making during a routine visit to his residence to 'have a look at my phone'. 'The accused asked the DSO to delete his browsing history as he thought it would make his phone work better,' a police fact sheet stated. 'Whilst trying to assist the accused, the DSO noticed a number of tabs were open which showed he had visited Pornhub.' Police reviewed the predator's Google history and found his inquiries had quickly escalated from an initial search for 'porn site', which he made one week after he gained his liberty Among the early search terms Wilmot entered were 'hardcore porn videos', 'extreme hardcore porn videos' and 'Asian porn'. Wayne Wilmot was 15 when he and a group of four others aged 14, 15, 16 and 22 travelled to Sutherland train station in Sydney's south and abducted Janine Balding (above) at knifepoint He followed that with 'very very extreme hard f*** porn videos', 'rough Asian threesome porn videos' and '14 year old Asian teenage very very hard porn'. By the time he'd finished, Wilmot was looking for '6 naked men to one Asian girl', 'very very very extreme hard Asian threesome porn' and '16 men for one Asian girl'. Wilmot was arrested and pleaded guilty to searching for and viewing X 18+ pornographic material in breach of his interim supervision order. On Tuesday, Wilmot appeared via audio-visual link in Waverley Local Court where Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge jailed him for a fixed term of 18 months. Wilmot's lawyer Dev Bhutani had suggested a sentence in the vicinity of six months, arguing a 'short sharp term of imprisonment' would deter his client from again breaching the order. 'Since the age of 15, he's been in custody almost continuously,' Mr Bhutani said. Ms Milledge: '[From] what I've read about his history, that's where he belongs.' Wilmot has since lodged an appeal against the severity of the sentence, which will be heard in the District Court. There was public outrage when it was revealed Wilmot would receive taxpayer-funded support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) when he got out of jail in June. Wayne Wilmot, 51, has been charged with breaching his supervision order by viewing pornographic material That support included a total of 24 hours' assistance each week to improve his 'daily life' as well as 'social, economic and community participation'. Wilmot was 15 when he and a group of four others aged 14, 15, 16 and 22 travelled to Sutherland train station in Sydney's south and abducted Ms Balding at knifepoint. The 20-year-old was forced into a car driven by Wilmot and raped in the back seat before being driven to an isolated area of Sydney's west, where she was again sexually assaulted. Wilmot and the other 15-year-old - an intellectually disabled girl - did not actively participate when Ms Balding was dragged to a dam and drowned. Justice Peter Newman, who sentenced the group, accepted Wilmot 'knew nothing of their decision to kill her afterwards' and was not involved in the murder. He determined Wilmot had not raped Ms Balding but was guilty due to his involvement in the joint criminal enterprise. Wilmot was jailed for nine years and four months over a raft of offences, including sexual intercourse without consent, detain with intent to gain advantage, and robbery in company. A Florida man convicted of raping a woman and killing her brother in a national forest nearly three decades ago has learned his fate. Loran Cole, 57, is set to be executed by lethal injection on August 28 at the Florida State Prison after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on Monday. He had been sentenced to death in 1995, when he was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery for the death of John Edwards and the assault of his sister, Pam. Cole and his best friend, William Paul, befriended the siblings when they set up their camp at Ocala National Forest on February 18, 1994, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Loran Cole, 57, is set to be executed by lethal injection on August 28 at the Florida State Prison Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Cole's death warrant on Monday After the friends ate dinner, they met back up with the siblings - and all four decided to walk to a nearby pond at around 10.45pm to take photos of alligators. Cole then knocked 21-year-old Pam to the ground and handcuffed her. When John tried to fight back, both Paul and Cole subdued the brother and threw him on the ground next to his sister, court records show. Meanwhile, Paul brought Pam back up the path, while Cole stayed behind with her 18-year-old brother - who died later that night from a slashed throat and three blows to the head, which caused his skull to fracture. He later returned to the campsite, where he threatened to kill Pam if she did not have sex with him. Cole had been sentenced to death in 1995, when he was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery for the death of John Edwards and the assault of his sister, Pam The next day, Cole raped her again and then gagged her and tied her to a tree before Cole and Paul fled in one of their cars. By Sunday, Pam was able to free herself by chewing through the rope. She looked for her brother, but was unable to find him, then flagged down a motorist who took her to call 911, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. 'The men who committed these crimes are damnable animals,' then-Marion County Sheriff Ken Ergle said after John's body was found. DeSantis moved forward with the execution on Monday Paul, now 51, pleaded no contest to murder, kidnapping and robbery charges and was sentenced to life in prison. Cole, who was also convicted of two counts of rape, however, was sentenced to death. He has tried for years to get his conviction overturned, but all of his efforts were either denied at the trial court level or at the Florida Supreme Court, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. He even tried to take his case to the US Supreme Court in 2007, but his petition was denied. The Florida Supreme Court has now 'direct[ed] that all further proceedings in this case be expedited.' A notice of appeal must be filed by 9am on August 12 to stay the execution. If the execution moves forward, it would be the first in Florida since Michael Zack was put to death last October for the 1996 murder of Ravonne Smith. A WA construction company has had its building registration revoked following years of delays and projects left sitting half-completed. Nicheliving co-founder and managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj lost his building licence this week leaving more than 230 homes unfinished. Affected customers were told they could claim up to $200,000 from insurance following the Building Commissioner's decision but because Nicheliving intends to appeal the ruling, they face an even longer wait to recoup any cash. Building Commissioner Saj Abdoolakhan said that he took action after information provided to the Building Services Board by Nicheliving left him 'unsatisfied the company could pay its debts'. One customer said when they tried to claim their insurance payment through the company they hit a brick wall. 'They said they are looking at contacting QBE and telling them not to process any indemnity insurance claims,' the customer told Nine News. 'They're going to be issuing an appeal to the state tribunal and asking for a stay on the decision as well.' The young father's home in the southern Perth suburb of Orelia has been sitting half-done for two years after work stalled and he added he was unable to even access his own building documents. Nicheliving co-founder Ronnie Michel-Elhaj has had his building licence revoked One of the construction sites which the owners said has been left sitting half-done for years Nicheliving is the fifth WA builder to have its licence revoked in the last 18 months. WA Premier Roger Cook blamed an 'extreme period of imbalance after Covid' for the chaos in the construction industry. 'We are now getting through that period. This is another chapter as part of that process,' he said. WA Opposition leader Shane Love said: 'Many people have put their lives on hold, and their letters to the State Government, the State Administrative Tribunal, and the Building Commission have not been met with the urgency or empathy needed.' 'It's clear the writing has been on the wall for Niche Living for many months, yet the state government has sat on their hands.' WA Opposition leader Shane Love (centre) with some of Mr Michel-Elhaj's affected customers The deregistration of Niche Living is expected to cost the state government over $40million in payments. Mr Love said that for some customers the $200,000 they are able to access will be insufficient to allow them to complete their builds and the government should work with them to find a solution. Nicheliving has been involved in more then $500million worth of property deals in WA. Mr Michel-Elhaj himself was previously recognised as one of WA's top entrepreneurs at the 40under40 awards. Daily Mail Australia has approached Nicheliving for comment. The Pentagon has launched a review that could see 20 Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers in the Wounded Knee Massacre rescinded. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the review into the awards handed to those who participated in the 1890 battle in South Dakota. Around 250 Native Americans, including women and children, were killed in the fight and at least another 100 were wounded. Medals of Honor were given to 20 soldiers from the 7th Cavalry regiment for their actions on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek. Their awards cited a range of actions including bravery, efforts to rescue fellow troops and actions to 'dislodge Sioux Indians' who were concealed in a ravine. Around 250 Native Americans, including women and children, were killed in the fight and at least another 100 were wounded Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the review into the awards handed to those who participated in the 1890 battle in South Dakota . Native American groups, advocates, state lawmakers from South Dakota and a number of Congress members have called for officials to revoke the awards. Congress apologized in 1990 to the descendants of those killed at Wounded Knee but did not revoke the medals despite then deeming it a massacre. In a memo signed last week, Austin said the panel will review each award 'to ensure no soldier was recognized for conduct that did not merit recognition'. Those could include rape or murder of a prisoner or attacking a non-combatant or someone who had surrendered. In a 2024 University of Oklahoma paper by Dwight Mears, an Army veteran and former professor at West Point, Mears said most recipients failed to meet the requirements. Mears wrote in his findings that two soldiers might have their medals revoked because of their actions. While another, Private Matthew Hamilton was awarded the medal for 'rounding up and bringing to the skirmish line a stampeded pack mule'. Austin has directed the panel to present him with recommendations by October 15 on each medal that was awarded, according to USA Today. American scout and Indian fighter, William Cody (left), with the American General, Nelson A Miles and two other horsemen near Pine Ridge, South Dakota, a few days after the Massacre at Wounded Knee. Austin said the panel will review each award. A Medal of Honor is seen here being held up during a ceremony at the White house His order is significant in part due to the Medal of Honor becoming imbued over the years which borders on a sacred reverence. One official told the outlet: 'The Medal of honor is much more than being in combat and doing well. 'The Medal of Honor goes to those who decide to do much, much, more than fight. They display honor, gallantry - a word we don't use every day. 'There's a case to be made that there was no honor present at Wounded Knee that day. That's why we need this review.' President Benjamin Harrison had ordered the army to prevent an uprising in South Dakota and sought to disarm the Lakota tribe. According to the U.S. version of the story, a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote resisted attempts to disarm him that morning and in the struggle a shot was fired. This August, 2001 photo shows a monument at the burial site of Lakota Native Americans killed in the 29 December 1890 massacre U.S. troops then opened fire in response and a small number of Lakota fighters who still had guns fired back. The 7th Cavalry overwhelmed the Lakota warriors and began shooting haphazardly killing men, women and children of the Lakota Sioux. Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles ordered an investigation into the massacre at the time, expressing to his superiors his 'strongest disapproval'. In a private letter, he wrote: 'I have never heard of a more brutal, cold-blooded massacre than that at Wounded Knee.' The Wounded Knee site has since become a place of remembrance for Native Americans. According to USA Today, the Medal of Honor was the only award available to soldiers at the time. A young doctor accused of taking intimate photos of patients at a major regional hospital has been told to prepare himself for jail. Nicholas Chia Wei Chu, 27, of Randwick in Sydney's eastern suburbs, is facing two charges of producing child abuse material and 14 counts of intentionally recording intimate images without consent. Eleven of the charges relate to allegations he took photographs of patients' genitals while working at Orange Health Service, a hospital in central west NSW, between January 2022 and February 2023. The remaining allegations involve incidents outside of hospital settings in Orange and Randwick, according to court documents. There are 15 known alleged victims, none of whom can be legally identified. During a brief mention in Orange Local Court on Thursday afternoon, prosecutor Shaun Towers said the charges against Chu were ready to be resolved. Defence lawyers have been in negotiations with prosecutors for months. Nicholas Chia Wei Chu, 27 (pictured) of Randwick in Sydney's eastern suburbs is facing charges on 14 counts of intentionally recording intimate images of patients without consent Chu, who has been suspended from practising, has not entered a plea, but is due to be committed for sentence in the NSW District Court on August 15. Mr Towers indicated there would be an application to revoke Chu's bail on that date. Magistrate David Day reminded Chu he is on conditional bail and cannot approach international departure points. The charges are serious enough to warrant extradition proceedings if he left Australia, Mr Day said. He also flagged the likelihood of Chu's bail being revoked in a fortnight. 'Mr Chu can put his house in order,' the magistrate said. Chu (pictured) is yet to enter a plea, but is due to be committed for sentence in the NSW District Court on August 15 Chu was ordered to appear in court in person for his next appearance. 'He'll have to be at court, he can't go into custody from a solicitor's office,' Mr Day said. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency records show Chu studied at the University of NSW and graduated in 2021. He first registered as a medical practitioner in December that year and his principal place of practice was Orange. Chu remains on bail with strict conditions, including daily reporting to Sydney police. The teenager accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, used a 'curved kitchen knife' in the attack, a court heard today. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of murdering Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. He is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. The suspect, from Banks in Lancashire, was remanded into youth detention accommodation and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court later today. The hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court by District Judge James Hatton lasted just five minutes, where prosecutor Deanna Heer said he used a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' during the rampage. During that time the defendant, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt of his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. The suspect arrived at the court around 9.30am in a white prison van flanked by a large escort of at least eight police vehicles. The white van carrying the murder suspect accused of killing three young girls arrives as Liverpool Magistrates Court The suspect was surrounded by a convoy of eight police cars and vans, with officers fearing they could be met with angry protesters following Monday night's riots Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport The suspect - who cannot be named legally because he is under 18 - seen arriving at court in a police convoy Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport The large police presence comes amid fears angry protesters will turn up outside the courthouse, after a series of riots have swept the country in recent days. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. The defendant, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is accused of entering a dance studio in Hart Street and attacking children and adults who were inside on Monday afternoon. Eight other children suffered knife wounds - with five left in a critical condition in hospital - while two adults who tried to save the young ones in the summer holiday club were also seriously wounded. The adults harmed were dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes who tried to help. The youth's identity has not been revealed because suspects under the age of 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases. In a statement Merseyside Police said: 'We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July. 'The 17-year-old cannot be named for legal reasons, as he is under 18. 'He has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow, Thursday 1 August at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square.' Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: 'Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). 'I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West.' The boy, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: 'We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Forensic officers on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside, where a horrifying knife rampage took place Emergency crews swoop on the area after a group of children were attacked at Taylor Swift-themed dance class False claims online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat had sparked riots across Southport on Tuesday night, despite pleas from one of the victim's mother's for calm. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following that incident. After rioting broke out, Elsie's mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. 'The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had 'hijacked' a vigil for victims and will 'feel the full force of the law', while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as 'violent attacks from thugs on the streets', which she branded 'appalling'. On Wednesday, a clean up operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. More than 100 people were arrested in London after crowds gathered in Whitehall turned on police, throwing bottles and cans at officers in riot gear. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night The riots came barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack Some were heard shouting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, while others shouted 'Rule Britannia', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats' and chanting 'you're not English any more'. A Met Police spokesman said: 'Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.' Responding to last nights riots, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The scenes of disorder and violence yesterday evening were completely unacceptable. 'There is no place for criminality on our streets and I fully support the Met Police taking action against those intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city.' In Hartlepool, County Durham four people were arrested after violent protests broke out, with people detained for various offences after missiles, glass bottles and eggs were thrown at officers. A police car was also set on fire before protesters posed for selfies with it. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: 'At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. 'Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community.' Kyra Worthy, the former San Francisco SAFE executive director, was arrested for suspected fraud over her actions with the nonprofit organization. SF Gov TV In 2019, five years before Kyra Worthy was charged with what investigators described as flagrant and habitual misspending of her nonprofit San Francisco SAFEs money, an accounting firm hired to audit the groups finances rang the alarm. The accountants repeatedly wrote to SF SAFEs board president and treasurer in emails that they needed to place controls on Worthys spending, and they needed to review her purchases, San Francisco investigators wrote in court documents released this week. Audits completed by a different firm in 2021 and 2022 raised similar concerns. In a letter to the board, accountants urged them to set up a system to restrict Worthys ability to spend charity money without oversight, according to court records. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Tuesday, investigators from the District Attorneys Office arrested Worthy at her home in Richmond and booked her into San Francisco County Jail. She was charged with 34 felonies related to wage theft, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. Worthy was released on a $100,000 bond, made her first appearance in court Wednesday, and plans to plead not guilty at her next hearing in September, according to her attorney. The charges come six months after SF SAFEs board fired Worthy after another intervention by city auditors that scrutinized the nonprofits spending and flagged ineffective oversight by one of its city funders, the San Francisco Police Department. The case offers the clearest accounting yet of the groups missing finances, which investigators said Worthy used on extravagant parties, luxury gift boxes and personal expenses like her parents home nurse. But court documents also raise fresh questions about how Worthys alleged scheme was allowed to continue, unchecked, for so long. Founded in the late 1970s, SF SAFE acted as the nonprofit wing of the San Francisco Police Department. It ran a camera program for the city, provided home safety assessments to prevent burglaries, and helped assemble neighborhood watch groups. Worthy led the organization beginning in 2018 and collected a salary of $157,000 as of 2022, according to the most recent available tax filings. During her tenure, she oversaw a major increase in its funding from city agencies as well as an influx of cash from crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, who donated to the nonprofit to help fund its camera program. Worthys arrest marks the latest in a series of troubling revelations against nonprofits accused of misspending San Francisco tax dollars, including the CEO of homeless service provider United Council of Human Services, who allegedly used nonprofit funds to enrich herself. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This has been a long time coming, said Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, adding that he asked the controller to examine spending by the nonprofit in 2022 after hearing concerns about it. The real question is how did she get away with this for so long. In their arrest affidavit, which was released Tuesday, investigators with the District Attorneys Office highlighted what they described as inaction by the board in the face of Worthys allegedly questionable spending. It would be difficult to prove that all of Worthys misspending constituted theft, investigators wrote, because the board was aware of her spending for years and neglected to intervene. Board President Dan Lawson did not respond to the Chronicles requests for comment, and an attorney representing the current board members did not immediately return calls and emails. Other current and former board members declined to comment. A nonprofits board of directors is ultimately responsible for the organization, including evaluating the performance of its leadership, said Joan Harrington, a lecturer at Santa Clara University School of Law who specializes in nonprofit policy. If you get any information that there are financial irregularities, the board needs to act, Harrington said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Worthy is the only person accused of a crime in the SF SAFE case, though prosecutors said their investigation is ongoing. According to court records, SF SAFEs board president told investigators early in the probe that the board had no idea that Worthy had spent a total $250,000 that was in the groups savings CD account. However, as (I) received records from three different accounting companies that served SF SAFE, his assertions became questionable, investigator Mike Reilly wrote in his affidavit. Reilly also noted that Worthy kept meticulous records of her spending and stored them at the SF SAFE office in numerous thick binders labeled as expenditures. Reilly said the board had access to these records, which included statements showing more than $130,000 in bounced checks and payments that were declined due to insufficient funds. While investigators said board members probably knew or should have known about some of Worthys problematic spending, in other instances they said Worthy allegedly created false invoices and made false representations about purchases to hide her personal spending. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Further, Reilly said, board members attended or were invited to various pricey events thrown by Worthy. A board meeting was held at the private San Francisco club the Battery apparently ran up a tab of $16,000. At a holiday party that was not a fundraiser, investigators found a $50,000 invoice for catering that included a Champagne greeting, open bar and a prime rib carving station. The accountant reports also werent the first time Worthy came under fire for financial issues at charitable organizations. Seven years ago, the West Contra Costa County Unified School District terminated its contract with a community group run by Worthy called For Richmond after investigators found that the group allegedly submitted false invoices and failed to complete work it was paid for. The conclusion from that investigation is that For Richmond failed to complete many services and, in some instances, did not perform them at all, despite receiving payment for such services from the District, school officials wrote to Worthy in a September 2017 letter obtained by the Chronicle. In January, when revelations of Worthys problems in Contra Costa County were first made public, Lawson, the SF SAFE board president, told the Chronicle that SF SAFE was not in possession of the 2017 letter. If we had that, of course we would not have hired her, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Iran held funeral processions this morning for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in a suspected Israeli missile strike on Tehran yesterday just hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president. The Islamic Republic's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was seen weeping over the coffin of Haniyeh as he led prayers for the slain Hamas leader, having earlier declared Iran had 'a duty to seek revenge' for his killing. The typically stony-faced supreme leader bowed his head as he delivered the prayers, flanked by Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian and a host of Iranian and Hamas delegates at the ceremony at Tehran University. Haniyeh's coffin was then loaded onto a truck for a stunning procession which saw tens of thousands of people pour into the capital city's streets bearing banners emblazoned with Haniyeh's likeness, as well as Palestinian and Hamas flags. The caskets, with a black-and-white pattern resembling a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, were borne on a flower-bedecked truck that trundled through Tehran's leafy streets where cooling water mists sprayed the crowds. Haniyeh's corpse will later be flown to Doha in Qatar, where he has governed in exile for years, to be laid to rest. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated desperate calls for calm, appealing to 'all parties' in the Middle East to 'stop escalatory actions' amid fears the strike on Tehran could trigger an all-out regional war. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stands over the coffin of Ismail Haniyeh as he leads funeral prayers in Tehran today The typically stony-faced supreme leader bowed his head as he delivered the prayers, flanked by Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian and a host of Iranian and Hamas delegates at the ceremony at Tehran University A funeral procession for Haniyeh makes its way through the streets of Tehran as tens of thousands of mourners turned out A truck carrying Haniyeh's coffin was emblazoned with a huge portrait of the slain Hamas chief His corpse will later be flown to Doha in Qatar , where he has governed in exile for years, to be laid to rest Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrives at the Iranian parliament to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024 Streets in Tehran were crowded with supporters of Haniyeh today Haniyeh's death was announced yesterday morning by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who said he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in the Iranian capital at 2:00am on Wednesday. The Hamas leader was in Tehran for the inauguration ceremony of newly elected President Pezeshkian on Tuesday and died as he slept in an IRGC residence. Videos and pictures from the final hours of his life show how Haniyeh and Pezeshkian shared a warm embrace, before the Hamas leader sat alongside leaders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and Hezbollah for talks. The strike came just hours after Israel targeted and killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a retaliatory strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, sending fears of a wider regional war soaring. Khamenei, who has the final say in Iran's political affairs, said after Haniyeh's death that it was 'our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran'. Iran's conservative parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran 'will certainly carry out the supreme leader's order (to avenge Haniyeh.)' The newly inaugurated Iranian president meanwhile said Wednesday that 'the Zionists (Israel) will soon see the consequences of their cowardly and terrorist act'. During his inauguration ceremony, Pezeshkian spoke in support of Palestinians, saying 'Iran demands a world where no Palestinian child's dreams are buried under the rubble of their home.' 'We are seeking a world where the proud people of Palestine are freed from occupation, oppression and imprisonment and genocide,' Pezeshkian said. Hamas political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk also vowed retaliation, saying: 'The assassination of leader Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not go unanswered.' The international community, however, called for de-escalation and a focus on securing a ceasefire in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the strikes in Tehran and Beirut represented a 'dangerous escalation'. All efforts, he said, should be 'leading to a ceasefire' in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel. US Secretary of State Blinken also said Wednesday that a ceasefire in Gaza was still the 'imperative', with White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later adding that the twin killings 'don't help' regional tensions. Thousands of Pakistani supporters of Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) attend the funeral prayer in absentia for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on July 31, 2024 Thousands of Pakistani supporters of Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) attend the funeral prayer in absentia for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on July 31, 2024 Iranian protesters wave Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group flags in a demonstration to condemn the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a huge portrait of him is seen on a wall at background, at Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 31, 2024 A supporter of the Lebanese Islamic group and the Islamist Hamas movement holds a mock rocket as he attends with other supporters a protest to condemn the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh Hours from death: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Ismail Haniyeh (L) before Israel's lethal strike on the Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran July 30, 2024 Palestinian group Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh attends Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran Israel's Defence Forces seized the chance to hit Haniyeh and conducted a daring missile strike on his residence in Tehran just hours after the event, killing the Hamas leader and a security guard From the early hours of Wednesday, crowds took to the streets in cities across Iran and the Middle East to condemn Haniyeh's killing, with hundreds gathering in Tehran's Palestine Square to chant 'Death to Israel, Death to America'. The Islamic republic has not yet published any information on the exact location of the strike. While Iran has blamed the attack on its arch-foe, Israel has declined to comment on Haniyeh's death. It did, however, claim the killing of Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly weekend rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The killings come with regional tensions already inflamed by the war in Gaza, a conflict that has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. One of those groups, Yemen's Houthi rebels, 'declared three days of mourning' for Haniyeh, with political leader Mahdi al-Mashat expressing 'condolences to the Palestinian people and Hamas' over his killing, according to the group's Saba news agency. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, meanwhile, spoke by phone after the attack with his acting Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri to discuss 'the latest developments in the region'. The UN Security Council also convened an emergency meeting Wednesday at Iran's request to discuss the strike, with Tehran's envoy Amir Saeid Iravani urging members to take 'immediate action to ensure accountability for these violations of international law'. Hamas has for months been indirectly negotiating a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Israel, with Egypt, Qatar and the United States facilitating the talks. Analysts say Haniyeh was a moderating influence within the Islamist group, and that while he would be replaced, the dynamics within Hamas could change. A procession for Haniyeh is seen in Tehran today Ali Khamenei prays over the coffin of Ismail Haniyeh alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Palestinians carry children on their shoulders, one holding a toy gun and the other a Palestinian flag, as they protest the assassination of Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 31, 2024 A large banner bearing a picture of slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh hangs in a street in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on July 31, 2024 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack that ignited war in Gaza. That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,445 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The prime minister of key ceasefire broker Qatar said Haniyeh's killing had thrown the whole mediation process into doubt. 'How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?' Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said in a post on social media site X. A man who allegedly set off chemical explosives at Westfield has been accused of planning a terrorist attack. Sebastian Newman, 21, allegedly threw bottles filled with chemicals into the toilets at Westfield Miranda, in Sydney's south, at 2pm last Thursday. An explosion was heard from within the bathroom before police were called to the scene with officers arresting Newman. He was charged with leaving a substance to create a false belief of danger, possessing a chemical explosive device, and possessing a knife in a public place. NSW Police laid additional charges against Newman at Sutherland Local Court on Thursday alleging he collected or made documents connected to terrorism. Court documents allege Newman prepared the bottles of chlorine and alcohol and wrote a manifesto before posting it online. A NSW Police spokesman said officers will allege the man had 'mixed and unclear ideological beliefs'. He remains on remand and is next set to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on September 25. A man who allegedly set off chemical explosives at Westfield has been accused of planning a terrorist attack One of the bottles exploded with police immediately called to the scene and arresting Newman Following the extra charges, police reiterated calls for people with information about 'extremist activity or possible threats to the community' to come forward 'no matter how small or insignificant you think the information may be'. 'The National Security Hotline is 1800 123 400,' they said. A finance worker who stole 75,000 from his dead bank customers to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' was caught out by his girlfriend's social media posts. Corey Casagrande, 37, used the stolen money to fund his gambling addiction and expensive holidays which his girlfriend posted all over social media. The father-of-three worked as a team leader for Target Financial Services which provided a range of services for big names like the BBC, Barclays, and Credit Suisse. During an internal investigation, the Facebook account of Casagrande's girlfriend Jemma Connor - who also worked for the firm - was checked. Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard 'entries that suggested that she had been spending large amounts of money and living a lavish lifestyle' were found. Corey Casagrande stole 75,000 from his dead bank customers to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' but the social media posts of his girlfriend Jemma Connor exposed his crime Casagrande used the stolen money to fund his gambling addiction and expensive holidays Her social media included pictures of holidays and of Christian Louboutin designer shoes This included pictures of holidays and of Christian Louboutin designer shoes. The court heard Casagrande had a 'sophisticated' understanding of the internal systems of the company and used fake documents from real solicitors to steal the money from dead customers. Prosecutor Hashim Salmman said that the firm launched an internal investigation when it became aware of possible irregularities. It found that 75,000 had been taken from three different accounts belonging to deceased customers of Credit Suisse. The money had been paid to third parties who had submitted claim forms accompanied by solicitors signed letters. But the solicitors involved showed they had no knowledge of the documents bearing their names. After being exposed by the social media posts, Casagrande was then interviewed and dismissed after failing to appear for a disciplinary hearing. Miss Connor and another female employee were dismissed from the firm after the internal investigation, the court heard. Casagrande admitted fraud by abuse of position for the crimes which occurred in 2020. The court heard Casagrande had a 'sophisticated' understanding of the internal systems of the company and used fake documents from real solicitors to steal the money Casagrande of Duffryn, Newport, was handed a 20 month suspended sentence Amelia Pike, defending, said Casagrande committed the fraud 'at the peak of addiction' to gambling while he was 'living the lifestyle that accompanies it.' Ms Pike said that he was deeply ashamed of his actions and his partner was in the early stages of a pregnancy. Casagrande was previously jailed for working as a cocaine courier when he and Connor were caught smuggling cocaine from Liverpool to South Wales but the court heard he had 'turned his life around' since being released from prison. She added that he has tried to 'started afresh' and started his own construction business - which has three employees. Recorder Carl Harrison told Casagrande it was clear he was motivated by a financial desire to pay off debts and also fund a 'lavish lifestyle'. Casagrande of Duffryn, Newport, was handed a 20 month suspended sentence and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work. Police were advised not to go there alone There was no police radio signal in the area Large bushland blocks similar to where six people were violently killed in Queensland were known for having 'mantraps' and signs threatening to shoot upon entry, a coroner has heard. Two police officers were killed at a remote property at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, on the afternoon of December 12, 2022 when an arrest warrant turned into an ambush by shooters with high-powered rifles. Constable Craig Loveland testified on Thursday at the inquest at Brisbane Coroners Court. He told State Coroner Terry Ryan he was at Tara Police Station about 30km south of Wieambilla when he got the call to assist a 'shots fired' incident. Const Loveland said the incident was in an area known as 'the blocks' and he had been advised by more experienced officers not to attend that area by himself. 'I was told to get a second officer for certain areas and certain addresses ... there were signs saying 'do not enter or you will be shot',' he said. Const Loveland said he had seen the signs himself and had probably entered properties with them. 'Certain addresses had mantraps, pits with spikes and other things around the block in certain properties ... to injure people when they entered,' he said. Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train had lain mantraps to ambush the cops at their compound Two police officers were killed at a remote property at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, when an arrest warrant turned into an ambush on December 12, 2022 Constable Craig Loveland testified that the incident was in an area known as 'the blocks' and he had been advised by more experienced officers not to attend that area by himself Constable Christopher Sharman, who responded from Dalby about one hour's drive away, testified he could not get a police radio signal when he arrived. 'We had no communications by radio ... the QLITE (police tablet computer) dropped out. Our map was not working very well,' he said. Mr Ryan heard the officers who responded to help were not allowed to approach the shooting scene as they were armed with Glock pistols with a 15-metre accuracy range. The suspects were armed with high-powered rifles and had fired at officers while at long range and hidden. Const Loveland said one of the few officers trained to use the rifles kept at police stations was Constable Matthew Arnold, who had been killed during the initial shooting. Mr Ryan released multiple videos ahead of Thursday's inquest hearing. They were mainly captured after sunset that day via infrared cameras on two police helicopters as they circled a house surrounded by bushland about three hours after two officers had been killed. Gareth Train and his wife Stacey, and Nathaniel Train, set a perimeter of small fires around the property before police arrived, then Gareth shot at a helicopter and filmed a YouTube video A burning police vehicle and a perimeter of small fires set by Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train around their property can be seen in the footage. Gareth Train is seen firing a rifle at one of the helicopters before sitting down at an outside table with his wife Stacey and recording a YouTube video with her. 'They came to kill us and we killed them ... If you don't defend yourself against these devils and demons, you're a coward,' Gareth Train said in the video. Nathaniel Train can later be seen lying prone behind a log and firing at an armoured BearCat police vehicle using a rifle with a scope. Soon after the video ends, all three Trains were fatally shot by police within minutes of each other. Constables Arnold and Rachel McCrow were shot dead at 4.37pm as they walked with another two officers up a driveway leading to the property intending to locate Nathaniel Train. Constables Arnold and McCrow were shot dead at 4.37pm while attempting to locate Nathaniel Train Mr Ryan previously heard that then-Inspector Wayne Rasmussen was assigned the role of forward commander at 4.47pm after reports of two officers being shot. Mr Rasmussen was due to give evidence on Thursday at the five-week inquest. Mr Rasmussen approved a rescue mission for Constable Keely Brough as she was in danger of being shot or burned to death by a fire lit by the Trains to flush her out. During Mr Rasmussen's command, Wieambilla resident Alan Dare was shot dead by the Trains after he went to investigate the fire. Mr Rasmussen handed over command of the scene to the Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) at 9.05pm. By 10.41pm, all three Trains had been fatally shot by SERT officers after they refused to negotiate and fired on police. The victims of a freak accident that saw a fall on their moving vehicle have been identified as a much loved couple who were well-known for their charity work. Brian and Lynne Warren were driving along Graphite Road near Burnside Road in Deanmill near Manjimup in Western Australia's south on Wednesday when tragedy struck. Mrs Warren, 78, was driving their grey Isuzu ute at the time while her husband, 75, was in the front passenger seat. Both died at the scene. Locals claim that roadside trees weren't being kept in check and had become a hazard in wild weather. The couple were keen Rotarians and well known in the Margaret River community. 'Some sad news of a wonderful couple,' Rotary Club Mandurah Districts post on Facebook. 'Volunteer Rotarians. Rest in peace.' The tragedy sparked an outpouring of tributes for the Warrens. WA couple Brian and Lynne Warren died when a when a large tree fell and struck their grey Isuzu ute 'Oh my God Im gutted. I served them for years in Urban Bean and continued to see them around town and they were so lovely,' one person wrote. Another wrote: 'That's is devastating they were such beautiful people. So sad to hear.' Mrs Warren enjoyed a decorated career in nursing, which saw her awarded for excellence in the State Residential Aged Care awards while working in Carnarvon. 'I had the pleasure of working with Lynne years ago and she was a brilliant nurse,' a former nursing colleague wrote. 'Very sad, may they both RIP.' Mr Warren was involved in a number of programs in the Margaret River community, including volunteering for Rotarys Alternative Leavers program. This project took high school graduates to Timor Leste to help with community-building projects. Brian and Lynne Warren were remembered as a 'lovely couple' who did a lot of charity work through Rotary Police are investigating the scene of the accident on Graphite Road with one local saying trees have not been kept in check and have become a hazard in wild weather Mr Warren told Augusta-Margaret River Times in 2019 that generous support from the community allowed young people to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate communities overseas. The couple had also raised money to provide Timorese firefighters with protective gear. Major crash detectives will examine the scene of the accident. Police are appealing for anyone who has any information or dashcam footage. The first Western fighter jets have reportedly taken flight over the skies of Ukraine after months of delays that have hamstrung Kyiv's war effort and left its cities susceptible to constant aerial barrages from Russian attackers. Half a dozen US-made F-16 jets supplied by the Netherlands are believed to have arrived in the country earlier this week, with grainy images supplied by Ukrainian outlet Dumskaya claiming to show one jet soaring through the sky on its first sortie. Ukraine will soon take delivery of additional F-16s from Denmark, Belgium and Norway in the hopes that the fourth-generation jets - long coveted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - will bolster Kyiv's depleted air defences and reduce Russia's aerial superiority. The Ukrainian military has had to rely on a relatively small fleet of Soviet-era jets as it has fought to hold back Russia's full-scale February 2022 invasion. The West has hesitantly moved toward providing the jets, after previous concerns that arming Ukraine with advanced weaponry would further escalate the war with Russia. Ukrainian officials say the addition of the F-16 represents a vital upgrade for its Air Force, but analysts say the deployment of the jets is unlikely to prove a turning point in the war, particularly given their delayed delivery date. Half a dozen US-made F-16 jets supplied by the Netherlands are believed to have arrived in the country earlier this week, with grainy images supplied by Ukrainian outlet Dumska claiming to show one jet soaring through the sky over Odesa Ukraine has received the first tranche of western F-16 fighter jets that it has sought for months to be able to fight back against an onslaught of Russian missile strikes A Royal Danish Air Force F-16 aircraft performs a demonstration flight during the fifth day of Farnborough International Airshow at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in Farnborough, United Kingdom on July 26, 2024 F-16s, built by US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin, have been on Ukraine's wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability. The fighter jet is equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles specialised in suppressing enemy air defences. The F-16s could also United Kingdom-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia. They might also get long-range air-to-air missiles that would threaten Russian bombers and fighter jets, and the plane's advanced radars will allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their Soviet-era MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. But the initial use of the F-16s is expected to be defensive and their pilots will likely have three core missions, said Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. They will seek to intercept Russian missiles and drones that have relentlessly bombarded Ukraine, suppress enemy air defence systems, and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles. 'They will be able to affect some of the dynamics (of the war),' Borsari says. Confirming the arrival of the aircraft, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said: 'F-16s in Ukraine. 'Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible.' A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the delivery had been complete, although Ukraine has not formally commented. 'Western partners delivered the planes, as agreed, at the end of July,' said Oleksiy Sukhoi, a military columnist for Ukrainian outlet Dumska. 'This is undoubtedly a big step forward.' Russia meanwhile is said to be offering a 135,000 reward for the downing or destruction of each F-16. Vladimir Putin has stated that the warplanes would not change the situation on the battlefield, but lead to a prolongation of the war. He claimed that they would burn like other much-touted Western military equipment, and has openly said he will authorise Russian forces to strike Ukrainian airbases hosting the NATO jets. It is unclear whether the F-16s can be immediately deployed on combat missions or whether further training is required inside Ukraine, though the pilots and ground staff have received extensive training from NATO air forces for months. F-16s, built by US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin, have been on Ukraine's wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 fighter jet at Skrydstrup Airbase, in Vojens, Denmark, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 Denmark has committed to donate 19 F-16 jets in total, while the Netherlands has promised to deliver 24 aircraft. Both countries have been driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s. Norway has also said that it would donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The first delivery of the jets comes almost a year after US President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the US won't be providing any of its own planes. But there are still a long list of challenges that Ukraine must negotiate to effective deploy the jets, said Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at King's College London. The roughly nine-month training in the US and Europe for Ukrainian pilots amounted to a crash course compared with the usual three-year course for Western pilots in what Miron calls 'a very complex piece of machinery.' The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems. Quality airfields are also a must as the F-16 air intake is close to the tarmac and runs the danger of sucking debris and dirt into the engine. 'So many associated issues need to be sorted out,' Miron says. A couple have appeared in court charged with manslaughter after their three-year-old son was mauled to death by a dog. Toddler Daniel Twigg died from his injuries after being attacked by a dangerous dog on Carr Farm in Milnrow, Rochdale on May 15, 2022. His mother and father Mark Twigg, 42, and Joanne Bedford, 36, appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with gross negligence manslaughter. Twigg was dressed in a grey jumper and dark trousers, whilst Bedford wore a white blouse and black pants. The pair only spoke to confirm their names, date of birth and address. Parents Mark Twigg, 42, (left) and Joanne Bedford, 36, (right) appeared at court charged with manslaughter and gross negligence after their son was mauled to death by a dog Daniel Twigg died from his injuries after being attacked by a dangerous dog on Carr Farm in Milnrow, Rochdale on May 15, 2022 No pleas were entered and the couple, of Radcliffe, Bury, were given unconditional bail to appear at Manchester Crown Court for a plea hearing on September 4. Officers were called to the farm at 3.22pm after receiving reports that the child was 'unconscious and not breathing'. Following the incident, Daniel was rushed to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital but was later pronounced dead. Authorities destroyed a Cane Corso breed and seized another ten dogs after launching a 'significant' investigation into the little boy's death. Pictures of the property in Carr Lane, Milnrow, Rochdale, showed 'beware of the dog' warning signs plastered on the gates outside. Following the incident, a Cane Corso dog was destroyed and ten others were seized (pictured: beware of the dog' signs on the farm gates in Milnrow, Rochdale) The parents , of Radcliffe, Bury, were given unconditional bail to appear at Manchester Crown Court for a plea hearing on September (pictured: the farm where the three-year-old had died following a dog attack) A statement from the family previously shared by Greater Manchester Police described Daniel as a 'happy, kind and caring little boy who was loved by all who knew him'. It read: 'He loved Paw Patrol and playing with his brother and sister, he also loved being around animals - especially his pony, Splash. 'He brought us many laughs and was a comical character. He was brave, intelligent and full of many characteristics. 'Daniel loved being with his whole family and will be missed by all. On behalf of our family, we ask people to respect our privacy.' Huw Edwards appeared 'confident' and showed 'bravado' as he walked out of court yesterday after pleading guilty to a string of child porn offences, a body language expert has claimed. The fallen BBC star, 62, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday wearing dark sunglasses and a navy suit - seemingly unbothered by the dozens of cameras surrounding him. The veteran news reader kept seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by another paedophile. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14. Body expert Judi James said that Edwards kept 'his chin raised' as he left the court 'in a gesture of what looks like enduring star status and resilience or defiance following his appearance in court'. She said: 'This is not a man who looks keen to act out any non-verbal signals of humility or shame in these clips. Huw Edwards appeared 'confident' and showed 'bravado' as he walked out of court yesterday after pleading guilty to a string of child porn offences, according to a body language expert Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London yesterday surrounded by a police escort Body expert Judi James said that Edwards kept 'his chin raised' as he left the court 'in a gesture of what looks like enduring star status' 'There is no head-bowing or head-covering here or any cut-off or barrier rituals, like holding a hand to the head to hide the face. In fact, the opposite. 'He looks determined to take on the cameras, turning from one side to the other as he walks slowly past them and even raising his head to show his face to the cameras being held high by the photographers at the back of the pack.' At another moment outside the court, Edwards used a 'hand gesture normally associated with status,' Ms James said, placing his hands in a flattened clasp across hi waist. His stride out of court appeared 'confident' with his 'head held high', the body language expert explained, before he was slowed by the press around him. As he chose to wear sunglasses, his eye expression was concealed meaning that a 'more complex and authentic emotional display' is not available as 'Edwards [was] keeping his inner emotions guarded'. She added: 'His upright posture suggests levels of confidence or bravado and there is no raising or hunching of the shoulders to suggest any inner desire to hide. His chest looks relatively splayed or puffed which also projects confidence. 'He performs a mouth shrug at one point, pulling the corners of his clamped lips down in a wry smile. 'His 'thank you' and nod to a policewoman sounds authoritative and firm, as though there is no erosion of his star status in his mind and a following 'thank you very much' gives the same impression of firm, polite authority.' Edwards remained silent as he left the court building surrounded by the press today A court sketch showed Edwards standing in the dock after he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. Last night, in a shocking revelation, the BBC admitted they knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail today. The father-of-five moved out of the family home in Dulwich after separating from his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind. It comes amid questions over why the CPS waited weeks to confirm charges against the presenter. The ex-News at Ten presenter was charged in June, but the details were only revealed on Monday, after the date of his first court appearance was released by Westminster Magistrates' Court. A former attorney general said last night it was 'very puzzling' that the CPS did not publish details of the charges brought against Edwards around the time he was charged. He added that the CPS's actions did not seem 'in accordance with' the principles of open justice, The Telegraph first reported. Friends of the ex-BBC News host said he kept his arrest 'a secret' and that they were stunned when news he had been charged was revealed this week Edwards has since left the family home and has reportedly split with his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind (the pair are pictured together in 2018 in London) The CPS denied it had purposely suppressed details about the presenter being charged or given him preferential treatment. A CPS spokesperson said: 'Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment. So what is 'making an image'? The court's interpretation of 'making' indecent images is broad and can confuse those outside the legal profession. Simply opening an email attachment, downloading an indecent image or storing it on a device can constitute an offence. Zita Spencer, partner at Olliers Solicitors, said: 'Making means creating it on your device. People can get it confused with 'production', which is actually taking the photo itself.' It is not necessary to have intentionally saved an indecent image to a device to be found guilty. Ms Spencer said Edwards would have had a defence had he been sent the images unsolicited and immediately deleted them. Advertisement 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues.' The paedophile was only uncovered after Welsh detectives investigating another sex offender uncovered the BBC's stars number in a depraved WhatsApp chat. Detectives stumbled onto the household-named star while investigating another paedophile, 25-year-old Alex Williams from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. When officers from South Wales Police seized Williams' phone, they uncovered a vile WhatsApp chat full of child pornography - which Edwards was involved in. A Met spokesman said: 'The investigation into Huw Edwards began in November 2023 after information was received from South Wales Police. 'An examination of a phone seized by South Wales officers as part of an entirely unrelated investigation had revealed Edwards participation in a WhatsApp conversation. 'There was no connection between this investigation and the matters reviewed in July 2023. 'One other person was charged in relation to the messages shared via WhatsApp. 'He is Alex Williams, 25, of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Williams pleaded guilty to seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police.' Edwards was arrested on November 8, 2023 before being charged on June 26 with three counts of making indecent images. Seven of the pictures were category 'A' images of the very worst kind. This included two moving images of a young boy, possibly aged between seven and nine years old. He also had photos of other children aged between 13 and 15 stored on his phone that were classed as Category A. Edwards, whose marriage and journalistic career have now been destroyed, will find out his fate during a sentencing hearing in September. He could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. Four houses worth 215,000 in total have been stolen by crooks in Sweden, leaving cops baffled at how the burglary occurred. On Saturday morning, the four mobile homes on wheels vanished from a fenced area within the University of Stockholm where they were being displayed. The houses weigh around three tonnes each, according to the mobile homes founder Manuel Kohout, who told local media that they only way they can be moved is by being pulled with strong cars. After waking up on the weekend to the empty spot of where his houses once were, Manuel immediately reported the incident to the police and his company, Vagabond Haven, released a wanted list on Facebook. Two of the houses were discovered on the day of the theft in Skogas, located around two km south of the university campus. Four mobile homes were stolen from the University of Stockholm on the weekend. Pictured: One of the homes that was stolen The homes weigh around three tonnes each and all four are worth a total of 215,000. Pictured: The second home stolen Two homes were found on Saturday, and the following two were located on Sunday. Pictured: One of the homes that was stolen on the weekend Police in Stockholm are still on the hunt for a man who was spotted with two of the homes in a parking lot on Sunday. Pictured: The fourth home that was stolen from the university campus On Sunday, the final two were found in Tungelsta, Haninge, after locals spotted the homes with a man and a broken-down car in a parking lot. They alerted Manuel, who visited the site with police and retrieved the final two stolen houses. 'It is absolutely fantastic that the neighborhood was so vigilant,' a relieved Manuel told Enkoping-Balsta. All four houses are now back on Manuel's farm in Orsundsbro and cops have received a description of the man in the parking lot but are yet to make an arrest. Speaking to local media on the incident, Stockholm police spokesperson Ola Osterling said: 'I have never heard of this before. Caravans are stolen, but not such large houses on wheels'. Preliminary investigation leader Jonas Martensson echoed Osterling's statement, saying: 'It is common for trailers to be stolen, but not for houses to be stolen. 'It's a bit strange. It's planned, but we don't really know how it went. 'The crime classification is aggravated theft and we still have some investigation measures to carry out, such as searching with cameras'. Following the retrieval of all four homes, Manuel took to Vagabond Haven's Facebook to thank police and locals for their help He wrote: 'Our last two houses were found in Haninge tonight !! They are secured by police and we will soon get them home. We are so excited! Many thanks for all the help we received from all possible places and corners. Eternally grateful'. Vagabond Haven founder Manuel Kohout thanked the local neighbourhood for being so vigilant after the homes had been retrieved It comes after a spate of luxury caravan thefts across Scotland in June. Brazen thieves targeted and stole the vehicles and organised crime gangs broke into secure sites before towing them away. Some vehicles vanished in just a matter of minutes, with the crooks snatching caravans worth tens of thousands of pounds, sometimes in broad daylight. In March, Police Scotland warned that owners should take extra security measures as criminals look to cash in on the boom in staycations. The force said: With more people staying at home this summer, demand for caravans and mobile homes has increased and is likely to lead to a rise in thefts, often by organised gangs. In the same month that Police Scotland issued their warning, thieves grabbed a white Swift Sprite Quattro from a yard in Kelso, Roxburghshire, in an early morning raid. The caravan, which can cost upwards of 20,000, was snatched by two men who attached it to their BMW and towed it away. Meanwhile, husband and wife Mark and Kaylie Corrieri from Stirling lost their beloved 9,000 Swift Sterling Europa 600 on April 5. Detective Superintendent Andrew Patrick, acquisitive crime lead for Police Scotland, said at the time: In recent months, we have seen a number of caravan thefts across the country. Officers have been carrying out inquiries to return the caravans to their owners and bring those responsible to justice. We know that vehicle thefts can have a significant impact on victims, whether its through the invasive nature of the offence, or the financial impact it causes. This type of behaviour has no place in our communities and we are committed to disrupting and reducing this criminality. Amanda Abbington hugged fans and posed for selfies following a triumphant return to the stage putting her Strictly woes behind her. Abbington received a rousing ovation after performing at the intimate Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, north London, in front of a near sell-out 209-strong crowd. She appeared in the lead role in When It Happens To You by American playwright Tawni O'Dell her first public appearance since the Strictly furore. The former Sherlock actress, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan 'Quiet no more', later told MailOnline of her pride after receiving a rapturous reception. Speaking outside the Park Theatre, she said: 'It is a wonderful play and an important story to be told. 'I was chomping at the bit to perform it in front of an audience.' Referring to her slogan t-shirt, she said: 'It's an important message. It's all about protecting sections of society, it's not rocket science. 'It's about trying to be nice and expecting others to be nice in return, but it's not always the case.' Actress Amanda Abbington (pictured) hugged fans and posed for selfies following a triumphant return to the stage last night Amanda took on the role of Tara in the true story about a mother trying to hold her family together after a devastating event changes the course of their lives After her performance, Amanda posed for photos with the play's director Jez Bond The former Sherlock actress, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan 'Quiet no more', later told MailOnline of her pride after receiving a rapturous reception Play director Jez Bond said he had wanted to work with Abbington for a number of years and first sent her the script 18 months ago. Speaking after the play's first public performance in Britain, he said: 'After I sent her the script, she got back to me immediately and said she wanted to do it, because it was an important story to tell. 'When the Strictly situation blew up the misogynistic narrative was deeply frustrating. 'Amanda's hands are tied at the moment because she can't talk about it publically while the investigation is ongoing. Amanda Abbington commanded the stage as she made her debut performance in her new play When It Happens To You at the Park Theatre in London on Wednesday For her performance, she wore a white blouse along with a pair of mauve trousers while her brunette locks were slicked back 'Do I have faith in the investigation? Not at all. But the truth will out as it always does.' The Sherlock actress has made allegations about dance partner Giovanni Pernice's tough training techniques last year. In January, it was reported the 51-year-old requested footage of the duo's 'tense' training sessions, leading to a misconduct probe. The results of the investigation are expected to be revealed this week with Pernice's camp confident he will be cleared. Giovanni Penrice has always denied all of the allegations, claiming to have provided a dossier of evidence to Beeb investigators. Giovanni is convinced he has presented evidence that proves he is far from the 'cruel, abusive and mean' man the Sherlock star Amanda claims he is. Abbington put the Strictly controversy behind her with a confident performance. With her dark hair slicked back and wearing a cream blouse, pleated baggy brown trousers and brown Doc Marten-style boots, she remained on stage throughout the intense four-person 90 minute performance. She played Tara, an American writer, whose chef daughter Esme calls her to say she has been raped in New York. Her performance comes after the actress is said to be considering fresh legal action against Giovanni Pernice , 33, after he reportedly refused to release their Strictly rehearsal videos The latest legal development comes after it was revealed the accusations have now widened after more complaints surrounding the hit show Giovanni faces an even longer wait for an outcome after Amanda, Laura Whitmore (pictured) and Ranvir Singh all came forward to complain about their dance partner The intense play deals with the traumatic after effects on the whole family. Abbington smiled broadly as the cast received rapturous applause from the audience at the conclusion, Her delighted fans praised her performance. Bronte Henwood, 26, a writer from London, had attended to support Abbington. Ms Henwood said: 'The show is an important story to tell. It has been a difficult period for Amanda. 'I don't want to speak for her, but in the situation she has found herself in nobody wins.' Theatre lover Sarah Bezem, 58, also praised Abbington. She said: It was an excellent performance: very powerful. 'The play was very intense. I really enjoyed it.' An order of matzo ball soup and half of a pastrami sandwich at Wise Sons Deli in San Francisco. The Bay Area deli closed its Oakland location. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Prep cook Gabriel Velasquez prepares orders in the kitchen at Little Star Pizza on Divisadero Street in San Francisco. The restaurant closed that location in July. Juliana Yamada/Special to The Chronicle The following is a list of notable Bay Area restaurants that closed in July. Click here for a list of June closings. The Wise Sons Jewish Deli near Lake Merritt in Oakland is now closed. The company confirmed the details to the Chronicle, citing nearly a dozen break-ins at the restaurant on 1700 Franklin St. over the past two years. Its San Francisco delis in the Mission, Hayes Valley and the Fillmore remain open. Newark teppanyaki and sushi destination Nijo Castle closed on July 31, SFGATE reported. (SFGATE and the Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate separate newsrooms.) For nearly 40 years, East Bay residents flocked to the restaurant to celebrate special occasions or to simply watch the flashy dinner shows around a cooking flattop. The owners did not disclose any specific reasons behind the closing, but the Newark Planning Commission approved the construction of a five-story hotel at the property in 2022. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Fried kitchen with cornbread and sides served at Minne Bells Soul Movement at Emeryvilles Public Market food hall, photographed in 2018. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle After a six-year run serving some of the best fried chicken in the Bay Area out of a kiosk, Minnie Bells Soul Movement will end its presence at Emeryvilles Public Market food hall. Chef-owner Fernay McPherson said she is focusing all her efforts on her new Fillmore district restaurant. Emeryville will always be a special place to me but the Fillmore is where I was born and raised and still live today so I want to give it my all, she wrote on Instagram. The kiosks last day in business was July 28. Old Oaklands Souvenir Coffee location at Swans Market closed on July 31, East Bay Nosh wrote. The local company will continue to operate its Albany, Berkeley and San Francisco locations and will soon launch a nearby shop on Broadway in Oakland at the former site of Rawr Coffee Bar, a company director told the Chronicle. The selection of A5 snow beef kushiyaki served at Gozu restaurant in San Francisco. The now-closed restaurant specialized in Wagyu beef. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Gozu, a Michelin-rated restaurant celebrating Wagyu beef, closed to make way for a new restaurant from chef and co-owner Marc Zimmerman, formerly of Alexanders Steakhouse. The new project, dubbed the Wild, opens Friday, Aug. 2, and will focus on California ingredients cooked in a live-fire hearth, per a press release. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Belly Burger, an old-school burger shop on Geary Boulevard, has closed, Reddit users report. The menu wasnt limited to hamburgers, and also offered grilled chicken sandwiches, salads and seafood plates like fish and chips. The Meateor pizza at Little Star Pizza on Divisadero Street in San Francisco. The original location of the longstanding pizzeria is now closed. Juliana Yamada/Special to The Chronicle Beloved deep dish pizza spot Little Star closed its original San Francisco location on Divisadero Street. The restaurant announced on Instagram that its final day of service was July 7. The popular pizza shop originally announced it would close in November 2023, but continued serving diners. Little Stars other San Francisco location on Valencia Street will remain open, as will the Albany location. The downtown Hayward location of Caspers Hot Dogs, at 951 C St., served its last-ever hot dog. The company did not specify a reason for the closing in a press release, but stated the move will strengthen the companys future a similar story as when Caspers shut down its Walnut Creek location in 2023. A real estate listing shows the property for sale for $825,000. Another Caspers location in Hayward will still offer old-fashioned, snappy hot dogs with toppings like sauerkraut and chili with cheese. Barrel Head Brewhouse in Western Addition closed in early July. The brewery and taproom offered a variety of house beers and a food menu with burgers, pretzels and chili. Co-owner Ivan Hopkinson told the Chronicle that orders never rebounded after the pandemic, and rising operating costs made the business less and less viable. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Duende chef-owner Paul Canales poses inside his now-shuttered Oakland restaurant in 2013. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Famed Bay Area chef Paul Canales closed his downtown Oakland restaurant Duende in July. Canales said post-pandemic dining habits and a challenging business environment in downtown Oakland led him to close. The Chronicle confirmed Silver Crest Donut Shop in the Bayshore area has closed. A nearby business owner said the diner and doughnut shops windows were blocked off with plywood on Monday. Owners George and Nina Giavris purchased the restaurant in 1970 and famously kept it open 24 hours a day ever since. The Los Angeles Times reported George Giavris suffered an injury which has kept him from cooking dinner and making doughnuts. Hordes of tourists have been seen streaming off a ferry onto the tiny Greek holiday destination of Santorini as fears mount the relentless torrent of arriving holidaymakers is making the island unlivable. Inflammatory footage showed long lines of people disembarking from a ferry as those waiting to board were left queuing up in the heat in their droves. Locals have increasingly shared outrage at the perceived over-saturation of the picturesque isle in the Aegean, with 17,000 tourists expected to arrive each day in the peak holiday season, according to councillor Panos Kavallaris. 'I work seasonally here in Santorini,' one commented under the clip on TikTok. 'There is no respect for the island or for us, from garbage, to times when the buses don't take us.' 'Santorini was a stop on our cruise last year,' one aggrieved tourist added, seeing the queues. 'Should never have got off (and wont next time). One Instagram spot, litter everywhere and absolutely rammed streets.' The volcanic island, with a population of around 15,500, saw around 3.5million arrivals last year, with more expected to come through 2024. DREAM: The picturesque volcanic island of Santorini, home to a tiny population of 15,500 REALITY: Huge crowds are drawn to the island each year, straining life for Santorini's locals Santorini has a population of just 15,500 - but welcomed some 3.5million tourists last year Shocking video shows the crowded streets in Santorini with hordes of tourists packed onto the tiny island Victor Karayannis, a local tour guide on the island, shared the footage of tourists arriving in Santorini with the caption: 'I heard on the news that Santorini does not have so many tourists nowadays... cap [false]'. The video was met with mixed responses, some saying they had visited quiet parts of the island or seen less foot traffic when travelling outside of the peak months. One said: 'The port yes is always a bit chaotic but Santorinis is getting an unfair bad rep. Its stunning and there are quieter areas eg Perissa. Just had a 10/10 holiday here.' 'I'm so glad I went in 2007 before Instagram influencers were even a thing!' another added. 'Honestly, what did you expect in the middle of July?' a third said. But for many on the island, the arrival of tourists en masse presents a potentially existential threat. Santorini has relied on tourism since the 1960s, before which it largely depended on agriculture to support its economy. 'They need to find the right balance' hotel worker Onur Kilic, 28, told the i. 'They could limit the amount of cruise ships, but the government is not doing enough if this continues I will leave the island.' Days prior, Mr Kavallaris urged residents in a since-deleted Facebook post to stay at home and avoid the 17,000 tourists he said authorities expect to arrive on the island per day. 'Another difficult day for our city and island is ahead with the arrival of 17,000 visitors from cruise ships. We ask for your attention: limit your movements as much as possible,' the councillor said, but the post quickly caused outrage among locals. Residents criticised the councillor's request, with one commenting on social media: '[He] officially asks locals to lock themselves at home, so that tourists can wander around free. Marvelous.' Shocking images from the picturesque island this week show masses of tourists queuing on narrow walkways along white buildings with the famous sea-blue domes for the best holiday shots. The queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can now take more than 20 minutes. Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions. 'We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism,' Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos said. 'There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals.' Hundreds of tourists perch on the steep hills in Santorini that watch and photograph the famed sunset on July 25, 2024 Shocking images from the picturesque island show masses of tourists queuing on narrow walkways along white buildings with the famous sea-blue domes for the best holiday shots Furious locals have threatened to leave the Santorini after officials told them to keep out of the way of the thousands of tourists (some pictured above this month) who descend on the small island every day Hundreds of tourists gather at the village of Oia, Santorini, to watch the sunset, on July 20 Tourists leave after viewing Santorini's sunset from the Castle of Oia, on Santorini, Greece Concerns about overtourism and its impact on locals have seen mass protests take place across Europe this year, with residents calling for restrictions on short-term lets to manage spiralling house prices, and greater diversification of economies. Earlier this month, hundreds of residents in Alicante massed for the first time to demonstrate through areas of the Spanish city popular with tourists to 'demand that limits be placed on the tourism industry'. Salva, a spokesperson for the organising 'Alicante donde vas?' group, told MailOnline: 'It is the administrations (city council, autonomous community, central government) that must take measures to put the needs of the people who live in the city at the forefront, compared to the wishes of those who visit the city. 'We hope that the demonstration is the first step so that more people feel that it is legitimate to claim the right to live with dignity in our city, and to be able to join together to build a neighbourhood movement that says that Alicante is not for sale.' At the start of July, tourists in Barcelona were sprayed with water guns as residents made their feelings known following perceived inaction by the local authorities. Under the banner 'Enough! Let's put limits on tourism', some 2,800 people - according to police - marched along a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists that visit every year. Protesters carried signs reading 'Barcelona is not for sale,' and, 'Tourists go home,' before some used water guns on tourists eating outdoors at restaurants in popular tourist hotspots. Chants of 'Tourists out of our neighbourhood' rang out as some stopped in front of the entrances to hotels. Barcelona's rising cost of housing, up 68 percent in the past decade, is one of the main issues for the movement, along with the effects of tourism on local commerce and working conditions in the city of 1.6 million inhabitants. Rents rose by 18% in June from a year earlier in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, according to the property website Idealista. For years, the city has worn anti-tourist graffiti with messages such as 'tourists go home' aimed at visitors some blame for the rising prices and shaping of the economy around tourists. An England supporter stands among the crowd near the tourism office as protestors look on A banner is held up during a march against overtourism in Alicante earlier this month Another said 'F*** AirBnB', expressing locals' frustration with the holiday home rental company Violent clashes broke out in Venice in April over a contentious new 'tourist tax' aimed at reducing numbers to the historical Italian city. Demonstrators armed with signs and banners lined the historic canals and narrow alleyways of the Italian city to show their contempt for the unique new policy aimed at clamping down on overtourism in busy periods. Critics have claimed that the 5 (4.30) fee, to be implemented in the busy summer months, is unlikely to put a significant dent in the circa 30 million trips made to Venice each year - and could backfire by tarnishing the city's public image. Under the new rules, a fee will be charged to tourists passing through the city without staying overnight. Authorities hope this might help manage the flow of some 30 million tourists drawn in by the city's history and romantic canals each year. Venice has had a long wait to see the plan come to fruition, with initial proposals brought in 2019 set back by the pandemic. The city also dropped plans to charge day-trippers 10 a day last year, citing 'resistance'. Canadian cops raided a hotel room this week to arrest a father and son who were in just hours away from carrying out a mass casualty event. The duo had gone so far as to record a video showing them brandishing their weapons in front of an ISIS flag while explaining their intended actions. The family members were named as Canadian citizens Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were allegedly armed with an axe and a machete in the video. They were arrested on July 25. Police say that their target was an unspecified location in Toronto. The hotel where they were taken into custody is located just 30 minutes drive from the downtown area. They are each facing six ISIS-related terrorism offenses, including possessing weapons for the benefit of the Sunni-terror organization. This screenshot from a surveillance camera shows heavily armed Canadian police raiding the home that the two suspects shared in a quiet Toronto suburb Neighbors were shocked to learn of the pair's involvement with terrorism and were awoken to the sound of flash grenades going off in the early hours of Sunday Just this week, Canadian citizen Khalid Hussein, 29, was found guilty in England of being a member of Al-Muhajiroun, a terrorist group, and sentenced to five years in prison. He stood trial alongside hate preacher Anjem Choudary, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison. Ahmed is also charged with aggravated assault that resulted from an ISIS video he is accused of appearing in that was shot in a different country in 2015, reports Global News. The network reports that the video from a decade ago shows Ahmed, clad in a black robe with his face visible, hacking at an ISIS prisoner in an orange jumpsuit with a sword as the victim was suspended on a pole. The video was shot in a desert and distributed by one of the ISIS media arms, Al-Raud Media. The connection between Ahmed and that video was made through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team. Meanwhile officials in Canada have said that there is no outstanding threat as a result of Ahmed and Mostafa's intended actions, indicating investigators do not believe that they were part of a larger cell. Officials did not say if the duo were working with other ISIS operatives in different countries. Despite decimated in their former strongholds in Iraq and Syria, officials have long maintained that ISIS activists are still active worldwide Just this week, Canadian citizen Khaled Hussein was sentenced to five years in prison in the UK for his membership of Al-Muhajiroun, a terrorist group 'As you know, they were charged with having particular weapons. In other words, we're pretty confident how close they were to moving from simply having those tools and then moving on to actioning that threat,' RCMP Supt. James Parr said. The father and son lived together in the eastern Toronto suburb of Scarborough. The home was also raided on Sunday night, reports The Toronto Star. Neighbors told the newspaper that they were awoken to a sound akin to a 'car crash' which is thought to have been a stun grenade. Surveillance video from the area showed officers with assault rifles raiding the home. Later, an ambulance arrived to take a woman from the home. 'I don't feel safe at all to know that somebody in my backyard was (arrested for terrorism),' a neighbor told The Star while adding that they hadn't seen the family that much this year. Another neighbor echoed that sentiment. 'I feel uneasy, I feel very disappointed that this happened... This street is very quiet, it's very secluded. Any strange car comes here, and we know,' Hema Ramperasad said. The neighbors said that they had previously complained to the family about the amount of cameras set up in their backyard that appeared to be focused on the surrounding homes. The suspects were unknown to police prior to this incident. Officials have not said what prompted an investigation into the pair. Nearly 40 members of ISIS have been charged with various crimes in Canada since the group was established in the borderlands between Syria and Iraq in 2014. Around 20 of those have been convicted, another 14 are awaiting trial. Ahmed and Mostafa will make their first court appearance on Thursday. A decade after the Islamic State militant group declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria, the extremists no longer control any land, have lost many prominent leaders and are mostly out of the world news headlines. Still, the group continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for deadly attacks around the world, including lethal operations in Iran and Russia earlier this year that left scores dead. Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq still carry out attacks against government forces in both countries as well as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters, at a time when Iraq's government is negotiating with Washington over a possible withdrawal of U.S. troops. The group that once attracted tens of thousands of fighters and supporters from around the world to come to Syria and Iraq, and at its peak ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom was notorious for its brutality. It beheaded civilians, slaughtered 1,700 captured Iraqi soldiers in a short period, and enslaved and raped thousands of women from the Yazidi community, one of Iraq's oldest religious minorities. 'Daesh remains a threat to international security,' U.S. Army Maj. Gen. J.B. Vowell, the commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, said earlier this month. 'We maintain our intensity and resolve to combat and destroy any remnants of groups that share Daesh ideology,' he added. An international fashionista is facing up to two years in jail over 'forgery' findings during a 1.6million court fight with her boutique boss former friend. Ekaterina Barrett was sued by Bridget Hutchcroft, whose Pandora Dress Agency boutique was a favourite of Princess Diana and Hollywood stars, for failing to repay cash she had borrowed to get through a costly divorce. Ms Hutchcroft, 63, claimed that when she asked for her money back, Ms Barrett responded: 'The next time you ask, I'll not pay you for a hundred years.' In 2022, she secured a judgment against Ms Barrett, 67, for more than 1.6million - including interest - but accused her of repeatedly lying about her wealth in a bid to avoid paying. Now Ms Barrett is facing as much as a two-year prison sentence after a High Court judge found she had put forward a 'forged' document to try to get out of stumping up the cash. Ekaterina Barrett, pictured outside London's High Court, was sued by a former friend for allegedly failing to repay cash she had borrowed to get through a costly divorce Bridget Hutchcroft, seen outside the High Court in London, launched the legal action and has now been backed by a judge's ruling The pair argued at a beauty salon in London department store Harvey Nichols (pictured) Finding her in contempt of court, Mrs Justice Heather Williams said Ms Barrett had produced a 'settlement agreement' - purportedly signed by Ms Hutchcroft - saying Ms Barrett only owed 800,000. But that document was in fact 'forged', said the judge, adding that he was 'quite sure' Ms Barrett was 'responsible' for the document. The Pandora Dress Agency has been a successful fixture in Knightsbridge in west London fashionistas since its establishment more than 70 years ago, just after the end of the Second World War. From its base behind Harrods, the boutique sells second-hand modern designer clothes, all seasonal and less than two years old, from labels such as Chanel, Hermes, Versace and Prada. The two women originally met when Ms Barrett began visiting Pandora seven years ago while she was living in a plush 4.2million Mayfair flat and driving around town in a Bentley. They became close after Ms Hutchcroft bought up some of her 'high-end' designer fashion items to sell in her shop, and took a shine to her two greyhounds. But after her former friend failed to repay when asked, Ms Hutchcroft sued her over the debt, claiming in court documents that she was the victim of 'fraudulent misrepresentation' at the hands of her 'exploitative' pal. Ms Hutchcroft accused her of posing as a 'multi-millionaire' with riches 'equivalent to a Rothschild' in order to cajole her to hand over her cash. She said she understood her friend's grandfather had set up a substantial family trust for her in Liechtenstein, but that she was temporarily unable to get her hands on the funds. The pair eventually reached an out of court settlement over the missing 1.3million, but in October 2022 - with the money still outstanding - Ms Hutchcroft secured a High Court judgment against Ms Barrett for 1,665,560, covering the unpaid 1.3million loan plus interest. Ms Hutchcroft at her shop The Pandora Dress Agency whose customers included Diana. The Mail tracked down Ekaterina Barrett to Monaco where she lives in June 2023 In her defence, Ms Barrett had initially denied borrowing the cash, insisting that the transactions related to the sale of designer clothes. With the 1.6million court bill still unpaid, Ms Hutchcroft and her company went back to court in a bid to pin Ms Barrett down about the extent of her wealth. And in a short High Court hearing back in June 2023, Ms Barrett insisted that she is not a wealthy woman and 'that her lifestyle is funded entirely by her family'. However, Ms Hutchcroft's lawyers claimed she lied about her wealth, masking the fact that she owns a home in Monaco worth millions. On top of that, Ms Barrett had faked a document with a forged signature in a bid to prove that the case against her had been settled long before reaching court, they claimed. In an email sent by Ms Barrett in May 2024, she wrote that she understood that 'the case had already settled at a meeting between me and Bridget Hutchcroft' for 800,000 - attaching the settlement agreement supposedly signed off by Ms Hutchcroft. James McWilliams, for Ms Hutchcroft, described the document as an 'obvious forgery'. He said: 'The signature on the alleged settlement agreement is transparently not that of Ms Hutchcroft - as even a cursory comparison between the document and formal documents signed by her in these proceedings will show.' It was also 'fanciful' to suggest that Ms Hutchcroft and Pandora would have struck a settlement deal with Ms Barrett for 800,000 when they already had a court judgment against her for more than 1.6million, the barrister argued. In a two-day hearing this week, he urged the judge to find Ms Barrett in contempt for producing a fake document and for giving 'false evidence in relation to the nature of her interest in and connection to a property in Monaco referred to throughout the examination as 'Saint Andre'. The home had been described in her evidence that it was not her property but her brother's'. Over the decades, the boutique in Knightsbridge counted Princess Diana (pictured), Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ava Gardner among its clientele In an 'extraordinary' twist this week, Ms Barrett's barrister claimed Ms Hutchcroft had made fresh overtures to his client, 'instigating' a meeting at Harvey Nichols beauty salon on the morning of the last day of the hearing - just hours before Mrs Justice Williams was due to give judgment. During the alleged meet-up, Ms Hutchcroft made an offer to 'settle the proceedings', claimed Ms Barrett, although Ms Hutchcroft denied agreeing to meet or making a settlement offer. 'Ms Hutchcroft said she was sitting having her eyebrows done when she was accosted by Ms Barrett and that there was no discussion about a settlement', said the judge. Ms Barrett's solicitors had also exhibited pictures taken of the two women at the salon, but the judge said the photos simply showed Ms Barrett standing nearby, while Ms Hutchcroft was being groomed. 'The two women are not speaking to each other, are facing in different directions and there's no separate evidence to say that they are discussing a settlement', she added, refusing permission for Ms Barrett to testify about the salon encounter and 'derail' the case. 'In the circumstances, where the evidence is not capable of being probative, I'm not prepared to allow the proceedings to be derailed in this way,' she told the court. Labelling Ms Hutchcroft an 'honest witness', the judge said there was no evidence that she agreed to settle the dispute for 800,000 - as Ms Barrett claimed - which was in any case only about half the sum she had already been awarded. Analysing the alleged March 2024 settlement agreement, the judge said the signature of Ms Hutchcroft on it 'does not look like the specimens she has produced', adding that there was no clear motive for her to have agreed a 800,000 deal. Giving judgment, the judge said she was 'quite sure that the defendant was responsible' for the faked settlement agreement. 'I am sure that the settlement agreement including the signature was a forgery,' she said. 'Ms Barrett had a motive to try and derail the committal proceedings against her. 'She was the person who sent the email to the court relying on it and her signature appeared on the document. 'I have no doubt at all that she acted as alleged and it follows from my conclusions that I am satisfied that she acted dishonestly in telling the court that the claim had settled. 'I find that she committed a contempt of court by sending the email...to the court which falsely alleged she had met with Ms Hutchcroft and settled the proceedings.' Ms Barrett had also deliberately lied about her stake in the Monaco property, the judge found. 'I am satisfied so that I am sure that her testimony at the examination in relation to the St Andre property was false,' the judge told the court. 'She deliberately lied on oath about her ownership of St Andre. I am satisfied to the criminal standard that contempt has been proved.' The case has now been adjourned to await sentencing of Ms Barrett later this month. In an earlier interview, Ms Hutchcroft likened Ms Barrett to notorious international conwoman Anna Sorokin, who inspired the Netflix drama 'Inventing Anna' after posing as a super-rich German heiress to siphon cash from wealthy New Yorkers. Ms Barrett was sued by Ms Hutchcroft and by Lester & Hamilton Ltd, trading as Pandora Dress Agency. A hospitality manageress who used her smartwatch to hack tills to give herself thousands of pounds of bogus refunds at the world's oldest racecourse has avoided prison. Lucy Kaur, 41, used her smart device to pocket more than 4,000 from Chester Racecourse by carrying out fake refunds and diverting the cash straight into her own bank account. The mother-of-one got away with the thefts for four months until bosses were tipped off an employee was using the hi-tech watch to steal cash from the tills. Inquiries revealed Kaur, who had a previous conviction of benefit fraud and possession of goods with false trademarks, was the only employee present at the 16th Century venue when the fake refunds were carried out. An investigation into a Halifax account operated by an unknown person showed 'large incoming payments' whilst further investigation discovered that 4,237.90 of the stolen money had been sent by bank transfer to Kaur's own account. Lucy Kaur (pictured), 41, used her smart watch to steal more than 4,000 from Chester Racecourse by carrying out fake refunds and diverting the cash straight into her own bank account The mother-of-one got away with the thefts for four months until bosses were tipped off an employee was using the hi-tech watch to steal cash Chester Racecourse in Chester where Ms Kaur worked as a hospitality manageress At Chester magistrates court Kaur, from Anfield, Liverpool admitted theft by employee and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months with an order to pay Chester Racecourse 2,000 in compensation. When quizzed she cited anxiety and depression for her criminal conduct and said she owed money. It was not disclosed how she used the smart watch to carry out the illegal transactions. Elizabeth Browne, prosecuting, said: 'The circumstances are that on September 12, 2023, Emma Harrison, the HR manager of Chester Racecourse reported an employee was suspected of having refunded 4,237.90 by smart watch to two accounts when not authorised to do so between May and September 2023. 'The defendant had managerial access to the company account which allowed her to complete the refunds. 'The defendant was the only employee present when the refunds were received. She was interviewed in November 2023, but made "No comment". There was a breach of a high degree of trust.' Kaur had 12 previous offences on her record including benefit fraud in 2011 and possession of goods with false trademarks in 2014 for which she received a suspended prison sentence. Ms Kaur cited her anxiety and depression for her criminal behaviour and said she owed money Ms Kaur had 12 previous offences on her record including benefit fraud in 2011 and possession of goods with false trademarks in 2014 for which she received a suspended prison sentence In mitigation her solicitor Steven Alis said: 'She did have a degree of trust and that degree of trust was limited. She was slightly higher than a general bartender but had no other responsibilities. They could all do refunds as such. 'There are previous convictions but they are not identical to this one. There are recommendations in the probation report regarding a community aspect which could be attached to a suspended sentence.' Kaur was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity. District Judge Jack McGarva told her: 'You have pleaded guilty to theft of 4,237.90 from the Racecourse and you did that by using your access to and ability to make refunds you were entrusted with to transfer money directly into your account when no money was due to you. 'That is an offence of theft in breach of trust and is made more serious by your record of relevant offences. 'It is implicit that the racecourse did trust you to give refunds in appropriate cases and not for your benefit but I do bear in mind that quite a large number of staff had the same access to the same facility. 'There is significant mitigation in the report. I do bear in mind that you have had trouble in the last few years. You have suffered anxiety and depression and your mental health is in question. 'The decision I have to make is whether the custodial sentence is immediate or suspended. I have come to the decision that it can be suspended. My view is that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. Kaur avoided jail and was handed a 16 week suspended sentence in prison, with an order to pay Chester Racecourse 2,000 in compensation She was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity 'You do not shy away from what you have done wrong and I am thinking of your struggles with anxiety and depression and also the impact on others. 'I am not ordering you compensate for the full amount that you stole as I am aware that you owe money in relation to other cases. That is part of the reason why this offence occurred.' Chester Racecourse is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the 'oldest racecourse still in operation'. Horse racing in the city dates back to the 16th century, with 1539 cited as the year racing began, although some sources give a date of 1512 for the first races in Chester. It is also thought to be the smallest racecourse of significance in England at 1 mile and 1 furlong or 1.8 km long. Here is everything you need to know about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed The families of 9/11 victims have said they were 'deeply troubled' after the architect of the attacks and two others reportedly agreed to plea deals after decades in US detention. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi have all agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence. The New York Times reported on Wednesday evening that the pleas, which will see the men dodge a death penalty trial, have been approved by Pentagon officials. But who exactly Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? How was he involved in the 9/11 attacks? Where is he currently and what will happen to him now? Read on below for everything you need to know about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. A photograph dated Saturday March 1 2003 shows Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attack, shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Who is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? Widely considered to be the architect of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was born on 14 April 1965 in Pakistan. Having joined the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization, aged 16, Mohammed travelled to the United States after graduating from high school in 1983. Upon arrival, he enrolled at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1986. Mohammed, known to the FBI as 'KSM,' is said to have proposed the idea for the 9/11 attacks to Osama bin Laden back in 1996. How did the horrific events of 9/11 unfold? Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City People run away as the North Tower of World Trade Center collapses on September 11, 2001 On September 11, 2001, conspirators from al-Qaida seized control of airplanes and hit New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon near Washington. A fourth plane was headed for Washington but crashed in Pennsylvania after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. It was Mohammed who presented the very idea of such an attack on the United States to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Mohammed also received authorization from bin Laden to craft what became the September 11 attacks, the United States' 9/11 Commission concluded. The other defendants are alleged to have supported the hijackers in various other ways. Officially, the casualty count associated with the attacks is numbered at 2,996 - including 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Thousands more were injured, and New York bore the brunt of the death toll - with an estimated 1,600 victims in the North Tower and a further one thousand in the South. In the aftermath of the attacks, both Mr Mohammed and Mr al-Hawsawi were captured in Pakistan in March 2003. What has Khalid Sheikh Mohammed pleaded guilty to? The Department of Defense says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow attackers have entered into a pre-trial agreement which will see them avoid the death penalty. Pictured: Walid Bin Attash (left) and Mustafa al-Hawsawi (right) The Department of Defense says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow attackers have entered into a pre-trial agreement which will see them avoid the death penalty. However, the exact terms of the agreements have not been revealed by the Department of Defense, which said that 'the specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time'. Mohammed, Bin Attash and al-Hawasawi were accused of a number of different charges, including attacking civilians, murder in violation of the laws of war, hijacking and terrorism. After being captured by the CIA, the three men were subjected to a number of 'enhanced interrogation techniques', including waterboarding, at least 183 times before the practice was banned by the US government. This has been a key reason behind why the trial has been delayed, as attorneys argued that the interrogation techniques used amounted to torture and could have undermined the evidence against the detainees. Two of the original five defendants were not part of the new plea deal, Ramzi bin al-Shibh was found incompetent to stand trial because of mental illness. Al-Shibh was accused of helping to organize a cell of hijackers in Hamburg, Germany, while Ammar al-Baluchi was also not part of the plea agreement. Al-Baluchi is the nephew of Mohammed and is charged with helping the hijackers with finances and travel arrangements. What will happen to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed now? An undated FBI file image shows Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as he appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists website Having agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges, the hearings could take place as early as next week. A letter obtained by the New York Post also revealed that the sentencing hearings could be expected to take place in summer 2025. The letter from the Office of Military Commissions (OMC) revealed that Mohammed and his co-conspirators have also agreed to respond to any questions that family members of victims have 'regarding their roles and reasons for conducting the September 11 attacks.' The letter adds that families will now have 45 days to submit questions to be answered by the alleged co-conspirators by the end of the year. It also revealed that prosecutors have made plans to meet with the families in person this fall to discuss the plea agreements. Where is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? A photo dated October 16 2018 shows the main gate at the prison in Guantanamo at the US Guantanamo Naval Base, where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been in custody since 2006 Having been captured in 2003, Mohammed spent three-and-a-half years in secret CIA detention, before being moved to US custody - along with Bin Attash and al-Hawasawi - at Guantanamo Bay in 2006. After news of the plea deal emerged, the White House issued a statement through a National Security Council official distancing itself from the agreement. The statement said: 'The President and White House played no role in this process. 'The President has directed his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter.' Many famous names have been incarcerated at Brixton Prison, from Mick Jagger to the Kray twins and more recently the rapper Giggs to reality star Stephen Bear. And now you can follow them by entering the South London jail without even having to commit a crime - by having afternoon tea for 37.50 in the old governor's house. The Clink charity which operates a restaurant at HMP Brixton has begun offering sandwiches, scones and pastries served by inmates being trained in hospitality. The prisoners with three to 24 months of their sentence left can volunteer for the programme which is intended to simulate a professional working environment. They go through full-time training at the Category C prison to gain a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification that can help them into a job upon leaving. Visitors are pictured at The Clink restaurant at HMP Brixton in South London in 2014 The Clink restaurant is located at the old governor's house in the centre of the prison courtyard Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, visited The Clink at Brixton on February 4, 2016 Afternoon tea at The Clink costs 37.50 per person and is served in the old governor's house The restaurant is surrounded by six jail wings which can house up to 798 prisoners and is situated in the middle of the main courtyard, which dates back to 1819. Afternoon tea at HMP Brixton: The full menu Sandwiches Egg mayonnaise and watercress (wholemeal bread) Prosciutto, basil pesto and rocket (rosemary and sea salt focaccia) Pickled cucumber, dill, and cream cheese (white bloomer) Smoked trout and chive creme fraiche (rye bread) Scones Plain and fruit (with rhubarb and strawberry jam and clotted cream) Patisserie items Raspberry and ruby chocolate eclair (choux paste, raspberry diplomat, ruby chocolate disc, raspberry gel) Blackcurrant and coconut fruit bavarois (coconut sponge, blackcurrant mousse, jelly, Chantilly, coconut tuille) Citrus meringue tart (sweet pastry, lime curd, Italian meringue, candied lemon) Mango and passionfruit macaron (mango creme pat, white chocolate ganache, passionfuit jam, almond praline) Advertisement Brixton's Clink restaurant opened in 2014 and has become a major success with diners, rated 54th out of 15,291 restaurants in London on TripAdvisor. Many of the inmates are taken on by chains such as Wahaca and Carluccio's, and Queen Camilla visited The Clink in 2016 when Duchess of Cornwall. Guests at the restaurant are given plastic cutlery, alcohol and mobile phones are banned, the walls have panic buttons and the room features barred windows. Now, it has expanded to open The Clink Bakery from the same location - with bread, cakes and other items produced on site by the bakery team and students. The development comes after the project suffered controversy in 2017 when diners were found to have been smuggling drugs and mobile phones to inmates working in the kitchen. A report by inspectors at the time said smuggled mobiles led to inmates setting up drug deliveries and being able to 'maintain control of criminal enterprises'. The Prison Service said at the time that anyone caught smuggling in contraband would 'face the full force of the law', and that HMP Brixton had invested in new sniffer dogs and dog handlers. The afternoon tea has been taking place on alternate Fridays since July 5 and will run throughout the summer. Sandwiches include egg mayonnaise and watercress on wholemeal bread; prosciutto, basil pesto and rocket on rosemary and sea salt focaccia; pickled cucumber, dill and cream cheese on white bloomer; or smoked trout and chive creme fraiche on rye bread. Plain and fruit scones are available with rhubarb and strawberry jam and clotted cream. Patisserie items - which are designed to incorporate what the inmates are learning in their NVQ level 2 in patisserie and confectionary include the raspberry and ruby chocolate eclair. HMP Brixton is a Category C prison which offers inmates the chance to train in hospitality A prison officer is seen on duty on one of the wings at Brixton Prison in South London in 2001 The Clink restaurant at Brixton opened in 2014 and has become a major success with diners An inmate at Brixton Prison in C wing of the Category C prison, pictured in January 2001 Others on the list are blackcurrant and coconut fruit bavarois; citrus meringue tart; and mango and passionfruit macaron. Diners must pre-book at least seven working days before their visit, with security checks carried out on all those attending before a booking reservation can be confirmed. All visitors must be over 18 and bring a driving licence, passport or Freedom Pass for photo identification which will be taken from them in return for a prison pass. Upon arrival, visitors can also lock personal items away in lockers, including mobile phones and any other banned items. Prison policy means they cannot accept bookings from friends and relatives of inmates currently at HMP Brixton. The restaurant's FAQs also state that visitors are free to ask inmates 'questions about their training and hopes for the future', adding: 'By dining with us, you are giving them a valuable learning experience.' Stephen Bear outside HMP Brixton following his release on January 17 this year, after being sentenced to 21 months for voyeurism and disclosing private sexual photographs or films Mick Jagger in a mugshot taken at Brixton Prison in 1967 after a drug bust at Keith Richards's home in Sussex. Jagger only spent one night in the jail and was released the following day TV chef Gordon Ramsay taught at HMP Brixton in his 2012 Channel 4 show Gordon Behind Bars No alcohol is served because the training environments and situated on prison grounds, and a discretionary 12.5 per cent tip is added to the total bill. The charity adds: 'Visitors to The Clink can be assured that they are taking part in something unique, while helping someone rebuild their life at the same time.' The restaurant is also open for lunch on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; a gourmet night on Thursdays; and Sunday lunch. The Clink trained 830 students in prisons around the UK last year, delivered around 550 NVQ qualifications and got 52 per cent of their students into employment. Bookings at The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton can be made by clicking here Huw Edwards has made a 'mockery' of the BBC and was aided by a small band of his bosses who kept his arrest secret for months, betrayed staffers said today. The corporation faces yet more damaging questions after another of its biggest stars was revealed to be a sex offender after Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and others. 'It's unforgivable and makes a mockery of the organisation. There will be lots of people who are very angry with Tim Davie', one BBC employee said today. And BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall said: 'The facts are the BBC continued paying Huw Edwards his vast salary for five months after he was arrested,' adding: 'Why, also, did they let him leave on his own terms?'. 'In the end, this was a judgement call for the people at the very top of the BBC and the optics are reputationally damaging. The BBC spent taxpayers' money on a man now guilty of serious offences. Many people will believe the corporation made the wrong judgement', she said. The Director General has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago There are also reports that someone in the Met Police called BBC management to alert them that Edwards had been charged, before it was made public. Nicky Campbell, one of the BBC's most senior radio broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to social media calls for the BBC to get back the 200,000 of licence fee money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he might agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'. Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago Writing for the BBC website Katie Razzall said: 'Why didn't the BBC sack Edwards, in light of his arrest, instead of giving him the space to leave, apparently on his own terms, albeit with no pay off? 'There will have only been a handful of people in the room where these conversations were taking place. 'The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The decisions they took can't have been easy and they will have been weighing up different scenarios - and competing advice. 'It's important to note that BBC News, where I'm employed, is editorially independent from the corporate side. We didn't know about the arrest or charges until earlier this week when the story broke'. She added: 'Senior HR and legal advisors will have advised the BBC it had a duty of care towards Edwards as an employee. They will likely also have said he would have a legal case against the corporation if he was sacked unfairly. The BBC says it was made aware of significant risk to his health. 'But it is difficult to see this specifically through an HR or legal prism'. Former BBC broadcaster Roger Bolton said today: 'The nature of what Huw Edwards has done is so disgusting and dreadful that I think any residual sympathy for him has gone.' 'The questions are, when did they [the BBC] know? What did they know?' 'There is the BBC at the very highest level, the executives, and BBC News. It's absolutely clear that BBC News and all its editors did not know until this week that Huw Edwards had been charged. 'But we now know the BBC executives were told in confidence that Huw Edwards had been charged. When did they know he was charged? And the big question is, why did they continue to pay him so much money in these circumstances?'. It came a BBC insider claimed it was common knowledge that married father-of-five Edwards had messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years. The source believes that bosses 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him as an asset. The disgraced BBC anchorman, 62, yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. A BBC insider said last night: 'It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ''protect the star'' stuff.' Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile kAlex Williams, it has emerged. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday Yesterday, Edwards appeared in court to admit three charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of the 41 images sent to the presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of them were 'Category A', the most serious type. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philip's funeral to the nation. Just this week, the BBC would not reveal if it had been aware of Edwards' arrest in November. But it tried to defend its actions in a statement last night. The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' It continued: 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' New footage has emerged of the moment a stunning Italian superyacht began sinking off an idyllic Greek holiday island just two months after it underwent a full renovation. The 150ft megayacht 'Ethos', a vessel that sets renters back a whopping 180,000-a-week, was seen taking in water off the coast of Kefalonia while in the Paleokaravo Bay earlier this week. It was later revealed the inflow came after one of the crew accidentally left a door wide open - and did not have time to close it once the weather 'turned', local media reports. The award-winning Maltese-flagged yacht is rented out to up to 12 guests looking for a 'relaxed' charter experience. It boasts five cabins, an onboard gym, deck jacuzzi and jet skis, promising guests 'exceptional comfort levels at anchor or when underway', and had just undergone a complete interior renovation after its new owner purchased the vessel for some 16 million. The 150ft megayacht 'Ethos', setting renters back a whopping 180,000-a-week, was seen taking in water off the coast of Kefalonia It was later revealed the inflow came after one of the crew left a side door open - and did not have time to close it once the weather 'turned', local media reports The yacht had just undergone an interior renovation two months prior to the sinking Astonishing scenes showed the moment the ship started taking on water in the Ionian Sea The five tourists aboard safely disembarked with the five crew on board, Protothema reported yesterday, after the vessel was tugged to shore. Shocking footage showed the vessel off balance on the blue waters around Kefalonia, a popular island in the Ionian Sea known as the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin. A private boat, shown in the footage, was reported to be at the scene as harbour guards monitored the situation. Waves are seen lashing at the stern of the yacht that was adrift some distance from the shoreline. It then tilted to starboard and began to sink, but the captain managed to prevent a total catastrophe by moving the ship to shallower waters. Another clip circulating on social media later showed the stricken craft being pulled out of danger for its guests and crew to disembark. The extent of the damage is not yet known, but it is thought the yacht will have to undergo significant repairs and the newly renovated interior may need to be refitted. Divers were assigned to clear out the water from the vessel as it lay on the east side of Kefalonia yesterday. Crew had left a door open and did not have time to close it when the weather 'turned' The vessel was seen off balance in the waters around the port on Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea All tourists and crew on board were able to safely disembark from the vessel A private boat appeared nearby as guards monitored the situation from the shore The stunning 150ft megayacht comes fully equipped with an onboard gym and beach club The vessel can set holidaymakers back as much as 180,000 per week plus expenses The partial sinking of the Ethos is just one of several maritime mishaps to have unfolded in waters off Greece in recent years. Five British tourists had to be rescued from their burning 21ft motor boat off the coast of the Greek island of Zakynthos last August after it erupted into flames. One of the passengers reportedly suffered burns when the craft caught fire some 250 feet from shore. It is unclear what triggered the blaze, but the flames quickly engulfed the 21ft craft, before the vessel was completely overcome by the inferno. Footage showed huge black plumes of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the boat as rescue teams waded in to lend assistance. Only two months prior, British holidaymakers had to be rescued from a burning boat after it went up in flames off the island of Rhodes. British holidaymakers were on board as the inferno engulfed the entire boat after a fire broke out about 300 metres from Stenga beach in the town of Archangelos. Passengers told of how they were forced to make the plunge into the water below as the entire wooden deck started to catch fire where they were standing. The Greek coast guard said all 82 passengers were eventually taken to land, but witnesses said children were still left 'traumatised' by the horrifying ordeal. A terminally ill cancer patient plans to livestream his final moments when he takes his own life under assisted dying laws on Friday. NSW Central Coast resident Scott Hollingshed, 58, has been documenting his battle against lung cancer on Facebook. Despite only being diagnosed in June, the cancer has already progressed to stage four, dashing any hopes of being cured. Mr Hollingshed said he was 'scared' to end his life but he has 'beautiful people with me' and wanted to show his gratitude to those who had supported him more widely as he takes part in NSW's voluntary assisted dying program. 'I am going to do one (a livestream video) from the hospital just to say thank you to everyone and good bye,' Mr Hollingshed said in a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday. 'If you have come through this journey with me you need to see the ending. 'I've asked to do the screen with the flatline and all the rest.' Mr Hollingshed revealed that his partner would say a few words after he was gone. Cancer victim Scott Hollingshed plans to livestream his death by lethal injection on Friday 'I thank you all so much for everything through my life,' an emotional Mr Hollingshed said. 'The compassion and support you have shown through this journey, you have all been incredible.' Mr Hollingshed had just bought a yacht with his partner and was enjoying life on the water when he began suffering chest pains. 'I've had heart attacks before but I knew it wasn't my heart,' he told 7News. Watching his father die in a hospice influenced his decision to seek assisted dying. 'Seeing him wither away ... I don't want to see myself like that and I don't want other people to see me like that, especially people who care about me,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I've been given the control to say, "Alright, it's time".' After coughing up blood and being unable to sleep on his side without spluttering, Mr Hollingshed was delivered the devastating news that he had three to six months to live. His condition has since deteriorated even quicker. Mr Hollingshed had just bought a yacht with his partner when he began noticing chest pains that led to a lung cancer diagnosis 'It got to the point where I couldn't even put my socks on and my missus used to get down on her hands and knees and put my socks on,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I know people do things for people they love but that broke my heart seeing her do that.' On Wednesday he wrote in a Facebook post that he 'would be lucky to go another week before I can't do the normal things, like going to the toilet, showering, cooking (I already can't get that done)'. 'I'm coughing up blood in large lots all day and all night,' the post read. In another recent video, Mr Hollingshed said it had been 'a beautiful journey but a very fast one compared to what I thought it would be'. Explaining that he could only sleep propped on the lounge and only in two-hour stretches while the painkillers were working, he said was considering 'f**king off to hospital'. 'All they are going to do there is put me on the oxygen and pump me full of a painkillers,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I have my hydromorphone pain here and a bottle of bourbon, I will be alright,' he said. 'Everyone is saying I have been an inspiration and thank you to those people for those comments. 'We only get one go at this s*** make the most of it, eh.' Mr Hollingshed says he hopes his story is an inspiration to others to make live life to the fullest and turn negatives into positives Friend Kellie Lott has organised an online fundraiser to help Mr Hollingshed and his partner with end-of-life expenses. 'We have all been watching this man do amazing lives on fb. for me and I bet all of us an inspiration every time we see him talk,' the page reads. 'He is trying his hardest to pass with dignity and Im sure we all agree that if he had less to worry about for him and his partner it will make his last days much more peaceful.' 'Please try to donate anything as every dollar helps especially at this time.' The page had raised nearly $1,000 of its $5,000 goal. NSW became the last Australian state to allow medically assisted dying late last year. Under the laws voluntary assisted dying is only available for NSW residents older than 18 who have an advanced illness or disease that will cause death in at least 12 months and is causing suffering that cannot be relieved. Mr Hollingshed said sharing his story had helped others going through similar circumstances as he urged Aussies to live life to the fullest. The paedophile who sent disgraced news reader Huw Edwards child porn images can today be pictured for the first time. Alex Williams, 25, shared 41 indecent images with Edwards, 62, in an abhorrent WhatsApp chat. Among the sickening trove of abusive pictures shared by the sex offender included two showing a boy as young as seven. Edwards was snared by chance by police in Wales who were investigating Williams and stumbled upon his messages sent to the famed newsreader. On Wednesday, the former broadcaster pleaded guilty to making 41 indecent images of children and could now face up to 10 years behind bars. Williams, pictured here as a teenager on a family trip to a Welsh beauty spot, fled his family home in Wales shortly before his connection to the disgraced BBC star emerged yesterday. He has now gone into hiding. Do YOU know Alex Williams? Please email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk Alex Williams, 25, can today be pictured for the first time. He shared indecent images with Huw Edwards that led to the newsreader's downfall. Williams is pictured here as a teenager on a family trip to a Welsh beauty spot Williams has since gone into hiding after his link with Edwards was exposed by the Mail on Wednesday. He is pictured at a family event Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children Huw Edwards was snared by chance by police in Wales who were investigating Williams and stumbled on his messages to the now-disgraced newsreader (Edwards is pictured on Wednesday leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court) He sent Edwards 377 images, 41 of which were indecent and formed the charges to which the veteran broadcaster pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Two images involved a boy believed to be as young as seven, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. Williams himself was given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years in March after pleading guilty to seven offences relating to possessing and distributing indecent images. Last night his parents confirmed that Williams is no longer living with them - and denied having any knowledge that he was a sex offender. Williams' mother claimed to be unaware that her son was convicted of child pornography offences at Merthyr Crown Court earlier this year. She and Williams' father said they had not seen Williams for three or four months - although neighbours said they spotted him in the street within the last few weeks. The sex offender's mother also claimed she knows of no connection between her son and the disgraced anchorman. Edwards on Wednesday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. His offending came to light by chance after police in South Wales found his number on Williams' phone. The investigation was unrelated to allegations reported in July 2023 that Edwards had paid a teenager more than 35,000 for sexual images. Edwards is also unlikely to face prison after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, experts said last night. 'Although the conduct in the case amounts to no more than just opening the images, it is essentially treated as a form of possession,' Ian Hope, prosecuting, told the court on Wednesday. 'There's no suggestion that Mr Edwards had anything to do with making the images or did anything beyond opening that image.' Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine (Edwards is seen leaving court) Edwards' offending came to light by chance after police in South Wales found his number on Williams' phone Edwards, 62, received and opened seven category A the most indecent images, 12 category B and 22 category C photos between December 2020 and August 2021, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. Williams, of Merthyr Tydfil, was given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years in March after pleading guilty to seven offences relating to possessing and distributing indecent images. Edwards will find out his fate during a sentencing hearing in September. He could face up to 10 years in jail. The news comes as a BBC insider today claimed Edwards had messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years. A BBC insider claimed that bosses at the corporation may have 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. A BBC source said last night: 'It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ''protect the star'' stuff.' Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career alongside his marriage is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Welsh police uncovered the broadcaster crimes during a separate probe into a sex offender in Wales. Edwards is pictured in court on Wednesday Edwards, of Wandsworth in south-west London, wore a dark blue suit with a blue tie in the dock During his court hearing on Wednesday, Edwards' lawyer said that his early guilty plea, previous good character, mental health issues and 'genuine remorse' might lead to the disgraced star avoiding a potential prison term. Philip Evans KC, defending Edwards, said: 'It is important to remember for context that, as you would expect, the devices were seized and searched and there's nothing on those devices. 'He didn't keep any images. He didn't send any to anyone else and hasn't sought images from anywhere else. Before this, Mr Edwards was not only of good character but of exemplary character.' He added there was 'no suggestion' Edwards had 'anything to with making the images or indeed doing anything beyond the opening of the images'. Director at criminal defence firm Olliers Solicitors, Ruth Peters, said that while a jail term was an option open to chief magistrate Paul Goldspring during Edwards' sentencing hearing on September 16, a suspended sentence or community order was more likely. The former Ten O'Clock News presenter will be added to the sex offenders' register automatically. Edwards, of Wandsworth in south-west London, wore a dark blue suit with a blue tie in the dock after passing through a scrum of photographers, journalists and protesters to get into the court. During the 26-minute hearing, he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, his street name and postcode, before entering three guilty pleas. Releasing Edwards on bail until September 16, Mr Goldspring said his sentencing powers might be limited and he could still transfer the case to the Crown Court for a stiffer punishment. Chief chocolatier and CEO Wendy Lieu smooths the chocolate and caramel mixture into a mold for cooling before using a confectionery guitar cutter to cut the pieces uniformly at Socola Chocolatier in 2019. Celeste Noche/Special to The Chronicle Wendy Lieu fills her chocolate truffles with the flavors of a four-course Vietnamese meal: jasmine tea, pho, Sriracha, durian, lychee, Cognac. The chocolate collection is the perfect bite-size feast to take on a plane which travelers at San Francisco International Airport can now do. Lieus SoMa chocolate shop, Socola Chocolatier, opened its second location at the airport on Thursday, Aug. 1 Lieu said she expects to offer most of her products at the new location, a 300-square-foot space with glass walls in Terminal Three. That includes several boxes of truffles some with Vietnamese flavors, others with Western flavors like burnt caramel and hazelnut praline as well as chocolate bars with ingredients like black sesame, a few confections and some alpaca-themed merch, a nod to Socolas flying alpaca logo. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Wendy Lieu with a collection of alpaca plush toys at Socola Chocolatier in San Francisco in 2019. Socolas mascot is a flying alpaca. Celeste Noche/Special to The Chronicle Lieu first applied to open in the airport in 2018. Her initial proposal wasnt accepted, but she decided to try again last year. Though SFO might not be the most glamorous of locations, she said it makes a lot of sense for her: Chocolate is a holiday-driven business, peaking between the fall and Mothers Day. Sales dry up at her SoMa shop during the summer as people travel so Lieu wanted to recoup some of that business at the airport. I feel very blessed and happy with how things turned out, she said. Im ready to take (the second location) on now. Lieu launched Socola with her sister Susan in 2001, when they were both teenagers. Theyd grown up helping their parents in their nail salon. It was located right by a Sees Candies store, and the two used to eat samples there almost every day, Lieu said. Always interested in home cooking, Lieu decided she wanted to try her hand at making her own. She found a recipe for mocha espresso chocolates in Gourmet Magazine and whipped up a batch. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It was one of those things, where, you know, you had eaten Chips Ahoy! your whole life, and one day you eat a chocolate chip cookie, Lieu said. Its life changing. From there, she dove into the world of chocolate making: How do you add other flavors? How do you temper chocolate? Within the year, she and Susan started selling truffles in four flavors dark chocolate, milk chocolate, caramel and raspberry at local farmers markets. They named the company Socola, after the Vietnamese word for chocolate. Wendy Lieu paints molds with edible colored cocoa butter that later become the outer shells of chocolate Easter eggs filled with sweets in San Francisco in 2019. Celeste Noche/Special to The Chronicle At the time, Lieu was working in consulting; chocolate was her passion project on the side. But in 2012, she quit her day job to focus on Socola full-time. She opened her SoMa shop, where she both makes and sells chocolates, in 2014. From the start, Lieu said, her Asianness impacted the way customers saw her business. Some would give her weird looks, unaccustomed to seeing a Vietnamese woman as a chocolatier. Others would ask if she sold chocolate from Vietnam, though Vietnam wasnt growing much chocolate when Socola got started. (It has since started to produce more, and Lieu now uses some Vietnamese cacao.) Advertisement Article continues below this ad Eventually, Lieu decided to lean into her heritage. She developed chocolate collections themed around Lunar New Year and sold mooncake chocolates for the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the pandemic, hoping to set Socola apart online, she designed one of her most in-demand items: the 12- or 24-piece Little Saigon Box, with its four-course meal inspiration. The pho confection, in particular, represented a breakthrough for Lieu. Despite its name, the chocolate doesnt actually contain beef or rice noodles. Instead, Lieu makes it by infusing cream with the spices that typically go in soup broth. I was like why are we conforming to these traditional flavors? And why are we always trying to fit in? Because well never fit in, Lieu said. So we might as well stand out. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's bitter legal battle over Chateau Miraval is due back in court today after Jolie's side filed a new motion in court. Pitt, 60, and Jolie, 49, have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of the idyllic French winery, which they purchased while happily married in 2008, with the actor suing his ex-wife for selling her half to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler without his consent for $62 million in October 2021. The former couple's 'war of the rose' legal battle is entering another round as the latest hearing of the case is scheduled at an LA courthouse at 9am today, although Pitt and Jolie are not expected to appear. Jolie's former company Nouvel LLC - a subsidiary of Shefler's Tenute del Mondo B.V. - filed a motion to compel Campari America LLC to produce an agreement about wine distribution with Chateau Miraval. Since Jolie sold her stake, the former partners entered into an acrimonious mudslinging over NDA's, which have become a key battleground in their fight. Jolie sold her stake in Chateau Miraval (pictured) to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler in 2021, which Pitt argues went against their agreement to offer the other the right of first refusal The estranged couple, who met in 2004, have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of the winery since 2021 and have entered into an mudslinging over NDA's In the motion filed on July 29, Nouvel LLC asks to 'produce the most knowledgeable person(s) and relevant documents regarding a distribution agreement executed on or around September 2023' between Campari America LLC - a non-party in Pitt and Jolie's legal battle - and Chateau Miraval. Nouvel LLC accused Pitt 'and his allies' of freezing the company out of the winery, including the decision to give Campari the right to be the sole distributor of the rose wine produced at Chateau Miraval. Pitt and Jolie, who met in 2004 while filming Mr. And Mrs. Smith before tying the knot in 2014, share six children together: sons Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, - who was involved in a terrifying e-bike crash in July - and Knox, 16, and daughters Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and Vivienne, 16. They filed for divorce in September 2016. Daughter Shiloh is embroiled in her own legal battle, as she is trying to drop Pitt from her last name of Jolie-Pitt. A hearing on the case was scheduled in court on Monday, but it was rescheduled for August 19 after 'the court was unable to complete the background check', Peter Levine, who is serving as legal representation for Jolie-Pitt in the matter, told People. In her parents' case, Pitt accused Jolie of breaching their purchase agreement to not sell to a third party without offering the other the right of first refusal when she sold her 50 per cent stake in Chateau Miraval to Shefler in 2021. Pitt (pictured right in February), 60, and Jolie (pictured left in June), 49, have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of the French winery, with the actor suing his ex for selling her half without his consent in October 2021 Pitt poured millions into the estate (pictured), riding the rose wave, and expanding the business in an effort that saw sales grow 300 percent The exes share six children together: sons Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, and Knox, 15, and daughters Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and Vivienne, 15 (pictured in Tokyo in November 2011) The actor requested the sale be made void and sought monetary damages and legal fees, but it went through on October 5, 2021. Pitt says in his complaint that the transaction to Russian oligarch Shefler harms the brand of Chateau Miraval after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But Jolie's former company launched a $250million suit against Pitt in return, alleging that Pitt was trying to get control over the the company as revenge on Jolie over their split. When the then couple bought the 1200 acre winemaking enterprise and estate, Pitt took a 60 per cent stake while Jolie took 40 per cent. Pitt poured millions into the estate, riding the rose wave, and expanding the business in an effort that saw sales grow 300 percent. Soon the estate they purchased for an estimated $60million was worth closer to $164million. By the time of their wedding, Jolie had 'stopped investing,' according to previously filed court records something that she has denied. Still, Pitt transferred 10 percent of his share to her by way of a wedding gift in December 2013 'for the sum of 1 [never paid]' so that by the time of their marriage in August 2014, they were 50/50 equal partners. The estranged couples' eight-year divorce, which has had them at war over custody of their children, has not been finalized after filing in 2016 (pictured: Jolie and Pitt in 2015) Jolie claims she backed out of their agreement because Pitt asked her to sign an NDA as part of their business deal, which allegedly would prevent her from speaking out about the abuse allegations, including the September 2016 incident onboard the private jet. Her team described this as an 'unconscionable' attempt by her ex-partner to 'control her' after their split. A source close to Pitt, later told People: 'Brad requested a mutual NDA and non-disparagement strictly related to Miraval over concerns around sensitive financial information and protecting the brand, which is standard with these types of transactions.' His legal team claimed that Jolie 'weaponized' NDAs, and asked for Pitt to sign a broader NDA just six months later as part of their divorce settlement talks. In a ruling made public back in May, Judge Lia Martin ordered the actress to produce all NDAs she proposed, or that were proposed to her by others, regardless of whether they were finalized or agreed. In July, Jolie's lawyer, Paul Murphy, said: 'When Angelina again asks Mr. Pitt to end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing, unless Mr. Pitt withdraws his lawsuit, Angelina has no choice but to obtain the evidence necessary to prove his allegations wrong.' Recent documents filed on behalf of Pitt in objection to Jolie's latest request list the pieces of evidence she would obtain. These include 'any therapy in which [he] voluntarily agreed to engage from September 14, 2016 through December 31, 2018, his consumption of alcohol from 2008 through 2021, his random drug and alcohol testing following the flight, communications with various government agencies about the flight, and confidential filings from the parties' divorce case.' 'These requests are not designed to discover relevant evidence but rather to embarrass Pitt and/or to prejudice the trier of fact, which is not permitted by California's discovery statutes,' the documents read. The estranged couples' eight-year divorce, which has had them at war over custody of their children, has not been finalized after filing in 2016. Advertisement Huw Edwards has been urged to return up to 200,000 he received from the BBC following his arrest by a former colleague who says the broadcaster's reputation has been 'tarnished'. Jennie Bond, a former BBC royal correspondent, said if the disgraced 62-year-old newsreader has 'any dignity left' he would hand back the money, reported to be 200,000, after pleading guilty to 'making' indecent photographs. Meanwhile, BBC director-general Tim Davie will face questions over the corporation's handling of the scandal after he hauled in for talks with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Our live coverage has now ended but for a full recap see below Hamas commander Mohammed Deif has been assassinated in an airstrike, the Israeli military revealed today, a day after group leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran. 'IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,' the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement today. The one-eyed Hamas commander was allegedly killed on July 13, confirmed Thursday after Hamas' political chief was killed by an 'airborne projectile' in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's death. Deif is believed to have been responsible for planning and executing the bloody October 7 incursion into Israel, in which Hamas members and their allies killed some 1,200 Israelis and took some 240 hostage. Mohammed Deif, the chief of Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an airstrike, the IDF claimed Palestinians evacuate a body from a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13 Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing (left), and Rafa'a Salameh, the commander of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade Deif is believed to have been responsible for planning and executing the October 7 incursion into Israel Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike that killed Mr Deif was a 'significant milestone' toward achieving the goals of the war. 'The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organisation in disintegration,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas's military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the October 7 attack. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. The head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, Deif had been among Israel's most wanted man for nearly three decades and on a US list of 'international terrorists' since 2015. Israel had reportedly tried to kill him at least eight times - including in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2014 and in May 2021. The attempts saw both of his legs and an arm blown off and his wife and two children killed. Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel targeted Deif in a strike on July 13 that hit a compound on the outskirts of the city of Khan Younis, but there had been no immediate confirmation he was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time. The house where Deif was believed to have taken residence was hit with a 2,000lb (900kg) bomb, leaving a giant crater. One of the founders of Hamas's military wing, the Qassam Brigades, the former bombmaker, who studied physics, chemistry and biology at the Islamic University in Gaza, had led the unit for decades. He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention before rising through the ranks. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. Deif operated along with Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli military said. 'During the war, he commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing,' it added. There were rumours the sinister mastermind of the October 7 attacks had been killed earlier this month, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in mid-July it was 'still not absolutely certain' whether Deif was dead. The announcement came a day after political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Tehran. Haniyeh, a multi-billionaire who had been living in exile in Qatar since 2019, was reportedly killed when an 'airborne guided projectile' hit his compound in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility. After being appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017, Haniyeh moved between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, escaping the travel curbs of the blockaded Gaza Strip. The role enabled him to act as a negotiator in ceasefire talks or to talk to Hamas' ally Iran - and as a relay between hardline figures like Yahya Sinwar and the outside world. But many living in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, including members of Hamas, became disillusioned with Haniyeh as he became removed from the lives of people on the ground. 'The fact that he lived in a five-star hotel in Doha made him very unpopular with some of the Hamas figures on the ground in Gaza,' Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor of Security Studies at King's College London, told MailOnline. 'He's not someone who the organisation is relying on very much. But it is clearly a very symbolic strike.' Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, pictured in Iran on Tuesday hours before his death Haniyeh (pictured right) joined other senior Hamas officials on a private jet, undated Displaced Palestinians leave western Khan Yunis to areas in the eastern parts of the city following reports of Israeli forces withdrawing from the area on July 30 Smoke rises from an Israeli air strike in Rafah as seen from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza strip, on July 29 Palestinians mourn for their relatives killed in Israeli airstrikes hit the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, at Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on July 28 Palestinians mourn lost relatives following an attack on Gaza City in the north, on July 29 While Iran has vowed 'revenge' for Haniyeh's death, it is not expected his killing will lead to a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict. 'What this offers is a head on a silver platter,' Dr Krieg added. 'Netanyahu can say this is the end of the organisation. And that's pretty much as close as Israel will ever get to defeating Hamas. 'But that can only work if Israel says now 'we're willing to enter ceasefire talks.'' 'All sides don't want all out war. All sides want to maintain their reputation. Nobody wants to lose face. These people are replaceable. 'All sides will find a way in this tit-for-tat escalation to respond in measure beyond a certain ceiling... all sides have been pushing the threshold but on all accounts they have always tried not to breach it.' In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the south-west corner of the territory, with limited food and water. This is the moment an out-of-control paraglider wiped out a hiker after crash landing on his first flight using a DIY kit. The man had been flying over Mount Toratau in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic on July 29 before speeding out of control and smashing straight into the ground. Footage from the incident shows the paraglider soaring over a green field at speed while hanging on to his yellow-winged flier. But within seconds he comes crashing down before hitting an oblivious hiker head on, sending her flying backwards due to the impact. A second clip shows emergency workers scrambling to rescue the woman as a team of five carry her on a stretcher down the mountain foothills to an ambulance. Footage captured the moment a paraglider came crashing down from the sky before hitting a hiker in Russia The woman went flying back after being smashed into by the man on the paraglider lost control of the DIY equipment The woman was carried off the mountain on a stretcher and was later treated for a fractured collarbone, two broken ribs, and concussion Hospital medics in nearby Sterlitamak treated her for a fractured collarbone, two broken ribs, and concussion, according to local media. Russian Federation Ministry of Emergency Situations in a statement: 'In Bashkortostan, a paraglider fell on a tourist. 'On Mount Toratau in the Ishimbay district, a man made a hard landing directly on top of the woman. 'She was injured and unable to move on her own.' They added: 'Emergency Ministry personnel and volunteers transported the injured woman on a stretcher to an ambulance. 'The woman has been hospitalised. The paraglider received minor bruises.' It's unclear if police have charged the pilot with negligence. It comes after a woman's paragliding flight to conquer her fears ended in tragedy in March when she slipped off her seat mid-flight and fell to her death in a Colombian forest. Daniela Barrios had uploaded a photo to her social media account prior to the deadly flight and advised her friends and family that she was finally ready to get the better of her flying phobia. Barrios and the pilot took off from the El Castillo mountain in the Quidio municipality of Calarca but during the flight she fell from her seat while they were flying over the Pradera Alta trail, according to the Calarca Fire Department. The pilot was unable to stop and continued the flight until he was able to land. A horrified witness saw her fall from the paraglider and immediately sought emergency assistance. A search-and-rescue mission was launched and firefighters located Barrios body in the middle of the night. She did not show vital signs when she was found and was pronounced dead at the scene. Keir Starmer will face questions this afternoon after crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. The PM summoned chiefs to No10 and will hold a press conference at 4pm after thugs again took to the streets in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. In the capital, more than 100 people were arrested after crowds in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. People wearing England flags and waving banners saying 'enough is enough' and 'stop the boats' congregated outside Downing Street. Violence flared after social media posts wrongly claimed the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. Keir Starmer has summoned police chiefs to No10 as thugs again took to the streets in London, Hartlepool and Manchester HARTLEPOOL: An angry mob set fire to a police car LONDON: Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as a flag-waving crowd clashed with police MANCHESTER: Protesters were seen launching glass bottles at a police van The angry scenes also included loud chants of: 'We want our country back' and: 'Oh Tommy Robinson', referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: 'Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary'. Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected. Manchester police confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. According to the Manchester Evening News, this incident also saw chants of: 'We want our country back', while a group of men were seen jumping in the path of a bus, smashing its wing mirror and assaulting a passenger. Aldershot appears to have escaped the violence seen in other parts of the country, but a demonstration there was still met by riot police. The string of violent incidents follows similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. In the meeting this afternoon Sir Keir is expected to praise the 'bravery' of police in dealing with both the incident in Southport and its aftermath, and encourage them to use their powers to 'stop mindless violence in its tracks'. Lord Walney, the Government's independent adviser on political violence, said he hoped the meeting would examine powers to 'refuse and prevent further so-called 'protests' that are being used by far right activists as a vehicle for serious disorder and violence'. He said: 'There is a right to protest in the UK but that is not a right to riot.' The meeting comes as a 17-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in a critical condition while two adults were also critically injured. HARTLEPOOL: Rioters break down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running HARTLEPOOL: One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially motivated assault MANCHESTER: Video shows protesters clashing with riot police with parts of the UK at boiling point HARTLEPOOL: Protesters run towards riot police as chaos unfolded on the streets HARTLEPOOL: Firefighters try and put out a blaze which completely destroyed a police vehicle A judge has told of having 'stumbled into an alternative reality' when ruling in London's High Court in a battle between ex-partners over access to three-year-old twins who the mother says do not exist. Lady Emma Arbuthnot has now said there is 'some evidence' that at least one child was born, in what she described as a 'perplexing' case. The ex-husband from the separated couple insists he believes his wife was pregnant when they parted and gave birth to twin boys, who would now be aged three - and with whom he wants to have contact. But his ex-wife denies ever being pregnant, while accusing her former partner of 'coercive and controlling behaviour' - and no births have been registered. Yet the High Court heard there was evidence at least one child does exist, said by the ex-husband to have been born after the couple married in 2019 then split in 2020. Lady Emma Arbuthnot has now said there is 'some evidence' that at least one child was born in a dispute between a former married couple, in what she described as a 'perplexing' case London's High Court (pictured) has heard there is evidence at least one child exists Lady Arbuthnot said in her ruling that she believed a birth to have taken place in a private hospital though was unable to say where the child was now. She also told of being 'struck' by the difficulties of exploring facts without lawyers representing the couple. The judge added that 'the Family Court cannot act as an investigator' and that a different conclusion 'may well' have been reached with more evidence. Leading family barrister Lucy Reed described such cases as 'extremely challenging' for family courts. She said: 'It would be difficult for an outsider to believe a tale involving the many twists and turns.' The man, referred to as AA for legal reasons, said the woman - described as ZZ - had informed him of her being pregnant, seeing a midwife and also the babies' weight. She told the court she had never been pregnant and her ex-husband 'doctored' evidence suggesting otherwise as 'revenge' after she reported one of his relatives to police. Lady Arbuthnot's 74-page ruling found 'insufficient evidence' to say whether the woman gave birth to twins. She added: 'This is an unusual case because either (AA) or (ZZ) had lied about the pregnancy and the birth of these children for more than three years. 'The lies one of them had told had been complicated, persistent and very well planned and executed.' Locals living in a tiny village fear potential plans for a 2,000 new houses on nearby farmland will worsen their already 'nightmare traffic'. Residents of Larling in Norfolk - which currently has around 100 homes - fear the area will lose its countryside charm if the proposals are given the green light. Barkers Farm in the north of village was put forward by the farm's owners as part of Breckland council's call for potential developments another 1,900 homes. Father and son duo Steve and Nick Lewin said they expected the 163-acre site . development would not be an extension of Larling but a new village altogether. However locals believe the possible new wave of houses will exacerbate travel issues while others pointed out they would have lived in a town if that's where they wanted to live. Dudley Growm, 77, said the traffic through the village was already 'horrendous' if there was an accident on the nearby A11 - and new houses would only make it worse. Residents of Larling in Norfolk fear potential plans for a 2,000 new houses on nearby farmland will worsen their already 'nightmare traffic' The tiny village only currently has 100 homes scattered across its picturesque scenery 'I can't pull out of our road safely most days as we live down a little track,' the retiree said. 'The road traffic is bad. My wife walks our dog 10 miles through the village and fields most days and it is dangerous. 'With almost 2,000 new homes that would be twice as many cars and I don't see how Larling would cope. 'There's been a few new developments crop up in nearby places and they've had to think about building a doctor's, dentist or a shop. 'We don't have anything here so all of that would have to be thought about. 'Hopefully it won't affect me if it takes 20 years to build it, I'm 77 so I might well not be here. 'We'd become one of the largest villages in Norfolk if it happened.' Amber Grave, 49, has lived in her home in Larling for 30 years. She said if she wanted to live in the middle of a busy town, she would have moved to one. 'It would be such a shame for them to build around here, I would be so upset and disappointed.' She added: 'The road is a nightmare if there's any accidents on the A road, it's bad enough as it is without any more cars. Father and son duo Steve and Nick Lewin of Bakers Farm said they expected the 163-acre site . development would not be an extension of Larling but a new village altogether. However certain locals are outraged with the possible plans, stating they would have originally moved to a town if they wished to do so (pictured: resident Jan Scarlett) Dudley Growm, 77, (pictured) said the traffic through the village was already 'horrendous' if there was an accident on the nearby A11 - and new houses would only make it worse 'I don't want to live in a town, I want to stay living in the countryside.' The grandmother also claimed Larling does not have mains sewage and lacks the amenities needed for such a huge development. She said: 'I can't see them putting a school or a surgery around here, maybe it's just to keep people happy. 'You have to think about all these things if you want to put thousands of houses in. There's nothing for kids to do at the moment - no parks or play areas. 'I know we've all been bored teenagers but you do worry about the state of the place if you have a lot of them hanging about. It's just fields after fields and it's lovely.' Becky Smith, 48, move to the village for a slower paced and a calmer life in the countryside last September. 'I don't think the two primary schools we feed into have any space so that is something we have to think about,' the dog groomer said. 'We have a pub but you can't walk to it, it's too far and definitely not along these roads. 'The doctors' can't cope and the roads are so busy all of the time. We'd need a clear plan of how it was going to work.' Joanna Hutnik, who renovated her new home for seven years, is defiant against the potential plans, adding: 'I moved here because it's not too busy. 'We wouldn't want anymore houses. We moved here because they built near us in our old place. Now it feels like houses are following us. A locator map displaying where the current homes in Larling are and where the potential development site will be Joanna Hutnik, (pictured with Rob Scott) who renovated her new home for seven years, is defiant against the potential plans, adding: 'I moved here because it's not too busy Larling is one of three locations in the region which could become the new home for a large-scale development (pictured: local Laura Walker) The village is very different to the other two proposed sites - one being Dereham which has a population of 19,000 may potential get an extra 2,500 on one of its brownsites 'You can see trees and fields everywhere and it's nice. I wouldn't want to lose that.' Larling is one of three locations in the region which could become the new home for a large-scale development. But the village is very different to the other two proposed sites - one being Dereham which has a population of 19,000 and may get have another 2,500 built on one of its brownsites. And an old army base in Swanton Morley which may be transformed into a housing estate. A further review of the plans by the public will take place in early 2025 prior before the proposal will be submitted for independent examination. Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, Nick Lewis said the family were aware that local people were 'up in arms' over the proposals. However he believed, they were being portrayed unfairly. 'I think most people would have done the same thing if presented with the opportunity - and they're lying if they say they wouldn't,' he said. 'We did this based on the poor state of farming at the moment. 'It doesn't look like there's a light at the end of that tunnel and we were offered such good value for the land, we had to take it.' This comes as Labour unveiled a major overhaul in planning laws as part of their bid to 'get Britain building' and deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. An old army base in nearby Swanton Morley which may be transformed into a housing estate (pictured: Larling) Nick Lewis said the family were aware that local people were 'up in arms' over the proposals - but he believes they are being portrayed unfairly (pictured: Larling) The Planning and Infrastructure Bill was among flagship legislation in the King's Speech as Sir Keir Starmer's agenda was set out to Parliament on July 17 The Government signalled their intent to remove the power from local residents to block new developments. They warned their planning shake-up means communities will only be consulted on 'how, not if' homes and infrastructure are built. Labour branded the current planning system a 'major brake' on economic growth and has vowed to press ahead with reforms. A former police officer accused of killing former Channel Ten presenter and AFL umpire Jesse Baird allegedly broke into his share house six months beforehand to stalk the television star, according to new court documents. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 29, faces three new charges as police allege he shot dead Mr Baird and his Qantas flight attendant boyfriend Luke Davies in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington on February 19 in an act of domestic violence. Police alleged the act stemmed from Mr Lamarre-Condon's previous relationship with Mr Baird. Officers have now also added a charge of aggravated break and enter with intent, according to court documents seen by Nine Newspapers on Thursday. Lamarre-Condon is accused of breaking into Mr Baird's share house on August 17 last year to commit a serious indictable offence, six months before the alleged murders. The alleged offence is listed on the charge sheet as 'stalking Jesse Baird'. Police sources told Nine earlier this year that Baird told friends in the months before his death of seeing a shadowy figure at the end of his bed late at night. Lamarre-Condon's lawyer John Walford told the publication he was 'a little bit surprised' about the break-in charge, but they would 'deal with it'. He added that his client is 'hanging in there' as Lamarre-Condon enters his sixth month in custody. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 29, faces three new charges as police allege he shot dead Mr Baird and Mr Davies 'It's a tough place, that's the way it is,' Mr Walford said. Police allege Lamarre-Condon shot dead Mr Baird, 26 and Mr Davies, 29, with his service pistol at Mr Baird's home on February 19 and then dumped their bodies two days later in the NSW Southern Tablelands. Mr Baird and Lamarre-Condon were previously engaged in what police described as an 'off and on' romance but Mr Baird had not wanted to pursue a relationship. Lamarre-Condon, who used to regularly post pictures of himself with international celebrities on social media, turned himself in to police on February 23. After briefly appearing in court that day, Lamarre-Condon was transferred to the maximum-security Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre, where he was placed in protective custody due to his status as a policeman. Prison authorities also deemed him potentially at risk because he was accused of extremely serious offences, had attracted saturation media attention and had never previously been in jail. Police subsequently located the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies on a property at Bungonia, about 180km south-west of Sydney. Lamarre-Condon has been in protective custody and under constant surveillance at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater in Sydney's west for the past four months. His mental state is reported to be deteriorating. The bodies of Mr Davies (left) and Mr Baird were found on a property at Bungonia, about 180km south-west of Sydney Police allege Beau Lamarre-Condon broke into Jesse Baird's share house in inner-city Paddington six months before the TV star and his new boyfriend were allegedly shot dead 'He's not doing real well at the moment,' a source close to the 28-year-old told Daily Mail Australia earlier this year. 'Obviously it's set in now - what's happened and the allegations and where he is. I think the rot's set in mentally-wise. He's at a low point at the moment. 'He's very down. He's hit the lows.' Prison authorities do not necessarily consider Lamarre-Condon a particular suicide risk but his circumstances combine to suggest he would be vulnerable in jail. Lamarre-Condon is yet to enter any pleas. His case returns to Downing Centre Local Court on August 13. The two domestic violence-related murder charges set to replace the two original murder charges as the case proceeds through the courts. 1800RESPECT Follow the latest on the Huw Edwards scandal on MailOnline's live blog Josie Gibson has slammed the BBC for paying Huw Edwards his 475k-a-year salary while he was suspended after sex images scandal, saying 'it makes my blood boil'. The tearful This Morning host, 39, shook her head angrily and made the comments while discussing whether the BBC was wrong to continue paying the disgraced star. Speaking on the Thursday This Morning show, she said it 'makes my blood boil' and 'as a mother, it makes my stomach turn'. Speaking about one of the charges involving a child under nine, she said: 'I'm fuming,' before Craig Doyle agreed it is 'disturbing'. The BBC admitted it knew that Huw Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his salary until he resigned in April. The corporation said Edwards would have been sacked had he been charged over accessing indecent images while still working for the them, adding that it was 'shocked' at his 'abhorrent behaviour'. Shockingly, the Welshman remained the third-highest BBC journalist despite coming off-air, according to the organisation's figures. Josie Gibson has slammed the BBC for paying Huw Edwards his 475k-a-year salary while he was suspended after sex images scandal The tearful This Morning host, 39, shook her head angrily and made the comments while discussing whether the BBC was wrong to continue paying the disgraced star Edwards was surrounded by a media scrum as he left the court in central London Friends of the ex-BBC News host said he kept his arrest 'a secret' and that they were stunned when news he had been charged was revealed this week (he is pictured reading the news) Edwards is pictured leaving the court in London on Wednesday morning This was the moment Edwards entered his car before being driven away from the court This was in spite of him only being on air for three months of the financial year ending in March. Talent pay figures show that Edwards, 62, saw his pay increase shoot up from up to 439,999 to up to 479,999. This put him only behind Match of the Day host, Gary Lineker, who was once again the BBC's highest paid star for the seventh year in a row on 1.35 million and Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who brought in up to 954,999. Appearing on This Morning alongside Gibson, Tim Campbell said: 'Its really difficult, as an employer youre sometimes faced with disciplinary processes which mean you may have to suspend an individual while an investigation is going on. 'The headline figures around paying someone can be very inflammatory because nobody wants to see someone who has now admitted guilt receiving tax-payers money. Today, betrayed staffers said the newsreader made a 'mockery' of the BBC and claimed he was aided by a small band of his bosses who kept his arrest secret for months. The corporation faces yet more damaging questions after another of its biggest stars was revealed to be a sex offender after Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and others. 'It's unforgivable and makes a mockery of the organisation. There will be lots of people who are very angry with Tim Davie', one BBC employee said today. It comes as the disgraced newsreader, 62, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. The veteran news reader kept seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by a paedophile. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard today. Edwards is pictured leaving the court after his brief appearance where he admitted to making indecent images of children Edwards was flanked by police officers when he turned up for his court hearing on Wednesday Edwards has since left the family home and has reportedly split with his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind (the pair are pictured together in 2018 in London) Edwards faced a media frenzy as he approached Westminster Magistrates' Court Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. Huw Edwards: A timeline of shame Before pleading guilty to indecent images today, Edwards had faced an earlier scandal after being accused of paying a young person for sexually explicit images last year. April 2023 - Police were contacted but 'no criminality was identified'. May 18, 2023 - A family member of the young person, who was 17 at the time, made an in-person complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter. May 19. 2023 - A complainant contacted the BBC in a 29-minute call to the BBC's audience services team, and the details were referred to the Corporate Investigations Team. June 6, 2023 - After getting no reply to the email, the Corporate Investigations Team tries to call the complainant but the call does not connect. July 5, 2023 - Edwards is last seen on air as he covered King Charles' visit to Scotland. July 6, 2023 - The Sun informs BBC Press Office about allegations against the star presenter. July 7, 2023 - The Sun published its exclusive which alleged that a BBC star, unnamed at the time, paid 35,000 for sexual content to someone beginning when they were 17. But a lawyer acting on behalf of the young person told The Sun there was 'no truth' to the claims. July 9, 2023 - The BBC confirms that a male presenter has been suspended from all duties. July 11, 2023 - Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie defends the delay in speaking to the BBC presenter. July 12, 2023 - Huw Edwards is revealed as the BBC presented by his wife Vicky Flind. July 13, 2023 - The Met Police said detectives from its specialist crime command have 'concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed November 8 - Edwards is arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children. April 22, 2024 - Edwards resigns from the BBC having not appeared on air for months. June 26, 2024 - Edwards is charged with three counts of making indecent images of children. July 29, 2024 - Met Police first reveal the charges against Edwards in a press statement. July 31, 2024 - Edwards appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court and pleads guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, between December 2020 and August 2022. September 16, 2024 - This is when Edwards will be sentenced Advertisement The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail today. The father-of-five moved out of the family home in Dulwich after separating from his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind. In a statement after Edwards appeared in court, the BBC said: 'The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. 'The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year. 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health. 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. 'During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards' actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' It comes amid questions over why the CPS waited weeks to confirm charges against the presenter. The ex-News at Ten presenter was charged in June, but the details were only revealed on Monday, after the date of his first court appearance was released by Westminster Magistrates' Court. A former attorney general said it was 'very puzzling' that the CPS did not publish details of the charges brought against Edwards around the time he was charged. He added that the CPS's actions did not seem 'in accordance with' the principles of open justice, The Telegraph first reported. The CPS denied it had purposely suppressed details about the presenter being charged or given him preferential treatment. A CPS spokesperson said: 'Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues.' The charges mark a sensational fall from grace for the veteran broadcaster who until July last year was widely regarded to be at the height of his powers. During a glittering four-decade career, he covered general elections and commentated on the weddings of both Prince Harry and Prince William. In March 2023, Edwards was riding high on the back of a new three-year deal with the BBC after being widely praised for the way he led the coverage of the Queen's death. In June that year, Edwards picked up the best live event honour at the Tric Awards for being among those to cover the state funeral of the late Queen, and in February he received the Broadcast Awards' special recognition award. It came in the weeks after he had just fronted the coverage for King Charles' coronation as he led the BBC broadcast of the historic event. Edwards was last seen on our screens on July 5 as he covered King Charles' visit to Scotland. The cause of death for the 'boy in the attic' has been revealed four years after he vanished after telling his mother he was going to the grocery store. Jaylen Griffin's badly-decomposed body was discovered by a maintenance man in the attic of 107 Sheffield Avenue in South Buffalo, New York, on April 12. His father, Brian Griffin, has now revealed that Jaylen was stabbed to death with a sharp object, according to HNGN, citing the boy's death certificate - but it remains unclear how many times he was stabbed or when he was killed. The 12-year-old had last been seen before heading out to the grocery store near his Warren Avenue home - just five miles from where his body was found - on August 4, 2020. He was reported missing two days later, but police classed him as a runaway until his body was discovered nearly four years after his disappearance, kickstarting a homicide investigation. Jaylen Griffin (pictured), 12, who mysteriously went missing nearly four years ago was discovered in the attic of 107 Sheffield Avenue in South Buffalo - just five miles from his home The house at 107 Sheffield Avenue (pictured) in South Buffalo, New York has a chilling past as several reports have been made about dead bodies being found there Close family friend and spokesperson pastor Tim Newkirk of GYC ministries told WIVB: 'How did he end up here? Was he moved? The questions are still remaining. 'How long was he dead? How long was he deceased? Was he found in something that was locked and had to be opened? And did a certain aroma come out that would be a major complaint to this community? 'This looks like the type of community where if anything is taking place somebody will report it, or say something.' Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said in a press conference on April 15 that Jaylen's body had been in 107 Sheffield Avenue 'for a significant amount of time.' While he was unable to elaborate on how long the body had been there, Gramaglia said it was so deteriorated that the medical examiner's office had to confirm Jaylen's identity using dental records. 'First and foremost, I do want to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family of Jaylen,' Gramaglia said. 'This department has conducted extensive searches and I want Jaylen's family to know that we are working diligently to bring the next closure for the family.' But while father has received a sense of relief since his son was found, mother Joann Ponzo will never know as she passed away due to illness and a 'broken heart' in September 2023. But while father has received a sense of relief since his son was found, mother Joann Ponzo (pictured) will never know as she passed away due to illness and a 'broken heart' in September 2023 Jaylen's (pictured) body was so badly deteriorated that the medical examiner's office had to identify him using dental records It wasn't only Jaylen's mystery that gave Ponzo grief as his brother, Jawaan had also been shot and killed in front of the family's home in November 2020. After Jaylen's body was found, neighbors have revealed that they had seen people moving in and out of the house and police had responded to the home 'many times' over the years. It turns out that the house where his body was discovered has a dark history, as Jaylen was the fourth body found on the property over the last four years, according to WIVB. A series of 911 logs revealed that the address has been the subject of more than 160 complaints since 2007 - ranging from domestic violence, fire, wellness checks, and the discovery of bodies. Local police records found that a call for a welfare check at 2.18 pm on June 23, 2020, resulted in the discovery of a dead body at the Upstate New York house. Separately, on September 11, 2022, a report of another dead body at 2:27 pm resulted in an arrest. Another dead body was found in the yard of the house a year later in August 2023 after a call was put into police at 5:27 am - making it the third gruesome discovery. The identities of these three bodies have yet to be revealed, and it is unclear if the cases which did not result in an arrest were treated as suspicious. DailyMail.com have contacted the local police for further information. The litany of eerie discoveries comes as it was revealed the address has a long history of troubled residents - including sex offenders and criminals out on parole. Officials told WIVB that while the multi-room home is not an official halfway house, it has housed people recently out of prison. Jail records show that a sex offender lived in the property until last month. Neighbors, who chose to remain anonymous, told the outlet they have been in the area long enough to see the house frequently change tenants over the years. After Jaylen's (pictured) body was found, neighbors have revealed that they had seen people moving in and out of the house and police had responded to the home 'many times' over the years Records from 911 logs show that over the last four years, there have been four dead bodies found at the address in Buffalo, New York The identities of the other three bodies have yet to be revealed and it is unclear if these cases were treated as suspicious. Jaylen was the most recent body found from that house, concluding a four-year search for him on April 12. His body was so badly decomposed that authorities has to identify him using dental records. Notably, 107 Sheffield is not where he and his family lived. Him and his family lived around five miles away from this house. The development came too late for Jaylen's grieving mother, Joann Ponzo, who was laid to rest in September without knowing what had happened to her son. Ponzo, 48, died at Sisters of Charity Hospital after her health rapidly deteriorated. It is unclear why she was sick, but friends and loved ones have said they suspect her illness was only aggravated by the loss of her children. Three months after Jaylen's disappearance, Ponzo's elder son, 18-year-old Jawaan, was gunned down just steps away from the family home. Kareema Morris, founder of Bury the Violence, worked closely with Ponzo before her death. Ponzo showed Morris a drawing that she found in their house weeks after Jaylen's disappearance. It was scrawled with a message: 'I'm gone already.' Jaylen was last seen leaving his home on Warren Avenue in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. His mother told People in 2021 that he disappeared shortly after walking his new puppy. Joann Ponzo (pictured), 48, died at Sisters of Charity Hospital after her health rapidly deteriorated. It is unclear why she was sick, but friends and loved ones have said they suspect her illness was only aggravated by the loss of her children Jaylen (pictured) was last seen leaving his home on Warren Avenue in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. He told his mother that he was heading back out after returning from a walk with his new puppy He had reportedly said to his mother that he was heading back out, which 'wasn't unusual' as he would often carry people's back from nearby stores to earn some pocket change. A maintenance worker for 107 Sheffield sounded the alarm when he stumbled upon a body in the attic of the multi-unit home. The worker said he didn't smell decomposing matter. The new 911 police logs show that the call was made at 10.19am. Homicide detectives arrived just before 10.30am and said they would need more time at the scene because of a 'dead on arrival.' Morris also spoke at the press conference on Jaylen's body being found, where she shared a statement from the family thanking the community's combined efforts to bring Jaylen home. Jaylen would have turned 16 years old on April 22. A birthday memorial service was held in his honor. San Franciscos Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center will begin readmitting former residents it was forced to move out over the past two years after it regained federal certification to care for patients. Salgu Wissmath/The Chronicle 2023 San Franciscos largest skilled nursing facility, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, will begin readmitting former residents it was forced to move out over the past two years while it underwent a grueling process to regain federal certification to care for patients. At least 10 former residents are slated to return in the coming weeks, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which oversees the public hospital. This week, one new resident moved in. The 150-year-old Laguna Honda houses about 400 residents and has a third of the citys skilled nursing beds. It came under scrutiny in 2021 when two residents overdosed but survived. That triggered inspections that found deficiencies and safety violations, including many residents testing positive for narcotics. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As a result, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revoked the hospitals eligibility to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, which pays for about 90% of residents care. That brought Laguna Honda to the brink of closure because it receives most of its funding for patient care from those payments. CMS mandated that Laguna Honda begin transferring residents to other facilities and prepare to be shut down. Twelve of the 41 residents who moved out in 2022 died shortly after, raising concerns that the move may have contributed to their death. The transfers were halted after the city attorney filed a lawsuit to stop the discharges. The hospital regained Medicaid certification in 2023 after demonstrating it had improved safety and monitoring procedures and retrained staff. It regained Medicare certification in June, which meant it could begin admitting new residents and bring back the residents who previously transferred out. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Record-breaking Team GB diver Tom Daley has paid tribute to his family and his late father as his latest medal success - and given a hint about whether he will compete in one more Olympics. Daley, who won silver at Paris 2024 to take his medal tally to five, spoke of son Robbie getting to see him compete for the first time at an Olympics - Daley's fifth. He also reminisced fondly of his inspirational father Robert, who died a year before Daley won his first Olympic medal as an 18-year-old at London 2012. He was bronze in the 10m platform event that summer, before clinching bronzes at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 as well as synchronised 10m platform gold in Japan. Daley, also known for his knitting while watching fellow competitors at poolside, won silver at Paris 2024 on Monday with partner Noah Williams. Five-time Olympic medallist Tom Daley has been speaking about whether he could take part in the next Summer Games scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028 He was interviewed today on ITV by Good Morning Britain's Sian Gibson and Craig Doyle Tom Daley paid tribute to his late father Robert, who died of a brain tumour in 2011 The presenting pair talked to Daley, 30, after he won silver at Paris 2024 earlier this week He was teased today on TV by ITV's Good Morning Britain presenter Craig Doyle, who told the diver: 'You look tired.' Daley joked, 'Oh, thanks!', before opening up in his emotions following his latest Team GB glory. He said: 'It's nice my kids will be able to look back and see all the things I did. It has been great to come back. 'Will I get to do another one? I went to Paris because Robbie wanted to see his dad at the Olympics. 'He said, "I want to see you dive". I thought I was done after Tokyo but when I decided to go again my husband was so supportive of it. It's hard when two parents are working and also training for the Olympics.' Daley also recalled his father Robert, who died of a brain tumour in 2011 aged 40. Tom, from Plymouth, said: 'My dad was my biggest cheerleader.' When asked whether he might compete in a sixth Olympics, with the next one due to be staged in Los Angeles in 2018, he said today: 'We'll see,. I'll be 34 then, I don't know if I'll be able to get out of bed then! 'I thought I was done after the last one and here I am, so Robbie has already cashed in his token, so maybe Phoenix will want to cash in a token - who knows?' Daley made his Olympics debut aged just 14 at Beijing 2008, also becoming the youngest diver to reach a final - though had to wait four years for his first meal, that bronze at London 2012. The Olympic diver, who has been competing at his fifth Olympiad in Paris, told how he thinks about his father 'every day' after he passed when he was just 17 His father Robbie died aged 40 in 2011 following a long five year battle with brain cancer Tom got stuck into some knitting as he watched the Women's Synchronised 3m Springboard Final at the Aquatics Centre on the first day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Saturday He finally won gold at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Games held in 2021, alongside Matty Lee in the synchronised 10m platform event. Daley wept on the podium and told interviewers afterwards: 'I was gone, I was blubbering. To finally have this around my neck - I've been diving over 20 years.' And after his latest feat, Daley said earlier this week: 'This year has felt like a bonus really - 19 months ago, I was sitting on my sofa doing nothing, and deciding to come back because my son - he wanted to see me at the Olympics. 'And now to be here with a silver medal, to be diving with Noah and, you know, to be diving in front of my family, it was really special.' He described today how son Robbie inspired him to take on Paris 2024, saying: 'We went to a museum and at the end there was this inspirational video about what it means to be an Olympian and at the end I was crying. 'My husband turned to be and said, "Oh, no, I know what this means", and Robbie was like, "Whats the matter, Pappa?" 'I explained that I missed diving and I miss the sport and after taking two years away from it, he said, "Well, Pappa, I want to see you dive at the Olympics", and that was it. 'The family and supporters really are the unsung heroes of Olympians and give you everything you need to help you perform at your best.' Daley was yesterday seen supporting Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson as they took bronze in the women's event. On Saturday, he was filmed knitting cardigans as he gave his support to Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew as they secured a bronze in the women's synchronized 3m springboard. Daley regularly knitted while poolside at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as he watched his team-mate Jack Laugher secure a bronze medal. Tom Daley 's husband Dustin Lance Black, 50, took to Instagram with a series of family snaps as they celebrated the diver's Olympic win in Paris on Monday Daley beamed while showing off his medal and cuddled up to his youngest son, before eldest Robbie could be seen proudly draped in a Union Jack flag In another snap Oscar winner Dustin, 50, chocked back tears following his husband's silver Daley was seen checking his knitting while watching the women's diving events yesterday Daley was supporting British team-mates Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson Daley has showcased his knitting skills regularly, showing off several pieces such as a cream garment, adorned with the Team GB logo in 2021. Daley has previously spoken about the cathartic effect knitting has on his mindset during competitions, after setting up an Instagram page showing his fits called Made With Love By Tom Daley. He said: 'When we went to Japan for the test event I actually took my knitting with me and was doing it during my competition because sometimes there's 45 minutes in between each dive so I'd sit there and knit and just take my mind off the competition completely. I'm obsessed!' His film-maker husband Dustin Lance Black followed up this week's silver medal achievement by sharing on Intagram a series of family photos. They had dressed their sons Robbie, six, and 16-month-old Phoenix in T-shirts that read 'That's My Papa'. Daley beamed while showing off his medal on the podium and cuddled up to his youngest son, while eldest Robbie was draped in a Union Jack flag. In another snap Oscar winner Dustin, 50, was seen choking back tears - captioning the post: 'Spectacularly special day.' The Southport knife suspect was once known to be a 'quiet' schoolboy who starred in a West End show before he was accused of killing three little girls on Monday. Axel Rudakubana, 17, was named and pictured for the first time today, as he appeared in Liverpool Crown Court charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed innocent Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, as they attended a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town. During the rampage, the boy, who turns 18 in just six days, is also accused of attempting to kill eight children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents in 2006 before his family relocated in 2013 to the quiet village of Banks - a 15 minute drive from Southport. Axel Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday His father, who moved to the UK for a better life in 2002, reportedly 'came across quite educated and presentable' while his brother, who was 'wilder and more boisterous', 'was a lot more talkative'. Why did the judge name Rudakubana? Usually a defendant under the age of 18 is granted anonymity during court proceedings. This means media are not allowed to name or picture them unless there are exceptional circumstances. Today, however, Judge Andrew Menary KC decided to name Axel Rudbakubana. The judge at Liverpool Crown Court listened to 20 minutes of legal submissions before declining to make an order to protect the teen's identity. He said: 'Whilst I accept it is exceptional giving his age, principally because he is 18 in six days' time, I do not make an order under section 45. 'Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.' He noted that any order would have been lifted on Rudbakubana when he turned 18 anyways. The judge's decision comes after misinformation spread by fake news websites and Russian state media wrongly identified the suspect. The false claim said the suspect had arrived to the UK by boat last year sharing claims he was an M16 watchlist. It led to violent riots in Southport and beyond which saw dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. Advertisement Schoolmates described Rudakubana as a 'very quiet' boy who 'turned up in class one day' with teachers instructing pupils to 'make him welcome' as he had moved from 'quite far away'. In a bid to 'branch out and meet kids in the community,' the boy reached out to the drama group at his school, which later saw him perform on the West End stage. The friend told The Times: 'I think it was more him trying to branch out and meet kids in the community he was enjoying it but you know, with musical theatre kids they're very extroverted. 'He wasn't, he was very quiet. He didn't really talk about himself that much.' The threatre group, which included 'singing, dancing and musical theatre, on one occasion ended up on a show at the Shaftesbury Theatre on the West End. On another, they created 'their own movie' which was reportedly shown at a Vue cinema where they walked down a red carpet. 'He wasn't a normal theatre kid. He wasn't pushing for main leads and stuff like that,' the friends father added. 'When they went to London, he'd just got involved, he enjoyed it.' The revelations about the teenager's early school days come as he appeared in court accused of using a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' during Monday's rampage. Rudakubana was driven to Liverpool Magistrates Court this morning in a white van, surrounded by a convoy of police vehicles. Appearing in the dock he wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt over his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. In the afternoon he was taken to Liverpool Crown Court. As he arrived in the same white van, dozens of people stood on the side of the road shouting, with one man having to be held by back police officers. Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances Another young picture of Rudakubana who previously took part in a West End show Rudakubana seen arriving at court in a police convoy A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police cars leaves Liverpool Crown Court A provisional trial date set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year, also taking place at Liverpool Crown Court. Rudakubana spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline and at times rocking back and forth, side to side. He will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing. Until then he will be remanded in youth accommodation detention. Judge Menary told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: 'You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed. 'That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while.' Throughout the hearing, the judge explained why he had chosen to release the identity of the suspect. Judge Menary said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity. Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Police chiefs arrive to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list. It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. Rudakubana's identity was revealed in a bid to quell tensions that have been building after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot last night. Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. Chief Constable Mark Webster said events in Hartlepool were 'mindless thuggery' as he revealed 150 had attended the riot, with 11 people being arrested at this time. The riots came barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night He said: "There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. I don't think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. "I think there is some mindless thuggery and that's why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. There's no excuse for last night." On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. This afternoon, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called a meeting to discuss the ongoing violence. He told police chiefs: 'I wanted to send a message to each of you and through you, your officers, to say that this Government supports the police, supports what you are doing and to be absolutely clear: This is not protest, this is violent disorder and action will be taken. 'So, this Government will make sure you have got the powers you need and will back you in using those powers.' Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones and chief constables from Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police all attended the No 10 meeting. The Prime Minister was also joined by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson. Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, leaves Liverpool Magistrates' Court after being charged with three counts of murder The suspect was surrounded by a convoy of eight police cars and vans, with officers fearing they could be met with angry protesters following Monday night's riots Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: 'We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' False claims online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat had sparked riots across Southport on Tuesday night, despite pleas from one of the victim's mother's for calm. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following that incident. After rioting broke out, Elsie's mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. 'The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had 'hijacked' a vigil for victims and will 'feel the full force of the law', while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as 'violent attacks from thugs on the streets', which she branded 'appalling'. The Prime Minister is set to face questions this afternoon after crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Yesterday floral tributes, balloons and soft toys covered the street near the police cordon Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport On Wednesday, a clean up operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. More than 100 people were arrested in London after crowds gathered in Whitehall turned on police, throwing bottles and cans at officers in riot gear. Some were heard shouting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, while others shouted 'Rule Britannia', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats' and chanting 'you're not English any more'. A Met Police spokesman said: 'Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.' Responding to last nights riots, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The scenes of disorder and violence yesterday evening were completely unacceptable. 'There is no place for criminality on our streets and I fully support the Met Police taking action against those intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city.' The dramatic moment when a group of would-be pickup truck thieves rammed a police cruiser, running right on top of it, was captured on video with authorities believing the group was on their way to commit 'more serious crimes.' The shocking incident occurred on July 25 in Dallas. Multiple officers were responding to the reported theft of a Chevy Tahoe truck at an apartment complex when the ramming occurred. The driver, Damon Price, 21, 'intentionally accelerated,' Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a press conference this week, driving on to the hood of the police cruiser. After the attempted robbers rammed the car the four suspects, all dressed in black and wearing masks, made a run for it. One of the suspects, Deantae Moore, 19, who has an outstanding warrant for double homicide, was held at the scene of the crash by officers as the other cops gave chase. At that point, another of the suspect, Erik Lampkin-Scarborough, 17, fled from the car while armed with a Glock handgun. He was then shot by Officer Travis Marks, the chief said. Officers were responding to a report of a stolen Chevy Tahoe red pick up at an apartment complex in Dallas on July 25 Body cam footage shows the moment one cruiser arrived on the scene only for the driver of the truck to intentionally ram the car, landing on top of the hood The suspect was treated at the scene before being rushed to a local hospital. Bodycam footage shows the officers reassuring him that an ambulance was on its way. Chief Garcia said in a press conference this week that none of the suspects fired on the officers. However, Garcia added that ramming a police cruiser is considered aggravated assault. Garcia added that the cops have his full support. The suspects were heavily armed, the chief went on to say. Among the guns recovered was a Glock with an extended magazine, two other guns were found in the car. 'This is not a choreographed dance. Officers werent going to wait until a masked individual with a firearm was going to turn on the officers and shoot first. The proper thing would have been done for the individual not to run out of the car, not to be armed and to have given up,' Garcia said. 'The gun carried by Lampkin-Scarbrough was stolen out of the city of Dallas in February and, again, had been modified with an extended magazine and a Glock switch,' Garcia said. Another of the cops, Officer Timothy Steed, who was a passenger in the car that was hit by the truck, shot four times at a suspect but did not hit him. One of the suspects, who has not been named, managed to escape. The responding officers quickly gave chase as the four heavily armed suspects attempted to flee One of the suspects is shown after his apprehension following a brief chase Dallas Police Chief Eric Garcia said that he believes the group were on their way to commit 'more serious crimes' Suspect Deantae Moore, 19, shown left, had an outstanding warrant relating to a March double homicide, one of his alleged partners in crime, Damon Price, 21, is who right. 'There was about four or five cops shooting at the suspects,' witness Michelle Gonzalez told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. Deantae Moore was wanted for a double murder that occurred outside of a Dallas convenience store in March. According to the police, Moore was buying a Glock from two other men, named as Kamari Smith-Capps and Camren Stacy, 18, whom he killed. 'The damage that he did and caused over nothing, nothing, pride and ego. Thats it,' Smith-Capps' mother, Holly, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth following news of Moore's arrest. In a separate interview, Holly Smith-Capps told The Dallas Morning News: 'I struggle daily just wanting to live. He was all I had, literally all I had and all I lived for.' Garcia spoke to the suspects being involved in gang activity during Monday's press conference. 'My 32 years of policing tell me that this was not just a joy ride with someone stopping at an apartment complex. I feel that there was something far more nefarious planned,' he said. 'Someone is alive today, I fully believe, because of the actions of our men and women and the actions of our officers that day.' One of the suspects did not get very far as he was held at the scene of the ramming by an officer The moment when Damon Price was caught by the cops was caught on bodycam footage Garcia went on to say that officers are continuing to investigate and that additional charges are possible. 'Not all the time, but oftentimes this is the reason why individuals steal cars is to commit more serious crimes,' he said. The suspect who escaped has yet to be publicly named. None of the responding officers were injured. Her parents have broken their silence EXCLUSIVE The ride-on lawnmower at the centre of a mother-of-three's 'suspicious' late night death has a safety feature designed to stop the vehicle from moving when no one is sitting on it. Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead at her home on Thomas Road at Upper Lockyer, southeast Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday after police were called to the property following reports she had been crushed by a ride-on lawnmower. Police on Thursday announced the case was being treated as suspicious - just hours after ten cop cars - including several forensics vehicles - were seen descending on the rural property. Now, Daily Mail Australia can reveal Husqvarna ride-on-mowers - like the one towed away from the property on Tuesday - are equipped with a built-in 'kill switch'. Kill switches, a common feature on ride-on mowers, work by turning off the device's major systems - like its engine and blade - when a driver leaves the seat. However, the setting - which operates via a pressure sensor situated under the seat - can be disabled - and it is not unusual for riders to do so for ease of use. It is also unclear how effective this feature would be in preventing injury if a lawnmower encountered trouble on a slope and rolled down an embankment - as was initially reported to be the case in Ms Crawford's death. The revelation comes as police work to piece together the circumstances surrounding the unusual death, with detectives reportedly baffled as to why Ms Crawford was outside mowing at that time of night in the middle of winter. Frances Crawford, 49, (pictured) was found dead at her home on Thomas Road, at Upper Lockyer, near Toowoomba, in south-east Queensland, at about 3.40am on Tuesday Detectives spent Tuesday collecting evidence from the home (including the lawnmower, pictured) Husband Robert Crawford (pictured) is an squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Airforce Amberley Base Temperatures in Toowoomba early on Tuesday morning plunged to as low as -5C. Two days into the investigation, police revealed on Thursday that they have now 'deemed the death as suspicious' following 'further investigations'. However, detectives are still waiting on the results of forensic testing - including autopsy results. Nine police cars were seen arriving at the property, which is located in bushland at the end of a 1km-long driveway. The vehicles included two forensics vans, detectives in a four-wheel drive, a ute filled with forensics supplies, two patrol vehicles, and uniformed officers in an unmarked car. Ms Crawford is a psychologist who grew up in the Toowoomba region. Her husband Robert Crawford is a RAAF cargo plane pilot and squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, about 8km southwest of Ipswich. Over the past two decades, the couple have lived around Australia - including in Sydney, Adelaide and in Queensland - as Sqn Ldr Crawford worked numerous roles within Australian Defence Force. Pictured above is one of the nine police cars that arrived at the property on Thursday A police vehicle is seen leaving the rural property on Thursday afternoon after the case was deemed suspicious Forensics equipment could be seen in one of the arriving cars Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Ms Crawford's parents Joke and Ben Pilon said their son-in-law Robert was devastated by his wife's death. 'He's broken,' Ms Pilon said. 'They lived here happily together.' Tributes have begun to flow for Ms Crawford who has been remembered for her 'gentle nature' and kindness. Her brother, David Pilon, said she had 'a loving heart'. 'She loved Jesus and it is a great comfort to her family and friends that she is now at peace in heaven,' he told the Toowoomba Chronicle. Ms Crawford's family said that her gentle grace and compassionate nature will be missed by everyone in a statement to Seven News. 'She cared deeply about the people around her and put their needs before her own,' it read. 'While Frances was taken from her family far too soon, she touched the lives of so many people during her 49 years.' Ms Crawford is a psychologist who grew up in the Toowoomba region He added that she had a 'beautiful soul inside and out'. Quality Life Psychology Services said she was a 'dearly loved and well-respected member' of their team. 'Frances always took the time to ask after others with kindness and consideration, often responding with humility and thoughtful humour,' the clinic said. 'Frances was easy to be around and her gentle nature will be sadly missed but long remembered by her colleagues, friends and clients at Quality Life Psychology Services. 'Our hearts and prayers are with Frances family at this tragic time.' Ms Crawford was also an active member of Toowoomba's Restoration Church. 'She loved Jesus and lived a life which reflected him well,' Pastor Peter Sondergeld told Seven News. 'She was a beautiful person and her passing has left a hole in our hearts. This video is no longer available This video is no longer available Police have launched an investigation to find the thug who punched a lone Asian man as he walked along a street in Hartlepool last night. Hartlepool erupted into violence for the second night yesterday as anger continues to grow over the Southport stabbing which claimed the lives of three young girls. As angry mobs descended on the seaside town, footage livestreamed on TikTok surfaced of a young man believed to be of black or ethnic origin being punched. In what appeared to be a racially motivated assault, the young man could be seen walking on Lowthian Road in Hartlepool. As the lone walker approached the end of the street to turn the corner, an unidentified yob struck him in the face causing him to stumble a couple of steps backwards. DO YOU KNOW THE MEN INVOLVED? EMAIL ARTHUR.PARASHAR@MAILONLINE.CO.UK A lone Asian man was punched in the face by a thug in Hartlepool as he walked down the street as violence ensued for a second night as anger grows after the Southport stabbing, which claimed the lives of three young girls The crowd can be heard yelling racial slurs at the man following the assault. Police are now investigating the incident The group standing at the end of the road can be heard yelling a series of racial slurs towards the assaulted man as he turned around and walked back in the direction from which he came. Cleveland Police have now urged the victim or anyone with information on his identity to come forward. A Cleveland Police spokesperson said: 'Detectives are investigating an assault towards a young boy of black or ethnic origin. 'Mobile phone footage that was posted on social media showed he had been punched to the face. 'It is believed to have occurred on Lowthian Road and detectives are urging him, or anyone who may know who he is, to come forward and contact police on 101.' The shocking scene came as droves of angry mobs descended on Manchester and London. But it was Hartlepool that saw the most chaotic riots, with yobs throwing objects at riot police, striking their shields and setting a police car on fire. False speculation surfaced online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat, which appeared to be fuelling the shocking violence which started outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and spread across the UK yesterday. The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website. The suspect, who is from the nearby village of Banks, Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, Wales, has been charged with the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. The teenager, who cannot be named because he is under 18, has also been charged with ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Liverpool Magistrates' Court today. Southport locals - including Elsie's mother - called for the violence to stop after police vans were set on fire and bricks were hurled in violence that left 53 officers injured on Tuesday. But her wishes were ignored as angry mobs took to the streets - in other parts of the country - amid mounting anger as many were filled with an anti-migrant rhetoric. Elsewhere in Hartlepool rioters set fire to a police car and series of pops could be heard from as it was destroyed. HARTLEPOOL: A police car was torched by protesters as anger mounts over the Southport stabbings HARTLEPOOL: Rioters broke down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running HARTLEPOOL: Masked thugs stare down riot police as violence engulfed the town Initially, there was a louder bang as the fuel tank went up in flames as right-wing protesters posed for selfies with the wreck after firefighters put the blaze out. Missiles including glass bottles and eggs were also hurled at the police who were braced for attacks with shields after hundreds gathered in the town centre. Officers shut off a large section of Murray Street, a busy road full of takeaways and shops. It is understood the Salaam Community Centre came under threat and police were working to keep the area safe. Rioters were also filmed shouting racist chants. Many had their faces covered and aggressively clapped their hands and waved their arms in the air during the violence. Huw Edwards could face jail after he pleaded guilty to making 41 indecent images of children. Any hope of him returning to broadcasting has also been extinguished by his convictions at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday. The disgraced newsreader will be sentenced on September 16. But many questions remain about his crimes, including how the vile indecent abuse pictures of children ended up on his phone in a WhatsApp chat with a paedophile. How they swapped numbers and why the BBC's star newsreader didn't go to the police over indecent images of children sent to him by sex offender Alex Williams also remains unknown. Instead they chatted over text for eight months in a period where Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philips funeral to the nation. How did Huw Edwards end up on a WhatsApp chat with a paedophile who sent him child porn? Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 Alex Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children Detectives discovered last November that 25-year-old Alex Williams had been speaking with the former BBC anchor and sending him sick images over WhatsApp, passing the evidence onto Scotland Yard. The pair chatted for several months, after apparently meeting on social media and then swapping phone numbers. Ian Hope, prosecuting, told the court yesterday that Williams had sent Edwards 377 images, 41 of which were indecent and formed the charges to which the veteran broadcaster pleaded guilty yesterday. Two of the images involved a child believed to be as young as seven, Westminster Magistrates Court heard. Edwards, 62, received and opened seven category A - the most indecent - images, 12 category B and 22 category C photos between December 2020 and August 2021. Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court: 'The bulk of those indecent images were sent to Mr Edwards within a two-month period and indeed the bulk of those were within a two-day period,' Mr Hope said. 'Towards the end of February 2021, the male queried whether the children were too young, to which Mr Edwards responded to say not to send any more. 'At this point a further five images were sent and read by him. 'The final one was sent in August 2021. 'It depicted a male child of a younger age than the other images. 'Mr Edwards and the male discussed the images. Mr Edwards tells this male not to send him these images and no more were sent, although the chat continues.' Alex Williams is yet to comment. Why didn't Huw Edwards go to the police and keep chatting with paedophile Alex Williams AFTER being sent indecent images of children? Huw Edwards' offending only came to light by chance - after police in South Wales found his number on the phone of another paedophile, Alex Williams, 25 Huw Edwards' offending only came to light by chance - after police in South Wales found his number on the phone of another paedophile. The married father-of-five did not go to the police when Alex Williams began sending him child porn. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philips funeral to the nation. UK law makes it an offence to make, distribute or possess all forms of child pornography. It is also a so-called strict liability offence, meaning that the prosecution is not required to prove any intention or knowledge of criminal wrongdoing. But experts have said that Edwards should have gone to the police - but didn't. In fact he continued contact with Alex Williams afterwards. 'Just to be clear, if you are sent unsolicited child porn and report it immediately to the police you will not be prosecuted', according to one on the Roll On Friday legal blog. 'It happens quite often and there is never any question of prosecuting the reporting party. If you delete it and block the sender but don't report it there is a very small chance that you may later be prosecuted. 'There is a child victim at the other end of the offence and, if you don't report it, we can't investigate and protect the child'. Why was Huw Edwards charged with 'making' child pornography? Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), 'making' an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts. It can range from opening an attachment to an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic 'pop-up' mechanism. In the case of Edwards, he received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation. Speaking in Edwards' defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC said his client had not 'created' the images 'in the traditional sense of the word'. A number of potential defences to the charge exist, including not seeing the images and having no reason to believe that the images were indecent, having a legitimate reason to possess the images, or if the images were unsolicited and not kept for an unreasonable amount of time. But Edwards decided to plead guilty. Will Huw Edwards go to prison? The maximum prison sentence for making an indecent image of a child is 10 years. Sentencing guidelines set the starting point for any jail term for possession of a Category A image at 12 months, with a range of 26 weeks to three years. The starting point is 26 weeks for a category B image, and a community order for category C. Aggravating features to be taken into account for Edwards include that the images included moving images, and the young age of the child thought to be seven to nine years old in two of the category A images. The disgraced newsreader (sketched in the dock yesterday) will be sentenced on September 16. Mitigating factors are Edwards' early guilty plea, his previous good character, his mental health issues, and his remorse. Director at criminal defence firm Olliers Solicitors, Ruth Peters, said that while a jail term is an option open to chief magistrate Paul Goldspring during Edwards' sentencing hearing on September 16, a suspended sentence or community order is more likely. Edwards is a first-time offender who pleaded guilty with a relatively low number of images, which were strong mitigating factors, she added. The former Ten O'Clock News presenter will be added to the Sex Offenders' Register automatically following his guilty pleas. 'He will be required to notify the police of certain personal information within three days and must attend a local police station in person to notify,' Ms Peters said. Who at the BBC knew that he had been arrested in November 2023? When were his bosses told he had been charged? The BBC knew of Huw Edwards' arrest over accessing indecent images of children in November but continued employing him until April, the corporation has said. BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall has said a 'handful of people' at the Corporation were told of Edwards' arrest. In a statement, the BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. 'At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago BBC News staff claim they did not find out he was charged until it was revealed on Monday. But there are claims that the Met Police had contacted the BBC to tell them ahead of the announcement. There are also major questions about why there was a gap of five weeks between Edwards being charged and it being announced and him being put in the dock. But the corporation defended its actions last night, saying had he been charged while he was still employed there, rather than after he resigned, it would have acted immediately to dismiss him. Despite the admission, questions were still circulating within the BBC about what bosses knew and when, and whether the star was given preferential treatment. The corporation is also facing mounting pressure to publish the findings of its own secretive internal review into the conduct of the now disgraced household name, which it never made public. Two children injured in the Southport stabbing have been discharged from hospital, with five children now 'in a stable condition'. Alder Hey Children's hospital said it was 'delighted' that two youngsters had been released following the stabbing rampage on Monday that left three girls dead. It comes as the teenage suspect, 17, appeared at Liverpool City Magistrate's Court charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. The tragedy saw Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, killed as they attended a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children also suffered knife wounds, with two adults, dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes, injured as they tried to help. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Alder Hey Children's hospital said it was 'delighted' that two youngsters had been released following the stabbing rampage on Monday that left three girls dead Forensic officers on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside, where a horrifying knife rampage took place One of the five children recovering at Alder Hey hospital had been only transferred recently from Aintree University Hospital. In a statement the Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We are delighted that two of the children involved in Monday's awful incident have now been discharged. 'We continue to treat five children involved in the devastating incident in Southport on Monday, including one recently transferred to us from Aintree University Hospital. 'All the children in our care are currently in a stable condition. Out heartfelt sympathies remain with all those affected by Monday's incident. We will not be providing any further information.' The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at the Liverpool court this morning where he was remanded to a youth detention centre. The hearing last just five minutes. During that time the defendant, wearing a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers, pulled his sweatshirt of his face above his nose and kept his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night The boy, from the village of Banks, just outside of Southport, is due to appear in Liverpool Crown Court later on today. The teenager was taken to the magistrates court in a white van, flanked by a convoy of police cars. There was also a large police presence outside the court amid fears that angry protesters would turn up after a series of riots swept across the country in recent days. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. The defendant, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is accused of entering a dance studio in Hart Street and attacking children and adults who were inside on Monday afternoon. The youth's identity has not been revealed because suspects under the age of 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases. In a statement Merseyside Police said: 'We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July. 'The 17-year-old cannot be named for legal reasons, as he is under 18. He has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow, Thursday 1 August at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square.' Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: 'Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). 'I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West.' This is a breaking story. More follows. Russian troops practiced installing dummy warheads onto launchers in the latest nuclear weapons drills intended as a threat to the West over its support for Ukraine. Footage showed a military unit armed with Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems carrying out the third stage of exercises ordered by Vladimir Putin. The Russian Defence Ministry said the drills would prepare the army and air force for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons. This includes equipping launch vehicles with missiles 'and covertly advancing to designated position areas in preparation for conducting electronic launches'. Last week, Putin's forces carried out nuclear drills with hulking Yars mobile missile launchers, each carrying warheads with a force six times the strength of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Russian armed forces carry out drills involving a MiG-31 aircraft and missiles The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads The drills aim to prepare the army and air force for the combat use of nuclear weapons A Russian nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile fired from a mobile launcher, undated Russian units carried out the third stage of exercises designed to prepare for nuclear war This includes equipping launch vehicles with missiles 'and covertly advancing to designated position areas in preparation for conducting electronic launches' The Interfax news agency reported that missile launcher crews were set to move over 100km to practice camouflage and deployment techniques. The systems can also be mounted on truck carriers or deployed in silos. Naval forces carried out similar drills last month, practicing 'hitting the button' on a warship believed to be in the Baltic Sea. The drills came as the US announced fresh sanctions against the Kremlin, prompting Russia's deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev to declare that Moscow should inflict 'maximum harm on the USA and their 'f***king allies' as tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine's foreign backers. The Iskander-M used in the most recent drills is a short-range ballistic missile system with the capability to carry both conventional and non-strategic - or battlefield - nuclear warheads. One of the most advanced tactical missile systems in Russia's arsenal, it has a range of 250-310 miles, reaching speeds of up to Mach 6-7. Conventional versions of the missile have been used in Ukraine. Troops were also seen loading a missile onto a MiG-31 as part of the drills. Moscow has claimed Putin ordered the drills tactical nuclear drills to 'cool the hot heads in Western capitals'. It followed French President Emmanuel Macron hinting at sending European troops to fight in Ukraine earlier this year. Former British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron also said Kyiv had the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia. Both statements infuriated warmonger Putin who is struggling to make significant progress in his invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the US has permitted Kyiv to use American missiles to attack border region targets inside Russia used to hit Ukraine. Russian ally Belarus has also been involved in the tactical nuclear tests. Putin supplied Belarus with such weapons. Russian defence ministry channel Zvezda said: 'The Kremlin has repeatedly noted that the nuclear manoeuvres were a response to harsh Western rhetoric in Ukraine and NATO's eastward expansion. 'After Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Alliance, our borders with the military bloc hostile to Russia expanded.' In the latest clash, the Kremlin said today that any F-16s delivered to Ukraine by allies would be shot down and have little impact on the battlefield, in response to reports that the first fighter jets have arrived. 'Their number will gradually decrease, they will be shot down... But of course, these deliveries will not have any significant impact on the development of events on the front,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. For more than two years, Ukraine has pleaded with Western allies for the US-made fighter jets - long considered the crown jewel in the sprawling list of military hardware Kyiv has sought from its Western backers. The F-16 has been touted for its precision, speed and range. A Russian nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile launching, undated Huge trucks involved in the drills aimed at preparing for nuclear launches Moscow has claimed Putin ordered the drills tactical nuclear drills to 'cool the hot heads in Western capitals' The third set of drills came as Russia pledged to shoot down any F16s delivered to Ukraine A USAF F-16 fighter takes off during an annual joint air exercise with South Korea, in 2017 Kyiv hopes the arrival of the fighters will enable it to better protect itself from Russian bombardment. Several NATO countries have pledged to supply varying numbers of the fighter jets and have been training Ukrainian pilots and crews for months. Amid a blistering Russian air campaign in recent months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has placed Ukraine's need for improved air defences at the top of his agenda at meetings with allies. During an interview with AFP in May, Zelensky said Ukraine needed around 130 F-16s to secure parity with Russian aviation. Ukraine's partners, however, have promised less than 100 F-16s to date, with most of the planes likely to arrive over the course of years following the substantial training of the pilots that will fly them. A notorious Just Stop Oil activist is finally in prison after being arrested for a protest at Heathrow Airport while awaiting sentencing for throwing soup over a painting. Phoebe Plummer, 22, was sent to HMP Bronzefield, a women's prison near Ashford in Surrey, following an appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday. She had been arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of criminal damage after spraying paint on departure boards at Heathrow along with fellow activist Jane Touil, 58. Plummer and Touil were both remanded into custody over the Heathrow incident until August 28, to appear at Isleworth Crown Court for a case management hearing. It comes after Plummer and another activist, Anna Holland, also 22, were warned last Thursday to prepare for jail after being found guilty of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court over a separate incident at London's National Gallery in October 2022. The duo threw tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers, with prosecutors claiming they caused as much as 10,000 worth of damage to the artwork's frame. Phoebe Plummer (left), 22, and Jane Touil (right), 58, were remanded into custody after spraying orange paint on passenger information screens at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday Phoebe Plummer is arrested on suspicion of criminal damage at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday Police officers remove Phoebe Plummer after arresting her at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday The judge in that case said Plummer and Holland would be released on bail until they are sentenced on September 27 in Southwark, but warned them to come to the court 'prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison on that date'. As for the Heathrow protest on Tuesday, Plummer and Touil allegedly caused 50,000 worth of damage when they sprayed orange paint from large cylinders on departure boards, floors and glass walls inside the airport's Terminal Five. Just Stop Oil claimed in a press release that during yesterday's court hearing in Westminster, Plummer told the judge: 'Sending peaceful protestors like me to prison isn't going to prevent us from resisting. 'You're upholding an abysmal system. And you're doing that to maintain business as usual. You won't be protected from the climate emergency.' Speaking before the hearing, Touil was quoted by the group as saying: 'I have become increasingly terrified about climate breakdown and increasingly appalled by politicians' failure to take appropriate action. Phoebe Plummer (left) and Anna Holland (right), were found guilty last Thursday of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court over a separate incident at London's National Gallery in October 2022, when the duo threw tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers (above) Prosecutors claimed they caused as much as 10,000 worth of damage to the artwork's frame Plummer were warned to be 'prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison' when they are sentenced in September for the demonstration at the National Gallery in 2022 'Convinced that the most effective thing I could do as an ordinary person was to take direct action to highlight the catastrophic situation we're in, I became a Just Stop Oil supporter.' Touil said she was arrested for the first time in April 2022 and had been detained 'several times since' including one incident in November 2022 that saw her spend time on remand in prison after climbing an M25 gantry. But she added: 'I will continue to act on my conscience to protect life and to challenge the greed, corruption and cowardice that are killing people right now. I refuse to die for fossil fuels.' A video issued by Just Stop Oil on Tuesday showed Plummer and Touil carry out the protest near check-in desks for at least three minutes and 55 seconds without being approached by police officers or airport staff. In the footage, one member of the public is heard exclaiming: 'Oh my goodness, what is this?' Phoebe Plummer (pictured in March 2024) is regularly seen at Just Stop Oil demonstrations Phoebe Plummer is a 22-year-old Just Stop Oil activist who is now being held in prison Plummer studied social anthropology at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies The Metropolitan Police said the pair were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, adding that officers remained in the area to 'deal with any further offences'. Last Thursday, a judge told Plummer and Holland that they could be jailed after they 'came within the width of a pane of glass of destroying one of the most valuable artworks in the world' by pouring soup over the van Gogh painting. The duo were found guilty of criminal damage by a jury after three hours of deliberations at Southwark Crown Court. After the verdicts were read out, Judge Christopher Hehir who the week before jailed the co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion for five years at the same court told the activists that staff at the gallery had 'frantically' inspected the painting for damage after the incident. 'They were worried the soup may have dripped through by condensation,' he said. Phoebe Plummer was sent to HMP Bronzefield which is a women's prison in Ashford, Surrey HMP Bronzefield is a privately run female prison in Surrey which is managed by Sodexo Inside one of the prison cells at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey where Plummer is now being held Prosecutors believe the soup may have caused 10,000 worth of damage to the artwork's precious frame, he added. The protesters, wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, threw two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the 1888 work in October 2022, before kneeling down in front of the painting and glueing their hands to the wall beneath it. Tomato soup covered the image, which is covered by glass, as well as parts of the gold-coloured frame. Visitors were escorted out by security, who then shut the doors to the room where the painting hangs. A number of Just Stop Oil supporters were present in the court room as the verdict was delivered. A lawyer for Holland said they would consider whether to appeal. The offence of criminal damage can be punished with a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment. In a separate protest, Just Stop Oil activists blocked an area at Heathrow Terminal Five today In another protest on Monday, Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested at Gatwick Airport The women's bail conditions stipulate that they must not carry glue, paint or any adhesive substance in a public place, and must not visit any galleries or museums. Plummer was privately educated at St Mary's Ascot boarding school in Berkshire before studying social anthropology at London's School of Oriental and African Studies. She grew up in her parents' 2.85million Chelsea townhouse but according to court hearings now resides at a house in Lambeth. In another Just Stop Oil protest today, seven activists were arrested on suspicion of public order offences after blocking the passenger search area at Heathrow's Terminal 5. The protesters, who tried to disrupt access to the departure gates inside the airport at just before 9am this morning, were seen holding signs reading: 'Oil Kills' and: 'Sign the Treaty'. Both the Metropolitan Police and Heathrow said minimal disruption was caused, and it is understood the demonstrators were removed within 20 minutes. Passengers continued to access security lanes either side of where the group sat. A teenager charged with murdering three children and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport has been named as Axel Rudakubana. The 17-year-old, who turns 18 in just six days time, was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013. He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity. Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect. Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list. It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. In a bid to quell tensions - after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot - Judge Menary revealed Rudakubana's identity. As the suspected murderer arrived at the court he was met by dozens of people shouting, with one man having to be held back by police officers as the van holding him past. The revelation comes as two children hurt in the attack were discharged from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with five others in a 'stable condition'. Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court after being charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances Another young picture of Rudakubana Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police cars leaves Liverpool Crown Court The white van carrying Axel Rudakubana, 17, who is accused of killing three young girls arrives as Liverpool Magistrates Court Rudakubana seen arriving at court in a police convoy A prison van (centre) escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. Why did the judge name Rudakubana? Usually a defendant under the age of 18 is granted anonymity during court proceedings. This means media are not allowed to name or picture them unless there are exceptional circumstances. Today, however, Judge Andrew Menary KC decided to name Axel Rudbakubana. The judge at Liverpool Crown Court listened to 20 minutes of legal submissions before declining to make an order to protect the teen's identity. He said: 'Whilst I accept it is exceptional giving his age, principally because he is 18 in six days' time, I do not make an order under section 45. 'Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.' He noted that any order would have been lifted on Rudbakubana when he turned 18 anyways. The judge's decision comes after misinformation spread by fake news websites and Russian state media wrongly identified the suspect. The false claim said the suspect had arrived to the UK by boat last year sharing claims he was an M16 watchlist. It led to violent riots in Southport and beyond which saw dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. Advertisement He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' A provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year. Rudakubana spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline and at times rocking back and forth, side to side. He will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing. Until then he will be remanded in youth accommodation detention. Judge Menary told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: 'You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed. 'That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while.' Earlier today, the suspect attended a hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court which lasted just five minutes. During proceedings, prosecutor Deanna Heer alleged a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' had been used during the rampage. During that time Rudakubana, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt over his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. The suspect arrived at the court around 9.30am in a white prison van flanked by a large escort of at least eight police vehicles. The large police presence comes amid fears angry protesters will turn up outside the courthouse, after a series of riots have swept the country in recent days. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, leaves Liverpool Magistrates' Court after being charged with three counts of murder The convoy of police vans escorted the prison van away from Liverpool Crown Court The suspect was surrounded by a convoy of eight police cars and vans, with officers fearing they could be met with angry protesters following Monday night's riots Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Forensic officers on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside, where a horrifying knife rampage took place Emergency crews swoop on the area after a group of children were attacked at Taylor Swift-themed dance class The defendant, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is accused of entering a dance studio in Hart Street and attacking children and adults who were inside on Monday afternoon. Eight other children suffered knife wounds - with five left in a critical condition in hospital - while two adults who tried to save the young ones in the summer holiday club were also seriously wounded. The adults harmed were dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes who tried to help. In a statement Merseyside Police said yesterday: 'We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July. 'He has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow, Thursday 1 August at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square.' Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: 'Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday Yesterday floral tributes, balloons and soft toys covered the street near the police cordon Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport 'I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West.' The boy, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: 'We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' False claims online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat had sparked riots across Southport on Tuesday night, despite pleas from one of the victim's mother's for calm. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following that incident. After rioting broke out, Elsie's mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. 'The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had 'hijacked' a vigil for victims and will 'feel the full force of the law', while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as 'violent attacks from thugs on the streets', which she branded 'appalling'. The Prime Minister is set to face questions this afternoon after crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. On Wednesday, a clean up operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. More than 100 people were arrested in London after crowds gathered in Whitehall turned on police, throwing bottles and cans at officers in riot gear. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Police chiefs arrive to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing The riots came barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack Some were heard shouting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, while others shouted 'Rule Britannia', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats' and chanting 'you're not English any more'. A Met Police spokesman said: 'Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.' Responding to last nights riots, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The scenes of disorder and violence yesterday evening were completely unacceptable. 'There is no place for criminality on our streets and I fully support the Met Police taking action against those intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city.' In Hartlepool, County Durham four people were arrested after violent protests broke out, with people detained for various offences after missiles, glass bottles and eggs were thrown at officers. A police car was also set on fire before protesters posed for selfies with it. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: 'At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. 'Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community.' 19 fresh professions released in China to keep pace with demand of new quality productive forces Global Times) 09:41, August 01, 2024 China has released 19 fresh professions to keep pace with demand of new quality productive forces, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) on Wednesday. Observers said that the new professions hint that job seekers should be more open to adjust to the changing environment. Also, young elderly (generally referring to age between 65 and 74) who are well educated can explore the possibility of transitioning into a career in digital and intelligent technologies as a way to adapt to the ageing society. The 19 new professions include cloud-based intelligent operations and maintenance personnel, generative artificial intelligence system application staff, and user growth operation specialists, as well as 28 new job categories such as live recruitment specialists. These new jobs have been included in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The emergence of new professions reflects the new changes and trends in China's economic and social development, meeting the new needs of production and life, and providing laborers with more employment choices. Over half of the 19 new professions released are closely related to new quality productive forces. Among them are generative artificial intelligence system application staff, intelligent connected vehicle testers, intelligent manufacturing system maintenance personnel, and industrial internet operations and maintenance personnel. Other new positions nurtured by the digital economy are online anchors and user growth operation specialists. The release of the new occupations came at a moment when the governments and social forces are pouring in policies to stabilize employment, and rolling out more targeted policies to boost employment. In June, the country's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 percent, with the employment situation remaining generally stable, according to the MHRSS. China has set an annual target of creating more than 12 million new urban jobs this year. It also aimed to keep the surveyed urban jobless rate at around 5.5 percent this year. Observers said that with the upgrading of digital technology and the continuous development of society in recent years, a number of new occupations have been approved by the state and are appearing more and more around us. These new occupations offer job seekers direction and more options. The ministry said China will continue efforts to foster new employment growth in areas such as advanced manufacturing and the digital economy, and provide more assistance to key groups, including college graduates and migrant workers. The increasing of new professions has also provided clues on how to live better in the ageing society, especially for the young elderly. "Digital and intelligent technologies have reduced the labor intensity of positions, thereby increasing the possibility of employment for the elderly," Yuan Xin, deputy head of the China Population Association and a demographer from Nankai University, told the Global Time on Wednesday. People need to actively adapt and realize that we are already in a moderately ageing society. Currently, the average life expectancy of Chinese people has reached over 78 years. For the younger elderly who are in good health and well-educated, they are able to adapt to new job opportunities if they voluntarily embrace delaying their retirement so that they have longer period of time to create wealth, the demographer said. The new occupations included within the NOC are not newly created jobs but those occupations that are not included in the classification, but already have a certain scale of practitioners and require relatively independent and mature professional skills. According to the MHRSS, "green" is another major label for these new professions. There are already 134 green professions marked in the NOC, accounting for 8 percent of the total number of professions. Many of these newly included professions stem from the new needs of economic transformation and green low-carbon development, such as hydrogen-based direct reduction ironworkers originating from traditional industries, energy storage station maintenance administrators and power quality administrators to meet the development of emerging industries. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China's steel industry has been accelerating the optimization of steel variety structure in pace with the adjustment and optimization of national industrial structures, the China Iron and Steel Industry Association (CISA) said Wednesday. Data showed that in the first half of this year, the output of steel mostly used in construction, bridges and machinery dropped year on year, while that in areas including auto and ship manufacturing continued to grow. Yao Lin, head of the association, said at a CISA council meeting that since the beginning of the year, China's steel sector has been coping with challenges, including an imbalance between market supply and demand, falling steel prices, high raw material prices and low economic efficiency. The overall production and operation of the industry have remained generally stable, Yao said, adding that with the transformation and upgrading continuing to advance and the constantly optimized variety structure, the higher demand for steel products in the downstream industry was effectively met. The steel industry's pace of green transformation has accelerated significantly, and intelligent manufacturing has been upgraded, he said. Currently, the number of enterprises that use industrial internet technology to achieve smart production process control accounted for 79.6 percent of the total. Yao said that the manufacturing industry will be the main driving force to support the steel sector. The rapid development of new energy vehicles, the increase in orders for new energy-powered ships, and the accelerated renewal of old ships will support the demand for steel, and large-scale equipment renewal will also bring development opportunities for the equipment manufacturing industry, according to Yao. A teenager has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after he was allegedly stabbed outside a shopping centre. The alleged incident happened near the CS Square Shopping Centre in Caroline Springs in Melbourne's west on Thursday. Police were called to Lake Street near the shopping centre at 5.15pm after reports of a stabbing. The suspects had left the scene by the time police arrived. The teen aged in his late teens suffered stab wounds to his hand and upper body and was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital. Paramedics said the boy was in a serious condition, however police said his injures were 'life-threatening'. 'Investigators are still trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and the investigation is ongoing but it is believed the offenders have left the area,' Victoria Police said in a statement. Detectives and uniformed police remained at the scene on Thursday night. A teenager has been rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after an alleged stabbing near the CS Square Shopping Centre in Caroline Springs in Melbourne's west The scene of an alleged stabbing near the CS Square Shopping Centre in Caroline Springs in Melbourne's west The scene remains cordoned off as officers canvass for possible evidence and witnesses. The latest incident comes a fortnight after police swarmed Bayside Shopping Centre in Frankston in south-east Melbourne amid reports a group of teens were allegedly spotted with 'an edged weapon'. Anyone with information about the Caroline Springs stabbing to urged to call Crime Stoppers. Stephen Lawrence's body will be returned to the UK from Jamaica 31 years after his racist murder in London, his mother Doreen Lawrence revealed today. Baroness Lawrence said his family had decided to 'bring Stephen home to be closer to us' after originally burying him on the Caribbean island because they felt 'he would not be at peace in this country'. She added that images of her son's grave had appeared on social media after his body had been exhumed, which had caused the family 'distress'. Stephen was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, South East London, in April 1993 as he went to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks, and only two of his five or six killers have been brought to justice. The original police investigation into the 18-year-old's death was marred by institutional racism in the Met, incompetence and alleged corruption. In a statement issued through her lawyer, Baroness Lawrence said: 'My family and I have been made aware of the recent images of my son's grave that have been circulated on social media. Stephen Lawrence was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, South East London, in 1993 Doreen Lawrence said her son Stephen's body will be returned to the UK from Jamaica 'Following Stephen's passing, we made the decision to have him laid to rest in Jamaica, as we felt he would not be at peace in this country. After 31 years, we have decided as a family that we would like to bring Stephen home to be closer to us. 'The images that are circulating were taken after the funeral home exhumed Stephen's body. However, we would like to express our distress at the funeral home's lack of regard for our feelings and privacy, as evidenced by the decision to leave Stephen's grave open to the public, rather than closed off. 'We are disheartened by the individual who chose to take images and post them on social media without consideration for the potential impact on our family. 'We had hoped to have carried out this sensitive task privately, but due to unforeseen circumstances, this was not possible. We apologise for any distress caused by those who saw the images and kindly request that, out of respect for us and our privacy, these are removed from all media platforms. The bus stop in Eltham, South East London, at the scene of the murder is pictured last year Gary Dobson (left) was jailed for at least 15 years and two months and David Norris (right) was jailed at least 14 years and three months for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 'We kindly request that our privacy be respected during this time.' In later years following the murder, it emerged that undercover police officers had spied on campaigners supporting the Lawrence family in their fight for justice. And last year further failures were revealed, linked to a sixth suspect in the case, Matthew White. In June, Baroness Lawrence said she was 'bewildered, disappointed and angry' at an upheld decision not to charge four officers involved in the original bungled investigation into her son's murder. She said this marked 'a new low' in how her family has been treated by the criminal justice system, and means that no police officer will ever take responsibility for the failures in the case. Stephen was murdered as he went to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks (pictured) Clive Driscoll was the Met Police detective who finally brought Dobson and Norris to justice Last year a BBC investigation claimed that White, who died aged 50 in 2021, had a central role in the attack on Stephen, running ahead of the others towards the teenager. His stepfather, Jack Severs, who died in 2020, told a police officer not involved in the case that White had admitted being present that night. But Mr Severs was misidentified by the murder investigation team because White had two different stepfathers a failure the Met called a 'significant and regrettable error'. It was 20 years before Mr Severs was spoken to by a detective investigating the murder, Clive Driscoll, the officer who finally brought Gary Dobson and David Norris to justice nearly two decades after they murdered Stephen. The Met said that White was arrested twice but there was not enough evidence to charge him. The Met Police have revealed 111 arrests were made during Whitehall riots over the Southport mass stabbing - that saw bottles, flares and fists rain down on officers. The arrests were made for offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions. Around 1,000 protesting yobs were condemned by the force as 'shameful' - as they accused them of exploiting the tragedy 'for their own violence and criminality'. It came as Britain was engulfed in riots for the second night in a row, with thugs torching police cars and clashing with cops in Hartlepool and Manchester. False speculation online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat appears to be fuelling the shocking violence which started outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and spread across the UK last night. The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: 'Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence, as others across the country have done in recent days. LONDON: Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as flag-waving protesters clashed with police LONDON: Protesters were seen wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on. That's despite families of the victims calling for the violence to stop LONDON: A furious protester lifts up the mask of a riot policeman's helmet amid growing tensions SOUTHPORT: Locals have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night's violence 'They acted with great courage and the highest levels of professionalism in the face of hateful behaviour. 'All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality. 'There is absolutely no place for this on our streets. We will ensure that anyone involved in any violent disorder and criminal behaviour will be stopped, arrested and will face justice.' The teenager accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport appeared in court today accused of murdering of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. He is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. The suspect, from Banks in Lancashire, was remanded into youth detention accommodation and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court later today. Southport locals - including Elsie's mother - have called for the violence to stop after police vans were set on fire and bricks were hurled in violence that left 53 officers injured on Tuesday. But her wishes were ignored as angry mobs took to the streets - in other parts of the country - amid mounting anger. Many were filled with anti-migrant rhetoric. LONDON: Protesters hold a Union Jack banner which says: 'Enough is enough. Stop the boats.' They were also wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three girls who died in Southport LONDON: Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against illegal immigration outside of Downing Street LONDON: A protester draped in a Union Jack flag was seen mounting a traffic light in front of an army of riot police officers LONDON: Protesters drinking Stella Artois march through the capital on Wednesday night LONDON: People attending the 'Enough is Enough' protest in Whitehall, London, following the fatal stabbing of three children London's 'Enough is Enough' protest marked the largest gathering of thugs in the UK this week. Yobs took to the streets chanting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and yelled 'stop the boats'. Riot police were also pelted with glass bottles in Manchester, after protesters targeted a Holiday Inn hotel where migrants are believed to be housed. The most chaotic riots, however, were seen in Hartlepool where thugs were seen throwing objects at riot police, striking their shields and setting a police car on fire. One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially-motivated assault. In Manchester, shocking footage emerged of a group of thugs, some masked, throwing bottles at riot police vans and officers. It is understood they were targeting a hotel where migrants are being housed. The most large-scale clashes took place in the capital, however, as riot police were forced to fend off a group of flag-waving thugs on Whitehall. Some protesters were wearing t-shirts with the faces of the Southport victims on - despite families calling for an end to the violence. LONDON: Hundreds of protesters gather on Whitehall - days after the Southport knife rampage LONDON: Met Police officers clash with protesters as ugly scenes break out in Whitehall on Wednesday LONDON: Police officers were forced to put on riot gear as they try to deal with the breakouts of violence Police were forced to put on riot gear after chanting activists threw cans and launched flares outside Downing Street. Around 1,000 right-wing activists descended on Whitehall last night, with some waving a Union Jack flag banner with the words: 'Enough is enough. Stop the boats.' Huge scuffles between police and protesters broke out, with officers wrestling activists to the ground and leading them away in handcuffs after they tried to breach police lines. Loud chants of 'Oh Tommy Robinson' and 'we want our country back' were also heard as protesters surrounded The Cenotaph, despite police vans trying to protect the war memorial on Whitehall. The Wall Street Journal has praised the release of three Americans, including reporter Evan Gershkovich, as part of a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the US. Gershkovich's release was negotiated along with that of former marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmashevas, as part of a major inmate swap with Moscow. A total of 24 prisoners from seven different countries were freed - making it the largest and most complex East-West inmate exchange since the Cold War era. The exchange took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday morning. The country has previously mediated prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West. 'Today is a joyous day for the safe return of our colleague Evan Gershkovich, who left a Russian aircraft moments ago in Turkey's capital, Ankara, as part of a prisoner swap with Russia,' WSJ Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said. A plane carrying American prisoners has landed in Turkey following a major swap between Russia and the US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is among those released from prison in Russia 'That it was done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President Putin's cynicism. 'We are grateful to President Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn't commit.' She praised Gershkovich's 'strength, composure, humor' and described him as an 'inspiration' during his near 500-day incarceration. 'The bogus case against him represented many significant things,' Tucker said. 'A blow against press freedom. A warning to foreign journalists covering the Kremlin. A new tension in America's relationship with Russia.' Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour also hailed the 'unrivaled courage, resilience and poise' of Gershkovich and his family during his ordeal. A Russian Tupolev Tu-204-300 aircraft prepares to land at Ankara Esenboga Airport in Ankara amid the exchange 'We are overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released,' he said. 'At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evan's 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth. 'Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world.' It is understood that White House officials, diplomats and the CIA were all part of the negotiation process - and painstakingly assessed which other Western and Middle Eastern countries were willing to release Russian prisoners as part of the deal. According to the WSJ, last week CIA Director William Burns traveled to Turkey to finalize the logistics for the exchange with his Kremlin equivalent. President Biden also played a role in the historic exchange - speaking directly with prime minister of Slovenia Robert Golob to get him on board with pardoning two Russian spies, who were to be handed back to Russia in the swap. The exchange took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday. The country has previously acted as a mediator for prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West The president lauded the deal as a 'feat of diplomacy' as he confirmed 16 prisoners had been released from Russia, including seven opposition figures incarcerated in their homeland. 'Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,' Biden said. 'This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. 'And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. 'Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families.' Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States says are illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July. Former US marine Paul Whelan has also been released as part of the major prisoner swap Whelan, 54, has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 and was sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2020 on spying charges. The US has denied he was ever involved in espionage operations. His brother David Whelan, who had campaigned tirelessly to spotlight his brother's plight, said his work as family spokesman is finally over as he praised the media for reporting on it. 'It is vital that he be given agency over his life again, something the Kremlin took away for so many years,' he said. 'I cannot adequately express my deep admiration for your hard work and courage. Some of you were hounded from Russia, or labeled foreign agents, and took great risks to follow Paul's story,.' Radio journalist Kurmasheva was arrested in October last year and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident journalist also jailed in Russia, was also reported to have disappeared from view, prompting speculation he is among those released. Kara-Murza, 42, was arrested in April 2022 just hours after a CNN interview was broadcast in which he stated Russia was run by a 'regime of murderers'. He was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian jail in a tiny punishment cell just ten feet long and five feet wide. Radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in October last year and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, has also been released A Russian government plane is seen on the tarmac after landing at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey Four Russians detained in the US on charges including murder, cyber crime, smuggling and money laundering were thought to possibly be part of the exchange. The Moscow Times reported the individuals recently disappeared from the federal inmates' database in America. Details of exactly who has been released have not been made public yet. The Kremlin has previously pushed for the release of convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov in previous prisoner swaps, raising speculation that he could be among those freed. It comes after Slovenian broadcaster, N1 Slovenia, reported on a possible deal being struck earlier this week. The reports cited an exchange including the US, Germany, Russia and Belarus. The prisoner swap is the biggest between the United States and Russia since the end of the Cold War. According to the anonymous source cited by the Moscow Times, Russian authorities have made 'great efforts to keep the information inside Russia as much a secret as possible until the last moment.' The developments came as recently as Wednesday, when Kremlin military aircraft reportedly flew to isolated regions in Russia where political prisoners are being held. Gershkovich, seen during happier times, was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States says are illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was arrested in 2018 in Moscow, where he was attending a friend's wedding The US government has repeatedly stated its commitment to freeing both men, who they say were wrongfully detained. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, Gershkovich was fluent in Russian and moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the WSJ in 2022. He was the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War. Russian prosecutors alleged that Gershkovich had gathered secret information on the orders of the US Central Intelligence Agency about a company that manufactures tanks for Moscow's war in Ukraine, which he and his employer denied. Officers of the FSB security service arrested him on March 29, 2023, at a steakhouse in Yekaterinburg, 900 miles east of Moscow. He had since been held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was arrested in 2018 in Moscow, where he was attending a friend's wedding. He maintains his innocence, saying the charges were fabricated. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands listening to the verdict in a glass cage of a courtroom inside the building of 'Palace of justice,' in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Friday, July 19, 2024 To mark the one-year anniversary of his arrest, the Wall Street Journal published a powerful blank page with the headline: 'His Story Should Be Here' Details about the conditions both men have been facing behind bars are scant and in recent days, Whelan's lawyer said she had lost track of where he was being housed. His family previously told how he had been attacked in prison at the remote IK-17 camp in Mordovia by an inmate who allegedly punched him in his face and broke his glasses. US officials have repeatedly accused Russia of using Gershkovich and Whelan as bargaining chips for a possible prisoner exchange. Russia previously pushed for the release of former Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel Krasikov in prisoner negotiations around the release of US basketball star Brittney Griner, who was detained on drug possession charges. Krasikov was convicted of gunning down a Georgia-born Chechen separatist in broad daylight in a central Berlin park in June 2019. He rode up to his victim on a bicycle and executed him in Berlin's Kleine Tiergarten park in December 2021. A German court called it a 'state-contracted killing.' Griner was ultimately released in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident journalist also jailed in Russia, was also reported to have disappeared from view, prompting speculation he is among those released Russia previously pushed for the release of former Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel and convicted hitman Vadim Krasikov as part of prisoner swap negotiations sparking speculation he could be released although this has not been confirmed Among the prisoners released were at least seven Russian dissidents who were being held in jail in their homeland. Kremlin critics Ilya Yashin, 41, Alexandra Skochilenko, 33, Oleg Orlov, 71, Lilia Chanysheva, 42, Ksenia Fadeeva, 32, Vadim Ostanin and Andrei Pivovarov have all now been released, CNN reports. Many of those on the list were allies of former opposition leader Alexey Navalgny. Navalgny was reportedly on a list of potential prisoners who could be part of a prisoner exchange until his mysterious death aged 47 in a penal colony in Kharp, Russia in February. Wyoming residents were left fearing for their lives after a satirist page falsely claimed a truck filled with king cobras had overturned on a highway. Casper Planet, a well-known satirist news Facebook page told its followers on July 30 that a 'semi truck carrying a shipment of king cobras from a scientific research lab overturned on Interstate 25 near Casper' which caused them all to go loose. The post, which also has a fake crash pic attached, goes on to 'inform' locals that emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene immediately and a portion of the highway had been closed off for public safety'. Despite it being popularly known as a spoof page, the post created massive panic among some of its 69,000 readers. Wyoming residents were left fearing for their life after Casper Planet, a well-known satirist news page falsely claimed a truck filled with king cobras had overturned on a highway 'This is frightening,' one alarmed Facebook user wrote as another quipped, 'I will have nightmares tonight, thank you very much!' Another follower joked: 'The beginning of a Stephen King movie.' As a result of the prank, highway officials were forced to issue a statement to assure Casper residents that no such incident had occurred. 'We would like to clarify that a commercial vehicle carrying cobras did NOT overturn on I-25 near Casper. 'There is no danger to the public and I-25 is open,' the Facebook post read. The post, which has a fake crash pic attached, goes on to 'inform' locals that emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene immediately and a portion of the highway had been closed off for public safety' Three hours after the original fake post was uploaded, Casper Planet also released an update telling its viewers that the incident is 'not real' and they should 'respect authorities.' 'I have been gone for 3 minutes and you are actually calling authorities about this? Don't you look away! Back over here! We respect our authorities and they have better things to do. 'This is not real *coughs* NebraskaI mean everyone,' the page wrote. The king cobra is regarded as a fierce and aggressive snake, and its length and size give it an awe inspiring appearance. As a result, highway officials were forced to issue a statement to assure Casper residents that no such incident had occurred Despite its aggressive reputation, it is said that the king cobra only attacks people when it is cornered, in self-defense or to protect its eggs The predator's deadly fangs are almost 0.5 inches long and help push the prey on its path to the stomach. They are known to be native to northern India, southern China, throughout the Malay Peninsula along with Indonesia and the Philippines. Despite its aggressive reputation, it is said that the king cobra only attacks people when it is cornered, in self-defense or to protect its eggs. Throughout its entire range from India to Indonesia, the king cobra causes fewer than five human deaths per year, about one-fifth as many as caused by rattlers in North America. Two grieving parents claim the New York doctor who delivered their baby killed him after 'recklessly' ignoring guidelines on using a vacuum pump more than a dozen times on their baby's head. Danielle Mackenzie was 40 weeks and three days pregnant when she arrived with partner Fabrice Diaz at the Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut for the birth of their son, Alexander, in February. Dr. Jay Matut allegedly applied a vacuum pump 15 times to the baby's head in a bid to deliver him, despite NIH guidelines recommending no more than three sets of pulls. The doctor, who practices 'minimally invasive surgery,' ignored the mother's increasingly frantic pleas for a C-section as the situation deteriorated,' the suit claims. Her baby had a swollen and bleeding head when he eventually emerged, before being transferred to a different hospital where he died hours later. 'Matut acted with a reckless and conscious disregard for the safety of the infant in a situation where a high degree of danger was apparent,' the lawsuit claims. Dr. Jay Matut of the Westchester Medical Group is being sued by two grieving parents after allegedly using a vacuum pump 15 times in a bid to deliver their baby who died hours later Mother Danielle MacKenzie, from Peekskill, New York, had her pleas for a C-section ignored and suffered 'extreme psychological and emotional distress' 'As a result of the carelessness and negligence of Jay Matut, Danielle suffered and continues to suffer extreme psychological and emotional distress and impaired ability to carry on and enjoy life's activities.' The 31-year-old research manager had enjoyed a 'normal and healthy' pregnancy, and took 20 hours to reach full dilation after being admitted to the hospital on February 17. She had pushed for 90 minutes before Matut applied the vacuum pump for the first time. He then applied the pump 12 times in succession in a bid to deliver the child, persisting even after the device twice came off the baby's head. 'It is recommended that vacuum-assisted deliveries be achieved with no more than three sets of pulls and a maximum of two to three cup detachments or pop-offs,' the guidelines state. They also note that 'the decision to continue with operative vaginal delivery should continuously be re-evaluated during the delivery progresses'. 'If there is no descent, further attempts should be discontinued and cesarean section considered.' But after a further half-hour of pushing, he applied the vacuum three more times before giving Danielle an episiotomy, which finally allowed the baby to be delivered. Baby Alexander was 'limp,' had a slow heart rate and did not cry, the lawsuit claims. Alexander's father Fabrice Diaz is also a party to the lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital Greenwich Hospital, where the baby was delivered, in Greenwich, Connecticut, said it is 'committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible' He also had a swollen head 'consistent with a subgaleal hemorrhage between the scalp and the skull.' He was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where he was intubated in a critical condition. He was transferred to the nearby Yale New Haven Hospital 'where his condition continued to deteriorate,' before he died just before 11pm on February 18. Dr. Matut has been in practice for more than 20 years after receiving his medical degree from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine. The couple are seeking punitive damages at a Bridgeport court for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and recklessness against Greenwich Hospital, the Westchester Medical Group (now Summit Health) and Dr. Matut. 'His care was willful, wanton and/or reckless, and represented an extreme departure from ordinary standards of care in the delivery of a baby where a vacuum assisted delivery has been utilized,' the suit claims. A spokesman for the hospital said 'Greenwich Hospital is aware of this lawsuit and is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible.' 'While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, we have offered our deepest condolences to the family.' Residents of an idyllic California coastal town have banded together to fight off a Monaco billionaire's attempts to reshape their community. Patrice Pastor, dubbed the 'octopus billionaire' for his property acquisitions, has been buying up real estate in Carmel-by-the-Sea for nine years. But now, the town has had enough. The billionaire's grand plans for a 13,428-square-foot mixed-use development were unanimously shot down by the town's Planning Commission. Planning Commissioner Robert Delves accused Pastor of showing 'no respect for the neighbor behind you' with his massive building plans. The Monaco tycoon, who attended the heated meeting via Zoom, was told to go back to the drawing board - a first in his nine-year property buying spree in Carmel. Patrice Pastor, dubbed the 'octopus billionaire' for his property acquisitions, has been buying up Carmel real estate for nine years. But now, the town has had enough He paid $4.2m in 2018 for the Der Ling Building on Ocean Ave between Dolores and Lincoln Earlier this year, the Monaco real estate titan bought up at least 15 iconic properties in the seaside village of Carmel, leaving locals 'terrified they are handing over our town to one person who's doing what he wants to do.' Long-time resident Kristi Reimers, whose family home would be overshadowed by Pastor's latest project, told SFGate: 'Ever since the flagging went up last week, I have felt incredible anxiety and, to be honest, grief at the notion of having the home I've lived in for almost two decades turn into a cave.' 'This project as it stands will cause a substantial adverse change in two historic resources: one actual and one eligible,' she added. 'Because two of the three lots are deemed historic, additionally, this needs to be reviewed in the context of the Reimers' Stonehouse Terrace.' His $7.5million purchase of the La Rambla building earlier this year was one in the series of deals landed by the 51-year-old since he and his company Esperanza Carmel set their sights on the village ten years ago. The billionaire's grand plans for a 13,428-square-foot mixed-use development were unanimously shot down by the town's Planning Commission His $7.5million purchase of the La Rambla building last month is the latest in a series of deals landed by the 51-year-old Police were called after a fist-fight broke out between a small business owner and a village administrator in October after Pastor demanded permission to override planning laws so he could move a historic wall. And locals fear that soaring prices will drive them out of a village where the population has already fallen from 3,700 to 3,200 since 2010. 'What's going to happen as he spends so much money on the building, the property tax goes up and the rents go up and the only people who can afford it are chain stores?' one business owner told SFGATE at the time. 'What's going to happen to our mom-and-pop shops? What's going to happen to our local feel?' Pastor's relationship with the town worsened further after he made a controversial statement in March, threatening to maintain a historic home 'only to continue to bother those jealous people who will never have access to it.' Earlier this year, the Monaco real estate titan bought up at least 15 iconic properties in the seaside village of Carmel Locals were left 'terrified they are handing over our town to one person who's doing what he wants to do' Pastor who is a fourth-generation property magnate is notorious for his feud with Monaco's crown prince which has been raging since 2021. In 2021, an email from Prince Albert II's press advisor to one of the Prince's close friends was shared on an anonymous website, LesDossiersDuRocher.com, which published incriminating evidence about Monaco's royal family. The email said: 'That octopus Pastor is everywhere! He has gotten his hooks into Monaco. He has gone mad, he has no limits!' Le Monde reported at the time: 'This supposed 'octopus' appears to be multi-billionaire Patrice Pastor, a 49-year-old who for decades constructed and rented buildings and apartments for small fortunes. 'Proud and with no frills, he is an unmistakable character in Monaco. 'I'm not a nice guy,' he said. 'I'm free, independent and I have money, so... Everything in the 'Dossiers du Rocher' is true, and everyone knows it! The truth is that I irritate them.'' The Rocky Point project on Highway 1 between Carmel and Big Sur He bought renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright's only ocean front home for $22 million The $9 million Ulrika Plaza project will create 9,000 square feet of retail space But some supporters warn of potential lawsuits if Pastor's project is treated differently from others in town. '... I'm hoping that there's not a decision that this particular project requires an EIR when the Hofsas House does not because that is called discrimination and would be evidence for a lawsuit,' Karyl Hall, who supports the project told SFGate. But Carmel residents are standing firm in their fight to preserve their town's unique character against the billionaire's deep pockets. 'There's a finite number of parking spaces in town, and if we keep crowding up this town and buying our way out of parking spaces, it's really not going to be fun to live here much anymore,' Carmel restaurateur Rich Pepe told the outlet. Video of a cowboy kicking an exhausted wild horse in the head during a government funded roundup sparked outrage from advocacy groups. American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) obtained the footage of a worker for the Bureau of Land Management abusing the horse in northern Nevada on July 26. During the roundup in Nevada's Blue Wing Complex two cowboys chased the wild horse and when it collapsed, kicked the horse multiple times in the head. AWHC filed a formal notice of abuse to the Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday demanding they hold the workers accountable. 'Besides being appalling and disturbing, the unprofessional and violent conduct of your contractor is prohibited by all governing authorities and demonstrates the inadequacy of this contractor in performing its duties,' said Fernando Guerra, AWHC Director of Law and Policy. A worker for the Bureau of Land Management was filmed repeatedly kicking a wild horse in the head after it collapsed 'These [Bureau of Land Management] contractors, demonstrating a complete lack of qualifications to conduct this work, repeatedly strike and kick the downed and restrained horse. 'The contractors' brutal handling of this wild horse also included yanking the downed horse's tail so hard that the animal's hindquarters were lifted and subsequently slamming the defenseless and restrained horse's head on the ground.' AWHC said the cowboys chased the wild horse through extreme heat and caused the horse to collapse when they roped it. When the horse was on the ground, they assaulted the animal. The roundup began on July 8 and as of Tuesday, the agency has reported 39 deaths during the operation. Nine of the deaths have been categorized as acute, meaning the animal died as a direct result of the roundup. A total 1,261 wild horses and 360 wild burros have been gathered so far. The agency planned to gather 1,373 wild horses and 365 burros because it claimed the land only has room for 539 horses and 120 burros in the complex. Contracts reviewed by 8 News Now found the federal government awarded a contract to 'C D Warner Livestock' based in Spanish Fork, Utah, to gather the animals. The company has earned a total of $7.1 million in contracts since 2012. American Wild Horse Conservation said the cowboys chased the wild horse through extreme heat and caused the horse to collapse when they roped it When the wild horse was on the ground, one cowboy got of his horse and kicked the wild animal The local news station reported the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund have called for the Bureau of Land Management to suspend its contract with the company. 'This type of behavior not only goes against the core beliefs of Americans and it is a clear violation of the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Protocol,' said Stephanie Boyles Griffin, senior program director for wildlife protection at the HSUS. 'This protocol was established to ensure the protection of horses during dangerous roundup operations, and it is clear from the footage that it isn't being followed.' The Bureau of Land Management told 8 News Now they are reviewing the incident. 'The BLM is currently reviewing the incident and will follow all laws and policies in place to determine a course of action and ensure that similar incidents will not occur in the future,' said public affairs specialist Heather O'Hanlon. O'Hanlon confirmed the horse involved in the incident is alive, uninjured and being monitored. A newborn girl has been found covered in bites and sever sunburn being abandoned on an ant hill by her mother who now faces an attempted murder charge. Nadezhda Sorokina, 32, from Russia, left the day-old girl in Milenino on July 23 before a horrified passerby spotted the screaming baby. Nikolai Pakhomov found the newborn covered in agonising ant bites and told local media that he initially thought the baby's crying was kittens mewing. The 25-year-old said: 'Automatically, I dialled '112' and called the paramedics. 'I took off my T-shirt, wrapped the baby in it, and carried her to the ambulance'. A one-day-old baby girl was abandoned by her mother on an ant hill in Russia She was left with agonising bites and severe sunburn following the ordeal The newborn's mother, Nadezhda Sorokina, 32, is now facing an attempted murder charge Medics, who declared the newborn fit apart from the insect bites and sunburn, called in a local priest who named the tot Maria Nikolaevna, in honour of her rescuer. Maria is in the custody of local child services and there is already a married couple waiting to adopt her, reports local media. Police later tracked down Sorokina, who now facing an attempted murder charge. The single mum of three reportedly confessed to giving birth to the girl on July 22 and then abandoning her because she could not afford to feed a fourth child. One neighbour Veronika Dokukina, however, claims Sorokina may have decided to abandon the baby after a break-up with the girl's dad. She said: 'I have a small child myself a one-year-old. I was giving her baby clothes, and she said, 'I don't need them anymore.' 'I asked, 'What happened?' She said, 'He stressed me out, I got so nervous that I had a miscarriage.' 'It seems she didn't have a miscarriage at all, she hid it. It means she planned it in advance.' Pictured: Newborn Maria at the Regional Perinatal Center of Kursk, Russia, on July 29 Doctors scrambled to save the baby after she was left abandoned by her mother The single mum of three reportedly confessed to giving birth to the girl on July 22 and then abandoning her because she could not afford to feed a fourth child Nadezhda's ex-husband, the father of her other children, claimed he had no knowledge of her actions. He stated that she was never an exemplary mother, but he could never have imagined this. It comes after a three-day-old baby girl was found being eaten by ants after being abandoned in remote woodland in Russia in 2015. Cops began their investigation after a passerby discovered the badly-bitten baby on the outskirts of Chelyabinsk in central Russia. A police spokesman said at the time: 'The person that found the baby girl heard her crying and on investigating discovered the child lying on a pile of leaves and covered in ants. 'It was clear that the child had been abandoned and there was no one else in sight, so they picked her up and called for an ambulance.' The baby still had an umbilical cord attached when she was found by the man, who was on his way to work. Delegations arrive at the Trocadero as spectators watch French singer Philippe Katerine performing on a giant screen during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday in Paris. Ludovic Marin/Getty Images Commentators were divided on Pariss wild, wooly, extremely French opening ceremony, which kicked off the Olympics on Friday in the City of Lights. The Los Angeles Times call it unprecedented while the Washington Post praised it as a grand vision. Meanwhile, the New York Times was less impressed, complaining that the spectacle, which had athletes floating down the Seine, missed the boat. But if there was one thing that everyone could agree on, it was this: The drag performance that strongly evoked despite organizers later saying it wasnt intended to Leonardo da Vincis The Last Supper was a bold stroke. If you missed it (or if you gave up social media for election season), the events most memorable moment was a full-on drag performance that played out on the Passerelle DeBilly, one of the Seines famous bridges. The catwalk culminated in a provocative tableau that had a dozen-odd performers pose in attitudes that, for many, looked like they were taken from da Vincis second-most-famous painting and not from van Biljerts Feast of the Gods as organizers later claimed. (The Mona Lisa came creepily to life elsewhere in the evening.) The send-up was a cheeky celebration of the vibrant Paris drag scene, a welcome testament to the enduring influence of great art and a powerful symbol of inclusion and belonging. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unless, of course, youre Mike Johnson. Shortly after the ceremony concluded, the Speaker of the House took to X to decry it as shocking and insulting to Christian people. Next, the influential American Catholic Bishop Robert Barron joined in, calling it a gross mockery. The French Bishops Conference followed suit, shedding a tear for the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes. Johnson wasnt done. He was back on social media Tuesday, flogging the White House for failing to issue a formal condemnation and writing, a little darkly, that 200 million Christians in America should take note. The message was clear albeit inaccurate: Olympic organizers took one of the sacred symbols of the faith, painted by one of Europes great religious artists, and turned it into heresy. Even more important than whether the drag performance was supposed to be the Last Supper is what Johnson, Barron and the bishops seemed to have missed in their blistering critiques: Leonardo da Vinci was very likely a heretic. And dont think this is some new revelation or the result of crank progressive revisionist history. Indeed, the verdict comes straight from the pen of one of the artists first biographers, Giorgio Vasari. In the da Vinci entry of his epochal 1550 tome, The Lives of the Italian Artists, Vasari wrote that Leonardo formed in his mind a conception so heretical as not to approach any religion whatsoever perhaps he esteemed being a philosopher much more than being a Christian. That he would omit the phrase in future drafts has done little to stop art historians from quoting it frequently. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For the Italian novelist Umberto Eco, da Vincis impulse to put the human (philosophy) over the divine (Christianity) wasnt that uncommon among Renaissance painters. Indeed, when it comes to this particular heresy, Eco calls the painter a man of his time and sees Italian humanism as a whole (as) fundamentally heretical. Yet da Vincis heterodoxy didnt stop with his not-that-uncommon self-regard. As the Russian philosopher Vasili Lubov explains in his book on the artist, da Vinci was by turns suspicious or disdainful of multiple Christian practices and beliefs, implying or sometimes stating outright that the world makes too much of the crucifixion, that post-resurrection appearances of Jesus were unlikely and that Communion closely resembles rejected pagan rituals. And sometimes, his suspicions crept into his paintings. Another example of da Vincis unorthodox religious beliefs comes from his writings about the great flood in Genesis. Christians in his time thought that fossils of seashells on Italian mountains were evidence of the deluge, but da Vinci was unconvinced. Art critic Kelly Grovier argues that da Vinci saw these shells as evidence that the Earth was much older than the biblical narrative suggests. And, Grovier said, the artists penchant for sneaking seashells into his paintings and notably the devotional Virgin of the Rocks is a subversive critique of Christian teaching. About Opinion Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership. Read more about our transparency and ethics policies All of this is to ignore what would have been the most heretical thing about the artist in Renaissance Europe: his sexuality. Many scholars, Walter Isaacson famously among them, now accept that da Vinci likely was gay. In 1467, the artist was charged with sodomy, which in 15th century Catholic Italy was a capital offense. Of course, talking about da Vincis romantic tendencies a half-millennium later is complicated, but suffice it to say that some of his desires would have drawn religious authorities ire. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Two security guard fathers are offering free protection for children's clubs as fears sweep across the country in the wake of the Southport knife attack. Parents have been left worried over sending children to summer classes after the horrifying attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday saw three young girls killed. Eight children were also injured as well as two adults, with a 17-year-old - now named as Axel Rudakubana - charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. After watching the tragic events unfold on the news, fathers Ben Moss and Tom Doolan decided to step in and offer free security services for children's clubs. The pair, who run Napier Security Services in Huyton, Merseyside, have been inundated with security requests for children's events since the attack, they told the BBC. Security guard fathers Ben Moss and Tom Doolan are offering free protection for children's clubs in the wake of the Southport knife attack Members of Merseyside fire service laying flowers near the scene of the Southport attack where three children were killed and eight injured They say they have already sent security staff to 16 different venues this week. In the aftermath of the attack, anxious parents across the UK have considered cancelling their children's classes, while organisers have said they are unsure about running them. Mr Moss came up with the idea to offer up free protection after he learnt of the attack when watching TV as he was making his daughter breakfast. The father-of-one said his daughter was planning to attend some classes and he'd become concerned to hear some organisers were re-thinking summer clubs in the wake of the incident. He told the BBC: 'I know my daughter is going to some clubs and stuff like that over the summer and I thought it would give them more peace of mind if they knew somebody was there.' He said himself and father-of-three Mr Doolan were touched to see how many security staff across the country reached out to them to offer their services for free. Posting on Facebook, Napier security services wrote: 'After the horrendous events in Southport if any local summer holiday clubs are thinking of not opening due to security risks we will happily put staff on there for free where we can, kids should be enjoying their summer.' Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Bebe King, aged six, was killed in the attack Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport It comes as teenager Rudakubana appeared in court today charged with murdering three little girls Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, in the attack on Monday. A court heard that the 17-year-old - who turns 18 in just six days time - carried out the rampage with a 'curved kitchen knife'. He is said to have been born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. The suspect was remanded into youth detention accommodation and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court later today. Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. The hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court by District Judge James Hatton lasted just five minutes, where prosecutor Deanna Heer said he used a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' during the rampage. During that time the defendant, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt of his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. The Southport attack led to days of violent riots in the town, which also spread to Hartlepool, Aldershot and central London last night. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest which saw around 1,000 right-wing activists descend upon Whitehall. Violence erupted on the streets of London as flag-waving protesters clash with police A furious protester lifts up the mask of a riot policeman's helmet amid growing tensions Protesters hold a Union Jack banner which says: 'Enough is enough. Stop the boats.' They were also wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three girls who died in Southport SOUTHPORT: Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle after disorder broke out on Tuesday night SOUTHPORT: A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport on Tuesday evening as riots broke out Southport locals have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night's violence Police were forced to put on riot gear after chanting activists threw cans and launched flares outside Downing Street. Loud chants of 'Oh Tommy Robinson', 'we want our country back' and 'stop the boats' were also heard as protesters surrounded The Cenotaph, despite police vans trying to protect the war memorial on Whitehall. False speculation online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat appeared to fuel the shocking riots outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday night. Southport locals - including Elsie's mother - have called for the violence to stop after police vans were torched and bricks were hurled in violence that left 53 officers injured. A bomb used to kill a top Hamas leader was smuggled into a guesthouse two months before his assassination in Iran, it has been claimed. Ismail Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday after an explosive device erupted inside a heavily guarded complex where he was staying in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to a New York Times report. The bomb was said to have been covertly placed inside the building two months ago, despite the complex being protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, sources told the newspaper. The Hamas leader had been visiting the guesthouse in Tehran for the presidential inauguration when the bomb was detonated remotely once it had been confirmed that Haniyeh was inside his room, the report stated. A bodyguard was also killed as a result of the blast which Iranian officials and Hamas said Wednesday was caused by Israel, although the country has not publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination. It comes as the IDF today released footage of an airstrike that claimed the life of group commander Mohammed Deif. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device that was smuggled into a Tehran guest house two months ago Haniyeh had been staying at the guesthouse in Tehran for the presidential inauguration when the bomb was detonated remotely. Pictured: Satellite image of the heavily guarded complex The bomb was detonated once it had been confirmed Haniyeh (pictured) was in his room Footage of the Israeli airstrike that killed 90 - including Hamas commander Mohammed Deif - has been released by the IDF Deif, the chief of Al-Qassam Brigades, is considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks After Haniyeh was killed, it was believed he had died from a missile strike - but it has now been reported that a lapse in Iran's defences meant assassins were able to covertly plant and hide the bomb for several weeks before it would be triggered. But questions around how such a catastrophic breach of security was made remain unanswered with Middle Eastern officials admitting that the execution of such an attack would have taken months of surveillance and planning. The IDF today released new footage that captured the moment Hamas commander and mastermind behind the October 7 attacks Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The IDF released the clip of the strike in Khan Yunis, Gaza, which it confirmed took the life of Deif on July 13. A huge orange blaze could be seen erupting among dozens of tightly-packed homes in an explosion which Gazan authorities said left at least 90 people dead and many more injured. 'IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,' the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement today. Yoav Gallant, Israel's defence minister, posted footage of him drawing an X over the face of Deif, calling him the 'Osama Bin Laden of Gaza', as he vowed to pursue all Hamas terrorists behind October 7. 'We will not rest until this mission is accomplished,' he declared. The death of the one-eyed Hamas commander was confirmed Thursday after Hamas' political chief was killed by an 'airborne projectile' in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's death. Deif is believed to have been responsible for planning and executing the bloody October 7 incursion into Israel, in which Hamas members and their allies killed some 1,200 Israelis and took some 240 hostage. Palestinians evacuate a body from a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13 Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing (left), and Rafa'a Salameh, the commander of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade Deif is believed to have been responsible for planning and executing the October 7 incursion into Israel Gallant added the strike that killed Mr Deif was a 'significant milestone' toward achieving the goals of the war. 'The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organisation in disintegration,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas's military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the October 7 attack. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. The head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, Deif had been among Israel's most wanted man for nearly three decades and on a US list of 'international terrorists' since 2015. Israel had reportedly tried to kill him at least eight times - including in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2014 and in May 2021. The attempts saw both of his legs and an arm blown off and his wife and two children killed. Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel targeted Deif in a strike on July 13 that hit a compound on the outskirts of the city of Khan Younis, but there had been no immediate confirmation he was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time. The house where Deif was believed to have taken residence was hit with a 2,000lb (900kg) bomb, leaving a giant crater. One of the founders of Hamas's military wing, the Qassam Brigades, the former bombmaker, who studied physics, chemistry and biology at the Islamic University in Gaza, had led the unit for decades. He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention before rising through the ranks. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. Deif operated along with Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli military said. 'During the war, he commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing,' it added. There were rumours the sinister mastermind of the October 7 attacks had been killed earlier this month, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in mid-July it was 'still not absolutely certain' whether Deif was dead. The announcement came a day after political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Tehran. Haniyeh, a multi-billionaire who had been living in exile in Qatar since 2019, was reportedly killed when an 'airborne guided projectile' hit his compound in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility. After being appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017, Haniyeh moved between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, escaping the travel curbs of the blockaded Gaza Strip. The role enabled him to act as a negotiator in ceasefire talks or to talk to Hamas' ally Iran - and as a relay between hardline figures like Yahya Sinwar and the outside world. But many living in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, including members of Hamas, became disillusioned with Haniyeh as he became removed from the lives of people on the ground. 'The fact that he lived in a five-star hotel in Doha made him very unpopular with some of the Hamas figures on the ground in Gaza,' Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor of Security Studies at King's College London, told MailOnline. 'He's not someone who the organisation is relying on very much. But it is clearly a very symbolic strike.' Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, pictured in Iran on Tuesday hours before his death Haniyeh (pictured right) joined other senior Hamas officials on a private jet, undated Displaced Palestinians leave western Khan Yunis to areas in the eastern parts of the city following reports of Israeli forces withdrawing from the area on July 30 Smoke rises from an Israeli air strike in Rafah as seen from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza strip, on July 29 Palestinians mourn for their relatives killed in Israeli airstrikes hit the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, at Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on July 28 Palestinians mourn lost relatives following an attack on Gaza City in the north, on July 29 While Iran has vowed 'revenge' for Haniyeh's death, it is not expected his killing will lead to a dramatic escalation of the regional conflict. 'What this offers is a head on a silver platter,' Dr Krieg added. 'Netanyahu can say this is the end of the organisation. And that's pretty much as close as Israel will ever get to defeating Hamas. 'But that can only work if Israel says now 'we're willing to enter ceasefire talks.'' 'All sides don't want all out war. All sides want to maintain their reputation. Nobody wants to lose face. These people are replaceable. 'All sides will find a way in this tit-for-tat escalation to respond in measure beyond a certain ceiling... all sides have been pushing the threshold but on all accounts they have always tried not to breach it.' In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the south-west corner of the territory, with limited food and water. The Biden administration's plea deal that will allow three terrorist 9/11 plotters to escape the death penalty even has Democrats concerned. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi, plotters of the evil 9/11 terrorist attacks, have all agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for life sentences. The New York Times reported that the pleas, which will see the men dodge a death penalty trial, have been approved by Pentagon officials. But the terrorist trio escaping from capital punishment due to the Biden administration's agreement is worrying both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. 'I am very concerned about this plea deal,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday. 'I think we ought to scrutinize it very carefully.' Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the main 9/11 mastermind, shown after his capture during a raid in Pakistan in 2003 (L), and on the shown in captivity at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2009 (R). He struck a deal with U.S. officials to serve a life sentence in exchange for pleading guilty after being in captivity for around two decades. His deal infuriated senators who had to deal with the aftermath of the devastating attacks 'I think there are interests here that may not have been represented as fairly and aggressively as they should have been.' Over 150 of the nearly 3,000 victims of the dreadful 9/11 plot were Connecticut residents, according to local outlets. 'I championed the 9/11 families and their legal action against Saudi Arabia,' Blumenthal continued. 'There is so much here that we don't know, and we have an obligation to tell the American people about the potential complicity, not only of these defendants, but of Saudi Arabia and other countries.' The Democrat demanded the White House explain their reasoning for the deal. 'No explanation whatsoever. And they owe me and Congress an explanation. But more importantly, the 9/11 families and the American people.' New Mexico Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Lujan told Daily Mail: 'The United States of America should be prosecuting fully those responsible for terrorist attacks on the United States soil. And I don't necessarily agree when sentences are lenient.' On September 11, 2001, conspirators from al-Qaida seized control of airplanes and hit New York's World Trade Center, seen here, and the Pentagon near Washington Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., demanded the White House provide an explanation for why they decided to accept a plea deal that allows the masterminds behind 9/11 to escape the death penalty despite orchestrating an attack that killed thousands New Mexico Democrat Sen. Bey Ray Lujan told DailyMail.com he does not necessarily agree when sentences are lenient Republicans were also outraged by the Biden administration's deal. 'It's par for the course for these guys,' Sen. Marco Rubio said of the Biden administration negotiating the deal, saying he was 'not a fan' of the arrangement. 'They've released almost everybody that's there. Some of them have reengaged in terrorism.' 'If anyone should be facing the death penalty it should be these people,' he told DailyMail.com. 'We need a president who kills terrorists, not negotiates with them,' Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said of the deal. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called the deal 'a disgrace' adding 'these terrorists deserve the death penalty.' 'Anything short of their execution is a complete and total miscarriage of justice,' Cruz posted on X. 'Time and time again, this administration shows weakness to our adversaries.' Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement to DailyMail.com that it's a 'slap in the face' for the families of those murdered by the terrorists. 'The Biden-Harris Administration has done the unthinkable: theyve agreed to a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, and two of his accomplices.' Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said: 'It's absolutely the wrong signal at the wrong time. The world is on fire. Terrorism is rampant. And we give a plea deal to the mastermind of 9/11? That just encourages more attacks.' Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11 The New York Times reported on Wednesday evening that the pleas, which will see the men dodge a death penalty trial, have been approved by Pentagon officials. Walid Bin Attash, left, and Mustafa al Hawsawi, right, are seen here Firefighters walk towards one of the tower at the World Trade Center before it collapsed Others were pleased with the Pentagon's deal, saying it helps bring closure to painful tragedy. '9/11 was one of the worst day for many of us,' Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told DailyMail.com. 'We've lived through that again and again and again.' 'And it's funny that there's an emotional scar there that's never going to be erased. But in a funny way, it's comforting that they'll never see the light of day where they're not in prison.' The Coloradan said he was satisfied with the plea deal. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., also told DailyMail.com he was satisfied with the deal, saying the terrorist's guilty plea is 'compelling.' Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine told DailyMail.com: 'It is generally good news. I think the ability to have some closure to that after so many years is generally positive.' Others were surprised a deal was even reached. 'It's been more than 23 years since it occurred,' Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said. 'I wasn't sure if they were gonna get anything done on it.' 'I doubt that we would have gotten to the point of a death penalty execution anyway,' he added, saying he is glad they are 'out of circulation' and 'still in prison.' This is the two-bedroom flat where sex predator Huw Edwards has been living after separating from his wife as he faces up to ten years in jail after admitting having indecent images of children on his phone. The ex-BBC star, 62, has been dividing his time between the maisonette in a south London suburb and Carmarthen, south Wales, where he has regularly stayed with his elderly mother. The married father-of-five previously lived in Dulwich, south-east London, with his TV producer wife Vicky Flind, from whom he is reported to have separated. The couple bought their family home for 1.85million in 2006. But he recently moved out of the family home and rented a bachelor pad. This the two-bedroom flat in southwest London where shamed ex-BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards has been living since splitting from his wife Vicky Flind Edwards, pictured arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on Wednesday, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children The veteran broadcasters new spacious flat is in a quiet neighbourhood, boasting a large bay fronted living room with a fireplace, wood flooring throughout, two bedrooms and one bathroom. One neighbour said: The properties here are quite charming with good light and high ceilings. Its a really nice corner of London - and very quiet. He has kept a very low profile and I dont think most people in the vicinity are even aware he is here. Edwards landlords, who bought the property almost 30 years ago, are based in Australia so the news of his guilty plea could mean they will soon be in the market for a new tenant, if the shamed star is jailed. Its unclear how much hes paying or how long his lease is for but similar properties nearby go for as much as 3,000 a month. The Daily Mails Richard Eden revealed in April how Edwards escaped to Carmarthenshire, south Wales, to be with with his mother after he was suspended by the BBC last July following allegations that a then-unnamed presenter had paid a young person more than 35,000 for sexually explicit images. The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago There are also reports that someone in the Met Police called BBC management to alert them that Edwards had been charged, before it was made public. Nicky Campbell, one of the BBC's most senior radio broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to social media calls for the BBC to get back the 200,000 of licence fee money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he might agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'. The rector of Scotlands oldest university has been removed from its governing body after a backlash over her claim that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Stella Maris was stripped of her powers at St Andrews University over allegations that she had breached her roles responsibilities - and made some students fear for their safety. In an unprecedented move, she will no longer sit as the president of the universitys court after she was said to have refused to accept the findings of an independent investigation. But Ms Maris who was appointed rector in November 2023 will officially remain in post as rector for another two years - as there is no mechanism to remove her. Previous rectors have included John Cleese and Rudyard Kipling, and the university is alma mater of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Stella Maris has been removed from the governing body of the University of St Andrews Her remarks about the conflict between Israel and Hamas came one month after she took up the Fife institutions most senior elected post. In a message to thousands of students, Ms Maris claimed Israeli forces had carried out weeks of genocidal attacks in Gaza. She said Palestinians had suffered apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment after the conflict escalated. Ms Maris also condemned the actions of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which killed more than 1,000 Israelis during attacks on October 7. She said: It is also crucial to acknowledge and denounce the actions by Hamas that qualify as war crimes, notably the taking of hostages and deliberately targeting civilians, which I have and continue to do. The investigation into her comments carried out by Lady Ross, then Morag Ross KC found she had exercised poor judgment, warning her words could potentially encourage anti-Semitic behaviour. It also claimed she had inflamed tensions among students at the university with subsequent comments. The university court is the institutions overall governing body, including all aspects of strategic planning and finances. Last night Ms Maris said she intended to appeal against the universitys decision, Principal Professor Dame Sally Mapstone said: We can disagree passionately on the most difficult issues, but it should always be with courtesy and respect for those whose views may differ from our own. In large part, our community in St Andrews has responded to this terrible conflict and the abhorrent loss of innocent civilian life with strong, reasoned argument and commitment, but always consideration for the effects of their actions on others, and our students in particular, deserve significant recognition for that. I believe that we can all learn from what has happened over the past few months, and that the values of listening, tolerance and respect will become even more important to our university community. More than 1,400 students and alumni has signed an open letter to the rector, which said: We are concerned that your letter does not demonstrate equal care for Palestinian and Israeli lives. Ray Perman, chairman of the university court, said: After extensive attempts at dialogue over three months, we have unfortunately now reached the point where university court has concluded that she is in serious and persistent breach of her responsibilities. He said: As the chair of university court, I wish to offer an apology to all students, and others, who were upset or feared for their safety as a consequence of the rectors handling of this matter, and those who were subsequently upset by the rise in tensions and disagreements which ensued. The university said it provided regular support to Ms Maris during the dispute. Ms Maris read English and philosophy at the university, which she joined as an undergraduate in 2017, and has since filled a series of student representation roles. Responding last night to her removal from the universitys court, Ms Maris said she fully intends to appeal the decision. St Andrew University students were alarmed at the tone of Stella Maris's message In a statement, she said: I am disappointed by the universitys decision to remove me from university court, which shows a lack of respect for the role of the rector in speaking independently for students as their elected representative and sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech in higher education. It is clear that I have been removed from university court because I called for an end to Israels war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse Black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide. A two-year-old died of heat exposure inside a hot car after her father left her in the driveway on a scorching day, her autopsy confirmed. Parker Scholtes was found dead in the blue 2023 Honda Acura SUV about 4.15pm on July 9 outside the family home in Marana, north of Tucson, Arizona. Her father Christopher Scholtes, 37, was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse after police found he left her in the car to nap for three hours. The Pima County Medical Examiner said the temperature inside the car was 108.9F when first responders arrived. The autopsy conducted on July 10 confirmed Parker died from environmental heat exposure and the report listed the manner of death as 'accident'. Christopher Scholtes, 37, was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse over Parker's death. He is seen with Parker, her two older sisters and his wife Erika Parker Scholtes, 2, died in a hot car in front of her home after she was left there for allegedly three hours on a 109F day Scholtes told police he left Parker in her car seat inside the vehicle with the engine running and air-conditioning on because he did not want to wake her up. He claimed she was there less than an hour after they arrived home, but CCTV footage revealed it was more than three hours in direct sunlight, according to a criminal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com. His wife Erika Scholtes, a doctor at the hospital where Parker was declared dead, arrived home at 4.08pm and asked where her daughter was, then found her in the car, police said. Scholtes' two other children, aged nine and five, told police that Scholtes had left all three siblings alone in the vehicle regularly As Parker was rushed to the hospital, she texted him saying: 'I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you.' She later added: 'We've lost her, she was perfect.' Scholtes replied: 'Babe I'm sorry! How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can't be real.' Scholtes' two other children, aged nine and five, told police their father regularly left all three siblings alone in the car. The kids told police Scholtes 'got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away', according to the complaint. A PlayStation and other electronics were taken away as evidence by police. The father-of-three told police he left the air conditioning in the Acura running but knew it would automatically shut off after about 30 minutes, based on previous experience. Scholetes told police he got home with Parker about 2.30pm, but surveillance footage from neighbors' cameras showed his car arrived at the house about 12.53pm. A 911 call was made at 4.16pm, when the reported temperature was 109 degrees. Parker is pictured Scholtes told cops that when he arrived home, Parker (pictured together) was asleep in the back seat and he didn't want to wake her, making him elect to leave her in the car despite the extreme heat The cameras also showed Scholetes never went outside to check on Parker until his wife arrived home and asked where she was, police alleged. Minutes later they found Parker unresponsive in the back of the car and a 911 call was made at 4.16pm, when the temperature was 109F. Erika Scholtes, an anesthesiologist, called her daughter's death a 'big mistake' as she begged a Tuscon judge to reconsider holding her husband until his next hearing in August. The judge upheld the doctor's request - agreeing to release him until his next hearing on Thursday so he could 'start the grieving process' with his relatives. Parker was left in this blue Honda Acura SUV seen behind the police tape earlier that same day Erika Scholtes, 35, works as an anesthesiologist at the same hospital her daughter was rushed to on the day she died 'I'm just asking if you can allow him to come home to us so we can all start the grieving process,' Erika said during a remote appearance at her husband's scheduled hearing. She explained it would be 'so that he can bury our daughter with us this upcoming week, and [so] that we can go through this poor process together as a family'. 'This was a big mistake and I think that it doesn't represent him,' the mom-of-two continued. 'I just want that the girls to see their father so that I don't have to tell them tonight that they're going to endure another loss.' The defense proceeded to point out how Scholtes lacked a criminal history, aside from a DUI charge from 15 years ago. He was also charged with assault but the allegation was withdrawn. Advertisement Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to tackle the 'mindless minority' rioting in towns and cities by launching a new police 'capability' which will see thugs targeted in a similar way to football hooligans. The Prime Minister addressed the nation today after scenes of violent unrest in London , Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday evening following riots in Southport on Tuesday. Speaking during a press conference held after a meeting with senior police chiefs, Sir Keir thanked police officers who 'stood up to intimidation and violence'. Our live coverage has now ended but for a full recap see below A Georgia education chief has sparked outrage by saying an advanced black studies course for high schoolers breaks state law. Richard Woods, the elected Republican superintendent of schools, says the Advanced Placement course in African American Studies falls foul of Peach State rules about teaching divisive racial concepts. In particular, he highlights the concept of 'intersectionality' in the lesson plans. That's an idea about overlapping systems of 'privilege' and 'disadvantage,' hatched by scholar Kimberle Crenshaw in the 1990s. It asserts that straight, white, men, for example, get many breaks in life, while queer, black women face discrimination on all fronts. Georgia high schools could get in trouble for teaching a controversial black studies course Democrats and liberals in the state have railed against Woods, saying there's nothing wrong with the course. The controversy comes as education emerges as a frontline in the culture wars between liberals and conservatives. Many parents worry that progressive-leaning educators and curriculum designers present one-sided lessons about race, gender and sexual identity as a form of classroom indoctrination. For that reason, Georgia lawmakers in 2022 passed a law banning the teaching of divisive racial concepts in schools. That includes claims that America is 'fundamentally or systematically racist.' Students should not 'feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race' due to school lessons, the law says. So far, 18 states have passed such bans, based on an executive order from then-president Donald Trump. The Advanced Placement course drew national scrutiny last year when Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would ban it in the Sunshine State. South Carolina officials in June refused to approve the course, though individual districts there can still offer it. In Georgia, Woods said he was blocking the course, but had not explained his reasoning. On Wednesday, he said he'd reviewed the content and 'it was clear that parts of the coursework did violate the law.' 'The most glaring violation is on the topic of intersectionality,' he said. The designers of the course, Woods said, had made the mistake of treating a sociological theory as a fact. 'If the Advanced Placement course had presented a comparative narrative with opposing views on this and other topics, an argument could be made that the course did not violate Georgia law,' he said. The superintendent also said he'd asked Attorney General Chris Carr if schools can still teach the course, using a carve-out in the 2022 law. Woods has faced opposition on several fronts. Georgia school chief Richard Woods said the 'most glaring violation is on the topic of intersectionality.' Woods warns about teaching 'intersectionality,' a theory about overlapping systems of 'privilege' and 'disadvantage' that is often presented to students as a diagram Nikki Merritt, a Democratic state senator, said Woods' approach 'makes no sense.' Nikki Merritt, a Democratic state senator from Grayson, said Woods' approach 'makes no sense.' Mikayla Arciaga, a campaigner for the Intercultural Development Research Association, called for the repeal of the 2022 law about divisive concepts. 'Being black in America should not be a divisive concept,' she said in a statement. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, did not comment on the course, but has reportedly asked Woods tough questions about his interpretation of the law. The College Board, a nonprofit testing body that offers Advanced Placement curricula on a range of subjects, defended its course. Spokesperson Holly Stepp said the black studies class is a 'dynamic and robust course that is rooted in academic scholarship.' She denied that it seeks to indoctrinate students, saying they're 'expected to analyze different perspectives from their own.' 'No points on an AP exam are awarded for agreement with a viewpoint,' Stepp added. Intersectionality is just one of 74 required topics in the course, she said. The course description lists 'The Black Feminist Movement, Womanism, and Intersectionality' as one topic in the year-long course. It seeks to explain 'how the black feminist movement of the twentieth century drew inspiration from earlier black women's activism.' Another topic, 'Interlocking Systems of Oppression,' looks at 'how social categories (e.g., race, gender, class, sexuality, ability) are interconnected.' It then 'considers how their interaction with social systems creates unequal outcomes for individuals.' Some districts have said they will teach the course despite the controversy, but others have canceled their plans. The Atlanta, DeKalb County and Cobb County school districts have all said they will offer the course in some high schools. The state's largest district, Gwinnett County, said Tuesday that it wouldn't offer the class. Students who score well on an exam can usually earn college credit. Intersectionality and other aspects of the once-obscure academic discipline known as 'critical race theory' are divisive issues in the culture wars. Conservatives use the term in schools and statehouses nationwide to denounce curricula and policies they consider too liberal. It rests on the premise that racial bias intentional or not is baked into US laws and institutions. High school teachers have said they do not teach the theory, but conservative critics say it's made its way into lesson plans regardless. With wire agencies. Harry and Meghan have released a new CBS interview about cyber abuse, with the Duke saying parents have to be 'first responders'. The Prince went on to say that 'terrifyingly' many parents do not know to 'tell the signs of possible suicide'. The full interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will appear on the American channel's Sunday morning show - three years on from their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Throughout the interview clip with host Jane Pauley the Royal couple speak about how parents need to protect children from online harm - reflecting on their own experiences with Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. The Duchess said: 'Our kids are young, they're three and five, they're amazing, but all you want to do as parents is protect them. Harry and Meghan have released a new CBS interview about cyber abuse, with the Duke saying parents have to be 'first responders' Throughout the interview talking about cyber abuse, Meghan said she was 'just happy to be able to be a part of change for good' Throughout the interview, Meghan also spoke about her 'amazing' children - Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three Prince Archie, who turns five today, seen with his parents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and his younger sister Lilibet in 2021 'And so as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there and we're just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.' When the broadcaster adds 'you hope that when your children ask for help, someone is there to give it' the Duke adds only 'if you know to help.' 'At this point we've got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder,' he said. 'And even the best first responders in the world wouldn't be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.' The clip, which was shared on social media this afternoon comes after it was announced that the Californian-based royals will will visit Colombia for a tour later this year where they will 'engage with leaders, youth and women'. They will head to the South American country at some point this year after accepting an initiation from the country's president Francia Marquez. The exact date of the tour has not been disclosed at this time. Throughout this time - in keeping with their latest interview - the couple will 'engage in several activities' related to 'cyberbullying, online exploitation and the mental health impacts of these threats'. Ms Marquez's office said the couple would 'experience the rich heritage of Colombia' and help 'illuminate Colombia's role as a beacon of culture and innovation'. Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 11 Colombia's vice president Francia Marquez at the Festival Of Culture in New Orleans on July 6 Meghan receives flowers from a girl on arrival for a sitting volleyball match in Abuja on May 11 She added that the visit would precede the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which will be in Colombia this November. Ms Marquez said: 'As the vice president of Colombia and minister of equality and equity, I am pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country.' She added: 'The Archewell Foundation, founded by the Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment. 'The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. 'It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world. During their visit, The Duke and Duchess, as well as The Archewell Foundation, will engage in several activities related to this important topic. 'We are confident that their visit will further illuminate Colombia's role as a beacon of culture and innovation.' The couple's interview on CBS Sunday Morning will reflect on the same issues surrounding cyber abuse. A note about the interview accompanied the clip on social media. It said: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex talk with Jane Pauley this Sunday about a new program supporting parents of children affected by online harm.' For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org A Metropolitan Police officer has been filmed repeatedly punching a man in the face as a snatch squad moved in on London protests following the Southport attacks, with 111 people now arrested. Footage widely shared online appeared to show an officer hitting a demonstrator in central London as crowds gathered in response to the Southport stabbings near Liverpool. Police waded in before punching the man who was also kneed as he fell to the ground during the ugly scenes near Whitehall last night. A clip has been posted on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: 'Shocking footage shows Metropolitan Police walking up to a protester, minding his own business, and then violently punches him in the face and tackles him to the ground.' It comes as a 17-year-old man accused of the Southport stabbings on Monday appeared in court and was publicly named for the first time. Footage has been shared online of clashes involving police and protester in central London A widely-shared clip showed a Metropolitan Police officer punching a man in the face The man was forced to the ground as officers intervened near Whitehall on Wednesday night The footage emerged as police revealed 111 people had been arrested following the protest Crowds had gathered in London and elsewhere following this week's stabbings in Southport The man tackled by Metropolitan Police officers on Wednesday evening has not been named Scotland Yard revealed 111 arrests were made during Whitehall riots over the Southport mass stabbing, after bottles, flares and fists rained down on officers. The arrests were made for offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions. About 1,000 protesting yobs were condemned by the force as 'shameful' - as they accused them of exploiting the tragedy 'for their own violence and criminality'. The Met's Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: 'Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence, as others across the country have done in recent days. 'They acted with great courage and the highest levels of professionalism in the face of hateful behaviour. 'All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality. 'There is absolutely no place for this on our streets. We will ensure that anyone involved in any violent disorder and criminal behaviour will be stopped, arrested and will face justice.' MailOnline has approached the Met for further comment on the footage of a man being punched. A teenager charged with murdering three children and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport was today named as Axel Rudakubana. The 17-year-old, who turns 18 in just six days time, was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013. Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as flag-waving protesters clashed with police Protesters were seen wearing T-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on Locals in Southport have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night's violence He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity. Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect. Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list. It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. In a bid to quell tensions - after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot - Judge Menary revealed Rudakubana's identity. Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court after being charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances As the suspected murderer arrived at the court he was met by dozens of people shouting, with one man having to be held back by police officers as the van holding him past. The revelation comes as two children hurt in the attack were discharged from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with five others in a 'stable condition'. Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' A provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year. Rudakubana is next due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing and will be remanded in youth accommodation detention in the meantime. London's 'Enough is Enough' protest yesterday marked the largest gathering of thugs in the UK this week. Yobs took to the streets chanting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and yelled 'stop the boats'. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation Also killed at the dance sesion in Southport was six-year-old Bebe King Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Some protesters were wearing T-shirts with the faces of the Southport victims on - despite affected families calling for an end to the violence. Riot police were also pelted with glass bottles in Manchester, after protesters targeted a Holiday Inn hotel where migrants are believed to be housed. The most chaotic riots were in Hartlepool where thugs were seen throwing objects at riot police, striking their shields and setting a police car on fire. One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially-motivated assault. In Manchester, shocking footage emerged of a group of demonstrators, some masked, throwing bottles at riot police vans and officers. It is understood they were targeting a hotel where migrants are being housed. A Diego Rivera mural is seen at the shuttered San Francisco Art Institute during a media tour in February. A group of investors and advocates led by billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs has purchased the former campus. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Modernizing a beloved city landmark, such as the former San Francisco Art Institute, is no easy feat particularly when the goals are to address deferred maintenance and to ensure future relevance and functionality without overriding layers of history and undoing past edits while returning to core concepts. Then, there are the constraints of the citys historic preservation guidelines. But for culture-oriented architects, complex historic design challenges offer an intriguing opportunity to stretch the imagination and to connect with chapters in San Franciscos history that make the city special. From that perspective, San Francisco architect Mark Jensen just landed a plum project: the revitalization of the art institutes fortresslike former campus in scenic Russian Hill. Jensen, founding principal of Jensen Architects in South of Market, and his team have been hired to reimagine the 2-acre deserted art school at 800 Chestnut St. for its next act, the propertys new owner, BMA-Institute, confirmed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A new nonprofit, BMA-Institute is composed of local arts leaders and backed by philanthropist and entrepreneur Laurene Powell Jobs. The team purchased the campus earlier this year after the art institute its tenant of nearly a century declared bankruptcy. Architect Mark Jensen of Jensen Architects will lead the redesign of the San Francisco Art Institute. Stephen Lam/Special to the Chronicle 2015 The scope of the project is both aspirational and nebulous. BMA-Institute has said that it wants the campus to nurture both local and international arts communities, spark a renewed arts renaissance in San Francisco, which has been struggling to redefine itself in the wake of the pandemic, and bring visitors back to the preserved $50 million Diego Rivera mural that is the crown jewel within its aging walls. But details on how that vision will be translated into design are still being hashed out as is the campus new name, which is expected to be announced by the end of the year. Its really too early to know what can be done there, said Stephen Beal, the former president of the California College of the Arts and an adviser for BMA-Institute. There are a lot of ideas that have been talked about, but its still very much in formation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A calendar, which has been left open to December 2022, is seen at the shuttered San Francisco Art Institute in February. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Along with Beal and Powell Jobs, the BMA advisory group also includes: Brenda Way, the founder and artistic director of San Franciscos ODC/Dance; David Stull, the president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Lynn Feintech, the president of the Los Angeles-based Liberty Building Co.; and Stanlee Gatti, an event designer and former president of the San Francisco Arts Commission. Since the $23 million purchase was finalized in February, a bulk of the groups energy has gone into touring architects and deciding whom to partner with, said Beal, adding that he is thrilled with Jensen, whom he met as a faculty member at CCA. I was really impressed with his ability to connect with people and also his sensitivity to the kinds of spaces that support the creative work that artists do, Beal said. This sensitivity, I think, will play a big part in helping to determine the future of the former SFAI campus. Beal was not able to put a value on the restorations required to bring the property up to code, as granular assessments are still outstanding, but said the maintenance work will be significant. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The San Francisco Art Institute was left as is, with books and papers on tables, when it was shuttered. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Jensens work has touched a long list of San Francisco institutions and open spaces. They include the David Ireland House in the Mission District; the Minnesota Street Project, a warehouse in Dogpatch that provides gallery and workspace for artists; the Willie Woo Woo Wong Playground in Chinatown; and the CCA graduate center in Showplace Square. Hes also intimately familiar with SFAIs former campus. I have been going to this property for decades, literally, as an architect, as someone interested in the arts, as someone going to lectures over there, Jensen said. Whenever I had out-of-town tourists visiting, it was one of the first places I would take them because its an amazing site. It has beautiful buildings. Its got a phenomenal view. I think its one of the most magical ensembles of buildings anywhere in San Francisco. SFAI moved to Russian Hill in 1926. The campus is made up of an original Spanish colonial style building designed by Bakewell & Brown and a 1960s brutalist addition designed by Paffard Keatinge-Clay. It was declared a historic landmark in 1977. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The San Francisco Art Institute campus will require significant maintenance work, according to Stephen Beal, the former president of the California College of the Arts and a BMA-Institute advisor. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Jensen said that he could not answer whether the newer structure could eventually be turned into housing for a potential artist-in-residence program that has been floated by the campus new owners. Were not talking about housing now thats not on the table at the moment, said Jensen, adding that the focus for new construction is primarily on interior interventions to accommodate its future programming. Any exterior changes, at least as contemplated at the moment, will be light touch, he said. Jensen described the planned work as editing. There are a lot of changes that have been made to the property over the years that I think might detract from some of the core concepts, but theres also a lot of great stuff that you dont want to over restore, he said. I think thatll be one of the challenges. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jensen, the architect tasked with modernizing the shuttered San Francisco Art Institute, said he envisions a light touch on the exteriors of the campus buildings. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle For now, his team is in discovery mode: Theyre pouring over the extensive documentation thats been gathered about the campus over decades, its history and architecture, as well as initial assessments of the maintenance work that needs to be done. There have been some initial exciting discussions about programming, he said. There will likely be some specific, technical, specialized spaces for shops or labs, Jensen said, but added that its important to maintain universal space that can be many different things a studio, a gallery or workspace. Keir Starmer vowed 'action will be taken' today as he held crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. After summoning chiefs to No10, the PM told them that 'marauding mobs' must not be allowed to cause chaos. He condemned those involved in violent disorder as 'thugs who have no interest whatsoever in the raw pain' of the community. Sir Keir is set to hold a press conference at 4pm amid fears of more trouble, after ugly scenes spread to London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight. The premier said: 'I wanted to send a message to each of you and through you, your officers, to say that this Government supports the police, supports what you are doing and to be absolutely clear: This is not protest, this is violent disorder and action will be taken. 'So, this Government will make sure you have got the powers you need and will back you in using those powers.' In the capital, more than 100 people were arrested after crowds in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. People wearing England flags and waving banners saying 'enough is enough' and 'stop the boats' congregated outside Downing Street. Violence flared after social media posts wrongly claimed the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. Keir Starmer has summoned police chiefs to No10 as thugs again took to the streets in London, Hartlepool and Manchester Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones and chief constables from Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police all attended the No 10 meeting HARTLEPOOL: An angry mob set fire to a police car LONDON: Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as a flag-waving crowd clashed with police MANCHESTER: Protesters were seen launching glass bottles at a police van Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones and chief constables from Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police all attended the No 10 meeting. Sir Keir, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson spoke with the officers. There were 19 attendees in total, including director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, HM Chief Inspector Andy Cooke and police chiefs Serena Kennedy and John Robins from the Merseyside and West Yorkshire forces. Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, spoke to the meeting via video link. She told the assembled ministers and police chiefs that the force was 'determined to get justice' for the attack on Monday and to identify all those who took part in rioting on Tuesday in Southport. The angry scenes in London last night included loud chants of: 'We want our country back' and: 'Oh Tommy Robinson', referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: 'Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary'. Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected. Manchester police confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. According to the Manchester Evening News, this incident also saw chants of: 'We want our country back', while a group of men were seen jumping in the path of a bus, smashing its wing mirror and assaulting a passenger. Aldershot appears to have escaped the violence seen in other parts of the country, but a demonstration there was still met by riot police. The string of violent incidents follows similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. Lord Walney, the Government's independent adviser on political violence, said he hoped the meeting would examine powers to 'refuse and prevent further so-called 'protests' that are being used by far right activists as a vehicle for serious disorder and violence'. He said: 'There is a right to protest in the UK but that is not a right to riot.' The meeting comes as a 17-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in a critical condition while two adults were also critically injured. HARTLEPOOL: Rioters break down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running HARTLEPOOL: One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially motivated assault MANCHESTER: Video shows protesters clashing with riot police with parts of the UK at boiling point HARTLEPOOL: Protesters run towards riot police as chaos unfolded on the streets HARTLEPOOL: Firefighters try and put out a blaze which completely destroyed a police vehicle An American woman has claimed that she was repeatedly raped after being lured to India to marry a lawyer she met on Facebook. The 45-year-old nurse, from Florida, quit her job, sold her house and travelled to India on July 3 to marry the man after he befriended her on social media and invited her to his home country, the Times of India and Bhaskar report. She told local police that after she landed at Delhi airport, he took her to a hotel in Jaipur, the capital city of the Rajasthan state, where she claims he raped her. The woman alleges that he raped her several more times between July 3 and July 21. During this time they reportedly stayed in hotels in Jaipur and the city of Ajmer, before the man promised the her that they would get married and organised a wedding ceremony on July 15 at a temple in Nasirabad - only to realise shortly after that it was all a ruse. She reportedly found out that the woman he had introduced to her as his cousin at their fake wedding was actually his pregnant wife, with whom he already had a ten-year-old child, after the alleged fraudster took her to his home. She told local police that after she landed at Delhi airport, the man took her to a hotel in Jaipur (stock image of the city above), the capital city of the Rajasthan state, where she claims he raped her. The woman alleges that he raped her several more times between July 3 and July 21 During this time they reportedly stayed in hotels in Jaipur (stock image above) and the city of Ajmer, before the man promised the her that they would get married and organised a wedding ceremony on July 15 at a temple in Nasirabad - only to realise shortly after that it was all a ruse. The American launched a complaint with the local police force via an NGO on July 25, saying that she discovered that the fraudster deceived and raped her. The man was arrested by Indian police for rape and deceit under the pretense of marriage on July 31 when he was discharged from hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his leg and chest he said he sustained while cleaning his friend's rifle. The police superintendent in Bundhi, Hanuman Prasad Meena, told the Indian Express about the case: 'The accused took her to the hotel where they stayed for some time. 'Later, he took the woman to Ajmer and she stayed there for a while. 'According to the woman, the accused never told her that he was married. 'On July 15, he took the woman to a temple and married her. She asked the man to take her to his home. 'The man initially refused but then he introduced her to his family in Ajmer. 'There it came to light that [he] was already married with a 10-year-old child. 'His wife is currently pregnant with another child. Then both of them had a fight and the woman went back to Jaipur.' The investigating officer added that the man had used his friend's card to check into the hotels he stayed at with the woman. Vice President Mike Pence snubbed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she called him after January 6 to talk about invoking the 25th Amendment against President Donald Trump. Pelosi wrote about the experience in her forthcoming memoir, The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House, which will be released Tuesday. She recalled how after the January 6 Capitol attack, 'the Democratic leadership discussed asking the vice president to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which allows for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to certify that a president is unable to discharge the duties of the office.' She and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer 'placed a call to Vice President Pence about this possibility,' Pelosi's book reveals, according to the Guardian. 'The vice president's office kept us on hold for 20 minutes,' Pelosi wrote, adding that she was 'thankfully' at home 'so I could empty the dishwasher and put in a load of laundry.' Vice President Mike Pence (left) snubbed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) when she called him after January 6 to talk about invoking the 25th Amendment against President Donald Trump 'Ultimately, Vice President Pence never got on the phone with us or returned our call,' she said. Throughout the book, Pelosi pushes that Trump is mentally unwell. She said that by January 6, 'I knew Donald Trump's mental imbalance.' The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House will be released Tuesday 'I had seen it up close,' Pelosi continued. 'His denial and then delays when the COVID pandemic struck, his penchant for repeatedly stomping out of meetings, his foul mouth, his pounding on tables, his temper tantrums, his disrespect for our nation's patriots, and his total separation from reality and actual events.' 'His repeated, ridiculous insistence that he was the greatest of all time,' the House Speaker added. Pelosi reveals she would get calls from Trump, often late at night. In one such call, Trump blamed former President Barack Obama for the missile strikes in Syria that he had just ordered. Eventually Pelosi told the president it was time to go to bed. 'It's midnight. I think you should go to sleep,' Pelosi said. She also recalled being told at a 2019 memorial service for a prominent psychiatrist by 'doctors and other mental health professionals' that they were 'deeply concerned that there was something seriously wrong' with Trump. 'And that his mental and psychological health was in decline,' Pelosi recalled. A popular finance guru gave a woman a reality check after she complained about her friends' more glamorous lifestyle compared to her 'humble' way of life. During a recent episode of The Ramsey Show, David Ramsey, an American radio personality known for his ultra-frugal advice, reassured a woman named Hillary that she's 'doing a great job' managing her money at the age of 33. The woman, from Salt Lake City, Utah, told Ramsey and his co-host Dr. John Delony that she feels like she's 'losing at life,' despite making $60,000 a year - before taxes - as a health educator. Hillary told the financial experts that she has no debt other than a $140,000 mortgage on her home, and that she recently paid for her master's degree in cash. 'And so all that money that I have saved, I'm just like, "That could've been a vacation or a car, I shouldn't have done that!,"' Hillary said. During a recent episode of The Ramsey Show, David Ramsey, reassured a woman named Hillary that she's 'doing a great job' managing her with her money at the age of 33 Hillary told the financial experts that she has no debt other than a $140,000 mortgage on her home, and that she recently paid for her master's degree in cash, but still feels like she's missing out on the expensive adventures her friends go on. (pictured: Downtown Salt Lake City) Both Ramsey and Delony immediately disagreed with Hillary and let her know that what she's doing is something to be proud of in the long run. Ramsey also addressed her main concern about people her age splashing out money for luxury vacations and high-end cars. 'This is the problem that the millennial, your generation, was the one of the first ones to really really struggle with it,' Ramsey said. He then referred to one the books his daughter Rachel Cruze wrote about 'the power of social media.' 'We used to say "dont keep up with the Joneses,"' Ramsey told Hillary. 'But [in those days] it wasnt as hard to keep up with the Joneses because they lived next door and you saw them driving their [nice] car but you also saw them have big fights and you knew their kids were messed up.' He added that because the Joneses' life was visibly imperfect to their neighbors, it wasn't as big of a deal 'because you kind of knew some of the dirt too.' In comparison to today's social media-ruling society, Ramsey explained how it's harder to see past what people share online. 'On social media, the only thing you're looking at is the highlight reel,' he said. Delony added: 'And nobody posts the three weeks after the beach vacation, and the fight around the credit card bill --' Ramsey's co-host, Dr. John Delony, told Hillary that he hopes one day his daughter finds herself in the same situation as her one day 'Because we can't buy groceries and diapers,' Ramsey chimed in. Ramsey explained to her that even 'old people' like him can 'fall prey' to believing everything they see on social media, 'because we're not seeing reality.' Delony then asked Hillary where exactly her worry was coming from as she explained social media and co-workers have contributed to her concerns. 'Social media is a big part of it obviously, you know with TikTok, and Instagram and Facebook, but also just, you know at work, someone says, "Oh, I'm going to the Bahamas for two weeks, or look at my new Escalade",' Hillary said. Both experts chuckled as Delony told her that he hopes one day his daughter finds herself in the same situation as Hillary one day. 'That'd be amazing,' he said. 'You're amazing,' Ramsey followed. 'You traded a master's degree for the Bahamas, this is a good trade,' Ramsey added. Ramsey, who started 'from nothing,' had a net worth of a little more than $1 million by the time he was 26, according to his website. He compared where he was in life to Hillary's situation and explained to her how even though he disliked having to trade in his Jaguar for a 'hooptie,' he knew he was doing the right thing. By the end of the show, Delony told Hillary to replace the jealousy feeling she gets from watching others living posh lives, and instead, focus on the 'lonely' parts in her life to fill the void. 'I want you to start creating the opportunity to have friends, and community, and connection and laughter right where you live. 'Start cultivating that and it's gonna make the other shiny stuff- it's just not that big a deal,' Delony added. In another recent episode of The Ramsey Show, the radio host tore into a woman about her and her partner's spending habits despite them earning a combined income of $11,500 a month Research from the Journal of Happiness Studies found that many people turn to social media when they feel lonely, but watching others' lives actually makes them feel worse from the constant comparison. 'When you compare yourself to others, it leads to self-judgment, low self-esteem, and a negative sense of self,' Michael Torres, PsyD, a California-based clinical psychologist at the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health and Wellness Center, said. In another recent episode of The Ramsey Show, the radio host tore into a woman about her and her partner's spending habits despite them earning a combined income of $11,500 a month. Ramsey spoke to a woman, Alyssa, who explained she and her husband do not contribute to their retirement and have just $3,000 in savings. They are also in debt to the tune of $138,000. After suggesting that Alyssa set aside up to $5,000 every month to help pay off their shared $138,000 in debt, she became visibly wary. 'You know what I'm worried about? You make $130,000 a year and you're freaking broke. That's what I'm worried about,' Ramsey told Alyssa. Eight teens held by police after people fought with machetes on Southend seafront have been further arrested on suspicion of violent disorder as police vow to stop any repeat of the mayhem. Seven weapons were seized following the fight which saw thugs wielding huge blades in front of horrified holidaymakers. One person was stabbed in the horror that unfolded on the Essex seafront on Tuesday evening. The teens, aged between 14 and 18, were initially arrested on suspicion of offences including possession of offensive weapons following the incident. Detective Inspector Alison Hooper from Essex Police, who is leading the investigation, said officers are 'working through volumes of footage to understand what has happened and individual roles in the disorder'. It comes as a top officer said that police were 'aware of another possible event planned', and warned that anyone coming to commit crime will be 'met by officers and dealt with'. Police are investigating a street fight in Southend which involved thugs wielding huge blades in front of horrified holidaymakers Seven weapons have also been seized after the 'appalling' violence and disorder on the Essex seafront which was captured on cameras and shared widely online The force has set up a dedicated phone line for people to report information about what happened on Tuesday, and police are appealing for people to share footage with them. Police said officers responded 'quickly and robustly' to reports of people with weapons on the seafront and made eight arrests. Witnesses have told of the horror they experienced as the fight unfolded on Tuesday evening. Nicola Tiney, who runs the Borough Hotel on the seafront, said she believed about 1,000 young people descended on the resort town, many from London, in an organised meet-up during hot and sunny weather. Ms Tiney described how groups began arriving in the afternoon, before pockets of violence and disorder erupted at about 7pm. She said: 'Lots of them had their hoods up and were wearing masks and hats, just coming to the seafront resort to cause trouble. 'They congregated at the other end of the seafront and they started kicking off amongst themselves and running around - there were machetes out in the middle of the road. 'I had to get all of my customers in from the front - it was just disgusting. 'I didn't see anyone get hurt but you could see the machetes flying about at each other and then lots of them ran off down the beach with families around - I think one of them threw their machete into the sea. 'Towards the town centre they were fighting with knives and machetes as well and it's just them amongst themselves, it's nothing to do with Southend.' Footage posted on social media shows hooded thugs fighting with huge machetes in close proximity to a park The chaos erupted on the seafront and High Street of Southend-on-Sea on Tuesday evening Footage shared widely online shows masked thugs fighting in the streets with machetes The clashes broke out in broad daylight near Southend's Adventure Islands theme park Ms Tiney also described seeing large groups running in the area 'like a herd of bulls', stopping traffic as they went. wo of the people detained were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening or life-changing injuries, Essex Police said earlier this week. DI Hooper said today: 'All eight arrested remain in custody and our investigation into the incidents of Tuesday night is ongoing. 'We are working through volumes of footage to understand what has happened and individual's roles in the disorder, alongside speaking to a number of witnesses. 'We need anyone who has information about what happened, and what led up to it, to contact us and we've set up a special telephone line specifically for this investigation. 'The number is 0800 096 0095 so if you do have information I need to you to get in touch.' Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett said police will have an 'even larger visible presence' in Southend in the coming days. 'We are working with our partners to ensure if you come to Southend to enjoy our fantastic seafront you feel safe,' he said. 'If you see our officers and have any worries or concerns, please come and speak to them. 'We are aware of another possible event planned. 'We will be ready for that and will use the tools available to us to prevent any disorder. 'My message is clear - if you're coming here to create disorder or commit crime, don't bother. 'If you're planning to bring weapons, drugs, or carry out violence you'll be met by officers and dealt with.' Suella Braverman has suggested she might be 'driven out' the Tories like '30p' Lee Anderson as she heaped praise on Reform UK. The ex-home secretary, who has scrapped her bid to be Conservative leader, claimed Nigel Farage's party would do 'better' at the next general election. She warned the performance of Reform at last month's poll, when they won five seats, should 'alarm' the Tories and hit out at 'complacency' among her colleagues. The former Cabinet minister has left Westminster wondering about her political future after she abandoned an effort to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader. She claimed she had the required support of 10 Tory MPs to enter the race, but admitted not enough of her the party agreed with her call for a shift to the Right. Speaking to GB News, Mrs Braverman insisted she was 'not going to defect to Reform' as she dismissed persistent rumours she might make the switch. But the Fareham and Waterlooville MP pointed to the example of Mr Anderson and added: 'I hope I'm not driven out to Reform by my colleagues.' Suella Braverman has suggested she might be 'driven out' the Tories like '30p' Lee Anderson as she heaped praise on Reform UK The ex-home secretary, who has scrapped her bid to be Conservative leader, claimed Nigel Farage 's party would do 'better' at the next general election Mr Anderson, a former Conservative Party deputy chairman, was stripped of the Tory whip in February for refusing to apologise for comments about Sadiq Khan Mr Anderson, a former Conservative Party deputy chairman, was stripped of the Tory whip in February for refusing to apologise for comments about Sadiq Khan. The Ashfield MP claimed 'Islamists' had 'got control' of the London mayor and said Mr Khan had 'given our capital city away to his mates'. Following the fierce row over his 'Islamophobic' remarks, Mr Anderson joined Reform and was re-elected to his Nottinghamshire seat for his new party on 4 July. Mrs Braverman said: 'I look at Lee Anderson, Lee Anderson's a good friend of mine and it's a tragedy that we lost him to Reform. 'He is someone who speaks with an authentic voice that resonates with a lot of people in Britain. He's someone who was very brave, incredibly dedicated. 'And that we lost him, that our Conservative Party could not be the broad church, we talk about our broad church, well we weren't broad enough for Lee Anderson. 'He should be sitting as a Conservative Member of Parliament. 'We should have more Conservative MPs because Reform should not have been the force that it was, and many of our MPs lost because of Reform. 'We talk about a broad church. We should not be hounding out Conservatives, right-wingers, Eurosceptics, people who want to stand up for our flag and our faith. 'As if they are somehow 'swivel-eyed loons'... Lee Anderson should be a Conservative MP.' Mrs Braverman, who previously stood for the Tory leadership in 2022, also told the TV channel she had given up on ever becoming Tory leader. 'I won't put myself forward again. I'm very happy, I've had a go,' she said. Asked how well Reform might perform at the next general election, scheduled for 2029, she replied: 'I am absolutely confident that Reform can do better. 'It's very hard to put a number on it, but they came second in many, many placesthat should alarm the Conservatives. 'They came second in a lot of Labour-held seats, they are eating into the Labour vote. They took more of the under-30 vote than we did. 'Young people are voting more for Reform than they are for the Conservatives. These facts alone should seriously alarm any Conservative leader and all Conservative MPs. 'I'm just concerned that there's still a level of complacency.' Quizzed about the possibility of Mr Farage being welcomed into the Tories, she said: 'I don't know what form it would take, but then the fact is that there is no there is not enough room in British politics for two conservative parties. 'Reform and the Conservatives cannot co-exist in the way that they are. 'We will have no chance of winning the next general election as long as Reform is a viable alternative.' The full interview will be aired on GB News from 8pm tonight Huw Edwards' former BBC colleague Jennie Bond today joined the chorus of critics demanding he hands back the piles of licence fee cash he was paid while suspended from his job. The disgraced broadcaster, 62, earned more than 200,000 between his arrest last November and leaving the corporation in April - including a 40,000 pay rise. Ex-BBC royal correspondent Ms Bond said today: 'Frankly, if Huw has any dignity left then he would hand some of the money back, certainly the 200 grand he has made since his arrest. I think it would be gracious of him to do that.' She added: 'We need to remember the BBC as a whole is being tarnished and reputationally this is very very damaging of course. But the news division is quite rightly and thankfully quite separate from the corporation itself. 'It's quite a hard division for people to make but we in the news have without fear or favour questioned the bosses at the BBC and that is entirely right. 'In the newsroom themselves they were kept in the dark right until this week, which is extraordinary.' It came as the BBC's former royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said that if the disgraced presenter had a 'shred of decency' he would repay the corporation. Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022. Jennie Bond, the BBC's former royal correspondent, says Huw must hand the 200,000 he earned while suspended back Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed Jeremy Vine has said the BBC should clarify if Edwards was asked if he was guilty at the time the corporation was informed of his arrest for making indecent images of children. The BBC confirmed on Wednesday that it knew of the veteran broadcaster's arrest on "suspicion of serious offences" in November, but continued employing him until April. Questions have been raised about why he continued to receive his large salary - as the highest-paid newsreader at the corporation - for five months after his arrest. Vine, who hosts a show on BBC Radio 2, said bosses should confirm if they tried to establish whether or not Edwards was guilty of the crimes he was accused, adding: "You can't justify paying him beyond November if you know he's guilty." Speaking on his self-titled Channel 5 chat show, Vine said: "We need to find out if BBC said, what (were you arrested) for and are you guilty? "If he said to them, 'It's for these serious offences, but I'm not guilty,' then I would think you could start to take action to get the money back. "Because that clearly is a lie. He's admitted he's guilty. "I don't know whether the BBC asked him 'Are you guilty?' because you can't justify paying him beyond November if you know he's guilty." He added: "The information may have come from an intermediary who says I've got no more information than this - Huw has been arrested." He continued: "What a mess and the poor BBC at the centre. It has terrible moments, but there are precious reasons why we don't want it to go down the swanny. "This is not the day to defend it because this is a bad, bad week. I couldn't believe yesterday when I heard that the BBC had been told about it in November'. Edwards has made a 'mockery' of the BBC and was aided by a small band of his bosses who kept his arrest secret for months, betrayed staffers said today. The corporation faces yet more damaging questions after another of its biggest stars was revealed to be a sex offender after Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and others. 'It's unforgivable and makes a mockery of the organisation. There will be lots of people who are very angry with Tim Davie', one BBC employee said today. And BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall said: 'The facts are the BBC continued paying Huw Edwards his vast salary for five months after he was arrested,' adding: 'Why, also, did they let him leave on his own terms?'. 'In the end, this was a judgement call for the people at the very top of the BBC and the optics are reputationally damaging. The BBC spent taxpayers' money on a man now guilty of serious offences. Many people will believe the corporation made the wrong judgement', she said. The Director General has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago There are also reports that someone in the Met Police called BBC management to alert them that Edwards had been charged, before it was made public. Nicky Campbell, one of the BBC's most senior radio broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to social media calls for the BBC to get back the 200,000 of licence fee money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he might agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'. The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago Writing for the BBC website Katie Razzall said: 'Why didn't the BBC sack Edwards, in light of his arrest, instead of giving him the space to leave, apparently on his own terms, albeit with no pay off? 'There will have only been a handful of people in the room where these conversations were taking place. 'The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The decisions they took can't have been easy and they will have been weighing up different scenarios - and competing advice. 'It's important to note that BBC News, where I'm employed, is editorially independent from the corporate side. We didn't know about the arrest or charges until earlier this week when the story broke'. She added: 'Senior HR and legal advisors will have advised the BBC it had a duty of care towards Edwards as an employee. They will likely also have said he would have a legal case against the corporation if he was sacked unfairly. The BBC says it was made aware of 'significant risk to his health'. 'But it is difficult to see this specifically through an HR or legal prism'. Former BBC broadcaster Roger Bolton said today: 'The nature of what Huw Edwards has done is so disgusting and dreadful that I think any residual sympathy for him has gone.' 'The questions are, when did they [the BBC] know? What did they know?' 'There is the BBC at the very highest level, the executives, and BBC News. It's absolutely clear that BBC News and all its editors did not know until this week that Huw Edwards had been charged. 'But we now know the BBC executives were told in confidence that Huw Edwards had been charged. When did they know he was charged? And the big question is, why did they continue to pay him so much money in these circumstances?'. It came a BBC insider claimed it was common knowledge that married father-of-five Edwards had messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years. The source believes that bosses 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him as an asset. The disgraced BBC anchorman, 62, yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. A BBC insider said last night: 'It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ''protect the star'' stuff.' Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile kAlex Williams, it has emerged. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday Yesterday, Edwards appeared in court to admit three charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of the 41 images sent to the presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of them were 'Category A', the most serious type. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philip's funeral to the nation. Just this week, the BBC would not reveal if it had been aware of Edwards' arrest in November. But it tried to defend its actions in a statement last night. The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' It continued: 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' Sir Keir Starmer today announced plans to treat rioters like football hooligans in the wake of violence on Britain's streets following the Southport knife attack. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister condemned the 'mindless minority' who have delivered nights of chaos since Monday's tragedy. He hit out at a 'gang of thugs' who travelled by train and buses to Southport and attacked police. There has also been mayhem in London, Hartlepool and Manchester leading to scores of arrests. As part of a crackdown on organised riots and the 'far right', the PM said a new 'national capability' across police forces would tackle violent disorder. This will see forces share intelligence - such as spikes in train ticket sales that could be linked to rioting - and deploy facial recognition technology. Police chiefs will also be encouraged to restrict the movement of known agitators in a similar way to how football banning orders are used to stop hooligans attending games. Sir Keir Starmer today announced plans to treat rioters like football hooligans in the wake of violence on Britain's streets following the Southport knife attack Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister condemned the 'mindless minority' who have delivered nights of chaos since Monday's tragedy Riot police held back thugs near a burning vehicle after disorder broke out on Tuesday in Southport Sir Keir earlier held crisis talks with senior officers in No10 and said the discussions centred on 'a response both to the immediate challenge, which is clearly driven by far right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up'. 'Whatever the apparent cause or motivation we make no distinction,' he added. The PM also issued a stern warning to social media bosses about violence that was 'clearly whipped up online'. PM's crackdown on riots: What has been announced? Sir Keir Starmer today announced a new National Violent Disorder Programme to crackdown on those causing violence and unrest on Britain's streets. According to No10, this will bring together the best policing capabilities from across the country to share intelligence on the activity of violent groups so officers can swiftly intervene to arrest them. Local insight and data will be used to gain a 'national understanding' of where criminals are operating. This will include the British Transport Police issuing an alert if they see a spike in train ticket sales that could be linked to organised violent disorder. There will also be efforts to deploy facial recognition technology more widely across the country. In a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said talks with police chiefs also included discussions about 'criminal behaviour orders which can be attached to convictions for these sorts of offences'. 'I would personally like to see more use of those orders in the same way that they're used in football hooligan cases to stop people travelling, identify and prevent their patterns of behaviour, because these are not people going to protest,' he added. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Communities have a right to feel safe without deliberate organised violence or thuggery in our streets. 'Criminals need to face the full force of the law and today we made clear that the police have our strong support in keeping the streets safe. 'We will work with senior police officers across the country to make sure there is rapid intelligence sharing and swift action to stop violent disorder and make sure criminals pay the price.' Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'We welcome any support which helps us to strengthen our policing capability to deal with these types of incidents. 'We look forward to working with Government and receiving more details on the creation of a National Violent Disorder Programme and further work on tools such as live facial recognition.' Advertisement 'That is also a crime, it's happening on your premises and the law must be upheld everywhere,' he said. 'We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.' The PM said that 'fear' was 'an understandable reaction' following the 'inexplicably vile attack' on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. But he blasted those who had not allowed the local community in the Merseyside town the 'the time and space to grieve'. He said they had been forced to 'suffer twice' after the horror killing of three girls was followed by a night of rioting on Tuesday. 'Make no mistake, whether it's in Southport, London or Hartlepool these people are showing our country exactly who they are,' the PM added. 'Mosques targeted because they're mosques, flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill, a Nazi salute at the Cenotaph.' He continued: 'It's not protest. It's not legitimate. It's crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. 'And so on behalf of the British people who expect their values and their security to be upheld. We will put a stop to it.' Sir Keir said 'nobody but nobody' involved in rioting should 'pretend they are speaking' for the grieving families. Asked what his message was to Muslims after a mosque was targeted in the riots in Southport, he replied: 'In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear: I will take every step that's necessary to keep you safe. 'Mosques being attacked because they're mosques the far right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that.' Sir Keir revealed that his talks with police chiefs had included discussions about 'criminal behaviour orders which can be attached to convictions for these sorts of offences'. 'I would personally like to see more use of those orders in the same way that they're used in football hooligan cases to stop people travelling, identify and prevent their patterns of behaviour, because these are not people going to protest,' he added. 'You don't go to a protest with a rock in your hand. You go to commit violent disorder and we need to be really clear about that and I think those orders would help us in the preventative space.' Despite his stern warning to social media companies, Sir Keir admitted there was 'a balance to be struck' with platforms in efforts to tackle misinformation online. He said: 'Inciting violence online is a criminal offence and that is not a matter of free speech. It is a criminal offence. 'Clearly, in relation to platform providers, there's a balance to be struck. 'Social media platform providers, it's an amazing opportunity that we all enjoy as a country that is very important to us that these platforms are there to be used for the great opportunities that they provide. 'There is also a responsibility that goes with it. That's a space for a mature conversation to take place.' The PM was also asked about comments by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who insinuated the truth was being held from the public in relation to the identity of the attacker in Southport. Sir Keir said: 'In relation to the comments of others, look, I'm not going to stand here and cast judgment on what others are saying. 'I know what I'm saying and I know why I'm saying it very, very clearly, which is my focus whenever I'm confronted with any questions about this is on the families and victims of those, particularly in Southport who were so affected by this.' The PM summoned police chiefs to No10 after thugs again took to the streets in London, Hartlepool and Manchester Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones and chief constables from Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police all attended the No 10 meeting HARTLEPOOL: An angry mob set fire to a police car LONDON: Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as a flag-waving crowd clashed with police MANCHESTER: Protesters were seen launching glass bottles at a police van Sir Keir spoke at the Downing Street press conference after earlier telling senior officers 'action will be taken' in crisis talks with police. After summoning police chiefs to No10, the PM told them that 'marauding mobs' must not be allowed to cause chaos following the outbreak of rioting after the Southport knife attack. The PM condemned those involved in violent disorder as 'thugs who have no interest whatsoever in the raw pain' of the community. Ugly scenes spread to London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight. Sir Keir said: 'I wanted to send a message to each of you and through you, your officers, to say that this Government supports the police, supports what you are doing and to be absolutely clear: This is not protest, this is violent disorder and action will be taken. 'So, this Government will make sure you have got the powers you need and will back you in using those powers.' In the capital, more than 100 people were arrested after crowds in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. People wearing England flags and waving banners saying 'enough is enough' and 'stop the boats' congregated outside Downing Street. Violence flared after social media posts wrongly claimed the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones and chief constables from Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police all attended the No 10 meeting. Sir Keir, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson spoke with the officers. There were 19 attendees in total, including director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, HM Chief Inspector Andy Cooke and police chiefs Serena Kennedy and John Robins from the Merseyside and West Yorkshire forces. Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, spoke to the meeting via video link. She told the assembled ministers and police chiefs that the force was 'determined to get justice' for the attack on Monday and to identify all those who took part in rioting on Tuesday in Southport. The angry scenes in London last night included loud chants of: 'We want our country back' and: 'Oh Tommy Robinson', referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: 'Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary'. Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected. Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. According to the Manchester Evening News, this incident also saw chants of: 'We want our country back', while a group of men were seen jumping in the path of a bus, smashing its wing mirror and assaulting a passenger. Aldershot appears to have escaped the violence seen in other parts of the country, but a demonstration there was still met by riot police. The string of violent incidents follows similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. Lord Walney, the Government's independent adviser on political violence, said he hoped the meeting would examine powers to 'refuse and prevent further so-called 'protests' that are being used by far right activists as a vehicle for serious disorder and violence'. He said: 'There is a right to protest in the UK but that is not a right to riot.' The meeting came after a 17-year-old was charged with the murder of three girls in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class appeared at Liverpool Crown Court and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. He is charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport on Monday. He is also charged with the attempted murder of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. HARTLEPOOL: Rioters break down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running HARTLEPOOL: One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially motivated assault MANCHESTER: Video shows protesters clashing with riot police with parts of the UK at boiling point HARTLEPOOL: Protesters run towards riot police as chaos unfolded on the streets HARTLEPOOL: Firefighters try and put out a blaze which completely destroyed a police vehicle Have we all taken a step closer to world peace? It may be a lofty hope, but this week an army of able and willing (not to mention attractive) volunteers did step up to do their bit. This month they will sashay across a platform, take to a podium and in the best traditions of the beauty pageant world attempt to convince the judges that they can make the world a better place. And all the while smiling with very white teeth, offset mostly by mahogany-hued skin. The beauty pageant in question will not be featuring the usual lithe and lovely ladies in impossible heels, however, but muscular men. Welcome to the Mr England contest, aka Hunk Central. Christian Hawkins, 25, from Surrey, sells home security systems by day, but is also a champion bodybuilder Christian says: 'The competition lights will bounce off a pale body, and you can see the muscular definition better when the skin is darker.' Nathan Angel, 21, is a sheep farmer and professional wrestler. He says: 'They are actually very complimentary' It may have passed many of us by (who knew that male beauty pageants were even a thing?) but, just like the Olympics, the Mr England contest runs every four years and invites entries from young(ish) men who are 'single, confident, sporty, good-looking, charitable and charismatic'. The lucky lad chosen to represent his country also wins the chance to compete in the Mr World contest in Vietnam, and will be in with a shout of being crowned 'the world's most desirable man'. This year, however, there was a calamity when only a handful of contestants applied. In desperation, the organisers roped in Miss England Newquay surfer Milla Magee, Cornwall's answer to Pamela Anderson to drum up interest. Milla took to the beaches of the south coast in a hunt for handsome men 'with a purpose'. Decent pecs and a current passport - were also desirable. There is a touch of the Viking about Nathan. He has long, flowing blond locks, and the even more flowing confidence of a natural showman Nathan says: 'Obviously, sheep farming is very physical and there isn't that much difference between wrestling a sheep and wrestling a human' What were her chances of pushing the entries into double figures? Well glory be! the flurry of publicity worked. It emerged last week that more than 100 hopefuls have conquered their modesty and English reserve and applied, saving the contest (and our faith in mankind, surely?) from oblivion. 'The men were a little shy and slow about coming forward, but now we have some great contenders,' beamed organiser Angie Beasley last week, the relief evident. But who are these Englishmen who genuinely think they have a shot at being crowned the world's most desirable man? Alas, some were always destined to be disappointed. Angie tells me that the judges were a little shocked to get a handful of entries from men who have been way over the stipulated 17-27 age bracket. 'One is 67,' she reveals. 'And we've had a smattering of entries from those in their 40s and 50s.' She won't be drawn on how many 'dad bods' have been in evidence among the entries, but it does appear that several videos (the contestants had to submit short recorded videos introducing themselves) had the whiff of being uploaded in the wee small hours, perhaps after drink was taken. The organisers of Mr England roped in Miss England Newquay surfer Milla Magee, Cornwall's answer to Pamela Anderson to drum up interest Milla took to the beaches of the south coast in a hunt for handsome men 'with a purpose' The flurry of publicity worked. It emerged last week that more than 100 hopefuls have conquered their modesty and English reserve and applied Still, it seems we are now well on the way to a shortlist and what fine specimens have emerged. Among the hopefuls, coming from all corners of the country, are a policeman, an accountant, a sheep farmer (and part-time wrestler) and quite a few bodybuilder types. Curiously, there is a hopeful who considers his hobby building things with Lego an asset. There is also a man whose actual job description involves having made the pledge to lay down his life for King and country. What's immediately clear is that in this contest the bodybuilders do have an advantage. Not only are they used to holding a pose, they are also skilled in that other traditional beauty contest discipline: the application of fake tan. One of the shortlisted candidates, Christian Hawkins, 25, from Surrey, sells home security systems by day, but is also a champion bodybuilder. He tells me that it is commonplace in the competitive bodybuilding world to smother yourselves in so much fake tan that it takes weeks to scrub it off, 'and leaves your nails brown, so that you look as if you have a fungal disease'. There is method in the madness, he says. 'The competition lights will bounce off a pale body, and you can see the muscular definition better when the skin is darker. And to give a level playing field, all the contestants aim for the same colour.' What colour is that, precisely? 'I'd say ebony,' he muses, after some consideration. What a revelation it is to get a sneak peak into the preparations not to mention the psyches - of the wannabe Mr Englands. Christian was one of those entrants who didn't even know the contest existed until he was persuaded to throw his hat in the ring by chums. 'I have one friend whose dad was a former Mr Gibraltar,' he says. 'He said 'why don't you enter Mr England?' and I thought 'good point. Why don't I?'. I'm used to being judged, and obviously I'm confident that I'm in good shape. I think I've got what it takes. 'And obviously I'm no stranger to appearing in front of a crowd borderline-naked. In fact, I'll be wearing more clothes in this contest than I usually do.' In good shape?! Christian competes at the highest level of bodybuilding (in the 'natural' category, whereby contestants are tested to prove they use no performance-enhancing drugs or steroids), which means that he has a physique which makes Michelangelo's David look quite puny (not to mention pale). By luck, he has a big bodybuilding contest coming up in August, so is already in almost peak physical condition. 'The men were a little shy and slow about coming forward, but now we have some great contenders,' beamed organiser Angie Beasley 'I'm 80 to 90 per cent there,' he says. To where? 'In bodybuilding you are aiming for seven or eight per cent body fat, which is the lowest you can be really. I'm generally more around the ten to 11 per cent, in terms of body fat.' He's a lean machine, he means. 'The aim, in this world, is to look as if you are a muscle diagram.' Will his muscles impress the Mr England judges, though? Well, they might if the judges are female. Or gay. Christian is straight ('and no, no girlfriend. It would rule me out of the competition if I wasn't single'), but has first-hand experience of his looks being judged outside the competition arena too. 'It's the older generation of women say from the 40s and 50s upwards, who are also very upfront. If I'm on holiday, say, and have my shirt off, they will come up and rub my abs, or ask for my number.' What about the younger women? 'Well, it's still there, but it's more subtle. They will hold eye contact and give a little smile. Some women might say that they don't mind a dad bod, but the evidence suggests otherwise.' The judges are at pains to stress that Mr England is not just about pecs, though. To wow them, contestants will have to compete in a sporting round, a fashion round, and an interview where they will have to talk about more than their gym bunny routines. Is Christian confident? 'Absolutely. It's a different psychology, but I have a good sense of humour, interesting hobbies I'm into classic cars and clay shooting and I think I have what it takes.' He doesn't seem hugely fazed by the competition, although does express some concern about one of the other contestants, 'who looks a bit like Thor. He's a chap from Dorset'. Step forward 21-year-old Nathan Angel, who is a sheep farmer and professional wrestler. These two things seem wildly incompatible, I suggest to him. He says I am completely wrong. 'They are actually very complimentary. Obviously, sheep farming is very physical and there isn't that much difference between wrestling a sheep and wrestling a human.' What can we say about Nathan Angel? First, is the surname real? 'I was born from an angel,' he says, refusing to be drawn on what his passport actually says. Nathan entered Mr England 'because one of my mum's friends said I should'. Also, his dad sanctioned it because it isn't lambing season and so he could be allowed the time off. He admits he didn't know that men could be in beauty pageants either. 'But it does feel like traditional beauty pageants have changed. It's a more positive platform now. It requires a lot of skills. It's not just a load of men who look like Joey Essex. There are good looking dudes who are also intelligent and well spoken.' There is a touch of the Viking about Nathan. He has long, flowing blond locks, and the even more flowing confidence of a natural showman. 'There is a drama to the wrestling I do, but this is going to be a different type of performance,' he says. Will he be going for the fake-tan look? 'Oh I'm no stranger to that. It's the bane of my hairdresser's life, to be honest. We use it for the wrestling and it dyes the roots of my hair and turns it ginger, but mostly I prefer the au naturel look. Although for the wrestling we do shave our legs to look a little more fly.' And the ladies like this? 'Well, to be honest, it's the gay men who are most likely to express their appreciation, but the older grannies are quite vocal too. They will say what they like!' What on earth do the other farmworkers make of Nathan and his Mr England bid? He admits he has had some ribbing. 'On the farm, I'll have my hair up and just be in my farming clothes and it's all quite traditional there, but it gives everyone a laugh.' Mere mortals might quake at the thought of being up against such muscle men, but one of the most confident contestants is also one with the more modest physique. 'The bodybuilder types might have the muscles, but are they well-rounded people, have they got intelligence, looks and personality?' asks Baltej Tattla, 26, who is an accountant with Deloitte and lives in West London. Baltej too is single ('I have been single for 26 years. I have high standards. The right woman hasn't come along yet'), but convinced he can triumph. 'I think I can win not just Mr England but Mr World,' he says. 'I think I am more relatable than some of the others.' Armed with a degree from Loughborough University, Bal has a sporting background, and considers himself a global citizen. 'I hadn't considered applying for Mr England, but then I read the requirements. They were after someone with looks and personality, an extrovert who loves travelling, someone who wants to make a difference and contribute. I thought 'if this was a job advert, I would apply because this is me! So I did. You have to be an ambassador for yourself.' What will his employers think if he wins? Will he be allowed time off to go to Mr World (and thereafter to sort out the world peace thing?). 'Oh yes, they have very good holiday policies.' A hitman, a weapons dealer, and a money launderer are among eight prisoners released by the US as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow. The convicts were let go in exchange for the release of 16 prisoners from Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan. The exchange of 24 inmates is the biggest prisoner swap by Russia with the West since the end of the Cold War. The trade involves seven countries and got underway on the runway at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey on Thursday. Among those on the plane was assassin Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder. Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, is among eight prisoners released by the US as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow Krasikov, 58, was convicted of gunning down Zelimkhan 'Tornike' Khangoshvili, 40, in broad daylight in a central Berlin park in June 2019. He rode up to the Georgia-born Chechen separatist on a bicycle and executed him in Berlin's Kleine Tiergarten park in December 2021. A German court called it a 'state-contracted killing' on behalf of the Kremlin. Krasikov's release appears to be central to the entire prisoner swap deal and has been personally demanded by Putin. The two met while working as officers at the Federal Security Service, Russia's biggest spy agency, with Krasikov's family saying he boasted of doing target practice with the leader. Putin appeared to reference Krasikov during his interview with Tucker Carlson as he discussed the possibility of a prisoner swap. 'That person, due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit,' Putin said. 'Whether he did that of his own initiative or not, that is a different question.' Russian media outlet The Insider has also published the names of the seven others released back to Russia. They include cyber criminals Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin who are being returned from the US, according to the outlet. Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin was convicted for involvement in an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million Husband and wife Artem and Anna Dultsev were living under the aliases Maria Rosa Mayer Munos and Ludwig Gisch in Slovenia when they were accused of spying Vadim Konoshchenko, who was accused of providing US-made electronic and ammunition to the Russian military, is reportedly the final prisoner to be released from the US Seleznev was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme. Russian businessman Klyushin was convicted for involvement in an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades, based on confidential corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks. Vadim Konoshchenko, who was accused of providing US-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military, is reportedly the final prisoner to be released from the US, according to the reports. Spanish-Russian journalist Pavel Rubtsov who is accused of being a spy, was released from Poland, per The Insider. Married couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were returned to Russia from Slovenia, where they were convicted of espionage charges. The couple had been living under the assumed names of Maria Rosa Mayer Munos and Ludwig Gisch and were sentenced to 19 months in jail. Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen, has also been released. He was arrested on suspicion of spying in 2022. The convicts were released in exchange for 16 Western prisoners, including three US citizens. Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen, has also been released. He was arrested on suspicion of spying in 2022 Valery Seleznev was sentenced to 14 years in a US prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will be released imminently following almost 500 days in detention. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States says are illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July. Former US marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018, is also part of the trade. Whelan, 54, was sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2020 on spying charges. The US has denied he was ever involved in espionage operations. Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmashevas was the final US citizen to be released by Russia. A total of 16 prisoners were released by Russia, including at least seven Russian opposition figures who had been incarcerated in their own country. People living in encampments on San Franciscos streets will be offered bus tickets out of town before shelter under Mayor London Breeds order. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Mayor London Breed has ordered city employees to offer homeless people a bus ticket out of town before presenting shelter or housing as an option. The mayors new executive order, which marks a shift from current practices, comes amid an escalated crackdown on homeless encampments after a recent Supreme Court ruling gave city officials more power to enforce anti-camping laws. San Francisco officials are ramping up citations and arrests against homeless people who refuse to move indoors. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thursdays directive marks Breeds latest effort to prove shes taking a firm stance to address the citys homelessness and overdose crises. Breed is in the middle of a tough reelection fight, with many voters focused on the conditions of city streets and the state of unsheltered homelessness. San Francisco will always lead with compassion, but we cannot allow our compassion to be taken advantage of, Breed wrote in the order. This directive will ensure that relocation services will be the first response to our homelessness and substance use crises, allowing individuals the choice to reunite with support networks before accessing other City services or facing the consequences of refusing care. The program of busing people out of San Francisco has existed for years, but it saw a sharp decline during the pandemic, prompting some critics and at least one mayoral rival to question why Breeds administration hadnt pushed the program more forcefully. Officials had already pledged to ramp it up earlier this year. This is just a fundamental attempt of the mayor to cover up failings of her administration and rebrand something that had already been made permanent, said Supervisor Ahsha Safai, a mayoral candidate who wrote legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year to expand the citys flagship relocation assistance program. Its very telling that this announcement comes two days after there are videos and reports of people being pushed off the streets, arrested and stripped of belongings, without anywhere to go. Safai was speaking about an earlier report from the Chronicle of an unhoused man who was detained by police officers Tuesday. While he was sitting in the back of a squad car, Public Works employees threw out nearly all of his belongings. The man was cited and released after about 20 minutes. Breeds office said the city has made significant progress on homelessness in recent years, but progress has been slowed due to an increase in new arrivals, underscoring the need for the executive order. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to Breeds office, the citys most recent point-in-time count a federally mandated tally of homelessness across the country found that 40% of unsheltered people in San Francisco are not from the city. Thats up from 28% in 2019. The percentage of homeless people who have been in San Francisco for less than a year before becoming homeless reportedly increased from 15% in 2019 to 37% in 2024, the mayors office said. The full extent of the point-in-time count results have not yet been released. Christin Evans, a member of the citys Homeless Oversight Commission, said they were expected to be presented at Thursday mornings commission meeting but the presentation was delayed because of a last-minute embargo from the mayors office. When elected officials play politics with the research and data, it makes it more difficult for us to make informed policy decisions, Evans said in an interview. Shes making our job harder to resolve homelessness. In May, the city released high-level data from the count that found homelessness had increased 7% over the past two years. The city counted 8,328 unhoused people across the city, which was up from 7,754 in 2022. Unsheltered homelessness, which includes people living in tents, on sidewalks and in vehicles, dipped 1% after the city added hundreds of new shelter beds. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Under the mayor's order, the Human Services Agency, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and the Department of Public Health are required to amend internal procedures to require all staff who engage with homeless people to offer the citys relocation assistance programs before any other city services, including housing and shelter. The order states that staff should be appropriately trained on how to offer this information, and how to provide appropriate referrals, though it doesnt detail what such training would consist of or allocate additional funding for the effort. The order comes as the city struggles to open enough shelter beds. The Controllers Office is tasked with creating a tracking system to measure the effectiveness of the program and whether those who are offered relocation services accept them. San Francisco first responders, including firefighters and police officers, are required to carry a handout providing information on the citys Journey Home program. Journey Home previously known as Homeward Bound provides people experiencing homelessness or substance use disorders with a free bus or train ticket within the lower 48 states, as well as a meal stipend and overnight stay if the transportation route requires it. Participants must have a connection to the destination city, such as previous residence or family and friends currently located there. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Emily Cohen, a spokesperson for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, did not comment on the mayors order directly but said that family unification and relocation assistance is an important component of the homelessness response system. Huw Edwards suggested a junior BBC producer stay in his hotel room on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral during Covid curbs even sending a photo of the room. The veteran newsreader showed off a plush suite funded by BBC licence-payers opposite Windsor Castle. But the young worker, who had been in touch with the star after meeting online, declined to meet. Meeting indoors would have been in breach of strict Covid rules at the time. The regulations, which barred indoor mixing, were adhered to by the late Queen as she famously sat alone in St George's Chapel to mourn her husband of 73 years. Her Late Majesty cut a stoic and solitary figure dressed in black and wearing a Covid mask and could not be comforted by her family during the 50-minute service on Saturday April 17, 2021. A young BBC worker claims that Huw Edwards invited him to stay in his hotel suite on the eve of presenting coverage of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 (pictured) Huw apparently sent a picture of his suite and said there was 'plenty of room' for him Edwards, who led the BBC's coverage from Windsor, appears to have been keen for company on the night before the funeral. A day earlier, he told the youngster who was also working at the event: 'I'm there all day tomorrow. Staying overnight, then all day Saturday. If you're around tomorrow night let me know.' Then in the early hours of the funeral day, Edwards wrote: 'You missed a good night' adding: 'You could have stayed here', attaching a photo of his 'very nice' suite at the Macdonald Windsor Hotel, which is just across the road from the castle. Edwards wrote: 'Plenty of room, so easy'. The BBC worker, whom the Mail is calling 'Charlie', told the Mail: 'He sent me a picture of his hotel room. I felt it was very suggestive. There were lockdown restrictions at the time.' The deluxe suite had mounted wall mirrors, a small sofa and a coffee table, and on a chair in the corner can be seen a notebook and papers and a Covid mask. At the time, the rules in England were that masks should be worn in public areas of hotels, and they stated: 'No indoor mixing between people of different households allowed.' In the end, the pair never met. But the funeral was one of three occasions during the period when Covid rules banned indoor socialising that Edwards suggested a meeting. Alone in grief, the Queen sat apart from everyone else as she said goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary and poignant circumstances due to the pandemic The text messages said to have been sent to a junior colleague Britain's most famous newsreader and Charlie who was in their early twenties - had begun messaging online after the youngster started working for the BBC in a junior freelance role and had followed Edwards on Instagram. Charlie regarded Edwards as a role model in the industry, and said the star had been friendly. The pair later switched to WhatsApp and Charlie has kept hundreds of messages spanning April 2021 to August 2022. Edwards' first message was on April 13, 2021, four days before Prince Philip's funeral. When told Charlie lived in a house-share, Edwards said: 'So I could pop in to have some tea?' During an exchange a few days after the funeral, Edwards suggested: 'Or I can come to yours.' After Covid rules were eased in May 2021, he also made further suggestions to meet indoors, which by then was legal. Married father-of-five Edwards, 62, who resigned from the BBC in April after a 40-year career, won plaudits for his faultless handling of the funeral coverage on April 17, 2021. Wearing a black suit and tie, he anchored four hours of live broadcast, as he was joined by guests including Sir David Attenborough, Gyles Brandreth and Alan Titchmarsh, with pictures beamed to millions around the world. He later wrote an article about the event entitled: 'My painstaking preparations for Prince Philip's funeral.' Published in The Spectator magazine, he portrayed himself as poring over briefing notes before the big day: 'Ahead of these great ceremonial occasions, I love the solitary rituals of reading and revising.' Britain's most famous newsreader and Charlie who was in their early twenties - had begun messaging online after the youngster started working for the BBC in a junior freelance role Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 However his WhatsApp messages, seen by the Mail, suggest solitude was not the only thing on his mind. Two days prior to the funeral, he messaged Charlie, who was also working for the BBC in Windsor: 'Are you staying tomorrow night?' A day later he sent the photo. Edwards' suggestion came on the same night as Downing Street staff held a drunken gathering at No.10 for which several of them were later handed Covid rule-breaking fines by police. When the Downing Street story emerged, in 2022, it was trumpeted by BBC news bulletins throughout the day, with Edwards' co-host Clive Myrie informing viewers of the flagship news show on BBC1 that night: 'Tonight at ten, Downing Street apologises to the Queen.' Myrie went on: 'It was a time of national mourning and Covid rules meant indoor mixing was banned.' There was 'public fury' at Downing Street staff breaking the rules, the newscaster added. The BBC reported the saga had 'engulfed No.10' which had been forced into a 'chastened apology to the Queen', and BBC reporters around the country filed dispatches quoting members of the public saying it was 'disgusting' and the government was 'a rudderless ship'. It even broadcast Labour's Angela Rayner saying: 'It's [like them saying] one rule for everybody else and one rule for us.' The story rumbled on all week, with Edwards himself fronting News At Ten live from outside No.10 Downing Street. Yesterday Charlie told the Mail: 'The Covid rules about households not mixing were still in force, the Queen was all alone on the pews at Philip's funeral, and then Boris [Johnson] got a hammering for the parties in No.10 and that was the same night Huw Edwards suggested I stay in his hotel room. 'Afterwards he said I had missed a good night.' The overall tone of the WhatsApp messages, which number more than 350, is friendly and consensual on both sides. With the exception of the Covid rules, there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. But Charlie feels that, given the age gap and professional circumstances, there was a power imbalance in the relationship. Edwards was one of the BBC's best-paid stars on a salary of 435,000 to 439,999. Last month the news anchor - generally regarded as the pre-eminent talent of his generation - resigned from the BBC. He was given a perfunctory 55-word goodbye from his employers notably devoid of any thanks or regret. It came nine months after Edwards - who will forever be hailed for his composure and authority announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II - saw his 40-year career spectacularly implode. He has been off screen since last July when it was alleged he had received sexually explicit photographs from a young person and had paid 35,000. Soon afterwards, the BBC's Newsnight said that it had evidence of 'inappropriate' behaviour towards three other junior employees. The corporation launched an internal inquiry. This is the first time a junior BBC worker has given an interview about their experience with Edwards, speaking exclusively to the Mail. Charlie, who now has a job outside the BBC, told the Mail: 'I worked in TV, so I followed Huw on Instagram. He was someone to look up to and respect and carried a lot of clout.' Charlie offered to help the inquiry, yet was surprised that it took four weeks to hear back from the BBC's Corporate Investigations Team. Eventually there was a meeting over Zoom with one of the lead investigators on August 21. Charlie told the Mail: 'I told him I had been sent suggestive messages. His messages were unwise for someone in his position.' After the nine months, in which Edwards continued to be paid his 439,000-a-year salary, he resigned on medical grounds without a pay-off. The news anchor also left without any sign of the BBC's investigation having concluded. In September, when Charlie asked for an update, the BBC investigator replied: 'I understand that you would like to know if Huw has been spoken to about your concerns, but you will appreciate that any detail about this... is considered private to that individual and unfortunately it would not be appropriate for me to comment further due to policy.' After Edwards resigned on health grounds Charlie had no update at all from the BBC about the investigation. Charlie said: 'It doesn't surprise me. It's the BBC marking their own homework. 'I am also disappointed that the BBC haven't kept those affected by it up to date on what is happening. I have learned updates through reading newspapers.' Edwards' lawyers did not respond to our requests for comment. Millions of people across Florida are locked in a desperate race against time to evacuate before the 'storm of the century' smashes into Tampa late tonight, with the city's mayor warning those who are refusing to leave that they will likely die. Officials said those choosing to stay would be left to fend for themselves, with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor declaring that the 15 feet (4.5 metres) of storm surge forecast for her city would be deep enough to submerge entire houses. 'So if you're in it, basically that's the coffin that you're in,' she said flatly. The state is holding its breath as category-5 Hurricane Milton barrels across the Gulf of Mexico and heads for the shoreline, with forecasters warning 15-foot floods and 165 miles-per-hour winds will lay waste to huge swathes of land. Emergency workers are busy making last-ditch preparations, locking down communities, readying rescue trucks and placing flood barricades around vital infrastructure, including Tampa General Hospital, which is expected to bear the brunt of Milton's wrath when it hits around midnight UK time (7pm EST). Hartlepool families have revealed how they were too terrified to leave their homes as rioters wreaked terror on the streets following the Southport knife rampage. The horrifying stabbing frenzy which claimed the lives of three young girls has seen parts of Britain explode into violence amid false speculation over the suspect's identity. Axel Rudakubana, 17, named and pictured as the suspect for the first time today, has appeared in Liverpool Crown Court charged with the three murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. The teenager is also accused of attempting to kill eight children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Fake claims that the suspect, who turns 18 in just six days, was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a boat have fuelled riots in Southport, London, Manchester and Hartlepool. Rudakubana, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents in 2006 before his family relocated in 2013 to the quiet Lancashire village of Banks - a 15 minute drive from Southport. While the Hartlepool community came together to pick up litter and clear the mess up, many were still shaken up from the ugly violence in which rioters torched a police van and hurled glass bottles at police. Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday There was a second night of violence on the streets of Britain last night, including in Hartlepool Firefighters tend to a burning police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool last night There are also fears that the shocking scenes could continue. One woman, who was with a baby, was visibly shaken up as she said: 'A man just overheard me talking about how disgusting all this is. 'He said he is going to rape me when he next sees me. He had a young son with him.' Children as young as ten are said to have taken part in the violence against police. In October 2023 Moroccan asylum seeker Ahmed Ali, 45, stabbed 70-year-old Terrance Carney to death on nearby Wharton Terrace in the town. The murder, in which Ali shouted 'AllahuAkbar' as he attacked his victim, is still a fresh memory in Hartlepool. Abdul Kadir, 43, runs the International Food Store on Murray Street, the centre of the violence and stand off with police. He lives next to the shop with his wife and four children aged one, six, ten and 11. Abdul came under attack by the rioters who hurled bottles and other glass objects at his store. He was forced to shut his business and stay inside with his family. The day after, members of the community flooded into his shop to offer him support. Volunteers clear debris on Murray Street in Hartlepool following a violent protest Like Southport, local community members came together to help clean up the mess A volunteer clears up bricks which appear to have been launched during ugly scenes Abdul, who is originally from Kurdistan but has lived in Hartlepool for 21 years, said: 'At about 7pm police told me to close down because of the violence. 'The shop was being attacked. People were throwing bottles and shouting. 'It was horrible. My wife is very upset. 'Since the murders in Southport she hasn't wanted to go out with the children. 'It's very frightening for them. They usually go to the park to play, but not at the moment. They are too scared to leave the house. 'Most people in Hartlepool are very friendly and respectful towards us. 'I understand the upset over what has happened in Southport but we have the support of the community as a whole and despite everything I do feel safe.' McDonald's worker Gary Taylor, 40, found himself trapped in his house with his wife and two sons, aged 11 and 14. He was out on the streets this morning picking up rubbish with his family. He said: 'We had kids in the room with us during the riot. We live just off Murray Street where it happened, but there were rioters right outside. Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool 'We heard lots of smashed glass, shouting, the police yelling. We were terrified while it was going on. 'We wanted to take the children out of there to safety but we couldn't escape. We would have had to walk through the riot. 'We couldn't risk it. When I heard there was a protest I went to have a look. 'But I quickly realised, this is not a protest it is an angry mob of people. 'They were drunk. Every single one of them had a joint in their hands. You can smell it. 'They are angry about what happened in Southport, and also the murder of Terrance Carney. 'The British don't feel protected by their own Government. But you can't solve violence with more violence.' The Farm Shop, a butchers on Murray Street, had its windows smashed during the rioting after getting caught in the crossfire. The police had lined up directly outside the store and missiles aimed at officers hit the glass. HARTLEPOOL: Firefighters attempt to put out the blaze as a police car went up in flames HARTLEPOOL: Crowds gather to watch the clashes between riot police and protesters HARTLEPOOL: A protester clashes with riot police officers as violence broke out for a second night running HARTLEPOOL: Riot police officers on the streets with dogs following a violent protest The morning after, it was business as usual and doing a roaring trade in meat pies. The owner didn't want to speak for fear of reprisal. One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'A lot of the rioters were not local. 'Some of them had come up from South Yorkshire. The owner of the butchers came to his shop last night as he was worried the rioters would break in and steal the knives. 'What happened in Southport was just an excuse. Why throw things at the police? 'If it keeps raining it will be less likely to happen again, but if the sun stays out, who knows. 'There were a lot of bystanders and they could have stopped the rioters if they'd pulled together. 'The parents of the kids could have helped as well, but they were nowhere to be seen.' Nancy Pout, 37, is manager of the Salaam Community Centre, which was named as a target by rioters. When she realised the organisation was under threat she rushed to the building and stood outside with colleagues in a show of solidarity . Nancy spoke of how a list of addresses of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs), where many asylum seekers are housed, had been shared on social media. The post read: 'Keeping Hartlepool safe. 'No background on these people just places in Hartlepool. 'With men / women seeking asylum. 'Keep watch.' In heartbreaking scenes, a family from an ethnic minority were forced out of their home during the riot by an angry mob. One woman was pictured sobbing on the ground before the residents were taken to safety by police. The windows of their home were smashed and they were too traumatised to speak the following morning. Nancy said: 'We were told there was going to a vigil held for the children who were killed in Southport. 'But then we started to see on social media this was developing into a protest, a march, against immigration and knife crime. 'Everyone was coming up with different reasons. 'We spoke to the police who said, we're not trying to cause alarm but we want you to be aware of what is happening. 'I made the decision to shut the centre at about 4pm as I had seen that the situation was escalating on social media. 'We had a dance class due to take place and a prayer session upstairs and I felt I had a duty of care to the local community. 'It was in response to the riots in Southport. I thought, I don't know what's going through people's minds. 'I was worried about the violence spreading so we decided to lockdown. Later on, we noticed we had been named as a target on social media. 'I thought, right, this is our community that's under attack. It was a difficult decision to make but I wanted to come in and support the local people. 'When I arrived other members of staff had also turned up. We liaised with police, the mosque and directed people away from the scene.' Nancy added: 'It was horrible. There was a large police presence. 'As time progressed we could hear the riot getting louder and louder. There was chanting and shouting, windows being smashed, dogs barking. 'It reminded me of reports you see on the news of civil war. It was senseless, awful. 'In my opinion what's happened in Southport has been an excuse to go out, cause trouble in the streets and fight. 'There were definitely out of area communities who came here to take part. We saw taxis pulling up. 'There were whole families taking part, kids. Some of the youngest ones were around 10-years-old.' Nancy described how around 100 volunteers had turned up at the centre the morning after to donate money and help with the clear up. She added: 'We are picking up the rubbish and the council are collecting it and taking it away. 'We're letting everyone know we're here if they need help. We are a safe place and the kettle is on. We don't want people to be scared.' Tahir Selby, imam at Hartlepool's Nasir Mosque, praised police for their actions in protecting them from disorder in the town on Wednesday evening. He said at about 6.30pm police asked them to lock the gates because a march was happening in the town centre, and a night class they were running for children was brought to a halt. He told Hits Radio: 'I found out that the police had blocked the area to avoid any marches going past the mosque. 'The police did a tremendous job. We're very grateful to them. We have a very good relationship with the police and we're very pleased that nothing happened here.' Mr Selby said 'sadly' the march moved elsewhere in the town where there was disorder which shocked him. He said: 'I am very sorry for the police who's done a tremendous job that they were getting the main bulk of this.' Mr Selby did not believe the trouble was a reflection of Hartlepool and said the mosque has a good relationship with locals and they have had 'very good support from people'. Local MP Jonathan Brash said that the violent unrest 'doesn't represent us as a town'. Suggesting some of those involved in the disorder had come from out of town, Mr Brash told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: 'This has clearly been co-ordinated on social media earlier in the day, so it's not clear what the mix was in terms of who was there. 'But what's very, very clear, and I can't stress this enough, is the behaviour of that small minority of lawless individuals is not in any way, shape or form reflective of Hartlepool, its people, its values, most of whom have been getting in touch with me today to express their absolute disgust at what we saw on the streets last night. 'It doesn't represent us as a town.' Shocking footage captured the moment cops found an on-the-run suspect swimming through alligator infested waters and lurking in Florida's snake-filled mangroves. Taurean Wright led Hillsborough police on a wild six-hour chase on Monday before he was dramatically apprehended by a K-9 unit. It is unclear what he was arrested for. To avoid a felony arrest, the 34-year-old plunged into a canal and swam to a heavily wooded area near Palm River Road and S 52nd Street in Tampa. For the next six hours, Wright reportedly lurked in the treacherous mangroves as deputies set up a perimeter and deployed K-9 units to hunt him down. Dramatic body cam footage captured moment of arrest when a K-9 dog cornered Wright in snake-infested mangroves. Shocking body cam footage captured the moment Florida cops found a suspect on the run as he swam through alligator infested waters and lurked in Florida's snake-filled mangroves For six hours, Wright reportedly lurked in the treacherous mangroves as deputies set up a perimeter and deployed K-9 units to hunt him down 'Show me your hands. Come out now,' the deputy can be heard saying as the dog corners him. 'You got to come get me, ah, you got to come get me,' Wright shouts reportedly in pain. Aerial footage then shows deputies guiding Wright out of the woods and into handcuffs. The sheriff's office later posted on social media, emphasizing the collaborative effort of their K9, Marine, and Aviation Units in bringing the suspect in. 'On July 29, 2024, #teamHCSO's K9, Marine, and Aviation Units successfully located and arrested felony suspect Taurean Wright, 34, who had been on the run for about six hours through mangroves,' the post said. 'Earlier in the day, HCSO attempted to arrest Wright on a warrant, but he fled from deputies into a canal and swam to a densely wooded area.' Taurean Wright, 34, led Hillsborough police on a wild six-hour chase on Monday before he was dramatically apprehended by a K-9 unit Aerial footage then shows deputies guiding Wright out of the woods and into handcuffs Sheriff Chad Chronister from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office praised his team's efforts, saying, 'This arrest exemplifies the exceptional skill and teamwork of our specialty units.' 'Our deputies worked swiftly and tirelessly to ensure this dangerous individual couldn't bring any more harm to our community.' Lake Seminole in Pinellas County, which is not too far from where Wright was located, is recognized as one of the 'most alligator-infested lakes' in Florida. The BBC was told by police not to share details of Huw Edwards' arrest for child abuse image offences in November 2023, a source has said, as the corporation faces backlash on how it handled the scandal. The veteran broadcaster was arrested on November 8 but that was not made public until this week, when he was ultimately charged with making indecent photographs of children and pleaded guilty in court. The corporation has said it knew of the veteran broadcaster's arrest on 'suspicion of serious offences' in November, but continued employing him until April. A BBC source told BBC News that the police told the corporation not to share the information. The source said: 'The information was given in strict confidence by the police and was not to be shared.' Veteran broadcaster Huw Edwards was arrested on November 8 but that was not made public until this week Before he resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24 (Pictured leaving court on Wednesday) The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation There are also reports that someone in the Met Police called BBC management to alert them that Edwards had been charged, before it was made public. However, questions are still being raised about why Edwards continued to receive his large salary - as the highest paid newsreader at the corporation - for five months after his arrest. Before he resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC's latest annual report. This last salary marked a 40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. Edwards has made a 'mockery' of the BBC and was aided by a small band of his bosses who kept his arrest secret for months, betrayed staffers said today. 'It's unforgivable and makes a mockery of the organisation. There will be lots of people who are very angry with Tim Davie', one BBC employee said today. Nicky Campbell, one of the BBC's most senior radio broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to social media calls for the BBC to get back the 200,000 of licence fee money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he might agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'. Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago Writing for the BBC website Katie Razzall said: 'Why didn't the BBC sack Edwards, in light of his arrest, instead of giving him the space to leave, apparently on his own terms, albeit with no pay off? 'There will have only been a handful of people in the room where these conversations were taking place. 'The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The decisions they took can't have been easy and they will have been weighing up different scenarios - and competing advice. 'It's important to note that BBC News, where I'm employed, is editorially independent from the corporate side. We didn't know about the arrest or charges until earlier this week when the story broke'. She added: 'Senior HR and legal advisors will have advised the BBC it had a duty of care towards Edwards as an employee. They will likely also have said he would have a legal case against the corporation if he was sacked unfairly. The BBC says it was made aware of 'significant risk to his health'. 'But it is difficult to see this specifically through an HR or legal prism'. Former BBC broadcaster Roger Bolton said today: 'The nature of what Huw Edwards has done is so disgusting and dreadful that I think any residual sympathy for him has gone.' 'The questions are, when did they [the BBC] know? What did they know?' 'There is the BBC at the very highest level, the executives, and BBC News. It's absolutely clear that BBC News and all its editors did not know until this week that Huw Edwards had been charged. 'But we now know the BBC executives were told in confidence that Huw Edwards had been charged. When did they know he was charged? And the big question is, why did they continue to pay him so much money in these circumstances?'. It came a BBC insider claimed it was common knowledge that married father-of-five Edwards had messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years. The source believes that bosses 'turned a blind eye' to the star's behaviour within the newsroom in order to 'protect' him as an asset. And BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall said: 'The facts are the BBC continued paying Huw Edwards his vast salary for five months after he was arrested,' adding: 'Why, also, did they let him leave on his own terms?'. 'In the end, this was a judgement call for the people at the very top of the BBC and the optics are reputationally damaging. The BBC spent taxpayers' money on a man now guilty of serious offences. Many people will believe the corporation made the wrong judgement', she said. After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. 'At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' The corporation added: 'The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. 'If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. 'During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.' Davie was expected to hold urgent talks with Ms Nandy over the phone on Thursday, according to BBC News. The public currently pays 169.50 a year for the licence fee and questions will surely be raised if Edwards' salary was the best use of that money. Charlotte Rees-John, an employment law partner at legal firm Irwin Mitchell, said: 'It would have been possible to dismiss Huw Edwards after he was arrested, but it is not without risk. 'I suspect this was considered but the safer approach was taken, which was to wait until charged. 'Suspension on full pay was then appropriate as was the pay rise if contractual. 'Many other organisations would have taken the risk to protect their reputation, but the BBC is under a greater level of scrutiny and they also had to consider that he was suffering with his mental health and as such at risk of serious harm.' However, the fact Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs - after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams - will also likely raise serious questions of trust in figures at the BBC. Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams, it has emerged. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds. A Met police spokesperson said: 'The Met informed the BBCs Governance Department that Huw Edwards had been arrested on 8 November 2023. 'Common Law Police Disclosure (CLPD) is the established legal mechanism through which the police can inform an individuals employer when they are arrested or alleged to have committed an offence. It is often used where the individual holds a position of trust/responsibility with the public. 'The information is provided in strict confidence in order to enable the individuals employer to consider what risk mitigation measures might be necessary.' The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest 'secret' from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail yesterday. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards's arrest and charge. The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment. 'Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues,' a spokesman said. In April, the Mail received information that Edwards had been arrested and asked the Metropolitan Police whether there had been an update in any investigation, but was told there had been 'no updates in relation to this matter'. Edwards had in fact been arrested last November. Scotland Yard said it was not able to respond to enquiries in relation to a named person before charge. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday Yesterday, Edwards appeared in court to admit three charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of the 41 images sent to the presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of them were 'Category A', the most serious type. During the time of the exchanges with Williams, which took place over eight months, Edwards delivered coverage of Prince Philip's funeral to the nation. It comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report in the conduct of former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades. Westwood 'strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour' and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing. He has not been charged with a criminal offence. At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards' 40,000 pay rise, saying: 'We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound. 'But what you're trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately. 'I think that's what we did... but I think we wouldn't have wasted money if we weren't doing the right thing.' Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors' after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16. Just this week, the BBC would not reveal if it had been aware of Edwards' arrest in November. But it tried to defend its actions in a statement last night. The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' It continued: 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.' A judge has revealed he decided to name the Southport stabbing suspect in a bid to stop a fresh wave of 'idiotic rioting'. Axel Rudakubana, 17, has appeared in court accused of murdering three little girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday. Judge Andrew Menary condemned the 'idiotic rioting' which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana to fill the information vacuum exploited by 'others who are up to mischief'. He said: 'The idiotic rioting going on at the moment is, in part, fed by the nonsense online that feeds on the vacuum.' Judge Menary explained what he described as an 'exceptional' decision against imposing reporting restrictions sought by both prosecution and defence, which would have granted the defendant anonymity until he turns 18 next Wednesday. He said he had to balance a risk to the defendant's family and initial risk to him while settling into custody with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. Granting the Daily Mail's request not to impose restrictions, he said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Judge Andrew Menary condemned the 'idiotic rioting' which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' The judge added: 'The defendant Axel Rudakubana appears before me having been sent to this court earlier this morning by the Youth Court in respect of multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. 'The alleged offending in his case is shocking and could hardly be more serious, involving as it does the killing and serious wounding of multiple victims, most of whom were young children, in an incident in Southport on Monday 29 July 2024.' He said delaying reporting of Rudakubana's name until next week could even 'provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder'. The judge added: 'It seems to be in those circumstances that an order made today would have little practical effect in terms of protecting the welfare of AR, and the balance comes down clearly in favour of the public interest in allowing full reporting of these proceedings. 'I understand that revealing the defendant's identity will cause concern and distress to his family, but their identity is generally already known within the local community and much about them has already been widely published online, in the print media and on television reports. Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport 'Though not central to my consideration , it may be that allowing full reporting will remove some of the mystique and misreporting that has taken place typically online as to the identity and other details concerning the defendant. 'This may be a case where others have taken advantage of the perceived vacuum in information over the past few days.' Rudakubana was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013. He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity. Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect. Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list. It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. In a bid to quell tensions - after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot - Judge Menary revealed Rudakubana's identity. As the suspected murderer arrived at the court he was met by dozens of people shouting, with one man having to be held back by police officers as the van holding him past. The revelation comes as two children hurt in the attack were discharged from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with five others in a 'stable condition'. Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court after being charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances Another young picture of Rudakubana A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police cars leaves Liverpool Crown Court The white van carrying Axel Rudakubana, 17, who is accused of killing three young girls arrives as Liverpool Magistrates Court Rudakubana seen arriving at court in a police convoy A prison van (centre) escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. Why did the judge name Rudakubana? Usually a defendant under the age of 18 is granted anonymity during court proceedings. This means media are not allowed to name or picture them unless there are exceptional circumstances. Today, however, Judge Andrew Menary KC decided to name Axel Rudbakubana. The judge at Liverpool Crown Court listened to 20 minutes of legal submissions before declining to make an order to protect the teen's identity. He said: 'Whilst I accept it is exceptional giving his age, principally because he is 18 in six days' time, I do not make an order under section 45. 'Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.' He noted that any order would have been lifted on Rudbakubana when he turned 18 anyways. The judge's decision comes after misinformation spread by fake news websites and Russian state media wrongly identified the suspect. The false claim said the suspect had arrived to the UK by boat last year sharing claims he was an M16 watchlist. It led to violent riots in Southport and beyond which saw dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. Advertisement He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' A provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year. Rudakubana spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline and at times rocking back and forth, side to side. He will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing. Until then he will be remanded in youth accommodation detention. Judge Menary told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: 'You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed. 'That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while.' Earlier today, the suspect attended a hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court which lasted just five minutes. During proceedings, prosecutor Deanna Heer alleged a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' had been used during the rampage. During that time Rudakubana, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt over his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. The suspect arrived at the court around 9.30am in a white prison van flanked by a large escort of at least eight police vehicles. The large police presence comes amid fears angry protesters will turn up outside the courthouse, after a series of riots have swept the country in recent days. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, leaves Liverpool Magistrates' Court after being charged with three counts of murder The convoy of police vans escorted the prison van away from Liverpool Crown Court The suspect was surrounded by a convoy of eight police cars and vans, with officers fearing they could be met with angry protesters following Monday night's riots Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Forensic officers on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside, where a horrifying knife rampage took place Emergency crews swoop on the area after a group of children were attacked at Taylor Swift-themed dance class The defendant, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is accused of entering a dance studio in Hart Street and attacking children and adults who were inside on Monday afternoon. Eight other children suffered knife wounds - with five left in a critical condition in hospital - while two adults who tried to save the young ones in the summer holiday club were also seriously wounded. The adults harmed were dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes who tried to help. In a statement Merseyside Police said yesterday: 'We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July. 'He has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow, Thursday 1 August at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square.' Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: 'Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday Yesterday floral tributes, balloons and soft toys covered the street near the police cordon Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport 'I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West.' The boy, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: 'We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' False claims online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat had sparked riots across Southport on Tuesday night, despite pleas from one of the victim's mother's for calm. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following that incident. After rioting broke out, Elsie's mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. 'The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had 'hijacked' a vigil for victims and will 'feel the full force of the law', while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as 'violent attacks from thugs on the streets', which she branded 'appalling'. The Prime Minister is set to face questions this afternoon after crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. On Wednesday, a clean up operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. More than 100 people were arrested in London after crowds gathered in Whitehall turned on police, throwing bottles and cans at officers in riot gear. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Police chiefs arrive to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing The riots came barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack Some were heard shouting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, while others shouted 'Rule Britannia', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats' and chanting 'you're not English any more'. A Met Police spokesman said: 'Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.' Responding to last nights riots, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The scenes of disorder and violence yesterday evening were completely unacceptable. 'There is no place for criminality on our streets and I fully support the Met Police taking action against those intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city.' In Hartlepool, County Durham four people were arrested after violent protests broke out, with people detained for various offences after missiles, glass bottles and eggs were thrown at officers. A police car was also set on fire before protesters posed for selfies with it. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: 'At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. 'Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community.' Vice President Kamala Harris is now predicted to win the presidential election in November for the first time since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. According to the online betting company PredictIt, Harris is predicted as the favorite to win this fall over former President Donald Trump. The shares of Harris having a victory hit 54 cents on Thursday while shares of Trump winning were at 50 cents. The company works by asking users to buy shares ranging from once cent to 99 cents. The more likely an event, the more expensive they are, signaling people still expect it to be a very close presidential race. Harris pulled ahead on the betting platform for the first time on Wednesday before it went back and forth for a bit. Vice President Kamala Harris becomes favorite to win the presidential election against Donald Trump, according to betting market The shift in the betting market comes as a series of recent polls have shown Harris closing the gap with Trump and even beating him in several battleground states since Biden exited the race last month. The latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll put Harris ahead in four battleground states: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin and tied in Georgia. Her lead in Michigan was a whopping 11 points. Trump was leading in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to the poll. Overall, the average of polls in the head-to-head matchup between Harris and Trump has Trump up by just over one percentage point. The prediction market Polymarket has shown Trump's lead dropping when it comes to who will win the presidential election and Harris is on the rise, but the ex-president maintains his lead 54 percent to 44 percent. People have also been weighing in on PredictIt on who they believe will be Harris' running mate as she is expected to announce her vice presidential pick any day now before the pair appear together for their first campaign rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has a wide lead in the betting market as her running mate at 57 cents. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is second at 19 cents followed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear at 18 cents. Betting market has Gov. Josh Shapiro leading as favorite to be Kamala Harris' running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttgieg round out the top five. Harris is expected to announce her running mate any day now before the pair hit the campaign trail next week, visiting seven battleground states in five days. A 'runaway heiress' has been accused of 'accosting' her former friend in Harvey Nichols in a last ditch attempt to thwart a damming court judgement which could see her jailed. Fashionista Ekaterina Barrett is facing up to two years in prison after the High Court found that she had 'forged' a document during her million-pound court fight with the owner of a Knightsbridge boutique. Bridget Hutchcroft, whose Pandora Dress Agency near Harrods in London was beloved by Princess Diana and Hollywood stars, sued former pal Ms Barrett and secured a court order demanding she pay back 1.6million in cash after borrowing money to get through a costly divorce. Miss Hutchcroft's legal team then launched a separate case, arguing that Ms Barrett showed contempt to the court by giving evidence which was 'false and known by her to be false'. But on the final day of the contempt hearing this week - just hours before the verdict was due to be heard - it was claimed Ms Barrett had 'accosted' Ms Hutchcroft that morning while she was having her eyebrows threaded in a Harvey Nicols beauty salon in Knightsbridge. It was claimed Ekaterina Barrett 'accosted' Ms Hutchcroft while she was having her eyebrows threaded in a Harvey Nicols beauty salon in Knightsbridge Bridget Hutchcroft (pictured), whose Pandora Dress Agency near Harrods in London was beloved by Princess Diana and Hollywood stars, sued former pal Ms Barrett Ms Barrett's barrister emailed the judge 40 minutes before the hearing began, claiming that Ms Hutchcroft had made an offer to 'settle the proceedings' and attached photos taken of the two women at the salon. The photos, obtained by the Mail, show Ms Hutchcroft, 65, lying in a reclined chair having her eyebrows done as Ms Barrett, 68, poses for the camera next to her. But Ms Hutchcroft strongly denied agreeing to any meeting or settlement and her barrister told the court that she had been 'accosted' and that there was 'no discussion' of a settlement. The Judge refused permission for Ms Barrett to testify about the salon encounter and 'derail' the case. Mrs Justice Heather Williams said: 'The two women are not speaking to each other, are facing in different directions and there's no separate evidence to say that they are discussing a settlement.' It comes just over a year after the Mail tracked down Ms Barrett to her 19.2 million apartment in Monaco following our revelations that she had failed to pay the 1.6million she owed to Ms Hutchcroft. Ekaterina Barrett is facing up to two years in prison after the High Court found that she had 'forged' a document during her million-pound court fight The pair met when Ms Barrett began visiting Pandora seven years ago while she was still living in Mayfair and driving around town in a Bentley. Ms Hutchcroft went on to lend her friend more than 1million for her divorce with few misgivings as Ms Barrett had claimed to be 'fabulously wealthy' and have 'a substantial trust for her in Liechtenstein' which she temporarily could not access, according to documents filed at the High Court. But having later fled her 4.2million flat in Mayfair's Curzon Square, Ms Barrett was discovered by the Mail in Monte Carlo wearing 5,000 worth of Chanel where she said: 'I'm not paying back a penny.' Now Ms Barrett is facing as much as a two-year jail sentence after the judge found she had put forward a 'forged' document to avoid stumping up the cash. Finding her in contempt of court, Mrs Justice Heather Williams said Ms Barrett had produced a 'settlement agreement' - purportedly signed by Ms Hutchcroft - saying Ms Barrett only owed 800,000. And in a short High Court hearing back in June 2023, Ms Barrett insisted that she is not a wealthy woman and 'that her lifestyle is funded entirely by her family'. However, Ms Hutchcroft's lawyers claimed she lied about her wealth, masking the fact that she owns a pad in Monaco worth millions. Ekaterina Barrett taking her three dogs for a walk On top of that, Ms Barrett had faked a document with a forged signature in a bid to prove that the case against her had been settled long before reaching court, they claimed. James McWilliams - for Ms Hutchcroft - attacked the document as an 'obvious forgery', adding: 'The signature on the alleged settlement agreement is transparently not that of Ms Hutchcroft - as even a cursory comparison between the document and formal documents signed by her in these proceedings will show'. It was also 'fanciful' to suggest that Ms Hutchcroft and Pandora would have struck a settlement deal with Ms Barrett for 800,000 when they already had a court judgement against her for more than 1.6million, the barrister argued. Finding Ms Barrett in contempt of court, the judge said: 'I am sure that the settlement agreement including the signature was a forgery.' She added: 'I have no doubt at all that she acted as alleged and it follows from my conclusions that I am satisfied that she acted dishonestly in telling the court that the claim had settled.' The case has now been adjourned to await sentencing of Ms Barrett later this month. The family of the men involved in an incident at Manchester Airport where an officer stamped on a man's head has contacted the police watchdog to file a complaint, their lawyer has said. Greater Manchester Police was plunged into crisis last week after footage emerged of a police officer kicking Muhammed Fahir, 19, while he was arrested alongside his brother Amaad, 25. However, CCTV released after the initial video showed Fahir attacking three officers just seconds before he was kicked on the ground. Now a solicitor representing the family has said they have spoken to the IOPC with 'regards to lodging a formal complaint against officers'. A Greater Manchester Police constable was advised he is under criminal investigation for assault over the incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said last week. Scottish human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar (pictured) is representing the brothers arrested at Manchester Airport Footage of a police officer kicking Muhammed Fahir, 19, while he was arrested alongside his brother Amaad Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged people to 'take a step back' and allow the authorities to carry out their investigations after the new footage was released. Fahir, Muhammad and their mother Shameem Akhtar, 56, said they wanted to understand 'on what legal basis' Mr Burnham was shown complete CCTV of the incident 'and by whom'. Through their solicitor, Aamer Anwar, a high-profile Scottish human rights lawyer, they said the family and its legal representatives should have been 'provided with an opportunity to view footage before any politician'. They added that leaked footage 'does not show exactly what the police did' and criticised 'attempts by so-called 'police sources' to spin a false narrative or partial context'. Mr Anwar said if family members had engaged in criminality, 'then they must be subjected to due process'. He added that there could 'never be any legal justification' for the 'use of excessive, disproportionate and potentially lethal force against a civilian who is incapacitated and poses no threat'. In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Anwar said: 'I have now spoken to the IOPC with regards to lodging a formal complaint against officers from Greater Manchester Police.' The family's solicitor added: 'We also seek to understand on what legal basis Andy Burnham was shown the complete CCTV and by whom. 'The repeated attempts by so-called 'police sources' to spin a false narrative or partial context is deeply unhelpful to an IOPC investigation. Controversial ' TikTok lawyer' Akhmed Yakoob (pictured) is no longer representing the two brothers 'Leaked footage does not show exactly what the police did, how the incident unfolded, nor the full conduct of officers in the aftermath of the incident in all parts of the airport, including after the arrests. 'As for leaking of CCTV, we understand that will also form part of their investigation, but whilst it may be blatantly obvious who would benefit from such a cynical and partial leak, proving who the individual or 'institution' is likely to be impossible.' Mr Anwar added that the family expected all material relating to the incident and cameras of the aftermath to be retained, 'especially those where the detainees were taken to in other areas of the airport'. The two brothers were initially being represented by controversial 'TikTok lawyer' Akhmed Yakoob but cut ties with him earlier this week. Mr Anwar said it was 'the family's choice to withdraw their instruction' but declined to give a reason why. In response, the family's solicitor Mr Yakoob released a video on Instagram on Sunday, declaring: 'After consulting with the family I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer'. The video appeared to show a group of people standing by ticket machines in terminal two and a man in a light blue outfit facing one of the machines. Male and female officers appeared to attempt to restrain two men who were involved in a series of strikes and punches before one man was tasered. An officer and a man in blue appear to grapple until the latter lies still on the ground, face-down, and a woman kneels by his side. New footage shows the moments before a Greater Manchester Police officer was filmed kicking a teenager in the head at Manchester Airport The new footage shows Fahir seemingly hitting a female police officer with a punch to her head The police officers attempt to bring the men under control after the scene descended into chaos The officer then appears to kick and then stamp on his head, which was shown in the footage already widely circulated. The family and their solicitor will attend a press conference in Manchester on August 6. Mr Anwar has previously represented for other high profile cases, including for the family of 'Scotland's George Floyd' Sheku Bayoh, who died in police custody. Mr Bayoh, 31, stopped breathing in May 2015 after he was cuffed by officers responding to a call in Kirkcaldy, Fife. During an inquiry into his death, Mr Anwar challenged the police officers involved to give a full testimony if they had nothing to hide. The top lawyer has also represented the family of Emma Caldwell, whose killer Iain Packer walked free for 19 years despite officers being repeatedly told he 'is the man'. Mr Anwar said some officers at Police Scotland had 'betrayed justice', Emma, and the other women who were also Packer's victims. Mr Anwar also represented the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, who demanded answers as to why Nicola Sturgeon failed to produce any pandemic diaries for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. President Joe Biden celebrated the end of the 'brutal ordeal' for Americans 'imprisoned unjustly' inside Russia as he announced a complex prisoner swap and then led a rendition of 'happy birthday' to the teen daughter of a freed prisoner. Biden made a surprise appearance inside the State Dining Room at the White House hours after the historic deal that freed American ex-Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. All were held inside Russia, Whelan since 2018, for 'no legitimate reason whatsoever - none,' Biden said. 'And now they're brutal ordeal is over and they're free. The president appeared with family members of freed Americans as he announced the intricate swap that released 24 prisoners and involved seven countries. Biden, who hasn't been seen publicly since early Tuesday, hailed the 'feat of diplomacy' and friendship involving multiple nations. In one awkward moment, he led the room in a round of 'Happy Birthday' for Miriam Butorin, the 13-year old daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, a freed Russian-American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Biden interrupted his remarks to bring Butorin in close, then encouraged people to join in singing, which attendees did, calling it a Biden family tradition. President Joe Biden sings happy birthday to Miriam Butorin, 13, after delivering remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House And he offered her some life and future dating advice while the cameras rolled. 'Remember, no serious guys until you're 30,' he told her, earning some chuckles in the room. Responding to a question from DailyMail.com, the president also defended the release of convicted hit man Vladimir Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the assassination of an ethnic Chechen Georgian national in broad daylight in a Berlin park. Asked how he weighed the decision to release the hit man who was able to get away with murder, Biden responded: 'I got home innocent people.' Biden positioned family members behind him for the event, where he read from prepared remarks and took a series of questions from the press, at a time when the White House says he is 'recalibrating' his role now that he isn't seeking reelection. 'They never gave up hope. I can't imagine what they've been through,' he said. President Joe Biden, right, reaches out to hold hands with Elizabeth Whelan, center, as he delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia. He surrounded himself with family members of prisoners being freed in the swap as he announced the deal Miriam Butorin, 13, wipes a tear at the White House event Biden provided some life dating advice after the song A plane carrying American prisoners has landed in Turkey following a major swap between Russia and the US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is among those released from prison in Russia He invoked his own late son Beau as he tried to describe what they grappled with. 'Family is the beginning, the middle, and the end,' he said. The president said it 'says a lot' about American values that the U.S. also pushed for the release of Russian dissidents being held inside their country. He said they would not be free to 'live safely abroad' and said they would be able to continue working to promote democracy in Russia 'if they so choose.' Biden focused many of his remarks on the freed Americans, who also included Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and Russian-British dissident also part of the swap. He referred to the quartet by the first names. 'This deal would not have been made possible without our allies,' said Biden. The White House went into overdrive Thursday, putting together the public event and briefing the press on how the historic swap came about. Biden and VP Kamala Harris plan to go to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to greet the returning prisoners. Biden also posted an image of Gershkovich, Whelan, and others flying back to the U.S. 'This was vintage Joe Biden rallying American allies to save American citizens and Russian freedom fighters,' said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Plans call for further development of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, as seen in 2023, but more testing for radioactive soil will slow the projects. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle The U.S. Navy will expand an ongoing toxic cleanup of the 500-acre San Francisco Shipyard project at the site of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard on two land parcels where soil sampling unearthed radioactive objects last year, a Navy spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. The new plan is expected to delay the former shipyards cleanup by as many as 18 months. The objects a 1.5-inch deck marker covered in radium tainted paint that was used to light passageways on ships during the Cold War, and a radioactive piece of glass were discovered on two swaths of land where the Navy has been re-examining work conducted by its former remediation contractor, Tetra Tech EC, after allegations of fraud in connection with the cleanup surfaced in 2018. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Navys radiological retesting plan for those sites had previously been limited to one-third of the areas where Tetra Tech EC carried out its remediation work. But, the recent discoveries led to the decision to excavate 100% of Parcels B and C, David Bennett, the Navys spokesperson for the cleanup, told the Chronicle. Tetra Tech EC faces multiple lawsuits over its work at the former shipyard, including from the U.S. Department of Justice, which has alleged the firm cut corners and falsified radiation tests. The Navy decided in 2018 that the firms data was suspect and that areas of the former shipyard must be retested. Tetra Tech EC has denied any wrongdoing. The Navy must complete its retesting plan which also involves another site, Parcel G and its cleanup of the larger former shipyard in order to unlock the Superfund site for its long-planned redevelopment into a mixed-use neighborhood, an effort that has been on hold. Developer FivePoint Holdings has said previously the areas remaining nine parcels would be transferred to the city by 2026, after which it could resume the project. But Bennett told the Chronicle on Thursday that the timeline would be altered after the expanded retesting efforts at Parcels B and C and could potentially be further impacted by a number external factors. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Navy is committed to the environmental cleanup of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (HPNS) and the safety and health of the surrounding community even after our work is completed and we transfer property to the City of San Francisco, Bennett said in a statement to the Chronicle. Scientific testing is at the heart of the Navys work to ensure there is no contamination left behind that would risk public health and environment. FivePoint did not immediately respond to the Chronicles requests for comment Thursday. During the Cold War, parts of the former shipyard were contaminated by fallout from irradiated ships that were brought to Hunters Point after atomic-bomb tests, and radiological research also was carried out there. The Navy, which operated at the shipyard from 1945 to 1974, and other agencies have spent decades trying to remove that contamination. In 2004, regulators declared the hilltop portion of the shipyard to be clean, and hundreds of people now live in recently developed housing there. Environmental advocates have, for years, been calling for more transparency and higher standards for the cleanup. Bradley Angel, executive director for Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice which sued the Navy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in June described the Navys decision to modify its plans for parcels B and C a partial victory. Greenaction is really excited that our lawsuit and ongoing years of community pressure have now forced the Navy to expand their retesting and hopefully do it right, Angel said. This is something they had refused to do, and its apparent that our lawsuit has successfully challenged them, at least on the retesting that needs to be done. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Greenaction has alleged that, while the Navy only agreed to test one-third of the areas where Tetra Tech worked over the span of roughly a decade, the agency also said that it would expand the scope of its retesting plan should the effort produce evidence of residual contamination. We still have concerns, Angel said, adding that Greenactions lawsuit will remain active. We also are demanding a full, not partial, cleanup of all the contamination at the shipyard, to the extent humanly possible, which they continue to refuse to commit to. The Navy has not committed to expanding its retesting efforts at another shipyard site, Parcel G, where the 2021 discovery of strontium-90 in soil samples exceeding the cleanup standard alarmed advocates and the EPA. The radioactive isotope is linked to increased risks of bone cancer and leukemia. Greenaction has accused the Navy of attempting to invalidate its own data by requesting to switch from the EPA-approved method used to detect the elevated strontium-90 levels to another method that was only approved last year. The Navy has said that the original method, known as EPA Method 905, produced unreliable data, as it was originally designed to detect strontium-90 in water, not soil. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The new method, called the total beta strontium Eichrom method, produced strontium-90 levels that were below the remedial goal, or considered to be safe. Parcel G was once home to a nuclear research laboratory, and the Navy said in October that its retesting plan for the site is slated to wrap up this year, after which the parcel will be eligible for redevelopment. Last month, the EPA accepted the results of a verification study it had requested from the Navy to validate its decision to switch to the Eichrom method. Michael Montgomery, director of the EPAs superfund and emergency management division, said that the verification study was conducted in collaboration with Californias Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Department of Public Health, which also signed off on the switch. In order to be sure that we are using the best science, we asked the Navy to go deeper in the analysis, in comparing these different methods, said Montgomery. We had our national radiation laboratory help us design that study for the Navy. What it demonstrated was that the prior data was not reliable, and therefore really shouldnt be used for decision making. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Angel, of Greenaction, said that his group will continue to challenge the Navy and EPA on its findings. The Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama Bin Laden has said the 9/11 plotters should have gone to trial and been executed years before getting the plea deal that spares their lives. Rob ONeill added he would have carried out the death penalty himself and said the agreement is a slap in the face for the families of the 2,657 American victims who have waited 23 years for justice. The 48-year-old served his country in 400 combat missions over 16 years and was involved in arguably the most famous military raid in U.S. history that led to the death of the Al-Qaeda founder. Now he is slamming the deal where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) - the architect of the 2001 plot that killed almost 3,000 people - and two accomplices Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi will accept life sentences to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and the death penalty. The trio have been detained in Guantanamo Bay for decades and the grieving relatives of those killed have been painfully waiting for answers. Rob O'Neill, the Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama Bin Laden, has issued a withering response to the plea deal offered to the 9/11 hijackers Family members of the victims reacted with fury as news of the plea deal emerged on Wednesday night, on a day when more evidence of Saudi Arabias complicity in 9/11 was revealed in a New York courtroom. Montana native ONeill and members of SEAL Team Six stormed Bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011, and cornered him. He then says he shot the most wanted man in the world in the head, ending a global manhunt that had consumed the West for years. He came forward in 2014 and named himself as the man who fired the kill shots. ONeill says the deal that will spare the terrorist planners their lives is a slap in the face for the families who want to know more about who was behind the attacks. He told DailyMail.com that the trio should have been executed years ago, and he would have done it personally to save taxpayers' money. ONeill added he would have carried out the death penalty himself and said the agreement is a slap in the face for the families of the 2,657 American victims who have waited 23 years for justice The 48-year-old served his country in 400 combat missions over 16 years and was involved in arguably the most famous military raid in U.S. history that led to the death of the Al-Qaeda founder However he admitted that he wasnt surprised about the terms of the plea deal and criticized the Biden administration. The White House has insisted the president was not involved in talks and was not aware of the arrangement reached between military prosecutors and the suspected terrorists lawyers. This proves that we are really bad at remembering our history. Never Forget is forgotten and attorneys are proving that they will sell their souls to al Qaeda for notoriety and money. The White House is also quick to say that the president had nothing to do with this, just like he really has nothing to do with anything. These three terrorists are culpable for the worst attack in U.S. history and will now be living the remainder of their worthless lives on a tropical island.' A photograph dated Saturday March 1, 2003 shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attack, shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan The Department of Defense says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow attackers have entered into a pre-trial agreement which will see them avoid the death penalty. Pictured: Walid Bin Attash (left) and Mustafa al-Hawsawi (right) It is yet unclear where the terrorists will serve their sentences. Joe Biden has been wanting to close Guantanamo Bay, where they are detained, since he came into office. If the detention facility on the military base, known as Camp Delta, is shut down, the detainees could be moved to ADX Florence, the only supermax prison in the U.S. that already houses 9/11 terrorists. O'Neill criticized the lawyers involved in the deal and said the only just resolution for the families now is for the three plotters to spend the rest of their lives in solitary confinement. The attorneys representing them are detestable and the prosecutors are weak. Families of the fallen have waited 23 years for the proper verdict and are, again, let down by our flawed system. The only reasonable way forward would be solitary confinement in cold, quiet, dark cells or solitary confinement while blasting heavy metal. But that will never happen. I wont be surprised if part of the plea-deal is unlimited sunscreen. President Biden recently released Mohammed al-Qahtani, the 20th 9/11 hijacker, and Zuhail al-Sharabi, another hijacker, for an expanded version of the 9/11 attacks from Guantanamo Bay, so its only fitting that someone in the administration is trying to cut a plea deal with the mastermind of the attacks. Montana native ONeill and members of SEAL Team Six stormed Bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2 2011, and cornered him In 2009, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other scumbags entered their Islamic response to the charges against them saying, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you are considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion. They consider the mission blessed and they will become martyrs if they are killed. Set up the meeting and let God decide. They should have been executed years ago. I would have done it personally while saving taxpayers' dollars. If you need to locate President Biden on September 11 this year, Ill save you some time: He wont be at Ground Zero.' O'Neill completed some 400 missions during his illustrious career. He was part of the mission that rescued Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates and 'Lone Survivor' SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Afghanistan. In 2011, following a decade of work by multiple U.S. military intelligence agencies, a concrete location of Bin Laden's whereabouts had emerged. The story of the CIA agent who doggedly tracked Bin Laden down inspired the movie Zero Dark Thirty. 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson voiced the anger many of the families are feeling in response to the plea deal. He told DailyMail.com the grieving relatives were never consulted about the agreement and didnt find out until Wednesday night. We are deeply troubled by these plea deals. While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information, he said. O'Neill, pictured with his wife, came forward as the SEAL team member who fired the fatal shot at Bin Laden in 2014 'These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth.' All three men have been in US custody at Guantanamo Bay since the early 2000s. Mohammed, an al Qaeda militant, has been accused of being the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks. The families of victims were concerned that the plea deal could stall the investigation and prevent them from learning who was really behind the atrocity. 'We need to know the extent of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's involvement in the 9/11 attacks. This is not just about punishment, it is about uncovering the truth and ensuring justice for the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives on that tragic day,' Eagleson said. 'Our stance is clear: if a deal is to be made, it must ensure that we obtain the vital evidence these individuals possess. 'We urge the administration to ensure that these deals do not close the door on obtaining critical information that can shed light on Saudi Arabia's role in the 9/11 attacks. Our quest for justice will not waver until the full truth is revealed, and justice is served for the victims and their families.' Chief prosecutor Rear Admiral Aaron Rugh sent a letter to family members of 9/11 victims that explained the plea agreement. 'In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,' Rugh wrote. The letter said the men could submit their pleas in open court as early as next week. J.D. Vance made his first visit to the border as Donald Trump's running mate where he went on the attack against Vice President Kamala Harris as Republicans attempt to paint her as the Biden administration's failed 'border czar.' The Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee made his appearance Thursday morning in Cochise County, AZ as he made a swing through western battleground states including a rally in Glendale, AZ Wednesday night and campaign stops in Nevada. His visit to the border comes as Republicans have seized on border security as they go after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Harris for immigration policies in the Biden administration. 'It's just unbelievable what we're letting happen at this southern border, and we're letting it happen because Kamala Harris refuses to do her job,' Vance said. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance during a campaign stop on the southern border in Hereford, AZ on August 1, 2024 The 39-year-old GOP lawmaker claimed 'it's not hard to secure the southern border' and suggested they could 'implement some common sense policies.' During his remarks, Vance called for ending 'catch-and-release,' forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico and finishing the border wall. The Ohio senator did mention 'reimplementing deportations' but he did not specifically mention Trump's push for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. Vance has said in past interviews he supports the policy. Vance claimed the U.S. effectively has an 'open border' and argued it's what Harris has 'promised.' 'Donald Trump and I promise to do exactly the opposite,' the senator said. He said he was 'ashamed of what this administration has done.' Vance with Sheriff Robert Watkins of Cochise County, AZ, the president of the National Border Patrol Council Paul Perez and local ranchers on August 1 Republicans have been working to paint Harris as the Biden administration's 'border czar' and tie her to migrants and fentanyl illegally coming into the United States. In March 2021, Biden specifically tapped Harris to lead the 'diplomatic effort' to address the root causes of migration. Harris traveled to the border in El Paso that June and made trips to Mexico and Guatemala as well as a visit to Honduras in January 2022. Her work resulted in some investments in Central America, but she has not traveled to countries south of the border since 2022. Vance said there cannot be effective border policy without someone coordinating all the federal agencies. He claimed Harris was asked to 'coordinate' but has 'done nothing.' On Monday, the Trump campaign also launched its first attack ads on television against Harris focused on the border to air across six battleground states. But the vice president and her campaign have pushed back, arguing Trump with Vance's help tanked the bipartisan border security bill earlier this year. Vice President Harris responded directly to GOP attacks over immigration on Tuesday during her rally in Atlanta where she vowed to bring back the bipartisan border security bill. She said Trump talks a 'big game' on border security but does not 'walk the walk' Harris responded directly to the GOP attacks over the border during her campaign rally in Georgia on Tuesday. 'Trump has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk,' she said. The vice president pledged if elected she would bring back the bipartisan border bill that she said 'Trump killed' earlier this year. That bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators included money to increase the number of Border Patrol agents, asylum officers and immigration judges. It would have also included funding to increase detention facility capacities and enhance fentanyl detection. Three much-loved young men who died in a car crash in a weekend of carnage on Scotlands roads have been named by police. Reece Williams, 23, Lewis Soden, 24, and Connor Page, 21, died after the white Ford Focus they were travelling in crashed on Moss Road near Dunmore, Falkirk, on Friday at around 6.15pm. The driver, a 20-year-old woman, was treated at Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert but has now been discharged. In a statement released via Police Scotland, Mr Williams family said: Reece will forever be a much-loved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend. There will not be a day where we dont hold space to remember Reece and the memories that we made together. Wed like to express our thanks to the emergency services, witnesses and to everyone who has sent their condolences. Lewis Soden, 24, was one of the three young men who died in a road accident near Falkirk Reece Williams, 23, was also killed in the incident on Moss Road Connor Page died when the white Ford Focus he was in crashed Mr Sodens family said: Lewis has and will forever be a much-loved son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend to many. There will not be a day where Lewis wont be missed and where we wont hold room in our hearts to remember him and the memories that we all made together. We would also like to express our thanks to all the emergency services, witnesses and to everyone who has sent their condolences. Mr Pages family added: Connor was loved beyond words. Police Scotland is appealing for witnesses and urged anyone with information or dash-cam footage to come forward. Sergeant Elaine Scott said: Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of all involved this very difficult time. Inquiries remain ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the crash and we continue to appeal to anyone who witnessed the crash and who has not already spoken to officers to please get in touch. I would also appeal for anyone who was driving in the area and who may have dash-cam footage that could assist to contact us. They were among eight people to die in crashes on Scotlands roads at the weekend. The force issued an appeal for road safety following the series of fatal accidents. The next Scottish Tory leader will be in post within two months after party chiefs rejected calls to delay the campaign. Scottish Conservative officials have announced that nominations will open next Thursday, and Douglas Rosss successor will be in place late next month. It means the new Scottish leader will begin work much sooner than the successor to Rishi Sunak, with the appointment of the new UK leader not due to be announced until November. The Scottish Tory party management board rejected calls from a series of MSPs for a longer campaign period and for Mr Ross to be replaced by an interim leader. Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy, who sits on the management board, said: Following a two-week consultation with members and elected representatives, the management board met to agree the rules and timetable for the leadership election. Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the timetable of the election had been agreed We look forward to an open contest where candidates will be able to outline their plans and policies at hustings to be held around Scotland in the coming weeks. Once candidates have had the opportunity to set out their stalls, a full ballot of our members will determine the next leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. Mr Ross, who announced early in the general election campaign that he would stand down when a new leader is appointed following a backlash at his decision to stand as a candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, did not attend the meeting when the timescales and rules for the contest were agreed. Nominations will open next Thursday, August 8, and close at midday on August 22. A series of hustings will then take place across the country, including a digital event. Ballot papers will be posted to members on September 4, with the vote closing at midday on September 26 and the winner being announced the following day. It means that a new leader will be announced before the Conservative annual conference in Birmingham, which gets underway on September 29. The conference is expected to be dominated by the race to be the next UK leader of the party. Former journalist Russell Findlay, the partys justice spokesman, and former athlete Brian Whittle, a deputy business spokesman, have both confirmed they intend to stand in the Scottish contest. A series of other MSPs are considering putting their names forward, including deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, former justice and education spokesman Jamie Greene and former economy spokesman Maurice Golden. Current Scottish Conservative Deputy Leader Meghan Gallacher is believed to be weighing up a bid to run for the leadership Tory MSP Russell Findlay has already announced he will stand to become the new leader Long-serving MSP Murdo Fraser has not yet confirmed if he will put himself forward as a candidate. Last week, he said an independent commission should be set up by the next leader to consider whether the Scottish Tories should split from the UK party for Holyrood elections. Anyone seeking to become a candidate must first secure 100 nominations from party members. The new leader will be chosen through a preferential voting system, where members rank candidates in order of preference. Supporters of early favourite Mr Findlay had called for the starting gun to be fired on the contest as quickly as possible, while some MSPs pushed for a delay. Following yesterdays announcement, Mr Findlay said: Im looking forward to a positive contest about our partys future. Change is coming in Scotland. I want us to lead it - and to do so as proud and passionate Conservatives. Im standing to unite our party behind a common-sense Conservative platform with aspiration and opportunity at its heart. I want to invite everyone to join my campaign to build a modern, dynamic and member-led party that can deliver the electoral success that conservative Scotland needs. Mr Greene said: My immediate reaction was that they may as well just hand the keys to the leaders office to their preferred candidate now, and we can all have a nice summer. But the race to save the partys future is now formally on, although its a strange race given that one of runners appears to have left the starting blocks early. If the party was serious about a meaningful member-led discussion about its future it wouldnt be cramming that hugely important debate into a two-week window during the school holidays. It makes running a viable alternative campaign to the current offering of the failed status quo very difficult. I am consulting with colleagues and will make a decision about my own position over the weekend. Stephen Kerr, a former Scottish Tory chief whip, previously called for nominations to be delayed until September and for the result to be declared in the final fortnight of October. Mr Greene also demanded that Mr Ross is removed as leader during the contest and replaced by an interim leader to ensure we have a steady and cohesive ship over the coming months and to oversee current activities fairly. During a two-week consultation, some MSPs had called for a much longer process. Make-up brand Morphe has suddenly closed all its stores across the UK and made dozens of staff redundant without notice. The brand closed all seven of its UK shops yesterday, it is understood, with 73 employees made redundant effective immediately. Morphe has removed the standalone branches from its online store locator and only shows its counters in Boots and Superdrug, as well as selected Selfridges, Flannels and H Beauty stores across the country. A spokesperson from Morphe's parent company, Forma Brands, said: 'Forma Brands has made significant progress over the last year positioning our business for growth by focusing on our flagship Morphe brand largely through our wholesale and ecommerce operations. 'During that time, our owned Morphe stores in Europe, which have consistently provided an extraordinary experience for our customers, faced disproportionately high store rent obligations. Have YOU been affected? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk Morphe in Liverpool ONE is seen boarded up, with stock apparently removed from the shelves People took to social media to reveal they had been made redundant, effective immediately Morphe closed all seven of its UK shops yesterday, it is understood, with 73 employees made redundant effective immediately (File image) 'We have therefore made the difficult decision to close our seven UK and one Amsterdam retail locations. This move aligns with our strategy to prioritize and expand our successful wholesale and e-commerce operations, similar to our model in the U.S.' Photographs show boarded up Morphe stalls in locations such as Liverpool One, with stock seemingly removed from all the shelves. The cosmetics giant opened its Liverpool store in May 2019, offering more than 300 brushes, palettes and makeup sessions with professional artists. Some former employees of the makeup store took to social media to share that staff across the UK have been made redundant, calling it 'one of the worst things on earth'. One person on X, formerly Twitter, said: 'My friend who works at Morphe has just let me know she's been made redundant because they're closing all UK stores with no notice.' Another added: 'I really hope those who got made redundant by Morphe UK are able to find a new job as stress free as they can, redundancy is one of the worst things on earth.' Morphe has removed the standalone branches from its online store locator (File image) People took to social media to share that staff across the UK have been made redundant People took to social media to share that staff across the UK have been made redundant A spokesperson for Morphe said: 'Given the difficult U.K. retail trading environment and disproportionately high rents, we made the difficult decision to close our eight owned Morphe stores in the UK and Amsterdam. 'While this was a difficult decision as it impacted some incredible people who worked in our stores, this move aligns with our strategy to prioritize and expand our growing wholesale and e-commerce operations, similar to our model in the US which has proven to be very successful. 'We are immensely grateful to our incredible store teams for their dedication and passion over the years. 'We are immensely grateful to our incredible store teams for their dedication and passion over the years and are working to support them through this transition. 'Due to store closures, impacted store team members were made redundant immediately. In recognition of their dedication, the parent company Forma Brands LLC has provided goodwill payments to all affected employees, equivalent to an enhanced redundancy package.' Cancer deaths have hit a record high in Scotland amid concerns about the impact of soaring waiting times. Official figures show cancer was a cause of 17,014 deaths last year, up 1.7 per cent on 16,725 in 2022. It is the first time the figure has soared above 17,000 and annual deaths are now 853 higher than they were a decade ago. The rise comes at a time of growing concern about delays to cancer treatment after diagnosis. Tory MSP Tess White said the cancer figures revealed 'a stark and depressing reality' Nearly one in three patients are now needing to wait more than the 62-day standard from urgent suspicion of cancer to first treatment. Scottish Conservative deputy health spokesman Tess White said: These stats lay bare a stark and depressing reality: spiralling cancer treatment times tragically lead to a spiralling death toll. Scotland lags way behind comparable countries for cancer survival times and frankly it should be a source of shame for SNP ministers that their 62-day target has not been met in well over a decade. Despite the best efforts of frontline staff, the SNPs dire workforce planning and Humza Yousafs flimsy recovery plan mean they are operating with one arm tied behind their backs - culminating in 2023 being labelled the worst year on record for cancer waiting times. More than 17,000 people across Scotland died of cancer last year Everyone will know someone who has been affected by this awful disease, and were all aware of the correlation between prompt treatment and survival chances. Neil Gray must urgently get a grip on cancer waiting times before more patients die needlessly. Figures from National Records of Scotland show that neoplasms (cancerous masses) were listed as the cause of death for 8,784 men and 8,230 women in 2023. The most common type for men was malignant neoplasms on the trachea, bronchus and lung, which caused 1,851 deaths, followed by the prostate, which caused 1,114 deaths. For women, the most common type was also cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung, which caused 1,927 deaths, followed by breast cancer, which claimed 994 victims. Total cancer deaths increased by 1.7 per cent from 16,725 in 2022 to 17,014 last year, and were 5.3 per cent higher than 16,161 a decade ago in 2013. Cancer charities have condemned soaring waiting times, and say 2023 was the worst year on record amid problems including staff shortages, broken equipment and rising referrals. The 62-day target - the maximum time patients should wait between an urgent referral for cancer tests and starting treatment - has not been met since 2012. Figures for the first three months of this year showed just 70.4 per cent of patients were seen in 62 days - the second-worst figure on record and little improvement on the 69.5 per cent seen in the same period last year. Kate Seymour, head of advocacy for Macmillan Cancer Support, said: Despite the tireless efforts of NHS staff, people with cancer are being failed by a health care system that is not being given the resources it needs to support them. Cancer can affect every part of someones life - from healthcare and finances to work, housing and relationships - but right now people living with cancer are not getting the person-centred care that they desperately need. The latest Macmillan research shows that the UK is lagging decades behind other countries when it comes to survival rates. For example in Scotland survival rates for prostate cancer are still below what Sweden had already achieved by the early 2000s. It doesnt have to be this way. The Scottish Government must take action to ensure people living with cancer get the care they need before the situation gets any worse. That means bolstering the cancer workforce and investing in equipment to ensure people are diagnosed early, treated quickly and supported through all the impacts cancer can have on their lives. Silicon Valley parents are calling for transparency about a new ethnic studies course ahead of its launch this fall - but the California school district piloting the class is keeping tight-lipped. Two high schools in wealthy Palo Alto will teach the new class to a small group of incoming freshmen before its state-mandated rollout in the 2025-26 school year, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Ethnic studies cover the experiences of minority groups in America, especially those of African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Members of the Palo Alto Parents Alliance (PA) want to lay eyes on the lesson plan prior to its debut, fearing the controversial course will adopt a 'liberated' approach focused on discrimination and oppression versus an 'inclusive' one. 'It would sure help if we as parents could see the curriculum,' Alan Crystal, the father of an incoming senior, told the Chronicle. 'A lot of what we want is just to see whats being proposed, and to see the curriculum.' 'It would sure help if we as parents could see the curriculum,' Alan Crystal, (left) said. Members of the Palo Alto Parents Alliance (PA) are demanding transparency and wish to see the ethnic studies curriculum prior to rollout 'We arent against ethnic studies,' said Sarith Honigstein, a member of PA. 'Our issue is with a non-transparent rollout.' Proponents argue the course helps minority students learn about their culture and history, particularly for points left out of typical textbooks. Members of PA garnered 1,400 signatures on a petition asking for transparency, saying they support ethnic studies but want the chance to provide input. 'We arent against ethnic studies,' Sarith Honigstein, a member of PA, told The Chronicle. 'Our issue is with a non-transparent rollout.' Bill Honig, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction, described a 'liberated' model in Ed Source as: 'Presenting non-whites as victims and whites, individually and collectively through institutions, as oppressors.' He described an 'inclusive' approach as: 'Inclusive ethnic studies does not prioritize group membership over the uniqueness of each individual...Rejects group identity as the primary lens to understand history, society, culture and politics...Advances the importance of an individual's characteristics.' In a May letter, PA argued 'the approach that PAUSD [Palo Alto United School District] chooses to teach is important since divisiveness and turmoil have ensued in the school district boardrooms and classrooms that embraced "liberated" Ethnic Studies.' Guillermo Lopez, the school district's associate superintendent, insisted that students will receive an 'inclusive' curriculum There is no one-size-fits-all curriculum for ethnic studies courses across the state as it's largely been left up to each district on how they want to teach it. The district held three input sessions with parents, who claim they received few answers. The parents worry the class will teach a 'liberated' model instead of an 'inclusive' one. The school district denies that it's working on a 'liberated' model and insisted to parents their students will learn an 'inclusive' curriculum, according to Associate Superintendent Guillermo Lopez (pictured) The concerns haven't come out of nowhere. The school district covering nearby San Mateo received hundreds of complaints from parents saying their ethnic studies course was pushing a left-wing agenda, and Mountain View Los Altos High School District was sued by a nonprofit to make their curriculum documents public, the Chronicle reported. The debate is not limited to California's borders. Florida banned an AP course on African American studies, while Tennessee restricted teachers from teaching certain topics involving race. DEI and critical race theory classes have sparked mass debate across America and they are becoming a focal point in the 2024 presidential election. Parents in Palo Alto fear the course will end up like the lesson plan from the UC Berkeley History Social-Science Project, which partnered with the school district to help develop the concepts of the course. PA highlighted its concerns with Berkeley's programming, noting that the project's key concepts include calling a white male privileged and Western society oppressive. Lopez told the Chronicle that Berkeley's programming doesn't 'really apply to our course.' Palo Alto High School (pictured) and Henry M. Gunn High School will be running a trial on a new ethnic studies course with a small group of incoming freshmen before its state-mandated rollout begins in the 2025-26 school year Lopez insisted the pilot course coming this fall won't be the final curriculum as the district wants to learn what works and what doesn't He also insisted the pilot course coming this fall won't be the final curriculum. 'All we can do is continue to have conversations and train our staff to understand some of the dos and don't,' Lopez said. 'Our goal is to be inclusive of all communities.' Jason Muniz, the director of the Berkeley project, told the Chronicle that its role was to help 'teachers tailor the class to their own district.' BBC boss Tim Davie has admitted that he knew Huw Edwards had been arrested over the most serious category of child porn images - yet continued to pay the paedophile presenter more than 200,000 until he resigned. In a bombshell interview with BBC News on Thursday, the director general said: 'We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences.' BBC bosses, who were told about Edwards' arrest in November but kept paying him for another five months, say they were not aware of the ages of the children in the images. Britain's most famous newsreader yesterday pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to receiving 41 indecent images of children, two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine. The 62-year-old received the pictures on WhatsApp from convicted paedophile, Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021. Seven of them were category A images - the most serious classification - while 12 were category B and 22 were category C. Category A images show serious abuse including penetrative sexual activity, while Category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity. Category C images do not depict any sexual activity. Mr Davie tonight confirmed the BBC did know the severity of the alleged offences, but claimed the police had not told them the full details. When the ex-anchorman's charges were made public this week, Mr Davie said: 'We were very shocked. No one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing.' BBC boss Tim Davie (pictured) has admitted that he knew Huw Edwards had been arrested over the most serious level of child porn images Huw Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 The director general also reiterated that the BBC did not reveal that star's arrest at the request of the police, adding that the Beeb also had to consider its duty of care to Edwards. 'When it comes to the decision we made in November, we were obviously faced with a difficult decision, and we considered it very carefully,' Mr Davie said. 'The police came to us and gave us information that they had arrested Mr Edwards. But they wanted to be assured of total confidence, and the reason they rung us at that point, it's a technical process to ensure employees are protected and there's no risk.' He added: 'Another factor at this point was very significant duty of care considerations. I think it was right for us to say we'd let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act.' Addressing whether Edwards would still receive his pension, he said it was 'very difficult to claw back, nigh on impossible', adding: 'These are unfortunately the specifics of how it works. 'When it comes to pay, again, [it's] legally challenging [to recover], but we'll look at all options.' Mr Davie was also quizzed about the BBC's own investigation into Edwards, which has not been published. He said the BBC was 'not sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadn't followed up properly'. Before Edwards resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC's latest annual report Alex Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children He continued: 'I can categorically say that when it comes to the offences we've seen, which are truly horrendous, any evidence that is out there is not in the hands of the BBC. If I saw evidence of that, that is not a complicated decision [to hand it over].' Before Edwards resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC's latest annual report. This last salary marked a 40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999. The disgraced broadcaster earned more than 200,000 between his arrest last November and leaving the corporation in April. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. 'At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams The corporation added: 'The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. 'If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. 'During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.' Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'shocked and appalled' by the Edwards' news when asked about the case at a press conference in Downing Street. The Prime Minister also confirmed the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will hold urgent talks with the BBC director-general Tim Davie on Thursday. The public currently pays 169.50 a year for the licence fee and questions will surely be raised if Edwards' salary was the best use of that money. Charlotte Rees-John, an employment law partner at legal firm Irwin Mitchell, told the PA news agency: 'It would have been possible to dismiss Huw Edwards after he was arrested, but it is not without risk. 'I suspect this was considered but the safer approach was taken, which was to wait until charged. 'Suspension on full pay was then appropriate as was the pay rise if contractual. 'Many other organisations would have taken the risk to protect their reputation, but the BBC is under a greater level of scrutiny and they also had to consider that he was suffering with his mental health and as such at risk of serious harm.' However, the fact Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs - after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams - will also likely raise serious questions of trust in figures at the BBC. The scandal with Edwards comes in the wake of the crimes of Jimmy Savile, the TV star and serial sexual abuser who managed to conceal his crimes until after his death in 2011. It also comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report in the conduct of former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades. Westwood 'strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour' and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing. He has not been charged with a criminal offence. At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards' 40,000 pay rise, saying: 'We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound. 'But what you're trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately. 'I think that's what we did... but I think we wouldn't have wasted money if we weren't doing the right thing.' Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors' after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16. Scotland is in the grip of an epidemic of loneliness as soaring numbers of people admit they live by themselves. Nearly 100,000 more people are now living in single-person households compared to a decade ago. The 13 per cent rise was more than double the jump seen in England and Wales. Campaigners last night warned the startling figures amounted to a public health crisis as growing numbers of people fall prey to loneliness. Increasing numbers of people in Scotland, especially the elderly, are living alone The Scottish surge, revealed in the latest findings of the 2022 Census, was driven by the countrys growing older population. Age Scotland chief executive Katherine Crawford said: Loneliness can have a huge impact on someones health, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia, as well as contributing to significant mental health challenges. Almost a third of Scots aged over 55 - around 550,000 people - now live alone, with the highest levels of lone living found in the Western Isles, Argyll & Bute and Inverclyde. Age Scotland urged SNP ministers to make the crisis a national priority. The Scottish Health Survey recently found increasing numbers of Scots reported feeling lonely most or all of the time in 2022, up from 8 to 11 per in just a year. But Ms Crawford said the figures were far higher among the elderly, half of whom felt lonely all or most of the time. For a quarter of a million over-65s, the main source of company is their TV or radio. She said: With a rapidly ageing population and 1 in 3 over 55s now living alone, its vital that older people are supported in their communities and know where to access help. People are more likely to live alone in later life for a variety of reasons such as bereavement or children and family members moving away. Its vital that we all play a part in tackling this public health crisis. Thats why were urging the Scottish Government to treat tackling loneliness as a national priority and ramp up activity. Campaigners say elderly people are especially at risk of loneliness She stressed there was a huge amount of community support if people reached out. The Census found all Scottish households grew by 136,500 to 2.5million between 2011 and 2022, with 106,700 of the increase down to people living alone. Most of the rise in lone living was in older age groups, with 40,600 more single-person households in the 55 to 64 group, and smaller rises in the 65 to 74 and over-75 groups. Older people were twice as likely to live alone than the young, with around 30 per cent of over-55s in single-person households, against 14 per cent for people aged 16 to 54. The increase in older people living alone was driven by more Scots living longer in general. The rise in one-person households was 13 per cent in Scotland, compared to a 5.9 per cent in England and Wales and 19 per cent in Northern Ireland. The National Records of Scotland published the data as part of its household demographics and migration findings from the Census. Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs said: While many people are happy living alone, there is a danger of social isolation and loneliness increasing as the number of single-person households grows. 'Recent studies show a rise in loneliness, leading to depression, among Scots at the same time as the SNP Government are under-funding mental health provision. Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: With so many Scots - particularly those over 55 - now living alone, the government must be alert to the challenges that exist. We know that older people living alone are more likely to suffer from loneliness or mental health issues. Thats why it is vital that the Scottish Government is prepared to act to support older people who live alone to ensure they get any help they may need. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added: Prolonged loneliness can negatively impact anyones mental health and with more people living on their own, there is a very real risk that this takes a severe toll. 'We want to see investment in activities for those who are particularly vulnerable to isolation, like older people and disabled people. The Census also found ever more cohabitation instead of marriage or civil partnerships. All couple households rose 4.5 per cent to 1.25million, but cohabiting households were up 25 per cent since 2011 and 81 per cent since 2001. Continuing a 50-year trend, the proportion of homes with married or civil partnership couples fell from 86 per cent in 2001 to 77 per cent in 2022. Around 555,000 of the 5.5million people living in Scotland were born outside the UK, with Poland (75,400), India (37,700) and Pakistan (28,900) the most common countries of birth. Jon Wroth-Smith, Director of Census Statistics for NRS, said: This information allows governments, businesses and charities to plan services for the years ahead. SNP Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: The Scottish Government recognises that Social Isolation and Loneliness is a vital public health issue. That is why we launched our social isolation and loneliness fund, providing 3.8 million over the next three years to organisations that help people to connect with one another in our communities. We will continue to work with our partners to deliver the actions set out in our strategy for tackling loneliness, A Connected Scotland. The Age Scotland Friendship Line makes weekly calls to older people in need of a friendly ear to listen. Contact 0800 12 44 222. A woman who died after being attacked by her dog had run screaming from her ground floor flat before collapsing in a pool of blood, shocked neighbours revealed. The victim, named locally as Michelle Hempstead, 34, managed to climb over her balcony rail before sprinting around 60 yards to a children's play area, where she fell unconscious against a wall. Locals who rushed outside following the commotion late on Monday night in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, went over to help and found her with blood pouring from a deep wound to her arm. Paramedics arrived within minutes and took Ms Hempstead to hospital with 'life-threatening injuries' but doctors were unable to save her and she died the following day. Neighbours said Ms Hempstead, who has a distinctive tattoo on her face, kept a rottweiler-cross type dog and a Pomeranian, although they said there had been no previous concerns about their behaviour. Locals who rushed outside following the commotion late on Monday night in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, (pictured) went over to help and found her with blood pouring from a deep wound to her arm The victim, named locally as Michelle Hempstead, 34, managed to climb over her balcony rail before sprinting around 60 yards to a children's play area (pictured), where she fell unconscious against a wall Neighbours said Ms Hempstead, who has a distinctive tattoo on her face, kept a rottweiler-cross type dog and a Pomeranian, although they said there had been no previous concerns about their behaviour (Pictured: General view of Ms Hempstead's flat) Police seized both dogs after the tragic incident and said the pet believed to have attacked its owner had been 'assessed by a dog liaison officer as not a banned breed'. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'I was at home with my partner when we heard screaming. 'He went to help and I called an ambulance. By the time he had got down to her, she had run across to near the play area and had collapsed. 'She was unconscious and had a really nasty wound to the top of her arm. It was evidently a dog bite. 'I think she had climbed out of her flat out over her balcony. I came out to help. She had run screaming and made it against a wall. 'We had to move her to see where the blood was coming from. It is just awful that she has died. I can only think it was because of the blood loss. 'We did our best to try and stop the bleeding. There were people coming out to help and trying to talk to her, calling her 'Shelly' or 'Michelle'. 'She was wearing her nightclothes and we tried to cover her up.' The neighbour said Ms Hempstead had a partner and was devoted to her dogs. She added: 'She was quite friendly. We had had a puppy last year and she would stop us to see how he was getting on. 'I was not aware of any problems with her dogs. There was a boy aged around 14 or 15 who would come to her flat to walk the big dog. 'We saw both dogs being taken out early in the morning and they were both walking happily on a lead.' Neighbours said they believed Ms Hempstead was unemployed and had lived in the 200,000 flat for several years (Pictured: general view of Ms Hempstead's flat) Police seized both dogs after the tragic incident and said the pet believed to have attacked its owner had been 'assessed by a dog liaison officer as not a banned breed' (Pictured: general view of Ms Hempstead's flat) One neighbour said Ms Hempstead had a partner and was devoted to her dogs (Pictured: general view of Ms Hempstead's flat) Other neighbours said they believed Ms Hempstead was unemployed and had lived in the 200,000 flat for several years. Essex Police said Ms Hempstead was treated at the scene at about 11.30pm before being taken to the Royal London Hospital, where she died 'despite the best efforts of doctors'. A spokesman added: 'We are not seeking anyone else in connection with this incident at this time and a file will be prepared for the coroner. 'Two dogs have been seized from the address.' Detective Superintendent Gary Biddle, of Essex Police, added: 'Our deepest sympathies are with the family of the woman involved at this time.' Under UK law, Breed Specific Legislation bans the ownership of four types of dogs including some traditionally bred for fighting. These are the Pit bull terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino, the Fila Braziliero and the XL Bully. Dogs that are suspected of being a banned type are typically seized by police and held in kennels away from the owner. Banned types can be kept and exempted from euthanasia if they don't pose a risk to public safety and the owner is considered fit to keep them. For a banned dog to be exempt from euthanasia they must be neutered, microchipped, muzzled and kept on a lead in a public space, kept securely in a home and cannot be taken out in public with anyone under the age of 16. The XL Bully is the most recent breed to have been banned. It is now a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a valid Certificate of Exemption. Spending on San Franciscos upcoming mayoral election is set to surpass the record $8.4 million seen during the 2018 race. Daniel Lurie currently has the most financial support, with a total $6.6 million raised for his campaign. Camille Cohen/Special to the Chronicle San Francisco is seeing huge amounts of money pour into its hard-fought mayoral election this year, and so far, the candidate whos attracting the most financial support is Daniel Lurie, the nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir trying to unseat incumbent London Breed. A Chronicle analysis of campaign finance filings released this week shows that, as of June 30, more than $6 million was already spent by the five leading mayoral candidates and the political action committees supporting them. With several crucial months left until Election Day, the 2024 mayors race is on track to easily eclipse the $8.4 million spent during the June 2018 race, when Breed won a special election to fill the remainder of the late Mayor Ed Lees term. More than $5 million raised by the candidates and committees remained unspent, bringing the total fundraising haul to more than $11 million. Mayoral candidates and their allied PACs are stockpiling cash and continuing to seek additional donor support to invest in a blitz of advertising, voter outreach and staffing expected between now and Nov. 5. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Records show that wealthy donors have given heavily in favor of Lurie, a well-connected political novice who founded the anti-poverty nonprofit Tipping Point Community. A total of $6.6 million has been raised to support Luries candidacy, including $5.2 million to a political action committee that favors him and $1.4 million thats gone directly to Luries campaign since he launched it last year. Luries total includes $590,000 of his own money that hes put into his campaign in recent months. He has declined to participate in the citys public financing program and is putting some of his personal wealth into his campaign instead. By comparison, Breeds candidacy has pulled in about $2.7 million, which includes more than $1.8 million that her campaign has raised from private donors and the citys public financing program. As an incumbent, Breed is eligible to get up to $1.185 million in taxpayer-backed matching funds. A political action committee supporting Breed has raised about $850,000. Mayor London Breed has pulled in around $2.7 million so far for her campaign. Camille Cohen/Special to the Chronicle Mayoral candidate Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor and city supervisor, has raised about $654,000 since launching his campaign in February. Farrell has sought approval of around $88,000 in public financing, but the city has yet to authorize it, according to public records. San Francisco allows nonincumbent mayoral candidates to get up to $1.2 million in public matching funds for their campaigns. Separately, Farrell set up his own fundraising committee to support a November ballot measure to improve City Halls governance structure. That committee has reported raising more than $985,000 and its pooled many of its expenses with Farrells mayoral campaign. San Francisco politicians commonly use ballot measure campaigns as another way to get their name and image before voters. While Farrell says the shared costs reflect legitimate expenses for items such as canvassers, office space and staff time and that his campaign has reimbursed the ballot measure committee his opponents have accused him of using the ballot measure committee as a slush fund to circumvent campaign finance restrictions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayoral candidate Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor and city supervisor, has raised around $654,000 since entering the race in February. Camille Cohen/Special to the Chronicle In San Francisco, individuals cant directly contribute more than $500 to a candidates campaign, but donors can give unlimited amounts to ballot measure committees. They can also give unlimited amounts to political action committees, like those supporting Breed and Luries candidacies. But unlike Farrells ballot measure committee, the PACs supporting Breed and Lurie are operated independently of their campaigns. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin has raised more than $769,000 since he entered the mayors race in April. That includes more than $469,000 from donors and $300,000 in public financing. Peskins campaign said in a statement that it has sought approval of additional public funds that would bring his total raised to $1.5 million. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin has since raised more than $769,000 since entering the mayors race in April. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Supervisor Ahsha Safai, meanwhile, has raised around $958,000 since he launched his mayoral bid last year, including more than $466,000 in public financing. In the first half of this year, Safai raised around $158,700 from donors, the least of any of the five leading candidates. However, after deducting his expenses, he had about $401,700 in cash on hand the second-biggest war chest heading into the final months of the campaign. Breed had the most money in the bank, with about $948,700 in cash available at the end of the fundraising period. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Supervisor Ahsha Safai has raised around $958,000 since entering the race last year. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Lurie has burned through his campaign funds faster than his competitors as he spends heavily to boost his name recognition in his first run for public office. His campaign had less than $65,000 in cash on hand at the end of June, the least of the leading candidates. Meanwhile, the PAC supporting Lurie had $2.6 million left in the bank, and the one backing Breed had around $455,000. Candidates in three competitive races for seats on the Board of Supervisors have also been raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the District 1 race to represent the Richmond District, incumbent Supervisor Connie Chan has raised more than $368,000 from donors and public financing, while challenger Marjan Philhour has raised more than $455,000 from the same sources. In the District 5 race to represent the Tenderloin, Haight-Ashbury and Western Addition, incumbent Dean Preston is trailing his main opponent Bilal Mahmood with $426,367 from donors and public matching funds. Mahmood has raised more than $437,000 from the same sources. In the race for District 9 to represent the Mission, Jackie Fielder has raised more than $392,000 from donors and public matching funds. Trevor Chandler is close behind her with $308,000 raised from donors and public funds, while an independent expenditure committee called Families for a Vibrant San Francisco has contributed $52,500 on his behalf. Roberto Hernandez has raised more than $260,000 so far. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A few of these candidates who ran for seats on the Democratic County Central Committee have shared expenses between their DCCC campaign fund and their supervisor fund. A fugitive father who 'kidnapped' his daughter after taking her on holiday nearly a year ago has now breached a total of 13 High Court orders to bring her home and faces a possible jail sentence, The Mail can reveal. Philip Thomas, 54, took daughter Alice, five, on an agreed holiday to Florida but then flew her to Dubai where the pair have remained ever since, moving between hotels. Alice's mother Natalie Kennedy, 44, met Thomas via an unregulated co-parenting website, through which single people agree to have children without being in a relationship. Miss Kennedy used the website because she wanted to have children and was worried about her body clock. She said she 'wanted to start a family before it was too late' and although she 'didn't want a partner', she wanted a man who 'wanted to have some involvement in our child's life' rather than just use a sperm donor. But relations between the school dinner lady, who has been bringing up Alice, and IT professional Thomas soured, resulting in Family Court hearings and imposed access arrangements. Single mother Natalie Kennedy, 43, is pictured with her daughter Alice Philip Thomas, 54, took daughter Alice, five, on an agreed holiday to Florida but then flew her to Dubai where the pair have remained ever since, moving between hotel Miss Kennedy said IT consultant Philip Thomas (pictured) defied court orders by refusing to return their daughter Alice to the UK, leaving her 'heartbroken and in despair' The legal saga against Thomas has continued at the High Court Family Division earlier this month, when Mrs Justice Emma Arbuthnot made the latest order for Alice's safe return. Dubai police are now said to be investigating him for criminal offences relating to Alice not being sent to school, and impact on her psychological wellbeing. Meanwhile police in the UK are looking at 'new information' from Miss Kennedy against Thomas. High Court judges have described the case as 'child abduction'. The father was last night condemned for his 'grave and flagrant' behaviour by former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC, as Alice's mother said she fears she will 'never see her again'. Miss Kennedy, of Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, has been helped in Dubai by American private detective firm Intertect Global in her efforts to track down Thomas. The mother who has been able to contact Thomas and Alice by phone despite not knowing their whereabouts - went to in Dubai for nearly six weeks but returned to Britain last week. She has now launched an online fundraising appeal in anticipation of tens of thousands of pounds of costs if the case ends up in the United Arab Emirates courts. Alice's mother Natalie Kennedy, 44, met Thomas via an unregulated co-parenting website, through which single people agree to have children without being in a relationship Miss Kennedy pictured with her daughter Alice before she was taken to Dubai Miss Kennedy said she had her daughter with Mr Thomas after meeting him on an unregulated co-parenting website which aims to match people who want to share the upbringing of a child Mr Thomas broke a court agreement by not returning Alice on August 6 last year to her mother's home in Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk Alice may also face a 11,000 fine after a visa obtained by Thomas ran out. It is not certain whether the penalty will be waived, even though the youngster is there through no fault of her own. Miss Kennedy said: 'I think the Dubai police will be able to find him. I am hopeful I can then get her back although I do not know how long the process will take.' She added her daughter's disappearance has left her 'heartbroken'. She said: 'To me, she was everything and I just loved her to pieces. If the authorities can't track her down, there could be a chance I'll never see her again.' Ms Kennedy, whose UK court costs are covered by Legal Aid, also described the financial situation as 'a bit of a nightmare'. Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC called on officials to investigate whether Britain's extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates can be invoked against Thomas. He said: 'This is a grave and flagrant breach of repeated orders. There's also a question about whether there's going to be a criminal investigation. 'There is an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates which came into force in 2008 and there is a process which needs to be looked at. 'Clearly a case like this threatens to bring the system into disrepute. All efforts must be made to bring this person to book and, most importantly, for the care and welfare of a five-year-old child.' Miss Kennedy's solicitor Anthony Argyrou praised his client for 'showing untameable persistence to bring her vulnerable daughter back to the home she needs'. A succession of High Court Family Court judges have treated the case as 'child abduction' but Thomas has ignored court orders despite the threat of a fine, imprisonment or seizure of assets. Miss Kennedy's daughter Alice who has been taken to Dubai by her father Philip Thomas Miss Kennedy of Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, is battling to get her daughter Alice home from Dubai Miss Kennedy has not seen her daughter since her father took her on a two-week holiday to the United States Thomas, from Hertfordshire, has set up his own website called FairParentingUK and an associate podcast, which he uses to campaign against what he sees as injustices in the UK's family courts. He has made a string of accusations against Miss Kennedy and said he will only return 'with safeguards' to guarantee access. At an earlier High Court hearing in February, Thomas seemed to show little emotion while appearing via video link as Mr Justice Cusworth warned: 'Playing with Alice as a pawn is not in her best interests'. The judge - who imposed a 12-month prison sentence against Thomas, to be suspended if he brought Alice home by March - said: 'We need to arrange for him to come to this country with Alice soon for his sake, for her sake and for the mother's sake. He cannot live on the run with Alice forever.' During the February hearing, Thomas's barrister, Edward Bennett, said: 'He is prepared to make a return in March if there is progress during mediation.' Ms Kennedy is being assisted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whose spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British woman in Dubai and are in contact with the local authorities.' Norfolk Constabulary said it has not previously opened an investigation into Thomas because he took his daughter out of the UK legitimately on an agreed trip. But Miss Kennedy said she has since told officers she believes the 'abduction' was premeditated, with her daughter telling her before setting out: 'Daddy says I'm not going to see you again'. A Norfolk Constabulary spokeswoman said: 'We can confirm new information has been provided to us and we are seeking further legal advice.' To contribute to Natalie Kennedy's appeal, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/reunite-natalie-and-alice-help-bring-her-daughter-home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a bold request for an interview with Vladimir Putin ahead of his release from a Russian jail. The journalist was freed as part of a historic prisoner swap involving 24 inmates from between Russia and the West. Gershkovich, 32, had been incarcerated for almost 500 days until his release on Thursday, along with two other US nationals and other prisoners. He was being held in Russia on espionage charges which the US government deemed illegitimate. Now it has emerged that before his shock release, Gershkovich left a note for the Russian premier asking if he would sit down for an interview, the WSJ reports. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a bold request for an interview with Putin ahead of his release from a Russian jail The request was made as part of mandated forms Gershkovich filled out as part of his application for presidential clemency. 'The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?' The WSJ said. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July. He was released along with former US marine Paul Whelan, 54, who had also been convicted of spying and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. The US nationals were among a group of 16 Western prisoners whose release was negotiated as part of the trade. They included green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident journalist also jailed in Russia and at least seven Russian opposition figures who had been incarcerated in their homeland. The journalist was freed as part of a historic prisoner swap involving 24 inmates from across the East and West. Pictured: Gershkovich aboard his flight to freedom The trio posed with a US flag with returning citizen Alsu Kurmasheva (center) who was also released on Thursday Kara-Murza, 42, was arrested in April 2022, just hours after a CNN interview was broadcast in which he stated Russia was run by a 'regime of murderers'. Their release formed part of a complex and historic prisoner exchange involving seven different countries. The exchange finally took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday morning. It is understood that White House officials, diplomats and the CIA were all part of the negotiation process - and painstakingly assessed which other Western and Middle Eastern countries were willing to release Russian prisoners as part of the deal. According to the WSJ, last week CIA Director William Burns traveled to Turkey to finalize the logistics for the exchange with his Kremlin equivalent. President Biden also played a role in the historic exchange - speaking directly with prime minister of Slovenia Robert Golob to get him on board with pardoning two Russian spies, who were to be handed back to Russia in the swap. The request was made as part of mandated forms Gershkovich filled out as part of his application for presidential clemency from Vladimir Putin, pictured with Indonesian Defense Minister and President-Elect Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday The exchange took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday. The country has previously acted as a mediator for prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West President Biden shared this photo shortly after the release with the caption: 'After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families' The president lauded the deal as a 'feat of diplomacy' as he confirmed 16 prisoners had been released from Russia, including seven opposition figures incarcerated in their homeland. 'Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,' Biden said. 'This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. 'And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. 'Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families.' The deal largely hinged on the release of convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov from a German prison, where he had been serving life for the broad-daylight murder of a Georgia-born Chechen separatist. Putin is understood to have personally requested Krasikov's release in exchange for Gershkovich and the other hostages as a reward for the 'state-contracted killing'. A woman who died of ME was desperate for a 'loving hug' in her final months, but found it too painful to be held, her mother told an inquest. Maeve Boothby O'Neill, 27, was left bedridden and unable to eat in the final months of her life due to the severity of her myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Her family believe her death in October 2021 exposed 'a major systemic failing' of the health service to both understand and treat severe cases of the condition. Giving evidence at the inquest into her daughter's death in Exeter, Devon, on Thursday, Sarah Boothby accused the hospital which treated her of failing in its duty of care. Ms Boothby O'Neill was admitted three times to the Royal Devon & Exeter (RD&E) hospital in six months, but was said to have refused a fourth admission because she felt there was no prospect of treatment or cure for her condition. Maeve Boothby O'Neill, 27, (pictured) was left bedridden and unable to eat in the final months of her life due to the severity of her myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) Sean O'Neill, a journalist for The Times, pictured with his daughter Maeve who died in October 2021 Her mother said that, as her daughter's full time carer, 'it seemed to me the consultants responsible for her care at the RD&E were not trying to save Maeve's life'. Ms Boothby also described in agonising detail the final months of her daughter's life. WHAT IS ME? Some 250,000 people in Britain suffer from the condition, which comes with flu-like symptoms, extreme tiredness and mental lethargy that can last for years. Other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalopathy (ME), include disturbed sleep, poor memory and reduced concentration. The cause of the illness is unclear, provoking the heated debate that has lasted for decades among the medical community. Some patients return to full health and others deteriorate progressively, however, most fluctuate between good and bad periods. There is no cure for CFS, with the majority of treatments to reduce symptoms being ineffective. They include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), graded exercise therapy and medications such as antidepressants. Worldwide it is believed that 17 million people suffer with CFS, according to the ME Association. Advertisement She said in her moving statement to the court: 'She wanted more than anything, she said, a loving hug. By then it was too late for that, hypersensitivity made all touch excruciatingly painful.' Ms Boothby said that deaths from ME were extremely rare, but she believed the evidence showed that her daughter likely died from malnutrition and dehydration because of her severe ME. 'I therefore believe her death was both premature and wholly preventable,' she told the court. She added: 'As it is likely her death could have been prevented, I am hoping the inquest will try to ascertain how three separate admissions to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital failed to save her life.' Ms Boothby O'Neill was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) in a Bristol hospital in 2011. Ms Boothby said by March 2021 her daughter was 'unable to sit up, hold a cup of tea to her lips or chew' and she said she could have been treated by tube feeding in hospital - but claimed the 'appropriate form of tube feeding was never provided' and criticised the hospital's response to her deteriorating needs as 'inexplicable'. Rhys Hadden, representing the hospital trust, addressed the accusations of failings after Ms Boothby had given her statement. He said: 'We do not accept it (Meave's death) was preventable. The Trust disagrees with the criticism that it failed in its duty of care or missed important opportunities.' Ms Boothby O'Neill's father, journalist Sean O'Neill, was too overwhelmed to read his statement to the coroner who read it out aloud on his behalf. Miss Boothby-O'Neill had been admitted to the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital (pictured) three times, during her second visit she told doctors she wished to be discharged, the inquest heard It said: 'Medicine and medics did not know what to do. Meave encountered treatments that made her worse - such as exercise programmes - delayed diagnoses, ignorance, apathy and stigma. 'The medical orthodoxy is that ME is a behavioural problem or a psychological illness and that belief is deeply rooted in the NHS despite growing scientific evidence that it is a physical illness. 'Maeve was forced by medical prejudice and ignorance to rely on her own resources. She researched ME in great depth and was extremely knowledgeable, but she was unable to cure herself and medicine (with the exception of just a few special people) was unwilling and unable to help her. 'Maeve never wanted to die. She had dreams, hopes and plans. 'It seems a harsh thing to say but she would have been better off on the hands of the NHS if she had had cancer. And I say this as someone who is living with cancer.' The inquest continues. An upscale New York City hotel is offering travelers and city-dwellers one free night's stay starting this month, but with an interesting condition attached. In honor of National Sister's Day on August 4, both Walker Hotel locations (in Tribeca and Greenwich Village) are offering an exclusive buy one get one night free deal. But only those who have 'Walker' in any part of their name - whether it be first, last or middle- can take advantage of this offer. The deal can be booked during the month of August for stays through the end of the year (excluding blackout dates), and can be applied to a second night in one room or a second room for the night at either one of the properties. In honor of National Sister's Day on August 4, both Walker Hotel locations - in Tribeca (pictured) and Greenwich Village are offering an exclusive buy one get one night free deal The stylish hotel's Tribeca location is a former ribbon factory that draws from the distinctive character of the area and the Golden Age New York City It also includes breakfast for two at the Mostrador NYC in the Tribeca location or Society Cafe at the Greenwich Village location along with a friendship bracelet at check-in. The stylish hotel's Tribeca location is a former ribbon factory that draws from the distinctive character of the area and the Golden Age New York City. Guests can stay at one of the hotels many room options which includes Walker Full, Walker Queen and Walker Cozy King. Visitors can also sip craft cocktails in Saint Tuesday bar while enjoying live music or watch a sunset with a glass in hand on the rooftop lounge, Happy Be. Those visiting the hotel's Greenwich Village location can experience architecture inspired by the Georgian revival towers and rich romantic interiors Each of the luxury rooms has been built with Art Deco lines, sleek furnishings and stylish amenities which include Garnier Thiebaut linens and towels, Bigelow bath products, Bluetooth stereos, room service and Planet Fitness passes Apart from this, travelers are also treated to marble rain showers, Bigelow bath amenities and smart TVs. Those visiting the hotel's Greenwich Village location can experience architecture inspired by the Georgian revival towers and rich romantic interiors. Each of the luxury rooms has been built with Art Deco lines, sleek furnishings and stylish amenities which include Garnier Thiebaut linens and towels, Bigelow bath products, Bluetooth stereos, room service and Planet Fitness passes. Guests can stay in a variety of rooms such as Greenwich Empire View, Waverly Queen and Bedford Double during their stay. Visitors can also enjoy drinks and live music at the hotel or venture into the main dining room to enjoy market-to-table food sourced from the Union Square Green Market. An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a protest in Hartlepool on Wednesday. The police car was torched during riots which spread from Southport to other parts of the UK last night in the wake of the knife rampage which claimed the lives of three young girls. The violence, also seen in London and Manchester, has been sparked by false speculation online that the suspect in the stabbing frenzy is an illegal immigrant who arrived in the UK on a small boat. Murder suspect Axel Rudakubana, 17, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and lived in Banks - a Lancashire village less than 15 minutes from Southport. Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: 'This is very much a live investigation and we are continuing to work to identify those involved in the disorder yesterday evening and bring them to justice. 'Disorder of this kind will not be tolerated and those found to be involved will be robustly dealt with.' An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a protest in Hartlepool on Wednesday Riot officers on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday night Firefighters tend to a burning police car burns as officers were deployed on the streets of Hartlepool last night Officers continue to have a visible presence in the area to reassure and protect the community. Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where rioters set pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. A lone Asian man was also punched in the face in footage which was captured on a live stream. Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected. Sir Keir Starmer has condemned 'far-right hatred' in the wake of the Southport stabbings and today announced a new 'national' response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. The Prime Minister said 'thugs' involved in the scenes of unrest should not 'pretend they are speaking' for the grieving families of the three young girls killed in the initial attack. At a press conference following riots in which bricks were hurled at police officers and a local mosque targeted, Sir Keir warned: 'The far right are showing who they are - we have to show who we are in response to that.' In a televised address from Downing Street after the disorder in London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Southport, he announced a new 'national capability' to tackle the disorder across police forces in England. Police officers and dogs were deployed to the streets of Hartlepool amid fresh violence A police car burns in the distance as riot police officers line up nearby Firefighters attempt to put the intense blaze out as violence escalated in Hartlepool The remains of the police car can be seen as riot police officers walk past This will involve sharing intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and criminal behaviour orders to restrict the movement of those involved, Sir Keir said. He said: 'These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. 'We must have a policing response that can do the same.' The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. 'Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,' he said. 'That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.' Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, also warned that speculating about the attack could risk prejudicing the active criminal proceedings against the suspect and impeding justice for the bereaved families. Asked what his message was to Muslims who may be concerned after a mosque was targeted in the violence in Southport, he said: 'In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear: I will take every step that's necessary to keep you safe. Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool the morning after the riots 'Mosques being attacked because they're mosques - the far right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that.' The press conference was held shortly after police chiefs from Scotland Yard, Merseyside and West Yorkshire were summoned to Downing Street for crisis talks with the PM and his ministers following the violence. Sir Keir said the meeting was held to 'pull together our response, response both to the immediate challenge which is clearly driven by far-right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up whatever the apparent cause or motivation'. He hit out at a 'gang of thugs' who descended on Southport to riot following the initial attack, saying that as a result the community had been forced to suffer twice. 'Let's be very clear about this. It's not protest. It's not legitimate. It's crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice,' Sir Keir said. In London on Wednesday, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police, and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. The string of violent incidents followed similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. The Government will probe a Czech billionaire's planned takeover of the Royal Mail. Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services accepted a 3.5billion takeover swoop from Daniel Kretinsky, meaning the postal company is set to fall into foreign hands for the first time since it was set up by Henry VIII in 1516. The Cabinet Office has now decided to scrutinise the deal under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act. A discrete investigation will assess whether there is any harm to the UK's economic infrastructure. The government will only publicly acknowledge the inquiry if it concludes the deal should be blocked or given certain conditions. Business groups and unions welcomed the latest development as a sign that Labour is taking concerns seriously. Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services accepted a 3.5billion takeover swoop from Daniel Kretinsky (pictured) but it will now be probed Under current owners, Royal Mail has already urged regulators to let it slash second-class service in half from six-day deliveries to every other weekday (file picture) Labour insisted it would 'robustly scrutinise' the takeover and give workers a 'stronger voice' in its election manifesto. Communication Workers Union general secretary Dave Ward said that current assurances from the company and Mr Kretinsky were 'not strong enough to protect workers, customers and the crucial infrastructure that Royal Mail provides for our communities and the economy.' The union wants a new ownership model that would give workers a stake, meaning ' a greater say over the future direction of the company.' There are also fears Kretinsky - known as the 'Czech Sphinx - will slash the frequency of second-class deliveries. Groups representing thousands of small companies are terrified the postal service will be given a '21st century Beeching Axe' - a reference to the swathe of railway route closures made in the 1960s. 'Whoever owns Royal Mail, we're all looking for lock-tight, long-term undertakings on affordability and reliability. Above all communities need a postal service that performs, serving the needs of small businesses and consumers,' Amanda Fergusson, chief executive of the UK's Greeting Card Association said. The GCA was among the groups - including the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), the Booksellers Association and the National Federation of SubPostmasters - who this week implored Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to enforce protections. They worry second class deliveries could be 'chopped back to just three days a week' and that there may be 'runaway prices' for first class post. As well as small firms, this would be a headache for elderly people who rely on the service. Under current owners, Royal Mail has already urged regulators to let it slash second-class service in half from six-day deliveries to every other weekday. Its boss said this would give it a 'fighting chance' to boost standards and help it save 300million. But the proposals also result in almost 1,000 job losses. Labour insisted it would 'robustly scrutinise' the takeover and give workers a 'stronger voice' in its election manifesto (file picture) At the moment, letters must be delivered six days per week, Monday to Saturday, and parcels Monday to Friday (file picture) In April the cost of a first class standard letter rose 8 per cent to 1.35 while a second-class stamp now costs 85p - the same price of a first class stamp in early 2022. Watchdog Ofcom is currently assessing how the troubled postal service's obligations can be reformed - which could see it allowed to offer a less frequent service. At the moment, letters must be delivered six days per week, Monday to Saturday, and parcels Monday to Friday. Ofcom has said there will be an update on the reforms later this year. Kretinsky, a major shareholder in West Ham United and Sainsbury's, met with minister Reynolds last Tuesday - for the first time since the general election. They reportedly had a 'cordial and constructive' conversation. The buyer has already insisted it will protect 'the continuance of six-day delivery for First Class letters', current parent company International Distributions Services (IDS) said earlier this year. But this stoked concerns about what could happen to second-class deliveries. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan got emotional and choked up during the daily briefing Thursday while describing the effort to bring home American prisoners from Russia in a swap. Today excuse me today was a very good day, Sullivan told reporters, as he celebrated the moment but also contemplated the work that went into the elaborate exchange and the suffering of the prisoners and their families. He called it the result of a a monumental level of effort by an array of staff, and revealed details of talks that stretched on for months and had President Biden making a key phone call even on the day he decided to end his bid to retain the White House. Sullivan and his team have been involved in the effort since the start of the administration Biden said the effort began even before he took office. That meant not only strategy sessions and 'pull-aside' meetings with foreign counterparts, but emotionally freighted meetings and updates with desperate and frustrated family members seeking the return of their loved ones. The historic deal freed 24 including 16 who were detained in Russia, but didn't get every American out. Sullivan also confirmed that the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny who suffered in a Russian penal colony above the Arctic circle had once been part of the talks. Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, grew emotional while recounting the efforts to free Americans held in Russia. The historic swap came together Thursday We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexey Navalny. Unfortunately, he died. In fact, on the very day that he, died I saw Evans parents and I told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news,' he said, referencing the family of freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The talks involved numerous countries and Sullivan gave 'personal thanks' to the leaders of Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. 'We've completed one of the largest and certainly the most complex exchange in history,' Sullivan said. 'I spent a lot of time with families, Evan and Paul [Whelan] and Alsu [Kurmasheva], and most of the time, as you can imagine, those are tough conversations. But not today. Today excuse me. Today was very good day,' Sullivan said, regaining his composure. He couldn't say who decided to 'go big' with the overarching deal, saying it was an 'organic process involving a lot of people across our government.' President Biden spoke flanked by family members of the detained Americans, and his aides briefed reporters on how the deal came together He said Biden 'really pushed us to think about what configuration would actually work to make this happen.' 'And so I would say that if you had not had Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, I don't think this would have happened,' he said. He joked about his own emotions when retelling how family members received the news. 'I saved my tearing up for this podium. I would like to strike that from the record,' Sullivan quipped, to laughs. 'So the President invited the family members in at the moment that we received the word from the tarmac in Ankara that the exchange was complete, and he was able to give them a news directly that the exchange was in fact complete.' He said negotiators weren't sure themselves it was a done deal until hours before. A key moment came in February when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Biden he would allow for the release of Russia's top ask: the release of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in Berlin. 'It was two guys actually trying to figure out a solution. That was the nature of all of the conversations, and ultimately, the chancellor was able to say to the president, "Lets do this,"' he said. Asked if Scholz told Biden: 'For you, I will do this,' Sullivan responded: 'I can confirm that he did say that,' but declined to provide further details. Sullivan said aides gained confidence after Biden's July 21 call with the prime minster of Slovenia to put final arrangements in place (two Russians were being held there). We steadily gained confidence following the President's call on that on the 21st of July. But that confidence was always tempered by the reality that this was a fragile deal, a complex deal that could fall apart at any moment from multiple different directions. So we held their breath and crossed our fingers until just a couple hours ago,' he said. The president himself held an event flanked by family members of Americans detained in Russia. He even held an awkward 'Happy Birthday' sing along for Miriam Butorin, the 13-year old daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, a freed Russian-American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Responding to a question from DailyMail.com, the president also defended the release of convicted hit man Vladimir Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the assassination of an ethnic Chechen Georgian national in broad daylight in a Berlin park. Asked how he weighed the decision to release the hit man who was able to get away with murder, Biden responded: 'I got home innocent people.' A 58-year-old man has died after a nine-vehicle collision in a regional town. The man was a passenger in a Toyota Hilux van that smashed into the other eight vehicles on Wellford St in Shepparton, 190km north of Melbourne, at about 5pm on Wednesday. He was rushed to hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Three other people were also taken to hospital for observation. 'The investigation into the collision is ongoing,' Victoria Police said. Police urged anyone who witnessed or has footage of the crash to contact Crime Stoppers. There have been 164 deaths on Victorian roads so far this year, compared to 167 deaths this time last year. A sophisticated platform used to scam 170,000 Brits out of millions of pounds has been shut down by the National Crime Agency (NCA). Russian Coms, established since 2021, supplied users with a handset that looked exactly like a mobile phone but allowed fraudsters to choose any number to appear to be calling from. Criminals often used numbers of financial institutions, telecommunication companies and law enforcement agencies to scam victims out of their life savings. Between 2021 and 2024, more than 1.3million calls were made by Russian Coms users to 500,000 UK phone numbers. Of those who made a report to Action Fraud, the average loss was more than 9,400, with some victims losing hundreds of thousands. A sophisticated platform used to scam 170,000 Brits out of millions of pounds has been shut down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) Between 2021 and 2024, more than 1.3million calls were made by Russian Coms users to 500,000 UK phone numbers (stock photo) Three individuals have been arrested by the National Crime Agency, including two men aged 26 and 28 detained in east London in March who are believed to be the platform's developers and administrators. That month, the platform was taken down. Russian Coms, not affiliated with the Russian state, was first available as a handset and later as a web app. The platform was marketed on Snapchat, Instagram and Telegram with glossy adverts offering 'unlimited minutes' and even 'hold music.' The handset, which could be bought for between 1,200 and 1,400 with a six-month contract, looked like a normal phone but could only be used to make spoofed calls. The web app was marketed as a 'flagship service' that allowed full access to the Russian Coms platform and cost 350 per month, to be paid in cryptocurrency. The platform provided a service that could alter the criminals' voices and accents, and had an 'instant handset wipe' feature that allowed fraudsters to delete all data with a swipe of the phone. Scammers would often 'spoof' the number of a bank to gain a victim's trust, before convincing them that their account had been subject to fraudulent activity. They would then be persuaded to transfer their money to another account to safeguard their savings. Fraudsters would also impersonate reputable companies and steal funds for goods that were never delivered, gain full access to bank accounts and arrange for the collection of physical debit and credit cards on the pretence that they needed replacing. Calls were made to people in 107 different countries, including the US, New Zealand, Norway and France. Adrian Searle, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre within the National Crime Agency, said criminals were increasingly using technology to carry out fraud and other crimes on an 'industrial scale.' 'It's whack-a-mole territory for us at the moment as new technologies emerge,' he added. 'Law enforcement and governments need to keep ahead of that and we can only do that with the support of the technology companies that are able to provide these platforms in the first place.' Scammers would often 'spoof' the number of a bank to gain a victim's trust, before convincing them that their account had been subject to fraudulent activity (stock photo) Fraud accounts for about 40 per cent of all crime in England and Wales, with more than 80 per cent thought to be technology-enabled. Temporary assistant commissioner at the City of London Police, Nik Adams, advised: 'If you receive a phone call out of the blue from your bank, financial provider or other official organisation, even if you think it is legitimate, hang up and redial the number on the back of your bank card. 'No official organisation will pressure you to make an immediate financial decision or put pressure on you to reveal your personal details.' Home Office minister Lord Sir David Hanson said fraud was a devastating crime which could affect everyone. 'That's why this action from the NCA is so significant, shutting down an illegal platform used by hundreds of criminals, and disrupting the flow of funds that their networks rely on to operate,' he added. 'It also sends a vital message to others committing fraud - law enforcement is monitoring you, you will be caught, and you will be dealt with using the full force of the law.' Huw Edwards' child pornography charges were not made public due to fears over his 'mental health', it is understood. Edwards, 62, was arrested on suspicion of receiving indecent images of children via a WhatsApp exchange with paedophile Alex Williams, 25, in November 2023. He was charged this year on June 26. The former BBC presenter has pleaded guilty to possessing seven category A images, 12 category B images and 22 category C images of children at Westminster magistrates' court this week. But despite there being major pubic interest in Edwards' case, the charges and his upcoming court appearance were not revealed to the public at the time, as is typical practice. Alternatively, the shocking revelations of the case were only uncovered on Monday when it was spotted that Edwards was due to appear at magistrates' court on Wednesday by a media outlet, who demanded answers from Scotland Yard. It comes as the BBC's director general Tim Davie has insisted that the corporation was not 'sitting on' any information regarding the police inquiry. The Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have both denied suppressing information or giving Edwards special treatment. Fears over the former presenter's mental health contributed to the decision to withhold information for as long as possible, sources have told The Telegraph. Huw Edwards' child porn charges were not made public due to fears over his mental health, it is understood BBC boss Tim Davie (pictured) has admitted that he knew Huw Edwards had been arrested over the most serious level of child porn images The source said: '[...] concern over Edwards' mental health was certainly a factor in deciding not to release all the details immediately. The intention was to release details of the charges the day before he was due in court. 'This was not an attempt to cover it up but simply to manage the inevitable frenzy that would follow the news being made public.' MailOnline has contacted the CPS and the Met for comment. BBC boss Mr Davie admitted he knew Huw Edwards had been arrested over the most serious category of child porn images - yet continued to pay the paedophile presenter more than 200,000 until he resigned. In a bombshell interview with BBC News on Thursday, the director general said: 'We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences.' BBC bosses, who were told about Edwards' arrest in November but kept paying him for another five months, say they were not aware of the ages of the children in the images. Britain's most famous newsreader yesterday pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to receiving 41 indecent images of children, two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine. Edwards received the pictures on WhatsApp from convicted paedophile, Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021. Seven of them were category A images - the most serious classification - while 12 were category B and 22 were category C. Category A images show serious abuse including penetrative sexual activity, while Category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity. Category C images do not depict any sexual activity. Huw Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 Mr Davie tonight confirmed the BBC did know the severity of the alleged offences, but claimed the police had not told them the full details. When the ex-anchorman's charges were made public this week, Mr Davie said: 'We were very shocked. No one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing.' The director general also reiterated that the BBC did not reveal that star's arrest at the request of the police, adding that the Beeb also had to consider its duty of care to Edwards. 'When it comes to the decision we made in November, we were obviously faced with a difficult decision, and we considered it very carefully,' Mr Davie said. 'The police came to us and gave us information that they had arrested Mr Edwards. But they wanted to be assured of total confidence, and the reason they rung us at that point, it's a technical process to ensure employees are protected and there's no risk.' He added: 'Another factor at this point was very significant duty of care considerations. I think it was right for us to say we'd let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act.' Addressing whether Edwards would still receive his pension, he said it was 'very difficult to claw back, nigh on impossible', adding: 'These are unfortunately the specifics of how it works. 'When it comes to pay, again, [it's] legally challenging [to recover], but we'll look at all options.' Mr Davie was also quizzed about the BBC's own investigation into Edwards, which has not been published. He said the BBC was 'not sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadn't followed up properly'. Alex Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children He continued: 'I can categorically say that when it comes to the offences we've seen, which are truly horrendous, any evidence that is out there is not in the hands of the BBC. If I saw evidence of that, that is not a complicated decision [to hand it over].' Before Edwards resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC's latest annual report. This last salary marked a 40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999. The disgraced broadcaster earned more than 200,000 between his arrest last November and leaving the corporation in April. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. 'At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams The corporation added: 'The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. 'If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. 'During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.' Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'shocked and appalled' by the Edwards' news when asked about the case at a press conference in Downing Street. The Prime Minister also confirmed the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will hold urgent talks with the BBC director-general Tim Davie on Thursday. The public currently pays 169.50 a year for the licence fee and questions will surely be raised if Edwards' salary was the best use of that money. Charlotte Rees-John, an employment law partner at legal firm Irwin Mitchell, told the PA news agency: 'It would have been possible to dismiss Huw Edwards after he was arrested, but it is not without risk. 'I suspect this was considered but the safer approach was taken, which was to wait until charged. 'Suspension on full pay was then appropriate as was the pay rise if contractual. 'Many other organisations would have taken the risk to protect their reputation, but the BBC is under a greater level of scrutiny and they also had to consider that he was suffering with his mental health and as such at risk of serious harm.' However, the fact Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs - after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams - will also likely raise serious questions of trust in figures at the BBC. The scandal with Edwards comes in the wake of the crimes of Jimmy Savile, the TV star and serial sexual abuser who managed to conceal his crimes until after his death in 2011. It also comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report in the conduct of former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades. Westwood 'strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour' and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing. He has not been charged with a criminal offence. At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards' 40,000 pay rise, saying: 'We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound. 'But what you're trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately. 'I think that's what we did... but I think we wouldn't have wasted money if we weren't doing the right thing.' Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors' after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16. Abraham Shafi, founder of IRL, the San Francisco-based social media platform, was accused by U.S. authorities of defrauding investors and misappropriating millions of dollars on personal luxuries. IRL The founder of a social media platform based in San Francisco and backed by SoftBank is accused by U.S. authorities of defrauding investors and misappropriating millions of dollars on personal luxuries like a lavish wedding, extravagant flights and high-end hotel stays. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that Abraham Shafi misled investors to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by claiming his IRL app, once considered a rival to Facebook, had organically attracted 12 million users. However, it was later revealed that most of IRLs profiles were bot-generated, and Shafi spent $6 million on ads incentivizing app downloads. The app shut down in 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The SECs complaint states that Shafi hid these expenses by submitting documents that significantly underreported the companys marketing costs and rerouted payments for ads through third-party intermediaries. Additionally, Shafi and his fiancee, Barbara Woortmann, allegedly used IRLs business credit cards for personal expenses, including clothing, home furnishings and travel. Shafi took advantage of investors appetite for investments in the pre-IPO technology space and fraudulently raised approximately $170 million by lying about IRLs business practices, said Monique C. Winkler, the SECs San Francisco Regional Office director. Investors in this space should continue to be vigilant. Before IRLs downfall, Shafi secured $200 million in venture capital, with the final round a Series C funding of $170 million led by SoftBanks Vision Fund 2, elevating the startup to unicorn status with a $1.17 billion valuation. The SECs complaint accuses Shafi of violating antifraud provisions under federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties, return of ill-gotten gains with interest and a ban on Shafi serving as an officer or director. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Woortmann is also named, with the SEC seeking the return of investor money used for personal expenses with interest. A Canadian woman will face court after flying to Brisbane and allegedly concealing $13.4 million worth of methamphetamine in her luggage. The 24-year-old underwent a bag examination after arriving at Brisbane International Airport from Fiji on July 28, after travelling from Vancouver. Australian Border Force officers allegedly found 14.4kg of meth inside towels soaked in vinegar and layered with coffee beans. The meth had an estimated value of $13.4 million, which was enough for almost 145,000 street deals, Australian Federal Police said on Friday. The woman was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug - an offence which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Border force Superintendent Josh Ikin said the arrest is a warning to those looking to import drugs to Australia. 'Methamphetamine has a devastating effect on the community every single day,' Supt Ikin said. An Australian Border Force search of a piece of luggage turned up 14kg of Methamphetamine The drugs are worth more than $13 million on the streets, Australian Federal Police said 'This result should serve as a warning to criminals that no matter where you are attempting to import or move your drugs, the ABF and our partners will be waiting.' Federal police Detective Acting Superintendent Steve Wiggins noted that in 2021/22 there were 10,100 meth-related hospitalisations. The woman will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday. One of the most unedifying aspects of Prince Harry's feud with his brother has been his apparent desire to claim ownership of his mother's legacy. Scarcely a speech or interview can pass without a reference to the late Princess Diana and his claims about her wishes. Harry's latest television interview suggests that he is now trying to invoke the memory of his late grandmother, too. Courtiers I've spoken to in the last few days are distinctly unimpressed. In last Thursday's interview with simpering ITV News correspondent Rebecca Barry, Harry claimed that Queen Elizabeth had fully supported his legal battle against the popular Press and had personally urged him on. 'We had many conversations before she passed and this is very much something that she supported,' he declared in a documentary, Tabloids on Trial. 'She knew how much this meant to me and she's very much up there saying 'see this through to the end'.' In last Thursday's interview with ITV News' Rebecca Barry, Harry claimed that Queen Elizabeth had fully supported his legal battle against the popular Press and had personally urged him on Sadly, the Queen is no longer available to support Harry's claim or deny it. So, perhaps it would be instructive to look at her actions. It is a tribute to the late Queen's warm relationships with her grandchildren that all eight felt deeply loved. Harry, though, was convinced that he was in some way unique. For example, in an interview with an American journalist five months before her death, he claimed that he enjoyed a 'special relationship' with the monarch. Preposterously, he declared he was 'protecting' Queen Elizabeth from the people around her, even though he had been living in North America for more than two years. Convinced he was, indeed, special, Harry had become increasingly frustrated that he was unable to see his grandmother in person to discuss his plans to move abroad with his new wife, Meghan. In his bestselling memoir, Spare, the prince portrayed the Queen as a frail, elderly woman manipulated by officials, to whom he gave a series of childish nicknames such as 'The Wasp' and 'The Fly'. In fact, as the two prime ministers she met just days before her death have testified, the Queen was as sharp as a tack until the end. And, even as her physical strength deteriorated, she was prepared to speak her mind whether it suited Harry and Meghan or not. One courtier Richard Eden spoke to is far from happy with Harry's 'tasteless' attempt to claim his grandmother's support in his continuing 'crusade', adding: 'There is something distinctly 'off' about it' Harry had become increasingly frustrated that he was unable to see his grandmother in person to discuss his plans to move abroad with his new wife Meghan in 2020 For example, instead of backing their plans for a 'half-in, half-out' role with the Royal Family, she made it clear that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, would not be allowed to combine a life of public duty with money-grubbing in Hollywood. What, then, do we make of Harry's bold new claim that the late Queen had supported his controversial legal campaign against the Press? Did she really take such a gung-ho view of these things? It was certainly true that the late Queen approved a decision in 2018 to threaten News Group Newspapers with legal action over its apparent lack of response to hacking claims as emails disclosed to the High Court have made clear. But Harry has also alleged in court documents that his grandmother knew about a so-called 'secret agreement' between Buckingham Palace and the publisher of The Sun newspaper, under which he claimed the royals agreed not to sue. Not only was the allegation strongly denied by all sides, Harry's claim was rejected by a judge as not 'reaching the necessary threshold of plausibility and cogency'. One courtier I spoke to this week was far from happy with Harry's 'tasteless' attempt to claim his grandmother's support in his continuing 'crusade'. As he told me: 'There is something distinctly 'off' about it. 'We'll never know what was said between grandson and grandmother. What we do know is that we will only ever know one side of the story.' Harry's attempts to use the memory of the late Queen for his own ends is likely to be viewed by many as distasteful particularly given his disruptive behaviour in her final years. The facts speak for themselves: Meghan and Harry conducted an explosive interview with America's chat-show queen, Oprah Winfrey, even though the Duke of Edinburgh was aged 99 and his health was deteriorating. The royal couple made deeply hurtful claims, including an accusation of racism against unidentified senior royals. By the time the interview was broadcast, Philip was already in hospital with his final illness. Incurably sick, he died four weeks later. The California-based couple spent the following 17 months until the Queen's death working on projects that ended up inflicting further damage on the Royal Family. Just two months before our beloved monarch died at Balmoral aged 96, her 'special' grandson announced the forthcoming publication of his 'intimate' memoir, Spare. Shame on Harry for now trying to use the memory of a grandmother he did so much to hurt in her final years. To sign up for Richard Eden's royal newsletter, click on this link Episode Guide Andrew Pierce is joined by Peter Hitchens as Sarah Vine is on holiday. They discuss the riot in Southport, who is stirring up the violence around the killing of the three girls and what it says about British society. After the Chancellor admits she will have to increase tax they discuss where the tax increases might happen and if it will raise any more money. They also answer your questions on Sovereign Wealth Funds and VAT on Private Schools. Hosts: Andrew Pierce and Peter Hitchens To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' READ MORE: The moon has a secret underground cave , scientists confirm 'Biorepository' of frozen animal cells stored on the moon could regenerate life Eccentric entrepreneurs like Elon Musk want to put people on the moon or Mars to ensure humanity survives a global climate disaster. But in the event of such a catastrophe, what about our planet's wildlife? Scientists may finally have an answer, as they propose putting a 'biorepository' on the moon to safeguard Earth's rich array of animals. The biorepository would contain frozen cells of millions of 'cryopreserved' animal species, from mammals to reptiles, birds and amphibians. In the event of life on Earth being wiped out, these cells could be hopefully be cloned to create new life either on Earth, the moon or another planet. On Earth, a repository exists in Norway that stores seeds in case of crop disaster - but now scientists suggest putting something similar on the moon. This lunar vault would store cells of animal species, although they could potentially house plant seeds too (artist impression) What is cryo-preservation? Cryopreservation (cryogenic preservation) is the preservation of animal cells and tissue by freezing. Metabolic processes grind to a halt at low temperatures, essentially keeping cells in suspended animation. These living cell banks preserve genetic materials from animals, such as DNA, embryos, semen, and live tissue, at ultra-low temperatures. These cells can be cultured and used for various applications, including potentially creating clones to give new life to species. A major challenge in cryopreservation is ensuring cells are not damaged by the freezing or thawing processes. Advertisement Scientists at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, DC have outlined their hugely ambitious plan in a paper published in BioScience. Although they don't estimate the exact cost of a lunar biorepository, they say it will likely be five times more expensive to establish than one on Earth, but cheaper to maintain. This lunar vault would store cryopreserved cells of animal species, although other versions could potentially house frozen plant seeds too. 'Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most at-risk species on Earth today,' said lead author Mary Hagedorn, a cryobiologist at NZCBI. 'But our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve most species on Earth.' At an average distance of 238,855 miles, the moon is far away enough from Earth to survive a climate breakdown that would wipe out the planet's animals. But it also has the added advantage of being cold enough to keep animal cell samples frozen, without the need for electricity like on Earth. The scientists propose locating the 'biorepository' at the moon's particularly frigid polar regions, which have craters that never receive sunlight due to their orientation and depth. These so-called permanently shadowed regions can be -410F (-246C) more than cold enough for cryopreservation storage. The experts take their inspiration from the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, an underground bunker that stores frozen seeds in case Earth's crops are wiped out. In 2017, thawing permafrost threatened the collection with a flood showing that even a subterranean bunker could be vulnerable to climate change. At an average distance of 238,855 miles, the moon is far away enough from Earth to survive a climate breakdown that would wipe out animals Svalbard Global Seed Vault stores 'spare copies' of valuable plant seeds in the event that the originals are lost Pictured, a vault carved into the Arctic permafrost at Svalbard that's filled with samples of the world's most important seeds in case food crops are wiped out by a catastrophe Compared with seeds, animal cells require much lower storage temperatures for preservation (-320F or -196C). As part of their study, Hagedorn and colleagues have cryopreserved skin samples from a reef fish called the starry goby specifically from its fins. The fins contain a type of skin cell called fibroblasts, which produce the structural framework for animal tissues and play a critical role in wound healing. Next, the samples will undergo radiation exposure testing akin to what the moon's surface is exposed to to prepare for biological material to be sent to the moon. Another future step is designing packaging that can withstand levels of radiation and microgravity that are typical of space travel. Potentially samples would first be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to see how they'd withstand space, in case changes to packaging were needed. Scientists cryopreserved skin samples from a starry goby, a common reef fish (pictured). The samples will undergo radiation exposure testing to prepare for biological material to be sent to the moon Potentially samples would first be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to see how they'd withstand the space environment Eventually, the first load of cell samples from the most threatened species could be transported along with astronauts as part of future missions to the moon under NASA's Artemis programme. Artemis will eventually establish a permanent base and 'sustained human presence' on the moon, with buildings and infrastructure. Of course, the ambitious project will likely face many hurdles, including the sheer number of animal species on Earth estimated at 7 million. According to a study published in November last year, 2 million species are now threatened with extinction, both animals and plants. But the scientists stress that this is a 'decades-long program' and a long-term project that will require huge international cooperation. 'Realizing a lunar biorepository will require collaboration by a broad array of nations, cultural groups, agencies, and international stakeholders to develop acceptable sample holding, governance, and long-term plans,' they say. 'Protecting Earth's life must be a top priority in the rush on the Moon sites for industries and many types of science.' Olympics fans were shocked when Chinese swimmer Tang Qianting entered the pool arena on Monday with an incredibly 'snatched' waist. Qianting's 'impossible' shape left baffled, but it was nothing more than a bizarre on-camera optical illusion caused by her suit and the arena. The sides of her two-toned blue-and-teal Speedo bathing suit blended almost perfectly with the background wall. IMPOSSIBLY THIN: Olympics fans were shocked when Chinese swimmer Tang Qianting entered the pool arena on Monday with an incredibly 'snatched' waist It created an optical illusion that gave her a cinched waist that appeared to be only a few inches wide. This type of fashion design was a trend that started in the 1960s using geometric patterns and contrasting and vibrant colors to make the wearer appear smaller. Qianting - the reigning 100-meter breaststroke world champion - took home the silver medal with a time of 1:05.54 on Monday, but all eyes were on her waistline. In a video posted to TikTok, Qianting stepped up to the edge of the pool and the edges of her two-toned swimsuit blended perfectly into the blue backdrop. The video, which was viewed more than 7.1 million times, was simply captioned shes snatched as delighted social media viewers admired the swimmers curvature. People joked in the comments section, called the video the Ozempic games in reference to the diabetic medication that can also be used for weight loss while another person wrote: Okay Kim Kardashian Met Gala 2024!!! The swimsuit created the optical illusion by using vibrant, contrasting colors that were strategically designed along the waistline. The trend is believed to have been inspired by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian whose paintings in the early 1900s featured similar geometric shapes. Now known as the father of abstraction, his artistic designs were brought to the world of fashion by Yves Saint-Laurent in 1965. Olympic swimmer Tang Qianting (pictured) shocked fans with her teal and blue swimsuit that appeared to give her a 'snatched' waist The swimsuit created an optical illusion that caused viewers to see a different visual than the reality by using geometric patterns and vibrant, contrasting colors This color-blocking technique uses a geometric pattern, typically in the shape of an hourglass, which appears to change the persons silhouette and creates a focal point to a certain area - in Qiantings case, the waistline - so your eyes block out everything else. This is because the brain doesn't actually look at an image in its entirety, but instead takes shortcuts, skipping over some aspects so you can process the information faster. In 2011, researchers from the University of Glasgow, found that when something is unclear to the eye, the mind will predict what it's going to see and fill in the blanks. 'Effectively, our brains construct an incredibly complex jigsaw puzzle using any pieces it can get access to,' explained researcher Fraser Smith. 'These are provided by the context in which we see them, our memories, and our other senses.' 'Sometimes the brain's guess can be so convincing that we see visual illusions,' Smith's co-author, Lars Muckli, from the University's Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, added. 'The brain's main function is to minimize surprise that is what it has evolved to do.' Argentinian security forces have announced plans to use artificial intelligence to 'predict future crimes' but experts warn the move could threaten citizens' rights. Far-right president Javier Milei has created the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit which will use algorithms to analyse historical crime data. The data produced will then be used to predict future crimes, The Guardian has reported. The security unit is also expected to be able to use facial recognition software to track down wanted persons and detect suspicious activity. However, the Minority Report-esque resolution has concerned human rights campaigners who fear certain groups in society may be over-scrutinised by the AI technology. Pictured: Argentinian President Javier Milei gives a speech in Buenos Aires on July 28 Pictured: Riot police in Buenos Aires in August 2022 Argentina's President Javier Milei arrives at the official opening ceremony of the 136th Rural Society's annual exposition in Buenos Aires on July 28 There are also concerns over who will be able to access the information that the security unit produces. Mariela Belski, the executive director of Amnesty International Argentina. said: 'Large-scale surveillance affects freedom of expression because it encourages people to self-censor or refrain from sharing their ideas or criticisms if they suspect that everything they comment on, post, or publish is being monitored by security forces.' The Argentine Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information added that similar technology has historically been used to profile people working as 'academics, journalists, politicians and activists'. They added that this has the potential to threaten the privacy of those involved. Milei came to power at the end of last year and is known for his hardline approach to tackling crime. His government has since cracked down on protests with riot police using tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators. Milei came to power at the end of last year and is known for his hardline approach to tackling crime Pictured: A general view from the closing ceremony of Great Argentine Rural Exhibition that was attended by Milei Milei's government has cracked down on protests with riot police using tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators According to reports, Milei's security minister Patricia Bullrich also seeks to introduce a replica of El Salvadors controversial prison model in Argentina. The South American country has a long history of state repression with around 30,000 people displaced during its dictatorship between 1976-83. Thousands were also tortured and hundreds of children kidnapped during the period of repression. A source from the Argentinian security services told the Guardian that the new unit will work within the current legislative framework. This hilly, liberal city in northern California is home to some of the worlds most iconic attractions, from the Golden Gate Bridge to prison island Alcatraz. But despite having more billionaires than anywhere in the U.S. - its only half an hour from Silicon Valley - its surprisingly affordable, with cheap public transport making exploring incredibly easy. WHERE TO STAY Queen Anne Hotel Antique furniture is squeezed into every nook of this charming 19th-century Victorian mansion hotel near Japan Town (queenanne.com). Breakfast and afternoon tea (think sherry and homemade cookies) are included and most of its 48 rooms (from 150) come with bath tubs and wooden sleigh beds. It goes big on Christmas decor so come in November/December for a festive treat. Here's our budget travel guide to San Francisco, USA, where you can book top hotels for under 150 a night citizenM With an abundance of books, board games and TVs, this central hotels downstairs living room-cum-bar is designed to lure guests out of bed. That said, rooms are funky with pink balloon dogs, red cushions and electronic functions (lights, alarm clock, blinds etc.) controlled via an iPad. Theres also a gym and rooftop terrace. Prices start from 150 with a buffet breakfast at 16pp citizenm.com/hotel/sanfrancisco. Cartwright Hotel This hilly, liberal city in northern California is home to some of the worlds most iconic attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge (above) - cycle across it and you may even spot dolphins Rooms at this central Best Western hotel (bestwestern.com) might be snug, but theyre clean and comfortable with powerful showers (from 94). Theres free tea and coffee downstairs where chessboards and giant Connect 4s sit on tables next to the fire. The 1913 building overlooks Union Square, so request a room at the back if you dont want to be disturbed by the ding of cable cars. Hotel Garrett With rooms costing 70 a night, this stylish, no-frills hotel (hotelgarrettsf.com) opposite the U.S. Federal Building (where Nancy Pelosi has an office) is a steal. Its 121 comfortable, newly-renovated rooms are well thought out with an abundance of USB sockets and a coffee maker. The locations good too, a ten-minute walk from Union Square and close to the Opera House, the subway and San Frans historic street cars. WHAT TO SEE AND DO Bay Boat Tour The Blue & Gold Fleet offers a 60-minute cruise that starts at Pier 39 where sea lions laze, takes you under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island (pictured) The best way to appreciate San Franciscos hilly skyline is from the sea and the Blue & Gold Fleet offers a 60-minute ride with a guided commentary. It starts at Pier 39 (where sea lions laze) and sails under the worlds most photographed bridge, the 1.7 mile Golden Gate. Afterwards it circuits the prison island of Alcatraz. The strong Pacific current made it impossible for prisoners to escape though many tried! (blueandgoldfleet.com) Bike the Bridge Feel the vibrations of the Golden Gate Bridge by pedalling across it (unlimitedbiking.com/san-francisco). The 11-mile cycle starts from Ghirardelli Square (home to the oldest chocolate factory in the U.S.) and finishes in the pretty town of Sausalito. Stop on the bridge to watch dolphins. The bikes are yours all day. Either cycle back or hop on the ferry. Historic cable cars Take the Powell-Hyde cable car to Lombard Street, pictured here, so you can experience the world's most crooked street Buy a 12 one-day tram pass and ride San Franciscos iconic cable cars up and down its hills as often as you like. Be sure to take the Powell-Hyde line and hop off at Lombard Street so you can walk down (or up) the worlds most crooked street. Then pop into the Cable Car Museum (free) to marvel at these vintage trams and their mechanics. Its the only transport to run on a cable system instead of a motor (cablecarmuseum.org). Driverless taxi San Fran is one of the few places where autonomous taxis are available. Hail one of these robot cars (via an app) and head to hilltop Coit Tower for great views over San Fran. But be warned, theres a six-month waiting list for the taxis. WHERE TO EAT Z&Y Head to Z&Y restaurant in Chinatown (pictured) to try Chef Han's famous tea-smoked duck The moment you tuck in youll realise why this no-reservations Chinatown restaurant has a long queue (zandyrestaurant.com). Chef Han (whos cooked for presidents) is famed for his tea-smoked duck (28) but his veggies are on another level. Order dry sauteed string beans, stir fried Chinese cabbage and honey cherry tomatoes and get a bag for leftovers. Pizzeria Delfina Ingredients at this upmarket Italian are locally sourced. The owner even has his own farm. On the menu are pie pizzas and meatballs the size of oranges (16). Order sides of squash and Brussels sprouts (both 11 with a chilli kick) and wash down with the restaurants very own Californian chardonnay from Sonoma Valley (pizzeriadelfina.com). Miller & Lux Steakhouse Steaks arent cheap at this celebrity chef restaurant (millerandluxrestaurant.com) in the Mission District, but theyre seriously good. The melt-in-the-mouth 10oz Filet Mignon in Bordelaise sauce (62) is big enough for two and the creamed kale is a delicious alternative to spinach. Or head to the restaurants new Union Square stalls. Their rotisserie chickens and salads make a perfect, cheaper takeout. Scomas Be sure to visit Scoma's 'pier to plate' fish restaurant, seen above, which is an A-lister favourite - Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have all eaten here Come in daylight (or at sunset) to appreciate the waterside setting of this pier to plate fish restaurant which is an A-lister favourite - Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have all eaten here (scomas.com). The steaming 9.50 cup of Clam Chowder is enough for lunch, but if youve space splurge on the Combo Louis Salad (piled high with shrimp and crab) or the tomato fish stew called Lazy Mans Cioppino. GETTING THERE America As You Like It (americaasyoulikeit.com/020 8742 8299) offers tailor-made holidays to the U.S. A 7-night B&B stay at the Queen Anne Hotel costs from 1,415pp (two sharing) including return flights from London with Virgin Atlantic. Further information: sftravel.com; visitcalifornia.com; citypass.com/san-francisco. Amanda Holden delighted Instagram followers on Thursday as she showed off her impossibly long legs while unwinding in Greece. The TV and radio presenter, 53, stunned in a form-fitting orange swimming costume emblazoned with the single word Spritz as she posed for her latest social media content. The Britain's Got Talent judge held a glass of Aperol spritz as a nod to her bathing suit and she relaxed beneath black sunglasses as she rested an arm behind her head. She was joined by close friend Alan Carr, who inadvertently photobombed Amanda by appearing directly behind her as she reclined on the deck of a rented yacht. The photo with Alan - who hosts Amanda & Alan's Spanish Job with Amanda - was relegated to the second slide of Amanda's post. Amanda Holden delighted Instagram followers on Thursday as she showed off her impossibly long legs while unwinding in Greece She was joined by close friend Alan Carr, who inadvertently photobombed Amanda by appearing directly behind her as she reclined on the deck of a rented yacht Amanda has been posting photos and videos of her Greek adventure with her daughters Lexi, 18, and Hollie, 12, for over a week (all pictured towards the beginning of the trip) But Alan played his accidental appearance for laughs by sharing the photos with and without him to his Instagram followers, titling them 'Insta!' and 'Reality!' The post is just the latest in a series of stunning snaps shared by Amanda as she unwinds in Greece with Alan and her daughters Lexi, 18, and Hollie, 12. Here's a look back at some of Amanda's sexiest swimwear shots so far from her holiday to the Greek island of Corfu. Day 1: Azure-ing Amanda Amanda's first post from her luxury break came on July 22 - and she started with a bang. The radio presenter looked sensational in a floral blue bandeau bikini and a matching cover-up. She held the brim of a straw cowboy hat and grinned in a pair of black sunglasses. Amanda sat on the edge of a boat before she naughtily inspected beneath her bikini bottoms. With her outfit choice, Amanda ensured all eyes were on her much like when she stunned on each night of the Britain's Got Talent live finals in June. She accesorised with a dainty gold necklace and a number of thin gold braclets. Amanda captioned her post: 'GR #bikini hat and shirt @melissaodabash #family'. Amanda's first post from her luxury break came on July 22 - and she started with a bang looking sensational in a floral blue bandeau bikini and a matching cover-up The radio presenter held the brim of a straw cowboy hat and grinned in a pair of black sunglasses as she sat on the edge of a boat, before naughtily inspecting her bikini bottoms Day 5: Party Animal Four days later, Amanda soaked up the sun in a tiny pink bikini for a slew of sizzling snaps draped over the back of a boat. Her ample assets and toned stomach were on full display as she shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of oversized sunglasses. She caressed her hair and treated onlookers to a number of poses as she enjoyed being surrounded by water. But, Amanda proved she was not just a pretty face when she shared an incredible video of her leaping off the boat she was so demurely posing on just seconds before. Eagerly waiting for the cameraperson's go-ahead, Amanda ensured she made plenty of eye contact. When she was ready, Amanda screamed and threw her arms out wide diving feet-first into the cool, welcoming water which lay beneath. Four days later after her first post, Amanda soaked up the sun in a tiny pink bikini for a slew of sizzling snaps draped over the back of a boat Her ample assets and toned stomach were on full display as she shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of oversized sunglasses She caressed her hair and treated onlookers to a number of poses as she enjoyed being surrounded by water but soon showed that she wasn't just a pretty face Day 6: Jungle Girl On Corfu Day 6, Amanda left her fans feeling hot under the collar when she shared a video showing off her sensational physique in a light green bikini covered in palm leaves. She struck a series of poses as she walked barefoot down a cobbled path whilst holding onto a straw cowboy hat. As she wound during the stunning getaway, she found a matching kaftan, and promptly threw it off her shoulders The star wrote over the video: 'If summer doesn't look like this, I don't want it' before captioning the whole post: 'Summertime and litres of #aperol'. On both wrists, Amanda wore her favourite gold bracelets - including one from Van Cleef & Arpels worth thousands of pounds. She set the video to viral song The Spark created by Irish and refugee children aged between 9 and 12, the music video for which has received over 10M streams to date. On Corfu Day 6, Amanda left her fans feeling hot under the collar when she shared a video showing off her sensational physique in a light green bikini covered in palm leaves As she wound during the stunning getaway, she found a matching kaftan, and promptly threw it off her shoulders Day 10: Saving The Best Till Last Wednesday saw Amanda become the epitome of sophistication in an Elizabeth Hurley Beach black bikini. The bikini, which had gold detailing, was tiny, giving Amanda the perfect opportunity to display her lithe figure. She complemented the gold with pendant sun necklace and a choker of the same colour, in addition to her bracelets. Amanda turned up the heat as she emerged soaking wet from a crystal-clear blue outdoor swimming pool. She gave a glimpse of her toned bottom as she strutted along the very edge of the pool, surrounded by green foliage. The icing on the cake of Amanda's sexiest post of the trip so far was a video of her lounging in a hot tub. Wednesday saw Amanda become the epitome of sophistication in an Elizabeth Hurley Beach black bikini The bikini, which had gold detailing, was tiny, giving Amanda the perfect opportunity to display her lithe figure She complemented the gold with pendant sun necklace and a choker of the same colour, in addition to her bracelets. Amanda turned up the heat as she emerged soaking wet from a crystal-clear blue outdoor swimming pool As well as Alan, Amanda was joined on the trip by actress Jane Wall, 51, best-known for portraying PC Di Worrell in police procedural The Bill from 1999 to 2002. The family holiday comes after Lexi, who is signed to Storm Models, was admitted to hospital with life-threatening E. coli amid the latest outbreak. Lexi was on a ward for five days with her mother and her father Chris, who did not appear to join his family in Corfu, at her bedside. While discussing the warning signs to look out for amid the latest outbreak, Amanda revealed to The Sun that her daughter Lexi had been suffering from bloating and stomach cramps. She said: 'For about three weeks, Lexi had been complaining of bloating and stomach cramps. She was not happy at all and in quite a lot of pain with her tummy. 'It was around the time of revision and her A-levels, so I was just putting this down to exam stress.' However, Amanda admitted that after taking her daughter to her GP, who insisted on her doing some blood and stool samples, the results came back as a bacterial infection. The star then revealed that while she was filming in Spain, she began to get calls from various government officials asking her to fill out several forms about where her daughter might have eaten and what kind of food they had stored in their home. The star also confessed that the antibiotics her daughter was given didn't seem to be working and claimed her doctor called her saying 'I don't want to alarm you' before telling her Lexi's bloods were 'through the roof' and she was in danger of 'contracting sepsis'. Amanda recalled how terrified she was to hear the word 'sepsis'. She revealed that Lexi's was the 113th case of E. coli in the country in just two weeks - and that the doctor had warned them that this was just the tip of the iceberg DJ Fisher and his wife Chloe have shared the traumatic details of her 15-hour labour after giving birth to their first child. The couple welcomed their daughter Bobbi Maree on June 20, and have now opened up about her difficult birth which saw Chloe spend the night in the ICU. The model, 31, was in labour for more than 15 hours and was forced to spend her first night as a mother alone in the ICU without her family and friends. Chloe was induced to give birth at 29 weeks pregnant because the baby 'was big' and has now described it as the 'scariest' moment of her life. 'That was pretty sad and emotional and so frightening,' she told listeners of her DarlingShine! podcast on Wednesday. 'It really has left me physically weak and completely shaken. The trauma of that and leaving Paul [Fisher] very much lingers.' After the assisted birth, Chloe told how she was left feeling 'spacey' and ended up back in the hospital theatre after holding her daughter for no longer than an hour. 'It was a massive reminder of the fragility of life,' she said. 'You can go from the most incredible moment of your life to the scariest moment in the blink of an eye.' DJ Fisher and his wife Chloe have shared the traumatic details of her 15-hour labour giving birth to their daughter Bobbi The couple welcomed their daughter Bobbi Maree on June 20, and have now opened up about her difficult birth which saw Chloe spend the night in the ICU The couple had been trying to conceive for almost five years with multiple rounds of IVF and Chloe suffering multiple miscarriages in that time. Fisher, whose full name is Paul Nicholas Fisher, also reflected on the life-altering experience and praised his wife Chloe for her strength and calmness while welcoming their first child. '[Chloe was] getting into her breathing and trying to focus on not being in pain and I'm like "right, I've got to get the fairy lights, the crystals, I've got to get the things the girls made her at her baby shower",' he explained. 'For me, that moment was so beautiful, I was giving her ''you've got this'',' he recalled of the first five or six hours, which Chloe spent in-between 'the bed and bath' in the hospital birthing suite. Chloe added: 'I'm not going to sugarcoat things because it is f**king insane.' After going into labour at 10pm, Chloe went for five hours without any pain relief, before being given shot of Pethidine, an opioid pain-relief medicine that 'took the edge off things' for an hour and a half. At around 4.30am on June 20, she requested an epidural and described waiting for the nurse to arrive as 'the longest 45 minutes of my life'. 'As soon as we got the epidural, me and Chloe were high-fiving,' Fisher recalled. 'Smiling, laughing, that's when the tunes came on. 'We put on the push playlist and were bopping around. We even rang my manager at one point and we were all crying. The model, 31, was in labour for more than 15 hours and was forced to spend her first night as a mother alone in the ICU without her family and friends 'She got life in her face again. I was like ''wow, she's back''. My wife is back in the room and we were chatting away. This is a piece of p**, you got this, no worries.' However, Chloe detailed her pain after the epidural wore off and her water broke at 5am and she admitted she thought she would die from the agonising pain. 'I honestly think I forgot that you have to push,' Chloe laughed. 'I was like I've nailed it, eight in the morning, I'm having this baby before ten, let's go... Then, the epidural wore off. 'At that point, I thought ''holy sh*t I cannot do this. I think I'm going to die. How do I make this pain stop?'' The next thought was, you can't. 'I remember screaming at Paul at that point, saying if you think I'm ever doing this again, you're tripping.' Fisher, 37, admitted he found a whole new respect and love for Chloe watching her give birth to their beloved daughter as he heaped praise on the new mother. 'I found so much more respect for women, and what Chloe went through,' he shared. 'It's just crazy what women have to go through to give birth. My respect for Chloe is just through the roof. It's like a whole new love. 'You're seeing your wife in so much pain and they're getting exhausted from all the pushing. What she had to go through was so gnarly. The midwife said have a hold of her leg, and I remember looking down, and the nurse said do you want to touch the hair on the head, and I was like: ''Are you kidding?''' Chloe had been in labour for more than 15 hours when she asked for a C-section, and was offered forceps and an episiotomy, which is a procedure used to make the vaginal opening wider for childbirth. Chloe was induced to give birth at 29 weeks pregnant because the baby 'was big' and she was committed to having a natural birth 'I turned over, I got back on the epidural, and on the gas,' she continued. 'Basically she was bouncing off my pelvis and coming up and down. I was never going to be able to birth her myself.' The couple didn't know if they were going to have a boy or a girl and detailed their joy upon laying eyes on their baby daughter for the first time. Fisher gushed: 'Normally you see movies and stuff like that where the, you know, the baby comes out there just crying and and everything like this, and Bobbi just gave out like a little sigh, I feel like it was just like, not like anything massive, and she was so mellow, and I was like she's our Bobbi girl right there and then.' The electronic artist choked up as he told his wife: 'To see you go through so much intensity, agony, beauty and love just to give birth is insane.' 'I can't say how much I respect this woman,' he added. Chloe went on to reveal that she has been struggling with postpartum depression and asked people to respect her space as she 'heals'. 'This is my story of the birth of our baby. It might not meet everyone's criteria for an ideal birth, but it was scary and extremely beautiful to me and to Paul,' she added. 'I'm just not in a place to receive advice and feedback on what I should or should not have done at this point. 'The trauma of pushing was just hectic and the moment I held our little daughter on my chest for the first time, nothing else mattered.' Chloe revealed she has been struggling with postpartum depression and asked people to respect her space as she 'heals' Just two weeks after welcoming their daughter Bobbi, Fisher had to jet off to Europe to continue his international tour, which had been pre-booked long in advance. The Grammy-nominated star is currently performing across the US and Europe, and is next set to travel to Toronto, London and Germany, before heading to Las Vegas. He has a string of shows booked until the end of the year while Chloe is remaining in Australia to look after their daughter Bobbi. Fisher previously said he hopes to bring Bobbi and Chloe on his travels with him as soon as possible as he showed his support for his new family. Two ex-Amish men have spoken candidly about becoming addicted to porn after breaking free from the ultra-strict community that was so harsh they had banned them from sex education and learning about their own reproductive organs. In Sunday's upcoming episode of TLC's Forbidden Love, Elmer, 23, reveals that he has become obsessed with viewing X-rated content since ditching his family's extreme values and way of life. However, Elmer's porn habits have understandably created issues within his marriage to his 32-year-old wife, Lindsey, whom he fled his Amish life to be with. In an exclusive preview shared with DailyMail.com, he and his wife sit down with fellow ex-Amish friend Eli and his partner, Nikki, for a frank conversation about how the community's tough stance on sex has led them to a path of porn addiction. 'A lot of former Amish, including myself have struggled with pornography after leaving [the Amish community] because it can become an addiction,' Eli divulged. Elmer, 23, reveals that he has become obsessed with viewing X-rated content since ditching his Amish community in TLC's Forbidden Love His ex-Amish friend Eli reveals that he was never taught sex education and didn't know what a wet dream was 'Ever since I have married her [Nikki], the technology was the biggest stumbling block. I had a really hard time, especially from a sheltered lifestyle, because there's zero sex education.' Elmer agreeing, said: 'Your testosterone level is up here. And, you know, you're walking around with a hard on all day and you don't know what's going on.' Eli then revealed his own mother failed to speak openly about basic human anatomy and sex education. He shared: 'The first time I asked my mom, I said, "Why am I waking up with a wet dream? Why is it looking like this?" 'And she's like, "You'll understand when you get a little bit older." Well, how am I supposed to figure this out on my own? Give me some answers here, but there were no answers.' Elmer, who recently left his Amish community to marry Lindsey, said that the first thing he did after fleeing his Amish family was watch porn. He shared: 'I got me a smartphone [and] one of the first things I did that night, I went and watched porn. 'It was almost like an endless trap. It just it just got deeper and deeper, you know?' Elmer revealed that the first thing he did after fleeing his Amish community was buy himself a phone and watch porn Eli said that his parents refused to educate him on his anatomy while he was going through puberty Speaking in his confessional, Elmer added that he was completely sheltered from female anatomy growing up. '[I had] not ever seen a naked picture of a woman or a porno magazine or nothing,' he said. 'And then fast forward to when I got my first phone, I had the porn in front of me. 'And once I started watching porn it triggered something like it's that adrenaline rush. It's that dopamine rush that that gets you every time you, you keep wanting more and more and more. 'And I think that's what the problem is.' Elmer has found it difficult to adapt to the 'English' world after leaving the Amish behind and is struggling with the fact that he has been disowned by his family. Elmer admitted he gets an adrenaline rush when he watches porn and wants 'more and more' Lindsey, who is 11 years his senior, had many preconceived notions about who Elmer would be as a husband. She thought he would be wholesome and would never have a wandering eye - but she soon starts to realize that being with someone who was raised Amish is more complicated than she predicted. The stakes are very high with a baby on the way, but even with all the drama surrounding their relationship, their chemistry and sense of humor keep them going. TLC reality show Forbidden Love follows four couples deeply in love who must come to terms with the one major hurdle complicating their relationships: religion. 'Hailing from different faiths, one partner from each couple is converting or has decided to relinquish their family-of-origin and culture entirely,' the official synopsis teases. 'Facing such intense traditional differences, can their relationships endure the trials of converting or will their love falter under the pressure?' Just days after Marvel unveiled Robert Downey Jr. as the new Doctor Doom at San Diego Comic-Con, the new villain for the next two Avengers movies, Jonathan Majors revealed he is 'heartbroken' over the decision. Majors, 34, was primed to be the next big Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) villain after his brief introduction in the TV series Loki and in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania. Majors was arrested on assault charges in March 2023, and when he was found guilty of 3rd degree reckless assault and harassment, Marvel dropped him. The studio confirmed that the title of their 2026 film - Avengers: The Kang Dynasty - would be changed, confirming at SDCC that it was now called Avengers: Doomsday. Just days after the announcement that Downey Jr. - who previously played the superhero Iron Man in the MCU before pivoting to this villainous role of Doctor Doom - taking over as the new villain, TMZ caught up with Majors in L.A. Just days after Marvel unveiled Robert Downey Jr . as the new Doctor Doom at San Diego Comic-Con, the new villain for the next two Avengers movies, Jonathan Majors revealed he is 'heartbroken' over the decision Majors, 34, was primed to be the next big Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) villain after his brief introduction in the TV series Loki and in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania Just days after the announcement that Downey Jr. - who previously played the superhero Iron Man in the MCU before pivoting to this villainous role of Doctor Doom - taking over as the new villain, TMZ caught up with Majors in L.A. When asked if he was 'hurt' with the new direction that Marvel is heading in after dropping him from their films, Majors said, 'Yeah, heartbroken.' 'Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang,' Majors added, when the reporter mentioned that Downey Jr. and DC actor Ezra Miller have had legal issues and were 'arrested for felonies' while he was only convicted of misdemeanor assault. When asked if it was 'unfair' that he was not, 'given the same opportunities as them,' Majors said, 'I think it's fair that Mr. Downey has been greeted with patience and curiosity and love and that Mr. Miller has gotten the same treatment, and that they're being allowed to work their art. I didn't really get that, so, you know.' Downey Jr. was arrested in 1996 for DUI, when officers found heroin, crack, cocaine and a .357 Magnum in his car. He was sentenced to three years in prison for skipping his probation, serving one year of his three-year sentence before his release. After several years of struggling with addiction, he ultimately got clean, and has been for many years, before his comeback that started with 2008's Iron Man. He was ultimately pardoned in 2015 by then-California governor Jerry Brown, which restored his voting rights and allowed him to serve on a jury. Miller has had a slew of legal issues over the past few years, including a 2022 felony burglary charge stemming from the theft of several bottles of alcohol. When asked if he was 'hurt' with the new direction that Marvel is heading in after dropping him from their films, Majors said, 'Yeah, heartbroken' 'Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang,' Majors added, when the reporter mentioned that Downey Jr. and DC actor Ezra Miller have had legal issues and were 'arrested for felonies' while he was only convicted of misdemeanor assault When asked if it was 'unfair' that he was not, 'given the same opportunities as them,' Majors said, 'I think it's fair that Mr. Downey has been greeted with patience and curiosity and love and that Mr. Miller has gotten the same treatment, and that they're being allowed to work their art. I didn't really get that, so, you know.' Miller most recently starred in Warner Bros.' 2023 film The Flash, though he hasn't been attached to anything in the year and a half since that was released. When asked if he thought why she thought Downey and Miller got those chances and he didn't, Majors said, 'Wow... I don't know.' Majors was sentenced to probation and 52 weeks of a domestic violence intervention program for his misdemeanor conviction. It was announced in June that he would star in a supernatural revenge thriller entitled Merciless for Martin Villeneuve, the younger brother of Dune director Denis Villeneuve. Advertisement Leonardo DiCaprio and his much-younger girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti are enjoying a lavish summer getaway in Italy this week. And on Wednesday, the Oscar-winner, 49, and the Italian supermodel, 26, were spotted dining al fresco in Nerano before soaking up the sun on their yacht with pals. As the couple cozied up at their lunch table, Vittoria flashed a massive heart-shaped diamond ring on her left ring finger. Leonardo looked absolutely smitten with the bikini-clad beauty, often leaning in close to speak to her as they feasted on fine Italian cuisine. Vittoria also sported her heart-shaped diamond ring as she hopped aboard a tender with a slew of A-list pals. They were joined by Leonardo's BFF Tobey Maguire, British model Neelam Gill, Entourage star Kevin Connolly and former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, among others. Leonardo DiCaprio's model girlfriend Vittoria Cerettti, 26, flashed a heart-shaped diamond ring on THAT finger as she vacationed with the Oscar-winner, 49, in Italy on Wednesday The couple were first spotted dining al fresco in Nerano Vittoria sported a similar heart-shaped ring on her right pinky finger The couple who have been dating since summer 2023 first sparked engagement speculation earlier this year when Vittoria was seen wearing a silver diamond ring in LA. But an insider told TMZ at the time that the couple were not engaged and that she'd owned that particular ring since 2022. The heart-shaped ring appears to be a new addition to Vittoria's jewelry collection and it has renewed interest in the idea of Leonardo Hollywood's most infamous Lothario finally settling down. Vittoria also wore a similar ring on her right pinky finger during Wednesday's lunch date in Nerano. The runway maven looked fresh-faced and her brunette hair was pulled back as she spent quality time with Leonardo and his tight knit friend group. She wore a plunging black swimsuit cover-up over a skimpy white bikini with red piping. The cover girl had on black gladiator sandals and she carried her belongings in a colorful woven tote bag. Along with her flashy rings, Vittoria accessorized with layered chain necklaces and a large pair of designer shades. Meanwhile, Leo looked casual-cool in a beige Los Angeles Dodgers cap, a white T-shirt and sunglasses. He snacked on a delicious peach while Vittoria poured over the menu. At one point, Vittoria showed Leonardo something on her iPhone before he pulled out his own to snap a group selfie with everyone at their table. After lunch, Leonardo, Vittoria and friends exited the restaurant and made they way to a nearby boat that took them back to their yacht. Leonardo looked absolutely smitten with the bikini-clad beauty At one point, Vittoria was seen showing Leonardo something on her iPhone The couple often leaned in close to speak with one another Along with her flashy rings, Vittoria accessorized with layered chain necklaces and a large pair of designer shades Vittoria stunned as she let her hair down before taking a seat on the boat beside former Disney Channel star Emily Skinner, 21. Leonardo who will turn 50 in November carefully made the leap from the dock to the boat in kaki shorts and sandals. The couple were greeted by Tobey, who flashed a wide smile while wearing a black cap and black T-shirt. Leonardo's vacation crew arrived in Italy over the weekend. On Tuesday, Vittoria was spotted riding on the back of Tobey's jetski as they romped around in water. On Monday, Leo and Vittoria joined Tobey and the rest of their friends for an intimate dinner at Gritta Restaurant. Leo and Vittoria were first linked over the summer of last year, when she had just turned 25, and have been spotted together on several occasions since. However in March of this year, Leo was spotted putting on a cozy display at a pre-Oscars party with none other than songstress Teyana Taylor, with whom he has been filming the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson movie. At the pre-Oscars party, Teyana was glimpsed gently caressing Leo's face, and he in turn was seen tapping her on the derriere, according to TMZ. However, later that same month, he was spotted enjoying a lunch date with Vittoria in Los Angeles, indicating their relationship was still going strong. Vittoria was even sporting a gleaming silver ring on her left hand fourth finger - but TMZ reported at the time that the couple were not engaged. After lunch, Leonardo, Vittoria and friends exited the restaurant and made they way to a nearby boat that would take them back to their yacht Vittoria stunned as she let her hair down before taking a seat on the boat beside former Disney Channel star Emily Skinner, 21 They were joined by Leonardo's BFF Tobey Maguire , British model Neelam Gill , Entourage star Kevin Connolly and former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, among other elite guests The crew looked eager to get back to they yacht after lunch Leonardo who will turn 50 in November carefully made the leap from the dock to the boat in kaki shorts and sandals Leo looked casual-cool in a beige Los Angeles Dodgers cap, a white T-shirt and sunglasses After soaking up the sun, Vittoria decided to move to the other end of the boat for some time in the shade Near the end of March, Leo and Vittoria were spotted out to dinner at the Santa Monica celebrity hot spot Giorgio Baldi - and she then drove them from the venue. 'The restaurant has been Leo's favorite for years and he's enjoyed date nights with Vittoria several times,' an insider explained to People. 'She's, of course, Italian, so she takes care of ordering all the favorites,' said the source. 'She is very cute, sweet and charming. Leo seems to really like her.' Vittoria and Leo are said to have met at last year's Cannes Film Festival, where his new Martin Scorsese movie Killers Of The Flower Moon was premiering. They were first linked in August 2023, after a flurry of rumors that had connected Leo to Vittoria's fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid. Vittoria was previously married from 2020 until 2023 to the Italian DJ Matteo Milleri, who is part of the Berlin-based duo Tale Of Us. Years earlier, she was briefly linked to the model then known as Natalie Westling, who has since undergone a gender transition and is now called Nathan Westling. Vittoria was discovered in 2012 and has since walked over 400 fashion shows, as well as covering various international editions of Vogue 23 times. Vittoria has spoken candidly in the past about the habits that have enabled her to retain her lithe physique and luminous complexion. 'I always try to eat healthily. I go to the gym when Im home or do some yoga if I have the time off,' she explained to Elite Model Look. 'I always make sure to wash my face at morning and at night, moisturizing my skin before I leave home or before I go to bed,' she added. At one point, Leo pulled out his cellphone to snap a group selfie with everyone at the table Leonardo snacked on a delicious peach while Vittoria poured over the menu The couple who have been dating since summer 2023 first sparked engagement speculation earlier this year when Vittoria was seen wearing a silver diamond ring in LA But an insider told TMZ at the time that the couple were not engaged and that she'd owned that particular ring since 2022 The heart-shaped ring appears to be a new addition to Vittoria's jewelry collection and it has renewed interest in the idea of Leonardo Hollywood's most infamous Lothario finally settling down 'I apply a face mask for when my skin feels tired or if Ive worked for a while,' noted Vittoria, who originally hails from Brescia in the shadow of the Italian Alps. 'I try not to eat lots of junk food,' she told W. 'In the morning I always eat fruit and yogurt with cereal. And for lunch and dinner I always have vegetables as a side.' As far as beverages are concerned, she shared: 'I love smoothies and Vitamin Water, but I always have some iced tea in my fridge!' In the workout department, she dished: 'When Im not working I go for runs. I live around many parks, so its nice to feel like youre not surrounded by the city.' Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso made a glamorous duo while attending the premiere of his latest film, The Instigators, in New York City on Wednesday. The Jason Bourne star, 53, looked dashing as he held an arm around Luciana, 48, at the event, hosted at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Luciana who's been married to the Hollywood hunk for 18 years showed off her effortlessly chic style in an elegant white dress from Helsa, paired with a black clutch and black heels. She wore her brunette locks in a high ponytail, and accessorized with large hoop earrings and gold bracelets. The Instigators is a heist comedy film that follows two robbers, Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists, after a robbery goes awry. Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso made a glamorous duo while attending the premiere of his latest film, The Instigators, in New York City on Wednesday The Jason Bourne star, 53, looked dashing as he held an arm around Luciana, 48, at the event, hosted at Jazz at Lincoln Center While at the premiere of the film Matt sported a khaki suit with a white t-shirt underneath. The actor completed the outfit with white sneakers. Matt and Luciana have three daughters together: Isabella, 18, Gia, 16, and Stella, 13. Luciana is also mom to daughter Alexia, 24, from a previous relationship. Matt's pal and co-star Casey, 48 Ben Affleck's younger brother was also in attendance. The Manchester By The Sea star looked handsome in a pastel baby blue suit with a matching blue shirt underneath. Like Matt, Casey finalized his look with white sneakers, and rocked a smattering of facial hair. He was joined by younger girlfriend Caylee Cowan, 26, who stunned in a sleeveless white silk dress. She wore her raven tresses down and accessorized with gold moon-shaped earrings. The pair started dating in January 2021. Luciana who's been married to the Hollywood hunk for 18 years showed off her effortlessly chic style in an elegant white Helsa dress, paired with a black clutch and black heels She wore her brunette locks in a high ponytail, and accessorized with large hoop earrings and gold bracelets While at the premiere of the film Matt sported a khaki suit with a white t-shirt underneath. The actor completed the outfit with white sneakers He rocked a smattering of facial hair Matt and Luciana have three daughters together: Isabella, 18, Gia, 16, and Stella, 13. Luciana is also mom to daughter Alexia, 24, from a previous relationship Matt's pal and co-star Casey Affleck, 48 Ben Affleck's younger brother was also in attendance The actor was joined by his younger girlfriend Caylee Cowan, 26 The Manchester By The Sea star looked handsome in a pastel baby blue suit with a matching blue shirt underneath Like Matt, he rocked a scruffy beard Matt and Casey have starred in several films together Caylee stunned in a sleeveless white silk dress. She wore her raven tresses down and accessorized with gold moon-shaped earrings. The pair started dating in January 2021 Casey was previously married to Joaquin Phoenix's sister, Summer Phoenix. They were married for 11 years before divorcing in 2017. The pair have two sons together: Indiana, 20, and Atticus, 16. Matt and Casey have starred in several films together. Most notably they both played in Good Will Hunting (1997), along with his brother Ben, 51. Matt and Ben co-wrote the film's screenplay, which earned them both an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Matt and Casey both also starred in Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), Interstellar (2014), and Oppenheimer (2023). Their Instigators co-star, Jack Harlow, 26, who plays Scalvo in the movie, cut a dashing figure on the red carpet. The rapper wore an all-black ensemble, including a high-neck sweater, dress pants and black shoes. Hong Chau, 45, who also stars in the film, looked lovely in a black dress with a green tulle cape. Jack Harlow, 26, who plays Scalvo in the movie, cut a dashing figure on the red carpet. The rapper wore an all-black ensemble, including a high-neck sweater He accessorised with a pair of diamond earrings The dynamic trio posed together Jack flashed a huge smile as he posed with his co-stars They shared a giggle and appeared to be having a wonderful time Jack and Casey were delighted as they caught up on the red carpet The two men shared a friendly hug Hong Chau, 45, who also stars in the film, looked lovely in a black dress with a green tulle cape. Taylor Rooks, 32, sizzled in a form-hugging violet dress with a saucy slit Chau play's Damon's psychiatrist in the film She ends up being taken hostage in the movie after Damon and Affleck go on an ill-fated heist Keegan-Michael Key, 53, sported a black tee and pants and was joined by his wife Elle Key The comedian rocked a salt and pepper beard The cast and crew beamed as they posed together The Instigators is a heist comedy film that follows two robbers, Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Affleck) who must go on the run. The movie will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on August 9 Taylor Rooks, 32, sizzled in a form-hugging violet dress with a saucy slit. Keegan-Michael Key, 53, sported a black tee and pants and was joined by his wife Elle Key. Damon plays a deadbeat dad struggling with depression in the movie. He eventually seeks therapy (with Chau starring as his psychiatrist). As he attempts to put his life back together, he signs up to do a heist with Cobby, but things go south and they end up having to take Chau hostage. The movie hits theaters August 2 and will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on August 9. A popular TikTok couple have shared their frustration after returning home from a Sydney influencer convention to find their new Adelaide house robbed. Influencers Mitchell O'Leary, 22, and Isabelle Petzl-Duncan, 19, posted a clip to social media which captured them discovering it had been cleaned out by burglars. 'We have just been to Sydney. We got home and, what the heck, we didn't leave the window open!' Mitchell began. 'Why is some of our stuff from inside down the driveway? Some lucky person decided to break in, they have grabbed everything that I own.' Mitchell then issued a snide message to the heartless thief who stole his belongings: 'Enjoy everything of mine you have stolen. I don't have much to my name now.' He also revealed the thief had gotten ahold of his car keys and ransacked their vehicle. 'They stole all my glasses, coins, wallet, everything. The only thing they didn't steal is my humour!' He added the thief had also taken his property's spare key, so he and Isabelle were forced to vacate the premises in case the criminal returned. Adelaide-based TikTok couple Mitchell O'Leary and Isabelle Petzl-Duncan have shared their frustration after returning home from a Sydney influencer convention to find their new house robbed. Both pictured Sisters Amy, Kate and Sophie Taeuber discussed the incident on their Outspoken podcast, revealing the shock way the opportunistic thief may have realised the property would be vacant. 'Just last week, Isabelle shared a series of TikToks, which she dubbed her Moving Diaries. She took followers along their journey of moving into their new rental,' they began. 'She not only showed shots of the house's interior but also the exterior, including vision of their house number.' The sisters added the couple made a huge mistake by revealing their home's location on social media, in addition to disclosing it would be vacant for the next three days. The pair posted a clip to social media which captured them returning to their home - and discovering it had been cleaned out 'If you know the area, you would have been able to instantly identify where it was,' one sister said. 'Now, thieves took their chance when Isabelle shared she and Mitch were headed to Sydney.' Mitch and Isabelle have 600,000 followers on social media, and have developed a reputation for sharing hilarious lip-syncing clips with their fans. EXCLUSIVE Sacked weatherman Paul Burt fired off a farewell missive to Seven Network staff two days after he took an extraordinary parting shot at the TV station live-on-air. Burt, who worked at Seven for more than a decade and has spent 28 years on television, was dumped without warning amid a brutal round of redundancies. The 51-year-old's departure upset some loyal viewers who expressed their outrage on social media and fans turned out with placards for one of Burt's last live crosses at Surfers Paradise Beach. Now Daily Mail Australia has obtained an email Burt sent to workmates following his last broadcast where he argued he had a track record of giving Queensland audiences the weather updates they 'deserved'. 'Hey everyone, never thought I'd be writing this email anytime soon, but here we go,' Burt wrote on Monday afternoon. 'First and foremost, I want to say thank you to everyone who I have worked directly with, you have all been incredibly awesome and do sensational jobs and deserve far more recognition than you get. 'Secondly, those who reached out to me after the news over the weekend and today to "check in" on me and pass on your kind words, wow, it's been very humbling so thank you.' An insider at Seven has told Daily Mail Australia that Burt was let go because he was not popular with focus groups polled in the first quarter of this year. Sacked weatherman Paul 'Burty' Burt has been overwhelmed by messages of support from senior Seven Network staff after sending a heartfelt farewell to his former colleagues. Burt is pictured delivering his final report on July 27 'Paul Burt was sacked after extensive audience research across the Queensland market that identified he was one of the least-liked presenters on-air, with the dreaded 'switch-off' factor,' the source said. 'Networks spend a fortune on polling and focus groups to identify emerging talent and test long-serving presenters. The audience decides who reads the news.' Burt rejected that research and said in his email that 'I'm just a guy who loved to tell the weather "my way", no fancy BS, just fisho to fisho, boaty to boaty style, just as we deserve. 'Not over produced - just giving the best up to date reports on coastal conditions to those in our local community, those we share the water with or pass on a jetty flicking a line with their kids - our audience.' Seven West Media, which also owns the West Australian newspaper, is slashing 150 staff in a bloodbath which has claimed other big names including Brisbane newsreader Sharyn Ghidella. Seven West Media is slashing 150 staff in a round of redundancies which has claimed other big names including Brisbane newsreader Sharyn Ghidella. Burt is pictured far left with former Seven colleagues The network's Queensland operations manager Craig Dyer announced his immediate resignation in June after more than 20 years with Seven. Others forced to depart the Brisbane studio at Mount Coot-Tha were two cameramen, a news producer, and a long-serving technical employee. One of the cameramen was reportedly called back to the office while he was shooting an assignment and told his services were no longer needed. Burt, who was based on the Gold Coast but provided weather reports across Queensland, referred to Ghidella, Dyer and other departing staff in his email. 'What I did for the past 28 years I loved,' he wrote. 'Delivering information regarding the field I loved and lucky enough to share the screen with some of the biggest names on TV and form friendships with them and the dedicated, experienced hard working people behind the scenes. 'Thank you for that. 'We have moved into a digital era. I would have been proud to have been involved in this digital change but unfortunately that's not the case nor a choice I had. 'I love the network and like our viewers loved the 7 way. When you get staunch Ch7 people ... moved on... kind of says something in my world.' His sign-off read: 'On that note, see on the water one day and to those who want to, let's stay in touch. Burty'. Burt finished his last weather segment on Saturday with a pointed message to Seven management and viewers. 'If I'd had the opportunity I wouldn't have wanted to go this way - it's what happens when you get sacked,' he said at the end of Queensland's 6pm news bulletin. The previous night, a crowd of supporters turned out at Surfers Paradise as Burt did a live cross for the Gold Coast 5.30pm bulletin. While Burt was giving his weekend weather outlook, fans held placards declaring 'Burty's a legend', 'Qld's favourite weatherman' and 'Bring back Burty'. Burt told Daily Mail Australia if Seven had conducted research which found he was not popular with Queensland audiences the network should find new researchers. 'I mean, these people are going to try and cover their backs,' he said. 'I think if they're looking at numbers like that, they might want to change the people who are giving them those numbers. 'Because I'm on the ground, I hear what people say and I understand what they want. I've been doing it now for 28 years.' Burt posted a video thanking viewers for their loyalty which was posted on the I Love Robina Facebook page and has received 60,000 views. He is picturd at Surfers Paradise on July 26 Burt said Queensland had unique weather patterns which regularly included life-threatening events such as cyclones and severe flooding. 'I think it's got to be understood the network put us in all of these places when cyclones were being covered,' he said. 'When the weather turned really horrible they wanted boots on the ground to get information back to the people at home.' Queensland audiences also had a particular reliance on accurate weather updates so they could pursue outdoor leisure activities such as boating and fishing. 'People see us everywhere we go,' Burt said. 'People see us at the boat ramp. People see us out fishing. People see us at the beaches.' Seven's Brisbane news director Michael Coombes told Burt last month his contract would not be renewed. Word of his sacking was leaked before Burt could tell his wife and children. Burt began his television career at Seven in 1996, before being poached by Ten then Nine, and in 2013 was lured back to the network where started in the industry. 'Don't get me wrong, I really admire the network,' he said. I love the network. I truly do. 'Unfortunately, I just think at this point in time, things could have been handled a bit differently in certain sectors of the newsroom.' Seven's recently appointed news and current affairs boss Anthony De Ceglie has been replacing sections leaders across the country with younger managers. He has also introduced a Friday night comedy spot and astrology to the news. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide all have fresh news directors, and new executive producers have been put in charge of Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and Spotlight. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was seen for the first time following news that a court hearing to legally drop 'Pitt' from her last name has been delayed. The 18-year-old daughter of former Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stepped out solo in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon. Shiloh whose older brother Pax, 20, was involved in an e-bike accident earlier this week was dressed in a black hoodie, black jeans and vibrant yellow sneakers. Her cropped blonde hair was pulled back off her makeup-free face with a brown spring headband. The teenager had another jacket over her arm and her iPhone in hand as she left a friend's home in the afternoon. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was seen for the first time following news that a court hearing to legally drop 'Pitt' from her last name has been delayed Earlier this week, Shiloh's attorney confirmed that a court hearing in her ongoing effort to change her legal last name had been delayed due to a clerical error. The latest development comes about two months after Shiloh expressed her intent to drop Pitt from her name after turning 18 on May 27. Peter Levine, who is serving as legal representation for Jolie-Pitt in the matter, told People in a statement Monday, 'Unfortunately, the court was unable to complete the background check ahead of today's hearing, so the hearing was rescheduled for August 19.' Levine explained the logistics of the process, and why Monday's hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court had been pushed back. 'Everyone undergoing a name-change request needs to have a background check conducted by the court clerk, and because of clerical error, Shiloh's hearing has been continued to a new date,' Levine told the outlet. Jolie and Pitt - who separated in 2016 and have been finalizing the terms of their divorce in the eight years since - are also parents to children Maddox, 22, Zahara, 19, Pax, 20, Knox, 15, and Vivienne, 15. In June, an insider close to Pitt told People that the Oscar-winning actor was 'aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name.' The insider added, 'The reminders that he's lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It's very sad.' Shiloh earlier this month published a statement in the Los Angeles Times to declare her intent to change her legal name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie, in accordance with state law, TMZ reported. The 18-year-old daughter of former Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stepped out solo in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon Earlier this week, Shiloh's attorney confirmed that a court hearing in her ongoing effort to change her legal last name had been delayed due to a clerical error; seen in 2021 Prior to a judge approving a name change petition, a legal form must have been published in a newspaper a month ahead, according to People. An insider in June told Dailymail.com that Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself, so Angie doesnt know and cant speak for it. But, if youre asking if this is connected to the abuse history or the violation of Shilohs victims rights, yes, thats part of it. Jolie said that Pitt had behaved physically abusive toward her - shaking and pushing her - during a private jet flight in 2016, per an FBI report on the altercation that was published in 2022. Jolie told authorities with the FBI that Pitt had said to their children that she had been 'f***ing up this family,' and hit the airplane's ceiling multiple times. Jolie said to officials that Pitt had poured alcohol on a blanket she was under her children with in the 2016 incident. Her estranged dad Brad Pitt, 60, was pictured at The Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California in February Shiloh's mother Angelina Jolie, 49, was seen at the Tony Awards at NYC's Lincoln Center in June Pitt and Jolie's high-profile relationship began in the wake of his 2005 divorce from ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, 55. Pitt and Jolie did not get legally married for years, as they welcomed multiple kids, until getting engaged in 2012 and married in 2014. Jolie - whose films include Maleficent, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Girl, Interrupted - filed for divorce in 2016 and both she and Pitt had been declared legally single three years later. Pitt, the star of films including Fight Club, Moneyball and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, has been romantically-linked to jewelry designer Ines de Ramon since 2022. A former Married At First Sight star is locked in a showdown with the Australian Federal Police over an early-morning raid on her home linked to her OnlyFans content, which she has slammed as an 'abuse of power'. Police searched the home of Stacey Lee Hampton, the former MAFS contestant and ex-partner of Rebels bikie boss Shane Smith, in September 2023, on the allegation she may not have declared income she received from work on OnlyFans. The Federal Court in Adelaide heard on Tuesday Ms Hampton may not have declared her true income over an 18-month period and Services Australia held concerns she may have improperly received carer payments. But Ms Hampton, appearing in court and representing herself during a civil judicial review application, said the search warrant was 'invalid' and an 'abuse of power' because it did not adequately specify the allegation of wrongdoing underpinning it. 'It (the warrant) is too broad,' she said. 'There are too many types of incomes.' She also objected to an interview with a Services Australia officer that took place during the search. She told the court the interview would not have happened at her home without what she argued was an invalid warrant. Married At First Sight star Stacey Hampton (pictured) is locked in a showdown with the Australian Federal Police over an early-morning raid on her home linked to her OnlyFans content, which she has slammed as an 'abuse of power' Police searched the home of Ms Hampton, the former MAFS contestant and ex-partner of Rebels bikie boss Shane Smith, in September 2023, on the allegation she may not have declared income she received from work on OnlyFans 'They had to exercise it through the channel of the search warrants,' she said. 'It wasn't hand delivered at the door. 'They were using the search warrant to conduct that interview.' Justice Stephen McDonald said the case would hang on whether the 'face of the warrants' met the legal standard outlined by the High Court. Paul d'Assumpcao, counsel for the AFP and Services Australia, argued the terms of the warrant were 'well within the threshold of what is acceptable by the courts'. He disputed Ms Hampton's characterisation the stated allegation on the warrant was not sufficient and said the warrant provided more information that what was required by the Criminal Code. He also argued the courts had recognised the need to provide investigative agencies like the AFP with 'sufficient flexibility' in how they investigated alleged criminal offences. The Federal Court in Adelaide heard on Tuesday Ms Hampton (pictured) may not have declared her true income over an 18-month period and Services Australia held concerns she may have improperly received carer payments 'Balance has to be struck at some point,' he said. 'At what level do we cross the line and say that (the information provided on a warrant) is good enough?' Justice McDonald said a warrant did not need to offer the particularity of an indictment and the complexity of the case arose in 'how to draw the line' in what was required on a warrant. Ms Hampton has two sons, Kosta and Kruz, that she shared with Mr Smith. Mr Smith died in a motorcycle crash in Adelaide in September 2022. Ms Hampton has not been charged with any crimes and there is no accusation of any wrongdoing on her part. Justice McDonald said he would 'reserve his decision' and deliver it at a later date. Speaking with NewsWire earlier this year, Ms Hampton said she would pursue damages against the government if she won her case. Shane Smith (left) died in a motorcycle crash in Adelaide in September 2022 'I haven't been arrested and nothing has come from this,' she said. 'But to me, it's the principle, the fact they came to my house for no reason, as an admitted lawyer, at 6am, with my two children who had lost their father, and traumatised us.' 'What's that done to my mental health, my children's health, also my work, being able to work?' Paris Hilton has Charli XCX's new album Brat on the brain as she enjoys a family vacation at sea. The Paris in Love star, 43, referenced the artist's recent sixth studio album on Instagram as she shared a series of bikini-clad photos from the yacht outing. 'Out of office for Brat Girl Summer #SlivingMom,' Hilton captioned the post. She showed off her toned figure in a yellow two-piece string bikini while posing around the massive vessel. Hilton accessorized the look with a pair of '90s neon green sunglasses featuring reflective lenses and a sheer Gucci scarf bandana around her head. Paris Hilton referenced Charli XCX's recent sixth studio album Brat on Instagram as she shared a series of bikini-clad photos from the yacht outing 'Out of office for Brat Girl Summer #SlivingMom,' Hilton captioned the post The DJ also wore a tropical-printed wrap around her waist and a pair of green flats, carrying a clear pink purse. She shared photos of herself spending time with her kids, son Phoenix Barron, 18 months, and eight-month-old daughter London Marilyn. Hilton cuddled with her baby boy in a hammock in one photo, sitting with London in another. The proud mother also included a cute video of baby London as they played peek-a-boo. She shares Phoenix and London with husband Carter Reum, whom she married in 2021. Before sharing the first photos of London in April, Reum, 43, explained why they hadn't shown her face yet. 'Not quite ready to share her w the world but she's adorable and looks just like [her] mamma,' he wrote in response to an Instagram comment. Hilton previously admitted that she hopes her kids 'won't be as addicted to social media as I am' as she appeared on a panel in March. She showed off her toned figure in a yellow two-piece string bikini while posing around the massive vessel Hilton accessorized the look with a pair of '90s neon green sunglasses featuring reflective lenses and a sheer Gucci scarf bandana around her head Hilton cuddled with her baby boy Phoenix, 18 months, in a hammock in one photo, sitting with London in another The proud mother also included a cute video of baby London, eight months, as they played peek-a-boo She shares Phoenix and London with husband Carter Reum, whom she married in 2021 'I just want my children just to feel just so loved and seen and want to be that next generation of someone that brings positivity to the world and just to have big hearts and big loving,' she explained. 'That's something that's really important to me,' added Hilton. 'And also to live a world outside of social media and being on their phone all the time.' Kathie Lee Gifford gave an update on her health on Wednesday after spending over a week in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. The 70-year-old entertainer who recently revealed why she was turned down for Charlie's Angels said she's happy to be home after being discharged from the hospital, where she ended up with a fractured pelvis in two places during her recovery from hip replacement surgery. 'I'm doing well!' the star told ET. 'I'm happy to be out of the hospital. As lovely as all those people are to me, they really took good care of me, but there's no place like home.' Gifford revealed that as her recovery from hip replacement surgery progressed, she took on book signings and travel, which ultimately led to overexertion and physical strain. 'This is what happens most of the time -- you think you're better, because you are so much better, and then you feel like you're back to absolute normal, and you're not,' she added. 'Our bones, things like that, don't heal for sometimes months -- even though you feel so much better.' Kathie Lee Gifford gave an update on her health on Wednesday after spending over a week in the hospital with a fractured pelvis; (seen in 2022) The 70-year-old entertainer said she's happy to be home after being discharged from the hospital, where she ended up with a fractured pelvis in two places during her recovery from hip replacement surgery; (seen in 2019) The TV personality shared that she had a significant signing event to promote her new book and managed to physically move 300 books in just a day and a half from her home. 'I knew that night, when I went to sleep, I said, "Kathie, you did too much today. You're hurting again where you haven't been hurting." I said, "I'll sleep it off." And so the next day, I did the signing [and] it went really, really well,' Gifford recalled. To mark her success, she set up a girls' day out. When her friend arrived and found herself locked out, she called Gifford. In Gifford's haste to help, things went wrong. 'On the way down [the stairs] and in my eagerness to get to my friend and get her out of the heat... I missed a step and I went tumbling,' she explained. 'It's my own fault. I should not have been in a hurry, you know? What am I in a hurry for?' Now recovering at home, she's committed to daily physical therapy. 'They gotta get you up and moving. You don't want your bones to atrophy,' she said. 'It can be anywhere from three months to, you know, just a month to who knows? I just have to listen to them this time.' She's also making sure to keep her spirits up during the vacation months. 'It's summer for everybody but me,' Gifford told People on Tuesday. 'But it's OK. I'm going to get out to my little farm one of these days and stick my feet in my salt pool.' 'I'm doing well!' the star told ET . 'I'm happy to be out of the hospital. As lovely as all those people are to me, they really took good care of me, but there's no place like home; (seen in 2018) Gifford revealed that as her recovery from hip replacement surgery progressed, she took on book signings and travel, which ultimately led to overexertion and physical strain; (seen in April) Gifford vowed to take life more slowly as she continues her recovery. 'The Lord is telling me it's time to slow down. I've been running my whole life. The Lord is telling me, 'You've planted a gazillion roses. Try smelling them.'' Earlier this month, Gifford revealed that she had undergone a 'total' hip replacement surgery in June after suffering from 'agonizing pain.' '[My doctors] had been looking for the problem in my spine,' said Gifford on TODAY. 'They finally found out what it was, and by that time, I'd been in such agonizing pain.' After the successful surgery, Gifford said her doctor told her that she 'had some of the worst hips I've ever seen.' 'It was terrible,' Gifford said of the ordeal. 'You can't fool your body, and it knows how old you are, and it knows where you've been.' She elaborated on her recovery to PEOPLE, admitting to the outlet that it's been 'one of the most painful situations of my entire life.' Gifford's surgeon told her that her hips were 'down to the nubs' and that her active lifestyle was to blame. The day before her fall, Gifford explained that she had 'weakened my body' by '[moving] 300 books by myself' while at a book signing in Nashville, Tennessee; seen in March '"You climbed mountains, you made movies, you got on stages. You never took off your high heels, and you kept going and that's why you're going through what you're going through,"' she recalled the surgeon saying to her. Though her recovery has been 'really hard,' Gifford said that she has no regrets. '[I ask myself] would I change that? No, I was doing what God put me on this earth to do,' she said. 'Every year of it, I was doing what He called me to do.' Gwyneth Paltrow is 'cleansing' her spirit after she was left 'horrified' and 'embarrassed' by Derek Blasberg's recent diarrhea incident at her Hamptons home. The Oscar-winner, 51, took to Instagram on 'Wellness Wednesday' to share footage of herself standing outside in the rain in a black one-piece bathing suit. She recorded herself walking and swinging her arms around in her sprawling backyard as the rainwater soaked her body. 'Letting this rain wash away the people places things that are no longer right for me,' Gwyneth wrote. She also noted that it is 'time for a cleanse' as she will soon 'enter a 9 year (completion).' In astrology, the ninth year is associated with spiritual growth and new beginnings. Gwyneth Paltrow took to Instagram on 'Wellness Wednesday' to share footage of herself standing outside in the rain in a black one-piece bathing suit. She recorded herself walking and swinging her arms around in her sprawling backyard as the rainwater soaked her body Gwyneth kicked off 'Wellness Wednesday' by uploading a selfie that showed her looking incredible in a low-cut bodysuit. She then shared her favorite 'incense' and skincare products. Before braving the Hamptons downpour in only a swimsuit, Gwyneth relaxed in her sauna. 'Rainy day sauna,' the Iron Man star wrote over a makeup-free photo of herself mid-sweat. Gwyneth may be keen on a 'new beginning' after insiders recently dished to DailyMail.com that she was left 'mortified' by Derek's diarrhea and dash. Earlier this month, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that socialite and celebrity hanger-on Derek, 42, was the culprit behind the mortifying ordeal that was first mentioned as a blind item in a popular gossip newsletter. Since then, both Gwyneth and the fashion journalist have stayed silent, with insiders claiming the Goop founder 'feels bad' but knows they need to avoid hanging out for the foreseeable future. She is hopeful they will 'eventually laugh' at the incident. 'Gwyneth would like to eventually laugh about this with Derek, but currently there is still much embarrassment,' a source exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com. 'They both know that if they are ever seen together or if he ever returns to her house, they go out to dinner, it will be the only thing people will be talking about.' They continued: 'It is not that they aren't friends and won't be friendly with each other in the future, it is just a bit difficult, and they both realize some time should pass before they hang out again. 'Letting this rain wash away the people places things that are no longer right for me,' Gwyneth wrote She also noted that it is 'time for a cleanse' as she will soon 'enter a 9 year (completion)' which, in astrology, is associated with spiritual growth and new beginnings Before braving the Hamptons downpour in only a swimsuit, Gwyneth relaxed in her sauna 'The likelihood of them being friends in the future is pretty good she has moved on from worse events in her life.' The source claimed Gwyneth and her friends have all reacted similarly to the scenario, as they shut down claims the actress-turned-wellness guru is being seen as a snitch. 'She thought that it was horrifying at first, but has since found the humor in it and has had a good laugh about it,' they said. 'Most of Gwyneth's friends think it is shockingly hilarious and gross, but they aren't thinking differently about Gwyneth.' A new blind item from the email newsletter titled Popb***h made it clear that Gwyneth had not been the one to leak the story across the Hamptons set. 'Ever since the phantom Hamptons c**pper was unveiled as celebrity barnacle Derek Blasberg, Gwyneth Paltrow has come in for quite a bit of flak,' it read. 'Society types are appalled she'd break a cardinal rule of hosting and blab about her guest's gastrointestinal indiscretion. But in fairness to Gwynnie, the leak may not have been her.' The report continued: 'Gwyneth was lunching with Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Seinfeld when her irate housekeeper called, shouting loudly about the horrors she'd discovered, yelling about how much she hates 'that f**ing friend' of hers. 'And most damning - complaining about the tip that had been left at the scene of the crime.' The source noted that Gwyneth strongly believed that the situation would soon be old news, and finished: 'She does feel bad that it got out there and everyone in the world knows about it, but it will pass.' Gwyneth hopes she will 'eventually laugh' with longtime pal Derek about the fact his 'catastrophic' diarrhea became headline news, insiders claim Earlier this month, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that socialite and celebrity hanger-on Derek, 42, was the culprit behind the mortifying incident The internet was whipped into a frenzy last month when the first blind item in popular gossip newsletter Popb***h stated that Gwyneth had been tasked with cleaning up someone's 'Ozempic-induced diarrhea' at her home. 'The story goes that a recent houseguest of Gwynnie's catastrophically s**t themselves in bed while staying there, then fled back to the city before they had to face the music,' it read. Revealing that the scandal had become 'the Hamptons set's favorite piece of gossip to text to each other,' the report continued: 'Ozempic-induced diarrhea is becoming a very hot topic of conversation between hosts there - because so many of their guests are using it. So expect launderettes to be fully booked from July 4.' Insiders later told DailyMail.com Derek - once described as 'one of showbiz's most well-connected men' - was the culprit and that he had conveniently blamed the incident on the popular weight loss wonder drug before allegedly fleeing the property. 'It's not Ozempic, that's just what he told everyone,' the insider said, before revealing how the secret made its way through the Hamptons set. 'Gwyneth told Oprah, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, and Larry David,' they continued. 'It's shocking how many people know this story and how he has managed to keep it out of The Post probably via his best friend [socialite Dasha Zhukova] - whose mom just married Rupert Murdoch.' Derek had been no stranger to spending time with the actress at her five-bedroom Long Island home, where she hosted her wedding to Brad Falchuk in 2018. In 2022 the fashion expert posted a snap of himself and the actress celebrating her 50th birthday at the sprawling property. And it appears someone tried to out Derek as the phantom pooper four weeks before the news was revealed when they commented two poop emojis, a toilet emoji and a dynamite emoji on the Instagram post. Before his recent toilet troubles put him firmly in the spotlight, Derek had maintained a relatively private life unlike some of his A list pals. Derek is no stranger to spending time with Paltrow at her home on Long Island - pictured in 2018 when she tied the knot with Brad Falchuk In June, someone hinted at the scandal under Derek's Instagram post featuring Gwyneth, 51 The insider made it clear that the pair are still pals, but will likely keep their distance from each other for a while (pictured at her Hamptons home in 2022) The former TV host and author, who penned Very Classy: Even More Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady, not only counts Gwyneth as a close friend but also frequently spends his time with the likes of Karlie Kloss, Sienna Miller, Kendall Jenner and Demi Moore. He most recently worked as the head of fashion and beauty partnerships at YouTube and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and several international editions of Vogue. Thanks to his influence and connections as a top fashion journalist, socialite, and television personality, his birthday parties often serve as a warm-up to the Met Gala for his A-list attendees. For his 42nd birthday bash in April, A-list stars such as Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Andy Cohen were in attendance. In 2022 his bash was attended by Jeff Bezos, Hailey Bieber, and Leonardo DiCaprio among others. Derek is also a senior staffer at the Gagosian Gallery and has contributed texts to The New York Times, WSJ Magazine, Elle, Women's Wear Daily, Glamour, and The London Sunday Times over the course of his career. He currently resides in New York with his partner, Imaginary co-founder Nick Brown. Back in 2021, the pair welcomed twins Elizabeth Grace and Frederick Noah, three, via surrogate. Fashion socialite Derek is made headlines after DailyMail.com identified him as the guest who seemingly lost control of their bowels in a bed at Gwyneth's Hamptons home He is known to throw star-studded bashes, with his birthday parties often serving as a warm-up to the Met Gala (pictured with Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid) Derek has built up influence and connections as a top fashion journalist, socialite, and television personality (pictured with Nicky and Paris Hilton) Elsewhere, the original blind item stated that the popularity of Ozempic is causing an issue among the rich and famous as they holiday together in the Hamptons this summer. Ozempic, typically used to treat diabetes and allow people to shed weight quickly, has a common side-effect that affects one in 10 users. In recent months, a handful of celebrities have admitted to using Ozempic, including Oprah, Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne, Chelsea Handler and Robbie Williams. Shirley Chung's Top Chef family has rallied around her, after she announced her heartbreaking Stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis. The 47-year-old chef, who has appeared on Top Chef (a finalist in Season 11), Tournament of Champions and Top Chef: Amateurs, shared the news on Friday. She shaved her head in preparation for chemo and shared the process on her Instagram. The chef also announced that Ms. Chi Cafe, the restaurant she opened in Culver City, California in 2018, will be closing next month due to her treatment. Her posts received countless comments of support from Top Chef contestants including Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard, Jen Carroll, Adrienne Cheatham, Brother Luck, Melissa King, Leeann Wong, Nini Nguyen, Nina Compton and more. Shirley Chung's Top Chef family has rallied around her, after she announced her heartbreaking Stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis and the closure of her restaurant; (L-R) Brian Huskey, Carlos Gaytan, Chung, Nicholas Elmi, and Nina Compton seen in a still from Top Chef season 11 The 47-year-old chef, who has appeared on Top Chef (a finalist in Season 11), Tournament of Champions and Top Chef: Amateurs, shared the news on Friday Blais wrote, 'You are inspiring and strong ' underneath her post. 'Love you friend!!! Keep being badass and staying as positive as you always do! Hugs from me and Ernie!' Izard sweetly shared. Longtime host Gail Simmons wrote, 'You are a beautiful and extraordinary unicorn. Always have been. I am so proud of you. #f**kcancer.' Frequent Top Chef judge and French chef Hubert Keller wrote, 'You both are amazing, you both will get through this together. Sending you all my love.' 'I love you. You got this. ' wrote Wong. Buddha Lo concurred, writing, 'Youve got this.' Carroll added, 'be the next unicorn xoxo' in reference to Shirley's treatment. 'You have always been the feisty sister, I love you and we all are here for you,' King added. 'You are a badass and Im sending you so much love ,' Nguyen wrote. 'You got this one you are very strong chef,' Carlos Gaytan added. 'Oh Shirley! You look beautiful. You got this,' Shirley's season 11 pal Nina wrote. Season six Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio wrote, 'We've seen you kick plenty of a**, all while smiling ear to ear. we're all here to back you up chef!' Her posts received countless comments of support from Top Chef contestants including Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard, Jen Carroll, Adrienne Cheatham, Brother Luck, Melissa King, Leeann Wong, Nini Nguyen, and more 'You have always been the feisty sister, I love you and we all are here for you,' King added Longtime host Gail Simmons wrote, 'You are a beautiful and extraordinary unicorn. Always have been. I am so proud of you. #f**kcancer' Frequent Top Chef judge and French chef Hubert Keller wrote, 'You both are amazing, you both will get through this together. Sending you all my love' 'Love you friend!!! Keep being badass and staying as positive as you always do! Hugs from me and Ernie!' Izard sweetly shared 'I love you. You got this. ' wrote Wong Buddha Lo concurred, writing, 'Youve got this ' Carroll added, 'be the next unicorn xoxo' in reference to Shirley's treatment 'You are a badass and Im sending you so much love ,' Nini Nguyen wrote 'You got this one you are very strong chef,' commented chef Carlos Gaytan 'Oh Shirley! You look beautiful. You got this,' Shirley's season 11 pal Nina wrote Season six Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio wrote, 'We've seen you kick plenty of a**, all while smiling ear to ear. we're all here to back you up chef!' Tournament of Champions alums also reached out, including Amanda Freitag, who wrote, 'SHIRLEY!!!! You are such an incredible human and I know you are a unicorn and will beat this with style and grace you are such an inspiration for so many' Judge Alex Guarnaschelli wrote, 'Sending you so much love. Don't be a chef at this time. Be a person who's cool with getting support and love. You are loved all around you. Sending you positive vibes. Very brave of you to share with us.' 'One day at a time and you will look back at this 10 years from now and smile with defiance,' chef Grant Achatz wrote Shirley wrote back, 'Yes chef. I am continuing to check off my prep list one thing at the time. Your words of encouragement helped me got over my initial shock. I will look back and smile!' Tournament of Champions alums also reached out, including Amanda Freitag, who wrote, 'SHIRLEY!!!! You are such an incredible human and I know you are a unicorn and will beat this with style and grace you are such an inspiration for so many. I love you and your chef community is here to support you!' Judge Alex Guarnaschelli wrote, 'Sending you so much love. Don't be a chef at this time. Be a person who's cool with getting support and love. You are loved all around you. Sending you positive vibes. Very brave of you to share with us.' 'One day at a time and you will look back at this 10 years from now and smile with defiance,' chef Grant Achatz wrote. Shirley wrote back, 'Yes chef. I am continuing to check off my prep list one thing at the time. Your words of encouragement helped me got over my initial shock. I will look back and smile!' Shirley's video showed her taking two big swipes across her head with the clippers, as she joked about what kind of egg her head looked like. She's told, 'You don't have to smile, Shirley,' but she insists, 'That's automatic. Camera? I smile.' She adds, 'Surprisingly, shaving it off for my mentally... it felt better than pulling it off in the morning,' adding, 'It's kind of sexy too.' Chung also left a lengthy caption on Instagram, where she explained how her diagnosis came to be. 'Hiiiii loves, I have some personal news to share with you. Since last year December, I had a series of dental issues, I bit my tongue severely; I fractured my tooth and had to extract it and get an implant we thought it was because I am a heavy teeth grinder,' she began. 'And I was too busy to see a EMT specialist. The end of May, ulcers erupted in my mouth and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue,' she said. She also shared a post through her Ms. Chi Cafe announcing the restaurant will close next week so she can focus on treatment She shared a number of snaps, including one with her staff 'In light of Chef Shirleys diagnosis, we have made the difficult decision to close Ms Chi so she can focus on recovery. Ms Chis last day of operation will be Sunday, August 4th,' the post read Shirley shaved her head in preparation for chemo and shared the process on her Instagram She adds, 'Surprisingly, shaving it off for my mentally... it felt better than pulling it off in the morning,' adding, 'It's kind of sexy too' 'A few days later, I was diagnosed, stage 4 tongue cancer, as cancer cells also spread into my lymph nodes,' she revealed to her 'I was very calm when doctors delivered the news, as a chef, Ive always thrive under pressure. ,' she admitted. 'I was extremely focused on getting all the tests and scans as fast as possible, so I can start on the treatment plans,' she said. She continued that on Sunday June 2nd, 'Dr. Ho, my lead oncologist at Cedar Sinai called to discuss treatment plans,' adding she, 'broke down, crying, trying to put thoughts together and ask questions but physically couldnt.' 'All I heard was option 1, surgery, 100% removal of your tongue Jimmy was holding it together for both of us, asking if we have any option that I can keep my tongue and the survival rates .' She was told, 'There is another option, which was a unicorn case, at University of Chicago, they cured a patient (a chef!) with radiation and chemo, but you will have to go to Chicago.' 'Higher survival rate, or keep my tongue? I chose to keep my tongue, I am a fighter, I am a chef, I can be that unicorn too,' she said. 'I just finished 6 weeks of Chemo (and have many more to go), going to the hospital 4 times a week for injections, its like a full time job,' Chung insisted. 'My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now. I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable,' she continued. Chung admitted, 'it took me 2 weeks of contemplating to decide to tell my parents about my cancer, only my close circle of friends and my sister have known until now.' 'I am learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, its ok to be not ok. I have a tough long road to recovery in front of me. Your love and support will carry me through. Cheer me on, Shirley Chung 2.0 will be reborn in 2025!' she concluded. 'I just finished 6 weeks of Chemo (and have many more to go), going to the hospital 4 times a week for injections, its like a full time job,' Chung shared in her post She also gave a positive update: 'My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now. I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable' She also shared a post through her Ms. Chi Cafe announcing the restaurant will close next week so she can focus on treatment. 'In light of Chef Shirleys diagnosis, we have made the difficult decision to close Ms Chi so she can focus on recovery. Ms Chis last day of operation will be Sunday, August 4th,' the post began. 'We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of youour staff, supporters, and fans. We have truly enjoyed spreading the dumpling love over the last several years and calling Culver City our home!' the post continued. 'Please come by, say hi, and enjoy our menu before we close. We will still be operating our normal business hours until August 4th! August 14th and 15th will be the final days for @goldbelly orders, so now is the time to stock up. This is a temporary pause on orders, and we will be back!' they continued. 'Please continue to follow this account and @chfshirleychung for more updatesmore dumplings will be coming!' the post concluded. It was revealed a day earlier that Jax Taylor had checked himself into a mental health facility to get some much needed help. And Jax, 45, confirmed the news in his own words on Wednesday with a moving Instagram post for his son Cruz. The former Vanderpump Rules star shared a sweet photo of himself holding the thee-year-old boy whom he shares with his estranged wife Brittany Cartwright as he planted a kiss on his cheek. 'Working on getting better for you buddy, I love you ,' he wrote lovingly in the caption. Cruz looked happy to spend some time with his father, as he displayed a soft smile for the camera while munching on an apple. Jax Taylor, 45, confirmed he had checked into a mental health facility on Wednesday with a sweet post in which he said he was 'working on getting better' for his three-year-old son Cruz (pictured) He shares Cruz with his estranged wife Brittany Cartwright (pictured in April 2024 at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner as guests of DailyMail.com), whom he split from in February 2024 On Tuesday, a representative for Jax shared with TMZ that he was 'seeking in-patient treatment' for 'mental health struggles.' 'Jax has always been candid about his mental health struggles, especially during the past few months on his podcast,' they shared. 'He has made the decision to seek in-patient treatment. This is a particularly sensitive time for him and his family. They ask for privacy and respect until he is ready to speak more on this matter.' The decision to get help followed a concerning visit from the police to the home where Jax had lived with his wife Brittany Cartwright for some time after their separation in February, though she later moved out into an Airbnb after tensions between the two became too high to overcome. He was reportedly seen speaking to police officers, who carried a brown envelope with them, before he headed to the gym for a workout. Earlier this month, DailyMail.com revealed that their $1.9 million Los Angels home had been slapped by the California Franchise Tax Board with a lien in the amount of $35,239.88. The tax lien was filed on June 12 of this year. Brittany previously said that she was responsible for all of the bills for the home, while Jax was the one taking care of its mortgage payments. DailyMail.com reached out to Cartwright's representatives at the time, who declined to comment. According to documents detailing the lien, 'further interest and fees will accrue' until it is paid off in full. On Tuesday, a representative for Jax shared with TMZ that he was 'seeking in-patient treatment' for 'mental health struggles. Jax previously said he misses his family 'a lot' while speaking with TMZ. Brittany has been living separately in an Airbnb since their split; pictured in July 2021 The couple's $1.9 million LA home was hit with a $35K tax lien in June Last month, Jax detailed some of the strategies he and Brittany were working on in hopes of saving their marriage, including therapy, on their When Reality Hits podcast. Brittany and Jax's relationship dates back to 2015, but they hit a speed bump in 2017 when he admitted to having an affair with their Vanderpump Rules costar Faith Stowers. The couple eventually reconciled and had gotten engaged by the following year, before they were married in Kentucky in 2019. They went on to welcome little Cruz in 2021. Following their firing from Vanderpump Rules in 2020, the couple began documenting the dissolution of their marriage earlier this year in the spinoff series The Valley, which also stars another former Vanderpump Rules alumna, Kristen Doute. Supermodel Adut Akech is expecting her first child with longtime partner Samuel Elkhier. The 24-year-old runway maven confirmed her pregnancy to Vogue this week and unveiled her baby bump in a stunning photo spread. 'Beyond BLESSED and CANNOT wait to meet our bundle of joy!!!' gushed Adut, who eagerly shared the news to Instagram on Wednesday. She currently has 10-weeks left in her pregnancy, making her due date sometime in October. Adut told the publication that she 'always wanted to be a young mom' and recalled the moment she knew she was pregnant. Supermodel Adut Akech is expecting her first child with longtime partner Samuel Elkhier; seen in 2023 She first suspected something was up when she randomly developed an intense, unusual craving for oranges. Then, while getting her car serviced, Adut experienced her first bout of morning sickness. 'I was picking up my car from the service center with my bag of oranges! and when driving back home, I started feeling like I was going to throw up,' she recalled to the outlet. She then started having bizarre dreams about her sister being pregnant, which inspired her to finally get tested herself. The South Sudanese-Australian beauty took five pregnancy tests, all of which came back positive. Adut is so 'excited' to be a 'young mom' and is ready for her baby to arrive. 'I always said I wanted to be a young mom because I love the idea of growing up with your kids. I'm excited. I can't wait. I'm likecan they just come already?' she said. 'I'm kind of over it and I'm just halfway.' The 24-year-old runway maven confirmed her pregnancy to Vogue this week and unveiled her baby bump in a stunning photo spread She currently has 10-weeks left in her pregnancy, making her due date sometime in October; seen in 2023 Adut admitted that her pregnancy has been a 'mental and physical rollercoaster' for her but still a 'beautiful feeling.' 'Nothing really ever prepares you for it,' the Victoria's Secret model added. 'I'm just waddling around like, "What the f**k is this? What is this?"' she told the publication with a laugh, adding: 'Women we're built different, honestly. I don't think men could ever.' As for the future, Adut revealed that she'd love to one day be a mother-of-five. After announcing her pregnancy on Instagram, Adut received an influx of congratulatory messages from fashion's elite including her close friend and 'mom figure' Naomi Campbell. 'Congratulations to my Daughter @adutakech on such a blessing can't wait to be a grandma,' the legendary catwalk queen gushed. Fellow model Winnie Harlow also left a 'congratulations' in the comment section. Former Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott wrote that he was 'OVERJOYED' for Adut and Samuel. Christy Turlington who owned the runways with Naomi as part of the elite supermodel squad of the 1990's was in awe of how 'stunning' Adut looked in her Vogue spread. Adut told the publication that she 'always wanted to be a young mom' and recalled the moment she knew she was pregnant; seen in 2022 After announcing her pregnancy on Instagram, Adut received an influx of congratulatory messages from fashion's elite including her close friend and 'mom figure' Naomi Campbell For the shoot, Adut bared her baby bump by going topless under a denim jacket as well as in another look that featured a chic bralette and blazer. Jessica Alba showed love to mom-to-be Adut by leaving three red-heart emojis on Thursday's post. Adut has been in an ultra private romance with Samuel for over a decade. In 2022, the duo reportedly got engaged but Vogue's recent Adut cover story explicitly referred to Samuel as Adut's 'partner.' The 5foot10inch beauty is among the most sought-after faces in fashion. When she was just eight-years-old, Adut and her mother moved from Kenya to Adelaide, Australia as South Sudanese refugees. She was scouted and signed to her first modeling agency at age 16. But it was Adut's Paris Fashion Week debut in the Saint Laurent show in 2016 that put her on the map. Since then, Adut has become a runway staple for the likes of Tom Ford, Miu Miu, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta and has shot countless editorials for major fashion publications. Adut has been in an ultra private romance with Samuel for over a decade; seen in 2022 The 5foot10inch beauty is among the most sought-after faces in fashion; seen in 2023 Adut has also become a fixture for Victoria's Secret in recent years. She was named 'Model Of The Year' at the 2019 British Fashion Awards and in 2020 she landed her first American Vogue cover. Adut recently posed alongside Naomi and 38 other female celebrities for British Vogue's March 2024 issue celebrating 'icons' in fashion. While promoting her new movie Borderlands at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Jamie Lee Curtis threw some savage shade at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The 65-year-old actress plays Tannis in the upcoming video game adaptation, in theaters August 9, and she took part in a group video interview for MTV. At one point in the interview with the actress, along with Edgar Ramirez (Atlas), Florian Munteanu (Krieg) and director Eli Roth, she was randomly asked what 'phase' the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently in. Without any hesitation, Curtis - who is filming Freaky Friday 2 with Lindsay Lohan - simply said, 'Bad,' which caused interviewer Josh Horowitz and her cast mates to crack up laughing. Curtis has never starred in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and seemingly never will, since this isn't the first time she's thrown some shade towards the MCU. While promoting her new movie Borderlands at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Jamie Lee Curtis threw some savage shade at the Marvel Cinematic Universe Curtis has never starred in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and seemingly never will, since this isn't the first time she's thrown some shade towards the MCU Without any hesitation, Curtis - who is filming Freaky Friday 2 with Lindsay Lohan - simply said, 'Bad,' which caused interviewer Josh Horowitz and her cast mates to crack up laughing Two years ago when she was promoting her future Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, Curtis took another stab at Marvel. She took to her Instagram in May 2022, sharing an image of The New York Times' review of Marvel's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, which also leans on multiverse themes like her film. The review by longtime NYT critic A.O. Scott stated that EEAAO's multiverse had, 'infinitely more wit and imagination,' than Doctor Strange 2's version. Curtis said in the caption, 'TRUTH ALERT @everythingeverywheremovie is MARVELOUS! It has a deep BEATING heart and BRILLIANT visual treats, EXTRAORDINARY performances and FANTASTIC BEASTLY FIGHT SCENES...... AND it COST LESS than the ENTIRE craft service budget on Doctor Strange and/or any other Marvel movie.' She added in her post, 'COMPETITIVE? F**k YES. I wasn't head cheerleader in high school for nothing. And P.S. our movie has a dynamite dildo fight scene as well as a very erotic hotdog hand mating dance and rocks.' The actress even added the hashtag, #GuessIWillNeverBeCastInAMarvelMovie to her post. Everything Everywhere All At Once went on to gross $139.4 million from a budget estimated between $14 million and $25 million. It received glowing reviews from critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it would go on to win seven Oscars, including Curtis' first for Best Supporting Actress. Two years ago when she was promoting her future Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once , Curtis took another stab at Marvel She took to her Instagram in May 2022, sharing an image of The New York Times' review of Marvel's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, which also leans on multiverse themes like her film Curtis' Borderlands is based on the beloved video game franchise of the same name, which has sold over 77 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness would go on to earn $955 million worldwide from a massive reported budget of $350 million. It also earned strong reviews, though significantly less than EEAAO with 74%, and won Best Superhero Film at the Saturn Awards. Curtis' Borderlands is based on the beloved video game franchise of the same name, which has sold over 77 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. She also stars alongside Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Arianna Greenblatt, Haley Bennett, Gina Gershon and Janina Gavankar. An Escape to the Country buyer was left 'burning and shaking' on Wednesday's episode as this week's property hunt was derailed by a bizarre stunt. The popular BBC show follows those wanting to escape busy city lives for a tranquil life in the country. And while the property search is the centre of the show - each episode always features a short segment where the hosts shows the buyers some kind of cultural activity or attraction in the area. This week's house hunters Ronnie and Claire wanted to relocate from their Watford home to Bedfordshire with the help of expert Margherita Taylor. And they took a break from looking at homes to head to the Love My Chillies farm nearby where they grow the crop so the couple could see what the local area has to offer. An Escape to the Country buyer was left 'burning and shaking' on Wednesday's episode as this week's property hunt was derailed by a bizarre stunt This week's house hunters Ronnie and Claire wanted to relocate from their Watford home to Bedfordshire with the help of expert Margherita Taylor (seen) Speaking to owner Salvatore Genovese, he gave the couple some samples one of which was a chilli called Armageddon - while a glass of milk stood on standby. Claire laughed saying: 'Ronnie will love it! It just scares me to look at it.' They tried a variety - going up in heat, with Claire tapping out after just a few while Ronnie continued eating them. Taking a bite out of one, it was clear the spice was too much as Margherita said: 'Speechless! Oh here, milk, milk!' Claire continued to laugh as Ronnie took a huge gulp of milk to ease the spice sensation. The BBC host added: 'Oh my goodness, are you shaking?!' As Salvatore wished the couple well with their house hunting, Ronnie let out another huge cough as he struggled to get over the spice. It comes after Escape to the Country fans were left emotional back in June as an old episode was aired that was presented by the late Jonnie Irwin, months after his tragic death. They took a break from looking at homes to head to the Love My Chillies farm nearby where they grow the crop so the couple could see what the local area has to offer Speaking to owner Salvatore Genovese, he gave the couple some samples one of which was a chilli called Armageddon - while a glass of milk stood on standby Taking a bite out of one, it was clear the spice was too much as Margherita said: 'Speechless! Oh here, milk, milk!' The presenter passed away in February at the age of 50, three years after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer in 2020. He left behind his wife Jessica Holmes and their young sons Rex, four, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac. In June the BBC aired a rerun of an episode from 2022 in North Yorkshire, where Jonnie was helping Ian find a new home for 350,000, after moving back to the UK from Hong Kong. But the episode was tinged with melancholy, as one of the last to feature Jonnie before his passing. Viewers couldn't help but be distracted by the sad reminder and took to social media to remember the host and praise him for his presenting skills and optimism. They wrote: 'Hearing Jonnie Irwins distinctive voice on #EscapeToTheCountry. He fought his cancer battle with dignity and no attention-seeking. God bless you, you were a brilliant presenter.' 'Episode of Escape to the Country with #JonnieIrwin is on now Tuesday 11 June. Lovely to see Jonnie still had his cheeky sense of humour; Johnnie Irwin episode today, RIP #escapetothecountry'. 'So sad to switch on the TV and hear Jonnie Irwin's voice, talking about having three kids in nappies; Great to see one of the #JonnieIrwin episodes on #EscapeToTheCountry now on BBC ONE. What a top guy & presenter he was.' Claire continued to laugh as Ronnie took a huge gulp of the standby milk to ease the spice sensation Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he was 'whacked with a cane' when he was training as a dancer as a 'corrective measure' but is 'gobsmacked' by the Strictly abuse scandal. The judge, 59, who has been on the show since its inception, appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday ahead of the 20th series. Strictly has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was 'cruel and mean'. He denies the claims. It was followed by Graziano Di Prima's sacking last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano has apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with 'how he remembers it'. Weighing in on the drama surrounding the show, Craig said: 'I'm completely gobsmacked by the whole thing. Craig Revel Horwood has revealed he was 'whacked with a cane' when he trained as a dancer but is 'gobsmacked' by the Strictly scandal The BBC show has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour. He denies the claims It was followed by Graziano Di Prima's sacking last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano apologised Craig (pictured) said when he was training as a young dancer his teacher would 'whack us with a cane' as a form of correction 'Of course I found out with the press because the judges are all kept separate from the contestants. 'The only time we ever see each other is when we are in passing going to the studio so you don't really get the opportunity to know what happens in the rehearsal room. It's not part of our jobs.' Breakfast host Naga Munchetty, 49, asked: 'Have you ever thought about how you train? I mean, obviously you have danced, and that relationship...' Craig said when he was training as a young dancer his teacher would 'whack us with a cane' as a form of correction. 'I know how I was trained and it was tough,' he admitted. 'I had a Russian ballet teacher who used to have a cane and she would whack us with it. Just so you're not pulling up from the thigh - doing a deboules, for instance, to engage your hamstrings. 'I mean obviously that sort of teaching wouldn't be available today. Things have changed and come a long way in the 40 years since I trained.' Charlie Stayt, 62, asked if he was worried about how the complaints with affect the programme, and Craig admitted he was but was pleased by the measures put in place for the new series. He added: 'Training everyone is different, what they learn they carry on into the training room. I think it's a good thing they are bringing people into the rehearsal rooms, they are mediators. 'We have chaperones in the theatre all the time, especially with children and younger people. It's a good thing to have a third eye on the whole situation.' The judge, 59, who has been on the show since its inception, appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday Weighing in on the drama surrounding the show, Craig said: 'I'm completely gobsmacked by the whole thing' Strictly celebrities will reportedly be required to undergo weekly psychological tests on the upcoming series (Craig pictured with judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke) Strictly pros have already begun rehearsing group dances for the show, which will kick off in autumn It comes as Strictly was plunged into further crisis on Monday as backstage staff branded the scandal-plagued show 'toxic and cruel'. According to The Observer, production workers at the hit dance series have alleged they were grilled on their 'sex lives'. One complained that 'talented co-workers were treated with cruelty,' while another added that the workplace environment on the show eight years ago was 'tense, toxic, uncomfortable'. One then told the publication how they had been subjected to 'sexualised comments' including queries about their sex life. A spokesperson for the BBC told the publication: 'The welfare of our crews working on each series of Strictly is always of paramount importance to us. 'We act speedily when any concerns are raised, and we have thorough, effective and longstanding processes to manage them. We do not recognise the claims relating to a negative workplace culture.' Last week after Amanda claimed Giovanni was trying to block the release of up to 50 hours of 'toxic footage' following her bullying complaint to the BBC. In an emotionally charged interview, the actress, 50, compared the dance show to 'the trenches'. She told Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips that also allegedly exhibited 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature'. The Sherlock star sensationally quit the dance competition last year citing 'personal reasons' before reports surfaced that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals after the experience with the show and her dance partner left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Giovanni, who has strongly denied any threatening or abusive behaviour, was later suspended, with the BBC later launching a probe over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda as well as other celebrities. Yet, in a dramatic twist in the Strictly saga, the actress has claimed Giovanni tried to stop her legal team from accessing the video 'evidence' after producers were forced to put cameras in the dance studio after Amanda raised concerns. 'There's 50 hours of footage that's being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic,' she told presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy. 'It's out there. There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I'm not the one who's blocking it. I've said anyone can watch it, but he (Giovanni) doesn't want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if he's got nothing to hide.' A spokesperson for Giovanni told MailOnline at the time: 'We would urge people to wait for the review's conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.' The actress said that cameras were installed into her and Giovanni's rehearsal studio after she raised concerns after the first week of practice with producers wanting to review the footage each week to assess what was 'going on' between the pair. Giovanni had claimed he had asked for the cameras, which Amanda says is untrue. 'So in the first week, I raised my concerns to the producers,' the actress explained, as she fought back tears. 'Giovanni said that he asked for the cameras, he didn't ask for the cameras, I know that he didn't ask for the cameras, because the producers came to me and said: "We're going to put in cameras so we can view the footage at the end of the week and make an assessment and see what's going on." Last week after Amanda claimed Giovanni was trying to block the release of up to 50 hours of 'toxic' footage' following her bullying complaint to the BBC In an emotionally charged interview, the actress, 50, compared the dance show to 'the trenches' telling Channel 4 News BBC producers had been left 'horrified' by clips 'And then every Friday, after the next sort of five weeks, I would get the producer saying, on the Friday, "we just watched the footage back, we are shocked and horrified, we're so sorry". 'That was to my face on the Friday when we would go in and do the camera rehearsal.' Throughout the interview, Guru-Murthy, who also starred on the 2023 series, asked whether it was correct that Amanda had experienced 'humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature', with the actress holding back tears as she nodded in agreement. 'Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things,' she said, clarifying it was not harassment. Ever since the claims first emerged Giovanni has denied all of the allegations, claiming to have provided a dossier of evidence to the BBC investigators and 'remains fully confident in clearing his name'. Disputing Amanda's claims once again following the interview, a spokesperson for the Italian dancer said: 'The BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. 'They do not resemble Amanda's latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour.' After the fallout, Amanda said she did not hear from anyone at the BBC again, claiming: 'I haven't spoken to anyone from the BBC since Strictly. 'No one from the BBC has reached out to me since Strictly, either through me or my lawyer.' The bombshell interview comes as the flagship BBC One show continues to be rocked by a string of allegations, which saw Giovanni as well as professional dancer Graziano Di Prima step down. Giovanni was accused of bullying by Amanda as well as two other, unnamed contestants. Graziano was axed from the show after allegations emerged that he kicked, hit and spat at reality TV star Zara during rehearsals last year. Gok Wan left fans convinced he was dating on Thursday after sharing a handful of photos from his current holiday in Madrid. The popular TV presenter has jetted to the Spanish capital after revealing he's in 'overwhelming pain' following the death of best friend Ali to stage four breast cancer. And he inadvertently sparked romance rumours while posing for social media photos with bearded pal Scott, a platonic friend with whom he has travelled to mainland Europe. In one photo from his current trip, Gok, 49, flashes a beaming smile as he posed alongside hitherto unseen 'travel companion' Scott. The TV stylist sported a pair of fashionable orange tinted sunglasses and wore a striped jumper around his neck as they posed together. In one sweet selfie snap, Gok, 49, can be seen beaming at the camera as he posed with his 'travel companion' named Scott Gok Wan took to his Instagram on Wednesday to post a slew of sweet snaps during his vacation in Madrid after revealing his best friend Ali had tragically passed from stage four breast cancer In another snap posted by Gok, Scott can be seen beaming towards the camera as the pair relaxed at the airport. He sported a navy blue zip-up polo top and showed off his silver fox beard. Gok captioned the post: 'Madrid youve been incredibly hot but very fun. 48Hrs is not long enough but I feel relaxed and very hydrated (hungover). Shout to my travel companion Scott' Fans of the fashion connoisseur then flocked to the comment section to compliment the star and shipped the pair by saying they 'look good together.' One fan said: 'You look good together, just saying (love heart eyes emoji); Scott is very handsome, nudge, nudge, Love you Gok (love heart emoji); 'Handsome companion.. little bit of eye candy (love heart eyes emoji).' Gok's representative has since confirmed they are just friends. It comes after Gok revealed his best friend Ali had died after battling stage four breast cancer, and shared an emotional Instagram tribute earlier this year. The star penned a moving post revealing that Ali, who was also known by the name Fanny McPhee, peacefully passed away 'with her family by her side.' Meanwhile, in another snap posted by Gok, Scott can be seen beaming towards the camera as the pair chilled at the airport In his tribute, Gok shared that he's in 'overwhelming pain' following Ali's death, and said she previously called him 'the love of her life.' He shared a selection of emotional Instagram snaps from their friendship, and a lengthy caption paying tribute to his friend. Gok wrote: 'After many years of fighting, Ali has finally ended her battle and is now at peace, resting with the stars.' 'Ali passed away today with her family by her side. Her wonderful son, Tash, who she loved with all her might, reassured us Ali was not in pain and comfortable.' 'Ali was the smartest, most courageous, sensitive and kind person any one of us could have had the privilege to meet. In my eyes, she was simply perfect.' 'We spent many years preparing for this moment but no amount of talks or planning could have prepared me for this overwhelming pain.' 'I miss her so much already. Her wisdom. Her smile. Her naughtiness. Her kind touch. Her everything. Al my love.' 'The very moment I met you I fell in love with you. We always said it was destiny that we should have met and I thank every happy thought that we did. It comes after Gok revealed his best friend Ali had died after battling stage four breast cancer , and shared an emotional Instagram tribute earlier this year The fashion guru penned a moving post revealing that Ali, who was also known by the name Fanny McPhee, peacefully passed away 'with her family by her side' 'Thank you for the best years of adventures and fun. Thank you for being every inch of you. You told me you were going to the stars and I believe you. I know that one day we will dance again, together in the skies.' 'You showed the world what it means to be vulnerable yet strong. You showed every one of us how to be brave. You will never know how loved you are because thats the sweet and unselfish person you are. I miss you soo much.' 'You used to tell me I am the love of your life. I used to tell you to shut up. I would do anything to hear you say that again.' 'We both agreed this song is one of the best vocals ever sung. How lucky were we to share so much music together. You will forever be in every song I love.' 'The night sky will always be brighter now that you are shining your beautiful light from the universe.' 'Rest now my dear Fanny. I will see you in the music my love. Your, Gok x.' Many of Gok's celebrity pals shared their sympathies in the comments, with Alan Carr writing: 'Oh Gok!! Sending you so much love - utterly heartbreaking.' Lisa Snowdon commented: 'Gok. Darling. I'm sending you so much love. What a wonderful woman and how lucky you both were to have found one another and shared so much, the laughter, the love, the dancing, so many special moments. Love to you and all who knew and loved Ali.' In his tribute, Gok shared that he's in 'overwhelming pain' following Ali's death, and said she previously called him 'the love of her life' Ashley James posted: 'Oh Gok, I'm so sorry and sending you love.' Rose Ayling-Ellis said: 'I'm so sorry for your loss,' and Lorraine Kelly added: 'Gok - so sorry.' In February, Gok revealed that he'd seen Ali for the last time following her terminal cancer diagnosis. In his first post, shared to Instagram, he wrote: 'Fannys last night in London. Not many words left.' 'I think weve said what we need to. Now we can just sit contently - that is the true beauty of friendship.' Following up with another photo, Gok added: 'My little heart is a tiny bit shattered today. Fanny is on her way back to OZ. Weve had such a magical 2 months, time we never thought wed have so thank you universe for making it happen.' He continued: 'I know she has to go home to be with her amazing Son and family Ill miss the laughs and life reckoning Bon voyage t*** face.' The BBC has delighted fans of The Repair Shop by confirming that the BAFTA-winning show will be returning to our screens in just a few weeks. Host Jay Blades will be back alongside the the show's team of resident fixers to bring viewers a brand new season of action, despite landing a number of other shows away from the popular programme. And fans don't have long to wait for the new slew of episodes, as the first instalment of the new series will get underway on Wednesday August 14 at 8pm on BBC One, reports The Sun. Jay, 54, and his highly experienced team of experts will soon be back in the barn as they prepare to undertake a whole host of fascinating and heart-warming fixes. But, with his string of exciting new ventures, the host may struggle to make time for the BBC series. The BBC has delighted fans of The Repair Shop by confirming that the BAFTA-winning show will be returning to our screens in just a few weeks (Jay Blades pictured above) Host Jay Blades will be back alongside the the show's team of resident fixers to bring viewers a brand new season of action, despite landing a number of other shows away from the popular programme (pictured with Claire Vassiloulis and Christopher Shaw) The presenter has just revealed that he will front a new Channel 5 series where he will explore the rich tapestry of a country house's history. Jay Blades: A Country House Through Time is the latest in a string of new factual programmes the presenter is hosting, and will see him explore a series of stately homes. In the four-part series, Jay will retrace the steps of the Bridgeman family and their servants, starting from the Georgian era, through the Victorian and Edwardian times, and up to the 20th Century. He told The Express: 'I am fascinated by history and I love hearing people's stories, I always have been. This series allowed me to combine both these passions as well as getting a taste of what life was really like at Weston Park.' He added: 'I was lucky enough to get hands-on experience replicating some of the main jobs of the household including being a chauffeur. I loved every moment of filming it and I can't wait to share it with Channel 5 viewers.' It comes following the news that Jay will also host West End Through Time, a two-part series that follows him exploring the origins of the West End, also for Channel 5. In the series, Jay will delve into the capital's past by speaking with historians and local cabbies to engage in the area's evolution. The first episode sees Jay head to Trafalgar Square in a traditional black cab before travelling to St Martins-in-the Field Church, where he learns about an exciting historical discovery. Jay, 54, and his highly experienced team of experts will soon be back in the barn as they prepare to undertake a whole host of fascinating and heart-warming fixes The presenter has just revealed that he will front a new Channel 5 series where he will explore the rich tapestry of a country house's history Moving on to the 17th century when the West End truly began to become a thriving entity, the presenter looks into the story of Henry Jermyn. This follows the success of his previous 2023 series, Jay Blades' East End Through Time, where he delved into the history of his childhood haunts. Jay's host of new shows comes after his fitness instructor wife Lisa, 43, walked out on him in May, saying their 18-month marriage 'just got worse and worse, until I grabbed a bag of a few things and I left'. Following reports the online fitness instructor was planning a 'quick divorce' it's now been claimed her pupils have been doing everything they can to support her. A source told The Sun: 'There are a lot of women who have gone through hard times in their life and Lisa's exercise workouts have been a bit like therapy and helped them through. 'So, this is very much their way of trying to give something back to her'. Adding: 'A couple of the women have even agreed to act as organisers, and have asked for people to donate funds to them, which would then be forwarded to help Lisa.' It is unclear if Lisa has accepted the donations and MailOnline have contacted her reps for comment. It comes after his fitness instructor wife Lisa, 43, walked out on him in May, saying their 18-month marriage 'just got worse and worse' Following their separation Lisa has moved into a new home and is concentrating on growing her business, a source told The Sun Last month it was claimed Lisa was planning a 'quickie' divorce after deciding there is 'no way back' for them. She was said to have has spoken with her lawyers and has now told friends she plans to move on from the breakdown of their marriage quickly. Following their separation Lisa has moved into a new home and is concentrating on growing her business, a source told The Sun. MailOnline contacted Lisa's representatives for comment at the time. She announced her split from the TV star, who she married in November 2022, in an emotional social media post on May 2. She said: 'I have been quiet until now, but the papers seem to be picking up this story, but some parts have been definitely missed, so it's forced my hand... 'This was the whole post on a private forum: I don't know how to say this because it's still really raw. 'I probably should be really angry but I'm just incredibly sad about the whole thing right now. I don't think I've ever cried so much. 'I wanted my husband to love me & keep me safe, and I would love him right back, but it just got worse and worse, until I grabbed a bag of a few thing's & I just left. Anyway, That's why there's been no new wkouts [workouts].' The Repair Shop is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. This video is no longer available This video is no longer available Kylie Minogue looked sensational as she climbed onto the DJ decs to dance to her new song Edge of Saturday Night at Pikes club in Ibiza on Wednesday. The Aussie icon, 56, showcased her age defying figure as she slipped into a skimpy cut-out bodysuit which she teamed with a dramatic pink fringed T-shirt. Kylie completed the look with fishnets and shades as she danced alongside American DJ The Blessed Madonna, who wrote the track. The Padam Padam hitmaker enthusiastically climbed up onto the decks as the audience cheered before making her way into the crowd. Kylie kicked out her long toned legs and threw her arms in the air clearly loving every moment of the impromptu performance. Kylie Minogue, 56, looked sensational as she climbed onto the DJ to dance to her new song Edge of Saturday Night at Pikes club in Ibiza on Wednesday. The Aussie icon showcased her age defying figure as she slipped into a skimpy cut-out bodysuit which she teamed with a dramatic pink fringed T-shirt. Kylie completed the look with fishnets and shades as she danced alongside American DJ The Blessed Madonna , who wrote the track Sharing her own clips to Instagram, the DJ gave an insight into the origins of the new song and said how Kyle 'breathed an energy' into the upbeat dance track. 'This song is about edges. I started this song when we were on the edge of lockdown, writing lyrics on the edge of being a new person, on the edge of levelling up as a producer,' they explained. 'The song went on a journey but finally found its edge when Kylie came into my life and breathed an energy into Edge, and into me.' It comes just hours after Kylie T shared photos to Instagram from her night out at the DC10 nightclub for the venue's iconic Circoloco dance party. Wearing a black mini skirt and fishnet stockings, the songstress threw her hands in the air as she danced on tables. She completed her look with a black top and chunky boots as she partied the night away with patrons at the venue. 'Well, that was fun A few more lil Ibiza mems!' she captioned the images. Kylie has had a jam-packed year after the success of her smash hit track Padam Padam and recently became emotional as she performed at BST Hyde Park. The Padam Padam hitmaker enthusiastically climbed up onto the decks as the audience cheered Kylie kicked out her long toned legs and threw her arms in the air clearly loving every moment of the impromptu performance Kylie took to the mic to introduce the track The pop star marked a career milestone at the iconic event, returning to perform at the festival for the first time in nine years after last appearing in 2015. 'I knew you were gonna be here tonight, but you still take my breath away, thank you,' she told the 65,000 strong crowd. 'I'm really aware the last time I played BST was nine years ago, so much has happened for me, for you, for all of us. But we are here and I am so, so grateful. 'Nine years ago was so different because so many [of my] songs didn't exist,' she said, mentioning her 2023 album Tension and its success.' 'I want to bottle this feeling, every artist would. It's because of you and I wish I had a better segue but Hold onto Now,' she added, before launching into the hit song. Amid her huge success, Kylie also recently teased how she plans to retire after being offered a lifetime Las Vegas residency, according to the Mirror. It comes just hours after Kylie T shared photos to Instagram from her night out at the DC10 nightclub for the venue's iconic Circoloco dance party Wearing a black mini skirt and fishnet stockings, the Padam Padam hitmaker threw her hands in the air as she danced on tables Pictured with DJ The Blessed Madonna 'They have offered me a lifelong residency,' she told the Mirror of Voltaire, where she played her residency from November 2023 to May this year. 'Let's see, I might do the classic and end up there, it was brilliant, the shows got crazier. 'It was what I hoped it would be. It was a cross between a 70s cabaret club and Studio 54 people got quite wild.' Frankie Skinner revealed he's 'offended' by his old 'brutal' jokes from the 1990s as he is now 'educated' by cancel culture. The comedian, 67, said it was the 'norm' to crack racist and sexist jokes when he broke through however, he now feels woke politics has 'had an effect' on him. Frankie admitted his comedy act has not altered due to cancel culture but instead he has 'changed' as a person since becoming a parent. Speaking on The Today podcast, he said: 'Sometimes even on videos of me from the 90s, I see myself do a joke and I think "oh, I wouldn't do that now" because it might be a joke I now find a bit offensive. 'It's interesting this because the most asked question is "can you do stand up comedy in the age of woke politics" and all that stuff. Frankie Skinner revealed he's 'offended' by his old 'brutal' jokes from the 1990s as he is now 'educated' by cancel culture The comedian, 67, said it was the 'norm' to crack racist and sexist jokes when he broke through however, he now feels woke politics has 'had an effect' on him (pictured in 1995) 'But, my comedy is very autobiographical, I don't make anything up, it's just things that have happened in my life which I process through my comedy head. 'So, it's the other way around, I change and then my act changes. 'All this recent woke politics of the last 10 years, has had an effect on me, I've become a parent during that period. 'When I was growing up in the West Midlands, I got to be brutal, racist, language, sexist, language, homophobic, it was absolutely the norm. 'It wasn't that I wasn't listening to the alternate voice, there was no alternate voice. I didn't even question it. 'But I do question it now and I have questioned it a lot. I think most of us have in recent years, I don't feel forced or bullied by woke politics - I feel educated by it.' Frankie explained he didn't feel 'bullied' by woke politics, but has learnt from it and questioned why fellow performers 'get done' for historical things they've said if they're willing to learn from it. He continued: 'So, I see stuff now and I think I wouldn't do that now. Frankie admitted that his comedy act has not altered due to cancel culture but instead he has 'changed' as a person since becoming a parent 'But at the same time, it's healthy to think that, because I don't want to think of my life in stasis. 'This is a problem, I think, when people get done for historical things they said or done. 'I think the idea that we can improve, the idea that you can re-think your attitudes, there's no point in woke politics if that doesn't work.' Frank said he's been known as a 'blue comedian' during his stand-up career of which 'a lot' of it about sex. 'I don't talk about my current sex life for the same reason I don't talk about climbing trees,' he added. 'And so I thought it's time to change and to become more sophisticated and to clean up a bit because older people, and this is definitely ageist, but older people being rude sometimes can be a bit unsettling. 'And basically I failed in that task.' Fellow comic Ricky Gervais has been incredibly vocal about his disapproval of the woke phenomenon and more recently Jimmy Carr said he will never apologise for his comedy. Back in 2021, Ricky slammed cancel culture and described 'wokeness' as 'a weird sort of fascism' amid calls for 'the free exchange of information and ideas.' He said: 'There's this new weird sort of fascism of people thinking they know what you can say and what you can't and it's a really weird thing. Just because you're offended it doesn't mean you're right.' Fellow comic Ricky Gervais (L) has been incredibly vocal about his disapproval of the woke phenomenon and more recently Jimmy Carr (R) said he will never apologise for his comedy The Afterlife star previously said on talkRadio: 'There's this new trendy myth that people who want free speech want to say awful things all the time. 'It's just isn't true, it protects everyone. If you're mildly left-wing on Twitter, you're suddenly Trotsky, right? 'If you're mildly conservative, you're Hitler and if you're centrist and you look at both arguments, you're a coward. Just because you're offended it doesn't mean you're right.' Meanwhile Jimmy admitted he doesn't engage with criticism regarding his comedy as he argued that jokes 'are like magnets, they attract some people and repel others'. Appearing on The Development by David Podcast, he said: 'I try not to engage. I try as best as I can to go it's absolutely valid that people don't like some of my jokes. 'Jokes are like magnets, they attract some people and repel others. Some people are repelled by my sense of humour, they do not like it and they don't come to the shows, or watch the Netflix specials. 'But when the new Netflix drops a clip will go up online and it will show up in someone's feed and they'll watch it and go, "Ban this filth, this joke is so terrible I've got to send it to everyone I f***ing know." But you gotta rightsize that.' He recalled: 'I remember James Corden was very sweet last time I got cancelled. He phoned me and went, "What's happened? No, I'll tell you what's happened. You told a joke and some people didn't like it. That's it. Let's go get lunch".' In his 2022 Netflix special His Dark Material, Jimmy faced backlash after he joked that the deaths of 'thousands of Gypsies' at the hands of Nazis had been one of 'the positives' of the Holocaust. He said: 'When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy of 6 million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. 'No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.' He then explained why he thought it was a 'good joke', saying that it was 'f**king funny', 'edgy as all hell' and because it had an 'educational quality'. The joke caused widespread backlash and prompted a debate about racism and free speech. Emmerdale fans are unhappy with the soap's latest heartbreaking storyline and have accused it of 'ripping off' sister soap Coronation Street. Keen followers of the iconic soap opera will be up to date with the plotline that involves Ella Forster (Paula Lane) and her shock pregnancy. The complex character first arrived at the village earlier this year and was harbouring a huge secret about her past. It was later revealed that she was previously known as Ruth and had actually committed murder at the age of 11, leading her to spend time in prison before relocating around Britain. As she made the move to the Yorkshire Dales, the character got into a relationship with GP Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), but kept her complicated history a secret. Emmerdale fans are unhappy with the soap's latest heartbreaking storyline and are claiming it's 'ripping off' Coronation Street (Ella Forster played by Paula Lane pictured above) A recent Corrie storyline saw Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) be under the impression she was pregnant, before finding out she instead tragically had ovarian cancer Once Liam found out, he broke things off with her as it was too much for him, particularly after his own daughter Leanna (Mimi Slinger) was murdered. The revelation coming to light saw Ella leave her life in Emmerdale behind back in June, but she has recently graced our screens once again following a car accident. However, a jaw-dropping twist revealed that Ella was pregnant with Liam's baby, with her breaking the news to her friend Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley). Things took another distressing turn when the character received the upsetting news that she wasn't actually pregnant during Tuesday's episode of the soap opera. Troubling scenes saw the character be informed she had an anembryonic pregnancy, which is also known as a blighted ovum or silent miscarriage. While some fans were gripped by the storyline, others were unimpressed as they made comparisons to plot points in rival programmes Coronation Street and EastEnders. EastEnders saw Natalie Cassidy's character, Sonia Fowler, find out that she had suffered a blighted ovum, following a round of IVF and initial struggles to conceive. Meanwhile, a recent Corrie storyline saw Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) be under the impression she was pregnant, before finding out she instead tragically had ovarian cancer. Meanwhile, EastEnders saw Natalie Cassidy's character, Sonia Fowler, find out that she had suffered a blighted ovum, following a round of IVF and initial struggles to conceive Keen fans of all three soap operas took to social media to compare plotlines and accuse writers of not being able to come up with 'original ideas' Keen fans of all three soap operas took to social media to compare plotlines and accuse writers of not being able to come up with 'original ideas'. Viewers on X (formerly Twitter), sparked conversation by quipping: 'They're doing a Toyah to Ella #Emmerdale.' 'Can these soap writers not come up with any original ideas? First Sonia in #Eastenders has a blighted ovum. Now Ella in #Emmerdale has had a blighted ovum.' In a Reddit thread, another user remarked: 'Character is pregnant but when they go to hospital there is no baby, seems a familiar storyline for some reason Toyah Corrie.' 'So, (spoiler) Toyah in #corrie and Ella in #Emmerdale have the same storyline.' 'Ella like toyah on #corrie she thought she was prego as well #emmerdale.' 'Damn #Cancer Toyah #Corrie #Emmerdale Ella and both running same time.' 'If Ella isnt pregnant is this going to be a cancer storyline like Toyahs #Emmerdale.' Meanwhile, a more lighthearted conversation also took place on social media following Tuesday's dramatic episode of the soap, surrounding Caleb Milligan (William Ash) The character was chowing down on what looked like an entire chicken, presented on a chopping board Finding the strange detail amusing, fans took to X to confirm that they weren't the only ones who noticed it Meanwhile, a more lighthearted conversation also took place on social media following Tuesday's dramatic episode of the soap. Caleb Milligan (William Ash) and his wife Ruby Fox-Milligan (Beth Cordingly) had headed to The Woolpack for a quiet meal after receiving the bad news that a fire had broken out at his car dealership while he was away on holiday. But as the pair mulled over who could have been behind the suspected arson attack, viewers attention was caught by something else entirely - the food on Caleb's plate. The character was chowing down on what looked like an entire chicken, presented on a chopping board. Finding the strange detail amusing, fans took to X to confirm that they weren't the only ones who noticed it, hilariously writing: 'Caleb ordering a full chicken to himself #Emmerdale.' 'That was a s*** episode except for Caleb's chicken #emmerdale.' 'Is Caleb eating a whole chicken? #Emmerdale.' 'I hope the Caleb eats whole chicken for lunch scenes win something at the National Soap Awards - best storyline @emmerdale has done in ages! Burger tomorrow?!' 'Was Caleb eating a chicken, a full chicken #Emmerdale.' 'So The Woolpack must be doing alright if they can afford to dish up whole chickens as an actual dish for one #emmerdale.' An iconic eighties pop band looked completely unrecognisable as they performed at a festival in Sheffield 43 years after releasing their global smash hit. The Human League, made up of Phil Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley, looked worlds away from their younger selves as Phillip, 68, now rocks a shaved head. The group, who released number one hit Don't You Want Me in 1981, proved they've still got it as they took to the stage to perform to fans. Joanne and Susan, both 61, turned heads in glamorous all black outfits complete with up hair dos and a pair of sunglasses. The group was initially formed in the 70s, comprising of Phillip, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh. An iconic eighties pop band looked completely unrecognisable as they performed at a festival in Sheffield 43 years after releasing their global smash hit The Human League is made up of Joanne Catherall (left), Phil Oakey (centre) and Susan Ann Sulley (right) and released number one hit Don't You Want Me in 1981 (pictured in 1990) But after Martyn clashed with Phillip, he and Ian quit the band in 1980. Phillip later discovered Joanne and Susan during a night out at Crazy Daisy nightclub in Sheffield and asked them to join The Human League. The new line-up went on to win a Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 1982. Susan previously opened up about the process of joining the group, telling the Belfast Telegraph: 'Philip saw Joanne and me together at the club, but he hadn't heard us sing. 'We were obviously friends and looked after each other. We did an audition and Joanne and I got the gig. 'I was 17 and Joanne was 18 and our parents had said no to joining a band - it was something they wouldn't have contemplated. 'We eventually got them to meet Philip and when they did they realised he was very professional - it was a job, it wasn't anything weird or sinister.' The Human League will be taking to the stage again at Colchester Castle for their 80's Calling! festival this weekend. The group looked worlds away from their younger selves as Phil now rocks a shaved head Later this year, The Human League will perform eight huge arena shows in the run-up to Christmas on their Generations 2024 European tour (pictured Susan) The Human League in 1981 with former band-member Philip Adrian Wright (top left) The trio will then go onto perform at Deva Fest at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire in August to round out their festival season. Later this year, The Human League will perform eight huge arena shows in the run-up to Christmas on their Generations 2024 European tour. It was announced last year that they will have two incredible support acts joining them in the likes of Cardiff, Manchester, London, Glasgow and Birmingham. The special guests at all shows will be hitmaker Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Human Leagues fellow 80s icons TPau. A Coronation Street legend has teased that he could be making a spectacular return to the soap - despite his character dropping dead five years ago. Nigel Havers could be bringing trouble to the Cobbles yet again if he reprises his role as the villainous conman Lewis Archer. Appearing on Tuesday's instalment of Good Morning Britain, the 72-year-old actor hinted that his Corrie villain could be making a fourth shock return - but this time from beyond the grave. His character was first seen on our TV screens back in 2009 as a love interest for Audrey Roberts, leaving her heartbroken when he stole 4,000 from Barlow's Bookies and fled the country. The conman, who was also a male escort, returned to the soap in 2012, insisting that he is a changed man. A Coronation Street legend has teased that he could be making a spectacular return to the soap - despite his character dropping dead five years ago Nigel Havers could be bringing trouble to the Cobbles yet again if he reprises his role as the villainous conman Lewis Archer However, he soon got up to his old tricks and fleeced Audrey's daughter Gail Platt out of 40,000 by pretending to be in love with her, before leaving again. And just when the family thought they had escaped Lewis, he made a comeback for a third time five years later, putting a plan in motion with a clairvoyant in order to extort more cash from Gail. He was eventually caught out and was forced to return the money and spend two months in jail, which led Audrey to think he was finally a changed man. But, in classic soap opera style, there was no happy ending and instead their relationship ended when Nigel Havers' character passed away suddenly on New Year's Day in 2019. Speaking to GMB hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh, the actor confessed: 'We always talk about Corrie.. You never know, I may come back!' And although this is the biggest hint yet, it's not the first time Nigel has teased the character's comeback. Chatting on Loose Women back in 2019, he said he would 'always' love to return to the soap. The actor said she 'absolutely loved' playing the villainous character and while it seemed unlikely at the time that Nigel could ever return to the soap, the panel went onto say that there are still conspiracy theories that his character is alive. Appearing on Tuesday's instalment of Good Morning Britain , the 72-year-old actor hinted that his Corrie villain could be making a fourth shock return - but this time from beyond the grave His character was first seen on our TV screens back in 2009 as a love interest for Audrey Roberts, leaving her heartbroken when he stole 4,000 from Barlow's Bookies and fled the country The conman, who was also a male escort, returned to the soap in 2012, insisting that he is a changed man. Jst when the family thought they had escaped Lewis, he made a comeback for a third time five years later, putting a plan in motion with a clairvoyant in order to extort more cash from Gail During the interview, Nigel reflected on his time playing Lewis, alongside his ongoing romance with Audrey Roberts. Despite his wicked ways, many soap fans grew to love their relationship, and fans were stunned when he dropped dead of a heart attack with an engagement ring for Audrey in his hands. When asked whether he could ever be resurrected, Nigel said: 'I'd always go back. I absolutely loved doing it. 'The people are so nice and the story lines are so great. I call myself a letterbox actor which means anything that comes through the letterbox, I do.' He continued: 'I played a charmer years ago and this was an updated version. In the end I turned out to be really nice. I had the engagement ring in my pocket.' The panel went onto reveal that there are conspiracy theories rife that Lewis is still alive, and Nigel refused to confirm or deny the possibility that we could see him in Weatherfield again in the future. He added: 'You just don't know. Or he has a twin brother somewhere. Or maybe I'm in Barbados waiting to come back.' It comes as legendary actress Helen Worth, 73, recently announced she will leave the cobbles for good after 50 years, and show bosses are pulling at all the stops. It comes as legendary actress Helen Worth, 73, recently announced she will leave the cobbles for good after 50 years, and show bosses are pulling at all the stops (pictured in 2019) According to The Sun , Gail will have a happy ending after all as she will l rekindle her romance with Martin Platt and sail off into the sunset According to The Sun, Gail will have a happy ending after all as she will l rekindle her romance with Martin Platt and sail off into the sunset. Sean Wilson, 59, who is widely known for his role as Martin in the ITV soap, will reportedly make his return for her final scenes after quitting the show in 2005 to become a cheese-maker. And although the pair's ten-year union ended when Sean's character Martin had an affair, he is considered the most successful relationship in Gail's previous five marriages. A source told The Sun: 'A number of options were considered for Gails departure from the cobbles but bosses knew the moment needed to truly celebrate one of Corries most iconic characters as well as honour Helens astonishing run on the soap.' 'It just didnt sit right to kill her off or have Gail suffer more tragedy after, lets face it, a pretty traumatic life. 'Martin was always considered the one that got away and bosses are thrilled theyve been able to tempt Sean back to wave Gail goodbye.' The source also revealed viewers should expect to see 'many twists and turns' but the scriptwriters want Gail's story to end with a happy ending. MailOnline has contacted ITV representatives for comment. Suri Cruise, the daughter of Katie Holmes, 45, and Tom Cruise, 61, was spotted stepping out with pals on Wednesday in New York City. The teen cut a casual figure in an off-the-shoulder ribbed dark green top, paired with colorful baggy trousers. Suri, 18, wore slip on sandals and had a large bag slung over one shoulder. The brunette teenager - who is now using her mother's middle name as a last name - is set to head off to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh in the fall. Suri Cruise , the daughter of Katie Holmes , 45, and Tom Cruise , 61, was spotted stepping out with pals on Wednesday in New York City The teen cut a casual figure in an off-the-shoulder ribbed dark green top, paired with colorful baggy trousers Her sighting comes weeks after she attended her high school prom with with her boyfriend Toby Cohen. Suri revealed her college in a TikTok where she and her friends wore each other their chosen college's sweatshirt, revealing the name to the camera. The teen, whose famous father has had no part in her upbringing, has always been determined to forge her own way. She applied to a host of colleges with the artistic teen 'leaning towards' studying fashion. Carnegie Mellon's School of Design is one of the oldest and most highly ranked programs in the country. Now, with her acceptance into its hallowed halls, a notably chic mother and a wardrobe said to be worth $5million, Suri is off to the best possible start if that is her chosen path. One insider told DailyMail.com: 'She is a smart girl, and she is turning into a very intelligent mature young woman. She has a very close group of loyal friends, and she knows exactly where she comes from.' But though Holmes will surely be proud of her daughter's stellar achievement sources say she is 'overwhelmed' at the thought of sending her little girl off to college. Speaking recently, one told DailyMail.com: 'Katie takes great pride in her but is also extremely overprotective.' Perhaps it's little wonder given that, for the past 11 years, Holmes has effectively raised Suri solo. Dad Cruise seen with a very young Suri on the streets of Manhattan in 2008 when he was still wed to Holmes; seen in 2008 MailOnline revealed in 2016 that Katie feared she would lose Suri to Scientology, after seeing how Tom's first wife Nicole Kidman became distanced from the children she adopted with him - pictured in 2018 Katie and Tom are pictured with a baby Suri in 2006 - heading to their wedding rehearsal dinner in Italy Tom's only input to his daughter's life has been financial and he hasn't been seen with his daughter since 2013, after Holmes quit both the marriage and the Church of Scientology the religion to which Cruise is so devoted. According to their divorce settlement, Cruise agreed to pay Holmes $400,000 a year until Suri turned 18 and will continue to pay for her college fees as well. Under the terms of their agreement, though he may be physically absent from his daughter's life, he has and will continue to cover, 'medical, dental, insurance, education, college and other extracurricular costs.' Hollywood legend Vin Diesel gate crashed a German TikTok star's secret wedding last week. The actor, 57, sweetly posed with the bride and groom during their nuptials after he unexpectedly came across them while on his way to a film set. Just moments after German influencer Matthias Hoehn, 28, and his wife Lejila tied the knot in Munich, they spotted Vin getting out of a limo. As the car stopped, Vin's security guard stepped out of the limo and told the newlyweds: I have someone who would like to congratulate you on your wedding.' The A-lister happened to come across the couple as he arrived in Germany after travelling across Europe. Hollywood legend Vin Diesel, 57, gate crashed a German TikTok star's secret wedding last week (Matthias Hoehn and his wife Lejila pictured) Just moments after German influencer Matthias Hoehn, 28, and his wife Lejila tied the knot in Munich, they spotted Vin getting out of a limo Speaking of the moment, the gorgeous bride told German newspaper Bild: 'It was pure coincidence. Vin Diesel was driving past our photo location in a car.' She added: 'Unfortunately, we don't know exactly where he was going. We were too excited to ask. But he was in a very good mood. A very likable person, so friendly and accommodating.' 'He even took some time for us and, among other things, wished us lots of love, happiness and health in our marriage. It was such an amazing feeling.' Matthias, who boasts 1.4million followers on TikTok, married Lejla in an intimate ceremony after meeting in October 2023. He is known for playing the hardman in action movies, but Vin Diesel is now making a name for himself in the music world. The Fast and Furious star is the surprise guest vocal on Dimitri Vegas and Zion's new dance track 'Don't Stop The Music'. DJ and producer Dimitri said he was desperate to get the Hollywood star involved as he knew he would bring something special to it. Dimitri also felt the track could be the start of a new career for Vin - whose voice is easily recognisable as the track begins. The actor sweetly posed with the bride and groom during their nuptials after he unexpectedly came across them while on his way to a film set The A-lister was happened to come across the couple as he arrived in Germany after travelling across Europe Matthias, who boasts 1.4million followers on TikTok, married Lejla in an intimate ceremony after meeting in October 2023 'I was super happy when Vin confirmed to be on the track, I knew his voice would really make this even more powerful,' said Dimitri - who is part of Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. 'Vin is an incredible actor and massive force on the screen, I'm sure he's going to have the same success in music as he has in the film world.' The Pacifier star isn't the first celebrity to team up with Dimitri, as he has previously worked with Paris Hilton to make her song 'Best Friend's Ass'. Meanwhile, Nicole Scherzinger joined him at his Ibiza residency at Ushuaia a couple of years ago to perform their hit 'The Drop', which also featured David Guetta. Emma Corrin and Rami Malek looked chic and summery as they stepped out for a date night in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. The couple, who have been dating since 2923, were spotted outside city's legendary Bel Air hotel during their latest appearance together. Emma, 28 - currently taking a break from promoting their new film Deadpool & Wolverine - and Rami, 43, both opted for casual looks on the night. The Crown star - who identifies as non-binary - wore a pair of wide, loose-fitting black trousers with a diagonal ruffled pattern and a simple white tank top. They accessorised with a pair of heavily tinted black sunglasses and plain black flip flops. Emma Corrin and Rami Malek looked chic and summery as they stepped out on a date night in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening The couple, who have been dating since last year, were spotted outside The Bel Air hotel on Wednesday evening looking relaxed and chic in the warm evening Rami, wore a pair of cream chinos and a light cotton shirt. He added a cream cap to his look and sported a pair of black and white Adidas sambas for the warm evening. The Crown actor has been promoting their latest project which sees the star play the character of Charles Xavier aka Professor X's evil sister Cassandra Nova in the new Marvel crossover, which features Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprise their titular roles. Last week, Emma and their cast mates took to the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to host a secret screening of the Marvel crossover film. But Emma has been taking a break from the press tour and was seen on Monday looking relaxed with their partner Rami. Emma, who played Princess Diana in The Crown, opted for a loose-fitting vest top and ripped denim shorts as they draped their arm around the No Time To Die actor. The pair have only been dating for a year, having been first spotted together last summer at a Bruce Springsteen gig in Hyde Park. They were soon seen together again looking 'besotted' on a dinner date in Margate, Kent. However, their relationship was confirmed only in September when they were photographed kissing while on a London walk. Bond villain Rami had previously been in a five-year relationship with British actress Lucy Boynton, but they separated in early 2023 (pictured together in February 2020) And at the BAFTA Awards in February, they looked particularly smitten. In June, they reportedly moved into a 5 million house together in Hampstead, North London A source told The Sun at the time: 'They have got a 5million house together in Hampstead and moved in together a few weeks ago. 'Rami and Emma are both really serious about each other Even though they've only been dating for 11 months they are moving quickly because for them, this relationship feels like forever.' Bond villain Rami had previously been in a five-year relationship with British actress Lucy Boynton, but they separated in early 2023 after apparently 'growing apart'. However by this summer, rumours began to fly about a blossoming romance between Rami and Emma, with sources dishing about their 'loved-up dates'. 'They were very passionate and looking into each other's eyes,' said a source who caught sight of them at the restaurant. 'Rami and Emma just seemed totally besotted with each other and paid no attention to anyone else.' Michelle Williams was spotted out and about in New York City with her daughter Matilda Ledger on Tuesday. The 43-year-old Dawson's Creek alum held hands with 18-year-old Matilda, whose father is the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died in 2008 at age 28. Their outing comes amid news that Britney Spears' memoir The Woman In Me - which Michelle successfully narrated - is set to become a major motion picture. Matilda stood slightly taller than the petite actress, who was clad in a yellow, patterned shift dress. The mother-of-three, who also shares two kids with husband Thomas Kail, 47, accessorized with a lime green netted purse and dark sunglasses. Her casual summer look was punctuated with a pair of brown, leather sandals. Michelle Williams, 43, was spotted out and about in New York City with her daughter Matilda Ledger, 18, on Tuesday Matilda stood slightly taller than the petite actress, who was clad in a yellow, patterned shift dress Michelle's short blond hair was parted on the side and slicked behind her ears. Her teenage daughter wore a vintage, white Cassius Clay T-shirt with loose-fitting white pants with a red stripe going down the sides of the legs. Cassius Clay is the birth name of late boxer Muhammad Ali who was born in 1942. Her tousled light brown hair was parted down the middle as it fell around her face and over her shoulders. The teen carried a black tote over her shoulder as she flaunted a short, lime green manicure. Matilda's getup was finished with a pair of black Adidas sneakers. For her 18th birthday last October, she received a sentimental gift from the paternal side of her family. The Ledgers gifted her Heath's Best Supporting Actor Oscar, which he won posthumously for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Heath's parents, Kim and Sally Ledger, and older sister Kate accepted the trophy on his behalf during the 2009 Oscars. The 43-year-old Dawson's Creek alum held hands with 18-year-old Matilda, whose father is the late actor Heath Ledger Matilda's father, Australian actor Heath Ledger, died in 2008 at the age of 28 Williams was in a relationship with Ledger from 2004 to 2007 after meeting on the set of Brokeback Mountain; pictured in 2005 The actor passed away after taking a fatal cocktail of drugs, leaving behind his daughter, who was two-years-old at the time. Williams, who was in a relationship with Heath from 2004 to 2007 after meeting on the set of Brokeback Mountain, chose to raise Matilda away from the spotlight. She moved to Upstate New York and said that the move came from her desire to provide 'a sane home environment' for her daughter. She told the New York Post in June 2016: 'We moved we left Brooklyn and lived in the country for six years because it was an intolerable state of existence.' Years later, Michelle returned to the city. Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B has filed for divorce from her estranged husband Offset after seven years of marriage. The 31-year-old performer is reportedly 'seeking primary custody' of their children Kulture, five, and a son, Wave, two. 'Theyve grown apart. Thats what drove her to this decision more than anything else,' an insider told Page Six. 'This is something she wants to do.' The reports come just one day after Offset denied he was unfaithful. On Thursday, Offset denied that he was out 'publicly cheating' after he was seen sitting next to a woman called PrettyRedz at a casino. Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B has filed for divorce after six years of marriage from her estranged husband Offset; seen in 2019 'People really need to do the research I'm at a public place gambling at a casino with a married 8 month pregnant woman. [What the f***] I look like being outside publicly cheating [shaking my head!' he said during an Instagram Live. Offset's (born Kiari Kendrell Cephus) vehement denial of the cheating rumors wound up confusing people into thinking he was referring to his 31-year-old wife as pregnant, which her rep quickly denied to TMZ on Wednesday. PrettyRedz is actually seven months pregnant with the child of her late husband Kyng Rocky, who tragically passed away on June 18. 'It's completely crazy that I even have to do this! Please! If not for me, please respect my late husband! I am just beginning to grieve! Having a night out with my family is definitely not an opportunity for click bait!' PrettyRedz wrote via Instastory on Tuesday. 'I am carrying the last gift my husband will give this Earth! All I want is peace! If [you're] looking for a story, there is nothing to see here! Please respect all families involved. Y'all make up things not caring about the impact! Please stop. I'm pregnant as well! You people are sick [as f***] out here [shaking my head].' The on/off hip-hop power couple allegedly separated again last November, but they put on a strong united front at Disneyland Paris with their children on July 9. While gracing the cover of Rolling Stone's June issue, she spoke about their relationship and what attracted her to him. 'When I met Offset, he was super rich and I just got my f***ing first $200,000 in the bank,' she recalled. 'He never made me feel like I was little to him. He actually always used to tell me, "You a f***ing superstar, watch.'" She is seeking primary custody of their children Kulture, five, and a son, Wave, two (seen in 2023) His support was a breath of fresh air, compared to a previous partner, who she said would make her feel too loud, broke and skinny. 'Once I cut him off and I stopped caring about what he [thought] about me, I started doing videos on Instagram. Thats how I got famous,' the WAP hitmaker remembered. While discussing the challenges in her marriage, the performer admitted they both had their own shortcomings. 'We have our own bad stuff,' she said. 'Were from two different worlds. Sometimes I cannot be not that I cannot be a wife. Its just like, my career takes my life. You know what Im saying? My career comes first, then my kids come second. And then sometimes I dont realize that Im putting so many things before my relationship.' Still, the performer says she doesn't 'want to grow.' Offset and Cardi (born Belcalis Almanzar) previously separated from December 5, 2018 to January 31, 2019 amid cheating allegations The three-time Grammy nominee and the Grammy winner went on their first date at the 2017 Super Bowl, and they've been married for over six years; seen in 2023 'I remember last year when we was going through our hard time. And its like, Put your album out. Youre overstressing. When was the last time we went on a vacation? And its like, I dont got time to go on a vacation, because this comes first. This comes first and then my kids come second. The little things I have to take care of then comes. I sometimes feel like I do probably put my relationship last,' Cardi stated. When asked if she had made a decision about her relationship, the Grammy winner explained that she and Offset are 'best friends.' 'We think it through, because we do love each other. Its not even about love. Were best friends. And its like, "OK. Well, there was a time that I didnt have a best friend, or I didnt have a support system." Its not even about "How do you leave a partner? How do you stop talking to your best friend,"' she explained. Offset and Cardi (born Belcalis Almanzar) previously separated from December 5, 2018 to January 31, 2019 amid cheating allegations. Offset and Cardi are proud parents of six-year-old daughter and two-year-old son (pictured in 2023) The three-time Grammy nominee and the Grammy winner went on their first date at the 2017 Super Bowl, and they've been married for over six years. Offset and Cardi are proud parents of six-year-old daughter and two-year-old son. The Georgia-born ex-con fathered 14-year-old son Jordan Cephus with babymama #1 Oriel Jamie. Offset also fathered nine-year-old son Kody Cephus with babymama #2 Justine Watson and nine-year-old daughter Kalea Marie Cephus with babymama #3 Shya L'amour. The Migos alum - who gets 31.5M monthly listeners on Spotify - is next scheduled to headline the second day of Chinese music festival Hype Fest, which takes place August 11 at the Hangzhou Steelworks Park. Offset originally began his career at age 11 in 2002 as a back-up dancer for Whitney Houston's music video for her single Whatchulookinat. Meanwhile, the half-Dominican, half-Trinidadian star has yet to release the sophomore follow-up to her 2018 debut studio album Invasion of Privacy. Sharon Stone showed off a black eye in a photo that went viral on social media on Wednesday. The blonde Oscar nominee has been traveling throughout Europe this summer - she has been in Cannes, Rome and Turkey. The Basic Instinct actress said that the trip has been 'tough' but she is 'tougher' as she posed in a black and white outfit. Fans were concerned about what happened to the 66-year-old former Playboy model. And on Thursday morning the Casino star explained exactly how she got bruised in an Instagram post from Turkey that was captioned, 'Black eye update.' Sharon Stone showed off a black eye in a photo that went viral on social media on Wednesday. The blonde Oscar nominee has been traveling throughout Europe this summer - she has been in Cannes, Rome and Turkey The Basic Instinct actress said that the trip has been 'tough' but she is 'tougher' as she posed in a black and white outfit. Fans were concerned about what happened to the 66-year-old former Playboy model. And on Thursday morning the Casino star explained exactly how she got bruised in an Instagram post captioned, 'Black eye update' 'I know you're all worried about how I got a black eye so I thought I would let you know,' she began her video. The star was outside her villa in Turkey. 'I've been in so many hotels and so many countries, I got up in the middle of the night to pee and didn't know where I was and smacked my face on the marble,' she explained. 'No, nobody did anything to me and, yes, I'm just fine and I'm having a great time and I'm being welcomed very beautifully on my trip,' added The Specialist actress. 'Everywhere that I've gone and I'm having just the greatest time,' she continued. She then raised up her black sunglasses so her black eye could be seen. The pal of Faye Dunaway wore a Love Vote T-shirt and a beige straw hat as she stood in front of a swimming pool 'Everywhere that I've gone and I'm having just the greatest time,' she continued. She then raised up her sunglasses so her black eye could be seen She wore a Vote T-shirt and a straw hat as she stood in front of a swimming pool The mother to three sons said: 'It's getting better, but it really is a good looking shiner. 'You should see what I did to that marble floor,' she laughed. Then she seemed touched: 'Thanks so much for caring about me, I care about you too. Thank you.' Olympic archer Mauro Nespoli found himself compared to Eminem while competed with Team Italy at the Paris Olympics on Monday. The Italian athlete, 36, stepped up to the mark sporting a tight-fitting blue T-shirt as he took part in the men's archery event. However, his facial expressions, close cropped beard and bucket hat prompted fans viewers to make the hilarious comparison with the rapper. Taking to X, one fan proceeded to post a snap of Mauro with the accompanying caption: 'Italian Eminem.' Viewers then flocked to the comment section to express their shock at the uncanny resemblance. Fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hysterically compare Olympics athlete Mauro Nespoli (seen at the Paris Olympics earlier this week) to Eminem During the Paris Olympics on Monday, the Italian athlete, 36, stepped up to the mark sporting a tight-fitting blue T-shirt and rocked a thick beard and a staunch glare One viewer joked: 'Italian Eminem eating mom's spaghetti it all makes sense now.'; 'You only get one shot'; 'All the other slim shady's are just imitating.'; 'so accurate lmao.'; 'Wow he is honestly looking like pro max Eminem, his more cute.' It seems the observation has also reached Mauro, who took to his Instagram to share a hilarious post where his and Eminem's faces were swapped. Mauro was competing in the men's team archery quarter-final earlier this week, however, Italy were defeated 6-2 by France. He is ranked fifth in the world in men's recurve archery and is a three-time Olympic medalist. After making his international debut in 2002, he took the team silver medal at Beijing in 2008, team gold at London in 2012, and an individual silver at Tokyo in 2020. It comes after Eminem revealed the real reason he invented his alter ego Slim Shady. In an interview with Complex, where the rapper, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, verbally sparred with an AI-generated version of himself, he revealed that he invented the iconic persona to resurrect his career. In the video, entitled Slim Shady vs Marshall Mathers: The Face-Off, the rapper told his former self that he was outdated and was ready to kill him off. Taking to X, Today Years Old proceeded to post a snap of Mauro with his game face on captioning the post with: 'Italian Eminem #Paris2024' Viewers then flocked to the comment section to express their shock at the uncanny resemblance It seems the observation has also reached Mauro, who took to his Instagram to share a hilarious post where his and Eminem's faces were swapped He said: 'I invented you because my life was f****d up. My music was going nowhere and I was broke.' He added that the character had made his life worse and didn't fix any of his problems. He said: 'You're the reason I had to self-medicate. Because of you I almost lost my f*****g career, my f*****g family, my life.' He also admitted that his life had been much better after moving away from the persona, referencing his battle with substance abuse. The rapper has been sober for 16 years and has documented his previous struggles with alcohol and prescription drugs. Throughout the video, the two went head to head, trading insults and comparing their careers. Eminem, dressed in a black hoodie, grey trousers and a matching cap scolds his bleached blonde persona throughout the interview, telling his character he is outdated and offensive and defending his 20-year career. It comes after Eminem revealed the real reason he invented his alter ego Slim Shady (pictured performing in Detroit in June) A look at China's economic data in H1 of 2024 Pub Date:24-08-01 11:02 Source:China Daily China's economy demonstrated a stable expansion in the first half of 2024, which was underpinned by policy incentives, a rebound in external demand, and the emergence of new quality productive forces. Editor:Zheng Chen Related News US execs eye opportunities in Chinese supp... Public tourism services to get boost Anhui Releases the 2023 Green Transportati... Xinhua Headlines: AI tech speeds up China'... EQS-Ad-hoc: LION E-Mobility AG / Key word(s): Change in Forecast LION E-Mobility AG - Adjustment of the outlook for the 2024 financial year 01-Aug-2024 / 17:30 CET/CEST Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. LION E-Mobility AG - Adjustment of the outlook for the 2024 financial year LION E-Mobility AG announces an adjustment to its outlook for the 2024 financial year. Together with the publication of the 2023 annual report, the 2024 outlook was confirmed, according to which revenue for the 2024 financial year is expected to be in the range of 60 million to 65 million, which corresponds to growth of around 11% and an expected EBITDA of 0.5 million to 1 million. Due to the current market situation, especially in view of the current oversupply on the battery market, the management expects that sales will be partially postponed until 2025 and that sales of no more than 42million will be achieved in 2024 which could lead to a slightly negative EBITDA. End of Inside Information Information and Explanation of the Issuer to this announcement: About LION E-Mobility AG LION E-Mobility AG is a manufacturer of lithium-ion battery packs. The company offers customized plug-and-play solutions for electric vehicles as well as for stationary and industrial applications. With a current annual production capacity of 2 GWh, LION is ideally positioned to address the growing demand for high-performance energy storage solutions. The company operates highly automated module assembly lines at its own production facility in Germany. LION's battery packs offer the highest standards in terms of safety, quality, and reliability. Founded in 2011, LION E-Mobility AG (ISIN: CH0560888270, WKN: A2QH 97) is listed on the stock exchanges in Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg www.lionemobility.com LION E-Mobility Investor Relations Kirchhoff Consult lion@kirchhoff.de ir@lionemobility.com | www.lionemobility.com Disclaimer: Statements that express or contain forecasts, expectations, views, plans, goals and assumptions regarding future events or performance are not considered historical facts and may therefore be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations, estimates and plans at the time the statements were made, and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those currently anticipated become. LION E-Mobility AG is under no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in this press release. 01-Aug-2024 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com On Thursday, Emma Roberts gave her captive combined 26.1M social media followers a much closer look at the large diamond engagement ring she happily accepted from her towering fiance Cody John on July 16. The 33-year-old bride-to-be's announcement had received congratulatory comments from a slew of celebrities: Lindsay Lohan, Ashley Tisdale, Billie Lourd, Julianne Hough, Kristin Chenoweth, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, JoJo, Isla Fisher, AnnaSophia Robb, Frances Bean Cobain, Nina Dobrev, Eiza Gonzalez, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Luann de Lesseps, Helena Christensen, Maria Sharapova, Jonathan Scott, and Lukas Gage. But Emma's former Scream Queens co-star Lea Michele - who's pregnant with her second child - went one step further, commenting: 'Already planning the bachelorette! So happy for you babe!' It's been eight years since Roberts and the expecting 37-year-old portrayed Chanel Oberlin and Hester Ulrich aka Chanel #6 in the Ryan Murphy satirical slasher, which aired for two seasons on Fox. August marks the Space Cadet producer-star's two-year anniversary of dating the 33-year-old actor, whose film Jaunt premiered at the LA Greek Film Festival on June 8 following his guest-star gig on the April 29th episode of CBS' NCIS. On Thursday, Emma Roberts (L) gave her captive combined 26.1M social media followers a much closer look at the large diamond engagement ring she happily accepted from her towering fiance Cody John (R) on July 16 Emma originally met Cody through mutual friends, and nothing is known about their relationship aside from the fact that they affectionately call each other 'sheesh.' Roberts was previously engaged to her Adult World leading man Evan Peters, whom she dated between 2012-2019. Also included in the former child star's new Instagram slideshow labeled 'Goodbye July' was her three-year-old son Rhodes Robert Hedlund from her two-year relationship with Desperation Road actor Garrett Hedlund, which ended in 2021. '[Being a mom is] the best and crazy,' Emma told Jimmy Kimmel Live guest host Kathryn Hahn on July 9. 'Everyone says there's terrible twos, but twos were amazing because you just cart them around with you. And then threes, they're like they're becoming their own person and all they say is "No" and put me down. And all I want to do is cuddle and have them say yes.' While on the New Jersey set of her film Maybe I Do back in 2022, Roberts' co-star Diane Keaton picked up little Rhodes and she exclaimed: 'Oh my God. I have tears in my eyes more than the day you were born!' But the AHS: Delicate star forgot to take a picture since she 'was trying to enjoy the moment.' 'Big mistake. Huge,' Emma said quoting her famous aunt Julia Robert's film Pretty Woman. The 33-year-old bride-to-be's announcement had received congratulatory comments from a slew of celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Ashley Tisdale, Billie Lourd, Julianne Hough, Luann de Lesseps, Helena Christensen, and more But Emma's former Scream Queens co-star Lea Michele - who's pregnant with her second child - went one step further, commenting: 'Already planning the bachelorette! So happy for you babe!' It's been eight years since Roberts and the expecting 37-year-old (L) portrayed Chanel Oberlin and Hester Ulrich aka Chanel #6 in the Ryan Murphy satirical slasher, which aired for two seasons on Fox August marks the Space Cadet producer-star's two-year anniversary of dating the 33-year-old actor (R, pictured July 9), whose film Jaunt premiered at the LA Greek Film Festival on June 8 following his guest-star gig on the April 29th episode of CBS' NCIS Emma originally met Cody through mutual friends, and nothing is known about their relationship aside from the fact that they affectionately call each other 'sheesh' (pictured February 10) Roberts was previously engaged to her Adult World leading man Evan Peters (R, pictured in 2018), whom she dated between 2012-2019 Also included in the former child star's new Instagram slideshow labeled 'Goodbye July' was her three-year-old son Rhodes Robert Hedlund from her two-year relationship with Desperation Road actor Garrett Hedlund, which ended in 2021 Emma told Jimmy Kimmel Live guest host Kathryn Hahn (R) on July 9: '[Being a mom is] the best and crazy. Everyone says there's terrible twos, but twos were amazing because you just cart them around with you' Roberts added: 'And then threes, they're like they're becoming their own person and all they say is "No" and put me down. And all I want to do is cuddle and have them say yes' The AHS: Delicate star might be close with her Oscar-winning aunt Julia Roberts, but she is estranged from her biological father Eric Roberts (L, pictured in 2004), who left when she was seven months old The 68-year-old Oscar nominee promised to 'delve into the complicated relationship with his daughter' in his 304-page memoir Runaway Train, co-authored by Sam Kashner, which St. Martin's Press will publish on September 17 'Whenever I'm like, "I'm being present." I'm like, "I should've taken a picture." Like, why was I being present? Take a photo.' Roberts is estranged from her biological father Eric Roberts, who left when she was seven months old and hasn't been pictured with her since 2004. The 68-year-old Oscar nominee promised to 'delve into the complicated relationship with his daughter' in his 304-page memoir Runaway Train, co-authored by Sam Kashner, which St. Martin's Press will publish on September 17. The Belletrist co-founder will next executive produce the eight-episode second season of Meaghan Oppenheimer's 2007-set college drama Tell Me Lies, which premieres September 4 on Hulu. Emma's upcoming acting projects include Alexis Ostrander's thriller Fourth Wall, I. Marlene King's series Calabasas, Meaghan Oppenheimer's comedy series Second Wife for Hulu, Nathan Smith's animated film Saurus City, and Katie Locke O'Brien's comedy Hot Mess. Worryingly, Roberts' last three films have received absolutely dismal reviews from critics - Space Cadet (27%), Madame Web (11%), and Maybe I Do (32%). It has been 35 years since the world was introduced to Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The two stars will reunite in 2025 to co-star in a new adventure. They are taking their talents to Broadway to star in the latest adaptation of Samuel Beckett's existential classic Waiting for Godot. 'We're incredibly excited to be on stage together and work with the great Jamie Lloyd in one of our favorite plays,' Reeves, 59, and Winter, 59, said in a joint statement. Reeves who is known as the nicest guy in Hollywood makes his Broadway debut as Estragon and Winter will be Vladimir in the play which will run in 2025 in an as-yet- to-be-disclosed theater on the Great White Way. It has been 35 years since the world was introduced to Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure The two stars will reunite in 2025 to co-star in a new adventure, seen here in 1991 Reeves and Winter became instant friends when they starred in Bill & Ted in 1989, the film went on to become a cult classic and the two actors reprised their roles for sequels in 1991 and 2020. They clicked instantly upon meeting, something they both acknowledge as rare. 'That happens in life very rarely,' Winter told SyFy Wire. 'We have a very similar perspective. Keanu is a very smart fella, and I enjoy his intellect and the way he looks at the world. And we laugh our butts off.' 'I think of him as my brother,' Reeves said in an interview with the New York Times. 'We enjoy each other's company and our thoughts and takes on the world. When we come together, it's like, 'What are you thinking?' 'I don't know, but this is kind of funny.' ''Yeah, that's kind of weird too.'' Waiting for Godot centers on two men, Vladimir and Estragon, who meet up and have conversations throughout the play. The passage of time is marked by the tree they meet at. In the beginning of the play, it is barren, but as the scenes progress, it begins to grow leaves again. The official logline for the play states: 'In Waiting for Godot, two wandering tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, wait by a lonely tree, to meet up with Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a world where time, place and memory are blurred and meaning is where you find it. The tramps hope that Godot will change their lives for the better.' They are taking their talents to Broadway to star in the latest adaptation of Samuel Beckett's existential classic Waiting for Godot 'We're incredibly excited to be on stage together and work with the great Jamie Lloyd in one of our favorite plays,' Reeves, 59, and Winter, 59, said in a joint statement, pictured here with their partners Alexandra Grant and Ramsey Ann Naito at the 2023 MOCA Gala in Los Angeles Reeves who is known as the nicest guy in Hollywood makes his Broadway debut as Estragon and Winter will be Vladimir in the play which will run in 2025 in an as-yet- to-be-disclosed theater on the Great White Way, pictured here at 2024 San Diego Comic Con Reeves and Winter became instant friends when they starred in Bill & Ted in 1989, the film went on to become a cult classic and the two actors reprised their roles for sequels in 1991 and 2020, seen here at the premiere of John Wick Chapter 4 in 2023 They clicked instantly upon meeting, something they both acknowledge as rare, seen here in 2024 The original play was written in French by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett between 1948 and 1949 and made its world premiere in Paris in 1953. The new production of Godot will be helmed by Jamie Lloyd. His credits on Broadway include Sunset Blvd,, Cyrano de Bergerac and Romeo & Juliet, among others. Lloyd said, 'It is a real honor to be collaborating with the brilliant Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on Samuel Becketts sublime masterpiece one of the greatest plays of all time,' per Deadline. Waiting for Godot is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, ATG Productions, Bad Robot Live and Gavin Kalin Productions. 101 Productions will serve as general manager. Salma Hayek made a splash as she kicked off the first day of August. The actress, 57, put on a busty display in a vibrant pink and green Pour Moi bikini as she dove into a pool in video she shared to her Instagram on the first of the month. 'Diving into August,' she captioned the post. Salma stood at one end of the pool before she jumped into the water. After just a few seconds underwater, she returned for air. Salma Hayek made a splash as she kicked off the first day of August She also included this sizzling snap wearing the Pour Moi Portofino bikini in her post The video followed a similar post Salma shared the day prior, which captured her relaxing poolside in the same bikini. The Olympic Games Paris torch carrier - turning 58 on September 2 - relaxed on a sun lounger floating in a swimming pool. Salma - who boasts 32.7M social media followers - captioned her eye-popping Instagram slideshow: 'Waiting for August!' Hayek (born Jimenez) previously revealed she stays fit by practicing restorative yoga, juice cleanses, and walking her numerous dogs whom she's called her 'trainers.' 'I thought getting older meant I wasn't going to work. I'm working. I thought getting older maybe meant that you're not in love anymore. I'm in love,' the half-Mexican, half-Lebanese American told Glamour last year. 'I don't feel that I lost my flexibility or my agility or even my strength...Hell, I'm still going. Shocker. I'm still here. They tried to get rid of me a thousand ways. I'm still here.' Salma's fans marveled at her youthful 'bombshell' appearance giving 'mermaid vibes' with one writing: '57 years and still one of the hottest women on Earth!' Hayek is next scheduled to co-host the third annual Caring for Women gala on September 9 at The Pool in Midtown Manhattan alongside Kim Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Naomi Watts, Matthew McConaughey, Donatella Versace, and more. She emerged from the water for a breath of air The actress dove into the pool 'Diving into August,' she captioned the post The video followed a similar post Salma shared the day prior, which captured her relaxing poolside in the same bikini The Olympic Games Paris torch carrier - turning 58 on September 2 - relaxed on a sun lounger floating in a swimming pool Salma - who boasts 32.7M social media followers - captioned her eye-popping Instagram slideshow: 'Waiting for August!' Hayek's fans marveled at her youthful 'bombshell' appearance giving 'mermaid vibes' with one writing: '57 years and still one of the hottest women on Earth!' The live auction - which raised $3M last year for victims of gender-based violence - is presented by the Kering Foundation run by the Oscar nominee's husband of 15 years, Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault. The 62-year-old French billionaire said in a statement last Thursday: 'For women and children to be free to fulfill their potential unencumbered by the burdens of fear, threat, and trauma, it is paramount that we address violence at its roots to change behavior and heal our collective culture.' Kering is a multinational corporation that owns luxury fashion brands Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen. The half-Mexican, half-Lebanese American is next scheduled to co-host the third annual Caring for Women gala on September 9 at The Pool in Midtown Manhattan alongside Kim Kardashian (R, pictured March 6), Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Naomi Watts, and more Salma and Francois-Henri - who originally met in the spring of 2006 at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice - are proud parents of 16-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault, who boasts 232K TikTok followers. Pinault is also father to three older children - son Francois Jr., 26; daughter Mathilde, 23; and son Augustin, 17 - with ex-wife Dorothee Lepere and nineties supermodel Linda Evangelista. Reese Witherspoon is reportedly in no rush to enter a new relationship following her split from Jim Toth, last year, after 12 years of marriage. After recently sparking romance rumors with German private equity financier, Oliver Haarmann, a source revealed the Legally Blonde star is not prioritizing dating, at the moment. The insider divulged to People that the Oscar winner, 48, 'is taking things slow when it comes to dating.' 'She enjoys it but doesn't want it to be a big focus. She's busy with work and her son,' the insider noted. 'These are her biggest priorities.' Although the source insisted that Witherspoon and Haarmann, 56, are just 'friends,' the pair recently found themselves at the center of unexpected dating rumors. Reese Witherspoon is reportedly in no rush to enter a new relationship following her split from Jim Toth, last year, after 12 years of marriage In photo, obtained by DailyMail.com earlier this week, the actress and Haarmann were seen arriving at a heliport together before heading to an apartment building on July 29. The next day, they dined at L'Artusi in the West Village together. Earlier in the week, she enjoyed some quality time with Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz in the Hamptons. Haarmann is a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm. He was previously a senior partner of the global investment firm KKR & Co. He shares two sons with Gaonkar. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and international relations from NYC's Brown University in 1990, and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1996. The Morning Show actress and her ex-husband, 54, shocked fans in March 2023 when they announced they had separated and were getting a divorce after nearly 12 years of marriage. The actress officially filed for divorce from Toth in April 2023, a week after announcing the end of their marriage. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their split in court documents. Reese and her ex Jim were first romantically linked in 2010, before they became engaged later that same year in December. After recently sparking romance rumors with German private equity financier, Oliver Haarmann, a source revealed the Legally Blonde star is not prioritizing dating, at the moment The former couple tied the knot during a romantic and intimate backyard wedding in 2011. Their split announcement was made just days ahead of their 12th wedding anniversary. Back in August, the pair reached a divorce settlement and agreed to continue to co-parent their 11-year-old son, Tennessee. Reese also shares son Deacon, 20, and look-alike daughter Ava, 24, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, 49. An insider told People about the split that it was 'very difficult' for the movie star to accept that she and her former partner were 'two very different people.' Reese and ex-Jim tied the knot in 2011, before announcing their split in 2023; pictured together in January 2020 Someone close to the two noted that the ambitious producer 'has her hand in a lot of pots' and Toth 'prefers less frenzy.' It was added that, 'They've been spending less and less time together while she was working.' More than ten years after tying the knot, the longtime duo 'found themselves with fewer interests in common.' Reese is described by a source as 'headstrong and focused' and Jim is said to be 'more laid-back.' The Pleasantville actress spent more time in Nashville In 2022 as she worked on producing the Apple TV music competition show My Kind of Country. She also flipped a local house for close to twice the cost of what she paid for the home. The star is mom to Ava, 24, and Deacon, 20 with ex husband Ryan Phillippe and Tennessee, 11, with ex Jim Toth (pictured together) The Legally Blonde star officially filed for divorce from Toth back in April 2023, a week after announcing the end of their marriage The mother-of-three's company Hello Sunshine also produced the Amazon series Daisy Jones & the Six. Per Reese's solemn divorce announcement, the twosome decided to go their separate ways with 'a great deal of care and consideration.' A source said the partners 'worked on' their issues and arriving at divorce 'took a long time.' A source previously told PageSix that the imminent divorce was a 'badly kept secret' in Hollywood for months. It was also shared that Reese is 'upset' over the marriage ending. Reese and Ryan, who famously starred in the 1999 romantic drama Cruel Intentions, split in 2008 after a seven-year marriage; Pictured in 1998 The Big Little Lies actress and the talent agent's split announcement read: 'We have some personal news to share ... It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce. 'We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together. 'Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter. 'These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone's respect for our family's privacy at this time.' But there is no mess: 'There is no drama,' insisted People's insider. 'They love [their son] Tennessee and this is their focus. They will continue to co-parent amicably.' The exes have maintained a famously amicable relation ship - pictured with son Deacon on his 18th birthday Amid Witherspoon's new romance, Phillippe shared a shirtless thirst trap Reese recently discussed her first divorce from Cruel Intentions co-star Ryan Phillippe. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar in July, Reese said she felt very 'out of control' when her first divorce went public. 'When I was divorced before, the tabloid media got to tell people how I was feeling or how I was processing, and it felt very out of control,' Reese told the publication. But this go around, the Hollywood star feels that she's able to be more 'authentic' as she navigates this 'vulnerable time' in her life. 'To be able to talk to people directly about what's going on in my life and just share it in the way that I share great professional experiences or personal experiences, it feels much more authentic to be able to say things in my own voice and not let somebody else control what's happening,' Reese explained. Despite going through a divorce a source close to The Last Thing He Told Me producer told People in April that she has 'no regrets' about ending the union and is 'doing much better now.' Lala Kent treated herself to some pregnancy pampering after opening up about a recent health scare. The Vanderpump Rules star, 33, showed off her baby bump in a skintight blue leotard as she stepped out Wednesday for a spa day in Los Angeles. She finished the ensemble with a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses, gold hoop earrings and white sneakers. Kent previously opened up about a 'terrifying' health scare she experienced during her baby shower last month. 'My arms and legs went numb, and I could not breathe, and [it] took everything in me to not pass out and just make it to my bed,' she recalled on her Give Them Lala podcast. Lala Kent showed off her baby bump in a skintight blue leotard as she stepped out Wednesday for a spa day in Los Angeles She finished the ensemble with a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses, gold hoop earrings and white sneakers 'I was trying to yell for my mom, but again, I was really struggling, and I was very, very concerned,' added Kent. She explained, 'I don't know what happened. I've heard that she could be sitting weird, but I felt this overwhelming amount of guilt because I've been complaining a lot about my [body] aching and just wanting it to be done.' Kent called her doctor from bed but ultimately felt better after she 'positioned [herself] in a different way.' 'And all of a sudden I could breath,' she recounted. '[The baby] was definitely active. I said [to the doctor], "She hasn't stopped moving." And he was like, "Oh, OK, I'm less concerned now."' The Spree actress assumed the baby was just 'positioned weird,' adding, 'He was like, "I really need you to start staying off your feet. Don't overdo it during the day." 'Which I have been,' admitted Kent. 'I think I've been overdoing it since [the] second trimester.' She announced her second pregnancy in March after using a sperm donor. Kent also co-parents 3-year-old daughter Ocean with ex-fiance Randall Emmett, with whom she split in 2021 amid cheating claims. During an Amazon Live appearance in March, Kent showed off her unborn baby's sonogram and explained why she used a sperm donor. Kent previously opened up about a 'terrifying' health scare she experienced during her baby shower last month 'My arms and legs went numb, and I could not breathe, and [it] took everything in me to not pass out and just make it to my bed,' she recalled on her Give Them Lala podcast Kent also co-parents 3-year-old daughter Ocean with ex-fiance Randall Emmett, with whom she split in 2021 amid cheating claims 'The best part about my baby daddy is that he does not exist,' she said amid her custody battle with Emmett, 53. 'I have been pretty open about wanting to really have full control of - I guess not my child, but having them around me all the time. 'I went through a really hard time with my past and just with Ocean,' added Kent. 'For me, my child will never be up for grabs again.' Kent revealed she's having another daughter after hosting a sex reveal party with friends and family in April. The Give Them Lala author is expecting to give birth on September 1, she previously revealed on the VPR reunion. She announced her second pregnancy in March after using a sperm donor She bought a $3.1 million house in the San Fernando Valley for her growing family, and plans to co-parent with her baby with mom Lisa. After VPR spin-off The Valley was renewed for season 2 in May, Kent is reportedly 'in early talks' to join the show. 'She is very connected with that cast. Those girls are her very good friends and mom crew,' a source told Page Six of her fellow VPR stars Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute. They star on the spin-off with Cartwright's estranged husband Jax Taylor and a cast of new faces. Regardless, Kent would reportedly remain on VPR, which is 'her home. It's not one or the other.' However, VPR is on hiatus for a year. Kent was brought to tears on the recent season 11 finale of Vanderpump Rules, during which she almost stormed off set. Fans were delighted after Interview With The Vampire returned to BBC Two for the second series on Thursday. The adaptation of the gothic cult classic of the same name has earned a plethora of fans following the release of the first series last October. And viewers hailed the return of the supernatural series, which originally began as a classic horror novel by Anne Rice. Taking to Twitter, fans gushed: 'Yay finally something decent on TV Interview with the Vampire is back on BBC 2 tonight right now!' '#InterviewWithTheVampire Oh what joy to greet this wondrous show once more. A confection of riches. Louis, Lestat, Claudia, you are welcome in my home!' Fans have hailed the return of Interview With The Vampire but are left FURIOUS as one cast member is replaced The adaptation of the gothic cult classic of the same name has earned a plethora of fans following the release of the first series last October 'An interview with the vampire is incredible television. It definitely deserves more attention'. 'On #bbctwo 9pm new #InterviewWithTheVampire yesss'. However some were left disappointed after realising one cast member had been replaced. Bailey Bass, who previously played Claudia in the supernatural series, has left the show, and Delainey Hayles has now taken on her role. The bloodthirsty vampire has undergone a change of actor between the two series after Bailey quit the show due to unforeseen circumstances. Unhappy about the change they wrote: 'I'm so upset that Bailey Bass isn't playing Claudia in the latest and future seasons of Interview With The Vampire. She was simply breathtaking as Claudia.' According to Deadline, Bailey said in a statement: 'Due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances I'm unable to return to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire for the second season. 'Playing Claudia has been a dream role and an incredible ride. I wish Delainey the best of luck in taking over. I cannot wait to watch. Taking to Twitter, fans gushed: 'Yay finally something decent on TV Interview with the Vampire is back on BBC 2 tonight right now!' However some were left disappointed after realising one cast member had been replaced Bailey Bass, who previously played Claudia in the supernatural series, has left the show, and Delainey Hayles (pictured) has now taken on her role 'I'm extremely appreciative of AMC, the producers, Jacob, Sam, the crew and, of course, the wonderful fans.' In the sneak peak for the new series last October, fans were given a gory display as Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia are brought to an estate by Santiago (Ben Daniels), the leading vampire thespian of the Theatre des Vampires. As Armand (Assad Zaman) and Louis chat outside, in the background a gory scene ensues as Claudia begins ravishing the humans inside. As blood spatters the window, men cry and bodies fall from the estate, the two men remain unperturbed by the chaos inside. As the two characters get to know each other there seems to be a flirtatious vibe between the pair, especially when Armand shows his admiration for Louis who only indulges in human flesh every other day. However Armand seems to have his suspicions of Louis, particularly when it comes to his reaction when the name Lestat (Sam Reid) is mentioned. Bailey Bass (pictured) played Claudia in season one however she quit the show due to unforeseen circumstances Filming for the second series began in Paris - with scenes actually being shot in Prague and while the Gothic romance was originally broadcast to an American audience, British fans can now tune in through BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. For the AMC version of Interview With The Vampire, production designer Mara LePere-Schloop recreated Storyville district by building building facades for the show's Iberville and Liberty streets at The Ranch Studios in New Orleans. The show was also shot at a number of different New Orleans landmarks, including Gallier House, which Anne Rice used as the model for Lestat's townhouse. Beuaregard-Keys House, located in the city's French Quarter, was also used for the interior of Fair Play Saloon. Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori returned to her typical X-rated style on Thursday - just days after covering up to spend time with the rapper's kids. The Yeezy architect, 29, left little to the imagination as she ran errands solo in Los Angeles wearing only a see-through nude bodystocking. The NSFW clothing piece fully exposed her thong underwear and eye-popping braless bust. She was first seen arriving outside a building in her luxury vehicle. As not to flash passersby, Bianca carefully climbed out of the car and trotted to the building's entrance in black heels. Kanye West 's wife Bianca Censori returned to her typical X-rated style on Thursday - just days after covering up to spend time with the rapper's kids The Yeezy architect, 29, left little to the imagination as she ran errands solo in Los Angeles wearing only a see-through nude bodystocking The NSFW clothing piece fully exposed her thong underwear and cheeky backside Her cropped brunette hair was slicked back off her perfectly made-up face. As for accessories, the Australian beauty rocked a gold ear cuff on one ear. Bianca went without a purse and, instead, carried her iPhone in hand. She spent the afternoon shopping in Beverly Hills without her husband and self-appointed stylist Kanye by her side. But Bianca did not emerge with bags from any of the high-end stores she visited on Thursday. Instead, she swiftly made her way back to her car and hopped into the driver's seat to head off to her next destination. In the past, Bianca's infamously near-nude looks have put her at her risk of hefty fines and, even, jail time. But she has made it a point to go the modest route while in the company of Kanye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian's four kids: North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and Psalm, four. On Monday, Bianca notably stepped out in a poncho as she and Kanye took his eldest kids North and Saint to Target in Beverly Hills. Days before that, Bianca and Kanye took 11-year-old North to the moves to see the new R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine film. She was first seen arriving outside a building in her luxury vehicle Her eye-popping braless bust was also on fully display during the outing As not to flash passersby, Bianca carefully climbed out of the car She trotted to the building's entrance in black heels She briefly stopped to adjust the bodystocking as it began to slip down her slim frame Bianca spent the afternoon shopping in Beverly Hills without her husband and self-appointed stylist Kanye by her side A source previously told DailyMail.com that Kim had warned the rapper not to let Bianca wear her scandalous looks in front of their children. 'Kim instructed Kanye to never let Bianca dress like that around their kids,' the insider revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com in February. 'She is truly surprised that Kanye would let his wife leave the house like that.' Unlike in his marriage with Bianca, Kanye used to frequently ask Kim to change her outfits if he felt she was showing too much skin, with the rapper heavily influencing her fashion choices during their six-year marriage. 'Kanye did the same thing he is doing with Bianca to Kim throughout their marriage,' DailyMail.com's source explained. 'The difference is that when Kanye dressed Kim, he was respected as a person as an artist. 'Unfortunately, Kim knows what Bianca is going through but she feels Bianca should have known what she was getting into.' A different source previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Bianca's parents were 'mortified' by her near-naked ensembles and feared she was 'being controlled' by Kanye. Bianca and the multi-Grammy Award-winner tied the knot in December 2022 less than one month after his divorce from Kim was finalized. They have galavanted all over the world together with Bianca often wearing next to nothing to attend A-list fashion events as well as to promote Kanye's new music. But the couple are seemingly enjoying some rare downtime as Kanye and his producers put the finishing touches on his upcoming album, Vultures II. Over the weekend, Bianca and Kanye were spotted on a romantic date in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. After her shopping spree, Bianca returned to her parked car She hopped into the driver's seat Bianca flashed a seductive stare before driving off The Australian beauty appeared to be in a jovial mood after her retail therapy The lovebirds arrived to dinner at Stonehouse Restaurant holding hands, with Bianca rocking a white tube dress that bared her pert backside. The dinner date came shortly after news that some LA-area restaurateurs are looking to ban the couple from entering their businesses to protect customers and children from seeing Bianca's X-rated outfits. It all stemmed from an upset that Bianca and Kanye recently caused at a local barbecue restaurant in LA after she arrived wearing a tiny silver bikini top. They wrote: 'If I am the owner of any establishment that these two intend to enter, I will tell them due to respect for my customers, you are not allowed to enter.' 'I wouldn't have them in my restaurant. Totally inappropriate and not a good role model for young children to see this out and about. What is wrong with them?' 'She looks absolutely ridiculous. How can any decent restaurant accept a customer wearing that? Even the main supermarkets have signs up in summer advising that tops must be worn for hygiene purposes when shopping as topless men were going in. This is so much worse.' However, the legendary Chateau Marmont declared Bianca was 'always welcome', despite the hotel operating a 'business-casual' dress code. A valet at the $774-a-night property told DailyMail.com: 'She comes here all the time. I always know when she's here because there's always a lot of paparazzi. 'She comes a lot. She stayed here awhile, a few months I think, and last time she was here was before the weekend, Tuesday or Wednesday.' Bianca was last photographed at the hotel enjoying drinks with friends in a black leather bikini top that barely covered her nipples and matching hot pants. When asked about the outfit, the valet shrugged: 'She always dresses like that.' But earlier this month it was revealed that Bianca could face jail time, a fine and mandatory registration as a sex offender for her X-rated stunts in LA. In the past, Bianca's infamously near-nude looks have put her at her risk of hefty fines and, even, jail time; seen with Kanye in February Bianca and the multi-Grammy Award-winner tied the knot in December 2022 less than one month after his divorce from Kim was finalized; Kanye and Bianca seen in June Despite repeatedly stepping out in racy ensembles, some of her most revealing looks may have gone too far, as the barely-there outfits could potentially be considered indecent exposure under California law. California Penal Code Section 314(1) makes it a crime to intentionally expose your genitals or naked body in a public place, or anywhere else where someone could be offended or annoyed. An indecent exposure charge usually results in a misdemeanor for a first-time offense. But if Bianca is handed the maximum penalty for her nearly-nude outfit, she could face six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and mandatory registration as a sex offender for at least ten years. Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame has revealed that he left Massachusetts for the sandy shores of Florida because of the high taxes in the East Coast state. The multi-millionaire businessman, who had a home in Boston, called the New England state 'Taxachusetts' during an appearance on Maria Bartiromo's show on Fox Business. 'I left there in "Taxachusetts." I moved to Florida. Most of my neighbors where I live are all from hometown Boston and we can't afford to live there anymore,' he said. He also name dropped Sen. Elizabeth Warren and squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, citing various policies proposed by them over the years to increase taxes on rich people. 'These ideas don't work, they just don't work,' O'Leary, who now lives near Miami Beach with his wife, said. Kevin O'Leary said high taxes in Massachusetts is what convinced him it was time to relocate to Florida, a state without an income tax A house located on Barefoot Beach Road at Bonita Springs in southwest Florida. The average home price there is just over $575,000 First, O'Leary mentioned what he called Warren's 'super tax.' What this refers to is the Massachusetts senator's repeated attempts to pass a bill called the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, which would see high-net-worth individuals get taxed 2 percent on every dollar they make above $50 million. For households worth over $1 billion, Warren wants to charge them an additional surtax of 1 percent. This billionaire tax would also apply to trusts as well, financial vehicles commonly used by wealthy people to manage and distribute their assets. Rep. Pramila Jayapal reintroduced this act alongside Warren and a smattering of progressive co-sponsors in March, but it hasn't yet left the committee. O'Leary didn't specifically mention AOC's tax proposal, but back in 2019 when she was first elected, she suggested raising the top marginal income tax rate to 70 percent. The last time top marginal rates were this high was when President John F. Kennedy was in office, and he actually cut the rate from 90 percent down to 70 percent But neither of these policies have come to pass, and even if they did, they'd be broadly applied to all Americans who meet the proposed income thresholds, not anyone from any one particular state. So what actually forced O'Leary out of Boston? Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy and made it the cornerstone of her run for president during the 2020 Democratic Primary Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested raising the top marginal tax rate to 70 percent in 2019. She also supports Warren's tax proposal It's likely a ballot measure Massachusetts voters approved in 2022 that hiked taxes for anyone making $1 million or more. Essentially, any taxable income above that $1 million bracket is now taxed at nine percent instead of the previous five percent. The state government said the new tax has generated an additional $1.8 billion in revenue, which will pay for various transportation and education initiatives. But Florida, where O'Leary chose to officially relocate, has no state income tax at all. Texas also doesn't have an income tax, which is partly why many Californians have fled to the state, on top of cheaper housing and better work opportunities. O'Leary's contention is that the policies of comparatively higher taxed and more stringently regulated states like California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts lead to them becoming 'uninvestable.' He also commented on France's new left-wing leaders vowing to bring a 90 percent tax rate for annual income above 400,000 euros. 'The French have tried this before,' he said, adding that wealthy citizens 'all moved to Monaco...or to Switzerland and they just made sure their domicile was not France.' McDonald's and Starbucks share the accolade of being the biggest - and, in the past at least, the best - at what they do. But they now have three other unwanted things in common. They have both been lambasted for putting up prices in the past two years. And that has led both to lose customers - as they admitted this week in their latest earnings. On Monday, McDonald's reported its sales had fallen for the first time in years. The next day Starbucks reported its second quarter in a row of dismal sales. But the third thing is that they have both also been hit by boycotts over their perceived support of Israel. McDonald's missed its earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter of the year Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's president and CEO admitted boycotts have been damaging McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski summed up the problem when he was talking to CNBC on Wednesday. He said the chain had been hit by organized boycotts following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October. 'We're seeing broadly western brands have been a target for some of what has happened after the outbreak of the war in the Middle East,' Kempczinski told the broadcaster on Wednesday. 'It's a terrible situation [in terms of] what's going on over there and it is impacting our business in some markets.' Kempczinski clarified that the franchise is 'not taking a side on this.' 'For us we're about supporting communities and that's what we're going to continue to do here,' he added. The boycott was sparked after an Israeli franchisee, Omri Padan, offered free meals to Israeli soldiers going into Gaza in the days following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. The boycott is being run by Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), a nonviolent movement aiming to pressure Israel over its conduct in the war. 'McDonald's is now really feeling the BDS heat,' Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the movement, told Fortune on Tuesday. 'Its share price is rapidly declining, and its sales are falling globally, mainly due to the worldwide #BoycottMcDonalds campaign that we launched late last year' Barghouti added. McDonald's stock is down 10 percent since the start of the year. Starbucks is experiencing a sales slump and is facing continued pressure from boycotts Starbuck's CEO Laxman Narasimhan said boycott were generated by 'misinformation' Starbucks has also been hit by a boycott after it sued the Workers United union that represents baristas at more than 470 US outlets. The company claimed a pro-Palestinian social media post from the union harmed its reputation. Starbuck's CEO Laxman Narasimhan said the boycott was generated by 'misinformation' about the company's position on the conflict but has not quantified how damaging the shunning has been. Shares of Adani Energy Solutions surged more than 8 per cent on Thursday a day after billionaire Gautam Adani-led group's power transmission unit said it has raised USD 1 billion through a share sale. This was the first public equity raised by the conglomerate since a damning Hindenburg report. The scrip of the company rallied 8.34 per cent to trade at Rs 1,232.95 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). On the BSE, it zoomed 7.92 per cent to trade at Rs 1,227.75 per piece. In late morning trade, the shares of Adani Energy Solutions hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,236.70 and 1,236 apiece on the BSE and the NSE. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 88.64 points or 0.11 per cent to trade at 81,829.98, while NSE Nifty went up 53.90 points to trade at 25,005.05. In the intra-day session, the BSE benchmark jumped 388.15 points, or 0.47 per cent, to hit an all-time high of 82,129.49 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty scaled the record 25,000 level for the first time, rising to 127.15 points, to 25,078.30. Billionaire Gautam Adani-led group's power transmission unit has raised USD 1 billion through a share sale, the first public equity raised by the conglomerate since a damning Hindenburg report, which wiped away billions in shareholder value. Adani Energy Solutions Ltd had raised the funds through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue. The QIP, which opened on Tuesday, was oversubscribed three times with demand of about Rs 26,000 crore - making it the largest transaction in India's energy space. The issue closed at Rs 1,135 per share, as against the issue price of Rs 976 per share or a 14 per cent listing discount. QIP is an instrument used by listed companies to raise funds from large institutions. Marquee investors such as GQG, QIP, ADIA and few top names in the US participated in the QIP. Domestic institutions including Bandhan MF, Nomura, and 360 India Infoline also participated in the issue. The fundraise is the first after the group's flagship firm scrapped a Rs 20,000 crore issue in February last year, following the Hindenburg report alleging accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Though the group vehemently and repeatedly denied all allegations, listed companies of the conglomerate at one point saw over USD 150 billion of their market value being wiped out. While the group has largely recovered, a successful QIP is being seen as a powerful vote of investor confidence in the tycoon. Earlier, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) said its management has authorised the opening of the issue on Tuesday as well as approved the floor price for the issue. The floor price was set at Rs 1,027 per equity share. Last month, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd reported a net loss of Rs 1,190.66 crore for the June quarter of 2024-25 mainly due to exceptional losses related to the divestment of an asset. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 181.98 crore during the April-June period of 2023-24, the company said in a regulatory filing. The total income rose to Rs 5,489.97 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,772.25 crore in the year-ago period. August 1, 2024: NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) weapons are still around. This was recently demonstrated in Russia. A significant Russian nuclear accident took place at the Andreyeva Bay Soviet naval base 569 in February 1982. Andreyeva Bay is a radioactive waste repository 55 km northwest of Murmansk and 60 km from the Norwegian border, on the western shore of the Kola Peninsula. The repository entered service in 1961. In February 1982 a nuclear accident occurred in which about 700,000 tons of highly radioactive water was released into the Barents Sea from a pool in building 5 of the repository over the next few years. Cleanup of the accident took place from 1983 to 1989. About 1,000 people took part in the cleanup effort. The nuclear fuel repository, constructed in the early 1960s, was a naval base on the shore of the Zapadnaya Litsa bay. It consisted of two piers, a stationary mooring bay, a sanitation facility, spent fuel pools in building 5 that was unused since the cleanup ended in 1989, three 1,000 cubic meter dry storage containers, a 40,000-ton crane, an open-air field for storing spent nuclear fuel containers, a security checkpoint, and other technical facilities. In 1982 the area contains spent nuclear fuel in storage facility Building 5 consisting of about 22,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies, solid radioactive waste in storage facility Building 7, and liquid radioactive waste in storage facility Building 6. Building 5 contained two pools for storing spent fuel assemblies, encased in steel drums. Each drum contained 5-7 spent fuel assemblies, weighing 350 kg fully loaded. Each of the pools was 60 meters long, 3 meters wide, 6 meters deep, and had a volume of 1,000 cubic meters. Each was designed for about 2,000 drums. The drums were suspended underwater from massive chains, which were attached to anchor points a certain distance from each other to hopefully avoid an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction from starting. The water served as a radiation shield for people on the deck around the pools. The drums were placed underwater using the chains and a crane cart, but due to the construction's unreliability, drums often fell to the bottom of the pool. As a result, spent nuclear fuel drums dangerously piled up at the bottom which defeated the protection from uncontrolled nuclear reactions by the chains and anchor points. Someone who worked there remarked that the first time they saw all this they were shocked. The facility seemed like a nightmare. The facility was an enormous black windowless building atop a cliff. The entrance to building 5 was decorated with deformed trucks previously used for carrying nuclear fuel and half-torn-down heavy gates. Inside, the building was dilapidated, and deteriorating electrical equipment was another hazard. Building 5 was completely radioactive. The right-hand pool in building 5 started leaking in February 1982. Finding cracks in the metal coating required diving into the pool, which was out of the question due to the gamma radiation levels in the vicinity of the nuclear waste drums. An attempt to eliminate the leak was made by pouring in 20 sacks of flour, thus filling the cracks with dough. That did not last and the leak continued. Later it was found there was ice on the right side of the building. This indicated that earlier containment efforts were ineffective. In April 1982, the basement part of the building was filled with 600 cubic meters of concrete but this was ineffective. There was a risk of contamination of nearby Zapadnaya Litsa bay. In order to safeguard against radioactive leaks, iron-lead-concrete covers, weighing thousands of tons, were built over the pool. In fact it was later discovered that it was only good fortune that prevented the collapse of the whole structure. In early 1983 government officials confirmed the closing of the repository, except for work related to the cleanup of the accident. No more spent nuclear fuel was loaded in building 5. March 1983 through September 1987 saw spent fuel unloaded from the left-hand pool. All of the fuel was unloaded and sent to the Mayak nuclear facility. As of December 1989, all 1,500 drums of nuclear waste from building 5 were declared dealt with. This was not the case. Poor welding seam quality in the pools' coating led to more leaks. The left pool sprouted a leak due to the building sagging under the weight of the iron-lead-concrete covers over the right pool. Specialists believed that temperature changes in the pool's water stressed welding seams, tearing them. When building 5's repository was designed, it was assumed that the water would be kept at a constant temperature by heat from the nuclear assemblies suspended under the surface. A separate water heating system was thus deemed unnecessary. That did not work because the extreme Arctic climate created a thick layer of ice in winter. In order to solve this problem, the ice was melted using steam from the boiler. This was a violation of radiation safety guidelines. Radioactive air spread through the building and leaked into the outside atmosphere. Several workers were killed during the cleanup efforts due to accidents, inadequate protective equipment and the generally dangerous state of the facility. The Indian Jute Mills Association highlighted several pressing issues at the 32nd Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting in New Delhi, including the challenges faced by the sector due to declining demand for jute bags, officials said. Key stakeholders such as representatives from the sugar and plastic industry bodies participated in the meeting on Tuesday. The SAC makes recommendations to the Union government on the mandatory use of jute packaging materials, and packaging norms for essential commodities such as foodgrains and sugar. The Jute Commissioners Office (JCO) stressed upon the need for supporting the sector, the IJMA officials said. An estimated 40 million farmers and 3.5 lakh jute mill workers are dependent on the industry. The representatives of sugar industry bodies raised concerns about the pricing and quality of jute bags, urging the government to fix rates for sugar jute bags. They also noted the reluctance by major buyers like some beverage giants to use jute bags, despite environmental benefits, said industry sources present at the meeting. The non-compliance with government notifications by the sugar industry was also a cause for concern, they said. Plastic industry representatives sought the removal of discouraging language about plastic bags in the Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA), the sources said. The jute industry is operating at 55 per cent capacity, affecting over 50,000 workers. The demand for jute bags is projected to drop to 30 lakh bales for 2024-25, IJMA Deputy Chairman Rishav Kajaria said. The IJMA also urged the SAC for immediate government intervention in enforcing 100 per cent reservation norms in foodgrain and sugar packaging in 2024-25. Other key issues discussed at the meeting include revising policies on the use of used jute gunny bags, addressing financial constraints due to the GeM portal pricing cap, initiating investigation into subsidised jute imports, and ensuring strict compliance with labour laws and wage agreements, the officials said. The jute industry contributes over Rs 12,000 crore to the rural economy, but is faced with challenges as raw jute prices fall below MSP levels, they added. Despite the US unease, India charts its own course; QUAD Tokyo conference is a case in point In a balancing act of sorts, the Government of India is trying to address US and European concerns regarding PM Modi's meeting with President Putin last month, when many of the leaders were in a huddle in Washington for the NATO summit. President Putin went an extra step to welcome PM Modi in Moscow, signalling a strong message to the US, regarding the long-standing partnership with India. Senior officials in the US expressed deep concern with the optics involved in PM Modis Moscow visit while reiterating that nothing significant was achieved. Russia bilateral is a tightrope, that India has managed to carefully tread on, despite its growing engagement with the US in the past decades.Therefore, this week's QUAD foreign ministers conference in Tokyo where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his US counterpart Anthony Blinken was significant. The joint statement in unequivocal terms condemned Russias action in Ukraine, perhaps for the first time joining in such a multilateral official communication. The joint statement read We express our deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. PM Modi had also in his bilateral meetings with President Putin and public messages subsequently, mentioned the need for finding lasting solutions to the Ukraine crisis away from the battleground while condemning the attack by Russia killing nearly 41 persons including at a childrens hospital. PM Modi said Whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity, is pained when there is loss of lives. But even in that, when innocent children are killed, the heart bleeds and that pain is very terrifying.". Ukraine President Zelensky has condemned PM Modis visit to Russia. Government officials now indicate that the PM is likely to travel to Ukraine in August to balance the geopolitical dynamics and reset India and Europe's relationship.Meanwhile, the QUAD foreign ministers meeting continued to focus on the Gaza crisis, and its spillover in the Red Sea zone, impacting lives and raising freight costs. The foreign ministers jointly communicated We urge all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome UNSC Resolution S/RES/2735 (2024) and strongly urge all parties concerned to work immediately and steadily toward the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to take every feasible step to protect the lives of civilians including aid workers, and facilitate the rapid transportation of humanitarian relief. We also encourage other countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific, to increase their efforts to address the dire humanitarian need on the ground. We underscore that the future recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip should be supported by the international community. We remain committed to a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state taking into account Israels legitimate security concerns as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace. India would be the host for the QUAD leaders summit scheduled this year, however, the crucial US presidential elections in November would be a key determinant of the time. President Biden who has mostly shaped the Quad narrative in the past, would like to leave a lasting impression on this group of four. (The writer is a policy analyst; views are personal) This innovative solution promises to alleviate the long-term suffering of bone-fractured patients caused by traditional metal implants An age-old adage "necessity is the mother of invention"still holds now. This aforementioned adage is duly proven by the fact that Nitin Pratap Varma Senior Scientist and highly esteemed research scholar from Dhanbad-based IIT-ISM and currently working as Senior Scientist for Shahjahanpur( UP) based company G Surgiwear Limited, felt the necessity of resorbable implant that could be fully absorbed in the bodies of accident victims as part of treating their fractured bones. Understanding this need of the hour, Varma held meetings with members--scientists of his research team. Many brainstorming sessions with experiments ensued. Eventually, the team led by Varma zeroed in on the final product and invented the "magnesium implant" for the first time in the world. Shedding light on factual aspects of his invention, Varma says: "For many years, I have been observing the predicaments and troubles being suffered by bone-fractured patients due to inserted implants comprising plates and screws made up of stainless steel and titanium metals Since those plates and screws remained embedded in the body, patients had to undergo painful sufferings for a long period. To remove those metallic plates from the body, the patients have to undergo surgery which is physically tormenting as patients have to bear the brunt of risk aspects of surgery. And to add insult to injury, patients bear the huge expenses of surgery.Keeping in mind the troubles faced by patients, Varma convened a series of meetings with his fellow scientists and team members to discuss the use of plates made up of resorbable metals in place of stainless steel--made plates After having a long discussion, we reached to the scientific conclusion that implant of resorbable metals gets fully absorbed in the body within 3-5 years of insertion. It is no hyperbole on my part if I say it vanishes into the body. Thus through continued research and experiments, we invented and zeroed in on magnesium implant due to its pathbreaking resorbable quality in the human body. Patients do not feel any physical inconvenience afterwards., Varma explains matter-of-factly. Analysing his bone treatment-related achievement in an in-depth manner, Varma explains that there are three kinds of metals that are resorbable and biologically safe: magnesium, zinc and iron. Undoubtedly, these metals have their pluses and minuses.Varma and his colleagues have been experimenting with resorbable metals to gain knowledge of their utilities and qualities. For this very purpose, the team of scientists also visited the Jamshedpur-based National Institute of Metallurgy institution to seek intricate technical knowledge of metals. Expressing optimism over the utility and quality of magnesium implants, Varma avers that the invented product has reached the final stage; since the product has already been implanted in animals for testing its efficacy. Also, to be well-versed with different clinical parameters related to experimental procedures, the animals have been kept under observation for six months. Results from animal testing are very encouraging.After successfully experimenting with this product in animals, Varma has plans to test this product in human bodies. For this, he has decided to seek permission from the Drug Controller General of India. Having successfully tested this product in human bodies, it will be put in the public domain, Varma explains. Eventually, it is no exaggeration to say that the invention of the magnesium implant is slated to bring revolutionary changes in the treatment of bone fractures and other bone diseases. This is more so because as per a research report, scores of scientists are engaged in experimental procedures of implants in laboratories the world over. And in this context, thousands of research papers have been inked and published. But to this date, those scientists have yet to make in-roads to reach the level of realistic utility of implants. (The writer is a freelancer; views expressed are personal) A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 1 its order on the anticipatory bail of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused in a case of cheating and forgery. During the hearing, Khedkar told the court that she was being targeted for filing a sexual harassment complaint against an officer. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed that she has imminent threat of arrest. The prosecution opposed the application, saying that she has cheated the system. During the proceedings, Khedkar said she wanted the anticipatory bail to establish her innocence. I (Khedkar) filed a complaint for sexual harassment and that is why all this is being done against me. This is all happening on behest of the collector against whom I have levelled sexual harassment complaint. The person asked me to come and sit in a private room. I said I am a qualified IAS and I will not do that. I am pressing for anticipatory bail to establish my innocence, advocate Bina Mahadevan, appearing for Khedkar, told the court. Mahadevan told the court that Khedkar didnt suppress any information, and that she has wrongly mentioned the number of attempt. I wrote five but I should have said 12. It is because I availed those attempts under a different quota. Whether it was done in good faith or not is to be inquired, she said. The advocate further said that Khedkar has been called by multiple authorities. IAS Academy Mussoorie has called me (Khedkar), Pune Commissioner has called me. DoPT has given me a notice as well. I need anticipatory bail to defend myself before all these forums, the counsel said. She added that since this case, media is indulged in witch hunt against Khedkar, but the IAS trainee has not gone to media once, because I have full faith in the justice system. The prosecution opposed the bail application, claiming that Khedkar took advantage of the loopholes and changed her name. We are at a very nascent stage. We need her custodial interrogation, public prosecutor Atul Srivastava said. On courts query as to why police was in hurry to arrest her if the probe was at a nascent stage, Srivastava said, If she gets anticipatory bail, she will not cooperate. She changed her fathers name and her mothers name. How? The conspiracy to cheat the examination system and public at large is there. She has done immense harm to people who would have otherwise qualified. These kinds of persons who cheat the system must be dealt with very seriously. This person has abused the process of law, he submitted, adding that the chances of her abusing the law was still there. The public prosecutor further said that there were nine attempts under OBC criteria. In OBC quota theres concept of creamy layer and non-creamy layer. Her father declared his assets of Rs 53 crore. To overcome that, she claimed that her parents are divorced and she lives with her mother. That is also part of the investigation. We will also investigate the medical documents, he said. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has filed a case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the benefits of quota by faking her identity to take the civil services examination beyond the permissible number of attempts. Senior Advocate Naresh Kaushik, appearing for the UPSC, said, She secured a public employment unlawfully. It would not only be an offence against the UPSC but the entire society. She has cheated the examination process. If UPSC had the means to prosecute, it would have prosecuted. The offence has been committed with deep intelligence. The investigation is necessary to unearth the methods used by her because other persons can also use similar methods, he said. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Tuesday demanded a probe into deputy chief minister and NCP (AP) president Ajit Pawars ten secret visits to Delhi that too in disguise and with assumed identities -- to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah ahead of his joining the BJP-led MahaYuti government in Maharashtra in July last year. Linking a controversial disclosure by Ajit Pawar who was the then Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly --about his secret visits to the national capital to meet Shah prior to his joining the MahaYuti government on July 2, 2023 to national security, the MVA leaders demanded a thorough inquiry and stringent action against the current deputy chief minister. The Opposition NCP (Sharad Pawar) Working President Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut flagged the issue after a few regional television channels reported Ajit Pawars informal disclosure m wearing a cap and mask for his secret meetings with Shah before engineered a split in the Sharad Pawar-led united NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government at the behest of the ruling BJP at the Centre. Ajitdada as Ajit Pawar is known in the state political circles had reportedly made the disclosure to a group of journalists in Delhi during the latters visit to the national capital last week. Tearing into Ajit Pawar, Supriya who is Sharad Pawars daughter told media persons in Delhi: I have read in newspapers that Ajit Pawar, who was then the LoP in the Maharashtra Assembly that he used to fly to Delhi in disguise and that too with assumed names. I have ask him three to four questions sincerely.. First, given that as a LoP in the Assembly, he used to criticise the BJP in public and to meet Shah secretly, was he not compromising the interests of Maharashtra?. Secondly, the television channels have reported that he used to travel with assumed names. This is an issue of national security. If we have to fly anywhere we need an Aadhar card as proof. Here is a case where a Leader of the Opposition books his tickets with assumed names. During the checks at the airport, was the identity card shown by him matching with his actually? If Ajit Pawar does like this, even terrorists will do like this tomorrow, Supriya said This is a national security issue. It is to be investigated as to how this security breach took place at Mumbai and Delhi airports and how Ajit Pawar travelled by the assumed identities. Even airlines need to be investigated. Who will take responsibility for this security lapse?, she asked. Two Chinese nationals were arrested at the Indo-Nepal border area here for allegedly trying to cross over into India illegally, police on Thursday said. A Tibetan refugee, who was helping them in the task, has also been arrested, they said. The trio was held at the Sonouli transit point between the two countries by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Yang Meng Meng (37) and Gu Baoqiang (35), both from Peoples Republic of China, were roaming in Sonauli Indo-Nepal Border area last night when they were stopped by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for a routine checking, said Maharajganj Additional Superintendent of Police Atish Kumar Singh. They were arrested by the immigration department in the Sonauli area after they found the Chinese passport but no Indian visa papers and no valid documents, he added. Tibetan refugee Lobsang Jamyang (44), who had taken the responsibility of facilitating the two Chinese citizens to enter India illegally from Nepal, has also been held, the officer said. The Tibetan refugee had also made fake Indian Aadhaar cards of both the Chinese citizens and taken the responsibility of their transportation from Kathmandu to Gorakhpur, but they could not escape the security agencies and all three were arrested by SSB jawans while entering India from Nepal, Singh added. He said when valid documents were asked from the two arrested Chinese citizens, no visa was recovered from them, while the Tibetan refugee was found to have an Indian Aadhaar card and PAN card which had an Indian address. The motive behind their move could not be established yet. Interrogation is being done, the officer added. The police have registered a case against both the Chinese citizens under various sections of the law, including Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, while action is being taken against the Tibetan person by registering a case under relevant law at the local Sonauli police station. Capital Delhi Delhi turned into a floating city after record-breaking downpour late on Wednesday, the highest single-day rainfall for July in 14 years, leading to prolonged traffic jams and 11 deaths in the Delhi-NCR areas. A woman and her three-year-old toddler who fell into an overflowing under-construction drain in east Delhis Ghazipur were among the victims. The weather station at Safdarjung recorded 108 millimetres of rainfall within a span of 24 hours. It caused major traffic congestion especially in Lutyens Delhi. The rain led to water leaking from the roof of the lobby of the newly inaugurated Parliament building. Waterlogging was seen around the premises of the new Parliament, particularly near the Makar Dwar of the Parliament. Several videos of the flooding went viral on social media. Opposition leaders took swipe at the Narendra Modi Government over water leakage in a lobby of the new Parliament building and praised the sturdy old Parliament building for its better infrastructure during monsoon. In a statement Lok Sabha Secretariat said a minor water leak in the new Parliament building was due to displacement of an adhesive material used to fix glass domes over the lobby and corrective measures were taken immediately. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the Building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a statement. It said the problem was detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said. Six weather stations across Delhi recorded over 100 mm of rain in a single day. Rains in Delhi, which was put on a red alert, claimed lives of atleast six people in the city including a 62-year-old man who died in a building collapse in north Delhis Sabji Mandi area, a 22-year-old woman and her three-year-old son in east Delhis Ghazipur area who drowned after they slipped into a waterlogged drain, a 12-year-old boy who got electrocuted after coming in contact with a live wire in southwest Delhis Bindapur area, an 18 year old boy who fell and died in South Delhis Sangam Vihar and a 28 year old Prabhat who died due to electrocution at his home in South east Delhis Meethapur. Five deaths were reported in the adjoining regions of the city including Gurugram and Noida. In Haryanas Gurugram, three died due to electrocution after coming in contact with high tension wire after heavy rain while two died in Greater Noida after a wall collapse in Dadri area. Multiple incidents of fallen trees, water inundated roads, and wall collapses were reported from across the city as several key stretches were choked with unending traffic and people left stranded. A data by the Delhi Police showed that it received 2,945 calls related to traffic jams, 127 calls of waterlogging, 27 calls of building collapse and 50 calls for uprooted trees till 7 am in the morning of Thursday. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) received a total of 12 calls between 9 pm to 6 am including two calls of tree falling and 10 of waterlogging while it received 43 calls between 2 pm to 6 pm on Thursday including 22 calls regarding waterlogging and 21 calls of tree fallen. PWD officials said they received 90 calls regarding waterlogging and 20 calls for clearing uprooted trees till 6 am on Thursday. The inclement weather also hit air traffic with many flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport being diverted. Schools in the city remained closed on Thursday as per the announcement made by Delhi Education Minister Atishi late Wednesday night. The maximum temperature was recorded at 33.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below the average, while the minimum temperature settled at 24.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the average. Wayanad Even as the South-West Monsoons fury continued unabated in Wayanad district, the death toll in the massive landslides in Mundakkai settlement crossed 283 mark by 6 pm on Thursday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who inspected the flood-affected region, told mediapersons that the landslides and deluge which wreaked havoc in Wayanad district should be declared as a national disaster. The non-stop rain in the district has affected the pace of the rescue operations as disaster response team members were finding it hard to wade through the slush, water and boulders. Though 283 bodies have been retrieved during the last three days of search and rescue operations, rescue workers are yet to make any breakthrough regarding the dismembered human bodies recovered from the rivers and the landslide-affected regions. There is no information about 240 persons from Mundakkai missing after Tuesdays landslides. Engineers of the Indian Army have almost completed the laying of the Bailey bridge across the Chaliyar river to facilitate rescue operations. Soldiers and volunteers of the National Disaster Response Team numbering more than 500 are working round-the-clock in their efforts to rescue persons trapped underneath the boulders and clay. Chief Minister Vijayan said in his media briefing that the Army officers had told him that there was no possibility of finding any survivor in Mundakkai as the entire population havehas been either drowned or washed away by the gushing waters following the landslides. All 348 houses in Mundakkai were washed away by the flood waters. The Central Water Commission, the agency entrusted with the task of issuing warnings about floods, issued a flood alert in five districts of the State. Vijayan had on Wednesday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the failure of the central agencies in issuing timely warnings about the flood and landslides. Water level in two rivers in Wayanad have crossed the danger level and the NDRT officials are monitoring the situation on a round-the-clock. Environmentalists like P K Ramachandran, T P Kunhikkannan and John Peruvanthanam are of the view that the Government of Kerala should launch immediate missions to mitigate the impact of future landslides and deluges instead of entering a one-up man ship race. The arrival of Rahul Gandhi, who had represented Wayanad in Lok Sabha during 2019 to 2024 and his sister Priyanka Vadra brought a major relief to the residents of Wayanad. The sibling were accorded warm welcome by the people and the members of the Nehru-Gandho clan toured the region affected with landslide and flood. They called on those undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the district and also visited relief camps. Chief Minister Vijayan , after presiding over an all-party meeting and the cabinet sub-committee held at district head quarters Kalpetta said that a team of five ministers would continue to work in the district till further orders to coordinate the rescue and rehabilitation works. Rahul Gandhi, while speaking to reporters after visiting the affected regions and calling on the survivors, demanded that people should get what they require. This is a national disaster for sure and we all owe the survivors love and affection, said the Leader of the Opposition. Anie Raja, CPI leader, who had contested from Wayanad in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and who was defeated by Rahul Gandhi is touring the landslide affected regions. She is the front runner in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to contest the by poll from the Wayanad constituency which fell vacant by the resignation of Rahul Gandhi. Himachal / Uttarakhand Building collapsing in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, roads being washed away, pilgrims being airlifted these were the scenes in Uttarakhand and neighbouring Himalayan State of HP on Thursday morning as multiple cloudbursts led to rain wreaking havoc in these States. At least 17 people were killed, 50 missing and hundreds are stranded in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh due to heavy rains and multiple cloudbursts and toll is likely to go up. More than 1,500 pilgrims stranded on the Kedarnath trek route, which is blocked at several places by boulders, have been shifted to safe places. Pilgrims are being rescued with the help of both helicopters and rescue teams consisting of the SDRF, NDRF, police and district administration. According to officials, 425 pilgrims have been brought to safety by helicopter from Lincholi and Bhimbali while 1100 pilgrims have reached Sonprayag on foot from various places with the help of rescue teams. The pilgrims had got stranded beyond Bhimbali along Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route when 20-25 metres of the stretch were washed out by heavy rain on Wednesday night, Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said. While multiple cloudbursts caused severe damage with five people confirmed dead and more than 50 others reported missing in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla. In Uttarakhand, at least 12 people including three of a family, were killed and six injured in heavy overnight rains in various parts that triggered many incidents of house collapse, flooding and rise in water levels of several rivers. An advisory has been issued for Kedarnath-bound pilgrims asking them to wait in a safe place until the weather improves and the roads blocked here and there are restored. Both Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers in Rudraprayag district are flowing close to the danger mark. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and took stock of the situation arising due to the cloudburst in the state, and assured him of all help from the Centre. Uttarkhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami said the government stands with the affected people. All possible assistance will be provided to them. He directed Tehri District Magistrate to streamline road connectivity, electricity and drinking water supply in the affected areas to restore normalcy. In Kharkhari, a truck carrying rations and essentials for a group of kanwariyas was among the vehicles washed away. Roads were submerged in many areas of Haridwar and the rainwater also entered the Kankhal police station. Many colonies and markets of Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal and Jwalapur also got flooded. Schools up to class 12 and Anganwadi centres remained closed on Thursday in various districts, including Dehradun. In Himachal Pradesh, the cloudburst took place in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts.A cloudburst at Samej Khud (nallah) in Rampur subdivision of Shimla district left two people dead and 28 others missing, Superintendent of Police (SP), Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, said. The Shimla DC and SP, who were on the spot, said that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo Tibetan Border Police, police and home guards have started rescue operations and help of drones is being taken to locate the missing persons. Another cloudburst in village Rajban near Terang in Padhar subdivision of Mandi district on Wednesday night left one person dead and nine others missing. Two houses have been washed away while another was damaged, officials said. A cloudburst also occurred in Kullu district, leaving seven people missing. Speaking with reporters after an emergency meeting on the matter, HP CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that massive damage has been caused in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts since Wednesday night and about 50 persons are missing and Manali has been cut off by road. Keeping in mind the safety of tourists, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board in collaboration with Disaster Management Institute, Bhopal organized a two-day workshop on Risk Reduction and Rescue Operations during Adventure Activities for the adventure tour operators of the state. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Ilaiyaraaja T, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation by lighting the lamp. The main objective of the workshop is to enhance the safety protocols and emergency response capabilities of the adventure tour operators working in the state and to train them with the necessary skills in disaster and risk management. Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, Ilaiyaraaja T said that the safety of people should be a priority in adventure activities, skill development has to be done. Local people also have to be trained so that their help can be taken in extraordinary circumstances. In the workshop, Dr. Ilaiyaraaja discussed other points like Objective Ranking System, Self Assessment, Design and Implementation of Safety Courses. In the first day's session of the workshop on Thursday, Kamakshi Maheshwari, Nodal Officer, Adventure Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, provided information to adventure operators about the provisions of the proposed Adventure Tourism Safety Law and the new SOP. SK Shrivastava, Joint Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, while giving information about the objective of this workshop, said that this type of workshop is being organized for the first time in the country. 55 adventure tour operators from across the state including Bhopal and Indore are participating in the workshop. George V Joseph, Joint Director, Disaster Management Institute, provided information on risks in adventure activities and disaster risk management.In the workshop on Thursday, adventure operators will be given practical training on first aid, fire disaster management, risk reduction model program. In a bold and decisive move, former Member of Parliament and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Wednesday announced the revocation of the expulsion of eight rebel leaders from the party. Asserting his authority as the partys patron, Dhindsa declared the expulsions unconstitutional, challenging the partys decisions and calling for a significant overhaul in its leadership. The decision to expel these leaders was against the partys constitution. As the partys patron, I revoke the expulsion of these eight leaders, Dhindsa stated during a meeting held in Chandigarh. He emphasized the necessity of adhering to constitutional principles and announced his intention to write to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, demanding explanations and a resolution to this internal crisis. The expelled leaders, who include prominent figures such as Prem Singh Chandumajra, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Gurpratap Singh Wadala, Dhinsas son Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Sikander Singh Maluka, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Surinder Singh Thekedar, and Charanjit Singh Brar, were accused of indulging in anti-party activities. However, Dhindsa and his supporters argued that these expulsions were a result of internal disagreements and were not justified. Dhindsa announced plans to convene a general assembly to elect a new party president, emphasizing the need for leadership change. The recommendations of the Jhunda Committee, which suggested a change in leadership, must be implemented. Sukhbir Badal should step down as the party president, he asserted, referring to the committee's findings during the 2022 elections, which indicated a demand for new leadership within the party. At the meeting, Wadala and Chandumajra reiterated the Jhunda committees recommendations, stressing the need for internal reforms. We are working in accordance with the committees suggestions. Sukhbir Badals leadership has been questioned, and it's time for a change, they stated. They pointed that the Jhunda Committee was established after SADs repeated election defeats in 2022, under senior party leader and former MLA Iqbal Singh Jhunda. The committee gathered feedback from across Punjab, and the consensus was clear there was a strong recommendation for a change in the partys leadership. The committee advised that Sukhbir Badal should step down from his position. We are merely echoing the committees recommendations and advocating for the necessary changes as outlined, they stated, emphasizing their commitment to following the committee's guidance for the party's renewal. The expulsions, initially carried out by the SAD's disciplinary committee, led by former MP Balwinder Singh Bhundur, were described as a necessary action against anti-party activities. Senior SAD leader Bhundur criticized Dhindsas move, stating, Dhindsa does not have the authority to override decisions taken by the partys disciplinary committee. His actions are not in line with the partys constitution. Accusing Dhindsa of acting like a self-styled dictator by attempting to invalidate decisions made through proper channels, Bhundur said: It is unfortunate that instead of advising the party rank and file not to indulge in anti-party activities, Dhindsa had chosen to led the team of expelled leaders. Bhundur elaborated that the disciplinary action was taken after the expelled leaders ignored a resolution passed by the partys working committee on June 26, appealing to everyone to discuss their misgivings in the party forum. The expelled leaders had made their intention to work against the party further clear by forming a parallel organization without the approval of the party president and with the sole aim of misleading the party cadre, he added. Dhindsas stance, however, is gaining traction among many party members who feel marginalized under the current leadership. The leaders also emphasized their deep sacrifices for the Akali Dal, highlighting their enduring commitment through imprisonment and personal hardship. In stark contrast, they argued, Sukhbir Badal has not shared in such sacrifices. The party now stands divided into two distinct factions one comprising those who have endured imprisonment for the partys cause, and another of those who arrived in luxury cars, detached from the struggles faced by the former. The controversy underscored a growing rift within the countrys oldest political party Shiromani Akali Dal, a party historically known for its disciplined structure. The dispute over leadership and the direction of the party highlighted deeper issues and called for a resolution that aligns with the partys core values. To improve the quality of school education in the state and further strengthen the education system, PM Shri Yojana has been started in September 2022. For qualitative improvement in education, joint efforts are being made with the cooperation of Center and State under PM Shri Yojana. At present 553 schools in the state have been taken under PM Shri Yojana. Under the PM Shri Yojana, two higher secondary, high school, or secondary and primary schools are being selected from each development block of the state and these schools are being developed in a way that the school can serve as an example of excellence for other nearby schools. Arrangements are being made to equip the PM Shri schools with Vatikas, Rashtriya Awishkar Abhiyan, vocational education, play facilities, libraries, and labs. In the first phase of the scheme, 416 schools were selected which includes 14 primary schools, 91 secondary schools, 116 high schools, and 195 higher secondary schools of the state. About 2 lakh 50 thousand students are enrolled in these schools, and an amount of about Rs 220 crore has been sanctioned for these schools. 137 schools have been selected in the second phase of the Central Government. This includes 13 middle schools, 52 high schools, and 72 higher secondary schools. 91 thousand 981 students are registered in these PM Shri schools. PM Shri schools are being developed on the lines of green schools, and students have been provided with facilities of a digital library, ICT lab, and smart classes. The mission of PM Shri Schools is to create exemplary schools where every student feels secure and cared for. A safe and stimulating learning environment is maintained in these schools, with good physical infrastructure and appropriate learning resources being provided to all students in these schools. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a strong stance on the recent Gomti Nagar incident, declaring that anyone threatening womens safety would face severe consequences. Addressing the state assembly on Thursday, he emphasised that the accused in the July 31 incident of molestation and harassment near Hotel Taj would not be treated leniently. Womens safety is our top priority, CM Yogi stated. The accused in the Gomti Nagar incident will face strict legal action, not Sadbhavna but a bullet train approach. Preparations for this are underway, he assured. Yogi Adityanaths comments were made in response to the violent harassment that took place in a waterlogged underpass. He condemned the perpetrators, Manoj Yadav and Mohammad Arbaaz, asserting that their actions would be met with the full force of the law. The CM questioned, Should we garland criminals instead of taking decisive action? He stressed that the governments priority is to ensure respect and security for everyone, with strict consequences for those who create unrest. In his address, CM Yogi reflected on the actions taken by the government. He highlighted that the incident prompted immediate and serious responses: the removal of the DCP, ADCP, and ACP involved, and the suspension of the police inspector and all personnel at the police outpost. These steps were part of the government's commitment to address the issue with the gravity it deserves. Yogi Adityanath also criticised the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its leaders, accusing them of involvement in serious crimes. He pointed out that Moin Khan, a key suspect in the Ayodhya rape case, is an SP office bearer and MP from Faizabad. The SP has not acted against him, which CM Yogi condemned. He further criticized the former SP district president implicated in the Hardoi incident, highlighting a history of criminal activity and questioning why such individuals have not faced proper action. The chief minister described these individuals as a blight on society and argued that improving conditions in Uttar Pradesh will be challenging until this issue is addressed. Should we honour such criminals, or should they face severe consequences? he asked. He emphasised the need for a strong and effective response to ensure justice and safety. Yogi contrasted Uttar Pradeshs current situation with the past, noting significant improvements. He cited a substantial decrease in crimes against women from 2017 to 2022 compared to the national average. He pointed out that crime rates in states like Telangana, Odisha, and Rajasthan had increased more than in Uttar Pradesh during this period. Specifically, UP ranks 24th in terms of rape cases, with higher crime rates reported in states such as Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The CM also highlighted the increased enforcement measures under the current government. Actions taken under the Arms Act, NDPS Act, Excise Act, Goonda Act, and Gangster Act have all seen significant rises, reflecting the state's commitment to tackling crime effectively. This increase in enforcement demonstrates the governments proactive approach to addressing and reducing criminal activities. In addition to his comments on crime and safety, CM Yogi Adityanath discussed the broader progress in Uttar Pradesh. He highlighted that the state has seen a significant transformation, becoming the second-largest economy in India from a position of relative economic insignificance. He emphasised that the government is developing a roadmap for the next three to five years, focusing on advancements in education, health, and skill development. This includes creating new job opportunities and improving the states overall economic standing. The chief minister criticised the SPs handling of various cases and underscored the need for rigorous action against criminals. He condemned the SP for not taking action against its members involved in serious crimes and stressed that such inaction tarnishes the partys reputation. Yogi Adityanaths remarks reflect his administration's commitment to addressing crime, improving public safety, and advancing the states development agenda. Farmers in Punjab intensified their protests on Thursday, burning effigies of the BJP in response to the recent developments. The protests, led by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, center around demands for a legal guarantee of minimum support prices (MSP) for crops, among other issues. The protests took place at various locations, including the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, Amritsar, and Moga. Farmers expressed their determination to continue the agitation until their demands are met. One of the key points of contention is the Haryana Governments recent decision to recommend gallantry medals for six police officials, recognized for their role in preventing farmers from heading to Delhi during the Delhi Chalo movement in February, this year. The government's recommendations to the Centre include the names of three Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and three Haryana Police Service officers for the police medal for gallantry. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher condemned the Haryana Government's decision. Police officers are being rewarded for stopping farmers from going to Delhi by using force, Pandher said, highlighting that the Haryana Police had used teargas shells and rubber bullets against farmers during their attempt to march towards Delhi. The six officers were stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, where they played a significant role in halting the farmers' march towards the national capital. The protesting farmers have been camping at these border points since February 13, when security forces initially stopped their "Delhi Chalo" march. During the protests on Thursday, farmers raised slogans against the Centre and the Haryana government. Pandher reiterated the commitment of the farmers to continue their agitation. "The agitation will continue till the demands of farmers and labourers are not met," he asserted. The protests have seen significant clashes in the past. On February 21, a young farmer from Bathinda, Shubhkaran Singh, was killed, and many police personnel were injured during confrontations at the Khanauri border on the Punjab-Haryana boundary. The ongoing agitation highlights the deep-seated grievances of the farming community and their resolve to fight for their rights, despite the challenges and opposition they face. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said the Himachal government is preparing a strong legal case to reclaim the Shanan Hydropower Project which was given to Punjab on a 99-year lease. The 110-MW Shanan Hydropower Project, commissioned in 1932, was built under a 99-year lease agreement between Joginder Sen, the then king of the erstwhile Mandi state, and British engineer B C Batty signed in 1925. During the reorganisation of states in November 1966, the powerhouse which came under Mandi district of the hill state was given to Punjab as per the lease agreement that expired on March 2 this year. Presiding over a meeting with senior state government officials here, Sukhu directed them to present a strong case before the Supreme Court to reclaim the project. Sukhu said that the state government will fight vigorously to get back the rights of Himachal Pradesh so that the people of the state can get benefits of this project. In a statement issued here, he said the lease period ended on March 2 and as this project falls in the territory of Himachal Pradesh, now the Punjab government must hand over this project to the hill state without any delay. "The state government is committed to ensure that the benefits of the project are redirected to the people of Himachal Pradesh. As the legal proceedings were in process, the government is preparing a strong case to reclaim the project", reiterated the Chief Minister. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday visited the 84th Shaheedi Mahasammelan of Shaheed Udham Singh at Dera Baba Bhuman Shah, Sangar Sarista in Sirsa and paid tribute to the martyrs who made supreme sacrifice of their lives for the country. Speaking on this occasion, he said that the central and state governments are following the path shown by the martyrs to realise their dreams. There have been fundamental changes in development works across the country and the state. The double engine government has taken up the task of fulfilling the dreams of the martyrs by launching new schemes, he said. Saini said that the state government has included the biography of Shaheed Udham Singh Ji in the history textbook for the 9th grade under the Haryana School Education Board. This inclusion is a true tribute to him, he said. The Chief Minister said that Shaheed Udham Singh was a great revolutionary who vowed in his youth to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by General Dyer. He said that after 21 years of intense dedication, Shaheed Udham Singh avenged the massacre by shooting General Dyer at a public meeting. He also announced Rs 51 lakh for the construction of Kamboj Dharamshalas at various locations, including Sirsa, Karnal, Radaur, Bhuna, Kurukshetra, Ratia, and Jagadhri. He also announced setting up of a library in honour of Shaheed Udham Singh near his statue on the grounds of the old Government College in Hisar. Saini, while addressing the request from the management committee members to expand the Rangoi drain, which passes through the Ghaggar River near village Musahib Wala, said that the feasibility of this project would be examined, and if all criteria are met, the government would approve it. He further said that if land is available, the government would consider making the road from NH-9 to Dera Baba Bhuman Shah a four-lane road. Besides this, he announced the construction of a bus queue shelter on the main road. He urged everyone to pledge to plant a sapling on the birth anniversaries of martyrs, on their Shaheedi diwas, on the birthdays of parents, and on other special occasions under the Ek Ped Maa ke naam campaign. He recalled Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi's call to plant a sapling under Ek Ped Maa ke naam on World Environment Day on June 5, a goal the state government is advancing with the aim of planting 1.5 crore saplings this year. Offers prayers at Gurudwara Sri Chilla Sahib In another event, Saini paid obeisance at Gurudwara Sri Chilla Sahib in Sirsa. During this, he handed over the registry document of 77 Kanal 7 Marla land to the members of the Gurudwara Sri Chilla Sahib Management Committee. The members of the management committee honoured the Chief Minister with a memento and a Saropa. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that Gurudwara Sri Chilla Sahib holds significant historical importance as Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited this place and from this holy land, saints have guided the world through their teachings. The Chief Minister said that during the 550th Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced the allocation of this land to Sri Gurudwara Chilla Sahib. Following this announcement, the state cabinet passed a proposal transferring the ownership of this sacred land to Sri Gurudwara Chilla Sahib. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made numerous announcements for the Sikh religion over the past decade, including waiving GST on langar items and observing December 26 as Veer Bal Diwas', to mark the martyrdom of sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh - Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji. Saini said that Guru Nanak Dev Ji performed penance on this land and guided people. Through his sacred teachings and words, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji showed the entire world the path of righteousness. We should follow the path he showed in our lives, he said. In another event, Saini visited Shri Tara Baba Kutiya located on Rania Road in Sirsa where he offered prayers at Baba Ji's samadhi. The Chief Minister also participated in the special prayers held in Kutiya. After this, he visited the Sant Ashram and received blessings from the Spiritual Orator Jaya Kishori. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, while inaugurating the Ladli Behna Utsav in Chitrakoot, announced that on August 10, Ladli Behnas will get Rs 1250 through a single click and an additional Rs 250 will be given as a Raksha Bandhan gift. He said that the Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on 19th August. But it will be celebrated throughout the month of Savan. Festivals are being organized in every district to receive blessings of Behnas. Yadav said that sisters shower their affection on brothers. Today sisters have given me the joy by tying a huge Rakhi. He said that the festivals connect us. The whole world is amazed to see the festivals of India. Our sages started the tradition of festivals thousands of years ago to maintain love and harmony in society. Ladli Behnas handed over a 30-feet-long Rakhi to the Chief Minister in the program. The Behnas also presented Aabhaar Sneh Pati, which was written in Bagheli dialect, to the Chief Minister. Yadav said that Chitrakoot is the holy place of Lord Ram and Nanaji Deshmukh. The land of Chitrakoot is irrigated with the tears of love arising from the sacred union of Lord Ram and his great devotee Bharat. Continuous efforts are being made for the all-round development of Chitrakoot. As per the ideals of Nanaji and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, the benefits of government schemes are being given to the deprived and the backmost person for development. Ladli Behna Yojana beneficiaries and women having Ujjwala gas connections from Ujjwala Yojana will be given at Rs 450 for refilling their gas cylinders. Continuous efforts are being made for over all development of the state. Regional Investors Conclave will be organized in Rewa soon. With this, investors will get the opportunity to invest in large quantities in this entire region and the regional youth will get employment opportunities. The Chief Minister reached Chitrakoot and planted saplings in the Udyamita Parisar of Deendayal Research Institute under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign. He also laid the foundation and dedicated construction works worth Rs 131 crore. The Chief Minister distributed benefits to the beneficiaries of the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, and Mukhya Mantri Udyam Kranti Yojana. The Chief Minister also performed Kanya Pujan. The Chief Minister also visited the Livelihood Project exhibition set up at the program venue. Yadav distributed gifts to Ladli Behnas present in the Ladli Behna beneficiaries' thanksgiving program for the coming Rakhsha Bandhan festival. At the outset, Chief Minister Dr. Yadav spoke to the Ladli Behnas seated on the swings in the campus and blessed Palak. The Ladli Behnas greeted the Chief Minister by showering flowers on him. Dr. Yadav reached among the Behnas who tied Rakhis. He thanked them and gave them his best wishes. Dr. Yadav was overwhelmed with emotion at the love showered on him by Ladli Behnas and at the beginning of his address he sang, Phoolon ka taro ka, sabka kehna hai... Ek Hazaron me meri Behna hai. Minister of State for Urban Development and Housing, Smt. Pratima Bagri expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister Dr. Yadav for attending the Ladli Behna Yojana beneficiaries' sammelan in Chitrakoot. She said that along with Rs 1250, the Chief Minister is also giving a gift of Rs 250 to the Ladli Behnas for the festival of Rakhi. MP Ganesh Singh said that Ladli Behna Yojana is being talked about across the country. Under the leadership of the Chief Minister the state government is implementing all the schemes including Ladli Behna Yojana. An amount of Rs 9 crore 61 lakh has been given to 3 lakh 84 thousand 259 women of Satna district under Ladli Behna Yojana. Development works have started in Chitrakoot, the holy land of Lord Ram, under Ram Van Path Gaman Yojana. Students continued to protest for the third day over the ban of entries for two wheelers in Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal. During the protest, the movement of vehicles inside the campus was also stopped. In such a situation, there was a jam at the main gate of the institute. Students claimed that the electricity of the hostel has been cut off and food is also not being provided in the mess. Their demand is that more than half of the students of the institute come and go by two wheelers. In such a situation, by running only four e-buses, they will not be able to reach anywhere on time. Therefore, entry by bike should be started in the campus. All the departments in the institute are at a distance. In fact, four e-buses were flagged off in MANIT on Sunday. Since then, the vehicles of the students are not being allowed to enter the gate. After the protest on Tuesday, the director had talked to the students and assured them to find a solution. Police force remained deployed outside the MANIT campus during the protest. Only four e-buses for 6000 students. Four different routes have been fixed for these buses. Only 50 students can sit in one bus. MANIT management said that efforts are being made to make a green campus. They have banned bikes in view of the safety of students. The administration said that many accidents have happened in the recent past, so two-wheelers will not be allowed to enter. Other demands of the students will be considered. However, some students are protesting against this decision. Due to the absence of elections of Students Council in MANIT, the voice of the students is suppressed. Therefore, elections should be held soon. The quality of food in the mess should be taken care of and there should be transparency in the operation of the mess. The operation of the mess in number-7 and 12 hostels should be given back to the girl students. Quality is required in library, gym, sports, medical. Also, the time should be increased so that the students can take full advantage. Insects are found in the water coolers in the hostel, water tanks are not cleaned, plaster is falling off the walls, washrooms are not cleaned and the rooms are in a pathetic condition. Therefore, the hostel should be rebuilt. The Orientation Program 2024 at XITE Gamharia, held from July 23rd to July 30th, concluded with great success, making a significant impact on both students and facilitators. The week-long event, designed to welcome and integrate the new students into the academic environment, featured a variety of engaging activities and informative sessions. The program began with a warm welcome from Principal Dr. Fr. E. A. Francis, SJ, who set an encouraging tone for the week. The first day included an introduction to XITE, a multi-religion prayer, a quiz, and a time management session led by Prof. Swati Singh. Day 2 saw an ice-breaking session by Tony Castelton, followed by a talk on the responsible use of IT by IIM Indore alumna Shraddha Agarwal. The day also featured a talent hunt showcasing fitness and art. On Day 3, students participated in a communication skills workshop with Prof. Akinchan Xaxa and attended talks on recent industrial trends by Ranjot Singh, Chairman of CII Jharkhand, and Mr. Prabhat Kumar, State Head of CII Jharkhand. The day concluded with a talent hunt that included drama and open mic performances. Day 4 included an alumni talk by Akshit Anand and an energetic Zumba session led by Zin Usha Gope and Zin Deepshikha. A heartfelt vote of thanks was extended to all participants and facilitators, including Prof. Sushmita Sen Chowdhury, Prof. Amit Chaturvedi, Prof. Anjali Jha, and the Branding & Communication Department. The successful orientation program has laid a strong foundation for the incoming students, enhancing their sense of belonging and readiness as they begin their academic journey at XITE Gamharia. The Department of Pediatrics at AIIMS Bhopal celebrated ORS Day here the other day. The event highlighted the importance of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) in preventing dehydration in children and promoting overall child health. Prof. Singh emphasized that small, mindful actions can significantly contribute to the health and strength of future generations. He also underscored the importance of maintaining cleanliness for children, noting that unsanitary conditions are a major cause of various diseases. ORS Week, celebrated from July 25 to July 31, and ORS Day, observed on July 29, aim to spread awareness about diarrhea in children and the critical role of ORS in preventing and treating dehydration. This year, the event was organized in collaboration with the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) and the Smart Unit of the Department of Pediatrics at AIIMS Bhopal. Various activities were held to educate the public about diarrhea prevention and the importance of ORS. One such program took place in the OPD area of AIIMS Bhopal, attracting about 110 participants. Dr. Shikha Malik, Head of the Pediatrics Department, discussed the theme of ORS Day 2024, "Prevention of Diarrhea, Cleanliness, and Take Care of Yourself with ORS." She emphasized the critical importance of cleanliness for children and highlighted that timely administration of ORS can prevent diarrhea-related deaths, which remain the third leading cause of mortality in children under five years of age. Dr. Bhavana Dhingra, Nodal Officer of the Smart Unit, provided detailed explanations on the use and benefits of various types of ORS, including Low Osmolarity ORS, Tri-Sodium Citrate ORS, Rice-based ORS, Homemade ORS, and Super ORS. Additionally, an awareness program was organized in the Smart Unit for the relatives of children admitted to the Pediatrics Department, with around 40 participants. This program focused on educating caregivers about the prevention and treatment of dehydration in children. The Mass Communication Department at Prestige Institute of Management and Research (PIMR) recently conducted a 96-hour skill enhancement workshop to equip students with essential industrial and business skills. This intensive program focused on preparing students to meet the demands of the industry with excellence. Throughout the workshop, students engaged in various tasks, including film analysis, current affairs packaging, brochure design, PR campaigning, ad analysis, ground reporting, and editing montages. These activities culminated in student presentations, showcasing their learnings and creativity. Roma Udasi and Manya Jain were recognized for their outstanding presentations, receiving awards from PIMR UG Director Colonel S. Raman Iyer. In his address, Dr. Iyer emphasized the importance of creativity in Mass Communication, urging students to actively participate and remain productive in various activities. Group Director of Prestige Institute of Management and Research, SS Bhaker, highlighted the institution's commitment to skill enhancement, ensuring that students develop holistically and transition smoothly into the industry. "We place a strong emphasis on comprehensive skill development to eliminate any potential challenges our students might face in their professional journeys," said Bhaker. Professor Zuber, Head of the Mass Communication Department, reiterated the workshop's objective of helping students achieve professional excellence. "Our goal is to support students in mastering professional skills for their future success in the industry. This workshop has provided a valuable platform for students to hone their skills and display their talents," he stated. The workshop successfully enabled students to develop and demonstrate their capabilities, preparing them for successful careers in Mass Communication. Bhopal police arrested two accused involved in the fraud of Rs 38 lakh with a lady medical officer of Gwalior two and a half months ago, accused were committing the fraud in connivance with their accomplices from China and UAE. The accused committed the crime by posing as CBI officers and by threatening human trafficking and have also sent the money collected from the frauds abroad by transferring it online. A record of buying US crypto currency worth about Rs 2.50 crore in a month has been found from their account, 18 accounts have come to light in which the cheated amount was transferred, including a young woman. Gwalior police caught Shahrukh Khan son of Asif Khan from Bhopal's Aishbagh and Laiq Baig from Budhwara area. The police have taken both of them to Gwalior. They are being questioned after taking them on remand. Gwalior SP Dharamveer Singh said that Shahrukh is the main member of the gang. After defrauding the female medical officer of Rs 38 lakh online , the amount was transferred to different accounts. Ten lakh rupees of this amount came to Shahrukh's account. On 9 May 2024, Medical Officer Dr. Sujata Bapat complained to SP Dharamveer Singh that in the month of April, a person named Rajiv Gupta called on the mobile. The caller told himself to be from DHL courier company. He said your parcel has been booked from Lucknow to Myanmar, which contains 20 passports, three credit cards, a laptop, 50 grams of MDMA and 4 kg of cloth. The booking address is A-16 Omnagar Road Pawanpuri Alambagh Lucknow. The receiver's address is John David resident House Number 207 City Dagan State Yangon Myanmar. I said that this is not my parcel. The caller said to complain at Alambagh police station. When I said that I was in Gwalior, he said that I will connect your call to the police station. The caller got the Telegram app downloaded. A video call came on Telegram. In the video, a man wearing a police uniform said that your cash is with the CBI. Your name is Ajay Mishra. You are a suspect in human trafficking and money laundering. I will make you talk to a CBI officer. He told someone to talk to madam, sir, then that person said to arrest madam. There is an arrest warrant and property seizure order against her. The alleged policeman said that madam's Aadhaar and other information show that madam is innocent.' 'The alleged policeman made me talk to someone. He introduced himself as a CBI officer. He said that in Myanmar, eyes, noses and ears of 60 people have been removed, who are involved in human trafficking. Rs 3 crore 80 lakh of their family has come to your HDFC account, then I said that I do not have an account in HDFC bank. When he asked, I gave the details of my bank accounts. He said that do not mention this to the family. Also, he refused to receive anyone's call. He sent a confidential contract letter on Telegram. He also asked for Rs 38 lakh. I transferred the money to the accounts mentioned. The fraud amunt was transferred to different accounts. Police identified one of these accounts. This account was of Bhopal. Recently, a team led by Station Incharge Rajesh Singh Tomar left for Bhopal from Gwalior. When information was collected, it was found that the account was in the name of Shahrukh Khan, son of Asif Khan, resident of Aishbagh. Police caught him. On his information, his friend was arrested from Budhwara. Shahrukh, who was arrested, has a four-storey house in Aishbagh. It has all the amenities. Accused Laiq Beg is getting his house in Budhwara demolished and renovated. He is living on rent on two floors in a multi. He travels around in a Thar jeep. Laiq is a cyber expert along with being a B.Com graduate. He was in direct contact with fraudsters from Dubai and China. According to his close ones, he used to earn 20-30 thousand rupees every day. Investigation of the mobile phone revealed that accused Laiq Baig was committing cyber fraud along with his Chinese and UAE associates. The fraud racket was being operated from there. Panchayat and Rural Development and Labour Minister Prahlad Patel has instructed to submit proposals for hospital construction in Satna, Mandideep, and Jabalpur. Existing hospitals and dispensaries be upgraded to further improve health services. Patel was presiding over the 90th Regional Council meeting of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for Madhya Pradesh, organized by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, at Indore today. Patel instructed that proposals for constructing hospitals and dispensaries on the land available with the corporation. Shri Patel directed the concerning officers to prepare a proposal for the construction of a 50-bed hospital in Ratlam, considering the needs of the Industrial Corridor. Attention should be given to ensuring that new hospitals and dispensaries are located close to the city to avoid inconvenience. Hospital construction in Pithampur be completed within the stipulated time frame. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday unveiled a visionary initiative, pledging to integrate the Punjabi language into the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The groundbreaking move aimed at ensuring that the Punjabi language keeps pace with technological advancements and remains relevant in the digital age. Mann announced that the State Government has enlisted a team of renowned Punjabi historians, poets, and literary figures to spearhead this endeavour. Emphasizing the importance of this effort, he said: The integration of Punjabi into AI is not just a cultural necessity but a strategic move to preserve and enhance our linguistic heritage. Our language must evolve alongside technology to remain vibrant and influential. Mann, addressing a state-level event commemorating the martyrdom of Shaheed Udham Singh a revered figure in India's freedom struggle, recounted his childhood visits to the memorial events dedicated to the martyr, highlighting the deep personal connection and respect he holds for the martyr. Shaheed Udham Singhs sacrifice and courage were monumental, Mann said, adding, He avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and played a crucial role in our fight against British colonialism. Reflecting on Udham Singhs legacy, Mann underscored the enduring relevance of such historical sacrifices in shaping contemporary Punjab. He praised Udham Singhs unwavering commitment and resilience, which, he said, continue to inspire the states ongoing journey toward progress. Mann also criticized previous administrations for neglecting essential development projects. He highlighted the Punjab Government's recent initiative to construct the Malwa Canal a project designed to transform the irrigation infrastructure of the region. For the first time since independence, our government is addressing this long-standing needThe canal will benefit nearly two lakh acres of fertile land and foster unprecedented agricultural growth, he said. Manns speech also touched on environmental issues, criticizing former leaders for their lack of concern for ecological preservation. He vowed that his administration would prioritize environmental sustainability, quoting the Gurbani verse, "Pawan Guru, Paani Pitaah, Mata Dharat Mahat," to underscore the sacredness of natural resources. In addition to these reforms, Mann announced plans to build an ultra-modern stadium and bus stand to harness the energy of the youth and channel it into positive development. He expressed pride in the achievements of Punjabs athletes, with 19 players from the state representing the country in the upcoming Paris Olympics, and pledged further support for their preparation. The Chief Minister called on the youth to draw inspiration from Shaheed Udham Singhs sacrifices and contribute to the state's progress rather than seeking opportunities abroad. He assured that his government is committed to reversing migration trends by creating robust employment opportunities and enhancing the overall well-being of Punjabs residents. Underlining the state government's dedication to public welfare, Mann highlighted significant achievements such as providing free power to 90 percent of households and creating over 43,000 government jobs. Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has apprehended Iqbal Singh Sandhu, a retired Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer, in connection with a sprawling land acquisition scam amounting to Rs 5.49 crores (5,49,18,523). The arrest took place amidst a labyrinth of fraudulent activities related to the acquisition of 94.97 acres for the Surya Enclave Extension by the Improvement Trust Jalandhar, during Sandhus tenure as SDM-cum-Land Acquisition Collector (LAC). VB spokesperson disclosed intricate details of the probe, revealed that the compensation process for the said land was marred by deceitful practices. Bogus documents were crafted to replace the legitimate beneficiaries, leading to a large-scale embezzlement. The case, initially registered on October 29, 2013, under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), was later transferred to the Vigilance Bureau for a thorough investigation. The investigation unearthed a conspiracy involving Sandhu and other officials of the Improvement Trust, leading to a misappropriation of Rs 4.32 crores (4,32,15,438). Further details revealed that Sandhu, in collusion with Manjit Sharma of Aman Nagar, Jalandhar, fabricated files with counterfeit documents for compensating the supposed landowners. These files were expedited through the system within three-four days, resulting in bank cheques worth Rs 5,49,18,523 being issued to fictitious claimants. The investigation also highlighted Sandhu's close association with Manjit Sharma. It was discovered that Sandhu had used his position to facilitate the issuance of a new passport for Sharma in 2012, demonstrating the depth of their relationship and mutual involvement in corrupt activities. To date, 14 individuals have been arrested in connection with this case, including Manjit Sharma, Sukhdev Singh Patwari, an Improvement Trust employee, Prem Prakash Nambardar, advocates Mohit Bhardwaj and Deepak Sadana, among others. These arrests underscored the widespread nature of the scam, implicating various officials and private individuals across Jalandhar. Sandhu is scheduled to be presented in the competent court in Jalandhar on Thursday, where the Bureau will seek his remand for further interrogation. Spokesperson affirmed that the investigation is ongoing, with the VB committed to uncovering every facet of this elaborate scam. ESL Steel Limited, a Vedanta Group Company, continues its commitment to societal and community welfare with a visit to the Nand Ghar in Sindur Pethi Village. This visit aimed to raise awareness about Vedantas #KhanaKhaayaKya Movement, which seeks to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and has access to nutritious food. The initiative encourages donations, volunteering, and partnerships to support the cause. ESL Steel Limited employees have been actively participating by donating and volunteering their time at various Nand Ghars in the regions of Chas, Chandankiyari, and Nawadih. These visits include engaging activities like games, motor skill exercises, and drawing sessions for children. Today's visit included notable attendees such as Ashish Kumar Gupta, CEO and Whole-Time Director of ESL Steel Limited; Ashish Ranjan, Head of CSR, ER & PR; Ravindra Kumar Dhing, Head of Logistics; Divya Tripathi, Head of Policy & Business Promotion; and Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Deputy Head of CSR. CEO Gupta reaffirmed Vedanta ESL's commitment to the surrounding communities, emphasizing the company's dedication to comprehensive development through robust CSR initiatives. Vedantas #KhanaKhaayaKya Movement, envisioned by Chairman Anil Agarwal, represents a collaboration between private and public sectors to combat child hunger and promote holistic development. The initiative has seen significant participation and support from ESL employees, contributing to the creation of a more inclusive and caring society. Quoting a Panchatantra story where thugs cheated a poor farmer by calling his goat a dog, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on the opposition INDIA blocs khata-khat scheme in the state assembly on Thursday. Panchatantra is a collection of ancient Indian animal fables in Sanskrit. This alliance resorted to thuggery by making false promises and pushing a false narrative against the BJP. In the 2027 assembly election, it will not be the khata-khat scheme but rather the end of Congress and SP, the CM said while discussing the supplementary budget. He urged his BJP and NDA allies to engage with the public, asking them to inquire about the unfulfilled promises. Where did the bond of Rs one lakh promised by the opposition alliance go? Who consumed it, and who are the individuals responsible?, the CM asked. In a pointed attack, CM Yogi denounced the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for their allegations that PM Modis third term would lead to the abrogation of the Constitution and the scrapping of reservations for SCs and OBCs. Who are the people who claim that the Constitution is being strangled? Prime Minister Modi has been in power for ten yearshas the Constitution been changed? No! In fact, the Constitution has become stronger under his leadership, he asserted. The chief minister lauded PM Modi for his efforts to honour Dr BR Ambedkar, emphasising that no one has respected Baba Saheb as much as PM Modi. He highlighted PM Modis establishment of the Panch Teerths dedicated to Baba Saheb, including the grand memorial at his birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh; the house in England where Baba Saheb pursued higher education, now known as India House; the Delhi residence where he spent his public life; and the site in Nagpur where he received Buddhist initiation. On caste-based political discourse in the country, Yogi reiterated that there are only four castesfarmers, women, youth, and the poor. He emphasised that uplifting these groups would eliminate discrimination across the nation. The CM said that for the first time, farmers have become a central part of the governments agenda. Today, farmers are receiving the full benefit of MSP. The Soil Health Card Scheme has been introduced for the first time, and farmers are benefiting from the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi without regard to caste, religion, or appearance, he said. Emphasising that farmers, women, youth, and the poor are the only four castes, CM Yogi stated: Efforts have been made at the government level to uplift these groups, with significant work done in the agriculture sector. The chief minister highlighted that in the past seven years, there has been a 36 per cent increase in pulse production and a 127 per cent increase in oilseed production. We have advanced towards crop diversification. Through Agrotech, we have promoted Shri Anna alongside pulses and oilseeds. Previously, it was dismissed as a coarse grain, but now its demand has surged globally. The world is recognising the value of Shri Anna, and it is now available in every major hotel, he said. He stated that 2.62 crore farmers in the state are benefiting from the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, with each beneficiary receiving Rs 6,000 annually. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over the latter's dare to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and said those talking of challenging others must realise if they have the strength to do so. Thackeray on Wednesday threw down a challenge to Fadnavis saying "either you will be there, or I will". "Anil Deshmukh recently spoke about how Fadnavis planned to put me and (Uddhav's son) Aaditya behind bars. After tolerating everything, I now stand with determination. Either you will be there, or I will," Thackeray said, indicating how acrimonious the relations between the two former good friends have become. Shinde said no one should speak of finishing others completely in politics. "Those who talk of giving a challenge should realize where we stand. For that one needs strength. Just like making random comments, no one can finish the other one," Shinde said. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur that Thackeray's language showed his mental bankruptcy. "Thackeray is worried about his party's falling vote share in Konkan and Mumbai. The day he aligned with the Congress, his supporters abandoned him. When aligned with BJP, he won 18 Lok Sabha seats, but now the numbers have fallen. Thackeray is showing his mental bankruptcy by stooping so low and attacking Fadnavis," Bawankule said. The people of Maharashtra are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Mahayuti (ruling alliance comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP) will win assembly polls convincingly, he asserted. Asked on speculation about Fadnavis being considered for the post BJP national president (in place of JP Nadda who is now Union minister), Bawankule said he does not know what the central leadership will decide. "However, Devendra Fadnavis has huge organisational experience. He has worked as Maharashtra BJP president and has national organisational experience as well. But, Maharashtra needs the vision of Devendra Fadnavis," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held wide-ranging talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh to further expand the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Chinh arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night on a three-day visit that is aimed at further expanding the comprehensive strategic ties between the two countries. "PM @narendramodi extended a warm welcome to PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam at Hyderabad House," External Affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'. "Substantive discussions to further energise the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the agenda," he said ahead of the talks. The strategic ties between India and Vietnam have been on an upswing in the last few years. In July last year, India gifted its in-service missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam in reflection of growing bilateral strategic and defence partnership amid common concerns over China's increasingly aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea. It was for the first time that India handed over a fully operational corvette to any friendly foreign country. Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region. India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. India and Vietnam are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests. Our website takes pride in providing customers with the most luxurious Cartier Replica Watches on the market. Swiss made replica Panerai, noted for their signature oversized timepieces, is a luxury brand that caters to a crowd with a unique sense of style. Buy Best Online Replica Watches UK For Men And Women At Oue Website. Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, addresses the US-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in New York on July 29, 2024. MINLU ZHANG/CHINA DAILY Supply chains were in the spotlight on the first day of a trade cooperation forum in the United States, as a Chinese business delegation made a reciprocal visit to the US following the conclusion of a key meeting of the Communist Party of China in Beijing. The delegation, led by Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, was the first to visit the US after the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC.A business delegation from the US visited China last week. The delegation, with members including business leaders from provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang, was also scheduled to attend meetings in Washington, DC, and the US state of Maryland. Addressing the US-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in New York on Monday, Ren said, "Strengthening supply chain cooperation between China and the US is conducive to keeping the global industrial and supply chains stable and unfettered, and will contribute to the economic growth of the two countries and beyond." China and the US "enjoy strong economic complementarities and have highly interwoven interests", Ren said. Lin Shunjie, chairman of the China International Exhibition Center Group, told China Daily that many foreign entrepreneurs have expressed a desire to restore and improve their global supply chain structures, which they believe "cannot be done without China". "Only in China can they maximize supply chain efficiency, minimize costs, and optimize the structure," Lin said at the forum. Many foreign companies were pleased to find that China has many innovative small and medium-sized enterprises that produce at low costs, significantly reducing supply chain expenses, Lin said. He added that US companies had the highest presence among foreign enterprises attending the China International Supply Chain Expo last year. The expo, the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, was held from Nov 28 to Dec 2 in Beijing. About 515 companies from 55 countries, including more than 50 Fortune Global 500 companies, sent their CEOs to the expo. Jonathan Webb, CEO of Packable, formerly Pharmapacks, told reporters at the forum that the company is the largest seller on Amazon and Walmart in the US, shipping 60,000 to 100,000 orders a day. "We're here to connect with people who can help us integrate into the Chinese infrastructure, such as Temu and TikTok," Webb said. China is crucial "because 90 percent of everything sold online comes from there", Webb said, adding that the US market has "a huge appetite" for Chinese-manufactured goods, from selfie sticks to EV charging stations. All of those goods are being manufactured in China and brought to the US, said Webb, but "everyone is nervous about the tariffs. We need to figure out how to mitigate these issues." Continuous cooperation between the US and China is essential for maximizing global supply chain benefits, he said. Furthermore, "working with China creates jobs in the US" and stimulates the local economy, Webb said. If tariffs are increased, many US innovators that manufacture in China might have to move to other countries, which could affect supply chains, he added. Participants at Monday's forum also included Huang Ping, consul general of the Chinese consulate general in New York, and Peter Tichansky, president and CEO of the Business Council for International Understanding. More than 300 representatives from Chinese and US businesses and trade communities also attended. A delegation from the board of directors of the US-China Business Council visited China last week after the third plenary session concluded on July 18. The delegation included FedEx President and CEO Raj Subramaniam, United Family Healthcare founder Roberta Lipson, Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson and Educational Testing Service CEO Amit Sevak. Promising market potential China's market potential offers huge opportunities for cooperation, as the country imports $2.5 trillion worth of goods and services annually and ranks second in attracting foreign direct investment, said Huang, the consul general. He noted that the recent plenary session highlighted expanding market access in various sectors and promoting an open economic system to benefit global cooperation. "Fighting against each other is not going to lead us anywhere. So I really hope that we can seize this opportunity of China's continued reform and opening-up policy," Huang said. "This momentum allows us to strengthen our relationship and do business together. Both countries, and the whole world, will benefit from this." Ren, head of the Chinese delegation, said: "Under current circumstances, the common interests between China and the US are increasing instead of decreasing. Whether in traditional areas like trade and agriculture, or emerging areas like... artificial intelligence, companies in both countries have shared interests and broad cooperation prospects." Sun Xiao, secretary-general of the China Chamber of International Commerce, said, "We aim to convey the important new openness measures established at the plenary session to the American business community and look forward to hearing their responses and demands." Residents in Derry have raised concerns about the cleanliness of the city. This is despite the city scooping the title of Best Kept Large Urban Centre at the 2024 Irelands Best Kept Town Awards. However, contrary to this, Derry resident Libby Kennedy was concerned about the poor unkempt state of the city including Ewing and Williams Street. She said: There is no pride taken in this town. Im ashamed to take my friends from America and Australia around Derry when they visit. Following this conversation with Mrs. Kennedy I decided to ask for the opinions from the people of Derry to see if this sentiment was widespread. And my post on X, formerly known as Twitter, received an outpouring of concern at the cleanliness of Derry. Orla Barr said: I think the city has a really low standard of cleanliness, it's hard to find anywhere without litter. We have such a beautiful city but when tourists arrive in Derry to be greeted by Foyle Street, it's letting us down. I lived in Maastricht in the Netherlands for a year and there was a clear difference. There was essentially no litter and an assortment of bins everywhere. We don't have enough bins and the bins that we do have are just rubbish bins, not allowing us to recycle properly. The abandoned atrocity atop of Paolos Pizza at the bottom of Waterloo Street is part of the dirt, it makes the city look completely abandoned and left to rot. The green areas that we have are relatively well looked after and Brooke Park is gorgeous. There needs to be more respect for the city from its locals. Meanwhile Conchur O Rois added: Its overgrown with weeds all over the city centre not to mention the absolute eye sore that is Waterloo place. And Cass75 said: When you come out of the bus depot, Foyle St just looks dire. With the view on Foyle Street shared by Kevkop76. He said: The smell of foyle street would turn milk, this is an ongoing sewage problem for as long as I've known. With Jacquie Loughrey coming up with a possible solution to the weeds issue in the citys footpaths and buildings. She said: Would love to see development and funding of "tidy town" initiatives. Community weeding/litter picking/communal areas with hanging baskets not widespread spraying of weedkiller. Educate/encourage to respect areas. Property owners maintain facades of unoccupied buildings. However, there were those that believed the cleanliness and state of Derry was reasonable, despite needing a touch up, it was a lot better than other cities people had visited recently. Steve Bradley said: You'll hear complaints, but Derry's not that bad in all honesty. Central Belfast is a mess these days. And parts of London have gone downhill dramatically ovr last few years with way more litter & graffiti than used to be. Derry has issues in places, but is a relatively clean city. And Frank Hank #Stillcoviding said: I would say Derry is a pretty tidy town that presents itself well. More murals are needed and all flags should be taken down. Meanwhile a comment was made about the myriad of potholes in Derry, with this issue only solvable by the Northern Irish Department for Infrastructure. In response to the overgrown weeds and cleanliness of the city a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said: One of Councils statutory duties is providing grounds maintenance and street cleansing services throughout Derrys city centre, and this remains a key priority working alongside our partners in the Department for Infrastructure who maintain public footways. Over the years Council has received many acknowledgements of the work of the Streetscape team through both the Ulster in Bloom and Britain in Bloom competitions, and just last month the city was awarded the 'Best Kept Large Urban Centre' title at the 2024 Ireland's Best Kept Town Awards. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of Council staff in maintaining and improving our city and towns making them attractive places to work and visit. Council would also encourage local businesses to take a proactive role in maintaining the upkeep of their own premises, including the removal of weeds and other vegetation. Recent budget cuts from the government have meant additional pressures on all Council services, which will inevitably impact on service delivery. Despite this reduced capacity, we remain committed to striving to meet the high standards which we have set, and will continue to lobby for the resources needed from the government to successfully do this. Local rail campaigners Into The West have given a mixed reaction to Wednesdays publication of the final version of the All-Island Rail Strategy. The Strategy is a north-south initiative that was launched jointly in 2021 by the transport Ministers from both sides of the border. It is designed to consider how and where rail should be improved on the island to boost sustainable connectivity and address regional imbalance - with a stated focus on the north-west of the island, where rail links are largely absent. A draft version of the Review was published in July 2023, with a second round of public consultation held in the months afterwards. And it is the lack of changes to the strategy following that consultation which has most disappointed rail campaigners in Derry. Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, commented Its fantastic to see the final version of the All-Island Rail Strategy released at long last, and it contains much to be positive about for the north-west. The strategy recommends reopening a rail line between Derry and Portadown - via Strabane, Omagh and Dungannon, as well as reconnecting Derry with Letterkenny. Together those steps would link the north-west of the island directly to Dublin, bring rail back to Tyrone and Donegal, and create a second and faster rail route to Belfast from this area. The proposal to reconnect Limavady to the rail network is also very welcome, and something Into The West has been campaigning for. But there are further aspects of the report that should be of genuine concern to everyone in this area. The draft version said that every core city on the island (of which Derry is one) should have 200km/hr rail services but then singled out Derry alone for a recommended slower speed of services instead. It has since been claimed that was done in error, with the final version of the report now stating that Derry should also have 200km/hr services but it qualifies that by saying only where this is found in further study to be beneficial. None of the other 7 core cities have such a caveat attached to their rail services so yet again Derry is being singled out for a lower quality of provision than everywhere else. This theme is replicated again when it comes to rail freight. The strategy says that all 7 core cities on the island should have a rail freight hub but then refuses to propose one for Derry. So yet again the report is going against its own recommendations by singling Derry out for poorer services. It really needs to be explained by politicians and civil servants why this keeps happening to Derry?. Mr Bradley continued Other concerns with the final strategy include the fact that it proposes leaving Fermanagh as the only county in Ireland or Britain without rail. And it also leaves the vast majority of Donegal without even a basic level of rail. In short none of the feedback we submitted to the consultation on the draft report last year has been listened to. The only significant change made from the draft version of the strategy is the sudden appearance of a proposal that Craigavon should get a railway station. Not only are there already TWO existing major rail stations within a 3 mile radius of Craigavon (at Lurgan and Portadown), by uncanny coincidence the town just happens to be located within Infrastructure Minister John ODowds own Upper Bann constituency. Meanwhile Derry contains NIs most isolated rail station with the next nearest station being 21 miles away. Yet the rail strategy doesnt propose doing anything to address that for very many years. So this is clearly a strategy which seeks to double-down on the infrastructural dominance of the East of NI and the east coast of the island, to the detriment of places like Derry, Donegal and Fermanagh. Mr Bradley concluded The good news is that the strategy is just a set of recommendations. It will be the Minister and the Executive who will decide what rail projects across NI should be advanced and crucially, when. However given that a simple upgrade of the out-of-date rail track between Derry and Coleraine has been delayed repeatedly over the last15yrs, and was pushed back a further 2yrs recently by Minister ODowd, the signs are not good for Derry and the north-west receiving fair treatment in the implementation of this strategy. So it is now time for the Minister to start swapping words for action and delivery. He must make clear that key rail proposals such as reopening Derry-Portadown are a top priority within this strategy, and that they will be expedited and funded accordingly. The days of treating the north-west as second-best when it comes to infrastructure must finally be brought to an end - and this strategy must be seized as the opportunity to do that. A man facing a series of domestic abuse offences has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court today after breaching his bail. Kiral McGilloway (35) of no fixed abode in Derry appeared charged with breaching his bail on July 31. The court heard that McGilloway was on bail on charges of witness intimidation, harassment and non fatal strangulation of a female. Part of the bail conditions are that he has no contact with the female involved in the case. A police officer told the court that police on patrol in the Ardmore area on July 31 saw a car that appeared to have no insurance. They signalled the car to stop but it made off eventually stopping outside a house and a male, the defendant, and a female alighted and were detained. The female was the woman McGilloway was not supposed to have any contact with. A police officer said that this was not the first breach on one occasion McGilloway was found at the woman's address and on another she was found at his address. The officer said that the woman had made a withdrawal statement but then withdrew her withdrawal. He opposed bail on the grounds that McGilloway would not adhere to any conditions. Defence counsel Stephen Chapman said that while no blame attached to the alleged victim in the case there was some confusion as to whether the woman wanted to proceed with the case. District Judge Barney McElholm said that the courts had to certain that witnesses were not intimidated or unduly influenced to withdraw evidence. He said if that was their decision so be it. In this case he said things should not be allowed to drag on and a decision had to be made. But he said McGilloway did not appear to be able to adhere to bail conditions and revoked bail and remanded him in custody to appear again on August 15. Police commanders have set out the scale of the cutbacks being implemented in Northern Ireland, as the chief constable expressed frustration that his warnings about the impact of budget cuts are not being heeded. During the monthly meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast, Jon Boutcher asked members of his senior leadership team to spell out how spending constraints are affecting service delivery. Board members were told the local policing department compromising frontline response officers and neighbourhood teams is currently around 900 officers short. They were also told the PSNI has 160 fewer accredited detectives this year than last, and 50 fewer operational support officers to carry out search operations linked to serious crimes. The board was informed that 21 officers have been taken off the roads policing team, while the performance rating of PSNI call centres has slipped from the top quarter of UK forces towards the bottom third. The message does not seem to be getting through, said Mr Boutcher. The PSNI has continued to be a net loser compared with all other key public services in Northern Ireland since 2010. This has to stop. The issue is linked to everything were asked to do. We need to get the protection of society in Northern Ireland right. As I say, the message is clearly not landing but, for the avoidance of doubt, since 2010 theres been a downturn in any proper funding of the PSNI. He said funding for the health and education sectors had increased significantly in the last 14 years. Mr Boutcher said the current headcount of officers stands at around 6,300, but there is a need for at least 8,000. He characterised 8,000 as a conservative assessment. He said the lack of funding is having a serious effect on the wellbeing of staff, and he reflected on the tragic death of an officer who, he said, took their own life due to issues related to workplace pressures. I ask for support from this board and everybody in Northern Ireland who has a voice to make sure that the predicament that we now find ourselves in is arrested, he added. An investigation by an external police force into an incident linked to Northern Irelands Police Ombudsman has proved significantly more complex than first expected, a senior commander has said. West Midlands Police are examining events related to an incident at a property linked to Ombudsman Marie Anderson in Holywood, Co Down, last September. Police Service of Northern Ireland officers attended the address at around 6.30pm on Saturday September 23 after a report of a domestic incident. A man was arrested as part of the inquiries and later released pending a report to prosecutors. A file was subsequently sent to the Public Prosecution Service. West Midlands Police were tasked to investigate further aspects of the incident. In June the Stormont Assembly was told that Ms Anderson had taken a leave of absence from work due to ill health. At the monthly meeting of the NI Policing Board in Belfast on Thursday, DUP member Trevor Clarke asked for an update on the progress of the West Midlands probe as he expressed concern at the time it was taking. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said it had taken far longer than any of us had anticipated. Just to remind people we were very clear around ensuring the independence of that particular investigation because of the obvious conflict (of interest), and its the independence of the investigation that is the pillar of ensuring that this is being done properly, by the way, he said. Mr Boutcher asked Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Chris Todd to provide a fuller update. Mr Todd told board members: The privacy rights of everybody involved need to be respected and it is an ongoing investigation, but because the time has passed I am aware of growing interest and questions from the media, freedom of information requests, etc (and) theres a danger that if we dont give some assurance around the effectiveness of the investigation that speculation will grow. So, for that reason, I will be brief and purposeful in what I do say in response to the question and that is to highlight that it is an independently led investigation being conducted by colleagues from West Midlands Police and is ongoing. I continue to provide strategic support and oversight to the investigation and I am satisfied that the investigation is significantly more complex than was first anticipated, but is progressing professionally and effectively. The investigation has two principal strands. A file has been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service in relation to the first strand and the decision is awaited. The second strand of the investigation is unlikely to progress further before September for reasons that are beyond the control of the Police Service of Northern Ireland or the independently led investigation team and the SIO (senior investigating officer). As gold commander for this, I have commissioned independent scrutiny of my own role, the strategy thats been adopted and the objectives that have been set for the senior investigating officer and consequently, through that process, Im satisfied that practical independence is being professionally maintained and the investigation is progressing effectively under what can only be described as challenging circumstances beyond the control of PSNI and the SIO. All the relevant stakeholders, importantly, have been kept appropriately informed throughout this. I should say again that the privacy rights of those affected must be upheld and as the investigation remains ongoing I cant give any further detail at this time. A spokesman for the NI Police Ombudsmans office said: We are aware of the statement to the Policing Board today. However, given that the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment. We can confirm that the Police Ombudsman remains absent due to illness. In the Ombudsmans absence, her functions have been delegated to senior members of staff. HIGHLIGHTS NASA has issued a warning about a significant asteroid named 2024 OC, which is set to pass by Earth on August 4th. This large space rock, measuring 410 feet (125 metres) in size, is moving at a speed of 35,996 km/h. The asteroid belongs to the Apollo group, a class of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with orbits that intersect Earth's orbit. NASA has issued a warning about a significant asteroid named 2024 OC, which is set to pass by Earth on August 4th at 16:10 UTC (9:40 PM IST). This large space rock, measuring 410 feet (125 metres) in size, is moving at a speed of 35,996 km/h. The asteroid belongs to the Apollo group, a class of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with orbits that intersect Earths orbit. While most NEOs pose no threat due to their distant paths, some asteroids, known as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), require closer monitoring. PHAs are defined as asteroids larger than 460 feet in size with orbits coming within 7.5 million kilometres of Earths orbit. Although 2024 OC is slightly smaller than the size criteria for PHAs, it will pass at a distance of 7.4 million kilometres from Earth, narrowly avoiding the threshold for being classified as potentially hazardous. NASA is closely monitoring this close approach to ensure there are no unexpected changes in its path, reports Times Now. Also read: NASA issues alert for near-earth asteroid 2011 MW1 approaching at high speed To track and assess the risks posed by asteroids like 2024 OC, NASA relies on its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). This centre gathers data from observatories worldwide, including contributions from amateur astronomers. Major NASA-funded observatories, such as Pan-STARRS, the Catalina Sky Survey, and NASAs NEOWISE mission, provide the bulk of tracking data. Future observations will be enhanced by the NEO Surveyor mission. Additionally, radar projects, such as JPLs Goldstone Solar System Radar Group, play a vital role in NASAs efforts to monitor NEOs. If an asteroid like 2024 OC were to collide with Earth, it could cause significant damage, similar to the Tunguska event in 1908, which flattened a large area in Siberia. Fortunately, with continuous monitoring by NASA and other space agencies, any potential threats can be identified well in advance, allowing for precautionary measures. For now, 2024 OC will safely pass by without causing any harm. Shanghai unveils US$13.7 billion capital injection into IC, AI, and biopharma industries Shanghai has announced the launch of the "Three Leading Industry Parent Funds," targeting integrated circuits (IC), biopharmaceuticals, and AI. The three funds amount to RMB 1,000 billion (US$13.7 billion). IC, AI, and biopharmaceuticals According to reports from Chinese media outlet Cailianpress and official announcements from the Shanghai municipal government, RMB 450 billion will be allocated to the IC industry parent fund. It will focus on investments in IC design, manufacturing, packaging, testing, equipment, and components. The AI industry parent fund, totaling RMB 225 billion, will prioritize AI chips, software, autonomous driving, and robotics. The biopharmaceuticals parent fund will be RMB 215 billion. Industrial directives straight from the top Wen-rong Hu, Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), emphasized that the development of this trio of fields is a "strategic task assigned to Shanghai by the central government." He highlighted the importance of "new quality productive forces" and "accelerating the transformation of old and new growth drivers." The funds will be managed by the State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC), which will establish professional investment teams to align with market trends and accelerate innovation. Key investors include the China Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications, among nine central enterprises. SDIC, with a registered capital of RMB 100 billion, is a major state-owned capital investment platform in China. The company focuses on significant industrial investments, connecting government resources with social capital to enhance marketization and competitiveness in the industry. By the end of 2023, Shanghai had established nearly 600 diverse science and innovation hubs, according to SHINE news. These included 65 state-level science and technology business incubators, 60 new public service platforms for Internet-based services, and 14 national university science and technology parks. The total area of these facilities covered 4,128,600 square meters, accommodating over 33,000 startups and incubates. CWE, CWTC drive growth through panel-level packaging and miniLED solutions Chang Wah Electromaterials (CWE), a Taiwanese supplier of semiconductor and electronics materials and equipment, is transitioning from 12-inch wafer-level packaging to panel-level fan-out packaging (FOPLP), anticipating promising prospects despite current yield rate challenges. To meet the growing customer demand for encapsulating resins, CWE has partnered with Sumitomo Bakelite to establish a new factory in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. This manufacturing facility is slated to deliver sample products for customer validation later in the third quarter and is expected to start contributing to revenue in 2025. CWE has commenced shipments of panel-level packaging materials since the beginning of the second half of 2024. Strong demand for advanced packaging technologies such as InFO, CoWoS, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging solutions is generating robust order momentum for CWE's wafer-level lamination equipment, with order visibility extending through 2026. Additionally, the company is collaborating with its subsidiary JMC Electronics to develop new packaging substrates, which are combined with the rollable substrate materials it distributes to support emerging application fields like Micro LED, with mass production starting in the third quarter. MiniLED solutions and market expansion Meanwhile, Chang Wah Technology (CWTC), another CWE subsidiary dedicated to supplying packaging lead frames, reported revenue of NT$2.953 billion for the second quarter, up 8% from the previous quarter. Its gross margin and operating profit rates for the quarter rose 23% and 29% sequentially, thanks to significant improvements in its product portfolio. Both CWE and CWTC are optimistic that miniLED solutions will offer the highest gross margins, focusing more on such solutions in 2024-2025. CWTC has entered mass production of lead frames for packaging 1616/1515 LED chips for automotive applications. It has also developed new sizes of products for gaming screens and TV applications, securing a place in the supply chains of South Korean TV brands. Furthermore, CWTC has developed a PMMS solution that offers high heat dissipation, reflectivity, airtightness, and high-temperature resistance. This solution has been adopted by leading international automakers, with usage volume increasing significantly quarter by quarter. It has also garnered interest from high-end consumer electronics clients for TV applications and is expected to enter mass production between the second half of 2024 and 2025. In the second quarter of 2024, CWE's revenue rose 6% sequentially to NT$4.255 billion (US$129.45 million), with net profits soaring 55% quarter-on-quarter to NT$497 million, reflecting the company's successful growth strategies in advanced packaging and miniLED solutions. Samsung reportedly reforming bonus system to prevent semiconductor talent outflow Samsung Electronics has implemented the Overall Performance Incentive (OPI) reward system for over 20 years. In response to employee demands and to retain talent, the company is reportedly planning a comprehensive reform to enhance transparency and predictability in bonus calculations. Citing industry sources, the Korea Economic Daily reported that on July 29, Samsung began work to improve its performance bonus system. This effort will be carried out by management, HR, and finance divisions like the Management Support Office, with input from internal and external board members on the proposed reforms. Currently, Samsung issues performance bonuses based on the "annual operating profit target" set by each division and business unit. Depending on how much profits exceed the target, employees can receive between 0% and 50% of their annual salary as a bonus. However, since calculating operating profit targets involves business secrets like investment plans, Samsung has never disclosed the details. This has long been a source of dissatisfaction among employees. For example, at the beginning of 2024, the Device Solutions (DS) division announced the "2025 performance bonus criteria" to its employees, setting the operating profit target for 2024 at KRW11.5 trillion (approx. US$8.3 billion). Meeting this target would result in a performance bonus of 0% to 3% of the annual salary. If profits reached KRW29 trillion, the bonus would be 50%. Interviewed employees found it unreasonable that making over KRW11 trillion for the company would only yield a 0% to 3% bonus. Why reform OPI system now? Introduced in 2001, the OPI initially system used 20% of excess profits for the year as performance bonuses and was seen as a better reward standard than other global enterprises. However, as Samsung expanded its business globally, especially with an annual investment of nearly KRW50 trillion in the semiconductor sector, the OPI standard became more complex, involving factors like taxes, capex, and fundraising, hence why it's considered a "business secret" now. Now, Samsung has decided to increase the transparency of performance bonus distribution standards and reduce the fluctuations in bonus amounts. The company is considering overseas examples, such as those from Silicon Valley, and plans to increase the weight of personal performance. This move is in response to employee demands and aims to prevent the exodus of semiconductor talents. Samsung's largest union, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), began an indefinite general strike on July 8. One of their demands is to " improve the OPI system." Samsung management and the union began final negotiations on July 29, which lasted three days. The decision to start adjusting the OPI system is seen as a move to help ease labor relations, though its effectiveness remains to be seen. Reportedly, Samsung employees hope bonuses can be issued based on "operating profit" rather than the company-set "operating profit target." For instance, SK Hynix revised its performance bonus system at the end of 2021 to pay out bonuses within "10% of operating profits." The twice-per-year production incentives (PI) are also tied to operating profit margins, with a maximum payment of 150% of an employee's monthly base salary. However, Samsung appears to find this approach challenging. Unlike SK Hynix, which only operates the memory business, Samsung's diverse business operations and annual capex of nearly KRW50 trillion make it difficult to directly compare or adopt the same system. Taiwan's Economic Minister outlines bold new strategies for global competitiveness In a recent interview, Taiwan's new Economics Minister, J.W. Kuo, outlined the government's ambitious plans to strengthen Taiwan's position in the global economy. With his extensive background in the semiconductor industry, Kuo is regarded as the most industry-savvy leader to helm the ministry, charged with guiding Taiwan through an increasingly competitive global landscape. Kuo's vision for Taiwan centers on two key pillars: "Domestic Market, International Reach" and "Global Market, Domestic Impact." These initiatives aim to expand Taiwan's economic footprint abroad while attracting international investments at home, leveraging Taiwan's technological prowess and industrial strengths. Strengthening Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem As global competition intensifies, Taiwan's semiconductor industry remains crucial to the country's economic strategy. Kuo, with his insider's understanding of the sector, emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between government and industry. "The government must swiftly respond to the industry's needs and resolve issues promptly," he stated, highlighting the disconnects that have existed in the past. Kuo's approach focuses on leveraging Taiwan's strengths in five key sectorssemiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), military technology, security, and communicationsto build a more robust and responsive economic framework. Recognizing the challenges posed by Taiwan's declining birth rate, Kuo proposed an innovative solution to attract and retain global talent: a fully-funded scholarship program aimed at drawing young minds from around the world to Taiwan, where they can study, work, and ultimately contribute to the local economy. Addressing Talent Shortages with Global Initiatives Kuo's scholarship plan is part of a broader strategy to mitigate talent shortages that could hinder Taiwan's economic growth. By offering free education and subsidized living expenses to both domestic and international students, Taiwan aims to cultivate a new generation of skilled workers. Kuo's ambitious goal is to train 200,000 AI professionals over the next four years, which he believes is achievable by combining academic training with practical industry partnerships. He also outlined a cooperative model where foreign companies establishing operations in Taiwan would need to recruit a portion of their workforce locally, with government support ensuring that these companies find the talent they need. Building a global innovation hub Beyond talent cultivation, Kuo envisions Taiwan as a global innovation hub, comparable to Silicon Valley or Singapore. He highlighted Taiwan's existing strengths in semiconductor manufacturing and AI as the foundation for this transformation. "We must build on these advantages to create a powerful market," Kuo asserted, emphasizing the need for Taiwan to diversify into other sectors like healthcare and smart technologies, where talent shortages are also expected. To sustain this growth, Kuo plans to create more opportunities for foreign professionals to work in Taiwan, particularly in areas facing critical skill gaps. This includes potential regulatory changes that would facilitate long-term living and working arrangements for these professionals, thereby addressing the workforce needs of both emerging and traditional industries. Expanding Taiwan's Global Footprint Kuo's "Domestic Market, International Reach" strategy also includes fostering international partnerships and establishing overseas production bases. Reflecting on Taiwan's experience with TSMC's expansion into Arizona, Kuo noted the challenges of operating in foreign markets, such as securing local talent and navigating complex regulations. Kuo's solution involves a more proactive government role in supporting Taiwanese companies abroad, facilitating negotiations with foreign governments, and helping to establish supply chain clusters. This strategy has already shown progress, with a recent agreement signed with the Governor of Texas to develop a new economic base that could serve as a model for future expansions. Kuo is also exploring similar opportunities in Southeast Asia, recognizing the importance of aligning with geopolitically friendly countries. Boosting Taiwan's domestic appeal Domestically, Kuo aims to transform Taiwan into a shopping and cultural destination that attracts high-income tourists from neighboring countries. By inviting top global brands to set up operations in Taiwan and offering tax incentives, Kuo hopes to elevate Taiwan's profile as a luxury shopping haven, similar to Hong Kong's former status. This initiative, dubbed "Global Market, Domestic Impact," is designed to boost local consumption and enhance the international visibility of Taiwan's own high-quality products. Kuo believes that by strengthening both domestic and international market connections, Taiwan can carve out a distinct and influential role on the global stage. Navigating geopolitical challenges Addressing the geopolitical shifts reshaping global trade and supply chains, Kuo acknowledged the challenges posed by ongoing supply chain reorganization. He stressed the importance of Taiwan's flexibility and efficiency in maintaining its competitive edge, particularly in industries like electric vehicles, where Taiwan's role is evolving from that of a contract manufacturer to a potential leader in niche markets. Kuo's approach is pragmatic, focusing on integrating various industries under the "Taiwan Select" or "Formosa Select" brand to promote Taiwanese excellence internationally. By doing so, he aims to help Taiwanese companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, penetrate global markets more effectively. As Taiwan navigates the complexities of the 21st-century economy, Kuo's strategic vision provides a clear roadmap for maintaining the country's industrial leadership while adapting to new global realities. His initiatives, if successful, could set a new standard for how small, technologically advanced economies like Taiwan can thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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 Bord Bia has today announced the details of the National Organic Awards, which will take place in Dublin on Thursday 17 October 2024. The National Organic Awards, held in association with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, celebrate the achievements of the increasing number of organic growers, producers, and manufacturers in the country. Louth-based organic producers are invited to submit entries into one of seven categories before the closing date of 12 August. Judging will take place at the National Organic Food Fair in Merrion Square, Dublin on 31 August. Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity Pippa Hackett commented: The organic sector in Ireland is going from strength to strength, and the standard of what we are producing here really is world-class. Im looking forward to seeing the quality of entries when they are judged at the National Organic Food Fair in Merrion Square at the end of August, and indeed to the main event itself when the award winners and the very best of our sector will be announced on October 17th. Emmet Doyle, Organic Sector Manager in Bord Bia, said: The National Organic Awards offer a platform to highlight the best organic food and drink produced in Ireland. As the momentum for Irish organics continues to grow, we are excited to celebrate the achievements and innovations of the sectors pioneers. "This year, in recognition of the dedicated efforts of many individuals in advancing the sector, we are proud to introduce the Irish Organic Sector Champion award. Unlike other awards, all nominees for this category will be nominated by their peers. We look forward to receiving entries from businesses across the country in the coming weeks. Award Categories The National Organic Awards aim to recognise developments within the organic sector across seven key categories, judged by a panel of Irish food, drink, and horticulture experts: The Irish Organic Sector Champion 2024 This new award recognises the achievements of an individual who is a true pioneer, a positive influence for the Irish organic sector, encompassing the qualities and philosophy of what the Irish organic sector stands for, and helping to progress the sector. Best Irish Organic Product Award Open to Irish organic branded food and beverage products available for sale in Ireland either through retail, speciality, food service, or direct-to-consumer channels. Best Irish Organic Private Label Product Award Open to Irish organic products currently available through Irish retail/food service channels, including seasonal products that were available over the past 12 months. Best Irish Organic Product Export Award Open to products currently being sold in the export market. Best New and Innovative Irish Organic Product Open to new products or packaging innovations launched since October 2022. Direct to Consumer Excellence Award Open to products being sold directly to consumers via e-commerce, e.g., company website, third-party shop, social media shop, etc. (Online sales via Irish retailer websites are not eligible). Business in the Community Award This category will acknowledge the achievements of businesses in their local communities. For more information on the individual categories and how to apply, please visit Bord Bias website. Applications close on 12 August, with the shortlist being announced the week commencing 27 August. Winners of the National Organic Awards 2024 will get a one-to-one session with Bord Bias Client Capability team, who will help develop a bespoke package of supports to meet individual company needs up to the value of 5,000. There is a separate prize for the Irish Organic Sector Champion Award 2024. Ireland has a target of 10% (450,000 hectares) of agricultural land to be farmed organically by 2030, up from approximately 1.6% in 2020. There are currently 5,000 farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), with 3,000 joining the scheme since January 2023. Last year, Bord Bia consumer research found 67% of Irish shoppers purchase organic food and drink on a monthly basis. Summer Revels! at the Opera House is proving a huge hit with theatregoers. Not only was it cheered to the echo on opening night last week, but people actually came up to me in the street in the following days to enthuse about it. It was so well directed, and really tightly put together, said one woman. Her husband agreed. And so much Cork talent in there, it would make you proud! Directed by Killian Collins and John OBrien, Summer Revels! follows the rich tradition of those wonderful summer shows of yesteryear, but puts a new spin on it to bring it totally up to date. Brimming with local wit and characters inspired by the vibrant culture of this city we love so well, it is unmissable. Various times for shows, to suit all ages, but at the moment it is scheduled to end next Sunday, so dont delay. We can only hope they will extend the run. Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie for more. Its opening night tonight at the Everyman (they have had previews the last couple of evenings) for Mother Of All the Behans, that amazing one-woman show presented by Verdant Productions and starring Imelda May as the witty raconteur, singer and rebel Kathleen Behan. Based on the book by Brian Behan, and adapted for the stage by Peter Sheridan, it has additional material by Rosaleen Linehan. Bringing you on a journey through Kathleens early years in an orphanage, and later, her active involvement in Dublins fight against British rule, it provides vivid retellings of her experience as a republican during the Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War, along with personal anecdotes of living as a working-class family in Dublin. Both humorous and heartrending. A scene from Summer Revels at the Opera House. Until August 10, 7.30pm (excluding Sunday/Monday). 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com. And listen, you wont believe this, but they are already offering early bird tickets for the Christmas pantomime at Everyman! (Yes, we knew you wouldnt credit it, but its a fact, so if you want to grab a bargain, act right now.) Red Riding Hood is scheduled to open in early December, but from noon tomorrow, Friday, August 2, you can get special reduced rates on tickets for Thursday, December 5 and Friday, December 6. That special offer will end next week on Friday, Aug 9, when the full schedule for the winter season will be on sale. You might still be thinking of sunny beaches and t-shirts, but winter comes around, and savings always make sense! Booking details as above. The Comedy Improvised Murder Mystery Gang are back with their hilarious off the cuff antics in a special midsummer show at the Cork Arts Theatre, but that ends this Saturday, August 3. So if you want a lively time out with friends, laughing your heads off, the lively little Arts Theatre is the place to head for. An entire plot is improvised for every single performance, based on hints and suggestions put in by you, the audience, beforehand, so each show is completely different. 1pm shows today and tomorrow, evenings until Saturday. Only suitable for over 16s, by the way, given some of the suggestions coming from the audience! Next week, the lunchtime and evening show is Meltdown Of An Irish Tour Guide, a hysterical whirlwind about the life endured by a hapless individual and all the characters he meets. Written and brilliantly performed by Jack Walsh. Call 021 450 5624 or see www.corkartstheatre.com. We have summer theatre coming up at Rossmore in West Cork too, with Its The Real McCoy by Tommy Marren performed every Tuesday and Thursday in August. Ideal for your holiday viewing if youre staying down in that lovely region, or worth a trip from the city. 8pm start. Call 086 448 1086 or https://www.gr8events.ie/sales/show_perfs.php?eid=1691. While there are improvements and upgrades which will have a positive impact on rail services in Cork and throughout the south, the citys Lord Mayor, Dan Boyle, has said that the All Island Strategic Rail Review published yesterday could have been more ambitious in its proposals for the region. An upgraded rail route connecting Cork with Limerick and Galway, half hourly intercity services, the halving of the time it takes to travel by train from Cork to Dublin and the electrification of a significant segment of the rail network were among the highlights of the finalised report which comes with a 32 billion price tag and a 2050 delivery deadline. Also included in the report, which sets out 32 strategic recommendations in the Republic and Northern Ireland up to 2050, is a proposal for a rail link to Cork port and a direct service between Cork and Dublin airport while a rail link between Cork and Waterford was considered but ruled out due to geographical factors. What is being considered however is the installation of a curve at Limerick Junction which would enable trains to leave the Cork-Dublin line and join ahe Limerick-Waterford line and this would boost connectivity between Cork and Waterford. The report proposes the upgrade of what is described as the core intercity railway network to line speeds of up to 200 km per hour, upgrading the line between Dublin and Cork to a dual track and four tracks in places and increasing the frequency of services. Mr Boyle, said that many Cork proposals were already baked in with relation to suburban rail this includes the opening of new stations between Cork and Mallow and suggested that changes for Cork would be about increased services more so than new infrastructure. I would like to see the restoration of the direct Cork-Limerick line through Charleville and Patrickswell but thats not part of this document, he said. Id be optimistic that what is being proposed is being proposed on the basis that it can and will be done, personally I would like to see it going further. The Lord Mayor also suggested that stations beyond Mallow such as Buttevant should be re-opened and that the line between Midleton and Youghal should also be considered for re-opening. I wouldnt say theres an element of disappointment, but we can be more ambitious in view of the potential thats there. He said that consideration should have been given to re-opening the tunnel under Phoenix Park in Dublin, a link that was last used for the 1990 All Ireland Final, to allow rail passengers from Cork travel directly to Croke Park and onward to Belfast without having to transfer by bus or LUAS from Heuston to Connolly. While railway connections between Dublin, Limerick and Belfast city centres with the airports in Dublin, Shannon and Belfast are included, the plan does include the hint that the proposed tram-line between Mahon and Ballincollig, one of the measures to be implemented under the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Plan, could be extended south to Cork Airport and Carrigaline. 'MORE CONCRETE PLANS' NEEDED FOR LIGHT RAIL The Labour Party in Cork issued a statement calling for the design of more concrete plans to show how a light rail spur to Cork airport could be achieved. It is critical that Cork Airport is afforded the same connectivity enhancements like Shannon and Dublin, said Laura Harmon, the councillor recently selected to run for the party in Cork South Central in the General Election. Cork's transport hubs must be linked in the same plans for Dublin when it comes to rail and transport connectivity and planning. A spokesman for Cork Airport said they would welcome any and all improvements to our public transport connections. At present, we are working very closely with the National Transport Authority, Transport for Ireland, Bus Eireann and other private operators to enhance the public transport connectivity between the airport, Cork city, other large metropolitan areas in Cork and across the South of Ireland. IMPORTANT DAY The publication of the report was described as an "important day for the island of Ireland" by Transport Minister and former Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. This is not just the first All-Island Strategic Rail Review, it is the most ambitious vision for rail in a century, bringing us forward to a new age of rail, said the Minister. This vision has been made possible by close cooperation between the Departments and agencies north and south. "Rail not only allows us to carry more people and freight in a more sustainable way, it is the great connector, enabling greater regional accessibility and balanced regional development. The Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister, John ODowd, said the Report provided an evidence based framework to help guide future investment in our rail network and said it would help meet Irelands climate commitments. Getting infrastructure right, and investing in it accordingly, can create the foundations for better rural and urban communities, he said. An unprecedentedly high trolley number in Cork hospitals for July suggests that healthcare staff are going to have a very difficult winter, a Cork INMO representative has warned. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, 1,341 people were treated on a trolley, chair, or other inappropriate bed space in Cork hospitals in July. Cork University Hospital was the third-most overcrowded hospital in Ireland, with 999 patients treated on trolleys last month, just behind University Hospital Galway with 1,025, while 2,255 patients were treated on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick. CUH saw an almost 70% rise in patients sick enough to be admitted to hospital but without a bed available to them compared to July 2023, when there were 591 patients on trolleys. There were a further 289 admitted patients on trolleys in the Mercy University Hospital in July and 61 in Bantry General Hospital in the last month, both higher than the previous year. Corks total of 1,349 patients on trolleys is a 56% increase from July 2023, and an increase of 170% compared to 2006, when INMO began counting trolleys. Nationally, more than 9,755 people, including 73 children, were on trolleys during the month, the worst July that the INMO has seen for hospital overcrowding since 2006. INMO assistant director of industrial relations, Corks Colm Porter told The Echo that the numbers were concerning, saying unfortunately, the INMOs trolley figures have been a pretty good predictor of what its going to be like in the winter. The figures are particularly high for this time of year, he said. Theyre figures that, in years gone by, you would see in the winter, now we are getting those high numbers in the summer months when, logic would dictate, they should be lower. Ultimately it means that our members working in hospitals across Cork are experiencing winter pressure all year round, and its only going to get worse as it gets colder. If you were to follow the trajectory of INMO trolley figures, the higher they are in summer, the higher you can expect them to be in winter. He said that despite the HSE announcing the lifting of the recruitment ban, it was still unclear how many staff would be hired under the newly introduced strategy which sees recruitment ceilings for each area based on the level of staff in December 2023, when the embargo was already in place. THE Mahon community is preparing for a memorial tournament that is close to the hearts of many in the local area. When Thomas Morrissey passed away suddenly in July 2012, Ringmahon Rangers paid tribute to the clubs dedicated player by hosting a memorial tournament in his honour. Twelve years on, the tournament is still going strong, as are the memories of a man described as a friend to all. This year, the Thomas Morrissey memorial tournament will take place on Sunday, August 4 from 11am to 3pm in Ringmahon Park. The event will see teams from Ringmahon and neighbouring sides face off in a friendly atmosphere. It will also feature a cake sale, facepainting and DJ, as well as a raffle afterwards in the Red Cove Inn, with all money on the day going towards a local charity, the Rainbow Club. Speaking to The Echo ahead of the event, Ringmahon Rangers secretary Sean Fitzgerald highlighted the impact Thomas had on the club and community, and the importance of raising funds for a local cause. Its a tournament that is close to our hearts, he said. Thomas played with Ringmahon all his life and was a friend to all, a great character to have in the dressing room and we found it fitting to set up the tournament at the time. All the Morrissey family have played with Ringmahon and his brother Gearoid (of Cork City FC fame) is with our seniors, Sean added. His sister Jacinta is involved with our girls academy and he has nieces and nephews playing for the club as well. Sean added that it was only fitting that the Rainbow Club was the chosen charity for the event. Ringmahon and the parish of Mahon have very good links with them and the work they do is second to none, he concluded. People are encouraged to text 0873393276 for raffle tickets. Blackrock hurlers who played for Cork praised Blackrock National Hurling Club has praised its young hurlers who lined out for Cork recently. Four youngsters from the clubs U14 team donned the red of Cork against Clare recently. Well done to our U14 players, namely Jack Kearney, Alan Lydon, Cian Coakley and Darragh Waters, who were part of the Cork City Rebel Og team that played against Clare in Mallow, the club stated. Collaborative student project Students from Nagle Community College took part in an initiative to enhance collaboration with counterparts from across Ireland and Europe. Several students from the local secondary school were involved in the Building Walls, Breaking Walls project by Erasmus+ EU. The programme involves the Mahon Community Development Project. Nagle Community College praised students Jordan, Daniel, and Aoife who participated in the project on Cape Clear. Over the course of seven days, the students worked extremely hard with their counterparts from Switzerland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Italy at building and restoring the historical walls which is a big assist to the locals, the school added. Cape Clear has only 110 residents on the island and it was a fantastic experience! Also great to see past pupil Rhys Aherne assist the group Rhys is a master chef and a wonderful ambassador for Nagle CC. Brown bin encouragement Mahon Tidy Towns has encouraged locals to get a brown bin. The group addressed concerns that brown bins are smelly and impractical: These common misconceptions about having a brown bin at home result in organic waste ending up in landfill which, in turn, is responsible for 10% of the food sectors emissions. This is easy to fix. Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Honore Kamegni (Green Party), out and about with Mahon Tidy Towns volunteers in recent days The bins can be incorporated into everyday life, by finding a suitable place to keep it and using bin liners to keep it clean and odour free. Mahon Tidy Towns concluded: It doesnt have to take up space, it doesnt have to smell, and it really has an important impact. Ambassador to Chile visits Blackrock Castle Observatory recently welcomed Irelands ambassador to Chile. Following Colum Hatchells visit in July, management at the observatory said: We had a wonderful morning discussing collaborations and more. In Ireland, we are lucky to be part of multiple European-wide organisations that allow us access to state-of-the-art scientific facilities. We became a member of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in 2018, management added. ESO operates three observing sites in the Atacama Desert region of Chile and is made up of 16 member states across Europe. ESO provides astronomers in Ireland access to the southern sky, but our membership also means Irish companies can compete for ESO contracts. We have also been a member of the European Space Agency since 1975, allowing us to be at the heart of Europes space missions. We have at least 87 Irish companies working with ESA to develop technologies for the space market. Craft party Mahon Point Shopping Centre is hosting a Craft Loco Party on Monday, August 5, from 1pm to 3.30pm. Shopping centre management said: Get ready for an afternoon of creativity and spontaneous fun! Join us for our wild and wonderful Craft Loco Party, where well combine the fun of crafting with the excitement of impromptu dancing. Attendees can expect headband decorating, bracelet making, and impromptu dance sessions. Bring the kids for an unforgettable experience filled with laughter, creativity, and lots of fun, management said. Community cafe reopens The Cottage Community Cafe in Mahon has reopened after a break-in. Management revealed on July 22 that the cafe was broken into the previous weekend. They expressed their disappointment at the break-in and said the cafe would remain closed until further notice. However, just a day later, management reopened the hugely popular facility. [The] fridge is full and we are up and running again to welcome all our wonderful customers with amazing cakes and savoury treats; pop in for lunch or for coffee and cake, management said. Have Blackrock and Mahon news to share? Email darragh.bermingham@theecho.ie Senator Tim Lombard and county councillor Noel ODonovan have been selected by Fine Gael to represent the party in the Cork South-West constituency at the next general election. The two men were selected at the partys convention at the Parkway Hotel in Dunmanway on Wednesday night. Fine Gael previously ran Mr Lombard, alongside former councillor Karen Coakley, in the constituency at the 2020 general election, but the party lost the seat which had been held since 2011 by Jim Daly. Speaking after the selection convention, Mr Lombard said he was delighted to have been selected. With 21 years of political experience, and having served as a senator since 2016, I believe I have the experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm to represent the people of Cork South-West as their TD, he said. A dairy farmer based in Minane Bridge, Mr Lombard pledged to continue fighting for the farming community on nitrates derogation, VAT refunds for farmers, the fodder crisis, and ash dieback. I will also continue my advocacy for special education and the provision of services for adults and children with learning differences across the constituency. Mr ODonovan said he was honoured to have been selected to contest the election for Fine Gael and was committed to bringing a fresh perspective to address the issues facing the local community. As a former member of An Garda Siochana, I promise to work with families and communities across Cork South-West to address the challenges of anti-social behaviour and will prioritise law and order, he said. From my experience as a councillor, I know I can represent the interests of the people of Cork South-West in Dail Eireann and I look forward to beginning my campaign. The convention brings to 28 the number of general election candidates selected by Fine Gael in 17 constituencies. A man in his forties has been arrested as Gardai seized around 75,000 worth of drugs in Cork city this week. 1kg of suspected amphetamine with an approximate value of 15,000, and 3kg of suspected cannabis valued at 50,000 were seized along with a number of mobile phones and a sum of cash from a premises in Blackrock. A Garda spokesperson told The Echo, Gardai in Cork City have seized suspected illegal drugs valued at approximately 75,000, and arrested one man (40s) during a search operation in Cork City, on Wednesday 31st July 2024. As part of Operation Tara, Gardai attached to the Anglesea Street Divisional Drugs Unit, targeting the sale and supply of controlled drugs in Cork City, carried out the search under warrant, of a premises in Blackrock, Cork City. During the course of the search, approximately 1kg of suspected amphetamine with an approximate value of 15,000, and 3kg of suspected cannabis valued at 50,000 were seized, along with a number of mobile phones and a quantity of cash." They added, The drugs seized will now be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. The man (40s) arrested in connection with the investigation is detained pursuant to Section 2 Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996, at a Garda station in the Cork area. Investigations are ongoing. This seizure is part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on 2nd July 2021. Operation Tara focuses on disrupting, dismantling, and prosecuting drug trafficking networks at all levelsinternational, national, and localinvolved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale, and supply of controlled drugs. Employees at the Dulux plant in Cork have voted to accept redundancy terms offered by AkzoNobel for the closure of its paint manufacturing site on Commons Road. Duluxs parent company, AkzoNobel confirmed the sites closure and loss of 45 jobs in May, with the latest developments revealing that the plant will officially close on a phased basis by December 31. Following a period of collective consultation with local union and employee representatives, the company further confirmed that redundancy terms have been accepted by those affected by the upcoming closure. In a statement provided to The Echo by AkzoNobel, the company expressed its gratitude to employees, acknowledging their professionalism during what has been a very difficult time for everyone impacted. AkzoNobel further reiterated that the closure of the Cork plant will have no bearing on the companys non-manufacturing operations in Dublin, for which further investment is planned. Managing director of Dulux Paints Ireland, Seamus ODonoghue said: Business decisions of this nature are never easy on those impacted and it has been a tough time for colleagues in Cork, who are an incredible and professional team of people. The closure of the plant is not related to our people but rather, is part of a wider plan to continually improve the business through newer and more streamlined processes and technological advancements. On behalf of the company, I wish to extend my thanks and gratitude to the team in Cork for their stellar work and their commitment to consistent standards of excellence over many years, he added. There will be a period of transition over several months as production moves to the UK in a controlled and organised way. Our customers in Ireland can feel reassured that they will receive the same product formulations and enhanced levels of supply from the Dulux team in Ireland. Following the closure, the Dulux Academy and technical support will be relocated to Dublin, and warehouse capacity will be expanded to enhance supply and distribution for customers in Ireland, with sales, marketing, warehousing and logistics remaining unaffected. Paint production for the Irish market will now move to the UK. High Court reporters A High Court judge has refused to grant an emergency injunction to the residents of Dundrum village, Co Tipperary who want to stop asylum seekers being accommodated in a local hotel. Mr Justice David Holland said no case had been made to grant an ex partie injunction where only one side is represented. He said the application simply did not have the necessary urgency. Dundrum residents had lodged 230 affidavits with the High Court complaining that International Protection Applicants will be offered rooms at the Dundrum House Hotel resort from Thursday. Mr Justice Holland, who read the affidavits and gave his judgment last night, said communities may not - as a legal right - vet or veto those who seek to live among them, He said there was a notable peculiarity that the person who brought the case lived in Co Westmeath and he did not understand why Dundrum residents were not named as applicants in the proceedings. He said concern was raised about the potential intrusion into private dwellings. It is saying that International Protection Applicants are more likely to be burglars than those staying as guests at the hotel or Ukrainian refugees staying there. I lend no weight to that assertion, the judge stated. In an application to the court led by Patrick McGreal from Westmeath, the village residents sought an interim injunction to stop the former mansion and estate Dundrum House Hotel being used to house International Protection Applicants (IPA). In separate proceedings against the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage they also want to stop the use of the Planning and Development (exempted Development) regulations of 2023 which allows buildings to be used to house International Protection Applicants. Dundrum House Hotel for the last two years has accommodated Ukrainian refugees and locals are objecting to any continued use of the hotel to house asylum seekers as the Ukrainians leave. A round the clock demonstration which began outside the hotel in late May is continuing. Mr McGreal submitted that locals believed the turning of the hotel into an IPA centre would cause irreparable damage to the village and the local economy and destroy tourism. He maintained that International Protection Applicants will be at the hotel from today (Thursday) and they sought an injunction to stop this. Mr Justice Holland asked what the difference between Ukrainians and International Protection Applicants was staying at the hotel. Mr McGreal said the Ukrainians were refugees and they had integrated into the community and could work. In one affidavit referred to in court from a local resident it was stated there were fears "the influx of people not of Irish origin into an Irish village will cause a lot of unrest. Tom Tuite A London-based rabbi accused of travelling to Ireland to perform an illegal circumcision on a young child has been refused bail. Jonathan Abraham, 47, was arrested in Dublin on Tuesday and is charged with carrying out a surgical procedure, male circumcision on a child, without being a registered medical practitioner at an address in Dublin 15. The father-of-10 appeared before Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court on Thursday. Detective Garda Megan Furey told the judge that Mr Abraham "made no reply" when charged at Blanchardstown Garda station. There were objections to bail due to the seriousness of the case. The detective said the offence, contrary to the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, could result in a maximum fine of 130,000 and five years' imprisonment. Detective Garda Furey said there was strong evidence in support of the charge. Gardai entered an address in Dublin 15 just after 1 pm on Tuesday with the homeowners' consent. According to the detective, they observed the accused "dressed in a white robe, a doctor's-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand." The court heard there was a table in the middle of the room with a changing pad, scissors and other medical supplies and implements. "Gardai at this time also observed a very young child on the changing pad naked," she said, adding that they established that a circumcision procedure had already been carried out on another child at the premises. The detective told the court that a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and "it's envisaged that there will be multiple further charges in due course". Citing "significant flight risk" fears, she said that the accused flew into Ireland on July 30th around noontime and had a return flight booked for the same evening. She added that he had no ties to this jurisdiction and did not have any property, assets or dependents in this country. She described him as a man of means and had grave concerns that he would evade justice, adding that he had a strong incentive to leave the country. Cross-examined by defence solicitor Tertius Van Eeden, she agreed that if the DPP directed that the case stay in the District Court, the penalties would be considerably lower: a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to 5,000. He put it to the detective that she left that out during her bail objections and that it was too enthusiastic to suggest the case would go to a higher level, but she did not accept that suggestion. In later exchanges with the defence, the detective agreed that the accused had not held himself out to be a doctor, and she accepted that he was a rabbi. The garda detective claimed he had not given any information about his training and that he used the name rabbi Y. Abraham. The solicitor replied that the Y was for Yoni, Hebrew for Jonathan. The solicitor said his client was a member of the Initiation Society, which governs the practice or procedures of the Jewish faith, specifically circumcisions. Mr Van Eeden added that his client, who did not address the court, was registered as a Mohel, the Hebrew word for a person qualified to carry out circumcisions. The detective conceded she was informed of this and said enquiries were still being conducted. When asked if she had done any Google research about that, she said she only learned this at about 8 pm on Wednesday. Pleading for bail, Mr Van Eeden said the Initiation Society was the oldest Anglo-Jewish organisation founded in 1745. As a Mohel, he was allowed to perform circumcisions and had done so for more than 13 years, and he was fully trained medically and ethically to perform them. The solicitor submitted that in the Jewish community, only a Mohel could perform such procedures, and he was insured to do them. Mr Van Eeden submitted that if his client had performed the same procedures in England, it would have been completely legal. However, the judge pointed out that it was a separate jurisdiction. The solicitor stressed that these were allegations at this stage, and his client had no prior convictions and had the presumption of innocence. The court heard he was the primary breadwinner for his family and also received state benefits while his wife worked part-time tutoring children with learning difficulties. The solicitor said that his client could face a lengthy period in custody, and the trial venue has not been confirmed. He added that a 5,000 independent surety could be offered, and Mr Abraham would obey conditions not to perform such procedures in Ireland. Judge Connellan refused bail due to the seriousness of the case, potential flight risk and strength of evidence. Legal aid was granted to the accused, who was remanded in custody pending directions from the DPP. Mr Abraham has yet to enter a plea and will appear again on August 6th at Cloverhill District Court. By David Young, PA Police are working to establish if social media calls for anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend will materialise on the ground, the chief constable has said. Jon Boutcher urged people in society to push back against the poisonous nonsense being propagated by those seeking to organise demonstrations against the Islamic faith. At the monthly meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the PSNIs oversight body, independent member Marian Cree asked the police chief if he was aware of social media posts calling on people to attend a series of anti-Islamic events on Saturday. We are aware of it, were still trying to understand whos behind it, said Mr Boutcher. Theres no set organisation showing themselves on social media which sort of defines the cowardly nature of the people who do this nonsense. There is obviously, from the social media calling, an intention to try and do something on Saturday. We have got a gold (command) structure in place around this. Were looking into the intelligence now to see who, if anybody, is actually involved and going to respond to this. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton (PA) His comments came after two nights of disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday. Violent unrest has been witnessed in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. I would point people to what happened in London yesterday and Hartlepool, and obviously Southport, this is based on poisonous nonsense, Mr Boutcher told the board meeting in Belfast. It has no basis in a society thats seen what hatefulness can do to a society and I would appeal for everybody, everybody to push back against any of this utter awful nonsense. But if there is going to be any gatherings, we will police them and we will police them effectively. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said he was aware of a social media post calling for a gathering at Belfast City Hall and a subsequent protest march. He warned that any march needed the permission of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission. To date no such procession has been notified to the Parades Commission, he said. Id advise that if anybody was planning on attending that, the fact that thats not notified, of course, could mean that they could see themselves liable to a criminal investigation. Protest is a fundamental human right. But everything that the chief has said is right, you know, our real concern around this is that, in fact, its simply people intent on stirring up fear and hatred. And I would ask that anybody that does intend to engage in any form of protest activity follows the advice that we issue to the public regularly on this, the advice is you should engage with the police and to stay lawful, you must not endanger the safety of yourself or anybody else. You should not block any road or foot path, you should respect the rights of others and the Parades Commission must be notified in respect of any procession. Alliance board member Nuala McAllister expressed concern that some of the posts had urged women and children to take the lead in the protests. Mr Singleton replied: I think that was a sinister element that weve seen, and I think it speaks volumes potentially about the mindset of those that are involved in this activity. But, again, let me reassure you, from a policing perspective our response will be proportionate. As the chief says, itll be policed effectively. Ah, the long summer evenings of August long ago. When the days work finished, how many hearts and minds turned towards music, dance, and just possibly romance? Whether it was a bus trip down to the Majorca in Crosshaven or across to the Highland in Newmarket, a joyous journey to Redbarn outside Youghal, or an unsophisticated but delightful platform dance in Inchigeela, those were the places that memories were made. Which do you remember best? We were reminded of this by seeing an old rusty barn building next to a greenway recently and being told by a farmer that it was there they used to hold dances way back in the day. Oh, in the evening you would see the lights of bicycles coming along the lane from miles away, and all the bikes stacked outside while their owners went in to enjoy themselves, the farmer reminisced. The music from the band would float over the fields and youd hear it from your back door. It was grand. And then afterwards, there would be the happy voices as people were going away. Maybe a girl or two who had come on foot would be offered a crosser home by a young man. You wouldnt know what might come of it! Down in Inchigeela, that summer of the late 1950s when Johnny Creedon was determined to turn the town into a popular holiday destination, they used to hold platform dances at a certain spot outside the village. Was it a wooden platform that could be assembled for the night and then packed up and stored until the next occasion? Or was it a permanent concrete affair? The band would play on a makeshift platform, often the open side of a truck, and people came from far and near to enjoy themselves. And then there were the now legendary dances at the crossroads in every part of the county. Somehow it always seemed to be fine on those evenings of long ago, didnt it? There were so many country get-togethers, ideal places for young people to meet and mingle (even if the parish priest regularly put in an appearance to ensure that the proprieties were observed). Rory Gallagher and The Fontanas band in the early 1960s. That is the legendary and currently highly topical Stratocaster hes holding It was the opportunity to meet people from another townland, another village, which was always exciting. And to hear the (fairly) latest tunes being belted out, and getting the chance to dance to them. Stephen Twohig, who grew up in Kanturk, has mixed memories of those teenage days. The delight of the different dance halls (then changing slowly into discos), yes, but also the crippling shyness that made the whole evening a terrifying experience. The coloured lights are flashing like beacons around the hall. Every once in a while, some known face is illuminated by the whirling rays of light. People slowly filter in and gather in small clusters in the different corners. Lying Eyes, by the Eagles, is playing, and the DJ is shuffling for the next tune. On the floor are a few couples but most are hanging back, too nervous or just not in the mood yet. Its the Edel Quinn Hall of a Friday night. These would be the first discos we would attend and we would progress to venues further afield. The Highland in Newmarket was quite the place. If you didnt have transport, you would take the bus or stand over on OBrien Street and try and hitch a ride. This worked well on your way there, but held only a slender window of opportunity for the trip home. Its many the night we sauntered home in the dark of night by Allens Bridge and Rosacon. Nobody who was there could forget the legendary Crush in Newmarket, Stephen muses. It was a sight to behold. The ladies would all be lined along the upper wall in the hall, and the young men (some not so young), would file up and down in a close throng, eyeing the prospective possibilities. It was a madhouse, a meat market you could say, and worse than any crowd filing out of a sporting event. But of course this was the ultimate sporting event. Every once in a while, a brave soul would make a go for it, shrug off all doubts, and nervousness, and stride over to interrupt a few ladies in conversation. Or more likely pull himself through the crowd like a drowning man trying to make shore. Depending on the individual or the lady herself, you might find yourself following her on to the dance floor for a set of three, or try and muster as much composure and manly indifference as possible if she denied the request. Stephen says he wonders what psychological inflictions and maiming occurred on these occasions that would take years to recover from, if ever. After your first success, you then had to carry on a conversation over the loud bass of the music, the din of the crowd, or the seeming disinterest of your partner, he continues. All around you notice the success of some previous candidate and you wonder constantly if all your friends are watching. If you are lucky the band will play some real rocking tune by Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Queen, or Joe Jackson. If you are unlucky enough to catch the start of a slow set of Bee Gees, Exile or The Commodores, you are pretty much finished. There will be a hesitant pregnant pause, she will thank you for dancing, and will leave you in the total collapse of your already diminished confidence. Well, Stephen says philosophically, at least you got to dance. You return to your friends, shrug it off as her fault, she had a few missing teeth anyway, no personality, she had two left feet, or just was not your type. There were well-known standard one-liners used on the dance floor. Will you stay on?, used after the set ended, trying to encourage a commitment beyond the required and appropriate time spent dancing with a stranger. A St Vincent de Paul Ladies Association dance at the Arcadia Ballroom, Cork, in 1934 Do you feel like an orange? was a courteous gesture, but all too often got the off-putting reply, No, do I look like one? Either way, we were mystified and at odds with the mind and its workings of the opposite sex. When you thought they liked you, they would walk off anyway after seeming to have a good time. If you ignored them, they told you after that you acted a snob. You couldnt win or figure them out in these early years. Come to think of it, you still cant! On the other hand, if you were suave, played a good air guitar, could mouth the lyrics of the songs, or knew intimate details of some of the band, you were in with a chance, he reveals. Or, if you were the son of a big farmer, with the dads big car parked outside. A large Datsun or Toyota with a cassette deck would do nicely. On this I can only surmise, as I had neither. To the best of my memory, I never once met a stranger, or carried on any semblance of a conversation. I never hit the correct notes on the extraordinary solos of Bohemian Rhapsody or Sultans Of Swing, or ever had any success in luring the candidate for another set, never mind to the fumbling clutches of a big car. (The one I didnt have outside.) No, the only windows I would fog up would be the windows of the bus home to Kanturk! The mating habits of some species take on some strange and idiosyncratic forms, to say the least, says Stephen, from the experienced platform of adulthood. Our own is no different. Maybe it is the frustration of misunderstanding the opposite sex, mixed with the flood of rampant and unused hormones, but somehow the male species not having success in courtship will tum on themselves. And so was the case at dances in Newmarket. Millstreet or Mallow. There was always some scuffle, or at times more serious territorial and gang-like face-offs. Many the head was split and stitch needed after a night at a dance. Oh, the romance! Or was it just the Alpha male staking out his territory? I dont know. The band are good tonight, do you come here often? It is the Star Ballroom in Millstreet, another favourite. We are here of a Thursday night on the balcony overhead, looking down at the dancing crowd below. At the back is a bar and cafe where you can buy chips or burgers, and seating where you can just hang out with your respective crowd. The Memories are playing and they always fill the house. Their cover songs are perfect and they do each number justice. Gerry Raffertys Baker Street is the real thing. From the balcony, you can watch your man gunned down in the first efforts of introduction, or your man left standing alone on the dance floor, mystified by the disappearance of his once smiling partner. This is a great spot for people-watching for sure. If its not The Highland in Newmarket, it is Millstreet, or the odd time Mallow. Mallow can be rough though, and you have to watch yourself, so us country lads stick to our country places and to the favourite haunts and fishing grounds. The bands also are known favourites. If youre lucky, it is The Memories or Reform, if not it is Joe Dolan or Dickie Rock or some other past success. The posters will have been stuck on every shop window or billboard for weeks . On an August summer evening with the smell of newly-cut hay, glows of seaside tans, and the fading light of a near midnight sun, one can nearly feel again the closeness of skin and eternal romance. If only my father had bought the big farm and the big car! You have captured so many memories there, Stephen, that others will resonate to, remembering their own experiences at dances when the world was young. Were your first tentative steps at the Arcadia, where a young Rory Gallagher and his band (first the Fontana, then Impact) often played the warm-up shift before one of the big showbands? Or was it down by the sea in Crosshaven or Redbarn? Perhaps your first introduction to actually making contact with the opposite sex was at a village dance hall, where that ever-present, ever-vigilant parish priest interrupted close numbers to separate couples too-closely entwined. I remember dances at Christians back in the early 1960s, says Katie OBrien. We girls all stood at one side, that was the custom, and the boys at the other. There was this lad I met who was over from Wales for the rugby matches they used to have with CBC, and he was staying with my then boyfriend. He came into the hall, saw the division of boys and girls and frowned in puzzlement. Then he caught sight of me and came over. Look, your boyfriend is over there, he pointed out (unnecessarily as it happened). Will I go over and tell him youre here? No! I countered frantically. You cant do that. We have to wait until the music starts and then he will come and ask me. Off goes the Welsh boy, shaking his head at the strange mating customs of the Cork people. What are your memories of those long-ago dances? Did you meet your life partner there? Was there a special location that holds wonderful recollections? Tell us about it! Email jokerrigan1@gmail.com. Or leave a comment on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/echolivecork. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Coal is the heart and soul of modernity. Orville Schell is talking about the long history of coal mining, as represented in a major section of the exhibit COAL + ICE on view in New York City through August 11. Schell is vice president of the Asia Society, where the exhibit is mounted, and coal was the exhibitions catalyst. Craig Thompson Back in the 2000s, Schell and Susan Meiselas, this exhibits co-curator, had been collecting coal mining documentary photographs from China in the 2000s. When they first visited the coal mining areas, Schell was stunned by the landscape before him. It was completely defoliated, the sky was gray, with piles of coal everywhere, he says. It was an invocation of what happens when coal is king. The river was polluted, the air was polluted. But after collecting images of the coal industry in China, Schell connected with a mountain photographer who had ascended Tibet numerous times. He kept saying that the glaciers are melting. The melting glaciers are having an undeniable impact on the rivers, and the people, living downstream. After Schell saw firsthand these two major environmental catastrophes, COAL + ICE was born. The coal was the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, a kind of metaphor for fossil fuels, and the Tibetan plateau, the third pole, was the ice part of it, Schell says. COAL + ICE was first mounted in 2011 in Beijing. And one of those photos from that time is mounted here. Hes a Chinese coal miner named Song Chao from Shandong Province, Schell says. His uncle was a photographer for the new China news agency, so he could get his hands on a camera, and he started shooting portraits of his workmates. And theyre stunningly beautiful. Song Chao Coal has historically been the highest emitter of CO2 on Earth. Today, China leads the way by a large margin in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget data, the country emitted 8.25 billion tonnes of CO2, a number that continues to grow. China currently accounts for about 60% of the worlds coal use, while the country undergoes the dichotomy of increased coal plant approvals and a massive investment in solar and wind power. The exhibit contains a powerful section of video and images that shows the scale of coal production in China, with a nod to American history as well. Craig Thompson Since the first show in 2011, sections have been added. The first was a series of photos on consequences hurricanes, flooding, and fire and more recently, a section on solutions was added. Craig Thompson In one powerful section at the Asia Society, Gideon Mendels photos are presented on four panels. Mendel is a photographer who traveled around the world to where floods had occurred. He followed people home after the deluge, as they were wading home and as they got to their doors. His images show the powerful aftermath of the floods. Craig Thompson Craig Thompson Clifford Ross is an artist who shot hurricane waves, both on Long Island and off the coast of Portugal, at the famous Nazare shelf. He discovered that the artist, namely me, who thought he was photographing nature wasnt just photographing nature, but nature stirred and shaken by mans intervention. Clifford Ross But the solutions section of the exhibition attempts to shed some positivity on the subject. One of the images is by James Stillings, a photographer who used planes and drones to fly over renewable energy projects. Theyre kind of strikingly beautiful, and sort of designed, Schell says. You get a sense of the scale of it. You get a sense that we know exactly what to do, were just not doing enough of it. James Stillings An installation called New York, 2050: A Possible Future shows what New York could look like in 2050, with ocean levels a couple of feet higher, notes Schell. Craig Thompson Craig Thompson The show has been around the globe, to Delhi, Copenhagen, Paris, Aspen, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Shanghai. We thought maybe visually, we could get to them, says Schell. Its an effort to try to present the climate challenge in ways that are not truly didactic in written form. Once you get people into the tent, they do become engrossed in it. You just hope to wake them up a little. I think we all feel deeply discouraged. But on the other hand, we also know we need to do something. COAL + ICE is showing through August 11 in New York City at the Asia Society. For more information: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions/coal-ice Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. The aftermath of flash flooding on Red Village Road in Lyndonville, Vermont on July 30 2024. Danielle Parhizkaran / The Boston Globe via Getty Images Since Monday night, northeast Vermont has been inundated with heavy rain and flash flooding that washed out roads, damaged buildings and left residents stranded, reported Reuters. Nearly eight inches of rain fell in only six hours in St. Johnsbury considered a one in a thousand year event, CNN reported. This is devastating and was completely unexpected. I had no idea this was coming, said one of the towns residents Vanessa Allen, as reported by The Associated Press. Its just all unbelievable how bad the roads are. Were trapped. We cant go anywhere. According to the National Weather Service, 8.41 inches fell in Vermont, among the highest totals for a calendar day in the states history. Its too early to determine the extent of damage, a lot of areas are still underwater, said Mark Boma, spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management, as Reuters reported. Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury, located near state capital Montpelier, got the brunt of the flooding. Vermont Emergency Management said about two dozen rescues had been executed in the area by 10 swift-water rescue teams. On Tuesday morning, the 7,000 residents of St. Johnsbury were ordered to shelter in place as images on local news and social media showed downed trees, damaged roads and homes that had been ripped from their foundations by floodwaters. Vermont has been hit by more severe storms in the last few years, like the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl less than a month ago, which killed two people. Deryck Colburn, a resident of Lyndonville, said he was awakened by a neighbor and heard the same sound of rushing water he had heard only weeks before, as reported by The Associated Press. I went down the road to her house, and there was no road. There was just a river, Colburn said. Peter Banacos, a weather service operations officer, said there had been four flooding events in Vermont in the past year, caused by the mountainous terrain of the state combined with climate change. Banacos said increased rainfall and more frequently saturated soil have made it more susceptible to flooding. Scientists say extreme weather has become more frequent and intense as the human-driven climate crisis continues to wreak havoc across the planet. The last storm was a wake-up call, Colburn said, referring to the flooding earlier in July, as The Associated Press reported. I thought I would never see anything like that again. I dont think that holds a candle to this. Not even close. (Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC)John Christensen, World Council of Churches project officer for the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network and Mental Health, The World Council of Churches has conducted three workshops during an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's youth gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana. The meeting convened July 16-20 July, drawing some 20,000 youth, young adults, and their adult leaders. John Christensen, WCC project officer for the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network and Mental Health, served on the team leading the workshops/ "The first one may seem incredibly obvious but sometimes we need to be reminded," said Christensen, "Mental health struggles affect more than 25 percent of the global population at some point in their lives. "In 2019, 14 percent of the world's adolescents (ages 10-19) were living with a mental disorder of some kind. Alongside that, 71 percent of people dealing with some form of psychosis do not receive adequate mental health services." Christensen said this leads to suicide being the 4th-leading cause of death in people 15-29 years old, globally. "But, there is still hope," he said. "Thankfully, it is more and more common for people to talk about their mental health. Even when there are limited medical resources, community resources (such as church communities) can be a resource that contributes to the lessening of the negative effects of mental health struggles." The workshops focused on where mental health and youth are in the church, helping participants understand more about mental health and wellbeing, and providing a platform for dialogue. "I felt like the lone or token young person involved in church. But coming to the Youth Gathering in 2009 and now again to the Youth & Young Adult Gathering in 2024, it reminds me that I am not alone," said and Young Adult Gathering in 2024, it reminds me that I am not alone," said Christensen, The Partnership Center of the US Department of Health says that mental health is at a crisis level for today's youth. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/youth-mental-health-and-well-being-in-faith-and-community-settings.pdf "From the Surgeon General for the United States to parents in homes across the country, people are recognizing that our nation's youth are experiencing unprecedented mental health challenges." The center says that data supports such growing concern and more than 40 percent of teenagers say they struggle with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. More than half of parents and caregivers express concern over their children's mental well-being. Mercedes-Benz Trucks has successfully completed the European tour with the eActros 600. After a 45-day all-electric development tour through 22 countries, the two near-production prototypes of the eActros 600 arrived back in Worth am Rhein with over 15,000 kilometres more on the clock. The two e-trucks covered exactly 15,269 and 15,939 kilometres respectively in this time, completing the trip with a total train weight of 40 tonnes each. Along the entire route, the developers charged the two long-distance lorries exclusively at public charging points. Such a mammoth tour requires meticulous preparation and planning, especially with regard to charging at public infrastructure. Even though we had some very different experiences during the charging stops, it has been shown that long-distance battery-electric transport is possible. The 500 kilometre range of the eActros 600 with one battery charge was always a reliable planning parameter for us, reports Christof Weber, Head of Global Testing Mercedes-Benz Trucks. The manufacturer intends to present the specific findings and results from the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 European Testing Tour 2024 at the IAA Transportation in Hanover in September. Europe's northernmost and southernmost points as tour highlights The official start of the tour was on 11 June in Frankfurt am Main. After travelling north through Germany, Denmark and Sweden, the two trucks reached the first major stage highlight just in time for midsummer: the North Cape in Norway, the northernmost point in Europe that can be reached by road. From the end of June, the convoy continued southwards through Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, France and Spain. After a stop in Tarifa, Spain, the southernmost town on the European mainland, as the next major highlight of the tour, the journey headed north again - through Portugal, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg back to Germany. Important experience with regard to energy requirements During the test tour, Mercedes-Benz Trucks gained extensive experience on a wide variety of routes in different topographies and climatic zones with regard to energy consumption. The manufacturer then intends to share these findings with interested customers. The high battery capacity of over 600 kWh and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house enable the eActros 600 to have a range of 500 kilometres without intermediate charging. Megawatt charging can be retrofitted Around 60 percent of long-distance journeys made by Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are shorter than 500 kilometres, meaning that charging infrastructure at the depot and at the loading and unloading points is sufficient for these cases. For all other applications, the continuous development of a public charging infrastructure is an essential prerequisite for making the electric truck fully operational for pan-European long-distance transport. In addition to CCS charging with up to 400 kW, the eActros 600 will later also enable megawatt charging (MCS). In April, developers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully charged a prototype of the eActros 600 for the first time at a charging station with an output of one megawatt at the company's own development and test centre in Worth am Rhein. Customers can order pre-equipment for MCS. As soon as the MCS technology is available and standardised across manufacturers, it will be possible to retrofit it to these eActros 600 models. The batteries can be charged from 20 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes at a corresponding charging station with around one megawatt of power. Lesen Sie mehr zum Thema Google is adding support for its School time feature to more hardware. School time allows parents to limit functionalities on a child's devices during predetermined hours. That might be the time they are in classes or for any period where an adult wants to limit screen time. Parents will be able to use the Family Link parental controls app to set School time hours on their kids' select Android phones, tablets and Samsung Galaxy Watches. However, Google hasn't shared any further specifics about which devices in those categories will receive this update. The tool was originally launched on the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatches in May . School time is designed to help limit a mobile device's distractions for a young user. When enabled, it sets a dedicated home page with limited notifications. Parents can select which apps remain available, and can allow texts and calls to come through from particular individuals. This encourages focus when it's needed, while still allowing for emergency contact if needed. It's almost time once again for the tech world to stop everything else it's doing and pay attention as a major company shows off its latest hardware. Next up is Google's turn at bat. Thanks to a string of leaks and Googles own teases, we already have a pretty clear idea of what the company has planned for its Made by Google hardware event. The show will take place today: Tuesday, August 13 at 1PM ET. We'll get the official reveal of the Pixel 9 lineup, for one thing. This includes what the company is calling the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is certainly more of a mouthful than "Pixel Fold 2." In addition, Google will certainly reveal more details about Android 15 and the operating system's public rollout. Expect to hear the word "Gemini" a lot too as Google is likely to focus on the AI-powered features of the new handsets. Some accessories could be in store in the form of Pixel Buds Pro 2 and a new Pixel Watch (or two) as well. These products are in addition to the new Nest Learning Thermostat and Google TV Streamer that the search giant launched last week. Here's how to watch Google launch Pixel 9 phones and the other assorted devices at the press conference. Engadget is live blogging the Made by Google event it as well. In the meantime, this is what we know for certain Google will show off at the event and everything else we expect to learn about at Made by Google: Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL As usual, the main event of Made by Google will be the Pixel 9 lineup. Google has confirmed (as if it were ever really in doubt) that it will show off new smartphones at the event, but it's expected to have three traditional models this year instead of two. The Pixel 9 and 9 Pro will be straight-up successors to the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Leaks and rumors suggest Google will be adding a Pixel 9 Pro XL, with a larger screen than the other two models, to the lineup as well. YouTuber Andro-news claims to have gotten their hands on an engineering sample of the larger handset, which has flat edges, polished metal on the sides and matte-textured glass on the rear. However, the phone isn't switched on in the video. The Pixel 9 Pro is slated to have more advanced specs than the Pixel 9 but with the same display size. The Pixel 9 Pro XL, meanwhile, is expected to have almost the same specs as the 9 Pro but in a bigger handset. Per Toms Guide, the 9 and 9 Pro displays will measure around 6.3 inches while the Pixel 9 Pro XL may have a whopping 6.9-inch screen. All three of the phones are expected to have a redesigned camera module. This large camera bar (which Google has confirmed at least for the Pixel 9 Pro) looks like it protrudes quite a bit from the main body. Unless you pick up an appropriate case, you can probably expect this to snag on your pocket more often than you'd like. The Pixel 9 is believed to have 50MP wide and 48MP ultrawide lenses in its camera array. Google is likely to employ a new chipset this year, which will probably be called the Tensor G4. Leaks have also suggested that the base Pixel 9 will come with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The two larger phones are expected to max out at 512GB of storage. One other expected addition this year is the introduction of emergency satellite messaging, a feature that Apple has supported on the last two generations of iPhones. Pixel 9 Pro Fold Google will be hoping that consumers find the design of its latest foldable phone more elegant than its name. "Pixel 9 Pro Fold" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as "Pixel Fold 2." However, the change does make sense if Google is looking to more clearly position the foldable as a premium product with the inclusion of "Pro" in the name. If the foldable has the same chipset as the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup, the name change is even more logical. It's not rare for phone manufacturers to go with a major redesign on their second (or even third) stab at a new form factor as they learn more about what works and what doesn't. Like its more rigid siblings, the 9 Pro Fold also has a noticeable camera bump albeit one that positions the lenses vertically. Leaked images from a regulator in Taiwan indicate that the selfie camera has been moved on the interior screen to support a wider field of view. It appears that Google has reduced the fold crease this time around too. Android 15 and Gemini As ever, Google has been gradually announcing Android 15 features over the last several months, in large part to help developers update their apps ahead of the operating system's public rollout. Along with security measures such as Theft Detection Lock and Google Play fraud prevention, it should come as little surprise that Google is weaving AI more tightly into the fabric of its mobile OS. The Made by Google teasers have made it very clear that the company is focusing heavily on the AI features of its new devices, such as the ability to draft a letter or email based on a prompt. Google confirmed back at I/O that Gemini will be more deeply integrated into Android 15 (which perhaps could spell the demise of Google Assistant) and will have better contextual awareness of what you're doing. For instance, you'll be able to ask the chatbot questions about a YouTube video you're watching and it should be able to answer them. You might think of it as a modern, interactive version of Pop-Up Video. We should get a release date for Android 15 at least for supported Pixel devices at the event. It'll be around the same time Google starts shipping the new Pixel lineup, most likely later in August. Pixel Watch 3 #GooglePixelWatch3 will feature thinner bezels, increased screen sizes (41mm with 10% more screen and 45mm with 40% more screen), and an Actua display with 2,000 nits peak brightness. It also promises an "ultra responsive" display, possibly with a higher refresh rate. pic.twitter.com/RsnMzQPlV9 Shilpa Sharma (@ladywithsarcasm) July 30, 2024 It's just as well Google doesn't build ships considering how many leaks it has to deal with. A couple of weeks ahead of Made by Google, Android Headlines got its hands on the specs of the Pixel Watch 3, which is expected to be available in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. The Pixel Watch 3 will likely have an Actua display capable of delivering up to 2,000 nits of brightness that's twice as bright as the previous model's AMOLED display. Per the leak, Google claims that a battery saver mode extends the time between charges to up to 36 hours, though you'll get up to 24 hours of standard use out of the wearable when the always-on display is enabled. The smaller model is expected to offer 20 percent faster charging compared with the previous model as well. It had been anticipated that Google would name the larger model the Pixel Watch 3 XL. However, that's no longer expected to be the case, according to Android Headlines. Each variant will have its size listed in parentheses to differentiate them, the publication says. Pixel Buds Pro 2 It's been two years since Google released the Pixel Buds Pro, so those are very much due for an upgrade. Rumors suggest the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will debut at Made By Google. Some unofficial renders have popped up, indicating that along with the existing Charcoal and Porcelain colorways, there will be Aloe and Hot Pink variants to match various Pixel phone options. It appears that Google is bringing back a version of the wingtip design from the original Pixel Buds too. It remains to be seen what Google is cooking up for the audio side of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 but we do have at least some sense of the price. Rumors suggest the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will cost $229, which is $30 more than the base price of the current model. Everything else In all honesty, that's about everything we're expecting to see at Made by Google. It had been anticipated that the company would unveil the latest Nest Learning Thermostat and a new streaming box at the event, but Google actually revealed those a week ahead of the main showcase. The fourth-gen Nest Learning Thermostat has a 60 percent larger LCD display than the previous model with the ability to have customizable faces. It'll be available on August 20 in three colors: silver, black and gold. It costs $280 and comes with one wireless temperature sensor. As for the Google TV Streamer, that will run you $100 and it'll be available next month. While that's twice as expensive as the Chromecast with Google TV dongle, the company has upgraded the specs with a faster GPU, 4GB RAM instead of 2GB and four times the storage at 32GB. There's support for HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and spatial audio (via Google Pixel Buds) too. What's more, the Google TV Streamer is designed to be a smart home hub. There's Matter support and a Google Home panel through which you can control smart bulbs and view live video from connected doorbells and security cameras. Those are at least reasonably compelling devices, so it seems a little odd that Google wouldn't want to give them more of a spotlight by instead unveiling them at its splashy August 13 event. It stands to reason then that Google wants the event to be primarily about smartphones, smartwatches and earbuds. That does make sense as those are the most likely going to be the most successful hardware categories for the company over the all-important holiday period. Still, there's always space for at least one surprise (bring back Stadia, you cowards). Catch up on all the news from Googles Pixel 9 launch event right here! OpenAI will give the US AI Safety Institute early access to its next model as part of its safety efforts, Sam Altman has revealed in a tweet. Apparently, the company has been working with the consortium "to push forward the science of AI evaluations." The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has formally established the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute earlier this year, though Vice President Kamala Harris announced it back in 2023 at the UK AI Safety Summit. Based on the NIST's description of the consortium, it's meant "to develop science-based and empirically backed guidelines and standards for AI measurement and policy, laying the foundation for AI safety across the world." The company, along with DeepMind, similarly pledged to share AI models with the UK government last year. As TechCrunch notes, there have been growing concerns that OpenAI is making safety less of a priority as it seeks to develop more powerful AI models. There were speculations that the board decided to kick Sam Altman out of the company he was very quickly reinstated due to safety and security concerns. However, the company told staff members in an internal memo back then, that it was because of "a breakdown in communication." In May this year, OpenAI admitted that it disbanded the Superalignment team it created to ensure that humanity remains safe as the company advances its work on generative artificial intelligence. Before that, OpenAI co-founder and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, who was one of the team's leaders, left the company. Jan Leike, who was also one of the team's leaders, quit, as well. He said in a series of tweets that he had been disagreeing with OpenAI's leadership about the core priorities of the company for quite some time and that "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products." OpenAI created a new safety group by the end of May, but it's led by board members that include Altman, prompting concerns about self-policing. A federal judge dismissed a case brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC) against Google over its Gmail service. The suit alleged that Googles email platform labeled GOP fundraising emails as spam at a higher rate than those from the other side of the aisle. District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta from the Eastern California District Court dismissed the case with prejudice, preventing the Republican party from bringing its case against Google back to court. The dismissal with prejudice means it cannot bring the case to another court but can still file an appeal to Calabrettas decision, according to The Verge. Calabretta wrote in his dismissal order that the RNC failed to state a claim under any legislative policy or prove there was sufficient harm to users of Gmail. The RNC has not shown Googles alleged conduct has violated any other law, which is a necessary element of intentional interference with economic relations, Calabretta wrote in his dismissal order. Accordingly, the court grants Googles motion to dismiss, this time with prejudice. Calabretta had previously dismissed the case without prejudice. Thursdays ruling marks the second case that the RNC has lost over allegations of unfair filtering by Gmail. The RNC filed a lawsuit in the same court in 2022 seeking damages from Google for donations it allegedly lost as a result of labeling fundraising emails as spam. Calabretta called the lawsuit a close case but ultimately ruled that the RNC failed to plausibly allege its claims that Googles spam filtering was committed in bad faith, according to court filings. Vybz Kartel has been released from prison following the overturn of his 2014 murder conviction. Vybz Kartel, a Jamaican dancehall star, was convicted for the murder of Clive "Lizard" Williams, a fellow dancer and member of Kartel's entourage. He was murdered in the year 2011, but his body was never found. Kartel was sentenced to life in prison, being told he must serve a minimum of 35 years, which was later reduced to 32.5 years. He's been in custody since 2011 and has served 10 years. According to 'The Express Tribune,' Kartel's overturned conviction was due to juror misconduct and bribery. One of the jurors allegedly offered his fellow jurors $500,000 Jamaican dollars for an acquittal. Once the Privy Council in London discovered the misconduct, Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, was released from prison on the grounds that this was "fatal to the safety of the convictions." His case was overturned back in March 2024, but was released from prison this week. The 'BBC' reports the "Drag Dem Bat" artist would not be retried. Jamaica's Court of Appeal determined that there would be no retrial for Kartel, 48, following this overturn on July 31st, 2024. Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop stated that "the interests of justice do not require a new trial" and the original proceedings impeded on his "fundamental right to a fair hearing." The producer behind '1Xtra's Dancehall Show,' Seani B, expressed his joy of Kartel's return home. "For the last 14 years, Kartel has probably become even more infamous. Now on his release, I would say he's returned to a space that's been awaiting him for so many years," he said. "There's a whole new generation of dancehall fans that are just waiting for Vybz Kartel's return to that music." Prior to his arrest, the Kingston, Jamaica, native collaborated with Rihanna and Eminem. Can the Dog Type Personality System help to show how different candidates are responding in the election and how they might govern? I began thinking about this question a few weeks ago, based on applying the Dog Type Personality System, which I developed and which has been featured in a series of workshops and in the book What Type of Dog Are You? published by Waterside Productions. The system is based on four different dog types which have different leadership styles -- the Golden Retriever, the supportive-helper type; the German Shepherd, the dominant-aggressive type; the Pomeranian the social, people-person; and the Border Collie the detailed-oriented researcher type. For example, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are German Shepherd types, suggesting this will be an especially hard-fought race, between two tough, aggressive contenders. By contrast, Joe Biden is more of a Golden Retriever type, so his approach was more gentle and laid back, while he sought ways to help others as President. This is a personality system that can be applied to the vice-presidents and other candidates running for Senate and the House, as well as in state and local races. And anyone can use the system, since these popular dog personality types can be used to better understand oneself and others, have better relationships, and be more effective in business and work. It can help one in knowing how to better present ideas, make sales, and lead or work on projects, much like other personality systems, such as Myers-Briggs, color profiling, and the DISC system. But the dog personality type system features a fun, highly relatable way to think about different personality types and use the system in everyday life. In thinking about how the system might apply to politics and the elections, I wrote a series of songs about this, including the White House Dog Race Song For Anyone Running, which describes how the dog types apply to anyone running for office. You can listen to the song on YouTube at https://youtu.be/20atG4k_DxU. More details about this system are described in What Type of Dog Are You by Gini Graham Scott, PhD from Waterside Productions. Besides conducting workshops on using the system, I have a documentary about different people using the dog type system which will be filmed with Dear Skyyler Productions, a film production team I have worked with on 18 films, 15 in distribution by major distributors. Most recently, I worked with the team on several documentaries based on books I wrote about scams, prisons, and the criminal justice system, published by American Leadership Books. These documentaries and books include: "Conned: A True Story" based on The Big Con" and "Con Artists Unveiled" turned into I Was Scammed. Both films are distributed by Gravitas Ventures., while the books are on Amazon and the films can be seen on Apple TV: Conned: A True Story - Apple TV and Con Artists Unveiled - Apple TV. Another film, "Women in Prison or With Partners in Prison" is being launched at the American Film Market in November in Las Vegas based on two published books from American Leadership Books: Women with Partners in Prison and Women in Prison: Getting Locked Up, Being a Mother or in a Minority Group, and Getting Out. For more information on how the dog type personality system relates to other politicians up for election and on other books and films, and to set up interviews, email or call: Changemakers Publishing and Writing San Ramon, CA 94583 925) 804-6333 Changemakerspub@att.net www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com His office subsequently opened a criminal investigation into the matter. The USSS erased those text messages after OIG [Office of Inspector General] requested records of electronic communications from the USSS, as part of our evaluation of events at the Capitol on January 6, the inspector general wrote in a July 2022 letter to chairmen of both the Senate and House Homeland Security committees, including Rep. Bennie Thompson, who also chaired the Jan. 6 committee at the same time. Cuffari further flagged the DHSs lack of cooperation with his inquiry, something he had already pointed out in an earlier report to the committees. DHS personnel have repeatedly told OIG inspectors that they were not permitted to provide records directly to OIG and that such records had to first undergo review by DHS attorneys, Cuffari continued in the letter. Not true, responded Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. He claimed the texts had been deleted when cell phones were reset to factory settings as part of a device replacement program. The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false. (Guglielmis truthfulness was brought into question recently when he claimed it was absolutely false that the Secret Service rejected the Trump campaigns multiple requests for additional security prior to the Pennsylvania rally. The Washington Post later confirmed that top Secret Service officials repeatedly denied requests for more manpower and equipment to protect the former president at large events.) And despite initially insisting the texts were not lost, Guglielmi shortly thereafter said the missing Jan. 6-related messages were not recoverable. Cuffari did acquire the cell phones of two dozen Secret Service agents on duty that day, which did not have texts from that day but could have other pertinent information. But rather than demand that the DHS use its extensive investigative tools to retrieve the texts, Thompson instead turned his fire on Cuffari. Thompson suggested Cuffaris alleged delay in notifying the committee about the purged texts represented a cover-up and cost investigators precious time to capture relevant evidence. Cuffari had, in fact, notified the Homeland Security committee of both the Senate and House, of which Thompson was chairman, at least twice that DHS officials were not cooperating in his J6 probe. The Department repeatedly suggested that OIG might not have a right of access to the records sought, but during the months-long period in which access was delayed the Department did not cite any legal authority that would have justified withholding the information, Cuffari disclosed in a September 2021 report to Congress. Despite Cuffaris warnings related to stonewalling by DHS brass, Thompson accused Cuffari of withholding news of the deleted messages. In a July 2022 letter, just two weeks after Cuffari disclosed the missing texts, Thompson asked him to step aside from the J6 inquiry. Calls for Cuffaris dismissal have also been driven by the nonprofit watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight. The vice chair of POGOs board is Debra Katz, a lawyer for Brett Kavanaghs accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, during his tawdry Supreme Court nomination hearings. Critics say Thompsons demand for Cuffaris recusal appeared to contradict his stated mission to find the truth about Jan. 6. For example, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a star witness for the committee, provided a shocking account about how Trump allegedly assaulted one of the Secret Service agents on his detail that afternoon. Wouldnt Thompson and the other committee members want records to prove her claims, which are now in dispute by several individuals, including the driver she said Trump tried to attack? Why would Thompson want to get rid of the watchdog attempting to locate messages critical to filling an important missing piece of the Jan. 6 puzzle? In fact, Thompson told Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) in February his committee could have had a better, more thorough report had we had access to all those records. Thompson further said that the deletions not only violated the Federal Records Act but may have also amounted to obstruction of justice since he had issued a subpoena, the only one his committee sought from an executive office, seeking the records. Talk but No Action But neither his committee nor a Democrat-controlled Congress did anything about it. Unlike the committees criminal referral to the Department of Justice against Trump for obstructing an official proceeding, Thompson did not pursue criminal charges against any DHS official responsible for erasing the text records. But Thompson did continue his attacks on Cuffari aided by his House colleagues and DHS IG employees, who wrote a letter accusing Cuffari of continued mismanagement. IG Cuffari has made it clear that he wishes to remain in his position, even in the face of prolonged, deserved criticism in the media, from Congress, from other oversight entities and from his own staff. A true leader would recognize the effect of his actions on his workforce and understand the right thing to do would be to step aside, anonymous staffers wrote in a September 2022 letter to Joe Biden asking him to fire Cuffari. The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or CIGIE, which oversees federal inspector generals, also went after Cuffari by opening a flood of inquiries into the DHS IGs office. In response, Cuffari filed a lawsuit seeking relief from an unjust, Kafkaesque system produced by an unconstitutionally structured entity and abetted by a complete absence of independent oversight, accountability and lawful due process. A federal judge dismissed his effort to stop the investigation, ruling that he had not suffered any harm. CIGIE is mired in its own scandals; in May, several Republican House members sent a letter to a top CIGIE official demanding answers about the politicization of the organization. During a House hearing on July 24, committee members accused CIGIE chairman Mark Greenblatt of a lack of transparency and the subjective nature of CIGIEs work. House Democrats, including Thompson, continue to seek Cuffaris resignation more recently for deleting text messages off his government device. Cuffari told Congress he did not consider the texts applicable under the Federal Records Act. Intriguingly, as Cuffari begins his probe of the attempt on Trumps life, his Jan. 6 report may shed light on an alleged threat to Vice President Harris. More than three-and-a-half years later, investigators still have not arrested anyone for planting pipe bombs outside the headquarters of both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on the evening of Jan. 5. The FBIs investigation reportedly remains open but apparently went cold. For reasons still unknown, Harris left Capitol Hill around 11:15 a.m. on Jan. 6 following a briefing for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Although an official schedule indicated she planned to go home, she instead arrived at DNC headquarters along with a Secret Service detail at 11:25 a.m. Video captured by a security camera outside the building showed a bomb-sniffing dog conducting a vehicle search at 9:44 a.m., roughly two hours before Harris arrival. The canine did not detect the explosive device sitting just a few feet away near an outdoor bench. Neither did officers from Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police, who intermittently arrived at the building throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Harris Secret Service detail did not appear to conduct any meaningful search of the premises before or during her visit. And when a plainclothes Capitol Police officer discovered the pipe bomb at 1:07 p.m., no officer appeared overly concerned that a device the FBI later said was viable and deadly was within distance of the incoming vice president. She was evacuated about 10 minutes later. How did the Secret Service miss the device in plain view? Was anyone fired for failing to properly sweep the area and endangering the life of their protectee? Were new protocols put in place to avoid repeating such a frightening scenario in the future? Cuffaris report presumably will finally answer those questions because agency officials have not. Not only are the FBI and Secret Service tight-lipped about the incident, but Harris herself has yet to discuss it publicly. Harris has not explained why she, a sitting U.S. senator at the time, left the Capitol 90 minutes before the beginning of the joint session of Congress to certify her groundbreaking election. She appears to have been the only senator not in attendance as the proceedings commenced. Why did she plan to miss such a historic event? How did she feel when she was told of the alleged bomb? It would be nearly impossible for the national news media to continue to ignore her ties to the pipe bomb story if Cuffari addressed it in his investigation. Any delay or obstruction by Mayorkas is unacceptable," Loudermilk said in an email, "especially now that the DHS IG is investigating the serious USSS security failures at the Trump rally in Butler PA. The following is a release from Governor's Greg Gianforte's office: HELENA, Mont. Governor Greg Gianforte today issued an executive order declaring a disaster in Missoula and Mineral counties. A recent severe thunderstorm toppled trees and downed power poles in the Missoula area, leaving too many residents without power. I appreciate the rapid response of our electric cooperatives to restore power to affected communities, Gov. Gianforte said. Todays disaster declaration is a next step to help residents and coops in the area recover. On July 24, 2024, a severe thunderstorm with wind speeds of 81 mph, lightning, heavy rain, and gusts up to 109 mph caused damages to power poles across western Montana leaving tens of thousands of customers of Missoula Electric and Northwestern Energy without power. The city, counties, and electrical cooperatives have expended considerable amounts of resources and manpower in taking all possible actions to respond, mitigate, repair, and alleviate the situation safely and quickly. With the disaster declaration issued, the State of Montana will expend funds from the general fund to meet contingencies and needs arising from these conditions and help impacted communities get back on their feet as quickly as possible. For the latest updates from Missoula County, see here. For nonemergency public inquiries on restoration and assistance, please call 406-258-4636. The governors executive order may be found here. MARTINS FERRY, Ohio The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will clean up tons of illegal fracking waste at Austin Master Services wastewater treatment plant in Martins Ferry, Ohio, after the company failed to clean it up within a court-ordered deadline on July 22. A judge ordered the Pennsylvania-based wastewater treatment company to suspend operations at its site along the Ohio River in April after the ODNR found the company had exceeded its permit and improperly stored brine waste. Martins Ferry City Council, local environmental groups and residents have been pushing for the waste to be cleaned up for months to prevent it from contaminating nearby water sources. Now, ODNR will begin cleanup efforts to remove the waste, providing a breath of relief to Martins Ferry residents. I think were moving in the right direction, said Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies. We can only right the wrong. We cant go back in time and stop it from happening again. Cleanup begins According to an ODNR spokesperson, the clean-up will consist of two phases. The first phase will be transporting a portion of the waste via truck to residual waste landfills in Pennsylvania. ODNR hired a contractor for phase one and removal started on July 23. Phase one is expected to take about three weeks. Phase two may consist of moving the waste via truck or rail, ODNR said. The agency is still taking bids for the second phase of waste removal and site restoration. In total, the cleanup is estimated to take nine months. ODNRs Division of Oil and Gas Resource Management will use Austin Masters bond forfeiture and the agencys oil and gas fund to clean up the site, and will seek reimbursement from the company afterward. The facility will also not be re-permitted, something Martins Ferry council members and residents have been pushing for. Regardless, Martins Ferry City Council is updating its source water protection plan as a preventive measure in case another facility is permitted in the area. Were trying to close all the loopholes we can. Ill guarantee to you for the next three and a half years, (if) they gonna put something in like that, theres gonna be a hell of a battle, Davies said. Davies believes loopholes in local laws are how Austin Master was able to get away with operating illegally for years. Our position is if we detect anything or hear of anything that we dont agree with, were gonna approach it that day or the next day. Were not gonna wait for nine years, Davies said. Nine-year battle Austin Master received a permit for its wastewater treatment facility in 2014, but signs of improper brine waste storage began in 2017. In November 2021, environmental groups found high amounts of radioactivity in the soil surrounding the facility and, a year later, the EPA flagged it as a potential superfund site. According to ODNR, the Austin Master facility switched to new ownership in late 2022. Concerns heightened when ODNR inspected the facility in February. A month later, ODNR ordered Austin Master to suspend operations and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued a restraining order and preliminary injunction against the company. Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge John Vavra initially gave the company 14 days to clean up the waste, which it failed to do. Most recently, a contempt hearing was held in May to address this failure to clean up. Austin Master was ordered to clean up the waste before July 22 or CEO and Chairman of American Environmental Partners Inc., the parent company of Austin Master, Brad J. Domitrovitsch would go to jail for 30 days and the company would be fined $200 a day. (Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.) The police are appealing for more information after livestock rustlers stole 36 lambs from a farm in Staffordshire. The largescale theft happened on a farm located on Bridgnorth Road, Perton, anytime between 26 to 28 July. Officers from Staffordshire Police were called just before 1:30pm on 28 July to reports that the lambs had been taken. Were encouraging anyone who may have information or CCTV or dashcam footage of the area at the time that can help with our investigation to get in touch, the force said. You can call us on 101, quoting incident number 334 of July 28, or message us via Live Chat on our website. To make an anonymous report, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. It comes after South Yorkshire Police recently reported the theft of 126 sheep from farmland on Owday Lane in Worksop. New figures by NFU Mutual show that livestock theft remained high in 2023, at an estimated cost of 2.7 million across the UK. Last year also saw a spate of incidents where animals were butchered in fields. Doctors in Vietnam removed a live eel from a man's bottom. Doctors had to extract a live eel from a man's bottom Horrified medics discovered the 26-inch-long sea creature last month after it had attempted to chew its way out by biting the wall of the patient's large intestine. However, their initial attempts to extract the eel were thwarted as the man - only identified as a 31-year-old Indian national - had also stuffed a lemon up his backside. This meant that the surgeons had to cut through his abdomen to remove the fish and were also required to manipulate the fruit down through the man's anus. The doctors said he would have died without the procedure and he will now have to live with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. Dr. Le Nhat Huy, Deputy Director of the Center for Colon and Rectal Surgery at Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi, told local media: "Eels are animals that can survive in anaerobic conditions for a long time and can puncture the digestive tract. "People should absolutely not insert animals through their anus to create a strong sensation, as the consequences can be severe." Dogs' brains are shrinking - and humans are responsible. Dogs' brains are small due to domestication Boffins in Hungary have found that the domestic canine's brain is much smaller than its wild grey wolf ancestor because they live in simpler environments that require less brain power. The theory about brain shrinkage has been widely accepted by vets and researchers as modern dogs are cared for by humans in terms of their needs for food and avoiding predators. The team at the Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research said: "The dog is a canid species that was domesticated from its ancestral species the grey wolf at least 15,000 years ago. "Over 400 breeds of dogs exist today, and the overall platform is that relative brain size is dramatically reduced in dogs as compared with the ancestral species, the grey wolf. "This phenomenon is thought to be a result of the decreased necessity for metabolically costly brain tissue in a domesticated environment." Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter Vivienne was spotted working as an usher at the theatre. Vivienne was seen escorting people to their seats and chatting with staff The 16-year-old theatre lover showed people to their seats at the 'Reefer Madness: The Musical' reunion concert in Los Angeles on July 30, after attending the opening night with her mom, according to People. The 49-year-old Hollywood actress acted as lead producer on Broadway musical 'The Outsiders' after Vivienne indulged her love of theatre by joining the project as a volunteer and Angelina recently admitted the teen was her toughest critic. When asked who is the "biggest theatre head" in the family, Angelina told PEOPLE: "Viv. Definitely Viv ... Hands down. Shell correct me. Shell say, Didnt you read the memo? We have to do this, we have to go through this'. "Shes been a really tough assistant. She takes it very, very seriously." Angelina - who also Shiloh, 18, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Knox, 16, and Maddox, 22, with her ex-husband Brad - previously admitted Vivienne reminds her of her own mother Marcheline Bertrand. When announcing Vivienne's role on 'The Outsiders', Angelina said in a statement: "Viv reminds me of my mother in that she isnt focused on being the centre of attention but in being a support to other creatives. "Shes very thoughtful and serious about theatre and working hard to best understand how to contribute." She went on to reveal Vivienne is the reason she got onboard with the show in the first place. Angelina added: " I studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute where I realised my first love, as a performer, was the theatre. "I had not found a way back until now. I hope to be able to contribute while continuing to learn from this amazing team, who I have been working with since my daughter brought me to see the show at La Jolla Playhouse ... I cant begin to express how excited I am for this musical to make its Broadway debut and look forward to sharing this new adaptation of The Outsiders with the world." Vivienne joined her mother at the musical's premiere in New York in April. Investing KRW 1 trillion in Vietnam to establish a bio butanediol plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons. Building the world's first integrated production system for bio spandex, from raw materials to finished fibers. SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cho Hyun-joon, Chairman of Hyosung, has identified "Bio BDO" as the future growth driver for the company. Butanediol (BDO) is a chemical used to manufacture PTMG, which is used in the production of spandex. BDO is also used to manufacture packaging materials, automotive interior components, and industrial compounds. Bio BDO is produced by fermenting sugars derived from renewable sources such as sugarcane or corn. Compared to conventional products that are produced with fossil fuels, Hyosung's bio BDO is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 90%, making it a highly regarded material in the eco-friendly market. Investing KRW 1 trillion in Vietnam to establish a bio butanediol plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons After observing the rapid shift in the global textile market toward eco-friendly products, Chairman Cho swiftly decided to invest in bio BDO. In April, Hyosung TNC announced its plan to invest KRW 1 trillion in southern Vietnam's Ba R?a-Vung Tau Province to build a new plant capable of producing 200,000 tons of bio BDO annually. The company plans to start production and sales of bio BDO with an initial capacity of 50,000 tons per year beginning in the first half of 2026. The world's first integrated production system for bio spandex, from raw materials to finished fibers With Chairman Cho's investment in bio BDO, Hyosung TNC will establish the world's first vertically integrated production system for bio spandex in Vietnam. The plant in Ba R?a-Vung Tau Province will produce bio BDO, which will be converted into PTMG at the Dong Nai plant, and subsequently used to mass-produce bio spandex. This integrated production system is optimized for customers in the global eco-friendly premium textile market, including Europe and the United States. It enhances production efficiency through stable raw material supply and allows for quick responses to market demands by speeding up the production system's operations. Additionally, it secures cost competitiveness by reducing transportation costs and minimizes environmental impact by lowering fuel consumption for transportation. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon stressed, "The bio business, which focuses on transitioning from fossil fuel-based raw materials to plant-based ones, will be a key pillar of Hyosung's centennial vision. Strengthening our global market strategy by focusing on our bio BDO and bio spandex integrated production system is key to elevating Hyosung's premium brand status." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472610/REGEN_BIOBDO_APPLICATION.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/chairman-cho-hyun-joon-s-vision-for-hyosungs-centennial-growing-bio-bdo-302211717.html Following approval by the European Commission, Prestige Biopharma's Herceptin biosimilar Tuznue would become the first biosimilar from a Singaporean company to be authorized in the European Union. SINGAPORE, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prestige Biopharma, a pioneer in biopharmaceuticals, announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended marketing authorization for Tuznue, a Herceptin (trastuzumab) biosimilar. This milestone positions Prestige Biopharma to become the first Singaporean firm to commercialize its biosimilar in the European Union. The CHMP's positive opinion is based on clinical evidence from Phase 1 and Phase 3 clinical studies that tested the biosimilarity of Tuznue to Herceptin. The Phase 1 clinical PK study in healthy volunteers demonstrated PK equivalence, as well as similarity in safety and immunogenicity. Finally, the global Phase 3 confirmatory efficacy and similarity study met its primary endpoint and demonstrated similarity in efficacy, PK, safety, and immunogenicity in HER2-positive patients with early breast cancer. This favourable decision is a crucial step toward final approval from the European Commission (EC). Once approved, Tuznue will be commercialized across Europe. Prestige Biopharma has already established licensing agreements with major pharmaceutical partners for global marketing and sales. These agreements are set to generate immediate milestone payments and provide early revenue for the company. Negotiations are also underway to ensure a strong market entry for Tuznue in Europe. "Receiving a positive CHMP opinion for Tuznue marks a major milestone for Prestige Biopharma, significantly advancing our revenue generation strategy and accelerating future pipeline approvals," said Lisa Park, the CEO of Prestige Biopharma. "This recognition solidifies our position as a leading biosimilar developer. We are committed to leveraging this achievement to enhance our market presence and drive continued success." About TUZNUE (HD201, Herceptin biosimilar) Tuznue is a biosimilar of Herceptin (trastuzumab), developed to offer a more cost-effective therapeutic alternative for patients. It maintains comparable efficacy and safety profiles to the original branded medication. Tuznue is indicated for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC), HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC), and HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer (MGC). About Prestige Biopharma: Established in 2015 in Singapore and listed in the Korea Exchange in 2021 (KOSPI: 950210), Prestige Biopharma Limited is a biopharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio, including biosimilars (HD204 Avastin biosimilar in filing stage, PBP1502 Humira biosimilar in clinical stage) and new antibody drugs. Among its many pipelines, a first-in-class antibody drug and key biosimilars referencing blockbuster drugs are ongoing clinical development. Notably, the first-in-class, PAUF-based antibody drug, Ulenistamab, has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in Korea, as well as Fast Track Designation by the U.S. FDA. A global Phase 1/2a clinical trial is currently underway in the United States, Europe, and Asia, with the aim of bringing this innovative therapy to the clinic. Contacts Prestige Biopharma Group Donghee Im donghee.im@prestigebio.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472462/PBP_Logo_Large_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/prestige-biopharmas-herceptin-biosimilar-tuznue-receives-positive-chmp-opinion-from-the-ema-302211174.html Melbourne, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2024) - GIM Trading, a leading force in the financial services sector, proudly announces the expansion of its operations with the inauguration of three new offices in Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide. This strategic growth from the head office in Melbourne underscores GIM Trading's unwavering commitment to delivering superior accessibility and personalized service to clients across Australia. The new offices aim to make GIM Trading's comprehensive range of financial services more accessible. Clients can now conveniently drop off personal documentation, arrange face-to-face meetings about their portfolios, and receive tailored advice from local experts. This expansion not only simplifies client interactions but also enhances the personalized service for which GIM Trading is renowned. Establishing a presence in multiple cities allows GIM Trading to penetrate new markets and attract clients who prefer local service providers. This expansion is poised to broaden the client base and increase market share. With offices across Australia, GIM Trading gains a competitive edge over firms with a more limited geographic footprint, signaling to clients and competitors alike a steadfast commitment to growth and accessibility. The new offices position GIM Trading to capitalize on regional economic opportunities and diversify its client portfolio. By spreading its presence, the company can better navigate varying economic conditions across different regions. This diversification enhances GIM Trading's resilience to economic fluctuations, ensuring stability and sustained growth even if one region experiences an economic downturn. Local offices enable GIM Trading to provide quicker and more efficient client support. Clients benefit from timely assistance with their financial needs, leading to improved service quality and increased loyalty. Additionally, expanding into new cities elevates GIM Trading's visibility and brand awareness, attracting new clients who may not have previously been aware of the company's services. The new offices are set to attract top financial professionals who prefer to work locally, enhancing GIM Trading's expertise and service offerings. Local offices also enable deeper engagement with the communities they serve, including participation in local events, partnerships with community organizations, and contributions to local economic development. Stephen Cubis, Chief Executive Officer of GIM Trading, expressed his enthusiasm about the expansion: "We are thrilled to bring our services closer to our clients. This expansion is a testament to our dedication to enhancing client experiences and ensuring that our clients have the support they need, where they need it. Our new offices in Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide will enable us to build stronger relationships and deliver more localized and personalized financial solutions." Michael Fletcher, Senior Financial Advisor at GIM Trading, added: "Having a local presence in these key cities allows us to engage more effectively with our clients. We understand the importance of face-to-face interactions in financial planning and investment management. These new offices will provide our clients with the convenience of meeting their advisors in person, ensuring they receive the highest level of service and expertise." The new offices are strategically located to serve the growing client base in each region, reflecting GIM Trading's ongoing commitment to expanding its footprint and enhancing its service delivery across Australia. Clients can expect the same high standards of professionalism and expertise that GIM Trading is known for, now with the added benefit of local access. For more information about the new office locations or to schedule an appointment, please visit the GIM Trading website https://www.gimtrading.com/ or contact info@gimtrading.com. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. GIM Trading, officially registered as Global Investment Marketing Pty Ltd, is an Australian Proprietary Company incorporated on November 10, 2022. The company is registered under Australian Business Number (ABN): 56 663 732 296, Australian Company Number (ACN): 663 732 296. GIM Trading operates as a Financial Services Authorised Representative of Alpha Securities Pty Ltd (AFSL 330757) and holds an AFS Representative Number: 001309866. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218364 SOURCE: Global Investment Marketing Pty Ltd. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2024) - C21 Investments Inc. (CSE: CXXI) (OTCQX: CXXIF) ("C21" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated cannabis company, is providing a default status report in accordance with the alternative information guidelines set out in National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"). As previously announced on May 31, 2024 (the "Announcement"), the Company applied for a management cease trade order ("MCTO") from the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") due to an expected delay in filing of the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2024 (the "Annual Financial Statements"), annual management's discussion and analysis for the same period and management certifications of annual filings (collectively, the "Annual Filings") beyond the deadline of May 31, 2024 prescribed by Canadian securities laws. The MCTO was granted by the BCSC on May 31, 2024. The MCTO prohibits the Company's management from trading in the securities of the Company until such time as the Annual Filings are filed. The MCTO does not affect the ability of any other shareholders of the Company to trade securities of the Company. The Company filed the Annual Filings on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) on July 22, 2024. As previously announced on July 22, 2023, as a result of the delay in filing the Annual Filings, the Company disclosed that the filing of its audited consolidated financial statements for the 2-month stub period ended March 31, 2024, its annual management's discussion and analysis for the same period and management certifications of annual filings (collectively, the "Annual Stub Filings"), which are required in connection with the Company's recent change of its financial year end from January 31 to March 31, will be delayed beyond the deadline of July 29, 2024 prescribed by Canadian securities laws. C21 and its auditors continue to work diligently and expeditiously towards completing the Annual Stub Filings, which is expected to occur on or before August 5, 2024. Upon completion of the auditors' internal review process, the Annual Stub Filings will be filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). The Company confirms that since the date of the Announcement: (i) there has been no material change to the information set out in the Announcement that has not been generally disclosed; (ii) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the "alternative information guidelines" under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Annual Stub Filings is continuing, each of which will be issued in the form of a news release; (iii) there has not been any other specified default by the Company under NP 12-203; (iv) the Company is not subject to any insolvency proceedings; and (v) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. About C21 Investments Inc. C21 Investments Inc. is a vertically integrated cannabis company that cultivates, processes, and distributes quality cannabis and hemp-derived consumer products in the United States. The Company is focused on value creation through the disciplined acquisition and integration of core retail, manufacturing, and distribution assets in strategic markets, leveraging industry-leading retail revenues with high-growth potential multi-market branded consumer packaged goods. The Company owns Silver State Relief and Silver State Cultivation in Nevada, including legacy Oregon brands Phantom Farms, Hood Oil and Eco Firma Farms. These brands produce and distribute a broad range of THC and CBD products from cannabis flowers, pre-rolls, cannabis oil, vaporizer cartridges and edibles. Based in Vancouver, Canada, additional information on C21 can be found at www.sedarplus.ca and www.cxxi.ca. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements: This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "Forward-Looking Statements"). Forward-Looking Statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: the Company satisfying the information guidelines set out in NP 12-203 and the filing of the Annual Stub Filings on or before August 5, 2024 upon completion of the auditors' internal review process. Such Forward-Looking Statements represent the Company's beliefs and expectations regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Forward-Looking Statements are based on assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management of the Company at the time they were provided or made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including: (i) the expected filing of the Annual Stub Filings; (ii) the Company's continued ability to satisfy the information guidelines set out in NP 12-203; (iii) the duration of the MCTO; (iv) achieving the anticipated results of the Company's strategic plans; and (v) general economic, financial market, regulatory and political conditions in which the Company operates. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond the Company's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the Forward-Looking Statements in this news release. Such factors include, without limitation: risks and uncertainties arising from any delay in filing the Annual Stub Filings; the Company's ability to satisfy the requirements of NP 12-203; the revocation of the MCTO and replacement with a cease trade order; the inability to effectively manage growth; inputs, suppliers and skilled labour being unavailable or available only at uneconomic costs; the adequacy of the Company's capital resources and liquidity, including but not limited to, availability of sufficient cash flow to execute the Company's business plan (either within the expected timeframe or at all); changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws generally and adverse future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical and recreational marijuana; the risks of operating in the marijuana industry in the United States, and those other risk factors discussed in the Company's 20F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Annual Information Form filing on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such Forward-Looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Should assumptions underlying the Forward-Looking Statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Forward-Looking Statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company does not undertake to update any Forward-Looking Statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218502 SOURCE: C21 Investments Inc. Investment in Oxford Nanopore, innovators of a transformational new generation of sensing technology that today specialises in DNA/RNA sequencing 50m to be invested by Novo Holdings as part of an equity issue Novo Holdings intends to make further share purchases over time in the secondary market, subject to availability and price (among other factors) COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Holdings, a leading international life science investor, today announced a 50m investment in Oxford Nanopore Technologies ('Oxford Nanopore'/'the Company'), the leading UK Listed company behind a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores. Novo Holdings will invest 50m in Oxford Nanopore as part of an equity issue and intends to add to this investment over time, with further purchases in the secondary market, subject to availability and price (among other factors). Dr Daniel Mahony, Senior Partner, Growth Investments, Novo Holdings, said: "Oxford Nanopore has made impressive ongoing progress to advance its technology platform and gain commercial traction. This investment underscores our belief in Oxford Nanopore's platform and its expanding opportunity in biopharmaceuticals, where rapid sequencing, richer data and a streamlined platform can support discovery and delivery of new drug therapies. We are confident in Oxford Nanopore's long-term value proposition after extensive due diligence within the biopharma community and analysis of their robust and extensive IP portfolio, and we look forward to supporting the Company going forward." Dr Gordon Sanghera, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Nanopore added:"Novo Holdings is one of the world's top life sciences investors, and we are delighted to welcome them as a long-term shareholder. The Novo Holdings team brings deep knowledge of the biopharmaceutical market, including biomanufacturing, a key growth area for Oxford Nanopore. Our technology platform is uniquely suited to address the needs of this industry, where information-rich, rapid and simplified sequencing are critical to developing and delivering biopharmaceuticals faster and with less complexity. We look forward to their support given our commitment to biopharma as one of our strategic growth vectors." Oxford Nanopore has developed a new generation of molecular analysis technology, which is today used for DNA/RNA sequencing. The technology offers rich data including epigenetics, rapid insights through real-time workflows and portable formats, in a way that is accessible and affordable. The technology is used in life science research, and increasingly in clinical and applied industrial settings including biopharma. It is deployed to understand biology across human health, plant and animals, pathogens and planetary health, which align with Novo Holdings' mission to invest in people and the planet. Access to fast, information-rich molecular information will have a critical role to play across the biopharma industry, from drug discovery to commercialisation. Rapid, direct RNA sequencing - provided by Oxford Nanopore - can enable biological manufacturing and quality control processes for an emerging class of mRNA-based products, potentially replacing multiple technologies with a single, streamlined platform and acting as an innovation engine for a multi-billion-dollar biopharmaceutical manufacturing sector. Furthermore, the generation of epigenetic data (variation in DNA information that can influence many diseases such as cancer) in large-scale studies can unlock discoveries with an impact across healthcare. About Novo Holdings Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people's health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the con-trolling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S (Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seed, Venture, Growth, Asia, Planetary Health Investments and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development. As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets of EUR 149 billion. www.novoholdings.dk About Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc Oxford Nanopore Technologies' goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology that is currently used for real-time, high-performance, accessible, and scalable analysis of DNA and RNA. The technology is used in more than 120 countries, to understand the biology of humans, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses and environments as well as to understand diseases such as cancer. Oxford Nanopore's technology also has the potential to provide broad, high impact, rapid insights in a number of areas including healthcare, food and agriculture. Founded in 2005, Oxford Nanopore is a spin-out from the University of Oxford and is headquartered in Oxford with satellite offices throughout Europe, US and Asia; and a broader commercial presence that includes Japan, Germany, France and India. For more information please visit: www.nanoporetech.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/novo-holdings-invests-in-uk-listed-oxford-nanopore-technologies-302211689.html Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE)(FSE:D7H0)(OTCQX:CMRZF) (the "Company" or "Commerce") is pleased to announce the appointment of highly experienced resources executive Mr. Ross Carroll as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2024. Mr. Carroll will also join Commerce's board of directors (the "Board") with immediate effect. With multiple decades of experience overseeing finance, M&A and strategy, operations and major projects across the natural resources sector, Mr. Carroll has a proven track record of leadership and strategic oversight. His international experience spans Australia, USA, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, having worked with leading companies such as BHP, Woodside Energy, Macmahon Holdings, and MMG Limited. Mr. Carroll has been appointed following an extensive global search to lead the Company's next phase of its growth as it advances the development of its world-class Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Project in Quebec, Canada, in conjunction with exploration of the adjacent and highly prospective Eldor Niobium Project. Most recently, during his time as Chief Financial Officer of MMG, he has overseen its growth into a significant international base metals producer, including the delivery of the Dugald River Project in Australia, the recent acquisition of the US1.875 billion Khoemacau Copper Mine in Botswana, and numerous debt refinancings and equity raises. Prior to MMG, Mr. Carroll was CEO of Macmahon, a major and well-regarded Australian mining contractor. Mr. Carroll holds a Bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Melbourne and is a Certified Public Accountant with the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and previously served on the Executive Committee of the Western Australian Chamber of Mines. Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Carroll said: "I am excited about the significant potential the Ashram Project offers. It is very rare that you get the opportunity to work on a Tier-1 project in a Tier-1 jurisdiction like this, and I look forward to being involved in the delivery of the project at a time when the North America needs additional critical mineral projects." Concurrently with Mr. Carroll's appointment, the current President and CEO, Mr. Chris Grove, has resigned as President, CEO, and director and will become the Company's "Director of Corporate Development." Mr. Grove will assist Ross with his vast knowledge of the Ashram Project and critical minerals landscape in North America. The Board would like to thank Mr. Grove for his many years of service to the Company as President and CEO and his considerable efforts in advancing the Ashram Project. About Commerce Resources Corp. Commerce Resources Corp. is a junior mineral resource company focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit located in Quebec, Canada. The Company is positioning itself to be one of the lowest cost rare earth producers globally, with a specific focus on being a long-term supplier of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or NdPr oxide to the global market. The Ashram Deposit is characterized by simple rare earth (monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime) and gangue (carbonates) mineralogy, a large tonnage resource at favourable grade, and has demonstrated the production of high-grade (>45% REO) mineral concentrates at high recovery (>70%) in line with active global producers. In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, Ashram is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally and has the potential to be a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets. For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email info@commerceresources.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP. " Ian Graham " Ian Graham Chairman of the Board and Director Tel: 604.484.2700 Email: info@commerceresources.com Web: http://www.commerceresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, that the Ashram deposit has the potential to become one of the largest fluorspar deposits and a long-term supplier to the mixed rare earth carbonate, NdPr oxide, and met-spar and acid-spar markets; and that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost rare earth element producers globally. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including: that we may not be able to fully finance any additional exploration on the Ashram Project; that even if we are able raise capital, costs for exploration activities may increase such that we may not have sufficient funds to pay for such exploration or processing activities; the timing and content of any future work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumptions based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that, with further test work, may not be comparable; testing of our process may not prove successful and even if such tests are successful, the economic and other outcomes may not be as expected; the availability of labour and equipment to undertake future exploration work and testing activities; the required permits to build and operate the envisaged open-pit shell may not be obtained in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all; and despite the current expected viability of the Ashram Project, conditions changing such that even if metals or minerals are discovered on the Ashram Project, the project may not be commercially viable; and those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. SOURCE: Commerce Resources Corp. View the original press release on accesswire.com EQS-News: DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG / Schlagwort(e): Anleihe DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG: Invitation to backstop 01.08.2024 / 09:24 CET/CEST Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber verantwortlich. DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG: Invitation to backstop Langen, 1 August 2024. In connection with the planned financial restructuring measures of DEMIRE's (the "Company") unsecured corporate bond due October 15, 2024 (the "Notes") and further to the Company's ad hoc announcements dated June 5, 2024 and July 1, 2024, respectively, the Company refers to the backstop letter entered into between the Company and certain holders of the Notes on June 4, 2024 (the "Backstop Letter") which contemplates a cash tender offer related to the Notes. DEMIRE hereby announces that any Eligible Holder (as defined below) of the Notes who wishes to accede to the Backstop Letter as outlined in the ad hoc announcement of the Company on June 5, 2024 should contact the Company (at the contact details below) within the next 14 days to receive a copy of the Backstop Letter and corresponding instructions for purposes of the accession thereto. "Eligible Holders" are defined as persons who are: either non-U.S. persons located outside the United States or dealers or other professional fiduciaries in the United States acting on a discretionary basis for the benefit or account of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States, as those terms are defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act; or persons located in the United States or U.S. persons who are either (i) qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or (ii) "accredited investors" as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) under the Securities Act, that are institutions; and persons other than retail investors in the United Kingdom, defined as a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law of the UK by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("EUWA"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Authority and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law of the UK by virtue of the EUWA; (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law of the UK by virtue of the EUWA; and persons other than retail investors in the European Economic Area, defined as a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market and repealing Directive 2003/71/EC. Contact: Julius Stinauer MRICS Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Finance DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG Telefon: + 49 6103 3724944 Email: stinauer@demire.ag End of Press Release About DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG acquires and holds commercial real estate in mid-sized cities and up-and-coming locations bordering metropolitan areas across Germany. The Company's particular strength lies in realising the potential of the properties at these locations while focusing on a range of properties that appeals to both regional and international tenants. As of 30 September 2023, DEMIRE's portfolio comprises 60 assets with a lettable space of approx. 860 thousand sqm. Including the proportionately acquired Cielo property in Frankfurt/Main, the market value amounts to approximately EUR 1.4 billion as of 30 September 2023. The portfolio's focus is on office properties with a blend of retail and hotel properties resulting in a return / risk structure that is appropriate for the commercial real estate segment. The Company places importance on long-term contracts with solvent tenants and the realisation of the properties' potential. DEMIRE anticipates continued stable and sustainable rental income along with solid value appreciation. DEMIRE aims to expand its portfolio significantly in the medium term. The company focuses on assets contributing strongly to the FFO and properties with the potential for additional value creation. Properties that are not in line with this strategy will be sold. DEMIRE is being further developed operationally and procedurally with numerous measures. The company plans to enhance its operating performance through cost discipline as well as an active asset and portfolio management approach. DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG AG (ISIN: DE000A0XFSF0) shares are listed in the Regulated Market (Prime Standard segment) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Kontakt: Julius Stinauer MRICS Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Finance DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG Telefon: + 49 6103 3724944 Email: stinauer@demire.ag 01.08.2024 CET/CEST Veroffentlichung einer Corporate News/Finanznachricht, ubermittelt durch EQS News - ein Service der EQS Group AG. Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber verantwortlich. Die EQS Distributionsservices umfassen gesetzliche Meldepflichten, Corporate News/Finanznachrichten und Pressemitteilungen. Medienarchiv unter https://eqs-news.com Base Resources Limited - Court approves convening of Scheme Meeting and Dispatch of Scheme Booklet PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, August 01 AIM and Media Release 1 August 2024 Base Resources Limited Court approves convening of Scheme Meeting and Dispatch of Scheme Booklet Base Resources Limited (ASX & AIM: BSE) (Base Resources) provides the following update in relation to its proposed combination with Energy Fuels Inc. (Energy Fuels) to create a global critical minerals company with a focus on rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, uranium and vanadium production, to be effected by way of scheme of arrangement (Scheme). Court orders Today, the Federal Court of Australia made the following orders in relation to the Scheme: That a meeting of Base Resources shareholders be convened to consider and vote on the Scheme ( Scheme Meeting ). ). That an explanatory statement which includes information about the Scheme together with a Notice of Scheme Meeting (Scheme Booklet) be dispatched to Base Resources shareholders. Scheme Booklet The Scheme Booklet will shortly be registered with ASIC. Following this, Base Resources will release a copy of the Scheme Booklet to ASX and AIM. The Scheme Booklet is expected to be dispatched to Base Resources shareholders on Tuesday, 6 August 2024. At the same time, Base Resources depositary interest (DI) holders will be sent a Form of Instruction for the Scheme Meeting, containing a link to Base Resources' website where the Scheme Booklet may be viewed or downloaded. The Scheme Booklet is an important document and requires immediate attention. Base Resources shareholders and DI holders should read the Scheme Booklet, including the annexed materials, carefully in full before making a decision about how to vote at the Scheme Meeting. If Base Resources shareholders or DI holders are in doubt about anything in the Scheme Booklet, they should contact their independent legal, financial, tax or other professional adviser. For the Scheme to proceed, it must be approved by the requisite majorities of Base Resources shareholders at the Scheme Meeting, and then by the Federal Court of Australia. Independent Expert's Report The Scheme Booklet will include a copy of the Independent Expert's Report in relation to the Scheme, which has been prepared by PwC (Independent Expert). Recommendation of Base Resources Directors The Base Resources Directors continue to unanimously recommend that Base Resources shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the Independent Expert concluding and continuing to conclude that the Scheme is in the best interests of Base Resources shareholders. Subject to those same qualifications, each Base Resources Director intends to vote all their Base Resources shares in favour of the Scheme at the Scheme Meeting. Scheme Meeting The Scheme Meeting will be held at 11.00am (Perth time) on 5 September 2024 at the Gallery Suite at the InterContinental Perth City Centre, Level 1, 815 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia and virtually via the Lumi platform, accessible using the URL https://web.lumiconnect.com/388093896 . Base Resources shareholders registered on the Base Resources share register at 5.00pm (Perth time) on 3 September 2024 will be entitled to vote on the Scheme. Base Resources DI holders registered on the Base Resources DI register at 6.00pm (London time) on 29 August 2024 will also be entitled to vote on the Scheme (by providing voting instruction in advance to the depositary, rather than in person or online at the Scheme Meeting). All Base Resources shareholders and DI holders are encouraged to vote on the Scheme. Scheme information line If you have any questions in relation to the Scheme or the Scheme Booklet, please contact the Base Resources Scheme information line on 1300 271 804 (within Australia) and +61 3 9938 4380 (outside Australia) between 8.30am and 5.00pm (Melbourne time), Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Updated Scheme timetable Event Indicative timing Dispatch of Scheme Booklet to Base Resources shareholders 6 August 2024 Time and date for determining eligibility to vote at the Scheme Meeting for Base Resources DI holders 29 August 2024 6.00pm London time Latest time and date for receipt of Form of Instructions or CREST voting instructions by the depositary from the Base Resources DI holders for the Scheme Meeting 30 August 2024 6.00pm London time Latest time and date for receipt of proxy forms or powers of attorney by the Base Resources share registry for the Scheme Meeting 3 September 2024 11.00am Perth time Time and date for determining eligibility to vote at the Scheme Meeting for Base Resources shareholders 3 September 2024 5.00pm Perth time Scheme Meeting 5 September 2024 11.00am Perth time Second Court Hearing 12 September 2024 12.15pm Perth time Effective Date (Suspension of trading on AIM) 13 September 2024 Special Dividend Record Date Shareholders: 18 September 2024 5.00pm Perth time DI holders: 18 September 2024 6.00pm London time Latest time and date for receipt of Election Forms from small shareholders 18 September 2024 5.00pm Perth time Latest time and date for receipt of elections via CREST for small shareholders that are DI holders 18 September 2024 1.00pm London time Scheme Record Date Shareholders: 20 September 2024 5.00pm Perth time DI holders: 20 September 2024 6.00pm London time Special Dividend Payment Date 1 October 2024 Implementation Date (with cancellation and delisting from AIM to occur shortly thereafter) 2 October 2024 AIM Rule 41 In accordance with AIM Rule 41, the Company has notified the London Stock Exchange of the Company's intention, subject to the resolution to be proposed to the Base Resources shareholders at the Scheme Meeting to approve the Scheme (Scheme Resolution) being passed and the Scheme becoming effective, to cancel the Company's admission of its ordinary shares to trading on AIM on 3 October 2024 (being the Business Day after the Implementation Date) (Cancellation). Accordingly, if the Scheme Resolution is passed by the Base Resources shareholders and the Scheme becomes effective, the Cancellation will become effective at 7.00am on 3 October 2024. The last day of dealings in, and registration of transfers of, Base Resources DIs on AIM will be the Business Day immediately prior to the Effective Date, with trading on AIM to be suspended with effect from 7.30am (London time) on the Effective Date. ENDS. For further information contact: Australian Media Relations UK Media Relations Sodali & Co Tavistock Communications Cameron Gilenko and Michael Weir Jos Simson and Gareth Tredway Tel: +61 8 6160 4900 Tel: +44 207 920 3150 About Base Resources Base Resources is an Australian based, African focused, mineral sands producer and developer with a track record of project delivery and operational performance. The Company operates the established Kwale Operations in Kenya and is developing the Toliara Project in Madagascar. Base Resources is an ASX and AIM listed company. Further details about Base Resources are available at www.baseresources.com.au . PRINCIPAL & REGISTERED OFFICE Level 3, 46 Colin Street West Perth, Western Australia, 6005 Email: info@baseresources.com.au Phone: +61 8 9413 7400 Fax: +61 8 9322 8912 NOMINATED ADVISER & JOINT BROKER Canaccord Genuity Limited James Asensio / Raj Khatri / George Grainger Phone: +44 20 7523 8000 JOINT BROKER Berenberg Matthew Armitt / Detlir Elezi Phone: +44 20 3207 7800 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX: CNQ) (NYSE: CNQ) announces that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common shares of $0.525 (fifty two and one-half cents) per common share. The dividend will be payable on October 4, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 13, 2024. The Company has a leading track record of dividend increases, with 2024 being the 24th consecutive year of dividend increases with a compound annual growth rate ("CAGR") of 21% over that time. This demonstrates the confidence that the Board of Directors has in the sustainability of our business model, our strong balance sheet and the strength of our diverse, long life low decline reserves and asset base. Canadian Natural is a senior crude oil and natural gas production company, with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the U.K. portion of the North Sea and Offshore Africa. SCOTT G. STAUTH President MARK A. STAINTHORPE Chief Financial Officer LANCE J. CASSON Manager, Investor Relations Trading Symbol - CNQ Toronto Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange Certain information regarding the Company contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Such statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Refer to our website for complete forward-looking statements www.cnrl.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218449 SOURCE: Canadian Natural Resources Limited Strong Q2 and YTD financial results in both Fire Safety and Specialty Products Improvements driven by rigorous operational value drivers implementation, as well as supportive demand backdrops, in both businesses Actively supporting our customers' life-saving missions during the 2024 fire season Clayton, Missouri--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - Perimeter Solutions, SA (NYSE: PRM) ("Perimeter" or the "Company"), a leading provider of mission-critical firefighting products and services, as well as high-quality phosphorus-based specialty chemicals, today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2024. Second Quarter 2024 Results Net sales increased 67% to $127.3 million in the second quarter, as compared to $76.1 million in the prior year quarter. Fire Safety sales increased 85% to $98.5 million, as compared to $53.1 million in the prior year quarter. Specialty Products sales increased 25% to $28.7 million, as compared to $23.0 million in the prior year quarter. Net Income during the second quarter was $21.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, a decrease of $30.3 million from net income of $52.0 million, or $0.31 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased 209% to $64.9 million in the second quarter, as compared to $21.0 million in the prior year quarter. Fire Safety Adjusted EBITDA increased 237% to $55.6 million, as compared to $16.5 million in the prior year quarter. Specialty Products Adjusted EBITDA increased 108% to $9.3 million, as compared to $4.5 million in the prior year quarter. Year-to-Date 2024 Results Net sales increased 55% to $186.3 million during the year-to-date period, as compared to $120.0 million in the prior-year period. Fire Safety sales increased 72% to $123.7 million, as compared to $71.9 million in the prior year period. Specialty Products sales increased 30% to $62.6 million, as compared to $48.1 million in the prior year period. Net loss during the year-to-date period was $60.9 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, an increase of $122.3 million from a net income of $61.4 million, or $0.36 per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA increased 220% to $77.0 million in the year-to-date period, as compared to $24.1 million in the prior year period. Fire Safety Adjusted EBITDA increased 321% to $55.4 million, as compared to $13.2 million in the prior year period. Specialty Products Adjusted EBITDA increased 98% to $21.6 million, as compared to $10.9 million in the prior year period. Conference Call and Webcast As previously announced, Perimeter Solutions management will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, August 1, 2024 to discuss financial results for the second quarter 2024. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (877) 407-9764 (toll-free) or (201) 689-8551 (toll). The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously on Perimeter's website (https://ir.perimeter-solutions.com), accessed under the Investor Relations page. The webcast link will be made available on the Company's website prior to the start of the call; go to the investor relations page of our website to the News & Events menu and click on "Events & Presentations." A slide presentation will also be available for reference during the conference call; go to the investor relations page of our website to the News & Events menu and click on "Events & Presentations." Following the live webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website. A telephonic replay will also be available approximately two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 (toll-free) or (201) 612-7415 (toll). The telephonic replay will be available until August 31, 2024. About Perimeter Solutions Perimeter Solutions is a leading global solutions provider, providing high-quality firefighting products and phosphorus-based specialty chemicals. The Company's business is organized and managed in two reporting segments: Fire Safety and Specialty Products. The Fire Safety business consists of formulating, manufacture and sale of fire retardants and firefighting foams that assist in combating various types of fires, including wildland, structural, flammable liquids and others. Our Fire Safety business also offers specialized equipment and services, typically in conjunction with our fire management products, to support our customers' firefighting operations. Our specialized equipment includes airbase retardant storage, mixing, and delivery equipment; mobile retardant bases; retardant ground application units; mobile foam equipment; and equipment that we custom design and manufacture to meet specific customer needs. Our service network can meet the emergency resupply needs of over 150 air tanker bases in North America, as well as many other customer locations in North America and internationally. The segment is built on the premise of superior technology, exceptional responsiveness to our customers' needs, and a "never-fail" service network. The segment sells products to government agencies and commercial customers around the world. The Specialty Products business produces and sells high quality Phosphorus Pentasulfide ("P2S5") primarily used in the preparation of lubricant additives, including a family of compounds called Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphates ("ZDDP") that provide critical anti-wear protection to engine components. P2S5 is also used in pesticide and mining chemicals applications. Forward-Looking Information This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions. Although Perimeter believes any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect Perimeter's actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, including the risk factors described from time to time by us in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers should consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by Perimeter in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Perimeter undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. SOURCE: Perimeter Solutions, SA. PERIMETER SOLUTIONS, SA AND SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) (in thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Net sales $ 127,276 $ 76,137 $ 186,320 $ 119,995 Cost of goods sold 54,009 46,811 92,351 80,271 Gross profit 73,267 29,326 93,969 39,724 Operating expenses: Selling, general and administrative expense 13,906 12,226 27,368 20,243 Amortization expense 13,755 13,771 27,526 27,534 Founders advisory fees - related party 588 (60,026) 68,921 (84,262) Other operating expense - 8 - 10 Total operating expenses 28,249 (34,021) 123,815 (36,475) Operating income (loss) 45,018 63,347 (29,846) 76,199 Other expense (income): Interest expense, net 10,590 10,344 21,238 20,490 Loss on contingent earn-out - 146 - 392 Foreign currency loss (gain) 224 93 1,517 (628) Other expense, net 74 17 101 89 Total other expense, net 10,888 10,600 22,856 20,343 Income (loss) before income taxes 34,130 52,747 (52,702) 55,856 Income tax (expense) benefit (12,480) (733) (8,206) 5,589 Net income (loss) 21,650 52,014 (60,908) 61,445 Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax: Foreign currency translation adjustments (989) 2,215 (6,532) 3,808 Total comprehensive income (loss) $ 20,661 $ 54,229 $ (67,440) $ 65,253 Earnings (loss) per share: Basic $ 0.15 $ 0.33 $ (0.42) $ 0.39 Diluted $ 0.14 $ 0.31 $ (0.42) $ 0.36 Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding: Basic 145,236,526 156,525,006 145,279,938 157,109,418 Diluted 154,664,770 168,310,311 145,279,938 168,894,723 PERIMETER SOLUTIONS, SA AND SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except share and per share data) June 30, 2024 December 31, 2023 Assets (Unaudited) Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 43,162 $ 47,276 Accounts receivable, net 96,321 39,593 Inventories 142,172 145,652 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 13,662 18,493 Total current assets 295,317 251,014 Property, plant, and equipment, net 59,369 59,402 Operating lease right-of-use assets 15,446 16,339 Finance lease right-of-use assets 6,553 6,064 Goodwill 1,030,180 1,036,279 Customer lists, net 653,472 674,786 Technology and patents, net 173,456 180,653 Tradenames, net 86,745 89,568 Other assets, net 1,092 1,317 Total assets $ 2,321,630 $ 2,315,422 Liabilities and Shareholders Equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 21,805 $ 21,639 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 42,991 30,710 Founders advisory fees payable - related party 9,129 2,702 Deferred revenue 7,927 - Total current liabilities 81,852 55,051 Long-term debt, net 667,125 666,494 Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion 14,068 14,908 Finance lease liabilities, net of current portion 6,063 5,547 Deferred income taxes 247,809 253,454 Founders advisory fees payable - related party 116,708 56,917 Redeemable preferred shares 107,862 105,799 Redeemable preferred shares - related party 2,818 2,764 Other liabilities 2,151 2,193 Total liabilities 1,246,456 1,163,127 Commitments and contingencies Shareholders' equity: Ordinary shares, $1 nominal value per share, 4,000,000,000 shares authorized; 166,824,659 and 165,066,195 shares issued; 145,221,577 and 146,451,005 shares outstanding at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively 166,825 165,067 Treasury shares, at cost; 21,603,082 and 18,615,190 shares at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively (127,824) (113,407) Additional paid-in capital 1,704,141 1,701,163 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (26,242) (19,710) Accumulated deficit (641,726) (580,818) Total shareholders' equity 1,075,174 1,152,295 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 2,321,630 $ 2,315,422 PERIMETER SOLUTIONS, SA AND SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands) (Unaudited) Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 2024 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net (loss) income $ (60,908 ) $ 61,445 Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: Founders advisory fees - related party (change in fair value) 68,921 (84,262) Depreciation and amortization expense 32,771 32,217 Interest and payment-in-kind on preferred shares 3,528 3,396 Share-based compensation 4,736 (1,879) Non-cash lease expense 2,622 2,271 Deferred income taxes (4,756) (11,076) Amortization of deferred financing costs 856 824 Loss on contingent earn-out - 392 Foreign currency loss (gain) 1,517 (628) Loss on disposal of assets 9 20 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: Accounts receivable (57,319) (35,640) Inventories 2,681 (19,963) Prepaid expenses and current other assets (126) 1,260 Accounts payable 277 (4,744) Deferred revenue 7,927 2,653 Income taxes payable, net 8,635 (10,479) Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 5,237 (1,805) Founders advisory fees - related party (cash settled) (2,702) (4,655) Operating lease liabilities (1,629) (2,263) Financing lease liabilities (262) (67) Other, net (597) 47 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 11,418 (72,936) Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of property and equipment (5,196) (4,375) Proceeds from short-term investments 5,383 - Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 187 (4,375) Cash flows from financing activities: Ordinary shares repurchased (14,417) (27,212) Principal payments on finance lease obligations (367) (103) Net cash used in financing activities (14,784) (27,315) Effect of foreign currency on cash and cash equivalents (935) (6) Net change in cash and cash equivalents (4,114) (104,632) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 47,276 126,750 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 43,162 $ 22,118 Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information: Cash paid for interest $ 17,153 $ 17,153 Cash paid for income taxes $ 4,448 $ 18,317 Non-GAAP Financial Metrics Adjusted EBITDA The computation of Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus income tax expense, net interest and other financing expenses, and depreciation and amortization, adjusted on a consistent basis for certain non-recurring, unusual or non-operational items in a balanced manner. These items include (i) severance costs, and integration and restructuring related costs (ii) founder advisory fee expenses, (iii) stock compensation expense and (iv) foreign currency loss (gain). To supplement the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Perimeter is providing a summary to show the computations of Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure used by the Company's management and by external users of Perimeter's financial statements, such as investors, commercial banks and others, to assess the Company's operating performance as compared to that of other companies, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss), operating income (loss), cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP (in thousands). (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Income (loss) before income taxes $ 34,130 $ $ 52,747 $ (52,702) $ 55,856 Depreciation and amortization 16,359 16,130 32,771 32,217 Interest and financing expense 10,590 10,344 21,238 20,490 Founders advisory fees - related party 588 (60,026) 68,921 (84,262) Non-recurring expenses 1 23 361 563 1,920 Share-based compensation expense 2,994 1,195 4,736 (1,879) Loss on contingent earn-out - 146 - 392 Foreign currency loss 224 93 1,517 (628) Adjusted EBITDA $ 64,908 $ 20,990 $ 77,044 $ 24,106 ____________________ (1) Adjustment to reflect non-recurring expenses; severance costs, and integration and restructuring related costs. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218375 SOURCE: Perimeter Solutions With Capacity Provided by Allianz, Coalition Now Offers its Innovative Cyber Insurance Solution to German Businesses Coalition, the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, today announced the launch of its innovative Active Cyber Insurance in Germany through its subsidiary, Coalition Insurance Solutions GmbH. Coalition's offerings became available on August 1, 2024. According to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)'s 2024 Risks in Focus Report, cyber-attacks and IT system breakdowns are among the top threats to German businesses. German businesses can now benefit from Coalition's innovative Active Cyber Insurance, which is designed to help businesses spot, mitigate, and respond to emerging cyber threats. Active Cyber Insurance does more than help businesses mitigate financial losses; it offers policyholders access to cybersecurity tools to help them better understand their risks, strengthen their defenses, and prevent future attacks. "German businesses are frequently targeted by cyber-attacks, forcing them to spend significant time and resources dealing with the aftermath," said Joshua Motta, Coalition's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. "Active Cyber Insurance doesn't just provide a safety net; it empowers businesses to actively defend against these cyber threats. We're excited to expand this unique solution to Germany in our quest to protect more organizations worldwide." Coalition now offers insurance products in Germany with capacity provided by Allianz Global Corporate Specialty SE in a multi-year agreement. Coalition's Active Cyber Insurance is available to businesses with up to 1 billion in revenue on a primary basis, with no minimum premium requirement. Coalition's Excess Cyber Insurance product is expected to be available in early 2025. "As our Allianz Risk Barometer 2024 has shown again: cyber risks are among the biggest threats to companies worldwide," said Michael Furtschegger, Allianz Commercial's Regional Managing Director, Germany Switzerland. "We are now complementing our established cyber product for complex risks of all kinds and multinational requirements with Coalition's Active Insurance market offering. This enables us to provide our German customers with even better support in managing their cyber risks in a targeted manner, recognising losses quickly and, in the best case, avoiding them altogether." Allianz's existing strategic partnership with Coalition includes providing capacity for the company's U.S., U.K., and Australian cyber insurance programs. Oliver Bate, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, joined the company's Board of Directors in November 2023. "The German cyber insurance market faces significant challenges, including a shortage of skilled cyber experts, difficulties in calculating premiums, and a lack of data," said Martin Swider, Coalition's Head of Business Development, Germany. "Coalition's data-driven approach to underwriting and risk management is well-suited to tackle these issues, helping brokers and their clients achieve comprehensive cyber coverage." Coalition offers a streamlined quoting process through its end-to-end platform, allowing brokers to generate bindable quotes in minutes. Coalition also provides extensive training materials and resources to help brokers advise their clients on cyber risk. Through Coalition's cyber risk management platform, Coalition Control, policyholders receive ongoing alerts about vulnerabilities and cyber threats. This continuous monitoring helps identify risks before they lead to incidents and business disruptions. If an attack occurs, Coalition's claims and incident response teams will be available to help businesses quickly recover and resume normal operations. Brokers in Germany can start quoting now by submitting requests directly to Coalition's expert underwriting team at help@coalitioninc.de. For more information about Coalition and Active Insurance, visit: https://www.coalitioninc.com/de. Coalition Insurance Solutions GmbH is registered in Eschborn, Germany, and will continue expanding its local German workforce in multiple cities. To learn about open positions, visit: https://www.coalitioninc.com/careers. About Coalition Coalition is the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to help prevent digital risk before it strikes. By combining comprehensive insurance coverage and cybersecurity tools, Coalition helps businesses manage and mitigate potential cyberattacks. Leveraging its relationships with leading global insurers and capacity providers, including Coalition Insurance Company, Coalition offers Active Insurance products to businesses in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Policyholders can receive automated cyber alerts and access expert advice and global third-party risk management tools through Coalition's holistic cyber risk management platform, Coalition Control. Insurance cover is issued by German entity, Coalition Insurance Solutions GmbH ("CIS DE") (HRB 133708) (Vermittlerregisternummer D-JEO5-724A4-24), an insurance agent cooperating in the German market with Allianz Global Corporate Specialty SE, (HRB 208312). This information with regard to the cyber insurance products provided herein is of a general nature only and does not take into account any person's particular circumstances. All descriptions of coverage are subject to the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the individual policy. Before making a decision (or advising your client), please refer to the relevant applicable policy or by contacting your broker. CIS DE may receive remuneration from an insurer. See imprint and disclaimers. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Coalition and the Coalition logo are trademarks of Coalition, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801710248/en/ Contacts: Marisa Graves Communications at Coalition press@coalitioninc.com With more than 30 years of operational leadership experience, Pete Judson joins Kao Data from NTT , where he has spent the last four and a half years aligning its EMEA-wide operations into a +350MW data centre unit. New COO has a demonstrable track record for leading large-scale teams to deliver the highest standards of customer service and operational excellence, and joins Kao Data on the cusp of its European platform expansion. Pete will now lead all operational duties, working alongside former COO Paul Finch, who transitions to become Kao Data's new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). LONDON, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kao Data , the specialist developer and operator of data centres engineered for AI and advanced computing, has today announced it has appointed Pete Judson as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). With more than 30 years of operational leadership experience across the complete spectrum of data centre life cycle services, Pete has established an outstanding reputation, and has garnered a strong track record for creating and leading large-scale teams to deliver the highest standards of customer service and operational excellence. He joins Kao Data at a major inflection point, as it accelerates the growth of its advanced data centre platform into next-tier markets across the UK and continental Europe. Pete joins Kao Data from global data centre operator NTT, where he spent the last four and a half years aligning its EMEA-wide operational delivery organisations into a single, multi-functional, +350MW data centre unit. From implementing EMEA-wide change transformation programs, to achieving various recognised ISO standards, his responsibilities included defining, building and leading NTT's operational capabilities, including systems, processes and procedures to help it achieve record levels of growth during the period. His new appointment to the Kao Data senior management team will provide an integral piece of strategic and technical, operational support alongside Paul Finch, who transitions to the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Pete's responsibilities will include primary ownership of key operational functions such as operations, customer implementation, design and engineering, networks and systems, security, incident management, and health and safety. Furthermore, Pete's values are well-aligned with Kao Data's mission to build one of the industry's most diverse, equitable and inclusive digital infrastructure organisations, and he brings with him extensive people management and mentoring expertise - all of which is driven by a passion for building and leading high-performing, safe, effective, and efficient teams. "During the last decade Kao Data has led the charge on the development of industrial-scale data centres, engineered for AI, and is recognised globally as one of the industry's most disruptive leaders," said Doug Loewe, CEO, Kao Data. "Appointing Pete as our new COO further vindicates our ethos for working with high-calibre industry professionals who have succeeded in some of the most demanding data centre environments, and we are delighted to welcome him into the Kao Data family." "In just a short time, Kao Data has established an exceptional reputation for designing, building and operating world-class data centres, and its entrepreneurial approach to AI and supercomputing has enabled it to move at a pace that has exceeded the market," said Pete Judson, COO, Kao Data. "As its new COO, I'm excited to join the organisation on the cusp of its European expansion and to work alongside my new colleagues to exceed the high bar they've already set for design, customer service, technical and operational excellence." Pete Judson begins his tenure as Kao Data's new Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect. To learn more about Kao Data's advanced data centre platform, engineered for AI, visit the website. About Kao Data Kao Data leads the industry, pioneering the development and operation of data centres engineered for AI and advanced computing. With hyperscale-inspired facilities east and west of London, and northern England's largest data centre planned for Greater Manchester, we are home to technology's most demanding computing infrastructure. Our award-winning, NVIDIA DGX-Ready certified data centres are designed, engineered, and operated by one of the industry's most respected teams. Together, this provides colocation customers deploying mission critical AI, enterprise, and cloud workloads with a secure, scalable, and sustainable compute environment, backed by a guarantee of 100% uptime. Kao Data's data centre portfolio includes more than 160MW of IT load, either currently operational, under development or planned - all of which is under-pinned by the highest energy efficiency, sustainability and ESG credentials. Backed by leading international investors, and with several pioneering 'industry firsts' to our name, Kao Data represents the future in industrial scale, high-capacity data centres for AI and the next generation of compute. Kaodata.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kao-data-appoints-pete-judson-as-its-new-chief-operating-officer-coo-302211375.html CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- District Cooling Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $1.1 billion in 2024 and is poised to reach $1.3 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2024 to 2029 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Commercial, Industrial, and Residential are the major applications of district cooling. The District Cooling Market is majorly concentrated in Middle East & Africa. Energy efficiency improvement is a key driver for the district cooling market, due to its potential for substantial energy savings and environmental benefits. District cooling systems are designed to optimize the use of energy by centralizing cooling production, which reduces the overall energy consumption compared to individual cooling units. This centralization allows for the use of advanced, energy-efficient technologies that are not feasible on a smaller scale. As energy costs rise and environmental concerns grow, businesses and municipalities are increasingly seeking solutions that lower their energy usage and carbon footprint. Additionally, many governments offer incentives and support for adopting energy-efficient systems, further driving the demand for district cooling. This focus on energy efficiency helps organizations achieve sustainability goals while also improving their bottom line, making it a crucial factor in the market's growth. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=27186936 Browse in-depth TOC on "District Cooling Market" 200 - Tables 150 - Figures 250 - Pages District Cooling Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2024 $1.1 billion Estimated Value by 2029 $1.3 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% Market Size Available for 2021-2029 Forecast Period 2024-2029 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Source, By Production Technique, By Application, By Region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, Middle East & Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Technological advancements in Smart Grid Integration and IoT Key Market Drivers Urbanization and population growth fueling demand for sustainable district cooling solutions Electric chillers is expected to hold largest share of the District Cooling Market in production technique segment during the forecasted period. Electric chillers segment by production technique hold the largest share of the District Cooling Market due to their high efficiency, reliability, and widespread availability. They can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure and are capable of producing large amounts of chilled water needed for district cooling systems. Additionally, electric chillers benefit from advancements in technology, which have significantly improved their energy efficiency and reduced operational costs. This makes them an attractive option for developers and operators seeking to minimize environmental impact and comply with increasingly stringent energy regulations. Their versatility in handling varying cooling loads across different applications further solidifies their dominant market position. Commercial application segment accounted largest share of the global District Cooling Market during forecasted period. The commercial segment holds the largest share of the District Cooling Market because commercial buildings have high and continuous cooling demands. District cooling systems provide an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective solution to meet these needs, reducing energy consumption and operational costs. Additionally, increasing energy efficiency regulations and sustainability goals in the commercial sector make district cooling an attractive and scalable option. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=27186936 Middle East & Africa region likely to account the largest share of the global District Cooling Market during forecasted period. The District Cooling Market in Middle East & Africa has a huge growth potential. The increasing number of construction activities in the commercial, residential, hospitality, and retail sectors has also positively impacted the district cooling market. Thus, the demand for district cooling is expected to increase in the region. Countries worldwide are increasingly adapting non-fossil fuel sources for their energy needs. This factor can potentially impact the economy of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as crude oil and gas exports are the major revenue sources. This, in turn, may affect the spending on infrastructure projects, and subsequently, the District Cooling Market in these countries. Key Players Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (UAE), Tabreed (UAE), Emicool (UAE), Shinryo Corporation (Japan), LOGSTOR Denmark Holding ApS (Denmark). The companies are majorly following product launches, investments, expansions, contracts, agreements, partnerships, funding, initial public offering, and acquisition as the strategy to grow and expand the market. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=27186936 Related Reports: Data Center Cooling Market by Solution (Air Conditioning, Chilling Unit, Cooling Tower, Economizer System, Liquid Cooling System, Control System), Service, Type of Cooling, Data Center Type, Industry, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2030 Thermal Energy Storage Market by Technology (Sensible, Latent, Thermochemical), Storage Material (Water, Molten Salts, PCM), Application (Power Generation, District Heating & Cooling, Process Heating & Cooling), End User and Region - Global Forecast to 2025 Get access to the latest updates on District Cooling Companies and District Cooling Industry Growth About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/district-cooling-market-worth-1-3-billion-by-2029--marketsandmarkets-302212050.html This has increased the therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles of these medicines, resulting in significant nucleic acid therapeutics market development. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Transparency Market Research, the scope for nucleic acid therapeutics is immense in the forthcoming decade. With an astounding CAGR of 12.8%, the market is forecast to attain a valuation of US$ 22.1 billion by 2034. As of 2023, the nucleic acid therapeutics landscape was valued at US$ 6 billion. Advances in genetic research and biotechnology are propelling the nucleic acid therapeutics market value. These medicines, which include antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), RNA interference (RNAi), and RNA aptamers, provide targeted treatments for a range of genetic abnormalities, infectious diseases, and malignancies. Download Sample of the Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=86333 ASOs have the largest market share due to their strong therapeutic properties; they are effective in treating rare genetic disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy. RNAi medicines, with their great specificity in gene silencing, are expected to witness substantial market progress, fueled by successful drugs such as patisiran and givosiran. RNA aptamers, albeit being rare, show great potential because of their unique targeting capabilities. The creation of synthetic oligonucleotides has resulted in substantial advances in nucleic acid treatments. To improve their medicinal capabilities, synthetic oligonucleotides undergo certain chemical changes. These alterations can take place at three different sites: the nucleobase, the ribofuranose unit, and the phosphate backbone. Altering the nucleobase and ribose units can shield oligonucleotides against enzymatic damage, thus enhancing their stability within the body, whereas modification of the phosphate backbone can make nucleotide chains less negatively charged, thus promoting their cellular uptake and target localization. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period? 2024-2034 Base Year? 2020-2022 Size in 2023 US$ 6.0 Bn Forecast (Value) in 2034 US$ 22.1 Bn Growth Rate (CAGR) 12.8 % No. of Pages 195 Pages Segments covered By Product, By Indication, By End-user, By Region Competitive Landscape The market for nucleic acid therapeutics is highly competitive and has a strong presence of key players. The nucleic acid therapeutics market report highlights that leading players are adopting strategies such as acquisition and launch of new products. Key players operating in the nucleic acid therapeutics domain include: Alynylam Pharmaceutials Inc. BioNTech Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Moderna Nippon Shinyaku Novartis Pfizer Sarepta Therapeutics Biogen Inc. Genzyme Sanofi Percheron Therapeutics Ltd. Other Prominent Players Key Market Developments In April 2024 , autogene cevumeran , an RNA-based cancer treatment that stimulates the immune system to target and kill pancreatic cancer cells, was investigated in a clinical trial by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This stops existing cancer as well as avoids more illness with the help of a strong immune system. , , an RNA-based cancer treatment that stimulates the immune system to target and kill pancreatic cancer cells, was investigated in a clinical trial by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This stops existing cancer as well as avoids more illness with the help of a strong immune system. In December 2023, Ionis Pharmaceuticals expanded its Carlsbad's facility for improving its nucleotide-based therapeutics capabilities, expecting support for product investment as well as clinical trials so as bring in more innovative nucleotide drugs into the market, which constitutes the main theme of its antisense technology. Key Takeaways from the Market Report In 2024, the nucleic acid therapeutics market is expected to total US$ 6.8 billion. From 2024 to 2034, the market is anticipated to expand 3.2x. By product, demand for anti-sense oligonucleotides (ASO) is expected to be high, attributed to their capacity to specifically target and modify gene expression. By indication, genetic disorders are expected to be primary areas for nucleic acid therapeutics. Key Market Drivers and Trends Modifications of chemical structure of genes address the fundamental constraints of native oligonucleotides, which include low stability and poor physicochemical characteristics. As a result, these changes vividly improve the pharmacokinetic characteristics of oligonucleotide-based treatments, making them more promising for clinical usage. Because of their increased stability and efficiency, nucelic acid based drugs can now be used to treat a wide spectrum of ailments, including genetic abnormalities and malignancies. Hence, improved efficacy and safety profiles of the new synthetic oligonucleotides and innovative gene editing technologies are fueling the nucleic acid therapies market size. Explore Sample of the Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=86333 Regional Profile North America promises to yield significant expansion opportunities for nucleic acid therapeutics . Excellent research and development infrastructure, robust regulatory environment, and high prevalence of genetic abnormalities and diseases treated with these therapies are driving market dynamics. . Excellent research and development infrastructure, robust regulatory environment, and high prevalence of genetic abnormalities and diseases treated with these therapies are driving market dynamics. The United States, in particular, is home to prominent biotechnology and pharmaceutical businesses that invest in cutting-edge technologies such as CRISPR-Cas gene editing and synthetic oligonucleotides. The region's well-established regulatory system, which includes clear standards from agencies such as the FDA, promotes innovation and supports the timely launch of innovative treatments. The region's well-established regulatory system, which includes clear standards from agencies such as the FDA, promotes innovation and supports the timely launch of innovative treatments. Good legislation and more clinical trials are driving the nucleic acid therapeutics market revenue in Europe. Furthermore, with improved technology and access to better healthcare, Asia Pacific is becoming a lucrative market. Key Segments Profiled Product Anti-sense Oligonucleotides (ASO) RNA Interference (RNAi) RNA Aptamers Indication Autoimmune Disorders Infectious Diseases Genetic Disorders Cancer Others (Neurodegenerative Diseases, etc.) End User Hospitals Physicians' Offices Others (Academics and Research Institutes, etc.) Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=86333 30 tonnes) has been completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65% of graphite concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% graphitic carbon (Cg). With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is fully funded for Phase 1, and the construction and commissioning are underway. Santa Cruz will be the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996, with Phase 1 commercial production projected in Q3 2024. Phase 2 production (25,000 tonnes / year) is partially funded and planned for 2026, while Phase 3 (50,000 tonnes / year) is scheduled for 2028. South Star's second project in the development pipeline is strategically located in Alabama in the center of a developing electric-vehicle, aerospace, and defense hub in the southeastern United States. The BamaStar Project includes a historic mine active during the First and Second World Wars. An NI 43-101 guided technical report with the maiden resource estimate has been filed on SEDAR. Trenching, Phase 1 drilling, sampling, analysis, and preliminary metallurgical testing have been completed. The testing included a traditional crush/grind/flotation concentration circuit that achieved grades of approximately 94-97% Cg with approximately 86% recoveries. South Star is executing on its plan to create a multi-asset, diversified battery-metals company with near-term operations in strategic jurisdictions. South Star trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol STSBF. South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest standards of ESG principles, based on transparency, stakeholder engagement, ongoing education, and stewardship. To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com . This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Pearce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals Corp. On behalf of the South Star Board of Directors, (s) MR. RICHARD L. PEARCE, Jr., P.E. President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director For additional information, please contact: South Star Investor Relations Email: invest@southstarbatterymetals.com Phone: +1 (604) 706-0212 Website: www.southstarbatterymetals.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/southstarbm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southstarbatterymetals LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southstarbatterymetals/ YouTube: South Star Battery Metals - YouTube CAUTIONARY STATEMENT Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to statements regarding moving Santa Cruz into production and scaling operations as well as advancing the Alabama project, and the Company's plans and expectations. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. SOURCE: South Star Battery Metals Corp. View the original press release on accesswire.com SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / RONN, Inc (OTC PINK:RONN) Mr. Ford, the company CEO, announced today that he had received and accepted an invitation to return to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, to meet with several new company executives and tribal leaders to discuss an expanded presence in the region for an enhanced, cleaner hydrogen future for the Indigenous First Nation. Julian Moulton, Elected Councilor of Tobique First Nation, stated that the primary agenda of this meeting is to finalize our partnership and explore collaborative ventures with Tobique First Nation's business partners in Saint John. Mr. Moulton additionally added that this meeting promises to be a cornerstone in our shared journey toward sustainable development and economic growth. The collaboration between RONN Inc. and Tobique First Nation, supported by influential partners, holds immense potential to create a transformative impact. Notably, significant investment is anticipated in setting up hydrogen power infrastructure, aiming to revolutionize operations through sustainable energy. Additionally, there are exciting opportunities to engage with major corporations in Saint John, each seeking innovative solutions to enhance their operations through hydrogen technology. Mr. Ford stated that in his discussions with Mr. Moulton and other stakeholders, he expected to finalize the initial agreement and strategic partnership at this meeting within two weeks. Together, they aim to expand the hydrogen initiative throughout the region, with Tobique First Nation and Saint John as partners in a cleaner, healthier future. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the success of RONN, Inc. initiatives in the hydrogen tax credit market. RONN, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Contact Information John Morgan IR jmorgan@ronnmotorgroup.com SOURCE: Ronn, Inc View the original press release on accesswire.com Calvin Klein, Inc., part of PVH Corp. [NYSE: PVH], and Calvin Klein Fragrances, a division of Coty Inc. [NYSE: COTY], today launch CK One Essence, an intensified, premium take on the iconic original scent that introduces a bold addition to the CK One fragrance portfolio. Launched 30 years after the introduction of the original CK One, the new CK One Essence pays homage to the original fragrance's olfactive DNA and celebrates its cultural legacy, reaffirming its evolution from a groundbreaking fragrance in the '90s to a new icon for a new era. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731704922/en/ Calvin Klein Fragrances Introduces CK One Essence (Photo: Business Wire) [the fragrance] This is the new intensity: Explosive. Energetic. Captivating. To lend new emotion to the original spirit of CK One, Calvin Klein once again called upon Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas of dms-firmenich the perfumer behind the iconic original CK One fragrance to formulate this fresh iteration. Amplified with double the concentration of the original eau de toilette for long-lasting, powerful freshness, CK One Essence modernizes the original juice's defiant notes to create a new olfactory symbol of timeless unity. Top notes open the fragrance with the bright facets and fruit-forward tonalities of vibrant Italian Bergamot, responsibly sourced from a family-owned farm in Calabria, and blood orange. The juice offers an energizing and explosive profile from the first spritz. At the heart, a curated, high-quality selection of teas, including organic green tea, invigorates and brings a modern freshness. To ground the base, Morillas used a specific musk upcycled from the paper industry, adding a rich and sensual warmth complemented by a woody, creamy sandalwood accord. The resulting scent is equal parts fresh, pure and sensual-an everyday uniform for a new generation. [the campaign] For the debut of CK One Essence, Calvin Klein partnered with visionary creative Alasdair McLellan to introduce a cast empowered by their individuality and united by the rebellious spirit at the heart of the CK One franchise. Channeling the brand's signature black-and-white portraiture, the campaign shows the cast moving dynamically in harmony, in contrast and with total energy to the anthemic synths of New Order's "Blue Monday." The resulting visuals highlight the sensuality, togetherness and unity intrinsic to the heritage of CK One and celebrate a generation at one with themselves and each other. [the packaging] Grounded in the simplicity of the original CK One screw-top flask, both the bottle and secondary packaging were reimagined with premium, environmentally-preferred finishes. The bottle features a removable pump and a translucent metallic finish which reveals the juice inside. Its secondary metallic carton highlights the luxe nature of the new fragrance's ingredients. Calvin Klein CK One Essence will be available starting August 1st, 2024. Product line-up: 1.7 FL OZ 50 ml 3.4 FL OZ 100 ml 6.7 FL OZ 200 ml (April 2025) [the legacy] CK One, the world's first gender inclusive fragrance, embodied the modern minimalism at the core of the Calvin Klein brand ethos when it was introduced 30 years ago. Launched at Tower Records in 1994, the original CK One captured the zeitgeist with a bold, defiant, anti-perfume scent that channeled music, fashion and pop culture in a bottle. The fragrance's groundbreaking campaign forecasted a seismic shift in billboard faces, featuring street-cast misfits, moody models and real young lovers. With its pioneering attitude of universality, CK One was the first of its kind: a fragrance for everyone. CREDITS: Perfumer: Alberto Morillas, Master Perfumer Campaign Photographer: Alasdair McLellan SOCIAL MEDIA: @calvinklein About Calvin Klein: Calvin Klein is one of the world's leading global fashion lifestyle brands with a history of bold, non-conformist ideals that inform everything we do. Founded in New York in 1968, the brand's minimalist and sensual aesthetic drives our approach to product design and communication, creating a canvas that offers the possibility of limitless self-expression. The Calvin Klein brands CK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear, and Calvin Klein Performance are connected by the intention and purpose of elevating everyday essentials to globally iconic status. Each of the brands has a distinct identity and position in the retail landscape, providing us the opportunity to market a range of universally appealing products to domestic and international consumers with a variety of needs. Our products are underpinned by responsible design, high-quality construction, and the elimination of all unnecessary details. We strive for unique and dimensional pieces that continuously wear well and remain relevant season after season. Global retail sales of Calvin Klein products were approximately $9 billion in 2023. Calvin Klein continues to solidify its position as an innovator of emerging digital platforms and modern marketing campaigns. PVH acquired Calvin Klein in 2003 and continues to oversee a focused approach to growing the brand's worldwide relevance, presence, and long term growth. About COTY Inc. Coty is one of the world's largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty's products are sold in over 150 countries around the world. Coty and its brands are committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit www.coty.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731704922/en/ Contacts: Coty, Inc.: Connie Tang, Global Influencer Marketing PR Director, Calvin Klein Fragrances, Connie_LamTang@cotyinc.com Calvin Klein, Inc.: Noelia Callejas, Sr. Director, PR, noeliacallejas@ck.com Partnership enables Trilliant to support partner and customer metering requirements quickly and cost effectively Trilliant, a leading international provider of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), smart grid, smart cities and IIoT solutions, announced it has reached an agreement with Kamstrup, a world-leading manufacturer of system solutions for smart energy and water metering, to become an Elite Distributor of the company's heat/cool metering line for Canada. This new distributor role positions Trilliant to support partner and customer metering requirements across the country even more efficiently and cost-effectively, with priority access to shipments and more. Kamstrup's MULTICAL heat/cool meters approved by Measurement Canada are interoperable with Trilliant's AMI and Smart Buildings solutions, and the companies' combined leading technologies and expertise will enable Trilliant to provide a future-proof, robust multi-commodity sub-metering platform. "Kamstrup is pleased to form this partnership with Trilliant to extend our reach in Canada," said Arpit Sharma, Head of Sales Operations, Heat/Cooling at Kamstrup. "Trilliant demonstrates a true dedication to providing powerful, flexible technology solutions to improve processes and increased savings for utilities and energy organizations. We look forward to working more closely with them to enable greater efficiencies for Canadians." "This new agreement with Kamstrup is a significant milestone that will enable us to quickly address the heat/cool metering requirements of our customers and partners in Canada," said Steven Lupo, Managing Director, Canada and U.S. at Trilliant. "Kamstrup and Trilliant share many of the same tenets, with a strong focus on modular communications. We've valued our partnership with Kamstrup over the years, and this next step enables us to better serve and support the market, especially as we continue to focus on our innovative Smart Building solutions." Heat/cool meters play an essential role in centralized heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems most commonly deployed in multi-tenant buildings. As a key component of Trilliant's sub-metering solution, they help enable benefits including: Providing a reliable solution to accurately calculate energy consumption by each tenant's unit, as well as in common areas of multi-tenant buildings such as party rooms and gyms Encouraging tenants to use energy more efficiently and intelligently throughout the year Helping building managers monitor system performance, in turn identifying any operational issues in the HVAC system potentially saving significant amounts in repair costs The Power of Choice Trilliant's end-to-end portfolio of solutions offer partners, utility companies and Smart Cities the Power of Choice. Its flexible, multi-tiered platform is device-agnostic and drives optimal endpoints and outcomes, enabling utilities to optimize assets and offer value-added services to customers. Trilliant's comprehensive sub-metering solution enables the ability to quickly and seamlessly add applications to a single network from electricity to water and heat/cool. Trilliant offers a clear path for any building, regardless of age, to enjoy the benefits of technological advancement and participate in sustainability initiatives, improve efficiency, and encourage responsible resource consumption. Learn more about Trilliant's Smart Building solutions: Visit Trilliant's Sub-Metering for Smart Buildings solution page Read this blog about how Trilliant empowers submetering in Canada Review this Golden Horseshoe partner snapshot highlighting GHMS and Trilliant's implementation of a residential metering system and IIoT platform to improve energy management Learn how Trilliant worked with Provident on a successful implementation of a wireless basement water metering solution for a number of townhomes in the Greater Toronto Area The partnership between Trilliant and Kamstrup is effective immediately. About Kamstrup Kamstrup is a leading supplier of intelligent metering solutions and services. With a strong focus on innovation, quality, and sustainability, Kamstrup's products and solutions enable utilities and end-users to optimize resource usage, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency. For more than 75 years Kamstrup has been dedicated to delivering actionable insights to water and energy professionals, because we believe better data enables better decisions. Our solutions including meters, remote reading systems, software and services are sold in more than 90 countries. With global headquarters in Denmark, Kamstrup serves customers worldwide and is committed to shaping a more sustainable future. https://www.kamstrup.com/ About Trilliant Trilliant empowers the global energy industry with the only device-agnostic communications platform that enables utilities and cities to deploy any application securely and reliably on one powerful network. Our purpose-built portfolio is designed to offer the power of choice, without risk of customers being "locked in" with one technology provider or meter manufacturer. We are proud to offer mission-critical solutions that support AMI, Data Analytics, Smart Metering, Smart Grids and Smart Cities. Customers worldwide benefit from Trilliant's unique combination of flexibility, sustainability and scalability that connects utilities and cities to the IIoT and a more strategic path to the Energy Transition. Visit us at www.trilliant.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801158634/en/ Contacts: Media: Tracey Mitchell tracey.mitchell@trilliant.com Cindy Watson/Anita Wong StrategicAmpersand Inc. TrilliantPR@stratamp.com New facility will boost shipping efficiency and customer service across Europe STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Waring, a global leader in high-performance commercial kitchen appliances, is expanding its global operations with a new European Distribution facility. Opening September 2024, the new facility will support Waring's presence across Europe, improving shipping speed and delivery logistics to current and future customers. The 330,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution facility is strategically located in northern France, providing ideal access to European road network and key ports of Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Dunkirk. The facility's prime location will improve order delivery speed, resulting in more competitive pricing and shipping rates. Waring's new European Distribution facility was constructed with advanced features designed to streamline operations throughout the purchasing and shipping process. With a storage capacity of 29,000 locations, the facility increases international accessibility to Waring's full slate of high-performance commercial kitchen appliances. It also offers more efficient service and repair capabilities, including quicker shipping of replacement items and improved customer communications. With over 50 employees on-site, the new facility will house dedicated teams for quality control, order packing, transport, inventory management, customs clearances, maintenance and finance. "Waring is committed to meet the evolving needs of our customer base and this integrated high-performance resource will now support the commercial distribution activities of Waring Products, throughout Europe and beyond," says Waring General Manager and Senior Vice President Dan DeBari. "Waring's new European Distribution facility will provide Waring Products with an incredible resource for continued growth globally." For more information about the new distribution facility, please contact Info_WaringEMEA@conair.com. About Waring: Waring, universally known for introducing the first blender in America, is one of today's leading manufacturers of professional appliances for the foodservice and laboratory industries. Waring offers high-performance, large-volume food processors and blenders, heavy-duty heating appliances such as grills, griddles, toasters and deep fryers, and a variety of specialty products. As a Solutions Specialist in the blend, prep, cook and brew categories, Waring strives to provide innovative, customized equipment to fulfill all of the industry's unmet needs. With 85+ years of manufacturing expertise locally and globally, Waring is proud to offer continuously expanding collections of superior professional products. For more information, visit https://www.waring.com/. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473032/Waring_European_distribution_facility.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2448810/Waring_Products_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/waring-enhances-global-operations-with-new-european-distribution-facility-302211530.html Enstall, the global leader in rooftop solar mounting solutions, announced today the acquisition of Schletter Group ("Schletter"), a Germany-based provider of solar mounting systems. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Schletter's current shareholders, Avenue Capital Group and Robus Capital will become minority shareholders in Enstall to support the company's long-term strategic ambitions, working in close partnership with existing shareholders Blackstone and Rivean Capital. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801142034/en/ Schletter Headquarters (Photo: Business Wire) Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Kirchdorf, Germany, Schletter is a global provider of solar mounting systems, having supplied over 55 GWp of solar installations worldwide. The company's product portfolio caters to roofs, facades, carports, and ground-mounted solar installations, including trackers and fixed-tilt systems. The transaction represents a major step in executing on Enstall's growth strategy, following its acquisition by Blackstone and Rivean Capital in 2022. The transaction will strengthen Enstall's footprint in Germany and Central Europe, and establish Enstall as the one-stop-shop global solar mounting powerhouse, with a product portfolio covering both rooftop and ground-mount segments. Stijn Vos, CEO of Enstall, said: "On behalf of the Enstall team, I would like to welcome all Schletter employees to the Enstall family. Schletter is the long-standing solar mounting champion of Germany, with a strong reputation for quality and innovation. We are looking forward to combining our expertise to achieve our shared vision of accelerating solar adoption to deliver solar, sooner." Florian Roos, CEO of Schletter, added: "Enstall shares our long-term commitment to sustainable solar energy for future generations. Everything we do is guided by our dedication to improving durability, safety, sustainability, and the quality of our solar mounting systems, in support of achieving a transition to green energy. The partnership with Enstall will strengthen the combined innovation capabilities, and enable us to serve our customers with a broader portfolio of products and digital solutions globally." Juergen Pinker, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Maurits Boomsma, Senior Partner at Rivean Capital, commented: "With this transformational acquisition, Enstall establishes a strong presence in Germany, Europe's largest solar market, and expands into the attractive ground-mounted solar segment. Following Enstall's acquisition of Sunfer in 2023, this deal demonstrates the continued strong momentum the company has in executing its growth strategy. We welcome Avenue Capital and Robus Capital as minority investors in Enstall, who have been long-standing supportive owners of Schletter." The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to Schletter. Language: English Company: Schletter International B.V. Herikerbergweg 88 1101 CM Amsterdam Netherlands ISIN: NO0012530973, NO0012530981 WKN: A3K86F A3K86D Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Frankfurt; Oslo Intended to be listed. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801142034/en/ Contacts: Katarina Kuzmicic Tel.: +49 (0)221 80 10 87-85 E-Mail: kk@moeller-pr.de ST. LOUIS, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Momentus Technologies, a renowned leader in venue and event management software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, is proud to announce that Steve Mackenzie, our esteemed Chief Innovation Officer, has been honored with the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) 2024 Education & Service Award at VenueConnect 2024. The IAVM Education & Service Award is presented to individuals who demonstrate exceptional professionalism and commitment to advancing the field of venue management. It recognizes those who excel in community outreach, educational opportunities, mentorship and internships, contributing significantly to both the industry and the community. "We are incredibly proud of Steve Mackenzie for receiving the IAVM 2024 Education & Service Award," said Alex Alexandrov, CEO, Momentus Technologies. "Steve's dedication to innovation, education and community service sets a high standard for all of us at Momentus Technologies. His tireless efforts and visionary leadership have not only advanced our company but have also made a significant impact on the entire industry. This recognition is a testament to his unwavering commitment to excellence and his passion for fostering growth and knowledge within the venue management field." At Momentus Technologies, Mackenzie works closely with customers and partners to educate them on industry best practices, gain a deeper understanding of the evolving market landscape, and enhance the company's offerings. With 38 years of experience in the hospitality and events industry, 29 of which have been focused on the technology side, Steve brings unparalleled expertise and dedication to his role. Before joining Momentus Technologies, Steve served as president at EventBooking. Steve's remarkable career has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. In 2022, he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Event Tech Live Awards and inducted into its Hall of Fame. He is also a Certified Venue Executive through IAVM, holds many volunteer roles within the industry, and serves as an adjunct professor at Florida International University. Momentus Technologies congratulates Steve Mackenzie on this well-deserved recognition and is proud to have him as a leader and innovator within our organization. For more information about Momentus Technologies, please visit www.gomomentus.com. About Momentus Technologies Momentus Technologies is a global provider of industry-leading venue and event management solutions that empower organizations to create extraordinary moments. With over 60,000 users in more than 57 countries, Momentus serves the needs of convention and exhibition centers, higher education, corporate venues, stadiums and arenas, and arts and culture centers. Its powerful intuitive platform alongside intelligent data-driven solutions and unparalleled expertise provides customers a view of past, present and future event operations to increase end-to-end visibility, optimize efficiency and achieve business goals. Founded in 1985, Momentus is headquartered in the United States. The company's employees work across the globe in Momentus offices and remotely. To learn more, visit gomomentus.com. Contact North America Public Relations:Rebecca Meckstroth rebecca.meckstroth@gomomentus.com EMEA and APAC Public Relations:Miriam Hageboeck miriam.hageboeck@gomomentus.com General Information: info@gomomentus.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/steve-mackenzie-chief-innovation-officer-at-momentus-technologies-wins-prestigious-iavm-2024-education--service-award-302208988.html NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aktiia, the Series A Swiss startup transforming Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring and management, backed by Khosla Ventures, Red Alpine, Molten Ventures, Translink, Verve and 415 Capital, announces the appointment of U.S.-based industry veteran, Raghav 'Rags' Gupta, as its new CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. Since its commercial launch in 2021, Aktiia has amassed the largest longitudinal BP dataset of its kind, with over 11 B optical signals and 300 million cardiovascular data points from over 80,000 users. This dataset serves as the foundation for Aktiia's AI-driven BP Intelligence Platform, which comprises BP measurement, management, and novel research insights. A seasoned and entrepreneurial technology operator with a track record of growth and commercialization, Rags brings a wealth of experience across consumer, enterprise and deep tech domains. Rags has operated at the intersection of technology and market inflections for most of his career, from the early days of the Web to cloud and SaaS at Brightcove, Videoplaza and Ooyala, to sensing and deep tech, more recently, at Humatics, Butlr, and as an Operating Partner at Hyperplane. "Aktiia's mission to reduce the impact of blood pressure on global health is deeply personal. Add to this the novel technology that's already achieved product market fit and improved patient outcomes, the unique dataset, and the talented, dedicated team, and it makes for a once-in-career opportunity. I'm thrilled to join at such an inflection point in the business," said Rags Gupta. "It's time to scale." Aktiia's CE-marked continuous blood pressure monitor is currently available in seven European markets. Earlier this year, Aktiia received CE approval for its next-generation CALFREE technology, which utilizes optical sensors that do not require calibration with a traditional cuff. This significantly improves user convenience and adaptability for various third-party devices, while still meeting the stringent BP accuracy and precision thresholds to be medically valid. Additional regulatory submissions are underway in markets, including the U.S. Built on 20+ years of research, Aktiia's technology provides unparalleled innovation and ease in blood pressure data collection and machine learning modelling, offering personalized, continuous, and medical-grade blood pressure and heart rate data. Aktiia empowers people, researchers, and clinicians with unique blood pressure data, paving the way for novel understanding and personalized patient care of hypertension. "Rags' strategic vision, entrepreneurial track record and ability to operate across cultures and domains stood out to us during our search process, and we're thrilled to have him join at an inflection point for our business," said Daniel Graf, President and Board member. "From the time we spent together, it was clear that Rags had the strategic insight, operational experience and cultural fluency to be our next CEO," said Aktiia co-founder Mattia Bertschi, who will remain as COO. "We are proud to have him on board as our recent regulatory wins, ongoing research, and real-world adoption drive the next phase of Aktiia's growth." Aktiia's mission has never been more critical, with over 1.4 billion people, worldwide, affected by high blood pressure, resulting in more than 18 million related deaths annually. The company is dedicated to changing the paradigm of blood pressure management, making it more accessible, accurate, and actionable for people worldwide. For more information about Aktiia, please visit Aktiia's website. About Aktiia Founded in Switzerland in May 2018, Aktiia was created out of a passion for developing the best products for diagnosing and treating hypertension. Founders Drs. Mattia Bertschi (CEO) and Josep Sola (CTO) spent 15 years at the prestigious Swiss research institute, CSEM, deciphering the language of the heart to deepen their understanding of blood pressure. Today, Aktiia's global, diverse team of over 50 extraordinary individuals combines years of innovative research with AI model training and fine-tuning from a unique, growing dataset into a worldwide healthcare solution, offering the most complete and intuitive blood pressure monitoring and management tools on the market. The full media package can be downloaded here. Media Contact: Assad Khan Email: press@aktiia.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/swiss-health-tech-startup-aktiia-names-industry-veteran-rags-gupta-as-new-ceo-as-part-of-global-push-to-transform-blood-pressure-monitoring-and-management-302212311.html PARIS, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The construction industry is going through a transformative shift towards sustainability, with a growing emphasis on curbing carbon emissions to reduce its environmental impact. As part of this movement, Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals, with its leading brands Chryso and GCP, is proud to introduce EnviroMixC-Clay, a new groundbreaking range of admixtures aimed at reducing CO2 content in concrete by using calcined clay cements. This new feature in our sustainable solutions portfolio broadens the EnviroMix range of low carbon concrete admixtures. Calcined Clay cements, hailed for their potential to generate significantly lower carbon emissions than traditional Portland cement, have emerged as a promising alternative in the quest for sustainable construction materials. New emerging cements such as CEM VI (35 to 49% of clinker content), and CEM II/C-M (50 to 64% of clinker content- ie. LC3) can lead to a CO2 reduction up to 50% compared to a "classic" Portland cement, by incorporating calcined clay. These new cements have been extensively tested in our international research laboratory. Calcined clay cements generate specific constraints, particularly high-water demand, which requires adapted solutions. In addition to proven cement expertise, CHRYSO and GCP's dedicated R&D team has worked significantly on characterizing more than 30 calcined clays, originating from all over the world, using in-house and patented methodologies, such as the CHRYSOClear test, to determine the optimal formulation of EnviroMixC-Clay for each configuration. CHRYSO and GCP experts are developing a specific range of innovative admixtures designed to enhance the performance and versatility of calcined clay cements. These innovations are supported by new patents filed by our R&D teams on concrete admixtures based on calcined clays. These new admixtures, meticulously engineered through years of research and development, overcome the technical challenges of using calcined clay, primarily due to its high-water demand, enhancing both the workability of the concrete and its compressive strength. "Our mission is to empower the construction industry with innovative solutions that not only meet the demands of today but also pave the way for a sustainable future," says Gustavo Blazquez, Concrete BU Director. "With our advanced admixtures solutions, we aim to overcome the technical challenges associated with low-carbon concrete, unlocking the full potential of calcined clay cements and accelerating the transition towards greener construction practices." In addition to offering cutting-edge admixture solutions, Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals is committed to providing comprehensive technical support and expertise to develop and facilitate the seamless integration and optimization of products with technical specifications and local materials. *Source: www.infociments.fr About Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals offers cement additives, concrete admixtures and specialty building materials, through the combined activities of Chryso and GCP. Its recent technologies for sustainable construction help reduce energy consumption, lower the carbon footprint of cements and concrete, and foster the circular economy. Leveraging its global manufacturing presence, Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals serves its customers through local sites in 41 countries, employing over 3,000 people. CONTACT: Elodie PUJO SAULNIER, elodie.pujo-saulnier@chryso.com and Daphnee Decaudin, daphnee.decaudin@chryso.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472925/Calcined_Clay.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472926/CHRYSO_GCP_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/innovative-tailor-made-admixtures-to-path-the-way-to-calcined-clay-based-cements-use-accelarating-decarbonization-302212403.html Subaru and its retailers providing critical supplies to schools nationwide as the largest corporate partner of AdoptAClassroom.org CAMDEN, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) today announced that a milestone of 750,000 students nationwide will be helped following its Subaru Loves Learning program this year. In its fourth year partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org, Subaru and more than 630 of its retailers will continue to provide access to the critical supplies and resources that teachers need to help their students succeed in the classroom. According to AdoptAClassroom.org, 92% of teachers nationwide have students whose families cannot afford to purchase school supplies for their children. This has led to teachers spending an average of $860 per year to help provide for their classrooms. Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Subaru of America, Inc.: "At Subaru, we believe that every student deserves a fair opportunity at a quality education. We are incredibly proud of the progress achieved in supporting over 750,000 students, and we know the importance of continuing to support students and teachers around the country to have the best learning environment possible." Together, Subaru and its retailers are working to help students in high-needs* schools by providing teachers across the country with funding to purchase these supplies and resources. Many participating retailers will also be donating school supply kits with materials that are highly requested by teachers. Ann Pifer, Executive Director of AdoptAClassroom.org: "This record number of students being supported would not be possible without the help of the Subaru community. We are grateful to extend our partnership with Subaru for a fourth year in a row and sincerely thank Subaru and its retailers for the difference they make in the lives and educational opportunities of students and teachers around the country." To kick off the 2024 program, Subaru will continue to support students in the Camden City School District (CCSD) by once again adopting all kindergarten to fifth grade (K-5) classrooms near the automaker's headquarters in Camden, NJ. This latest hometown effort will impact over 2,090 students and 122 classrooms across eight different schools. Adopting every elementary school in the CCSD is just one of the many ways Subaru continues to do its part to be More Than a Car Company for its community. To learn more about the Subaru Loves Learning initiative and the partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, visit subaru.com/learning or follow SubaruLovesLearning on social media. *High-need is defined as a school that has a Title I Schoolwide Program and/or a school where 40% or more of the student population qualifies for the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of about 640 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants, including Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $320 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged over 100,000 volunteer hours. Subaru is dedicated to being More Than a Car Company and to making the world a better place. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. About AdoptAClassroom.org AdoptAClassroom.org believes every child deserves the tools and materials they need to learn and thrive in school. To achieve this, teachers are spending an average of $860 of their own money each year on their classrooms. AdoptAClassroom.org is a national nonprofit that funds PreK-12 teachers and schools across the U.S. to help equip more classrooms and students for success and offset the financial burden on teachers. Since 1998, AdoptAClassroom.org has raised $73 million and equipped more than seven million students across the U.S. 90% of all funded classrooms are considered high needs. The 501(c)(3) holds the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the highest transparency rating offered by Candid/GuideStar. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.adoptaclassroom.org. ### Diane Anton Subaru of America, Inc. 856-488-5093 danton@subaru.com Adam Leiter Subaru of America, Inc. (856) 488-8668 aleiter@subaru.com Subaru of America and its retailers will provide funding to teachers across the country to purchase the school supplies and resources needed to help their students succeed. In partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, the Subaru Loves Learning initiative will support a milestone of 750,000 students in 2024. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Subaru of America, Inc. on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Subaru of America, Inc. Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/subaru-america-inc Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Subaru of America, Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com West Palm Beach, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - Hiru Corporation (OTC Pink: HIRU) (The Company) on July 26, 2024 Completed an Off Market Private Transaction Control Block Sale of Preferred Shares. This event and other events were filed as Supplemental Filing on OTC Markets, and as a 8k with the SEC. https://www.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/financial-report/408109/content, https://www.otcmarkets.com/filing/conv_pdf?id=17716956&guid=YBO-knmv0E5eJth HIRU addresses shareholders frequently ask questions regarding past management affairs of HIRU and the $1.4 million dollar debt remaining on HIRU's books. The water equipment serves as a security for this debt. Several interested prospects are currently considering the purchase of the equipment that is for sale. HIRU does not expect to be subject to a short sale or negative equity when they do so. We will cross that bridge when we get there and settle our accounts with the finance company if it is the case. There is no doubt that the equipment financier is being more than reasonable, courteous, and accommodating to the company. For clarification, the conversion rate relates to a backstop on the note and not to the actual number of shares the financier will receive from us. (See OTC filing footnote) Please research the term "backstop" in corporate finance for a more detailed explanation. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/backstop.asp#:~:text=In%20corporate%20finance Indeed, we are familiar with the affairs of ex-management (management prior to the interim management), however we cannot dwell in the past. Our focus is on today and HIRU's future. We have also received full disclosure of this debt and the relationship of the creditor, and the M&A firm that introduced us to HIRU. Obviously, there are other WIN-WIN benefits for us and our shareholders for choosing HIRU over other options. To that end, we would like to address HIRU's moving forward plans, HIRU's corporate vision, and future growth strategy. The company's new focus is on acquiring and/or collaborating with and merging both large and small profitable mines, as well as large real estate construction projects. Our vision is to develop the Company into a small conglomerate. Another of the FAQ's is "how big is it?" New OTC rules sanction companies that release news ahead of official filings. Without getting into details, or "stepping on anyone's toes" we can safely say some significant mines we have certain relationships with are between $70 to $150 million dollar projects. These projects have full mining reports 43101 or similar reports with GAAP audited financials. Our upcoming filings will be self-explanatory. Before the definitive closing date of the Australian mining transaction, we will consult with Hiru's corporate lawyer to determine what more information we can disclose publicly. The next FAQ we received was: Why did we choose OTC Markets? Our answer is simple. Why not? We have no plans to dilute. Our share structure is unchanged. We see this endeavor as a WIN-WIN all-around where retail shareholders can reap the benefits of our efforts as we grow together. As per 8k and OTC filing(s) currently we are targeting New York, New York as our home office location with an additional office in either Toronto or Vancouver, Canada. Both Canadian cities have strong mining circles which fit our narrative. In other Company news and events, the Company has launched its X (Twitter) Account https://x.com/HIRUMining More news will follow promptly. About Hiru Corporation HIRU is a holding Company (The Company) in the finance and mining sector quoted on OTC: HIRU. The Company also operates a small e-commerce division. Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements that we make may constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information concerning future strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated savings, financial results (including expenses, earnings, liquidity, cash flow and capital expenditures), industry or market conditions, demand for and pricing of our products, acquisitions and divestitures, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory developments or general economic conditions. In addition, words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," and future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "could," "should," and "would," as well as any other statement that necessarily depends on future events, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, and they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although we make such statements based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. We caution investors not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. Contact: To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218517 SOURCE: Hiru Corporation NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Bloomberg Originally published on bloomberg.com For Stacy-Marie Ishmael, innate curiosity was the driving factor behind her pursuit of a career in journalism. Well, curiosity and being able to move quickly from one task to another. "I'm a person who likes knowing things, and I also have a very short attention span," says Ishmael, who serves as Executive Editor, Digital Assets/Digital Payments/Cross Asset at Bloomberg. "These are the essential qualities for journalism." In this article, adapted from an interview that originally appeared on TheMuse.com, Ishmael talks about what drew her to journalism, the value of diverse newsrooms, and why she loves working at Bloomberg. What drew her to journalism - and why she stays Ishmael's journalism career began about halfway through her time in college, when she got involved with on-campus media, running the university radio station and contributing to the TV station, newspaper, and magazine. These experiences ignited her passion? - ?and led to her first job in the industry. "The magazine is actually what set me on the path to journalism - I often interviewed interesting people in high positions," she says. "One of the people I spoke with was the head of talent at a publishing company. They suggested I apply for a graduate training program, which started my decades-long career in media." After senior roles at the Financial Times, Apple, and the Texas Tribune, she joined Bloomberg as the Managing Editor, Crypto, in 2021, where she led a team of reporters and editors covering the fast-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and decentralized finance. In March 2024, she moved into her current role, as an Executive Editor. And it's never a dull moment, she says. "I wake up every morning wondering what's going to happen next. Markets respond to what's happening in the world, and there's a lot of upheaval in many different ways." A champion for more diverse newsrooms Ishmael speaks openly about how she's navigated the challenges of being a woman of color in a male-dominated industry. "When I was younger, I was often the only person who looked like me covering a story or an event. I would sometimes use it to my advantage: If someone didn't think I was qualified and simplified concepts for me, I could use that to write a better story. It was helpful to cultivate humility around those experiences, but it also really motivated me to change the expectations of who should get to be in those rooms." But that doesn't mean you have to struggle alone, she says. "You need to have a really good group text. You will not survive without a trusted group of people who will tell you the truth and support you, but also hold you accountable. One of the mistakes people often make is they're over-mentored yet under-sponsored, meaning there are lots of people who will give them advice, but not enough who will use their position to make something happen for them. I was very fortunate to have people in my life who took those steps on my behalf." Today, she returns that favor by serving on the board for Catchlight, an organization dedicated to visual storytelling, and the board for the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY Foundation. "I stay connected because of the kinds of students [Newmark] attracts: recent immigrants, first-generation college students, multilingual students, and those from lower-income areas. If you look around your average newsroom, those are people who are often missing." Connecting the dots at a global scale For Ishmael, one of the best parts of working at Bloomberg is the depth of knowledge she can tap into for context about news events. "I'm surrounded by such interesting people, and I learn from them every day. In any Bloomberg newsroom you can pick a topic and find one of foremost experts just a desk or two away." This depth of expertise creates the opportunity to tell more holistic stories, she notes. "For example, we can help our audiences understand how what's happening in Ukraine is leading to the higher gas prices they're encountering. Connecting the dots across all these areas is something I feel we're uniquely well positioned to do." Finally, she says she appreciates the work being done by Bloomberg's philanthropic arm. "You see how this giving back shows up in the world, and it feels good to know that, by doing my small part, I'm contributing to that work." ACCOMMODATION Bloomberg is an equal employment/affirmative action employer. Bloomberg provides reasonable adjustment/accommodation to individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable adjustment/accommodation include but are not limited to making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. To request an adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job, please email AMER_recruit@bloomberg.net (Americas), EMEA_recruit@bloomberg.net (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), or APAC_recruit@bloomberg.net (Asia-Pacific), based on the region you are submitting an application for. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Bloomberg maintains a continuing policy of non-discrimination in employment. It is Bloomberg's policy to provide equal opportunity and access for all persons, and the Company is committed to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified individuals without regard to age, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, parental or caring status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or maternity/parental leave, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other classification protected by applicable law (each, a "Protected Characteristic"). Bloomberg prohibits treating applicants or employees less favorably in connection with the terms and conditions of employment, in all phases of the employment process, because of one or more Protected Characteristics ("Discrimination").? View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bloomberg on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Bloomberg Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bloomberg Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Bloomberg View the original press release on accesswire.com Kunstliche Intelligenz hat spatestens nach dem Raketenstart von Chat GPT das Leben aller verandert. Doch der Superzyklus steht nach Meinungen von Experten erst am Anfang. Wahrend Aktien wie Nvidia von der ersten Aufwartsentwicklung stark profitieren konnten, versprechen aussichtsreiche Player aus der zweiten Reihe noch enormes Aufwartspotenzial. Im kostenlosen, exklusiven Spezialreport prasentieren wir ihnen 5 innovative KI-Unternehmen, die bahnbrechende Entwicklungen in diesem Sektor pragen konnten. Warum sollten Sie dabei sein? Trotz der jungsten Erfolge steht die Entwicklung der kunstlichen Intelligenz noch am Beginn eines neuen Superzyklus. Experten gehen davon aus, dass der Sektor bis 2032 global auf 1,3 Billionen US-Dollar explodieren wird, wobei ein groer Teil auf Hardware und Infrastruktur entfallen wird. Nutzen Sie die Chance! Fordern Sie sofort unseren brandneuen Spezialreport an und erfahren Sie, welche 5 KI-Aktien das grote Potenzial zur Vervielfachung besitzen. Dieser Report ist komplett kostenlos und zeigt Ihnen die aussichtsreichsten Investments im KI-Sektor. Handeln Sie jetzt und sichern Sie sich Ihren kostenfreien Report! Green Mountain Energy's capabilities allow customers to improve energy efficiency, minimize costs, and significantly reduce their carbon footprint. SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan recently assessed the renewable energy industry and, based on its analysis results, presents Green Mountain Energy with the 2024 U.S. Customer Value Leadership Award. Green Mountain Energy has been a trusted carbon-neutral company for nearly two decades, with sustainability at the heart of every innovation and growth strategy. With its commitment to providing superior customer value and excellent customer experience, the company sustains its remarkable position in the U.S. renewable energy market, making it the provider of choice for 100% clean energy solutions. Green Mountain Energy helps customers take environmentally friendly actions, support a cleaner grid, and improve their carbon footprint with clean energy plans, sustainable living solutions, and carbon offset purchases. Green Mountain Energy is committed to helping customers live an eco-friendly life throughout their sustainability journey. The company is dedicated to protecting the environment by operating with a zero-carbon footprint, only providing products that have an ecological advantage. Green Mountain Energy works closely with consumers and businesses, whether they are just starting out or deeply committed to sustainability, with the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable sources, carbon offset products, and sustainable solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Lucrecia Gomez, Energy and Environment Research Director, Frost & Sullivan, observed, "Green Mountain Energy prides itself on providing top-of-the-line expertise and services to its customers and delivering value beyond their expectations. The company has built a sterling reputation for its commitment to supporting customers in their efforts to make a positive environmental impact." Green Mountain Energy's customer-focused strategy caters to evolving needs and preferences through an app that enables customers to seamlessly connect their electric vehicles (EVs) to their electricity account, manage their electricity use and discover ways to strengthen their impact. The company also incentivizes the adoption of solar through its Renewable Rewards Plan which provides additional value for customers with solar panels through credit for excess renewable energy produced by their solar system. Moreover, Green Mountain Energy promotes sustainability in communities through its charitable program, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, by enabling nonprofit organizations to improve energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. Since Sun Club was created, the completed projects have helped avoid more than 40 million pounds of carbon dioxide, generate more than 25 million kilowatts of solar electricity, capture more than 20 million gallons of rainwater, and grow nearly 370 thousand pounds of produce. "Green Mountain Energy offers a broad range of products that help customers lead a greener lifestyle, making it the preferred provider for 100% clean energy solutions. Consequently, customers receive invaluable support and guidance, giving them access to best-in-class clean energy and innovative solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve cost savings," added Gomez. For its strong overall performance, Green Mountain Energy earns Frost & Sullivan's 2024 Customer Value Leadership Award in the U.S. renewable energy industry. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers, with a focus on improving the return on investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes the company's unique focus on augmenting the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. About Green Mountain Energy Green Mountain Energy is the nation's longest serving renewable energy retailer, on a mission to inspire hope and motivate action through the use of clean energy. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity plans from renewable sources, as well as a variety of carbon offset products and sustainable solutions for businesses. Collectively, Green Mountain Energy customers have helped avoid more than 107 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions to date. Green Mountain is lighting the path to a brighter future by supporting the sustainable projects of nonprofits through our charitable program, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. To learn more, visit greenmountainenergy.com. Contact: Ashley Weinkauf P: 210-844-2505 E: ashley.weinkauf@frost.com GME Media Contact Estefania Joy 713-537-5735 media@greenmountain.com Twitter: @GreenMtnEnergy Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2471297/Green_Mountain_Energy_Award_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/frost--sullivan-recognizes-green-mountain-energy-for-advancing-sustainability-and-helping-customers-reduce-their-carbon-footprint-302209577.html WASHINGTON and BONN, Germany, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ATIS and the O-RAN ALLIANCE today announced the joint signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that enables the transposition of O-RAN ALLIANCE specifications to ATIS standards. The MoU establishes a joint process to identify O-RAN specifications for adoption by ATIS. This transposition is a major step toward advancing the adoption of Open RAN in North America, by giving O-RAN ALLIANCE specifications the benefit of recognition by ATIS, an accredited standards body with broad membership from North American industry. It furthers both organizations' mutual objectives to advance the industry towards more intelligent, open, virtualized and global standards-compliant mobile networks. The agreement announced today builds on an earlier MoU between the parties that addressed cooperation on Open Radio Access Network (RAN) issues, including Open RAN security and stakeholder requirements for Open RAN. It emphasizes ATIS's commitment to creating innovative standards for mobile networks that leverage the latest technical and architectural advances. "ATIS members both from industry and government sectors are highly aligned on the importance of Open RAN in creating an ecosystem of trusted suppliers that can deliver capable and cost-effective mobile network platforms," said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. "The MoU with O-RAN ALLIANCE gives the combined weight of both organizations to a common technical basis for interoperability in the Open RAN market. It complements the ATIS work on the Open RAN Minimum Viable Profile to create comprehensive and recognized Open RAN standards and best practices for the North American market." "O-RAN ALLIANCE specifications set the global foundation for open, intelligent, virtualized and interoperable Radio Access Networks, building on common RAN standards," said Abdurazak Mudesir, Chair of the Board of O-RAN ALLIANCE and Group CTO, Deutsche Telekom. "O-RAN ALLIANCE welcomes ATIS's transposition of O-RAN specifications to ATIS standards. The MoU ensures technical alignment and supports mutual efforts to enable truly open RAN ecosystem. North America comes as another region adopting O-RAN specifications and we remain open to similar arrangements with standards authorities in other regions." About ATIS As a leading technology and solutions development organization, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) brings together the top global ICT companies to advance the industry's business priorities. Our Next G Alliance is building the foundation for North American leadership in 6G and beyond. ATIS' 165 member companies are also currently working to address 5G, illegal robocall mitigation, quantum computing, artificial intelligence-enabled networks, distributed ledger/blockchain technology, cybersecurity, IoT, emergency services, quality of service, billing support, operations and much more. These priorities follow a fast-track development lifecycle from design and innovation through standards, specifications, requirements, business use cases, software toolkits, open-source solutions and interoperability testing. ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, visit www.atis.org. Follow ATIS on X and on LinkedIn. About O-RAN ALLIANCE The O-RAN ALLIANCE is a worldwide community of more than 300 mobile operators, vendors, and research & academic institutions operating in the Radio Access Network (RAN) industry. As the RAN is an essential part of any mobile network, the O-RAN ALLIANCE's mission is to re-shape the industry towards more intelligent, open, virtualized and fully interoperable mobile networks. The new O-RAN specifications enable a more competitive and vibrant RAN supplier ecosystem with faster innovation to improve user experience. O-RAN based mobile networks at the same time improve the efficiency of RAN deployments as well as operations by the mobile operators. To achieve this, the O-RAN ALLIANCE publishes new RAN specifications, releases open software for the RAN, and supports its members in integration and testing of their implementations. For more information, please visit www.o-ran.org. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2431547/O_RAN_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473621/ATIS_logo_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/atis-o-ran-alliance-agree-on-transposition-of-o-ran-specifications-to-atis-standards-302212272.html CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fintech as a Service Market size is estimated to grow from USD 358.8 billion in 2024 to USD 806.9 billion by 2029 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.6% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The key driver of FaaS is the growing demand for rising digital financial services, open banking operational initiatives, growing demand for streamlined compliances and regulatory solutions, scalability of cloud computing technologies in operations, and driving innovation of AI and blockchain. Browse in-depth TOC on "Fintech as a Service (FaaS) Market" 375 - Tables 51 - Figures 331 - Pages Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=9388805 Scope of the Report Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 2018-2029 Base year considered 2023 Forecast period 2024-2029 Forecast units Value (USD Billion) Segments Covered By Type, Technology, Application, End User, Region. Geographies covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America Companies covered Major vendors in the FaaS market include PayPal (US), Mastercard (US), Fiserv (US), Block (US), Rapyd (UK), Envestnet (US), Upstart (US), Solid Financial (US), FIS (US), Synctera (US), Stripe (US), Adyen (Netherlands), Dwolla (US), Finastra (UK), Revolut (UK), Fispan (Canada), Nium (Singapore), Airwallex (Australia), Sofi Technologies Inc. (US), Marqeta (US), Finx (US), Synapse (US). FaaS solutions enable organizations to access pre-built financial technology solutions that can be integrated into existing systems, enabling businesses to provide innovative financial services, reducing the cost of new in-house development technology and the investment needed for resources, which makes it cost-efficient financial services, making high-tech tools available without a high upfront cost. With FaaS, companies can focus on competition and innovation with their core operations, delivering cutting-edge financial services to their customers. Request Sample Pages@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=9388805 Based on the type, Payments in the FaaS market accounts for the highest market size during the forecast period. Payments are expected to maintain the highest market share in the FaaS market for various reasons. Their ubiquitous nature, being important to daily transactions and serving a vast customer base involving individuals, businesses, and governments, and rapid technological advancements like digital wallets, biometric authentication, upgraded security on real-time payments, convenience, and efficiency play a crucial role in financial inclusion by providing services through mobile payments in the emerging market. It acts as a boon by providing solutions and services to a major segment of the population through digital platforms. It is enhancing the customer experience by integrating payment methods to various platforms such as e-commerce, ride-sharing, and digital commerce, driving the popularity of subscription-based models, and its regulatory evolution, such as open banking payments and Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), creating strong authentication and open API's. By application, KYC Verification segment will grow at the highest CAGR during the forecasted period. The Know Your Customer (KYC) verification segment is growing faster than any other part of the fintech-as-a-service market. This growth comes from a few key factors. Companies need to follow stricter rules, like those against money laundering and funding terrorism, as well as laws about data privacy, such as GDPR and CCPA. More cases of identity theft and financial scams make it crucial to have accurate and reliable KYC to keep customers safe. KYC also helps make signing up new customers online smoother and quicker, improving their first experience and letting companies assess risk better. As the fintech world grows and technology improves, like fingerprint scans and smart computer analysis, the need for solid KYC checks increases. This builds customer trust and protects the good name of financial companies. Inquire Before Buying@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=9388805 By region, Asia Pacific will grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is forecasted to grow at the highest CAGR due to the rapid adoption of digitization, rising internet penetration, and widespread use of smartphones in countries like India, China, and Indonesia, which have a large customer base. These regions are one of the largest populations, which provides an opportunity for fintech companies for financial inclusion. The government's support and praise for fintech solutions is being heavily backed up, showing a positive future aspect of growth in the FaaS market. The region also attracts a large number of investment interests from various sources due to its population and growing demand for digital financial services, mostly among middle-class earning entities. The market is also a rising hub of digital platforms, which further enhances the strong entrepreneurial ecosystem and the fintech landscape. Top Companies in Fintech as a Service Market: PayPal (US), Mastercard (US), Fiserv (US), Block (US), Rapyd (UK), Envestnet (US), Upstart (US), Solid Financial (US), FIS (US), Synctera (US), Stripe (US) , Adyen (Netherlands), Dwolla (US), Finastra (UK), Revolut (UK), Fispan (Canada), Nium (Singapore), Airwallex (Australia), Sofi Technologies Inc. (US), Margeta (US), Finx (US), Synapse (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Software and Services Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Blockchain Market- Global Forecast to 2029 Embedded Finance Market - Global Forecast to 2029 Cloud Based Contact Center Market- Global Forecast to 2029 eGRC Market - Global Forecast to 2029 Facial Recognition Market- Global Forecast to 2028 Get access to the latest updates on Fintech as a Service Companies and Fintech as a Service Industry About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/fintech-as-a-service-faas-market-worth-806-9-billion-by-2029---exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302212068.html Melbourne, Victoria, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - Besra Gold Inc. (ASX: BEZ) ("Besra" or the "Company") is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mine Development Specialist Mr Matthew Antill (BEng [Mining] and Fellow of AUSIMM) as Managing Director of Besra's Malaysian operating subsidiary, North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd, where he will head the mining and development team. Mr Antill will be responsible for moving the Jugan Project towards commercialisation through Pilot Production and delivery of the Definitive Feasibility Study. Mr Antill's career spans over thirty years in mining and mine development. He has significant senior operational management experience and oversees studies in both open pit and underground operations. He specialises in gold, including refractory and narrow vein operations. As Chief Production and Mine Development Officer at Monument Mining Limited since 2018, he played a pivotal role in commencing multiple open pit mines and commissioning the ~1mtpa sulphide gold processing circuit at the Selinsing Gold Mine in Malaysia. Mr. Antill successfully managed the transition of the mine from oxide ore production to the commencement in late 2023 of gold concentrate production from sulphide ore. Before that, as General Manager of Operations at Rox Resources in Western Australia, Mr Antill managed various studies and metallurgical test work for the Youanmi Gold Mine, evaluating multiple processing treatment options and mining scenarios for the company's mix of open pit and underground operations. Youanmi is host to a Resource of 2.3moz Au, including refractory ore, with a recently completed PFS targeting a >100kozpa Au. Other senior operational leadership experience includes roles at Lafayette Mining Philippines, Fox Resource's Radio Hill, Citic Pacific's Sino Iron Project and Saracen Metals' Thunderbox Mine. Known for his practical and innovative mine design solutions, Matthew leads by example with a hands-on management style, building diverse and high-performing teams to execute plans. A Fellow of the AusIMM, Matthew holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland and a Western Australian and Queensland First Class Mine Managers Certificate of Competency. Appointment Letter Commencing 1 November 2024, Mr Antill will be appointed to the Board (as Managing Director) of Besra's Malaysian operating subsidiary, North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd. As Managing Director of North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd, Mr Antill will report to the Board of Besra, be remunerated at A$400,000 per annum (plus superannuation), and serve a three-month probationary period. Subject to the satisfactory completion of Matthew's probationary period, he (or his nominee) will be entitled to be allotted 1.2 million Besra performance rights to be issued on the terms and conditions set out in Schedule 1 (also refer to Appendix 3B of today's date). All other terms and conditions of Mr Antill's appointment letter is considered standard for an agreement of this nature. Kenny Lee (Executive Director) authorised the release of this announcement. Michael Higginson Company Secretary Schedule 1: Terms of Performance Rights Subject to the satisfactory completion of Mr Antill's Probationary Period, the Performance Rights to be granted by Besra Gold Inc (Company or Besra) to Matthew Antill, or his nominee (Holder), will be granted on the terms and conditions set out below and as detailed in Annexure 1 (collectively the Terms): (a)Classes of Performance Rights The following classes of Performance Rights will be granted by Besra on and subject to these Terms: (i) Class A Performance Rights; (ii) Class B Performance Rights; and (iii) Class C Performance Rights. (b)Vesting (i) Subject to these terms, a Performance Right automatically vests in the Holder upon satisfaction of the: the Performance Hurdle for that class of Performance Rights as outlined in Annexure 1 ( Performance Hurdle ) being achieved or otherwise satisfied; and if that Performance Rights (or the CHESS Depository Interests in the capital of the Company (CDIs) to be issued on vesting of the same) is classified by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as a "restricted security" subject to ASX imposed escrow restrictions, the expiry of those escrow restrictions. (ii) If a Performance Hurdle for a class of Performance Rights is not achieved, that class of Performance Rights will not vest, subject to these Terms. (iii) The Company's determination as to whether a Performance Hurdle has been achieved is final. (iv) Satisfaction or achievement of the Performance Hurdle is to be determined in relation to each class of Performance Rights, subject to these Terms. (c)Expiry and forfeiture Each Performance Right that has not vested will automatically: (i) lapse and terminate at midnight on the last day by which the Performance Hurdle for that class of Performance Rights must be achieved; and (ii) lapse and be forfeited if the Holder ceases to be the Managing Director of North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd. (d)Transfer and encumbrances (i) A Performance Right is not transferrable. (ii) The Holder must not grant or permit any security interest or other encumbrances over a Performance Right. (e)Quotation of Performance Rights Besra will not apply to the ASX for official quotation of any class of Performance Right. (f)Quotation of CDIs Upon vesting, Besra will apply to the ASX for official quotation of the CDIs. (g)New issues The Holder is not entitled to participate in any new issue of securities made by Besra to its shareholders or CDI holders unless the Holder's Performance Rights (or any of them) have vested and CDIs have been issued to the Holder before the record date for determining entitlements to the new issue of securities. (h)Participation in entitlements and bonus issues A Performance Right does not entitle a Holder (in their capacity as a holder of a Performance Right) to participate in new issues of capital offered to Besra shareholders or CDI holders, such as a bonus issue or an entitlement issue. (i)Reorganisation (i) If there is a reorganisation (including consolidation, sub-division, reduction or return) of the Share capital of Besra, then the rights of the Holder in relation to each class of Performance Rights held by the Holder will be changed to the extent necessary to comply with the ASX Listing Rules applying to a reorganisation of capital at the time of the reorganisation. (ii) Any calculations or adjustments which are required to be made in relation to paragraph (i) above will be made by Besra's Board of Directors and will, in the absence of manifest error, be final and conclusive and binding on Besra and the Holder. (iii) Besra must, within a reasonable period of a reorganisation in relation to paragraph (i) above occurring, give to the Holder notice of any change to the number of CDIs which the Holder will be entitled to receive pursuant to any Performance Rights then held by the Holder. (j)Issue of Entitlement (i) Within 10 days of the satisfaction a Performance Hurdle, Besra will issue to the Holder that number of CDIs as set in Annexure 1 or that number of CDIs as has been advised pursuant to paragraph (i)(iii) above. (ii) Subject to Besra's constitution, all CDIs issued in relation to an entitlement pursuant to a class of Performance Rights will rank in all respects (including rights relating to dividends) equally with the CDIs as at the date of issue. (k)Amendments required by ASX The Terms may be amended as necessary by Besra's Board of Directors in order to comply with the ASX Listing Rules (if applicable), or any directions of ASX (if applicable) regarding the Terms, provided that, subject to compliance with the ASX Listing Rules, the economic and other rights of the Holder are not diminished or terminated following such amendment. (l)Governing law The Terms and the rights and obligations of the Holder are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. The Holder irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia in this respect. ANNEXURE 1 Class Performance Hurdle Entitlement Class A Performance Right Within 18 months of the Commencement Date, the completion of a fully executed definitive feasibility study for the Company's Jugan Gold Project. 400,000 Class A Performance Rights Class B Performance Right Within 24 months of the Commencement Date, the execution by either Besra or the Company of an Engineering, Procurement and Construction agreement for the development of the Company's Jugan Gold Project. 400,000 Class B Performance Rights Class C Performance Right Within 36 months of the Commencement Date, the definition at the Company's Bau Gold Project of a JORC Resource of 5,000,000 ounces of contained gold reported at or above 0.5 grams per tonne. 400,000 Class C Performance Rights To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218538 SOURCE: Besra Gold Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - Sixty North Gold Mining Ltd. (CSE: SXTY) (FSE: 2F40) (OTC Pink: SXNTF) (the "Company" or "Sixty North Gold") Sixty North Gold is pleased to announce that the exercise of 678,000 - $0.18 warrants brought $122,040 into the Company in July. Operationally, the newly reported DD-Zone is exposed for 12 m in the 3m x 4m Main Ramp where it averages 1.2 m in width within intense pink altered metasedimentary rocks of the Burwash Formation. Historic diamond drilling extends this vein 40 m up to surface and along strike for 100m where it remains open to the south. An estimated 13,000 tonnes of this gold-bearing vein is located above the ramp elevation to surface. Samples from the West Limb of the A-Zone and the DD-Zone have been submitted for assay at independent certified laboratories in late July and the results will help guide development plans. Advances along the crosscut 970 XCE are expected to intersect the east limb of the A-Zone within two weeks (see Plan View of Mon Underground Development below). Plan View of Mon Underground Development - August 1, 2024 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5873/218537_planviewimage.jpg The Company has completed a geotechnical drill program and has installed thermistors in compliance with its operational licenses. Dr. Dave Webb, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geol., President & CEO, Director stated, "We are pleased existing shareholders have exercised their warrants. These funds will help the Company advance development of the Mon Gold Mine. We have exposed one of the two principal gold-bearing structures in the A-Zone and expect to hit the second exposure shortly. We also exposed an additional gold-bearing vein in the DD-Zone that was not expected. Bulk sample material can be extracted from the DD-Zone and West Limb and have pending assay results. The two limbs of the A-Zone can each be developed to the north and south providing us with four faces for development." Dr. D.R. Webb Ph.D., P.Geol., P.Eng. is the Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is responsible for the technical details of this release. About the Company The Company is developing mining operations for gold on its 100%-owned Mon Gold Property, 40 km north of Yellowknife, NWT. Past production of the A Zone extracted 15,000 tonnes at 30 gpt gold from this vein (Company Technical Report, August 3, 2023, author Dr. D. R. Webb, Ph.D., P.Geol., P.Eng., available on SEDAR or https://sixtynorthgold.com/projects/technical-report/). The Yellowknife gold camp hosts two mines that averaged 30 gpt gold or better (Discovery and Sixty North Gold's Mon Mine), and two that averaged 15 gpt or better for a total production of over 14 million ounces of gold (Con Min and Giant Mine) (ref. Sixty North Gold NI 43-101, August, 2023). For more information, please refer to the Company's public filings available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), under the Company's profile. Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Further details about the risks applicable to the Company are contained in the Company's public filings available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), under the Company's profile. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218537 SOURCE: Sixty North Gold Mining Ltd. SAO PAULO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartKargo, the technology company that brings airlines into the age of e-commerce, and Azul Cargo Express, a subsidiary of Azul Brazilian Airlines, celebrate their success and ongoing collaboration that has revolutionized the e-commerce package delivery industry in Brazil. The two companies have been long-term partners, working together to drive innovation and efficiency in the logistics sector. Since its inception as the cargo division of Azul Brazilian Airlines, Azul Cargo Express has rapidly positioned itself as a leader in logistics solutions, especially within the burgeoning e-commerce sector. According to Abhi Shah, President of Azul Airlines, central to this success has been the "Strategic adoption of SmartKargo's advanced cloud-based technology, which has enabled Azul Cargo Express to streamline operations, optimize Booking, inventory and visibility, deliver superior customer service and drive revenue." Olivier Houri, CRO of SmartKargo, stated, "Azul is a phenomenal partner that shares our innovation DNA and focuses on the customers." Azul Cargo Express has witnessed a remarkable growth trajectory, with a consistent annual increase in package delivery volume averaging between 30-35%. This growth has been fueled by the rapid expansion of e-commerce in Brazil and Azul Cargo Express's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet customer demands. In November of last year, Azul Cargo Express set a record by handling over 2 million packages, reflecting the robustness of its strategic initiatives and the effectiveness of the SmartKargo platform. This achievement underscores the growing demand for e-commerce and customers' trust in Azul Cargo Express's logistics solutions. Azul Cargo Express delivers e-commerce packages for Amazon, and, with Prime Day last week, increased their volume by over 45% with great efficiency and customer satisfaction. The extension of the SmartKargo contract for another 5 year is a testament to the successful partnership and shared vision of innovation and growth. Azul Cargo Express is poised to lead the way in efficient and reliable logistics solutions, driving customer satisfaction and market growth in the competitive e-commerce landscape. About SmartKargo: SmartKargo empowers airlines and small package shippers with the technology platform to leverage the speed only an airline can provide. Whether it's a cargo company shipping from Miami to Bogota, or a retailer looking to send a package from New York to Los Angeles - SmartKargo is the innovative solution that enables shippers to battle the status quo. With deep expertise in air cargo, technology, and e-commerce, SmartKargo enables airlines to open new revenue streams through e-commerce package shipping and delivery. SmartKargo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with key offices in India, the Philippines, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and Canada. For more information, visit www.smartkargo.com. About Azul Airlines: Azul Cargo Express, the logistics unit of Azul Linhas Aereas, has its business model in express parcels and cargo shipments, taking advantage of the capacity of Azul's airline network. Today, the Azul Cargo Express network has over 300 stores in Brazil and abroad, offering "door to door" service to over 4,200 Brazilian cities, besides the entire territory of the USA and Portugal. The services offered include critical parcels, B2C distribution for e-commerce, parcels at economical rates, and palletized cargo in the global market. For more information, visit https://ri.voeazul.com.br. CONTACT:Ed Burek, edward@smartkargo.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2330150/SK_color_logo_for_PR_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473214/Azul_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/azul-cargo-express-celebrates-its-relationship-with-smartkargo-driving-continued-growth-and-innovation-in-e-commerce-delivery-302212472.html CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Single Use Bioreactors Market is expected to grow from USD 4.4 billion in 2024 to USD 9.1 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 15.4%. The single-use bioreactors (SUBs) market is driven by factors such as the growing adoption of single-use technologies by SMEs, CDMOs, and CMOs, the benefits of SUBs over traditional stainless-steel bioreactors, and the expanding biologics and biosimilars market. These bioreactors are favored for their lower capital investment, reduced water and energy consumption, and flexibility. However, challenges such as leachables and extractables issues, regulatory hurdles, and PFAS restrictions may impact growth. The market is bolstered by opportunities in hybrid facilities, which combine single-use and traditional systems for cost efficiency and flexibility. Despite these advantages, concerns about the potential breakage of single-use bags, which can lead to contamination and significant financial losses, pose challenges. In 2023, single-use bioreactor systems and stirred-tank bioreactors dominated the market, with North America leading regional markets due to its strong biopharmaceutical R&D presence. Key players include Sartorius AG, Danaher Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Merck KGaA. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=49113750 Browse in-depth TOC on "Single Use Bioreactors Market" 572 - Tables 58 - Figures 442 - Pages Sartorius AG: Leading Provider of Single-Use Bioreactor Solutions Sartorius AG is a prominent player in the single-use bioreactors market, catering to biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies, CMOs, and CROs. The company stands out for its comprehensive range of customer-centric, technology-driven solutions and significant investments in R&D. Its extensive product lineup, which includes high-quality single-use bioreactors, is a key factor in its growing market share. Sartorius AG's robust global presence and ongoing expansion in both developed and emerging markets position it for continued growth in the single-use bioreactors sector during the forecast period. Danaher Corporation: Key Innovator in Single-Use Bioreactors Danaher Corporation, through its subsidiary Cytiva, offers advanced cell culture, filtration, separation, and purification technologies for the medical, biopharmaceutical, and food & beverage industries. Its strong portfolio of single-use bioreactor solutions makes it a leading player in the market. Danaher's bioprocessing technologies facilitate the development and commercialization of drugs, plasma, and vaccines, underscoring its significant role in the single-use bioreactors market. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.: Comprehensive Single-Use Bioreactor Solutions Provider Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. provides a broad range of single-use bioreactor products, effectively addressing diverse market needs. As a leading market player, Thermo Fisher leverages its extensive product offerings and strong market presence to influence trends and customer preferences. Continuous investment in R&D enables the company to stay at the cutting edge of technological advancements, addressing emerging challenges and opportunities in bioprocessing. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=49113750 Product Segmentation: Single-Use Bioreactor Systems Lead the Market In 2023, the single-use bioreactors market is divided into several product categories: single-use bioreactor systems, single-use media bags, single-use assemblies, and other products (such as single-use vessels, sensors, tubing, connectors, software, control systems, and probes). The single-use bioreactor systems segment held the largest market share due to their lower initial investment requirements, reduced operational costs from simplified processes, and minimal environmental impact thanks to recyclable components. These advantages have significantly boosted the adoption of single-use bioreactor systems in biopharmaceutical applications. Type Segmentation: Stirred-Tank Bioreactors Dominate The single-use bioreactors market is segmented by type into stirred-tank, wave-induced, bubble-column, and other bioreactors (including hybrid designs and bioreactors with vertically perforated discs). In 2023, stirred-tank bioreactors represented the largest segment. Known for their versatility and scalability, stirred-tank bioreactors are extensively used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Their impeller-driven design ensures even distribution of gases and nutrients, making them ideal for producing recombinant proteins, vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies. Molecule Type Segmentation: Monoclonal Antibodies Lead The single-use bioreactors market is also segmented by molecule type into monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), vaccines, stem cells, gene-modified cells, and therapeutic proteins & peptides. In 2023, the monoclonal antibodies segment had the largest share, driven by the expanding pharmaceutical R&D pipeline, increasing cancer incidence, and rising demand for cancer therapies. Cell Type Segmentation: Mammalian Cells Prevail In terms of cell types, the market is divided into mammalian cells, bacterial cells, yeast cells, and other cells (such as insect and plant cells). The mammalian cells segment held the largest market share in 2023. This is due to the widespread use of mammalian cells in bioprocessing, known for their sophisticated metabolic functions, which drive the segment's growth. Application Segmentation: Bioproduction Leads The market is segmented by application into bioproduction, process development, and research & development (R&D). The bioproduction segment accounted for the largest share in 2023, attributed to the growing use of single-use bioreactors in biomanufacturing, increased regulatory approvals for biopharmaceuticals, the rise of biosimilars, and patent expirations of blockbuster drugs. End-User Segmentation: Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies Dominate Based on end users, the market is segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, contract research organizations (CROs) & contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), and academic & research institutes. The pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment was the largest in 2023 due to heightened R&D activities and increased production of biologics and biosimilars. Regional Insights: North America and Asia Pacific Lead The market is divided by region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. In 2023, North America held the largest market share, followed by Europe. North America's substantial market share is driven by the presence of major players and growing demand for personalized medicine and biologics. Meanwhile, the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to experience the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR), fueled by the rising demand for biosimilars, expanding biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacities, and a growing contract manufacturing sector. For more information, inquire now! Inquire Now Related Reports: Single Use Bioprocessing Market Biologics Safety Testing Market Single Use Assemblies Market Sterile Filtration Market Bioprocess Containers Market Get access to the latest updates on Single Use Bioreactors Companies and Single Use Bioreactors Market Share About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/single-use-bioreactors-market-worth-9-1-billion-by-2029-driven-by-rising-tech-innovations--marketsandmarkets-302212061.html WESTFORD, Mass., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to SkyQuest, the global Regenerative Medicine Market size was valued at USD 9.59 Billion in 2022 and is poised to grow from USD 12.2 Billion in 2023 to USD 83.6 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 27.2% in the forecast period (2024-2031). With regenerative medicine, congenital abnormalities are fixed and organs and tissues destroyed by illness, aging, or trauma can be restored or replaced. Regenerative medicine expedites patient healing compared to conventional therapy. As more investors back start-up businesses that concentrate on creating cutting-edge goods and therapies for the market, more R&D projects have been completed due to rise in investment in this sector. Research mergers and collaborations have benefited from this. The development of efficient treatment options for a range of chronic illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease, is facilitated by government investments in this sector. Download a detailed overview: https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/regenerative-medicine-market Regenerative Medicine Market Overview: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $12.2 Billion Estimated Value by 2031 $83.6 Billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 27.2% Forecast Period 2024-2031 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product, Therapeutic Area, Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Report Highlights Use of regenerative medicines and its benefits in treating range of illnesses Key Market Opportunities Government initiatives in support of reproduction medicines Key Market Drivers Increase in R&D spending that produces innovative product launches Segments covered in Regenerative Medicine Market are as follows: Product Cell Therapy (Stem Cell Therapy {Cell transplantations, Stem cell therapy products [Autologous therapy, Allogeneic therapy]}, Cell-based Immunotherapy), Gene Therapy, and Tissue Engineering Therapeutic Area Oncology, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Dermatology & Wound Care, Cardiovascular Diseases, Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Others Request Free Customization of this report: https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/regenerative-medicine-market Cell Therapy: Pioneering the Future of Healing The market leader in regenerative medicine, cell therapy, with a revenue share of over 56% and is expected to stay that way for the duration of the forecast. Primary cell-based therapies are the most advanced drugs on the market right now since they offer a range of therapeutic uses and early clinical applications. The market for stem cell and progenitor cell-based therapeutics is growing due to significant investments made in stem cell research and changes to laws that permit their use in clinical settings. In the regenerative medicine sector, the gene therapy market is growing at the fastest rate in terms of products, nevertheless. The precise repair of genetic defects made possible by developments in gene technology such as CRISPR-Cas-9 facilitates segmental expansion. It offers long-term treatments for conditions including hemophilia and muscular dystrophy, among others. The market is expanding more rapidly due to higher gene therapy spending. Regenerative medicine is being advanced by major technology providers that provide engineering, characterization, manufacturing, quality control, management, and other facilities for clinical trials and other research. Due to this, the service sector is expected to expand rapidly due to an increase in regenerative treatment research and clinical trials. View report summary and Table of Contents (TOC): https://www.skyquestt.com/report/regenerative-medicine-market Oncology is driving the Regenerative Medicine Industry due to rise in the prevalence of cancer globally Oncology represents the largest therapeutic area in the regenerative medicine industry, accounting for around 16.8% of total revenue due to the high frequency of application of regenerative therapies in this field. Effective alternatives to cancer treatment have been introduced due to rise in the incidence of cancer. Large sums of money have been invested in cancer R&D of innovative and regenerative cell therapies by several governmental agencies and commercial enterprises. Moreover, global initiatives are anticipated to reduce the cancer burden that would fuel market growth. The area of regenerative medicine that is growing the fastest is musculoskeletal issues. As musculoskeletal disorders are becoming more common, a wide selection of products should increase the musculoskeletal segment's revenue. The field of regenerative medicine has advanced more quickly since the introduction of effective treatments such as stem cells and tissue engineering, which enable tissues to mend and regain their functional strength. This population can receive and benefit from cell- and regenerative-based therapy. Throughout the embryonic period, several unique routes encourage tissue engineering. These include using biomaterials and drug delivery methods to affect cell division and to stimulate and regulate the immune system. R&D methods in dermatology have been raised by an increase in the complexity of the wound healing process in serious conditions such as diabetes and HIV. The regenerative medicine market has experienced significant growth in several domains, including cell therapy and oncology, due to the products' increasing demand and diverse range of applications. These advancements have the power to fundamentally rethink therapy strategies, offering patients new hope and ground-breaking chances for medical study. Related Report: Precision Medicine Market Nuclear Medicine Market Stem Cell Therapy Market Cell Therapy Market Compression Therapy Market About Us: SkyQuest is an IP focused Research and Investment Bank and Accelerator of Technology and assets. We provide access to technologies, markets and finance across sectors viz. Life Sciences, CleanTech, AgriTech, NanoTech and Information & Communication Technology. We work closely with innovators, inventors, innovation seekers, entrepreneurs, companies and investors alike in leveraging external sources of R&D. Moreover, we help them in optimizing the economic potential of their intellectual assets. Our experiences with innovation management and commercialization has expanded our reach across North America, Europe, ASEAN and Asia Pacific. Contact: Mr. Jagraj Singh SkyQuest Technology 1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886 USA (+1) 351-333-4748 Email: sales@skyquestt.com Visit Our Website: https://www.skyquestt.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2446095/SkyQuest_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/regenerative-medicine-market-is-estimated-to-register-a-cagr-of-27-2-by-2031--attributed-to-rise-in-investments-in-rd-to-innovate-product-launches--skyquest-technology-302212223.html Expansion into emerging markets with growing agricultural sectors offers significant opportunities for increased phosphate fertilizer demand and market growth. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global phosphates market is estimated to ascend at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2024 to 2034. Transparency Market Research projects that the overall sales revenue for phosphates is estimated to reach US$ 109.5 billion by the end of 2034. A notable trend is the increasing investment in research and development to create more efficient and tailored phosphate fertilizers. Companies are focusing on developing specialized products that cater to specific soil types and crop needs, optimizing nutrient absorption and enhancing yield quality. Biological alternatives to traditional phosphate fertilizers are emerging as another key trend. These bio-based fertilizers utilize natural processes and organisms to improve soil health and nutrient availability, offering a more environmentally friendly option for farmers. This trend aligns with the increasing demand for organic farming practices and products. Request a PDF Sample of this Report Now! https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1424 There is a noticeable shift towards digitalization in the phosphates market. Companies are leveraging big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence to monitor soil health, predict nutrient needs, and optimize fertilizer application. This digital transformation enhances decision-making and operational efficiency, ultimately contributing to better crop outcomes and sustainable agricultural practices. Key Findings of the Market Report Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is the leading type segment in the phosphates market, favored for its high nutrient content and effectiveness. Agriculture is the leading application segment in the phosphates market, driven by the crucial role of phosphate fertilizers in enhancing crop yields. Asia Pacific is the leading region segment in the phosphates market, driven by robust agricultural activities and rising food demand. Phosphates Market Growth Drivers & Trends Increasing population and food security concerns drive the need for phosphate fertilizers to enhance crop yields and agricultural productivity. Growing emphasis on eco-friendly farming encourages the development and adoption of phosphate-based fertilizers with lower environmental impact. Advances in production and application technologies improve the efficiency and effectiveness of phosphate fertilizers, boosting market growth. Supportive agricultural policies and subsidies promote the use of phosphates, particularly in developing regions, stimulating market expansion. The growth of livestock farming increases demand for feed phosphates, essential for animal nutrition and overall health, driving market growth. Unlock Growth Potential in Your Industry! Download PDF Brochure: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1424 Global Phosphates Market: Regional Profile Dominated by The Mosaic Company and Nutrien, this region benefits from advanced agricultural practices and strong demand for high-quality fertilizers. The focus is on sustainable production and efficient resource utilization to meet stringent environmental regulations. Europe's phosphate market is driven by the need for sustainable agriculture and strict environmental policies. Companies like Yara International and EuroChem lead with innovative, eco-friendly products. The region's emphasis on organic farming and reducing chemical inputs shapes the market landscape. Asia Pacific region experiences robust growth due to increasing food demand, driven by population growth and rising incomes. China and India are key players, with significant phosphate reserves and expanding production capacities. The market is marked by investments in modernizing agricultural practices and improving crop yields, with companies like OCP and PhosAgro actively participating. Phosphates Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period? 2024-2034 Base Year? 2020-2022 Size in 2023 US$ 41.4 Bn Forecast (Value) in 2034 US$ 109.5 Bn Growth Rate (CAGR) 3.2 % No. of Pages 285 Pages Segments covered By Type, By Application, By Region Phosphates Market: Competitive Landscape The phosphates market is fiercely competitive, driven by key players like The Mosaic Company, OCP, and Nutrien. These industry leaders are continually innovating to enhance product quality and sustainability. Companies compete on multiple fronts, including production capacity, technological advancements, and global distribution networks. Emerging players from regions with rich phosphate reserves, like Morocco and China, are intensifying the competition. The push towards sustainable agriculture and environmental regulations is prompting firms to develop eco-friendly products. Strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions are common as companies seek to expand their market share and strengthen their global presence in this dynamic industry. Some prominent players are as follows: The Mosaic Company OCP Aliphos ICL Group Ltd. Nutrien Ltd. Prayon Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. PhosAgro EuroChem Group Kazphosphate LLP Ma'aden Sinochem Yunlong Co. Ltd. Sichuan Blue Sword Chemical (Group) Co. Ltd. Yara Phosphea Aditya Birla Chemicals Coromandel International Innophos Budenheim Product Portfolio The Mosaic Company offers a comprehensive portfolio of high-quality phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Their products support agricultural productivity worldwide, ensuring optimal plant health and robust yields. Mosaic's innovative solutions cater to the diverse needs of modern farming, promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Aliphos delivers premium feed phosphates for the animal nutrition industry. Their product range, including dicalcium phosphate and monocalcium phosphate, ensures optimal animal health and growth. Aliphos prioritizes quality, sustainability, and innovation to meet the nutritional needs of livestock and poultry. Phosphates Market: Key Segments By Type Ammonium Phosphate Monoammonium Phosphate Diammonium Phosphate Triammonium Phosphate Trihydrate Calcium Phosphate Monocalcium Phosphate Dicalcium Phosphate Tricalcium Phosphate Others Potassium Phosphate Monopotassium Phosphate Dipotassium Phosphate Tripotassium Phosphate Others Magnesium Phosphate Monomagnesium Phosphate Dimagnesium Phosphate Trimagnesium Phosphate Sodium Phosphate Disodium Phosphate Trisodium Phosphate Sodium Hexametaphosphate Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate Others Single Super Phosphate Triple Super Phosphate Iron Phosphate Others (including Rubidium Phosphate) By Application Building & Construction Agriculture Animal Feed Personal Care Water Treatment Cleansers/Detergents Food & Beverages Dairy Bakery & Confectioneries Poultry & Meat Others Pharmaceuticals Others By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow Court Extends Pretrial Detention Of French National Accused Of Spying By RFE/RL July 31, 2024 Russian state news media reported on July 31 that the Zamoskvorechye district court in Moscow extended the pretrial detention of French researcher Laurent Vinatier, who Russian investigators have said pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining information about the Russian military. The 48-year-old French national was arrested in Moscow in early June over the alleged spying and for purportedly failing to register as a "foreign agent." He said at a hearing on July 31 where the court extended his detention until September 5 that his Russian visa had expired. Vinatier's lawyers asked the court to transfer their client to house arrest or release him on bail. Vinatier is an adviser who works for the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a nonprofit conflict-resolution organization, and "travels regularly for his work," according to the group. HD said it was "doing everything possible to assist" and get legal representation for Vinatier, and was "reaching out to relevant governmental authorities." Radio France International reported earlier that HD acknowledged Vinatier had not registered as a foreign agent because he was unaware of such an obligation. Russia has long used its foreign agent laws to jail perceived domestic and international enemies and critics. But it has stepped up detentions of Westerners under those and other charges since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. A foreign agent conviction can result in a five-year prison sentence. In some cases -- including one against jailed RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva that Washington has said is to punish journalism -- allegations concerning Russia's military amid what Moscow calls a "special military operation" against Ukraine have accompanied the foreign agent charge. The Russian Investigative Committee alleged publicly that the information Vinatier gathered "could be used against state security." It has not given details on the information. With reporting by Interfax, TASS, and Radio France International Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/laurent-vinatier-french- national-pretrial-detention-extended-moscow-court/33058193.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Lawmakers OK Bill Obliging Naturalized Citizens To Register For Military By RFE/RL's Russian Service July 31, 2024 The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, on July 31 approved in all three readings a bill that obliges naturalized Russian citizens to go through military registration. According to the bill, naturalized citizens who fail to register will be deprived of their Russian passports. Since January, police raids on labor migrants from Central Asia have increased across Russia. In some cases, detained labor migrants have been forcibly brought to military enlistment centers where they were forced to sign contracts for deployment in Ukraine. The bill now must be approved by the parliament's upper chamber, the Federation Council, and signed by the president. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-naturalization- military-registration-ukraine-war/33057937.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Location Of Russian Prisoners Whelan, Kara-Murza Unknown; Other Inmates Also Incommunicado By RFE/RL July 31, 2024 Lawyers for several high-profile prisoners being held in Russian correctional facilities have added their clients' names to a growing list of inmates whose whereabouts are unknown. Olga Karlova, a lawyer for former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison term on espionage charges that he and Washington reject, said on July 31 that she does not know her client's location and authorities at the prison in Russia's Mordovia where Whelan is incarcerated have ignored requests to confirm whether he is at the penitentiary. Karlova added that she lost contact with her client several days ago and has asked the Public Monitoring Commission rights group to help locate him. Just hours after Whalen's disappearance was made public, the lawyer of opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza said he was not allowed to enter correctional colony No. 6 in the Siberian city of Omsk to see his client, who last year was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison on treason and other charges he calls trumped up. Vadim Prokhorov said he has no idea about Kara-Murza's exact whereabouts, while lawyers for journalist Maria Ponomarenko, who is serving a six-year prison term in Siberia over her public condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said they too lost contact with their client. In all, at least seven high-profile prisoners in Russia have reportedly disappeared and are thought to be being moved from the facilities where they were serving sentences. Though officials have not commented, the situation has sparked speculation that preparations may be under way for a prisoner swap with the West. A day earlier, it became known that another opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, who is serving an 8 1/2-year prison term for his criticism of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, had been unexpectedly transferred to an unknown location from correctional colony No. 3 in the western Smolensk region. Yashin's lawyer, Tatyana Solomina, was cited by his supporters on Telegram as saying on July 30 that her client's current location was not known. Others to have gone missing include Kevin Lik, a 19-year-old man from Russia's North Caucasus region of Adygea who was sentenced to four years in prison on a treason charge in December and unexpectedly transferred from a penitentiary in the northwestern region of Arkhangelsk. Earlier this week, relatives, supporters, and lawyers of four other imprisoned activists -- former chiefs of late opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's teams in Bashkortostan and Novosibirsk, Lilia Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeyeva, veteran human rights defender Oleg Orlov, and anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko -- said they had been also unexpectedly transferred from prisons or detention centers to other unspecified penitentiaries and kept incommunicado since then. Only Skolichenko's supporters were informed that she was transferred to an unidentified penitentiary in Moscow. The destinations of the other three remain unknown. Human rights groups have criticized Russian regulations with regard to the treatment of convicts, whose whereabouts can be kept under wraps during the period they are transferred from one penitentiary to another, a process known as "etap." Etap involves trains with caged compartments specifically designed for prisoners, who are provided with little fresh air, no showers, and only limited access to food or a toilet. The transfers can take days, weeks, or even months as the trains stop and convicts spend time in transit prisons. Convicts almost always face humiliation, beatings, and sometimes even death at the hands of their guards. Whelan, 54, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 on espionage charges and given a 16-year prison sentence in May 2020 following a trial that was condemned by the United States as a "mockery of justice." He is one of more than 10 U.S. citizens who are currently being controversially held in Russian jails and prisons, accused or convicted on charges ranging from drug possession and theft to treason and espionage. In many cases, the charges against these Americans, including The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich and RFE/RL's Alsu Kurmasheva, are widely seen as trumped up or transparently political. Some of the sentences far exceed what legal experts say would be normal. With reporting by RFE/RL's North.Realities Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/paul-whelan-former-marine- espionage-whereabouts-unknown/33057827.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov holds talks with President-elect and Minister of Defence of Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto 31.07.2024 Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov held talks with President-elect and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto They discussed current status and prospects for developing Russia-Indonesia bilateral cooperation in the field of defence. 'We consider Indonesia as one of the most important partners of Russia in Asia-Pacific,' the Russian Defence Minister stated. Andrei Belousov recalled that amicable relations between Russia and Indonesia have marked the 74th anniversary this year. This fact provides a solid foundation for developing cooperation between the armies of the two countries.'The priority is given to the joint operational and combat training. In particular, to naval manoeuvres. We are expecting Indonesian observers and military to join exercises on the territory of the Russia Federation'. 'We highly assess the effective work we are doing in a multilateral format at the ADMM-Plus level and we are interested in continuing this work in the future,' the Defence Minister said. The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation expressed confidence that the meeting would strengthen inter-departmental ties, add impetus for new initiatives and further work on developing mutually beneficial cooperation. The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation also congratulated his Indonesian counterpart on victory in the presidential election. 'This event is an evidence of high trust towards you from the people of Indonesia,' Andrei Belousov noted. In response, Prabowo Subianto thanked the Russian Defence Minister for the opportunity to meet and thanked the Russian Federation for its cooperation. 'Russia has always helped Indonesia, and we will never forget it,' Prabowo Subianto noted. Department for Media Affairs and Information NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Vietnamese warship Tran Hung Dao leaves Vladivostok port 31.07.2024 The frigate Tran Hung Dao of the Vietnam Socialist Republic Navy left the Pacific Fleet main base after completing the business call. Supervised by Commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of Mixed Forces Rear Admiral Aleksey Sysuyev of the Pacific fleet, the farewell ceremony for the sailors was held on the shore. The Russian and Vietnamese servicemen celebrated the Russian Navy Day during the stay of the frigate Tran Hung Dao. Moreover, an excursion and a visit of the Pacific Fleet museum were organised. The business call took place from 24 to 31 July. For reference: The frigate Tran Hung Dao was built at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard Aleksey Gorky under the project 11661E 'Gepard-3.9'. Launched on 27 April 2016 and delivered by the transport vessel Rolldock Star to the Vietnamese naval base of Cam Ranh on 27 October 2017. This is the third of four frigates built for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pacific Fleet flagship guards missile cruiser Varyag and frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov arrive at Oman Salalah port 31.07.2024 The Pacific Fleet surface action group comprising the missile cruiser Varyag of the Nakhimov order and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov arrived at the Sultanate of Oman Salalah port in the Arabian sea. The ships will replenish food and water supplies and the crews are planned to have a tour around the city during the stay. The business call at the port of Salalah will continue till the tasks are performed by the crews during the long-range voyage. The surface action group recently crossed the Gulf of Aden. The long-range voyage of the Pacific Fleet's ships began on 22 January 2024. The ships had business calls at the ports of India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Qatar, and Eritrea. Press Service of the Eastern Military District NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian troops launch third stage of non-strategic nuclear forces exercises 31.07.2024 The? third stage of non-strategic nuclear forces exercise commences in accordance with the decision of Russian President. During the exercise, a set of measures will be taken to prepare the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons. During this stage, personnel of the Southern and Central military districts are planned to train acquiring special training warheads for the Iskander operational-tactical missile systems, equipping launchers with it, and covertly advancing to the designated position areas for electronic missile launches. Military personnel of the Russian Aerospace Forces' units involved will train loading aircraft with special warheads to make sorties to the designated patrol areas. This stage is intended to maintain Russian military personnel and hardware of non-strategic nuclear units ready to perform the missions assigned. The first and second stages of the non-strategic nuclear forces involved drills of Southern and Leningrad military districts, Aerospace Forces and Navy to test their readiness to use non-strategic nuclear weapons. Department for Media Affairs and Information NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Baltic Fleet ships complete unofficial visit to Cuba 31.07.2024 The Baltic Fleet ship detachment of the frigate Neustrashimy, training ship Smolniy, and tanker Yelnya completed an unofficial visit to Havana port of the Republic of Cuba. The ship detachment of the Baltic Fleet completed the programme of the unofficial visit to the Havana. At the moment, the Baltic Fleet ships went to sea and set a course for the designated area of the Atlantic Ocean, where the detachment will continue to perform tasks according to its purpose. The ships of the Baltic Fleet stayed in the Cuban port from 27 July. During the visit to Havana, the Baltic Fleet sailors had an opportunity to rest from the voyage and performed maintenance of the ships. Moreover, the servicemen met with Cuban sailor, went on several tours around the city and got acquainted with the sightseeings of the Cuban capital. In addition, the sailors visited each others' mess decks. The training ship Smolniy and frigate Neustrashimy were open for residents and guests of Havana. After going to sea, the Baltic Fleet ships are to continue to perform tasks according to the plan of the long-distance voyage. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Expects to Continue Military Cooperation With CAR - Ambassador Sputnik News 20240731 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia expects to continue fruitful cooperation with the Central African Republic (CAR) in the military and military-technical spheres following the UN Security Council's decision to lift the arms embargo on the country, Russian Ambassador to Bangui Alexander Bikantov told Sputnik on Wednesday. "We count on the continuation of fruitful [military] cooperation in the interests of our states," Bikantov said. The Russian side considers the lifting of the arms embargo against the CAR a significant event for the African country, the ambassador said, adding that it will have a positive impact on strengthening the security and sovereignty of the CAR in the long term. Moscow is Bangui's main partner in the military and military-technical fields. However, there is no talk of new Russian deliveries of military products to the CAR at the moment, Bikantov said, adding that in case of the nation's requests, all of them will be considered promptly. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Launches Third Stage of Non-Strategic Nuclear Forces Drills Sputnik News 20240731 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has launched the third stage of the non-strategic nuclear forces drills, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "In accordance with the decision of the President of the Russian Federation, the third stage of the strategic nuclear forces exercise has begun. During the exercise, the issues of training units of the Russian armed forces for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons will be worked out," the statement read. The troops of the southern and central military districts during the third stage of the exercise of non-strategic nuclear forces will train obtaining special munitions and equipping them with Iskander-M missiles, advancing and preparing for launches, the ministry added. The drills are aimed at maintaining the readiness of the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons for combat missions, the ministry said. "The current stage of the exercise is aimed at maintaining the readiness of personnel and equipment of units of combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons of Russia to perform combat missions," the stateemnt read. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Analysts question if Russian political prisoner movements signal imminent swap By Liam Scott July 31, 2024 The movement inside Russia of several high-profile political prisoners in recent days is fueling speculation that a prisoner swap with Western countries may be close. Lawyers and relatives of at least eight individuals say they seem to have been moved from detention facilities across Russia. Those detained had been jailed for criticizing the Kremlin or spreading what Moscow views as false information about the Russian military. At the same time, legal action by Belarus and Slovenia on foreign nationals has added to speculation in Western media that a multicountry swap, potentially involving Russia, the United States and Germany, may be in the works. Among those detained in Russia whose location is currently unknown are former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan; British Russian activist and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who contributes to The Washington Post; and Liliya Chanysheva, who worked closely with late opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Whelan is serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges that he denies. His lawyer told the Interfax news agency she cannot contact him, adding, "There are rumors of a possible exchange." The Post reported late Wednesday that prison officials had confirmed Kara-Murza had been moved from a prison colony but would not say where he was taken. The columnist is serving a 25-year prison sentence after being accused of treason because he criticized Russia's war in Ukraine. While some analysts believe the disappearances may be a sign of an imminent prisoner swap, others, like Russia expert Keir Giles, are more skeptical. "We need to bear in mind that the people that we see reported are only the tip of the iceberg, and there are so many others that don't get that worldwide media attention," Giles, who works at the British think tank Chatham House, told VOA. "To be disappeared within the system for a period of days or weeks or even longer is not that unusual," Giles added. "It's hard to tell what within the Russian prison system is deliberate cruelty and what is simply the result of inefficiency and incompetence, but the net effect, of course, on the victims is exactly the same." Navalny, for instance, was abruptly moved in secret from a prison in central Russia to one above the Arctic Circle in December 2023. The move took 20 days, Giles said. The opposition leader died at the prison in February. Russia's Foreign Ministry and Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA's emails requesting comment for this story. Other political prisoners missing this past week include German Russian citizen Kevin Lik; opposition activist Ksenia Fadeeva; anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko; and critical politician Ilya Yashin. The online Russian media outlet Agenstvo reported that at least six special Russian government planes had flown to and from the regions where some of these prisoners were located. VOA could not immediately verify that. Their disappearances come on the heels of other developments. In Belarus on Tuesday, President Alexander Lukashenko unexpectedly pardoned Rico Krieger, a German who had been sentenced to death on terrorism charges. Belarus and Russia are close allies. And on Wednesday, a Slovenian court sentenced two Russians to time served for espionage and said they would be deported to Russia. Sergei Davidis doesn't think the timing can be a coincidence. He is the head of the Political Prisoners Support Program and a member of the board at the Russian human rights group Memorial. Memorial's co-chair, Oleg Orlov, is among the political prisoners to recently vanish. "It seems that there is no other reasonable explanation than expectations of some swap," Davidis told VOA from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin would need to pardon those involved in any potential swap as a formality. The Daily Beast reported that the swap would take place in Ankara, Turkey, and that a "second part" would potentially occur in Doha. Putin has previously signaled he would be willing to trade Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for a Russian man named Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident in Berlin. Gershkovich is one of two American journalists imprisoned in Russia. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva. Both were convicted in secret trials on July 19 on charges that are widely viewed as bogus. Russia state media, meanwhile, reported that four Russians jailed in the United States had disappeared from a database of prisoners that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons operates. It named them as Alexander Vinnik, Maxim Marchenko, Vadim Konoshchenko and Vladislav Klyushin. Commenting on remarks made by Putin earlier this year about a possible swap for Gershkovich, Giles said, "It is not a process that is pretending particularly hard to be legitimate. It's just a straightforward extortion." The United States and Russia have been engaging in prisoner swap negotiations for months. "The United States continues to be focused on working around the clock to work to get our wrongfully detained American citizens home," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told VOA at a Wednesday press briefing. When asked about any updates on a potential prisoner swap, Patel said he had no updates. Prisoner swaps are typically cloaked in secrecy. Although the U.S. government has previously faced criticism for exchanging legitimate Russian criminals for innocent Americans, hostage advocate Diane Foley maintained that it is Washington's duty to do everything it can to protect its citizens. "They need to have the moral clarity to recognize that their citizen's life is their responsibility. It's their responsibility to do all they can to prioritize that life," Foley told VOA. Foley founded the Foley Foundation after the abduction and killing in Syria of her son, American journalist James Foley, in 2014. She says the U.S. has made some improvements in assisting families, but the burden still largely falls on relatives whose loved ones are unjustly held abroad. Since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has cracked down hard on anything perceived as criticism of the Kremlin, leading to the arrests of scores of activists and journalists. In late 2023, rights group Memorial estimated there were nearly 1,000 political prisoners jailed in Russia. The biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War occurred in 2010 and included 14 people in total. Some information in this report came from Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan, China 'smoothly' wind up talks on fishermen killed off Kinmen Taipei says apology made to families of the dead, it will to exert its authority in waters it claims. By Shen Ke for RFA 2024.07.31 -- China and Taiwan "smoothly" concluded talks on the death of two Chinese fishermen near the Taiwanese-controlled island of Kinmen. Taiwan officials apologized to the bereaved families, a spokesperson for Taiwan said, while vowing that the island would exert its jurisdiction in waters it claims. The two fishermen were killed on Feb. 14 when their boat capsized after its crew refused an inspection by Taiwanese authorities who had spotted it in its "prohibited waters" around Kinmen, Taipei said. Two other crew members aboard the vessel from the Chinese province of Fujian survived and were eventually returned to China, but Taiwan retained the two bodies and the boat. China, which says Taiwan is its territory and does not recognize Taipei's claims of sovereignty, condemned the incident, saying it had stirred widespread outrage and later stepped up its patrols and military exercises near the island, while occasionally detaining Taiwanese fishing boats. Taiwan has maintained its policy of driving out Chinese fishing boats from what it sees as its prohibited waters around the island. "Concluded smoothly," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a release after the Tuesday talks with officials from China's Taiwan Affairs Office. Li Zhaohui - deputy director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in the Chinese city of Quanzhou and China's representative at the talks - confirmed that an agreement had been reached, Taiwan's Focus Taiwan media outlet quoted him as saying. Li said he hoped the "relevant parties in Taiwan" would honor the agreement and provide a resolution for the families. 'Regrets' Taiwan media has reported that Taiwan had agreed to pay out 1.5 million yuan (US$207,266) each in compensation for the two dead fishermen. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng said details of the agreement would not be released but entrepreneurs concerned about cross-strait relations had privately raised "humanitarian aid" for the families. He declined to identify who raised the funds or say how much. Chiu said the incident was an accident and had been "resolved through persistent communication and efforts" by both sides, adding that Taiwanese representatives had "repeatedly expressed our regrets, apologized and comforted the bereaved families for their suffering and loss of loved ones." The bodies of the dead fishermen had been returned to their families and the boat had also been sent back, he added. Taiwan would continue "to assert its jurisdiction and law enforcement authority in our waters," Chiu said, noting that the boat that capsized was unregistered. He called on both sides to strictly enforce prohibitions against such vessels to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The most effective way to prevent such incidents from developing into bigger conflict was by maintaining clear and open lines of communication, he said. Representatives of the families of the fishermen who died attended the talks. Kinmen is an outlying archipelago less than 10 km (6.2 miles) from China's Fujian province but more than 180 km (112 miles) from Taiwan's mainland. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content July not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan ROC Ministry of National Defense 2024/07/31 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1. Dateis 6 to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Tuesday to Wednesday, Jul. 30-31 2. PLA activitiesis 25 PLA aircraft, and 10 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 20 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern, and eastern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Outlines Plan For Ukraine's Economic Recovery And Increased Investment By Erin Osborne July 31, 2024 WASHINGTON -- U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker on July 31 outlined a five-step plan to make Ukraine's economy more attractive to private sector investment. "Ukraine is undertaking Europe's largest, most complex reconstruction and economic recovery ever since World War II," Pritzker said, speaking at a think tank in Washington following a visit to Kyiv on July 29. Pritzker cited a World Bank estimate from spring of this year that Ukraine's recovery will cost at least $486 billion, but she said this came out prior to the increased fighting in March and the summer. Pritzker said Ukraine's economy has shown resilience and growth in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion and expressed confidence that Ukraine "has economic greatness in its bones." She noted that in 2023, Ukrainian GDP grew 5 percent and tax revenue was up 25 percent. "We have helped the Ukrainians keep their economy going, tackle corruption, and increase private sector engagement," Pritzker said. "Through it all, we have worked with the Ukrainians to develop a long-term recovery framework -- a blueprint that I call Ukraine's Path to Prosperity." In the long-term, Pritzker said Ukraine needs to focus on attracting foreign investment. She said the international community should be encouraged by the fact that investments have increased 17 percent in Ukraine and there were over 37,000 new businesses registered in 2023. Pritzker said Ukraine's expansion is "proof of concept" that Ukraine's economy will succeed through the mining of critical minerals such as lithium and titanium and the development of the agricultural and defense industrial sectors. The defense industrial sector, which Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova described as "an inseparable part of Ukraine's success," has experienced record growth. Markarova, speaking at the same event, said Ukraine has increased metalworks production 27 percent, cable and fiber-optics production 101 percent, and dozens of new companies that develop drones and unmanned aerial vehicles have been founded since the war began. "The innovation-to-battlefield time is two weeks," Pritzker said, adding that U.S. innovators should try to learn from Ukrainian ingenuity. Pritzker said her plan is "ambitious but achievable" and modeled after the Marshall Plan, the U.S.-sponsored program to rebuild Europe after World War II. She described the Path to Prosperity plan as a "new economic model and social contract" that will strengthen Ukraine in the war while easing its economic future. The first step of the plan is to develop a body that plans and prioritizes reconstruction programs into a "single-project pipeline" which Pritzker said must integrate city, municipal, and regional priorities. Pritzker called this integration the "missing link in Ukraine's reconstruction." Next, Pritzker said Ukraine should "rapidly increase the number of shovel-ready projects" to prepare for investment and implementation. This is followed by the continuation of reform efforts. Pritzker said Ukraine must "keep up the momentum" on new asset declaration and anti-monopoly laws. She also said Ukraine should codify the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) database platform to monitor corruption and maintain transparency. Pritzker also said the world must marshal more funds for Ukraine. Ukraine needs a "runway to prevail in the war" supported by the international community, but that "justice requires that the reconstruction be largely underwritten by Russia," Pritzker said. Pritzker said the fifth and final step of her plan is that Ukrainians should return to their country to work when it is safe to do so. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-pritzker- reconstruction-economy-recovery/33058333.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskiy Calls For 'Bold' Decisions By Allies As Kyiv Repels 'Massive' Russian Drone Attack By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 31, 2024 Air-defense systems successfully repelled what officials called "the most massive attack of 2024" on the Ukrainian capital as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Kyiv's Western partners to make "bold decisions" and deliver enough resources that will allow Ukraine to fully protect its skies from Russian attacks. Ukraine's Air Force said on July 31 that its air defenses destroyed all 89 drones launched at the capital, as well as an X-59 guided missile, during an air-raid alert that lasted for more than seven hours. Russian drones attacked Kyiv in two waves coming from all directions. "This is one of the most massive drone attacks," the commander of Ukraine's Air Force, General Mykola Oleschuk, wrote on Telegram. The attack was the seventh launched on Kyiv this month, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said, adding that there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv. Zelenskiy, in a message on X, called the repelling of the attack "an important result" and proof that "Ukrainians can fully protect their skies from Russian strikes when they have sufficient resources." Zelenskiy reiterated his appeal to Ukraine's allies to keep sending the badly needed armaments to defend its cities and missiles that will allow it to strike deeper into Russia. "Sufficiently bold decisions by partners are needed -- enough anti-aircraft systems, enough long-range. And Ukrainians will do everything correctly and accurately," Zelenskiy wrote. Hours later there were reports that Ukraine has received the first F-16 fighter jets after pushing for them for more than a year. U.S. officials confirmed the deliver to the Associated Press and Bloomberg. The United States and some of its NATO allies have been training Ukrainian pilots on how to fly the jets, and there have been indications that their arrival was imminent. During the NATO summit in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 10 that the transfer of F-16 jets to Ukraine was under way. He said the jets were arriving from Denmark and the Netherlands. Ukraine has said F-16s are needed to fight back against Russian missiles. Its Western allies have gone ahead with delivery despite concern that arming Ukraine with advanced weaponry would further escalate the war. Russian shelling on July 31 also killed at least four people in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson regions, local officials said. One resident was killed in the town of Toretsk, Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on July 31, while in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov reported that two civilians were killed by Russian artillery over the past 24 hours. In the southern city of Kherson, one person was killed and one was wounded by Russian shelling from across the Dnieper River, the head of the city's military administration, Roman Mrochko, reported. Kherson was liberated by Ukrainian troops in November 2022, but Russian forces that withdrew across the Dnieper continue to pound the city on a daily basis, causing victims among civilians and damaging infrastructure. Since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's forces have systematically targeted Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure facilities, causing casualties and huge damage. In turn, Ukraine has started targeting oil-refining facilities and other energy infrastructure inside Russia that mainly work for the military. Russia's Defense Ministry said on July 31 that its air defenses had destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones that attacked five of its regions as well as the Moscow-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea. "Air-defense systems intercepted and destroyed 11 drones over Belgorod, 4 over Bryansk, one each over the Kursk, Kaluga, and Rostov regions," and one in Crimea," the ministrysaid in a message on Telegram. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kyiv-russia-massive-drone- attack-war-shelling/33057401.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a question from Rossiya Segodnya about comments made by US Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart 31 July 2024 09:35 1452-31-07-2024 Question: In her recent remarks at the Carnegie Endowment, Deputy Assistant Secretary Mallory Stewart criticised Russia for linking the resumption of arms control dialogue with the United States stopping its support for the Kiev regime. She said that Washington would not accept this condition. How would you comment on this? Maria Zakharova: This interpretation of the Russian position seems to be overly simplified and biased, to say the least. Ukraine is not the only point of contention. To begin with, Ms Stewart attempted to shift the blame for the collapse of the arms control system onto Russia, but changed her tune when reminded that it was the United States which withdrew from the ABM Treaty and the INF Treaty. She claimed that such accusations would not lead us anywhere and should be set aside. It should be noted that the United States is also responsible for withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty and refusing to ratify the CTBT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Furthermore, Washington and its NATO allies have sought to penetrate the post-Soviet space by expanding their military and political footprint there at the expense Russia's core security interests. When their attempts were rebuffed, they unleashed a hybrid war with the aim of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on our country on the battlefield. These actions could potentially lead to a direct clash between nuclear powers. Yet, Ms Stewart is still lamenting that Russia is not prepared to decouple the arms control dialogue from the overall negative military and political context (and Ukraine, I repeat, is not the only issue) and the poor state of relations between Russia and the collective West. We see this stance as either hypocritical or absurd. To reiterate: a Russian-US dialogue on strategic stability and arms control can only happen after Washington abandons (not in word, but in deed) its insane plan to undermine Russia's national security, provoke confrontation, and seek a "strategic defeat" on Russia. The US should also stop showing a demonstrative disrespect for Russia's interests. It is telling, by the way, that one of Ms Stewart's listeners emphasised the importance of mutual respect in her comments. Any hypothetical discussions on these topics must be comprehensive, with an emphasis on addressing key security issues, such as NATO's aggressive eastward expansion. At this stage, we do not see Washington's genuine commitment to dialogue, nor do we see any prerequisites for starting it. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Open to Peace Initiatives in Ukraine, But No Reciprocity on Kiev's Part Sputnik News 20240731 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow is open to any initiative to end the Ukraine conflict through diplomatic means, but there is no reciprocity on the part of Kiev at the moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. "Russia is open to all initiatives, and Russia is open to a diplomatic path to a settlement, but we see that, unfortunately, there is no such reciprocity on the part of Ukraine at the moment," Peskov said in a televised appearance on the Russia Channel One broadcaster. Earlier in the day, Volodymyr Zelensky has been compelled to acknowledge that the entire worldaand now even he himselfawants Russia to participate in the next conference on resolving the situation in Ukraine; otherwise, no meaningful results will be achieved. "The majority of the world today says that Russia must be represented at the second summit [on Ukraine], otherwise we will not achieve meaningful results. Since the whole world wants them to be at the table, we cannot be against it," he told AFP and other French media during an interview Tuesday in western Ukraine. In early July, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Sputnik, commenting on the new summit on Ukraine, that the Russian side does not accept ultimatums and does not intend to participate in such events. The conference on Ukraine took place in BArgenstock, Switzerland, on June 15-16. The Kremlin stated that seeking solutions to the situation in the Ukrainian conflict without Russia's involvement is completely illogical and unproductive. The joint communiquA at the end of the conference calls for returning control of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant to Kiev and includes calls for free navigation in the Black and Azov Seas, as well as for the exchange and release of all prisoners of war. The document also emphasizes the need for dialogue among all parties to end the conflict. Out of 91 participants, only 76 supported the communiquA. Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates did not sign the final communiquA. Later, Iraq, Jordan, and Rwanda withdrew their signatures from the communiquA. Moscow has repeatedly indicated its readiness for negotiations, but Kiev has legally banned them. The West calls on Russia for negotiations, which Moscow is willing to engage in, yet the West ignores Kiev's constant refusals for dialogue. Earlier, the Kremlin stated that the absolute priority for Russia is achieving the objectives of the special operation; the situation in Ukraine could move toward a peaceful resolution if the new realities are considered, and all of Moscow's demands are well known. Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine: Moscow would immediately cease fire and declare readiness for negotiations once Ukrainian troops are withdrawn from the territories of the new Russian regions. Additionally, he stated that Kiev must renounce its intentions to join NATO, carry out demilitarization and denazification, and adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status. The Russian leader also mentioned the need to lift sanctions against Russia. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO-Provided F-16 Jets Reach Ukraine Amid Uncertainty Over Pilot Readiness Sputnik News 20240731 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The first batch of NATO-supplied F-16 fighter jets has arrived in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The agency cited sources as saying that the deadline for the delivery of the unspecified number of the US-made jets was the end of July, and it has been respected. The sources did not say how many jets have arrived, adding that it is small, the agency reported. Bloomberg also cited sources as saying that it was unclear whether Ukrainian pilots who received training in the West to fly F-16s would be immediately able to use the jets or the process would take longer. On July 10, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets would be handed over to Ukraine in summer. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned the United States and its NATO allies that Moscow saw the presence of nuclear capable F-16s in Ukraine as a nuclear threat. President Vladimir Putin of Russia emphasized that even if Western countries supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, they will not have the power to alter the situation on the battlefield. He warned that if these fighter jets are deployed from third-country territories, they will be considered legitimate targets for Russian forces. The president further stated that the F-16s, just like other Western equipment delivered to Kiev, would be destroyed. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address It Is Crucial to Increase Ukraine's Skies Defense Capabilities, We Are Doing Everything for That a the Address by the President President of Ukraine 31 July 2024 - 19:56 I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians! Briefly about this day. First a the defenders of our skies. Last night alone, almost ninety "Shahed" drones were shot down. This is a serious result. I thank everyone for their precision: our mobile fire groups, fighter aircraft crews, anti-aircraft gunners, electronic warfare specialists a everyone. You have done an excellent job in the skies across many of our regions. And it is also crucial to increase Ukraine's skies defense capabilities. We are doing everything for that. And now, if such a significant result can be achieved in the defense against the "Shahed" drones, it is an obvious proof that we can be stronger both in the defense against missiles and in the defense against Russian military aircraft. Everything depends on the weapons in the hands of our warriors. We need reliable air defense systems; we need sufficient range of our weapons. Russian terror must lose every time the occupier tries to destroy life in Ukraine. And it is not just our security. It is the security of everyone neighboring Russia. We will continue to work with our partners a to persuade them, to search for what is needed for our defense in the world and supply it to Ukraine, to cooperate in the production of necessary weapons. All this is our shared defense of everyone in Europe, of everyone in the world who values life. Second. I held a meeting with our international experts a the Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a on the preparation of new arrangements with partners. Security arrangements. And also, on the reconstruction of Ukraine. We are also preparing new bilateral security agreements and new arrangements at the multilateral level. Something that will strengthen Ukraine for sure. August is the time for preparations. Autumn is the time for results. I am grateful to everyone in the team who is involved. And now I would like to thank the United States for the assistance package that was announced earlier. Among other things, the package includes missiles for the NASAMS air defense systems, which are crucial since they are always in short supply. It also includes ammunition for HIMARS and Javelins. Thank you! We are working on ensuring the fastest possible logistics. And the third thing, there was a report by Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi. The frontline situation. First of all, the Pokrovsk direction. Our positions, our defensive actions and our potential reinforcements. I am grateful to all those who are destroying the occupier and defending our country a defending it effectively. Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine receives first shipment of F-16 fighter jets By VOA News July 31, 2024 Ukraine has received its first shipment of F-16 fighter jets from the West, something Ukraine has been seeking for months to help it beat back the Russian invasion of its territory. Ukraine says the F-16s are crucial because of their ability to suppress enemy air defenses, an ability Ukraine urgently needs to repel Russian missile strikes into Ukraine. Western allies have been slow in agreeing to supply the jets because they were fearful of escalating the conflict with Russia. It was not immediately clear how many of the jets were included in the shipment and whether Ukrainian pilots, who have received training in the West, including in the United States, would be able to use the F-16s immediately, according to Bloomberg, the first media outlet to announce the arrival of the jets. Denmark promised to donate 19 jets, and the Netherlands said it would send 24 jets to Ukraine, while Belgium and Norway, which has sent six, have promised to send more, Bloomberg reported. U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to allow allies to send the U.S.-built jets to Ukraine a year ago, after repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies. Ukraine says it foils aerial attack Earlier Wednesday, Ukraine's military said it thwarted one of Russia's most extensive drone attacks, shooting down all 89 aerial drones Russia launched overnight. The Ukrainian air force said the country's air defenses also shot down a Russian-guided missile that targeted the Mykolaiv region. Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, was the biggest target of the drone attack. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, said on Telegram that more than four dozen drones were shot down above Kyiv and in areas approaching the city. Popko said there were no reported injuries or damage from the attack, which came in two waves. In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, officials said a drone killed one person and injured another. Officials in Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, and the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk reported multiple drones were shot down in their areas. Russia says it downs 19 drones Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday it shot down 19 Ukrainian drones, including 11 over the Belgorod region along the Russia-Ukraine border. The governor of the Bryansk region reported no casualties or damage after Russian air defenses shot down four aerial drones. Other drone intercepts took place over Russia's Kaluga and Rostov regions, as well as Russia-occupied Crimea. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Newark, July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brainy Insights estimates that the USD 350 million in 2023 global hospitality robot market will reach USD 3259.62 million in 2033. In essence, robots are extremely sophisticated devices that have been programmed to carry out certain tasks in response to user requests and needs. Robots for hospitality are made especially for the hospitality industry. They improve or automate the effectiveness of jobs, deeds, procedures, and systems in the hospitality sector, including those in lodging facilities, eateries, tourism destinations, and other hospitality-related locations. They are autonomous, automated devices that can navigate thanks to sensors, cameras, and pertinent software. Get a sample of the report from: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/sample-request/14444 This allows them to carry out their duties in a safe manner without the need for human assistance. Using an interactive user interface that incorporates voice recognition or touchscreens is another option. They are modified to perform certain services that are necessary for hotels and restaurants, such as communication capabilities to transfer data around the establishment seamlessly and storage sections for room deliveries and cleaning duties for housekeeping. They consistently deliver high-quality services with exceptional efficiency. They are also employed in managing and organising the operations and logistics of hotels and other buildings, as well as improving security. They maintain the same level of service consistency around-the-clock. Additionally, they have software that collects data and analyses it to enhance services and raise client happiness. Key Insight of the Global Hospitality robot Market Asia Pacific will dominate the market during the forecast period. Despite having superior technology, nations like South Korea and Japan struggle with a manpower shortage. In order to address their labour scarcity issues, they have adopted technology such as hospitality robots. Because people in technologically advanced economies are accustomed to seeing these automated devices in other industries, they are also more receptive to robots in the hospitality industry. The region's increasing dominance in the worldwide industry is a result of ongoing research and development efforts aimed at improving the hospitality robot. In order to fulfil the growing demand in the face of a labour crisis, the burgeoning tourist and travel business, which includes a strong chain of hotels, restaurants, and pubs among other establishments, provides incentives for using robots. The market's expansion is further aided by supporting government policies and a favourable regulatory environment. In 2023, the front desk robots segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 40% and revenue of 140 million. The type segment is divided into front desk robots, mobile guidance robots, delivery robots, cleaning robots, and others. In 2023, the front desk robots segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 40% and revenue of 140 million. In 2023, the hotels segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 58% and revenue of 203 million. The end user segment is divided into hotels, bars and restaurants, travel and tourism, and others. In 2023, the hotels segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 58% and revenue of 203 million. For more information in the analysis of this report, visit: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/report/hospitality-robot-market-14444 Advancement in market Brick Hospitality included guest service robots into the everyday operations of all of its hotels in response to the increasing demand for streamlined and effective guest services. The only hotel management firm in San Diego employing guest service robots at every site they own and operate is this well-known company. This innovative project demonstrates Brick Hospitality's dedication to creativity and first-rate customer care. Market Dynamics Driver: shortages of workers in the hospitality sector. In addition to an ageing population, most nations, particularly wealthy ones with thriving travel and tourist sectors, are seeing a decline in the birth rate. These countries are experiencing a workforce shortage as a result of these demographic changes. Two of these nations' best examples are South Korea and Japan. Another change in the demographics has been observed in the labour market, where there is a growing desire for well-paying white-collar positions due to increased literacy rates. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of people applying for hospitality occupations, which are often associated with long hours, low income, and often unsightly labour. The covid-19 pandemic made conditions worse for the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors, which resulted in job losses. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bulk of the former workers obtained employment in other industries and did not return to the hospitality business, which resulted in shortages when travel to the industry increased. The far-right parties' ascent and the accompanying rhetoric against immigration in Europe have led to a serious manpower shortage in these nations, particularly in the hotel industry. Thus, the need for hospitality robots is rising as a result of the workforce shortages in the hospitality sector. Restraints: The expensive price of purchasing a hospitality robot. Robots are extremely intelligent, automated machines that include cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence. Labour hours, hardware, software, and programming all contributed to the creation of this extremely complex piece of A significant amount of capital was required for the manufacturing of this complex piece of equipment, including the hardware, software, programming, and labour hours. There are substantial expenses associated with integrating these robots into the hospitality sector. These expenses are increased by upkeep and other operational factors. Sufficient funding was also needed for personnel training and the hiring of technically certified and skilled experts to operate and manage these robots. Due to their capital-intensive nature, most small and medium-sized hotels in the hospitality sector cannot afford robots; only upscale hotel chains with substantial budgets can afford them. This results in a severely constrained or limited market, which impedes the expansion of the global hospitality robot business. Opportunities: developments in technology. The emergence and development of contemporary technologies, including IoT, artificial intelligence, navigation systems, and communication technologies, will be advantageous for the hotel robot market's expansion. These developments have produced more advanced robots that can now recognise and comprehend the requirements and desires of their visitors. For example, robots can gather, analyse, and interpret data using an interactive user interface, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to better understand the preferences and tastes of visitors and possibly provide recommendations that increase customer happiness. Technological advancements have also enhanced the dependability, accuracy, and dependability of hospitality robots, making them more valuable employees of the organisation they work for. Robots can now navigate safer and with greater autonomy thanks to the improved navigation. Additional developments Additional innovations include enhanced battery life, safety, usability, and interfaces. As a result, during the course of the projection period, technical developments will result in better devices that are more likely to be accepted by both staff and visitors. Challenges: The replacement of human labour leading to rising global unemployment rate. Hospitality robot is efficient, faster and offer quality results. They automate tasks. They are reliable and do not need to be checked. They are able to replace human labour while offering better and more efficient results. The adoption of hospitality robot will lead to labour displacement leading to significant resistance from employees and trade unions against them. the displaced employees might find it difficult to adapt to this change and find new jobs as they will have to acquire new skill sets or education. Additionally, robots lack human touch and this might discourage customers from booking such hotels. The governments are also concerned with these problems as unemployment rates are already at all-time highs due to the covid-19 pandemic, energy-crisis, cost of living crisis and ongoing global conflicts. Therefore, the resistance from human labour due to the fear of losing jobs will challenge the markets growth. Enquire before purchasing this report at: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/buying-inquiry/14444 Some of the major players operating in the global hospitality robot market are: Aethon Inc. BotsAndUs Connected Robotics Inc. Hyundai Robotics Co. Ltd. Knightscope, Inc. Maidbot Inc. Savioke SoftBank Robotics Group Corporation Travelmate Robotics UBTECH Robotics Inc. Key Segments covered in the market: By Type Front Desk Robots Mobile Guidance Robots Delivery Robots Cleaning Robots Others By End User Hotels Bars and Restaurants Travel and Tourism Others By Region North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of APAC) South America (Brazil and the Rest of South America) The Middle East and Africa (UAE, South Africa, Rest of MEA) To purchase research report: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/buy-now/14444/single About the report: The market is analysed based on value (USD Million). All the segments have been analysed on a worldwide, regional, and country basis. The study includes the analysis of more than 30 countries for each part. The report analyses driving factors, opportunities, restraints, and challenges to gain critical market insight. The study includes Porter's five forces model, attractiveness analysis, Product analysis, supply and demand analysis, competitor position grid analysis, distribution, and marketing channels analysis. About The Brainy Insights: The Brainy Insights is a market research company, aimed at providing actionable insights through data analytics to companies to improve their business acumen. We have a robust forecasting and estimation model to meet the clients' objectives of high-quality output within a short span of time. We provide both customized (clients' specific) and syndicate reports. Our repository of syndicate reports is diverse across all the categories and sub-categories across domains. Our customized solutions are tailored to meet the clients' requirement whether they are looking to expand or planning to launch a new product in the global market. Contact Us Avinash D Head of Business Development Phone: +1-315-215-1633 Email: sales@thebrainyinsights.com Web: http://www.thebrainyinsights.com LONDON, UK, July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business consulting and marketing company Pixelated Crumpet ( https://www.pixelatedcrumpet.com ) unveils its business consulting and marketing solutions for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The company is positioned to revitalise the industry by focusing on younger demographics. Sparkeey Socials, a custom networking event for professionals and founders, makes its inaugural debut in a format designed to capture the attention of upwardly mobile Gen Z. Business branding and marketing are highly volatile. Despite the industry's stressors, a new formidable player is on the frontlines. Pixelated Crumpet , a firm specialising in Gen Z and Gen Alpha business consultancy and marketing, recently received attention from young consumers and senior executives alike. Asha Nico Venkataramani founded the company and carved out a niche by focusing on the unique preferences and behaviours of Generation Z. Its creation is necessitated by a gap in professional consulting services of which is greatly needed for marketing and launching new age consumer products in global markets. Pixelated Crumpet's offerings include a range of services combining traditional business strategies and the digital-first mindset of consumers. The company is also launching Sparkeey Socials, a series of premium, golden-ticketed business summits in London that cater quality content in a format specifically to both success oriented individuals and Gen Z itself. A Novel Perspective on Marketing: Pixelated Crumpet's Vision Pixelated Crumpet is not just another business and marketing consultancy. The company prides itself on its outlook on branding and marketing, which is anchored on the behaviours of Gen Z. "We are a creative business marketing consulting team that talks Gen Z through A," says Venkataramani. We bridge business with generations, focusing on Gen Z and Alpha. We are building the brands, franchises, business leaders, products, and workplaces of the future." The company's services include brand strategy development, business plan design, go-to global market positioning, product strategy, and impact design in product and business. Pixelated Crumpet's specialisation in Gen Z marketing is a significant differentiator in the crowded branding and marketing consultancies field. Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, values authenticity, inclusivity, and digital engagement. They are digital natives who have grown up with technology and social media, making traditional marketing procedures less effective. Current market trends support Pixelated Crumpet's strategy. According to an eMarketer report, by 2027, 97% of Gen Zers will be mobile banking users, the highest proportion of all generations. Both paid and organic social media prove more impactful than traditional advertising in raising product awareness among Gen Z. Approximately 22% of Gen Zers regard influencer content as their most trusted source of information on social platforms, matching the proportion who trust traditional ads the most. Sparkeey Socials: A New Platform for Gen Z Engagement Among Pixelated Crumpet's standout initiatives is Sparkeey Socials, a series of premium, golden-ticketed business summits explicitly designed for Gen Z. These events extend beyond typical business conferences. Instead, they are structured as inclusive fireside sessions featuring speakers who are experts in their fields and who understand the future relevance of their content. "Sparkeey Innovation & Tech Summits are not start-up pitches or tech demos," explains Asha Nico Venkataramani. "They are in-person masterclasses with a Gen Z focus from speakers who really know what they are talking about. The content is tailored to be future-relevant." These events blend content relevant to the future with networking opportunities for C-suite leaders, start-up founders, and influencers. The format allows for approximately 150 attendees per event, creating an intimate setting where meaningful connections can be made. The organisers carefully select keynote speakers for their competence and relevance to the future, aiming to adopt a more social air to the experience. The Sparkeey Socials events recognise and ride on the contribution of the creator economy, the reality of hybrid workplaces, nomadic lifestyles, and the intertwining of business with positive societal impact. Plans for Expansion Analysts project that Pixelated Crumpet will experience significant growth as it capitalises on the increasing demand for specialised Gen Z marketing. The company's comprehensive strategies specifically gear itself toward the digital market space. The expanding SocialFi market itself, which combines social media and finance, presents new opportunities for Pixelated Crumpet as it seeks to expand further. "We want to be the foremost authority on business imprinting what Gen Z and Gen Alpha want. Sparkeey Socials are just the start," concludes Asha Venkataramani. About Pixelated Crumpet Pixelated Crumpet is a business branding and marketing consultancy focusing on strategy, branding, and business services. The company strives to bridge businesses with Gen Z and Alpha generations, offering marketing solutions that integrate design thinking into real-world strategy. Media Contact Brand: Pixelated Crumpet Limited Contact: Pixelated Crumpet Team Email: mihai@pixelatedcrumpet.com Website: https://www.pixelatedcrumpet.com SOURCE: Pixelated Crumpet Limited NEW ORLEANS, July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until August 5, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), if they purchased the Companys shares between June 2, 2021 and August 1, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Get Help Scotts investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-smg/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuits Scotts and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On August 2, 2023, the Company disclosed disappointing financial results including a decline in quarterly sales for fiscal third quarter of 6%, a decline in gross margin by 420 basis points, as well as a cut to fiscal year EBITDA guidance by a staggering 25% and a $20 million write down of pandemic driven excess inventories. On this news, the price of Scotts shares fell by $13.58 per share, or 19%, from a closing price of $71.44 per share on August 1, 2023, to a closing price of $57.86 per share on August 2, 2023. The case is City of Hialeah Employees Retirement System v. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, No. 24-cv-03132. A subsequent case, City Of Inkster Policemen And Firemen Retirement System v. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, No. 24-cv-03766 expanded the class period. 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. VICTORIA, Seychelles, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Hub, an ecosystem encompassing a range of aligned products such as the WOOFi protocol and WOO X , a leading global crypto centralized exchange, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Bubbly Finance . This collaboration aims to bring groundbreaking solutions to the pre-market, a $10 billion daily volume market that currently lacks adequate infrastructure. Bubbly Finance, aspiring to become the Uniswap of the pre-market, is set to introduce innovative trading solutions starting with points and pre-launch tokens. Their vision includes expanding to encompass Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs) and vesting tokens. Despite the popularity of points issued by existing projects, their lack of extra yields and liquidity has limited user adoption. Bubbly Finance intends to address these challenges by enhancing the overall crypto industry experience with new opportunities for points farming and liquidity. Pre-market assets, essentially a form of deliverable futures, will be transformed by Bubbly Finances innovative Market Liquidity Margin Maker (MLMM). This system combines the Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker (CLMM) with the concept of margin from traditional futures markets to create a pre-market Automated Market Maker (AMM). This hybrid approach aims to provide a simple and timely trading experience, improved liquidity and volume, and clear price discovery through physical delivery. The WOO Innovation Hub will support Bubbly Finance in their development by leveraging its extensive ecosystem and technical expertise to provide critical infrastructure, resources, and guidance needed for Bubbly's growth. By fostering a collaborative environment, the WOO Innovation Hub aims to ensure that Bubbly Finance can effectively navigate the challenges of scaling their innovative pre-market solutions, ultimately enhancing the liquidity and accessibility of pre-market assets. Luke Guo, Bubbly Finance Co-founders, commented: Were thrilled to have the support of the WOO Innovation Hub! With their strong partnerships, vast connections, and hands-on assistance, were confident in our collaboration. Plus, with WOOs spot and derivative CEX and DEX, Bubblys pre-market AMM DEX will perfectly complement and synergize with WOO, bringing even more value to both our users and businesses." Abby Huang, Woo Innovation Hub Lead, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Bubbly Finance to our ecosystem. Their innovative approach to pre-market trading aligns perfectly with our mission to provide cutting-edge solutions in the blockchain space. This partnership will pave the way for more efficient and user-friendly decentralized solutions, benefiting both WOO and Bubbly Finance users." Contact Us: ecosystem@woo.network About WOOFi WOOFi is a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) with over $42B in cumulative trading volume and more than 250k monthly active users. It supports 11 blockchains and offers a diverse range of products, including earn vaults, simple swaps, cross-chain swaps, and perpetual futures. The native token of WOOFi, WOO, can be staked to share 80% of all protocol fees. About Bubbly Finance Bubbly Finance is an innovative AMM-based pre-market DEX, pioneering a new era in trading pre-market assets such as points, pre-launch tokens, vesting tokens, and SAFTs. By leveraging a cutting-edge AMM model, Bubbly Finance provides a seamless trading experience akin to Uniswap but tailored for assets with physical deliveries, setting a new standard in futures trading protocols. Disclaimer The content above is for informational sharing purposes only and does not constitute an investment offer, solicitation, or recommendation. Any investment decisions made based on this content are undertaken at the individual's own risk. The partnership between WOO Innovation Hub and Bubbly does not imply financial advice, token listing or endorsement of any products or services. All business risks related to the cooperation are borne by the respective parties involved. Dublin, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Content Analytics - Global Strategic Business Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global market for Content Analytics is estimated at US$5.5 Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$22.5 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 22.4% from 2023 to 2030. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers, and forecasts, helping you make informed business decisions. The growth in the content analytics market is driven by several factors, including the exponential increase in unstructured data, the need for enhanced data insights for strategic decision-making, and the advancements in AI and machine learning technologies. As digital content continues to expand at an unprecedented rate, businesses are seeking more effective ways to harness this information for competitive advantage. The desire to understand customer preferences and behaviors in greater depth is another critical driver, pushing companies to invest in technologies that can analyze customer interactions across multiple platforms and touchpoints. Additionally, the integration of content analytics with other business intelligence tools is becoming more seamless, encouraging adoption even among less tech-savvy industries. These factors, coupled with the growing demand for predictive analytics and personalized marketing strategies, ensure that the content analytics market continues to expand, offering new opportunities for businesses to innovate and thrive in the digital age. Key Insights: Market Growth: Understand the significant growth trajectory of the On-Premise Deployment segment, which is expected to reach US$14.8 Billion by 2030 with a CAGR of a 20.2%. The Cloud Deployment segment is also set to grow at 27.9% CAGR over the analysis period. Regional Analysis: Gain insights into the U.S. market, estimated at $1.5 Billion in 2023, and China, forecasted to grow at an impressive 21.4% CAGR to reach $3.4 Billion by 2030. Discover growth trends in other key regions, including Japan, Canada, Germany, and the Asia-Pacific. Why You Should Buy This Report: Detailed Market Analysis: Access a thorough analysis of the Global Content Analytics Market, covering all major geographic regions and market segments. Competitive Insights: Get an overview of the competitive landscape, including the market presence of major players across different geographies. Future Trends and Drivers: Understand the key trends and drivers shaping the future of the Global Content Analytics Market. Actionable Insights: Benefit from actionable insights that can help you identify new revenue opportunities and make strategic business decisions. Key Questions Answered: How is the Global Content Analytics Market expected to evolve by 2030? What are the main drivers and restraints affecting the market? Which market segments will grow the most over the forecast period? How will market shares for different regions and segments change by 2030? Who are the leading players in the market, and what are their prospects? Report Features: Comprehensive Market Data: Independent analysis of annual sales and market forecasts in US$ Million from 2023 to 2030. In-Depth Regional Analysis: Detailed insights into key markets, including the U.S., China, Japan, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Company Profiles: Coverage of major players such as Adobe Systems, Inc., Clarabridge, Inc., IBM Corporation, and more. Complimentary Updates: Receive free report updates for one year to keep you informed of the latest market developments. Select Competitors (Total 12 Featured): Adobe Systems, Inc. Clarabridge, Inc. IBM Corporation NICE Systems Ltd. OpenText Corporation Oracle Corporation SAP SE SAS Institute, Inc. Verint Systems, Inc. Key Attributes Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 179 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $5.5 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $22.5 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 22.4% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Influencer Market Insights Global Economic Update Content Analytics - Global Key Competitors Percentage Market Share in 2024 (E) Competitive Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial for Players Worldwide in 2024 (E) 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS Exponential Rise in Volumes of Business Content and Demand for Business Intelligence Drives Market Growth Content Analytics: A Vital Tool for Gaining Actionable Insights from Unstructured Data Text Analytics to Leverage Growth of Big Data and AI Software Platforms for Expanding Use Cases Integration of AI Throws the Spotlight On Enhanced Content Analytics Solutions Growing Demand for Data-Driven Decisions Drives Adoption of Content Analytics in Enterprises Rise of Big Data in Digital Marketing Spurs Growth in Content Analytics Expansion of Real-Time Content Analysis Strengthens Business Case for Advanced Analytics Tools Emergence of Predictive Analytics Sets the Stage for Proactive Content Management Increased Emphasis on Customer Experience Analytics Bodes Well for Market Growth Advent of Natural Language Processing in Content Analytics Sustains Market Expansion Growing Popularity of Visual Content Accelerates Need for Image and Video Analytics Cloud-Based Content Analytics Solutions Drive Market Penetration in Small and Medium Businesses Increased Use of Social Media Content for Analytics Generates New Market Opportunities 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE III. MARKET ANALYSIS IV. COMPETITION For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zi5njt About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Dublin, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Digital Remittance Market Overview, 2024-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. According to the report, the market is anticipated to cross USD 45 billion by 2029, increasing from USD 21 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow with a 13% CAGR from 2024 to 2029. Market Drivers: Financial Inclusion Initiatives : Governments and international organizations are increasingly promoting financial inclusion as a key driver for economic development. Digital remittance services play a crucial role in this initiative by providing affordable and accessible financial services to unbanked and underbanked populations. Mobile money solutions and digital wallets enable individuals in remote areas to receive and manage funds securely, fostering economic empowerment and reducing poverty levels. : Governments and international organizations are increasingly promoting financial inclusion as a key driver for economic development. Digital remittance services play a crucial role in this initiative by providing affordable and accessible financial services to unbanked and underbanked populations. Mobile money solutions and digital wallets enable individuals in remote areas to receive and manage funds securely, fostering economic empowerment and reducing poverty levels. Global Migration Trends: The rise in global migration patterns, driven by economic opportunities and geopolitical factors, fuels the demand for cross-border remittance services. Migrant workers often send a significant portion of their earnings back to their families in their home countries, making remittances a vital source of income for many households. The convenience and speed of digital remittance platforms meet the needs of migrant populations, contributing to the growth of the global remittance market. Market Challenges: Cost and Transparency Issues : The cost of digital remittances remains a concern, particularly for smaller transactions. Service fees, foreign exchange rates, and hidden charges can reduce the amount received by recipients, impacting the affordability and accessibility of remittance services. Enhancing price transparency and reducing transaction costs through competitive pricing strategies and innovative fintech solutions are critical to addressing this challenge. : The cost of digital remittances remains a concern, particularly for smaller transactions. Service fees, foreign exchange rates, and hidden charges can reduce the amount received by recipients, impacting the affordability and accessibility of remittance services. Enhancing price transparency and reducing transaction costs through competitive pricing strategies and innovative fintech solutions are critical to addressing this challenge. Infrastructure and Connectivity Barriers: Access to reliable internet connectivity and digital infrastructure poses challenges in some regions, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Limited access to smartphones, electricity, and banking services can hinder the adoption of digital remittance solutions among marginalized populations. Addressing infrastructure gaps and promoting digital literacy initiatives are essential to ensure equitable access to remittance services globally. Market Trends: Emergence of Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) : The development of stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies and CBDCs by central banks is reshaping the landscape of digital remittances. Stablecoins offer stability and reduced volatility compared to cryptocurrencies, making them attractive for cross-border transactions. CBDCs, on the other hand, provide governments with greater control over monetary policy and financial stability while potentially lowering transaction costs and enhancing financial inclusion. : The development of stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies and CBDCs by central banks is reshaping the landscape of digital remittances. Stablecoins offer stability and reduced volatility compared to cryptocurrencies, making them attractive for cross-border transactions. CBDCs, on the other hand, provide governments with greater control over monetary policy and financial stability while potentially lowering transaction costs and enhancing financial inclusion. Focus on User Experience and Innovation: User-centric design and innovation are driving the evolution of digital remittance services towards seamless and intuitive customer experiences. Mobile-first interfaces, biometric authentication, and AI-driven personalization enhance usability and security, increasing consumer confidence in digital payment solutions. Other Market Insights: Outward digital remittance is gaining huge growth in global marketing, mainly due to accelerating migration trends around the world and economic opportunities that compel people to look for work or educational prospects abroad. Online platforms are developing in the Digital Remittance Market across the world primarily because they provide a convenient, cost-effective, fast money transfer solution that caters to the ever-growing need for cross-border transactions in today's interdependent world. The growth of small firms within the global digital remittance market is an increasing demand for efficient, most cost-effective, and convenient solutions applied to international trade and commerce. APAC is witnessing strong growth in the global digital remittance market due to their economic growth and rapidly rising cross-border trade. Years considered in this report: Historic year : 2018 : 2018 Base year : 2023 : 2023 Estimated year : 2024 : 2024 Forecast year: 2029 Aspects covered in the report: Digital Remittance market outlook with its value and forecast, along with its segments Various drivers and challenges On-going trends and developments Top profiled companies Strategic recommendations By Type: Inward Outward By Channel: Bank Money Transfer Operation Online platform Others By End User: Migrant Labour Personal Small Business Others A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to: PayPal Holdings, Inc The Western Union Company MoneyGram International, Inc. WorldRemit Limited Wise PLC Remitly OFX Nium Euronet Worldwide, Inc. Ripple Labs, Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wvnb1w About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. TORONTO, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- White Gold Corp. (TSX.V: WGO, OTCQX: WHGOF, FRA: 29W) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that infill and extension soil sampling has refined and extended the newly discovered gold-in-soil anomaly on its QV property to 2.2 km along strike (Figure 1). The soil anomaly is located approximately 9 km northwest of the VG deposit and appears to be similar in character to the VG and Golden Saddle deposits which form part of the Companys flagship White Gold Project. The White Gold Project is located in west-central Yukon, Canada, and comprises 16 million tonnes averaging 2.23 g/t Au for 1,152,900 ounces of gold in the Indicated Resource category and 19 million tonnes averaging 1.54 g/t Au for 942,400 ounces of gold in the Inferred Resource category (1). These new results form part of the Companys 2024 exploration program on its extensive and underexplored land package in the emerging White Gold District, Yukon, supported by strategic partners including Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM) and Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC). We are quite encouraged by these latest results from this newly discovered target. Our early-season soil sampling program has considerably extended the strike length of the target by over 1 km to 2.2 km and provided even greater continuity of high gold values. Furthermore, the size, tenor, geochemical and geomagnetic characteristics of this target are also similar to our flagship Golden Saddle and VG deposits and represents exciting expansion potential with a maiden diamond drill program set to commence in the coming weeks stated David DOnofrio, Chief Executive Officer. Shawn Ryan, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Advisor stated, This newly discovered soil anomaly on the QV property is an interesting grass roots discovery for the Company as it reminds me of the anomaly that led to the discovery of the Golden Saddle and QV deposits which are close by and share a lot of similarities. Soil sampling followed by our systematic evaluation has proven very effective in our district and we are looking forward to drilling this new target. Maps and images accompanying this news release can be found at http://whitegoldcorp.ca/investors/exploration-highlights/. Highlights 2024 soil survey consisted of 787 samples (Figure 2). The surface expression of the gold-in-soil anomaly strikes east-northeast, measures 350 m wide x 2.2 km long, and is open along strike to the west and east. Gold values range from < 0.5 ppb Au to a maximum of 600 ppb Au, with 29 samples returning greater than 80 ppb Au (approximately 99 th percentile) in the range of 82.3 to 600 ppb Au. percentile) in the range of 82.3 to 600 ppb Au. The gold anomaly is associated with anomalous tellurium and low arsenic in soils, which represents a geochemical signature similar to the VG and Golden Saddle deposits which both form part of the Companys flagship White Gold Project. Magnetic and LiDAR data reveals that the newly identified soil anomaly is hosted within a similar structural environment as the VG and Golden Saddle deposits. 2D inversions of recently completed VLF-EM survey lines indicate the gold-in-soil anomaly is associated with a moderately north-dipping hanging wall footwall contact zone. A maiden diamond drill program is currently being planned and expected to commence in the coming days. 2024 Soil Sampling Program The 2024 soil survey consisted of 787 samples which included both infill and extension samples. The purpose of this years sampling was to provide better resolution over the main portion of the anomaly which was identified in 2023, and to extend the anomaly along strike to the west and east. Infill soil samples are spaced at 25 m on 50 spaced survey lines, and extension samples are spaced at 50 m on 100 spaced survey lines. The company has collected approximately 1,000 soil samples over the past two field seasons in defining this new target. Gold values range from < 0.5 ppb Au to a maximum of 600 ppb Au, with 29 samples returning greater than 80 ppb Au (approximately 99th percentile) in the range of 82.3 to 600 ppb Au. The anomaly also has associated anomalous tellurium. Arsenic in soil values is low, and overall, the signature appears to be similar to the VG and Golden Saddle deposits suggesting a similar style of mineralization. The surface expression of the gold-in-soil anomaly strikes east-northeast, measures 350 m wide x 2.2 km long, and is open along strike to the west and east towards the previously known Korat Diego anomaly. Magnetic data reveals that the newly identified soil anomaly is situated near a mafic belt with a NNW-SSE orientation, similar to the structural context of the VG, Golden Saddle, and Ryans Surprise deposits located along strike approximately 9 to 19 km to the SE and SSE. The highly magnetic mafic belts are observed to occupy the hanging wall of E- to ENE-dipping, district-scale thrust faults, with gold mineralization at the VG, Golden Saddle, and Ryan's Surprise deposits occurring where intersected by significant NE- or NW-trending faults. At the newly identified soil anomaly, anomalous gold is localized at a fault intersection of a similar structural and magnetic pattern to those of the mentioned deposits and is associated with a semi-circular magnetic high approximately 1 km in diameter. 2D inversions of recently completed VLF-EM survey lines over the target indicate the gold-in-soil anomaly is associated with a moderately north-dipping hanging wall footwall contact zone. The Company is currently planning a maiden diamond drill program on the target which will consist of a minimum of 1200 m of drilling that will test up to 800 m of strike length. About the QV Property The QV property comprises 1003 quartz claims which over an area of 19,671 hectares and hosts the VG deposit, which hosts an open pittable Inferred resource of 287,100 oz gold at 1.53 g/t(1) and forms part of the Companys flagship White Gold Project. The mineralization is hosted along a N-E trending, gently south dipping structural zone that has been traced for over 700 m at surface and consists of disseminated to vein-controlled pyrite with brecciation, stockwork quartz-carbonate veining, and sericite alteration. The VG shares strong similarities to the Golden Saddle deposit located 11 km south of the VG deposit on the White Gold property both in structural setting as well as mineralization style and is open along strike and at depth. The property also hosts several other prospective targets which have received limited exploration work and offer potential for additional discoveries. Soil Sampling Methods and Analysis The 2024 QV property soil geochemistry survey was contracted to GroundTruth Exploration Inc. of Dawson City, Yukon. Field technicians navigated to pre-planned sample sites using handheld GPS units and collected C-Horizon soil samples using an Eijklcamp brand hand auger at a depth of between 20 cm and 110 cm. Typically, 400 to 500 g of soil is placed in a pre-labeled bag, and a field duplicate sample is taken once every 25 samples. The GPS location of the sample site is recorded with the GPS unit, and the waypoint location is labeled with the project name and the sample identification number. A weather-proof handheld device equipped with a barcode scanner is used in the field to record the descriptive attributes of the sample collected, including sample identification number, soil colour, soil horizon, slope, sample depth, ground and tree vegetation, sample quality, and any other relevant information. Analytical work for the 2024 soil geochemistry surveys was carried out at Bureau Veritas (BV) Canada, with preparation completed at their Whitehorse, YT facility and analysis at their hub laboratory located in Vancouver, BC. All soil samples were assayed for gold and a 37 multi-element suite using 0.25g aqua-regia digestion and ICP-MS analysis (Code AQ201). BV is an ISO 9001:2008 accredited facility, certificate number FM63007. About White Gold Corp. The Company owns a portfolio of 15,876 quartz claims across 26 properties covering approximately 315,000 hectares (3,150 km2) representing approximately 40% of the Yukons emerging White Gold District. The Companys flagship White Gold project hosts four near-surface gold deposits which collectively contain an estimated 1,152,900 ounces of gold in Indicated Resources and 942,400 ounces of gold in Inferred Resources(1). Regional exploration work has also produced several other new discoveries and prospective targets on the Companys claim packages which border sizable gold discoveries including the Coffee project owned by Newmont Corporation with Measured and Indicated Resources of 2.1 Moz at 1.28 g/t gold and Inferred Resources of 0.2 Moz at 1.04 g/t gold(2), and Western Copper and Gold Corporations Casino project which has Measured and Indicated Resources of 7.6 Blb copper and 14.5 Moz gold and Inferred Resources of 3.3 Blb copper and 6.6 Moz gold(3). For more information visit www.whitegoldcorp.ca. (1) See White Gold Corp. technical report titled 2023 Technical Report for the White Gold Project, Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada , Effective Date April 15, 2023, Report Date May 30, 2023, NI 43-101 Compliant Technical Report prepared by Dr. Gilles Arseneau, P.Geo., available on SEDAR+. (2) See Newmont Corporation Form 10-K: Annual report for the year ending December 31, 2023, in the Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources section, dated February 29, 2024, available on EDGAR. Reserves and resources disclosed in this Form 10-K have been prepared in accordance with the Regulation S-K 1300, and do not indicate NI43-101 compliance. (3) See Western Copper and Gold Corporation technical report titled Casino project, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Yukon Canada, Effective Date June 13, 2022, Issue Date August 8, 2022, NI 43-101 Compliant Technical Report prepared by Daniel Roth, PE, P.Eng., Mike Hester, F Aus IMM, John M. Marek, P.E., Laurie M. Tahija, MMSA-QP, Carl Schulze, P.Geo., Daniel Friedman, P.Eng., Scott Weston, P.Geo., available on SEDAR+. Qualified Person Terry Brace, P.Geo. and Vice President of Exploration for the Company is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, proposed, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, the Companys objectives, goals and exploration activities conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Companys properties; future growth potential of the Company, including whether any proposed exploration programs at any of the Companys properties will be successful; exploration results; and future exploration plans and costs and financing availability. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: The expected benefits to the Company relating to the exploration conducted and proposed to be conducted at the White Gold properties; the receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals for the Offering; failure to identify any additional mineral resources or significant mineralization; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the Companys properties; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and mineral exploration; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; title to properties; ongoing uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; and those factors described under the heading Risks Factors in the Companys annual information form dated July 29, 2020 available on SEDAR+. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. For Further Information, Please Contact: Contact Information: David DOnofrio Chief Executive Officer White Gold Corp. (647) 930-1880 ir@whitegoldcorp.ca Request Meeting: https://calendly.com/meet-with-wgo/15min Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac0d3255-8f52-45f1-a923-82ca73fb9c8b https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b4577a98-64b7-49c9-854b-e8870b141d70 TORONTO, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giyani Metals Corp. (TSXV:EMM, GR:A2DUU8) ("Giyani" or the "Company") developer of the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in Botswana ("K.Hill" or the "Project") is pleased to announce that it has completed the field work for the infill drilling programme at the Project. The information gathered from this programme is expected to provide the basis for an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) to be included in the 2025 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). Highlights: Giyani has completed a 3,185m (61 hole) infill drilling programme at K.Hill. The aim of the programme was to define sufficient Measured Mineral Resource for the initial five years of mining operations covering the typical tenure of project finance debt facilities. This drill programme will supplement the 10,710m of previous drill results used in the 2023 MRE. The results of the infill drilling programme will also be integrated with the Demonstration Plant ( Demo Plant ) processing and operating output data to optimize the mine schedule and plant feed grades within the DFS. ) processing and operating output data to optimize the mine schedule and plant feed grades within the DFS. Giyani has now commenced the mining geotechnical field investigations to inform the mine design parameters for the DFS. Groundwater monitoring holes will also be drilled to allow on-going water sampling to confirm baseline water quality data and future monitoring during the construction and operating phases. Concurrent with these drilling programs, Giyani will launch the civil geotechnical field investigations. These investigations will comprise both drilling and pitting programmes, and inform the geotechnical design criteria of all plant, support infrastructure, access roads, waste rock dumps and the tailings storage facility, all important steps in the DFS process. Danny Keating, President and CEO of the Company, commented: We have initiated a comprehensive fieldwork programme aimed at upgrading significant portions of the Indicated Mineral Resource into the Measured Mineral Resource category, providing geotechnical data for detailed designs of the plant and related infrastructure, and installing a water monitoring system to ensure our compliance with the highest international environmental standards. This continues our approach of systematically de-risking the Project in advance of securing construction financing. Meeting lender requirements that the debt repayment period is covered by Measured Mineral Resource, that the project execution plan is supported by detailed designs and underpinned by sound geotechnical data are all part of a comprehensive de-risking approach with the aim of further increasing the Projects attractiveness to lenders and investors. 2024 Drilling Programme Giyani has completed a resource drilling programme which commenced in Q1 2024 (see Figure 1 below) and included 3,185m of drilling over 61 holes. A combination of reverse-circulation (RC) and diamond drilling (DD) was used to optimise core recoveries as well as minimise costs. RC is more cost effective than DD for collaring the holes and initial casing, while DD provided superior core sample recovery for analysis and density testwork. The programme builds on the 2023 MRE (see Table 1 below), which was prepared using data from 187 RC and DD holes from all drilling campaigns conducted over the Project since 2018, totalling 10,710m. The goal of the current programme is to upgrade and reclassify a portion of the current 8.6Mt Indicated Mineral Resource into Measured Mineral Resources, to ensure the Project has sufficient Measured Mineral Resources for the initial five years of mine production that typically covers the project finance debt repayment period. The addition of this data will increase Giyanis knowledge of its K.Hill deposit, enabling more accurate modelling of the ore grade and the elemental profile of the ore going to the plant, in turn allowing more accurate forecasting of the production profile. Some 100t of mineralised material from K.Hill was shipped to Johannesburg in 2023 and is expected to be processed into HPMSM at the Demo Plant in H2 2024. The same ore from K.Hill will be used as feedstock in the Commercial Plant which is planned to be built in Botswana and start ramping up to full commercial scale production from 2027. Figure 1: 2024 K.Hill Drill Programme Mineral Resource Estimate1 The Mineral Resource Estimate completed by CSA Global in July 2023 is presented for ease of reference. Mineral Resource Classification Tonnage (Mt) Grade (% MnO) Contained MnO (Mt) HPMSM Equivalent (Mt)2 Indicated 8.6 15.2 1.3 3.1 Inferred 6.1 14.1 0.9 2.1 Table 1: K.Hill Project CSA Global MRE Statement as of July 2023 (at a cut-off grade of 7.3% MnO) Source: K.Hill Battery-Grade Manganese Project Preliminary Economic Assessment, National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report, with an effective date of 31st July 2023, was prepared on behalf of Giyani Corp. by CSA Global South Africa (Pty) Ltd, an ERM Group company, Tetra Tech Europe, Knight Piesold Ltd. and Axe Valley Mining Consultants Ltd. and was filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ on August 25, 2023. Before processing recoveries are applied. MRE Notes: a) The Mineral Resource has been classified and reported under the guidelines defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in their document CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves of May 2014. b) Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. c) Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry tonnes; figures are reported in metric tonnes. d) Figures have been rounded to the appropriate level of precision for the reporting of Mineral Resources. e) Estimation has been completed within 6 different mineralization domains. f) Mineral Resources are reported assuming open pit mining methods. g) The Mineral Resource is reported within a conceptual pit shell determined using a price of US$3,800/t HPMSM (equivalent to US$9,054/t MnO), conceptual parameters and costs to support assumptions relating to reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. h) The Mineral Resource is reported at a cut-off grade of 7.3% MnO. i) The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. CSA Global is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, or other any other relevant factors affecting the MRE. j) HPMSM price quoted is based on 2022 market data, which was available at the time of reporting the Mineral Resource. Additional pricing information will be available for input into subsequent technical studies, and this may impact on the Mineral Resource reported. Qualified Person and Data Verification Mr. Luhann Theron, MSc., Pr.Sci.Nat. 400184/15, of Lambda Tau is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, membership number 400184/15, and last visited the K.Hill Project site in July 2024 and is a QP, as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Theron is the Chief Geologist for the Company and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content contained in this announcement but is not independent for the purposes of NI 43-101. About Giyani Giyani is focussed on becoming the dominant western-world producer of sustainable, low carbon high purity battery grade manganese for the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The Company has developed a proprietary hydrometallurgical process to produce High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM), a lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathode precursor material critical for EVs. The Company has secured US$26m in financing from two strategic partners, ARCH Sustainable Resources Fund LP and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, as it aims to progress the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in Botswana to construction by building and operating the Demo Plant and completing a Definitive Feasibility Study by H1 2025. Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedarplus.ca and on Giyani Metals Corp. website at https://giyanimetals.com/ . On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp. Danny Keating, President and CEO Contact: Danny Keating President & Chief Executive Officer Tel: +1 289 291 7632 dkeating@giyanimetals.com Charles FitzRoy Head of Corporate Development & Strategy cfitzroy@giyanimetals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons. Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyani's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include their anticipated operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyani's ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to the uncertainty of mineral resource calculations and the inclusion of Inferred Mineral Resources in economic estimation; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licences and permits; risks related to their business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to their mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to their directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyani's forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements. Giyani's forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of their respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyani's Annual Information Form, all of which are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/025b2733-45d8-486a-8972-ec49be0719b6 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper (NorthWest or the Company) (TSX-V: NWST) is pleased to report the 2024 drill program at the Lorraine-Top Cat project in north-central British Columbia has been successfully completed and crews will be de-mobilizing from the field once the diamond drill core is processed. Approximately 800+ metres of drilling was completed at the regional Nova and Road IP Targets (see news release dated July 4, 2024, for descriptions of the targets). Three holes were drilled, one at Nova (356 metres) and two at Road IP (456 metres total). The drill holes are currently being logged and sampled. Approximately 470+ half-core diamond drill samples with QAQC samples inserted will be sent to Activation Laboratories in Kamloops. Assay results are expected in the coming weeks, and a full discussion of results and observations will be released when assays are received. The results of this program will be leveraged to assist in developing future targets at Lorraine-Top Cat, in support of the Companys strategy to grow our mineral resource base via exploration. Figure 1. Location of the Nova and Road IP Targets relative to NorthWests mineral tenure at Lorraine-Top Cat. The Lorraine-Top Cat Project The Project covers 65,000+ ha and is located in north-central British Columbia, 280 km northwest of Prince George, BC and approximately 45 km from NorthWests Kwanika-Stardust Project. The Lorraine deposit is a silica-undersaturated alkalic copper-gold porphyry deposit, which is the same classification as the Galore Creek and Mount Polley deposits.1 Mineralization at the Lorraine - Top Cat Project is hosted mostly by Early Jurassic syenite and pyroxenite intrusions that are part of the Duckling Creek Syenite Complex (DCSC), but additional targets such as Road IP are associated with other phases of the Jurassic Hogem batholith or with older Takla Group volcanic rocks. A modern mineral resource estimate (MRE) was completed for portions of the Lorraine deposit in 20222 that includes indicated resources of 12.952 Mt grading 0.55% Cu and 0.16 g/t Au, and inferred resources of 45.252 Mt grading 0.43% Cu and 0.10 g/t Au at 0.20% copper cut-off grade.3 As described in previous disclosures, however, gold concentration is likely understated and silver was not included in the estimation because many historical drill holes were inconsistently analyzed for the two metals. The MRE extends to surface and includes the Lower Main, Upper Main, and Bishop Zones and intervening rock. Copper sulphides manifest various combinations of chalcopyrite, bornite and hypogene chalcocite, and the concentration of pyrite is generally low. Gold and silver, where analyzed, are spatially related to the copper mineralization, and elevated concentrations of platinum and palladium have been reported in several published papers. Disclosure Statement Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Tyler Caswell, P.Geo., VP Exploration of NorthWest, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects. About NorthWest Copper: NorthWest Copper is a copper-gold explorer with a portfolio of projects in British Columbia. With a robust portfolio in a tier one jurisdiction, NorthWest Copper is well positioned to participate in a strengthening global copper market. We are committed to responsible mineral exploration which includes working collaboratively with First Nations to ensure future development incorporates stewardship best practices and traditional land use. Additional information can be found on the Companys website at www.northwestcopper.ca. On Behalf of NorthWest Copper Corp. Tyler Caswell Vice President, Exploration For further information, please contact: Tel: 604-683-7790 Email: info@northwestcopper.ca 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. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussion with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always using phrases such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to statements with respect to; plans and intentions of the Company; proposed exploration and development of NorthWests exploration property interests including potential size of budget and type of exploration being conducted; the Companys ability to finance future operations; the potential size of a mineralized zone or potential expansion of mineralization; geological interpretations; the estimation of Mineral Resources; future operations; mine plans, and magnitude or quality of mineral deposits. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, constitutes forward-looking information. Although NorthWest believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information since NorthWest can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in NorthWests periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking information are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from NorthWests expectations include risks associated with the business of NorthWest; risks related to reliance on technical information provided by NorthWest; risks related to exploration and potential development of the Companys mineral properties; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; the need for cooperation of government agencies and First Nation groups in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in NorthWests filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ in Canada (available at www.sedarplus.com). Forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the information are made. NorthWest does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. _____________________________ 1 Lang et al. (1995) Triassic-Jurassic silica-undersaturated and silica-saturated alkalic intrusions in the Cordillera of British Columbia: Implications for arc magmatism. Geology, v. 23, p. 451-454. 2 See news release dated July 27, 2022 available at www.northwestcopper.ca and www.sedarplus.com. 3 See NI 43-101 technical report titled Lorraine Copper-Gold Project NI 43-101 Report & Mineral Resource Estimate Omineca Mining Division, B.C, dated September 12, 2022 with an effective date of June 30, 2022, filed under the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ff9e0d16-817e-42d0-9b05-f1497351a680 Rockville, MD, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global automotive turbocharger market is projected to touch a value of US$ 14.31 billion in 2024. The market has been forecasted to climb to US$ 29.77 billion by the end of 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 7.6% over the next decade. Automotive turbochargers are turbine-driven induction devices, which amplify the engine efficiency and output of IC engines. These devices are deployed to direct more fuel into the combustion chamber in case the atmospheric pressure of the vehicle fails to keep up with the desired output. Turbochargers are weighed as a viable commodity by car manufacturers which is relied upon for keeping fossil fuel engines clean. The most profitable part of the automotive industry is engine downsizing. Small engines are becoming increasingly common in automobiles since they help efficiently reduce fuel emissions. Turbochargers assist automobile manufacturers in meeting regulatory rules and regulations for the emission of dangerous gases such as carbon dioxide and other pollutants from automobiles. For More Insights into the Market, Request a Sample of this Report: https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=16 Key Market Growth Drivers Demand for automotive turbochargers is rising at a significant pace due to their cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits. This growth is fueled by increasing vehicle sales and manufacturing globally, driven by urbanization, industrialization, road infrastructure development, and improved standards of living. Enhancing valves in automotive turbochargers involves optimizing their design and functionality to improve overall vehicle performance across different speed ranges. These enhancements are ensuring efficient airflow management, which is crucial for achieving optimal engine power and responsiveness. Adoption of automotive turbochargers improves fuel efficiency. They enhance engine performance by increasing air intake into powertrain combustion engines. Automotive turbochargers are highly efficient and environment-friendly because they boost engine power without increasing piston displacement. Furthermore, optimal resource utilization, reduced waste production, and increased efficiency are the primary factors responsible for increasing the automotive turbocharger market size. In recent years, the automotive industry has seen an increase in engine downsizing. Automotive turbocharger systems are increasing engine output power while maintaining piston displacement. This factor is leading to engine downsizing improving fuel efficiency and performance. How are Manufacturers of Automotive Turbochargers Progressing? Automotive Turbocharger Manufacturers Proactively Adopting Wastegate Technologies Constant increase in automobile production is set to be one of the predominant factors linked with environmental deterioration. By drawing advantages from the aforementioned scenario, automotive turbochargers are finding extensive use cases. Prosperity of the automotive turbochargers market is favoring the production of cars and vehicles with TGDI (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) engines. With a succession of innovations coming into the picture in the automotive turbochargers market, a new range of advanced turbochargers with exclusive valve designs is being introduced. Primary objective behind the enhancement of valves in the automotive turbochargers market is to boost vehicle performance, both, in low- as well as high-speed conditions. Manufacturers are proactively adopting wastegate technologies that enable transforming engines to curtail emissions, thus contributing to automotive turbocharger market growth. What are the Key Challenges Faced by Market Players? High Cost of Turbocharger Replacement and Growing Preference for Zero-Emission Vehicles Electric vehicles are replacing traditional gasoline vehicles in the worldwide automobile sector. Rising emissions from automobile fuels are contributing to air pollution and the global warming crisis. People's growing preference for zero-emission vehicles is hurting the market. Turbocharger replacement is also costly. Turbochargers with poor maintenance might fail prematurely, increasing the load on the engine cooling oil. As a result of the cooling oil required, TGDI (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) engines have high maintenance costs. Country-wise Insights North America is expected to hold 18.5% of the global market share in 2024 due to the high deployment of automotive turbochargers across the region. In Europe, developments such as automobile performance tuning and engine remapping, as well as additive manufacturing, are gaining pace, prompting manufacturers to consider these automotive turbocharger market trends during the development of superior cars. Leading Players Driving Innovation in the Automotive Turbocharger Market Key players in the automotive turbocharger market are BorgWarner Inc., Continental AG, Garrett Motion Inc., Eaton Corporation PLC, Honeywell International Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Precision Turbo & Engine Inc., Rotomaster International, THE TURBO ENGINEERS GmbH, Fuyuan Turbocharger Co., Ltd., Marelli Corporation, Turbo Dynamics. What are the Opportunities for the Manufacturers of Automotive Turbochargers in the United States? Rising Demand for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Driving Production of Smart Turbochargers The United States is estimated to account for an automotive turbocharger market share of 85.4% in North America in 2024. The automotive turbocharger market in the United States is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period due to the implementation of smart technology in turbochargers. Also due to the rising demand for fuel-efficient vehicles in the country, the automotive turbochargers market is expected to rise steadily over the forecast period. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States is implementing stringent fuel emission regulations. The government is moving towards mandating manufacturers to develop cleaner and more fuel-efficient engines. Get Customization on this Report for Specific Research Solutions: https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=16 Automotive Turbocharger Industry News In 2021, MAN Energy Solutions and Rolls-Royce collaborated to have MAN's PBST brand distribute state-of-the-art MTU turbochargers. This agreement combined Rolls-Royce's latest high-efficiency MTU turbocharger technology for high-speed diesel and gas engines with PBST's global turbocharger sales structure. In April 2021, BorgWarner Inc. expanded its offering by introducing three new BorgWarner turbochargers for passenger car applications. The newly launched turbochargers are for Opel, BMW, and Peugeot. Check out More Related Studies Published by Fact.MR: Automotive Exhaust Muffler Market : Share is anticipated to reach US$ 10,166.2 Mn in 2022, expected to reach US$ 18,552.29 Mn by 2032. Across the 2022-2032 assessment period, the market is expected to surge at a CAGR of 6.2%. Automotive Exhaust Sensor Market : Size is expected to reach a value pool of US$ 37 Billion by the end of the projected period from 2022 to 2032. During the 2022-2032 period of assessment, demand is expected to rise at a 3.2% value CAGR. Engine Flush Market : Size is forecasted to increase at a CAGR of 3.85% and touch a valuation of US$ 2.41 billion by the end of 2033, up from US$ 1.65 billion in 2023. Automotive Exhaust Aftertreatment System Market : Share is estimated at US$ 24.1 billion in 2024 and has been calculated to increase at a CAGR of 3.6% to reach US$ 36.02 billion by the end of 2034. Exhaust System Market : Size is estimated to reach US$ 63.02 billion in 2024. The global exhaust system market is projected to expand at 5.9% CAGR to climb to a value of US$ 111.8 billion by the end of 2034. Automotive Heat Shield Market : Size has been calculated at US$ 13.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to advance at a CAGR of 3.3% to reach US$ 19 billion by the end of 2034. About Us: Fact.MR is a distinguished market research company renowned for its comprehensive market reports and invaluable business insights. As a prominent player in business intelligence, we deliver deep analysis, uncovering market trends, growth paths, and competitive landscapes. Renowned for its commitment to accuracy and reliability, we empower businesses with crucial data and strategic recommendations, facilitating informed decision-making and enhancing market positioning. With its unwavering dedication to providing reliable market intelligence, FACT.MR continues to assist companies in navigating dynamic market challenges with confidence and achieving long-term success. With a global presence and a team of experienced analysts, FACT.MR ensures its clients receive actionable insights to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay competitive. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAX Power Mining Corp. (CSE: MAXX; OTC: MAXXF; FRANKFURT: 89N) (MAX Power or the Company), utilizing proprietary methods and data modelling, has identified a prospective naturally occurring hydrogen resource play in southeast Saskatchewan featuring dozens of historical hydrogen showings, including grades up to 96.4%, within a compelling geological context. As a result, through a series of permit applications, MAX Power has assembled a 1,244 sq. km land package, which shall now be referred to as the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project, situated within the ~200-km-long NE-SW striking Torquay-Rocanville Corridor (see attached map). Multiple high-priority target areas exist across five separate large claim blocks and include evidence of potential upward migration of hydrogen to surface, possibly through serpentinization or fracture zones, making the Rider Project the largest known area in Canada for the potential discovery of naturally occurring accumulations of hydrogen gas. MAX Powers staking covers almost all of the available Crown land as well as the premier Natural Hydrogen targets within the Torquay-Rocanville Corridor. Highlights Two blocks at the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project include very high concentrations of hydrogen ( 96.4 % at Weyburn and 87.4 % at Stoughton) from the wellhead, supported by historical drill stem tests from old wells, indicating that Natural Hydrogen may have migrated to surface; % at Weyburn and % at Stoughton) from the wellhead, supported by historical drill stem tests from old wells, indicating that Natural Hydrogen may have migrated to surface; Two additional high-grade showings ( 88.3 % and 75.6 %) from the wellhead also occur within 800 meters and 200 meters, respectively, of MAX Power land claims; % and %) from the wellhead also occur within 800 meters and 200 meters, respectively, of MAX Power land claims; Given the limited number of wells (45) in the data set covering the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project, vs. the number of total wells believed to have been drilled in the region for which data is not available, the fact that seven of these wells showed hydrogen grades >10% at varying depths takes on added significance (the other 38 showed hydrogen grades between 1% and 10%). MAX Power Special Advisor Mr. Denis Briere, VP-Engineering for Chapman Hydrogen and Petroleum Engineering Ltd., and regarded as one of the worlds leading petrophysicists, commented: My involvement in the worlds first discovery of a naturally occurring hydrogen gas accumulation in Mali, West Africa, over a decade ago was tremendously gratifying, especially since it quickly powered an entire village with low-cost, emissions-free electricity. This news from Saskatchewan - the scale of the opportunity and the very high historical grades - represents a watershed development for the world in the rapidly emerging Natural Hydrogen sector. Chapman is looking forward to working with MAX Power to take the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project to the next level. Moving Forward Geologists are designing a near-term program to verify and validate the existence of a naturally occurring hydrogen trend at Rider ; ; MAX Power continues to review an extensive array of datasets in Saskatchewan and elsewhere with an aggressive plan to further build on its first mover advantage in the Natural Hydrogen sector in Canada and the United States; Pro-energy and pro-business Saskatchewan is exceptionally positioned to become the first jurisdiction in North America to produce Natural Hydrogen given a combination of highly favorable geology and a clearly defined policy framework for exploration and development of this important new alternate energy source. MAX Power CEO Rav Mlait added: The acquisition of key permits to form the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project in SE Saskatchewan is a major development for MAX Power as we hit the ground running with the largest target area in the country for Natural Hydrogen in one of the best jurisdictions globally for exploration and resource development. The efforts of the MAX Power team are to be commended as we have used proprietary methods and state-of-the-art data modelling to uncover best-in-class targets. I recently met with top government officials in Saskatchewan and we are very enthused to be working in this forward-looking province. Natural Hydrogen is the cleanest form of hydrogen and can be developed at the lowest cost relative to other hydrogen (manufactured) variations. MAX Power has the potential to ignite a whole new energy boom in Canada and North America. Figure 1 : Map showing the location of Max Powers Natural Hydrogen Permit Applications Proposed Model for the Source of Natural Hydrogen and its Concentration in Saskatchewan Southern Saskatchewan is entirely covered by the pervasive and thick Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB); The WCSB directly overlies the crystalline Pre-Cambrian basement; This basement is the perceived source rock for naturally occurring hydrogen, especially where the basement rock has an ultramafic composition; There are a series of deep structures, including faults, allowing movement of gasses from the basement upwards into the WCSB. In addition to structures, a series of domes and arches add to the structural complexity of the WCSB; Natural Hydrogen migrates upward into certain geological formations where it can accumulate. Natural Hydrogen Video Learn more about Natural Hydrogen by clicking on the following link: https://vimeo.com/953002092/d6f8574ba4 MAX Power Natural Hydrogen Deck Learn more about MAX Powers first mover advantage in North Americas Natural Hydrogen sector by clicking on the following link: https://www.maxpowermining.com/Presentations/MAXPower-NaturalHydrogen.pdf MAX Power Corporate Presentation Click on the following link to view MAX Powers Corporate Deck: https://maxpowermining.com/Presentations/MAXPower-Corporate.pdf Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Thomas Clarke, P.Geo., Pr.Sci.Nat., and Director for MAX Power Mining Corp. Mr. Clarke is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards. About MAX Power Mining MAX Power is an innovative mineral exploration company focused on North Americas shift to decarbonization. MAX Power is a first mover in the rapidly growing Natural Hydrogen sector, through strategic alliances with Calgary-based Chapman Hydrogen & Petroleum Engineering Ltd., and European- based Larin Engineering HHC. MAX Power also holds a portfolio of properties in the United States and Canada focused on critical minerals. These properties are highlighted by a recent diamond drilling discovery at the Willcox Playa Lithium Project in southeast Arizona. On behalf of the Board of Directors Rav Mlait- CEO MAX Power Mining Corp. MarketSmart Communications Tel: 877-261-4466. info@maxpowermining.com Tel: 778-655-9266 Forward-Looking Statement Cautions This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, and any legislation specifically relating to natural hydrogen, exploration and acquisition of natural hydrogen properties; ability to locate, discover and/or extract natural hydrogen from the subsurface; commentary as it relates to the opportune timing to carry out natural hydrogen exploration; and any anticipated increasing demand for natural hydrogen; any results and updates thereto as it relates to any future drill program, and the funding of that program; and upcoming press releases by the Company. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. They are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects, "plans, "anticipates, "believes, interpreted, "intends, "estimates, "projects, "aims, suggests, often, target, future, likely, pending, "potential, "goal, "objective, "prospective, possibly, preliminary, and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will, "would, "may, "can, "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the CSE, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of drill program results, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out its exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's Managements Discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. MONTREAL, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Autonomous non-profit hospitals tend to perform better than government-run hospitals, shows a study published this morning by the Montreal Economic Institute. Interminable waits in Canadian hospitals show that our healthcare systems are struggling to deliver basic services to the population, says Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at MEI and author of the study. By allowing independent non-profit hospitals to open, our governments would help increase treatment capacity, to the benefit of patients. In 2023, the median wait time in Quebec ERs was 5 hours and 13 minutes, up 42 minutes from five years earlier. It is estimated that as a result of chronic overcrowding in Canadian ERs, there are between 8,000 and 15,000 avoidable deaths each year. The Canadian health care system ranks 10th out of 11 comparable industrialized countries, just ahead of the United States, in the Commonwealth Funds ranking of healthcare systems. The French, German, and Dutch systems are 8th, 5th, and 2nd respectively in the same ranking. While the Canadian system has no independent non-profit hospitals according to the OECDs definition, such facilities account for 14 per cent of French hospital beds, 28 per cent of German hospital beds, and 100 per cent of Dutch hospital beds. The researcher attributes a portion of the success of these facilities to their greater managerial autonomy and to a funding method that encourages the treatment of more patients. One of the strengths of these hospitals is how quickly they can adapt, contrary to facilities micromanaged by government ministries, as is the case in Canada, explains Ms. Faubert. Since their financing depends on the type and the quantity of ailments treated, administrators see the sustainability of their facilities as being directly linked to their capacity to treat patients. Although Canadian hospitals generally have their own boards of directors, the management of their daily activities and their funding are subject to strict government control. Aside from certain limited experiments, notably in Quebec, Canadian hospitals still depend largely on a global budgeting model, in which funding depends entirely on the level of activity in the previous year. Since the annual budgetary envelope is fixed, each additional patient is seen as a cost, says the researcher. In Europe, in contrast, hospitals are largely financed according to an activity-based funding model, whereby a hospital receives a set amount of money for each treatment carried out within its walls. With this system, each additional patient treated represents an immediate source of revenue for the facility, says the researcher. Its clear that our healthcare system can and must do better, and that means changing the incentives of those who manage it, says Ms. Faubert. By introducing non-profit hospitals, with a better funding model, and by granting health professionals more flexibility, we will be able to provide better care to more patients, as they do in Europe. The MEI study is available here: https://www.iedm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/note082024_en.pdf The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship. Interview requests Natalia Alcocer Intern, Communications Cell: 514 974-7835 nalcocer@iedm.org --- To follow the MEIs work, subscribe to our Twitter account @iedm_montreal. HOUSTON, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) (Crown Castle) announced today that it is commencing a public offering of one or more series of senior notes, subject to market and other conditions. The notes will be issued by Crown Castle. Crown Castle intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its commercial paper program and pay related fees and expenses. BofA Securities, Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., MUFG Securities Americas Inc., PNC Capital Markets LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Truist Securities, Inc. are the joint book-running managers of the offering. The offering is being made pursuant to Crown Castles existing effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by contacting any joint book-running manager using the information provided below. An electronic copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement, together with the accompanying prospectus, is also available on the SECs website, www.sec.gov. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Crown Castle managements current expectations. Such statements include plans, projections and estimates regarding the proposed offering, including the use of proceeds therefrom. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including prevailing market conditions and other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. More information about potential risk factors that could affect Crown Castle and its results is included in Crown Castles filings with the SEC. The term including, and any variation thereof, means including, without limitation. ABOUT CROWN CASTLE Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them. JOINT BOOK-RUNNING MANAGERS CONTACT INFORMATION MONETT, Mo., Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Little Tikes Commercial , which designs and manufactures innovative, commercial-grade playground equipment for children of all ages and abilities, today announced a partnership with the World of Eric Carle, a design-driven licensing and merchandising program based on the renowned author and illustrators beloved picture books. The agreement empowers Little Tikes Commercial to design and manufacture playground equipment based on all of Carles books, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has sold more than 55 million copies since its 1969 publication. We are honored to collaborate with the World of Eric Carle as we create imaginative playground equipment inspired by his classic tales of growth, transformation, and discovery that have delighted readers for more than five decades, said Todd Brinker, senior vice president of commercial growth for outdoor play, PlayPower, the parent company of Little Tikes Commercial . This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to inspire wonder and develop life skills through imaginative play. We look forward to bringing his unique vision to life. Through the collaboration, young children will be able to explore their physical abilities while experiencing the joy of Carles characters in a whole new way. "We are delighted to unite with Little Tikes Commercial, a premier partner that shares Eric Carle's dedication to learning through play, said Jackie DeMaio, licensing director at the Joester Loria Group, the worldwide licensing agent for the World of Eric Carle. A prolific author and artist, Erics work was always about encouraging children to explore the world around them through the joy of play. The playground equipment developed as a result of this partnership will help ensure that his messages of hope, adventure, and learning continue to inspire the next generation both in and out of the classroom." The first products in the collaborative line are freestanding climbers in the shapes of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and butterfly. The climbers, which use Carles characters to embrace fun and exploration, are available to order starting today. The addition of the World of Eric Carle-themed equipment to Little Tikes Commercials product offerings will not only create a magical experience on any playground where it is installed, but also help support learning and development, particularly in schoolyard settings. Our versatile designs ensure that these new play elements can seamlessly integrate with any playground equipment, allowing for easy installation at both existing and new play spaces, said Brett Kidd, vice president of global sales for Little Tikes Commercial . Eric Carles timeless characters will be a perfect fit for any space that celebrates the magic of play and learning. The World of Eric Carle nurtures a childs love of literature and learning, encouraging imaginative play and exploration. Trusted by parents, teachers, and librarians, and beloved by children worldwide for generations, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Carles other timeless storybooks come to life in colorfully creative products, designed to inspire very hungry young minds. For more information about Little Tikes Commercial and The World of Eric Carle partnership, please visit L ittleTikesCommercial.com/Eric-Carle . About Little Tikes Commercial Little Tikes Commercial designs and manufactures commercial-grade playgrounds for parks, schools, childcare centers, and other places where children gather. A division of PlayPower, Inc., Little Tikes Commercial empowers kids to flourish by inspiring wonder and developing life skills through imaginative play. Our mission is to create fun, exciting, and inclusive play spaces that instantly engage imaginations. For more information, visit LittleTikesCommercial.com . About The World of Eric Carle The World of Eric Carle is a design-driven licensing and merchandising program based on the beloved picture books by Eric Carle. A prolific author and artist, Eric Carle has written and illustrated more than seventy books which have sold over 175 million copies worldwide. Like his books, The World of Eric Carle brand draws upon Eric Carles approach to creativity, discovery, play and development. Licensing and merchandising programs are ongoing in the US, Japan, China, UK, Australia, and Europe. For more information, please visit: www.Facebook.com/theworldofEricCarle . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5297278f-816a-44ef-b0da-3d6a49e08cfa Dublin, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Ammonia Crackers Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2019-2029F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Global Ammonia Crackers Market was valued at USD 1.14 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to project robust growth in the forecast period with a CAGR of 4.39% through 2029 The market ecosystem surrounding ammonia crackers comprises manufacturers, green hydrogen and ammonia producers, technology providers, and end users, each playing a crucial role in supporting the market's expansion. Manufacturers are not only focused on producing efficient and cost-effective ammonia crackers but also constantly exploring ways to improve their performance and reliability. Technology providers, on the other hand, are actively engaged in developing innovative solutions to enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of these systems. End users of ammonia crackers encompass a diverse range of industries, from industrial entities to energy providers, all of whom are increasingly recognizing the numerous benefits offered by these systems. Beyond the production of green hydrogen, ammonia crackers have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly future. This realization has sparked interest and adoption among end users, further driving the demand for ammonia crackers. While the market for ammonia crackers holds great promise, it is not without its challenges. One such challenge is the significant initial investment required to establish these systems. However, with advancements in technology and economies of scale, the costs associated with ammonia crackers are expected to decrease over time. Additionally, there are concerns surrounding the safe storage and transportation of hydrogen, which necessitate the development of robust safety protocols and infrastructure. Nonetheless, ongoing research and development efforts are addressing these challenges and are poised to unlock even greater potential for ammonia crackers, fostering continued market growth. Ammonia crackers are poised to play a pivotal role in the transition towards a greener and more sustainable future. With their ability to produce green hydrogen, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support various industries, these systems are at the forefront of the evolving energy landscape. As advancements continue and challenges are overcome, the market for ammonia crackers is expected to thrive, contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious world. Key Market Trends Ammonia crackers, also referred to as ammonia decomposers, are instrumental in the production of hydrogen and hydrogen compounds, offering a significant contribution to sustainable energy solutions. Their efficacy in generating green hydrogen, recognized as a clean and renewable energy source, has spurred their adoption across diverse industries, reflecting a broader global shift towards cleaner energy alternatives. Driving the uptake of ammonia crackers is the escalating global demand for hydrogen, fueled by mounting concerns over climate change and the imperative to transition to cleaner energy sources. Hydrogen, with its potential to supplant fossil fuels in various applications such as power generation and transportation, has emerged as a pivotal component of the transition towards a sustainable energy future. A notable illustration of the growing importance of hydrogen production through ammonia cracking is exemplified by the French industrial gases company, Air Liquide. In a strategic maneuver underscoring the evolving dynamics of the global energy landscape, Air Liquide has unveiled plans to construct a large-scale ammonia cracker at the port of Antwerp in Belgium by 2024. This forward-looking initiative epitomizes the company's dedication to advancing hydrogen production through cutting-edge ammonia cracking technology, aligning with broader sustainability objectives. As technological advancements in ammonia cracking continue and the spotlight on sustainable energy solutions intensifies, the role of ammonia crackers in the global energy sector is poised to become increasingly prominent. In the quest for a greener and more sustainable future, ammonia crackers are poised to emerge as indispensable enablers of the widespread adoption of green hydrogen, serving as a cornerstone of our collective efforts towards a clean energy transition. With their ability to produce clean hydrogen efficiently and effectively, ammonia crackers are positioned to drive transformative changes in the energy landscape, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient future for generations to come. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 185 Forecast Period 2023 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $1.14 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $1.47 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 4.3% Regions Covered Global Key Market Players Haldor Topsoe A/S KBR Inc. Siemens Energy AG Air Liquide SA thyssenkrupp AG Duiker Combustion Engineers BV Lindberg/MPH Gasbarre Products, Inc. Suzhou Since Gas Technology Co., Ltd. Nuberg GPD Ammonia Crackers Market, By Type: Centralized Decentralized Ammonia Crackers Market, By Application: Heat Treatment Metal Industry Oil and Gas Mobility Power Generation Others Ammonia Crackers Market, By Region: North America United States Canada Mexico Europe France United Kingdom Italy Germany Spain Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia South Korea South America Brazil Argentina Colombia Middle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bisz5o About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Press Release Paris, August 1st, 2024, 5:30 PM Quarterly sales column HOPS HOPSCOTCH GROUPE Consolidated Sales for first semester 2024 Growth maintained at +17.4% gross margin HOPSCOTCH Groupe (Euronext Growth FR0000065278), A communications consultancy group and major player in digital and social spheres, public relations and events, presents its consolidated turnover and gross margin as of June 30, 2024. M (*) Q1 Q2 1st Semester Consolidated turnover 2024 Consolidated gross margin 2024 55.2 21.8 74.4 27.5 129.6 49.3 Consolidated turnover 2023 Consolidated gross margin 2023 51.0 18.3 71.9 23.7 122.9 42.0 Change in turnover Change in gross margin +8.3% +19.1% +3.5% +16.0% +5.5% +17.4% (*) Unaudited data Turnover and gross margin for the first semester of 2024 totaled 129.6 million euros and 49.3 million euros, up 5.5% (sales) and 17.4% (gross margin) respectively on the same period of 2023. The second quarter thus confirms the trend seen in the first. Since the second semester of 2023, the Group has included in its calculations the companies composing Hopscotch Interface Tourism, acquired in the second semester of 2023. These companies, which were not yet consolidated in 2023, contributed 4.4 million euros to the Group's gross margin in the first half of 2024. As a result, the Group's organic growth remains strong, at +7% gross margin, over this period. While all the Group's activities are showing positive growth, the Events agency has had a particularly strong start to the year. The group intends to accelerate its development, particularly internationally, and is therefore strengthening the HOPSCOTCH brand platform worldwide. In particular, Sopexa is changing its name to Hopscotch Season in order to extend its consulting activities to promote the Art de Vivre around the world, alongside Hopscotch Tourism, Hopscotch Luxe and Hopscotch.mov (expertise in mobility and automobiles), among others. In the 35 countries where the Group is present, the 100%-owned subsidiaries will take the name of Hopscotch country, for example Hopscotch USA, wherever possible. HOPSCOTCH Groupe will publish its consolidated half-year earnings for 2024 on September 25, after market close. Shareholder contact Pierre-Franck MOLEY Managing Directeur Tel. 01 41 34 20 56 - pfmoley@hopscotchgroupe.com Press Contact Jodie KNOEPFLER CONSCIENCE Executive Board Assistant Tel. 01 41 34 20 51 jodiekc@hopscotchgroupe.com ________ About Hopscotch HOPSCOTCH is an international communications group founded in France, directed by its founders and its managers, all guided by a business vision carried forward by the complementarity of expertise. HOPSCOTCHs founding belief? Global PR, created around a unique mix of digital, marketing, event management, influence and public relations, for both art de vivre and corporate challenges. HOPSCOTCH brings together in France (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille) and internationally (40 offices in 5 continents) more than 1,000 expert collaborators in all communication skills: influence, events, activation, digitalization, internal communications, public affairs, marketing services Convinced that the value of an enterprise or organization resides in the care given to its capital of human relations, HOPSCOTCH structures its agencies around its trade expertise: Event (Hopscotch Event, Hopscotch Congres, Hopscotch Moments, Sagarmatha), Public Relations (Hopscotch PR, Le Public Systeme PR, Human to Human, Hopscotch Decideurs), Digital and Marketing (heaven, AD Crew, Hopscotch Digital Studio)) and sectorial expetise (Le Public Systeme Cinema, Hopscotch Luxe, Hopscotch Season, Hopscotch Sport, Interface Tourism). Listed on Euronext Growth Paris (ISIN code: ALHOP FR 00000 6527 8), the group represents a turnover of 271 million and a gross margin of 93 million in 2023. Follow us: www.hopscotchgroupe.com and on LinkedIn / X / Instagram @HOPSCOTCHgroupe Attachment York, Pa., Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WellSpan Health and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Katz) at Temple University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a new regional campus in York County. The proposed arrangement will add the second regional campus to Temples medical school, which currently enrolls 880 medical students at the main Health Sciences Center campus in North Philadelphia and St. Lukes University Health Network campus in Bethlehem, Pa. The high-quality care WellSpan is known for across the Mid-Atlantic will only be enhanced by welcoming these medical students who will soon train and hone their skills among our own expert physicians and team members, said Dr. Anthony Aquilina, executive vice president and chief physician executive, WellSpan Health. Temple University has a strong national reputation for its educational programs, and were excited to work with such a prestigious institution knowing how it will benefit our patients. We are thrilled to work with WellSpan Health, renowned for its commitment to exceptional patient care. This collaboration will provide our medical students with unparalleled opportunities to learn and grow. Together, we will advance medical education and improve health outcomes for communities across the region. We look forward to an incredible collaboration that will not only benefit our institutions, students, faculty, and staff, but also the patients and communities we serve, said Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean, Lewis Katz School of Medicine. The arrangement will serve as a significant step in enhancing the supply of future WellSpan physicians across the health system and throughout central Pennsylvania communities. The first class of approximately 40 students would begin in August 2027 and graduate in May 2031. The proposed location of the campus will be in East York at 3350 Whiteford Road, which is a current WellSpan administrative building. WellSpan York Hospital will be home to the initial clinical site for the school, with the ability to utilize all WellSpan Health hospitals and ambulatory sites throughout the learning experience. The campus will employ more than 100 Katz faculty and have a staff of 30. The increased number of students and professionals who will live in the region because of this school will infuse and strengthen the local economy. Analysis shows that medical schools bring a highly diverse student and faculty network that will, in turn, advance existing WellSpan residency and fellowship programs, and likely lead to increased innovations, research and clinical trial opportunities for patients. WellSpan also recently announced it would affiliate with Jersey College to establish a school of nursing in the region that will offer an associate degree in nursing to help address the national nursing shortage. Attachment MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bird Construction Inc. (TSX: BDT) is pleased to communicate that the previously announced transaction to acquire Jacob Bros Construction (Jacob Bros) has been successfully completed. We are very excited to welcome Jacob Bros into the Bird family, bringing a highly complementary team with shared values and strong leadership that will support our long-term growth strategy, said Teri McKibbon, President and CEO of Bird. Not only does our combined company immediately add scale and diversification in BCs high-demand infrastructure market, but will also enable us to offer more comprehensive solutions as we pursue projects of various size, complexity, and scope. We look forward to continuing our strong track record of operational excellence and pursuing the robust opportunities in Western Canada together. In connection with the closing of the transaction, the Company issued 1,490,922 Bird common shares, and borrowed $125 million under an available term loan facility in its recently amended Syndicated Credit Facility. The new term loan was used to repay existing term loans and to fund a portion of the acquisition consideration. The new term loan is repaid quarterly at a rate of 10% of the original principal per year. This press release contains forward-looking information (as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. The Toronto Stock Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, contact: T.L. McKibbon, President & CEO or W.R. Gingrich, CFO Bird Construction Inc. 5700 Explorer Drive, Suite 400 Mississauga, ON L4W 0C6 Phone: (905) 602-4122 ABOUT BIRD CONSTRUCTION Bird (TSX: BDT) is a leading Canadian construction and maintenance company operating from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Servicing all of Canada's major markets through a collaborative, safety-first approach, Bird provides a comprehensive range of construction services, self-perform capabilities, and innovative solutions to the industrial, buildings, and infrastructure markets. For over 100 years, Bird has been a people-focused company with an unwavering commitment to safety and a high level of service that provides long-term value for all stakeholders. www.bird.ca FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements and information ("forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of management of Bird as of the date of this news release unless otherwise stated. The use of any of the words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "plan", "intend", "continue", "may", "will", "should", potential, projected, estimated, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning: the completion and timing of the acquisition of Jacob Bros; financing of the acquisition; future opportunities; expectations regarding the impact to Birds business, anticipated financial performance of Jacob Bros and its impact to the Companys operations and financial performance, including the anticipated accretive value to Bird; the future performance of acquired entities; the extent of operational efficiencies and expanded capacity; the Companys ability to capitalize on opportunities; and Birds ability to convert pending backlog to backlog, and the timing of conversions; the potential for synergies. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: that the parties will complete the acquisition in accordance with, and on the timeline contemplated by, the terms and conditions of the relevant agreements, on a basis consistent with Birds expectations; the accuracy of managements assessment of the effects of the successful completion of the proposed transaction; the ability of Jacob Bros to carry on its business consistent with past practice and convert existing backlog to revenue generating projects, consistent with managements expectations; the effect of the acquisition of Jacob Bros and Birds ability to capitalize on opportunities; the successful integration of Jacob Bros operations; the availability of financing under the Companys amended credit facilities; market conditions for civil infrastructure projects; and the ability of the Company and Jacob Bros to maintain their operating margins. Although Bird believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to the ability of Bird and Jacob Bros to obtain all necessary regulatory and third party approvals and satisfy all other necessary conditions to closing of the Transaction on a timely basis or at all; the failure to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the Transaction following completion thereof due to integration or other issues; an inability to complete and draw on the amended credit facilities in accordance with managements current expectations and the risks associated with the industries in which the Company operates in general such as: the ability to hire and retain qualified and capable personnel, maintaining safe work sites, economy and cyclicality, ability to secure work, global pandemics, performance of subcontractors, accuracy of cost to complete estimates, estimating costs and schedules/assessing contract risks, adjustments and cancellations of Backlog, work stoppages, strikes and lockouts, acquisition and integration risk, potential for non-payment, litigation/potential litigation, design risks, information systems and cyber-security risk, competitive factors, completion and performance guarantees, access to capital, quality assurance and quality control, access to surety support and other contract security, insurance risk, climate change risk, joint venture risk, ethics and reputational risk, compliance with environmental laws, internal and disclosure controls, and payment of dividends. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on other factors that could affect the operations or financial results of the parties, and the combined company are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities, including but not limited to; Bird's Annual Information Form and Managements Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023, each of which may be accessed on Birds SEDAR+ profile, at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Companys website at www.bird.ca. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as, and to the extent required by applicable securities laws. LARKSPUR, Calif., July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtu Investments (Virtu), a multifamily real estate investment firm primarily engaged in the acquisition and management of apartments in the western United States, today announced it has acquired Skyglass Tower, a brand-new Class A, 338-unit, 31-story multifamily tower located in downtown Seattle, WA. Completed in 2024, the LEED Gold, glass-paneled high-rise in the South Lake Union neighborhood is comprised of luxury studio and 1-3 bedroom units, three floors of underground parking, as well as retail space at ground level. Additional features include a rooftop green space, gym, a lobby with high-end finishes, and views of the Space Needle. Virtu sees the Pacific Northwest, and Seattle in particular, as an attractive target for multifamily investment driven by the areas rising employment figures and high demand for luxury apartments, coupled with property values currently well below their peak. Limited high-end multifamily supply and bottoming prices in the Seattle market makes this a great time for Virtu to invest opportunistically in this key area of the Pacific Northwest, said Michael Green, CEO of Virtu Investments. We have decades of experience investing in multifamily buildings across market cycles, and are eager to continue identifying investment opportunities like these for the benefit of our stakeholders. Virtu acquired Skyglass Tower as a joint venture with the Real Estate Business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives and the Virtu Evergreen Fund, an open-end fund launched in 2015 for generational ownership, long-term compounding, extreme tax efficiency and flexible liquidity. The Evergreen Fund is designed to take advantage of 1031 Exchanges within the Fund to perpetually defer taxes on gains and cashflow. Cushman & Wakefields Capital Markets team led by Marc Renard, Sam Wayne, and Dave Karson represented the seller, Gemdale USA, in the transaction. Cushman & Wakefields Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team of Dave Karson, Chris Moyer, Paul Roeter and Jason Blankfein served as the exclusive advisor to the joint venture in the procurement of acquisition financing. The loan was provided by Corebridge. Skyglass attracted global investor interest including pension funds, private equity, family offices and multifamily funds who recognized the merits of this compelling opportunity, said Renard. The depth of capital reflects investor conviction for the future of Seattle and best-in-class developments. For more information about the Virtu Evergreen Fund, L.P. please click here. To contact Virtus Regional Acquisitions Director, Erik Reif, please call (760) 929-4711. About Virtu Investments Virtu Investments is a multifamily real estate investment firm primarily engaged in the acquisition and management of apartment properties in the western United States. Since its founding in 1997, Virtu has acquired and operated 130+ properties, totaling over $3.7B in real estate. Virtu is focused on serving its investors with innovative tax-efficient solutions within the multifamily investment space. Virtu maintains a highly selective acquisitions practice and a fully integrated, in-house property management firm. For more information please visit https://www.virtuinvestments.com/ About Real Estate at Goldman Sachs Alternatives Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the leading investors in alternatives globally, with over $450 billion in assets and more than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and sustainability. Clients access these solutions through direct strategies, customized partnerships, and open-architecture programs. The business is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets. The alternative investments platform is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the worlds leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals. Goldman Sachs has over $2.8 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of December 31, 2023. Established in 1991, Real Estate at Goldman Sachs Alternatives is one of the leading investors in real estate with over $60 billion in capital invested since 2012 across the spectrum of investment strategies from core to opportunistic and credit. The global team invests across all sectors with deep expertise across the capital structure, in assets ranging from single properties to large portfolios, through senior mortgages, mezzanine debt and equity. Follow us on LinkedIn. Tisdale Clean Energy Corp. ("Tisdale" or the "Company") (CSE: TCEC, OTCQB: TCEFF, FSE: T1KC), announces it has closed its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") and has issued 5,654,666 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.075 per Unit for gross proceeds of $424,100 Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant") exercisable at a price of $0.15 until July 31, 2027. The proceeds from the Offering will be used for general working capital purposes. In connection with completion of the Offering, the Company paid $17,625 and issued 175,000 Warrants to certain arms-length brokerage firms that assisted in introducing subscribers to the Offering. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale until December 1, 2024, in accordance with applicable securities laws. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TISDALE CLEAN ENERGY CORP. "Alex Klenman" Alex Klenman, CEO For further information please contact: Alex Klenman, CEO Tel: 604-970-4330 info@tisdalecleanenergy.com Tisdale Clean Energy Corp Suite 2200, RBC Place, 885 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC V6C 3E8 Canada www.tisdalecleanenergy.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Vancouver, August 1, 2024 - Cruz Battery Metals Corp. (CSE: CRUZ) (OTC Pink: BKTPF) (FSE: A3CWU7) ("Cruz" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its intention to undertake a strategic reorganization of certain of the Company's mineral exploration assets pursuant to which the Company proposes to spin-out (the "Spin-Out") its Hector Silver-Cobalt Project located near Cobalt, Ontario (the "Hector Property") into a recently incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary, Makenita Resources Inc. ("SpinCo"). James Nelson, President of Cruz states, "This spinout makes sense for our shareholders. To unlock the value of the Silver-Cobalt asset as a standalone project will enable the shareholders of record of Cruz to benefit from ownership in two companies. Cruz is focused on its lithium projects in Nevada and expects to have a work program this summer. Cruz shareholders will achieve a win-win scenario as they will be shareholders of each company at no cost to them. Management is optimistic about the future of each company and hopes the Cruz shareholders of record will share the excitement." The Hector Property consists of 126 contiguous unpatented mining claims totalling 2,243 hectares (5,542-acres) and is located within the Coleman and Gillies Limit Townships, Larder Lake Mining Division, Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. The Property is approximately 500 kilometres (km) north of Toronto, 150 km north of North Bay, and 10 km southwest of the town of Cobalt, Ontario. Cruz holds 100% ownership of the 126 mining claims, which are active and in good standing. The principal deposit type of interest within the Hector Property is arsenide silver-cobalt vein deposits, which are epigenetic vein deposits. Metallic minerals occur in fracture filling lenses or veinlets, or as disseminations within wall rocks in association with carbonate and/or quartz gangue. Wall rocks adjacent to the veins are commonly hydrothermally altered. The majority of mineral occurrences with the Hector Property consist of narrow fracture controlled northwest-southeast, or northeast-southwest striking, sub-vertical to steeply dipping, quartz-carbonate-potassium feldspar veins containing variable percentages of disseminated to clotty pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and erythrite (hydrous cobalt arsenate) mineralization. Veins range in width from less than 5 cm up to 25 cm in width. The majority of historically reported mineral occurrences are represented by one or more shallow prospect pits and trenches, or water-filled shafts. From 1904 and until 1989, the Cobalt mining camp produced 458,830,085 ounces silver, 19,392,037 pounds cobalt, 3,407,495 pounds nickel and 1,964,728 pounds copper (Guindon et al., 2016). Mineralization was later discovered in additional areas with similar geology within the Cobalt Embayment of Southern Ontario, from Gowganda in the west to southeast of Cobalt. In the early 1920s, a decrease in the price of silver and exhaustion of the high grade veins caused most of the mines to close. Between 1929 and 1950, small operations were undertaken in a number of mines. In the mid-1950s, the demand for cobalt increased and many mines reopened for a short time. An increase in the price of silver in 1960 brought new interest to the camp and 10 mines continued operation (Goodwin, 1988) Cruz management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Cruz may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties. Based on the presence of silver-cobalt arsenide vein intersects in drill core and numerous historic occurrences, airborne and ground magnetic geophysical anomalies, cobalt and silver in rock and soil geochemical anomalies, and favourable geology, management believes the Hector Property is of a high priority for follow-up exploration. The Spin-Out, if completed as presently proposed, would be effected by way of a share capital reorganization effected through a statutory plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") pursuant to the arrangement provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). The proposed reorganization would involve, among other things, Cruz transferring all of its right, title and interest in and to the Hector Property to SpinCo in exchange for common shares of SpinCo, in an amount to be agreed upon by the parties (the "Consideration Shares"). Under the Arrangement, Cruz's shareholders will receive the Consideration Shares and new common shares of Cruz, on a pro rata basis, in exchange for existing common shares of Cruz. It is not anticipated that Cruz will retain any of the Consideration Shares. In addition, it is anticipated that the holders of common share purchase warrants, RSU's and stock options of Cruz will receive a number of replacement common share purchase warrants, RSU's and stock options of SpinCo based on the exchange ratio of the Arrangement. Upon completion of the Spin-Out, SpinCo will become a "reporting issuer" in the same jurisdictions in Canada that Cruz is a reporting issuer. In connection with the Spin-Out, SpinCo intends to undertake one or more private placement offerings of securities to raise proceeds to develop the Hector Property and for general working capital purposes. Following completion of the Arrangement, SpinCo intends to seek a listing of its common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"), but no assurance can be provided that such a listing will be obtained. Any such listing will be subject to SpinCo satisfying all of the requirements of the CSE. As of the date hereof, no agreements between Cruz and SpinCo have been entered into respecting the proposed Spin-Out, but the board of directors of Cruz has authorized and approved proceeding with the Spin-Out and commencement of drafting the definitive agreements related thereto. It is expected that completion of the Spin-Out will be subject to a number of conditions which are customary for similar transactions including, but not limited to, shareholder approval and approval of the Court, as well as other standard closing conditions. There can be no assurance that the Spin-Out will be completed as proposed, or at all. Cruz will have no obligation to proceed with the Spin-Out, and may elect, at its sole discretion, not to proceed with the Spin-Out for any reason whatsoever. Final terms of the Spin-Out and determination to proceed remain subject to, among other things, further tax and securities considerations, and Cruz expects to provide a further update to shareholders in due course. The intention to undertake the Spin-Out was prompted, in part, by Cruz's desire to separate its Hector Property from its other mineral properties primarily located in the United States, and to enable the capital markets to value the Hector Property separately from its other properties, with a view to increasing shareholder value for each entity. In addition, management of Cruz believes that separating the Hector Property is expected to accelerate the development of the property. It is the view of both management and the Board that the Spin-Out is the most effective way to unlock the value of the Hector Property. In connection with the Spin-Out, Cruz expects to enter into a definite agreement with SpinCo to set out the terms of the Spin-Out within the next 30 days concurrent with the receipt of a fairness opinion to be provided by an arm's length valuation firm. In connection therewith, Cruz intends to file its initial submissions with the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Court") to obtain an interim order to call a shareholder's meeting to, among other things, approve the Spin-Out. Cruz plans to complete the Spin-Out by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Additional details regarding timing of the Spin-Out will be provided in future news releases. Further details will be provided in a management information circular (the "Circular") to be prepared and filed in connection therewith. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the Circular to be prepared in connection with the Spin-Out, any information released or received with respect to the foregoing matters may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Cruz should be considered highly speculative. The scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Frank Bain, P. Geo., a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, and a director of the Company. About Cruz Battery Metals Corp. Cruz currently has several projects located throughout North America. Cruz's Nevada lithium projects consist of the 8,135-acre 'Solar Lithium Project' and the 240-acre 'Clayton Valley Lithium Project'. Cruz's 5,542-acre Hector Property is located in the vicinity of the town of Cobalt, Ontario, which is prospective for cobalt, silver, and diamonds. Cruz's Idaho projects include the 2,211-acre 'Idaho Cobalt Belt Project' and the 80-acre 'Idaho Star Cobalt Project'. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Cruz may not necessarily be indicative of the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties. If you would like to be added to Cruz's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@cruzbatterymetals.com. Cruz Battery Metals Corp. "James Nelson" James Nelson President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Director Forward Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including whether or not the Company will proceed with the Spin-Out as currently proposed or at all, the anticipated timeline of the Spin-Out, the expected terms and structure of the Spin-Out and the parties' ability to satisfy closing conditions and receive necessary approvals, the belief that the Spin-Out will provide value as a stand-alone asset, the expectation that Cruz will procced with a work program this summer, as well as the prospective nature of the mineral interests associated with the Company's mineral exploration properties, including the Hector Property. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements such as the inability to obtain regulatory, Court or shareholder approval, the inability of Cruz or SpinCo to finance growth and transactions expenses, and other risks as set out in the Company's periodic disclosure documents available on SEDAR+. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the Spin-Out will occur or that, if the Spin-Out does occur, it will be completed on the terms described above. The Company does not assume any responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218493 /Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States./ SASKATOON, Aug. 1, 2024 - Karnalyte Resources Inc. ("Karnalyte" or the "Company") (TSX: KRN) today announced it is pursuing the sale of certain non-essential assets from its Wynyard Project as part of its ongoing efforts to optimize its business operations and advance the project. "The asset sale allows us to advance the focus on our strategic objectives," said Danielle Favreau, Interim Chief Executive Officer. "Cleaning up underused assets from the project site helps the company remain cost efficient and allows us to reallocate resources to where they are most needed as we work toward the successful development of our Wynyard Project." Assets for sale include a loader, skid steer, rig mats, miscellaneous office supplies and equipment. The proceeds from the asset sale will be reinvested into Karnalyte's Wynyard Project development activities. The sale is being held by Saskatchewan based McDougall Auctioneers Ltd. And more details can be found here. ABOUT KARNALYTE RESOURCES INC. Karnalyte Resources Inc. is a development stage company focused on two fertilizer products, potash and nitrogen, to be produced and manufactured in Saskatchewan. Karnalyte owns the construction ready Wynyard Potash Project, with planned phase 1 production of 625,000 tonnes per year ("TPY") of high grade granular potash, and two subsequent phases of 750,000 TPY each, taking total production up to 2.125 million TPY. Karnalyte is also exploring the development of the Proteos Nitrogen Project, which is a proposed small-scale nitrogen fertilizer plant with a nameplate production capacity of approximately 700 metric tonnes per day ("MTPD") of ammonia and approximately 1,200 MTPD of urea, and a target customer market of independent fertilizer wholesalers in Central Saskatchewan. ABOUT THE WYNYARD POTASH PROJECT The Wynyard Potash Project is a construction ready solution mining potash project located in Wynyard, Saskatchewan, with planned phase 1 production of 625,000 TPY of high grade granular potash, and two subsequent phases of 750,000 TPY each, taking total production up to 2.125 million TPY. All environmental permits remain valid, preliminary detailed engineering is complete, and the existing offtake agreement with Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited remains in effect. Further development is dependent on the continued strength of potash prices and obtaining financing. ABOUT THE PROTEOS NITROGEN PROJECT The Proteos Nitrogen Project is an advanced stage development project consisting of a proposed small-scale nitrogen fertilizer plant to be located in Central Saskatchewan, having a nameplate production capacity of approximately 700 MTPD of ammonia and approximately 1,200 MTPD of urea, and designed to produce two products - anhydrous ammonia (82-0-0) and granular urea (46-0-0). Karnalyte's primary target market is independent local Saskatchewan fertilizer wholesalers within a 400-kilometer radius of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A secondary target market is the US Midwest fertilizer wholesalers near to the Canadian - United States border. The proposed plant would be the first greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant built in Canada in the last 26 years. ABOUT GUJARAT STATE FERTILIZERS & CHEMICALS LIMITED Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited ("GSFC") is a leading Indian Fortune 500 chemicals and fertilizer company that has been in business for more than 50 years. GSFC currently operates one ammonia plant that was commissioned in the year 2000, and two urea plants that were established in 1969, at its fertilizer production complex in Vadodara, Gujarat State, India. As the Company's strategic partner and single largest shareholder, GSFC remains committed to the Company and the Wynyard Potash Project, and is fully supportive of the Company pursuing the development of the Proteos Nitrogen Project. GSFC has also confirmed to the Company that it will continue to support the structuring of the most cost-effective financing package for the development of the Wynyard Potash Project, as GSFC has consistently offered to the Company since becoming a shareholder in 2013. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "plan", "intend", "forecast", "future", "guidance", "may", "predict", "project", "should", "strategy", "target", "will" or similar words or phrases suggesting future outcomes or language suggesting an outlook. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Karnalyte, including, without limitation, assumptions as to: projected economics for the Company's planned potash production facility, the confirmation in an independent feasibility study of Karnalyte's assumptions regarding the technical and economic viability of the Proteos Nitrogen project, the ability of Karnalyte to obtain financing on terms favourable to the Company, and the ability of Karnalyte to receive, in a timely manner, the necessary approvals from the Company's board of directors, shareholders, regulatory authorities, and other third parties. Karnalyte believes the expectations and assumptions upon which the forward-looking information is based are reasonable. However, no assurance can be given that these assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, readers are cautioned that the Company has not received a feasibility study prepared by a third party with respect to the Proteos Nitrogen project. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information presented in this press release, and such variations could be material. Risk factors and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary from the forward-looking information in this press release. Additional information on forward-looking statements and other factors that could affect Karnalyte's operations and financial results are included in documents on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the Company's profile on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. SOURCE Karnalyte Resources Inc. VANCOUVER, Aug. 1, 2024 - Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) (OTCQX: NKGFF) ("Nevada King") and NV King Goldlands Inc. ("NV Goldlands") are pleased to announce that they have completed the previously announced strategic reorganization of their business pursuant to which all of Nevada King's concessions and properties with the exception of the Atlanta Gold Mine Project ("Atlanta") have been spun out to Nevada King shareholders (the "Spin-Out") through NV Goldlands.The Spin-Out was completed by way of a statutory plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). Pursuant to the Arrangement, the holders of Nevada King common shares will receive: (i) one new Nevada King common share for each Nevada King common share they held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement; and (ii) one-thirtieth of one NV Goldlands common share (each one a "NV Goldlands Share") for each Nevada King common share held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement.The Spin-Out was completed as part of a strategic reorganization to unlock value in Nevada King's large portfolio of mineral claims in the State of Nevada. The target areas along the Battle Mountain trend now held by NV Goldlands include the Lewis, Horse Mountain-Mill Creek, and Iron Point projects. In connection with the Spin-Out, Nevada King also granted NV Goldlands a 3.0% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty on all gold and silver production from Atlanta including the Atlanta resource area and non-core claims surrounding the Atlanta Gold Mine Project. The 3.0% NSR royalty on the Bobcat claims will take effect upon fulfilling the existing royalty on the Bobcat claims which is a 3.0% royalty capped at the first 4,000 ounces of gold equivalent production.NV Goldlands will not be listed on a public stock exchange on closing of the Arrangement but will operate as a reporting issuer.Further information regarding the Spin-Out is set out in Nevada King's information circular dated June 14, 2024 (the "Nevada King Information Circular"), which is filed under Nevada King's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.As a shareholder of Nevada King, Collin Kettell received, pursuant to the Arrangement, an aggregate of 2,066,034 NV Goldlands Shares and 271,833 options to purchase NV Goldlands Shares ("Options") on the Effective Date. Prior to the completion of the Arrangement, Mr. Kettell did not own any securities of NV Goldlands. As at the date hereof, the 2,066,034 NV Goldlands Shares held by Mr. Kettell represent approximately 18.05% of the total issued and outstanding NV Goldlands Shares and the 2,066,034 NV Goldlands Shares and the 271,833 Options collectively represent approximately 19.95% of the issued and outstanding NV Goldland Shares, assuming exercise of the Options. Mr. Kettell acquired the NV Goldlands Shares as a result of the Arrangement and intends to hold them for investment purposes only. Depending on market and other conditions, or as future circumstances may dictate, Mr. Kettell may, from time to time, increase or decrease their holdings of NV Goldlands Shares or other securities of NV Goldlands. Mr. Kettell's address is 102 Calle Sol, Apt 1, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901.For further information and to obtain a copy of the early warning report filed under applicable Canadian securities laws in connection with the acquisition of NV Goldlands Shares by Mr. Kettell, please see NV Goldlands' SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or" should" occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, the benefits of the proposed Spin-Out are forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Nevada King, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability to complete proposed exploration work, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Nevada King does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities lawsSOURCE Nevada King Gold Corp.For more information, contact Collin Kettell at collin@nevadaking.ca or (845) 535-1486. Vancouver, August 1, 2024 - Sixty North Gold Mining Ltd. (CSE: SXTY) (FSE: 2F40) (OTC Pink: SXNTF) (the "Company" or "Sixty North Gold") Sixty North Gold is pleased to announce that the exercise of 678,000 - $0.18 warrants brought $122,040 into the Company in July. Operationally, the newly reported DD-Zone is exposed for 12 m in the 3m x 4m Main Ramp where it averages 1.2 m in width within intense pink altered metasedimentary rocks of the Burwash Formation. Historic diamond drilling extends this vein 40 m up to surface and along strike for 100m where it remains open to the south. An estimated 13,000 tonnes of this gold-bearing vein is located above the ramp elevation to surface. Samples from the West Limb of the A-Zone and the DD-Zone have been submitted for assay at independent certified laboratories in late July and the results will help guide development plans. Advances along the crosscut 970 XCE are expected to intersect the east limb of the A-Zone within two weeks (see Plan View of Mon Underground Development below). Plan View of Mon Underground Development - August 1, 2024 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5873/218537_planviewimage.jpg The Company has completed a geotechnical drill program and has installed thermistors in compliance with its operational licenses. Dr. Dave Webb, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geol., President & CEO, Director stated, "We are pleased existing shareholders have exercised their warrants. These funds will help the Company advance development of the Mon Gold Mine. We have exposed one of the two principal gold-bearing structures in the A-Zone and expect to hit the second exposure shortly. We also exposed an additional gold-bearing vein in the DD-Zone that was not expected. Bulk sample material can be extracted from the DD-Zone and West Limb and have pending assay results. The two limbs of the A-Zone can each be developed to the north and south providing us with four faces for development." Dr. D.R. Webb Ph.D., P.Geol., P.Eng. is the Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is responsible for the technical details of this release. About the Company The Company is developing mining operations for gold on its 100%-owned Mon Gold Property, 40 km north of Yellowknife, NWT. Past production of the A Zone extracted 15,000 tonnes at 30 gpt gold from this vein (Company Technical Report, August 3, 2023, author Dr. D. R. Webb, Ph.D., P.Geol., P.Eng., available on SEDAR or https://sixtynorthgold.com/projects/technical-report/). The Yellowknife gold camp hosts two mines that averaged 30 gpt gold or better (Discovery and Sixty North Gold's Mon Mine), and two that averaged 15 gpt or better for a total production of over 14 million ounces of gold (Con Min and Giant Mine) (ref. Sixty North Gold NI 43-101, August, 2023). For more information, please refer to the Company's public filings available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), under the Company's profile. Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Further details about the risks applicable to the Company are contained in the Company's public filings available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca), under the Company's profile. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218537 During the 2024 Paris Olympics, a short-term mission worship team from Taiwan's Bunun Tribe participated in the Paris Praise Festival, sharing Taiwanese indigenous music and culture. They invited people from around the world to worship God together, showcasing the power of faith and the beauty of their culture. As the 2024 Paris Olympics began, an international event combining music, culture, and faith kicked off in the French capital. Organized by the Paris La Defense Evangelical Church (eglise Protestante evangelique Paris La Defense), the Paris Praise Festival was held during the Olympics, aiming to spread God's love to people from all over the world through music and worship. According to reports from the Bunun Tribe, the worship team, composed of members from the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation's Tribal Theater and the "Minang to the Ends of the Earth" team from the National Taiwan University of Arts, was invited to participate. The Bunun Minang Taiwan West Europe short-term mission team traveled to Western Europe to share Taiwanese indigenous music and culture with people from around the world and lead them in worshiping God. The worship team, "Minang Bunun Taiwan West Europe Mission Team," was led by Kiwa, the daughter of Pastor Pai Kuang-Sheng, the founder of the Bunun Tribe. The team included three members from the Minang group at Taipei National University of the Arts and three members from the Bunun Tribe worship team. In addition to participating in the Paris Praise Festival in France, they also planned to visit Denmark, Germany, and Belgium for short-term mission activities. The Paris Praise Festival is an international event that has been held during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, allowing Christian tourists and musicians from around the world to worship and praise God in their native languages. This year, the organizers focused particularly on evangelizing to non-believers, planning to perform in outdoor plazas or subway stations in Paris to attract crowds and engage in one-on-one evangelistic conversations. To prepare for this international short-term mission trip, the worship team held a special concert on July 1 at the "Tribal Theater." The event, named "Paris Olympics Worship Short-term Mission Send-off Concert," was a grand occasion of cross-national and cross-cultural evangelism and worship. The concert aimed to convey God's love through music and worship and to express the spirit of Taiwanese indigenous people through cultural and musical dance creations. The organizers sincerely invited churches from the Hualien and Taitung areas to join the event. Pastors from the Taitung Joint Prayer Meeting blessed and prayed for the Western Europe short-term mission journey. Participating in the Paris Praise Festival is believed to be not only a musical feast but also an opportunity for the exchange of faith and culture, showcasing the beautiful culture and profound faith of Taiwanese indigenous people to the world. As the Paris Olympics combine music, culture, and faith, this international event is set to be a highlight during the Olympics. Nobody knows how many young people are homeless in the United States. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last year pegged the number of unaccompanied homeless youth at 45,000, but thats widely acknowledged to be an undercount. The Department of Education says its more like 90,000, based on the number of students who self-identified as homeless during the 2013-2014 school year. Because theres no universal definition for youth or homelessness, the actual number is anybodys guess.This isnt a new issue. Seven years ago, Congress called for periodic national estimates of runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 13 and 26. The first count should have occurred in 2010. In fact, the Obama administration requested funding for a national count, but Congress never appropriated the money.The lack of data is a huge problem, says Bryan Samuels, who served as the commissioner of Children, Youth and Families under President Obama. We werent in a position to judge whether the federal government programs [on youth homelessness] were working.Information on homeless veterans and adults has helped the federal government and its local partners establish realistic reduction goals. Several cities have reduced homelessness among those populations, and some localities, including Houston and Salt Lake City, have claimed victory in eliminating chronic veteran homelessness . But the problem among youths remains a big question mark. We need a baseline, says Mary Cunningham, who researches homelessness at the Urban Institute. We still need a lot more information before we can really progress.To set that baseline, Samuels, now the director of Chapin Hall, an applied research center at the University of Chicago, is raising private funds -- more than $2.6 million so far -- to conduct a two-year count of youth homelessness in 25 communities. The effort launched in July; final results wont be available until 2017.Why is it so hard to get a good count of youth homelessness? For one thing, HUDs estimate depends heavily on the number of people using emergency shelters during winter months. That makes sense for adults, but younger people are more likely to steer clear of shelters. Many youths become homeless because theyre trying to avoid the police or the foster care system. They may not want to raise a red flag by self-identifying as homeless.So researchers at Chapin Hall are rethinking the methodology. Their counts will take place in warmer months. Theyll consider new locations, such as malls and transit stations, and they may include counts during the day and night. Theyll cross-reference data from child welfare agencies, human services departments and school districts. Theyll also conduct in-depth interviews to understand why young people become homeless and what services they need.The goal is to get much more than an accurate census of the nations homeless youth. If we just ended up with a count, then everybody funding this initiative would be disappointed, Samuels says. The final report will also include promising and proven interventions that can help policymakers reduce youth homelessness. Ricciardo keeping post-summer RB seat Daniel Ricciardo can join Sergio Perez in breathing a sigh of relief this week, with Red Bull deciding against changing its Formula 1 driver lineups after the summer break. Daniel Ricciardo, Belgian GP 2024 Red Bull Ralf Bach, writing for Auto Bild, says Max Verstappen and his management team were stunned to discover that Perez will not be dropped immediately for poor performance. Perez is staying, confirmed the energy drink brand's F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko, after his meeting with Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner in Milton-Keynes. We want to get him back to his old form. Ricciardo is staying too. Nothing will change, said Marko. 2025, however, could be a different matter. Bach reports that Red Bull may have intended to shuffle Perez aside and promote Ricciardo from the junior team RB for the remainder of 2024. But the brand was convinced by F1 owner Liberty Media to make another decision so as not to decimate attendance for the Mexican GP. Sport Bild claims Perez's major Mexican backer and billionaire Carlos Slim also seems to have intervened. But Marko suggested: The cards will be reshuffled for 2025. Indeed, it is believed Liam Lawson has basically been promised a RB cockpit for 2025, even though Ricciardo disagrees with Marko about whether the Faenza based outfit is still a 'junior team'. I'm honest with myself that if it still felt like a junior team, I wouldn't feel comfortable here, said the Australian. "I'm 35 now. I think I would feel a bit out of place. And I certainly don't. Ricciardo will be head-to-head with Lawson, 22, during a RB 'filming day' test at Imola on Wednesday. Ricciardo told f1-insider.com: There's a lot at stake for me, but I'm in good spirits. (GMM) Din Tai Fung 1633 Broadway, nr. W. 50th St. Preparing dumplings at Manhattans new Din Tai Fung. Photo: Janice Chung Should I begin with the confession that I had never, until the long-delayed, finally arrived opening of the New York mothership, been to Din Tai Fung? The Taiwanese chain has locations all over the world, including a number in California, the Pacific Northwest, and Vegas, and is renowned worldwide for its xiao long bao (XLB for short), the pog-size, 18-fold Shanghainese soup dumplings. Is this a disqualifying admission? I can plead only that the chain never touched New York; the XLB of my childhood came from Joes Shanghai, where lines formed then and now. But even Joes has never developed a cult like the one that currently consumes Din Tai Fung, where Bill Gates apparently sometimes stands on line. So hotly anticipated was the opening of the New York location that locals, angry at being made to wait, started giving it tetchy, one-star Yelp reviews before it even opened. Now it has opened to those who can get in. Unlike most of the other locations, this Din Tai Fung is reservation-only, and those reservations are predictably scarce, even for a restaurant that seats 450 dumpling lovers. I couldnt get in; a wily, Los Angelesraised colleague had, and when a last-minute conflict prevented her from using her spot, she offered it to me. I happily accepted, though I did ask my California Virgil if it was really worth all the fuss. I mean, its great at the mall in Glendale, she explained. But there, she cautioned, it serves a useful regional purpose: A trip to Din Tai Fung is a more accessible experience than a trip to the San Gabriel Valley, where the areas best Asian restaurants are. Instead of driving to God knows where on some Jonathan Gold list, you can be efficiently incorporated into this giant factory, she said, where you get the approximate version without having to spend two hours in the car from the west side. It was the 1 train that dumped me at our new Din Tai Fung, which occupies the subterranean grotto of Paramount Plaza once home to Mars 2112, the Y2K-era outer-space-themed restaurant. Devotees may remember being welcomed to the year 2112 by Martian Empress Glorianna with the traditional, made-up salutation: Vabemu! The empress has been replaced by a name-tagged DTF staffer, who politely and firmly forms the first of two bulwarks against the unreserved, but a descent into Din Tai Fung at street level, the entrance of the restaurant is a glass cube, like the Apple Store on 59th Street still has the tang of theme restaurant. As designed by the Rockwell Group, Din Tai Fung suggests an Epcot version of Chinese dining, a labyrinth separated by screens and hanging lamps leading toward a dumpling laboratory in back, where white-coated cooks pleat away behind glass, like actors in a natural-history diorama. XLB arrives at the table. Photo: Janice Chung The results are delicious. I can report that Din Tai Fungs xiao long bao are very good, even at scale, with chewy wrappers and a well-seasoned pork mix that is finely chopped, not gummy or gooey. You can bathe one in a spoon filled with soy sauce and vinegar DTF recommends a 1:3 mix and free a little of the dumplings meaty soup before slurping it down. (The real purists take em straight.) The XLB come out hot, hot, hot in their bamboo steamers on a beeline from the kitchen. I cant say as much for the rest of the menu. An appetizer of sweet-and-sour ribs was more sweet than sour, and it arrived tepid. A stir-fry of black-pepper beef wasnt appreciably different from what youd get at P.F. Changs. Shrimp with Shanghai rice cakes were tasty enough, but not to justify weeks of waiting for a table. Service is friendly but still choppy: Drinks had to be chased down and inquired after; a side of rice came long after the mains it was meant to accompany had appeared. The restaurant is in its first weeks; kinks remain. Din Tai Fung knows its strengths and plays to them: Besides the XLB, there are potstickers, wontons, shao mai, and steamed buns. Play to them yourself. Doesnt an all-dumpling dinner sound nice? They can even stretch into dessert, like the puddingy chocolate XLB. Order it with a side of salted cream from the boba-tea menu, our waiter confided, and youll imagine youre eating a smore. Close your eyes, and youll swear you were in Glendale. EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS. Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Tecno launched the Phantom V Fold back in February of last year, and it now finally seems like its successor is on its way. The Phantom V Fold2 was spotted in Geekbench in January, and now it's surfaced in the Google Play Console. The listing reveals the name to be Phantom V Fold2, and not Phantom V2 Fold as we thought a few months ago when we covered the aforementioned Geekbench run. The upcoming device will be powered by a MediaTek chipset, which could be a variant of the Dimensity 9000+, the same SoC that powered its predecessor. This will be paired with 12GB of RAM (again, just like in the original Phantom V Fold). The inner screen's resolution will be identical too: 2000x2296. If you're wondering what the upgrades will be, the battery capacity will be one of them: 5,610 mAh according to a TUV certification, up from 5,000 mAh in the original. The Phantom V Fold2 has also been certified for sale in Europe, so it will be offered at least in some parts of that continent. Via Shopping alongside mom, dad, siblings and extended family, 6-year-old Ava Cruz was treated to a shopping spree on Thursday sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Guam Program. The $2,400 spree started off at Ross Dress for Less at GPO in Tamuning, before Cruz and family were shuttled by a stretch limousine to Don Don Donki, and then their regular spot at the Dededo Pasak Chicken for lunch. She loaded up her cart with toys, clothes, shoes, everything, mom Jericha Cruz said. Im happy she enjoyed it. It was the familys first time to Don Don Donki, and Ava Cruz even got to meet the stores giant penguin mascot, Donpen, in person. Scared at first, she eventually gave the big blue penguin a hug. It was interesting, just to see that smile on her face. Shes like smiling so much, said grandma Edine Torres. Ava Cruz has a lung condition that requires her to wear an oxygen tube, according to mom. That didnt stop her from running around in style, wearing a blue Make-A-Wish t-shirt, I-heart-Ross button, and a pink unicorn tutu on Thursday. Her total spending amounted to about $1,000 at Ross, and $600 at Don Don Donki, according to Eric Tydingco, president of Make-A-Wish Guam and CNMI. The balance of her $2,400 wish will go to gift cards, which she will get to keep, Tydingco said. Although Ava Cruz wanted to go to Disneyland, her doctor said she couldnt travel, Tydingco said. But she did get to pick out the stores and lunch for her Thursday shopping spree. According to Tydingco, research has shown that the Make-A-Wish experience can help a childs quality of life and health outcomes. Despite having critical illnesses, about 70% of all Make-A-Wish children go on to lead productive lives, he said. The Guam Power Authority on Thursday issued a rotating power outage schedule for August and September as a precautionary measure, saying it continues to make substantial progress in addressing the islands energy capacity shortfall. GPA said there was no load shedding in July. As a precautionary measure, the August/September 2024 Rotating Outage Schedule will remain consistent with the previous schedule and will be issued for potential outages only, GPA said in a press release. The schedule is meant to help residents prepare for possible outages should energy demand exceed capacity. The rotating outage schedule is a last resort measure to ensure stability in power supply, GPA said. It said through collaborative efforts with partners such as Aggreko and Guam Ukudu Power, as well as the patience and support of residents and businesses, GPA is well on its way to ensuring a more stable and reliable power supply. The Aggreko generators achieved full operational status and integration into the island wide power system in July. This 20-megawatt power package, part of a 24-month temporary power agreement, features high-efficiency, ultra-low emission generators. GPA added a total of 76MW of energy capacity as part of its mid-term plans. The rainy season has further helped lower peak demands, allowing for critical power plant maintenance without impacting necessary reserves, it said. Ongoing measures include upgrades to the Manenggon Power Plant and further maintenance on the recently repaired Yigo Combustion Turbine, which is expected to return to service this month with increased output from 16MW to 20MW, GPA said. With the successful implementation of our mid-term capacity solutions, we are confident that we are much closer to resolving Guams energy challenges. Our collaborative efforts and proactive measures are paving the way to reducing disruptions and ensuring that our community has access to stable power as we continue working towards long-term solutions, GPA General Manager John M. Benavente said. GPA said the Ukudu Power Plant has also made significant strides in recovery from Typhoon Mawar damages. As of June 30, it reached the 88.35% completion mark, which includes the accumulated progress of engineering, procurement, and construction of the plant and supporting infrastructure. Guam Department of Education maintenance employees repair the wiring of overhead lighting fixtures at Harry S. Truman Elementary School in Santa Rita-Sumai on July 26, 2024. GDOE announced Thursday that the school had passed inspection. Tampa, Fla. -- Tristan Wirfs is here to stay in Tampa Bay. As of Thursday morning, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their leading offensive tackle have agreed to terms on a five-year, $140.63 million contract extension. Per Adam Schefter, its the largest deal in franchise history. Along with breaking franchise records, Wirfs makes history by becoming the highest-paid offensive lineman of all time, earning an average annual salary of $28.126 million. The contract edges out Penei Sewells, who held the crown as the highest-paid tackle earlier in the offseason due to a four-year, $112 million extension with the Detroit Lions. Wirfs is the second member of the Buccaneers 2020 draft class to earn a record-breaking extension. Months ago, Antoine Winfield Jr. escaped the franchise tag and earned a four-year, $84.1 million contract extension. For general manager Jason Licht, Wirfs contract is the final item on a bulky offseason to-do list. Licht has had his hands full over the past few months, solely responsible for extending key playmakers like Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Winfield, and Chase McLaughlin. Sunday, Tampa Bay Times Rick Stroud reported that Wirfs and the Buccaneers were nearing a deal. 24 hours later, Wirfs confirmed that negotiations were heading in a positive direction. Its all been good. Were just trying to work out some little things. But no, but I think were moving [well]. These past couple days have been really good. Weve just got to bring it home, Wirfs told reporters. In the meantime, the offensive tackle has been participating during individual drills and holding out of 11-on-11s. Less than three months after 23-year-old Roger Fortson, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, was shot and killed in his home by a Florida sheriffs deputy, authorities say his 16-year-old brother died in an Atlanta area shooting. Andre Fortson was found shot to death in the breezeway of an apartment complex on Tuesday in DeKalb County, Georgia, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday, police reportedly confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that one of the shooters had been identified as Quintavious Zellner, 20, who was arrested for aggravated assault. In an interview in June with Fox 5, DeKalb County police Chief Mirtha Ramos said her department has a shortage of officers and addressed a swath of recent shootings, including six people, who were shot and injured in a neighborhood on Greenway and eight others injured in a separate shooting at a Pinups strip club. We are short, but we have never used that as an excuse not to do our jobs, she told the news outlet. Civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family of Roger Fortson, released a statement in response to the death of Fortsons younger brother. The Fortson family is battling the loss of yet another young member of their family. This has been an incredibly challenging time for them with the loss of Roger, Crump said. Losing the life of yet another young family member a mere child has been an absolute devastation. We are asking the media and the public for privacy and space during this impossible time. Airman Roger Fortson: Killed for the crime of being Black in America. On the afternoon of May 3, Roger Fortson died after being shot six times by a Florida sheriffs deputy just seconds after opening the front door of his off-base, Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was reportedly on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend when an Okaloosa County sheriffs deputy responded to a disturbance call at his apartment complex. Following an administrative investigation into Roger Fortsons death, the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office terminated Deputy Eddie Duran on May 31, after determining his use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable. During the news conference following the incident, Crump, referred to Roger Fortson as an American patriot, and Pastor Jamal Bryant, who appeared onstage with Crump, called his death, a dark moment in history. It is a heavy moment, not just for this family, its a heavy moment not just for the community, this is a heavy moment for the nation, Bryant said. It is a dark moment in our history, that one of our patriots was slain, not on foreign field, but slain right here domestically just for the crime of being Black in America. GulfLive.com reached out to the DeKalb County Police Department for comment but did not immediately get a response. The story will be updated as new details emerge. Haiti - FLASH : Traveler Security Alert We are monitoring localized outbreaks of gang-led violence in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Gang-led violence, including occasionally intense gunfire, can occur in any area of Haiti and can involve risks of being struck by stray bullets. In the coming days, we advise particular caution when traveling through the areas of Pierre 6 and Carrefour Drouillard around Toussaint Louverture International Airport and around Port-au-Prince's seaports. The Embassy reminds all citizens that Haiti, including Port-au-Prince, remains under a Level 4 Do Not Travel Travel Advisory. The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous. Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk. The U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti. Actions to take : Do not travel to Haiti. If you are in Haiti : Avoid crowds. Monitor local media for updates and avoid areas where violence, demonstrations, or disruptions are reported to be happening. Keep a low profile. Be aware of your surroundings. Be prepared to shelter in place for an extended time period. Avoid being outside after dark. Stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Review your personal security plans. Have travel documents up-to-date and easily accessible. Carry proper identification. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Culture : 70 scholarships for cultural specialization courses in Cuba, call for applications The Caribbean Pole for Cultural Training is launching its 6th call for applications for creative specialization courses in Havana (Cuba). This initiative is carried out within the framework of the UNESCO Transcultura program. The program will offer 70 scholarships to young people from the Caribbean for their participation in these courses. The call is open to cultural professionals aged 18 to 35 and from one of the following Caribbean countries : Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. This program will offer participants the opportunity to gain direct experience in renowned cultural training institutions and will provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to fully develop their potential as cultural professionals. Choice of Courses : - Conservation and Restoration of Stone (from October 7 to October 18, 2024), Havana Workshop School "Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos"; - Marble, Terrazzo and Marble Mosaic (from October 7 to November 1, 2024), Havana Workshop School "Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos"; - Brick Vaults (from October 7 to November 1st, 2024), Havana Workshop School "Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos"; - Walls that Talk: Conservation and Restoration of Mural Painting (October 7 to October 18, 2024), Santa Clara College for Training in the Arts and Crafts of Restoration of Cuba and the Caribbean; - Preservation of Digital Archives (October 14 to October 25, 2024), Santa Clara College for Training in the Arts and Crafts of Restoration of Cuba and the Caribbean; - Design of Small Businesses in Heritage Tourism Destinations (October 14 to October 25, 2024), University College of San Geronimo de La Habana; - Introduction to the Management of Integrated Development of Historic Centers (October 14 to October 25, 2024), San Geronimo de La Habana University College Deadline for submission :Friday, August 30, 2024 until 23:59, Havana time (GMT-5) Other information and online form. https://forms.office.com/e/awbpEP3Y3S HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... PNH : changes in the chain of command On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Pierre Rene Francois was installed as the new Director of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ), succeeding Frederic Lecompte who held this position for 4 years. Noailles : Training for artists and artisans A training session was held at the UNESCO Office aimed at strengthening the administrative capacities of artists and artisans in the Noailles artistic village. The objectives of this training were to strengthen their skills, structure the community and broaden their field of expertise to promote their autonomy. CEP : Conille requests an inventory Prime Minister Garry Conille met with the Technical Directors of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to discuss the situation of the electoral administration. Conille took the opportunity to ask the Technical Directors to take stock of the operational and functional capacities of the Institution, while waiting for the appointment of the members of the CEP. Urgent need to renew the HOPE/HELP law On Monday, the management of the Association of Industries of Haiti (ADIH) through a public-private delegation, which included James Monazard, the Minister of Commerce and Industry and Leonne F. Prophete, the Director General of the Investment Facilitation Center (CFI) met with the Special Assistant to the American President at the White House, Dan Erickson and the assistant Ms. Lauren Michaels to discuss the urgent need to renew the HOPE HELP law for Haiti as well as economic growth and stabilization policies. Justice : The President of the BNC summoned to withdraw his remarks Following the accusation of Raoul Pascal Pierre-Louis, the President of the National Credit Bank (BNC) who claims to have been approached by the Presidential Advisors Louis Gerald Gilles, Smith Augustin and Emmanuel Vertilaire asking him to pay the sum of 100 million Gourdes to keep his position. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42866-haiti-flash-3-presidential-advisers-in-turmoil-scandal-or-conspiracy.html , Smith Augustin has taken legal action for defamation and attack on honor and dignity. The summons gives Raoul Pascal Pierre-Louis a clear day to retract his remarks. Failure to act or refuse to comply with this request could result in criminal prosecution for defamation, as well as harm to the reputation and integrity of a high-ranking State official. Barbados military trained in French and Creole Barbados military forces that will be deployed to Haiti as part of the international security mission have received training in French and Haitian Creole by the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) in Barbados. HL/ HaitiLibre (CNBC) Bill Ackmans Pershing Square USA withdrew plans for an initial public offering after investor demand appeared to wane from original expectations. But the hedge fund titan said he would be back with a revised plan for the offering for his fund, which he had wanted to model after Berkshire Hathaway. To read this article: (HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Nader Al-Naji with perpetrating a multi-million-dollar fraudulent crypto asset scheme involving a social media platform called BitClout and its native token of the same name (herein, BTCLT). According to the SECs complaint, starting in November 2020, Al-Naji raised more than $257 million from unregistered offers and sales of BTCLT, while falsely telling investors that proceeds would not be used to compensate him or other BitClout employees. In reality, the complaint alleges, Al-Naji spent more than $7 million of investor funds on personal expenditures like rental payments for a Beverly Hills mansion and extravagant cash gifts to family members. The SECs complaint further alleges that, to avoid regulatory scrutiny, Al-Naji portrayed BitClout as a decentralized project with no company behind it just coins and code, and launched the project using the pseudonym Diamondhands to further create the illusion that the project was autonomous when he was actually behind the project. In addition, Al-Naji allegedly secured a letter from a prominent law firm opining, based on his mischaracterizations of the nature of his project, that BTCLT were not likely to be deemed securities under federal law. At the same time, Al-Naji allegedly secretly told certain investors that he was engaged in this subterfuge to avoid compliance with the law. As alleged in our complaint, Al-Naji attempted to evade the federal securities laws and defraud the investing public, mistakenly believing that being fake decentralized generally confuses regulators and deters them from going after you, said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SECs Division of Enforcement. He is obviously wrong: as we have shown time and again, and as reflected in the SECs detailed allegations here, we are guided by economic realities, not cosmetic labels. The dedicated staff of the SEC uncovered Al-Najis lies and will now hold him accountable for misleading investors. The SECs complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Al-Naji with violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint also names Al-Najis wife, mother, and wholly owned entities as relief defendants for the investor funds that Al-Naji transferred to them. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York today announced charges against Al-Naji. Hungary must be excluded from the free movement in the Schengen Area, she emphasised on Wednesday on X. TYTTI TUPPURAINEN , the chairperson of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, urges the EU to respond to Hungarys decision to effectively open a route into the 27-country bloc with no security controls for Russians, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Border controls must be introduced. Hungary mustnt be driven out of the EU, but we have to protect ourselves. Hungary in July expanded its fast-track visa scheme to encompass eight additional countries, including Belarus and Russia. Previously available only to citizens of Serbia and Ukraine, the visas enable people to enter any of the 29 countries making up the Schengen Area via Hungary. Tuppurainen on Wednesday reminded Helsingin Sanomat that border controls have been reinstated on lesser grounds, during the coronavirus pandemic, for example. Now itd be fitting to reinstate border controls on the borders of Hungary because Hungarys different stance on Russians is a potential security threat for the entire union. Im of the opinion that the council should convene to discuss this issue without delay, she stated. Hungary assumed the presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban wasted little in delivering a hardly necessary reminder to other member states of his cosy ties with Russia by embarking on a self-styled peace mission that included a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The European Commission has indicated that it intends to determine whether the fast-track visa scheme aligns with rules of the Schengen Area. Helsingin Sanomat also contacted Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen (NCP) on Wednesday, but her aides declined to comment on the issue on grounds that details of the visa scheme had yet been confirmed. Aleksi Teivainen HT Cybersecurity must be taken seriously for many reasons: it protects companies from financial losses, reputational damage, and legal consequences. Cybersecurity is one of the most critical themes in today's business world. Finnish companies are no exception the increasing prevalence of digital solutions has made ensuring cybersecurity a central part of every company's operations. For instance, if a company's database is breached and customer information is leaked, the impact on the business can be irreversible. On the other hand, while the number of various scams and cyberattacks is constantly increasing, the security of online services is at an all-time high. Safety on casinos, online shops, and banking services is at an unprecedented level. What are the most common cybersecurity threats in Finland? There are various types of cybersecurity threats, but the three most common are phishing, ransomware, and DDoS attacks. Large Finnish companies are currently struggling continuously especially with DDoS attacks. In phishing attacks, criminals try to trick users into revealing sensitive and personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank credentials. This often happens by sending emails that appear to come from a trusted source. Ransomware, on the other hand, involves locking the user's files or even the entire device and demanding a ransom to restore access. This threat can, at worst, paralyze the entire company's operations if important files cannot be accessed. In DDoS attacks, criminals aim to overload a web service with traffic, causing the service to be unable to handle normal traffic and crash. Finnish banks and online stores are particularly often affected by DDoS attacks. Common cybersecurity measures A firewall is nowadays a standard practice in managing the cybersecurity of every larger Finnish company. Firewalls monitor and regulate network traffic, blocking certain activities based on pre-established rules. Also nowadays, antivirus software is also essential for protection against malware and viruses. They continuously scan the system and check the security of files and programs. In Finland, the domestic company F-Secure is particularly popular in antivirus protection. What comes to implementing strong password policies, it is one of the most effective ways to enhance cybersecurity. This involves using long, complex passwords and changing them regularly. Additionally, multi-factor authentication (MFA) increases security in most Finnish companies by requiring users to provide a second form of identification, such as a code received via text message or an application, before access to the system is allowed. Multi-factor authentication is the most common method used by Finnish companies to ensure that systems cannot be accessed even if a password is leaked. What does the future of cybersecurity in Finland look like? The importance of cybersecurity in Finland will only increase in the future as digitalization progresses and more operations move online. This means that the number and diversity of cybersecurity threats will also grow. However, the situation in Finland is excellent in this regard, as technology is advanced and there are high-quality systems in place to ensure cybersecurity at both the corporate and national levels. Continuous development in cybersecurity is essential, as criminals constantly find new ways to attempt to deceive companies. HT Ask Matt ... what presidents, governors and stars have visited President Trump touted the Farmers to Families Food Box program when he visited the Flavor 1st packing house in Mills River in August 2020. [LIGHTNING FILE PHOTO] Q. Gov. Roy Cooper was on the short list for VP. I saw where he visited Asheville earlier this year. When was the last time a governor visited Henderson County? What other governors and presidents have visited? Gov. Cooper made a stop at an elementary school in Asheville to highlight his Year of Public Schools initiative. He returned to the Blue Ridge Parkway a month later to celebrate Earth Day. The most recent trip to Hendersonville we could find was Coopers visit in January 2020 to the Henderson County Career Academy on the Blue Ridge Community College campus to promote the states Jobs for North Carolinas Graduates program. It has done so well that Ive come to this school to announce that were going to provide $825,000 to continue this program (statewide), Cooper told the Career Academy students that day. We did some quick checking on other visits by sitting governors and learned that Pat McCrory, a Republican, rode in the King Apple Parade during the 2013 Apple Festival and that Democrat Bev Perdue checked out the Sierra Nevada construction site in 2012. (Along with Henderson County, the state Commerce Development had been part of an aggressive recruiting effort to land the brewery.) Democratic Gov. Mike Easley appeared alongside U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton on a sunny day in May 2008 during her presidential primary campaign and Republican Gov. James Martin rode in the 1992 King Apple Parade. In August 2020 President Trump visited the Johnson familys Flavor First packing house in Mills River to promote the Farmers to Families Food Box program. Election-year appearances in the City of Four Seasons might be regarded as a jinx. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Martin and Trump all lost their elections in the years they visited, and Gov. McCrory lost his re-election bid the next time he was on the ballot, in 2016. Jim Hunt, a Democrat who served as governor from 1977 to 1985 and from 1993 to 2001, almost surely would have visited the county during his 16 years as the states leader. But he has a lasting contribution to our region. In October of 2000, Hunt and the Council of State voted to acquire 2,200 acres of DuPont property through eminent domain to save it from development. Years later, Chuck McGrady, a leader of the Friends of DuPont Forest who had become a state representative, got a call from Hunt asking if he would show Hunt and his wife Carolyn the property for the first time. McGrady was happy to oblige. With help from the Forest Service, we met the Hunts at the visitors center and drove to see Bridal Veil Falls and Triple Falls, said McGrady, who firmly believes that Jim Hunt, more than any public official, was why we have DuPont State Forest today. Hunt is 87 and lives in tobacco-rich Wilson County some 300 miles east of Hendersonville. His daughter, Rachel, is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in the Nov. 5 election. Other visits from luminaries Many will recall the visit of President Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush to the 1992 Apple Festival, Hillary Clintons 2008 campaign rally and Trumps Mills River appearance. Heres what we know about some other well-known figures: Heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey trained in Laurel Park for a title fight with Gene Tunney in 1926. Dempsey lost. Ronald Reagan, then an actor, visited the General Electric plant in East Flat Rock in 1960 to promote the GE Theatre television show. Bob Dylan and some friends drove into Flat Rock unannounced in 1964 and looked up fellow poet Carl Sandburg. It was a brief encounter because Sandburg had never heard of the folk troubadour. Dylan gifted Sandburg his latest album, The Times They Are a-Changing. In the early 1990s, actor Burt Reynolds, who once performed at the Flat Rock Playhouse, bought two lots in Kenmure with then-wife Lonnie Anderson. The couple soon divorced. Oprah Winfrey visited Hendersonville, stayed at a B&B on Fifth Avenue West, and was spotted walking to town. OK, that one was all a hoax but it got local media ink in the mid-1990s. Ben Stiller came to town to star in Heavyweights, a 1995 movie about a fat camp. Kenan Thompson, later an SNL star, was in the film. Lou Rawls of Lady Love fame got stranded on the interstate here in 1997 when his limo broke down en route to Asheville. They got him a taxi. And most recently Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Eugene Levy and other Hollywood stars were spotted around town during the filming of Summer Camp, which was set at Camp Pinnacle in Flat Rock. Morrow, Manley win planning promotions Tyler Morrow and Michael Manley won promotions to manage current and long-range planning for the city of Hendersonville. In an ongoing effort to enhance the efficiency of service delivery and recognize the diligent efforts of planning staff, the City of Hendersonville is pleased to announce the promotions of Tyler Morrow to current planning manager and Mathew Manley to long-range planning manager, the city announced. The work of our department involves a regular push and pull between the needs of developers and community members working on current projects and the desire of the community to envision and plan for the future, said Lew Holloway, director of the Community Development Department. While intimately related, these two areas require unique and focused attention from the department to meet our community and customer expectations. In his new role as current planning manager, Morrow will administer and coordinate the Citys Development Review Committee, manage the implementation of online permitting and document review software, oversee the Certificate of Occupancy process, and handle various other aspects related to current development review and compliance. In his new role as long-range planning manager, Mr. Manley will oversee the Comprehensive Plan and its associated implementation projects, including zoning text amendments and rezonings, while also engaging with partners involved in long-range infrastructure planning, including transportation and utilities. Mr. Morrow and Mr. Manley bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to our organization and display a daily commitment to the vibrancy and overall health of our community, Holloway said. As we strive to live up to our departmental values of cooperation, communication, innovation, curiosity, and respect, we believe these changes position our staff to better reflect these values in our community. A certified zoning official through the North Carolina School of Government, Morrow began his career as a planner with the City of Hendersonville in 2019 after earning his undergraduate (B.S.) and graduate (M.P.A.) degrees from Western Carolina University. A native of Waynesville, Morrow has a great passion for the region and takes pride in his southern Appalachian roots. Beyond his professional life, Tyler values spending time with his family, rooting for his Georgia Dawgs and playing on the citys softball team (Go Aces!). An accredited city planner through the American Planning Association and American Institute of Certified Planners, Manley has been with the city of Hendersonville since December 2020. He most recently served as the project manager for the Citys GEN H Comprehensive Plan. Originally from Greenville, S.C., Manley attended Presbyterian College (B.S.) and Clemson University (MCRP). He came to Hendersonville after working in Johnson City, Tennessee, and Lyons, Colorado. He lives in town with his wife, Molly, and two toddlers, Quinn and Townes. They are all avid hikers and lovers of nature. Outside of work, if he is not on the trail or working in the yard, you will find him rooting for his Gamecocks and Atlanta Braves. The Supreme Courts (SC) refusal to grant an interim stay on the Patna High Court Order, which set aside Bihar reservation laws that increased reservation for Backward Classes, STs, SCs and Extremely Backward Classes from 50% to 65% in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions, has come as a second setback for the Bihar government in just a few weeks. On June 20, the Patna High Court bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar had set aside the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Act, 2023 and The Bihar (In Admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 as ultra vires and violative of equality clause under Articles 14, 15 and 16. Later, the Bihar government moved the SC challenging the Patna HC order. The matter was raised in the Bihar legislative assembly by the Opposition, which questioned why the Bihar government was not trying to get the two laws included in the 9th Schedule despite being a double engine at both the Centre and the state to prevent court scrutiny. Chief Minister Nitish Kunar, however, categorically said in the Assembly that it was at his initiative that the caste survey was done and reservations increased, and that the Bihar government was doing everything required to ensure that the benefits reached the targeted population. The government has immediately gone to the SC and talks with the Centre are also underway, he said. Govt keeping fingers crossed Though the Patna HC set aside the new quota laws, which means the old reservation formula will continue to be applicable in the state, it may delay the ongoing recruitment process for filling thousands of vacancies in different fields as the government wants to wait for the outcome in the Apex court to proceed with the hiked quota. Bihars parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said the HC order would mean continuing with the old reservation formula. The SC has not given (an) interim stay that we expected, but the government keeps its fingers crossed that ultimately the Apex Court would appreciate Bihars endeavour to do social justice for the deprived sections, he added. Choudhary, a senior JD-U leader, said that the reservation in Bihar was increased after conducting a caste survey on a large scale for the first time to have authentic data on different castes; the reservation was increased accordingly. There is a firm basis for increasing reservation in keeping with the provisions laid down in the Constitution, he added. The survey the first in independent India to successfully enumerate all castes had found that EBC, which comprises 112 castes, and OBC formed by 30 communities together comprised 63.13% of the state population. Scheduled Castes form 19.65% and Scheduled Tribes 1.68%. Upper castes were found to be 15.52% of the population. All the parties in the House were unanimous on this politically sensitive issue and eager to take credit for making it happen due to its enormous potential in Bihars caste-driven electoral politics and the overriding importance of numbers. With the HC setting it aside, it has triggered another wave of politics on reservation and the Nitish-led NDA government would certainly not like to let it become a weapon in the hands of the Opposition. DM Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, said the SCs final verdict would determine a lot about the way Bihar politics would swing due to the overriding influence of caste and the critical issue of joblessness. If the SC upholds the HC order, the demand for a sociology-economic survey with the Census will pick up momentum and echo in Bihar as well as elsewhere during the state polls. It will also affect the social engineering of Nitish Kumar, as the opposition will certainly play it up to derive an advantage. If the verdict upholds the new quota laws, it will give a certain edge to the Nitish government, Diwakar added. Recruitment drives With unemployment emerging as a major issue during the Lok Sabha elections and the Opposition RJD consistently playing it up, the Bihar government has launched a recruitment exercise in different departments to achieve the target of 10-lakh jobs by the time of the 2025 Assembly elections as part of Nitish governments 7-Resolves programme. The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has concluded the third phase of the teachers recruitment test (TRE) which was cancelled in March after the Economic Offence Unit (EOU) established that questions were leaked ahead of the examination this month for 87,774 vacancies. Following this, the fourth phase is scheduled to fill over one lakh vacancies. However, due to uncertainty over the new reservation formula, a senior official, who asked not to be named, said the government would wait and watch before announcing the results. The delay in the publication of Phase-3 results would mean further delay in conducting the Phase-4 exams, as the issue would invariably take political overtones. Besides, there are various other recruitment exams lined up. The government wants to complete the process to appoint 40247 head teachers and over 6000 headmasters. There are also over 1000 vacancies in the agriculture department. The preliminary tests for vice principals in industrial training institutes (ITIs) and horticulture officers are scheduled in the first half of August. In addition, there are thousands of vacancies in the health department, Panchayats Raj departments, police, Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad, urban development department, public health and engineering department and various others. The government has to take a call whether it wants to go ahead with the old reservation formula or wait for the new one to be decided by the Apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also underlined the urgency before the Apex Court in view of the scheduled exams and interview, said the government official quoted above. What the HC observed The SC will now hear about the Bihar quota issues in September. The HC had set aside the two laws as ultra vires the Constitution while accepting the contention of the petitioners that merely based on the lack of proportionate representation in government employment and educational institutions, the percentage of reservation was enhanced without any scientific analysis of the caste survey data. What worries us is no such exercise or analysis having been done by the Government or the Legislature in bringing about the Amendment Acts. After the collection of data, there was a frogleap into the amendment enhancing the reservations beyond 50%, which we found was again on proportionate representation in the services of the State and educational institutions, clearly not permissible under Articles 15(4) & 16(4), the HC bench had observed. The bench further observed that it is to break the stranglehold hold of a few at the expense and to the detriment of the many, that reservation to backward classes was envisaged. But merit cannot be completely effaced and sacrificed at the altar of reparations. This was the principle on which the 50% limit was laid down for reservations. Boeing named aerospace veteran Robert "Kelly" Ortberg its next CEO who earlier lead aviation communications and electronics supplier Rockwell Collins's integration into United Technologies, which then merged with Raytheon to become RTX. His appointment comes at a time when Boeing has reported a hefty loss on continued operational problems. Boeing's new CEO Robert "Kelly" Ortberg. Boeing named the former Rockwell Collins chief its next CEO.(AFP) Here are 10 points on Robert "Kelly" Ortberg: 1. The 64-year-old retired from RTX in 2021. 2. Robert "Kelly" Ortberg is an engineer seasoned in aerospace and an outsider to Boeing. 3. His appointment will take effect on August 8 and comes as Boeing attempts to rebound from a series of safety and quality control problems which has increased scrutiny of the company. 4. Boeing's second-quarter results showed a loss of $1.4 billion, compared with a loss of $149 million in the year-ago period. 5. Boeing has also experienced deep losses on several defense contracts due to supply chain problems as well as higher engineering costs and technical issues. 6. The company has been in the hot seat since a January incident in which a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight. 7. Outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun unexpectedly ascended to CEO in January 2020 after the ouster of Dennis Muilenburg amid fallout from the MAX crashes. 8. Dave Calhoun appeared poised to stay on as CEO to 2028 until the Alaska Airlines incident sparked outrage. David Calhoun announced on March 25 that he would step down by the end of this year. 9. Boeing chairman Steve Mollenkopf described Robert "Kelly" Ortberg as an experienced leader who is deeply respected in the aerospace industry. 10. Robert "Kelly" Ortberg said he was extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company. He said, "There is much work to be done, and I'm looking forward to getting started." Elon Musk accepted a challenge from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for a televised fight. This came after Nicolas Maduro accused Tesla CEO of orchestrating cyber-attacks on Venezuelas National Electoral Council (CNE) after his recent election victory which has been called into question. X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk leaving a US Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum at the US Capitol in Washington, DC and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gesturing during a press conference.(AFP) Elon Musk said, "I accept" on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) after Nicolas Maduro challenged him over the tech boss' dictator jibe. Nicolas Maduro said, "Social media creates a virtual reality, and who controls the virtual reality? Our new archenemy, the famous Elon Musk. Do you want to fight? Let's do it. Elon Musk, I'm ready. I'm not afraid of you Elon Musk. Let's fight, wherever you want." In response, Elon Musk posted a series of tweets, taking jabs at both Nicolas Maduro and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Elon Musk wrote, Maduro is a big guy himself and probably knows how to fight, so this would be a real fight. Zuck is a little fella, so that would be a short fight lol. He said in another tweet, If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars. Elon Musk has repeatedly called Nicolas Maduro a "dictator" and criticised the Venezuelan elections as a "travesty." Nicolas Maduro hit back saying, He wants to come here with his guns and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, good thing you showed your face because we knew you were behind it all! With your money and your satellites. A total of three rape cases were reported in the city on Wednesday. Two minors were sexually assaulted by the neighbours and a 24-year-old woman was raped on the pretext of marriage. A total of three rape cases were reported in the city on Wednesday. (HT File) In the first case, the Division Number 2 police arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl from his neighbourhood. The first-information report (FIR) was registered following a statement by the minors father. The accused was identified as Ranjit Kumar of Uttar Pradesh. The complainant told police said that on Wednesday, his daughter complained of severe stomachache and they took her to a doctor, who informed them that she had been sexually assaulted. On being asked, the minor said the accused befriended her a few months ago and they would talk to each other over the phone. The girl added that the accused called her to his rented accommodation and raped her repeatedly. Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Kulwant Singh, who is investigating the case, said the police have registered an FIR under Section 65 (1) (rape on woman under sixteen years of age) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In the second case, Meharban police booked a man for raping and impregnating a 13-year-old girl. The accused, identified as Altaf Shaiekh, 25, is the minors neighbour. The girl used to stay alone at home as her parents and elder sister worked. The police registered an FIR against the accused under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Police said the accused is married. In her complaint, the minors mother said her daughter had been unwell for the past few days and on Wednesday, she took her to a doctor. The doctor said the minor was four-month pregnant. On being asked, the girl said the accused, who lives in their labour quarter, raped her several times. ASI Radhey Sham, who is investigating the case, said that the accused is married and assaulted the minor when she was alone at home. A hunt is on to arrest the accused, he added. In the third case, the Shimlapuri police registered a zero FIR under section 376 (rape) of the IPC following a complaint by a 24-year-old woman. The FIR was registered against Sukhveer Singh of Bathinda. Sub-inspector Rajinder Kaur, who is investigating the case, said the woman recorded her statement with the police on July 31. She alleged that on June 17, 2023, the accused picked her up from a furniture store near Gill Bridge of Sidhwan Canal and took her to a hotel in Mohali. The complainant said the accused raped her on the pretext of marriage and later, the accused refused to marry her. The SI added that as the incident occurred in Mohali, the police registered a zero FIR and sent the matter to Mohali police. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, spearheading the farmers stir in support of their demands, including a legal guarantee of the minimum support price for crops, on Thursday held protests against the BJP at several places in Punjab and Haryana. Farmers raising slogans during a protest against the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Haryana, in Amritsar on Thursday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT) Protesting farmers burnt effigies of the BJP at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana. They also burnt effigies at places, including Amritsar, Moga, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Sonipat and Panchkula. Farmers said they will continue with their agitation till their demands are met. The protesters criticised the Haryana governments recent decision of recommending gallantry medals for six police officials for their role in preventing farmers from heading to Delhi as part of their Delhi Chalo programme. The Haryana government, in its recommendations sent to the Centre recently, had recommended the names of six police officers, three of them from the IPS and three others from Haryana Police Service, for the police medal for gallantry. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, Police officers are being rewarded for stopping farmers from going to Delhi by using force. Pandher said the Haryana Police used teargas shells and rubber bullets against farmers when they were trying to head towards Delhi in February. The six officers were deployed during the farmers protests at Shambhu and Khanauri borders where security personnel prevented the protesting farmers from marching towards the national capital. During the Thursday protest, farmers raised slogans against the Centre and the Haryana government. The agitation will continue till the demands of farmers and labourers are not met, Pandher said. The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their Delhi Chalo march was stopped by the security forces. A young farmer, Bathinda native Shubhkaran Singh, was killed and many police personnel injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of 1 lakh on the Ludhiana municipal commissioner for creating obstructions in the functioning of the tribunal and joint committee. The MC chief has been directed to pay the fine within 15 days. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of 1 lakh on the Ludhiana municipal commissioner for creating obstructions in the functioning of the tribunal and joint committee. (HT File) During a hearing held on July 31 in a matter pertaining to encroachments over green belts on the Lodhi Club Road and old GT Road (from Jagraon Bridge to Sherpur Chowk), the tribunal stressed the delay in providing the development plan (master plan) by MC commissioner and imposed the sanction, observing that the official was creating obstruction in the functioning of tribunal and bodies constituted by it, leading to delays in proceedings. MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, There was some confusion regarding the master plan. The committee asked for a development plan but we dont have such terminology in our office. We submitted the master plan through email, WhatsApp and sent it via post as well. We respect the tribunals order and will submit a fine amount positively. Council of Engineers president Kapil Arora, who had moved NGT over the encroachments on green belts, said that the tribunal, after rejecting the report of the previous joint committee on August 7, 2023, had constituted a new committee consisting of members from the Union environment ministry, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to submit a report on the encroachments on green belts by Lodhi Club and Convent School, BRS Nagar on Lodhi the Club Road and by the MC which he said built a library and parking areas in green belts on old GT Road. The committee had sent a letter to the MC seeking the master plan but the civic body failed in doing so, according to a joint committee partial report submitted on January 9 this year. Taking cognisance of the matter on July 18, the bench directed the MC commissioner to appear on July 31. After receiving the master plan on July 24, the joint committee filed a reply and sought three months to submit the final report. Vikas Arora, a member of the Council of Engineers, said that the MC commissioner appeared before the NGT and submitted that the development plan was provided to the joint committee on April 30, 2024. He, however, failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the delay of over five months. The bench found the MC commissioners conduct to be highly objectionable. The bench further observed that despite receiving the development plan on April 30, the joint committee is guilty of delaying proceedings and its demand of three months for submitting the report is unreasonable. The bench directed the joint committee to submit a report within a month. The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Kisan Club hosted its monthly training camp for members here on Thursday. The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Kisan Club hosted its monthly training camp for members here on Thursday. (HT Photo) Organised by communication additional director Dr TS Riar and extension education department head Dr Kuldeep Singh the event featured a series of informative lectures and interactive sessions. The camp began with a welcome address and review of the clubs activities by Lavleesh Garg from extension education department. This was followed by a lecture on seed production of cereal crops by seed department director TP Singh. Animal science DEE Madhu Shally from discussed cattle feed formulation, while Shivani Sharma from microbiology department presented on medicinal mushrooms production. Navjot Singh Brar from the Vegetable Research Farm, Hoshiarpur, shared insights on the successful cultivation of potatoes, and RRS Kapurthala director Gulzar Singh Sanghera spoke on planning and cultivating sugarcane. The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by PAU Kisan Club president Manpreet Singh Grewal. The training camp attracted 105 participants, providing valuable knowledge and strategies to improve their agricultural practices. Drownings, electrocutions and house collapses. These three issues, which caused the deaths of at least five people on Wednesday night as a heavy downpour pounded the city, underscore an infrastructural malaise that becomes evident in the Capital during the monsoon every year. The wall of Happy School in Daryaganj collapsed amid heavy rainfall on Wednesday night. There were no casualties. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO) This collapse of urban infrastructure also points to the lack of accountability by authorities at various levels who are supposed to ensure the safety of a teeming city that home to tens of millions. Read more: Pinarayi Vijayan on Wayanad landslides: 'Nobody left to be saved' Drownings, and blame game The first reported fatalities on Wednesday night were perhaps the most heartbreaking. A 22-year-old woman and a her three-year-old son were killed after they fell into the Ghazipur drain near Khoda colony. When officials fished out their bodies, they said the mother was still clutching on to the arm of her son. The story that followed their deaths was all too familiar authorities traded blame on who caused the tragedy. The Ghazipur drain is maintained by Delhi authorities on one side, and by Ghaziabad on the other. The victims were residents of Khoda Colony in Ghaziabad. Officials from the Ghaziabad fire department conducted the initial rescue operation, but later handed over the case and the bodies to Delhi Police. The spot where the incident took place has a partially covered drain that was submerged in knee-deep water after Wednesdays rains. The waterlogging made it impossible to decipher where the footpath ended and where the drain started. Debris from unfinished construction work also lies right next to it. The incident raised several fundamental questions: Why was the drain left open and work unfinished? Why were people allowed to walk near an open drain in the first place? Why was there no signage or barricade warning people against walking near an open drain? How was there no clarity over the jurisdiction of the responsible civic body? And, most importantly, who was responsible? Even among Delhi officials, the accountability was not clear. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) issued a statement on Thursday alleging that the part of the drain where the incident occurred was under maintenance by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which responded with identical allegations. An incident occurred... in which a lady and her child... fell in an under-construction DDA drain near Ambedkar Gate of Khora Colony The road and drain where incident took place is under construction by DDA (DDA jurisdiction), MCD said. Read more: MCD admits fault for Rajendra Nagar waterlogging In response, DDA stated that the total length of the drain is 1.35km, out of which, 1km of the drain, along with the adjoining road, was handed over to MCD a considerable time ago. The remaining 350m of the drain, DDA said, is under its jurisdiction. Electrocutions and negligence At around 7pm, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted to death when he went to play in a waterlogged street in a DDA colony in Dwarkas Bindapur. In another incident, also on Wednesday night, a 28-year-old man was electrocuted at his home in Jaitpur. Police said the victim stepped out on his terrace to enjoy the rain when he touched a live wire and died on the spot. These are not isolated incidents. They were the seventh and eighth deaths from electrocution in the city so far this monsoon, according to a tally by HTs reporters. On July 24, a 26-year-old IAS aspirant was electrocuted to death here after he tripped while crossing a puddle and grabbed the gate, which was charged after coming in contact with a live power line. On July 25, another man, a 30-year-old labourer, was killed after he was electrocuted in Karawal Nagar. On June 28, when over 200mm of rain lashed Delhi, a 39-year-old man was electrocuted in Rohini after brushing past a live wire on a waterlogged road. On July 13, a 34-year-old woman was electrocuted on a waterlogged road in Bhajanpura. Other electrocution deaths this monsoon included that of a BSES employee in Dwarka on June 14, while he was trying to fix an electricity pole. On July 13, a constable died after coming in contact with a high-tension wire on a roof in Najafgarh. A walk in a residential street nearly anywhere in Delhi will yield sights that are quite dangerous, especially during monsoon a potentially lethal combination of waterlogging with loose, exposed wires that millions of residents cross daily. BSES had said that it was cooperating with the authorities during their investigation in the electrocution cases. A spokesperson for Tata Power, while extending condolences to the deceased, had said it had intensified efforts to educate consumers about electrical safety. Collapses, but no dangerous buildings At 9pm on Wednesday, a 62-year-old man died was after the roof of his shop collapsed amid heavy rainfall in Subzi Mandi. The fire brigade, National Disaster Response Force, and earthmovers were deployed to remove the debris and pull the victim out after a six-hour operation. In Daryaganj, a wall-collapse crushed a large number of parked vehicles. Injuries were also reported due to collapses in Defence Colony and Shastri Park. Eight people, including six minors, were injured when a wall collapsed in Malviya Nagar on April 23 allegedly due to sudden rainfall and storm. The city has witnessed numerous such collapses since the onset of monsoon most of which had not been captured in the pre-monsoon dangerous building survey. Experts and stakeholders say the city lacks an efficient mechanism to detect and prevent collapse of dangerous buildings. In fact, the civic body is yet to officially release the findings of this years survey which was expected to cover 2.9 million properties. However, a senior MCD official said that only five properties were found to be dangerous all located in East Delhis Kalyanpuri and Pandav Nagar. Notices were issued to another 57 buildings for carrying out repairs, the official added, asking not to be named. The civic body found no dangerous buildings in the Walled City, which has seen many collapses in recent months. This was the same story last year, when 3.1 million buildings were inspected, but only eight were found dangerous seven of them in Rohini zone. These surveys are carried out by the building and maintenance departments of civic bodies as a pre-monsoon exercise. A visual survey is carried out by junior engineer of the area and if engineers notice structures which are bent or show cracks, then they inspect the structure from the inside. A notice to get the building repaired is issued to the owner, a second civic official said, asking not to be named. Amid all the red tape, the Capitals woes continue unheard and unresolved. Delhi chief secretary Naresh Kumar has told the Supreme Court that lieutenant governor VK Saxena was not told about the need to obtain the permission of the top court for the felling of trees in the southern Ridge during his visit to the site on February 2. Kumar submitted a fresh affidavit before the court, which was hearing a contempt petition against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), headed by Saxena, for the illegal felling of trees in Satbari. LG VK Saxena (PTI) Kumars response came after the courts July 12 order directing him to detail what transpired during the LGs visit to the site. The court, in its last order, said that it was not interested in examining how the LG expedited the project to proceed in the absence of the courts permission but wished to know if the same was brought to his knowledge by any officers accompanying him on the occasion. Kumar said that to the best of his knowledge, none of the officers present at the site brought to the notice of the LG the orders passed by this court and/or the requirement of obtaining permission of the Tree Officer (under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act (DPTA), 1994). The affidavit was filed on July 30. Read more: Creamy layer among SCs, STs must be excluded from quota benefits: Supreme Court Earlier in July, the top court lamented that a relentless cover-up and blame game was going on over the illegal removal of trees. The contempt plea filed by a Delhi resident, Bindu Kapurea, alleged that nearly 1,100 trees were felled in the Ridge without permission from the Supreme Court, as required under directions in the MC Mehta case of May 1996, that protects the Ridge against encroachments. The massive felling of trees was done for the construction of a 10km road from Chattarpur to SAARC University and other establishments in Maidan Garhi and Satbari areas. The chief secretary told the court that the LG issued directions to all officers to expedite the completion of the project. However, he said, directions by higher authorities during such visits to expedite completion of projects cannot be considered as direction to overlook/bypass the statutory provisions for expediting such works. Affidavits were also filed by the additional principal chief conservator of forests, the Delhi government, and an engineer-member of DDA, who were also present with the Saxena during his visit. Giving their versions of the visit, additional PCCF Suneesh Buxy said that the LG was told about the mandatory permissions required by the forest department under the DPTA and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, that were pending as of that date. The forest department was advised (by LG) to expedite the process in this regard, the affidavit said. Read more: States empowered to make sub-classifications in SC, ST for quota: Supreme Court The DDA affidavit confirmed that no official present at the spot briefed Saxena about the requirement to take the top courts nod. The engineer member Ashok Kumar Gupta told the court that LG informed him (Gupta) that the forest department had already taken approval from him for felling the trees under the DPTA and directed the officers of the department to convey the approval to DDA at the earliest. The tree felling took place between February 16 to 26. The court had directed the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to ascertain the number of trees felled by employing advanced technology. The DDA affidavit said that the trees were felled on a mistaken notion as the permission under DPTA and an order of Tree Authority passed on February 15 was already in place. However, the top court in March had refused to allow DDAs application, by when the trees had already been cut. New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar on Wednesday blamed the Centre for unnatural flooding in the national capital, caused by heavy rainfall since Wednesday till early Thursday morning, with multiple weather stations recording over 100 mm of rainfall. Severe water logging and massive traffic congestion were witnessed in several areas of the national capital. Waterlogging, traffic snarls in several parts of Delhi after heavy showers (HT Photo) Speaking as part of the House discussions on the housing and urban development ministry, Sircar said, This has happened due to their (Centre) intervention, as he blamed the construction projects, under the Central Vista scheme taken up by the ministry of housing and urban affairs. The Central Vista scheme, including the new Parliament building, is a prestige project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to create a legacy free from colonial influence. Sircar said one such example is the Pragati Maidan tunnel, which made headlines multiple times for getting dangerously flooded since its opening in recent years. The tunnel was shut for days last years monsoon. We need to go for hydrographic studies before we enforce our will through before we put our egotistical schemes through. The flooding of the Pragati Maidan tunnel will continue, he said. Sircar mentioned that in all, Delhi has 308 waterlogging hotspots. Further, he slammed the Centres revamp of the erstwhile Rajpath to Kartavya Path as part of the scheme. Rs.670 crore spent on Rajpath for a few bulbs and lights, and all you get is perennial flooding because you have tampered with the water system, he said. Reiterating that while the entire project has to tackle the hydrological programme, Sircar also mentioned that the two member gates of the new Parliament building do not have any protection from rain or heat, while three gates for VIPs have porticos. We have to redesign this as even their members are also exposed to the heat, rain, and the sun. The galleries of the current Parliament building have to be better utilised, said the TMC Rajya Sabha MP. Also Read: 4 dead in separate incidents as heavy rainfall lashes Delhi-NCR: Police Sircar further criticised the flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Smart Cities Mission over its slow implementation and complexities owing to the top-down approach. Most houses are in peripheral areas of the town, so before we impose a top-down scheme on the poor, he said. Slamming the ministrys Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation scheme, he cited that till date, 31% of the urban population do not have piped water and 67% of the urban population have no access to sewage facilities. The TMC leader said that he is not holding the present minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, responsible, who recently took charge of the ministry in the third Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government. Mumbai: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukhs recent allegations that Devendra Fadnavis had conspired against Uddhav Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and their sons during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime continued to heat up the political temperature ahead of the assembly polls, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief launching a scathing attack on the deputy chief minister on Wednesday, saying that either you will remain or I will. Mumbai, India. June 19, 2024: Shiv Sena (UBT) party chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed the party workers on the occasion of Shiv Sena's 58th foundation day at Shanmukhanand Hall in Matunga, Mumbai on Wednesday. June 19, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) Thackeray also challenged the BJP, saying that the MVA had cut down Prime Minister Narendra Modis arrogance in the Lok Sabha elections. Now, we will complete the unfinished job in the assembly elections, he said. ALSO READ- Fadnavis tried to target sons of Uddhav, Ajit Pawar with dirty politics: Anil Deshmukh Addressing party workers and office bearers at Mumbais Rangasharda auditorium, Thackeray referred to Deshmukhs allegations and declared a political war against Fadnavis. He conspired against me and my son to send us to jail by levelling fake charges. Anil Deshmukh told me about this. He attacked my family. For all these days, I suffered a lot but still stood with courage. Now, either he will remain or I will, Thackeray said. He also ordered party workers to be aggressive in the coming days and hit back if anyone attacked the party. ALSO READ- Shankaracharya says Uddhav Thackeray victim of betrayal: till he becomes CM again The former chief minister invoked his partys connection with Mumbai, saying that chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have no love for the city and are allowing it to be looted. Once they lose power, they will go to Thane, Baramati and Nagpur. We need to fight for Mumbai, he said. In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah, he added, Those two traders in the Centre want to loot Mumbai. We will not tolerate it. We need to uproot them from here. Trying to boost the morale of party workers, Thackeray said that the upcoming assembly elections would be the last challenge before the party as there would be no one left to trouble them after winning. ALSO READ- Only Centre can raise reservation limit by removing the 50% cap: Uddhav Responding to Thackeray, several BJP leaders slammed him for using provocative language and said that the party has accepted his challenge. Use of such provocative language doesnt suit Thackeray. He is daring the BJP and its leader on the back of getting Muslim and Christian votes, said state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule. In a post on X, Bawankule also claimed that Thackeray, when he was chief minister, had tried to put Fadnavis in jail but did not succeed. Uddhav Thackeray will have to take a hundred births to end [Fadnavis] political career, he wrote. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar accused Thackeray of speaking the language of anti-nationals. Thackeray talks about finishing pro-Hindutva BJP in politics. He is speaking the language of organisations like SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India). BJP has accepted Thackerays challenge and, now, he should not turn back. The death toll due to viral encephalitis has risen to 58 in Gujarat, the state government said on Wednesday. Out of these, a majority of which, the exact number of which is yet to ascertained, are suspected to be due to Chandipura virus. (Representative file photo) According to the government report, out of 140 reported cases of viral encephalitis, 58 have resulted in fatalities. The most severely affected area is Panchmahal with seven deaths, followed by Ahmedabad Corporation with six deaths. These deaths in the last one month are due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). Out of these, a majority of which, the exact number of which is yet to ascertained, are suspected to be due to the outbreak of Chandipura virus (CHPV), a rare deadly pathogen, according to Gujarat health department officials. Also Read: Nipah, Chandipura are just tip of the iceberg Gujarat health commissioner Harshad Patel told HT that at least one fourth of the total deaths due to AES could be attributed to Chandipura virus. Sandflies are known to be the main vectors for Chandipura virus. Initial symptoms often include sudden onset of high fever, severe headache, and muscle pain. As the infection advances, it can lead to altered consciousness, seizures, and in severe cases, coma and death. The viruss ability to cause rapid neurological deterioration makes early detection and treatment crucial for patient survival. Of the total 140 suspected cases, 52 have been confirmed positive for Chandipura virus across various districts and municipal corporations, according to a state government release. As many as 25 patients are presently hospitalised and 57 have been discharged after treatment. New Delhi, Thursday, , was going to be Priyansh's first day at school. All necessities and formalities were completed, and only thing remaining was a uniform. HT Image His mother went to the market Wednesday evening to purchase him one. But that uniform would never be worn, that school path would never be walked! They drowned in a half-open under construction drain in a waterlogged street as heavy rains pelted down on Delhi-NCR Wednesday evening. The mother was still holding her son in her arms when rescuers recovered them metres away from where they slipped into the drain in the Khoda Colony in the Ghazipur area of east Delhi. "Tanuja is my sister-in-law. Priyansh was recently enrolled into a nearby school and she had gone to a market to buy a dress for him since his classes were about to start from Thursday. However, they drowned into an open drain which was waterlogged," said Karan Bisht. "When the authorities took out them from the drain, they declared the mother dead then and there. While they said Priyansh had one per cent chance to survive. He also lost his life soon," Karan said. Another relative said Tanuja was with her sister-in-law Pinky and her two kids when the incident took place. "I was at the hospital with my daughter-in-law. They had first gone to Mayur Vihar Phase-3 to visit their relatives. It was raining and they kept waiting for the rains to stop. However, when it did not stop for a while, Tanuja left for her residence. Pinky first asked her to wait, but when Tanuja insisted, Pinky also followed her. "Tanuja was holding Priyansh and a bag in her hands. When they fell in the drain, Pinky also jumped in to save them. Locals pulled Pinky out as she had her hands abovr the water, but they could not find Tanuja's hands since she was holding her son," the relative said. Finally, when the authorities found her three hours later and pulled her out of the drain, she was holding her kid, said the relative. Tanuja and Govind got married in 2018 in Almora district of Uttarakhand and they have been living at Khoda along with Tanuja's father. Govind has a private job in Noida, while Tanuja was a homemaker. Karan also alleged, "When the incident happened, my relatives told me that there was initially a fight between Delhi Police and UP Police related to the jurisdiction. However, it was later decided that the drain falls under the jurisdiction of Delhi." Manish Katariya , an eyewitness, said the victims were recovered from several metres away from the spot where they drowned. "I was present when the incident took place. The whole area was waterlogged and the slab over the drain also submerged. A portion of the drain was not covered. This is around 10-feet-deep drain and the covering work is underway for the last one week. "Another woman was also with the victim. They fell into the drain here. They were found away from the manhole as the drain was flowing. The drain falls under Delhi and where the family lives comes under Uttar Pradesh," Katariya stated. The incident took place around 8 pm near the Khoda Colony area, where the roadside drain was under-construction. Hemant Suri, a Khoda Colony resident , said, "I received a call from my uncle that such incident took place in the area. I rushed to the spot and found that a woman and her son drowned in the drain. The officials of Ghazibad Police, fire and civic agency reached the spot. The incident took place around 8 pm and the bodies were recovered around 11 pm." Govind has four brothers and his parents live in Almora. After the post-mortem, they will take the bodies to Almora for cremation, Karan said. Mahesh Kumar, a local, said the waterlogging in the area is very common during the rainy season. "This incident is very tragic. We have been living here in such state where we all are vulnerable to become the victim of such incidents. I hope that the authorities learn something from this and take appropriate steps in order to prevent such incidents," Kumar said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. CAT 2024 Registration: The online registration cum application process for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2024 has started. Candidates who want to apply for CAT 2024 can submit their forms on iimcat.ac.in. The application deadline is September 13 (5 pm). The direct link, eligibility criteria, important dates, exam fee and the selection process of IIMs are mentioned below. CAT 2024 registration begins; check eligibility, direct link to apply and other details (iimcat.ac.in, screenshot of the registration page) Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta will administer the 2024 session of the B-school admission test. IIM CAT 2024 important dates The registration window for CAT 2024 opened today, August 1, at 10 am and the application deadline is 5 pm on September 13. CAT 2024 admit cards will be released on November 5. The entrance test is scheduled for November 24 and results for the second week of January. After the registration window closes, a short window will be provided during which the candidates will be allowed to change their photo and signature and edit their test city preferences. Direct link to apply for CAT 2024 CAT 2024 eligibility criteria Candidates with Bachelor's degrees with at least 50 per cent marks or equivalent CGPA (45 per cent in the case of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe candidates and Persons with Disability) can apply for CAT 2024. QS Executive MBA rankings: Top 6 Business schools in India Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelors degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply for the test. However, such candidates, if selected after the test, will be allowed to join a programme provisionally only if they submit a document from the register/principal of the previous institution stating they have completed all the requirements of obtaining a Bachelor's degree. Check the detailed eligibility criteria for CAT 2024 here. CAT 2024 application fee Along with the application forms of CAT 2024, SC, ST and PwD candidates must pay a fee of 1,250. For all other applicants, the fee is 2,500. This year, the CAT exam will be held in 170 cities, and the candidates will be allowed to choose five cities according to their preference in the application form. CAT 2024 exam pattern The duration of CAT 2024 will be 120 minutes. The test will have three sections- Section 1: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Section 2: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Section 3: Quantitative Ability (QA/Quants) Candidates will be allotted 40 minutes for answering each section and switching between sections will not be permitted. IIM Calcutta said a mock test will be uploaded to the exam website eventually, which may help students understand the format of the test. About CAT 2024 and selection process of IIMS CAT is a national-level examination for admission to postgraduate and fellow/doctorate level Business courses offered by IIMs. Several non-IIM institutions also use the CAT scores in their admission processes. CAT only acts as a screening test, and qualifying for the test does not guarantee admission at IIMs as the candidates will be required to participate in further selection rounds such as group discussion and personal interview as per the admission criteria of the respective institutes. Each IIM will send interview letters to the shortlisted candidates directly. The selection process of some institutes may also include a writing ability test (WAT). The IIMs may additionally use other factors such as previous academic performances of the candidates, relevant work experience, gender and academic diversity and other similar inputs in shortlisting and ranking of candidates at various stages of the admission process. For more information, candidates should refer to the admissions policies of individual IIMs on their respective websites. Check the selection process of IIMs here. The airport outing The actor was spotted at Mumbai airport during early morning hours on Thursday. The video of the actor landing in the city with her daughter was shared on Instagram by a Mumbai-based photographer. In the video, both of them are seen wearing comfortable and casual outfits for the airport outing. Aishwarya was seen in an all-black outfit, pairing it with a long black coat over matching pants. She completed her look with a dash of red lipstick, keeping her hair loose and flowing. Meanwhile, Aaradhya was seen in a comfortable purple sweatshirt which she paired with black pants and white sneakers. She carried a black sling back too. Aishwarya was seen holding her daughter close protectively. Greeted by the paparazzi in Mumbai, the mother-daughter duo smiled for the cameras as they made their way to their vehicle. They seemed unbothered by all the rumours around marital discord. Aishwarya also thanked the paparazzi before getting into her car. Aishwarya in New York The actor was in New York for a vacation with her daughter. Recently, a US-based actor named Jeree Reyna took to Instagram to post two pictures with Aishwarya. One picture was from her recent meeting in New York, and another was a throwback. In her caption, Jeree wrote, Meeting your idol twice in one lifetime deserves a spot on the grid... swipe to see me at my most unhinged... Aish (Aishwarya), thank you for always being so kind to me. You listened so intently as I told you about the impact youve had in my life. it was always my dream to thank you for it. I wish you all the happiness and joy in this world. The buzz Her outing drew attention because it followed her separate appearance at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants wedding on July 12. Abhishek attended the event with his parents, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, and his sister Shweta Bachchans family, while Aishwarya arrived separately with Aaradhya. Aishwarya had also made a solo appearance at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants Shubh Aashirwad ceremony on July 13. However, neither Aishwarya nor Abhishek has made any public comments regarding the speculations. On the work front, Aishwarya was last seen in Ponniyin Selvan 2. New Delhi, British actor Daniel Caltagirone, who plays the antagonist Lord Clement in Pa Ranjith's much-anticipated "Thangalaan", says his character wasn't a one note villain who just has a "token" like presence in an Indian film production. It's not a token bad guy role in 'Thangalaan', says British actor Daniel Caltagirone The Tamil movie, starring Vikram in the lead, promises to be an intriguing drama set in the 19th century in the Kolar gold mines which also serve as a backdrop for the superhit Kannada franchise "KGF". Caltagirone, whose Hollywood film credits include the Oscar winning title "The Pianist", "Legionnaire", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life", and "The Fall", is currently in Chennai to promote "Thangalaan". The London-born actor, who makes his Indian cinema debut with the movie, said he had a long conversation with Ranjith about his character arc before boarding the cast. "When I first got hired by Ranjith, we had a long conversation. I didn't audition for him, he just called my agent saying 'This guy is interesting, I want to work with him'. When we had the chat, I wanted to know about Tamil filmmaking. I had some knowledge about Bollywood, but not Tollywood. "I said, 'Listen, I know how you guys portray English people, it's ok. But I'm not sure I'm interested in .' Ranjith said 'Let me stop you right there. You don't know me as a filmmaker. You and Vikram are like the different sides of the same coin. You are not to be that cliched British actor that comes in'," Caltagirone told PTI in an interview. Praising Ranjith, known for films such as "Madras", "Kabali", "Kaala" and "Sarpatta Parambarai", the actor said the director wanted him to be "one of the first British actors to do something different" in Indian cinema. "If that works, that would be amazing for me as one of the first in the lead in a film that's just not going to be a token," Caltagirone said, adding that he was not interested in portraying the cliched bad guy roles like the British characters in "RRR". The 52-year-old said his character of Lord Clement and Vikram's Thangalaan are two sides of the same coin. "In the film, you'll see flashes of the character trying to fight because he's had this rough existence. Life has dealt these bad hands to him. What you see is the product of that but what you also see is the man being turned bad. Then, you've got the same with Vikram's character but obviously I'm not going to spoil the ending. Our characters become possessed by the desire, need and greed to obtain gold. I hope I've done my job well." According to the makers, the story of "Thangalaan" captures the actual history of the Kolar Gold Fields . Over two centuries ago, the Kolar Gold Mine Field was discovered by the British, who exploited and looted it for their own purposes, they added. He said Ranjith, whose films are an extension of his ideology as someone who is bringing the perspective of the Dalits to the silver screen, works on the "psychology" of the people. "He was a bit nervous about hiring a British actor... He comes from a hard place; he understands local communities, the streets and the people... He said to me 'You strike me as someone who is strong and different'. He was looking for someone who is a bit more ," he added. Caltagirone said he got lucky with his co-stars. "I was nervous about how the big Indian stars would treat me. Everyone sort of got down really well... I have this huge amount of respect for Indian actors because they do things above and beyond a lot of time than their western counterparts, who have their stunt guys step in straightaway or they can't get their hair messed up and stuff. I was told I was going to be doing a lot during stunts and I was like 'Yeah, let's do it!'" The shooting of "Thangalaan" has been a time-consuming process, said the actor who worked on the movie for a year and two months. "About 100 years ago! That's how long it took to shoot the film," he quipped. "I arrived in India in the beginning of October 2022 and I finished in November 2023. There was a little at the end when I came home. We really pushed ourselves beyond. We all split off for three months because Chiyaan and I had sustained a lot of injuries in this film," he added. This was not the first time Caltagirone came to India. The actor shot for India-born American director Tarsem Singh's film "The Fall" back in 2001 in Rajasthan. He has also worked with Shekhar Kapur, whom he counts as a "big influence" in his life, in 2002's "The Four Feathers". Both were international productions. "Every time I've come to India, it's never been a short span. There's this weird connection with India, I don't know what it is, but India or Indian filmmakers have formed a major part of my life... You either come to India and embrace it or you don't. There's nothing in between. This for me just feels like home." "Thangalaan" will release worldwide on August 15 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. It also stars Malavika Mohanan and Parvathy Thiruvothu. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Comedian Pete Davidson, known for his roles on projects such as Saturday Night Live and King of Staten Island, is reportedly taking some time out of the spotlight to focus on his mental health. It is being stated that he has checked into a facility to address her mental wellbeing. Also read: Pete Davidson axes on his semi-autobiographical series 'Bupkis' In 2018, Pete shared that he had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Time out According to People, Pete, 30, has opted for some time off to focus on his health. The step comes after doing more than 200 live stand-up comedy shows across US, release of his second Netflix comedy special, Turbo Fonzarelli, and work on several of his film projects. As per a source, mental health has "always been a priority" for the comedian, which has been the first and foremost reason behind his step. The comedian has always been vocal about his sobriety journey as well as his struggle with borderline personality disorder and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Following his busy work schedule this year, according to the source, Pete has been focusing on his sobriety. The insider shares that his friends and family are very proud that he has chosen to continue to take care of himself. Pete most recently underwent treatment in the summer of 2023 to address issues related to PTSD and borderline personality disorder. Petes wellness journey Back in 2023, Pete addressed issues related to PTSD and borderline personality disorder. He had checked into a rehab to work on the issues, and found support from his family members and friends. He spoke about the stint during a comedy show with John Mulaney and Jon Stewart in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2023 . I am fresh out of rehab, everyone, he told the crowd at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos Ettes Arena, adding I got that post-rehab glow. Seventh times the charm. Pete revealed he took ketamine, a drug used medically as an anaesthetic, daily for four years. In 2018, Pete shared that he had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder after years of battling depression and anxiety. At that time, he checked into a rehabilitation program in December 2016. Though depression lurks around the edges of The Instigators, Doug Limans heist movie is a loosely amiable return to South Boston for Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who also co-wrote the film. Review: In 'The Instigators,' a heist goes terrifically wrong In the films opening moments, Rory , a former Marine, tells his therapist, Dr. Rivera , that after a lifetime of screw ups and disappointments, hes not so much forlorn as simply ready to cash in his ticket. His phrase is a telling one for a film where midlife disappointments and a ramshackle heist-gone-wrong plot collide in farcical ways. As a last-ditch effort and to raise $32,480 for his child support payments, Rory signs up with a criminal band of misfits to steal election-night payouts to a corrupt Boston mayor running for reelection. Therapists have made their ways into crime dramas like The Sopranos, but The Instigators adds a novel wrinkle by bringing Dr. Rivera along for the ride. When Rory and Cobby go on the run, she tags along as a hostage by choice. But it takes a little time for the buddy comedy to develop. First, The Instigators works in a large percentage of todays top character actors among them Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones and Paul Walter Hauser all of whom raise the bar in this rudderless but winningly shaggy action comedy. Liman, the director of Go, The Bourne Identity and the recent Road House, has always had a knack for freewheeling ensembles and for getting the most out of his stars charisma. The Instigators may be a modern streaming movie but its a decidedly old-school kind of caper, stock full of local color and peopled with faces youre happy to see. Its a product of Damon and Ben Afflecks Artists Equity, which produced the film from the script by Casey Affleck and City on the Hill creator Chuck MacLean. For them, the blue-collar Boston terrain of The Instigators is about as a cozy as bleacher seat in Fenway Park. The Instigators doesnt live up to other Damon-Afflecks Beantown-set movies , and some of their Dunkin Donuts-adjacent schtick is at least approaching stale. You could call it a homecoming but its more like they never left. So, yes, this is them very much in their element, but that goes especially true for Affleck, the main reason to see The Instigators. His Cobby is a drunk and convict who enlists in the heist out of a lack of other options. Its an ill-considered scheme by a pair of small-time gangsters , one of whom runs a bakery as a front. They dispatch a trigger-happy small-time crook to lead the mission, a debacle from the get go. Nothing goes right, not even the expected election result, and out of the melee clatter Cobby and Rory, with a special police investigator in steadfast pursuit. On the run, their double act Damons earnest deadpan, Afflecks smart-aleck flippancy works as well as it ever has, even if the script could use a touch more wit. Affleck makes up for it with his melancholic motormouth routine, one that gets an even better foil once Chau, the talented co-star of The Whale and Showing Up, is roped into their escape. Though Liman knows how to mix action and comedy as well as anyone, The Instigators is better whenever there's less going on. The Instigators, an Apple release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for pervasive language and some violence. Running time: 101 minutes. In Finnish with English subtitles. Three stars out of four. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Numerous celebrities have come forward to aid the victims of landslides in Wayanad, Kerala. Tamil actors Suriya and Vikram, Malayalam actors Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil, Nazriya and others have donated lakhs to the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund. (Also Read: Karthi's birthday wish for his brother Suriya wins hearts: To the man who taught me) Suriya, Jyotika, Mammootty donate to the Kerala CM relief fund. Celebrities make donations Tamil actor Vikram donated 20 lakh to the victims of the landslide. His manager, Yuvraaj, shared the news on his behalf on X (formerly Twitter), writing, Pained by the sad news of the devastation caused by the recent landslide in Keralas #Wayanad district that left over 150 people dead, 197 injured and several others missing, Actor @chiyaan today donated a sum of 20 lakhs to the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund. Malayalam actors Mammootty and his son Dulquer Salmaan collectively donated 35 lakh to the relief fund. Mammootty spoke to the press and said, At the moment, I have only contributed a small amount for the relief measures. I will contribute further if the need arises. They are all people like us whose lives have changed in two days. They need our help, and its up to all of us to assist them. Malayalam actor couple Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim also donated 25 lakh to aid the victims. They released a press note confirming the contribution, writing, We are making a donation of 25 lakh to the CMDRF. We hope this modest contribution will help provide necessary assistance to those in dire need. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people as they navigate this difficult period. Together, we may endure and overcome. Tamil actor couple Suriya and Jyotika, along with Karthi, also reportedly made a collective donation of 50 lakh to the victims, while Rashmika Mandanna donated 10 lakh. Landslides in Kerala Three landslides hit Wayanad district in Kerala following heavy rains in the hill areas. Hundreds of people have died while others have been injured. Rescue operations are on to save people while some are still reporting missing. BLACKPINK's Jisoo is all set to dive into the world of zombies. The K-pop sensation is set to star in a thrilling zombie series titled Newtopia (Previously Influenza). The news, confirmed by Coupang Play, has the Blinks going crazy with plot speculation, as it is written by none other than the Oscar-winning writer of Parasite. Jisoo will share the screen with Park Jung Min, acclaimed for his roles in Hellbound and Smugglers. LACKPINK's Jisoo and Park Jung Min Lead New Zombie Series Newtopia(Coupang Play) Jisoo and Park Jung Min to play lovers in new zombie series On August 1, Coupang Play officially confirmed the star-studded cast of its 2025 series titled Newtopia in a press release. The platform also unveiled new stills featuring Jisoo and Jung Min in fresh looks. The drama centres around a viral outbreak that transforms infected individuals into zombies. The lead actors will portray lovers desperately searching for each other amidst the chaos of downtown Seoul. Also read: Brad Pitt's heart in pieces over son Pax's bike crash, unable to contact; whenever he calls The drama centres around a viral outbreak that transforms infected individuals into zombies. The lead actors will portray lovers desperately searching for each other amidst the chaos of downtown Seoul. About Jisoo and Jung Mins role in Newtopia Going by the details, Jung Min will portray Lee Jae Joon, an older soldier who enlisted later than his peers and is anxious about the future. Jisoo will take on the role of Kang Young Ju, Jae Joon's girlfriend who is eagerly awaiting his military discharge. Her character is particularly intriguing as she is also depicted as the former belle of her engineering college who has recently landed a job. Also read: Netflix confirms Singles Inferno Season 4, returning with an expanded Korean unscripted slate: See list About Newtopia plot While specific plot details remain under wrap, the series will follow the journey of a young couple, portrayed by Jisoo and Jung Min, as they navigate a sudden zombie outbreak to reunite. The drama will depict the terrifying chaos of Seoul as people succumb to the virus and transform into zombies. Lee Jae Yoon and Kang Young Ju will find themselves in a desperate race against time to reach each other amidst the city's zombie-infested streets. The story is written by the famous writer Han Jin-won, who won an Academy Award for Parasite, and the skilled Ji Ho-jin from Shopping Mall. Helmed by directorYoon Sung Hyun, the series has reportedly wrapped up its shooting schedule and is set to debut in 2025. India- China relations are not normal and cannot be unless China moves back to its pre-2020 position on the border. This has been stated multiple times by Indias external affairs minister S Jaishankar. However, what China has also told India multiple times is that it should not bother about the boundary dispute and must focus on trade. This has been a clear display of what China thinks of Indias concerns, including the most pertinent one--sovereignty. However, China also needs Indias huge market. External affairs minister S Jaishankar (PTI) Given that India has performed brilliantly economically with a growth rate of 8% in the last quarter, China wants to leverage the positives of the Indian economy to its advantage. Thus, China in the last two months has engaged in a series of charm offensives to woo India, while disregarding Indias sovereignty at the borders. China wants the bilateral relationship to weigh only and always in its favour. The best way to keep Indias economic rise in check would be to keep it tied to trying to resolve border tensions, since managing a conflict and a troublesome border takes attention, resources, time and personnel which India could otherwise use to focus on its economic rise. Another way to keep Indias economic rise in check is to keep it tied to its problematic neighbourhood. China ensures this by stoking problems in Indias neighbourhood and by increasing its influence in South Asian countries minus one. An example of this was the 5th CSACF meeting in Kunming. A similar initiative was proposed by Beijing in 2021, focusing on Covid-19 vaccines and poverty alleviation, which included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but excluded India, the Maldives, and Bhutan. So, the 5th CSACF meeting minus India is not a one-off instance where India got excluded accidentally. It is a clear-cut Chinese strategy to assert its influence in South Asia independently of Indias regional leadership. The 5th CSACF meeting coincided with the eighth China-South Asia Expo, in which Indian traders participated. The difference between the 5th CSACF meeting and the China South Asia Expo is that in the former heads of States take part whereas in the latter, civilians and traders take part. The question that arises here is about the duality of the approach taken by China. In these two separate events, Chinas attitude towards India becomes clear. CSACF minus India is a clear message to India that it does not want India as an equal partner, and does not see it as a leader. In the second case, it wants to keep up appearances in the Indian business circuit and civil society that it wants a healthy relationship with India, so that the civil society at large pressure the ruling government for taking more pro-China policies. Economically, India has been suffering immense trade deficits with China for at least two decades, owing to the existence of tariff and non-tariff barriers against Indian products in China and the lack of equal market access for Indian goods. However, through the Expo, China has tried to maintain an appearance that it wants more Indian traders. The reality is quite the opposite. For the last two years, the United States (US) had emerged as Indias largest trading partner, replacing China. This year by a minuscule margin, China has re-emerged as Indias largest trading partner. The difference between India-US trade and India-China trade is a mere $ 0.1 billion. But China has rejoiced in this. China, with its faltering economy and backlashes from across the globe needs India to loosen some of the blocks it had put in place on Chinese investment and traders and apps in India. The best way to do this would be to put up a show that China welcomes Indian traders. In short, China wants India tied down to its tumultuous neighbourhood, prevent its economic rise, while violating its sovereignty and exploiting its huge market to its own advantage. China has been largely successful in keeping India tied down to the neighbourhood. Pakistan, a state sponsor of terror is backed by China, and the threat of Pakistan-originated terrorism remains high in India. To ensure security, India has to invest immensely in its security apparatus, taking away from the amount it could have spent on strengthening its own infrastructural deficits which would then go a long way in ensuring Indias economic rise. The current Maldives government is a pro-China one and has come to power on an India Out campaign. Nepal and Bangladesh so far have been balancing relatively well between India and China, while Sri Lanka is indebted to China. India, nevertheless has been growing at the fastest rates in the world, and its investments in South Asian countries have actually been more people-centric. However, India has not advertised this enough or used its charm offensive adequately. At the moment, given that India continues to grow and prosper, China will stoke more problems in South Asia, and the 5th CSACF meeting is just the tip of the iceberg. This article is authored by Sriparna Pathak, associate professor, Chinese Studies and International Relations, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat. Hailing from Delhi and working in Mumbai, actor Sanya Malhotra admits that the two cities have had a huge influence on her fashion sense. I have a very bipolar sense of fashion. I am a Delhi girl, so there, I like to dress up, do make up and be proper even if I am stepping out for five minutes. In Mumbai, I become much more relaxed and easy going with my fashion sense, she shares, adding that her friends from Delhi got a huge shock seeing her clothes in Mumbai. Theyd be like oh, you look very simple, and that too with a negative connotation. I did the biggest sin when I wore chappals to Khan Market in Delhi. Now, I am much more aware, I know what I like to wear, but I am still trying to find my personal style, she says. Sanya Malhotra dazzles in a coral-hued lehenga inspired by the forests of Vrindavan, designed by Sunita Rathi. This stunning piece blends art deco with elegant peacock motifs, featuring intricate hand embroidery and applique work for modern brides. The ensemble is complemented by jewellery from Gems and Jewels Palace, Jodhpur(Vidhi Godha) Actor Sanya Malhotra shines in a co-ord set from Moledro that features a hand-embroidered cowl-neck blouse. Paired with fluid pants adorned with floral motifs, the ensemble is sure to make a statement at after-parties. The look has been accessorised with a diamond necklace set in gold from CaratLane for timeless allure (Vidhi Godha) The actor insists that fashion gives you the opportunity to express yourself in a different way, and she had been missing that for a long time. Malhotra asserts that her off-screen persona differs from her real personality and even her audience acknowledges that: People dont recognise me if I go out with straight hair. There are so many actors in Bollywood who look almost the same in all their characters, and I think they are doing the right thing as there is a recall value to it. But I cant do that. The actor cuts an elegant figure in a black dress crafted in silk from Anita Dongre, paired with a jacket featuring tropical motifs in zardozi and French knots. She is sporting rings and bangles from Tvisha Jewlz by Himanshu Khunteta. Anita Dongre is participating in the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend on August 3 and 4 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi(Vidhi Godha) While for many actors their characters might influence their style in real life, for the 32-year-old, its the reverse. I used to get my own clothes on set for Badhaai Ho (2018), and that I keep doing whenever I want to add a personal touch to my characters. In the start of my career, I was invited to an event and I didnt have money to afford a stylist. So, I wore something out of my closet, and I got good ratings for it. I wear my own clothes for events, and I dont mind repeating clothes. I look the best when I style myself, she says. The actor looks radiant in a long, yellow anarkali dress from W. It features intricate chikankari embroidery with chanderi and georgette drape, which makes it a perfect occasion piece. Her look has been styled with enchanting chandelier Lucknow earrings with basra pearls and Burmese spinals from Gems & Jewels Palace, Jodhpur. The jeweller is participating in the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend on August 3 and 4 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi(Vidhi Godha) Ask her how her roles have established her as an actor first and Malhotra says, I always wanted to become an actor. My intention was never to become a star, so I am not running behind a title. Early on in her journey, the actor has led films from the front, be it Pagglait (2021) or Kathal (2023), and Malhotra insists that it gave her a lot of confidence. I didnt believe in myself when I signed Pagglait and I actually didnt want to do it as I didnt have the confidence to pull it off. I told my team that we should meet Guneet (Monga, producer) and say no. But the kind of confidence Guneet and Umesh (Shukla, director) sir had in me, I thought of giving it a try. I am glad I did it as that success gave me a lot of confidence to pick up films like Kathal and Mrs. Sanya looks resplendent in a coral-hued Sunita Rathi lehenga, inspired by the forests of Vrindavan. A fusion of art deco and peacock motifs, along hand kadhai and applique work beautifully come together to create a sophisticated piece for modern brides. The look has been paired with a jadau necklace with rubies, diamonds and white and gold enamel from Gems & Jewels Palace, Jodhpur. The jeweller will be part of the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend on August 3 and 4 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi(Vidhi Godha) Creative Director and Producer: Shara Ashraf Prayag Stylist: Anshika Verma Styling Assistant: Tanisha Bhatia Talent Coordination: Monika Rawal Kukreja Photos: Vidhi Godha Hair and Makeup: Natasha Mathias Dsouza Hair and Makeup Assistant: Janvi Shau Production: Akash Bhatnagar, Zahera Kayanat, resham pasan and Yashasvi Pandey Location: Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai Artist Reputation Management Company: Raindrop Media Soon after she began her journey in the film industry as an actor, the charming and supremely talented Taapsee Pannu shifted base to Mumbai. But in her heart, she will always be a Delhi girl. Born and brought up in the national capital, Taapsee not only has beautiful memories of the city but also a special connection to dilwalon ki Dilli. So as the actor turns 37 today, lets celebrate the Sardarnis Delhi connect. Birthday girl Taapsee Pannu Born and brought up On August 1, 1987, Delhi residents Dilmohan Singh Pannu and Nirmaljeet Kaur Pannu welcomed their first child into the world. Proud father Dilmohan named his beautiful daughter T-A-P-A-S-E-E, which was not easy for many of her school teachers to pronounce. Well, Tapasee is still the spelling of the actor's name on all legal documents, but for the screen she shifted two As and made it Taapsee Growing up as a Delhi Sardarni School and college days are considered as the most memorable times for young individuals. Well, before realizing her dream to be an actor, Taapsee was a student at Ashok Vihars Mata Jai Kaur Public School. She went on to pursue an engineering degree in Computer Science from Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology, Delhi. Even after all these years the actor, who proudly calls herself a Delhi Sardarni, feels like she is in her own territory, her own area when she returns to the national capital Delhi vs Mumbai The never-ending Delhi vs Mumbai debate often brings out the true feelings of individuals who have roots in both cities. While Taapsee moved to Mumbai a decade ago and is very much at home, she has self-admittedly been a jhandewali fighting for Delhi each time the topic came up. Also, while enjoying Delhis golgappe during HT City Unwind 2022, Taapsee had shared that Mumbanis panipuri is not worth eating. So there you have it Dilli ki chaat Not just golgappe, but Taapsee enjoys all kinds of chaat when she is back home in Delhi. The actor loves gorging on chole bhature and makes sure to eat the delicacy for breakfast when in Delhi. Aaloo tikki is another delicious street food that Taapsee indulges in during her Dilli trips. Despite being one of the fittest celebs of our country, Taapsee has often shared that she lives to eat. That fact in itself makes her a Dilliwala by heart Delhi girl for life In several interviews, Taapsee has shared that the city brings a laidback attitude in her because this is her home and she gets a sense of belonging here. She grew up travelling in the Delhi metro as a student and has fond memories of the same. Back in 2015, Taapsee revealed that even after becoming an actor, she continued to travel in the metro. If someone ever asked if she was Taapsee Pannu the Bollywood actor, she would just deny In the end, it doesnt matter if Taapsee lives in Delhi or Mumbai. What is important is that she permanently resides in her fans hearts. We wish the versatile and gorgeous actor a very happy birthday! Two persons have died and more than 50 are missing after cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh, prompting a major search and rescue operation. Shimla: Rescue operation underway following a cloudburst in Jhakhari area of Rampur subdivision, in Shimla district, Thursday, August 1, 2024.(PTI) A cloudburst occurred late last night in the Samej Khad area of Rampur in Shimla district, causing sudden and severe flooding. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, police and home guards started rescue operations, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said. Drones are also being used to locate the missing people, he added. Chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu held a meeting to take stock of the situation. The cloudburst incident took place around 4:40 am... Around 50 people are missing. 2 bodies have been recovered. Heavy rain is expected in the next 36 hours. DC, SDRF NDRF teams have reached the spot. I have also spoken to the Union Home Minister, said told ANI. Also Read: Delhi rains: Several weather stations record over 100mm rainfall overnight; yellow alert in place Another cloudburst was reported in Thaltukhod of the Padhar subdivision in the Mandi district. One body has been recovered from the area and nine people are reported missing, Mandi Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan said. Several houses have been damaged due to the severe flooding. District administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been dispatched to the affected area. Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to assess the situation following the cloudburst incidents. He assured the chief minister of providing central assistance and the support of the National Disaster Response Force. Also Read: More rain likely; Delhi Police ask people to avoid Rohtak Road due to waterlogging Union health minister and BJP national president JP Nadda has asked all BJP cadres to work toward the rescue and relief of people hit by the cloudburst in his home state. On the sad news of huge losses and disruption of life due to cloudburst in various areas of Himachal Pradesh, Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda spoke to Himachal Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu and assured all possible help from the central government. The BJP President JP Nadda also spoke to former CM and LoP in the Himachal assembly Jairam Thakur and the BJP State President and directed all BJP workers to engage in relief work, a statement from the health minister's office said. Jairam Thakur said: It is bad news for Himachal that in the last rains there were huge losses and again reports of damages are coming this year too. I just had a talk with the CM, and he shared everything in detail. There are reports that 50 people are missing. There are also reports of damage to the Malana (First) (hydro power project) in Kullu district. There are large scale damages in Mandi district as well. I told the CM that currently we should focus on the rescue operations, he added. Meanwhile, scary visuals from various parts of Himachal Pradesh have surfaced, showing the swollen Beas River as it surges through valleys and towns. Agartala: As many as 108 people, including 77 foreign nationals, 23 Indians, and eight touts, were apprehended in July for infiltration, transborder smuggling, and facilitating illegal migration, Border Security Force (BSF) officials said on Thursday. (Representative Photo) Among the 77 foreign nationals, 71 were Bangladeshi nationals, and the rest were Rohingyas, said officials. The BSF said that apart from the infiltration bit, 56 incidents of firing from non-lethal weapons took place at the border in July this year, where over 70 rounds were fired to prevent infiltration and the trans-border criminals, in which six were injured. In the same duration, contraband items worth over Rs.4 crore, including 12,692 pieces of Yaba tablets, 360 kilograms of cannabis, 84.6 kilograms of sugar, 5,669 bottles of codeine-based syrup, and 180 cattle, were seized by BSF either alone or in joint operation. Besides, the BSF destroyed 76,000 ganja plants during their joint operation with the Forest Department last month. The officials said that in order to prevent trans-border crimes and infiltration, the BSF beefed up troops on borders, especially in the smuggling and infiltration-prone areas, and inducted drones and state-of-the-art hand-held thermal imaging and surveillance. Inspector-general of police, BSF, Tripura, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das, asked all field commanders to coordinate with Tripura Police, Tipura State Rifles, Government Railway Police, Railway Protection Force, Customs, Reserve Inspectors, Forest Department, and other sister agencies for carrying out operations against illegal infiltrators and trans-border smugglers. Amidst the ongoing violence in Bangladesh, the BSF is monitoring developments and maintaining coordination with the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB), said officials. Four commandant-level flag meetings and 150 company commander/BOP level meetings with BGB were held last month in addition to the IG BSF-region commander-level conference. The vulnerable areas are being dominated by BSF and BGB jointly by carrying out special coordinated patrols, and more than 100 such patrols have been carried out in the month of July 2024. This has reinforced the mutual trust between the two border guarding forces and has greatly enhanced the synergy, read a press statement from the BSF. It mentioned that the BSF also facilitated the safe return of over 900 Indian students who were studying in Bangladesh till date due to turmoil there. Dehradun, Twelve people, including three of a family, were killed and six injured in heavy overnight rains that triggered flooding and house collapse as several rivers swelled in Uttarakhand, officials said on Thursday. 12 dead after torrential overnight rain in U'khand Most parts of the state did not receive fresh rains till Thursday afternoon. Six deaths were reported in Haridwar, three in Tehri, two in Dehradun and one in Chamoli. A seven-year-old child, who was swept away in a swollen stream in Haldwani in Nainital district is still missing, the Disaster Control Room here said. Two people Sundar Singh and Arjun Singh Rana were swept away by the waters of an overflowing seasonal canal near the Ordnance Factory in Dehradun's Raipur area, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said, adding that their bodies have been recovered. Water gushed into many homes in Dehradun besides leaving the roads heavily waterlogged at various places in the city. The MeT office here said over the past 24 hours, 172 mm of rainfall was recorded in Dehradun alone. Haridwar's Roshanabad recorded the highest rainfall of 210 mm, Raiwala recorded 163 mm of rain while it was 140 mm in Haldwani, 112 mm in Roorkee, 107 mm in Narendra Nagar, 98 mm in Dhanolti, 92 mm in Chakrata and 89 mm in Nainital, it said. In Chamoli's in Devchauli, the body of a woman, who was missing since Wednesday evening after a house collapse, has been found. In Bharpur village in Bahadarabad area of Haridwar district, four people were killed and six injured after a house collapsed due to heavy rain on Wednesday night, police said. In another incident reported from Haridwar, two people got electrocuted at Roorkee bus stand. Three members of a family Bhanu Prasad , his wife Neelam Devi and son Vipin were killed in a landslide that damaged their roadside restaurant following a cloudburst in Jakhanyali village of Tehri district's Ghansali area, the officials said. Vipin was rescued but died while being taken to the AIIMS in Rishikesh, Tehri District Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the disaster-hit Jakhanyali village and met the kin of those killed and consoled them. Dhami said the government stands with the affected people. All possible assistance will be provided to them. He directed Tehri District Magistrate to streamline road connectivity, electricity and drinking water supply in the affected areas to restore normalcy. More than 1,500 pilgrims stranded on the Kedarnath trek route, which is blocked at several places by boulders, have been shifted to safe places. Pilgrims are being rescued with the help of both helicopters and rescue teams consisting of the SDRF, NDRF, police and district administration. According to officials, 425 pilgrims have been brought to safety by helicopter from Lincholi and Bhimbali while 1100 pilgrims have reached Sonprayag on foot from various places with the help of rescue teams. The pilgrims had got stranded beyond Bhimbali along Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route when 20-25 metres of the stretch were washed out by heavy rain on Wednesday night, Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said. The trek route to the Himalayan temple is blocked by boulders at Ghoraparav, Lincholi, Badi Lincholi and Bhimbali. An advisory has been issued for Kedarnath-bound pilgrims asking them to wait in a safe place until the weather improves and the roads blocked here and there are restored. Both Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers in Rudraprayag district are flowing close to the danger mark. With this, fresh registrations for the Chardham Yatra have been put on hold for the time being. Rudraprayag District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police are in Shersi to supervise the rescue operations. Nearly a dozen four-wheelers parked along the riverbed of the Sukhi in Haridwar's Kharkhari area were washed away following torrential rain on Wednesday evening. In Kharkhari, a truck carrying rations and essentials for a group of kanwariyas was among the vehicles washed away. No one was there in the truck when the incident took place on Wednesday. Roads were submerged in many areas of Haridwar and the rainwater also entered the Kankhal police station. Many colonies and markets of Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal and Jwalapur also got flooded. Schools up to class 12 and Anganwadi centres remained closed on Thursday in various districts, including Dehradun. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday went on an offensive against the opposition's concerns regarding the increasing number of rail accidents and the current state of railway services in India. New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (PTI) Those who are shouting here must be asked in their 58 years of being in power why they were not able to install Automatic Train Protection (ATP), even 1 km. Today, they dare to raise the questions, Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha. When Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister, she used to give the accident numbers that decreased from 0.24 to 0.19 these people used to clap in the House and today when it has decreased from 0.19 to 0.03, they put such blame, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said. Union budget: Indian Railways gets 1.08 lakh for safety measures, to install Kavach 4.0 The minister accused the Congress party of spreading false information through social media, instilling unnecessary fear among the millions of daily railway passengers. Will this country run in this way? Congress, with the help of its troll army on social media, raises false things. Are they trying to infuse fear in the hearts of those 2 crore people who travel every day by railway? he said. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi hit back at Vaishnaw for evading responsibility for the failures and instead blaming everything on the past. Today we are seeing a new tradition, that the BJP Ministers do not take the moral responsibility of their failure and instead accuse the history, Gogoi told reporters after walking off from the House. 2 killed, 7 injured as Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derails in UPs Gonda Pointed to the recent rail accidents, including the deadly Balasore mishap in which around 300 passengers lost their lives, Goigoi called Vaishnaw a derailment minister. In the last two months, around 4 goods trains have been derailed, around 4 persons died. In June when the Kanchenjunga Express crash happened, 10 people died. In last two months, these incidents happened. Despite this, the Railway Minister has not taken the moral responsibility and resigned. In last year, around 300 passengers died in Balasore, Gogoi said. "He is not railway minister, he is derailment minister. He should resign. But it is the tradition of BJP that they don't take the moral responsibility, be it Railway Minister or Education Minister. In protest to their response, all INDIA alliance parties leaders walked out," he added. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday reached Pakur and accused 'Bangladeshi infiltrators' of grabbing tribals' land. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (File Photo) Sarma also highlighted that despite court orders of Tribal family that should be given their land back, the administration is not taking any necessary steps about the same. Sarma was interacting with reporters Sarma said, "Today, I visited Gaibathan village of Pakur. There is SPT law, so the land of the Adivasis cannot be transferred. Two Bangladeshi infiltrators grabbed their land, the Court gave an order that both of them should be removed and the Adivasi family should be given their land back, but the administration did not do anything." "When the Adivasi family tried constructing a house on their land, they were attacked by Bangladeshi infiltrators. Even today, they have not got their land back. An Adivasi CM of Jharkhand should help them. Infiltration is not an issue, it is the reality in places like Pakur, Sahibganj..." he added. "The demography of Pakur and the entire Santhal Pargana has been changing. Our party will provide 1 lakh each to the families of both the Adivasi victims. If Jharkhand CM would have come to my state, I would not have stopped him from visiting anywhere but I have been asked not to visit Gopinathpur, said Sarma. If the Chief Minister of a state is not allowed to visit a certain place because of the fear of infiltrators, you can understand the situation of Jharkhand. I would not want to visit Gopinathpur forcefully but I will come back again after some time and then I will visit Gopinathpur...," said Assam CM. Earlier, Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the Indo-Bangladesh border is being used by Rohingyas, stating that "Rohingya penetration into India has increased manifold." Addressing a press conference at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati on Wednesday, Sarma said, "I have always believed that Rohingyas are still exploiting the border situation between India and Bangladesh. In Assam, we are guarding only a part of the Indo-Bangladesh border. Recently, we saw Tripura Police arrest a large number of Rohingyas. Rohingya penetration into India has increased manifold." "Last year, Assam Police also uncovered a network, and ultimately, the NIA investigated. The Government of India must strengthen its border with Bangladesh, particularly in West Bengal, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal has stated she will give shelter to Bangladeshi nationals," Sarma added. Sarma also pointed out the 'demographic shift' in states like Assam, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. "I have observed the demographic invasion in Assam, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Whenever the 2021 census is conducted, I am sure it will reveal shocking news about the demography of Eastern India. The demographic invasion is real, and due to appeasement policies, we are unable to control it," Sarma said."In Assam, the people are very much aware of the demographic invasion, but other Indian states are now suffering. This issue is serious. Demographic invasion is real. In Eastern India, the situation is grim," the Assam Chief Minister added. India on Thursday urged its citizens not to travel to Lebanon, while calling on those in the West Asian country to exercise caution because of the escalation of tensions due to the killing of leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. A man inspects a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP photo) This was the second advisory issued by the Indian embassy of Beirut since July 29. There are nearly 4,000 Indian nationals in Lebanon. In view of the recent escalations in the region, Indian nationals are advised to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon, the advisory said without any reference of the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Israeli air strikes. All Indian nationals in Lebanon are advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut through their email id: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128, the advisory said. Also Read: Israel claims Hezbollah military commander, accused of 1983 US marine bombing, killed in Beirut strike Most of the Indian nationals living in Lebanon are employed as workers in companies, the construction sector and agricultural farms. The Indian Army also has had a battalion deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since November 1998. The peacekeeping contingent currently consists of 900 personnel. For the first time, Kazakh troops are also serving under the command of the Indian battalion. Haniyeh was killed along with a bodyguard when an aerial projectile hit the building where he was staying in Tehran early on Wednesday. He was in Iran to attend the inauguration of new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Both Hamas and Iranian leaders blamed Israel for the air strike that killed him. Shukr died in an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Tuesday. Israels actions have triggered concerns about the possible escalation of the conflict in Gaza, which could drag in more countries in the region. Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad's car was attacked on Thursday by some people allegedly over his remarks against former Rajya Sabha MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati. The attack, by three to four persons, who hit the rear part of the MLA's SUV with sticks and also pelted a stone, took place early evening on P D'Mello Road in south Mumbai when he was about to take the Eastern Freeway from CSMT area to proceed to Thane, police said. The attackers also raised slogans in support of Sambhaji Chhatrapati and then fled. A case was registered against six persons on charges of attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint in connection with the attack on the complaint of an NCP spokesperson, the Dongri police station official said. As per the FIR, Swaraj Sanghatana functionary Ankush Kadam and five to six supporters attacked Awhad's SUV in an attempt to kill him, the official said. As Swaraj Sanghatana secretary Dhananjay Jadhav took responsibility for the attack, the complainant said action should be taken against him and four others as well, the official added. "We have booked Kadam, Jadhav and four others. Further probe into the incident is underway," he said. In the evening, some NCP activists were detained for blocking the Eastern Express Highway in Thane in protest against the attack on Awhad. Among those detained were NCP city unit chief Suhas Desai. The road block was lifted soon after, the Thane police official said. Earlier, Awhad attacked former Rajya Sabha MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati over the violence at Vishalgad fort in Kolhapur last month during demolition of encroachments there. Talking to reporters, Awhad also said Kolhapur MP Shahu Chhatrapati, father of Sambhaji Chhatrapati, was not happy with the violence. "If Sambhaji Chhatrapati is a descendant by birth, I am the descendant by ideology," Awhad said. The violence broke out on July 14 after members of right wing outfits, led by Sambhaji Chhatrapati, were stopped at the base of the fort for violating prohibitory orders. The opposition has claimed the anti-encroachment drive at Vishalgad fort was aimed at one community. Speaking about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's claim that he went to meet the BJP's central leadership in Delhi in disguise, Awhad said," You are after power to such an extent that you feel the need to change your appearance and name. This is mockery of national security." Attacking the BJP over recent statements against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the NCP said the country and its soil was the caste of the Lok Sabha leader of opposition. Awhad's SUV attacked over his remarks against Sambhaji Chhatrapati; 6 booked Visuals from Himachal Pradesh showed the Beas river flowing to the brim as heavy rains continued to lash the Himalayan state on Thursday, news agency ANI reported. The monsoon activity is likely to intensify over the hill state as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert till August 2. A view shows the overflowing river Beas following heavy rains in Kullu district in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. (ANI) One person died and over 30 were reportedly missing after a cloudburst in Shimla district's Rampur division, PTI reported. Roads and a hydro power project in the area have also been damaged. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and state police have been deployed to start rescue operations. The weather agency had predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning in all districts of Himachal Pradesh except Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti districts for Thursday. A yellow alert has been issued predicting heavy rain over isolated places from Friday. The current spell of rains is expected to last till August 6 in the state. Also read | Himachal CMs advisor Ram Subagh Singh gets one year extension The IMD had warned of possible landslides and flashfloods along vulnerable areas in Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kinnaur districts. Kutcha houses and plantations along low-lying areas were also warned of possible damages due to strong winds and waterlogging. A building collapsed and was washed away in the raging Parvati River in Kullu, PTI reported. Many roads in the state were closed for vehicular traffic as continuous rainfall increased the possibility of landslides. A total of 45 roads, including 29 in Mandi, eight in Kullu, four in Shimla and two each in Kangra and Kinnaur were closed, said the emergency operation centre. The power supply also remains affected as almost 215 transformers were disrupted. The state has suffered losses to the tune of 425 crore in the current monsoon season. During the last active spell of rain in the first week of July, 76 roads were closed, 34 electricity supply schemes and 69 water supply schemes were disrupted. The Madras high court on Wednesday set aside an earlier order which had quashed a show cause notice issued to chief minister MK Stalin and 17 other MLAs from the DMK, when they were Tamil Nadus opposition in 2017 for bringing banned gutka (chewing tobacco) sachets inside the assembly as part of their protest. The HC bench said that proceedings like privilege notices do not expire and referred it back to the House. (HT) The court referred the breach of privilege proceedings initiated against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders back to the present Privilege Committee, secretary and speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly directing them to take final decision as expeditiously as possible. The Tamil Nadu assembly secretary had moved the court against an order of a single judge in 2020 quashing the privilege notices issued to the DMK legislators when they brought in banned gutka sachets to protest over the gutka scam under the then AIADMK regime. The DMK formed the government in 2021. Advocate general P S Raman argued for the current DMK government that the privilege notices were issued to them to safeguard the then AIADMK government from collapsing under Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) and added that it would expire once the term of the assembly was over. A division bench of justices SN Subramaniam and C Kumarappan, who are hearing the case, said that proceedings like privilege notices do not expire and referred it back to the House. The proceedings have not reached finality, the court added. Undoubtedly, setting aside the SCN (show cause notice) issued by the Privilege Committee of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly would set a bad precedent and result in opening of an avenue to many similarly placed persons to challenge SCN relating to breach of privileges of the House by way of writ petition before the High Courts, the bench said on Wednesday. The high court cited various judgements of the Supreme Court to reiterate judicial restraint in matters of show cause notices. More specifically, in issues pertaining to the conduct of Members inside the Assembly, where the scope of Judicial review is to be applied sparingly by virtue of the wordings in Articles 212 and 194(3) of the Constitution of India, the interference of the Courts at the very initial stage of issuance of SCN is unwarranted, the court said. The judges said they are not convinced with the single judge setting aside the show cause notices and that the proceedings must reach its logical conclusion as per the rules of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly. Privileges and the powers of the Honble speaker of the House would not lapse merely on account of change of Government. The notice issued by the Privilege Committee is relating to disciplinary affairs of the House. Therefore, the proceedings will not lapse merely for the reason that the opposition party turned to be the ruling party..., the court added. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while addressing the Lok Sabha on Thursday, lost his cool with opposition members. Chup baitho (be quiet). We are not just people who make reels, we are people who work hard, he said. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. (PTI) Vaishnaw's reaction came after the opposition INDIA bloc criticised him for arriving at the accident site on a motorcycle, questioning whether he was a rail minister or a reel minister. He said that safety measures were neglected during the Congress regime and that the Opposition consistently seeks to politicise the issue. Those who are shouting here should be asked why they failed to install Automatic Train Protection (ATP) even for 1 km during their 58 years in power. Today, they have the audacity to raise questions, said the railway minister. In a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Union railway minister said that those busy making reels with locomotive drivers accomplished nothing during their tenure. He was referring to Rahul Gandhi's visit to loco pilots in Delhi on July 7. During his speech, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) member Hanuman Beniwal called him a reel minister and a derail minister. However, in his response, Vaishnaw turned and sharply told Beniwal to please sit down (chup baitho). He then addressed the Opposition MPs, saying, Chup baitho (be quiet). We are not just people who make reels, we are people who work hard, he said. Taking a jibe at the previous Congress-led UPA regime, Vaishnaw said that the annual average number of accidents was 171, which has decreased by 68 per cent during the 10 years of the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When Mamata Banerjee was railway minister, she used to report a decrease in accident numbers from 0.24 to 0.19 and members in to House applauded her. Today, with the figure dropping from 0.19 to 0.03, we are being blamed. Will this country run in this way? questioned Vaishnaw. He also alleged that the Congress party with the help of its troll army on social media has been raising false claims and trying to instil fear in the hearts of the two crore people who travel by railways every day. Clashes broke out between Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in a relief camp and security forces in Imphal East district of Manipur on Thursday after security personnel used tear gas to disperse a protest rally by the camp residents demanding their rehabilitation, people familiar with the matter said. Clashes in Manipur after security forces use tear gas on protesters (Representative Photo)(HT_PRINT) IDPs from Akampat relief camp attempted to stage a protest rally till chief minister N Biren Singhs bungalow at Babupara in Imphal, but were stopped by security forces soon after they exited the camp gate, leading to an altercation. After repeated warnings through loudspeakers asking the protesters to not move forward, security forces, including the state police, fired tear gas shells at the rally to disperse the crowd. The protesters, joined by locals, retaliated by pelting stones at the security personnel. They managed to continue their rally for about 1 km but were stopped at Singjamei in Imphal West after additional security reinforcements, including CRPF personnel, arrived, an official said, requesting anonymity Around 10 protesters were rushed to a hospital after they complained of suffocation due to tear gas. They were discharged after first aid, the official added. Read more: We want to go home: Manipurs displaced people hold rally, face police action The relief camp residents holding placards and banners march were demanding their rehabilitation and a resolution to the ethnic violence in Manipur so they could return to their homes at Moreh in Tengnoupal district, and other areas. The IDPs have been suffering for the last over 15 months. We are demonstrating to demand that the Manipur government make necessary arrangements so that we can return to our homes, Thangjam Budha Meitei, a resident of Moreh, residing in the relief camp, said. After being dispersed from the spot, the protesters staged a sit-in protest on the Indo-Myanmar Highway-2 (Imphal-Moreh) road, blocking it for around 2 hours. Since May 3 last year, Manipur has witnessed clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities, which has claimed at least 226 lives to date and uprooted around 60,000 people, many of whom are still residing in relief centres. After the issue of the clashes was raised in the state assembly, which was in session, by Congress legislator Ranjit Singh, leader of the House and chief minister Biren Singh said the state government is working towards peace talks and has held several meetings in Assams Silchar. Read more: PM Modi meets Manipur CM in first meeting since clashes We are making immense efforts towards peace talks with the assistance of MLAs and other members. Meetings have been held in Silchar, and we will soon make an announcement, Singh said, without elaborating on the meetings. Calling the ongoing violence as an unexpected and unwanted turn of events, Singh alleged that some issues are being politicised, which is complicating the situation. There are elements which are politicising certain issues that cannot be immediately handled now. I appeal to all not to engage in such activities, Singh said. Given the grim law and order situation, taking extreme measures, including arrests, might have negative repercussions. The chief minister also informed the assembly that 226 people have died due to the ethnic violence in the state and 11,133 houses have been burned while over 59,000 displaced people are sheltered in relief camps. Delhi's Patiala House court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Puja Khedkar, a trainee IAS officer accused of using fraudulent means to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. UPSC on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar (File Photo) She had moved the court seeking pre-arrest bail in a case registered against her for allegedly faking her identity to get more attempts in the UPSC examination. The court said that the investigating agency, the Delhi Police, needs to widen the scope of its investigation. It also directed the police to find out whether some insider of the UPSC had helped her attain her goal. On Wednesday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled the provisional candidature of the controversial trainee IAS officer. The body also debarred her from appearing for any exam conducted by the UPSC. "The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the UPSC," the body had said. Puja Khedkar had secured an all-India rank of 821 in the UPSC exams. "In the backdrop of the case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, the UPSC has thoroughly examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the CSEs from the year 2009 to 2023 i.e. for 15 years concerning the number of attempts availed by them. After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules. In the lone case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents name. The UPSC is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future, UPSC added. The Delhi police had registered an FIR against her over a complaint filed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC's action came two weeks after Puja Khedkar was relieved from the District Training Programme of the government of Maharashtra. With inputs from PTI, ANI Karnataka traffic police's decision to register FIR against drivers who exceed the speed limit of 130 km per hour came into effect on Thursday. The drivers, if found over-speeding will booked under the offence of rash and dangerous driving under Section 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) Alok Kumar SAID 155 persons sped at more than 130 kmph on Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway on July 25. (PIC FOR REPRESENTATION). (Sunl Ghosh/HT Photo) This decision, announced on Monday, was taken because over-speeding caused about 90 per cent of fatal accidents in the state in 2022, reported PTI quoting a senior police official. Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) Alok Kumar said, "From August 1, FIR will be registered against those driving vehicles above 130 km per hour anywhere in Karnataka for rash and dangerous driving." Kumar added that 155 persons sped at more than 130 kmph on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway on July 25. The drivers will be booked under section 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rash and negligent driving and once the speed limit is beyond 120 km per hour, it becomes rash or dangerous driving. Earlier, the Supreme Court monitoring committee took note of the rampant rise in over-speeding and loss of lives due to it in Karnataka, thus demanding the state government to take action regarding this issue. ALSO READ | Most of the victims who die due to road accidents in Bengaluru are men: Report ADGP Alok Kumar said the new rule will be applicable to all roads and not just limited to highways. The police aim to bring this rule into effect with the help of speed laser guns and Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras which would record vehicle speeds and their images. Laser guns have been currently installed all along the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway. The police also distributed 155 speed laser guns, reported PTI. Kumar added that it is slightly more challenging during night time to record vehicle speeds. Currently, the speed limit on national highways across the country is 100 km per hour while the state and other highways have lower speed limits. The speed limit is 120 km per hour on Expressways, which is the maximum speed limit with which a vehicle is allowed to ply in the country. (with inputs from PTI) Lok Sabha MP and former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday moved a notice to bring a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha for sharing the speech of BJP MP Anurag Thakur on his social media platform X even as some parts of it were expunged. Heres an explainer on how breach of privilege works. What accounts for a lawmakers privileges? A lawmakerbe it MP or MLAenjoys certain privileges such as no misinformation can be spread about him or her in the legislative House. A lawmakers speech in the House cannot be challenged before any court or he has a right to reply if his or her name is mentioned by another lawmaker. When the legislative session is going on, lawmakers should be informed first about any change in government policy or law before others. Thats the reason why the government doesnt publicise decisions of Union Cabinet when a Parliament session is on. What is a breach of privilege? If a member or a minister makes an unsubstantiated comment or if any person maligns the reputation of an MP or prohibits the lawmaker from his work, a Parliamentarian or an MLA can file a complaint to the Speaker (or the Chairman in case of Rajya Sabha) that his privileges has been breached. Did any Prime Minister or former PM face any privileges notice before? Yes. On November 22, 1978, a year after the Emergency was lifted, the Lok Sabhas privileges panel concluded that former PM Indira Gandhi was guilty of contempt of the House. The panel, led by Janata Party MP Samar Guha, had looked into the breach of privileges complaint filed by CPIM MP Jyotirmoy Bosu that Gandhis government create hurdles for government officials to collect information on Maruti for a question he put in 1975. She was also expelled from the House in 1978. How did the PMs post on X (formerly Twitter) allegedly breach Charanjit Singh Channis privileges? According to Channi, PM posted the link of the entire speech of Anurag Thakur, but some words of that speech had been expunged. Tweeting or publicising expunged words amounts to breach of privileges, according to Channi. In general, expunged words or remarks cant be publicised. Does Parliament of India have proper rules on privileges? There is a set of rules on moving privilege notices. Under Rule 222 of the House, A member may, with the consent of the Speaker, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a Committee thereof. Rule 223 stipulates that A member wishing to raise a question of privilege shall give notice in writing to the Secretary General by 10.00 AM on the day the question is proposed to be raised. What happens now after Channis breach of privileges notice? According to rule 222 says, the Speaker must give his consent before it can be processed. In this case, the Speaker will examine the feasibility of the notice and then decide. If the Speaker gives his consent to any such notice, it is usually sent to the privileges committee for examination. The panel calls both the accused and the complainant before submitting its report to the House. New Delhi, The special focus on skilling, entrepreneurship, innovation and employment in the Union budget will help India become a developed nation and a solution provider to the world, BJP leader Sambit Patra said on Thursday. Focus on skilling, innovation in budget to help India become developed nation: Patra Participating in a debate on the demands for grants for the Union education ministry in the Lok Sabha, the Puri MP said there was a significant increase in the budget allocation for the sector. The Union Budget for 2024-25 provided 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skilling. The main reason for giving importance to skilling, entrepreneurship and innovation is that "India wants to go towards Viksit Bharat, we want to create the talent basket, we want to be a skill hub, we want to be a solution provider to the globe", he said. Patra cited data to state that allocations for school and higher education had been increased by 52.4 per cent in the past 10 years. He also accused the opposition parties of shedding crocodile tears in the name of reservation and claimed quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were ended in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University during the Congress regime. "The Congress will have to answer ," Patra said. On the paper leak issue, he said a number of such incidents occurred during the United Progressive Alliance regime. "How many paper leaks do you have in your pocket?" the Puri MP asked, adding that the Modi government was bringing a bill on the matter. He added that significant improvements had been registered in all key indicators of the education sector, such as gross enrolment ratio and pupil-teacher ratio, since the Modi government assumed power in 2014. Participating in the discussions, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Sudhakar Singh claimed that there had been a decline in the budgetary allocation for the education sector. He alleged that the funds for academic institutions, including the University Grants Commission, had been declining since 2014. The government is not focusing on increasing investments in the higher education sector, he said. "It will weaken the institutions." Abdussamad Samadani, the Indian Union Muslim League MP from Kerala's Ponnani, accused the government of following a polarisation policy in education. He claimed the government had scrapped certain parts in some history books and said such actions were condemnable. Samajwadi Party MP Priya Saroj said paper leak incidents had serious implications on students and the government should strictly punish people involved in such activities. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. New Delhi, High courts often do not adhere to the timeline of initiating proposals to fill up vacancies six months before they arise, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, noting that recommendations against 154 vacancies are yet to be received from the various HC collegiums. HCs often do not follow timeline to initiate proposals to fill up vacancies of judges: Govt It also said that as many as 359 posts of judges are vacant in the various high courts and 205 proposals have been received to fill up these vacancies. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said as per the memorandum of procedure , the initiation of proposal for appointment of judges in the high courts vests with the chief justice of the concerned high court. MoP is a set of documents that guide the appointment, transfer and resignation of high court and Supreme Court judges. "Chief justice of the HC is required to initiate the proposal to fill up of vacancy of a high court judge six months prior to the occurrence of vacancy. However, this timeline is often not adhered to by the high courts," the minister pointed out. Meghwal said as on July 25, the Supreme Court is functioning at its full strength of 34 judges including the Chief Justice of India. He said as regards the high courts, against the sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges, 755 judges are working and 359 posts are vacant in the various high courts. As many as 205 proposals for appointment of HC judges are at various stages of processing between the government and the Supreme Court Collegium. "The recommendations against 154 vacancies are yet to be received from high court collegiums," Meghwal noted. Responding to a separate question, the law minister said as on July 25, 24 proposals recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment of high court judges are under various stages of processing. As per the established procedure, the high court collegiums send their recommendations for appointment of HC judges to the Department of Justice in the Union law ministry. The department then attaches its inputs and Intelligence Bureau reports on the candidates and forwards it to the Supreme Court Collegium. The Supreme Court Collegium then takes a call on candidates it deems fit for appointment as high court judges and recommends accordingly to the government. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. New Delhi, How could someone be appointed to a government job without proper checking and verification of documents, the Supreme Court asked on Thursday while expressing surprise over the appointment of some employees in the Railways on the basis of forged documents. How can someone be appointed to govt job without proper verification of documents? asks SC The apex court said such instances in the Railways, one of India's largest employers, ought to be checked. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol was dealing with a matter concerning termination of services of some employees who were appointed on compassionate grounds in the Eastern Railway. The top court noted they were sacked as their appointments were found to be based on forged and bogus documents. "Before parting with the matter, however, in the facts of this case, we express our surprise towards the actions of the appellant-employer who appointed the respondent-employees on the basis of questionable documentation, which was later found to be forged, fabricated and bogus," the bench said in its verdict. "How could someone be appointed to a government job without proper checking and verification of documents? The Railways are regarded to be one of the largest employers in the country and yet such incidents falling through the cracks ought to be checked," it said. The bench was dealing with the Centre's appeals challenging the Calcutta High Court's August 2012 verdict which had reversed the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta bench. These employees had approached the tribunal against the termination order. The tribunal had dismissed their applications after which they moved the high court. The apex court noted that the Railways had issued show cause notices to these employees asking why their appointment on compassionate grounds should not be terminated as they were secured using forged and fabricated documents with respect to the employment of their respective fathers. It noted that after receiving their responses, the authority terminated their services on finding that their appointments were based on forged, fabricated and bogus documents. The bench said the principle of compassionate appointment has been put in place to ameliorate the suffering that is cast upon members of a family following the sudden death of the earning member. "An equally well-recognised principle is that compassionate appointment cannot be claimed as a matter of right. It is therefore clear that a person, claiming an appointment on such ground, has to demonstrate his relationship to the deceased person and eligibility for appointment," it said. The bench said the tribunal as also the authority had recorded a categorical finding that the employees had not submitted any document to establish their claim and submitted forged and bogus documents. It noted that these employees had, at every stage, actively participated in the adjudication process of their alleged improper and illegal appointments. The bench said after it was discovered that they had secured appointments on the basis of forged and fabricated documents, an FIR was also registered against them in December 2005. "Compassionate appointment is granted to those persons whose families are left deeply troubled or destitute by the primary breadwinner either having been incapacitated or having passed away. So when persons seeking appointment on such ground attempt to falsely establish their eligibility, as has been done in this case, such positions cannot be allowed to be retained," it said. The apex court said these employees, having obtained their position by fraud, "would not be considered to be holding a post for the purpose of the protections under the Constitution". While allowing the appeals, the bench set aside the high court verdict and restored the order passed by the tribunal. "The respondent-employees were rightly dismissed from service by the appellant-employer," it said, while clarifying that its observations were only with respect to dismissal from service and shall have no bearing on the criminal proceedings pending against them in the court concerned. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. New Delhi: More than 100 nations, including India and China, face serious obstacles in their transition to high-income developed economies amid increasing chances of getting stuck in the so-called middle-income trap, the World Bank said in its flagship World Development Report 2024 released on Thursday. (Representative Photo) The bank said since 1990, only 34 middle-income nations were able to leap to the high-income category. Middle-income countries will have to work miracles. They cant rely on the old playbook. Thats like driving a car in first gear and trying to go fast, it said. The main challenge for a total of 108 middling countries is that traditional growth environments of connected trade and open economies no longer exist or are fast crumbling. Climate change is an additional hurdle because adaptation mechanisms will cost poor countries more than the rich, it said. Drawing on lessons of the past 50 years, our report finds that as countries grow wealthier, they usually hit a trap at about 10% of annual US GDP per persontthe equivalent of $8,000 today, said Indermit Gill, the World Banks chief economist, in a statement. Thats in the middle of the range of what the World Bank classifies as middle-income countries. The global economic order is increasingly being marked by rising geopolitical tensions, de-globalisation, offshoring, and protectionism, changing trade in complex ways, the bank said. If middle-income countries dont change their economic models, then it will take China more than 10 years just to reach one-quarter of US income per capita, Indonesia 70 years, and India 75 years, the report said. It noted Indias aim to become a developed nation by 2047 as a laudable goal. The report unveiled its first-ever three-stage roadmap to avoid a stall in progress: invest, infuse, and innovate. Each phase will require a different mix of policies, the report added. While least developed economies need to keep focusing on asset creation, capital investments for too long alone arent sufficient for mid-level countries to raise per capita incomes, the report said. Countries, such as India, now need infusion, or the import of an array of foreign technologies, which must be then widely diffused, along with a highly skilled workforce. Old, especially inefficient, state-run and private-sector companies must be replaced by numerous new firms in the economy, which should not be dominated by a few large enterprises, the report said. In the final phase, these economies must get into the innovation mode, the report said, citing Korea as an exceptional case, with a current per capita income of $33000. Chile escaped the middle-income trap by importing Norwegian salmon farming technologies, while socialist Poland made the jump by integrating into Europe and benefiting from the continents technologies, the report said. Mid-sized countries are also getting old before getting rich, as the elderly population is increasing due to falling death rates, the report said. India could be already facing a demographic transition. Addressing reporters at a recent council meeting of state-run think tank Niti Aayog, CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said: Some states have requested addressing demographic management. India will need a demographic-management policy to manage the elderly population. Gills report highlighted Indias Aadhaar-enabled public digital infrastructure and also the path taken by the Tata group, which imported computers for its offices in an era when imports were conditional on exports, as notable innovations. To meet state-mandated export obligations, the Tata group computerised its office and started exporting software services for the first time to the US by setting up the Tata Consultancy Services. Once at the upper-middle-income level, countries should shift gears again to add innovation to investment and infusion. In the innovation phase, countries no longer merely borrow ideas from the global frontiers of technologythey push the frontier. The Indian Embassy in Beirut has issued an advisory urging Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon amid the escalating tensions in the region. Indian nationals residing in Lebanon were advised to restrict their movements and maintain regular contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut through their designated email or emergency phone number. Masked boys hold machine gun toys during a protest in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, to condemn the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.(AP) In view of the recent escalations in the region, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Lebanon, the Embassy said. All Indian nationals in Lebanon are advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Beirut through their email id: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128, it added. Who is Khaled Meshaal, set to be Hamas chief after Ismail Haniyeh assassinated? This advisory follows a series of similar warnings from other countries, including Australia, the US and Britain. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Australian citizens in Lebanon to leave the West Asian nation immediately. "Now is the time to leave, the security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice," Wong said in a video message on social media platform X. Wong pointed to the risk of Beirut airport shutting down, potentially stranding people for an extended period, and advised Australians to use commercial flights while they are still operational. The Middle East has been on edge for months due to Israel's war in Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a severe humanitarian crisis. The situation further deteriorated following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, for which Iran blamed Israel. Iran has historically balanced its actions to avoid an all-out war while pressuring Israel through its allies and proxy forces. However, with the assassination of Haniyeh, Irans response remains uncertain. Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation, reported The New York Times. Military commanders are considering a combination attack involving drones and missiles targeting military sites near Tel Aviv and Haifa, avoiding civilian areas to prevent further escalation. The Israeli military announced on Thursday that a strike last month in the southern Gaza area of Khan Yunis had killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif. The announcement came a day after the militant group's political leader Isamil Haniyeh was assassinated in Teheran. Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had been one of Israel's most wanted men for almost 30 years. (X) "The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," the military said. Deif is believed to have been one of the planners of Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, which started the Gaza war, now ongoing for 300 days. Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre, the military statement added. The announcement coincided with crowds gathering in Tehran for the funeral of Haniyeh. One of the most influential figures in Hamas, Deif has advanced through the group's ranks over 30 years, building its tunnel network and improving its bomb-making skills, AFP reported. He has been at the top of Israel's most wanted list for many years, held responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings. The suspected 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bomb around the house where Deif was believed to be hiding with one of his deputies created a large crater, AFP stated. Deif, the leader of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, had been one of Israel's most wanted men for almost 30 years and was placed on a US list of "international terrorists" in 2015. The military stated that Deif had conducted several attacks against Israel over the years and operated alongside Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, as per AFP. During the war, he commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing, the military said. During the Hamas attack, militants captured 251 people, and 111 are still held in Gaza, including 39 who the military says are dead. Since then, Israel's military response has killed 39,480 people, according to the health ministry in Gaza, which does not specify how many of those were civilians or militants. Bengaluru, The Karnataka government on Thursday "strongly advised" Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the show cause notice he issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment 'scam', and alleged that it was part of a concerted effort to destabilise the Congress regime. The Council of Ministers discussed the show cause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the Constitutional Office'' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations. Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the governor issued the notice on July 26 directing the chief minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days justifying why permission to prosecute him should not be granted. "...Hence, the request of the petitioner needs to be processed as per provisions of section 17 and 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023...", the governor had said in his notice to the chief minister. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Council of Ministers which lasted five hours, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, flanked by seven cabinet colleagues, said the governor failed to take note of the fact that Abraham has criminal antecedents, including cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him. The council strongly urged the governor to withdraw the notice and to proceed forthwith to reject the application for sanction filed by Abraham, he said. "I am hopeful that the governor will withdraw the notice and uphold the dignity of his office in spite of any pressure." Shivakumar said it expressed the view that the governor, in issuing the show cause notice, has acted in undue haste, circumventing all procedural requirements. He described the governor's decision as a "murder of democracy and the Constitution''. "There is no case for prosecution here," he asserted. " a chief minister who has been elected with a huge majority in a democratic set up is a murder of democracy and detrimental to the Constitution by the Centre... the central government is using the governor..." he said. Shivakumar said that Abraham had submitted a letter to the governor on July 26. On the same day, the chief secretary had personally given a detailed reply to the governor on the issue through a report, as sought by him earlier. "Without looking into the aspects and issues, the genuinity of the report of the chief secretary, the governor has issued a show cause notice on July 26... This is a political, malafide show cause notice. We never expected this from the governor. He could have studied and looked into the report submitted by the chief secretary," he said. The chief minister skipped today's meeting of the Council of Ministers and authorised Shivakumar to chair it. Home Minister G Parameshwara said since the Cabinet was slated to discuss the notice issued to the CM the governor, ministers requested the chief minister to skip it. Earlier today at a breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah held discussions with his cabinet colleagues regarding a political and legal strategy and the Congress high commands directions on the issue. The chief minister's Legal Advisor A S Ponnanna, a MLA, who was also present at the press meet, said as per Article 163 of the Constitution, the governor has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers and at his discretion when provided under the Constitution. He further said: "Prior approval under section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act can be sought only by the investigation officer after due verification, not by T J Abraham." In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA. MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of the magnitude of 4,000 crore to 5,000 crore. On July 14, the Congress government constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'. Siddaramaiah, along with Shivakumar, on Tuesday met Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi and held discussions. Karnataka govt 'strongly urges' governor to withdraw show cause notice issued to CM The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed the Muslim side's plea challenging the maintainability of suits in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute in Mathura. A view of the Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex and Shahi Eidgah Mosque, in Mathura.(ANi file photo) The judgement had been reserved by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain. Reacting to the development, the lawyer of the Hindu side, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, said that they will be ready if the Muslim side approaches the Supreme Court. Also read: Krishna Janmabhoomi case: Allahabad HC seeks ASI reply on Agra mosque survey "Today Allahabad High Court has rejected the application of order 7 rule 11 filed by Shahi Eidgah Masjid and held that all these 18 suits are not barred by the Places of Worship Act...The next date of hearing is 12th August. The result is that the trials will proceed and the intention and the effort to nib in the trial on the issue of maintainability has been rejected. We will file the caveat before the Supreme Court and if the Shahi Eidgah Masjid approaches the SC, we will be present there," he said. Several suits have been filed seeking the "removal" of the Shahi Idgah mosque located adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, with litigants claiming that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of a Krishna temple.The mosque management committee, in its petition, had challenged these suits. The Muslim side mosque management committee and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board had argued that the suits were barred under the Places of Worship Act, 1991. According to the Muslim side, the suits itself admit the fact that the mosque in question was built in 1669-70. The suits filed by the Hindu side contain a common prayer seeking the "removal" of the Shahi Idgah mosque from the 13.37-acre complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev temple in Mathura. The additional prayers include seeking possession of the Shahi Idgah premises. The court will resume hearing on August 12. With inputs from ANI Bangladesh on Thursday banned theJamaat-e-Islami party, its student wing, and other related groups. The government labelled the party as a "militant and terrorist" organisation. This move is part of a nationwide crackdown after weeks of violent protests that resulted in more than 200 deaths and thousands of injuries. Jamaat-e Islami has been banned from participating in national elections since 2014 after the Election Commission cancelled its registration. (AFP) Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her political allies accused Jamaat-e-Islami, its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, and other related groups of provoking violence during recent student protests about the government job quota system. In an official notice, seen by The Associated Press, Bangladeshs Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Thursday that the ban was enacted under an anti-terrorism law. Since July 15, at least 211 people have died, and over 10,000 have been arrested across the country. Jamaat-e Islami has been banned from participating in national elections since 2014 after the Election Commission cancelled its registration, AP reported. In 2013, the High Court banned the party from elections, stating that its constitution conflicted with the national constitution by opposing secularism. However, it was still allowed to carry out political activities like holding meetings, rallies, and making statements. Ten years later, in 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed the High Court's decision, ending the long legal battle and preventing the party from taking part in elections or using its symbols. Yet, the Supreme Court did not completely ban the party. Jamaat-e Islami was established in 1941 during British colonial rule by a controversial Islamic scholar. During the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, the party opposed the creation of Bangladesh as an independent nation. Since 2013, many top leaders of the party have been executed or imprisoned after being found guilty of crimes against humanity, such as killings, abductions, and rapes in 1971. During the nine-month war against Pakistan in 1971, the party had created militia groups to assist the Pakistani military. Bangladesh gained independence on December 16, 1971, with the support of India. According to Bangladesh, 3 million people died, 200,000 women were raped, and almost 1 million people fled to India during the war. The party was banned after Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 due to its involvement in the mass killings under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshs founding leader and Hasinas father. The ban was lifted in 1976, a year after Rahman and most of his family were killed in a military coup. Only Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived because they were in Germany at the time. Jamaat was banned twice before, in 1959 and 1964 in Pakistan, for its communal actions. On Thursday, the party did not respond right away, but on Tuesday night, the party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said in a statement that any decision like this should be condemned after Law Minister Anisul Huq from Hasina's Awami League party mentioned that a decision was coming soon. We strongly condemn and protest the illegal, unauthorized, and unconstitutional decision to ban Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. The 14-party alliance led by the Awami League is a political platform. One political party or alliance cannot make decisions about another political party. The laws and constitution of Bangladesh do not grant such authority. If a trend of banning one party by another party or alliance begins, it will lead to chaos and the collapse of state order, he said. (With inputs from agencies) New Delhi, More than 20 people were killed, homes washed away and hundreds left stranded as torrential rains triggered landslides and caused rivers to swell in parts of north India. With many missing, rescuers raced against time as they scrambled through uprooted trees and collapsed buildings to look for survivors. Monsoon mayhem: Over 20 killed as rains trigger landslides, flooding in parts of north India Down south, the death toll in the devastating landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district climbed to 177 on Thursday, with authorities saying that it could increase further as rescue operations are still underway. Heavy overnight rain in Uttarakhand claimed 12 lives, flattened homes and left several areas submerged. Haridwar district reported six deaths, Tehri three, Dehradun two and Chamoli one. Two persons, one each in Haldwani and Chamoli, are missing, the Disaster Control Room said. Water entered many homes in Dehradun and roads at various places in the city were waterlogged. Many colonies and markets in Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal and Jwalapur were also flooded. Three members of a family Bhanu Prasad , his wife Neelam Devi and their son Vipin were killed in a landslide triggered by a cloudburst in Jakhanyali village in Tehri, the officials said. They said 450 pilgrims bound for Kedarnath were stranded beyond Bhimbali along the Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route after 20-25 metres of the stretch was washed out by heavy rain. The pilgrims stranded on the trek route to Kedarnath are being brought to an emergency helipad, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on Facebook. Dhami visited the disaster management centre in Dehradun on Thursday morning to review the situation across the state and asked officials to remain alert. In Rudraprayag district, Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers were flowing close to the danger mark. Teams of National Disaster Response Force , State Disaster Response Force and local administration have been deployed in the affected areas of the state, the officials said. Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh also reeled under monsoon fury as multiple cloudburst incidents killed five people and left about 50 missing. Homes, roads and bridges were swept away by torrents of mud and water. The state emergency operation centre said the cloudbursts occurred in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu district, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur district in Shimla district. The Manali-Chandigarh National Highway has been damaged at several places due to landslides, an official said. According to officials, teams of NDRF, Indo-Tibetan Border Police , police and home guards had launched rescue operations and drones were being used to locate missing persons. A breach was also reported in Malana Dam in Kullu but the situation is under control, the officials said. Some people are stuck in the Malana I hydropower project. They are in underground buildings and safe and NDRF and home guard teams are trying to rescue them, Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Torul S Raveesh told PTI. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and took stock of the situation. Shah assured him of all help from the Centre. Heavy rains have lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh since Wednesday evening. Palampur received the highest rainfall in the state at 212 mm, according to the meteorological department. Chauri received 203 mm of rainfall, Dharamshala 183.2 mm Jogindernagar 161 mm, Kangra 150 mm, Sujanpur Tira 142 mm, Baijnath 135 mm, Shimla 64.6 mm, Sainj 61 mm and Bilaspur 56 mm. The Shimla meteorological centre has issued a 'red alert' for heavy to extremely heavy rain along with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in the states Kangra, Kullu and Mandi districts on Thursday. It also warned of landslides, mudslides and land sinking. Rains claimed three lives in Delhi. While a man died when a building collapsed in north Delhis Sabzi Mandi area on Wednesday night, a woman and her three-year-old son drowned in a drain on a waterlogged road near the Khoda Colony area, officials said. Three people were also injured in wall collapse incidents in Defence Colony and Shastri Nagar areas, they said. Heavy rainfall unleashed chaos in Delhi on Wednesday evening, inundating large parts of the city, while key stretches were choked with unending traffic. Till 7 am, Delhi Police had received 2,945 calls of traffic jams, 127 calls of waterlogging, 27 calls about building collapses and 50 calls about fallen trees, the officials said. In Rajasthan's Jaipur, three members of a family drowned as rainwater entered the basement of their house in the Vishwakarma area on Thursday morning, officials said. The bodies of Kamal Shah , Pooja Saini and her niece Purvi Saini were recovered by the SDRF during an hours-long rescue operation, they said. According to the Jaipur Meteorological Department, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar, Churu, Bharatpur, Tonk, Sikar, Hanumangarh, Dholpur, Nagaur and Jhunjhunu received heavy to very heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday. Jaipur received the highest rainfall of 173 mm during this period, the weather office said. In Karnataka, a 56-year-old woman died after her house partially collapsed in Nellikaru village in Udupi district due to heavy to very heavy rainfall, officials said. Phalguni river in Dakshina Kannada and Shambhavi river in Udupi district are in spate following torrential rains over the past two days, they said. Two days after landslides triggered by torrential rains upended lives in Keralas Wayanad district, rescuers continued to dig through mud and debris in search of survivors. The death toll climbed to 177 on Thursday with the district administration saying it may increase further. More than 200 people were injured in the landslides that hit the hilly district in the early hours of Tuesday while many were fast asleep. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Delhi Police issued an advisory for early morning commuters asking them to avoid key arterial Rohtak Road due to heavy waterlogging and potholes after multiple weather stations recorded over 100mm rainfall until Thursday morning following light to moderate rain overnight that left large parts of the city waterlogged, disrupting traffic. Waterlogged Pragati Maidan Tunnel late on Wednesday. (HT PHOTO) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said parts of Delhi were expected to get scattered drizzle to light rain on Thursday morning. A yellow alert, which relates to the bad weather that can potentially get worse, has sounded for the rest of Thursday with light to moderate rainfall likely in parts of Delhi. A convergence of thunderclouds on Wednesday evening led to rain in Delhi and the National Capital Region with initial extremely intense rainfall of over 50mm per hour. Weather officials said there was a drop in the rain intensity after 8:30 pm on Wednesday but it continued in most parts of Delhi until 2:30am before clouds began to clear up. On Thursday morning, police said water was drained out of stretches such as Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg near Majnu Ka Tilla and Okhla underpass, which impacted traffic late on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening, warnings were issued to avoid stretches such as Anuvrat Marg, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Dilli, Outer Ring Road. IMD said weather stations, including Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhis weather, received heavy rainfall or over 64.4mm in a 24-hour period from 8:30 am on Wednesday until 5:30 am on Thursday. Safdarjung recorded 107.6mm of rainfall until 5:30 am, Palam 68.3mm, Delhi University 104.5mm, Najafgarh 112.5mm, and Mayur Vihar 147.5mm. Moderate rainfall was recorded at Narela (39.5mm) and Pitampura (45.5mm) during this period. No rainfall was recorded at any weather station between 2:30 am and 5:30 am, allowing agencies to clear waterlogged roads. New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed its first charge sheet in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate or NEET-UG exam paper leak probe, naming 13 accused persons, adding that its investigations are continuing in the case. Students stage protest rally against recent scam in NEET and UGC-NET exam (HT Photo) The federal agency said in a statement that it used advanced forensic techniques, artificial intelligence, CCTV footage, (mobile) tower location analysis, etc. to gather evidence against the accused. It has so far arrested 40 people, including an alleged mastermind of the paper leak from a Hazaribagh school, several MBBS students who acted as solvers, and facilitators. Among those named in the first charge sheet are Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar-1, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar-2, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar, and Ayush Raj. The anti-corruption probe agency initiated a larger conspiracy probe in the leak on June 23, acting on a reference from the Union ministry of education, which said the exam was marred by irregularities, cheating, impersonation, and other malpractices. It formed special teams to investigate the leaks in different states and carried out raids at 58 locations in the last 39 days. A CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday, CBI has utilized advanced forensic techniques, artificial intelligence technology, CCTV footage, tower location analysis, etc. to gather evidence against the accused. The agency, he said, is continuing further investigation against other accused/suspects and on other aspects of the case. As and when further investigation against these accused/suspects is complete, supplementary charge sheet(s) will be filed, the spokesperson added. The Supreme Court last month instructed the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Central government to submit affidavits detailing their actions and asked for a status report from the CBI. Acknowledging compromise in the NEET-UG exam due to a question paper leak, the Supreme Court also directed the NTA to outline measures taken to identify beneficiaries of the leak. In its affidavit, the Union government said there were no large-scale breach of confidentiality in the pan-India examination and opposed the re-conduct of the exam, arguing that such a move would disrupt the academic calendar and is unnecessary due to the lack of widespread evidence of malpractice. The 2024 NEET-UG, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other related undergraduate courses across India, has been beset with a series of allegations ranging from question paper leaks, inflated marking, and arbitrary allowance of grace marksissues that have become a nationwide flashpoint for political parties, leading to thousands of students protesting for weeks. This years examination was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with 2.3 million candidates appearing for it. The results, declared on June 4, raised further suspicions when 67 candidates achieved perfect scores of 720, with several of them belonging to the same examination centre. The Union government has already replaced the head of NTA after the controversy erupted. Opposition MP and Congress whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, moved an adjournment motion in the lower house today, raising the issue of waterlogging in the new Parliament building premises. Water dripping from the ceiling of the new Parliament building being collected in a bucket. (Photo from X) Backed by Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, the opposition took to social media to slam the government over the flooding, pointing out cracks and leaks in the relatively new structure in just one day of heavy monsoon showers on Wednesday. Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion, Tagore posted on X along with a video of the premises. Yadav too took to X and said, People are asking if the water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their thought-out design. The new Parliament was inaugurated in May last year as part of the Union governments Central Vista project. Built at a cost of 971 crore, the building has time and again been at the centre of controversies, with Opposition leaders reiterating that it was an unnecessary expenditure, wherein the old Parliament house could have been restored instead of constructing a new one. MPs also debated this in the Rajya Sabha. The rain last night, which led to leaks and standing water within the Parliament that was inaugurated just a year ago, shows how well the ministry of housing and urban affairs is doing, Chaturvedi said in the upper house. Meanwhile, Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said, It is a huge building, there may be some issues that will be rectified by the concerned authorities. The Central Public Works Department, under the urban development ministry, clarified and said, The heat of unprecedented summer followed by very intense rain eroded silicon from a glass joint on Lok Sabha lobby skylight creating a small issue. It was addressed immediately. Structural integrity, waterproofing, etc., are in good condition. Keeping in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the building, including in the lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilised in day-to-day work of the Parliament. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the lobby of the building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the lobby. The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately, the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a statement on Thursday. Parliament Session Live Updates: The proceedings of the Lok Sabha are underway during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi. Parliament Session Highlights: The Union Budget 2024 discussions commences in both Houses of Parliament, with opposition parties labeling it as "discriminatory," while the government described it as "visionary." The budget session, which began on July 22, is set to end on August 12. In the Rajya Sabha, AAP MP Raghav Chadha called for lowering the minimum age for contesting elections in India from 25 to 21 years. He argued that India, with a young population, should have younger politicians....Read More Todays agenda in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha was: Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present a statutory resolution regarding Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi will support the second report of the Business Advisory Committee. Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu will propose the election of two members to the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Management (NIFTEM) council. Union minister Manohar Lal will propose the election of two members to the Advisory Council of the Delhi Development Authority. Voting on demands for grants for the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be held. Several Union ministers, including Jual Oram and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, will lay papers on the table in both Houses. The Rajya Sabha will discuss the workings of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare. New Delhi, Political parties on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict allowing the states to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for granting quota to uplift socially and economically more backward castes inside the group, and termed it "historic". Parties term Supreme Court verdict on allowing states to sub-classify SCs as 'historic' A seven-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud held by a 6:1 majority that the further sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by the states can be permitted to ensure grant of quota to more backward castes inside these groups. In a majority verdict, the top court said the states are empowered to make sub-classifications of SCs and STs for granting quotas inside the reserved category to uplift the more underprivileged castes. Welcoming the verdict, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu noted that the Telugu Desam Party had taken the first step in this direction by constituting the Justice Ramachandra Raju Commission in 1996 on SC sub-categorisation. "Justice should be done to all sections and social justice should win. This is the philosophy of the TDP. Sub-classification will be useful to reach out to the poorest sections," said Naidu during a public address in Srisailam. Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict, BJP leader and Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav termed the decision as historic. He noted that justice has been served to the downtrodden sections. YSRCP leader A Suresh said the Supreme Court judgment should be used for the upliftment of the SCs but not "opportunistic politics". "The YSRCP sincerely wishes that the judgment by the Supreme Court be used not for opportunistic politics but to strengthen the Scheduled Castes in a manner that ensures justice for all, adhering to the spirit of the verdict in thought, word, and deed," Suresh said at a press conference at the party office in Tadepalli. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called the Supreme Court's ruling "historic", and said a major obstacle in the implementation of internal reservation has been removed thanks to the verdict. Posting on X, Siddaramaiah said, "I wholeheartedly welcome this judgment... With the Supreme Court's verdict, a major obstacle in the implementation of internal reservations has been removed. "We will consult with Scheduled Caste leaders and legal experts regarding the contentious aspects of the verdict, including the issue of the creamy layer, and take appropriate action," he added. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said the Supreme Court's ruling is a recognition of the DMK's Dravidian model and its efforts to ensure social justice for oppressed sections of society. Hailing the apex court verdict, he said it was heartening that the bench upheld the internal reservation granted to the Arunthathiyar community, as laid down in an Act passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. "Today's Supreme Court judgment is another recognition of our #DravidianModel journey to establish #SocialJustice for the social liberation of the oppressed people," Stalin said in a post on X. A formal committee was established and, based on the data collected through it, late chief minister and DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi had set apart three per cent internal reservation for the Arunthathiyar community, he said. "I introduced a bill in the state assembly and it was passed," the CM, who is also the president of the DMK, said in the post. "It is heartening that the seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the Act," he further said, referring to today's ruling. Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said it was the Telangana government that strongly argued in the apex court for the sub-classifications. "I sincerely thank the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India. Six out of seven judges said that state governments can take up the sub-classification. On behalf of the state government, I am making a statement that Telangana would be the first state to implement the sub-classification," the CM said. If necessary, the Telangana government will bring an ordinance to implement the sub-classification in the ongoing job notifications also, he added. BRS working president K T Rama Rao in a statement said his party welcomed the Supreme Court verdict. Right from the beginning, the BRS party worked sincerely for the sub-categorisation while other political parties indulged in vote bank politics on the issue, he said. "We demand that the state government implement the sub categorisation immediately. The party will extend support to the government," Rao said. According to him, the previous K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government passed a resolution after it came to power and personally submitted it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to the verdict, the CPI said the Supreme Court has settled an issue of "longstanding contention". In a post on X, CPI general Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "Settling an issue of longstanding contention, a 7-judge Supreme Court bench held that sub-classification of the Scheduled Castes is permissible. The SC also permitted separate quotas for more backward SC categories," Yechury said. "Governments, both Union and states, as directed by the SC, must now take all measures to bring backward sections of the SCs into the fold of socially affirmative action," he said. The Polit Bureau of the CPI also issued a statement calling upon governments to work out appropriate steps. "A 7-Judge bench of the Supreme Court held that sub classification of Scheduled Castes is permissible. The Supreme Court also permitted separate quotas for more backwards within the SC categories. The Supreme Court directed that the State has to justify the sub-classification on the basis of empirical data regarding the inadequacy of representation of the sub-class," it said. "The governments, as per the direction of the Supreme Court, must now take all necessary measures to ensure that the backward sections of the SCs are provided with facilities for improving their conditions," the party said. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI calls upon the governments to work out appropriate steps to ensure that the backward sections within the SCs are brought into the fold of affirmative action," it said. A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed that the Supreme Court judgment vindicates the state government's old stand. State minister and JD leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said the Bihar government has already created sub-categories like 'Mahadalits' and 'Ati-pichhda' . "These sub-quotas ensure that reservation benefits reach the most needy people. It is for the same reason that there is another category called 'creamy layer', which covers the relatively better-off people among SCs, STs and OBCs, who no longer require the facility. The Supreme Court's judgement vindicates the Bihar government's old stand," the state parliamentary affairs minister told PTI. From welcoming the decision as a step towards greater social justice to raising concerns about its implementation without conducting caste census, members of Parliament expressed varied reactions to the Supreme Court's verdict. Lok Sabha MP Chandrashekhar Azad expressed concerns about the implementation of the verdict. "If sub-classification starts, the SC should first work towards bringing democracy. When they support EWS and then become Rajya Sabha members or commission members, many questions arise. "What monitoring has been done on the atrocities committed against SCs and STs? SC/ST people are now aware, and discussions will happen. This cannot be done without caste census. I cannot say anything more without studying the verdict," Azad told PTI Videos. Echoing these sentiments on conducting caste census, Congress MP Pappu Yadav underscored the necessity of a caste-based census for effective implementation. "The SC has said the right thing but the question is who will implement it. The RSS? How much of the SC's verdict has been respected? The talk about a caste census to see who has what and who should get opportunities is very clear. "Once the caste census is done, it will become clear who received what and when. This verdict is absolutely correct, and the communities that have not received opportunities should come forward," Yadav said, highlighting the critical role of data in addressing historical injustices. Shambhavi Chaudhary of the Lok Janshakti Party highlighted the fundamental basis of reservation. "The basis of reservation was untouchability. It was meant to uplift those castes that were left behind by giving them reservation. Therefore, the creamy and non-creamy layer cannot apply to SC/ST as the basis is untouchability and social representation," she said. BJP MP Brij Lal welcomed the verdict, asserting it addresses the economic disparities within the SC/ST communities. "I welcome the Supreme Court's decision because it ensures that those SC/ST families who have generations in government jobs and have become wealthy should not get reservation. Instead, poor labourers and farmers living in villages who are doing manual labour should receive reservation. "This is a social issue as well, because if someone is deprived of reservation today, their next generation might become poor again. Therefore, I welcome the SC's judgment," he stated. Lal also criticised the Congress and Samajwadi Party , accusing them of historically failing Dalit communities. Congress MP Sukhdev Bhagat emphasised the importance of representation in reservations, aligning with the apex court's interpretation. "The SC is the highest interpreter of the Constitution and reservation is about representation. These things should come to light," he remarked, supporting the verdict's alignment with constitutional principles. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The death toll in the Wayanad landslides tragedy is expected to rise as Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared on Thursday that those alive had been saved over the past three days. Army personnel and volunteers lift a portion of a bridge during its re-construction, after landslides hit Chooralmala in Wayanad district.(Reuters) Officially 177 people have died, including 25 children and 70 women, and around 200 are missing. However, PTI, citing unconfirmed reports, reported that the real number of deaths was 276. Around 92 body parts have also been fished out of the Chaliyar River. Around 350 buildings had been damaged in the landslides. The rescue work had been hampered by several challenges, including treacherous terrain and a shortage of heavy equipment. Also read: 'Saw sister's house being washed away': Wayanad victims share tragic stories of loss It is assumed that nobody is left to be saved in the villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala. Rescue workers are looking into whether anyone got stranded individually. What is left is to retrieve bodies from the area, he said, per The Indian Express. 1600 rescue workers, including those from the Army, Navy and NDRF, were pressed into the rescue operations. Political leaders, including Vijayan and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others visited the displaced people, expressing their solidarity with them. Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, the Army completed the Bailey Bridge between Chooralmala and Mundakkai. Now, the required equipment can be transported to disaster-affected areas. Also read: 'Felt the same when my father died': Rahul Gandhi on Wayanad tragedy After visiting Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi expressed his anguish. "It is a terrible tragedy for Wayanad, for Kerala and the nation. We have come here to see the situation. It is painful to see how many people have lost family members and their houses. We will try to help and make sure that the survivors get what is their due, Gandhi said while addressing reporters. A lot of them want to be relocated. There is a lot that needs to be done here. I would like to thank all those, including doctors, nurses, administration and volunteers," he added. Also read: The man who lost 26 family members in Wayanad landslides The authorities have conducted 256 autopsies so far. "Until 7 am today, we have completed 256 autopsies, which include body parts as well. So, it is not 256 full bodies, but also includes body parts. We have handed over 154 bodies to the district administration," health minister Veena George said. With inputs from PTI New Delhi: Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi and former minister Ajay Maken on Wednesday said the flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAYU) scheme of the Union government is failing to help the urban poor, who are the intended beneficiaries. Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi and former minister Ajay Maken (File Photo) The PMAY(U), a pet scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has four sub-schemes or verticals, namely Beneficiary Led Construction/Enhancement (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR), and Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). Maken was speaking in House as part of a discussion on the housing and urban development ministry. Maken said that the ISSR sub-scheme is the most important part of the four verticals. However, he said, Among the approximately 8.4 million houses delivered in the scheme, only more than 100,000at the most, only 2%have been built for slum dwellers. The ISSR scheme aims houses to the eligible slum dwellers bringing them into the formal urban settlement. Maken also quoted a Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs report on the issue, which noted that the slum decadal growth was 34%. In line with this, it is wrong that only 1.63% of the houses under the scheme have been built under ISSR, he said. Maken said the central grant of Rs.1 lakh is too low, stating how it is impossible to even cover the cost of flooring for a house in that amount. He added that 60% of the houses in the scheme are built in BLC, but out of that, the sub-scheme is meant for people who already own land and questioned if any person who owns land in the city can be considered poor. He further stated another 30% of the scheme was availed under the CLSS scheme, which is again for the middle-income group, and the remaining 7-8% were given to private companies to provide assisted housing projects. Elaborating on the CLSS sub-scheme, Maken said the beneficiaries are dependent on bank loans, which means they either own land or are buying home from a private builder, and questioned how state and Union government schemes are failing in cities to check the growth of slums and are only helping builders. HT had reported in December 2023 how the standing committee had flagged the issue of the ministry counting housing units as completed when basic amenities such as accessible roads, sewerage, water, and electricity connections were not provided. The report also flagged how the actual poor did not benefit from the scheme, as 60% of the housing cost had to be borne by the beneficiaries themselves. Maken praised the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments Rajiv Awas Yojna, where a minimum of Rs.2.5 lakh of central government assistance was provided in 2013. However, unfortunately, rather than the central government component increasing, the assistance has reduced, he said. The Centre has, however, maintained that the number of houses built has been multifold under PMAY(U) compared to the previous scheme. A 39-year-old priest from the Puradamma temple in Hassan district, has been arrested by the Bagalgunte police for allegedly raping a 28-year-old devotee and then extorting money from her, a police officer said. The accused threatened to release morphed photographs of her on social media if she reported the assault. (File photo) The officer said the incident took place on May 24 when the accused, identified as Dayanand, allegedly invited the woman to participate in a ceremony at an acquaintances house in HSR Layout. However, he allegedly drove her to Mysore Road, where he allegedly raped her inside his car. Quoting the woman, the officer said that Dayanand later threatened to release morphed photographs of her on social media if she reported the assault. He also allegedly extorted 40,000 from her and continued to harass her by visiting her workplace and taking her to a hotel, where he assaulted her again, the officer added. Bagalagunte police inspector Hanumantha Raju said: We registered a case against the accused on Monday and arrested him on Tuesday. He is booked under BNS section 64 (punishment for rape), 308(2)(punishment for extortion), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 66E(Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017. We have produced him in court and secured a five-day police custody for further interrogation. We are also investigating whether the accused has sexually harassed and extorted other devotees. A question mark hangs over state-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limiteds (HAL) ability to meet the delivery timeline of the new Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) for the current financial year, and even beyond, as it becomes clear that the Indian Air Force will have to wait longer for the first aircraft that was supposed to be delivered by March 31, 2024, senior IAF officers aware of the matter said on Wednesday. After missing the March 31 deadline, HAL hoped to deliver the first aircraft in July but again revised it to a later date in August. (PTI) The first LCA Mk-1A is likely to be delivered to the air force in November 2024, said one of the officers who asked not to be named. After missing the March 31 deadline, HAL hoped to deliver the first aircraft in July but again revised it to a later date in August. IAF is unhappy with the current pace of the Tejas LCA Mk-1A programme because of the possible risks the delay in the induction of new fighter planes could pose to the air forces combat effectiveness, and has flagged the hot-button issue to HAL, calling for timely execution of the 48,000-crore contract for 83 jets, as first reported by Hindustan Times on July 12. Read more: 7 facts about the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas used by Indian military HAL had then said it would deliver 16 of these fighters to IAF in FY 2024-25 as per schedule. It also said it hoped to deliver all the 83 aircraft on order by 2028-29. The LCA Mk-1A made its maiden sortie from an HAL facility in Bengaluru on March 28. Going by the current pace of the programme, theres a fat chance of IAF getting the 16 fighters in FY 2024-25. We will be happy if we can get even half the number, said a second officer. Many in the air force are sceptical about the LCA Mk-1A deadlines being met, and one of the main reasons for that is the lingering delay in the supply of the F404 engines to HAL by US firm GE Aerospace. The delivery of the engines is delayed by around 10 months. The certification of new systems in the aircraft is still pending. The single-engine Mk-1A will be a replacement for the IAFs Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter. LCA Mk-1A is an advanced variant of the LCA Mk-1, which has already been inducted by IAF. Read more: Indian Air Force likely to get its first Tejas Mk-1A aircraft in July US engine maker GE Aerospace had earlier told HT that it is working with HAL to fix issues related to the delay in the supply of its F4O4 engines for the LCA Mk-1A programme, attributing it to supply chain bottlenecks in the aerospace industry. The aerospace industry continues to experience unprecedented supply chain pressures, a GE Aerospace spokesperson said on July 12. GE Aerospace is working with our partner HAL and suppliers to resolve constraints and deliver F404-IN20 engines for the LCA Mk1 (A) program. The statement was in response to HT queries on the reasons for the delay and steps being taken to fix the problem, as the programme is crucial for IAF, which is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons. Even as doubts shroud the delivery schedule of the LCA Mk-1A jets, more are likely to be ordered soon. In April, the defence ministry issued a tender to HAL for the proposed acquisition of 97 more LCA Mk-1As to strengthen the air forces capabilities. The new fighter planes are expected to cost around 67,000 crore. HAL has set up a new production line in Nashik for LCA Mk-1As to meet IAFs growing needs. HAL says it can build 16 LCA Mk-1As every year in Bengaluru, and the Nashik line will help it ramp up production to 24 jets. IAF should have started phasing out the last of its MiG-21s and raising the first LCA Mk-1A squadron by now. The conversion to new aircraft for pilots, and the training of technicians and maintenance crews will take time. If we dont get the new aircraft on time, the capability drawdown will be drastic. IAF doesnt have a Plan B for the MiG-21 replacement, an IAF officer earlier said. LCA is set to emerge as the cornerstone of IAFs combat power in the coming decade and beyond as it is expected to operate around 350 LCAs (a mix of Mk-1s, Mk-1As and the future Mk-2). The LCA project was sanctioned in 1983 as a replacement for MiG-21s. To be sure, IAFs leadership has firmly backed the LCA programme. In a review last year, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari described the fighter aircraft as the flag-bearer of the air forces efforts towards the indigenisation of its combat fleet. IAF recently relocated its last MiG-21 fighters from their home base at Suratgarh in Rajasthan to the sprawling Nal desert fighter base near Bikaner, where the only other remaining Indian MiG-21s are based, as the worlds fourth largest air force prepares the ground to pull these iconic planes out of service and begins raising its new LCA-Mk-1A fleet. New Delhi, The Railway Board has constituted a committee to examine the working conditions of its running staff in accordance with its instructions issued in 2016. Railway Board constitutes panel to examine 2016 report on work conditions of running staff The Railway Board constituted the committee, comprising three senior officials, on July 26 and asked all the zones to share their comments by August 5. In 2013, the Railway Board had for the first time formed a High Power Committee to examine the various aspects of working conditions such as working hours and rest hours of the running staff including loco pilots and guards. Out of the 89 recommendations that the HPC had made, the Railway Ministry accepted 70 in its Full Board meeting in 2016 and asked the concerned officials to "issue suitable instructions to the zonal railways". One of the HPC's recommendations accepted by the Board said the total duty at a stretch from sign on to sign off for the running staff should not exceed 11 hours. "Running duty at a stretch should not ordinarily exceed nine hours. Such duty may extend further provided the railway administration gives at least two hours notice before the expiry of nine hours to the crew that they would be required to perform running duty beyond nine hours, with the stipulation that the total duty from 'sign on' to 'sign off' shall not exceed 11 hours," the HPC said. According to the Board, the Committee will deliberate upon the implementation and compliance of accepted recommendations of the HPC with special focus on outstation rest, headquarter rest, periodical rest working hours and compliance of HOER and submit its report within one month. "Zonal Railways are advised to communicate the implementation and compliance of the accepted recommendations of the High Power Committee," the Board's letter dated August 1 marked to all zones, said. Setting a deadline of August 5 to comply with its instructions, the Board added, "As the report is to be submitted within one month, the Railways are again advised to send the desired information in the given time-limit without fail." Before August 1, the Board had issued an order on July 26 to all the zones informing them about the constitution of a Committee for deliberation and recommendation on the hours of work and rest of the running staff. According to the order, the three senior officials of the Railway Board in the Committee comprise Principal Executive Director , Traffic; Additional Member and Additional Member . This is the second committee that the Railway Board has constituted in July to look into the work related issues of loco pilots, guards and other running staff. A fortnight ago on July 11, it had issued an order for the constitution of a five-member multi-disciplinary committee to consider nine issues including "duty hours, periodical rest, deployment of manpower and their utilization: analysis of cases of breach of Railway Board's orders on the subject". Various unions of loco pilots have also demanded a clarity on the terms of references of the two committees. According to them, the working hours and rest rules are overlapping topics in both the committees. However, a Railway Board official differentiated the terms of references of the two committees and said, "The Committee on July 26 has been set up to examine the status of compliance and implementation of all the 70 accepted recommendations of the HPC by the Zonal railways." "On the other hand, the multi-disciplinary committee will look into several issues that impact the working conditions of the running staff," he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. With heavy rains battering parts of northern India, at least 14 people were killed and hundreds are stranded in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Part of a three storey building is washed away in flash floods in the Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. (AP/FILE) Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to rescue people, as many are feared missing in the hill states. A total of 32 people have reportedly died in rain-related incidents across seven northern states over the past 24 hours. This includes 12 in Uttarakhand, two in Himachal Pradesh, five in Delhi, two in Greater Noida of Uttar Pradesh, three in Haryana's Gurugram, three in Rajasthan's Jaipur and five in Bihar. Here's how rain has wreaked havoc in the hills and plains New Delhi, An accurate early warning system that correlates rainfall and the potential for landslides. That is the imperative, say experts as rains create havoc in hills across India and the toll mounts in Keralas Wayanad slopes where landslides buried entire homesteads and possibly hundreds of people. Rain scripted landslides: Experts flag need for early warning system, evacuation protocol On Thursday, cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh led to houses, bridges and roads being washed away with five people dying and 50 missing. In Uttarakhand, heavy rain triggered floods and house collapses with at least 12 people killed. The rain scripted tragedies in the hill states came just two days after extremely heavy rain more than 570 mm over 48 hours triggered the disaster in Wayanad, leaving at least 177 people dead. Given the scenario of erratic rain, extreme weather events, changing climatic conditions and the fragile hills both in the north and in the south an accurate early warning system based on empirical rainfall thresholds followed by a systematic evacuation protocol is essential. EWS is important to understand what are the vulnerable areas and which are the vulnerable communities. EWS will use the areas and the potentialities of the threat, the extent and timing of the threat so it can establish the mitigation measures, including evacuation, Nilmadhab Prusty from the Centre for Development and Disaster Management Support Services told PTI. As of now, there are no granular studies or EWS for landslide forecasts in the country. In Kerala, for instance, the Geological Survey of India did give a forecast on July 29 for two days but not a sense of what was in store the landslides hit early morning on July 30. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority gets forecasts for landslides in four categories very high possibility, high possibility, moderate and low possibility. The Experimental Rainfall Induced Landslide Forecast Bulletin for Wayanad district forecast only this A low possibility of occurrences of landslides: A few small landslides may occur. There was no information from the central agency that there would be widespread or even moderate landslides, P M Manoj, press secretary of the KSDMA, told PTI. Kerala had approved three pilot projects for state-specific landslide early warning systems in 2020. But none is complete yet. According to the GSI website, about 0.42 million square km is prone to landslides. This includes all the Himalayan states, sub-Himalayan terrain of the northeast and the Eastern and Western Ghats states. There is also the question of evacuation. The KSDMA, for instance, does have a wide network of locally trained DM personnel and adequate mechanisms to disseminate the early warning messages. But that is only part of the picture. On July 29, the KSDMA asked people from hilly areas to go to relief camps but people did not leave as they had not expected the intensity of the disaster to be this massive, Manoj said. In December 2017, the National Disaster Management Authority launched a pilot project for a Low-Cost Landslide Monitoring Solutions. But that was restricted only to Himalayan states and nothing much has been done after that, an official said. A community-run effort at EWS in Maharashtra is hoping to make a difference with Satark, a project that issues landslide alerts. Started by the Pune-based non-profit Centre for Citizen Science in August 2015, it ensures awareness about and issues alerts for landslides in the Sahyadri ranges . The groups work started a year after the Malin village landslide in Pune district that left 151 dead. The group members poured over data from over the past few decades, from government agencies, local information sources and newspaper reports. That gave us an idea about the correlation between the rainfall quantum and what is the time that a possible landslide can happen in any given location, Mayuresh Prabhune, one of the founding members of CCS, told PTI. The CCS has mapped all landslide incidents over the last 20-25 years in the Sahyadri ranges and monitors rains every day during monsoon. At places where there was no government data, either through manual rain gauges or automatic rain gauges , the CCS gave manual rain gauges to local citizens. Each region along the Western Ghats has a different saturation level. When we monitor continuous rains, get data from all the stations, that at least gives an idea what the soil saturation level is and also what the minimum threshold level is, Prabhune said. For example, the CCS data shows that in the case of Mahabaleshwar, landslides happen after 600 mm rains. So, in case of continuous rainfall there, the group keeps a tab on daily accumulated rainfall and takes steps accordingly. The landslide may happen on day four or day five, depending on how much rain has fallen before, he added. The group issues notifications at three levels: Watch, Alert and Warning. Third is a specific village level alert. After the second step, we start monitoring it 24X7 and use radar images for the third step, Prabhune said. A March 2022 study published in the journal Land, an international and cross-disciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal, said the Satark model showed 76.5 per cent success in landslide prediction one day in advance. Although local administration takes help from CCS at times, the Maharashtra government has not yet agreed to a formal tie up. The minimum threshold level that CCS talks of was exactly what was pointed by a 2020 study by four researchers from Indore, Italy and Australia for Wayanad after conducting a detailed study of the recurring landslides in Wayanad between 2018 and 2019. The study, published in the journal Water concluded that 24 mm of rainfall a day is enough to trigger landslides in Wayanad. Way back in June 2009, the NDMA released the Guidelines on Management of Landslides and Snow Avalanches which laid down the national policy for the management of landslides and related activities in the country. A Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme followed in 2014 and was highlighted in the National Disaster Management Plan of 2016, updated in 2019. According to an official from the NDMA, the existing landslide monitoring and early warning technologies cost crores of rupees and the need for a low-cost landslide early warning system has been long recognised. However, in the absence of any guideline or protocol for landslide mitigation at the national level, it is incumbent on the states to manage the disaster at their end. The official in charge of mitigation at the NDMA did not respond to PTIs queries on the matter. Early warning system has two parts. One is an accurate generation of the alert, which our scientific agencies are doing in a fairly good way and then, taking it effectively to the relevant people, explained Sanjay Srivastava, a member of the Experts Group of the NDMA. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Delhi Rain Live Updates: The operation concluded after a team from the SDRF retrieved the bodies of Kamal, his niece Purvi and Pooja Delhi Rain Highlights: Parts of Delhi-NCR have been reported to be waterlogged and earlier a woman and her child drowned after falling into a waterlogged drain in the Ghazipur area of East Delhi following heavy rainfall. Delhi Education Minister Atishi announced late night that schools in the capital shall remain closed on Thursday following heavy rain on Wednesday. IMD has issued a yellow alert for Delhi till Friday predicting generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain and thunderstorm....Read More The total number of deaths due to related events rose to three in Delhi after a 62-year-old man died in a building collapse in North Delhi's Sabzi Mandi area. Meanwhile, three people in Jaipur drowned after rainwater rushed into their house basement in Vishwakarma area of Jaipur city. The victims include a man, a woman and his niece who was a minor, reported news agency PTI. The bodies of the victims were recovered after hours of rescue operations. The victims were identified as Kamal, his niece Purvi and Pooja. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert predicting heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning in isolated places for all Himachal Pradesh districts for Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday assured of providing central assistance and the support of the National Disaster Response Force to Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu after the state was affected by cloud burst incidents claiming the lives of three people and 40 people reported missing, according to PTI. Beas river in spate as Himachal Pradesh hit by cloudburst, heavy rain | Watch More than 10 people lost their lives in Uttarakhand due to landslides said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami addressing the reporters on Thursday. He added, Roads have been damaged, and bridges have collapsed. Restoration work is going on. Char Dham Yatra is also underway so we are trying to make urgent arrangements for the safety of pilgrims. In Uttarakhand, red alert has been issued in Dehradun, Teri Garhwal, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat districts by the Regional Met office with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely in the region accompanied by thunderstorm. A yellow alert has been issued in the rest of the districts by the IMD. The state is set to receive heavy rain till August 3. Parts of North India to receive very heavy rainfall on Thursday, predicted the Indian Meteorological Department with Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to receive heavy rainfall on Thursday. An orange alert has been issued in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Rajasthans Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is considering enacting a law to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), or a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession for all citizens, on the lines of Uttarakhand. Parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel told the state assembly that the government will bring a bill at an appropriate time. (X) The matter [UCC] is under consideration of the government. After reviewing all the aspects of this issue, the government will bring the bill at the appropriate time, parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel told the state assembly on Thursday in response to lawmaker Kalicharan Sarafs question. In February, Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a law for UCC. Other BJP-ruled states such as Assam have promised to implement UCC, one of the three ideological promises of the BJP. Constitutions Article 44, one of the directive principles of state policy, advocates UCC. But respective religion-based civil codes have governed personal matters since independence. Opposition Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi called UCC an attack on Indias diverse culture. Different laws were made considering the suitability of different traditions of groups such as tribal and minority communities. UCC aims to finish all this diversity which is not acceptable. The toll from the Kerala landslides surged to 193 as rescue teams scoured through layers of slush, battered homes and wrecked cars in Wayanad district on Wednesday, while officials warned that the number would spiral further, with 190 people missing and little possibility of any of them surviving. A drone view shows members of rescue teams crossing a temporary bridge to reach to a landslide site after multiple landslides in the hills in Wayanad district, in the southern state of Kerala, India, July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas (REUTERS) A day after the states worst monsoon tragedy since 2018, teams from the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) struggled against the treacherous terrain, as boulders, mud and strong currents of floodwater hampered rescue efforts, forcing them to use improvised ziplines and jerry-rigged bridges to extricate dead bodies or trapped people. Kerala chief minister Pinayari Vijayan, addressing a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram, said that 158 bodies were recovered, over 200 people were being treated in hospitals and 5,592 people were rescued from the ravaged areas. Officials said the army and construction agencies were working to rebuild roads and a key bridge that the landslide had destroyed to accelerate rescue and rehabilitation efforts, even as Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha remained cut-off from the rest of the district. Read more: Kerala CM counters Amit Shah's 'early warnings' claim on Wayanad landslides: Red alert issued only after Days of ceaseless rain precipitated two landslides within three hours in the northern Kerala district early on Tuesday, wiping out most of Mundakkai and Chooralmala, decimating public infrastructure in the remote villages nestled in the Western Ghats that survived largely on tourism and tea plantations, and leaving thousands marooned. The swelling waters of the Iruvazhinji river that courses through the two villages compounded the disaster and consumed settlements along its banks. Experts said the disaster, one of several that has ravaged Kerala in recent years, may have been down to the imminent impacts of the climate crisis, and worsened by soil erosion. They also pointed out that recommendations to include the region in the top tier of eco-sensitive zones were ignored and that several parts of the fragile Western Ghats were also excluded. The issue also resonated in Parliament again, with a string of leaders from the government and opposition parties addressing the disaster. Meanwhile, even more rain lashed the hill district on Wednesday, with over 56mm of showers in the 24 hours till 10.30pm impeding relief teams, which struggled to negotiate the downpour and the unstable earth. Read more: Opposition urge Centre to declare Wayanad landslides a national disaster Most of the people found missing or the bodies recovered were either from Chooralmala or Mundakkai, said NDRF officials, adding that the landslide washed away nearly 200 houses and killed entire families. As a result, rescue teams focussed their efforts on these two hamlets, which together housed just about 1,200 people. At least 121 houses from Chooramala village were washed away. Around 600 families lived in the village and at least 70 people who died are from there, Akhilesh Kumar, commandant of the NDRFs 4th battalion said. Rescuers pulled bodies out from beneath trees and debris of collapsed houses, he said. Chooralmala was a popular tourist destination, especially for people from neighbouring areas, with the Soochippara waterfalls, Vellolippara and Seetha lake drawing crowds. We have lost everything... everyone... Nothing is left for us here, said an elderly man looking for his family through the ruins of his house in Chooralmala. In Mundakkai, rescuers erected tiny bridges using ropes and ladders to access patches of land cut-off by floodwater and rescue trapped people. In some places, rescuers formed human chains using ropes tied around their waists. Rescuers smashed through the roofs of flattened homes to hunt for survivors. Continuing rains, thick mud, slippery grounds, and swollen rivers pose challenges to the rescue mission, a local resident said. The army said it has intensified search operations. Four columns of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre, Kannur, and 122 TA Battalion are conducting combined rescue operations, said a senior army official. Two humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) columns, including two medical teams, were airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode by AN32 and C-130 aircraft late Tuesday night, said the army. Chief minister Vijayan called the landslides painful and unprecedented. Rescue operations in Wayanad are continuing at full scale So far, 144 bodies have been recovered, of 79 men and 64 women. There are still 191 people missing. Efforts are being made to evacuate as many people as possible from the disaster area, and necessary medical treatment is being provided to those who have been rescued, he said. Meanwhile, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said they will visit Wayanad on Thursday, a day after their initially scheduled visit, which was cancelled due to the inclement weather. New Delhi, The reservation policy requires a fresh relook and new methods are needed for the uplift of people belonging to Scheduled Castes , Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes , Supreme Court judge Justice Pankaj Mithal said on Thursday. Reservation policy requires relook: Justice Pankaj Mithal While concurring with the majority verdict on the right of states to sub-categorise SCs for granting quotas, Justice Mithal said notwithstanding the success or failure of the reservation policy, one thing is for sure that it has burdened the judiciary at all levels, especially the high courts and the Supreme Court with enormous litigation. "The policy of reservation as enshrined under the Constitution and by its various amendments requires a fresh re-look and evolvement of other methods for helping and uplifting the depressed class or the downtrodden or the persons belonging to SC/ST/OBC communities. "So long no new method is evolved or adopted, the system of reservation as prevailing may continue to occupy the field with power to permit subclassification of a class particularly scheduled caste as I would not be suggesting dismantling of an existing building without erecting a new one in its place which may prove to be more useful," Justice Mithal wrote in a separate 51-page judgement. Justice Mithal said in the constitutional regime, there is no caste system and the country has moved into a casteless society except for the limited purposes of affording reservation to the depressed class of persons, downtrodden or belonging to SC/ST/OBC. "Therefore, any facility or privilege for the promotion of the above categories of persons has to be on a totally different criteria other than the caste maybe on economic or financial factors, status of living, vocation and the facilities available to each one of them based upon their place of living . "The reservation, if any, has to be limited only for the first generation or one generation and if any generation in the family has taken advantage of the reservation and have achieved higher status, the benefit of reservation would not be logically available to the second generation," he said. Justice Mithal said a periodic exercise has to be undertaken to exclude the class of persons, who after taking advantage of reservation has come to march shoulder to shoulder with the general category. The top court had reserved the verdict on February 8 on pleas seeking review of the E V Chinnaiah judgement, which in 2004 had ruled that all schedule caste communities which suffered ostracisation, discrimination and humiliation for centuries represented a homogeneous class incapable of being sub-categorised. The verdict came on references to revisit the five-judge constitution bench judgement of 2004 in the case of EV Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh in which it was held that SCs and STs are homogeneous groups and states cannot further sub-classify them to grant quota inside quota for more deprived and weaker castes in these groups. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) lawmaker and former Telangana home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy on Wednesday broke down in the assembly, following an alleged inappropriate remark made by chief minister A Revanth Reddy against her. It all began when BRS member KT Rama Rao was accusing the Congress of engineering defections from the BRS (CMO Telangana X) The assembly witnessed heated arguments between the Congress and the BRS members during the discussion on the Appropriation Bill in the afternoon. The bill was passed amid protests from the BRS members, who demanded an apology from Revanth Reddy and deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka against women members of the BRS. It all began when BRS member KT Rama Rao was accusing the Congress of engineering defections from the BRS. Reacting to the comments, the chief minister pointed out the defection of Sabitha from the Congress into the BRS before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. If KTR trusts these sisters sitting behind him and listens to their words, he will end up at Jubilee Bus Stand in Secunderabad, Revanth Reddy said, and pointed out not a single woman was given the cabinet berth in the first term of the BRS government. His comment led to a furore in the assembly, as Sabitha and another BRS MLA Sunitha Laxma Reddy, raised strong exceptions to it. Turning emotional in the House, Sabitha wondered why she was being targeted for changing the party when several other MLAs did the same, including the present Congress MLAs. Which party did Revanth Reddy come from? There should be a discussion on defections, she said. Stating that it was she who had invited Revanth Reddy into the Congress, Sabitha said she predicted that he had the scope of becoming the chief minister, if he joined the Congress. I blessed Revanth Reddy heartfully. But why is the Congress targeting me now? she asked, with a choked voice. Reddy said he had not used any bad words against Sabitha and he always treated her as a sister. She advised me to contest from Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency in 2019 but then left the Congress for the BRS, even before I was declared the candidate. She gained a ministerial position by joining BRS, he said. Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka also alleged that it was because of Sabitha that he had lost the Leader of Opposition status in the assembly. I was made Leader of Opposition, the first Dalit to occupy that position, by the Congress. I asked her to stay back in the Congress so that I will not lose that post. But Sabitha deserted the Congress for the sake of ministerial berth, he said. The BRS MLAs stormed the podium and continued to raise the slogans, but Speaker Gaddam Prasada Rao reprimanded them for creating ruckus. The House passed the appropriation bill, amid protest from the BRS MLAs. Aizawl, Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga on Thursday said that the construction of a road, allegedly by the Assam administration, in the disputed border area between the two states has been halted. Road construction by Assam in disputed border area halted: Mizoram home minister It was found during an inspection that the Assam government "undertook new construction of a road while clearing several border roads affected by recent landslides", he said. Border roads to link police outposts set up by the Assam government were affected by rain-triggered landslides in June, Sapdanga said. "As soon as we received a report about the new construction, Kolasib deputy commissioner contacted his Cachar counterpart and requested him to stop the construction. The matter has been resolved," Sapdanga told reporters. His comment comes days after the opposition Mizo National Front and a students' organisation alleged road construction by the neighbouring state in the disputed area along the Mizoram-Assam border. MNF's Serlui North block unit alleged that the Assam government was constructing roads in Aitlang area near Vairengte town and asked the Mizoram dispensation to resolve the matter before the border talks to be held on August 9. Mizo Zirlai Pawl , a body of students in Mizoram, urged the state government to take steps to ensure that the construction was halted. Spadanga said that the "matter required discussion at the district administration level and it has been resolved now". He said the governments of Mizoram and Assam will hold the next round of border talks in Aizawl on August 9. The Mizoram delegation will be headed by Sapdanga, while the Assam team will be led by its Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora. The two states have held several rounds of talks, including three ministerial-level meetings since August 2021, and agreed to maintain peace along the boundary and resolve the dispute through dialogue. Three Mizoram districts Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit share a 164.6-km-long border with Assams Cachar, Karmganj and Hailankandi. The border dispute between the two northeastern states persisted for decades and is yet to be resolved. The dispute took an ugly turn in July 2021 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire, leading to the death of seven people, including six policemen from Assam. More than 60 people were also injured in the violent clash that took place in the disputed area near Mizorams Vairengte village. The dispute mainly stemmed from two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933. Mizoram claims that a 509 square mile area of the inner line reserved forest, notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873, falls within its territory. Assam, on the other hand, regarded the map prepared by the Survey of India in 1933 as its constitutional boundary. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Supreme Court has underscored the crucial role that both the executive government and constitutional courts play in ensuring the effective functioning of laws, holding that reviewing and assessing the implementation of a statute is an integral part of the rule of law. The bench said the judiciary can help nudge the system towards necessary reforms. (HT Archive) A bench comprising justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar emphasised that the responsibility to assess whether a statute is achieving its intended purpose lies primarily with the executive government while a constitutional courts scrutiny is not just a reflection of judicial oversight but also a reminder of the executives fundamental duty to continuously review and assess the implementation of statutes. Reviewing and assessing the implementation of a statute is an integral part of the rule of law. It is in recognition of this obligation of the executive government that the constitutional courts have directed governments to carry performance audits of statutes, said the bench in its judgment on Tuesday. Adapting to change is important for achieving justice, said the court, adding that failure to adapt produces injustice, which is an abuse of power. According to the court, the executive branch has a constitutional obligation not only to implement laws but also to monitor their effectiveness continuously. Legal reform through legislative correction improves the legal system and it would require assessment of the working of the law, its accessibility, utility, and abuse as well. The executive branch has a constitutional duty to ensure that the purpose and object of a statute is accomplished while implementing it, stated the judgment authored by justice Narasimha. The Supreme Courts call for a judicial review in such cases assumes significance. While the judiciary traditionally reviews executive and legislative actions, the judgment envisaged a vital role for it in nudging the system toward necessary reforms. There is yet another role which the judiciary can and ought to performthat of facilitator of access to justice and effective functioning of constitutional bodies. In this role, the judiciary does not review executive and legislative actions but only nudges and provides impetus to systemic reforms, the bench held. This judicial facilitation is more critical in contexts where the legislative process is dominated by government initiatives, with few private members bills being introduced or debated, noted the bench. It pointed out that a performance audit of the legislation should be prompted by demonstrable data or cogent material that indicates statutory schemes are being impeded or delayed by bureaucratic or judicial hurdles. However, the bench clarified that while the judiciary can compel such audits and promote debate, it cannot directly enforce legislative reforms: This facilitative role of the judiciary compels audit of the legislation, promotes debate and discussion but does not and cannot compel legislative reforms, it maintained. The case that triggered this judicial intervention, a long-standing dispute over the redevelopment of a slum area in Borivali, Mumbai, had been marred by delays due to litigation, environmental clearances and non-cooperation from certain slum dwellers. Ordering a performance audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance, and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, the top court expressed concern over the inefficacies in the implementation of the Act and directed the chief justice of the Bombay high court to constitute a bench for a suo motu review of the statutes functioning. This directive comes in response to several systemic issues identified by the bench, including the problematic processes of land identification as slum areas, the selection of developers and the provision of transit accommodation for displaced slum dwellers. The court also raised concerns about the lack of independence and objectivity in the functioning of statutory authorities, suggesting a possible regulatory capture. These issues, the bench suggested, have contributed to a situation where statutory remedies are ineffective and, at the same time, lacking in accountability. The Supreme Courts intervention in this matter not only seeks to address the specific shortcomings in the implementation of the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act but also reinforces the broader principle that it is the duty of the executive government to continually assess and adapt laws to meet their objectives. The judiciarys role in this context is to ascertain that these assessments are carried out effectively, promoting a legal system that is both responsive and accountable. The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the conduct of Bibhav Kumar, Arvind Kejriwals aide, in the case of the alleged assault of Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, saying it was shocked by how the incident took place at the Delhi chief ministers residence. The observation came even as the court issued a notice on Kumars bail plea and listed it for hearing on August 7. Bibhav Kumar. (PTI File Photo) A bench of justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan said the question is not whether the injuries Maliwal sustained are major or minor. We are shocked at the manner in which it is done to somebody visiting the CM [chief minister] residence, it said while agreeing to consider the bail plea. Kumar moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi high court denied him bail on July 12. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Kumar, said Maliwal came to the chief ministers residence and nobody had gone to her house, prompting the bench to ask if the CMs office was a private residence. Does it need these kinds of rules? We have released on bail people who are charged with heinous offences. But see the way and manner the offence is done. What kind of power has gone into his head that she tells him to stop as she is having a particular physical condition, but he continues...It is inhuman. What kind of moral policing does he do. The court will hear the matter on August 7 and consider the charge sheet filed in this case. It sought a response from the Delhi Police on Kumars bail plea while permitting the petitioners lawyers to place the charge sheet on record. Singhvi said the allegation against Kumar at the highest is that of causing injury and grounds for granting bail are made out as there is no way he can tamper with evidence with the chargesheet already filed. The bench replied if this kind of person cannot influence, who else can? If he can mislead people by calling the staff from outside, can anybody dare to speak against him? The bench wondered if Kumar was a former aide of the CM or a government servant. Singhvi said Kumar, a former government servant, was a political assistant who fixes appointments of the CM. The FIR [first information report] says you [Kumar] are ex-private secretary. What authority did you have at the office of the CM that the victim did not have? You want to put out a case as if some goon has gone into the house. And he is not even ashamed of what he has done. Singhvi said Kumar was only seeking bail as he had been incarcerated for 75 days. He said that the incident occurred on May 13 and that Maliwal chose to file her complaint only after three days. The bench said if Maliwal called the police helpline 112 immediately after the incident, what does that show? This belies your story that subsequently she concocted allegations. Singhvi said the FIR was possible due to friendly police under a friendly Lieutenant Governor, prompting the bench to say that these were internal political affairs. Kumar was on May 16 booked under the Indian Penal Codes sections related to criminal intimidation, assault with intent to disrobe a woman, and attempted culpable homicide. Kumar insisted the allegations were false and that his custody was unnecessary since the investigation was complete. He argued that his arrest was made in a hurry violating his rights as the police did not issue him a notice before arresting him without a warrant. Six people have been arrested and a minor has been detained for allegedly hurling beer bottles into the Firdosi Masjid in Sirawara town, Raichur district, a police officer said. Upon receiving reports of the incident, the law enforcement officials engaged in discussions with local Muslim leaders to address the communitys grievances and to prevent the escalation of the protest. (File photo) The officer said that the incident took place on Tuesday night behind the towns bus stand. Following the incident, the police arrested six people and detained a minor. The arrested people are NB Sagar (23), R Basava (24), KN Vijay (25), BR Ranganath (25), NS Suresh (22), BK Sabaiah (22). All are reported to be residents of Sirawara. Sirawara police inspector B Guruchandra said: The incident occurred at around 8:30 pm. A group of seven-eight people consumed alcohol near the mosque and threw the bottles inside without any reason. We received a phone call from the mosque immediately after the incident and rushed to the spot. Though the perpetrators fled the scene, we were able to apprehend them soon after. We have arrested the six accused and booked them under BNS section 193 (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race) 351(2) (punishment for criminal intimidation). They were produced before the JMFC court on Wednesday, which remanded all the accused to 14 days of judicial custody, he added. The breaking of beer bottles inside the mosque and the damage to the mosques Darpa, a raised platform used for prayer and sermons, incensed the local Muslim community. In response, hundreds of community members gathered at the mosque, demanding immediate action against the culprits. Upon receiving reports of the incident, the law enforcement officials engaged in discussions with local Muslim leaders to address the communitys grievances and to prevent the escalation of the protest. During the discussions, police officers assured the community leaders that those responsible would be brought to justice without delay. Mohammed Siraj, a mosque committee member, expressed relief at the polices quick response and said: The timely intervention and arrest of the accused defused the tension in the area. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a majority that sub-classification within the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) is permissible. It declared that SCs cannot be considered homogenous classes and that it would be permissible for the Centre and states to earmark most backward classes within the reserved category of SC/STs to enable them frame appropriate policies on sub-classification and rationalisation of reserved seats. The Supreme Court. (PTI) The majority judgment was delivered by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, and justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Bela M Trivedi dissented. The majority ruling overruled the 2004 judgment by a five-judge bench in EV Chinnaiah Vs State of Andhra Pradesh, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes. It held that the principles of social equality would entitle the state to provide preferential treatment to the most backward classes among the SCs. According to the majority, decisions on sub-classification would be subject to judicial review, and the states will have to justify their decision based on empirical evidence regarding the extent of backwardness. The matter was referred to the larger bench by a five-judge bench in 2020, observing that the 2004 judgment in the Chinnaiah case may require reconsideration. The 2004 judgment by the apex court became the basis for the Punjab & Haryana high court to quash a 1975 notification of the Punjab government, dividing its existing 25% reservation for SCs into two categories. Half of these seats were to be offered to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs while the rest for the remaining groups within the SC category. This notification was nixed by the high court in 2006. Later, the Punjab government passed the Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006. It introduced first preference reservation for the Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs, laying down that 50% of reserved seats would be offered first to these two communities before all other SC groups. But in 2010, the high court struck down this provision of the act based on the decision in the Chinnaiah case, leading to an appeal by the state government in the top court. Finally, in 2020, a five-judge bench referred the matter to a larger bench, noting that the 2004 judgment by the coordinate bench requires to be revisited. While doing so, this bench said: Reservation was not contemplated for all the time by the framers of the Constitution. On the one hand, there is no exclusion of those who have come up, on the other hand, if subclassification is denied, it would defeat the right to equality by treating unequal as equal. Tarang Shakti 24, the biggest air combat exercise to be hosted by India, will be held in August-September, and involve 10 foreign air forces and 18 countries as observers. The event will allow the country to showcase its indigenous military capabilities to the world, Indian Air Force (IAF) vice chief Air Marshal AP Singh said on Wednesday. The Tejas LCA Mk-1 is among the IAF fighter planes taking part in Tarang Shakti 24. The exercise will be conducted in two phases: from August 6-14 at the Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu, and August 29-September 14 in Jodhpur. Each phase will involve the participation of 70-80 aircraft, including fighter planes, helicopters, special operations planes, mid-air refuellers and airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, IAF officers aware of the matter said. One of the goals is to showcase the booming indigenous defence ecosystem and highlight the self-reliance drive. The Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1), Prachand light combat helicopter, Dhruv advanced light helicopter and its armed version Rudra are among the locally produced assets taking part in the drills, Singh said at the curtain-raiser event. Some commercial flights may have to be rescheduled or rerouted because of the exercise, HT has learnt. Tarang Shakti 24 will involve the practicing of a variety of combat missions in a realistic environment, boost mutual trust and help explore avenues for interoperability and imbibe best practices from one another, Singh said. To be sure, while Tarang Shakti will be the biggest multilateral exercise to be conducted in India, IAF has taken part in several such drills on foreign soil. The 10 air forces that are bringing their assets for the exercise are the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Bangladesh. Russia and Israel, two of Indias main defence partners, are not taking part in the drills because of their preoccupation with ongoing developments back home, HT has learnt. The IAF fighters taking part in the drills include the Rafales, Sukhoi-30 MKIs, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars and MiG-29s, said Group Captain Ashish Dogra, the exercise coordinator. The fighter jets to be deployed by the foreign air forces include F-18s, F-16s, Rafales and Typhoons, he added. The UK, France, Germany and Spain will take part in the first phase, while the remaining six foreign air forces will participate in the second and final leg. The exercise will involve within and beyond visual range combat missions, large force engagements, air mobility operations, dynamic targeting, low light operations, high value aerial asset protection and busting, air-to-air refuelling missions, and combat search and rescue, Dogra said. IAF Agniveers posted at the Sulur and Jodhpur bases will also participate in some ground roles during the exercise at a time when a political firestorm rages over the controversial Agnipath defence recruitment model that cuts tenure and offers fewer service benefits to Agniveers recruited under it. Tarang Shakti 24 comes close on the heels of the IAF showcasing its capability to carry out high-tempo operations during Exercise Gagan Shakti 24 earlier this year from April 1-10, which involved all air force bases and assets scattered across the country. The last of IAFs MiG-21 fighter planes took part in the pan-India drills, their final participation in a major exercise. The MiG-21, Indias first supersonic fighter whose induction began in 1963, will be pulled out of service by 2025, and replaced by the new Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A), a programme which is currently running behind schedule. This has been a busy year for IAF. In February, it showcased its offensive capabilities by day and night at the Pokhran air-to-ground range near Jaisalmer during Vayu Shakti 24, with fighter jets carrying out precision strikes against simulated enemy aircraft and targets on the ground, including runways, bridges, ammunition dumps, radar sites and terror camps. The exercise, based on the theme Lightning Strike from the Sky, saw IAFs combat platforms drop around 50 tonne of ordnance in a span of two hours over an area measuring 2 sq km. Even growing up in insular Chennai in the 80s, I had heard of Marathi street theatre that went on all night. Tamil Nadu too had its theru-koothu which means street-play, but my mother did not allow me to go out and watch them all night like my male cousins dida sore spot for a spirited girl. Karnataka, like every other Indian state also has a robust night life beyond the pubs nightclubs which includes theatre, music performances, and processions, all of which are linked to religious institutions. For example, the chariot processions or ther linked to St. Marys Feast brings Shivaji Nagar to a halt. This includes live music and dancing but not necessarily theatre. Live theatre (either on the street or on stage) is hard to access, at least for me in Central Bengaluru. Imagine my delight when I came upon a Kannada play called Shivadoota Guliga thanks to a popular app-cum-Whatsapp group called Putting Scene which compiles cultural and culinary activities that happen in Bangalore every week. If you want to know whats happening beyond the usual stand-up stuff, get on the Putting Scene Whatsapp group. Shivadoota Guliga staged at Ravindra Kalakshetra is a surreal and phantasmagorical kannada musical-play which talks about the spirit-gods that roam around Tulu Nadu. Kantara the film made this famous (File photo) Shivadoota Guliga staged at Ravindra Kalakshetra is a surreal and phantasmagorical kannada musical-play which talks about the spirit-gods that roam around Tulu Nadu. Kantara the film made this famous but there are a host of bhoothas or spirits that punish and protect the people here. The play is about how Guliga the Bhootha came down to earth. It had all the elements of the rich mythology that India is famous for. He came from the sweat of Shiva, was taken into the stomach of Vishnu and was born to fulfil the curse of Brahma. A special scene is when the Goddess Chamundi comes on stage, complete with ten hands and fireworks all around was a hit with the school children who packed the auditorium. With actor Swaraj Shetty-- who played Guruva in Kantarain the lead role of the play written by Vijaykumar Kodialbail. There are many eminent theatre personalities of the Kannada stage including Prasanna, BV Karanth and B. Jayashree. They were all products of the National School of Drama (NSD). Prasanna and Karanth went on to become directors of NSD. Jayashree (with Ananda Raju) started the group called Spandana, devoted to rediscovering the roots of Kannada theatre. Other stalwarts like B Chandrasekhara (BC), CR Simha, B Narayana (called Nani who is current thespian, Prakash Belawadis father), S Ramaswamy, Vimala Rangachar, SG Ramachandra, Suresh Heblikar, KC Shekar, and Upasane Seetharam were legendary contributors to both Kannada and English language theatre. I got all this information from Vijay Padaki who founded Bangalore Little Theatre (BLT). He has been on my mind because he won a Lifetime Achievement Award conferred by Assitej International (an organisation of theatre professionals spread over 75 countries) in Havana, Cuba. I asked Padaki what differentiated theatre in Karnataka as opposed to other Indian states. Karnataka stood out in one respect. We produced writers! he replied. Kannada theatre had its golden period in the seventies when Kannada stage writing was creative and robust. English language plays followed and have continued to this day. Several organisations including BLT worked on adaptations and translations to original scripts. In 2020 BLT launched a publications project. Ten volumes of plays are coming out of BLT. Plays are generally published by individuals. It is good for the CV. No theatre group has published plays under its name, said Padaki. Theatre is a great way to understand Bangalore. Both Ranga Shankara and Jagriti have a robust program of Kannada plays as does the Bangalore International Centre and Ravindra Kalakshetra. They also have summer theatre for young people which is essential to cultivate a taste for theatre. My daughter learned theatre with Kirtana Kumar, who, besides acting, has taught a generation of young people. Institutions like the Alliance Francaise and the Goethe Institute also support and champion theatre performances. Of course, there are stalwarts like the late great Girish Karnad who have become synonymous with acting and theatre. That said, Kannada theatre is plagued by the same problems of theatre companies all over India, and perhaps the world. There is an ongoing struggle to survive, poor financial viability; a floating population of theatre artists who seek livelihoods elsewhere; poor public appreciation with the reliance on a loyalist constituency; founder-centric theatre companies and personality-dependent management; opportunistic programming, rather than strategic orientation and so it goes. It is quite understandable, and to be looked at sympathetically, said Padaki. This state of the theatre is because of pitiably low social investment in the theatre. It makes us terribly preoccupied with the success of the single theatre organization, neglecting the development of the theatre as an institution. After watching the spate of plays that have been coming out in Bengaluru, I can only fervently hope that this state of affairs will change. (Shoba Narayan is Bengaluru-based award-winning author. She is also a freelance contributor who writes about art, food, fashion and travel for a number of publications.) By Yoshita Singh UNGA President cites India's efforts to lift millions out of poverty through digitalisation United Nations, Citing the example of India, President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis told a global audience in Rome that the country has lifted millions of people out of poverty through digitalisation. Referring to the need to provide a basis to support rapid development, such as through digitalisation, Francis cited and lauded Indias example and said: Take for example the case of India. India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the last five or six years simply by the use of smartphones. Francis was delivering a lecture at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations headquartered in Rome on Accelerating progress towards Zero Hunger for the current and future generations. Francis was responding to questions from the UN diplomats, officials and policy experts gathered at the event after his lecture when he added that rural farmers in India, who never had a relationship with the banking system, are now able to transact all their businesses on their smartphones, including paying their bills and receiving payment for orders. Underlining that 800 million people in India were lifted out of poverty, Francis added that there's a high level of internet penetration in India and almost everyone has a cell phone. Francis noted that this is not the case in many parts of the Global South. Equity demands that there has to be some effort, some initiative to address this inequality as an initial step in negotiating the Global Framework for Digitalisation. In 2009, only 17 per cent of adults in India had bank accounts, 15 per cent used digital payments, one in 25 had a unique ID document and about 37 per cent had mobile phones. These numbers have increased exponentially and today, teledensity has reached up to 93 per cent, over a billion people have a digital ID document, and more than 80 per cent have bank accounts. As of 2022, over 600 crore digital payment transactions were completed per month. The series of financial inclusion measures launched by the Indian government include Aadhaar, a biometric database that provides a unique identity to each Indian citizen; no-frills savings bank accounts called Jan Dhan; the direct transfer of social benefit payments into these Jan Dhan accounts; and a digital payment infrastructure called BHIM based on the Unified Payments Interface . In response to another question, Francis stressed the importance of having the international financial architecture revisited because let's face it, those systems were created 80 years ago when the world was radically different. The dynamics of development were quite different. The UN has said that following the political declaration adopted at the occasion of the United Nations 75th anniversary in September 2020, the Secretary-General in September 2021 released his report Our Common Agenda. The Common Agenda proposes a Global Digital Compact to be agreed at the high-level Summit of the Future in September 2024. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Ram Chet, a cobbler in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur, said on Thursday that he rejected an offer of 10 lakh for a slipper stitched by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with him on July 26. Rahul Gandhi tries his hands at shoe repairing during a short conversation with Ram Chait, a cobbler in Kurebhar near Sultanpur. He met Chait while on his way back to Lucknow from Sultanpur on Friday (ANI) After meeting Rahul Gandhi, my life has changed. I am receiving a lot of love and affection. People stop their cars in front of my kiosk and click selfies with me, he said. Ram Chet claimed that the Congress leader contacted him three days after their meeting to ask about his well-being and assured him of all possible help. A person from Pratapgarh called and offered me 5 lakh for the slipper. When I refused, he raised the offer to 10 lakh. Ram Chet said. He claimed this was not the first time he was contacted about the slipper stitched by Rahul Gandhi. Previously, another person had offered him a bag full of money for it, he added. Rahul Gandhi had also sent a shoe-stitching machine to the cobbler. The Congress shared a picture of the stitching machine and called Gandhi a people's leader. I refused to give the slippers. I have no intention of selling them. Rahul Gandhi is our messiah. He sat with me and stitched the slipper, which I will frame and keep inside the shop. I will take care of it as if it were my life, Ram Chet said. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who was in Sultanpur in connection with a defamation case was seen interacting with him on July 26. The video of their interaction was shared by netizens who praised the Congress leader's gesture. Ram Chait has been mending footwear for the last 40 years in a makeshift shop. The cobbler also said officials from various government departments also reached out to him to enquire about his problems ever since the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha made a surprise visit to his humble shop in the Vidhayak Nagar area on the outskirts of Sultanpur, turning Chet into a local celebrity. Chet said he has been getting increased attention from government officials since Gandhi's visit. After Rahul Gandhi visited my shop, officials from various government departments have started coming to inquire about my problems, he added. With agencies inputs India and Vietnam adopted a new action plan on Thursday, to expand their strategic ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hold hands as they meet at Hyderabad House in New Delhi August 1.(ANI) After holding wide-ranging talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India and Vietnam will continue their cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific. He also added that New Delhi supports development and not "expansionism". "Vietnam is our important partner in our Act East Policy and our Indo-Pacific vision. There is good coordination between our views regarding the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Modi said. After holding talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, PM Modi said that they held discussions on all areas of cooperation and took several measures to prepare a roadmap for the future. Modi said that the development in the two nations has gained momentum due to India's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam's 2045 vision. In our discussions today, we extensively discussed all areas of mutual cooperation and took several steps to prepare a roadmap for the future. We believe that due to India's 'Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam's 2045 vision, development has gained momentum in both countries, Modi said. This is opening up many new areas of mutual cooperation and therefore, today we have made a new Plan of Action to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. New steps have been taken for cooperation in the field of defence and security. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India has entered a new era. He also invited PM Modi to visit Vietnam. "...We've decided to be part of India's CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure). We also agreed to establish a deputy foreign ministerial level for the economic diplomacy dialogue. The two sides redoubled the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation... in the South China Sea. And a peaceful settlement of disputes based on respecting international law, especially UNCLOS 1982. We agreed to share information and work together to make the South China Sea- waters of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation..." the Vietnamese prime minister said. Chinh arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night on a three-day visit. This is the first visit by a Vietnamese premier to India in a decade, and also the first prime ministerial visit since the two sides upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. Press Release August 1, 2024 OPENING STATEMENT OF SEN. CYNTHIA. VILLAR DURING THE JOINT ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING OF THE CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES MODERNIZATION (COCAFM) 01 August 2024, Thursday, 10:00 A.M. Sen. A.B. Padilla Room The Agenda for today's Joint Organizational Meeting and Public Hearing is the Convening of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the mandatory review and evaluation on the effectiveness of the R.A. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) which was passed in 2019, and is due for extension and amendments. Under Section 13 of R.A. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, the COCAFM shall be organized to conduct the review on the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to determine whether the RCEF should be continued, amended, or terminated. Given the urgency of the issue and the strong demand from the stakeholders for the extension and amendment of the RTL, the Senate Panel invited the House of Representatives Panel for the COCAFM members to convene. However, due to the unavailability of the House members, the COCAFM was unable to meet. Consequently, the Senate and the House of Representatives conducted their reviews independently. Now that Congress is back in session, both panels of the Senate and House of Representatives COCAFM can convene. So this meeting is being called. For the Senate: 1. Firstly, the Senate Panel of the COCAFM reviewed the RCEF on May 14, 2024, with Senators Imee R. Marcos, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino, Mark A.Villar, and myself in attendance. A total of 36 stakeholders, including farmer representatives, participated. 2. A public hearing was conducted by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform on its own on June 13, 2024, wherein a total of 19 stakeholders, including farmer cooperatives and their associations were in attendance. 3. Another public hearing was conducted by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform on July 4, 2024, wherein a total of 17 stakeholders, including farmer cooperatives and their associations were in attendance. 4. To further gather inputs from beneficiaries and other stakeholders, the members of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform of the Senate, along with the COCAFM Secretariat, visited Isabela and Nueva Ecija provinces to conduct Focus Group Discussions from June 26, 2024, to June 30, 2024, where they were able to meet 113 stakeholders. In total, the Senate COCAFM Panel engaged with 181 stakeholders to review and enhance the current law. May we hear from the House counterpart the results of the hearings and findings regarding the extension of and the amendment to the RTL. (Rep. Enverga to deliver the results of the hearings and findings of the House) Thank you, Rep. Enverga, for your report. I move that the records from all these hearings, along with the position papers and reports from the implementing agencies, and the public consultations conducted by the Senate COCAFM Panel, be included in the COCAFM records. This is to avoid the need for repeating the hearings and consultations, re-inviting the same stakeholders, and re-hearing the reports of the implementing agencies. We are also circulating these documents for the perusal of the Members of the Panel. The Senate COCAFM Panel has received a copy of two (2) letters from the Department of Agriculture, attaching the Resolutions of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) National Sectoral Committee on Rice and Other Food Staples dated May 3, 2024 and May 27, 2024, respectively. First, we are acknowledging the May 3, 2024 Letter containing the PCAF Resolution, Resolution No. 03, series of 2024, signed by Mr. Raul Q. Montemayor, in his capacity as the presiding officer of the National Sectoral Committee on Rice and Other Food Staples to reactivate the COCAFM for continuous oversight and assessment of the RCEF. For the kind indulgence of Mr. Montemayor, the Senate and the House of Representatives, as extensively discussed by Representative Enverga and myself, have conducted their separate hearings and consultations, which are included in the COCAFM records. Second, we also acknowledge the letter that the Committee received from the Department of Agriculture dated May 27, 2024 containing the PCAF Resolution, Resolution No. 04, series of 2024, signed by Ms. Hazel A. Tanchuling, in her capacity as the Chairperson of the National Sectoral Committee on Rice and Other Food Staples. In the aforementioned Resolution, Ms. Tanchuling identified recommendations to be considered for the amendment of the Rice Tariffication Law. She suggested several measures: 1. Adopt clear general safeguard provisions in the law and the enhancement of the RCEF credit: The Senate and the House have respective enrolled bills to improve the existing Rice Tariffication Law, ensuring the protection and competitiveness of our local farmers. Both bills include provisions to enhance the RCEF credit, making it more accessible to our farmers. 2. Develop a comprehensive rice roadmap: While this is a valid suggestion, it is important to note that a rice roadmap already exists. As a product of research and nationwide consultation, The Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap 2030 was approved in September 2018, signed by Emmanuel F. Pinol, the former Secretary of Agriculture. 3. Conduct a study on the long-term effects of the RTL and RCEF: Under the RTL, COCAFM is mandated to review the law. Both the Senate and House COCAFM Panels have conducted reviews and hearings. Additionally, the implementing agencies of the RTL - the DA, the PhilRice, the PhilMech, and the ATI are periodically conducting their own evaluation of the RTL and RCEF through workshops, where representatives of the COCAFM are invited to attend and participate. The Issue that the RTL wishes to address is the competitiveness of the Philippine agriculture landscape and our farmers. Based on the study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), we are not yet competitive in comparison the rice production of Vietnam due to - mechanization and the increase in yield brought about by the low quality of seeds. 4. Improve implementation of the law, including training and mechanization: The RTL provides for various implementing agencies, each with specific budgets, to ensure proper implementation. These agencies include PhilMech, PhilRice, ATI, TESDA, and the DA. These mentioned agencies conduct their own trainings to train our farmers to improve their yields. These trainings include: rice production training, farm mechanization training, seed production and certification training, postharvest technology training, training of trainers, among others. We shall distribute the accomplishment reports of the RCEF-Implementing Agencies as presented during the May 14, 2024 COCAFM Senate Panel hearing in the form of handouts. 5. Establish a grains warehouse registration and inspection system: This recommendation is covered by one of my bills, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, as it falls outside the scope of the RTL. 6. Restore the regulatory powers of the NFA and enable the government to import rice or procure it from local traders at the declared import price: I have expressed concerns about the NFA's history and its import powers. I firmly believe that restoring these powers will not lower rice prices. The main objective of the RTL is to encourage and empower our local farmers to increase their yield, reducing the need for the Philippines to import rice from other countries. Kerala, often referred to as God's own country, suffered another tragedy this year as massive, consecutive landslides in the Wayanad district resulted in nearly 300 deaths and left hundreds injured and homeless. Many people are still missing. The scenic villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha have been devastated by the landslides triggered by torrential rains. CPI Rajya Sabha MP Sandosh Kumar during this year's Monsoon session in Rajya Sabha.(Sansad TV) Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar called for national solidarity in the face of this unprecedented natural disaster, urging the Centre to include Kerala in the list of states receiving flood assistance through the Union Budget. Currently, the list includes Bihar, Assam, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. Read: The man who lost 26 family members in Wayanad landslides Kerala is not included in the list of states for which the disaster relief fund was announced during the 2024 Budget. The list includes Bihar, Assam, and Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately, Kerala is not on it, the CPI MP said. Without Kerala's inclusion, this list is incomplete. Kerala is highly susceptible to natural disasters, and destruction occurs, unfortunately, every year, he added. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated financial support for irrigation and flood mitigation projects in Bihar, estimated to cost 11,500 crore in the Budget 2024. Additionally, the government will assist Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim with flood management, landslide prevention and related projects. A student from the Chooralmala school predicted the mishap In a phone interview with Hindustan Times, Sandosh Kumar discussed the village of Chooralmala, where many houses were washed away. He mentioned the government higher secondary school, which was highly valued by the local community and students, was destroyed. Chooralmala higher secondary school before the landslide. However, it's important to note that this school played a crucial role in saving lives. It prevented most of the landslide from reaching the village, which would have resulted in a higher death toll. The main block of the building remained intact and acted as a protective barrier, saving many lives. Also read: Wayanad landslide: Suriya, Vikram, Mammootty, Fahadh Faasil donate to Kerala A student from this school had recently written an online article predicting a disaster due to the misuse of the area. While she highlighted the beauty of the place, she also warned about the dangers. Fortunately, the girl who wrote the article is safe. Visuals from the Chooralmala school after the landslide.(Pic received from CPI RS MP Sandosh Kumar) What about migrant workers? The areas in Wayanad affected by the landslides are well-known for tourism and numerous tea plantations. Many migrant workers are employed in these tea plantations and the tourism sector. Following the disaster, many migrant workers are missing, and their relatives are still waiting for their return. Their records are disorganised, as they are primarily held by their employers. These workers come from Bihar, Odisha, and other states. Search efforts are currently underway to locate them. Kerala is together in this: No blame game Sandosh Kumar said this is not the time for a blame game. He said, There are no political complaints for now. A coordinated effort between the Centre and the state is ongoing. The primary task is to save as many lives as possible. He noted that while there are many severely injured individuals, Kerala's hospitals and doctors are well-equipped, eliminating the need for temporary hospitals. Regarding funds, Kumar highlighted Kerala's strong response and the collective effort in raising funds. There is a splendid display of unity despite our differing political opinions. We are all united in this effort, he said. He also acknowledged the significant financial support from neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu. What about relocating people? When questioned about relocating residents from eco-sensitive zones to safer areas, Sandosh Kumar stated, We cannot build houses or carry out any activities that involve drilling here in these eco-sensitive zones. Many people have lost their loved ones, so returning is not an option. Sustainable relocation is now gaining traction. It requires the latest technologies and will be achieved with support from both the Centre and the state. What did Madhav Gadgil report say back in 2011? The landslides have put the focus on the warnings of the "Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel," led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil. The panel, which submitted its report to the Centre in 2011, recommended designating the entire hill range as an ecologically sensitive area. It advised banning activities such as mining, quarrying, new thermal power plants, hydropower projects, and large-scale wind energy projects in the most ecologically sensitive zones. A second committee, chaired by rocket scientist K Kasturirangan in 2013, reduced the ecologically sensitive area to 50 per cent. However, its recommendations have also not been followed. Although four draft notifications have been issued since then, no formal action has been taken. On Wednesday afternoon, PK Ravindran surveyed the sight before him, a mixture of grief and disbelief. The Chooralmala he grew up in was green and pristine with undulating tea estates, the Iruvazhinju river gurgling past. Now, all that was before him was a brown postcard, most of the houses gone, swept away by a river in fury; a village that has ceased to exist. We lost 90% of the people we knew in this village. Its like our world has been blanked out. People who were like family, people we met every day for tea, are all gone. I have lost my best friend, he said. Rescue operations underway in Wayanad district of Kerala. (AFP) He watched somberly as army personnel battled the elements to set up a temporary bridge over the river, in a desperate attempt to create a sustainable path to the other side. As he did, he pointed to one section in the distance, now inundated with water. Read more: Kerala CM counters Amit Shah's 'early warnings' claim on Wayanad landslides: Red alert issued only after There used to be a Shiva temple there. It was quite big. Now, the temple and its priest are both missing. Towards the right, on the banks, there used to be a row of houses, both old and new. All those houses have been washed away. The government school we all studied in has been wrecked, half of its buildings gone. Chooralmala will never be the same again, the 52-year-old handicrafts businessman said. A day after twin landslides within a span of three hours rocked Chooralmala and the adjoining settlements of Mundakkai and Attamala, these villages were unrecognisable. The Iruvazhinji river, a tributary of the Chaliyar, once a gentle stream, is now swollen and angry, split into two separate streams. Across its bed, making the trajectory of the water ever more unstable, were strewn large boulders, rocks and tree trunks. Most houses in Chooralmala, a village of around 1,000 people, have simply ceased to exist. Those that remain have sunk into the slushy earth. Read more: Wayanad landslides: 160 bodies recovered, rescue operations underway | 10 points On Wednesday, even as the incessant rain continued, earthmovers were at work around the houses that remained, trying to dig up bodies of those that may be buried within. On Tuesday, relief and rescue had focussed on the injured, officials said. On Wednesday, it was about finding the bodies of the dead. Bijeesh MP, a civil defence volunteer, said, The possibility of finding people alive now is quite low. We are using earthmovers to break the rubble inside the houses and find bodies. Even for those who survived, their lives are now full of haunting memories. Suresh S, who escaped because his house was a little distance away from the river, said, My phone is filled with voice messages and cries of my friends who sent pleas of help. Their cries haunt me. We helped some people to safety that night. But the river made anything else difficult, he said. Twenty kilometres away from the landslide site, at Aster Speciality Hospital Wayanad, 35-year-old Jaseela and her youngest daughter (3) also survived. But among those missing are her husband, two other children and her in-laws. Only the body of one daughter has been recovered. On Wednesday, when the child was buried, Jaseela was asked if she wanted to attend the funeral. She didnt. I didnt want to see her scarred face. Imphal: At least 10 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and five students staying in Akampat relief camp in Manipur were following police action who allegedly fired tear gas shells, rubber bullets, and lathi-charged hundreds protesting in Imphal valley, people aware of the matter said. A protest was held on Thursday by people displaced by the ethnic violence in the state, demanding their resettlement (HT Photo/Sourced) A protest was held on Thursday by people displaced by the ethnic violence in the state, demanding their resettlement. The IDPs are staying in the relief camps after they were displaced after the incident on May 3 last year. The rally was abruptly halted by state forces soon after the protestors exited the camps gate in Imphal East, said the people. The rally, initially intended to head towards the chief ministers bungalow at Babupara in Imphal, prompted a significant deployment of state police personnel in the area to prevent the march. As the protestors began their procession, they were met with loudspeaker warnings from the state forces, followed by a barrage of tear gas shells aimed at dispersing the crowd. According to the people, Manipur Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells, mock bombs, and live rounds in the air to control the agitators who tried to overpower the police while the protestors retaliated by pelting stones, in which at least 10 IDPs fainted due to suffocation and were evacuated to a nearby hospital for first aid. Meanwhile, five students of S Chaoba Memorial English School, residing near the Akampat relief camp, also fainted due to suffocation from the tear gas shells, said the people mentioned above. The school is located around 200 meters from the relief camp along Singjamei Kongba Road, Imphal East district. The students were also evacuated to a nearby hospital for first aid. One scribe of a local cable TV channel, who was trying to cover the incident, was allegedly assaulted by a Manipur Police sub-inspector. After the scribe identified himself as media, the police personnel tried to snatch his phone, a video of which was captured by the scribe. Another group of IDPs, under a banner reading Mass rally on rehabilitation of IDPs, chanted slogans such as send us back to our home, We do not want free food from government, and implement NRC immediately, heading towards CMs residence. The protest was organised by the Committee on Protection of Meitei Victims, Moreh. The protestors demonstrated a rally heading towards the CMs residence by banging utensils, but were blocked by the police at Singjamei Chingamathak, about four kilometers from the CMs residence. The protestors continued their protest by blocking the Indo-Myanmar Highway-2 (Imphal-Moreh) road. One of the protestors, Thangjam Budha Meitei of Moreh, residing in a relief camp, said the IDPs have been suffering for the last over 15 months. IDPs are demonstrating the protest and demanding that the Manipur government make necessary arrangements so they can return to their homes. Later, the protestors dispersed from Singjamei Chingamathak, Imphal West, after staging around two hours of sit-in protest by blocking the highway to their relief camps. The incident was raised in the state assembly by opposition MLA K Ranjit Singh. Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, the leader of the House, said the Manipur government is also taking necessary measures to restore peace in the northeastern state. He mentioned that there is a suspicion that some groups are trying to instigate the IDPs by politicising the issue for their own benefit. At present, the government cannot send the IDPs back to their homes as it does not want to take any risks, Satyabrata Singh said, adding that peace talks are still continuing in Silchar and that the outcome might be known within a few hours. The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Thursday issued a clarification over videos of a water leak inside the new Parliament building, saying the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the lobby had been slightly displaced and it was later fixed. Water dripping from the ceiling of the new Parliament building being collected in a bucket. (Photo from X) "There are media reports that heavy rains in Delhi on Wednesday caused water leakage into the Lobby of the newly inaugurated Parliament Building, raising concerns about the weather resilience of the structure. It has also been reported that waterlogging was noticed around the premises, particularly near the New Parliaments Makar Dwar, with several videos of the waterlogging going viral on social media platforms," it said in a statement. It said the green domes were installed to ensure natural light in the Parliament building. "In this regard, it is worth mentioning that keeping in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the Building, including in the Lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilized in day-to-day work of the Parliament. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the Building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby," it said. The secretariat said the problem was timely detected and fixed. "The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed. Similarly, accumulated water opposite Makar Dwar also got drained out quickly," it added. Also read: Old was better: Opposition attacks Centre over water leak video in new Parliament The Opposition questioned the durability of the new Parliament building after Congress MP Manickam Tagore posted a video on X that showed water leaking from the roof of the lobby of the new Parliament building. Also read: Rainwater leakage in Parliament building, Congress MP shares video "Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion," he wrote on X. Also read: India gets new Parliament building: 10 things you should know about the complex Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also took a swipe at the government, saying the old building was better than the new. About 7 km from Maharashtras Phaltan tehsil in the biodiverse Satara district is a village named Vinchurni. It has lush forest cover over a green expanse of 120 acres. Its rich biodiversity includes a variety of insects, trees, animals such as hyenas and peacocks, medicinal plants such as gugul , ponds, water streams, and regular crops and fruits in seasonal cycles. This is a man-made forest. Babulal Gandhi, 96, and his younger brother Maganlal Gandhi, who is no more, created this green zone in one of Maharashtras well-documented rain shadow zones A rain shadow is a patch of land that has become a desert because mountain ranges have blocked all plant-friendly rainy weather. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of the mountain the rain shadow side all that precipitation is blocked. Gandhi was born and raised in this area before he joined Vinoba Bhaves Bhoodan Movement or the land donation movement of the 1950s. The movement began in 1951 in the village of Gandhian Bhave in his village in Pochampally, Tamil Nadu. It soon became a nationwide movement. The Bhoodan movement made an effort to convince rich landowners to voluntarily donate a portion of their property to others who were without land. As a young man, Gandhi travelled to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and witnessed work and livelihood on donated land. The land of his childhood wasnt very fertile. It was in a rain shadow. But he and his brother made a resolve and in over a decade, transformed Vinchurni into a green, fertile, water-rich oasis. One of the methods they employed was zero contours farming or terracing wherein at each level of graded land, water would flow with halts, allowing dirt to settle at the bottom and water to absorb well in every level of the land. When Pune-based sustainable food entrepreneur Seema Agarwal interacted with Vinchurnis residents and farmers most of the cultivation in this farm is done by the daughters of the extended Gandhi family, who Gandhi trained and equipped for natural, toxin-free farming to source produce for her business, she was surprised by the nonagenarians infectious advocacy and practice of farming that supports the precedence of jal, jameen and jungle in any kind of life or livelihood. The thing that struck me again and again about Babukaka is that he is always willing to give away what he has. He truly believes that the land and the forest and what it gives us cant be monopolised. It is a radical thought, one that resonates more with todays children than with us from another generation, Agarwal said. Watch the trailer here: Agarwal approached Harish Tarun who runs Aproop Films, a filmmaker who has been interested in socially-engaged subjects for a long time before that, having written and directed two Marathi short films before Vinchurniche Gandhi. Both were set in rural Maharashtra; one was about a woman who doesnt have a toilet inside her home and another on the effects of chemical fertilisers on the human body. Over five days we shot this film, with just a 10-15 members crew. We depended a lot on serendipity and improvisation. Schools in Pune undertake regular trips to Babukakas farm to learn about sustainable living and farming, and Tarun and his team decided to do the shoot during one of those trips when a bus full of city schoolchildren was visiting the farm. The story unfolds through the viewpoints of a boy of about 10. He marvels at what he sees and hears from trees that are so big it takes him and his friends some effort to hug them, water bodies always in motion, birdsong and delicious food made with produce from the farm. The documentary has a voiceover narration by a child from Pune who cherishes his trip to this green oasis and the narrator sounds almost like someone who is following in the footsteps of a climate warrior. The star of the film is Babulal Kaka himself: At 96, he is sharp, wrestling long-term and short-term memory with ease and a sense of humour, always up for a walk in the forest, always full of stories and practical tips to implement. It is a man completely attuned with the ways of nature and that makes this biopic of him and the forest he built, not only inspirational but extremely relevant to the generation becoming adults in a few years. Just as air, water and light belong to everyone, so does land. Our focus should be on water, land and forest, Gandhi said, taking his audience through his years of devotion to nature. His ikigai is aspirational today in this wellness-obsessed world, and his longevity, effortless to him and those who have witnessed him live and work, is a potential subject of biological research. Short Stream is a monthly curated section, in which we present an Indian film that hasnt been seen before or not widely seen before but is making the right buzz in the film industry and film festival circles. We stream the film for a month on HT Premium, the subscription-only section on hindustantimes.com. Sanjukta Sharma is a Mumbai-based writer and film critic. Write to her at Sanjukta.sharma@gmail.com A tourism boom has helped cut Japan's rice stockpile to the lowest this century as foreign visitors gobble up sushi, onigiri and other dishes with the staple, officials told AFP Wednesday. Bigger factors, however, were lower harvests caused by hot weather and water shortages, as well as prices rising at a slower pace than alternatives, the farm ministry stressed. Rice held in the private sector was 1.56 million tons last month, the lowest since comparable data began being collected in 1999 and a drop of 20.8 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed Tuesday. Japans rice reserves hit new low as foreign tourists dig into sushi and onigiri.(File photo) "The chief reasons behind the record-low inventory is a decline in production last year due to high temperatures combined with water shortages, and the relative cheapness of rice prices compared to prices of other crops such as wheat," farm ministry official Hiroshi Itakura told AFP. "The increase in demand by foreign tourists has also contributed," he said, but added that "we are not in a situation of facing shortages of rice." Japan welcomed 17.78 million tourists in the first half of 2024, a million more than pre-pandemic levels, figures showed earlier this month. Besides the cherry blossom of Tokyo, the geishas of Kyoto and the majesty of Mount Fuji, a cheaper yen also has helped foreign visitors feel flush and boosted spending on everything from kimonos to meals. The effect was also noticeable in data for rice demand, which rose for the first time in a decade in the 12 months to June 30, hitting 7.02 million tons, the farm ministry data showed. Demand for rice has been falling for some time because of a falling population and changing eating habits by many Japanese as they opt for other carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes. Rice demand by foreign tourists soared 31,000 tons to 51,000 tons, the ministry said. Japan last year recorded its hottest September since records began 125 years ago, and since April this year heat has killed 36 people, according to the disaster management agency. Hyderabad, India 1st August 2024 Spacenet Enterprises India Ltd, a listed company on NSE (Symbol-SPCNET) and Modern Fuel Technologies, a leading Russian company, are pleased to announce a joint venture aimed at executing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects across India. Spacenet `Enterprises India Ltd and Modern Fuel Technologies to Enter Joint Venture for Nationwide LNG Project Execution. As India emerges as one of the fastest-growing economy in the world and is poised to be one of the top three economic powers in the next 10-15 years, the demand for energy is set to rise exponentially. This growth is coupled with a significant shift towards clean energy, driven by high-polluting sectors moving towards natural gas. This joint venture as proposed is positioned to capitalize on this trend by developing LNG infrastructure across the country. Project Phases: Phase 1 (FY 2025-27): Establishment of 20 LNG gas stations and fuel retail outlets. Phase 2: Expansion to 180 LNG gas stations and fuel retail outlets nationwide. Prakash Dasigi, Executive Director of Spacenet Enterprises, and Aleksander Sorokin, General Director of Modern Gas Technologies, expressed the optimism about this venture. "This partnership will be a significant step towards enhancing India's LNG infrastructure and promoting cleaner energy solutions," said Dasigi. Sorokin added, "Our combined expertise will drive the development of modern LNG solutions across various sectors in India." The shift towards natural gas as an alternative fuel for automobiles is accelerating due to its higher efficiency and cleaner emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels. Natural gas is 30-40% more efficient and produces 40% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal and 30% less than oil. In the race to net zero, LNG serves as a crucial 'feedstock' for low-carbon hydrogen, supporting the emerging hydrogen economy. The project will also promote RETROFITTING heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) to use LNG, contributing to energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions. According to the Shell LNG Outlook 2024, global demand for LNG is expected to rise by over 50% by 2040, driven by industrial coal-to-gas switching in China and increased usage in South and Southeast Asia. In 2022, the total LNG traded worldwide was 402.8 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). India imported 20.79 MMTPA, accounting for 5% of the global LNG trade. This joint venture highlights the shared commitment of both companies in developing energy, transport, and other economic sectors through the use of modern LNG technologies and solutions. The project is financed by a major Russian bank, will see Spacenet holding a 15-25% stake, adding significant value to the company. The collaboration aims to foster the growth of clean energy infrastructure and support India's transition towards a more sustainable energy future. Disclaimer:This article is sponsored content curated by HT Syndication. The inputs and details accounted for in the article do not necessarily reflect those of HT, and HT does not endorse or assume any responsibility for the information provided. iPhone 16 launch, which is expected in September, is just a month away now. This means that many have stopped buying new iPhones, as it doesnt make sense to purchase older models at full price, nearly a year after their release. Furthermore, the anticipation for new models with flashy features always excites consumers. However, Apple brought major updates last year with the launch of the iPhone 15 series, and both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models are considered mature products that are expected to serve users well for years to come. So, should you wait for the iPhone 16 models? Here are five reasons why you might want to skip it, and stick to a iPhone 15 series model. iPhone 16 could bring many surprises, but buying the iPhone 15 Pro is still a good idea, especially during sales.(AP) Reason 1: iPhone 15 Pro Will Get Apple Intelligence And Apple Has Discounted It If you are waiting for the iPhone 16 series just for the Apple Intelligence features, you should reconsider. The current flagship, the iPhone 15 Pro, will also receive Apple Intelligence features with the official stable release of iOS 18.1. So, if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or are considering getting one, you can rest assured that you will be getting the latest Apple features, just like the upcoming models. Plus, if you haven't followed the news, Apple has officially discounted the iPhone 15 Pro to 1,29,800, down from the original MSRP of 1,34,900. Also, in the offline markets, you can find even better deals, which you won't with the iPhone 16 Pro at launch. Also Read: iPhone users in this country can finally get Apples 'life-saving' feature: Details here Reason 2: iPhone 16 Pro Models Are Expected to Be Larger Than Current Models iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to feature 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, making them considerably larger than the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Maxs 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens. This is not ideal for those who already find the current models already too big and bulky. If you prefer a smaller phone, the iPhone 15 Pro is still an excellent choice and will likely be the last small Pro iPhone. Additionally, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, with its 6.9-inch screen and boxy frame, may be even more difficult to handle compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Reason 3: No Major Changes in Camera Expected Apple tends to introduce incremental changes to the iPhone camera each year. Last year, it added a 5X telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and introduced ProRes LOG video. This year, the smaller iPhone 16 Pro is also expected to feature the 5X tetraprism lens, with other iterative features potentially being added. If you are satisfied with the current performance of your iPhone camera and have a recent model, such as the iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 series, you likely wont see major camera improvements. Also Read: iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max likely to get this major upgrade for faster WiFi speed, check details here Reason 4: Titanium Frame Is Already Here If you own the iPhone 15 Pro, you are familiar with its titanium frame, which makes it lighter and more durable than previous iPhone Pro models, such as the iPhone 14 Pro, which had a stainless steel frame. Apple is likely to continue offering the same titanium construction with the iPhone 16 Pro models. Therefore, if you bought the iPhone 15 Pro for its durability and lightweight, purchasing the iPhone 16 Pro might not be necessary, especially since it is expected to be heavier due to the purported size increase. Reason 5: iPhone 15 Has USB-C, Dynamic Island, And iPhone 16 May Not Be All That Different As appealing as Apple Intelligence might be, it may not be essential for everyone. Most people just need a functional phone that looks like the latest models and works smoothly. The standard iPhone 15 is already an ideal device, featuring USB-C charging and Dynamic Island, similar to the Pro models. As for the iPhone 16 models, the differences may be minimal, aside from spec bumps and Apple Intelligenceupgrades that the average user might not find particularly compelling. Additionally, there are leaks suggesting that Apple might continue to offer a 60Hz refresh rate with the iPhone 16 vanilla models, so there may not be much to gain here either. Also Read: Motorola Edge 50 launched in India at Rs. 27999: Check out specs, features, and more Following cloud burst incidents in various parts of Himachal Pradesh, teams from the National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, police, and home guards have started rescue operations. A cloudburst occurred late last night in the Samej Khad area of Rampur in Shimla district, and another was reported in Thaltukhod of the Padhar subdivision in the Mandi district. In Tosh Nallah, Kullu district, a footbridge and three makeshift sheds, including a liquor shop, were washed away following a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst. A view shows the overflowing river Beas following heavy rains in Kullu district in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. (ANI) As the search and rescue operations have begin, people are posting scary visuals from the cloudburst hit regions on X. These posts highlight the devastating situation in the state and the struggles that people are currently facing. (Also Read: 2 killed, over 50 missing after cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh) Take a look at a few of the videos and pictures here: More on Himachal Pradesh cloudbursts: The local meteorological office has issued an orange alert for severe to very heavy rain, thunderstorms, and lightning in seven districts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. The MeT has also issued a yellow notice for heavy rain in isolated areas on August 2 and 3. Monsoon activity is expected to accelerate with widespread precipitation over the next four to five days. Heavy to very heavy rainfall are likely to occur at one or two places in the districts of Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur on Wednesday and Thursday. (Also Read: Himachal: Footbridge, makeshift sheds washed away in flash flood after cloudburst in Kullu) The department has also highlighted the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas of Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla, and Kinnaur districts and damage to plantations and standing crops, vulnerable structures and kutcha houses due to strong winds and waterlogging in low-lying areas. Amid the heavy rains and devastating landslides in parts of Kerala, the local police have issued a warning for citizens. The police department took to social media to share their worries against dark tourism. For the unversed, dark tourism is a form of travelling where people visit places that are associated with tragedies or deaths. The Kerala police issued a notice regarding dark tourism, The Kerala Police Department posted a warning and wrote, "Please don't go to disaster areas for sightseeing. It will affect rescue operations." (Also Read: Kerala's Athirapally Falls turns deadly amid torrential rains and landslides. Watch) Take a look at the post here: More on Kerala landslides: Several landslides struck two villages in Kerala's Wayanad district, leading to the deaths of 167 people as of Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall" at isolated places. As of August 1, the "heavy to very heavy rainfall" warning has also been issued. In the Mundakkai and Chooramala areas under the Vellarimala village of the Meppadi Panchayat, two massive landslides struck at 2am and 4:10am, respectively. (Also Read: Terrifying moment Kerala bus crosses bridge surrounded by raging waters on all sides in Kozhikode) The Indian Army was called in when a makeshift bridge that connected the affected area to a nearby town was damaged. The Army has mobilised four columns, two from the 122 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) and two from Kannur's DSC Centre. Soon after the landslide struck, Anand Mahindra, chairperson of Mahindra and Mahindra, offered support to those affected. He said that he would step forward and give relief support. Anand Mahindra also expressed his sadness over the devastation and said, "Wayanad is a paradise on earth. To see it devasted by landslides with many lives lost is a tragedy. Our hearts are with the people of Wayanad, and we will do whatever we can in the relief effort." The incidents regarding wild animals coming inside homes have increased in the recent past. These situations can often turn out to be dangerous for the animal, as well as the humans and stray dogs living in the area. Now, another such incident has reportedly occurred in Uttarakhand's Nainital, where a leopard entered a house and was attacked by three dogs. Snapshot of the leopard fighting with three dogs. The video opens to show a dog standing in what seems to be a balcony-like area of a house. As a few seconds pass by, a leopard can be seen entering inside. Immediately, three dogs run towards the wild animal and attack it. The video also shows a brief altercation between the dogs and the leopard. (Also Read: Leopard enters hotel room in Jaipur, rescued by forest department) The video was shared on X by user Nishant. While sharing the video, in the caption of the post, he wrote, "The king of the jungle ran away to save his life from the dogs." Watch the video here: The post was shared on July 31. Since being posted, it has gained numerous views and likes. Earlier, a leopard was seen entering a house in Gurugram. News agency ANI shared the video and wrote, "A leopard entered a house in Gurugram's Narsinghpur village. The Forest department team has arrived to catch the leopard. Gurugram Police team also reached the spot." (Also Read: Leopard enters Uttarakhand home, takes away pet dog. Watch) The video starts with a house located at the mouth of an alley. Shortly after, the creature is spotted dashing toward the residence. The large feline is observed scaling a set of steps in order to gain entry into the house. Subsequently, the footage depicts forestry officials positioned outside the dwelling, prepared with their gear and awaiting the commencement of the rescue mission. Life in Delhi came to a standstill Wednesday after a spell of heavy rainfall paralysed the national capital. The downpour last evening, accompanied by strong winds and lightning, led to waterlogged roads, flooded homes and traffic woes. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) late in the day issued a red alert and schools in Delhi will remain closed today, August 1. Visuals of waterlogged Delhi after a spell of record rainfall.(X/ANI) Even as Delhi residents braved waterlogged roads, high cab fares and water entering their homes, social media was flooded with reactions. Hundreds of people slammed the infrastructure in the national capital as they shared visuals of waterlogging after a short spell of rainfall. South Delhi - ring road all traffic blocked within two mins of rain -there is NO Drainage in Delhi, wrote X user Yasmin Kidwai. Just 20 mins of rain in Delhi today and look how Karol Bagh is already screwed, another person wrote while sharing footage of a staircase turned into a waterfall. A photograph of the flooded Press Club, just steps away from the Parliament, has also gone viral online. In New Friends Colony, people were seen wading through ankle-deep water. One hour of medium rain and A-Grade Colony paying the highest slab of property tax gets flooded due to neglect, bad management, choked rainwater drains, a resident noted. Many compared the condition of Delhi to a swimming pool. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi's post saying any waterlogging will be addressed drew many sarcastic responses. One person replied: Any water-logging you just said?? What a joke madam!! Whole Delhi is a pool right now. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that clouds had converged over Delhi from all directions, prompting an advisory for residents to avoid unnecessary travel. Meanwhile, amid heavy downpours, a house collapsed in Delhi's Sabzi Mandi area. A total of five fire tenders were rushed to the site. Pakistani engineers have reportedly developed and tested a government messaging app, Beep, designed for secure communication among officials. This development comes at a time when Islamabad frequently restricts social media use and imposes internet and mobile phone network shutdowns to curb dissent. Beep has already successfully undergone trial runs since 2023 and is now ready for launch, an official said. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) The new messaging platform, named "Beep," has been exclusively developed in Pakistan and has already undergone successful trial runs since 2023. Baber Majid, CEO of the National Information Technology Board, said the app is now ready for launch. He also mentioned that, upon government approval, Beep could eventually be available to millions of Pakistani citizens. "Beep is safer than other messaging apps," Majid claimed. '240 million people, 7 athletes': How Pakistan is performing in Paris Olympics after 'shameful' welcome The development of Beep coincides with struggles faced by ordinary Pakistanis in accessing the social networking platform X, which was blocked ahead of the parliamentary elections on February 8 earlier this year. The elections were marred by violence, a nationwide shutdown of mobile phone services, and allegations of vote rigging. While authorities justified the phone service suspension as a security measure, critics and the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed it aimed to disable communication to facilitate vote rigging, a charge the government denies. Frequent internet restrictions have also been reported in southwestern Baluchistan and during the annual Ashoura commemorations, affecting communication between officials and security forces. Beep aims to ensure uninterrupted communication among officials amidst these challenges. Divorce Mubarak: Pakistani woman celebrates end of marriage with dance party. Viral video The app requires an internet connection, but details on restricting internet availability to officials or other approved users were not disclosed. Despite the government denying plans to ban WhatsApp, the promotion of Beep Pakistan suggests a preference for a homegrown solution. Shaza Fatima Khwaja, state minister for IT and telecommunication highlighted the app's robust security features and data privacy, presenting it as a secure alternative to foreign platforms, reported The Times of India. "The design of the application is robust enough to offer it to the general citizens of Pakistan at later stages, if desired," Khwaja said. She also revealed that the government plans to roll out the application to all its employees within the next 45 days. Critics, however, argue that the app is part of a government strategy to control online discourse and limit access to information. LONDON British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the tiny mindless minority behind unrest that has plagued several cities after a horrific stabbing at a childrens dance class and vowed to put a stop to it as the 17-year-old suspect was publicly named Thursday in part to counter misinformation blamed as one cause of the fiery clashes. British prime minister announces policing plan to deal with violence after fatal stabbings of girls Starmer said the violence was clearly driven by far-right hatred as he announced a plan to enable police to move between communities just as the gang of thugs does. Officers will more easily be able to share intelligence and use facial recognition technology and other tools to prevent the kind of outbursts that have sent scores of police to the hospital the past two nights. This is coordinated; this is deliberate," he said. "This is not a protest that has got out of hand. It is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence. The announcement came after police in several cities were pelted with bottles by crowds apparently reacting to the stabbing Monday that killed three and wounded 10. The announcement came as the teen charged with murdering three girls and stabbing 10 other people made his first appearance and was named in court partly to counter misinformation about his identity that has been blamed for triggering violent protests across England. Judge Andrew Menary said his decision to allow Axel Rudakubana to be named was exceptional given the boy's age. But he said the teen will lose his right to anonymity when he turns 18 next week and continuing to shield his identity could allow false information about his name and immigration status to metastasize. Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum, Menary said in Liverpool Crown Court. The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. The deaths have been used by far-right activists to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed. Rudakubana, who police said was born in Wales, has not been charged with terrorism offenses but faces three counts of murder over the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England. He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were injured. Rudakubana did not enter a plea and was ordered held without bail and returned to youth detention, though Menary said that might change after his birthday. His next court date is Oct. 25. The adults, who were listed in critical condition, were named for the first time as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance and yoga class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children. The injured children cannot be named because of their ages. Two of the children were discharged Thursday, Alder Hey Childrens hospital said. Five others were in stable condition at the hospital. Prosecutors did not disclose a motive for the crime, but they revealed that the weapon used was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to an additional charge he faces. The suspect, wearing a gray tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters during an initial appearance in Liverpool Magistrates' Court. At his subsequent appearance in the Crown Court, he pulled his sweatshirt up to his hair to cover his face. He did not speak. Neither the teen's parents nor family members of victims were in court. Far-right demonstrators fueled, in part, by online misinformation have held several violent protests, ostensibly in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and causing a melee near the prime minister's office in London the next day. Hundreds of protesters chanting we want our country back hurled beer cans and bottles near the prime ministers Downing Street residence in London on Wednesday evening, and launched flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker, Londons Metropolitan Police force said. Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, where a police car was set ablaze. A smaller disturbance was reported in Manchester. On Tuesday night, a crowd of several hundred people hurled bricks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set trash cans and vehicles on fire and looted a store, hours after a peaceful vigil for the stabbing victims. Police said a name circulating on social media purported to be the suspect's spread by far-right activists and accounts of murky origin purporting to be news organizations was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum-seeker. Jonathan Brash, a member of Parliament from Hartlepool, said there needs to be a conversation on how misinformation is being spread by the far-right on social media to incite violence. I see it almost every single day straight-up lies about these situations designed to cause violence, to incite racial hatred, Brash, a Labour politician, told BBC Radio 4. "We have to deal with that situation because there is so much misinformation and its being spread quite deliberately to stoke tension in communities and ultimately its the communities that are suffering as a result. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. BERLIN, - Germany's government said on Thursday it was not an easy decision to release from jail Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the murder in 2019 of a former Chechen militant in Berlin, in a prisoner swap between Moscow and the West. Germany says 'not easy decision' to release Russian murderer Krasikov was among the Russians released by the West in exchange for 15 people imprisoned "unjustly" in Russia and a German who had been sentenced to death in Belarus, the German government said in a statement. Those released from Russia included U.S. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Russian President Vladimir Putin had in February hinted he would release Gershkovich in exchange for Krasikov, referring in an interview to a person who "due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals". Such a swap however was complicated for Germany given the brazenness of the murder, committed in broad light a few minutes' walk from parliament and the office of then-chancellor Angela Merkel. "Our obligation to protect German nationals and our solidarity with the USA were important motivations," the government said. U.S. President Joe Biden acknowledged on Thursday that Germany had had to make significant concessions to achieve the prisoner swap. Turkey, which coordinated the exchange, said 10 prisoners, including two minors, had been moved to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the United States. The German government did not confirm how many of its nationals had been released in the swap. In a sign of the impending swap, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, had on Tuesday pardoned Rico Krieger, a German sentenced to death in Belarus on terrorism charges. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Meghan Markle wishes Prince Harry should let go of these lawsuits for security protection for their family and can be free. The Duchess wants the Duke to live in the moment, per People. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a polo fundraiser event in Lagos, Nigeria, May 12, 2024. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye/File Photo(REUTERS) According to a former employee of their Archewell Foundation, the Duchess of Sussex supports Harry 100 per cent but wishes he could let go of these lawsuits, be happy and live in the moment. Meghan wants Prince Harry to be free She wants him to be free of all of this, but she also knows that because of everything hes been through and his love for [her and their children], he cant, the insider told People. She wants him to live in a world where he is not burdened by this. ALSO READ| Prince Harry's friends have severed ties with the Sussexes over Prince Harry has been facing legal problems trying to reinstate his familys taxpayer-funded police protection. This protection was removed when he and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to the US. In February 2022, Harry expressed that he did not feel safe in the UK due to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats against his wife, Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Earlier this year, Londons High Court ruled that Harry and his immediate family would not be eligible for tax-funded security during their visits to the UK. Prince Harry reportedly plans to appeal against London High Court decision The security issue has also affected Prince Harry's relationship with his father, King Charles III. The Duke believes that his father has the authority to restore their security clearance. King Charles can give Harry the security clearance he wants so desperately. As the monarch, he is the ultimate decision-maker. That would be how father and son can reconcile, a royal source told Page Six. Another insider told People, Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father. Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs. ALSO READ| Is Prince Harry really blackmailing King Charles III using his children? The Duke of Sussex feels its still dangerous to bring Meghan and their children to the UK. He told the ITV documentary Tabloids on Trial, that All it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read. And whether its a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. Its one of the reasons why I wont bring my wife back to this country. Washington: Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for President, has said that his likely rival, Vice-President and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris was always Indian, promoted only Indian heritage, then made a turn and became a Black person. Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Wednesday. (REUTERS) Trump made the clearly false and some critics allege even racist assertion while speaking at a gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday. Harris, who is biracial, dismissed Trumps remarks as a part of the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. The White House termed Trumps statement as repulsive. A leader of the Congressional Black Caucus termed it as extremely offensive to Black communities. Trump, however, stuck to his claim, with his campaign selectively tweeting videos of Harris cooking Indian food and identifying herself as Indian, an indication that Republicans may continue using the line of attack. Trumps attack In response to a question on whether he thought Harris was a DEI candidate, Trump first asked the journalist questioning him, Rachel Scott of ABC News, what DEI meant. When she clarified it was diversity, equity and inclusion, Trump again pushed her for a definition while Scott repeated the question. I really dont know, could be, Trump said. In the Indian context, the closest analogy to Trumps response would be referring to someone as a quota candidate, a label that many would interpret as a casteist slur. It was then that Trump, unprovoked, questioned Harriss identity. I have known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. Now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know is she Indian or is she Black? When Scott, the journalist, told Trump that Harris was Black, the former president reiterated his claim, I respect either one but she obviously doesnt because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Trumps remark led to gasps in the audience of Black journalists. Harris was born to a Jamaican Black father and Indian mother, both immigrants, in California. She was raised Black. She went to a historically Black university and has been a part of Black sororities for decades. She has publicly written about and owned both her identities, as a Black and Indian woman. And she is universally recognised as the first Black woman vice-president, only the second Black woman senator in American history, and now possibly the first Black woman to be a nominee of a major party to be president. Trumps statement fit in with a pattern. He had questioned Americas first Black president, Barack Obamas eligibility for the presidency and demanded that Obama show his birth certificate. Trumps comments also come at a time when Harriss favourability ratings have spiked, there is clear consolidation of the Black and liberal base behind Harris, and the election has suddenly become a lot closer than what it appeared in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump and the Republican National Convention two weeks ago. Harriss Black roots Speaking, ironically enough at a pre-scheduled Black sorority event on Wednesday night, Harris dismissed Trumps statement as a part of the same old show. It was the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us they are an essential source of our strength. While Harris didnt offer autobiographical details, she has, in her memoir, The Truths We Hold, written of her and her sister, Mayas, childhood. Harris was born to two immigrants, a Jamaican economics student, Donald Harris, and an Indian science student, Shyamala Gopalan, who met in the early 1960s in Berkley while participating in African American study circles and the civil rights movement devoted to Black rights. Harris grew up in an environment where she both conscious of her Black identity and was surrounded by friends of her parents who became pioneers of an entirely new academic discipline focused on Black history and oppression. While her parents separated when she was seven, Harris wrote about her mother, From almost the moment she arrived from India, she chose and was welcomed to and enveloped in the black community. It was the foundation of her new American life.My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women. Harris has also written of Regina Shelton, a Black woman from Louisiana who helped take care of her, as a second mother. Harris also went to Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington DC, where she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority. Subsequently, in law school back in California in the mid 1980s, Harris was elected the President of the Black Law Students Association. In a 2019 New Yorker profile published in the run-up to her presidential bid, Harris was asked about her Black identity. Trumps son, Donald Trump junior, had then retweeted and deleted a post that denied Harris was a Black American. The magazine quoted Harris telling a radio show, Look, this is the same thing they did to Barack. They dont understand what black people are. Because if you do, if you walked down Hamptons campus, or Howards campus, or Morehouse, or Spelman, or Fisk, you would have a much better appreciation for the diaspora, for the diversity, for the beauty in the diversity of who we are as black people. So Im not going to spend my time trying to educate people about who black people are. Repulsive: White House slams Trump Trumps statement caused widespread outrage. In a rare comment on a statement by a candidate, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is the first Black person from the LGBTQ+ community to hold the position, said, As a person of colour, as a Black woman who is in this position, that is standing before you at this podium, what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive. Its insulting. And, you know, no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. That is no ones right. It is someones own decisions. Jean-Pierre added that only Harris could speak to her experience. And she is the vice-president of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name, period. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat leader of the Congressional Black caucus who is also the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, hit out at Trump and claimed his statement was a part of a pattern of lifelong bigotry. Donald Trump using the largest convening of Black journalists to publicly question Vice-President Harris identity as a Black woman and insult her intelligence is extremely offensive to Black voters across our country. Derrick Johnson, the president of NAACP, one of the oldest and most prestigious Black civil rights organisations, said on X, To walk into a room full of Black journalists and attack someones Blackness is another level of disrespect. To anyone who needs a reminder: we cant change the colour of our skin, and we dont want to. But Trump and his campaign stuck to their line of attack, which appeared to be aimed at driving a wedge between Harris and the Black community and sow confusion. Posting a four-year old video of Harris with Mindy Kailing, an Indian-American producer and writer in Hollywood, where both celebrate their Indian, particularly South Indian roots, and prepare to cook Indian food, Trump wrote on Truth Social, Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity! Trumps post was a misrepresentation, for Harris did not say she is not Black, but only celebrated what she, even in the video, termed as the heritage of one half of her family. Neil Makhija, a former director of Impact, a group dedicated to promoting Indian-Americans in politics, and now the commissioner of Pennsylvanias Montgomery County said, I have seen for years, right wing politicians speaking to Indian-American audiences say VP Harris identifies as Black and hides her Indian heritage. Now when speaking to a Black audience, Trump and his weirdos say she is Indian, and only recently turned Black. Turns out shes always been both and they have no integrity. ST. LOUIS A deep-pocketed pro-Israel super PAC that helped defeat one member of the congressional group known as the Squad is now pushing to oust another Missouri Democrat Cori Bush. A pro-Israel super PAC helped defeat one Squad member. Now it's going after another, Cori Bush Bush, of St. Louis, has been a vocal critic of how Israel responded when attacked by Hamas in October, calling the Israeli retaliation an ethnic cleansing campaign, and she was among the few House members who opposed a resolution supporting Israel. She boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before Congress last week, calling him a war criminal. The American Israel Public Affairs Committees super political action committee, United Democracy Project, has spent more than $8.4 million to unseat Bush in her Aug. 6 Democratic primary against St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, according to federal campaign finance records. AIPACs grassroots members are proud to support strong pro-Israel progressive Democrats like Wesley Bell, an AIPAC statement to The Associated Press read. "Cori Bush has been one of the most hostile critics of Israel since she came to Congress in 2021 and has actively worked to undermine mainstream Democratic support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. The race points yet again to the complications the war in Gaza has caused for Democrats in this years elections, with core constituencies at odds over how President Joe Biden's administration has responded. The disagreement has implications up and down the ballot and has already cost one incumbent his seat. United Democracy Project spent nearly $15 million against progressive U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, one of the most vocal critics of the Israeli government in the House, in a June primary election he lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist in New York. Afterward, AIPAC said the outcome in this race once again shows that the pro-Israel position is both good policy and good politics for both parties. Bush, in an interview, said the donors behind AIPAC support former President Donald Trump and other Republicans. This is only the beginning, Bush said. Because if they can unseat me, then theyre going to continue to come after more Democrats. Despite the onslaught of money, Bush said she is confident she has the support of St. Louis voters. They know that Ive had this same belief, this pro-peace, pro-democracy, pro-diplomacy, anti-war, pro-humanity Ive been this person all along," Bush said. Soon after the Hamas attack of Israel, Bush wrote on social media that Israels collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamass actions is a war crime." I strongly condemn Hamas & their appalling violations of human rights, she wrote, "but violations of human rights dont justify more human rights violations in retaliation. Her comments prompted backlash, even among some supporters in her district. Not long after that, Bell announced he was dropping his plans to run for the Senate against incumbent Republican Josh Hawley to instead challenge Bush in the congressional primary. Bell, like Bush, is Black and was active in Ferguson, Missouri, after Black 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer in 2014, a shooting that helped launch the national Black Lives Matter movement. After being elected prosecutor in 2018, Bell reopened an examination of Browns death but found no grounds to charge the officer, Darren Wilson. Bell, in an interview, said Bushs comments about Israel were wrong and offensive. She has accused the people who have been the target of genocide and ethnic cleansing of doing that, which was just wrong, Bell said. Israel was attacked on Oct. 7 by a terror state. They didnt attack military targets. They attacked at a concert. They attacked women, seniors, children, killed babies. Bell said the goal should be to work toward a peaceful resolution in the Middle East. We dont want to see any innocent Palestinians, any innocent Israelis, harmed. We want to keep the door open to a two-state solution, he said. AIPAC isnt alone in seeking Bush's ouster. DMFI PAC, which supports pro-Israeli Democrats, is funding TV ads supporting Bell and Yassamin Ansa, an Arizona Democrat opposing Rep. Ruben Gallego. Conversely, nearly two dozen progressive groups have come together to support Bush and other Squad members. The coalition, called Reject AIPAC, includes Jewish peace organizations and Arab American and Muslim groups that have been organizing since the Israel-Hamas war began. One group that is part of Reject AIPAC, Justice Democrats, has spent around $1.5 million on behalf of Bush in the primary cycle. Justice Democrats spokesperson Usamah Andrabi called AIPAC's record spending in the New York race an all-out assault on our Democracy that was being repeated in Missouri. Are we willing to let super PACs and lobbies, no matter what interests they represent, purchase elections and congressional seats just because they have more money? Andrabi asked. Or are we going to build a Democratic Party that actually reflects the needs and interests of everyday people? Bush also is getting moral support from several key Democratic congressional leaders. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar are among those who have endorsed Bush. But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has stayed out of the Missouri race, with no contributions listed for either Bush or Bell. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Alina Habba, a former attorney of Donald Trump and current campaign supporter, came forward to defend the former ex-President following his racial hoax about Kamala Harris. Alina Habba, gestures as she is introduced at a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)(AP) Trump made the erroneous assertion at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday. He claimed that Harris, his likely Democratic opponent and the US Vice President, had hardly promoted her Indian heritage and later turned Black when it was politically beneficial. The GOP presidential candidate has drew immense backlash over his offensive remarks against Harris. Responding to Trump's comment, Harris said that The American people deserve better. Calling it a same old show of divisiveness and disrespect, Harris said, The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength, she told the members of Sigma Gamma Sorority, a historically Black sorority, during the 60th Biennial Boule on Wednesday night. Habba targets Kamala Harris over her roots Speaking at a Trump rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Habba targetted the US VP, saying, Im going to speak to you, Miss Harris. Im a strong woman, a mom, a lawyer and an American. And unlike you Kamala, I know who my roots are, I know where I come from and I dont play around with the Constitution, she continued. She claimed Trump, who was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York hush money trial, is innocent of any crime other than loving this country. Also Read: Donald Trump declares he doesn't need concerts or entertainers as Kamala Harris dares him to say it to my face Social media fumes over Habba's comments: 'What's she even talking about?' Social media critics were quick to point out Habba's who my roots are blunder to attention, claiming that she was only intensifying his MAGA racism against Harris. What's she even talking about? Kamala is quite clear about her heritage, one X user wrote. Alina Habba comes from a parking garage, right? another quipped. Who my roots are? Shes painfully stupid a third user reacted, while the fourth one remarked, Never go full racist. Trump never misses an opportunity to publicly bully a woman of color and pretend hes the victim. Thats his thing. Thats the campaign strategy for 2024, another chimed in. Shocking footage shows anti-Israel protesters in Times Square holding up a portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was recently assassinated. During the same protest on Wednesday, July 31, demonstrators were also seen waving a pro-terror flag. Anti-Israel protesters hold up portrait of Ismail Haniyeh, wave pro-terror flag in Times Square (@SpyderMonkey0_0/X) The crowd yelled Free Palestine, while one demonstrator held up a flag representing Hamas, and another displayed a photograph of Haniyeh. The protester with Haniyehs photo wore a mask and sunglasses, and donned a hat with a yellow headband around it, representing Hezbollah. Another protester was also seen holding up a portrait of Haniyeh, and other demonstrators were seen displaying Palestinian flags at the Crossroads of the World. The demonstration, which saw about 300 attendees, was held in response to a speech by former Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, which was given in midtown. The event was also attended by Israel supporters. A few pro-Palestinian protesters were seen surrounding a pair of Israel supporters and seemingly throwing some kind of liquid at them. In response, a woman wearing a pro-Israel shirt sprayed the group with some substance. A man accompanying the woman said she was only protecting herself. Police later separated the group. An Israel supporter said that he believes the pro-Palestinian demonstrators chose violence. He is a war monger, the Israel supporter said of Haniyeh. The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh Haniyeh, Hamas top political leader, was killed by a predawn airstrike in Tehran on Wednesday. Iran and the militant group have blamed Hamas, with Irans supreme leader saying he vows revenge against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the killing but said that Israel will exact a very heavy price from any aggression against us on any front. There are challenging days ahead, he said. Haniyeh was killed just after he had attended the inauguration of Irans new president in Tehran. The strike also came hours after a top commander in Irans ally Hezbollah was targeted by Israel in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. H-1B visa lottery scheme- America's biggest foreign worker employment policy is being manipulated and exploited by staffing and outsourcing companies, according to an explosive report by Bloomberg. H-1B lottery rigging expose: Bloomberg investigation reveals how staffing and outsourcing companies leverage loopholes to bluff the system. The report highlights how in 2023, 446,000 people sought H-1B visas and only about 85,000 were available. It further adds, over 11,600 visas went to multinational outsourcing companies, with vast overseas workforces that flood the lottery with entries. Another 22,600 went to IT staffing firms. In all, nearly half the H-1Bs in Bloombergs analysis went to outsourcing or staffing companies and as its investigation reveals many of them cheated on a massive scale by submitting multiple entries for the same worker. How the rigging of the H-1B Lottery System works The data from 2020 - 2023 obtained by Bloomberg as a result of a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security reveals how certain staffing firms have ingeniously exploited the H-1B lottery system through a practice known as "multiple registration." This tactic involves submitting multiple entries for a single individual to enhance their chances of securing a visaa manipulation the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) characterizes as fraud. The findings indicate that about 15,500 visas, or roughly one in six awarded last year, were obtained through such fraudulent means. In a particularly egregious case, one operator of a staffing firm utilized up to a dozen companies to submit the same applicants as many as 15 times, acquiring hundreds of H-1B visas while many others were left empty-handed. The USCIS appears hamstrung in its ability to enforce regulations effectively, raising critical questions regarding the agencys enforcement capacity. H-1B rigging racket: Curious case of Kandi Srinivasa Reddy Bloomberg investigation led to Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, an Indian American man who came to US in early 200s and earned a masters degree. In 2013, he started his own outfit called Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC. Reddy's operation involved submitting multiple applications for the same individuals under different company names, thereby increasing their chances of being selected in the lottery. According to Bloomberg's investigation, Reddy controlled several entities, including Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC, Machine Learning Technologies LLC, and others with similar names and overlapping addresses. These companies submitted numerous entries for the same workers, resulting in over 3,000 entries in total and securing hundreds of H-1B visas since 2020. In one year alone, Reddy's firms accounted for more than 300 successful H-1B applications, significantly more than any previous year. Report further asserts, after winning an H-1B, Reddys company rented the workers on contract to corporations such as Meta Platforms Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc., visa applications show. The company's advertisements claimed that it collected 20% or 30% of the workers pay, an amount that could reach $15,000 or more each year for a typical worker. Lucas Garritson, a Texas lawyer representing Reddy, told Bloomberg a number of the companies visas had been challenged by the USCIS for abusing the lottery system. However, the agency hadnt followed the proper procedures for prohibiting the activity, nor did it have proof that Reddys companies broke the rules. How the H-1B Lottery System Works Originally designed to allocate H-1B visas on a first-come, first-served basis, the USCIS switched to a lottery system due to overwhelming demand with a cap of 85,000. Each year, the lottery draws names randomly from the pool of applicants, which has nearly doubled in recent years, making the chances of securing a visa increasingly slim. Donald Trump has stirred up controversy with a racially charged comment about Kamala Harris, stating she happened to turn Black a few years ago. The comments were made during a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago and soon went viral on social media with people criticising the former president for his racially insensitive attack on his opponent. During the event, an interviewer asked if he agreed with some Republicans who have called Kamala Harris a DEI hire. In response, Trump questioned her racial background, asking, Black or Indian? Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate former President Donald Trumps vice presidential pick this summer. (AP ) Trump questions Kamala Harris' racial identity "I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black," the Republican presidential nominee said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday as reported by CNN. Also read: Donald Trump declares himself the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln' Trump kept saying that the vice-president turned presumptive democratic nominee only talked about her Asian-American background till now. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, he remarked. So I don't know - Is she Indian? Or is she black? Kamala Harris became black all of sudden After President Biden endorsed his Vice President to succeed him in the upcoming elections, Trump's bid for the White House has seemingly lost pace. Major polls now show a tight race, a stark contrast to the situation when Biden was running, which allowed Trump to take the lead. Also read: Donald Trump launches brutal attack against Kamala Harris & her Jewish husband: You can see the disdain Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian-American Vice President with Indian and Jamaican heritage, faced false attacks from Trump. At the recent panel discussion held in Chicago, Trump remarked, I respect either one, referring to Harris racial identity, but added, she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she became a Black person. He suggested that this shift should be investigated, further fueling controversy. Trump's remarks sparked a heated discussion with ABC News' Rachel Scott, who served as one of the event's panellists. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also responded to the attack labeling his remarks as "repugnant" and insulting. As a person of color as a Black woman, who is in this position that is standing before you at this podium, behind this lectern what he just said, what you just read out to me, is repulsive. Its insulting, and, you know, no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify, Pierre told the reporters as per CNN. About Kamala Harris background Kamala Harris comes from a mix of Indian and Jamaican backgroundsher mom's from India and her dad's from Jamaica, a fact not hidden from public records. Kamala Harris pursued her education at Howard University, a distinguished institution with a rich history of serving historically Black students, and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's oldest African American sorority. Additionally, she held the position of president for the Black Law Students Association at the University of California, San Francisco, and engaged in various activities with the Congressional Black Caucus throughout her tenure in the Senate. Reacting to Trumps remarks Harris said, his comments are the "the same old show" of "divisiveness... and disrespect". "The American people deserve better," she mentioned at a gathering of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho. "We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us - they are an essential source of our strength." Former US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he was not familiar with the details surrounding the case of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who died after being shot by an Illinois sheriff's deputy earlier this month. Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz(REUTERS) I don't know the exact case but I saw something, and it didn't look, it didn't look good to me, Trump said during a Q&A panel with reporters at the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention in Chicago. You're talking with the water right? Trump added. Massey was fatally shot in her home on July 6 while holding a pot of water, leading to national outrage and calls for justice. Vigils were held across the country in honor of the 36-year-old woman. ALSO READ| Black or Indian? Donald Trump launches racially insensitive attack on Kamala Harris Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean P. Grayson, who responded to Massey's call about a possible intruder, has been charged with her murder and pleaded not guilty. Court documents released earlier this month detail that Massey raised her hands and said Im sorry before ducking for cover after Grayson drew his weapon and threatened to shoot her in the face. When pressed again about immunity, Trump said he would support a person who made an innocent mistake. Trump sidesteps question on police immunity in Sonya Massey case Massey had initially called authorities about a possible intruder in her home. She was given permission to remove a pot of boiling water from her stove, but Grayson began "aggressively yelling" at her to put the pot down. Grayson is heard saying I swear to God. Ill f****ing shoot you right in your f****ing face in agraphic bodycam footage before firing three shots, one of which struck Massey in the face. The bullet that claimed her life entered beneath her left eye, an autopsy confirmed. ALSO READ| Donald Trump declares himself the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln' When NABJ panelist Kadia Goba from Semafor asked whether the officer in Masseys case would have immunity under Trump's presidency, Trump sidestepped the question and instead complained about gun violence in Chicago. Donald Trump recently alleged that vice president Kamala Harris happened to turn Black some years ago, and that all of a sudden, she made a turn in her identity. However the former presidents claim is not true. Harris never switched from identifying as Indian-American to Black. Is Kamala Harris Indian or Black? Fact check on Donald Trump's claim that VP changed her identity (Photo by BILL PUGLIANO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP, photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) What did Donald Trump say? At a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago, an interviewer asked Trump if he agreed with Republicans on Capitol Hill who refer to Harris as DEI hire. In response, Trump questioned Harris heritage. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? the former president said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person, he said, adding, I think somebody should look into that too. Harris later spoke at a gathering of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority in Houston, where she described Trump's comments as the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. Let me just say, the American people deserve better, she added. Fact-checking Donald Trumps claim Harris has long identified as both Black and Indian in an attempt to recognise both her parents heritage as part of her identity. In fact, her senate bio said that she is the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history. In her 2019 memoir titled The Truths We Hold, Harris opened up about her mixed-race identity and upbringing. She described how she and her younger sister Maya were raised with a strong awareness of and appreciation for Indian culture. She said that her mom also understood very well that she was raising two black daughters and was determined to make sure (they) would grow into confident, proud black women. In light of Trumps comments, the Reuters Fact Check team reported that Harris has always described her racial identity as Black, South Asian, Indian-American, African-American, and Jamaican-American all of which stem from her parents identities. Harris, the first Black woman and Asian-American on a major presidential ticket in the United States, is the daughter of late Shyamala Gopalan, who was Indian-American, and Donald Harris, who is Jamaican-American. Donald emigrated to the US from Jamaica in 1964. Most of Jamaicas population comprise people who descended from enslaved Africans who were brought to work the islands sugar estates by the British mostly during the 18th century. 90% of Jamaicans were of African origin as of 2012. Shyamala was Tamil Indian-American. She died in 2009. As Simone Biles basks in the glory of her recent gold win at the Paris Olympics, an old clip of JD Vance criticising her Tokyo exit has resurfaced, stirring controversy. Trumps VP pick, who remains in the headlines due to his multiple past comments, harshly rebuked Biles at the time for stepping back from the 2021 Gamesa decision widely praised for its emphasis on mental health. Simone Biles' 'twisties' struggle resurfaces as JD Vance faces backlash for past comments On July 31st, the 27-year-old won her 8th Olympic gold medal. The gymnast broke the record for the most awards in American gymnastics history after the womens US gymnastics team won gold in the all-around finals, but back in 2021, it was a totally different story. JD Vances weird remark on Simone Biles resurfaces Yet another round of ill-timed comments from the Ohio senator has surfaced, this time aimed at the decorated star of U.S. gymnastics who is soaking in a deluge of praise and congratulatory messages from around the world. The 2024 win marks her triumphant return to the Olympics after her dramatic withdrawal from the Tokyo 2021 Games due to mental health challenges. Also read: Black or Indian? Donald Trump launches racially insensitive attack on Kamala Harris In 2021, after Simone Biles announced her withdrawal, Vance expressed his bewilderment at how the media and public were portraying her decision to leave the Olympic team as an act of heroism rather than a tragic moment. Its understandable that she was going through an incredible amount of pressure, the Ohio senator at the time told Fox News in an interview. What I find so weird about this and it reflects on the media more than it does on Simone Biles is that weve tried to turn a very tragic moment, Simone Biles quitting the Olympic team, into this act of heroism, he added. What Vance said about Simone Biles weakest moments After leaving the 2021 Olympics due to mental health issues, Biles later explained that she was actually dealing with "the twisties." This serious condition left her disoriented and unable to sense her position in the air, which can be very challenging for gymnasts. Also read: Prince William adds two close friends related to George and Louis to Royal payroll after dropping Camillas sister However, the senator turned Trumps vice-presidential pick at the time, argued that it reflects poorly on their therapeutic culture. He suggested that instead of praising people for their strength and heroic moments, we are instead celebrating their weakest moments. Being an athlete at that level is incredibly tough, he accepted. A normal response at this moment would be to say, Its just a shame that shes going through this. Its a shame that she quit, but instead, what our press has done, I think, is turn this into this weird therapeutic moment. Lets praise her for doing this. And I think thats really where the problem herein lies, the Hillbilly Elegy author added. This isnt the first time Vance has faced backlash for his past remarks. Previously, the 39-year-old Republican sparked outrage after a 2021 resurfaced clip showed him referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as a "childless cat lady." Kamala Harris' family is undoubtedly standing behind her like a rock amidst all the criticism that the US Vice President has been facing since declaring her presidential run following Joe Biden's exit. Kerstin Emhoff, the ex-wife of Harris' husband Douglas Emhoff, previously backed the Democratic candidate after JD Vance mocked her for being childless. Now, she has targeted Usha Vance, the wife of Ohio Senator, after he dragged her two children, Cole and Ella, into the childless cat ladies row. Kamala Harris' husband's ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, has again targetted JD Vance after his "childless cat ladies" remark stoked controversy.(Getty/AP) Ella has already defended her stepmother, whom she and her brother refer to as Momala, from the accusation of being a childless woman. However, Kerstin hasn't forgiven Vance for his baseless remark against Harris, as she shared the video of the Donald Trump's running mate and captioned it as, Ushas going to be in the ex-wives club in 2025. Mark my words. Usha Vance, whose parents are immigrants from India, was born and raised in California. Usha and JD first met at Yale Law School and later tied knot in 2014. The couple share three kids. Earlier, Kerstin bashed journalist Megyn Kelly after she said Harris supports sterilization and mutilation of perfectly healthy minor children. For all of you still bitching about JD Vances childless cat lady remarks: KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTS THE STERILIZATION & MUTILATION OF PERFECTLY HEALTHY MINOR CHILDREN, Megyn Kelly stated on X, asking Vance's critics to get a grip. Sharing her post, film producer Kerstin wrote: WTF is this? So many lies. First they want to control our bodies and what our families look like. Then they want to complain about population decline but refuse to support child tax credit, paid family leave, any help for families. Keep lying Megyn- the facts are there! Also Read: JD Vance's controversial criticism of Simone Biles' 2021 Tokyo exit resurfaces after Paris win JD Vance to wage war against ant-child ideology? Vance discussed his pro-family stance in the video that Kerstin has shared on X, stating that the greatest way to invest now is to make sure the next generation survives. He declared that he and Trump ought to wage war on the nation's anti-child mindset. He stated that millennial feminist writers have been discussing the negative aspects of having children. According to Vance, his sister occasionally expressed the opinion that she should postpone the plan of having children. I tell her you have been a great mom. People like my sister should not feel like the cultural messaging is that your life is inadequate. People who are sending this message should feel their life is inadequate, he said. He further expressed his love and respect for wife and slammed the critics for targeting Usha for her Indian origin. Obviously, shes not a white person, and weve been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha, Vance noted. Kamala Harris has been trolled for suddenly speaking in a Southern accent at her Atlanta rally on Tuesday, July 30. Netizens mocked the vice president after a video of her speaking in the accent surfaced, where she tells the crowd, You all helped us win in 2020, and were gonna do it again in 2024! Kamala Harris trolled for speaking in Southern accent at Atlanta rally (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP)(AFP) Many X users poked fun at Harris in the comment section of the above video. she's so cringe, stomaching this for four years will be difficult, one user wrote. Its never good when someone does a fake Southern accent. Oh its so bad, one user said, while another wrote, She's taking a page out of Hilary's Southern twang attempt. It sounds bad. The most cringe ever, one user said. Shes delusional at best, and so are the people cheering for her, one user wrote, while another said, She is disgusting please stop the steal. Idk whats more gross that fact she had to practice that accent or the fact the background drones ate it up, one user wrote. Another said, Oh Geez. Make it stop already. This is the best they got? This is their # 1 candidate? This is what they hope to win with this November? This? Right here????? one user wrote. Say it to my face At the star-studded campaign, Harris directly addressed Donald Trump, challenging him to debate her on the stage. "Donald, I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face, she said. Taking the stage, Harris also said that the momentum in the race was shifting. She said her "people-powered" campaign was the underdog, but also spoke about how Joe Biden carried the state back in 2020. "I am very clear the path to the White House runs right through this state," she said. In Kansas, a gay waiter revealed that a bigot customer scrawled a homophobic slur on a receipt instead of a tip, causing him to burst into tears. According to Noah Bierig, a 19-year-old waiter at Bubba's 33 in Wichita, the incident occurred two weeks ago on Sunday while he was serving to a group of young men.(Kake News) According to Noah Bierig, a 19-year-old waiter at Bubba's 33 in Wichita, the incident occurred two weeks ago on Sunday while he was serving to a group of young men. He said that one of the customers was giving him strange looks by staring at his painted nails and pride bracelet. The cruel customers denied to give Bierig a tip and instead opted to write f-g on the receipt line. Bierig, who was devastated by the act of cruelty, told KAKE: "That hurt me a lot. Im not the type to cry at work, but I gotta say, that was definitely the first time that had happened to me. He further informed the pride bracelet, which he was wearing, was gifted to him by his mother when he came out as gay around six years ago. The first time I went up to the table, they were just shooting me a couple dirty looks. And every time I would walk away, they would kind of just start laughing a little bit, he told the outlet. Stating that he chose to ignore the group's taunts and served the table like any other, he mentioned, I looked at one of their receipts and I noticed that it had a certain three-letter derogatory term written on it. Also Read: Kansas City Chiefs' Rashee Rice suspect in alleged assault at nightclub amid ongoing legal troubles Bierig's friends share receipt online, garnering immense support Following the incident, one of Bierig's friends shared the receipt online, featuring the customer's name and the slur. As soon as the bill was posted online, customer's accounts received intense backlash, with netizens denouncing his shameful act and seeking his apology. Kansas customer issues apology, Bierig reacts Later, James Blick realised his mistake and posted an apology on Facebook, saying, I know it was wrong of me to write what I did. He claimed his overall dining experience wasnt that great, but added that I shouldnt have dealt with it by saying what I did. Calling the incident a valuable lesson for him, he said he tried calling the restaurant to apologise to the guy but failed to connect with him. I am very sorry to anyone who was affected or hurt by my words. Meanwhile, Bierig's friends created an online fund via Proud of Wichita, the LGBTQ+ chamber of business in the town, to support the server. However, Bierig graciously declined to take any of the funds, declaring that whatever comes out comes from that, its going to be donated. Reacting to the support and love he has received, he said: It's absolutely insane. I never thought anything like this would happen based on just a couple Facebook posts from my friends and family. A soon-to-be-released biography by royal correspondent Robert Jobson, titled Catherine: The Princess of Wales, unveils King Charles' deep concerns regarding Prince Harry's future once his financial assets are exhausted. The book discusses the monarch's unease about what will happen when Harry runs out of his substantial earnings from his various business deals with companies like Netflix and Spotify, which he and Meghan Markle have been involved with. The worry grows further as William is adamant about not helping the Sussexes in the future. A new book has claimed that Prince Harry asked his father, King Charles, a heartbreaking question after he was asked to leave Frogmore cottage (AP/PTI, James Manning/Pool via REUTERS) King Charles concerned about Harrys future According to a recent report by PEOPLE, Charles and Harry are not on speaking terms ever since Dukes last trip to the UK to see his ailing father. Now, Jobson alleges in an excerpt of his book that the Harry problem is still messing things up for the king even though he's trying to keep his distance from his estranged son. Also read: Prince William adds two close friends related to George and Louis to Royal payroll after dropping Camillas sister "'What worries His Majesty and his top team,' a palace official said, 'is what is going to happen when all the money runs out.'" As per Jobson, the couple is trying to find an income stream (jam, anyone?) that doesn't involve dishing the dirt on the Royal Family Also read: Meghan Markle has become 'Britain-phobic,' royal expert claims; She is scared of As per the NY Post Jobson thinks Harry and Meghan, are looking for ways to make money that don't involve launching scathing remarks against the Royal Family. He thinks people are getting fed up with their never-ending complaints He also thinks there's a "Sussex-shaped void in the Royal Family," which has never been so noticeable referencing to the Royal Family's diminishing appeal and workforce following the departure of Harry and Meghan from their senior royal employment positions. Prince William adamant to not help Sussexes Despite signing new Netflix deals and launching podcasts, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex face scepticism about their projects' success. Many believe their initial documentary exhausted the potential for royal-related controversy, leaving them to explore other income streams. During his 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry reportedly said that these media deals were a financial safety net necessitated by his father's withdrawal of financial support. However, despite the void, that the Sussexes left behind, Jobson suggests that William is adamant about refusing to help the Sussexes in the future. King Charles will never shut the door for Harry Recent claims suggest that the monarch is giving his youngest son the silent treatment. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King's health, but those calls go unanswered too, according to an insider. However, the Royal book author thinks that the King is still concerned about Harry and that hell never shut the door on his second child, though there seems little chance of a meaningful reconciliation for now. The Lower East Side in Manhattan became the sight of a harrowing scene on Thursday afternoon as two police officers were shot, according to police sources. Two NYPD officers were shot during a foot chase in Lower East Side, Manhattan, on Thursday afternoon. One suspect taken into custody.(X / Steven Bognar) The mishap unfolded at Delancey Street and Eldridge Street as an armed robbery broke out at a store on Canal Street. The two officers got injured while while responding to the gunpoint robbery, which soon led to a foot pursuit. According to Steven Bognar of NBC New York, one officer was hit in the leg while the other was shot in the groin. They reportedly did not respond with fire during the street action after the perp shot at them during their chase towards Delancey Street. NYPD confirmed the officers responded to a 911 call for robbery at about 4:15 pm local time. No further details were released at the time. Per the New York Post's report, sources revealed they were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Although their conditions were not immediately clear, neither injury was reported to be fatal and the officers are expected to survive. Also read | Obama lauds Biden for US-Russia prisoner swap that secured freedom for 3 American citizens As police investigation proceeds, Canal Street between Chrystie Street and Allen Street has been closed off. NYPD urged citizens to avoid the area in a social media alert. A suspect was taken into custody at the scene and the police also recovered the gun used. According to CBS News, the suspect also suffered an unknown injury, for which treatment was offered. Per information obtained by the NY Post, Joshua Dorsett was the one who allegedly shot the NYPD officers after a foot pursuit. Check out the site of the active investigation in Manhattan: This is a developing story. Meghan Markle reportedly surprised and believed Prince Harry deserved more materially after her first visit to Prince William and Kate Middleton's apartment at Kensington Palace, a royal biographer has claimed. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince William and Kate Middleton waved at the well-wishers on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle on September 11, 2022 (IST)(AFP) At the time, the Duke of Sussex was living in Nottingham Cottage, one of the smallest properties on the estate, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. Whereas, Prince William and Kate resided in the expansive 20-room Apartment 1A, their London home since their 2011 marriage. After relocating to the charming five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage, the couple eventually bid farewell to the residence in the summer of 2023, marking a permanent departure following their decision to step down as working members of the royal family in 2020. Royal biographer Rob Jobson writes in his new book on Kate: It is understood that when Meghan and Harry had gone round to have drinks at William and Catherines apartment, while they were still living at Nottingham Cottage opposite, Meghan had been taken aback at the disparity between the brothers." ALSO READ| Meghan Markle wishes Prince Harry would let go of these lawsuits because I am not saying Meghan was jealous, but she was really surprised how lavishly Harrys brother was living compared to where they were living,a close source revealed it to the biographer. It was perhaps the beginning of all the tensions between the two couples. Prince William bans Meghan from wearing Princess Diana's treasure The relationship between the two brothers and their spouses appears to have completely broken down after Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020. Jobson claimed Prince William banned Meghan from wearing Princess Diana's jewellery at her 2018 wedding, despite Kate doing so in 2011. Meghan understood that William was above her husband in the royal pecking order as the heir to the throne, but she thought Harry was also a royal prince, so he deserved more materially, Jobson claimed. She was piqued by the disparity. ALSO READ| King Charles fears what Prince Harry will do when money runs dry; William will never Prince Harry also reflected on his feelings when he first brought Meghan to Nottingham Cottage. He wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare: I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed. Nott Cott was no palace. Biden administration's months-long negotiations has reeled out a tremendous diplomatic achievement, as the White House announced on Thursday that they've secured the release of three American citizens and one American green-card holder from Russia. President Joe Biden holds hands with Elizabeth Whelan while delivering remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington, as other hostage family members look on. Whelan's brother, Paul Whelan, was part of the prisoner swap. (AP /Alex Brandon) The diplomatic feat achieved as part of a 24-person prisoner swap will grant freedom to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and British-Russian citizen and green card-holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, who are expected to arrive in US by nightfall. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, President Joe Biden said in an official statement announcing that Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. Former president Barack Obama, who even visibly supported Biden during his initial re-election bid before he dropped out of the race recently, applauded his skill and persistence alongside that of vice president Kamala Harris and US' allies. Its a tremendous diplomatic achievement, and were grateful that theyll be back home with their families where they belong, he wrote on X/Twitter. Also read | Kamala Harris' husband's ex-wife takes scathing swipe at JD Vance's spouse: Usha is going to be About the American citizens released in the US-Russia prison swap Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was taken into Russian custody while he was on assignment in Yekaterinburg in March 2023. He was charged with espionage. The US condemned the claims. In early July 2024, a Russian court sentenced him to 16 years in prison. The US labelled his hasty trial a sham. Marine veteran Whelan was the longest held American detainee in Russia. He was arrested in December 2018 when he visited the country to attend a friend's wedding. Like Gershkovich, he was also charged with espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days. His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions, the Whelan family said in a statement on Thursday. Paul Whelan is free. Kurmasheva, who is a journalist based in Prague for the US-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, holds dual Russian and American citizenship. She was detained in June 2023 following his visit to his mother in May. Kurmasheva was charged with disseminating false information about Russia's military. After being tried in secret this July, she was sentenced to six and half years in prison. Also read | MrBeast's inappropriate language while trying to be funny' addressed as racist, homophobic comments resurface Her husband, Pavel Butorin, said on Thursday, After over a year of separation and more than nine months of brutal detention, Alsu will finally be free. Thanks to the unwavering efforts of the U.S. government and our tireless advocacy work, she will soon reunite with her family. Karza-Murza, whose family lives in the US, is a Kremlin critic and a Washington Post contributor. These three are only a few of the Americans who were imprisoned in Russia. The swap couldn't help bring back other detainees, including American teacher Marc Fogel, US Army staff sergeant Gordon Black, musician Michael Travis Leake and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina among others. WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was held in Russian prison for month on drug charges, was previously released in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022. The latest prisoner swap stands as one of the largest since the end of Cold War. In return, eight Russian nationals have been released, including three being held in US prisons: Vadim Konoshchenok, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznyov. Additionally, two Russians held in Slovenia, one in Poland and one in Norway have also found their way back home. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have pinned down the next destination for their overseas tour after flying to Nigeria earlier this year. The announcement comes hot on the heels of the Duke being honoured with the Pat Tillman Award at the 2024 ESPYs. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a polo fundraiser event in Lagos, Nigeria, May 12, 2024.(REUTERS / Akintunde Akinleye) Following their successful trip to Nigeria in May, which was ultimately dubbed a faux royal tour, the Sussex couple has been invited to Colombia. The final tour schedule is yet to be revealed. Francia Marquez, vice president of the South American country, confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accepted the invitation to visit Bogota, Cartagena and Cali. Just as the couple previously arrived in Nigeria to champion their Archewell Foundation's mental health initiative for young people afflicted by conflicts, they will again attend a conference on curbing violence against children. The couple also promoted the Invictus Games, as Nigeria joined in the charitable competition for the first time. Marquez, who is also a lawyer and human rights and environmental activist, relayed in a statement, As the Vice President of Colombia and Minister of Equality and Equity, I am pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country. Also read | Olympics controversy: Men dont belong in women's sports,' internet fumes at Imane Khelif's victory over Angela Carini During their trip, The Duke and Duchess will join me in visiting Bogota, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. In addition to these meaningful interactions, The Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia. Why are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visiting Colombia? Ms Marquez also noted how the Sussexes' trip to Colombia comes at a particularly significant time since the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children will be held in the country this November. The Archewell Foundation, founded by The Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment. The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. Also read | Why Prince Harry and King Charles are no longer speaking: An impenetrable wall of complete silence between them The news also arrives amid Prince Harry's long-extended legal battle for police protection during his family's visits to Britain. Correspondingly, he has already broken his silence about how he feels it unsafe to bring his wife Meghan and two childrenPrince Archie and Princess Lilibetto his homeland. Although their Nigeria trip had the spotlight all to itself in May, for their Colombia adventure, the working royals' calendar is expected to clash with Prince William. While it remains unclear if the Prince of Wales will attend the event like he did last year, the Earthshot Prize award ceremony will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in November, possibly around the same time as the Sussexes' Colombia trip. Prince William is making key changes to his royal household staff. In a recent restructuring, the Prince of Wales has appointed two close friends for new roles within the royal team. Both men are godparents to Prince George and Prince Louis. These appointments coincide with the departure of Annabel Elliot, Queen Camillas sister, from the royal payroll who had served the family for over two decades. Britain's Prince William looks on during a visit to Lambeth to mark the first year of the homelessness initiative Homewards, in London, Britain, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/Pool(REUTERS) Prince William is reshaping Duchy Staff Since inheriting the 1300-acre Duchy of Cornwall upon his father's ascension to the throne, Prince William has been making changes to the estate's management. Lately, he has brought in two of his closest friends, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher and William van Cutsem, to join the Duchy's staff. These individuals are also the godparents to Williams kids Prince George and Prince Louis. Their new roles mark a shift in the estate's personnel and highlight the Prince's dependence on a reliable inner circle. Also read: Prince William and Harry's uncle Lord Robert Fellowes dies at 82 What are the new roles? As per GB news, the next in line to the throne served as an usher at the weddings of both Aubrey-Fletcher and van Cutsem. At present, these near companions are set to take on roles as counsel to the estate's boarda piece of land William acquired the previous year, which generates him a yearly earnings of 23 million. The Duchy of Cornwall, founded in 1337 by King Edward III, manages 135,000 acres of land owned by the royal family throughout England. As per the news outlet, Van Cutsem, Prince George's godfather, is a chartered surveyor with expertise in commercial property development. Meanwhile, Prince Louises godfather Fletcher, oversees a collection of rural businesses in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and West Sussex. Also read: Prince William cuts Queen Camilla's sister from Royal payroll; he would no longer employ' The changes follow a Telegraph report stating that the 42-year-old decided to drop his interior designer from the Royal payroll, Annabel Elliot. Elliot, the 75-year-old sister of Queen Camilla, was originally appointed to the role by King Charles during his time as Prince of Wales. While sources close to the Prince have confirmed the change, they have emphasised that the decision is not a reflection of Elliot's professional capabilities or the work she has completed. Donald Trump falsely suggested Vice President Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race as he appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. The Latest: Trump on defense after race comments and Vance's rough launch The Republican former president wrongly claimed Wednesday at the group's annual convention that Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past promoted only her Indian heritage. Trumps interview, a source of controversy even before it even took place, was remarkably contentious, primarily because of his reaction to sharp questioning by ABC News Rachel Scott. The appearance split the group's membership. Harris said Trumps comments on her race were the same old show and stressed the need for Black women to organize for his defeat this November. Trump did not repeat his claims at a rally later Wednesday in Pennsylvania. He also repeatedly mispronounced Harris' first name. Before he took the stage, Trumps team displayed on a big screen what appeared to be years-old news headlines describing her as the first Indian-American senator." Harris and her Democratic allies are increasingly branding Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, as weird. As Vances rocky rollout continues, Trump is also in the position this week of having to defend someone elses controversial comments. About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Follow the s Election-2024 coverage at: /hub/election-2024. Here's the Latest: Court leaves Trumps hush-money gag order in place A New York appeals court denied Donald Trumps bid to end a gag order in his hush money criminal case, rejecting the Republican former presidents argument that his May conviction constitutes a change in circumstances that warrants lifting the restrictions. A five-judge panel in the states midlevel appellate court ruled Thursday that the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced. The ruling came a day after Trumps lawyers tried to file papers asking the court to immediately lift the gag order. With its ruling imminent, the court rejected the filing, which called the restrictions an unconstitutional, election-interfering muzzle on Trumps free speech. In a copy of the prospective filing provided to the Associated Press, Trumps lawyers wrote that Vice President Kamala Harris entry into the presidential race gives the matter new urgency as she pits herself as an ex-prosecutor taking on a convicted felon. It is unconscionable that Harris can speak freely about this case, but President Trump cannot, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote. Blanche declined to comment on Thursdays ruling. Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11, but Merchan postponed it until Sept. 18, if necessary, while he weighs a defense request to throw out his conviction in the wake of the Supreme Courts presidential immunity ruling. Washington state congressional races draw attention Congressional primary races in Washington state are attracting outsize attention, including one that pits one of the few remaining U.S. House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump against two conservative candidates whose platforms are in lockstep with the GOP presidential nominee. Another race in the states moderate 8th Congressional District, held by centrist Democrat Rep. Kim Schrier, has been shaken up by an upstart campaign by the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, who has made the Israel-Hamas war the centerpiece of his platform. And in the 3rd District, Trump-endorsed Joe Kent is trying to unseat Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who defeated him two years ago. That race is expected to see one of the tightest general elections in the country. Recount to settle narrow Virginia GOP primary A Republican primary recount is being held Thursday in Virginia to settle whether John McGuire, a state senator backed by former President Donald Trump, narrowly defeated U.S. Rep. Bob Good, a conservative who leads the hard-right House Freedom Caucus. The recount of the election for the seat representing Virginias 5th Congressional District comes after officials certified that McGuire won by 374 votes out of nearly 63,000 ballots cast, or six-tenths of a percentage point. Election officials have said they are confident in the result, but Good filed a recount petition, citing apparent voting irregularities in Lynchburg. Good was able to seek a recount because McGuires victory margin was less than 1 percent. But his campaign must pay for it because the margin is greater than half a percentage point. What polling shows about the top VP contenders for Harris As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the top potential contenders for the role are largely unknown to voters. The survey, which was conducted after President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race and Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee, highlights the strengths and weaknesses that different politicians could bring to the ticket. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly stands out as a prospect who has more name recognition and higher favorability, particularly among Democrats. And others, like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, while less known nationally, could draw on a deeper well of support in their home states and regions. Member of Tennessee 3 hopes to survive Democratic primary for US Senate Tennessees primary election Thursday will decide whether state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who rose to national fame after surviving a Republican-led expulsion effort for her participation in a gun control protest, will become the Democratic nominee in a fall matchup for the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who must first clear her own primary contest. Last year, days after a school shooting that killed three children and three adults, Johnson, who is white, followed two Black Democratic representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, to the front of the state House floor with a bullhorn. The trio joined the chants and cries for gun control legislation by protesters in the public galleries and outside the chamber. They were dubbed the Tennessee Three." Pearson and Jones were expelled and later returned to office. Johnson was spared expulsion by one vote and noted it was likely because she was white. Republicans denied race was a factor. Whoever advances out of the Democratic primary will run in a state that for nearly two decades has elected only GOP candidates on a statewide level. GOP primary voters in key Arizona county oust election official A Republican election official lost his primary race this week in Arizonas Maricopa County, an outcome that could significantly influence the way voting is run in one of the nations top battlegrounds. County Recorder Stephen Richer lost to state lawmaker Justin Heap, who will face Democrat Tim Stringham in November. Richer had fought back against death threats, almost constant harassment and streams of misinformation during his nearly four years overseeing elections in Arizona's most populous county. Richer will remain in office through the November election, but his exit early next year will end a term racked by controversy. His office splits election duties with the county board of supervisors and has had to fend off attacks over the results of the 2020 presidential election, as former President Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed that widespread fraud cost him the race. The outcry from a group of Republican lawmakers, local officials and grassroots activists spiraled into protests and threats that energized the campaign for his ouster. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. WASHINGTON Don't expect a balloon drop, at least not yet. The virtual roll call to nominate Kamala Harris is underway. This is how it will work. Delegates to the Democratic National Convention began officially selecting their nominee for president in a process that kicked off Thursday. But unlike in past years, they are not doing so in the raucous party atmosphere of the convention floor or even during the convention itself. Instead, they are filling out electronic ballots at their homes, offices or vacation spots more than two weeks before the first delegate steps foot inside Chicagos United Center. Vice President Kamala Harris is the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a Tuesday night deadline. The virtual roll call, the term used by Democratic National Committee officials, will allow Harris to claim the nomination by Monday evening. That's just 15 days after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term following widespread concerns within the party over his ability to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump in November. How will the virtual process work? Nearly 4,700 delegates are using an electronic voting method the party says is similar to one used to tally virtual roll call votes in the 2020 convention, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the party to conduct much of its official business remotely. Under new procedures adopted by the conventions rules committee in late July, candidates had until Tuesday to declare their intent to seek the nomination and until that night to submit the 300 delegate signatures required to qualify for the roll call vote. According to a DNC statement, Harris submitted signatures from 3,923 delegates, about 84% of the full delegation and 99% of delegates who signed a petition. Any vote cast for someone other than Harris in the roll call will be counted as present. The voting concludes at 6 p.m. EDT Monday. Who gets to vote? Among those voting are pledged delegates selected through state primaries and caucuses as well as more than 700 others who have automatic delegate slots by virtue of the elected office or party positions they hold. These include Democratic governors, U.S. senators and representatives, former presidents and DNC members. These automatic delegates, known informally as superdelegates, were the subject of much debate within the party for years because of their potential to influence the outcome of a close nomination fight despite not having been selected for their posts through a public process. Historically, however, superdelegates have never backed a candidate for the nomination other than the one who also earned the majority of pledged delegates. After the 2016 election, the party passed changes that allowed superdelegates to vote only on the second and subsequent ballots. Party rules do allow superdelegates to vote on the first ballot if a candidate has either won a majority of pledged delegates through the primary and caucus process, like Biden did, or submitted the signatures of a majority of total delegates, as Harris did. What will the results look like? The DNC has not provided details on how or when the results of the roll call vote will be released. It's also unclear whether the party will provide a rolling tally of the votes as they are cast, similar to how the roll call is conducted in person on the convention floor, or if it will release only the final tally. The DNC also has not said if it will provide a state-by-state breakdown. What about the nominee for vice president? Once Harris officially wins the nomination, the new convention rules allow her to place the name of her pick for vice president into nomination, at which point the convention chair can declare that candidate as the vice presidential nominee. Harris said Tuesday she had not yet decided on her No. 2. But she, and whomever she selects, will head out on a seven-state swing of key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina, next week. Why is this happening before the convention? DNC officials first indicated in May that they would conduct a virtual roll call to clear a potential hurdle in getting the Democratic nominee on the ballot in Ohio. Ohios deadline to file for the general election ballot is Aug. 7, two weeks before Democratic delegates would have crowned the nominee at the convention. Although the deadline had been modified in previous presidential election years to accommodate late-summer conventions of both parties, this year state Republicans initially planned to enforce the existing deadline, with one GOP lawmaker calling the scheduling bind a Democratic problem. The Republican-controlled Legislature did eventually make the change at the behest of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, but the law does not go into effect until Aug. 31. Citing concerns that Ohio Republicans could still try to block their candidate from getting on the ballot despite the legislative fix, DNC officials decided to move forward with their virtual roll call as originally planned. What about the speeches and balloons? The roll call at the 2020 convention was also held virtually, although that process featured remote video presentations from every state and territory. This years official voting will not feature similar real-time presentations. Instead, party officials say that they will hold a ceremonial roll call vote during the convention, mimicking the traditional ritual of state delegations announcing their votes from the convention floor with much fanfare. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Donald Trump appeared at a panel discussion with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago and chose to stir up controversy. After making questionable remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris's racial background, he clashed with ABCs Rachel Scott, shrugged off the questions as horrible, accused her of very rude introduction and ended up calling Scott nasty. Donald Trump delayed from taking Nashville stage due to another security lapse (Photo by Stephen Maturen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)(Getty Images via AFP) He later discussed his late appearance on the show on Truth Social, but the viral interview clip has already left the public feeling that this may cost him big time. Trump quarrels with ABC reporter Rachel Scott The panel discussion opened up with reporter Rachel Scott directly quizzing the Republican nominee after he kept everyone waiting for almost an hour. Scott asked the former president why he was speaking to a crowd of Black journalists, women, and Chicago residents, considering his past criticisms of them. The ABC host then inquired why he believed Black voters would support him and pointed out his controversial dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Also read: Black or Indian? Donald Trump launches racially insensitive attack on Kamala Harris You have told four congresswomen of color who are American citizens to go back where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabid to describe Black district attorneys, Scott asked. Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that? "I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible mannerfirst question," Trump responded to the query seemingly picking up the fight. "You don't even say, 'Hello, how are you?'" he added. Also read: JD Vance's controversial criticism of Simone Biles' 2021 Tokyo exit resurfaces after Paris win The Republican candidate then went on to attack her network and said, Are you with ABC? Because I think theyre a fake news network, a terrible network, and I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. Trump called Scott's question "a really rude way to start" and was taken aback by how it was handled. He claimed he was misled about his opponent's presence and blamed technical issues for his lateness, calling the question "very nasty." Donald Trumps take on Black Job Trump blamed the event organisers for his tardy arrival, citing equipment hiccups as the cause. However, the real glitch happened when journalists were stunned by his claim that he was the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln. But, Scott didnt look in the mode to mince her words. She turned up the heat after Trumps dubious remark that illegal border crossings were taking Black jobs, leaving everyone questioning his logic. "I will tell you that, coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs, Trump remarked after expressing how much he loves the black population of the country and how much he has done for them in past. "What exactly is a Black job, sir?" Scott asked leaving audience as well as fellow panelists gasp. Also read: JD Vance's controversial criticism of Simone Biles' 2021 Tokyo exit resurfaces after Paris win "A Black job is anybody that has a job," the former president responded with unease. They're taking the employment away from Black people. Netizens react Reacting to the clip, one social media user wrote, I honestly cannot believe we are dealing with this nightmare (him) again. Another said, Wow, this man talks to Black women this way but claims to respect them. No way, no how. How can any Hispanic, Black, or Brown person ever vote for this clown? Yet another added, Hes disgraceful and a national embarrassment, with several others suggesting he might lose his election bid if this continues. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan have been released by Russia in a multi-country prisoner swap between US and Russia, according to a Bloomberg report. FILE PHOTO: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who faces charges of espionage, stands inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dmitry Chasovitin/File Photo(REUTERS) Both individuals were imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, which they and the U.S. have consistently denied. According to reports the men are being transported to destinations outside of Russia. In exchange, the U.S. and its allies are set to return prisoners held by them to Russia. The details of the swap remain largely confidential, as officials requested anonymity to discuss the matter. The U.S. has long been in negotiations to secure the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, both of whom the State Department has designated as wrongly detained. According to AFP, The Kremlin declined to comment when asked about Russia and the West's biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War. Several prisoners in Russian and Western countries have reportedly been moved from their cells in recent days, fuelling speculation of an imminent exchange. "I still have no comment on this topic," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. This development comes amid heightened tensions following the recent conviction of Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday had called on Russia to free Alsu Kurmasheva, who was jailed last week in what RFE/RL said was a mockery of justice. Kurmasheva was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military in a closed trial in Kazan. Her detention, which began in June while she attempted to leave Russia after visiting her mother, escalated from a minor accusation to serious charges. Kurmasheva, who has been in custody in Tatarstan since October 18, denies the allegations. The U.S. Embassy had called for Kurmasheva's release, alongside other journalists and prisoners of conscience, urging Russian authorities to uphold fundamental freedoms as per international human rights standards. While the Kremlin has not commented on the case, it has previously dismissed accusations of targeting American citizens. The U.S. Embassy expressed disappointment over the lack of consular access to Kurmasheva and reiterated its efforts to obtain such access. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, along with Barry Butch Wilmore, remains on the International Space Station (ISS) due to a helium leak in their spacecraft's service module. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams walk at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, ahead of Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 5, 2024. (REUTERS / Joe Skipper) Originally set to return on June 14, their mission has been extended to June 26, with the potential for further delays. The affected spacecraft, a Starliner, encountered the leak shortly after docking at the ISS on June 6, highlighting the complexities and unforeseen challenges of space travel. Microgravity takes a toll on Sunita Williams' health Williams faces significant health challenges due to prolonged exposure to microgravity, notably rapid bone density loss. In microgravity, bones do not bear weight, leading to a loss of density similar to osteoporosis. ALSO READ| Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore's return date not fixed as Boeing's Starliner still stuck in space, NASA says Despite rigorous exercise regimes designed to counteract these effects, "bone loss remains an inevitable consequence of prolonged space missions." The extended stay exacerbates these issues, increasing her risk of fractures. Microgravity presents multiple health challenges, including fluid redistribution, which causes facial puffiness and decreased fluid volume in the legs, disrupting cardiovascular function and complicating blood pressure regulation upon returning to Earth. NASA employs specialized exercise regimens and nutritional interventions to address bone loss. Astronauts perform resistance and aerobic exercises to maintain bone density. Microgravity also impacts the urinary system, increasing the risk of kidney stones due to elevated calcium levels in urine. Hormonal changes and shifts in gut microbiota further complicate nutrient absorption and overall health, necessitating continuous medical monitoring and preventive measures. ALSO READ| NASA reveals Sunita Williams' new research as Boeing Starliner still stuck in space 1 month delayed return risks for Sunita Williams: - Fluid imbalance: Chronic dehydration or overload - Muscle & bone loss: Weakened skeletal system & muscles - Fluid redistribution: Puffy faces, increased intracranial pressure, vision & cognitive issues - Radiation sickness & cancer: Increased risk from cosmic radiation - Mental health concerns: Isolation, confinement, high-risk environment - Weakened immune system: Increased susceptibility to infections, as Dr Rakesh Gupta, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, told Indian Express. As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the top contenders for the role are largely unknown to Americans. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly stands out as one with more name recognition and higher favorability, particularly among Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/LM Otero)(AP) The survey, which was conducted after President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race and Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee, highlights the strengths and weaknesses that different politicians could bring to the ticket and the challenges they could face if selected. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly top voice as Kamala's running mate: Survey Kelly, while better known and liked than some of the alternatives, is still unfamiliar to about half of Americans. And others, like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, while less known nationally, could draw on a deeper well of support in their home states and regions. Kelly and Shapiro are viewed among the front-runners, according to people familiar with the process, after the Harris campaign began its vetting with about a dozen names. Harris said Tuesday she had not yet decided on her No. 2. But she, and whomever she selects, will head out on a seven-state swing of key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina, next week. Who is Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly? Of the four potential Democratic vice-presidential candidates included in the poll Kelly, Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who publicly removed himself from consideration after the poll was fielded Kelly has the highest name recognition and favorability, according to the AP-NORC poll. Americans are more likely to have a positive view of Kelly than a negative view. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a very or somewhat favorable view of Kelly, while about 2 in 10 have a negative view. Drawing more good feelings than bad is a relative rarity in presidential politics these days: Biden and former President Donald Trump have been viewed more negatively than positively for several years now. Like many of the other contenders, though, Kelly is nowhere near a household name. About half of Americans dont know enough to have an opinion about him. But Democrats are especially likely to have warm feelings about Kelly. Forty-five percent have a favourable view of Kelly. Only about 1 in 10 have an unfavorable view of him, and around 4 in 10 dont know enough to say. Older Democrats those 45 and older are especially likely to have a positive view of Kelly, while younger Democrats are more likely to be unfamiliar with him. Hes proven to be a battle-tested campaigner, winning a special election in 2020 to flip the Arizona Senate seat from Republican control and then retaining it two years later for a full, six-year term. The Navy veteran is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and has been an influential voice among Democrats on immigration and border security, long a political vulnerability for Harris that Republicans are seeking to exploit. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Shapiro is broadly unknown to Americans and Democrats, except in the Northeast, where he has more name recognition and higher favorability. The poll found that 6 in 10 U.S. adults including 57% of Democrats don't know enough to have an opinion about Shapiro. About 2 in 10 Americans view him favorably, and a similar share view him unfavorably. The picture isn't very different among Democrats. About one-quarter of Democrats have a positive view of Shapiro, while 16% have a negative view. Older Democrats are more likely than younger ones to have a favorable opinion of Shapiro, but overall, most have yet to develop a view. Shapiro was elected governor in 2022, defeating Republican Doug Mastriano a controversial figure who drew opposition and criticism from members of his own party, including then-GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. Unlike the other contenders asked about in the AP-NORC poll, though, hes significantly better known and liked in his home region. In the Northeast, 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of him. Another 4 in 10, roughly, dont know enough to have an opinion of him, while about 2 in 10 Northeasterners view him negatively. Democrat Gary Hines, a 68-year-old in Philadelphia, had high praise for his home-state governor and added: Id hate to see him leave, because hes just getting started in Pennsylvania. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear If chosen, Beshear would need to introduce himself to most of the country. Around 7 in 10 Americans dont know enough to have an opinion about him. Those with a view are about evenly split: 17% of U.S. adults have a positive view, and 15% have a negative one. However, Democrats have a more positive than negative opinion of Beshear. About one-quarter have a very or somewhat favorable view, while around 1 in 10 have a negative view. Nearly two-thirds dont know enough about Beshear to give an opinion. The scion of a well-known Democratic family in the state, Beshear defeated then-Gov. Matt Bevin a deeply unpopular figure, even in conservative Kentucky then won reelection in 2023 against Republican Daniel Cameron, a longtime protege of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Beshear's victory last year was credited in part to his advocacy of abortion rights, including a campaign ad that featured a sexual assault survivor attacking Cameron for his stances. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Like the other governors who are being discussed, Gov. Tim Walz doesnt have much of a national profile and that also means hes a relatively blank slate. He wasnt included in the AP-NORC poll, but a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, which asked about favorability slightly differently, found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults dont know enough to have an opinion on him. Among Americans with a view, opinions are split between positive and negative. Walz, who also served for 12 years in the House, moved up on Harris' shortlist in recent days after he coined weird as a new talking point to describe the Republican ticket. It's a line now used widely by the vice president and other Democrats. He currently leads the Democratic Governors Association. The poll of 1,143 adults was conducted July 25-29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. A former ballerina who was dubbed the 'Black Swan' has been convicted of manslaughter for shooting her husband dead in Florida. 32-year-old Ashley Benefield was convicted hours after a jury started considering her claim that she shot her husband in September 2020 in self-defence. Ashley Benefield found guilty of husband's 2020 murder in Florida (Manatee County Sheriff's Office) Ashley killed her then-58-year-old estranged husband, Doug Benefield, during an argument. The murder was committed at her mothers home, where she had moved from South Carolina after leaving Doug. The jury announced the verdict in a Manatee County courtroom on Tuesday, July 30. A sentencing hearing is set to be scheduled. Originally, Ashley was charged with second-degree murder. However, the panel went on to convict her of the lesser crime. According to NBC News, the judge revoked her $100,000 bond. Ashley was remanded to the custody of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. According to authorities, Ashley shot Doug twice. She faces up to 30 years behind bars for using a firearm in the murder. The case came to be known as the Black Swan Murder Trial based on the film Black Swan, which was released in 2010. In the film, Natalie Portman starred as a ballerina with a psychological unravelling in the backdrop. Who is the 'Black Swan' killer Ashley Benefield? Ashley is a graduate of the Maryland Youth Ballet. She was placed in handcuffs after the guilty verdict, following which the victims cousin said "the sound was as good as the sight, USA Today reported. Ashley and Doug met in 2016 when she was 24 and Doug was 54. They tied the knot 13 days later. The following year, Ashley became pregnant. The two of them eventually opened the American National Ballet. The court was told that Ashley and Doug had a volatile relationship. Ashley claimed that her husband had been violent towards her. On September 27, 2020, Doug Benefield arrived at Ashley's Manatee County home with a truck. He had planned to help her pack and move to Maryland with their daughter, where Doug had also decided to relocate. Police received a 911 call shortly after, and found Doug on a bedroom floor, having been shot dead. Ashley claimed that she shot Doug after he tried to attack her. Prosecutors challenged Ashleys account and claimed evidence did not match her description of the events of the day the shooting took place. She did not have to shoot him, Suzanne ODonnell, assistant state attorney for Floridas 12th Judicial District, said in her closing argument. She had an agenda. She got what she wanted. However, Ashleys lawyer, Neil Taylor, claimed that Doug did not let his wife leave her house, hit her in the face and went on to lunge at her when she had drawn out her gun and was begging him to stop. Taylor said in his closing argument that Ashely filed "complaint after complaint after complaint calling Doug Benefields behavior to the attention of authorities with no results. Over and over again with no relief." The president of the Vatican tribunal, a former anti-mafia prosecutor, is suspected of obstructing a probe into public tenders awarded to Sicily's mafia decades ago in Palermo. Vatican top judge investigated over decades-old mafia case Nicknamed "the Pope's judge", Giuseppe Pignatone, 75, will remain in his position at the Holy See until further notice, a Vatican source told AFP. Pignatone, who says he is innocent, was questioned Wednesday by a prosecutor in Caltanissetta, Sicily, as part of an investigation into his involvement in the rigged calls for tenders in 1992. Interference into those public contracts by Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia had been the focus of Paolo Borsellino, one of Italy's most famous anti-mafia judges, before his assassination the same year. "I have declared myself innocent," Pignatone told the Ansa news agency after the questioning. "I have committed to cooperating, to the extent of my means," he said. The investigation involving the prominent and respected anti-mafia figure was widely reported by Italian media. Prosecutors in Sicily are also interested in another former anti-mafia prosecutor, Gioacchino Natoli. Natoli was a member of the anti-mafia team led by Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, assassinated six months earlier than his friend and colleague. To varying degrees, Pignatone and Natoli are suspected of requesting, under their boss Pietro Giammanco, that cases be dropped as a favour to the Cosa Nostra. Natoli is also suspected of having pretended to investigate the infiltration of the mafia in the famed marble quarries of Carrara, helped by a captain within the financial police, Stefano Screpanti, who went on to become a general. Screpanti is also under investigation. Natoli is also suspected of having blocked wiretaps and of ordering that other intercepted materials be destroyed in order to hide evidence of mafia interference. In fact, they were saved. Questioned last month, Natoli invoked his right not to respond. - Capture of the godfather - A "business committee" involving mafia bosses, politicians and businessmen is said to have controlled public works contracts in Sicily for astronomical amounts between 1988 and 1992. Among the companies believed to have colluded with the mafia was the agri-food group Ferruzzi, the second-largest private Italian group at the time. Cosa Nostra was interested in the company due to its close ties with the powerful Socialists, whom the mafia hoped could arrange more lenient sentences during the major mafia trials of the time. According to Italian news agency ANSA, Pignatone had been investigated in the past over his father's purchase of real estate from a Palermo mafia boss, Antonino Buscemi, but the probe was closed. At the beginning of his career, Pignatone served as deputy prosecutor of Palermo, participating in a various mafia trials, including the 1980 assassination of the president of the region of Sicily, Piersanti Mattarella, brother of the current president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. In 1982, Pignatone also participated in the trial over the murder of the secretary general of the Italian Communist Party, Pio La Torre, according to biographical information published on the Carabinieri police website. As an anti-mafia prosecutor, he helped put hundreds of Cosa Nostra bosses and operatives behind bars and led investigations that led to the capture of one of the last big godfathers of Cosa Nostra, Bernardo Provenzano, in 2006. Two years later, he was appointed public prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, Calabria, the tip of the Italian boot home to the powerful and wealthy 'Ndrangheta, which controls the flow of cocaine into Europe. In 2012, he took over the Rome prosecutor's office where he led the "Mafia Capitale" investigation, a vast criminal network that had infiltrated the Italy's capital. Having reached an age limit in 2019, he left the Italian judiciary to become president of the Vatican tribunal, appointed by Pope Francis. gab/ams/cw This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Russia and the West have released a total of 24 prisoners in the biggest exchange since the end of the Cold War, officials said on Thursday. Who has been freed in Russia-West prisoner deal? Here's a snapshot of who has been released: Russia has freed 16 people US and German citizens, journalists and domestic dissidents: Evan Gershkovich: The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter became the first Western journalist to be jailed in Russia for espionage since the Soviet era. He was sentenced to 16 years in a strict penal colony by a Russian court on July 19, after a fast-track trial. Russia says that he spied on a tank factory in the Urals region and was working for the US Central Intelligence Agency , but presented no evidence to support its claims, which were dismissed as bogus by the White House and his employer. Born in the US state of New Jersey to Soviet Jewish emigres he carried on visiting Russia even after dozens of other Western journalists left following Moscow's Ukraine offensive. The former US Marine Whelan, 54, who also has British, Irish and Canadian nationalities, has been jailed in Russia since December 2018. In June 2020 he was sentenced to 16 years in a remote Russian penal colony for espionage. He was detained in a Moscow hotel in 2018 allegedly with a cache of classified documents, when he was the security director of a US automotive parts manufacturer. US-Russian journalist Kurmasheva, 47, was sentenced to six years and six months on the same day as Gershkovich in an ultra-secret trial, details of which did not emerge until days later. An editor with the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty outlet, she was accused of violating Russia's strict military censorship laws and arrested while travelling to Russia from her home in Prague to see her sick mother. Fierce Kremlin critic and journalist Kara-Murza, 42, was in April 2023 handed a 25-year term for condemning Moscow's campaign in Ukraine, one of the longest prison terms ever handed down to a Putin critic. A dual British-Russian national, he was arrested in April 2022 after a speech in the United States where he accused Russia of "war crimes" against Ukraine. Several investigative media outlets, including Bellingcat, The Insider and Der Spiegel, have backed his claim that he was poisoned by security services under orders from the Kremlin attacks which left him with nerve damage. In May he won a Pulitzer Prize "for passionate columns written at great person risk from his prison cell." Veteran rights advocate Orlov, 71, was handed a two-and-a-half-year term in February after calling Russia a "fascist" state and criticising its Ukraine campaign. A biologist by training Orlov was an instrumental figure in Memorial, the Nobel Prize winning human rights organisation disbanded by Russia in late 2021. Under his guidance, Memorial preserved the memory of victims of communist repression and campaigned against rights abuses in modern Russia. Chanysheva, 42, who once headed late opposition leader Alexei Navalny's offices in the central Bashkortostan republic, was sentenced to seven and a half years' prison in June 2023 for having created an "extremist organisation", a sentence that was later toughened to nine and a half years in April. An accountant, she had worked for major companies including Deloitte before joining Navalny's team in 2017, openly protesting corruption in the region. In December 2023 Fadeyeva, 32, who led Navalny's now-banned organisation in the Siberian city of Tomsk, was sentenced to nine years in prison for "extremism". Fadeyeva headed Navalny's political office in Tomsk, where the opposition leader was poisoned in August 2020 on a visit ahead of elections. Fadeyeva was elected to the Tomsk city legislature in 2020, a move hailed as a victory for the Russian opposition against President Vladimir Putin's rule. Russian liberal opposition politician Yashin, 41, was handed eight and a half years in late 2022 for denouncing Moscow's Ukraine offensive. A former ally of Navalny and assassinated opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, he was imprisoned for having denounced "murders of civilians" in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Artist Skochilenko, 33, from Saint Petersburg, was arrested in April 2022 and then jailed in November 2023 for seven years for replacing supermarket price tags with messages opposing the Ukraine offensive. She in particular focused on the bloody battle for the Black Sea port city of Mariupol. Russian opposition activist Pivovarov, 42, headed the Open Russia foundation, bankrolled by former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who himself spent a decade in prison for campaigning against Putin. He was arrested in 2021, hauled off a plane by FSB agents before he could leave the country, and sentenced to four years for collaborating with an "undesirable" organisation. German citizen Rico Krieger, a 30-year-old medic, was pardoned by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on July 30 after being sentenced to the death penalty on June 24. Convicted under six articles of Belarus's criminal code in a secretive trial, he was suspected of photographing military sites in Belarus in October 2023 and placing an explosive device on a railway line near Minsk under Ukrainian orders. According to a LinkedIn profile Krieger, worked as a medic for the German Red Cross and had previously been employed as an armed security officer for the US embassy in Berlin. Joint Russian-German citizen Voronin was sentenced to 13 years in prison on "treason" charges after Moscow alleged he received classified military information from another journalist, Ivan Safronov, who remains behind bars. Lick, who was arrested aged 17 and is another joint Russian-German citizen, became the youngest person ever convicted of treason in Russia when he was sentenced in 2023 to four years for allegedly sending photos of a Russian military facility visible from his apartment window to German security services. German citizen Schoebel, in his late 30s, was arrested earlier this year at Saint Petersburg airport after customs officials found cannabis gummy bears in his luggage. Moyzhes, a Russian-German migration lawyer, was facing treason charges after he was arrested in Saint Petersburg in May, according to Russian state media. Almost no details of the case against him had been made public. Moyzhes was well known in Saint Petersburg as an urban activist and pro-cycle campaigner. The former head of another of Navalny's regional branches, Ostanin was sentenced in 2023 to nine years in prison for participating in an "extremist" organisation. The United States, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway freed a total of eight people as part of the deal, including alleged spies, hitmen and hackers. Krasikov, an alleged FSB hitman, was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for gunning down a former Chechen separatist in a Berlin Park in 2019. German judges said the murder was ordered by the Russian state, and the Bellingcat investigative media outlet has linked Krasikov to a secret elite unit of Russia's FSB state security services. Through his lawyer, Krasikov claimed he had been misidentified and was a Russian construction engineer. Earlier this year Putin, without naming him specifically, said he wanted a Russian "patriot" who had "eliminated a bandit" in a "European capital" freed from prison. Slovenia sentenced Dultsev and Dultseva, both 40, to more than a year and half in prison for "spying and falsifying documents." The pair, alleged Russian secret agents, were living undercover on Argentine passports in the capital Ljubljana, where authorities said they ran an art gallery as part of their cover. Mikushin, born in 1978, was arrested in Norway in 2022 and accused of posing as a Brazilian researcher at a university in Tromso. The Bellingcat investigative outlet said he was a colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence services and Norwegian media reported that he did not speak Portuguese, Brazil's national language. Polish intelligence alleged Rubtsov, a Russian-born Spanish freelance journalist in Spain, was an agent for Russia's GRU military intelligence service. Living as Pablo Gonzalez, he was arrested near the Polish border with Ukraine just four days after Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. He was born in Moscow but moved to Spain at the age of nine and obtained Spanish nationality. Seleznev, the son of a Russian lawmaker, was convicted of a string of cybercrimes in the United States, including a 27-year prison sentence for hacking into card payment terminals to steal millions of credit card details. US officials called his "criminal enterprise ... both sophisticated and expansive, with transnational implications." Dubbed a master hacker, he was arrested in 2014 in the Maldives. Another Russian convicted of hacking crimes, Klyushin, was sentenced in 2023 to nine years in prison for netting almost $100 million by hacking into corporate systems and then illegally trading shares using the information he had gathered. The US Justice Department says Konoshchenok, who it alleges has "ties to Russia's FSB", was a key figure in a scheme to provide US-made ammunition and electronics to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine. lam-jmy-jc/giv This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Israeli military on Thursday announced that they had killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif in the southern Gaza area of Khan Younis through a strike on July 13. Deif, 58, was considered the mastermind of the October 7 attack by Hamas, which triggered the killing of 39,445 people in Palestine including more than 15,000 children and the injuring `of more than 91,073 people by Israel as of July 31, according to Al Jazeera. In 2002, Deif took charge of the Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated his predecessor and founding leader Salah Shehadeh. (IDF) While Israel claims that it has evidence of Deifs death, an official told news agency AFP that Deif is well and overseeing the operations of Hamas, reported Al Jazeera. Who is Mohammed Deif? Born in 1965, in one of the refugee camps in Khan Younis, Deif was originally named Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri. Despite being born into a poor family in one of the few refugee camps built by Israel after 1948, Deif was able to attain a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology. Deif also headed the university and performed comedies on stage. In 1987, Deif joined Hamas when it was founded and fought in the first intifada or the Palestinian uprising which began in 1987 and ended in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords. In 1989, during the peak of the intifada, Deif was detained by Israel for 16 months. In 2002, Deif took charge of the Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated his predecessor and founding leader Salah Shehadeh. It is Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing which carried out attacks inside Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking up about 200 people captive, according to Al Jazeera. According to the Guardian, Deif had survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts and if Israel's claims are true he surrendered to death in the eighth attempt. However, Hamas sources said Deif lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel's attempts to kill him, reported news agency Reuters. ALSO READ | What to know about the escalating conflict and Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks after 2 assassinations Experienced, capable and utterly committed to the militant Islamist organisation, Deif in the recent years was overseeing Hamas' efforts to build more effective rockets in Gaza and the immense tunnel complex across the territory and is also rumoured to have been tasked with training militants, especially the Nukhba forces which attacked Israel in 2023. His wife, 7-month-old son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2014, reported Reuters. Attack on October 7 Hamas's attack on October 7 was a result of planning by the three-man military council which planned the attack as revenge for the Israeli raid of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Deif with Hamas' leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and his deputy Marwan Issa, who was killed in March 2024, planned the attack on Israel after it raided Islam's third holiest site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. There are only three available images of Deif. One of them is of his shadow which was broadcast on the Hamas TV channel during which he said, Today the rage of Al-Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended, reported Reuters. A source close to Hamas, told Reuters that the decision to prepare the October 7 attack was jointly taken by Deif, the leader of Qassam Brigades, and Sinwar, however, it was clear that Deif was the architect. In 2024, the International Criminal Courts prosecutor requested warrants for Deif, Sinwar and another Hamas figure over the October 7 attack. However, warrants were also issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel's response which has resulted in the ongoing genocide, reported Al Jazeera. (With inputs from news agencies) The San Angelo Police Department in Texas has arrested two Walmart employees involved in a large-scale $1 million theft operation. Carmelo D. Amigleo, 18 years old, and Ryan Munoz, 18 years old, were taken into custody on July 29 following a week-long investigation. Authorities were notified on July 23 of an alleged large-scale and ongoing theft at 1852 Sherwood Way, San Angelo. On Sunday, July 28, 2024, detectives executed two search warrants at local residences, resulting in the discovery of several pieces of evidence and proceeds related to the crime. Primary findings indicate that approximately one million dollars have been stolen from the Walmart on Sherwood Way over the course of the past year. The SAPD announced the arrest of the two suspects in a press conference on Monday. Arizona voters who take their cues from former President Donald Trump may have trouble choosing a candidate in Tuesday's Republican primary for an open congressional seat because Trump is backing two of them. But the highly unusual move could backfire on both men and help one of their rivals in the closely watched, five-way race, the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday. In December, Trump endorsed failed state attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko. But on Sunday, Trump announced he was also endorsing Blake Masters, who he'd previously backed during Masters' losing 2022 bid for U.S. Senate against Democrat Mark Kelly, now reportedly under consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris' White House running mate. "They will both be spectacular, and I'm pleased to announce that both Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh have my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Congressman of Arizona's 8th Congressional District - THEY WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. The 11th-hour move came after Trump earlier this month named freshman Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate in the presidential race. Both Vance and Masters have deep ties to tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who provided the bulk of the funding for their Senate campaigns two years ago. Trump's dual endorsement "is a July surprise that changes the election" and could help state House Speaker Ben Toma and former U.S Rep. Trent Franks, Arizona GOP political strategist Barrett Marson told the Arizona Republic. "It's late but not TOO late," Marson said. "Splitting the Trump-centric vote opens the door for both Ben Toma and even Trent Franks." Fewer than half of the district's Republicans who requested early ballots had voted as of Monday and those most likely to go the polls Tuesday will be ardent Trump supporters, according to the Republic. Cops in Southern California are driving the nation's first all-electric fleet of police cars after officials were jolted into giving up their old gas guzzlers. The South Pasadena Police Department unveiled a specially outfitted Tesla Model Y SUV with low-profile emergency lights, push bars and a black-and-white paint job with blue flourishes during a ceremony outside City Hall on Monday. Councilmember Michael Caccioitti, a regional air quality official, said the new, 20-vehicle fleet would eliminate emissions ordinarily caused when officers leave their cars idling during traffic stops or responding to calls, the Associated Press reported. "This is important, particularly in the Los Angeles area, which still has the most unhealthful air in the nation," said Cacciotti, who pushed for the switch. "We hope other police departments in the region and state will make the switch, too." The move came after satellite photos shot earlier this year showed parking lots full of Tesla EVs as the company struggled to sell off its inventory and laid off 10% of its global workforce in April. But after U.S. EV sales stalled during the first quarter of 2024, Kelley Blue Book said earlier this month that they grew by 11.3% during the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, buoyed in large part by new offerings from General Motors. The new police cars will cost city taxpayers $1.85 billion, with more than half the total cost paid for by local electricity companies and the state-funded Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, AP said. But it's expected to save South Pasadena about $4,000 on gas for each vehicle annually, and also reduce maintenance costs. In May, South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinksy said his department had been "investigating this transition for five to six years and determined that these electric vehicles will be the best operationally for us" and called the Teslas the "safest and fastest vehicles" available. In a video posted Monday on Facebook, police Sgt. Tony Abdalla said the department's existing fleet of gas-powered cars was "probably end of life about three to four years ago." Patrol officers who've tested out the Teslas gave them high marks for better handling and braking, including after a high-speed freeway chase in the rain, Abdalla said. "The officers said that they never would have continued with that pursuit in the cars that we were operating versus the Teslas," he said. Abdallah also said the driving range was "almost identical to the cars that were previously in service," adding, "We're able to get about another 200 miles of range in 15 minutes." Green Day is trending on social media after a fan threw a Trump mask with the word "idiot" written across the forehead while Billie Joe Armstrong held it up to the crowd and roared. The iconic band kicked off the North American leg of their "Saviors Tour" on Monday at Nationals Park, according to Ticket News. Armstrong took it one step further when he changed the lyrics in the song "American Idiot" from "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda" to "I'm not a part of a MAGA agenda," in an obvious reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. On Tuesday, some right-wing commentators raged against the display Conservatives expressed distaste for Armstrong's actions, deeming them insensitive in light of the assassination attempt on the former president just two weeks prior. Former state legislator and congressman Tim Burchett posted, "Green Day used to be anti-establishment; now they are the establishment." Green Day used to be anti-establishment now they are the establishment. https://t.co/smBjkaNyXW Tim Burchett (@timburchett) July 30, 2024 Another said, "Time to Boycott Green Day. Utter Trash." Time to Boycott Green Day Utter trash https://t.co/okalOBSAz9 DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 30, 2024 Others rallied around the band, showing support for the group, which has a long history of protesting against right-wing politics. Their song "American Idiot" was actually written in reaction to American politics in the early 2000s during George W. Bush's presidency. One user laughed at the brewing chaos online, writing, "MAGA chuds realizing that Green Day is liberal and anti-Trump in 2024 will never not be hilarious to me." MAGA chuds realizing that Green Day is liberal and anti-Trump in 2024 will never not be hilarious to me. You dudes realize that #Dookie came out 30 years ago, right? Billie Joe and the rest of the eye-liner crew have been this way for for decades https://t.co/8erZSD38KW Jonathan Paula (@JonPaula) July 30, 2024 While another Green Day fan gave his support to Vice President Kamala Harris while expressing: "Green Day will forever be one of my favorite bands of all time. Billy Joe Calls out MAGA No, we are NOT a part of a MAGA agenda, and we're NOT going back!" Authorities arrested three people accused of binding a man with duct tape and forcing him to jump off a bridge into traffic. Jaysen Lawson, 21; Brianna Nohmer, 18; and Sean Lunney, 31, have each been charged with kidnapping in connection with the incident in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, jail records indicate. Separately, Lawson has also been charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon, while Nohmer was hit with an attempt to kill charge. Lunney was accused of pointing a firearm and aggravated assault, jail records show. Officers responding to the Deep Fork River bridge Thursday located a male victim who was "badly injured and required immediate medical attention," according to the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office. The investigation revealed the victim was bound with duct tape, abducted and forced off the bridge at gunpoint, authorities alleged. Interviews with witnesses led to the arrests of the suspected trio. Nohmer and Lunney are being held on $250,000 bond, while a judge set Lawson's bond at $300,000. A Nevada prison is on lockdown following an altercation that led to the deaths of three inmates who had previously been on a hunger strike over unsafe conditions at the maximum-security prison. The Nevada Department of Corrections confirmed to FOX 5 that the three inmates were killed in the fight and nine others were injured at Ely State Prison. The strike was initiated by at least two dozen inmates at the Ely State Prison in December 2022 from frustrations over what they said were inadequate food portions and shortages in the prison commissary, among other grievances, Jodi Hocking, executive director of the prisoners' rights group Return Strong, told The Associated Press at the time. Responding in a statement, the corrections department reiterated that the strike was "mostly in protest of the food portions being served but also included conditions of confinement, property issues, and disciplinary sanctions." The hunger strike aimed at "continued and extended" use of solitary confinement, as well as halting the use of group punishment, making sure prison staff doesn't retaliate against prisoners who file grievances, and addressing health and safety concerns in all Nevada correctional facilities accordingly. This included mold, heating and air conditioning problems, and rodent infestations, according to the AP. Officials are not releasing the names of the inmates killed as the investigation is ongoing, reported KOLO TV. A recall of Boar's Head products connected to a listeria outbreak was expanded Tuesday to include an additional 7 million pounds of meat products, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service announced. As of Tuesday, 34 people in 13 states have been sickened in the outbreak, including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to FSIS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Boar's Head last week initiated a recall of its Strassburger Brand Liverwurst due to potential contamination with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, along with other deli meat products produced at the same Jarratt, Va., facility that day, totaling approximately 207,000 pounds of meat products. The USDA said whole genome sequencing of a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes, and the company was notified Monday, prompting the expanded recall. "Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility," Boar's Head said in a statement Tuesday. "We have also decided to pause ready-to-eat operations at this facility until further notice. As a company that prioritizes safety and quality, we believe it is the right thing to do." The expanded recall includes 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boars Head and Old Country brand names. Recalled products include meat intended for slicing at delis, as well as packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations, and have "Sell By" dates ranging from July 29 through Oct. 17. The recalled products were distributed nationwide and exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. A complete list of the recalled products is available on the Boar's Head website. Consumers should not consume the recalled products, and should dispose of them or return them to the place of purchase. Consumers who discard the recalled products are urged to thoroughly clean and sanitize their refrigerators, freezers, or other surfaces in contact with the recalled products. Listeria symptoms Consuming food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that can be deadly, particularly for people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, or with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Sometimes, the infection can spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract, leading to more serious issues. With TMX Eva Benefield has a lot on her mind after her ex-ballerina stepmom was convicted of killing her dad. Following seven hours of deliberation Tuesday, a jury found Ashley Benefield, 32, guilty of manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of her 58-year-old husband Doug Benefield, at her mother's Florida home in September 2020. She was initially accused of second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The case gained national attention and was soon dubbed the "Black Swan" murder trial in a call back to the 2010 Natalie Portman-led thriller about a perfectionist ballet dancer's psychological struggles. Following the jury's decision Tuesday night, the victim's 23-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, appeared seemingly satisfied in a video posted to social media. Eva Benefield on #AshleyBenefield verdict. After 4 years of waiting, my dad got the justice he deserves. #DougBenefield pic.twitter.com/iVd5Sv8yIW TrueCrimeSushi (@CrimeSushi) July 31, 2024 "She was convicted of manslaughter," Eva said, smiling. "After four years of waiting, my dad got the justice that he deserves." "I will be talking more about the trial once I have my thoughts collected. I have a lot of things I want to say," she confessed. During the week-long trial, Ashley's lawyers argued she shot Doug in self-defense, painting him as a dangerous and manipulative husband. "Thirty years older than Ashley, he was obsessed with her and he successfully portrayed himself as he was not in an effort to win her hand in marriage," defense attorney Neil Taylor said, according to WFLA-TV. "Despite promoting himself as a religious, honorable, and decent human being, Benefield was a manipulative, cunning, and abusive man who insisted, absolutely insisted on control." Ashley took the stand and told the court she was "scared to death" of her husband. "I thought he would kill me. I had nowhere to go. I was trapped in my own house. He wouldn't let me leave," she said, WTSP-TV reported. On the other hand, Eva testified for the prosecution that the couple "were just with each other all the time. It was very lovey-dovey. They were very touchy-feely PDAs. Any event with school or extracurriculars that I was in, they were together," she recalled, the outlet reported. "They never left each other's side." Prosecutors argued Doug's slaying was motivated by Benefield's desire to be a single mom to the couple's young daughter, Emerson, after their whirlwind romance deteriorated amid their failure to successfully launch a ballet company. "This case is about a woman who, very early on in her pregnancy, decided she wanted to be a single mother," prosecutor Suzanne O'Donnell said, according to ABC News. "Her husband and everything she did from that point on was to attain that goal and she would stop at nothing to attain that goal. When there was no other option, she shoots him and kills him and claims self-defense." After learning her fate, Ashley was remanded to jail. She will be sentenced at a later date in which she faces up to 30 years in prison. The Humane Society of the United States is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest after a litter of puppies were "intentionally burned" in Kentucky. Someone in Lexington found a litter of 13 puppies at an intersection near Todds Road and North Cleveland Road on May 29. Seven of the puppies, estimated to be just eight days old, had died from the "horrendouse torture." The remaining puppies were rushed to a veterinarian, but they were too badly burned to survive. According to law enforcement, the puppies died as a result of "intentional burning," the Humane Society said. Lexington-Fayette Animal Care and Control cruelty investigator Lt. Jai Hamilton "plans to file 13 counts of animal cruelty in the first degree, all felonies, against the individual(s) responsible for this shocking act of torture," the Humane Society said. The organization is asking anyone with information about the case to contact Hamilton at jhamilton@lfacc.org. It is heartbreaking to even imagine what horrendous torture these puppies went through at only 8 days old, Todd Blevins, Kentucky state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement. There is no excuse for this kind of cruelty. We hope our reward helps find the perpetrator of this despicable act. -With TMX Jaylen Griffin, the missing Buffalo boy whose decomposed body was found stuffed in a random attic earlier this year, was stabbed to death, his family confirmed. The 12-year-old died from forced entry of a sharp object, his father, Brian Griffin confirmed with HNGN, citing Jaylen's death certificate. It's unclear how many times he was stabbed or when he was killed. Jaylen vanished while on a walk to a corner store in his Buffalo, New York, neighborhood on Aug. 4, 2020, and investigators quickly classified him as a runaway, much to the Griffin family's dismay. But, the April 12 discovery of his body at a home just six blocks from where he disappeared forced police to transition his case into a homicide investigation. Sunday marks the 4-year anniversary of Jaylen's disappearance and still no arrests have been made despite the discovery of his remains. "There should be no person or perpetrators out there who have done something like this to a kid, walking around feeling like there's no clues and no evidence and no way that they can ever be caught," close family friend and spokesperson Pastor Tim Newkirk told HNGN in an interview Wednesday. "There's so many questions that are unanswered," Newkirk who accused Buffalo police of a lack of transparency and communication on the case said. "There's no update. There's no revelation, there's no news, and there's no apprehension of action to bring the person or perpetrator into custody that we know of." The BPD did not immediately respond to HNGN's request for comment. "It's very trying because the clock is ticking," Newkirk expressed of his frustration over the investigation. "It's still fresh, but it's solidifying every day that goes on. Every day that passes, every week, every month, it's almost close to being a cold case." Maria Coto, a 56-year-old case worker for the Westchester County Department of Social Services, was beaten to death while conducting a site visit in Peekskill, New York, when she was allegedly attacked. Hasseem Jenkins, 31, was indicted Tuesday on two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of burglary in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, robbery in the first degree, and resisting arrest. Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced the indictment in a press statement and said, "Maria Coto was performing her job when she became the victim of a ruthless and brutal attack that led to her tragic death. We are committed to securing justice for Ms. Coto." It was a little after 3 p.m. on May 14 and Coto was coordinating home visits on South Street when she accidentally knocked on the wrong door. Coming face-to-face with Jenkins, he allegedly punched her in the face, chased her into a neighbor's apartment, and repeatedly kicked her in the head while wearing heavy boots. The Peekskill Police Department responded to the scene, where Jenkins attempted to resist arrest. When officers searched the suspect, they found Coto's phone in his pocket. Coto suffered severe brain bleeds, brain swelling and multiple facial fractures. She was treated for critical injuries at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and placed on a ventilator until she was pronounced dead on June 19. Jenkins was arraigned before New York State Supreme Court Judge Anne E. Minihan in Westchester County Court and was sent to the Westchester County Jail. His next court date is August 6. Protests spread throughout Britain in the wake of the stabbing deaths of three young girls attending a Taylor Swift dance class, with many demonstrators clashing with police and shouting "save our kids" and "we want our country back," according to reports. The Metropolitan Police reported 111 people were arrested on Wednesday and five officers were injured. Some of the arrests took place near the Downing Street office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the BBC reported. More than 50 police officers were injured the night before in clashes with protesters in the resort town of Southport where the girls were killed, the Merseyside Police reported. Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the stabbing attack Monday at a "Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop" designed for children between 6 and 11. Eight other children were wounded and two adults were also badly injured. Police said they had a 17-year-old male in custody on charges of suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police have said that the killings were not terrorism related and the suspect in custody was born in Britain, Reuters reported. Dal Babu, the former chief superintendent and firearms commander in the Metropolitan police department, said the "reckless" spread of misinformation about the suspects was fueling the outrage. He told the BBC that the police have taken the "unprecedented" step to confirm the suspect "was born in this country" in an effort to tamp down the unrest. Marriott Executive Apartments, Penang joins Penang Marriott Hotel and Marriott Residences Penang at iconic sea-front gurney drive location Marriott Executive Apartments, part of Marriott Bonvoy's global portfolio of over 30 extraordinary hotel brands, today announced its debut in Penang with the launch of the Marriott Executive Apartments Penang, a new beacon of premium comfort located in the prestigious Gurney Drive area. Nestled under the same roof as the Penang Marriott Hotel and Marriott Residences Penang, this new establishment offers Marriott Executive Apartments' signature apartments with premiere hotel services for long stays and all the comforts of home. The elevated serviced apartment experience features all the comfort guests would expect from Marriott, with separate sleeping and living areas, gourmet kitchens, and features such as fitness and business centres, dedicated staff and security 24 hours a day. "We are thrilled to expand our footprint in Malaysia with the opening of Marriott Executive Apartments Penang, a brand entry in the country," said Ramesh Jackson, Area Vice President, Indonesia & Malaysia, Marriott International. "Our goal is to provide guests with a home away from home, offering the perfect balance of privacy, comfort, and hospitality. It is designed to meet the diverse needs of today's discerning travelers, whether they are here for business, leisure, or a bit of both." A Strategic Hub in the Heart of the City Situated amidst prominent attractions, Marriott Executive Apartments Penang offers scenic views of Gurney Bay, with easy access to a picturesque seafront park, ensuring a diverse and delightful stay along the Gurney coastline. Close by are upscale shopping havens of Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon Mall, and for foodies, local delights beckon at the renowned Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, just a stone's throw away. It is also near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of George Town, inviting guests to immerse themselves in historical sites, vibrant street art, and cultural landmarks. Nature attractions such as the Penang National Park, Penang Butterfly Farm and Penang Hill are a short drive away. Enriching Extended Accommodations Marriott Executive Apartments Penang boasts 90 elegantly designed suites, featuring a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom options. Whether traveling alone or with family, guests have varius options to choose from to suit their needs. Each suite is thoughtfully furnished and equipped with a fully functional kitchen, complete with a clothes washer and dryer, alongside a spacious living room. Catering to the needs of business travelers, vacationers, and those seeking rejuvenation alike, guests will appreciate the blend of comfort and sophistication that defines the brand experience. Whether staying for a night or an extended period, the apartments provide a homely atmosphere with the perks of a hotel. As guests venture beyond their elegant abodes, they enter a realm of unparalleled comfort. From the fully-equipped 24-hour fitness center to the tranquil outdoor infinity pool and a rejuvenating steam room, each amenity beckons relaxation and rejuvenation. Vibrant Dining Destination With direct access to a variety of dining experiences offered at Penang Marriott Hotel, guests are invited to indulge in culinary delights at on-site dining venues, complemented by round-the-clock room service for ultimate convenience. Kucina highlights the art of Italian gastronomy, Sago, serves a symphony of local and international flavors all day, Lava Java is the swift go-to destination for quick energy boosts and snacks, the Greatroom bar and lounge provides a stylish ambiance for memorable evenings with expertly crafted cocktails, and La Siena, a versatile multi-function space showcases an enticing selection of food and beverage offerings. A Place for Occasions Guests are also connected to various event spaces at Penang Marriott Hotel, including a stunning pillarless grand ballroom, and five flexible function rooms, all equipped with the latest technology and customizable setups to accommodate a variety of events. "We are excited to introduce the first Marriott Executive Apartments in Malaysia, and bring this new and unique offering to Penang, providing travelers with a convenient and welcoming accommodation option in the heart of Gurney Drive", said Subash Basrur, the Complex General Manager of Penang Marriott Hotel, Marriott Executive Apartments Penang and Marriott Residences Penang. "Whether for business or leisure, Marriott Executive Apartments Penang's curated offerings ensure a harmonious blend of indulgence, relaxation, and invigoration for a promising stay and we look forward to welcoming guests with heartfelt service, culinary delights, and wellness amenities that create lasting memories." With long-term rates and Marriott Bonvoy affiliation, the Marriott Executive Apartments Penang offers an unmatched hospitality experience, where every moment is curated to perfection and every stay is unforgettable. Find out more about Marriott Executive Apartments Penang: Facebook |Instagram | Hotel Website Hotel website Guillaume Gallas has taken the reins of the collective of creatives, disruptors, mavericks, and provocateurs who constitute the Mondrian Singapore Duxton family, with a mission to take the art-forward, community-focused lifestyle hotel to the next level. Since its launch over a year ago, Mondrian Singapore Duxton has shaken up the Lion City's perception of what a hotel should be, winning fans and breaking rules with a creative approach to hospitality, cuisine, design, nightlife, and art. All of which presents exciting building blocks for the new General Manager. Gallas has established himself as a multi-skilled and commercially savvy General Manager with over twenty years of experience across numerous destinations, including London, Tokyo, Dubai, Hong Kong, Macao, Beijing, and Sultanate of Oman. Since arriving in Singapore, he has been captivated by the thriving, eclectic, and vibrant community of Duxton Hill. "This is my first time in Singapore as a General Manager, but I have visited the Lion City many times," Gallas said. "I was familiar with the usual spots like Orchard Road and Marina Bay Sands. However, after immersing myself in the Duxton Hill neighbourhood, I can say it's been a revelation. There's a genuine sense of community here, with beautiful heritage shophouses, eclectic shops, speakeasy bars, creative restaurants, tattoo parlours, and art galleries. The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas and Amadeus, together with the Culinary Union are pleased to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas and Amadeus to support the continued post-pandemic recovery of the hotel industry and to connect hospitality workers with good union jobs and on-the-job training. The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas will add Amadeus HotSOS Housekeeping software solution to its training curriculum to provide job training to youth, adults, and displaced workers. This new partnership is the result of work by researchers from five universities who study the implementation of technology in the hospitality field and will assist in evaluating and modifying the training over the next year to improve its effectiveness. Culinary Academy of Las Vegas students will receive hands-on training with Amadeus HotSOS Housekeeping solution. The HotSOS software, widely used in Las Vegas hotel properties, allows guest room attendants to log and manage housekeeping assignments, complete maintenance tasks, and respond to service orders and guest requests, ensuring a positive guest experience while tens of thousands of unionized workers, under collectively bargained contract language, maintain independent self-sequencing and a safe workload. Culinary Union contract language protects workers and ensures technology works for Culinary Union members, while achieving premiere customer service quality with daily room cleaning. This partnership is an opportunity to provide housekeeping trainees with better understanding and skills and gives workers an opportunity to be better prepared in job training and job placement, and to support in worker retention efforts. We recognize Amadeus for its expert trainers, the academic researchers for bringing us all together, and the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas for ensuring the next generation of hospitality workers are set up for success in Nevadas #1 industry. Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union We pride ourselves on providing students with the best tools possible to succeed in an evolving hospitality industry. Having Amadeus as a partner is a significant boost for our programming, preparing students for long-term career success through early exposure and thorough training using industry-leading software and technology. Ryan Brux, Curriculum and Continuing Education Program Manager at the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas This partnership demonstrates our commitment to the social and economic recovery of the travel and hotel industry. We are excited to provide training for HotSOS Housekeeping as an opportunity for people to find their next role or career in hospitality. After completing the course, students will be ready to enter the job market with the skills and confidence they need to become an asset to any hotel. Terri Lynn Beasley, Global Head of Training and Hospitality at Amadeus In collaboration with UNITE HERE, researchers from Carnegie Mellon, New Mexico State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Michigan State University, spearheaded this partnership as part of a study on preparing hospitality workers and workplaces for a more technologically rich environment. The team is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundations Future of Work initiative. Too often workers, like housekeepers, are given minimal on the job training about how to use technology. We are proud to be able to contribute to this effort to provide new technology skills to the women and men who are being trained to do one of the hardest jobs in hospitality. Jodi Forlizzi, the Herbert A. Simon Professor in Computer Science and Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University About Amadeus Amadeus powers more personalized and authentic travel experiences. Our solutions are designed to enrich every stage of the traveller journey and help hospitality providers acquire, service, and retain guests by profitably driving demand and converting them into loyal fans. Backed by over 30 years of experience, we design open, cutting-edge software to provide the most efficient, trusted, and reliable systems for our customers. With experts in 175+ countries, we have a deep understanding of the hospitality industry and a desire to enable our hotel partners to create memorable guest experiences. To find out more about Amadeus, visit www.amadeus-hospitality.com. Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. WASHINGTON American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation approved the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, which would create a nationwide standard for lodging cost transparency. The bill now awaits a full Senate vote. Todays committee vote in the Senate is an important step toward a more transparent booking process for guests and a level playing field across the lodging industry including short-term rentals, online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels, said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. We thank Sens. Klobuchar and Moran for their leadership on this issue, and we urge the Senate to quickly bring this bill to the floor for a vote. The House has already passed similar commonsense legislation and we look forward to working with both chambers to advance this bill to the presidents desk. Background On July 31, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation approved in a bipartisan vote the Hotel Fees Transparency Act (S. 2498), which was introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan. The bill, which would establish a comprehensive single standard for transparent and mandatory fee displays across the lodging industry, now awaits a full Senate vote. The U.S. House of Representatives on June 11 passed the No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543), similar legislation from Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., and Kathy Castor, D-Fla., that is also strongly supported by AHLA. AHLA has long supported the creation of a single standard for mandatory fee display across the lodging industry from short-term rental platforms, to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels. Both the House and Senate legislation would create that standard. AHLAs most recent data shows only 6% of hotels nationwide charge a mandatory resort/destination/amenity fee, at an average of $26 per night. A new learning experience from The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, Leading Employee Excellence, identifies the behaviors of example-setting leadership that powerfully and passionately inspire a culture of excellence, announced Amanda Joiner, Global Vice President of the consulting and advisory firm. The global organization leverages the legendary Gold Standards of The Ritz-Carlton to help companies create exceptional customer and employee experiences and drive competitive advantage. The Gold Standards inform our proprietary methodology, are the foundation of our learning experiences and the heart of our Mystique, said Ms. Joiner. Leading Employee Excellence was developed by the top one percent of Ritz-Carlton leaders around the world. We believe so strongly in its value that we are launching inaugural presentations at a world-class onsite experience at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas in October. Leading Employee Excellence is an immersive course guided by Ritz-Carlton facilitators to bring the leadership philosophies of The Ritz-Carlton Brand to life amplified with lively firsthand experiences, powerful videos, and engaging discussions with like-minded attendees from diverse industries. Among the 10 distinctive behaviors explored, participants will learn best practices to model brand guardianship, demonstrate accountability and entrust employees to make empowered decisions. This learning experience transcends theory by offering actionable takeaways, including a tangible six-month roadmap designed to meet the participants personalized objectives, said Ms. Joiner. The rich content is intended for leaders responsible for shaping strategies and managing the career development of others and is relevant to all industries. Leading Employee Excellence is offered as a full-day onsite experience with the option to attend either October 22 or 23, 2024, at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas. Breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon breaks, and a networking reception complete the agenda. Attendance is limited to preserve an intimate environment for elevated learning. The cost is $2495 per person. Visit Leading Employee Excellence for course details, registration and optional hotel accommodations. About The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center (TRCLC) is a global consulting and advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations create exceptional employee and customer experiences that drive competitive advantage. An extension of The Ritz-Carlton Brand, TRCLC leverages methodologies and best practices to unlock a sustainable business transformation founded on a culture of excellence. With onsite and virtual solutions ranging from immersive courses and interactive workshops to strategic advisory offerings, thousands of clients have engaged TRCLC as a trusted source to refine service excellence and deliver some of the biggest launches, innovations, and transformations across industries worldwide. Visit www.ritzcarltonleadershipcenter.com for information and join the conversation on LinkedIn. Hospitality Net today Sign up to our free daily newsletter, Read the latest edition of the HVS ANAROCK monthly industry update, Hotels & Hospitality Overview (H2O), for the key trends in the Indian hospitality industry. Key highlights include: In June 2024, domestic air passenger traffic grew by nearly 6% year-on-year. The nation-wide occupancy remained flat for both the previous month and year-on-year basis. Kochi registered the highest increase in occupancy rate, growing by 7 pp year-on-year, a notable rise compared to other cities. Meanwhile, both Hyderabad and Mumbai experienced declines in year-on-year occupancy rates, ranging from 1-3 pp. Both cities, however, saw substantial increases in average rates, with Hyderabad leading with over a 9% year-on-year increase and Mumbai up by 7%. During the month Goa and Kolkata were the only markets to experience declines in average rates when compared to June 2023, with Kolkatas rates dropping by nearly 6% from May 2024 as well. Ali Mohammed - Image Credit Four Seasons Hotels Ali Mohammed has been appointed as Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, effective immediately. Mohammed has spent the past 24 years with Four Seasons, gaining invaluable experience in each role, spanning the globe in a variety of instrumental positions. Mohammed joins Four Seasons Resort Orlando after serving as General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Miami since 2022. While in this role, he led the USD 22 million renovation of the hotel guest rooms, lobby space and corridors. Prior to Miami, Mohammed was General Manager of Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler in Canada and previously served as Resort Manager, a position he held for a year and a half before his promotion. Im thrilled to join Four Seasons Resort Orlando as Regional Vice President and General Manager. This Resort is truly world-class, and Im extremely honoured to lead the #1 rated resort in Walt Disney World and the #4 rated resort in the nation, by US News & World Report, says Mohammed. Its an exciting time for me to embark on this new chapter, as Four Seasons Orlando is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with many new offerings and enhancements. Prior to Whistler, Mohammed worked at Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria from 2015 to 2017 and had a short stint at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai in Thailand. His experience also includes serving as Director of Rooms at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, and as Resort Manager at Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Thailand. Mohammed began his Four Seasons career as a Security Officer at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence in Egypt. During his time in Cairo, he also gained experience as a Housekeeping Supervisor. He then went on to hold various housekeeping and rooms positions, with stops in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Great Exuma, Bahamas; Cairo Nile Plaza, Egypt; Toronto, Canada; and Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru. His global experience will undoubtedly serve him well in Orlando, the #1 most visited destination in the United States, welcoming travellers from around the world. An Egyptian and Canadian national, Mohammed holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Cairo University. In his spare time, Mohammed is a fitness enthusiast who loves the outdoors and has a strong passion for running and road biking. Mohammed is excited to call the Orlando area home, alongside his wife and their three children. Dual-Branded Marriott Hotel Opens in Annapolis, Maryland - Image Credit Marriott International Colwen Hotels and Marriott International announce the opening of the first Marriott Bonvoy dual-branded Annapolis hotel; Residence Inn & Fairfield Inn & Suites. The hotel is set in the historic heart of the city where Annapolis served as the first capital of the United States. Positioned downtown, the property is the closest walkable hotel to the iconic Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The four-story Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott property offers two accommodation types and features an integrated reception desk, lobby, 24/7 market, business center, fitness facility, guest laundry, complimentary breakfast, bar and lounge, outdoor patio, dog park, and free enhanced Wi-Fi. The Residence Inn features 78 spacious extended stay suites including fully equipped kitchens with a full-size refrigerator, microwave oven, cook-top stove and a dishwasher. The Fairfield Inn offers 75 guestrooms including multi-functional seating, microwave, plush bedding and smart bedside charging outlets. Groups enjoy access to a 576 sq. ft. stylish meeting room perfect for meetings of up to 40 attendees. The Boardroom seats 8 guests conference style. Both come equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities and professional service. Jason Schwemer, General Manager of the dual-branded hotel, stated, Our team is very excited to open this new property in historic Annapolis. We are particularly proud to be the first dual-branded hotel in the market. The hotel is located just 15 miles to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) and is within walking distance to access the Annapolis Shuttle to the Downtown Waterfront area full of shopping and dining. AHLA Statement on Senate Committee Passage of Hotel Fees Transparency Act - Image Credit AHLA American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation approved the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, which would create a nationwide standard for lodging cost transparency. The bill now awaits a full Senate vote. Todays committee vote in the Senate is an important step toward a more transparent booking process for guests and a level playing field across the lodging industry including short-term rentals, online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels, said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. We thank Sens. Klobuchar and Moran for their leadership on this issue, and we urge the Senate to quickly bring this bill to the floor for a vote. The House has already passed similar commonsense legislation and we look forward to working with both chambers to advance this bill to the presidents desk. Background On July 31, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation approved in a bipartisan vote the Hotel Fees Transparency Act (S. 2498), which was introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan. The bill, which would establish a comprehensive single standard for transparent and mandatory fee displays across the lodging industry, now awaits a full Senate vote. The U.S. House of Representatives on June 11 passed the No Hidden FEES Act (H.R. 6543), similar legislation from Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., and Kathy Castor, D-Fla., that is also strongly supported by AHLA. AHLA has long supported the creation of a single standard for mandatory fee display across the lodging industry from short-term rental platforms, to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and hotels. Both the House and Senate legislation would create that standard. AHLAs most recent data shows only 6% of hotels nationwide charge a mandatory resort/destination/amenity fee, at an average of $26 per night. Greylock Thunder to Hold 18U Softball Tryout ADAMS, Mass. -- The Greylock Thunder travel softball program will hold tryouts for next year's 18-and-under tournament/showcase team on Saturday, Aug. 17. The tryout will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at Russell Field, 500 Harmony St. The team is looking for varsity-level players. Pitchers and catchers are needed. For information, contact Gary Puppolo at gpuppolo92757@gmail.com Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Jamie Lee Curtis has apologized to Marvel after her dismissive joke about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The 65-year-old Oscar-winner was being interviewed at San Diego Comic-Con when she was asked what phase the MCU is currently in. She replied: Bad. After her withering response went viral, Curtis took to Instagram to issue an apology. If Im a leader, then a leader shouldnt talk s*** about other collaborative art form creators, she wrote. My comments about Marvel were stupid and I will do better. She went on to say that she had also apologized to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige directly. Ive reached out to Kevin Feige and will no longer play in that mud slinging sandbox of competition nor will I engage in the toilet paper promotion or game play that is designed for clicks not content, she added. Jamie Lee Curtis attends the IMDboat at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ( Mat Hayward/Getty Images for IMDb ) Curtis was at Comic-Con to promote her appearance in the upcoming action-adventure Borderlands. She wasnt the only star unable to identify the current status of the MCU. Rings of Power actor Ema Horvath guessed: A transitional phase. While Speak No Evil star Mackenzie Davis responded: Death. Hey Marvel, she just terminated you, joked her co-star James McAvoy. Both McAvoy and Dexter: Original Sins Christian Slater were able to correctly answer that Marvel is currently in phase 5. Next years The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to mark the start of Phase 6. Curtis has some history with Marvel. In 2022, she made a series of social media posts comparing her film Everything Everywhere All At Once to Marvels Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Both films deal with the concept of the multiverse. In one post, Curtis accused Doctor Strange of mimicking artwork, writing: Is it JUST me? Does it seem STRANGE that our tiny movie that could and did and continues to do ##1movieinamerica and is TRULY MARVELOUS, out marvels any Marvel movie they put out there @everythingeverywheremovie has a Marvel movie coming out with a copycat poster? Is this one of those Internet feuds? In another, she wrote of Everything Everywhere All At Once: MARVELOUS! It has a deep BEATING heart and BRILLIANT visual treats, EXTRAORDINARY performances and FANTASTIC BEASTLY FIGHT SCENES...... AND it COST LESS than the ENTIRE craft service budget on Doctor Strange and/or any other Marvel movie. She continued: COMPETITIVE? F*** YES. I wasnt head cheerleader in high school for nothing. And P.S. our movie has a dynamite dildo fight scene as well as a very erotic hotdog hand mating dance and rocks. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Curtis went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, by directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. In a five-star review for The Independent, film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote that the film presents an ingenious, nuanced multiverse that leaves Marvel in the dust. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Fontaines DC have canceled their scheduled Istanbul, Turkey gig in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The five-piece Irish post-punk band made up of Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos OConnell (guitar), Tom Coll (drums), Conor Deegan III (bass) and Conor Curley (guitar) made the announcement on their Instagram Story on Thursday (August 1). To all our wonderful fans in Turkey, the statement began. Further to conversations with Palestinian artists and human rights activists, we have now decided to cancel our show at Sorlu PSM, Istanbul on Tuesday 20th August. The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, led by the largest Palestinian coalition, has called on artists to refuse to play Zorlu PSM until Zorlu fully divests from the supply of energy to Israel while it carries out what the International Court of Justice now agrees is plausibly a genocide. It continued: We were really looking forward to visiting and playing beautiful Istanbul, however in this instance, we must be clear in our convictions and put solidarity with the people of Palestine first. We promise to play in Turkey as soon as we can make it possible. They noted that full ticket refunds would be available from the point of purchase. In May, Latitude Festival was similarly boycotted by several artists over its Barclays sponsorship. The British bank has been accused of trying to art wash its reputation by sponsoring music events while allegedly increasing its investment in arms companies that trade with Israel. Fontaines DC cancel Turkey gig in solidarity with Palestine ( Fontaines DC on Instagram ) Fontaines DC are currently touring around Europe and playing at various festivals, including the UKs Reading Festival and Leeds Festival on August 24 and 25, respectively. The I Love You band are gearing up to release their new 11-track album, Romance, on August 23, which they will support with a worldwide tour. Beginning on September 20 in Seattle, Washington, they will embark on a 20-date US and Canadian tour, making stops in major cities including San Francisco, California; Englewood, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; Toronto, Ontario; Boston, Massachusetts; and Washington, DC before wrapping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 10. Following a month-long pause, they will then return to the UK and Ireland on November 20 to continue their tour, making stops in Wolverhampton, London, Cardiff, Plymouth, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Dublin. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up In a 2023 interview with The Independent, music producer Dan Carey, who has become inextricably linked to Fontaines DC having produced their first three albums, spoke about recording the bands easy and buzzy debut 2019 record, Dogrel. It was so immediate and raw, he said, adding: At the beginning, there was this kind of fearlessness that came from there not really being any expectations. Fontaines DC have since released A Heros Death (2020) and Skinty Fia (2022). Romance will be released on August 23. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Netflix has admitted that Baby Reindeers real-life Martha Scott was never convicted of stalking the shows writer and star, Richard Gadd, an admission that could have an impact on the outcome of the $170m defamation lawsuit against the streamer. Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey, who claims to be the inspiration behind the shows antagonist Martha (Jessica Gunning), is suing Netflix for defamation. In the show, Martha is shown pleading guilty to stalking and being sentenced to prison. The series is billed as a true story, which Harvey argues in her lawsuit is the biggest lie in television history. When Netflixs senior UK director of public policy, Benjamin King, appeared in UK Parliament before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in May, he argued that Baby Reindeer was a true story of the horrific abuse suffered by Gadd at the hands of a convicted stalker. However, committee member John Nicolson then wrote to Netflix asking for evidence to back up this claim. In his response, King wrote: I wanted to clarify our understanding that the person on whom the show is based who we have at no point sought to identify was subject to a court order rather than a conviction. open image in gallery Jessica Gunning as Martha in the hit Netflix drama Baby Reindeer' ( Netflix ) King added: The writer of Baby Reindeer endured serious harassment over many months (as it now seems has been the case for many others), which had a significant impact on his wellbeing. Earlier this week, Gadd backed Netflix in their effort to dismiss Harveys lawsuit. While Gadd isnt named as a defendant in the $50m (39m) lawsuit, he filed a response in federal court defending a motion to dismiss Harveys claim in a declaration dated 28 July. In the 21-page document, Gadd describes the alleged ordeal he underwent while he knew Harvey. Overall, it was an incredibly stressful and worrying time, with a sustained period of relentless behaviour taking place over several years, he writes. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free It is impossible to be exhaustive in setting out all of Harveys conduct, as there were so many instances of unwelcome personal interaction and attempts to engage, as well as deeply troubling communication. However, he also argues that Martha is a fictional character. I never intended the Series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey, writes Gadd. Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. Like all characters in the Series, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different than Harveys. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Maya Rudolph will reportedly bring back her popular impression of Vice President Kamala Harris to the new season of Saturday Night Live. Rudolph, 51, who was a regular cast member on the NBC sketch series from 2000 to 2007, made one of several returns to the show in 2019 where she debuted her portrayal of the VP. During the episode, she sparred with Woody Harrelsons Joe Biden and riffed on Harriss most memorable lines from the first round of Democratic primary debates. She then famously brought back her impersonation of Harris for the shows 46th season in 2021. Since President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris to replace him in the 2024 presidential race against Donald Trump, SNL fans have been begging for Rudolphs return. Now, according to Deadline, it appears fans wishes have been answered as Rudolph is set to reprise her Harris character for the shows 50th season, which returns on September 28 and runs through the November 2024 presidential election. Earlier this month, it was reported that there were no discussions about Rudolph returning to the show, as her schedule was filled with other obligations, including pre-production on season three of her Apple TV+ comedy series Loot. However, pre-production for the show, which was scheduled to begin filming on August 26, has been halted, Deadline reports. open image in gallery Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live ( NBC ) Members of the cast and crew told the outlet that production on the show produced by Universal Television, a division of NBC had been pushed back to January 3, 2025, due to scheduling reasons. The Independent has contacted NBC for comment. Rudolphs representative did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment. Back in 2019, during an appearance on MSNBC, Harris joked that she intended to keep Maya Rudolph in work for the next eight years. Rudolph earned her first Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her 2019 performance as Harris. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free The Bridesmaids actor most recently landed four Emmy nods: two for her hosting stint on SNLs Mothers Day episode, one for her voice-over work in Netflixs Big Mouth and another for her leading performance in Apple TV+s comedy series Loot. Harris, meanwhile, has surpassed the necessary threshold of support from delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. An official vote to ratify Harris as the nominee will begin on Thursday before concluding on Monday (August 5). On Tuesday (August 6), she will hold a rally in Philadelphia, where she will appear with her official running mate. At the moment, there are three names who have risen to the top of Harris shortlist after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper took himself out of contention to be Harris VP. The United States is halting more than $95 million in aid to the Georgian government due to worries about anti-democratic actions and false statements by Georgian leaders. This decision was announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.Blinken said the Georgian government's actions do not meet the democratic standards expected for countries seeking to join the European Union and NATO. The aid being suspended was intended to support the Georgian government directly.Even though this aid is being stopped, the US will still support programs that help the people of Georgia. The focus will be on improving democracy, the rule of law, and economic development in the country.Over the last 32 years, the US has given more than $6.2 billion in aid to Georgia. This money has helped build schools, hospitals, and strengthen Georgia's military and coast guard.Blinken assured that despite the aid suspension, the US remains committed to helping the Georgian people and supporting their goals for a stronger democracy and closer ties with Europe. "We will continue to stand by the Georgian people," he said.The Helsinki Commission has called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to impose sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of Georgian Dream party.In a letter signed by Congressmen Joe Wilson, Steve Cohen, Richard Hudson, and Mark Wiese, the commission supports Blinken's recent policy of visa restrictions on those undermining Georgia's democracy. However, they argue that more immediate action is needed to protect Georgian citizens and reinforce democratic norms.The commission specifically targets Ivanishvili and his associates, urging the US to impose financial sanctions on them. They claim that Ivanishvili and his circle are central figures in corruption and anti-Western influence in Georgia. "It is essential that those who perpetuate corruption and undermine democracy face consequences," the letter reads. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Between the coconut trees, bungalows and rice paddies of this remote village in southern India there is a bizarre sight: a collection of giant blue posters adorned with the face of US vice president Kamala Harris, each wishing her in the local Tamil language luck for Novembers presidential election. It is more than a century since Harriss grandfather was born here in Thulasendrapuram, a tiny hamlet some 300km away from the state capital Chennai. Yet remarkably the Democrat and her family still maintain good ties to their ancestral home, a fact that has won her a village full of adoring fans a world away from Washington DC. Outside the villages 300-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Sastha there is a black stone tablet, proclaiming the names of major donors. There, written alongside an amount of Rs 5000 (46.50), is Kamala Harris a record of an offering made in her name in 2014, at at time when she was still serving as Californias attorney general. open image in gallery Road leading to Thulasendrapuram village ( Vishwam Sankaran ) The Sri Dharma Sastha Temple is abuzz at 6.30am with shops opening ahead of morning prayers. Siva Kumar, the priest in charge of the morning schedule, recalls a relative making the donation to the temples consecration on Harriss behalf. Even after her family has moved from the village, they still sponsor prayers at the temple, not giving up on their roots. That is a source of pride for us, says N Maheshwari, who runs a grocery shop close to the temple. Harriss grandfather PV Gopalan was born in Thulasendrapuram in the early 1900s and moved away from the village, first to Chennai and later to Delhi, to become a civil servant in British-ruled India. His success paved the way for Harriss mother, Shyamala Gopalan, to move to the US when she was 19 to study biomedical science at UC Berkeley. It was there that she met her future husband Donald Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica. open image in gallery A banner wishing victory for Kamala Harris at Indian village Thulasendrapuram ( Vishwam Sankaran ) Almost everyone in the village seems to be aware of Harriss family history, even though the home where that story began no longer stands. People here appreciate that the family remembers where they came from, and that members of Harriss family living in India still stop by regularly. Her uncle Balachandran from Delhi and aunt Sarala from Chennai visit the local temple about once a year. The family is still connected to the village, Ramalingam, who lives near the temple, tells The Independent. open image in gallery Sri Darma Sastha Temple in Thulasendrapuram ( Vishwam Sankaran ) Further down the villages main road, a couple of hundred metres from the temple, is a neighbourhood of Brahmins caste segregation remains a phenomenon in many rural parts of India where residents say Harriss grandparents most likely lived. The homes here have large thinnais or raised platforms on their verandahs, characteristic of homes for better-off families in villages in the area, along with other features like concrete floors and a large tank to store water in one corner of the house. Round the corner lives retired banker N Krishnamurthy, who has become something of a local authority on all matters relating to Harris and her ancestors. Some 80 years back one Gopal Iyer (Mr Gopalan) was living here with his wife Rajam. They were staying here at a house in this corner at the end of the agraharam. Now the house is not there. The place is nothing but a barren land now, he says. Polls show tight race: Trump vs. Harris While talking to The Independent he repeatedly fields phone calls from people enquiring about Harriss latest election prospects now that Biden has stepped down from the race, leaving her the presumptive Democratic candidate. Ms Harris was not so well known in the village until it was announced she was the vice presidential candidate [in August 2020]. This was when we started gathering information, says Krishnamurthy, who has lived in the village for the last 15 years. Harris is said to have visited Thulasendrapuram herself when she was five years old, and in interviews has recalled memories of walking with her grandfather on the beach in Chennai. She hasnt been back to Tamil Nadu, or indeed visited India as a whole, since becoming vice president. open image in gallery Banner wishing for Kamala Harris success placed against a house in Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu ( Vishwam Sankaran ) Nonetheless, residents here say there will be big celebrations if she can go one step further and enters the White House. Maheshwari, the shopkeeper, points to a calendar with photos of president Biden and Harris that occupies pride of place on the counter. Even people who migrate from the village to some place further north within India forget their ancestral deities, she says, contrasting this to Harris and her family. We have been following her journey since she was nominated vice president in 2020. Back then we conducted special prayers at the temple when she won and distributed sweets to celebrate her victory. We will do it again if she becomes president this time. open image in gallery Stone engraving of donation made to temple in the name of Kamala Harris by her Indian relatives highlighted ( Vishwam Sankaran ) Some villagers suggest a win for Harris could strengthen ties between the US and India, although they are realistic about whether any benefits would extend to this tiny village 8,000 miles away from Washington DC. There was a lot of news coverage about our village when she became vice president, and afterwards officials, including some from the US consulate, came to inspect schools and water bodies here. Nothing happened after that, a resident says as she prepares fodder for her cows. Even now we understand theres not much in her power to help the village, but we still hope she wins, she says. open image in gallery Local resident and grocery shopkeeper Maheshwari with Biden-Harris calendar ( Vishwam Sankaran ) Assuming she is named the Democratic nominee at the partys convention next month, Harris will face Donald Trump in Novembers election, and there are plenty of fans in India for the Republican who, during his time in office, found a kindred spirit in prime minister Narendra Modi. There are no Trump supporters to be found in Thulasendrapuram, however, with many residents saying they are only interested in following the US elections because Harris is involved. One villager, Maniyan S, puts it like this: Trump is an American. But Harris is a woman with Indian roots, and her ancestry is from our land. It would be a source of great pride if a woman from our land wins the American election. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy At least 10 people died in Indias national capital region after heavy rainfall led to water logging and closure of schools and offices. The Meteorological Department issued an alert as Delhi recorded over 100mm rain in a span of an hour yesterday while the government announced the closure of schools. Residents were advised to stay indoors after waterlogging in several areas choked traffic. A woman and her son drowned on Wednesday in a drain in East Delhis Mayur Vihar, as the city received its highest rain in 14 years.According to the police, the boy, Priyansh, slipped into an open drain which was not visible due to heavy flooding. The mother, identified as Tanuja, also fell inside while trying to rescue her son. Two more people died on Wednesday, including one in a house collapse, reported India Today. A 12-year-old boy died from electrocution while he was returning home from tuition. Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. In the neighbouring satellite township of Gurugram, at least three people were electrocuted to death by a live wire submerged in a waterlogged area. In Greater Noida, two people died due to a wall collapse. Flight operations have also been hit, with diversion of at least 10 flights heading to the national capital, reported CNN-IBN. The national capital region encompasses Delhi and several districts surrounding it from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. open image in gallery A man pulls a cart packed with goods as he wades through the rain on a street in Kolkata, India, 31 July 2024 ( Reuters ) Visuals from ANI news agency showed flooding in the northern part of the city where three students drowned in a flooded basement last week. Prime minister Narendra Modis governing Bharatiya Janata Party found itself in the line of fire, after opposition parliamentarians raised concerns about a section of a leaking roof in the newly inaugurated parliament building. The building, constructed as part of the governments larger Central Vista redevelopment project, was inaugurated by Mr Modi on 28 May last year with both the Houses shifted to the new premises on 19 September. Congress parliamentarian Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion of the ongoing parliamentary session, seeking formation of special committee to inspect the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials, and recommend necessary repairs. Meanwhile, at least 11 people died after heavy rain lashed various parts of northern India and more than 250 people were missing after downpours in the Himalayas, including people stranded on a famous pilgrimage route. open image in gallery Indian men walk through a road during heavy rain in Prayagraj, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, 31 July 2024 ( AP ) IMD recorded 183mm (seven inches) of rain in the past 24 hours in the famous tourist destination of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. More than 50 people were missing after heavy rain over state capital Shimla and surrounding regions, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a post on X, adding that rescue operations were ongoing. Two people died after a barrage in a power project was breached, obstructing connectivity in the region, state revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi told news agency ANI. Indian Express newspaper reported that four people were killed after a cloudburst in the state of Uttarakhand and 200 pilgrims were stranded after rain washed away a part of their walking path. Torrential rains, which, along with unabated construction have frequently triggered deadly flash floods and landslides in the mountains of India and neighbouring Pakistan and Nepal over the past few years, have been attributed to climate change. open image in gallery People wait to check the identity of the victims at a morgue following Tuesday's landslides in Wayanad, Kerala state, India ( AP ) In the south, hopes of finding survivors began to fade as hundreds of rescuers worked through slush and rocks and pulled out bodies from debris in the hills of Kerala state, a day after 167 people were killed in monsoon landslides. Steady rain that intensified as the day progressed and the rising water level in a local river hampered the rescue, with a temporary bridge built to connect the worst affected area of Mundakkai being washed away. The weather department has forecast more heavy rain over the next 24 hours, Keralas chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said and urged people to be on high alert. Heavy rain in Kerala, one of Indias most popular tourist destinations, led to the landslides in its Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept. Experts said the area had received heavy rain in the last two weeks that softened the soil. Extremely heavy rainfall on Monday then triggered the landslides. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from the hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates, authorities said. Additional reporting from agencies General practitioners in England have voted overwhelmingly to take a form of industrial action in protest at a 1.9 per cent increase in public funding for surgeries. The GPs will be working to their contracts for the foreseeable future, and have thus created a major problem for the NHS in patient care, and for the new government in trying to fulfil its manifesto promises to reform, fund and fix the health service. Its the first such national action (albeit Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own devolved arrangements) and a substantial challenge to the authority of Wes Streeting, the health secretary. Didnt the doctors just get a 22 per cent pay rise? The junior doctors in hospitals and clinics, employed as staff by the NHS, have indeed had their long-held claim settled (though not without the threat of further strikes). However, GPs are self-employed and their practices are effectively small (or not-so-small) businesses, with all the pressures that entails. It is an odd arrangement because their sole customer is the NHS, which agrees services with them but negotiates collectively on a national basis with the British Medical Association. The anomalous arrangement goes back to the genesis of the NHS in 1948, when Nye Bevan, father of the service, said he had to stuff their mouths with gold and allow doctors their autonomy and freedom to take on private patients. Will it make it harder to see the doctor? Inevitably. Although surgeries are still required to be open from 9am to 6pm, the number of patients that GPs will see in a day will decline, so the scramble for an appointment will be even more frenetic, and success entirely unrelated to clinical need. Some sick people will instead head to A&E, walk-in clinics and other facilities, adding to already intense pressures there. Others, a minority, may opt to go private, which further fractures the national system; a few will resort to pharmacies, as the previous government suggested. It will harm some peoples chances of an early diagnosis and worsen outcomes. How far this will happen remains to be seen. Arent some GPs actually unemployed, though? Yes, because the practices cannot afford to take them on at the expected salary levels. Some extra funding is being made available for the temporary use of GPs to get waiting lists down over the next six months. But it is not a permanent answer. The advent of a new health professional, the physician associate, is supposed to offer a more cost-effective method of delivering primary care, and the General Medical Council is in favour of it, but the GPs as a whole are bitterly opposed and complain that it will compromise diagnosis and degrade patient care. GPs have also been concerned in the past about the limit of 1m for a tax-free pension pot. Some GP practices are closing because they are not viable, which is also making matters worse. Its all about money, in the end. What are the politics of this? It proves that merely electing a Labour government with a landslide majority doesnt, in itself, solve anything. Precisely the same money troubles, backlogs and structural challenges are there as they were when the last Conservative health secretary, Victoria Atkins, left office almost a month ago. Certainly, despite the goodwill and Streetings often repeated keenness to get around the table and negotiate, it suggests that there may be as many, if not more, strikes during this administration than the last. The fact that the junior doctors dispute was rapidly ended with them securing a bumper pay rise after a series of quite disruptive and relatively long strikes may encourage other groups as well as the GPs to follow their (arguably) militant approach. What will Streeting do? Talk and try to offer a better future but probably without much in the way of hard cash. The manifesto states: We will train thousands more GPs, guarantee a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one and deliver a modern appointment booking system to end the 8am scramble. We will bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient, so ongoing or complex conditions are dealt with effectively. Labour will also take the pressure off GP surgeries, by improving access to services and treatment through new routes. We will create a Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service, granting more pharmacists independent prescribing rights where clinically appropriate. Behind the often violent partisan rhetoric, Labours approach is not so radically different from the last governments, with the important exception of that junior doctors pay settlement. Whats the answer? Streeting wants to move the GPs out of their traditional partnerships and into the NHS salary structure, perhaps via the new Neighbourhood Health Centres. Labour says they will work by bringing together existing services such as family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, palliative care and mental health specialists under one roof. But the starting point is that GP partnerships are in decline and perhaps not sustainable. As Streeting mused last year: Im minded to phase out the whole system of GP partners altogether and look at salaried GPs working in modern practices alongside a range of other professionals. What are the dangers? If Labour and Streeting fail to improve satisfaction with NHS care, critics on the right will claim that the NHS is no longer fit for purpose. Part of the improvement during the Blair-Brown years was down to a new and fairly generous GP contract, it is worth noting. Reform UK is already advocating shrinking the service to one for the poor. At the moment, such ideas are unpopular but constant strikes and ever-lengthening waits will erode faith in the system. That, the BMA should realise, will not necessarily be of benefit to GPs. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hannah Neeleman, also known as Ballerina Farm, has issued a response to a viral article about her lifestyle, which further ignited debates about trad wife influencers. The 34-year-old mother of eight recently became the subject of significant online discourse surrounding trad wives a label applied to women who adopt traditional roles of motherhood and homemaking after The Times published an in-depth profile on Neeleman, titled: Meet the queen of the trad wives (and her eight children). Neeleman, who has 17 million followers across her Instagram and TikTok accounts, has risen to social media stardom for her idyllic content and daily vlogs depicting life with her husband, Daniel Neeleman, and their children on their 328-acre farm in Utah. The Juilliard-trained ballerina is often seen online wearing frilly smocks and aprons, as she makes recipes from scratch, tends to their livestock, and sells raw milk and sourdough starter on their Ballerina Farm website. However, the viral Times article also pointed out the physical and emotional labor that Neeleman performs for her family on a daily basis, so much so that she sometimes gets so ill from exhaustion that she cant get out of bed for a week. Now, in a video posted to her Instagram and TikTok on July 31, Neeleman has spoken out about the article, calling writer Megan Agnews piece an attack on her family and marriage. A couple of weeks ago, we had a reporter come into our home to learn more about our family and business, Neeleman narrated in the get ready with me style clip, which showed her doing her morning skincare routine, working out, and cooking breakfast for her family. We thought the interview went really well, very similar to the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory. We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed article, which shocked us and shocked the world by being an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me as oppressed with my husband being the culprit, Neeleman continued. This couldnt be further from the truth, she said. Nothing we said in the interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the angle taken was predetermined. The influencer explained that God and family are her and her husbands main priorities, emphasizing that the greatest day of my life was when she and Daniel were married 13 years ago. Together we have built a business from scratch, weve brought eight children into this world, and have prioritized our marriage all along the way. We are co-parents, co-CEOs, co-diaper changers, kitchen cleaners and decision makers. We are one, and I love him more today than I did 13 years ago, Neeleman said. She maintained that the couple still have many dreams to accomplish and that they arent done growing their family. While Neeleman said shes excited to see what the future holds for them, she added: For now, Im doing what I love most: being a mother, wife, a businesswoman, a farmer, a lover of Jesus, and making meals from scratch. On both Instagram and TikTok, she captioned the minute-and-30-second-long video: What Ive been thinking lately The viral Times article, published on July 20, had detailed certain aspects of Neelemans traditional lifestyle much of which she hadnt disclosed to her millions of social media followers. For one, some fans were outraged that Neeleman has no childcare to help her with the daily duties of raising her eight children: sons Henry, 12; Charles, 10; and George, nine, as well as daughters Frances, seven; Lois, five; Martha, three; Mabel, two; and Flora, one. Neeleman had also opted out of taking pain-relievers when giving birth to nearly all of her children except for her daughter Martha who was born in a hospital instead of their usual home birth. Speaking to The Times, Neeleman admitted that she got an epidural during Marthas birth because she was two weeks overdue and already 10 pounds. She reportedly lowered her voice when her husband wasnt in the room, describing giving birth with an epidural as an amazing experience. It was kinda great, she added. Neeleman, who was raised a devout Mormon in Utah, left home at age 17 to attend the Juilliard School in New York City for ballet. However, shortly after marrying Daniel and welcoming their third child, she quit dancing professionally once the family eventually settled in Utah. According to The Times, Neeleman had initially planned on converting the small barn on their farm into a ballet studio, but the space was instead turned into a schoolroom for her children. When asked about the trad wife label in her interview, the influencer maintained that she doesnt identify with the internet trend. I dont necessarily identify with it because we are traditional in the sense that its a man and a woman, we have children, but I do feel like were paving a lot of paths that havent been paved before, Neeleman said. So for me to have the label of a traditional woman, Im kinda like, I dont know if I identify with that. In a follow-up post shared to the Ballerina Farm social media accounts, Neeleman encouraged fans to learn about our story in my own words and directed them to the Ballerina Farm websites About Us page. Everyday I share a glimpse into our rural farm and family life here in the mountains of northern Utah. I wear many hats mom, wife, cook, business owner, content creator, lover of God and all things butter, she captioned the post. For long time followers and those just joining the journey, I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you our story in my own words. Neeleman has been at the center of online trad wife debates, most notably alongside fellow influencer Nara Smith whos also gained a massive internet following for her DIY recipes from scratch. The trad wife phenomenon has grown on platforms like TikTok within the past year, as young women share videos of themselves raising children and performing household duties, which some critics claim are packaged in a way to glamorize traditional gender roles. Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Simone Biles has revealed that therapy played a major role in her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 27-year-old athlete made history on Tuesday when she became the most decorated American gymnast, after the womens US gymnastics team scored gold during the all-around finals. The victory marked a comeback for Biles, who had withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to her mental health. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after Team USAs stunning performance, Biles detailed the positive impact that going to therapy right before the competition had on her gold medal-winning performance. At the beginning of the day, I started off with therapy this morning so that was super exciting. And then I told her I was feeling calm and ready, Biles told reporters in Paris, according to CNN. And thats kind of exactly what happened. After I finished vault, I was relieved. I was like: Wooo, because please, no flashbacks or anything, Biles recalled. But I did feel a lot of relief. And as soon as I landed vault, I was like: Oh, yeah, Im definitely [okay], were gonna do this. Before she arrived in France for this years summer Olympics, Biles also spoke with Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb about the importance of incorporating therapy into her daily routine. You dont bury things anymore. You speak them out loud. You talk about therapy, where you are, where youre going. Tell me about this part of you, Kotb said during an episode of her podcast, Making Space with Hoda Kotb, released on July 31. Ive always tried to stay authentic to myself, so I feel like the new me, Im a little bit older, more mature, so just being unapologetically me, the gymnast said. Kotb then explained how many people tend to bury their feelings in order to appear stronger, which is ultimately the worst idea. open image in gallery Simone Biles becomes most decorated American gymnast after scoring gold during womens all-around finals ( Getty Images ) As she asked if Biles felt different now that shes been open with her mental health journey, the Olympian replied: I feel a lot more free, especially going to therapy and doing those sessions so that physically and mentally I feel better, and I know thats an important part of my routine. So just staying on top of that, it lightens the load a lot. The professional athlete went on to credit therapy as helping her overcome her trauma, most notably after publicly revealing she was sexually abused by Team USAs former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. In 2018, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography. I think, before, I was pushing down my trauma, and now Ive learned to speak on it and kind of release that, Biles said during the podcast, before adding: I think we used to think of therapy as a weakness, and now I think of it as a strength. And if theres somebody that can help me deal with what Im going through, then thats what I need to do. And now its a daily part of my routine. In 2021, Biles pulled out of the womens all-around gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health, after suffering from a condition known as the twisties. The phenomenon, typically experienced by gymnasts, involves losing control mid-air and feeling unable to land the move, creating a high-risk and dangerous situation. Biles has previously described the twisties as being lost in the air, likening the uncomfortable experience to being unable to drive while at the wheel in a car. In addition to Biles, Team USA gymnasts Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, and Jade Carey posed for cameras at the Bercy Arena with their gold medals. The US womens gymnastics team finished with a score of 171.296, nearly six points ahead of runner-up Italy who took home the silver medal. Meanwhile, Brazil finished in third place with the bronze medal. Biles is set to return to Bercy Arena on Thursday, August 1, for the womens all-around individual finals, alongside Lee. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Tom Daley has finished knitting his 2024 Paris Olympics sweater days after winning a silver medal for diving. In an Instagram Video shared on July 31, the 30-year-old athlete revealed the final product after finally finishing the knitting project he was working on while watching the competition. A shirtless Daley started the video holding up the red, white, and blue colored sweater, explaining: We got Paris 24 on the front with the French and the British flag on the bottom, and Daley on the back. Daley pointed out little details that made the sweater extra personal, including his initials TD on the left sleeve as well as the number five referencing his fifth Olympics entry on the other sleeve. He noted that he liked the sweaters boxy fit, adding: Its always so fun to have this as a little bit of a memory from my time here in Paris. But I think its cute. What do you think? In the comment section, people were awestruck at what the diver created, with the Adidas Instagram account even calling him a bonafide fashion designer. The company wrote, Adding fashion designer to the cv. World class Tom, just like your diving! the Eurosport account added. I love it. Wow you are a fast knitter, one person commented. I dont even crochet my sweaters that fast. Awesome work. Especially how you combined so many features throughout! [Youre] amazing! You are too talented for words!! someone else gushed. Daley also showed off his latest creation on the Instagram account of his knitwear clothing company, Made with Love by Tom Daley. He teased the new creation on a 17 July Instagram post, hinting that he would be working on a new garment as he joined the crowd as a spectator, watching other athletes compete. Besides sketches of his creation, the athlete wrote: My fifth Olympics is underway! I just wanted to jump in here and say a big thank you for all the support, and to let you know that we have so many exciting things coming up for #madewithlove. The Olympic diver last went viral for his penchant for knitting after being spotted knitting during the Tokyo Olympics. For Team Great Britain, Daley came out of retirement to win silver alongside Noah Williams in the mens synchronized 10-meter platform on July 29 at the Paris Aquatics Center. As for whether or not the 2024 Paris Olympics will be his last, Daley told Olympics.com that it remains to be seen. Who knows you know? Ill definitely be there, he referenced the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. I dont know in what capacity - anything can happen in four years. Im an old man already. Ill be 34 then so yeah, well see. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} China sanctioned a United States lawmaker Wednesday for frequently interfering in China's domestic affairs, in its latest effort to express displeasure with U.S. politicians who have criticized China's policy and practice. The sanction against Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, is symbolic, since the congressman has no assets in China or business dealings there. The sanction includes freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him and his family a visa to enter the country, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the social media platform X, McGovern called the sanctions absurd and said he would wear his as a badge of honor. If (Chinese) leaders don't like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record, McGovern wrote on X. They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong. McGovern is the ranking member of the House Committee on Rules, and he co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. He also is a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses on China's human rights record. Beijing has previously sanctioned a number of U.S. lawmakers, former Trump administration officials, and companies. It sanctioned Rep. Michael McCaul, also chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and former Rep. Michael Gallagher over their support for Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China claims as its own. In 2020 it sanctioned Rep. Chris Smith and several U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. McGovern and McCaul, along with two senators, last year introduced bicameral legislation calling for stronger U.S. support for Tibet, a region in China where human rights groups have criticized authorities for the treatment of ethnic Tibetans. Congress approved the bill in June, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in July. ___ Tang contributed from Washington D.C. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} China will ban the export of all unregulated civilian drones that can be used for military purposes or in terrorist activities and restrict certain drone features as Beijing faces repeated Western criticism for its stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Commerce Ministry said in a statement Wednesday the decision was made also to prevent the use of drones in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, adding that aspects such as infrared imaging equipment lasers for target indication and high-precision inertial measurement equipment will be placed on an export control list. The ministry also said it was removing temporary restrictions placed on civilian drones. It didnt specify which type, but last year Beijing restricted the exports of long-range drones while citing Russias war in Ukraine. The regulations take effect Sept. 1. Media reports and U.S. government intelligence have frequently said Russia has bought drones from China for military use. In April, U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive findings said Chinas sales to Russia have surged to be used against Ukraine, and that both have been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia. Drones have become integral in the Russia-Ukraine war. China is the fourth-largest exporter of weapons in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, after the U.S., France and Russia. The bulk of its exports went to Pakistan, SIPRI data shows, while it also sold arms to states in Asia and Africa. U.S. security officials have increasingly become concerned about the use of Chinese drones by U.S. government departments. DJI Technology Co., a Chinese company, is one of the global industrys top producers of drones, used widely across the world. The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Independent Voices email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Millennials and Gen X individuals have a higher risk of 17 different types of cancer, including breast and gastric cancers, according to a new study. The large study published in The Lancet Public Health also found that the incidence rates increased with each successive generation born since about 1920 for eight out of 34 cancers. For instance, researchers found that the incidence rate was two-to-three times higher in the millennial 1990 birth cohort than in the 1955 baby boomer birth cohort for pancreatic, kidney, and small intestinal cancers in both men and women. Each birth cohort or group of people classified by their birth year such as millennials born in the 90s and Gen X born in the mid-60s to mid-70s share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments. Researchers suspect this affects their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years. Lifestyle program helps cancer patients heal In the study, scientists assessed health data from 23,654,000 patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2019 from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. They also analysed data on 7,348,137 deaths for 25 types of cancer for individuals aged 2584 years for the same period from the US National Center for Health Statistics. Researchers then estimated the generation-specific cancer incidence rate and death rate adjusted for age and period effects. They found that across cancer types, the incidence rate among millennials ranged from 12 per cent for ovarian cancer to 169 per cent for uterine cancer, higher than the rate in the generation with the lowest incidence rate. The increase in cancer rates among this younger group of people indicates generational shifts in cancer risk and often serve as an early indicator of future cancer burden in the country, Ahmedin Jemal, a senior author of the study, said. Without effective interventions, scientists warn that a higher cancer risk in younger generations may lead to greater burden on the healthcare system in the future, reversing decades of progress against the disease. They say the findings call for ensuring people of all ages have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance a key factor in cancer outcomes. While the study could find cancer trends linked to each generations birth year, there is still no clear explanation for why these rates are rising. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to visit Colombia at the invitation of the countrys vice president Francia Marquez. Meghan and Harry will tour the South American nation later in the year, travelling to the capital Bogota and the coastal areas of the country. Ms Marquez, a lawyer and human rights and environmental activist said in a statement: During their trip, the duke and duchess will join me in visiting Bogota, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. In addition to these meaningful interactions, the duke and duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia. The Sussexes trip to Colombia will be their second official tour of the year after they visited Nigeria in May taking part in a range of activities over three days. Harry met injured service personnel and Meghan co-hosted a Women in Leadership event with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation. Details of the couples Colombian itinerary have not been released by the Archewell Foundation, their charitable body, but the vice president said they would engage in several activities related to safeguarding young people online and in physical spaces. The topics are expected to be discussed at the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which Colombia will be hosting in November after the visit. Ms Marquez, who is also minister of equality and equity, said: The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world. During their visit, The Duke and Duchess, as well as The Archewell Foundation, will engage in several activities related to this important topic. We are confident that their visit will further illuminate Colombias role as a beacon of culture and innovation. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A judge has ruled that the identity of the suspect in the Southport knife attack that left three young girls dead can be revealed. Despite suspects accused of crimes allegedly committed under the age of 18 rarely being identified, Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC ruled on Thursday that the suspect in Mondays attack can be named as Axel Rudakubana. Merseyside Police had previously disclosed that the suspect was a 17-year-old who was living in the Lancashire village of Banks and had been born in Cardiff. Floral tributes have been left outside Atkinson Art Centre in Southport to those killed and injured in the attack ( PA Wire ) That disclosure on Tuesday was an attempt to counter misinformation about the suspects identity which were circulating online, falsely claiming he had arrived in the UK on a small boat in 2023 in claims which fuelled a far-right riot in Southport later that evening. UK laws restrict the reporting of a minors identity at least until court proceedings against them have begun. But with the suspect due to turn 18 next week, the judge chose on Thursday to lift reporting restrictions, telling the court: Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum. Born to Rwandan parents, the Liverpool Echo reported neighbours as saying that the family are heavily involved with the local church, and that they would often hear singing from their house. The family reportedly moved to the Southport area around 2013 and lived in a semi-detached property in a quiet cul-de-sac. There were no problems while they were living here, one neighbour who described Rudakubanas parents friendly told the Daily Telegraph. The Times also reported that Rudakubana has a background in musical theatre, with a friend from his musical theatre group saying he turned up one day in class, and they said make him welcome, because hes just moved from quite far away. I think it was more him trying to branch out and meet kids in the community ... he was enjoying it but you know, with musical theatre kids ... theyre very extroverted, he wasnt, he was very quiet, the friend said. He didnt really talk about himself that much. The 17-year-old was further remanded in youth detention accommodation after appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, following the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday. Earlier on Thursday, the defendant had appeared in the dock wearing a grey tracksuit and black slippers during a brief hearing at Liverpool Magistrates Court. Police officers stand outside Liverpool Magistrates' Court ( Getty Images ) He looked at the row of reporters sat behind the glass dock before he was asked to sit down. He then used his left hand to pull his sweatshirt over his face and kept his head low during the five-minute hearing, in which he did not speak. A provisional trial date, lasting six weeks, was scheduled for January 20, next year. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The downfall of former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards represents one of the starkest falls from grace for any figure in modern British history. Once the corporations most recognisable figure who led its flagship News at Ten programme through countless major news events, his conviction for having images of the sexual abuse of children has prompted a re-examination of his career and coverage. Having pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, leaving a four-decade career in tatters and the prospect of a 10-year sentence in front of him, here The Independent charts the rise and astonishing fall of Britains most notorious journalist. 2003: Edwards given News at Ten gig After a stellar career as an on-screen journalist beginning in 1984 as a trainee, Edwards is made News at Ten anchor the BBCs flagship news programme. During this period he will lead coverage of several elections, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the deaths of major public figures, the London 2012 Olympics and a number of terror attacks on British shores. A constant figure through times of joy and turmoil, Edwards is taken to the nations heart. 2020: Edwards exchange with the 17-year-old takes place Sleazy messages are alleged to have begun between Edwards and a 17-year-old boy, first reported in The Sun. December 2020 to August 2021: Deluge of indecent images During an eight-month period, Edwards is secretly sent a total of 377 sexual images, of which 41 are indecent images of children. December 2020 - February 2021: A mystery two-month period The bulk of explicit category A, B, and C images are alleged to have been sent to Edwards phone by a convicted paedophile Alex Williams, 25, via WhatsApp, according to a court hearing in July 2024. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire ) February 2021: Edwards questioned whether pictures were too young In February 2021, convicted paedophile Williams asks Edwards whether the pictures he is sending on WhatsApp are too young, which prompts the BBC broadcaster to ask him not to forward anything illegal. In another set of allegations, Edwards is accused of breaking lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old while in lockdown, according to The Sun. The report alleges the presenter travelled from London to another county to meet up at the 23-year-olds flat after claims they met on a dating website Edwards is accused of giving that person over 600 across three payments. 17 April 2021: Edwards fronts BBC coverage of Prince Philips funeral The news anchor fronts coverage of Prince Philips funeral, while he continues his communication with the man behind closed doors. August 2021: Video sent of young boy Edward is sent a video featuring a boy who was "of younger age than virtually all of the other indecent images". The man tells Edwards the boy was quite young-looking, and that he had more images, which were illegal. A court is later told Edwards asked him not to send any illegal images. On Tuesday, Edwards admitted three charges of making indecent photographs after receiving the images from Williams (Elizabeth Cook/PA) ( PA Wire ) April 2022: Porn images continue but illegal explicit images cease No more of these pictures or videos are sent but the pair continue to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022. 8 September 2022: Edwards announces the news of Queen Elizabeth IIs death Edwards is the one to announce the news of Queen Elizabeth IIs death on BBC broadcast. April 2023: Parents of 17-year-old contact South Wales Police The 17-year-olds parents make contact with South Wales Police. The force discloses that the information related to "the welfare of an adult", and that "no criminality was identified". 18 May 2023: Family member of 17-year-old makes direct contact with BBC A family member goes directly to a BBC building to make a complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter, according to the corporation. 19 May 2023: Family member begs Edwards to stop sending the cash More family complaints to the BBC about Edwards behaviour and with one figure begging the corporation to make the man stop sending the cash, as reported in The Sun. The family member phones for half an hour before being referred to the BBC's corporate investigations team. At this stage, the BBC feels the allegations are not criminal but warrant further investigation. Tim Davie claims the allegation "was very serious", thus the investigations unit report to have emailed the complainant for further information to verify the claims to confirm the identity of the complainant. ( Getty Images ) 6 June 2023: A lack of response leads to a lull in the investigation The corporate investigations department claims no response was received. However, The Sun later reports that "the family say no-one from the corporation rang them for a proper interview after the initial complaint". No further contact attempts are made, but the case remains open according to BBC. 6 July 2023: The Sun presents fresh allegations to BBC and Edwards goes off air The Sun tells the BBC via the corporate press office about allegations concerning Edwards, some of which the BBC say are new and unlike the ones received by the family through the investigations team. This is the first time Mr Davie or any executives are made aware of the case, say the BBC. On this day, a BBC incident management group is created as Edwards first learns of the allegations. The BBC pulls him off air while the allegations are investigated. 7 July 2023:The Sun breaks the story The Sun breaks the story on Edwards, stating: The well-known presenter is accused of giving the teen more than 35,000 since they were 17 in return for sordid images. 8 July 2023: More material from family and BBC celebrities deny involvement The BBC receives further material regarding the 17-year-old and speculation erupts online. BBC presenters including Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark, and Nicky Campbell deny involvement in an attempt to publicly clear their names. Huw Edwards on the set of the BBCs Six Oclock News (Richard Kendal/PA) ( PA Media ) 9 July 2023: BBC suspends male staff member The BBC suspends a male staff member and works as quickly as possible to work through the facts and figure out a plan. Edwards is alleged to have made calls to the 17-year-old asking what have you done, and appeals to the mother to halt the investigation, says The Sun. 10 July 2023: Delays, more delays... BBC met detectives representatives and Mets Specialist Crime Command meet but agree no investigation at this time. The young persons lawyer claims "the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish and their letter includes the young persons denial. They claim The Sun disregarded this. The Sun responded by saying it had "reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child". The parents stick by their accounts, the newspaper reaffirms. 11 July 2023: Davie gives press conference and the Instagram chat surfaces Davie accepts there were "lessons to be learned following this exercise" and an assessment of protocol is needed. Fresh allegations emerged that afternoon of another young person who had felt threatened by a message from the presenter. The Sun first alleges that the presenter broke lockdown to meet the 23-year-old, who he had met on a dating site. It also publishes an alleged Instagram chat between the presenter and the 17-year-old, in which Edwards sent messages including heart emojis. ( BBC ) 12 July 2023: Detectives write off the case and Edwards wife names him at the centre Detectives conclude no criminal offence has been committed and Edwards' wife Vicky Flind names him as the star at the centre of the scandal. She claims it was "primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children". This is the first the public hear of Edwards "suffering from serious mental health issues" after previously suffering from depression which had resulted in him needing in-patient hospital care. The BBC reports fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Edwards towards junior staff. One former member of staff and two current workers claim to have received uncomfortable messages. November 2023: Huw Edwards is arrested He is hit with three charges, covering the period from December 2020 to April 2022, over Whatsapp images shared by Williams. Six of the indecent images Edwards is accused of making are Category A the worst type 12 are Category B and 19 Category C. March 15 2024: Police identify Alex Williams for the first time The man responsible for sharing the indecent images of children with Edwards is unmasked as 25-year-old convicted paedophile Alex Williams, the Met police said. The force say Williams pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of the images and he was sentenced to a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 15 March. Police reveal the investigation into Edwards began after a phone seized by officers as part of an unrelated probe revealed the broadcasters participation in a WhatsApp conversation. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire ) 22 Apr 2024 - TV news presenter Huw Edwards resigns from BBC The presenter resigns from the BBC shortly after Williams arrest on "medical advice. 26 June 2024: Edwards charged Following his arrest in November, Edwards is eventually charged some eight months later. 29 July 2024: BBC informed of the allegations Though charged on 26 June, this information is not published by the Met or the Crown Prosecution. The charges are only revealed after The Sun contacts the Met and CPS. BBC bosses claim to have been "blindsided" by the news of the charges. 31 July 2024: The disgraced presenter delivers his guilty plea The 62-year-old admits the offences at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The court reveals his communication with a man online who sent him 377 sexual images, 41 being of an indecent nature involving children. Edwards held an indecent image of a child as young as seven on his phone, the court is told. 1 August 2024: Police told BBC not to share details of Huw Edwards' 2023 arrest A BBC source confirms that police said information about Edwards arrest was strictly confidential and not to be shared. September 16 2024: Edwards faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison Edwards was granted bail but will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 September. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Presenter Huw Edwards arrest over indecent images of children was known to the BBC for five months before his resignation in April, the corporation has revealed. Despite being told in confidence that he faced serious charges in November, he remained in their employment and was their third highest-paid presenter, earning between 475,000 - 479,999 over the last financial year. The veteran broadcaster has been off-air and suspended since allegations were first made against him last July, and entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to three charges of making indecent photographs. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court (Jonathan Brady/PA) ( PA Wire ) Following his plea at Westminster magistrates court, a BBC spokesperson said: There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year. They continued: In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates Court, London, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire ) They stressed that had Edwards been charged while still in employment, he would have been immediately dismissed. An internal note to colleagues sent by BBC director-general Tim Davie thanked staff working on the story for your professionalism in carrying on with your jobs in difficult circumstances. During todays hearing, the court heard that the broadcaster had engaged in a Whatsapp chat involving illegal photographs with an adult man, now known to be convicted paedophile Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021, Over this period, he sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children. In February 2021, Williams asked whether what he was sending was too young, to which Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court heard. Edwards pleaded guilty to accessing indecent images of children (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire ) The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C. Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine. The identity of Williams, 25, of Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, was identified by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children. Williams was convicted of seven offences - receiving a 12-month suspended sentence on March 15. Speaking in Edwards defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC said: Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else. Mr Evans said the defendant had both mental and physical health issues. He told the court: It is obvious to the court, Im sure, that Mr Edwards was not just of good character, but of exceptional character. Huw Edwards was one of the BBCs highest paid stars (Chris Jackson/PA) ( PA Archive ) Edwards resigned from the BBC earlier this year on the basis of medical advice from his doctors following unrelated allegations made in The Sun newspaper that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. He was suspended by the corporation after the allegations came to light, but the Metropolitan Police later said that no criminal offence had taken place. The family of the unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and he was publicly named by his wife as the TV presenter at the centre of the allegations in following July. Over the course of his 40-year career at the BBC, he fronted BBCs News At Ten for two decades and anchored coverage of major national events including announcing Queen Elizabeth IIs death on the BBC and presenting coverage of her funeral. Edwards will appear at the same court again on September 16. Nearly 39 years ago, in the early hours of 7 August 1985, five members of the same family died by gunshot wounds at White House Farm in Tolleshunt DArcy, Essex. The victims were Nevill Bamber, aged 61, his wife June, also 61, their adopted daughter Sheila Caffell, 28, and her twin boys, aged six, Nicholas and Daniel. The police recovered 25 bullets, which had been fired from a German-made Anschutz .22 rifle, owned by Nevill. The weapon was found on Sheilas body, giving the appearance that she had killed the others first, and then herself in a case of murder-suicide. The surviving family member, who lived nearby, was Nevill and Junes adopted son, Jeremy Bamber, then aged 24. Just over a year later, on a majority verdict of 10-2, he was convicted of all five murders. He remains in prison serving a whole life order, from where he continues to protest his innocence, aided by a team of activists organised as the Jeremy Bamber Campaign group. The case of Jeremy Bamber is in many ways a quite simple conundrum. Either he is, as his many supporters see him, an icon of the miscarriage of justice movement in the UK an innocent man, repeatedly failed by the system, wrongly imprisoned for most of the last four decades after being fitted up for five murders, which he will never stop protesting; or perhaps equally unconscionable he has been gaslighting all those people who believe in him and his cause, tying up the criminal justice system in knots of agonised review and decision-making, taking up thousands of hours of judicial and legal resources that could have been better spent elsewhere, persisting in his claims which he well knows to be false, having callously sought to stage the scene and frame his sister Sheila after he had murdered her. One of those propositions is true. Jeremy Bamber is the only person alive who knows which one it is. No wonder the case continues to fascinate. When I went to interview Bamber in prison some years ago, I agreed to give him an objective hearing, to put his case in a balanced exercise of reporting. He was pleased with the result, though told me in a letter that his fellow prisoners had ribbed him over my descriptions of his lumpy physique. I was on his Christmas card list for a year or two and then we dropped out of contact, though I have continued to follow his case and speak about it occasionally in documentaries. I left journalism and became a commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission. I would see his supporters regularly at miscarriage of justice events team Bamber in matching T-shirts bearing photos of Jeremy. In their world, you were either for Jeremy or against him. I knew they were unhappy with the book The Murders At White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee, and the six-part television drama White House Farm. The series, especially, took Bambers guilt for granted, and depicted him, in its portrayal by the actor Freddie Fox as greedy, arrogant and ruthless. White House Farm, where the Bamber family murders took place ( PA ) It may or may not be significant that the epic New Yorker article published this week, over 16,000 words, does not find room to name the campaign, and does not reference the book or the drama. The article recognises that Bambers only hope of a route back to the Court of Appeal lies through the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and quite rightly reflects on the state of the CCRC in the aftermath of its failings in the case of Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he had not committed. One contributor to the article is quoted as saying that the CCRC must know this is an unsafe conviction, to put it mildly. But they do not want to refer it. This is just one more conspiracy theory to add to the many that already beset Bambers case. It has been Jeremys position from the beginning that the police, his girlfriend Julie Mugford and his wider family who stood to gain financially from his conviction, have all lied and conspired against him. His challenge, as he would see it, is to raise sufficient doubt for the CCRC to refer the case, again, back to the Court of Appeal. As some lawyers might tell you, it is not necessary to prove his guilt or innocence, only that the case against him was profoundly flawed, either, say, through police malpractice or legal error. June Bamber, Sheila Caffell and her sons Nicholas and Daniel were all murdered ( Alamy ) In fact, he might be walking free now, if he had conducted himself differently in the aftermath. His haughty, indifferent demeanour attracted the suspicion of some of his wider family, while apparently going unnoticed by the original senior investigating officer, DCI Taff Jones, who believed Sheila had killed everyone, including herself, and threw Jeremys relatives out of his office when they came to tell him of their concerns. DCI Jones did not bother much with the niceties of forensic investigation or preserving the scene and handed the house back to the family. June Bambers sister Pamela was married to Robert Boutflour, and it was he and their two adult children, David Boutflour and Ann Eaton who were clearing up at the house when they discovered a silencer in the back of a gun cupboard. The silencer revealed some blood that matched Sheilas and flecks of paint that matched the shelf over the Aga in the kitchen, where it appeared that Nevill Bamber had fought a life-and-death struggle before being overpowered by his killer. The silencer was Bambers undoing. If the silencer was on the gun it made the weapon too long for Sheila to have put the barrel under her chin and still reached the trigger to shoot herself. In the prosecution case, Bamber realised this at the last minute, while staging the scene, and hurriedly hid the silencer in the back of the cupboard. When I met Bamber all those years ago, I formed a picture of him in his cell with a tower of papers in file boxes, scouring documents for any anomalies that might boost his chances of a new appeal This was the 1980s and they did things differently then. The silencer was not immediately protected and preserved. It was wrapped in some tissue and taken home by Ann Eaton and later transported to the police station by an officer, who carried it in a piece of cardboard tube. The finding has been contested by Bamber ever since. Meanwhile, Julie Mugford discovered that he had slept with one of her best friends and went to the police to say he hated his parents and had been discussing killing them for some time. That evening he had called to say it was tonight or never. Mugford testified against Bamber at trial, sold her story afterwards to the News Of The World and then left to start a new life in Canada, rarely speaking about the case since. There were questions at the time about precisely when she had signed up to the newspaper if it was before her court appearance it might have tainted her account because she had a financial stake in getting a conviction but nothing has ever come to light. ( Getty ) Bamber has been through many teams of lawyers over the years, including at one stage the colourful Giovanni di Stefano who went to prison himself for acting as a lawyer when he was not qualified. After Bambers two-stage appeal failed, following conviction, he was already applying to the Home Office for a review in 1997 when the CCRC was launched. And it did eventually refer his case back to the Court of Appeal for a lengthy hearing that considered 16 separate grounds in 2002. The main plank of the appeal was DNA evidence that questioned the authenticity of the silencer, but the court rejected that and all the other grounds, setting out its reasons over 101 pages. Bamber applied to the CCRC unsuccessfully in 2004 and 2009. He challenged the CCRCs 109-page decision of 2012 at Judicial Review but that was rejected. He currently has a new lawyer, a skilled appeals specialist, Mark Newby. And he has a new application at the Commission which I believe may be focused, among other things, on new ways to challenge the evidence of the silencer. The New Yorker article raises questions about the night of the killings and re-examines longstanding suggestions that someone was alive in the house while Jeremy was outside with the police, who waited several hours to go in, because they believed his sister might be alive and armed inside. This was what Jeremy had told the police in a phone call at around 3.30am, when he claimed his father had called him from the house to say that Sheila had gone berserk with a gun before the line went dead. Bamber, pictured in 2002, remains in prison serving a whole life order ( PA ) There was no evidence, other than Jeremys account, of the call, but the phone at the farm was off the hook and BT were able to listen in. All they could hear was a dog barking but a police officer later took over listening and, says The New Yorker, he heard other sounds of movement and even a 999 call being made. The officer told the magazine he had never seen an unsigned statement in his name, in which he appeared to deny hearing any sounds until the police went in. The statement contradicted his recollection, he said. If Bamber was the killer, everyone in the house was long dead by then, so any suggestion of activity could undermine the prosecution, although Julie Mugfords testimony and the evidence of the silencer would still remain. When I met Bamber all those years ago, I formed a picture of him in his cell with a tower of papers in file boxes, scouring documents for any anomalies that might boost his chances of a new appeal. He told me about a photo of the kitchen floor where there were no flecks of paint and how that was inconsistent with the prosecutions account of the silencer scraping the underside of the shelf as he struggled to overcome his father. He had recreated the scratches in the prison workshop with a fellow inmate. He was sure it would help, but it never led anywhere. I remember the interview mainly for the surreal moment, after a couple of hours, when we stopped for lunch, and two or three prison officers, my minder from the Ministry of Justice, Bamber and I sat together and ate from a tray of rolls and sandwiches provided by the prison, making small talk for a few minutes before the interview resumed. He was easy to chat with, charming, present and with no trace of the psychopath one might imagine to be lurking just beneath the surface. I just couldnt make him out. Or his case. Perhaps one day, the question of his guilt will be tested again in court, but not I think quite yet. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A rioter who went viral after looting a number of shops including a Lush cosmetics store in Hull has received one of the longest sentences after weeks of violent disorder. John Honey, 25, was pictured wearing a distinctive St Georges Cross T-shirt and carrying boxes of bathbombs when the store was ransacked on 3 August, before also stealing goods from O2 and Shoezone. As well as participating in the ransacking of the high street, he was part of a baying mob that forced three Romanian men from their BMW, leaving them terrified. Honey has been jailed for over four years for taking part in the violent disorder (Humberside Police/PA) ( PA Media ) A court heard the driver of a BMW was left in fear for his life when more than 100 angry men descended on him and his two cousins and attempted to drag them from their vehicle during 12 hours of racist, hate-fuelled mob violence in the city on August 3. The man said he was punched in the head, and one person tried to hit him with a metal bar. In footage of the incident, the three terrified occupants of the car could be seen getting out with their hands raised in a gesture of surrender before fleeing to a nearby hotel, the court heard. Honey had pulled open the passenger door while David Wilkinson, 48, was seen damaging the windscreen of the vehicle. He has now been jailed for 56 months after previously pleading guilty to violent disorder and three charges of burglary at Lush, the O2 and Shoezone. A manager at Lush said the incident had massively impacted staff ( X/Twitter ) Video footage played to the court showed him carrying on of the Lush branded bags and filling it with products, with the manager saying the incident had massively impacted the staff. A previous sentencing hearing that had been due to take place earlier this week was adjourned after it emerged Honey had asked a prison probation officer if he wanted his autograph because he was famous. During Fridays hearing, the judge was informed that Honey had developmental issues due to a difficult start to life. Judge John Thackray KC told Honey: Im not going to hear any evidence about comments which you may or may not have made in the prison setting. Im not going to give them any relevance. If your defence say that there is now genuine remorse, Ill accept that submission. He also admitted racially aggravated criminal damage over the BMW incident, and to damaging nine other cars during an attack on a garage. David Wilkinson, 48, has been jailed for six years for his role in the Sunderland riots (Humberside Police) ( PA Media ) Also jailed on Friday was Wilkinson, who received a six year sentence after playing a prominent role in the riots, which saw him spitting, throwing missiles and pushing wheelie bins towards police officers. In the same garage attack, he was seen trying to set fire to a bin on top of a pile of tyres which were already alight, sending plumes of black smoke into a workshop where a group of people were sheltering. Four men who took part in a barrage of verbal and physical abuse towards police during the riots were also locked up at the same court. Also jailed today for two years and two months was Paul Williams, a 45-year-old man who was at the forefront of an orgy of mindless destruction, violence and disorder in Sunderland. During the rioting, he was seen throwing metal fencing and a can of beer at police before taking his shirt off and shouting put your shields down and lets go, lets f****** go. Lisa Bishop was jailed for 26 months after admitting violent disorder ( Avon and Somerset Police ) A mother-of-five who was part of a terrifying mob outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Bristol has also been jailed for 26 months after throwing a can and shouting verbal abuse. Lisa Bishop, 38, was in a prominent position outside the Mercure hotel, which left police officers overwhelmed as they struggled to maintain order. A second riot charge has been brought by police as violent disorder suspects across the country await news on whether they will be accused of the more serious offence. Northumbria Police said on Friday that Kieran Usher had become their second suspect to be charged with riot, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The 32-year-old appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates Court on Friday, where prosecutors said he had acted in an aggressive manner towards police officers and threw missiles at them during the unrest. It followed the forces announcement that a 15-year-old boy had been charged with the more serious offence after having previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder and burglary on Saturday. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More than 5,000 Afghans have been quietly moved into military bases around the UK since October as part of an ongoing mission to bring Britains allies to safety. The Afghans have been relocated as part of a Ministry of Defence mission, Operation Lazurite, which was first revealed by The Independent last November. The refugees have the right to live and work in the UK under the MoDs Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap). The policy is designed to help those Afghans who worked for or closely with British troops during the war - many of whom face persecution and death under the Taliban regime. It has now emerged that more than 5,000 Afghans have been relocated under the operation since October and they are being housed in seven military bases around the country. The MoD is flying Afghan allies to the UK from Pakistan. Military bases being used include sites in Leicestershire, Wiltshire, South Wales, Inverness and Dorset. The Afghan families are sent to some of these bases on a transitional basis before they are moved to temporary homes on other barracks or more permanent homes ringfenced for those in the forces. Former armed forces minister James Heappey at one of the MoD bases being used to house Afghan allies ( UK MOD Crown Copyright ) Around 700 homes have been made available to the families and the MoD is also working with local councils to find housing for the Afghans in local communities. Operation Lazurite was set up last October after Afghan allies based in Pakistan and Iran took the government to court about delays to their relocation. A Whitehall source told The National, an English-language newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, that the Conservative government had not made the 5,000 figure public because of the politics around immigration. They told the paper, who first reported the number: The main problem was over the whole issue of migration, so it was difficult, particularly with the previous administrations sensitivities on the issue. But what we have got to make clear is that these Afghans arent illegal immigrants or asylum seekers, they are what we call eligible persons here with indefinite leave to remain. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The BBC is unlikely to remove major news broadcasts presented by the disgraced news anchor, Huw Edwards, along with other media appearances from its archives, say corporation insiders. Pivotal segments such as Queen Elizabeth IIs death, numerous elections, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the royal weddings of Prince William and Prince Harry, will remain online despite his child porn guilty plea. The former presenter pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three charges of making indecent photographs of children, after being sent 41 illegal images by the convicted paedophile Alex Williams, with seven being of the most serious type. In an article in The Times, staffers at the broadcasting house said the historical significance of Britains seminal moments outweighed their need for removal. One BBC executive was quoted saying: News is a matter of public record [...] What a nightmare. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire ) Nonetheless, the BBC now faces the prospect of its archives being trawled for any hints or indications of Edwards malign behaviour. In a Newscast clip that now sits uncomfortably, broadcast before the allegations emerged, Edwards is broached by Adam Fleming for his tips to children entering a young reporter competition. Aimed at 11-15 year-olds, the clip, re-branded as Huwscast online includes a segment where Fleming asks Edwards: What are we actually going to be looking for? In response Edwards says: For me, its probably one of the best bits of the process because what you get from young people is the things that concern them and it can be things which are very personal. The charges brought against the presenter include extremely explicit and personal photographs from children seven Category A which includes serious abuse. He exits Huwscast rounding off the segment to listeners encouraging them to reach out and Send us a Whatsapp. His announcement of the late Queens death has been viewed several million times on YouTube across various news channels and clips of his anchorage for the Olympics and other stately events would have attracted thousands of viewers. While it is thought that Edwards 40-year tenure may now be submerged online, deep below the news archive surface, it is unlikely to be completely omitted. A BBC staffer in The Times said: They were busy taking down any content that he is in or voicing over on iPlayer on Monday night and Tuesday [...] and blocking everything in the archive so it cant be downloaded without high-level permission. They can take down documentaries and other content that doesnt relate to news but they cant take that down because it is considered social history. His sentencing is due to be held on 16 September as he faces up to ten years in prison for his offences. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Prince William was furious at Donald Trump for claiming that Kate only [had] herself to blame when she was photographed topless, a new biography has revealed. The incident took place when the newlyweds were holidaying in Provence, France in 2011 and a member of the paparazzi took long-lens photographs of the princess topless as she sunbathed on the balcony of their chateau. Royal biographer Rob Jobson wrote that it was the couples first major altercation with the press and their representatives had to spring into action to prevent the publication of the photographs. While it was eventually ruled a breach of the couples privacy and those involved were fined, it did not stop the widespread circulation of the photographs and commentary on their content. Jobson added: William was reportedly furious when Donald Trump tweeted, Kate Middleton is great but she shouldnt be sunbathing in the nude only herself to blame. Who wouldnt take Kates picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing? Come on Kate! The entire affair had left the duchess feeling violated, the biographer explained of the incident that saw the French edition of Closer magazine fined 100,000 in damages. This, however, was far from the only time that the heir to the throne was allegedly enraged by comments about his wife. Who wouldn't take Kate's picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing. Come on Kate! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2012 He described Meghan Markle as rude when she was surprised that Kate was unhappy that she had blamed her baby brain for forgetting a detail of her wedding while expecting Prince Louis. Jobson wrote: Catherine, according to Harrys memoir Spare, confronted Meghan about the baby brain comment and said, You talked about my hormones. We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones. Meghan was surprised, according to Harry, and said it was the way she spoke to her girlfriends. Kate was photographed topless without her consent shortly after her wedding to Prince William. ( AP ) William stepped in and apparently pointed at Meghan and called her rude. Meghan stood up to him and said, Take your finger out of my face. Things had definitely cooled between them, if not soured. The relationship between the two couples has continued to deteriorate since Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020. Prince Harrys bombshell 2023 memoir Spare further strained relations alongside several tell-all interviews from the Sussexes. Jobson claims in his new biography that the so-called Fab Four never existed. ( AP ) While the couple have reportedly reached out to the Princess of Wales as she continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, they have not been photographed in public together since the late Queens death in September 2022. The Independent has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Shopkeeper Chanaka Balasuryla looks to the sky above Southport at a police helicopter whirring overhead, and says ominously: They are coming. In his mind, he is racing against time to barricade his corner store in the next hour. He has just read a message spreading across social media that claims groups of far-right demonstrators - just a day after rioters broke in and looted his family-run shop - had surrounded the police station and were marching in the stores direction after proclaiming, We will be back. The father-of-two of Sri Lankan background has lived in this Merseyside community for 28 years after moving from London. He has been inundated with offers of help and fundraisers to help rebuild Windsor Mini Mart after watching his shop nearly get destroyed while fires spread nearby which could have trapped his partner and child upstairs. Shopkeeper Chanaka Balasuryla said locals had pledged to support him after the looting of his shop ( Dave Higgens/PA Wire ) The Windsor Mini Mart on Windsor Road in Southport which was looted during violent protests ( PA Wire ) Have you ever done this before? he asks the local handyman working for free in the blazing sun, drilling solid metal plates onto his green front door. Nah, we just make it up as we go along, the carpenter replies, half-jokingly. But well make it safe. The social media post turned out to be fake. In reality, the far right was not starting another riot, but the post had already served its purpose of spreading fear yet again through a traumatised community. Right-wing accounts with large followings such as Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson were accused of whipping up hatred towards migrants after lies were spread about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. Far-right riots spread across Southport, London and Hartlepool believed to be carried out by supporters of the English Defence League with more planned across the country this weekend. It was decided during a court hearing on Thursday that Axel Rudakubana could be named after the Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC said he was turning 18 next week and wanted to prevent the further spread of misinformation. Left to right, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar killed in the stabbings ( PA Media ) Police working back-to-back 14-hour shifts grateful for some sugar ( The Independent ) Now the grief-stricken neighbourhood of St Lukes Road in Southport is left picking up the pieces after the carnage of Tuesday night which saw cars destroyed, shops looted, a mosque vandalised and 22 police officers injured - eight of them suffering fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion. Tony Hill, 44, volunteered to rebuild the wall of the vandalised Southport Islamic Society Mosque after thugs ripped it down and smashed cars, police shields and members with bricks. He told The Independent: You see it on the news and it just doesnt make any sense. Youve got a vigil down the road and then youve got this going on. These people here have done nothing wrong. We just try and get it done before someone makes a mess again. If we have to rebuild it again afterwards, we will rebuild it again afterwards. Fire spreads in the Southport riots ( Getty Images ) Tony Hill working in the blazing sun to fix the mosque wall in under three hours ( The Independent ) An angry mob threw items at police vans and officers outside a mosque ( Richard McCarthy/PA Wire ) On a thankfully calm night for Southport, an ever-growing sea of flowers, childrens toys and candles were left outside pensioner Mike Ainscoughs home - as close as you can get to the police cordon surrounding The Hart Space, where a Taylor Swift-themed dance class turned into the worst atrocity in living memory, according to new Southport MP Patrick Hurley. The former mountain rescue volunteers routine now sees him get up at 2am to pick out all the childrens toys and bring them inside, before placing them delicately in the same position again the next morning. The 82-year-old said: People just stand here and cry. One gran said, How do I explain this to my grandchildren? They saw it on TV? We ease the grief of people who are feeling it. Little ones have donated their own teddies but then get sad and miss them so I let them come and visit them before they go to bed. My dining room is a disaster. It is clogged with teddy bears but I cant bear to leave them out at night in case they get ruined. Southport has a strong message for the far right ( James Speakman/PA Wire ) Mike Ainscough constantly tends to the tributes left for Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice ( The Independent ) Others are also chipping in to help with the tributes, by topping up water and plant food and removing dangerous candles. Supermarkets have donated buckets to keep flowers alive for as long as possible and police officers - some working back-to-back 14-hour shifts - guard the scene while being offered chocolates by visitors. Rob Shnak, a worshipper at the mosque, had a message for the rioters: The far right will hate this seeing us all working together to fix everything. The English Defence League are not protecting anyone. They should call them the English Destruction League; they are destroying their own country. They cant spread their hate here - it doesnt work. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The EU has warned Sir Keir Starmer his attempt to repair relations with the bloc may fail if he does not meet a list of eight demands, it has emerged. The prime minister has made rebuilding ties with Brussels a top priority since the general election, after years of mistrust between the two sides over Brexit. And the European Commission has welcomed Sir Keirs positive approach, but issued a list of tests through which the UK can demonstrate real government commitment to its withdrawal agreement with the EU. Brussels has issued a list of eight demands to the UK ( PA Archive ) The list, revealed by the Financial Times, said Britain must fully implement existing post-Brexit agreements on Northern Ireland and the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. EU diplomats told the paper the two measures would be seen as a test of good faith in the new relationship. It also listed the need for a High Court ruling, that EU citizens in Britain should not have to make separate applications for settled status after living in the UK for five years, to be implemented in full. The list also raised concerns about UK authorities failing to accurately certify animal and plant products, called for non-compliant consignments to be rejected by vets at the border and called for a scheme to check pets to be deployed urgently. It also called for a new system to provide data on the content of parcels to be implemented as soon as possible. This needs to be fixed before we talk about cooperation in new areas, one diplomat told the FT. Sir Keir has repeatedly talked up his drive to reset relations with Europe after years of deterioration under the Conservatives. Keir Starmer has made a reset in relations with Europe a key focus of his government ( PA Wire ) There was a slight improvement under Rishi Sunak, who last year signed the Windsor Framework to end the row over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. But further meetings with European leaders have been a key focus of Sir Keirs first weeks in office. In July he hosted leaders from across the continent at a major summit in Blenheim Palace, declaring that the UK would be a friend and a partner ready to work with you and not part of the European Union, but very much part of Europe. The prime minister wants to strike a security pact with the EU and address some of the trading problems under the current Brexit deal. Rishi Sunak struck the Windsor Framework in a sign of a thawing in relations with the EU ( PA Wire ) He has so far refused to entertain the prospect of a youth mobility deal with the bloc, which would allow young people to live, study and work across the EU, in exchange for EU citizens being able to do the same in the UK. But sources told the FT such a deal was a priority for the bloc, alongside access to British fishing waters and the UK rejoining the Erasmus student exchange programme. The Cabinet Office declined to comment on the specifics of the leaked document. But a government spokesperson said: "Since taking office this government has been working to reset the relationship with our European friends, to strengthen ties, secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade. Weve had very positive engagement in our early conversations and are committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework in good faith protecting the UK internal market." A European Commission spokesperson said: The EU is committed to a positive agenda with the UK, based on the full respect, and the faithful and timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement, including the Windsor framework, and the trade and cooperation agreement, which are the cornerstone for the EU-UK relationship. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Kemi Badenoch asked officials to pay for a flight to go on holiday to the US using taxpayers money, sources have claimed. Department for Business and Trade (DBT) sources told The Guardian the request was rejected by the top civil servant at the time. Officials reportedly ended up booking her travel to Texas for a family holiday in February 2023 but the then Cabinet minister paid for the trip herself. Mrs Badenoch, who is standing to be the next leader of the Tory party, had travelled to Mexico on a taxpayer funded business class flight for an official visit to discuss the UKs bid to join the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc, as well as wider discussions about bilateral trade with the nation. Before travelling, sources claimed she asked Gareth Davies, the permanent secretary in DBT, if the department could cover the cost of a flight to Dallas, where she had planned to go on holiday with her family. The request was said to be made because the overall cost was lower than a business class return from Mexico. The department refused her request as a result of concerns the detour would be hard to explain, given it was not for official business. Sources close to the former business secretary said Mrs Badenoch was due to fly from Mexico to Texas on official government business to meet Governor Greg Abbott and discuss a state-level trade agreement but when the proposed meeting couldnt take place as a result of diary clashes she paid for the flights herself, in accordance with the rules. But evidence seen by the Guardian is said to suggest the former minister asked the department to fund the flight, despite there being no official business taking place in Texas. Sources in DBT also told the newspaper that a request to book and pay for flights was in keeping with the way she generally engaged with civil servants. She allegedly admitted in meetings to having asked political advisers, funded by the taxpayer, to go to her London home to pack her suitcases for work trips. One source told the Guardian: The stuff she asked them to do was well out of their remit. Im amazed they put up with it but Im not sure they felt they had much choice. Kemi treated them like a PA. It felt like such an abuse of taxpayer funded time. On Tuesday, the former business secretary denied accusations that she bullied civil service staff. The now shadow communities secretary is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at DBT, a report from The Guardian claimed. Posting on social media, Mrs Badenoch said: Lets be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence. Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for. Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson suggested Mrs Badenoch is the Conservative leadership contender Sir Keir Starmer would fear the most. Writing in The Spectator, he said her willingness to call out the sort of wokery many voters dislike would set her apart from the other candidates. A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch said: Yesterday the Business Department said there were no complaints or investigations into Kemi. Given that today theyve confirmed that the proper process was followed on the ministerial code, we look forward to having to deny tomorrow that Kemi faked the moon landings. A DBT spokesperson said: The department takes both the ministerial code, and civil service code, seriously and ensure they are followed at all times. We cannot comment on specific claims from unnamed sources. There was no breach of the ministerial code by the previous secretary of state. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The prime minister has put police forces in Britain on a national footing to prepare for what many fear could be a summer of riots and violence by the far right. Sir Keir Starmer today announced that police forces would be sharing resources and intelligence with national teams following known far-right activists around the country. He also issued a veiled threat to social media giants that continuing to platform misinformation and criminality is against the law and would have consequences. Keir Starmer answers questions on the scenes in Southport during a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday ( PA Wire ) The prime minister held an emergency summit with home secretary Yvette Cooper, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood and police chiefs in the wake of the appalling scenes in Southport following the brutal murder of three young girls and attempted killing of seven others. Far-right rioters, who the prime minister claimed came into the Merseyside town from outside to cause violent disturbances, targeted a local mosque and police officers after misinformation on social media which some believe may have originated in Russia to fan the flames of anger. Asked whether the government and police were preparing for a summer of riots, Sir Keir made it clear he fears organised gangs are preparing for disruption over the coming weeks. The prime minister said: In relation to the next few weeks, it is obvious to me, I think obvious to anybody looking at this, is [its] coordinated. This is deliberate. This is not a protest. This is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence, and thats why its important, I think, to pull together the senior police officers today to ensure that this is met with the most robust response, not just in the coming days but all the time. The prime minister holds a summit with police chiefs ( Pool/AP ) Speaking about his summit, Sir Keir said: Ive just held a meeting with senior police and law enforcement leaders where weve resolved to show who we are. A country that will not allow understandable fear to curdle into division and hate in our communities and that will not permit, under any circumstances, a breakdown in law and order on our streets. Because lets be very clear about this. Its not protest. Its not legitimate. Its crime and violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. And so, on behalf of the British people who expect their values and their security to be upheld, we will put a stop to it. While only four have been arrested for the violence in Southport, more than 100 were arrested for disturbances in London and Hartlepool has also been targeted by far-right activists. Other events are being planned by far-right groups, including protests in London this weekend. The prime minister described the participants as thugs but avoided criticising Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose video raising questions about the murders in Southport was accused of deliberately fanning the flames of discontent by referring to alleged conspiracy theories. The prime minister was twice asked to comment on Mr Farage but refused to even name the MP in what appears to be a strategy to avoid giving Reform further publicity. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as Sir Keir Starmer holds an emergency press conference at No 10 after vowing action will be taken following violent disorder in parts of England in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The prime minister summoned police chiefs to Downing Street on Thursday afternoon (1 August) following scenes of unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight, while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense stand-off with riot police. At the meeting, he told the senior officers: I wanted to send a message to each of you and, through you, your officers to say that this government supports the police, supports what you are doing, and to be absolutely clear: This is not protest, this is violent disorder and action will be taken. This Government will make sure you have got the powers you need and will back you in using those powers. Home secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood also attended the meeting with at least a dozen police bosses. Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy told the meeting by videolink that the force is determined to get justice for the deadly attack on Monday, and to identify all those who took part in rioting on Tuesday in the seaside town. In London, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More than 100 people have been arrested in London as further protests took place across the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Violent incidents linked to the deaths of three young girls have been seen in Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot. Police in Hartlepool were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs, Cleveland Police said. A police car was set alight during the violence after a large group of people gathered in the Murray Street area of the North East town on Wednesday evening. In Manchester, demonstrators turned out in large numbers outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road at around 6pm, the Manchester Evening News reported. Around 40 people, which the paper reports included children and men wearing balaclavas, gathered outside the Oldham Road premises in what the paper said appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel. In Aldershot, local MP Alex Baker took to social media to rebuke violence in her community, stating that there is no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. I have been liaising with Hampshire Police this evening regarding a significant incident at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, where a peaceful protest descended into intimidating behaviour, she said in a statement shared on X. I have visited the scene myself this evening and have been in touch with the Chief Inspector. This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest. I would like to pay tribute to the brave police officers who worked hard to restore order. There is no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming into our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community. In London, a large protest was staged under the title of Enough is Enough, with arrests made after demonstrators clashed with officers in Whitehall on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police arrested 111 people after officers were attacked and subjected to assault during the protest, the force said. Demonstrators were seen launching beer cans and glass bottles at a line of police in riot gear in front of Downing Street and throwing flares onto the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. The angry scenes also included loud chants of we want our country back and Oh Tommy Robinson, referring to the right-wing activist. Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said. All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality. A dedicated team of officers is working to bring charges, the force said. Cleveland Police also said it had made eight arrests for various offences including public order and affray after violence broke out in Hartlepool on Wednesday, with more arrests expected. Road closures have been lifted, but a visible police presence remains in the area, the force said. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community. In Manchester, local councillor John Flanagan took to social media to respond to the violence, labelling those involved in the sickening incident as mindless idiots. Id like to condemn these mindless thugs, attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers. They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems. They have been in a place of safety, the councillor for Newton Heath said. Its sickening to think they are being targeted because of their race or their religion, and I hope this isnt tied with the disgraceful scenes in Southport where a mosque was attacked last night. These idiots are attacking innocent people. My initial reaction is to contact GMP and support them. The whole of the city and reasonable thinking people will be horrified and sickened by these actions. Idiots is too soft of a word I hope the police use the full force of the law. We cannot allow our country and our city to descend into anarchy, which seems to be being driven by madness on social media. It comes after violence erupted in Southport on Tuesday following a vigil for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club. Police officers in Southport suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during violent protests. The disorder near the towns mosque came after false rumours were circulated online about the suspect. In an effort to avoid a second night of rioting, Merseyside Police were given extra powers, under S60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, on Wednesday to stop and search people suspected of carrying weapons. Community Inspector Doug Chadwick said the public was shocked and disappointed by the disgraceful scenes of rioting and called on the public to come forward with information about what they had seen. Five people have been arrested over the unrest so far, which saw 53 officers and three police dogs injured. The unrest comes as a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children suffered knife wounds with five of them in critical condition while two adults were also critically hurt. The 17-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear on Thursday, August 1, at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A woman is suing a Kansas hospital for refusing to provide her an abortion, claiming officials said it was too risky to perform the procedure due to the heated political environment in the state. Mylissa Farmer filed her lawsuit in Kansas City on Tuesday against the University of Kansas Health System. The lawsuit comes after Farmer went to the hospital on August 2, 2022, 18 weeks along with a pregnancy that was no longer viable because her water broke too early. In June 2022, the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade, ending nationwide access to abortion. On August 2 of that year, Kansas lawmakers were considering a referendum to eliminate the right to an abortion, which is listed in their state constitution. The referendum failed, and the right to an abortion remained in effect. Farmers providers said an abortion would be too risky given the heated political environment in the state that day, she claims in the lawsuit. Two opposing signs ask residents to vote yes and no to remove the right to an abortion from the Kansas constitution. A Kansas woman is suing a local hospital because she claims they refused to provide her an abortion on the day of the vote due to concerns about the heated political environment ( Getty Images ) As a result, Farmer traveled to Illinois to obtain an abortion two days later, but the delay had already caused extensive damage to her health, according to the lawsuit. Farmer is arguing her providers violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The act is a federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions. If the hospital cannot stabilize the patient, they must transfer the patient to a hospital that can, the law states. Farmer is also arguing the hospital violated the states anti-discrimination law. The University of Kansas Health System has denied Farmers claims. Jill Chadwick, media relations director for the hospital system, told The Independent that Farmer received appropriate, non-discriminatory care that complied with all applicable law. The specific care and treatment decisions made in a particular situation are guided by our exceptional practitioners and specialists and involve a number of factors, including the specifics of that patients condition, the appropriate treatments available at the time treatment decisions are being made, applicable law and sound medical judgment, Chadwick said. Abortion access has become more difficult across the nation since the end of Roe. Abortion is banned outright, with few exceptions, in 14 states, all of which are Republican-controlled. Many people have since been forced to carry unwanted or dangerous pregnancies, while others are forced to travel hundreds of miles to obtain reproductive healthcare. A new study released this week revealed more women have resorted to unsafe measures to end pregnancies since the Supreme Court decision. The methods that women reported included eating herbs, drinking alcohol, hitting themselves in the stomach, inserting an object into their body and lifting heavy items, according to a peer-reviewed medical study. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Authorities in Illinois have released bodycam footage captured during a horrifying domestic incident this spring which began with a brutal knifing and ended with a police officer firing a fatal shot that killed both the 57-year-old suspect and a 4-year-old boy he was using as a human shield. The heavily-edited video, which features narration throughout and came with a content warning from the Macomb Police Department, was made public on Monday. The release followed the conclusion of an investigation by the Illinois State Police and a review by the McDonough County States Attorney, which announced last week it would not be filing criminal charges against either of the cops involved. At a protest on Monday, the childs grieving mother who was stabbed more than 20 times by her ex-boyfriend, Anthony George, in the attack said she didnt think the police should have pulled their guns to stop the violence. They couldve done anything besides use their weapon, 36-year-old Keianna Miller said, according to WGEM radio . They had Tasers, they had pepper spray, they had all these non-lethal ways to get Anthony George and they decided not to do it. The deadly encounter took place inside an Illinois apartment, where a woman could be heard screaming, Hes stabbing me! ( Macomb Police Department ) The deadly encounter took place March 16 at about 10:15 p.m, when Macomb Lt. Nick Goc, a onetime Officer of the Year, and Officer Korri Cameron responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment building in town. The bodycam video, released on Monday, shows blood smeared on the walls of a stairwell, as a woman screamed from inside one of the residences, Hes stabbing me! Goc and Cameron force their way inside and find George, armed with a knife, along with a bloodied, frantic Miller. She then runs into the apartments living room as her young son, Terrell, can be heard yelling in the background. The officer orders the female with injuries out of the home to safety, the narrator says over the bodycam footage. What happens next transpires in a matter of seconds. George briefly disappears from view, then reemerges with Terrell and a second knife. Terrell Miller, 4, was shot dead by police as his mothers ex-boyfriend used him as a human shield. ( GoFundMe ) As Miller pleads for help, the officers order George, who had picked up Terrell and was holding one of the knives to his neck, to drop the weapons, the footage shows. When George refused, Goc fired once, killing Terrell as well as George. Miller would later tell WGEM that George had become enraged over their breakup, telling her that if he couldnt have her, nobody can. Millers attorney, Marleen Suarez, said she plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department by the end of next week. The Macomb PD said its decision to release the bodycam footage was supported by our commitment to transparency, while its hearts and thoughts remain with the families affected by this tragedy. The departments internal investigation is ongoing. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A three-month-old baby has been shot in what community leaders believe to be a targeted and gang-related shooting while his family was on a store run to buy baby formula. Baby Jeremiah Carlos is currently in the ICU undergoing intensive medical treatment after he was shot in the chest over the weekend in Little Village, Chicago, while in a Walgreens parking lot, police said. The baby has been connected to many tubes and IVs and is due to have multiple surgeries, continuous medical care, and therapy after the tragic incident, a fundraising page set up for the young boy and his family stated. The family has since told local news outlets on Sunday that Jeremiahs condition is improving and is stable. However, remains in the ICU at Stroger Hospital. While simply out for a store run to get baby formula, this unfortunate and senseless act of violence occurred and turned our familys worlds upside down. We are now facing a devastating crisis, the fundraising page stated. Police said that the baby was in the car with his father in the 3100 block of West 26th Street on Saturday afternoon, around 4.30pm, when two armed men opened fire on the Chevrolet Camaro, leaving the vehicle peppered with bullet holes. The Chevrolet Camaro that the family drove to Walgreens on Saturday was left with multiple bullet holes after a shooting attack. The baby was shot in the chest and remains in hospital, while his father sustained multiple shots to his body ( ABC7 ) A police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times said that the two men exited a brown, older-looking SUV and were armed with a green rifle and a handgun. The Little Village Community Council, who spoke at a conference on behalf of the victims family, said the shooting was targeted and gang-related, CBS reported. The babys father, a 21-year-old who has not been named, was shot multiple times but has been released from hospital, the outlet said. However, fear still prevails in the family. There has been pictures of the father put on Facebook pages that are gang-related, showing that he was not killed, and if you guys want to finish the job, you know, this is what he looks like, said Chela Garcia, of the Little Village Community Council. The family also added on the fundraising page that after this, they dont want to go back to our neighborhood where this tragedy happened. Your kindness and generosity will help us give Jeremiah the best chance at not only a safe and healthy recovery but a safer environment and neighborhood to be in moving forward for him and his big brother, Christian, they added. Police surveying the area where the shooting took place. No arrests have been made at this time ( CBS Chicago ) The GoFundMe page, which is just over halfway into its $10,000 goal as of Thursday, is raising money for Jeremiahs mounting medical bills and daily necessities for the family while both parents are out of work during this difficult time. Area Four detectives from the Chicago Police Department are investigating. There appears to be no arrests at this time. This is a young couple, just started building a family, and theyre in need of our support, said Enrique Baltazar, with the Little Village Community Council. Its gonna be a long road for him to recover. The family is just praying he gets out of the hospital. The Independent has contacted the Chicago Police Department for further information. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} An inmate who was involved in the fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a West Virginia prison has been sentenced to more than four years behind bars. Massachusetts gangster Paul J DeCologero was sentenced in federal court on Thursday after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. DeCologero was already serving a 25-year sentence handed down in 2006 after he was convicted of buying heroin used to try to kill a teenage girl. Prosecutors originally alleged that, along with fellow inmate Fotios Freddy Geas, DeCologero used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly beat 89-year-old Bulger on the head, hours after he arrived at USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida in 2018. However, on Thursday both sides agreed that DeCologero had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger himself. Notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger was fatally beaten at a West Virginia prison in October 2018 ( AP ) According to court records, inmates had found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving at Hazelton. An inmate previously told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit. Prosecutors said that DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulgers cell. During that time, DeCologero served as a lookout and helped cover Bulgers body after he had been beaten to death by Geas. DeCologeros DNA was found on two blankets, assistant US Attorney Brandon Flower said. Geas has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. His hearing is scheduled for September 6. Last year, the Justice Department said it would not seek the death penalty. During the trial, DeCologeros attorney, Patrick Nash, described him as the victim of an abusive and neglectful upbringing, which meant he was easily led and had been subsequently recruited into a life of crime. When it came to Bulgers killing, Paul was involved," Nash said. "He is guilty. But his role was limited. Flower declined to comment after the sentencing. In this June 2011 photo, James "Whitey" Bulger is escorted from a Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bulger was beaten to death in prison in October 2018 ( AP ) Prior to Bulgers death, employees at USP Hazelton had voiced concerns about violence and understaffing. After Bulger was killed, prison officials were criticized for placing him in the general population instead of protective housing. A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of malicious intent by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters. Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang. He became one of the nations most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant. DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records said. The Associated Press contributed to this report The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The owner of a North Portland newspaper has been arrested and charged after he allegedly told an elderly church receptionist in another state that he was going to kidnap her, keep her in a cage, and rape her. And she allegedly is not the only church worker who he's harassed. An FBI affidavit accuses Richard Colvin, 60, the owner of the St John's Review newspaper, of making harassing calls to law enforcement offices and religious groups in Oregon well before he made the call to the church in Mobile, Alabama, according to the Willamette Week. Colvin was booked at the Baldwin County Jail on June 10 after he was charged for making threats to the worker. In the calls, Colvin allegedly told a 77-year-old receptionist at Christ United Church that he was going to "repeatedly rape her" after he locked her in a cage, according to the FBI affidavit. He also allegedly said he would cut his genitals off and use it to violate the woman. Richard Colvin, 60, the owner of the St Johns Review newspaper in North Portland, has been arrested and charged after he allegedly called a church receptionist in Mobile, Alabama, and threatened to kidnap, imprison, and rape her ( Portland Police Bureau ) Anytime the woman tried to interrupt the rant, Colvin allegedly called her a "motherf****** b****." He allegedly called the church's prayer lines multiple times to share his thoughts over a recent split in the Methodist Church for its stance on gay people in the faith. I cant wait to come to church there and let you folks know just what I think about you busting up a 8 million member United Methodist Church over whos sucking a f****** d***, he allegedly said on a call, according to the affidavit. He also allegedly called and harassed the FBI's field office in Portland and the Portland Police Bureau. They reportedly blocked his number, according to the FBI. On June 11, Colvin was granted permission to undergo a psychiatric exam at his attorneys' request. Colvin's attorney, Jan Jones, wrote in a filing that Colvin had a "long-standing history of documented mental illness," according to the Willamette Week. It's unclear if the St Johns Review will continue to publish with its owner behind bars and awaiting a court date. Colvin and the paper's director, Anisha Scanlon, are reportedly working to transfer the paper's ownership to her so she can continue to run the publication. If she takes over, she'll be saddled with a $10,000 debt for outstanding bills before the next edition can go to print. Scanlon said the issues she's facing trying to keep the small paper alive were "not issues I have created" or knew about prior to Colvin's jailing. I need these problems to not be associated with me or the papers future. These need to go away," she told the Wilamette Week. A prior owner of the paper, Gayla Patton, told the publication that she wanted "nothing to do" with Colvin, his employees or the "mess" that the paper had become, in her opinion. She sold the paper in 2022 to Colvin. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A Minnesota engineer sobbed as he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing a high school student to death while tubing on a river, just days after the second anniversary of the attack. Nicolae Miu, 54, was handed two decades behind bars at his sentencing on Wednesday, as well as six years of extended supervision after his release for the stabbings along Apple River in St Croix County in Wisconsin in July 2022. He was convicted by a jury in April of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count of battery. The attack killed 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and injured four other people, all of who have been left with permanent disfigurements. Miu and the victims were not in the same tubing group before the attack. Investigators say Miu claimed he came upon the victims while he was using a snorkel and goggles to look for a lost phone, thinking they had located something, CNN reports. Nicolae Miu apologizes to the family of Isaac Schuman as he reads his statement during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday at the St. Croix County Circuit Court. He was given 20 years for the attack ( 2024 Star Tribune ) However, the convicted man alleged he was being taunted, saying he felt threatened and was acting in self-defense when he pulled out a knife and began stabbing people, according to a criminal complaint from 2022. Miu told investigators that he was feeling fearful while being confronted by the victims, who he said threw his snorkeling gear in the water, attempted to pull down his bathing suit, and called him a child molester, the criminal complaint said, according to CNN. One of the victims told authorities she was punched in the face by Miu, which triggered a physical altercation as a man punched Miu back and the group pushed him, making him fall into the water. Defense attorney Aaron Nelson, however, argued that someone other than Miu had escalated the fight and that while resorting to using a knife was a reckless act, Miu didnt act with malice and forethought. He acted out of fear, CBS Newsreports. St Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said that Miu had made a series of very poor decisions when he was confronted with these words and boorish taunts and insults. He fled the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating by them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened, the judge said, adding that he was arrested once he tried to leave the scene in his car. Waterman told the court that other than his conduct on July 30, Mr Miu appears to be a non-violent, peaceful man, CBS News said. The teenager who died in the attack was a senior in high school preparing to apply for college. He hoped to pursue an electrical engineering degree and had recently started a car and boat detailing business. His family described him as "mature for his age" with a "forward-looking mentality that was uncommon for a high school senior." Nicolae Miu is escorted in the courtroom during his sentencing hearing, where he would be hearing impact statements from the victims and their families before he was sentenced to 20 years in prison ( 2024 Star Tribune ) "Isaac entered every room with a big smile, infectiously positive aura, and lifted everyone around him up. He had an incredibly bright future ahead of him and we are all heartbroken and devastated beyond words that his future has been tragically and senselessly cut short. We very much appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from our friends, Isaacs friends and the Stillwater Community," his family said in a statement to KARE in 2022. In an impact statement at the sentencing, Schumans mother, Alina Hernandez, said, according to CBS News, that Miu "stole Isaacs life and he stole my life." "I hope that monster suffers as much as I do every day until he gets to hell," she said. At his sentencing, Miu only looked up to read a statement to the victims families. I never meant for this tragedy to occur. My soul is broken, Miu said. My heart is very heavy, and I will never be the same carrying such a heavy burden inside. Im very sorry, Miu added through tears, turning toward the families. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A former Texas detective who helped put a man behind bars for the death of his daughter is now fighting to get him off death row. Reverend Brian Wharton played a vital role in the prosecution of Robert Roberson, who was convicted for the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2003. He was given the death penalty and has remained on death row ever since. He has never been far from my mind. Why? Because I helped put him here, and he didnt deserve it, Wharton told The New York Times. The execution date for Roberson, 57, is scheduled for October 17 after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted his previous execution in 2016. This is despite new evidence reportedly debunking the original theory that Nikki died of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), with The Texas Tribune reporting that Robersons attorneys said they plan to file a new request to overturn his conviction, supposedly underpinned by new evidence. Robert Roberson has spent over twenty years behind bars after being sentenced to death for murdering his two-year-old daughter ( KLTV ) Speaking to Roberson for the first time they have seen each other since his conviction, Wharton reflected on the investigation process: Im convinced we did the wrong thing. I think if it would have been properly investigated more, Roberson responded, we wouldnt be sitting here now probably. Later in the video, Wharton explained that no other possibilities for the young girls injuries, which she would tragically die from the following day, were considered: I regret deeply that we followed the easiest path. One element of the investigation was that police found Roberson to be unemotional and unresponsive when he took his young daughter, who he said had been sick with a fever, to the hospital after she suffered a fall from bed. Since leaving the police force and joining the ministry, Wharton has learned that Roberson is autistic, explaining what is now understood to be a neurodivergent response to his daughters illness and death. Its absolutely insane that this never came up in this trial, Wharton said. So far this year, ten people have been executed in the US, including Kenneth Eugene Smith who was controversially executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama in January. This made him the first person in US history to be put to death via lethal gas, with witnesses saying they saw someone struggling for their life for several minutes. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A former pastor in Texas has been indicted for attempting to pay for sex after being arrested in a sting operation, according to the Plano Police Department. Terrence Terren Dames, 51, was charged in May with soliciting prostitution, according to a probable cause affidavit. The department reportedly regularly undertakes the stings to catch individuals soliciting sexual services, according to WFAA. He is accused of allegedly calling an undercover officer on May 2 to hire them for sex. He reportedly offered the officer $150. Police gave Dames an address to a motel. When he arrived, he was allegedly recorded knocking on the hotel door he'd been instructed to visit, and then allegedly confirmed in a text with the undercover officer that he had arrived and was at the door. After he left the motel, Dames was pulled over by police who proceeded to read him his Miranda Rights. Dames told police he had only visited the motel to meet a friend, and afterward began suffering from a medical incident. Terrence Dames, 51, a former pastor at North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship in Plano, Texas, was indicted in June 2024 for allegedly soliciting prostitution ( Collin County Jail ) Police called the Plano Fire Department to assist. They found that Dames' vital signs were low, but Dames refused to be taken to a hospital. He was then released from the scene, according to the affidavit. In June, Dames was indicted on soliciting prostitution charges. Before he was knocking on motel doors, Dames was the senior pastor of the North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship in Plano. The church responded to the incident on Tuesday, saying that Dames had been removed from his position in May due to a "moral failure," but it did not mention his charges. "NDCBF leadership remains devoted to the church's mission of making disciples and vision to empower each member to impact the world by doing the work of Jesus Christ," the statement said. "Sound, biblical doctrine remains a priority." It's been a tough year for churches in North Texas. Robert Morris, the pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, recently stepped down from his duties over allegations that he sexually assaulted a young girl decades ago. In Arlington, Ronnie Goines, the pastor of Koinonia Christian Church, turned himself in to city police after a pair of warrants for his arrest were issued. He has been accused of indecent assault and sexual assault, CBS News reports. The lead pastor of Cross Timber Church in Argyle, Josiah Anthony, has also stepped down. He left his position citing mental health issues and alleged inappropriate interactions he had with members of his church. The church released a statement saying Anthony had been in "a prolonged, and sustained, season of struggle with his emotional, and mental health, which has been very painful for him, and those around him." The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A housekeeper at a resort on the Las Vegas Strip stole more than $100,000 worth of cash and valuables from guests rooms and was arrested while wearing a missing bracelet, according to police. Maria Menendez Betancourt was an employee of the Palazzo Tower at the Venetian Resort at the time of the alleged thefts, say authorities in Nevada. Police say they were first alerted to the alleged thefts in June when a guest reported more than $8,000 missing from their room. A review of the lock on the room showed Menendez Betancourt entered the room while the guest was away, according to police documents obtained by 8 News Now, a local news station. Later that month, hotel security called police after detaining the housekeeper, believing she had stolen more than $110,000 in cash and checks from a guests room. Security video showed she entered the hotel on a day when she didnt show up for work and used a key fob to get into multiple rooms on multiple floors. Police accuse a housekeeper at the Palazzo Tower in Las Vegas of stealing cash, checks, and jewelry from hotel guests ( Getty Images ) Menendez Betancourt discovered these items and concealed them in white bath towels [she] found in the room, the police documents said. The Independent has contacted the Venetian for comment. Menendez Betancourt was arrested in June and again on new charges in July. All told, she faces three felony theft charges, according to court records, and has not entered a plea. Court records show she registered herself as indigent and in need of a Spanish interpreter. The records do not list a lawyer on her behalf. A social media account appearing to belong to Menendez Betancourt did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Don Lemon has sued X owner Elon Musk over the former CNN anchors failed talk show that was supposed to air on the social media platform. Attorneys representing Lemon filed the lawsuit on August 1 in the Superior Court of California and accused Musk of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemons name and likeness and a breach of express contract. The Independent has reached out to X for comment. Lemon was slated to host a show on X in January 2024. At the time, Lemon and X had a content partnership deal, but Musk canceled the deal in March, Variety reports. The tech mogul reportedly alerted Lemon of the cancellation by texting the reporter's agent the message "contract is canceled," according to the filing. The lawsuit claims that Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million $200,000 of which was flagged for up-front payment under the content deal. Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk, the CEO of X, after the tech mogul canceled a proposed show the former CNN anchor was set to host on the platform ( 2021 Invision ) The X show was supposed to be Lemons return to media after his high-profile exit from CNN. Lemon once had his own primetime show on the network but later was moved to a new morning show. However, reports of his clashes with coworkers and allegations of misogyny led to his April 2024 firing. The deal also reportedly included an option for Lemon to renew the one-year deal twice under the same terms, 60 percent of the gross ad revenue that X received from ads generated from the show and views-based performance bonuses. It also allowed Lemon to retain the ownership of any content he created on the platform. Lemon never obtained a signed agreement from Musk. The lawsuit says the deal was negotiated over a phone call between Musk and Lemon on June 16, 2023. Lemon expressed reservations about entering into a partnership with X due to the ongoing controversies surrounding the X platform," the lawsuit says. "In response, and to induce Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal with X, Musk represented to Lemon that he would have full authority and control over the work he produced even if disliked by Defendants, and that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to fill out paperwork. An attorney representing Lemon accused Musk and X of using the news of Lemon's new show as a way to drive advertisers before dropping him. This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud," attorney Carney Shegerian said. "You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name and holding Xs executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court. he lawsuit says the deal was negotiated over a phone call between Musk and Lemon on June 16, 2023 ( Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) In March, X issued its own statement regarding the situation. The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities," the statement said. "However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show. Musk gave his own statement, describing Lemon who he referred to with a Lemon emoji as "demanding" and wanting to "rehash the dying CNN business model." Lemons lawsuit asks for an unpsecified amount of money. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The first photo released after Russian authorities on Thursday freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich , former Marine Paul Whelan , and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva shows the three aboard a US government jet, doing something they likely hadnt done much of in a while: smiling. Whelan, who served in the US Marine Corps from 2003 to 2008 and worked as a cop before taking an office job, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years behind bars. Kurmasheva, who was working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, was arrested last fall by Russian security services and convicted less than two weeks ago for spreading false information about the Russian military. She was sentenced to 6.5 years behind bars. Gershkovich had been reporting critically, from Russia, on the countrys invasion of Ukraine, when he was arrested by the FSB on March 29, 2023, at a Yekaterinburg steakhouse. They were finally freed thanks to intense negotiations over the past two years, before Gershkovich and Kurmasheva had even been arrested. It was a herculean effort negotiated by the White House, with crucial assists by the detainees colleagues, loved ones, tech moguls, a former secretary of state, at least one TV personality, the governments of Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Belarus, Norway, Turkey, and one particularly relentless figure: the 32-year-old Gershkovichs mom. On Thursday, after 490 days, Gershkovich walked out of a maximum-security Russian prison as part of the biggest and most consequential such exchange since the end of the Cold War. The Journal had been intimately engaged all along with the Biden administration to free its Moscow correspondent, along with Gershkovichs mom, who had been pushing hard to make sure her sons name stayed in the press. In all, 24 people from both sides were released, including British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who received a 25-year sentence in April 2023 on charges including treason, over his public criticisms of Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; and anti-war artist Aleksandra Skochilenko, convicted last fall of disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces. For their part, US authorities gave up, among others, imprisoned hacker Vladislav Klyushin, alleged money launderer Vadim Konoshchenok, credit card fraudster Roman Seleznev, a pair of accused Russian intelligence agents jailed in Slovenia, and reportedly most important of all to Putin himself, hitman Vadim Krasikov, an FSB colonel incarcerated in Germany for the 2019 murder of Chechen military commander Zelimkhan Sultanovich Khangoshvili in a Berlin park. A view of the tarmac in Ankara, where Thursdays prison swap took place ( AP ) The swap took place on an airport tarmac in Ankara, which untold numbers watched live on TV. However, all along, there was ongoing activity being secretly carried out behind closed doors, which the Journal documented contemporaneously but was unable to reveal until now. For 16 months, Ella Milman had studied [Krasikovs] case, daunted that such a man could be the key to unlocking her sons freedom, according to an article the Journal published Thursday morning . Titled Putin Wanted His Hit Man Back. A Mother Wanted Her Journalist Son to Come Home, the piece described Millman, Gershkovichs mother, as one of an extraordinary cast of characters who worked in the shadows to advance the swap. Her sons fate rested not just on messages ferried by diplomats and spies, but years of secret interventions drawn from the ranks of prime-time TV hosts, Silicon Valley billionaires and Russian oligarchs, it said. Gershkovich had been moldering in solitary confinement outside Moscow at Lefortovo prison, where he was prevented from meeting with officials from the US Embassy, according to the Journal. When Gershkovich was grabbed last year by the Russians, higher-ups at the Journal immediately contacted its best sources in Washington, D.C., to sound the alarm. We will get him back, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told them, according to the paper. Reporter Evan Gershkovich, seen here in a Moscow court, was imprisoned on false espionage charges. The Kremlin, however, insisted on trading him for a Russian hitman imprisoned on very real murder charges ( AP ) Jailing Gershkovich was Putins best hope of forcing the Americans to hand back Krasikov, who had been close with the Russian leader for years. Putin had, in 2022, already unsuccessfully offered to trade Whelan for Krasikov, hoping the US could convince the Germans to let him go. So, last year, Putin and his top national security apparatchiks decided to up the ante and use Gershkovich as Russias next bid for Krasikov, the Journal reported on Thursday, citing dozens of interviews with people knowledgeable of the details. Meanwhile, Millman had been contacted by Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, a former Green Beret appointed by Trump and kept on the payroll by Biden. And as Carstens worked his sources, such as a Bulgarian investigative journalist who persuaded Hillary Clinton to lobby the German government about the Krasikov-Gershkovich issue, and ultimately helped devise a list of names the Russians might swap for Gershkovich, Millman found a way to get in front of Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security adviser and the one she believed actually had the juice to make something happen, according to the Journal. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was also in the mix, playing intermediary between Biden and the German government, who Schmidt said could potentially free Krasikov for an exchange that included since-deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Journal article explains. Still, it goes on, the notion of releasing a convicted killer for anyone met with staunch opposition among German officialdom and government lawyers. In the spring of 2023, however, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz relayed a message to the Journal, through his chief of staff, that releasing Krasikov may not be easy for us, but its possible. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was instrumental in negotiating the swap ( EPA ) Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was also in the mix, playing intermediary between Biden and the German government, who Schmidt said could potentially free Krasikov for an exchange that included since-deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Journal article explains. Still, it goes on, the notion of releasing a convicted killer for anyone met with staunch opposition among German officialdom and government lawyers. In the spring of 2023, however, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz relayed a message to the Journal, through his chief of staff, that releasing Krasikov may not be easy for us, but its possible. Following multiple backchannel meetings and interactions, and right-wing TV host Tucker Carlsons plea for Gershkovichs release while interviewing Putin for a recent special, Scholz in February finally told Biden, according to the Journal, For you, I will do this. Navalny remained central to the deal, and Putin, via Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, signaled his willingness to Carstens that he would play ball, the Journal article said, noting that FBI Director Chris Wray and Vice President Kamala Harris were now involved. And then, in February, Navalny mysteriously died at the labor camp where he was imprisoned. The Biden administration was spooked, but in May, after several months of indecision, the president promised Millman hed formalize the Krasikov release deal with Scholz, who needed an official request from the US to give himself political cover, the Journal article said. On July 21, while Biden was at home recovering from Covid, he called the prime minister of Slovenia, which still needed to finish making final legal arrangements for the release of the two Russian spies in its custody. An hour later, according to the Journal, Biden announced he was dropping his re-election bid. As of today, Evan Gershkovich is free. But before the Kremlin would put him on a government plane to Ankara for the prisoner swap, they made him write a personal clemency request to Putin himself. At the bottom, according to the Journal, its intrepid reporter, who soon would be back on the job, asked Putin to grant him an interview. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Explosions in secretive underground nuclear facilities. Cyber attacks. Top scientists poisoned. Natural gas pipelines sabotaged. All these and more have been blamed on Israel in its shadow war with Iran. And the latest accusation, that Israel is behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, only expands that list. Israel has allegedly carried out highly secretive and deadly attacks on Iranian soil repeatedly over the years, though the country rarely takes responsibility. Most have been aimed at the countrys nuclear program. Here is a look at that history of alleged attacks: Years of alleged covert operations Prior to this week, the most prominent assassination blamed on Israeli was in November 2020, when a top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while traveling in a car outside Tehran. Not all of Israel's suspected attacks have targeted people. One of the first attacks against Iran attributed to Israel was the Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation. The virus disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Iran also accused Israel of sabotaging major natural gas pipelines earlier this year. In 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of data showing that Iran had covered up its nuclear program before signing a deal with world powers in 2015. He didnt say how Israel obtained the information, but an ex-Mossad chief confirmed that it was obtained by more than a dozen non-Israeli agents from safes in Tehran in 2018. Iran says the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Alleged Israeli attacks against Iran's nuclear program stepped up significantly in 2020, after the disintegration of the 2015 nuclear deal meant to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, explained Meir Litvak, the director of the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. In the past four years, Iran said Israel attacked multiple nuclear sites deep in central Iran. Some of the attacks Iran directly or indirectly accused Israel of carrying out include destroying nuclear facilities with explosive drones in Isfahan and setting off at least two explosions at an underground nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran accused Israel of poisoning two nuclear scientists in different cities within three days of each other in 2022, though circumstances remain unclear. The shadow war between the two countries burst into the open earlier this year, when Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israeli territory after an airstrike blamed on Israel killed two Iranian generals in Syria. An exquisite intelligence capability Haniyeh's brazen assassination in Tehran this week, just hours after Irans President Masoud Pezeshkians swearing-in ceremony, had little to do with Iran's nuclear program. And if Israel was behind it, it would represent an opportunity to target two major enemies at the same time: Iran and Hamas. Litvak said that Israel may have made the decision to target Haniyeh in Iran because it did not want to carry out an assassination in Qatar or Egypt, two of Israels major partners hosting the Gaza cease-fire negotiations. The assassination carried the double meaning of eliminating the most senior Hamas leader while also sending an important message to Iran. They knew which specific apartment and where he was, and it shows that something is really rotten in the Iranian security system, Litvak said. Norman T. Roule, who served as the United States National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the office of the Director of National Intelligence from 2008 to 2017, added that killings like Haniyehs show an exquisite intelligence capability that allows pinpoint strikes on security-conscious targets to be carried out without civilian casualties. Hamas said that Haniyeh was killed by a missile, but Roule said it wasnt publicly known if the weapon was launched from inside or outside Iran. However the operation was carried out, it's likely it required significant cooperation with people on the ground in Iran. People inside Iran who are disaffected with the government provides Israel with a pool of potential cooperators in operations against the Islamic Republic, said Meir Javedanfar, who teaches Iranian politics at Israels Reichman University. Iran weighs retaliation Details of such operations are highly guarded secrets, and are regarded by the Israeli security establishment as essential for the country's survival. Israelis see Iran and its allies as the most serious strategic threat against the state of Israel and the Jewish people since the fall of the Nazi regime, said Javedanfar, who was born in Iran and emigrated to Israel as a teenager in 1987. The strike Wednesday highlighted significant failings in Iran's air defense network, said Roule, now a senior adviser with the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Given the severe humiliation of Irans defenses, Roule said, Iran now is likely trapped between the need to retaliate and the desire to maintain internal stability during a time of economic and political transition. It's a delicate period that is only compounded by fights between Iranian proxies on one side and Israel and its allies such as the U.S. on the other. If youre Iran you have a real challenge in front of you, he continued. This is a package issue. You dont have one problem. ___ Weissenstein reported from New York. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Alina Habba, Donald Trumps former lawyer and current campaign adviser, accused Vice President Kamala Harris of not knowing her roots shortly after the GOP nominee questioned whether Harris was Indian or Black. Habba opened for Trump at his campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday evening. She mispronounced Kamala before stating: Im so excited because when I spoke at the RNC, I didnt know she was the one we were going after. But now I do. Im going to speak to you, Miss Harris! I am a strong woman, a mom, a lawyer, and an American! Habba told the crowd. And unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are! I know where I come from! And I dont play around with the Constitution, said Habba, whose parents are Iraqi immigrants. Alina Habba introduced former president Donald Trump at a campaign event in Harrisburg, where she questioned Kamala Harris roots. ( AP ) Habba served as Trumps lawyer during his civil fraud trial earlier this year, in which a judge ordered him to pay $454 million. She announced during his criminal hush-money trial that she had taken a new role as his legal adviser. Now, she works as an adviser on his campaign. Mere hours before the rally, Trump participated in a heated question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists. I didnt know she was Black, he said about Harris. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. The interview has been decried by strategists and political commentators as a dumpster fire. Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston hours after Trump questioned her background. ( AP ) Trumps running mate JD Vance, the father of three biracial children, on Wednesday told The Hill that he thought Trumps comments were hysterical and accused the media of overreacting to it. The Ohio Senator added: I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris, Harris herself responded to the former presidents comments while speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sisters at a Houston gathering, calling Trumps remarks the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Joe Biden will headline the opening night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, after giving up his spot on the top of the partys ticket. The president is expected to deliver a prime-time address on Monday, August 19, and will then hand over the keys to Kamala Harris the now-presumptive Democratic nominee. Monday is going to be Joes night, then hes going to hand over the keys, a source told CNN. According to the outlet, the speech will discuss the countrys transition from the Covid-19 pandemic era and bring the focus onto the vice president. Harris faces an imminent virtual roll call, during which party delegates will pledge themselves and likely nominate her as the official Democratic candidate before the convention even begins. The president is expected to deliver a prime-time address on Monday August 19 at the convention in Chicago, Illinois ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) An in-person roll call and her subsequent nomination at the DNC will be largely ceremonial. She will then give a speech on Thursday, the final day of the convention. Bidens address will not be the first time an outgoing president has opened the DNC. During the 2000 convention, outgoing president Bill Clinton, who was not up for reelection, delivered the opening remarks before passing the torch to his then-VP Al Gore, who went on to face George W Bush. Barack Obama also did not deliver the opening remarks to the 2016 convention, instead speaking on the last day to promote Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate. It comes as the Harris campaign seems to be gathering strength and momentum. Fresh polls show that she has made gains on Bidens top performance in all swing states except Pennsylvania, the presidents home state. Ahead of the DNC, fresh national polls indicate that Kamala Harris is securing a lead over Donald Trump at this stage in the race. ( AP ) The latest slew of national polls also indicate that Harris is securing a lead over Donald Trump at this stage in the race. Harris has led over Trump in four major polls taken over the past five days, though the race remains tight, with an average of 45.3 percent to Trumps 43.8 percent. Donations towards the vice presidents operation have also continued to flow, after pulling in a whopping $81m on the first official day of campaigning. According to the Harris for President campaign, that sum reflected money raised across the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees, and includes 888,000 grassroots donors, a full 60 percent of whom gave for the first time this cycle. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed Donald Trump is unaware of race and gender in defense of the former president after he questioned Vice President Kamala Harriss race. I didnt know she was Black, the former president said Wednesday during a tense question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists conference. Trump continued: She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Harriss father is from Jamaica and her mother is Indian. On Thursday morning, Kilmeade admitted that bringing up Kamala Harris race was not a winning issue before saying whether shes Black or Indian, it doesnt matter. Brian Kilmeade defends Donald Trump as being unaware of race and gender after the former president questioned Kamala Harris race during a Wednesday discussion. ( Fox News ) Hes just running against a Democrat. I think the thing is, President Trump is so unaware of race and gender, Kilmeade continued. A lot of people say: Wow you dont talk to women like that. You dont talk to minorities like that. He said Im running against that person. Thats all he sees, the Fox anchor added. The co-hosts also discussed the series of questions that Trump faced, which the former president described as nasty and said the questions were asked in a horrible manner. Kilmeade advised: In that situation, you should really be briefed ahead of time that youre probably going to be walking into a hostile environment. In contrast to Kilmeades defense of Trump, Jessica Tarlov, co-host of Fox News The Five, called his NABJ interview a complete dumpster fire for the former president. Many others have criticized Trumps remarks. Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications, similarly wrote on X: An absolute dumpster fire of a performance by Trump from start to finish. Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where he questioned Harris background ( REUTERS ) Republican strategist Sarah Longwell also slammed Trumps showing, telling CNN: He looked old, he looked unable to parry in the conversation, unable to grab a thread and talk about it effectively, drive a message. That was one of the worst performances Ive seen. Political commentator Jon Favreau tweeted: I cannot believe this Trump interview with Black journalists is real. This may be one of the worst interviews hes ever done, and thats saying something. Later on Wednesday, Harris herself responded to his comments. The presumptive Democratic nominee told Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sisters at a Houston event that Trumps remarks were just the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. In the short time that she has run for the White House, Harris has faced a barrage of racist attacks, with a number of Republicans calling her a DEI hire. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Nancy Pelosi detailed how medical professionals expressed concern to her regarding then-President Donald Trumps mental health during her time as Speaker of the House, according to her new memoir. A copy of The Art of Power: My Story as Americas First Woman Speaker of the House, to be published next week, was obtained by The Guardian. At a 2019 memorial service for psychiatrist Dr David Hamburg, doctors and other mental health professionals shared their deep concern that there was something seriously wrong with Trump and that his mental and psychological health was in decline, Pelosi detailed in the book. Pelosi said she found Trumps behavior difficult to understand. The former speaker frequently clashed with Trump during her second stint in the top job in the lower chamber. She was speaker between 2007 and 2011 and between 2019 and 2023, which coincided with the latter half of Trumps presidency and the beginning of President Joe Bidens time in the White House. Trump is now the Republican presidential nominee yet again, for the third straight election cycle. The 78-year-old former president is the oldest-ever candidate for the office. His often bizarre behavior has come under increasing scrutiny following his two impeachments, including for the Capitol riot, his 34 felony convictions, the orders for him to pay hundreds of millions in damages in several civil cases, including one in which he was found liable for sexual abuse, his comments that he would spend day one of his next term as a dictator, and his questioning of Vice President Kamala Harriss racial identity during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rips up pages of the State of the Union speech after then-President Donald Trump finishes his State of the Union speech in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020 Pelosi writes in a new memoir that medical professional shared their concern with her in 2019 that Trumps mental health was in decline ( Getty Images ) By the time January 6, 2021, the day of the insurrection, came, Pelosi wrote that she knew Donald Trumps mental imbalance. I had seen it up close. His denial and then delays when the Covid pandemic struck, his penchant for repeatedly stomping out of meetings, his foul mouth, his pounding on tables, his temper tantrums, his disrespect for our nations patriots and his total separation from reality and actual events. His repeated, ridiculous insistence that he was the greatest of all time. She notes how staffers, such as Trumps last Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, indulged his odd behavior, and allowed him to listen into meetings on Capitol Hill, leading to the speaker banning phones in her meeting rooms. People still ask me how I remained so calm, she writes about the Capitol attack. Pelosi and other Capitol leaders were evacuated to Fort McNair in southern Washington, DC. My answer is that I was already deeply aware of how dangerous Donald Trump was, she writes. He continues to be dangerous. If his family and staff truly understood his disregard for both the fundamentals of the law and for basic rules, and if they had reckoned with his personal instability over not winning the [2020] election, they should have staged an intervention, she adds. Whether because of willful blindness, money, prestige or greed, they didnt and America has paid a steep price. Pelosi added that it was clear to me from the start that he was an imposter and that on some level, he knew it. After the insurrection, Pelosi and the Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer placed a call to then-Vice President Mike Pence about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Pelosi writes elsewhere that she admired Pence for his actions on January 6, when he presided over the certification of the 2020 election results after refusing to leave the Capitol even as the mob of Trump supporters chanted that he should be hanged. But after being on hold for 20 minutes, Pence never got on the phone with Pelosi and Schumer and didnt return their call, the former speaker wrote. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Kamala Harris potential vice presidential pick Mark Kelly has blasted Donald Trump for questioning her heritage, denouncing him as a desperate and scared old man. Speaking to CNNs Kaitlan Collins on The Source, Kelly was asked for his reaction to Trumps racially-charged comments at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago on Wednesday where he claimed that Harris had happened to turn Black recently. It was very obvious to me watching him, and just what Ive seen over the last week while shes been across the country just kicking his butt, that hes afraid, said the Arizona senator. Hes afraid to debate her. Hes certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November, and hes afraid about his own future. Kelly told reporters outside the US Capitol that the overtly racist comments are those of a desperate, scared old man, who, over the last week especially, has been having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor, and I think hes worried. Trump sparked gasps from the audience at the NABJ convention when he falsely claimed that Harris chooses her heritage when it suits her and questioned how she is both Indian and Black. She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, the former president said. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Arizona Senator Mark Kelly said that Trump is afraid to debate Kamala Harris ( Getty Images ) His questionable comments have earned him a wave of backlash from across the political spectrum. The Republican former governor of Maryland Larry Hogan said in an X post: Its unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyones racial identity. The American people deserve better. Trump and his vice presidential nominee JD Vance were already facing backlash this week after a 2021 video resurfaced showing Vance calling Harris and other Democrats a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 2024 ( Reuters ) Suspense is mounting as to who Harris will select to be her running mate on the Democratic party ticket, with Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro believed to be on her shortlist. Harris and her as of yet unconfirmed running mate are set to hold a campaign rally together in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The location of the rally has fueled speculation that she plans to tap Shapiro for the role. While Trump named Vance as his vice presidential pick back on July 15, he bizarrely downplayed the significance of the VP candidate on the election during his appearance at the NABJ. Virtually never has it mattered, the 78-year-old-said. Youre voting for the president. Youre voting for me. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made their debut as the Democratic presidential ticket on Tuesday night, kicking off a campaign against Donald Trump and JD Vance in front of an electrified crowd in Philadelphia. The governor strode on stage at Temple Universitys Licouras Center on Tuesday with Harris just hours after she announced him as her running mate, with 91 days to go until the November election. Walzs appearance ended the closely-watched contest for the next potential vice president, landing on a seasoned Midwestern politician, military veteran and former school teacher with a progressive track record. Harris told the estimated 12,000 people in attendance that she set out to find a partner who can build this brighter future during her weeks-old campaign for the presidency. Her search for a running mate led her to a leader who can unite this nation and move us forward, someone who was a fighter for the middle class and a patriot who believes as I do the extraordinary promise of America, a promise of freedom, opportunity and justice not just for some but for all, she said. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz greet supporters at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on August 6. ( Getty Images ) She told the crowd that she found such a leader in Walz, a 60-year-old former high school teacher who enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and served for 24 years, then spent more than two decades teaching and coaching football before entering politics. The vice president recounted how during the 1990s, a time when the federal government enacted a law banning any recognition of same-sex relationships, Walz served as a faculty adviser for a high school gay-straight alliance group because he knew the signal it would send to have a football coach get involved. Walz makes people feel they belong and inspires them to dream big, and thats the kind of vice president he will be, she added, and thats the kind of vice president America deserves. He represented Minnesota in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 and is now in the middle of his second term as the states governor. He has had a recent meteoric rise on to the national stage with his no-nonsense assessment of the GOPs platform and the weird agenda behind it. Kamala Harris stifled a laugh as her running mate Tim Walz cracked a joke about his Republican counterpart JD Vance and his couch controversy ( Getty Images ) In the governors office, Walz ushered through a series of popular progressive policies, including protections for abortion rights and LGBT+ Minnesotans and a free breakfast and lunch program for public school children. Minnesotas strength comes from our values, our commitment to working together, to seeing past our differences, to always be willing to lend a helping hand, Walz told the crowd. Trump, however, doesnt know the first thing about service, because hes too busy serving himself, according to Walz. The former president weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand, mocks our laws, and sows chaos and division, and thats to say nothing of his record as president, said Walz, who said Trump froze during the Covid-19 crisis, drove the economy into the ground, and make no mistake: violent crime was up under Donald Trump. Thats not counting the crimes he committed, he added. Walz said he cant wait to debate his GOP counterpart JD Vance. Like most people who grew up in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a best seller trashing that community, he said, his voice carrying more than a hint of sarcasm. Tim Walz told a crowd in Philadelphia on August 6 that rival Donald Trump doesnt know a thing about service ( AP ) He added that what Vance represents is not what Middle America is, and drew some of the loudest cheers of the night when he told rallygoers: I cant wait to debate the guy ... if hes willing to get off the couch and show up. See what I did there? said Walz, making an apparent reference to an online joke that Vance wrote about having sex with a couch in his best-selling memor. Harriss announcement arrived roughly three months before Election Day and two weeks before the Democratic National Convention, where the Harris-Walz ticket will formally receive the partys nomination. After President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and backed Harris as the partys nominee, she quickly collected endorsements and delegate pledges to clinch the nomination, with record-breaking fundraising numbers that have eclipsed Republicans multi-million dollar war chest. A campaign spokesperson said the newly-christened Harris-Walz effort pulled in yet another $20m in the hours after the announcement. Walz quipped I see those old white guys when he spotted a member of Old White Men for Harris on the front row at the Philadelphia rally on August 6 ( AP ) The electic atmosphere recalled the boisterous rallies of the Obama-Biden campaigns in 2008 and 2012. It attracted a racially diverse crowd that included a pair of gray-haired white men sporting shirts declaring themselves Old White Men for Harris and Freedom. Its as clear as the T-shirt says, Bernie Strain told The Independent. Its about two old white men liking our Social Security, liking our Medicare, liking our freedom, liking our democracy well lose it if Trump gets elected. Strain said that his son, a Marine, had served a pair of tours at the base that was struck by Iran-backed militants in Iraq on Monday. Hes no loser and hes no sucker for serving in the United Statess service, and Trumps not going to call my son a loser or a sucker, he said. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Harris even drew a pair of former Republican members of Congress, including former Pennsylvania congressman James Greenwood, who told The Independent that he understood Biden had to stand down after his June 27 debate against Trump. Greenwood described the vibe after Biden stood down as like an electric charge. The excitement, the volunteers, the fundraising, everyones pretty excited, he said. Another ex-Republican House member from Illinois, Joe Walsh, said Walz was a great bet for Harris because the Minnesotan is like an everyman. I disagree with him on a lot of policy, but he's like a regular guy, and that's what Democrats have to have, he said. Andrew Feinberg reported from Philadelphia Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Vice President Kamala Harris has faced a barrage of attacks about her race including one from Donald Trump, who claimed Harris happened to turn Black only recently. During a question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday, the former president questioned: Is she Indian or is she Black? In short, shes both. The presumptive Democratic nominee is both the first Black and Asian-American vice president. The vice president was born in California while her father, Donald Harris, was born in Jamaica and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India. Harris has spoken openly about how she grew up appreciating both cultures. Trumps remark is particularly strange, seeing as during her 2020 presidential run, Harris made headlines after calling out Joe Bidens past record on race and and school busing: There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to school every day. And that little girl was me. Harris attended Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, DC, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the first Black sororities in the nation. She has spoken fondly of her Jamaican heritage. Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston ( AP ) In 2021, she recalled her father taking her and her sister to see Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978 her first concert ever. We sat up top in the back of the theater and, as I watched the performance, I was in complete awe, Harris told the Washington Post at the time. To this day, I know the lyrics to nearly every Bob Marley song. My father, like so many Jamaicans, has immense pride in our Jamaican heritage and instilled that same pride in my sister and me, Harris told the outlet. We love Jamaica. He taught us the history of where were from, the struggles and beauty of the Jamaican people, and the richness of the culture. The twice-over Fulbright Scholar is now a professor emeritus at Stanford, where he served as faculty from 1972 until his retirement in 1998, according to his bio. He was the first Black scholar to receive tenure in Stanfords economics department. The 85-year-old has dedicated much of his work to his native country. He served as an economic consultant to the Jamaican government and as an economic adviser to several of the countrys prime ministers, his bio states. In 2019, when she was running in the Democratic presidental primary, Harris was asked in a radio interview about her stance on the legalization of weed. She responded: Look, I joke about it, I have joked about it. Half my family is from Jamaica. Are you kidding me? Throughout her career, Harris has also emphasized the influence of her mother in her life. Gopalan, a cancer researcher, passed away in 2009. Harris also wrote in her memoir, The Truths We Hold, about how her mother cooked her daughters Indian food, gave them Indian jewelry and took them on visits to India, where she spent time with her grandfather. Harris described her grandfather in a 2009 interview as one of the most influential people in my life as well as was one of the original Independence fighters in India. In her memoir, Harris begins by explaining the meaning behind her first name. It means lotus flower, which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture. A lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom. Still, Harris noted that while her mother taught her daughters to be proud of her Indian roots, she understood that in America, onlookers would first and foremost see her children as Black. My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women, she wrote. Despite Trumps suggestion that Harris only recently started presenting herself as a Black woman, in 2010 when Harris was San Franciscos district attorney, some in the political sphere admitted they didnt know she was also Indian. Around half of the 70 guests at a fundraiser hosted by an Indian-American couple didnt know she was Indian, Shareen Punian, a political activist and host of the event, told the Washington Post in 2019. Harris told the outlet that while others have wrestled to categorize her in one group or another, she hasnt stressed over it: When I first ran for office that was one of the things that I struggled with, which is that you are forced through that process to define yourself in a way that you fit neatly into the compartment that other people have created. My point was: I am who I am. Im good with it. You might need to figure it out, but Im fine with it, she continued. In addition to Trump, a host of Republicans have recently made Harris the target of racist comments with some calling her a DEI hire short for diversity, equity and inclusion and others have even referred to her as colored. But throughout her time in the public eye, the vice president has chosen to focus on the positives, touting America as a place of opportunity. The American people deserve better, she told Sigma Gamma Rho sisters in Houston hours after Trumps remarks. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength. After Harris and Joe Biden cemented their 2020 election victory, Harris mentioned her mother in her victory speech: When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didnt quite imagine this moment, but she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible. At the DNC in 2020, Harris spoke about how her parents fell in love in that most American way while marching together for justice in the Civil Rights Movement. My parents marched and shouted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Its because of them and the folks who also took to the streets to fight for justice that I am where I am, Kamala wrote in a 2020 Instagram post. They laid the path for me, as only the second Black woman ever elected to the United States Senate. Years later, we are still fighting for justice and to confront the systemic racism that has plagued our country since its earliest days. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as Kamala Harris delivers a eulogy at the Celebration of Life Service for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston on Thursday 1 August. Ms Jackson Lee, a prominent voice on African American and womens rights within the Democratic Party, passed away on 19 July aged 74. She announced in June that she had pancreatic cancer. Ms Harris will be the highest ranking US official at the funeral, acting as consoler in chief for the 15-term representative who promoted legislation addressing social justice, economic inequality and public health. The pair worked together on a bill to recognise Juneteenth as a federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans and they were also both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically African American sorority for female students at US universities and colleges. The service at Fallbrook Church in Houston is also expected to include comments by Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, former US president Bill Clinton and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} JD Vance, who has three biracial children with his wife of Indian heritage, has tried to brush off Donald Trumps stunning attack on Kamala Harris racial heritage by calling the backlash hysterical. The Republican vice presidential nominee who is also facing backlash over his misogynistic comments branding Harris and other women childless cat ladies was asked about the former presidents comments on his campaign plane on the way to a rally in Arizona on Wednesday. I frankly just think its hysterical how much the media is overreacting to it, he said, before leaping to defend Trump. How nice it is to have an American leader who's not afraid to go into hostile places and actually answer some tough questions, he said. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris, Vance continued. Shes flip flopped on every issue. Shes fake. Shes phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride. The former president sparked outrage on Wednesday when he wildly questioned Harris heritage and claimed she happened to turn Black during an interview on stage at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. Vance shares three children with his wife of Indian heritage ( Getty Images ) She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, the 78-year-old claimed to gasps from the crowd. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? He added: I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Harris is the first African-American and Asian-American vice president. Her father is Jamaican economist and Stanford University professor Donald J. Harris, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a biomedical scientist from India. Vances defense of his running mate comes despite his own wife being of Indian heritage, meaning that his children are, like Harris, biracial. Vance married Usha Chilukuri in an interfaith Christian and Hindu marriage ceremony in 2014 after the couple met while attending Yale Law School. Kamala Harris is of both Jamaican and Indian heritage ( AP ) Republican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton a major MAGA loyalist also jumped to defend Trump, telling CNNs Kaitlin Collins that of course Trumps comments are defensible. But, when pushed to answer if questioning a fellow politicians race is right and if it will even win any votes for the Republican Party, the senator avoided the question and instead labeled Harris as a dangerous San Fransisco liberal. Vance and Collins are in something of a minority in defending Trump for his racially-charged comments. Fellow Republican party member and former governor of Maryland Larry Hogan condemned Trump in a post on X. It's unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone's racial identity. The American People deserve better, he wrote. Harris responded to Trump later on Wednesday when she appeared at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston, Texas. The Democratic presidential candidate dismissed Trumps comments as the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect and said: America deserves better. Her potential vice presidential pick Arizona Senator Mark Kelly also blasted Trump by denouncing him as a scared old man. It was very obvious to me watching him, and just what I've seen over the last week while she's been across the country just his kicking butt, that he's afraid, the senator added. He's afraid to debate her. He's certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November, and he's afraid about his own future. Trumps stunning comments are far from the first shocking remarks to come from his campaign. Over the last week, Vance and Trump have been in damage control after a 2021 clip of the vice presidential candidate resurfaced showing him calling Harris and other Democrats a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as Joe Biden speaks after the United States and four allies reached a deal with Russia for their largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, in a swap that includes the release US journalist Evan Gershkovich. Mr Gershkovich, the jailed Wall Street Journal reporter, and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan were among 26 prisoners from the US, Russia and a number of their allies being freed in a major exchange on Thursday 1 August. The Biden administration negotiated the complex trade with Moscow and several other countries, agreeing to send eight prisoners held in the West back to Russia, including Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving a life sentence for killing a Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin. Negotiated in secret for more than a year, the deal represents a major accomplishment for the parties and will be presented by the Biden administration as a marquee foreign policy success as the US presidential race enters its final months. The exchange is the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War. In the last major exchange in 2010, 14 prisoners were exchanged. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} As Donald Trump continues to flounder around his response to a sustained assault from Democrats over policy prescriptions in the Heritage Foundations Project 2025, his rivals are sticking the knife in further. The DNC is out with a new memo on Thursday detailing how conservatives hope to use a second Trump presidency to expand state-led efforts to monitor women who get abortions even if they do so in states where the practice is legal. Those efforts directly conflict with Trumps stated desire to leave the issue up to state governments. A shift in federal policy could end up being a clear thumb on the scale in favor of conservative states who wish to police the practice of abortion outside their borders. The ex-president has trodden a winding path on the issue of abortion rights. He routinely insists that he does not support a national ban on abortion and wants the issue left up to the states, even as he simultaneously and repeatedly has claimed credit for the end of federal protections on abortion. He has also endorsed any conservative state government push to monitor womens pregnancies in past interviews. In two separate instances this year, Trump implied that he would not oppose any Republican push to level such surveillance against pregnant women. Donald Trump campaigns in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as his campaign has now publicly turned its fire on Project 2025. ( Getty Images ) Democrats have seen an angle of opportunity here, and are now tying the former president to language in the Project 2025s section on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.) The project details how it would direct a conservative HHS chief to get rid of guidance around the agencys rules regarding patient information disclosures, including a portion which explicitly states that a health care provider would be prohibited from reporting a patients intent to seek abortion care in a state where the practice is legal to government officials in the patients home state. A pregnant individual in a state that bans abortion informs their health care provider that they intend to seek an abortion in another state where abortion is legal. The provider wants to report the statement to law enforcement to attempt to prevent the abortion from taking place. However, the Privacy Rule would not permit this disclosure of PHI to law enforcement under this permission for several reasons, reads the HHS rule guidance Project 2025 wants to delete. The conservative-led effort describes the rule guidance as unnecessary and ideologically motivated fearmongering about abortion. Trump has made efforts within the past few weeks to burn his bridges with Project 2025. The project is a collaboration of dozens of groups that support his campaign and is spearheaded by officials with direct experience in Trumps first administration. Its policy lead announced that he would step down this week, an announcement which was quickly celebrated as a successful targeted hit by the Trump campaign. Mike Johnson admits he would be unhappy with Democratic states keeping abortion rights Notably, the deletion of any rule guidance on confidentiality in health care would not change the rules themselves. The agency would have to go through the formal rule review process to amend or throw out a HIPAA rule finalized by the agency earlier this year which HHS officials said was meant to better protect patient confidentiality and prevent medical records from being used against people for providing or obtaining lawful reproductive health care. But Project 2025 and Donald Trumps running mate, JD Vance, both have stated clear opposition to this rule. Abortion is not health care it is a brutal act that destroys the life of an unborn child and hurts women. Congress did not authorize HHS to extend special provisions for abortion such as these under the guise of health care. The Proposed Rule unlawfully thwarts the enforcement of compassionate laws protecting unborn children and their mothers, and directs health care providers to defy lawful court orders and search warrants, read a letter to the agency Vance signed on to in 2023 when the rule was first proposed. Vance has sought to aid Trumps efforts to find a more politically palatable abortion position ahead of the general election. Explaining how his own statements in support of a national ban gelled with his running mates, Vance said this month: Im the vice presidential nominee and not the presidential nominee, and if I want my views on abortion to dominate the Republican party then I run for president. And I didnt and I havent. Donald Trump ran for president. JD Vance shakes hands with Donald Trump, his running mate for the 2024 election, at the RNC. Vances far-right views have become a drag for Trump in polling since his selection as vice presidential nominee. ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Obviously as a member of the campaign Im going to support... states making the decision, having a respect for the will of the voters to decide what local abortion policy will be, he added. But Democrats are seeking to remind voters that much of Trumps policymaking in a second term would likely mirror his first i.e. carried out by political appointees across government and not necessarily through the stroke of a pen at the White House. "Because of Trump, prosecutors looking to enforce draconian anti-abortion laws in the states are now free to go after reproductive health data in mobile apps, said DNC national press secretary Emilia Rowland in a statement to The Independent. But Trump and Vances Project 2025 agenda would go even further calling for every abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and incidental pregnancy loss from medical treatments like chemo to be reported to the federal government under a Trump administration, tearing away health data privacy protections under HIPAA, and allowing states to surveil patients and doctors, monitor pregnancies, restrict womens freedom to travel for abortion care, and ultimately use health data against patients and providers in court. This isnt about policy, its about control. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Leaders in the Republican Party harshly criticized the Pentagons decision to agree to plea deals for the terrorists behind the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, believing the death penalty should have remained on the table. On Wednesday evening, news of the plea deals erupted after the Department of Defense informed the families of victims in a letter that they had come to an agreement with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. For 27 months, U.S. prosecutors negotiated with the three men, attempting to conclude the decades-long proceedings in the trial holding them responsible for aiding in the terrorist attack. Now, the three have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senator Lindsey Graham and other members of the GOP blamed the Biden administration, calling it a cowardice move. The Biden-Harris Administrations weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds, McConnell said in a press release. The plea deal with terrorists including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans is a revolting abdication of the governments responsibility to defend America and provide justice, McConnell added. The three men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who plotted the 9/11 attacks are expected to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences next week ( HO/AFP via Getty Images ) U.S. officials say Mohammed was the mastermind behind the attack that saw members of al-Qaida hijack four commercial planes, flying two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth was intended to go to Washington D.C. but passengers and crew stormed the cockpit, crashing the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. Mohammed was first captured in 2003. He was subjected to torture while in CIA custody that ultimately jeopardized prosecutorss chance to try the case. Johnson called the plea deal a slap in the face to the families of victims, similarly placing blame on the Biden-Harris administration. New York Representative Nicole Malliotakis similarly called the plea deal unacceptable believing the families of victims and survivors were owed a trial with the death penalty. Under Biden-Harris, we have become a doormat for thugs and terrorists. This plea deal is an insult to the victims of 9/11, Graham said on X. It sends precisely the wrong message at one of the most critical times in history. This decision is an outrage, shortsighted, and will only cause more problems for our country, Graham added. Negotiations over the potential plea reportedly began in 2022. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of setting the stage to let them go free and said he would introduce legislation to stop the travesty. The White House learned of the plea deal agreement on Wednesday. The president did not play a role in the negotiations. Last year, Biden rejected part of a potential plea deal for the defendants after they requested to be spared solitary confinement and receive trauma care, the National Security Council said at the time. It is unclear what the exact terms of the plea deal are but the three men could enter their guilty pleas as early as next week. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has lost yet another attempt to throw out a gag order in his hush money case in New York. A panel of appeals court judges on Thursday rejected the former presidents argument that the gag order should be entirely lifted after his conviction. The five judges on the midlevel state appeals court sided with New York Justice Juan Merchan, who extended protections for prosecutors and court staff through Trumps sentencing. A gag order intended to stop Trumps public attacks which have fueled threats and harassment aimed at trial witnesses, judges and prosecutors should partially remain in place to allow Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and court staff to perform their lawful duties free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm until sentencing, the judges wrote. The district attorneys office successfully argued that harassing messages have continued to pose a significant and imminent threat even after the jurys 34-count guilty verdict in May, according to the appeals court judges. We have considered petitioners remaining arguments and find them unavailing, they wrote. The former president is scheduled to be sentencing on September 18, after his attorneys pressed for delays to make their case that the verdict should be thrown out under the terms of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that grants the president immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions performed in office. Manhattan prosecutors have urged Judge Merchan to reject that argument. Donald Trump and his attorney Todd Blanche appear in a criminal courthouse in Manhattan on May 30. He has repeatedly failed to completely overturn a gag order restricting his public attacks against prosecutors, court staff, witnesses and jurors. ( AP ) Trump has repeatedly used his Truth Social account to rage against witnesses, judges and prosecutors, which have fueled harassing and threatening messages aimed at attorneys, court staff and their families, according to law enforcement filings in several cases against him. New York City Police Department investigators logged dozens of actionable threats against the district attorney, his family and staff since Trump was indicted, including 56 that were made in April, May and June of this year, according to court filings. On May 30, a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records connected with an election interference scheme that involved buying the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels. Last month, with the verdict rendered and the jury discharged, and without opposition from Manhattan prosecutors, Judge Merchan agreed to lift a portion of the gag order intended to protect trial witnesses like Daniels and Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen. The judge also agreed to lift protections for jurors, though he said it is his strong preference to keep them in place. During the hush money trial, Trump was fined $10,000 for 10 statements violating the gag order, and Judge Merchan threatened him with jail if he continued to violate the terms of the order. The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me, Merchan told Trump from inside the courtroom in May. But at the end of the day I have a job to do, and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the justice system, he said. Your continued violations threaten to interfere with the administration of justice, and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday for his first campaign rally in the swing state since he came within inches of being killed by a would-be assassins bullet earlier this month. As you know, this is my first rally since Butler, Trump told the indoor rally. Were going back to Butler, by the way. The former president spoke just hours after a confrontational interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. During the interview, Trump insulted his likely 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris, and falsely accused her of lying about her race stating that she recently became Black. Harris, who is biracial, is Black and Indian-American. At the evening rally, Trump remained largely tied to his prepared remarks and attacked Harris for supposedly wanting to destroy Pennsylvanias economy. Donald Trump arrives to hold a rally at New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 31 July. This is the first Trump rally in Pennsylvania since the assassination attempt on the former president ( EPA ) He lamented that he had spent so much time attacking Biden, quipping that he did not know who Harris was before she became the presumptive Democratic nominee with the withdrawal of the president from the race. Kamala, the former president remarked onstage, pronouncing the vice presidents name correctly after previously failing to do so. He them commented, mockingly: Beautiful. Before he took the rally stage on Wednesday, a projector flashed images of news articles noting that Harris was the first Indian-American senator from California, a fact that does not change her biracial identity. But Trump did not dive back into the topic of race following his outrageous remarks earlier in the day. On Wednesday afternoon in Chicago, Trump falsely claimed that Harriss Indian-American heritage meant that she was lying about being Black. His remarks were met with jeers from the audience. I didnt know she was Black, he told the journalists event. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Trump kisses campaign aide genius behind life-saving chart in first rally in Pennsylvania since shooting on July 31 ( YouTube ) Polls indicate that Harris is quickly making up ground against Trump, despite having only been in the race just over a week. In Pennsylvania, however, she continues to trail the ex-president by four per centage points, according to a Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday. In Harrisburg, Trump recalled the shooting in Butler on July 13 to the crowd. His event in Harrisburg was held indoors, following a recommendation from the Secret Service that he hold such rallies at indoor venues. But he pledged onstage to continue holding outdoor events in the future. Trump was wounded in the ear during the attack before he raised a fist to the crowd and yelled, fight! and was led off the stage by Secret Service agents. Gunman Matthew Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. One rallygoer, retired fire chief Corey Comperatore, was killed, two others were wounded. Corey is a hero to all of us, Trump said on Wednesday, provoking a chant of Corey! from the crowd. He asked for a moment of silence, remarking afterwards: That is the most quiet I have ever heard an arena. In a bizarre moment, Trump invited the campaign aide who created a chart for his Butler rally to the stage. The chart, which illustrated rates of illegal immigration in the US, has been credited by Trump as having saved his life after he turned his head to look at it miliseconds before the bullet whizzed past his head. The young woman joined Trump momentarily onstage, where he kissed the side of her head. Trump publicly thanks the woman who put the chart up on the screen which saved his life on J13 She saved my life! pic.twitter.com/bSQB4ZAtZ3 TONY (@TONYxTWO) July 31, 2024 I love that chart. Im gonna sleep with that chart for the rest of my life, he said. Secret Service agents were in charge of the former presidents security on Wednesday as the agency faces bipartisan condemnation for the assassination attempt. The director of the agency resigned after a heated congressional hearing last week, and her acting successor has said that he is ashamed of the security lapses which led to a roof of a building being unsecured, allowing suspect Crooks to scale the building and fire several shots with a rifle. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the city of Harrisburg told a news station that Secret Service agents were overseeing everything at Wednesdays rally, adding: after that, it becomes a Pennsylvania State Police detail and because the farm show is a state-owned building, [Pennsylvania] Capitol Police are involved as well. Close Trump kisses female genius behind life-saving chart in first rally in Pennsylvania since shooting Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail having returned to Pennsylvania for his first campaign rally in the swing state since he came within inches of being killed by a would-be assassins bullet on July 13. The former president and Republican nominee spoke in Harrisburg, just hours after a confrontational interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. During the interview, Trump insulted his presumptive 2024 Democratic Party opponent, Kamala Harris, and falsely accused her of lying about her race stating that she recently became Black. Harris, who is biracial, is Black and Indian-American. At the evening rally, Trump remained largely tied to his prepared remarks and attacked Harris for supposedly wanting to destroy Pennsylvanias economy. His next big campaign event will be a joint appearance with his vice presidential pick, JD Vance. That will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, at the same venue Harris held a barnstorming first rally of her campaign earlier in the week. We are temporarily pausing our Trump campaign blog. Please join us in our main US election 2024 blog for full coverage of both campaigns as the race to the White House gathers pace. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Warning: This livestream has not been independently fact-checked and may contain misinformation. Watch as Donald Trump holds a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday 31 July. The Republican presidential nominee is holding the rally hours after a contentious interview at the countrys largest annual gathering of Black journalists in Chicago. During the appearance, Mr Trump questioned whether his Democratic rival Kamala Harris is Indian or Black. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black, he said, drawing a smattering of jeers from an audience of about 1,000 people. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, has long self-identified as both Black and Asian. She is the first Black person and Asian American person to serve as US vice president. Since launching her White House campaign earlier this month, Harris has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online, with some far-right accounts questioning her racial identity. Republican Party leaders have urged lawmakers to refrain from personal attacks and focus on her policy positions. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The hashtag #WhenIturnedBlack is now trending on X as social media users troll Donald Trump over his unhinged comments claiming Kamala Harris happened to turn Black. Former Comedy Central star Roy Wood Jr kicked off the viral trend on Wednesday, clapping back at the former presidents racially-charged remarks with a sarcastic social media post. We now know Kamalas brave story. When did the rest of you turn black? How old were you? Where were you when the blackness finally took over your body? Share your stories. This is a safe space. #WhenITurnedBlack, he posted, along with a video of Trumps comments. X users quickly joined Wood in poking fun at Trump, offering up fictional stories about when they turned Black. Several recalled food-related scenarios, with one social media user writing: I was 12. I learned how to make greens with smoked turkey and fried my first piece of catfish while I hummed spirituals. It was then I knew... #WhenITurnedBlack. I was 10 years old and my mother picked me up from school as she always did. We were driving home when I spotted a McDonalds and queried my mother if we could stop in for a meal. She responded, do you have McDonalds money? and in fact, I did not. Thats #WhenITurnedBlack, another person chimed in. Another X user joked that she was a late bloomer, writing: For me it happened when I learned how to play spades finally in my 32nd season of life. Truly unlocked my full potential in that moment #wheniturnedblack. It was a warm spring day when I was 10. I looked down at the back of my palm and realized I was no longer a Pennsylvanian. Instead, I had turned Black. I became an openly Black DEI. Thank you for this safe space, another person joked. One social media user joked that one thing Black people gonna do is take nonsense and turn into a creative comeback. The trend came after the former president appeared on stage for heated question-and-answer session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference in Chicago on Wednesday, where he widly claimed that Harris happened to turn Black only recently. I didnt know she was Black, he said. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Trump is now facing backlash over the comments, including from Harris, who described his appearance at the convention as the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. Wood elaborated on his thoughts on Trumps comments further in a statement to The Daily Beast. All in all, I still believe that this is an election that is about Kamalas ability to win voters (undecided and apatheic) than it is about Trump losing voters, Wood said. Biden handed her a baton, and Kamala must now run like the wind because it doesnt seem like anything will trip up Trumpnot even honest questions from great NABJ journalists who gave push back when they could. Trump was also trolled for the comments onThe Daily Show on Wednesday night, with host Ronny Chieng playing a clip from the start of the interview where ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott confronted him about his prior false claims and inflammatory remarks. Why would Black voters trust you when you have used language like that? she asked. I dont think Ive been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump replied. You dont even say hello, how are you? For most politicians, or anyone else on Earth, that would have been a low point of the interview, said Chieng. But because its Donald Trump, it somehow got worse. Chieng also pointed to Trumps comment that someone should look into Harris heritage. I dont know whats worse, that he thinks she turned from Indian to Black, or that he thinks someone should look into that, Chieng said. Who should look into that? Does he think the FBI is the Federal Black Investigators? For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Two Belarusian journalists working for news outlets that the government of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has declared extremist have been sentenced to prison, the country's leading human rights group said Thursday. The convictions in a closed-door trial are the latest in a persistent crackdown on dissent and independent journalism. The severe repression began when huge protests arose after the disputed 2020 presidential election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office. More than 35,000 people have been arrested in the crackdown. Many prominent opposition figures have fled the country and others have been sentenced to long prison terms. The rights group Viasna says there are nearly 1,400 political prisoners currently in Belarus. Reporter Ales Sabaleuski was sentenced on Wednesday to four years and cameraman Yauhen Hlushkou to three by the court in the city of Mogilev, Viasna said. They were convicted of participating in foreign military actions, but further details were not available. They worked with two Belarusian media operations that have been banned as extremist but that continue to work from abroad. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Bangladesh on Thursday banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party, its student wing and other associate bodies, terming the party as a militant and terrorist" organization as part of a nationwide crackdown following weeks of violent protests that left more than 200 people dead and thousands injured. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her political partners blamed Jamaat-e-Islami, its Islami Chhatra Shibir student wing and other associate bodies for inciting violence during recent student protests over a quota system for government jobs. In an official circular seen by The Associated Press, Bangladeshs Ministry of Home Affairs said Thursday the ban was imposed under an anti-terrorism law. Since July 15, at least 211 people have died and more than 10,000 people were arrested across the country. Bangladesh Jamaat-e Islami was banned from taking part in the three national elections since 2014 after the Election Commission cancelled its registration. In 2013, the High Court disqualified the party from elections, saying that its constitution violated the national constitution by opposing secularism. However, it was not barred from conducting political activities such as holding meetings, rallies and making statements. Ten years later, the Supreme Court in 2023 upheld the High Court decision, sealing off the long legal battle and barring the party from participating in elections or using party symbols. But again, the Supreme Court did not ban it outright. Jamaat-e Islami was founded during British colonial rule in 1941 by a controversial Islamist scholar and campaigned against the creation of Bangladesh as an independent state during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. Most of the senior leaders of the party have been hanged or jailed since 2013 after courts convicted them of crimes against humanity including killings, abductions and rapes in 1971. The party had formed militia groups to help the Pakistani military during the nine-month war against Pakistan in 1971. Bangladesh won independence on Dec. 16 in 1971 with the help of neighboring India. Bangladesh says 3 million people died, 200,000 women were raped and nearly 1 million people fled to neighboring India during the war. The party was banned after Bangladeshs independence in 1971 for its role in the mass killings and atrocities under the administration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshs founding leader and Hasinas father. The ban was lifted in 1976, a year after Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup. Only Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived as they were touring Germany in 1975. Jamaat had also been banned earlier twice, in 1959 and 1964 in Pakistan, for its communal role. There was no immediate response on Thursday from the party, but the partys chief Shafiqur Rahman said in a statement on Tuesday night that such any decision must be condemned after Law Minister Anisul Huq, from Hasina's Awami League party, said that a decision was imminent. We strongly condemn and protest the illegal, unauthorized, and unconstitutional decision to ban Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. The 14-party alliance led by the Awami League is a political platform. One political party or alliance cannot make decisions about another political party, Rahman said. The laws and constitution of Bangladesh do not grant such authority. If a trend of banning one party by another party or alliance begins, it will lead to chaos and the collapse of state order, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich is set to be released in a high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the US. The exchange would mark the largest prison exchange between the two countries since the Cold War. First detained in March 2023, Mr Gershkovich has been unable to return home for over a year. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prision last month on charges of spying and espionage. The allegations have been routinely denied by US authorities alongside the American journalist and the Wall Street Journal, which employs him. He was detained while working on a report of Russias economy, and accused of attempting to collect classified information about a Russian battle tank manufacturer. Mr Gershkovich has now been in Russian custody for nearly 500 days, with the latest news being the first glimpse of hope for his release. Heres a timeline of Mr Gerskovichs arrest and time in Russian prison: March 29, 2023 Mr Gerskovich is detained in Yekaterinburg by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) and then taken to Moscow. This was despite being accredited by the countrys Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist. He was reporting on the financial cost on the Russian economy from Putins invasion of Ukraine at the time. April 7, 2023 The FSB formally charges Mr Gerskovich with espionage and orders he be held in custody until May 29. The journalist denies the allegations, alongside the WSJ and the Biden administration. April 10, 2023 The US State Department declares Mr Gerskovich to be wrongfully detained. The rare intervention was seen as an attempt by the Biden administration to put pressure on Russian officials to drop the charges. Four days later, the journalists family receive their first direct contact from him: a handwritten letter dated April 5. April 18, 2023 Mr Gerskovichs detention is upheld by a Moscow Court. He is denied bail and ordered to be held in Lefortovo prison before his trial. The location has be known to be used to house political prisoners in the past. US ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, was allowed to meet with the journalist the day before, saying that he was in good health and remains strong. May 23, 2023 A Russian court extends Mr Gerskovichs pre-trial detenton. His parents travel to Moscow for the hearing, telling press: Any parent who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for five minutes. This would mark only the first extension. His pre-trial detention was extended again in August 2023 for three months, and for two more in November 2023. It would not be until June 2024 that the trial takes place. March 29, 2024 Joe Biden releases a statement to mark the on year anniversay of Mr Gerskovichs detention. He says his administration will continue working every day to secure his release. We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russias appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips, he adds. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journaliststhe pillars of free society. October 26, 2023 Mr Gerskovich turns 32 in prison. Friends send him around 300 pages worth of letters from well-wishers, the WSJ reports. June 26 and July 18, 2024 The WSJ journalist appears in a Russian court for his trial on two dates. On July 19, he is found guilty of spying and espionage, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. August 1, 2024 Reports indicate that Mr Gershkovich could be included in a high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the US. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet that's been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces across the world for 50 years. Western countries have pledged F-16s to Kyiv, and some have arrived in Ukraine, officials in Washington confirmed. The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the countrys current fleet of Soviet-era jets to counter Russias invasion. United States President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the U.S. wont be providing any of its own planes. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries. Though Russias recent battlefield gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is adding up as Ukraine gradually yields ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 fighter jet at Skrydstrup Airbase, in Vojens, Denmark, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 The F-16s will enhance Ukraines military strength, especially by upgrading its air defenses. But analysts say they wont turn the tide of the war on their own. What can F-16s bring to the Ukrainian war effort? The F-16s will likely have three core missions, says Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. They will seek to intercept Russian missiles and drones that have relentlessly bombarded Ukraine; suppress enemy air defense systems; and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles. They will be able to affect some of the dynamics (of the war), Borsari says. A lot of information about the F-16 deployment is classified, including what Western governments allow them to hit and what weapons they will send with the aircraft. The F-16s could carry United Kingdom-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia. They might also get long-range air-to-air missiles that would threaten Russian bombers and fighter jets. The planes advanced radars will allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. U.S. combat fighter F-16s are seen on the training ground at the Malacky-Kuchyna Air Base in southwestern Slovakia Commanding the skies is an essential part of a wars ground campaign, as planes offer air cover to troops. But supporting Ukrainian troop movements on the front line with ground attacks may be too risky for the F-16s, given Russias sophisticated air defense systems. At the very least, the fighter jets could have a psychological effect on Russian pilots, and offer a morale boost for Ukrainians toiling against the Kremlins forces. What are the challenges for Ukraine? Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at Kings College London ticks off a long list of challenges the F-16s will bring for Ukraine. The roughly nine-month training in the U.S. and Europe for Ukrainian pilots amounted to a crash course compared with the usual three-year course for Western pilots in what Miron calls a very complex piece of machinery. That will mean limitations on their performance. The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems. Quality airfields are also a must as the F-16 air intake is close to the tarmac and runs the danger of sucking debris and dirt into the engine. So many associated issues need to be sorted out, Miron says. Ukrainian pilots with no combat experience in F-16s may shy away from engaging in dogfights. How will Russia react? Russian President Vladimir Putin would savor the image that destroying F-16s from NATO countries would bring. The Kremlins forces will likely try to destroy the F-16s on the ground with long-range missiles. They have already been targeting Ukraines limited number of suitable airfields. The Ukrainians will need to park the F-16s in hardened hangars, disperse them between various locations, station decoy model aircraft and be ready to take off quickly in the event of an air raid warning, analysts say. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, attend the main naval parade marking Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday ( AP ) Ukraine has said it might keep some of the fighter jets at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes. That prompted a harsh response from Putin, who warned that any Western air base hosting the Ukrainian fighter jets would be a legitimate target for the Kremlins forces. U.S. officials said the F-16s would be based in Ukraine. In the air, the Ukrainian F-16s will be up against Russias formidable S-300 and S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems that can target multiple aircraft at a time. Russia's military also has what are estimated to be several hundred operational fighter jets, as well as sophisticated air surveillance radars. Russias Su-35 fighter jet will be one of the biggest threats to the F-16, Borsari of CEPA says. It has a long-range radar that allows it to track and engage up to eight targets at a time across a wide area. Even so, the Russians are aware that theyll be up against a more formidable aircraft than they have met so far in the war and will likely adopt a more careful approach. How will Ukraine protect the F-16s? Although Russian forces will try to strike the F-16s at the airbases where they are kept, Ukraine has robust defenses to protect the fighter jets against such attacks, says Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi. Ukraine has robust capabilities to protect its airfields with anti-aircraft defenses to deflect (Russian) attacks," Khrapchynskyi told The Associated Press. "During the entire time since Russia has invaded Ukraine, it has been actively trying to hit Ukrainian airfields, but they have been somewhat unsuccessful. Khrapchynskyi said the F-16s will significantly increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force to protect the countrys air space from Russian attacks and increase the range that Ukraine can strike strategic targets in Russia. With the acquisition of F-16 aircraft, we will be able to solve a number of problems that are currently hurting Ukraine. These include: Russia's massive missile attacks, its use of guided aerial bombs, and the deployment of S300 installations in the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv," says Khrapchynskyi. "We are talking about receiving F-16 aircraft, in my opinion, this will significantly help Ukraine to cope with the Russian aggression that is taking place now. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Goat plague is the last thing Ioanna Karra needs. The Greek farmer lost nearly all her livestock and equipment in devastating flooding last year and now, as the deadly virus spreads across Greek farms, she must buy expensive disinfectant to keep her remaining animals safe. We cannot bear the slightest damage for a second year in a row, Karra told Reuters from her dairy farm in the village of Zilefti in the Thessaly region of central Greece. Goat plague, also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), was detected last month for the first time in Greece. The virus does not infect humans, but is highly contagious among goats and sheep and can kill up to 70% of those infected. Once a case is detected, the entire flock is culled, the affected farm is disinfected and authorities test animals in nearby areas for the disease, in line with protocols set by the European Union. Goats and sheep graze freely near the beach in Kipos village, on Samothraki island, northeastern Greece ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) The government this week imposed a temporary ban on the movement or slaughter of sheep and goats. Twenty-two farms have been infected, mostly in the centre of the country, 12,000 animals have been culled and more than 300,000 tested. While the numbers are not yet devastating, they worry farmers across Greece who are already battling the effects of climate change including blistering heat and erratic rainfall. Karra and her husband Thanasis Zouzoulas have no recorded cases of the disease. But they have to disinfect trucks that come to load milk on their farm. The ban on movements means they cannot buy more animals to bulk up their flock, although they are allowed to sell the milk. Karra said they have become much stricter with hygiene security measures. The virus comes as the couple still struggles with the consequences of record September storms that flooded about 35,000 acres in Thessaly plain, which accounts for 25% of Greeces agricultural produce and 5% of Greeces GDP. Some 30,000 farmers were impacted across the province. Goats are seen at a burn area near Krioneritis village on Evia island, about 181 kilometers (113 miles) north of Athens ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) Karra and Zouzoulas lost 750 of their 800 animals and have only begun to restock. They say the virus came in to Greece because veterinary clinics are understaffed and do not make the necessary checks on imported animals. We were talking about a possible crisis before the crisis, Karra said. PPR was first described in Ivory Coast in 1942 and has since spread across Africa, Europe and Asia. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the disease results in losses of up to $2.1 billion globally each year. Georgios Stratakos, a senior agriculture ministry official, said that the virus was imported but does not know where from yet. He said the ban will last until Sunday and be re-evaluated. The government is looking into compensation for those that lost livestock in the culling or were affected by the ban, he said. It is definitely a big blow, but the government...will stand by these people. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Authorities in the Netherlands have issued an urgent warning after a wolf exhibited disturbing behaviour, reportedly approaching children twice in a hiking area near Utrecht. They called on "all visitors to be extremely cautious when visiting the Utrecht Hill Ridge area". "It is strongly advised not to visit these woods with young children," authorities in the Utrecht province said in a statement. The warning came after a large animal knocked over a child in the village of Austerlitz east of Utrecht, The Guardian reported. A DNA test confirmed the animal to be a wolf. Utrecht Hill Ridge, a heavily forested region, is popular with hikers, cyclists and runners. The area saw wolves reappear in 2015, after an absence of about 150 years. A wolf at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2022 ( Getty ) The population of wolves in Europe has grown markedly due to conservation efforts, leading to an increase in human-animal encounters. A nature park in central Netherlands was partly shut down last month after a girl was bitten by a wolf, reported AFP. A survey by Dutch voting advice website Kieskompas and ANP news agency in July found that one in three Dutch people dont want a wolf in the country, a marked decline in the share of wolf supporters from 41 per cent last year to 36 per cent this year. The country has seen increasing wolf attacks on livestock and pets of late. There were as many as 267 reports of wolf attacks on domestic animals in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 77 over the same period last year, an analysis by ANP showed. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The first photo of three Americans marine Paul Whelan and journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva has emerged after the historic prison swap. The photo showed the three Americans smiling while holding the American flag. The trio were released in Turkey on Thursday in the massive prison swap between Russia and western nations. Wall Street Journal assistant editor Paul Beckett shared the photo on Thursday afternoon. Two dozen prisoners were freed in the exchange 16 of them from Russian captivity marking it as the largest swap since the Cold War. President Joe Biden celebrated the historic exchange, speaking from the White House hours after the swap: Their brutal ordeal is over, and now theyre free. He added: Its an incredible relief. Biden later shared another photo, showing the group on a plane, writing on X: After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. The president is gathering the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House to share with them the news that an exchange is underway to secure the release of their loved ones from Russia, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday morning. The release ends the one-year detainment of Gershkovich, 32, who was detained in Yekaterinburg in March by the Federal Security Service on charges of espionage while he was on a reporting trip for the Journal. In July, the reporter was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges by a Russian court. Whelan, the former Marine, was arrested in 2018. At the time, he had been working as a director of global security and investigations for BorgWarner and occasionally traveled to Russia on business. The arrest came as he was attending a friends wedding. Two years later, he was convicted to 16 years in prison. Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days. His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions, the Whelan family wrote in a statement Thursday. Paul Whelan is free. L-R: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan in first pic released after their release in a prisoner swap between Russia and several countries including the US ( Courtesy of US Government ) Kurmasheva, a journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was given a six-and-a-half-year sentence in June 2024 after a Russian court convicted her of spreading false information about the Russian army. Kara-Murza, a journalist and permanent resident of the US, was also released on Thursday. He was detained in April 2022. The following year, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison over his criticism of the war in Ukraine. Kara-Murza won a Pulitzer Prize for the columns he wrote at a Moscow detention center. Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva are going to touch down on American soil later on Thursday when they arrive at Joint Base Andrews, where President Biden and Vice President Harris will welcome them, Sullivan said. Kara-Murza is heading to Germany to meet his family there before returning to the US, Sullivan. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A large fire broke out in Rome on Wednesday on a hill near the Italian capitals court of justice and a public TV broadcasting centre, forcing the evacuation of several buildings and offices, firefighters said. The fire in the Monte Mario area was under control, with 10 crews on the case, the national fire department said on X, posting a video showing helicopters and fire engines, and a few burnt out parked cars. As things stand, I think we still have a lot of work to do, to put out the fire, the head of Romes firefighters, Adriano De Acutis, told RAI public television. RAIs broadcasting centre was evacuated, as well as a space observatory and six residential buildings, officials said. There were no reported injuries. RAI was also forced to cancel an afternoon live show. We are evacuating the studio, one of the shows presenters, Nunzia De Girolamo, said in an Instagram video. The fire in Monte Mario is serious, we will see you tomorrow, she added. A fire brigade helicopter drops water over a large fire that broke out in the Monte Mario area in Rome ( EPA ) In a daily bulletin published earlier on Wednesday, the regional office of the civil protection had warned of high risk of fires in Rome due to extreme temperatures, which in the afternoon were higher than 35 degrees Celsius. Climate change is making wildfires more frequent, a European Commission report said in April, adding that the 2023 wildfire season in the Europe was among the worst this century. A volunteer walks past a burned area in the village of Kokosinjac, near Sveti Nikole, North Macedonia ( EPA ) As summer progresses, wildfires are becoming more frequent across the Mediterranean region, including in Spain, Greece and the Balkans. It comes as tourists look to fly out on their summer holidays to these countries. Hundreds of firefighters backed up by waterbomber aircraft sought to contain two wildfires that raged since Tuesday in eastern Spain. European Unions European Forest Fire Information System currently has a high risk of fire across much of Southern Europe. Last week UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for countries to address the urgency of the extreme heat epidemic, fueled by climate change - days after the world registered its hottest day on record. Extreme heat is the new abnormal, Guterres said. The world must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch from Ankara airport in Turkey as a high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the West that may include jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich is expected to take place on Thursday, 1 August. The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32, was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges by a Russian court last month. Allegations against Mr Gershkovich were routinely denied by US authorities alongside the American journalist and his employer. The reporter was first detained in Yekaterinburg by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) and then taken to Moscow, despite being accredited by the countrys Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist. The exchange could also see Kremlin assassins sent back to Russia in what would be the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the US in over a decade. Jailed Briton Vladimir Kara-Murza could also be released as part of the deal, as well as former US Marine Paul Whelan who has been detained since 2018. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Ukraine has received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets nearly a year after President Zelensky pleaded for them to help counter Russias invasion. Six jets, which will be fitted with modern US weaponry, were delivered to Ukraine from the Netherlands, with more to follow shortly from Denmark. The two countries, as well as Belgium and Norway, have promised to provide Kyiv with more than 60 of the American-made planes over the next few months. Follow live updates on Ukraine-Russia war The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the countrys current fleet of Soviet-era jets. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Denmarks prime minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 in August last year But with analysts warning the F-16s wont turn the tide of the war on their own, how will they help Kyiv fight Putins forces? The Independent takes a look below. How will F-16s help the fight against Putins forces? They will be able to affect some of the dynamics of the war, Federico Borsari, an analyst at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said. Ukraine would use the jets to intercept Russian missiles and drones, suppress enemy air defence systems, and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles, Mr Borsari said. Russia has stepped up drone and missile attacks across Ukraine in recent months. The planes advanced radars fitted by Lockheed Martin would allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their current Soviet-era MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. They could also carry British-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250km (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia but information on the planes capability is unclear. A F-16 fighter aircraft is pictured ahead of the arrival of Zelensky in Brussels in June ( EPA ) What are the challenges for Ukraine? Supporting Ukrainian troop movements on the front line with ground attacks may be too risky for the F-16s, given Russias sophisticated air defense systems. Dr Marina Miron, analyst at the Defense Studies Department at Kings College London, also warned Kyivs nine-month training on using the F-16s was a crash course compared to the usual three-year course Western pilots receive. The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews, Ms Miron added. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems, with quality airfields needed to store the jets, she added. Belgian PM Alexander De Croo, right, and his defence minister Ludivine Dedonder pose with Zelensky in front of an F-16 ( AP ) How could Putin react? Russian president Vladimir Putin would savor the image that destroying F-16s from Nato countries would bring, Mr Borsari said. The Kremlins forces will likely try to destroy the F-16s on the ground with long-range missiles. They have already been targeting Ukraines limited number of suitable airfields. Russias military also has what are estimated to be several hundred operational fighter jets, as well as sophisticated air surveillance radars. Russias Su-35 fighter jet will be one of the biggest threats to the F-16. Even so, the Russians are aware that theyll be up against a more formidable aircraft than they have met so far in the war and will likely adopt a more careful approach. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza is one of the faces of the anti-Kremlin resistance. Following the death of Alexei Navalny in February, he became the best-known Putin critic imprisoned in Russia. The 42-year-old University of Cambridge graduate was arrested in April 2022 hours after CNN broadcast an interview in which he said Russia was being run by a regime of murderers. A year later, he was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian penal colony in the Omsk region, where he was consigned to a punishment cell only three metres long and one and a half metres wide, nearly 6,000 miles from his wife and children living in the US. His fate was decried by governments across the West. His sentence remains the longest handed down to a Kremlin critic since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Even from prison, he published opinion columns in The Washington Post that were rewarded in May with the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Grigory Vaypan, a senior lawyer at Memorial, Russias oldest human rights group, and laureate of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for his defence of political prisoners, said the risk of death facing Mr Kara-Murza was high. Prominent government critics now face increased risks to their lives in Russian prisons. The more prominent the critic, the higher the risk, he told The Independent. Who is Vladimir Kara-Murza? The opposition politician, who is also a historian and a journalist, comes from a long line of Russian critics. His father, journalist and television host Vladimir Alexeyevich Kara-Murza, was an outspoken critic of Leonid Brezhnev, the former Soviet Union leader, and a prominent supporter of reforms under Boris Yeltsin in the post-Soviet 1990s. Vladimir Kara-Murza arrives with his wife Yevgenia for a hearing of the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs on Capitol Hill in 2017 ( AFP/Getty ) He attended school in Moscow before his mother remarried a British man and Mr Kara-Murza moved to England as a teenager. He worked in London as a journalist for independent Russian outlets before attending Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge, where he studied history. He entered Russian politics in the late 1990s as Vladimir Putin was quietly ascending the ranks of the Kremlin to the presidency at the turn of the millennium. He voted against Mr Putin in the 2000 election. Mr Kara-Murza later became an advisor to government opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered in Moscow outside the Kremlin in 2015. By this point, Mr Kara-Murza had become heavily involved in Russian opposition politics, working alongside key dissident figures such as oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov, and Mr Nemstov. The Kremlin crackdown French ambassador to Russia Pierre Lvy lays flowers at the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in 2015 ( AP ) In 2015, the same year that his political mentor Mr Nemstov was killed, Mr Kara-Murza was poisoned in what his wife says was a Kremlin assassination attempt. He survived that attempt on his life, only to be poisoned a second time two years later. Evgenia Kara-Murza remembers the moment he came out of his second coma. They were in a Moscow hospital in the intensive care unit. It was their 13th wedding anniversary. He was lying there, looking just like what someone who had been through multiple organ failure would look like, she said. He said that he was so sorry about what had happened because he was hoping to travel to Quebec for a few days with me. Just the two of us. I just looked at him and said: What are you talking about? You are alive. That is the best gift I could hope for. In February 2021, a Bellingcat joint investigation alleged that Mr Kara-Murza had been followed by the same FSB unit that allegedly poisoned Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent in 2020. He has since developed polyneuropathy, a nerve condition that affects his ability to feel his feet and hands. His wife says it was brought on by the poisoning attempts. The invasion of Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers defending their position near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region ( EPA ) Mr Kara-Murza was one of a small number of opposition politicians who remained active in Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and publicly condemned the war in defiance of new censorship laws. After three speeches made in Lisbon, Helsinki and Washington, during which he condemned the invasion, Mr Kara-Murza was arrested outside his house in Moscow on 22 April 2022. He was declared a foreign agent and accused of spreading false information about the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine in connection with a speech he had given the previous month in the Arizona House of Representatives, where he said Mr Putin was dropping cluster bombs on residential areas, mothers homes, hospitals, and schools. In July of that year, he was additionally charged over his involvement with two foreign-based opposition forums that were labelled by the Russian state as undesirable. Finally, on 6 October, he was charged with treason. Prosecutors requested a 25-year jail term, which he would later receive in April 2023. He was one of a number of Russian dissidents moved from prison in recent days, without a destination being given. It then transpired he had been put on a plane to Turkey along with 15 others released. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed two Al Jazeera journalists on Wednesday as Benjamin Netanyahus military continued its war in the besieged Palestinian territory. Israeli forces targeted a car carrying reporter Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraperson Rami al-Rifi, both 27, killing them instantly, along with a child who was travelling with them. At least 113 media workers, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched an air and ground offensive in the territory following a Hamas attack last October that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took more than 250 hostages. Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza so far, according to the territorys Hamas-run health ministry. The fighting has displaced nearly 90 per cent of its 2.2 million population, according to the UN, and left around half a million facing starvation. We will miss your voice We will miss your reporting May your souls rest in peace pic.twitter.com/JKpt5aFVf0 Hind Khoudary (@Hind_Gaza) July 31, 2024 The Al Jazeera journalists were travelling to report from near the destroyed home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh following his assassination in Iran when they were killed, their colleague Anas Al-Sharif said. Haniyeh was assassinated by a suspected Israeli missile strike in Tehran during the early hours of Wednesday in an attack that has further escalated tensions in the Middle East and raised fears about the prospect of a wider regional war. Israel hasnt directly claimed responsibility. Here is Ismails tribute to himself and the dying humanity. Let me tell you, my friend, that I no longer know the taste of sleep. The bodies of children and the screams of the injured and their blood-soaked images never leave my sight. The cries of mothers and the wailing of pic.twitter.com/o91d4fTLho Mohamed Moawad (@moawady) July 31, 2024 The bodies of the slain Al Jazeera journalists were taken to nearby al-Ahli hospital from where al-Sharif spoke over the phone with the Qatari news channel. Information about the child killed in the attack wasnt available. Al Jazeera denounced the targeted assassination of its journalists and pledged to pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes. This latest attack on Al Jazeera journalists is part of a systematic targeting campaign against the networks journalists and their families since October 2023, the network said. Mohamed Moawad, managing director of Al Jazeera Arabic, said without al-Ghoul the world would not have seen "the devastating images of these massacres". He is survived by his wife who has been living in a camp for internally displaced people and a young daughter. Shame on those who have failed the civilians, journalists, and humanity," Moawad said. Aljazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif breaks down in tears as he reports the killing of his colleagues and friends Al-Ghoul & El-Rifi. pic.twitter.com/3PYiYMESUs Arwa Ibrahim (@arwaib) July 31, 2024 Hamas accused Israel of deliberately targeting the journalists, calling it a "heinous crime" aimed at "terrorising and silencing" Palestinian mediapersons who report on "the ongoing genocide" in Gaza. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric called for an investigation and accountability for the killing of the two journalists. Israel has denied targeting journalists and blamed the high death toll on Hamas fighting in densely populated urban areas. The Israel military said in December it "has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists". The Israeli government closed Al Jazeeras offices in the country in May under a new law that allows it to shut down media outlets deemed a security threat. The network has seen several journalists or their family members in Gaza killed in Israeli attacks since the war began. Samer Abudaqa, a cameraperson, was killed in a strike in December. Wael Dahdouh, the networks bureau chief in Gaza, was reporting in October when he received word on air that his wife, daughter, son and grandchild had been killed in an Israeli attack. Another of his sons, who also worked for Al Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli strike in January. The Committee to Protect Journalists has counted 106 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza over the past 10 months. Hamas has put the number at 165. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Hezbollahs leader has warned that its conflict with Israel has entered a new phase, as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. The groups leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he was exploring a real response to the death of Hezbollah chief Fuad Shukr. It came just hours after Iran also said it would take revenge for the suspected Israeli killing of Hamass chief Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday, in a move that has heightened fears over possible all-out war across the Middle East. Gazas Hamas and Hezbollah (which controls southern Lebanon) form part of Irans so-called axis of resistance. Israel has not claimed responsibility for 62-year-old Haniyehs death, but officials have previously warned they would target all Hamas leaders responsible for the 7 October attack on southern Israel that triggered Israels war in Gaza. The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, while another 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The Gaza health ministry in the Hamas-run strip says more than 39,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the subsequent Israeli offensive. On Thursday, Israels military confirmed that the head of Hamass military wing, Mohammed Deif, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in what Hamas claimed was an Israeli airstrike on his Iranian residence on Wednesday ( AP ) In a speech via video link to mourners gathered with Shukurs coffin at an auditorium in a Beirut suburb, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, We have entered a new phase that is different from the previous period. Do they expect that Hajj Ismail Haniyeh will be killed in Iran and Iran will remain silent? he said of the Israelis. Addressing Israelis who celebrated the two killings, he said, Laugh a bit and you will cry a lot. But as he often does, Nasrallah kept his comments vague, vowing a very well studied retaliation without saying what form it would take. He said only that Israel will have to wait for the anger of the regions honorable people. The enemy and the one who is behind the enemy [an apparent reference to Israels chief ally, the United States] will have to wait for our coming response. Mourners draped in black chanted death to Israel and death to America at Haniyehs funeral on Thursday, which was led by Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. International officials have been scrambling to avert a cycle of retaliation before it spirals into a greater war. Since the Gaza war began in October, Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily across the border in exchanges that have caused deaths and the evacuation of tens of thousands from their homes. But they have also stayed within limits. Several times, strikes that appeared to cross red lines raised fears of an acceleration into full-fledged war, but outside diplomacy reined in the two sides. Hezbollah faces strong pressure not to draw Lebanon into a repeat of the militant groups 2006 war with Israel, which wreaked heavy death and destruction in the country. Israel and Iran risked plunging into war earlier this year when Israel hit Irans embassy in Damascus in April. Iran retaliated, and Israel countered in an unprecedented exchange of strikes on each others soil, but international efforts succeeded in containing that cycle before it spun out of control. We want revenge because Israel killed Haniyeh, who was our guest, an Iranian woman, who attended a rally after the ceremony at Tehran University, told state TV. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said all parties in the Middle East must avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict. Speaking in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, Mr Blinken appealed for countries to make the right choices in the days ahead and said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was the only way to begin to break the current cycle of violence and suffering. Mr Blinken did not mention Israel, Iran or Hamas by name in his comments. Associated Press contributed to this report For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} In war-torn Ukraine, he is Alya Shabaanovich Gali, a popular doctor with a line of patients waiting to see him. To his family thousands of kilometers away in the Gaza Strip, he is Alaa Shabaan Abu Ghali, the one who left. For the past 30 years, these identities rarely had cause to merge: Gali moved away amid instability in Gaza, settled into his new home in Kyiv, adopted a different name to better suit the local tongue, and married a Ukranian woman. Through calls, he kept up with his mother and siblings in Gazas southernmost city, Rafah. But mostly, their lives played out in parallel. In February 2022, Russias invasion of Ukraine threw Galis life into chaos, with air raids and missile attacks. Nearly 20 months later, the war between Israel and Hamas turned his hometown into a hellscape, uprooting his family. Both are violent conflicts, but they can seem worlds apart as they rage on. Ukraine has lambasted allies for coming to Israels defense while its own troops languished on the frontlines. Palestinians have decried double standards in international support. In each place, rampant bombardment and heavy fighting have killed tens of thousands and wiped out entire towns. In Gali's life, the wars converge. A month ago, his nephew was killed in an Israeli strike while foraging for food. Weeks later, a Russian missile tore through the private clinic where he's worked for most of his professional life. Colleagues and patients died at his feet. Alya Gali, a Gaza Strip-born doctor, looks at damaged equipment standing amid debris two weeks after a missile killed nine when it hit a private clinic where he has worked for most of his professional life in Kyiv, Ukraine ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) I was in a war there, and now I am in a war here, said Gali, 48, standing inside the hollowed-out wing of the medical center as workers swept away glass and debris. Half of my heart and mind are here, and the other half is there. You witness the war and destruction with your family in Palestine, and see the war and destruction with your own eyes, here in Ukraine. Gaza to Kyiv There's an Arabic saying to describe a familys youngest child the last grape in the bunch. Galis mother would say the last is the sweetest; the youngest of 10, he was her favorite. When Gali was 9, his father died. Money was tight, but Gali excelled in school and dreamed of becoming a doctor specializing in fertility, after seeing relatives struggle to conceive. In 1987, the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupted in Gaza and the West Bank. Gali joined the youth arm of the Fatah Movement, a party espousing a nationalist ideology, long before the Islamist Hamas group would take root. One by one, friends were arrested and interrogated; some went to prison, others took up arms. Gali had a choice: Stay and risk the same fate, or leave. There was good news: an opportunity to study medicine in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Gali bade tearful goodbyes to his family, not knowing if he'd see them again. He traveled to Moscow, expecting to catch a train. Instead, he learned Almaty was no longer an option. But there was a spot in Kyiv. And so a young Gali arrived in Ukraine in 1992, just after the Soviet Union's collapse. A worker cleans up the debris two weeks after a missile hit a private medical clinic, killing nine in Kyiv, Ukraine ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) It was like leaving one bedlam for another, he said: The country was in a state of chaos, with no law and very difficult living conditions." Many peers left. Gali stayed, enrolling in medical school. In the Ukrainian language, there's no equivalent for Arabic's notoriously difficult glottal consonants. So in Kyiv, Alaa became Alya. He assumed a patronymic middle name, adding the usual suffix to his fathers name Shabaanovich. While learning Russian spoken by most Ukrainians who'd lived under the Soviet Union Gali struggled with errands. Neighbors helped. Through them, he met his wife. They would have three children. He finished medical school, becoming a gynecologist specializing in fertility. His career's early days were long, seeing dozens of patients. Eventually, he landed at a practice at the Adonis medical center, where he thrived. When Gali drives to work, listening to songs in Arabic, he passes Kyivs Maidan, a square where anti-government protests set the stage for Russias seizure of Crimea in 2014. There was a war in Gaza that year, too, he remembers. Gali mouths the lyrics as Ukrainian street signs whiz by: "You keep crushing us, oh world. On July 8, Gali was at work, but his mind was on Gaza. Alya Gali, a Gaza Strip-born doctor, stands inside a damaged private clinic ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) A week earlier, a relative reached out Gali's 12-year old niece had been killed as Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of the Mawasi camp for displaced Palestinians, northwest of Rafah. Like tens of thousands of Gazans, his family had fled there on foot after Israel designated it a humanitarian zone. Gali had already been mourning. A nephew, Fathi, was killed the previous month. Gali saw it himself, he said, on television his nephews lifeless body on the screen, headlines flashing in Arabic. He described the image and Fathi's clothes to a relative, who confirmed it was him. Their deaths weighed heavily on Gali. For nine months, he'd lived in fear for his family, of a text message saying they'd all been killed. In the medical center that day, air raids rang out all morning. Before greeting his next patient, he shared a few words with the center director. She'd just driven by Okhmadyt Childrens Hospital, struck hours earlier by a missile a terrible sight, Ukraines largest pediatric facility in ruins, she told him. He told her about the deaths of his niece and nephew, the darkness of his grief. Not long after, Galis world went even darker. Alya Gali, a Gaza Strip-born doctor, looks at debris two weeks after a missile killed nine as it hit a private clinic ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) A Russian missile came hurtling toward the center, triggering an explosion that obliterated the third and fourth floors. Gali worked on the fourth. In the dense cloud of debris, he sought out shadowy figures covered in blood. He saw a patient and, using his phone for light, pulled her out from under the collapsed roof, as colleagues and others died around him nine killed in all. He led the woman to his office to wait for rescuers. Amid bodies on the floor, he found a colleague, Viktor Bragutsa, bleeding profusely. Gali couldnt resuscitate him. A room holding patients documents had been reduced to debris, their records spanning decades up in smoke. He felt pangs of deja vu. For months, he'd seen images of Gaza's war. It was as if they'd somehow bled into his life in Ukraine. Nothing is sacred," he said. "Killing doctors, killing children, killing civilians this is the picture we are faced with. Two weeks later, Gali stood in the same spot, gazing at bombed-out walls as workers sifted through rubble. What can I feel?" he said "Pain. Nothing else. The center director's office is destroyed. So is the reception area. Ultrasound machines and operating tables lay haphazardly. Palestinians evacuate a body from a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip ( Copyright 2023, The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) He had stayed in Ukraine, didn't evacuate his family he took comfort in his office, in helping patients. And still, he said, he'll stay. In Gaza, he knows, there's no safe place for his family to evacuate. Communicating isn't easy, with telecommunications blackouts. Weeks go by without word, until a nephew or niece finds enough signal to tell him they're alive. No matter how difficult and impossible the situation is," he said, "their words are always filled with laughter, patience and gratitude to God. I am here, feeling the weight. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Nasa may have found evidence of past alien life on Mars. The space agency says that its rover, Perseverance, has found a rock that might once have been host to microbial life, billions of years ago. A host of notable traits found on the rock suggest that it is possible that it is evidence that there is life on the red planet. Researchers say that it is filled with organic compounds, shows that water once flowed through it, and is marked with specks of the kind that on Earth usually signal life. The Perseverance rover has used onboard instruments to examine the rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls and shaped like an arrowhead. That analysis showed that it had chemical signatures and structures that might have been formed by ancient life forms. That life was probably microbial, and lived billions of years ago when parts of Mars had flowing water. But it would be the first ever firm indication that Mars was once inhabited and of any kind of life on another planet. open image in gallery NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this image of a rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" on July 18, 2024 ( NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS ) Nasa cautioned that other explanations for the fascinating traits of the rock are still being examined. Further research will also be required before scientists feel confident to say that ancient life would serve as an explanation for those traits. We have designed the route for Perseverance to ensure that it goes to areas with the potential for interesting scientific samples, said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a statement. This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something weve never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study. The piece of rock was the 22nd chunk of rock core picked up by the rover. It was gathered on 21 July, in an area of the Jezero Crater than Perseverance has been examining. Since then, it has been examined by the SHERLOC, or Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, instrument. It showed that it contained organic compounds which are the building blocks of life, but can come about through non-biological processes. Another particularly notable part of the rock was off-white spots, ringed with black, that can be seen on the rock itself. Researchers say that those types of features, when found on Earth, usually indicate that there are fossilised microbes living inside. Cheyava Falls is the most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance, said Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist of Caltech in Pasadena. On the one hand, we have our first compelling detection of organic material, distinctive colorful spots indicative of chemical reactions that microbial life could use as an energy source, and clear evidence that water necessary for life once passed through the rock. On the other hand, we have been unable to determine exactly how the rock formed and to what extent nearby rocks may have heated Cheyava Falls and contributed to these features. Though further research and work is required to better understand the chance of alien life, researchers note that the rock has been scanned as much as possible using the Perseverance rover. To get a full explanation of the rock, scientists might have to bring it back down to Earth, where it can be more fully scanned with the powerful instruments in laboratories down here. The European Space Agency had hoped to send a Sample Retrieval Lander mission to the Martian surface to pick up samples and bring them back down to Earth. But it has been delayed, with the cost and complexity of the mission leading to some fears that it might be cancelled entirely. Joe Biden sang happy birthday to the young daughter of a US prisoner released in a swap between the West and Russia on Thursday 1 July. US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been named as one of 26 prisoners exchanged in what is the largest swap since the Cold War. Another detainee, Aslu Kurmasheva, was also freed in the deal and his daughter, who turns 13 tomorrow, was in attendance at the White House as Mr Biden announced the news. The president took a moment to sing happy birthday to Miriam Butorin, and also shared some advice with her. No serious guys until youre 30, he joked. The ringleader of an organised crime group which attempted to smuggle 139 kilos of cocaine into the UK hidden in a consignment of bananas has been convicted. Sajid Ali, 56, from Birmingham, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers at Heathrow airport in January this year, minutes before boarding a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. His criminal associates had previously been apprehended while unloading a shipping container they believed contained the 11m million worth of drugs at a storage company in Coventry in April 2022. Footage shared by the NCA shows the moment officers swarmed the gang. The criminals are now serving a total of 62 years in prison. Donald Trump falsely questioned Kamala Harris racial identity as he addressed the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday, 31 July. The former president claimed that the vice president, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve in her role, had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Mr Trump said as gasps were heard from the audience. The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hell, Donald Trump is weird, isnt he? Its funny to say it now, after weve spent the past eight years taking him seriously, treating him like a legitimate politician, and in many cases being quite afraid of what he might do next. Simply calling him weird feels like the understatement of the century so why is it getting to him and his supporters so much? If you havent heard, the big attack line against Republicans at the moment is as clever as it is basic simply pointing out the fact that Trump, and Trumpism as a concept, are at their core extremely weird. What does that mean? Well, its exactly what it sounds like: pointing out that he says weird stuff. That his most ardent defenders are a bunch of weirdos. That he looks, acts, and sounds weird. Prominent Democrats are selling the line in interviews, and the Harris campaign even put out a press release calling Trump quite old and weird. The angle is getting a lot of traction because its so undeniably true Trump Republicans are so much weirder than your regular, bread-and-butter conservatives. That might have been an asset at some point people rebelled against Hillary Clinton precisely because they wanted to shake up the system by appointing an outsider but now the appetite for normal, boring politics seems to have returned, and weirdness is no longer the virtue it once was. You wouldnt think that a political movement built on insults, lies and obfuscation would be so taken aback by such a straightforward bit of name-calling, but it really seems to be working. Republican-presidential-hopeful-turned-Trump-cheerleader Vivek Ramaswamy went on the defence last week, calling the argument dumb & juvenile as if his boss didnt once mock a disabled reporter by doing an impression of him during a campaign speech. Senator Marco Rubio tried turning it around, allegedly saying: They called us weird so Ill call them weirder, but that doesnt really work when the leader of your opponents party is an accomplished attorney, and the leader of your party wont stop bringing up Hannibal Lecter at his rallies for some reason. The tactic was pioneered by Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who summed up his position in an interview with MSNBC: "They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. Thats what it comes down to. Dont sugarcoat this. These are weird ideas. Listen to them speak." As a former schoolteacher, Walz is presumably familiar with the devastating impact of being called weird its just about the worst thing that one kid can say to another. As a former weird kid, I can attest that theres nothing worse than being ostracised for your quirks it is, at its core, an attack on all the little idiosyncrasies that make up your unique identity. Of course, while many of us grow out of that mindset at some point, and learn to embrace our weirdness, the entire Republican project is built on the assumption of normalcy. We are the in-group anything that doesnt look, act or worship like us is weird. They say they want to bring back a nostalgia-tinted, white picket fence version of America where you can leave your door unlocked and kids are respectful. Of course, thats a difficult position to take when your last president just nominated a running mate who cant stop insulting single women as childless cat ladies. Seriously, how do you defend against name-calling when thats all youve done for the past eight years? Donald Trump has used so many nicknames to describe his political and ideological opponents that they have their own Wikipedia page. They range from the baffling (calling the 5ft 7in Michael Bloomberg Mini Mike), to the offensive (calling Elizabath Warren Pocahontas after she claimed to have Native American ancestry), to the Im not too big to admit it genuinely quite funny (Ron DeSanctimonious comes to mind). Hes a high school bully who doesnt know what to do when his victims finally stand up to him. Some people have rightly pointed out that the word weird doesnt fully encapsulate the horrors that Trump has foisted upon the world over the past decade. Surely better descriptors might be racist; sexist; even evil? But the thing is, people have been calling him and his supporters all of those things, and more, since he entered the political sphere. Those terms are all so charged with emotion, and so subjective, that theyve become meaningless fascist is just a synonym for person I dont like at this point, even when its an accurate descriptor. Weird, by contrast, isnt emotive at all its just a dismissive statement of fact. You simply cannot dispute the fact that these guys and their supporters are weird. Even if you broadly agree with their positions, you cant deny that they approach them in a weird way. Pedalling conspiracy theories, never shutting up about the LGBT+ agenda, spewing out a neverending stream of bizarre insults only a complete weirdo would fall in with a crowd like that. You dont want to be a weirdo, do you? If you have any doubts as to the efficacy of this strategy, consider that something similar happened right here in the UK. While Labour didnt go on the attack, outright highlighting just how weird the Tories had become by the end of their 14 years in power, that was certainly a huge undercurrent of their campaign. Keir Starmer did a great job of positioning Labour as the boring, back to basics party, while Sunak was busy dealing with people like Suella Braverman saying strange, offputting things that just didnt resonate with voters. Republicans have clearly banked on the old Michelle Obama when they go low, we go high attitude from their opponents, and its clear they dont have a strategy for when Democrats inevitably decide to go low as well. They have absolutely no defence against a charge of weirdness, and any attempt to rebuke it just results in even more weirdness. Im glad Democrats have found an effective way to fight back. Its just weird that it took them this long to do it. The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War did not seem likely even a few days ago, at least to the outside world. The willingness of the Biden White House and Putins Kremlin to engage in such a trade could not easily have been foreseen from the condition of the two powers relations. Complicated, to say the least, by the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties about the outcome of this years US elections, stalemate and stasis would have been the more likely outlook. Instead, presumably with the active engagement of the ever-ambiguous President Erdogan of Turkey, two substantial job lots of assorted journalists, spies, double agents and others have been released. Poland, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Belarus were also among the countries involved in the project. It is, ironically, a remarkably successful exercise in international cooperation; if only such a spirit could spread beyond the murky environs of espionage and state hostage-taking. It has to be stressed, notwithstanding the release of innocent Western civilians, that this is not an entirely symmetrical exercise. The high-profile case of Evan Gershkovich makes the case eloquently. A reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Mr Gershkovich was sentenced by Russia to 16 years in prison last month, on charges of spying and espionage. He has spent nearly 500 days in what must have been dreadful conditions, simply because he was a useful bargaining chip for Mr Putin. The Russians claim he was attempting to gather intelligence on their battle tank programme. This is an especially asinine notion, as it is perfectly apparent from the battlefields of Ukraine that the Russian tank industry is one of the weaker points in that nations armoury. You do not need to be a spy to see what is going wrong there. US Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are others now reportedly ready to restart their lives and tell their stories. The Kremlin is also expected to release dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza who has been a vocal detractor of Russian president and former KGB officer Vladimir Putin. Kara-Murza was given a 25-year sentence in April of last year on charges including treason, after he came out against Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. It shows that all the reportage and campaigning by Western media organisations, including The Independent, to secure their release and for real justice to prevail has been vindicated and triumphantly. By contrast, the FSB agent and the other Russian captives were found guilty in Western courts through due process and engaged in sometimes deadly activity. Vadim Krasikov, for example, spent what turned out to be a comparatively brief sojourn in a German jail for the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Chechen rebel leader, executed in a Berlin park in 2019. As the UK witnessed in the case of the Skripals (subject of a prior prisoner release) and the Salisbury poisonings, the Kremlin and its informal penumbra of freelance agents have a long reach. It is thus also right, even at a moment of jubilation at the return to freedom of innocent journalists, to acknowledge that such prisoner exchanges are a tawdry, mercenary business. There is a legitimate argument for not engaging in such trades at all, because they merely encourage the likes of Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian puppet Aleksandr Lukashenko, to take more journalists, diplomats and civilians hostage, and subject them to the privations of their grim prison systems in the hope of getting one of their own spies or terrorists back. Yet, such is the Cold War-style realpolitik now prevailing that only such a process of negotiation can save the lives of Westerners working in Russia, especially in the media, for as long as the Putin era lasts. It is notable, and predictable, that Donald Trump, graceless as ever, has scorned the prisoner swap, and claimed that he rejected such a deal in the past. Whatever the truth about that, it is the case that when Mr Trump was in the White House, he did not get the Western prisoners back. Now President Biden has achieved that elusive goal in the least propitious of circumstances. If we are to have a cold war with Russia, we can at least try to revive some of the more useful of the old Cold War procedures. Its for the greater good. Yet again, shots have been fired at Donald Trump this time, over his comments about Kamala Harriss racial heritage. On Wednesday, Trump bewildered an audience of Black journalists in Chicago by telling them that the Kamala Harris he claims to have known for several years was Indian all the way before, all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went she became a Black person. It wont come as a massive surprise to anyone that race is one of those topics that, every time Trump brings it up, he inserts his great big clodhoppers into his mouth. And, once again, by suggesting that Harris only recently changed her identity and became a Black woman, he has got this all so, so wrong. But, in fairness to the Orange Peril, he is not the only one. There has been much debate in the US about the Democrats presumptive presidential candidate and her heritage precisely because it is not African-American. (One might hope that, post-Barack Obama, the world would be able to cope with a White House candidate of dual heritage, but here we are.) Unlike former president Obama who at least had a white American mother and grandparents who raised him Harris has no direct American heritage whatsoever. Her mother hails from Chennai (formerly Madras) in India, while her father immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and she was raised mainly by her sari-wearing mother in what many describe as a traditionally Indian upbringing. But the fact is, it doesnt only matter what was going on at home, it also matters how society views her which is why her mother raised her to identify as Black. And this is where it gets complicated. Especially for her Republican opponents. Now, people like me have been known to get upset when strangers ask the loaded question: Where are you from? Because I know if I say London, they will only become frustrated and follow up with: No, where are you really from? But we need to spare a thought for people of mixed heritage, such as my oldest nephew, who simply get asked: What are you? I have three mixed-race nephews. The younger two have unmistakeable afro hair, and there is no doubt that they have at least one Black parent but my eldest nephew is what we fondly refer to these days as racially ambiguous. Depending on the length of his hair, and how much sun he happens to have caught, he can be mistaken for anything from Italian to South Asian. There is no mistaking what the former president was up to when he weaponised Harriss racial heritage to gasps and incredulous laughter from the invited Black audience. But Trump is not the only person pointing out that, early on in Harriss career, she identified as Indian. Candace Owens, the Black conservative podcaster, has dedicated hours of time to the subject, accusing Harris of only claiming to be Black now because wants to secure the Black vote. Despite Owens being almost universally hated by the African-American community, there are more than a few who agree with her. Many have taken to social media to declare they wont be voting for Harris because she is not Black. Prominent Black commentators like Tariq Nasheed and Harvard graduate Kimberly Foster, whose For Harriet blog celebrates the fullness of Black womanhood, have been busy dissecting Harriss heritage online. Owens seems mortally offended that Harris invited Megan Thee Stallion to her star-studded Atlanta rally, complaining that it is this kind of pandering that reeks of inauthenticity. She accuses Harris of trying to connect with Black people using stereotypes, saying: Have you seen her husband? Have you seen her family? There is no one in that household that is listening to Megan Thee Stallion, least of all her. Harriss husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish. He has two white children from a previous relationship that she has helped raise. Apart from the fact that the main consumers of hip-hop are middle class white kids, its a little unfair to criticise Harris for not listening to Megan. At the age of 59, she shoudnt be. Katy Perry performed for Hillary Clinton, and I doubt that means Hillary plays her tired, feminism-lite pop music when shes getting ready in the morning. Actually, that was probably a bad example. I could totally see Hillary listening to Roar before she goes down to face Bill at the breakfast table. But if you think the Indian and Black Jamaican thing was complicated, Harris was recently outed by the Daily Mail as being the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of a notorious Irish slave owner. This isnt the gotcha they think it is. The reason that so many Caribbean people, including myself, have white heritage is for the simple reason that slave owners would rape their slaves. The poisonous legacy of chattel slavery has had long-lasting ramifications and, as descendants, our heritage is complicated. African-Americans also often have white heritage because of this reason. Precisely because this kind of sexual abuse in slavery times was so far reaching, in the early 20th century many US states introduced the one-drop rule. It codified into law the idea that any person with one ancestor of Black ancestry is considered Black (and then became the accepted national definition). This was done in part to prohibit interracial relationships and thus keep whites pure hence the "one-drop" injunction but also to prevent mixed slaves from inheriting their fathers property, ensuring it remained in white hands. If Harris wanted to call herself Indian one day and Black the next, she is entitled to do so its her heritage, and hers to enjoy. But it would be storing up trouble because, socially, it doesnt make any sense to do so. Fun fact: if her parents had chosen to raise her in the Caribbean, as a person with mixed Indian heritage, she would have likely been referred to by the offensive terms coolie or doula. For, after slavery ended, South Asian people were brought in as indentured servants; mixed-race people like Harris were often ostracised and killed by their South Asian relatives, who believed their Black side made them demons. The fact is Black people occupy a unique space because anti-Blackness is found in every single society in the world. Harris read law at Howard, a historically Black university. These only exist because, in a society that often rejected them, they had to build their own and educate themselves. There are no historically Indian colleges but after seeing the white supremacist attacks on Usha Vance, the Yale-educated, Indian-American wife of Trumps running mate JD Vance, they may well establish some soon. Id be interested to see how Trump refers to Vances children, who are ethnically every bit as much Indian as Harris. Their grandad hails from the same corner of southeast India as Harriss mother. On second thoughts, knowing how hard Trump finds it to bite his tongue on racial matters and just let live, its probably better we dont know. Harland & Wolff has secured an additional $25m of loans from existing lenders The former chief executive of Harland & Wolff has left the company. It had been announced that John Wood was taking a leave of absence following the failure to secure a government loan guarantee. However, Mr Wood is now no longer a member of the board, it was confirmed today. The company also announced a new $25m (19m) loan with existing creditors, which takes its overall debt to $140m (109m). It has also ceased operations on Scilly Ferries to focus on core business functions. The famous shipbuilder has been facing financial uncertainty in recent weeks, after it failed to secure a 200m loan guarantee from the Government. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that after reviewing the loan application, the government believed there was a very substantial risk that taxpayer money would be lost. Harland & Wolff is part of a consortium with a 1.6bn contract to build new fleet solid support ships for the Royal Navy. The firm, whose UK shipyards include the famous east Belfast location, has employed the financial services company Rothschild & Co to assess strategic options for the group. After announcing Mr Woods departure, it was confirmed Russell Downs and Alan Fort are due to become board members. Malcolm Groat, chairman of Harland & Wolff, said: "We are grateful to our lenders in continuing their funding commitment to support Harland & Wolff Group's ongoing stabilisation and long-term strategy objectives. "We also look forward to working with the very experienced team from Rothschild & Co to help us achieve that objective. The board look forward to Russell Downs and Alan Fort joining us once their appointment formalities are completed and, in the meantime, I wish to place our thanks to John for his invaluable contribution to the company's business and wish him the very best in his future endeavours. The company has also closed its Scilly Ferries service between Penzance and St Marys on the Isles of Scilly, which are located off the coast of Cornwall. Harland & Wolff said the planned service was overly ambitious given the current circumstances. They said that everyone with reservations for the Atlantic Wolff fast ferry will be directly contacted, and that all impacted staff have been advised. The vessel itself is to be returned to its Dutch manufacturer Damen. Speaking about the decision to terminate Scilly Ferries, Mr Downs, the interim executive chair, said: We understand that this will be difficult news for those affected immediately and for the community it was intended to support. It is important to note that this is an isolated and unique situation within the group which continues to deliver its business as usual, serving its ship repair fabrication and ship building customers. Mr Groat said: It is regrettable that we have taken the tough decision to terminate the fast ferry, but we need to focus our energies and resources in continuing to grow the core business across our four delivery centres. "This decision aligns with and brings us back to our fundamental five markets and six services strategy. "Our ferry service team will be working closely with passengers and other counterparties to ensure a smooth transition out of this business." Denis O'Brien's business interests are now mainly focused on Digicel in the Caribbean. Photo: Artur Widak/Getty The High Court approved the publication of an 868-page report by inspectors it appointed in 2018 to investigate the affairs of Independent News and Media (INM) following an application by the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA, formerly the ODCE). What happened yesterday? The CEA began investigating INM after two senior executives, Robert Pitt and Ryan Preston, made allegations that Leslie Buckley, INMs then chairman, had made efforts to promote Denis OBriens interests to the detriment of other shareholders, in breach of company law. Were allegations of breaches of company law upheld? No. Sean Gillane and Robert Fleck, the two lawyers appointed as inspectors, did not make any findings that Mr Buckley breached company law or that Mr OBrien or his companies behaved wrongly in any way. Mr Buckley was found to have passed inside information to Mr OBrien and the inspectors did not find the various excuses he offered to be justified. However, the information was not disclosed for improper purpose and it was not misused by Mr OBrien. In relation to allegations that Mr Buckley improperly tried to secure a 4m payment from INM for an OBrien company and related parties over a share sale, Mr Buckley was found to have failed to report the agreement he made with Mr OBrien to INMs management and board. This was inconsistent with his responsibility as a director to disclose material facts and matters to the INM board. Ex-gratia payments Mr Buckley agreed INM would pay to two businessmen were inappropriate and would not have been proper use of INMs funds. The report found Mr Buckley should not have involved himself in INMs negotiations to buy the OBrien-owned Newstalk to the extent he did. What about the data search involving 19 persons of interest? The inspectors did not believe the evidence of Derek Mizak, the IT expert hired by Mr Buckley to interrogate INMs data in order to find an email about a solicitors contract, but who ended up looking for information about 19 persons of interest. The inspectors declined to speculate about how those 19 names, some of whom could be considered adversaries of Mr OBriens, came to be added to that list. What has been the reaction of Denis OBrien and Leslie Buckley to the inspectors report? Mr OBrien said all the allegations made against him had been proved wrong and unfounded. He was critical of what he said was collusion between Robert Pitt and Ryan Preston, the two INM executives who made the complaints against Mr Buckley. Mr OBrien was critical of the ODCE (now CEA) for launching the High Court inspection process based on what he said was a failure to do due diligence on the accusations. Mr Buckley said he accepted certain criticism of him on governance issues but rejected the findings in relation to him not being justified in passing inside information to Mr OBrien. What about the whistleblowers? Mr Pitt and Mr Preston received some criticism for misleading the inspectors about the extent to which they collaborated in making their complaints. However, their bona fides in expressing their concerns were upheld. Allegations of fabrication or invention against them were not upheld. Did INM get a clean bill of health? There was no finding that INM or its directors breached company law. However, the inspectors found the way the boards sub-committee handled the protected disclosure that Robert Pitt, then CEO, made against Mr Buckley was fundamentally defective. What is the cost of all this? The CEA has put its costs at 5.67m, with the inspectors getting 4.7m for their work. Mr OBrien put his costs at 2.6m and said total legal costs for all parties would exceed 40m. Does any of this matter any more? A lot of the steam has gone out of this one. Six years ago, Mr OBrien was the most powerful media mogul in Ireland. He owned 29.9pc of INM, and Mr Buckley, his business partner, chaired the company. Mr OBrien also owned Communicorp, Irelands largest independent radio group. Politicians raised concern about how Mr OBriens media influence could clash with his other interests. His litigation record against Irish media raised questions about his commitment to journalism. In 2019, INM was bought by Mediahuis. Communicorp was subsequently bought by Bauer Media in early 2021. Given the sales of other Irish businesses, such as Topaz and the Beacon Hospital, Mr OBriens influence on the Irish business and media world has waned. He is still an influential businessman but most of his focus in recent years has been trying to maintain a level of control over his indebted Digicel phone and broadband business in the Caribbean. Windows were designed by Harry Clarke in 1927 and completed the following year Former Bewley's owner Patrick Campbell in front of one of the famous Harry Clarke stained-glass windows Developer Johnny Ronans RGRE Grafton is the owner of all six Harry Clarke stained-glass windows in Bewleys Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin, the Court of Appeal has ruled. Last year, the High Court decided that only four of the windows were the property of RGRE Grafton Ltd, landlord of the premises. It ruled that the other two belonged to the tenant Bewleys Cafe Grafton Street (BCGS) Ltd, and its subsidiary Bewleys Ltd. The six windows are reckoned to be worth something in the region of 1m. However RGRE appealed that High Court decision and now Ms Justice Caroline Costello, on behalf of the three-judge court, has found that all six belong to RGRE Grafton. She said the High Court was correct to conclude that four of the windows known as the Four Orders, as they depicted four orders of classical architecture were part and parcel of the premises. In law, she said they were and remained the property of the original landlord and his successors in title. However, Ms Justice Costello ruled that the High Court judge erred in concluding that RGRE had failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the two other windows known as the Swan Yard windows, as they overlooked this yard were also part and parcel of the building. Today's News in 90 Seconds - August 1st The High Court erred in concluding that, instead, they were tenants fixtures and therefore the property of Bewleys Ltd on foot of an assignment from Bewleys Cafe Grafton Street. In her judgment, Ms Justice Costello said RGRE Grafton had proved on the balance of probabilities, having regard to the totality of the evidence, that the Swan Yard works were part and parcel of the premises and thus were the landlords property. She said the High Court judges conclusion was based upon impermissible speculation which must be rejected in light of the entirety of the evidence and the inferences which it is reasonable to draw from such evidence. She allowed the appeal and rejected a cross appeal from the defendants in relation to the other four windows. The judge had noted that a major difficulty in this case was the incomplete nature of the evidence and the resulting difficulty in resolving the legal issues presented. Of necessity, the High Court and Court of Appeal were required to draw inferences from this incomplete picture. It need not be emphasised that great care must be taken in such a task, she said. Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington agreed with Ms Justice Costello, while Ms Justice Maire Whelan disagreed in a dissenting judgment. Ms Justice Whelan said she would not only affirm the High Court order that the Swan Yard windows are owned by Bewleys Ltd but grant the cross appeal and declare that the Four Orders windows are also "tenant's fixtures". Dominos Pizzas largest Irish franchise business recorded a 35pc fall in pre-tax profits despite selling and delivering 2.5m worth more pizzas, sides, drinks and snacks in 2023 than in the previous year. Shorecal, a franchise business built by Charles and Adrian Caldwell, reported revenue of over 64.4m in 2023, up 4pc on the previous year, according to recently published results. Pre-tax profits at the pizza business fell to 5.6m, down from 8.6m. The cost of sales at Shorecal drove the decline in pre-tax profits, rising to over 45.9m in 2023, up almost 4.5m. Dividends paid at Shorecal fell from over 20.2m in 2022 to 3.8m last year. In March, UK-listed Dominos Pizza Group acquired the remaining 85pc shareholding in Shorecal in a deal worth up to 72m. The move was part of a growth plan that Dominos Pizza Group (DPG) outlined last December. It will allow DPG to accelerate growth and materially increase the store count in Ireland, with Shorecals existing management team, including CEO George Bertram, remaining in place to help oversee growth. The acquisition was based on what DPG said was an attractive multiple of eight times Shorecals earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It expects the deal to be earnings accretive in the first year and significantly accretive in the long term. Charles and Adrian Caldwell, who led the Shorecal business, did well out of the deal. The Irish Independent has previously reported that the Caldwell family benefitted to the tune of 44m. In 2019, DPG bought its 15pc stake in Shorecal for 12.5m. That transaction valued Shorecal at just over 83m. Some of the Shorecal pizza outlets in Ireland have been among the busiest Dominos outlets in the world. As of March, Shorecal operated about 34 of the 99 Dominos stores across the Republic and Northern Ireland. When announcing the acquisition, DPG chief executive Andrew Rennie said the group believes there is a significant opportunity to grow in Ireland. Our asset-light and highly cash-generative operating model enables us to invest to drive growth, both in our core UK and Ireland business and also in additional growth opportunities, he said. We are committed to an asset-light business model and our strategy will centre on acquiring, strengthening and then ultimately redistributing stores in the estate. For 2023, DPG posted a 3.6pc rise in underlying core profit to 138.1m. Aoife Harrington (10) at the launch of the Barnardos Back to School Survey. Childrens charity Barnardos has called for the free schoolbooks scheme to be extended to pupils studying for their Leaving Cert. Parents continue to feel cost pressures because of high prices for uniforms and the expense of funding voluntary contributions and extra-curricular activities. Barnardos annual survey of back-to-school costs has found that half of parents of primary-school children and 70pc of secondary-school parents are worried about meeting costs this year. Only 30pc of secondary-school parents said costs were manageable. This is despite the fact that parents of Junior Cycle students can expect to save more than 300 a year thanks to a new free schoolbooks initiative that comes into effect from September. Primary-school children already get free books under the state scheme. Now Barnardos has called on the Government to extend the scheme to those in the two years leading up to the Leaving Cert. Barnardos chief executive Suzanne Connolly said: The Government has implemented positive reforms over the past two years around school costs, in particular in relation to schoolbooks, and they should be commended for that. However, too many parents are still struggling every summer to cover back-to-school costs, experiencing considerable financial difficulties as a result. Now is the time for the Government to continue introducing more measures to alleviate financial stress on parents, and to compel schools to do more to keep back-to-school costs at an affordable level. One-quarter of parents of secondary-school pupils said they had to use savings to meet back-to-school costs. Almost one in five parents of primary-school students, meanwhile, said they had to use savings to cover school costs. A fifth of parents of secondary-school pupils have had to take a loan out or borrow from friends, with one in 10 parents of primary pupils borrowing to meet school costs. On average, parents of primary students spent 119 on uniforms and secondary-school parents spent 211 this year, the survey of 900 parents found. Two in five secondary-school parents who have to buy digital devices for their children stated they had to pay more than 300 for those digital costs. Close to 80pc of primary and secondary parents said their schools requested a voluntary contribution at the start of the school year. Most parents said it did not feel voluntary. One-quarter of secondary-school parents said they had to spend more than 300 on school tours and trips. Adrian Weckler: Intel cuts could put pressure on pay and perks in the tech sector Ireland has enjoyed a bull run in building up tech employment. But it seems to be cooling Intel's advanced chip manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare. Photo: Collins Adrian Weckler Thu 1 Aug 2024 at 03:30 Are tech jobs still under pressure in Ireland? A number of recent developments are giving cause for concern. The chip giant has confirmed that it will let over 15pc of its headcount go after another set of disappointing financial results Intel is to cut 15pc of its global workforce of over 100,000 people, the company said. The process will begin next week, when the chip giant will offer enhanced retirement options, as well as voluntary redundancy packages. The move looks likely to affect some of the 5,000 employees at the companys Leixlip site, although the company has not yet clarified the position in relation to Kildare-based staff. Intel will focus the cuts mostly in marketing and spending on research and development, saying that it will stop non-essential work, and review all active projects and equipment. We plan to deliver $10 billion in cost savings in 2025, and this includes reducing our head count by roughly 15,000 roles, or 15 of our workforce, said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. "The majority of these actions will be completed by the end of this year. Our revenues have not grown as expected and weve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI. Our costs are too high, our margins are too low. Our annual revenue in 2020 was about $24 billion higher than it was last year, yet our current workforce is actually 10pc larger now than it was then. There are a lot of reasons for this, but its not a sustainable path forward. Intel announced the news after worse-than-expected quarterly financial results, which saw sales revenue fall 1pc compared to the same three month period last year. It made a loss of $1.6bn for the quarter, substantially higher than the same period last year. This comes as rivals such as Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm continue to gain market share with more advanced chips for multiple devices, including servers, computers and smartphones. Earlier this year, Intel completed a deal to sell 49pc of its Fab 34 plant at the Kildare facility for $11bn to a US private equity fund, Apollo Global Management. Selected cinemas; Cert PG Michael (voiced by Aaron MacGregor), his sister (Raffey Cassidy) and parents (Sally Hawkins and one Cillian Murphy) are on a round-the-world voyage aboard the family yacht. What the others dont know is that Michael has brought a stowaway the loyal family collie, Stella. When a storm tosses Michael and Stella into the Pacific one night, they crawl to the shore of a tropical island. Initially struggling in the empty cove, they begin to receive small food parcels. This turns out to be the work of Kensuke (Ken Watanabe), a lost Japanese soldier marooned there during the Pacific War who has fashioned a comfortable hermitic existence amid the islands rich natural splendour. Besides vivid and beautiful hand-drawn animation, this fable from Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry (based on Michael Morpurgos bestseller) is an exercise in the power of simplicity. A deep quake of salience begins to erupt as two very different figures form a special bond in a wondrous but always grounded setting. Its been a patchy summer weather-wise but here lies respite from the cloud cover and something to be treasured for years by young and old alike. Five stars A historic post office in Dublins Fairview will be transformed into a unique dancehall as part of this years Dublin Fringe Festival. A Dublin Fringe Festival director believes that the show must go on as his production will take place at a historic post office due to dance floors being in decline. The Irish Coast Guard are among the agencies making a public water safety appeal ahead of the August Bank Holiday weekend following an increase in the number of incidents in the water this summer. The RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are also urging those entering the water this weekend to have a plan, check the weather and remain aware of the tides. It comes as the RNLI has seen an increase in the number of lifeboats going to the aid of people involved in increasingly popular activities like paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing. "We are seeing an increase in the number of incidents this summer involving paddleboarders, persons becoming stranded due to incoming tides, recreational boater groundings and several diving incidents, said Kevin Whitney, operations manager with the Irish Coast Guard. "Remember to have the right equipment for the activity you are about to undertake such as a correctly fitting Personal Flotation Device (PFD), and to let someone ashore know where you are going and when you will return, and most importantly, to have a means to call for help such as a marine VHF Radio, fully charged mobile phone, or Personal Locator Beacon. Mr Whitney has urged those planning activities to ensure they are familiar with all their safety equipment beforehand. If participating in any diving activities, then it is highly recommended that you file a float plan with someone ashore or the Coast Guard so that emergency services are aware of your location and can assist if need be, he said. Meanwhile, Water Safety Ireland CEO Joanne Walsh said rip currents can be a danger at Irish beaches and swimmers must know what to do should they encounter one. "Rip currents are not always easy to spot and the best way to remain safe is to swim between the red and yellow flags at lifeguarded waterways. Lifeguards are trained to identify when and where it is safe to swim, she said. "If you do get caught in a rip current, remain calm and dont try to swim against the current. Instead, swim out of the current in a direction parallel to the shoreline and then back towards shore. If still in difficulty, call for help and float on your back like a starfish. RNLI Water Safety Lead Linda-Gene Byrne said it is important to be aware of simple safety advice that could save lives. "If you are heading out on the water, we would always advise you to wear a suitable personal flotation device for your activity. If you are on a paddleboard, choose the right releasable leash for the location you are paddling, said Ms Byrne. "Always check the weather forecast and tide times as this can affect your paddling and always tell someone where youre going and when youll be back. Keep a means of calling for help attached to you in a waterproof pouch or close to hand so that in an emergency you can call 999 / 112 and ask for the Coast Guard. A London-based rabbi accused of travelling to Ireland to perform an illegal circumcision on a young child has been refused bail. Jonathan Abraham, 47, was arrested in Dublin on Tuesday and is charged with carrying out a surgical procedure, male circumcision on a child, without being a registered medical practitioner at an address in Dublin 15. Dean O'Brien of Blakestown Cottages in Clonsilla is charged with drug offences A Dublin man charged with drug offences after gardai seized an estimated 200,000 of cannabis and zopiclone tablets from an abandoned car has been sent for trial. latest | Murdered Mary Ward reported she was the victim of a violent crime in the weeks before her death Emergency services have made substantial progress while battling a large fire at an industrial premises in north Dublin on Thursday evening. A large plume of smoke could be seen from across the city and by passengers flying in and out of Dublin Airport. Gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade attended the fire at Clonshaugh Industrial Estate in the Clonshaugh/Coolock area of Dublin 17. Flights at the airport were not affected, although local people were advised to remain indoors. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content An image of the scene in the Clonshaugh area. Source: Dublin Fire Brigade The fire took hold in Camfil, a Swedish company that makes air filtration systems, which is located in Clonshaugh Industrial Estate. The business premises neighbours a data centre owned by US tech giant Amazon. Dublin Fire Brigade, who were battling the blaze late into the evening, said that some structures had collapsed at the premises. It is believed the building suffered extensive damage, but it is not thought to have been malicious. In an update on Thursday evening, Dublin Fire Brigade said it was beginning to scale back its response at the fire ground. Firefighting operations are continuing at the industrial fire in Coolock this evening. Substantial progress has been made with the fire now under control, it said. "Three fire engines will remain on scene and firefighters will continue to fight the fire overnight. Although smoke is still visible at the site it has reduced considerably. No injuries have been reported. Earlier on Thursday, it said: At 16.59 hrs Dublin Fire Brigade received multiple 999 calls reporting a fire in an industrial unit off the Oscar Traynor Road. Dublin Fire Brigade are advising as a precaution for local residents to close all windows and doors if affected by smoke. "This is an ongoing operation and we expect to be at scene for the foreseeable. If you can smell smoke we're advising local residents to close all windows and doors as a precaution Smoke is drifting across the locality. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content A garda spokesperson added that Dublin Fire Brigade currently have primacy at the scene. "Gardai are assisting with traffic management at this time, they said. The industrial premises is around 3km from the disused former Crown Paints factory earmarked for asylum accommodation that has been the focus of protests and arson attacks in recent weeks, leading to initial online speculation that that premises was again on fire. However, it is not believed that Thursdays fire at the Camfil premises was anything other than accidental. Dublin Airport said the fire, close to the airport, was not impacting any flights. A fire in the Santry area is resulting in smoke blowing towards the airport this evening. This is not impacting on operations at the airport and flights continue to operate as normal. "The airport team, in collaboration with AirNav Ireland, continue to monitor the situation, a spokesperson for airport operator DAA said. Social media users from across the city posted pictures and videos of the large blaze. Emergency services are at the scene of a massive fire in Coolock in north dublin @rtenews pic.twitter.com/o4EIpuw75X Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) August 1, 2024 The fire was visible from Dublin Airport also. A fire in North Dublin, seen from Dublin Airport pic.twitter.com/XVE7vvL3NO Diari Liffey (@DiariLiffey) August 1, 2024 Here is the fire from a closer angle posted by one social media user Huge fire has broken out in Dublin. It wouldn't surprise me if it's something to do with batteries (smoke looks very much like other battery fires I've posted)pic.twitter.com/fQgxfl85xQ Volcaholic (@volcaholic1) August 1, 2024 Camfil have been contacted for comment by the Irish Independent. . The violence flared at an apart-hotel in the popular tourist resort of Albufeira A group of young Irish tourists are believed to have been involved in a stabbing incident in the Algarve in which several Dutch holidaymakers were injured at apartments in Albufeiras Praia da Oura area in the early hours of July 29. A 19-year-old Irish man has since been arrested. Police say the shocking incident involved three Irish and four Dutch nationals who became involved in a mass brawl over loud music coming from one of the apartments at approximately 4:30am last Monday morning. It has since been confirmed that four men all of whom are Dutch suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident. The injured men are aged between 17 and 21. According to Dutch sources, the injured youths said they had been stabbed in the stomach and in the leg. Its not known if any injuries were reported among the Irish group. Police in the Algarve arrested a 19-year-old Irish national on Wednesday having assessed footage of the incident on CCTV and spoken with witnesses. Its thought the three Irish tourists, who are believed to be from Co Kerry, were staying on the top floor of the block and complained about music coming from the Dutch tourists apartment on the bottom floor. Portuguese police have not confirmed whether or not they plan to make further arrests. A man is due before the courts today in relation to an investigation into alleged child cruelty and unlawful medical practices. A male was arrested and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 on Tuesday as part of the investigation carried out by gardai in Blanchardstown. He has been charged with an offence contrary to the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 and will appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice today. As this matter is now before the courts An Garda Siochana cannot make any further comment, a garda spokesperson said. Restaurant review: Buzzy London celebrity haunt The Park lacks culinary thrills but is a real crowd-pleaser Our food critic soaks up the atmosphere at the new opening from the restaurateur behind The Ivy Jeremy King's The Park in London Katy McGuinness Thu 1 Aug 2024 at 03:30 I nearly dont make it to dinner at Jeremy Kings newest restaurant, The Park. I set off on foot from Notting Hill in plenty of time and follow the directions on Google Maps as I listen to a podcast. I know more or less where Im heading or so I think so I pay no heed to the advisory note on the website: located opposite Queensway Station. Do not fear the aromatic queen of grapes, advises our wine expert I picked up a bottle of young Riesling recently for a dinner with some friends. I love how food-friendly the grape variety is with a broad range of foods, thanks to its lip-smacking acidity. Among a sea of perfectly palatable if humdrum supermarket options, the Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling offered the hope of something a little more lively and interesting if still relatively simple and affordable as Riesling goes. An aromatic variety, Riesling offers big personality, with fruit notes running from tart apple and zesty citrus to zingy tropical fruits. Depending on its conditions of growth (terroir), Rieslings aromatic profile can vary hugely, expressing mineral character, floral notes or spicy nuance. It can also have a whiff of petrol or lanolin that develops in bottle-aged wines, but can show in younger expressions from warmer climes. Happily, my choice went down well with my friends and with the creamy pasta and pork meatballs that they had prepared. They were surprised, however, that it was a Riesling, saying theyd never buy the varietal style for fear of it being sweet. This common concern is a pity, but understandable, as levels of residual sugar (which is the grapes natural sugar left in a wine after fermentation) can vary hugely in Riesling. That consumer nervousness is a challenge faced by Riesling producers around the world, from its German homeland and neighbouring surrounds to the Antipodes and Americas, where it also thrives in cooler-climate regions. Its why youll often see the word dry or its German equivalent of trocken on the label. (The German Kabinett classification also indicates a dry style, while the Spatlese and Auslese classifications indicate later harvests and therefore riper grapes with higher sugar levels.) However, the conundrum is this: Riesling wines can handle considerably more sweetness than most other varieties and still taste extremely well-balanced, thanks to the grapes naturally high acidity levels. Think of the little spoonful of sugar that a chef might add to a tart tomato sauce to soften its edges: it doesnt produce a sweet sauce but a better-balanced one. In the case of the Villa Maria Riesling, an online tech sheet (producer and importer websites often have them easily available) confirmed that, at just under 11g per litre of residual sugar, the wine is at the upper limits of a dry style, approaching off-dry, but with 8.5g per litre of acidity, it was well-balanced. Todays selection includes some affordable introductions, and a few more special drops if you feel like exploring what this queen of grapes can do. Wines of the week Immich-Batterieberg CAI Riesling 2022 Immich-Batterieberg CAI Riesling 2022, Mosel, Germany,11.5pc, 24.50 A fully dry Kabinett Riesling from a winery dating back to a 10th-century monastery. CAI is Carl August Immich, who created the Batterieberg (aka Battered Mountain) vineyard terraces in the 1840s by blasting the hills with dynamite. Featuring fruit sourced from sustainably managed vines across the Mosel, this is crisp, elegant and mineral with some petrol-like development and zingy acidity. Their next wine up is the crystalline Detonator (27, 64wine.ie). MacCurtain Wine Cellar; Pinto Wines, Fine Wine & Food, Strandfield Melanie Pfister Berg Riesling 2022 Melanie Pfister Berg Riesling 2022, Alsace, France, 12.5pc, 27 Pretty kumquat and lemon scented by wild rosemary and thyme and a touch of waxy lanolin, with soft texture and lively structure, delicacy, power and purity. This skilled eighth-generation winemaker has her eye firmly on a sustainable future, producing Riesling in a cooler corner of Alsace. winespark.com Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2022 Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2022, Marlborough, New Zealand, 11.5pc, 10.40-15 From the Kiwi homeland of Sauvignon Blanc comes this vibrant introduction to Riesling, with lemon leaf character, hints of mandarin and ginger, and some signature, petrol-like aromas already showing. (10.40 in Dunnes until August 5) SuperValu, selected independents, Dunnes Stores; dunnesstoresgrocery.com Bird In Hand Riesling 2021 Bird In Hand Riesling 2021, Australia, 12pc, 27.95 From an Adelaide Hills winery, this blends Riesling from two distinct cool-climate regions: Clare Valley and Tasmania. Nuanced and smoky with juicy apple, kaffir lime and floral notes, super clean acidity and a steely minerality making for a great pairing with seafood or Asian flavours. Dalys Off-Licence, Ely Wine Store, 52 For You, Searsons; searsons.com Alkoomi Riesling Grazing Collection 2022 Alkoomi Riesling Grazing Collection 2022, Frankland River, Western Australia, 12.5pc, 14.50 (from 16.25) Lifted aromas of key lime, pink grapefruit and exotic white fruit lead to jasmine flavours on the mouthwatering palate in this easy-drinking Riesling that can be enjoyed with or without food perfect for a gathering with nibbles to graze on. Wines Direct, Athlone & Mullingar; winesdirect.ie THE great electric car turn-off continues apace as new figures show a 25pc plunge in buyer numbers for the year to date. Registrations fell again last month (by 24.7pc) to just 3,147 - down from the 4,117 registered in July 2023. So far this year only 13,885 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been registered a 25pc reduction of nearly 5,000 on the 18,484 registered in the first seven months of last year. BEV registrations are now back to 2022 levels at a time when they should be rising steadily to meet government targets. And the portents are not good for the remainder of this year. If BEV sales didnt recover in July, the second largest sales month of the year - when the 242 reg takes over it is hard to see a tangible rise from here on in. The latest SIMI figures paint a gloomy picture with overall new-car registrations for July falling 5.9pc (to 25,726 from 27,336) and remain virtually static for the year so far: 104,652 v 104,938. Understandably the new SIMI figures sparked calls for government action, especially on BEVs from the motor industry. SIMI director general Brian Cooke said: We are at a critical juncture on the journey to zero emission vehicles, but we need decisive actions in the Budget to arrest this slide and to reignite Ireland's EV momentum. He said that can be done by extending the BIK incentive at current levels, and increasing the SEAI grants back to 2022 levels until the market recovers. Budget 2025 is a real chance for Government to signal their commitment to fleet electrification and is an opportunity they should grasp. Several incentives were reduced last year, including the SEAI purchase and home charger grants, while Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) for company EVs is schedule to increase significantly in 2025. Elsewhere the SIMI data show used imports are on a steady rise up 32.2pc last month to 5,828 - while year-to-date they are up 26.4pc (37,199) on 2023 (29,433). Petrol cars top the new car market at 31.95pc, followed by diesel at 22.90pc, hybrid (20.72pc), electric at 13.27pc and plug-in electric hybrids at 9.62pc. Six years ago, she put a Repeal badge on her profile picture, adding the small red icon to a picture taken of her on a night out. She seemed like a young woman who, like the majority of her generation, wanted the country to change. On her social media profile, she would share links to fundraisers for women in need or for mental health causes. And some years after the Eighth Amendment was finally scrapped, she was supporting repeal the seal a grassroots campaign to keep key documents relating to the States mother and baby homes out of a state archive. She was disturbed by police violence against black people in the United States after the death of George Floyd, sharing links to videos that articulated the deep anxiety of black American parents about the safety of their children. An island of culture, of art and ideas thats the way we pitch ourselves to the world. We do it so well. But are we really fostering those clever taglines when it comes to the next generation? Recently, Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills at the OECD, mused that exam formats, like the ones we have at state level in Ireland, celebrate what we consider to be an average student. Thomas Dooley, who was killed in a graveyard in Tralee, Co Kerry Youre a big man now was jeered at Thomas Dooley as he lay bleeding to death in a Kerry graveyard in October 2022. Savagely attacked by his own relatives, one of Dooleys last words to his wife were Run, just run before he succumbed to his injuries. The 42-year-old father of seven and his wife Siobhan were at the New Rath graveyard to pay their respects to a close friend Bridget O'Brien. They had no idea this would be the darkest day of their lives. Siobhan Dooley desperately tried to protect her husband as he was attacked by six men armed with machetes and sword-like weapons, suffering a serious injury herself in the process. This week there were emotional scenes before the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork as five men were jailed for life for the murder Mr Dooley (43) including his younger brother, brother-in-law, cousins and nephew. A sixth person, a male teenager, is be sentenced next October. Today on The Indo Daily Ellen Coyne is joined by Ralph Riegel, southern correspondent for the Irish Independent, to discuss the disturbing details of the Kerry graveyard trial and what led to this murder. Fine Gael councillor John Paul OShea (FG) recently received confirmation from Cork County Council that 31 projects in Cork County have been provisionally approved by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) for total funding of 1,000,265.28. The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) is a new programme developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). It aims to address climate change at a local level and aims to support and empower communities to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities to contribute to national climate and energy targets. Some of the groups in North Cork and Mid Cork who will receive funding are as follows: Banteer Community Sportsfield Ltd - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on sports building to reduce energy costs: 54,718.35 Charleville Community Sports Complex Limited (CCSC) - Deep retrofit of an existing sports building and the installation of solar PV panels to reduce energy costs: 97,924.88 Coachford AFC - Installation of solar PV panels on sports building to reduce energy costs: 29,226.25 Friends of Firmount - Deep retrofit of an existing community building to reduce energy costs: 98,455.00 Kanturk & District Community Council - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on two community buildings to reduce energy costs: 32,300.00 Kilbrin Community Council - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on a community building to reduce energy costs: 28,975.00 Kilshannig GAA - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on sports building to reduce energy costs and LED lighting for existing walkway: 88,842.13 Macroom Tidy Towns - Upgrade of existing path to develop an active travel cycleway/pathway: 97,246.80 Mallow Tidy Towns - Installation of bike racks/public seating from repurposed retired wind turbine blade in the town to enhance active travel facilities and improve uptake: 12,300.00 Milford Area Community Council - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on community building to reduce energy costs and upgrade of internal lighting to LED: 12,025.00 Mourneabbey Community Council - Installation of solar PV panels and battery storage on a community building to reduce energy costs, as well as the installation of an EV charging point: 36,326.00 The Schoolyard Theatre and Arts Centre - Energy retrofit of inefficient historic community building to improve energy efficiency and reduce heat loss and associated costs: 57,788.52 Cllr OShea congratulated the groups on their successful funding applications: Well done to all these groups in putting forward some very good applications. I hope to see these works completed over the coming weeks and months. Mallow Town Hall has secured 7m in funding under THRIVE, the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme. The money was secured by Cork County Council and it will help fund the transformation of Mallow Town Hall with ambitious plans to convert it into a vibrant arts centre. THRIVE aims to allow local authorities and citizens to reimagine and revitalise town centres though the renovation and reuse of publicly owned vacant or derelict heritage buildings. Following a recent application submitted by the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District, Mallow Town Hall has been selected for revitalisation, with plans to convert it into a vibrant arts centre for Mallow. As a community that cherishes its heritage, this project promises to reinvigorate the heart of Mallow and provide a cultural hub for residents and visitors alike. This significant level of funding, co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union, signifies a major milestone for the Mallow community. Fianna Fail councillor Pat Hayes welcomed the allocation of funds for Mallow Town Hall. I am overjoyed to share the news of this funding approval, which will bring new life to the cherished Mallow Town Hall. After years of dedicated effort I am delighted to see our vision for the town hall's transformation becoming a reality. This building holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Mallow with memories of the library and the pipe band resonating within its walls, he said. The successful securing of the funding is a testament to the perseverance of Cllr Pat Hayes and his political colleagues who have strongly advocated for the project. Their tireless efforts in lobbying the central government have culminated in this crucial investment that will benefit the entire community. I am excited for the positive impact this project will have on Mallow, said Cllr Hayes. I am immensely grateful for the support we have received. The reopening of the town hall will not only preserve our heritage but also create a dynamic space for cultural activities and community engagement. The transformation of Mallow Town Hall into an arts centre represents a bright future for the town, fostering creativity, heritage preservation, and community cohesion. Cllr Pat Hayes is looking forward to witnessing the town hall's doors open once again which will usher in a new era of cultural vibrancy and community pride. Trade group expands network in US capital 09:58, August 01, 2024 By Minlu Zhang ( China Daily Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng (second from left) attends the opening ceremony of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's new office in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2024. (MINLU ZHANG/CHINA DAILY) A Chinese organization dedicated to promoting international trade and investment between China and foreign businesses expanded what it called its "circle of friends" in Washington on Tuesday, a move that a United States trade group sees as a positive sign for bilateral trade. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, founded in 1952, works to strengthen the bonds between Chinese and foreign businesses and advances international economic and trade exchanges. The organization, which opened an office in Maryland in 1988, moved to a new location in the US capital on Tuesday, sharing the same building with the US Chamber of Commerce. Around 130 business representatives from about 60 US companies and 40 Chinese companies attended a reception held to mark the opening of the office. Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng noted that the CCPIT hosted delegations from the US Chamber of Commerce in February, and from the US-China Business Council in July. "The representative office of CCPIT has served as an important bridge and bond (for) Chinese and American business activities. It has played an important role in strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations," Xie said. Tuesday's event followed the conclusion on July 18 of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which highlighted expanding market access in various sectors and promoting an open economic system to benefit global cooperation. "The session has made the arrangements for opening-up, including steadily expanding institutional opening-up, broadening market access, and effectively protecting the legitimate rights of foreign investment companies," Xie said. He emphasized that the plenum represented "a clear signal of China's commitment to expanding a high-level opening-up". China "will continue to forge a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and international, offering even greater opportunities for businesses from all countries," he said. Xie told the business representatives that "We welcome you to continue the investment and business ties with China, to share in the dividends of this high-quality development". "This will bring benefits to both our two peoples and help the two countries to embark on the right way to get along in the new era under the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," he said. A delegation from the board of directors of the US-China Business Council visited China last week. Ren Hongbin, chairman of the CCPIT, along with a delegation of about 50 Chinese business representatives, made a reciprocal visit this week. In the first half of 2024, bilateral trade between China and the US grew 2.9 percent year-on-year, and the number of US companies investing in China increased by more than 20 percent in that same period, with the amount of actual investment doubling, according to Ren. He said that the two countries' industrial and supply chains are deeply integrated. In November, companies from the US sent the most exhibitors of any foreign country to the China International Supply Chain Expo, the world's first national exhibition focusing on supply chains. Cliff Seagroves, principal deputy director of the Office of Foreign Missions of the US State Department, said he was pleased to see the CCPIT's new location finally opening in the heart of Washington. "We're confident that this space will help bridge the gap between US and China and strengthen our economic cooperation for both US businesses and Chinese businesses," he said. Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, said the opening of the new office is a positive sign for returning to a growth track, increasing trade and investment and benefiting the people of both countries. Charles Freeman, senior vice-president for Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce, said: "We're living in the age of small yards and high fences. It's up to the business communities to move past all the frictions and the challenges and really implement what is at the heart and soul of the US-China relationship, which is the people-to-people relationship. "There is no question in my mind, whenever someone asks, are the United States and China, are we actually going to enter into some real conflict? I say no. Because the relationship between people is so strong and so permanent that I think it can overcome," he said. The Chinese delegation visited New York on Monday, continued to Washington, DC, and Maryland on Tuesday, and will go to Seattle, Washington, next. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, stated that Russia is ready for dialogue with Georgia, even at the level of parliaments, if the Georgians remain "friendly" towards the Russians."If there is a desire for dialogue on the part of Georgia, then we are ready even now, despite the fact that we do not have diplomatic relations. This is the mission of parliamentarians, they are elected for this," Matviyenko said.She added, "There are no contacts yet, of course, not because of us. Difficult political processes are going on in Georgia, a lot of things are being reconsidered. Parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia in October and, of course, they will determine the course of economic, social, and political development."Matviyenko said that, despite the current situation in Georgia, Russia maintains respect for the Georgian people. "Georgian people are close to us, friendly to us. We will see how the election campaign will end," she noted.According to her, the West is trying to interfere in the pre-election process of Georgia "using familiar scenarios and tools."Giga Bokeria has announced his resignation as the chairman of European Georgia. During a recent briefing, Bokeria cited significant disagreements within the party, primarily regarding the rules for conducting primaries, as the reason for his decision.Bokeria explained that the conflict emerged over who should be eligible to participate in the primaries. He argued that only those who openly support European Georgia should be allowed to participate. However, other party leaders, including the Chairman of the Political Council Gigi Tsereteli and General Secretary Akaki Bobokhidze, decided that undecided voters who did not want to publicly endorse the party could also participate. This decision led to a serious internal conflict.Bokeria praised the primaries as a positive and competitive process, but noted that the results and his stance on supporting certain teams were unacceptable to some party members. He emphasized that this internal discord, amid external accusations of "wasting votes and giving gifts to the regime," undermined the party's ability to run a successful election campaign.Due to these disagreements and the unexpected value conflict with Bobokhidze and his supporters, Bokeria decided to step down from his position and withdraw from the parliamentary list and political team. He stated that he could no longer be responsible for the party's election strategy and would not seek re-election at the upcoming party congress scheduled for August 11. Cmere til I tell ye, a Crumlin woman who loves Irish slang and hopes its passed down through generations is thriving with her very unique enterprise. 28-year-old Sarah Madden has an online shop where she sells items with distinctly Irish sayings like: stop the lights, away with the fairies, scarlet for ye, deadly and gerrup owda. The one-woman business anotherpoxysarah, was meant to be a lockdown hobby, but four years later, its so much more. I love listening to our slang and thinking, how did we end up here, knowing theres a real logic and history behind it all is so cool, Madden told the Irish Independent. I hope it never dies and is passed down for generations to come. Theres something quite special about the wit and character of the Irish people. Its such an important and long-standing part of our culture. We have a way of making light of even the most serious of situations and can poke fun at ourselves along the way. Theres a real sense of community, inclusivity, and comfort in it too. Nothing beats the craic. Initially, anotherpoxysarah was never intended to be a business. During those first two weeks of lockdown in 2020, I decided to set up an Instagram page for my art in a bid to keep my designs and selfies separate for those who didnt want to see both. It was just a space for me to keep my art and see my progress, but after just a couple weeks I began to have complete strangers reach out asking me if they could purchase prints. So, I bought a printer and set up an online shop in October of that year. I guess it kind of happened by accident, I was incredibly lucky with the support I received in the beginning from both people I knew and complete strangers. If youre feeling like an absolute chancer and are willing to act the maggot with your online shopping, Madden has a variety of keyrings, prints, stickers and greeting cards available on her website. The most popular pieces right now are Bollix Bread, Give Over Pint and Cant Be Arsed Orange, she added. People love a good pun and seeing something familiar but with a twist to it. Were a real nostalgic bunch. My customers are predominantly Irish people or people who have come to live in Ireland and understand the humour. I would say there is no particular age group or gender specific, it is quite varied. I would get the odd order heading across Europe or further to America or Oz [Australia] too. Its always to expats who want something to remind them of home. Blackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic, and St. Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin will receive Irelands first ongoing medical device delivery service by drone. Blackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic, and St. Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin will receive Irelands first ongoing medical device delivery service by drone. Wing and Apian have partnered with healthcare technology company Medtronic to try and demonstrate the benefits drones could offer in healthcare logistics. Over the next few months, Wing and Apian will deliver medical supplies and devices to hospitals by drone. Wings drones are lightweight and electric, and can make quicker, more reliable deliveries than traditional modes of transport. They will fly more direct routes and at speeds up to approximately 100 km per hour, avoiding the traffic congestion on Dublins roads. Currently, hospitals depend on road vehicles to transport medical supplies to hospitals or healthcare centres, but urban locations experience frequent delays due to congestion, as well as associated higher carbon emissions. The delivery service will commence with items including ingestible cameras, sutures, surgical tools and heart valve repair products, with plans to expand to pacemakers and Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs) in the future. Dr Caroline Whelan, CEO of Blackrock Health said: At Blackrock Health, innovation is at the core of what we do, and this partnership is a prime example of the opportunities that exist when integrating technology into the healthcare industry, with an added benefit of supporting our commitment to sustainability. We are excited by the possibilities that come with this drone delivery service, and hope to expand this beyond receiving medical supplies, by extending use to other services in time between our hospitals. Brian Fitzgerald, CEO, St Vincents Private Hospital added: St Vincents Healthcare Group is continuously harnessing advances in science and research to provide innovative treatment and care to our patients. Participating in this trial continues this tradition and allows St Vincents Private Hospital to explore how integrating drone technology into our hospital can improve patient care, enhance supply chain management and enable us to operate more efficiently and sustainably. The partnership has been designed to support patients as they receive the care they need, sooner. Medical drone deliveries have the potential to create more efficient healthcare systems, with less wastage of medical supplies, and more space for patient-facing care facilities as providers receive what they need, when they need it. The initiative will have up to 100 flights weekly. The partners are working closely with the Irish Aviation Authority to ensure everything runs smoothly. Kristian Howells, Group Commercial Director at Medtronic said: The use of drones in medical logistics presents an exciting opportunity to get our life-saving technologies to the people who need them quicker than ever before. Traditional supply chains have limitations that the inclusion of drones may help to overcome. What we learn from this pilot programme will help us to create more resilient supply chains that are patient focused. Sophie Coyle is playing the fundraising gig in aid of Medical Aid for Palestine in The Spirit Store Elephant plays the outdoor stage in the fund-raising gig for Medical Aid for Palestine on Saturday in The Spirit Store Jinx Lennon is playing the gig for Medical Aid for Palestine on Saturday in The Spirit Store David Keenan is one of the acts performing for Medical Aid for Palestine on Saturday in The Spirit Store Some of Dundalks top bands and musicians have come together to organise a special gig for Medical Aid Palestine on Saturday August 3. With no end in sight to the ongoing horrors of war and genocide being inflicted on civilians in the region, they hope to raise much needed funds for Medical Aid for Palesine, one of the few international organisations working to provide humanitarian and medical aid Its a collective effort featuring multi-generational acts, says Dundalk singer-songwriter David Keenan. "There have been a number of gigs held in Dublin in recent months to raise money and awareness about what is happening in Palestine so we are trying to do something similar here. He said that the majority of Irish people seemed to be aligned with Palestine and they wanted to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestine at a time when genocide is occurring and to keep the conversation going about what is happening there. Its a real community effort. Everybody is giving their time voluntarily and The Spirit Store have given us the venue for free. He is delighted that musicians across the different generations have supported the gig. "Theres people like Jinx Lennon and myself, then you have the likes of Negro Impacto and finally theres the young bands who are just starting out. "I cant remember the last time that artists from the different generations came together to do something like this, he continued. He hopes that local music lovers will come out and give the gig the support it deserves. "Theres a really great line-up so that for the price of one ticket you get to see all these great acts playing the same gig. The concert opens with Elephant, who recently played a very special gig in The Spirit Store with the Glas Quartet to mark the launch of their album Keeping Well, playing on the outdoor stage from 5.30pm. Next up are two of the towns most promising young musicians, T J Murphy at 6.15pm, follow by Rowan at 7pm. The honour of wrapping up procedures on the outdoor stages at 7.45pm goes to the up and coming band KOI. Traditional musician Roisin Ward Morrow, who released her EP, Whereon She Stands in March, will be playing in the Backroom at 8.45pm, followed by Geansai at 9.30pm. Upstairs in the main venue, Sophie Coyle, who released her second album Cuentista in April, will take to the stage at 8.30pm. She will be followed by Negro Impacto at 9.15pm ,giving local fans the opportunity to catch this talented duo live on stage. Local hero Jinx Lennon takes to the stage at 10pm, followed by David Keenan at 10.45pm. The night will draw to a close with the young band imBau at 11.30pm. The Wolfe Tones will play two sold-out shows at the Breakwater Festival ahead of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann 2024 The huge marquee being erected at Ferrybank at the far side of Wexford Bridge for The Breakwater Festival. Back in 1967, The Wolfe Tones packed up the van and headed for Enniscorthy, Co Wexford to perform at their very first Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. With plenty of ups and downs in the intervening 57 years, and a recent resurgence in popularity, the legendary Dublin act will return to the model county in the coming days for what will be their final Fleadh, as part of their farewell tour. The Wolfe Tones are set to kick off the Breakwater Festival, which takes place in a huge 2,500 capacity tent erected at the far side of Wexford Bridge in Ferrybank in recent days. On Thursday and Friday, the rebel group have their sold out shows; on Saturday Dec Pierces Block Rockin Beats is approaching a sell-out and next weekend on Friday and Saturday, therell be performances by local act Green Road and The Whistlin Donkeys. The Wolfe Tones ( Photo by Kevin Scott ) "Its a lovely site, said Brian Byrne of Lantern Events, who are behind the new festival. We are so grateful to Wexford County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service for helping to make this happen and were very excited to activate what is a beautiful site in Wexford town. An impressive structure, the huge yellow and blue tent is visible the length of Wexford Quay. "We can take 2,500 people per night, Brian explains. Weve also 100 staff employed each night, which were very happy to be able to do. One other element which Brian is proud of is that Breakwater Festival will be near zero-waste festival. "We wont be using single use plastics," he said. Well be using the heavier plastic, reusable cups for drinks on the night. The aim is to drastically reduce the refuse from the festival and its something we'll be rolling out at all our festivals going forward. With Breakwater Festival adding to the excitement of the Fleadh, Brian says that excitement is definitely transferring to the acts. "They cant wait, he said. I think Dec Pierce was getting hourly updates from his Wexford followers as the tent was going up! For The Wolfe Tones, its a wonderful opportunity to say goodbye to their fans in the south east. "I think town looks great and people are starting to get really excited for the Fleadh and were thrilled to play a part and put a bit of colour on it from our side. For more details and to purchase the final tickets, visit breakwaterfestival.ie Conor McGregor has reacted to his two-year road ban for his appalling dangerous driving conviction, saying hes been fighting my whole life. The UFC star narrowly avoided a jail sentence when he appeared in court yesterday where Judge David McHugh described McGregor's dangerous driving as "persistent, prolonged and deliberate". Posting a picture of himself on Instagram as he arrived at Blanchardstown District Court he wrote: Ive been fighting my whole life..its worked out but, alongside a laughing emoji and a snippet of a song by Future featuring Drake. The photo shows McGregor looking serious as he makes his way into court with a snippet from the rap song Life is good playing in the background. McGregor admitted to the "appalling" episode of dangerous driving where he drove in a bus lane, jumped a red light and nearly collided with another vehicle. McGregor's Instagram post McGregor (36) told a garda "are you taking the piss" after he was asked to step out of his car on Dublin's M50. He also told the garda he was waiting to get out of his car because he "needed his security to catch up". A garda witness said he was driving at speeds of more than 160kph trying to catch McGregor's vehicle. Judge David McHugh said this incident was an appalling series of breaches of road traffic rules, and described McGregor's dangerous driving as "persistent, prolonged and deliberate". Judge McHugh convicted and fined McGregor 5,000 and banned him from driving for two years. The judge also imposed a five month jail sentence suspended for two years. The defendant, of The Paddocks, Castledillon, Straffan, Co Kildare, admitted careless driving at the M50 southbound and dangerous driving at the N4/M50 interchange. Garda Denis Lordan told Blanchardstown District Court he was stopped at traffic lights at the junction of Lucan Road/R136 at 5.34pm on March 22, 2022, when he looked in his left wing mirror and saw a vehicle travelling along the bus lane at speed. The vehicle, a convertible, drove through the red light, failed to stop and merged from the bus lane onto the Lucan Road, all in one movement. The car merged from the bus lane at high speed, and a second vehicle was forced to stop to avoid a collision. Gda Lordan said McGregor drove at high speed and out onto the roundabout outside Woodies without stopping. The car drove on the bus lane eastbound on the N4, before crossing the bus lane out onto the fast lane. Gda Lordan said McGregor drove at high speed on the N4, and the garda said he was doing more than 160kph trying to catch the vehicle. McGregor tried to undertake a car on the last lane, moving into the middle lane, before moving back out onto the fast lane, the court heard. The court heard McGregor had 20 previous convictions, mostly for minor road traffic matters. Defence lawyer David Staunton said that McGregor offered his apology to the court, and he regretted the incident. Mr Staunton said McGregor was acutely aware of the impact his behaviour had on others. The defendant was also very, very aware and acknowledged the difficulties driving like that can cause to others. Mr Staunton said the defendant had given back to his community, had a number of businesses and employed a lot of people. McGregor's father, who had been ill, was in court to support him, Mr Staunton said. Judge McHugh said McGregor put his life and the lives of other road users at risk, and he was considering an outright prison sentence due to the nature and degree of dangerous driving. Mr Staunton urged the judge to consider all other options, as prison should be a last resort. In all the circumstances, Judge McHugh said he would impose a five month suspended sentence. McGregor, wearing a three piece blue check suit, sat in the dock with his hands clasped for the duration of the hearing. He did not address the court. 01/08/2024 Siobhan Delaney, Cashel, Katie OMahoney, Oughterard and Catherine Gorton, Oughterard enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Carlha Callinan, Spiddeal enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Davinia Knight, Portarlington enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Genevieve Ryan, Roscommon enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 PAnna Miko, Rebecca Bleahen and Sinead Cassidy all from Galway enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Aisling Mulroe, Tourmakeady enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Niamh ODonovan, Gort, Jennifer Wrynne, Leitrim, Mary Lee, Gort and Hayley Coleman, Westport enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Therese Conway , Oranmore uses her sisters Carita Conway glasses to put on some lipbalm at Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Jean Browne, Tuam, Gillian Duggan, GAlway, Pamela Richardson, Galway, Carloine Downey, Tuam and Marianne Walsh, Galway enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Davinia Knight, Portarlington enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan 01/08/2024 Genevieve Ryan, Roscommon enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan The four-legged fillies will barely get a look in at the Galway Races today as thousands of stylish ladies compete to be crowned the Best Dressed. It is the honour of a lifetime for the fashion focused to be crowned the victor at Ladies Day at the Galway Races. The contest will be judged by Mandy Maher, Kieran OMalley and Michelle Regazzoli-Stone. The Best Dressed prize winner will walk away with an eye-watering 10,000 cash prize. While winner of the Best Hat will win 3,000. Judge Kieran OMalley, digital marketing manager for the Connacht Hospitality Group, said choosing one winner would be difficult because everywhere I look the style is incredible. 01/08/2024 Davinia Knight, Portarlington enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan We are looking for a classic look, but it has to be race-appropriate. The Galway races is sophisticated and mature and we are looking for something that its on brand with that. As a group, the Connacht Hospitality Group, were a really stylish brand and we are looking for something that aligns with that. So its difficult, everyones fashion choice is really different, but Im hoping that I look around and I go Wow, thats it, thats our winner. That happened last year, it was really exciting and I think we chose a fabulous winner. Hopefully this year it can be sort of similar again. 01/08/2024 Niamh ODonovan, Gort, Jennifer Wrynne, Leitrim, Mary Lee, Gort and Hayley Coleman, Westport enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan OMalley said the fashion community in Galway is supportive and inclusive and Ladies Day is a great time for friends to come together. Theres great honesty in it and energy in it. And Im with some of the most stylish people in the west, so its brilliant to be able to bounce ideas off each other. Weve been going through the pictures already and there is some outstanding candidates I know as people come in the gates, the standard is going to rise and rise. 01/08/2024 Siobhan Delaney, Cashel, Katie OMahoney, Oughterard and Catherine Gorton, Oughterard enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan In terms of what he is looking for in a winning outfit OMalley said: I want to see a lot of thought has gone into it, that it all works together and ties in. We have incredible head pieces everywhere we look, but it has to work with the outfit, and then you have to have thought into the accessories. I love a story, you know I wore this to my sisters wedding or my friend made it or something like that. 01/08/2024 Jean Browne, Tuam, Gillian Duggan, GAlway, Pamela Richardson, Galway, Carloine Downey, Tuam and Marianne Walsh, Galway enjoying Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan Theres a lot of sustainable dressing this year. I have met people throughout the week that have been wearing pre-loved clothes and thats brilliant to see as well. Its not all about spending a fortune. 01/08/2024 Therese Conway , Oranmore uses her sisters Carita Conway glasses to put on some lipbalm at Ladies Day of the Galway Races Summer Festival in Ballybrit. Photo: Ray Ryan But if theres something emotional about your outfit, if theres a story with it, thats lovely as well. Stylist Marietta Doran, the official style MC of Ladies Day, said she loves nothing more than given women a platform to talk about their fashion choices. And Marietta set the tone with a showstopping ensemble of orange silk. My headpiece is Edel Ramberg from Galway, I always support our local Galway milliners. My dress is Roisin Linnane, Roisin is incredible and she featured recently in Vogue. Im really looking forward to a great day. There is nothing like the excitement at the Galway Races. Tacky, distracting and made for social media please let runway stunts go out of fashion this season With New York Fashion Week coming up next month, one Irish stylist is issuing a plea: let the clothes do the talking, not the shenanigans Crazy runway moments Orla Dempsey Thu 1 Aug 2024 at 03:30 Supermodel Linda Evangelista famously said that she wouldnt get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day, and when it came to Paris Fashion Week last summer, Tommy Cash didnt get out of bed, well, at all. The Estonian rapper and visual artist arrived to the Y/Project menswear show wearing pyjamas and shrouded in a duvet and pillow. Sitting next to musical artists Avril Lavigne and Tyga on the front row, Cash applied a facemask and cucumber slices to his face as the models walked past. A 17-year-old boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder for the stabbings at a dance class in northwest England was named in court on Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, as he made his first court appearance. Ukraines air force said yesterday it repelled one of Russias largest long-range drone attacks of the war overnight, shooting down all 89 drones launched at Kyiv and other areas. The attack, which came more than 29 months after Russias full-scale invasion, primarily targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region where authorities said more than 40 drones were shot down. An air raid alert remained in place most of the night. Irish citizen released from jail as part of largest prisoner swap between US and Russia since Cold War Paul Whelan was found guilty by a Russian court of spying for the United States. Irish citizen Paul Whelan Eric Tucker, Dasha Litvinova and Matthew Lee Thu 1 Aug 2024 at 17:41 AN Irish passport holder imprisoned in a Russian penal colony on espionage charges has been released in the biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. Palestinian people step through the rubble of Khan Younis after Israeli forces pulled out from the area following a raid. Photo: Reuters Hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran, anxious residents in Israeli-besieged Gaza voiced fear that his death would only prolong the war ravaging the Palestinian enclave. A framed photo of Haniyeh amid the ruins of his Gaza home reminded Palestinians of the death and destruction brought on by a war now in its 10th month, with little hope for a truce as Hamas and Iran vow revenge against Israel for his killing. Kamala Harris tells Donald Trump say it to my face as she dares him to debate her Former US president has continued his personal attacks on the Democrats likely nominee Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Reuters Oliver O'Connell UK Independent Thu 1 Aug 2024 at 03:30 Kamala Harris delivered a fierce address in her first rally since becoming the Democrats likely presidential nominee as she dared Donald Trump to take the debate stage. Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community! Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region. Toyota Proposes Greenfield Investment in Maharashtra, Part of Diversification Strategy in India Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced a significant expansion with plans to set up a new manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, marking a pivotal move in the companys strategy to enhance its presence in India. This ambitious project, set to involve an investment of around INR 200 billion (approx. US$2.38 billion), reflects TKMs commitment to expanding its footprint in the country and driving the future of sustainable mobility. A strategic investment in Maharashtra On July 31, TKM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to explore the establishment of a greenfield manufacturing facility at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. The development signaled TKMs intention to deepen its investment in India, building on its already substantial presence in Karnataka, where it operates two manufacturing units in Bidadi near Bengaluru. The new plant in Maharashtra represents a strategic expansion for TKM, which has been steadily increasing its production capacity and export contributions from India. TKMs Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Masakazu Yoshimura, emphasized that the new investment would mark a crucial step in the companys growth, enabling it to provide qualitative mobility solutions locally and globally. Diversifying presence across multiple states While TKMs expansion into Maharashtra is a significant development, it has not come at the expense of its commitments in Karnataka. Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil reassured that this move should not be seen as a setback for the state. He highlighted TKMs continued investment in Karnataka, including plans for a third car manufacturing unit in Bidadi with an investment of INR 33 billion (approx. US$394.07 million), slated to be operational by 2026. Patils comments underscore the broader strategy of multinational companies like TKM, which seek to diversify their manufacturing bases across different regions. This approach allows for logistical efficiencies and aligns with the broader goal of positioning India as a global manufacturing hub for greener and more sustainable mobility solutions. Reinforcing Indias role in global manufacturing TKMs decision to invest heavily in Maharashtra is part of Toyota Motor Corporations larger vision of transforming India into a central hub for cleaner and greener automotive technologies. This vision is aligned with the companys global restructuring, which has elevated Indias role within the new India, Middle East, East Asia & Oceania Region. The investment in Maharashtra, once finalized, is expected to create substantial job opportunities and contribute to the regions economic growth. The new plant is anticipated to manufacture around 400,000 electric and hybrid vehicles annually, generating 8,000 direct jobs and an equal number of indirect employment opportunities, according to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Sustained commitment to Karnataka Despite the expansion into Maharashtra, TKM remains firmly committed to its operations in Karnataka. The company has invested over INR 160 billion (approx. US$1.91 billion) in the state and created nearly 86,000 jobs across its value chain. TKMs cumulative export contributions from India stand at around INR 320 billion (approx. US$3.82 billion), underscoring its focus on making in India for the world. In 2022, TKM and its group companies announced an additional investment of INR 41 billion (approx. US$489.60 million) in Karnataka, aimed at reducing CO2 emissions and accelerating the shift towards electrification and greener technologies. This expansion is set to increase TKMs production capacity in Karnataka to 442,000 vehicles annually by 2026, further cementing its role in the local economy. The road ahead TKMs investment in Maharashtra marks a new chapter in its journey in India. As the company navigates its expansion across multiple states, it continues to contribute to the countrys manufacturing prowess and its global aspirations in the automotive sector. With a focus on sustainable and innovative mobility solutions, TKM is poised to play a key role in shaping the future of the automotive industry in India and beyond. (US$1=INR 83.74). Image: Facebook/Infosys Bengaluru/IBNS: Shares of Indian multinational information technology company Infosys dropped 1 percent to the day's low of Rs 1,845.40 on BSE on Thursday (Aug 1) after the IT major was slapped with a RS 32,403 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) notice by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence over overseas expenses, reports said. However, the Bengaluru-headquartered IT firm has provided clarification on the matter via a filing to the exchanges, calling the GTS notice a 'pre-show cause' notice and saying it believes the GST is not applicable on these expenses. Infosys said Karnataka State GST authorities have issued a pre-show cause notice to the company for payment of GST of Rs 32,403 crore for the period July 2017 to March 2022 towards the expenses incurred by overseas branch offices of Infosys Limited. The IT major added that it has responded to the pre-show cause notice. "...the Company has also received a pre-show cause notice from Director General of GST Intelligence on the same matter and the Company is in the process of responding to the same," the filing by Infosys read. "Additionally, as per a recent Circular...issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on the recommendations of the GST Council, services provided by the overseas branches to Indian entity are not subject to GST," Infosys said in its filing. Arguing that GST payments are eligible for credit or refund against export of IT services, the firm said, "Infosys has paid all its GST dues and is fully in compliance with the Central and State regulations on this matter." The document sent to Infosys by the Karnataka GST authorities says: "In lieu of receipt of supplies from overseas branch offices, the Company has paid consideration to the branch offices in the form of overseas branch expense." "Hence, M/s Infosys Ltd, Bengaluru is liable to pay IGST under reverse charge mechanism on supplies received from branches located outside India to the tune of Rs 32,403.46 crores for the period 2017-18 (July 2017 onwards) to 2021-22," the GST notice read. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence in Bengaluru believes that the IT major did not pay the Integrated-GST (IGST) on the import of services as a recipient of services, and it also alleges that Infosys set up branch offices outside India and included the expenses it incurred towards these as part of its export invoice, according to reports. However, the GST authority's demand of Rs 32,403 crore is more than a year's profit for Infosys as the company's June quarter net profit rose 7.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 6,368 crore, and revenue from operations stood at Rs 39,315 crore, a rise of 3.6 percent from a year ago. Photo courtesy: UNI Prayagraj (UP): The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by the Muslim side challenging the admissibility of 18 lawsuits filed by Hindus seeking the removal of a mosque from a 13.37-acre complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev temple, media reports said. Justice Mayank Kumar Jain delivered the verdict, nearly two months after reserving judgment on June 6. The court ruled that the lawsuits filed by Hindu worshippers and the deity are not barred by the Limitation Act or the Places of Worship Act, among other laws, according to an India Today report. This decision counters the main argument of the Committee of Management Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah (Mathura), which claimed that the pending lawsuits were prohibited by the Places of Worship Act 1991, the Limitation Act 1963, and the Specific Relief Act 1963. Taslima Aziz Ahmadi, representing the Muslim side, argued that the matter should fall under the jurisdiction of the Waqf tribunal, as it involves Waqf property. In response, the Hindu plaintiffs argued that no property under the name Shah Idgah is listed in government records and accused the mosque of illegal occupation. They also asserted that if the property is claimed to be Waqf, the Waqf Board must disclose the donor of the disputed property. The hearing of petitions will resume on August 12. The recent Khalistan Referendum has predictably fallen flat, failing to garner the traction its extremist proponents had hoped for. Only a few hundred people showed up for this grand event that was about honouring a Canadian terrorist who was responsible for blowing up an Air India aircraft, that resulted in the loss of 300+ Canadian lives. Thus the result is not surprising. The Khalistan movements leaders have consistently revealed their true intentionsusing the Sikh faith as a vehicle to advance personal agendas, such as gaining political clout in countries like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their actions are transparent to everyone, including the global Sikh community, which largely disavows any association with the Khalistan cause. In India and abroad, Sikhs have made it clear that the notion of Khalistan is neither practical nor desirable. The so-called leaders of this movement have resorted to violence and extremism as tools to further their cause, alienating the very community they claim to represent. The Khalistan movements reliance on extremism and violence has only served to underscore its lack of legitimacy and support. Furthermore, political figures like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who have provided space and tacit encouragement to such extremist groups, bear a share of the responsibility for emboldening these elements. Trudeaus actions have not only strained diplomatic relations but also provided a false sense of validation to a movement that thrives on discord and division. The failure of the Khalistan Referendum to gain significant media coverage, especially in cities like Calgary, is a testament to its dwindling influence. The only propaganda pushing this failed cause has been limited to social media platforms managed by pro-Khalistani elements and the Dashmesh Culture Society of Calgary. This lack of mainstream media attention has clearly frustrated the proponents of the referendum. In a desperate attempt to garner coverage, Shminder Singh, the media head of the Dashmesh Culture Society, sent letters to media agencies in Calgary and urged supporters through WhatsApp to pressure these agencies into giving the referendum attention. This attempt to manufacture support and pressure the media underscores the movements inherent weakness. It is not a reflection of widespread support but rather a desperate bid for relevance. The Khalistan Referendums lack of success is a clear indicator that the global Sikh community and the broader public do not support the divisive and violent tactics employed by its proponents. The failure of the Khalistan movement is a reaffirmation of the Sikh communitys commitment to peace, unity, and progress within the countries they reside. Sikhs around the world have integrated successfully into their societies, contributing significantly to their adopted homelands while maintaining their rich cultural heritage. They do not need a separate state to assert their identity or achieve their aspirations. The message from the global Sikh community is unequivocal: Khalistan is a relic of the past, a misguided endeavor that has no place in the present or future. It is time for the proponents of this failed cause to acknowledge reality and cease their efforts to sow division. The world is moving towards greater unity and understanding, and there is no room for movements that thrive on hatred and discord. The Khalistan Referendums failure is a victory for peace and a testament to the Sikh communitys resilience and wisdom. The global Sikh community has spokenthey want no part of Khalistan, and it is time for the handful few to listen. (Text and Image courtesy: Khalsavox.com) Photo Courtesy: X/SteliosFot75 London/IBNS: More than 100 anti-immigration protesters were arrested in central London on Wednesday (July 31) evening as protests following the Southport knife attack spread to different parts of the country, reports said. According to reports, law-enforcement officials clashed with protesters last evening on Whitehall, close to Downing Street, during a demonstration, following which police had to arrest dozens of agitators to bring the situation under control. Protests also broke out in the port town of Hartlepool where at least eight people were arrested, several police officers were injured and a police vehicle was set on fire. The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet senior police leaders on Thursday (Aug 1) to offer them his "full backing" in the face of ongoing unrest, reports BBC. According to reports, the meeting serves to "offer them the governments full backing following multiple high-profile incidents of extreme violence and public disorder on our streets". "[The prime minister] will say that the shocking events in Southport this week serve as a reminder of the bravery of our emergency service workers and the vitally important work they do to keep the public safe," the Prime Minister's office said. "While the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law," it added. As per reports, protesters were seen launching flares towards the gates of Starmer's Downing Street office and at a statue of Winston Churchill in London, while demonstrators could be heard chanting phrases like "stop the boats" and "save our kids" as they threw cans and bottles at cops. Photo Courtesy: X/SeanyBoyy89 The London Metropolitan Police earlier said conditions placed on the protest had been breached, adding that it made arrests for a range of offences, including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker and breach of protest conditions, on Wednesday evening. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that officers were deployed to "ensure disorder was contained" but added that some "suffered minor injuries". Meanwhile, Cleveland Police stated that several of its officers were also hurt in Hartlepool after violence broke out in the town, adding that eight protesters were taken to custody in relation to public order offences after agitators threw glass bottles and eggs at police officers, and torched a police car. Commenting on the Cleveland arrests, Chief Superintendent of Cleveland Police, David Sutherland said, "At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week." Cleveland Police said the force "expects further arrests to be made in the coming days" if protests continue to spread. Meanwhile, disorder and intimidating behaviour was also reported in Aldershot and Manchester, where two men were arrested for violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, reports BBC. BBC reported, quoting Greater Manchester Police, that protesters were dispersed in the Newton Heath area after "objects were thrown, towards the police and public". Photo Courtesy: X/Wh_So_Serious In Aldershot, local MP Alex Baker said a peaceful protest "descended into intimidating behaviour" at a hotel in the Hampshire town, adding that "the incident was exacerbated by people from outside the local community who came there determined to cause unrest." "We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming to our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community," she said. According to reports, Wednesday's disorder followed unrest near a mosque in Southport on Tuesday (July 30) night, during which the building was attacked. Meanwhile, Merseyside Police officers were also pelted with bricks and a police van was set on fire. The protests broke out after three children Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9), Bebe King (6) and Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) were fatally stabbed on Monday (July 29) while attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, reports said. As per media reports, eight other children suffered knife injuries with five of them in a critical condition while two adults were also critically hurt. Earlier this morning, a 17-year-old boy was charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder by Merseyside Police. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court later today, reports BBC. Image Credit: Video grab Jerusalem: Israel's army confirmed on Thursday that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an airstrike last month in the southern Gaza Strip, AFP reported. The announcement followed reports from Hamas and Iran that the Palestinian movement's chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran, though Israel has not commented on that claim. "Mohammed Deif, the Osama bin Laden of Gaza, was eliminated on July 13," said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated. Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 1, 2024 The army stated that fighter jets had struck Khan Yunis on July 13 and, based on intelligence, confirmed that Deif was killed in the strike. Deif was killed along with one of his top commanders, Rafa Salama, the report said, citing the military. Health authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza reported that more than 90 people were killed in the strike, but Hamas has denied that Deif was among them. "Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre," the military was quoted as saying by AFP. On that day the Hamas group attacked southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,197 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. "During the war, he commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing," the military said. Mohammed Deif became the head of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in 2002. He had been one of Israel's most wanted individuals for nearly 30 years and was listed as an "international terrorist" by the United States since 2015. Born Mohammed Diab al-Masri in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in 1965, he adopted the name "Deif," meaning "visitor" or "guest," because he was constantly moving to evade Israeli forces, never staying in one place for long, according to the AFP report. Deif was known for his elusive nature, often appearing masked or in silhouette in videos, and rare photographs of him circulated, including one released by Israel showing him with one eye missing. His enemies referred to him as the "cat with nine lives" due to his numerous narrow escapes from death, according to the report. In 2014, Deif's wife and seven-month-old son were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. He announced the start of the Hamas operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" in an audio message on October 7. Deif became involved with Hamas in the 1980s while studying at Gaza Islamic University and played a significant role in developing the network of tunnels beneath Gaza. He was detained by Israel in the 1980s and later held by the Palestinian Authority for about two years before being released or escaping, according to reports. In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested an arrest warrant for Deif, along with Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran, was also on that list. The prosecutor has also sought warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. During the October 7 attack, Hamas operatives captured 251 people, with 111 still being held in Gaza, including 39 whom the military says are deceased. Since then, Israel's military campaign has resulted in the deaths of 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties. Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor recently travelled with his wife and kids for a magical New Eras tur show to Munich. Mira captioned her Instagram post as, Core memory with my sunshine swiftie (heart-shaped-love and four hearts emoji) We couldnt believe it! Mother daughter trip of dreams (sun and rainbow emojis) #taylorswift #swiftie. Not just her, many Bollywood celebs like Raveena Tandon, Sonam Kapoor have attended the concert of this International artist. Taylor Swift is yet to come to India for a performance which is not part of the calendar. The concert started in March and will go on till December 2023. The madness, the music, phenomena, the fashion that Taylow Swift exuberates is something to experience and watch out for. Taylor Swift's fashion is looked up to globally. Here's taking a look at her 7 hot outfits from the New Eras concert that will inspire you. Take a look. 1. Taylor Swift performed at the crowds of 74,000 people a night in the Munich stadium Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 2. Taylor didn't know there was a huge park behind the stadium, where 50,000 people came out and listened to the show from the hillside on two nights Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 3. From Hamsberg, Milan, Munich, Amsterdam, Dublin, Taylor Swift has been killing it with her performances and outfits Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 4. Wembely stadium was a surreal experience with 90,000 crowds Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 5. Taylor Swift performance in Cardiff and Wales was a first one with this New Eras concert Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 6. Taylor Swift played her 100th show at Liverpool on the Eras tour concert Credit: Taylor Swift/Instagram 7. Taylor fans were breaking the all-time attendance record for a stadium show in Scotland 3 times in a row Taylor Swift New Eras concert consists of 152 shows spanning five continents. It has become the highest-grossing tour in history as the first tour ever to surpass $1 billion in revenue, and has had a documented cultural impact across the globe. Is there such a thing as too much education? Conventional wisdom suggests that more degrees should lead to better job prospects and higher pay. Well, it turns out that's not always the case, as a 32-year-old discovered the hard way. Roland Hesmondhalgh from Virginia holds a bachelor's degree in multiplatform journalism from Florida Institute of Technology, a master's degree in journalism from Georgetown, and is even enrolled in Harvard's online creative-writing program. Yet, despite his impressive credentials, he has been job-hunting for over four years with no success. In 2019, Roland Hesmondhalgh was a part-time photojournalist and was working toward a bachelor's degree in multiplatform journalism at the Florida Institute of Technology, hoping it would lead to a full-time job. Instead, he was laid off and has struggled to find work ever since, according to Business Insider. Despite his degrees, Hesmondhalgh finds himself with few options beyond low-paying freelance gigs. Roland Hesmondhalgh In fact, it is in part because of his degrees, Hesmondhalgh feels he isn't getting a job. He applies for jobs weekly, but his credentials seem to be more of a hindrance than a help. His degrees have "opened no doors," he says, leaving him overqualified for many entry-level positions and struggling to secure roles in his field due to a lack of formal newsroom experience. For non-journalism jobs, his extensive education appears to work against him. "I can't get anything even at minimum wage," he laments. "Never mind what I spent years of college and tens of thousands of dollars being trained for." According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas earlier this year, over 500 journalists were laid off from news outlets in January this year itself. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. An American woman was unaware that winning the lottery would result in a payout of $207,199 (roughly Rs. 1.73 crore). The Macomb County player informed Michigan Lottery authorities that she was first sceptical of the email, which she discovered in her spam folder. Who is the woman who won the lottery from a spam email? 54-year-old woman, who preferred to remain nameless, was unaware | Image: Canva It turns out that the 54-year-old woman, who preferred to remain nameless, was unaware that the lotteries she played were winning her drawing entries for the Second Chance games. Also read: Woman almost lost Rs 1.6 crore after throwing lottery ticket into trash, thinking she would never win "I didn't know that by playing certain games online I was earning entries into a Second Chance drawing, so I was confused when I came across an email from the Michigan Lottery in my spam folder saying I'd won a $207,199 BIG CA$H Second Chance jackpot prize," she explained. How did the woman discover that the email was authentic? The player stated that she researched more into how the incentives work and discovered that the message was indeed authentic | Image: Canva The player stated that she researched more into how the incentives work and discovered that the message was indeed authentic. "After looking into it, I figured out how I had earned the entries, and then I checked three different times to make sure the email was real," she recalled. "This win is so exciting and couldn't have come at a better time," the player added. The quinquagenarian plans to invest her winnings and use part of it to pay bills. Also read: Man earns lottery worth Rs 8.3 crores, all thanks to his dream of buying diamonds When have people won the lottery in unusual ways? Earlier, a dream about playing the Massachusetts Lottery led a man to win a $1 million in jackpot in the USA. Howard Kendall Jr. said he dreamt of buying a $10 4,000,000 Diamonds scratch-off ticket, so he decided to go a 7-Eleven Store in his hometown, Plymouth, to make it come true. Many people have won lottery in unusual ways | Image: Canva The numbers on his ticket matched those of the first prize, leading to the massive win. Not long before that, a woman said the itchy palm superstition convinced her to buy a ticket on a day she had no plans of playing, and ended up getting her a $50,000 Maryland Lottery prize. What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments. For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. Life in Delhi came to a halt Wednesday after torrential rains crippled the national capital. The downpour last evening, combined with high gusts and lightning, resulted in swamped roads, flooded homes, and traffic congestion. What happened in Delhi last night? The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a "red alert" late in the day, and all schools in Delhi will be closed today, August 1. Also read: Delhi police turns Microsoft outage into a hilarious safety reminder: 'Nobody can restart you!' Even as Delhi residents battled soggy roads, expensive taxi charges, and water seeping into their houses, social media was inundated with replies. Hundreds of individuals lambasted the national capital's infrastructure after sharing images of waterlogging caused by a brief period of rainfall. People on the internet shared visuals from various parts of the city South Delhi - ring road all traffic blocked within two mins of rain -there is NO Drainage in Delhi, wrote X user Yasmin Kidwai. South delhi -ring road all traffic blocked within two mins of rain -there is NO Drainage in Delhi -No work has been done in this season by the Govt ! #Rains #Delhi https://t.co/6bIHbWxPe4 Yasmin Kidwai (@YasminKidwai) July 31, 2024 Just 20 mins of rain in Delhi today and look how Karol Bagh is already screwed, another person wrote while sharing footage of a staircase turned into a waterfall. Just 20 mins of rain in delhi today and look how Karol bagh is already screwed. pic.twitter.com/0tzGDuIYNu kavyaa (@Kavya_sp22) July 31, 2024 A user shared, "Breaking: Data just released on how much its rained in #Delhi Over 10 cms across some places from east to south-west of the capital." Also read: Delhi Skill University just removed lunch breaks because students are 'grown-ups' Breaking: Data just released on how much its rained in #Delhi Over 10 cms across some places from east to south-west of the capital. Via @Indiametdept #Delhiuge pic.twitter.com/XiffPy42DD Chetan Bhattacharji (@CBhattacharji) July 31, 2024 An angry user shared, "Ye hai delhi desh ki rajdhani.. bs kuch der ki barish roads pe pani hi pani cars khrab , bikes band , auto me pani auto khrab, bus me jagah nahi, cabs auto ke double se bhi jada charges." Ye hai delhi desh ki rajdhani.. bs kuch der ki barish roads pe pani hi pani cars khrab , bikes band , auto me pani auto khrab, bus me jagah nahi, cabs auto ke double se bhi jada charges #Rain #DelhiFloods #delhi @narendramodi @LtGovDelhi @ArvindKejriwal @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/RUtD15nLHS A hilarious visual from Press Club Delhi is making rounds. The user sharing the image wrote, "Press Club of India -!" Press Club of India -! pic.twitter.com/X6WBGVn32R Bijendra Singh (@bijendrasingh) July 31, 2024 What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments. For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. While the platform reportedly gets most of its traffic from search engines, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is clear in its message to tech giants like Microsoft: no more free lunches, pay up if you want Reddit's data. But why the sudden shift? Read on to find out. What did Reddit CEO Steve Huffman say? "Any crawler that we dont have a formal agreement with, were now blocking," Huffman said. Also read: Woman's list of things she won't do for husband goes viral: 'Not his mom' This latest move is Reddit CEO Steve Huffman's attempt at ending free data scraping on the popular platform in a bid to control how its data is used. And two successful deals with Google and OpenAI later, Huffman seems doubly sure about his decision. The company has reportedly blocked Microsoft's Bing from accessing any data--comments and posts included--unless there's a deal on the table. According to CNBCTV18, this move comes hot on the heels of a policy rolled out last month. "We can no longer be completely open because we have to be very considerate of where our data ends up and what its used for. Any crawler that we dont have a formal agreement with, were now blocking," the report quotes Huffman as saying. Reports confirm that Google is the only search engine at the moment that has any access to content on Reddit. The two signed a $60 million deal earlier this year in February. Reddits partnership with Google isnt exclusive. This means Reddit content can appear in rival search engines, as per what the company shared. Huffman told media that "Over the past two years Google has accounted for as much as 40% to 50% of Reddits traffic in a single day." What policy came into effect recently? This move comes hot on the heels of a policy rolled out last month | Image: The National Also read: 'What day of the week are you?' Woman's video on 'weekday theory' goes viral; here's what it reveals about you Only last month, Reddit decided to block people and companies from crawling its platform without authorisation. Those who want in, need to sign agreements with the popular social media platform for content of any kind, including its use in web searches. The change is only recent because earlier Reddit had a somewhat symbiotic relationship with search engines: they crawled the platform for content and sent people to the platform in return. "When it was used for simple search, to create simple links that would send us traffic from search engines, that was fine, Huffman said. But now folks are using Reddit data for training, theyre reselling it, theyre doing search summaries instead of linking to us." The companies left behind right now, including Microsoft and AI companies like Perplexity and Anthropic, couldn't or wouldn't adhere to the content policies and are lagging behind in the race. Interestingly, Microsoft and OpenAI were already partnered up when OpenAI signed a whopping $203 million deal with Reddit in May. In a sense, Microsoft may already have its foot in the door, but how they play their next move changes everything. Also read: Employee on month-long vacation fools boss into thinking he's working What are your thoughts on this? Hit us up in the comments section and let us know. There's a whole lot more on Indiatimes Trending. You can also follow us on Telegram. While the deadline for filing income tax returns was July 31, many Indians flocked to the govt website at the last minute to file the taxes. Those who couldnt meet the deadline will end up paying penalties up to Rs 5,000. However, did you know there is one state in India that is exempted from this process? Residents of this state dont have to pay any tax to the government. It is none other than Sikkim. Sikkim offers complete income tax exemption, regardless of earnings. esikkim tourism Why is Sikkim exempted from Income Tax? Residents of Sikkim enjoy a special exemption from paying income tax under Section 10(26AAA) of the Income Tax Act. This tax-free status is granted by a unique provision under Article 371F of the Indian Constitution, established during the state's merger in 1975. Although the state is small in size, its favorable tax policy has the potential to attract high-net-worth individuals and businesses, particularly those looking to optimize their tax liabilities. Who all can avail the benefits of this unique provision? x Experts advise that meeting residency and other legal requirements is essential to fully benefit from this tax advantage. However, there are specific situations where Sikkimese individuals are not exempt from paying taxes. For instance, if a resident earns rental income from properties outside the state or receives monetary benefits from external sources, they must pay taxes on that income. Additionally, Sikkimese women who married a non-Sikkimese after April 1, 2008, are not eligible for the tax exemption. Also Read: ITR alert: Will the Income Tax Return filing FY 2023-24 deadline get extended? History of Sikkim and the events that led to the Income Tax exemption GoSikkimIn Sikkim has a rich history, with the Namgyal dynasty ruling the region for over three centuries. It remained an independent kingdom until 1975, when it officially joined India. This transition from a princely state to an Indian state is a significant part of Sikkim's history. But how did Sikkim come to have its special tax status, and why do its residents enjoy a tax-free status? During Sikkims merger with India in 1975, various terms were set to safeguard the interests of its residents. A major condition was that Sikkim should retain its existing tax laws, which had been in place since 1948. The Indian government agreed, creating a special tax provision for the state. This provision was designed to protect the socio-economic interests of the Sikkimese people. However, the law concerning income tax exemption for Sikkimese residents underwent some changes in 2008 when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister. The govt introduced a new rule called Section 10(26AAA). Under the new rule, all income earned by Sikkim residents remains tax-free. Despite the removal of the old tax laws, Sikkimese people continue to benefit from income tax exemptions under the updated regulations. In a surprising turn of events, an Athens mixed jury court acquitted two brothers on Wednesday in the high-profile trial concerning the murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz. Mr. Karaivaz, an acclaimed crime reporter known for his in-depth investigative journalism, was gunned down outside his home in April 2021. The court's decision, reached with significant majorities of 5-2 and 6-1, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to convict the 49-year-old and 41-year-old defendants. The acquittal debunks the prosecutor's recommendation for a guilty verdict, based on allegations of premeditated homicide and illegal possession of firearms. The prosecutor had argued that the murder was likely linked to organized crime and suggested that Karaivaz's investigative work and his plans to expose sensitive information might have been motives for the killing. Karaivaz was known for his fearless reporting on criminal activities and corruption, which often placed him at odds with powerful criminal networks. He had extensive connections within the Greek underworld and with corrupt police officers, making his murder a subject of intense scrutiny and speculation. A dditionally, he was a key witness in a significant National Intelligence Service (EYP) investigation into police corruption and illegal sex and gambling rackets between 2015 and 2017. This investigation had uncovered widespread corruption among law enforcement officials and implicated various figures in organized crime. Despite the gravity of the accusations, the court found the evidence presented insufficient to link the defendants to the crime. The acquittal has sparked a range of reactions, with some questioning the effectiveness of the prosecution's case and others expressing concern about the broader implications for press freedom and justice in Greece. The outcome of the trial raises important questions about the protection of journalists and the challenges of prosecuting crimes linked to organized crime. As the case concludes, the debate over Karaivaz's murder and the broader issues of crime and corruption in Greece are likely to continue, highlighting the ongoing struggles faced by those who dare to expose the truth. iefimerida.gr Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took to Facebook this week to celebrate a major dip in the countrys unemployment rate. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT), the unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in June 2024, down from 10.3% in May 2024. This marks the lowest unemployment rate since June 2009. Mr. Mitsotakis highlighted the progress, noting, The unemployment rate in our country has dropped to 9.6 percent the lowest since June 2009. This represents a significant improvement from 10.3 percent in May 2024. He emphasized the broader impact of this decline, stating that compared to June 2019, the jobless rate has decreased by 8 percentage points, from 17.5 percent to 9.6 percent. Additionally, there has been an increase of 400,000 in the number of employed individuals. The Prime Minister also pointed to specific improvements, including a 2.2 percentage point reduction in female unemployment and a 2 percentage point drop in youth unemployment compared to June 2023. These figures demonstrate that our targeted policies are delivering positive results, Mitsotakis said. Despite the progress, Mr. Mitsotakis acknowledged ongoing challenges and emphasized that there is still much work to be done. We are not complacent, he stated. We recognize the challenges our citizens face and remain committed to aligning Greece with European standards in wages, employment, and quality of life. We will continue to strive toward this goal. iefimerida.gr Opposition parties initially united to respond to the Supreme Court's decision to close investigations into surveillance cases but ended up divided. They aimed to submit a joint request to convene the Institutions and Transparency Committee. However, each party eventually filed separate requests. Negotiations for a common proposal began on Tuesday, but by Wednesday afternoon, no agreement was reached. The main issue was the order of MPs signatures, so each party submitted its request independently. Despite the separate submissions, the shared content of the requests could still achieve the required support. To convene the Institutions and Transparency Committee, 11 out of 27 MPs must request it. This means at least one right-wing party (Greek Solution, Victory, Spartans) must agree. Reports highlighted discussions among parties (Syriza, Pasok, Plefsi) and a meeting between Androulakis and Famellos. Zoe Konstantopoulou was also active, stating, After my proposal to convene the committee and transmit the report, there was unanimous support. Following public statements, I contacted opposition leaders, and all agreed on the importance of investigating the scandal. Requests from five parliamentary groups are being submitted to convene the committee and transmit the report. Convening the Institutions and Transparency Committee was problematic from the start. For starters, there were procedural issues. Parliament will recess for summer holidays, delaying any discussion until late next month. Parliament's Rules also allow the Institutions Committee to request a judicial officials attendance by a 2/5 majority, but only for matters of judicial functioning or transparency. In this case, the criteria for summoning Mrs. Adeilini does not appear to be met, official say. As a result, the Institutions and Transparency Committee cannot request the report through the 2/5 process unless initiated by the majority. iefimerida.gr Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Central Macedonia Governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas at Maximos Mansion on Thursday afternoon, who has been proposed for the position of Greek Commissioner in the European Commission. Tzitzikostas expressed his gratitude to Mitsotakis for the nomination. "With my experience in European institutions, I am well aware of the challenges currently facing the EU, and I am determined to work hard to create a Europe that meets the expectations of our citizens,"said. He also highlighted that Mitsotakis's decision underscores the recognition of the role and potential of northern Greece and Macedonia Tzitzikostas committed to continuing his efforts for the development and improvement of our citizens' daily lives, serving Greece and the European Union with a sense of duty and responsibility. In his remarks, Mitsotakis praised Tzitzikostas for his distinguished decade-long career in local government, noting his high approval ratings and broader political acceptance in the second largest region of the country. "You are also someone who knows European institutions well, having served as President of the Committee of the Regions," Mitsotakis added. Mitsotakis emphasized that Tzitzikostas's ability to align local and regional priorities with major European imperatives makes him well-suited for the challenging role of Greek Commissioner in Brussels. He wished Tzitzikostas success in the European Parliament's hearing process and thanked European Commission Vice President and current Greek Commissioner Margaritis Schinas for his outstanding collaboration on critical issues, including migrationa significant and ongoing challenge for Greece. iefimerida.gr A ferocious wildfire continues to tear through the Dirfyon Messapion area of Evia, as hundreds of firefighters struggle to contain the blaze amidst strong winds and rugged terrain. The fire, parked late Wednesday, has rapidly spread, fueled by dry conditions and gusts reaching up to 8 Beaufort. Local authorities have evacuated several villages as a precaution, but the fire's relentless advance has left a trail of destruction in its wake. Thick smoke billows across the region, reducing visibility and creating hazardous air quality conditions. Firefighting efforts have been intensified, with ground crews working alongside aerial units to douse the flames. Reinforcements have arrived from across Greece, and even from Moldova, as the country grapples with one of its most challenging fire seasons in recent years. The cause of the Evia wildfire remains under investigation, but experts point to the combination of extreme heat and drought as key contributing factors. As the battle against the flames rages on, residents are being urged to remain vigilant and follow evacuation orders. The coming days will be critical in determining the full extent of the damage and the success of containment efforts. Meantime, a devastating wildfire on Mount Orvilos, spanning the Greek-Bulgarian border, has been raging for 14 days, consuming approximately 1,500 hectares of land. The blaze came dangerously close to the Greek village of Achladohori, triggering evacuation alerts for residents. Sixty Greek firefighters, supported by aerial and ground resources, are tirelessly battling the flames. The fire has also spread into Bulgaria, prompting the deployment of additional resources, including EU-provided firefighting planes. Bulgarian military personnel are also actively engaged in the firefighting efforts. Efforts are hampered by the presence of a World War II-era minefield in the area, which has caused explosions during the firefighting operations. Despite the challenges, close coordination between Greek and Bulgarian authorities continues, with most firefighting efforts focused on aerial operations due to dangerous ground conditions. iefimerida.gr No fewer than 19 people have been killed after an Improvised Explosive Device planted at a local joint in Kawuri village, Konduga Local government area of Borno State, bursted on Wednesday. The explosive device was suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram insurgents causing chaos in the North-East. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that similar incidents have been happening in the last few days, with several persons, including seven Nigerian soldiers killed. Advertisement Meanwhile, a government official from the village, on Thursday, told DAILY TRUST that the bomb went off around 8:05pm at a local tea joint where the villagers gathered for a night chat, adding that dozens of people also got injured. READ MORE: Two Policemen Feared Killed As Suspected Boko Haram Storm Borno Police Station, Loot Armoury He said: Nobody can say exactly how it happened, but we suspected that the bomb was planted, not a suicide attack. We saw corpses of 19 people with unspecified number of civilians injured. The injured were evacuated to an undisclosed hospital in Maiduguri for treatment. Wife of Nigerias President, Oluremi Tinubu has appealed to those planning a nationwide protest to reconsider their actions. According to the First Lady, nobody can predict the outcome of the demonstration. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at the Aso Villa, Abuja, after a meeting with wives of State Governors and Renewed Hope Initiative Coordinators, Oluremi said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is working hard to get the country back to its former glory. Advertisement While emphasising the governments efforts to revitalize the economy and restore Nigerias international reputation, she called on Nigerian youths to engage themselves creatively and seize the numerous opportunities available in the country. Her words: Lagos has not recovered from #EndSARS and it saddens our hearts and what people dont realize is that when were drumming for things like that, we dont know the backlash and what will happen after. All those things are very distracting and I will appeal to them to be patient, we didnt come here playing, we came here to work because, one, I know well leave this place one day and I want to go into a Nigeria that will not be a burden to me. Ill be much older and I want to make sure that I take my rest in a very conducive and nice atmosphere and thats what were doing. READ ALSO: Ill Work With Wike Only If He Apologises, Im Older Than Him Ireti Kingibe If theyre trying to be destructive, its left between them and the law, but I pray that they would reconsider and then dont make life difficult for those who are still having quite a challenging life. Thats why were putting money into the hands of petty traders, giving them a grant of N50,000, its not a loan, just to help small businesses. Weve done that in the past and I saw how well it went. They shouldnt deprive all those people that depend on their daily living and then trying to obstruct that. So I appeal to them and I hope they see reasons. This government has been working day and night to make sure that this country is put back on its feet. The respect we have now as Nigerians in international community is higher than what weve had in the past. People want to do business with Nigeria legitimately now because they know all cards are on the table. They want to do business with Nigerians legitimately and that will create jobs. So our youth should try to engage themselves, be creative, and do more. So everybody has to be creative, our youth have to be seen doing something, nobodys going to even encourage and put money into the pocket of somebody whos not doing anything. There are so many opportunities in Nigeria. People made money during COVID, lots of money, just by making sanitizers, creating different things that people can use at that time. The respect we have when I went to Belarus, I didnt book an appointment to see the President, we were invited for a festival and I said Ill use that to rest a bit, but immediately I hit the ground everybody wanted Nigeria is like the new bride in the international community and the youth have to see that, she added. A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, on Wednesday, restricted protesters of the nationwide protest slated for August 1 to the Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola stadium, Abuja. The Presiding Judge, Sylvanus Oriji, gave the order on Wednesday while ruling on an ex parte motion brought by Nyesom Wike, Minister of the FCT. Advertisement Wike sued Omoyele Sowore, Damilare Adenola, Adama Ukpabi, Tosin Harsogba, and persons unknown as 1st to 5th defendants. Named as 1st to 12th respondents are the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Commissioner of Police, Director-General of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval Staff In the ex parte application argued by his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, the FCT minister asked the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the first five defendants and other protesters from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, streets, offices, and public premises within the FCT between August 1 to August 10, or any other day thereafter, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. READ ALSO: Vandalism: Lagos Secures Court Order, Restricts Protesters To Freedom, Peace Parks He also applied for another order of interim injunction mandating the security agencies to prevent the protesting leaders from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, offices, or public premises within the FCT between August 1 and 10, pending the hearing of his motion on notice. Wike stated that while the Federal Government was not against the protest, intelligence and security reports that he received suggested that some protestor leadership members intended to take advantage of the planned demonstration to wreak havoc, irreversibly damage public infrastructure, obstruct traffic, disturb public order, and prevent people from moving about. The FCT minister said upon reaching out to the security services to make sure the planned protest did not turn into criminal activity or disrupt public order; he was informed that they lacked the necessary resources to handle any potential problem that might develop from the demonstration at short notice. Consequently, the judge granted all the reliefs sought, noting that Abuja residents should enjoy their constitutional right to freedom of movement and safety of their lives and properties. As Nigerians converge across major cities in the country amid nationwide protest against bad government, some leaders of the agitation have said that they will continue to demonstrate until President Bola Tinubu address hardship facing the nation. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the hunger protest which started today, 1st of August, 2024, is said to kick against economic challenges and insecurity affecting livelihood in Nigeria. It was gathered that one of protesters in Abuja said that the movement will stop if President Tinubu accede to their demands. Advertisement READ MORE: We Want Peace In FCT Wike Bows To Pressure, Begs Protesters To Suspend Nationwide Protest Addressing journalists in the nations capital, the Director of Mobilisation, Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, decried oppression under Tinubus government, adding that it has lasted too long. He said: The various court orders restricting protesters to particular locations are an aberration. Our presence here today is an announcement that we have been oppressed for too long. Today, we have risen. We saying to the president that unless President Bola Tinubu accede to our demands we will remain on the streets. We want to see the president on the street. During the protest, he was on the street. Ireti Kingibe, Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says she will work with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the nations capital, if he apologises to her. Recall that Kingibe and Wike have not had a good working relationship since they assumed their respective offices. The member of the Labour Party (LP), had defeated Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election. Advertisement Aduda, an ally of Wike, was a senator from 2011 to 2023. Earlier in July, speaking at the flag-off of the Mabushi bus terminal in Abuja, the Minister threatened that Kingibe would lose the support of FCT residents in the 2027 elections. Wike also told the senator to hang herself on a transformer if she was unhappy with his performance in the FCT. Reacting to Wikes comments in an interview on Channels TVs Political Paradigm on Wednesday! Kingibe said Wike does not understand the concept of leadership of the FCT. READ ALSO: Ill Ensure You Dont Return To Senate In 2027 FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike Replies Ireti Kingibe He doesnt obviously understand the concept of the FCT. If he did, it is nothing personal. He says, I dont want to be her friend. How does governance translate into friendship? I dont know how friendship enters into the discussion. Well, Im actually willing to do everything to work with the minister of the Federal Capital Territory as long as he apologises first for saying, I should go and hang on a transformer. Once he does that, its all over. We can start afresh. But until then, everybody stays in your lane. With all due respect, Im so much older than him. Even just courtesy demands that he shouldnt speak to me like that. And I am also elected by the people. I did not get up from my sitting room and said, here I am. So I will look for another medium to communicate with the minister. That does not necessarily mean directly since, obviously, he has expressed his disregard for the office of the senator. He doesnt know me. I had never met him before he became minister; hed never seen me in his life. So obviously theres nothing personal. Its just the office, he objects to. The Lagos State Police Command anti-bomb squad says it foiled an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in the Ikeja area of the State. Benjamin Hundeyin, the State Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed this on Wednesday. According to him, a vigilant police officer reported that a young man had alighted from the car, carefully dropped a bag by the side of the Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit fence, returned to the vehicle, and sped off. Advertisement Hundeyin said the area was immediately cordoned off while the IED experts were deployed to the spot. READ ALSO: Protest: Were Not Interested In Anything Thatll Disrupt Academic Calendar NANS President He further disclosed that the IED was taken to a safe distance where it was detonated around 4 pm. A vigilant police officer reported a suspicious white Corolla car parked near the gate of PMF 23 Barracks, with a young man dropping a bag by the Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit fence before he zoomed off. Based on the report, a team of EOD-CBRN personnel was quickly mobilised to the scene to identify the object and render it safe if confirmed to be an IED. Upon arrival, the object was discovered to be an IED, and the area was subsequently cordoned off. Standard operating procedures were adopted, and the IED was rendered safe and taken to a safe distance for detonation, Hundeyin disclosed. He further assured the public that the area was calm afterwards. As panic continue to grow in Nigeria over planned nationwide protest, which is set to commence today, 1st of August, 2024, the United States of Americas Embassy has warned workers to stay home. The decision of the embassy is coming, following possible mayhem that might come out of angry Nigerians during rally against hardship facing the country. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that protesters and security agencies have been in loggerhead over the nationwide movement. Advertisement Despite all warnings made by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over possible security threats, the agitators have insisted that their rally must hold. Reacting to the development in a statement issued to the public on Wednesday, U.S. Embassy Abuja and U.S. Consulate General Lagos, asked essential staff to operate only on Thursday August 1, 2024, and on Friday August 2, 2024. Non-essential staff were advised to remain at home to avoid any disruptions that may result from the protests. READ MORE: Protest Isnt Enough, We Must Be Ready With Replacement Seun Kuti The statement reads: Media reports indicate that protesters are expected to begin gathering at Eagles Square in Abuja mid to late morning. In Lagos, protests may start as early as 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. and primary locations have been identified as Alausa Park, Freedom Park, and Peace Park. Additional possible protest sites in Lagos include Nahco Bus Stop (Airport Road), Marwa Bus Stop (Lekki-Epe Expressway), and Ikeja Under the Bridge (Intersection of Obafemi Awolowo and Allen Avenue). However, protests may occur at other times and locations in Abuja and Lagos, as well as in other cities and population centers in Nigeria over the coming days. Based on past occurrences, protests may involve roadblocks, checkpoints, traffic congestion, and physical confrontations. There is a risk of terror attacks in Nigeria and terrorist groups may take advantage of opportunities created during the potential nation-wide protests to conduct attacks. Actions to take: Avoid the areas of the protest; Avoid crowds; Exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests; Monitor local media for updates; Be aware of your surroundings; Keep a low profile;Verify flight schedules with your airline, if you have travel plans; Review your personal security plans and keep your cell phone charged in case of emergency; and Carry proper identification. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, has urged residents of the state to reflect on damages caused by the 2020 EndSARS protest before joining the August nationwide demonstration. A nationwide protest with the theme #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria is expected to start on Thursday and last for 10 days. Advertisement Speaking during a broadcast on Wednesday, Sanwo-Olu said some of the narratives trailing the protest suggest that the planned demonstration is an opportunity for a change of government. According to the Lagos Governor, the Federal Government is already addressing the challenges facing the country. It is pertinent to ask, is protest the practical catalyst for progress the nation requires at this time? Will such a protest suddenly ensure that all of our challenges disappear in ten days? Will the protest suddenly ensure the prices of foodstuff drop by the 11th day? Will shutting down the economy for 10 days inspire the economic growth we earnestly desire? I hold the strong view that a protest at this time will do none of these things for us as a nation. Rather, it would roll back the modest gains that we have made in various facets of our socio-economic life as a people. He further appealed to Nigerians to be patient for the benefits of the economic policies initiated by Tinubu. Why then should there be a protest? All that we require now is to be patient for the benefits of the economic recovery policies to blossom. Protests can never achieve in 10 days what carefully crafted economic reforms can achieve in a matter of weeks and months. More than ever before, our nation is blessed with a courageous leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR). READ ALSO: Bandits May Hijack Hunger Protest, Tinubu Performing Tremendously Well SGF Akume Let me assure you that Nigeria is headed in the right direction, and the benefits of these hard reforms will percolate to all, Sanwo-Olu added. Sanwo-Olu maintained that the state is yet to recover from the destruction of properties that trailed the EndSARS protest. I appeal to you all that we reflect on our past experiences during the tragic events of the EndSARS protest in 2020. What began as a peaceful demonstration was, unfortunately, hijacked by elements with devilish intentions. They unleashed an unprecedented war on our state. We saw the destruction of valuable properties, the disruption of businesses, and sadly, the loss of lives in several parts of our dear state. These events left deep scars on our state and hurt our psyche. We are yet to fully recover from the mindless destruction of some symbols of our rich and enviable heritage: the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, the oldest and most recognisable court building in Nigeria built in the early 1860s, and 15 other court buildings. Over 45 police stations were set ablaze, 12 local government offices burnt, 7 fire stations burnt, the forensic centre that was the best in West Africa, the iconic City Hall, the secretariat of the oldest local government in Nigeria, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters, and traditional rulers palaces. They were all destroyed. So were several bank facilities, malls, shops, offices, hundreds of brand-new BRT buses, and several other public assets. No true Lagosian or friend of Lagos will encourage us to go this route again. That is not who we are; that is not our way, and that is not our style. Fellow Lagosians, we must remember that our shared goal is a peaceful and prosperous Lagos. The consequences of unrest are not just measured in the damage to property or disruptions to daily life; they are also felt in the loss of confidence, the fear instilled in our communities, tourists, and foreign investors, and the setback to our economic and social progress. Nigerian students are not prepared to jeopardise school calendars for scheduled rallies, according to the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS. Lucky Emonefe, the associations national president, said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a town hall gathering for youths, students, and civil society members to discuss the planned demonstration on August 1. NANS organised the town hall meeting in partnership with Mr. Osahon Okunbo, chairman of the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments. Advertisement Emonefe advised students and youths in the country to follow the law and oppose any calls to protest. We are not interested in anything that will obstruct our current academic calendar; we want to continue with our studies because our academic pursuit is very important to us. Coming out to demonstrate is not the way to go because it can be hijacked, public peace will be disrupted and properties destroyed. In spite of the fact that we did not agree with those calling for demonstrations, we are very hungry, times are hard and there are harsh economic policies. We believe that we can engage government positively through dialogue; we are calling on government to look at some of the policies and address them, he said. READ MORE: Sit-At-Home: Gunmen Kill One, Set Imo Govt Vehicle Ablaze The NANS president praised the organiser of the town hall gathering for the effort, stating that it provided a forum for young people in the country to vent their concerns. Sunday Ashefon, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Matters, urged youths and students across the country to avoid the planned protest on August 1. He stated that the attendance of students and youths at the conference demonstrated that adolescents were engaged in the federal governments efforts to alleviate poverty in the country. Amidst the ongoing nationwide protests, actress Tonto Dikeh has taken a divergent stance by praising President Tinubus efforts and progress in developing the country. In an Instagram post on Thursday, she commended the Presidents achievements, citing improved statistics in areas such as foreign reserves, minimum wage, forex backlog, oil production, and debt to revenue ratio. However, this praise contrasts with the protesters grievances, which focus on the rising costs of fuel, food, and essential amenities. Advertisement She wrote, Statistics dont lie: everyone is working to get this country to where we want it to be. One thing about Nigerians is that if they dont like you, nothing you do will ever be good enough for them. Lets not deny this glaring truth. Stay safe and make wise decisions always. READ MORE: I Dont Have Any Opinion Anymore, Last I Did Was During Election RudeBoy On National Issues Tonto Dikehs post suggests that despite the Presidents efforts, some Nigerians will always find fault, implying that criticism can be unfair and biased. Her message encourages people to make informed decisions and stay safe, amidst the differing opinions on the countrys state. SEE POST: In a recent Cox Business survey of small business owners and employees, a third said they invested in AI in 2023, and more than half plan to invest even more this year. Most of these investments are in Generative AI tools, with the most popular being ChatGPT (other popular tools include Google Gemini, Claude, and Microsoft Bing/Copilot). These tools, which are becoming smarter and faster, use large language models trained to understand information from many different sources to assist workers in daily tasks, enabling them to be more productive. Advertisement Here are five ways local professionals are using Generative AI tools: 1. Selling your product Michelle Wirtz sells vintage crafts and other artwork from her marketplace booth in Quakertown, Red Brick Cottage Co., and online. I use ChatGPT to better describe the items that I sell on eBay and Etsy and on social media, she said. I feel ChatGPT also knows a little about the item by my title, so it will add a few things that I may not have known about my vintage items. Wirtz is careful to validate what ChatGPT suggests to make sure its accurate and, according to her, it usually is. 2. Shaping and reshaping your business Downingtown-based author, speaker, and business strategist Aaron Proietti has written extensively on Generative AI and admits to having long and meandering conversations with ChatGPT. Hes been able to use the tool for business advice, asking it for strategies and doing SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. He says that Generative AI can act as a team of collaborative partners with the expertise of any human he would work with as long as he asks the right questions. Asking ChatGPT for an idea to improve my business is not likely to yield anything particularly insightful, but if I experiment in providing new contexts, then insight can be found, he said. For instance, if I ask ChatGPT how Starbucks or Disney might improve my business, the creativity is unlocked. 3. Increasing your productivity For Dan Hughes, the cofounder of Doylestown technology consulting firm Claritee.AI, Generative AI tools are an important part of the consulting and technology services his company provides to their clients. His team uses generative AI daily to help create and build proposals, write blogs, design training material, prepare legal documents, and even write code. It has significantly increased our productivity, he said. 4. Honing your message Kim Porter, the executive director of Be a Part of the Conversation, an Ardmore-based nonprofit that helps families with substance use, addiction, and related health issues, has used ChatGPT to create language about their nonprofit organization that will be relatable to the general public. We are sometimes so entrenched in our subject matter that it can be challenging to objectively relay information that might be overwhelming to a layperson, she said. When prompting ChatGPT, I include a request to avoid jargon. Proietti agrees. I find its most useful in helping me develop high-level structure for my writing, as well as giving me alternative phrasing and new ideas to sprinkle in, he said. It can edit my writing. It can make suggestions for improving clarity. And it can help me adjust the tone of my writing. 5. Researching new topics Generative AI also has plenty of uses for professionals and students in higher education. For example, Matthew Brook ODonnell, a lecturer and research fellow at Penns Annenberg School for Communication, uses the technology as often as possible to draft e-mails, or expand on a set of bullet points or concepts to be included in a presentation. He believes that generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be an essential tool for his students. If you are trying to learn about new developments or a specific topic, point the LLM to an overview article or Wikipedia page and ask for a structured summary of the fundamentals, and so on, he said. I encourage my students to do exactly the same thing and to commit time to trying out different tools and different ways to prompt them. Hannah Joseph, who works as a research assistant at Temple Universitys Integrative Ecology Lab, has used ChatGPT to help her undergraduate research. I had the opportunity to create a ChatGPT for Spotted Lanternfly Research called Spotted Lanternfly GPT (SLF-GPT), where we included peer-reviewed articles, management protocols, and other educational resources about this invasive species that was first detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014, she said. We are training the model on knowledge about spotted lanternflies so that communities can use it to learn more about this invasive species and help reduce its spread. Personally, I like to use ChatGPT and Google Gemini to help me research topics for the articles I write and create documents for my company, like an ethics or paid time off policy. I also like to tinker with prompts provided by GoDaddy and OpenAI to help me come up with business ideas, analyze my websites search engine optimization, and suggest ways to improve my cash flow. Its important to remember that Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are far from perfect. They can perform lots of tasks in a much quicker time than humans, but that doesnt mean that the results are completely accurate. Be careful not to entirely rely on its results and to have experts review its output before putting it into practice. That aside, dont ignore this technology. Its only going to get better and will ultimately play a significant role in the operations of both your business and personal life. Overall, my experience with ChatGPT has benefited both my academic and professional endeavors, Joseph said. It is a great resource to use. The new complaints mean that nearly 150 people have now said in civil suits in the past three months that they were sexually or physically abused by staff while they were housed at Pennsylvania placement facilities. Read more Dozens more people have come forward to say in lawsuits that they were sexually abused by staff at juvenile placement facilities across Pennsylvania, the latest development in a string of cases filed by scores of others in recent months against institutions across the state. The new suits, filed Wednesday in a mix of county and federal courts, include allegations of abuse from nearly 70 people saying they were groped, molested, raped, or beaten by staffers. The accusations span 10 different facilities across Pennsylvania, three of them operated by the state Department of Human Services. Advertisement The new complaints mean that nearly 150 people have now said in civil suits in the past three months that they were sexually abused as children or teens by staff at juvenile detention facilities or treatment centers for young people with behavioral problems. Jerome Block, a New York-based attorney who has helped coordinate the suits in Pennsylvania as well as similar suits targeting facilities in other states said: These institutions and the adult staff who perpetrated this widespread sexual abuse must be held accountable. The new suits were filed against 10 facilities in Pennsylvania, eight of which have already been sued by Block and his firm for similar allegations. Three of the facilities Loysville Youth Development Center and the North Central and South Mountain Secure Treatment Units are state-run, and one, the now-closed Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center, had been locally operated. It was was shut down by a judge in 2021 over allegations of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. The others are or were privately operated: VisionQuest and Devereux, which both had multiple locations in the state; Northwestern Academy, in Northumberland County; Carson Valley Childrens Aid, in Flourtown; Presbyterian Childrens Village, in Rosemont and Southwest Philadelphia; and St. Gabriels Hall, in Audubon. The suits represent the latest troubling development for juvenile justice in Pennsylvania. Advocates for years have alleged physical and sexual abuse at placement facilities, and in recent months, there have been a variety of problems reported at the citys Juvenile Justice Services Center, including significant overcrowding and complaints that some children are being denied access to education in violation of federal law. The new complaints contain accounts from men and women who reported abuse that ranged from groping to repeated and violent rapes when they were children. One accuser said he was raped twice by a female staff member when he was 16 and living at the state-run Loysville facility in 2015. When he reported the abuse to a male staff member, the suit says, the staffer said the behavior was normal, then exposed himself and masturbated in front of the teen on several occasions. Another accuser, a woman, said she was raped as a 16-year-old virgin at Presbyterian Childrens Village in 2011 or 2012. The abuse has caused severe emotional distress and trauma, including but not limited to having traumatizing flashbacks, she said in her lawsuit. (The Inquirer does not identify without permission people who say they were sexually assaulted.) Officials at many of the facilities that were sued said Wednesday they could not comment on the allegations, either because they couldnt discuss pending litigation or hadnt seen the new complaints. Brandon Cwalina, spokesperson for the Department of Human Services, added that the agency has zero-tolerance towards abuse and harassment, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the health and safety of children at licensed facilities. Ryan Herlinger, spokesperson for Delaware County, said officials there were committed to implementing reforms to the juvenile justice system, including by expanding services for young people, exploring the development of a new county-owned facility, and considering alternatives to detention. Joan Plump, chief of staff at Gemma Services a parent company for the former Presbyterian Childrens Village said our first priority has always been and always will be protecting those in the organizations care. Kevin Feeley, spokesperson for Merakey, a parent company of the former Northwestern Academy, said Merakey closed Northwestern Academy in 2016 as part of our organizations strong belief that children do better in family and community-based settings than in institutional settings. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which ran St. Gabriels Hall, declined to comment Wednesday. Representatives for the other facilities either could not be reached or did not provide immediate comment. The urgent issues facing the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania have occurred even as Philadelphia, the states largest county, has significantly reduced the number of young people it sends to placement each year. Staffing shortages and facility closures across the state some in the wake of scandal have also limited the number of places where young people can be sent to receive treatment. The parking lot of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in North Philadelphia on Wednesday. Raheem Jefferson, 43, was shot and killed in the parking lot on Tuesday evening. Police are searching for the gunman they say came up behind Jefferson and shot him multiple times. Read more Police are searching for the gunman who they say killed a 43-year-old man in a targeted, execution-type shooting in the parking lot of a North Philadelphia mosque on Tuesday, as Islamic leaders decried the violence outside a place of worship. Shortly before 5 p.m., Raheem Jefferson had just parked in the lot of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, on the 1500 block of Germantown Avenue, and was walking toward the mosque for a prayer service when a man ran up behind him and fired at least 17 times from a large-caliber semiautomatic handgun, police said. Advertisement Jefferson was taken to Temple University Hospital with gunshot wounds to his head and upper body and pronounced dead minutes later, at 5:13 p.m. The shooting was captured on surveillance video, and police said the footage shows that the gunman fired at Jefferson from behind, then stood over him after he collapsed and kept firing. The shooter then got into a dark-colored sedan and fled the scene. A person who was with Jefferson at the time of the shooting was not hurt, police said. The motive for the slaying was unclear, police said, and they were not certain whether the crime had any connection to religious bigotry, hatred or intolerance. A neighbor who lives nearby and asked not to be identified for safety reasons said she had walked outside just moments before the shots rang out Tuesday afternoon. Although she thought the neighborhood was generally safe, she said, the gunfire left her feeling rattled. The large parking lot of the mosque was empty Wednesday morning, save for a red Toyota Camry that had been struck by gunfire. A bullet hole could be seen in the front bumper of the car and a puddle of radiator fluid trailed from the front right passenger side of the vehicle. Chalk circles marking where shell casings fell were visible in front of the parked car. The shooting comes at a time of heightened concern in the Muslim community, as bias incidents have soared nationwide since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. But the shooting does not appear to be a hate crime, said Marwan Kreidie, founder of the Arab American Development Corp., which has an office at the Al-Aqsa facility, which also includes a K-12 school. Al-Aqsas congregation is predominantly made up of Arabic-speaking immigrants, he said. It was not immediately clear whether the victim was known to members of the mosque, he said, adding that the shooting appeared to have been a targeted hit. Whatever it is, a house of worship should be immune to this kind of violence, Kreidie said. Another shooting rattled the Muslim community in April when three people were shot during an Eid al-Fitr celebration outside a West Philadelphia mosque. The area around Al-Aqsa, just south of Kensington, used to see frequent shootings, Kreidie said. But in recent years, he said, gun violence has been rare around the brightly colored building on Germantown Avenue. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of Philadelphias chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Muslim community was shocked by the shooting, but said there was no evidence that it was motivated by religious bias. Whether this tragic shooting is related to the gun violence epidemic in our city or another reason, we call on our local leaders and interfaith groups to stand together to offer their support to the Al-Aqsa community, he said. Saddiq Washington, seek here after his arrest in July 2022, apologized to King Hua's family after pleading guilty to killing the 54-year-old. Read more Victoria Hua confronted her fathers killer in a Delaware County courtroom, demanding to know why he executed the 54-year-old with two shots to the head as he sat in morning rush-hour traffic two years ago. How can you wrap your mind around the brutality, cruelty, and lack of humanity it takes to kill someone like that. For what? Hua asked. To imagine that my fathers life was worth less than the five minutes Saddiq [Washington] and his mother couldve saved getting to work that day sickens me. Advertisement Washington, 24, pleaded guilty Monday to third-degree murder and aggravated assault for killing King Hua in a shooting that prosecutors described as road rage. The plea, negotiated with prosecutors, spared Washington from first-degree murder. As part of the agreement, prosecutors withdrew aggravated assault and conspiracy charges against Washington for his role in the beating of an inmate at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility while he was incarcerated there in October. Delaware County Judge George Pagano sentenced Washington to 15 to 40 years in state prison for a shooting that shocked the quiet stretch of Springfield Township where it took place. In handing down the sentence, Pagano said he hoped the resolution of the case could bring some solace to Huas family. What I hope for you is eventually that the pain you feel on a daily basis will be replaced slowly by the many wonderful memories you have of your dad, Pagano said. Hua, who owned several businesses in the township, was driving home with his wife on State Road about 9 a.m. on June 29, 2022, when a Chevrolet Equinox driven by Washingtons mother, Amanda, pulled slightly ahead of them and stopped, according to the the affidavit of probable cause for Washingtons arrest. Washington leaned out of the window of the SUV and shot twice into Huas car through its windshield, hitting him in his eye and ear. A witness told police she saw the Equinox swerving aggressively in traffic shortly before it stopped and the shooting unfolded, the affidavit said. Police traced the Equinox to Washingtons home and took him into custody. He later confessed to the shooting. His mother was charged with hindering apprehension, pleaded guilty last July, and was sentenced to seven years of probation. After entering his guilty plea, Washington apologized to the Hua family, saying he was truly disturbed that he had killed their loved one. I know my apology will not bring back your loved one, but I promise the Hua family and everyone in this courtroom that I will make it my life mission to prevent any future tragedies like this one. But for Victoria Hua, those were empty words. She showed Pagano a collection of photographs that chronicled her fathers life, from his youth in Vietnam, to his arrival in America and his years as a father. The last photo he ever took with her, she said, was on the day of her college graduation. He was happy, and I would give anything to hear his laugh again, to see him smile again, she said. A 39-year-old man being treated for a possible drug overdose Wednesday afternoon at a hospital in the citys Kensington section stabbed a staff member in the arm with a hypodermic needle and caused several other workers to be injured before he was restrained and arrested, police said. Shortly before 4:20 p.m., police were called to Temple University Hospitals Episcopal Campus in the 100 block of East Lehigh Avenue for a report of a person stabbing workers with a syringe. Advertisement By the time police arrived, the suspect was already restrained. Police were told the man was brought to the hospital by medics and was displaying violent behavior. When a member of the nursing staff attempted to administer medication with a needle, the man knocked it away, causing it to poke the arm of a security guard, police said. A worker identified as a recovery specialist tried to intervene, but he was stabbed by the suspect twice in the left forearm with the needle, police said. The suspect then tried to stab the specialist in the face, causing the specialist to jump back and accidentally hit a nurse in the head with an elbow. The nurse was injured and could not recall the assault because of her injury, police said. Police arrested the man, and the case is being investigated by the East Detective Division. After moving to Philadelphia, Niki Mailata, who is Tongan, was overjoyed to find a Hawaiian restaurant in the city, Poi Dog. She and her now-husband, Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata, are Pacific Islanders, and its hard to find authentic Pacific Islander cuisine on the East Coast. Enter Kiki Aranita, founder and owner of Poi Dog. Aranita is from Hawaii and opened Poi Dog in Philadelphia, serving her spin on Hawaiian cuisine. The Mailatas quickly fell in love with the restaurant, which began in 2013 as a food truck on Temples campus and became a brick-and-mortar space about five years later, and were frequent guests until Poi Dog closed in 2020 during the pandemic. Advertisement But they continued to follow Aranita. Niki frequently attended her pop-up events, and when Aranita launched her Poi Dog sauces, the Mailatas were some of her early supporters. They enjoyed the sauce so much that Jordan, an ambassador for Australian food truck GDay Gourmet, brought her Huli Huli sauce to GDay Gourmet owner Mike Peacock, and a collaboration was born. I didnt realize my flavors would reach as large an audience as they have, especially after closing the restaurant, Aranita, who also has contributed to the Food section at The Inquirer, said. I would have thought I would have served more people out of the walls of the restaurant, but with the sauces, its a much wider audience, and its so exciting to see other chefs work with it. READ MORE: Team USA beat Australia for the bronze medal in womens rugby, and Aussie Jordan Mailata was cheering them on GDay Gourmets new collaboration with Poi Dog combines Aranitas Huli Huli sauce with barbecue pork and pineapple juice to make a Maui BBQ meat pie. Starting at Thursday nights open practice, the pie will be available at GDay Gourmet, located behind Section 111 of Lincoln Financial Field, and a portion of proceeds from the pie will go toward families impacted by the Maui wildfires in August 2023. Its a mix of what we both love, Niki said. The Polynesian flavor is amazing, and Australian street pies are just delicious. This might be a weird comparison, but I grew up loving Hot Pockets, barbecue Hot Pockets were the best, and this is like the most luxurious Hot Pocket. Growing up in Australia, Jordan has a longtime love for meat pies, an Australian comfort food, and as soon as he connected with Peacock and GDay Gourmet and tried their pies, he was hooked. Jordan became a brand ambassador for GDay Gourmet and even pitched Peacock a custom meat pie based on one of his favorite foods butter chicken, which is now GDay Gourmets best-seller, named after Mailata. I was like, Thats impossible. Theres no way. Ive never had or seen that before in my life, Jordan said. Long story short, Mike reached out to my cousin, whos a chef in Australia, and they created a recipe together. They went back and forth, and its top tier. If you order from GDay Gourmet at the Linc this season, make sure to eat the pie with your hands. Jordan said when many Americans first try the meat pies, they ask for a fork and knife, but Peacock doesnt provide one automatically. Theyre trying to teach everyone how to eat them like an Australian. I can still smell the skewers of meat sizzling over the glowing hot coconut coals at the original Sate Kampar. There are few foods lost to the pandemic that I miss quite as much. So Ill admit to an initial pang of disappointment when I first sat down at the long-awaited reboot at its new location in Bella Vista, nearly four years after the first one closed on East Passyunk. I quickly realized there would be no sate at Kampar 2.0. The Sate has even been removed from its name because, unfortunately, theres simply no exhaust hood suitable for such a smoke show in the bi-level corner building where Angelina Ange Branca and her husband, John Branca, opened the latest edition of their restaurant in March. The good news is that Kampar was always about so much more than sate. Advertisement The skewers were delicious, but they were also a teaser to grab our attention. The deeper story here is about the Malaysian foods of Brancas youth, from the array of fresh sambals, tangy with tamarind and a flicker of chile heat, to the milky streams of spiced coffee and tea she relishes pouring back and forth between blended pitchers into frothy cups of cham to finish the meal. The spirit of those classic elements and many of her other previous hits has remained very much intact in the second floor a la carte dining room and bar of her new space, which she calls a kongsi, or Kampar-style social club. (The ground floor and the wood-fired pizza oven of the old Nomad Pizzeria is being used for Indian tasting menus by one of Kampars chefs in residence, Reuben Reuby Asaram.) The airy, raftered room upstairs is now hung with miners lanterns and bare light bulbs that illuminate a mural depicting the market in Kuala Lumpur where Brancas aunt once operated a noodle cart. It was salvaged from Kampars former spot on East Passyunk and restored with more color and stitched batik fabric patches by local artists Rashidah Salam and Jared Bader. Longtime Kampar fans can once again savor spice-encrusted strips of fried chicken thighs, ayam goreng berempah, whose curry leaf and lemongrass notes mingle with the spicy zing of tomato sambal. There is also nasi lemak, the Malaysian national dish, whose tidy banana leaf-wrapped packages unfurl with a gentle tug to reveal fragrant treasure inside: a steamy mound of sweet coconut rice layered with the crunch of crispy anchovies and roasted peanuts, and a hard-boiled egg face down in a jammy red smear of sambal bawang. This was the flavor-packed wake-up bundle Branca ate for breakfast as a kid in Kampar, bought from a singing street vendor before even the roosters crowed. The nasi lemak is best served alongside Kampars fabulous beef rendang daging, braised to silkiness in coconut cream spiced with galangal, cinnamon, and coconut flakes. A dish of Kampars spicy nyonya pickles on the side, her aunties recipe, cuts through the richness. The achat veggies are twice pickled, first in the Chinese manner (a nod to Brancas Hakka roots) then re-pickled with the Indian-influenced swagger of chiles, cumin, lemongrass, and candlenut oil. The brine from the achat is also used by Kampars distinctive new bar program for its take on a pickletini (along with some vodka, sherry, and Maggi). Its one of several Malaysian culinary references used by general manager Sam Pritchard to extend Kampars signature flavors to the drinks a major addition (and revenue boost) to the experience at a restaurant whose first incarnation was a BYOB. Pandan infuses the rummy Hornbill; Malaysian coffee, roasted with butter and sugar, gives a dark caramel jolt to the coffee martini. The refreshing Karbonat spritz is sparked with black pepper and a charred banana leaf shrub. Theres an appealing list of international wines, too, from Portugal to South Africa, Slovenia, and Lebanon to complement a well-rounded list of beers, local ciders, and nonalcoholic options to complete the bar programs mission of lending this street food menu its own thirst intrigue. There are also a series of new dishes that work in tandem with a Malaysian tavern theme. I loved the Dragon Meat, the sweet pork jerky squares that are cured in soy and fish sauce before theyre grilled into thirst-stoking, chewy morsels best paired with a Ploughmans cider, Tonewood Freshies, or a draft of Guinness, which has its own history as a British colonial import to Malaysia. The crisped tofu triangles stuffed with shredded veggies and drizzled in a peanut sauce (an echo of Brancas sate) are one of the lighter bites. But the dish I cant stop thinking about most is the Ramly, which has fast become one of Phillys most special burgers. Its a reference to the Malaysian food cart favorite (inspired by the halal burger manufacturer of the same name) that wraps two patties with shaved cabbage and sambal mayo inside a sheer omelette that contains all that sauce. Snug in a sweet potato bun, its a meaty juice bomb that takes burger comfort for an international ride. Add a side of thick-cut chips drizzled in Chinese curry a throwback to Brancas university days in Edinburgh, where her first job was at a Chinese takeout and you may agree: The burger and fries is reason alone to come to Kampar. A desire to share her familys Hakka roots, a Chinese clan that migrated to her corner of Malaysia to work the tin mines, is reflected in the chili pan mee, the broad wheat flour noodles her mother taught her to make with a pork and mushroom gravy tinged with faintly smoky dark soy and the funky spice of dried shrimp pounded into red chiles. There are crispy anchovies for texture, and once you break the soft Smith Poultry egg and mix it in, the bowl takes on a luxuriously savory gloss. The chewy, coin-sized taro dumplings called suen poon chee are another rarely seen Hakka dish, fermented vegetables and house oyster sauce tossed with morsels of certified Japanese Wagyu (trendy here now, but long accessible in Malaysia) and its rendered, buttery fat. . A notable improvement in the execution of this dish between visits a better balance of ingredients, a crisper singe of wok hei from a searing hot wok showed a kitchen getting up to speed. By that follow-up visit, more new dishes had appeared to supplement what initially seemed like a limited selection. A late-night menu offered snack-size $10 rice bowls after 9 p.m. topped with flavorful minced pork, chicken, tofu, or sardines in a tomato sauce punched up with shallots and chiles. My favorite late treat, though, is the roti canai, the flaky, multilayered flatbread laced with ghee served with a fragrant bowl of lentil dal scented with cumin and turmeric. Branca has also found another fantastic use for the wood-fired oven left by Nomad, at least when Asaram isnt using it as a tandoor for his Indian tasting menu. On Sunday and Monday nights, Branca brings a market selection of sustainable whole fish to cook ikan bakar style, lightly seasoned with salt and turmeric, slathered in the sambal of your choice (go for the belacan with fermented shrimp paste) and roasted over a banana leaf at 700 degrees. My blue fish emerged crisp and juicy from the heat, with a lingering whiff of smoke from the singed banana leaf. Brancas renewed embrace of live fire cooking, and its echoes of Malaysia, adds another chapter to the globe-hopping story of this fascinating chef, whos used her time in Philadelphia over the past decade after leaving corporate consultant life (at Deloitte and IBM) to become one of this citys most eager culinary collaborators, business mentors, and organizers. When Brancas restaurant closed during the pandemic, she provided a platform at a commissary called Kampar Kitchen for chefs from diverse backgrounds to produce meal boxes, which continued until early this year. She has carried that collaborative spirit forward into the new space, reserving the ground floor for chef Asarams tasting experience, served four nights a week under the name Sunnys Table. Pastry chef Cote Tapia-Marmugi (a.k.a. Mole Street Baker), also a chef in residency and a Kampar Kitchen alum, has been producing desserts for the kongsi, where, aside from sago pearls in coconut cream, her offerings are largely traditional Chilean sweets, like the excellent Brazo de Reina cake, a Swiss roll laced with the caramelized condensed milk jam called manjar. The combined culinary forces, despite their seemingly disparate themes, are a small step toward the kopitiam-style concept popular in Malaysia an open space filled with diverse specialized food stalls curated by the owner that Branca has always aspired to recreate. But her vision of Malaysian cuisine, expansive and ever-evolving, is already enough to fill this stage. Kampar 611 S. Seventh St, Philadelphia, 19147, 215-989-2202; kamparphilly.com Kongsi upstairs: dinner served Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, until 11 p.m. Closed Tuesday. Sunnys Table tasting menu downstairs: Wednesday through Saturday, one seating at 7 p.m. Kongsi plates, $12-$32. Chef Reubys Sunnys Table, $90. There are several gluten-free options. Menu highlights: nasi lemak; rendang daging; Ramly burger; chips and curry; chili pan mee; ayam goreng berempah; ikan bakar whole fish; roti canai with dal. Adare Pharma Solutions is moving its corporate headquarters from Lawrenceville, N.J., to this building at 7722 Dungan Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia. Read more Adare Pharma Solutions, which provides drug development and manufacturing services, will move its corporate headquarters to Northeast Philadelphia as part of an expansion of facilities Adare already has in the city, Gov. Josh Shapiros economic development team said Thursday. The $16.8 million move and expansion, supported by a $2.4 million state loan and $560,000 in state grants, is expected to add 115 jobs within three years to the 200 Adare already has at two city facilities. Adares current corporate office is in Lawrenceville, N.J. The move involves about 20 headquarters positions. Advertisement Im competitive as hell and I believe Pennsylvania is the best state in the nation for companies who want to innovate, grow, and succeed so Im thrilled that Adare has chosen Pennsylvania over other states for its headquarters and continued growth, Shapiro said in a news release. The CEO of Adare, which is owned by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Frazier Healthcare Partners, said the city is an attractive place to be. It is crucial for us to have access to a highly skilled talent pool and key markets, and the Philadelphia area provides exactly what we need, said CEO Tom Sellig. Adare is expanding its two Philadelphia manufacturing and packaging facilities a 175,000-square-foot facility at 7722 Dungan Rd. and a 128,000-square-foot facility at 1100 Orthodox St. The companys headquarters is being relocated from New Jersey to the Dungan Road location. Northeast Philadelphia also has at least two other companies that provide development, manufacturing, and other services to the pharmaceutical industry. They are PCI Pharma Services, which is headquartered at 3001 Red Lion Rd., and Catalant, which has a packaging plant at 10381 Decatur Rd. American Airline baggage handler at Philadelphia International Airport on the morning of July 19 when an international technology outage caused massive delays throughout the world. Read more A new complaint form for flyers in Pennsylvania experiencing such difficulties with airline travel as delays or cancellations aims to empower travelers to voice their frustrations, Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Wednesday. Heres what you need to know about the new complaint form: What is the complaint form? Available on the Attorney Generals Offices website, the form is a response to increased consumer complaints regarding air travel nationwide and an ongoing initiative to hold airlines and agents accountable when they mistreat consumers, Henry said in a news release. It comes after Henry and the U.S. Department of Transportation signed a memorandum of understanding that pledged to work together to identify violations of federal aviation consumer protection requirements, according to a separate news release. Advertisement The state Attorney Generals Office will work with companies to offer solutions and refer necessary complaints to the Transportation Departments Office of Aviation Consumer Protection that will prioritize their review. Both offices will meet regularly to discuss submitted complaints. The memorandum will last for two years, with an option to extend it, they said. The new Pennsylvania complaint form also comes after 90 flights were canceled and 155 were delayed in July at Philadelphia International Airport due to the international technology outage. Separately, the Transportation Department is expected to launch a modernized system for handling air travel service complaints later this year, the news release said. No additional details were provided about that program. When can travelers file a complaint? Pennsylvania residents or anyone who experiences airline problems in Pennsylvania can file complaints whether they purchased tickets directly, through an agent, or through a third party. Airline issues range from, but are not limited to, flight delays, boarding issues, or baggage fees. What information is needed to fill out the form? The form requires airline and ticket information such as ticket number, flight itinerary, flight date, ticket date purchase, ticket price, and form of payment. It also requires a detailed description of the issue the traveler dealt with, in addition to the travelers home address and contact information. What we dont know It is unclear how long it will take for complaints to be reviewed and resolved or if a complaint is actively being processed. It is also not clear how the complaint form will differ from the modernized system planned by the Transportation Department later this year. Alice Smith, who has been on a multi-decade quest to find a rumored sunken Civil War submarine prototype, named Alligator Jr., at the river in Delanco, New Jersey, on July 31, 2024. Read more Twenty years and one new hip later, Alice Smith is still at it, tackling thickets of records and slogging through swamps in search of an elusive alligator. Shes not just looking for any gator, though. Shes on the hunt for Alligator Jr., a possibly 30-foot-long, 30-ton waterlogged iron prototype of a Union Civil War submarine believed to be sunk in the area of the Rancocas Creek watershed near Riverside, Burlington County. Advertisement For 20 years her search has been strewed with tantalizing clues that ultimately have turned out to be red herrings. An impressive, all-volunteer team shes assembled has used various devices over the years including magnetometers, sonar, compasses, drones even duct tape and a boogie board. Now, she thinks the team has a promising lead. I was 56 when I started this, said Smith, a retired president of the Riverside Historical Society who lives in Delran. Right now Im 76. So I decided this is our last-ditch effort, my last-ditch effort. If I dont find it, I guess Ill give up the quest. Smiths team includes a researcher from Stockton University, a past president of the Massachusetts-based Navy and Marine Living History Association, and the founder of a Maine-based sonar technology company, among other volunteers. At times, shes spent her own money, convinced the submarine is out there. For the first time, shes raising funds from the public, reinvigorated in the quest after a World War II-era compass started spinning during an April 2023 foray. The compass indicated there was a large metal object buried in the muck. Shes raised $7,119 of $9,100 needed to hire a specially equipped drone. Shes keeping the exact location secret for now. Whats Alligator Jr.? The iron-hulled Alligator Jr., a submarine prototype, was originally built in 1859 for salvage work by French-born inventor Brutus de Villeroi of France. He offered her to the Navy not long after Fort Sumter was fired on, according to the nonprofit Navy and Marine Living History Association. It was bound for testing at the Philadelphia Navy Base when harbor police in the Delaware seized it in 1861. But the vessel marked the first step toward creation of a modern submarine fleet and had been stored at the Philadelphia Navy Base and Marcus Hook, according to government records and newspapers. It was last traced to Delanco and Riverside, where it was believed sunk by its creator. De Villerois full-scale, much larger 40-foot-long Alligator was built at what is now Penn Treaty Park in Philadelphia as the Navys first submarine. President Abraham Lincoln watched a demonstration of Alligator for its war potential. But it sank in 1863 off Hatteras, N.C., and has never been found. And most expect it never will be. Smiths research led her to believe De Villeroi had returned to France with the inner workings of its predecessor, dubbed Alligator Jr. by Smiths searchers. Archives indicate De Villeroi, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1857 and settled in Philadelphia, sunk its shell somewhere along the Rancocas near Riverside and Delanco, just off the Delaware River. She believes the submarine would be a historic find, and answer questions about technology De Villeroi used at the time. An Inquirer story from 2005 about Smiths search prompted locals to tell stories of a rusted hull hidden amid phragmite and spatterdock along the creek, including one tale that men were buried inside. Some claimed a large metal object rested under a rope swing on a tree branch. READ MORE: From 2005: A Civil War mystery remains murky However, a number of leads have failed to pan out, including a promising magnetic anomaly detected in 2005. But $30,000 worth of equipment including a magnetometer duct taped to a boogie board, showed it to be a false lead. Clues began popping up more recently. An April 2023 trek into a marshy tributary of the Rancocas with volunteer Allen Rowles bearing a World War II-era compass made at the Watch Case building in Riverside detected a large metal object buried in the mud. A compass can be impacted by the magnetic field given off by iron. The compass started spinning, Smith said. Then, came another clue at the location. Drones and magnetometers Smith has been working for years with Steve Nagiewicz, an adjunct faculty member of Marine Science at Stockton University. Nagiewicz is a divemaster and specializes in remote sensing technology and marine archaeology. About eight years ago, Nagiewicz borrowed a boat from Stockton equipped with a magnetometer, which measures magnetic fields, and really didnt find evidence of a buried submarine. The problem, for researchers, is that high-tension wires, pipelines, buried metal drums, and other objects can throw things off. Nagiewicz returned during the springwith another Stockton faculty member, Mark Sullivan. They flew a drone over the secret location. We took some images, put together a video, and examined all of it, Nagiewicz said. We found a couple of areas in the marsh with depressions, which indicate that theres something buried underneath. But whats really needed, Nagiewicz said, is a drone equipped with a magnetometer that can pass over the area multiple times and stitch together a mosaic, giving an idea of the size and shape of what might be underneath, effectively eliminating whether its a bunch of old sewer pipes or some 55-gallon drums someone buried years ago. A sizable enough magnetic hit would indicate an object large enough to be the sub. But, if it is found, excavating 30 tons of iron from the mud would be a big project, Nagiewicz said, and its not clear who would pay for that. Theres something down there Chuck Veit, president emeritus of the Navy and Marine Living History Association, said he believes the search area is promising. He worked with Smith to set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to hire the specially equipped drone. He said, however, that the team is under pressure because the price for the drone is good only until fall. This is the very best shot we have and the fact that we turned up those two anomalies just cinches it for me, Veit said. Theres something down there. Vince Capone, founder of Black Laser Learning, a sonar technology company, has helped Smith for years. He has experience finding shipwrecks and other underwater objects. When he actively volunteered on the search, he lived in Delaware. Now, he lives in Maine and still acts as a technical adviser. Sonar wont work in the deep muck, he said. The drone and magnetometer combination will give a good idea whether something large is buried or not. A big enough signature would rule out a pipe or boiler. Hes not jumping to conclusions, but said finding Alligator Jr. would be a significant achievement. Regardless of the outcome, Capone has clear admiration for Smith and her quest. Alice has done an amazing amount of research, Capone said. Its not like shes just dreamed this up. She has gone through all the archives. She has produced credible data that the submarine could be in this location. You put those two things together and you have a very exciting possibility that it could be right here in the Philadelphia area. Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, seen here at a Sept. 2023 news conference, said her staff is working to correct new issues that have emerged in the office. Read more With problems continuing to pile up at the Philadelphia Sheriffs Office, a state lawmaker from Northeast Philadelphia is asking the citys head judge to investigate the office and take corrective action and to consider holding Sheriff Rochelle Bilal in contempt if she doesnt comply. In a letter sent Wednesday evening to President Judge Nina Wright Padilla, State Rep. Jared Solomon, a Democrat, said he is deeply concerned by the substantial, publicly documented deficiencies and unacceptable backlogs at the Sheriffs Office that have been reported by The Inquirer and other news media and the City Controller. Advertisement The cited problems include misappropriated money; lengthy deed delays; no-bid contracting; a three-year backlog of property auctions; allegations of missing guns and mishandled domestic-abuse cases; questionable raises; millions of dollars in tax revenue uncollected. To restore the safe and efficient administration of the courts in Philadelphia and to bolster public confidence in access to justice, I am respectfully requesting, as a friend of the court, that you consider taking any actions you deem appropriate and necessary to bring consistency and stability to the Sheriffs office, Solomon wrote. Solomon suggested that the court hold an evidentiary hearing to document the offices current deficiencies and issue an administrative order to provide for the safety of court personnel, court users, and the public; the security of financial and cash operations; and the timely administration of records. If Bilal, a Democrat who took office in 2020, does not address the deficiencies, Solomon wrote to Wright Padilla, the president judge might then consider initiating contempt proceedings against the sheriff of Philadelphia. A spokesperson for Wright Padilla, a Common Pleas Court judge, declined to comment on Solomons letter. Bilals spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. City officials have said their hands are tied Solomon has been calling for reform in the Sheriffs Office following an Inquirer report last month about winning bidders at sheriff sales being unable to obtain the deeds to their properties. Bilals staff had maintained for the last month that reports of wait times exceeding seven months were incorrect. Last week, however, they conceded that there is a problem and said they are trying to fix it. Those delays may have also been a violation of Pennsylvanias Rules of Civil Procedure. The rules require sheriffs to deliver deeds for recording forthwith after they are sent to the courts. City officials have done little to address deficiencies in the Sheriffs Office, saying their hands are largely tied because the sheriff is an independently elected official. Solomons decision to go to Philadelphias president judge appears to be modeled after corrective action taken in Dauphin Countys court system this year amid widespread dysfunction. The president judge there had ordered the elected clerk of courts to address performance issues or be held in contempt. When the clerk instead resigned, the state Supreme Court this month declared a judicial emergency and ordered the president judge there to appoint a temporary acting clerk. Solomon said Philadelphia courts might be able to do something similar. The president judge is responsible for the fair and efficient administration of the court system and therefore tasked with oversight powers, Solomon said in an interview Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, Aizaz Gill, the Republican nominee in the 172nd state House District, also located in Northeast Philadelphia, issued a statement supporting Solomons effort. Fixing problems like those in the Sheriffs Office will require leaders from both parties to put aside partisanship and stand together, Gill said. On this issue, I stand with Rep. Solomon in his call for action. The Philadelphia Sheriffs Office has long been a source of scandal and controversy: Former Sheriff John Green in 2019 was sentenced to five years in prison for taking bribes worth $675,000, and his successor Jewell Williams was hit with half a dozen lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and intimidation. But under Bilal who threw a going-to-jail party for Green after she won the 2019 primary several of the offices core functions have broken down. Solomon cited those problems in his letter to Padilla, including: Sales of tax-delinquent properties had been on hold since April 2021 after Bilals staff signed a no-bid, six-year deal with online auction firm Bid4Assets without approval from city lawyers. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker estimated that the extended pause on sales had left $35 million in taxes uncollected and has hampered blight remediation. The sales resumed last month. The Sheriffs Office continues to withhold millions of dollars in service fee revenue that is supposed to be turned over to city coffers. Instead, Bilals staff spends the money directly, on everything from Tasers to promotional items, such as Rochelle Bilal trading cards and a $9,250 foam mascot named Deputy Sheriff Justice. A 2022 City Controller audit said the Sheriffs Office is operating outside of the checks and balances established in the Home Rule Charter meant to protect taxpayer funds from mismanagement or misuse. Solomon noted that there have also been questions about whether Bilals staff is properly confiscating weapons in domestic-abuse cases, and accounting for other guns in their possession. And the Sheriffs Office could see more work coming its way soon: The citys Landlord-Tenant Office, run by a private attorney, announced this week that it is on the brink of losing its insurance and could shut down by the end of next month. If that happens, the Sheriffs Office would likely be responsible for handling evictions. Landlords say they are worried about whether the sheriff can handle the workload, given the existing problems. In a statement Thursday morning, Bilal addressed that issue: We understand the significance of this responsibility and are determined to uphold the highest standards of justice and accountability. News researcher Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article. When Republicans call Vice President Kamala Harris a DEI hire, what they really want to say is a whole lot worse. But they dare not. So instead, they go DEI on the VP. Advertisement In their minds, DEI which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion equals not qualified. It is the new woke, which replaced CRT (critical race theory), which took over for affirmative action. Immediately after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, guess what got blamed? DEI. And when a panel blew out midflight during an Alaskan Airlines flight last winter, right-wing activists and trolls blamed DEI for that as well. Now theyre saying Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency only because of her race and sex not despite it. On Wednesday, Trump was asked if he thought that calling Harris a DEI hire was acceptable and if he believed that shes only on the ticket because shes a Black woman. Instead of condemning the trolling, he added fuel to it by implying that she identifies as Black for political purposes. Ive known her a long time indirectly she was always of Indian heritage, he said during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. He added, So I dont know. Is she Indian or is she Black? Youd think hed pull back after that but he didnt. Trump kept digging. After Rachel Scott of ABC News pointed out that Harris has always identified as African American and had attended a historically Black college, he responded that he respects both racial groups but then claimed Harris does not. She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn, Trump said in a mocking manner. She became a Black person. Its infuriating to watch. As an African American woman, all of this hits home. Ive been called a DEI hire. An affirmative action hire. You name it. It used to really bug me when someone would assume that I got a particular job because of my skin color as opposed to my skills, work history, and education. When I see it happening with Harris, it gets me mad all over again. They do it because shes not white. They do it because shes a woman. According to a 2023 Pew study, most Americans recognize that female politicians have it harder than male politicians such as JD Vance, former President Donald Trumps running mate. Hes white. Hes male. He fits the demographic of almost every other vice presidential candidate in the history of the country besides Harris. So, that works for the GOP. They save their nitpicking for Harris and claim ad nauseam that shes not qualified, despite her spending the last four years serving as vice president under Joe Biden. They ignore her four years in the U.S. Senate. They ignore the fact that she successfully served two terms as state attorney general of California. They ignore the fact that she served two terms as district attorney of San Francisco. What they wont ignore, however, is the fact that shes a woman and the fact that no other woman has successfully vied for our nations top job. Harris late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a biomedical scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was born in India. Her father Donald Jasper Harris, professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Jamaica. For conservatives, these two things alone are enough to disqualify her from becoming Americas 47th president. Neanderthals remain convinced that the presidency is a mans job not that theyll openly admit it. Instead, they try to cloak their bigotry. They point to Bidens statements about choosing a female running mate to bolster their argument that Harris is a DEI hire. But I dont recall the same outrage when the late Sen. John McCain picked former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin back in 2008. The GOPs hypocrisy is selective and glaring. Meanwhile, Trump is also going after Harris the way chauvinistic bigots always demean women by implying we are somehow crazy or nuts. I recently listened to an MSNBC interview of five female voters in Green Bay, Wis., who talked about why they wouldnt support Harris. One of the women even went so far as to brand Harris as an idiot. When the interviewer asked why she would say that, she responded, Because she hasnt done anything in the time that shes had. Then the woman added, Shes not real smart. Thats my opinion. I guess thats easier than recognizing that for a woman to have achieved what Harris has, particularly a woman of color, she has to be at least twice as good as a male candidate. Thats a message I learned while attending Howard University. I know that Harris, who also graduated from this historically Black institution, got that message, too. Harris wouldnt have gotten as far as she has without it. Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) who also recently called Harris a DEI hire, knows thats what it takes, too. Seeing Harris excel, despite all of the roadblocks intentionally set in the way of ambitious career women and people of color like her, enrages people like him. So they try to knock her down. The easiest way is to go after two things she cant change. Her race and ethnicity. Because thats basically all theyve got. She brought to light that sex and race have to be addressed in politics, pointed out Sheila Armstrong, a Philly-based Black Republican who intends to vote for Trump in November. This goes with the territory. That may well be, but although I continue to find it maddening, I hope Republicans dont listen to Speaker of the House Mike Johnsons admonitions to tone down the attacks on Harris sex and race. Its a losing tactic thats going to cost them big time. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 2020. With NASA's budget in flux, realizing the goal of going to Mars has fallen on billionaires like Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. Read more Elon Musks decision to move SpaceX headquarters to Texas because he disagrees with a new California law that prohibits schools from informing parents when an LGBTQ child changes their name or pronouns is an embarrassing consequence to letting private companies take the lead in Americas space exploration efforts. Musks transgender daughter applied for a new birth certificate when she turned 18 in 2022, saying, I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form. Musk blames his daughters disapproval of him on the California schools she had attended. So, he plans to not only move SpaceX to Texas but also X (formerly Twitter) to protest the new LGBTQ law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Advertisement Musk isnt the only space entrepreneur making controversial moves. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos said he is changing his residence from Washington state to Florida to be closer to his Blue Origin space company. But he didnt mention the estimated $600 million in capital gains taxes he will avoid paying by moving from Seattle to Miami before a planned sale of 50 million shares of his Amazon stock. It should be mentioned that long before billionaires started building rocket ships, some aerospace decisions were similarly stained by the political moves of vote-seeking members of Congress trying to keep jobs in their states. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) threw a fit last year when President Joe Biden rescinded former President Donald Trumps decision to move the new Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. The mercurial whims of the superrich have made the course of space exploration even harder to predict. But so much has been invested in Americas new entrepreneurship approach to boldly go where weve never been that its unlikely NASA will ever again be our sole pilot. Congress barely blinked an eye this year when it cut the space agencys budget by 2% to $24.8 billion. Biden had asked for a 7% increase but taxpayers barely paid attention. Not even TV fans of popular space dramas like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and For All Mankind have been keeping up with the tediously tiny steps toward a galactic mission being made by NASA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. Polls show Americans are more concerned about space debris falling to the earth than going to Mars. They do notice when the space flight companies experience another launch failure. But thats likely because each botched test is a reminder of the doomed feelings Americans experienced when the Apollo 1, Columbia, and Challenger disasters left 17 astronauts dead. Enthusiasm for space flight also took a blow after the shuttle program was shut down in 2011 and our astronauts started hitching rides aboard Russian spacecrafts. Tepid support for space exploration wont get better until the private companies that one day may supplant NASA achieve a measure of success that rivals this nations first manned flights beyond the Earths atmosphere. It doesnt help boost public support when Musk suggests his moving SpaceX out of California has as much to do with that states new LGBTQ law than the Lone Star States business-friendlier tax system. Musk is building an entire town 23 miles from Brownsville, Texas, including a $100 million, five-story office building. But will he move again if one day he similarly objects to how Texas politicians run their state? Costs seem to mean nothing to him. NASAs contract with SpaceX is mostly boilerplate text defining a relationship in which the company wont be hampered by rules that might impede its ability to operate as a completely independent entity and not a government contractor. In return, space entrepreneurs such as Musk, Bezos, and Richard Branson, who owns Virgin Galactic, are supposed to do what NASA is perceived as being incapable of doing without them: land a human-occupied spacecraft on Mars. Confidence in the entrepreneurs ability to do that is lost when they seem more concerned with prospecting for tax breaks or using their space exploration companies as props to make personal political statements about social issues that have nothing to do with building a rocket ship that can safely take a person 140 million miles away to the Red Planet. Former President Donald Trump took a jab at local Democratic district attorneys from across the country, including those in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, during his rally in Harrisburg Wednesday night. He also took a swipe at Vice President Kamala Harris history as a prosecutor and district attorney in San Francisco. She was a bad DA long before you had your DA ... as you know in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in Los Angeles, all over the place, Trump told the crowd at the New Holland Arena at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, referring to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. All over the place, you have bad DAs. He further invoked Harris law enforcement background and said that were not going to let her do to Pennsylvania what she did to California, she destroyed San Francisco, one of the best cities in the world, and its in tatters. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trumps campaign schedules are sparse Friday, as both candidates prepare for larger events over the weekend and next week. Harris has no campaign event appearances scheduled Friday, bringing a break in a week that has brought the presumed Democratic presidential nominee to Atlanta and Houston. Harris was most recently slated to be in Houston Thursday to give a eulogy for former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas), who died from cancer July 19. Advertisement Harris husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, meanwhile, will campaign on her behalf Friday in Sayville, N.Y., where he is scheduled to speak at a campaign event, the White House said. Emhoff spoke at a number of Harris campaign events in New England earlier this week. The lull in Harris schedule precedes what stands to be a busy next week, with the vice president slated to appear in Philadelphia at a rally Tuesday alongside her as-yet-unannounced running mate. A registration page for the event indicates it will run from 5 to 9 p.m., but no other details had yet been announced early Thursday afternoon. That event, Harris campaign told The Inquirer, will kick off a tour through swing states with her vice presidential pick, who is likely to be introduced in Pennsylvania. Among the front-runners is Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has so far demurred when asked about his interest in the position. But on Wednesday, he met with the Harris campaign as the vetting process for vice presidential candidates continues, two sources familiar with the process told The Inquirer. Shapiro had also been scheduled to hold a series of fundraisers in the Hamptons over the weekend, but canceled those events Thursday, a spokesperson told The Inquirer. Likewise, neither Trump nor his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has campaign events on the calendar for Friday. The pair are next scheduled to appear at a rally Saturday in Atlanta, where Harris held her own event earlier this week. Trump and Vance held a number of rallies and appearances around the country throughout the week, including one in Harrisburg on Wednesday that marked the former presidents first appearance in Pennsylvania since he survived an assassination attempt in Butler July 13. Trump has said that he plans to hold another rally in Butler, but has not yet provided details on when that event might occur. Trumps Pennsylvania rally Wednesday came hours after a roundly criticized appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago. At that event, Trump questioned Harris Black identity because of her South Asian heritage. Harris mother emigrated from India and her father emigrated from Jamaica, and she has publicly embraced both identities. In response to Trumps false claims in Chicago, Harris called his remarks the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect in an appearance at an event held by the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., one of the Divine Nine historically Black sororities and fraternities. Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks with press along with Vice President Kamala Harris during their to Reading Terminal Market in July. Shapiro is a potential candidate to serve as Harris' running mate. Read more This week, Vice President Kamala Harris campaign has been doing damage control for statements she made in 2019 in support of a ban on hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. Politicians seeking votes in Pennsylvania have to stake middle ground on fracking, a method of drilling horizontally through shale to tap pockets of natural gas. Harris flip-flop is emblematic of the treacherous path Democrats tread in Pennsylvania where the fossil fuel industry flexes economic and political muscle. At the same time, the state has forceful environmentalists pushing for renewable energy. Advertisement Harris original call for a ban came during a CNN town hall in 2019 when she said there is no question Im in favor of banning fracking and starting with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands. Fracking in Pennsylvania takes place on private properties. It would require Congress to restrict fracking on private property. Harris backed away from the position in 2020 after she became President Joe Bidens running mate. An official with the vice presidents campaign told The Inquirer on Thursday that she no longer supports a ban on fracking. Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential Harris running mate, has managed to keep the natural gas industry from getting too uneasy, although bruising some people in the process. Observers say he could help Harris navigate a tricky landscape. Significant impact Its no small task: Any talk of a messing with natural gas production triggers angst from fossil fuel companies, legislators, and trade unions who say bans or pullbacks would threaten energy independence and much-needed jobs. I have serious thoughts about someone who would make those comments without realizing how particularly important the [fracking] process is to the state and U.S., State Sen. Gene Yaw (R., Lycoming), a frequent and politically powerful proponent of the industry said of Harris. Yaw said fracking accounts for 90% of oil and gas extracted across the country. Thats a pretty significant impact for somebody to make an off-the-cuff comment without understanding how serious a ban would be, Yaw said of Harris. Yaw, a Republican, is chair of the Pennsylvania Senates Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, in a divided purple state where Democrats narrowly control the House and Republicans control the upper chamber. Shapiro has to thread the needle. Dave Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade association focused on unconventional shale development, said banning unconventional well drilling would be would be nothing short of disastrous. He said his group is bipartisan and advocates for policies for the industry, which he said directly or indirectly supports 100,000 workers. It would certainly be detrimental to consumers in terms of energy costs and could have an impact on our energy security and national security, he said of a ban. Trump attacks on Harris past fracking stance On Wednesday, Trump campaigned in Harrisburg and vowed to end what he called the war on fracking that would demolish jobs in Pennsylvania. Look, if they get in, your state is screwed you guys are screwed but I will never let that happen, Trump said. However, the Biden administration, while it has pushed for renewable energy, never aligned with calls for fracking bans, issuing almost 50% more permits to drill for oil and natural gas on federal land than that of when Trump was president, and oil and gas production in the U.S. has grown each year, according to E & E News. Harris has not pushed back on that position as Bidens vice president. Further, the administration also created seven hubs around the nation to produce hydrogen fuel. The MACH2 hub would be in the Philly region and produce hydrogen through renewable energy sources. But the ARCH2 hub spanning West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, would produce hydrogen through a process using natural gas, angering environmentalists who claim its just a hidden gift to the fossil fuel industry. Shapiro could help Shapiro has learned to navigate the tricky politics surrounding fracking, even as environmentalists lament methane emissions, continued drilling, polluted well water, pipeline leaks, abandoned wells and climate change all associated with fossil fuels. David Hess, a former secretary Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, who runs an influential environmental blog, credits Shapiro with two climate and energy proposals known as PRESS and PACER, environmental justice initiatives, and finding more resources for the DEP. As a result, hes helped give environmentalists some wins, while not raising too much ire in the energy industry. PRESS would raise targets for renewable energy but includes nuclear power, fusion, and cleaner forms of natural gas. PACER would calculate a Pennsylvania-specific cap on carbon emissions. I think generally hes given high marks for that, Hess said. He walked a very narrow path because he also wanted to attract union support for those proposals. Unions havent come out vehemently opposed to them. David Masur, executive director of the nonprofit PennEnvironment, an advocacy group, doesnt always agree with Shapiro but says the governor has learned to walk a tight path. Masur cites a scathing 2020 grand jury report led by Shapiro, state attorney general at the time, on the fracking industry. Grand jurors issued eight recommendations to address health and safety issues caused by hydraulic fracturing. While supportive of the report, Masur notes that none of the recommendations has been carried out. Some are not under Shapiros control as governor, Masur notes, and some could be. Thats left Shapiro open to criticism from groups such as the Philly-based Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, which released a statement last week saying Shapiro failed to enact any of the recommendations put forth by the grand jury that he had previously promoted. He no longer publicly discusses the public health danger of the fossil fuel industry in the state. The group accused Shapiro of making dangerous side deals with fossil fuel companies. In 2022, Houston-based Coterra Energy Inc. pleaded no contest to allowing methane to leak into Dimocks aquifer in Susquehanna County. The state Department of Environmental Protection had long kept a moratorium on gas production in Dimock, where fracking had split the town since at least 2008. Then, in 2022, the DEP lifted the moratorium, allowing more drilling and angering some residents. Drilling continues under Shapiro, who took office in 2023 and campaigned on more industry oversight. I know hes claiming to be for a clean, green Pennsylvania, but from my personal experience, I dont see it, said Victoria Switzer, a resident of Dimock who wants Harris to pick a different running mate. I dont see the truth in that. I have a different story to tell. Inquirer staff writer Fallon Roth contributed to this article. Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris at Wissahickon High School Monday, July 29, 2024, in Shapiro's home county of Montgomery. Read more Its no secret that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been a serious contender as the vice presidential nominee for Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. But what are the considerations guiding the decision? Harris campaign is seeking a candidate who would offer the best complement to expand the Democratic coalition. A handful of factors could work for or against Shapiro and some could go either way. Reasons Shapiro may be the pick Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state Pennsylvania plays a critical role in the path to the White House, and Shapiro has proof he can win the swing state. He garnered more votes than the presidential candidates in Pennsylvania in both his 2016 attorney general race and 2020 gubernatorial race. Advertisement Hes demonstrated fundraising prowess, maintained strong approval ratings in the state, and has been able to appeal to independents and Republicans. Still, its unclear how much impact a running mate has at the polls in their home state. READ MORE: Josh Shapiro is getting VP hype for a commanding win in Pa. against a weak opponent Taking on Donald Trump isnt new to Josh Shapiro Shapiro and Harris could double up on their backgrounds as attorneys general to contrast themselves with former President Donald Trump, who became the first former president convicted of felony crimes in May. While attorney general, Shapiro was a consistent foil to Trump. He joined several state attorneys general to oppose Trumps travel ban and defended Pennsylvanias 2020 election results against attacks and lawsuits. Just this week in Philly, Shapiro slammed Trump and his vice presidential nominee JD Vance while speaking to reporters. READ MORE: Why the thought of Josh Shapiro as Kamala Harris VP nominee is making the Pa. GOP nervous Reasons Shapiro may not be the pick Shapiro is open to school vouchers Shapiro has worked across the aisle with Republicans to compromise over school vouchers, also known as school choice, which the Democratic Party opposes. Vouchers provide parents with state funding to send children to private schools, and Shapiro has said he supports them as long as theyre approved alongside increases to public education funding. But still, two of the states largest teacher unions support Shapiro as a vice president pick even though they oppose vouchers. READ MORE: Some public education advocates are pushing against Josh Shapiro as Harris VP pick because he supports school vouchers His handling of sexual assault allegations about his former aide has been criticized The political scandal clouding Shapiros tenure surrounds Mike Vereb, one of his top aides and closest allies who stepped down from his administration abruptly in September. Verebs resignation came three weeks after Shapiros administration quietly agreed to pay $295,000 to settle claims from a governors office employee who said Vereb made repeated sexual advances toward her and often spoken openly and lewdly about her, other staff members, and a female state senator. Shapiro was criticized by female lawmakers as being silent on the issue. His administration described it as a private personnel matter and said it takes allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously. Harris, who would be the nations first female president, has already signaled shell run against Trump as an accused abuser of women. The Vereb baggage might not be something the campaign wants to bring along with them. READ MORE: How a sexual harassment scandal involving a Josh Shapiro aide could affect the Pa. governors VP chances Reasons that could go either way Shapiro is unapologetically pro-Israel Shapiro, the states third Jewish governor, has been a strong supporter of Israel, though hes also openly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a failed leader. Shapiro has faced backlash from progressives over stances hes taken against pro-Palestine protests, so adding him to the ticket could dissuade voters on the left who are passionate about the issue. On the other hand, adding Shapiro to the ticket could diminish Republican efforts to frame Harris as weak in her support for Israel and ease pro-Israel voters who are frustrated by backlash from progressives within the party. Being pro-Israel isnt particularly unique among the contenders for the nomination, but Shapiro has been in the spotlight on the issue. Some say hes been unfairly singled out over the issue because he is Jewish. READ MORE: Would Josh Shapiros stances on Israel help or hurt Kamala Harris ticket? Ambition Shapiro is well known to have presidential aspirations, which could work against him as Harris looks for someone to share the spotlight with. Shapiro has never lost an election, but hes also burned some allies along the way. Like many politicians of his stature, he likes the spotlight and has gravitated toward executive leadership positions. READ MORE: Josh Shapiros rise wasnt accidental. Just ask those who helped him get here or felt betrayed along the way The No. 1 concern with him he is not gonna be fine off to the side, a Democratic insider said. But Shapiro hasnt turned down the calls to be second in command. A day after former President Donald Trumps inflammatory remarks on Vice President Kamala Harris racial identity, Philadelphia Democrats and labor leaders on Thursday criticized Trump for saying that Harris, at some point, happened to turn Black. Harris, whose mother is Indian and her father Jamaican, has publicly embraced both identities. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority. Advertisement Trump, however, is attempting to use her Indian heritage to undermine her popularity among Black voters, who will be critical in such swing states as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia. Harris would be both the first Black woman to serve as president and the first Asian American if she defeated Trump in November. READ MORE: Donald Trump questioned Kamala Harris racial identity and returned to Pa. for the first time since his assassination attempt What he did is consistent with his entire record, State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) said at a news conference at an office of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. He hates Black people. He hates women and especially hates accomplished Black people and accomplished women. He cant stand that because they threaten him and his existence. Hughes was joined in condemning Trump by State Reps. Danilo Burgos, Joe Hohenstein, and Ben Waxman, and City Council members Kendra Brooks, Rue Landau and Anthony Phillips. We know she is a champion of all communities of color, Landau said. We know that she is wonderful and beautiful and gets to identify in whatever way she is. And shes a proud, proud member of the Black community. Trump has a long history of making offensive comments related to race. Before entering politics he called for the execution of the so-called Central Park Five, a group of four young Black men and one Latino who were falsely accused of assault and rape. He burst into the national political conversation by falsely suggesting that former President Barack Obama was born outside the United States. And as president, Trump reportedly referred to Haiti and some African nations as shole countries. Are you surprised at this? Im not, said Barbara Cherry, a 32BJ member who works as a cleaner in a Center City building and spoke at Thursdays news conference. Racism and sexism are exactly what Donald Trump is all about, and Im happy that he showed us exactly who he is in front of a crowd of Black journalists and the country. Trumps comments disparaging Harris mixed-race identity came during a Wednesday interview at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn, Trump said at the event. ... I think somebody should look into that. Later that day, Trumps campaign projected an image of an article about Harris Indian American background inside the venue in Harrisburg ahead of the former presidents rally. Trump has doubled down on his comments. On Wednesday he posted an image of Harris wearing a sari on his social media platform Truth Social, writing, Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago! Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated. The line of attack is strange because Harris has long been vocal about being mixed race. For instance, she wrote in her 2019 memoir that my mother, grandparents, aunts and uncle instilled us with pride in our South Asian roots and also that her mother knew that her adopted homeland would see [Harris sister] Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women. During a campaign event in July in Nevada, Harris discussed how her mother emigrated from India at 19 and met her father while they were both active in the Civil Rights movement. She said her parents took her to marches while she was in a stroller. We stand for the beauty and diversity and the promise of America, Harris told a crowd of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, according to a White House transcript. Trumps attempt to turn Harris Indian heritage into a campaign issue comes as his running mates wife, Usha Vance, an Indian American and practicing Hindu, has faced a barrage of racist abuse online. Sen. JD Vance, the Ohio Republican running to be Trumps vice president, spoke about the online attacks against his wife on the Megyn Kelly Show just four days before Trumps NABJ appearance. I love her because shes who she is. Obviously, shes not a white person, and weve been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha, Vance said. Pennsylvania Republicans have been largely silent about Trumps remarks, while some GOP officials from elsewhere have criticized their partys leader. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for Senate, said Trumps comments were unacceptable and abhorrent. U.S. Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican and a top-ranking member of the GOP caucus, urged the president to focus on policy issues. The campaign is, needs to be, must be about the issues, and theres plenty to talk about, Thune told reporters in Washington. I just think thats where the focus needs to be. Thats how were going to win in November. A federal judge struck down New Jerseys ban on the AR-15 rifle, the style of gun that was used in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa. New Jerseys cap on magazines over 10 rounds is constitutional, however, the judge determined. Advertisement U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridans 69-page opinion says he was compelled to rule as he did because of the Supreme Courts rulings in firearms cases, particularly the 2022 Bruen decision that expanded gun rights. Second Amendment advocates and New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin plan to appeal the decision. Sheridan seemed to blame his ruling on the Supreme Court, and suggested that Congress and the president can do more to address gun violence. It is hard to accept the Supreme Courts pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are off the table when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes, he wrote. READ MORE: Donald Trumps shooter used the most popular rifle in America. The AR-15 and Pennsylvania, explained Where the Supreme Court has set for the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it. Sheridan added. ... This principle combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation necessitates the Courts decision. New Jersey has among the strictest gun laws in the country, but nine other states and the District of Columbia have bans on guns that are classified as assault weapons, such as the AR-15. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) classifies the Colt AR-15 as a semiautomatic assault weapon. Gun advocates push back against the assault descriptor for semiautomatic guns available to civilians; the term has been used by gun control advocates and in Democrat-backed efforts to ban guns such as the AR-15 in recent decades. Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, one of the plaintiffs, said bans on so-called assault weapons are immoral and unconstitutional and said the group will fight all of the similar bans across the country. Platkin said the ruling endangers public safety. The AR-15 is an instrument designed for warfare that inflicts catastrophic mass injuries, and is the weapon of choice for the epidemic of mass shootings that have ravaged so many communities across this nation, the attorney general said. The AR-15 is a popular style of gun that has been used by mass shooters across the country, including several in Pennsylvania. The United States had a federal assault weapon ban that lasted from 1994 to 2004, and efforts to revitalize it have been unsuccessful. And that ban was poorly worded, so companies modified their guns to fit the law, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Cameron McWhirter, who cowrote a book on the history of the gun called American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 with his colleague Zusha Elinson. The sale of AR-15-style guns//spiked before the ban, continued to increase during the ban, and spiked again after the ban, which was also influenced by changing views on guns and a post-9/11 sentiment, McWhirter said. This article contains information from the Associated Press. Former President Donald Trump arrives onstage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Read more CHICAGO Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday questioned Vice President Kamala Harris racial identity at an event for Black journalists that was part of a whirlwind day of campaigning that also saw him return to Pennsylvania for the first time since surviving an assassination attempt in the state two weeks ago. She was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person, Trump said of Harris, whose mother emigrated from India and whose father emigrated from Jamaica. I think somebody should look into that. Advertisement The comments were part of a combative exchange between Trump and the moderators at a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists. They were the latest in a long line of offensive and racist remarks that have defined his political career, including when he made his first foray into national politics nearly 15 years ago by falsely suggesting then-President Barack Obama wasnt born in the United States. READ MORE: Donald Trump questions Kamala Harris race, attacks ABC News Rachel Scott during NABJ interview The man is just a complete moron, racist, white supremacist, said City Councilmember Nina Ahmad, a Bangladeshi immigrant who is the first South Asian city lawmaker in Philadelphia history. Its just ludicrous what hes saying. Clearly weve known her heritage for a long time, that she has an Indian mother who came here and met her Jamaican father, who obviously has African heritage. Ahmad said she thought Trump was cynically questioning Harris race because her popularity with Black voters threatens his chances. He wants to destroy her Black support, Ahmad said. Im sure thats probably why. The amount of excitement that her candidacy has generated reminds me of 2008, and its very powerful. Harris, who attended Howard University, would be the first Black woman to serve as president if she prevails against Trump in November. She would also be the first Asian American, in addition to being the first woman of any race. She has embraced all of these identities as a candidate, speaking at events targeting both Black and Asian American voters in Philadelphia in recent weeks. Harris spokesperson Michael Taylor said Trumps tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trumps MAGA rallies. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Taylor said in a statement. After leaving the Chicago event, Trump flew to Harrisburg for a rally. Inside the venue an image of a Business Insider article about Harris Indian American background was projected onto the stadiums big screen before his arrival. Attendees waited in scorching temperatures for hours before his arrival. Michael Baker, who traveled to the rally from the Gettysburg area, said he thought Trump raised a valid point about Harris after hearing about the former presidents comments in Chicago. I dont think shes lied about it, but she uses it to her advantage, said Baker, 68, of Harris mixed-race heritage when told of the former presidents remarks. Shes not African American, shes Indian. Trumps first Pa. rally after assassination attempt The Harrisburg speech was the former presidents first event in Pennsylvania since being shot in the ear during a failed assassination attempt July 13 in Butler, Pa. Trump began his remarks by discussing the shooting and recognizing Corey Comperatore, a former Buffalo Township fire chief who died after being struck by a stray bullet. In his last act on this earth, Corey threw himself over his wife and daughters and died shielding them from the bullets of a very disturbed guy, Trump said. The crowd chanted Corey! Corey! Corey! before Trump called for a moment of silence in honor of Comperatore. Trump has promised to return to Butler in the future. We had a rough day. I will tell you, by all accounts, I should not be with you today, Trump said. I shouldnt be with you, but I am. Later in the speech, Trump recalled how pundits predicted he would turn into a nice man after the shooting. And I really agreed with that for about eight hours or so, and then I realized they were trying to put me in prison for doing absolutely nothing wrong, said Trump, the first former president convicted of a felony. These are bad people. We have to win this battle and you know theyre going to become nicer when we win. Attacks on Harris Trump held his Harrisburg rally at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburgs Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, an 8,000-seat arena usually used for rodeos and wrangling events. The Harrisburg crowd did the wave more than a dozen times in excitement for Trumps appearance and sang Oliver Anthonys Rich Men North of Richmond, a MAGA anthem. A few thousand more attendees were also on the floor of the venue, the dirt floor covered by a concrete slab. In a rambling speech, Trump described Harris as a phony and a far-left extremist who supports open borders and is weak on crime. On the one hand, you have a radical left puppet candidate who is fake, fake, fake, and then on the other hand you have a president who will fight, fight, fight for America, Trump said. She is an extreme radical left lunatic. Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, has been running on her background as a prosecutor since becoming the Democratic nominee and debuted an ad this week seeking to hit back on Republican criticism on the border. Roughly an hour into his speech, Trump claimed that President Joe Bidens withdrawal from the race in favor of Harris amounted to a coup. It was a coup. This was a coup of a president. He will be famous. He will be more famous for the coup than the bad job hes done, said Trump, who was impeached for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and faces ongoing prosecutions related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump did not directly address the controversy over his NABJ remarks during the speech. Phyllis Vance a Black Trump voter who laughed while mentioning she had no relation to Trumps running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance said she agreed with Trumps false assessment of Harris racial identity. I dont think hes racist. Hes done so many things for Black people, said Vance, a 64-year-old pharmacy technician who added Trump was for the people, no matter what color you are. Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, whose parents are Indian immigrants, said Wednesday that Trump and other conservatives have shown they have no integrity when discussing Harris race. Ive seen for years, right wing politicians speaking to Indian American audiences say VP Harris identifies as Black and hides her Indian heritage. Now when speaking to a Black audience, Trump and his weirdos say she is Indian, and only recently turned Black, Makhija posted on X. Inquirer staff writers Fallon Roth and Sarah Nicell contributed to this article. Does anyone else wish they were in Paris partying it up with Snoop Dogg and Jason Kelce this week? Reporting from the city of lights, my colleague Mike Sielski has been all over the Olympics coverage, from the shockingly good womens rugby team (featuring Upper Merion High grad Ariana Ramsey) to the rise of Philly womens foil fencing star Maia Weintraub to the ongoing struggles of Joel Embiid. (He even found a cheesesteak in Paris.) Thanks to those of you who wrote in and shared which athletes youve been watching! Connie shouted out the hilariously named diving duo Cook n Bacon Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon who won silver in the womens synchronized 3-meter springboard this week. Joel said hes looked forward to seeing Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominate in the 400 meter hurdle and I totally agree. Let me know who else youre rooting for! Advertisement This weekend find a bar where you can cheer on your Olympics faves, see incredible new films at the BlackStar Film Festival, explore West Phillys very weird yam-tastic Yamatorium, and get ready for the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com) If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here. The BlackStar Film Festival returns this weekend with a slate of fresh, innovative documentaries, shorts, and features from Black, Indigenous, and brown filmmakers locally and internationally. Catch the portrait of famous poet Audre Lorde in her own words, see legendary hip-hop critic dream hamptons memoir documentary (with footage of Biggie, Method Man, and more), and explore dozens of other universe-expanding and community-building films including works by filmmakers who live in and have been inspired by Philadelphia. We picked out 11 great films that were most excited to see. The best things to do this week Catch the action: Whether its 3 a.m. or 3 p.m., the Olympics coverage is kicking and these athletes have been nonstop. (Rack up those gold medals, Simone Biles!) If youre looking to cheer on your faves at a local spot, heres where you can tune in. Yam it up: What is the Yamatorium? Its something you have to see to believe, a showcase of absurdity from yamophones to a sculpture named Turdalina in a West Philly bunker. Take a look at the totally tubular, immersive experience. History uncovered: The storied halls of Christ Church Neighborhood House, which opened its doors in 1695, have seen hundreds of thousands of people come through. Staffers have discovered new documents revealing Black worshippers, both free and enslaved. Their stories are the center of the new exhibit Groundings. Go barefoot: A new art installation from local artist Rachel Hsu invites you to walk on small stones for a meditative massage at the Benjamin Franklin Parkways Maja Park. The Weight of Our Living was inspired by reflexology footpaths in parks in Taiwan and kicks off a series of public art installations coming to the parkway in coming weeks. Its so back: After a rocky few years, the Philadelphia Folk Festival is back this year with headliners John Oates and Gangstagrass on Aug. 16-18 at the Old Pool Farm in Montgomery County. Heres everything you need to know. My calendar picks this week: Philly Taco Fest, ACANA African Festival, First Friday at The Barnes The thing of the week Though the Phillies current downturn is no laughing matter, you can head to Citizens Bank Park on Saturday for some laughs with Dont Tell Comedy. The secret pop-up comedy show travels to unexpected locations around the country and this special edition from the Philly chapter takes place in the Media Room at the ballpark, with a chance for attendees to explore the Hall of Fame Club. Organizers keep the comic lineup under wraps but theyve teased a Phanatic appearance. Summer fun this week and beyond A different show every night: Phillys Fringe Festival returns next month with 306 performances from dozens of experimental, provocative, wacky, and irreverent artists across the city. From circus acts to immersive dance to epic literary adaptations, heres what you can expect. Put in motion: A new sitcom with Bryn Mawr-raised Kat Dennings just got picked up at ABC. The 2 Broke Girls actress stars in the comedy with Home Improvements Tim Allen. Heres what we know so far. Treasures from afar: A gooey, green chocolate from Dubai has gone viral as the internets latest food craze. Chocolatiers in the Philly region have stocked the crunchy, pistachio-filled treat. Get your fix: If youre heading down the shore, you might be missing your neighborhood coffee shop. Find the perfect cold brew at one of these 10 great coffee shops along the Shore. Avoid the ick: One of the biggest enemies to outdoors lovers no matter what season are ticks. Weve got a handy guide on how to protect yourself from the little buggers. Champions in the city: Some of the biggest stars from the Olympics Simone Biles, pommel horse meme king Stephen Nedoroscik, and other gymnasts are coming to Philly in October. Our critics picks Pop music critic Dan DeLuca breaks down the best shows in and around Philly this week (featuring an especially busy Friday): Friday: Bronx-born rapper Ice Spice born Isis Gaston broke out in 2022 with her viral TikTok hit called Munch (Feelin U). Her career took off from there, a Barbie World duet, Taylor Swift collab on Karma, and the inevitable Ice Spice Munchkins drink that combines frozen coffee with Pumpkin Munchkins. She released her debut album Y2K! earlier this year, and the tour named after it arrives at Met Philly. Also Friday: Metal-meets-mariachi band Metalachi play City Winery. It might sound like a goofy mash-up, and they are essentially a high concept cover band, but I happened to see them one night a couple of years back in Tucson, Ariz. and it was a hoot. More Friday fun: Ollabelle, the New York band fronted by Amy Helm, and featuring musicians who play with Bonnie Raitt and the Lumineers, celebrates the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album at Arden Gild Hall. Plus, Chicago based father-daughter duo Tatsu Aoki and Kioto Aoki, who play experimental jazz on traditional Japanese instruments, do a Sound Type series show at the Asian Arts initiative. Another one: Its going to be a Brat summer night at Underground Arts on Friday. No, Charli XCX is not playing, but Brat, the New Orleans heavy rock band, is as part of a This Is Hardcore tour which features 10 bands, including E-Town Concrete. The fest then moves to the larger Franklin Music Hall for the rest of the weekend, with dozens of bands playing, including Cold As Life on Saturday, and Black Flag on Sunday. Monday: Missy Elliott brings her Out Of The World: The Experience tour to the Wells Fargo Center with Busta Rhymes, Ciara, and Timbaland. Elliotts impact on hip-hop both as a rapper and a producer on albums like 1997s Supa Dupa Fly, 1999s The Real World and 2002s Under Construction was enormous. All of those and iconic singles like Get Ur Freak On and Work It were collaborations with producer Tim Mosely, also known as Timbaland, and shes teamed up with Ciara and Busta on songs like Control and Get It. She hasnt played live frequently, but went in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, so nows the time to finally see her. Tuesday and Wednesday: Zach Bryans South Philly shows on his Quittin Time Tour at Lincoln Financial Field is the only two-night run at the biggest venue in town this summer. The shows are a homecoming of sorts for Bryan, the Okinawa-born, Oklahoma-raised Navy veteran who lived in Fishtown in 2022-23. There are references to Point Breeze, the Rivers Casino, Delco, and some dirty old bookie way up in Philly in Bar Scene lyrics. The take: Hoagie or hot dog? Hoagies reign supreme in Philadelphia, but this week my colleague Jenn Ladd took a deep dive into the citys blossoming hot dog scene where local chefs are making a big distinction between a cheap frank and a quality dog. Truthfully I havent had a single hot dog in Philly but I know many folks were upset when the Phillies got rid of Dollar Dog Night earlier this year and Im guessing that these new dogs are worth the hype. What do you think? Is Philly primed to become a hot dog town? Is a good hot dog worth $7? Let me know! By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirers Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10. This week Ive been bumpin that 360 from Charli XCX even though brat summer is basically almost over. What songs are keeping you energized these days? Drop me a rec! However, what if we could anticipate these risks more scientifically? Enter the concept of agricultural systems science and the development of specialised financial products such as agricultural insurance. This kind of tailored insurance could help farmers manage costs and enhance their income by ensuring better input management and safeguarding against unexpected downturns, according to a report by CSIRO. With their support, we will continue to provide the re/insurance industry with our unique proposition of cutting-edge solutions, situated at the intersection of the banking and insurance sectors as well as our solutions to support M&A transactions in the sector. We believe that being part of Miller will foster our development and enable our clients to benefit from its long-term stability and sterling reputation as a leading specialist advisor of choice, Hannebert said. Jimenez will be in charge of leading this next phase, bringing two decades of industry experience to her wider remit. The soon-to-be group chief innovation officer has held significant roles in the UK, France, and Asia and has been CEO of MAWDY since 2019. She is succeeding Jose Antonio Arias, who will continue in his position as group chief operational transformation officer. "Our Gen AI initiatives include a human element as we know that the value of this technology is unlocked through our people. The responsible use of AI considerations include, for example, considering issues such as whether the use of Gen AI delivers a benefit for customers and partners and whether the use could result in unfair bias, Mansour said. Submitting a nomination gives you an opportunity to recognize someone who has made a notable impact on the industry this year. Self-nominations are encouraged. Court documents and statements reveal that Keating previously held the positions of assistant vice president and surety bond claims handler at Allied World. He later continued in a similar role at US Fire Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Crum and Forster, where he also processed claims on behalf of Allied World. The claims were managed through Allied Worlds Farmington premises. In one of the nations largest wage recovery judgments, a Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $35.8 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 6,000 current and former workers in nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities. The workers were employed by the operators of 15 residential facilities in western Pennsylvania that willfully denied them overtime pay, according to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigators. DOL said it filed suit in 2018 after the employers refused to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) administratively. The 13-day bench trial featured 50 testifying witnesses and more than 600 exhibits. The July 22 judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is the departments latest step to recoup wages and damages from the 15 nursing facilities, their owner and CEO Samuel Sam Halper and CHMS Group, the payroll office that the facilities used to implement their illegal compensation practices. Department investigators discovered that the employers violated the FSLA for years by willfully failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including work done during meal breaks; failing to incorporate all promised compensation, including non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials, when calculating overtime pay; avoiding paying overtime by incorrectly treating employees as exempt from the acts overtime requirements; and not keeping accurate records of hours employees worked and compensation due for those hours. US District Judge William S. Stickman IV awarded $17.9 million in back wages and $17.9 million in damages. The judge noted that the Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that each covered employee receive a fair days pay for a fair days work. He found that the evidence at trial credibly and conclusively established that all defendants created and oversaw a system whereby employees who had worked a fair day, and often more, did not receive their fair days pay. Make no mistake, these were not occasional, innocent payroll errors, the judge wrote. Instead, employees were consistently, systematically, and willfully subjected to payroll practices that did not remotely comply with the provisions of the FSLA. DOL Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said investigations often reveal that workers who provide essential care services to those who need them the most are not receiving their full wages from employers. The U.S. District Courts decisive and historic ruling that Sam Halper and his nursing facilities willfully violated labor laws affirmed the Department of Labors position that the employers committed wage theft intentionally, said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. The complete list of the facility defendants: Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, LLC d/b/a Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center; Maybrook-C Briarcliff Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at Irwin or The Grove at North Huntingdon; Maybrook-C Evergreen Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at Harmony; Maybrook-C Kade Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at Washington; Maybrook-C Latrobe Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at Latrobe; Maybrook-C Overlook Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at New Wilmington; Maybrook-C Silver Oaks Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at New Castle; Maybrook-C Whitecliff Opco, LLC, d/b/a The Grove at Greenville; Momoeville Operations LLC, d/b/a Momoeville Rehabilitation & Wellness Center; Cheswick Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, LLC; Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, LLC; Murrysville Operation, d/b/a Murrysville Rehabilitation & Wellness Center; North Strabane Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, LLC; North Strabane Retirement Village, LLC; South Hills Operations LLC, d/b/a South Hills Rehabilitation and Wellness. Miller, the London-based independent specialist re/insurance broker, announced the acquisition of reinsurance capital advisory business 4809 Brokers AG. Financial details were not disclosed. As its third Continental European acquisition since 2022, Miller said, the transaction forms part of its continued international expansion, while also bolstering its growing reinsurance capabilities. Established in 2020 by Marc Hannebert and Benjamin Bourseau, 4809 Brokers offers advisory services on insurance transactions intended to achieve capital relief, including alternative risk transfer and liability side investment transactions, as well as portfolio transfer solutions such as reinsurance to close (RITC) transactions. Its client base includes reinsurers, banks, funds and private equity firms, and it is currently based in Zug, Switzerland, with the intention to build out a Zurich hub for placement across direct, wholesale and facultative lines. The transaction follows Millers acquisition of Madrid-based commercial insurance broker Bruzon Correduria de Seguros y Reaseguros, which was announced in May. As Miller continues to grow in both scale and international footprint, we see an opportunity to meaningfully expand our reinsurance capabilities and establish a franchise that enables clients to benefit from our leading direct specialist footprint, our commitment to stability, and our partnership approach, Miller CEO James Hands commented in a statement. The business that Marc and Benjamin have built at 4809 Brokers is highly complementary to those ambitions, and were delighted to be bringing their expertise on board as we continue to expand our presence across the UK, Europe and Asia, Hands added. 4809 Brokers is a highly specialised business built upon strong relationships with key market participants and a deep understanding of their needs and challenges, said Shaun Sinniah, head of Reinsurance and Capital at Miller. Their approach is aligned to our desire to focus on solution areas underserved by the large incumbents; its a pleasure to be working with Marc and Benjamin, whose expertise will prove invaluable as we continue to craft solutions that not only meet, but also anticipate, the evolving demands and ambitions of clients, Sinniah continued. After four highly profitable years at 4809 Brokers, we are delighted to join Miller. With their support, we will continue to provide the re/insurance industry with our unique proposition of cutting-edge solutions, situated at the intersection of the banking and insurance sectors as well as our solutions to support M&A transactions in the sector, according to Marc Hannebert, managing partner at 4809 Brokers. We believe that being part of Miller will foster our development and enable our clients to benefit from its long-term stability and sterling reputation as a leading specialist adviser of choice. Source: Miller Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies Reinsurance The formal split of its life and retirement business Corebridge Financial resulted in a second quarter net loss of nearly $4 billion for American International Group (AIG). The deconsolidation and divestitures from last year affected AIGs general insurance underwriting income, which declined 28% from $594 million for the second quarter 2023 to $430 million this year. However, on a comparable basisadjusting for the sale of Crop Risk Services and the sale of Validus Re in 2023AIG said underwriting income was up 2%. AIGs general insurance combined ratio for the quarter was 92.5, up from 90.9 in Q2 2023. Net premiums written (NPW) in the second quarter declined 8% to $6.9 billion but were up 7% on a comparable basis. Commercial lines NPW increased 8%. North America commercial lines NPW grew 10% on a comparable basis, driven by 16% growth in excess & surplus unit Lexington. We are very pleased with the ongoing improvement in our underwriting income, record commercial lines new business of $1.3 billion, and very strong retention, said AIG CEO Peter Zaffino. Against the backdrop of an increasingly uncertain global risk environment, AIG delivered sustainable earnings growth driven by our focus on underwriting excellence and continued expense discipline. North America personal insurance saw NPW grow 8% year-over-year thanks to AIGs high-net-worth business. The segment took a Q2 2024 underwriting loss of $28 million compared to a loss of $51 million a year ago. The combined ratio for personal lines in North America improved to 105.3 from nearly 113 in Q2 2023. NPW for international commercial and personal lines grew 6% and 3%, respectively, on a comparable basis. Catastrophe losses overall were $325 million. Convective storms in the U.S. accounted for most of $156 million in catastrophe losses in North America. About $169 million in cat losses were booked internationally. Favorable prior-year development for Q2 in General Insurance was $79 million compared to $115 million the prior year. Topics Profit Loss Underwriting AIG NEW ORLEANS (AP) A storage tank spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil in a southern Louisiana parish, threatening drinking water and wildlife as officials work to clean it up. The storage tank spilled Saturday morning southwest of New Orleans at a crude oil facility owned by the company Crescent Midstream. About 34,000 gallons (136,000 quarts) of oil leaked from the facility. The spill of around 820 barrels of crude oil is about two residential swimming pools of product, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson told WWL. The oil reached Bayou Lafourche, which provides drinking water across four parishes, but public water continues to be safe to drink, said a Tuesday statement from federal, state and local authorities working with the oil company. Residents are under a cautionary water conservation advisory to ensure adequate water quality and quantity are preserved, according to a notice from Lafourche Parish water district. While the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the spills cause, Crescent Midstream spokesman Michael Smith said a thunderstorm may have contributed to the leak reaching the bayou. The oil was moving along a ditch and the rainfall exacerbated the flow toward the bayou, Smith said. Salamanders, turtles and a crawfish have been reported deceased. A duck and an alligator were captured and cleaned while officials look for wildlife to help in the area. There has also been a group of fish killed near the leak. Officials said it remains under investigation. Its horrible. I never would have dreamed this, Janet Crappel, a lifelong Lafourche Parish resident, told WWL on Monday. There are 127 workers, 28 vessels, seven vacuum trucks and 6,800 feet (2,073 meters) of floating barriers employed in the clean-up as of Tuesday. One worker was treated for a minor first aid incident and has returned to work, according to a Tuesday statement from the coalition. Crescent Midstreams website says that it provides safe, reliable crude oil services. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Energy Oil Gas Louisiana International treaties preempt state-based legal actions, giving an air transport company an escape from claims on what a hemp producer said was botched paperwork for an overseas hemp shipment, a federal appeals court said. The ruling by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals last week highlights the trickiness of running and insuring cannabis- and hemp-related businesses, even as the industry continues to grow around the world. This is why people are nervous about hemp: because theres a lot of variability and a fair amount of risk, said Erich Schutz, cannabis national practice leader at Jencap, considered one of the top wholesale intermediaries. There are a lack of controls, lack of regulations, lack of consistency. And with that comes all the nastiness that comes with businesses that dont have a lot of controls. The appellate judges upheld a lower federal courts ruling that the Montreal Convention of 1999 precludes a lawsuit by a Portland hemp company, which claimed that the air carriers actions resulted in the seizure and destruction of the hemp product by federal authorities in 2020. Our rulings must be guided by the Montreal Convention which, under the Constitution, is part of the supreme Law of the Land,' Judge Robert King wrote for the three-judge appeals court panel. The court documents do not indicate if the producer or the air transport company were covered by insurance policies, and lawyers for both sides could not be reached for comment. But Schutz and other insurance experts said its likely that any policies would have contained exclusions that barred coverage for federally illegal or hot higher-THC products. And coverage for international shipments of hemp, even if its fully legal, is hard to come by, anyway. Theres not a robust international coverage for hemp, when there should be because there are a number of operations that are multinational, Schutz said. The legal action began four years ago when Portland-based We CBD, a producer and distributor of legal hemp products, contracted with Planet Nine, a charter flight and cargo carrier, to transport 3,300 pounds of hemp to Switzerland. The transport cost topped $147,000. The value of the product could be as much as $1.3 million, according to a news report by The Charlotte Observer. When the plane made a refueling stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. Customs authorities seized the 93 bags and later destroyed the contents. Testing showed that much of the hemp was above the 0.3% THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, content allowed by federal law, the court opinion explained. While many U.S. states have legalized some form of higher-THC marijuana, federal law still prohibits it and other countries have differing regulations on THC levels in hemp. We CBD argued that Planet Nine had failed to file the proper paperwork with aviation authorities, paperwork that would have indicated that cargo was on board the business-class jet. Planet Nines website shows it flies a number of aircraft, none larger than the 15-passenger Gulfstream G650. When local law enforcement officers in Portland saw the bags being loaded onto the plane, after some seats had been removed, they became suspicious and alerted federal Customs agents in Charlotte. At that airport, Customs officials could see the cargo, which was in duffle bags and trash bags, through the windows of the airplane. This seemed odd because the flights paperwork did not mention any cargo being transported, the court explained. Agents moved in and removed the bags from the plane. We CBD filed suit in North Carolina against Planet Nine, seeking compensation for the lost cargo. Planet Nine, a Van Nuys, California-based company, asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the Montreal Convention takes precedence. That convention, the appellate judges explained, essentially replaced the Warsaw Convention of 1929. It holds that air carriers flying international routes are liable for damage to cargo and baggage that is sustained during carriage by air. Claims must be made pursuant to the treaty. But the convention also gives air carriers an escape clause, the court noted, if the air company can show that the destruction, or loss of, or damage to, the cargo resulted from an act of public authority carried out in connection with the entry, exit or transit of the cargo. The destroying of the hemp by Customs agents is considered an act by a public authority, the courts said. We CBD, represented by attorney William Terpening, of Charlotte, had also argued that the convention did not apply because the paperwork was left out before the flight was underway, and the destruction of the hemp came later meaning those actions fell outside the scope of carriage by air. But the appeals court said that argument was splitting hairs. Court rulings have long eschewed segmenting the precise event as long as it is part of the shipping or transport process. To rule otherwise would greatly diminish the ambit of the Montreal Convention and would concomitantly encourage artful pleading by plaintiffs seeking to opt out of the Conventions liability scheme a result that the Supreme Court has counseled us to avoid, Judge King wrote in the 4th Circuit opinion. Further, the court said: Even assuming Planet Nine had an obligation to submit the U.S. Customs documentation and improperly did so, the Cargo could not have been destroyed unless it was in international carriage by air. The types of issues raised by this case will likely continue for years to come, thanks to the variation between federal, state and international laws. Even when the hemp is found to be below the United States .03% THC threshold, international shipments can be tricky, Schutz said. Some insurance carriers will provide coverage that allows up to .04%, but most dont. And the European Union requires a THC level of less than .02%, but other countries may be different. Switzerland, where the hemp in the We CBD case was headed, allows up to 1% THC for hemp to be considered legal, according to news reports and cannabis attorneys. This is where a good agent-broker comes in, Schutz added. You need to be able to overlay the regulations, the insurance contracts and what the heck your insured is actually doing. Make sure everything is inside the box. Top photo: A Gulfstream jet landing in St. Moritz, Switzerland (Adobe stock images) Related: Cannabis Firm Fights Insurers Denial of Business Income Loss Claim Following Fire Topics Cannabis The recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington D.C. was a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Washington Treaty that created the alliance. NATO is the oldest and most successful alliance in history never perfect but always successful in achieving its purpose of collective defense of all of its members. However, the summit was also a missed opportunity for NATO to improve the strategic security environment of the transatlantic region for generations. Rather than ensuring Ukraine defeats Russia by restoring full sovereignty back to its internationally recognized 1991 borders, the priority of the West is avoiding escalation, giving Ukraine just enough to stay in the war. This, in effect, is actually prolonging the war and the killing of innocent people and will lead eventually to some sort of negotiated settlement that will give Russia the time it needs to rebuild its forces and defense industry while waiting for the West to repeat the historical pattern of losing interest. Russian victory over Ukraine would result in millions more Ukrainian refugees pouring into Poland and Germany, an enlargement of Russian armed forces as thousands of Ukrainian troops are pressed into the Russian Army, and a continued disruption of food and energy supplies from Ukraine, affecting much of the world. It would also increase the likelihood of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO, the opposite of what the West wants. Yet, despite these very obvious and predictable threats, the alliance, led by the United States and Germany, is so fearful that Russia might use a tactical nuclear weapon that it self-deters, stopping short of clearly defining a strategic objective for this war and instead implementing an incremental approach to delivering the minimum necessary support to Ukraine. Leaders have good reason to be concerned about the Kremlins nuclear threats. Russia has thousands of nuclear warheads, and it clearly does not care about how many innocent people are killed, including its own. But the question is why and under what circumstances would it actually use a nuclear weapon. I believe it is extremely unlikely and we should stop giving in to Russian nuclear blackmail. There are no positive outcomes for Russia if it uses a nuclear weapon. President Biden has warned of catastrophic consequences for Russia if it does so. Even China and India have warned Russia not to go down this road because they fear the disruption of the delivery of their cheap oil and gas. There is no place on the battlefield where Russian employment of a tactical nuclear weapon would actually achieve something more significant than what it is already doing with conventional explosive weapons. In short, Russia does not actually need to use a nuclear weapon to exploit the fear of the West. So the question is: Do we have the political will, industrial capacity, economic leverage and military capability to organize for victory? Or will we just kick the can down the road? The Kremlins war against Ukraine continues, ten years since Russia first invaded Ukraine, and now more than two years since the start of its large-scale invasion. And Russia has assistance. Iran, its close ally, delivers Shahed drones to Russia and helpfully distracts Western resources and attention away from Ukraine through the attacks across the Middle East of its proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. North Korea has established a new security agreement with Russia and provides ammunition to Moscow, including large ballistic missiles that have been used against Ukrainian cities. China continues to cross President Bidens red lines regarding material support for Russias war effort, openly providing critical components needed for the production of missiles and drones used to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians. Beijing is waiting to see whether the West has the political will to stop Russia, while determining its own next moves. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea share a disdain for the international rules-based order created after the Second World War from which so many have benefitted and which seems to be taken for granted. They use multiple means to exploit the lack of trust and coherence. They consider the disastrous conclusion to the 20 years of war in Afghanistan as evidence that no nation can really trust the West as a reliable partner. These challenges are linked and should be seen as parts of a strategic whole. Doing so will help develop clearly defined strategic objectives and priorities and raise industrial capacity and military capabilities to the necessary levels for effective deterrence and defense. So how does the West muster the combined political will, unlock the enormous industrial capacity, use all of the economic tools at their disposal and deploy their unmatched military capabilities to meet these threats to strategic interests? The Second World War offers an example. In January 1942, after nearly three years of disaster for Great Britain at the hands of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and in the immediate aftermath of Japans destruction of most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Washington D.C. to discuss a strategy for winning the war. Without much reason for optimism, and knowing that most Americans opposed a land war in Europe, Roosevelt and Churchill nonetheless agreed on the strategic priority of defeating Nazi Germany first. One year later, in January 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, the leaders met again to agree on the strategic objective: unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan. Having thus established the wars strategic objective and priority, the allied leaders organized their defense industries and built the enormous armies, navies and air forces needed to win the war. There needs to be a return to the clarity of Churchill and Roosevelt. The West must defeat Russia first. This is how an expanded war in Europe and the Middle East is prevented, and China is deterred. The current situation in Ukraine is obviously very difficult but not lost. In fact, I remain confident that Ukraine can eventually defeat Russia and reestablish the 1991 borders. After ten years of war, with the Kremlin holding every advantage, Russia still only controls one-fifth of Ukraine. The Russian navy and air force have failed their principal tasks and are suffering huge losses. Ukraine has changed the character of naval warfare, winning the battle of the Black Sea without a traditional navy of their own. Over 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded. The Russians have not demonstrated the operational capability to achieve significant exploitation of their local tactical successes in the furthest eastern part of Ukraine, nor are they able to knock Ukraine out of the war. Ukraine can still win but the West must do more. History has shown that war is a test of will and a test of logistics. We have the industrial potential to deliver the necessary logistics to defeat Russia first, isolate Iran and North Korea, and deter China. Does the West have the political will to organize itself to win? Churchill and Roosevelt communicated clear strategic priorities to the public, industry and the military. Our elected leaders must speak to the people as adults, explain the threats, costs and sacrifices that must be made to protect strategic interests. We do not need to be scared; we need to be prepared. August 1, 2024 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East usually have a limited temporal impact on the oil market. Elevated levels generally last for about 20-30 days and the future of the raw material depends on the fundamental situation, which is currently quite mixed in the oil market. Today, on August 1, OPEC+ is expected to decide on production limits for the enlarged cartel. Earlier this year, a decision was made to slowly increase production from October, which limited price increases this year and reduced the chances of increases to USD 100 per barrel. However, recently slightly lower oil prices and weak demand from China may push OPEC+ to keep production unchanged in the third quarter of this year. So far, retaliatory actions by both sides have not led to full-scale conflicts between Israel and Hamas or Israel and Iran. Israel has not admitted to the recent attacks, so it is difficult to indicate that the situation could escalate significantly. If Iran joined an open conflict, it could cause significant market movements. First of all, Iran is responsible for oil production of approximately 3.2 million brk per day. Iran also officially exports approximately 1.5 million BRK per day, despite ongoing sanctions from the US and Europe. However, this oil mainly goes to countries that are not necessarily in alliance with the United States. The key player in this respect is, of course, China. On the other hand, Iran has a more important bargaining chip than its exports. Iran controls one of the most important bottlenecks in the oil market, the Strait of Hormuz. A possible blockage could result in a sudden loss of supply of 20 million brk per day, which would lead to an increase in oil prices not only to record highs but also to levels of USD 200-300 per barrel. This scenario is, of course, unlikely, because the American fleet is active in this region and it would lead to a violation of the interests of the most important player in OPEC, i.e. Saudi Arabia. However, the threats themselves may lead to increased volatility in the oil market. Arab countries doubt that peace can be achieved in the Middle East at this point, but at the same time, a significant escalation of the situation in the form of an open war between several parties is not expected. According to Iranian media, possible peace talks may be delayed for many months at this point. On the other hand, the White House does not indicate that there will be a suspension of talks that are intended to lead to a ceasefire. In the longer term, production and demand data are the cards in the oil market. If OPEC+ continues to focus on increasing production and data from China do not show recovery, oil prices may permanently fall to around USD 70-80 per barrel. However, in the coming weeks, we can expect increased volatility and prices to remain around USD 80 per barrel. More Info: Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Get Great Trading Ideas and News Alerts August 1, 2024 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Unilever PLC (UL), a consumer packaged goods company, has been one of the standout performers in 2024, raking up gains as high as 26.62% year-to-date. Despite the bullish 2024, Stockoptionscalculator.com analyst Rahul Nambiampurath believes that UL might still have the legs to gain another 15% at least by the time 2024 concludes. Rahul mentions, "Unilever's consistent performance across all business groups and geographical regions highlights its ability to navigate economic uncertainties." He has adequate insights to validate this statement. The Road Ahead for Unilever PLC: Fundamentals and Financials Rahul took a deep dive into Unilever plc's fundamentals and came up with the following factors that underpin his positive outlook: Unilever's extensive collection of popular brands, such as Dove, Hellmann's, and Vaseline, provides a stable revenue stream and indicates strong brand loyalty. The company's presence in nearly 200 countries eliminates regional risks, even across emerging markets. Unilever's heavy investment in R&D ensures that it stays ahead of market trends. This hints at innovation like no other. The Q2 2024 financial report, released on July 25, 2024, has the following bullish pointers: Revenue: 16 billion Euros, translating to a 5.4% surge year-on-year. Geographical Performance: Asia Pacific Africa (6.9 billion Euros in sales), The Americas (5.8 billion Euros), and Europe (3.3 billion Euros). Rahul believes that looking ahead, Unilever is expected to continue its strong performance in Q3 2024, driven by productivity savings and increased marketing investment. But then, the price action has to agree, right? What Is the Price Action Saying? Rahul took the UL analysis one step further with a detailed price analysis. The analysis validates the bullish momentum UL gained once the prices breached the $56.60 point. At present, UL is trading at $61.49, with a gap-up price move surfacing. However, most stocks tend to correct post-gap-up formations, and for UL, a correction could push the prices back to the $57 level - a strong support zone - allowing entry to new buyers. Post-correction, if the bullish momentum continues, you can expect UL to move as high as $64.5 and even $70, which would translate to almost 15% gains. Robert Moskow, an analyst at Cowen, shares Rahul's thoughts, giving UL a "Buy" rating and a price target of $67. More Info: Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Vancouver, British Columbia - August 1, 2024 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSXV: ZNG) (OTCBB: GRLVF) (FSE: 3GE) ("Group Eleven" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from the two most recent step-out holes of the 2024 drill program at the Company's 100%-owned Ballywire zinc-lead-silver discovery ("Ballywire"), PG West Project ("PG West"), Republic of Ireland. Highlights 50m step-out (hole G11-3552-13) up-dip from best intersection to date at Ballywire (29.6m of 10.6% Zn+Pb, 78 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu in G11-3552-12, see news released dated 11-Jun-24), intersected a robust zone of 25.6m of 5.4% Zn+Pb (2.8% Zn and 2.6% Pb), 72 g/t Ag and 0.12% Cu, from 271.9m down-hole, including: 6.1m of 11.4% Zn+Pb (4.1% Zn and 7.3% Pb) and 85 g/t Ag and 12.1m of 5.3% Zn+Pb (3.7% Zn and 1.7% Pb), 104 g/t Ag and 0.21% Cu, including 6.8m of 6.9% Zn+Pb (5.3% Zn and 1.7% Pb), 174 g/t Ag and 0.37% Cu, including 3.1m of 11.2% (8.6% Zn and 2.7% Pb), 353 g/t Ag and 0.78% Cu Above intercept represents one of the longest extensions along dip of high-grade mineralization at Ballywire to date Mineralization consists predominantly of massive and semi-massive sulphide, as well as disseminated and vein hosted sulphide mineralization Further drilling is in-progress, with G11-3552-14 testing 50m to the north and up dip from G11-3552-13, and at gravity anomalies 'B' and 'C2' (results expected in the coming weeks) "We are excited that the high-grade footprint of the Ballywire discovery continues to grow at a rapid pace," stated Bart Jaworski, CEO. "Today's results expand high-grade zinc-lead-silver mineralization along dip by 50m north from G11-3552-12, our best hole drilled to date at Ballwire. It is also encouraging to see high-grade silver and elevated copper. To date, we have intersected robust mineralization at Ballywire over a strike length of 2.6km, along a prospective trend of over 6km. Together with continued robust intervals of massive sulphide, Ballywire is continuing to show signs of a major zinc-lead-silver discovery. We look forward to providing further drill results over the coming few weeks." Most Recent Two Holes from 2024 Drill Campaign at Ballywire Discovery The Ballywire prospect at the Company's 100%-owned PG West Project in Republic of Ireland, is a new zinc-lead-silver discovery (first announced Sept-2022). In addition to 29 holes drilled and reported by Group Eleven to date, the most recent two step-out holes (G11-3552-13 and G11-468-16) of the 2024 program are reported today (see Exhibits 1 to 6). Exhibit 1. Cross-Section A-A' of G11-3552-13 (50m Step-Out Hole) at Ballywire Note: G11-3552-14 is in progress and is testing the continuation of mineralization 50m up dip of G11-3552-13 Exhibit 2. Summary of Assays from G11-3552-13 at Ballywire Note: True width of the overall mineralized package above is estimated at approx. 90-100%, albeit, on a centimetre scale, mineralization varies from bedding parallel massive sulphides to variably dipping veins, as well as, disseminated sulphides; sub-Waulsortian mineralization is dominated by fracture-controlled veins; Waulsortian-hosted mineralization is dominated by bedding parallel massive sulphides. Exhibit 3. New Drilling, Previous Key Intercepts and Gravity Anomalies at Ballywire Discovery Area Note: Step-out distance of G11-3552-13 from G11-3552-12 is approx. 50m Exhibit 4. New Drilling at Ballywire Discovery and Surrounding Area (2.6km Strike Length) Note: Step-out distance of G11-3552-13 from G11-3552-12 is approx. 50m; step-out distance of G11-468-16 from G11-468-01 is approx. 200m High-grade mineralization in G11-3552-13 consists predominantly of massive and semi-massive sulphide (sphalerite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite and suspected tennantite-tetrahedrite), as well as, disseminated and vein hosted sulphide mineralization. Mineralization occurs along and/or close to the base of the Waulsortian limestone (see Exhibit 1). Today's drill results extend known high-grade massive sulphide mineralization by 50m up-dip from G11-3552-12 (see Exhibits 1 and 2), which intersected 29.6m of 10.6% Zn+Pb, 78 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu. G11-3552-12 represents the strongest mineralization to date at Ballywire, adding to an already strong set of previous intercepts (e.g. 11.2m of 8.9% Zn+Pb and 83 g/t Ag in G11-3552-03; and 10.8m of 10.0% Zn+Pb and 109 g/t Ag in G11-468-03, etc; see Exhibit 3). In addition to the above, Group Eleven drilled G11-468-16, extending known mineralization approximately 200m to the southwest from the western edge of the discovery area (see Exhibit 4). G11-468-16 returned anomalous mineralization along or near the base of the Waulsortian Limestone (see Exhibit 4). Group Eleven is currently in the process of drilling and/or has assays pending on four holes: (i) one hole (G11-3552-14) testing 50m to the north and up dip from G11-3552-13 announced today; (ii) two holes, approximately 90m and 360m ENE of G11-3552-13, near the 'C2' gravity high anomaly; and (iii) a hole at the 'B' gravity anomaly (see Exhibit 3 and 4). Exhibit 5. Regional Gravity Map of Ballywire Area Showing 6km Long Prospective Trend Notes to Exhibit 6: (a) Pallas Green MRE is owned by Glencore (see Glencore's Resources and Reserves Report dated December 31, 2023); (b) Stonepark MRE: see the 'NI 43-101 Independent Report on the Zinc-Lead Exploration Project at Stonepark, County Limerick, Ireland', by Gordon, Kelly and van Lente, with an effective date of April 26, 2018, as found on SEDAR; and (c) the historic estimate at Denison was reported by Westland Exploration Limited in 'Report on Prospecting Licence 464' by Dermot Hughes dated May, 1988; the historic estimate at Gortdrum was reported in 'The Geology and Genesis of the Gortdrum Cu-Ag-Hg Orebody' by G.M. Steed dated 1986; and the historic estimate at Tullacondra was first reported by Munster Base Metals Ltd in 'Report on Mallow Property' by David Wilbur, dated December 1973; and later summarized in 'Cu-Ag Mineralization at Tullacondra, Mallow, Co. Cork' by Wilbur and Carter in 1986; the above three historic estimates have not been verified as current mineral resources; none of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to prepare the historic estimates were reported and no resource categories were used; significant data compilation, re-drilling and data verification may be required by a Qualified Person before the historic estimates can be verified and upgraded to be compliant with current NI 43-101 standards; a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify them as a current mineral resource and the Company is not treating the historic estimates as current mineral resources. 'Rathdowney Trend' is the south-westerly projection of the Rathdowney Trend, hosting the historic Lisheen and Galmoy mines. Exhibit 6. Regional Map of PG West (100% Interest) and Stonepark (76.56% Interest) Projects Qualified Person Technical information in this news release has been approved by Professor Garth Earls, Eur Geol, P.Geo, FSEG, geological consultant at IGS (International Geoscience Services) Limited, and independent 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Information Group Eleven inserts certified reference materials ("CRMs" or "Standards") as well as blank material, to its sample stream as part of its industry-standard QA/QC programme. The QC results have been reviewed by the Qualified Person, who is satisfied that all the results are within acceptable parameters. The Qualified Person has validated the sampling and chain of custody protocols used by Group Eleven. About Group Eleven Resources Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSXV: ZNG) (OTCBB: GRLVF) and (FRA: 3GE) is a mineral exploration company focused on advanced stage zinc exploration in the Republic of Ireland. Group Eleven announced the Ballywire discovery in September 2022. Key intercepts to date include: 3.3m of 12.5% Zn+Pb and 48 g/t Ag (G11-468-01) 10.8m of 10.0% Zn+Pb and 109 g/t Ag (G11-468-03) 10.1m of 8.6% Zn+Pb and 46 g/t Ag (G11-468-06) 10.5m of 14.7% Zn+Pb, 399 g/t Ag and 0.31% Cu (G11-468-12) 11.2m of 8.9% Zn+Pb and 83 g/t Ag (G11-3552-03) 29.6m of 10.6% Zn+Pb, 78 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu (G11-3552-12) and 6.1m of 11.4% Zn+Pb, 85 g/t Ag (G11-3552-13) The Company's two largest shareholders are Glencore Canada Corp. (18.1% interest) and Michael Gentile (15.0%). Additional information about the Company is available at www.groupelevenresources.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bart Jaworski, P.Geo. Chief Executive Officer E: b.jaworski@groupelevenresources.com | T: +353-85-833-2463 E: j.webb@groupelevenresources.com | T: 604-644-9514 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the timing, content, cost and results of proposed work programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/ reserves and geological interpretations. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located. All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. More Info: Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Ive tested numerous robot vacuums over the last few years, and the SwitchBot S10 is the first I used with a dual-station setup. The S10 is one of the first robots to use this unique design, which means no more manual refilling or emptying of water tanks. Dual stations The SwitchBot S10 comes with dual stations. Picture: SwitchBot. Unlike traditional robot vacuums requiring frequent manual intervention for water refills and dustbin emptying, the S10 automates these tasks. The primary station handles dust collection and charging. It boasts a four-litre dust bag capable of holding up to 70 days' debris. The circular robot features a mop drying function, which uses hot air at 50C to prevent mould and bacteria growth. The secondary station connects to your home's water and drainage system. It autonomously manages the clean and dirty water, whether you hook it up to your sink, dishwasher, or even a toilet. The box includes various plumbing hardware to ensure compatibility with various setups. The station includes small water tanks for those who prefer a non-plumbed setup, but these are smaller than standard tanks and will require frequent manual refills. Water station setup Setting up the water station might initially seem daunting, but I managed it with limited plumbing skills and knowledge. The process is straightforward, and SwitchBot provides comprehensive, manageable installation videos for a competent DIYer. If youre uncomfortable doing it yourself, It would be a small job for a professional. When I first read the press release on the S10, I was concerned about having a water station plumbed to a water outlet while also being connected to power. However, the water station operates primarily through the robot and an internal battery. On first use, you have to tell the robot where the water station is on the virtual map in the app. The flexibility of placing the two stations in different rooms is highly convenient, accommodating various household layouts. Without the optional tanks, the water station has a low profile (10cm) which makes it easier to find a location to hide it away. Efficient cleaning performance The S10 is the first robot vacuum Ive tested with a roller mop, a departure from the traditional spinning or vibrating mop heads. This design ensures the mop head is continuously cleaned during operation, significantly enhancing hygiene. In my tests, I found it could effectively clear dirt and stains. During cleaning, the robot transitions seamlessly between its tasks. It vacuums, mops, and returns to the water station to exchange dirty water for clean water, all without manual intervention. This process takes about 1-2 minutes, after which the robot resumes cleaning. The dust station's drying feature ensures the mop head remains fresh and ready for the next cycle. The S10's roller mop is more effective than standard robot mops. Picture: SwitchBot. A slight drawback of the roller mop design is its edge-cleaning capability. The mop does not extend to the robots edges, missing areas close to walls and furniture. The robot is 35.5cm wide, while the roller is 19cm long, offset to the side and 3cm shy of the edge. Despite this, I found the S10 one of the most effective mopping robots Ive tested. It also does a great job cleaning and drying the mop resulting in less maintenance. The S10 offers 6,000 Pa of suction power, sufficient for most household cleaning needs. The robot adjusts suction automatically when transitioning from hard floors to carpets. The robot lifts the mop head when encountering carpets and rugs, preventing them from getting wet. This feature works flawlessly, maintaining the integrity of the vacuuming and mopping functions. Smart home integration and app support The SwitchBot S10 supports Matter for integration with popular smart home platforms like Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. However, current functionalities are limited to basic controls like starting, stopping, and returning the robot to its base. Enhanced features, such as room-specific cleaning commands, are not yet supported but could be future firmware upgrades. Mapping your home with the SwitchBot app is intuitive. The robot will scan the floor area using Lidar, and you can then edit the map by adding no-go zones and door sills, as well as splitting or merging rooms. The app allows for easy setup of the dual stations, marking their locations accurately. You can also create schedules and do-not-disturb times and control the robot remotely via a virtual joystick. Additional features SwitchBot S10 lifts the roller when it detects a carpet. Picture: SwitchBot. The S10 features AI obstacle avoidance, which, once enabled, turns on the camera while cleaning to recognise and avoid obstacles such as cables, pet waste, etc. While not perfect, it works well, but even SwitchBot reminds you in the app to clear the floors before cleaning. SwitchBot plans to introduce a humidifier and dehumidifier to integrate with the S10. The robot will transport clean water to the humidifier and dispose of dirty water from the dehumidifier. While this feature is not yet available, it promises to add significant value to an already impressive system. The water station includes a detergent dispenser, and SwitchBot even includes two cleaning solution satchels. Verdict The SwitchBot S10's dual station design, efficient cleaning performance, and smart home integration make it a top contender for those seeking a hassle-free, high-tech cleaning solution. The SwitchBot S10 is great for anyone looking to upgrade their home cleaning experience. With the potential for future enhancements, this robot vacuum is not just a purchase for today but an investment in smart home convenience. SwitchBoth S10 RRP 1,305 (currently 936 from amazon.co.uk) The August Bank Holiday is this weekend, which can only mean one thing All Together Now is back. Whos performing? The festival has a whole host of international and Irish acts, both in terms of music and comedy. Declan McKenna will take to the main stage at 7.15pm on Friday, followed by James Vincent McMorrow at 9pm and Jorja Smith at 10.45pm. Natasha Bedingfield plays the main stage at 5pm on Saturday, with The Mary Wallopers at 7.15pm, The National at 9:30pm and Roisin Murphy at midnight. The Prodigy play All Together Now late on Sunday. On Sunday at 3pm, the RTE Concert Orchestra will perform the music of Sinead O'Connor, Shane MacGowan and Christy Dignam. The Wailers play at 5.15pm, followed by Barry Cant Swim at 9pm and The Prodigy will close off the show at 10.45pm. Other highlights across the weekend include Kojaque, Kolsch, Negro Impacto, Gorgon City, Soda Blonde, Gemma Dunleavy, Aby Coulibaly, Marcus OLaoire and much more. Everyones favourite Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew will be also be performing, which were sure will go down well with festival-goers. Tommy Tiernan, Emma Doran, Ardal OHanlon, Bernard OShea, Michael Fry, Julie Jay and Fiona Frawley are just some of the comedians taking to the stage over the three days. Are tickets still available? At the time of writing, weekend camping tickets were still available for 249. Getting there Bus Eireann are running services to and from the festival site, leaving from Custom House Quay in Dublin, Parnell Place Bus Station in Cork and Waterford Bus Station. There is also the option of the train for any routes that stop in Waterford Plunkett. The festival is in a rural area serviced by country roads and has had issues in the past with major traffic jams so, not surprisingly, organisers are urging those driving to follow recommended routes. They urge attendees not to follow Sat Nav or Google Maps directions. Instead, they recommend following signs for All Together Now once they are visible. No matter where youre coming from, these directions should sort you out: From Cork and Southwest Drivers from Cork & Southwest via N25 east: Motorists coming from the southwest will be directed left off the N25 at Lemybrien. Motorists will use the R676 road, traveling north, then joining the event traffic at Crehana Junction of R676 - R677, then entering to event via Gate 5. From Dublin and North and East Drivers from Dublin & North & East via M9 and N25 West: Travel the M9 to its end at Grannagh Proceed towards the N25 (west towards Cork) via the N25 Interchange. At the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange (Carrick Road Roundabout) motorists will be directed right at the roundabout towards the R680 through the town of Portlaw. In Portlaw, you will be directed out the Clonegam Road and enter via Gate 6 for access to the car park. From Waterford City Drivers from Waterford City via N25 West: Travel the M9 to its end at Grannagh Proceed towards the N25 (west towards Cork) via the N25 Interchange. At the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange (Carrick Road Roundabout) motorists will be directed right at the roundabout towards the R680 through the town of Portlaw. In Portlaw, you will be directed out the Clonegam Road and enter via Gate 6 for access to the car park. From West and Midlands Drivers from the West & Midlands via M7/M8/N24: Travel East along the N24 You will then turn Right at Kilsheelan to the R680. At the end of the R680, south of Carrick-on-Suir, turn Right at the T-Junction with the R676. You will then continue along this regional road and be directed left to the R677 towards Gate 5 (General). The National play All Together Now on Saturday. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP) There are also designated drop off points, though these are prohibited on Friday and Monday. Organisers have said: Ticket holders arriving to the festival on Friday by taxi or getting dropped off by private vehicles will be directed to the designated drop-off zone in Highfield Business Park, Portlaw; accessed from the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange. Ticket holders will then get the free shuttle bus to the festival operating Friday (9am-9.30pm) and returning Monday (8am - 1pm only). To avoid festival traffic, we advise the best drop at the Waterford City Bus Terminus, where Bus Eireann festival shuttle will operate a regular service to the festival site. A bike rack will be available for anyone who choses to cycle to the festival, located next to Car Park 4. What can I bring? What most people will probably concerned about is how much alcohol they bring with them. All Together Now has a limit of either 24 cans, one litre of spirits or 1.5 litre of wine for personal consumption. The festival organisers strongly recommend bringing necessities for any weather event waterproofs, wellies, hats, scarves, sun cream and sun glasses. Most importantly, you will need to bring your ticket, as well as photo ID, a sleeping bag, tent, toilet roll, bank card and toiletries. What can I not bring? No glass bottles are permitted, with the All Together Now team also asking festival-goers to leave any single use plastic bottles behind and to decant their alcohol into reusable containers. Gazebos are banned, and will be removed by staff. Professional photography equipment is not permitted. The festival is a fully cashless event, so dont bring coins or notes with you as they will not be accepted. For the full list of what you can and cant bring, go to the All Together Now website. All Together Now is a cashless event. Picture: Patrick Browne What facilities are available? There will be phone charging facilities available on site throughout the weekend, as well as showers. Whats the weather looking like? Overall, it's looking decent for the weekend, Friday is looking to be a mild day with temperatures reaching as high as 18 degrees. There is a chance of rain from 10am to 1pm, but the rest of the evening appears to be dry. Temperatures will drop to about 12 degrees overnight but appear to increase as the day goes on. It will be slightly colder on Sunday and charts from Met Eireann show there could be rain from about 4pm onwards. Sting is a very handsome man. I met him in 2002 for a TV show. There was an audible intake of breath when he entered the room. He seemed cast from different materials to the rest of us. The light shimmered upon him. He was not modest, however. I was interviewing him about song writing. Most song writers are incredibly modest. They generally exude an air of gratitude and a joking dont ask me to do it again because it can be an elusive gift. One minute everything you write says hit and the next it doesnt. The coin that has served you well suddenly starts coming up miss. And then it wont stop. People become aware the good stuff can show up randomly. But not Sting. He had won an Ivor Novello award, and I was asking him about it in a did it build confidence kind of way. Sting wasnt having it. Sting didnt need an award to confirm what he already knew. Sting could write a tune. Must be interesting to be in a band with somebody like that, I mused quietly. Must be interesting to try and get one of your songs progressed or a few of your ideas incorporated into something he has started. Interesting? Frustrating? Maddening? The full extent of how maddening it was is laid bare on the new Synchronicity re-issue. It was The Polices fifth and last album. It would yield ten million sales and three Grammys, but it would end them. On the subsequent world tour, onstage at Shea Stadium, Sting concluded it was over. The drummer, Stuart Copeland, nursing a fractured rib from a pre-gig fight, probably agreed. It was now not so much quit while youre ahead as quit while you could still walk. When Sting joined The Police, he was, musically, a novice by comparison to the others. Copeland had been in the prog rock group Curved Air. They were the type of band punks hated for their show off levels of musicianship. Why play one note where 20 would do? Guitarist Andy Summers CV was even more impressive. Jazz influenced, like all the best session players, he had been playing at virtuoso level for years. He had belatedly studied classical guitar in California and had toured with Soft Machine, Joan Armatrading and Neil Sedaka. Copeland and Summers were seasoned professionals at the top of their game. Sting was a schoolteacher. And before that had been a builders labourer, bus conductor and tax officer. He played jazz, but only in the evening and at weekends. But what Sting could do, that Andy and Stuart could not, was write hit singles. The Police were a singles band and songs like Roxanne and Message in a Bottle were soon lifting them into the upper reaches of charts the world over. At first this wasnt a major issue. Stings early ideas benefitted from his band mates input. But by Synchronicity he was less and less inclined to listen. He wanted full creative control. As they headed into Air studios in Monserrat in December 1982, trouble was brewing. You can hear the extent of that trouble on Every Breath You Take. The new box set includes Stings early home demo of the track. It is wonderfully complete. But you cant help but imagine that Copeland and Summers must have wondered what can I bring to this? Copeland, in particular, tried to introduce something a bit more virtuosic on the drumming but time and time again it was pulled back to something closer to the metronomic demo tape. Tensions reached boiling point. It became so bad that Sir George Martin, who also lived on the island, was asked to mediate. Wisely, he refused, telling them, whilst possibly quoting a Beatles lyric, that he was confident that they could work it out. Amazingly, they did. The Police put their differences aside long enough to do a nine-month tour, win three Grammys and sell ten million records. But by Shea Stadium the fact that one of them had a cracked rib on stage tells you all you needed to know. Stings first solo outing in 1985, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, picked up where The Police had left off. It contained numerous hit singles, went triple platinum and was Grammy nominated for Album of the Year. He had utterly outgrown his mentors. The re-issue of Synchronicity captures the last days of a great band. The songs are monumental. But the egos are, fittingly, visible from space. Theyre the Cork kids behind summers biggest banger, the creators in a youth project that has gone global. Now, several members of Kabin Crew are on their way to the movies - starring on screen and behind the scenes in a major new Irish feature film. Currently in post-production after filming on location in Knocknaheeny and Cork city centre, Christy will come to our screens next year, with the stars of summers viral smash central to the film. Christy tells the story of a teenager in foster care as he sets out to find his place in the world. The feature film follows the successful short film of the same name, at a time when director Brendan Canty and writer Alan OGorman first came upon the potential of the young stars of the creative hub. The feature film basically came from a short film, which I made in 2019 also called Christy, through Screen Ireland Focus shorts, and I needed to cast a bunch of kids for that, said Canty. My friend Garry [McCarthy] runs this music hip hop project, out of a cabin. I thought if these kids are able to rap, then theyd probably be able to act. If these kids can rap, theyre definitely characters. Theyre used to performing. That was totally the case and the short film they were amazing in and was a real hit. Moved by the positive energy he experienced, Canty returned to work with the young people and organisers of the Kabin Studio when the time came to make his debut feature. You walk in the door and its like another world. Its the energy and the positivity and the amount of kids who have got such good vibes. They are the most creative, lovely, talented people you'll ever meet, and they just have no fear. One of the key things I wanted to do with the feature was bottle the energy of the place, bottle the tone of this place, and the atmosphere. All of the crew who came up to be on Christy, one of the first things we did was bring them into the Kabin to watch the kids perform. Some of the young stars of the forthcoming film - due for release next year - will be familiar to the many who saw Kabin Crews track 'The Spark' go viral. Director Brendan Canty with actor Daniel Power on the set of Christy in Cork. They include Sophie McNamara - who plays a character named Joey and raps in the film, in what is her first film role. Also making her film debut is Cara Cullen, who plays Leona. Jamie Forde and Darren Stewart - who both featured in Cantys short film - returned to star in the movie. The films lead actor is Danny Power, who plays the title character and also played Christy in the short. Garry McCarthy also has a role in the film. Director Brendan Canty and producer Rory Gilmartin were so impressed by the wealth of young talent available that members of the group also worked behind the scenes in the film. They include Caoimhe DeBarra (extras co-ordinator), Sean Downey, who worked as shadow director and directed the promo for Sound of the Northside - a song which features in the film - and Alex Brady (sound trainee and recordist). Working from the film units official base at Terence MacSwiney Community College, most of the film was shot on location in Knocknaheeny, with some scenes also filmed in the city centre and Ballincollig, where Canty is from. The directors path to making his first feature film came through his background in making music videos, including the video for Hoziers global hit, 'Take Me To Church'. It put me on the map a little bit, he says. That was basically a short film in a music video. After that, we made a short film, For You, which we self-funded and had Barry Keoghan in it. This was followed by the Screen Ireland-backed short of Christy and the Irish film body is also supporting the full-length feature. Its a drama about a foster kid whos 17, says Canty of the movies premise. Christy, who gets kicked out of his foster home at the start of the film, goes back to live with his brother temporarily until they find a new place for him. And while hes back, he begins to find himself in the world and rediscover his past and his relationship with his brother. The movie will also feature a number of established and well-known actors in supporting roles. Cork stars Chris Walley (The Young Offenders) and Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends) both star, as does Irish actress Helen Behan (The Virtues). They play second fiddle in the film to a lot of these first-time actors, and definitely the reason they did it was because of the spirit of the film, says Canty. They were both fans of the short film and Chris had worked with Danny Power on The Young Offenders. Alison had seen it, was a fan and they were just both very excited to be involved, because of that energy and what it is doing to these kids and just to be a part of it. Daniel Power in a scene from Christy. Music is central to the film and Sophia McNamara performs Sombrero at a birthday party in a scene from the film. Another single, The Sound of the Northside, also features in the film. The music is a key heartbeat of the movie, says producer Rory Gilmartin, who added that the film is due for release next year, following a festival run. Gilmartin, whose other movies as producer include Rosie and Calm with Horses, was also involved in the short and is excited to bring Christy to audiences. It has that American indie feel in terms of a different tonality, hope, music, a wider tapestry. Its very much a Cork film, and follows on the success of The Young Offenders and Netflix series Bodkin. Do such successes help encourage more filmmaking in Cork? I think everything can, said Gilmartin. We made a big effort, as most productions do, to make sure that we could bring along local trainees. The more activity there is, the more experience they get, the more expanded the crew base is locally, and all of that helps, he said, adding that the recent opening of West Cork Film Studios in Skibbereen is another plus. What was very helpful, in the end, was the Screen Ireland regional funding, says Gilmartin. That was super helpful because its a spend-based scenario, so it encourages you to spend in the particular region. It really made a huge difference for us in terms of those basic costs of travelling and crew being put up. CCTV: Its reported that Indian Navy and Coast Guard recently rescued an accidentally injured Chinese mariner off Mumbai coast and took him to hospital. What is Chinas comment? Lin Jian: Most recently, a Chinese mariner was accidentally injured when operating on a ship off Mumbai coast. The Indian side swiftly came to his rescue and provided him with timely medical treatment. He is now in stable condition and recovering back in China. The Chinese side expresses its heartfelt appreciation to all the departments and personnel of the Indian side who overcame the challenging conditions on the scene and successfully carried out this humanitarian rescue operation. Dragon TV: Its reported that the DPRK recently commemorated the 71st anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War. Ambassadors of Russia, Viet Nam, Cuba and so on attended the event but the ambassador of China was not spotted there. Some say this is yet another sign that the relationship between China and the DPRK is experiencing issues and that China and Russia are in a contest over relations with the DPRK. What is Chinas comment? Lin Jian: This year marks the 71st anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War. Seventy-one years ago, the Chinese Peoples Volunteers fought alongside the Korean people and troops and together achieved a resounding victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the Fatherland Liberation War. In that process, China and the DPRK forged with blood an unbreakable friendship. Despite the transformation in the international and regional landscape, the CPC and the Chinese government have never changed the importance they attach and their commitment to the traditional friendship and cooperative relationship between China and the DPRK. Lately, certain countries and media outlets have been speculating and asserting that there have been issues with China-DPRK relations or there is a China-Russia contest over relations with the DPRK. These are unsubstantiated, ill-motivated claims. Let me stress that both the DPRK and Russia are Chinas friendly neighbors. China is happy to see the DPRK and Russia grow their ties and play a constructive role for the peace and stability of this region. Rudaw Media Network: How will the killing of Ismail Haniyeh impact the Chinese peace effort in the Middle East? Will it affect the recently signed Beijing agreement mediated by China? The problems in the Middle East are increasingly getting complicated. Does this distract or diminish your efforts regarding achieving security and stability and peace in the region? Lin Jian: China has stated its position on the incident. We firmly oppose and condemn the act of assassination and are deeply concerned that the incident may plunge the region into greater turmoil. Gaza needs a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and there should be no more escalation of the conflict and confrontation. China supports Palestines internal reconciliation and believes this is an important step towards solving the Palestinian question and realizing peace and stability in the Middle East. China commends Palestinian factions for their effort on the Beijing Declaration, and looks forward to the day when Palestinian factions achieve reconciliation and, on that basis, realize independent statehood as early as possible. We will continue to work with relevant parties towards this goal. On your second question, the more daunting the situation is in the Middle East, the more critical it is for the international community to try to cool down the situation and enable deescalation. China remains committed to keeping the Middle East peaceful and stable, and opposes external interference. We stand ready to work with relevant parties to work hard for lasting peace and security in the region. Kyodo News: Its reported that after China-Japan foreign ministers meeting on July 26, China altered and published the Japanese Foreign Ministers remarks. Chinas readout stated that Japans commitment to the one-China position remains unchanged and that Japans control on semiconductor export is not targeted at any particular country, and Japan is willing to maintain constructive communication with the Chinese side to handle it properly. Did Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa make the above-mentioned remarks? Its reported that Japans Foreign Ministry privately pointed out to the Chinese side that the readout was inaccurate. Is that true? Lin Jian: The one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations and prevailing international consensus. Its also the political premise on which China establishes and develops diplomatic relations with any country in the world. Japan made a clear commitment on this in the 1972 China-Japan Joint Statement, which says The Government of Japan recognizes the Government of the Peoples Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. The Government of the Peoples Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the Peoples Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this position of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its position under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation. According to my knowledge, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa reaffirmed Japans position during the meeting, which has not changed. When it comes to semiconductors, certain country, to perpetuate its supremacy, has been turning normal economic cooperation and trade into political and security issues, either enticing or coercing other countries to join its tech blockade against China, and deliberately disrupting global supply and industrial chains. We have noted that Japanese officials have repeatedly stated publicly that their export control measures on semiconductors are not directed at any particular country. China will work with countries around the world to stay open and pursue cooperation, and keep the global semiconductor industrial and supply chains stable. AFP: The government of Germany accused China of conducting cyberattack on the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). It also summoned the Chinese ambassador to lodge a protest. What is Chinas comment? Lin Jian: China noted Germanys statement and remarks. During the past few months, some Western politicians and media have been spreading unverified and even deliberately fabricated disinformation to spread the fear for so-called Chinese cyber threat. Their motive is clearly not about cybersecurity. China firmly opposes such political manipulation that clearly was preorchestrated and played up to attack China. We oppose any move to politicize and weaponize cybersecurity issues. Chinas Embassy in Germany has voiced strong opposition and lodged a protest to the German side. Ensuring cybersecurity is a global challenge. China is a major victim of cyberattacks. We oppose and have fought various types of cyberattacks in accordance with the law. China and Germany have open lines of communication on cybersecurity. The two sides need to jointly address threats and challenges through dialogue and cooperation, rather than resort to megaphone diplomacy, smear and attack one another and spread disinformation about so-called Chinese hacking operations. We call on Germany to maintain strategic independence, take a constructive and responsible attitude, abandon bloc confrontation and the Cold War mentality, and work with countries through dialogue and cooperation to keep the cyberspace peaceful and secure. A terminally ill mother-of-two had to return to her home country of Latvia to receive treatment for cervical cancer, after doctors here misdiagnosed her, the High Court has heard. Evija RudZone, aged 46, from Co Cavan, sued the HSE and Quest laboratories in January, after doctors here failed to detect cancer in her womb over a three-year period. The chef who has between two and twelve months to live, received an apology and a significant financial settlement from the Health Service Executive (HSE) at the High Court on Wednesday. She told the Irish Examiner she hopes to inspire other people, after her case was settled. Maybe that was my purpose, maybe thats why I am here, to inspire others, she said. Ms Rudzones barrister, Dr John OMahony SC, instructed by Catherine McGuigan Partner and Richard Crowley Senior Associate of McGuigan solicitors, read out the apology in court during an emotional 15-minute hearing in Court 9. It said: On behalf of Louth County Hospital I would like to express our sincere apologies for the delay in the diagnosis of our cervical cancer. We recognise that our failure has had a significant impact on your life and has caused enormous distress to you and your family. I do not underestimate how traumatic this has been for you and your family, but I can assure you that reviews of our hospital practices are continually carried out with the ultimate aim of ensuring the safety of patients at all times. Once again, I wish to offer my heartfelt apologies to you and your family. The HSE admitted it breached its duty of care to Ms Rudzone in failing to diagnose and treat her cervical cancer at an earlier point in time, it further admitted that it is likely, absent any breach of duty, that the plaintiff would have been afforded curative treatment. There are no admissions made on behalf of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Dr OMahony SC said an undisclosed significant settlement had also been reached following mediation in the deeply tragic case and said his client wished to take the stand to speak about her case. 'It is very hard for me. I lost so many years' Wearing a headscarf and a denim jacket and a long black dress with white spots, the softly spoken chef sat in the witness box to address Justice Leonie Reynolds. Ms Rudzone described how doctors here, failed to detect cancer in her womb in 2019, 2020, and 2021. She then used her life savings to fly home to Riga in Latvia in 2022 to undergo tests where she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I really dont want to get too emotional, Ms Rudzone said. It is very hard for me. I lost so many years. I trusted the doctors, and they are doctors I have to trust. She explained that due to feeling continually unwell, despite the reassurances she received from doctors here, she returned home to Lativa for a second opinion. Evija Rudzone who has cancer poses with her solicitor Catherine McGuigan. I always feel sorry for people who dont have a chance like that, she said. But I lost years. She said she had to leave her children behind because the treatment she received took a year. It put pressure on my marriage, she continued. I came back after my first year of treatment and he moved out. Justice Reynolds said she appreciated how tragic the case was and that she had seen all of the papers and did not want to make the proceedings any more difficult for Ms Rudzone. Im really sorry I didnt trust myself, said Ms Rudzone. I didnt look for help earlier and I had a chance. Justice Reynolds said the case had moved quickly and that it is little comfort that you can put your affairs in order". Yes, I still have a little time left replied Ms Rudzone. 'Sad beyond description' Dr OMahony outlined his clients case and said his client had shown great bravery throughout her ordeal. It is extremely traumatic and sad beyond description, he said. Evija Rudzone is a wonderful, beautiful soul who came to Ireland in 2010. She had lovely experiences here in Ireland, he continued. She worked as a chef in a hotel in Co Cavan and that is what she did. He said Ms Rudzone is facing the inevitable, the weight of stress and distress has caused her marriage to somber. The husband has not stayed around anymore with the plaintiff. The life expectancy is probably anywhere between two months and twelve months. So, at any time in that period. I should say she enjoys every day of her life. Evija Rudzon outside the Four Courts. She has shown remarkable composure, dignity, and grace when I said to her, how do you feel about dying and going to the next world. She said, it is ok, I accept it. She said 'one great regret in my life is that my daughter who is now 10 that is the big, big chasm that she wont be around to see her daughter grow up. It is a very tight knit mother and daughter relationship. Her other daughter is 24 and is working in a restaurant." He also described her nephew as a huge help to her family. He said her oldest daughter is accepting the challenge of her mother dying. She has thought about dying, about death, about the hereafter, and she is ready and willing to go and meet her maker whenever the bell rings for her. It is so humbling for all of us to meet a woman facing such a challenge, he continued. 'There was no urgency' He said there were many failures in Ms Rudzones case: She is afflicted with the worst excesses of ill health and now the victim of cancer. He told the court: In 2018, there was opportunity to identify that things were not good in the cellular profile that came with the smear. He said her results were under reported, it was misreported in reality. He said it was high density cells and unfortunately no detection of cancer was made. So, failures began in 2018 and continued in 2019, in 2020, and 2021 and at all times there were ample opportunities to identify that this was malignancy that was about to declare itself on Evija, said Dr OMahony SC. All these opportunities were not confronted, not appreciated and as a consequence of that, there was no urgency. Had she been treated from an early stage; her life would not have been lost. There were several examples of where the signs were not read which were glaringly obvious, red lights were flashing and the state crashed through all of those red lights and she was the victim and remained the victim throughout 2019, 2020 and 2021. He said the diagnosis for Ms Rudzone was arrived in Riga in Lativa and it was a profound letdown to Evija in this land of saints and scholars. She was let down by a bombshell repeatedly, to the point that matters had proceeded too far. In May 2022 she had a hysterectomy associated with cancer, she became menopausal and multiple treatments followed. After the HSEs apology was read out in court, Dr OMahony said a substantial financial settlement had been reached and it would support Ms Rudzones two daughters. Justice Reyolds became emotional and wished Ms Rudzone well. She said: It is what it is Dr OMahony Im afraid. Some little comfort Im sure at this stage. She unfortunately as a result of these matters is now looking at a very much shortened life." A High Court judge has refused to grant an emergency injunction to the residents of Dundrum village, Co Tipperary, who want to stop asylum seekers being accommodated in a local hotel. Mr Justice David Holland said no case had been made to grant an ex partie injunction where only one side is represented. He said the application simply did not have the necessary urgency. Dundrum residents had lodged 230 affidavits with the High Court complaining that International Protection Applicants will be offered rooms at the Dundrum House Hotel resort from Thursday. Mr Justice Holland, who read the affidavits and gave his judgment on Wednesday night, said communities may not as a legal right vet or veto those who seek to live among them. He said there was a notable peculiarity that the person who brought the case lived in Co Westmeath and he did not understand why Dundrum residents were not named as applicants in the proceedings. He said concern was raised about the potential intrusion into private dwellings. It is saying that International Protection Applicants are more likely to be burglars than those staying as guests at the hotel or Ukrainian refugees staying there. I lend no weight to that assertion, the judge said. In an application to the court, led by Patrick McGreal from Westmeath, the village residents sought an interim injunction to stop the former mansion and estate, Dundrum House Hotel, being used to house International Protection Applicants. In separate proceedings against the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage they also want to stop the use of the Planning and Development (exempted Development) regulations of 2023 which allows buildings to be used to house International Protection Applicants. Dundrum House Hotel, for the last two years, has accommodated Ukrainian refugees and locals are objecting to any continued use of the hotel to house asylum seekers, as the Ukrainians leave. A round-the-clock demonstration which began outside the hotel in late May is continuing. Mr McGreal submitted that locals believed the turning of the hotel into an IPA centre would cause irreparable damage to the village and the local economy and destroy tourism. He maintained that International Protection Applicants will be at the hotel from Thursday and they sought an injunction to stop this. Mr Justice Holland asked what was the difference between Ukrainians and International Protection Applicants staying at the hotel. Mr McGreal said the Ukrainians were refugees and they had integrated into the community and could work. In one affidavit, referred to in court from a local resident, it was stated there were fears "the influx of people not of Irish origin into an Irish village will cause a lot of unrest. A power-washing and pavement sealing process is being trialled on one of Corks most expensive public realm projects left badly stained just months after its official opening. The VQ Group, which promotes the recently revamped MacCurtain Street as one of the citys coolest neighbourhoods, said it hoped the test on a section of paving demonstrates to City Hall the need for pavement sealing to be built into the contract of large-scale public realm projects, and for regular cleaning once the works are complete. The multi-million MacCurtain Street revamp, part of a major public transport scheme funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA), included more than 12,530sq m of new and upgraded public realm, with new public lighting, seating, street furniture, tree and shrub planting, and was officially unveiled last November. There has been sustained criticism since about widespread and blatant illegal parking on areas of its new paving. Nine months on, areas of the porous surface have become stained by grease and oil. Cars parked on MacCurtain Street's new paving. File picture VQ decided to tackle the problem itself, and secured permission from City Hall to organise the cleaning and sealing of a section of paving in an effort to prove the concept to city officials. They brought in experts, Protect It, which worked on the recent cleaning of St Patricks Bridge, removing layers of dirt, smog and graffiti from the limestone structure, to clean and seal a 7m x 7m section of paving outside Isaacs restaurant just after dawn on Wednesday. However, some of the oil stains could not be removed. The treated area will be reexamined in two months and compared to untreated areas. VQs director of operations Shane Clarke said businesses felt it would have been better to spend a little more on sealing as part of the original construction contract, rather than trying to clean and seal a stained surface now. Spending a bit extra at the start, saves money in the long-term, he said. This cleansing company has done this in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Kerry. Its proven stuff. And we would also like a cleaning and maintenance schedule in this area that befits the premier hospitality street in the city. It would be a win-win for everybody. The council needs to start thinking about the life-cycle management of these new public realm projects. A council spokesman said the local authority has never sealed its paving, and awaits the outcome of this trial with interest. He also said street cleansing teams are deployed where and when they are needed, to maximise the impact of their resources. It comes as Cork City Council embarks on major public realm works around South Main Street, and just days after it published tenders seeking a multi-disciplinary project management and design team for the delivery of the massive Cork Docklands/South Quays public realm project, with a construction value of more than 125m. The project includes the rejuvenation of the South Docks quayside, the development of the public realm, flood defences and the repair and upgrade to the quay walls and wharfs, over an area of some 65,000sq m. The grandnephew of a soldier whose body was never found after he was killed in a battle in the Congo and a man who is the fifth generation of his family to join the army were among 41 personnel who marched at a passing-out parade at Collins Barracks in Cork. Trooper Eamonn Dwane, from Togher, was one of those who passed the 24th Potential NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) course. His granduncle, Trooper Patrick Mullins from Kilbeheny, Co Limerick, was killed during an ambush by mercenaries in the Congo on September 15, 1961. His body has never been recovered. Trooper Patrick Mullins was killed during an ambush by mercenaries in the Congo in 1961. Eamonn said it is unlikely that Patricks remains will ever be discovered, but he was proud to be getting promoted at the event, held in the same barracks where his late ancestor was recruited and trained. Another on the way up the ranks is Trooper Brandon Griffin from Fermoy, who is the fifth generation of his family to serve in the Defence Forces. Fermoy was once a large garrison town and Brandon maintains that he is not unique in this regard. There must be 20 or 30 families from that area who can probably claim the same, he said. Pte Ryan Duggan, Trooper Brandon Griffin, and Trooper Eamonn Dwane at Collins Barracks, Cork. Picture: David Creedon Private Ryan Duggan from Dungarvan, Co Waterford, was also proud to point out his familys military heritage. My grandfather Mossie OConnor served on the guard of honour when President John F Kennedy came to Ireland in 1963. Theres a picture of him at the time hanging in this very barracks, Ryan said. There was just one woman in the promotions batch, and she had a double reason to be smiling broadly. Signalwoman Daisy Byrne beamed for the cameras with her partner Frankie Touhy, who is a sergeant in the barracks. The couple have just bought a house in Killeagh, Co Cork. Pte Daisy Byrne with her parents Sandra and Billy Byrne and Sgt Frankie Touhy at the passing-out ceremony. Picture: David Creedon Among the cohort was also a soldier who had left the army and then rejoined. Nicky Lawless from Galway first served between 2001 and 2004. He rejoined when the upper age limit for entry was increased and the now 43-year-old donned the uniform again in 2020. Pte Nicky Lawless from Galway with Brigadier General Brian Cleary at Collins Barracks. Picture: David Creedon "I always regretted leaving and I wanted to rejoin. I missed the camaraderie. There's no job like this," he said. The parade was addressed by Officer Commanding 1 Brigade Brigadier General Brian Cleary, who congratulated the personnel for passing the training course, which started on February 19. Pte Sean Whelan with his mother Lorraine at the passing-out ceremony. Picture: David Creedon He told them they could be proud of completing the "intensive and demanding" training and could stand proud of what they had achieved. The senior officer said it was a "landmark day" for all 41 personnel and it was their "first step to becoming leaders in the army". Brig Gen Cleary also thanked their families for the support they had given the troops. Pte Dan Kinneen, Pte Nicky Lawless, Pte Larry Nee, Pte Jordan Connolly, Pte Paddy Briggs, and Pte Lar Walsh. Picture: David Creedon There were around 150 family members who turned up to see the passing-out parade. The objectives of the course are to develop and enhance leadership ability and provide the personnel with essential instructor skills and techniques to prepare them mentally, morally, and physically to transition from being a private soldier to becoming a non-commissioned officer. South Korea has offered to send aid supplies to North Korea to help the country recover from heavy rains and floods that submerged thousands of homes and huge swathes of farmland. It is unclear whether North Korea would accept South Koreas proposal for help. Animosity between the war-divided rivals is at its highest in years over the Norths growing nuclear ambitions and the Souths expansion of combined military exercises with the US and Japan to counter the Norths threats. South Koreas Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the South was willing to swiftly provide supplies to address the humanitarian difficulties facing North Korean residents following the recent storms. A flood-hit area in Sinuiju city, North Phyongan province, North Korea (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) The ministry in a statement urged North Koreas Red Cross to respond promptly to its calls for discussions to determine the types and amounts of South Korean supplies and how to deliver them. North Korea did not immediately respond to the Souths offer. North Korean state media said on Wednesday that recent heavy rains left 4,100 houses, 7,410 acres of agricultural fields and numerous other public buildings, structures, roads and railways flooded in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and the neighbouring town of Uiju. The North has not reported details about casualties. In an emergency Politburo meeting on Wednesday in Sinuiju, leader Kim Jong Un asked authorities to strictly punish those who he said neglected their responsibilities for disaster prevention and caused even the casualty that can not be allowed, according to the Norths Korean Central News Agency. North Korea has suspended virtually all co-operation and diplomacy with the South after its larger nuclear negotiations with the US derailed in 2019 over disagreements on lifting crippling US-led sanctions and the Norths steps to wind down its nuclear and missile programme. The North had also rejected South Koreas offers for help while battling a Covid-19 outbreak in 2022. Tensions between the rivals have worsened since 2022 as Mr Kim used Russias war on Ukraine as a distraction to further accelerate the expansion of his nuclear arsenal and issued belligerent threats toward Washington and Seoul. The Polish and German presidents bowed their heads to the sound of a military drum as they paid tribute on Thursday to Poles killed by Nazi Germany during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the ill-fated revolt. As Poland marked the day, news broke that the oldest surviving insurgent in the uprising, Barbara Sowa, 106, died in the morning. With few survivors left to take part in the ceremonies, it was a poignant reminder of the passing away of the generation shaped by the sacrifice of Second World War. The Warsaw Uprising monument in Warsaw, Poland (Alamy/PA) US singer Taylor Swift, who is giving the first of three concerts Thursday evening in Warsaw, warned her fans on social media not to panic when they hear the sirens. Many are travelling from far away for the performance. Polish President Andrzej Duda and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stood together, heads bowed, in remembrance. They paid tribute to the Wola Massacre, the mass murder of civilians of Warsaws Wola district carried out by the Nazis from August 5 to August 12, 1944. They were led out of their homes, tenement houses, their homes were set on fire, and they themselves were shot in the streets, and their bodies were burned. Several tons of ashes were collected from the streets and squares of Wola, in order to place them in a common grave, Mr Duda said. That Mr Steinmeier lays a wreath, bows his head, kneels before the commemorative cross, calls for respect, said Mr Duda, speaking for the nation under brutal occupation from 1939-1945, which suffered the extermination of millions of its citizens, Christian and Jewish, and the near-total destruction of its capital city. Many Poles feel the gestures of remorse are not enough, and the previous nationalist government in power from 2015-23 allied with Mr Duda demanded 1.02 trillion from Germany in war reparations. Germany says it will not pay and the matter was settled with compensation paid to East Bloc nations in the years after the war and with territory given up to Poland. The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took power last December, has toned down the demands but says it would still like Berlin to consider possibilities for compensation. Warsaws revolt began August 1, 1944, by the clandestine Home Army, which acted on orders from Polands government-in-exile in London. The aim was to free the capital from Nazi occupiers and take control of the country ahead of the advancing Soviet army. Moscow, intending to rule postwar Poland, withheld help and kept its Red Army positioned on the other side of the Vistula River as the capital burned. The Nazis, with their professional army and superior weaponry, killed 200,000 Polish fighters and civilians and razed the city in revenge. Today the uprising is remembered by Poles as one of the most important moments in a long history of independence struggles, often against Russia. Zimbabwe police have arrested 18 political activists, taking some of them off a plane in the latest clampdown by the government after warning it would crush opposition protests ahead of its hosting of a meeting of the southern African heads of state this month. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group said it was representing the activists, who were detained on Wednesday. Among the activists arrested is Namatai Kwekweza, a 25-year-old pro-democracy campaigner and the inaugural winner of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize in 2023. The prize is awarded by the late United Nations secretary-generals foundation to young people committed to the principles of democracy. Amnesty International has condemned the arrests, while Mr Annans foundation said it was deeply concerned by the incident. Ms Kwekweza and three other activists were removed from a plane on the tarmac of the Robert Mugabe International Airport in the capital, Harare. Another 14 activists were arrested the same day for holding a protest in another town. The four taken off the plane are being charged with disorderly conduct for being part of a court protest in late June demanding the release of 77 opposition party members who have been in pre-trial detention for more than six weeks. The 77 activists were arrested at a barbecue at the house of one of their leaders. Police said they gathered with the intent to promote violence, breaches of peace or bigotry. A mother and her one-year-old baby were among those detained. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from autocrat Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017, has been accused of cracking down on political opposition in a similar way to Mr Mugabe, who had led the country for 37 years since independence. Numerous opposition members, university students and labor unionists have been arrested since Mr Mnangagwa, 81, became president. He denies being oppressive but has warned the opposition against what he has called inciting violence. Authorities have moved to subdue any new protests ahead of the meeting of southern African leaders in Harare on August 17. Mr Mnangagwa, Zimbabwes first lady and others were sanctioned by the US earlier this year for alleged involvement in gold and diamond smuggling and human rights abuses. Diplomatic efforts are under way to persuade Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to release vote tallies from the countrys presidential election, according to officials from Brazil and Mexico. Opposition leaders have disputed his claim of victory and calls for an independent review of the results are mounting. Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant communication with Mr Maduros administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sundays election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press. The officials have told Venezuelas government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt in the results, a Brazilian official said. Demonstrators in Bogota, Colombia, protesting against the contested presidential election results in Venezuela (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) A Mexican official confirmed that the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he planned to speak with Brazil President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and that his government believes it is important that the electoral tallies be made public. On Wednesday, Mr Maduro asked Venezuelas highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review. It was not clear if Mr Maduros first concession to demands for more transparency was the result of the discussions with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Venezuelas president confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday that he had spoken with Mr Petro about it. Venezuelas Supreme Tribunal of Justice is closely aligned with Mr Maduros government. The courts justices are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Mr Maduros sympathisers. Mr Maduros main challenger, Edmundo Gonzalez, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Mr Maduro lost. Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Mr Maduro said only that the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber attacks. The presidents of Colombia and Brazil both close allies of the Venezuelan government have urged Mr Maduro to release detailed vote counts. Police leaving the Boleita National Police detention centre where some people arrested during recent opposition protests against the official results of the election are held in Caracas, Venezuela (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) The Brazilian official said the diplomatic efforts are only intended to promote dialogue among Venezuelan stakeholders to negotiate a solution to the disputed election. The official said this would include the release of voting data and allowing independent verification. Mr Lopez Obrador said Mexico hopes the will of Venezuelas people will be respected and that there is no violence. He added that Mexico expects that the evidence, the electoral results records, be presented. Pressure has been building on the president since the election. The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Mr Maduros United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release any results broken down by voting machine, as it did in past elections. The electoral council reported that Mr Maduro received 5.1 million votes, versus more than 4.4 million for Mr Gonzalez. But Ms Machado, the opposition leader, has said vote tallies show Mr Gonzalez received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Mr Maduro. Venezuela has the worlds largest proven crude oil reserves and once boasted Latin Americas most advanced economy, but it entered into freefall after Mr Maduro took the helm in 2013. Plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages and hyperinflation that soared past 130,000% led to social unrest and mass emigration. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, the largest exodus in Latin Americas recent history. Hezbollahs leader has warned that the conflict with Israel has entered a new phase. Hassan Nasrallah addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli air strike this week in Beirut. Meanwhile in Tehran, Irans supreme leader prayed over the body of Hamass political leader, who was killed in a presumed Israeli assassination. The back-to-back killings have increased fears of an escalation into a wider war, leaving the region waiting to see how Iran and ally Hezbollah will respond. Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel for the strike that killed Hamass Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Mr Haniyehs assassination, but comments by Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stopped short of an outright denial. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, with Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli air strike (Hezbollah Military Media via AP) There was no additional air strike, not a missile and not an Israeli drone, in the entire Middle East that night, he said on Thursday, fuelling speculation that Israel could have used other means to kill Mr Haniyeh. Israel did confirm it carried out the strike on Tuesday in Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, along with an Iranian military adviser and at least five civilians. Israel said Mr Shukur was behind a rocket attack days earlier that hit a football field in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, killing 12 children. Hezbollah denied being behind that strike, a denial that Mr Nasrallah reiterated. In a speech via video link to mourners gathered with Mr Shukurs coffin at an auditorium in a Beirut suburb, Mr Nasrallah said: We have entered a new phase that is different from the previous period. Do they expect that Hajj Ismail Haniyeh will be killed in Iran and Iran will remain silent? he said of the Israelis. Addressing Israelis who celebrated the two killings, he said: Laugh a bit and you will cry a lot. But as he often does, Mr Nasrallah kept his comments vague, vowing a very well-studied retaliation without saying what form it would take. He said only that Israel will have to wait for the anger of the regions honourable people. The enemy and the one who is behind the enemy an apparent reference to Israels chief ally, the United States will have to wait for our coming response, he said. Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of Fouad Shukur (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) International officials have been scrambling to avert a cycle of retaliation before it spirals into a greater war. Since the Gaza war began in October, Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily across the border in exchanges that have caused deaths and the evacuation of tens of thousands from their homes. But they have also stayed within limits. Several times, strikes that appeared to cross red lines raised fears of an acceleration into full-fledged war, but outside diplomacy reined in the two sides. Hezbollah faces strong pressure not to draw Lebanon into a repeat of the militant groups 2006 war with Israel, which wreaked heavy death and destruction in the country. Israel and Iran risked plunging into war earlier this year when Israel hit Irans embassy in Damascus in April. Iran retaliated, and Israel countered in an unprecedented exchange of strikes on each others soil, but international efforts succeeded in containing that cycle before it spun out of control. In Beiruts southern suburbs, the biggest Shiite district in the capital, hundreds of black-clad mourners packed the auditorium, many of them holding Hezbollah flags or photos of Mr Shukur. An escort of red-capped fighters carried Mr Shukurs coffin, also draped in a Hezbollah flag, down the aisle to the backing of a military band. In his speech, Mr Nasrallah praised Mr Shukur as a veteran commander and denied that Hezbollah carried out the deadly strike on the football field in the mainly Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan. We have the courage to take responsibility for where we strike, even if its a mistake. If we made a mistake, we would admit and apologise, he said, adding: The enemy made itself the judge, jury, and executioner without any evidence. An unusual relative calm prevailed on Thursday on the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah claimed no rocket launches into Israel during the day. The Lebanese state news agency said a strike hit the house of a Syrian family in a southern Lebanese town, killing at least four people and wounding several others. Afterwards, Hezbollah announced it had launched a barrage of rockets into Israel in retaliation. Mr Nasrallah said Hezbollahs fighters would return to regular military operations on Friday, ending the period of mourning for Mr Shukur, but that the renewed strikes would be unrelated to the retaliation for his killing. Iranians follow a lorry carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard in Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP) Earlier on Thursday in Tehran, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over Mr Haniyehs coffin in a ceremony at Tehran University, with the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, next to him. State television later showed the coffin placed in a lorry and moved on the street towards Azadi Square in Tehran and people throwing flowers at it. Mr Haniyehs remains are to be transferred to Qatar for burial on Friday. 1371138342::cfb49c8e-2422-11e5-99a3-d7f5c6e8b241 A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Accra, Ghana 31 July 2024 The Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI) held the third meeting of its Governing Council on the margins of the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, held in Accra, Ghana, during which it welcomed the endorsement of the Alliance by the African Union (AU) Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors at their 7th Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning, and Integration, in Tunis, Tunisia. The STC Ministerial declaration and decisions reflected the pivotal role of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AMFIs) in the continents financial architecture. AAMFI received strong support from the meeting and was recognized by the Specialized Technical Committee as crucial for strengthening the continental financial framework and advancing the African Unions Agenda 2063. The Ministers and Central Bank Governors reaffirmed the vital role of African Multilateral Financial Institutions in continental development and committed to enhancing the capital and credit ratings of AMFIs to mobilize essential funding for Africas growth. The Ministers and Central Bank Governors expressed concerns over recent reports questioning the Preferred Creditor Status (PCS) of AMFIs, emphasizing its importance in engaging with Credit Rating Agencies and securing development financing. The Ministerial declaration affirms the importance of the rights conferred on AMFIs by African Governments, including Preferred Creditor Status (PCS), crucial for reducing borrowing costs and deepening capital markets. The Ministers and Central Bank Governors urged AU Member States to uphold their commitments to AMFIs and respect their treaty obligations, and further recommended that the AU Assembly mandate the African Union Commission (AUC) to work with AAMFI in engaging key stakeholders, including the G20. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to swiftly establish the African Union Financial Institutions, including the African Monetary Institute (AMI) and the African Financial Stability Mechanism (AFSM). The AAMFI Governing Council noted that the Alliance exemplifies Africas innovative approach to address financing gaps and ensure sustainable development. The AMFIs, established by African States under treaty, have proven to be responsive to Member States in times of crisis, are commercially sustainable, generating profits and investment returns for shareholders while fulfilling their important development mandates. The African Unions rejection of recent attempts to weaken the preferred creditor status of African-owned and controlled multilateral financial institutions, and the AUs commitment to strengthen AMFIs underscores these institutions pivotal role in Africas financial architecture. This ensures that AMFIs can continue supporting African sovereigns development and drive economic growth. AAMFI remains dedicated to collaborating closely with AU Member States, the AU and other stakeholders to implement these critical decisions, advancing the objectives of Agenda 2063. The AAMFI members will remain engaged and proactive in supporting these decisions, ensuring their collective efforts align with the AUs vision for a robust and sustainable financial architecture in Africa. AAFMI was co-founded by the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), African Export Import Bank, Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB), Trade and Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, African Reinsurance Corporation, and ZEP-RE PTA Reinsurance Co. It is envisaged to become a powerful negotiating body that will improve Africas position in the global financial system. In addition to the six co-founders, its membership is also open to all other institutions established under treaty agreements by African states. Kind regards, Mike Omuodo | Media Fast PR| Tel: +254 736 014 596| Email: mike.omuodo@mediafast.co.ke | Hezbollah said that Fuad Shukr was killed in an airstrike in Beirut July 31 (Jowhar.com) The Hezbollah group in Lebanon confirmed in a statement that an official of the group, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an attack by Israel south of Beirut. The Israeli military said that they carried out an attack in Beirut that killed Shukr, but Hizbollah previously said that Shukr survived. Lebanons health ministry said three people, including two children, were killed and 74 wounded in what the Israeli military described as an assassination attempt on Shukr, also known as Mohsen Shukr and al-Hajj. Mohsen. The attack, which took place in a crowded area on the outskirts of Beirut, was carried out in the Haret Hreik neighborhood near the headquarters of Hezbollahs Shura Council, its central decision-making body. He is believed to have been a senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the US. Israel accused Shukr of being responsible for a rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Saturday. The attack, which Hezbollah denied responsibility for, caused the death of 12 people, mostly children. By Michael Brenner, American University | (The Conversation) In late July 2024, the Israeli military sent out the first 1,000 conscription notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that the government must stop exempting them. But will these Haredim, as the ultra-Orthodox are called in Israel, actually join the Israel Defense Forces and be followed by thousands more in the near future? It depends on whom they obey: the state authorities or their religious authorities. Yitzhak Yosef, whose term as one of the governments two chief rabbis recently ended, told religious students that anyone who receives a draft notice should tear it up and not go, the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. He is a soldier in the army of God. Yosef is not the only Haredi rabbi to oppose army service, and many Haredi men have taken to the streets to protest since the Supreme Courts decision, which followed years of political wrangling over the issue. Ever since the state of Israels founding in 1948, ultra-Orthodox Jews those who take the strictest approach toward following Jewish law, and are now around 14% of the population have been exempt from military service. Among all other Jewish citizens, from the secular to the modern Orthodox, men are required to serve 32 months, and women 24, plus reserve duty. Amid the war in the Gaza Strip, other Israelis resentment toward the ultra-Orthodox exemption is at a high. As a historian, I see the conscription debate as more than a political crisis for Israels government. The question is so sensitive because it opens up fundamental questions about the cohesion of Israeli society in general, and of the Haredi populations attitude toward the Jewish state in particular. It also illustrates the complexity of a country that is not as easily explained as many of its supporters and critics alike believe. Initial compromise Historically, Orthodox Jews struggled to justify the idea of a Jewish state. They prayed for centuries to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, but had a specific return in mind: a Jewish state established by the Messiah. Any other kind of Jewish sovereignty, they believed, would be blasphemy. Theodor Herzl, who founded modern political Zionism in the late 1800s, had a long beard like a Biblical prophet. Yet he was thoroughly secular and assimilated he even lit a Christmas tree with his family. Herzls movement to encourage more European Jews to migrate to the Holy Land had little appeal for the Orthodox. There was, however, always a minority among the Orthodox who identified with Zionism, the belief that Jewish people should have a sovereign political state in the land of Israel. According to the Talmud, the central source of Jewish law, saving lives is more important than other commandments and Zionism saved Jews from pogroms and other anti-Jewish violence in Europe. During the Holocaust, the vast majority of observant Jews in Eastern Europe were murdered. Afterward, many survivors who had previously opposed Zionism sought refuge in the new state of Israel. On the eve of Israels independence, David Ben-Gurion, the prime minister of the state-to-be, entered an agreement with the leaders of the two camps of Orthodox Jews. The Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox, still refused to recognize the legitimacy of a secular Jewish state. The so-called national religious camp, on the other hand, embraced it. Among other concessions, the new state granted exemption to young Haredi Jews who wanted to study religious texts full time instead of joining the army. That hardly seemed consequential, as the young men in question numbered only a few hundred. Shifting views During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem as well as the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Since then, the national religious camp, once a moderate force, has developed into the spearhead of the right-wing settler movement. Unlike the first generations of Orthodox Zionists, national religious Israelis today are Zionists not despite but because of messianism. Israel, they believe, will help bring about the messianic age. Therefore, right-wing religious Zionists like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are enthusiastic proponents of army service. Not so the Haredim, the ultra-Orthodox. To be clear, Haredi Jews are very diverse. This demographic includes families with roots everywhere from Poland and Romania to Morocco and Iraq. It includes people who support Israels existence, and opponents who burn the flag on the countrys Independence Day. It includes men who join the workforce and men who dedicate their life to religious study. The majority of Haredim living in Israel are not Zionists, yet live there because it is the Holy Land and the state subsidizes their study. Anything else secular education, army service and, often, paid work is seen as a distraction. A minority of Haredi Jews serve in the armed forces voluntarily, and more have enlisted since the beginning of the latest Israel-Hamas war. But they have no legal obligation to do so; nor do Israels Arab citizens. Growing Haredi sector Israels governments have continued to tolerate this situation as ultra-Orthodox political parties became much-needed partners. Yet legal and popular opposition has increased. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the defense minister has no right to exempt Haredi Jews from military service and asked the government to find ways to draft them. In 2014, a center-right government under Netanyahu passed a law aiming to have 60% of Haredi men serving within three years. But the 2015 elections brought Haredi parties back in power, and implementation was effectively abandoned. Since then, Haredi parties have become more powerful as their population grows. Yet the Supreme Court has made clear that the government either needs to draft Haredim, or the legislature has to come up with a new law to excuse them. Seven in 10 Israeli Jews oppose the blanket exemption, meaning another exemption might jeopardize Netanyahus government. Frustration is also rising over plans to raise the military service of men to three years and to double the duty of reservists to 42 days a year during emergencies. None of this would matter if the Haredim were still the same tiny segment of society they were in 1948. Today, however, ultra-Orthodox women have 6.5 children on average, compared with 2.5 among other Jewish Israeli women, and around 1.3 million of the countrys 9.5 million people are Haredim. The resulting transformation of Israeli society is easy to see. If the trend continues, Israel will become a very different, very religious society one that can hardly survive economically. On average, a non-Haredi household pays nine times more income tax than a Haredi one, while the latter receives over 50% more state support. Even if they were ready to work, most Haredim would have a hard time finding well-paid jobs, as their state-subsidized private schools teach hardly any secular topics. For Israeli society, this portends further fragmentation and a weakening of the economy to say nothing of the army. In Haredims eyes, however, Israel succeeds because of religious Jews study and prayer. In total, the state plans to issue draft orders to 3,000 Haredi men over the next few weeks, and they are not chosen randomly. Most work, or study in higher education institutions, rather than traditional religious schools. This small group might indeed follow the secular state authorities, rather than the appeals of their rabbis. Without even a minimal secular education, the majority of Haredi youth, however, would not be easily integrated into the army. Thus, the draft of this segment of Israels population may remain more symbolic telling them that they too have to share more than the spiritual burden of a war-plagued society. This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 15, 2024. Michael Brenner, Professor of Jewish History and Culture at Ludwig Maximilian University and Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies, American University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Bonus video added by Informed Comment: NBC News Video: Jewish ultra-Orthodox men protest Supreme Court ruling on military draft Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) Israels assassination of Hamas civilian Politburo head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was a crime, and we all know from police procedurals that the investigator has to look for means, motive and opportunity. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu certainly had the means and the opportunity. It has assassinated people in Tehran before, likely in coordination with the Iranian anti-regime terrorist group, the Islamic-Marxist Mojahedin-e Khalq (the MEK or MKO), the Peoples Jihadis. These targets were nuclear scientists or regime officials, however, not foreign visiting dignitaries. Iranian reporter Saeed Azimi wrote that it was not clear whether the strike was carried out by a rocket or a quadcopter drone. Geolocation of the building in northern Tehran where Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated: 35.81931, 51.41559. An Iranian official shared the image with @farnazfassihi, and it is circulating on Telegram. Green cloth and rubble is visible on the east side of the building. pic.twitter.com/gDi1vMfDbr Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) July 31, 2024 So then we come to motive. For motive we have to consider the position of Netanyahu. He is afraid of his corruption trials resuming if his government falls and he goes out of office. He is also afraid that once he is no longer prime minister and/or the war on Gaza ends, the Israeli public and its Establishment will begin looking more closely into his culpability for the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by the al-Qassam Brigades (the Hamas paramilitary wing) and its allies such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Netanyahu had after all for a decade been a conduit of Egyptian and Gulf money to Gaza, which was deposited in Israeli bank accounts and then transfered at the prime ministers behest. Netanyahu thought he had a deal with Hamas that they could run Gaza as their fief and receive these outside monies, as long as they kept the Palestinians divided and posed only a minor annoyance to Israeli security. It was like making a pact with a Bengal tiger that he should henceforth be a vegetarian, and then poking him repeatedly with a stick. So Netanyahus major motivation is to keep Gaza as a forever war. It is not, of course, actually a war. There are still some al-Qassam Brigades irregulars and occasional minor firefights. But most of the action is Netanyahu arbitrarily moving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza around, from one place to another, giving them no respite or opportunity to reconstitute a normal life. He has destroyed most of the places that could be used as homes. He has destroyed the schools, the universities, the hospitals, the refugee centers, the mosques, the churches. He has destroyed the water infrastructure, so that whole families have less than a gallon of water a day for drinking, washing, and cooking, whereas scientists say every individual needs at least 4 gallons of water a day for these purposes. He has destroyed waste treatment facilities, so that most of the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza are sick. Some even now have polio, and there is no Israeli plan to vaccinate them, though Israeli soldiers are being vaccinated. But the problem with this military campaign against women and children is that it is hard to hide the lack of a credible enemy or that it is mostly blowing up minors and mothers. Hard to keep that going. Netanyahu appears to want to go on behaving in this genocidal way in Gaza for months to come, until he feels his popularity in Israel has returned and he could survive an electoral challenge. He does not have to face elections until 2026, two years from now, by which time there will be hundreds of thousands of fewer Palestinians in Gaza if he continues his current tactics. In order to stay out of jail and to continue to enjoy wealth and power, Netanyahu needs to keep his political coalition together. He has a 64-seat majority in a Knesset or parliament of 120, so even losing 5 parliamentarians could provoke new elections. Keeping the coalition together is not easy. He brought the fascist Kahanaists into the government, the Israeli equivalent of neo-Nazis. On Monday they rampaged through a military base attempting to protect suspected Israeli war criminals from the military police. The Netanyahu government, to the extent it assuages them, now stands for the legitimacy of torture and abuse of POWs as a matter of policy. This lawless position does not sit right with a lot of Israelis, many of whom fear the plans of the Kahanaists for an Iran-style Jewish theocracy in Israel. To make things worse, the Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jewish fundamentalists, some 14 percent of the population, who are the ultimate Israeli welfare queens and had been exempted from military service. These Haredim are furious at the prospect, and they are key to Netanyahus coalition. They are now a wild card. Not only is Israeli society fissiparous, but the other need Netanyahu has in keeping the Gaza forever war going is knee-jerk support from the United States and complete impunity. Joe Biden is willing to grant Netanyahu that impunity. The United States resupplies the Israeli military with weaponry and ammunition for leveling Gaza in real time the Israelis ran out of their own supplies months ago. Netanyahu also needs to be sure that Washington will run interference for him with countries and institutions not willing to go along with the genocide, that it will slap down Spain and Ireland and Norway and the International Criminal Court severe critics of Netanyahus government and dissuade the UK and France from joining them. But like Israeli society, Washington is also fissiparous. Biden has ended his presidential run. Kamala Harris has suddenly emerged as powerful in the administration. She publicly told Netanyahu off about his total war on Gaza civilians, which clearly startled and rattled him. She needs the youth vote, and she cant afford to be yoked to Netanyahu, who evokes sheer disgust in most Americans under 35. Harris not only needs the youths, but she needs to bring along both the blue dog democrats and the Progressive Caucus, and the latter are not following her into any fond bear hug of Netanyahu, of the sort Biden has advocated. What if Harris persuaded Biden that in order for her to defeat Trump, she needs him to end the policy of impunity? Biden himself had made a half-hearted effort to pressure Netanyahu into negotiations with Hamas for a release of Israeli hostages and a pause in the fighting that might turn into a ceasefire. With whom did Biden insist Netanyahu negotiate? Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas civilian political bureau. What if Harris managed to turn the screws and threaten Netanyahu with a cut-off of ammunition or other aid if he didnt make a deal? Netanyahu kept pretending to negotiate, but every time Haniyeh made a concession, Netanyahu would make a new demand and scupper the talks. If Netanyahu rubbed out Haniyeh, and it is very likely he did, then it was a perfect strategy for him. Harris and her allies in the White House cant make him negotiate with Haniyeh if Haniyeh is dead. Moreover, it is predictable that Hamas would pull out of the negotiations entirely after the murder of their leader. Even better, by blowing away Haniyeh in Tehran, Netanyahu has pulled the beard of Iranian clerical Leader Ali Khamenei. If Iran retaliates, then Biden has to step up to protect Israel, and even Harris would have to be circumspect lest she look weak. Netanyahu also took out a high Hezbollah official in Beirut the same day, in hopes that Hezbollah will retaliate. In other words, the nothing burger of the Gaza war is no longer a sufficient vehicle to keep Netanyahu in power and out of jail. He needs a wider, more credible and more intense set of conflicts than beheading children with quadcopters. These geopolitical counter-strikes have the potential for making Israelis rally around him and put away their internal squabbles, and for making Harris back off her criticism of him for his Gaza war crimes. Now it is all about whether you stand with Israel against Iran, and Americans and Israelis have widely hated Iran for over forty years. It is perfect. For Benjamin Netanyahu. Not for the rest of us. Bonus video added by Informed Comment: Al Jazeera English: What is the fallout from the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran? | Inside Story . Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE: AG) (TSX: AG) (FSE: FMV) (the "Company" or "First Majestic") is pleased to announce the Company's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The full version of the financial statements and the accompanying management's discussion and analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.firstmajestic.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise. SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS Production of 5.3 million silver equivalent ("AgEq") ounces, consisting of 2,104,181 silver ("Ag") ounces and 39,339 gold ("Au") ounces, a 7% and 9% increase, respectively, when compared to Q1 2024. Management anticipates further improvements in the second half ( " H2 " ) of the year due to planned higher ore grades and throughput rates. Quarterly revenues of $136.2 million, compared to $146.7 million in Q2 2023. The 7% decrease in revenue was driven by a 15% decrease in the total number of payable AgEq ounces sold due to higher silver inventory levels held at quarter end, lower production levels at San Dimas and La Encantada, and the temporary suspension of mining activities at Jerritt Canyon in March 2023, partially offset by increased production at Santa Elena and an increase in the average realized silver price. The Company held 712,539 silver ounces in finished goods inventory as of June 30, 2024, inclusive of coins and bullion. The fair value of this inventory, which is not included in Q2 revenues, as of June 30, 2024 was $20.9 million. Improved mine operating earnings of $15.5 million compared to $1.1 million in Q2 2023. The year over year increase in mine operating earnings was primarily attributed to an increase in operating earnings from Santa Elena and a decrease in operating losses from Jerritt Canyon, partially offset by higher operating costs at San Dimas and La Encantada. Operating cash flows before movements in working capital and taxes amounted to $23.8 million. Consolidated cash costs of $15.29 per AgEq ounce and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") of $21.64 per AgEq ounce represented an improvement of 2% and a slight increase of 1%, respectively, compared to Q2 2023. Management continues to undertake a series of cost reduction initiatives across the organization aimed at improving efficiencies, and lowering production costs and other expenses while also increasing production. At the end of the quarter, the Company had a cash and restricted cash balance of $269.7 million consisting of $152.2 million cash and cash equivalents and $117.5 million of restricted cash. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, there was a transfer of $11.0 million from restricted cash to unrestricted cash (see Note 19 in the financial statements for further details). Declared a cash dividend of $0.0046 per common share for the second quarter of 2024 for shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 16, 2024, to be paid out on or about August 30, 2024. During the quarter, ramp-up activities continued at First Mint, with new coin presses and laser-engraving equipment received at the facility. Subsequent to the quarter, installation of the equipment has commenced, and the Company expects to launch several new products including coins in the second half of 2024. These added capabilities will increase minting throughput by over 50% and provide new sales channels with an expected increase in retail sales. OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Key Performance Metrics 2024-Q2 2024-Q1 Change Q2 vs Q1 2023-Q2 Change Q2 vs Q2 Operational Ore Processed / Tonnes Milled 674,570 588,651 15% 733,170 (8%) Silver Ounces Produced 2,104,181 1,975,176 7% 2,633,411 (20%) Gold Ounces Produced 39,339 35,936 9% 45,022 (13%) Silver Equivalent Ounces Produced 5,289,439 5,162,283 2% 6,320,971 (16%) Cash Costs per Silver Equivalent Ounce(1) $ 15.29 $ 15.00 2% $ 15.58 (2%) All-in Sustaining Cost per Silver Equivalent Ounce(1) $ 21.64 $ 21.53 1% $ 21.52 1% Total Production Cost per Tonne(1) $ 113.16 $ 128.23 (12%) $ 128.21 (12%) Average Realized Silver Price per Silver Equivalent Ounce(1) $ 27.81 $ 23.72 17% $ 24.95 11% Financial (in $millions) Revenues $ 136.2 $ 106.0 28% $ 146.7 (7%) Mine Operating Earnings (Loss) $ 15.5 ($0.3 ) NM $ 1.1 NM Net Loss ($48.3 ) ($13.6 ) NM ($17.5 ) 175% Operating Cash Flows before Non-Cash Working Capital and Taxes $ 23.8 $ 12.6 88% $ 26.9 (12%) Capital Expenditures $ 28.3 $ 28.2 0% $ 30.6 (8%) Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 152.2 $ 102.1 49% $ 160.2 (5%) Restricted Cash $ 117.5 $ 127.2 (8%) $ 146.1 (20%) Working Capital(1) $ 229.9 $ 159.6 44% $ 237.2 (3%) Free Cash Flow(1) $ 6.4 $ 0.9 NM $ 7.4 (13%) Shareholders Loss per Share ("EPS") - Basic ($0.17 ) ($0.05 ) NM ($0.06 ) (183%) Adjusted EPS(1) ($0.07 ) ($0.06 ) (17%) ($0.02 ) NM (1) The Company reports non-GAAP measures which include cash costs per AgEq ounce produced, cash costs per Au ounce produced, all-in sustaining cost per AgEq ounce produced, all-in sustaining cost per Au ounce produced, total production cost per tonne, average realized silver price per AgEq ounce sold, average realized Au price per ounce sold, working capital, adjusted EPS and free cash flow. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning under the Company's financial reporting framework and the methods used by the Company to calculate such measures may differ from methods used by other companies with similar descriptions. See "Non-GAAP Measures" below for further details of these measures. SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS Revenues generated during the quarter totaled $136.2 million compared to $146.7 million in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease in revenue was primarily attributable to a 15% decrease in the total number of payable AgEq ounces sold due to higher inventory levels held at quarter end, lower production levels at San Dimas and La Encantada, and the temporary suspension of mining activities at Jerritt Canyon in March 2023, partially offset by increased production at Santa Elena and an increase in the average realized silver price. The Company realized an average selling price of $27.81 per AgEq ounce during the second quarter, representing an 11% increase compared to the second quarter of 2023 and a 17% increase compared to the prior quarter. Operating cash flows before movements in working capital and taxes in the quarter was $23.8 million compared to $26.9 million in the second quarter of 2023. The Company reported mine operating earnings of $15.5 million during the quarter compared to $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2023. The improvement in mine operating earnings was primarily attributed to a decrease in operating loss of $46.7 million at Jerritt Canyon compared to the first quarter of 2023 following management's decision to temporarily suspend mining activities at Jerritt Canyon in March 2023. Net loss for the quarter amounted to $48.3 million (EPS of $(0.17)) compared to $17.5 million (EPS of $(0.06)) in the second quarter of 2023. Adjusted net loss, normalized for non-cash or non-recurring items such as share-based payments, deferred tax expense, unrealized losses on marketable securities and non-recurring write-downs on mineral inventory for the quarter was $20.4 million (adjusted EPS of $(0.07)) compared to $5.5 million (adjusted EPS of $(0.02)) in the second quarter of 2023, mainly driven by a non-cash foreign exchange loss of $11.1 million in the quarter. As at June 30, 2024, the Company had a cash and restricted cash balance of $269.7 million consisting of $152.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $117.5 million of restricted cash. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, there was a transfer of $11.0 million from restricted cash to unrestricted cash (see Note 19 in the financial statements for further details). OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS The table below represents the quarterly operating and cost performance at each of the Company's three producing mines during the quarter. Second Quarter Production Summary Santa Elena San Dimas La Encantada Jerritt Canyon(1) Consolidated Ore Processed / Tonnes Milled 256,427 183,188 234,955 - 674,570 Silver Ounces Produced 376,947 1,141,906 585,329 - 2,104,181 Gold Ounces Produced 27,176 12,043 46 74 39,339 Silver Equivalent Ounces Produced 2,580,497 2,114,072 589,060 5,811 5,289,439 Cash Costs per Silver Equivalent Ounce(2) $12.25 $16.66 $23.69 $15.71 $15.29 All-in Sustaining Cost per Silver Equivalent Ounce(2) $15.07 $21.78 $27.87 $15.71 $21.64 Cash Cost per Gold Ounce(2) N/A N/A N/A $1,186 N/A All-In Sustaining Costs per Gold Ounce(2) N/A N/A N/A $1,186 N/A Total Production Cost per Tonne(2) $107.47 $193.02 $57.11 $- $113.16 (1) Jerritt Canyon was placed on temporary suspension in March 2023. In-circuit recovery efforts performed in Q2 2024 resulted in the production of 74 gold ounces. (2) See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further details regarding these measures. Total production in the second quarter was 5.3 million AgEq ounces consisting of 2.1 million Ag ounces and 39,339 Au ounces, a 7% and 9% increase, respectively, when compared to Q1 2024. Cash costs for the quarter were $15.29 per AgEq ounce, an improvement of 2% compared to $15.58 per AgEq ounce in the same period last year and $15.00 per AgEq ounce in the previous quarter. The increase in cash costs per ounce was primarily attributable to a 2% decrease in AgEq production mainly at San Dimas. Production at San Dimas was impacted as the mine sequencing transitioned from the Jessica and Victoria veins into the Roberta, Robertita and Elias vein systems which are slightly narrower in nature. In addition, ore flow and processing rates were impacted by union worker slowdowns while negotiations with the National Union continued throughout the second quarter and remain ongoing. Management anticipates improved production and efficiencies in the second half of 2024 once an agreement with the National Union is reached, which is reflected in the Company's updated 2024 guidance plan. AISC in the second quarter was $21.64 per AgEq ounce compared to $21.52 in the same period last year and $21.53 per AgEq ounce in the previous quarter. The 1% increase in AISC was primarily attributable to higher cash costs. Capital expenditure in the second quarter totaled $28.3 million, consisting of $13.5 million for underground development, $9.4 million in exploration, and $5.4 million in property, plant and equipment. Q2 2024 DIVIDEND ANNOUNCEMENT The Company is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend in the amount of $0.0046 per common share for the second quarter of 2024. The dividend will be paid to holders of record of First Majestic's common shares as of the close of business on August 16, 2024, and will be paid out on or about August 30, 2024. Under the Company's dividend policy, the quarterly dividend per common share is targeted to equal approximately 1% of the Company's net quarterly revenues divided by the number of the Company's common shares outstanding on the record date. The amount and distribution dates of future dividends remain at the discretion of the Board of Directors. This dividend qualifies as an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes. Dividends paid to shareholders outside Canada (non-resident investors) may be subject to Canadian non-resident withholding taxes. ABOUT FIRST MAJESTIC First Majestic is a publicly traded mining company focused on silver and gold production in Mexico and the United States. The Company presently owns and operates the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine, the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine, and the La Encantada Silver Mine as well as a portfolio of development and exploration assets, including the Jerritt Canyon Gold project located in northeastern Nevada, U.S.A. First Majestic is proud to own and operate its own minting facility, First Mint, LLC, and to offer a portion of its silver production for sale to the public. Bars, ingots, coins and medallions are available for purchase online at www.firstmint.com, at some of the lowest premiums available. Non-GAAP Financial Measures This news release includes reference to certain financial measures which are not standardized measures under the Company's financial reporting framework. These measures include cash costs per silver equivalent ounce produced, all-in sustaining cost (or "AISC") per silver equivalent ounce produced, cash costs per gold ounce produced, AISC per gold ounce produced, total production cost per tonne, average realized silver price per ounce sold, average realized gold price per ounce sold, working capital, adjusted net earnings and EPS and free cash flow. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance but do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies. The data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. For a complete description of how the Company calculates such measures and a reconciliation of certain measures to GAAP terms please see "Non-GAAP Measures" in the Company's most recent management discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forwardlooking information" and "forwardlooking statements" under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, "forwardlooking statements"). These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management made in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Forwardlooking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: improvements in production and efficiencies anticipated in H2 2024 due to planned higher ore grades and throughput rates in H2; and timing for the payment of the Company's cash dividend for the second quarter of 2024. Assumptions may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Consequently, guidance cannot be guaranteed. As such, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon guidance and forwardlooking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, assumptions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forwardlooking statements. Statements concerning proven and probable mineral reserves and mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forwardlooking statements to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as and if the property is developed, and in the case of measured and indicated mineral resources or proven and probable mineral reserves, such statements reflect the conclusion based on certain assumptions that the mineral deposit can be economically exploited. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "forecast", "potential", "target", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forwardlooking statements". Actual results may vary from forwardlooking statements. Forwardlooking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by such forwardlooking statements, including but not limited to: the duration and effects of the COVID19, and any other pandemics on our operations and workforce, and the effects on global economies and society; general economic conditions including inflation risks; actual results of exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; commodity prices; variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; availability of sufficient water for operating purposes; actual performance of plant, equipment or processes relative to specifications and expectations; accidents; labour relations; relations with local communities; changes in national or local governments; changes in applicable legislation or application thereof; delays in obtaining approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation; environmental risks; reclamation expenses; outcomes of pending litigation; limitations on insurance coverage as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business Risk Factors" in the Company's most recently filed AIF, available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and as an exhibit to the Company's most recently filed Form 40F available on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Although First Majestic has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forwardlooking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. August 1st, 2024 TheNewswire - Rockport, Ontario - New Age Metals Inc. (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) (NAM or the Company) in conjunction with its Farm-in/Joint Venture agreement with Mineral Resources Ltd. (MinRes) is pleased to announce that summer field work has commenced on the Companys Winnipeg River-Cat Lake Lithium Projects of Southeast Manitoba. This work is in conjunction with a research project being carried out across the properties in partnership with the University of New Brunswick, University of British Columbia, and supported by the Manitoba Geological Survey. A budget from June 2024 to April 2025 of ~$450,000 has been approved by Mineral Resources Ltd. The field work will be a collaboration between New Age Metals geologists and the academic researchers to further define targeting within the project areas. Much of the companys expansive properties remain underexplored. The summer programs objective is to follow-up on high priority target areas identified from detailed analysis, interpretation, and targeting of the companys large geophysical dataset in-conjunction with geological and geochemical data. This work will strive to narrow down prospective zones for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) type pegmatites which require further evaluation. New Age Metals has been supporting this research Mitacs grant awarded in 2023 that involves a partnership with Dr. Chris McFarlane (University of New Brunswick) and Dr. Lee Groat (University of British Columbia). The grants overarching objectives are to shed light on the origin of the dense concentration of rare-element pegmatites found in the Cat Lake-Winnipeg River pegmatite field. In addition, the research also intends to determine how emplacement mechanisms and type of host rock influence the mineralization style in rare-element pegmatites in this area. This grant supports the ongoing research of a MSc. student and a post doctoral fellow based at the University of New Brunswick. An additional grant was announced on June 17th, 2024 in conjunction with University of Manitoba. Researchers objectives are to unlock more sustainable ways to extract mineral resources, thanks to a $1.5 million dollar grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). New Age Metals, and Grid Metals Corp., will use the funding to address key issues related to critical metals exploration and extraction. Through cutting-edge research and collaboration industry and academic partners also want to prioritize engaging Indigenous communities in innovative technologies and sustainable practice research. Field Work Update New Age Metals Geologists mobilized on July 7th, 2024 to the project site. Traverses were planned and have been carried out in priority sequence focusing on main LCT pegmatite showings in the area, major pegmatite related bodies (pegmatitic granites, leucogranites, Maskwa and Birse Lake plutons), geophysical trends and demagnetized zones, and historic mineral occurrences. Field work has included detailed mineralogy, textural and structural observations, and sampling of numerous pegmatites, host rocks, and pegmatite related intrusions within the study area. Figure 1: Dr. Claude Nambaje examining a pegmatite outcrop on the Lithium One Property About the Research Project The field work for the M.Sc. thesis was initiated in the summer of 2023 during which the focus was on describing and sampling three pegmatite sites in the Cat LakeWinnipeg River pegmatite field: Tappy, Eagle and F.D. No. 5 pegmatites. The summary of field activities can be found here: Click Here. These results were presented during the CCMEC conference in Winnipeg in November 2023, the Atlantic Geoscience Forum in Moncton in February 2024 and the GAC-MAC-PEG2024 conference in Brandon in May 2024. The analytical work on samples collected from each locality focused on the geochemistry of micas and feldspars, and geochronology and is currently ongoing. The Post Doctoral Fellow initiated the summer field work in June 2024. The main objectives are to target the various units of the Bird River domain with an emphasis of collecting outcrop information and samples on the different groups of pegmatite occurrences in the area. The Manitoba Geological Survey (MGS) has been providing field logistical support to both the MSc. student and post doctoral fellow as part of an ongoing project in the area initiated in 2023. The MGS project is in part a response to the exploration interest in the Brid River domain, which has a well-established potential for critical minerals. The focus of the MGS project is on updating the 1:50 000 scale regional geology map, regional structural trends related with pegmatite emplacement and the mineral occurrences in the multi commodity Bird River domain. The results of the 2023 MGS field season can be found here: Click Here. Figure 2: New Age Metal's Project Overview About NAM New Age Metals is a junior mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery, exploration, and development of green metal projects in North America. The Company has two divisions: a Platinum Group Element division and a Lithium/Rare Element division. The Platinum Group Metals (PGEs) Division includes the 100% owned, multi-million-ounce, district-scale River Valley Project, one of North Americas largest undeveloped Platinum Group Element Projects, situated 100 km by road east of Sudbury, Ontario. In addition to River Valley, NAM owns 100% of the Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska and plans to complete a surface mapping and sampling program in 2023. The Companys Lithium Division is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, where the Company is exploring for hard rock lithium and various rare elements such as tantalum, rubidium, and caesium. Further exploration plans for 2024 include continued mapping/sampling field programs following up on the anomalous results from the soil and rock samples collected previously during summer 2023. The Company has a partnership with Mineral Resource Limited (MRL, ASX: MIN), a top global lithium producer to explore and develop the Companys lithium project portfolio in Southern Manitoba. Our philosophy is to be a project generator with the objective of optioning our projects with major and junior mining companies through to production. The Company is actively seeking an option/joint venture partner for our newly acquired Northman and South Bay Lithium Projects in northern Manitoba, and its road-accessible Genesis PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Alaska. Investors are invited to visit the New Age Metals website at www.newagemetals.com where they can review the company and its corporate activities. Any questions or comments can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Harry Barr at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Farid Mammadov at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613 659 2773. Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Lynde Guillaume (Senior Geologist, Axiom Exploration Ltd.), a Qualified Person, and a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo) who is a registered member of the Engineer and Geosciences of Manitoba (no. 47952). Opt-in List If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news. On behalf of the Board of Directors Harry Barr Harry G. Barr Chairman and CEO 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as continue, efforts, expect, believe, anticipate, confident, intend, strategy, plan, will, estimate, project, goal, target, prospects, optimistic or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Companys ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Soil geochemistry and gravity surveys at the high-priority Bravo gravity target proceeding ahead of schedule Bravo target immediately east of the La Romana copper-tin-silver discovery at Escacena Project A continuous 1 kilometer-plus east-west lead-zinc soil anomaly coincides with the gravity anomaly Soil geochemistry suggests good potential for mineralization concealed beneath shallow post-mineral cover VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Pan Global Resources Inc. ("Pan Global" or the "Company") (TSXV: PGZ) (OTCQX: PGZFF) (FRA: 2EU) is pleased to announce soil geochemistry survey results for the maiden exploration program over the Bravo target ("Bravo") within the Company's 100%-owned Escacena Project ("Escacena") in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, southern Spain. "The initial soil geochemistry results are very encouraging, highlighting a more-than 1km continuous lead ("Pb") plus zinc ("Zn") surface anomaly coincident with a gravity anomaly at the high-priority Bravo target. Importantly, lead and zinc commonly occur laterally or above copper-rich mineralization in zoned volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. Based on these results, the soil geochemistry survey will now be expanded to connect with the La Romana copper-tin-silver discovery to the west," said Tim Moody, Pan Global's President & CEO. "The results support our view that the large Bravo gravity anomaly could represent massive sulphide mineralization concealed beneath shallow cover sediments. A more detailed ground gravity survey at Bravo is also making good progress (30% completed) and coupled with the encouraging geochemistry results, could bring forward the timing for drilling at the Bravo target," said Mr. Moody. The soil geochemistry results reported today are for 326 soil samples, representing 57% of the planned Bravo survey. The soil samples are collected on a 40m-spacing along lines 100m apart. Each soil sample was analyzed using a hand-held x-ray fluorescence ("pXRF") device. Spatial interpretation of the pXRF results confirms a Pb plus Zn anomaly extending over 1km east-west and up to 700m north-south. Samples are ranging from 300ppm to 1,252ppm combined Pb+Zn, and individual samples reporting up to 1,115ppm Pb and 288ppm Zn. The soil anomaly is an indicator of potential deeper underlying sulphide mineralization concealed beneath post-mineral cover sediments. Bravo is a prominent 2km x 1.2km gravity anomaly located 1.5km east of Pan Global's La Romana copper-tin-silver discovery and 4.5km southwest of the Aznalcollar and Los Frailes volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. The Bravo anomaly was originally identified from early-1980's gravity survey data and interpreted as potential concealed massive sulphide mineralization. The target is mostly covered by post-mineral rocks and sediments and has never been drill tested. Results from planned soil geochemistry, gravity and IP surveys at Bravo will guide future drilling. Pan Global looks forward to updating shareholders as the Bravo exploration program progresses in the coming weeks. Further to the July 3, 2024 media release announcing the engagement of Soar Financial to support public relations activities at the Company, the agreement specifies a monthly fee of 5,500. QA/QC The soil geochemistry survey includes samples collected from the top 20cm from surface (un-sieved, weighing approx. 1kg) on a 100m x 40m grid over the gravity target area. The samples are collected in plastic bags, and a multi-element analysis obtained using an Olympus Vanta hand-held x-ray fluorescence ("pXRF") device. Analyses are repeated on 1 per 20 samples, and standards analyzed to check for deviation. Additional sample duplicates will be sent to the ALS laboratory in Seville as a further check and comparison with the pXRF results. About the Escacena Project The Escacena Project comprises a large, contiguous, 5,760-hectare land package controlled 100% by Pan Global in the east of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Escacena is located near the operating mine at Riotinto and is immediately adjacent to the former Aznalcollar and Los Frailes mines where Minera Los Frailes/Grupo Mexico is in the final permitting stage to allow new mine construction to commence. The Escacena Project hosts Pan Global's La Romana copper-tin-silver and Canada Honda copper-gold discoveries, and a number of other prospective targets, including, Bravo, Barbacena, El Pozo, Romana Norte, San Pablo, Zarcita, Hornitos, La Jarosa, Romana Deep, and Cortijo. About Pan Global Resources Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively targeting copper-rich mineral deposits, given copper's compelling supply-demand fundamentals and outlook for strong long-term prices as a critical metal for global electrification and energy transition. The Company's flagship Escacena Project is located in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in southern Spain, where a favourable permitting track record, excellent infrastructure, mining and professional expertise, and support for copper as a Strategic Raw Material by the European Commission collectively define a tier-one low-risk jurisdiction for mining investment. The Pan Global team comprises proven talent in exploration, discovery, development, and mine operations - all of which are committed to operating safely and with utmost respect for the environment and our partnered communities. The Company is a member, and operates under the principles, of the United Nations Global Compact. Qualified Persons Alvaro Merino. Vice President Exploration for Pan Global Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical information for this media release. Mr. Merino is not independent of the Company. Forward-looking statements Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this media release are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products, and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission. The forward-looking information contained in this media release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this media release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information. 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. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Standard Lithium Ltd. (Standard Lithium or the Company) (TSXV:SLI) (NYSE American:SLI) (FRA:S5L), a leading near-commercial lithium development company, today announced a leadership transition that aligns with the Company's growth strategy and next steps in value creation. Effective September 1, 2024, Robert Mintak will retire as Chief Executive Officer and remain engaged as an advisor through August 2025. David Park will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2024. Over the past year, David Park has been actively engaged with Standard Lithium as a strategic advisor, working closely with the senior management team. His deep understanding of the Company's vision and strategic goals, coupled with his respected position within the organization, has made him a key contributor to the Companys recent successes. Mr. Park has been involved extensively across corporate, project, and strategic developments, ensuring alignment and effective execution of initiatives, including helping to secure Equinor ASA (Equinor) as a strategic partner. Prior to his advisory role, Mr. Park served as President of Koch Strategic Platforms (KSP), the division of Koch Industries which invested in Standard Lithium in 2021. Before that, Mr. Park served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development of Georgia-Pacific, LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, and held other significant roles at Koch, including President of TrueNorth Energy and Koch Exploration, and CFO of Kochs Canadian exploration and production, pipeline, and energy trading business. Mr. Park began his career at Koch in its business development group, after serving as an International Business Development Specialist at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Throughout his career, he has successfully completed more senior and complex roles, focussed on delivering outstanding corporate growth, underscoring his ability to drive success and generate significant value for Standard Lithium. The appointment of Mr. Park as the next CEO is the culmination of a thorough succession planning process by the Companys Board of Directors, which looked to bring in a candidate who could lead Standard Lithium in its next phase of growth and value creation for shareholders. This transition comes at a pivotal time, coinciding with the recent partnership with Equinor, which has significantly strengthened the Companys position and set the stage for accelerated progress and innovation. During his more than seven years as CEO, Robert Mintak has been instrumental in establishing Standard Lithium as a leader in the lithium sector. During his tenure, the Company developed key strategic partnerships and secured significant investments, including those with LANXESS, Tetra Technologies, Koch Industries and Equinor. These collaborations have advanced the Companys projects and positioned Standard Lithium for success. Robert Cross, Chairman of the Board said, "Robert was a co-founder of the Company and his leadership and commitment has been critical in our evolution from a startup to where we are today. In addition to the strategic relationships the Company garnered during his tenure, Robert was very focussed on fostering strong relationships with community and state leaders, generating substantial support for our projects in Arkansas and Texas. This collaborative approach has distinguished Standard Lithium within the resource sector. The Board is grateful for Roberts accomplishments and unwavering commitment to building a foundation for our next phase of growth. Reflecting on his tenure, Robert Mintak commented, "It has been an incredible journey leading Standard Lithium and working with our talented team. I'm proud of what we've accomplished, particularly our strong partnerships and meaningful community engagement. As an active advisor, I will continue working with David, Andy and the team to advance our projects and maintain our efforts in generating shareholder value. I am confident that David is well-equipped to take the Company forward into its next chapter of growth and value creation." Dr. Andy Robinson, President & COO, stated, "Robert and I started this Company together seven years ago with a shared vision for Standard Lithium. His focus on strong partnerships, deep industry relationships and community engagement has been a cornerstone of our success. We are entering the next phase of the Companys growth plans as we move towards commercial development, and the entire team looks forward to accelerating this momentum with David's leadership and we are all excited for the future opportunities that lie ahead." David Park added, Im excited to have the opportunity to help build on the solid foundations Robert and Andy have laid, and work in close partnership with Equinor, Koch, Andy and the rest of the Standard Lithium team to drive the strategic direction and execution of our low cost, environmentally friendly, domestic lithium projects in support of the growing American energy storage and electric vehicle industries. About Standard Lithium Ltd. Standard Lithium is a leading near-commercial lithium development company focused on the sustainable development of a portfolio of large, high-grade lithium-brine properties in the United States. The Company prioritizes projects characterized by the highest quality resources, robust infrastructure, skilled labor, and streamlined permitting. Standard Lithium aims to achieve sustainable, commercial-scale lithium production via the application of a scalable and fully integrated Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and purification process. The Companys flagship projects are located in the Smackover Formation, a world-class lithium brine asset, focussed in Arkansas and Texas. In partnership with global energy leader Equinor, Standard Lithium is advancing the South West Arkansas Project, a greenfield project located in southern Arkansas, and actively exploring promising lithium brine prospects in East Texas. Additionally, the Company is advancing the Phase 1A Project in partnership with LANXESS, a brownfield development project located in southern Arkansas. Standard Lithium operates the only commercial-scale, continuously operating DLE Demonstration facility in North America. Standard Lithium also holds an interest in certain mineral leases in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. Standard Lithium trades on both the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) and the NYSE American under the symbol SLI; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol S5L. Please visit the Companys website at www.standardlithium.com. Investor and Media Inquiries Chris Lang Director of Finance +1 604 409 8154 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Twitter: @standardlithium LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-lithium/ Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain Forward-Looking Statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, target, plan, forecast, may, schedule and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to intended development timeline, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Companys current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. VANCOUVER, BC AND HONG KONG, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Reyna Silver Corp. (TSXV:RSLV) (OTCQX:RSNVF) (FRA:4ZC) ("Reyna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with Minquest Ltd. ("Minquest") on the Mineral Hill Project (the "Project") located in Eureka County, Nevada. This historic district was an inlier including 8 patented claims and 20 unpatented claims within the overall Gryphon Project (Figure 1.) "Mineral Hill was producing some of the highest-grade silver-rich CRD mineralization ever found in this part of Nevada well before its neighbors Eureka, Cortez and Railroad were even discovered, so acquiring these patented claims fills an important missing piece in the Gryphon property puzzle," said Jorge Ramiro Monroy, CEO of Reyna Silver. "All these districts show overlapping Carlin Gold and CRD mineralization, but previous exploration at Gryphon just focused on the gold, so filling this hole lets us apply our broader integrated vision to unlock the full Gold, Silver and Critical Metals potential of the overall Gryphon system." Figure 1. Map of Gryphon claims with the Mineral Hill 8 patented claims and surrounding 20 claims noted in red on the western side of the property. The blue outline delineates the 10,300 ha existing claims package encompassing the Gryphon Project. Mineral Hill was a significant historic Ag-Pb-Zn CRD producer with an average grade of 140 oz/ton Ag (3,968 g/t Age) production during its prime in the 1870s with average grades lowering to 24 oz/ton Ag (680 g/t Age) towards the end of mine life. Studying this portion of the Gryphon system allows the technical team to understand the geometry of the mineralization and begin following it towards source and potentially more mineralization. The major deposits of the Lander and Eureka county area, including the Battle Mountain - Eureka trend and the Carlin trend, were noted as CRD deposits prior to discovery of the massive Carlin gold systems in the 1960s. Ralph Roberts, famous Carlin trailblazer, cited CRDs as the significant deposits in his papers in 1960 and 1966 including Eureka, Railroad and Cortez which are now collectively known for producing over 60 Moz of Gold. The association of CRDs and Carlin deposits has been recognized for years though the relationship is not fully understood, yet (See Figure 2.) Figure 2. Map of the major Carlin deposits noted in gold (scaled relative to production) and Ag-Pb-Zn CRDs noted red as identified by R. Roberts in his famous 1960 "Alignment of Mining Districts in North-Central Nevada" (USGS Professional Paper 400-B) and 1966, Metallogenic provinces and mineral belts in Nevada (Nevada Bureau of Mines Report 13, pt. A, p. 47-72). The Agreement The Agreement gives Reyna Silver the ability to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Mineral Hill Project (the "Option"). The Option is subject to Reyna Silver performing the following by July 31, 2030: (i) incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of US$1,550,000 on the Project; and (ii) making cash payments to Minquest in the aggregate amount of US$1,810,000. On exercise of the Option by Reyna Silver, Reyna Silver will grant Minquest a 2.5% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty. Reyna Silver will have the option to repurchase 1.25% of the 2.5% NSR royalty at any time by paying Minquest US$2,500,000. The Reyna Silver technical team's depth of experience exploring and discovering major CRDs provides the opportunity to take a serious look at Gryphon from a new angle. Leveraging the CRD system to reveal all the ore-systems contained within Gryphon. Gryphon Project Update Additionally, Reyna Silver is looking forward to starting the 2024 drill program imminently building upon the concatenation of historic work, extensive mapping and reinterpretation of geology resulting in exciting new targets. The camp is ready to go, Earthworks on the east side are almost finished and the drill rig will arrive soon. For Further Information, Please Contact: Bethany Terracina, VP Investor Relations This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.reynasilver.com About Reyna Silver Corp. Reyna Silver is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company. The Company focuses on exploring for high-grade, district-scale silver deposits in Mexico and the United States. In Nevada USA, the Company has recently entered into an option to acquire 70% of the 10,300-hectare "Gryphon Summit Project" in a 50/50 partnership with Reyna Gold Corp. (TSXV:REYG). The Gryphon Project shows features indicating uniquely superimposed/overprinted Silver-Lead-Zinc-Copper Carbonate Replacement (CRD), Carlin Gold and Critical Metals mineralization. Also in Nevada, the Company is advancing its option to acquire 100% of the "Medicine Springs Project" where the Company is exploring a potentially significant Silver-Lead-Zinc-Copper CRD-skarn-Porphyry system. The Company's Mexican assets are 100% owned and include the "Guigui Project" and "Batopilas Project", both located in Chihuahua State. The Guigui Project covers the interpreted source area for the Santa Eulalia Carbonate Replacement Deposit District and Batopilas covers most of Mexico's historically highest-grade silver system. Forward Looking Information This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's public securities filings with the Canadian securities commissions. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. TORONTO and PERTH, Australia, Aug. 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Westgold Resources Limited (ASX: WGX; OTCQX: WGXRF Westgold or the Company) and Karora Resources Inc. (TSX: KRR; OTCQX: KRRGF Karora) are pleased to announce the completion of the merger of Westgold and Karora to create a leading mid-tier gold producer and international gold company expected to be dual listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Westgold has acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Karora (Karora Shares) by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the Arrangement). The merger creates a larger, more diversified and, subject to the final approval of the TSX, dual listed gold company, which: is globally investable a mid-tier gold producer operating exclusively in Western Australia with a highly complementary combination of mining and processing assets, people, and a robust balance sheet; a mid-tier gold producer operating exclusively in with a highly complementary combination of mining and processing assets, people, and a robust balance sheet; establishes a top five Australian gold producer (+400,000 ozpa) with a pro forma market capitalisation of A$2.5 billion ( C$2.3 billion 1 ); with a pro forma market capitalisation of ( ); becomes one of the largest unhedged Australian gold producers providing investors with full exposure to the gold price; providing investors with full exposure to the gold price; starts day one with an enviable pipeline of organic opportunities including advanced greenfield, brownfield targets and exploration prospects across two of Australia's most prolific gold fields; including advanced greenfield, brownfield targets and exploration prospects across two of most prolific gold fields; provides enhanced capital markets profile with increased scale, trading liquidity, and potential index inclusion for gold and generalist investors across ASX, TSX and OTCQX; and with increased scale, trading liquidity, and potential index inclusion for gold and generalist investors across ASX, TSX and OTCQX; and is led by a highly experienced management team supported by a combined board of accomplished mining professionals with a proven track record of maximising value for shareholders. Westgold Managing Director and CEO Wayne Bramwell said: "Today marks the next phase of Westgold's evolution into a larger, unhedged and well-funded Australian gold producer. Our value proposition is significantly enhanced with an expanded team, quality operating assets and an enviable pipeline of exploration prospects across two of Australia's most productive gold fields. The merger with Karora upsizes our Western Australian operating platform - an extensive and established asset base that can be increasingly leveraged for free cash generation and growth. Westgold commences this new growth phase with a robust balance sheet and a plan focussed on realising a potential A$281 million (C$254 million2) in corporate cost savings and A$209 million (C$189 million2) in operating synergies. I am proud to officially welcome our new shareholders and the Karora team to Westgold. Together, as a combined entity, we are positioned to become a leading global mid-tier gold producer focused on building a long term and sustainable business that consistently delivers value to our shareholders." Karora Chairman and CEO Paul Huet said: "I am excited for the next chapter in what has been a terrific journey for our shareholders and the Karora team. The growth of the company from a single mine with no mill to a multi-mine producer with two processing facilities has led us along an upward trajectory for nearly six years. The combination of Karora and Westgold to create a new Westgold is a transformative step that will ensure growth continues as an unhedged gold producer in a historically robust gold market. The timing couldn't be better in my opinion. I wish to thank all our shareholders and the entire Karora team for their support and efforts along the way. I look forward to the continued success as we join Westgold to create a stronger future for all our stakeholders." Overview Under the terms of the Arrangement, each former shareholder of Karora (a Karora Shareholder) is entitled to receive 2.524 Westgold fully paid ordinary shares (Westgold Shares), C$0.608 (A$0.6732) in cash and 0.30 of a share of Culico Metals Inc. (Culico), a new company "spun out" from Karora, for each Karora Share held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement (the Consideration). Culico's assets comprise a 1% lithium royalty on certain mining interests held by Kali Metals Limited, the right to receive a deferred consideration payment due to Karora relating to the on-sale of the Dumont asset and A$10.9 million (C$9.8 million3) in cash. On closing of the Arrangement, Culico is 100% owned by former Karora Shareholders. The cash amount received by Culico from Karora includes A$5.360 million (C$4.840 million3), representing the negotiated economically equivalent value of Karora's existing 22.1% interest in Kali Metals Limited. Due to regulatory restrictions on transfer, Westgold has retained Karora's original 22.1% interest in Kali Metals Limited on completion of the Arrangement and paid the cash equivalent value to Culico in lieu of such interest. The Westgold Shares are listed for trading on the ASX and, subject to final approval of the TSX, will commence trading on the TSX under the ticker symbol WGX at market open on 6 August 2024. Karora has applied to de-list the Karora Shares from the TSX, and delisting is expected to be effective at market close on 2 August 2024. Following the delisting of Karora, Westgold intends to apply for Karora to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws. Culico has applied to list its common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) through the TSXV Sandbox, an initiative intended to facilitate listing applications that may not satisfy all requirements and guidelines of the TSXV, but due to facts or situations unique to a particular issuer otherwise warrant a listing on the TSXV. Listing will be subject to Culico receiving conditional and final approval of the TSXV and satisfying all of the listing requirements imposed by the TSXV. Culico intends to provide further updates in due course; however, no assurances can be provided that the Culico common shares will be listed on the TSXV or any other stock exchange or, if listed on the TSXV, that Culico will satisfy the specific listing conditions that the TSXV will impose on Culico pursuant to the TSXV Sandbox. All registered Karora Shareholders are encouraged to complete, sign and return the letter of transmittal, which has been previously mailed and is available under Karora's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, with accompanying Karora Share certificate and/or DRS advice-statement(s) (if applicable) to Computershare Investor Services Inc. as soon as possible, if they have not already done so. Non-registered Karora Shareholders are encouraged to contact their broker or other intermediary for instructions and assistance in receiving the Consideration. For more information on the Arrangement, see Karora's management information circular dated 17 June 2024, filed under Karora's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca on 21 June 2024. Westgold Board Westgold Chair the Hon. Cheryl Edwardes AM will continue in her role, as will the other members of the incumbent Westgold Board, including Westgold Managing Director and CEO, Wayne Bramwell. In connection with the Arrangement, Karora Managing Director, Australia, Leigh Junk, and Karora Director Shirley In't Veld have been appointed to Westgold's Board. Karora's Chair and CEO, Paul Huet, will continue with Westgold in a special advisory role to the Westgold Board for six months, subject to contract finalisation. Leigh Junk brings over 30 years of mining industry experience, including executive management and operations roles, and joined Karora in March 2023. Before this, he was Managing Director of Dacian Gold prior to its takeover by Genesis Minerals in 2022 and, prior to that, was Managing Director of Doray Minerals until its merger with Silver Lake Resources in 2019. Leigh was a co-founder of Donegal Resources, a private company that successfully acquired and recommissioned several Nickel operations in the Kambalda, Western Australia area, until it was sold to Canadian miner Brilliant Mining Corp. In 2006, Leigh has been a Director of several public companies in the mining and financial sectors in both Australia and Canada. Shirley In't Veld has over 30 years of career experience in mining, renewables and energy sectors. She is currently a Director of Alumina Limited and Develop Global Ltd. She was formerly Deputy Chair of CSIRO (Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation), Director of NBN Co. Limited (National Broadband Network Co.), Northern Star Resources Limited, Perth Airport, DUET Group, Asciano Limited and Alcoa of Australia Limited and a Council Member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia. She was also the Managing Director of Verve Energy (2007 - 2012) and, previously, served in senior roles at Alcoa of Australia Limited, WMC Resources Ltd., Bond Corporation and BankWest Perth. Shirley is also a past Chair of the Queensland Government Expert Electricity Panel and a member of the Renewable Energy Target Review Panel for the Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. She also served as a member of the COAG Energy Council Selection Panel, a Council member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (Western Australia) and the SMART Infrastructure Facility (University of Wollongong). Reporting Issuer Status and Filing of Technical Reports On completion of the Arrangement, Westgold became a reporting issuer in Canada in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Accordingly, Westgold intends to file the following technical reports, each prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), on SEDAR+ under its new issuer profile, accessible at www.sedarplus.ca: the technical report entitled " NI 43-101 Technical Report, Fortnum Gold Operations, Bryah Goldfield, Western Australia " dated as of 31 May 2024 (with an effective date of 30 June 2023 ) prepared, reviewed and approved by Jake Russell and Leigh Devlin , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; " dated as of (with an effective date of ) prepared, reviewed and approved by and , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; the technical report entitled " NI 43-101 Technical Report, Meekatharra Gold Operations, Murchison Goldfields , Western Australia " dated as of 31May 2024 (with an effective date of 30 June 2023 ) prepared, reviewed and approved by Jake Russell and Leigh Devlin , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; " dated as of 31May 2024 (with an effective date of ) prepared, reviewed and approved by and , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; the technical report entitled " NI 43-101 Technical Report, Cue Gold Operations, Murchison Goldfields , Western Australia " dated as of 31 May 2024 (with an effective date of 30 June 2023 ) prepared, reviewed and approved by Jake Russell and Leigh Devlin , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; " dated as of (with an effective date of ) prepared, reviewed and approved by and , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Westgold; the technical report entitled " NI 43-101 Technical Report, Lakewood Operation, Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia " dated as of 4 January 2024 (with an effective date of 30 September 2023 ) prepared, reviewed and approved by Stephen Devlin , Peter Ganza and Ian Glacken , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Karora; and " dated as of (with an effective date of ) prepared, reviewed and approved by , Peter Ganza and , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Karora; and the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Beta Hunt Operation, Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia " dated as of 2 January 2024 (with an effective date of 30 September 2023 ) prepared, reviewed and approved by Stephen Devlin , Peter Ganza and Graham de la Mare , each of whom is a "qualified person" for purposes of NI 43-101, for Karora. Advisors In connection with the Arrangement, Westgold engaged Argonaut PCF as financial advisor, Thomson Geer as Australian legal advisor and Stikeman Elliott LLP as Canadian legal advisor. Karora engaged Cormark Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Desjardins Capital Markets and Haywood Securities Inc. as advisors, HopgoodGanim as Australian legal advisor and Bennett Jones LLP as Canadian legal advisor to the Transaction. Forward looking statements This document contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" which are based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of Westgold believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect or the actual results of which may vary or differ materially. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'believes', 'estimates', 'seeks', 'intends', 'targets', 'projects', 'forecasts', or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as 'may', 'will', 'should', 'would' and 'could'. Forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to: the strengths, characteristics and potential of Westgold following completion of the Arrangement, including the achievement of any contemplated corporate cost savings and operating synergies; discussion of future plans, projects, objectives, estimates and forecasts and the timing related thereto; the timing of the listing of the Westgold Shares on the TSX and the delisting of the Karora Shares from the TSX; the timing and acceptance of the listing of the Culico common shares on the TSXV; the timing and acceptance of an application for Karora ceasing to be a reporting issuer in Canada; and the size and composition of the Westgold Board and the engagement of Mr. Huet as a special advisor thereto. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list and other information contained herein is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by Westgold. Although management believes that the assumptions made by Westgold and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Westgold or the combined entity to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, changes in laws, regulations and practices, the geopolitical, economic, permitting, final approval of the TSX and legal climate that Westgold operates in. Westgold believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Westgold does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. This document includes information that has been prepared by third parties, and views based on information that has been prepared by third parties. No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information. This document should not be relied upon as a recommendation or forecast by Westgold. 1 Based on AUD:CAD of 0.9030 as at close 31 July 2024. Data sourced from IRESS. 2 Based on AUD:CAD of 0.9030 as at close 31 July 2024. Data sourced from IRESS. 3 Based on AUD:CAD of 0.9030 as at close 31 July 2024. Data sourced from IRESS. Sudan's foreign affairs ministry which is loyal to the regular army fighting paramilitaries said on Tuesday that it "wants more discussions" before accepting a US invitation for ceasefire talks. "Any negotiation before... the complete withdrawal" of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by general Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, and a "halt" to their expansion, are "unacceptable", the ministry said in a statement. American secretary of state Antony Blinken last week invited the Sudanese army and the RSF for negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, set to begin on August 14. The same day, Daglo welcomed the invitation and announced the RSF's intent to participate. The army, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, did not react. A war has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the army and the RSF that has left tens of thousands dead and sparked a major humanitarian crisis. On Sunday, the foreign affairs ministry asked for "consultations with the Sudanese government on the form and agenda" and for a "meeting with the United States" before any future negotiations. The talks, co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, must include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the UN as observers, Blinken said. They are aimed at "achieving a country-wide cessation of violence and allowing access for humanitarian aid", said the top US diplomat. Previous rounds of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ended in failure. The war has forced the displacement of more than 11 million people both inside and outside Sudan's borders, according to the United Nations, obliterating infrastructure and pushing the country to the edge of famine. Some 25.6 million people -- more than half the population -- are facing high levels of "acute food insecurity", the world body said in a report published in late June. Both sides have been accused of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians. Since the beginning of the war, the army and RSF have also been accused of looting and obstructing humanitarian aid, as well as almost entirely destroying an already-fragile health system. A Guinean court will rule on Wednesday in the trial of ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara over a 2009 massacre in which more than 150 people were killed and scores of women raped. On September 28, 2009, and in the following days, members of Camara's presidential guard, soldiers, police and militia brutally suppressed an opposition rally at a stadium in the suburbs of the capital Conakry. In one of the darkest chapters in the West African nation's history, the forces of order killed at least 156 people, wounded hundreds more and raped 109 women, according to an UN-mandated commission of inquiry. Victims have been waiting 15 years for justice, fearing a trial would never take place. It was finally brought before a court under the military rulers who seized power in 2021. "This trial is of the utmost importance to me. I want these soldiers to pay a heavy price with sentences befitting their crimes," said Kadiatou Sow, who told AFP she was raped during the massacre and its aftermath. Sow also lost her husband, whose body was never found. - Crimes against humanity - Along with 11 other government and military officials, Dadis Camara is accused of murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction and kidnapping. Dadis Camara always denied any responsibility, blaming his subordinates. The ex-dictator's landmark trial -- which began on September 28, 2022 -- has gripped the West African nation, with the courtroom's drama beamed to the nation's televisions and radios. Judges heard from 11 defendants -- who blamed each other for the massacre during the trial -- as well as a dozen witnesses. Around 100 victims provided chilling testimonies. Asmaou Diallo, president of an association of the massacre's victims and their relatives, told AFP their eyes would all be fixed on the judge come Wednesday. "We really expect the truth and for light to be shed with this verdict," Diallo said. The chief prosecutor called for Dadis Camara and the six other defendants to be sentenced to life in prison. He also requested the charges against them be classified as crimes against humanity -- which the judges said they would not rule on until the verdict. - 'Moment of truth' - Pleading for the defendants' acquittal, the defence lawyers argue that reclassifying the charges on the day of the ruling would rob them of an opportunity to defend themselves and infringe their right to a fair trial. Both the accused and the plaintiffs will have 15 days to appeal the verdict. The prosecutor's office will have two months. Tamara Aburamadan, an international justice legal counsel for Human Rights Watch, called the upcoming verdict "a long-awaited moment of truth for the victims and their families". But the trial has taken place against a background of repression of both the opposition to Guinea's military rulers and the media. The day before the verdict, protests against the "forced disappearance" of pro-democracy activists Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah paralysed parts of Conakry, with several injured in clashes between demonstrators and the police. Though the authorities deny holding the pair, civil society organisations say they are being held incommunicado and have called for further demonstrations on the day of the verdict and the day after. International organisations and human rights activists have highlighted the trial's unprecedented nature in Guinea. It is the first of its kind to challenge the impunity of the country's security forces, which are seldom held to account, according to the UN probe. Palestinians detained by Israel during the Gaza war have largely been held in secret and in some cases subjected to treatment that may amount to torture, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, thousands of Palestinians -- including medics, patients, residents and captured fighters -- have been taken from Gaza to Israel, "usually shackled and blindfolded", the OHCHR UN human rights office said in a report Thousands more have been detained in the West Bank and Israel, it added. "They have generally been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review," OHCHR said. Israel did not immediately comment but has rejected previous critical reports saying its prisons are run according to international law. The report was released the day after Israel's military police questioned soldiers arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee At least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention since the Gaza war began on October 7, the report found. Testimonies for the report suggested that Israel had subjected prisoners to "a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees", UN rights chief Volker Turk said. The report covers October 7 to June 30. It relies primarily on information gathered through interviews with released Palestinian detainees and other victims and witnesses of violations, OHCHR said. The report said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that since October 7, Israel and Palestinian armed groups had "committed gross violations and abuses... of the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment." These included the use of "rape and other forms of sexual violence," warning the abuses may amount to war crimes. Besides calling for the abuses to cease, the OHCHR urged all parties to "immediately end all forms of arbitrary detention, including the holding of hostages". - 'Incommunicado detention' - The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths. Turk called for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza, and said all Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be set free. "Secret, prolonged incommunicado detention may also amount to a form of torture," Turk said. - 'Burnt with cigarettes' - The report said most Palestinians held since October 7 have been detained "without charges or trial". Many released Palestinians reported treatment "including severe beatings, electrocution, being forced to remain in stress positions for prolonged periods, or waterboarding". The report said detainees had been subjected to blackmail, "being burnt with cigarettes, and given hallucinogenic pills". The report also said the Palestinian Authority "continued to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill treatment in the West Bank, reportedly principally to suppress criticism and political opposition". A host of studies by rights groups and UN agencies have condemned conditions in Israeli prisons as well as Hamas's treatment of detainees. Amnesty International said this month it had documented 27 cases of Palestinians, including five women and a 14-year-old boy, who were detained by Israel "for up to four and a half months" without being able to contact their families. According to the Prisoners Club, a Palestinian rights watchdog, about 9,600 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, including hundreds under administrative detention where they can be held for long periods without charge. Sudan's de facto ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out negotiation with paramilitaries after he survived a drone attack on Wednesday in the war-torn country's east. The army said five people were killed in a drone attack on a ceremony at the Gibet base, where Burhan was overseeing a graduation ceremony. "We will not retreat, we will not surrender, and we will not negotiate," Burhan, who appeared unharmed, told troops at the Gibet base after the attack. "We are not scared of drones," he said at the Gibet base, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Port Sudan, where the army-aligned government fled after war broke out with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April last year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The United States has invited both sides to negotiations next month in Geneva, which Sudan's foreign ministry on Tuesday said must be preceded by "more discussions". On Wednesday, Burhan ruled out talks with the RSF. Any peace initiative "must recognise, invite and consult the Sudanese state", he said, referring to his government. "We will not lay down our guns until we clean this country of every conspirator and every rebel," he vowed. Already, the war -- which Burhan says the army intends to win "with our head high" -- has killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimates of up to 150,000, according to US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello. It has also caused mass human rights violations and triggered the world's largest displacement crisis, according to the United Nations. Over 10 million people are currently displaced across Sudan, most in areas facing looming famine and worsening humanitarian conditions as fighting spreads. Wednesday's attack was the first on a military base in Sudan's eastern Red Sea state, where the army, government and the United Nations have all relocated their headquarters. The RSF controls most of the capital Khartoum, the central Al-Jazira state, nearly the entire vast western Darfur region, as well as large parts of Kordofan in the south. It launched an offensive last month on Sennar state in the country's southeast, claiming the state capital and displacing more than 130,000 people, according to the UN. Paramilitaries are also besieging El-Fasher -- the capital of North Darfur state and the largest city in the region not yet under the control of the RSF -- cutting off food and water to hundreds of thousands of civilians. Sixty-five people, mostly children, have been killed there between Saturday and Monday during RSF bombardment, according to a statement from local activist committees. Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid. This month of August marks 16 years since Russian ground forces breached Georgias sovereignty on August 8, 2008, crossing through Abkhazia and South Ossetia with aid from the Russian air force and Black Sea fleet. The invasion, accompanied by actions that amounted to war crimes, led to the displacement of 26,888 individuals (9,081 families) and the death of 228 Georgian civilians. The International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded its investigation into the war on December 16, 2022, issuing arrest warrants against officials related to the de facto South Ossetian administration, an ally effectively controlled by Russia. On April 28, 2023, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Russian Federation must pay 130 million euros to Georgia for the August War, based on its January 21, 2021 judgment in an interstate case. However, the crucial question remains: when will this judgment be enforced, ensuring compensation for the victims? As of now, no payments have been made, and the total owed, including accrued interest, stands at approximately 133.4 million euros. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has repeatedly urged Russia to fulfill its obligations and facilitate the safe return of Georgian nationals to their homes. Nevertheless, Russias failure to adhere to the principle of Pacta Sunt Servanda a fundamental principle of law which holds that treaties are binding upon its parties suggests that all conventional obligations will remain unfulfilled until there is a political will to comply. Russian-style law: a step backward for Georgia This unresolved issue is exacerbated by Georgias recent Russian-style bill on transparency of foreign influence introduced on April 3, 2024. This legislative move, aimed at shifting Georgias alignment away from the European Union (EU) and NATO, has triggered widespread dissent in the country. For victims who have suffered severe human rights violations, including threats to life and property destruction, this legislative shift represents a significant setback. It undermines their pursuit of justice and compensation by complicating legal processes and restricting avenues for redress, adding to their emotional and economic burdens. The adoption of this law contradicts the countrys foreign policy, regarding in particular Tbilisis application to the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights. It threatens the functionality of NGOs like GYLA (Georgian Young Lawyers Association), which has been pivotal in taking cases to the ECHR and advocating for the rights of war victims. It is widely acknowledged that the perceptions of victims vary significantly, influenced by factors such as age, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, and political context. Different victims exhibit distinct needs and desires, which may evolve over time. For example, prioritizing reparations become challenging amidst ongoing violations of human rights. In April 2024, the Strasbourg court noted that Russia continues to breach the European Convention on Human Rights, exacerbating living conditions in Georgian territories occupied by Russia and along the occupation line. Specifically, the Court addressed an inter-state application concerning Russias administrative practices of harassment, illegal detention, assault, torture, murder, and intimidation targeting the ethnically Georgian population. These actions are designed to intimidate, isolate, and ethnically cleanse Georgian communities in and near occupied territories. Meanwhile, urgent material needs persist, particularly among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Georgia. More than 90,000 IDPs, over half of whom lack adequate housing, continue to reside in communal residential buildings that fail to meet basic living standards and pose serious health and safety risks. Demonstration against the law on foreign influence outside the Parliament in Tbilisi on 15 May, 2024. Georgians took to the streets for weeks to protest against this law, whose adoption has prompted a blizzard of international condemnation. Photo : Giorgi Arjevanidze / AFP Unconventional compensation more likely The likelihood of Georgian victims receiving monetary compensation through the conventional enforcement of ECHR judgments appears slim. First, the victims awaited this judgment for 15 years, with some passing away during this prolonged waiting. Second, although the judgment relates to earlier, the Russian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, as a consequence of its aggression against Ukraine. Furthermore, it has openly declared a policy of non-compliance with ECHR obligations. The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assemblys 2022 opinion highlighted Russias failure to execute numerous ECHR judgments and interim measures as grounds for questioning its continued membership in the organization. So what other routes are available for the judgment execution? Despite this, the Federation of Russia remains a member of the United Nations and subject to UN monitoring. In December 2023, the Council of Europe announced it was cooperating with UN bodies to remind Russia of its obligation to implement ECHR judgments. Discussions on this matter took place at the quarterly meeting of the Council of Europes Committee of Ministers. Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric again urged Russia to comply with its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The same month, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe underlined that the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Russian Federation endorsed a recommendation regarding the enforcement of judgments involving Russia, recommending to the state to ensure without any further delay the enforcement of opinions and judgments in individual cases emanating from United Nations human rights mechanisms and the European Court of Human Rights. It should also be noted that, on November 13, 2023, the UN Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review conducted a review of the situation in the Russian Federation. The Russian delegation participated in the session, and several States emphasized to Russia its unequivocal obligation to uphold judgments and decisions of the European Court. In response, Russian delegates asserted their non-recognition of judgments rendered after March 15, 2022, citing the adoption of a specific domestic legislation to this effect. They also noted that they continued to honor, until January 2023, judgments finalized before March 2022. However, starting January 1, 2023, Russia ceased making payments as, according to delegates, legal authority to do so expired under domestic law. The Russian Federation has therefore openly declared that it is not going to pay compensation for Georgian victims as ordered on April 2023. Georgian government reluctant to get involved And so, the question persists: if the current action is not sufficient, is more intervention necessary? Historically, some of the most extensive compensation schemes were established by Germany for victims of Nazi crimes. Similar efforts were initiated during the late 20th century after periods of dictatorship such as in Haiti, El Salvador, and South Africa -- with varying degrees of ambition and success. Several programs addressing property claims from conflicts in the Balkans or the Gulf War have also been set up with international involvement. However, most such measures were taken following an agreement achieved or imposed on the paying State, and none directly mirror the current situation concerning the fulfillment of obligations that stem from ECHR judgments. Recently, Ukraines proposed models for a compensation commission and a fund to finance it, with the support of the Council of Europe, also establishes a new precedent. Amidst the complex landscape, GYLA, a 30-year old watchdog NGO operating in Georgia, suggests establishing an international compensation fund for the victims of the August war and subsequent developments, under the auspices of the Council of Europe. In this regard, GYLA believes that the Georgian authorities, particularly the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with other state bodies including the Justice Ministry, should be pro-active at international level. Our organization brought this proposal to the Strasbourg Court during the litigation of individual applications against Russia in March 2023. It was officially requested before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia in January 2024, but the Ministry had given no feedback as of July 2024. GYLA believes the Georgian government must first outline potential strategies for creating a compensation fund and subsequently advocate for its establishment. Without a proactive engagement from the Georgian government, it would be unrealistic to expect other countries to act on its behalf. But today, after the adoption of the Russian-style law on transparency of foreign influence despite significant international criticism, the likelihood of the aforementioned actions being pursued appears diminished. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Party of National Unity leader Peter Munya has firmly declared his stand on President William Rutos job offers. Munya stated that he would decline any offers from Rutos administration since he is not as desperate as others. He emphasized his commitment to working directly with Kenyans to bring about necessary changes. Munya explained that it would be more prudent to chart a different political path rather than accepting a position that would involve supporting Rutos government which many citizens have issues with. "I've not been offered any position and even if I'm offered, I will decline," Munya asserted. "I think I am better off working with Kenyans to bring the changes that we require than going in there to strengthen a government a lot of people have issues with." This comes even as Munya has hinted at his plans to ditch Raila Odinga's Azimio after the Opposition joined Rutos government at their expense. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 As the succession battle in ODM gathers momentum following the appointment of Party Chairman John Mbadi, Deputy Party Leaders Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya, and Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi to President William Rutos Cabinet, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga convened a high-stakes meeting with the likely successors. Raila's strategic meeting with the governors of Kisii and Mombasa Counties, Simba Arati and Abduswamad Shariff Nassir respectively, is his political move to avert a scramble that could topple the party. Besides, Raila has already submitted his application for the prestigious African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship. If successful, Raila will have to step down as ODM Party leader; something that has intensified lobbying on who will take over from Baba as the ODM Party leader. Among the names being floated for the two deputy party leader slots are governors Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay), Simba Arati (Kisii), Abdullswamad Nassir (Mombasa), and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi. Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, aiming for the party chairman role, emphasised the need for fresh leadership to engage the younger generation. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has also declared his ambition for the party leader position, contingent on Odinga securing the AUC role. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - President William Ruto has cautioned the Gen Zs against misusing the 'leaderless' and 'fearless' stance to propagate violence and anarchy in the country. Speaking during the launch of the Linzi Sukuk bond at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Ruto told the Gen Zs not to be reckless and stupid in their action going forward. However, he admired the Gen Zs for being leaderless and fearless in their pursuit of good governance and accountability. According to the Head of State, Kenya was a proud democratic country governed by the rule of law, and that there was no constitutional provision for violence. We are a country that believes in freedom, and democracy but we are also a government by the rule of law, it is good to be fearless, it is good to be leaderless but it is not good to be reckless, Ruto clarified. We must know the country is governed by the rule of law. I am very proud that our country is soaring high globally because of what we have done as the people of Kenya and we must safeguard, he added. He also assured both local and foreign investors of the country's stability, vowing to deal with those instigating anarchy in the country. At the same time, Ruto warned the youth against misusing cyberspace by insulting their leaders through what they termed as ' sending greetings' to the said politicians. According to him, cyberbullying was against the law. He instead called on the youths to utilize their access to the internet by making a living out of it. The Gen Zs have organized anti-government protests on 8/8/2024 dubbed Nane Nane. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Renowned Nairobi lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has reacted after the Court of Appeal declared the Finance Bill 2023 unconstitutional on Wednesday. Justices Kathurima M'inoti, Agnes Murgor, and John Mativo declared the Finance Act 2023 unconstitutional, saying the process leading to its enactment was flawed. The Judges said the various sections introduced post-public participation to amend the Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act, Excise Duty Act, Retirement Benefits Act, and Export Processing Zones Act were unconstitutional as they were not subjected to fresh public participation. They subsequently declared some sections of the Act, including the housing levy, as unconstitutional. Reacting to the ruling, Ahmednasir, a close ally of President William Ruto, sympathized with the government and urged Kenyans to pray for the Kenya Kwanza Alliance government, attributing the situation to incompetence and corruption. It's CRUEL & CALLOUS to criticise President Ruto's government. "It's INHUMANE to condemn it for its palpable INCOMPETENCE and runaway CORRUPTION. "This government needs Kenyans' collective PITY and PRAYERS. "I mean, how can your finance bill of 2023/24 be declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL?, Ahmednasir wrote on X. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Azimio One Kenya Alliance principal, Kalonzo Musyoka, has said the coalition will not support the looming impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Some Kenya Kwanza Alliance Members of Parliament close to President William Ruto are reportedly drafting a motion that will see Gachagua impeached for gross misconduct, undermining the presidency, and sponsoring and financing Gen Z protests. Speaking at the African Inland Church Milimani during a requiem mass for Mbaitu FM journalist Mercy Mawia Mwangi on Wednesday, Kalonzo said Azimio MPs, especially from the Wiper Democratic Movement, will not support Gachaguas impeachment. Kalonzo further condemned the government's nomination of opposition MPs and emphasized that the Azimio coalition remains united in fighting for the rights of Kenyans. He stated, "The poaching of ODM members does not amount to a government of national unity." Kalonzo is among Azimio leaders who have consistently insisted that Ruto resign over bad governance and massive corruption in his government. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has written to the National Assembly asking the House not to approve the nomination of Wycliffe Oparanya as Cabinet Secretary over integrity issues. In a letter dated July 29 and addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, the EACC highlighted that Wycliffe Oparanya, the Co-operatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development CS nominee, is facing a graft case. The EACC noted that it has filed for preservation orders against Oparanyas assets, as he is alleged to possess proceeds from corruption due to a conflict of interest, and the matter is still pending in court. On July 26, Oparanya suffered a major setback after the High Court declined to unfreeze his assets in the ongoing graft probe concerning the alleged embezzlement of Sh1.3 billion during his two-term tenure as the Kakamega governor. In this case, EACC is seeking to recover the billions from Oparanya and several companies associated with officials of the Kakamega County government amounting to Sh1,387,310,025. Oparanya has been scheduled to appear before MPs for vetting on Sunday. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Saboti Member of Parliament Caleb Amisi has thanked former Prime Minister and ODM party leader Raila Odinga for his appointment as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The youthful lawmaker said his appointment was a testament to the former prime minister's confidence in him. Amisi pledged to uphold the values of transparency and accountability if will be elected to the position by the committee members. "This appointment is a testament to the confidence you have placed in me, and I assure you that I will carry out my duties with utmost dedication and integrity. "I am committed to upholding the values of transparency and accountability as we work together to strengthen our nation's governance. "Thank you for this incredible opportunity," Amisi said. He also thanked all Kenyans congratulating him on his new appointment, saying their messages inspired him. "To the people of Saboti Constituency, the ODM fraternity, and Kenyans at large, I am deeply touched and inspired by your generous words of congratulations. "With boundless gratitude for the confidence placed in me, and with an unswerving resolve to honor that trust, I humbly accept the appointment," he added. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - A chef who strangled his wife to death in front of their young children and her TikTok lover before stuffing her body inside a suitcase has been jailed for 22 years. Aminan Rahman, 47, strangled his 24-year-old wife, Suma Begum with her scarf at a flat in Docklands, east London, on the night of April 29, 2023. While attacking her, he video called Begums boyfriend, Shahin Miah, 24, and said; Because of you this happened. Rahman forced Ms Begum into a suitcase before throwing her into the River Lea as their young son watched on. Miah cried in court as he described the video call. Speaking through an interpreter, he said: She wanted to run away and he then grabbed her throat. There were three screaming sounds before the video froze and nothing more could be seen after Rahmans initial lunge. In a second video call from Rahman that night, the defendant told Mr Miah: Look, I have killed (Ms Begum) and now you get ready. Her body was found 10 days later after being found washed up by the side of the Thames River. The couple had married in an arranged Islamic ceremony over the phone in 2019 while Ms Begum lived in Bangladesh. Begum later met Miah, who lived in the United Arab Emirates, on social media in 2021 and began an intimate, sexual relationship online. Miah told Rahman about their relationship after he found out Ms Begum was married, but they continued to stay together. Begums half brother Abdul Amin said: When Suman first came to the UK she was beautiful woman who enjoyed spending time with us, but this changed and she lost a lot of weight and became very withdrawn. We later learned through Sumans sister, Lubna Begum, who lives in Bangladesh, that Suman wanted to tell us about how Aminan was abusing her, but he threatened to kill her if she did. She added: We have had to listen to Aminan telling the court how much he loved his children, but how can that be true when he attacked and killed their mum in front of them? He had deprived them of the childhood they should have had. They are going to have to grow up and learn if how he killed and dumped their mums body in a river and we cannot begin to imagine the pain they are going to have to endure. Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC had told jurors: It is clear this young woman was no longer happy in her marriage, she was fairly openly in a relationship with another man, and she had expressed the desire to leave the defendant, something about which neither he nor her family were happy. But whether he was motivated by rage, shame, or pure jealousy, or a more complex mix of cultural expectations and emotions, may not matter. The prosecution case is that on the night of April 29-30, shortly before midnight, Shahin Miah witnessed the murder of Suma Begum by the defendant on a video call which he recorded. What he observed part of was the deliberate strangulation of Suma Begum days before her body was found." The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan jailed Rahman for life with a minimum sentence of 22 years. The judge called the victim was a lively, attractive young woman and a devoted mother. She had dreamed of a new, different life with a man her own age which dreams you stopped on April 29 last year when you very deliberately killed her. Within moments of strangling Ms Begum, you folded her body into a suitcase and threw it into the Thames basin, hoping it would never be found. All this was done in the sight of her two year old son. Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - A couple on vacation celebrating a birthday was mysteriously found dead in their hotel room in a resort town in Mexico. Lindsay and Nick Jordan had travelled from Reno, Nevada, to Cabo San Lucas to meet up with friends for Lindsay's 46th birthday. Their friends went to their room to check on them when they did not appear one morning to discuss plans. However, on getting to the room, the friends were turned away by hotel workers and cops, according to their son, Deven Simms, 21. The married couple, who have three children, was discovered dead on July 14, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported this week. Deven has translated medical records and police reports and said that local authorities suspect his parents deaths were drug-related. "But everything Ive seen, the amounts of what was found and tests are different in every document," he told the newspaper. Deven added that his dad did not drink and he does not believe they overdosed on drugs. But it is not possible to have independent autopsies done in the US because authorities did not rule the deaths suspicious, he said. "I know now we will never know," he said. The couple leaves behind Deven and their daughters Haley Jordan, 19, and Sammy, 12. Haley said her parents were travelling with friends from work. They had shared pictures from the resort in a family group chat on the first two days of the trip. "Not too bad from our room for our long weekend!" the mother had written. The last photo shared by the couple showed them smiling and having lunch at the resort. "They were so happy to be going on this trip," Haley told the newspaper. "Its all my mom talked about." Deven received the devastating news in a phone call from their work friends and informed his siblings. Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - A high court in Ghana has barred groups from holding protests against economic hardship in the country. High Court Justice Abena Afia Serwaa upheld a request by Ghanas police to ban civil society groups from carrying out protests between July 31 and August 6 after the police told the court that they would not be able to provide security to protesters. Court documents seen by ModernGhana News said the police have warned that the planned demonstration could compromise public order. The police said some of their personnel have been posted for political rallies and election campaigns, and they would not guarantee the protection of protesters. Protest organizer Mensah Thompson said citizens have a right to protest and elections should not be excuses for blocking it. Young people are poised to demonstrate with or without the approval of the authorities. A time comes when they will spontaneously jump on the streets and we will have a Kenya on our hands. Young people are poised to demonstrate with or without the approval of the authorities. A time comes when they will spontaneously jump on the streets and we will have a Kenya on our hands. Thursday, August 1, 2024 - A cybercrime DCI officer is in trouble after the High Court in Eldoret ordered his arrest for withholding crucial evidence in a murder case where a lawyer is charged with killing his friend. The DCI officer, identified as Daniel Kieni, was expected to present in court CCTV footage as key evidence in the murder case but he has failed to appear in court several times despite being summoned. Lawyer Abel Mogaka is accused of killing his friend Calvin Ngaira during a house party hosted at Eldoret town. Its alleged that there was a commotion at the party during which the accused used a broken beer bottle to stab the deceased. Justice Robert Wananda who is handling the case described the character of the detective as strange behaviour which had delayed the conclusion of the case. Despite being summoned and promising to appear, the officer has neither appeared physically nor virtually and no sufficient explanation has been given, said Justice Wananda. He issued a warrant of arrest against the detective to the officer in charge of cybercrime at DCI headquarters in Nairobi to implement the arrest. While issuing the warrant, Justice Wananda regretted that the character of such officers has continued to contribute to the delay of many court cases. A warrant of arrest is hereby issued against the cybercrime officer namely Inspector Daniel Kieni of the cybercrime unit DCI Nairobi. "The warrants are to be effected by officers in charge of cybercrime unit DCI Nairobi," ordered Justice Wananda. The deceased was the only son of Hesbon Ngaira who is chief principal at Hill School in Eldoret. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Thursday, August 1, 2024 It appears Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua desperately needs former President Uhuru Kenyatta now more than ever. This is in light of the planned impeachment and ongoing investigations, where his allies have been accused of funding the Gen Zs to destabilize President William Rutos government. Now, Gachagua wants Uhuru to give him stability and legitimacy as the Mt. Kenya kingpin. Speaking at a burial in Nyeri County yesterday, Kieni MP Anthony Wainaina begged Uhuru to formally pass the mantle of Mt Kenya region's kingpin to Gachagua. This would give Gachagua legitimate control of the region and enhance his bargaining power. Wainaina emphasized the need for a smooth transition of leadership within the region to maintain unity and strength. "We would like for Uhuru Kenyatta to bless Rigathi Gachagua as the Mt Kenya Region kingpin," stated Wainaina. The lawmaker opined that they could take gifts to the former head of state to appreciate him for leading the country and the Mount Kenya region for 10 years. "If we get an opportunity, we will take gifts to Uhuru and thank him for leading us for 10 years, then ask him to bless Gachagua," he stated. Wainaina also highlighted the symbolic importance of presenting gifts to Kenyatta as a gesture of appreciation for his decade-long leadership. "It's not just about politics; it's about respect and gratitude. We want to honour him and ensure that the region remains united under strong leadership," the MP stated. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has ordered Nyeri County police commanders not to allow Gen Z demonstrations during the planned Nane Nane March scheduled for August 8, 2024. Speaking on Wednesday in Nyeri County, the deputy president said what is happening in the county, particularly in Karatina town, is unacceptable and the government cannot allow it to continue. DP Gachagua said the people behind the weekly protests are known and should be arrested and arraigned in court. What is happening in Karatina is not acceptable. "We cannot accept that every week there are thugs harassing business people. "The police come and they chase them away. "These characters are known, they should be arrested and taken to court, said Gachagua. The second in command asked the Nyeri County Commissioner to ensure that the people behind the anti-government protests are dealt with, saying they are disrupting businesses in Karatina town. "We cannot accept a situation where criminals are disturbing people in Karatina and the people who are organizing these things are known. "So the county Commissioner and your team, put your best foot forward and bring an end to that nonsense in Karatina, Gachagua remarked. The Kenyan DAILY POST Friday, August 1, 2024 Two UDA MPs allied to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have broken silence after two days of grilling by the DCI. The two, Embakasi North MP James Gakuya and his Embakasi Central counterpart, Benjamin Gathiru, were released after being grilled over their involvement in sponsoring the recent anti-government demonstrations witnessed across the country. Speaking to the press after their release, the two attributed their arrest to a political witch-hunt. Anybody with any evidence or fact of whatever misdeed we did should come out and tell us how we finance the protests. This is a witch hunt, Gakuya commented. Gakuya and Gathiru were part of the five Gachagua allies grilled over their alleged participation in fuelling anarchy and violence during the anti-government demonstrations. "They also questioned us on whether we were buying T-shirts and water which I believe is just political," noted Benjamin Gathiru. The arrest and release of the two UDA MPs come days after DCI detectives summoned Embakasi East MP Babu Owino over similar allegations, though the summons were later withdrawn. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - The young generation in Kenya, commonly known as Gen Z, is organizing nationwide protests next week, dubbed 'Nane Nane March,' to demand the resignation of President William Ruto and his government. Using the hashtag #NaneNaneMarch, the young Kenyans have urged everyone to stay home on August 8, 2024, as it will be a public holiday. The Gen Zs said they would gather at Nairobis Central Business District on that day, waving placards demanding Ruto's resignation. If he refuses to resign, they plan to march to State House to force him to do so. The youth, using various social media platforms, have also warned Boda Boda riders and matatu operators against being used by politicians to hijack the protests. The young people have also requested Nairobi residents to provide accommodation for those coming from rural areas, so they can prepare well for the 1 Million March to State House next Thursday. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh has been killed during a raid at his residence in Tehran, according to the Palestinian military group Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday, July 31, after attending the swearing-in inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Hamas said in a statement. The Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh's death in a separate statement. "Early this morning, the residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and one of his bodyguards' martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon," the Revolutionary Guards said. Hamas declares to the great Palestinian people and the people of the Arab and Islamic nations and all the free people of the world, brother leader Ismail Ismail Haniyeh a martyr, the terse statement said. In another statement, the group quoted Haniyeh as saying that the Palestinian cause has costs and we are ready for these costs: martyrdom for the sake of Palestine, and for the sake of God Almighty, and for the sake of the dignity of this nation. Haniyeh was the exiled political chief of the militant group and had spent much of his time in recent years in Qatar and Turkey. Considered a pragmatist, he had acted as a negotiator in the ceasefire talks during the Israel-Gaza war, liaised with Hamass main ally, Iran, and met with the Turkish president. Haniyeh was also said to maintain good relations with the heads of the various Palestinian factions, including rivals to Hamas. He was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure having become Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following an upset victory by Hamas in that years parliamentary election. Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - Pavel Durov, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Telegram Messenger app, has narrated how he had 100 biological children around the world despite being unmarried. The 39-year-old entrepreneur made this known through his popular channel on Monday evening, July 29. He said his preference is to remain single and alone. However, he disclosed that 15 years ago, his friend approached him to donate his sperm in a clinic, which he agreed to. This resulted in him helping over 12 families all over the world have kids. He described his sperm as "high-quality donor material". He said, "I was just told that I have over 100 biological kids. How is this possible for a guy who has never been married and prefers to live alone? "Fifteen years ago, a friend approached me with a weird request. He said that he and his wife couldnt have kids due to a fertility issue and asked me to donate sperm at a clinic for them to have a baby. I laughed my ass off before realising he was dead serious. "The boss of the clinic told me that 'high-quality donor material' was in short supply and that it was my civic duty to donate more sperm to anonymously help more couples. This sounded crazy enough to get me to sign up for sperm donation. "Fast forward to 2024, my past donating activity has helped over a hundred couples in 12 countries to have kids. Moreover, many years after I stopped being a donor, at least one IVF clinic still has my frozen sperm available for anonymous use by families who want to have kids." He hinted that he would plan to open-source his DNA so that his biological children could easily find him, stressing, Of course, there are risks, but I dont regret having been a donor. The shortage of healthy sperm has become an increasingly serious issue worldwide, and Im proud that I did my part to help alleviate it. Durov further advised healthy men to donate sperm to families struggling to have kids around the world. The Telegram founder is a Russian-born Emirati entrepreneur. In 2022, he was recognized as the richest expat in the United Arab Emirates, according to Forbes. In February 2023, Arabian Business named him the most powerful entrepreneur in Dubai. Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka does not need former Prime Minister Raila Odingas help to survive politically. Speaking at a burial in Machakos yesterday, Kalonzo dismissed the notion that he depends on Railas influence for political survival. According to the Wiper Leader, his influence in Kenyas political arena was dominant way before partnering with the former Prime Minister. Some are saying Kalonzo cannot stand without Raila, please spare us, we have stood before, we have been misunderstood before, Kalonzo stated. While affirming his decision as the Opposition leader, Kalonzo revealed that such criticism would not compel him to join President William Ruto's administration. Kalonzo went ahead to fault Odinga's ODM party for allowing some of its members to join Ruto's cabinet despite being in the opposition. "ODM has taken their time to explain, but they will have a lot of explaining to do. But the rest of us are very clear about our intentions," Kalonzo stated. "We have absolutely no intention of joining President Ruto's government but we wish them well," he added. Kalonzos sentiments followed hours after meeting Raila Odinga alongside other Azimio leaders, including Jubilee's Jeremiah Kioni and KANU's Gideon Moi. The Azimio leaders reportedly met to deliberate on several matters that were hampering the coalition's political progress. Kalonzo while disclosing the details of the meeting revealed Odinga met the coalition leaders to explain the intrigues that led to the nomination of the 4 ODM leaders to Cabinet. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - The U.S. Embassy has caused a massive uproar after it appeared to be meddling in Kenyan affairs. This is after it issued a controlling statement about the vetting of President William Rutos Cabinet Secretary nominees by Parliament, sparking serious debate. In the statement, the Meg Whitman-led Embassy emphasized the importance of integrity in public service and claimed that Parliament has a key role to play in upholding Chapter Six of the Kenyan Constitution, which provides for leadership and integrity. "As Kenyans look ahead to the vetting of Cabinet nominees beginning today, we recognize the importance of integrity in public service and the National Assemblys vital role in upholding Chapter Six of Kenyas Constitution," read the statement by the U.S. Embassy. However, the statement did not go down well with a section of netizens who were quick to call out the American embassy. A section of netizens called out the embassy to stop meddling in the country's internal affairs, while others questioned its interest in the matter. Another section of online users claimed that the U.S. Embassy should not comment on integrity, alleging that it was not upholding it. The Kenyan DAILY POST Thursday, August 1, 2024 - Interior Cabinet nominee, Prof Kithure Kindiki has revealed that he never thought of resigning following the Gen Z protests that almost brought down the Kenya Kwanza Alliance government. Kindiki was responding to a question from Kathiani MP Robert Mbui during his appearance before the National Assembly vetting committee, chaired by Speaker Moses Wetangula. Mbui questioned Kindiki about why he did not resign during his tenure despite the many murders suspected to have been caused by the police. However, in response, Kindiki said he could only resign if his policy instructions were unconstitutional or illegal. The honorable member said the Director of Secret Service resigned but also drew a parallel saying our Inspector General resigned. "The minister did not resign in the US, I dont know why the Kenya minister must resign, he said. Kindiki is among the 10 CS who served in President William Rutos dissolved Cabinet. President William Ruto nominated Kindiki back to the Interior Ministry after dismissing his entire Cabinet. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - A 29-year-old man is in critical condition after his co-worker "hunted him down" and hit him with a car. Trae Black, 29, fled a construction site in Perth, Australia, after an alleged argument on the site. Matthew William Lawson, 25, came to confront Trae, who ran away. Matthew then chased him in his Mazda Ute and hit him. The two mens manager, "Horse" Elliott, told The West Australian he believed the axle of the vehicle severed Traes leg. Trae reportedly stumbled around, with half of his leg missing, asking for help when good Samaritans stopped to help him. One of them, an orthopaedic doctor, used her handbag strap as a tourniquet while they waited for help to arrive. They found his severed leg on a nearby bank. The highway in Perth was closed for a period of time while officers investigated and took Trae to seek medical treatment. After hitting Trae, its alleged Matthew assaulted him with a "demolition hammer". Western Australia police said: "It is believed the victim was struck by the vehicle before being assaulted with a hammer." Matthew appeared at Perth Magistrates Court on July 31, charged with one count of attempted murder. When asked how he wished to plead, he told Magistrate Janelle Scutt: "Yup, guilty." Deputy Police Commissioner Allan Adams said: "What will be alleged by the police is that the accused hit the victim with his vehicle to start with, which caused some serious significant injury to his leg, which essentially, his lower leg was separated from his body. "He then went up to him and hit him twice with a hammer. So violence to the absolute extreme." Large blood stains were seen splattered across the black tarmac of the road where Trae was hit. Trae and Matthews boss, Horse, said: Everyone is a bit distraught, weve got a bit of employees that arent on site but weve got to make sure we get the job done that we tried to start yesterday. I suggest that what happened yesterday, I dont wish that on anyone and when you turn up to work you dont expect anything like that to happen but thats the world we live in nowadays. Thursday, August 1, 2024 - This lady, Rae Wambui, is trending after plotting revenge against her ex-husband by informing his employer that he steals between Ksh 20,000 to Ksh 30,000 from the company each month. She has vowed to bring her ex-husband down after parting ways. Wambui is very beautiful but she has no brains. See her photos below. The Kenyan DAILY POST. Thursday, August 1, 2024 Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has directed security forces in Nyeri to clamp down on anti-government protests in Karatina, citing disruptions to businesses and public order. Speaking at a burial ceremony, Gachagua condemned the ongoing protests by the Gen Zs in Mt. Kenya and called for immediate action against those responsible. "What is happening in Karatina is not acceptable," Gachagua declared. "Every week there are some criminals disrupting businesses. They are engaging the police in hide-and-seek games every week. These characters are known, they should be arrested and taken to court." Gachagua emphasized the negative impact these protests are having on local businesses and the overall peace in the region. "We cannot accept a situation where criminals are crippling services in Karatina and the people who are organising these things are known," he stated. "So, the county Commissioner and your team, put your best foot forward and bring an end to that nonsense in Karatina." Gachagua underscored the need to maintain peace and order in Karatina, which he described as a vital part of a peaceful region and country. "This is a very peaceful county in a very peaceful region and in a peaceful country, we cannot have anarchy," he said. "We cannot have a chaotic situation where thugs are making it impossible for business people and ordinary Kenyans to carry out their daily business." This comes as the Deputy President and his allies are under police scrutiny for allegedly funding the Gen Zs to destabilize Rutos government through weekly protests. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - Two Venezuelan army captains have called on the army to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro from power as protests over the election results continue to ravage the South American nation. Thousands of people descended on central Caracas on Monday evening, some walking for miles from slums on the mountains surrounding the city, towards the presidential palace after President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory despite results online showing that Maduro only got 30 percent of the vote with Edmundo Gonzalez winning convincingly. Opinion polls ahead of the election suggested a clear victory for the challenger after opposition parties had united behind Mr Gonzalez in an attempt to unseat President Maduro after 11 years in power, amid widespread discontent over the country's economic crisis. Crowds of people chanted freedom, freedom! and called for the government to fall were evident on social media as. Armed police, military and left-wing paramilitaries who are sympathetic to the government clashed with protesters and blocked off many roads around the city centre. The two Army captains, Javier and Juan Carlos Nieto Quintero in a video asked the army to fight for the soul of the nation and support the people who voted against a Maduro government. In a speech on Venezuelan state television, Maduro said it is his "obligation to tell you the truth". "We are all under the obligation to listen the truth, to gear up with patience, calmness and strength because we are familiar with this movie and we know how to face these situations and how to defeat the violent. Maduro accused the opposition of calling for a coup by disputing the results. "This is not the first time we are facing what we are facing today, he said. They are trying to impose in Venezuela a coup d'etat again of fascist and counter-revolutionary character." Practicing physicians have been extremely lucky over the last century to have survived financially in the health care system to the degree that they have today. Judging from my 25 years of medical practice research and 40 years of clinical medical practice experience, I have been watching the self-disintegration of most physicians value to the profession. Your personal values become hostage to the Medical-Industrial Complex or Medical Deep State. Just the fact that all physicians over the last century have never been offered access to business education nor been alerted to the benefits of real business knowledge by any U.S. medical schools should enrage every physicianbut it doesnt. Our governments covert efforts to take command of our health care have almost succeeded. Did you notice that? What you may not have thought about is it also includes medical school education and the profession. Do you recognize that someone else will decide your medical school for you, the city or area where you will practice, your salary/income, and even the specialty you will be trained to do? What you and I missed The many actions that could have been implemented by our medical schools in the past to eliminate the present-day problems that all private medical practice physicians continue to struggle with now have been intentionally avoided by medical school administrators. For some financial reasons, medical school scholars are determined to create small-business physicians and business-ignorant medical doctors. Recently, the requirements for medical school entrance applications have been reduced, which reduces the quality and value of physicians. All of us in pre-med should have had a business education thenand didnt. Pre-meds should have been stimulated to also begin doing due diligence about going to the right medical school for the right reasons. About 100% of pre-meds never do that. I didnt because I expected that to happen sometime in med schooland I didnt. Most medical students never think about what happens after medical school. Whos paying for you to start your private practice? You have no credit, no job, and cant get loans easily. Thoughts of increasing educational debt wiped out all those considerations. Your medical school does not care about you or your future medical practice outcomes. If they did, we all would have been offered or provided with a business education during medical school. Later, most physicians discover that all their mental expectations for their future medical career outcomes are rarely fruitful. And its often too late to do much about losing your private practice for financial reasons. Dealing with the business of medical practice The conviction of about 50% of medical school students today seems to solve the big problem of money/income by securing employment positions right out of residency training. That kind of superficial thinking, however, disregards all the consequences that result from employment status for physicianscomplete domination of every physicians medical career and lifestyle. Employment relieves worry about paying off educational debts and adds stability and security to lifestyles. In exchange for that, every highly trained and skilled physician soon discovers far more career restrictions that commonly handicap top physicians who desire to expand their skills and control their career destiny. Such controlled restrictions on physicians often lead to dumping employment, which throws them back into the startup position all private practice physicians face right out of residency. Employment escapes the need for physician business education and knowledge. Self-employment requires itit is now all on you unless failing in private medical practice is acceptable. The other 50% (about 500,000 physicians in practice today) of graduating medical students face the problems of starting practice without business education, knowledge, and money. It places every private practice physician at the same level as 5% of small commercial businesses that survive after five years (90% fail). Those results all stem from the same causea lack of the business tools and knowledge that keep you out of financial quicksand. Most medical students are brainwashed into believing that business education is not a requirement for the practice of medicine. But elite medical school scholars forget to tell you that all businesses are created to make money, which means the success of a business is totally dependent on enough income to maintain and support a medical practice, grow the business, and support family member obligations. So how does that work out for you? Dont you hate being told the facts that your arrogance despises? Everyone is aware that a person or physician cant do much in life or practice without money. Some physicians who have a good degree of intelligence and diligence see the value and benefits of business education. About 98% of physicians dont. Why is there such a difference? With all the financial problems that happen to most private practice physicians, it seems logical that most of them likely recognize, I would probably be much better off in practice financially with a business education backup. So, why dont they storm the doors of those who teach business education to make their profession far more successful? The fact is that no medical schools in the USA have ever provided a business education for medical students in the last century. So, physicians are pushed out of the education door of medical school and told to start small business practices without any knowledge of how to do it. At least we know that about 50% of medical doctors have creative skills enough to nudge a small practice into a business. But, to stay in practice, grow the practice, maintain the practice, manage the business, and reach your highest potential in practice, retain the joy and satisfaction of your practice, increase your knowledge and skills on a regular basis, and eliminate 90% of the disabling problems we see today that are the result of business-ignorant physicians, it requires an academic business educationnot an MBA or its equivalent. The secret is that a physician does not have to learn everything about business education, management, and marketing, to reach the top level of income. Learn one page of management and one or two marketing strategies, and you will have opened the door to your success in private medical practice. You are far more intelligent and competent than you think. Business is easier to learn and integrate into practice than you are led to believe. Curtis G. Graham is a physician. The Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary Ben Kumumanya, has cautioned districts planners against any political influence while executing their duties. The ministry officials are currently traversing the country engaging district planners on embedding Parish Development Model in their respective strategic district plans. However, some district planners have often cried out over what they call escalating political influence from political leaders at the different levels, which they say has negatively impacted their performance. In a statement read for him by the Ministrys under Secretary Kalifani Ssewante during the ongoing training of over 90 district planners in Masaka City, Kumumanya urged them to stand firm on the implementation of approved activities within their strategic plans. It is time they wake up because when you see when you look at some Local government, they dont follow guideline yet it is the role of the planners to emphasize that those guidelines are followed, Kalifani said. By Paul Adude With only a day to go to this years highly anticipated Imbalu Festival slated for Saturday at Mutoto Grounds in Mbale City, King Fiti Torgbui Adzonugaga Amenya V, the paramount chief of the Aflao Traditional Area and his Nigerian counterpart His Royal Majesty Dr. Suanu Timothy Yormaadam Baridam of Ogoni Traditional area have arrived in the country to grace the festivities. Addressing journalists upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport early this morning, His Highness Adzonugaga said there is need to respect and preserve traditions which are the root of African culture. We are here to celebrate a traditional event for the Bamasaba people, tradition is something we have to honor and celebrate, you cant ignore your traditions, ignore your roots, its just like a crop that has to be planted, cultivated and when it grows everybody has to take part in it, so tradition has to be respected and am so happy that the Government of Uganda acknowledged chieftaincy and kingship according them such a respect that we are seeing today he said. His Highness Fiti, the current president of the forum of Kings and traditional leaders of Africa was escorted by his wife Fiti Queen Enyonam arrived aboard Ethiopian Airlines at 1:30am urged youth to embrace African tradition which flows within their blood as Africans. The Bamasaba Prime Minister Charles Walimbwa Peke said the arrival of the kings is a beginning of a partnership in tradition and investment which presents a great opportunity for the Bamasaba and people from Western Africa. Peter Christopher Werikhe the MP Bubulo West and representative to the Umkuka House said the Kings presence at the festival is of significance to understand how culture is carried out in Africa by exchanging visits of strengths between Uganda and Africa as a cultural group. Health researchers have rolled out a campaign in teacher training institutions to provide early interventions that will help curb mental health-related illnesses in primary schools. A group of researchers from Makerere University College of Health Sciences led by Dr. Janet Nakigudde says the intervention will be carried out in three core primary teacher teaching institutions using a mobile smartphone-based application code-Named M health M Well. She notes that although the government banned corporal punishments in schools, they still exist due to mild mental health-related and stress among the teachers. She explains that the mobile app will allow the users to track and monitor mental health symptoms while gaining access to education on how the pandemic affects strategies for coping with high anxiety levels. We wanted to find out if our intervention can work both in rural setting as it would work in an urban setting, Nakigudde said. Another three Kildare national schools are to receive hot meals from this September, adding to the 19 in the county that already qualify. The latest three schools to avail are Clogharinka NS, Scoil na Naomh Uilig in Rickardstown, and Tir Mochan NS in Donadea. Minister Martin Heydon, TD for Kildare South, has welcomed this and said: the news from Minister Heather Humphreys department was a great boost to pupils and their parents ahead of the next school term. Across the country, over 345,000 primary school children are now eligible to receive hot school meals under the scheme which was set up in 2019. The programme forms part of Ireland's commitment under the European Child Guarantee to give all children access to a range of key services, including healthcare and nutrition. It is a great scheme and is very beneficial for primary school children here in Kildare, said Deputy Heydon. It was initially introduced by Fine Gael Minister Regina Doherty in 2019 as a pilot measure to 30 schools and now under Minister Heather Humphreys the scheme stretches to 2,200 primary schools across the country. This shows the commitment from my party to ensure every child has the best start in life. And we wont stop. Todays announcement brings to 22 the number of schools availing of the scheme in Kildare, but I want more schools across Kildare to have the programme extended to them as soon as possible," Minister Heydon said. Minister Humphreys said: My ambition now is to finish the job as part of this years Budget and ensure that every primary school in Ireland is providing hot school meals in 2025. A Kildare musician is set to make his debut at Electric Picnic with a little help from Imelda May. Tadhg Nolan will take to the Three Music stage at Electric Picnic as part of Three City Stages Collective. Threes City Stages Collective made its debut at last years festival when a collection of Irish buskers came together to create a showstopping performance. The Leixlip man will join several other performers to play at Irelands biggest festival, Electric Picnic, as the City Stages Collective where they will be joined by a full house band of experienced session musicians. One of Irelands most loved and revered performers Imelda May, alongside Camden Recording Studios MD Cian Boylan, will be working with the acts to create the one-off showcase which will take place on Saturday 17 August at 2pm on the Three Music Stage. May will lend her experience of performing on some of the worlds biggest stages to guide and mentor the group of young musicians ahead of their Electric Picnic performance. The five were introduced to Imelda May at a recent live session in Windmill Lane Recording Studios where they worked on preparing the setlist for the festival. L-R: Ava McKenchie, Jamie McIntyre, Imelda May, Tadhg Nolan, Brinda Irani, Dave Lofts. Three City Stages artists who will perform together on the Three Music Stage at Electric Picnic. The buskers, from all across Ireland, will work with Irish star Imelda May to prepare for the big festival show, taking from the city streets to the big stage at Ireland's biggest festival, Electric Picnic. Credit: Evan Doherty Ahead of Electric Picnic, Imelda May: said Im excited to work with this group of talented young musicians to help prepare them for one of the biggest shows of their life. Threes City Stages has been an important platform to support and help the next generation of Irish talent progress to the next level of their careers. I have been lucky to have performed all over the world on different stages and nothing compares to the buzz of stepping onto a festival stage so I am delighted to be able to share my own experiences and knowledge and be a part of their journey. Threes City Stages initiative has been touring Ireland for over 18 months, providing a platform for Irelands busking talent who can be found performing daily across city streets around the country. Over 1,000 musicians have applied to City Stages with a select number having received opportunities to perform on stage at 3Olympia, Electric Picnic and on a European tour with Gavin James. 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. Stuff reports: ACT MP Karen Chhour has spoken to Stuffs ThreeNews about how she feels bullied at work. The childrens minister broke down in an interview with Stuff on Wednesday, saying Parliament doesnt feel like a safe work environment for her. Yes, Im in a position of being a minister but Im still a person, Im still a person. And I feel like Im getting that stripped away from me day by day in this place and Ive had enough, she said through tears. Whilst I cant control what the public is saying about my personal traits about being Maori enough or not being the right kind of traumatised person hearing it from other MPs that shouldnt be allowed. Media have reported that one of the people being vetted as a possible VP candidate for Kamala Harris is retired Admiral William McRaven. Candidates not widely known to the public need to be able to have who they are summed up in a pithy sentence such as John Key being Raised in state house by solo mum and became rich. For McRaven it is Organised and oversaw the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. He would add serious credibility and gravitas to the ticket in terms of foreign affairs and security. He also would be an excellent contrast to the isolationist politics for Trump and Vance. His service includes: Naval Special Warfare Unit One assault team leader for Seal Team Six platoon commander at Underwater Demolition Team 21/SEAL Team Four squadron commander at Naval Special Warfare Development Group executive officer of SEAL Team ONE task unit commander for Gulf War commanding officer Seal Team Three commanding officer of Naval Special Force Group ONE deputy commander of Task Force 714 in Iraq against Al Qaeda Commander of United States Special Operations Command Organised and oversaw Operation Neptune Spear He is no armchair warrior! However more likely she will go with a Governor. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr I made a short presentation yesterday and said the things you would expect from someone who researches the NZ system intently and has successful designed and provided models/curriculum to counter the mode of the schools that are failing. Peter Boshier (Ombudsman) made a fair point that, as the Charter Schools will receive most of their funding from the taxpayer then they should be subject to OIA. I have always held the view that even when not legally required the Charter Schools should be fully transparent. The rest of the anti-presentations were pretty much all appalling parroting of the NZEI and PPTA talking points. 1. The Charter Schools can have unqualified teachers. This was stated with bland illustrations like I would not like to fly in plane with an untrained pilot, I would not like butt implants from a dodgy surgeon, I would not like a beer poured by someone who hasnt done a block course, etc. Charter Schools are allowed to employ people with skill sets and experiences not readily available and dont tell the unions but so are State schools and there are at last count 1,832 of these interlopers on a Limited Authority to Teach in State schools around the nation. 2. Charter Schools are not accountable. State schools are visited by the Education review Office approx. every three years. They hate incisive data about them being researched and published (I know as I do the researching and publishing). They are not required to set achievement goals. They refuse to have their attendance data published by school name. Charter Schools will publish attendance by school, have academic and other goals set and report quarterly to the Minister and publicly. 3. Charter Schools are not needed as we already have a range of choices in New Zealand and/or these schools could always begin as Designated Character Schools. That the unions expose this is not only and attempt to delude the public but it anathema to their stated aim of standing with the poor and down trodden or with Maori and Pasifika. Choice in New Zealand schooling is, currently, the realm of the wealthy. The top 30 schools in NZ for leavers qualifications are made up of: 22 Private Schools, 1 Designated Character School, 6 Integrated Schools, 1 State School. 22 of these schools are in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin. In the bottom 30 schools: Ten of these are geographically isolated and are schools that struggle to fully resource with well qualified staff. Others are schools in small provincial towns or schools in the poorer parts of cities. In many of these areas there is simply no other choice for those that stay and try and make their way there. Wealthy families in rural areas often send their children to boarding school or drive incredible distances twice a day. 4. That $153m (over 4 years) being spent on Charters would solve all problems in State Schools by providing 0.3 of a teacher aid per school. Not much I can even say here as this assertion is so very stupid and also the worst kind of false dichotomy. Why has no one tried to say that the $70 million spent on maintenance in two years on the PMs plane could get schools closer to having a whole teacher aid each? 5. Apparently profit is appalling. This of course ignores architects, builders, product providers, micro-soft, etc ad nauseum who make oodles of money from education. It should also be noted the funding for Charter Schooling is equal to comparable State schools and any providers who think that can make substantial profits can also squeeze blood from a stone. 6. There is no evidence of success. This is actually humorous. Especially as in NZ we have MASSIVE evidence of State School failure. There are many thousand examples of successful Charter Schools worldwide and the hordes of people trying to get their children into them in many cities get ignored by the unions as parents simply do not know best according to any unionist. To a unionist the State always knows best except during pay negotiations. In terms of two schools established last time based on my model here is what an independent review stated: [B]oth schools, the management and staff are actively involved in continuous development, and the delivery, of a unique programme of teaching and learning which is based on a comprehensive local curriculum that is aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum, and which provides for the personalised needs of priority learners many of whom have been failed by the current education system. The one aspect the unions have stopped lying about is one they spouted in the last rounds that NZ has a world class education system. Time for change for the students who are stuck in failing schools or not even enrolled (10,000) let alone attending. The charter schools will show how to do it. Update: Paul Steven Rangitoto College Art Teacher and PPTA Exec just went full retard (see Tropic Thunder) and called Charter Schools apocalyptic. He clearly thinks that NZ having Charter Schools will cause the end of the world and Jesus to return. Alwyn Poole alwyn.poole@gmail.com Innovative Education Consultants Ltd Education 710+ Ltd alwynpoole.substack.com www.linkedin.com/in/alwyn-poole-16b02151/ Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr CNNs Sarah Dean and Jon Passantino contributed reporting. Khader Al-Zaanoun of WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, also contributed reporting. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close By Kim Hyun-bin The ASEAN-Korea Centre has been hosting the 2024 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop from last Wednesday to Aug. 7 in Seoul and Vientiane, Laos. As the ASEAN chair for 2024, Laos is co-hosting the event, which has gathered 50 youths from 11 nations to explore solutions related to digitalization and climate change. The workshop's theme is "Building an Inclusive and Resilient ASEAN-Korea Partnership: Listening to Youth Leadership on the Digitalization and Climate Change Cooperation." It aims to cultivate understanding, stimulate dialogue, generate solutions and form connections among youth leaders from ASEAN and Korea. This initiative, ongoing since 2012, aligns its focus with pivotal global agendas, fostering a cooperative spirit between ASEAN countries and Korea. Participants, comprising undergraduate and graduate students selected by ASEAN embassies in Korea and through an open application process, will engage in a diverse array of activities. From Wednesday to Saturday, the program hosted in partnership with Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC), transitioning to Laos with the Lao Youth Union (LYU) from Saturday to Aug. 7. The workshop's agenda features lectures on sustainability, climate change, digitalization and the evolution of the ASEAN-Korea partnership. Attendees will explore innovative solutions through field visits to various institutions and collaborative team assignments. Cultural exchanges are also integral, fostering friendships and enhancing mutual understanding among participants. Prominent figures, including ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Jae-shin were joined by high-ranking officials such as Laos Ambassador to Korea Songkane Luangmuninthone, Korean Ambassador to Laos Jung Yung-soo, Director General Chatoulong Bouasisavath of the ASEAN Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos and representatives from the LYU. "This workshop is a pivotal platform for empowering young leaders to be abreast of regional and global challenges, voicing their concerns and proposing solutions to shape the policy decision-making process," Kim said. "Through collaboration and mutual understanding, we can build a stronger, more resilient, and more visionary future for the ASEAN-Korea partnership, especially with this year's emphasis on digitalization and climate change." By Lee Yeon-woo Woori Investment & Securities officially launched on Thursday. This comes 10 years after Woori Financial Group sold its securities firm to NongHyup Financial Group in 2014. On Thursday, Woori Investment & Securities, formed through the merger of Woori Investment Bank and Korea Foss Securities, held an inauguration ceremony at its headquarters in Seoul. The mid-sized securities firm ranks 18th in the industry, with a capital base of around 1.1 trillion won ($806 million). At the ceremony, the firm declared its goal to become a comprehensive securities firm strong in digital and investment banking (IB). It also showed its ambition to enter the top 10 in the industry within five years and become a mega IB within ten years. "If all employees have a sense of ownership and fulfill their respective roles, Woori Investment & Securities, along with its staff, will achieve rapid growth together," Woori Investment & Securities CEO Nam Ki-cheon said. "Let's build one team founded on communication and harmony." Nam also expressed his intention to drive Woori's strategy of "rebuilding the prestige of corporate finance" by providing comprehensive financial services tailored to the corporate life cycle. Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong pledged full group-level support. He promised to accelerate infrastructure expansion, including capital enhancement, human resources deployment systems and securing an independent office building. "With the launch of this firm, we have made significant progress in diversifying the group's portfolio and can now truly emerge as a comprehensive financial group," Yim said. "I hope all employees will fully dedicate themselves to making this a premier securities firm." On May 3, Woori Financial Group announced its re-entry into the securities by signing a merger agreement between Woori Investment Bank and Korea Foss Securities. In July, the merger was approved by the respective companies' boards and the Financial Services Commission. Woori Investment & Securities plans to leverage the platform competitiveness of Korea Foss Securities and corporate lending business of Woori Investment Bank as its initial foundation. It aims to expand its business areas into comprehensive finance, sales and trading, retail and risk management. North Korea's ambassador to Tehran has attended the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian and delivered a "warm greeting" from leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Thursday. Ambassador Han Song-u attended the ceremony in Iran's capital Tuesday at the invitation of the Iranian government, according to the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper. Pezeshkian expressed his gratitude and asked Han to relay his "greetings from the heart" to the North's leader, it added. In 2013 and 2017, North Korea sent Kim Yong-nam, then president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, to the inauguration ceremony of then Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. After establishing diplomatic ties in 1973, Pyongyang and Tehran have maintained close ties while under international sanctions for their weapons programs. The two countries have been suspected of exchanging ballistic missile parts and technology, especially during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. North Korea sent an economic delegation, led by its external economic relations minister, to Iran in April to attend a trade exhibition. It marked the first time in about five years that Pyongyang has sent a ranking official to Iran. The North and Iran are known to be key providers of weapons to Russia for use in Moscow's war in Ukraine. (Yonhap) North Korea wants to reopen nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump is re-elected as president and is working to devise a new negotiating strategy, a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea told Reuters. The escape of Ri Il-gyu from Cuba made headlines globally last month. He was the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to the South since 2016. In his first interview with international media, Ri said North Korea has set Russia, the U.S. and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities for this year and beyond. While bolstering relations with Russia, Pyongyang was keen to reopen nuclear negotiations if Trump who engaged in both fiery brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea during his previous term won re-election in November, Ri said. Pyongyang's diplomats were mapping out a strategy for that scenario, with the goal of lifting of sanctions on its weapons programmes, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and eliciting economic aid, said Ri. His comments signal a potential about-face from the North's current stance after recent statements ditching the possibility of dialogue with the U.S. and warning of armed confrontation. A summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump in Vietnam in 2019 collapsed over sanctions, for which Ri partly blamed Kim's decision to entrust "inexperienced, clueless" military commanders with nuclear diplomacy. "Kim Jong-un doesn't know much about international relations and diplomacy, or how to make strategic judgment," he said. "This time, the foreign ministry would definitely gain power and take charge, and it won't be so easy for Trump to tie North Korea's hands and feet again for four years without giving anything." Russian ties, Japan aid By forging closer ties with Russia, North Korea received help with its missile technology and economy. But a bigger benefit could be to block additional sanctions and undercut existing ones, Ri said, adding it would raise Pyongyang's bargaining power against Washington. "The Russians got their own hands dirty by engaging in illicit transactions and, thanks to that, North Korea no longer needs to rely on the U.S. to lift sanctions, which essentially means they stripped the U.S. of one key bargaining chip," he said. In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he wants to meet Kim, but the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s has long been a stumbling block. According to Ri, Kim would seek to hold a summit with Japan, aiming to get economic assistance in return for concessions on the abductee issue. Tokyo believes 17 of its citizens were abducted, five of whom returned to Japan in 2002. Pyongyang sees the issue as settled, having admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese nationals and saying those unaccounted for had either died or their whereabouts were unknown. Ri said Kim would be willing to change that position, established under his father Kim Jong-il, in order to obtain economic support. "They're saying that the issue was resolved, but that's just to boost negotiating power until he makes concessions at a summit," he said. Resentment and defection Having studied at a French school in Algeria and lived in Cuba alongside his late father, who was a state media reporter, Ri says he had imagined a life in South Korea since his childhood, but never acted to flee until he was bullied by a diplomatic colleague for refusing his demand for bribes. Then the defining moment came when Pyongyang instantly refused his request to get medical treatment in Mexico, at his own expense, for a ruptured disc in his neck. "That exploded all the resentment I had been harboring towards the regime," he said. The COVID-19 lockdown deepened hardships at home and for those stationed overseas, with most telephone lines to Pyongyang cut to prevent any information from spreading in the outside world, Ri said. Financial troubles have also forced North Korea to shut down a dozen of its 54 diplomatic missions. "When they began reopening and summoning those working abroad in early 2023, they asked to bring everything from used toothbrushes to spoons back home, saying there's nothing there," he said. Ri had also witnessed - and in his job tried to impede the launch of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a Cold War-era ally of North Korea. "I had done everything to block that from happening, but establishing relations with Cuba was the best thing South Korea had done since last year," he said. "It was a model example of how the tides of history have turned, and where a normal civilization of the international community is headed." (Reuters) North Korea may have sustained huge casualties from the latest downpour in border areas along the Amnok River, the unification ministry said Thursday, amid a news report that the number of those who died or went missing could reach as high as around 1,500. North Korea's border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Phyongan were pummeled by heavy rains, with more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands left submerged, according to state media. But it did not disclose details about casualties. The unification ministry said the North may have suffered "considerable" casualties though its material damage from the latest downpours appears to be smaller than those in 2010, 2016 and 2020. Citing satellite imagery, the ministry said the recent torrential rain inundated Wihwa Island of Sinuiju, an island in the Amnok River, and Uiju County, as well as the city of Manpo in Jagang Province. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju County on Sunday and guided an operation to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents. The North's state media said the military successfully saved some 4,200 people by mobilizing the Air Force's helicopters. Kim called for "strictly punishing" those who neglected their duties at an emergency politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held in Sinuiju earlier this week. The North replaced the public security minister and chiefs of the WPK's provincial committees. It marked the first time that North Korea has convened such an emergency politburo meeting solely on flood damage, according to the unification ministry. A ministry official said the government is not considering providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea at the current stage. (Yonhap) South Korea's Red Cross on Thursday proposed providing humanitarian aid to North Korea over damage from the recent downpours in its northern border areas along the Amnok River, as the North is believed to have sustained huge casualties. The Korean Red Cross said it is willing to urgently support the North Korean flood victims with the necessary supplies from a humanitarian and fraternal perspective. "We are ready to discuss the items, scale and method of support with our North Korean counterpart. We expect North Korea's swift response," it said. North Korea's border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Pyongan were pummeled by heavy rains, with more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland left submerged, according to the North's state media. The North did not disclose details about casualties, but the unification ministry said North Korea may have sustained "considerable" casualties amid a news report that the number of those who died or went missing probably exceeded around 1,000. The latest aid proposal came despite heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's continued provocative acts and its increased animosity toward South Korea. The government has said it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea regardless of the political and security situation on the peninsula. But it remains uncertain whether North Korea would accept the aid proposal. (Yonhap) Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa in Seoul on Thursday and discussed bilateral relations and future cooperation, Han's office said. The meeting took place as the top Thai diplomat paid a courtesy call on Han while on his visit to South Korea this week. In Thursday's meeting, Han expressed hope that South Korea and Thailand will further deepen their economic cooperation in areas like clean energy and smart infrastructure, the prime minister's office said. Calling Thailand one of South Korea's longtime friendly nations that sent its troops to fight in the 1950-53 Korean War even before forging formal diplomatic relations, Han asked for its support in sending a clear and united message to North Korea against its nuclear threats and military provocations. In response, Sangiampongsa said his country considers relations with South Korea "very important," adding that "robust people-to-people exchanges have been the foundation for the two countries' friendly partnership." Sangiampongsa is expected to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, on Friday. (Yonhap) South Korea expresses "deep concern" over the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East and urges all parties to exercise restraint and seek diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "Our government expresses deep concern over the recent sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East," ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a commentary. "We strongly urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint and hope that diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, including ceasefire and negotiations on the release of hostages, will continue without interruption," he said. Tensions have heightened in the already devastated region in the wake of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of the Hamas militant group who had been leading the negotiations on pausing the conflict with Israel. His death has dampened the prospects for the negotiations on ending the war, as Iran has claimed Israel's responsibility for the killing and threatened to retaliate. Fears of a wider regional clash have also gripped the Middle East following Saturday's rocket attack on a town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children. Israel has accused Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of being behind the attack. (Yonhap) KCTU officials call for abolition of govt permit system for non-Korean laborers By Jung Min-ho The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the countrys two major umbrella labor unions with more than 1 million members, is moving to embrace undocumented foreigners here in an attempt to broaden its coalition, labor officials said. During an event hosted by the KCTU at its headquarters in Seoul on July 25, senior officials discussed ways to strengthen the rights of all migrant workers. They said there should be a fundamental reform of the government system of handling the migrant laborers who work here without valid visas. Abolishing the deportation policy targeting such people and giving them the right to stay were among the ideas suggested and advocated at the event. When asked later whether the ideas represent the KCTUs official stance, a spokesman told The Korea Times that they do. KCTU members basically share the thought that no one should be discriminated against on any ground such as nationality and race, the spokesman said. Their position is in stark contrast to that of the government, which has reinforced efforts to clamp down on foreigners working here illegally during President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration. As Korea seeks to attract foreign workers to address its declining workforce, it faces potential side effects, such as an increase in undocumented laborers. This issue may soon become a source of political and social contention. The spokesmans comment comes after Udaya Rai, head of a migrant workers union under the KCTU, said at the KCTU event that the government should abandon its policy of cracking down on undocumented migrant workers. The policy of cracking down on and deporting undocumented immigrants begets countless of human rights violations and stirs up anxiety and fear, he said. Exploitation and violence are justified just because they are undocumented. There should be a policy to give them the right to stay in order to end this vicious circle. Song Min-young, an executive director at the organizing and planning division of the Korean Metal Workers Union under the KCTU, also echoed the sentiment, stating that there is an obvious necessity to fight the governments policy focused chiefly on finding and deporting undocumented migrant workers. According to data from the Ministry of Justice, more than 421,000 foreign residents, or 16.9 percent of the total, were confirmed in 2023 to have been staying in Korea unlawfully. This is all part of the KCTUs broader efforts to expand partnerships with all foreign workers, who have become an essential component of many industrial sectors in Korea. The KCTU spokesman said one of its long-term goals is to replace the Employment Permit System (EPS) through which the government recruits workers from 17 partner countries with a more worker-friendly alternative. The current system is considered to be significantly more favorable to employers. Whether the KCTUs fresh partnership with migrant workers would turn into a stable coalition, however, is an open question. Some officials admitted that Korean members have been divided over how to and even whether to cooperate with migrant workers, particularly the undocumented ones. In recent years, there have been protests urging companies to hire Korean laborers instead of migrant workers in construction and some other industries where the interests of the two groups clash. A spokesman for the Ministry of Employment and Labor refused to comment on the KCTUs move to embrace undocumented migrant workers, saying the Ministry of Justice is responsible for such matters. But on the issue regarding the EPS, he said, despite its flaws, the system has greatly benefited both Korean employers and migrant workers. The system may not be perfect. But over the 20 years, it has received favorable evaluations from international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), he said. Meanwhile, the justice ministry vowed to maintain its crackdown on undocumented foreign residents in its continued effort to maintain order. "The immigration policy is about inviting foreign workers for necessary fields and preventing illegal stays effectively, so we'll maintain order by keeping our stance to reduce undocumented stays," its representative said in a statement sent to The Korea Times. "However, as to the possibility of giving the right to stay to foreigners who are staying here illegally, the ministry agrees that there is a necessity to review it amid a decline in the working-age population and worker shortages. Yet this issue requires a careful approach, considering factors such as job competition with Korean workers, fairness with foreigners who are staying lawfully and public sentiment in regard to such legislation." South Korea and the United States staged their first-ever table-top exercise on integrating Seoul's advanced conventional forces with Washington's nuclear capabilities this week to better respond to North Korea's nuclear threats, officials said Thursday. The three-day discussion-based exercise, named "Iron Mace 24," concluded earlier in the day at the U.S. Forces Korea's (USFK) Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, after the allies signed a joint guidelines document on nuclear deterrence last month. In line with the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) guidelines on the allies' nuclear deterrence posture, the two sides have pushed to integrate their capabilities to better implement extended deterrence, according to South Korean officials. Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to defending an ally with the full-range of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons. South Korea has relied on the U.S. security commitment as it does not have nuclear weapons. During the exercise, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) officials and their U.S. counterparts discussed ways to strengthen extended deterrence, such as joint planning procedures for South Korean conventional capabilities to support U.S. strategic operations in a contingency, the JCS said. The participants, which also included South Korean officials involved in the creation of a new "strategic command" and USFK personnel, agreed to continue conducting the table-top exercise to achieve the alliance's deterrence goals, it said. The table-top exercise took place as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its ballistic missile programs in what has been seen as a move to bolster its nuclear delivery capabilities. In response to such threats, the allies launched the NCG last year in line with the Washington Declaration that President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden issued during their summit in April 2023 to strengthen the credibility of America's extended deterrence. (Yonhap) A man attended a court hearing on Thursday regarding an arrest warrant sought for him on charges of slashing a random neighbor to death with a Japanese longsword, saying he doesn't feel sorry for the victim. The 37-year-old assailant, surnamed Baek, brandished a 75-centimeter Japanese blade at the entrance of his apartment complex in Seoul's northern Eunpyeong district shortly before midnight Monday and killed a 43-year-old male neighbor, who was smoking outdoors at the time. The victim was slashed on the back and shoulder and was taken to a hospital but died from his wounds shortly afterward. On Thursday, Baek attended a hearing at the Seoul Western District Court regarding an arrest warrant requested for him. He said he is not sorry for the victim and spoke incoherently about the reasons for his attack. "No," Baek responded when a reporter asked if he feels any remorse for the victim. After the court hearing ended, Baek told reporters again: "The motive for my crime was to punish (first lady) Kim Keon Hee and Chinese spies who sold out the country." He also claimed that they had plotted to wage war on the Korean Peninsula with China. He incoherently claimed that the reason he took the sword with him on the night of the crime was to punish what he described as Chinese spies. Baek said he had nothing to say to the victim and his bereaved family and claimed that he was in his "right mind" and was not in a state of mental vulnerability at the time. During the initial police investigation, he claimed that he believed the victim was a spy shadowing him. Police found that the two did not know each other personally, except for having come across one another while walking in the neighborhood. Police officers had reportedly been dispatched to address Baek in the past due to abnormal behavior, such as yelling or swearing to himself in his apartment complex. Police are looking into whether he had a history of mental illness and the exact circumstances of the crime. (Yonhap) Single-gender schools make shift for recruitment, but resistance remains over academic concerns, tradition By Jung Da-hyun As Korea grapples with a declining population due to a low birthrate, a growing number of single-gender schools are transitioning to co-education. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE), seven gender-segregated schools in the city have applied to switch to co-education as of July. The number has more than doubled compared to last year when only three schools sought conversion. On average, SMOE received about two conversion inquiries annually, but this year the number has surged to approximately 10 inquiries. In Seoul, 90 out of 390 middle schools, or 23 percent, and 151 out of 318 high schools, or 47.5 percent, are gender-segregated, admitting only boys or girls. A significant number of applications to switch to co-education come from girls' schools. Last year, all three schools that applied for the change Hwagok Nursing and Business High School, Yumkwang Meditech High School and Mirim Girls' Information Science High School were girls' schools. This trend continues this year, with a higher proportion of girls' schools seeking to welcome male students, according to an official at the SMOE. In areas with a high concentration of single-gender schools, nearby coeducational institutions are experiencing severe gender imbalances. Additionally, students may face significant inconvenience if their gender-specific school is located far from home. "With a noticeable drop in the school-age population, schools are increasingly focused on attracting more students by addressing convenience and accessibility issues," an SMOE official told The Korea Times. The primary driver behind the shift to mixed-gender education is the challenge of student recruitment. According to an annual report by the education agency, the number of elementary, middle and high school students in Seoul has declined to 768,948 in 2024, a 2 percent decrease from 784,871 the previous year and an 8.5 percent drop from 849,933 in 2020. Furthermore, Statistics Korea also projects a decline in the school-age population, which is expected to fall from 7.5 million in 2022 to 4.12 million by 2040. The education agency has also noted a growing trend of not only single-gender schools but also specialized schools applying to transition to mixed-gender general schools. These specialized institutions are adapting by creating new departments that appeal to a broader range of students, aiming to attract both boys and girls. Aligned with this, SMOE announced plans in April this year to increase financial support for schools making the switch. Previously, financial support for schools transitioning to co-education was limited to facility improvements. However, schools undergoing the transition will now receive 600 million won in funding over three years. Additionally, 90 million won will be allocated over the same period to cover labor costs for hiring school counselors. Lingering resistance Despite the trend toward mixed-gender education, some parents and students still prefer single-sex schools due to perceived advantages in academic performance and life management. A mother of a high school student in Mok-dong, a highly competitive educational area in Seoul, reflected, "We chose a girls' high school for my child to provide a focused and comfortable environment for studying without boys." Opposition to mixed-gender classes is relatively strong at boys' schools, where parents often argue that integrating girls could negatively impact their academic performance. Additionally, many of these institutions, with their long histories and strong alumni networks, face significant resistance from former students who are wary of changing established traditions. Dorim High School in Incheon was met with significant opposition when it attempted to transition recently, with 90 percent of teachers, 76 percent of parents and 64 percent of students opposing the change. Concerns centered around potential declines in academic performance and disruptions to the existing support systems for students. Park Nam-gi, a professor at Gwangju National University of Education, pointed out that while neo-Confucian values once dictated separate education for boys and girls, the current emphasis on social and communication skills necessitates more integrated learning environments. "Schools are also struggling with declining student numbers," Park said. He explained that while private schools with a deep-rooted founding philosophy may resist change, many girls' schools are now shifting toward gender inclusion as those original purposes become less relevant. "Many girls' schools were originally founded to address specific educational needs for female students. However, as gender-based discrimination in education has diminished, these institutions are increasingly opting to transition to co-education." The unification ministry on Thursday unveiled a monument near the inter-Korean border to commemorate North Korean defectors who lost their lives during escapes from the repressive regime. The monument was set up at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, a border city just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, the ministry said in a release. The move came as the government has designated July 14 as the official day for North Korean defectors. The date marks the enactment of the law on protecting North Korean defectors and supporting their settlement, which came into effect on this date in 1997. The ministry held a ceremony to unveil the monument, bringing together Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho; Tae Yong-ho, the Secretary-General for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council; and around 60 North Korean defectors. The monument has the inscription, "To commemorate the 'yearning' and 'courage' of North Korean defectors for freedom, and to honor those who sacrificed their lives during their defection journey." In a speech, Minister Kim emphasized the significance of the establishment of North Korean defectors' day and the monument, expressing his commitment to spreading their noble courage. "The government will offer comprehensive protection and set up a systemic support program for the stable settlement of North Korean defectors in a bid to respond to the courage shown by those who risked their lives to flee North Korea," Kim said. The ministry said it will spur efforts to make similar monuments be established around the world. To this end, the government has registered the design of the monument with copyrighted public records so that people can easily use it. South Korea has a longstanding policy of accepting any North Korean defectors who wish to live in the South. Currently, South Korea is home to more than 34,000 North Korean defectors. The flow of defectors continues amid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression in North Korea. In the first half of the year, the number of North Korean defectors arriving in South Korea reached 105, slightly up from 99 the previous year. (Yonhap) The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the House of Sharing, a shelter for the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, to return donations back to donors, citing the disparity in the purpose of the donations and their actual use. The Supreme Court handed down the ruling in a lawsuit filed by a donor to seek the return of money donated to the organization, saying the plaintiff would not have agreed to donate the money had he known how donations were used. The top court said the plaintiff could have perceived that the donations were used in activities related to helping the comfort women, and that it would continue to do so in the present and future. "The fact that most of the donations were reserved in the corporate (account) to put up a particular building does not correspond to the purpose of the donation declared by the defendant," the court said, ordering the donation contract be nullified. The plaintiff, surnamed Lee, donated 50,000 won ($36.58) monthly to the House of Sharing bank account designed to accept donations for the wartime sexual slavery victims, euphemistically called "comfort women," on 31 occasions from Aug. 2017 to April 2020. Lee, along with other donors, filed a suit seeking the return of some 90 million won following revelations that the donations were not used for the victims in May 2020. It was later found that the massive donations were reserved in the corporate accounts for use in a senior sanatorium business later, and that the comfort women were left to pay for their medical expenses on their own. The ruling came after both the district court and appellate court dismissed the suit, leaving just one donor to file an appeal to the top court. (Yonhap) Kim Moon-soo rebukes criticism from opposition lawmakers about his anti-labor stance By Lee Hyo-jin Labor Minister nominee Kim Moon-soo is expected to face a tough National Assembly confirmation hearing as opposition lawmakers vow to grill him over his perceived far-right stance and past remarks aimed at undermining the labor movement here, according to political analysts, Thursday. Kim, 72, currently chairs the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council and is the former governor of Gyeonggi Province. The presidential office announced his nomination for the minister post on Wednesday. The nomination quickly drew heavy criticism from opposition lawmakers and labor groups, who viewed it as a significant misstep in President Yoon Suk Yeol's Cabinet appointments. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) argued that a confirmation hearing for Kim would be "a waste of time." "At this point, discussing President Yoon's talent pool is pointless because it seems non-existent," said DPK member Rep. Yun Kun-young in a radio interview, Thursday. "Kim isnt really the chair of the Economic, Social and Labor Council. Hes more like a conservative YouTuber. Im genuinely curious how anyone could consider appointing him as the minister of employment and labor," the lawmaker said. The date for Kim's confirmation hearing has not yet been set, but according to related laws, the Assembly must complete the confirmation process for a minister nominee within 20 days of the government's submission of a nomination proposal. Before entering politics in his mid-40s, Kim was a prominent figure in the labor movement during the 1970s and 1980s. He then served two full terms and one partial term as a conservative lawmaker from 1996 until 2006, followed by two terms as the governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2006 to 2014. Kim, who has been a vocal critic of the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration, has caused controversies for his blunt and often harsh rhetoric. In 2019, during a debate hosted by the conservative party, he stated that Moon "deserves to be executed by a firing squad" for his perceived mishandling of state affairs. In a 2022 parliamentary session, the former governor accused Moon of adhering to "Kim Il-sung's ideology," alleging that the former president had praised the late scholar and activist Shin Young-bok. Shin was imprisoned by the previous dictatorship for his support of left-wing ideologies. Kim is also known to be a loyalist of former President Park Geun-hye who was impeached in 2017 over corruption scandals. The former governor participated in the so-called Taegeukgi protests, or flag-waving rallies held by ultra-right-wing groups, calling for the nullification of Park's impeachment, several times in 2017. Labor groups have also expressed strong opposition to Kim's nomination, condemning what they view as his "anti-labor stance." During a months-long strike by HiteJinro truck drivers in the summer of 2022, Kim stated on his YouTube channel that "bombarding the laborers with damage claims is the most effective remedy for illegal strikes." As chair of the presidential Economic, Social, and Labor Council in March 2023, Kim posted a photo on Facebook from his visit to Gwangju Global Motors a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and the Gwangju Metropolitan Government along with a comment that read: "I was touched. There is no labor union here." In response to mounting criticism, Kim dismissed concerns about his suitability for the ministerial role. "My wife, my brother-in-law, and I all come from labor union backgrounds. But it is right that laborers take responsibility for damages caused by illegal strikes," the nominee told reporters, Thursday. He also defended his controversial remarks about Moon, stating, "Former President Moon said he respects late Shin Young-bok as a scholar, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating the National Security Law. The historical records are all there." Kim emphasized that if appointed, he would offer candid advice to the president on labor policies. Political analyst Park Sang-byeong suggested that Kim might have been the "best available candidate" within the Yoon administration's limited talent pool. "Kim may be seen as an outdated politician, but from the presidents perspective, he is a suitable candidate to spearhead labor reforms," Park told The Korea Times. The president has promised major overhauls in the medical, education and labor sectors. In the labor sector, Yoon vowed to dismantle the "cartels" within unions that have vested interests and to create a more flexible employment market. "Given Kims background and his previous remarks about liberal lawmakers, there is a high likelihood that he will be rejected in the confirmation hearing. However, the president is expected to proceed with Kims appointment without parliamentary approval, as he has done in the past," Park said. Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has failed to secure the Assembly's endorsement 25 times for his ministerial-level appointments, with the most recent one being Lee Jin-sook, who became head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on Wednesday. Ruling party launches filibuster in response to opposition's cash handout bill By Kwak Yeon-soo Opposition parties proposed an impeachment motion against Lee Jin-sook, the new chief of the state broadcasting watchdog, Thursday, accusing her of abusing her power in the appointment of board members at major public broadcasters. The motion was introduced the day after Lee was appointed as the head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). On that day, she held a meeting to appoint six new board members at the Foundation for Broadcast Culture, which is a shareholder of broadcaster MBC, and to recommend seven board members at the broadcaster KBS. This is the fourth time the opposition bloc introduced an impeachment motion against the head or acting head of the KCC since late November. The previous three officials resigned before the National Assembly could vote on their respective impeachment motions. The opposition claims that the appointments of Lee and her three predecessors, whom they view as pro-Yoon Suk Yeol figures, were intended to increase government influence over public broadcasters. However, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) argues that the impeachment attempts lack merit and blames the opposition for the dysfunction at the KCC due to the repeated appointments and resignations of its heads. Six opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), filed the motion, citing the KCC's unfair two-person decision-making structure. On Wednesday, only two out of the five required standing commissioners Lee and KCC Vice Chairperson Kim Tae-gyu attended the meeting to appoint the board members for the broadcasters. They also alleged that Lee, a former reporter and executive at MBC, suppressed the companys labor union and misused a corporate credit card when she served as the president of the broadcaster's Daejeon station. President Yoon, who once preached fairness, common sense, freedom and democracy, is threatening press freedom and democracy. Just two years after taking office, Yoon is pursuing a path to dictatorship. The end of an attempt to take over public broadcasters and deceive the public will be the beginning of Yoons downfall, DPK floor leader Park Chan-dae said during the partys general meeting. Under the National Assembly Act, an impeachment motion must be put to a secret vote between 24 and 72 hours after the motion is reported to a plenary session. Speaking to reporters on her way to work, Thursday, Lee said, Lets take time and see what happens. Later in the day, Yoon conferred a letter of appointment to her at the presidential office. Contrary to the opposition's claim that Lee's right-wing views could harm public broadcasters, the PPP argues that the KCC chief is responsible for normalizing the public broadcasting and media industry. PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon said the DPK should halt frequent calls for impeachment. Impeachment is a heavy word that is considered too taboo to say out loud, Han said during a party meeting. The DPK has turned an important constitutional system into a political tool. PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho criticized the DPKs impeachment proposals as being habitual. The Assembly is expected to vote on Lee's impeachment as early as Friday. If the motion is passed, Lee will be suspended from duty until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling. The procedure is forecast to take at least four months, resulting in a long-term halt in the KCC's functions. Along with filing the impeachment motion, the DPK reintroduced a cash handout bill aimed at providing between 250,000 won ($181) and 350,000 won to the entire population to stimulate spending. In response, the PPP has begun staging a filibuster to block the bill's passage. A filibuster involves lawmakers holding the floor for extended periods as a way to prevent a vote or delay the passage of a bill. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths or 180 lawmakers consent to it. The DPK also plans to table a controversial pro-labor bill, better known as the yellow envelope bill, again as early as Friday. The yellow envelope bill seeks to restrict companies from pursuing damage claims related to legitimate labor union disputes. Environment ministry to talk with affected residents as dam construction faces opposition By Jung Da-hyun The government's recent announcement of constructing 14 new dams across the country, in the name of better managing water resources amid ongoing climate change, has attracted mix reactions from residents, environmental groups and other stakeholders, according to analysts, Thursday. In regions frequently affected by torrential rains, the plan was welcomed, while significant concerns arose in areas that have previously experienced negative impacts from dam construction. Some local governments have criticized the lack of prior consultation with the higher levels of government regarding the dam projects. Environment groups nationwide are also voicing strong opposition. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Environment unveiled plans for 14 new or renovated dam candidate sites aimed at addressing flood and drought control, as well as ensuring stable water supply. The initiative includes the construction of nine new dams and the renovation of five existing ones. According to the ministry, the urgency of these projects is heightened by the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, attributed to climate change. This marks the first nation-led construction of new dams since 2010. Read More Gov't to construct flood control dams in 14 regions nationwide In response to the opposition from environmental groups and some local governments, the environment ministry said Thursday that it will soon hold briefing sessions with local officials and residents to discuss the proposed climate response dams. The ministry aims to gather residents' opinions and address their concerns. The 14 candidate sites for the dams include nine locations proposed by local governments and five selected by the ministry. The ministry acknowledged that the candidate sites selected at the government level were disclosed on short notice due to security concerns. An environment ministry official said, "We plan to hold a briefing session for residents as soon as possible to explain the government's position thoroughly and to carefully listen to their concerns before seeking solutions." In addition, addressing environmental groups' claims that better levee management could be a sufficient method for flood control, the ministry pointed out that existing levee systems were designed based on a 100-year flood frequency model using historical data. It noted that recent flood patterns have surpassed these projections, underscoring the need for the proposed dam projects. Mixed reactions to dam plans Areas that frequently suffer from flooding during torrential rains welcomed the government's dam initiative. Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province, which experienced flooding of 14 houses and 27 hectares of agricultural land during this summer's torrential rains, has expressed optimism that a new dam would help mitigate future damage. Similarly, local governments in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, which have long advocated for dam construction, are supportive of the new plans. Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province, which suffered significant flooding from Typhoon Rusa in 2002 and Typhoon Maemi in 2003, emphasized the necessity of constructing a dam to prevent future disasters. In addition, Geoje and Uiryeong County in South Gyeongsang Province, along with Ulsan, share the view that dam redevelopment is essential for protecting against severe flooding. Samcheok in Gangwon Province is even requesting the government to increase the size of the dam. The government said it would build a 1 million cubic meter water-only dam in the region, but it insists that a large-scale multipurpose dam is needed to prevent flood damage. However, the proposed dam construction is facing backlash in some areas, primarily due to concerns about the displacement of residents in the affected districts. In Danyang County, North Chungcheong Province, there is apprehension that the community may face a repeat of the displacement experienced during the construction of the Chungju Dam some 40 years ago, which forced 12,000 residents to relocate in 1985. Yanggu County in Gangwon Province, slated to host the largest of the 14 proposed dams, is also experiencing strong opposition. Residents recall the significant hardships they endured following the construction of the Soyang River Dam in 1973, which led to the submergence of their land. They say they cannot endure another round of sacrifice, as approximately 100,000 square meters of farmland and homes are expected to be submerged if the new dam is built. Environmental groups are voicing strong opposition to the government's dam construction plan, questioning its effectiveness and warning of potential ecological damage. The groups nationwide held a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Thursday, criticizing the government and arguing that dams are not a viable solution to the climate crisis. They contend that such projects could actually exacerbate climate and ecological issues. K-Ricebelt educational clips uploaded to YouTube By Ko Dong-hwan The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has released a series of educational videos to promote rice harvesting in Africa using high-yielding seeds developed jointly by the governments of Korea and African nations, according to the ministry Thursday. The five videos promote the K-Ricebelt Project, an official development assistance (ODA) project by the ministry supporting African countries struggling with food insecurity. The animation-style videos in Korean, English and French feature a fictional three-member agrarian household in Africa following steps proposed by the project to safely farm rice crops. The videos comprise different episodes, including an introduction to the K-Ricebelt Project and a backdrop of the project's use of ISRIZ-7, a rice seed crossbred between African seeds and Korea's Tongil rice seeds. The first of the five episodes also shows how Tongil rice was behind Korea's Saemaul Undong, a political initiative launched by former Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1970 to modernize rural economies. The other clips focus on technical information on rice farming. The second episode shows how to prepare a seedbed and a seeding box. The next episode demonstrates transplanting the seeds and how to water and fertilize them. The fourth episode shows how to get rid of weeds, pests and malformed seedlings and control diseases. The last one is about when and how to reap the crops and manage them afterward. The ministry posted the videos on its website and YouTube channel on Thursday. The Korea Rural Community Corp. also posted the same videos on its website and YouTube channel. Chong Hai-ryon, director general of the ministry's international cooperation bureau, said that agricultural experts with rich experience and knowledge in rice cultivation in Africa participated in making the videos. "I hope that these educational videos will make a great contribution to the development of a rice value chain for the countries participating in the K-Ricebelt Project," Chong said. "I also hope the videos will help the countries overcome the food crises they face." The videos came as the ODA initiative's trial version last year led to the production of some 2,300 tons of high-yielding rice seeds in six African nations. This year, the project has seen its full-fledged launch with a goal to produce 3,000 tons of rice seeds across Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya. The ministry earlier this year also introduced a new supply chain to share jointly developed rice seeds with the countries. The K-Ricebelt Project aims to establish seed cultivation complexes in each of the seven African countries by 2027. The ministry anticipates that the project's expansion will produce 10,000 tons of high-yielding rice seeds annually and secure a stable food supply for around 30 million people in the continent. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed Thursday to seek measures to extend additional financial support for vendors and customers hit by payment delays on e-commerce platforms of TMON and WeMakePrice, if needed. Choi made the remarks during a macroeconomic meeting, also pledging to swiftly devise policy measures and regulations to prevent such incidents from recurring. The two online marketplaces owned by the Singapore-based Qoo10 filed for corporate rehabilitation in the Seoul Bankruptcy Court earlier this week after failing to make payments to sellers using their platforms since early July. The government estimates the overdue payments to come to 210 billion won ($153.4 million), and the amount is feared to grow further. In an effort to support small merchants and customers, the financial authorities said they will provide low-interest loans and extend repayments of existing loans and on tax payments worth at least 560 billion won combined. "The government will swiftly implement supportive measures and seek ways of extending additional liquidity support if necessary to minimize damage to customers and sellers," Choi said. It will also review the electronic transaction act and other relevant regulations, and present supplementary rules to prevent a recurrence of such cases. The financial authorities have faced criticism for their failure to properly oversee the platforms and the industry as Qoo10's aggressive merger deals have reportedly caused the liquidity crisis. Qoo10 founder and chief Ku Young-bae has said that Qoo10 had "temporarily" used TMON and WeMakePrice's capital in its acquisition of Wish, a global e-commerce platform, in February, but that the money has since been returned. On Thursday, prosecutors raided the headquarters of TMON and WeMakePrice, Ku's residence and other relevant locations to secure evidence for a probe into the incident. (Yonhap) Steelmakers divided over anti-dumping complaints By Park Jae-hyuk POSCO and Dongkuk Steel have remained cautious about joining Hyundai Steel in filing anti-dumping complaints with the government against the import of low-priced thick steel plates from China, according to industry officials, Thursday. The only three Korean producers of thick steel plates are divided over curbing the sale of products from China, due to their different stances on Beijings possible economic retaliation against their trading with Chinese partners. Amid the deteriorating profitability caused mainly by the oversupply of Chinese products, Hyundai Steel recently filed an anti-dumping complaint with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, claiming that the import of low-priced thick steel plates from China has hurt its business. Thick steel plates, which refer to steel plates over 6 millimeters in thicknesses, are used mainly in shipbuilding and construction. Chinese steelmakers have been dumping thick steel plates and other products in the wake of a construction industry slowdown there. According to the Korea International Trade Association, Chinas export of steel products during the first four months of this year rose 15.1 percent year-on-year, while the export price fell 19.4 percent. In particular, data compiled by the Korea Iron & Steel Association showed that the volume of Koreas imports of thick steel plates from China reached 1.12 million tons last year, up 73 percent year-on-year. The import volume also amounted to 688,000 tons during the first half of this year, a 12 percent increase from a year earlier. POSCO, however, distanced itself from Hyundai Steel, saying that the Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary acted alone in filing the anti-dumping complaint. If the government asks us to give an opinion about this issue, we will answer in accordance with our strategies and situations, a POSCO Holdings official said during a conference call on second-quarter earnings. POSCO has more operations and sales volume in China than Hyundai Steel, which has focused more on exports to the U.S. and other countries. If China retaliates, POSCO will suffer more than Hyundai Steel, a steelmaking industry insider said. Dongkuk Steel said it remains neutral about the anti-dumping complaint. The companys business is also closely related to China, as it produces cold-rolled steel by processing both Korean and Chinese hot-rolled steel to cut costs. Under the current law, the government cannot launch an investigation into an alleged case of dumping, if POSCO and Dongkuk Steel disagree with the complaint filed by Hyundai Steel. Shops and public transport across Venezuela shut down on Wednesday as tensions over a fiercely disputed presidential election and rumors of more opposition arrests and sporadic violence kept many people home. Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled since 2013, was proclaimed the winner of the Sunday vote by the electoral council. But the opposition says its tally of about 90 percent of votes shows that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, received more than double the support attracted by Maduro. As the dispute entered its third day amid growing calls for more transparency, the government insisted it had not produced comprehensive vote totals at the polling station level because of a system hack originating in North Macedonia for the extended delay, without providing any evidence to back that up. The U.S.-based Carter Center, one of the few independent monitors allowed to observe the election, announced in a statement late Tuesday that the election "cannot be considered democratic." It said the process was slanted in favor of Maduro and flawed throughout, describing the electoral authority's failure to publish disaggregated results a "serious breach." In remarks broadcast on state television on Wednesday, Maduro said he rejected all threats, including the possibility of new U.S. sanctions. Maduro pledged that his socialist party is ready to release all of its vote tallies, and said he has asked the top court to force opposition parties to do the same. Early Monday morning, Venezuela's electoral authority which the opposition accuses of being in Maduro's pocket announced that he won another term in office, attracting 51 percent of the vote, with a seven-point margin over Gonzalez. But shortly afterward, Venezuela's main opposition alliance launched a website with detailed ballot box-level vote counts covering tallies from the vast majority of the country's 30,000 voting machines, including scans of vote tally print-outs from the machines. As of late afternoon on Wednesday, the website showed opposition hopeful Gonzalez with 67 percent of the vote versus 30 percent for Maduro, representing nearly 82 percent of polling station data. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of each individual tally. Independent exit polls, however, showed a similar margin of victory for Gonzalez. Meanwhile, international pressure on the government has mounted to release full results, including from regional heavyweights the United States and Brazil. "Our patience and that of the international community is running out," said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. The dispute has led to deadly, widespread protests that Maduro and his allies in the military have denounced as an attempted coup. Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday it had received reports of 20 deaths in post-election demonstrations. Some Maduro allies, like Congress head Jorge Rodriguez, have said that Gonzalez and high-profile opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be arrested for their role in the anti-government protests, including in longtime ruling party strongholds. 'They killed my son' The arrests of Gonzalez or Machado would mark a major escalation, following the detentions of two other opposition leaders this week, including the head of the Voluntad Popular party Freddy Superlano. His arrest was captured on video that showed him being shoved into the back of an unmarked car surrounded by armed security agents. Reuters witnesses in several cities have seen clashes between security forces and opposition protesters, as well as attacks on protesters by ruling party-allied motorcycle riders. "I alert the world about a cruel and repressive escalation by the regime," Machado wrote on X on Wednesday. The popular former lawmaker was barred by a government-allied court from running for president, but still managed to galvanize support behind Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, at mass rallies in the lead-up to the vote. Two opposition sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the opposition is focused on pressuring the government to release all vote tallies. Though previous waves of anti-government protests over the past decade led to international condemnations and hundreds of deaths, they all failed to dislodge Maduro. Many anxious residents retreated to their homes as many shops on eerily quiet streets were closed. But new violent flashpoints emerged. Late on Tuesday, Luis Eduardo Roberto, 19, died in the city of Upata, capital of Bolivar state, following an opposition protest. The cause of death was a bullet to the head, according to the death certificate. Witnesses including the teen's father, Ricardo Roberto, said motorcycle vigilantes shot at him. "I'm outraged," he said. "They killed my son." Bolivar Governor Angel Marcano, a Maduro ally, confirmed the death, but blamed rock-throwing protesters for it. In the capital Caracas some stores were open, though lines were long, and there was increased military presence around the presidential palace. Bus drivers in Maracay, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Caracas, were not working out of fear of more violence. (Reuters) Iran held funeral processions on Thursday for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh after he was killed in a strike in Tehran blamed on Israel. The Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead the prayers for Haniyeh ahead of his burial in Doha, having earlier threatened a "harsh punishment" for his killing. In the capital's city center, mourning crowds carrying posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags gathered at Tehran University on Thursday morning, according to an AFP correspondent. Haniyeh's death was announced the day before by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who said he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in the Iranian capital at 2:00 am on Wednesday. It came just hours after Israel targeted and killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a retaliatory strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, sending fears of a wider regional war soaring. Israel has declined to comment on the Tehran strike. Khamenei, who has the final say in Iran's political affairs, said after Haniyeh's death that it was "our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran." The Hamas leader was in Tehran for the inauguration ceremony of newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday. The Iranian president said Wednesday that "the Zionists (Israel) will soon see the consequences of their cowardly and terrorist act." Hamas political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk also vowed retaliation, saying: "The assassination of leader Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not go unanswered." The international community, however, called for de-escalation and a focus on securing a ceasefire in Gaza. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the strikes in Tehran and Beirut represented a "dangerous escalation." All efforts, he said, should be "leading to a ceasefire" in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Wednesday that a ceasefire in Gaza was still the "imperative," with White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later adding that the twin killings "don't help" regional tensions. Truce talks threatened From the early hours of Wednesday, crowds took to the streets in cities across Iran and the Middle East to condemn Haniyeh's killing, with hundreds gathering in Tehran's Palestine Square to chant "Death to Israel, Death to America." The Islamic republic has not yet published any information on the exact location of the strike. While Iran has blamed the attack on its arch-foe, Israel has declined to comment on Haniyeh's death. It did, however, claim the killing of Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly weekend rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The killings come with regional tensions already inflamed by the war in Gaza, a conflict that has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. One of those groups, Yemen's Huthi rebels, "declared three days of mourning" for Haniyeh, with political leader Mahdi al-Mashat expressing "condolences to the Palestinian people and Hamas" over his killing, according to the group's Saba news agency. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, meanwhile, spoke by phone after the attack with his acting Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri to discuss "the latest developments in the region." The U.N. Security Council also convened an emergency meeting Wednesday at Iran's request to discuss the strike, with Tehran's envoy Amir Saeid Iravani urging members to take "immediate action to ensure accountability for these violations of international law." Hamas has for months been indirectly negotiating a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Israel, with Egypt, Qatar and the United States facilitating the talks. Analysts told AFP that Haniyeh was a moderating influence within the Islamist group, and that while he would be replaced, the dynamics within Hamas could change. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack that ignited war in Gaza. That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,445 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The prime minister of key ceasefire broker Qatar said Haniyeh's killing had thrown the whole mediation process into doubt. "How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said in a post on social media site X. (AFP) Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Fatima Latifova The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan (MFA) congratulated Switzerland on the occasion of its national holiday, Azernews reports, citing the post shared by ministry on its official "X" account. "Heartfelt congratulations to Switzerland and its people on their National Day!" the post reads. China is making efforts to step up its fiscal policy support and ensure the implementation of established policies, aiming to consolidate its economic recovery as rising external headwinds weigh on growth. The country will strengthen its fiscal policy to ensure the economy sustains its recovery momentum, Lin Zechang, an official of the Ministry of Finance, said Wednesday. The remarks came in the wake of Chinese policymakers stressing the need for efforts to achieve the country's annual growth target of around 5 percent for this year, while also acknowledging the challenges facing the economy. These challenges include more adverse impacts from changes in the external environment, a lack of domestic demand, risks in major sectors, and difficulties in the transition from old growth drivers to new ones. "The task of promoting reform, development and stability in the second half of the year is arduous," according to an official statement released Tuesday after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. It called for efforts to respond proactively to challenges. The Chinese economy expanded 5 percent year on year in the first half of 2024. In the second quarter, its economic growth moderated to 4.7 percent. "This year, we have appropriately enhanced the intensity of our proactive fiscal policy, and improved its quality and effectiveness," Lin said, noting that this work has provided solid support for the economy. To add steam to economic recovery on the fiscal front, Lin said the country will leverage the multiplier effect of government spending. He said the country will issue ultra-long special treasury bonds in a timely manner and make good use of the funds raised from the sales of those bonds. It will also accelerate the issuance of special-purpose local government bonds and expedite the use of funds raised from their sales. The issuance of local government bonds totaled 1.9 trillion yuan (about 266 billion U.S. dollars) by July 26. China will expand the range of areas to which the funds can be channeled to include sectors such as new infrastructure types and new industries, Lin said. The country will also strengthen its efforts to promote equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods, he added. China will allocate 300 billion yuan raised from ultra-long special treasury bonds to support equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in programs. Lin said that the country will enhance fiscal support for sectors related to the people's well-being, and ensure the implementation of fiscal and tax policies in areas such as employment, education, elderly care and health care. China has also pledged greater support for the integrated advancement of technological and industrial innovation, breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and the development of strategic emerging industries and industries of the future. Zarazeno ct 01.08.2024 04:08:27 Vydano Zdroj scio.gov.cn Original english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2024-08/01/content_117343426.htm lang en A Chinese mainland spokesperson said Wednesday that the authority of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758, which fully reflects and confirms the one-China principle, is "unchallengeable." Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media question regarding the resolution. Chen said UNGA Resolution 2758, adopted in 1971, restored the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations. It made clear that there is only one seat for China in the United Nations, precluding "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations, Chen added. Zarazeno ct 01.08.2024 05:08:00 Vydano Zdroj scio.gov.cn Original english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2024-08/01/content_117343595.htm lang en TIMES ARCHITECTURE CRITIC It is a well-honed cage. Twin Towers Correctional Facility is designed to be a surreal hybrid of modern technology and enlightenment ideals. After sitting empty for more than a year because of budget problems, the jail will finally open Jan. 25, it was announced Friday. When it does, the squat, medieval stone form--speckled with slot windows--will hum inside with state-of-the-art electronics and surveillance. The facility will accommodate 4,100 inmates who are either awaiting trial or serving up to one-year sentences. But the gleaming new jail is also a cool refinement of a 200-year-old utopian scheme by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham for a model prison that could recast criminals as productive social beings. Built at a cost of $373 million, the facility at 450 Bauchet St.--at the eastern edge of Chinatown--owes a debt to Benthams notorious experiment in social engineering. In Benthams 18th century scheme, the prisoner was controlled by the knowledge that he could never escape the scrutiny of an ever-present gaze. Benthams proposed Panopticon, which was never built, was a hollow drum with a single watchtower at its center, its cells set along its outer shell so that each inmate could be constantly watched. The premise of his plan was that architecture could affect human behavior; his design was meant to bring about complete moral reform. Advertisement The design for Twin Towers, however, follows the form, but without the utopian hopefulness. Designed by the architectural firm Helmuth Obata Kassabaum, Twin Towers aims for maximum control at minimum cost. As such, it is not only an eerie symbol of our increased desire to control social boundaries, it is also a testament to our diminished moral expectations. It is a seemingly insurmountable, if narrow, task: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in 167 U.S. residents was incarcerated at the end of 1995, nearly double the 1985 figure. The pressure to find space for these hidden populations has led to new needs--as density within the jail system spirals upward, officials have asked architects to devise ever-more efficient designs to achieve greater security and still accommodate tighter operating budgets. Benthams plan marked the birth of the modern prison system. Although the original plan was discarded in favor of a notorious system of penal colonies, several variants were built in England during the 19th century. An alternate version was built in 1829 in the United States, at Pennsylvanias Eastern State Penitentiary, where cells were arranged like spokes emanating from a central guard post, sacrificing total observation to segregate prisoners from one another. Advertisement Twin Towers is a radical refinement of those aged structures. Its hygienically dubbed inmate reception center is a passage to a world carefully removed from our own. Inmates enter through a quarter-mile-long twisting corridor, where they are unchained, numbered, bathed, tested and categorized. Tiny isolation cells are set along the corridor to contain panicked prisoners until they passively accept their fate. Architecture reinforces the idea that here authority is everything. Inside, there is an almost dumb primitive order. Both towers--each a squat seven stories--are shaped like two interlocking hexagons, with an elevated central observation booth at the core of each. Cells are arranged in two neat stories along the hexagons outer walls, creating six distinct modules, and each of those, in turn, is divided into six pods with 36 inmates--the jails principal unit. Cells are the legal minimum--72 square feet for two inmates. The new Panopticon is broken down into identical segments, each pod and module repeated over and over again like an image endlessly reflected in two opposed mirrors: They are color-coded because even guards familiar with the jail could get lost. Thus, the inmate will be locked within a maze-like trap that denies the existence of an outside world even as it also denies individuality. As is true of any typical jail system, there is perhaps no greater punishment than the denial of a mans existence. Advertisement * But technology here takes that vision to a new extreme. As in Benthams plan, a single guard has enormous control; here, at each level, one guard perched behind a glass screen can lock and unlock cells, listen to conversations and videotape disturbances. Chained inmates are transported unaccompanied in stainless-steel elevators from floor to floor observed and overheard from above. In case of danger, the jails computerized central control center can seal shut access doors on any floor. To ensure maximum efficiency, movement of inmates is reduced to a minimum; meals are wheeled in to the inmates on stainless steel carts; there is no large centralized cafeteria. Church services are broadcast by video over an internal channel, so there is no need to take inmates to a chapel. Visitors--unguarded--are brought up to the appropriate module. An inmate, in fact, leaves his floor for only three reasons: court, sickness or release. The evolution of the internment system has reduced the system of control to its purest form, cunningly tightening the grip of authority. Control is now supremely economical. That rigid order also means less demand on staff--a key goal of todays overburdened penal system. But Benthams design was part of a broader moral plan. His enlightened cage was set against the shadowy medieval dungeon and its multiple torture instruments. In the Panopticon, the sense of being watched would, in theory, be so total that the jailer would be unnecessary: Prisoners would reform themselves under an Orwellian gaze. At Philadelphias Eastern State Penitentiary, each inmate was left in contemplative solitude--a perversion of the monastic ideal. In each, the professed goal was naively utopian. As Bentham put it: Morals reformed, health preserved, industry invigorated . . . all by a simple idea in architecture. * Now, the penal system seems to have given up hope of reform and is myopically focused on order. At Twin Towers there are, however, rewards for inmates who behave. In a perverse play on Dantes rising rings of hell, inmates who follow the rules closely will be moved to better pods on the floors above, earning select privileges: increased outdoor and TV time and other recreational activities. It is a blunt game where good prisoners are segregated in stages from bad. So far, Puritan visions of reform have failed--our jails have remained inhuman spaces of violence and rat cage-like overcrowding. With pointed irony, the long-abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania was recently transformed into a screaming dark dungeon oozing uncontrolled madness in the film Twelve Monkeys--an image that played on middle-class fears of a lurking violent chaos. Advertisement Of course, the underlying mission of Twin Towers is not to eradicate evil, but rather to make it invisible--to shut out what we fear and hate. And that desire may be a rejection of our own civilization. As Orwell put it: I never went into a jail without feeling (most visitors to jails feel the same) that my place was on the other side of the bars. The barriers between the guilty and the innocent are not as rigidly drawn as we would like them to be. But even the limited ideals of Twin Towers are already mired in frustration and futility: It can accommodate only a minuscule percentage of the overflow prison population. Once opened, it will be asked to do the impossible--to function as part of a system that wants to remove violence not only from our neighborhoods, but from our consciousness. In its small way, Twin Towers is no more realistically utopian than Benthams Panopticon, but its design is born of frustration, with little room for humanity. On 31 July the Organization of American States (OAS) failed to pass a resolution demanding the publication of detailed voting data from Venezuelas 28 July presidential election , which has been widely slammed as fraudulent. End of preview - This article contains approximately 596 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Patients and some 65,000 employees of Jefferson and Lehigh Valley Health Network will benefit from their merger completed Thursday, officials from the two nonprofits said. Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township hosted a celebration complete with retro pop music blasting from speakers, a mascot and assurances of improved health-care and education opportunities resulting from the transaction. Creating one of the nations top-15 largest nonprofit health systems, the merger makes the legacy company of Jefferson the parent of Lehigh Valley Health Network, its Lehigh Valley Hospital locations and other holdings. Patricia D. Wellenbach, chairwoman of the Jefferson Board of Trustees, called the merger transformative. We are coming together so we can bring more specialists, locations, expertise, research and education to our patients and communities, said Dr. Brian Nester, who was the Lehigh Valley CEO and now serves as executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Jefferson enterprise with oversight of the legacy Lehigh Valley Health Network. We are coming together to give our colleagues more opportunity for growth, professional development and a fulfilling career in health care. Today marks the start of what is the most exciting period I believe in the history of health care in this region. Jefferson mascot Phil the Ram helps mark the merger with Lehigh Valley Health Network Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township.Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com Phil the Ram closed out Thursdays announcement with fist pumps from the stage and photos with the health network officials whod gathered together with lawmakers, other guests employees. Thomas Jefferson University, which with Jefferson Health makes up Jefferson, unveiled the mascot in March as part of the Philadelphia-based organizations bicentennial. Paired with Lehigh Valley Healths 125-year history, the two entities bring a combined 325 years of experience to broadening care and education opportunities to a region spanning the Lehigh Valley, eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Its no secret why were here, said Dr. Joseph G. Cacchione, the Jefferson CEO. Today we have the great honor of announcing that our transaction is complete and that we officially are a combined organization this afternoon, he said to applause, continuing later: We are now collectively in the top-15-sized health systems in the country and one of only a handful that has a national doctoral research university, a health plan that will help us to continue to support our communities and in particular the most vulnerable parts of our communities. Together we will offer the communities that we serve the highest quality of care through over 700 sites of care, 32 hospital campuses and countless associates. Cacchione said there is no dollar figure to share associated with the transaction. Really its our commitment to the capital, and that the money raised here from a philanthropic standpoint stays in the Lehigh Valley and stays in the communities that theyre raised in, he told lehighvalleylive.com in an interview after Thursdays announcement. Dr. Joseph G. Cacchione, Jefferson CEO, shakes hands with Dr. Brian Nester, executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Jefferson enterprise with oversight of the legacy Lehigh Valley Health Network, during a celebration of the nonprofits merger Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township.Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com Rebranding is in the works and expected to take six months to a year, but Cacchione said to expect Lehigh Valley Health to remain attached to the legacy network. Were working through the branding right now, but right now itll be Lehigh Valley Health Proudly Part of Jefferson Health, he said. Lehigh Valley Health Network had been looking for a partner for some 15 years, officials said Thursday, and its culture aligned with that of Jefferson. The two entities signed a letter of intent to combine last December, and leadership from both systems announced in May the deal would come to fruition this summer. Through our combined organizations those we are privileged to serve will have access to a broader network of nationally ranked specialists who will collaborate and continue to bring groundbreaking technology and treatments close to home, more expansive clinical trials resulting in better treatments for all the communities we serve, more insurance options providing greater choice for our communities and more education options, Cacchione said. Patients can expect to continue using their health insurance plans and doctors, Cacchione clarified. Whatever you have today, if you have insurance today with Highmark or Capital Blue, Aetna, its all the same he said. You call your doctor the same, your appointments are the same. You will see no difference. And so your doctor will stay the same. So you will not feel as a patient much different. You may see some signs that might change over time, but what youre going to have access to is now a combined entity, you will have access to the most advanced care anywhere in the Lehigh Valley. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has appealed Laois County Councils planning decision allowing two security gates on land near the N80 in Laois. Joe and Will Carmody had been granted conditional retention planning permission for the two security gates at existing entrances to land at Clonreher, Portlaoise on June 24 last. The planning approval was granted subject to three conditions. In the plans lodged with Laois County Council, the planner noted applicants said gates were installed to restrict traffic and access onto the land. Before the gates were erected the entrances were open to public access. There were historic issues with trespass and anti-social behaviour. The local authority also requested the owners on a number of occasions to secure and close the entrances to ensure that illegal dumping could not take place on the property. As a result of this action, the security gates have prevented unauthorised public access and the volume of traffic entering and leaving the site has been significantly reduced. The risk of dumping has been prevented, the planner noted in a report. The applicants informed the council that the entrances will only be used occasionally and predominately by a security company to access the site once a week at most which has significantly reduced the traffic using the entrances to enter the land. Both gates are located along the N80 with one being just over five metres from the road. TII had raised concerns over the gates with the council. It said they are at variance with official policy in relation to control of development on/affecting national roads, as outlined in the DoECLG Spatial Planning and National Roads Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2012). They said the gates could adversely affect the operation and safety of the national road network. TII has now appealed Laois County Councils decision to An Bord Pleanala. The planning authority is expected to make a decision on the case in November. A Laois water safety expert has issued a warning to water activity enthusiasts ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend. The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are among the organisations appealing for people to take care when they are on or near the water. The public are encouraged to Always Think Water Safety by planning and preparing before venturing on or near the water. Water Safety Lead for the RNLI, Linda-Gene Byrne, who is from Killenard, said, "Paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing are increasingly popular, especially during the summer months and the RNLI has seen an increase in our lifeboats going to the aid of people involved in these activities over the past few years. "Its important to be aware of some simple safety advice which could save your life. If you are heading out on the water, we would always advise you to wear a suitable personal flotation device for your activity. If you are on a paddleboard, choose the right releasable leash for the location you are paddling. "Always check the weather forecast and tide times as this can affect your paddling and always tell someone where youre going and when youll be back. Keep a means of calling for help attached to you in a waterproof pouch or close to hand so that in an emergency you can call 999 / 112 and ask for the Coast Guard." Her comments come following "an increase in the number of incidents this summer involving paddleboarders, persons becoming stranded due to incoming tides, recreational boater groundings and several diving incidents". That's according to the Operations Manager with the Irish Coast Guard, Kevin Whitney. He said, "Remember to have the right equipment for the activity you are about to undertake such as a correctly fitting Personal Flotation Device (PFD), and to let someone ashore know where you are going and when you will return, and most importantly, to have a means to call for help such as a marine VHF Radio, fully charged mobile phone, or Personal Locator Beacon. "Ensure you plan for the event you are about to undertake and are familiar with all your safety equipment before venturing out. This will allow you to use this equipment in a hurry should the need arise. "If participating in any diving activities, then it is highly recommended that you file a float plan with someone ashore or the Coast Guard so that emergency services are aware of your location and can assist if need be." Water Safety Irelands CEO, Joanne Walsh, said, "Rip currents can be a danger at Irelands beaches and swimmers are advised to know what to do if they encounter one. Rip currents are not always easy to spot and the best way to remain safe is to swim between the red and yellow flags at lifeguarded waterways. "Lifeguards are trained to identify when and where it is safe to swim. If you do get caught in a rip current, remain calm and dont try to swim against the current. Instead, swim out of the current in a direction parallel to the shoreline and then back towards shore. If still in difficulty, call for help and float on your back like a starfish." If you see somebody in trouble on the water or along the coast or think that they are in trouble, use Marine VHF Ch 16 or dial 112 and ask for the Coast Guard. People First Credit Union paid a touching heartfelt tribute to the late Phil Coughlan on social media. The former director and chairperson of the People First Credit Union passed away on Tuesday. Mrs Coughlan(Nee Dundon) of Curragha, Mountrath Road, Portlaoise died peacefully at home in the company of her family. Her friends and former colleagues at the Credit Union posted tribute. It is with heavy hearts that we learnt of the news of the passing of Phil Coughlan, a remarkable woman and an exemplary volunteer who dedicated so much of her life to Portlaoise Credit Union and People First Credit Union. Phil's contributions and unwavering commitment have left an indelible mark on our community, and we want to take a moment to honour her memory. For many years, Phil served as a dedicated director and Chairperson of our credit union, leading with compassion, integrity, and unwavering commitment. Her role was not just a position she held, but a calling she embraced wholeheartedly. Through her voluntary service, she demonstrated the true essence of giving back, always striving to make a difference in the lives of others. In a time when the world around us was rapidly changing, Phil was a steady beacon of stability and kindness. She witnessed and guided our credit union through significant transformations, always with a vision of bettering our community. Her gentle soul and absolute grace were evident in every interaction, and she had a unique ability to make everyone feel valued and heard. Phil was a lady in every sense of the word. She approached each day with a kind word and a warm smile, touching the hearts of everyone she met. Her generosity of spirit and her dedication to service are legacies that will continue to inspire us all. Phil was a true family woman, always getting her loved ones involved with the credit union by helping them open accounts and teaching them the importance of being part of the community. In this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with her family. We share in your sorrow and extend our deepest sympathies. Phil's memory will forever be a cherished part of our credit union family, and her impact will be felt for generations to come. Rest in peace, Phil. Your legacy of kindness, dedication, and community spirit will live on in our hearts and in the work we do each day. Thank you for everything you have given us. You will be remembered always. Your colleagues, friends and community at People First Credit Union Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam, they wrote. Mrs Coughlan is predeceased by her husband John. Dearly loved mother to David, Stephanie (Lewis), Pauline (Mahony) , and Bernadette (Rigney). Cherished grandmother to Lianne, Meghan, Daniel, Aron, Luke, and Harry. Great-grandmother to Cormac, Billy, Faye and Carl. Deeply regretted by her loving family. Sister Gemma McCrohan, brothers Tone Dundon, and Ben Dundon, sisters in law Betty and Geraldine, daughter in law Sharon, sons in law Liam, Des and Shawn, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. Reposing at Keegans Funeral Home on Thursday evening from 6 pm until 8 pm. With rosary at 8pm. Removal from her residence on Friday morning at 11.30am to arrive at SS Peter and Paul's Church for 12 noon mass. Interment will follow in SS Peter and Paul's Cemetery, Portlaoise. A 19 year-old Irish man has been arrested in Portugal in connection with the stabbing of four Dutch tourists in the resort of Albufeira, police on the Algarve have confirmed. The incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning after the Irish youngsters apparently became annoyed at the noise the Dutch group, said to number nine, were making. All those involved were aged between 17 and 21. A friend of the Dutch youths told Dutch media that three had been stabbed in the stomach and one in the leg. READ MORE - Who are Ireland's medal contenders? A look ahead as Team Ireland battles on at the Paris Olympics In a statement, Portuguese police said four male victims "were assaulted with a bladed weapon, suffering life-threatening injuries which led to them being hospitalised". The violence flared around 4.30am on Monday in Albufeiras Praia da Oura area. The Dutch embassy in Portugal is reportedly offering help to the holidaymakers and their families, but has said nothing about the injuries. Portuguese police say the young Irish man who has been arrested faces charges of attempted murder. The statement did not mention any injuries among the Irish group, although initial reports had speculated that there were casualties on both sides. The police have not said if they expect to make further arrests. According to local website Portugal News, the authorities in Albufeira have just launched a campaign to try and improve the behaviour of tourists in the towns public spaces and have beefed up policing. An IT consultant killed in a helicopter crash in Co Westmeath will be deeply missed, his family said. Father-of-two Niall Crosby, of Glenageary, Dublin, and one other man, who is understood to be from eastern Europe, died in the crash close to the village of Killucan at about 3.30pm on Tuesday. In a statement, Mr Crosbys family said the 46-year-old will be deeply missed by his wife Jillian, two sons and wider family circle, friends and work colleagues. Describing an extraordinarily difficult 24 hours, they said they wanted to particularly thank the first responders at the crash site as well as all those who had reached out with condolences and the local communities of Killucan and Raharney for their thoughts and prayers. Mr Crosby was originally from Straffan, Co. Kildare. He worked for much of his life in London in the IT sector but had recently returned with his family to Ireland to raise their children in Dublin. We also have a special thought for Nialls co-pilot and his family at this tragic time, they added. The AAIU would be grateful for the assistance of members of the public who may have photos or video of the helicopter flying in the vicinity of Killucan on the afternoon of Tuesday 30th June. They can either email info@aaiu.ie or contact the AAIU at 01-6041292. AAIU IRELAND (@aaiu_ireland) July 31, 2024 The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) is investigating the crash. In a post on the social media platform X, they issued an appeal for any footage from the incident. The AAIU would be grateful for the assistance of members of the public who may have photos or video of the helicopter flying in the vicinity of Killucan on the afternoon of Tuesday 30th June. They can either email info@aaiu.ie or contact the AAIU at 01-6041292, they said. Medal success for rowers from across the island of Ireland will inspire the next generation of Olympians, supporters have said. The medal rush for rowers at the Paris Olympics continued on Thursday as Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch won bronze for Ireland in the final of the mens double sculls at the Stade Nautique at Vaires sur Marnes. Barely half an hour later Rebecca Shorten from Belfast was part of Team GBs womens four which won silver, narrowly missing out on gold to the Netherlands. It followed the gold medal success on Wednesday of Hannah Scott from Coleraine in the quadruple sculls. Supporters gathered at Queens University Belfasts Boat Club to cheer on the Irish and GB boats in the latest finals. Doyle, originally from Banbridge in Co Down, started rowing while studying at Queens. Clara McClements, the Ladies Captain at the club, said the success of Doyle and Lynch had inspired all those in the club. She said: I started rowing when I joined uni in 2021. I had never rowed before. It was a completely new sport for me and I love it. Phil came through the same programme I did. Phil started to row at Queens. It is great to see you can start this sport later in life and become very good at it very quickly if you approach it with the right attitude. Hopefully it will bring new people into the sport which is what we want to do. Reacting to the medal success of the Irish boat, she said: I would say Phil is ecstatic at the minute, hes been really working hard for years, it is not an easy thing while you are doing a degree but Phil has shown it is definitely worth it in the end. Amazing things can be achieved with hard work. She added: The Olympics is such an amazing thing and to see that someone who has gone through the same programme, the same university that I went to can go on and achieve amazing things gives you something to work towards. It is inspiring for everyone. Several rowers from Methodist College in Belfast, where Shorten learnt the sport, were at the boat club to cheer on the womens fours. Felix OGorman, 15, said nobody was disappointed that the team had been narrowly pipped to the gold medal. He said: We are all so proud. In here it was crazy, everyone was screaming and shouting for Rebecca. The Dutch had it, the British had it, it was just so close. Even when they crossed the line no-one knew what the result was. Rebecca has come to the boat house a few times, we talk about her quite often, we all know her name. Everyone looks up to her. She is a really lovely person. It comes down to skill and determination, she has stuck to the sport and she is so talented. He added: I think she inspires all of us. We all want to be Olympians. Seeing results like this, knowing you can be there someday, is motivation to get up in the morning (to train). A huge crowd gathered in Lynchs home town of Clonmel in Co Tipperary to watch the rowers claim the bronze medals. Hundreds of people huddled under a huge screen in Kickham Plaza and erupted into cheers when the local rower came in third place. Political leaders on both sides of the border hailed the latest medal successes. Another medal for Ireland! Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle bring home a hard fought Bronze! A tough race but really proud of the lads who rowed their hearts out and were still gaining with more in the tank at the finish. Thank you Philip and Daire, youve made Ireland proud. pic.twitter.com/BI1KjA0DIm Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 1, 2024 Taoiseach Simon Harris said on social media: Another medal for Ireland! Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle bring home a hard fought Bronze! A tough race but really proud of the lads who rowed their hearts out and were still gaining with more in the tank at the finish. Thank you Philip and Daire, youve made Ireland proud. Writing on X, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: Battling and brilliant bronze medal for Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch. Historic and superb achievement. A great tribute to the strength and depth of Irish rowing. More medals for our amazing NI athletes in Paris!! It is a Silver for Rebecca and a Bronze for Philip! Fantastic! pic.twitter.com/v1MZEgZKAJ Emma Little-Pengelly BL (@little_pengelly) August 1, 2024 Northern Irelands First Minister Michelle ONeill said the medals keep on coming for our athletes at the Olympics. She added: Huge congratulations to Rebecca Shortern on winning silver, and Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch on winning bronze! Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: More medals for our amazing NI athletes in Paris!! It is a silver for Rebecca and a Bronze for Philip! Fantastic! A unique celebration of a century of weddings in a Laois church takes place this September. St Paul's Church of Ireland in Mountmellick has been the beautiful and meaningful venue for 57 weddings over the past 100 years, and a group of its parishoners are about to hold a special social fundraiser to honour that romantic history. The whole town is getting involved, with a special showing of a wedding movie, and the reenactment of a wedding complete with lunch and fun speeches. At least 16 wedding dresses have been carefully packed and shipped to the organising committee for display, from as far away as Australia, with more welcomed. The exhibition will include the register of marriages for all the weddings in St Paul's for the last 100 years, as well as photographs, invites and all the memorabilia carefully kept by couples since their special day. It will be a celebration of changing fashions, of love, of the church and of ecumenical community spirit. A photo of a wedding at St Paul's Church. Philip and Janet Stewart from The Rock are part of the committee, with Philip's own mother Hilda Stewart's (nee Whitford) dress among the exhibits. "So far my mum's dress is the oldest, they got married on August 6, 1952. She kept it in a box and dyed it green to wear it again," he said. Mrytle Gloster (nee Stewart) modelling her late mother Hilda's wedding dress. "One dress came from Australia, including the wedding menu and the bridesmaid's dress, from a 1997 wedding. "It has struck a chord with people. We are delighted with the response. Some couples have split up but even they were willing and said it was a happy time for them," Philip told the Leinster Express / Laois Live. The first wedding of the past century was in 1819, between Margaret Thompson and John Haggard. Mountmellick Drama group is going to act out a reenacted ecumenical wedding service, including a vintage car and a reception in The Hare's Corner, where the speeches promise to be comedic. The restaurant only seats 60 so the 'invitation' tickets will be like gold dust. The committee also invite the public to vote for their favorite wedding hymn and why, and the six winning songs will be sung at the closing service. Entries may be emailed by August 23 to chooseyourhymn@gmail.com Weddings have become rarer in St Paul's as the size of the congregation falls. The last one was in 2017. "Hopefully there will be more weddings there in the future," Philip Stewart said. The exhibition will take place from September 5 to 8 in St Paul's Church, Mountmellick. On Wednesday, September 4 there will be a wedding themed classic movie in The Balcony Cinema in Mountmellick Community Arts Centre at 7.30pm with tea/coffee and wine reception. The Brides of St Paul's exhibition will be launched on Thursday, September 5 at 7pm in the church with special guest Bishop Pat Storey, followed by a cheese and wine reception in the old school hall. The exhibition then opens to the public on Friday in the church, from 11am to 8pm, and again on Saturday, 11am to 4pm. The wedding reenactment takes place on Saturday evening at 6pm in St Paul's Church. The bride will travel from O'Connell Square in a 1912 Vauxhall car, followed by a fun filled reception in The Hare's Corner restaurant at the MDA, Irishtown. On Sunday the exhibition open for a final day from 10am to 4pm. There will be an exhibition of vintage cars and old wedding cars in O'Connell Square from 11am to 4pm. It will close with a service of praise and thanksgiving, led by organist Antoinette Dickinson and her choir and the choir of Mountmellick Group of Parishes. A final reception will follow of tea, coffee and refreshments in the old school hall. Any donations and ticket money raised will go towards maintenance of the 18th century church. "We want it to unite all religions, all religious leaders will be invited. It will just be a lovely occasion to get together. Janet came up with the idea after we were at a school reunion and people met who hadn't seen each other since they left school. It is in aid of St Paul's so if it makes money, it makes money, but it's a social community thing," he said. The committee are still in need of some traditional style mannequins to model the gowns, email rector@mountmellickgroupofparishes.ie or phone Janet Stewart on 086 2737146 As the old Irish saying goes: "What is for you won't pass you!" Awareness of alternative pathways to education and the world of work has grown significantly in recent years, as has its popularity. While third-level degrees are certainly highly regarded, there is a shifting focus of employers toward traits such as adaptability, passion, critical thinking, and a willingness to learn in their talent acquisition. EirGrid, the operator and developer of Irelands electricity grid, began the Earn and Learn programme in 2023, and one person who availed of it is Lorena Dalewska. Lorena completed her Leaving Certificate at Luttrellstown Community College in Blanchardstown in 2021. Originally from Poland, Lorena gained a place in Maynooth University following her exams, but found that the course was not for her. She explained: "As a Sixth Year, I hadnt yet figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about taking a gap year, but there was a huge push from my teachers and family to go to college and so I picked the first course that sounded manageable. "I felt very unmotivated by the content of my degree; I knew it wasnt for me and I knew I wasnt going to finish it, so I dropped out." Lorena added: "I always found that the traditional college route was not really for me, but I felt I wasnt given many other options." Upon dropping out of Maynooth University, Lorena worked in a pharmacy as a healthcare advisor, but wanted to find something that would allow her to build a career and learn at the same time. Lorena continued: "A friend of mine told me about the EirGrid Earn and Learn Programme soon after I had dropped out. "While I had just recently left college, I hadnt entirely given up on third level education, and so the programme really appealed to me." Now, nine months into the two-year Earn and Learn programme, Lorena is a Market Associate with the Operations team at EirGrid. She is currently undertaking a Diploma with Griffith College and will begin a Part-Time Level 8 in Business Management in September. According to EirGrid: "Lorena works to move Ireland towards a more renewable future. By 2030 the national electricity system must be developed to allow for 80 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources, as per Government climate targets." Lorena also expressed how she wishes there were 'more programmes like this for people whose way of learning does not fit traditional university pathways.' She elaborated: "I had very little knowledge of renewable energy and sustainability before joining EirGrid. "The Earn and Learn Programme has allowed me to learn on the job, while also giving me financial independence and work life balance." Lorena concluded: "I hope more programmes like this will come on stream and Id encourage students to investigate alternative programmes rather than only considering long term study." Bord Bia has announced the details of the National Organic Awards 2024. The Awards, held in association with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, celebrate the achievements of the increasing number of organic growers, producers, and manufacturers in the country. Kildare-based organic producers are invited to submit entries into one of seven categories before the closing date of August 12. Judging will take place at the National Organic Food Fair in Merrion Square, Dublin on August 31. Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, said: "The organic sector in Ireland is going from strength to strength, and the standard of what we are producing here really is world-class." The Green Party representative added: "Im looking forward to seeing the quality of entries when they are judged at the National Organic Food Fair in Merrion Square at the end of August, and indeed to the main event itself when the award winners and the very best of our sector will be announced on October 17." Emmet Doyle, Organic Sector Manager in Bord Bia, also said: The National Organic Awards offer a platform to highlight the best organic food and drink produced in Ireland. "As the momentum for Irish organics continues to grow, we are excited to celebrate the achievements and innovations of the sectors pioneers. "This year, in recognition of the dedicated efforts of many individuals in advancing the sector, we are proud to introduce the Irish Organic Sector Champion Award." "Unlike other awards, all nominees for this category will be nominated by their peers." He concluded: "We look forward to receiving entries from businesses across the country in the coming weeks." CATEGORIES The National Organic Awards aim to recognise developments within the organic sector across seven key categories, judged by a panel of Irish food, drink, and horticulture experts: The Irish Organic Sector Champion 2024 This new award recognises the achievements of an individual who is a true pioneer, a positive influence for the Irish organic sector, encompassing the qualities and philosophy of what the Irish organic sector stands for, and helping to progress the sector. Best Irish Organic Product Award Open to Irish organic branded food and beverage products available for sale in Ireland either through retail, speciality, food service, or direct-to-consumer channels. Best Irish Organic Private Label Product Award Open to Irish organic products currently available through Irish retail/food service channels, including seasonal products that were available over the past 12 months. Best Irish Organic Product Export Award Open to products currently being sold in the export market. Best New and Innovative Irish Organic Product Open to new products or packaging innovations launched since October 2022. Direct to Consumer Excellence Award Open to products being sold directly to consumers via e-commerce, e.g., company website, third-party shop, social media shop, etc. (Online sales via Irish retailer websites are not eligible). Business in the Community Award This category will acknowledge the achievements of businesses in their local communities. HOW TO APPLY For more information on the individual categories and how to apply, you can visit Bord Bias website. Applications close on August 12, with the shortlist being announced the week commencing August 27. Winners of the National Organic Awards 2024 will get a one-to-one session with Bord Bias Client Capability team, who will help develop a bespoke package of supports to meet individual company needs up to the value of 5,000. There is a separate prize for the Irish Organic Sector Champion Award 2024. FURTHER INFORMATION According to Bord Bia: "Ireland has a target of 10 per cent (450,000 hectares) of agricultural land to be farmed organically by 2030, up from approximately 1.6 per cent in 2020." "There are currently 5,000 farmers in the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), with 3,000 joining the scheme since January 2023." Last year, Bord Bia consumer research found 67 per cent of Irish shoppers purchase organic food and drink on a monthly basis. The 2024 Kildare Choral and Organ Festival, which takes place in St Brigids Cathedral from August 14 to 28, will mark the 1500th anniversary of the death of St Brigid with a range of performances from acclaimed women musicians in Ireland. The annual Festival, will this year explore the theme, Women in music honouring Brigid 1500. It begins on Wednesday August 14, 7.30pm, with an organ recital from Dr Carole OConnor, organist and choir director of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Whitefriar Street, Dublin. The second night of the Festival, Friday August 23, 7.30pm, will feature a choral performance from the celebrated Irish female vocal ensemble, Dulciana. Since its very inception, part of Dulcianas mission has been the promotion of music by female composers, both those neglected by history, and those currently making history. They are particularly firm supporters of contemporary female Irish composers. The closing night of the Festival, Wednesday August 28, 7.30pm will feature Tatiana Konina on organ and Aoise ODwyer on viola. Tatiana is the Director of Music and Organist of Christ Church, Bray and Aoise is a violist, music educator and orchestral musician from Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Commenting on the Festival, the Dean of St Brigids Cathedral, Kildare, Very Rev Isobel Jackson said, Last years Festival marked the 800th anniversary of the construction of St Brigids Cathedral, so this year we wanted to celebrate the founder of our ancient hilltop site, St Brigid herself. She is strongly associated with the arts, so it is wonderful to think that 1500 years after her death, glorious sacred music continues to reverberate on the site she founded. Tickets are 15 per concert or 40 for the whole festival. They can be purchased online on Eventbrite (see links below) or at the door on the night of the concerts. Ticket links: Carole OConnor - August 14 The Government will still use the former paint factory in Dublin as accommodation for people who have applied for asylum, Integration Minister Roderic OGorman has said. Mr OGorman said engagement with the community had raised a range of issues, including a lack of services, but said the government could not accept that some people did not want asylum seekers living in their area. A protest was held at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock which is to be renovated to accommodate more than 500 asylum applicants. On Monday July 15, tensions escalated at the location after a digger and mattresses were burned and a member of the security staff at the building was injured. Riot police attended the scene and more than 30 people were arrested. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that the Department of Justice and IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Services), as well as gardai can learn lessons from Coolock, adding that gardai bore the brunt of the tensions. Mr OGorman acknowledged that there are very real disadvantage issues in Coolock that the government would take meaningful steps to respond to. It remains our intention to use this facility to accommodate international protection families, Mr OGorman said. Our community engagement team continues to engage with reps and I know the Northside Community Forum has put forward a proposal in terms of trying to bring in a wider range of voices in terms of this particular centre. Were very happy to engage with that particular process and we appreciate the work thats been done in terms of trying to bring that together. And that will be taking place over the coming weeks. He added: Were hearing a range of issues. We have to recognise, there are some people who just dont want international protection applicants living in their community and thats not a position that the government can accept. But there are people who raise the very real issues of disadvantage that Coolock faces as a community and are looking to, I suppose, point out where the state could take meaningful steps to respond to that, in the context of an ask of international protection accommodation. Thats why we set up a community engagement team. And its why it would be important that were able to demonstrate the additional supports that we are putting in place to support accommodation in this location. Mr OGorman said that progress was being made on welcome centres for asylum seekers as part of a long-term accommodation strategy launched earlier this year. The strategy aims to house international protection applicants and also ease Irelands reliance on commercial properties to house refugees and asylum seekers. He said that 1,300 asylum seekers, some of whom had been homeless for a considerable amount of time, had been housed since the launch of the new approach. Mr OGorman said he expected buildings for new welcome centres to be bought in the coming months, but where construction needs to take place on newly bought sites, this would not take place before the next general election. Obviously, it depends on that decision by An Taoiseach in terms of the date, but yes, I would hope to see (purchased buildings) occupied before the general election, he said. He said once the State-owned centres are set up, it will have a very significant impact on the cost of housing migrants as they will not be as reliant on the commercial sector. Asked about where the locations of these centres would be, Mr OGorman said there was no sense of things being hidden. We have to bring difficult openings to communities around the country every day of the week. When we are certain about locations for purchases, were obviously not going to name a place we might bid for because that will obviously impact on the price. In terms of building on state land, I think its important to give certainty, because theres no point in telling a community on the basis of a maybe. When we have clear plans for State land, we will inform communities. The key point is I believe both in the terms of building on state land and purchases, locations will be known prior to the general election. The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are appealing for people to take care when they are on or near the water ahead of a busy Bank Holiday weekend. Thousands are expected to flock to Ireland's beaches, lakes and rivers for the sunny August Bank Holiday weekend, and are encouraged by the Coast Guard to Always Think Water Safety. The Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland encourage those planning on hitting the water this weekend to plan and prepare before venturing on or near the water. This includes checking the weather and tide forecast and ensuring you have the right equipment to allow for a safe and enjoyable time in the water. READ MORE - Good news for parents - big change to child benefit payments on the cards for Budget The warning comes as the RNLI has seen an increase in the number of lifeboats going to the aid of people involved in increasingly popular activities like paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing. "We are seeing an increase in the number of incidents this summer involving paddleboarders, persons becoming stranded due to incoming tides, recreational boater groundings and several diving incidents, said Kevin Whitney, operations manager with the Irish Coast Guard. "Remember to have the right equipment for the activity you are about to undertake such as a correctly fitting Personal Flotation Device (PFD), and to let someone ashore know where you are going and when you will return, and most importantly, to have a means to call for help such as a marine VHF Radio, fully charged mobile phone, or Personal Locator Beacon. The public is also advised to have a means of calling for help at all times, and keep a marine radio or a fully charged mobile phone in a waterproof pouch near them. If participating in any diving activities, then it is highly recommended that you file a float plan with someone ashore or the Coast Guard so that emergency services are aware of your location and can assist if need be, Whitney added. Water Safety Irelands CEO Joanne Walsh called on the public to respect the advice of lifeguards at beaches around the country, saying lifeguards are trained to identify when and where it is safe to swim. Rip currents are not always easy to spot and the best way to remain safe is to swim between the red and yellow flags at lifeguarded waterways, she added. The RNLI say they have seen an increase in lifeboats being called to the aid of people involved with water activities such as paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing in recent years. Three additional schools in County Kildare will receive hot school meals from September, it has been announced. The schools will join the governments Hot School Meals Programme, in addition to 19 schools across Kildare who are currently availing of this Programme. Across the country, over 345,000 primary school children are now eligible to receive hot school meals under the Programme. The three schools to be added to the Programme are: Scoil na Naomh Uilig in Newbridge, Scoil na Cloch Rinnce and Scoil na Tir Mochain, the latter two of which are located in North Kildare. One public representative who welcomed the news was Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin, who said: "Im heartened to see the extension of this hugely important initiative which is designed to ensure that every child has access to regular, nutritious meals, enabling them to make the most of the educational opportunities available to them. "The expansion of the Hot School Meals programme has been a priority for Fianna Fail in Government and its expansion has been supported by the Department of Education under my Fianna Fail colleague, Minister for Education Norma Foley." Senator O'Loughlin, who is also a former schoolteacher, continued: "No child should have to learn on an empty stomach; the expansion of this programme to these additional schools is a vital step in making sure that all our children have access to a hot meal. "The Department of Social Protection provides the funding to schools for the School Meals Programme, and it is the responsibility of schools to choose their supplier in an open, fair and transparent manner." "I understand that the Department will now write to each of the three schools to advise them on the next steps in this regard to allow schools time to prepare so that their pupils will be able to avail of Hot School Meals from September 2024," Senator O'Loughlin concluded. Another public representative who welcomed the announcement was Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon, who said: "The Programme forms part of Ireland's commitment under the European Child Guarantee to give all children access to a range of key services, including healthcare and nutrition. "It is a great scheme and is very beneficial for primary school children here in Kildare." He continued: "It was initially introduced by Fine Gael Minister Regina Doherty in 2019 as a pilot measure to 30 schools and now under Minister Heather Humphreys the scheme stretches to 2,200 primary schools across the country. "This shows the commitment from my party, Fine Gael, to ensure every child has the best start in life." Mr Heydon TD further said: "And we wont stop; the latest announcement brings to 22 the number of schools availing of the scheme in Kildare, but I want more schools across Kildare to have the programme extended to them as soon as possible and working with Minister Humphreys, we will make that happen." "It is a great success and will be welcomed by pupils, parents and teachers," he concluded. The 19 Kildare schools currently in the Programme can be viewed below. Scoil Na Rath Mor Churchtown National School St Laurences National School Scoil Na Cianog Naofa Mercy Convent Primary School St Brigids National School Scoil Na Brighde Scoil Chorbain Scoil Na Mhuire Scoil Na Bride Scoil Na Naomh Ioseph Scoil Na Baile Roibeaird Prosperous National School Castledermot Mixed National School Killashee Multi-denominational National School Maynooth Educate Together National School Kildare Town Educate Together National School Gaelscoil Mhic Aodha Scoil Mhuire Allenwood National School Two public representatives based in County Kildare who welcomed the news: Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin and Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon. Businesses along the border are set to be hit hard by the re-imposition of higher excise duties on motor fuels, according to Sligo Leitrim TD Marian Harkin. On average, petrol is at least 10 cent per litre cheaper in Northern Ireland than the Republic, with diesel an average of 7 cent cheaper per litre. When the price hikes of 4 cent per litre on petrol and 3 cent per litre on diesel come into force on August 1st, we are looking at a price differential of at least 14 cent per litre on petrol and 10 cent per litre on diesel, Deputy Harkin said This means that motorists will cross the border in even greater numbers to buy their fuel and when there, many will also do their weekly shop in Northern Ireland. This is an absolutely untenable situation and has been brought about by the fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer decided not to increase fuel prices in Northern Ireland in 2024, while our Government decided to go ahead with three increases, in May, August and October. This will mean business closures and job losses along the border as forecourts in the Republic will be unable to compete on prices, and the loss of business to supermarkets and smaller shops in the border region will be hugely significant, Ms Harkin warned. This is a zero-sum game for the Revenue Commissioners in the long run, as they will lose significant revenue on fuel sales as well as revenue from businesses in the border region. I am asking the Minister for Finance to do an analysis on the possible loss of revenue to the State, both in terms of overall lost revenue and likely job losses, because the worst possible outcome would be for the State to lose revenue while businesses along the border close, Deputy Harkin concluded. A man who raped his stepdaughter on her 15th birthday has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years at the Central Criminal Court. Anthony Byrne (55) was found guilty following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in May of two counts of raping his stepdaughter Kim Jordan (now 36) in 2002. Ms Jordan waived her anonymity to allow Byrne to be named. Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, who previously noted Byrne had said he was having an affair with his teenage stepdaughter, sentenced him to 11 years with the final 18 months suspended and backdated it to May 15 last for time spent in custody. Byrne, of Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, came into Ms Jordan's life when she was three years old and the court heard the relationship was significant for her as they were close when she was a child. The court heard the offending occurred when Ms Jordan was in Spain on the day of her 15th birthday in 2002 and several months later in her family home. Ms Jordan made a complaint to gardai in 2018 and outlined what had happened. When she was on a family holiday in Spain, she decided to go back to the apartment to have a shower before dinner. Byrne was drinking a beer and while they were playing cards, he asked her if they could play strip poker until she was down to her underwear. When she was having a shower, he asked if he could enter the bathroom to use the toilet. He then dropped his shorts and insisted on washing her. She said she was so embarrassed and was bawling crying. She had clothes laid out on the bed to get dressed quickly and then he said he was going to dry her. While he was raping her, she said she zoned out and became completely numb wishing she was dead. She still has the memory of the woodchip wallpaper as she faced away while he was raping her. She was also worried she would become pregnant. On the second count of rape of which he was convicted some months after they had come back from Majorca, Byrne came into her bedroom and took off her trousers and underwear. He tried to penetrate her but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Ms Justice Ring said the aggravating factors were that it was a rape of a child and his stepdaughter. She said Byrne took advantage of the victim when there was no trustworthy adult present. On one of the occasions he had raped her in her bedroom where she should have felt safe but Byrne had breached that safety, the judge said. Ms Justice Ring noted Byrne admitted throughout that he had sexual intercourse with her but it was his view that it was consensual. The judge said it was difficult to understand how any sexual encounter with a child was considered consensual. She said there was a lack of remorse and understanding of what consent is. The judge noted that he had no previous convictions and has worked his whole life. In a victim impact statement Ms Jordan read to the court, she said Byrne had blamed her during the trial for his actions. I felt humiliated and shamed, as you portrayed me to be some kind of teenage sexual temptress, she said. Byrne had come into Ms Jordan's life when she was quite young and the court heard the relationship was significant for her as they were close when she was a child. After spending my very early years wondering why my biological father wasnt around and why my family was broken, I felt as though my prayers had been answered and I finally had the family I longed for when Tony came into my life and that I finally had a dad. Little did I know his plan was to use me for his sick sexual pleasures and would go on to ruin my life. The court heard she and her sister have continued a relationship despite Byrne trying to keep them apart. READ MORE - Family pay tribute as father-of-two who died in Westmeath helicopter crash named Questor Announces Sale of Clean Combustion Unit in Nigeria CALGARY, Alberta, July 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questor Technology Inc. ("Questor" or the "Company") (TSX-V: QST) is pleased to announce that it has received a purchase order valued at $1 million dollars, to supply a clean combustion solution to an energy company in Nigeria. Questor's clean combustion unit will be a critical component in a Nigerian government-approved pilot project aimed at eliminating flaring in upstream oil production processes. Oil continues to play a crucial role in Nigeria's economy, funding the nation's day-to-day activities. This investment in Questor's technology will ensure that oil is produced cleanly and in a more sustainable way. Questor's ISO 14034 certified clean combustion technology safely handles associated gas from oil production and eliminates methane and other harmful pollutants at 99.99 percent efficiency, surpassing stringent emission regulations globally. The innovative design of Questor's unit also significantly reduces capital, fuel, and operating costs for our customers at oil and gas processing facilities and refineries. "We are proud to support Nigeria's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060," said Audrey Mascarenhas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Questor. "Our technology not only meets but exceeds the latest emission regulations, offering an effective solution for sustainable energy production." Questor continues to advance its clean combustion technology to meet and exceed stringent emission standards in North America and other key markets. With over 25 years of experience providing emission reduction solutions to customers operating globally, Questor is well-positioned to expand its market presence in Canada, the US, and internationally. ABOUT QUESTOR TECHNOLOGY INC. Questor Technology Inc., incorporated in Canada under the Business Companies Act (Alberta) is an environmental emissions reduction technology company founded in 1994, with global operations. The Company is focused on clean air technologies that safely and cost effectively improve air quality, support energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Company designs, manufactures and services high efficiency clean combustion systems that destroy harmful pollutants, including Methane, Hydrogen Sulfide gas, Volatile Organic Hydrocarbons, Hazardous Air Pollutants and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene) gases within waste gas streams at 99.99 percent efficiency per its ISO 14034 Certification. This enables its clients to meet emission regulations, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address community concerns and improve safety at industrial sites. The Company also has proprietary heat to power generation technology and is currently targeting new markets including landfill biogas, syngas, waste engine exhaust, geothermal and solar, cement plant waste heat in addition to a wide variety of oil and gas projects. The combination of Questor's clean combustion and power generation technologies can help clients achieve net zero emission targets for minimal cost. The Company is also doing research and development on data solutions to deliver an integrated system that amalgamates all of the emission detection data available to demonstrate a clear picture of the site's emission profile. The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "QST". The address of the Company's corporate and registered office is 2240, 140 ? 4 Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 3N3. QUESTOR TRADES ON THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE UNDER THE SYMBOL ?QST' Investor Relations Contact Aly Sumar ? Chief Financial Officer [email protected] 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. This document is not intended for dissemination or distribution in the United States. 31 july 2024 at 19:00 News published onand distributed by: Standard Lithium Announces Leadership Transition for Strategic Growth and Next Steps in Value Creation VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Standard Lithium Ltd. ("Standard Lithium" or the "Company") (TSXV:SLI) (NYSE American:SLI) (FRA:S5L), a leading near-commercial lithium development company, today announced a leadership transition that aligns with the Company's growth strategy and next steps in value creation. Effective September 1, 2024, Robert Mintak will retire as Chief Executive Officer and remain engaged as an advisor through August 2025. David Park will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2024. Over the past year, David Park has been actively engaged with Standard Lithium as a strategic advisor, working closely with the senior management team. His deep understanding of the Company's vision and strategic goals, coupled with his respected position within the organization, has made him a key contributor to the Company's recent successes. Mr. Park has been involved extensively across corporate, project, and strategic developments, ensuring alignment and effective execution of initiatives, including helping to secure Equinor ASA ("Equinor") as a strategic partner. Prior to his advisory role, Mr. Park served as President of Koch Strategic Platforms ("KSP"), the division of Koch Industries which invested in Standard Lithium in 2021. Before that, Mr. Park served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development of Georgia-Pacific, LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, and held other significant roles at Koch, including President of TrueNorth Energy and Koch Exploration, and CFO of Koch's Canadian exploration and production, pipeline, and energy trading business. Mr. Park began his career at Koch in its business development group, after serving as an International Business Development Specialist at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Throughout his career, he has successfully completed more senior and complex roles, focussed on delivering outstanding corporate growth, underscoring his ability to drive success and generate significant value for Standard Lithium. The appointment of Mr. Park as the next CEO is the culmination of a thorough succession planning process by the Company's Board of Directors, which looked to bring in a candidate who could lead Standard Lithium in its next phase of growth and value creation for shareholders. This transition comes at a pivotal time, coinciding with the recent partnership with Equinor, which has significantly strengthened the Company's position and set the stage for accelerated progress and innovation. During his more than seven years as CEO, Robert Mintak has been instrumental in establishing Standard Lithium as a leader in the lithium sector. During his tenure, the Company developed key strategic partnerships and secured significant investments, including those with LANXESS, Tetra Technologies, Koch Industries and Equinor. These collaborations have advanced the Company's projects and positioned Standard Lithium for success. Robert Cross, Chairman of the Board said, "Robert was a co-founder of the Company and his leadership and commitment has been critical in our evolution from a startup to where we are today. In addition to the strategic relationships the Company garnered during his tenure, Robert was very focussed on fostering strong relationships with community and state leaders, generating substantial support for our projects in Arkansas and Texas. This collaborative approach has distinguished Standard Lithium within the resource sector. The Board is grateful for Robert's accomplishments and unwavering commitment to building a foundation for our next phase of growth." Reflecting on his tenure, Robert Mintak commented, "It has been an incredible journey leading Standard Lithium and working with our talented team. I'm proud of what we've accomplished, particularly our strong partnerships and meaningful community engagement. As an active advisor, I will continue working with David, Andy and the team to advance our projects and maintain our efforts in generating shareholder value. I am confident that David is well-equipped to take the Company forward into its next chapter of growth and value creation." Dr. Andy Robinson, President & COO, stated, "Robert and I started this Company together seven years ago with a shared vision for Standard Lithium. His focus on strong partnerships, deep industry relationships and community engagement has been a cornerstone of our success. We are entering the next phase of the Company's growth plans as we move towards commercial development, and the entire team looks forward to accelerating this momentum with David's leadership and we are all excited for the future opportunities that lie ahead." David Park added, "I'm excited to have the opportunity to help build on the solid foundations Robert and Andy have laid, and work in close partnership with Equinor, Koch, Andy and the rest of the Standard Lithium team to drive the strategic direction and execution of our low cost, environmentally friendly, domestic lithium projects in support of the growing American energy storage and electric vehicle industries." About Standard Lithium Ltd. Standard Lithium is a leading near-commercial lithium development company focused on the sustainable development of a portfolio of large, high-grade lithium-brine properties in the United States. The Company prioritizes projects characterized by the highest quality resources, robust infrastructure, skilled labor, and streamlined permitting. Standard Lithium aims to achieve sustainable, commercial-scale lithium production via the application of a scalable and fully integrated Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") and purification process. The Company's flagship projects are located in the Smackover Formation, a world-class lithium brine asset, focussed in Arkansas and Texas. In partnership with global energy leader Equinor, Standard Lithium is advancing the South West Arkansas Project, a greenfield project located in southern Arkansas, and actively exploring promising lithium brine prospects in East Texas. Additionally, the Company is advancing the Phase 1A Project in partnership with LANXESS, a brownfield development project located in southern Arkansas. Standard Lithium operates the only commercial-scale, continuously operating DLE Demonstration facility in North America. Standard Lithium also holds an interest in certain mineral leases in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. Standard Lithium trades on both the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") and the NYSE American under the symbol "SLI"; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "S5L". Please visit the Company's website at www.standardlithium.com. Investor and Media Inquiries Chris Lang Director of Finance +1 604 409 8154 [email protected] Twitter: @standardlithium LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-lithium/ Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to intended development timeline, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. 1 august 2024 at 08:00 News published onand distributed by: MAX Power Uncovers Canada's Largest Natural Hydrogen Target Area, Stakes 1,244 Sq. Km Historical Hydrogen Grades Up To 96.4% VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAX Power Mining Corp. (CSE: MAXX; OTC: MAXXF; FRANKFURT: 89N) ("MAX Power" or the "Company"), utilizing proprietary methods and data modelling, has identified a prospective naturally occurring hydrogen resource play in southeast Saskatchewan featuring dozens of historical hydrogen showings, including grades up to 96.4%, within a compelling geological context. As a result, through a series of permit applications, MAX Power has assembled a 1,244 sq. km land package, which shall now be referred to as the "Rider Natural Hydrogen Project", situated within the ~200-km-long NE-SW striking Torquay-Rocanville Corridor (see attached map). Multiple high-priority target areas exist across five separate large claim blocks and include evidence of potential upward migration of hydrogen to surface, possibly through serpentinization or fracture zones, making the Rider Project the largest known area in Canada for the potential discovery of naturally occurring accumulations of hydrogen gas. MAX Power's staking covers almost all of the available Crown land as well as the premier Natural Hydrogen targets within the Torquay-Rocanville Corridor. Highlights Two blocks at the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project include very high concentrations of hydrogen ( 96.4 % at Weyburn and 87.4 % at Stoughton) from the wellhead, supported by historical drill stem tests from old wells, indicating that Natural Hydrogen may have migrated to surface; % at Weyburn and % at Stoughton) from the wellhead, supported by historical drill stem tests from old wells, indicating that Natural Hydrogen may have migrated to surface; Two additional high-grade showings ( 88.3 % and 75.6 %) from the wellhead also occur within 800 meters and 200 meters, respectively, of MAX Power land claims; % and %) from the wellhead also occur within 800 meters and 200 meters, respectively, of MAX Power land claims; Given the limited number of wells (45) in the data set covering the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project, vs. the number of total wells believed to have been drilled in the region for which data is not available, the fact that seven of these wells showed hydrogen grades >10% at varying depths takes on added significance (the other 38 showed hydrogen grades between 1% and 10%). MAX Power Special Advisor Mr. Denis Briere, VP-Engineering for Chapman Hydrogen and Petroleum Engineering Ltd., and regarded as one of the world's leading petrophysicists, commented: "My involvement in the world's first discovery of a naturally occurring hydrogen gas accumulation in Mali, West Africa, over a decade ago was tremendously gratifying, especially since it quickly powered an entire village with low-cost, emissions-free electricity. This news from Saskatchewan - the scale of the opportunity and the very high historical grades - represents a watershed development for the world in the rapidly emerging Natural Hydrogen sector. Chapman is looking forward to working with MAX Power to take the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project to the next level." Moving Forward Geologists are designing a near-term program to verify and validate the existence of a naturally occurring hydrogen trend at Rider ; ; MAX Power continues to review an extensive array of datasets in Saskatchewan and elsewhere with an aggressive plan to further build on its first mover advantage in the Natural Hydrogen sector in Canada and the United States; Pro-energy and pro-business Saskatchewan is exceptionally positioned to become the first jurisdiction in North America to produce Natural Hydrogen given a combination of highly favorable geology and a clearly defined policy framework for exploration and development of this important new alternate energy source. MAX Power CEO Rav Mlait added: "The acquisition of key permits to form the Rider Natural Hydrogen Project in SE Saskatchewan is a major development for MAX Power as we hit the ground running with the largest target area in the country for Natural Hydrogen in one of the best jurisdictions globally for exploration and resource development. The efforts of the MAX Power team are to be commended as we have used proprietary methods and state-of-the-art data modelling to uncover best-in-class targets. I recently met with top government officials in Saskatchewan and we are very enthused to be working in this forward-looking province. Natural Hydrogen is the cleanest form of hydrogen and can be developed at the lowest cost relative to other hydrogen (manufactured) variations. MAX Power has the potential to ignite a whole new energy boom in Canada and North America." Figure 1 : Map showing the location of Max Power's Natural Hydrogen Permit Applications Proposed Model for the Source of Natural Hydrogen and its Concentration in Saskatchewan Southern Saskatchewan is entirely covered by the pervasive and thick Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin ("WCSB"); The WCSB directly overlies the crystalline Pre-Cambrian basement; This basement is the perceived source rock for naturally occurring hydrogen, especially where the basement rock has an ultramafic composition; There are a series of deep structures, including faults, allowing movement of gasses from the basement upwards into the WCSB. In addition to structures, a series of domes and arches add to the structural complexity of the WCSB; Natural Hydrogen migrates upward into certain geological formations where it can accumulate. Natural Hydrogen Video Learn more about Natural Hydrogen by clicking on the following link: https://vimeo.com/953002092/d6f8574ba4 MAX Power Natural Hydrogen Deck Learn more about MAX Power's first mover advantage in North America's Natural Hydrogen sector by clicking on the following link: https://www.maxpowermining.com/Presentations/MAXPower-NaturalHydrogen.pdf MAX Power Corporate Presentation Click on the following link to view MAX Power's Corporate Deck: https://maxpowermining.com/Presentations/MAXPower-Corporate.pdf Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Thomas Clarke, P.Geo., Pr.Sci.Nat., and Director for MAX Power Mining Corp. Mr. Clarke is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards. About MAX Power Mining MAX Power is an innovative mineral exploration company focused on North America's shift to decarbonization. MAX Power is a first mover in the rapidly growing Natural Hydrogen sector, through strategic alliances with Calgary-based Chapman Hydrogen & Petroleum Engineering Ltd., and European- based Larin Engineering HHC. MAX Power also holds a portfolio of properties in the United States and Canada focused on critical minerals. These properties are highlighted by a recent diamond drilling discovery at the Willcox Playa Lithium Project in southeast Arizona. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Rav Mlait"- CEO MAX Power Mining Corp. MarketSmart Communications Tel: 877-261-4466. [email protected] Tel: 778-655-9266 Forward-Looking Statement Cautions This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, and any legislation specifically relating to natural hydrogen, exploration and acquisition of natural hydrogen properties; ability to locate, discover and/or extract natural hydrogen from the subsurface; commentary as it relates to the opportune timing to carry out natural hydrogen exploration; and any anticipated increasing demand for natural hydrogen; any results and updates thereto as it relates to any future drill program, and the funding of that program; and upcoming press releases by the Company. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. They are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "interpreted", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "suggests", "often", "target", "future", "likely", "pending", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", "possibly", "preliminary", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the CSE, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of drill program results, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out its exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 1 august 2024 at 08:00 News published onand distributed by: SUBARU SUPPORTS MILESTONE 750,000 STUDENTS IN HIGH-NEEDS SCHOOLS THROUGH SUBARU LOVES LEARNING INITIATIVE Subaru and its retailers providing critical supplies to schools nationwide as the largest corporate partner of AdoptAClassroom.org CAMDEN, N.J., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) today announced that a milestone of 750,000 students nationwide will be helped following its Subaru Loves Learning program this year. In its fourth year partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org, Subaru and more than 630 of its retailers will continue to provide access to the critical supplies and resources that teachers need to help their students succeed in the classroom. Subaru and its retailers are helping students in high-needs schools by providing funding for supplies and resources. According to AdoptAClassroom.org, 92% of teachers nationwide have students whose families cannot afford to purchase school supplies for their children. This has led to teachers spending an average of $860 per year to help provide for their classrooms. Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Subaru of America, Inc.: "At Subaru, we believe that every student deserves a fair opportunity at a quality education. We are incredibly proud of the progress achieved in supporting over 750,000 students, and we know the importance of continuing to support students and teachers around the country to have the best learning environment possible." Together, Subaru and its retailers are working to help students in high-needs* schools by providing teachers across the country with funding to purchase these supplies and resources. Many participating retailers will also be donating school supply kits with materials that are highly requested by teachers. Ann Pifer, Executive Director of AdoptAClassroom.org: "This record number of students being supported would not be possible without the help of the Subaru community. We are grateful to extend our partnership with Subaru for a fourth year in a row and sincerely thank Subaru and its retailers for the difference they make in the lives and educational opportunities of students and teachers around the country." To kick off the 2024 program, Subaru will continue to support students in the Camden City School District (CCSD) by once again adopting all kindergarten to fifth grade (K-5) classrooms near the automaker's headquarters in Camden, NJ. This latest hometown effort will impact over 2,090 students and 122 classrooms across eight different schools. Adopting every elementary school in the CCSD is just one of the many ways Subaru continues to do its part to be More Than a Car Company for its community. To learn more about the Subaru Loves Learning initiative and the partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, visit subaru.com/learning or follow #SubaruLovesLearning on social media. *High-need is defined as a school that has a Title I Schoolwide Program and/or a school where 40% or more of the student population qualifies for the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of about 640 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants, including Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $320 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged over 100,000 volunteer hours. Subaru is dedicated to being More Than a Car Company and to making the world a better place. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. About AdoptAClassroom.org AdoptAClassroom.org believes every child deserves the tools and materials they need to learn and thrive in school. To achieve this, teachers are spending an average of $860 of their own money each year on their classrooms. AdoptAClassroom.org is a national nonprofit that funds PreK-12 teachers and schools across the U.S. to help equip more classrooms and students for success and offset the financial burden on teachers. Since 1998, AdoptAClassroom.org has raised $73 million and equipped more than seven million students across the U.S. 90% of all funded classrooms are considered high needs. The 501(c)(3) holds the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the highest transparency rating offered by Candid/GuideStar. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.adoptaclassroom.org . Diane Anton Subaru of America, Inc. 856-488-5093 [email protected] Adam Leiter Subaru of America, Inc. (856) 488-8668 [email protected] SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc. 1 august 2024 at 08:55 News published onand distributed by: Federal government invests in 57 affordable homes in Estrie COWANSVILLE, QC, Aug. 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the federal government announced more than $3.2 million in contributions and low-cost loans through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) to help build and repair 57 affordable homes in Estrie. The announcement was made by the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Member of Parliament (Brome-Missisquoi), on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, alongside the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant, and Elisabeth Briere, Member of Parliament (Sherbrooke). This announced federal funding is contributing to the construction of four housing projects, including 52 new housing units. A detailed list of all the projects receiving funding is provided in an appendix to this release. Quotes: "Everyone deserves a place to call their own and the Affordable Housing Fund is one way we're helping make that a reality for Canadians. We will keep investing in affordable housing projects like the ones announced today, and working with partners across the country, to end the housing crisis." ? The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities "In the Eastern Townships, as elsewhere in Canada, access to affordable housing is crucial to the stability and well-being of our communities. Today's announcement is a concrete example of our commitment to helping our region's citizens. This investment in 57 housing units is the result of an essential collaboration and demonstrates our commitment to making our society more inclusive and accessible for all."? The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Member of Parliament (Brome-Missisquoi) "Investing in affordable housing isn't about pouring money into concrete. It's about investing in the well-being of Canadians. The future residents of these units will have access to a safe and comfortable place to call home, where they can rest, recharge and welcome their loved ones. We continue to deliver for Quebecers by taking concrete action that makes a real difference."? The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant "We are committed to supporting projects that meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our community. By investing in infrastructure like Han-Logement, we offer not only a roof over our heads, but also hope and a chance to rebuild shattered lives."? Elisabeth Briere, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke Quick facts: The announcement took place at 116 Leopold Street in Cowansville . The project received $358,800 in funding from the Government of Canada through the Rapid Housing Initiative. . The project received in funding from the Government of through the Rapid Housing Initiative. The federal funding announced today is helping create a total of 52 new homes and is leading to the repairs of five homes. The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) provides funding through low-interest and/or forgivable loans or contributions to help build new affordable homes and renovate and repair existing, affordable and community housing. provides funding through low-interest and/or forgivable loans or contributions to help build new affordable homes and renovate and repair existing, affordable and community housing. Through the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the Government announced an additional $1 billion for the Affordable Housing Fund, bringing the total funding to more than $14 billion . To further support non-profit, co-operative and public housing providers and respond to the needs of those most affected by the housing crisis, Budget 2024 committed an additional $1 billion to the fund. for the Affordable Housing Fund, bringing the total funding to more than . To further support non-profit, co-operative and public housing providers and respond to the needs of those most affected by the housing crisis, Budget 2024 committed an additional to the fund. This program under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) gives priority to projects that help people who need it most, including women and children fleeing family violence, seniors, Indigenous peoples, people living with disabilities, those with mental health or addiction issues, veterans and young adults. As of March 2024 , the federal government has committed $50.97 billion through the NHS to support the creation of more than 146,000 units and the repair of more than 286,000 units. , the federal government has committed through the NHS to support the creation of more than 146,000 units and the repair of more than 286,000 units. To support the Government's work to grow housing supply and address the need for more affordable and rental homes, CMHC is implementing the Frequent Builder framework. framework. The Frequent Builder framework will help expedite applications for the Affordable Housing Fund and the Apartment Construction Loan Program. The Frequent Builder status is given to existing housing providers with a proven track record of building multi-residential units. Different criteria apply to governments, non-profit and for-profit organizations to qualify for Frequent Builder status. status is given to existing housing providers with a proven track record of building multi-residential units. Different criteria apply to governments, non-profit and for-profit organizations to qualify for status. Frequent Builders may receive benefits such as priority treatment, a streamlined process through intake, underwriting and approval stages, underwriting and advancing flexibilities as well as the possibility of funding commitments for future years, which will allow funding predictability and better planning for their projects pipeline. Additional Information: Visit Canada.ca/housing for the most requested Government of Canada housing information. housing information. CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC's aim is that everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. has a home they can afford and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, please visit www.placetocallhome.ca. Appendix: Projects receiving funding under AHF Project Name Region/City Funding Units Le Chevalier Lac-Megantic $2,374,599 21 Val-des-Sources (rue St-Roch) Val-des-Sources $400,000 16 Shelter Cowansville $345,018 15 Shelter Lac-Megantic $100,000 5 TOTAL $3,219,617 57 SOURCE Canadian Heritage 1 august 2024 at 13:15 News published onand distributed by: TIFF'S TREATS EXPANDS IN CHARLOTTE'S BELGATE NEIGHBORHOOD, MARKING THE BRAND'S NEWEST NORTH CAROLINA DELIVERY LOCATION Charlotte residents will have expanded access to baked-to-order treats delivered straight to their door. AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiff's Treats, the original warm cookie delivery company, has officially launched a new delivery-only outpost in Charlotte's Belgate neighborhood today, August 1st, marking the newest delivery location in North Carolina for the beloved baked goods and gifting brand, complementing retail locations in Waverly, Uptown, and NorthPark. Charlotte-area residents can continue to spread cookie kindness and celebrate occasions of all kinds with their loved ones, enjoying gifts of hot and fresh treats that are baked-to-order and delivered on-demand. "We are excited to expand Tiff's Treats in Charlotte," said Tiffany Chen, co-founder and chief creative officer of Tiff's Treats. "We look forward to continuing to provide our signature treats to this community and being a resource for reliable, personal, and affordable gifting through sweet treats, whether it's a major milestone or a treat yourself occasion." Founded by Tiffany and Leon Chen when they were sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin, the brand has earned millions of loyal fans with its unique straight-from-the-oven delivery model and has grown to over 130 locations and counting. This opening is one of the many recent growth milestones for Tiff's Treats this summer, which will continue to expand in other cities and states throughout the year. Charlotte residents will be able to have treats baked-to-order and delivered warm to their doorstep Monday ? Sunday from 10 a.m. ? 9:15 p.m. Cookie flavors include all of Tiff's Treats' classic favorites, as well as a rotating Flavor of the Month. Flavors include Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Sugar Cookie with M&Ms, Double Chocolate Chip, Sugar, Peanut Butter, Pecan Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, White Chip Almond, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Catering trays, milk and select specialty packaging will be available for special occasions like birthdays and thank you's. The new locations will also boast a new flavor in honor of Tiff's Treats' 25th anniversary, Birthday Confetti with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles. Residents in Charlotte can also receive 50% off their first order of warm cookies from Tiff's Treats when they sign up at this link HERE. Tiff's Treats warm cookie delivery is available now in the Charlotte Belgate area. Orders can be placed through cookiedelivery.com, the Tiff's Treats mobile app, DoorDash and Uber Eats. ABOUT TIFF'S TREATS In 1999, Tiffany Taylor accidentally stood up Leon Chen for a date. As an apology, she baked and delivered a batch of warm cookies, and the concept of warm cookie delivery was born. Tiff and Leon, just 19-year-old sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin at the time, opened Tiff's Treats with $20, a cell phone and a dream. Since then, the business has grown to over 130 retail distribution locations and counting in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, California, Kentucky, and New Mexico, with more than 1,700 employees. The founders are now married and the business continues to grow, but Tiff's Treats has the same core mission: creating memorable moments with treats baked to order and delivered warm. Customers can order online at cookiedelivery.com, with the Tiff's Treats app or by phone, all supported by industry-leading technology and customer service. SOURCE Tiff's Treats 1 august 2024 at 15:30 News published onand distributed by: Canfor closes Arkansas acquisition, welcomes new Iron Mountain employees. VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Canfor Corporation (TSX: CFP) is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition from Arkansas Resolute El Dorado Inc., of its lumber manufacturing facility in Union County, Arkansas. The transaction, previously announced on May 1, 2024, is a strategic complement to the Company's existing regional operations, including its adjacent El Dorado Laminating Plant and its nearby Urbana sawmill. Renamed as the Iron Mountain sawmill, this acquisition will create operational synergies with Canfor's existing facilities, provide vertical integration opportunities with its two glulam plants and build further capacity near customers and markets in the US South. "The acquisition, together with the intended investment and expansion in the mill, is a strategic opportunity for us," said Lee Goodloe, President, Canfor Southern Pine. "As a growth-oriented forest products company, we see this as an opportunity to expand the depth and breadth of our manufacturing capabilities in Arkansas' rich, high-quality wood basket and to provide our customers with a more comprehensive product offering." "We warmly welcome our new Iron Mountain employees to Canfor," Goodloe remarked, adding that "we also look forward to growing on our local engagement and to strengthening our relationships with the El Dorado community and all of Iron Mountain's valued partners, suppliers and customers." Forward-looking statements. Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "projects", "intends", "plans", "will", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "should", "may", "could", and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and actual events or results may differ materially. There are many factors that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and Canfor assumes no obligation to update such information to reflect later events or developments, except as required by law. About Canfor Corporation. Canfor is a global leader in the manufacturing of high-value low-carbon forest products including dimension and specialty lumber, engineered wood products, pulp and paper, wood pellets and green energy. Proudly headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canfor produces renewable products from sustainably managed forests, at more than 50 facilities across its diversified operating platform in Canada, the United States and Europe. The Company has a 70% stake in Vida AB, Sweden's largest privately owned sawmill company and also owns a 54.8% interest in Canfor Pulp Products Inc. Canfor shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CFP. For more information visit canfor.com. SOURCE Canfor Corporation 1 august 2024 at 17:00 News published onand distributed by: Iranians hold up a portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral. In Tehran on August 1, 2024. - / AFP The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced early on Wednesday, in a statement, that the leader of Hamas had been killed in Tehran. Hamas confirmed moments later the death of its head, adding that he had been killed in a "Zionist" raid. Ismail Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. On Tuesday, he met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Elected head of the Palestinian movement in 2017, Haniyeh was reappointed in August 2021. He succeeded Khaled Mashaal, who had held the post since 1996. Since 2019, he had been living in exile in Qatar. What are the consequences of the assassination of this Hamas leader for his organization and for the Middle East? Xavier Guignard, a researcher at the independent research center Noria, answered Le Monde readers' questions in a chat. Matthieu: Before we talk about the consequences, how certain are we that Israel is indeed behind this attack? Xavier Guignard: Israel is not in the habit of confirming the attacks it carries out outside its territory, be they bombings in Syria or targeted assassinations in Iran. The July 30 explosion was no exception. Given the likely consequences for Israel, with Iran and its allies threatening to retaliate on its own territory, we can imagine that if Israel wasn't behind this strike, it would make that known. Read more Subscribers only Who really runs Hamas? Thierry S: Beyond the usual rhetoric from the Iranians and/or Hezbollah, what is the likelihood of the conflict spreading and what are the interests of the parties involved? The regionalization of the conflict has been a reality since October 7. Israel has targeted Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iran. In return, armed groups in Syria, Iraq, Hezbollah, the Houthis (Ansar Allah) and Iran have bombed or threatened to bomb Israel. What is at stake is the risk of escalation, in this dynamic of widening the conflict. Hezbollah and Iran have no interest in this, primarily because they are militarily weak compared to Israel. But the re-establishment of lines of deterrence, the preservation of the territorial sovereignty of these states and miscalculations bring us closer every day to the precipice of a full-scale, open confrontation. Some in Israel's political and security establishment believe that the existential threat they face is not posed by Hamas, but by the presence of Hezbollah on the northern border. A major Israeli operation in Lebanon cannot be ruled out, even if it is likely to drag the whole region into the conflict something Israel's allies, starting with the United States, are trying to avoid. Read more Subscribers only Gaza: Dozens of civilians killed in Israeli strikes targeting Hamas officials Peace: In the event of open war between Iran and Israel, could the interplay of alliances extend the conflict beyond the Middle East? In a recent speech, Hassan Nasrallah (the leader of Hezbollah) threatened the territory of Cyprus. Military agreements between Cyprus and Israel allow for joint training, including on land Cyprus has a topography similar to that of southern Lebanon. Although this threat now seems to have been averted, the intersection of theaters of war poses a major risk, beginning with Europe. Iran, for example, could give in to Russian demands for the supply of certain types of weaponry, notably drones, as part of the invasion of Ukraine. The rhetoric employed by both camps (Israel on one side, Iran and Hezbollah on the other) is that this conflict is being played out for or with the support of the West. Beyond that, I don't see any alliances (Russia, China, India) capable of changing the course of the war, even if the resulting political landscape would be profoundly altered. Someone: Who will Israel now have to negotiate with for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza? Can we still hope for successful negotiations? The families of Israeli hostages were the first to worry, and rightly so, about the repercussions. Negotiations were progressing very slowly, but with the assassination of one of Hamas's main negotiators, they are likely to come to a standstill. Qatar has made its position quite clear through the voice of its foreign minister: What's the point of organizing mediation if one side murders the other? The clear priority of the Israeli government is not the release of the hostages, which we saw last November could be achieved through negotiation. The fact remains that Hamas is the only competent interlocutor if Israel wants to obtain their release, and it is with its new representatives that a compromise will have to be found sooner or later. Impunity: What about international law? Is it possible to freely assassinate, in a sovereign country, a political figure with whom you are supposed to be negotiating a truce, while asserting that you want to continue negotiations? There are two facets to this question. Our colleague Amelie Ferey has worked extensively on the doctrines of targeted assassination in Israel, and her research shows the effort made to offer a veneer of legality. On the other hand, this assassination has a triple political cost. Iran's territory is effectively violated in its sovereignty, and such a violation may result in an Iranian military response (legal or otherwise). Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages are undermined, and Israel is showing that Hamas's political, not just military, leaders are targets. From this point of view, it's hard to imagine that Israel's war cabinet really wants the successful conclusion of negotiations, to which it has just dealt yet another blow. Read more Subscribers only Israel-Hamas war: Lebanon's Hezbollah faces difficult equation Alix A: Why isn't the execution of a recognized terrorist leader (like with Bin Laden) welcomed by all Westerners, including the UN? Hamas is included on certain lists of terrorist groups, notably by the European Union and the United States, but neighboring states continue to maintain links with the movement (Norway and Switzerland, for example). The lack of consensus as to the classification of Hamas as a whole stems from the fact that it is both an armed group that has committed war crimes (and potentially crimes against humanity), a political movement represented in the Palestinian parliament and the administration of an occupied territory, the Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniyeh was a direct or indirect interlocutor with many governments and not the mastermind of the October 7 attacks. Statements from the various diplomatic bodies are still awaited, but the risk of a regional conflagration probably explains the low level of enthusiasm for this operation attributed to Israel. Dierx: Does the Israeli public really believe that the elimination of senior Hamas leaders is capable of stemming any form of political or terrorist resistance to the occupation sanctioned by the ICJ (judgment from July 19, 2024)? Israeli public opinion is divided. Part of the population considers it a victory, in a war that sorely lacks success and clarity. This assassination is part of a long tradition of targeting Palestinian leaders (Islamist, nationalist or left wing), without their death having the slightest effect on public denunciation of the occupation. On the contrary, security leaders, some sectors of the societal protests of recent years and more recently the families of the hostages see an immediate danger to the possibility of negotiating a way out of the conflict. Paulette Dupont: Could there be Iranian reprisals abroad against Israeli interests, Israeli citizens or even dual nationals no longer residing in Israel? Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran have already carried out external operations to target interests considered to be Israeli. Within the range of possibilities, targeting key figures (ambassadors, leaders) abroad is a credible option. The targeting of civilians (nationals or dual nationals) less so, if we are to believe Iranian declarations, which rule out at this stage any reaction that is not directed at military or political targets. We don't have to believe them, though. But the logic of a response designed to underpin Iran's deterrence suggests that civilian targets should be ruled out, since they would have no effect other than unequivocal condemnation and a demonstration of relative operational weakness. Historian & Lost Geographer...: Are there any moderate figures left in Hamas? Doesn't this assassination risk strengthening the camp of those who favor violence? Hamas elects leadership bodies at its councils. For the time being, Ismail Haniyeh is likely to be temporarily replaced by a member of the political bureau, with the names of Khaled Meshaal, Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya circulating. In the coming months, a vote is expected to confirm this provisional appointment or replace the leadership. If there are obvious fault lines within the party (on political and military strategy, alliances, normalization of the party, etc.), it would be very bold to imagine that they will lead to a schism following Haniyeh's assassination. Hamas leaders know they are under threat: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was assassinated [in 2004]. Haniyeh and Meshaal had been targeted in the past. The question of the balance of power between supporters of a political solution and those committed to a military confrontation with Israel will not be upset by Haniyeh's death. The absence of a political outlook, Israel's explicit determination to oppose any Palestinian state and the authoritarian hardening of Mahmoud Abbas's government are much more important factors in understanding the current "radicalization" within Hamas and beyond. PauloDeCharvo: Could you briefly shed some light on Jordan's position in this context of regional tensions? The mirages of gradual normalization with Israel have given way to the reality of violent polarization and increased conflict in the region. In this context, Jordan has to contend with a number of major weaknesses: Its tourism economy has been reduced to nothing since October; criticism is mounting among its population (partly of Palestinian origin, but also from Islamist parties and certain tribes in the south of the country); and Iran is denouncing Jordan's role in supporting Israel's defense. On this last point, although Jordan has refused to communicate anything other than the protection of its airspace, it seems certain that Israeli and American aircraft have used Jordanian skies. The kingdom's short-term safeguard is linked to its alliance and alignment with the United States. But in the medium term, domestic and regional pressures, as well as the cooling of its relations with Israel, could prompt the Hashemite monarchy to secure its regional foothold rather than position itself as an American auxiliary. Read more Subscribers only Haniyeh killing highlights Iranian regime's security failings A giant billboard with the image of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, that was vandalized during strong protests against the results of Venezuela's presidential election in Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela, on July 31, 2024. YURI CORTEZ / AFP The top US diplomat for Latin America said Wednesday, July 31, that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had overwhelmingly lost to opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, endorsing vote tallies released by the opposition as Venezuela's electoral authority fails to release detailed results. "Why haven't they?" asked US Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols in remarks at an Organization of American States (OAS) meeting. "The answer appears to be clear, either they know the real results prove that Edmundo Gonzalez clearly won the election, so they don't want to share the results or they know that the real results prove that Edmundo Gonzalez clearly won the election and Maduro's Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) needs time to prepare falsified results to back their false assertion." The opposition meanwhile has published online tens of thousands of polling result papers, known as "actas." "These are real Venezuelan votes," Nichols said. "The tabulation of these detailed results clearly show an irrefutable result: Edmundo Gonzalez won with 67 percent of these votes compared to 30 percent for Maduro." Read more Subscribers only Venezuela authorities crack down after Maduro's disputed re-election While recognizing there are still outstanding results, Nichols said "there are not enough votes in remaining tally sheets... to overcome such a deficit." "With the irrefutable evidence based on the actas everyone can see, it is clear that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia defeated Nicolas Maduro by millions of votes." Maduro, 61, has been at the helm of the once-wealthy oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than 7 million of Venezuela's 30 million citizens to emigrate, many to the United States. Facing mounting pressure to offer evidence his election victory was valid, Maduro said Wednesday, July 31, that opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should be imprisoned following deadly protests across the country. "They should be behind bars," the leader told reporters. The opposition, which claims its candidate Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful victor, said 16 people were killed in protests that erupted after Sunday's election in the Latin American country. Read more Subscribers only Nicolas Maduro claims victory in Venezuela's presidential election GARDAI arrested a man in his 50s this Wednesday evening after he graffitied a wall on Roches Row, Limerick city. The man was arrested at approximately 5:30pm by Community Policing gardai on patrol, following a foot pursuit. An Instagram post by @gardainsta_limerick said, A reminder that while we appreciate art in all its forms, the act of putting graffiti on property not belonging to you is an offence under the Criminal Damage Act. #KeepingPeopleSafe A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said that the man was released from Henry Street Garda Station without charge, but confirmed that Investigations are ongoing. READ MORE: Body worn cameras rolled out for gardai in Limerick city This incident occurred the day before Body Worn Cameras were implemented for gardai in Henry Street Garda Station. Speaking at the launch of the second phase of this pilot scheme, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was very pleased that the technology was now available for frontline gardai in Limerick city. RESIDENTS of Limerick city are invited to pre-register for a free science project which tests levels of toxic gas in the air. The project, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will see local people taking the reins and test how much nitrous oxide (NO2) is in the air in their area. Air pollution is a common issue nowadays with congestion in built-up city areas, with Limerick being no exception. It is a free project, with the EPA teaming up with Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) to get definitive answers on how much toxic gas is lingering in the air and get clarity on how much residents may be consuming. Clean Air Together Limerick City will launch on Wednesday, August 21. NO2, otherwise known as laughing gas, is dangerous and if too much is consumed, fatal. It is predominantly a traffic-related air pollutant. READ MORE: Green Limerick: The Hunt Museums new exhibition While extreme levels would need to be inhaled for serious side effects to be seen, it may still have an impact on ones health over time, particularly in children, people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions, outdoor workers and the elderly. Air quality in Ireland is generally good and compares favourably with many of our European neighbours, however, there are concerning localised issues which lead to poor air quality, the EPA says. The first Clean Air Together campaign took place in October-November 2021 where approximately 1,000 citizens across Dublin successfully measured NO2 near their home, business, or school. The second Clean Air Together campaign took place in October 2022 in Cork, with over 700 participants measuring NO2 at their chosen locations and the third phase took place in October-November 2023 with over 300 participants in Galway. Now, it is coming to Limerick and aims to create a better understanding of NO2 air pollution. In total, over 3,500 residents have applied to participate in the Clean Air Together projects to date. This huge level of public interest and the volume of results points to a public willingness to participate in citizen science and illustrates the success of the initiative. The hope is that Limerick residents will embrace this opportunity to better understand and acknowledge air quality with this citizen science project. LCCC currently has installed three air quality monitors in the metropolitan area of Limerick to provide live indicative air quality data to the public. These monitors are located in Limerick City, at Mungret and Castletroy. They measure particulate matter (PM) which is commonly used as an indicator of dust particles in air. Chronic exposure to harmful air particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer, LCCC says. Despite our monitored air quality being within EU limit values, in our larger urban areas we face potential exceedances of NO2 limit values unless we reduce our dependence on cars. The EU CAFE (Clean Air for Europe) directive sets air quality standards for Europe and has been transposed into Irish legislation by the Air Quality Standards Regulations. In May 2024, the NO2 levels in Limerick, according to all three monitor locations, read that there was 20 g/m3 in OConnell St, 12 g/m3 in Castletroy and in Mungret, the monitor read 10 g/m3. Notably the highest figure was OConnell St due to active levels of combustion in the city, primarily from traffic. The EU CAFE directive annual mean guideline is 40 g/m3, while the WHO annual limit is only 10g/m3. WITH the summer sales soon coming to an end, I browsed shops on the streets of Limerick to snatch a few final bargains. Now is a prime time to take a trip around some of the sensational stores that we have located on our doorstep in the city. A firm favourite of mine is, of course, Brown Thomas. The luxury retailer is the perfect one-stop-shop for all your raceday needs, as I get set to go to the Galway Races! READ MORE: My week with Celia Holman Lee: Enchanting day and an 'ace' brunch! A rare ray of sunshine shone through the grey clouds which seem stubbornly settled over Ireland this summer, so I enjoyed strolling the Limerick city streets for a short while. I am so looking forward to the Galway Races this August bank holiday. I am a guest for Ladies Day this Thursday, August 1 which is special for me as I remember my first time at the Galway Races many moons ago. I hope that lots of Limerick ladies will dress up and put their best foot forward and come join us on the day. Wouldnt it be a dream come true for a Limerick woman to be crowned best dressed on the day? Celebrating beautiful fashion and individuality is what I strive to do always, and with the Galway Races, womens unique creativity shines so brightly through - which makes the experience all the more enjoyable. I will be wearing a magnificent hat once again by the extremely talented milliner Carol Kennelly, who showcased in Royal Ascot this year, and was a guest in the corporate box area, which was lovely recognition to receive. An eventful few weeks on the horizon, which I am ever grateful for. XxCelia UISCE EIREANN has again failed to give a date as to when a boil water notice impacting 7,000 people locally will be lifted. For more than a year now, people living across the Adare-Rathkeale district have been subject to the notice which advises against the drinking of water straight from the tap. It comes after the supply was identified as potentially unsafe over the detection of cryptosporidium. READ MORE: Mediaeval magic awaits as Limerick castle gates open to all for one day only The matter came to a head at a council meeting, where members were told that due to Uisce Eireann staff being on holiday, they are unable to meet to advance the lifting of the notice. Final commissioning works are progressing, with data collation to be presented to the HSE thereafter. Uisce Eireann will then consult with the HSE to discuss the possible lifting of the boil water notice, the utility firm added in a statement to the Leader. Fianna Fail councillor Bridie Collins challenged Mayor John Moran on a commitment he had made in his manifesto that, if elected, he would provide weekly updates to those impacted by undrinkable water. As it stands, she says she is not being given much information by the utility formerly known as Irish Water. Mayor Moran has written to the company to reflect the concerns of Cllr Collins and other members of the Adare-Rathkeale district. We were told back in January that they were expecting the boil notice to be lifted at the end of January. We are now heading towards the end of July and the notice still exists, she said. She criticised Uisce Eireann, saying the utility firm needs to be doing more to communicate with its customers. She feels she is being used as a conduit. This is a national body. They have a list of their customers and they should be making direct contact with them. There is a lot of confusion as to what a boil notice is, Cllr Collins said. The Adare businesswoman said that many people are spending their money buying bottled water when they do not really need to. She pointed out that under a boil notice, once its heated to boiling, its drinkable. A BEAUTIFUL mural of Istabraq on Clancy's Bar in Bruff has stood the test of time just like the horse it was painted in honour of. The JP McManus-owned three-time Champion Hurdle winner passed away last year at the great age of 32. An article some years ago in a national newspaper about the famous horse said, You know you're entering Istabraq country after seeing a mural on Clancys pub in Bruff. When contacted by the Limerick Leader, Jack Clancy, proprietor, said it was sad news of Istabraq's passing but what a long and happy life he had. The beautiful mural, which adorns the side of the pub, was painted by Niall ODwyer shortly after the horse retired. It is based on a picture from the Cork Examiner. It won an award for the photographer, said Jack. READ MORE: Istabraq was the 'horse of a lifetime' - AP McCoy Renowned British horse racing journalist Brough Scott and the team from Channel 4 racing have visited Bruff due to the mural. Were very proud of the association, said Jack, who also renamed his restaurant the Istabraq restaurant. He remembers fondly when the pub was full of happy punters who had backed Istabraq to win three Champion Hurdles. We had as much excitement as they had in Cheltenham, said Jack. Thousands of families across the country can now avail of and extra payment of 548 as the Parent's Benefit Payment has been extended from 7 to 9 weeks. From August 1 2024, Parents Benefit is extended from 7 weeks to 9 weeks, if you are the parent of: A child born or adopted on or after 1 August 2024 A child under 2 years of age on 1 August 2024 or an adopted child placed with your family less than 2 years on 1 August 2024 - you must complete the extra parent's leave on or before your childs second birthday or within 2 years of the adoption placement What is Parent's Benefit? Parents Benefit and parents leave are for parents in the first 2 years after their childs birth or adoption. Parents Benefit is paid while you are on parents leave from work if you have enough social insurance (PRSI) contributions. Each parent can get parents leave and Parents Benefit. You must be on parents leave to get Parents Benefit. However, it is possible to qualify for parents leave and not get Parents Benefit if you dont meet the PRSI contribution conditions. You can take your leave in separate weeks or all at once. Parents Benefit is only paid once for both single and multiple births. For example, if you have twins or adopt 2 children at the same time, you get one payment. If you are already getting a social welfare payment, then you may get half-rate Parents Benefit. What are the rules? Parents Benefit is paid in the first 2 years of the childs birth or adoption. You must notify your employer that you intend to take parents leave and of your intended dates no later than 6 weeks before your leave. You then apply for Parents Benefit at least 4 weeks before the date you start your parents leave. If you are self-employed you should apply for Parent's Benefit 6 weeks before you intend to take parents leave. You need your childs PPS number to apply for Parents Benefit. How much is Parent's Benefit? Parent's Benefit is paid at a standard weekly rate of 274. How is it paid? Parent's Benefit is paid directly into your bank or building society account (a current or deposit account, not a mortgage account) or you can choose to have it paid directly into your employer's bank account. If your employer pays you in full while you are on parents leave, they may require Parents Benefit to be paid directly into their bank account. You should check your contract of employment to see what applies to you How to apply? If you are an employee you must be approved for parents leave before you can apply for Parents Benefit. You must apply to your employer for parents leave at least 6 weeks before you intend to start your parents leave. You then apply for Parents Benefit at least 4 weeks before you take the leave. If you are self-employed you apply for Parent's Benefit 6 weeks before your planned leave. You can apply online or by post by requesting a Parents Benefit application form by emailing or phoning the Parent's Benefit Section. Just fill in the form and send it to the Parents Benefit Section of the Department of Social Protection. For more information you can visit citizensinformation.ie Sinn Fein has pledged to deliver 50,000 affordable homes over five years if elected to government. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said the target was achievable as she unveiled a new policy document on Thursday. Sinn Fein said it would also deliver 75,000 social homes in the same period. It says the plan will see the State fund the delivery of 50,000 affordable homes through local authorities, approved housing bodies (AHBs) and community housing trusts at a cost of 13.2 billion euro. That figure comes from 6.9 billion euro in voted Exchequer funding as well as 6.3 billion euro in borrowing by local authorities and AHBs from the Housing Finance Agency and other sources. Sinn Fein said the homes will be available to buy for prices between 250,000 euro and 300,000 euro, or to rent at or below 1,000 euro per month. Along with price, Sinn Fein said the difference in its plan and the Governments is the scale of ambition. For comparison, the Government delivered more than 4,000 affordable housing options last year. Ms McDonald said the coalition was delivering unaffordable homes at a cost of up to 500,000 euro or 1,800 euro per month in rent. The 50,000 figure breaks down to 25,000 one-to-three bedroom homes to buy for households with mortgage approval, a gross household income of up to 90,000 euro, do not own a home at time of purchase and whose savings are insufficient to purchase a home on the open market. It said that affordable cost rental should be no more than 33% of net income and that mortgages in affordable purchase should also be less than a third of net disposable income. Sinn Fein said it can achieve a lower price by separating the cost of land and site servicing from the cost of building the home. In essence, the State would for all land related costs and retain ownership of the land while the purchaser pays the price of construction. It would mean the householder would own the home but not the land, but would be able to sell the property on at an affordable rate. Sinn Fein also plans to deliver 25,000 similar size homes for households with a net income of up to 66,000 euro in Dublin and 59,000 euro outside of the capital. Speaking to reporters for the launch of the document on Thursday, Ms McDonald said: We have the finance, the land and the builders to solve this crisis, what is needed is the right plan and Sinn Fein has that plan. She added: People that dont have time out to wait any longer. Were in a situation of real stress and crisis in peoples lives and that needs to be addressed. A core component of that is those people who earn too much to qualify for social or council housing if there was council housing and those who are completely priced out currently of having any prospect of purchasing their home. And indeed those people who will struggle and are struggling hard to afford rent, who have been promised affordable rental and close rental homes and it hasnt materialised. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin took aim at current Housing Minister Darragh OBriens response to the opposition partys policy platform. He said: Given that homelessness is at the highest levels in the modern history of the State, that house prices and rents are higher than theyve ever been before and that he misses every single target of his own, he would spend his time doing his job and not wasting his officials time emailing me for political stunts. This is too serious for the kind of nonsense that we get from Darragh. Darragh should do his job. Hes had four years and hes showed he cant, hes failed. Thats why were setting out a clear and radical alternative so people can make up their minds. Mr O Broin also said that increased delivery of affordable homes would have a moderating effect on house prices in the open market, but said that impact would be over a long term and unpredictable. Mr OBrien said the Sinn Fein document is really very weak. In a statement, he said: There was absolutely no detail in it and a complete failure to answer even basic questions. What we do know from it is that the affordable leasehold purchase scheme is not home ownership, and worse still, they have not confirmed with commercial lenders that its actually possible. As well as that, its an exclusionary scheme. A Garda and a teacher on point five of their respective salary scales would not be eligible for apply for these homes. Unlike the Government schemes which contain no arbitrary salary caps. Its clear from this document that the Sinn Fein alternative homes plan is built on foundations of sand, he concluded. Sinn Fein said it would publish its full five-year housing plan in September. Mumbai, India, July 31, 2024 VTEX (NYSE: VTEX), the composable and complete commerce platform for premier brands and retailers, has been recognized with medals in all 24 categories by industry analyst firm Paradigm B2B in its annual Combine Reports (Enterprise and Midmarket Editions). Informed by leading B2B ecommerce practitioners, VTEX received a total of eleven gold medals in both analyses three more than in 2023. These include medals for Ability to Execute and two gold medals for Total Cost of Ownership in both Enterprise and Midmarket editions, making VTEX one of only two commerce platforms to achieve this distinction. The 24 medals awarded to VTEX across all categories in the 2024 Paradigm B2B Combine Report solidify several major B2B milestones in recent years: Within its platform, VTEX allows enterprise brands to unlock the ability to lower the technical maintenance burdens while keeping the flexibility necessary for any digital commerce experience all of this with incredibly fast times-to-value. According to Paradigm B2B Combine, VTEX is particularly well-suited for enterprise B2B companies looking for a modularized eCommerce, OMS, and Marketplace solution with strong promotions capability in a flexible, multi-tenant SaaS environment. "After migrating from our legacy ecommerce platform to VTEX, we saw a 40% revenue growth the first year, followed by additional 20% growth over the next two years," said Krizia Labayen, Ecommerce and Marketing Director at bisco Industries. The switch to VTEX allowed bisco industries to create a B2B marketplace, which reduced lead times, expanded product offerings, and enhanced pricing and inventory transparency with suppliers. Today, bisco industries has grown its customer base and elevated its brand recognition, driving international growth and delivering personalized service globally. "Enterprise companies are recognizing the value proposition of VTEX with our seamless integration of B2B, B2C, and marketplace capabilities on one platform. Serving 2,600 global brands across 43 countries at an unparalleled cost of ownership, VTEXs composable and complete architecture has been proven to enhance efficiency and deliver superior experiences, resulting in a notable return on investment," said Santiago Naranjo, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at VTEX. "The Paradigm B2B Combine report underscores VTEX's commitment to advancing innovation in the unified commerce landscape." The analyst firm, Paradigm B2B, highlighted VTEXs strengths in customer service, OMS, out-of-the-box marketplace, promotions, and its impressive release and upgrade cycle, contributing significantly to the medal breakdown for the 2024 Paradigm Combine Report: Enterprise 5 Gold:Customer Service & Support; Integrations, Operations & Infrastructure; Marketplaces; Promotions Management; and Total Cost of Ownership. 3 Silver: Ability to Execute, Transaction Management, and Vision & Strategy. 4 Bronze: Content & Data Management, Sales & Channel Enablement, Partner Ecosystem, and Site Search. Midmarket 6 Gold: Ability to Execute; Customer Service & Support; Total Cost of Ownership; Integrations, Operations & Infrastructure; Marketplaces; and Promotions Management. 2 Silver: Transaction Management, and Vision & Strategy. 4 Bronze: Partner Ecosystem, Content & Data Management, Sales & Channel Enablement, and Site Search. For more information and to read a free copy of the Paradigm B2B Combine report, click here. About VTEX VTEX (NYSE: VTEX) is the composable and complete commerce platform that delivers more efficiency and less maintenance to organizations seeking to make smarter IT investments and modernize their tech stack. Through our pragmatic composability approach, we empower brands, distributors, and retailers with unparalleled flexibility and comprehensive solutions, enabling them to invest solely in what provides a clear business advantage and boosts profitability. VTEX is trusted by 2,600 global B2C and B2B clients, including Carrefour, Colgate, Motorola, Sony, Stanley Black & Decker, and Whirlpool, having 3,500 active online stores across 43 countries (as of FY ended on December 31, 2023). For more information, visit www.vtex.com. An interesting trend is playing out as India's 77th Independence Day approaches. With 15 August falling on a Thursday, and Raksha Bandhan on Monday, 19 August, a potential five-day long weekend beckons for those willing (and able) to take the Friday off. This has resulted in tariffs of holiday resorts shooting up across the country even as business hotels roll out discounts to retain business. Luxury resort properties are likely to see a rate increase of 15-60% during this period depending on the location. For instance, the Oberoi Sukhvilas in Chandigarh is sold out for 14-19 August, while its Agra property will sell upwards of 37,500 a night for a regular room, about 15-25% higher than its usual rates, Mint found in its research. Similarly, pool view suites at the plush ITC Grand Bharat in a remote corner of Gurugram in Delhi-NCR will start from 32,000 a night excluding tax, which is 8,000 higher than its usual rate. Then, Suryagarh Jaisalmer and Narendra Bhawan Bikaner are being prepared for a thronging crowd to come in to stay as the mega long weekend approaches. Sameer Mehra, chief commercial officer of MRS Group, the company behind these luxe properties, is expecting a 15-27% increase in occupancies on this long weekend over last year. By adding one day on either side of this weekend, it becomes a five-day long holiday," said Mehra. "A lot of travellers still have hybrid work systems and so at least at our properties, we have not seen any decline in travellers even though international travel has resumed in full swing." According to Mehra, the Suraygarh property will see a 27% increase in travellers this long weekend but a relatively modest increase in prices of about 10%. Narendra Bhawan Bikaner, on the other hand, will have a similar increase in the number of travellers because of good connectivity to bigger cities, including direct flights, and will take a 50-60% increase in its room rates for this period. We are witnessing nearly a 20% surge in demand for resorts and hotels versus last year and anticipate this trend to further accelerate mid-August," said Nikhil Sharma, MD and area senior VP for South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, adding that newer destinations like Kumbhalgarh, Saputara, Pondicherry, and Mahabalipuram along with Udaipur, Jaipur and Agra are seeing the most traction from travellers. Our guests are also willing to spend 20% higher than previous years on hotels that offer exceptional experiences and good value," Sharma said. "This uptick in bookings throughout our portfolio is promising and we are positive that momentum will continue." While domestic hotel tariffs for last-minute bookings have increased as compared to last year, low-season offers from hotels and luxury stays (deals like free extension stays, complimentary meals) are driving strong interest for companies like Thomas Cook India. Indiver Rastogi, president and group head for global business travel, Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel, said, "The extended weekend of 15-19 August is propelling strong travel to domestic locales like Shimla, Leh-Ladakh, Goa, Andamans, Coorg, Jaipur and short-haul destinations like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Baku, Almaty and Bali despite an increase in airfares. An increase in airfares for the top routes versus the previous year are between 11% and 17% higher across some of these domestic routes," he said. "All our hotels at leisure destinations have reported confirmed bookings at an occupancy rate of 90-95%, accompanied by a 30% increase in the average daily rate (ADR). Destinations such as Bhimtal, Jaipur, Goa, and Agra have emerged as our top-selling getaway locations," said Ajay K. Bakaya, managing director, Sarovar Hotels, and director of Louvre Hotels India. Deals galore from business hotels To be sure, people looking to just laze around for a staycation at a hotel in their city can get a great bargain on hotels since they will be doling out offers and rates better than usual. For instance, Lemon Tree Hotels' properties across different cities will offer up to 40% off on stay during this period and a payment of 77% on food and beverage packages or a discount of 23% to celebrate the 77th year of Independence. Rates are at least 50-70% cheaper, starting at 11,500 a night for a standard room. Similarly, at luxury property, The Imperial New Delhi, travellers can get a room at 14,000 a night without taxes as opposed to the standard 16,000-25,000 range. A room in Taj Chennai will cost just 9,000 excluding taxes but a Radisson resort in Mahabalipuram will be over 40,000 a night. Short-haul international travel to rise, too Two friends from Delhi in their mid-30s are travelling to Baku, Azerbaijan from 14-20 August. Within just a week from when they checked the airfares and when they finalised their plan, the return tickets had shot up from 35,000 per person to 50,000. The duo will stay at a plush Marriott hotel in Azerbaijan's capital city, a new hot favourite for Indian travellers. Even if we travelled to a city like Goa, it would have worked out to a similar amount of money. This is because a similar luxury property for five nights in Goa would have been four to five times the cost. So why not this?" said one of the travellers. Despite the increased airfares, Thomas Cook is also witnessing strong demand for travel in this traditional non-peak season. From an international perspective, airfares from Mumbai and Delhi have seen a similar increase of 4-21% to short-haul destinations like Azerbaijan, Georgia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Interestingly, a few sectors have seen a slight dip of 8%. These are to Singapore and Malaysia, said Rastogi of Thomas Cook India. A spokesperson for online travel agency Cleartrip told Mint that internationally, it was Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Bali and Malaysia that were also emerging as the usual favourites. Overall, compared to the same period last year, this year's hotel prices are higher by about 12% with locations like Goa, Udaipur, Pondicherry, Munnar and Lonavala emerging as top booked in terms of hotels, the spokesperson added. Domestically, travel companies are also waiting to get closer to the travel week as Indians generally book a lot of last-minute travel. MakeMyTrip, for instance, said almost 50% of its flight bookings and 55% of hotel bookings are done within a week ahead of travel. Competitor EaseMyTrip has also announced an independence day sale for travellers to induce some additional demand. The country's domestic air travel increased to an all-time high in May 2024, but hotel occupancy rates in India remained flat from a year ago, according to a recent report from hospitality consultancy HVS Anarock. This may have contributed to domestic hotel companies offering some discounts. One segment of travellers has also started to travel abroad unlike during and after the pandemic when there was a huge focus on domestic holidays. One reason for this could be easy- and no-visa countries facilitating travel. Short-haul or nearby destinations have helped induce international holiday demand as well. As a result, critical travel regions like Goa, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have shown some slowdown in business. Tax authorities may issue notices to some other IT companies for alleged tax evasion related to work done by their overseas offices, a report by news agency Reuters said on Thursday, a day after Infosys was slapped with a 32,403 crore GST notice. IT industry body Nasscom on Thursday said the latest tax demand reflects a lack of understanding of the sectors operating model. It also said multiple companies are facing avoidable litigation and uncertainty. The Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys on Wednesday said Karnataka State GST authorities have issued a pre-show cause notice for the payment of GST of 32,403 crore for the period July 2017 to March 2022 towards the expenses incurred by overseas branch offices of Infosys Limited. Infosys argued that GST payments are eligible for credit or refund against the export of IT services. In a statement, Nasscom said that government circulars issued based on recommendations of the GST Council must be honoured in enforcement mechanisms so that notices do not create uncertainty and negatively impact perceptions on India's ease of doing business. Recent media reports of a GST demand of over 320 billion ( 32,403 crore) reflects a lack of understanding of the industry's operating model. This is an industry-wide issue, and multiple companies are facing avoidable litigation, uncertainty, and concerns from investors and customers, Nasscom said. Nasscom argued that the GST enforcement authorities have been issuing notices for remittance by the Indian head office to its foreign branches for cases where there is no service between the head office and foreign branch for this RCM (reverse charge mechanism), ignoring that this is not a case of 'import of service' by the head office from the branch. This is not a new problem, and courts have been ruling in favour of the industry in these cases. This issue was even addressed during the erstwhile service tax law, where favourable judgments were delivered by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Nasscom said. Meta Platforms is hardly the only big tech company with no plans to put the brakes on its blowout artificial-intelligence spending. It might be the only one where that news was already priced in. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram used its second-quarter report on Wednesday to announce plans to make between $37 billion and $40 billion in capital expenditures this year. That is up from the prior range of $35 billion to $40 billion that the company gave three months agoessentially a 3% raise at the midpoint. Either one is a tidy sum given Metas sizeat least relative to its other megacap tech peers. An outlay of $37 billion would represent 23% of what Wall Street projects for Metas total revenue this year. Amazon.com, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet are projected to devote between 10% and 20% of their revenue to capex over the same period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet. And for good measure, Meta also said Wednesday that it expects significant capital expenditures growth" in 2025. Three months ago the company simply said capex will continue to increase" in the next year. It was basically the same message on that front that Microsoft and Google broadcast in their recent reports. But Metas stock jumped more than 7% in after-hours trading following its Wednesday afternoon release, compared with respective drops of 1% and 5% for Microsoft and Alphabet following their results. Metas revenue beat Wall Streets consensus estimate by a slightly wider margin than those other two. It also helps that the stock had already experienced sticker shock from AI spending plans broadcast in the last earnings season. Meta is the only one of the six trillion-dollar tech megacaps to have seen its shares lose ground between its March quarter report and the latest one. Metas turbulent record over the past few years shows that its investors are willing to roll with expensive ambitions as long as the core business holds up and other costs are held down. That is proving to be the case now. Advertising revenue grew 22% year over year to $38.3 billion, which was $3 billion higher than what Wall Street expected. Operating income of $14.8 billion also beat analysts estimates, despite a loss of nearly $4.5 billion in the Reality Labs division that houses the companys VR and metaverse efforts. The company is also keeping to the lessons of its year of efficiency." Head count grew by 1,470 in the June period, but remains 19% below the companys peak in late 2022. Revenue per employee is up 51% from that time. Still, investors are getting antsier about the expensive race to build generative-AI services. It is a boon for Nvidia: The AI chip stars stock jumped more than 3% in after-hours trading Wednesday following Metas results after surging nearly 13% in the regular session following Microsofts report. Capex questions from analysts dominated both earnings calls, and Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg maintained his previously stated view that Metas direct payoff from GenAI services isnt close at hand. I dont think that anyone should be surprised that I would expect that that will be years," he said on Wednesdays call. Years are something the 40-year-old centibillionaire has. And years it might take, given the still tight supply of Nvidias most powerful chips. Zuckerberg showed up on stage with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a conference on Monday, with the two joking about the 600,000 GPU chips Meta has already bought from the company. Huang is laughing all the way to the bank now. Zuckerberg eventually needs to ensure that his companys AI spending doesnt become a punchline. Write to Dan Gallagher at dan.gallagher@wsj.com Mumbai/New Delhi:The Reserve Bank of India has completed its review of potential buyers for a majority stake in IDBI Bank, approving Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank as bidders, three sources aware of the development said on Thursday. The Indian government, which owns 45.48% in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender. The sale process was first announced in 2022. The sources did not wish to be identified as the discussions are not public. The finance ministry, RBI, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank did not immediately reply to Reuters emails seeking comments. The bidders are talking to the Indian government and will get access to IDBI Bank's private data after evaluation, one of the sources said. Reuters had earlier reported interested buyers include Emirates NBD and Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa. Toronto-based Fairfax India Holdings is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa and invests in public as well as private equity securities and debt instruments in India. Also Read | Ajay Piramal may look to buy a state-run bank Emirates NBD Group offers financial services with operations in UAE, India and Saudi Arabia, among others. (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.s profit climbed in the latest quarter after a weak yen and robust demand in North America boosted sales. Operating profit was 1.31 trillion ($8.7 billion) for the April-June period, up 17% from a year earlier, the worlds biggest carmaker said Thursday. That was mostly in line with the 1.32 trillion projected, on average, by analysts. The operating profit forecast for the fiscal year was kept the same, at 4.3 trillion. Hybrids are selling well in North America, making up for sluggish demand for Toyotas vehicles in Japan and China. At the same time, a weaker yen is helping to boost income in the carmakers home currency. Despite ongoing turmoil from a government probe that found seven of its cars werent properly certified for mass production, analysts are still projecting the carmaker to post a record profit this year, of 5.3 trillion. This week, Toyota was dealt its first ever corrective order by Japans transport ministry, after a government investigation found that seen of its car models werent properly tested for mass production. The order is the latest development in a series of fraudulent behaviors that began with a pair of Toyota subsidiaries half a year ago, then last month at the carmaker itself. Though the damage to sales could be recovered in the short term, the long-run reputational hit may be a bigger concern, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Also Read | Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda apologizes, suspends 3 models amid test scandal Revenue for the latest quarter rose 12% to 11.8 trillion. For the fiscal year, Toyota kept its revenue outlook the same, at 46 trillion. New Delhi: Middle-income countries, including India, must navigate a complex set of challenges to ascend to high-income status, the World Bank asserted in its latest report. The World Development Report 2024: Economic Growth in Middle-Income Countries outlines the critical steps needed, such as engineering a steady energy transition, maintaining competitive markets, and promoting economic equality. India, currently classified as a lower-middle-income country, is striving to achieve developed economy status by 2047 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. The report emphasizes the need for large middle-income nations like China, India, and Indonesia to grow while transitioning their energy systems away from coal. This shift is essential for supporting new job creation, fostering innovation, and enhancing production and trade. The report highlighted the disruptive nature of decarbonization for carbon-intensive industries and regions. "Just as coal, oil, and natural gas have shaped economic geography, the low-carbon transition is altering patterns of comparative advantage and the drivers of growth and structural transformation in middle-income countries. This implies that the path to high-income status in the 2020s will most likely differ from that of the past, with the potential need for updating policies," the World Bank said in the report. Balancing growth and sustainability India has set ambitious targets, including achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030 and reaching net-zero emission target by 2070. However, the country remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with government data indicating a 2.44% increase in fossil fuel-based power generation capacity to 243.22 GW in FY24. In contrast, non-fossil fuel capacity, mainly from renewable sources, rose by 10.79% to 190.57 GW during the same period. The World Bank report has urged countries like Brazil, China, India, and the Philippines to prioritize regulatory adjustments that enable a transition from imitation to innovation. It said that introducing market contestability and exploring policy complementarities are vital for sectors where economies of scale and co-location of economic activities drive innovation, such as urban agglomerations and special economic zones. The report compared micro-enterprises in the US, India, and Mexico, noting that establishments with over 100 employees in America account for about three-fourths of employment. In contrast, the prevalence of small-scale entrepreneurship in India and Mexico signals low-productivity entrepreneurs focusing on subsistence. Beyond Jugaad: The need for capital deepening The World Bank cautioned against the "jugaad" mindsetimprovisation with limited resourcesthat has characterized India's development. The report calls for capital deepening, or increasing the capital-labour ratio, as crucial for advancing beyond low levels of development. "Consider India in the 1980s, where capital deepening was key to improving growthin the absence of capital, enterprises and families made use of technologies that were neither new to the country nor new to the world. The Indian term jugaad became synonymous for tinkering with limited capital, often in ways that were illegal," the report said. "But jugaad with scarce capital can only take a country so farcapital deepening is urgently needed at low levels of development," it added. Also read | Time for private sector to take baton of investment: Economic Survey Indermit Gill, chief economist, World Bank Group, underscored the importance of a fresh approach that balances investment, technological infusion, and innovation. "The battle for global economic prosperity will largely be won or lost in middle-income countries," he noted. Gill emphasized the need for these countries to avoid over-reliance on outdated strategies and to adapt to current demographic, ecological, and geopolitical pressures. Over 13 lakh Indian students are pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs informed Parliament on Thursday. In a written response in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data showing that as on date, 13,35,878 Indian students are pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024. Singh shared country-wise details of Indian students studying abroad, spanning 108 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, Israel and Ukraine. The data showed that in 2024, of the 1,33,5878 Indian students, as many as 4,27000 were studying in Canada and 3,37,630 students in the US, 8,580 in China, eight in Greece, 900 in Israel, 14 in Pakistan and 2,510 in Ukraine. For 2023, the figure was 13,18,955, while it was 9,07,404 for 2022. It was 9,07,404 in 2022, 11,58,702 in 2021, 6,85,097 in 2020 and 6,75,541 in 2019. Also Read | Govt to launch e-CARe portal for seamless transfer of bodies of Indians abroad "Indian Missions/Posts abroad constantly engage with Indian students studying overseas and encourage them to either register with them or on the Global Rishta Portal. They organise 'Welcome Ceremonies' for Indian students who travel abroad for the first time and brief them on security issues in the host countries. In a statement on Thursday, the minister said, "Bureau of Immigration of the Ministry of Home Affairs of India also collects data of Indian students travelling abroad either through their voluntary disclosures or through the type of Visas issued to them by their destination countries." "Indian Missions/Posts abroad constantly engage with Indian students studying overseas and encourage them to either register with them or on the Global Rishta Portal. They organise 'Welcome Ceremonies' for Indian students who travel abroad for the first time and brief them on security issues in the host countries. "They also advise them to register with the Indian Missions/Posts and to regularly stay connected. Indian Missions/Posts use the aforesaid method to collect data of Indian students abroad through voluntary registrations. Indian Missions/Posts abroad also coordinate with the concerned authorities in the host Governments to secure data on the number of Indian students studying overseas," the minister said in his response. "They also advise them to register with the Indian Missions/Posts and to regularly stay connected. Indian Missions/Posts use the aforesaid method to collect data of Indian students abroad through voluntary registrations. Indian Missions/Posts abroad also coordinate with the concerned authorities in the host Governments to secure data on the number of Indian students studying overseas," the minister said in his response. |#+| The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday, August 1, granted central universities permission to conduct their own entrance exams or admit students on the basis of marks in the qualifying exam if seats remain vacant in undergraduate and postgraduate courses after admissions through Common University Entrance Test (CUET). However, the CUET scores will remain the primary criteria for the admission process, the UGC said. The commission emphasised that students who appeared in CUET may be considered irrespective of the domain subject papers in which they appeared. Also Read | CUET UG 2024 result out at exams.nta.ac.in The higher education standard maintaining commission gave two reasons highlighting the need to fill vacant seats. Seats remain vacant in some central universities even after three or four rounds of counselling. It alleged that keeping vacant seats for an entire academic year is a waste of resources. Vacant seats in higher education institutions lead to the denial of quality higher education for many students aspiring to pursue advanced studies in central universities. Also Read | Delhi University opens UG admission correction window today Keeping the seats vacant for an entire academic year is not only a waste of resources but also results in denial of quality higher education to many students who aspire to pursue higher studies in central universities, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar told PTI. "Hence, in order to facilitate the central universities to fill up their vacant seats, the SOPs have been formulated. Students who appeared in CUET but may or may not have applied to the respective university for the courses or programmes earlier may also be considered," Kumar was quoted as saying in the report. Also Read | DU UG Admission 2024: Delhi University introduces single girl child quota The university may also admit students on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, the UGC chairman said. The higher education authority further pointed out that the entire admission process has to be based on merit and transparency. Meanwhile, the reservation roster should apply for admission to courses/programmes in all cases. WASHINGTONThe Biden administration is scrambling to salvage prospects for a Gaza cease fire after the political leader of Hamas was killed in a strike in Tehran, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the talks and leaving officials worried that Israel may now face major retaliatory attacks on two fronts. On Tuesday, Israel said it was responsible for an airstrike in southern Beirut that killed a senior leader of Lebanon-based Hezbollah. Hours later, Ismail Haniyeh, one of the key negotiators in the long-stalled cease-fire talks, was dead in a mysterious strike in Irans capital. Israel hasnt claimed responsibility for the strike on Haniyeh, but Hamas and Iran blamed the attack on Israel. While U.S. officials said they expected the Beirut attack, the Tehran strike caught Washington off guard and almost immediately darkened the already remote prospects for a U.S.-brokered Gaza cease-fire. Even more alarming to the U.S., the killings threatened to unleash new and more severe reprisals against Israel and potentially American forces in the region by Iran and its proxies. Securing a cease fire was always complicated. It remains complicated," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. We dont believe escalation is inevitable," he added. U.S. officials acknowledge that Haniyehs killing makes securing a cease fire more difficult but insist the talks arent dead. Following the strike in Tehran on Wednesday, senior administration officials were already engaged in negotiations with Israeli, Qatari, Iraqi, and Saudi officials, among others, to try to salvage a deal, a U.S. official said. Biden hasnt personally made any calls to his regional counterparts, as he did in April after Iran launched drones and missiles against Israel in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria that killed an Iranian general, the U.S. official said, but the president has been very engaged with his team on it." In the wake of the Tehran attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Qatari officials to send messages to Iran, Hezbollah and others in the region to de-escalate the tensions, and the Qataris agreed, according to another official familiar with the discussions. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Blinken that his country remains committed to a deal, but expressed frustration that the Israeli strikes could jeopardize the hostage talks. How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" the Qatari prime minister, a party to the negotiations, wrote in a post Wednesday on X. It has been seven months since the last formal pause in Gaza fighting, which has killed more than 39,000 people in the enclave, according to Palestinian health authorities, who dont say how many were combatants. U.S. and Arab mediators have worked for months to negotiate a cease-fire agreement that would help end the war, which began after the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 left 1,200 dead in Israel and 250 taken hostage, according to Israel authorities. But Haniyehs death is potentially the most damaging blow yet to U.S. hopes of bringing a halt to the fighting and easing the tensions inflaming the region. It comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, vowing to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Netanyahu left the White House without committing to a cease fire. Months ahead of a U.S. election, an all-out war in the tumultuous region could complicate Democrats efforts to hold on to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has become the Democratic Partys expected nominee, has spoken forcefully for a cease fire. The U.S. has faced repeated spasms of violence that have threatened to escalate hostilities since the beginning of the Gaza war. Iranian-backed militants attacked U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, Houthi militants have targeted international shipping in the Red Sea, and in April, Tehran launched more than 300 drones and cruise and ballistic missiles at Israel, almost all of which were shot down. Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, has repeatedly pulled back from an all-out confrontation with Israel and the U.S., and it is possible that, despite vowing to retaliate for the latest strikes, it will again keep its response limited. The strike in Tehran is embarrassing to Irans leadership and highlights Israeli intelligences penetration in the country, said Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit based in Brussels. But it doesnt harm Irans strategic interests, and so it wont let its regional allies go all-out," he said. Still, the killings in Beirut and Tehran push the wider Middle East conflict into uncharted territory. U.S. officials are particularly concerned about the prospect of Israel facing retaliatory attacks from Iran and Hezbollah. On Wednesday, Iranian officials vowed to respond, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying Tehran would seek revenge" for the strike in the capital. The Qassam Brigades, Hamass military wing, said in a statement that Haniyehs killing will have major repercussions across the entire region," according to an Iranian state news agency. Mick Mulroy, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East during the Trump administration, said Hezbollah and Iran would be looking for ways to retaliate, unless efforts are made to de-escalate tensions. This is the closest the region has been to an all-out conflict in the last 10 months," he said. Jared Malsin, Gordon Lubold, Dustin Volz, and Brett Forest contributed to this article. The government has increased jet fuel (ATF) Price by 3,006.71/kl In Delhi to 97,975.72/kl. The new prices will take effect from August 1, 2024. The revised prices can be checked from IndianOil website. Also Read | Oil Rises After US Holiday Boosts Demand for Gasoline, Jet Fuel After the latest revision jet fuel prices for domestic airlines will cost 97,975.72/kl in Delhi, 1,00,520.88/kl in Kolkata, 91,650.34/kl in Mumbai and 1,01,632.08/kl in Chennai. The aviation fuel prices for domestics airlines on international run will now cost $ 891.80/kl in Delhi, $ 930.50/kl in Kolkata, $ 891.06/kl in Mumbai and $ 886.64/kl in Chennai. Also Read | Commercial LPG, jet fuel prices cut ahead of polls Ceigall India IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of Ceigall India Limited has hit the Indian primary market today. The public issue will remain open until 5th August 2024, i.e., Monday next week. The infrastructure construction company has fixed the Ceigall India IPO price band at 380 to 401 per equity share. The book build issue is proposed for listing on BSE and NSE, aiming to raise 1,252.66 crore. Out of these 1,252.66 crore, the company aims to raise 684.25 crore by issuing fresh shares while the remaining 568.41 crore is reserved for the offer for Sale (OFS) route. Meanwhile, shares of Ceigall India Limited have become available in the grey market ahead of its subscription opening. According to stock market observers, Ceigall India shares are trading at a premium of 70 in today's grey market. Ceigall India IPO subscription status By 3:21 PM on day one of bidding, the public issue had been subscribed 0.43 times, the retail portion of the mainboard IPO had been filled 0.63 times, and the NII portion of the book build issue had been subscribed 0.50 times. Important Ceigall India IPO details 1] Ceigall India IPO GMP: According to stock market observers, Ceigall India shares are trading at a premium of 70 in the grey market today. 2] Ceigall India IPO price: The company has a fixed price band of the public issue at 380 to 401 per equity share. 3] Ceigall India IPO subscription date: The issue opened today and will remain open until 5 August 2024. 4] Ceigall India IPO size: The company aims to raise 1,252.66 crore. Of this, it aims to raise 684.25 crore by issuing fresh shares, while the rest, 568.41 crore, is reserved for the OFS route. 5] Ceigall India IPO lot size: A bidder can apply in lots, and one loot of the public offer comprises 37 company shares. 6] Ceigall India IPO allotment date: The tentative date for share allocation is 6th August 2024, i.e. Tuesday next week. 7] Ceigall India IPO registrar: Link Intime India Private Limited has been appointed as the official registrar of the book build issue. 8] Ceigall India IPO listing: The book build issue is proposed for listing on BSE and NSE. 9] Ceigall India IPO listing date: In the wake of the 'T+3' listing rule, the tentative Ceigall India IPO listing date is 8th August 2024. Ceigall India IPO: Apply or not? 10] Ceigall India IPO review: Giving a 'subscribe' tag to the book build issue, Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Chief Global Strategist at Pace 360, said, Ceigall India Ltd is in the business of infrastructure and construction, specializing in structural projects such as elevated roads, flyovers, bridges, railway overpasses, tunnels, highways, expressways, and runways. It has become a preferred partner for NHAI projects and has recently partnered with Delhi Metro for rail infrastructure developments. Over the periods, it has shown impressive CAGR growth in its top and bottom lines. The issue appears to be aggressively priced based on FY24 earnings. Moreover, it is a pure long-term play given the influx of orders and the order book in hand. "Considering a fairly valued P/E of 20.7x on the upper price band based on FY24 earnings, we advise investors to subscribe to the issue from a medium to long-term perspective. At the next-week listing, we anticipate listing gains of about 25% to the upper band issue price of Rs. 401 per share," said Parth Shah, Research Analyst at StoxBox. "This IPO may seem like an attractive opportunity for investors. The company's long-standing history, financial stability, and prominent position in the infrastructure construction sector make it appear promising for those seeking returns. However, potential investors must exercise caution and thoroughly evaluate all aspects before committing. While Ceigall's prospects are encouraging, scrutiny and monitoring of the IPO are essential as the company continues to strengthen its foothold in the industry," said Tarun Singh, MD at Highbrow Securities. Reliance Securities and SBI Capital Securities have also given a 'subscribe' tag to the public offer. Rubicon Research Ltd, a pharmaceutical formulation company, has submitted draft papers to the capital markets regulator SEBI to raise 1,085 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed on Wednesday, the IPO will include a fresh issue of equity shares worth 500 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of shares valued at 585 crore by the promoter, General Atlantic Singapore RR Pte Limited. Currently, General Atlantic holds over a 57% stake in Rubicon Research. Also Read | Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial files fresh DRHP for IPO with SEBI The company plans to use 310 crore of the proceeds from the fresh issue to repay debt. Additionally, funds will be allocated for inorganic growth through unspecified acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes. Rubicon Research specializes in pharmaceutical formulations and emphasizes innovation through dedicated research and development. The company boasts a growing portfolio of specialty products and drug-device combination products aimed at regulated markets, particularly the United States. The firm operates two USFDA-inspected research and development (R&D) facilitiesone in India and one in Canadaand two manufacturing facilities in India, accredited by several regulatory agencies including the USFDA, the Food and Drugs Administration of Maharashtra (WHO-GMP accreditation), and Health Canada. Rubicon is one of the fastest-growing Indian pharmaceutical companies in the US market. As of March 31, 2024, the company's revenue was 832 crore, with the US contributing 97.40% of this total. Rubicon has an EBITDA margin of 20%. Also Read | Hero FinCorp files DRHP for IPO with SEBI According to F&S, in Fiscal 2024, Rubicon ranked among the top 10 Indian companies for total Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals. The company received 14 ANDA approvals from the US FDA in FY24, 12 approvals in FY23, and nine approvals in FY22. As of March 31, 2024, Rubicon Research had a portfolio of 69 products approved by the USFDA, 19 new drugs awaiting USFDA approval, and 46 products in various stages of development. JM Financial, Axis Capital, IIFL Securities, and SBI Capital Markets are the book-running lead managers for the issue. Avanse Financial Services Ltd has filed fresh draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for an initial public offering (IPO). Due to technical reasons, SEBI recently, returned the IPO documents, as per news reports. Refiling their prospectus was at the firms' discretion. With a focus on education, Avanse Financial Services Limited is an Indian non-banking financial organisation (NBFC). As to the Crisil study, the organisation provides a comprehensive education stack, encompassing loans for student education as well as education infrastructure loans, which act as growth capital for educational institutions. Also Read | Hero FinCorp files DRHP for IPO with SEBI The company's promoter, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), is Olive Vine Investment Ltd., a Warburg Pincus subsidiary. Among the institutional shareholders are affiliates of International Finance Corporation, Mubadala Investment Company, Avendus Future, and Kedaara Capital. With a total value of 3,500 crore, the public offer consists of a new issue of equity shares up to 1,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2,500 crore by the "Selling Shareholder" with a face value of 5 per equity share. Equity shares from International Finance Corporation (an investor selling shareholder) up to 342 crore, equity shares from Kedaara Capital Growth Fund III LLP (an investor selling shareholder) up to 400 crore, and equity shares from Olive Vine Investment Ltd (a promoter selling shareholder) up to 1,758 crore are all on offer for sale. As of the date of the DRHP (July,31), the promoter holds 149,394,074 Equity Shares of face value of 5 each, comprising 58.38% of the pre-Offer issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital of the company on a fully diluted basis. In order to meet the company's future capital requirements resulting from the expansion of its business and asset base, Avanse Financial Services Limited plans to use the Net Proceeds to increase its capital base. The book running lead managers for the issue are Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Avendus Capital Private Limited, J.P. Morgan India Private Limited, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Private Limited, Nuvama Wealth Management Limited (previously known as Edelweiss Securities Limited), and SBI Capital Markets Limited. Ola Electric Mobility Ltds proposed public issue opens on Friday at a scaled-down valuation. The initial public offering (IPO) pricing values Indias largest electric scooter maker at $4 billion, about 25% discount to the valuation based on the last private funding round in September. In fact, the valuation is also sharply lower from as much as $7 billion that news reports had said the companys founder was initially aiming at, but had received investor pushback. Cut in IPO valuation to $4 billion eases valuation risk at 6.8 times FY24 sales versus global EV peers at 3-8 times CY23," according to Incred Research Services. This makes Olas valuation closer to the higher end of global peer range. That said, investors need to evaluate the drop in valuation in the context of continuing policy uncertainties in the sector and the relative valuation gap with Hero MotoCorp Ltd. For Ola, policy uncertainty is a key worry. Currently, there is a subsidy of up to Rs10,000 for electric two-wheeler scooter as per EMPS 2024 till September. If the subsidy is not extended, we might again see a sudden drop in sales as was witnessed twice in the past, once in June 2023 and then April onwards. Also Read: Ola Electrics IPO: For Bhavish Aggarwal and top employees more riches in store Recall that in May 2023, adjustments were made to the incentives provided under the FAME II programme, reducing them to 10,000 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) and capping them at 15% of an electric two-wheeler's ex-factory price (earlier it was: 15,000 per kwh with the cap at 40% of ex-showroom price). Olas retail sales volume, as per Vahan, in May 2023 were 28,742 vehicles and it took six months to regain this level after sales dropped sharply in June 2023. Olas sales peaked in March at 53,320 units as FAME II expired and was replaced by EMPS in April. Even after four months, sales are still at 38,887 units for July, much lower than March 2024. Valuation gap Olas post-issue valuation works out to a market capitalization (mcap) of 33,500 crore at the upper end of the price band of 72-76. The company is the undisputed leader in electric two-wheeler sales in India with market share of 49% based on the retail sales data of Q1FY25. Ather Energy, the next pure-play EV competitor is far behind at 7%. Hero MotoCorp can be viewed as a proxy play on Ather, given its 40% stake in the latter. Agreed, Hero is the traditional motorcycle company, but still, the valuation premium is wide. Olas mcap works out to 7x FY24 sales from scooters, excluding trading sales, service revenue, and government incentives. The same figure for Hero, excluding spare part, is 3.5x. Olas average selling price for FY24 was 1.4 lakh, but gross margin per vehicle was only 10,000 even after adjusting the material cost for the sale of traded goods. The corresponding numbers for Hero are 56,000 and 20,000, respectively. Ola is making net losses as it is still a new company. Sure, some of the huge gaps in valuation can be owing to Olas own battery cell manufacturing capacity. Indeed, a part of Teslas success is attributed to it having its own battery cell manufacturing. Olas prospectus reveals that almost one-third of the production cost of EV is in the form of battery. Ola is the first company to commence operations of cell manufacturing in India on a large scale with 1.4 GWH already completed and expected to reach 5 GWH capacity by February. Notwithstanding this benefit of lower battery cost, investors have to consider that any reduction in policy support could further delay the path to profitability. That would be a tough choice to make. Also read | Firstcry, Ola Electric IPOs to build a club of super-rich Mumbai: The Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) plans to launch a 10-gram gold futures contract considered the benchmark for investors and traders after testing its new integrated commodity market platform. The gold denomination contract launch will be announced "very soon," along with other new products, a senior official of the exchange said. "We are looking forward to launch some of our approved contracts, i.e. gold 10 gm contract, which will be a monthly cycle, and two agri contracts crude sunflower oil and cottonseed wash oil," Manoj Jain, chief operating officer of the MCX, said on an analyst call after its quarterly results on Monday. Jain attributed the delay in the launch of the 10-gm gold futures contract, despite getting approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) months ago, to the testing of its new technology platform system developed by software giant Tata Consultancy Services. "System testing was the reason we were slightly delayed. We are hopeful you will get to know of the launch very soon," he added. Gold traders and individual investors consider the 10-gm price the standard for the yellow metal and expect the contract to be more popular among retail traders than the existing guinea futures contract (8 gm) and the petal contract (1 gm). "Individual investors and small jewellers aren't kicked about either guinea or the petal contracts, but they could take to the proposed 10 gm in a more meaningful way as it's the standard price quote," said Amit Modak, CEO of PNG Gadgil & Sons, which hedges its gold price risk on the exchange. Small jewellers typically trade gold of 100-150 gm daily. Individual investors can punt or take delivery of the 10-gm contract through brokers who offer stocks and commodities under a single roof. Standard measure "This will be more popular among smaller traders and individuals than the other two small-sized contracts," said Kumar Jain, owner of UT Zaveri, a retail jeweller in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar gold market. Jain explained that everybody considers 10 gm to be the measure for gold prices rather than the 1 gm or 8 gm. MCX runs the country's largest commodity derivatives segment with an almost 98% market share in commodity futures in the June quarter. It was trailed by NCDEX, a National Stock Exchange-led agri-derivatives exchange. The exchange posted a 26% sequential jump in operating profit to 151.38 crore in Q1 and a similar rise in profit after tax to 110.92 crore. A year earlier, the MCX was saddled with heavy software costs after severing ties with technology vendor 63 moons. The contract with 63 moons ended in 2022 and the MCX migrated to the tech platform developed by TCS in October last year. The exchange plans to launch electricity futures after a joint committee set up by Sebi and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission arrive at an agreement on the proposal. The futures will be based on spot electricity contracts regulated by CERC. Mumbai: The surge in mutual fund inflows into sectoral and thematic funds continues to gain momentum, driven by strong domestic flows and a series of sector-specific offerings. These sectoral and thematic funds have attracted about 42% of active mutual fund flows so far this year. In June alone, inflows into these funds reached 22,350 crore, accounting for 55% of total active flows, an 18 July research report by Elara Securities said. Since the beginning of this year, thematic and sectoral funds have attracted 70,000 crore in inflows. Manufacturing funds have captured a significant 28% of these inflows, and infrastructure funds 8%. In absolute terms, around 19,500 crore has flowed into manufacturing funds and 5,900 crore into infrastructure funds. The overall skew has shifted towards sectoral and thematic funds with greater urgency in Q1FY25, said Mahesh Patil, Chief Investment Officer, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. In Q1FY25 alone themes like manufacturing and infrastructure saw flows that were seen in entire FY24." Why are thematic and sectoral funds gaining popularity? Typically, thematic funds perform well when the economy is strong, benefitting from favourable market conditions and investor optimism. During economic expansion, specific sectors and themes that these funds focus on see heightened growth. Investors are willing to take risks and invest in targeted strategies that capitalize on emerging trends and opportunities, leading to higher returns for thematic funds. India's thriving economy has sparked investor interest in thematic and sectoral funds, driving their popularity, said Rahul Singh, chief investment officer - equities at Tata Asset Management. For example, growing interest in theme-centric manufacturing funds can be attributed to several factors, including China-plus-one strategy and production-linked incentive schemes, which highlight India's long-term growth potential. Similarly, the energy sector, both traditional and renewable, is gaining momentum due to increased demand driven by factors like data centres. So, theme or sector-specific funds have come into focus now because of the fundamental tailwinds for some sectors that were earlier not there 2-3 years back," Singh explained. Tata Asset Management has launched seven thematic funds in the past four months, and they are already seeing strong traction, he added. A word of caution We believe that in some of the narrow sector themes there has been some euphoric built-up based on past returns. Investors need to be careful with the risks that they are taking to generate additional returns," Patil of Aditya Birla AMC said. Ashwini Shami, executive vice president & portfolio manager at OmniScience Capital also believes that there is euphoria in pockets like railways, defence, infrastructure, and power. However, there is also no doubt about the growth opportunities these areas offer, he added. Certainly, there has been a noticeable uptick in thematic and sectoral funds, with fresh capital shifting away from largecap funds to these funds with more focused investment areas, Shami said. The only tricky part is the hefty valuations," he said. Two-three years ago valuations in these high-growth sectors were subdued, but they have now moved considerably higher, he added. Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative and Quantitative Research, said Sebi and Amfi had brought regulations restricting mutual funds to a single scheme per category, be it midcap, smallcap or largecap. This restriction has prompted mutual funds to capitalize on the robust economy by launching thematic and sector-specific funds. Unlike category-based funds, these thematic and sector-focused funds allow mutual funds to concentrate on specific themes or sectors regardless of their category. With fresh capital being deployed at all-time high levels, investors should be discerning and focus on sustainable themes or sectors to avoid potential pitfalls," he cautioned. Related Read: Why the mutual fund industry is betting on duration funds Atul Auto, a leading player in the Indian three-wheeler market, saw its shares surge by 16% in July, continuing its bull run for the second consecutive month. This rally has propelled the stock to gain 41% in 2 months and 318% over the past two years. In July, the stock also reached a new milestone by crossing the 800 mark for the first time, recording a fresh all-time high of 844 per share. Atul Auto has emerged as the only player in the three-wheeler market, offering a complete range of products across all fuel types, including diesel, petrol, CNG, LPG, and electric. It is one of the youngest and fastest-growing companies in the sector. Over the past five years, its production turnover has tripled. In FY 202223, the company achieved a turnover of Rs. 467.06 crore. The company has been strategically investing in research and development activities, with a primary focus on electric vehicles that offer the same comfort as alternate-fuel three-wheelers. Additionally, the company is in the process of launching more models and variants of alternate fuel three-wheelers with a capacity of 0.50 tonnes, supported by strong R&D efforts. Its subsidiary, Atul Greentech Private Limited (AGPL), entered the electric vehicle market in FY23 with two electric three-wheelers, Atul Mobili and Atul Energie. During the year, AGPL collaborated with Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt. Ltd. and Valeo to develop prototype cargo and passenger three-wheelers featuring the reliable Honda Mobile Power Pack e: Swap and Valeo powertrain systems. These prototypes were showcased at the Auto Expo 2023 in New Delhi. Atul Mobili is a passenger vehicle, while Atul Energie is a cargo variant. Both are known for their distinct looks, robust build quality, and powerful performance. The vehicles equipped with swappable batteries will feature Valeo's integrated compact electric powertrain system. This swappable solution from AGPL will enable fleet and individual customers to lower the total cost of ownership and reduce upfront capital expenditure. according to the company's latest annual report. In terms of recent sales performance, the company sold 2,628 vehicles in July, a remarkable 107.42% increase compared to the 1,101 units sold in the same period last year. Year-to-date, the company has sold 6,651 units, representing 116% growth compared to the 3,083 units sold during the same period last year. Vijay Kedia's investment holding Renowned investor Vijay Kedia, through his brokerage firm, Kedia Securities Private, held a 2.71% stake in the company at the end of the June quarter. Additionally, Kedia has Atul Auto in his personal portfolio, with an 18.20% stake, according to Trendlyne shareholding data. Retail investors closely follow Kedia's investment decisions, often seeing them as indicators of potential market opportunities. Trendlyne data revealed that Kedia had investments in 12 stocks, with a total net worth exceeding 1,687 crore. Atul Auto is Kedia's top holding in terms of value, worth over 414 crore. This is followed by Tejas Networks, Vaibhav Global, and Neuland Laboratories, valued at 394 crore, 106.8 crore, and 125 crore, respectively. Buy or sell stocks for today: Despite weak global market sentiments, the Indian stock market ended higher for the third day in a row on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 index finished 121 points higher at 24,978. The BSE Sensex scaled 285 points north and closed at 81,741, whereas the Bank Nifty index was 121 points higher at 51,620. Cash market volumes on the NSE were down about 8% compared to the previous day. The broad market indices rose more than the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio rose to 1.44:1. Vaishali Parekh's stocks to buy today Vaishali Parekh, Vice PresidentTechnical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes that the overall Indian stock market bias is positive as the Nifty 50 index is slowly and steadily inching towards the 25,000 mark. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert said that the 50-stock index has sustained above the 24,750 zone in the last two sessions, indicating strength, and will continue to move positive for the next initial target of 25,500. Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher recommended three buy or sell stocks: Bombay Dyeing, Graphite India, and Tata Power. Stock market today On the outlook for Nifty today, Vaishali Parekh said, "The Nifty index, after the consolidation witnessed, has shown signs of improvement, inching towards the psychological level of the 25,000 zone with bias maintained strong. We can anticipate a further rise in the coming days. The index has sustained above the 24,750 zone in the last two sessions, indicating strength, and shall carry on with the positive move for the next initial target of the 25,500 level." "The Bank Nifty index has been sluggish for quite some time, and as mentioned earlier, a decisive breach above 52,800 would trigger a fresh upward move and scale targets of 53,500 and 55,100 in the coming days," said Parekh. Parekh added that Nifty's immediate support today is at 24,800, while resistance is at 25,100. The Bank Nifty would have a daily range of 51,000 to 52,000. Buy or sell stocks by Vaishali Parekh 1] Bombay Dyeing: Buy at 232.85, target 245, stop loss 227; 2] Graphite India: Buy at 532, target 565, stop loss 520; and 3] Tata Power: Buy at 453.60, target 477, stop loss 444. Meta Platforms stock climbed nearly 9 per cent on Thursday after the Facebook and Instagram parent company reported better than expected revenue for second quarter and upbeat sales forecast for the current quarter. At 12:04 pm EDT, Meta Platforms stock was at $505.97, higher $31.16 or 6.56 per cent. The company reported sales of $39.1 billion for the quarter ended June 30. For the third quarter, it expects sales of $38.5 billion to $41 billion. Metas strong revenue growth drove a 9-point rise in its operating margin to 38 per cent. Chief financial officer Susan Li said on Wednesday that Meta was reaping the fruits of a multi-year project to use AI to improve targeting, ranking and delivery systems for digital ads on its platforms. Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday expounded on Metas push into the type of large language models that power AI chatbots and praised the companys AI smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. There are all the jokes about how all the tech CEOs get on these earnings calls and just talk about AI the whole time, he said. Its because its actually super exciting and its going to change all these different things over multiple time horizons. In April, Zuckerberg had said that smart investors would see the long-term promises of artificial intelligence and metaverse technology, even if the financial returns are years away. Meta has been using AI to improve the way its advertisers can find interested users, adding efficiency to its most lucrative business. Metas costs jumped 7 per cent in the second quarter. In 2024, the company expects capital expenditure between $37 billion and $40 billion. Meta had 3.27 billion users across all of its apps as of June 30, up 7 per cent from a year earlier. Paras Healthcare Limited, the fifth-largest healthcare provider in terms of bed capacity in North India, Bihar, and Jharkhand, has filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an Initial Public Offering (IPO). As of March 31, 2024, the company operates with a total of 2,135 beds, having expanded its bed capacity by 885 over the past two fiscal years. Paras Healthcare manages eight hospitals under the Paras Health brand, located in five states and one union territory in North India. These locations include Gurugram and Panchkula in Haryana, Patna and Darbhanga in Bihar, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Ranchi in Jharkhand, and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the company's DRHP report. Also Read | Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial files fresh DRHP for IPO with SEBI The Kanpur hospital has the highest bed capacity, with 435 beds. The company's average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB) has risen to 44,345.37 million in FY24. Paras Healthcare focuses on providing specialized tertiary medical care in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, aiming to balance quality healthcare services with affordability. The company offers a range of clinical specialties across its hospitals, including cardiac sciences, oncology, neurosciences, gastrosciences, orthopaedics, and joint replacement. IPO details The public offering consists of a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to 400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 14,974,010 equity shares by the selling shareholder." Each equity share has a face value of 1. The offer for sale includes 2,928,320 equity shares from Dr. Dharminder Kumar Nagar (the Promoter Selling Shareholder) and up to 12,045,690 equity shares from Commelina Ltd. (the Investor Selling Shareholder). Together, these entities constitute the selling shareholders. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for the prepayment or scheduled repayment of a portion of its outstanding borrowings; investment in its subsidiaries, Paras Healthcare (Ranchi) Private Limited and Plus Medicare Hospitals Private Limited, either as debt or equity, to support the repayment or prepayment of borrowings by these subsidiaries and general corporate purposes. Also Read | Bulkcorp International IPO oversubscribed on day 3 amid strong retail interest ICICI Securities Limited, IIFL Securities Limited, and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Limited are serving as the book-running lead managers for this issue. Expansion Plans in Gurugram and Ludhiana In Gurugram, the company is expanding its presence by establishing a new hospital through a long-term lease arrangement. This facility, scheduled to open in fiscal 2027, will feature 300 beds. Additionally, the company is planning its first hospital in Ludhiana, also through a long-term lease, with an expected launch in Fiscal 2028 and a capacity of up to 500 beds. These expansions are projected to increase the companys bed capacity from 2,135 as of March 31, 2024, to 2,935 by March 31, 2029. Furthermore, the company has acquired land adjacent to its current hospital in Panchkula for the construction of a new facility. This new hospital will have 250 beds and is expected to benefit from synergies with the existing hospital, including a shared pool of doctors and staff. In addition to these expansion efforts, the company is exploring inorganic growth opportunities. The DRHP report indicates that the company may pursue mergers and acquisitions to enhance operational efficiency, consolidate its market position, and expand its expertise and capabilities. Also Read | Unicommerce eSolutions IPO announces price band at 102-108 per share Indian stock market indices opened at record high on Thursday with the benchmark Nifty 50 crossing above 25,000 level and the Sensex breaching 82,000 for the first time. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened 208 points, or 0.25%, higher at 81,949.68 and extended gains to hit a record high of 82,129.49. Nifty 50 opened at 80 points, or 0.32%, higher at 25,030.95 level on Thursday. The index hit a life-time high of 25,078.30 in early deals. It took 24 sessions for Nifty 50 to gain 1,000 points. Bank Nifty index also gained over 119 points to open at 51,672.60. Also Read | Nifty crosses 25000 mark: Takes 24 sessions to gain 1000 points Broader markets supported the upmove as the Nifty Smallcap 100 and the Nifty Midcap 100 indices gained over 0.2% each. Gains were seen in Nifty Metals, Nifty IT, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty PSU Bank indices, while Nifty Realty and Nifty Media suffered losses. Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco, Coal India, JSW Steel and PowerGrid Corporation were the top gainers, while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), BPCL, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Eicher Motors were the top losers. Indian stock market rallied following upbeat trend in global markets after the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell hinted an interest rate cut in September. The US central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left the benchmark interest rates unchanged at 5.25% - 5.50% on Wednesday for the eighth straight meeting and noted further progress towards its 2% inflation target. Powell signalled that the Fed could cut interest rates as soon as September, saying if US inflation continues to fall, a reduction in our policy rate could be on the table" when the Fed next meets in September." Dovish comments from the Fed Chair fueled a rally on Wall Street overnight with the three benchmark indices, including Nasdaq and S&P 500, witnessing decent gains. Largely dovish tone from the Fed, seems like they almost cut without cutting! Jerome Powell has set the bar on a September (next FOMC) cut quite low. Good for risk-on trades - equities in general. US tech rallied last night, and investor sentiment is likely to remain buoyed in India too, said Somnath Mukherjee, CIO & Senior Managing Partner, ASK Private Wealth. He sees good portends for equities till the end of this year. While pockets of over-valuation remain, a supportive beta backdrop is giving opportunities to investors to systematically rotate out of heated themes/sectors (defence, railways, some of the smaller companies) into those with greater margins of safety (financials especially), Mukherjee said. Also Read | Osho Krishan of Angel One recommends buying these two stocks today Nifty has rallied around 11% in the last three months. This rally is driven by healthy GDP growth, control inflation, strong domestic liquidity both from Retail as well as Institutional participants, and a progressive monsoon. Global cues have been supportive after the US Fed indicated a possible rate cut in September. We expect this positive momentum to continue going forward driven by healthy macros, Indias strong position globally, and steady corporate earnings, said Ajay Menon, MD & CEO, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. The Nifty crossing the 25,000 mark is a significant milestone that reflects robust economic growth, political stability, and strong corporate earnings, said Anirudh Garg, Partner and Fund Manager at Invasset adding that the surge boosts investor confidence and indicates the market's positive outlook. In the short term, we are bullish on the market and see potential for the Nifty to rise further to 26,000, driven by continued domestic consumption, infrastructure spending, and strong participation from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) alongside Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs). Retail investors have also been pouring money into the market through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), Garg said. However, over the longer term, he expects a minor correction to stabilize the broader index, providing a healthier market environment. Technical View Nifty can find support at 24,950 followed by 24,900 and 24,850. On the higher side, 25,100 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,200 and 25,250, said Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking. According to him, the charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 51,500, followed by 51,300 and 51,200. He believes iIf the index advances further, 51,800 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 52,000 and 52,100. Indian markets are also ready to give a strong breakout above the resistance level of 25,000. Traders holding long positions can hold and trail stop loss at 24,850 on a closing basis. Also fresh long positions can be made on dips near 24,900 with a mentioned stop loss, Mehata said. The general public perception about the revolutionaries was a negative one at the time of the Delhi Assembly bombing (in 1929). They were being seen as misguided youth whose heinous offence could endanger Indias march towards freedom. Annie Besant described the Assembly bombing as a criminal attempt, a mad act to derail the granting of dominion status to India. Even the Delhi Assembly Bomb Cases defence lawyer, Asaf Ali, opined that although the bombing was not malicious it was an act of idealists, you may call them impatient or misguided. Gandhi, in a speech in Bezwada on 11 April, condemned the Assembly bombing because in his view: each act of violence renders the vision of swaraj more and more distant. The mad act of the two youngsters in the Assembly has made the accomplishment of Swaraj more difficult and we have distinctly gone a step backward in our striving for it. The Tribune was also in agreement that the use of the bomb was being done by those who do not want India to make progress towards responsible government as such outrages can have no other effect except of strengthening forces of reaction and making the task of constitutional independence more difficult. However, once the trial started, the public began to see a different side of the young men. The Tribune praised the duos (Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt) exemplary attitude and the fact they observed the trial arguments with intelligent interest. The tide of public opinion suddenly shifted when the defence lawyer, Asaf Ali read out a statement on behalf of Bhagat and Batukeshwar on 6 June 1929. The statement gave the duos reasons for bombing the Delhi Assembly. They argued that the bombs were not directed at individuals present there but the Assembly as a colonial institution. It stated that they were next to none in their love for humanity, and that they held all human life sacred beyond words. In their view, British rule was worthless, irresponsible, and autocratic, and it demonstrated nothing but Indias humiliation and helplessness. Despite claiming to be representative, institutions such as the Legislative Assembly overrode the Indian aspirations and demands with impunity. Instead of coming to the aid of the labouring poor, the legislature was contemptuous of them and passed repressive and arbitrary measures in the form of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill. The bomb aimed to make the deaf hear and it reflected the heart-rending agony of the starving and struggling millions. Their bomb, the statement claimed, heralded a new era that ended one of utopian non-violence. This sensational statement electrified the public opinion and evinced a wave of collective emotion. It was the first of its kind public declaration in support of militant political action and one that challenged Gandhian non-violence as the bedrock of Indian civilization. Militant nationalists such as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Sachindranath Sanyal had exchanged letters and participated in debates with Gandhi but no one so far had characterized his philosophy of non-violence as utopian. The statements open endorsement of radical political action proved propitious for the mill workers strike raging in Bombay that was threatening to dislocate the commercial and industrial life of the city and the undertrials of the ongoing Meerut Conspiracy Case who, following the statement, appealed to Ramsay MacDonald, the British prime minister, to repeal the anti-working class legislation, i.e., the Public Safety Bill. The impact of their statement was also visible in the response of the Indian newspapers. Masavat believed whether Sardar Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt are offenders or not, their statement is worthy of being written in letters of gold in the history of India. These were examples amongst several local newspapers in Lahore such as The People, Bande Mataram, Pratap and Milap that lauded the duo for their courage. 'Revolutionaries On Trial: Sedition, Betrayal and Martyrdom', by Aparna Vaidik, Aleph Book Company, 442 pages, 999 After the issuing of the statement in the Delhi Assembly Bombing, the judgement of the case (announced on 12 June 1929) sentencing the duo to transportation served as the next significant moment in the turning of the tide of public opinion in favour of Bhagat and Batukeshwar. While the British press joyously hailed the verdict as a victory against communist conspiracy and one that had prevented India from playing into Moscows hands and saved India from relapsing into hideous revolutionary violence, The Tribune adopted the position that the sentence was disproportionately heavy and The People called it grotesque and vindictive. Even the Congress leaders who had initially condemned the bombing came out in support of the young men. The very next day in a massive public rally in Meerut, Jawaharlal Nehru openly declared that Bhagat and Batukeshwar could not be called cowards. His speech was rounded off with cries of Bharat Mata ki Jai. Hereafter, Naujawan Bharat Sabha began organizing public meetings in Lahore to garner support for them. At the first meeting, Bhagat Singhs father, Sardar Kishan Singh, was invited to speak. He spoke about his conversation with Bhagat right after his sentencing where the latter had told him that even if he was hanged, he (his father) should not be sorry or shed tears. At the end of his speech, Sardar Kishan Singh received an ovation from the audience. Amidst loud shouts of Bande Mataram the meeting passed a resolution in support of Bhagat and Batukeshwar (who was now being addressed publicly as Dutt) and before the people dispersed several hundred copies of the statement made by Bhagat Singh and Dutt were distributed to the audience. On 30 June, about 10,000 residents of Lahore gathered to celebrate the Bhagat Singh-Dutt Day several of whom were fasting in solidarity with the young men. The meeting called out the Delhi Assembly Bomb verdict for being erroneous and too severe. The volunteers distributed pictures of Bhagat and Batukeshwar as keepsakes and collected money from the audience. The pictures carried quotes from the duos statement: From under the seeming stillness of the sea of Indian humanity a veritable story is about to break out. We have given out loud enough warning and By crushing two insignificant units the nation cannot be crushed. Across India, a period of public meetings, demonstrations and processions in support of the revolutionaries followed the successful celebration of the Bhagat Singh-Dutt day. This was especially evident in Lahore. The public gatherings had the flavour of political rallies and brought together people of all ideological shades. Even the meetings held for canvassing Gandhian principles began to invite the family members of the revolutionaries or raising slogans in their favour. Inquilab Zindabad was now being shouted out in the same breath as Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram. Hereafter public demonstrations in support of the hunger strikers became a daily affair in Lahore. The disapproval that people had expressed at the bombing of the Assembly had become a cursory memory by this time. No longer were the HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) men thought of as hare-brained youth but as committed patriots willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Indias independence. A new launch in Amritsar Amritsars street food is legendary, and now the contemporary dining space has a handful of new openings. One such restaurant is the modern pan-Asian place, Shiso. It has an expansive menu with dishes from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and more. There are kimchi baos, Thai roast chicken and a range of sushi. The cocktail menu celebrates the Asian theme with drinks like Japanese-style high ball. The drinks selection has an interesting addition with house-made fruit wines such as pineapple and apple cinnamon that are shaken and stirred with cocktails. Also read: Why Ras Al Khaimah is your culinary passport to the Middle East A pop-up at one8 Commune Bangalore in Bengaluru This weekend, Bengalurus one8 Commune is launching a pop-up series, Commune Collective. In the first edition, it will showcase Mexican dishes with city-based chef Varun Pereira who was with the Olive hospitality group. The menu is inspired by Pereiras recent visit to Mexico, and he will be manning a live taco station for an interactive experience. Also, theres a DIY Nacho bar to engage guests. Make the most of the food by pairing it with picantes and palomas. The dessert was created in collaboration with Bengalurus famous Ulo Ice Cream. To match the Mexican theme, have a new sweet corn ice cream served in a crispy waffle taco, garnished with a choice of spicy chilli caramel popcorn or rich chocolate crumble. A wine and cheese festival at Smoke House Deli The all-day restaurant and cafe has a month-long festival celebrating wine and cheese across its outlets in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Dehradun and Bengaluru. Sangria is on the menu too with options like watermelon, orange and classic, among others. There is a fetching offer with a complementary cheese platter for four with a Sangria pitcher or wine bottle, and complementary cheese platter for two diners with two glasses of wine, Sangria or sparkling cocktail. Real estate has traditionally been considered one of the safest forms of investment, with recent research pegging 10-year returns on real estate investments at 10 per cent. However, savvy investors are now diversifying their portfolios with considered luxury real estate purchases that bear the allure of even higher returns and more market stability. Factors such as better build quality, prime locations and the world-class amenities that are synonymous with luxury real estate prove to be significant advantages for buyers, in the long term. Better capital appreciation Luxury real estate has an enhanced potential for long-term capital growth, as these properties are often situated in prime neighbourhoods where the demand for quality housing is constantly on the uptick. The value of these luxury homes, therefore, increases steadily over time, culminating in significant gains for investors. The plush, state-of-the-art amenities, as well as the exclusive features that are designed into modern-day luxury homes enable their value to appreciate more rapidly as compared to other real estate assets. Many buyers are also willing to pay a premium for the superior craftsmanship, amenities and location, further driving up the market value of these assets. Also Read | Govt has no plan to reconsider real estate LTCG tax changes, says report Stable and secure Even within the real estate sector, luxury real estate is considered especially secure. The demand for luxury homes has been observed to be the most resilient to economic uncertainties and market volatility. This can be attributed to a couple of reasons since luxury real estate is typically owned and sought by HNIs who are better shielded from economic instabilities, the value of these luxury homes remains relatively unscathed even though the broader market is experiencing a downturn. The prime location and high quality of construction that are typical to the luxury segment ensure that these properties are deemed desirable over an extended period. Thus, luxury homes emerge as a stable and reliable asset. Enhanced rental income The higher rentals commanded by luxury properties can be a significant source of income for investors. The value of these homes is measured not just in terms of the location and the square footage, but also in terms of how premium the build quality is and how exclusive and well-appointed the overall property is. Luxury home tenants are extremely discerning and are willing to extend their budget in lieu of an upgraded lifestyle. Consequently, for homeowners, these properties can enhance cash flow and offer greater returns on their investment. Also Read | Balancing your next egg: Strategic asset reallocation tips A healthier supply-to-demand ratio The luxury real estate segment in India is being propelled upwards by several favourable factors. The countrys burgeoning millennial population, which accounts for 36 per cent of the total population of the country, contributed 54 per cent of homebuyers in 2023. This segment boasts of unprecedented amounts of disposable income, which inspires them to seek bigger homes and high-end residences. NRI buyers are increasingly looking to India for big ticket residential purchases, inspired by the relative stability, the prestige of owning a luxury residence, and the potential for rapid appreciation in the value of these assets. As the demand for luxury housing surges, so do the relative returns that homeowners can receive from their investment. As the luxury real estate market continues to grow and evolve, we foresee many HNIs actively investing in luxury residences. This trend is anticipated to continue an upward trajectory, making luxury real estate purchases an indispensable part of contemporary investment portfolios. Delhi schools are closed today after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for heavy rainfall in the national capital. Heavy precipitation yesterday evening, which continued until late at night, led to severe waterlogging in many places across the city. A 22-year-old woman identified as Tanuja and her 3-tear-old child, Priyansh, reportedly drowned after falling into a waterlogged drain in the Ghazipur area of East Delhi. The police said they received a call on Wednesday evening at about 8:12 pm regarding a woman and a child drowning in a drain. The drain was about 15 feet in depth and 6 feet in width, police said. The duo were going to the weekly Budh Bazaar held in the Ghazipur Police Station area, East Delhi, and fell into the waterlogged semi-constructed drain and drowned, ANI quoted Delhi police as saying. Adding to the woes of Delhi residents, a house in Sabzi Mandi collapsed following a cloudburst, and traffic congestion was also reported in many places across the national capital. Delhi Education Minister Atishi, in a post on X last night, said, In light of very heavy rainfall today evening and forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools - government and private - will remain closed tomorrow, 1st August. Directorate of Education issued a notice dated July 31 that said, In light of the very heavy rainfall in the evening of 31st July, 2024 & subsequent waterlogging in many parts of Delhi and forecast of heavy rainfall for 1st August, 2024, all Govt., Govt. Aided and Recognised Unaided Private Schools of Delhi will remain closed on 1st August, 2024 (Thursday). The Delhi government further urged all the Heads of Schools of Delhi to disseminate this information to teaching and non-teaching staff, students and parents. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, in a post on X, said that all schools under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will remain closed on August 1 in view of the forecast of adverse weather conditions. The post stated, All MCD schools will remain closed tomorrow, August 1, 2024, in view of incessant rainfall in the National Capital and the forecast of adverse weather conditions. Elon Musk, Tesla chief and Space X founder, on Wednesday accepted a challenge to fight Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on national television. The tech billionaire took to social media platform X to respond to the Venezuelan President's challenge. He tweeted, "I accept," after a user posted a screengrab from a news daily which said the Venezuelan President was challenging Elon Musk to fight on national television. The post's caption read, Maduro has now challenged Elon Musk to a nationally televised fight. Also Read | X CEO Linda Yaccarino faces the pitfalls of sharing power with Elon Musk In another comment, Elon Musk said, If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars. The war of words between Elon Musk and Nicolas Maduro has escalated amid the political unrest in Caracas. On Monday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared that Nicolas Maduro secured 51% of the vote while the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia secured 44% in the election held on July 28. After the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was declared re-elected by CNE without disclosure of detailed data, violent protests escalated in Venezuela, contesting the poll turnout. Also Read | Melinda Gates criticises Elon Musk, other billionaires for lack of philanthropy Their ideological conflicts set them apart. Nicolas Maduro is a socialist leader who emerged from his modest origins as a bus driver to govern a nation rich in oil but struggling economically. The Venezuelan President accused the tech mogul of orchestrating attacks against his country. He alleged that the Tesla chief was involved in computer hacking at the National Electoral Council. Also Read | Is Google meddling with US President Elections 2024? Following Maduro's win, Elon Musk posted on X, calling the election a travesty and referring to Nicolas Maduro as a dictator. The tech billionaire also shared a 2020 announcement from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking. Delhi's Patiala House Court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Puja Khedkar. The former trainee IAS officer is accused of using fraudulent means to pass the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. Khedkar's provisional candidature was cancelled by the UPSC on Wednesday. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala reserved the order after hearing arguments on Khedkar's application, which claimed that she has an imminent threat of arrest. The UPSC filed a case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the benefits of quota by faking her identity to take the civil services examination beyond the permissible number of attempts. Senior Advocate Naresh Kaushik, appearing for the UPSC, said, "She secured a public employment unlawfully. It would not only be an offence against the UPSC but the entire society." What Puja Khedkar said in court? During the proceedings, Khedkar said she wanted the anticipatory bail "to establish her innocence", news agency PTI reported. She also told the court that she was being targeted for filing a sexual harassment complaint against an officer. "I [Khedkar] filed a complaint for sexual harassment and that is why all this is being done against me. This is all happening on behest of the collector against whom I have levelled sexual harassment complaint. The person asked me to come and sit in a private room. I said I am a qualified IAS and I will not do that. I am pressing for anticipatory bail to establish my innocence," advocate Bina Mahadevan, appearing for Khedkar, said. Mahadevan said Khedkar didn't suppress any information, and that she had wrongly mentioned the number of attempts. "I wrote five but I should have said 12. It is because I availed those attempts under a different quota. Whether it was done in good faith or not is to be inquired," she said. "IAS Academy Mussoorie has called me (Khedkar), Pune Commissioner has called me. DoPT has given me a notice as well. I need anticipatory bail to defend myself before all these forums," Khedkar's counsel said. Why did police seek Khedkar's custodial interrogation? Meanwhile, the prosecution opposed the bail application, claiming that Khedkar took advantage of the loopholes and changed her name. "We are at a very nascent stage. We need her custodial interrogation," public prosecutor Atul Srivastava said. He argued that if she gets anticipatory bail, "she will not cooperate." "She changed her father's name and her mother's name. How? The conspiracy to cheat the examination system and public at large is there. She has done immense harm to people who would have otherwise qualified," Srivastava reportedly said. "These kinds of persons who cheat the system must be dealt with very seriously. This person has abused the process of law," he submitted, adding that the chances of her abusing the law were still there. The Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday has issued a warning for the public to stay away from riverbanks as dams release water in response to rising levels in the Beas River. Here are the top ten updates: 1. In an official release, HP Traffic, Tourist & Railways Police said, During the monsoon season, due to unexpected heavy rains, the water level of the Beas River is rising. As a result, the Pandoh Dam, and Larji Dam will release water through their gates to manage the increased flow and silt. The Himachal Pradesh government has issued an advisory urging people to stay away from the riverbanks during this time and to ensure that children and animals are kept away as well. 2. The water level in the Beas River has increased due to heavy rains in the region. 3. Meanwhile, the regional Meteorological office has issued an 'orange' alert for Thursday, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorms, and lightning in isolated areas across all Himachal Pradesh districts except Kinnaur and Lahaul & Spiti. 4. A yellow alert for heavy rain at isolated locations has also been issued for Friday, with the wet weather expected to continue until August 6. The Met office uses a color-coded warning system: green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared), and red (take action). 6. Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi told PTI that the recent rains have led to the closure of 48 roads and affected around 60 power schemes. 7. The weather office has issued warnings for potential landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas of Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla, and Kinnaur districts. Strong winds and waterlogging could damage plantations, standing crops, vulnerable structures, and kutcha houses. 8. Intermittent rain continued across parts of Himachal Pradesh, with Dharamshala receiving 127.6 mm, Una 60.2 mm, Manali 45 mm, and other areas recording varying amounts of rainfall. 9. Since the monsoon began on June 27, rain-related incidents have claimed 65 lives and caused losses of 433 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre. Kukumseri in Lahaul & Spiti was the coldest at 12.8C, while Bhuntar in Kullu district was the hottest at 36.2C. 10. Earlier on Wednesday, a footbridge and three temporary shops, including a liquor store, were swept away by a flash flood caused by a cloudburst in Tosh Nallah in Kullu district. According to Deputy Commissioner Torul S. Raveesh, there were no reported fatalities, and a team has been dispatched to assess the damage. Clashes broke out between Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and security forces in Imphal East district, Manipur, on Thursday after tear gas was deployed to disperse a protest rally. As reported by PTI, around 100 IDPs from the Akampat relief camp had attempted to stage a protest but were halted by security forces, leading to a confrontation. The residents of the relief camp, carrying placards and banners, were demanding their rehabilitation and a resolution to the ongoing ethnic violence in the state. They sought to return to their homes in Moreh, Tengnoupal district, and other affected areas. Ethnic violence in the state which started in May 2023 has so far claimed 226 lives and left over 59,000 people displaced, officials said. Locals joined the protesters, throwing stones at security forces. The demonstration continued for about 1 kilometer before being halted at Singjamei in Imphal West district by additional security reinforcements, including CRPF personnel. There have been reports of assaults and injuries, but the exact numbers are still unconfirmed. On Wednesday, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh informed the assembly that the ethnic violence in the state has resulted in 226 deaths. He also reported that over 59,000 displaced individuals are currently in relief camps and 11,133 houses have been destroyed in the unrest. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- When Indias finance minister presents the annual budget to Parliament, her speech is watched not just for what it includes but what it leaves out. Given the general opacity of Indian policy processes, thats often the best way to discern what the governments real priorities are. Unusually, this years speech never mentioned military spending. Thats only one indication of how little Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who casts himself as a muscular nationalist, appears to value national defense. During Modis first term in office, he marginally increased the proportion of federal spending devoted to the military. Yet, safely re-elected in 2019 after a confrontation with Pakistan, he has since presided over a decline. From over 17% at the beginning of Modis first term, the share is now under 13%. In fact, defense spending has fallen below 2% of GDP for the first time in decades. Some analysts argue the budget hasnt plumbed such depths since before Indias traumatic loss to China in a 1962 border war. And the numbers are even bleaker than they seem. Over half of Indias defense budget goes to personnel costs. The amount left for equipment purchases and overall modernization is usually too small to improve readiness significantly. That helps explain why Modis promise issued more than six years ago to spend $20 billion on 114 new fighter jets has yet to be fulfilled. Indias air force has only three-quarters the number of planes it needs and will likely have even fewer by the end of the decade. Worse, the government is mismanaging the dwindling cash it does spend on defense equipment. It tries to juggle multiple priorities speed, quality, local production and often winds up paralyzed. Modis big push in recent years has been to increase indigenous defense production. That makes some sense: Recent conflicts have shown how important it is to have domestic supply chains that you can scale up swiftly. An India that cares deeply about what it calls strategic autonomy or, more prosaically, the ability to irritate anyone you want at any time is especially wise not to rely too heavily on arms imports. Local defense production grew nearly 17% in the past financial year and is up 60% since 2019-20. Yet within those rosy numbers a murkier picture emerges. Much of the new production is focused on things like ammunition, rather than high-tech weaponry. More importantly, state-owned giants continue to dominate the local defense industry. After five years of attempted indigenization, the private sectors share of total production value still barely tops 20%. That does not bode well. The military thinks the public sectors systems are obsolete. Official auditors have pointed out its history of failures, delays and cost overruns. Even a hand-picked government committee suggested that state-owned defense companies shift from production to basic research. Given limited budgets, India can ill afford to waste money on defense. The government had hoped that foreign companies might pick up some of the slack. A few years ago, it decreed that they could henceforth own 74% of an Indian subsidiary, which could be increased to 100% with special permission. Very few foreign investors have taken up the invitation, mainly because the technology transfer requirements are far too onerous. The only company brave enough to own an Indian subsidiary completely is Swedens Saab AB, which began work earlier this year on a factory to produce its Carl-Gustaf portable rocket launcher. The Indian army already depends on the Carl-Gustaf, so Saab was reasonably certain of its market. Others can read the budget numbers and see that the government will struggle to commit to big acquisitions. Meanwhile, private Indian companies must incorporate the cost of creating new factories and product lines into their bids. That puts them at a disadvantage against public enterprises that rely on the state for support and basic infrastructure. Far from levelling the playing field, the government seems to be outright suspicious of the private sector. The CFO of Larsen & Toubro Ltd., a professionally managed company and one of Indias best-known engineering firms, told the Financial Times this week that New Delhis mindset was that greater private sector involvement would mean profiteering at government expense. Its hard to imagine exactly which enterprising profiteer would be attracted by the peanuts that passes these days for a defense budget. Modi will have to spend more, and trust more, if he is to make strategic autonomy more than a catchphrase. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, he is author of Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion The Central Bureau of Investigation filed its first chargesheet in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case on Thursday. The document named 13 individuals with the probe agency indicating that it was likely to file supplementary chargesheets as the investigation continued. Around 40 people have been arrested in connection with the case so far including 15 that were arrested by Bihar Police. The chargesheet was filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and claims that the accused were involved in the paper leak and other irregularities. CBI has utilized advanced forensic techniques, artificial intelligence technology, CCTV footage, tower location analysis and more to gather evidence against the accused. CBI is continuing further investigation against other accused or suspects and on other aspects of the case. Several other accused are already in police or judicial custody, read an excerpt from the chargesheet. The CBI had lodged six FIRs after taking over the paper leak case in late June. The FIR from Bihar pertains to paper leak while the remaining ones from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are regarding impersonation of candidates and cheating. Meanwhile the agency's own FIR on a reference from the Union education ministry pertains to a comprehensive investigation into the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024. The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. The exam was held across India on May 5 and spurred an outcry following allegations of paper leaks, irregularities, and time losses. More than 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the test. A re-examination was conducted on June 23 for 1,563 candidates who faced a time loss during the original test. More recently the Supreme Court had declined calls for a mass re-test of the controversy-ridden exam. The apex court noted that there was no evidence to conclude that the entire result of NEET-UG 2024 was vitiated. Today marks an important event as Congress top brass Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are scheduled to visit the disaster-stricken region of Wayanad on Thursday, August 1. Take a look: Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to visit disaster-stricken Wayanad on August 1 Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit Wayanad today to meet with families affected by the devastating landslide in Kerala's Meppadi, Wayanad. The landslide has tragically claimed 158 lives so far. During their visit, they will also tour the relief camps established in local schools and medical institutes. Prior to their visit, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan conducted a meeting to assess and oversee the ongoing rescue operations in the affected areas of Wayanad. Amid the rising death toll, the Indian Army has intensified its efforts to rescue people stranded after the landslides. According to the Ministry of Defence, "The Army has set up a "Command and Control Centre" headed by Major General VT Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, along with Brigadier Arjun Segan, at Kozhikode for coordinating HADR efforts." Delhi court to pass on Aug 1 order on Puja Khedkar's anticipatory bail In the case involving IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, a Delhi court is expected to deliver its decision on August 1 regarding her anticipatory bail plea. Khedkar faces allegations of cheating and forgery, and during the court proceedings, she asserted that she was being singled out due to her previous complaint of sexual harassment against a senior officer. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala reserved the order after hearing arguments from both sides. Khedkar argued that she faces a significant risk of arrest, while the prosecution countered by accusing her of manipulating the system. The court's forthcoming decision will determine whether Khedkar is granted anticipatory bail in light of the charges against her. All schools are closed in Delhi amid heavy rainfall Delhi Education Minister Atishi announced that all schools will remain closed on Thursday in the city after it was lashed by heavy rain. The minister, in a post on X, said, In light of the very heavy rainfall this evening and the forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools both government and private will remain closed on August 1st. The rain led to massive waterlogging and traffic disruption, unleashing chaos on roads on Wednesday evening. The downpour has severely affected the city's infrastructure, with vehicles stranded on flooded roads. Paris Olympics 2024: Day 6 schedule for India On the sixth day of the Paris Olympics 2024, India has multiple athletes poised for medal contention across different events. Shooter Swapnil Kusale aims to secure India's third medal at the Games in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final. Meanwhile, in track and field, Paramjeet Singh Bisht, Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, and Priyanka will kickstart Indias campaign in their respective race walk events, looking to bring home medals for their country. India's contingent at the Olympics has an exciting schedule lined up: Swapnil Kusale: He will be competing in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final, aiming to secure a medal for India in shooting. Nikhat Zareen: She will be in action, representing India in her respective event. Details about the specific event she is participating in were not provided in your query, but Nikhat Zareen is known for her achievements in boxing. Q1 results on August 1 Several companies listed will be reporting their quarterly earnings on Thursday, August 1. Here is the list: Fatima Latifova During a working visit to USA, Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments Elchin Amirbayov met with Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Europe at NSC Michael Carpenter, Azernews reports, citing the post shared by Azerbaijan's Embassy to US on its official "X" account. "Constructive and useful discussions were held covering bilateral Azerbaijan and USA agenda, current state of affairs in the Azerbaijan and Armenia peace process and recent developments in the region" post reads. A Congress leader was linked to an immigration scam on Wednesday accused of being part of a group manipulating the US H-1B visa lottery system through multiple registrations. An explosive Bloomberg report tagged Kandi Srinivasa Reddy a Congress candidate for the Telangana Assembly elections as the man behind the scheme. Numerous companies linked to Reddy had worked to exploit a loophole in the streamlined lottery process (introduced in 2020) generating multiple tickets for the same worker. Companies owned or controlled by the Congress leader entered the lottery more than 3,000 times and managed to win over 300 H-1B visas in the past four years. Reddy however told Bloomberg during a brief telephonic interaction that he was merely a registered agent for the companies and has little involvement in them. The assertion however contradicts previous comments made by the businessman including his claim before Texas authorities that he was the CEO of Cloud Big Data. An affidavit filed with election officials in India and business registry documents in the US also show that he or his wife own or control all the companies in question. While Reddy may have led the scam reports suggest that thousands of other staffing firms have now caught on to the trick. According to Bloomberg estimates, companies that used the multiple registration tactic pulled in about 40,000 H-1Bs over four years. To put that number into perspective, around 446,000 people sought H-1B visas in 2023 with only 85,000 being available. Reportedly, more than 11,600 visas went to multinational outsourcing companies, with vast overseas workforces that flood the lottery with entries. Another 22,600 went to IT staffing firms. The lottery maneuvers changed not only the kind of companies winning H-1B visas but also the kind of workers being admitted to the US. The median salary at a staffing firm last year was about $90,000, the data show, compared with $125,000 for regular employers. Reddys recruits made about $87,000, the Bloomberg report added. More than 200 people were killed on Tuesday as rain-induced landslides struck Wayanad in Kerala. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi visited the disaster-affected areas in Chooralmala with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, urged Home Minister Amit Shah to tag the incident as a 'calamity of severe nature' under MPLADS guidelines. According to our information, more than 200 deaths have taken place. Bodies are being recovered, and over 200 people are injured. On the first day, 150 people were rescued, and we are still conducting the search and rescue operation. As of now, there are sufficient teams of the Indian Army, NDRF, Fire Services, IAF, ICG, and others on the spot, and a review meeting was held by the Kerala CM and other officials, DIG Shahidi told ANI. Rescue operations led by the Indian Army continued at three locationsAttamala, Mundakkai, and Chooralmalaon Thursday afternoon. Former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress party's likely candidate for the upcoming bypolls, Priyanka Gandhi, landed at Kannur airport at 9.30 am before heading to Wayanad by road. Visuals shared online showed the two Congress politicians making their way through the waterlogged terrain in Chooralmala alongside Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal. We are focusing on the hope of rescuing some people still because the truth is 200 lives have been lost, but still another 200 people are missing. Two villages have disappeared from the map in this severe crisis. The Union Home Minister said that the early warning was issued, but the CM said that the warning was not sufficiently serious; it was a green or orange alert and not a red alert. All of these things can be disputed later. Eventually, preventive measures are required. I don't want to get into a political debate, Shashi Tharoor told reporters. India has issued an advisory for its nationals in Lebanon over potential threats. Indians have also been advised not to travel to Lebanon until further notice. The advisory was issued in the wake of growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. In view of recent developments and potential threats in the region, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice. All Indian nationals are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon, the advisory read. Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut through their email ID cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128, it further said. Also Read | Hezbollah fighters shoot down an Israeli drone in Lebanon and fire rockets at an Israeli base Since October 8 last year, violence has flared across the border between Israeli troops and Hezbollah. On Tuesday, Hezbollah's top military commander Fouad Shukur was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut. Israel killed Shukur, 61, in retaliation for a July 27 rocket attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. The Israeli military said Shukr was responsible for the majority of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry, including precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and drones. On Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinates in Iran. Shukur was a founding member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group who helped oversee its expansion from a shadowy Lebanese civil war militia to a major force in the Middle East. His killing is the heaviest blow to Hezbollah's command since the 2008 assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, underlining the gravity of this week's escalation in the conflict, which has been rumbling across region since the Gaza war erupted. The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Delhi Police on Thursday, August 1, regarding a bail plea filed by Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Bibhav Kumar was arrested in May following assault allegations made by AAP MP Swati Maliwal, NDTV reported. The AAP MP accused Bibhav Kumar of thrashing her in Kejriwal's residence. The next hearing on the matter has been set for August 7. Earlier, the Delhi High Court and a trial court denied bail to Bibhav Kumar, who is in judicial custody until July 16. Also Read | Delhi HC seeks police stance on Bibhav Kumars bail in Maliwal assault case Bibhav Kumar is charged with criminal intimidation, assault or use of criminal force with the intent to disrobe a woman and attempt to commit culpable homicide in addition to disappearing evidence and giving false information. The apex court, during the brief hearing this morning, said, "We normally grant bail... we grant bail to murderers and killers". It further noted, Look at the FIR. She (Ms Maliwal) was crying (during the assault). The court seemed unconvinced by arguments that Bibhav Kumar gave and called him a goon while considering the possibility that he would influence witnesses if granted bail. The Supreme Court said Swati Maliwal assault case: He (Bibhav Kumar) assaulted her even after she told about her physical conditions, reported PTI. It added, "He (Bibhav Kumar) acted like some goon has entered the official residence of CM." Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Bhibhav Kumar, said, The Incident was on May 13. The FIR was lodged on May 16... the story in the FIR is strange. She went to the police station on the first day but came back (Ms Maliwal did not file a police complaint or make a statement on that day). She did not lodge the FIR. A FIR was lodged with injuries three days later, reported NDTV. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has explained why the roof of a lobby in the new Parliament building leaked during heavy rains in Delhi on Wednesday, July 31. The secretariat said that the adhesive that was used to fix the glass domes over the lobby got displaced during the rains, causing leakage. The Lok Sabha Secretariat released a statement after a video surfaced on social media, showing a bucket placed on the floor of Parliament to collect water dripping from the lobby's ceiling. The footage led to reactions and jibes from the Opposition over the significant expense involved in building the new Parliament. .In this regard, it is worth mentioning that keeping in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the Building, including in the Lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilized in day to day work of the Parliament. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the Building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said. Delhi rains LIVE updates It further stated that the problem was detected and fixed, adding that no leakage has happened since. The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed. Similarly, accumulated water opposite Makar Dwar also got drained out quickly, the secretariat said. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh took a swipe at the saffron party, saying people are thinking if this was a well thought out plan of the ruling government, while hailing the sturdy old Parliament building. In a post in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, The old Parliament was better than this new Parliament, where even the old MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old Parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the Parliament built with billions of rupees. August 1 was a whirlwind of events and developments across the political, sports, and business worlds. Some major companies released their Q1 earnings, while political parties exchanged sharp jibes at each other. In short, the day was anything but uneventful. We have listed some major news events that happened today, check them out. ZOMATO Q1 NET PROFIT JUMPS Food delivery company Zomatos net profit surged to 253 crore in the quarter ended June from 2 crore a year ago on the back of higher gross order value across its food delivery, quick commerce, and going-out verticals. The company reported a consolidated quarterly revenue of 4,442 crore against 2,597 crore a year earlier. Click here to read more on Zomato Q1 TATA MOTORS Q1 NET PROFIT RISES Tata Motors announced its April-June quarter results for fiscal 2024-25 (Q1FY25) on Thursday, August 1, reporting a rise of 74 per cent in consolidated net profit at 5,566 crore, compared to 3,203 crore in the corresponding period last year. India's leading auto major's revenue from operations rose six per cent to 1.08 lakh crore in the first quarter of current fiscal. Read here for more HAMAS MILITARY CHIEF ELIMINATED, SAYS ISRAEL Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Thursday, August 1, that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif has been eliminated. Mohammed Deif was also considered to be one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on southern Israel when the Hamas militants stormed into the neighbouring territory, killing and abducting hundreds. According to the reports, 58-year-old Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 13. It was an audio tape broadcast where Mohammed Deif named the October 7 raid Al-Aqsa Flood. NIFTY SHINES AT 25,000 The Indian stock market benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, achieved fresh closing highs on Thursday, August 1, marking their fifth consecutive session of gains. The upward momentum was primarily driven by strong performances from index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. The Sensex hit its fresh all-time high of 82,129.49, and the Nifty 50 made a fresh peak of 25,078.30 during the session. HIMACHAL PRADESH CLOUD BURST, 5 DEAD A cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh killed at least five people and left approximately 50 others missing. According to the state emergency operation centre, the affected areas included Nirmand, Sainj, and Malana in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi, and Rampur in Shimla districts. Want to read more? Click here for the full story Google Doodle Today: Google dedicated the 1 August edition of the search engine logo to the spectacular surfers participating in the Paris Olympics 2024. Continuing with its key theme of birds being represented as athletes in previous doodles, today's Google Doodle GIF showed a bird surfing on water inside a man-made structure. However, the surfing board was replaced with a tree leave. Google Doodle Today: The search engine logo celebrated the art of surfing during the ongoing Today's edition of Google Doodle is visible in more than 100 countries as the surfing event continues in Paris. The surfing events set to take place on Thursday were postponed due to unfavourable weather and stormy weather conditions at the Olympic surfing venue of Teahupo'o in Tahiti on Wednesday. The surfing events were cancelled at the Olympic surfing venue on Wednesday after an initial call to run, with conditions still super challenging after a storm swept though the region, forcing organisers to put the event on hold. The stormy weather followed Tahiti coast after delivering some of the best conditions ever seen for a competition for the men's round three surfing competition on Monday. However, strong winds ripped through the lineup and continued into Tuesday. However, due to unfavourable conditions, one-and-a-half days of competition remain now, which means a finish is more likely at the weekend. Running for a half day on Wednesday would have allowed organisers to complete the competition and crown medallists on Thursday. The surfing events will restart with women's round three action, in which Australian world champion Tyler Wright will compete against Israel's Anat Lelior before local favourite Vahine Fierro takes on countrywoman Johanne Defay in heat two. Uttarakhand news: Uttarakhand State Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman on Thursday informed that over 10 people were dead after heavy rains damaged concrete bridge and footbridge on the Kedarnath route, reported ANI. "All the routes of Chardham are open, only the footpath in Kedarnath has been obstructed. 100 other routes are obstructed; efforts are being made continuously to open them" ANI quoted the State Disaster Secretary as saying. A cloudburst damaged roads to and from Kedarnath, following which pilgrims were stranded. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) informed that 571 Kedarnath pilgrims trapped between Sonprayag and Gaurikund have been rescued. However, around 1500 continue to be trapped because of the landslides which is about 2 km from Sonprayag. Choppers are being used to evacuate pilgrims stuck between Gaurikund and Kedarnath. The India Metrological Department issued an orange alert in the state, predicting the possibility of heavy showers. On Thursday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhamiinspected the disaster-affected areas and held a review meeting with officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre to take a stock of the situation. Day-to-day activities of residents were disrupted in areas affected by heavy rainfall. Ongoing rescue and relief operations in Rambada, Bhimbali, and Jakhaniyali were also hampered by continuous downpours. "We received information about the disruption of life in many areas across the state. Consequently, rescue teams worked through the night to move people to safer locations," ANI quoted the Chief Minister as saying. State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have also been brought in for assistance, and rescue teams are on high alert. Pushkar Singh Dhami said, I have directed officials to assist those affected by the heavy rainfall and to relocate individuals endangered by rising rivers and drains to safer places. Everyone has been instructed to stay vigilant, after the meeting. DGP Abhinav Kumar said that IMD has issued an alert for heavy rain in most districts of Uttarakhand and urged pilgrims to be cautious. He appealed to devotees to start their journey only after breaks, stay in safe places and follow local authorities' instructions. (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is in hiding and fearing for her life, she wrote in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal. I could be captured as I write these words, Machado wrote in the article, published Thursday. Her words come a day after President Nicolas Maduro said she and her stand-in candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, should be behind bars. She again emphasized that Gonzalez was the rightful winner of Sundays presidential election, and called on the international community to help Venezuela. We Venezuelans have done our duty. We have voted out Mr. Maduro, she wrote. Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government. She said that repression by the government must stop immediately, so that an urgent agreement can take place to facilitate the transition to democracy. The international community has long applied sanctions on Venezuela to weaken and potentially unseat Maduro with no success. So far after Sundays election, the US and other Latin American nations have said Maduro needs to provide proof of his self-declared win by showing ballot tabulations. Instead of hiding, Machado and Gonzalez should appear before the prosecutors office, Maduro said Wednesday, building on top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguezs call for her arrest after Venezuelans took to the streets to protest this week. Machado said most of her team is also currently in hiding, and six of her top aides who had taken refuge in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas fear an imminent raid, she said. Maduro has promised to respect the sovereignty of the embassy, which Brazil took custody of Thursday morning. Argentinas embassy staff had been expelled by Maduro, who also gave diplomats from Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic until Friday to leave. Amid speculation of a potential arrest, Costa Rica on Tuesday offered political asylum to Machado, Gonzalez and all those facing persecution, including her aides at the Argentinian embassy. At the time, Machado said she was grateful but said her duty was to continue fighting along Venezuelan people. It remains unclear if she accepted or will accept the proposal. Her press team didnt immediately reply to a request for comment. (Updates throughout with details of Maduros comments against Machado.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com The Opposition parties are taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after some videos showed water 'leaking' from the roof of the new Parliament building as heavy rains lashed Delhi on Wednesday, July 31. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh took a swipe at the saffron party, saying people are thinking if this was a well thought out plan of the ruling government, while hailing the sturdy old Parliament building. Akhilesh Yadav also shared a video of a lobby of the new Parliament building where a bucket was kept on the floor to collect the water dripping from its roof. The lobby is reportedly built at the cost of 1,000 crore. In a post in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, The old Parliament was better than this new Parliament, where even the old MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old Parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the Parliament built with billions of rupees. In another jibe at the BJP, Akhilesh Yadav said people are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well thought out design or NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING ROOF WATER LEAK: VIDEO Congress' Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore also posted on X a video of water leaking from the roof and said, Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said, New parliament lobby is leaking water. Given the building is a monstrous edifice to Narendra Modi's ego it is only fitting that it has got shaky post 2024 lok sabha results. Bharat Mandapam leaks another case in point. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and two alleged co-conspirators have entered into plea agreements, which will spare them from the death penalty. As a result, there will be no trial seeking capital punishment for Mohammed and his associates. The man accused of being the main plotter in al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said on Wednesday. According to news agency PTI, the US announced that it has entered into a pre-trial deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti-Pakistani engineer, and two other co-accused Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al Hawsaw in the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. They have spent almost two decades in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The agreement was reached after 27 months of negotiations. It takes the death sentence off the table for the three accused, prosecutors said in a letter sent to the families of 9/11 victims and survivors shortly before the Department of Defense announced the news in a press release on Wednesday. According to the letter obtained by CNN, Mohammed and his co-defendants will enter guilty pleas at a plea hearing that could come as early as next week. The settlement agreements with the Pentagon bring partial closure to a case that has dragged on for years and become mired in legal delays over whether the evidence extracted through torture during their interrogations was admissible in court. On September 11, 2001, two hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane struck the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth plane, heading to Washington, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back with the hijackers. Many family members of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the September 11, 2001, attacks want the 9/11 defendants put to death. Since a trial became increasingly unlikely, plea bargains were widely viewed as the only way to resolve the case, the US media reported. The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case, the US Department of Defence said in a press release. The specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time, it said. The three accused, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001, attacks against the United States, the release said. The letter says that the families now have 45 days to submit questions to be answered by the alleged co-conspirators by the end of the year. Before his birth, Mohammed's parents immigrated to Kuwait from Pakistan's Balochistan province. Mohammed, a US-educated engineer, was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan and held with other Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Prosecutors argued that he came up with the idea of hijacking and flying planes into US buildings to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and later helped recruit and train some of the hijackers. Meanwhile, an official with Amnesty International USA called the pre-trial agreement "welcome news" that will prompt some accountability for the 9/11 attacks and justice for its victims and survivors. We are also pleased that there is finally an outcome for at least some of the accused, who were tortured and then languished in detention without trial for more than two decades, Daphne Eviatar, director of the group's Security with Human Rights programme, said on Wednesday. Eviatar said the announcement should mark the beginning of the end for the military prison. The Biden administration has sought to close the Guantanamo prison facility quietly. By last year, the number of people held at the facility was 30, down from the nearly 800 who were there at its peak, NBC News reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden will hold a phone call on Thursday. The two leaders are likely to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, Axios reported on Thursday, citing an official in Netanyahu's office. Netanyahu and Biden may hold a conversation amid escalating tension between Iran and Israel. Iran and Palestinian militant group Hamas vowed to avenge the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Israel has been blamed for the assassination. Israel, however, has not yet taken responsibility for the killing. A day later on Thursday, Israel confirmed the death of the head of Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month. As Israel remains on a high state of alert, Israeli PM Netanyahu said on Thursday, "Israel is very prepared for any scenario - both defensively and offensively." "We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena," the prime minister was quoted by Reuters as saying. It is expected that Iran or its allies will retaliate for the killing of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas this week. Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed on Thursday a "definite" response to Israel's killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase. Also Read | Israel claims killing Hezbollah leader accused of 1983 Beirut bombing "The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite," said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address to mark the funeral of the slain commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the group's yellow-and-green flag. Just hours after Shukr's killing, the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran in an attack widely blamed on Israel but that Israel has not officially taken responsibility for. Japans carmakers are putting the finishing touches on a combine-and-compete strategy for an automotive age defined by batteries and software, with three manufacturers joining forces to complement a separate Toyota Motor Corp.-led coalition. Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. agreed this week to build upon a preliminary deal first reached in March, offering more details of how they plan to work together and also adding Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to the mix. While the companies havent yet discussed a capital alliance, forming one is a possibility, Honda Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe said. The partnership will span joint work on software development, batteries and other electric-vehicle components, as well as EV charging and energy services, the three companies said. Their cozying up to one another follows Toyota acquiring stakes in Subaru Corp., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp., and helping them navigate a fraught era for legacy car companies. Whereas Toyota has tied up with its domestic peers from a position of strength its been the worlds best-selling automaker for four years running Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi each are much smaller players on the global stage. Their coming together is seen as a move by Japans government to fortify its auto industry in the wake of China having emerged as the worlds new No. 1 car exporter. This is coordinated by the government to build a competitive automaking industry, said James Hong, analyst at Macquarie Securities Korea Ltd., adding that most automakers in Japan are too small to be able to invest in EVs individually. It feels like a politically driven alliance. While the US has had the Big Three General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, now owned by Stellantis NV and Germany similarly has a trio in Volkswagen Group, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz, Japan has a much bigger crop of carmakers manufacturing vehicles across the globe. Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined sold about 4 million vehicles globally in the first six months of the year, well shy of the 5.2 million that Toyota sold on its own. While the three touted the potential for generating synergies from working together, executives also acknowledged theyll have to overcome contrasts with their compatriots. Although we have different cultures, we share the same challenges, Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said at a news conference with Mibe. Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi have been behind the curve in moving to what automakers increasingly refer to as software-defined vehicles, which run on code as much or more than cars of the past were powered by combustion engines. The Japanese government set a target last month for its companies to account for 30% of the software-defined vehicle market in 2030. In addition to working together in software fields including automated driving, connectivity and artificial intelligence, the automakers may share battery specifications and supply. Honda and Nissan also are looking at re-badging one others cars, which both combustion-engine and battery-powered vehicles under consideration. The two didnt offer specifics on particular models or outline how they may complement one another by region. Honda has announced plans to invest 10 trillion on electrification this decade, while Nissan brings to the table the knowhow of having introduced the first fully electric car of the modern age the Leaf in 2010. Mitsubishi Motors excels in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and has a strong position in Southeast Asia. China is also a key factor behind the Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors partnership. All of Japans automakers have been losing share in the worlds largest auto market, largely due to the rising popularity of EVs. In June, Honda and Nissan sales fell about 40% and 27%, respectively, in China following the shutdown of some of their local plants. Last week, Honda decided to cut production of gasoline cars there by 19%. Mitsubishi Motors exited last year. Honda and Nissan have been struggling in China, and they will have to make more EVs to be able to stay there, said Tatsuo Yoshida, senior auto analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. The alliance therefore makes sense. For Nissan, the deal with Honda signals further deemphasis of the companys alliance with Renault SA. While the French manufacturer saved Nissan more than two decades ago with a cash injection and by bringing in former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, theyre now in the process of equalizing their cross-shareholdings and unwinding aspects of their decades-long cooperation. Mitsubishi joined the alliance in 2016, when Nissan made an investment in the smaller carmaker. Nissan currently owns about a third of the company. The Honda-Nissan partnership will be on a more equal footing than what Nissan experienced with Renault, according to Seiji Sugiura, analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory Co. Nissan couldnt resist whatever Renault said, Sugiura said, adding that they will now be able to leverage each others strengths. They werent really equal partners, he said. Honda had been working with General Motors Co. on electric powertrains and software, but called off its plans last year to develop small EVs. Nissans relationship with Renault, which was always tense, deteriorated further after Ghosn was arrested in 2018 on charges of overstating his compensation, which hes denied. Leader Kim Jong Un plants his feet in mud, rides a cramped rubber rescue boat on a swollen river and directs military helicopters unloading evacuees on a rain-soaked runway. North Koreas propaganda apparatus is breaking new ground in the way it has portrayed him battling alongside ordinary citizens as he tackles a flood emergency that has devastated a northwestern area of the country and is estimated to have caused a considerable human toll, according to the South Korean ministry that manages relations with the neighbor. That discrepancy could mean his governments trying to shift the blame for a disaster that may be bigger than reported. The state media photos convey the message that Kim cares deeply for his people and their unusual hands-on settings may also be intended to enhance the cult of personality around the leader. Kims recent activities are unimaginable for North Korea, said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at South Koreas state-run Korea Institute for National Unification. The city of Sinuiju, a trade hub connected to China by bridge, and the nearby county of Uiju were hit by torrential rains and floods in the last week of July. The downpours have damaged about 4,100 homes, swept over roads and rail links, and wiped out about 3,000 hectares of farmland, according to North Korean state media reports. About 5,000 people have been rescued, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, which has not reported any deaths. KCNA has gone to great lengths to showcase Kims involvement, saying he has been at an airstrip to direct military helicopter flights to shuttle people to safety. The rescued people saw him waiting for them at the violent rainy airport so unexpectedly and broke into cheers, shedding tears of boundless gratitude and emotion, KCNA said. The flooding started at around the time Kim was celebrating the July 27 anniversary marking the end of fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War at a Pyongyang event that included a musical gala. The exact number of casualties was not immediately known, but South Korean media outlet TV Chosun reported at least hundreds were estimated to have been killed, citing a government source it did not identify. North Korean media hasnt mentioned any deaths. The area is a major producer of grain and any loss of cropland adds to food insecurity in a country where the United Nations World Food Program has said about 40% of the population is undernourished. Nonetheless, the disaster comes as Kim rides high, with the countrys sanctions-hit economy on the mend. The US and South Korea have said materials and food are flowing in from Russia in exchange for munitions Pyongyang is supplying to Moscow to supports its assault on Ukraine. The flooding will not negatively affect Kims leadership. In fact, although it will have a negative impact on the economy, it will be a good leadership propaganda opportunity, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a senior fellow with the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center. The images in state media show Kim looking through a rolled-down window from a vehicle driving through floodwaters to survey the damage. Hes also shown aboard a crowded boat without a life jacket. There is no better way to underscore Kim as being in complete control of the situation and caring for the people, even at the expense of his own comfort, by showing photos and videos of the leader being in command on the ground, wading through water, or riding a rubber boat across flooded areas, said Lee, who has worked as an analyst for the CIAs Open Source Enterprise. Kim has already sought to redirect blame by sacking the countrys public security minister and is proposing to punish others, KCNA reported. The North Korean leader has previously been shown as directing disaster rescue operations. But it is rare for the countrys tightly controlled media to show images of him enduring such uncomfortable and even dangerous conditions. Kim Jong Un gets the same as any politician does in any country when they turn up at a disaster site: The image that they are in control, taking a personal interest in the lives of the people and caring for those affected by the disaster, said Martyn Williams, a senior fellow for the Stimson Centers Korea Program. State media doesnt seem afraid to also show him getting a little dirty. Turkey announced a major prisoner swap on Thursday, involving Russia, Belarus, and five Western countries. Among the 26 prisoners released in Ankara were US reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan. Evan Gershkovich was released just a few days after he was sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in prison for espionage. Turkey also said that it was the most extensive prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and Germany in recent years. In return for the prisoner swap, 10 Russians that included two minors were handed over to Moscow, said a statement released by the Turkish presidency. Among the prisoners was Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin who was jailed for criticising Russia war on Ukraine. Thirteen of the detainees freed by Russia went to Germany and three to the United States. All prisoners were transported to Ankara from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Belarus and Russia. The prisoners were transported to Turkey by a total of seven aircraft, including two from the United States and one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Russia, as part of the prisoner exchange operation, the statement read, adding, All the prisoners have been disembarked and put in a safe place under the supervision of the MIT. Evan Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the US. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. For the final six months of his term, President Joe Biden has prioritized securing the release of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, making it a central focus of his foreign policy agenda. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, he had said, We're also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. After the major prisoner swap, President Joe Biden said it was a feat of democracy. Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as well as jailed Kremlin critics in the largest prisoner exchange with the West in decades, in return for a prized assassin sought by President Vladimir Putin. Now, their brutal ordeal is over and theyre free, US President Joe Biden said at a White House appearance with family members of some of the released prisoners. The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship. The swap, which took place on the airport tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, included two dozen people, 16 going to the West and eight being returned to Russia. Among them were other American citizens as well as Russians convicted of crimes and imprisoned in the US, Germany, Poland, Norway and Slovenia. One of those was Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Chechen separatist in a Berlin park. German authorities had long resisted including him in any exchange because of the brazen nature of his crime, but Putin had made his release a top priority. In addition to Gershkovich, who was arrested in March of last year while on a reporting assignment in Russia and later convicted of espionage charges he and the Journal reject Russia also let go former US Marine Paul Whelan, who was jailed in 2018 and later convicted on spying charges he denies. The US had categorized both men as unlawfully detained and had been seeking their release. Russia also freed Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual Russian and US citizenship, who was convicted last month under the Kremlins strict wartime censorship laws. Such prisoner swaps are one of the few remaining areas of diplomatic cooperation between the US and Russia after Moscows 2022 invasion of Ukraine poisoned relations. US officials accuse the Kremlin of taking Americans hostage to win the release of Russian agents and others held in US prisons. Moscow denies that. Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way, and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. Its the culmination of many rounds of complex, painstaking negotiations. US officials described the swap as a success of their long-running efforts to win the release of Americans unjustly held abroad. Moscow insisted on the release of Krasikov in exchange for Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, the US said. The German government did not take this decision lightly, Steffen Hebestreit, Chancellor Olaf Scholzs chief spokesman, said in a statement Thursday. The states interest in enforcing the prison sentence of a convicted criminal was balanced against the freedom, physical well-being and - in some cases - ultimately the lives of innocent people imprisoned in Russia. The exchange represents a major victory for Putin, whod repeatedly pressed for Krasikovs release in the face of opposition from Germany. By freeing the killer, Putin, a former KGB officer, showed his security service agents and others working for the Kremlin abroad that he wont abandon them and will do whatever is necessary to secure their return, even amid the greatest confrontation since the Cold War between Russia and the West over his invasion of Ukraine. Putin wanted a deal before the elections because after that, all the meticulous preparatory work involving several governments could have been buried, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political consultancy R.Politik, referring to the November US presidential vote. For Putin this will be confirmation that the Americans can be flexible and pragmatic when they need something. Putin demonstrated his commitment to get his agents out with the December 2022 release of the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the merchant of death, whod been sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in US prison. The Biden administration freed him in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner who was given nine years by a Russian court after customs officials at a Moscow airport found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February that year. Putin said in June that Russian and US intelligence services were in contact and that the Biden administration was taking energetic steps to secure Gershkovichs release. Former President Donald Trump, who once predicted Gershkovich would not be released unless he won the November election, criticized the deal as too favorable to Russia. Our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us! Trump posted on his social media site. Asked about Trumps claim that he could have freed the wrongfully detained Americans without giving up anything in exchange, Biden replied, why didnt he do it when he was president? The latest exchange, which Turkish officials said saw two minors sent back to Russia along with the adults, included the release to the West of a number of Russian opposition figures, whove faced an intensifying Kremlin crackdown in recent years. Earlier this year, the two sides were close to an agreement that would have seen the release of Alexey Navalny, Russias most prominent opposition leader, but he died suddenly in prison before it could take place. The swap included Kremlin critics Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, as well as Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Memorial human rights group that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Russian authorities also released three other jailed dissidents, pro-democracy activists Liliya Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeyeva and artist Alexandra Skochilenko. One American who wasnt freed is Marc Fogel, a 63-year-old history teacher in Moscow who was sentenced to 14 years in 2022 after a Russian court convicted him of smuggling cannabis. He said he was carrying marijuana for medical purposes. US officials said efforts were continuing to secure his release. In Thursdays swap, Russia also released Kevin Lik, a dual German and Russian national, who was serving a four-year prison sentence for treason for an act he allegedly committed when he was 16. As part of the deal, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Putins closest ally, on Tuesday pardoned a German citizen, Rico Krieger, whod been convicted and sentenced to death in June for mercenary activity on behalf of Ukraine. Read More :US Catches Kremlin Insider Who May Have Secrets of 2016 Hack The US released several Russians convicted on a variety of criminal charges. Among them was Vladislav Klyushin, a Kremlin-linked technology consultant serving a 9-year sentence for insider trading, Roman Seleznev, the son of a prominent Russian politician who was serving a 27-year sentence for cybercrime, and Vadim Konoshchenok, jailed on suspicion of violating US sanctions against sending military technologies to Russia. The US alleged Konoshchenok had ties to Russias Federal Security Service. Polish authorities released Pavel Rubtsov, jailed on espionage charges, as part of the deal, while Norway let go Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who was accused of spying. In Slovenia, meanwhile, two Russians detained as spies in 2022 pleaded guilty at a closed trial in Ljubljana and were released as part of the deal. With assistance from Alexey Anishchuk. Israel's recent assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, following the killing of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, threatens to further escalate a conflict that has already lasted ten months. The repercussions on India could be significant, impacting its international relations and economic stability. The situation demands skilled diplomatic manoeuvring and vigilant macroeconomic management, as pressures on India's trade balance and currency could intensify The conflict, which erupted following a Hamas raid on October 7, 2023allegedly masterminded by Mohammed Deifhas seen Israel devastate Gaza, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children. Israel has also targeted Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, executing several high-profile assassinations. Read this | Modi vibes well with Trump. But India may not be ready for a second Trump term With the death of Haniyeh, a crucial negotiator for a ceasefire, any de-escalation seems unlikely. Geopolitical analysts warn that the situation could escalate into a global conflict if allies on both sides become involved. While Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear capabilities, Iran has long been suspected of developing a nuclear arsenal. Washington has materially supported Israel with munitions supplies. When Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on 13 April 2024, the US, the UK, France, and Jordan had responded by deploying their air forces to intercept the missiles. Any Iranian retaliation for the assassination could potentially draw more nations into the conflict. Meanwhile, protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have erupted within Israel and globally. The International Court of Justice has issued an arrest warrant for him on alleged war crimes charges. The upcoming US elections could also be affected, given America's substantial Jewish population and the dual citizenship many hold with Israel. Implications for India Amid this turmoil, India finds itself in a delicate position. While it has long supported the concept of a Palestinian state, the assault on Gaza casts doubt on the viability of such a state. India also maintains good relations with Iran and other Muslim-majority nations in West Asia, home to over 9 million Indian expatriates whose safety could be jeopardized by further conflict. At the same time, India and Israel have a close military alliance and trade partnership, collaborating on various military R&D projects. Israel has been a crucial partner for India, providing munitions and intelligence during its conflicts with Pakistan. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the Indian government to tread carefully in its diplomatic engagements. The potential for supply disruptions in global energy markets is another significant concern for India. A major chunk of the world's crude oil and natural gas is produced in West Asia, with key shipping routes passing through the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf. India relies on imports for over 85% of its crude oil and more than 50% of its gas requirements, with the majority coming from the region. Additionally, Russia supplies approximately 35% of India's crude oil demand. Yemen's Houthi rebels have been attacking maritime traffic in the Red Sea, complicating the use of the Suez Canal for trade with Europe. The alternative route around Africa adds considerable distance and cost. The Straits of Hormuz, another critical passage for gas and crude oil, could be blockaded by Iran, affecting around 15% of global crude and 20% of global gas supplies. This includes LNG exports from Qatar and the UAE and crude oil from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. A blockade or conflict in the Straits would make sourcing alternative supplies and routes for LNG and crude challenging. The assassination on Wednesday has already led to a $3 increase in Brent crude prices, which may be a temporary spike. However, sustained higher energy prices would negatively impact Indian refiners, marketers like Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, as raw material costs would rise. Each 1 per litre change in gross marketing margin affects the Ebitda per litre of oil marketing per companies by over 20%. Higher LNG prices or supply shortages would also hurt suppliers like GAIL, Petronet LNG, and city gas distribution companies like Gujarat Gas, Indrapratha Gas, and Mahanagar Gas. Also read | Its the economy! Rural voters send out a strong message on economic distress Additionally, rising energy prices could stoke inflation, putting further pressure on the rupee due to the strain on India's trade balance. The Indian crude basket averaged around $85 per barrel from April to June 2024, with the Budget projecting an average price of $83-88 per barrel for FY25. If crude prices surge beyond this range, the fiscal estimates could become inaccurate. Managing these complexities and mitigating their economic impact will be a significant challenge for the Indian government, even if the situation does not escalate into a broader conflict. Arguably the best business model ever invented, other than the illegal one of peddling drugs, is search. This is a $200 billion plus market today, with gross margins estimated at 60%, growing at 10% every year and projected at $371 billion by 2031. As we all know, one player dominates this lucrative market: Google, with a highly enviable 90%-plus market share. No one has been able to get anywhere close, with even mighty Microsofts Bing a light year behind at No. 2 with a 3.7% share. Besides the acclaimed superiority of Googles search algorithms and its effective use of AI, another big reason is network effects and the fact that Google has now become a verb. What you need, you google. No wonder that every tech company on Earth is trying to get a piece of the action, but has so far only managed to gather crumbs left behind by Google. Despite onslaughts by Microsoft and Yahoo, and pretenders like DuckDuckGo and Wolfram Alpha, Google has never really been under any threat. Until now, that is, with a new technology which threatens to upset its cosy world. The technology is Generative AI, and it is perhaps the first credible threat to Googles throne. This was apparent when ChatGPT was launched by OpenAI. Suddenly, we had another way of finding information and content out there, but a way that seemed more intuitive, warm and human than the cold ten blue links of Googles search results. GenAI is built on language, much like we humans are, and its powerful Transformer algorithms (the T in GPT) parse the vast troves of language on the internet to give us answers by probabilistically providing the next set of words to any word or prompt we give it. This is how we humans learn and think with language, but it is this very human quality of making up stuff as it goes alongand being optimized for believability and not factsthat make Large Language Models (LLMs) of GenAI not very conducive to the factual precision we expect of search. Thus, while GenAI has been out there for a couple of years, it has not been a credible danger to Googles search engine so far. This hasnt stopped people trying. Bing immediately incorporated OpenAIs GPT4 into its search results and renamed it Copilot, a startup called Perplexity has made waves with its robust competition (see: bit.ly/3Sr9fKy), and even Google incorporated its own LLM Gemini into its search results. However, the hallucinatory and probabilistic nature of GenAI often led to disastrous results, with Googles GenAI-based search confidently making Barack Obama African, for example. Last week saw the biggest onslaught on Googles monopoly yet, the launch of SearchGPT by OpenAI. OpenAI seems to have learnt from the mistakes of others. It is being careful, releasing a prototype for 10,000 users so as to learn and improve results before a wider launch. It has struck deals with content producers like Wall Street Journal, Vox Media and Associated Press, both to get quality content and send traffic back to publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches." Publishers also have a way to manage how they appear in OpenAI search features," as per OpenAI. This partnership-led approach by the worlds hottest GenAI company is perhaps the most credible threat that Google has seen so far. My view is slightly different, though: the biggest threat to Google Search is Google itself. The first reason is what Clayton Christensen called the innovators dilemma." The Transformer was invented at Googles lab, but it was OpenAI that took it forward. Google saw GenAI and LLMs as being too reputationally dangerous, and a direct threat to its lucrative advertising-led search business model. The risk of launching something that would cannibalize its own business was too great, and so it demurredthe classic innovators dilemma. Secondly, Googles dominant position has made it complacent. The Google interface is a bad user experience, with advertiser links disguised as actual results dominating its first page, although users want the best possible result rather than advertised results. Google is optimized for the advertiser, not the consumer. The third reason is what usually happens to a wildly successful company with a monopoly grip: bloated structures slow down decision making, its leadership grows tentative and global regulators begin circling around and slowing down innovation. Thus, while SearchGPT and Perplexity will launch frontal attacks on its search empire, the biggest threat to Google is Google itself. THEY MOVE stiffly on weak legs as they leave the bus and enter the fenced-off temporary centre on El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands. Spanish police register each one, reading the number off a wristband they were given at the port, calling out U8, adult female! U3, minor male!" Then come the men, who make up the vast majority: of the 145 arrivals on that days boat, eight are women and three children. Nearly all are sub-Saharan Africans. They are lucky. No one is seriously ill; no one has given birth at sea, as someone the week before had; and they all survived. This year more than 5,000 migrants have died trying to reach Spain, mostly en route from western Africa to the Canaries, according to Caminando Fronteras, an NGO. Meanwhile, around 20,000 people made it alive in the first half of 2024. That makes the western African route a growing share of the total; EU-wide arrivals were around 94,000, down about a third from last year. View Full Image (The Economist) The boats sail directly west from Africa (usually from Mauritania, these days) to evade capture by African coastal forces. That lengthens their journey. When they point back towards Europe, the nearest island is the smallest and westernmost of the Canaries, with only 7,000 residents. View Full Image (The Economist) El Hierro has responded admirably. After a couple of days, the migrants moved to a disused convent which they could leave freely. Many unaccompanied minors are housed with families, and join local schools. The head of the islands government, Alpidio Armas, says the situation creates little controversy. The Canaries have long experience of immigration, especially from Latin America. The islands are ageing, and agriculture, tourism and construction need labour; Mr Armas would like more of the migrants to stay. But most of the adults are swiftly sent to much bigger Tenerife. From there, many will move to the Spanish mainland, where they are far less welcome. Vox, a hard-right party, quit several regional coalition governments in July over plans to distribute asylum-seekers around the country. The boats arriving in places like the Canaries and Lampedusa, in Italy, are only the most striking form of illegal migration to the European Union. In fact most arrivals come by air (entering legally and overstaying visas) or over land. Ever since the crisis years of 2015-16, when over a million irregular migrants arrived, the EU has struggled to find a collective response. Now it finally has one. In May the bloc approved a migration pact" of ten laws. Margaritis Schinas, a vice-president of the European Commission who helped craft the pact, says it proves that Europe can lead from the centre". He jokes that he was encouraged" that both right-wingers (Matteo Salvini of Italy) and leftists (Jean-Luc Melenchon of France) opposed it. The deal takes effect in June 2026. It will massively beef up the data system for fingerprinting and registering migrants, known as Eurodac. The idea is to track repeat arrivals and stop people from going elsewhere in the EU (already prohibited in theory, but often ignored by arrival states). Another innovation is a legal fiction that those arriving have not yet entered the EU. This allows for the border procedure", a keystone of the deal. Migrants judged to pose a security risk, or who come from a relatively safe country (one from which less than 20% of previous migrants received asylum), can be sent home in an expedited procedure. Countries like Senegal and Mauritania, poor but not at war, fall into this group. Critics say the border procedure will not be a legal proceeding worth the name. Since the right to seek asylum is part of international law, this provision will probably face legal challenges. In 2022 around half of irregular arrivals were granted some form of protection in Europe. Those from countries whose nationals typically succeed, such as Mali (68%) or Sudan (70%), will still have access to the full, lengthy asylum procedure, including appeals. So will unaccompanied children and the mentally ill. Harmonising asylum criteria across the EUs 27 members is meant to even out success rates. (Currently, in the EU as a whole 62% of Afghans get asylum; in Romania only 28% do.) Finally, a solidarity mechanism" will allow border countries to relocate an EU-wide total of 30,000 or more asylum-seekers per year to other countries, according to quotas. Countries that refuse to take their share may instead pay 20,000 ($21,700) per heada grubby bargain to appease countries that ignored an earlier quota. But states can declare a migration crisis" and suspend some of their burden-sharing responsibilities (though the EU institutions must subsequently agree). This may be abused by countries such as Hungary that oppose the migration pact. The pact will not work without diplomacy. Europeans have already made deals to restrain migration with transit states such as Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. These sometimes lead to outrages: in May a group of newspapers and Lighthouse Reports, a journalism collective, reported that black migrants in Mauritania, Tunisia and Morocco were being rounded up and dumped in the desert, using vehicles donated by the EU. But such externalisation" of border enforcement seems likely to continue. This year Italy struck a deal with Albania to use Albania as a kind of offshore processing centre for asylum claims. The hardest part may be making deals with the countries migrants originally hail from. EU countries want them to stop migrants from leaving, and have struck deals with some of them. But the new border procedure" assumes they will take back their nationals. They often refuse, and there is no way to force them. A previous boat crisis" from west Africa to the Canaries in 2006 shows what might be possible. Spain struck deals with a number of countries of origin, working with local security forces, boosting development aid and allowing more legal migration. Bernardino Leon, Spains deputy foreign minister at the time, says that countries do not want to do Europeans work for them: You need to help them sell something to their people." The new migration pact will require an extraordinary number of institutions to work together. National governments need co-ordinated approaches to migration involving interior, foreign, labour, social-security, overseas-development and other ministries. The EUs 27 governments must get along as best they can. And countries of origin and transit need to be brought on board. Europe finally has something resembling a collective migration system. Now it has to make it work. 2024, The Economist Newspaper Ltd. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Whatever happened to polar bears? They used to be all climate campaigners could talk about, but now theyre essentially absent from headlines. Over the past 20 years, climate activists have elevated various stories of climate catastrophe, then quietly dropped them without apology when the opposing evidence becomes overwhelming. The only constant is the scare tactics. Protesters used to dress up as polar bears. Al Gores 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth," depicted a sad cartoon polar bear floating away to its death. The Washington Post warned in 2004 that the species could face extinction, and the World Wildlife Funds chief scientist claimed some polar bear populations would be unable to reproduce by 2012. Then in the 2010s, campaigners stopped talking about them. After years of misrepresentation, it finally became impossible to ignore the mountain of evidence showing that the global polar-bear population has increased substantially. Whatever negative effect climate change had was swamped by the reduction in hunting of polar bears. The population has risen from around 12,000 in the 1960s to about 26,000. The same thing has happened with activists outcry about Australias Great Barrier Reef. For years, they shouted that the reef was being killed off by rising sea temperatures. After a hurricane extensively damaged the reef in 2009, official Australian estimates of the percent of reef covered in coral reached a record low in 2012. The media overflowed with stories about the great reef catastrophe, and scientists predicted the coral cover would be reduced by another half by 2022. The Guardian even published an obituary in 2014. The latest official statistics show a completely different picture. For the past three years the Great Barrier Reef has had more coral cover than at any point since records began in 1986, with 2024 setting a new record. This good news gets a fraction of the coverage that the panicked predictions did. More recently, green campaigners were warning that small Pacific islands would drown as sea levels rose. In 2019 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres flew all the way to Tuvalu, in the South Pacific, for a Time magazine cover shot. Wearing a suit, he stood up to his thighs in the water behind the headline Our Sinking Planet." The accompanying article warned the islandand others like itwould be struck off the map entirely" by rising sea levels. About a month ago, the New York Times finally shared what it called surprising" climate news: Almost all atoll islands are stable or increasing in size. In fact, scientific literature has documented this for more than a decade. While rising sea levels do erode land, additional sand from old coral is washed up on low-lying shores. Extensive studies have long shown this accretion is stronger than climate-caused erosion, meaning the land area of Tuvalu and many other small islands is increasing. Today, killer heat waves are the new climate horror story. In July President Biden claimed extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States." He is wrong by a factor of 25. While extreme heat kills nearly 6,000 Americans each year, cold kills 152,000, of which 12,000 die from extreme cold. Even including deaths from moderate heat, the toll comes to less than 10,000. Despite rising temperatures, age-standardized extreme-heat deaths have actually declined in the U.S. by almost 10% a decade and globally by even more, largely because the world is growing more prosperous. That allows more people to afford air-conditioners and other technology that protects them from the heat. The petrified tone of heat-wave coverage twists policy illogically. Whether from heat or cold, the most sensible way to save people from temperature-related deaths would be to ensure access to cheap, reliable electricity. That way, it wouldnt be only the rich who could afford to keep safe from blistering or frigid weather. Unfortunately, much of climate policy makes affordable energy all the harder to obtain. Activists do the world a massive disservice by refusing to acknowledge facts that challenge their intensely doom-ridden worldview. There is ample evidence that man-made emissions cause changes in climate, and climate economics generally finds that the costs of these effects outweigh the benefits. But the net result is nowhere near catastrophic. The costs of all the extreme policies campaigners push for are much worse. All told, politicians across the world are now spending more than $2 trillion annuallyfar more than the estimated cost from climate change that these policies prevent each year. Scare tactics leave everyoneespecially young peopledistressed and despondent. Fear leads to poor policy choices that further frustrate the public. And the ever-changing narrative of disasters erodes public trust. Telling half-truths while piously pretending to follow the science" benefits activists with their fundraising, generates clicks for media outlets, and helps climate-concerned politicians rally their bases. But it leaves all of us poorly informed and worse off. Mr. Lomborg is president of the Copenhagen Consensus, a visiting fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and author of Best Things First: The 12 Most Efficient Solutions for the Worlds Poorest and our Global SDG Promises." Delhi Rains: Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Manickam Tagore has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha suggesting to form a specialised committee, comprising all party lawmakers, to inspect the Parliament building thoroughly following water leaks inside the lobby on July 31 due to heavy rains. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, which was just a year after completion, said Tagore, sharing a video of water inside the Parliament lobby in the new building. Tagore, who represents Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, is also Congress party's whip in Lok Sabha. The committee will focus on the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials, and recommend necessary repairs. Additionally, it should establish a maintenance protocol and ensure transparency by publically sharing their findings, Tagore said in the adjournment notice moved in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the new Parliament building on May 28, 2023. The four-storey building, built at an estimated cost of 970 crore, held its first special sitting on September 19, 2023. It faces the British-era old Parliament building, which is being conserved as a heritage asset. Also Read | Manickam Tagore gives adjournment notice to discuss NEET-UG 2024 row in LS Heavy rainfall in the national capital on Wednesday evening leading to waterlogging across many parts of the Delhi-NCR area, including the area around Parliament. This disrupted traffic on several roads. Overflowing stormwater drains were observed in various locations, with water spilling onto the streets. Schools Shut in Delhi The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted more showers in Delhi and Kerala for Thursday, August 1 and issued an orange alert warning in the national capital. Aam Aadmi Party Member of Parliament (MP) Raghav Chadha has demanded that the minimum age for contesting elections in India be reduced from the current 25 to 21 years. This, Chadha said, will help increase youth participation in Indian politics. India is one of the youngest countries in the world. 65 per cent of our population is less than 35 years old and 50 per cent of our population is less than 25 years old, Chadha said, speaking in Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament on August 1. When the first Lok Sabha was elected after Independence, Chadha said, 26 per cent of members were less than 40 years old. In the 17th Lok Sabha (the last Lok Sabha), only 12 per cent of members were less than 40 years old. We are a young country with old politicians, we must aspire to become a young country with young politicians, Chadha said. At present, the minimum age for a person to contest Lok Sabha and Assembly polls is 25 years, while one can become a member of the Rajya Sabha or the State Legislative Council only at 30 years of age. This is happening, Chadha said, because politics is still considered a bad profession in India. When a kid grows up, parents say to be a doctor, engineer, scientist, sportsperson, and chartered accountant. Nobody wants his kids to become leaders and join politics. I think we need to incentivise youth to attract them to join mainstream politics in India, Chadha said. "I have a suggestion for the government of India: the minimum age for contesting elections should be reduced from 25 to 21 years," he said. Chadha is not the first to raise the demand of reducing the minimum age of contesting elections in India. Last year, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended reducing the age for contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to 18 years the minimum age for voting in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is slated to appoint the party's new national president as JP Nadda's term came to an end. JP Nada has been appointed as the Health and Family Welfare Minister as well as the Chemical and Fertilizer Minister in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. Reports now indicate that the party is close to finalising the name of its new president. Highly placed sources within the party have informed the Free Press Journal that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to be appointed as the national party president. As per the FPJ report, the deputy CM may resign as deputy CM in the coming weeks and move to Delhi to take over his new role. There are also questions about who will lead the BJP in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections that will be held this year. Although it was initially thought that Fadnavis would stay in Maharashtra until after the elections before relocating, recent developments suggest he might move to Delhi sooner, the FPJ report stated. The report also added that if Fadnavis moves to Delhi before the assembly polls then Vinod Tawde, the General Secretary, could be a potential candidate to lead the BJP in the polls, however, this has not been officially confirmed by BJP sources. Earlier on 28 July, Devendra Fadnavis along with his wife and daughter met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. After their meeting, the deputy CM also took to X and wrote, Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blessings have always been and will always be with Maharashtra. Every time I meet him, I get a new energy and his guidance. Today I got the opportunity to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi with my family. My wife Amrita and daughter Divya were with me. I am very grateful to Hon'ble Prime Minister for giving me his valuable time! Coming back to BJP President news, on July 14, PTI reported that the party is planning to appoint a new national president by December 2024 for which the election process would begin on August 1. Before the election, PTI stated that the party were to conduct an extensive membership drive and work on strengthening its district and state units. It had said, the election process for state presidents will commence on December 1. Once the elections in 50 per cent of the states are completed, the official process to elect the national president will begin. Meanwhile, the tenure of BJP National President, JP Nadda, came to an end. His term was earlier extended until June 2024. New Delhi: The ministry of consumer affairs has decided to extend the last date for submission of comments on the proposed new draft rules for breath analyzers, commonly known as breathalyzers. Originally set for 26 July, the new deadline is now 16 August, as stated in a government order. The consumer affairs ministry had notified new draft rules on 27 June. As per the new draft rules, these analyzers must follow standardized testing procedures, ensuring consistent and reliable results across different devices. The standardization is aimed at enhancing public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of enforcement actions. Breath analyzers are used in various fields, including law enforcement, where they measure blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in drivers to enforce drunk driving laws and detect drugs and other substances," the government notification said. Also Read: DGCA revises breath analyser test norms for pilots, crew members; bans using mouthwash Breathalyzers measure breath alcohol content with the driver having to breathe into it. This is significant given that cases of drunken driving are on the rise, leading to an increase in road fatalities. According to data from the ministry of road transport and highways, cases of drunken driving increased from 9,150 in 2021 to 10,080 in 2022. This rise contributed to an increase in road fatalities from 3,314 in 2021 to 4,201 in 2022. Breathalyzers need to be verified and stamped according to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, to ensure their accuracy, it said. Also Read: Air India terminates pilot for flying under alcohol influence, says report This verification will protect individuals from wrongful penalties due to faulty equipment and help maintain the integrity of legal and workplace policies. Breathalyzers are also used for air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance engineers, and in railways. Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) increased the mandatory breathalyzer test coverage for its staff from 10% to 25%. This expanded coverage will apply to air traffic controllers, ground staff, aircraft maintenance engineers, and ground handling services personnel. Medical diagnostics In medical diagnostics, breathalyzers can help diagnose conditions like diabetes by detecting acetone, as well as Helicobacter pylori infections. "Providing the public with stamped and verified Evidential Breath Analyzers can increase awareness of alcohol's effects on impairment and the legal limits for safely operating vehicles and machinery. This initiative promotes responsible behaviour and informed decision-making," the notification said. Consumer advocacy groups have welcomed this move, emphasizing the importance of public participation in the rule-making process. They argue that the standardized procedures and increased accuracy of breath analyzers will not only enhance public safety but also build trust in enforcement mechanisms. The extension of the deadline for comments is seen as a positive step, allowing more stakeholders to provide input on the proposed rules," said Ashim Sanyal, CEO of Consumer Voice. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, August 1, urged the Central government to roll-back Goods and Services Tax (GST) from life insurance and medical insurance premiums. Mamata Banerjee said GST on insurance premiums affects people's ability to take care of their basic needs. In a post on X, Mamata Banerjee said, Our demand to Government of India is to roll back GST from life insurance and medical insurance premium on grounds of people's health imperatives. This GST is bad because it adversely affects the people's ability to take care of their basic vital needs. The West Bengal chief minister also threatened to protest if the government does not withdraw the anti-people GST. If Government of India does not roll back the anti-people GST, we will be bound to hit the road, CM Mamata Banerjee said. Earlier, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, in his letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, raised concerns of the Nagpur Division Life Insurance Corporation Employees Union, which had submitted to him a memorandum regarding the issues of the insurance industry. Nitin Gadkari's move was lauded by the Opposition parties. Referring to it, Nitin Gadkari said, Levying GST on life insurance premiums amounts to levying tax on the uncertainties of life. The Union feels that the person who covers the risk of life's uncertainties to give protection to the family should not be levied tax on the premiums to purchase cover against this risk. Lauding the move, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, I am very happy that Cabinet Minister Mr Gadkari has endorsed my demand that I made yesterday on the floor of the House to remove the 18 per cent GST levied on Health and Life Insurance premium. Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Kumar Rai, while backing the demand, said the minister, despite being a senior minister in the government, had to write to the finance minister over the issue, which is an indication of the "autocratic" attitude of the government. "GST on insurance premium should be abolished. This has been our demand since long. We support Nitin Gadkari ji's demand," he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai said, It is a good suggestion. When I spoke on the budget, I had also raised the issue that life insurance and medi-claims are an important requirement for the middle class and especially for the retired people. It is not about comfort or luxury. It is a necessity. Healthcare is anyhow outside the reach of the middle class. Even when Nirmala ji replied, I had asked her about this, but she did not comment on it. I am hoping she will pay attention to the issue, he said. On coming to power Jim Hacker, the protagonist of Yes, Prime Minister", a British comedy series, asks about the hotline to the Kremlin. It works only theoretically", he is told; once they reached a switchboard operator who didnt seem to speak much English". Whats more, using it tends to create unnecessary panic at the other end". The farce springs to mind for those who, these days, urgently try to speak to China about security frictions in Asia, from its grey-zone" bullying of neighbours over disputed islands and shoals to its wargames around Taiwan. The Philippines has a hotline to Chinas foreign ministry. But when it calls to discuss Chinas water-blasting of its coastguard ships, the Chinese either do not answer, or say the hotline is not for complaints", or accuse the Filipinos of causing trouble. Japans defence-ministry hotline has not stopped intensified Chinese probing of contested waters. America, especially, wants military-to-military (mil-mil") communications with China, akin to those of the cold war with the Soviet Union. At a time of deep geopolitical rivalry, with the air and seas in Asia abuzz with military forces, America says open lines of communication would help prevent incidents from sliding into war. China, though, regards military contacts not as prudence but as a favour: granted in times of goodwill and withheld in periods of displeasure. Mil-mil contacts were halted after a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of Americas House of Representatives, in 2022. Chinese jets and warships harassed American ones with risky moves. Now tensions have eased a bit following a summit in San Francisco last November between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the American and Chinese presidents. Unsafe encounters are much reduced. Mil-mil meetings are resuming. That will be a relief for Asias defence bigwigs at this weeks Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual talkfest in Singapore. They dont want to be caught in a war between China, their main economic partner, and America, the security guarantor for many. Last year Lloyd Austin, Americas defence secretary, could merely shake hands with his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, over dinner. Little matter; General Li was soon purged. This time Mr Austin is set for a full bilateral with the new man, Admiral Dong Jun. They spoke over video in April. Similarly, Americas chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has had a video call with his opposite number. The Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, a forum on safety at sea, has also resumed. Nevertheless, any military contact will be halting. For one thing, notes Rush Doshi, until recently a White House official, worsening relations between the mainland and Taiwan could strain mil-mil contacts when they matter most. China recently held two days of punishment" military exercises, encircling the island, after the inauguration of Taiwans new president, Lai Ching-te. Moreover, the main warfightersthe heads of Americas Indo-Pacific Command and of Chinas eastern and southern theatreshave yet to talk. And in Chinas hierarchical system, notes Mr Doshi, many of Chinas brass will shrink from contact with Americans, fearing it can only bring trouble". Pentagon officials assume that the Chinese will go dark" in the early phase of any crisis. Nevertheless, Americans still think talking is better than not talking; nuances in formulaic Chinese remarks can still yield insights. For a sense of the dangers, consider the back and forth between American forces and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) as Robin Hsu, a military enthusiast, does from a hilltop in southern Taiwan. Overlooking the vital Bashi Channel, his radio comes alive with a stentorian warning from the PLA to an American jetprobably a Rivet Joint" surveillance plane nearby: You have entered airspace over Chinas contiguous zone." Back comes a drawl: Relaaaaaax! Im in international airspace." Minutes later, another warning: This is Chinese naval warship. You are approaching me. What is your intention?" Plainly, relations are far from relaxed. Indeed, China uses such risk to warn America: if you dont want a mishap, pull back. America, by contrast, learned during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 that risk must be mitigated because superpower confrontations can escalate to nuclear war. All of which prompts some at the Pentagon to ask: does another Cuban missile crisis have to happen before China comes to its senses? 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Avenix Fzco, a leading fintech company based in Dubai, UAE, has unveiled its latest innovation in the forex trading world - Fexobot. This advanced forex robot is designed to revolutionize gold trading on the MetaTrader 4 platform, specifically tailored for the H4 timeframe. Developed and fine-tuned over an extensive period from 2016 to the present day, Fexobot aims to deliver exceptional results across various market conditions. Technical Specifications of Fexobot 1. Intelligent Trend Identification When it comes to predicting where the gold market is headed, Fexobot uses a complex suite of indicators. Among these indicators are Fractals, Moving Averages, and Momentum. Traders have the ability to fine-tune their trading strategy by customizing parameters such as MA Period, Shift, Distance, Mode, and Price. They can also customize Momentum Period, Price, and Level, and Fractal Candles. 2. Dynamic Support and Resistance Levels In real time, the forex robot pinpoints key market support and resistance levels. Traders can rest assured that their BUY STOP or SELL STOP orders will be strategically placed and executed promptly whenever market conditions are favorable. 3. Smart Position Management Fexobot shows off its smart position management skills. The forex robot will automatically add more deals in the direction of the trend when a trade is triggered and the market shows signs of potentially moving in the trader's favor. Maximizing profit potential while minimizing risk is the goal of this approach. 4. Advanced Risk Management To protect the trader's account from harmful market movements, Fexobot includes Stop Loss and Take Profit levels in every trade it executes. Among the risk management features offered by the forex robot are the following: the ability to close opposite positions upon the occurrence of a new signal, the utilization of BreakEven and Trailing Stop functions, and Stop Loss that is based on indicators. 5. A Way to Trade Securely Fexobot does not use the risky Martingale or Grid strategies. As an alternative, it is based on tried-and-true trading principles that have a track record of success in the H4 timeframe. 6. Flexible Financial Management Depending on the user's trading style and comfort level with risk, Fexobot's Expert Advisor (EA) can be fine-tuned. Lot sizes and types are just two of the many settings that traders can tweak to suit their own trading needs. Comprehensive Trading Interface Fexobot provides users with a user-friendly interface featuring multiple tabs to enhance the trading experience: 1. Optimization Results and Graph: Allows traders to analyze and visualize optimization outcomes. 2. Standard Graph: Provides a clear view of market movements and trade positions. 3. Results and Report: Offers detailed trade statistics and performance metrics. 4. Settings: Enables customization of various trading parameters. 5. Journal: Keeps a log of trading activities for review and analysis. High-Quality Data and Support Fexobot uses tick data from Thinkberry SRL's Tick Data Suite, which is 100% accurate and reliable. The EA is able to make well-informed trading decisions in response to accurate market fluctuations due to this extensive dataset. Anyone, from seasoned pros to complete novices, may take advantage of Fexobot's round-the-clock help and enjoy a positive trading experience in the forex market. Fexobot Trading Community Avenix Fzco has created a vibrant trading community around Fexobot, offering users the opportunity to connect with like-minded traders. Members can share insights, strategies, and market analysis, collaborating to maximize their trading potential. The community hub provides access to exclusive resources, educational materials, and market insights tailored specifically for Fexobot users. About Avenix Fzco Avenix Fzco is a prominent fintech company headquartered in Dubai, UAE, specializing in developing advanced trading software for forex traders. The company has established itself as an innovator in the field, producing forex robots aimed at transforming trading practices. With the release of Fexobot, Avenix Fzco continues its mission to empower traders with cutting-edge tools designed to enhance accuracy and confidence in navigating the forex market. To learn more about Fexobot and explore its capabilities, interested traders are encouraged to visit the official Fexobot website. The manufacturing sector in India is emerging as a cornerstone of economic growth, bolstered by the government's Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. These efforts promise substantial benefits for investors, highlighting the sector's growing importance and potential. This sector's growth potential is closely tied to its ability to inspire confidence among consumers and investors alike, with a strong customer-first approach driving its success. Recent developments highlight a strong trend in the manufacturing sector, marked by significant investor confidence. A newly launched manufacturing fund by a Mutual Funds company has seen remarkable success, attracting substantial investments. This success reflects the robust potential of the sector and the trust it garners from investors, making it an appealing option for long-term wealth creation. In response to growing confidence and rising demand among customers, PNB MetLife has introduced its new fund the PNB MetLife Bharat Manufacturing Fund. This fund provides an opportunity for customers to participate in the growth of the manufacturing sector and create long-term wealth. It is an actively managed equity fund that allows the fund manager to leverage their experience and analyse macro-level trends to outperform a benchmark or index returns. The fund is available through PNB MetLife Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) that offers triple benefits: Life cover to secure your family's future and big dreams Long-term wealth creation opportunity Tax-free returns PNB MetLife is known for high investment repute and strong performance, exemplified by the performance of PNB MetLife equity funds which have consistently beaten the benchmark returns in the past. 99% of their equity funds are rated 4 or 5 star by Morning Star, a reputed global rating agency. Indias manufacturing sector holds strong potential which can be seen from the impressive growth of the NIFTY India Manufacturing Index, delivering returns of 25.31% compared to the NIFTY 50's 15.29% over the past five years (as of 30th June). Even the recent budget allocations have further supported growth, with investments in infrastructure, ease of doing business, and policy reforms driving expansion. Manufacturing Sector is an enabler for Indias $30 trillion economy (H2) Economic Growth Driver: As per a conservative estimate, the Finance Minister stated that India will be at least a $30 trillion economy by 2047. India's manufacturing sector holds significant potential for growth, with projections indicating an 18-fold increase over the next 24 years. Despite the sector's current contribution of approximately 13% to India's GDP in 2022, it remains underdeveloped compared to other Asian economies. For instance, manufacturing accounts for 18.67% of Indonesia's GDP and 23.88% of Vietnam's GDP. This disparity underscores the opportunity for substantial expansion in India's manufacturing sector, which could significantly enhance its contribution to the country's GDP and overall economic growth. Sector-Specific Growth: McKinsey projects that eleven key sectors could contribute to an incremental ~80% increase in gross value added, including chemicals, basic materials, capital goods, automotive, and pharmaceuticals. These sectors make up about 90% of the Nifty Manufacturing Index, underscoring their importance in driving industrial growth. Additionally, a report from another leading global management consulting firm -Bain estimates that India's exports could reach a trillion dollars by 2028, reflecting the sector's high growth potential. Economic Stability and Labor Advantage: India's macroeconomic stability, coupled with a large pool of skilled and semi-skilled labour, positions it uniquely among developing economies. The country's significant domestic consumption base offers a captive market for producers. Infrastructure Development: The government is committed to maintaining strong fiscal support for infrastructure development over the next five years, with an allocation of approximately 11 lakh crore. This investment aims to enhance infrastructure, including roads, railways, and airways, which are crucial for supporting the manufacturing sector. Notable achievements such as the expansion of the National Highway network, extensive electrification of railways, and the increase in operational airports are key drivers of this growth. Import Substitution and Global Realignments: Government Initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes aim to increase domestic value addition and reduce dependence on imports. The shift in global supply chains, including the notable example of Apple's increased production in India, highlights India's growing role in global manufacturing. Budget Boost to Manufacturing: The recent budget has further invigorated the manufacturing sector through initiatives such as the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, which improves access to finance, and mandatory onboarding in TReDS. The establishment of twelve new industrial parks, rental housing for industrial workers, and the Critical Minerals Mission will also drive growth. Strengthening tribunals to expedite insolvency resolution will enhance the business environment and competitiveness. Investment Opportunity (H2) PNB MetLife's Bharat Manufacturing Fund is positioned to capitalize on these growth drivers and is one of the best NFOs to invest in 2024. Available through PNB MetLifes ULIP plans like PNB MetLife Goal Ensuring Multiplier, PNB MetLife Wealth Plan and PNB MetLife Platinum Plus, it encourages disciplined savings and long-term wealth creation. Investors can participate in Indias vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) by 2047. The fund is available at a special 10 NAV from 1st to 15th August 2024, aligning with Indias growth story and aspirations. In conclusion, India's manufacturing sector presents a compelling investment opportunity, supported by robust economic fundamentals, policy support, and significant growth potential. The Bharat Manufacturing Fund offers a unique chance for investors to benefit from this promising landscape, ensuring long-term wealth creation and financial security. OLA Electric is one of the prominent players in the electric vehicle (EV) market. With its upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO), the company aims to expand its operations, enhance its product line, and solidify its position in the competitive EV landscape. This article explains the details of OLA Electric, its financials, the specifics of its IPO, and how as a potential investor you can participate through HDFC Sky. About OLA Electric OLA Electric, founded in 2017, is the EV arm of ANI Technologies, the parent company of OLA Cabs. The company's mission is to ensure that clean mobility solutions are accessible and affordable to the masses. OLA Electric has seen significant growth over the past few years. In the fiscal year 2023-2024, the company reported revenue of 5243.27 crore, marking a substantial increase from the previous year's 2,782.70 crore. This growth is attributed to the robust sales of its electric scooters and the expansion of its charging infrastructure across India. Financial Information on OLA Electric Heres the restated consolidated data on the companys assets, net worth and profits in Crores: Period Ending 31 Mar 2024 31 Mar 2023 31 Mar 2022 31 Mar 2021 Assets (Total Equity & Liability) 7,735.41 5,573.17 5,395.86 2,112.64 Total Income (Revenue from Operations & Other Income) 5,243.27 2,782.70 456.26 106.08 Net Worth (Total Equity) 2,019.34 2,356.44 3,661.45 1,970.62 Profit After Tax -1,584.40 -1,472.08 -784.15 -199.23 Market Position and Products OLA Electric's flagship product, the OLA S1 scooter, has been a significant contributor to its revenue. The company has also been focusing on developing a robust network of charging stations to support its growing customer base. By the end of 2023, OLA Electric aims to have over 10,000 charging points across India, ensuring convenient access for EV users. Details of the OLA Electric IPO The OLA Electric IPO aims to raise approximately 6,000 Crore, which will be utilised for various purposes, including expanding manufacturing capabilities, enhancing research and development, and strengthening the company's charging infrastructure. Key Highlights of the IPO IPO Size: Aggregating up to 6,145.56 Crore IPO Date: 2nd August 2024 to 6th August 2024. Face Value: 10 per share. Offer for Sale (OFS): 84,941,997 shares of 10 (aggregating up to 645.56 Crore.) Fresh Issue: Aggregating up to 5,500.00 Crore Price Band: The price band for the IPO is expected to be in the range of 72- 76 per share. Lot Size: Investors can bid for a minimum of 195 shares and in multiples thereof. Listing: The shares will be listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). How to Invest in the OLA Electric IPO Through HDFC Sky At HDFC Sky, your convenience and security are our top priorities. Our One-Click IPO feature makes investing in IPOs simple and hassle-free. Here is how you can invest: Open an HDFC Sky Account: Sign up quickly and easily online and log in to HDFC Sky. Apply for the IPO: Find the OLA Electric IPO, and select it. Place Your Bid: Enter the desired shares and price, or choose the cut-off price. Invest with One Click: Use your UPI ID to block the funds. Confirm and Submit: Review and submit your application; funds will be blocked. If allotted, shares will be credited to your Demat account and listed on BSE and NSE for trading. Book Your OLA Electric IPO Through HDFC Sky The OLA Electric IPO presents an investment opportunity in the growing EV sector. With its innovative products, strong market presence, and ambitious expansion plans, OLA Electric is well-positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for sustainable transportation solutions. By investing through HDFC Sky, you can seamlessly participate in this exciting IPO and potentially benefit from the future growth of OLA Electric. WASHINGTON, D.C. The killing Wednesday of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will likely derail urgent U.S.-led talks to stop the fighting in Gaza and open the door to a potentially ferocious response from Iran. In a strike widely blamed on Israel, Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike while in Tehran for the inauguration of the Iranian president. Israel has not claimed responsibility, but few entities have the military capability to pull off what was apparently a precisely targeted lethal attack. The timing of the assassination frustrated the Biden administration, which has invested enormous capital in cease-fire talks to bring at least a temporary end to the nearly 10-month-old Gaza war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington just last week. Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately hammered him on the vital importance of agreeing to a cease-fire. For months, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been engaged in tense and arduous negotiations with Israel and Hamas on a deal that would stop fighting and release Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. The hostages were captured in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and triggered the current conflict. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israels brutal subsequent invasion of Gaza, spurring a massive humanitarian crisis as well. Haniyeh, who was based in exile in Qatar and headed the political wing of the militant group, was key in the cease-fire negotiations. He was the Hamas figure who would sit with Qatari negotiators to receive the latest proposals and counter-proposals from Israel, then relay them to the ultimate decision-maker Yahya Sinwar, head of the Hamas military wing and believed to be in hiding in deep tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip. Then Haniyeh would relay Sinwars response back to negotiators. Both the Israeli side and Hamas have repeatedly put obstacles to impede a final agreement, negotiators say. U.S. officials Wednesday were urgently trying to prevent talks from breaking down altogether now. Though a short-term suspension seems all but certain, U.S. officials said they believe talks will eventually resume, especially because there are other lower-level leaders in Hamas who want a cease-fire despite Sinwars resistance. A company who intends to develop a waste plastics to hydrogen plant on the site of the old Atlantic Mills factory have received 300,000 under the EU Just Transition Fund programme. Alister Future Technologies, a subsidiary of Hydrogen Utopia International, received the allocation to develop a waste plastic disposal facility. In 2022 Hydrogen Utopia International PLC announced an intention to entered into an agreement with Fisherstown Property Holdings Limited in relation to the proposed lease of a 2.5 acre greenfield site in the 78-acre Logeco Logistics & Energy Park at Fisherstown, Clondra, Longford. A statement to the Leader at that time by Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) about their plans said: The Longford site has its own electrical grid connection and an electrical substation and the potential for HUI to utilise the existing wastewater treatment facilities on site, which previously serviced a very large denim manufacturing business. Fisherstown Property Holdings (FPH) also has planning permission to build a solar farm, which could potentially provide power for an HUI facility. In March of this year the company, in conjunction with another London listed firm, announced they reached an agreement to develop a planned multi-million euro waste-to-hydrogen facility in Clondra. The firms said they will take advantage of the EU-backed Just Transition Fund. The fund is intended to help initiatives in the midlands following the closure of peat-fired electricity generating stations and the ending of commercial peat extraction. The hydrogen project will be developed by a company called Eranova Longford, which is owned by Alister Future Technologies, and Powerhouse Energy Group. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, today has announced that 15 sustainability-focused projects in the Midlands will receive grants under the EU Just Transition Fund (EU JTF) programme, co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union. The projects, put forward by voluntary and not-for-profit organisations, as well as micro and small to medium sized enterprises, have been awarded grant funding of between 50,000 and 300,000 to invest in ideas from the community that create employment and diversify the local economy of the Midlands region. The grants will enable projects to develop initiatives such as innovation and community hubs, green energy projects and heritage initiatives. The total amount committed to selected projects from the EU Just Transition Fund is now nearly 54 million, following the recent announcement of projects selected through the EU JTF Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking scheme run by Failte Ireland and the EU JTF Local and Regional Economic Strategy Support Scheme run by Pobal. Commenting on the projects approved for funding under the scheme, Minister Ryan stated: Small-to-medium enterprises and local community organisations are the life blood of a region, creating jobs, helping to diversify the economy and generating ideas and innovation. This funding will empower local organisations to respond to Irelands shift to a low-carbon economy, while providing economic and social benefit at a local level for the individuals most impacted by this transition. Clare Bannon, Acting Director of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), said: EMRA welcomes the announcement of selected projects that have been envisioned and created by the local community in the wider Midlands area. Bringing direct financial support to bottom-up ideas not only drives the innovative capacity of the entire region but also fosters vibrant placemaking that enriches the quality of life for its residents. This is crucial for enabling sustainable and inclusive regional development that leaves no one behind. Pobal CEO, Anna Shakespeare commented: We in Pobal look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Eastern & Midland Regional Assembly on this EU Just Transition Fund scheme to support small organisations to support the decarbonsiation of the Midlands. By investing in these organisations, communities and enterprises will be supported to build skills, generate jobs, enhance livelihoods and diversify the economy. We look forward also to engaging with these Midland communities as they work to contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy. Barbara Nolan, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, said: Local projects are key to ensuring that the EU Green Deal has a real impact on the ground. The Just Transition Fund will support Irelands Midlands to progress towards a more sustainable economy with local communities in the driving seat. The approved projects will deliver significant benefits to the region, including: An innovative series of initiatives to develop the bioeconomy sector; Training and upskilling in sustainable sectors for communities previously reliant on peat production; The preservation, repurposing and refurbishment of local infrastructure and heritage assets for use as enterprise space; Innovation in green technology, including renewable energy and sustainable energy practices; Circular economy initiatives to support sustainable production and consumption of goods and services. Projects have been selected through a competitive process under the EU Just Transition Funds Community and Enterprise Grants Scheme, which is the second call within the broader Local and Regional Economic Strategies Support Scheme. This current announcement of projects builds upon the previous selection of projects announced on 26 April 2024, in which 15 other projects from the midlands received grants totalling 18 million. The scheme was developed through close collaboration between the Department and the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), the Managing Authority for the EU Just Transition Fund, and is being administered through Pobal. It seeks to support the implementation of bottom-up local and regional strategies. Successful projects were required to demonstrate close alignment with locally-led Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) and Local Economic and Community Plans. Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island Published: August 01 2024 New York Attorney General Letitia James has initiated the rulemaking process for new laws aimed at protecting minors on social media platforms and websites, inviting public comments and suggestions over the next 60 days. New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued two advanced notices of proposed rulemaking for the recently signed childrens online safety laws to protect minors on social media platforms and websites. These notices will provide parents, children, advocates, stakeholders, social media companies, and tech industry professionals with the opportunity to submit comments, suggestions, information, and data about the rules that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is charged with creating to protect New York children online. The two laws, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, and advanced by Attorney General James in October 2023, both direct OAG to generate rules to ensure that children are protected against the addictive features of social media platforms, and that websites and mobile apps cannot collect and share childrens personal data. Stakeholders will have 60 days to submit comments and information to OAG, and can also e-mail ProtectNYKidsOnline@ag.ny.gov regarding the SAFE for Kids Act, and ChildDataProtection@ag.ny.gov regarding the Child Data Protection Act. New Yorkers are looking to this office to protect children on social media apps and online, and the rules we are drafting will do precisely that, said Attorney General James. By offering everyone, supporters and opponents of the recently signed legislation, the opportunity to submit comments and information, my office will ensure that we can better address concerns and priorities. I helped draft and advance the SAFE for Kids Act and Child Data Protection Act because our children are enduring a mental health crisis and the government needs to step up and take action. I encourage all New Yorkers to offer comments, information, and priorities over the next 60 days as we kick off the rulemaking process. Major social media companies rely on algorithmic feeds, which are designed to harness personal data to serve users content to keep them on the platform for as long as possible. These algorithmic feeds have increased the addictive nature of social media platforms and heightened the risk to young users wellbeing. Children are also vulnerable to having their location and other personal data tracked, shared, and sold online. This data, which is used without consent and often without knowledge, fuels a multi-billion dollar advertising industry targeted at minors. The mental health crisis impacting children, the tracking and selling of private information, and poor sleep quality concerns due to excessive social media usage all spurred Attorney General James and New York government leaders to take action. To address these concerns, Attorney General James helped draft and advance historic legislation that was introduced in October 2023. The two bills, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Rozic, and signed into law by Governor Hochul, both direct OAG to draft rules that will help ensure social media companies have to secure parental consent to use addictive algorithms on social media feeds for children under 18. Additionally, the new laws direct OAG to issue rules so that children will not have their personal data tracked, collected, and sold by websites or mobile apps. I was proud to sponsor and pass legislation that will serve as a national model for how to protect our children from Big Tech. For these laws to succeed, we need strong rules that safeguard young people's private information and ensure social media companies cant keep forcing toxic content into childrens feeds, said bill sponsor Senator Andrew Gounardes. I applaud Attorney General James for moving quickly and ensuring an open, transparent rulemaking process. I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of this process to share comments and ideas. We need robust public participation for these rules to achieve their vital goals and keep New Yorkers safe. The passage of child online safety legislation earlier this year was a momentous occasion and a clear signal that in New York, we will always put the needs of our children ahead of corporate profits, said bill sponsor Assemblymember Nily Rozic. I was proud to sponsor this legislation and work with my colleagues to have both bills secure resounding support and be signed into law. Now that Attorney General James has started the rulemaking process, we are in position to ensure the lofty goals of these new laws to protect our children on social media and ensure their private information is secure will truly be realized. I commend Attorney General James for her leadership on this issue and thank her for moving swiftly to ensure New York not only has the best legislation to protect kids, but also the strongest and most workable rules to hold tech companies accountable. To truly protect the well-being of New York kids and families, we need to set strong rules and guidelines that limit Big Tech companies' ability to keep kids glued to their devices, said Danny Weiss of Common Sense Media, the lead advocacy organization that helped pass the SAFE for Kids Act and the NY Child Data Protection Act. That's why we are pleased to see Attorney General James move quickly to get the rulemaking process underway, and take extra steps to foster broad participation in this effort. We look forward to submitting our views and priorities, and encourage all New York families, as well as the big tech companies themselves, to take advantage of this open process and contribute their own insights. Thank you, Attorney General James, and everyone who helped ensure these great pieces of legislation were passed into law and can now take effect. The advanced notices of proposed rulemaking announced by Attorney General James, while not required, are an opportunity for all involved stakeholders to provide comments, information, and useful data that will help guide the rulemaking process and results. Over the next 60 days, anyone will be able to visit the OAG website, and e-mail ProtectNYKidsOnline@ag.ny.gov regarding the SAFE for Kids Act, and ChildDataProtection@ag.ny.gov regarding the Child Data Protection Act, to review questions, provide answers, and offer input on how to generate rules that will safeguard children while also standing up to judicial scrutiny. When the 60-day advanced notice of proposed rulemaking process concludes, OAG will begin the formal process that every state agency must follow before rules can become effective, including submitting the proposed rules for publication in the State Register. The public will then have at least 60 days from the date of publication to provide comments. Before the rules can become final, OAG must provide an assessment of the public comments received about the rules. Attorney General James would like to thank the brave children, young adults, and parents who shared their personal experiences and helped demonstrate the need for the SAFE for Kids Act and the Child Data Protection Act. Attorney General James also thanks the advocacy groups who worked tirelessly to support the passage of these bills, including Common Sense Media, Mothers Against Media Addiction, and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This action is part of Attorney General James ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers online and address concerns with social media companies. In March 2024, Attorney General James led a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in urging Meta to address the rise of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers and frauds. In October 2023, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Meta for harming young peoples mental health and contributing to the youth mental health crisis. In July 2023, she led a multistate coalition of attorneys general to defend the federal governments ability to communicate with social media companies about dangerous online content. In April 2023, Attorney General James released a comprehensive guide to help businesses adopt effective data security measures to better protect New Yorkers personal information. Attorney General James also joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general urging Facebook to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13. In October 2022, Attorney General James investigated and released a report on the role online platforms played in the Buffalo mass shooting. Stolen Honda Accord Recovered in Queens Village: Suffolk Police Seek Publics Help to Nab Suspect Local News, Crime By Long Island Published: August 01 2024 Suffolk County Police are seeking public assistance to identify a suspect involved in the theft of a black Honda Accord from Melville, which was recovered in Queens Village on July 26. Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are seeking the publics help to identify and locate the man who was in possession of a stolen vehicle from a Melville home in July. A black Honda Accord was stolen from a Court North Drive home during the overnight hours of July 8 into July 9. The vehicle was located in Queens Village on July 26 at approximately 4:00 a.m. Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at Local News By Chris Boyle Published: August 01 2024 East Hampton, NY - August 10, 2024. On Saturday, August 10, 2024, the East Hampton Library will present its 20th Annual Authors Night fundraiser. One of the most popular and celebrity-studded events of the Hamptons summer calendar, Authors Night features 100 authors across all genres. The Premier Literary Event of the Hamptons has grown over its history to become one of the most successful celebrations of books and authors in America, and one of the largest library-author events of its kind in the country. As we mark the 20th anniversary of Authors Night, were thrilled to present the event once again in the heart of East Hampton Village, said Dennis Fabiszak, East Hampton Library Director. The funds raised at Authors Night enable the East Hampton Library to provide our diverse community with essential programming and services throughout the year all free of charge. EVENT LOCATION: Authors Night will be held under a grand tent on the Herrick Park field at 67 Newtown Lane in East Hampton Village, NY. Please note: The event is NOT held at the Library. EVENT ITINERARY: The evening begins at 5 pm with the Authors Reception under a grand tent, where guests enjoy delicious hors doeuvres and wine, meet and mingle with the authors, buy their books, and have them personally inscribed. At 8 pm, directly following the Authors Reception, guests dine at dinner parties at private area homes in honor of one or more of the guest authors. TICKETS: Tickets are $150 for the Authors Reception only, and begin at $500 for the dinners (includes entry to book signing reception). Tickets will go on sale in late spring, online at authorsnight.org, at the Library (159 Main St., East Hampton, NY), and by phone at (631) 324-0222. BENEFICIARY: Proceeds from this special event benefit the East Hampton Library, a not-for-profit organization providing outstanding free library services to the East Hampton community since 1897. MORE INFO: For complete event details, visit the Authors Night website: authorsnight.org. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: August 01 2024 Trio Announces Release of Public Safety Announcements Concerning Drunk & Drugged Driving, Leaving the Scene of a Crash, and the Consequences of Arrests for those Crimes. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney, New York State Senator Dean Murray, and Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. released public safety announcements to remind the public of the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, the importance of staying at the scene of a crash, and the legal and financial ramifications of a criminal arrest. We are more than half-way through this years 100 Deadliest Days of Driving. In Suffolk County alone, there have been at least twenty fatalities since Memorial Day weekend, many of which were caused by drunk or drugged drivers. That is almost three lives lost per week, many of which were completely preventable, and despite the prevalence and convenience of ride-shares. These are not crimes that are confined to Long Island. Drunk and drugged drivers threaten the lives of random and innocent roadway users of every age, gender, ethnicity and economic status every single day throughout New York State, said District Attorney Tierney. Senator Murray, Sheriff Toulon, and I continue to fight for the safety of all New Yorkers. We urge everyone to remember that any amount of alcohol or drugs in your system is too much when it comes to driving. The legislators up in Albany must pass the Deadly Driving Bill to save countless lives and make our roadways safer across New York State. When New York State rushed through legislation to legalize marijuana, it was done so in a way that left many questions unanswered. Who can legally sell it? Who can legally buy it, use it or consume it, said Senator Murray. Some of the biggest questions surround the use of marijuana while operating a motor vehicle. There is definitely a need to educate the public and Im thrilled to team with Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and Suffolk County Sheriff Dr. Errol Toulon, Jr., to put these PSAs out to the public to help with that education process. I also want to thank JVC Broadcasting, Inc.s President & CEO, John Caracciolo, for his willingness to immediately get these PSAs up and running on his multiple Long Island radio stations. Everyone working together can truly make a difference. Drunk and drugged driving continues to claim innocent lives on our roads, said Sheriff Toulon. Partnering with District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney and New York State Senator Dean Murray, we are committed to raising awareness and pushing for legislative changes to make our roadways safer. Remember, one decision to use a ride-share can prevent a tragedy and save lives. All of us at JVC Broadcasting are committed to work with our elected officials to get this important message out, said JVC Broadcasting, Inc. President and CEO, John Caracciolo. We were happy to donate the airtime to make it possible. In January 2024, District Attorney Tierney rallied with a bipartisan group of local and state officials, district attorneys, traffic safety advocates, and families and friends of those affected by drunk and drugged driving, and called on lawmakers to pass a bill that would close the loopholes in the drugged driving law. Senate Bill S.3135 and Assembly Bill A.174, also known as the Deadly Driving Bill, closes the loopholes. Current New York State law does not allow an individual to be arrested and prosecuted for operating a vehicle while drugged, unless the officer can pinpoint the drug that driver is impaired by, and that drug must be listed Section 3306 of the Public Health Law. Town of Huntington Prepares for Heat Wave - Spray Parks Now Free to Residents Local News By Chris Boyle Published: July 31 2024 Cooling Centers Opening, Beach/Pool/Spray Park Hours Extended. As a community service and in light of the warmer than average summer, the Town of Huntington will now be allowing Huntington residents to use the Manor Field Park and Elwood Spray Parks free of charge throughout the remainder of the summer. Proof of residency is required. Elwood and Manor Field Spray Parks will be open from 11 AM - 8PM during the heat wave. (Spray Parks are open at 10:00 AM for Children with Special Needs). For some of our residents, staying cool during these frequent summer heat waves can be a challenge, said Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth. Offering the spray parks to our residents with children is the best kind of community service - convenient, safe, fun and now, free. Spray Park hours will return to 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Monday, August 5th. In anticipation of the forecasted heat wave, the Town of Huntington will also put the following services and schedules in place: Cooling centers: The Dix Hills Ice Rink will be open from 12 PM- 8 PM The Town of Huntington Flanagan Senior Center will be open until 4 PM - Thursday and Friday Only! Beaches: Crab Meadow, West Neck, Hobart, and Centerport Beaches will be open with stationed lifeguards until 8 PM. Beach Permits required. Residents can visit www.tohbeachpermit.com to obtain a virtual beach permit. Dix Hills Pool: The Dix Hills Pool will also be free to residents during the heat wave - (Thursday, August 1 Sunday, August 4). The following community hours will apply: Thursday (8/1): 2:00 PM 8:00 PM Friday (8/2): 12:30 PM 8:00 PM Saturday (8/3) and Sunday (8/4): 11:00 AM 8:00 PM Press/media questions or requests for additional information should contact the Town of Huntington Communications Office at any of the options listed above. One-offs with Town officials or access to Cooling Centers will be available by appointment only. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: August 01 2024 Governor Hochul Announces State Police Now Accepting Entrance Exam Applications. Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Police are now accepting applications for the Trooper Entrance Examination, and testing for candidates will start on August 15, 2024. This recruitment period stems from a $66 million investment by Governor Hochul to fund additional State Police academy classes to increase the number of New York State Troopers dedicated to addressing the States most pressing crime issues, including the trafficking of illegal firearms. Public safety is my top priority, and we will continue to make record investments in law enforcement so that New York State is best prepared to protect New Yorkers, Governor Hochul said. By investing $66 million in additional academy classes, we hope to increase the number of potential New York State Troopers serving our great state. I encourage those interested in a rewarding career to apply now. Candidates can learn about the qualifications to become a New York State Trooper and sign up to take the exam at www.joinstatepolice.ny.gov. Once candidates apply, they can sign up to take the computerized exam at a Pearson VUE testing center at a location and time that is convenient for them. New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, The New York State Police has a reputation and tradition of excellence. A career as a State Trooper is both challenging and rewarding, providing a unique opportunity to positively impact communities across the State. It is more important than ever that we better represent the communities we serve, build better relationships, and increase our diversity to enhance the service we provide New Yorkers. We encourage anyone who is looking for a fulfilling and exciting career to sign up for the exam. The State Police is continuing efforts to increase the diversity of its ranks, which includes outreach to leaders of communities underrepresented in law enforcement. The State Police is proud to participate in the national 30x30 pledge, making a commitment to increase the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30 percent by 2030. Since 2021, the State Police has increased the number of female Troopers by 21.8 percent (680 from 558), Black Troopers by 45.8 percent (296 from 203), and Hispanic Troopers by 54.6 percent (450 from 291). A career with the New York State Police offers significant opportunities for advancement and professional development, with specialized units such as Aviation, Canine, Underwater Recovery Team, Special Operations Response Team and Bureau of Criminal Investigation, just to name a few. Minimum qualifications needed to sign up for the examination: Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen. Age: Candidates must be at least 20 years old and a maximum of 34 years old at the time of application. The maximum age may be extended one year for each year of full-time active military duty up to a maximum of 7 years. Education: A high school diploma or equivalent is required to apply (60 college credits are required at time of appointment, 30 for those who have qualifying military service or police training). For complete information, including details of the revised tattoo policy, go to: https://joinstatepolice.ny.gov/qualifications. Applicants must pay a $20 fee at the time of application, and a $44 fee payable to Pearson VUE when scheduling the exam. Salary & Benefits: Google Lens Google Lens is one of the best features of mobile Chrome on iPhone, and now its coming to Chrome for Mac this week. On Chrome for Android or iPhone, you can tap the camera icon, take a picture of an item, and Google will perform a search based on the photos content. Google Lens on Chrome for Mac has a new camera icon that will appear in the address bar. When a user selects it, the user can click or drag over anything in the current browser tab, and then Google will do a search based on the contents selected. The search can be refined or users can ask follow-up questions, which could result in an AI Overview response. will operate direct to Chiang Mai, Thailand from Manila. Explore the magnificent temples, and experience the vibrant night markets in(exclusive of fees & surcharges)! The courageous movement of the Bangladeshi students continues despite murderous repression by the Sheikh Hasina regime. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested. The curfew continues (though in a milder form) and while communications are being restored, messaging services and social media platforms remain blocked. The government arrested six of the coordinators of the movement and forced them, under duress, to make a press statement saying all further protest actions had been called off. Even under these conditions, however, there were student protests across the country on Monday 29 July, including in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal, etc. These were met with further repression and arrests. Read this statement in Bengali here. As the students have said, the movement is no longer about the quota system, the scrapping of which was its original demand, but rather is now about bringing down the Sheikh Hasina regime, winning justice for those killed, and the release of all those arrested. The students have issued a 9-point charter of demands. Many are saying, when the movement ends, then the revolution begins and are drawing comparisons with the revolutionary liberation struggle in the 1960s and 70s. The student movement is right in identifying the whole regime as the problem and in raising the need to overthrow it. How can this be achieved? The student movement needs to be strengthened and to equip itself with democratic structures. The importance of democratically accountable leadership has been shown in the past week. The Hasina regime has tried to strike the movement at its head, arresting and coercing coordinators. To ensure that the arrest or coercion of coordinators cannot behead the movement, coordinators should be elected, and replaceable and subject to recall at any time by mass meetings of students in struggle at each university, faculty and school. The students can play an important role in sparking a wider movement, but on their own cannot bring down the regime. The movement needs to spread to the working class. This should start by approaching university lecturers and staff to join the movement. Committees of Action should be organised in workplaces and working-class and poor neighbourhoods. These should be coordinated at a local, regional and national level. Self-defence needs to be organised to protect the student movement and its right to protest. An appeal should be issued to the ranks of the army not to attack their brothers and sisters, to break ranks if ordered to do so, and to defend the students. Attempts must be made to break the army along class lines by raising social demands that would resonate with those drawn from humble backgrounds, and to encourage the organisation of committees in solidarity with the students in the army to the extent that this is possible. For the movement to have an impact on the working class, it needs to adopt a wider programme of social and economic demands, in addition to its current democratic ones. Garment workers last year went on strike for a $200 monthly wage. Such demands should be combined with full trade union rights, housing and jobs for all. Such a programme should show how it is not only the Hasina regime, but the capitalist system that her regime serves that is to blame. In order to rouse workers to struggle in greater numbers, bold measures to achieve these social demands should be included, including the expropriation of the banks and finance institutions, and the nationalisation under workers control of the largest capitalist firms, both national and multinational. The only reliable allies that Bangladeshi workers and students can trust are their class brothers and sisters / Image: Nafis24, Wikimedia Commons Some of the demands of the students pose the question of the role of the UN (whose vehicles have been used in the repression), appealing for the intervention of the international community and calling for Hasina to be tried at the ICC. We say, the only reliable allies that Bangladeshi workers and students can trust are their class brothers and sisters the international movement of the workers and revolutionary youth. The international community has shown its true character by either supporting or remaining passive in the face of the Israeli massacre in Gaza. The ICC has been discussing Netanyahu for months, while Palestinians continue to be murdered. An appeal must be made to the workers and revolutionary youth of the world to redouble their efforts in solidarity with the movement in Bangladesh. Such an appeal must be directed first and foremost to the workers and students of Pakistan and India, starting with those in West Bengal. Another demand coming from the student movement is for the banning of all party political organisations on campuses. This is an understandable reaction to the gangster-like role of the Awami League student wing and expresses the students distrust of all opposition parties, including the right-wing, pro-capitalist BNP and the Islamists. Rejection of all bourgeois parties is correct. The Bangladeshi students and workers should trust only their own forces. However, the question is not one of banning all party politics, but rather of creating an organisation based on working-class revolutionary politics. Rejection of all capitalist politics must be accompanied by a serious discussion among the most advanced elements on the need to build a revolutionary communist party based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky and reclaiming the revolutionary traditions of the oppressed in Bangladesh. Talha Mahmud Chowdhury, a student of East Delta University (CSE Department, Spring Intake 2020), was forcibly abducted by 20-30 members of the Bangladesh Students League (the student wing of the ruling party Awami League) at 8:48pm on 17 July. This abduction took place at the intersection of Road No. 5 in the Agrabad CDA residential area. They checked his mobile phone and, upon finding posts on his Facebook supporting the ongoing quota reform movement, handed him and three others over to the patrolling team of the Chittagong Double Mooring Police Station. Subsequently, they were detained overnight at the Double Mooring Police Station without any arrest warrant and taken to the Khulshi Police Station at 11am the next day, 18 July. There, Talha was charged with seven false cases, including attempted murder and vandalism (criminal codes: 143, 307, 323, 324, 326, 359, 506). Since the police could not present him to the court in time, Talha was sent to jail without a hearing. Due to public holidays and curfews, court sessions were delayed. Finally, on 24 July, the court session took place, and during the hearing, Talha's bail application was rejected. On the other hand, the police's application for a five-day remand was also rejected by the court, which then scheduled the next hearing for 28 July. At the second hearing, the court again denied both the bail and remand applications and set the next hearing date for 1 August, four days later. However, today's court hearing was cancelled and two more false charges were brought against him. Talha Mahmud is a supporter of the Revolutionary Communist International. We demand the unconditional release of Talha Mahmud Chowdhury, along with all other students who are being detained by Sheikh Hasina's regime. Talhas next hearing is on 7 August. In the run up to this date, we call on all our comrades, readers and supporters to contact their Bangladesh embassies, high commissions and diplomatic missions to demand Talhas immediate release, along with all other student detainees. Before summer ends, foodies in Boston can once again try everything from Asian and Latin fare to French, Italian, seafood and sushi at dozens of restaurants in the city. Dine Out Boston is back for its summer edition from Aug. 4-17, featuring more than 175 restaurants, including several fresh finds. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy Dine Out Boston, our signature culinary program, featuring specially priced menus all across greater Boston, Martha J. Sheridan, president & CEO of Meet Boston, said in a press release. Our city has the best culinary talent, plenty of outdoor patios and rooftops, and a creative culinary flare across our 23 neighborhoods. So far, there are eight restaurants that have never participated in Dine Out Boston that are doing so in August. They are: Restaurants will offer prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner. Many will offer takeout and delivery options, as well. Lunch prices are set at $22, $27, $32 or $36 and dinner at $36, $41, $46, or $55. Restaurants can offer as many courses as they desire at their selected price. Dine Out Boston is made possible by Meet Boston and the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. Click here to browse participating restaurants. DJ Polo, best known as half of the prominent 1980s rap duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, died on Saturday, July 27. He was 63. It is with a heavy heart we mourn the loss of my father, the incredible DJ Polo, one of the rappers children wrote on Polos official Instagram Sunday, July 28. He was not only a legend to the hip hop community but also to his family and we celebrate his life and legacy now and forever, the post reads. We would like to thank you all for your beautiful words and tributes - seeing the impact he made has been overwhelming and we are so grateful. Kool G Rap eulogized his friend on Instagram, writing, R.I.P. to a dear friend and a Brother from another Household. He is a Legend to Hip Hop and Juice Crew history. DJ Polo! May Light from the Highest be upon him. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo are one of the more influential duos in hip-hop, according to Billboard. Pough started working with Kool G Rap in 1986 with their song, Its a Demo. The duos three albums Road to the Riches (1989), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1990) and Live and Let Die (1992) are the blueprints when it comes to mafioso rap and storytelling, Billboard wrote. The duo also released their compilation album Rated XXX in 1996 and Polo dropped his solo album Polos Playhouse in 1998. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo were also part of the famed Juice Crew, whose members included MC Shan, Marley Marl, Mr. Magic, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante and Big Daddy Kane, among others. Many of Poughs fellow hip-hop stars offered their own condolences on social media including Ice-T and Eric B, who wrote, My brother DJ POLO we had some great times you will never be forgotten GODS speed. A cause of death was not revealed. A fast food chain that specializes in the most craveable chicken finger meals is spreading its wings in Central Massachusetts with a new location expected to open at the end of the year. Raising Canes is planning to open its new Framingham store in December, the company told MassLive. The exact location of the new store is still being decided. But the Worcester Business Journal reported that the store could open near the Shoppers World plaza in Framingham. We are unable to provide an exact date at this time, due to possible changes in construction schedules, and other factors that could affect the opening date, Raising Canes said. We look forward to serving you in the future! Raising Canes has also posted an opening for a general manager at the Framingham store on July 9. Raising Canes has five locations in Massachusetts, including its Marlborough location. Several more Raising Canes are expected to open in Massachusetts this year. According to Raising Canes website, a second store in Downtown Boston is coming soon. The store will be located at 101 Arch St. and will join Raising Canes other Boston locations on Boylston Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Raising Canes will also open its first location in Medford in September, the company previously told MassLive. While MassLive can confirm that the Medford store will be located at Wellington Circle Plaza, the company could not provide an exact date as to when the restaurant will open due to possible changes in construction schedules. It was also reported last year that the chain was planning to open a new location in Saugus in late 2024. Raising Canes also has a location in Enfield, Connecticut and another in Johnston, Rhode Island. Student loan borrowers, check your email inbox in the upcoming days. Starting on Aug. 1, the U.S. Department of Education said it will email all student loan borrowers with at least one federal loan to provide updates on potential debt relief. The department will also let them know they have until Aug. 30 to call their servicer and opt out if they dont want the potential relief. The rules around the relief arent finalized, the DOE said. Once they are this fall, borrowers will be given additional information on the relief. The email doesnt guarantee borrowers will be eligible. If these rules are finalized, they would bring the number of borrowers eligible for student debt relief to 30 million, the Department said. Today, the Biden-Harris administration takes another step forward in our drive to deliver student debt relief to borrowers whove been failed by a broken system, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. These latest steps will mark the next milestone in our efforts to help millions of borrowers whove been buried under a mountain of student loan interest, or who took on debt to pay for college programs that left them worse off financially, those who have been paying their loans for twenty or more years, and many others. The Biden-Harris Administration made a commitment to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible, and today, as we near the end of a lengthy rulemaking process, were one step closer to keeping that promise, he added. In April, the Biden-Harris Administration released its first set of draft rules that would give the Secretary of Education the ability to wipe away student debt for tens of millions of borrowers, the Department said. The Department added that the proposed rules would also grant Cardona the ability to offer partial or full debt relief to the following people: Borrowers who owe more now than they did at the start of repayment. Borrowers who have been in repayment for decades. Borrowers who are otherwise eligible for loan forgiveness but have not yet applied. Borrowers who enrolled in low-financial value programs. The Department expects that all four of these proposed forms of relief would be provided to eligible borrowers without requiring any action from borrowers; no application would be needed, it stated. But, student loan borrowers who opt out of the debt relief cant opt back in. They will also be temporarily opted out of forgiveness due to an income-driven repayment plan until the Department of Education can asses their eligibility in a few months, the Department said. Also, borrowers will only be eligible for the proposed relief if they are in a repayment program at the time that the Department is determining eligibility, the proposed rules are finalized, the Department said. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after three young girls were killed in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the U.K. on Monday. The teenager has been charged with the murders of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Merseyside police said in a press release Thursday. He is also facing 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, according to police. The 17-year-old was named in court Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, The Associated Press reported. Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said that despite not being an adult, the boy can be named because he will turn 18 next week, according to the AP. Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said in the release. I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West, Kennedy added. The stabbing happened in the town of Southport, which is located on the Irish Sea coast in Northwest England about 17 miles north of Liverpool. Rudakubana is from the nearby coastal village of Banks, according to police. Eight other children were injured in the attack, two of which were discharged from the hospital Thursday, according to the AP. Five others were in stable condition at the hospital. Two adults were also said to be in critical condition after being injured during the incident, Merseyside police said in an earlier press release. The adults were publicly named Thursday as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children, according to the AP. The injured children cannot be named because of their ages. Merseyside police previously said they were not treating the incident as terror-related. While police have not disclosed a motive for the crime, it was determined that the alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, the AP reported. The stabbing prompted Swift to post a statement to her Instagram story on Tuesday. The horror of yesterdays attack is washing over me continuously and Im just completely in shock, Swift wrote. The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there the families, and first responders, she continued. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families. Francine Pascal, author of beloved childrens book series Sweet Valley High died at age 92, Sunday, July 28. Pascals daughter, Laurie Wenk-Pascal told The New York Times that she died of lymphoma at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Pascal first created the Sweet Valley High series in 1983. While the series started with only 12 books written by Pascal, it eventually grew to a total of 181 books written by multiple authors overseen by Pascal, according to the Times. The Sweet Valley series sold over 200 million copies and proved there was a market for books about teenage girls. The series followed the lives of identical twins, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. The girls attended high school in the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Sweet Valley. Pascal once described Sweet Valleys as the essence of high school in an interview with People back in 1988. Its that moment before reality hits, when you really do believe in romantic values sacrifice, love, loyalty, friendship Pascal told People. ... before you get jaded and slip into adulthood. She said the books uncovered a whole population of young girls who were never reading, and created readers out of non-readers. In addition to Sweet Valley, Pascal has also written for a number of publications, including Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, True Confessions, and Modern Screen. She also wrote a non-fiction book, The Strange Case of Patty Hearst, in 1974, and in the 1960s wrote for the soap opera The Young Marrieds. Pascal is survived by her two daughters, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, according to People. Several fundraisers are collecting money to help the family of a 13-year-old girl who was seriously injured while crossing the street in Worcester on Monday. Officers responded to the crash near 164 Shrewsbury St. around 3:50 p.m., Worcester police said previously. She was treated at the scene and then taken to a hospital. The crash comes just over a month after 13-year-old Gianna Rose Simoncini was hit and killed by a car while crossing Belmont Street in Worcester. Just days before the teen was killed, a toddler was struck by a car on Lincoln Street and was seriously injured. The crashes prompted calls from leaders in the Central Massachusetts city to improve pedestrian safety. Shrewsbury Neighborhood Support Team a local social services organization said in a Tuesday Facebook post that the 13-year-old who was injured Monday attended Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury last year. The family recently moved to Worcester but is originally from South Sudan. The teen is currently in a pediatric ICU at UMass Memorial, and her family is waiting to see if she will recover from head trauma, according to the post. As of Wednesday, she was still in a coma, but her conditioned hadnt worsened. The teens family has taken time off work to support their daughter and now must pay for her medical expenses, according to the post. You can support them financially by donating to a GoFundMe campaign or sending money to them directly via PayPal. As of Thursday morning, the two campaigns had raised a little more than half of their $20,000 goal. The family could also use donations of fresh fruits and vegetables, according to the post. You can sign up to donate food at this link. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) An inmate was sentenced to more than four years Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a troubled West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. DeCologero was already serving a 25-year sentence handed down in 2006 after he was convicted of buying heroin used to try to kill a teenage girl. Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios Freddy Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, they said that he had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger. Read more: WMass mobster will plea in prison killing of Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger An inmate told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit at United States Penitentiary, Hazelton. Geas faces a hearing on Sept. 6. He has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. Last year the Justice Department said it would not seek the death sentence for the pair. Another inmate who acted as a lookout, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents about his role. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release. McKinnon had served out a sentence for stealing guns from a firearms dealer. Plea deals for the three men were disclosed May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulgers death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on. According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving. DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulgers cell during the attack. After the killing, experts criticized Bulgers transfer to Hazelton, where workers had already been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing, and his placement in the general population instead of more protective housing. A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of malicious intent by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters. In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang. He became one of the nations most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant. DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official made member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo Big Al Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Brunos killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said. This story was updated at 3:05 p.m. on Aug. 1 with additional reporting. A 26-year-old man is facing a murder charge in connection with the stabbing death of a pregnant woman who dated his brother, which prosecutors say took place just days after the woman accused the mans brother of domestic violence. Zachary Vozzella, of Lynn, was arraigned in Lynn District Court on Thursday, where he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tuckers office said in a statement. Vozzella is charged with killing Brianna Welsh, 25, of Lynn, who was pregnant at the time of her death. A massive search effort for a woman in her 40s initially believed to have gone missing near Revere Beach Thursday morning was called off, according to Massachusetts State Police. The search effort was suspended after new information suggested the woman had left the beach area, State Police said. State Police troopers, the marine unit and the departments Air Wing are working with Revere police and fire, the U.S. Coast Guard and environmental police were conducting grid searches for the woman earlier Thursday, according to the agency. No further information was immediately available Thursday morning. A 45-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were arrested in Mattapan on Wednesday morning and now face charges in connection with a double shooting in Bostons Downtown Crossing neighborhood last week, police said. Robert Mallard, of Dorchester, was wanted on a warrant charging him with two counts of assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of carrying a loaded firearm and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building. He was arrested near 1000 Harvard St, Boston Police said in a statement. A second suspect, Emily Mackey, also a resident of Dorchester, was found inside an apartment at 1000 Harvard St. and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, police said. Massachusetts state lawmakers went into Wednesday evening in much the same way they started the day: Waiting for agreements on key bills tackling the states housing crisis, economic development challenges, and climate change. Formal voting sessions for the Legislatures current, two-year session are supposed to end by midnight on Wednesday. But there was every expectation that state House and Senate lawmakers would work through the night to get bills to Gov. Maura Healeys desk. The housing and economic development bills are top legislative priorities for Healey, who earlier had taken victory laps as she signed this years state budget and legislation expanding the states gun laws. As of around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, those key bills were still in the hands of legislative negotiators. I can tell you the senators are working really hard. I know that theyve been preparing and sending proposals and giving responses and trying to talk with their House counterparts, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, told The Boston Herald. So I think that as long as we can continue working together collaboratively, we should, Im hopeful that we get it done. An intraparty spat between Democrats, who control all the levers of power on Beacon Hill, may have slowed the pace some. Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, spent part of the day on Tuesday complaining about each other and the 11th-hour pushes to get their respective priorities over the goal line, Politico reported. Meanwhile, the Senates top Republican said it was disappointing lawmakers were once again racing to beat the clock and pass a brace of complex legislation. Its extremely unfortunate that were in the situation that were in. And I think thats the most important point. And we have a lot of things that are priorities for both parties and both branches, Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-1st Essex/Middlesex, told reporters in a brief interview outside the Senate chamber on Wednesday afternoon. During an appearance on WGBH-FM in Boston earlier in the day, Healey seemed optimistic that lawmakers would hit their deadline. Well, its going to be a really busy 24 hours, and there is a lot, theres a lot in conference committee, Healey told the station, referring to the joint House-Senate committees working to iron out the two chambers differences on about a half-dozen proposals. Im really focused on housing, economic development in particular, Healey continued. But theres a theres a lot of important pieces of legislation that are there. Theyre now in ... conference committee. Some of them have come out of [the] conference committee. But theyre the product of a lot of work over the course of the year, a lot of hearings, a lot of stakeholders. (*This story was updated at 7:01 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, with additional reporting.) The sun rose over the State House in Boston on Thursday morning in much the same way that it set on Wednesday: With state lawmakers still awaiting deals and votes on key bills dealing with the commonwealths housing crisis, spurring economic development, and fighting climate change. Lawmakers worked through the night and into the early hours of Thursday morning, shoveling through bills as they ignored the midnight deadline signaling the end of formal sessions for the year. Shortly before 7 a.m., lawmakers appeared to have reached an agreement on a highly anticipated housing bond bill totaling about $5.16 billion, according to The Boston Globe. Details of the legislation were not immediately available. But the bill, which is intended to create tens of thousands of new homes in the coming years, did not include a Senate-backed plan to have landlords cover brokers fees, the newspaper reported. By dawn, one bill had emerged and won passage: Legislation expanding how family is defined in Massachusetts, a move intended to protect parents and children who use paths such as surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization, State House News Service reported. Lawmakers tasked with finalizing the legislation gathered just before midnight to file the deal with the House clerks office. Both chambers accepted the compromise bill around 2:20 a.m. Thursday morning, and took the final votes to send it to Gov. Maura Healey about half an hour later. This has been a bipartisan legislative effort. Massachusetts is the only state in New England that has not updated our parentage laws, Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Cape and Islands, one of the lead negotiators, said, according to the wire service. For so many families, for LGBTQ families like mine and so many people, this is really essential, particularly given, unfortunately, what were seeing in too many states across the country that are attacking LGBTQ people and their families. Lawmakers also stalled on a vote on a compromise bill that includes policy changes and tax incentives for veterans, the wire service further reported. Around midnight, talks also broke down on a clean energy bill, according to The Boston Herald. State Sen. Michael Barrett, D-3rd Middlesex, whod been leading the talks for the upper chamber, told reporters that hed been hoping to celebrate the bills approval. But Im not sure were going to have quite the celebration that I had been planning, the Lexington lawmaker told reporters, according to the Herald. Im not sure the House subscribes to the idea that we should give people relief, even as we expand the grid and make people pay a significant amount to do so. The protracted debate that started Wednesday and dragged into Thursday appeared to be a record-setter, according to State House News Service. The housing and economic development bills are top legislative priorities for Healey, who had taken victory laps earlier this week as she signed this years state budget and legislation expanding the states gun laws. I can tell you the senators are working really hard. I know that theyve been preparing and sending proposals and giving responses and trying to talk with their House counterparts, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, told the Herald. So I think that as long as we can continue working together collaboratively, we should, Im hopeful that we get it done. An intraparty spat between Democrats, who control all the levers of power on Beacon Hill, may have slowed the pace some. Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, spent part of the day on Tuesday complaining about each other and the 11th-hour pushes to get their respective priorities over the goal line, Politico reported. Meanwhile, the Senates top Republican said it was disappointing lawmakers were once again racing to beat the clock and pass a brace of complex legislation. Its extremely unfortunate that were in the situation that were in. And I think thats the most important point. And we have a lot of things that are priorities for both parties and both branches, Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-1st Essex/Middlesex, told reporters in a brief interview outside the Senate chamber on Wednesday afternoon. During an appearance on WGBH-FM in Boston earlier in the day on Wednesday, Healey seemed optimistic that lawmakers would hit their deadline. Well, its going to be a really busy 24 hours, and there is a lot, theres a lot in conference committee, Healey told the station, referring to the joint House-Senate committees working to iron out the two chambers differences on about a half-dozen proposals. Talks on a healthcare oversight bill intended to avert a future catastrophic meltdown of the kind now afflicting bankrupt Steward Health Care, have collapsed on Beacon Hill, leaving its future uncertain. With lawmakers at loggerheads at key pieces of legislation, and with the Legislature pressing to get key bills done as the clock ticks down on formal sessions, House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, pulled the plug. "We were frustrated by the progress we were making trying to do the two bills at once. It was very difficult and there were other health care items scattered in other conference committees, Mariano said, according to State House News Service. The other bill the Quincy Democrat referred to is legislation that would cap or eliminate out-of-pocket costs for certain popular medications and rein in pharmaceutical industry middlemen. It was very difficult to compare trades and to effectively match up the bills. And we were getting frustrated, they were getting frustrated, Mariano continued. And those two bills that we sent over -- I think one was unanimous and one I forget, two negative votes -- are too important to get lost in the shuffle and get watered down. So I wanted to get away from the frustration that my staff was going through, and the Senate staff was going through. And we did that. The bills collapse came even as a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas approved Stewards request, to shutter two of its Massachusetts hospitals by months end, a move critics say will punch a critical hole in the states health care landscape. Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston called the decision painful, WBUR-FM reported. Lopez said Steward met the legal standard for shutting down Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, the station reported. Speaking to reporters Thursday outside the MBTAs Park Street Station at the foot of Beacon Hill, Gov. Maura Healey said there was little she could to do stop the shutdowns. Steward made the call to close the two hospitals, Healey said. And I feel terrible for the community, and for [the] health workers, and for patients in those areas. Healey, who has repeatedly pressed for Steward to offload its remaining Massachusetts facilities, and to leave the state, said her office has been hard at work, looking to secure a deal that will ensure a smooth transition ownership away from Steward to a responsible operator. Were still very focused on that. (*This story was updated at 1:58 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, with additional reporting.) State lawmakers have sent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey a $5.16 billion compromise bond bill aimed at taming the states housing affordability and access crisis. The midmorning vote came as state lawmakers rushed to finish up their business for the year, handing Healey a win on one of her key policy initiatives. The bill, which aims to foster the construction of thousands of new housing units in the coming years is crammed with policy initiatives. One thing it does not contain, however, is Senate-backed language that would have forced landlords to cover so-called brokers fees that can drive the up-front cost of renting an apartment past $10,000 in the Greater Boston area. The skyrocketing cost of housing statewide remains a top issue for both policymakers and business leaders, who fear its eating into Massachusetts economic competitiveness, and driving people to leave for more affordable locales. Healey got the ball rolling last fall with a $4.1 billion proposal last year. The House passed a $6.5 billion version, while the Senate signed off on a $5.4 billion proposal. The compromise bill, the product of a House and Senate conference committee, cleared the House on a 128-24 vote. The Senate approved it 37-2, with GOP Sens. Ryan Fattman and Peter Durant casting the no votes, according to State House News Service. The final bill features a high bottom line, but not all of that borrowing capacity will actually get used. The states plan for actual capital spending released last month dedicates $2 billion for housing over the next five years, and $400 million in fiscal 2025, a 30 percent increase over fiscal 2024, State House News Service reported. At the end of the day, we took an approach that was focused on the financial elements that were in common between the two bills, Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Suffolk/Middlesex, and one of the bills lead negotiators, said, according to the wire service. One advocacy group praised the bills authorization of a new foreclosure mediation program that would require mortgage servicers in five, at-risk communities to o participate in pre-foreclosure mediation with homeowners to explore alternatives to foreclosures. "While the overall bond bill fails to meet the urgent needs of Massachusetts renters, were glad that legislators took this first step towards supporting the thousands of Massachusetts homeowners who face foreclosure each year, Rose Webster-Smith, the executive director of Springfield No One Leaves and co-anchor of Homes for All Massachusetts, said in a statement. Foreclosure mediation will ensure that the big banks come to the table before they can foreclose on a home, and negotiate reasonable solutions to get mortgage payments back on track, Webster-Smith said. Both the House and Senate currently are recessed until Monday at 11 a.m., the wire service reported. Lawmakers in the state House and Senate have failed to get a stoppage time deal on clean energy permitting and other climate-related policies. The House and Senate gaveled out of formal sessions on Thursday amid sniping and finger-pointing. I was looking forward to a glorious morning. Im not sure were going to have quite the celebration that I had been planning. Technically, the bill is still alive, Sen. Michael Barrett, D-3rd Middlesex, said. The upper chamber was fully committed to producing a balanced package that raises your electric bills but constrains your gas bills, providing some balance. But the balance is proving elusive. Not sure the House subscribes to the idea that we should give people relief, even as we expand the grid and make people pay a significant amount to do so. Barrett suggested that the issues tied up in the six-person conference committee -- reforms to the siting and permitting process for clean energy projects, EV charging policies, clean energy procurement and more -- might have to wait until 2025 for a revival. We cant bring the House along with us quite yet. Were even having some difficulty convincing the governor of the challenges that are involved here and in making sure that people are not overburdened, the Lexington Democrat said outside the Senate Chamber. So we havent quite had the coming together that that we looked forward to having, but were going to have a shot at creating that kind of broad consensus next year, I suspect. A short time later, the Houses lead House negotiator, Rep. Jeff Roy, D-10th Norfolk, parried, saying Barretts apparent willingness to punt to next session was a sign that the Senate is going back on its word. I will say that we pre-conferenced the language on the siting and permitting. Thats a priority for us. Thats been a priority for us all session, the Franklin Democrat said. I understood it to be a priority of the Senate. All three branches the governor, the House, and the Senate worked on this language. We have that as a compromise package, and the Senate is going back on its word to do that as part of this agreement, Roy continued. Roy emphasized that the Senate had agreed on the siting and permitting language they wrote with the Healey administration. I will state, the governor was on WGBH [on Wednesday] morning listing this as a priority. I know shes talked to folks over in the Senate that this is her priority. This is so important for the future of clean energy. We need siting and permitting reform immediately, this is not an issue that can wait until 2025, he conculded. Climate activists prowled the halls of the State House on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, chanting and bearing signs that called on lawmakers to do their job. In a statement, Conservation Law Foundation President Brad Campbell slammed lawmakers for the breakdown. "Closed-door brinkmanship by the Senate and House, combined with a lack of bold leadership by Governor Healey, have once again sullied the Commonwealths claim to climate leadership, he said. Among the casualties were modest but widely-supported and much-needed reforms to speed the siting of infrastructure essential to a clean energy transition and a series of Senate-backed measures to rein in the expanded use of natural gas, Campbell continued. With a looming climate clock, the gas industrys stubbornness has once again won out over the ongoing policy gridlock among the Legislature and administration, despite a landmark decision by [Healeys] own utility regulators underscoring the importance of measures to curb expansion of gas infrastructure, he said. The House and Senate each passed legislation in recent months taking aim at the complicated process to approve clean energy projects and incorporating a package of reforms designed to modernize the electric grid to accommodate more energy from cleaner generation sources. But in addition to the recommendations made by the governors Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting, both branches also loaded their bills with their own priorities and now the whole package appears to be sinking. The House included a push to have the state procure greater amounts of clean energy generation, and the Senate included a focus on ramping down natural gas programs as a way to shield Bay Staters from utility bill increases expected to come along with the permitting and siting changes. Barrett has repeatedly said it is critical to him that the higher costs of electrification be offset so ratepayers dont start rebelling against the clean energy transition. We can provide people some financial relief, even as we increase the burden on the electric bill. Or were going to see that Massachusetts becomes part of a worldwide rebellion against the clean energy enterprise. The expense of it is daunting, so if you dont anticipate in advance how to soften the blow on peoples monthly budgets, you are courting a right-wing reaction against climate policy, Barrett said early Thursday morning. And thats really whats at stake here. Were at risk of exposing ourselves to a backlash, because cleaning up the planet does impose a lot of financial burden. Barrett said negotiators were still working very hard to get a deal, but he also said that when we do a bill it will be one that is sensitive to the cost of living for ratepayers. I hope it happens tonight. But it wont be a disappointment to the Senate if the entire debate -- the electric side and the natural gas side both -- carries over to a new two-year session. Thats a plan B. Plan A is to do it tonight, he said. But ... the second-best alternative is to carry everything over to 2025, see whos president of the United States because that makes a huge difference, right? If, perchance, Mr. Trump is reelected president, were not going to have an offshore wind industry generating electrons in need of a robust grid in quite the timeframe we anticipated. Roy said he hoped that the House and Senate could reach an agreement that could pass during informal sessions between now and the January end of the term. Massachusetts is going to be better off if we defer everything. If we cant do it all and give people some financial protection from increases in electric rates, we should do nothing, Barrett said. Because it doesnt have to be two years, it could be six months from now, it could be the beginning of 2025. Sen. Marc Pacheco, one of the leading climate and energy voices in the Legislature, listened intently as Barrett spoke to reporters and then offered his own thought. The Taunton Democrat said the permitting piece is essential and said that even if its not the best in the world to get it done, OK, well, lets get what we can get done and get going right away. Its absolutely critical that we get a climate bill enacted into law. I think not doing so is a tremendous failure for the Massachusetts Legislature, he said. We have been a national leader up until the last few years. States like New York are going ahead of us. Barrett and Roy were locked in a spat over rules related to the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, which they co-chair, for much of this session. Barrett said early Thursday that that dispute had no bearing on their inability to reach an agreement this week. Not at all, Barrett said. He added, I think personal relations are very good. Institutionally, though, something happened with this negotiation midway through. I dont know what it was. But the mood did change. We got off to a great start though. And it faded by the end of the week. Not sure why. He added, There seems to be a larger game afoot. There are all kinds of problems with all kinds of conference committees. Asked to respond to those comments, Roy said he wasnt privy to other conference talks and suggested the only shift was the Senate forging ahead with a broader bill even after House Speaker Ronald Mariano said he preferred a narrow siting and permitting bill. The shift was it got too far afield from siting and permitting, he said. The Senate just wanted too much beyond that. Roy added, And I can recall, when the governor appointed the commission to study siting and permitting and come up with language, I remember when she was handing me her pen, I said to her, Governor, this is the most important thing we will do this session. And we were all committed to doing it this session. And Im disappointed. A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas has approved Steward Health Cares request to shutter two of its Massachusetts hospitals by months end, a move that critics say will punch a critical hole in the states health care landscape. Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston called the decision painful, WBUR-FM reported. Lopez said Steward met the legal standard for shutting down Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, the station reported. Its affecting the lives of people who are in there right now, Lopez said, according to WBUR-FM. The importance of every individual whos in there weighs on me. State officials, meanwhile, say they will continue pushing for Steward to offload its five, remaining hospitals in the Bay State, finally ushering the company out of the commonwealth. In an interview with WGBH-FM on Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey kept up her drumbeat of criticism of the company, saying that were here in this situation, all of us, you in the neighborhood, the community, justice, state, because of the greed of Steward. The company drove these hospitals into the ground with greed, with mismanagement, and were all left, right, trying to pick up the pieces. On Wednesday, more than 100 people rallied at the State House, appealing to policymakers to take whatever they steps they could including declaring a public health emergency to keep the two hospitals open. Sens. Jamie Eldridge and Nick Collins whose district includes Carney joined by Boston City Councilors John FitzGerald and Ed Flynn, stood at the front of the crowd as they met with representatives from Healeys office, State House News Service reported. Theres a $9 billion rainy day fund. It doesnt get rainier than today for us, Audra Sprague, a registered nurse at Nashoba, said, according to the wire service. For the governor to say she has no power, she has no control, it absolutely cant be true. Why would you have made the promises that you made in the beginning that you were going to maintain access to care, make sure all the hospitals stayed open, and do all this stuff if you had no control? Sprague said. Nurses led chants of its a rainy day, while holding up signs that read, This IS a Rainy Day Governor! Patients seeking care at Nashoba in Ayer typically travel five to 15 minutes to get there, Sprague said. She warned that if the hospital closes, that travel distance could triple or quadruple. People will die -- 1,000 percent, Sprague said. They will either die or the delay of care to get to a hospital for emergency care will impact their function. On Monday, many of those same elected officials, joined by advocates and labor leaders, rallied at Carney, which sits in the heart of Bostons Dorchster neighborhood, where they issued a similar plea. The hospital first opened its doors in South Boston in 1863, and has spent nearly three-quarters of a century in Dorchester. I know how essential this hospital is, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, once a Carney patient, like generations of city residents before her, told the crowd. Closing Carney would deal a catastrophic blow to the citys largest and most diverse neighborhood, Pressley said. News of Carneys closing was a real shock. A real kick in the gut to the Dorchester neighborhood, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-8th District, who represents Dorchester on Capitol Hill said. And to the nurses, the doctors. Theres 750 workers who are employed here ... whose sole purpose is to care for our families, those in need. BOSTON Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly hasnt pitched well during the second half. He entered the All-Star Break with a 1.45 ERA (18 innings, three earned runs) in his previous 14 outings. Manager Alex Cora even described him as one of our best the Saturday before the break. But the 29-year-old allowed five earned runs on six hits (three homers) and four walks in his first five outings of the second half. That included recording just one out while giving up a run, hit and two walks in Tuesdays loss to Seattle. But manager Alex Cora sent Kelly back out there Wednesday and he did the job. The Red Sox won 3-2 over Seattle here at Fenway Park. Kelly hurled a scoreless 10th inning, preventing the automatic runner at second base from scoring. He pitched around a hit by pitch and walk to earn the victory. He said it felt so good. Its probably one of my favorite outings of the year, Kelly said. Last few outings, last seven to 10 days have been pretty tough mentally. Just trying to get over the hump, over the hump. Today was good. I needed that one. Kellys wild pitch allowed automatic runner Cal Raleigh to reach third base with no outs. But he then got Justin Turner to strike out swinging and Leo Rivas to ground out to first base. After a hit by pitch and walk, Kelly retired Mitch Garver on a groundout to shortstop to end the inning. Rafael Devers then hit a walkoff RBI double in the 10th inning to win it. Sometimes I think I maybe need to flip the switch a little sooner than I do, Kelly said about how long he lets a bad outing bother him. Theres definitely times where its pretty easy. But I try to make sure no matter what that once I get to the field the next day, its gone. So I showed up today ready to work. Obviously yesterday was pretty tough. But today I showed up, same routine, went through everything, got ready to go. And fortunately I got another opportunity to go back out there. National Weather Service forecasters set down a heat advisory for much of Massachusetts on Thursday as the Bay State prepares for a stretch of very warm and humid weather that will push temperatures up to or even over 90 degrees. There is little chance the state will see any rain on Thursday, with forecasters putting the odds at 10% to 15%. Heat indexes, or the feels like temperature, are expected to hit the mid-90s on Thursday afternoon, prompting forecasters to issue a heat advisory for much of the eastern part of the state. The advisory stretches west along the Mass. Pike, with communities generally situated below the highway set to experience higher temperatures than those above it in the central and western parts of the state. The heat advisory is in place until 7 p.m. on Friday, warning residents of those areas to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing, forecasters wrote. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. In Boston, the forecasted high temperature on Thursday is 93 degrees. In Central Massachusetts, Worcester is projected to reach 92 degrees on Thursday. And in the western part of the state, Springfields forecast calls for a high of 93 degrees. It will be slightly cooler in The Berkshires on Thursday, with the forecast calling for a high of 87 degrees for Pittsfield. On the opposite end of the state, Barnstable, on Cape Cod, is also projected to reach 87 degrees on Thursday. Fridays forecast is much the same hot, humid and dry, according to forecasters. But there is a chance scattered showers roll into Western Massachusetts later Friday afternoon. Unsettled weather drifts into the state this weekend, with more heat and humidity mixed with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Absa Mauritius shatters boundaries and redefines convenience with the launch of Absa Pay the island nations first-ever Tap & Pay solution. This groundbreaking program, currently available on Android devices, empowers Mauritians to experience a completely digital and secure way to pay. Absa Pay marks a significant milestone for Mauritius, positioning us at the forefront of the digital payments experience and strengthen the banks ambition to be a leading digital financial institution. Absa, the first mover within the Absa Group, proudly introduces this innovative technology that eliminates the need for physical cards. It emphasises the banks objective to provide its clients a service of excellence. Commenting on this new milestone, Jean Noel Samy, Head of Cards at Absa Mauritius says: We operate in a dynamic context where we constantly need to rethink how we serve our customers and offer solutions that meet their expectations. With Absa Pay, our initiative is driven by the overarching goal of maintaining our leadership in innovation and meeting the diverse needs of our customers, both locally and across the African continent. We are aware that this marks a major turning point for our current and future customers as well as for merchants. Its a first in Mauritius, and we are proud to be the first bank to introduce this technology and new payment experience. How does Absa Pay work? The Absa Pay solution enables you to register any of your debit or credit cards available on your Absa Mobile Banking App for a Tap to Pay feature. This transforms your mobile phone into a secure purchasing tool, offering hassle free transactions with a simple touch, tap, and pay. Just tap your phone on any Near Field Communication terminal (NFC) to complete your transaction. In addition, customers will be able to view the full list of all tokens related to their card on the Absa Mobile Banking App with the ability to suspend or cancel the tokens. Why choose Absa Pay? Leave your wallet at home: Generate a secure digital version of your Absa card directly from your Absa Mobile Banking app. No need to carry your physical card! Tap. Pay. Go: Simply tap your Android phone on any Near Field Communication (NFC) terminal to complete your purchase in seconds. This mean swifter payment and a smoother shopping experience. Enhanced security: The use of a unique identifier protects your card data against the risk of fraud. Full control: Manage your Absa Pay digital cards directly in the application. View the list of all your digital cards, suspend, or cancel them at any time. Benefits that go beyond convenience Absa Pay not only makes life easier but it also benefits businesses: Faster transactions: Faster checkouts lead to greater customer satisfaction and higher turnover rates. Reduced cash handling: Minimise the risks associated with cash handling and streamline business operations. Reduce fraud: Absa Pays security features minimise the risk of fraudulent transactions. Embrace the future of payments with Absa Pay Absa invites all Mauritians to join us in shaping the future of payments. Download the Absa Mobile Banking app (Android) and activate Absa Pay today. Discover the unmatched convenience and security of this innovative payment system. Note: Absa Pay is currently available on Android devices with NFC capability. Compatibility with Huawei devices will be available soon. With the proliferation of smartphones and the availability of high-speed data, the world is rapidly moving towards smartphone-based contactless payment solutions. At Absa Mauritius, we are committed to simplifying our customers lives by delivering innovative and contactless digital services through our mobile app. A few years ago, we became the first bank in Mauritius to introduce the ATM QR Cash feature on the Absa Mauritius App, allowing our customers to make cardless withdrawals at Absa ATMs using QR codes. Following this, we launched the QR Scan & Pay feature on our app, enabling our customers to conveniently scan any MauCAS QR code and make instant payments to any store in Mauritius directly from the app. Now, with Absa Pay, we are at the forefront of contactless card payments. This feature enables our customers to use their NFC-enabled Android smartphones to make instant payments by simply tapping their smartphones at payment terminals. This innovation revolutionizes in-store payments, offering unparalleled convenience and security. It allows for faster and more efficient transactions without the need for physical cards, significantly enhancing the shopping experience says Sandeep Mohapatra, Head of Digital Transformation and Technology. pex Group, a leading supplier of global financial services, today announces further in-roads in the growing private equity sector in Japan. Apex Group is working with Japan Growth Investments Alliance (JGIA) to provide fund administration services to JGIA III Series Fund. The appointment of Apex Group as fund administrator represents further success for Apex Groups team in Singapore, which has been building the businesses presence in Japan. Apex Groups appointment as fund administrator comes after the team successfully supported a previous JGIA Series Fund. The teams attention to detail, expertise and Japanese language skills have secured a near perfect client retention rate. In addition, Apex Group will soon be offering payment services in Japan. Interest in Japans private equity landscape has grown rapidly over the past 12 months with local and international fund managers alike hoping to reap the rewards of Japans geopolitical stability and a business culture that is becoming more comfortable with the asset class. The team at Apex Group can offer payment services in Japan for offshore funds as well as onshore funds, leaving it particularly well placed to capitalise on this trend. Yuko Shimizu, Business Development Director, APAC at Apex Group, said: JGIA is at the forefront of Japans private equity sector, which is quickly becoming one of the most exciting markets for investors in Asia. Having worked with JGIA for several years, we are proud that our work is being recognised and our relationship with JGIA deepened as we take on the administration of this new fund. The Apex Group team in this market has done some incredible work, and its great to see this being recognised by JGIA. Une seance avant les vacances dhiver et la campagne de la partielle au No 10 et avant la dissolution du Parlement vers le 20 novembre 2024. 1. Announcements 2. Papers 3. Question 4.4. Private Members Motion (No. 1) Honourable Third Member for Port Louis North and Montagne Longue (Ms Tour) This Assembly resolves that Government should continue its efforts to encourage the use of electric vehicles in Mauritius. ( Resumption of debate) (No. 2) The Honourable Second Member for Vacoas and Floreal (Mr Bodha) This Assembly resolves that, a National Crisis Committee be set up with the participation of experts to design a new roadmap for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of the emergence of new variants and in the light of the experience gathered since the outbreak of the pandemic in Mauritius in March 2020. (No. 3) The Honourable Third Member for Mahebourg and Plaine Magnien (Mr Doolub) This Assembly welcomes the reopening of our borders to international travelers and supports measures taken by Government to relaunch tourism and resolves that it will continue to protect employment and safeguard livelihood in the travel and hospitality sector. (No. 4) The Honourable Second Member for Port Louis Maritime and Port Louis East (Mr Abbas Mamode) This Assembly resolves that, in the prevailing context, opinion leaders should refrain from making statements such as to undermine trust in the democratic institutions of the Republic of Mauritius and tarnish the countrys image and reputation abroad. (No. 5) The Honourable First Member for Port Louis Maritime and Port Louis East (Mr Shakeel Mohamed) (Under suspension pursuant to Standing Orders 48 and 49 of the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly (1995)) This Assembly resolves that, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, headed by the Minister, has completely mismanaged the COVID-19 pandemic since last year and, as such, the Minister should take full responsibility for same and step down as Minister. (No. 6) The Honourable First Member for La Caverne and Phoenix (Mr Lobine) This Assembly resolves that, in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation, a Select Committee be set up to be chaired by the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, to be known as the Cross-Party COVID-19 Pandemic Response Committee, consisting of eleven members, six of whom shall be members from the Opposition, to consider, inquire and report to the House on matters relating to Governments management and response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other matters related thereto. (No. 7) The Honourable Third Member for Port Louis South and Port Louis Central (Dr Aumeer) This Assembly resolves that, in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation since its outbreak in Mauritius in March 2020 and the high COVID-19 death toll among Mauritian Citizens, a Fact-Finding Committee be set up to look into the whole preparedness, response and management of the said pandemic in Mauritius. (No. 8) The Honourable Fourth Member for Port Louis Maritime and Port Louis East (Mr Juman) This Assembly resolves that, in view of the alleged mismanagement of public funds under Emergency Procurement since the first confinement in March 2020 to date which necessitate emergency supply of medical equipment and drugs to cater for the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic, a Commission of Inquiry be set up to inquire therein and on matters related thereto. (No. 9) The Honourable Third Member for Flacq and Bon Accueil (Mr Nuckcheddy) This Assembly resolves that, in the light of the implementation of the Road Master Plan announced by Government and of the Light Rail Project connecting Port Louis to Curepipe, which is being extended to other parts of the country, the Road Decongestion Programme should be implemented through one single blueprint using a holistic approach. (No. 10) The Honourable Third Member for Vacoas and Floreal (Mr Ittoo) This Assembly is of opinion that, digitalisation and innovation being key for Mauritius to step up to the next level of development, a Task Force comprising of stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology industry from the public and private sectors should be set up to come up with recommendations and a roadmap to allow Mauritius position itself as a regional Information and Communications Technology hub. (No. 11) The Honourable Third Member for Curepipe and Midlands (Mr Dhunoo) This Assembly resolves that, in the light of the recent trade agreements signed by the Republic of Mauritius, including, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with the Republic of India and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Peoples Republic of China, Government should create the appropriate environment and synergies with a view to providing enhanced opportunities for the business community in Mauritius to be able to take maximum advantage thereof, together with their counterparts in the relevant countries. (No. 12) The Honourable Second Member for Savanne and Black River (Mrs Mayotte) This House is of opinion that, following the removal of Mauritius by the Financial Action Task Force from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, the Assembly resolves that the Government of Mauritius should pursue its sustained effort to strengthen its position as an international financial center of repute by further implementing Anti-money Laundering/Combating Terrorist Financing measures. (No. 13) The Honourable Second Member for Grand Baie and Poudre dOr (Dr Gungapersad) This Assembly resolves that, in view of the mayhem caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in the COVID-19 death toll and casualties among the population, a Commission of Inquiry be set up to inquire into the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues since its outbreak in Mauritius. (No. 164) The Honourable Second Member for Port Louis North and Montagne Longue (Mrs Luchmun Roy) This Assembly resolves that Government should carry out an assessment of the demand for social housing in Mauritius and embark upon an accelerated programme of construction thereof to meet same. (No. 15) The Honourable Third Member for Grand River North West and Port Louis West (Mr Armance) That this Assembly resolves that, in view of the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic and the clear and present damage facing our citizens, a Select Committee be appointed to consider all matters relating thereto, including the quality of the information provided to the public, the state of our health services, latest medicines and medical treatment available, social distancing measures and border control. (No. 16) The Honorable First Member for Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes ( Dr Boolell) This Assembly is deeply concerned with the humanitarian crisis of dire consequences in the ongoing Isreal-Hamas conflit and call for an immediate total and unconditional ceasefire. Souece: Maurice Info Archives West on Track has warmly welcomed the news that the next stage of the Western Rail Corridor, linking Mayo and Galway, is recommended for re-opening in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review. Plans to reopen the disused railway line between Claremorris and Athenry have been formally outlined as part of a 35 billion overhaul of Irelands rail network. If delivered, the plans outlined in the report would connect Ballina with Rosslare via the reopened Western Rail Corridor and a new railway line between Waterford and Wexford. West on Track, a community-based campaign group which has been lobbying for the re-opening of the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) welcomed the news and the commitment made by the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan towards the reopening of the Tuam to Claremorris line. A spokesman for West on Track said the re-opening for both freight and passengers will represent a major delivery of key infrastructure as part of the Atlantic Economic Corridor and provide a huge boost for the western region. This is an existing railway, fully in public ownership, and is a shovel-ready project. It is listed as a short-term project in todays report. Last December the Government succeeded in having the Athenry-Claremorris link included in the EUs Comprehensive Ten-T network and people in the west will expect to see appropriate initial funding being made available to initiate the work of restoring the line without delay. An implementation strategy, currently being developed in association with the EIB, is due to be published shortly. Congestion in the regional capital of Galway has already reached crisis proportions so re-opening the Galway-Mayo rail link for passengers and freight will have a major positive impact. This is strongly supported by Galway City and County Councils and by Mayo County Council. It will make an enormous difference to places like Tuam and Claremorris, allowing people to commute easily into their local city for work, business and medical appointments etc. and even allowing many students to travel in and out to college while living at home, representing a massive saving in accommodation fees. This next phase of the Western Rail Corridor can be made operational within three to four years, linking Tuam, Westport, Ballina, Castlebar and Claremorris to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford and is the only shovel-ready infrastructure project for the west that can be initiated without delay. Once work is under way on bringing the railway to Mayo we expect the next phase to Sligo to then become the focus for subsequent development, the spokesperson stated. West on Track pointed to the success of Phase one of the WRC which was the reopening of the Athenry to Ennis line as an example of why the re-opening of the line is important. Meanwhile, the board of Ireland West Airport Knock have called for the development of the railway line from Claremorris to Sligo in order to serve the airport. Responding to the publishing of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, the board called for the upgrading of critically important rail and road infrastructure in the region. The upgrading of the N17 to Motorway status and the restoration of the currently disused Sligo-Galway railway in order to provide modern and efficient connectivity to the airport is of critical importance to support the airports future growth plans which include achieving the major milestone of one million passengers in the next number of years. The Airport Board also believes that the further development of this rail corridor onwards from Claremorris for both passenger and freight to Sligo with sustainable connectivity from Charlestown into the Airport would significantly contribute to the future sustainable development of ground transportation to and from Ireland West Airport. A strategic connection to the rail network would contribute significantly to a more integrated and sustainable form of travel for the many international visitors and travelling public using the airport from across the region, the airport's board stated. A FUNDRAISING concert conducted by renowned Mayo orchestra conductor, Kathy Fahey will take place in an Achill church as a fundraiser for the Camille Souter Cottage Residency. The Achill Heinrich Boll Association will host 'Illumination' , a concert by Kathy Fahey, performed by Choral Symphony West with soloist Patrick Quinn in St Josephs Church, Bunnacurry, Achill on Saturday, August 17 at 8pm. The concert is part of a fundraising campaign by the Achill Heinrich Boll Association who propose to purchase and refurbish the cottage and studio of renowned artist Camille Souter on Achill Island and establish a funded artists residency in her memory. A native of Belcarra, Castlebar, Kathy Fahey is a freelance choral director and orchestra conductor who from a very young age, has been immersed in music, both teaching and performing. Kathy was just 18 years old when she performed Handels Messiah for the first time as part of the Maynooth College Choral Society, where she was studying, and went on to conduct a full performance of the famous work in The Church of The Holy Rosary, Castlebar. It was the first time to be performed in Mayo, with a 100 strong choir and 18-piece orchestra. Subsequently, sacred works are now performed biannually in the county town under her baton collaborating Vocalessence Ladies Choir with the Mayo Concert Orchestra, which is collectively known as Choral Symphony West. She works with several choirs across Mayo, as well as Mayo Concert Orchestra with her most recent appointment being director of Gardiner Street Gospel Choir in Dublin. Commenting on her 'Illumination' concert, Kathy said it was inspired by the Northern Lights. I started composing 'Illumination' during the summer of 2023 having been hugely inspired by the sightings of the Northern Lights, and of course I am passionate about sacred music. Each of the 12 pieces in the work is loosely based around the imagery therein, each piece titled appropriately, and in addition, the seven choral pieces are all of a sacred nature, but themed around light. Along with those pieces, there are two symphonies, Aurora's Prelude and Enchanting Skies. The full work is completed by powerful solos for tenor, mezzo-soprano and baritone, she said. Kathy also has a great love for gospel music, having trained the multi-awarded Chapel Street Gospel Choir, with a particular appreciation for traditional African American gospel and its historic significance as well as the more modern gospel spirituals. Her career in most recent years has had considerable focus on composition, one of her finest achievements being her brainchild, Fainne Oir, a dance show created and composed in 2019, with a storyline set during the Famine years in Ireland. This show has been performed across Ireland and on Broadway in New York. Camille Souter's cottage Camille Souter's cottage is located in Dooagh on Achill Island where she lived from 1958 into the early 1960s and permanently from the mid 1980s until her death on March 3, 2023. Achill Heinrich Boll Association recently launched a campaign to purchase the cottage to establish a funded artist's residence where professional artists will live and work at her studio for a given period with financial support. Tickets for Illumination cost 20 each and are available at www.heinrichboellcottage.com. ACHILL Island Sea Salt was one of only 26 Irish food and food producers and the only one in Mayo to be awarded three stars in the prestigious annual Great Taste Awards 2024. Achill Island Sea Salt were awarded a Great Taste 3-star award, which is the highest accolade to be achieved for 'extraordinarily tasty food and drink'. Run by the Guild of Fine Food in the UK, the annual Great Taste awards see a highly-qualified panel of judges - made up of food buyers, chefs, restaurateurs, producers, critics, writers and journalists - invited to test a variety of products, each of which have been stripped of their packaging and branding. The family-owned business picked up the award for its Achill Island Smoked Sea Salt and was the only Connacht-based food or drink producer to pick up the award. The judges described the flavour of the product as a 'natural and wild product' which has a 'highly smoky aroma 'as if you can smell the embers of a dying fire'. On the plate, the smoke delivers the salt and the sea for tasting, stepping aside to allow them to shine. An unforgettable experience and a truly beautiful product The smoke on the nose opens well and this follows through with some power onto the palate. We found much to enjoy natural and sympathetic and well-produced, the judges wrote. In a post on their social media platforms, Achill Island Sea Salt said they were absolutely thrilled to achieve three stars for their Smoked Sea Salt which is produced at their factory in Bunnacurry on Achill Island. Last year we decided to start smoking our sea salt in-house as we wanted to have more control over the smoking process. After many, many, trials by the team we finally got it right! So we are over the moon to receive recognition for the quality and great taste of our smoked sea salt, they wrote. Nearly 3,500 companies from around the world entered Great Taste this year, between them offering 13,672 products for review. Each entry was meticulously blind-tasted by the Guilds expert judging panel of over 500 food critics, chefs, recipe creators, buyers, retailers, and other specialists in the field of food and drink. Entries were analysed across 92 judging days, each receiving detailed feedback, whether or not they obtained an award. Only 1.9 percent of all entries (266 in total globally) received a 3-star award, given to extraordinarily tasty food and drink, while 10.1 percent or 1,386 in total, were awarded 2-stars, for being above and beyond delicious and 28.8 percent, 3,938 in total, were awarded 1-star, for food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour. Products made in Ireland won a total of 499 awards, with 353 obtaining 1-star and 125 obtaining 2-stars. Achill Island Sea Salt was founded by Marjorie and Kieran O'Malley in their home in Keel on Achill Island in 2013. The product quickly became a favourite for chefs for its 'soft flaky texture' and has won numerous culinary awards. In recent years the O'Malley's moved the production of Achill Island Sea Salt from their home to a new factory in Bunnacurry on Achill Island which also offers guided tours in the summer season. Last November, the Department of Agriculture announced that Achill Island Sea Salt's application for a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) had been successful which means that 'Achill Island Sea Salt' is the name given to a hand harvested sea salt from the waters around Achill Island. Luzveminda OSullivan, a Castlebar native, has been announced as Chair of the judging panel for this year's Rose of Tralee festival. The former winner of the festival is a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry with more than 20 years experience and returns to the Festival as often as possible since her triumph in 1998. The fate of who will become the 64th Rose of Tralee lies in the hands of the four distinguished judges from August 16-20. Speaking at the launch of this years judging panel, Ms OSullivan called it a special honour to be a part of the international judging panel for 2024. The Rose of Tralee is an important, positive and significant part of my life and has been for many years now. I am very much looking forward to meeting all of this years Roses and choosing our 2024 International Rose of Tralee, who will embark on what will undoubtedly be a life-changing experience. I am 100 percent confident that together with the other judges, we will choose the next worthy ambassador for this wonderful Festival and all that it encompasses, she continued. Last year's Mayo Rose, Kate Heneghan, also from Castlebar was highly tipped to win the festival. Returning to the panel this year is Nuala Carey of RTE Weather and National Lottery, as well as Galway broadcaster who is head of Sport with Galway Bay FM and was recently elected as a local councillor, Ollie Turner. The final member of the 2024 Judging Panel is international fashion designer to the stars and proud Kerryman, Don ONeill. The National Rose Tour begins on Sunday, August 11, with the festival itself taking place from Friday 16 to Tuesday the 20 of August. Audience tickets for RTEs two live televised Selection Nights on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 August are available via the Rose of Tralee website. Fatima Latifova The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, met with the First Deputy Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mirzatillo Tillabayev, and the Director of the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Murodjon Turqunov, Azernews reports. During the meeting, the Commissioner noted the close friendship and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, highlighting the effective cooperation in various fields, including the protection of human rights and freedoms. She expressed gratitude for the construction of a school in the liberated Fuzuli region by Uzbekistan. The Ombudsman provided detailed information to the guests about her activities in the field of human rights and freedoms, emphasizing the importance of cooperation with international organizations and mentioning the existing relationships with foreign ombudsmen and national human rights institutions. The Commissioner discussed the amendments to the Constitutional Law "On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan," stating that her mandate has been expanded in areas such as the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and children, and the prevention of discrimination. Aliyeva also talked about the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism, noting that visits are conducted to places where individuals cannot leave of their own free will, and the conditions of treatment and detention are investigated. She highlighted that Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change this year, and mentioned that preparations for the event are underway at a high level. The Ombudsman also announced the upcoming Baku Forum of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on a number of other issues of mutual interest and future cooperation prospects. Google and Microsoft, two huge tech companies that support massive search engines and advertising platforms, have updated the way they deal with deepfakes. Support behind protecting users of Google Search against deepfakes was provided by updating its ranking system to ensure content does not rank high in Google Search, and by making it easier to remove deepfakes from serving up in the results. When there is a higher risk of fake content appearing in the Google Search results, the company will use ranking updates" to lower the chances of seeing explicit fake content. When searching for someone's name, Google Search will surface high-quality, non-explicit content" such as news articles, when available. "The updates weve made this year have reduced exposure to explicit image results on these types of queries by over 70%," Emma Higham, product manager at Google, wrote in a post that outlines the changes. advertisement advertisement The need to distinguish explicit content thats real and consensual from explicit fake content will become more important. "While differentiating between this content is a technical challenge for search engines, we're making ongoing improvements to better surface legitimate content and downrank explicit fake content," Higham wrote. "If a site has a lot of pages that we've removed from Search under our policies, that's a pretty strong signal that it's not a high-quality site, and we should factor that into how we rank other pages from that site." Google will demote those sites that have received a high volume of removals for fake explicit imagery. Tests shows this type of monitoring works well for Google. Announcements from Google also focused on several image-related search features by expanding About this image, Circle to Search, and Google Lens. by Ray Schultz , July 31, 2024 Financial publishers and affiliates are worried about the economy, and consumers apparently are too, judging by the 2024 Financial Industry Affiliate Marketing Report, a study by Fintel Connect. In the U.S., 25% of affiliates and publishers see a shift to investment products and 21% for savings, reflecting a growing interest in financial stability and long-term wealth building. In contrast, Canadian consumers are prioritizing credit cards and mortgages, publishers say. Overall, 35% see loans as having the greatest potential going forward, and 19% cite payment solutions. The study groups publishers and affiliates together. It is not clear whether these publishers are mainstream journalistic organizations or influencersthe study says these respondents partner with financial brands. advertisement advertisement But they face similar challenges as other publishers. In the U.S., these include: Economic uncertainty33% Search engine algorithm changes29% Budgets13% Regulatory changes12% Competition6% Compliance team pushback6% Of the Tier 1 publishers in the US, 44% will opt for video as a primary tactics for reaching and engaging audiences in 2024. In Canada, 63% are see email as their chief marketing tool. The report is based on a survey of 121 publishers and affiliates in North America. by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, August 1, 2024 Sure, people may still think of Nicole Richie as a red-carpet regular with the kind of Hollywood cachet thats kept her on VIP lists for decades. But as the entrepreneur and A-lister moves into her 40s, shes also the perfect pitchwoman for Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair portfolio. In the new Night Night Club campaign, the brand acknowledges that for many millennials, getting to bed early means more than access to a coveted nightclub. Were a science-led brand, and we understand that we are known for stressing that when trying to get consumers' attention, says Cyndi Pierre, executive director of consumer engagement, North America. But with so much new competition in the nighttime skincare category, we needed to think outside the box. advertisement advertisement Thanks to social listening, the company recognized that for the millennial women it considers its primary target, your night-times ideas are different than your clubbing days. The most exclusive spot in town is your bed. As the brand switched from speaking about the efficacy of the product into a more emotive approach, Richie emerged as the perfect pitchwoman, Pierre tells Marketing Daily. The typical Estee Lauder customer is multidimensional. Shes a businesswoman, and yes, shes about family, but shes also punchy, very spirited, with a lot of personality. Richie is all of these things. And at 42, she is familiar, especially with millennials going through a nostalgic phase. They know her, and they love her, Pierre says. In its more recent sales results, Estee Lauder reported a 5% gain in sales, with skincare products increasing the most. Pierre says innovation in nighttime skincare is one reason for that. And while sales of Lauders nighttime products are up, so are sales at many competing brands. Thats led to increased conversations on social media. So, while were continuing to stress efficacy in stores, were taking a more unexpected social-first approach, connecting them to in-store moments. Its a way to widen and modernize the perception of Estee Lauder. Shadow created the ads where Richie reinvents the definition of bottle service, waking up with(V)ery (I)ncredibly (P)lump skin. Look at me, she says to the camera. Is it 2007 again? Dash Couriers Wiltshire has taken a firm stance against the lack of reported reliability that has plagued the freight delivery sector. Headed by husband and wife team Darren and Shani Moore, with Shani recently honoured as Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 by Great British Expos, Dash Couriers is marking its fourth successful year in the industry. With over 25 years of business experience, the company has carved out a niche specialising in same day and time-critical freight movements throughout the UK. The collective teams dedication to sector has most recently been recognised at the National Courier and Despatch Association Award, picking up bronze for The NCDA Independent Courier of the Year of 2024. Darren Moore, co-founder of Dash Couriers said: In an industry where service levels frequently fall short, we prioritise driver welfare and accountability as core values, distinguishing ourselves from competitors. This dedication has allowed us to fill a gap in the market by delivering exceptional customer service. Our success is largely attributed to our fantastic team of dedicated drivers, who are committed to our mission. Recent statistics highlight the industry's shortcomings, with a survey by Citizens Advice showing that 57% of people had issues with late deliveries. Additionally, 31% of customers rated their delivery experience as poor due to bad service (Citizens Advice, 2023). In contrast, Dash Couriers has consistently received positive feedback for their reliability and efficiency with a 4.8* Google Reviews rating, showcasing their commitment to excellence. One customer states: Dash is growing on me more so because they have not just delivered, theyve serviced a solution for us as a business and our customers. Being cheapest isnt the best, being a brand isnt the best - doing what you say you are going to do is best! If you need to get a parcel from A-B, try them. Dash Couriers offers a versatile range of delivery options, capable of moving anything from a single envelope to a truckload of pallets, with collections available in as little as 30 minutes. This flexibility, combined with meticulous attention to detail and a future sustainability plan, has made Dash Couriers the first choice for numerous organisations. Their clientele ranges from small independents and worldwide brands to the NHS and local councils. Evidence of debris stemming from return trips of SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has prompted the company to shift future landing operations from Florida to California. The move was announced Friday during NASAs press conference previewing the upcoming Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station, and it wont take effect until 2025 after Crew-9 has returned. After five years of splashing down off the coast of Florida, weve decided to ship Dragon recovery operations back to the West coast, said Sarah Walker, SpaceXs director of Dragon mission management. This includes both cargo and crew versions of its spacecraft. At issue is the trunk portion of the Dragon capsule that is discarded before reentry and splashdown. Initially, the cargo version of Dragon made returns in the Pacific 21 times from 2011-2020, but when crew capability came online, SpaceX made the shift to allow for capsule landings off the coast of Florida either in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. Feeding that decision were models that predicted how the trunk portion would break up in Earths atmosphere. SpaceX and NASA engineering teams used these industry-standard models to understand the trunks breakup characteristics, and they predicted the trunk would fully burn up due to the high temperatures that are created by air resistance during that high speed reentry into Earths atmosphere, Walker said. They should leave no debris, and that was a determining factor in our decision to passively deorbit the trunk and enable Dragon splashdowns off the coast of Florida. SpaceX first landed a Dragon capsule in the Atlantic with the uncrewed flight of Demo-1 followed by the first crewed launch of Dragon on Demo-2 in 2020. It also switched cargo Dragon missions beginning with CRS-21 in December 2020 so that all Dragon landings have been off Floridas coast since. So today Dragons trunk is jettisoned prior to the vehicle deorbit burn while still in orbit, Walker said. That leaves it in space while the capsule comes down and does a pinpoint splashdown and then it passively reenters and breaks up in the Earths atmosphere in the days to months that follow. But that leaves the trunk with imprecise timing and location for landing. To date, the majority of that trunk debris has reentered over unpopulated ocean areas. But the fact that any debris has reentered indicates to us that we need to draw a different conclusion from that initial analysis, Walker said. So I just want to say that we are committed to safe spaceflight operations and to public safety. Its at the core of what we do. Walker said it evidence of trunk debris was first discovered in 2022 in Australia. More debris has since been found in North Carolina and Saskatchewan, Canada. Walker said SpaceX implemented some changes after the 2022 discovery to improve probability. But then we also launched into a big effort to work with NASA and the FAA to pursue a longer term solution, and thats where we are today, she said. The move back to West coast landings means software on Dragon launches will shift so the trunk remains attached until after the deorbit burn, and that will mean the trunk will land safely in an unpopulated area of the ocean west of the landing spot in the Pacific. SpaceX will shift one of its recovery vessels to the Pacific in 2025 basing operations out of the Port of Long Beach for initial postflight processing. After that, Dragon will be transported back to Florida to prepare for its next launch. This isnt just going back to the old way of doing things, especially considering our human spaceflight recoveries have never before been executed from the West coast, Walker said. Instead, I see it more as taking a familiar operations concept and applying it to the Dragon we fly today, finding a way to combine the public safety benefits of West coast recovery with all the benefits of crew transportation services and enhanced cargo return capabilities that we provided the last five years out of Florida. Dragon flights have become more common with the pace of crewed launches ramping up on top of regular resupply missions to the ISS with cargo Dragon. Crew-9 is the third human spaceflight in 2024 out of what could be a record five flights this year. SpaceXs Crew Dragon fleet already supported the Axiom-3 mission in January and Crew-8 flight in March. After Crew-9, which could fly as early as Aug. 18, it has the Polaris Dawn mission that could also fly in August set to send up billionaire Jared Issacman on a return trip to space, and then the Axiom 4 mission to the ISS as early as November. In 2025, it has Crew-10 slated for February. It also has the next Dragon resupply mission CRS-31 slated for September and another in early 2025, which could end up being the first West coast landing for the spacecraft. This is critical to ensure Dragon continues to safely fly to and from Earth orbit. This new path I believe will make it possible while also keeping the public safe as we work toward becoming a spacefaring civilization, Walker said. Similar to SpaceX Crew Dragon is Boeings CST-100 Starliner, currently awaiting its return home to the U.S. form the International Space Station. Unlike Dragon, it targets landings not in the ocean, but on land. Starliners target landing spots are among five locations in the southwestern United States, with two on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, one on the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, one on the Willcox Playa in Arizona and one on Edwards Air Force Base in California. It too has a trunk portion called a service module, that will be separated, but after the deorbit burn on reentry as it travels over the Pacific, so that debris would fall into the ocean as well. ______ 2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit at orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The deadly crash of an CV-22B Osprey off the coast of Japan that claimed the lives of eight airmen in November was caused by a catastrophic failure in the gearbox of its left proprotor and how it was handled by crew members, according to the Air Force investigation into the crash. A copy of the investigation obtained by Military.com says investigators found that components inside the gearbox began cracking and releasing debris, which then wedged between other components and eventually caused the left proprotor to stop turning, putting the aircraft into an unrecoverable spin. The incident was the last of three deadly crashes that struck the Osprey community in recent years and triggered a monthslong grounding of the aircraft. While Ospreys resumed flight in March, they were cleared to fly without a full understanding of what brought down the Air Force flight in Japan and adhered to a restriction that bars flying more than 30 minutes from an airfield. Read Next: Space Force's Enlisted Leader Seeks Hollywood Star Power to Put Guardians on Screen The investigation reveals that throughout the flight of Gundam 22 -- the call sign of the aircraft that crashed -- the pilots received warnings that there were tiny metal chips in their gearbox but that they were being addressed by an internal system of sensors and magnets. However, after a third warning, Air Force policies say that the crew needed to "land as soon as practical" -- a formal condition that means "extended flight is not recommended" but leaves the landing site and length of flight up to the pilot in command. The crew decided to continue with the mission before two more warnings and a more serious alert of a persistent chip in the gearbox meant the crew had to land "as soon as possible." They diverted to Yakushima Island in Japan, which has a small airport. The chips were actually part of a gear that was slowly disintegrating inside the gearbox. Eventually, a large enough piece of the gear sheared off and severely damaged other parts of the gearbox, stopping the left proprotor from spinning. "That resulted in a complete roll. The aircraft did two full rolls and ended up impacting the water," Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday. Gundam 22 crashed into the water off the coast of Yakushima as the crew was waiting to land. Given this series of decisions, the report said that the pilots "inadequately prioritized continuing the mission over considerations related to the risk of extended flight without redundancy." However, the phenomenon of chipping in the aircraft gearboxes is not new and, while the report faults the crew, Conley also told reporters that the airmen didn't actually violate any policy and broadly acted in accordance with their training. In February 2024, NBC reported that "since July 2022, there have been at least seven instances of metal chips found in the [Osprey] gearboxes, though no fatalities have resulted." The crash report also notes that the chipping problem was known to the military office that oversees the Osprey and that there was "inadequate action" on its part in dealing with the issue, which "prevented comprehensive awareness of [proprotor gearbox] risks, and substantially contributed to the mishap." Despite that, the report also found fault with the crew -- whom the Air Force previously called "the best of us" and "naturally talented" pilots -- saying that they had "an insufficient sense of urgency throughout the entire mishap sequence" and, once a fifth warning cropped up and the pilots finally decided to land, they did not choose the closest airfield. It's not immediately clear from the report that the crew had any other indications that something was seriously wrong with their aircraft, and Conley said that "this is the first time that this specific part has failed on a V-22 of any any type in almost 800,000 flight hours." The three-star general and V-22 pilot also described the warnings the crew was seeing as "kind of like a check engine light in your car -- you could drive your car for 10 years and not get any or you could drive next week and get three different ones for multiple reasons." Conley told reporters that "the chips are a byproduct of just the gearboxes themselves. It's not unique to a V22" and that the first five alarms meant "that the detector had detected the chip and successfully burned it off." He also confirmed that the pilots "followed their training to read the checklists and to look for secondary indications," undercutting the report's conclusion that the pilots took unnecessary risks with "a potentially serious mechanical problem." Although he said the crew's actions contributed to the mishap, Conley told reporters that "there's nothing to indicate that they did anything deliberately to violate any policy." Since the crash, AFSOC protocol has changed, and crews are advised to land as soon as practical after a single chip burn and "as soon as possible" after a second chip burn, he said. The crash off the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan, on Nov. 29 marked the deadliest CV-22 incident in the Air Force's history. Killed in the crash were Maj. Jeffrey T. Hoernemann; Maj. Eric V. Spendlove; Maj. Luke A. Unrath; Capt. Terrell K. Brayman; Tech. Sgt. Zachary E. Lavoy; Staff Sgt. Jake M. Turnage; Senior Airman Brian K. Johnson; and Staff Sgt. Jake Galliher. Following more than 40 days of a massive search effort, the remains of the airmen -- with the exception of Spendlove -- were recovered. The Air Force, alongside the other military services that fly the Osprey, grounded their V-22s shortly after the crash. Within roughly four months, the Pentagon cleared the services to fly again. While the other branches quickly resumed flight, the Air Force was more cautious. The service said last month that only a handful of its aircraft were flying at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Air Force also said it planned to examine the number of pilots and aircrews for the Osprey as part of a reevaluation. Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, head of Naval Air Systems Command, which oversees the V-22 program, said during a House hearing testimony last month that he does not expect V-22s to return to full unrestricted flight operations until "mid-2025." However, Conley, the AFSOC commander, told reporters Wednesday that, while the service is not using the CV-22 in combat operations, the timeline explained by Chebi may now be bumped up. "We're not providing any combat capability, but I'll tell you we're getting close," Conley said. "I don't want to discuss the specifics of operational deployments, but we're getting back in the ballpark where I think we will be supporting combatant commanders this year, this calendar year." Related: Deadly Marine Osprey Crash Triggers Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Bell Textron, Boeing, Rolls-Royce The parents of a toddler who was physically and mentally abused by federal employees at a Navy day care in Hawaii two years ago announced a claim Wednesday accusing the service of negligence, poor oversight and mishandling their case, according to legal documents shared with Military.com. Jeremy and Kaitlin Kuykendall, represented by Just Well Law PLLC out of Austin, Texas, said that child care workers at the Ford Island Child Development Center, or CDC, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam pinched, slapped, squeezed, shoved, shook, threw and smothered their child, according to the claim, which was announced in a press release from the law firm this week. Video shared with Military.com by the family appears to show separate instances in which CDC workers pinched Bella, the Kuykendalls' daughter who turned three years old in May; grabbed her by the arm; dragged her in the day care; hit her on the head; shook her; and squeezed her in a headlock before she collapsed in pain or shock on a small couch meant for children in the facility. Read Next: Air Force Investigation Finds Gearbox Failure Downed Osprey Off Japan Coast The video from August 2022 also showed images of Bella's body with injuries, including bruises, scrapes and red marks on her face, which were confirmed by medical evaluations at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Hawaii, according to the claim. In an interview with the family, Bella's mother, Kaitlin, said that her daughter is traumatized by the incidents and is afraid of community situations or new environments -- and that Navy and federal officials were negligent in their handling of the case. "It just feels like betrayal," Kaitlin Kuykendall told Military.com in a phone interview Wednesday. "Because we were lied to by the people we thought cared about us and our family and would be there to protect children." Military.com reached out to the Navy for comment regarding Wednesday's claim. The director of public affairs for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Chuck Anthony, replied Wednesday and said "we do not comment on pending litigation." Kaitlin's husband Jeremy, an Army officer, spent hundreds of hours reviewing the footage, which "ultimately confirmed" the family's worst fears, the claim said. In April, Military.com published an investigation that featured the Kuykendalls, along with other families whose children experienced abuse and systematic mishandling of their cases at military CDCs around the country. Hours after the article was published, the Department of Defense launched an inspector general review of the issues raised by the Military.com investigation. But that has proven inadequate to the family, which is still seeking justice, according to their attorney. This week, in a report accompanying its fiscal 2025 defense spending bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee directed the secretary of defense to initiate an independent review of the abuse at the CDCs within two months, according to an excerpt of the report provided to Military.com by the office of committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., on Thursday. Bill reports do not carry the weight of law, but the Pentagon typically follows directions included in them. The committee tasked the Pentagon to review how it approaches transparency, victim support and communication with families, and manages its investigations -- issues that were woefully lacking, according to Military.com's investigation. The subcommittee also charged the Defense Department to produce a report roughly seven months from when the review begins. "In addition, the committee directs the Department of Defense Inspector General to conduct an investigation into referred reports of child abuse at the Ford Island Child Development Center near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and brief the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate of its findings," the report said. In the claim, which was also shared with Military.com, the family alleges that the government -- specifically the Navy -- failed to properly hire, train and supervise its CDC workers, resulting in the abuse. Two center employees, Analyn DeGuzman and Marilyn Kanekoa, were charged over the abuse last summer. The claim said that, because federal employees charged with the safety and management of the CDC did not act urgently, those employees were allowed to continue their employment at the CDC for months. In January, DeGuzman and Kanekoa were sentenced to 30 days and eight days in jail, respectively, for misdemeanor assault for their involvement in the abuse. The family notified the director of the CDC about their concerns in late August 2022, around the time they had Bella medically evaluated, according to the claim. The claim said that the director assured the Kuykendalls that she would investigate the concerns, but eventually stonewalled them from reviewing the footage that the director had apparently seen herself, causing the family to languish for months. That alleged stonewalling was rife with miscommunication from officials, which fueled concern from the parents, according to the claim. In one instance, an investigator approached the parents and asked "where the baby garment with semen on it" was, the claim said. "It might have been an honest miscommunication, but it set the tone for our paranoia," according to the claim, which quoted Kaitlin. "We constantly went back and forth between wondering if we were crazy or if it was even worse than we thought." Federal officers failed to adhere to monitoring policy, which, according to the claim, mandates that CCTV footage be displayed in the lobby during working hours. When Bella was abused, fewer than five TVs were operational, with none showing footage from Bella's classroom, the claim states, hindering visibility and "effective monitoring." "There is a cover-up here," Kristina Baehr, the attorney representing the family, told Military.com in an interview Thursday. "This family needs relief for the harm to them." The claim was filed under what is considered "pre-litigation," Baehr explained in the interview. Essentially, the claim, which is called an SF-95, puts the Navy on notice. The service now has six months to respond to the claim and make a settlement offer, the details of which were redacted from the claim. Once the six months have passed, the family can file a federal tort claim, which allows those who have been harmed by the federal officials to bring a claim against the government, Baehr said. Baehr, who also represents claimants against the Navy's disastrous Red Hill water contamination incident in Hawaii, where thousands of gallons of jet fuel spilled into the military community's tap water in 2021, said that both cases indicate deeper issues in the service's handling of "bad conduct." Kaitlin Kuykendall told Military.com that her family was also affected by the Red Hill spill while they were stationed in Hawaii, adding to their hardship. No one on the government side has expressed sympathy or acknowledgment "of what they've put us through," she told Military.com regarding the abuse case. "All we wanted was accountability." "Families have the right to expect that when they drop their little [one] off at day care, that little [one] will be safe," Baehr said in the interview. "That little [one] will be cared for. There will be food provided, there will be water provided, they will have their diapers changed, they will play. "And they have the right to expect that the government will follow its own policies to ensure the safety of those in their care," she said. "And that's what didn't happen here." -- Rebecca Kheel contributed to this report. Related: Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight KYIV, Ukraine The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet that's been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years. Western countries have pledged F-16s to Kyiv, and some have arrived in Ukraine, officials in Washington and Ukraine confirmed to The Associated Press. The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the countrys current fleet of Soviet-era jets that are laboring to counter Russias invasion. United States President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the U.S. wont be providing any of its own planes. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries. Though Russias recent battlefield gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is adding up as Ukraine gradually yields ground. The F-16s will enhance Ukraines military strength, especially by upgrading its air defenses. But analysts say they wont turn the tide of the war on their own. Here's what to know: What can F-16s bring to the Ukrainian war effort? The F-16s will likely have three core missions, says Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. They will seek to intercept Russian missiles and drones that have relentlessly bombarded Ukraine; suppress enemy air defense systems; and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles. They will be able to affect some of the dynamics (of the war), Borsari says. A lot of information about the F-16 deployment is classified, including what Western governments allow them to hit and what weapons they will send with the aircraft. The F-16s could carry United Kingdom-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia. They might also get long-range air-to-air missiles that would threaten Russian bombers and fighter jets. The planes advanced radars will allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. Commanding the skies is an essential part of a wars ground campaign, as planes offer air cover to troops. But supporting Ukrainian troop movements on the front line with ground attacks may be too risky for the F-16s, given Russias sophisticated air defense systems. At the very least, the fighter jets could have a psychological effect on Russian pilots, and offer a morale boost for Ukrainians toiling against the Kremlins forces. What are the challenges for Ukraine? Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at Kings College London ticks off a long list of challenges the F-16s will bring for Ukraine. The roughly nine-month training in the U.S. and Europe for Ukrainian pilots amounted to a crash course compared with the usual three-year course for Western pilots in what Miron calls a very complex piece of machinery. That will mean limitations on their performance. The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems. Quality airfields are also a must as the F-16 air intake is close to the tarmac and runs the danger of sucking debris and dirt into the engine. So many associated issues need to be sorted out, Miron says. Ukrainian pilots with no combat experience in F-16s may shy away from engaging in dogfights. How will Russia react? Russian President Vladimir Putin would savor the image that destroying F-16s from NATO countries would bring. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the F-16s will not be a magic pill that changes the course of the conflict. He added that Russian authorities have already offered rewards to servicemen who destroy F-16s. The Kremlins forces will likely try to destroy the F-16s on the ground with long-range missiles. They have already been targeting Ukraines limited number of suitable airfields. The Ukrainians will need to park the F-16s in hardened hangars, disperse them between various locations, station decoy model aircraft and be ready to take off quickly in the event of an air raid warning, analysts say. Ukraine has said it might keep some of the fighter jets at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes. That prompted a harsh response from Putin, who warned that any Western air base hosting the Ukrainian fighter jets would be a legitimate target for the Kremlins forces. U.S. officials said the F-16s would be based in Ukraine. In the air, the Ukrainian F-16s will be up against Russias formidable S-300 and S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems that can target multiple aircraft at a time. Russia's military also has what are estimated to be several hundred operational fighter jets, as well as sophisticated air surveillance radars. Russias Su-35 fighter jet will be one of the biggest threats to the F-16, Borsari of CEPA says. It has a long-range radar that allows it to track and engage up to eight targets at a time across a wide area. Even so, the Russians are aware that theyll be up against a more formidable aircraft than they have met so far in the war and will likely adopt a more careful approach. How will Ukraine protect the F-16s? Although Russian forces will try to strike the F-16s at the airbases where they are kept, Ukraine has robust defenses to protect the fighter jets against such attacks, says Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi. Ukraine has robust capabilities to protect its airfields with anti-aircraft defenses to deflect (Russian) attacks," Khrapchynskyi told The Associated Press. "During the entire time since Russia has invaded Ukraine, it has been actively trying to hit Ukrainian airfields, but they have been somewhat unsuccessful. Khrapchynskyi said the F-16s will significantly increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force to protect the countrys air space from Russian attacks and increase the range that Ukraine can strike strategic targets in Russia. With the acquisition of F-16 aircraft, we will be able to solve a number of problems that are currently hurting Ukraine. These include: Russia's massive missile attacks, its use of guided aerial bombs, and the deployment of S-300 installations in the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv," says Khrapchynskyi. "We are talking about receiving F-16 aircraft, in my opinion, this will significantly help Ukraine to cope with the Russian aggression that is taking place now. ___ Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. JERUSALEM The Israeli military said Thursday that it has confirmed that the head of Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The announcement came a day after an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital killed Hamas top political leader. The rapid events this week have left U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators scrambling to salvage talks for a cease-fire deal in Gaza. At the same time, international diplomats tried to avert an escalation into all-out regional war after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, Israels killing of a top Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike and now Israels announcement of Deifs death. There was no immediate comment on the Israeli claim by Hamas, which had previously said Deif survived the July strike in Gaza. A member of Hamas political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq, said in a statement Thursday that confirming or denying his death is the responsibility of the group's military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, which so far has been silent. The apparent elimination of Haniyeh and Deif two of Hamas most senior figures brings a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as Israeli forces continue to operate in Gaza. After meeting with military officials Thursday, Netanyahu declared that Deifs death enforces a simple principle that we have established, that whoever hurts us, we hurt them. We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena, Netanyahu said. The assassinations also put him at a crossroads. They present him with a potential political off-ramp to end the war, allowing him to retreat from his lofty promises of total victory while showing Israelis that Hamas military capabilities suffered a debilitating blow. The killings could also lead him to harden Israels position in cease-fire talks, with Israeli officials insisting the blows to Hamas will force it to compromise. Hamas could dig in as well in the talks or quit them entirely. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. Israel targeted Deif in a July 13 strike that hit a compound on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The military said at the time that another Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time. In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said that following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike. Elsewhere, Israeli airstrikes on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza City district of Shujaiya killed at least 15 people Thursday and wounded more than 40 others, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, which sent teams to recover bodies. The army alleged that Hamas fighters used the compound to plot attacks against Israel. In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gazas Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million has been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the southwest corner of the territory, with limited food and water. So far, Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Far-right nationalist coalition partners, on whom he relies to stay in power, have threatened to bolt the government if he halts the war. After the announcement about Deif, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the defeat of Hamas is closer than ever. He said the military would continue to eliminate thousands of other terrorists until our security is restored and we bring the hostages home. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike that killed Deif was a significant milestone toward achieving the goals of the war. The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organization in disintegration, he wrote on X. Deif was one of the founders of Hamas military wing in the 1990s. He led the Qassam Brigades for decades through campaigns of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, volleys of rocket fire into Israel and repeated past Israeli assaults on Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. He survived a string of Israeli assassination attempts. Haniyehs killing in particular threw into disarray months of efforts at reaching a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release. Haniyeh had been a main negotiator in those talks. Qatari and Egyptian officials had tense exchanges with U.S counterparts over the assassination, said an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal discussions. While the U.S. has been pressing Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get Hamas to compromise, the Americans cant pressure the other party, Israel to refrain from provocative acts, the Egyptian official said, calling the assassination reckless. Qatars prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, expressed frustration in a post on social media, saying: Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. had no prior knowledge of the strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh. The Egyptian official said no deal was likely in the near future since Hamas must now name Haniyehs replacement. Mediators had been waiting for Hamas response on the latest version of the deal. Instead, after Haniyehs funeral, expected Friday, he said they will reach out to Hamas officials to explore the next steps. After Haniyehs assassination, Iran vowed revenge against Israel, and the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut could also bring reprisals and fuel fears of a wider spiral of escalation. The Egyptian official now said the priority was preventing full-scale war. Meanwhile in Beiruts southern suburbs, hundreds of black-clad mourners packed an auditorium Thursday for Shukur's funeral procession. Many of them held Hezbollah flags or photos of Shukur. An escort of red-capped fighters carried Shukurs coffin, also draped in a Hezbollah flag, down the aisle to the backing of a military band. Magdy reported from Cairo. WASHINGTON (AP) The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, the White House said. Astonishing in scope, the trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The deal was the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the past two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, with seven nations agreeing to give up 24 prisoners. It was trumpeted as a diplomatic feat by President Joe Biden, who called the news an incredible relief and said the detainees' brutal ordeal was over. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, he said in an address from the White House while joined by families of four three Americans and one green card holder who were released. But the welcome news was still sure to spark concerns over the imbalance of the deal with Russia freeing journalists, dissidents and others convicted in a highly politicized court system in exchange for people the West regards as rightfully charged and whether it gives foreign actors seeking leverage over the U.S. an incentive to take prisoners. Under the deal, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the U.S. vehemently denied and called baseless; Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. Emma Tucker, the Journal's top editor, called it a day of great joy and said: I cannot even begin to describe the happiness and relief that this news brings and I know all of you wil feel the same. Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, the Democrat said, Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. In addition to Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, the Russians released included Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, and associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Five German citizens also were released, including a German national held in Belarus. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained. Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the U.S. as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter in 2018 were nearly killed in Britain by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich, which Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovichs, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and U.S. officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. U.S. officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have also said were false and trumped up, and he was serving a 16-year prison sentence. Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the U.S. released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Brittney Griner, whod been jailed on drug charges. Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. GOOCHLAND, Va. -- Virginia state Sen. John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, on Thursday defeated conservative U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a recount of the Republican primary results in Virginia's 5th Congressional District. McGuire narrowly defeated Good, one of the most conservative members of Congress and chair of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus. Election officials previously certified a narrow McGuire win in the June 18 primary, by 374 votes out of nearly 63,000 cast. But with the margin of victory at just six-tenths of a percentage point, Good was entitled to a recount. McGuire's margin of victory narrowed by four votes to 370 following Thursday's recount. "Mr. McGuire received more votes than Mr. Good and is the winner of this election," Chief Judge Claude Worrell II said from the bench, concluding the recount. The last votes arrived at the courthouse at about 9 p.m. Thursday -- nearly 14 hours after officials began the recount process. Around the same time, McGuire arrived at the courthouse. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we won on June 18," he told reporters before the recount result was announced. In a statement on Facebook, Good thanked those who voted for him and supported his reelection campaign. "While I am disappointed in the ultimate outcome, it has been my distinct honor to serve as the congressional representative for Virginia's 5th District over the past 3.5 years," he wrote. Good, who has served in Congress since 2021, was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust fellow GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker in October. After Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential contest, former President Trump called him a backstabber and threw his support to McGuire, a former Navy SEAL. A three-judge panel oversaw the recount. Judge Worrell estimated last month that it would cost $96,500, though he said that amount could change. Good was able to seek a recount because McGuire's victory margin was less than 1 percent. But his campaign must pay for it since the margin is greater than half a percentage point. McGuire will face Democrat Gloria Witt in the November general election. The 5th District tilts conservative. Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. The Department of Veterans Affairs has overhauled its registry for veterans exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards overseas, working with the Defense Department to include 4.7 million veterans who served in locations with potentially dangerous air quality. The VA announced Thursday that the new Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, which includes basic information on veterans as well as deployment history, will advance scientific research on the health effects of exposure overseas to smoke, sand, chemical fires and fine particulate matter. VA officials called the new database an "important research tool that enables VA to identify and study health challenges" of the veteran and service member population. Read Next: Space Force's Enlisted Leader Seeks Hollywood Star Power to Put Guardians on Screen "What we're talking about is an update to ... our burn pit registry, which is a way for veterans to contribute to research that will help us determine what new conditions we should be considering as connected to burn pits in the future," Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said during an interview Tuesday with Military.com. "Veterans have traditionally participated in VA research for many, many years because they know that participation will help other veterans into the future," he said. To create the new database, the VA and DoD pulled deployment data for millions of veterans who served in certain locations during specific time periods when they may have been exposed to toxic conditions, such as oil well fires, chemical plumes, burn pits, nerve agents and other hazardous materials. The registry will include military personnel information; demographics such as gender, race and ethnicity; and deployment locations. It will not include medical information or any data related to VA benefits, according to Elnahal. The new registry is vastly different from the one created by the VA in 2014 after Congress required the department to establish a registry to monitor the health of veterans with potential exposure. That initiative was troubled from the start, with the VA opposing its creation, saying it had little value because the connection between burn pits and illnesses was unproven. And advocacy groups that had lobbied for a VA registry -- like Burn Pits 360, which had created its own account of sick veterans -- despised its final form: a lengthy application that explored veterans' personal habits, such as smoking, that could be cited as a source for illness; a voluntary physical exam; and no pathway for adding deceased veterans. "Our idea of an effective registry should include tracking mortality data and the option to update information if there is a decline in health," Rosie Torres, co-founder of the Texas-based Burn Pits 360, wrote in an email to Military.com. "A registry isn't just about policy reform but about understanding the health impacts of deployment exposures." In 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded that the registry was "not helpful" and suggested the resources spent on the database should be used for an improved patient surveillance system and research platform. The panel also noted that the registry didn't allow for updating by the veterans, making it useless from a health surveillance standpoint for tracking individuals' health issues across their lifetime. And it was never used to guide policy decisions. Following that report, the VA decided to revamp the registry, resulting in the new database that is now live, according to Elnahal. Researchers who want to use the database to understand health consequences and need the information to be linked to clinical data will have to submit their studies for review. If the research extends beyond population-level analysis and requires disclosure of veterans' identities, they will be asked for consent, Elnahal said. The database will include all veterans, living and deceased, who were determined by the DoD to have deployed to eligible locations. "Understand that the moves we're making here will assist in our efforts to identify more presumptive conditions into the future, and that obviously would lead to more benefits to more veterans," Elnahal said. "This redesign massively expands the registry and reduces the participation requirements for veterans, paving the way for critical research in the coming years," he said in a statement. According to the VA, roughly 500,000 veterans were enrolled in the previous registry. That database will remain intact but will be completely separate from the new version. The new registry will include veterans who served in the following campaigns or combat theaters, according to the VA and DoD: Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Iraqi Freedom; Enduring Freedom; and New Dawn. Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Syria, Uzbekistan and Egypt between Aug. 2, 1990, and Aug. 31, 2021. Somalia since Aug. 2, 1990. The Southwest Asia theater of military operations and Egypt any time after Aug. 2, 1990. Afghanistan, Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan or Yemen any time after Sept. 11, 2001. Associated airspaces with the countries listed above, as well as the waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea. Veterans also can opt out of the registry by completing an online form. Elnahal emphasized that the registry will have no impact on veterans' care or benefits. He added that the department worked with veterans service organizations and affected veterans to create the new database. VA and DoD officials hope veterans will not opt out, given the potential for breakthrough research in the coming years. "Being part of the registry is a way for individuals to help and improve our understanding of the challenges faced by service members and veterans affected by these exposures," Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez said in a statement. Torres added that tracking mortality data and health issues in this group of veterans should be a top priority for the VA. "Failing to collect and track this data [would be] continued gaslighting from the VA and DoD," Torres said. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include additional information from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Related: Hundreds of Thousands of Vets Have Filed Claims as Pact Act Celebrates 1st Year Theres a birds nest on the downspout next to my front porch. Its been there for years and it gets used multiple times each spring and summer sometimes by robins, sometimes by sparrows, sometimes by doves. Perhaps the same mating couples come back the following year. Or it could be some chick that was hatched there returned for their own brood in a subsequent season. PONTIAC, MI -- A Pontiac man convicted last month of second-degree murder was sentenced Monday to up to 80 years in prison for his role in the death of 20-year-old Jose Valdez. Oakland County Judge Daniel OBrien handed down the sentence to Angel Alvarez who was ordered to serve a minimum of 36 1/2 years in prison. Public safety and holding criminals accountable are my top priorities as Oakland County Prosecutor and we will continue to work to keep our community safe from violent crime, said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. The jury verdict and Judge OBriens sentence ensure that the public will be protected from this violent defendant. While these three convictions will not bring back the victims life, I do hope that the victims family and loved ones takes some solace in the fact that those responsible for this murder were caught, convicted, and punished for their crimes. After being imprisoned for nearly six years Paul Whelan, the Michigan man who has been detained in Russia since 2018 is expected to be returning home Thursday as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. According to the Associated Press, a source speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed a swap is underway, but did not name who is involved. However, multiple news outlets report Whelan and another American, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will be released from Russian custody as part of the swap. The AP reports Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will also be part of the swap. MADISON HEIGHTS, MI Police are investigating the death of a 6-year-old boy who was found badly injured and unresponsive at a mobile home park in southeast Michigan, The Detroit News reports. First responders were called around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to a residence in a mobile home park in the 25000 block of Dequindre Road in Madison Heights, the report said. A boy had been found unresponsive. Police and firefighters arrived on scene and found the boy was badly injured and not breathing, the report said. He was transported to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to the Childrens Hospital of Michigan. He died of his injuries. Two people have been arrested, the report said. No further details have been released. ANN ARBOR, MI - Eighty-eight layoffs are affecting position reductions and increased class sizes in Ann Arbor Public Schools, hitting some of the districts most in-need schools, according to a report released Wednesday. The report, released at the July 31 Ann Arbor School Board meeting, outlines how the layoffs have especially affected AAPS Title I schools, which the National Center for Education Statistics defines as those receiving federal assistance to help children from low-income families. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Police arrested a person for allegedly robbing a downtown Grand Rapids bank on Wednesday, July 31. It wasnt immediately clear how police identified the 42-year-old man, who police said was awaiting arraignment. KALAMAZOO, MI -- Texas Township received $130,000 from Kalamazoo County to spend on cleanup from the May 7 tornado. But residents of the Colony Woods neighborhood arent happy with the townships plans for the funds. The township cant spend it on private property as originally planned a township attorney said. The bulk of impacted property in Colony Woods is private and residents are struggling to afford costly cleanup bills. Because of legal concerns on how American Rescue Plan Act funding can be used, the township is using the $130,000 to remove debris from the neighborhoods right-of-ways the area of grass along the street instead. But Colony Woods Neighborhood Association President JoAnne ORourke said that isnt far enough. Theres not much left to do in right-of-ways, she said. Roughly $94,000 of the $130,000 has been spent to clear trees in the right-of-way and bring in dumpsters for residents to put debris in, like jungle gym parts and battered grills. ORourke wants the township to help residents with strategic replanting, removal of root balls, removal of compromised trees, leveling of land and reseeding grass but the board has declined. Residents have been patient, ORourke said. But with dwindling bank accounts and a landscape marred by the twister, residents are struggling to see a path forward. We have no solutions coming from the people who are elected to help in this type of situation, ORourke said. Erik Wilson, the townships superintendent, said theyre doing their best, considering the circumstances. A tornado in a tree sanctuary Before Colony Woods was a neighborhood, it was a tree sanctuary. Yards were filled with dozens of old growth trees, many over 60 feet tall. Wind speeds of up to 135 mph in the May 7 EF2 tornado sent many trees toppling. There were stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of wood at the curb going back from the road, like 20 feet or more, ORourke said. RELATED: Neighborhood was known for its 100-year-old trees. Until a tornado wiped out hundreds. Reyes Building and Exteriors continues tree cleanup, following the aftermath of multiple tornadoes, on Friday, May 17, 2024 in the Colony Woods neighborhood of Texas Township, Michigan.Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com Each tree costs upwards of $2,000 to remove, ORourke said. And multiple companies in the aftermath were bumping up removal costs even higher. On the low end, residents paid $10,000 to $20,000 some Colony Woods homeowners told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette. Other homeowners had bills between $40,000 and $50,000. (Residents are) emotionally tapped out. Theyre financially tapped out, ORourke said. Insurance companies would only pay for trees to be removed if they were touching personal property, everything else residents had to pay for. Some tree removal companies couldnt grind the large root balls and stumps attached to trees, so they left them behind. Now yards are littered with root systems, stumps and craters where trees were ripped out of the ground, ORourke said. The root balls and uneven land pose a safety hazard to families, ORourke said. Public money for private property Kevin Catlin, Kalamazoo County administrator, said the township can use the funds for private property at their risk, at the July 22 Texas Township board meeting. That prompted Wilson to ask attorneys about the legality of how the township can spend the money. Tree cleanup, following the aftermath of multiple tornadoes, continues on Friday, May 17, 2024, in the Colony Woods neighborhood of Texas Township, Michigan.Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com Attorneys said the township can only make public expenditures if they receive something in return for the expenditure, if the expenditure is for a public purpose or if the expenditure is supported by their duties as a government body. Restoring property at Colony Woods would provide no direct township benefit and the public would not have not have the right to receive and enjoy the benefit of the use of Colony Woods owners property, attorneys said. Wilson said if residents can move the tree limbs, stumps and root balls into the right-of-way, the township can pay for them to be removed. Were doing the best we can given the guidance we have from our attorney and auditor, Wilson said. But thats not where the work needs to be done, ORourke said. Theres still compromised trees leaning over houses. It is heartbreaking that were basically not using this money in a way that could really help people, ORourke said. ORourke said the township just isnt willing to bypass the legal red tape. Residents were dealt another blow when FEMA denied a federal disaster request be declared in Kalamazoo County on July 23. FEMA assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and programs to help people and businesses recover. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a rapid disaster declaration in Kalamazoo County which will allow businesses, renters and homeowners to request low-interest loans to repair or replace real estate, personal property and business assets damaged or destroyed in the May 7 storms. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- Its almost time to cast votes in the Tuesday, Aug. 6, primary election. National, state and local leaders are on the ballot, as well as local tax proposals. Voters will select candidates to represent their party in the Nov. 5 election. Voters will receive a ballot with three columns: one for Republican candidates, one for Democratic candidates and one for nonpartisan candidates and proposals. While all voters can cast votes on nonpartisan candidates and proposals, they must vote for candidates in the same party on the entire ballot. Failure to do so will invalidate the ballot. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Citizens can register to vote up until 8 p.m. on election day, Aug. 6. Voters can check their voter registration status and find other information about voting online at www.mi.gov/vote. Below is a look at every contested race and proposal that will show up on ballots in Kalamazoo County, depending on where voters live. (Click the links in each race for more details.) National/state races U.S. Senate: U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, is not seeking a fifth term, leaving an open seat in the U.S. Senate. The winner in November earns a six-year term. But first, the field must narrow to one candidate per party. Democrats: U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing Harper Hill Republicans: Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Howell Dr. Sherry ODonnell The top vote-getting Republican in this race will face Democrat Jessica Swartz in the Nov. 5 election, as shes running unopposed on the Democratic side. The winner will earn a two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Allegan and Van Buren counties, as well as the cities of Battle Creek, Holland, Kalamazoo, Portage, South Haven, St. Joseph, among other areas, as shown on the map above. Republicans: U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland (incumbent) Brendan Muir A pair of Democratic candidates will face off including one candidate who previously ran for office as a Republican. The winner will go against Republican Kelly Sackett in November for the state legislature seat. Sackett is running unopposed on the Republican ticket. District 40 includes the city of Portage and parts of Texas Township and Oshtemo Township. Democrats: Lisa Brayton Matt Longjohn Two Republicans are vying for a chance to win a two-year term in the state legislature. The top vote-getter will face incumbent Julie Rogers, who is running unopposed on the Democratic ticket, as well as Libertarian Rafael Wolf. District 41 includes a portion of the city of Kalamazoo, as well as parts of Kalamazoo Township and the city of Portage. Terry Haines Nicole Sabel A newcomer is challenging the Republican incumbent for a two-year term representing Michigans 42nd House District. The winner will face Democrat Austin Marsman in the Nov. 5 general election. Rich Cutshaw Matt Hall (incumbent) Local races Two Republicans are seeking nomination to serve as Kalamazoo County Sheriff. The top vote-getter will face incumbent Democrat Richard Fuller in the November general election. James J. Charon Sabrina Pritchett-Evans A pair of Republican candidates are vying for the opportunity to unseat incumbent Democrat Meredith Place in the Nov. 5 election. Emily Crawford Kathleen Olmsted Two Republicans are vying to become Kalamazoo Countys next treasurer. The winner of the Aug. 6 primary will run against Democrat and current Treasurer Thomas Whitener in November. Pamela Herbert Dale Shugars Two Republicans are competing to represent Kalamazoo County District 2 on the Board of Commissioners. The winner will face incumbent Democratic Commissioner Jen Strebs in the November general election. District 2 includes portions of the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Township and Oshtemo Township. Gary Mitchell Andrew Smith A newcomer is challenging the incumbent District 4 commissioner for the Democratic nomination. The winner will face Republican candidate Jason Mikkelborg for a four-year term on the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners. District 4 includes the western half of the city of Portage. Sarah Joshi Abby Wheeler (incumbent) A pair of Republicans are going head to head in the race for Climax Township Clerk. The winner of the Aug. 6 primary is set to run unopposed on the Nov. 5 ballot. Murat Bates Sarah DeBoer Two Republican and two Democratic candidates are running for the role of Comstock Township supervisor. On Aug. 6, voters will choose one Democrat and one Republican to face off for the open seat on Nov. 5. Republican: Christopher Daniels Benjamin Martin Democrat: Mark Mort Randy Thompson (incumbent) Voters will select one of two Republican candidates for the role of treasurer in the primary. The top vote-getter will then go on to face Democratic candidate Roger Poe in November. Sandra Bloomfield Clyde Bub Sherwood (incumbent) Three Republicans in Cooper Township are vying for the chance to represent the Republican Party in the race against Democrat Jim Frederick this November. Diane Bushouse Jeff Sorensen (incumbent) Daniel Michael Wierckz Six Republican candidates are running for four spots on the Cooper Township Board of Trustees. The top four vote-getters in the Republican primary will run against Democratic candidate Cristine Wiles. Holden Deaton Marc Rowlson Adam Tuinstra (incumbent) Fred Vlietstra (incumbent) Dan Williams (incumbent) Raymond Wilson Two Democrats seek the partys nomination in the race for Kalamazoo Township supervisor on Aug. 6. The top vote-getter is set to run unopposed in November for a four-year term. David Combs Don Martin (incumbent) Two Democrats are running for Kalamazoo Township treasurer in the Aug. 6 primary. The top vote-getter will run unopposed on the Nov. 5 ballot. Dylan Grosser Sherine Miller (incumbent) Six Democratic candidates are running for four seats on the Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees. The top four vote-getters will run against four Republican candidates in the November general election. Ashley Glass (incumbent) Steven Leuty (incumbent) Colleen Leonard Clara Robinson (incumbent) Michael Seals Craig Sherwood A newcomer to the Democratic Party is challenging four incumbent Democrats for one of four seats on the Oshtemo Township Board of Trustees. Republican candidates Andrea Lundgren and Rob Viland will run unopposed on Aug. 6 and will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. Michael Chapman (incumbent) Kristin Cole (incumbent) Zak Ford (incumbent) Neil Sikora (incumbent) Tom Graham Three write-in candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Richland Township Clerk. Nobody filed in time to be on the ballot, so voters will have to write in their names. The top vote-getter will run unopposed on the Nov. 5 ballot. Paul Foust Natalie Ramer Arthur White Jr. A new Republican candidate is challenging incumbent Ross Township supervisor for the partys nomination in the Aug. 6 primary election. The winner of the primary will run unopposed in November, barring a write-in candidacy. Kerry Lynn Elieff Christina Hutchings (incumbent) Nine Republicans hope to fill four seats on the Ross Township Board of Trustees. On Aug. 6, voters will select who will run unopposed in the November election, as no Democrats filed to run. Michael Bekes (incumbent) Frank Guarisco Lynn M. Harmon (incumbent) Helen Lang Diana Langshaw (incumbent) Gary E. Moore Jerry Pawlowicz Mike Sulka (incumbent) Todd White Schoolcraft Township Supervisor Two Republicans are squaring off for a four-year term as Schoolcraft Township supervisor. Since no Democrats are running for the role, the top-vote getter is set to run unopposed in November. Toni Elgersma-Rafferty Donald Ulsh Two Republican candidates are going head to head for the role of Schoolcraft Township clerk in the Tuesday, Aug. 6. primary. If there arent any write-in candidates in August or November, the winner of the August primary will win the race for clerk. Eska Brown Joanne Wiley Voters will select four Republicans out of six candidates vying for Texas Township trustee to run against Democrats Barb Hammon and Dennis Smith in November. Donald Boven (incumbent) Lisa Koop Fred Krymis Brian Kovacik Tamara Mitchell Michelle ONeill (incumbent) Three candidates are running for a new judgeship in Kalamazoo Countys 9th Circuit Court. This nonpartisan race will be on ballots for everybody, regardless of if theyre voting in the Democratic or Republican primary. The top two vote-getters will earn a spot on the Nov. 5 ballot. The winner in November earns an eight-year term. Angelique Camfield Christine Morse Mariko Willis Local proposals Kalamazoo County voters will decide whether to keep paying a tax to support seniors during the Tuesday, Aug. 6 election. The millage passed with 66% support in 2018, and costs taxpayers about $34.62 annually. Voters in Climax Township will be asked to renew a tax to support the local fire department, which was previously approved by voters in 2014. Ross Township voters will decide whether to continue to fund firefighting services in the township. The current millage was approved at 1 mill and the proposed millage is for 1 mill for the next five years. Voters who live in the Van Buren Intermediate Schools territory will vote on a special education millage renewal proposal. The 0.8955-mill proposal would raise $4.5 million in its first year. Portage Public Schools is asking voters to renew a millage on the Aug. 6 ballot that enables the district to make necessary repairs to buildings without having to borrow money. The building and site sinking fund millage has been renewed every five years for the past 60 years. The Charles A. Ransom District Library in Plainwell is asking select voters in parts of Allegan and Kalamazoo counties to renew an expiring operating millage this August. If approved, the millage would continue at its current rate of 0.58 mills in perpetuity. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been a large part of the national conversation around the Democratic presidential ticket this fall. And while she has declined to pursue the presidency and vice presidency this year, MLive asked readers what they thought the second-term governor and rising star in the Democratic Party shouldve done. A majority of the nearly 180 readers who responded to the MLives unscientific survey said Whitmer was right not to pursue a spot on the ticket. The reasons, though, varied greatly from disliking Whitmers leadership to wanting her to finish the job in Michigan. Her term as governor ends in 2026. Here are some of the common themes among the reader responses. For the first question, MLive asked: Do you think Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should have pursued the Democratic presidential nomination after Joe Biden dropped out of the race? While Vice President Kamala Harris has become the uncontested, likely bearer of the Democratic presidential nomination, Whitmers name was among several other prominent Democrats floated as possible replacements for President Joe Biden prior to him dropping out of the race. Even before he dropped out, Whitmer had dispelled speculation that shed seek the presidential nomination this fall. She has endorsed Harris for the role. A number of readers supported Whitmer not seeking the higher office just yet, saying she has to finish her work in Michigan first. No, only because I think she should finish her term as (governor), one reader said. I would absolutely vote for her in a future presidential election! Others took aim at her leadership of the state in their reasoning for why she shouldnt run for the presidency. Some others questioned her experience in national politics and foreign relations. No. Shes done enough harm to Michigans economy via her Covid edicts, a reader said. And she believes whats good for thee is not good for me. Still more said Harris was, and is, the clear choice to replace Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket and expressed hope Whitmer would run for president in the future. No, I do not think she shouldve pursued presidential nomination, one reader said. Kamala Harris was the clear choice and has already gained lots of excitement and momentum within the party. I would love to see a Whitmer presidency but today is not that day. For the second question, MLive asked: Should Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have kept her name in the ring as a potential vice-presidential candidate under Kamala Harris? Harris still has yet to choose a running mate. Although her name was floated, again, for the role, Whitmer has said repeatedly she wouldnt be seeking a spot on the ticket. As with the presidency question, many readers want Whitmer to stay in the state either because they want her to finish the job or because they think she has done a poor job and isnt fit for higher office. No, not her time to shine yet, one reader said. Shes already done so much good in Michigan and more to do. I guess if it got her out of Michigan, but I would rather she left politics after her term, another reader said. I do not care for her or her politics. She kept Michigan locked down far too long as she played dictator. A number of readers said a Harris-Whitmer ticket would raise problems with electability due to factors of race and gender and voter sentiment. Harris is the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to hold the vice presidency. Her election to the presidency would also be historic firsts. No. Whitmer is smart. She knows that two women on the ticket is not a winning strategy in this country right now, one reader said. She will have other opportunities in the future, should she decide to pursue them. Unfortunately the political reality requires balancing the ticket with a white male, another reader said. So nope. Harris is set to visit Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 7, with her yet-unannounced running mate. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Two years ago, in solidly red Ottawa County, a group upset with pandemic-era mask requirements and school vaccine requirements pulled off a political feat considered remarkable by many. Eight people linked to the ultra-conservative platform Ottawa Impact pushed out their more-moderate Republican counterparts on the Ottawa County Board in the August primary and sailed to victory over Democrats in November. From there, controversial board decisions brought significant public ire and national media attention. The question now is whether the Ottawa Impact stronghold can survive another election and again defeat a slate of more moderate Republicans now theyve got a voting record tied to their names. But this time, the script is flipped with the moderates on the outside looking in. Related: Lawsuits, childhood innocence, $4M settlement talks: How far-right board shook up Ottawa County As the Aug. 6 election approaches, the division among county Republicans is palpable and often intense. Rhetoric is high. Both sides have staged press conferences or issued press releases to outline pre-election tactics they deem questionable or damaging to the Republican party. Among them is the claim that Republicans not endorsed by the Ottawa GOP - generally the non-Ottawa Impact candidates -- are asking Democrats to vote as Republicans in the primary. Doug Koopman, a professor emeritus in the Calvin University politics and economics department, believes the upcoming election will be different from two years ago. Voter turnout is likely to be larger. Koopman thinks more people are paying attention to Ottawa County government issues. Two years ago, Ottawa Impact sort of had a stealth primary campaign, he said. Since then, because of controversial board decisions, national and local media have focused attention on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners. Commissioners dissolved the countys diversity office, fired two administrators over 14 months, and tried to fire the county health officer. They also delved into issues not typically traditional to government, including passing a resolution to protect childhood innocence, the anti-abortion-related resolution to protect life and a resolution to become a Constitutional county. The county commission has made a lot of high-profile decisions, Koopman said. So I do expect turnout to be higher. In 2022, the August primary had a 34% turnout, with 76,838 of the countys registered 224,301 voters casting ballots. Related: Does Ottawa Impact have a mandate to make sweeping changes? Koopman said a higher turnout is likely to be less favorable for Ottawa Impact candidates. More voters often shift the outcome toward more moderate voices. He concedes its possible Democratic voters could have an impact on the Republican primary, if they choose to vote on the Republican ticket. Michigans voting rules allow for residents to cast primary ballots on the Republican or Democratic ticket, but not to co-mingle the parties in candidate selections. There is not a lot of action on the Democratic side of the ballot, Koopman said. So Democrats are not losing a lot of influence by voting in the Republican ticket. It may make a difference in close races. It doesnt have to be a lot to change the outcome, Koopman said. Whitt Kilburn, a political science professor at Grand Valley State University, said the showdown in Ottawa County, to some degree, boils down to Donald Trump-aligned Republicans pushing a social and religious agenda versus the more traditional Republican tenants of smaller government and lower taxes. The outcome of the Aug. 6 primary will come down to how many base voters for the Trump and Ottawa Impact ideology cast ballots, he said. I do think thats the big X factor, Kilburn said. The OI people have to be at least a little nervous about it. Kilburn also said that more people seem to be aware of the Ottawa Impact platform. It seems like when politics come up (in conversations), Ottawa Impact is a topic. It just seems like that is what is front and center on peoples minds, he said. The leadup to the Aug. 6 primary clearly has generated more prolific and expensive campaigns for Ottawa County commission candidates. In the Hudsonville and Georgetown Township areas, the names and messages of Republican challengers Mark Northrup and John Teeples can be seen on at least one digital billboard. Northrup, the mayor of Hudsonville, is running against Ottawa County Board Chair Joe Moss. Moss is the co-founder of Ottawa Impact. Campaign finance records show Northrup raised more than $22,000 since January. Moss raised more than $15,000. Moss has large campaign signs on major roads throughout the county, claiming For Freedom and Family and uses a banner Protect the Kids on his web page. Related: God, freedom and guns: Joe Moss blew up the political order, and no, he doesnt have a comment for the press Northrup, in both yard signs and the billboard, asks voters to Toss Moss and stop wasting taxpayer dollars. Teeples is running against Rachel Atwood for a seat being vacated by current Commissioner Rebekah Curran. Atwood is aligned with Ottawa Impact. Records show Teeples raised more than $37,000 and Atwood more than $20,000. The Ottawa County Republican Party, for the first time in its history, endorsed candidates prior to the August primary. The endorsements included all current Ottawa Impact county commissioners and others who align with the OI ideology. This election will determine the outcome of our community for years to come, making it the most important election of our time, a statement from the party reads. It is imperative that we elect conservative leaders who will champion traditional values and protection our Constitutional freedoms. Koopman said hes not sure endorsements will resonate with voters. I dont think it matters a whole lot, he said, noting that endorsements seem to carry less weight with voters as years pass. Related: A far-right faction took over Ottawa County. Its job approval is poor, MLive polling reveals An MLive poll of 600 likely Ottawa County voters in March showed that for voters tracking the actions of their county government, they disapproved of the county boards OI majority by nearly a 2-1 margin, but many voters were unaware of Ottawa Impact and its governing decisions. The poll also showed stronger support for Ottawa Impact in the Jenison and Hudsonville region, with weaker support along lakeshore communities like Holland and Grand Haven. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter. VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI -- The Van Buren Intermediate School District will ask voters to renew the districts special education millage in the Aug. 6 election. The district has an ongoing special education millage rate at 3.2921. In 2020, voters passed a five-year, roughly 0.9-mill increase to the rate. Now the district is asking voters to renew that increase. The current proposal is to renew a millage rate of 0.8955 mills. The millage equates to $0.8955 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation and will be applied to all taxable property in the school district. In other words, a $200,000 home with a $100,000 taxable value would be taxed $89.55 annually for this, if approved. Passing the millage renewal wont result in any increase to what residents are paying. But if the millage doesnt pass, the millage rate will return to 3.2921 mills so property owners would see a small reduction in taxes. The millage provides additional funds to Van Buren County ISDs special education programs. The millage, if passed, will allow for more funding to be distributed to school districts. Over five years, the millage increase would generate $22.5 million for districts in Van Buren County ISD, according to the ISD. There are 11 school districts in the ISD: Bangor, Bloomingdale, Covert, Decatur, Gobles, Hartford, Lawrence, Lawton, Mattawan, Paw Paw and South Haven. Those districts cover Van Buren County, but also parts of St. Joseph County and Kalamazoo County. If voters pass the request, the millage rate will be in place until 2029. The Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive now offers free email news alerts. Click here to sign up for alerts or for the daily 3@3 Kalamazoo roundup of news. Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page here. DETROIT, MI United Auto Workers leaders announced the organizations endorsement of Kamala Harris for president on the eve of the Democrats planned rally in a city synonymous with auto manufacturing. Our job in this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to build on her proven track record of delivering for the working class, UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. Along with the endorsement, the UAW statement revealed Harris would host a rally in Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 7. While the Harris campaign earlier had announced plans for a rally next week, the specific date of the event was not revealed until the UAW statement. Campaign officials later confirmed the rally was scheduled for Wednesday evening. The venue has yet to be announced. UAW officials said union members plan to attend the rally to support Harris. Why? Fain, in his statement, said the U.S. stands at a crossroads. We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed, Fain said. This campaign is bringing together people from all walks of life, building a movement that can defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. For our 1 million active and retired members, the choice is clear: We will elect Kamala Harris to be our next president this November. The Harris campaign revealed a packed schedule next week for the vice president. Its a calendar that sends her across battleground states which, like Michigan, could determine the outcome of this falls election. Harris will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 6; to Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Wednesday, hours before her stop in Detroit; to Research Triangle, North Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 8; to both Savannah and Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 9; and to Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 10. The Harris campaign said the rallies will include the Democrats running mate, who has yet to be named. Since President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race for the White House last week and endorsed his vice president, Harris has been on the campaign trail in key battleground states. This week, Harris campaigned in Atlanta and Houston. She has yet to visit Michigan as a presidential candidate. She did campaign as a vice presidential incumbent in Kalamazoo on July 17, five days before Biden bowed out in her favor. Detroit has served as a frequent stop for presidential candidates this year. The week before Biden dropped out, he hosted a rally inside Detroits Renaissance High School gymnasium. It was the presidents third trip to Detroit in 2024. Trump, the Republican nominee seeking to return to the White House, campaigned in the city in June. FLINT, MI -- Beverly Walker-Griffea left the presidency of Mott Community College last month with an agreement in hand that guarantees her $300,000 from the college over the next two years, according to documents obtained by MLive. Severance wasnt part of her original employment contract, beyond payments for unused leave time. Officially, the split was amicable. The press release announcing her retirement, which was signed by Board of Trustees Chairman Andy Everman, said she had led the college for 10 years with grace, competence, and determination. But current and former trustees and one union leader say consistent disrespect from Everman played a significant role in Walker-Griffeas departure. We never should have been in the position that we were in, said Trustee Art Reyes, but we got a chairman who was openly disrespectful to the president and a majority of the board who did not support her nor stand up to the chair. He noted that a nondisclosure provision in Walker-Griffeas retirement agreement limited what he could say. Everman said the money was simply payouts for unused vacation and sick days and a bonus allowed under her employment contract for hitting certain strategic goals. This is what was required, he said, adding later that the board never, ever asked her or ever had on the agenda asking her to leave. In exchange for the money, Walker-Griffea agreed to not sue or otherwise file complaints against the college or its leaders. She and the colleges Board of Trustees agreed not to disparage one another publicly. They agreed to negotiate that press release about her departure and a letter of recommendation. Mott Community College Education Association President Kim Owens said it was really unfortunate that this chair chose such an expensive strategy in essentially driving away a very effective leader. If Walker-Griffea negotiated a generous exit package, I dont blame her for that, she said. I blame the board chair for that. Walker-Griffea is now the head of the state Department Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential. Asked about the retirement agreement, she released a statement through a department spokesperson noting some of the accomplishments from her tenure as Motts president and her excitement for her new role. She is also bound by the nondisclosure clause. She did not address the retirement agreement. Chair of the board Andy Everman listens to other board members speak during the special meeting, Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2023.Brice Tucker | btucker@mlive.com He never apologized At a Mott Board of Trustees meeting last summer, during a discussion of the role of the assistant secretary to the board, Walker-Griffea put up her hand and said, I have a comment. But I wont let you speak, Everman replied. He relented a moment later, but it was one of the small interactions that have contributed to a perception among some board members and some members of the community that Everman treated Walker-Griffea with disrespect. Members of the public have said as much during the public comment portion of the Boards meetings. Freeman, Reyes and former Mott Trustee Anne Figueroa all described an incident that occurred in a meeting of the Boards Finance Committee in 2019, shortly after voters had returned Everman to the Board. Walker-Griffea had been responding to a question, Figueroa said, and Everman took exception to the way she responded. He goes, You need to call me sir, said Figueroa, who said she was seated next to Walker-Griffea at the meeting. He led with that. And the rest of us kind of gasped. At a Board retreat that December, other trustees basically told him, This was wrong. You need to apologize to her. He never apologized, Freeman said. Everman doesnt recall asking Walker-Griffea to call him sir. Is there a video recording so I can hear myself saying this,? he said. Because I dont remember this. There is not video. While Mott typically livestreams its Board meetings, it does not do so for meetings of Board committees. He admits that there were times when he kept Walker-Griffea from speaking in meetings, including during a discussion last year of an error that put Board members in the position of either agreeing on short notice to a $750,000 contract with the software company Oracle or losing software used for vital college functions. Every one of the trustees had a lot to say, and she wanted to interrupt them, but as board chair its the trustees that have the first right to speak, he said. Video of the meeting shows that, after Walker-Griffea pointed out that shed been trying to get into the discussion for a while, he gave her the floor. Those sorts of interactions probably didnt make her life terribly easy, Freeman said. What was expressed to me from her was that she needed to find something elsewhere, that 10 years was a good run for a college president, and, at this time, she just needed to find other opportunities. Vacation and sick leave Its not impossible that Walker-Griffea accumulated close to $300,000 worth of vacation and sick leave, as Everman has said, but it would have required her to take fewer than half of the days available to her over the past decade. Walker-Griffeas 2023 salary was just shy of $293,000, according to tax forms filed by the Foundation for Mott Community College. Its not clear whether that amount included a bonus of up to $25,000 that she is eligible for each year at the sole discretion of the Board. The multi-year employment contract she signed in 2021 gives her 30 days of vacation and 15 sick days a year and allows her to carry over unused days from one year to the next. To make $300,000, Walker-Griffea would have had to accumulate close to a year of vacation and sick time. She used 20 vacation days for a leave of absence prior to her departure. She would have had to leave more than five weeks worth of leave time unused every year to account for the rest. Mott Community College Trustee Michael Freeman speaks during a press conference on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Jake May | MLive.com) Severance Its not unusual for the presidents of four-year colleges to get severance roughly equal to a years pay, said Brandon Cotton, president of Cotton Law in Washington D.C. and a specialist in college presidents compensation. Its not so common for community college presidents, he said, but community college presidents dont often serve a full 10 years like Walker-Griffea did. It can make strategic sense for a college to give a departing executive extra compensation in exchange for a bit of goodwill or contractual limits on what they can say publicly. As general counsel or as a trustee, you have to protect the school, and you cant assume that someones going to act ethically, he said. And so maybe youre getting them to sign a non-disparagement agreement - especially if youre just paying them out for paid time off and maybe a little bonus - thats the responsible thing to do. A new president Everman became chair of the Board in 2023, following the election of two new trustees, Jeffrey Swanson and Wendy Wolcott. It was widely perceived as shift in power on the Board, and rumors began swirling almost immediately that Everman and his allies wanted to get rid of Walker-Griffea, rumors he has consistently denied. Recent events have done little to quell that sort of speculation. Earlier this month, the Board hired Shaunda Richardson-Snell as Motts interim president, drawing concern from some faculty and community members because she has no previous experience working in higher education, much less running an institution. In the weeks since, the decision has led to recall efforts against three trustees who supported her and one who didnt and a threat from the colleges supervisors and management union to notify the Higher Learning Commission of what they believe were irregularities in the hiring process. Its like the board was willing to get rid of a nationally recognized president of a community college and replace her with someone who had zero experience, Reyes said, and it seems like this was an intentional direction. Everman says it wasnt. The four other trustees did not return messages from MLive. Shes the one that wanted to retire, Everman said. Shes had the opportunity. Shes retired. Shes moved on with her life. The college has turned the page, he said. Were moving on. The United States is sending its top two competitors to the womens gymnastics all-around final, and theyre both gold medal defenders. Sunisa Lee, 2020 Tokyo gold medal winner, and Simone Biles, 2016 Rio gold medal winner, will compete on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 12:15 p.m. ET in the 2024 Paris Olympics. You can watch the meet for free with trials from Fubo or DIRECTV Stream, and it will also be available on Sling and Peacock. The first of these three can be set to record the meet ahead of time if you dont plan to watch live. Peacock will automatically upload events as they are completed to watch later. NBC will also air clips from the meet as part of their Primetime coverage Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. About the meet: Each country sends their top two athletes from the qualification meet to the all-round meet. For the United States, it was a close competition on who the second representative would be as Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles both put up a good fight. In the end, Sunisa Lees bar performance put her at a score of 56.132, and Chiles finished with 56.065. Team USA is coming into the competition with their heads held high after having won team gold for the first time in eight years. Fans are still awaiting to see if Biles will perform a new original skill on bars during competition. If she does, it would be at the beginning of her routine, and it would be the sixth move named after her. It would also mean she is the first gymnast in the world to have an original skill named after her on each apparatus. Watch the 2024 Olympic womens all-around gymnastics final today, Aug. 1, at 12:15/11:15c. Where to watch: By Alimat Aliyeva The tourism departments of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation plan to continue developing cooperation, including the implementation of joint investment projects, Azernews reports. According to the press service, a working meeting of representatives of the trade mission, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Tourism under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Jamshid Abdusalamov took place in Tashkent the day before, during which prospects for cooperation in the field of tourism were considered. It is noted that the parties discussed the further development of bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism, including the coordination of mutual visits of tour operators of the two countries and the implementation of joint investment projects. During the meeting, it was also reported that in the coming days an Uzbek delegation will visit the regions of Russia to present the tourism potential of the republic. According to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, over the past four years, the number of trips of Russian tourists to Uzbekistan has increased more than 10 times from 37 thousand to 403 thousand people. At the same time, in 2023, Uzbeks made more than 800 thousand trips to Russia, which is twice as much as in 2022. USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Exploring a Neolithic monuments lunar links Stonehenge is famous for its association with the sun, and particularly with the summer and winter solstices but did the movement of the moon also influence its design? Carly Hilts spoke to Dr Amanda Chadburn and Dr Heather Sebire about an ongoing project exploring the impact of a once-in-a generation lunar event. Moonrise at Stonehenge during the Major Lunar Standstill in June 2024. Once in a blue moon is a phrase used to express something that happens very rarely. In fact, the phenomenon is not as uncommon as the idiom implies, appearing roughly every 33 months. Rather less frequent, and much less well known, though, is another moon-related event known as a Major Lunar Standstill, which takes place every 18.6 years. While such subjects might sound more astronomical than archaeological, there is an intriguing link with one of Britains most famous ancient monuments. Stonehenge is best-known for its solar alignments, attracting huge crowds to witness the interaction of sun and sarsens during the summer and winter solstices. It has also been suggested, however, that some elements of its design were deliberately sited to align with the moon, specifically during a Major Lunar Standstill and, with one such event taking place in 2024 and 2025, a team of archaeologists are hoping to shed more (moon)light on the matter. If you got up to watch the sunrise every morning, you might notice that the point on the eastern horizon where the sun appears gradually shifts over the course of the year. This movement reaches its northern limit at the summer solstice, before heading back in the other direction and reaching its southern limit six months later at the winter solstice, before the cycle begins again. The position of the moonrise changes too, but on a much shorter cycle, moving from northern to southern extreme in around 27 days. (It is also more difficult to chart, as its timing varies dramatically and is invisible to the naked eye when it takes place in daylight.) At the same time, these northern and southern limits are themselves moving, albeit much more gradually, and the point when they are furthest apart, achieved every 18.6 years, is known as a Major Lunar Standstill. When this occurs, the moon can be seen rising and setting much further north and south than usual, and the effect lasts for around 1-2 years at a time. Might Neolithic communities on Salisbury Plain have recognised that, once in every generation, the moon was strikingly out of place in the sky and might they have chosen to commemorate such observations when constructing Stonehenge? The main solar and lunar alignments associated with Stonehenge. OF MOONS AND MONUMENTS As mentioned above, Stonehenge is most commonly associated with the sun. The main axis of its final design (the stage that saw the erection of its sarsen monoliths and trilithons, taking the form we are familiar with today) is oriented on the summer solstice sunrise and the winter solstice sunset. But, like the moon, Stonehenge has passed through multiple phases, changing its appearance each time and the monuments earliest incarnation hints at an initial interest in lunar alignments. Centuries before enormous uprights rose above Salisbury Plain, Stonehenges original design comprised a simple, circular bank and ditch. Just inside this line a ring of 56 pits today known as the Aubrey Holes, after the antiquarian who first documented them were dug; it has been suggested that they may have once held timber posts or small stones, possibly even representing an original setting for the bluestones that were brought to the site from west Wales and now stand at the heart of the monument. A key aspect of this early version of Stonehenge appears to have been as a cemetery, though, as cremated human remains were placed in some of the Aubrey Holes. Analysis of these remains has indicated that they were already old at the point of their burial suggesting that they may have been carefully curated ancestral remains and that they had been brought from somewhere far to the west of Salisbury Plain (see CA 237 and CA 344). Given the evident importance of these burials to the builders of Stonehenge, it seems telling that the cremated remains were not placed in all of the Aubrey Holes, and there is a strong concentration in the south-east of the circle. This cluster is aligned with the most southerly rising position of the moon during a Major Lunar Standstill, and the same direction was marked with three timber posts set into the surrounding bank. When Stonehenge took its final form, there are hints that this lunar link continued to be significant, even as the newly installed sarsens placed a new emphasis on the movement of the sun. Just outside the main circle of the monument, four smaller stones were set in a nearly perfect rectangle. Known as the Station Stones, they are made from the same sarsen as their larger neighbours, sourced from West Woods about 30 miles to the north (CA 367), and are thought to belong to the same construction phase. Despite their modest scale, the Station Stones appear to have had an important role to play. The rectangle that they form (today, only two stones remain in their original position: the missing pair are represented by modern markers) brackets the curved arrangements of sarsens at a right angle to the monuments main solar axis. The short side of the rectangle runs parallel to this line, pointing towards the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, while the long side cuts across this orientation, pointing instead to the southernmost moonrise and the northernmost moonset during a Major Lunar Standstill. Because the short axis of the Station Stones ties in with the solstice alignment, it is thought that they were purposefully positioned as part of the monuments architecture. But, given this solar link, was their rectangle intended as another piece of apparatus for sighting the sun, with their lunar long axis merely a coincidental consequence of this orientation, or were they truly deliberately designed for the Major Lunar Standstill? Playing devils advocate, one might wonder if such infrequent events would actually have been noticed by Neolithic observers, and if they would have been able to record this information and pass it down the generations in a pre-literate society. Even so, the apparent importance of this orientation to Stonehenges earliest use does suggest that it was seen as somehow special and perhaps the Station Stones represent this significance being later literally set in stone. The two extant Station Stones can be seen just inside the bank and ditch. Archaeologists are making repeated observations at Stonehenge during this years Major Lunar Standstill. MOONRISE, MOONSET To investigate these questions more closely, Dr Amanda Chadburn, Professor Clive Ruggles, and Dr Fabio Silva are working with English Heritage (in whose care Stonehenge lies) and the Royal Astronomical Society to explore the effects of the present Major Lunar Standstill at Stonehenge. Until the phenomenon ends in mid-2025, they will be regularly visiting the site to observe and document various moonrises and -sets at their northern and southern extremes, when the moon is in alignment with the Station Stones. This is an extract of an article that appeared in CA 414. Read on in the magazine, or click here to read it online at The Past, where you can read all of the Current Archaeology articles in full as well as the content of our other magazines, Current World Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, and Military History Matters. I concluded last months column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an 87-mile route rich in archaeology that runs between there and Ivinghoe Beacon across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire (see www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/ trails/the-ridgeway). During Easter 2024, I walked it south to north, and below I share some of the highlights from the sites I visited along the way which have also featured in the pages of Current Archaeology over the years. ROLLING STONES AND WHITE HORSES I begin by heading north from the Sanctuary across Fyfield Down, where CA 16 (September 1969) reported on fieldwork begun there in 1959 by Peter Fowler, revealing a wealth of sites ranging from the Neolithic to the medieval. A few miles further on is the Hackpen White Horse, visited as part of a wider survey of chalk-cut hill figures in CA 234 (September 2009); and slightly further still is the first in a series of fine hillforts along this section of the route: Barbury Castle. Much to my surprise, this edifice has only had one proper mention in the magazine, when Nicola Turto shared a magnificent cake baked in its shape in CA 336 (March 2018). From Barbury, you can look out across a virtually 360 view, and historically the route continues due east to Chiseldon, where CA 214 (January 2008) reported on a find of 12 Iron Age cauldrons; CA 230 (May 2009) had more on this site in the context of the Roman occupation of Britain. However, the modern-day Ridgeway turns south-east to pivot below the village of Ogbourne St George, through an area rich in history but within which Current Archaeology has never stopped. The path curves south and east in a great arc (crossing the A346, which follows the line of the Roman road from Cirencester to Marlborough) and climbs back up onto the chalk downs towards Aldbourne, visited in my column in CA 411 (June 2024) for its associations with the Second World War. The Ridgeway then rejoins its historic line at Liddington Castle, another fine Iron Age hillfort that Current Archaeology has not yet visited surprisingly so, since it was partially excavated in 1976 by a team from the University of Birmingham. The cover of CA 142 featured the view from the White Horse over the Vale, and discussed sites such as Waylands Smithy and Uffington Castle. Heading north-east, the path then crosses an example of what future archaeologists will surely ponder: the great 20th-century linear earthworks of our motorway system in this case, the M4. CA 25 (March 1971) reported on fieldwork led at this time by RESCUE along the M4 and M5, with hundreds of sites identified in this proto-planning landscape. However, in terms of the Ridgeway, it is best to cross quickly back up into the chalk downs of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. There are archaeological heavy-hitters ahead: Waylands Smithy and Uffington Castle lie a few miles further north-east, both in the care of the National Trust. CA 142 (March 1995) first visited these sites with David Miles, a name that has become synonymous with them thanks to his book The Land of the White Horse (2019). David returned in CA 359 (February 2020) to tell that full story, and included the work of one my favourite local artists, the supremely talented Anna Dillon, whose paintings feature many archaeological sites and monuments, as on the cover of Davids book (see http://annadillon.com). Waylands Smithy, meanwhile, was visited in depth in CA 209 (May 2007) and CA 347 (February 2019), the former in relation to its dating and the latter as part of a wider exploration of the Neolithic. In CA 359, David Miles wrote a feature about the interpretation of the White Horse, and what archaeological science revealed about its creation. DEVILS AND DITCHES Just south-east of Uffington and the Ridgeway lies Rams Hill, a Bronze Age and Iron Age site investigated by Stuart and Peggy Piggott (later Guido) in 1938 1939, and again by Richard Bradley and Ann Ellison in the 1970s: CA 36 (January 1973) and CA 42 (January 1974) reported on their fieldwork here. The site sits at the north-western end on their fieldwork there. The site sits at the north-western end of the Lambourn Valley, which CA 333 (December 2017) and CA 356 (November 2019) show to have been a fertile and well connected Roman farming landscape thanks to the study of the villas there, especially at Boxford, near Newbury. The discovery of the Boxford mosaic made the news in CA 356, and illustrated the high-status Roman occupation in the Lambourn Valley. Continuing eastwards, the Ridgeway soon comes to Segsbury Camp, due south of Wantage. CA 388 (July 2022) visited this Iron Age encampment in the context of a wider survey of hillforts at this time, and CA 352 (July 2019) reported on an unusual find from the same era at nearby Childrey: a deviant burial of a woman placed with her arms draped over her head, her hands together, her legs bent up with the knees apart, and her feet detached, placed still articulated by her right arm. The Ridgeway there gradually curves south-east through open chalk grassland, the placenames making clear its ancient farming uses. Just to the north is Harwell, which for many years was synonymous with radiocarbon dating from archaeological sites across the country thanks to it being the home of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) laboratories; for context on that scientific history, see CA 209 (May 2007). The Ridgeway then dips beneath the A34 near Ilsley before heading on to cross the Thames at Streatley and Goring, before following the east bank of the river north. The pickings there are thin there are no significant mentions of any sites in this part of Berkshire or Oxfordshire in Current Archaeology. Only where the Ridgeway turns sharp right, east out of the valley at Wallingford, do references re-emerge: for example, at the medieval castle there in CA 35 (November 1972), CA 50(May 1975), and CA 310 (January 2016), and on prehistoric sites around the town in CA 121 (September 1990). There, the Ridgeway picks up the line of the prehistoric linear earthwork known as Grims Ditch, along which it meanders for much of the rest of the route into Buckinghamshire. Part of this story is told in CA 163 (June 1999). Chris Catling reported on the archaeological and historical research being used to bring Wallingford Castle back to life in CA 310. WILD WOODS AND WINDING PATHS At Nuffield, the Ridgeway turns north-east up into the Chilterns chalk for the final third of the route. The topography of the walk changes markedly, and so too does its archaeology. The settlements of this area have been well studied, for example in CA 381 (December 2021) as regards its medieval peasant communities. There have been some interesting single discoveries, too, notably that of the Watlington Viking Age hoard (a cache of coins, arm-rings, and silver ingots) in 2015; see CA 311 (February 2016). The trail picks up the route of the Icknield Way there, part of the longer ancient Ridgeway, and at Lewknor crosses the last but one of the great modern markers along its way: the M40; see CA 35 (November 1972) for reports of fieldwork along its route at this time. The route continues just to the south of Chinnor as the next major settlement along the way, known for its late Bronze Age pottery sequences; see CA 67 (June 1979). It then edges along the fringes of Princes Risborough, a town that Current Archaeology has never stopped to examine. The wooded hill slopes around there in the Chilterns National Landscape are spectacular, especially in autumn, but, less pleasingly, it is through this area that a final modern milestone must be reached and crossed that of HS2, scything through the landscape just outside Wendover. CA 389 (August 2022) reported on an Anglo- Saxon cemetery discovered along its route near there, and CA 136 (October 1993) reported on an earlier infrastructure impact in this area when the A41 was dualled between the M25 and Tring, revealing a previously unknown Neolithic village. CA 381 turned to the Chilterns in a discussion of the ways in which medieval people viewed the landscape around them. The Ridgeway then heads into the final glorious section through the National Trusts Ashridge Estate, with its expansive views north-west, including towards Pitstone Windmill, which was examined in CA 71 (April 1980). A final sharp ascent leads up to Ivinghoe Beacon, which has a rich history dating back to at least the Bronze Age and Iron Age; see CA 20 (May 1970). As I hope you have experienced through this column, the Ridgeway is an archaeological tour de force: I highly recommend a visit. I walked it in sections across eight days; others do so much faster, but it is equally suited to day-trips for stand-alone circular walks, with easy access and excellent signage. I look forward to seeing you out and about along it. About the author Joe Flatman completed a PhD in medieval archaeology at the University of Southampton in 2003, and since then has held positions in universities, and local and most recently central government. Since March 2019, he has been a Consultancy Manager in the National Trusts London and South-East Region, leading a team working on Trust sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You can follow him on X: @joeflatman. By Alimat Aliyeva Rice stocks in Japan have fallen to a minimum in recent decades due to the tourist boom and heat wave, which caused low yields, and against the background of shortages, the price of cereals reached a 30-year high, Azernews reports. The article indicates that, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, in June, rice stocks in the private sector fell to 1.56 million tons, which is 20 percent less compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest figure since 1999, when the authorities first began collecting comparable data The agency explains such a sharp decrease in rice stocks by the heat in 2023, which negatively affected the harvest: last year's September in Japan turned out to be the hottest in the last 125 years. In addition, among the reasons that caused the shortage, the ministry calls the lack of water, as well as the demand for the product from tourists coming to the country. Over the past year, rice consumption in Japan has increased to seven million tons, which is 100,000 tons more than a year earlier. During the same period, the number of tourists has increased significantly: in the first half of 2024, 17.78 million guests have already visited Japan, which is 1 million more than in pre-pandemic times. The ministry estimated that tourists who ate rice twice a day contributed to an increase in demand by 51 thousand tons, which is 2.7 times more than the previous year. Amid the shortage, the trading price of rice has reached a 30-year high, wholesalers are running out of stocks, and some supermarkets have decided to raise prices even more and limit purchases, the newspaper notes. It is expected that the situation will continue until September, when this year's harvest rice will become available. Despite the price pressure, there are no plans to use government reserves of 910,000 tons, writes the national Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. These stocks were created when a poor harvest due to the unseasonably cool summer of 1993 caused a critical shortage of rice in the country. As the sun has proven somewhat unreliable this summer, lets talk about the moon instead. Stonehenge is best known for its solar alignments, but was its design also influenced by a once-in-a-generation lunar phenomenon? This months cover feature discusses an ongoing project that is documenting the effects of a Major Lunar Standstill in real time. Three articles then spotlight a trio of very different site visits from June and July (we also have a News Focus drawing on a recent trip to Sutton Hoo; if you would like CA to come to your dig, do get in touch have notebook, will travel!). We begin near Boden in Cornwall, where a long-running community excavation is uncovering the remains of an Iron Age fogou an enigmatic form of underground passage as well as unusual Romano-British remains nearby. Our next destination is Hadrians Wall, where we report on the final season of a four-year project that has been investigating the civilian settlement outside Birdoswald Roman fort. How has the story changed since our visit last year? Finally, we travel to Wessex Archaeologys excavation on the site of Sheffield Castle, where they have uncovered impressive medieval fortifications, as well as traces of the Steel Citys influential industrial heritage. From the urban setting of the Sheffield finds, our next article discusses something more bucolic: orchards. A long-standing feature of historic landscapes, how have they evolved in England from the medieval period to the present day? Finally, we head to Anglesey in north Wales, to learn about the excavation of a Neolithic dolmen and the identification of a previously undocumented ceremonial landscape surrounding it. In This Issue: FEATURES UNDERGROUND, OVERGROUND Excavating an Iron Age fogou and Romano-British remains at Boden A long-running community excavation in south Cornwall has been exploring a network of Iron Age tunnels, Bronze Age roundhouses, and unusual Romano-British activity in the area. BIRDOSWALD AND BEYOND Investigating an extramural settlement on Hadrians Wall For the last four years, archaeologists have been exploring the civilian settlement surrounding Birdoswald Roman fort. With the final digging season now at an end, how has the story developed? FROM STRONGHOLD TO STEEL CITY Uncovering the birthplace of Sheffield Recenet archaeological work in central Sheffield has revealed long-buried traces of the citys medieval castle, as well as remains relating to its influential industrial past. ORCHARDS IN ENGLAND: A LANDSCAPE HISTORY A fruitful wander through the agriculture of the past A new book explored the development of orchards from across England, investigating their evolution from the Middle Ages to the present day. ILLUMINATING ANGLESEY Echoes of a later prehistoric ritualised landscape at Bedd y Foel A survey of Pen y Foel, an unassuming hillock on Anglesey, has documented evidence of a previously unrecorded ceremonial landscape surrounding the remains of a Neolithic dolmen at Bedd y Foel. STONEHENGE AND THE MOON Exploring a Neolithic monuments lunar links An ongoing project at Stonehenge is investigating whether a once-in-a-generation lunar event may have influenced some aspects of the monuments design. NEWS Geophysical survey identifies two Roman villas near Wroxeter; Roman horse-changing station uncovered in Gloucestershire; Exploring Fifes spiritual home of whisky at Lindores Abbey; Inside the minds of 18th-century guards at Dover Castle; Medieval grave slabs lifted from Englands oldest shipwreck; Science Notes; Cardiffs oldest house stood over an even earlier structure; Finds Tray NEWS FOCUS Excavations have returned to Sutton Hoo, where an Anglo-Saxon cemetery that pre-dates the National Trust sites famous royal burial ground is giving up its secrets. REGULARS COMMENT Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive CONTEXT Commanding the coast: Pendinas hillfort, Cardigan Bay REVIEWS Rushen Abbey, Isle of Man: a hundred years of research and excavation; Picts, Gaels and Scots: early historic Scotland; Wicked Problems for Archaeologists; The Lost Paths; Contemplating Calanais: A Guide to the Standing Stones; 50 Finds from Childhood: objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme EXHIBITION Six Lives at the National Portrait Gallery, London MUSEUM Museum of Cornish Life: a new archaeology display MUSEUM NEWS The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions and key decisions LISTINGS Our selection of exhibitions and events, as well as historical, archaeological, and cultural resources from around the world that are available online SHERDS Chris Catlings irreverent take on heritage issues ODD SOCS The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland Have all this delivered directly to your door every month click here to find out more about subscribing to Current Archaeology, the UKs favourite archaeology magazine. Japan appears determined to hunt fin whales which are listed as vulnerable to extinction. But Australia is has officially condemned the move. Despite whale meat (pictured) being increasingly unpopular in Japan, the government has announced plans to expand the number of species it kills. Source: AAP Japans decision to hunt a species of whale that is facing extinction has been condemned by Australia. Fin whales were officially added to the countrys commercial harvesting list on Wednesday, with the decision published in a government gazette. A statement released by Environment Minister Tanya Pliberseks office on Thursday said Australia was disappointed by Japans decision to expand its commercial whaling program. Fin whales are the second largest of all whales and are considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it continued. There has been plummeting interest in consuming whale meat in Japan. It dropped from a peak of 230,000 tonnes in 1962 to just 2,000 tonnes in recent years. Today the meat is generally only eaten by older generations and the odd tourist wanting to try it as an oddity or delicacy. Related: Surprising theory emerges as Japan considers butchering massive new whale species The office of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek (right) issued a statement, calling Japan's decision to hunt fin whales "disappointing". Trying to counter the decline, the country is working to expand commercial harvesting. In 2023, it began stocking whale meat inside vending machines around Tokyo to create interest among younger Japanese. Australia 'opposed to all commercial whaling' Successive Australian governments have appeared reluctant to directly criticise Japan's whaling since it withdrew from international waters, to focus instead on hunting within its own territory five years ago. Although at the time, the federal government said the move was "regrettable". On Thursday, Pliberseks office confirmed it is opposed to all commercial whaling and it urged all countries to end this practice. The Japanese have previously countered condemnation of its whale and dolphin hunting by noting that Australias kangaroo and wallaby harvest constitutes the largest land-based slaughter of wildlife in the world. Minister Plibersek has been contacted for further comment. More whale stories you need to read Local television in Japan excitedly reported on the new 9,300-tonne Kangei Maru ship which has been designed to haul in fin whales the worlds second-largest whale species. But it has worked to block international efforts to counter its activities by anti-whaling groups including Neptunes Pirates and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. Captain Paul Watson was arrested on Sunday (local time) after his ship docked in Greenland. Source: Neptune's Pirates Their founder, anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, was planning to take on the Japanese whale harvesters at sea. But he was taken into custody on a secret international arrest warrant issued by Japan in July. The arrest occurred after his ship docked in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. Watson is perhaps the worlds best known anti-whaling activist, and he was the founder of Sea Shepherd, and co-founder of Greenpeace. Denmark is a supporter of dolphin and whale hunting and it controversially permits its self-government archipelago the Faroe Islands to hunt hundreds every year. On Thursday, Australian conservationist Bob Brown appealed to Tasmanian-born Queen Mary of Denmark to intervene on Watsons behalf. He warned the arrest will shame Copenhagen in the eyes of the world. I am well aware of the constitutional restraints on the monarchy in Denmark but there is enormous respect for Her Majesty Queen Mary here in her native Tasmania and, at the same time, huge support for Watson who was pivotal to getting the illegal Japanese whale-killers out of our oceans, he said. The campaign to free Watson from his Danish-Japanese captors will be full-on, global and relentless. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. The incident has left Australians shocked at the treatment the cafe worker suffered at the hands of a customer. Little Latte drive-thru coffee shop owner Ebony Spiteri has blasted two customers after a shocking act with their coffees. Source: Tiktok A cafe owner has blasted two customers for an "entitled" act that left a staff member on edge and dripping in hot coffee. In shocking CCTV footage shared online, a woman is seen throwing a cup of hot coffee at the worker at Little Latte Drive Thru in the Melbourne suburb of Hoppers Crossing. Cafe owner Ebony Spiteri told Yahoo News Australia the reason behind the shocking move on Sunday afternoon was the customer couldnt wait more than two minutes to be served. Spiteri is now appealing to the public to track down the woman saying staff wont feel safe until the woman has been held accountable. Its disappointing, said Ebony, describing the act as entitled. These are grown women behaving this way, she said. There is no excuse for this behaviour." CCTV captured two angles of the incident, on the right, the barista is being splashed with hot coffee, and on the left a woman is seen moments after the act. Source: Tiktok Melbourne coffee attack caught on CCTV In shocking CCTV footage, the cafe worker is seen handing the coffees to the two women standing outside. One of the women is then seen forcing herself into the cafes serving window before throwing the steaming coffee at the worker who reacts in shock, shaking hot coffee off her top. A second angle shows the woman being handed her coffee before she throws the coffee through the window before stepping back. Watch the footage below. After the incident, the two women ran off according to Spiteri and two other kind-hearted drive-thru customers got out of their cars to come to the aid of the barista. The cafe was forced to shut following the incident and both police and ambulance were called to the scene. Aussies react in shock to 'messed up' moment Aussies across the country who witnessed the footage have been left in shock, describing the moment as "messed up". "The staff member was so calm. I'd lose it," said another. "You can see the steam coming off of it," said a third. "I hope youre able to press charges or get some form of justice." Ebony said she has been "overwhelmed" by the positive response from the community since sharing footage of the incident online. "We are so grateful and overwhelmed by the positive response from the community. Without all their help, we wouldnt be any closer to finding who it is," she said. "She threw it and she knew what she had done and ran off. We want to see that person held accountable and make sure she doesnt do this to anyone else." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Locals continue to express their frustration towards outsiders, at a favourite spot among Aussie travellers. Concerning graffiti has emerged in Mallorca in Spain, taking on a much more serious tone than other anti-tourist messaging seen in previous weeks. Source: People's Party Spain Authorities in one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations have condemned concerning graffiti that appeared on a wall this week urging locals to "kill a tourist". The troubling message is the latest to be spotted in Spain amid growing unrest among residents, who say travellers are to blame for the country's worsening cost of living and housing crises. After similar sets of graffiti were spotted in Barcelona in recent weeks, it appears the mood has yet to improve, with the latest message in Mallorca one of Spain's Balearic Islands much more aggressive than those previously photographed. The governing conservative Peoples Party (PP) urged people living in the area to denounce such "acts of vandalism", which it described as "totally unjustified". Travellers urged to 'go home' in graffiti seen painted on walls across the city. Source: Supplied Authorities insist tourists are welcome despite locals' sentiment The party said it had noted a "worrying proliferation of graffiti with tourism-phobic messages" in the region, The Sun reported. PP spokesperson Maria Antonia Sanso Jaume urged people considering taking similar action to reconsider. "This graffiti do not represent, in any case, the majority feeling of the residents of Manacor [a town on Mallorca]," she wrote on social. "Tourists are welcome to visit our island. Such behaviour is totally unjustified." The incident comes amid widespread unrest in Spain as tens of thousands of locals gather in protest against mass tourism. One Australian expat living in Barcelona told Yahoo News locals "are at breaking point". Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Barcelona in July a city which sees some 26 million travellers pass through each year to denounce the country's skyrocketing rates of tourism. The protests follow similar actions in the Canary Islands and Mallorca, with locals telling foreigners via graffiti and in person to "go home", citing overcrowding as the main reason for residents' dwindling quality of life. Freya Noble, a former resident of Sydney who moved to Barcelona last year, told Yahoo News Australia tourists who come into the city and spend time around the centre, where all the chain stores and restaurants are, "often are not really contributing much to the local economy" while taking up a lot of the apartments "that locals are struggling to afford". She said Spaniards are quite rightly fed up, but the situation is "complex". Diners shudder as protesters march past a restaurant in Barcelona. Source: Getty A 13-point proposal to decrease tourism levels According to official figures, almost 26 million visitors made an overnight stay in Barcelona in 2023, spending 12.75 billion (A$20.4b). The Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turistic (the Neighbourhood Assembly for Tourist Degrowth) said visitors increase prices and put pressure on public services, while profits from the tourism industry are unfairly distributed and increase social inequality. In response it has published 13 proposals to reduce the number of visitors and to transition the city into a new model of tourism. They include closing cruise ship terminals, tighter regulation of tourist accommodation and an end to public spending on tourism promotion. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. By Dani Ray | Aug 1, 2024 Murray State University and Madisonville Community College (MCC) signed a 2+2 articulation agreement on Wednesday, July 31 at the MCC Brown Badgett Building. MURRAY, Ky. Murray State University and Madisonville Community College (MCC) signed a 2+2 articulation agreement on Wednesday, July 31 at the MCC Brown Badgett Building. This agreement will provide students who have earned an Associate of Applied Science in Advanced Integrated Technology (AIT) degree at MCC a seamless transfer process into Murray State's Bachelor of Science in Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EMT) degree program. The program will be offered at Murray State Universitys Madisonville Regional Campus beginning with the upcoming fall 2024 semester. We are extremely excited to partner with Madisonville Community College on new programs and initiatives as we support our students and advance our local, regional and state workforce and economic development initiatives, said Murray State President Dr. Bob Jackson. Our School of Engineering is doing great things and this new partnership is another example of how we are preparing our students for successful careers and a bright future. Jake Hildebrant, Murray State EMT program coordinator, explained how the agreement will work. The agreement will allow graduates of the Associate of Applied Science in AIT to complete years three and four of the Murray State EMT degree in Madisonvilles flexible laboratory using the same flexible delivery that has made the AIT program so successful, said Hildebrant. The EMT program prepares graduates to be automation and control engineers in industry. The degree is in very high demand, and students receive high wage positions. The AIT degree is a perfect partner for the EMT program, and the partnership has been in the works for many years. This should open the doors for new opportunities in the Hopkins County region. Dr. Claire Fuller, dean of the Murray State University Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology, said the agreement will set students up for high wage careers. The new transfer agreement will help students complete their Bachelor's degree in EMT efficiently, saving them time and money, said Fuller. This degree leads to exciting, well-paid career opportunities above and beyond those available to students with an Associates degree alone. MCC President Dr. Cynthia Kelley said the program is good for not only students, but also regional economic development. Our partnership with Murray State and their Electromechanical Engineering Technology program not only enhances pathways for our students but also strengthens our region's economic development, said Kelley. Our graduates will be well-equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in high-demand engineering roles, benefiting both the students and the local industry. For more information about the program, contact Heather Roy at the Murray State University Madisonville Regional Campus at hroy@murraystate.edu. Trae Black, 29, remains in hospital in a critical condition after his lower right leg was severed in an alleged attack on Monday. Police allege Trae Black was run over and bashed with a hammer by Matthew William Lawson, at City Beach in Perth on Monday. Source: Facebook/7News The father of an Aussie man who was allegedly beaten over the head with a hammer after having his leg severed has thanked first responders for saving his son's life. Police say Trae Black, 29, was run over and bashed with a hammer by Matthew William Lawson, 25, at City Beach in Perth on Monday, after a workplace altercation soured. It's not yet been made public what caused the spat between the two colleagues, but the horrific, alleged attack left Black clinging to life at Royal Perth Hospital, where he has remained since Monday. Black is believed to have run from the construction site where the pair were working following a disagreement, before Lawson allegedly chased after him in his ute, running him down and severing his leg. Lawson was charged with an 'attempt to unlawfully kill' on Tuesday. He refused legal advice before pleading guilty during his first appearance in court and did not apply for bail. Trae Black remains at the Royal Perth Hospital in a critical condition as of Thursday. Source: Facebook Heartbroken father thanks first responders for saving son's life Black's father Troy said he believes his son would've almost certainly died had it not been for the efforts of first responders, including an off-duty doctor who happened to be in the area at the time. "Trae is being supported by friends and family, for which we are very grateful, he told 7News. "Although Trae has a long way to go, we know he will fight hard to overcome his injuries. "We would like to thank those people at the scene who went to his aid and the first responders. Its our understanding that if it had not been for their intervention, Trae would have died before reaching the hospital." Blacks lower right leg was severed when he was allegedly hit by Lawson's silver Mazda BT-50 ute, police say, adding that officers were at the scene "within minutes". Black's lower right leg was severed during the incident after he was allegedly run down by Lawson's ute. Source: 7News Police say Black was very lucky a doctor was nearby Superintendent Manus Walsh described the scenes as "harrowing" in a media conference on Monday. "This would be a harrowing incident for anyone to observe whether they be trained police officers, or whether they be members of the public," he said. "It was very lucky, very lucky that an off-duty doctor was there and a member of the public and they stayed with them until St John's [ambulance] arrived and then they were taken to the hospital." Troy Black says his son now faces a "difficult journey ahead". "We would also like to thank the staff at RPH for the outstanding care that they are giving Trae, and for supporting our family," he said. "The past few days have been extremely difficult on those of us who are close to Trae, and we now ask for space and privacy so we can concentrate on Trae and the difficult journey he has ahead of him." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A company owned by the state government has faced court for destroying trees that were supposed to help protect endangered species. The Yambulla State Forest is a short drive from the popular tourist town of Eden (pictured), on the NSW South Coast. Source: Michael Dahlstrom Councils around Australia are continually battling residents who chop down and poison large trees to create better ocean views. But now a state government has been caught felling important trees it was supposed to protect. NSW Forestry Corporation has been fined a massive $360,000 for destroying 53 trees inside a state forest that has been set aside as habitat for endangered animals. And because the company is owned by the state government, it will be NSW residents who are ultimately on the hook for the illegal act. The trees were felled inside the Yambulla State Forest, a popular camping spot 30km south-west of the Eden. The wider NSW South Coast was significantly impacted by the 2019/2020 Black Summer Bushfires. Tens of millions of dollars were donated from around the world to help Australias native species recover, and local authorities mapped segments of bushland that survived the blazes for protection. Logging company blames tree destruction on 'human error' This week the Corporation pleaded guilty in the Land and Environment Court. It was fined $360,000 for offences relating to the logging of trees in environmentally significant forest in 2020. Its failure to properly map these areas breached conditions imposed by the Environment Protection Authority that were supposed to help bushland recover after the fires. The EPA became aware of the problem in Yambulla State Forest in February 2021. Source: EPA After the judgement, the Corporation claimed in a statement the logging was caused by human error, adding we deeply regret the mistake and the environmental damage it has caused. We take our environmental responsibility very seriously, and have made significant investments in resources and technology the past four years. We are committed to continually improving our compliance and environmental outcomes, its CEO Anshul Chaudhary said. But the court accepted a submission from the EPA that the Corporation had shown a a pattern of environmental offending. It also found the Corporation had not sufficiently demonstrated genuine contrition and remorse for its commission of the offences. Minns government urged to end native forest logging Responding to the judgement, conservationists labelled the Corporation a rogue agency. This is a reoccurring behaviour by Forestry Corporation and the time has come to end native forest logging for the sake of our precious endangered species, and the cost to the public purse. Enough is enough South East Forest Rescue spokesperson Scott Daines said. North East Forest Alliance spokesperson Dailan Pugh labelled the Corporation a "serial offender" and called for faster responses to fine it for illegal acts. Jacqui Mumford, the CEO of Nature Conservation Council NSW called on the Minns Government to reign in the Corporation. Fines clearly aren't enough to stop Forestry Corporation's destruction of endangered species habitat, she said. FCNSW cannot be trusted with our precious native forests. Its time for the NSW Government to protect these forests once and for all by ending native forest logging. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. Sydney woman Jessica Mudditt was left with her home in a 'dangerous, muddy' state for weeks, despite paying her full $830 a week. Sydney tenant Jessica Mudditt claims she was given 'no warning' before her rental property was turned into a construction site while living there. Source: Supplied A single mum living in a Sydney rental property has revealed the "stress" and "panic" caused by unexpectedly "living in a construction site" for $830 a week, as the nation's housing crisis continues to put a strain on everyday Aussies. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Jessica Mudditt claims she was given "no notice" about the major works, arranged by the landlord, that would take place in her Condell Park front yard. For three weeks straight she's had to contend with "massive noise", no hot water and a "dangerous, muddy" state outside her property. In late June, Mudditt was sent a text message by the real estate agent ahead of time informing her "a plumber was booked" for the following week and "will be working at the front [for] 2 days". But she claims there was no further explanation, including details about the scope of work, and only found out when she was woken at 7am by the sound of diggers in her front yard. "There were all these work guys with massive trucks, I thought 'what's happening?' Then they just carved up the whole front yard," she told Yahoo. "No one told me there'd be two bulldozers and metre-deep trenches. Or that I'd be unable to access my driveway or garage." Tenant without water, internet and access to driveway At one point Mudditt, who has two daughters aged 3 and 5, was left without hot water for six days and was forced to work from home without internet after workers allegedly damaged the line. She was also without access to her driveway or garage. She lost access to her front yard, including her driveway and garage. She also lost hot water and her internet during ongoing works. Source: Supplied. Additionally, she claims the landlord has appeared on site unannounced "without notice" which in most cases is illegal in NSW. According to NSW legislation, "tenants have the right to reasonable peace, comfort and privacy when renting" therefore "correct notice" should be given. What's more, the mum of two, who has her own publishing business and works from home, has had to compete with "massive noise". Rubbish and working equipment have also been left strewn across the property, posing a safety risk, Mudditt claims. Daughter 'injured in unsafe front yard' With no apparent construction barriers or bunting zoning off the working area, Mudditt said it has been left in an unsafe state during the course of construction. As a result, her young daughter was allegedly injured while attempting to reach the front door of their home. "When we arrived home on the weekend, I was carrying shopping bags across the yard. My young daughter fell and cut her knee and her hand. It's just distressing. In our own front yard," she said. "It's a total mess and I still can't access my garage because they tried to force it open, and they've damaged the lock. It's quite scary and I feel really stressed." The site was left in a dangerous and muddy state for weeks, according to Mudditt. Source: Supplied 'No communication' from agent or landlord Mudditt claims SafeWork NSW also attended the property and noted several breaches. Yahoo contacted SafeWork for comment. While the machines have since left with work now "wrapping up", she claims she was never advised of the planned work other than receiving a text message from the Ray White estate agent saying, "a plumber is coming". "We never knew when it would finish, which just adds to the alarm. I got told yesterday that they'd finished ahead of schedule, but I didn't even know there was a schedule," she said. If she'd known about planned works ahead of time the single mum said she "never would have moved in". "There's an obligation to tell an incoming tenant [of major works at the property]". The only information she's received is second-hand from neighbours, she claims. One allegedly filled her in on her landlord's plans to put duplexes on the property, implying the house she lives in could soon be demolished. But she says "we have never been told of a subdivision" or any plans to sell the property, and now fears she'll soon enough be made to leave without warning. She alleged the real estate has "downplayed everything" when she questioned the landlord's intentions. They've simply asked her to "bear with it" for the time being. Mudditt claims there was no tape or fences until SafeWork NSW arrived at the property. Pictured now upon completion of works. Source: Supplied Frustrated mum offered 'one week free rent' after complaining To avoid being kicked to the curb without anywhere to go, she's found another place and will be moving shortly. "I can't have an unsafe home, I've got young kids and I have no confidence in them that trucks won't turn up next week and they'll start something else," she said. The Sydney mum said that after sharing her frustration on social media, and after receiving media attention, the agent has now offered her a week's worth of free rent. In an email seen by Yahoo, Ray White's director Tony Roumanous said, "In relation to compensation, we have had discussions with the owner and they are happy to provide you with 1 weeks free rent prior to vacating." But Mudditt says "one week's rent is not proportionate to the breaches" and she will be pursuing the case with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). Real estate agent responds to tenant's claims When contacted by Yahoo, Ray White Bankstown Principal Tony Roumanous said Mudditt was "clearly informed in advance about the subdivision work scheduled to take place". She was also told "she would not have access to her garage or driveway for a week" as early as July 16. "We regret any inconvenience caused. The tenant has now given notice that she will vacate the house and the owner has offered the tenant a weeks free rent as compensation," Roumanous said. "The tenant was fully informed in advance of these works, and the owner was also onsite to only check on the progress of the works, which is within his right and not a breach of privacy at all. We are deeply sorry that the tenant has not enjoyed her home this week but she was told about the work in advance. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Latest email leaks show Big Tech and Biden colluded on COVID narratives, including with CDC and Twitter (now X) The conservative nonprofit America Legal First (AFL) disclosed new documents this week showing that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) colluded with Twitter (now X), Joe Biden and a number of other Big Tech entities to control the online narrative about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic." Retrieved through ongoing litigation, the documents highlight May 2021 communications covering the Biden regime's plans to collude with Big Tech about setting the tone and "managing" the conversation on the internet about COVID, and specifically about the "vaccines" brought into existence through Operation Warp Speed. Facebook conversed back and forth with CDC spokesperson Carol Crawford, who just "happened" to also be involved with Twitter's Partner Support Portal. Both Facebook and Twitter were colluding with the White House at the time to censor the online conversation about COVID and COVID "vaccines." Described as Twitter's "secret superpower," the Partner Support Portal allowed government-affiliated people like Crawford to participate in the flagging of "misinformation" for censorship purposes. (Related: According to censorship expert Mike Benz, the 2020 election was rigged to produce a Biden "win" at least seven months in advance of Election Day.) Biden and the CDC lied, and more people died The email chain in question was led by Crawford and someone named Genelle Adrien who worked on Facebook's Politics and Government Outreach Team. AFL discovered in the chain that the CDC approved of Facebook's official "COVID-19 Information Center FAQ," likely because the CDC wrote it. "Our content specialist, [sic] recently made copyedits to two CDC questions for our new FAQ modules appearing in the COVID-19 Information Center," Adrien wrote to Crawford in one of the emails, dated May 4, 2021. "These are fairly minor edits to what you've already provided, but if you have additional edits, could you please let us know by COB if possible?" Adrien continued in the same email to notify Crawford that Facebook's official launch date for the COVID-19 Information Center FAQ portal was May 17, 2021, just a few weeks after this communication took place. Adrien expressed concern that some Facebook users might try to warn others about the side effects of COVID jabs, which is why she wanted Crawford and the CDC to create an FAQ section on Facebook that "debunks" this "misinformation." At first, Facebook was telling the truth to its users about how COVID jabs can cause certain side effects. Then, the list of possible side effects changed to eliminate "joint pain" as one of the possibilities and replaced it with "nausea." Facebook's softball approach to revealing just the minor side effects of COVID jabs was apparently too much for the CDC which gutted the FAQ of anything that might make the jabs appear dangerous. "I would suggest deleting everything after the list of side effects," Crawford responded in an email to Adrien about the changes the CDC wanted to be made. "For that bottom text, the first sentence is duplicative of the bulleted list (fever / chills). We don't have any cleared language, as far as I know, to support the second and third sentences." In other words, the CDC was proofreading and editing all COVID jab information on Facebook to ensure it complied with the CDC's official narrative of "safe and effective" for all COVID injections. As all of this was happening, the Biden regime continued to push Americans to get jabbed over and over again, including with the latest "booster" shots. Biden personally started fearmongering that unvaccinated people would "soon overwhelm hospitals" with "a winter (2021 / 22) of severe illness and death" unless more Americans agreed to get jabbed. "The CDC appears to have admitted that in May of 2021, months after the vaccine had already been rolled out, they could not confirm that the vaccine was safer than contracting COVID-19 itself and developing natural immunity," AFL says. "Nonetheless, the CDC continued to push the American people to take the vaccine." Will the powers that be (TPTB) successfully steal another election for their preferred candidate? Find out more at Rigged.news. Sources for this article include: ReclaimTheNet.org NaturalNews.com Only a failing US empire would be so blind as to cheer Netanyahu and his genocide There is only one country in the world right now, in the midst of Israel s slaughter in Gaza , where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is guaranteed dozens of standing ovations from the vast majority of its elected representatives. (Article by Jonathan Cook republished from MiddleEastEye.net) That country is not Israel, where he has been a hugely divisive figure for many years. It is the United States. On Wednesday, Netanyahu was back-slapped, glad-handed, whooped and cheered as he slowly made his way - hailed at every step as a conquering hero - to the podium of the US Congress. This was the same Netanyahu who has overseen during the past 10 months the slaughter - so far - of some 40,000 Palestinians, around half of them women and children. More than 21,000 other children are reported missing, most of them likely dead under rubble. It was the same Netanyahu who levelled a strip of territory - originally home to 2.3 million Palestinians - that is expected to take 80 years to rebuild, at a cost of at least $50bn. It was the same Netanyahu who has destroyed every hospital and university in Gaza, and bombed almost all of its schools that were serving as shelters for families made homeless by other Israeli bombs. It was the same Netanyahu whose arrest is being sought by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, accused of using starvation as a weapon of war by imposing an aid blockade that has engineered a famine across Gaza. It was the same Netanyahu whose government was found last week by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to have been intensifying Israels apartheid rule over the Palestinian people in an act of long-term aggression. It was the same Netanyahu whose government is standing trial for committing what the ICJ, the worlds highest judicial body, has termed a plausible genocide. And yet, there was just one visible protester in the congressional chamber. Rashida Tlaib, the only US legislator of Palestinian heritage, sat silently grasping a small black sign. On one side it said: War criminal. On the other: Guilty of genocide. One person among hundreds mutely trying to point out that the emperor was naked. Cocooned from horror Indeed, the optics were stark. This looked less like a visit by a foreign leader than a decorated elder general being welcomed back to the Senate in ancient Rome, or a grey-haired British viceroy from India embraced in the motherlands parliament, after brutally subduing the barbarians on the fringes of empire. This was a scene familiar from history books: of imperial brutality and colonial savagery, recast by the seat of the imperium as valour, honour, civilisation. And it looked every bit as absurd, and abhorrent, as it does when we look back on what happened 200 or 2,000 years ago. Netanyahu has become the most feted foreign leader in US history ... He is fully Washington's creature. His savagery, his monstrousness is entirely made in America It was a reminder that, despite our self-serving claims of progress and humanitarianism, our world is not very different from the way it has been for thousands of years. It was a reminder that power elites like to celebrate the demonstration of their power, cocooned both from the horrors faced by those crushed by their might, and from the clamour of protest of those horrified by the infliction of so much suffering. It was a reminder that this is not a war between Israel and Hamas - let alone, as Netanyahu would have us believe, a battle for civilisation between the Judeo-Christian world and the Islamic world. This is a US imperial war - part of its military campaign for global, full-spectrum dominance - carried out by Washingtons most favoured client state. The genocide is fully a US genocide, armed by Washington, paid for by Washington, given diplomatic cover by Washington, and - as the scenes in Congress underlined - cheered on by Washington. Or as Netanyahu stated in a moment of unintentional candour to Congress: Our enemies are your enemy, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory. Israel is Washingtons largest military outpost in the oil-rich Middle East. The Israeli army is the Pentagons main battalion in that strategically important region. And Netanyahu is the outposts commander in chief. What is vital to Washington elites is that the outpost is supported at all costs; that it doesnt fall to the barbarians. Outpouring of lies There was another small moment of inadvertent truth amid Netanyahus outpouring of lies. The Israeli prime minister stated that what was happening in Gaza was a clash between barbarism and civilisation. He was not wrong. On the one side, there is the barbarism of the current joint Israeli-US genocide against the people of Gaza, a dramatic escalation of the 17-year Israeli siege of the enclave that preceded it, and the decades of belligerent rule under an Israeli system of apartheid before that. And on the other side, there are the embattled few desperately trying to safeguard the Wests professed values of civilisation, of international humanitarian law, of the protection of the weak and vulnerable, of the rights of children. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="569"] Netanyahu speaks to the US Congress in Washington on 24 July 2024 (Drew Angerer/AFP)[/caption] The US Congress decisively showed where it stood: with barbarism. Netanyahu has become the most feted foreign leader in US history, invited to speak to Congress four times, surpassing even Britains wartime leader, Winston Churchill. He is fully Washingtons creature. His savagery, his monstrousness is entirely made in America. As he implored his US handlers: Give us the tools faster and well finish the job faster. Finish the job of genocide. Performative dissent Some Democrats preferred to stay away, including party power broker Nancy Pelosi. Instead, she met families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza - not, of course, Palestinian families whose loved ones in Gaza had been slaughtered by Israel. Vice President Kamala Harris explained her own absence as a scheduling conflict. She met the Israeli prime minister, as did President Joe Biden, on Thursday. Afterwards, she claimed to have pressed Netanyahu on the "dire" humanitarian situation in Gaza but stressed too that Israel "had a right to defend itself" a right that Israel specifically does not have, as the ICJ pointed out last week, because Israel is the one permanently violating the rights of the Palestinians through its prolonged occupation, apartheid rule and ethnic cleansing. US policy towards Israel has not changed in any meaningful sense for decades, whether the president has been red or blue But the dissent of Pelosi - and of Harris, if that is what it was - was purely performative. True, they have no personal love for Netanyahu, who has so closely allied himself and his government with the US Republican right and former president Donald Trump. But Netanyahu simply serves as an alibi. Both Pelosi and Harris are stalwart supporters of Israel - a state that, according to the ICJs judgment last week, decades ago instituted apartheid rule in the Palestinian territories, using an illegal occupation as cover to ethnically cleanse the population there. Their political agenda is not about ending the annihilation of the people of Gaza. It is acting as a safety valve for popular dissatisfaction among traditional Democratic voters shocked by the scenes from Gaza. It is to deceive them into imagining that behind closed doors, there is some sort of policy fight over Israels handling of the Palestinian issue. That voting Democrat will one day - one very distant day - lead to an undefined peace, a fabled two-state solution where Palestinian children wont keep dying in the interests of preserving the security of Israels illegal settler-militias. US policy towards Israel has not changed in any meaningful sense for decades, whether the president has been red or blue, whether Trump has been in the White House or Barack Obama. And if Harris becomes president - admittedly, a big if - US arms and money will continue flowing to Israel, while Israel will get to decide if US aid to Gaza is ever allowed in. Why? Because Israel is the lynchpin in a US imperial project for global full-spectrum dominance. Because for Washington to change course on Israel, it would also have to do other unthinkable things. It would have to begin dismantling its 800 military bases around the planet, just as Israel was told by the ICJ last week to dismantle its dozens of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory. The US would need to agree a shared global security architecture with China and Russia, rather than seek to bully and batter these great powers into submission with bloody proxy wars, such as the one in Ukraine. The coming fall Pelosi, remember, smeared students on US campuses protesting Israels plausible genocide in Gaza as being linked to Russia. She urged the FBI to investigate them for pressuring the Biden administration to support a ceasefire. Netanyahu, in his address to Congress, similarly demonised the demonstrators - in his case, by accusing them of being useful idiots of Israels main foe, Iran. Neither can afford to recognise that millions of ordinary people across the US think it is wrong to bomb and starve children - and to use a war with an unachievable aim as the cover story. Hamas cannot be eliminated through Israels current bout of horrifying violence for a very obvious reason: the group is a product, a symptom, of earlier bouts of horrifying Israeli violence. As even western counter-terrorism experts have had to concede, Israels genocidal policies in Gaza are strengthening Hamas, not weakening it. Men and boys who lose their family to Israeli bombs are Hamass most fervent new recruits. Thats why Netanyahu insisted Israels military offensive - the genocide - in Gaza could not end soon. He demanded weapons and money to keep his soldiers in the enclave indefinitely, in an operation he termed as demilitarisation and deradicalisation. The rulers of the Roman empire no more saw the coming fall than their modern counterparts in Washington can Decoded, that means a continuing horror show for the Palestinians there, as they are forced to continue living and dying with an Israeli aid blockade, starvation, bombs and unmarked kill zones. It means, too, an indefinite risk of Israels war on Gaza spilling over into a regional war, and potentially a global one, as tripwires towards escalation continue to grow in number. The US Congress, however, is too blinded by championing its small fortressed state in the Middle East to think about such complexities. Its members roared USA! to their satrap from Israel, just as Roman senators once roared Glory! to generals whose victories they assumed would continue forever. The rulers of the Roman empire no more saw the coming fall than their modern counterparts in Washington can. But every empire falls. And its collapse becomes inevitable once its rulers lose all sense of how absurd and abhorrent they have become. Read more at: MiddleEastEye.net Iran accused of supplying Hezbollah with EMP WEAPONS that can disable Israeli military tech almost instantly Iran is being accused of delivering electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons to Hezbollah The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently delivered a shipment of so-called "qualitative weapons" to Hezbollah in Lebanon as the militant group prepares for a possible invasion by Israel. "We might see the first active use [of an EMP weapon]," warned Raymond Burkhart, co-host of the "TruNews" podcast. "I believe that they have been used before, but the first active use of weapons in a theater of war." JNS accused Hezbollah of preparing to use the EMP weapons not in defense of southern Lebanon in case of a possible Israeli attack, but as weapons to be used offensively in a Hezbollah invasion of Israel's northern Galilee region and the Golan Heights. The JNS report claimed its source is a high-ranking official within the IRGC's special forces unit, the Quds Force, which claimed that Tehran successfully delivered EMP weaponry capable of severely devastating Israel's radar and communications infrastructure. "What [the JNS report] is saying is the moment Israel launches the attack against Hezbollah and Lebanon. Hezbollah is going to unleash the EMP weapons against Israel, inside Israeli territory and also occupied Israeli territory," said Rick Wiles, main host of the "TruNews" podcast. JNS's IRGC source claimed that Hezbollah is seeking to employ the support of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the Houthi movement in Yemen to open a multi-front war against Israel which will see Israel attacked from the north, west, southeast and southwest. EMP weapon could provide Hezbollah with significant advantage over Israeli military tech If the presence of EMP weapons in Hezbollah's hands is confirmed it would radically alter the balance of power in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which the latter claims is all Israel's fault due to its invasion of Gaza. The report warned that, within minutes of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the militant group could launch EMP bombs from stationary launchers or drones to target sites deep within Israel to "destroy all communications systems, including electricity infrastructure." EMP weapons could also deny Israel access to its more sophisticated military equipment that rely heavily on electronic systems, including much of the Israeli Air Force, denying Israel aerial superiority and giving the advantage to Hezbollah's massive fleet of drones. If the Western world, notably the United Kingdom and the United States, attempts to come to Israel's aid, the JNS report warned that EMP weapons could also be used against them. (Related: U.S. Embassy in Beirut tells Americans: DON'T TRAVEL to Lebanon.) The power of an EMP attack is equal to that of a nuclear attack and would disable all electricity infrastructure and electronic devices in its area of effect. While EMP explosions themselves will cause no immediate deaths, the loss of electronic infrastructure can bring destructive consequences. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant had been authorized by the country's war cabinet to decide the timing and scope of any such attack on Lebanon. The possible invasion of southern Lebanon could happen any day now. Follow WWIII.news for more stories about the continuing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Watch the video below to know more about the commentary of "TruNews" hosts Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart regarding Iran transferring futuristic EMP weapons to Hezbollah. This video is from the TruNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related articles: Iran pledges ALL-OUT SUPPORT to Hezbollah if Israel invades Lebanon. Hezbollah launches 200 rockets, drones toward Israel following killing of senior commander. Israel has bombed Lebanon over 6,000 times since October. Expert warns Hezbollah attack on power infrastructure could make Israel uninhabitable within 3 days. Israel OKs plans for ALL-OUT WAR in Lebanon to wipe out Hezbollah. Sources include: Brighteon.com JNS.org Michigan auto workers warn that America is done for if Kamala Harris wins the presidency A Michigan auto worker has warned that " America is done for " if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency in November. In a candid interview with a CNN reporter on July 28, two Michigan auto workers and supporters of former President Donald Trump did not hold back when asked if Harris' entry into the 2024 presidential election would change anything for them. "America is done for if Kamala Harris wins the presidency," he stated bluntly. The sentiment was shared by another Trump supporter standing nearby, reflecting a deep-seated apprehension about Harris' policies and leadership. "Change it? It ruins it. She gets in we're done," said the other. Michigan, with its significant auto industry workforce, has been a battleground state where issues like job security, economic policies and manufacturing have been front and center. So, the comments underscore voters' concerns about the direction Harris might take the country. The video of these candid opinions, which highlight the polarized nature of American politics, has since circulated widely on social media. Trump warns of "bloodbath" in auto industry if Democrats prevail in November In March, even Trump himself warned the public during a rally in Dayton, Ohio that a "bloodbath" would happen in the automobile industry if the Democrats prevail in November. "Now if I don't get elected, its going to be a bloodbath for the whole that's gonna be the least of it," Trump said during the rally. "Its going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they're not going to sell those cars. They're building massive factories. If this election isn't won, I'm not sure that you'll ever have another election in this country." (Related: Trump campaign files FEC complaint over ILLEGAL transfer of $91.5M Biden campaign fund to Harris campaign.) The comment was part of an extended discussion on the auto industry, unions, the transition to electric vehicles and auto plants in Mexico. Trump sought to attract autoworkers and appeal to voters in Rust Belt states by focusing on trade, tariffs and EV manufacturing. Trump also stated that he would implement a 50 percent tariff on cars produced in Chinese plants in Mexico. Trump wants more tariffs. His previous trade wars have cost Americans $230 billion to date. So, Trump pledged a "100 percent tariff" on cars manufactured outside the United States, claiming that domestic auto manufacturing would be safeguarded only if he is elected. "If you're listening, President Xi and you and I are friends but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that youre building in Mexico right now you're going to not hire Americans and you're going to sell the cars to us, no. We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected," Trump said during the same event. Follow KamalaHarris.news for more stories about the vice president. Watch this Fox News report about Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling Kamala Harris a dangerously liberal and radical leftist. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Corrupt Kamala Harris campaign caught using ActBlue cash for money laundering scheme. Congress already trying to IMPEACH Kamala Harris for mismanaging southern border, hiding Bidens cognitive decline. MEET OBAMALA HARRIS: Get ready for Kamala Harris to announce her Vice President pick from the swamp while Obama attempts to serve his 4th term. Tennessee Rep. Burchett: Kamala Harris is a DEI VICE PRESIDENT. Obama refrains from endorsing Kamala Harris in his statement about Bidens withdrawal. Sources include: YourNews.com NBCNews.com CNN.com Brighteon.com Paris Olympics opening marred by DRAG QUEENS making a mockery of The Last Supper Drag queens took center stage at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the same homosexual performers making a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." The opening ceremony dubbed Tour de Farce included a drag queen version of "The Last Supper," a strongly suggested bisexual threesome and a scantily-clad, bearded drag queen doing a provocative dance. During the early part of the ceremony, viewers were shown a sequence where "three dancers in gender-ambiguous costumes ran through the streets of Paris and into a building. Their segment ended with the three two males and one female nearing each other in dramatic kisses, then entering a room to further their amorous acts, Breitbart News reported. "The segment ended with one of the dancers looking back at the camera and slamming a door in the viewers' faces, making it clear that the three were planning on engaging in more intimate contact." But perhaps the boldest performance during the opening ceremony was a tableau that mirrored da Vinci's painting. The drag queens took the role of the Apostles, while a fat lesbian took the role of Jesus Christ a clear blasphemy of the Lord's Passion. (Related: RIVERS OF BLOOD: Alleged Hamas supporter threatens MASS VIOLENCE at Paris Olympics (but it could be a false flag operation.)) Drag queen Le Filip (born Filip Mrzljak), the recent winner of "Drag Race France," expressed his positive "surprise" and "pride" at the ceremony's scale and representation. "The [French] government knows what it's doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression," Le Filip told the Associated Press. James Leperlier, president of the French LGBT federation Inter-LGBT, was more circumspect in his comments. He argued that France still has significant strides to make in inclusivity. "We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There's much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It's terrible that to legally change their identity, they are forced to be on trial," he explained. World treated to degeneracy at Paris Olympics France had promised its opening ceremony would be the biggest open-air show on Earth. More than 300,000 people watched from the riverside and bridges and hundreds more stood at windows and balconies as a show of dance, live music and acrobatics unfolded along the stretch of the Seine River from the Pont d'Austerlitz to the Eiffel Tower. But the outdoor ceremony, once described by Emmanuel Macron as "a crazy idea that must be made real," had to overcome obstacles. While it did become a reality, it also drew the ire of Christians who did not take too kindly to the drag queens mocking the Last Supper. Marion Marechal, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for France, denounced the performance on social media. "To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation," she posted on X. Head over to Evil.news for similar stories. Watch this video explaining why the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics is a "woke fest." This video is from the CONSERVATIVE POLITICS & NWO channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: John Deere abandons WOKE DEI corporate policies following backlash from conservative activists. Another gender confused teenage mass shooter kills 1 child, injures 5: Pushing gender madness on our nation's children is creating murderers and suicidal teens. Elon Musk blames "woke virus" for his son's gender confusion. Womens competitive cycling DESTROYED by transgenders after three male transwomen take top spots at Washingtons Marymoor Grand Prix bike race. Thousands of applicants for Olympics-related jobs rejected due to terror links and security threats. Sources include: Breitbart.com Brighteon.com Ukraines credit rating downgraded again by Fitch over $20 billion debt restructuring The credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded Ukraines credit rating as the conflict with Russia continues, cautioning that a default is imminent. Fitch moved the country from a CC rating to C after they reached an agreement, at least in principle, with foreign investors for restructuring their $20 billion debt on Monday. Last week, Ukraines parliament approved legislation that will allow the government to suspend debt payments for a period of three months and go into debt default during the negotiations for the restructuring agreement. The deal will see some of the top global investment funds, such as Amundi and BlackRock, writing off a significant portion of the nearly $24 billion in claims by exchanging current bonds for newer ones that will last for up to 12 years. They will be structured to defer much of the payments that Ukraine would have had to pay in the coming years, reducing what they must repay by 2033 by 75%. In a statement, Ukraines finance ministry noted: The deal will result in net savings on debt servicing of $11.4 billion over the next 3 years and $22.75 billion until 2033. This will free up vital financial resources, which can be redirected towards defense and social spending. The agreement came shortly before Ukraine's payment freeze on foreign debt payments, which was announced after Russias invasion, was set to expire in early August. Defaulting would have created tensions between Ukraine and Western governments, as well as the International Monetary Fund. Fitch stated: The reported agreement with external commercial creditors constitutes a distressed debt exchange (DDE) under its sovereign rating criteria. They also noted that Kievs defense spending made up more than 31% of the countrys GDP last year. They predict government debt will skyrocket to 92.5% of Ukraines GDP this year. Ukraines economy has been devastated by its war with Russia, which is now dragging into its 28th month, and it depends heavily on military aid and funding from other countries. It has been spending most of its domestic revenue on its military while using money received from Western countries for expenses such as pensions and public sector salaries. The loss of people, infrastructure and territory is all taking a toll on the war-ravaged country. Its tax base has been dwindling; its registered civilian labor force in 2021 numbered 11.5 million people and now sits at just 9 million. G7 countries working out details of $50 billion loan for Ukraine The G7 nations and the EU reached an agreement in June to use the interest earned on frozen Russian assets to finance a $50 billion loan for Ukraine so it can stay afloat amid the ongoing conflict. Some details still need to be ironed out, however, with the U.S. seeking reassurances from the European Union that the Russian assets it seized will stay frozen until the entire loan has been paid back. Most of the assets are currently being held in the securities depository Euroclear in Belgium. The money is expected to reach Ukraine by the end of the year. They will be able to spend it on areas such as military, reconstruction, economic needs and humanitarian efforts. Sources for this article include: RT.com FitchRatings.com U.S. would prevail over China in a war over Taiwan, high-ranking U.S. military official claims Highly confident of America's military power, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared that the United States would easily defeat China if the communist nation began a war with Taiwan. U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the nation's highest-ranking military officer and the principal military advisor to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council, said that the military is now stockpiling weapons, ammunition and other supplies in the Asia Pacific to prepare for war. He said a conflict with China is neither imminent nor inevitable, but that the U.S. military must be ready if war breaks out. "The more we can show that we can get there fast, [the] greater [the] deterrence," he said. When asked at the Aspen Security Forum about the possibility of taking down China in a war, Brown said: "Yes, I am fully confident in our force. We are the most lethal, most respected combat force in the world." He also agreed that the current state of warfare has changed with advanced technology. A war with China, he said, will not be similar to any conflicts of the past 30 years or more. "These will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in World War II and so we've got to come to grips with that," he said. "Two, the PRC knows where our advantages are and the combat capability we can bring to bear. My sense is they'll want to go quick so they can do it before we can bring capability there." President Joe Biden's administration publicly expressed that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to use its military to attempt to take over Taiwan. Meanwhile, Beijing has vowed to take control of the island that it claims as its territory. The top brass official warned that Taiwan is restructuring its military defenses which will "make them a much tougher target and much more challenging" for the Chinese military in attempting an assault. U.S. and allied military forces are working to improve their skills so that American adversaries "never want to mess with us," the general said. "I mean, I play to win, and I am going to do everything I can to make sure it's an unfair fight. That's my focus and so we've got to stay nimble on this kind of look long." Meanwhile, a recent think tank simulation studying the conflict between U.S. and China forces over Taiwan found the U.S. defeated China in combat but at a heftier price tag. The Center for Strategic and International Studies exercise projected that U.S. and allied forces lost tens of thousands of troops, dozens of ships and hundreds of aircraft in the war. Blinken, Chinese counterpart discuss Beijing's provocative drills near Taiwan U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently met with Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi on July 27 to talk about China's "provocative" military drills around the self-ruled island of Taiwan as well as China's support for Russia in its conflict with Ukraine, while both were in Laos attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Summit. Blinken and Wang agreed to keep making progress on their countries' military-to-military ties, but did not discuss nuclear arms control talks, which China has halted in protest over Washington providing arms to Taiwan, the official said. (Related: Taiwanese president warns military cadets about Chinas relentless threat to Taiwans national sovereignty.) "In every discussion, Taiwan is the issue that they care most about. They see it as an internal China issue," said the official, who briefed reporters traveling with Blinken. Blinken, who earlier called out China for escalating maritime tensions with the Philippines, talked about its actions toward the democratically governed island, which include a simulated blockade during the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, the official added. As per the reports, the two dignitaries talked for one hour and 20 minutes during their sixth meeting since June 2023, when Blinken visited Beijing in a sign of improvement in strained relations between the world's two biggest economies. The two did not set a date for their next meeting, the official said. Blinken is touring East Asia in a bid to reassure countries close to China of U.S. commitment, despite political uncertainty at home. He then went to Vietnam later on Saturday and held security talks alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Japan and the Philippines. Watch the video below that talks about China's military blockade of Taiwan as it launched an air raid of fighter jets loaded with bombs a few months ago. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: China hires Western military aviators to prepare for Taiwan invasion. Taiwan admits U.S. troops are stationed on islands close to the Chinese mainland. China is two years away from deploying KILLER ROBOTS on the battlefield. US forming anti-China squad with Japan, Philippines, and Australia. White House official: China maintained PERSISTENT ACCESS to U.S. networks for years. Sources include: News.AntiWar.com WashingtonTimes.com France24.com Brighteon.com Big Pharma admits mRNA vaccine causes CANCER Pharmaceutical giants have finally admitted that the experimental mRNA vaccine can cause cancer The revelation that DNA contamination can lead to birth defects or cancer surfaced when Dr. Robert Malone, the biochemist who helped invent the mRNA vaccine, made an appearance at House of Representatives hearing led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). According to Malone, Moderna has a patent that acknowledges RNA is preferable to DNA in vaccines due to risks of insertional mutagenesis, which might activate oncogenes or inhibit tumor suppressor genes. "Moderna has a patent on the use of RNA for vaccines," Malone stated. "And in that, Moderna explicitly acknowledges that RNA is superior to DNA for vaccine purposes because problems, including the possibility of insertional mutagenesis that could lead to the activation of oncogenes or the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes." "FDA [Food and Drug Administration] says they're not aware of any concerns, but Moderna, in its patent, lays out the same concerns about DNA in insertional mutagenesis and genotoxicity," Malone continued. He added that Moderna knew DNA was a contaminant but was left in because of how they make it. "They use DNA to make RNA, and then they degrade the DNA and then they have to purify the degraded DNA away from the RNA and the process they are using is not that good," he said. Another Big Pharma company also eventually acknowledged that its jabs, which were meant to "cure" COVID-19, are also contaminated with cancer-causing DNA fragments. In the documentation to regulatory bodies, Pfizer omitted information about the presence of Simian Virus 40 sequences in its vaccine. The documentation suggests that there are certain DNA sequences present in the vials that are normally not allowed in anything that is going to go into humans, "not the least of which is an antibiotic resistance gene," Malone explained. They include these sequences from SV 40 not the whole virus, but highly active promoter sequences which is exactly the thing that the FDA in their older regulations said must be avoided because it confers even more risk for insertional mutagenesis. He added that the FDA did not take the raw DNA sequences, reconstruct those plasmid maps and look at them themselves. Instead, they took for granted what Pfizer had given them. And now this is all coming out because of what these researchers found, he further said. Malone warned that the potential consequences for jab recipients are "anything that is associated with DNA damage, i.e., birth defects and cancer being the most notable ones." (Related: Modernas mRNA COVID jab 30% more deadly than Pfizers, VAERS data shows.) Get ready for the "updated COVID-19 vaccines" Despite the recent admission, Pfizer-BioNTech and Modernas updated vaccine is expected to be available in either August or September. According to public health officials, they preferred the term "updated vaccines" in line with the need to formulate a new vaccine every year to match circulating variants like what they did for the flu shot. "Historically, when we're talking about COVID vaccines, we're talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine," said Dr. John Brownstein, the chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital. "Now we're targeting annual vaccines for COVID-19 that are similar to flu. It's a reformulation based on what's circulating, and this is why we're talking about an annual campaign rather than a booster." The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines will target the JN.1 lineage of the virus, which is claimed to be an offshoot of the omicron variant. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available for six-month-old babies and adults while the Novavax vaccine will be available for those aged 12 and older. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Americans receive the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available. "CDC recommends everyone ages six months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 this fall and winter whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine," the CDC website indicated. The updated jab is not considered a booster. "We have to remember that this virus is constantly changing and that your protection from previous infection or previous vaccines declines over time," Brownstein said. "Making sure that you receive the most updated formulations of vaccine will ensure that you have the most recent protection and we of course assumed that like previous years." Read more about the dangerous side effects of mRNA vaccines on VaccineInjuryNews.com. Watch the video below that says the Japanese government launched a task force to investigate the COVID-19 vaccines' crimes against humanity. This video is from the Follower of Christ777 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Pfizer, Moderna rolling out new catch-all mRNA injections for "pandemic influenza." SCARE TACTICS: U.S. government gives Moderna $176 million to develop mRNA bird flu vaccine for next fake scamdemic. mRNA vaccines are extremely toxic, Moderna scientists now warn. Sources include: SHTFPlan.com ABCNews.go.com CDC.gov Brighteon.com Bondi Rescue lifeguard Luke Faddy said its common for beachgoers to be smashed by unexpected waves if they face away from the water. Tourists were caught out when turning their backs on the large waves at Bondi Beach on Wednesday. Source: Harrison Reid Tourists were almost washed away by large swells this week at an iconic Aussie beach, prompting lifeguards to remind people of one simple thing that will help minimise the risk of being wiped out on the shoreline. More than a dozen beachgoers admiring the chilly water at Bondi Beach on Wednesday were forced to flee up the beach as large waves rolled in towards them, seemingly from nowhere, with children scurrying to safety while some were even carried off their feet. Bondi lifeguards kept a close eye on the situation from the watchtower as the group were caught off guard. Thankfully all escaped relatively unscathed aside from some soggy shoes and clothes. However, the footage of the incident has highlighted what can happen if people face away from the water. "On the east coast of Australia we face east towards the water, we [the lifeguards] have a joke down at the beach that rings true, 'Never face west'. You never want to turn your back on the ocean because it's so unpredictable, it changes so quickly," Bondi Rescue lifeguard Luke Faddy told Yahoo News. Sydney's 'powerful' swells have twisted metal railings this week Over the last few days, large swells from a low pressure system over the Tasman sea have pounded the NSW shoreline. Although lifeguards see this at least "once a year", it's been particularly dangerous this week as it's "coincided with high tide", with ocean pool railings at Bronte, a few kilometres south of Bondi, twisting from the "power of the ocean". "During big swells, it's quite common for people to be wiped off their feet on the beach because there's so much energy in the ocean," Faddy said. "The waves can push right up to the break wall or at the back of the beach. It can come on quite unexpectedly. There's tides, swell, waves, wind, all these different factors that are completely out of our control. So it's definitely something that you want to keep your eye on." Hazardous surf warnings remain in place right along the NSW coast up to Byron Bay. NSW Police advise people to consider staying out of the water and avoid walking near surf-exposed areas and rock platforms. The large swell has however lured some to the ocean, with big wave surfers flocking to breaks like Fairy Bower at Manly, shown in the video below. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. CDC, Facebook colluded to CENSOR COVID-19 vaccine safety FAQs, emails reveal The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with Facebook to censor questions about the safety of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) injections , according to emails recently made public. The emails were part of the latest set of documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) via litigation against the public health agency. These documents reveal further evidence of collusion between the CDC and social media companies to stiffen free speech under the governments label of "misinformation" and twist and shape the public narratives. The documents released by AFL shows how the CDC worked with the social media platform, referencing in particular an email chain between the agency and Facebook. The platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg sent draft content to the CDC for approval. (Related: The censorship boomerang.) In the exchange, Facebook's Genelle Adrien emailed CDC Digital Media Director Carol Crawford asking for approval of an "FAQ Content" section on Facebook's "COVID-19 Information Center. The information centered on the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. "Of concern to Adrien was particularly what the platform's users should be allowed to say about the vaccine's side effects. And CDC provided that guidance some words were replaced, and other sentences were removed," LifeSiteNews wrote. Crawford responded by making a few changes to the content. The "joint pain" originally listed as a side effect was gone, replaced with "nausea." She also asked to remove a line that stated, "More serious side effects are extremely rare. A person is far more likely to be seriously harmed by a disease than by its vaccine." According to the CDC official, the public health agency didn't have "any cleared language to support" the statements. Biden admin still encouraging people to get injected According to the pro-life news outlet, "trying to refute collusive practices involving major social media companies is probably not high on the agenda of the U.S. government right this moment. Nevertheless, the evidence of the highly controversial practice keeps rolling in." The CDC thereby appears to have admitted that in May 2021, months after the vaccine had already been rolled out, they could not confirm that the vaccine was safer than contracting COVID-19 itself and developing natural immunity. Nonetheless, the CDC continued to push the American people to take the vaccine. There are various ways to interpret this decision, but one is that the CDC by proxy, as Facebooks guidance adviser, may have wished to avoid the risk of getting sued. Alas, it did get sued by AFL but for colluding with Facebook. Even though the original language was fairly "soft" if anything, the social platform looked keen to minimize any serious side effects, and promote the vaccines it was too much for CDC to stand behind. Despite this admission, the Biden administration continued to urge people to get injected with the COVID-19 vaccine throughout the year. Even President Joe Biden himself joined in the calls, warning that unvaccinated people would "soon overwhelm hospitals with a winter of severe illness and death" up ahead. "For [the] unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death if youre unvaccinated for themselves, their families, and the hospitals theyll soon overwhelm," the chief executive said at the time. Check out Censorship.news for more similar stories. Watch Dr. David Martin explaining why the COVID-19 lab leak at China's Wuhan province was a cover for an intentional release of the pathogen. This video is from The Resistance 1776 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Call it censorship: A court rules against former "disinformation czar" Nina Jankowicz. Former CDC chief admits that vaccine mandates were "one of the greatest mistakes." Pandemic 2.0 ready to go: FDA to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) to mRNA bird flu shots, just like what happened with COVID. Charges withdrawn against 4 Canadians who refused to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandate..Celeste Solum: FEMA camps part of DEPOPULATION agenda in America. Charges withdrawn against 4 Canadians who refused to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Brighteon.com Delta hires powerful attorney David Boies to pursue damages against CrowdStrike, Microsoft after unprecedented IT outage Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is bringing in the big dog to try to recoup the upwards of $500 million the company lost as a result of the CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage that occurred on July 19. David Boies, a high-profile attorney and chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner, will help Delta pursue damages from both CrowdStrike and Microsoft for their failure to keep the company's computers functioning as needed, which resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and lots of chaos. CrowdStrike's share price plunged by five percent in extended trading after Delta's hiring of Boies went public. Microsoft's share price remained roughly the same as it was prior. In the immediate aftermath of the outage, which is being blamed on a faulty Windows kernel level software update, CrowdStrike lost nearly 25 percent of its value over the course of two trading days. Numerous industries were impacted by the outage, most notably airlines like Delta. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has since launched an investigation into Delta, which was hit especially hard by the outage. In a seven-part X thread aimed at angry customers who were not able to fly, Delta explained the available options for recouping losses caused by the outage: "We know many incurred unplanned travel expenses from the outage, including purchasing tickets on other airlines, rental cars, train tickets & more," the company said. "We will reimburse reasonable costs for some additional categories of expenses incurred during 7/19-28." "We've extended the travel waiver for customers with travel booked 7/19-28. This offers the ability to make a one-time change to their itinerary. The fare difference will be waived when travel occurs on or before Aug 4." Teams across our network have worked to return our reliability to normal. We're committed to caring for our customers during this time & have taken a number of steps to make things right for those affected. 1/7 Delta (@Delta) July 26, 2024 (Related: Grocery stores and other retailers across the UK could only accept cash during the CrowdStrike blackout.) Fortune 500 companies lost $5.4 billion from CrowdStrike outage While not technically a lawsuit at least not yet Delta's pursuit of compensation aims to recoup the funds needed to deal with the more than 176,000 refunds and reimbursements requests that were made after nearly 7,000 flights had to be canceled. Boies, who is well known for representing the U.S. government in its landmark antitrust case against Microsoft Boies also helped overturn California's ban on homosexual "marriage" also worked with imprisoned former Hollywood mogul and pervert Harvey Weinstein, as well as for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is right now serving a prison sentence for defrauding investors. All in all, the CrowdStrike outage resulted in a total loss of around $5.4 billion among Fortune 500 companies, according to insurance startup Parametrix and this does not include Microsoft's losses. Some X users expressed upset about the way Delta treated its customers in the aftermath of the outage. "If you're so committed to 'caring for your customers' then why the heck did you abandon them for up to SIX DAYS?!?" one asked. "You are all talk, no action," wrote another. "You did not approve reimbursement of the expenses that I had to incur 7/19-21. Case 10563477." Someone else whose family, including her 87-year-old grandmother, was separated because of the incident wrote that all she was offered by Delta was $12 meal vouchers, which is insulting. "I purchased a fully refundable ticket and was just issued an e-credit upon cancelling my flight," wrote another about how Delta is offering e-credits rather than actual refunds. "How do I get my actual money back?" What happens when the entire global grid implodes? Find out more at Panic.news. Sources for this article include: CNBC.com NaturalNews.com Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Kamala Harris will forge pathway to citizenship for MILLIONS of illegal immigrants Progressive stalwart Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has boasted that Vice President Kamala Harris will secure a "pathway to citizenship" for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" with host Jake Tapper on July 28, Tapper addressed the concerns regarding the way the administration of President Joe Biden is handling the southern border crisis. Tapper questioned Warren about Harris' record on managing the border crisis given that President Joe Biden appointed her to address the "root causes" of the border crisis in March 2021. "I don't need to tell you voters overwhelmingly disapprove of how the Biden-Harris administration has handled the border. By giving the nomination to one of the leaders of the border effort, aren't Democrats doubling down on one of your party's biggest vulnerabilities?" Tapper asked. As a response, Warren claimed that there is a need for more resources for cities overwhelmed by the influx of illegal immigrants while advocating for a pathway to citizenship. "Border crossings now are lower than they were in the last year of the Trump administration. But recognize and I know that Kamala Harris knows this is a problem that ultimately has to be solved by Congress," Warren said. (Related: Kamala Harris hired an illegal immigrant WHO ATTACKED A WOMAN to be part of jobs program while serving as San Franciscos DA.) "We need the tools in order to have more resources at the border, to have more resources in the states and cities that are supporting migrants," continued Warren. "And I believe we need to create a pathway to citizenship. All of that is part of what we need to do for comprehensive immigration reform. Kamala Harris will work with Congress and get that done." Warren's call for mass amnesty stirs controversy among Conservatives This open call has sparked outrage and discontent among conservative lawmakers and commentators. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio took to social media to voice his strong disapproval. "Elizabeth Warren is so excited to elect Border Czar Kamala Harris because she knows Kamala wants to give mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Kamala's extreme border policies are fundamentally anti-American," Vance wrote on X. Former Trump advisor Stephen Miller echoed Vance's sentiments and warned of the implications of Warren's proposal. "If you listen to this clip, you can hear Team Harris explicitly making two campaign promises: 1. Uncapped taxpayer support for newly-imported illegal migrants 2. U.S. Citizenship for illegals arriving from 150+ nationswhich means voting rights, welfare, and chain migration," Miller stated. Florida GOP chairman Evan Power commented succinctly, "Translation: they need voters." Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accused the administration of enabling illegal immigration. "The truth is coming out. Democrats confirm that Kamala Harris will work with Congress to grant citizenship to the 11 million illegal immigrants that she and Biden have let in. This is just PART of the lawless regime Kamala would impose. Only LEGAL immigrants get citizenship," Abbott wrote. Fox News contributor Leo Terrell joined the chorus and labeled the situation "outright admission," while podcast host Mike Sperrazza warned the public of a broader agenda. "They are telling us their plan. They want to destroy America," Sperrazza stated. Visit KamalaWatch.com for more stories about the incumbent vice president. Watch the video below discussing how Kamala Harris is personally benefiting from campaign donations directed to ActBlue. This video is from the Sanivan channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Kamala Harris solution to climate change is to alter the food pyramid and force Americans to eat less meat. Kamala Harris secures endorsements from top Democrats except Barack Obama. Obamas endorse Kamala Harris presidential bid. Doc Burkhart: Dems trying to REWRITE HISTORY on VP Kamala Harris. ActBlue accused of conducting massive money laundering operation for Kamala Harris. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com MSN.com Yahoo,com Brighteon.com Erdogan says Turkey could ENTER ISRAEL to defend Palestinians against IDF aggression Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested the possibility of his country entering Israel in support of Palestinians. "We should be very strong so that Israel cannot do this stuff to Palestine. Just like we entered Nagorno-Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we can do [something] similar to them," he said during a July 28 gathering of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the Turkish city of Rize. "There is no reason not to do it. We must be strong to take these steps." Erdogan pertained to Ankara's support for Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia last year and its military intervention in Libya during his remarks at the AKP event. (Related: Turkey halts ALL trade with Israel over Gaza genocide.) While the comments appear to be a significant step up in his harsh words toward the Jewish state over its genocide of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, it remains unclear whether his comment reflected any concrete plans by the country or was just intended to appeal to his political base. Nevertheless, Erdogan's words did not sit well with Tel Aviv. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz took to X to admonish the Turkish leader. Katz warned that Erdogan could end up like the late Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, who was executed in 2006. "Erdogan follows in the footsteps of Saddam and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended," the foreign minister wrote. In response, AK Party spokesman Omer Celik blasted Katz as a "Nazi." Fahrettin Altun, head of media and communications for Erdogan's office, said on July 29 that Turkey was a "serious and responsible state committed to peace and stability in the region." He also warned that "anyone who is crazy enough to test our limits will get a swift and resolute response," though Altun did not refer to any specific plan by Ankara to act against Tel Aviv. Erdogan heavily critical of Israel "Erdogan has stood up for Hamas, referring to it as an "organization of liberation" while harshly criticizing Israel," DNYUZ pointed out. "He has compared [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and called him a 'psychopath' and a 'vampire.'" Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel broke down in the early months of Israel's military campaign against Hamas, with Ankara announcing in May that it was halting all trade in Israel. Turkey has played no military role in the Gaza conflict despite Erdogan's remarks and the country's policy of allowing Hamas political figures to stay there. However, support for the Palestinian people and outrage at Israel's atrocities are common in Turkish society. Erdogan's recent remarks appear to be the culmination of earlier statements he made, threatening war against Israel over Tel Aviv's military campaign against the Palestinian people. During an Oct. 28 pro-Palestine rally in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Erdogan accused Israel of "openly committing war crimes" and lauded Hamas as "freedom fighters." "In the past, [the Nazis] were massacring the Jewish people in the gas chambers and they were indeed wiping out regions with bombs. A similar mentality is being shown in Gaza today," the Turkish president told the audience. "From now on, we will continue on our path with the motto that we may suddenly knock on your door one night." Erdogan's insinuation that members of the Turkish Armed Forces could come to Israel unannounced triggered an ecstatic reception from the crowd, which chanted "Turkish military to Gaza." He concluded his speech by telling the crowd that Ankara was preparing to "tell the world that Israel is a war criminal." Head over to IsraelCollapse.com for more stories about the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. Watch this report from Turkish public broadcaster TRT regarding Erdogan's comments about Turkey entering Israel to support Palestinians. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Turkish President Erdogan labels Israel a "terror state." Turkish president calls for Muslim world to UNITE against Israel. Turkey's Erdogan warns of "spiral of violence" in phone call with Israel's Herzog. Turkish leader pushes to end conflict in Gaza Strip, calls Israel a WAR CRIMINAL. Sources include: DNYUZ.com Express.co.uk Brighteon.com Israel used dogs, waterboarding to torture Palestinian prisoners UN Palestinians in Israeli captivity have been subjected to torture, including electrocution, waterboarding and being attacked by dogs, with at least 53 detainees dying in custody since October 7, the UN human rights watchdog said in a report out Wednesday. (Article republished from SputnikGlobe.com) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)'s report on the "Detention in the context of the escalation of hostilities in Gaza" looked into testimonies of torture and other ill-treatment committed by Israelis and Palestinian armed groups from October 2023 to June 2024. "Many of those detained and subsequently released have reported being subject to forms of torture or other ill-treatment, including severe beatings, electrocution, being forced to remain in stress positions for prolonged periods, or waterboarding," the report read. Palestinians who spoke with the OHCHR said they had been subjected to violence and humiliation in a systematic manner, "including through repeated serious physical assaults, setting dogs on the detainees, in some cases resulting in attacks and bites, and widespread threats and insults." Israel detained large numbers of Palestinians men, women, children, doctors, journalists, human rights defenders, and patients in the days after Hamas' October 7 attack. Of more than 10,000 workers and patients from Gaza who were taken into custody in October, around 1,000 remain unaccounted for. Dozens others have died. "At least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention since 7 October," the report said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the testimonies gathered by his office and other entities indicated "a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees," which he described as a "flagrant violation" of international humanitarian law. On Monday, Israel said it detained nine soldiers on suspicion of torturing captured Palestinian movement Hamas' fighters. Read more at: SputnikGlobe.com ESG BACKLASH: House GOP lawmakers press companies to explain their involvement in investor-led climate action initiative A group of lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee has demanded that 130 companies provide them with information about their ties to the climate action initiative known as Climate Action 100+. The lawmakers sent the companies in question a letter and an interim report with evidence that financial institutions and climate activists are colluding to adopt left-wing environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related goals, potentially in violation of U.S. antitrust law. The companies are being asked to explain their ESG goals and disclose the requests they will be making of the businesses in their portfolio. They are also being instructed to save "all documents and communications referring or relating to the company's efforts to advance ESG-related goals." A representative for Climate Action 100+ co-founder Ceres, a climate-focused group of investors, said that they had already provided the committee with tens of thousands of documents and that the letters were not likely to yield anything new. They accused the letters of being part of an effort to deter other investors from taking part in the initiative. The Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust, Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), and the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), described the group as a woke cartel and said they are examining "whether existing civil and criminal penalties and current antitrust law enforcement efforts are sufficient to deter anticompetitive collusion to promote ESG-related goals in the investment industry. They also said that the members of the Climate Action 100+ will have to answer for prioritizing woke investments over their own fiduciary duties. Companies are leaving Climate Action 100+ initiative in droves Climate Action 100+ has been hit by a number of high-profile departures recently, including Invesco, State Street Global Advisors, Pimco and JPMorgan Asset Management. BlackRock has also withdrawn its U.S. business, and Swiss Re pulled out of its role as a supporter of the group. State Street Global Advisors and BlackRock identified the groups entry into phase 2 as the reason for their exit as the initiative shifted the focus from requiring participants to disclose their emissions to putting climate transition plans into place. BlackRock said that doing so could represent a violation of U.S. requirements to act only in the long-term financial interests of their clients, while State Street Global Advisors said that the new phases requirements went against their independent attitude toward portfolio company engagement. At the time, Jordan applauded the move on X, writing: Todays decisions by JPMorgan and State Street are big wins for freedom and the American economy, and we hope more financial institutions follow suit in abandoning collusive ESG actions. However, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander accused the companies that defected of ignoring the climate and caving to climate deniers. In addition, the $516.5bn asset manager Parametric and sustainability company Calvert Research dropped out of the initiative, noting in a joint statement that they were committed to fulfilling their fiduciary obligations to their clients. Climate Action 100+, who claims to have more than 700 investors and 170 companies on board at the moment, says on its website that it is aimed at ensuring the worlds largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take appropriate action on climate change in order to mitigate financial risk and to maximize the long-term value of assets. Sources for this article include: X.com WashingtonTimes.com Reuters.com FT.com Mainstream media memory holes border czar moniker of Kamala Harris amid worsening migrant crisis A few months before the elections and amid the burgeoning border crisis, mainstream media has memory holed its popular use of the moniker "border czar" to refer to Democratic presidential nominee and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris. These media outlets are doing their best to make sure the American public does not remember that President Joe Biden had put Harris in charge of the southern border. However, savvy users on X were quick to spot news outlets using the label "border czar" on Harris. In fact, Axios used the label to describe Harris on at least three occasions in 2021, when Biden first gave her special responsibility for illegal immigration. In one April 2021 article, the news agency wrote: "The number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border has reached crisis levels. Harris, appointed by Biden as border czar, said she would be looking at the root causes that drive migration." Other media outlets, including the BBC, have also used the moniker in their articles. Now Axios is denying Harris's role in immigration and border security policy as the publication posted an editor's note stating: "This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a 'border czar' back in 2021." What could have been a medal on her chest if it was resolved properly, the migration issue has turned into one of Harris's first campaign headaches. In the past few days, former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have been calling her out for being a failure when it comes to resolving the burgeoning migrant crisis. "Harris was appointed 'border czar' in March of 2021, and since that time, millions and millions of illegal aliens have invaded our country and countless Americans have been killed by migrant crime because of her willful demolition of American borders and laws," Trump told reporters on a call last week. "With Harris at the helm, the Biden-Harris administration made good on their promise to systematically dismantle President Donald Trump's secure border policies," Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) said during the House Rules Committee hearing, which focused on an emergency resolution addressing the "failures of the border czar position and its negative impact on our fellow citizens across the country." House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) also introduced a resolution condemning the administration and Harris for failing to secure the United States' border. Despite Harris' efforts, some seven million migrants have been arrested illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under Biden, according to government data. Her supporters were quick to defend her "failed efforts." "She was given a very hard, difficult, convoluted portfolio," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and an architect of a bipartisan border security bill introduced earlier this year. "She assumed the role that Vice President Biden had during the Obama administration, which is diplomacy with Central America," former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told Fox News on Tuesday. "She is not the border czar." (Related: TRUTH about Kamala Harris: She was, in fact, appointed by Biden to be Americas open borders czar.) Harris reacts to failed "border czar" label Harris reportedly rebuked Biden for saying she was in charge of immigration at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting, according to a book by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, insisting she was only responsible for the "Northern Triangle" of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But she still failed to control immigration from these three countries. The book says she frequently clashed with Biden and his "white inner circle," which found her "fixation on real and perceived snubs tedious." The two now claim they love each other. Meanwhile, she hit back at Trump and the Republicans during a campaign rally in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 30. She boasted about her background as California state attorney general to contrast herself against Trump, highlighting the pressure the former president put on his GOP Senate allies earlier this year to kill any border legislation that wasn't "perfect." "He tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election, which goes to show Donald Trump does not care about border security. He only cares about himself," Harris said, promising to bring the bipartisan border bill back and sign it into law if elected president. The vice president's comments follow the release of a new ad from Trump's campaign running across several key battleground states focused on Harris' record on immigration. "This is America's border czar and she's failed us," one of the new ads indicated. The Harris campaign countered by releasing a 50-second campaign video. "Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents. Donald Trump blocked a bill to increase the number of Border Patrol agents," the video stated. Head over to KamalaWatch.com for updates on Kamala Harris' presidential bid. Watch the video below that talks about the mainstream media covering up Harris' failure as the "border czar." This video is from Justin Barclay's channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Congress already trying to IMPEACH Kamala Harris for mismanaging southern border, hiding Biden's cognitive decline. Newly uncovered damning video footage of Kamala Harris could be the end of her 2024 campaign. If you thought Biden was bad, wait for President Kamala. In her own words: Kamala Harriss radical vision for America. Former staffers describe Kamala Harris as a workplace bully prone to angry tirades. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com Axios.com VOANews.com Politico.com Brighteon.com Top 5 PLANNED EVENTS that have nearly devastated the world as we know it There will always be tyrants who want to rule the world Orwellian style. They fund upheaval, extremism, violence, hate, satanism, bioterrorism, disease creation, adulterated food and of course, bad medicine. These days, dirty vaccines are more than just a cause of cancer and autism, now the mRNA clot shots cause entire human systems to break down, shut down and terminate life. This is by design. This is no accident, or byproduct of some other industry or side effect of a medicine that should have been further investigated and tested. This was planned, and it was planned out very well, as it was funded by millions of dollars through NIH, CCP and the insidious Vaccine Industrial Complex. Gain of function was also planned and designed. It was no accident that coronavirus jumped from bats to humans, and from humans to humans. It would be a conspiracy theory to say that the China Flu developed in the wild, and this has been proven by scientists in laboratories that can dissect genetic coding. This is vaccine violence, as the Covid clot shots literally cause clotting in the vascular system, which spreads to vital organs and the brain and strains the heart to the point of death. Its called bioterrorism, and the United States, unfortunately, spearheads the living nightmare, along with the Chinese Communist Party. Follow the bouncing science money ball. Believe it or not, there are a handful of billionaires who fund most of the mayhem across the globe, and especially for the United States. These business tycoons function like Adolf Hitler, but they hide behind fronts like philanthropy and technology. Bill Gates wants to inject everyone with deadly vaccines to bring the worlds population down a few billion humans. Hes even said the quiet part out loud at TED conferences. George Soros funds the overthrow of governments around the world, and profits from the battles and wars, no matter who wins, loses or just suffers. Top politicians in the U.S. government propagate unnecessary wars around the world to launder billions of dollars, through arms dealing, embezzlement schemes and other common tactics of the military industrial complex. This is nothing new; however, by funding Ukraine and supplying them with long range missiles to shoot deep into Russian territory, this is instigating World War III. What most Americans do not realize is that NATO is a cover for communist aggression, bio-warfare technology and chemical weapons that can easily exterminate billions of human lives in the blink of an eye. Top 5 designed and implemented events that have nearly destroyed the United States and the rest of the world along with it #1. Coronavirus (and other gain-of-function viruses to be released) #2. Covid mRNA clot shots #3. Mass illegal immigration of criminals and terrorists at the U.S. southern border #4. U.S./NATO aid fueling Ukraines War against Russia, instigating World War III #5. Trump assassination attempt Twenty some years ago, Americans were all worried about terrorists from the Middle East, who somehow entered our country, learned how to fly commercial jets, took over a few of them and flew them directly into the nations most popular buildings. Now, thousands of terrorists just like those guys enter the US in droves, through our open southern border and are given visas, ID, travel money and voting rights by the Obamala Harris, OBiden Regime. As of late, the one man who may actually be able to close the southern U.S. border, end the insane wars overseas and restore the power of the U.S. constitution, well, he was nearly assassinated by the Deep State. This was well planned by several people and several organizations colluding to further empower evil forces that want to depopulate the planet and enslave us all. Tune your apocalypse dial to Preparedness.news for updates on real news about surviving and thriving beyond what comes this way. Sources for this article include: Censored.news NaturalNews.com Ukraine carrying out major operation targeting journalists and government critics The Ukrainian government has been carrying out a major operation to control the narrative about the conflict with Russia, according to a new report. Although they originally claimed the aim was to fight what they consider Russian disinformation, they are now targeting journalists, along with politicians and other critics who are speaking against the Wests approach to the situation there. They have set up a pair of centers to carry out their operations, including the Center for Countering Disinformation in the National Security and Defense Council and the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture. Under the leadership of Andriy Kovalenko, they have been taking an aggressive approach to controlling the conversation across social media. Molfar OSINT, a Ukraine intelligence agency that is based in London, is behind the effort. The group recently placed Senator J.D. Vance on its list of enemies of Ukraine on the day that Donald Trump announced him as his running mate. They singled him out for what they classified as Pro-Russian statements, such as opining that Ukraine should not join NATO and saying he really doesnt care what happens to Ukraine. Kovalenko recently said in an interview that he believes the biggest international danger right now is the flow of information from the Middle East and the Global South. A translation of his comments states: "Now it is very important to deepen the direction of OSINT so that we can do more research, such as we did about Africa, in particular about the spread of fakes. How Russian disinformation works there, how they buy publications in the media, what kind of journalists they invent, how they frame people who are in Russia, calling them African journalists. He added that they believe similar operations are being carried out elsewhere, noting: Russia is doing the same thing in the Middle East, in China, and we need to investigate more how this system works. And we analyze a lot about international affairs, the work of Russians on different continents, predict their campaigns and our actions in response. He explained that he has been working with international broadcasting platforms to help Ukraine's messages reach foreign audiences. They are also enlisting the help of influencers to counter what they deem disinformation. Not surprisingly, the U.S. appears to have a hand in this. He asserted: We are working with American partners to counter disinformation, with German and French partners, and we have begun to exchange information with European partners and NATO member states. This allows you to receive more support from them than you had before. He added that his group has access to state secrets and works alongside intelligence agencies behind closed doors. They are providing guidance on how to respond to fake news made by Russia. Journalists in Ukraine are being intimidated and pressured In May, Politico reported that investigative journalists in Ukraine are being subjected to political pressures and threats. One Ukrainian reporter, Yuri Nikolov, told the publication: I ran investigations for 15 years before the war, and it was always hard and risky. But I think its worse for journalists now. They use different intimidation tactics to try to deter reporters and then, of course, they can always threaten to ship you off to the front lines. He explained how he became the victim of a harassment campaign and suffered reputational damage after publishing a story about defense procurement and the inflated prices of food for Ukrainian troops. He said people visited his home in person to intimidate him as well. Nikolov also complained that reporters who dare to write something unflattering about the government are often labeled Russian agents, enemies of the state and draft dodgers, which has prompted many to be cautious when criticizing Ukraine in their work. Sources for this article include: GreatGameIndia.com Politico.eu Auburn Junior High School students were dismissed early two days in June due to extreme heat, but that shouldn't be a problem next school year. Work is currently underway to install split system air conditioners in classrooms along the school's main hall, from the entrance to the gym, and on the second floor. Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo told The Citizen the Auburn Enlarged City School District hopes to complete the work, part of a capital project, before the start of the new school year in September. In the wake of June's heat wave, The Citizen reached out to all nine Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES school districts to take stock of the air conditioning situation in their buildings. While all districts have at least some AC at the moment, the responding superintendents noted that public concern about it has risen as average daily temperatures have done the same. That's why some districts, like Auburn, are working to add air conditioning through capital projects. Others expressed interest in doing so in the future as long as district funds allow. 'Safer in our buildings' Every Auburn school building is receiving some air conditioning during this summer's capital project, with the junior high school being the last. At Auburn High, 27 rooftop HVAC units are being replaced. But the chillers in the building's vents aren't always responsive to the district's air conditioning controls, Pirozzolo said. Each building library has window AC except for the junior high school's, and one classroom wing of each elementary school is fully air-conditioned. The superintendent said AC in schools has become a bigger focus over the last 15 years, noting there was none in his buildings when he was a student. But while there has been extreme heat at times like the first week of school last September and in June, Pirozzolo continued, air conditioning is still a "very costly" expense for something that only happens a few weeks of the school year. During June's heat wave, the district rented portable air conditioning units and placed them in classrooms and hallways. Parents were also reminded that children should dress for the weather and bring water, which the district provided as well. Some parents asked why school wasn't canceled, and Pirozzolo said they can always keep children home if they think they won't be safe. For many parents, though, he believes the opposite is true. "When you have over 62% poverty (in the Auburn district), we know the majority of our kids do not have air conditioning at home," he said. "(They're) better off, being safer in our buildings." 'Not ideal for learning' Many Cayuga County-area school district superintendents noted to The Citizen that their buildings are several decades old, and retrofitting them for air conditioning can be difficult and expensive. Weedsport Central School District Superintendent Gregory Stone said its elementary school is over 115 years old and the original portion of its junior-senior high school is 69 years old. As each building has been renovated over the years, the district has balanced other needs with air conditioning in select spaces, Stone said. Some classrooms and the libraries in both schools have AC, in addition to the cafeteria and main office in the elementary school and offices and the auditorium in the junior-senior high school. "As we look for future building projects, those are things that we're going to be looking at," Stone said, "especially as we see an increase in our summer temperatures." Most Weedsport classrooms aren't air-conditioned, the superintendent said, but the district made efforts to keep students safe during the June heat wave. HVAC systems were used to maintain constant air flow, classes were rotated in and out of air-conditioned spaces, and staff made sure students were hydrated. Stone praised everyone for making the most out of the situation. "It was hot, no doubt, and it's certainty not ideal for learning," he said. Dr. Jarett Powers, superintendent of the Union Springs Central School District, told The Citizen it plans to install air conditioning at the junior-senior high school this summer as a part of a capital project. He hopes the work, which he called a priority for the district, will be done by the start of the school year. Some areas of Union Springs school buildings already have AC, such as the junior-senior high school auditorium and district offices where staff works year-round. Some classrooms are air-conditioned based on student medical needs, Powers added. But the junior-senior high school was built in 1936 and A.J. Smith Elementary School in 1967, so retrofitting them is not always easy. "There are roof weight loads to consider when adding chillers, fire walls when you have to cut penetrations, building codes to consider, space in the ceiling to run ductwork," Powers said, "and the cost." Port Byron Central School District Superintendent Mike Jorgensen said less than 40% of its buildings have AC, including the libraries and the junior-senior high school auditorium and main gymnasium. A capital project, approved by voters in December 2022, is adding air conditioning to spaces being renovated into STEAM classrooms. Renovations to the districts art rooms and a multipurpose room in the elementary school will include air conditioning as well. Overall, Jorgensen said, AC is being added to 15 to 20 of the district's classrooms, and about 60% of them will have it. Cato-Meridian Central School District Superintendent Dr. Terry Ward said the junior-senior high school cafeteria and gymnasium currently have air conditioning, but the building's science, technology and agriculture classrooms are poised to get it via the district's current $33.1 million capital project. It will also be added to the elementary school's gymnasium, library media center and auditorium. Southern Cayuga Central School District Superintendent Patrick Jensen said its air-conditioned spaces include school libraries and auditoriums, which were used during the June heat wave. Moravia Central School District Superintendent John Birmingham and Skaneateles Central School District Superintendent Eric Knuth did not respond to requests for comment by The Citizen. 'Weather patterns are changing' Most of Jordan-Elbridge High School has been air-conditioned since 2011 as a result of a capital project. But the elementary school, middle school and Jordan-Elbridge Dynamic Intermediate School mostly have AC through window units, which district Superintendent Jim Froio said is not practical for providing air to an entire building. He told The Citizen only the middle school library, auditorium, administrative offices and conference rooms, and the elementary school's main office, are fully air-conditioned. However, the district is considering different ways to add AC to those buildings. Earlier this year, Froio said, the district submitted an energy performance grant application to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Jordan-Elbridge is also developing a capital project with air conditioning plans for a vote this fall. If the district receives the grant it will use that to support the AC work, Froio said, and the plans would be removed from the capital project. Meanwhile, younger students were given half-days to keep them safe during the June heat wave. The district is looking into scheduling more next June, Froio said, until it has "an AC solution." "I just feel like (with) the way our weather patterns are changing in central New York, that that's going to become common in June," he continued. The superintendent agreed that there has been more public support for air conditioning in school buildings over the years. "Twenty years ago, I don't think anybody would support it, but I think now there's a lot of support for that out there," he said. Having just secured $50 million in new funding round, Dazz is one of Network Worlds 7 network security startups to watch for 2024. Its AI-driven platform combines security and vulnerability management with threat and exposure-management capabilities. Dazz at a glance Founded: 2021 2021 What they do: Provide unified security remediation solutions Provide unified security remediation solutions Funding: $110 million $110 million Headquarters: Palo Alto, California Palo Alto, California CEO: Merav Bahat Merav Bahat Competitors include: ArmorCode, Cycode, Konducto, OX Security, and Vulcan Cyber ArmorCode, Cycode, Konducto, OX Security, and Vulcan Cyber Customers include: Abnormal Security and BHG Financial Why Dazz is a startup to watch Dazz is targeting a market security and vulnerability management that research firm MarketandMarkets forecasts will top $18 billion by 2026. Dazzs Unified Remediation Platform gives CISOs holistic visibility across all their on-premises and cloud environments while also providing application security posture management (ASPM) and continuous threat and exposure management (CTEM) capabilities. Powered by AI and automation, Dazzs platform helps security teams prioritize and fix vulnerabilities across their code, clouds, applications, containers, and infrastructure. The startup is backed by $110 million in VC funding from Insight Partners, Greylock, Index Ventures, and Cyberstarts. That includes $50 million that was just announced in July 2024. The founding team has a strong security background. CEO and co-founder Merav Bahat previously served as GM of Microsofts Cloud Security line of business. CTO and co-founder Tomer Schwartz previously founded the Microsoft Security Response Center in Israel and co-founded Armis, an IoT security company. Yuval Ofir, co-founder and VP of R&D, previously headed R&D for Claroty, an IoT security company. Valvoline settled a multi-state lawsuit by ending non-compete agreements for hourly employees, including nearly 150 current and former workers in New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James was among the seven state attorneys general who sued Valvoline, which has locations in Auburn and the Syracuse area, over its "unfair labor practices" at the company's oil change businesses. According to the lawsuit, Valvoline required hourly employees to sign non-compete agreements that prevented them from working for another oil change business within 100 miles of their Valvoline location for one year. The clauses were in effect for one year after the employees left Valvoline. The company also forced its employees to sign non-solicitation agreements, which prohibited them from taking customers and recruiting employees from Valvoline. The lawsuit was brought after an investigation that began in 2018. The inquiry found Valvoline used the non-compete agreements until 2021. "When major companies threaten employees, they hurt all hardworking New Yorkers and their families," James said. "For years, Valvoline took advantage of hourly workers who did not have the negotiating power to challenge these unjust labor agreements. We will not let companies prevent everyday people from earning a fair wage and putting food on the table." Valvoline has 15 days to notify current employees and those who stopped working at the company within the past year that the non-compete and non-solicitation agreements have ended. The settlement affects 440 current employees and 500 former employees in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. If Valvoline violates the settlement in any of the seven states, the company could face a $500,000 fine. Matt Damon often gets into 'creative arguments' with Affleck brothers H ollywood stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck attended the New York premiere of 'The Instigators', where Matt Damon opened up about his friendship with Casey Affleck and his brother Ben Affleck. The Affleck brothers and Matt Damon have been friends for more than 25 years since the latter and Ben co-wrote 'Good Will Hunting'. Matt Damon said that after all these years, there are no surprises with the two siblings. He told People: "They're consistently great. They're consistently incredible partners to work with. And no, there aren't really, usually, any surprises." While the three collaborators will "get in creative arguments", Damon noted: "Those are healthy, and we know each other well enough that our feelings don't really get involved and our egos don't get involved. So it's a pretty healthy working relationship with both of them." As per People, Damon and Casey, returned to their hometown of Boston to shoot the film in 2023. However, the project almost didn't come to fruition until Casey enlisted help from Damon's wife, Luciana Barroso, Damon confirmed. Casey asked Barroso, 48, to get Damon to read 'The Instigators' script. Damon noted that Barroso also served as a producer on the film, adding that "like Casey and like Ben" he "just trusts her taste." "So when they say something, when they dig their heels in on something -- any of them do -- I pay attention," he admitted. "We all have blind spots creatively or otherwise. And, when I see somebody that I agree with so much feeling strongly about something, I look really carefully at it." As per the movie's official synopsis, 'The Instigators' follows Damon and Casey as Rory and Cobby: a father and an ex-con who team up to steal from a corrupt politician. When things go awry, the reluctant duo enlist the help of Rory's therapist to evade capture. The movie is directed by Doug Liman, and written by Casey and Chuck Maclean. Casey also told ExtraTV in an interview alongside Damon earlier this week that Barroso was instrumental in getting Damon to join him in the movie. "I went through Lucy," Casey said, referring to Barroso, "Who's way more agreeable and has got better taste than Matt does." Matt Damon often gets into 'creative arguments' with Affleck brothers Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Vietnamese PM accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan V ietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. During this, PM Modi received his counterpart, and both leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. After this, the Vietnamese PM inspected a Guard of Honour by the Indian defence forces. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh then met the ministers and delegations of the two countries. Later, Pham Minh paid his tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at Rajghat. He will engage in bilateral discussions with PM Modi, who will also host a luncheon in honour of the visiting delegation. Chinh reached New Delhi late on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit, aiming to further strengthen the age-old ties between the two countries. The Vietnam PM is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the visit. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishanakar called on the visiting Prime Minister and appreciated his guidance in bolstering the India-Vietnam bilateral relations. "Honoured to call on PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam during his State visit to India. Appreciate his guidance on our bilateral relationship and on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the EAM said in a post on 'X'. The Vietnamese Prime Minister also addressed a business event organised in the national capital on Wednesday. He stated that India's interest in exploring investments in Vietnam will extend cooperation into new areas such as transportation, economy, digitalisation and energy. He also appreciated the economic and trade cooperation as a "beacon of cooperation" between the two nations and called on to raise the bilateral trade to $20 billion. He also hailed the development of India under the leadership of PM Modi. India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's visit to Hanoi in 2016. PM Modi has maintained Vietnam's importance as an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and the Indo-Pacific vision while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship, including defence partnership, besides working for expeditious progress on the existing initiatives. Vietnamese PM accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Shashi Tharoor urges Amit Shah to declare Kerala landslides as 'Calamity of Severe Nature' C ongress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to declare the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district as a 'Calamity of Serious Nature'. Declaring it a calamity of a severe nature will allow MPs to recommend works up to Rs 1 crore from their MPLAD funds for the affected areas, Tharoor, who is also Chairman of Chemicals and Fertisliser Committee of Parliament, said in a letter to the Home Minister on Wednesday. He said that the said move will surely be invaluable in supporting the painstaking efforts for rescue, relief and rehabilitation. A series of devastating landslides struck the Wayanad district of Kerala, claiming over hundred lives and leaving many more severely injured in hospitals, his letter read. He said, "This disaster of unimaginable proportions has left behind a harrowing tale of death and destruction. The rescue operations involving the armed forces, the Coast Guard, the National Disaster Response Force and other agencies continue their pitched battle against the vagaries of nature. "The landslides have wreaked havoc upon countless lives and as such, it is of grave importance to extend all possible support to the people of Wayanad. Such is the scale of the disaster that it necessitates a coordinated and generous response from all sections of the society," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. The death toll in the Wayanad landslide tragedy has reached 264 while around 200 people are still missing, officials said. Shashi Tharoor urges Amit Shah to declare Kerala landslides as 'Calamity of Severe Nature' Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! India is young country with old politicians, must aspire for younger ones: Raghav Chadha R ajya Sabha MP, Raghav Chadha, while addressing the Upper House on Thursday advocated for a reduction in the minimum age to contest elections, stressing the need for younger representation in Indian politics. He highlighted that India, with an average age of 29 years, is one of the youngest countries globally, yet the age of its politicians does not reflect this youthful demographic. The Rajya Sabha MP noted, "India's population includes 38 per cent who are under 35 years and more than half who are under 25. However, are our elected leaders as young?" Drawing a historical comparison, he said, "In the first Lok Sabha after Independence, 26 per cent of the members were under 40, but in the current 17th Lok Sabha, only around 12 per cent are under 40." "We are a young country with old politicians. We must aspire to become a young country with young politicians," Chadha said, emphasising the need to encourage young people to enter mainstream politics. Pointing out that politics is often not seen as a desirable career, the AAP leader said, "Parents want their children to become doctors, engineers, sportspersons, scientists, but no one encourages them to become politicians. I believe it is necessary to introduce incentives for young people to encourage their participation in mainstream politics." Chadha also proposed that the government reduce the minimum age to contest elections from 25 to 21 years. "In India, the age to contest an election is 25 years. I would like to urge that the government reduce the minimum age to contest polls and make it 21 years. And then 21-year-old youths can join mainstream politics by contesting the polls." He reasoned that if 18-year-olds can vote, they should also be allowed to contest elections at 21, thus enabling them to engage directly in the political process of the country. India is young country with old politicians, must aspire for younger ones: Raghav Chadha Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! The first floating natural gas production platform to be included in the energy fleet, FPSO, has set off from Singapore. The platform, which will be active in the Sakarya Gas Field, will meet the needs of 5 million households. The giant ship, which is a floating industrial facility, is expected to arrive at Filyos Port within 2 months. The new addition to Turkey's energy fleet, the floating production, storage, and discharge platform (FPSO), departed from Singapore yesterday. After a journey of approximately 2 months, the platform will enter Turkey through the Dardanelles Strait and will undergo maintenance at a shipyard in Marmara before proceeding to Filyos Port. The floating industrial facility will produce enough natural gas to meet the needs of 5 million households daily. The platform is reported to be 298.45 meters long and 56 metres wide. With a maximum gas processing capacity of 10.5 million cubic metres, it is set to commence production in the Black Sea in 2026 and will continue to operate for 20 years. As part of the first phase of its operations in the Black Sea, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) aims to increase production to 10 million cubic meters per day. Currently, TPAO produces more than 5.5 million cubic metres of gas per day from the Sakarya Gas Field. During the first phase, production will be ramped up to 40 million cubic metres per day in Phase 2. TPAO is preparing for Phase 2, which will involve processing raw gas from the depths of the Black Sea on the platform and delivering it to land via pipelines. The platform's production capacity will be increased to 20 million cubic metres, which is the target for Phase 2. With the FPSO, Turkey will become the 6th country to operate such a platform, following the USA, Russia, Brazil, Norway, and Malaysia. There are also suggestions for naming the platform. It is rumoured that the platform may be named 'Republic' in honour of the Republic's centennial. Other name suggestions include 'Gazi' and 'Ertu?rul.' Turkey's energy fleet currently includes 4 drilling ships and 2 seismic research ships. Drilling operations are ongoing in Turkey's sea areas with the Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni, and Abdulhamid Han ships, while seismic data collection is being carried out with the Barbaros Hayreddin Pa?a and Oruc Reis ships. There are 40,000 data collection points in the Sakarya Gas Field Development Project. Turkey aims to first bring Black Sea and Mediterranean gas into production and then shift focus to the Aegean. Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer 'Citadel Honey Bunny' to drop on November 7 T he upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel Honey Bunny' is set to drop on OTT on November 7, this year. The release date of the show was revealed after the noise metre (breahing decibel threshold) hit the score of 100 at the Mehboob Studios in the Bandra West area of Mumbai on Thursday. The special event was attended by Bollywood star Varun Dhawan and his co-star from the show, Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Varun, who spoke to media on the sidelines of the event shared that the creators of the show issued strict directions to him about this show being his single point focus and that he could not take up any other project, a film or even a brand film. 'Citadel Honey Bunny' is the Indian counterpart of the larger global series 'Citadel' which starred Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in the lead. Varun also revealed that he was a little surprised as he thought that there would be very elaborate sets since it's a Prime Video show. However, the actor soon went on field and took to the streets in 'Thane' and 'Bhandup' areas of Mumbai. He shared that he was told this was being done to bring authenticity to the show's narrative. The actor also shared that this is the second time in his career after 'Badlapur' where he is part of a dark narrative. 'Citadel Honey Bunny' also stars Kay Kay Menon. The show drops on Prime Video on November 7. Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer 'Citadel Honey Bunny' to drop on November 7 Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! India and Vietnam adopt 'new plan of action' to solidify strategic partnership E mphasising that India's 'Viksit Bharat 2047' and Vietnam's 'Vision 2045' continue to accelerate development and have opened up many new areas of mutual cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Thursday that both countries have decided to further strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by adopting a "new plan of action". "New steps have been taken for cooperation in the field of defence and security. The Army Software Park built in Nha Trang was inaugurated today. The agreed US$300 million credit line will strengthen Vietnam's maritime security. We have also decided that cooperation will be strengthened on the issues of terrorism and cyber security," PM Modi announced while addressing the media along with Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Both leaders held bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi who also hosted a luncheon in the honour of the visiting high-level delegation from Hanoi, which included several ministers, deputy ministers and business leaders. In his remarks, PM Modi highlighted how the dimensions of relations between New Delhi and Hanoi have expanded and deepened over the last 10 years with the relationship transforming into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "Our bilateral trade has increased by more than 85 per cent. Mutual cooperation has expanded in energy, technology, and development partnership. Mutual cooperation in defence and security areas has gained new momentum. Over the past decade, connectivity has increased. And today we have more than 50 direct flights between the two countries. Along with this, tourism is continuously increasing, and people have also been given the facility of e-visa," said PM Modi. He also mentioned the extensive conservation and restoration work done by the Archaeological Survey of India at the UNESCO heritage site of My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam province of Vietnam. "As we all know, Buddhism is our shared heritage, which has connected the people of both the countries at a spiritual level. We invite people from Vietnam to the Buddhist circuit in India. And we want the youth of Vietnam to also take benefit of the Nalanda University," stated PM Modi. India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Hanoi in 2016. PM Modi has maintained Vietnam's importance as an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship - including defence partnership - besides working for expeditious progress on existing initiatives. "In our Act East policy and our Indo-Pacific vision, Vietnam is our important partner. There is a good agreement between our views about the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We welcome Vietnam's decision to join CDRI," he said on Thursday. Taking several steps to strengthen the relationship, both countries, revealed PM Modi, have reached an agreement between the central banks for digital payment connectivity. "We have decided to focus on the areas of green economy and new emerging technologies. We agree that, to realise the mutual trade potential, the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be concluded as early as possible. Each other's capabilities in energy and port development will be harnessed for mutual benefit. Work will also be done towards connecting the Private Sector, Small and Medium Enterprises and Start-ups of both the countries," commented PM Modi. Earlier in the day, Pham Minh Chinh received a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan and also visited Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. India and Vietnam adopt 'new plan of action' to solidify strategic partnership Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Varun's father David Dhawan didn't like what his son became during 'Badlapur' B ollywood star Varun Dhawan has revealed that his father and director David Dhawan didn't like what the actor became after doing 'Badlapur'. On Thursday, Varun attended the special teaser launch event of his upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' at the Mehboob Studios in the Bandra west area of Mumbai, along with his co-star Samantha Ruth Prabhu, the show creators Raj & DK and the music director duo Sachin-Jigar. Varun interacted with the media stationed at the venue, and shared that his character in the revenge drama 'Badlapur', in which he was pitted against Nawazuddin Siddiqui, took a toll on him and bled into his personal life. The actor revealed that he started behaving differently during the making of 'Badlapur' and the character triggered a change in his personality. Varun then shared that his role in 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' is also in a dark space but is not as disturbing as it was in 'Badlapur'. What's interesting is that David was all praise for Varun and how he handled his character during the making of the show. 'Badlapur' is a neo-noir action thriller film directed by Sriram Raghavan of 'Andhadhun' fame. The film was based on the novel 'Death's Dark Abyss' by Italian writer Massimo Carlotto. It also stars Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Vinay Pathak, Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta and Radhika Apte. Elsewhere during the event, Varun also revealed that his upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' has a one take action sequence which lasts for 12 minutes. 'Citadel: Honey Bunny', which is the Indian counterpart of the global streaming series 'Citadel', features many exhilarating moments and action sequences, of which the one with a runtime of 12 minutes, stands out. Varun also lauded Samantha for her dedication towards the series and pulling off action sequences despite battling her medical condition. He said Samantha's physical training for the show outdid his preparations. The actor told the media, "She has inspired me, the creators, and put up a terrific show." Varun's father David Dhawan didn't like what his son became during 'Badlapur' Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Tata Motors Q1 net profit shoots up 74 per cent as JLR sales zoom T ata Motors on Thursday reported a 74 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 5,566 crore for the April-June quarter of the current financial year (2024-25), compared to the same period of the previous year, on the back of higher sales of its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 3,203 crore in the April-June quarter last year. Tata Motors' revenue from operations rose 5.7 per cent to Rs 1,07,316 crore during the first quarter from Rs 1,01,528 crore a year ago. Revenue of the company's UK subsidiary JLR increased by 5.4 per cent during the quarter to 7.3 billion pounds driven by favourable volume, mix and material cost improvements, according to a company statement. The share of JLR models increased to 68 per cent of the total revenue. In the Indian market, Tata Motors commercial vehicle revenues grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 17,800 crore, while EBIT margins improved 2.4 per cent to 8.9 per cent on the back of better realisations and material cost savings, the company said. Passenger vehicle revenues fell 7.7 per cent, reflecting "challenging market conditions", but EBITDA at 5.8 per cent expanded 0.5 per cent, driven by material cost reductions, according to the company statement. Tata Motors also said that the proposed demerger of the company into two separate listed entities is expected to conclude in 12 to 15 months. "In furtherance to the announcement made on March 4, 2024, the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Limited (TML), today, has approved a Composite Scheme of Arrangement amongst TML, TML Commercial Vehicles Limited (TMLCV), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (TMPV) and their respective shareholders," the company said. Pursuant to the scheme, shareholders of TML will receive one share of TMLCV of face value Rs 2 fully paid up for every one fully paid-up share of Rs 2 held in TML of the same class, the company added. Further, the merger of Tata Motors Finance with Tata Capital is also underway and expected to conclude over the course of the next 9 to 12 months, it said. Tata Motors shares are hovering at Rs 1,142.65 on the NSE. Tata Motors Q1 net profit shoots up 74 per cent as JLR sales zoom Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has officially entered the Philippine market in partnership with Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC). This strategic move marks a another milestone in the company's global expansion strategy. Hero MotoCorp has started retail operations in Philippines, offering the Xpulse 200 4V at PHP 140,000, the Hunk 160R 4V at PHP 99,900, and the Xoom 11 TMC, an automotive group in the Philippines, will serve as the exclusive assembler and distributor of Hero MotoCorp's products and its services. The collaboration, announced in October 2022, has now materialised with the commencement of operations. Manufacturing and retail operations A state-of-the-art assembly unit and parts warehouse has been established at TMC in Laguna, Philippines, covering over 6,000 square meters with an annual capacity of over 150,000 units. This facility will produce Hero MotoCorps popular motorcycles, including the Hero Xpulse 200 4V, Hunk 160R 4V, and the Xoom 110 scooter. Also Read : Hero Xtreme 160R 4V launched: Four key rivals Hero MotoCorp has also started retail operations, offering the Xpulse 200 4V at PHP 140,000, the Hunk 160R 4V at PHP 99,900, and the Xoom 110 at PHP 69,900. Each product comes with a two-year or 24,000-kilometer warranty. The partnership has established a comprehensive retail network with over 350 customer touchpoints and plans to expand this network rapidly by year-end. Niranjan Gupta, CEO of Hero MotoCorp, expressed optimism about the expansion, stating, Our operations in the Philippines will enhance our global footprint. Partnering with TMC, a distinguished member of the Columbian Group, we are set to quickly establish and grow our market presence." Also Read : Hero MotoCorp plans to launch affordable Vida electric scooters in FY25 Bienvenido Sanvictores Santos, Chairman of TMC, echoed this sentiment, saying, We are thrilled to partner with Hero MotoCorp, a world leader in the automotive industry. By combining Hero MotoCorps global expertise with our local knowledge, we aim to make a significant market impact." Hero MotoCorp is currently present in 48 countries, with tech centres in India and Germany, and manufacturing facilities in India, Colombia, and Bangladesh. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: We got to do something different, what we're doing is not working," the Rev. Herbert Burnett said after two people were killed and six injured by gunfire over the course of two weekends in Champaign. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association. Beijing (Gasgoo)- On July 30, 2024, BAIC Groups commercial vehicle arm Foton Motor's Global Multipurpose Vehicle Center Factory celebrated the production of its 700,000th vehicle. Photo credit: Foton Motor Foton Motor has consistently emphasized technological innovation and increased its R&D investment, centering its efforts in Beijing. The company has established 18 R&D centers worldwide, focusing on new energy vehicle technology, intelligent connected vehicle technology, energy-saving technology, and lightweight technology. Foton Motor has also accelerated its smart manufacturing initiatives, building a comprehensive intelligent manufacturing system that spans the entire commercial vehicle and component industry chain. The company's annual production capacity stands at 800,000 vehicles, with 21 domestic and 22 overseas KD factories, achieving a global industrial layout. Located in Weifang, Shandong province, the Foton Motor Global Multipurpose Vehicle Center integrates R&D, production, testing, logistics, and customer interaction. Built to German Industry 4.0 standards, the factory extensively uses intelligent robots and boasts advanced production processes. Its production lines are highly automated, flexible, and environmentally friendly, enabling large-scale mixed-model manufacturing. Since commencing operations in August 2012, the center has produced 700,000 vehicles, generating over 70 billion yuan in sales revenue. In 2023, the factory's output value reached 9.35 billion yuan, with products exported to 35 countries and regions. 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. Glioblastomas are highly aggressive, usually incurable brain tumors. If all therapeutic options are exhausted, patients have an average life expectancy of less than two years. Now researchers from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) at the West German Tumor Center Essen have made a surprising discovery: in the vicinity of glioblastomas, they found islands of highly potent immune cells in the neighboring bone marrow of the skull, which play a central role in defending against cancer. The new data may open up prospects for innovative therapies. On the other hand, they cast a shadow over conventional strategies. In the DKTK, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, as a core center, is joining forces with university partner sites in Germany with special oncological expertise on a long-term basis. What we have found is surprising and fundamentally new." Bjorn Scheffler, DKTK researcher at the Essen site Until now, the body's own defenses have always been thought of as a holistic system that sends its troops to different parts of the body as required. "However," says Scheffler, "our data show that highly potent immune cells gather in regional bone marrow niches close to the tumor and organize the defence from there. At least this is the case with glioblastomas." Immune system on site Based on new findings from animal experiments, the Essen team took tissue samples from the bone marrow near the tumor in the skull from untreated patients with glioblastoma. "However, the methods for this first had to be established," reports first author Celia Dobersalske, emphasizing the fact that the new research results were obtained from human tissue samples. The researchers hit the bull's eye in their search: Bone marrow niches in close proximity to the glioblastoma appear to be the reservoir from which the anti-tumor defense is recruited. Apart from active lymphoid stem cells that develop into immune cells, the researchers also found mature cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8 cells) in the bone marrow close to the tumor. "These are highly effective immune cells that play a central role in the defense against cancer," adds Celia Dobersalske. They can recognize and destroy malignant cells. The CD8 cells in the bone marrow near the tumor had an increased number of receptors on their surface, which control the proliferation of mature T lymphocytes. In line with this, descendants of the same cell clones - one clone originates from one and the same cell - were detected both in the bone marrow and in the tumor tissue. This is clear evidence that the immune cells gathered on site are fighting the glioblastoma. "And they are successful - at least for a while," says Bjorn Scheffler. "We were able to show that the course of the disease correlates with the activity of the local CD8 cells." Valuable immune cells destroyed? This finding not only turns conventional ideas about how the immune system works on their head. The treatment concepts for glioblastoma must also be reconsidered in light of the new data. "Until now, we hadn't even considered the skullcap in our considerations. How could we, since there was no evidence that highly potent immune cells could be hiding there," says senior author Scheffler. "When we opened the skull, we may have destroyed important immune cells in the process," confirms Ulrich Sure, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery and member of the Essen research team. "In view of the new findings, we find ourselves in a dilemma: we have to gain access to the tumor in order to remove it and also to be able to confirm the diagnosis. There is currently no other way than through the skull. But we are thinking about how we can minimize damage to the local bone marrow in the future." On the other hand, the discovery of the local immune system opens up opportunities for innovative therapies. In particular, so-called checkpoint inhibitors are coming back into play. These are immunotherapeutic agents that aim to boost the body's own cancer defenses. However, checkpoint inhibitors tested to date have shown little effect on glioblastomas. "Various explanations have been suggested as an explanation, but perhaps we also need to rethink things in this respect," says Bjorn Scheffler. "We now know that highly potent immune cells are indeed present on site. We were able to prove that they are fit to fight tumors, but they are not capable of destroying the tumor on their own. This is where we can start. One challenge will be to deliver drugs in sufficient concentration to the regional bone marrow niches at the right time. If we succeed, we may have a chance of controlling the growth of glioblastomas and improving our patients' chances of survival." This work was funded by the Wilhelm Sander Foundation and the DKTK Joint Funding Program 'HematoTrac'. With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information. BYDs passenger vehicle sales in July leap 30.5% YoY On the first day of August, BYD Company Limited announced that its automobile sales reached 342,383 units in July 2024. Of those, 340,799 units were contributed by the passenger vehicle sector, representing a year-on-year jump of 30.5%. Photo credit: BYD ZEEKR, Mobileye accelerate technology collaboration in China On August 1, Zeekr Intelligent Technology (hereinafter referred to as "ZEEKR") and Mobileye jointly announced plans to accelerate their technological localization process in China, building on the successful foundation of their collaboration over the past few years. The companies aim to further integrate Mobileye's technology into the next generation of ZEEKR vehicles, promoting the adoption of advanced driving safety and autonomous driving technologies in both the Chinese and global markets. NETA Auto delivers 11,015 vehicles in July 2024 Chinese new energy vehicle NETA Auto announced a delivery volume of 11,015 vehicles for the month of July 2024. The company also disclosed that the new NETA X is about to hit the market in the near future, and the NETA S models shooting-braking edition is set for debut later this month. NIOs monthly deliveries surpass 20,000 vehicles for 3 months in a row NIO Inc. reported robust performance in July 2024, where it delivered 20,498 new vehicles, marking the third consecutive month with monthly deliveries exceeding 20,000 units. XPENG sees Jan.-Jul. car deliveries jump 20% YoY In July 2024, Chinese smart electric vehicle maker XPENG delivered a total of 11,145 new vehicles, marking a year-over-year increase of 1% and a month-over-month growth of 4%. Among these, the XPENG X9 MPV model saw 1,459 units delivered, bringing the cumulative deliveries to 14,602 units since its market launch seven months ago. Li Autos monthly deliveries hit new high of 51,000 vehicles Li Auto Inc. ("Li Auto"), a prominent player in China's new energy vehicle market, announced a delivery volume of 51,000 vehicles for July 2024. This marks a record monthly delivery and a significant 49.4% increase compared to the same period last year. Tesla rolls off 10 millionth electric drive system at Gigafactory Shanghai On August 1, Tesla announced via its Weibo account that it has reached a significant milestone with its global 10 millionth electric drive system produced at the Gigafactory Shanghai on July 31. Foton Motors Global Multipurpose Vehicle Center Factory rolls off 700,000th vehicle On July 30, 2024, BAIC Groups commercial vehicle arm Foton Motor's Global Multipurpose Vehicle Center Factory celebrated the production of its 700,000th vehicle. HBIS XuanSteel allies with SinoHytec to boost hydrogen energy applications On July 30, 2024, HBIS Group XuanSteel Company (HBIS XuanSteel) and SinoHytec successfully signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. According to the agreement, both parties will accelerate the demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles, improve the green hydrogen supply system, and expedite the large-scale application of hydrogen energy. GAC Energy, Hongfei Energy launch first co-built large supercharging station On the morning of July 31, 2024, GAC Energy and Shenzhen Hongfei Energy Co., Ltd. ("Hongfei Energy") signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Dongguan city, Guangdong province, and celebrated the launch of their first co-built large supercharging station, according to a post on GAC Energy's WeChat account. BYD, Uber join hands to boost electric vehicle adoption On July 31, BYD announced a multi-year strategic partnership with global mobility service and delivery technology giant Uber, aiming to deploy 100,000 new BYD electric vehicles (EVs) in key markets worldwide. This collaboration is set to significantly expand BYD's EV presence on the Uber platform. The connections between the nervous system and muscles develop differently across the kingdom of life. It takes newborn humans roughly a year to develop the proper muscular systems that support the ability to walk, while cows can walk mere minutes after birth and run not long after. University of California San Diego researchers, using powerful new visualization technologies, now have a clear picture of why these two scenarios develop so differently. The results offer new insight into understanding muscle contraction in humans that may help in developing future treatments for muscular diseases. "In this study we set out to understand the molecular details involved in muscle contraction at the point of contact between motor neurons and skeletal muscles, which are the muscles we consciously control," said School of Biological Sciences Professor Ryan Hibbs, of the new study published in Nature. "We have discovered how the muscle protein changes in its composition during development, which is important in the context of diseases that cause progressive muscle weakness." The ability of skeletal muscles to contract allows for our bodies to move -; from walking and jumping to breathing and blinking our eyes. All skeletal muscle contractions originate at the junction between motor neurons, which originate in the spinal cord and brainstem, and muscle fibers. It's here that neurons release a transmitter chemical called acetylcholine. These molecules bind to a protein receptor on the cells of muscles, triggering an opening in the cell membrane. Electrical currents flow into the cell, which causes muscles to contract. The way neurons release chemicals that communicate with muscles has been a model system studied for more than a century. But a missing piece of this system has been visual depictions of how the process works. What does the structure of the muscle receptor protein that opens up look like? To find out, Hibbs, study first author Huanhuan Li, a postdoctoral scholar, and Jinfeng Teng, a research data analyst, tapped cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technology based at UC San Diego's new Goeddel Family Technology Sandbox, a hub for cutting-edge research instruments. Cryo-EM leverages ultra-powerful microscopes to capture images of molecules that are "frozen" in place. The results featured the first visualizations of the 3-D structure of the muscle acetylcholine receptor. Since human tissue is difficult to obtain for such muscle contraction studies, the researchers accessed fetal tissue samples from cow skeletal muscles. In order to isolate the receptor in the samples, the researchers turned to an unlikely source: snake venom. A poisonous snake neurotoxin that paralyzes prey was used to latch onto the muscle receptors in the cow samples, allowing the researchers to isolate the receptors to study them. The cryo-EM visualizations then allowed the researchers to witness how the receptor development process unfolds. Along with the new data came a serendipitous finding. The researchers discovered that they could see the structures of both fetal and adult receptors from the same fetal cow tissue samples. We hoped to see the structure of the receptor and we did see that, but we also saw that there were two different versions of it. That was a surprise." Professor Ryan Hibbs In retrospect, the discovery of two receptor types makes sense, according to Hibbs. Since calves are developing in utero, the fetal receptors were expected. To walk like an adult shortly after birth, they start building adult nerve-muscle connections much earlier in development. "This discovery explains how animals like cows that need to walk on the day they are born form mature neuromuscular junctions before birth, unlike humans, who have poor muscle coordination for months after birth," said Hibbs. "Being able to see the receptor details allows us to connect their differences to how one allows for nerve-muscle connection and the other allows for muscle contraction." The findings of the study are already being applied to investigations of muscle-based disorders, such as congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) that result in muscle weakness. A common autoimmune disease known as myasthenia gravis involves antibodies that mistakenly attack the muscle acetylcholine receptor, causing weak skeletal muscles. "This new level of insight into the muscle receptor will help researchers understand how mutations in its gene cause disease, and may facilitate personalized treatment for individual patients with different pathologies in the future," said lead author Li. The Salk Institute was awarded $3.6 million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), one of the world's largest institutions dedicated to regenerative medicine. Salk Professor Rusty Gage will lead the new CIRM-funded Shared Resources Laboratory focused on stem cell-based models of aging and neurodegeneration. The award is part of CIRM's latest round of funding to address challenges in the regenerative medicine field. The state agency dedicated $27 million to help establish six new Shared Resources Laboratories, each designed to foster collaboration among California researchers. Stem cell-based models of human tissues and organs have become an important tool for studying health and disease. However, the techniques have yet to be standardized across labs and are not widely accessible to all researchers. The CIRM funding will enable Salk experts to share their tools and expertise with labs across the state. The resulting collaborations could help accelerate the discovery of new therapies, biomarkers, and drug candidates for age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Over the past five years, we have banked cells from a unique aging cohort, and with CIRM's generous support, we will be able to distribute these quality-controlled resources to California's stem cell and aging research communities. Our goal is to enable research into a range of age-associated pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases." Rusty Gage, Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease at Salk Gage is a pioneer of stem cell-based techniques for modeling the human brain in health and disease. In 2015, Gage's lab pioneered a method to convert older people's skin cells into brain cells, all while retaining the cells' molecular signatures of aging. Previous methods essentially wiped away all evidence of the person's age, so this new technique finally made it possible to study brain aging using stem cell-based models. His lab has also advanced the use of brain organoids-;three-dimensional collections of cells that mimic features of human brain tissue. While most brain organoids are made solely of neurons, Gage's state-of-the-art models also include non-neuronal cells like microglia and astrocytes. This enables scientists to study the role of these important cell types in aging, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. The new Shared Resources Laboratory at Salk will provide greater access to these top-notch resources and help train other scientists and clinicians in the latest stem cell-based techniques. It will also encourage the standardization of cell resources and protocols to foster reproducible research and strengthen future clinical trials. "By investing in Shared Resources Laboratories, we are not only providing essential infrastructure for stem cell research but also positioning California at the forefront of this transformative research," says Rosa Canet-Aviles, vice president of Scientific Programs and Education at CIRM. "Through these awards, CIRM will continue to drive progress, now focusing on cutting-edge disease modeling using human stem cells." A lesser-known cannabinoid that is gaining in popularity Cannabigerol (CBG) effectively reduced anxiety in a clinical trial without the intoxication typically associated with whole plant cannabis. It may even have some memory enhancing effects, according to a new study in Scientific Reports. For the study, Carrie Cuttler, an associate professor of psychology at Washington State University, and colleagues conducted the first human clinical trial investigating the acute effects of CBG on anxiety, stress and mood. The research revealed that 20 mg of hemp-derived CBG significantly reduced feelings of anxiety at 20, 45 and 60 minutes after ingestion compared to a placebo. Stress ratings also decreased at the first time point compared to the placebo. The findings align with survey data from a previous study led by Cuttler that indicated 51% of CBG users consume it to decrease anxiety, with 78% asserting its superiority over conventional anxiety medications. CBG is becoming increasingly popular, with more producers making bold, unsubstantiated claims about its effects. Our study is one of the first to provide evidence supporting some of these claims, helping to inform both consumers and the scientific community." Carrie Cuttler, associate professor of psychology, Washington State University For the study, Cuttler's team at WSU and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, experimental trial with 34 healthy cannabis users. The participants completed two sessions over Zoom during which they provided baseline ratings of their anxiety, stress and mood. They then ingested either 20 mg of hemp-derived CBG or a placebo tincture mailed to them ahead of time. The participants then rerated their mood, stress, anxiety and other variables such as feelings of intoxication and whether they liked how the drug made them feel at three different time points post-ingestion. Additionally, they reported on potential side effects like dry eyes and mouth, increased appetite, heart palpitations and sleepiness. The sessions were repeated a week later with the participants taking the alternate product prior to completing the same assessments. The design ensured that neither the participants nor the research assistants knew which product was administered. One of the most surprising outcomes was CBG's effect on memory. Contrary to expectations based on THC's known effects on memory, CBG significantly enhanced the ability to recall lists of words. Participants were able to recall more words after taking 20 mg of CBG than after taking a placebo. "We triple-checked to ensure accuracy, and the enhancement was statistically significant," Cuttler said. Furthermore, the study found that CBG did not produce cognitive or motor impairments, or other adverse effects commonly associated with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Participants in the experimental group reported low intoxication ratings and minimal changes in symptoms like dry mouth, sleepiness and appetite. Contrary to previous self-report surveys where users touted CBG's antidepressant effects, the participants in the current study did not report significant mood enhancement after taking CBG. While the research is promising, Cuttler cautions the results should be interpreted carefully due to the study's limitations. The use of experienced cannabis users, the modest dose of CBG and the timing of assessments might have influenced the findings. Additionally, the study's remote nature, conducted via Zoom, and lack of physiological measurements further constrain the conclusions. "We need to avoid claims that CBG is a miracle drug. It's new and exciting, but replication and further research are crucial," Cuttler said. "Ongoing and future studies will help build a comprehensive understanding of CBG's benefits and safety, potentially offering a new avenue for reducing feelings of anxiety and stress without the intoxicating effects of THC." Moving forward, Cuttler and her team are designing a new clinical trial to replicate their findings and include physiological measures such as heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels. They also plan to extend the research to non-cannabis users. Additionally, Cuttler is planning a study on CBG's effects on menopause symptoms in women. Public health interventions that tackle dementia risk factors could yield as much as 4bn in savings in England by reducing dementia rates and helping people to live longer and healthier, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, shows that interventions such as reformulating food products to reduce sugar and salt intake, introducing low emission zones to improve air quality in cities, and minimum alcohol unit pricing to reduce drinking could have extensive benefits beyond just the health outcomes they are directly targeting. There is a growing body of research demonstrating that dementia rates could be reduced by targeting risk factors throughout the lifespan. Smoking, drinking, and high blood pressure are among numerous risk factors that increase the likelihood of a person developing dementia later in life, which could be targeted by public health interventions. While most of the initiatives we studied are not designed with dementia reduction as an aim, in many cases their impact on dementia risk is so great that they pay for themselves by impact on dementia costs alone, which should be routinely considered as part of cost-benefit evaluations." Dr. Naaheed Mukadam, Lead Author, UCL Psychiatry The economic modelling study estimated the impact of population-level interventions on subsequent dementia rates and related costs, including the expected gains to Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY; equivalent to an additional year of life in perfect health, expressed as a total across the population). The interventions studied, targeting six risk factors (smoking, alcohol use, obesity, hypertension, head injuries, and air pollution) could yield over 70,000 QALY gains in total. A separate study co-authored by Dr Mukadam in 2022 found that a wide range of interventions targeting such risk factors are cost-effective without even considering impact on dementia risk, by reducing the costs of other health outcomes such as hypertension (high blood pressure) or diabetes.* Now in their latest study, the researchers have found such interventions appear to be far more cost-effective when dementia costs are taken into account. For this paper, the researchers reviewed studies into a range of public health interventions to estimate the impact they would have on reducing dementia rates. They found that reformulation of food products to reduce salt and sugar intake and therefore reduce dementia risk from obesity and hypertension, respectively, could yield cost savings of 2.4 billion and 1.1 billion, respectively, and QALY gains of 39,433 and 17,985, respectively. A 10% increase in cigarette prices could save 157 million in dementia costs, while making bicycle helmets compulsory for children could save 91 million by reducing dementia risk many years later. A previous study led by Dr Mukadam in 2020 found that individual interventions, such as hearing aids, nicotine gum to quit smoking, or medication to treat high blood pressure, could save 1.9bn annually in England.** The latest study is being published in conjunction with the third Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care, led by Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry), which reports that nearly half of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 14 risk factors throughout the lifespan. Professor Livingston, also the senior author on The Lancet Healthy Longevity economic modelling paper, said: "Finding effective treatments for dementia is now a massive challenge for scientists, clinicians and governments, and there are signs of hope, but we also know that we could save many people from ever developing dementia in the first place by targeting risk factors. As our population ages and the societal costs of dementia rise, there is a growing need for public health measures to prevent dementia." Dr Mukadam added: "People can make changes to their lifestyles to reduce their own risk of developing dementia, but we particularly need policy-based approaches that do not place the burden on individuals. While these interventions cost money, they more than pay for themselves over time by reducing later health and social care costs. "Numerous studies have shown that these interventions may be most impactful in low- and middle-income countries, or in lower-income groups, so we expect they could reduce health inequalities and improve the health of everyone." Samantha Benham-Hermetz, Executive Director of Alzheimer's Research UK, commented: "Dementia causes a devastating toll on people, their families and wider society. In the UK the economic costs are staggering dementia is estimated to cost 42 billion a year. And the cost of dementia on hospitals across England has doubled over the past decade, with 90% of these costs coming from emergency admissions. With an ageing population, these costs will only continue to spiral. "We now know that up to 45% of dementia cases are preventable, and there are cost-effective public health measures available such as blood pressure checks and bans on smoking that could reduce the risk of people developing dementia. This would alleviate an enormous economic burden on families and wider society. The new government must seize this win-win opportunity extending healthy life expectancy, while putting public funds to better use." The study involved researchers at UCL, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Cambridge, and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Three Schools dementia research funding. Thought Leaders Tim Simpson General Manager, UK & Ireland Hologic During Cervical Cancer Awareness Week, NewsMedical spoke with Tim Simpson, General Manager for the UK and Ireland at Hologic, a leader in women's health technology. Hologic is renowned for pioneering early detection and treatment solutions, including 3D mammography and cervical cancer screening. Here Tim explores how Hologic is driving crucial discussions on effective testing methods and developing technology to support healthcare systems in obtaining accurate results. Could you please introduce yourself and provide details of your professional background? I am Tim Simpson, General Manager for the UK and Ireland at Hologic, a global medical technology innovator primarily focused on improving womens health and well-being through early detection and treatment. Its advancements include developing a commercial 3D mammography system to find breast cancer earlier; leadership in testing for cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections and respiratory illnesses; and minimally invasive surgical technologies for uterine fibroids and abnormal uterine bleeding. The company also champions women through the Hologic Global Womens Health Index, which provides a science-backed data framework for improving womens well-being. Can you start by introducing Hologic and its mission, particularly in the context of Cervical Screening Awareness Week? As a global champion for women's health, we develop cutting-edge solutions to enhance the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of various health conditions. With regards to cervical screening, we are actively driving important conversations on the most effective methods for testing, as well as developing technology that supports healthcare systems to obtain accurate results quickly and efficiently. How would you evaluate the current effectiveness of cervical cancer screening programs in the UK and Ireland, and what do you see as the most significant obstacles these programs are encountering? The cervical screening programme in the UK is well-established, yet we are seeing a worrying trend of declining attendance. Recent statistics revealed that only 68.7% of eligible women in England were adequately screened, a long way short of the target of 80%.1 A key priority must be to make screening as accessible as possible and to keep educating and, developing targeted awareness campaigns tailored for different groups of women on the importance of screening, even after receiving the all-clear in the past. While there are potential options on the table that could help with accessibility, like self-sampling for example, research found that it had a significant lower hrHPV positivity compared with clinician-collected samples, so driving attendance to appointments is key.2 Image Credit: MMD Creative/Shutterstock.com Hologic is known for its innovations in womens health. Could you highlight some of the latest technological advancements your company has developed to improve cervical cancer screening programs? Over the past couple of years, we have been working hard on GeniusTM Digital Diagnostics System, a deep learning-based AI algorithm with advanced volumetric imaging technology to identify pre-cancerous lesions and cervical cancer cells.3 Using AI to review diagnostic material enables cytotechnologists and pathologists to increase their efficiency without compromising accuracy. It also allows cyto-screeners to review images remotely. This means images can be distributed to screeners remotely across a network, making best use of any spare capacity, skill and speeding up the time from initial test to diagnosis. Therefore, GeniusTM Digital Diagnostics System could be used across trusts, facilitating collaboration across the country. We are excited about its potential to drive positive change across the NHS and cervical screening programmes in the future. What are some of the main barriers women face when it comes to actually attending cervical screenings, and how is Hologic addressing these issues to make the process easier and accessible? Fear of embarrassment, pain and lack of understanding are just some of the common reasons why young women are put off attending cervical screenings.4 Along with these barriers, it is also crucial to tackle inequalities which prevent women from attending their appointments. A qualitative study published in the British Medical Journal carried out interviews with both women from ethnically diverse backgrounds and White British women; this found ethnic minority women felt there was a lack of awareness in their community, with some not recognising the terms cervical screening or smear test.5 Tackling these inequalities through education, national screening programmes, and new approaches is key to ensuring better health outcomes for more women. Partnering with different organisations, such as charities that hold vital insights into womens experiences, is also vital to better understanding how we make cervical cancer screening accessible for all. We developed a Cervical Screening guide that supports and prepares women for what to expect at their screening from start to finish. We hope that addressing the common misconceptions will help women feel empowered to attend their cervical screening appointments. How significant are awareness campaigns like Cervical Screening Awareness Week in driving public health outcomes, and what role does Hologic play in these initiatives? Awareness weeks like Cervical Screening Awareness Week have an important role to play in driving public health outcomes by increasing knowledge about cervical screening, encouraging participation, and enabling early detection of cervical cancer. Campaigns can help to address misconceptions, reach underserved populations, and advocate for better healthcare policies and funding. As a women's healthcare company, we play a crucial role in these initiatives, providing resources and expertise, developing advanced screening technologies, forming partnerships and advocating for improved healthcare policies. Together, we hope these efforts help to enhance screening rates, early detection, and overall health equity. Looking ahead, what is your vision for the future of cervical cancer screening in the UK and Ireland, and how does Hologic plan to contribute to this vision? As we look to the future, we are responsible for ensuring that the conversation about cervical health and screening continues beyond awareness days. Only together can we achieve the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. As I have mentioned before, it is vital for women to attend their regular cervical screening appointments and receive the HPV vaccination for prevention. However, the responsibility should not lie solely with women; the healthcare industry must also drive innovation, boost access, and tackle inequalities within the cervical cancer screening program. At Hologic, we share the NHS's vision and will continue to invest in developing our solutions and services to enable healthcare professionals to provide better healthcare to women. Where can readers find more information? Year 3 results, Hologic Global Womens Health Index: https://hologic.womenshealthindex.com/en?atr=false Hologic: Cervical Screening: Prepare for your appointment: https://www.hologic.co.uk/en-gb/cervical-screening About Tim Simpson Tim Simpson is the general manager at Hologic, UK and Ireland. Tim joined Hologic in 2019 as UK Country Business Manager, before becoming Hologic UK and Irelands General Manager in February 2022. Cleveland Clinic-led research has identified geographic areas in the United States where strategic efforts to promote colorectal cancer screening could help reduce healthcare gaps affecting Hispanic/Latino communities. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, marks a first step toward conducting larger neighborhood-level studies addressing disparities in colorectal cancer screening. The Hispanic /Latino population has the lowest colorectal cancer screening rate among U.S. racial and ethnic groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Lower screening rates often lead to later diagnoses, advanced cancer stages and poorer treatment outcomes. The researchers identified "hot spots" across the country where larger percentages of Hispanic/Latino populations are associated with lower colorectal cancer screening rates. Based on this information, they developed an interactive web map illustrating their findings. This is the first study to conduct a nationwide geographic analysis to identify local priority zones with the goal to increase colorectal cancer screening in those Hispanic/Latino communities. This approach advances our ability to pinpoint neighborhoods that may benefit from targeted education or intervention programs, taking into account unique characteristics, such as cultural values and language. The primary objective of this research is to identify key areas where targeted efforts could have the maximum impact on improving colorectal cancer screening among Hispanic and Latino individuals, based on their region or country of origin." Blake Buchalter, Ph.D., study first author, post-doctoral fellow in Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute To better understand community-level colorectal cancer screening disparities, Dr. Buchalter engaged a team of researchers in analyzing publicly available cancer screening and census databases to gauge colorectal cancer screening rates in neighborhoods across the country. The interactive map the team built provides a tool for public health authorities, policymakers, clinicians and other stakeholders to target investments and interventions to increase screening uptake in the areas where it is needed most. The results are classified by Hispanic/Latino region or country of origin (e.g., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central/South America, Dominican Republic and Cuba) as reported to the U.S. Census Bureau. "It's important to remember that Hispanic/Latino communities are incredibly diverse with respect to many factors, such as ancestry, culture and health behaviors," said principal investigator and senior study author Stephanie Schmit, Ph.D., M.P.H, vice chair of Genomic Medicine at Cleveland Clinic and acting associate director for Cancer Population Sciences in the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Informed action is impossible without recognizing the diversity and heterogeneity of these communities." "The factors that contribute to screening disparities are not universal," Dr. Schmit said. "Some people are impacted by financial constraints or access to healthcare facilities, while others may be impacted by language barriers or a lack of trust in medical institutions. To better understand such barriers and how to help address them, we need to identify who is being impacted and where." "In the long term, we hope our work will be an impetus for the scientific and biomedical communities to dig deeper into these colorectal cancer screening priority areas to understand what disparities look like on the ground," said Dr. Buchalter. "The goal of this research is to help increase colorectal cancer screening rates in these priority neighborhoods, which will not only benefit the populations living there but also contribute to increasing the national screening rates." Looking forward, Drs. Buchalter and Schmit hope their work will spur further discussion of public policy and community initiatives to assist in prevention in affected neighborhoods and improve access to care. The research was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01CA238087 and T32CA091486. Attacking Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration, Republicans and allies of former Donald President Trumps are saying the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate supported using taxpayer dollars to provide free health coverage to immigrants who are in the country without legal permission. Senate and House candidates, an American political action committee supporting Trump, and the Republican National Committee have made similar assertions in recent days. We contacted the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment about Trump's statement, but neither responded. The claims are misleading. It's true that Harris supported allowing immigrants residing in the U.S. to obtain public health insurance regardless of legal status. During the first 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate in Miami, Kamala Harris raised her hand when a moderator asked candidates to raise their hands if their administration's health plan would cover immigrants who are in the country illegally. But that doesn't mean Harris specifically said she supported taxpayer funding for the benefits or that the health coverage would be free. PolitiFact has checked similar claims Republicans and Trump made in 2019 and found them Mostly False. The moderator didn't ask Harris and the other candidates directly whether their plans would provide the coverage free of charge or with taxpayer money, so the claim is unsubstantiated. Recently, Republicans have pointed to statements Harris made in 2019 while running for president to portray her as supporting giving public benefits to immigrants living in the country illegally. Specifically, CNN's Jake Tapper asked Harris whether her "Medicare for All" plan would cover such immigrants. The National Republican Senatorial Committee on July 23 posted on the social platform X a clip of the interview with the message: "FLASHBACK: Kamala Harris tells Jake Tapper she endorses universal healthcare and Medicare-for-all for illegal immigrants." But that clip doesn't show her saying that. Instead, in response to a question about whether Medicare for All should apply to people in the country illegally, she said, "I am opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education, or public health, period." Tapper didn't ask anything else about this. Medicare for All is a system, promoted by some Democrats, in which all Americans would get their health insurance from a government program modeled after the one that currently covers people 65 and older and people with disabilities. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which became law in 1986, all patients regardless of citizenship or immigration status are already entitled to treatment in hospital emergency rooms. Some anti-immigration groups say they still believe Harris supports taxpayer-paid health benefits for immigrants lacking legal residency. "Instead of pushing back, she at the very least implicitly endorses Medicare for illegal aliens," said Joey Chester, a spokesperson for Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that seeks to reduce overall immigration. That she raised her hand during the 2019 debate means her position is to give taxpayer-funded health care benefits to people who are in the country illegally, he added. Harris' proposal would have provided comprehensive health insurance to all Americans. But it was not all free. She would have allowed Americans to immediately buy into the program while expanding it over 10 years. The plan she produced was similar to current Medicare, in which people can buy plans that the federal government or private insurers administer. A 10-year phase-in would automatically enroll newborns and uninsured people. But her proposal didn't break down how it would pay for coverage of recipients living in the U.S. without authorization. Harris wrote in a 2019 article on Medium that "good options" to pay for Medicare for All plans include an income-based premium by employers, higher taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, taxing Wall Street trades, and savings from accelerating health care-delivery system reforms and changes in the way providers are paid. California, where Harris served as attorney general from 2011 to 2017, was the first state this year to expand Medicaid eligibility to all qualified immigrants regardless of legal status, phasing it in over several years. Medicaid is a federal-state health program that provides health coverage to low-income and disabled adults. The California program for immigrants is funded almost entirely by state dollars, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit research institution. Federal law generally bans states from using federal money to pay for health coverage for immigrants living in the country without legal permission. However, taxpayers can bear the brunt of uncompensated care, when people without insurance including immigrants lacking legal residency seek care at hospitals or from other providers. The costs are passed on to other consumers in the form of higher prices and are considered a drain on state and local government budgets. "Government payments are the main source for helping to defray providers' costs for care to the uninsured, and those government payments are ultimately funded by taxpayers," said Laurel Lucia, health care program director at the University of California-Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education Center, which provides research and policy information. Immigrants who are in the country illegally also pay billions of dollars in taxes. "If she does support subsidized coverage for noncitizens, Id see that as a good thing, not a bad thing," said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy. "Many recent immigrants are taking care of our children, our elderly, working in hospitality, food service, and food production. Isnt it in our best interests for these folks to have access to good health care?" Our ruling Republicans have sought to portray Harris as extreme on immigration and assert that she supports free, taxpayer-funded health benefits for immigrants who are in the country illegally. Harris signaled in 2019 that her Medicare for All proposal would cover all immigrants regardless of status. She has also said that she would oppose any policy that would deny anyone in the country access to "public health." However, health policy and immigration experts say there's no evidence she would provide the coverage free, paid for by other taxpayers. Immigrants lacking legal residency also pay taxes. Harris has not expressly said she supports free, taxpayer-supported health coverage for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Trump's statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate this claim Mostly False. Sources YouTube, former President Donald Trump rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 24, 2024. YouTube, Democratic presidential primary debate in Miami, June 27, 2019. X, Republican National Committee post of Jake Tapper's State of the Union interview with Kamala Harris, remarking on immigrant health care, July 23, 2024. Email interview with Edwin Park, research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, July 24 and July 25, 2024. Email interview with Sabrina Corlette, research professor, founder, and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy, July 25, 2024. Email interview with Laurel Lucia, health care program director at the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center, July 24 and 25, 2024. Email interview with Joey Chester, spokesperson, Federation for American Immigration Reform, July 25, 2024. PolitiFact, "Fact-Checking Trump Ad on Democrats, Health Care for Immigrants Illegally in the Country," Aug. 1, 2019. PolitiFact, "Florida GOP Chair Twists' Response by Democrats at Debate on Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants," Nov. 8, 2019. Medium, "Kamala Harris: My Plan for Medicare for All," July 29, 2019. American Immigration Council, "Adding Up the Billions in Tax Dollars Paid by Undocumented Immigrants," April 4, 2016. The latest trial of a new antibody drug that delivers potent chemotherapy directly to cancer cells for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer moves ahead to be studied further in a phase III trial. Results of the phase II study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers at Yale School of Medicine looked at the antibody drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan (SG) also known as Trodelvy. The study's results were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on July 31. The trial was sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc. The findings are hopeful for patients with endometrial cancer (a type of uterine cancer), which is the most common gynecological cancer and the sixth most common cancer in women globally, with over 417,000 new cases and 97,000 deaths reported in 2020. When the combination first-line treatment for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer fails, there are currently few options. "This is the first publication demonstrating the clinical activity of Trodelvy in uterine cancer," said the study's first author Dr. Alessandro Santin, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine and clinical research team leader for Gynecological Oncology at Yale Cancer Center. In collaboration with Immunomedics and more recently Gilead investigators, I have been working with this antibody drug conjugate in my lab since the beginning of its development. This is a major 'bench-to-bedside' accomplishment for uterine cancer patients." Dr. Alessandro Santin, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine SG is also being explored for its usefulness in delivering chemotherapy into the cancer cells of multiple types of metastatic solid tumors. In the TROPiCS-03 phase II basket study (a study that looks at drug effectiveness in patients who have different cancers, but share the same biomarker), patients received 10 milligrams per kilogram of SG on day one and day eight of a 21-day cycle. In a heavily pretreated population (that is, patients had already received multiple rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy) with advanced, recurrent endometrial cancer, 22% responded to the treatment. Researchers reported that 61% of patients had a reduction in target lesions (22% of the patients fulfilled the criteria of partial response which was a 30% or more decrease in the size of the tumor). In patients that responded to the treatment, cancers remained stable for an average of 8.8 months without progressing. As the trial continues, 29% of patients are still on treatment. No safety concerns were identified in the trial, and patients experienced manageable side effects such as fatigue and nausea. Santin said the results of this trial, TROPiCS-03, mean researchers will be able to move forward to a phase III trial. The trial was conducted with researchers from various institutions, including Ecaterina Dumbrava from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who was the study's senior author. Other authors include Bradley R. Corr, Alexander Spira, Lyndsay Willmott, James Butrynski, Ka Yu Tse, Jilpa Patel, Sabeen Mekan, Tia Wu, Kai-Wen Lin, and Peiwen Kuo. Petrol, Diesel Prices Today On August 1, 2024: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) announce fuel prices at 6 am on a daily basis. The OMCs adjust prices in response to global crude oil prices and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, ensuring consumers are always informed about the latest fuel costs. Government oil marketing companies release the latest petrol and diesel prices daily at 6 am in the country. The prices have remained unchanged in most parts of the country since March 2024 when the central government cut petrol prices by Rs 2. Before that, the fuel prices remained steady since May 2022, following a reduction in fuel taxes by the central government and several states. Check Petrol Diesel Price Today On August 2 In India Check city-wise petrol and diesel prices on August 1: City Petrol Price (Rs/litre) Diesel Price (Rs/litre) Delhi 94.72 87.62 Mumbai 103.44 89.97 Chennai 100.85 92.44 Kolkata 103.94 90.76 Noida 94.66 87.76 Lucknow 94.65 87.76 Bengaluru 102.86 88.94 Hyderabad 107.41 95.65 Jaipur 104.88 90.36 Trivandrum 107.62 96.43 Bhubaneswar 101.06 92.91 Factors Affecting Petrol And Diesel Prices In India Crude oil price: The primary raw material for the production of petrol and diesel is crude oil; as such, its price directly influences the ultimate cost of these fuels. The exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the US dollar: As a major importer of crude oil, Indias petrol and diesel prices are also influenced by the exchange rate between the Indian and US dollar. Tax: Various taxes on petrol and diesel are imposed by both the central and state governments. These taxes may differ across states, exerting a notable influence on the ultimate prices of petrol and diesel. The cost of refining: The final price of petrol and diesel is additionally influenced by the expenses incurred in refining crude oil into these fuels. The refining process can be costly, and the refining expenses may fluctuate based on factors like the type of crude oil utilised and the refinerys efficiency. The demand for petrol and diesel: The demand for petrol and diesel can also affect their prices. If demand for these fuels increases, it can lead to higher prices. Know the price of petrol and diesel through SMS You can also find out the latest petrol and diesel prices in your city through SMS. If you are a customer of Indian Oil, then you will have to write RSP along with the city code and send it to 9224992249. If you are a customer of BPCL, then you can get information about the new price of petrol and diesel by writing RSP and sending it to 9223112222. Whereas, if you are a customer of HPCL, then you can find out the price of petrol and diesel by writing HP Price and sending it to 9222201122. Office space leasing in Bengaluru rose 15 per cent in the April-June period to 4.25 million square feet, driven by the IT-ITeS sector that accounted for 69 per cent of the total demand in the city, according to workplace solutions firm Vestian. In its office market report, The Connect Q2 2024, Vestian highlighted that AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics companies accounted for 21 per cent of Bengalurus absorption in the second quarter of this calendar year. Rapid global advancement of artificial intelligence, combined with a supportive ecosystem, has significantly driven the demand for office space in the city, it said. Bengaluru saw the leasing of 4.25 million square feet of office space during April-June this year, as against 3.70 million square feet in the year-ago period. According to another report by Knight Frank, Bengaluru ranks 18th and is among the most affordable prime office markets in the APAC region. The prime office rent in the city was recorded at Rs 137/sqft/month, with a marginal YoY increase of approximately 1.3%. Key Findings of The Vestian Report Overall, the IT-ITeS sector, including AI & Robotics, accounted for 69 per cent of the total leasing in April-June this year. Across seven major cities, the total leasing or absorption of office space stood at 17.04 million square feet during the April-June period from 13.90 million square feet a year ago. Despite global geopolitical challenges, Indias office markets reported robust real estate activities during Q2 2024. Real estate activities are anticipated to increase further on the back of strengthened demand from IT-ITeS and BFSI sectors. Flex Spaces are also likely to play a pivotal role in the growth of office markets in India, said Shrinivas Rao, CEO, Vestian. As per the data, office leasing in Chennai declined 20 per cent to 1.75 million square feet during April-June 2024 from 2.20 million square feet in the corresponding period of the previous year. Hyderabad saw a 48 per cent increase in office demand to 3.4 million square feet, from 2.30 million square feet. The office demand in Mumbai rose sharply by 88 per cent to 3.39 million square feet, from 1.8 million square feet. Pune witnessed a 60 per cent increase in office leasing to 2.88 million square feet, from 1.8 million square feet. In Delhi-NCR, the demand declined 43 per cent to 1.14 million square feet, from 2 million square feet. Office leasing in Kolkata more than doubled to 0.23 million square feet in April-June this year, from 0.1 million square feet in the year-ago period. Vestian said that the office demand in the January-June period has crossed 30 million square feet, registering an uptick of 18 per cent compared to H1 2023. As the demand for grade-A office spaces is robust across the top seven cities of India, the entire year (2024) is expected to cross the 60-million-square-feet mark again after peaking in 2023, the consultant said. Vestian is an occupier-focused workplace solutions firm specialising in commercial, residential, industrial, retail and hospitality sectors. Headquartered at Chicago, Vestian has offices across US, India, China, UK, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 31, BYD announced a multi-year strategic partnership with global mobility service and delivery technology giant Uber, aiming to deploy 100,000 new BYD electric vehicles (EVs) in key markets worldwide. This collaboration is set to significantly expand BYD's EV presence on the Uber platform. Photo credit: BYD BYD, a leading global EV manufacturer, and Uber, which boasts the most widely available on-demand EV network in the world, will work together to promote the adoption of EVs. The partnership will begin in Europe and Latin America, gradually extending to regions including the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand. This will enable more passengers worldwide to experience environmentally friendly travel options. To encourage more drivers to switch to EVs, both companies are considering offering incentives such as charging discounts, vehicle maintenance, and insurance benefits. Additionally, financing and leasing options tailored to specific markets are set to be provided. BYD said its diverse range of EVs, known for their exceptional range and superior craftsmanship, are positioned as ideal choices for shared mobility services. BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "BYD and Uber are both committed to innovation and building a cleaner, greener world. I am delighted that BYD can join forces with Uber to advance towards this future." Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared similar sentiments, highlighting the environmental impact, "We are thrilled to allow more people globally to experience the benefits of driving electric vehicles. When an Uber driver switches to an EV, the emissions reduction is four times greater than that of an average driver due to the longer hours he drives. This deep collaboration with BYD is exciting as it aims to enhance user experience and create social value." Apex IT association Nasscom on Thursday came out in support of Infosys which is facing a Rs 32,403 crore GST notice, saying that the move reflected a lack of understanding of the industrys operating model. Flagging the issue of the applicability of GST through the reverse charge mechanism (RCM), Nasscom rued that multiple companies are facing avoidable litigation, uncertainty, and concerns from investors and customers. GST authorities have slapped a Rs 32,403 crore notice on Infosys for services availed by the company from its overseas branches for five years starting in 2017. Recent media reports of a GST demand of over Rs 320 billion (Rs 32,403 crore) reflects a lack of understanding of the industrys operating model, Nasscom said in a statement, without naming Infosys. The leading industry body asserted that it is crucial that compliance obligations are not subject to multiple interpretations. Accelerating services exports is key to Indias ambition of Viksit Bharat and for attracting global tech investment to India, it added. This requires a supportive policy environment and ease of doing business. The government circulars issued based on recommendations of the GST Council must be honoured in enforcement mechanisms so that notices do not create uncertainty and negatively impact perceptions on Indias ease of doing business, it said. What Infosys Said? Infosys has called the notice a pre-show cause notice and said that it believes the GST is not applicable to these expenses. The Bengaluru-headquartered IT firm on Wednesday said Karnataka State GST authorities have issued a pre-show cause notice for payment of GST of Rs 32,403 crore for the period July 2017 to March 2022 towards the expenses incurred by overseas branch offices of Infosys Limited and added that the company has responded to the pre-show cause notice. the Company has also received a pre-show cause notice from the Director General of GST Intelligence on the same matter and the Company is in the process of responding to the same, the filing had said. The company contended that as per regulations, GST is not applicable to such expenses. Additionally, as per a recent Circularissued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on the recommendations of the GST Council, services provided by the overseas branches to Indian entity are not subject to GST, Infosys said. Infosys argued that GST payments are eligible for credit or refund against the export of IT services. Infosys has paid all its GST dues and is fully in compliance with the central and state regulations on this matter, the company said. The demand at a staggering Rs 32,403 crore is more than a years profit for Infosys. For the June quarter, Infosys net profit rose 7.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,368 crore, and revenue from operations stood at Rs 39,315 crore, an increase of 3.6 per cent from a year ago. (With PTI inputs) The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta will commence the application process for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2024. The application process will end on September 13. Interested and eligible candidates can register for the exam on the official website at iimcat.ac.in. As per the official notification, the CAT 2024 is scheduled to take place on November 24 in three sessions in the computer-based exam mode. Test centres located across 170 cities will host the exam. IIM Calcutta will release the admit cards on November 5 and the results will be made public around the second week of January 2025. CAT 2024: Educational Qualification Applicants must possess a bachelors degree with a minimum of 50 per cent of the possible points, or a comparable CGPA. Candidates from Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC), and Persons with Disability (PwD) groups must meet a minimum of 45 per cent of the requirements. CAT 2024: How to Apply? Step 1. Visit the official webpage of IIM CAT at iimcat.ac.in. Step 2. Click on the New Candidate Registration. Step 3. Enter the necessary details to register. Step 4. Fill out the form. Step 5. Upload the required copies and pay the application fee. Step 6. Download the application confirmation page for future use. CAT 2024: Application Fee To finish the registration process, candidates must pay the CAT 2024 application cost. For candidates in the general category who fall under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), the application fee is Rs 2,500. On the other hand, candidates who fall under the categories of Person with Disabilities (PwD), Scheduled Caste, or Scheduled Tribe must pay the Rs 1,250 registration fee for CAT 2024. CAT 2024: Exam Pattern According to previous patterns, the CAT 2024 exam will be administered in three shifts, the first from 8:30 am to 10:30 am, the second from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, and the third from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. The CAT 2024 exam will consist of three parts including, quantitative aptitude (QA), data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR), and verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC). The CAT 2024 paper will consist of 66 questions in total. Candidates will receive three marks for each right response and one mark will be subtracted for each incorrect response under the CAT 2024 grading methodology. Negative points wont be deducted for wrong responses. A cumulative credit system that will account for students performance in classes 9, 10, and 11 in class 12, the final stage of secondary school, a question paper design to serve as a blueprint for exams, and setting up a question bank for the senior classes these are some of the major recommendations made by PARAKH, a constituent body under the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in a report submitted to the union ministry of education (MoE) on establishing equivalence across school boards in the country. The recommendations are part of school reforms proposed under the new National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Framework- for School Education (NCF-SE). The report recommends an assessment framework for students in the secondary stage (classes 9 to 12) that allows both formative and summative methods to give a holistic view of their progress. Formative assessment will consist of activities such as project work, presentations, group discussions, etc. Summative assessment means term-end assessment consisting of long answers, MCQs, short, and very short answers. This means that the performance of students in each of the senior classes in different weightages for each will account for the class 12 result, which is the final stage of school education class 9 (15%), class 10 (20%), class 11 (25%), and class 12 (40%). What is the cumulative credit system? The weightage of formative and summative marks will be adjusted progressively from classes 9 to 12, increasing the emphasis on summative assessment as the classes advance. Class 9 features a weightage of 70% formative and 30% summative, class 10 there is an equal weightage of 50% for both aspects, in class 11 the distribution is 40% formative and 60% summative while in class 12, there will be a ratio of 30% formative and 70% summative. Consequently, the cumulative marks at the end of secondary stage (class 12) will comprise of 15% for class 9, 20% for class 10, 25% for class 11, and 40% for class 12, the report stated. Currently, the ratio for external and internal assessment is 80:20, which will change once the new assessment scheme is brought in. This assessment framework will ensure a balanced mix of formative (ongoing) and summative (end-term) assessments, providing a holistic assessment of students capabilities and readiness for higher education or professional paths, the analysis said. The report was submitted to the MoE last month in a meeting chaired by Sanjay Kumar, secretary, School Education and Literacy department, and has been accepted in principle by the government. News18 had on July 18 reported that PARAKH has proposed a Cumulative Credit System to assess the performance of students from classes 9 to 12, including their board exams, for holistic progress monitoring. Last month, the standard-setting body met state education boards for deliberations on the same, upon which each board is to prepare their own roadmap to implement the system of assessment for these senior classes. The Centre has been focused on standardising all the school education boards in line with the NEP. One of the crucial mandates of PARAKH is to ensure an equivalence of academic standards among learners across all school boards. In India, which has a population of approximately 1.42 billion, around 30% are below the age of 15 (Statista 2024), as per the study. The report also suggested that the school boards emphasise digital literacy and incorporate comprehensive ICT training within the curriculum in affiliated schools. Besides, boards are required to make career counselling mandatory for the schools affiliated with them or promote a teacher-as-a-counselor model. They should ensure that the schools have a career counselor to provide support in respect of future career guidance, job placement assistance, academic and personal counselling and the mental and social well-being of the learner, it said. State boards to prepare question banks for classes 9, 11 Under the cumulative system, state boards are being told to prepare a question bank, which will have rubrics for assessment for transparency. The boards will also devise a blueprint, using which the teachers of classes 9 and 11 will prepare question papers for the year-end examinations from the question bank provided, while in classes 10 and 12 there will be board exams. At the end of class 12, students will have credits for various projects and activities, done throughout the secondary stage in their holistic progress card. This will also be linked to their APAAR ID (a unique identification number being allotted to students in the school system to store their credentials in a digital format) and Digi locker, which they can use at any time in the future. Currently, there are 69 different school boards in India, including state, central, and international ones with approximately 14.8 lakh schools affiliated to these boards catering to around 26.5 crore learners. The study excludes Sanskrit boards, madrasas, and technical boards. The research analyses the current state of school boards in India across various categories and is aligned with the NCF-SE. The assessment body conducted multiple regional workshops with the school boards to address the challenges of quality and standardisation. In these workshops, question paper templates (QPT) and an equivalence questionnaire (EQQ) were used to data on academic and administrative standings. The report assesses equivalence across school boards on three parameters board establishment, functioning, and membership; provision of facilities, opportunities and resources to learners; and learner assessment and evaluation. It puts together insights on the current level of equivalence in assessment, curriculum, administration, infrastructure, and inclusiveness, which is based on data voluntarily reported by different boards of school education through equivalence questionnaires (EEQ) and question paper templates (QPTs) developed by PARAKH. 18,000 question papers analysed across 10 school boards as pilot The insights are based on a pilot study conducted by the standard-setting body on question paper analysis across 10 school education boards last year. The outcomes of the pilot study were shared among the stakeholders upon which a series of regional meetings with the school boards were held between June and August 2023. The pilot study involved the selection of question papers from any three years between 2018 and 2022, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic. The pilot study comprises of analysis of around 18,000 class 10 question papers across four subject areas language, mathematics, science, and social studies. Based on the feedback received and its analysis, significant modifications to the template were made. Some of the improvements based on these changes include the inclusion of map and diagram-based questions to add to the reading comprehension-based questions. The final analysis included an assessment of 10,305 questions across 32 school boards that participated in the study. The extensive analysis of a large number of questions from diverse school boards provided insights into the variability of key question paper characteristics across boards, it said. Variations in subjects offered by different school boards Data given in the report shows that in class 10, 38.89% of the school boards have Art/Craft as a compulsory subject in their curriculum while 61.11% of the boards provide Physical Education/Sports/ Yoga as a compulsory subject. 90% per cent of the boards offer skill education as an optional subject in class 10, whereas 9.52% of the boards have made the curricular area compulsory. Given the figures, the report highlights that the NCF-SE 2023 states that in classes 9 and 10 learners will be given exposure to six vocations (two from each form of work) spread over two years. Thus, making different curricular areas interdependent. Also, it observed that 40.74% of the boards allow one supplementary/compartment board exam to class 10 students while 29.63% allow two supplementary/compartment board exams. Nearly 22% of the boards allow more than two supplementary/compartment board exams for their learners. However, there are 7.41% of boards do not allow any such option to its students. These discrepancies between the boards amount to inequality amongst the learners of the same country and needs to be addressed, the report stated. Only 39% of the boards reviewed teacher performance in their affiliated schools. Notably, only 21% of boards indicated that they were involved in development of teaching aids. Meanwhile, very few boards taught coding, application development and audio-video production. Given the growth in technology, it is imperative that skill courses like cloud computing, AI, machine learning, data science and block technology, among others are inculcated for better future employability of the learners, it said. The report highlighted that even as the NCF-SE envisages on-demand examinations, data shows that 93% of the boards do not have any provision for the same, which is why high stakes are attributed to year-end board exams by learners. On-demand exams mean students can appear for board exams in subjects they have completed or feel ready for. In terms of infrastructure, about 39% of the boards indicated that their affiliated schools do not have any books in their libraries which is a matter of concern, the report said. Only 18% of the boards have 200 or fewer books in their affiliated schools. It was also observed that most school boards lack inclusivity. Only 36% of the boards implemented the 25% reservation policy for learners from the EWS category in their private schools. This statistic was considered significantly below the expected norm, it said. What QPT analysis found The study found that some of the boards place a significant emphasis on remember/recall-based questions in different subject domains. A high percentage of recall-based questions highlight the shortcomings in assessment procedures as outlined by the NEP 2020 and the NCF-SE 2023, especially the prevalence of rote or memory-based learning and assessment. It was observed that a few boards lacked creative questions for languages, which underscores the said point, the report stated. The findings reveal a significant variation among boards in their approach to question types. About 25% of the boards place more than 50% emphasis on Long Answer questions. One of the boards places more than 60% of their marks on MCQs. Around 12% of the boards emphasise Short Answer questions by more than 50%. Only about 6% of the boards place more than 50% emphasis on Very Short questions. According to the report, for a couple of school boards, the subject matter experts deemed more than 85% of the questions in languages to be of medium difficulty level, while a few school boards had close to 67% difficult items paired with about 33% easy difficulty level items. This highlights the stark disparity in the level of difficulty of the question papers resulting in a glaring dissonance in the marks received by learners across boards, it said. Prayagraj, renowned for its cultural and historical significance, is also a hub for aspiring civil servants. In the bustling areas of Colonelganj, Katra, Manfordganj, Daraganj, Chhota Baghada, Bada Baghada, Salori, Govindpur, and Daraganj Allahpur, the streets are teeming with students dedicated to preparing for the UPSC exams. These aspirants, many of whom are determined to join the ranks of IAS, IPS, or IFS officers, are often seen studying in small, confined spaces. In some cases, these rooms measure just 10 square feet, illustrating the intense focus and sacrifice involved in their preparation. The streets are alive with young men and women, their eyes reflecting dreams of passing the UPSC exams and securing a prestigious government position. While some students aim for top positions in the civil services, others are prepared to settle for roles such as government clerks through SSC exams if necessary, motivated by a desire to alleviate their families concerns. The perseverance and ambition of these individuals underscore Prayagrajs role as a significant training ground for future leaders of the country. You might wonder why Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, is highlighted in discussions about exam preparations when many students head to larger cities like Delhi for their studies. The answer lies in the unique advantages that Prayagraj offers to aspirants. Each month, students from villages across Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar flock to Prayagraj with aspirations of securing government jobs. When asked why they choose Prayagraj over cities like Delhi, Patna, or Lucknow, they often cite financial constraints. The cost of living and studying in major cities can be prohibitive, making Prayagraj an attractive alternative due to its lower expenses. Abhishek Yadav, a student preparing for the UPSC exams, explains that Prayagraj is more affordable for students like him. Here, room rents and travel costs are considerably lower, allowing students to manage their finances better while focusing on their studies. In contrast, the high costs of living and transportation in larger cities can be a significant barrier to success. Other students like Arun Yadav, Abhishek Yadav, Abhinav, and Manoj Tiwari share small rooms, managing with each others textbooks and often sleeping in the same space. When questioned about the cramped conditions, they respond that their primary focus is on their studies, not on comfort. We are here to study, not to sleep, says Arun Yadav, adding that sleeping less will give them a better chance at achieving their goals. Dinesh, who has been preparing for competitive exams for several years, echoes the same sentiment. We sleep, eat, and study in this small room this is our world, he explained. For these students, the limited space is a small price to pay for the chance to realise their dreams. The fight for the Bigg Boss OTT 3 trophy continues to intensify, with only a few days left for the grand finale. The latest episode saw Armaan Malik and Lovekesh Kataria being eliminated from the controversial reality show, following an emotional eviction process. Post his exit from the show, Lovekesh reunited with his buddies from the show Munisha Khatwani and Vishal Pandey. Fans were treated to a glimpse of their reunion as Munisha dropped a picture on Instagram. The image shared by Munisha Khatwani screamed friendship from miles away as the trio looked all excited to see each other. Wearing their best smiles, they posed for an endearing click with Lovekesh Kataria at the center. Accompanying the picture, Munisha wrote, The real bond I made in the house, followed by tagging both Lovekesh and Vishal Pandey. Reacting to the post, Vishal Pandey commented, Munni ji, whereas Lovekesh Kataria also poured in some hearts for the picture. Meanwhile, Lovekesh Kataria also posted a few pictures with Vishal Pandey on Instagram, highlighting the friendship. In the photos, we can see both the content creators striking some stylish poses for the lens. Reflecting on the impact the duo created on the audience during their Bigg Boss stint, Lovekesh captioned the images, Dil To Jeet Ke Aaye. Notably, Lovekesh Katarias elimination came as a huge shocker to viewers as Elvish Yadav had been campaigning aggressively for him to win the coveted trophy. Elvish previously talked about Lovekesh in his YouTube vlogs to garner votes for his friend. However, on Tuesday night, he seemingly confirmed Lovekeshs shocking eviction. Taking a dig at the makers of the show, he said, Votes Se Nahi Nikal Paye? Post his eviction, Lovekesh Kataria also hosted a live session on Instagram wherein he got emotional. Thanking his fans for the tremendous support, he noted, Ive never experienced so much love in my life as I am now. When I was getting evicted, I felt overwhelmed and broken. I could see the trophy in front of me, but I couldnt touch it. As for Bigg Boss OTT 3, the Anil Kapoor-hosted show is gearing up for its finale on August 2. With Lovekesh Kataria and Armaan Maliks eviction, the contestants left to compete for the Bigg Boss OTT 3 trophy are Sana Makbul, Sai Ketan Rao, Kritika Malik, Ranvir Shorey and Naezy. Israels airstrike on top commander of Hezbollah in Beirut about two days ago in retaliation to a rocket attack that killed 12 children in Golan Heights over the weekend has caused concerns that Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese military group could be sucked into a full-blown war. Israel said on Sunday it would strike hard at Hezbollah after the Golan Heights strike, the military group has denied any responsibility of the attack on Majdal Shams. Tuesdays attack in the Lebanese capital has stoked fears of a wider regional war. Let us look at the history of Hezbollah, its political and military might, the tension with Israel and whats next. How Hezbollah Became A Dominant Force in Lebanon Lebanon distributes power along sectarian lines proportional to its percentage of the population the largest being Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims. Tensions among the sects began in 1975 after the influx of Sunni Palestinian refugees, plunging the country into a 15-year-old civil war. With the support of Iran (the regions preeminent Shiite power), Hezbollah, which began as a small Shiite militia group during the war, emerged as the dominant force fighting against the Israeli occupation. In their efforts to expel the Israelis, the group became known for its use of extreme tactics, such as the infamous 1983 suicide bombing attack targeting U.S. and French housing barracks in Beirut, which killed some 300. Hezbollah which means the Party of God in Arabic released a manifesto in 1985 in which it pledged allegiance to Irans supreme leader, and called for the destruction of Israel. After Israels withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the end of the civil war in 1990, Hezbollah continued to grow in power. In the years since the civil war, Hezbollah has only increased in sophistication and regional power. Today, the group is structured along two primary divisions: a military wing and a political wing. Power of Hezbollah Hezbollah has been the backbone of Lebanese politics for the past 30 years. The group has kept a steady presence of elected representatives in parliament, at times becoming the dominant party. Members of Hezbollah have continually held executive cabinet positions. Though Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist group, the party maintains alliances with individuals and groups affiliated with other sects. Militarily, Hezbollah is said to be the most well-armed and powerful non-state actor in the region, with a stockpile of hundreds of thousands of missiles as well as 100,000 fighters. Iran, its benefactor, supplies Hezbollah with weapons and funding. Hezbollahs Top Leadership Hezbollahs leader is the groups secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. The Lebanese-born, Shia Muslim cleric first ascended to the top leadership position in 1992, when he was just 32. During the 1990s, Nasrallah successfully led the groups campaign against Israels occupation of southern Lebanon, resulting in the eventual withdrawal in 2000. Today, many continue to view him as a dominant figure in resistance to Israel and anti-Western influence in the region, as per NPR. Though Nasrallah has never held a formal office in Lebanon, he is still one of the most powerful figures in Lebanese politics. How Does Iran Fit In? Hezbollah has stated allegiance to the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. On the issues of regional politics, Hezbollah largely consults with Iran, especially on the matters relating to Israel, the US or other Western powers. However, when it comes to domestic issues within Lebanon, Hezbollah is generally able to act autonomously. Irans support has helped Hezbollah consolidate its position as Lebanons most powerful political actor as well as the most-equipped military actor supported by Iran in the whole of the Middle East, Associated Press quoted Lina Khatib, the director of the SOAS Middle East Institute in London, as saying. Hezbollah is bound to Iran by doctrine. However, its relationship with Hamas, an offshoot of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood movement, is based on pragmatism. Tensions with Israel Hezbollah has been targeting Israel since the Palestinian military group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 8. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, says its attacks aim to support Palestinians who are under Israeli bombardment in Gaza. Hezbollah has said repeatedly it will not halt its attacks on Israel unless a ceasefire in Gaza comes into force. Meanwhile, Israel has long viewed Hezbollah as the biggest threat at its borders and has been deeply alarmed by its growing arsenal, and the foothold it has established in Syria. Israel and Hezbollah have fought numerous wars, the last one being in 2006. That year, Israeli strikes levelled large areas of Beiruts Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, knocked out Beirut airport, and hit roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Nearly 1 million people in Lebanon fled their homes. In Israel, 300,000 people fled their homes to escape Hezbollah rockets and some 2,000 homes destroyed. Hezbollah deems Israel an illegitimate state established on occupied Palestinian lands and wants to see it gone. Whats Next? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in December that Beirut would be turned into Gaza if Hezbollah started an all-out war. Any move by Israel to expand the conflict would be met by devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel, Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in an interview with Al Jazeera in June. Thus, ceasefire in Gaza would play a very important role as it could help bring about de-escalation of tensions in southern Lebanon. The US has been at the heart of the diplomatic efforts aimed at easing the tensions between the two countries. (with inputs from Reuters) The Supreme Court on Thursday in a 6:1 majority verdict overruled a 2004 judgment in the EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case, which said there cannot be sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of reservation. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading the seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, said Scheduled Castes are not an integrated or homogenous group. What is Subclassification of SCs/ STs? It is the process of creating sub-groups within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to ensure a more equitable distribution of reservation benefits, targeting the most backward or marginalised within these communities. Over the years, states have argued that some castes are underrepresented despite reservation in comparison to the so-called dominant Scheduled Castes. They believe that a separate quota for some castes within the SC quota of 15% should be created to ensure that the benefits are equitably distributed among all castes. How Did It Become An Issue? The Punjab government in 1975 issued a notification dividing its existing 25% reservation for the SCs into two categories. 50% of the seats reserved for the SCs were to be offered to Balmikis (Valmikis) and Mazhabi Sikhs, while the other half was for the remaining groups within the category. This remained in effect till 31 years until the Supreme Courts five-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah vs Andhra Pradesh case set aside a similar law in Andhra Pradesh. What was EV Chinnaiah Verdict? The Supreme Court struck down the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2000 for being violative of the right to equality. The law contained an expansive list of SC communities identified in the state and the quota of reservation benefits provided to each of them. The court held that the SC list must be treated as a single, homogenous group, and the sub-classification would violate the right to equality by treating different communities within the category differently. According to Article 341 of the Constitution, the power to create a list of SC communities for the purpose of reservation rests with the President. So, the states dont have the power to disturb or interfere this list, including through sub-classification as it would violate Article 341. Two years after the apex court ruling, the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Dr. Kishan Pal v. State of Punjab struck down the 1975 notification. The Punjab government argued that Chinnaiah was not in accordance with the top courts nine-judge bench decision in Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992). In Indra Sawhney, the court had recognised that some classes within the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category may be more or less backward than others. On August 20, 2014, the three-judge bench hearing the appeal referred the matter to a five-judge Constitution Bench to assess the correctness of EV Chinnaiah. In the landmark 2018 ruling in Jarnail Singh v Lachhmi Narain Gupta, the Supreme Court upheld the concept of creamy layer within SCs too, and permitted sub-classification within the SC category. Since sub-classification was permitted within the SEBC category (per Indra Sawhney), it cannot be disallowed for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes categories. In 2020, the constitution bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra held that the courts 2004 decision in EV Chinnaiah required reconsideration. On October 12, 2023, the SC listed the appeal for hearings by a seven-judge bench from January 17, 2024. Apart from Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs in Punjab and Madiga in Andhra Pradesh, Paswans in Bihar, the Jatavs in UP, and Arundhatiyars in Tamil Nadu will also be impacted by the sub-classification strategy. Sub-Categorisation of OBCs and Rohini Commission Based on the Mandal Commission, the OBCs get 27% reservation in jobs and educational institutions. However, there were concerns that there is inequal distribution of benefits among various OBC communities. Therefore, the BJP-led NDA government proposed sub-categorisation in 2017. The Rohini Commission was set up on October 2, 2017 led by Justice G Rohini (former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court) for the purpose. The commission submitted its report on the sub-categorisation of OBCs in July 2023. The four-member commission was formed to ensure a more equitable distribution of reservation benefits among the OBCs. The commission was assigned to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and propose steps for their improvement. It was also tasked to recommend any corrections in regard to the central list of OBCs. This included correcting any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription. What were Commissions Findings? The commission found that 97% of the reserved jobs and seats have gone to 25% of OBC sub-castes, and only 10 OBC communities have taken the 25% of reserved central jobs and institutional seats. As many as 983, or 37%, of the 2,600 communities under the OBC category had zero representation in jobs and institutes, and only 2.68% reservation has been used by 994 castes. The commissions first consultation paper in December 2019 recommended breaking the sub-categories into three bands: communities receiving no benefits (10 per cent), those with partial benefits (10 per cent), and those receiving maximum benefits (7 per cent), according to a report by Hindustan Times. This would help create a fairer distribution structure. The committee received 13 extensions to complete its report before it was finally submitted it to President Droupadi Murmu on July 21, 2023. The sub-categorisation of OBC has already been implemented on the state level in 11 states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar, the Jammu and Kashmir region, Haryana, and Puducherry UT, as per a report by the India Today. Bihar has categories OBC 1 and OBC 2 (or economically backward classes) categories. While OBC 1 has 33 sub-caste groups, OBC 2 has 113. Moreover, 18% of state-level government jobs and seats in educational institutes are reserved for EBCs. OBC 1 has 12% reservations, with 3% for OBC women. The Turkish government has approved a law to remove millions of stray dogs from the streets, raising concerns among animal rights activists and opposition lawmakers. Humane Society International said it had written to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the law will cause unnecessary suffering and death to countless animals in a short-term fix that wont deliver a long-term solution. According to the Turkish government, there are around 4 million stray dogs that roam Turkeys streets and rural areas. The countrys large stray cat population, however, is not a focus of the bill. What is Turkeys New Stray Dog Law? The bill was approved with 275 votes in favour and 225 against. The full assembly will have a final vote in the coming days. The new legislation requires municipalities to collect stray dogs and house them in shelters to be vaccinated, neutered and spayed before making them available for adoption. Dogs, which are in pain or are terminally ill, will be euthanized. The law requires all municipalities to spend at least 0.3% of their annual budget on animal rehabilitation services and building or upgrading shelters, though they will be given until 2028 to do so, as per Reuters. Mayors who fail to meet their responsibilities in controlling stray dogs would face imprisonment of six months to two years. Fines on people who abandon pets would be raised from 2,000 lira (~Rs 5,023) to 60,000 lira (~Rs 1,50,696). Veterinarians and opposition leaders have questioned how the government would find money for the cash-strapped municipalities to build necessary extra shelters. The country currently has 322 animal shelters with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, according to the bill, far short of what would be needed to round up the number of strays. How Is Turkey Reacting? Several leaders hailed the decision amid the criticism from opposition and animal advocates. Ali Ozkaya, of Erdogans Justice and Development Party, or AKP, described the bill as a demand of the nation. This is not a massacre law. This is an adoption law, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told HaberTurk television in an interview. Thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past few weeks to protest against the law. In Istanbuls Sishane Square, hundreds gathered and issued a defiant message to the government. Animal lovers in Ankara protested outside municipal offices. They stated in a statement, We are warning the government again and again, stop the law. Do not commit this crime against this country. Opposition and animal rights group say that a mass neutering campaign would be a better solution but Erdogans AKP insists that it is too late for that. Veterinarian Turkan Ceylan maintained that the dogs are at risk of contracting diseases in shelters and in vehicles used to round up strays. No animal that enters the shelter comes out healthy, she said. The opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) said it would appeal against the legislation in the Constitutional Court. The bill is clearly unconstitutional and does not defend the right to live, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said after it passed, adding that municipalities had limited resources to deal with the task of taking so many dogs off the streets. Whats the Dog Problem in Turkey? President Erdogan noted that stray dogs attack children, adults, elderly people and other animals. They attack flocks of sheep and goats, they cause traffic accidents. According to the bill, there are currently 322 animal shelters in the country that can house 105,000 canines, which is significantly fewer than what would be required to house all of the strays. According to Murat Pinar, the leader of an organisation that advocates for laws protecting the public from stray dogs, since 2022 at least 75 people 44 of them children have died as a result of dog attacks or dog-related traffic accidents. Reuters reported that residents of Turkish towns and cities often take care of street animals, putting out makeshift shelters, food and water for them. The report cited one survey that showed less than 3% of people supported putting them down, while nearly 80% were in favour of dogs being put in shelters. The Uttar Pradesh government has passed the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2024 while amending the existing anti-conversion bill, which proposes stricter rules, life imprisonment from the existing sentence of 10 years and hefty fines of up to Rs 10 lakh. The bill was tabled in the assembly by parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna on behalf of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Khanna maintained that there was no controversy in the amended bill, which was aimed to bring justice to the victims who get subjected to unlawful religious conversions. Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey said the law may lead to the lodging of false cases against people. He said a clause of taking strict action on a person filing a false complaint should be added to the bill. Why Govt Brought In Amendment The Uttar Pradesh government has introduced the Amendment with the aim to protect certain groups of people, including minors, people with disabilities, women and persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It also said the penal provisions under the 2021 Act were not sufficient to prevent religious or mass conversions. The Amendment also aims to resolve certain difficulties that have arisen in the past pertaining to Section 4 of the 2021 Act which allowed any aggrieved person, his/her parents, brother, sister, or any other person who is related to him/her by blood, marriage or adoption to file an FIR for unlawful conversion with the police. What are the Changes to the Anti-Conversion Bill? Unlike the existing law in which only an aggrieved person or his/ her parents, brother/ sister or any other person related to him/ her by blood, marriage or adoption may lodge an FIR against an act of conversion, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024 allows anyone to file a complaint with the police over the violation. The Bill says, Anyone who violates the provisions of the Act in connection with a juvenile, disabled or mentally weak person, a female or a person belonging to the SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) communities, will be liable for punishment not less than five years of imprisonment, but can extend up to 14 years, and will also be liable for a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh. Currently, for such violations where the victim happens to be a female, a minor or someone from the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the jail term from 2 to 10 years and the fine is of Rs 25,000. For mass conversions, stringent punishment includes imprisonment of not less than seven years, which can extend up to 14 years, along with a fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh. Currently, such violations result in a minimum jail term of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. Anyone who receives money from foreign or illegal organisations in relation with religious conversions, he or she will be liable for an imprisonment not less than seven years that can extend up to 14 years and will be also liable to a fine of not less than Rs 10 lakh. A person who threatens to harm property, uses force or marries or promises marriage with the motive of conversion, the offender will be liable to prison of not less than 20 years, as per the proposed bill. Stricter Bail Conditions For those accused under Section 3, the Amendment introduces stringent bail conditions that are akin to the bail conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Under the new Section 7, an accused cannot be released on bail unless two conditions have been met. First, the public prosecutor (the advocate representing the state government prosecuting the crime) must be given the opportunity to oppose the bail application. Second, the court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such an offence and that no offence can be committed by him while on bail. With other BJP-ruled states such as Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh having enacted similar anti-conversion laws, Uttar Pradeshs Amendment could see them follow suit. Upholding the Hindu sides case, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the Muslim sides plea on the maintainability of the suit in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura. Dismissing the mosque committees petition, the court said all the 18 suits are maintainable and the trial can continue. On June 6, Justice Mayank Kumar Jain had reserved his judgment on the plea moved by the Muslim side regarding maintainability of the suits. The court has now fixed August 12 as the date for framing of issues. The ruling means that the high court is of the view that the suit is not barred by the section of the Places of Worship Act. It rejected the Muslim sides plea under Section 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), raising grounds of maintainability of the suit. Several cases have been filed seeking the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which stands adjacent to the Krishna temple, with litigants claiming that the Aurangazeb-era mosque was built after the demolition of the temple. The Muslim side, however, argued that the suits are barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, and some other laws. The Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and aims to maintain the religious character of such places as it existed on August 15, 1947. The Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura was built on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, adjacent to the temple believed by the Hindus to be the birthplace of Krishna. The Hindu side, in their suit, has claimed that the 17th-century Mughal-era mosque was built after demolishing a temple. The demand for a survey was admitted by a local court in December 2022, but the Muslim side had filed an objection in the HC. Beijing (Gasgoo)- On July 30, 2024, HBIS Group XuanSteel Company (HBIS XuanSteel) and SinoHytec successfully signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. According to the agreement, both parties will accelerate the demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles, improve the green hydrogen supply system, and expedite the large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Signing ceremony; photo credit: SinoHytec This collaboration aims to help XuanSteel achieve its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals while promoting the development of the Zhangjiakou renewable energy demonstration zone and the national carbon peak pilot city. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of HBIS Group, XuanSteel is fully committed to a green and low-carbon transformation, aiming to create Chinas first green transformation demonstration zone in the steel industry. In 2022, XuanSteel completed Phase One of the world's first 1.2-million-tonne hydrogen metallurgy demonstration project and is advancing comprehensive projects in hydrogen metallurgy, new energy, new materials, digital technology, intelligent manufacturing, and scientific innovation. The partnership will leverage both companies' strengths in hydrogen energy applications, green hydrogen production, and hydrogen energy equipment. Starting with green hydrogen supply, the collaboration will expand the diversified application demonstrations of green hydrogen. The partnership will also demonstrate fuel cell vehicle applications in XuanSteels "diesel-to-hydrogen" green logistics chain, boosting the hydrogen energy industry in Zhangjiakou. Additionally, addressing XuanSteel's green hydrogen needs in hydrogen metallurgy and the future green hydrogen market demand, SinoHytec and XuanSteel have established a long-term strategic cooperation relationship. They will explore cooperation in renewable energy hydrogen production and promote the coordinated development of the entire industrial chain. The Union Public Service Commission has terminated the services of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar. The decision was taken after UPSC found the charges against her, of violating the examination rules and guidelines, correct. The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the UPSC," the central governments department of personnel and training (DoPT) said in a statement. Way ahead The legal options for Puja after the UPSC decision could be limited since she failed to defend herself when the commission gave her a chance to do so. The UPSC sent a show cause notice to Puja on July 18 for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity". Puja Khedkar, as per experts, has queered the pitch for herself by refusing to put her side of the story before the commission. As per the UPSC, she first sought an extension from July 25 to August 4. The commission considered her request and granted time until 3.30 pm on July 30, making it clear that this was her final opportunity. Despite extension in time allowed to her, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time," the DoPT statement said. Puja had in 2023 challenged UPSCs decision on her candidature before the Central Administrative Tribunal. If she were to challenge the 2024 UPSC ruling again before CAT, the commission can argue that she was given enough opportunities to present her case but she chose not to appear. Police case bigger challenge The police case against Puja is a bigger challenge for her currently than the termination of her job. Delhi police lodged an FIR against Puja after the UPSCs preliminary inquiry found her faking her name, names of her mother and father, address, phone number, and email address. The UPSC said that Puja could escape scrutiny and take multiple attempts because of these alleged forgeries. Puja while seeking anticipatory bail from Delhis Patiala House Court has expressed apprehensions that police could now insist on her custodial interrogation. The court has reserved its order on her plea. Police investigations against her parents are also open. UPSC says due process followed The Union Public Service Commission has said that it has thoroughly examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates from 2009 to 2023 and only Puja Khedkar was found guilty of sabotaging the UPSC Exam Rules. No other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules. In the lone case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily due to the fact that she changed not only her name but also her parents name," it said. The commission said that Puja misused the action that the UPSC took in good faith" while scrutinising the certificates of candidates. UPSC does only a preliminary scrutiny of the certificates viz. whether the certificate has been issued by the competent authority, the year to which the certificate pertains, issuing date of the certificate, whether there is any overwriting on the certificate, format of the certificate etc. Generally, the certificate is taken as genuine, if it has been issued by the competent authority. The UPSC neither has the mandate nor the wherewithal to check the veracity of thousands of certificates submitted by the candidates every year," it said. With the UPSC lodging an FIR now, not just Puja but even those who provided her with caste and medical certificates could face legal action if a conspiracy can be proved. In a rare move, close to 1,500 troops of Assam Rifles will be moving out of the forces core area and deployed in Jammu, which is witnessing terror attacks. According to an official, this will be the first time when the force, known as a friend of the Northeast, will be deployed in Jammu and may have a small base in J&K soon. The Assam Rifles comes under the ministry of home affairs but operates under the operational control of the Indian Army. The force is staffed by Indian Army officials and is headed by a lieutenant general as the director general. This will be the first time that two forces, Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles, under the control of the Indian Army will be deployed in Jammu. Troops will be drawn from Manipur, where the Central Reserve Police Force will take over the operational area of the Assam Rifles. Two battalions will be deployed in Churachandpur, replacing the Assam Rifles. While Kuki groups are opposing this development, the government has decided to proceed with the changes in deployment. On the other hand, Meitei groups have alleged that the Assam Rifles favours the Kukis and should be withdrawn from parts of Manipur. Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera on Wednesday took over as the 22nd director general of the Assam Rifles, known by the sobriquet Sentinels of the Northeast. He has varied and rich professional experience of Assam Rifles and the Northeast region, having served extensively there, including being inspector general in Assam Rifles in Nagaland. Assam Rifles remains deployed in some of the most remote and underdeveloped areas, providing security to locals. The Assam Rifles has grown substantially over the years, from 17 battalions in 1960 to 46 battalions at present. The force also has a training centre and several logistics units. Through its long deployment in the tribal belt, the Assam Rifles has earned the complete confidence of the locals and has helped significantly in bringing the people of this region into the national mainstream, the force states. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a swipe at opposition leaders on Thursday who were mocking the Centre over water leakage in the new Parliament building following the incessant rainfall in the national capital. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya shared a post on X where he mentioned about when the old Parliaments building was submerged in water during the Zero hour in 2010, then not only, no one accused the British of building the old parliament in a haste manner, but also these Brown Sahibs found it aesthetic. While sharing a news piece about the roof leakage on X, Malviya said, 2010: Parliament roof leaked during Zero Hour and the premise was submerged (water logged is not the right expression) in water. But no one accused the Britishers of building the old Parliament in haste. The Brown Sahibs they have left behind, still find it aesthetic. 2010: Parliament roof leaked during Zero Hour and the premise was submerged (water logged is not the right expression) in water. But no one accused the Britishers of building the old Parliament in haste. The Brown Sahibs they have left behind, still find it aesthetic.However, pic.twitter.com/31c4khHVa1 Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 1, 2024 He further accused the opposition of doing politics and claimed that they reminisce the good old days of power and pelf, and scream at their rising irrelevance. However, the iconic Central Hall of the wonderfully distinctive and charming old Parliament building now stinks of piss and is not usable anymore. But some people, who have never accessed the new building (wife getting to go in doesnt count), and cant get over the idea sniffing up backsides of their political masters, are upset. They reminisce the good old days of power and pelf, and scream at their rising irrelevance, he added. His remarks came after several opposition leaders including, Congress Manickam Tagore, TMCs Mahua Moitra and SPs Akhilesh Yadav mocked the centre over the water leaking in the lobby of the new Parliament building by posting the video of water leaks in the premises. TMC MP Mahua Moitra said, New parliament lobby is leaking water. Given the building is a monstrous edifice to @narendramodis ego it is only fitting that it has got shaky post 2024 lok sabha results. Bharat Mandapam leaks another case in point. New parliament lobby is leaking water. Given the building is a monstrous edifice to @narendramodi s ego it is only fitting that it has got shaky post 2024 lok sabha results. Bharat Mandapam leaks another case in point. pic.twitter.com/3WUO0xokzr Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) August 1, 2024 Congress MP Manickam Tagore also shared the video on his X platform and swiped at the centre saying that outside the parliament, paper leak is going on (referring to recent NEET-UG paper leak) and inside the parliament, water leak is going on. Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion, he said. He also moved an Adjournment motion on this issue in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Paper leakage outside,water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion.Moving Adjournment motion on this issue in Loksabha. #Parliament pic.twitter.com/kNFJ9Ld21d Manickam Tagore .B . (@manickamtagore) August 1, 2024 SP Leader Akhilesh Yadav also slammed the BJP and said, The old parliament was better than this new parliament, where even the old MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the parliament built with billions of rupees. People are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well thought out design or , , -- , , pic.twitter.com/PpJ36k6RJm Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 1, 2024 The new Parliament building, part of the governments ambitious Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project, was inaugurated on May 28, 2023, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The national capital has been witnessing incessant rains since last evening. On Thursday, the meteorological department forecast more rains are expected. On Wednesday large parts of the city were inundated, choking key stretches with unending traffic and leaving people stranded as roads resembled rivers. Torrential rains on Wednesday wreaked havoc in several parts of North India leaving more than 15 people dead and several missing. While Delhi NCR witnessed incidents of drowning due to massive waterlogging, building collapses and electrocutions, Himachal Pradesh saw devastation due to cloudbursts and flash floods swept away highways in Uttarakhand. Waterlogging was also reported from some parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in its forecast said more rains were predicted in the northern parts of the country. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rains in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on August 1. 7 Dead in Delhi NCR At least seven people were killed in Delhi while three people suffered injuries in separate incidents as the national capital witnessed heavy rains on Wednesday. A woman along with her son drowned in a waterlogged drain near Khoda Colony in Delhis Ghazipur area, while, a 12-year-old boy died due to electrocution at Bindapur area of Dwarka district. One person was killed in the Subzi Mandi area and three more were injured two in Shastri Park and one in Defence Colony due to building collapse incidents following the torrential rain. In Gurugram, three people died due to electrocution near IFFCO Chowk metro station around 10 pm on Wednesday after a high-tension wire broke and fell on them due to heavy rains. The Delhi Police received 2,945 calls in the last 24 hours regarding traffic jams, 127 calls for water logging and 27 complaints regarding building collapse and 50 of tree uprooting. Cloudbursts Devastate Himachal Pradesh, 2 Dead The rain fury lead to devastation in Shimla and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh as cloudbursts hit the region on Wednesday. While two people died, over 50 were missing after the two separate cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh. The cloudburst incidents were reported in Rampur tehsil of Shimla, Padhar tehsil of Mandi district, and the villages of Jaon and Nirmand in Kullu. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said teams of NDRF, SDRF, Police, Home Guard and Fire Services were engaged in relief, search and rescue operations. Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that the barrage of the Malana power project in Kullu had collapsed, leaving people stranded and road connectivity currently cut off. The minister said that several bridges were damaged following the incessant rainfall in the state and CM Sukhu had called an emergency meeting. A video went viral on social media showing a multistorey building in Himachal Pradesh collapsing and getting swept away by the swollen currents of the Parvati River. The Beas River was also flowing above the danger mark. 10 Killed in Uttarakhand Heavy rains and flash floods threw life out of gear in parts of Uttarakhand, with Tehri and Rudraprayag districts being the worst-affected. At least 10 people have been killed due to landslides and rain-related accidents since Wednesday evening. The SDRF has evacuated nearly 1,000 pilgrims who were stranded in different parts of the Kedarnath trek owing to rains and landslides. Authorities said the foot road to Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district that starts from Gaurikund had been severely damaged in at least nine places. Around 20-25 metres of the national highway connecting Rudraprayag and Rishikesh had been washed away, making vehicular movement difficult. About 30 metres of the highway between Sonprayag and Gaurikund had been either washed away or affected due to debris that came with the landslide. Waterlogging In Parts of UP and Punjab, 3 Dead in Jaipur In Jaipur, three people lost their lives after they were trapped in a flooded basement amid heavy rains. Heavy rains also disrupted life in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab on Wednesday. In Lucknow, intense rainfall led to extensive waterlogging around the UP Vidhan Sabha and affected several areas of the state capital. In Varanasi, water entered parts of the cremation site of Manikarnika Ghat, with people having to wait for carrying out cremations. In Bhatinda, rains lead to waterlogging in several parts. Two people died and several are missing after two separate cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. The cloudbursts occurred in Shimla and Mandi districts, causing significant disruptions and damage in the districts. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that more than 50 people are missing following cloudburst incidents in Rampur tehsil of Shimla, Padhar tehsil of Mandi district, and the villages of Jaon and Nirmand in Kullu. Sukhu is in contact with officials and closely monitoring the relief and rescue operations. Expressing grief over the situation, CM Sukhu took X and said, Very sad news has been received about more than 50 people missing due to cloudburst in Rampur tehsil of Shimla, Padhar tehsil of Mandi district and Jaon, Nirmand villages of Kullu. Teams of NDRF, SDRF, Police, Home Guard and Fire Services are engaged in relief, search and rescue operations. The local administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations smoothly. I am in touch with the officials and monitoring the relief and rescue operations, he added. , , 50 NDRF, SDRF, , , pic.twitter.com/t3iUiFuIqn Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (@SukhuSukhvinder) August 1, 2024 In Shimla, 36 people are missing following a cloudburst in the Samej Khad area of Rampur, while 8 people are reported missing in Mandi. The rescue teams have recovered two bodies. Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that 36 people are reported missing in the Samej area of Shimla district. In addition, 8 people are missing in the Tikan area of Mandi, where 2 bodies have been recovered and 1 person is injured. PM Modi Assures All Possible Assistance Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been closely monitoring the situation in Himachal Pradeshs Mandi in the wake of heavy rains and a cloudburst. He also asked top officials to ensure all possible assistance is provided to the affected. Relief operations are underway in full swing as 14 teams of NDRF have been deployed in the affected region. Rahul Gandhi Speaks To Himachal CM Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday condoled the loss of lives in the cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh, and said that he had spoken with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to take stock of the difficult situation. The news of the death and disappearance of many people due to cloudburst and heavy rainfall in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu is extremely saddening, Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families in this difficult time, the former Congress chief said in a post in Hindi on X. He hoped that all the missing people would be found as soon as possible. Malana Dam Damaged In Kullu Negi also informed that the barrage of the Malana power project in Kullu has also collapsed, leaving people stranded and road connectivity currently cut off. Minister said that several bridges have been damaged following the incessant rainfall in the state and CM Sukhu has called an emergency meeting. Himachal Pradesh: The cloudburst in Malana has caused damage to the Malana Dam pic.twitter.com/VtxqhoPPSl IANS (@ians_india) August 1, 2024 Earlier, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap informed that 19 people are missing following a cloudburst in the Samej Khad area of Rampur. He added that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team had been dispatched to the site. #WATCH | Himachal Pradesh | 19 people are missing after a cloudburst in the Samej Khad of Rampur area in Shimla district. The SDRF team at the spot for the search and rescue operation(Visual source DPRO Shimla) pic.twitter.com/afz23ylf4P ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 In Mandi district, a cloudburst in Thaltukhod of the Padhar subdivision has led to the recovery of one body, with 9 people still unaccounted for. The incident has also caused damage to several houses. Mandi Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan said that the District Administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are on their way to the affected area. JP Nadda Speaks To Himachal CM Sukhu Union Minister and BJP chief JP Nadda spoke with Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to gather information and assure support from the central government following the significant losses and disruptions caused by the cloudburst in Himachal. Nadda also contacted former CM and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, as well as the BJP State President, directing all BJP workers to actively participate in relief efforts. Meanwhile, former Himachal CM and Leader of Opposition, Jairam Thakur, expressed his sadness over the tragic loss of life in Mandi due to the recent cloudburst. On X, Thakur urged the State Government to prioritize relief and rescue operations at the sites affected by the heavy rains across the state last night. , pic.twitter.com/OjZbKDvzy9 Jairam Thakur (@jairamthakurbjp) August 1, 2024 IMD Issues Orange Alert For Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh is witnessing heavy rainfall, causing the water level in the Beas River in Manali to rise significantly. VIDEO | Himachal Pradesh weather: Water level rises in Beas River due to incessant rain in Manali.(Source: Third party) (Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/dv5TRARJn4) pic.twitter.com/8hmfpRAr1q Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2024 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Himachal Pradesh, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday. Heavy downpours are expected to continue for the next 2-3 days in the state. A veterinary hospital located in Koppal, a district in Karnataka, is currently in the headlines after a blood transfusion was performed here from a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever to a 10-year-old Labrador dog. According to Local 18 Karnataka, the 10-year-old Labradors haemoglobin levels had dropped to 3 grams per deciliter. Due to this low haemoglobin level, this dog required blood. When the veterinary hospitals doctors got to know about this incident, they contacted the owners of 3 dogs through their addresses in the city. The medical professionals asked the owners to come up with their pets in the clinic and get their blood samples tested. Amongst the 3 dogs, the blood of the Koppal resident Basavaraja Poojars 3-year-old Labrador Retriever Bhairav was a match for the required blood sample. 300 ml of its blood was tested and taken from the neck within 12 minutes and given to a 10-year-old Labrador dog as per medical regulations. Dogs generally have 7 blood types and have blood volumes of only 10 per cent of their body weight. This is the sixth time a blood transfusion between dogs has taken place in Koppal. Koppal Veterinary Clinic is popular for its excellent track record in animal care. Blood Transfusion between dogs History In 1665, a physician named Richard Lower successfully performed a blood transfusion between two dogs. This is some 150 years before the first successful human-to-human exchange was managed. It may have been an experiment, but 350 years later, doggy donors are still helping to save lives. An organisation named Pet Blood Bank has been running canine blood exchanges since 2007 and provides veterinary surgeries with blood needed for pets with poor health. Similar to humans, dogs also have different blood types and will either be DEA 1 positive or negative. The donor dogs are brought in by their owners to the Pet Blood Bank. A local anaesthetic cream is applied to these animals to help keep them comfortable while blood is taken. Over 10,000 lifesaving dogs are registered with Pet Blood Bank to date. The blood types of both dogs must be matched before the transfusion. In a remarkable act of humanity, a private bus turned into an ambulance when a student onboard showcased the signs of a heart attack in Mangaluru on July 30. They reportedly covered six kilometres in six minutes to reach the hospital. The private bus was travelling on route no 13 from Kunjathbail to Mangaladevi temple. A man named Gajendra Kundar was driving, while another named Mahesh Poojary was the conductor. They were joined by Suresh, another driver who was supposed to take over the responsibility of driving from Kundar was also on the bus. Around 3 pm, approx 10-15 students from Yenepoya University boarded the bus at Kuloor. When the bus reached Kottara Chowki, one student a girl seated near the front door complained of chest pain. Even as her college mates were attending to her, Mr Kundar, Mr Poojary and Mr Suresh decided to take the bus to a nearby hospital. Ganjendra Kumar didnt lose his wits and put on the siren sign on the bus to reach the hospital. Mr Kundar took the bus to Father Muller Medical College Hospital at Kankanady within six minutes disbarring any stoppages. The bus stopped outside the Casualty block crossing the safety guidelines. The staff shifted the student inside the hospital. Due to the swift action of the bus driver, the student was able to get timely treatment. The video of the incident is now circulating on the internet. Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators Association President Azia Parthapady lauded the three crew members of the private bus for their quick response to the emergency, and for ensuring timely treatment for the student. Driving at high speed can be considered dangerous, but this time the swift response of the driver saved the life of a college student. The wit to ensure that traffic decimates with the siren sign showcases the responsible nature of the bus driver. Two sectors of Jammu and north Kashmir are virtually teeming with foreign terrorists with a fresh wave of infiltration, top intelligence sources told CNN-News18 on Thursday. There are several launchpads at the border with about 500 terrorists poised for infiltration, they added. CNN-News18 has exclusive details about the locations. On the Kashmir side, the launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are in Leepa, Jura, Chhejua, Athmuqam, Dudhnial, Tejian, Rattapani, Kel, Dhakki, Sonar, and Domel. The Jammu side launchpads in PoK are located in Satwal Top, Bala Wali, Forward Kahuta, Bata Hallan, Nikial Kaman (Kotli), Tattapani, Khuiretta, Kot-Kotera, and Kotli. A terror hideout was busted in the Kalakote area of Rajouri district by Army and police in a joint operation. In photographs exclusively accessed by CNN-News18, the hideout and weapons used by the terrorists can be seen. In the images, five highly trained and heavily armed terrorists can also be seen, waiting to infiltrate from the forward post of the Pakistan army in the Tattapani sector of PoK. These terrorists were taken from Hajira to the launchpad last week in a Pakistan army vehicle, said sources. Till last year, the Peoples Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a shadow organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was operating in Jammu and carried out 6-7 attacks on security forces and civilians, they said. In April 2024, said the sources, large-scale infiltration happened in Jammu with operatives from Jaish-e-Mohammed who are highly trained. They entered Doda, Riasi, and Udhampur directly. According to the intelligence sources, 30-35 Jaish men in 5-6 groups are on the eastern side of Jammu, in areas like Doda, Riasi, and Udhampur. Also, 10-15 Lashkar men operating in 3-4 groups are in areas like Poonch and Rajouri, they said. These groups that have entered the higher reaches of the mountains come down, attack, and go back, the sources said. They added that with the increased dominance of the Army, CRPF, and police, terror incidents are low right now but the numbers are likely to go up with any relaxation. Unless they are neutralised or arrested, it will be difficult to control this, said a source. The total number of foreign terrorists in Jammu alone is 50 with operatives from both Lashkar and Jaish. In Kashmir valley too, infiltration has happened in the last three months and this new group has been spotted as well. Around 10 launchpads across the borders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are also fully equipped and poised for infiltration. According to intelligence inputs, about 250 fully-trained terrorists on each side of Jammu and Kashmir are ready to enter. About 10-15 terrorists in Kashmir are hiding and have not attacked so far, but they are ready for a major strike very soon, said the sources. Machhal , Keran, and Uri in Kashmir and Hira Nagar in Jammu are active areas for infiltration, they added. They are entering with new names to make it organic and allow local fighters to maintain deniability, said a source. The weapon marks are mainly of AK 47 and M4. This M4 is the same, which was left by Americans in Kabul. CNN-News18 has already reported that the recent increase in hostilities in Jammu could be the early beginnings of a Kargil II-like conflict after a soldier was killed and four others, including a captain, were injured as the Indian Army foiled an attack on Saturday by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) in the Kamakari sector of Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district. Intelligence sources said that the recent attacks signal that the special forces of Pakistan are backing the operation and the non-state actors involved. They drew a similarity to the Kargil War of 1999 because at that time also Pakistani armed forces trained and deployed troops and terrorists who launched an attack to seize fortified positions overlooking NH 1A in the Drass and Batalik sectors of Kargil in Ladakh. India understood that the attack was a well-organised military operation and defeated Pakistan in Operation Vijay, a war that was fought over the summer of 1999. The sources also said that Kargil II could be fueled with the aim of creating an international diversion and deflecting attention from the Ukraine War. According to sources, the United States and the West might be fueling this conflict to divert attention from the Ukraine war. In a significant recognition of grass-roots leadership, the Narendra Modi government has invited 150 women panchayat heads (Sarpanch) who have excelled in achieving saturation in three priority government programmes to attend the Independence Day celebrations in Delhi, News18 has learnt. The panchayat leaders were selected from the list of achievers recognised in the Prime Ministers Awards for Public Administration. The sarpanches and members from five states Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Meghalaya, and Uttar Pradesh have demonstrated outstanding performance and innovation in implementing government schemes. The decision to call 150 women sarpanches is a two-way outreach initiative by the government that underscores its commitment to fostering and recognising political leadership at the panchayat level, said a senior officer involved in the process. It aims to actively encourage women to participate in politics and administration in rural areas, whether as sarpanch or panchayat members. This decision aligns with the Modi governments broader campaign to promote Nari Shakti, he added. In the wake of the recent electoral losses in over 50 rural Lok Sabha constituencies, the initiative also looks like Modi governments efforts to launch a focused panchayat outreach initiative. By inviting the women, the administration is reaffirming its commitment to grass-roots leadership and its Nari Shakti campaign. This effort not only recognises and acknowledges these leaders but also seeks to rebuild and strengthen connections with rural areas, underscoring a renewed focus on empowering women and enhancing rural governance. Modis Push The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has invited the women panchayat leaders from five states to Delhi. To promote innovation and efficient implementation of government schemes, the Modi government launched the Prime Ministers Award programme. From these states, 1,288 panchayat heads were selected for achieving saturation in Priority Sector Schemes under the Prime Ministers Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. Of these achievers, 150 women panchayat leaders have been invited to Delhi to attend the programme at the Red Fort from where the prime minister addresses the nation. This event is part of the ministrys outreach initiative, emphasising the delivery of services to remote villages across states. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), which comes directly under the Prime Ministers Office, supervises and monitors the schemes and their progress. A senior officer involved in the schemes said: The initiative highlights the governments dedication to empowering local governance and ensuring essential services reach every corner of the country. But, it is also seen as an outreach programme at the panchayat level. The government wants to groom and empower women leaders who join politics at the grass-roots level and take part in rural administration. In todays digest, News18 brings you the latest updates on What SC Judges Said In Ruling Allowing SC/ST Sub-Quotas, Niharika Konidela Clears the Air on Rumors of Family Tiff with Allu Arjun and other top stories. Wayanad Landslide: Death Toll Rises To 256; Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Reach Kerala The Rescue operations in Keralas Wayanad were resumed on Thursday as the construction of a Bailey bridge to connect the landslide-hit areas, where several people are believed to be stranded, constituted one of the largest rescue efforts in the hill district, devastated by a deadly calamity. READ MORE Himachal Cloudbursts: 2 Dead, Over 50 Missing In Shimla, Mandi; PM Modi Assures Prompt Aid Two people died and several are missing after two separate cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. The cloudbursts occurred in Shimla and Mandi districts, causing significant disruptions and damage in the districts. READ MORE Reservation Should Be Meant For First Generation: What SC Judges Said In Ruling Allowing SC/ST Sub-Quotas Reservation should be meant for only the first generation among a category, said Justice Pankaj Mithal as the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is permissible. Justice Mithal called for a periodic review of reservations to check if the second generation has come shoulder to shoulder with the general category. READ MORE Irans Khamenei Orders Direct Attack On Israel After Hamas Leaders Assassination As Netanyahu Vows Payback A day after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a strike in Iran, tensions have flared up between Iran and Israel. While Israel has not issued any statement taking responsibility for killing Haniyeh, as it did for killing the Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, Iran has ordered a direct strike on Israel. READ MORE Anand Mahindra Reacts After Lakshya Sens Behind-The-Back Shot Goes Viral WATCH Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen was on fire on Wednesday (July 31) during his last Group L match against Indonesias Jonathan Christie. The 22-year-old Indian got the better of the world No. 4 badminton player by a margin of 21-18, 21-12 to book a place in the pre-quarterfinal against Indias HS Prannoy. READ MORE Niharika Konidela Says Family First Amid Rumoured Family Tiff with Allu Arjun: We Didnt Speak On Niharika Konidela opened up about rumours that all is not well with her family and Allu Arjun. The rumours began during the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections. During the elections, which took place earlier this year, Allu Arjun supported YSRCP candidate Silpa Ravi Reddy instead of his uncle, Andhra Pradeshs Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan who was also contesting in the elections. READ MORE Gif: Manila Bulletin Online / YouTube We learned in Baltimore earlier this year that bridges arent as resilient as assumed. A bridge in the Philippines withstood the impact of multiple barges last week as Typhoon Gaemi, a Category 4 storm, swept across East Asia. The dramatic video of the crash shows a rivers rushing muddy current slam three bargesinto a low bridges road deck. The footage was recorded by Alex Rellosa from her apartment balcony by the F. Manalo Bridge in Pasig, a city roughly 8 miles east of Manila. She told AFP, I already heard screaming, thats why I went out to the balcony. I saw there were people stranded on the barges. The typhoon left a wake of destruction in its path, killing 21 people and displacing over a half-million others. The storm featured wind speeds up to 145 miles per hour and dumped a foot of rain on Manila. ADVERTISEMENT While the barges didnt destroy the bridge, the Philippines didnt escape maritime disaster. The oil tanker MT Terra Nova capsized in Manila Bay while carrying almost 400,000 gallons of industrial oil, Reuters reports. The vessel began spilling oil as it sank. Its not entirely clear how large the oil spill is, but it will be the largest in the countrys history. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Reservation should be meant for only the first generation among a category, said Justice Pankaj Mithal as the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is permissible. Justice Mithal called for a periodic review of reservation to check if the second generation has come shoulder to shoulder with the general category. The 7-judge constitution bench, by a 6:1 majority, held that sub-classifying reserved category groups the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was legal. While six judges were in favour, Justice Bela Trivedi dissented. The ruling also overruled the EV Chinnaiah case ruling. In EV Chinnaiah case, the bench of Justices N Santosh Hegde, SN Variava, BP Singh, HK Sema, SB Sinha had held that all the castes in the Presidential Order under Article 341(1) of the Constitution formed one class of homogeneous group and the same could not be further subdivided. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that it was established through historical evidence that Scheduled Caste notified by the President are a heterogenous class and not homogeneous. Top Quotes From Justice Pankaj Mithal Reservation should be meant for only the first generation among a category and if the second generation has come up then benefits of reservation shall not be given and state should see if after reservation the second generation has come shoulder to shoulder with the general category. Top Quotes From CJI DY Chadrachud The members of SC ST are not often able to climb up the ladder due to the systemic discrimination faced. Article 14 permits sub classification of caste, court must check if class is homogeneous and a class not integrated for a purpose can be further classified. Historical evidence shows that depressed class were not homogenous class and social conditions show that all classes under that is not uniform. In the state of MP, out of 25 castes only 9 are scheduled castes. We have also established through historical evidence that scheduled caste notified by the president are a heterogenous class. there is nothing in article 15, 16 and 341 which prevents sub classification for SC if there is a rational for distinction and there is a rational nexus for the object sought to be achieved. The struggles that a class faces does not disappear with the representation it receives in the lower grades. Chinnaiah is overruled. Top Quotes From Justice Gavai I have referred to speech of Dr Ambedkar in 1949 where he said unless we have social democracy there is no use of political democracy. Hardships and backwardness suffered by some of the scheduled castes is different by each caste. EV Chinnaiah is wrongly decided. It was argued that a party can give reservation to a sub caste to gain political mileage, but I do not agree with this. The ultimate objective would be to realise real equality. As has been held by judicial pronouncements, it has to be supported by empirical data. When a person gets into a compartment, they try all means to stop others from getting into that compartment. Only on account of social justice they have got the benefit but when state decides to give that benefit to the ones who are not adequately represented then the same cannot be denied. State must evolve a policy to identify creamy layer among the SC ST category and take them out of the fold of affirmative action (reservation). This is the only way to gain true equality. Top Quotes From Justice Bela Trivedi I respectfully disagree with the majority judgment. I have not approved the manner in which 3 judge bench referred it to larger bench without assigning any reasons. The three judge bench passed a cryptic and perfunctory order without assigning any reasons. Doctrine of precedents is the core value of our legal system. In the instant case, the reference was made to reconsider EV Chinnaiah without any reasons and that too after 15 years of the judgment. The very reference was itself wrong. In absence of executive of legislative power, the states do not have any competence to sub classify the castes and sub classify the benefits which are reserved for the all of SC. Under the guise of providing reservation states cannot tinker with presidential list and it will be nothing but colorable exercise of power which is impermissible under law. The whole doctrine of the colorable exercise of power is that what is not permitted directly cannot be done indirectly. Top Quotes From Justice SC Sharma Identification of creamy layer among SC ST must become a constitutional imperative. Key Takeaways From The Supreme Court Ruling Sub-classification amongst reserved categories permissible: SC majority verdict holds Supreme court overrules the EV Chinnaiah judgement Supreme Court says SC/STs cannot be considered to be homogenous Supreme Court says sub-classification is only possible if supported by quantifiable data. Permissible for Centre and States to earmark most backward classes within the reserved category of SC/ST: Supreme Court What is The EV Chinnaiah Judgement? In 2005 in the EV Chinnaiah vs The State of Andhra Pradesh and Others case, the bench of Justices N Santosh Hegde, SN Variava, BP Singh, HK Sema, SB Sinha had held that all the castes in the Presidential Order under Article 341(1) of the Constitution formed one class of homogeneous group and the same could not be further subdivided. A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused in a case of cheating and forgery. The development came a day after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled the IAS Candidature of Khedkar and permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections. The investigation agency needs to widen the scope of the investigation. The agency is directed to find out the candidates recommended [by the UPSC] in the recent past who have availed benefits beyond the permissible age limit under OBC quota and those who availed Persons with Benchmark Disabilities benefits despite not being entitled to it, the Court ordered. During the hearing, Khedkar told the court that she was being targeted for filing a sexual harassment complaint against an officer. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on Wednesday reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed that she has an imminent threat of arrest. The prosecution opposed the application, saying she had cheated the system. What Did the Court Say In Its Order Today Rejecting the anticipatory bail plea in the case, the Delhi court said that the allegations against Puja Khedkar are grave and serious and require thorough investigation. Custodial interrogation of the applicant/accused is required to unearth the whole conspiracy and to establish the involvement of the other persons involved in the conspiracy. In the present facts and circumstances, the court is of the considered opinion that it is not a fit case to exercise discretionary powers of anticipatory bail in favour of the applicant/accused, the court order stated. The court further noted that Khedkar breached the wall of the complainant not only once but repeatedly with deceitful means. Puja Khedkar Snatched Rights Of Eligible Aspirants: Court The court in its order further stated that accused Puja Khedkar, who is a trainee IAS officer, has not only cheated and defrauded the UPSC but also snatched the lawful rights of eligible UPSC aspirants with benchmark disability. Puja Khedkars UPSC Candidature Cancelled Earlier, the UPSC announced the cancellation of the provisional candidature of controversial IAS trainee Puja Khedkar and debarred her from taking future exams. A Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued by the UPSC to Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 (CSE-2022) on July 18 for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity. The Delhi Police Crime Branch allegedly booked Khedkar on July 19 for misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) filed a police case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the civil services examination by faking her identity to take the exam beyond the permissible number of attempts. A dedicated team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) level of the Crime Branch was tasked to collect the documents from various government departments. One fisherman was killed and another went missing after their boat capsized mid-sea following collision with the Sri Lankan navy ship near Katchatheevu Island in Tamil Nadus Rameswaram on Thursday. The mechanised fishing boat capsized when the Sri Lankan navy attempted to arrest them on a charge of illegal fishing about 5 nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island on Thursday morning, a senior fisheries official said. Out of the four Indian fishermen who were on board the vessel, one was killed, one went missing and remaining two were rescued and brought ashore to Kankesanthurai. A search is underway for the missing Indian fisherman. Meanwhile, Rameshwaram fishermen and their families have staged a protest over the incident. The External Affairs ministry also called in Sri Lankas acting high commissioner, Priyanga Wickremesinghe, on Thursday and lodged a strong protest over the incident. The Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi was called in today morning to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the incident. We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life, the MEA statement said. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government later today, it added. Indian Consulate officials in Jaffna have been asked to urgently go to Kankesanthurai to support the fishermen and their families, it added. A collision was reported early this morning between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat 5 nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island. Indian Consulate Officials in Jaffna have been instructed to immediately rush to Kankesanthurai and extend all possible assistance to the fishermen and their families, it added. Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister DR S Jaishankar urging to take cognisance of the matter. On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, we bring to the kind attention of our Hon EAM Thiru @DrSJaishankar on a terrible incident that led to the death of our Tamil Fisherman in the High Seas. We also request the kind intervention of our Hon EAM for finding one missing fisherman & the early release of the detainees, he said in a letter addressed to Jaishankar. On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, we bring to the kind attention of our Hon EAM Thiru @DrSJaishankar avl on a terrible incident that led to the death of our Tamil Fisherman in the High Seas. We also request the kind intervention of our Hon EAM for finding one missing fisherman & the pic.twitter.com/PxeNrVVVg5 K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) August 1, 2024 Dozens of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen are arrested by the two countries each year on charges of violating the maritime boundary or illegal fishing. The Rescue operations in Keralas Wayanad were resumed on Thursday as the construction of a Bailey bridge to connect the landslide-hit areas, where several people are believed to be stranded, constituted one of the largest rescue efforts in the hill district, devastated by a deadly calamity. The massive landslides which struck Wayanad on Tuesday claimed the lives of at least 291 people and left 206 missing. Indian Army, NDRF along with local emergency response departments continued their massive search and rescue operation to trace people feared to be trapped in the tragedy. Following Are The Latest Updates: LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, visited relief camp at St. Joseph School in Meppadi. VIDEO | Wayanad Landslides: LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi), along with sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi), visits relief camp at St. Joseph School in Meppadi. #WayanadLandslide pic.twitter.com/gizwGrxKnX Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2024 Both the leaders reached the Choorlamala landslide site and expressed their condolences by sharing the grief of the victims and assuring all possible support for their rehabilitation. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday held a high-level meeting to discuss the rescue situation in Wayanad. Rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing persons. Rescued people are temporarily shifted to camps. Rehabilitation works will be done at the earliest, as we have done in earlier situations too. I request the media to avoid meeting people and shooting inside the camps. You may talk to them outside the camps, it is important to protect the privacy of the individuals he said. Vijayan emphasised on giving psychological support to the survivors. He further announced to camp a committee of four state ministers who will coordinate the recue activities. Most important is giving psychological support to the survivors. We have to avoid the spread of the epidemic. Not only human beings, but many animals also died in the calamity. Have to bury them all properly. A committee of four ministers will camp here and coordinate activities. For those who lost certificates, the government will re-issue them, he said. Wayanad landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says Most important is giving psychological support to the survivors. We have to avoid the spread of the epidemic. Not only human beings, but many animals also died in the calamity. Have to bury them all properly. A committee of pic.twitter.com/CKvNX0AdZX ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal reached Wayanad on Thursday to take stock of the situation of the rescue operation. Both the leaders also visited a relief camp at Meppadi Govt Higher Secondary School in Wayanad to meet the survivors of the landslide. VIDEO | Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) , and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) visit the ground zero at landslide-hit Wayanad, Kerala.(Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/WbbFvfSqAX Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2024 Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday also took an aerial inspection of the landslide-hit district. He was travelling to Wayanad from Kozhikode. The chief secretary Dr V Venu and DGP, Shaik Darvesh Sahib also accompanied him. #WATCH | Wayanad Landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan travelling to Wayanad from Kozhikode. The chief secretary Dr V Venu and DGP, Shaik Darvesh Sahib are accompanying him(Source CMO) pic.twitter.com/WKsuzK6eYc ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 The Rescue teams resumed the rescue efforts on Thursday at several places in Wayanad which were hit by a series of massive landslides on Tuesday claiming the lives of at least 256 people and leaving hundreds injured. According to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 206 are still missing. #WATCH | Search and rescue operations continue in landslide-affected areas in Keralas Wayanad. Drone visuals from the Chooralmala areaThe death toll stands at 167. pic.twitter.com/CyQEg1yz7E ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 The Indian Army, in coordination with the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG), to carry out search operations at three locations Attamala, Mundakkai, and Chooralmala. Each team is to be accompanied by a dog squad. Five JCBs have been shifted to the west side of the stream to clear debris and facilitate search operations. The launching of a 190-foot bridge is expected to be completed by today afternoon. Simultaneously, the construction of an improvised footbridge has been completed, said Indian Army official. Kerala | Wayanad Landslide | The Indian Army, in coordination with the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG), to carry out search operations at three locations Attamala, Mundakkai, and Chooralmala. Each team is to be accompanied by a dog squad. Five JCBs have been shifted to pic.twitter.com/N3LqYDKOZ6 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 The IAFs C-17 has transported 53 metric tons of essential supplies such as a Bailey bridge, Dog squads, medical aid, and other essential equipment for rescue support operations. Additionally, an-32 and C-130 are being utilised for ferrying relief materials and personnel. Collectively, these aircraft of IAF have facilitated the transportation of over 200 people including rescue teams and displaced residents to and from the disaster stricken zone. While the challenging weather is restricting flying, IAF is finding opportune time to undertake HADR operations. IAF has also deployed a diverse fleet helicopters towards the effort. The Mi-17 and Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) have been inducted to undertake HADR operations. Despite prevailing wide spread bad weather conditions, IAF aircraft continue to facilitate evacuation of stranded individuals to the nearest medical facilities and safe zones and delivery of essential supplies till late evening of 31 July. Four additional assistant collectors deployed to aid the Wayanad landslide response. Assistant collectors from Idukki, Palakkad, and Kozhikode districts have been deployed to support the Wayanad district administration in the aftermath of the landslide. Congress Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has urged Home Minister Amit Shah to declare the Wayanad landslides as a calamity of severe nature under the MPLADS guidelines in order to facilitate urgent assistance from MPs to the affected areas. In his letter to Shah, Tharoor said that on July 30, in the dead of night, a series of devastating landslides struck the Wayanad district of Kerala, claiming over hundred lives and leaving many more severely injured in hospitals, while countless others remain missing, trapped beneath the debris. Tharoor said, We are focusing on the hope of rescuing some people still because the truth is 200 lives have been lost but still another 200 people are missing. 2 villages have disappeared from the map in this severe crisis The Union Home Minister said that the early warning was issued, but the CM said that the warning was not sufficiently serious it was a green or orange alert and not a red alert. All of these things can be disputed later. Eventually, preventive measures are requiredI have asked for it to be declared a severe calamity because, under the MPLADS fund, any MP in Indian can donate up to Rs 1 cr for a natural calamity, once the govt declares so #WATCH | Wayanad Landslide | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, We are focusing on the hope of rescuing some people still because the truth is 200 lives have been lost but still another 200 people are missing. 2 villages have disappeared from the map in this severe crisis The pic.twitter.com/SnX4L2gYBO ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 Several world leaders, including Russia President Vladimir Putin expressed condolence and sorrow over the devastating landslides in the Kerala district. Kindly accept the most sincere condolences over the tragic consequences of the landslides in Kerala. Please convey words of sympathy and support to the near and dear ones of the deceased as well as wishes for a speedy recovery of all injured, said the Russian President in the letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu. Kerala Minister K Rajan said that over 1600 forces are involved in rescue operation. says, This day is very important, more than 1600 forces are involved in the rescue operations. Social workers are also involvedCM arrived at Kalpetta around 9:30 am and at 10:30 am there will be a meeting with officialshe will visit this spot after that, he said. #WATCH | Wayanad landslide | K Rajan, Kerala Minister says, This day is very important, more than 1600 forces are involved in the rescue operations. Social workers are also involvedCM arrived at Kalpetta around 9:30 am and at 10:30 am there will be a meeting with pic.twitter.com/VSgtStRG14 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 Union Minister George Kurien reached Kerala on Thursday on the dircetion on PM Modi to tkae stock of the situation. He said, I am being sent by the prime minister here Several columns of the army and NDRF are here and two columns of DSE are here already. The Army and Air Force have had their six helicopters here since yesterday including one Navy helicopter. They are dropping food because some people are without connection. They are that way. They arent getting any food or anything because only one road is there to reach the villages and it is damaged Yesterday morning, the PM declared the compensation of Rs 2 lakhs from the centre for the relatives of the persons who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 for the injured. In the early morning itself, the prime ministers office contacted me and I was directed to reach here #WATCH | Kerala | Wayanad Landslide | Union Minister George Kurien says, I am being sent by the prime minister here Several columns of the army and NDRF are here and two columns of DSE are here already. The Army and Air Force have had their six helicopters here since pic.twitter.com/tJVgyrs6mX ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 Brigadier Arjun Segan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre said, Today is the 3rd day of rescue and search operation. We built a metallic footbridge overnightwe hope that we will be able to complete the work of bailey bridge which is for 24 tonnes weight category, by this afternoonour engineers were on the job throughout the nightwe sent 5 earth moving equipment yesterday and today also we have sent many earth moving equipment. This is making our search operation much easier. #WATCH | Wayanad landslide | Brigadier Arjun Segan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre says, Today is the 3rd day of rescue and search operation. We built a metallic footbridge overnightwe hope that we will be able to complete the work of bailey bridge which pic.twitter.com/RWP27Ylyzf ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 Indian Army, NDRF along with local emergency response departments continued their massive search and rescue operation to trace people feared to be trapped in the tragedy. Climate activist and environmentalist G Sundarrajan blamed man-made climate disaster for the enviromental tragdies. Climate change is causing this extreme rainfall in a short duration of time. This has become the character of climate change. Kerala, a state that used to receive about 3,000 mm of rainfall over six months. But, today, that 3,000 mm of rainfall falls within a few weeks of time. The number of heavy rainfall days are increasing and the number of minimum rainfall days are decreasing. Because Wayanad has indiscriminate felling of trees, damps, tunnels and roads and place is unmindful of what will happen to soil and rocks. This makes land ready for disates. When heavy rain falls, theres a huge landslide Wayanad is a man-made disaster, he said. Vijayan on Wednesday said that the coordinated and extensive rescue operations by the NDRF, Army, and other agencies ensured that over 1,500 people were saved from the landslide-hit areas of the hill district. In Mundakkai, which was cut off from the rest of the district, makeshift bridges and pulleys were erected over gushing rivers to transport people stranded there to safety and shift bodies recovered from destroyed homes to ambulances. As the majority of houses were flattened, rescuers broke open the roofs using hammers and pickaxes, as heavy machinery could not be brought there due to lack of proper roads or bridges, to enter the collapsed structures and search for any people trapped inside. Seven districts in Kerala have announced a holiday for Thursday in wake of the devastation due the massive landslides triggered by torrential rains in Meppadi in the Wayanad district. The Kerala police have launched an investigation into an alleged social media campaign against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district. The State Police Media Centre (SPMC) on Thursday said that the Wayanad Cybercrime police has registered a case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Disaster Management Act and launched a probe into the alleged spreading of a campaign with the intention of obstructing relief efforts. Meanwhile, Vijayan refuted Union Home Minister Amit Shahs assertion that the state was warned as early as July 23 about a potential natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains. Vijayan clarified that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had only issued an orange alert for the district prior to the landslides. However, Wayanad experienced over 500 millimeters of rainfall, far exceeding the IMDs predictions. Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains struck the picturesque hamlets of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha in the early hours of Tuesday, killing over 250 people, including women and children. (With inputs from agencies) Two days after the massive landslides that hit the hilly town of Wayanad in Kerala which claimed over 250 lives, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released satellite images of the extensive damage caused in the region. The massive landslides which struck Wayanad on Tuesday claimed the lives of at least 256 people and left 206 missing. Indian Army, NDRF along with local emergency response departments have undertaken a massive search and rescue operation to trace people feared to be trapped in the tragedy. The National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) in Hyderabad flew ISROs advanced Cartosat-3 optical satellite and the RISAT satellite to capture the extent of the devastation brought by the landslides in Wayanad. Triggered by heavy rainfall, the landslide originated at an altitude of 1,550 meters. According to the NRSC report, the landslide was exacerbated by a major debris flow initiated by torrential rains in and around Chooralmala town. The area extent of the landslide is 86,000 square meters. The satellite images depict the before and aftermath of the landslide where the debris flow widened the rivers course, resulting in significant damage to houses and infrastructure along the banks. A 3D rendition of the landslide crown illustrates that a large section of the hill slope has been affected. The satellite data also indicates the presence of an old landslide at the same location, highlighting the areas vulnerability to such disasters. The Rescue teams resumed the rescue efforts on Thursday at several places in Wayanad. Kerala Minister K Rajan said that over 1600 forces are involved in the rescue operations. says, This day is very important, more than 1600 forces are involved in the rescue operations. Social workers are also involvedCM arrived at Kalpetta around 9:30 am and at 10:30 am there will be a meeting with officialshe will visit this spot after that, he said. With his innovative approach and unparalleled experience, Pankaj Balachandran, the dynamic spirit behind Countertop India and the visionary brand director of Short Story Spirits, is still revolutionising the beverage industry. Pankaj, who is well-known for his roles as a sommelier, hotelier, restaurateur, and businessman, has travelled far to fulfil his dream of changing the hospitality industry by providing guests with extraordinary service and inventive cocktail creations. The Savor Series by Marriott Bonvoy, which highlights top bars and mixologists, was recently introduced by Marriott Internationals Marriott Bonvoy programme. Pankaj was the featured artist for the event, which took place at Koishii, The St. Regis Mumbai. His creative recipes for the Savor Series, which he presents with great enthusiasm, have raised the bar for high-end drinking experiences. Pankaj discusses his collaboration with Marriott Bonvoy, the special cocktails created for the Savor Series, and the shift in consumer drinking habits towards mindful consumption in this exclusive conversation with News18.com. Along with his thoughts about the future of cocktails, he also offers his take on the latest advancements in the alcohol and beverage sector and bar trends. Pankajs tale goes beyond simple cocktail mixing to include crafting unique experiences that raise the bar for Indias cocktail culture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pankaj Balachandran (@isaynegroni) Excerpts from the interview: What inspired you to collaborate with Marriott Bonvoy for their Savor Series, and how do you envision this partnership enhancing the drinking culture in India? When Marriott Bonvoy presented the Savor Series, we recognized a shift away from volume drinking trends towards a focus on quality and the craftsmanship behind cocktails. People are now more interested in the ingredients, the presentation, and the story behind each drink. This growing appreciation for quality drinking made this collaboration particularly appealing to me. Being part of the first event they rolled out was a phenomenal experience. Can you share some of the unique cocktails you crafted for the Savor Series at Koishii at The St. Regis Mumbai? What was the inspiration behind these concoctions? There are two distinctive menus curated for this specific evening at Koishii, a Japanese-Peruvian style restaurant at The St. Regis Mumbai. To stay true to the concept, the first four serves were inspired by Japan and Peru. We had drinks paying tribute to these regions, including a Pisco Sour with Japanese ingredients, a Miso Old Fashioned, and a Melon Highball, all specific to Japan. The second part of the Savor Series by Marriott Bonvoy experience involved transforming popular dishes into cocktails. For example, we created a peanut butter jelly sandwich cocktail called the Midnight Brekkie, a cucumber salad snack, a tomato and mushroom pasta, and a fig and cheese dish, all converted into unique cocktails. The idea was for people to choose drinks based on these dishes, essentially drinking the dishes instead of traditional cocktails. We managed to extract and distil the flavours into the cocktails, leading to interactive conversations with attendees about the tasting experience. How have you observed consumer drinking patterns evolving in recent years, particularly with the shift towards mindful consumption and a preference for quality over quantity? In the last five years, consumer drinking patterns have changed significantly, driven by the new audience that once spent money on coming to a bar and ordering a bottle. Today, they prefer going out and visiting other countries. Increased travel to places like Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Dubai, and London has impacted the consumer psyche. They return with experiences of uniquely crafted cocktails and expect the same back home. Indias bar community has been resilient in meeting these evolving consumer expectations. Over my 15 years in the industry, Ive seen a shift from consumers ordering LIT and vodka bottles to preferring crafted cocktails, sipping cocktails, and savoury-style drinks. Indias market is growing, and consumers now prioritise quality over quantity, willing to spend more on fewer, iconic, and crafted drinks. Your career spans various roles, from sommelier to entrepreneur. How have these diverse experiences shaped your approach to mixology and the beverage industry as a whole? Ive been very fortunate to have had diverse experiences, spending enough time in each field to understand the business thoroughly. From working with wines as a sommelier to collaborating with brands like Monkey Shoulder and Diplomatico during their India launch, and now leading a consulting company, my roles have been varied and enriching. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Countertop India (@countertopindia) These experiences have given me a deep understanding of both internal systems and consumer perspectives, enabling me to navigate and achieve goals effectively. My background helps in creating innovative drinking spaces, brands, and bars, impacting where and how people enjoy their drinks. In my consulting company, weve worked on projects like Bombay Canteen, Papa Pedros and Bandra Born in Mumbai. Were also revamping the Taj beverage programmes across the country. Our aim is to build new baselines for India, closing the gap between Indian and global drinking cultures. With Countertop, weve significantly minimised this gap through our curated spaces, brands, and events. How important is sustainability in your work, and what steps do you take to ensure your cocktails are environmentally friendly? Absolutely. Sustainability is one of our core beliefs. With every batch we make and every programme we roll out, we prioritise it. However, I dont believe any bar can be 100% sustainable. Very few places globally achieve complete sustainability, and in India, its even rarer. For instance, if youre using plastic, your sustainability efforts are compromised. We practice mindfulness towards sustainability, but were not entirely there yet. I dont think anyone truly is, even if they claim so. The term is often used casually. We focus on reducing waste, and, despite our efforts, we consider ourselves about 80% sustainable. What exciting projects or initiatives are you currently working on, and what can we look forward to from Pankaj Balachandran in the near future? I hope to do more of the Saver series because its fun and involves interacting with many people, watching them have their minds blown, which is a beautiful sight. It really messes with peoples psyches regarding drinking and savouring cocktails in a different format. Other than that, the Countertop Lab will be a big project this year. Additionally, were slowly opening our own space after Tesouro by Firefly. Independence Day in India is observed annually on August 15. This day marks the historic event in 1947 when India gained freedom from British colonial rule after nearly two centuries of subjugation. The struggle for independence was characterised by a long and arduous campaign involving numerous freedom fighters and leaders who employed a variety of methods, from non-violent protests and civil disobedience, led by figures like Mahatma Gandhi, to revolutionary activities orchestrated by groups like the Indian National Army. READ ALSO: Happy Independence Day 2024: Heartfelt Wishes, Quotes, Images, and Greetings to Celebrate Indias 78th Year of Freedom! Independence Day 2024 Theme India celebrates its 78th Independence Day with a focus on Viksit Bharat. Aligned with the governments vision, this years theme emphasizes Indias journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047, marking the centenary of independence. Independence Day History The British East India Company initially arrived in India in the early 1600s for trade purposes but gradually expanded its influence and control over the Indian subcontinent. Following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Company began to establish its rule, leading to widespread exploitation and oppression. By the mid-19th century, the British Crown had taken direct control, formally instituting the British Raj in 1858 after the Revolt of 1857, also known as the First War of Indian Independence. On July 4, 1947, the Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the British House of Colonials. British dominance came to an end after 200 years on August 15, 1947. The British enacted the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947 and the entire act was the reason for the Indian Independence Movement, which had been active for a long period. Negotiations between the British government and Indian leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, led to the decision to partition the country into two separate nations: India and Pakistan. This was aimed at addressing the demands of the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, for a separate state for Muslims. On August 15, 1947, India officially gained independence. The transfer of power was marked by the raising of the Indian national flag and a speech by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, famously known as the Tryst with Destiny speech. This day also saw the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan, leading to significant demographic shifts and communal violence. Independence Day Significance Independence Day commemorates the end of a long and arduous struggle for freedom, which was characterised by widespread mobilisation of the Indian populace, non-violent resistance led by figures like Mahatma Gandhi and numerous sacrifices by freedom fighters. It also marked the establishment of India as a democratic republic. It laid the foundation for a government of the people, by the people, for the people, emphasising the principles of democracy, justice and liberty. Independence Day is a multifaceted celebration that honours Indias past struggles, celebrates its present achievements and looks forward to future aspirations. It is a day of national pride, unity and reflection, embodying the spirit of freedom and the ongoing quest to build a better nation for all its citizens. How India Celebrates Independence Day Although August 15 is a national holiday, there is a range of patriotic and cultural activities done across the country. The celebrations are both official and public, involving various ceremonies, events and displays of national pride. The primary event is held at the Red Fort in Delhi. The Prime Minister hoists the national flag, followed by the singing of the national anthem. He addresses the nation, highlighting achievements over the past year, laying out the governments plans and paying tribute to the freedom fighters. A parade showcasing Indias military capabilities and cultural diversity follows the speech. It includes performances by school children, tableaux representing different states and displays by the armed forces. People all over the world hoist the national flag, have cultural programs and conduct special seminars about Indias struggle for Independence. It is a day of national pride and a time for Indians to remember their history honour the sacrifices of freedom fighters and celebrate the nations achievements and cultural heritage. August starts the beginning of the World Breastfeeding Week, which is held every year from 1 to 7 August. It was first started in 1992 by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and is now observed in 120 countries. The week aims to raise awareness and sensitivity towards breastfeeding and advocate for better policies that support breastfeeding in private, public, and professional spaces. ALSO READ: World Breastfeeding Week 2024: Dates, Theme, History, Benefits and Quotes It goes without saying that mothers who return to work after their maternity leave are required to find ways to either breastfeed their kids while they are at work or pump and store their breast milk so that they can feed it to the baby later. Breast milk is the most effective source of nutrition for toddlers and should not be replaced. Most workplaces do not have the infrastructure or policies to aid young mothers with breastfeeding or expressing milk. This ultimately makes work difficult for breastfeeding women. Here are some ways in which companies can support breastfeeding employees: WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2024: HOW EMPLOYERS CAN SUPPORT Infrastructure Support Workplaces should provide breastfeeding employees with facilities like a clean and lockable room that gives them privacy to express and store milk or directly breastfeed their baby if they bring the baby to office. The office should also have a fridge where one can safely store the pumped milk. Toilets are not regarded as a suitable place to breastfeed or express milk due to the possibility of contamination. Clear Policies Businesses and organisations should clearly mention and advertise norms about things such as nursing breaks, extra leaves, policy of bringing kids to work, or allowing remote work to breastfeeding mothers. By openly stating these policies, employees would know their rights and their seniors can not withhold them. In India, as per the Maternity Benefits Act, breastfeeding employees are entitled to two nursing breaks of prescribed duration for expressing breast milk. These nursing breaks are paid and are available till the child is 15 months old. Encourage flexible working Offices should allow breastfeeding mothers to work from home and have flexible working hours. Contrary to popular opinion, breastfeeding is not easy. It is estimated that breastfeeding can burn up to 1,000 calories daily and mothers can use up to 25 percent of their energy to produce milk. This can lead to fatigue. Therefore breastfeeding mothers need for remote work should be accommodated. Educate staff All staff members should be educated about the governments policies on maternity rights at the workplace. People should also be sensitised about breastfeeding, so that expressing milk is not sexualised or seen as slacking. Bollywood icon Aamir Khans son, Junaid Khan, has made his mark with his Bollywood debut, Maharaj, now streaming on Netflix. The film has received acclaim for its compelling narrative and strong performances. At the recent launch event for the new song Kooriye, performed by debutant Raj Pandit, Aamir Khan expressed his pride in Junaids achievement. He admitted feeling stressed before the release about the audiences reaction but praised Junaid for forging his own path without relying on his fathers influence. The Laal Singh Chadha star said, When Junaids film Maharaj was released, I was very stressed whether people would like his work or not. Junaid has worked really hard for himself and he never accepted any help from me in any way ever. So Im very proud and happy that he made it on his own terms in his own way and you know and I can see that. During the event, Aamir Khan also spoke about his connection with producer Ashoke Pandit, Raj Pandits father. He shared that he empathises with Ashoke, having recently experienced the emotions of a parent with a debuting child. Aamir mentioned that he and Ashoke have known each other since college, which has created a strong bond between them. When Ashoke invited him to attend the event for his son, Aamir agreed without hesitation, given his own recent experience as a father. At the launch event, Aamir Khan surprised everyone, including Salim Merchant, by revealing that he has been learning to sing. Although hes primarily known for his acting skills, the actor shared that he has been taking singing lessons for the past year. Aamir mentioned that he enjoys singing and finds it to be a form of meditation. In his debut film, Junaid Khan encountered challenges when the movie faced legal issues. A petition was filed against Maharaj by members of a certain religious group in the Gujarat High Court, which caused a delay in the films release on Netflix. However, after a brief postponement, the court ruled that the film did not target any specific religion and allowed its release. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her first public appearance after a recent social media hullabaloo involving her actor-husband, Abhishek Bachchan. The Bollywood diva was spotted at Mumbai airport, apparently returning from New York with her daughter Aaradhya. This appearance comes in the wake of Abhishek Bachchan liking a social media post discussing Silver Splitters, a term referring to couples who seek divorce later in life. The online activity led to widespread speculation about the state of the couples marriage. In a video shared by paparazzo Viral Bhayani, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was seen elegantly dressed in an all-black outfit. She wore a long black coat over matching pants and completed her look with red lipstick and her signature loose, flowing hair. By her side, Aaradhya was dressed in a cozy lavender sweatshirt paired with black pants and white sneakers. The young Bachchan smiled at the cameras as they made their way through the airport, with Aishwarya holding her daughters arm protectively. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) The mother-daughter duo seemed at ease despite the swirling rumours, and Aishwarya even paused to thank the paparazzi before getting into their car. This outing also drew attention because it followed the couples separate appearances at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants wedding on July 12. Abhishek attended the event with his parents, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, and his sister Shweta Bachchans family, while Aishwarya arrived separately with Aaradhya. Aishwarya had also made a solo appearance at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants Shubh Aashirwad ceremony on July 13. She wore a stunning black suit adorned with colorful embroidery and completed her look with a statement necklace and a traditional maang teeka, radiating elegance and poise. The separate appearances and Abhisheks social media activity have led fans and media to question whether all is well between the two. However, neither Aishwarya nor Abhishek has made any public comments regarding the speculations. WASHINGTONThe Kids Online Safety & Privacy Act (KOSPA) in its current form reportedly won't be brought up for action or a vote in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, reports Punchbowl News. At least, that is what a source in the House GOP leadership told the political news outlet. Weve heard concerns across our conference and the senate bill cannot be brought up in its current form, an unnamed House GOP leadership "aide" told Punchbowl's morning newsletter staff. If this is the case, the legislative vehicle passed by the Senate, 91-3, on Tuesday is dead on arrival in the House. KOSPA is a combined proposal that merges the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). AVN reported on the broad bipartisan support for KOSPA, despite concerns from civil society organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted to oppose the bill on similar grounds that KOSPA could potentially violate the First Amendment rights of both minors and adults who use the internet. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, voted against KOSPA because he doesn't think the measure goes far enough. Instead, he pushed his own online safety measure, the SCREEN Act. "Its good that this unconstitutional censorship bill is dead for now, but I am not breathing a sigh of relief," said Evan Greer, the director of the advocacy group Fight for the Future. Greer and her group have been vocal opponents of the Kids Online Safety Act, arguing it censors LGBTQ+ voices on the web. Greer added, "By insisting on pushing KOSA over the objections of human rights groups and [LGBTQ+] youth, Senate leadership actively helped big tech avoid real regulation. We cannot allow this to happen again." Greer refers to the fact that civil liberties organizations have maintained throughout the lifespan of the KOSA proposal that it would add unwarranted scrutiny and censorship on online platforms that would lead to potential free speech harms. KOSA reportedly being dead on arrival in the House runs counter to what House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., promised leadership in the Senate and the sponsors of the original proposal, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., among others. It is worth noting that this is due to the fact that a variation of the Kids Online Safety Act was simultaneously introduced in the House. Being that the House is controlled by Republicans and has fallen to far-right lawmakers such as Johnson, it wouldn't be surprising to see a version of KOSA that would heavily crack down on LGBTQ+ speech. The KOSPA variation of the Kids Online Safety Act would place a duty of care on all web platforms to design their sites to protect minors. It would also order the executive branch to investigate the feasibility of adopting national age verification requirements enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. After facing scrutiny and backlash, BLACKPINKs Jennie has resumed posting on Instagram. Last month, she made headlines following an indoor smoking incident that occurred on July 2. Jennie had shared a vlog from her trip to Italy on her YouTube channel, where fans admired her fashion sense. However, a particular moment caught additional attention: viewers noticed Jennie holding what appeared to be an electronic cigarette or vape while getting her hair and makeup done. In a subsequent shot, she was allegedly seen smoking. While fans acknowledged Jennies legal right to smoke as an adult, the issue was that she did so indoors, which is banned in many countries, including South Korea and Italy, where she was at the time. Nearly a month after the incident, on July 30, Jennie made a social media return by sharing an Instagram Story to wish a happy birthday to a staff member from her agency, according to Koreaboo. To Mini Mini Park Mini unni who I love, Happy Birthday! Be happy today too, Mini princess, wrote Jennie. Along with it, she also included a short video clip of the person, celebrating her special day. This was Jennies first social media activity since the incident, so it garnered significant attention from fans and the public. Earlier last month the smoking controversy erupted, Jennie reportedly edited her vlog to remove the scenes where she was seen vaping. Soon after, her agency also released her statement and acknowledged her actions, saying, Jennie acknowledges and deeply regrets her mistake of vaping indoors and causing inconvenience to the staff. Jennie has personally apologised to all the staff on-site who may have been affected. .OA. 2 . , pic.twitter.com/pAQnXOBg19 OA (@oddatelier) July 9, 2024 On her work front, the idol has recently launched her own music label, Odd Atelier in order to explore her solo career while still being an active member of BLACKPINK. Additionally, Jennie has also collaborated with BLACK Bs Zico on the song Spot, which topped local charts in South Korea, and she achieved her first entry into the Billboard 100 chart with her feature on One of the Girls. Colin Jost, known for his work as one of the writers of the popular Saturday Night Live, has been asked to host a new show Pop Culture Jeopardy! Despite being busy in Tahiti for the Paris Olympics at present, Jost has taken on this additional role. Jeopardy! spinoff is part of Prime Videos latest season. Sony Pictures Television has reportedly said that they are thrilled to have Jost, the Weekend Update anchor, leading this new venture. Pop Culture Jeopardy! will feature some unexpected guests and focus on categories like TV, film, music and sports. It will also be more relatable than the traditional Jeopardy! format. The show will feature team-based competitions, with three contestants forming a team to compete in a tournament bracket. According to the official website, Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a new twist given the classic quiz shows answer-and-question format that combines the academic rigor of Jeopardy! with the excitement and unpredictability of pop culture. Show contestants, who will be required to play, will have to be experts in categories from Alternative Rock to The Avengers, Broadway to MMA and Gen Z to Zendaya. They will have to compete in a tournament-style event for the ultimate grand prize and ultimate bragging rights. Colins sharp wit and intelligence epitomize Pop Culture Jeopardy! said Suzanne Prete, the president of game shows at Sony Pictures Television. She further elaborated saying that Jost is smart and quick, just like their contestants and they believe that he will be able to keep up with them while making this new series his own. We could not be happier that he is joining us for this new journey, as per Comicbook. Lauren Anderson, head of brand and content innovation at Amazon MGM Studios also expressed excitement saying that the team is thrilled to have the SNL writer on board. Talking about the upcoming show, Suzanne Prete, President of Game Shows at Sony Pictures Television, said that Pop Culture Jeopardy! will be a treat for game show lovers. They can expect to see the teams competing at the highest level of Jeopardy! Combined with a fresh twist of pop culture Olympics for the mindits going to be a must-watch for long-time viewers and new fans alike, she added as reported by Comicbook. In a big development in the Salman Khan house firing case, it has now been revealed that Lawrence Bishnoi had paid Rs 20 lakh to six men, asking them to kill the Bollywood superstar. As per the charge sheet filed by the Mumbai crime branch, Lawrence Bishnoi had ordered the contract killing of Khan and had paid Rs 20 lakh to the six accused. This comes days after it was reported that a special court in Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnois brother, Anmol Bishnoi. Another warrant was also issued against a person named Rohit Godera, who is an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Anmol and Rohit have been absconding ever since the Mumbai police named them in the charge sheet related to the case. Considering the same, special judge for Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) cases, B D Shelke issued a standing non-bailable warrant against Anmol and Godera on July 27, 2024. Previously, it was also reported that Lawrence Bishnois brother Anmol Bishnoi had given a nine-minute long motivational speech to shooters before they opened fire at the Bollywood superstars residence. Reportedly, the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai polices crime branch mentioned that Anmol Bishnoi had told the two shooters Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal that they should do the work well because it will script history. Do this work well. After the work is completed, you guys will script history, he told the shooters, according to the 1,735-page chargesheet, accessed by NDTV. Do not be afraid at all while doing this work. Doing this work means bringing a change in the society, Anmol Bishnoi added. While the speech was given by an audio message, the shooters were asked to fire shots in such a manner that it scares Salman Khan. They were also asked not to wear helmets and smoke cigarettes to appear fearless. In April this year, gunshots were fired outside Khans Galaxy Apartments in Mumbais Bandra area. Later, it was reported that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang is alleged to be behind the attack as the gangsters brother, Anmol Bishnoi, claimed responsibility for the shooting incident via a Facebook post. After the shocking incident, Salman Khans security was upgraded. Mouni Roy is turning heads with her impeccable fashion sense. Known for her bold sartorial choices, the actress recently dazzled in a sleek black saree during a photoshoot. Her stunning look is setting major fashion goals and leaving fans in awe. Taking to her Instagram handle recently, Mouni Roy dropped a bunch of pictures, in which she is draped in a sleek black saree. The saree drapes elegantly, showcasing her figure. The posts caption read, Sarees, stories and new books.. Mouni left her fans gasping for breath with her new photos. View this post on Instagram A post shared by mon (@imouniroy) Mouni Roy, a household name in the Hindi television industry, has soared to the top as one of the highest-paid actresses after her mesmerizing performances in Naagin and its sequel. Besides her acting prowess, she is celebrated as a fashion trailblazer, continuously wowing her fans with her unique and bold style choices. Her social media is a treasure trove of candid shots and memorable moments, always giving her followers something to look forward to. Mouni Roy has come a long way ever since she made her television debut with Ekta Kapoors Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She became a popular name after she starred in Naagin. Mouni made her Bollywood debut with Akshay Kumars Gold in 2018. Last year, Mouni was seen in Ayan Mukerjis magnum opus, Brahmastra. Recently, she was also seen in a music video titled Dotara along with Jubin Nautiyal. Mouni Roy was also seen in the web-series Sultan of Delhi. She was last seen in Emraan Hashmi-starrer Showtime. In a recent interview, Mouni shared that it is projects like Sultan of Delhi and Brahmastra which changed peoples perception of her as an actor. Brahmastra was absolutely different. When you see Gold, RAW and Made In China, I had played very Indianised characters. Maybe after Naagin and Sati, people could only see me as a saree-clad Indian character. So, for Milan sir to think of me as this cabaret dancer Nayantara, at a time when Brahmastra had not even released. I think it is an exciting time to be an actor where makers can visualise you in different roles. Such great parts are being written. I really feel fortunate to be offered these parts and be able to play them on screen, she told Indian Express. Niharika Konidela opened up about rumours that all is not well with her family and Allu Arjun. The rumours began during the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections. During the elections, which took place earlier this year, Allu Arjun supported YSRCP candidate Silpa Ravi Reddy instead of his uncle, Andhra Pradeshs Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan who was also contesting in the elections. The rumours about their tiff amplified after Allu Arjun gave Pawan Kalyans victory celebrations a miss. In a recent interview, Niharika Konidela addressed the tiff and said that the family hasnt spoke about Allu Arjuns support to a different candidate. She added that despite his different choice, the family understands that the family members have different choices and thats okay. We didnt actually talk too much about it. We didnt speak about it at home because everyone has their own reasons. Politically, religiously, spiritually, everyone has a choice to do what they want, she told M9. She also clarified that her fathers cryptic post shared a few weeks was about Bunny. For me, its always family first and I can only speak for myself, she said before concluding the conversation on the subject. Although Allu Arjun supported a different candidate, he had congratulated Pawan Kalyan on his win. My heartfelt wishes to @PawanKalyan garu on your election journey. I have always been immensely proud of the path youve chosen, dedicating your life to service. As a family member, my love and support will always be with you. My best wishes for achieving all that you aspire for, he shared on X after his win. My heartfelt wishes to @PawanKalyan garu on your election journey. I have always been immensely proud of the path you've chosen, dedicating your life to service. As a family member, my love and support will always be with you. My best wishes for achieving all that you aspire for. Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) May 9, 2024 Meanwhile, on the work front, Niharika and Allu Arjun are busy with their respective projects. While Niharika will be seen in What The Fish, Allu Arjun is busy with Pushpa 2. Priyanka Chopra is stepping away from her familiar Desi Girl image as she explores the uncharted territories in Hollywood. Known for being a multi-talented artist, Chopra will be showing her more adventurous side in the Russo Brothers upcoming project, The Bluff. The upcoming action-packed movie promises to feature her bold and unique side, which has been never seen before. Since Chopra started the shoot, she has been dropping behind-the-scenes glimpses from the set and the latest leaked photos offer a sneak peek of her preparation for a thrilling sequence. Directed by Frank E Flowers, the leaked set photos show the actress in full costume, getting ready for a dramatic scene while surrounded by the film crew. For those not aware, the upcoming film is set in the 19th century Caribbean and follows the life of a former female pirate, portrayed by Chopra, who must face her past to defend her family. Alongside Chopra, The Boys star Karl Urban also plays a key role in the film. In recently leaked photos from the set, Chopra is seen standing in rugged terrain, ready for action with two swords strapped to her back. The image was captured between takes, as shes seen wearing sunglasses and holding the script. Earlier, leaked photos from the set of The Bluff featured Priyanka Chopra in a completely new look, as she was photographed in a Mohawk hairstyle. The images seem to have been taken while she was filming on a ship and her dramatic transformation makes her almost unrecognisable. Its unclear whether Chopra is wearing a wig or if she actually changed her hairstyle for the role. Meanwhile, PeeCee has been sharing various pictures and videos from the set in Australia. Her posts feature the actress getting ready for scenes, flaunting real injuries and working with fake blood. Earlier, sharing a clip of her covered in blood, Chopra wrote, PS: for those who cant tell. We use fake blood for movies. Its make-up. Thank you. Amid her busy shooting scheduled for The Bluff, Priyanka Chopra with husband Nick Jonas visited India, for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants wedding in Mumbai. Meanwhile, other than the Russo brothers movie, the actress will be seen in Heads of State, alongside Idris Elba and John Cena. She will also appear in the second season of Citadel and start shooting for Jee Le Zaraa with Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif soon. Amid shooting for The Bluff, Priyanka Chopra is making the most of her stay in Australia. She has been visiting places, sharing her experiences, and dropping happy glimpses of her whereabouts, keeping fans on her toes. The actress is also making sure to send quality time with Malti. Having said that, the little one was recently spotted making Rotis. Priyanka shared her photo and dropped a crying emoji, as Malti tried making her first roti. Her little daughter Malti, is growing up and stealing her heart in the process! Earlier, in a heartwarming moment captured on camera, Malti is seen tightly holding Priyankas hand, filling the doting mom with joy and pride. Priyanka calls it an exceptional moment, and its clear why the sweet gesture is a reminder of the unbreakable bond between mother and child. Priyanka Chopra is currently busy shooting for her upcoming Hollywood film, The Bluff. Since filming began, the actress has been regularly updating her fans with behind-the-scenes glimpses from the set. After sharing photos of her injuries, clips of her daughter Malti Marie Jonas humming on set, and showcasing her makeup and prosthetics for the film, the star has now posted a photo of one of the props being used in the movie. She took to her Instagram stories to share a close-up of a special GRICE 1762 musket rifle. Priyanka Chopra stars alongside Karl Urban in the highly anticipated upcoming film The Bluff, which will be available on Prime Video. Recently, her new look from the film caused quite a stir online, as a fan page leaked exclusive images showcasing her appearance for this Hollywood project. Directed by Frank E Flowers, the action-packed period drama features Priyanka as a bold pirate. The leaked pictures show her in the midst of an intense scene on a pirate ship, dressed in a black vest and looking battle-ready. However, its her striking mohawk hairstyle that really captured everyones attention, creating a buzz on the internet. Set in the 19th-century Caribbean, the film follows the story of a former female pirate, portrayed by Chopra. Her character in the film is reportedly striving to protect her family as her troubled past comes back to haunt her. The film is being produced by AGBOs Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco, along with Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana from Cinestar Pictures. Besides The Bluff, Priyanka has several other Hollywood projects lined up, including Heads of State with John Cena and Citadel 2. On August 1, the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) is set to have an emergency executive committee meeting. Reportedly, the council has issued a red card to Raayan actor Dhanush, citing that he received an advance payment for a film from Sri Thenandal Films, but never turned up for the shoot last year. Now the association has strictly instructed the filmmakers to first take it up with the council before signing up Dhanush for a film. In fact, Tamil actor Vishal too has been reportedly issued a red card for misusing councils funds, while he was the TFPC President. Following the Producers Councils statement regarding Dhanushs uncooperativeness with his films, this emergency executive committee meeting will be held. The meeting will discuss various issues which include reducing actors salaries and keeping the production costs of the films low. Apart from this, the council will also discuss the next steps of their plan of action. Reportedly, no new film shoots will commence from August 16 and all the ongoing projects need to be concluded by the end of October. The decision has been taken to ensure the backlog of pending films that are stuck in various stages of production. The Actors Association has condemned the move. On Tuesday, several South Indian Artistes Association members including actor Karthi and Poochi S Murugan reacted against the decision. As per report, Karthi said, We have been taking measures to solve the issues that the Producers Council had previously stated, and hence, its shocking that they have released the same without consulting us with a complaint about the concerns. Stakeholders have also raised concerns about the regulations implementation. Actor Shanthnu Bhagyaraj said in an interview that high-end technicians and top actors can manage if the shoots get cancelled or deferred; but, he is concerned about the daily wagers and character artists. Actor-producer J Sathish Kumar is in favour of these measures laid down by the TFPC. He believes that there are a few films that rely just on theatrical revenues because OTT and satellite rights might not always be profitable even with A and B-listers. He pointed out that the fees of the actors have soared high. He also is in favour of halting the commencement of new films till August 16 since more than 250 films are yet unreleased. For now, the conclusion of the meeting is awaited. Dimple Kapadias early romance with superstar Rajesh Khanna was a story straight out of a Bollywood film. As a teenager, Dimple was captivated by Rajesh and their whirlwind marriage led her to step away from the limelight for a period. Reflecting on her youthful naivety in an interview, Dimple confessed that she had an almost cinematic vision of their romance. She imagined Rajesh serenading her with Mere Sapno Ki Raani amidst picturesque mountains. During a talk at the FICCI FLO Jaipur Chapter, Dimple humorously recounted this fantasy. She said, I was such a filmy kid. I actually thought Rajesh Khanna ji would sing Mere Sapno Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu to me in the mountains. He will take me there and sing. Laughing at her own innocence, Dimple admitted she was quite young and heavily influenced by movies. I swear I am not lying, because I was so young. And there was such an impact of the movies. So when we reached the mountains and there was no song, no gust of wind, I was devastated. My dream was shattered. I seriously believed it. How dumb can you get? But well, that was me, she said, chuckling at the memory. During the same conversation, Dimple Kapadia was asked about her best role in life. She responded with heartfelt sincerity, The best role of my life has been Mrs. Rajesh Khanna. Thats been my best role. Dimple and Rajesh shared nearly eight years together before they separated, though they never divorced. The couple had two daughters, Twinkle and Rinke Khanna. Reflecting on her love story with Rajesh, Dimple revealed that their romance began shortly after she signed the film Bobby. At the time, Dimple was only 13 years old and Rajesh was 15 years her senior. She recalled that after signing Raj Kapoors film, she, along with other film celebrities, was invited to a function in Ahmedabad. Rajesh was on the same flight, and fate placed them next to each other. So he sat next to me, and I was looking at him. Very cleverly, I told him, Vahan toh bohot crowd hoga, bheed hogi, aap mera haath pakdoge na? He said, Haan bilkul. I said, Hamesha ke liye? (There will be so much crowd there, will you hold my hand? He said yes, of course. I asked forever?) I was very filmy and yeah, the rest is history. It happened. Having secured a momentous third term with a clearly outlined vision, Prime Minister Narendra Modis overarching legacy, according to a new book, will be that of transforming his party into an electoral machine, a party that can win elections. Indian Renaissance The Modi Decade (Westland Books), edited by Aishwarya Pandit, argues that Modis biggest contribution lies in dismantling a perception that the BJP, being a purely ideological party, had no mass base. Modi is responsible for making the party and the RSSs ideology palatable to a larger audience, both within and outside the country. The partys ideology, which was seen as unsuited for the push and pulls of national and regional politics, had been a limiting factor to its growth so far. However, Modi has achieved the unthinkable by making the BJP hegemonic, commanding the narrative of elections and development, and ushering in a dynamism into the office of the prime minister that has few parallels across the world, writes Pandit. Indian Renaissance: The Modi Decade features essays by prominent figures including Tony Abbott, Samir Saran, Penny Street, Don Ritter, Rajiv Kumar, Avatans Kumar, Grant Newsham, Cleo Paskal, Kartikeye Sharma, Priya Sahgal, M D Nalapat, and others. In her essay, Pandit, who teaches legal history at Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, makes an interesting observation. She notes that each time election results have been announced since 2014, the prime minister has visited the central party headquarters to congratulate and interact with his karyakartas. His messaging is clear; he is speaking directly to his cadres who form the backbone of the party. Modi has communicated that the party comes first, Pandit argues. She emphasises this point by describing his visits to the party office: He reinforces it every time reminding workers that no matter how complete and stupendous a victory you may achieve, no individualnot even him, despite being the prime ministeris higher than the party. This is the enduring legacy he will leave behind: strengthening not only the party but the belief that the party is supreme. To substantiate her argument, Pandit cites Modis 2019 victory speech to party cadres: We the workers of BJP, our friends in NDA, we dedicate the victory at the feet of the people Just like what our president said, the crores of BJP workers, their efforts and the purposeI feel so proud that my party, which I am a part of, is full of generous people We have to accept the election results with humility. A government is formed with the peoples mandate, and we have to work with the spirit of inclusion. Pandit reminds readers that Modi inherited a BJP with no clear vision, a party unable to recover from the debacle of 2009. The loss had demoralised the cadresand more so the RSS, which many believe decided to fully back the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, in 2002. Fighting the battle of perception had been a monumental task for Modi, as the BJP was seen as an ideological party with little to offer beyond expanding its base to urban voters in small towns and capital cities in India. This was a daunting challenge, as previous leaders were constrained by a limited support base and had to contend with coalition partners, which nearly brought down governments. Modis expansion of the BJPs base beyond caste, community, and religion will be his enduring legacy, as the pressures of national politics have been very different from those of being the chief minister of Gujarat. Pandit succinctly argues that Modi, in certain respects, has captured the imagination of Indians much like Kennedy did for Americans. Modis entry onto the political scene coincided with the explosion of social media. The period between 2014 and 2024 was marked by heightened international tensions. The rise of ISIS in 2014, the Iranian nuclear programme and climate change crisis, the 2020 global pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are just some of the events that have contributed to this climate. It became clear early on that the social media revolution ushered in by the digital revolution presented unprecedented challenges. During Manmohan Singhs term, social media was at best peripheral to mainstream media, but Modi used it extensively for citizen outreach in Gujarat, as noted by Andy Marino in his unofficial biography of Modi. As prime minister and BJP icon, Modi has successfully used social media to communicate with voters of every age and region. This also encouraged his party to use social media extensively, resulting in many debates on the platform being led by the BJP. However, there is a flip side. The primacy and focus on social media have altered the mode and manner of communication. In fact, Modi has allowed social media to operate freely, fully aware of the potential long-term dangers it poses for him. The proliferation of YouTube channels has enabled a variety of opinions to coexist in what was previously a domain largely controlled by a fewprimarily legacy media channels. The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including 24 Akbar Road and Sonia: A Biography. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. RALEIGH, N.C.A new law banning the use of porn and sexually explicit content on government-owned internet networks and devices will enter force on October 1, 2024. This requirement was adopted alongside overhauls to the states human trafficking prevention laws as part of House Bill (HB) 971, which was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper, a moderate Democrat. HB 971 mandates that a public agency shall not permit the viewing of pornography by its employees on a network of that public agency. This applies to all employees and public officials of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the North Carolina government. A similar regulation applies to any device owned by the government or a public agency, per the new statute. The new law states, Each public agency shall adopt a policy governing the use of its network and devices owned, leased, maintained, or otherwise controlled by that public agency. The judicial and legislative branches shall adopt a policy governing the use of that branch's networks and devices owned, leased, maintained, or otherwise controlled by those branches. There are no clear penalties for violators of these new rules. Expectations for penalties would likely include termination of employment. Nationwide, governments have banned public officials and employees from accessing sexually explicit content on government-owned internet and devices. Agencies at the federal level and congressional offices have been enforcing fair use policies that block porn access for years. North Carolina is also one of 19 states with age verification requirements to access pornographic content on private internet networks. Besides the age verification law, there are no other restrictions on government employees in North Carolina from accessing adult content on their own devices. Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Ukraine on August 23, though not officially announced, seems to be in the offing. It is not clear why information about this planned visit has been prematurely leaked to the media. One can also speculate about why this visit is taking place and what it seeks to achieve. It is known that the Ukrainians have been very keen on a visit from India which could be projected by them as signifying more understanding for the Ukrainian cause and a more even-handed Indian approach. Many world leaders, especially from the West, have visited Ukraine as a show of support to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian President has travelled extensively, primarily to Western countries, and has been invited to attend multilateral forums such as the G7 meetings. There was pressure on India to invite him to the G20 summit presided by India, but India did not oblige. For Ukraine, a visit from India, as a major non-Western country and a leader of the global south, would imply broadened international sympathy and understanding of its position as a victim of Russian aggression. It would also help to dilute the view that the Ukrainian conflict was essentially a mismanaged European conflict, which the Europeans had to resolve, and the rest of the world had to be spared from its unwanted consequences. PM Modi has, of course, spoken on the telephone to Zelenskyy; they have also met at the G7 summit in Italy when Modi also embraced him. India has also sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine. All this, of course, does not have the same impact as a physical visit by Modi to war-torn Ukraine. There has been much commentary in foreign policy circles in the West and even at home that India, given its close ties with Russia and advocacy of dialogue and diplomacy to end the ongoing conflict, could play a mediatory role of some sorts. Indias credentials for playing such a role got bolstered by its success in forging a consensus at the G20 meeting on the Ukraine issue. Much has also been made of Modis message to Putin at the SCO summit in Samarkand in 2022 that today is not an era of war, which was interpreted in the West as a rebuke. Ukraine was very keen on Indias participation at Modis level at the peace summit on Ukraine organised by Switzerland, and failing that at Foreign Ministers level, but India chose to be represented by a senior official. India also did not subscribe to the final communique issued by the summit. What could then be the considerations that would underlie the projected visit of Modi to Ukraine? These could be multifold. Modis visit to Moscow for the resumed India-Russia summits coinciding with the NATO summit in Washington D.C. has irked the Americans and they have made no bones about it. It appears that they advised India to consider a change of dates for the visit. The US National Security Adviser has publicly stated that the US has been in touch with India on its concerns about Modis visit, with the State Department telling the US Congress that they had had a tough conversation with India on the subject. That the visit also coincided with the bombing of a childrens hospital in Kiev and Modi greeted Putin with an embrace provoked a fiery response from Zelenskyy himself. He accused India of administering a devastating blow to peace in Ukraine and he deplored Modis embrace of a war criminal. This outburst prompted the Ministry of External Affairs to summon the Ukrainian ambassador in Delhi to register Indias protest. It could well be that to manage the negative fall-out of Modis Russia visit and prevent it from festering and being exploited by anti-Indian elements in the US establishment in months to come, it may have been decided to scotch this by making a gesture to Ukraine. It could have been reasoned that India had amply demonstrated that its Russia policy would be dictated by its national interest and not US preferences. A strong signal to this effect had again been sent to the US and the West by Modi making his first bilateral visit abroad after re-election to Russia. In view of this, India had to prove nothing to the US about the core of its position and therefore could afford to make a gesture to Ukraine. The justification would be that Modis advocacy of diplomacy and dialogue to end the conflict would appear more convincing if a message of peace and dialogue was also conveyed directly to Zelenskyy on Ukrainian soil. Such a message would have resonance as it would be entirely different from the message of increasing armed support and continued proxy war that the West is still conveying to Ukraine. Even if the facts are unclear and there has been no impartial international investigation to ascertain the truth, the fact is that the bombing of the childrens hospital in Kiev while Modi was in Moscow prompted him to reinforce his peace message earlier relayed at Samarkand by expressing his strong anguish publicly during his meeting with Putin about the killing of civilians, and especially children, in war. Modi laboured the point, with an eye on its international resonance. Modi had hours long one-on-one conversations with Putin in Moscow. He undoubtedly got a clear idea of how Putin assesses the Ukraine conflict. Putin has repeatedly made clear that he is ready for a negotiated solution, but on the basis of accepting the changed territorial realities on the ground. His vision of how the conflict can end and that of Zelenskyy and his government are wide apart. Whether Ukraine can cling to its present position in the face of lack of military success on the ground, heavy losses in men and material, resistance to mobilisation, population exodus, dependence on external support, etc., is considered doubtful, whatever the rhetoric of the government and its Western supporters. The greatest uncertainty for Ukraine is the likely change of government in the US in November with the ascendance of Donald Trump and JD Vance to power, as both want to end the conflict. Europe cannot supplant American support. In this background, Russia may not be averse to Modi carrying a peace message to Zelenskyy to bring him down to earth. The US would welcome Modis visit for different reasons, as some kind of a diplomatic win in seeing India making a nod to Zelenskyy. India may also have reasoned that China has been promoting peace moves in Ukraine without causing any misapprehensions in Moscow. China had, in fact, appointed a special envoy for peace in Ukraine and made some specific proposals for peace which have been broadly approved by Putin. China and Brazil have announced plans to make a joint peace proposal. India, it can be reasoned, should not allow the peace platform to be monopolised by a country like China that is actually disrupting peace on the India border and the western Pacific. India too could activate its diplomacy without cost, knowing well that the answer to peace in Ukraine essentially lies in Washington D.C. Interestingly, para 74 of the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the Modi-Putin summit says that both sides highlighted the imperative of peaceful resolution of the conflict around Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy including engagement between both parties. They noted with appreciation relevant proposals of mediation and good offices aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law and on the basis of the UN Charter. India is endorsing mediatory and good offices initiatives by others, including that of China implicitly, aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Maybe this curious formulation also explains the room created for PM Modis peace-oriented visit to Ukraine. Kanwal Sibal is a former Indian Foreign Secretary. He was Indias Ambassador to Turkey, Egypt, France and Russia. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The setting isnt prepossessing. A small dusty, mostly grassless, strip that falls within the perimeter of an out-of-the-way temple in the Chinhat locality of Lucknow plays host to a group of portly elders and weedy young men. They assemble here every day as dawn breaks. The assemblage is a shakha (branch) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The shakha has been a fixture on this ground for the better part of fifteen years. In the words of the third Sarsanghchalak (chief) of RSS, the late Balasaheb Deoras, the shakha is a place where Bharatiyas pledge to be good citizens inspired by the values of Sanatana Dharma, so that they can be made available to the service of the nation. The doctrine has been neatly summed up in one word: Hindutva. Why would a group, redoubtably committed to such an elevated dharmic value system, evoke hate and fear in others? Especially when its work is in plain sight. But it does. Hate and fear were triggered against the RSS in Chinhat just a few days ago. A violent mob of Muslims descended upon the shakha at Chinhat and pelted stones at its hapless members. The mobs leader was categorical: Disband and never return. The attack on the RSS shakha is just the latest in an alarmingly growing list of targeted strikes (verbal and physical) upon the organisation and its swayamsewaks. Most, even the dastardliest, attacks dont make it into the news cycle. Its as if vast preserves of the Indian intelligentsia are happy to normalise hate against a vital pillar of Bharats cultural and democratic tapestry. How did it come to this? The answer lies in analysing the so-called secular left intellectual reaction to any organisation or individual committed to the reclamation of the civilisational ethos of Bharat. Bequeathed Western progressivism, a view patronised by their British intellectual mentors, some Indians on the Left have considered it their bounden duty to militantly impose this credo. Thus, the rootless anglicized Leftism privilegentsia has viewed those involved in the legitimate appreciation of the grandeur of Hindu civilisation as anti-secular. Left zealotry has bred conflict with those committed to Bharats civilisational ethos: Sanatana Dharma. As RSS ideologue, Rakesh Sinha, writes, Hindutva forces the RSS to believe that Indias civilisational deficit cannot be resolved by a compartmental approach to secularism, liberalism, nationalism and multi-culturalism and Hindu civilisation. As the sutradhar of Hindutva, the RSS obviously argues against the Leftist tradition. It is hardly surprising therefore that the Left has come to depict the RSS as the boogeyman. In fact, the typecasting began under the British itself. Colonial-era bans on bureaucrats from mixing with the RSS were revived, and the RSS was falsely linked to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and banned. And soon, even avowedly Constitutional pursuits of the RSS, like rooting for a Uniform Civil Code or the abrogation of Article 370 were linked to anti-minority Hindu revivalism. The movement for the construction of a Ram Mandir was a particular trigger for the Left. The Left immediately got just cause to brand the RSS a divisive Hindu upper caste interloper, committed to stripping Indian democracy of its secular veneer. Muslims were mobilised to fear the RSS. All of this labelling defies the facts. The RSS today not only has a vibrant and growing Muslim wing but works in Muslim-dominated areas too. Moreover, its rank and file is populated by Dalits, tribals, and OBCs and its reach has increased among other marginalised Indians. While an avowedly social-cultural organisation, the RSS has used its growing appeal to nourish and influence its many affiliates. One of them being Indias largest political party the BJP. With the BJP ascending the ladder to political power at break-neck speed, the Indian Left is feeling particularly vulnerable. More so as its own umbilical cord to relevance the Congress party has dramatically lost heft. So much so that the Congress party has been forced to declare, on behalf of its Leftist ecosystem, a fight to finish the BJP and its guiding force, the RSS. This culture war is playing out as a no-holds-barred contest. Even violence against the RSS is now a justifiable means to an end. Consequently, in the Left-liberal ecosphere, hate (a patently undemocratic impulse) against the RSS is now normalised, and viewed as but a small price to pay. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. The Election Commission of India (EC), in a letter to Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand electoral officers said polls to the legislative assembly of UT of J&K are due in the near future and asked them to transfer officers by August 20 in case they are directly connected with elections and posted in their own district In the letter to the Chief Secretaries and Chief Electoral Officers, the poll body said officers directly connected with conduct of elections in a state/UT should not be posted in places where they have served for a considerably long period. The poll body has directed that no officer connected directly with elections will be allowed to continue in the present district or revenue district of posting if they are posted in their home district or if they completed three years in that district during the last four years. In addition, the poll body also said any official who will complete three years in the state/UT in the coming month should be transferred. For Jammu and Kashmir, the cut-off time for three years is on or before September 30; for Haryana it is October 31; November 30 is for Maharashtra; and December 31 for Jharkhand. The terms of existing state legislative assemblies of Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra are ending on November 3, January 5 and November 26, respectively, and elections are due in the year 2024. Further, the election to Legislative Assembly of UT of Jammu and Kashmir is also due in near future, the letter said. The letter also said that if any small state/UT with a few districts face any difficulty in compliance of the above instruction, then it may refer the specific case with reasons to the Commission through CEO for exemption and the Commission would issue directions, if considered necessary. The EC has directed that these instructions will cover not only officers appointed for specific election duties or officers appointed as nodal officers of any specific election works but also district officers or any other officer of equal rank directly deployed for election works. These instructions shall also cover the divisional commissioners, municipal commissioners, and the other officers deputed in municipal corporations and development authorities, it said. The letter also made it clear that these instructions are applicable to the police department officers who are responsible for security arrangement or deployment of police forces in the district at election time. The police officials who are posted in functional departments like computerisation, special branch, training, etc. are not covered under these instructions, it added. The order for transfer and posting is also applicable for the officers of the prohibition and excise department of the state of the rank of Sub-lnspector and above. The Commission has further directed that transfer/posting of all officers covered under the above instructions shall be done and compliance reports by Chief Secretary and DGP with details of action obtained from the concerned departments/offices of state government shall be furnished to the Commission by August 20, the ECI added. It is important to note that the Supreme Court has set September 30, 2024, as the deadline for the EC to complete the election process in J&K. As Delhi was hit by heavy rains on Wednesday evening, reports of water dripping from the lobby of Parliament took over social media as Opposition MPs took on the government over the issue. The government has issued a clarification saying the minor leakage was detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. A statement from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said, There are media reports that heavy rains in Delhi on Wednesday caused water leakage into the Lobby of the newly inaugurated Parliament Building, raising concerns about the weather resilience of the structure. It has also been reported that water logging was noticed around the premises, particularly near the New Parliaments Makar Dwar, with several videos of the water logging going viral on social media platforms. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that keeping in view the concept of Green Parliament, glass domes have been provided in several parts of the Building, including in the Lobby, so that abundant natural light could be utilised in day to day work of the Parliament. During the heavy rain on Wednesday, the adhesive material used to fix the glass domes over the Lobby of the Building was slightly displaced, causing minor leakage of water in the Lobby. The problem was, however, detected timely and corrective measures were taken immediately. Thereafter, no further leakage of water has been noticed. Similarly, accumulated water opposite Makar Dwar also got drained out quickly, the statement said. On Wednesday evening, rains hit the national capital from 7 pm till about 11 pm. When the House was adjourned for the day, many members were left stranded because of the incessant spell of rains. Opposition Takes a Dig at Govt From Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav to Congress MP Manickam Tagore, several Parliamentarians attacked the government for the construction of the new Parliament building. Akhilesh Yadav questioned the government over spending crores of rupees on the construction of the new Parliament. The old parliament was better than this new parliament, where even the old MPs could come and meet. Why not go back to the old parliament, at least till the time the water dripping program is going on in the parliament built with billions of rupees. People are asking whether water dripping from every new roof constructed under the BJP government is a part of their well thought out design or Yadav said on X. , , -- , , pic.twitter.com/PpJ36k6RJm Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 1, 2024 Similarly, Congress MP Tagore also trained guns at the Modi government over its spending of crores of rupees on the new parliament. Paper leakage outside, water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion. Moving Adjournment motion on this issue in Loksabha, Tagore posted on X. Paper leakage outside,water leakage inside. The recent water leakage in the Parliament lobby used by the President highlights urgent weather resilience issues in the new building, just a year after completion.Moving Adjournment motion on this issue in Loksabha. #Parliament pic.twitter.com/kNFJ9Ld21d Manickam Tagore .B . (@manickamtagore) August 1, 2024 Opposition vs Govt on New Parliament Building The war of words between the treasury benches and the Opposition has been all along as far as the new Parliament building is concerned. The Opposition was miffed when they were not invited for the establishment of the Ashoka emblem on top of the new building. In fact, the united opposition had boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament building, calling it a BJP sponsored event. Apart from this, there have been multiple run-ins between both the sides, even on construction and eventually a boycott by the opposition parties of the Ram Temple inauguration in January this year. Ladakh has become a dream destination for travellers around the world, attracting millions with its stunning natural beauty and rich culture. However, beneath its rugged beauty lies a hidden danger that can be risky for the unprepared. Chennai resident Kirubakaran Rajendran recently shared his harrowing experience in Ladakh, which was meant to be a relaxing holiday with his family. They had planned to enjoy stargazing, claiming that due to less pollution in the region, the Milky Way is clearly visible with the naked eye. However, their excitement was short-lived. Upon arrival at the Leh airport, Mr Rajendran and his family struggled to cope with the Chennai Man Shares How His Family Trip To Ladakh Turned Into A Nightmarehigh altitude, leading to a desperate struggle for oxygen. In a series of threads on X, Mr Rajendran shared the most daunting parts of his journey. Please note that oxygen availability goes down once you move to higher altitude regions, he wrote. As the altitude increases, the atmospheric pressure drops and the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. Compared to sea level, places like Leh/Ladakh have less oxygen in the air. He said that they found it hard to breathe as soon as they landed in Leh airport, located more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Even simple activities became exhausting ordeals for them. He added, It takes a minimum of 5 hours of travel from Leh city if you have to reach places like Nubra Valley or Hanle. To reach those places, you have to cross high passes like Khardung La Pass, which is located at 18k feet. And the oxygen at these places is so thin, which makes it very difficult to breathe, even cab drivers ask you not to stand outside at these peaks for more than 10 minutes. Despite allowing two days for acclimatisation, Mr Rajendran and his family found it difficult to breathe and cope with the high altitude in Ladakh. So, they cancelled their bookings and took a flight back home. The vacation was supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, but not this adventurous, putting the health at risk. Ladakh is so beautiful, no doubt about it, but it might not suit everyone, he concluded. He also informed that all three of them were absolutely fine as soon as they landed in Chennai. I went on a ten days family trip to Ladakh, what was suppose to be an adventure trip turned into a nightmare. If you are planning a Ladakh travel, this thread might help you in what you should expect once you land in Leh. pic.twitter.com/2sIjXab90G Kirubakaran Rajendran (@kirubaakaran) July 30, 2024 The post has been viewed by over 6 million people since it was shared two days ago. Many users thanked the poster for sharing his informative thread, while others offered tips and advice for his next journey. However, some users took a more critical tone, scolding the poster for not doing basic research before travelling to a high-altitude region with a child. A user said, Bro high altitude places are not to be hurried. Acclimatisation, step-by-step altitude increase, and a lot of rest are necessary. One of my friends works there as a tour guide and has many horror stories of how people fail to cope. Good that you guys are safe and sound. Bro high altitude places are not to be hurried. Acclimatization, Step by step altitude increase, Lot of rest is necessary. One of my friends works there as tour guide & has many horror stories of how people fail to cope. Good that you guys are safe & sound Zafar Shaikh (@InvesysCapital) July 30, 2024 You shouldnt land directly in Leh ever. Srinagar to Leh is the best and safest way to get acclimatised to the basics of research, especially when you are travelling with a kid, suggested a user. You shouldn't land directly in Leh ever. Srinagar to leh is the best and safest way to get acclimatized, basics of research especially when you are traveling with a kid Dr. Aarathi Bellary (@Coffeehudigi) July 30, 2024 Another user wrote, Terribly sad that the kids will carry this memory from Ladakh. If you ever plan to go again, fly to Srinagar. Stay for a day and then drive to Leh. Its a beautiful drive, and the acclimatisation happens along the way. I still need 2 days in Leh to get used to the oxygen levels. Terribly sad that the kids will carry this memory from Ladakh. If you ever plan to go again , fly to Srinagar. Stay for a day and then drive to Leh. It's a beautiful drive and the acclimatization happens along the way. I still need 2 days in Leh to get used to the oxygen levels. Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) July 31, 2024 You did nothing wrong, you took all precautions, yet it happened, and thats bad luck. BTW, by any chance your child was having nose block (mucus) before coming to Leh? When I visited, my oxygen level dropped to 80 in Leh, and it was around 70-72 at Changla Pass. I felt dizzy!! shared a user. You did nothing wrong, you took all precautions, yet it happened and thats bad luck.BTW, by any chance your child was having nose-block (mucus) before coming to Leh? When I visited, my oxygen level dropped to 80 in Leh and it was around 70-72 at Changla Pass, felt dizzy !! Tech Star Shahrukh (@techstarsrk) July 30, 2024 Someone else added, Informative thread. We just completed our ten-day bike ride expedition in Leh, Ladakh. We are 50+ in age. Everything youve informed is so correct. Would add one more here. Since Leh is a cold, dry desert with almost no vegetation, the oxygen levels drop even further during nights. Informative thread. We just completed our ten days bike ride expedition in Leh Ladakh. We are 50+ in age. Everything youve informed is so correct. Would add one more here. Since Leh is a cold dry desert with almost no vegetation the oxygen levels drop even further during nights (@SHWETAT65558712) July 31, 2024 While Ladakh is well-known for its breathtaking scenery and rich culture, the region poses serious risks to unacclimatised visitors. Hence, it is advised to follow the health advisory issued by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). Giorgia Villa scripted history in Paris winning Italys first Olympic medal (silver) in the womens gymnastics team event for 96 years. Winning an Olympic medal is undoubtedly one of Villas greatest achievements in her career. But the 21-year-old Italian artistic gymnast has now gone viral because of some hitherto unknown reasons. As per multiple media reports, Villa has had one of the strangest brand deals in the history of sports. It has been learnt that Villa was once a brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, a famous Italian cheese brand. It is not known whether shes still being sponsored by the brand. The Italian Olympian triggered a massive chatter on social media yesterday when one X (formerly Twitter) user shared pictures of Villa posing with a couple of large cheese wheels back in 2021. Though she has not shared any content or advertisement for the company since 2022. Olympic silver medalist and Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese and takes many of her photos while posing with large wheels of cheese, read the now-viral post on X. Olympic silver medalist and Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese and takes many of her photos while posing with large wheels of cheese pic.twitter.com/klx8PEuFPN Women Posting W's (@womenpostingws) July 31, 2024 Reacting to the post, one social media user wrote, This Olympics belongs to the girlies they are slaying it. This olympics belongs to the girlies they are slaying it Taeler Made (@i_amtaelermade) July 31, 2024 Another person cheekily commented, If this isnt life goals, I dont know what is. If this isnt life goals, I dont know what is Sulman Aziz Mirza, MD? | TheKicksShrink (@sulmoney) July 31, 2024 Impressive to see someone go from cartwheels to cheesewheels, read another comment. Impressive to see someone go from cartwheels to cheesewheels. Nathie Gamescom (@NathieVR) July 31, 2024 One X user hilariously wrote, I hope the photographer used every opportunity possible to say say cheese. I hope the photographer used every opportunity possible to say "say cheese" Adam Whitcroft (@AdamWhitcroft) July 31, 2024 I need the people to know that olympic silver medalist giorgia villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese and regularly posts pics of herself with giant wheels of cheese, read another post. I need the people to know that olympic silver medalist giorgia villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese and regularly posts pics of herself with giant wheels of cheese pic.twitter.com/7gVyuGMoy5 furiosarah (@slothanova) July 31, 2024 This person referred to this collaboration as one of the perfect unexpected combos. Giorgia Villa, Olympic silver medalist and now sponsored by Parmesan cheese sharing pics with giant wheels of them is just one of those perfect unexpected combos that makes me so happy. You do not see an elite athlete paired with something so deliciously iconic every day, read the comment. Giorgia Villa, Olympic silver medalist and now sponsored by Parmesan cheese sharing pics with giant wheels of them is just one of those perfect unexpected combos that makes me so happy. You do not see an elite athlete paired with something so deliciously iconic every day.I positivity moon (@arrtnem) July 31, 2024 Giorgia Villa had suffered an ankle injury right before the Tokyo Olympics 2021. The sprained ankle had forced Villa to miss her maiden Olympics appearance. Villa made her Olympics debut this year in Paris and came up with a spirited show to guide Italy to a historic medal. The Italian team accumulated a total of 165.494 across four apparatus at the Paris Olympics to win a silver medal. The US team won the gold medal while, Brazil claimed its first-ever team medal in gymnastics, having ensured a bronze. A Harvard Business School professor has outlined three signs that your boss might be a narcissist. Amy Edmondson, a professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School in conversation with CNBC Make It, pointed out that the traits which help narcissistic individuals attain managerial positions are the same ones that also make them ineffectual leaders. The essence of being a narcissist is that youre about yourself, youre for yourself, and youre less others-oriented. People who are in a position with a desire to lead others, need to be others-oriented. That starts with self-awareness, Edmondson told the news outlet. The professor further outlined the key signs to help people identify a narcissistic boss. According to Edmondson, one major indicator is that a narcissistic boss tends to claim all the credit for successful outcomes and avoids taking responsibility for failures. Narcissistic bosses are likely to take credit for things that go well and to dodge blame for things that dont or, more specifically, overtly blame others or external circumstances for things that dont go well, she said. Edmondson further noted that these bosses might mask their inability to acknowledge their teams contributions with vague or generic praise. You notice they might be thanking the team but not in a specific way and it doesnt take long to realise that they are all about themselves, she added. Another sign of a narcissistic boss, according to Edmondson, is their lack of listening skills. She explained that the managers role comes with a lot of explaining and teaching and clarifying goals, but it becomes a sign of narcissism if they do all the talking at the expense of listening. They do not appear to be listening and learning. Their thinking isnt visibly being altered by what others are saying, she added. For her final tip, Edmondson pointed out that narcissistic bosses view praise from others as a threat. They often get envious of their colleagues recognition or successes. She noted that ideally praising a team member, who is doing great work, should reflect positively on the boss and enhance their reputation. If someone on your team is doing great work, it seems natural to me to be appreciative, she said. However, narcissistic leaders dont see it that way. Instead, they view it as a lost opportunity and feel uncomfortable with the admiration for others, even if that person could potentially make them look like a better manager. The Bangladesh government on Thursday banned radical Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami and its youth wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, for creating unrest and participating in violence during the recent student protests against government job quotas. Students Against Discrimination staged nationwide rallies last month that ended in a police crackdown and the deaths of at least 206 people. The Sheikh Hasina-led government alleges that the radical Islamist group, which is also Bangladeshs largest Islamist group, hijacked the protest and spearheaded looting, violence and damage of public property. Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her political partners blamed Jamaat-e-Islami, its Islami Chhatra Shibir student wing and other associate bodies for inciting violence during recent student protests over a quota system for government jobs. The group and its youth wing were banned under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act of Bangladesh after an executive order was issued by the government. Both entities have now been labelled as militant and terrorist organisations under the new notification. These outfits cannot function as political parties after this order has been passed, Bangladesh law minister Anisul Haque told Prothom Alo. Jamaat-e Islami was founded during British colonial rule in 1941 by a controversial Islamist scholar and campaigned against the creation of Bangladesh as an independent state during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. The group is also known for colluding with the Pakistan Army during the 1971 Liberation War and helped the Pakistan Army hunt down freedom fighters seeking liberation from Pakistan, murder and torture intellectuals and train people to fight against the muktijoddhas (freedom fighters under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) and the Indian Army that helped Bangladesh win the 1971 war. Several leaders of the radical outfit also fled to Pakistan following the defeat of the Pakistan Army at the hands of the muktijoddhas and the Indian Army. Its several leaders like Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Ghulam Azam and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed were given the death penalty for war crimes following the 2013 Shahbag Protests. The party formed the Razakar and Al-Badr brigades that committed war crimes and acts of genocide which included rape of Hindu and Muslim women and their murder, mass killings, murder and torture. The party was banned after Bangladeshs independence in 1971 for its role in the mass killings and atrocities under the administration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshs founding leader and Hasinas father. The ban was lifted in 1976, a year after Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup. Only Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana survived as they were touring Germany in 1975. The outfit in recent years has been accused of religious persecution as well. In 2013, after the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced the outfits leader Delwar Hossain Sayidee to death, the group burnt over 50 temples across Bangladesh and attacked Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh. It also has been accused of being linked to Al Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group in Bangladesh Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) that carried out some brutal attacks and murders of atheists, freethinkers and LGBTQIA+ activists from 2013 to 2015. The group is currently being led by Shafiqur Rehman, who is emir of the group. He rejected the decision in a statement, calling it anti-constitutional, and denied it was behind the recent violence. The government carried out massacres by party cadres and state law and order forces in the country to suppress the non-political movement of students. The countrys teachers, cultural personalities, journalists and people of different professions are protesting against this genocide of the government, said Shafiqur Rahman, the party chief. The group was declared illegal by the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 2013 which also rendered it unfit for fighting elections. Jamaat had also been banned earlier twice, in 1959 and 1964 in Pakistan, for its communal role. The party held two Cabinet portfolios under a power-sharing agreement with former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, an arch-rival of Hasina and head of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in 2001-2006. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of Zias party, on Tuesday said that the decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami is a tactic of Hasinas administration to divert attention from the current political situation following recent violence. Lebanons Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, making him the most senior figure from the group to be killed in nearly 10 months of conflict with Israel. The strike hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, at dusk on Tuesday. It was the second time that the area had been struck since October, when Hezbollah and Israel began trading fire in parallel with the Gaza War. Israels military announced late on Tuesday it had killed Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollahs most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack on July 27 that left a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Iran-backed Hezbollah denied any involvement in the Golan attack. The strike on Beirut happened hours before the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the early hours of Wednesday in Iran, in a development that has further fanned fears of wider regional escalation. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas. Hezbollah said that its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah would speak on Thursday on the occasion of Shukrs funeral. Shukr was an adviser to Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah sources and the Israeli militarys announcement of his killing. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Shukr has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end. Shukrs body was found under the rubble on Wednesday evening, two Lebanese security sources said, nearly 24 hours after the strike. At least two women and two children were also killed, medical and security sources said. WE ARE UP FOR IT The attack appeared to have shorn off the top corner of a multi-storey building and scattered bits of charred debris onto the surrounding buildings and streets. Lebanese ministers and lawmakers visited the scene on Wednesday. Speaking from the ruins, Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar condemned the strike on Dahiyeh as well as the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has made no comment on Haniyehs assassination. This enemy (Israel) demands war and we are up for it, God willing, we are up for it, Ammar said. Lebanons cabinet held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the strike on Beirut and issued a statement read to reporters by Information Minister Ziad Makary. Makary condemned the strike and said retaliation by Hezbollah was anticipated but that the government was worried the situation could spiral. Lebanon does not want war, he said, adding that the government would engage in diplomatic efforts to calm tensions. Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, an Indian American businessman, is facing allegations of manipulating the H-1B visa lottery system in the US. An investigation by news agency Bloomberg found that Reddy was orchestrating the scam using a complex network of companies while finding and exploiting loopholes in the visa process. Reddy, who has connections in both US and India, manipulated the H-1B visa lottery system through multiple registration where he submitted several applications for the same person under different company names. This increased their odds of being selected in the lottery. Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC, Machine Learning Technologies LLC and several other entities were owned by Reddy, the news agency said. These companies altogether submitted thousands of entries which helped them secure hundreds of H-1B visas. Reddy claims he was merely an agent for the companies but the news agency citing documents it accessed said he and his wife owned and controlled those entities. The tactics deployed by Reddy not only put at disadvantage the companies that followed the rules but it was also gaming the lottery system using its loopholes. Bloomberg data showed that Reddys candidates were virtually assured lottery wins. They have accrued more than 300 visas since 2020 and secured 54 visas in 2023, far more than any other year. Recent changes to the H-1B visa lottery system, designed to prevent fraud and prioritize genuine talent, have been manipulated by staffing companies. One such modification, which gave better weightage to applicants endorsed by multiple companies, was particularly exploited. According to data accessed by Bloomberg, the median salary at staffing firms in 2023 was approximately $90,000, while regular employers offered around $125,000. Reddys recruits, however, were making about $87,000. Reddy is being represented by Lucas Garritson, a lawyer from Texas. He told the news agency that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) did not implement proper procedures for prohibiting the manipulation of the loophole and said that there is no proof that Reddys company broke rules. Reddy is involved with electoral politics as well and had contested as a candidate for the Indian National Congress (INC) party from Telanganas Adilabad constituency and currently is the partys in-charge for the constituency. The news agency said that he owns a media outlet and a firm that supports farmers. The Bloomberg report said that even though it appears that his role in the H-1B visa lottery scam was minimal, their investigation suggests he played a substantial role. WASHINGTONU.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas,introduced a resolution last week in the Democratic-controlled Senate to cut the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order that reinstated net neutrality. Blackburn filed the resolution amid the media storm surrounding the success she saw with her controversial Kids Online Safety & Privacy Act advancing out of the Senate. While this resolution has little chance of advancing due to broad support for net neutrality among Senate Democrats, the proposal speaks to the GOP-backed efforts to fight the broadband order. The joint resolution was filed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in a bid to nullify the net neutrality rules officially adopted in April and slated to enter force in the coming days. Under the CRA, the Senate and House of Representatives are given stronger oversight to review the rules and regulations adopted by federal regulatory agencies, like the FCC. Adopted in 1996, the act also requires federal regulatory agencies to submit reports on each new rule and regulation to both houses of Congress and to the office of the U.S. Comptroller General, who leads the federal Government Accountability Office. This has to be done before new rules take effect. The joint resolution reads, "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the ... [Federal Communications Commission] ... and such rule shall have no force or effect." The resolution has to be adopted to have any impact on net neutrality regulation. However, as noted, Blackburn's measure lacks the necessary support in the Senate to have an impact on the policy. AVN previously reported that a federal appeals court has temporarily halted the enforcement of the net neutrality rules through the context of an administrative stay. An administrative stay on the FCC's rules was implemented by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, because of lawsuits filed by stakeholder organizations and broadband companies to block the rule. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, an independent panel in the U.S. court system that manages similar lawsuits filed in several courts, declared the Sixth Circuit to be the appropriate legal venue for consolidating several cases brought by broadband industry groups. Per the consolidation of the case, the panel consolidated eight cases into a single proceeding with extremely broad implications for these cases. AVN also reported that a recent action by the U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of federal regulatory agencies like the FCC and established that regulation should be considered in courts. The decision was reached by the conservative-leaning high court in the landmark case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. Now, the private sector and large business interests have greater standing in challenging whether the FCC overstepped. A day after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a strike in Iran, tensions have flared up between Iran and Israel. While Israel has not issued any statement taking responsibility for killing Haniyeh, like it did for killing Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, Iran has order a direct strike on Israel. Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran, New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Irans Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed. Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will exert a cost from anybody who attacks it from any arena. UNSC Meets on Tensions The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Wednesday to discussing the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The council called for calm in the region amid fears of a wider war. Both Iran and Israel appealed to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to strongly condemn the other for recent deadly attacks. The Security Council should take immediate steps to hold Israel accountable for this act of aggression, Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said during the meeting. This includes considering the imposition of sanctions and other measures that are necessary to prevent further violations and to signal that Israeli malevolent activities will not be tolerated by the international community, he added. Meanwhile, Israel did not issue any statement on Haniyehs killing but took responsibility for an airstrike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. This operation sends a clear message: We will defend ourselves and respond with great force against those who harm us, Israeli Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Miller told the council. He urged the council to hold Iran accountable with new sanctions saying Iran funds and arms both Hamas and Hezbollah. Several countries have asked their citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon a day after a Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike. India, Australia and Canada are among countries who have asked citizens to not travel to Lebanon amid escalating tensions. The Indian Embassy in Beirut released an announcement where it strongly advised Indian nationals against travelling to Lebanon till further notice. All Indian nationals are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon. Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Beirut, the statement said. It asked Indian nationals to remain in touch via email by mailing to cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or reach out on the emergency phone number +96176860128. Advisory for Indian Nationals. pic.twitter.com/baGPhNpKip India in Lebanon (@IndiaInLebanon) July 31, 2024 Australia Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong warned all Australians in Beirut to leave immediately. In a statement, Wong said tensions in the region may escalate quickly leading to Beirut airport to shut down, in which case, the government wont be able to help citizens leave. My message to Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon is now is the time to leave. pic.twitter.com/74DNfh1UNz Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) July 31, 2024 Canada, too, urged its citizens to come back home if they were in Lebanon, and to not think about visiting Beirut. To Canadian citizens and permanent residents,If youre in and thinking about visiting Lebanon dont. If you are in Lebanon, come back home. If tensions escalate, the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you and you wont be able to leave. Plan accordingly. Melanie Joly (@melaniejoly) July 31, 2024 Israel-Hezbollah Tensions Israels military announced late on Tuesday it had killed Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollahs most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack on July 27 that left a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah said that its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah would speak on Thursday on the occasion of Shukrs funeral. Lebanese ministers and lawmakers visited the scene on Wednesday. Speaking from the ruins, Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar condemned the strike on Dahiyeh as well as the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has made no comment on Haniyehs assassination. This enemy (Israel) demands war and we are up for it, God willing, we are up for it, Ammar said. Lebanons cabinet held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the strike on Beirut and issued a statement read to reporters by Information Minister Ziad Makary. Makary condemned the strike and said retaliation by Hezbollah was anticipated but that the government was worried the situation could spiral. Lebanon does not want war, he said, adding that the government would engage in diplomatic efforts to calm tensions. (With inputs from agencies) Russia freed American citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in what could possibly be the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, news outlet Bloomberg reported on Thursday. A total of 26 people, including two minors, from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Belarus and Russia were involved in the swap carried out by Turkeys MIT intelligence service, Turkeys presidency said. The swap took place in Turkey. Former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich have been imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, which both of them and the US deny. Russia had alleged that the 32-year-old journalist, who was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison earlier this month, was gathering secret information at the CIAs behest about a facility that produces and repairs military equipment and detained him in March 2023 in the city of Yekaterinburg. It provided no evidence to support the accusations. Whelan, the 54-year-old corporate security executive from Michigan, was arrested in 2018 in Moscow, where he was attending a friends wedding, convicted two years later of espionage, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan worked in security for a US vehicle parts company when he was arrested in Moscow and has always asserted that the evidence against him was falsified. When the Kremlin was asked about reports that Russia and the West could be gearing up for a major prisoner swap since the Cold War, they remained tight-lipped. Several prisoners in Russian and Western countries have reportedly been moved from their cells in recent days, fuelling speculation of an imminent exchange. Earlier today, a report by AFP named US reporter Evan Gershkovich to be part of the deal. Several others held in Russias penal system including opposition figures Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin have also reportedly been moved, possibly in advance of a deal. Prison transfers are notoriously murky in Russia, where family are not warned in advance and prisoners often lose contact with their lawyers and the outside world for weeks. As a rule, swaps can happen only after a conviction, and the disappearance of several high-profile political prisoners at once is extremely rare. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to victory at the polls has been widely contested, challenged Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a fight on national television, which the business tycoon accepted. This was the result of an escalation of a war of words online between the two amid the political crisis in Caracas. Elon Musk. Whoever messes with me, dries up. Whoever messes with Venezuela dries up, Elon Musk. You want to fight? Lets have it, Elon Musk. Im ready I am not afraid of you. Lets go at it, wherever you want Just say where, Maduro said on Wednesday (July 31). Musk posted on X: I accept He will chicken out. Earlier, the top US diplomat for Latin America said Maduro overwhelmingly lost to opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, endorsing vote tallies released by the opposition as Venezuelas electoral authority failed to release detailed results. The countrys National Electoral Council (CNE) is yet to release a detailed vote breakdown to back its awarding of the July 28 election to Maduro, despite calls to do so from the opposition and many nations in the region and elsewhere. Shame on Dictator Maduro Musk, who has regularly slammed Maduros policies on X, called Maduro a dictator and travesty after the election results. Before the Venezuelan election, Musk posted: It is time for the people of Venezuela to have the chance for a better future. Support Maria Corina! He was referring to the wildly popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running against Maduro. After the vote, and the announcement of the results, Musk said: Shame on Dictator Maduro and What a travesty. Adios Dictatora Maduro https://t.co/79saJ8OSp4 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024 The people of Venezuela have had enough of this clown https://t.co/uolxvGFdwU Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024 He also posted a 2020 announcement from the US Drug Enforcement Administration of criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking and a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The posts sparked outrage from Maduro. This is real pic.twitter.com/3KjTZiVJG0 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2024 He wants to come here with his guns and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, good thing you showed your face because we knew you were behind it all! With your money and your satellites, the president said. He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina You want to fight? Elon Musk, I am ready. I am the son of Bolivar and Chavez, Im not afraid of you, Elon Musk The people defeated Elon Musks bots, we defeated Elon Musks bots! Musks retort came in Spanish: An ass knows more than Maduro. Later, the billionaire added: Sorry to have compared the poor ass to Maduro. That was an insult to the animal kingdom. El burro sabe mas que Maduro https://t.co/9fe6JWOatM Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024 Attacks directed by Elon Musk Maduro is no friend of Musk and the feeling is clearly mutual. Musk who leads SpaceX and Tesla, and owns the social network X is an ultra-capitalist who backs former US president Donald Trump, meaning he is everything that the socialist president despises. But Maduro has recently had Musk in his sights, accusing him of being behind attacks against Venezuela and possibly the mastermind of an alleged computer hacking at the CNE. On Tuesday (July 31), following a meeting of top political and military advisors, the president announced the creation of a special committee, aided by Russian and Chinese experts, to evaluate the nations biosecurity and an attack on the CNEs communications systems. The attacks, I am sure, were directed by the power of Elon Musk, he said. Opposition figures and observers, however, do not believe there was actually a hack but that authorities self-sabotaged the system so they would not have to provide the real election results. Before voters cast their ballots, Maduro was running well behind Urrutia in independent opinion polls. Later in the day, Maduro addressed hundreds of supporters from his balcony and once again attacked Musk. Venezuela, as I said yesterday and today, is facing domestic and international aggression from world powers, and now it is evident that Elon Musk is obsessed with the idea of taking over Venezuela and ruling it from abroad, Maduro said. He is largely responsible for these attacks and acts of aggression, he said, suggesting the existence of a global alliance of the far right, the fascist far right, drug traffickers, Elon Musk and the imperialist US government. All those who come after Venezuela, we will eliminate them, he added. (With agency inputs) The TBMM General Assembly will start the new legislative year with intensive work. The TBMM General Assembly, which went on recess until October 1, will discuss the Teaching Profession Law Proposal and the 9th Judiciary Package. The TBMM General Assembly will start the new legislative year on October 1 with discussions on the Teaching Profession Law Proposal and the 9th Judiciary Package. The TBMM General Assembly went on recess until October 1 by the decision taken after the Law Proposal on Amending the Animal Protection Law regarding stray animals was accepted and enacted into law. During the recess, some specialised committees will continue their work, and the Assembly will be open. However, the General Assembly will not be working. The TBMM General Assembly will resume its work on October 1 with the opening of the 28th Term 3rd Legislative Year. The new legislative year will be opened with a ceremony. The General Assembly will begin the new legislative year on October 1st with discussions on the Teaching Profession Law Proposal and the 9th Judicial Package. In addition, the Law on the Protection of Consumers and the Law Proposal on Amending Certain Laws, which were accepted by the TBMM Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information, and Technology Committee before the Assembly went into recess, will also be put on the agenda of the General Assembly. In the new legislative year, the General Assembly will consider new law proposals that include various regulations in different areas to be submitted to the Presidency of the Assembly and will discuss law proposals regarding international agreements. The regulations in the proposals that the General Assembly is expected to consider first are as follows. According to the Law Proposal on Amending Certain Laws, known to the public as the 9th Judicial Package, the crime of insult by voice, written, or visual message will be removed from the scope of conciliation and included in the scope of advance payment. In terms of the crime of insult, the investigation and prosecution of which depend on the complaint, the complaint period cannot exceed two years from the date of the act, in any way. Those who have completed mediation training and have 20 years of experience in the profession will be able to register in the mediation registry without taking a written exam. A law degree will be required to become a mediator. The sales procedure for vehicles in trustee parking lots that are detained due to being found or banned from traffic by the provisions of the law and not returned or searched by their owners within 6 months will be redetermined. A National Education Academy will also be established according to the Proposal for the Law on the Teaching Profession. Preparatory training consisting of theoretical and practical courses determined within the framework of the qualifications for the teaching profession will be provided by the National Education Academy. Teacher candidates will be paid every month in the amount found by multiplying the indicator figure determined during the preparatory training process with the civil servant monthly coefficient. Contract teachers who have completed their three-year working period will be assigned to teacher positions in the places where they work upon their request. Those assigned to teacher positions will not be able to change places for 1 year, except for relocations due to excuses. Those convicted of manufacturing and trading narcotics or stimulants, facilitating their use, accepting, possessing, using them, and indecent acts, obscenity, prostitution crimes, and crimes against sexual inviolability, will have their teaching careers terminated. In cases where the crimes of "intentional injury", "threat", "insult", and "resisting to prevent the performance of duty" are committed against teachers in official and private educational institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education due to their duties, the penalties will be increased by half and the provisions for postponing the prison sentence will not be applied. Among the teachers and specialist teachers who have completed 20 years of work and who meet the conditions other than having at least 10 years of service as a specialist teacher, they will be able to apply for the title of head teacher. According to the Law Proposal on the Amendment of the Law on the Protection of Consumers and Certain Laws, the formal requirements of contracts between creditors and consumers will be established through an information or electronic communication device and will be made possible through methods that include the verification of the consumer's identity. The issues regarding the direct sales system will be regulated, and the rights and obligations of the parties will be clarified. The institution of reconciliation will also be allowed to be applied to provisions regarding commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices. Supportive measures will be taken to increase the competitiveness of domestically established marketplaces and protect them against marketplaces originating from abroad, increase employment levels, accelerate export growth, and ensure that more businesses turn to exports. LOS ANGELESFort Troff, a leading male sex toy brand, on Thursday announced Rob Reimer has been named Director of Marketing. Reimer has over 20 years of working for several of the top mens toy brands in the world including C1R, Perfect Fit Brand, and Boneyard. Fort Troff is an established destination for leather, BDSM and fetish gear known for their cutting-edge designs, product quality and influence in the LGBT community. Louis Ceruzzi, Fort Troffs owner and CEO, remarked, I have known and worked with Rob for decades. To now have the chance for us to come together and grow Fort Troff is very exciting. Ceruzzi continued, We have already started working on some really innovative projects and are trying out several different strategies that we have never tried before. Reimer said, I am incredibly excited to be working for the brand I have always respected and admired. Bringing my experience and ideas and putting my mark on this brand is going to be incredibly satisfying. Plans include creating and launching new content for several incentives by working with established content creators and artists in the LGBTQ+ field while driving more traffic to the site, redesigning their social media channels, and creating a new Vlog. Contact [email protected] or call 954-999-6111 for any inquiries. MONTREALDeAngelo Jackson and Dominic Pacifico headline Secret Pleasures 2, a new compilation release from Mile High Medias gay studio Noir Male. The movie is now available in all formats. The cast includes Max Konnor, Jason Vario, Pierce Paris, Nick Fitt, Jacen Zhu, and Titus McMasters. For box art and release information, click here. DeAngelo and Dominic are at their finest in a wild scene where the chemistry and energy are truly on another level, said Jon Blitt, vice president of Mile High Media. The action continues with memorable performances by Max Konnor, Jason Vario, and our other amazing performers as they play out these captivating scenarios that both engage and arouse in true Noir Male fashion. The movie opens with Im Waiting, with Jackson and Pacifico, followed by Business Trip Bang, with Konnor and MacMasters. Next is The Rubdown, with Vario and Fitt, then The Once Over, with Zhu and Paris. For Noir Male sales and distribution, contact [email protected] or call (800) 363-0133. For more information, visit NoirMale.com or follow the brand on Instagram @OfficialNoirMale, and X @NoirMaleXXX, for exclusive content and behind-the-scenes previews. Authorities in Washington state have determined that a Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle in April was operating on the company's "Full Self-Driving" system at the time of the crash. Investigators from the Washington State Patrol made the discovery after downloading information from the event-data recorder on the 2022 Tesla Model S, agency spokesman Capt. Deion Glover said. "The investigation is still ongoing in this case," Glover told the AP . The Snohomish County prosecutor will determine if any charges are filed in the case, he said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that "Full Self-Driving" should be able to run without human supervision by the end of this year. He has been promising a fleet of robotaxis for several years. During the company's earnings conference call, he acknowledged that his predictions on the issue "have been overly optimistic in the past." After the crash in a suburban area about 15 miles northeast of Seattle, the driver told a trooper that he was using Tesla's Autopilot system and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving. "The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him," the trooper wrote in a probable-cause document. The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide "based on the admitted inattention to driving, while on Autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward, putting trust in the machine to drive for him," the affidavit said. The motorcyclist, 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen, was pronounced dead at the scene. story continues below Nissen's death is at least the second in the US involving Tesla's "Full Self Driving" system. In investigative documents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said earlier it had found one fatality and 75 crashes while the system was being used. It wasn't clear whether the system was at fault in the fatality. Tesla has two partially automated driving systems, "Full Self-Driving," which can take on many driving tasks even on city streets, and Autopilot, which can keep a car in its lane and away from objects in front of it. Sometimes the names are confused by Tesla owners and the public. Tesla says at present neither system can drive itself and that human drivers must be ready to take control at any time. (More Tesla stories.) The organizers of a music festival in Malaysia are suing the 1975 for $2.4 million, accusing the UK pop band of breaching its contract after lead singer Matty Healy went on the attack against the Southeast Asian nation's anti-LGBTQ+ rules. Variety reports that the incident took place during last summer's Good Vibes Festival, during which Healy kissed a bandmate onstage, cursed while talking to the audience, downed alcohol, and smoked cigarettesall in violation of the fest's guidelines, which organizer Future Sound Asia says the band had agreed to in order to perform. Those agreed-to prohibitions included drinking, smoking, and using profanity onstage, as well as stripping one's clothes off and bringing up either politics or religion. There was also a ban against "kissing, kissing a member of the audience, or carrying out such actions among themselves." FSA says in its suit that the 1975 had been warned repeatedly about the guidelines, and had also performed at the same festival in 2016, so therefore couldn't plead ignorant about the restrictions. Per the complaint, the band decided the night before its turn onstage not to perform, though members subsequently changed their minds and carried on with the show. During that performance, Healy engaged in a "long pretend passionate embrace" with bassist Ross MacDonald "with the intention of causing offense and breaching the regulations and the terms of the agreement," according to the suit. The band also smuggled a bottle of wine onstage so Healy "could have easy access," per the complaint. "Their actions have had repercussions on local Malaysian artists and small businesses, who relied on the festival for creative opportunities and their livelihoods," the organizer said in a statement last year when it filed for damages, per Pitchfork. The BBC notes that a separate class-action suit has been filed against the band by multiple musicians and vendors who say their pocketbooks took a hit when the second and third days of the festival were nixed as a result of the band's antics. Healy also took some flak from Malaysia's LGBTQ+ community, some of whom were angry and worried that Healy's "performative activism" would ultimately make things harder for them. (More the 1975 stories.) UPDATE Aug 3, 2024 7:00 AM CDT The death penalty may be back on the table for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked their deals to plead guilty made earlier this week, following backlash from some families of 9/11 victims, GOP lawmakers, and the New York City firefighters union, per the Washington Post. Austin also removed retired Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier from overseeing the case and put himself in charge. "I have determined that ... responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009," Austin wrote in a memo. J. Wells Dixon, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, who has repped defendants at Guantanamo Bay, accused Austin on Friday of "bowing to political pressure" in revoking the plea deals, per the AP. Jul 31, 2024 7:25 PM CDT Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the main plotter in al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US, has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday, pointing to a long-delayed resolution in an attack that altered the course of the US and much of the Middle East. He and two accomplices, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week, the AP reports. Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain. The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the terms included the men's longstanding condition that they be spared risk of the death penalty. Addressing Donald Trump's remarks casting doubt on her racial identity earlier in the day, Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday night said his comments showed "divisiveness and disrespect." Speaking to the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority's gathering in Houston, per the New York Times, Harris said, "The American people deserve better." Trump did not wait until his rally Wednesday night in Pennsylvania to talk about the confrontational interview in Chicago. While opponents issued statements condemning his remarks, Trump posted on Truth Social that his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference was a triumph, writing, "The questions were rude and nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!" He posted praise from supporters as it arrived, per the Times. Get the news faster. Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster. Click here to install our app on your desktop. X One of the most influential unions in the country endorsed Kamala Harris for president Wednesday. The United Automobile Workers says the vice president will attend a Detroit rally next week at which UAW members will be present. "We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed," UAW president Shawn Fain said in a statement. As the New York Times explains, the union is one of Biden's closest allies, butunlike many other unions that quickly backed Harrisit held off on its endorsement while assessing her approach on issues including US investments in manufacturing jobs. The UAW also looked at her stance on the war in Gaza, an issue on which it had split somewhat from Biden. It recently joined with other unions in sending a letter urging him to "immediately halt all military aid to Israel as part of the work to secure an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the war in Gaza." The UAW "had been one of the few large unions to withhold an endorsement," per Axios, but, as NBC News puts it, given Fain's outspoken criticism of Trump, "the union's endorsement should not be surprising." Fain might be anti-Trump, but he acknowledged about a third of UAW members voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. Fox Business has more on the back-and-forth between the union and Trump here. (More United Auto Workers stories.) Since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on Oct 7 last year, most of Hamas military forces have been decimated, causing its strength and political influence to shrink sharply. While the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh is significant, its impact on Palestinian internal politics is likely to be limited. So far, no force has claimed responsibility for the assassination. Since Israel has always insisted on destroying or physically eliminating the main leaders of the hostile forces and their followers, the country is widely suspected to be a behind-the-scenes supporter of a series of actions. Of course, based on past experience, Israel is unlikely to announce that it was responsible. It is also possible that some other organizations may claim responsibility for the attack. Palestinian resistance organizations have been so severely crushed in recent months that they do not have the ability or willingness to retaliate against Israel on a large scale. It is widely known that Fatah has no military power in the West Bank. After more than half a year of military operations, Israel has destroyed most of Hamas military capabilities in Gaza. Overall, Palestines ability to retaliate against foreign forces is negligible. A day before the attack on Haniyeh, Israel had claimed to have successfully killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon. Some reports say he was the second-in-command of Hezbollah, its most senior military commander and an adviser to its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Fuad Shukr was responsible for planning and commanding wartime operations. As such, it can be said that Israel has shifted its strategic focus from Gaza to southern Lebanon. It has even notified various diplomatic missions in Beirut to be careful and evacuate. Israel seems to have well planned its attack on the Hezbollah, and according to Israeli media this plan has the backing of the US government. Israels strategy of strengthening its attack on Lebanon, especially Hezbollah, will not change much in the near future. Iran has long struggled with a challenging domestic security environment, and the assassination of Haniyeh is expected to prompt heightened security measures, particularly in Tehran. This is not the first time that an assassination has occurred in Iran. It is generally believed that there are a large number of spies in Iran, especially Israeli spies which Iran is unable to contain. This is a reason why so many important figures in Iran have been systematically eliminated one after another. The assassination of Haniyeh will not have a major impact on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, because the two parts cannot communicate directly anyway. Palestine has very deep-rooted internal conflicts that cannot be resolved in a short time. There are many people and factions with varying opinions on Hamas. In fact, not just Israel, many factions in Palestine, too, are happy to see a weakened Hamas. So far, there is a huge gap between the opinions of Hamas and Fatah. If Hamas cannot play a bigger role now, it will obviously benefit factions, including Fatah, and their peace talks with Israel. China needs to strongly condemn Haniyehs assassination because it is a terrorist action. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, notably the Palestinian predicament, is an exceedingly intricate issue. It is difficult to achieve results if it is simplified too much. The essence and connotation of the Palestinian issue have undergone a series of changes compared to decades ago. Even the land of Palestine has changed a lot. Hence, the Palestinian issue necessitates examination from both a historical and a contemporary standpoint. Any plan that disregards the present circumstances is destined to falter. The former contestant is becoming the judge. Carrie Underwood, who rose to country music fame as the winner of American Idol's fourth season in 2005, will become a judge on the show's upcoming 23rd season, Deadline reports. Underwood will reportedly replace Katy Perry, who announced her exit at the end of last season. She'd been in the judge's chair since ABC's 2018 reboot of the show for its 16th season. Fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, who joined alongside Perry, will return again this fall, while Perry is said to be focusing on her own music career. President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday asked Venezuela's high court to conduct an audit of the presidential election after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory , drawing criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review, the AP reports. Maduro told reporters that the ruling party is also ready to show all the vote tally sheets from Sunday's election. "I throw myself before justice," he said outside the Supreme Tribunal of Justice headquarters in the capital, Caracas, adding that he is "willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated." This is Maduro's first concession to demands for more transparency about the election. However, the court is closely aligned with his government; the court's justices are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathizers. The Carter Center, which sent a delegation to Venezuela to monitor the election and says it has been unable to verify the results, criticized Maduro's audit request, saying the court would not provide an independent review. Maduro's main challenger, Edmundo Gonzalez, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost. (More Venezuela stories.) Former President Trump reiterated a promise on Wednesday to pardon Jan. 6 rioters if he returns to the White House. "Oh, absolutely I would," Trump told ABC News' Rachel Scott during the National Association of Black Journalists' conference in Chicago. "If they are innocent, I would pardon them." Scott, who was questioning Trump, drew laughs from the crowd as she quickly noted, "They've been convicted," per NBC News . More than 1,000 people have been found guilty of crimes connected to the Jan. 6 attack during Trump's final days in office. Trump himself is charged with plotting to overthrow the 2020 election. Trump has previously called the rioters "patriots" and "hostages." In response to Scott, he claimed "they were convicted by a very tough system." When Scott noted 140 officers had been assaulted, Trump shifted focus, claiming there had been a "horrible attack on the Capitol" just last week when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. There was no attack on the Capitol that day, though pro-Palestinian demonstrators allegedly assaulted police during a protest at Columbus Circle. "They viciously attacked our government, they fought with police, they fought with them much more openly than I saw on Jan. 6," Trump said. Four of those protesters were charged with assaulting police, per HuffPost. An ABC News investigation over the course of months found "rewriting the history" of Jan. 6 is "one of the touchstones" of Trump's campaign. "Some are seeking to echo his message on far-right media and even the campaign trail, trying to paint January 6 not as a violent attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election, but as a peaceful demonstration," the outlet notes. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Trump claimed "those who broke the law" would "pay," per the New Republic. But within a year, he said he was looking at "full pardons with an apology." (More Donald Trump stories.) Taylor Swift is telling fans traveling to her concert in Warsaw on Thursday to not panic, and to expect to hear loud sirens in the afternoon honoring a key World War II anniversary. The Polish capital is holding observances to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, a 63-day revolt by Polish insurgents after five years of brutal Nazi occupation, the AP reports. The entire city stops and alarm sirens sound every year on Aug. 1 at the exact time in the afternoon when the revolt was launched. Swift is performing for three consecutive nights in Warsaw starting Thursday. "To the people who are coming to the concert on August 1st don't panic if you heard sirens alarm about 5p.m. It will be 80th anniversary & planes!" Swift's "The Eras Tour" posted on social media. Thousands of ticket-holders, many who are traveling to Warsaw from afar, will be in or near the stadium at that time already for the evening performance. A Polish news site, Onet, also published an "important message for all Swifties who are going to the concert" explaining the significance of the day. "We ask you to remain calm and not to panic. In this way every year residents pay tribute to the heroes of 1944. Those who will be at that moment already outside the stadium, please remain quiet and get up." On Aug. 1, 1944, poorly armed young city residents rose up against German forces, battling them in the streets of the capital for over two months. The Soviets were approaching in their march westward against the German forces, and the Poles held out hope for help. That help didn't come, and Germans killed 200,000 Polish fighters and civilians and razed the city in revenge. Germany in past decades has made many gestures of remorse, helping to bring about reconciliation. Poles, however, remain bitter toward the Soviets for allowing the slaughter when they could have intervened. Today the uprising is remembered by Poles as one of the most important moments in a long history of independence struggles against Russia and Germany. (More Taylor Swift stories.) Russia has freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan as part of a large prisoner swap with the West, reports the AP. Turkish officials confirmed the swap on Thursday after reports emerged at Bloomberg and the Daily Beast, among other outlets. Details were still emerging. Two big names: Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had been detained more than a year, and Whelan, a former US Marine, had been held since 2018. Both were convicted of espionage charges that the US says are bogus. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had been detained more than a year, and Whelan, a former US Marine, had been held since 2018. Both were convicted of espionage charges that the US says are bogus. Prison movement: Reuters reports that Whelan and Russian-British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza had disappeared from view in recent days, and at least seven Russian dissidents had been moved from their prisons. The outlet says the swap involved prisoners held by Russia and Belarus on one side, and prisoners held by the US and Germany, and perhaps other nations, on the other. The AP estimates about two dozen people were involved. A near-total abortion ban will remain on hold in Utah after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality. With the decision, the AP reports that abortion remains legal up to 18 weeks under another state law that has served as a fallback as abortion rights have been thrown into limbo. The panel wrote in its opinion that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had legal standing to challenge the state's abortion trigger law, and that a lower court acted within its purview when it initially blocked the ban. Their ruling only affects whether the restrictions remain on pause amid further legal proceedings and does not decide the final outcome of abortion policy in the state. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to determine whether the law is constitutional. The trigger law that remains on hold would prohibit abortions except in cases when the mother's life is at risk or there is a fatal fetal abnormality. A separate state law passed this year also would allow abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest. Utah lawmakers passed the trigger lawone of the most restrictive in the nationin 2020 to automatically ban most abortions should the US Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. When Roe fell in June 2022, abortion rights advocates in Utah immediately challenged the law, and a district court judge put it on hold a few days later. Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said she hopes the lower court will ultimately strike down the trigger law. "Today's decision means that our patients can continue to come to us ... to access abortion and other essential reproductive services," Boyd said. "While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over." (More Utah stories.) The deal that resulted in the biggest and most complex prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War took more than a year of secret negotiations, reports Reuters. The most well-known names involved are Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, but 22 other prisoners also were in the mix, and at least six nations were involved in the swap. Coverage: 3 US citizens: Russia released 16 people from custody, while US-led Western nations freed eight prisoners. A total of three American citizens were released: Gershkovich, 32, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was held more than a year; Whelan, 54, a former US Marine held since 2018; and Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was arrested last year, per the New York Times. All three were expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland later Thursday. UPDATE Aug 2, 2024 1:00 AM CDT Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for "the vast majority" of the state's counties ahead of a storm system that has a 70% chance of developing into a tropical depression over the next week, per the National Hurricane Center. "Based on meteorological reports, there is significant threat of heavy rainfall over most of the State of Florida, with the possibility of at least 12 inches of rainfall over the next seven days," reads a statement cited by USA Today. "The water tables in the affected areas are already nearing peak capacity and incoming heavy rainfall will cause significant river flooding that may last for several weeks." Aug 1, 2024 4:21 PM CDT It's not even a named storm at the moment, but forecasters are warning residents of Florida and Louisiana to be aware of a developing ocean system. As of Thursday, the system is called merely Invest 97Linvest referring to a weather pattern that the National Hurricane Center is investigating, reports WESH. "A tropical depression could form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico or far southwestern Atlantic Ocean, including in the vicinity of Florida," said the NHC in a Thursday afternoon advisory, per USA Today. In April 1796, more than 500 Maroons from Trelawny Town in the mountains of northwestern Jamaica were forcibly transported to the British colony of Nova Scotia. Their experiences exemplified the insecure rights and freedoms of African-descended British subjects in the late-18th-century Atlantic world. The Maroons of Trelawny Town were formerly enslaved peoples of African ancestry and their descendants who had lived in the Cockpit Country region of Jamaica until their exile following the second and final Maroon War (17951796). Almost everyone from the townapproximately 150 families or more than 500 adults and childrenwere forcibly transported to Nova Scotia. Many people became sick and several died during the voyage. The Maroons moved a few months after they arrived to lands in Preston township purchased with funds from the Jamaican government. There, they faced considerable pressures to convert to Christianity, adopt settler agriculture, and undertake hard manual labour for low wages. They contributed to the building of roads, highways, canals, bridges, buildings, and fortifications in Nova Scotia, including the third fortification on Citadel Hill in Halifax, which was later replaced by the fourth and final Halifax Citadel (designated a national historic site in 1935). To reflect this direct connection, the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site was chosen as the location for the commemorative plaque. For years, the Maroons tirelessly petitioned for the freedom to leave Nova Scotia. In the end, the British arranged for their migration to Sierra Leone, and 177 women, 151 men, and 222 children were aboard the transport ship HMS Asia when it anchored off the coast of Freetown on 30 September 1800. A small number of Jamaican Maroons remained in Nova Scotia. The pride, resistance, self-determination, and unique cultural identity of the Maroons gained new significance in the second half of the 20th century within the contexts of social movements for greater civil rights and recognition of the diverse histories, cultures, and achievements of African-descended peoples. Today, the historical presence of the Jamaican Maroons still holds a prominent place within the collective memory of African Nova Scotians. The Government of Canada, through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, recognizes significant people, places, and events that shaped our country as one way of helping Canadians and youth connect with their past. The designation process under Parks Canada's National Program of Historical Commemoration is largely driven by public nominations. To date, more than 2,240 designations have been made nationwide. National historic designations illustrate the defining moments in the story of Canada. Together, they tell the stories of who we are and connect us to our past, enriching our understanding of ourselves, each other, and our country. Heritage places provide a wide range of cultural, social, economic, and environmental benefits to their communities. Today's ceremony coincides with Emancipation Day, the day the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect in the British Empire and ended the practice of slavery for millions of African People and their descendants around the world (August 1, 1834). The unveiling is one part of a larger event to honour and commemorate this important day alongside the Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, and the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia. Quotes "On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am honoured to join Parks Canada in commemorating the national historic significance of the Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia. Their experiences, dignity, strength, resiliency, and resistance to oppression live on as a lasting legacy in this province. Historic designations reflect Canada's rich and varied history, and I encourage all Canadians to learn more about the Jamaican Maroons and their important contributions to Canada's heritage." Lena Metlege Diab Member of Parliament for Halifax West Quick Facts In 2022, the Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia were officially designated as an event of national historic significance under Parks Canada's National Program of Historical Commemoration. were officially designated as an event of national historic significance under Parks Canada's National Program of Historical Commemoration. The Jamaican Maroons were formerly enslaved peoples of African ancestry and their descendants who had lived in relative independence and isolation in Trelawny Town, Jamaica . . The experiences of the more than 500 Jamaican Maroons forcibly transported to Nova Scotia in 1796 exemplified the insecure rights and freedoms of African-descended British subjects in the late 18th century. in 1796 exemplified the insecure rights and freedoms of African-descended British subjects in the late 18th century. While most of the Maroons left for Sierra Leone , some individuals remained in Nova Scotia . Their continued presence is reflected in the surnames, accents, idioms, customs, oral histories, and traditions of African Nova Scotians, for whom Maroon dignity, strength, resiliency, perseverance, and resistance to oppression are a continued source of pride. , some individuals remained in . Their continued presence is reflected in the surnames, accents, idioms, customs, oral histories, and traditions of African Nova Scotians, for whom Maroon dignity, strength, resiliency, perseverance, and resistance to oppression are a continued source of pride. Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of Environment and Climate Change regarding the national historic significance of persons, places, and events that have marked history in Canada . Together with Parks Canada, the Board ensures that subjects of national historic significance are recognized, and these important stories are shared with Canadians. advises the Minister of Environment and Climate Change regarding the national historic significance of persons, places, and events that have marked history in . Together with Parks Canada, the Board ensures that subjects of national historic significance are recognized, and these important stories are shared with Canadians. The vast majority of nominations brought forward for the consideration of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada originate from members of the public. To nominate a person, place or historical event in your community, please visit the Parks Canada website for more information: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/clmhc-hsmbc/ncp-pcn/application. Related Document Backgrounder The Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia Related Links Parks Canada Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Framework for History and Commemoration SOURCE Parks Canada (HQ) Contacts: Jodi Hawkins, Partnering, Engagement and Communications Officer, Mainland Nova Scotia Field Unit, Parks Canada, 782-409-0146, [email protected]; Kaitlin Power, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change819-230-1557, [email protected]; Media Relations, Parks Canada, 855-862-1812, [email protected] Elon Musk will meet Samsung CEO Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai CEO Chung Eui-sun in Paris in early August. It is reported they will dine in Paris this weekend. They will also discuss the development of next-generation technologies and explore ways to cooperate. The meeting was reportedly made at the suggestion of Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Elon says Tesla has a clear path to doubling average miles between interventions in August. I, Brian Wang, believe the path to doubling miles between interventions is eliminate the obstacle interventions and merge the highway and city driving software stacks. Tesla would reach 2000 miles between intervention and this would be 10x better than 12.3.6 and 20 times better than v11. The chinese and other car makers have self driving systems at the level of FSD version 11 or worse. Other companies can only advance to Tesla FSD 12.5.X level with 2 billion miles of data. Elon said Tesla is working with regulatory authorities in other countries to roll out supervised FSD worldwide. A Detailed Usage Report for FSD 12.5.1 Honest Tesla FSD 12.5 & 12.5.1 on AI4/HW4 model 3 review after ~400 miles. After about 400 miles using FSD 12.5.1 on assertive mode Ive been mind blown. Previous versions were great but this one is different. Different in an incredible way. It drives with confidence, accuracy, and safety. I have only had to intervene a total of 1 time (not including parking lots). Pros/improvements Ive felt from previous versions: Always turns onto the correct lane in intersections. Switches lanes with accuracy and precision in a timely manner. (Lane dancing is gone) . Makes decisions quickly but safely at the same time. (previous versions would sometimes switch lanes late leading to missed turns) Keeps flow with traffic, doesnt go too fast or too slow. Proceeding through Stop signs/unprotected left turns have drastically improved; no more hesitation. When clear it takes off. (Previous versions would stop creep stop creep stop creep and it would be very tedious and unhuman like). No more Wheel Nag. This makes the driving experience so much more convenient not having to touch the wheel every 20-30 seconds. Cons: I have only ran into 3 issues so far One; the car not stopping for small geese in a parking lot I was at. The visuals showed a dark shadow like object but the car slowed and started proceeding through anyway (I had to intervene). Two; It hugs the curbs a little too close to my liking at times. Three; flashing red lights are still a problem. (My only city/highway disengagement). Overall in my 400 or so miles of using FSD 12.5.1 I would give it a 9.8/10 driver rating in city and highway. I dont think we are far away from having unsupervised (no cabin camera nag). Now one might ask why should I use FSD when I can drive myself ? Well there are many reasons. 1. Safety: Many cameras (more than the two eyes humans have) constantly watching every direction of the car protecting not only you but others around you. Its easy for humans to become distracted resulting in accidents but a computer is programmed to be functional and alert at all times. 2. Battery usage/range: I get much better range and performance when using FSD vs manual driving. I tend to gun it sometimes and not utilize the regenerative breaking to its optimal capability, however FSD does resulting in better range and mileage use. 3. Convenience: FSD can automate driving tasks such as highway cruising, lane changes, and navigating through traffic, which can make driving more relaxed and less stressful. (Especially for people that have anxiety pertaining to driving in general) 4. Reduced Driver Fatigue: By handling routine driving tasks, FSD helps reduce driver fatigue, especially on long trips. 5. Navigation: I dont know how many times Ive missed exits or turns due to error but FSD has been tremendous when it comes to this making real time adjustments to avoid traffic and reduce travel time. With that being said, once this thing becomes unsupervised, it will truly change the way of traveling in so many ways. This is the greatest invention since the internet. NASA and Boeing continue to analyze the Boeing Starliner at the International Space Station. The Boeing Starliner has been delayed about six weeks before a planned return flight of two astronauts. Michael Tzukran is a satellite photographer who captured a picture of the Boeing Starliner being inspected by the Canadarm. NASA said SpaceXs Crew Dragon is the backup plan to return astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stuck on the ISS for nearly two months due to Boeings Starliner issues. Not lost in space, just stuck! On June 5th, #NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore took Boeings Starliner into orbit, but their ISS stay got extended. @Clayton_Sandell reports on whats causing the delay and when theyre expected to return. #BoeingStarliner pic.twitter.com/XkzKDkcdA3 Scripps News (@scrippsnews) June 25, 2024 At a July 26 briefing, NASA officials said they were targeting no earlier than Aug. 18 for the launch of the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. That date had been in question after an upper stage anomaly on a Falcon 9 Starlink launch that grounded the rocket for 15 days. At a separate briefing July 26, the four-person crew of Crew-9 NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Nick Hague and Stephanie Wilson and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov said they had no reservations on launching on a Falcon 9 weeks after the upper stage anomaly. The timing for Crew 9 and Polaris dawn missions will also depend on Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked to the station on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission. Starliner will have to depart to free up a docking port. The first operational Starliner mission, called Starliner-1, is no longer scheduled to launch in February 2025 as previously planned. The Crew-10 mission will instead launch then to allow NASA and Boeing more time to review data from the CFT mission and make any changes to the spacecraft. He said Starliner-1 has been rescheduled for August 2025. Boeings quarterly earnings report for Q2 2024 registered another $125 million loss on the Starliner program. The delays on the Starliner still-ongoing Crew Flight Test, the programs first mission to carry astronauts into orbit. There have been various leaks of helium, thruster and other issues. Boeing has now suffered an overall loss on the program of nearly $1.6 billion since 2016. NASA awarded Boeing a fixed price $4.2 billion contract to complete development of the Starliner spacecraft a decade ago. The original plan was to use the Starliner ready to fly astronauts by the end of 2017. SpaceX has completed all six of its original crew flights for NASA and was paid $3.1 billion. Boeing is at least a year away from starting operational service with Starliner. NASA extended SpaceXs commercial crew contract to cover eight additional round-trip flights to the space station through the end of the 2020s. Boeing has fixed-price contracts with the Pentagon to develop new two new Air Force One presidential transport aircraft, Air Force refueling tankers, refueling drones, and trainer airplanes. Boeing has reported losses on all of those programs. A young child fell at a South Jersey daycare center in back-to-back days last year, causing him to fracture his skull and potentially face lifelong injuries, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court last week. Personal injury lawyer Mary LeMieux-Fillery filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County on July 24 against the Millville Day Care, alleging the facility acted negligently while caring for the son of her client, Jasmine Williams. He was 11-months-old at the time her was injured, LeMieux-Fillery told NJ Advance Media. The Millville woman alleges the fracture was discovered two days after the second fall while consulting a pediatrician, prompting doctors to perform X-rays and a CAT scan, according to the complaint. Just when you thought Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Theodore Ted Logan were history, theyre back on Broadway. New Jerseys own Alex Winter and his onscreen partner Keanu Reeves are starring in an upcoming production of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. The Bill & Ted duo are hitting Broadway in the fall of 2025. Winter is Vladimir and Reeves is Estragon in the play, directed by Tony nominee Jamie Lloyd (A Dolls House). The show will be Reeves Broadway debut. Were incredibly excited to be on stage together and work with the great Jamie Lloyd in one of our favorite plays, the actors said in a joint statement. Irish playwright Becketts play premiered in French in 1953 and English in 1955. Estragon and Vladimir talk while waiting for the character Godot, who never shows up. Been working on this one for a while now, Winter said in a post on Threads. Excited beyond words. And theres a *lot* of words. Winter and Reeves, who first teamed up in the 1989 movie Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure" Winter as Bill, Reeves as Ted were back for the 1991 sequel Bill & Teds Bogus Journey and reunited nearly 30 years later for the 2020 movie Bill & Ted Face the Music. MORE: Bill & Ted Face the Music: Alex Winters excellent adventure from N.J. to movie history Winter, 59, was living in Montclair during his last run on Broadway the 1979 production of Peter Pan. Winter, then a teen, played John Darling in the show, which starred Sandy Duncan and had him flying over the stage on wires. I was literally taking the 66 DeCamp bus into the city every day after school, the former Montclair High student told NJ Advance Media in 2020. And they let me out early for the Wednesday matinee, so I was doing eight shows a week. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves at the premiere of "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" in 1991. They've been friends since their auditions for the first "Bill & Ted." Ron Galella | Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Before that, Winter, who is also known for playing Marko in The Lost Boys (1987), starred in the Broadway revival of The King and I as Louis Leonowens opposite Yul Brynner. Winter and Reeves, also 59, have been friends ever since their 1986 auditions for the first Bill & Ted movie. It was very uncommon to make friends with the people that youre auditioning against every day, Winter told NJ Advance Media in the 2020 interview. I think we just kind of gravitated towards each other. He remained for years one of the only actors thats one of my very closest friends. These days, Winter works as a director as well as an actor. Winter, who starred in and directed the 1993 dark comedy Freaked and helmed the 1999 thriller Fever, directed the upcoming movie Adulthood, starring Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario, and appears in the horror comedy Destroy All Neighbors. He is also a documentary filmmaker whose credits include Showbiz Kids, The Panama Papers, Downloaded, Deep Web, Zappa and The YouTube Effect. Of course, after Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure, Reeves became a huge action star in Speed" and the Matrix and John Wick films, also starring in Point Break, Constantine, My Own Private Idaho, Bram Stokers Dracula, The Devils Advocate and many more movies. For pending theater information and ticket sign-up for Waiting for Godot, visit godotbroadway.com. Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup. A man accused of a carjacking and an assault in Essex County from 2022 was convicted by a jury, Essex County officials announced Wednesday. Jose Mercado, 22, of Jersey City was found guilty of conspiracy, carjacking, armed robbery, aggravated assault and weapons charges stemming from a July 2022 incident. Prosecutors said Mercado and a juvenile co-conspirator carjacked and assaulted the victim at gunpoint in the 300 block of Lake Street in Newark on July 31. Mercado was identified in the stolen vehicle by Jersey City police later that day and after a brief foot-chase, Mercado and the juvenile were arrested, police said. Authorities recovered money taken from the victim as well as two loaded guns in a car used during the crime, officials said. The status of the case against the juvenile, who was not named due to age, was not immediately clear. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26. An attorney for Mercado did not immediately return a request for comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X Residents of a Jersey City high-rise building near the Hoboken border went without running water for most of the day after a water main break was early Thursday. The water for 700 Grove, at Grove and 18th streets, was finally restored at approximately 4 p.m., said a spokesman for Veolia, the company that operates the water system for the city. A New Jersey man was sentenced to five years of probation after admitting to sexually assaulting another passenger on a flight from New Jersey to Montana, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich announced Thursday. Piyush Mathew, 31, of Robbinsville plead guilty to abusive sexual contact in March after another passenger alleged he groped and touched her during a flight to Bozeman, Montana. Mathew was sentenced to five years of probation including six months of home confinement and must register a sex offender. He must also pay a $5,100 special assessment. According to documents in the case, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, was seated in a middle seat of a United Airlines flights while Mathew had an aisle seat during a flight between New Jersey and Montana on Sept. 7, 2023. Federal officials did not identify the specific airport the flight left from in New Jersey in a press release issued Thursday. The woman alleged Mathew raised the armrest between them prior to takeoff and then assaulted her for the duration of the four-hour flight. She told authorities Mathew touched her multiple times on several areas of her body, including her thighs, fingers, arms, stomach and breasts while pretending to be asleep. While deboarding the plane, the woman said she intended to report the incident to the flight crew but Mathew stood directly behind her and she felt unable to alert the crew. Instead, she pretended to know another male in front of her to safeguard her from Mathew, she told authorities. The man reported the womans condition to authorities, telling officials that she looked upset and ready to cry, documents in the case alleged. Mathews federal public defender, John Rhodes, told NJ Advance Media that he believed his clients sentence was fair and just in accordance with the law. Rhodes said that Mathew still lives in New Jersey and must register as a sex offender with the state. United Airlines declined to comment on the incident. The FBI, Gallatin Airport Authority and Bozeman Airport Police investigated the case. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X. Amtrak officials have applied for $299.7 million in federal grants to replace trouble-prone overhead wiring that powers trains, and has been blamed for delays and service suspensions this summer. Amtrak applied for four Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Federal Railroad Administration grants, including $13.4 million to replace overhead electric catenary wires between North Brunswick to Newark, with an award announcement expected in the fall, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman. It was an obscure job with huge financial perks. In December 2022, longtime Camden County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash was named CEO of the board of governors of Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden, a little-noticed body packed with allies of South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross. Donald Trump all but said Joe Biden wouldnt be able to get the job done, so naturally, after Biden accomplished the task, he took a jab at the former president. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden responded to a reporter before walking out at the room. The reporter asked about the massive prisoner swap that freed reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from Russian prisons and Trumps comments that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. Reporter: Trump said he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. What do you say to that? Biden: Why didn't he do it when he was president? pic.twitter.com/VUchStDKJ5 Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024 Trump posted on Truth Social in July: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was just sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian Court. Biden will NEVER GET HIM OUT, unless he pays a kings ransom. I will get him out FOR NO COMPENSATION immediately following our victory on November 5th, and it will be my great honor to do so. Vote for TRUMP, and The Wall Street Journal should STOP BEING STUPID!!! Gershkovich was jailed in 2023 under Bidens administration. But Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in Russia two years into Trumps term. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad, many since before I took office, Biden said at a White House ceremony with family members of the people held hostage in Russia. Deals like this one come with tough calls, never any guarantees. Theres nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad, and so well continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained Americans around the world, he said. The prisoners were exchanged for other prisoners and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan no money or sanctions relief was part of the exchange, which Trump questioned Thursday afternoon. Moments after @JakeSullivan46 says unequivocally, from the podium, the prisoner exchange involved no money or sanctions relief, Trump weighs in for the first time: pic.twitter.com/LmqmjybTXW Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) August 1, 2024 The exchange also freed Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Muza, a legal permanent resident of the U.S. The three prisoners handed over from the U.S. are Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin and Vadim Konoshchenok. Seleznev, the son of a member of the Russian Parliament, was convicted of hacking into more than 500 U.S. businesses and stealing millions of credit card numbers, which he then sold on special websites. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Krasikov was convicted for the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan Tornike Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany. He was released from a German prison after being given a life sentence. Konoshchenok was extradited to the U.S. from Estonia earlier this month and faced charges in a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco. JD Vance caught Donald Trumps attention, but swing voters who could decide the election this November arent on board with the former presidents pick for running mate. Sarah Longwell, a former Republican campaign strategist who is the founder of Republicans Voters Against Trump and publisher of The Bulwark, conducts countless focus groups and explained on John Heilemanns podcast Impolitic with John Heilemann how badly Vance polls among swing voters. Im not sure Ive seen swing voters hate a candidate as much since Republican voters, we would ask them about Mike Pence, so when you would ask a Trump voter how they felt about Mike Pence, they would go just ape on this guy. They hated him, Longwell said on the latest episode. And that is how these swing voters talk about JD Vance. They think hes just a creep, she said. They dont think he has a core because he flip-flopped so much on Trump. They think his views on abortion is insane. Longwell added: So he is creating a real problem for Trump. When Vance was first introduced at the Republican National Convention last month, many GOP officials said they didnt know much about him. Since then, the void has been filled with multiple reports of controversial statements especially Vances previous suggestion that Kamala Harris and other so-called childless cat ladies want to make the country miserable that have made his rollout among the most turbulent in recent history. Conservative commentators, Republican strategists and GOP elected officials on Capitol Hill publicly and privately agree that Vances introduction to America has not gone well, with Democrats highlighting his past statements on abortion rights and a suggestion that parents should have more of a vote than adults without children. Harris and her allies have started calling both Vance and Trump weird, messaging that has taken off online. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco. Donald Trump is doubling down. After a heated interview that his team cut short with Black journalists on Wednesday who pressed the former president on Kamala Harris race and how he falsely claimed she had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage, Trump took to his social media site to troll Harris further. Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago! Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated. Trump posted along with a photo of Harris and her mothers side of her family. Trump posted to Truth Social after he clashed with Black journalists over Kamala Harris' race.Truth Social So Ive known her a long time, indirectly, not directly, very much, Trump said during the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Atlanta. And she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became a Black, just to be clear, somebody should look into that too. Trump has repeatedly attacked his opponents and critics on the basis of race. He rose to prominence in Republican politics by propagating false theories that President Barack Obama, the nations first Black president, was not born in the United States. During this years Republican primary, he once referred to former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as Nimbra. Gotta say I am extremely impressed with the strategic discipline that @LaCivitaC has brought to this campaign. I doubted the punditry that indicated Trump could be tamed and the pros could run a focused campaign this time, but the proof is in the pudding, former Republican turned never-Trumper Tim Miller posted to X, referring to senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita. Gotta say I am extremely impressed with the strategic discipline that @LaCivitaC has brought to this campaign. I doubted the punditry that indicated Trump could be tamed and the pros could run a focused campaign this time, but the proof is in the pudding. https://t.co/OgxkdA9rup Tim Miller (@Timodc) August 1, 2024 Trumps appearance at the organizations annual gathering immediately became heated, with the former president sparring with interviewer Rachel Scott of ABC News and accusing her of giving him a very rude introduction with a tough first question about his past criticism of Black people and Black journalists. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country, Ive done so much for the Black population of this country, Trump said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco. Well, that didnt go as planned. GOP Congresswoman Nancy Maces attempt to start a conspiracy theory about Joe Bidens health by suggesting hes in hiding fell flat on its face. Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it? Mace posted to X hours before Biden appeared with family members of Americans held in Russian prisons after he and other world leaders completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history with Russia. Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it? Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) August 1, 2024 Moscow released journalist Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. Now their brutal ordeal is over and theyre free, Biden said. Moments ago, their families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. Maybe because hes busy being President. Freeing American Prisoners, wiping out student debt, lowering prescription drug cost, etc one person on X replied to Mace. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco. A North Jersey man jailed on charges he sexually assaulted three girls between the early and mid-2000s has been accused by authorities of abusing a fourth girl who was under 13 years old. The Union County Prosecutors Office on Thursday announced additional charges against 62-year-old Ivan Calderon, of Elizabeth, who was arrested in 2022 on charges of multiple of sexual assaults between 2003 and 2015. Calderon was additionally charged with second-degree sexual assault on Thursday, prosecutors said. In the three original cases, he is charged with both first and second-degree sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal sexual contact. Calderon was represented by North Jersey attorney Daniel F. Gonzalez, who couldnt be reached for comment by NJ Advance Media. The new charges accuse Calderon of sexually assaulting the girl in 2004 when she was younger than 13. The first report of abuse was made to police in January 2022 involving assaults between 2005 and 2015, authorities said. The investigation led to two other minors being identified as victims, having both been assaulted between 2003 and 2009, said Assistant Union Prosecutor Kathleen Dillon, who represents the state in the case. Calderon was arrested in January 2022. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com. 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. The Dig the Castle community excavation in Great Torrington, undertaken by a dedicated team of local volunteers and supported by professionals last autumn, has won the Community Archaeology Project of the Year 2024. The award, presented by the Council of British Archaeology (CBA) and the Marsh Charitable Trust, is a recognition of the projects impact and excellence in community archaeology. The project, led by Emily Wapshott from Archaeologists Engage and John Eeles from the Great Torrington Futures Group, also received the towns 2024 Howe Plate award for voluntary service. The national award is chosen from numerous applicant excavations across the country. The winners announcement from the CBA praised the project. They said: The Dig the Castle Project, conducted in September and October 2023, aimed to explore Torringtons little-understood motte and bailey castle. This project exemplified community involvement, with over 100 adults participating in the excavation and an open day attracting over 200 visitors. Additionally, more than 150 children engaged through school visits and activities. The project provided volunteers with the opportunity to develop a range of archaeological skills, including excavation and finds processing. Beyond the technical skills, the project fostered a strong sense of community, allowing participants to form new friendships, improve their wellbeing, and develop a greater sense of purpose. The success of the Dig the Castle Project highlights the importance of community archaeology in bringing people together and connecting them with their heritage. The project not only advanced our understanding of Torringtons historical site but also enriched the lives of those involved. Emily Wapshott was also shortlisted as Community Archaeologist of the Year, placing in the final five. She, John Eeles, and the entire team expressed their amazement, pride, and humility at receiving these honours. A celebration event for the team, sponsors, community groups, and local officials is set for Friday, August 2nd, at Great Torringtons Town Hall. During the event, the Mayor and Chair of the CBA trustees will present the awards. The archaeologists will also report on the evaluation of the excavation results. Over the following two days, the Town Hall will host an open house for the public to meet the team, see some of the finds, and explore the story of Torrington Castle. Italian experts voice great expectations from Meloni's China visit Xinhua) 10:29, August 01, 2024 ROME, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's five-day visit to China is expected to open new chapters in the country's relations with Italy, Maria Rosa Azzolina, president of the Italy-China Institute said in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday. BOOST STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP, FUEL TRADE, INVESTMENT "This trip will contribute to the joint efforts to solve global problems, including environmental issues and terrible regional conflicts," Azzolina said, adding that such an outcome would benefit the whole world. "These global problems can only be solved through cooperation between the West and China," she said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his meeting with Meloni, told her that the time-honored friendly exchanges between the two countries have made significant contributions to the overall exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, and to the progress of humanity. According to Fan Xianwei, secretary-general of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Italy, Meloni's visit to China will help boost the opportunities for Sino-Italian economic cooperation. "Meloni is a pragmatic politician, and both China and Italy can tolerate each other's differences and respect their respective paths of development from a broad perspective of history and civilization," Fan told Xinhua. "Chinese enterprises expect Meloni's visit to deepen the Sino-Italian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and to create a fair business and investment environment to attract more Chinese enterprises to invest in Italy," Fan said. Meloni's visit also came as China and Italy celebrate the 20th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership this year. Italy signed multiple bilateral cooperative agreements with China during Meloni's first official visit to the country since taking office. The two sides also issued a 2024-2027 action plan to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi said China is willing to work with Italy to optimize and upgrade traditional cooperation in trade and investment, manufacturing, technological innovation and other fields, and to explore cooperation in emerging areas such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. Meloni noted that Italy hopes to deepen bilateral cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and encourage more Italian products to enter the Chinese market. CONSOLIDATE CULTURAL RELATIONSHIP As the curator of the Asian Art Museum in Turin, Italy, Davide Quadrio focuses on fostering cultural exchanges between these two ancient civilizations, including in education. "Recently, my museum has been seeking a partnership with the city of Chengdu and various Chinese public entities that are running higher education programs, and I am confident that Meloni's visit to China will tangibly enhance the level of cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries," Quadrio said. Meloni's visit coincides with the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death. During her stay in Beijing, Meloni attended the inauguration of an exhibition featuring the Venetian merchant's journeys between the East and the West. In her speech, the Italian leader highlighted Marco Polo as a symbol of courage and ability to dare something extraordinary. Alessandra Lavagnino, director from the Italian side of the Confucius Institute at the University of Milan, expects Meloni's trip to help raise interest in learning Chinese and getting to know the Chinese culture in Italy. "I am convinced that this visit will consolidate the cultural relationship between the two sides because the way is now open for the bilateral exchange of more talents -- young translators, scholars, and writers from both countries, who will build a stronger basis for a constructive dialogue and more effective cooperation." Jean Paul de Jorio, chief legal officer of the Italian National Biodiversity Future Center, praised the cooperative path the two countries have taken. "Italian-Chinese relations will surely improve as a result of this trip. What unites our two countries is much more than what divides them," he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Fatima Latifova A meeting was held at the Ministry of Health with Yuri Husev, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Azerbaijan, Azernews reports. Health Minister Teymur Musayev emphasised that bilateral relations between the two countries are successfully continuing in many areas. The Minister noted that after the restoration of independence, friendly relations were established between Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and effective bilateral relations were developed. T. Musayev stated that the organisation of a rehabilitation course for Ukrainian children aged 7-17 deprived of parental care at the Sanatorium-Resort Rehabilitation Centre with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan is a clear confirmation of this. The minister also mentioned the significant potential for the development of bilateral relations in the healthcare sector. He highlighted that President Ilham Aliyev pays great attention to and prioritises the development of national healthcare, modernization of the sector, digitalization, development of human capital, and strengthening the healthcare economy. Additionally, the Minister informed that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change would be held in Azerbaijan in November this year. In conclusion, the Azerbaijani Minister of Health expressed confidence that cooperation would further develop in the future. Yuri Husev expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani state for its humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Ambassador emphasized the high level of inter-state relations and noted the existence of historical and traditional friendly relations between the two countries. He acknowledged the importance of COP29 and highlighted that Azerbaijan has always organised important international events at the highest level. The diplomat noted the great potential for expanding cooperation with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health and its subordinate institutions. Yuri Husev also thanked for organising the rehabilitation course for Ukrainian children in Baku. The meeting emphasised the importance of medical education, the training of professional personnel in this field, and the exchange of experience between medical universities. During the 2018 Senate race in Montana, then President Donald Trump visited the state four times to campaign for Matt Rosendale in the race against Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. The former president is set to hold a rally in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Montana State University's campus on Aug. 9. NorthWestern Energy has reached a deal to acquire a 370-megawatt share of the coal-fired Colstrip power plant. The acquisition makes the Montana-based utility the largest shareholder of the plant with a 55% majority stake. NorthWestern will take over Puget Sound Energys share of Colstrip at no cost, effective Jan. 1, 2026, according to a news release from the states largest public utility. It is NorthWesterns second major acquisition in Colstrip in recent years after the utility announced it would acquire 222 megawatts from co-owner Avista Corp, also effective Jan. 1, 2026. Talen Energy, the current majority stakeholder, had originally made a deal to buy Puget Sound Energy's stake in 2022. But that agreement fell apart after Talen declared bankruptcy. Colstrip's co-owners in the Pacific Northwest are getting out of the coal business after voters in Washington and Oregon approved measures requiring utilities to move away from fossil fuels and instead focus on renewable energy sources. NorthWestern has said Montana needs the dependable baseload power Colstrip provides to meet growing demands, supplemented by growing wind, solar and hydro energy on the grid. Gov. Greg Gianforte praised the acquisition, calling it another step in securing a strong future for Montana-made energy. Working with our partners, we've defended our all-of-the-above energy strategy to increase access to affordable, reliable energy for all Montana consumers, he said in a news release. I thank NorthWestern for their continued investment in our state and in the community of Colstrip. Others were concerned about the utility taking on the financial liability. Given NorthWestern Energys repeated abuse of its monopoly utility status and the historic rate increases the corporation continues to levy on Montana ratepayers, we are highly skeptical of this acquisition proposal, Northern Plains Resource Council Chairman Edward Barta said in a news release on Wednesday. NorthWestern continues to shake down captive customers for more and more money, building and acquiring the most expensive energy plants, including an aging, costly facility like we see in Colstrip. The coziness between this corporation and the state officials who enable these consumer abuses continues to harm working Montanans, Barta continued. We deserve affordable energy sources that set our communities up for prosperity in the 21st century. Instead, NorthWestern wants to recreate the robber-baron era where corporate monopolies grow bigger and richer no matter the costs to the rest of us. HAMMOND Indiana State Police now say the driver killed early Thursday in a crash along a local stretch of the Indiana Toll Road was standing outside his vehicle when struck by an SUV. A preliminary investigation indicates a grey 2004 Honda passenger car was westbound along the toll road around 2:30 a.m. when it crashed into the center concrete barrier wall just west of Cline Avenue and was left disabled in the westbound passing lane facing north. Police release photos of woman sought in check scam The person in question attempted to pass a bogus check this past weekend, according to Chesterton police. "The driver of the Honda passenger car was allegedly standing outside his vehicle when it was struck in the right rear by a silver 2020 Honda SUV," police said. The passenger outside his vehicle suffered fatal injuries and the Illinois man driving the SUV was taken to a local hospital and later released, according to police. First of 2 men charged in brutal Portage area slaying to face jurors Monday The pair are accused of murdering 35-year-old Hobart resident Derek Hartz on June 13, 2023 at the Chustak Public Fishing Area located at 331 W. County Road 600 North in Portage Township. The identity of the deceased man had not yet been released as of late Thursday morning. Police say the results of toxicology tests are pending. The westbound lanes of the toll road were closed for much of the early morning and reportedly reopened shortly after 9 a.m. Come back to nwi.com for updates as they become available. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the superstar soprano Anna Netrebko has been persona non grata at cultural institutions in the United States, shunned for her past support of Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin. But in February, Ms. Netrebko will make her first appearance in the United States since 2019: She will perform in Florida at a gala concert at the Breakers Palm Beach hotel to benefit Palm Beach Opera, the company announced on Wednesday. Ms. Netrebko, one of the biggest stars in classical music, has in recent months returned to many top concert halls and opera houses in Paris, Milan, Berlin and elsewhere in Europe, prompting some protests but also winning ovations and strong reviews. But most American institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, where she reigned as a prima donna for two decades, have continued to refuse to engage her because of her past support for Mr. Putin and her unwillingness to criticize him now. Her last performance in the United States was before the pandemic, when she headlined a gala New Years Eve performance at the Met Opera. An arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday for an actor who appeared for years as the Green Ranger in Power Rangers films and television shows, after a video showed him pushing a man in his 60s who used a walker, the police in Idaho said. The actor, Hector David Rivera, 35, was charged with misdemeanor battery in Idaho after video surfaced on Friday showing him in a dispute with the older man, said Carmen Boeger, a spokeswoman for the Nampa Police Department. Nampa is a city west of Boise with over 100,000 people. The video, captured on Friday on a bystanders dashboard camera, begins with a dispute over a parking spot between a man wearing a New England Patriots jersey and another who is using a walker. It ends with the first man shoving the other one to the ground before climbing into a black truck. He later drove away, the department said. The economy is growing. Unemployment is low. But the job market is not as hot as it used to be, and younger applicants, with or without college degrees, are feeling the pinch. Hiring projections for this years college graduating class are below last years, and the downturn is particularly notable in fields like finance, insurance, marketing and real estate. I cover economics at The New York Times, and I would like to hear from recent college graduates and other young job seekers, as well as hiring managers, about what the job market has looked like to them this year. Your responses will help us gain a fuller, more nuanced understanding of how the broader trends are being felt or, in some cases, overcome. Well read every response, and well reach out to some people to learn more. We wont publish your name or any part of your submission without hearing back from you and verifying your story. And we wont share your contact information outside the Times newsroom. If you prefer to share tips or thoughts confidentially, you can do so here. For months, Meta and other big technology companies have spent heavily to build artificial intelligence technologies, which show no immediate signs of yielding profits. For months, the companies have also delivered a consistent message about the investments: Trust us. On Wednesday, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, showed it was not changing course. The company said it had spent $8.5 billion in the second quarter on computing infrastructure for A.I., building the immersive world of the metaverse and other expenses, up 33.4 percent from a year earlier. Meta also raised part of its spending forecast, saying its expenditures for the year would total $37 billion to $40 billion, up from a prior estimate of $35 billion to $40 billion. Were in the business of building the best consumer and advertising experiences, Mark Zuckerberg, Metas chief executive, said on a call with investors on Wednesday. To do that, we need access to the leading technology and not be constrained by what competitors allow us to do. Most new Iranian presidents have months to settle into the decades-old cadence of gradual nuclear escalation, attacks against adversaries and, episodically, secret talks with the West to relieve sanctions. President Masoud Pezeshkian had 10 hours. That was the elapsed time between his swearing-in and the explosion inside an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse, at 2 a.m. in Tehran, that killed Ismail Haniyeh, the longtime political leader of Hamas. Mr. Haniyeh had not only attended the swearing-in, but had also been embraced by the new president and met that day with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, making the assassination a particularly brazen act. Now Mr. Pezeshkian along with Ayatollah Khamenei and top military generals will be immersed in critical choices that may determine whether war breaks out between two of the Mideasts most potent militaries. He spent his first day in office in national security meetings. The final decision on how to retaliate rests with Mr. Khamenei and on Wednesday he where ordered Iranian forces to strike Israel directly for what appeared to be its role in killing Mr. Haniyeh. Even as Donald J. Trump is trying to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025, his running mates contribution to a new book by the projects principal architect is complicating his efforts. Dawns Early Light, a forthcoming book by the Heritage Foundations president, Kevin D. Roberts, calling for a second American Revolution, features a foreword by Senator JD Vance, the Ohio Republican whom Mr. Trump tapped as his running mate in July. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon, Mr. Vance writes in his introduction, which was obtained and published online by The New Republic on Tuesday. The book is set for publication in September. Mr. Vance announced in June that he had written the foreword for Mr. Roberts, whose think tank became an influential bastion of conservative policymaking during Ronald Reagans presidency and enjoyed exceptional influence during Mr. Trumps time in office, providing a staffing pipeline for his administration. The audience of Black journalists was prepared for a combative exchange well before Donald J. Trump took the stage on Wednesday for an interview at their annual gathering in Chicago. Yet when Mr. Trump, just minutes in, began questioning Vice President Kamala Harriss racial identity, there was an instant ripple of reaction a low rumble that grew into a roar of disapproval. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Mr. Trump said of Ms. Harris, whose mother was Indian American and whose father is Black. The moment was shocking, but for those who have followed Mr. Trumps divisive language, it was hardly surprising. The former president has a history of using race to pit groups of Americans against one another, amplifying a strain of racial politics that has risen as a generation of Black politicians has ascended. Former President Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he would pardon rioters who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, further embracing those who stormed the building as he sought to stay in power despite his election loss. Mr. Trump was speaking at an event held at the convention of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, where he went after Vice President Kamala Harris in an attack that recalled his stoking of the false birther conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama. In a combative exchange with the ABC News anchor Rachel Scott, one of several interviewers on the panel with the former president, Mr. Trump discussed how he would handle legal cases against the rioters. My question is on those rioters who assaulted officers, Ms. Scott said. Would you pardon those people? The predawn killing of a top Hamas leader in Tehran on Wednesday left the entire Middle East on edge, bringing vows of revenge from Irans leaders and threatening to derail fragile negotiations for a Gaza cease-fire. The Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, 62, a top negotiator in the cease-fire talks who had led the militant groups political office in Qatar, was killed after he and other leaders of Iranian-backed militant groups had attended the inauguration of Irans new president. Israeli leaders would not confirm or deny whether their country was behind the brazen breach of Irans defenses. But Iranian leaders and Hamas officials immediately blamed Israel and vowed to avenge the death of Mr. Haniyeh, heightening fears of a broader regional war. Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order. Two months after the University of the Arts in Philadelphia closed, the schools dance program will be revived at Bennington College in Vermont, which will absorb the dance school, three staff members and nearly 50 students, the college announced on Thursday. What they are doing is the future of dance, said Laura Walker, the president of Bennington College, who helped raise nearly $1.3 million from philanthropists to make it happen. The money included a donation of $1 million from Barbara and Sebastian Scripps, who run a nonprofit focused on arts education. Its a tough time, and we hope this will be a model for others, Walker said. Nearly 1,150 students and 700 employees were left adrift after the University of the Arts president, Kerry Walk, abruptly closed the school in June, citing financial woes, and then resigned. Soon after, Pennsylvania officials opened an inquiry into the unexpected collapse. Some faculty and students have joined class-action lawsuits accusing the school of fraud and breach of contract; a union representing workers also filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the university in July. Several universities have offered spots to incoming freshmen who had committed to the University of the Arts. Temple University in Philadelphia has also welcomed returning fine arts and drama students, some of whom were near graduation. A sweeping prisoner swap yesterday involving seven countries freed the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans who were being held in Russia, along with several Russian opposition figures. It was the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades. Heres the latest. Western governments released eight people, including Vadim Krasikov, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Germany for assassinating a Chechen former fighter in Berlin. Russia released 16 prisoners, including Oleg Orlov, a co-chairman of the human rights group Memorial; Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won the Pulitzer Prize this year for columns he had written for The Washington Post from his prison cell; and Ilya Yashin, a well-known opposition leader who was also behind bars. These are the 24 prisoners from the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia who were released in the swap. The linchpin of the deal for Russia was Krasikovs release, which President Vladimir Putin had long sought. I asked my colleague Neil MacFarquhar, who has covered the Kremlin for years, why Putin wanted him back so much. Iran and Hamas vow to strike back The assassination yesterday of Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader, in Tehran has left the entire Middle East on edge, bringing vows of revenge from Irans leaders and threatening to derail fragile negotiations about a Gaza cease-fire. Both Iran and Hamas accused Israel of killing Haniyeh, which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied. Now, the focus is on whether a response from Iran and its proxies could lead to a regional war. Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Haniyehs assassination would prompt a harsh punishment, and officials said he had issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly. In recent years, Israel has carried out several high-profile assassinations in Iran, rattling the countrys leaders. In November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told reporters that he had ordered the Mossad, Israels foreign intelligence service, to act against the heads of Hamas, wherever they are. White House reaction: For President Biden, the back-to-back assassinations of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and the political leader of Hamas in Iran have once again scrambled the geopolitical equation and revised the risk assessment of a wider war in the Middle East. A prisoner swap involving seven countries freed the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, two other Americans and several Russian opposition figures. It was the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades. In return, Western governments released eight people, including Vadim Krasikov, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Germany for assassinating a Chechen former fighter in Berlin. The exchange took place today at the international airport in Ankara, Turkeys capital, and it involved seven planes ferrying 24 prisoners who were from the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are planning to greet the released Americans tonight at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Their brutal ordeal is over, and theyre free, said Biden, who celebrated the deal. The exchange was also a triumph of sorts for Russias president, Vladimir Putin, who had long sought Krasikovs release. Russia legally permits people they accuse of extremism to be killed abroad, my colleague Neil MacFarquhar said. So, in the eyes of the Kremlin, Krasikovs assassination in Berlin of a Chechen separatist leader whom Russia labeled a terrorist was legitimate, he said. This week was supposed to bring a rare moment of amity in the Middle East. Iran inaugurated a new president, and its regional rival, Saudi Arabia, dispatched a royal to Tehran with a jovial letter from its king, sending his best wishes. The United Arab Emirates, attacked by the Iranian-backed Houthis just two years ago, published photos of its smiling foreign minister shaking hands with Iranian officials. And a White House spokesman had said that a cease-fire deal in Gaza was close. Instead, the region now seems to be even further away from peace. Yesterday, Iran and Hamas accused Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior leaders of Hamas, while he was in Tehran. (Haniyeh was Hamass lead negotiator in cease-fire talks to end the Gaza war, which began with the Oct. 7 attacks.) The day before, Israel killed a leader of Hezbollah in Beirut after a rocket launched from Lebanon had killed 12 children in Israeli-occupied territory. Diplomats around the world are telling these parties to keep a lid on it. And the groups themselves say they do not want a wider regional war. Israels defense minister repeated the message on Wednesday. Iran has said the same thing, and so has Hezbollah. (Hamas has said it wants a wider war, but it is depleted from nearly 10 months of conflict in Gaza.) Yet the violence persists, as each party claims its attacks are reactions to previous ones. Thats why, in the span of a few months, Israeli bombs have hit Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen. Its why Hezbollah and Houthi fighters have repeatedly targeted Israel (and also ships passing through the Red Sea, disrupting global trade). Its why American airstrikes have pummeled Yemen for nearly seven months. Before assuming power, Bolsonaro was an anti-democratic ideologue and former military man with a decades-long career in politics; Trump was a real estate developer and a media personality. But over the six years that Bolsonaro drove the news cycles in Latin Americas largest nation, he gave journalists a long list of reasons to equate the two men. Both made a show of praising authoritarian leaders, past and present, and liked to style themselves as defenders of law and order while acting as if the rules didnt apply to them. Both formed an alliance with the religious right late in their careers and enlisted their sons to help push their respective agendas. Both frequently took to Twitter to attack their enemies, troll traditional media and rile up their supporters. And both retreated to Florida when things got tough. For decades, the Brazilian right had looked to the United States, and when Donald Trump began to transform the rules of political discourse, it took note. We learned to have the courage to speak up, says Damares Alves, an evangelical pastor who served as Bolsonaros minister of human rights, families and women. We began to be more incisive on the question of abortion. We learned we could be more direct about the question of arming the population. We realized we could take a tougher stand against the left-wing transformation taking place across our continent. One day after federal prosecutors announced that they had struck a plea deal with three men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, New Yorkers and family members of victims had mixed reactions to the sudden news. Under the agreement, the three men including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind will serve life in prison but avoid a death-penalty trial. If Khalid Shaikh Mohammed doesnt deserve the death penalty, who does? said Don Arias, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, whose brother Adam was killed in the World Trade Center. From his home in Florida, Mr. Arias, 67, remembered days of searching for his brother before his remains were identified. Mr. Arias was upset about the plea deal, and especially about the sense that people seemed to have lost interest in an act of terrorism that claimed nearly 3,000 lives and shattered Americans sense of security. Most people I talk to figure this was done years ago, he said, referring to the trial. My brother was 37 years old. It hurts to know that someone I know and love is now all but forgotten. Former President Donald J. Trump is urging the judge who oversaw his Manhattan criminal trial to step aside, claiming in a legal filing that the judge has indirect ties to Vice President Kamala Harris and therefore an actual conflict and appearances of impropriety. In a letter to the judge released on Thursday two months after Mr. Trump was convicted of falsifying documents to hide a sex scandal Mr. Trumps lawyers said that the judges daughter has a longstanding relationship with Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and Mr. Trumps election opponent. Mr. Trumps legal team cited the daughters work for political campaigns as a Democratic consultant, an argument that many ethics experts had previously rejected. The letter is the former presidents latest long-shot bid to oust the judge, Juan M. Merchan, from the case. The judge, a former Republican now known as a moderate Democrat, refused Mr. Trumps request last year to step aside. He cited a state advisory committee on judicial ethics that determined that his impartiality could not reasonably be questioned based on his daughters interests. Before the trial, Mr. Trump also tried unsuccessfully to remove the judge, who declared on the first day of jury selection in April, There is no agenda here and We want justice to be done. One of my ironclad rules of reporting in the Middle East is that sometimes you need to rereport a story to see things even more clearly than you did earlier. Im having that experience with the Iran-Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war, which could soon draw in the United States. It could not be more clear now that, while Hamass surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 was triggered in part by reckless Israeli settlement expansions, brutal treatment of Palestinian prisoners and encroachments on Muslim religious sites in Jerusalem, the terrorist assault was also part of a broader Iranian campaign to drive America out of the Middle East and Americas Arab and Israeli allies into a corner before they could corner Iran. Which is why if the current tit-for-tat conflict between Israel and Iran and Irans proxies (Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis) escalates into a full-scale war one that Israel could not fight for very long alone President Biden could face the most fateful decision of his presidency: whether to go to war with Iran, alongside Israel, and take out Tehrans nuclear program, which is the keystone of Irans strategic network in the region. Iran has been building that network to supplant America as the most powerful force in the Middle East and to bleed Israel to death by a thousand cuts inflicted by its proxies. But America must always be wary about what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up to. As a former Israeli diplomat, Alon Pinkas, observed in Haaretz on Thursday, one has to wonder why Netanyahu chose now to assassinate the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the middle of delicate hostage talks. Was it just because it could (lord knows Haniyeh had a lot of Israeli blood on his hands), or was Israel deliberately provoking escalation in the hope that a conflagration with Iran will drag the United States into the conflict, further distancing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the debacle of Oct. 7 a calamity that to this day he has not been held accountable for. Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Donald Trump has been invoking her name a lot. Well, something close to her name. Harris pronounces it KA-ma-la. Trump, however, has often been pronouncing it Ka-MA-la or even KUH-ma-la. He did it again yesterday at the convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. He insists he doesnt care one way or another (though after audience members voiced their disapproval, he shifted his emphasis to the first syllable). Some people think I mispronounce it on purpose, he has said, but actually, Ive heard it said about seven different ways. The name is originally Sanskrit. To many who dont speak that language, it can at first seem counterintuitive to pronounce it KA-ma-la. It certainly took me a bit of practice to get into the habit. American English speakers might expect it to be Ka-MA-la because in so many other words ending in -ala, the accent is on the penultimate syllable: koala, impala, veal Marsala, even Guatemala. But while so many of us have learned from our mistakes, Trump has defiantly not, and his acolytes have joined right in. The fact that the name is pronounced in different ways though Id challenge Trump to come up with seven hardly means that none is correct. Claiming otherwise, or insisting that the vice presidents name can be pronounced in any which way, is a form of ridicule, a way to attribute to the candidate a dismissible and even peculiar blurriness. Its a way of subjecting his opponent to the insult comedy we have come to expect. Yet Ka-MA-la is doing something more specific. Trumps pronunciation is reanimating an approach to foreign-sounding words that predominated in the first half of the 20th century, when America was a less multicultural nation and American English was a less multicultural language. Its an antique from a more normative time. Over the last four days, Elon Musk has spoken out more than 50 times about President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and the comments have been far from flattering. Shame on Dictator Maduro, Mr. Musk wrote on X on Sunday, as results came in from Venezuelas presidential election, which has been criticized as deeply flawed. The next morning, Mr. Musk posted that there had been major election fraud by Maduro. Since then, the worlds richest man has also compared Mr. Maduro to a donkey and suggested that he would be open to fighting the autocratic leader in hand-to-hand combat. Mr. Musk, the 53-year-old chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has often criticized heads of state, including President Biden, on X. But the attacks against Mr. Maduro, who is one of the prominent symbols of the left in Latin America, stood out for their sudden volume and aggression. They were part of a pattern by Mr. Musk of denouncing leftist ideals and socialism. In Venezuela, he has said, he sees a failed state with a collapsed economy that he blames on the corruption of leftist politicians. In some of his posts, Mr. Musk, who has endorsed former President Donald J. Trump in the U.S. presidential race, suggested that the United States could become like Venezuela if voters backed the Democratic Party in November. For more than a year, the top of The Wall Street Journals website has featured prominent coverage of the imprisonment of Evan Gershkovich, one of the news organizations reporters. His image and the words #IStandWithEvan appear on a large screen in The Journals New York newsroom. Colleagues wear I Stand With Evan T-shirts and Free Evan pins. The maneuvering behind the international prisoner swap on Thursday, involving Mr. Gershkovich and around two dozen others, was far outside the bounds of what The Wall Street Journal could do to help him. But since Russia imprisoned Mr. Gershkovich in March 2023, The Journal has pushed to keep his detainment top of mind. The organization has operated letter-writing campaigns, launched social media blitzes and staged a 24-hour read-a-thon of Mr. Gershkovichs reporting. Colleagues across the world took part in runs on the first anniversary of his arrest, while employees in New York plunged into the cold waters at Brighton Beach in Brooklyn for a swim event. Call it Bill and Teds Existentialist Adventure. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, the actors who incarnated a pair of slacker musicians for three Bill & Ted films, are planning to reunite for a Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot. The production, planned for the fall of 2025, will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, one of the hottest directors of the moment, whose work is characterized by a spare aesthetic and an emphasis on psychological intensity. Lloyd said that the project was Reevess idea, but that as soon as the actor approached him, it was a no-brainer that this needed to be done. Their instant chemistry and their shorthand and their friendship is going to be so valuable, Lloyd said of Reeves and Winter in an interview. This is a very deeply complex play, as we all know, but its also a very funny play, and theyre very witty people and their shared sense of humor in those movies and in real life is going to be very beneficial to the production. Ismael Zambada Garcia, one of the founders of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, appeared in court in Texas on Thursday, one week after he was kidnapped by his former business partners son and flown across the U.S. border into the hands of American agents. The appearance in Federal District Court in El Paso for an initial hearing was routine as a legal matter, but it also represented a consequential moment in the history of the drug war. It was the first time that Mr. Zambada Garcia, a wily drug lord who had managed to evade capture for decades, was brought before a judge to be held accountable for what prosecutors have described as a nearly 50-year career of drug dealing, murder and corruption. Last week, that career was cut short when Mr. Zambada Garcia, who is 76 and known as El Mayo, was lured from one of his mountain hide-outs to the Mexican city of Culiacan, which has long served as a stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel. He believed he was going to help one of the sons of his former partner in crime, the jailed kingpin known as El Chapo, mediate a dispute between two local politicians, according to three people familiar with the matter. Instead, he was ambushed, muscled onto a plane and flown across the border to a small regional airport near El Paso. Early in his political career, when he represented a largely rural district in Congress, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was a darling of the National Rifle Association. The powerful group endorsed him, donated to his campaigns and once gave him an A rating. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners. Mr. Walz, after all, was an Army veteran and the rare gun-owning Democrat who spoke of his love for hunting. But during his first campaign for governor in 2018, Mr. Walz began supporting tighter firearm restrictions. Shortly after a teenage gunman opened fire at a Florida high school in February 2018, Mr. Walz spoke out in favor of an assault weapons ban. At the time, Mr. Walz who is among a handful of politicians that Vice President Kamala Harris is said to be vetting as a possible running mate said he was uniquely suited to sell gun rights supporters on more restrictive measures. Even in the world of presidential multitasking, July 21 turns out to have been an extraordinary, whipsaw Sunday for President Biden. At 12:09 p.m., he picked up the phone at his vacation house in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to talk with the prime minister of Slovenia as part of a high-stakes diplomatic gamble to seal a complicated, multinational prisoner swap. Just 97 minutes later, he posted a world-stunning letter online abandoning his bid for re-election after a bruising pressure campaign by his own Democratic allies, climaxing the biggest crisis of his political career and signaling the end of his presidency after a half-century in public life. By any measure, it was one of the darkest moments of his time in elective office as the inescapable reality of time, age and polls finally caught up with him. And yet it would lead to one of the most joyous days of his presidency barely a week and a half later as he orchestrated the release of imprisoned Americans from the dungeons of Russia. The Senate rejected a bill on Thursday that would have restored lapsed tax breaks for businesses and expanded the child tax credit, as many Republicans in the chamber lined up against the bipartisan deal in hopes of gaining an advantage in bigger tax legislation expected next year. The roughly $80 billion bill had seemed to have everything. It soared through the House earlier this year with broad bipartisan support, a rare feat. Business groups loved it and hoped Congress would again allow companies to immediately deduct the full cost of capital investments and research expenses from their tax bills. And anti-poverty activists cheered its expansion of federal support for parents with children. But the effort spearheaded by Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and the Ways and Means Committee chairman, and Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and the Finance Committee chairman still ran aground in the Senate. Republican senators worried that the bills expansion of the child tax credit veered into creating a new welfare program, stalling the legislation. Though Republican opposition doomed the bills fate months ago, Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, brought it up for a procedural vote on Thursday. The vote failed 48 to 44, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance. Three Republicans joined Democrats in favor of the bill, while two independents who caucus with Democrats Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont opposed it. Mr. Schumer also ultimately voted against the bill, a decision that allows him to potentially bring it back up for another vote. The man accused of plotting the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, appeared in court on Thursday, watching silently as the prosecutor who had pursued his capital case since the beginning formally announced that a plea agreement had been reached that would remove the possibility of the death penalty. The prosecutor, Clayton G. Trivett Jr., also gave the court the sealed and signed agreements between the prisoner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and the Pentagons overseer of the war court cases. Disclosure of the agreement in the court at Guantanamo Bay is the first step toward a sentencing hearing before a military panel, which could begin next summer. Prosecutors who had negotiated the agreements with Mr. Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, disclosed the deal on Wednesday to family members of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the attacks. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania took the stage at Wissahickon High School in the Philadelphia suburbs on Monday to the roars of his fellow Democrats, a campaign appearance and an audition all in one. As he enthusiastically shouted out his support for Vice President Kamala Harriss presidential campaign, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had dogged Democratic politicians last spring were nowhere in evidence. There was only the adoration of an audience from his native Montgomery County, which the Democratic ticket must carry by sizable margins in November to win Pennsylvania. But as Ms. Harris prepares to name her running mate ahead of a rally on Tuesday in Philadelphia, those protests are very much part of the calculus surrounding Mr. Shapiro, who is believed to be on her shortlist of potential running mates. Efforts by a motley collection of left-wing and pro-Palestinian activists to derail his nomination have presented the Harris campaign with a decision as the vice president prepares to make one of most significant choices of her career: Should she take the opportunity to stand up to her far-left flank in an appeal to the center of the party and to independents, or should she shy away from inflaming an issue that has divided and bedeviled the party Israels war in Gaza? The day before the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey in Springfield, Ill., her mother called 911 and asked for help, saying that her daughter was having a mental breakdown and asking the police to recognize her vulnerable condition, according to call recordings released by county officials in Illinois on Wednesday. In a phone call made around 9 a.m. on July 5, Donna Massey told the dispatcher: I dont want you guys to hurt her, please. Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, called the police for help the next day, on July 6, and was fatally shot inside her home by a Sangamon County sheriffs deputy, Sean Grayson, who is white. Ms. Massey had called emergency services because she believed an intruder had entered her home, prosecutors said. Mr. Grayson, 30, was charged with murder and was fired last month. Body camera footage from the shooting shows that Mr. Grayson and his partner searched outside of Ms. Masseys home before they followed her inside. After she provided the officers with her identification, she went to the kitchen to remove a pot of water from the stove. As she was handling the pot, several feet away from the deputies, Ms. Massey said twice to the deputies, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Former President Donald J. Trump turned the imprisonment of Evan Gershkovich into a campaign issue about three months ago, after facing criticism in March when The Wall Street Journal correspondent marked one year in prison for not demanding his release. Mr. Trump has boasted repeatedly that he could get Mr. Gershkovich, 32, freed right away, saying that his relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would ensure the release as soon as he won the U.S. presidential election in November. He also claimed, without evidence, that Russia was probably demanding billions of dollars in ransom. Mr. Trumps most high-profile statements on the issue came during the debate with President Biden in June. I will have him out very quickly, as soon as I take office, before I take office, Mr. Trump said, without mentioning Mr. Gershkovich by name. As soon as I win the election, I will have that reporter out. Aside from his statements made during the debate, Mr. Trump had repeated similar thoughts about freeing Mr. Gershkovich on Truth Social, his social media platform, as well as in interviews. The Utah Supreme Court upheld on Thursday a suspension of the states near-total ban on abortion, meaning the procedure remains legal while a court challenge to the law proceeds. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, it cleared the way for two Utah laws to come into force: a ban on most abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy, which was passed in 2019 and is currently in effect, and a near-total abortion ban passed in 2020 that would prohibit the procedure at any time during pregnancy, with very limited exceptions, including for cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. The near-total abortion ban took effect in 2022, but the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah almost immediately filed a lawsuit in the state seeking to block the ban. The organization argued that the ban violated several provisions in the State Constitution, including those that guarantee a right to determine family composition and a right to gender equality. A trial court issued a preliminary injunction in July 2022 blocking the state from enforcing the near-total ban while the case proceeded. Utah state officials appealed, but the State Supreme Court ruled against them on Thursday and left the injunction in place. One of the inmates charged in the fatal prison cell beating of James (Whitey) Bulger, the shrewd and savage organized crime boss who lorded over Bostons underworld for decades, received an additional sentence of more than four years on Thursday for his role in the attack. Paul J. DeCologero, a Massachusetts gangster who is serving 25 years behind bars for his activities in the violent DeCologero Crew crime gang, pleaded guilty to an assault charge after prosecutors dropped the more serious counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder which would have carried a potential sentence of life in prison. Before the new conviction, Mr. DeCologero, 50, had been eligible for release in December of 2026. Now, that release date has been pushed back to 2031. Mr. Bulger, who had been suffering from a life-threatening cardiac condition and was dependent on a wheelchair, was found pummeled to death in his cell on the morning of Oct. 30, 2018. It was only hours after he had been transferred from a Florida prison, where he had been serving two consecutive life sentences for his role in 11 murders. He was 89. Famine has officially been declared in the Darfur region of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people under siege have fled their homes during the countrys 15-month civil war, two organizations that monitor world hunger announced on Thursday. People who fled to a camp called Zamzam near the city of El Fasher, in North Darfur, have been facing famine since June, and no food aid is reaching them, prompting the official declaration, the agencies said. The Zamzam camp has grown recently and now holds about half a million people. An official declaration of famine is rare, but it serves to draw global attention and push donor governments to increase funding for aid agencies. With two other major wars and various emergencies around the globe, assistance for Sudan has fallen far short of the need, aid agencies have said. This famine is tragic, catastrophic, and unfortunately was predictable, Will Carter, the Sudan country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a phone interview. This is a milestone moment where we really need to step up all the resources required. In almost every corner of Pakistan, anger at the ruling elite is nearing a boiling point. Thousands have protested soaring electricity bills just outside the capital, Islamabad. In a major port city in the southwest, dozens have clashed with security officers over what they described as forced disappearances of activists. In the northwest, protesters have admonished the countrys generals for a recent surge in terrorist attacks. The demonstrations over the past few weeks reflect frustration with Pakistans shaky, five-month-old government and with its military, the countrys ultimate authority. The unrest threatens to plunge Pakistan back into the depths of political turmoil that has flared in recent years and that many had hoped would subside after the February general election. Pakistans leaders are confronted with a monsoon of problems. The economy is suffering its worst crisis in decades. Anger at an election widely viewed as manipulated by the military remains palpable. Militant violence has roared back after the Talibans return to power in neighboring Afghanistan. And Pakistani politics are more polarized than ever, with the countrys most popular political figure sitting in jail after a bitter rift with the military. He was raised by emigre Soviet parents in New Jersey but returned to work in their native land, only to be trapped in the repressive machinery that they had sought to escape. The parents of Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal reporter released on Thursday in a far-reaching prisoner exchange with Russia, left the Soviet Union separately in 1979, fleeing antisemitism and a lack of opportunity. Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman met and married in the United States, where they raised Evan and his older sister, Danielle, with a foot in both cultures, teaching them fluent Russian. In 2017, the younger Mr. Gershkovich moved to Moscow to work for The Moscow Times, a local English-language daily, and worked his way through various news agencies until he joined The Journal as a reporter in January 2022. He was fulfilling his dream of becoming a foreign correspondent, but he ended up spending his 32nd birthday in Lefortovo, a notorious Moscow prison. The assassination took place in broad daylight in a downtown Berlin park. The Russian gunman pedalled up on a bicycle before shooting a former Chechen separatist fighter in the head as children and their parents looked on. Vadim Krasikov, the man sentenced to life in prison in Germany for that brazen 2019 killing, was later described as a patriot by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. On Thursday, he was freed as part of the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. In total, three Americans Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter; Alsu Kurmasheva, another journalist, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and corporate security executive were among the 16 people who were freed in the deal. The deal also included numerous Russian political dissidents that the Kremlin released from jail, while Western nations traded eight Russian prisoners. Mr. Krasikov, in his late 50s, appeared to be the linchpin of the multifaceted deal, since Mr. Putin himself indicated that was whom he wanted. Twenty-four prisoners were freed on Thursday in a multicountry exchange in Turkey, marking one of the broadest exchanges between Russia and the West in years. Heres what to know about all of the prisoners who were exchanged in the swap. Released by Russia: Three American citizens: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan Six other Western prisoners Four political prisoners and human rights advocates Three Russians with ties to Aleksei Navalny Released by the West: Eight prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, who assassinated a Chechen separatist in Berlin The Released American Citizens The prisoner swap carried out on Thursday is the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades. Heres a closer look at some of the people who were released. Released by Russia Evan Gershkovich A reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, 32, was detained by security service agents in March 2023 during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a major Russian industrial hub about 850 miles east of Moscow. Shortly after, he was charged with espionage, the first such case against a Western reporter since 1986. Seeking to quell a surge of misinformation-fueled unrest, a British judge on Thursday took the unusual step of naming the 17-year-old suspect in a stabbing rampage that left three children dead and eight injured in northwestern England early this week. The suspect, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, appeared in a Liverpool court to face three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. The stabbing spree, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town of Southport on Monday, stunned Britain and ignited two days of racially fueled riots, in multiple cities, that were incited by far-right provocateurs. Although the police announced that the suspect had been born in Cardiff, Wales, erroneous posts on social media claimed he was an undocumented immigrant, which triggered protests that reached almost to the gates of Downing Street. Dogs have been a prominent part of Turkish culture for centuries. The Kangal Shepherd breed is a national treasure featured on postage stamps, and some strays have become local celebrities, like Boji, who earned fame for riding Istanbuls public transportation. But this year, Turkeys stray dogs have become a contentious political issue. The countrys Parliament passed a law this week requiring municipalities to round up stray dogs and put them into shelters, and permitting aggressive or ill animals to be euthanized. The law mandates shelter improvements by 2028 and threatens mayors with prison time if they dont enforce the law. But critics have expressed fears that the law may be used to target political opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling party pushed through the legislation. Some are also concerned about inadequate, overcrowded shelters for the countrys stray dog population estimated to be around four million. The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Thursday that its conflict with Israel had entered a new phase after an Israeli strike in Lebanons capital, Beirut, this week. But his vow to respond fell far short of the fiery pledge to escalate that some residents and officials had feared. Mr. Nasrallahs speech had been nervously awaited since the Israeli strike on Tuesday, which killed Fuad Shukr, one of his close confidantes and a top-ranking Hezbollah commander. A top Hamas leader was killed in Iran hours later, fueling worries around the Middle East that Israels hostilities with Iran and its allies could erupt into all-out regional war. But although Mr. Nasrallah promised that Hezbollah would respond, he equivocated on the scope and nature of that retaliation. We have entered a new phase, he said, speaking in a televised address during the funeral for Mr. Shukr. You do not realize the red lines you have crossed, warned Mr. Nasrallah, addressing Israel directly. The response will come, whether spread out or simultaneously, he added. Officials and diplomats across the Middle East had been looking to the speech for any indication of whether Hezbollah would alter course in its long-running conflict with Israel, either by escalating its military response or seeking to lower the pressure and avoid all-out war. The speech by Mr. Nasrallah on Thursday appeared to straddle that line. Although he said the group and its allies were working on a true response, not a show response as some are trying to suggest, he added that Israels reaction would determine whether the war escalates. Follow our latest updates on the Middle East crisis here. Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official. The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran. Mr. Haniyeh was in Irans capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard. The explosion shook the building, shattered some windows and caused the partial collapse of an exterior wall, according to the two Iranian officials, members of the Revolutionary Guards briefed on the incident. Such damage was also evident in a photograph of the building shared with The New York Times. The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed Muhammad Deif, the Hamas commander who is believed to have been a planner of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in an airstrike last month, which would make him the third Iranian-backed militant leader slain in recent weeks. The Israeli announcement confirming the death of Mr. Deif, the leader of Hamass military wing, came as thousands of mourners attended the funerals of another Hamas leader and a Hezbollah commander whose assassinations this week have amplified fears of a wider regional war. Mr. Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a compound in southern Gaza on July 13, according to the Israeli military. It said his death had been confirmed by an intelligence assessment, but did not provide further details. At least 90 other people were killed in the strike, according to Gazas health officials. Hamas has not confirmed or denied Mr. Deifs death. The No. 2 Hamas leader in Gaza, he would be the groups most senior military leader slain by Israeli forces during the offensive in Gaza that has also killed more than 38,000 people, according to the territorys health officials. Israel began its campaign in the enclave after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, during which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 abducted to Gaza. For months, diplomats and analysts in foreign capitals have worried that prolonged political upheaval in the United States could invite aggression abroad, whether in Russias waging of war in Ukraine, North Koreas rogue nuclear ambitions or Chinas expansionist designs in the South China Sea. Now, less than 100 days before Americans elect a new president, that broader geopolitical crisis has erupted in the familiar theater of the Middle East. The targeted killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran have deepened fears of a regionwide conflict one that the United States, caught up in its own political drama at home, may have little capacity to avert or even contain. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States had not been involved in, or even informed of, the operation in Tehran, which the Iranian government swiftly blamed on Israel. To some, Mr. Blinkens statement confirmed a dangerous power vacuum in the region. Doctors at Hanois Viet Duc Hospital recently saved a young mans life by performing emergency surgery to remove a live eel that had bitten through his intestines and entered his abdominal cavity. On July 27, a 31-year-old Indian national was brought to the emergency room of Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi with severe abdominal pain. Through moans and screams of agony, the unnamed man told hospital staff that he had inserted a live eel into his body through his backside shortly before he began experiencing excruciating abdominal pain. The Vietnamese doctors on duty had seen a lot of things in peoples bodies, but a live eel was new, even for them, so they didnt believe the patient at first. However, X-ray imaging and ultrasound exams showed a horizontal radiopaque skeleton in the mans abdominal cavity which turned out to be an actual live eel. The hospital quickly put together a team of endoscopy experts and anaesthesiologists to perform a colonoscopy and remove the foreign body through the mans rear, but they were unable to reach the slippery marine creature, and with the mans pain intensifying by the minute, doctors had no choice but to perform surgery on the mans abdomen. They were shocked to discover a live eel approximately 65cm long and 10cm in circumference. The eel had bitten through the patients rectum and colon to escape into the abdominal cavity, Le Nhat Huy, Deputy Director of the Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Surgery Centre at Viet Duc Hospital, told reporters. Eels can survive in anaerobic conditions for a long time and have the ability to bite through the gastrointestinal tract. After removing the eel and a lemon that was blocking the Indian mans rectum and checking for other foreign bodies, doctors sutured the perforation in his colon and also performed a colostomy to prevent feces from passing through the newly sutured perforation. As for the reason why the man inserted a live eel into his body, it remains a mystery, but doctors suspect it was to experience intense sensations. One thing is for sure, though, he is definitely not the first man to do it. Only a few months ago, we wrote a similar story about a man who had been admitted to the Hai Ha District Medical Center in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, with severe abdominal cramps. Doctors there found a live eel that had bitten through his abdomen. Las Cruces Plans to Hire Travel PR Partner Wed., Oct. 9, 2024 Visit Las Cruces, which is the convention and visitors bureau of New Mexicos second largest city, wants a PR firm to help position it as a premiere tourism destination. THE death has occurred of Kevin Cowley late of Arden Vale, Tullamore. Originally from Derry, Kevin taught music in Wilson's Hospital School, Westmeath, for many years. He was a gifted musician and played in many bands over the years. He was a quiet and gentle man who was devoted to his family. Wilson's Hospital School posted this tribute. ''The school is sad to hear about the passing of Kevin Cowley. Mr. Cowley taught music in Wilson's for 30 years. He will be missed by staff and past pupils alike. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. '' This tribute came from a past pupil. ''Very sorry to hear of Mr Cowleys passing and sincere condolences to his family. A genuinely lovely, calm and very talented man. I have nothing but fond memories of music class with him. My favourite is badly playing the recorder for my Junior Cert music practical and Mr Cowley beautifully accompanying it with some effortless piano playing, as well as the weekly Wonderwall singalongs. May he rest in peace. '' Another past pupils said, '' I will always cherish my memories of Mr Cowley's music classes in WHS, Kevin always welcomed us with a smile and his guitar in hand and these were some of my favourite times in secondary school.'' ''I have very fond memories of Kevin as a school boy in Wilsons . I left in 1988. Kevin gave me a great love for classical music. I always think of Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Ravel when I think of him. He very kindly brought parcels from my parents in Mountmellick on occasion. A gentle and funny man who instilled a passion for his subject.'' One friend said, ''I have great memories of time spent with Kevin from childhood in Derry. I can never forget the month in 1967 he and I spent hitchhiking from Derry with only a small green tent (called:Fingal's Cave!) and Kevin's guitar and case with "IRELAND" written on it. It took us through England and France down to Barcelona and back. Priceless memories of a very good friend.'' He is survived by his wife Patricia, children Emmet, Gavin and Caroline, his much loved grandchildren Jessica, Moya, Caoimhe, Oisin, Daisy and Eve, brothers Vincent, Eugene and Martin, sister Rosemary, daughters-in-law Marie and Mairead, son-in-law Jerry, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. His Requim Mass took place on Wednesday morning at The Church of The Assumption, Tullamore with burial afterwards in Durrow cemetery. One of the two men killed in yesterday's helicopter crash in Co Westmeath has been named as Niall Crosby from Glenageary in Dublin. Mr Crosby, a married father of two, was a founder of AG Grid, a software company based in London. In a statement his family said he deeply missed by his loving wife Jillian, his adored children Thomas and Robin, and his wide circle of family and friends. Niall, who was originally from Straffan, Co Kildare, had recently returned to Dublin in recent years to raise his family with his wife Jillian. "Niall's family would like to thank everyone who has been in touch with their condolences over the past extraordinarily difficult 24 hours. "They would like to particularly thank the first responders and the various authorities who have been so understanding and professional. "And they would like to especially thank the local communities of Killucan and Raharney for their thoughts and prayers. "We also have a special thought for Nialls co-pilot and his family at this tragic time," the spokesperson said. Mr Crosby previously posted on social media that he was learning to fly helicopters and was aiming to get his pilots licence. The second man killed has also been identified as Antonin Kabelka (40s), from the Czech Republic, who worked as a helicopter flight trainer in Prague. The two men were killed when their helicopter came down on the roof of a piggery in the Joristown townland. Gardai are liaising with Mr Crosbys family. The two men were the only occupants of the helicopter, and were pronounced dead at the scene. Both bodies were removed from the scene to Regional Hospital Mullingar for postmortems. The flight originated at Dublins Weston Airport, according to flight data, and the helicopter had been in the air for some 25 minutes when the crash occurred. READ NEXT - Hospital apologises to woman with terminal cancer who sued over failure to read smear test results THE 56th Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival will get underway this weekend and final preparations are now being put to what promises to be another great festival. There is a packed programme of events planned for the nine day festival, which includes many of the old favourites plus a number of new events as well. The parade on Vintage Sunday, (August 4) is always a major highlight and attracts large crowds to the town to enjoy the parade of vintage vehicles, floats and colourful entries. This year the parade has a new route with a slight change of direction when the parade reaches the top of Main Street at Emmet Square, turning left and proceeding across Green Street and finishing as normal at the Marian Hall. It won't be going up Emmet Street this year. John Carroll, who has contributed so much to the community of Birr, will give the Opening Address. John served as an elected public representative from 1985 until his retirement in June this year and has been a committed community activist for many years. Emma Nee Haslam returns as Parade MC. Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival will have Accessible Viewing Areas at the parade for people with additional needs. Space is limited. Access will be by pre-registration only. All of these areas have limited space. If you would like access to any of these areas, please register in advance. To register, email birrvintageweekparade@gmail.com, or contact the Festival Info Line on (089) 242 4379. They will do their best to find space for everyone who contacts them in advance. The 56th edition of one of Irelands longest-running community arts festivals will include over 100 events taking place in over 40 locations across nine days featuring visual arts, theatre, music, street theatre, workshops, exhibitions, together with a whole host of community events. This years festival theme is Going with the Flow, which will celebrate the beautiful waterways of Offaly. The multi-site Visual Arts Trail is enriched with additional river-themed events, including Plein-Air Painting on the Camcor, a lecture by John Feehan, the River Witnessed by Mark Lyndon, a river float in the Vintage Sunday Parade and not forgetting the Great Ruckin Duck Race, organised by Birr Rugby Club. Other much-loved traditional events are also back including the Food & Craft Market on Saturday August 3rd and Fireworks Night on Thursday August 8 In Birr Castle, Mobius, by ROGU Fire Arts Production, will take the audience on a hypnotic visual journey of fire, light and movement while the beautiful aerial circus show, Doris & Mabels Book Club, is perfect for children and families. The Big Beautiful Vintage Picnic is another enchanting family-friendly event. At Birr Theatre & Arts Centre highlights include Paddy Casey, The Ennio Morricone Experience, The Classic Beatles, Paris Bubbles, The Wonderful Story of the Camcor with John Feehan and The River Witnessed by Birr native Mark Lyndon plus lots more. As always, the Visual Arts programme is full to the brim with over twenty exhibitions including the transformation of the Masonic Hall into a playful multi-sensory installation taking inspiration from the Camcor River. The Courthouse Yard will once again be a creative hub for the Festival with visual arts workshops, music and Moonlit Movies presented by OFFline Film Festival. Speaking at the recent festival launch Caroline Conway, Chairperson of the festival said that The festival is about celebrating our town's heritage but it's also about surprising people. Every year new events are added to the old which keeps things fresh and invigorated. Vintage Week is an incredibly important event for the people of Birr, continued the Chair. More people come home for Vintage than they do at Christmas. We would like to thank all our sponsors and funders who make this event possible and demonstrate their commitment to the Festival through their generous donations. We have a fantastic team this year, but we need additional volunteers during the week for a smooth running event. If you can give a few hours, please register on our website. We have a dedicated volunteer manager this year, Rachel Alexander, to make sure all our volunteers are well looked after. The programme is online now and booking is open: www.birrvintageweek.com . See this week's Midlands and Tullamore Tribunes for a special supplement on Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival. LORRHA & Dorrha Historical Society held its third Medieval Conference on Saturday July 20th at the Friars Tavern, Lorrha. This sold-out event was attended by a great variety of people, from those with local interest, various historical societies, and academics from around the country. James Heenan (Hon. Secretary) was host for the day and introduced Dr Christy Cunniffe, who officially opened the conference. Christy referred to the success of the Lorrha conference which filled the void of the former successful Roscrea Conference which had a great reputation. The first speaker was historian and chairman of the society, David Broderick M.A. His talk focused on the discovery of important graffiti found at Lackeen Castle in 2017. These finds have previously been printed in the Archaeology Ireland magazine and the Tipperary Historical Journal. Older inscriptions discovered at Lackeen by David include protection marks such as Virgo Virginum and a concentric compass circle. The graffiti discovered is a later date of 1657 and inscribed by Donogh OKennedy, the last chieftain of Lackeen. Importantly, this graffiti highlights the anguish of Donogh which was felt by Gaelic society in the later Commonwealth period of Ireland. Manuscripts was the topic for the next two speakers. Dr Donncha MacGabhann presented his paper Scribal Hands in Midland Manuscripts: The Curious Case of the MacRegol Gospels. The MacRegol Gospels were written in Birr in AD 800 by MacRegol and an unnamed scribe. Donncha through his meticulous study of the manuscripts letters and form concluded that MacRegol, who was thought to be the main scribe, was in fact a student of the unnamed scribe. Dr Joseph J. Flahive followed up with his paper The St Gall Gospels: The Case for a Lorrha Origin. The St Gall Gospels are housed in the Abbey Library of St Gallen in Switzerland. This manuscript is of an Irish origin and Joseph using various historic references and identical styles of the Lorrha (Stowe) Missal and the Faddan More Psalter concluded that the monastery of Lorrha presented itself as having a great scriptorium and the most likely producer of St Galls Gospels. After Lunch, Dr Christy Cunniffe presented his paper A doorway fit for a Bishop: The West door at Clontuskert. Christy looked at the iconography of this 15th century doorway. This doorway features carvings of Archangel Michael weighing the souls, Augustine of Hippo, Catherine of Alexandria and John the Baptist. Other carvings include a pelican feeding her young, a mermaid and a pair of griffins. The last lecture The Dominican Priory of St Peter Martyr, Lorrha Thoughts on the Seen and Unseen Structures was presented by Christiaan Corlett of the National Monuments Service. Chris has a vast experience of ecclesiastical buildings across Ireland and presented some thought-provoking suggestions on the 13th century priory in Lorrha. He suggested that that this priory may have been built in two phases looking at evidence from the walls and windows. Referring to the mill at Lorrha, he suggested that this building was too elaborate for a mill but may have had other functions such as a scriptorium or a study for novices. The Conference was officially closed by David Broderick who thanked speakers, attendees and all who helped to make the conference a success. Afterwards, James Heenan led the group to the Dominican Priory. He gave an insight of its history and brought the group into the adjoining Catholic Church and spoke about its tabernacle which replicated panels of the 11th shrine of the Lorrha missal. The tour concluded with an analysis of The mill. Lorrha & Dorrha Historical Society would like to thank their speakers: David Broderick M.A., Dr Donncha MacGabhann, Dr Joseph J. Flahive, Dr Christy Cunniffe and Christiaan Corlett. Once again, they are grateful to Denis & Lil Maher and staff of The Friars Tavern for hosting the event. Thanks to the following: Mike Quirke & Paul Houlihan for traffic control; Olivia Horan and Aglish Hall for use of chairs; Lorrha Hall for extra chairs and lectern; Padraig O Flannabhra for photography; The Nenagh Guardian, Midland Tribune, Connaught Tribune and Archaeology Ireland for promoting this event; and to all that travelled near and far for the conference. The success of this conference is attributed to the hard work of the societys organising committee of James Heenan, David Broderick, Nelius OMeara, Fionnula OCrowley, Frank Semple, Eamonn OMeara, Trish Broderick, Mike Quirke and Paul Houlihan. The society are grateful to Tipperary County Council for part-funding this Medieval Conference. 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 The Common Council this week approved about $24 million in federal pandemic relief funding for affordable housing projects, cultural institutions, homeowners and health equity initiatives. About $2.38 million of that will be used for affordable housing initiatives in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Broadway Fillmore Neighborhood Housing Services will receive a $1 million American Rescue Plan grant for property remediation at 591 and 595 Fillmore Ave., to develop 18 apartment units and more than 8,000-square-feet of commercial rental space in the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor. Rehabilitation projects by 2201-2209 Fillmore Avenue LLC in the Fillmore-Leroy neighborhood will get help from $886,416 to create six new affordable rental apartments and four commercial spaces. And the African American Cultural Center of Buffalo will receive $501,000 for property remediation and development activities in the Heritage Corridor. Buffalo considers launching city ambulance service due to concerns about slow AMR responses The Buffalo Common Council is considering creating the citys own ambulance service because lawmakers are worried about the response times of We are proud to support and approve these initiatives that will directly benefit our most vulnerable populations, Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope said. As the Ellicott District representative, I am especially excited for the allocation of funds for the historic Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor in the district. The Council on Tuesday also approved ARP money for cultural institutions, homeowners and health equity initiatives. Allocations include: Cultural institution support: An additional $8.15 million, up from $8 million, was allocated to the African American Cultural Center, Colored Musicians Club, Torn Space Theater, King Urban Life Center, Italian Cultural Center, 5/14 Memorial, Sahlen Field, Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, Buffalo Urban League, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Explore and More Childrens Museum, Buffalo Zoo, Sheas Performing Arts Center, Augstin Pucho Olivencia Community Center and Buffalo History Museum. Arrears forgiveness: To support homeowners who faced financial hardship due to Covid-19, $10.8 million was allocated to forgive their arrears in property taxes, garbage user fees and sewer costs. Buffalo seeks to padlock unlicensed cannabis shops At Tuesday's Buffalo Common Council meeting, Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope called for a new local law that would fine businesses in Buffalo involved in unlicensed cannabis sales and permit the padlocking of the buildings where unlicensed sales take place. The initiative benefits low-income residents. Homeowners will not have to apply to this program. Credits will automatically be applied to their balances, and they will be notified of any forgiveness of their arrears. The initiative is a new program allocation that comprises $5.5 million in existing arrears funds from the Garbage User Fee Assistance program, $2 million from the Water and Sewer Debt Forgiveness program, plus an additional $3.3 million. Community center renovation: An additional $2 million was added to the $10 million already allocated for community center renovations in the city, including the creation of a financial empowerment center at 725 Humboldt Parkway and roof construction at Peter Crotty Casino in Cazenovia Park. Health equity initiatives: An additional $250,000, up from about $1.7 million, was made available to Erie County Medical Center for a new mammography center, specifically targeting maternal health for women of color on the East Side. Restorative justice and public safety fund: To address gun violence, an additional $100,000 was allocated to community based anti-violence programming provided by Stop the Violence Coalition. The money aims to improve neighborhood safety and encourage a resident-driven crime prevention program. The city had already allocated about $2.6 million for the program. Community food security: An additional $100,000, up from $750,000, will support the African American Heritage Food Co-op to address food insecurity on the East Side exacerbated by the pandemic. Frontline Arts Organization Sustainability Fund: An additional $100,000 will go to the Uncrowned Queens in their mission to preserve the history of African Americans in Western New York. The fund originally received $550,000. The remaining $14 million in reallocations will come from the Smart Sewer program. Buffalo was awarded $331 million in American Rescue Plan funding in 2021. As of July 16, the city had earmarked about $253 million so far. Of that, about $202 million has been spent, leaving about $78 million available. All ARP funds must be obligated by Dec. 31 and spent by the end of 2026. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Recently, as TomDispatch regular John Feffer reminds us today, Vladimir Putin met with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, North Korea. And though no one mentioned it, there was, in fact, a missing participant in that meeting. I'm sure you know just whom I'm thinking of -- the American president who pursued Kim back in 2019 and, while he never visited Pyongyang, at one point took 20 steps into North Korea. While president, he also praised that country's leader for "having a great and beautiful vision for his country." Only recently, in his address at the Republican convention, he said of Kim, "I get along with him. He'd like to see me back, too. I think he misses me, if you wanna to know the truth." As for Putin, Trump had any number of complimentary things to say about him while in office and, in 2022, praised his invasion of Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy." Only this year, he insisted that he had told "one of the presidents of a big [NATO] country," not (in his opinion) putting enough money into its defense budget that, when it came to Putin's Russia, "I would encourage [the Russians] to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills." Now, imagine that the same man is once again in a race for the presidency, that he's already made mincemeat out of Joe Biden, who only recently bowed out, and, if the polls are to be believed, still stands a reasonable chance of returning to power in Washington (or if not, of causing untold crises verging on a possible civil war). He is, in short, the ultimate all-American nationalist (but only, of course, if that nation is run by a leader by the name of Donald Trump). Either way, he could be the ultimate destroyer of nations, including this one. And with that in mind, consider Feffer's look at a planet on the brink of what could indeed be a new nationalism of an unnervingly Trumpian sort. Tom Revenge of the Sovereignistas Reports of the Death of Nationalism Are Greatly Exaggerated By John Feffer They were all buddy-buddy for the cameras, going for a joy ride in a deluxe limo and toasting each other at a gala dinner. In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was determined to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin in grand style on his first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years. A red carpet, flowers, and champagne: it was a veritable romance of rogues. In reality, the two autocrats make a very odd couple. Kim is still a youngish man with a few extra pounds on his frame, while Putin is in his seventies and loves to appear shirtless on horses, the better to showcase his judo-trained body. Kim is the dynastic ruler of a small, isolated, homogeneous country that remains formally communist. By contrast, Putin presides over a multiethnic empire that stretches across 11 time zones and has formally turned its back on its communist past. Kim disparages religion but maintains a suffocating cult of personality, while Putin, who embraced religion to boost his own popularity, has yet to force Russian officials to wear pins with his face on them. Sure, Putin and Kim have some friends in common (China's Xi Jinping and America's Donald Trump), some shared enemies (the West, most democracies), and a fondness for making threats (bombastic, sometimes nuclear). But what really binds them together is a seemingly antiquated belief system whose origins stretch back two centuries. Kim and Putin are both ardent nationalists. The two of them believe fervently in the supremacy of the nation-state, specifically their own. They also assert the superiority of their particular ethnic groups, with Putin increasingly using russky (ethnic Russians) instead of rosissky (citizens of Russia) in his speeches and Kim following the official North Korean tradition of purging the language and culture of all outside influences. Above all, those two leaders are united in their opposition to outsiders -- other countries, international organizations, non-governmental do-goodniks -- having any say over what takes place within their borders. Putin and Kim are, in other words, spokesmen for what I call the sovereignistas, a class of world leaders who insist on their sovereign right to be exceptions to the rules that govern the rest of the planet. In reality, ultra-nationalists like Putin and Kim hold sway over much of our world and come in all too many shapes and sizes. China's Xi, for instance, resurrected nationalism to revive the fortunes of a communist system whose ideology no longer seemed to motivate the Chinese masses. In Germany, Sahra Wagenknecht has started a new party that officially identifies as left-wing but has right-wing nationalist takes on border controls, globalization, and green politics. Meanwhile, at the other end of the political spectrum, India's Narendra Modi has adapted nationalism to the needs of his right-wing party's religious chauvinism devoted to making Hindu India great again. Far from just patrolling the edges of their societies, such nationalists are increasingly prospering at their political centers. Just ask Joe Biden, who tried to counter Trump's populism by beefing up his own nationalist credentials through new restrictions at his country's southern border and onerous new tariffs on China. Indeed, such nationalism has been part of the mainstream since revolutionaries took over the kingdom of France in the late eighteenth century and German romantics began championing das Volk (the people) around the same time. Some political scientists have even argued that nationalism was the essential ingredient in the establishment of modern democracies -- that, without its ideological glue, a state couldn't have mustered enough of a consensus to govern. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Portland General Electric is asking state regulators to approve a 10.9% rate increase for residential customers and businesses starting next year, according to a July filing with the state utility commission. Thats up from the investor-owned utilitys initial 7.4% increase request for next year, which was met with resistance from consumer groups. In April, the Oregon Public Utility Commission rejected efforts by a citizen watchdog group to dismiss the rate hike that would go into effect in January 2025. It would follow an 18% jump that took effect in January and a 12% hike a year earlier. PGE previously said it needed the 7.4% rate increase to pay for clean energy needs and investments in battery storage, transmission infrastructure upgrades and overall grid improvements. Sarah Hamaker, a spokesperson for PGE, said the adjustment to PGEs rate review request is driven by power costs. At this time, no final rate case determination has been made and no number is final, she said. PGE continues to be actively engaged in this process with all stakeholders. The Oregon Citizens Utility Board, a state nonprofit group that advocates for utility customers, said in a statement that PGEs latest double-digit proposal comes on the heels of a record number of households disconnected in April and May. The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported that Oregon utilities cut off more customers for nonpayment this past April than in any month since the state began tracking shutoffs in 2018. The watchdog group said these disconnections were driven by households inability to keep up with the cost of electricity. Customers are already reeling from record-high bills that resulted from this years rate increase and the ice storm in January, said Bob Jenks, the Citizens Utility Boards executive director, and another double-digit increase could make it harder for customers to afford their electric bills. We need our utilities to control their spending, Jenks said in a statement. No one should have to choose between electricity and food, medicine, or other necessities. The watchdog group is asking the Public Utilities Commission to delay or reject most of PGEs rate increase case. If the Oregon Public Utility Commission approves PGEs new proposal, it would go into effect starting Jan. 1. -- Kristine de Leon covers the retail industry, small business and data enterprise stories. Reach her at kdeleon@oregonian.com . Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today. Two Oregon lumber mills on opposite ends of the state are shutting down, the latest in a long line of closures. Western Cascade Industries mill which employs 54 people at its 25-year-old site in Toledo, down from a peak of 100, the company said is slated to fully shut down Thursday, according to the Lincoln County Leader. Employees were informed last week that the mill would be closing at the end of July, General Manager Walt Adams told the Leader. He told the paper the closure resulted from a timber market that has just kind of been down across the board. The closure is a blow to Toledo, a town of about 3,500 on the Yaquina River just east of Newport. Ross Stock, who runs the mill, did not respond to an interview request. Toledo City Manager Doug Wiggins said the mill was the towns second-largest employer. Western Cascades mill was the last lumber mill remaining of the many that once operated in the town. One paper mill still operates just across the river from Western Cascades facility. Other entities, Wiggins said, have been in conversation with the city and the mill to purchase it, but no deal emerged. He said he is hopeful that a buyer will get the mill up and running again soon. On the opposite end of the state, the last mill in Grant County announced it would close last week, the Blue Mountain Eagle reported. Malheur Lumber which employs more than 70 will shut down after it processes and ships its remaining logs. The mill is located in John Day, a town of about 1,700. It had almost shut down before back in 2012, but intervention from government officials kept it afloat. Grant Countys other sawmill shut down in March. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who helped work out a deal to save the mill more than a decade ago, again pledged support this month for finding solutions. A representative of Malheur Mill directed inquiries to Ochoco Lumber, the mills parent company, which did not respond to an interview request. The mill cited a litany of reasons for the shutdown to the Blue Mountain Eagle, including a lack of a willing and drug-free workforce, rising production costs, government regulation and an unfavorable timber market. Andrew Miller covers business news. Reach him at amiller@oregonian.com or 971-803-2954. Are you looking for one of the best bars in the country? You dont have to look far. USA Today food writers have come out with a list of the 27 best bars in the U.S. and Portlands own Hey Love is among the cream of the crop. USA Today says the establishments on their 2024 Bars of the Year list are places with stories to tell, places that should be on your bucket list when you travel and your favorites list where you live. Hey Love, which opened in 2018, is the only bar in the Pacific Northwest that appears on the unranked list. Em Chan from the Salem Statesman Journal wrote the section on Hey Love and calls it a sunny escape in a city of perpetual rain. Fenced in by tropical plants creating a cabana-like ambiance, the bar inside the Jupiter Hotel encapsulates the citys eclectic spirit, she says. Chan also calls out the bars frequent participation in fundraisers and causes, making it the communitys bar. The food menu features several gluten-free and vegan choices and the drink menu offers plenty of alcoholic and nonalcoholic sips, with clever names like The Secret Life of Plants (a mango oolong mai tai), the Sharon is Karen (a Skyy cucumber vodka soda on draft), the Key Party (a strawberry tequila negroni) and the Super Science Toki Highball Machine (a whiskey and soda water blend made in a fancy Suntory highball machine). This isnt Hey Loves first recognition. Last year it was named the best hotel bar in the United States in the prestigious Spirited Awards presented by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. Hey Love is a lush, tropically inspired cocktail bar on East Burnside Street.Teresa Mahoney/The Oregonian If you go: Hey Love, located inside the Jupiter NEXT hotel at 920 E. Burnside St.; 3 p.m.-12 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-12 a.m. Sunday; Happy hour is 3-5 p.m. Monday-Friday Mims Copeland is a social media producer and covers trending topics for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her at mcopeland@oregonian.com Artist Mentorship Program, a Portland-based nonprofit, has been selected to receive a $50,000 grant from Lady Gagas Born This Way Foundation and Australian fashion brand Cotton On. The grant was part of a $3 million investment in youth-focused mental health organizations worldwide; Artist Mentorship Program was one of 65 organizations selected for a grant. Artist Mentorship Program provides support to unhoused youths in Portland through community building, music mentorship and educational resources. By fostering creative expression, the program aims to help participants navigate trauma and build trust, eventually helping them gain access to shelter. The organization initially started to supplement job training programs for youths experiencing homelessness in 1994. We quickly realized that young people needed a lot of opportunities to express themselves creatively and to have an outlet, said William Kendall, executive director of Artist Mentorship Program. The organization is made up of just 2-3 staff members but receives support from over 100 volunteers, to provide a studio space, art supplies, food and other resources for young people. Most of the people they support are 15-25 years old, Kendall said. When we asked artists and musicians to step up and support young people and to help them find access to creative expressions, the art community always showed up, Kendall said. And this is like the perfect analogy for what Lady Gaga and the Born This Way Foundation have done. Theyve showed up for these kids in a way that not a lot of people do. With the $50,000 grant, Artist Mentorship Program will be able to improve services and provide more opportunities for youth to engage in arts, while building an advocacy group within the greater Portland community, Kendall said. If we invest in mental health support for young people experiencing homelessness, we dont have to build chronic homelessness, Kendall said. What we want to do is build support services and help them meet their needs so that they dont have to be in services past 25. When the organization received the news, they were thrilled, Kendall said. What an artist, what a creative force and what an advocate for these kids, said Kendall. And just for us to have that validation, thats like, OK, someone is seeing what were doing. Chiara Profenna covers religion, faith and cultural connections. Reach her at 503-221-4327; cprofenna@oregonian.com or @chiara_profenna The Oregonian/OregonLive receives support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to bring readers stories on religion, faith and cultural connections in Oregon. The Oregonian/OregonLive is solely responsible for all content. Theres a new pair of apex predators in Puget Sound. Two species of shark, one of which is critically endangered in some places, have been found in South Puget Sound, sparking a bit of mystery surrounding the regions marine habitat, scientists with Oregon State University said. What brought them to these waters? Have some of them been here all along? Could climate change be a factor? Everything started with a single social media post. Sharks already live in Puget Sound (and shark attacks are exceptionally rare), said Jessica Schulte and Ethan Personius, scientists with Oregon State. Spiny dogfish and sixgill sharks are well documented throughout the waters. The latter are heavily protected by state officials and cannot be harvested. So, several years ago, when one man in South Puget Sound posted a photograph of himself holding a shark appearing to be a sixgill, officials investigated, Schulte said. As it so happened, though, the man was not holding a sixgill, but actually a broadnose sevengill shark. Scientists discover two shark species new to Puget Sound For decades only one broadnose sevengill shark had been found in the Salish Sea, but Oregon State University scientists found nine of them in South Puget Sound in recent years. They also found a soupfin shark, which is considered critically endangered in parts of the world due to overfishing. That was crazy, Schulte said. Because theyre not supposed to be here. Schulte, Personius and officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife banded together for a fact-finding mission. Sevengill sharks earned their moniker because they have more gill slits seven instead of five than most other species and they can grow to nearly 10 feet. Only one of the species had been confirmed in the area, Schulte said, and that capture took place decades ago, nearly 200 miles away near Point Roberts, off the Canadian border. These species can be found off the Washington coast, Schulte said, but finding them in Puget Sound, particularly in the southern region, is remarkable. The fisherman behind the social media post told scientists he had been catching sevengills for a couple of years, Schulte said. Lo and behold, on their first outing to confirm his claims, they found several of them as well. Last year and in 2022, the scientists caught nine sevengills in South Puget Sound, near Olympia, Schulte said. Eight of them were male, measuring under 7 feet and the female was about 4 1/2 feet long. The fisherman also showed them photos of another species of shark he had caught, one that Personius identified as a soupfin shark. Soupfin sharks were once quite numerous on coastal waters, Personius said. They were highly prized for their fins used in the eponymous shark fin soup and for their livers. Because they were so valuable, the soupfins sparked a type of gold rush, Personius said. And they were fished to near extinction in the coastal waters. Not only have the waters of Puget Sound been heavily fished over the generations but theyve also been heavily studied, Personius said. And never before had a soupfin shark been documented within the Sound. One day, as the scientists searched the South Sound for a sevengill shark, the conversation turned to the elusive soupfin, Personius said. As luck would have it, that day they happened to pull one out of the water. It was a male, measuring just over 5 feet. Not only is finding a new species in the Sound notable, Personius said but its also a reason to figure out why they might be in the area. One reason could be rising marine temperatures, he said. Soupfin sharks often feed on anchovies, Personius said. And anchovies are becoming more common in the Salish Sea, with their populations particularly spiking after the 2014 and 2015 marine heat wave colloquially known as The Blob. But there could be other reasons why these sharks moved into the area or why they hadnt been documented before, he said. As the scientists pulled the sharks out of the Sound, they tagged them with locators to try totrack their movements, Schulte said. They can recapture them at different times and flush their stomachs to see what theyre eating to learn more. Its quite smelly but its quite rewarding, Schulte said. Marine heat waves are predicted to become more common and severe as climate change worsens. The Blob caused massive die-offs of coastal birds and crabs, among other species. The warming ocean temperatures also pose a threat to salmon. Other species, however, flourish in the warmer aquatic temperatures. Additional research into the appearance of the sevengill and soupfin sharks is needed to find out whether new suitable habitat is being created in which they might live and thrive, Personius said. And if the species are becoming more common here, fisheries should take precautions. ___ (c)2024 The Seattle Times Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The owner of a community newspaper in Oregon is in federal custody in Alabama, accused of making multiple threats of violence in Mobile, including threatening to kidnap, cage and rape a 77-year-old church secretary, according to court records. Richard David Colvin, a 60-year-old originally from Mobile, is charged with violating interstate communications. Earlier this summer, Portlanders Erika Abdelatif and Kristen Myers went to Europe to see Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour. After the show, Abdelatif and Myers shared on social media how much they saved by going to see the tour in Europe versus in the United States. Its a classic type of TikTok or Instagram reel: I Can Do It with a Broken Heart plays in the background as we see clips of the women flying to Europe, eating fish and chips and dancing to Taylor Swift, with the cost of each item superimposed on the video. But then, a twist: When the hypothetical total cost of seeing the tour in Seattle versus the real cost of seeing her in Scotland pops up at the end, it turns out they spent nearly $3,000 more on their European trip. So no, we didnt save jack s** by going to Europe to see Taylor, Myers says in voice-over at the end of the video. But we dont have kids so we can do whatever the hell we want and it was the best way we could have possibly spent our time and money. This video is a near-perfect encapsulation of the Myers and Abdelatif brand. They are irreverent millennial women both 37 who dont hold back on the swearing and who are openly and hilariously talking to each other and a growing audience about what it means to be child-free. Their podcast is called Dinky, a take on the double (or dual)-income-no-kids acronym popularized in the 1980s around the time people couldnt stop talking about young urban professionals or yuppies. (While Myers and Abdelatif are both married, they welcome single people into the conversation, too. The focus is much more on the no kids than the double income.) And Dinky is finding a large audience. Across Instagram, TikTok and Threads, the brand has almost 80,000 followers. The podcast itself has over 250,000 downloads. Myers and Abdelatif have tapped into a growing sector of Americans: People who arent having children and are sick of explaining themselves. According to the top line of Pew research study released in late July about Americans who dont have children: 57% of adults under 50 who say theyre unlikely to ever have kids say a major reason is they just dont want to. While hand-wringing about declining fertility rates provides content for many a thinkpiece and political talking point (see vice presidential candidate JD Vance and his infamous cat ladies comment), the number of people in this country choosing not to have children continues to grow. That means the audience for Dinky is ever-expanding. Katherine Good, a 39-year-old from Colorado, is a member of that audience. She found Dinky through social media. It was so refreshing to listen in and suddenly feel so validated by these hilarious strangers who seemed to share so many of my experiences and feelings, Good said. I immediately felt like I was hanging out with close friends, and they have a unique talent for balancing heavy or complex topics with relatable, unapologetic humor that makes it so fun to listen to. For Good, finding the podcast meant finding kindred spirits. I think most childfree people can relate to the feeling of being othered or looked down on for choosing a life that looks different from societys norms, Good said. Platforms like Dinky give a voice to the things that uniquely connect us and shine a spotlight on the things in our lives that deserve to be celebrated. Abdelatif and Myers met in 2005 when they were both theater majors at Chapman University in California. Abdelatif moved to Portland about three and a half years ago and Myers followed her in 2022. Abdelatif came to the decision that she didnt want to have children in her 20s, due in part to the inequality she saw in heterosexual relationships while working with children. As time has gone on, I feel like Ive just developed more and more reasons, and found more solidification in why I made this choice, Abdelatif said. But thats really where it started, was just seeing women were really struggling to manage everything. Myers got married in her mid-30s and began wrestling with the question of whether she wanted to have kids. She had always imagined her future with children, but when she started to look closely into what that meant the cost of child care, for example she found herself less convinced. Erika was my only close friend at the time who was child-free by choice, Myers said. And so whenever I voiced concerns to my other friends, they were like, Oh, we figured it out. You just do it! With Abdelatif, though, she found a safe place to really talk about the impact kids would have on her life. Erika and I were having a lot of conversations, she said. Hours and hours. At the same time, she noticed there was a gap in the podcast market. There was like no podcast I identified with that was asking these kinds of questions and doing it in a way that was like fun and approachable, Myers said. Shed never started a podcast, but Abdelatif was on board. Lets just have fun with this and see how it goes, Abdelatif said. And so they did, launching in July of 2022. As with most podcasts, it wasnt an overnight success. The first few months the audience was small. But then, something struck on social media. We thought it was a jinx at first, Abdelatif said. Like, Oh, this is just like a one-off. I work in social media and so I was like, This isnt going to happen again, she added. But then it just kept happening. Even though the podcast is popular, both women are still working their day jobs, Abdelatif as a director of social media and Myers as a senior product manager in the tech industry. While they have generated some revenue across their platforms, it is all going back into the business at this point. Dinky episodes go deep into the kinds of questions Myers and Abdelatif talked about on those long calls, bringing in all kinds of guests to explore different topics. What is the financial cost of having children? What is the social cost of not having children? How can you explain your choice to your family? Some of their most popular podcast episodes deal with the question of regret, from both sides. Will you regret not having a child? Do parents ever regret having children? While most audience engagement is positive, sometimes people respond with anger or cruelty. Its very common for us to see criticism from both men and women in our social media accounts in particular, Myers said, but it skews towards the men instilling fear in us mostly that were going to regret it. Were going to die alone. One of the main ideas Abdelatif and Myers hear from negative commenters is that they will regret not having children when they hit their 50s. Then we interview people who are in different age demographics, Abdelatif said, and theyre like, You know, theyre always moving the goalposts. At some point, its going to be, Youll regret it in your 70s. They recently interviewed Marcia Drut-Davis, a child-free woman in her 80s. Drut-Davis told the hosts that when she was young, people were always telling her she would regret not having kids when she was older. And she specifically said to us on our podcast, I could not wait to be the age I am so I could tell them they were wrong. Myers said. The audience they have found is roughly 90% women. And they, like Myers, were thirsting for connection with people who have also chosen to not have children. Theyre in our DMs like crazy, Abdelatif said. And we encourage it, added Myers, especially on our podcast. In fact, they are working with a tour company to take a group of 16 or more child-free women to Switzerland in the fall, including Good. She and another child-free friend signed up as soon as tickets were available. Id say its one of the best decisions Ive made this year, Good said, and the excitement of it has already made us closer friends. There will be cheese, wine and plenty of time to talk about what it means to make the choice not to have kids. Lizzy Acker covers life and culture and writes the advice column Why Tho? Reach her at 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com or @lizzzyacker Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. As firefighters are working on putting out a pair of wildfires in the Columbia River Gorge, theyre contending with another seasonal scourge in the woods: hikers, backpackers and trail runners who are flouting trail closures around the burns. The Whisky Creek and Microwave Tower fires may be relatively small 891 acres and 1,311 acres, respectively but the closure areas around them are much bigger, allowing firefighters to set containment lines and roping off a number of popular trails in the process. David Spangler, Oregon State Parks manager for the Columbia Gorge, said people have been ignoring closure signs posted to trails this week as they set off into the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness, a rugged area between Bonneville and Hood River thats known for its challenging trails with spectacular views. Its a concern for peoples safety because there are significant hazards right now in these closed areas, Spangler said. A fire can spread rapidly and spread quickly. As we saw in the Eagle Creek fire in 2017, we dont want people trapped. The Eagle Creek fire, which spread quickly through the gorge, forced around 140 hikers to spend the night on the Eagle Creek Trail before being rescued the following day. This week, Oregon State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service and Hood River County have closed a large portion of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in an effort to keep people safe. Just about everything from the Pacific Crest Trail east to Starvation Ridge is currently closed. The neighboring Eagle Creek and Wahclella Falls trails remain open, as does the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, except for a closed portion between Hood River and Mosier. Those are just a small part of the sweeping trail closures this week across Oregons forests and recreation areas, as dozens of fires burn around the state: Firefighters made progress creating firelines on Tuesday to contain the Microwave Tower fire near Mosier, the Oregon Department of Forestry said.Courtesy of Oregon Department of Forestry With so many fires burning across a huge swath of public and private lands, and fire closures sometimes coming quickly, it can be confusing to know which recreation areas will be opened or closed. People should look for closures and current fire conditions at wildfire.oregon.gov, and road closures on TripCheck.com, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management and Oregon Department of Transportation, which issued a joint news release last week. Additional closures may be found online from individual public land agencies, such as Oregon State Parks at stateparks.oregon.gov. Officials also encouraged people to enable Wireless Emergency Alerts on their cell phones, which will deliver warnings in case of emergency, and pack basic emergency car kits, with items like a cell phone charger, blankets, a dust mask, toilet paper, a first aid kit, and extra water and snacks. Officials also are encouraging people to respect any fire closures in place, no matter how excited you may be to hike a favorite trail. Spangler said hes been encouraging hikers to shift their gaze to the open trails on the western side of the Columbia Gorge, or to the south side of Mount Hood, where there is plenty of good hiking and no current fire closures. Wherever you go, officials just want to make sure it isnt into an active fire closure, which they cautioned could last many more weeks, months or even years, depending on the severity of the burns. Were seeing a lot of disregard because right now the closure is large and the fire is relatively small. Spangler said of the Whisky Creek fire closure. We really want to ensure that people do not get into dangerous areas. --Jamie Hale covers travel and the outdoors and co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast. Reach him at 503-294-4077, jhale@oregonian.com or @HaleJamesB. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. I want to call this new article to your attention: Neal Rappleye and Stephen O. Smoot, Stephen Burnett versus the Eight Witnesses: An Exercise in Mature Historical Thinking, Religious Educator 25/2 (2024). Stephen Burnett has long been a favorite weapon among critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often deployed (especially by the secularist variety of critics) against the credibility of not only the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon but even that of the Three Witnesses. Does Burnetts testimony merit such trust? Abstract: This article critically examines the credibility of the claims made by Stephen Burnett about the experience of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. A disaffected Latter-day Saint who lost his faith in Joseph Smith after the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society in 1837, Burnett wrote a scathing letter in early 1838 in which he claimed he heard Martin Harris admit that the Eight Witnesses did not physically see and handle the gold plates as claimed in their printed testimony. This article argues that Burnett is not a credible source for accurately understanding the experience of the Eight Witnesses. It uses Burnetts letter and the controversy surrounding it as an example of how students can develop mature historical thinking skills when they are confronted with potentially faith-damaging information. An article recently appeared in the Deseret News by the invaluable Latter-day Saint social scientist Stephen Cranney: Liberal-leaning churches are shrinking compared with many conservative churches: Membership data across faiths challenges those who argue that alignment with progressive ideals is the pathway to vibrancy for religious communities today What Brother Cranney has to say in his article reminds me of a still rather famous 1972 book still famous in certain circles, anyway by the late Dean M. Kelley, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing: A Study in Sociology of Religion. Here is a good one-paragraph review of Why Conservative Churches Are Growing that was posted on Amazon.com by one David Franz back in 2006: In 1969 Peter Berger told the New York Times that religious people would soon be huddled together in little enclaves, surrounded by a sea of secularity. In doing so, he was simply making explicit the philosophy of history implicit in social theory since its founding. According to this philosophy, Christianity became Protestant, then liberal Protestant, then vaguely and privately spiritual, moving inevitably towards secularism. In the 60s and into the 70s the data on American religion seemed to support this story at least in mainline churches. First published in 1972, this book directed attention to the surprising and theoretically problematic fact of growing conservative churches, precisely those churches that were most demanding and seemingly ill-equipped for the modern world. As secularization and modernization theory crumbled with the resurgence of conservative religion in public life in the US and around the world (see Jose Casanovas Public Religions in the Modern World), it became clear that conservative religion was not going away quietly and that social science had been dead wrong. Kelley was among the first to recognize that there was something mistaken with social sciences predictions of a secular future. His book was part of a dramatic, if belated, recognition among scholars that lots of Americans find conservative, strict Churches profoundly attractive. I close with a passage that I marked while reading Alejandro Agudo, Eduardo Jorge Fulco, and Titus Rivas, Comments on the Results of the AWARE II Study, Journal of Near-Death Studies 41/1 (2023): 9-22. The authors, based respectively in Spain, Argentina, and The Netherlands, are responding in it to the same reports of unexpected electrical activity in two dying brains to which, as I previously mentioned here, Pim van Lommel and Bruce Greyson have also responded. (See the latter portion of my recent blog entry Bread of Life, Living Water.) They describe the work to which they are responding as certainly a well-executed study (19), but, like Drs. van Lommel and Greyson, they caution against an overhasty physicalist or reductionist misreading of its results: Parnia et al. are correct to ask themselves, in the paragraph just analyzed, not only whether the electric activity found is sufficient to generate lucid consciousness and flawless memory but also whether there is a causal relationship between such activity and NDEs. Again, without data on the EEGs of people who have had an NDE, it is impossible to know. But even if such data existed, a temporal coincidence would not imply a causal relationship, either in the sense that NDEs could be caused by the neural activity or in the sense that neurological activity would be caused by NDEs. In fact, alternative interpretations have already been presented, such as the one formulated by Hameroff and Chopra (2010) or the theory proposed by Mays and Mays (2011) that the electric activity in question could indeed mirror the liberation of a non-physical consciousness from its link to the brain. Finally, aside from the results of the AWARE II study, which related to consciousness during CPR, it is clear that the well-documented cases of NDEs that occurred before resuscitation began or that included veridical perception of events occurring outside the patients physical environment and were confirmed by third parties, such as those collected extensively in the book The Self Does Not Die (Rivas et al, 2023), would remain unexplained. (18-19) Posted from Depoe Bay, Oregon I stopped writing about Tower Time a few years ago because people were tuning me out. But Tower Time didnt go away its going to be with us for a very long time. Still, that doesnt mean our focus should be on surviving a lightning strike day after day, year after year. Thats not sustainable. And its not necessary. There are signs that a shift is in the works, and I think its time to change our emphasis. But before I talk about that, I need to tell three very short stories. Story 1: The falling Tower is only the first segment of a longer arc After my last post on Tower Time, Byron Ballard who coined the term said The Tower has fallen. My first reaction was that its too soon to say that. Climate change is just getting started. Christian Nationalists are getting more daring in their attempts to encode their religion into law. The Anglo-American empire has been in decline for many years, but its a long way from disappearing. And the spiritual and magical aspects of Tower Time are getting stronger, not weaker. Tower Time is a high-level metaphor for what is and will be a long, complex process. There are many towers some of them will fall in a day, some will fall in a year, and some will crumble but never truly go away. Rome took centuries to fall, and the city never disappeared even though its population didnt reach Empire levels again until the 1930s. Our conversations around Tower Time are not intended to be a schedule of future events thats not possible. Theyre intended to provide context for what were experiencing and inspiration for how we can best respond. I think its time to shift how we think about where we are in this long process. Story 2: We have someone to vote for I strongly supported Joe Bidens re-election campaign. Ive been generally pleased with his performance in office, but mainly I saw him as a proven way to make sure Donald Trump never sees the Oval Office again. I was deeply concerned when he decided to withdraw from the Presidential race. The Democratic Party is known for shooting itself in the foot, and word was that a lot of people wanted to replace the entire ticket. Instead, within 24 hours all the potential candidates endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Within a week virtually all Democratic leaders had endorsed her. Shes been breaking fundraising records and much of the money is coming from first-time donors. People are excited about Kamala Harris in a way Ive never seen before. Some are comparing it to the excitement around Obama in 2008, but that was tempered by the disappointment of those who really wanted Hillary Clinton instead. This is stronger and more focused. This isnt an election post not entirely, anyway. Whats important here is that theres a huge difference between supporting a candidate because the alternative is unthinkable and supporting a candidate because you like them and their policies. Now its not just a case of who we have to vote against. Now we have someone to vote for. Story 3: The Magical Battle of Britain I read The Magical Battle of Britain on the trip to Mystic South. Ive written about the historical event before its a foundational story of the modern Pagan movement. Some years ago I heard Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki talk about it. Dolores was too young to participate, but her mother and aunt did and shared their stories. But somehow I never knew about this book until very recently. This is a collection of letters from Dion Fortune to the members of her order The Fraternity of the Inner Light, who were working magic to protect Britain from invasion during World War II. The letters gave instructions for group meditations and workings. Some gathered in person, while many more participated remotely due to wartime travel restrictions. Its an interesting primary source for a historical event thats already become part of myth. The actual Battle of Britain was an air campaign that ran from July through October of 1940. Nazi forces had taken over France and the Low Countries Britain was next. The bombardment campaign was designed to force Britain to negotiate a peace favorable to the Nazis, or failing that, to diminish their defenses in advance of a land invasion. The Nazis failed, in large part due to the heroism of the pilots and support staff of the Royal Air Force. But also because the people of Britain refused to surrender. The war continued after this battle was over, as did bombing raids over London and other sites in Britain. World War II would not end until 1945. In 1941 Dion Fortune instructed her group to stop focusing on defense and start concentrating on what they wanted to build after the war was over. The rising of The Star These three stories were floating around in my head when I got to Mystic South last week. Even though I felt like Byrons proclamation was too soon, I understood there was something to it. I read what Dion Fortune had done with four years of hard fighting left to go. I saw the tangible changes when people had someone to vote for instead of just someone to vote against. I turned in a little early on Friday night, but before I did, I got out my Tarot cards and asked where are we in Tower Time? The first card that came up was The Star. In the Major Arcana of the Tarot (at least in the commonly used Waite-Smith system) The Tower is 16. The Star is 17. The Star follows The Tower. Ive always felt like The Tower would be followed by the 8 of Cups or as I sometimes call it, the I like it here, why do I have to leave? card. When I asked Ashley Bryner to create artwork for my Navigating Tower Time course, I described what I was looking for by saying The Tower, and then the 8 of Cups. Ashley did a great job of illustrating that progression. The 8 of Cups may well be a future stage in this very long process Tower Time is not the Fools Journey. But Ive already seen people making the 16 is followed by 17 connection and saying The Star comes next. And it appears that it does. The Star The Tower is a card that screams in your face. The Star is much more subtle. A naked woman kneels with one foot in the water representing the unconscious mind and one foot on the land representing the conscious mind. Her nudity represents both her vulnerability and her confidence she feels safe enough to be naked outdoors. She pours the water of unconsciousness from two pitchers, one back into the water back into her unconscious mind and one on the land. The water poured on the land divides into five streams, representing the five senses. There are seven small stars and one large star in the night sky all eight stars have eight points. Theres a tree nearby and mountains in the background. And theres more what do you see? What details call to you? There is no one right meaning of this or any Tarot card. There are the consensus meanings, but there is also what speaks to you when you draw a particular card in the context of a particular question. The Star is not a card of bold action. Its a card of meditation and contemplation. And that makes it the perfect guide for this point in the arc of Tower Time. What shall we build from the rubble of The Tower? We cant go back to some golden age, whatever your idea of a golden age happens to be. In any case, golden ages were never as great as our memories and our myths say they were. We cant instantly undo the damage done by the courts and pick up where we left off in 2016. We can only move forward from where we are, here and now. Where do you want to go? What do you want to build? And perhaps most importantly, what are you willing to build, and to help build? Put one foot in the water and one foot on the ground skyclad is optional. Let the waters flow from your unconscious to your conscious mind and back again. Meditate. Contemplate. Evaluate. Its good to think big. Its better to think local. Im a socialist and not a libertarian, but if we count on government to solve our problems we will always be disappointed. Lets elect good people to do the things government does best, but lets focus most of our attention on building the kind of communities and families we want. And the kind of lives we want for ourselves. Never underestimate the power of simply being who and what you are, and what youre called to be. We need to work together, so we need to have conversations about what to build next. But first we need to pay attention to The Star and meditate. Tower Time goes on Dion Fortune told the members of her order to begin visualizing the future they wanted after the war was over. But the war wouldnt be over for another four years. There are more towers that will fall. Im optimistic about the election, but lots can happen between now and November 5 and in any case, Kamala Harris is not a savior. No matter who wins the election, the American empire will continue to decline. Im convinced the spiritual and magical side of Tower Time is about to get a lot more intense, although Im not sure exactly what that means (yes, I will write more about this in the near future). But Dion Fortune was right. And what was right in 1941 is right in 2024. Maintain your spiritual practice. Keep forming and maintaining relationships in this world and between the worlds. Work magic. And for the love of all the Gods, vote! But its not time for the 3 of Pentacles yet. Or the 8 of Pentacles. Its time to start contemplating and visualizing what we want to build next. Its time for the rising of The Star. Complete coverage: The case of ex-DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni Former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni, 60, faces 11 charges as his retrial gets underway, many related to his dealings with Peter Gerace Jr., th Twelve jurors and six alternates were sworn into service Wednesday for the federal corruption trial of ex-DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni. Jury selection started Monday with 160 prospective jurors and concluded early Wednesday afternoon with a judge's firm warning to those who were selected not to talk to others about the high-profile case. Judge cites US Attorney's Office for 'willful violation of my order' in Pharaoh's witness retaliation case The indictments of six people who federal prosecutors accuse of playing a role in the drug overdose death of government witness Crystal Quinn could be in jeopardy after a judge found that the U.S. Attorney's Office acted in "bad faith" in missing a deadline to turn over information about their cases to defense lawyers. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo told them not to even reveal the name of the case. "People are going to be pestering you over the dinner table Sunday," Vilardo told them. "Don't talk about it." Opening statements and the first day of trial testimony will begin Monday. Unlike at the first trial, defense attorneys retained a jury consulting firm to help review questionnaires from the prospective jurors and offer advice on which ones to reject through peremptory challenges. "It gave us a little more insight," said defense attorney Parker MacKay. Bongiovanni's lawyers retained the jury consultant who was on the defense team for Harvey Weinsteins sexual assault trial in 2020 in New York. Bongiovanni, 60, faces 11 charges, including a bribery count alleging that he accepted at least $250,000 from a drug-trafficking organization whom he thought was associated with Italian organized crime and shielded its members from arrest and provided them with information about investigations and cooperating sources. Not long ago, Google pushed AI tools into ChromeOS in hopes that it would entice users away from Microsofts automation systems and toward Googles more affordable and accessible machines. This time, everyone is getting extra AI tools as Google brings updates to the Chrome browser, which is probably the most-used desktop application in the world. New Gemini AI integrations include more flexible searches within images (under the Google Lens label) and easier-to-use tools for finding information in both your tabs and history. Today is Amazon Prime Big Deal Days! Our editorial team lists the best tech deals here. ] Image search features Up until now, its been fairly simple to perform a reverse image search (i.e., submitting an image and getting back identical or extremely similar images found on the web) with just a right-click in Chrome. In todays update, a more universal image search feature is rolling out. This one is activated by clicking a dedicated Lens camera button in the toolbar, which lets you make a rectangular selection within an image (or click directly on an object) to see relevant results in a sidebar. You can further modify those results with more queries and/or refinements. Google gives an example of clicking on a green suitcase with Lens and then searching for the same model in pink. This feature is similar to how Lens scans images for relevant content on Android, but it isnt limited to just images. The Lens tool can read text on a page even if its awkwardly formatted, such as a math equation. And since its scanning visually instead of looking at electronic script, it works with videos, too. The new Lens search tool should be rolling out to Chrome users all over the world starting later today. Cool as this is, it seems to be focused heavily on products, a trend Google Search has indulged in a lot more over the last few years. Tab and history features Were also going to see a new tab comparison feature that adds product overviews across multiple tabs. This tool auto-generates tables for comparing specifications, prices, and other details across multiple tabs. Its going live in the next few weeks for Chrome users in the US. Google Google Google A less bombastic but potentially even more useful tool is also coming: Chrome is adding an AI-powered search for your history of visited sites. Chromes history tool is already pretty comprehensive, but searching is limited to the text of each visited pages title and URL, which isnt always the most effective way to find a previously visited page. For example, a basic search for ice cream might not surface Coldstone Creamery. Google Google Google The upgraded history search will use Gemini to unlock conversational queries, such as What was that ice cream shop I looked at last week? Google exercises caution with AI rollout Perhaps taking a lesson from Microsofts PR blunder of its Recall announcement, Google is being a little more cautious with this AI-powered history search feature. Google representatives told PCWorld that the feature will be entirely opt-in at launch, requiring the users permission to be enabled. In addition, the AI model will only be trained using synthetic data as opposed to real user data, and Google promises that the search tool wont have access to the sites you visited in Incognito Mode. Google reps told us that this advanced history search will be rolling out over the coming weeks and/or months, and unlike the image search tools, itll begin with Chrome users in the US before expanding. I dont think these new capabilities will be enough to tempt me away from my new browser bestie Vivaldi, but Ill certainly keep Chrome installed for the occasions I might need them. pcl. in collaboration with its partner, LRMG Africa, has successfully hosted the annual Ghana Business Conference for this year, themed "AI as a Driver for Business Growth: Key Imperative for Decision Makers." Held at the prestigious Accra City Hotel, Ghana, the event brought together thought leaders, industry experts, and business executives to explore the transformative potential of AI in driving business growth and development. The conference highlighted the pivotal role of AI-driven learning and its profound impact on business growth and development. The event provided a platform for attendees to gain actionable insights and engage in thought-provoking discussions on leveraging AI for competitive advantage. The Guest Speaker, Abel Lomotey Daitey, Chief Information Officer at GCB Bank, emphasised the importance of embracing AI to drive business innovation and sustainability. He said, ''AI is a game changer, and its integration into business processes will determine the success of businesses, making it the survival of the smartest.'' Other distinguished speakers also participated in interactive panel discussions and spoke about the changing force of AI. Kojo Amissah - Lead Executive and Principal Consultant at CITAM, spoke about the realities businesses will face with AI. He said, ''AI will take a considerable number of jobs away; Organisations will have to reduce their workforce size due to automation.'' He indicated that 'AI will generate new employment opportunities, requiring human input to succeed in these roles. Therefore, individuals must embrace a culture of continuous learning and enhance their skills to stay relevant." On her part, Anita Arthur - Director, Human Resources, CFAO Ghana Plc., said, ''People should stop resisting AI and start embracing it. AI is a tool that complements the workforce. While AI analyses large amounts of data to help humans make informed decisions, employees can focus more on complex problem-solving tasks and critical thinking.' On the engaging panel discussion, Kwadwo Ntim - GM of Technology & Operations/CIO, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), said, ''The value of AI to businesses is significant and encouraged organisations to consider AI in terms of its value to the business, aligning its business processes, goals, and objectives to increase productivity and work efficiency.' Another panelist, Esi Mmirba Wilson - Director People and Transformation Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG), said, ''AI helps empower business growth by generating and analysising more data, providing detailed insights into developing customer journeys and personas. This makes it easier for organisations to partner with other businesses, leading to business growth.' The event facilitated meaningful connections and collaborations through dedicated networking sessions, allowing participants to engage with peers and industry leaders, fostering an environment of learning and partnership. pcl. 's commitment to pioneering innovative solutions was evident throughout the conference, underscoring the dedication to empowering businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital landscape by harnessing the power of AI. "We are thrilled with the success of this year's Business Conference. The insights shared and connections made here will undoubtedly drive business growth and innovation," said Paul Ayim, Partner for Digital Learning. "We look forward to continuing our mission to supporting businesses in leveraging AI for sustained growth and development." 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 police have arrested five persons in connection with a shooting incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, [July 30, 2024] leading to the death of one person and an injury to a Police officer at Okanta, near Nsawam in the Eastern Region. The incident occurred when some Police officers from the Eastern South Regional Police Headquarters, in the company of the complainant, Daniel Dosu, were ambushed by an unknown assailant while on their way to effect an arrest at Okanta. Daniel Dosu sustained a gunshot wound to the forehead and was sent together with the injured Police officer to the hospital for medical attention. However, Daniel Dosu was pronounced dead on arrival. An intelligence-led operation following the attack led to the arrest of the prime suspect, Daniel Quaye, who was later identified as one of the suspects the deceased complainant was leading the Police to arrest. Further Police investigation led to the arrest of the four other suspects: Anum Joseph, Joshua Aboagye, Kwesi Acquaye and Acquaye Samuel, and also the retrieval of the weapon used by suspect Daniel Quaye. The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy, while the injured Police officer has been treated and discharged from the hospital. Suspect Daniel Quaye, together with the four accomplices, are currently in Police custody assisting the investigation, a police statement on Tuesday, July 30, indicated. 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 A Twenty-two-year-old man, Sulley Bashiru, has been arrested by the police at Awaso, in the Sefwi Wiawso District of the Western Region for stealing meters belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). According to some residents of Awaso, the suspect is a scrap dealer from Niger who is sometimes seen collecting pieces of metals as scrap. DAILY GUIDE gathered that on Sunday, July 28, 2024, the suspect was seen removing electrical meters of some residents in the community. Further investigation revealed that the suspect, after removing the meters, vandalizes them and takes out the copper components in them. The suspect had stolen and vandalised two Single Phase meters from some houses and had targeted other ones, when he was arrested. According to the investigator in the case, Corporal Jonas Ofori of the Awaso Police, the suspect will be arraigned today, August 1, 2024. The District Manager of ECG in the Sefwi Wiawso District, Ing. Albert Quansah, disclosed that electrical meters have unique numbers and geographical codes, which indicate their exact location and help in monitoring. Therefore, stealing these meters rather compounds the companys efforts towards improving revenue collection and reducing losses, he pointed out. He added that the district had received reports of meter theft in recent times and, therefore, set up a monitoring team to help avert the situation. The Acting General Manager of ECG in the Western Region, Ing. Yaw Sarfo, cautioned the public that the company is clamping down on such unscrupulous activities and will apprehend persons who engage in meter theft. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 National Security Task Force, in a Rambo style, on Tuesday arrested 13 persons engaging in illegal foreign exchange trading. The Team comprised personnel from the Ghana Police Service, the National Intelligence Bureau, and the National Fusion Center of the Ministry of National Security, conducted the swoop around Osu and Tudu, both suburbs of Accra and other notorious areas noted for black market trading. The move was in a bid to curb further depreciation of foreign currencies and regulate forex trading, They managed to retrieve various sums of money from the suspects including- USD17,840- CUSD1,450- Naira 515,000 CFA1,167,000, GH419,685, 230, and 50 Egyptian pounds. The suspects and all exhibits have since been handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), led by its CEO Dr Aboagye Dacosta, has launched the "Free Annual Health Checkup" initiative to enhance healthcare in Ghana. The programme is aimed at addressing non-communicable and chronic diseases, underscoring the NHIA's commitment to preventive healthcare and ensuring widespread access to essential health services in the country. At the launch event, held at the Kempinski Hotel on Monday, July 29, 2024, Dr. Aboagye emphasized the growing recognition worldwide of the importance of preventive healthcare measures. He noted that early detection and intervention were critical in preventing severe health conditions, which could significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve quality of life. "Our Free Annual Health Checkup" programme is designed with these objectives in mind, offering free comprehensive health screenings to identify potential health issues at an early stage for timely treatment and management, he noted. The first phase of this initiative, Dr Aboagye said, would provide a range of health services such as blood pressure testing, blood sugar testing, Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements, counselling, and referrals when necessary. He added, These services will be accessible nationwide at designated public and private health facilities, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the programme regardless of location or socio-economic status. The initiative is open to all citizens covered under the NHIS and anyone with a Ghana Card, highlighting NHIA's dedication to equitable health access, he stressed. Dr Aboagye acknowledged the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), private health facilities, teaching hospitals, community leaders, and the Society of Mental Health Practitioners for making the launch a reality. He also thanked development partners like USAID for their support and dedication to improving public health in the country. "The NHIA will work with its partners to ensure that they are well-equipped to deliver this high-quality screening. This programme is not just about testing, but it is about educating our population on healthy lifestyles and preventive measures," he noted. He urged all citizens to take advantage of the "Free Annual Health Checkup" to safeguard their health and contribute to a healthier and more productive nation. The initiative, he said, was part of the NHIA's broader strategy to enhance the healthcare system, expand health services, improve health infrastructure, and ensure that every citizen has access to the care they need. He added, The success of this programme is expected to pave the way for more innovative healthcare initiatives in the future. Dr Aboagye highlighted the significant benefits of the initiative, including increasing life expectancy and reducing the cost burden of hypertension and diabetes, which are major drivers of healthcare costs. The NHIA aims to use this initiative to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage and achieve Sustainable Development Goal Three, which focuses on health and wellness. Additionally, the programme is expected to boost NHIS membership and encourage predictive prevention, he emphasised. He mentioned that the initiative would also include nationwide orientation through the Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders to ensure that Ghanaians understood and took advantage of the programme. He added that research, health education, and community engagement through the community and traditional leaders would be key components of the initiative. Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, Mr Joseph Cudjoe, Minister of Public Enterprises, highlighted the significance of this initiative alongside the Free SHS policy in improving the lives of Ghanaians. He emphasized that investing in education and health was the best the government could offer its citizens. He noted that the Free Annual Health Checkup would provide an opportunity for all Ghanaians aged 18 and above, whether enrolled in the NHIS or not, to access healthcare at any credentialed healthcare provider nationwide. The Special Guest of Honour, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, represented by Nii Kwao Donkor, urged Ghanaians to embrace this initiative and promised support for the NHIA in sensitising the public about the programme. Solidarity messages from the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners, and development partners pledged their unwavering support for the initiative, recognising the severe impact of non-communicable diseases in the country. The Free Annual Health Checkup is set to transform healthcare in Ghana, promoting preventive care and ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to lead a healthier life, they 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 Miss Malaika Ghana 2023, the National HIV youth Ambassador, Lady Nana Yaa Nsarko, has urged the youth to join the fight against HIV, emphasizing the devastating impact on young lives and communities. During an interaction with over 800 students of Wesley Grammar School on July 31, 2024, as part of her "Live On Campaign" Project which forms part of the ART@20 celebrations sponsored by UNFPA and ABBOTT, she stressed the need for collective action to combat HIV's spread particularly among the youth. "HIV is still prevalent and wrecking lives. It attacks the immune system and breaks a person down," Lady Nana Yaa Nsarko emphasized. "To salvage your future, join the fight against its spread. We must work together to prevent new infections and support those living with the virus. Abstaining from sex and prevention are key." The Campaign aims to mentor and empower young people to prevent the spread of HIV, reduce stigma and make informed choices as they take control of their health. Lady Nana Yaa shared personal stories, highlighting the importance of abstinence, prevention, and support. "HIV is no discriminator; it affects anyone, regardless of your age or career. If you don't follow a healthy life, you're at risk." She added, "If you want to be on bigger platforms like me, please abstain from sex. But if you've decided not to abstain, please dont condemn yourself rather, protect yourself." The students engaged actively, sharing their knowledge and asking questions. According to the National AIDS/ STI control Programme (NACP), the 2023 national adult HIV prevalence is 1.5%, translating to approximately 334,095 people living with HIV in Ghana. Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo, Programme Manager for the National AIDS/STI Control Programme, urged students to acquire knowledge, stay healthy, and keep faith. Rev. Aku of PAYDP, who represented the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) encouraged students to seek information on their sexuality and empower themselves through education. The school enacted a drama to showcase their understanding of the topic and share some of their experiences. The Head mistress of the school was full of praises for the entire team for visiting their school. 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 Edudzi Tameklo, the legal counsel to the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has asserted that the Attorney General (AG) is unfit to address lawyers at this year's Ghana Bar Association (GBA) Conference. He expressed firm confidence in Dr. Forson's innocence and criticized the AG's credibility in speaking at the event. Tameklo accused the AG, Godfred Yeboah Dame, of persecuting Dr. Forson, who serves as the Minority Leader in Parliament. He recounted how the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) had initially instructed them to take the police statement home and return with it completed, indicating that there was no wrongdoing from the beginning. The lawyer emphasized that Dr Forson's opposition to the government's Electronic Levy Bill in 2019 made him a target for persecution. He pointed out that this stance has led to the current legal challenges faced by the Minority Leader. In an interview with JoyNews on Tuesday, Tameklo stated that due to his conduct, the AG is not fit to address the 2024 Ghana Bar Conference. He believes that the actions of the AG have compromised his integrity and suitability for such a role. "When the Attorney-General goes to the point of meeting an accused person and first of all, anybody that has criminal charges against him, he is deemed vulnerable and especially with the counts that can get you 10 years in imprisonment, you are dealing with a vulnerable person and per the professional etiquette rules you are not permitted to deal with an accused person when that accused person is represented by a lawyer directly, you deal with him through his lawyer because of the vulnerable position he finds himself in." "On April 9, 2024, the AG placed a call to Jakpa at 7am telling him to go and secure a medical excuse report and present it to a trial judge as though he was sick when you are not. I want to submit that at this year's Ghana Bar Conference, the Attorney-General is not worthy to speak to lawyers," he said. Background On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal, in a 2:1 decision, acquitted and discharged Dr Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa in the ambulance case. The ruling overturned a trial court order requiring them to present their defence for allegedly causing a financial loss of 2.37 million to the state in procuring ambulances for the government. While Justice Alex Poku Acheampong dissented, Justices Kweku Tawiah Ackah-Boafo and Philip Bright Mensah ruled in favour of the accused. Following the ruling, AG Godfred Dame issued a statement criticising the decision as perverse and contrary to the substantial evidence presented by the prosecution. He argued that the decision undermines public accountability and the rule of law. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman/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 Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has slammed the government over what he describes as another form of financial loss to the state. According to the political science lecturer, the just ambulance case was pursued by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr. Godfred dame, as a way of victimising a political opponent. On his official Facebook page on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Professor Gyampo maintains that country is being ruled by persons he describes as ignorant. Professor Ransford Gyampo wrote, When I argued last week that we are being governed by very ignorant people and described the current regime as the worst in the history of the Fourth Republic, I had many calls to the effect that I was too harsh and blunt. But I didnt say these out of malice. He noted that all the statistics and indices for measuring good governance, fighting corruption, managing the economy, dealing with the media, etc are there for everyone to go read and compare. He further added, Today too, I am saying that when a bad mind enters into a mouse head, it falls into red oil, as in, s3 adwen bone ba ekura trim a, )t) ngo mu. His comments come on the heels of the just ended ambulance case in which the Appeals court acquitted and dsicahrged Dr. Ato Forson and Mr. Ricahrd Japka, who both stood accused in the case after several months of proceedings. Professor Gyampo opined that, when Deep Sea decided to offer 2.3 million Euros to the government of Ghana, that money should have been collected instead of pursuing the case which the government has eventually lost. Deep Sea wanted to pay us 2.3 million Euros to settle the so-called charge of Ato Forson causing financial loss to the state in the Ambulance procurement saga. But we chose to go the path of witch-hunting." "We refused to collect the money that was being offered to help defray whatever losses we may have incurred, because of the politics of vendetta and inordinate desire to punish the minority leader for being a torn in the flesh of this regime, by merely demanding accountability. He added, Now that Ato Forson and Jakpa have been acquitted and discharged, the state gets nothing. We have lost the 2.3 million Euros that was being offered to us and the two have also been set free." Now, who has caused financial loss to the state for making the nation play two-six and loss? Isnt it right for one to insist we are being governed by very ignorant people? I repeat my adage when a bad mind enters into a mouse head, it falls into red oil, as in, s3 adwen bone ba ekura trim a,)t) ngo mu. Read Full Facebook Post below: When I argued last week that we are being governed by very ignorant people and described the current regime as the worst in the history of the Fourth Republic, I had many calls to the effect that I was too harsh and blunt. But I didnt say these out of malice. All the statistics and indices for measuring good governance, fighting corruption, managing the economy, dealing with the media, etc are there for everyone to go read and compare. Today too, I am saying that when a bad mind enters into a mouse head, it falls into red oil, as in, s3 adwen bone ba ekura trim a, )t) ngo mu. Just look at us: Deep Sea wanted to pay us 2.3 million Euros to settle the so-called charge of Ato Forson causing financial loss to the state in the Ambulance procurement saga. But we chose to go the path of witch-hunting. We refused to collect the money that was being offered to help defray whatever losses we may have incurred, because of the politics of vendetta and inordinate desire to punish the minority leader for being a torn in the flesh of this regime, by merely demanding accountability. Now that Ato Forson and Jakpa have been acquitted and discharged, the state gets nothing. We have lost the 2.3 million Euros that was being offered to us and the two have also been set free. Now, who has caused financial loss to the state for making the nation play two-six and loss? Isnt it right for one to insist we are being governed by very ignorant people? I repeat my adage when a bad mind enters into a mouse head, it falls into red oil, as in, s3 adwen bone ba ekura trim a, )t) ngo mu. To the judges, God bless you for showing fidelity to the laws of Ghana, and for giving us a glimpse of hope that, some judges can still be described as the conscience of the nation. Yaw Gyampo A31, Prabiw P.A.V Ansah Street Saltpond & Suro Nipa House Behind the Old Post Office Larteh-Akuapim Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Private legal practitioner, Justice Abdulai has dragged the Attorney-Generals Department and the Ghana Police Service to court over the appointment of Commissioner of Police, COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno by the President upon the advice of the Police Council, as Deputy Inspector General of police in charge of Operations. Justice Abdulai, in a writ dated July 30, 2024, argues that the appointment of COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno is not contained in the tenets of the constitution. President Akufo-Addo, on the 17th of July, 2024, issued a press release announcing the appointment of the experienced police officer to the rank of deputy IGP in charge of operations. A portion of the writ reads, A further order restraining the Inspector General of Police or any command under him from accepting, relating to and/or issuing instructions or commands to COP Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno in his assumed capacity as Deputy Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Operation. Your browser does not support iframes. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An Angola man has been named in a six-count felony indictment charging him in connection with a two-vehicle crash in June that claimed the life of an 8-year-old Hamburg boy. Markus R. Genovese, 53, was charged with one count of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree vehicular manslaughter, two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death. He pleaded not guilty Thursday before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi. If convicted on the second-degree vehicular manslaughter charges, Genovese faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane said counts of first-degree vehicular manslaughter in the indictment are based on the allegation that Genovese was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and with a revoked drivers license. Thomas Ross, a second grader at Blasdell Elementary School who was a passenger inside his familys vehicle as it was stopped on Route 5 in Hamburg, died in the crash. The vehicle was about to make a left-hand turn onto Eckhardt Road when it was struck from behind by a pickup truck driven by Genovese, according to the Town of Hamburg Police Department. Inside the vehicle with Thomas were his parents Heather Van Elk and Steve Ross, and Thomas 4-year-old younger brother, A.J., who along with their mother were transported to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries and released. Police said Genovese abandoned the pickup truck and fled the scene before he was found a short time later in a nearby woods and transported to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of injuries he suffered in the crash. Keane said Genoveses license was revoked in 2001 following a traffic incident in Suffolk County. Attorney James Maloney, who represented Genovese at his arraignment, said his client did not possess a valid license at the time of the fatal crash but denied that Genovese has a lengthy history of drunken driving arrests. He does have a prior ... from 20 years ago, and the only reason that has come back as an issue is that he never re-licensed. So he never took the final steps to reinstate his license, and that has triggered some additional legal ramifications, but no involvement with drugs or alcohol for 20 years, Maloney said. While Keane declined to comment on toxicology tests, Maloney said his clients blood alcohol content was not high. He added that his client is, nonetheless, extremely remorseful. My conversations with him, he does indicate that he was suffering from a mental health crisis, had not slept for approximately three days. Quite frankly, that probably contributed to the accident, Maloney said. Meanwhile, members of Thomas Ross family also attended Genoveses arraignment Thursday, several wearing orange T-shirts, Thomas Ross favorite color, with white lettering that read #Family. This family is devastated by this, Keane said. Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has emphasized the need to see plastic waste as a problem facing the West African sub regions which need to be addressed. According to him, "we should not be oblivious of the challenges that undermine the capacity to effectively deal with the menace of plastic waste in the sub-region". Speaker Bagbin, whose speech was read on his behalf by the MP for Yilo Krobo constituency, Mr Magnus Kofi Amotey observed the limited infrastructure for waste management, poor public awareness on sustainable waste management practices, weak policy implementation coupled with weak legal regimes enforcement together with general economics constraints are some of the challenges that need to overcome. Addressing the delocalized joint committee meeting of the ECOWAS parliament at Winneba, Speaker Bagbin stressed that the country has the opportunity to constantly engage with the local communities and educate them on the threats that plastic waste pose not only the environment but also the livelihood and particularly the blue economy. It was held with the theme: Plastic waste management, challenges and prospects in the implementation of community activities. Speaker Bagbin disclosed that government cannot address the issue of plastic waste alone, hence it is necessary for our respective governments to leverage on public private partnership initiatives to build the infrastructure required to effectively deal with the plastic waste menace and possibly turn plastic waste into useful economic resources that can create employment opportunities for the many unemployed youth in the sub region. Majority leader and head of Ghana's delegation to the ECOWAS parliament who also doubles as the MP for Efuffu constituency, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin on his part proposed that school curriculum should be adapt to include compulsory subjects in the fight against climate change especially plastic waste. He, therefore, tipped to push for harmonized legislation across ECOWAS member states to phase out single use plastic within the next three years, saying, "Rwanda has shown us the way, and thought us it is possible, we must learn from their success and adapt it to our context. With about 80% of our plastic waste currently mismanaged, we need rigorous and enforceable policies that span our entire region". Samson Ahi, MP for Bodi constituency and a member of ECOWAS parliament emphasized the need for ECOWAS to implement a strategic plan to enforce by law to end plastic waste in the sub region. Source: Nana Kwadwo Asante Agyemang, 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 Telecel Ghana is continuing its streak of rewarding customers as three more lucky customers were awarded the GH30,000 weekly cash prize each at vibrant events held concurrently at Takoradis Market Circle, Bolgatangas Main Lorry Station, and Kumasis Adum Market Square. The weekly winners Christopher Gorkeh, a 19-year-old high school graduate, Fred Tamakloe, a training college teacher and Richard Ofori, a trader received their cash prizes amid lots of excitement and celebration in their cities. Overwhelmed with joy and shock, Christopher shared his disbelief at winning the Telecel More Money Promo weekly prize and what he plans to do with his winning money, which he received instantly via Telecel Cash. "I was so surprised, and I couldnt control my feelings. I plan to use the GH30,000 to further my education to the university level and own a business in the future, " Christopher said, as his parents looked on with excitement and pride. Christopher helps his mother to sell Attieke in Esiama, a town in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region since he graduated from high school. He was constantly praying for a miracle to get financial aid to pursue his goal of pursuing university education. This is a dream come true for me. Thank you to Telecel and I will encourage everyone to join the More Money Promo and they could be lucky like me. The three winners join hundreds of Ghanaians who have walked away with daily and weekly cash prizes since the launch of the promo on 10th July. The grand prize of GH1 million awaits the luckiest customer at the end of the promo period in September. Aneth Muga, Head of Customer Value Management & Products and Services said, We are thrilled to see the positive impact this promo is having on the lives of our customers. Telecel will continue to create meaningful value and drive positive change. We encourage everyone to keep participating in the More Money Promo for a chance to win." The More Money Promo offers Telecel customers the opportunity to win daily cash prizes, weekly cash prizes, and a grand prize of GH1 million. To participate, customers simply need to activate the promo by sending 'WIN' to 500, dialling *500# or visiting the promo section of the Telecel Play App. Participants can then increase their chances of winning by recharging their airtime or purchasing data bundles to build more points in the draw. All Telecel users, including mobile, prepaid, fixed and business customers are eligible to participate in the Telecel More Money Promo for a chance to win daily and weekly cash rewards and the grand prize of GH1 million. 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 Pressure group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has questioned the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) quest to be president again. Mr John Dramani Mahama who is keen on winning the December 7, presidential election had earlier questioned the constitutional four four-year term of the sitting president. According to the former president, the four-year team is not enough for any president' to perhaps accomplish his policies. However, AFAG in a statement wonders if the former president's quest to be president again is born out of ego. One may wonder why, knowing very well that he has only one 4-year term left. Is his quest for re-election an issue of ego or ambition? A portion of the statement asked. Adding that: President John Mahama has not changed. It is the same dead goat. No new vision, a new message to the people, and no clearly explained policies for the future of this country. It seems to be the same old magniloquence and rhetoric. Nothing new. Nothing to look forward to. This situation gives AFAG the impression that John Mahama is living in the past. Read the statement below John Mahama Must Admit His Failure and Apologize to Ghanaians - AFAG Former President Mahamas comeback is beset by opportunism and incoherent policies. In 2016, former President John Mahama told the people of Ghana that 4 years is not enough for any president, adding that the framers of the constitution were well aware of that and therefore gave an option for a second term for sitting presidents. One may wonder why, knowing very well that he has only one 4-year term left. Is his quest for re-election an issue of ego or ambition? We are still beset by the economic havoc that the erstwhile John Mahama administration plunged Ghana into during their days is still lingering in the minds of many well-meaning Ghanaians. Fortunately, not all of us have short memories. It is only fair and proper that John Mahama admits that he failed the citizens of this country and apologizes to Ghanaians for his failure. President John Mahama has not changed. It is the same dead goat. No new vision, new message to the people, and no clearly explained policies for the future of this country. It seems to be the same old magniloquence and rhetoric. Nothing new. Nothing to look forward to. This situation gives AFAG the impression that John Mahama is living in the past. As the leader of the main opposition party, we expect that you would acknowledge that things are not as they used to be both locally and internationally. COVID-19 happened, and the ensuing global pandemic forced nearly 90 percent of the world economy to go under some form of lockdown, disrupting supply chains, depressing consumer demand, and putting millions out of work. The whole world is still reeling from the impact of that situation. As the opposition leader, we expect that youll profess tangible and achievable solutions to deal with the new order. This politics of constantly repeating the same old narratives over and again has become stale and tasteless. It is as if he hasn't learned from the obvious patterns that occasioned and eventually resulted in the defeats he suffered in the last 2 elections. AFAG believes that the endless repetition of the same stories by John Mahama is not healthy for the continuous growth of our democracy. What is his way forward for the nation? AFAG would like to implore John Mahama to raise the political conversation beyond the out-of-date politics and focus on more essential issues that will likely affect us locally if we do not plug into the ever-growing global happenings. The era of "tso boi" politics in Ghana should end. The rest of the world is leaving us behind. We must catch up. AFAG will ensure that you're held accountable for your deeds in the past and at the same time, keep an eye on the quality of your goals for the future, given that you have only one 4-year term to serve, if Ghanaians accept your unqualified apology for your misdeeds. God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong. SIGNED - AFAG LEADERSHIP [054 475 9734] Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman/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 Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's campaign momentum in the Northern part of Ghana is on the rise following highly successful engagements in the Upper East Region in the past few days. In the past weeks, Dr. Bawumia has pitched camp in the North, engaging with diverse stakeholders including traditional leaders, religious leaders and the youth in the North East, Northern, Savannah and Upper West Regions with huge crowds welcoming him. On the last lap of his Northern tour in the Upper East Region which began last Friday, Dr. Bawumia was given a warm reception from mammoth crowds in Bawku, Garu Tempane, Pusiga, Talensi, Nabdam, Chiana Paga, Bolga and Navrongo. In each of these constituencies and holding a community connect with the youth, the gathering has shown massive love and support to the Vice President and NPP presidential candidate by defying rains to stay with him. Dr. Bawumia has also tailored his messages to meet the expectations of his different audiences, telling them of the massive development projects in the five Northern Regions under the NPP regime. In each constituency, he lists a number of projects the government has undertaken in the area since 2017 to demonstrate how the NPP has kept faith with the people. Dr. Bawumia further highlights the NDC and their flagbearer, John Mahama's neglect of the North in terms of development to remind the people of the bad treatment they experienced while Mahama was President. Some of the failures of the Mahama administration he outlines are their SADA project which was a complete fiasco and the blatant corruption that characterized the previous government. Dr. Bawumia is the first Northerner to be elected leader of the New Patriotic Party in a major election and for the first time, both the leading candidates for the two main political parties are from the North. This makes the 2024 election historic as Dr. Bawumia has made significant inroads in what the NDC considered their safe grounds. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has criticised the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame. His remarks came in response to the Court of Appeal's decision on Tuesday, July 30, which acquitted and discharged the accused persons in a high-profile case. The ruling overturned a previous trial court's order that required Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa to present their defence. The two had been accused of causing the state a financial loss of 2.37 million in a deal to procure ambulances for the Government of Ghana. While Justice Alex Poku Acheampong dissented, Justices Kweku Tawiah Ackah-Boafo and Philip Bright Mensah ruled in favour of the accused. Following the ruling, Attorney-General Godfred Dame issued a statement condemning the decision. He described it as perverse and contrary to the substantial evidence presented by the prosecution, arguing that it undermines public accountability and the rule of law. In an interview with TV3 on Wednesday, July 31, Mr. Suhuyini advised the A-G to remain silent to avoid further embarrassment. He suggested that Dame has compromised both himself and the office he occupies with his response to the court's decision. "This case has not just been lost but his integrity has also been lost and if I were in his shoes, I would be speaking very little at this moment because he has not only disgraced him, but he has disgraced the office of the Attorney-General." "It was a case that shouldnt have happened. It is a classical example of political persecution. Even before we heard what was contained in the leaked tape, most Ghanaians knew this was a witch hunt and a classical case of political persecution," he said. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman/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 National Security Minister, Mr. Alban Kan-Dapaah, has cautioned political parties to be prepared to accept defeat in order to avoid any form of post electoral violence. Mr. Kan-Dapaah underscored the need to maintain peace and stability during the upcoming December 7 elections, adding that, post-election violence have the tendency of tearing a nation apart, hence, the need to protect the peace and tranquility that already exist in Ghana by accepting the results that will be declared by the Electoral Commission. Speaking as a guest at the Catholic Bishops Conferences programme in Accra, dubbed, National forum on social cohesion, security and peaceful elections, Mr. Kan-Dapaah said, internally and coming home to Ghana, we continue to be confronted with the threat of electoral violence which has in the past threatened to destroy our country. According to him, deliberately underestimating the threat of electoral violence, could compromise the integrity of Ghanas democracy, even though Ghana as a democratic nation has traditionally been proud of its peaceful transfers of power between the two main political parties, that is, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party. He noted, Yes, we have succeeded as a country in ensuring a transition of power from one political party to another on modernisation. Referring to commentaries from the two biggest political parties, the National Security Minister posited that such ambitious comments from the parties have the potential to incite their party sympathisers and followers to engage in violence on Election Day if one party loses. He said, The 2024 general elections will certainly test the strength of our democracy. Given the high stakes involved, where the two major political parties appear convinced about their prospects of emerging victorious. That obviously creates a security challenge for me where I sit. In the same vein, the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Ghana, in an interview with the media reiterated the need to pursue the lasting gift of peace over any electoral violence that will run the peace of the nation downwards. Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, further admonished all politicians on the need for political parties to accept the outcome of the election and not take advantage of the peace Ghana enjoys by inciting people for destruction. Definitely during the election, someone will lose, someone will win. So, for you to lose the election and use the pain to incite people to cause havoc to destroy the peace, usually, it is the political leaders who have lost that lead to such destruction. So our advice is to the political leaders that if you lose, please accept it peacefully, he added. Ghanaians must also be aware of their responsibilities. They must not allow themselves to be used by politicians who lose elections. Peace is very expensive and sometimes we have to make sacrifices one time or the other to maintain it. So may nobody participate in violence. So those who lose, accept it peacefully. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A detailed analysis of former President Mahama's 2012 Manifesto makes a startling revelation of a significant percentage of unfulfilled promises at the end of his term as President in January 2017. Mahama, narrowly won the 2012 elections, which was later challenged at the Supreme Court by the New Patriotic Party. He became the National Democratic Congress flagbearer for the 2012 election after completing the full term of the late Ex-President Evans Atta Mills. As flagbearer, Mahama run a lavish campaign full of juicy promises under the theme Advancing the Better Ghana Agenda which went with the tagline e dey beee kk to wit it is too sweet. After winning the elections, expectations of Ghanaians were unsurprisingly high following the promises made. However, Mahama's administration was plaqued by myriad of problems including serious economic downturn, youth unemployment and an unprecedented 4-year energy crisis which brought about the infamous word dumsor, a situation which crippled the growth of businesses. Mahama and the NDC, as a result, lost the 2016 elections to the New Patriotic Party led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. President Akufo-Addo beat Mahama by the biggest margin under the 4th Republic with many Ghanaians describing Mahama as incompetent and full of deceptive promises. However, former President Mahama has made a comeback into the presidential race, bringing heat upon himself and his party. Mahama has come under intense scrutiny regarding his integrity to fulfill his promises since he and the NDC failed abysmally between 2012 and 2017, especially as he comes up with new promises following the launch of his 2024 Campaign on Saturday, July 27, at Tamale Jubilee Park. With many people doubting Mahamas integrity, data available and shared with the public strikingly reveals how the economy cannot be entrusted into his hands again. According to the verifiable data, Mahama fulfilled only 28% of his major promises in the 2012 NDC Manifesto. The data shows Mahama made as many as 280 promises, out of which, only 77 were delivered and the rest not fulfilled, representing a paltry 28%. What this means is that Mahama, after being elected into office in 2012, did not fulfill a whopping 203 promises he made to Ghanaians, representing 68% of the unfulfilled promises. Out of the 203, 46 of those promises were major promises which dominated the 2012 elections in areas such as management of the economy, infrastructure, education, social intervention, industrialization, northern development, taxation, youth employment, among others. Interestingly, many of these promises were also repeated at the 2012 IEA presidential debate. Below is the entire list of the 280 (both unfulfilled and fulfilled) campaign promises by Mahama: Your browser does not support iframes. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament for Effutu constituency and the Majority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has expressed his displeasure over the manner in which the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, unilaterally adjourned Parliamentary sitting sine die. In addressing the press in Parliament on July 30, 2024, the majority leader was disappointed at the turn of events during parliamentary proceedings. Alexander Afenyo-Markin while speaking to the press said, well, we all know that in this Chamber of Parliament, we proceed on matters, reach consensus and take decisions. I do not think that the issue about adjournment and the reopening of Parliament is purely administrative. He further stated that, It is always as a result of a decision of both sides of the House, in consultation with Mr. Speaker. And it is upon when weve agreed on such a date that, by an administrative legal process will trigger the necessary procedure to recall, to reopen, and all. According to the Effutu lawmaker, he was well aware of the adjournment sine die few days ago but added that, And I must say in all sincerity that I engaged those that I have to engage and I was getting certain understanding that we could reach some consensus considering the number of business that we had as a House. Of course I can also understand the constraints of Mr. Speaker, given the fact that the First Deputy Speaker is out of the jurisdiction, the Second Deputy Speaker is also out of the jurisdiction; however, our rules permit or allow us to have a member presiding. He opined that, although Mr. Speaker had scheduled his travelling to the United States for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), it was of importance that Mr. Speaker prioritises government business over the trip to the US. According to Afenyo-Markin, the ECOWAS Parliament was having a delocalized meeting in Ghana, in the Effutu constituency, but immediately after they opened the session, he rushed to Accra without any delay, to join his colleagues in Parliament. Mr Afenyo-Markin said he was in the chamber of Parliament, and he called for motion 23, which had to do with the $250 million facility from the World Bank. He said after this, he signalled his colleague, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson to meet with him to discuss the Supreme Court nominees. He said, It was when my good self and my Deputy, Mrs Patricia Appiagyei, the Minority Leader and some Committee Members were holding a discussion on the issue of the Supreme Court Nominees on the Sixth Floor in the office of the Deputy Majority Chief Whip when monitoring proceedings on the television, we sadly realised Mr. Speaker was adjourning the House sine die. Surprisingly, he did not give his closing remarks, neither did he allow leaders to make remarks, which has become the practice of Parliament. And these are worrying, very worrying, Mr Afenyo-Markin said, adding, That notwithstanding, Mr. Speaker is the father of Parliament, he presides, we dont want to go into any banter with him. We will not act in a manner disrespectful of the Chair, except to say that we vehemently disagree with the unilateral decision to adjourn the house sine die. So, expect to see a recall of request from us, he reiterated. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video There are 73 Big Lots stores in Pennsylvania. That ranks the Keystone State fifth with the most Big Lots stores in the United States behind only Texas, California, Florida and Ohio. Last month, discount chain Big Lots said it would close 35 to 40 locations after its revenue numbers saw a steep decline impacted by what it called a challenging consumer environment. But, now a month later, Big Lots isnt just closing 35 to 40 stores, it will actually be closing more than 140 stores. Big Lots has 1,389 stores as of Wednesday, according to the companys website. And as of Wednesday, 143 store closings were listed on its website. Thats about 10.2% of all of its stores. So how many stores is Big Lots closing in Pennsylvania? Two. Those stores are located at: 713 E. Baltimore Ave., Clifton Heights, Delaware County 201 W. Lincoln Highway, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, near Exton The retailer is offering up to 20% off at those stores that are closing. Three western states: California, Arizona and Washington will account for more than half of the pending closings. After the 143 stores close, Pennsylvania will move into fourth with the most Big Lots stores as more than 50 of the 109 Big Lots stores in California will close. In a June SEC filing, the company painted a bleak picture about its future. Based on our current cash and liquidity projections, and uncertainties with respect to the mitigating effect of managements plans, the Company has concluded there is a significant likelihood that it will be unable to comply with the Excess Availability Covenant under the 2022 Credit Agreement and the Term Loan Facility within the next 12 months, which raises substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern, the company said. The companys stock tells the story of just how far Big Lots has fallen in just three years. Its stock was more than $70 in 2021 and at the end of trading on Wednesday the stock was down to $1.02. Pennsylvania State Police are asking the public to avoid the area of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex due to full parking lots and expected traffic delays for the rally being held by Donald Trump Wednesday. Parking at the Farm Show Complex opened at 9 a.m., according to the Trump campaign. By 10 a.m., the parking lot was half-full, city spokesman Matt Maisel said. LIVE COVERAGE: Donald Trump visits Harrisburg The announcement from state police came shortly before 3:45 p.m. If you are planning on going, get there very early because roads will be impacted starting in the early afternoon hours, Maisel said. There will be major traffic delays. Starting at 12 p.m., the highlighted roads will be closed. The roads will reopen when former President Trump arrives at the Farm Show Complex. The roads will close again when he departs.Matt Maisel The following roads in the area will be closed before and after the event, hosted at the New Holland Arena, as Trump arrives and leaves the area: Maclay Street at Seventh Street Arsenal Boulevard. at Cameron Street Cameron Sreet from Maclay to I-81 Industrial Road at HACC Drive The Secret Service is prohibiting bags and backpacks inside the event, Trumps campaign advised in its email. No umbrellas, alcoholic beverages, balloons, balls, banners and signs, e-cigarettes, glass, thermal and metal containers, laser lights, mace/pepper spray, noisemakers such as air horns, sticks and selfie sticks and tripods. By Jennifer Jacobs, Josh Eidelson and Josh Wingrove Bloomberg News (TNS) WASHINGTON Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro met with Kamala Harris representatives while some labor groups expressed opposition to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, as the Democratic candidates search for a running mate nears its end. Shapiros meeting Wednesday is part of Harris selection process and took place without the vice president, said people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity. Its unclear whether the session was held virtually, or who else has held discussions with the vice presidents team. VP contenders Shapiro, Kelly, Kentucky Andy Beshear and Gov. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are among the top contenders for the job. As Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the top potential contenders for the role are largely unknown to voters: Kelly stands out as a prospect who has more name recognition and higher favorability, particularly among Democrats. And others, like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, while less known nationally, could draw on a deeper well of support in their home states and regions. This composite left to right, shows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. (AP Photo)AP If chosen, Beshear would need to introduce himself to most of the country. Around 7 in 10 Americans dont know enough to have an opinion about him. Those with a view are about evenly split: 17% of U.S. adults have a positive view, and 15% have a negative one. Like the other governors who are being discussed, Walz doesnt have much of a national profile and that also means hes a relatively blank slate. He wasnt included in the AP-NORC poll, but a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, which asked about favorability slightly differently, found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults dont know enough to have an opinion on him. Among Americans with a view, opinions are split between positive and negative. Walz, who also served for 12 years in the House, moved up on Harris shortlist in recent days after he coined weird as a new talking point to describe the Republican ticket. Its a line now used widely by the vice president and other Democrats. Shapiro meeting One person familiar with the Shapiro meeting said it was a routine part of the deliberations and warned against using it to draw conclusions about Harris ultimate selection. Labor groups, meanwhile, have expressed worries about Kelly joining the Democratic ticket, a potential warning sign as Harris looks to harness President Joe Bidens clout among major unions. Harris on Wednesday received the support of the United Auto Workers, an influential union in battleground Michigan whose endorsement Biden worked hard to secure. Kelly cannot possibly be seriously considered for vice president, said John Samuelsen, head of the Transport Workers Union, who said he relayed his worries to the campaign. Hes not nearly pro-trade union enough for serious consideration. Samuelsen cited Kellys prior refusal to endorse legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize, which is backed by almost all Senate Democrats. Kelly said last week that he would vote for the bill. FILE - Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks about the southern border outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)AP Multiple unions have made their concerns about Kelly known to the Harris campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. The Arizona senator has received backing from other corners of the labor movement. I respect Senator Kelly and am encouraged by the consideration he is being given by @KamalaHarris campaign, Jim McLaughlin, president of the Arizona AFL-CIO, wrote on X. Spokespeople for Harris, Kelly and Shapiro declined to comment. Harris will make her pick within the next week, and the newly formed duo will kick off a tour of all seven major battleground states on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia. Harris said Tuesday she had not made a selection.Associated Press contributed to this article. A diner serving a lengthy menu and all-day breakfast has arrived in Lower Allen Township. The Cedar Cliff Diner started serving diners in mid-July at 1104 Carlisle Road at the Shoppes at Cedar Cliff. Business partners Michael Armanious and Steve Kamel also own Silver Spring Diner in Silver Spring Township. Between the two of them, they have operated several restaurants in the past in Chambersburg and Shippensburg. After learning about the vacancy at the former Gulliftys, Kamal said they decided the area near Cedar Cliff High School needed a diner. They transformed the space into a bright, airy dining room with a counter near the front entrance. We made a 180-degree change, Kamel said. We remodeled everything. The diner is 95% new including tables, booths and kitchen equipment, he said. The Cedar Cliff Diner started serving diners in mid-July at 1104 Carlisle Road at the Shoppes at Cedar Cliff.Sue Gleiter Every single customer who came in (for the opening) was happy about the food, the service and atmosphere, Kamel said. In true diner style, the extensive menu stretches from all-day breakfast to sandwiches and entrees including steaks and seafood. Find standard breakfast fare such as omelets, eggs Benedict, wraps and pancakes along with sausage gravy over biscuits and chipped beef. A lunch and dinner menu rolls out at 11 a.m. chock full of sandwiches, wraps, paninis, burgers and entrees ranging from stir fries to roast turkey, chicken and veal parmigiana. Kamel said they offer several combinations including a signature Cedar Cliff Bomb French Fries topped with bacon, chili and cheddar cheese for $6.95. Other combo selections include a breakfast of sirloin steak, home fries, two eggs, toast, a pancake and French toast for $17.95. The restaurant has a private dining room available for parties and events. The diner is open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. ATLANTA (AP) The teenage brother of a U.S. Air Force airman who was shot and killed in his home by a Florida sheriffs deputy in May has been killed in a shooting in the Atlanta area, police said. Andre Fortson, Senior Airman Roger Fortsons 16-year-old brother, was killed this week in DeKalb County, near Atlantas east side, DeKalb County police said in an update on the slaying. Chantemekki Fortson, mother of Roger Fortson, a U.S. Air Force senior airman killed by a deputy at his Florida home, holds a photo of her son during a news conference, June 3, 2024, in Atlanta. Roger's younger brother was recently shot to death in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file)AP The Fortson family is battling the loss of yet another young member of their family, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been representing the family since Roger Fortson was killed. This has been an incredibly challenging time for them with the loss of Roger, Crump said in a statement. Losing the life of yet another young family member a mere child has been an absolute devastation. Andre Fortson was found shot to death in the breezeway of an apartment complex on Tuesday, police said. Two groups of people had been shooting at each other for unknown reasons, DeKalb County police said. A 20-year-old man was identified as one of the shooters, and arrested on an aggravated assault charge, police said. He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail. Jail records did not list an attorney who could be reached for comment on his behalf. The killing comes about three months after Roger Fortson, 23, was killed May 3 by Okaloosa County sheriffs Deputy Eddie Duran at Fortsons apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The airman had answered the door while holding a handgun pointed toward the floor and was killed within seconds, body camera video shows. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran, saying the deputys life was never in danger and that he should not have fired his weapon. A sheriffs office internal affairs investigation found that Fortson did not make any hostile, attacking movements, and therefore, the former deputys use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable. The Fortson family is from DeKalb County, where Andre Fortson was killed. At a tearful news conference a couple of weeks after the Florida killing, Andre Fortson stood on the stage with his mother and sisters. They wore red shirts with the words WE ALL WE GOT on the front and a picture of Roger Fortson in his military uniform on the back. Roger Fortson was stationed at the Air Forces Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle. At his funeral outside Atlanta, hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues filed past his coffin, draped with an American flag. Attorney General Michelle Henry hs announced a new complaint form for Pennsylvanians encountering hardships with airline travel, ranging from flight delays and cancellations to boarding problems. The new form is available on the Office of Attorney General website and is a response to an uptick, nationwide, in consumer complaints regarding air travel. The form is the product of Henrys partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation to better assist Pennsylvania travelers, a press release said. Consumers may file complaints whether they purchased tickets directly, or through an agent or third party. Residents of Pennsylvania or those who faced airline issues in Pennsylvania are eligible to use the new complaint form. Southwest passengers and airliners line up and move at Love Field in Dallas, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it plans to drop the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years and will start assigning passengers to seats, just like all the other big airlines. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AP It is no longer a secret that Pennsylvanians and consumers across the country are finding less and less convenience when traveling by air, Henry said. This form makes it easier for travelers who encounter problems to file a complaint, and is part of an ongoing initiative with federal partners to hold airlines and agents accountable when they mistreat consumers. The forms requires information, such as ticket number, flight itinerary, flight date, ticket date purchase, ticket price, and form of payment. The forms also require specifics on what issues were encountered by the traveler. This information will be useful when reviewing, and resolving, complaints. The creation of the new aviation consumer complaint form comes following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Office of Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The MOU outlines how the agencies will work together to review consumer complaints and identify violations of federal aviation consumer protection requirements. The MOU in its entirety can be accessed here. The Department of Transportation expects to launch a modernized system for handling air travel service complaints later this year. This system is intended to improve the customer experience for the tens of thousands of consumers who file air travel service complaints with the Department each year. The Office of the Attorney General will provide information on how to submit complaints directly to the Department of Transportation in the future. By Maddie Aiken, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) As West Virginia University students begin packing their belongings for the start of the fall semester, pistols and revolvers could be boxed up alongside backpacks, bed sheets and winter coats. Thats because of the states new Campus Self-Defense Act, which requires West Virginias higher education institutions to allow licensed concealed carry on their campuses, with some exceptions. The law, which went into effect July 1, makes West Virginia the 13th state to require its colleges to allow concealed carry on campus. Institutions such as WVU are now preparing for changes this fall semester as the bulk of their students return in just a few short weeks. We know that as it relates to this law, there are those who were supportive of its passage and want the opportunity ... to take advantage of the concealed carry law, and we know that there are those who arent, said April Kaull, communications chair of WVUs Campus Safety Steering Group. Our job at this point is to make sure that were complying with the law under the state code ... and that we provide information (and) resources (to) members of our campus community and those who visit our campuses. Heres what to know about the Campus Self-Defense Act and how it will impact West Virginia colleges. What the law mandates Approved by West Virginias legislature and signed by Gov. Jim Justice in 2023, the law requires all of the states higher education institutions to generally allow students, professors and others to carry concealed pistols or revolvers on campus grounds. Those who choose to carry must have a license to do so, and their weapons cannot be visible. The law does carve out some exceptions that allow schools to choose to prohibit firearms in certain places. For example, WVU will continue to ban firearms in dorm rooms, at stadium events with more than 1,000 people, and in areas where patient care or mental health counseling is occurring. A full list of areas where concealed carry is prohibited at WVU can be found on the universitys website. Because weapons cant be stored in dorm rooms, students who live on campus must store their pistols and revolvers in designated lockers. How WVU is adjusting Before the Campus Self-Defense Act passed, West Virginia colleges determined their own concealed carry policies. WVU officials believed the university was in the best position to make this call, said Kaull. West Virginia University advocated that local control and local decision-making by our Board of Governors was ... the most appropriate and the best, she said. But, sensing that the legislature would enact a campus carry law, WVU began reaching out to universities in states such as Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, all of which mandate concealed carry options on campuses. Many of these institutions said they didnt see significant changes on their campuses after concealed carry laws went into effect, Kaull said. WVU also doesnt anticipate big changes as of early July, only five students living on campus had requested usage of the designated lockers to store their firearms. Still, the university had to make preparations to accommodate the Campus Self-Defense Act. It provided the storage lockers, established the Campus Safety Steering Committee, passed a Board of Governors policy regarding the new law, and shared information and resources online and around campus. School officials will continue informing students, faculty and staff about the new law in the fall semester, Kaull said. Were going to continue to educate our campus community about what the law is, and I think thats the most important thing for us to be doing, she said. Campus carry by state Campus carry is a very old issue, said Andrew Willinger, executive director of Duke Universitys Center for Firearms Law. Even in the early 1800s, American colleges debated campus gun policies. Traditionally, these rules were left up to individual institutions discretion, as is the case in Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State both prohibit guns on their campuses. But in the past 20 years, more legislators began formulating laws that broadly determined the policies at their states colleges. In general, this has been something historically thats been left to the discretion of the specific college or university to determine what their policy will be, Willinger said. That has now changed in recent years. As of 2024, eight states West Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Utah and Idaho have laws in place that require campus carry options. Another five, including Ohio, require campus carry options, though colleges can limit who can carry where. Ten states, meanwhile, prohibit campus carry. Those states include New York, New Jersey and Michigan. Self-defense or safety concern? Proponents of campus carry argue that it bolsters self-defense options and allows students, professors and staff to practice their Second Amendment rights. West Virginia State Sen. Rupie Phillips, the lead sponsor of the Campus Self-Defense Act, pointed to campus sexual assault statistics as a reason why he wanted his daughter to be able to carry on a West Virginia college campus, the Associated Press reported last year. I dont want my daughter to have to face this. I dont want your daughter, your granddaughters to ever have to face that, Phillips said to fellow lawmakers. Thats another reason that we need to get this through. Supporters also highlight the laws license requirement meaning those who carry will have gone through a background check and state training. Its not a Wild West situation, said Kevin Patrick Jr., vice president of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League. Were talking about law-abiding citizens who are interested in protecting themselves and people who are close to them, Patrick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I think that makes everybody safer. Opponents of campus carry, meanwhile, express concerns that allowing concealed weapons on campuses could exacerbate safety concerns. As the legislature considered the bill last year, several WVU students protested it. We think this will bring further violence to our campus, Keeley Wildman, a WVU graduate student, told The Dominion Post, Morgantowns daily newspaper, in February 2023. Andy Pelosi, executive director of the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus, believes that states can reduce risks by banning firearms on college campuses. He pointed to suicide, substance abuse and interpersonal violence concerns. When it comes to college-aged students, suicide is the second leading cause of death ... We want to reduce risk, Pelosi told the Post-Gazette. Theres other things obviously happening on a college campus whether it be alcohol, drugs or academic pressures (and) we feel like introducing firearms into that equation is a deadly mix. (c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick made his pitch to Pennsylvania voters on Wednesday during a 7-minute address at former President Donald Trumps rally in Harrisburg. McCormick started by recalling the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler County on July 13. We saw the president come up off the floor, put his fist in the air in defiance, leadership, strength thats the kind of strength we need to turn our country around, said McCormick, who was at the Butler County rally. With the entrance of Vice President Kamala Harris into the race for the White House, McCormicks campaign has sought to tie her and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey together and Wednesday was no different. McCormick was critical of the economy and border security, although Casey supported the bipartisan border deal earlier this year that was opposed by McCormick, Trump and other Republicans. Harris is the most liberal nominee in the history of America, said McCormick, rattling off her stances, including opposition to fracking. Casey has opposed attempts to ban fracking. McCormick talked about growing up in Pennsylvania and attending West Point but did not mention that he was the son of the Bloomsburg University president and later the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the worlds largest hedge funds. Voters have a choice between strength and the sad weakness of the Biden administration, McCormick said, urging the audience to volunteer for GOP candidates. We need you to knock on doors, he said. We need you to tell your friends. By Stephanie Farr, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvanias highest court will take on one of the citys most confounding death cases that of Philadelphia first-grade teacher Ellen Greenberg, whose death by 20 stab wounds in 2011 was ruled homicide before being switched to suicide. In an order issued Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted the appeal filed by Greenbergs parents, Joshua and Sandra of Harrisburg, of a Commonwealth Court ruling last year that prevented their civil case against the city of Philadelphia from going to trial. In that case, the Greenbergs seek to have the manner of their daughters death changed from suicide back to homicide or undetermined. The Greenbergs Center City attorney, Joseph Podraza, said his clients were elated and moved to tears when they learned their petition to appeal was granted. Im extremely pleased too and a little surprised, given how hard it is to have a case accepted for review by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Podraza said. The court can only take a very small fraction (of cases) and then only those which impact Pennsylvanians across the state. A spokesperson for the citys law department declined to comment, due to ongoing litigation. According to the order granting the appeal, the Supreme Court will consider the issue of whether executors and administrators of an estate have standing to challenge an erroneous finding recorded on the decedents death certificate where that finding constitutes a bar or material impediment to recovery of victims compensation, restitution or for wrongful death, as well as private criminal complaints. Greenberg, 27, was found by her fiance, Samuel Goldberg, in the kitchen of their Manayunk apartment with a 10-inch knife lodged in her chest on Jan. 26, 2011. Investigators on the scene treated her death as a suicide because the apartment door which Goldberg said he broke down was locked from the inside, there were no signs of an intruder, and Greenberg had no defensive wounds, police have said. But the next morning at the autopsy, then assistant Philadelphia Medical Examiner Marlon Osbourne discovered a total of 20 stab wounds to Greenbergs body, including 10 to the back of her neck, and ruled her death a homicide. Police publicly disputed the findings and Osbourne later changed his ruling to suicide, with no explanation to Greenbergs parents. The Greenbergs retained numerous forensic experts who have questioned authorities findings, as first detailed in a March 2019 Inquirer report. Podraza filed a civil suit on behalf of the Greenbergs in 2019 against the MEs Office and Osbourne, seeking to have the manner of Ellens death changed back to homicide or undetermined. As a result of that suit, additional details about the case came to light through discovery, including Goldbergs call to 911, new information about the unusual process around how Ellens death was classified, and new testimony about whether one of the wounds to her neck was possibly administered after she died. In October 2021, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Glynnis D. Hill ruled that the familys suit could proceed to trial. The city appealed that ruling to the Commonwealth Court, arguing that under the law, a medical examiners inherently discretionary professional opinion cant be challenged and that even if the findings were incorrect ... the law makes clear that a medical examiner can be wrong as to the manner of death yet cannot be compelled to change it. In the Commonwealth Courts 2-1 decision in September, judges wrote they had no choice under the law but to grant the city of Philadelphias appeal because the Greenbergs didnt have standing to seek a revision in their daughters manner of death. Even though the Commonwealth Court ruled in the citys favor, its opinion of how Philadelphia authorities handled the investigation into Greenbergs death was blistering. The judges wrote ... this court is acutely aware of the deeply flawed investigation of the victims death by the City of Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) detectives, the City of Philadelphia District Attorneys Office (DAO), and the MEO [Medical Examiners Office]. In writing their 39-page opinion, which included a review of the investigations, the Commonwealth Court said they did so in the interests of justice and with hopes that equity may one day prevail for the victim and her loved ones. Podraza said he hoped the Supreme Court would take up the appeal because a medical examiner or coroners decision on a manner of death impacts people statewide on many things, like entitlement to insurance money and victims funds, and because giving a coroner or medical examiner absolute discretion that cant be challenged is a very foreign concept. This is especially true in Pennsylvania, he said, where a coroner is typically an elected position, one that does not require a medical degree or medical training. While Philadelphia, Delaware, and Allegheny counties have appointed medical examiners who are certified forensic pathologists, and Northampton and Luzerne counties have appointed coroners, the remaining 62 counties have elected coroners who must meet only three requirements theyre over 18, have lived in the county for a year, and have taken a basic, 32-hour education course. Its scary when you consider all the counties in Pennsylvania and a very small percentage actually have a coroner or a medical examiner who has medical training, Podraza said. That, to me, is the definition of an area of decision that needs to be closely watched. An undated photo of Ellen Greenberg. Photo provided by Greenberg familyPhoto provided by Greenberg family Both parties will be required to file briefs in the case and then oral arguments will be heard by the court at a date that is yet to be determined. In rendering its order, the Supreme Court noted that Justice David N. Wecht did not participate in its decision. Wechts father, noted Pittsburgh forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht, is one of the experts the Greenbergs consulted with whove questioned Philadelphia authorities findings. A second civil suit the Greenbergs have filed against members of the Medical Examiners Office, the Police Department, and the DAs Office seeking monetary damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress remains ongoing. 2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WILLIAMSPORT Only one individual currently is charged in connection with the March homicide outside the Fridays restaurant in a Williamsport suburb and it is not the suspected shooter. PennLive has confirmed a Lycoming County judge following an April 15 juvenile detention hearing dismissed the charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault against Jabree Starks, 13. He is the younger brother of Ja-hsir Legare, who Pennsylvania State Police have identified as the suspect in the March 2 fatal shooting of Ahmeen Palmer, 15, of Williamsport, in the parking lot of the Loyalsock Twp. restaurant. The only person confirmed to be charged is the boys mother, Johniece Francine Legare, 37, who is awaiting trial on charges that Lycoming County District Attorney Thomas A. Marino has said includes murder as an accomplice. The specific charges against Legare are not known because the documents are sealed. Jahsir Legare, 17, has not been formally charged, Marino said Wednesday. He plans to refile charges against his younger brother, he said. Ibn Hakiem Hunter, 19, of Williamsport, also was charged in the case. But the public did not know what the charges were until Wednesday when a sealing order expired. He spent two months in jail himself not knowing his charges until they were dismissed July 24 at his preliminary hearing by District Judge Gary Whiteman due to lack of evidence. Hunters most serious charge, which was added just before the preliminary hearing, wasthe accomplice to commit first-degree murder. The affidavit contains much of what state Trooper Brian Siebert testified about at the hearing. New is the allegation that Johniece Legare told another inmate in the county prison her son shot a guy at Fridays, that she took him out of town and she was charged with harboring a fugitive. She did not identify to which son she was referring, the document states. The Hunter affidavit states Legare was arrested on March 6 in Philadelphia on charges related to hindering apprehension. Other charges Whiteman dismissed against Hunter were conspiracy to commit the following: aggravated assault that resulted in death, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon, endangering another person and criminal mischief. He also had been charged with criminal use of a communication device and possession of an instrument of crime. That latter was a cell phone police say was used to coordinate the Palmer shooting. Evidence presented at the Hunter preliminary hearing was he intended to have an Uber driver take him home after he finished work at an assisted living facility but after receiving a telephone call paid extra to be taken to Fridays. When he arrived he went to Legares car to get money to tip the Uber driver and saw in the front passenger seat a Black male wearing a mask. He claimed he did not know the male but police accused him of lying to protect Jahsir. Sieberts testimony about the shooting included: Two weeks earlier Palmer slapped Starks in public. Palmer was among one small group of juveniles and Starks was in another who by chance showed up at the restaurant to celebrate birthdays. A challenge to go outside and fight was made inside the restaurant and both groups went outside into the parking lot. The unsealed affidavit states Legare approached Palmer and told him to fight her son Jahsir one-on-one. Moments later five shots were fired with Palmer hit in the back of the head and in each leg, Siebert testified. Two parked vehicles also were struck, he said. Legare and her two sons went to their residence before quickly leaving for Philadelphia, he said, citing cell phone tacking data. Marino claimed during his closing argument Hunter provided the 9mm gun but no evidence was presented during the preliminary hearing to support that theory. The police affidavit makes no mention of Hunter having a weapon or taking one to the scene. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pa. Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll announced Wednesday that 73 municipalities will receive more than $30 million to support traffic signal upgrades, increasing safety and mobility across Pennsylvanias communities through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportations (PennDOTs) Green Light-Go program. These upgrades will increase safety and mobility across Pennsylvanias communities by relieving congestion and improving traffic flow, a press release said. Many Green Light-Go grants help municipalities improve congestion and traffic flow by upgrading to newer technologies in detection, which in turn allow traffic signals to respond to real-time traffic demand. Green Light-Go grants are provided as reimbursement to municipalities for updates to improve the efficiency and operation of existing traffic signals, the release said. These projects will be funded through the appropriation for fiscal year 2024-25. Grant funding through the Green Light-Go program may be utilized for a range of operational improvements including, but not limited to: light-emitting diode (LED) technology installation, traffic signal retiming, developing special event plans and monitoring traffic signals, as well as upgrading traffic signals to the latest technologies. The following is a list of approved projects: Allegheny County Findley Township - $117,422 to replace controller, signing, vehicular and pedestrian heads at Cliff Mine Road and Summit Park Drive. Monroeville Borough - $247,025 for updated signal equipment Monroeville Boulevard at Ivanhoe Drive. Monroeville Borough - $114,369 for Municipality-wide Controller Modernization Project. Monroeville Borough - $522,743 for William Penn Highway (Route 0022/ Route 2048) Coordination Modernization Project. North Fayette Township - $187,208 for updated traffic signal equipment at intersection of Summit Park Drive at Chauvet Drive East/Lafayette Plaza. North Fayette Township - $201,720 for updated traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Summit Park Drive at Chauvet Drive West/Home Drive. Ohio Township - $248,666 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Mount Nebo Road (Route 4022) and Arndt Road. Pine Township - $302,700 for updated traffic signal equipment which spans five intersections along the Route 19 corridor in the township. City of Pittsburgh - $2.32 million for the modernization of traffic signal equipment at five intersections throughout the city. Ross Township - $241,448 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Babcock Blvd. & Rochester Road. Ross Township - $312,134 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Babcock Blvd. & Thompson Run Road. Scott Township - $305,700 for upgrade of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Bower Hill Road & Painters Run Road. Scott Township - $340,712 for upgrade of traffic signal equipment at Bower Hill Road & Rockhill Road. Swissvale Borough - $50,000 for traffic signal warrant study and possible signal removal at the intersection of Monongahela Ave & Schoyer Avenue. Wilkinsburg Borough - $600,252 for traffic signal equipment modernization at East Swissvale Avenue & Ross Avenue/Rebecca Avenue. Berks County Exeter Township - $184,624 for new controllers, backplates and detection upgrades at six intersections throughout the Township: Route 422/DeMoss Road & 47th Street intersection. Route 2039 & Circle Avenue. Route 2039 & Hearthstone Drive. Route 422 & EB/Route 2021. DeMoss Road & Private Driveways. Gibraltar Road & DeMoss Road. West Reading Borough - $157,554 for traffic signal equipment upgrades along the 7th Avenue at Parkside Dr. North & Reading Avenue as well as along 8th Avenue at Hill Ave & Reading Avenue. Blair County City of Altoona - $397,831 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Logan Boulevard & Beale Avenue. Antis Township - $303,047 for the modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Tipton Road & East Pleasant Valley Boulevard. Antis Township - $80,887 for the modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Route 865 & East Pleasant Valley Boulevard. Logan Township - $405,206 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at various locations throughout the township. Bradford County Towanda Borough - $14,800 for traffic signal retiming along Main Street in the borough Bucks County Doylestown Borough - $340,995 for modernization of signal equipment at W. State Street/W. Court Street & Clinton Street Doylestown Township - $184,240 for modernization of signal equipment at Pebble Hill Road & Edison Furlong Road (Route 2049) as well as Limekiln Road & Ferry Road. Doylestown Township - $242,700 to update traffic signal equipment at various locations throughout the Township. Falls Township - $259,800 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Hood Blvd & Pennsbury High School. Riegelsville Borough - $412,160 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Easton Road (Route 0611) & Delaware Road (Route 1016) Upper Southampton Township - $445,214 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at County Line Road & Second Street Pike. Butler County Cranberry Township - $68,000 for update/replacement of two traffic signal cabinets on Route 228. Cranberry Township - $131,000 to upgrade signal video detection at Route 19, Route 228 & Rochester Road. Cranberry Township - $212,000 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Route 19 & Cranberry Fire Station Number Two. Centre County Benner Township - $168,220 for upgrade traffic signal equipment at intersections of Eagle Point, Amberleigh Lane, Stonecrest Drive & Benner Pike (Route 150). College Township - $463,116 for updated traffic signal equipment at seven intersections including six intersections along Park Avenue (Route 3007) & one along University Drive (Route 3022) in the Township. Ferguson Township - $258,590 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of North Atherton Street & Blue Course Dr./Clinton Avenue. State College Borough - $1.46 million for upgrading the boroughs existing signal network communication system. Chester County West Whiteland Township - $262,930 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Lincoln Hwy & Ship Road. Clearfield County City of Dubois - $310,040 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Beaver Drive & Liberty Boulevard. Sandy Township - $485,016 for traffic signal improvements at Brady Street (Route 0219) & Dixon Avenue. Crawford County Conneaut Lake Borough - $291,560 for modernization of traffic signals at Water Street (Route 6) & 1st Street intersection. Cumberland County Carlisle Borough - $410,400 for the updating & optimization of traffic signal control equipment at 22 intersections along the critical Hanover Street (Route 0011, Route 0034) and High Street (Route 0011, Route 0074, Route 0641) corridors which intersect in downtown Carlisle. East Pennsboro Township - $240,440 for full modernization & replacement of the traffic signal at the intersection of US Route 11 (Route 011) & Market Street including traffic counts and timings. North Middleton Township - $45,164 for upgrading traffic signal equipment at three intersections: Harrisburg Pike (Route 11) & Calvary Road. Harrisburg Pike (Route TE 11) & Post Road. Allen Road (Route 465) & Newville Road (Route 641). Delaware County Aston Township - $546,218 for modernization of traffic signal equipment at Concord Road (Route 3007), Pennell Road (Route 0452), and West Knowlton Road (Route 3022) also referred to as Five Points. Newtown Township - $283,946 for vehicle detection improvements at five existing intersections: West Chester Pike (Route 3) & Newtown Street Road (Route 252). West Chester Pike (Route 3) & Radnor Drive. West Chester Pike (Route 3) & Valley View Lane. Darby-Paoli Road (Route 252) & Whitehorse Road. Newtown Street Road (Route 252) & Goshen Road. Upper Chichester Township - $288,060 for the full modernization of traffic signal located at the intersection of Chichester Avenue (Route 3007) & Bethel Road (Route 3017)/Thornton Road Yeadon Borough - $385,981 for modernizing the existing intersection of Church Lane (Route 0013) and Baily Road. Erie County Fairview Township - $128,420 for updated traffic signal equipment on Route 20/Manchester Road in Western Erie County. Indiana County White Township - $542,708 for updated traffic signal equipment at Wayne Avenue (Route 4005/ Route 4422) & Indian Springs Road (Route 4005/ Route 4422). Lancaster County Adamstown Borough- $315,382 for traffic signal modernization at the ntersection of Willow Street (Route 1061) & North Reading Road (Route 272). East Hempfield Township - $246,420 for controller and detection upgrades along Harrisburg Pike at Hemlock Drive/LGH Drive & at Good Drive. City of Lancaster $793,272 to update/modernize pedestrian equipment, signal head replacement and conflict monitors throughout the City. Manheim Township - $40,000 for LED traffic signal replacement at various locations throughout the Township. Manheim Township - $175,280 to integrate Oregon Pike & Fruitville Pike corridors requiring seven peek controllers along Oregon Pike intersections ranging from Butler Avenue to Valley Road and 11 intersections on Fruitville Pike, ranging from Buch Avenue to Keller Avenue. Quarryville Borough - $77,447 for upgrading the controller and detection equipment at South Church Street (Route 0222) & 4th Street. Lehigh County Upper Macungie Township - $289,440 for updated traffic signal equipment along Hamilton Blvd. (Route 6222) between Continental Drive & Lower Macungie Road Upper Macungie Township - $260,720 for updated traffic signal equipment along Tilghman Street (Route 1002) & Main Street (Route 1002) Luzerne County Butler Township - $26,400 left turn phase warrant study, design and left turn signal installation at Route 309 & Corporate Drive intersection. Mercer County Hermitage City - $429,919 for full traffic signal modernization & coordination at Broadway Avenue & Council Avenue, along with coordinated operation of the traffic signals at the intersection of Broadway Avenue & Mercer Avenue/Church Street/Emerson Avenue intersections. Sharon City - $345,628 for traffic signals improvements at Service, Myers & Stambaugh Avenues as well as Smith Avenue/Pine Hollow Boulevard. Montgomery County Abington Township - $442,480 for full modernization of the existing traffic signal at the intersection of Fitzwatertown Road (Route 2038) & Old Welsh Road (Route 2029). Collegeville Borough - $264,540 for updated detection and controller equipment at various locations within Collegeville Borough including: Main Street (Route 4031) & 5th Avenue. Main Street (Route 4031) & 3rd Avenue. 2nd Avenue (Route 0029) & Freeland Drive. 2nd Avenue (Route 0029) & Park Avenue. 2nd Avenue (Route 0029) & Wawa Driveway. Lower Gwynedd Township - $324,640 for the upgrade of two traffic signals along Welsh Road, locations: Welsh Road & Evans Road as well as Welsh Road & Darden Drive. Lower Salford Township - $268,220 for modernization of the existing traffic signal at Main Street (Route 0063) & Hunsberger Lane. Lower Salford Township - $442,464 for modernization of the existing traffic signal at Main Street (Route 0063) & Maple Avenue. Towamencin Township - $310,520 for equipment upgrades 10 signals at intersections along Sumneytown Pike, Forty Foot Road & Bustard Road corridors. Whitemarsh Township - $495,652 for modernization of existing traffic signal equipment at Stenton Avenue (Route 3003) & Butler Pike. Northampton County City of Easton - $79,158 for updating the controllers at three of the Citys busiest intersections located at Northampton Street & 2nd Street, Street Johns Street & W. Berwick Street, and Bushkill Street & N. 3rd Street. Palmer Township - $109,381 for controller updates, timing improvements, pedestrian signals and the line striping at Park Avenue & State Route 248. Northumberland County Milton Borough - $392,963 for the modernization of traffic signal equipment at the intersection of Broadway Street (Route 254) and Turbot Avenue. Philadelphia County Philadelphia City - $4.7 million to modernize 16 traffic signals along the 15th Street Corridor from Cumberland Avenue to Ridge Avenue in North-Central Philadelphia. Snyder County Monroe Township - $1.02 million for upgrades to three existing signalized intersections. The three intersections include Route 11 (US11/15) and Lori Lane, RO Route UTE 11 (US11/15) and Park Road (Route 1017), and Route 15 (US15) and Sunbury Road (Route 1021)/Victor Lane. Shamokin Dam Borough - $332,944 for traffic signal upgrade at 8th Avenue and Route 11 intersection. Union County Kelly Township - $592,600 for modernization of the signal equipment for the two intersections at US15 & Loan Road and US15 & Walter Drive. Lewisburg Borough - $376,528 for Multiple upgrades for traffic signals located along Market Street, includes four intersections Market & 2nd St, Market & 3rd Street, Market & 4th Street, Market & 7th Street. York County Hanover Borough - $328,120 for comprehensive upgrades to signal equipment at the intersection of Eisenhower Drive and two heavily utilized shopping centers. A list of recipients, project descriptions, and the amount of state investment is also available on the PennDOT website. Information about state infrastructure in Pennsylvania, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/results. Find PennDOTs planned and active construction projects at https://www.projects.penndot.gov/. Subscribe to local PennDOT news or statewide PennDOT news on the departments website. An SUV crashed into a Philadelphia convenience store late Wednesday, injuring at least one person. The incident happened shortly before midnight at a 7-Eleven along Bustleton Avenue in the citys Oxford Circle neighborhood, according to NBC10 and 6ABC. Police said the driver of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee lost consciousness due to a medical emergency while traveling westbound on Harbison Avenue. Surveillance video shows the SUV going through the parking lot and clipping a delivery truck before hitting a 34-year-old man who was standing in front of the store. The vehicle then smashed into the front of the building, shattering the glass. Police told 6ABC the 34-year-old suffered some broken bones as a result of the crash. He was taken to a hospital where he is in stable condition. No one inside the store appears to have been injured, officials said. The driver was able to walk away from the wreckage, but refused medical treatment and would not cooperate with investigators, NBC10 said. No charges have been filed yet. As long as everyones OK, everyones safe, all this will get figured out, a store employee named Yousaf said to NBC10. Thats all that matters, everyone is safe and alive. Thats the biggest thing to take away from here. In 2015, immediately after a child was killed when a car that had been traveling on Route 198 left the expressway and hit him on the ring road in Delaware Park, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered a guardrail built between the road and the park. Park users and nearby residents, who had been pleading for that move for years, applauded. Cuomo also ordered a change in the speed limit on the 3.25 mile expressway, from 50 to 30 mph. That move, too, was initially supported by many, including Mayor Byron Brown, who said: Id like to see it stay 30. But in the nine years since, the lower speed limit has been both widely derided and ignored by motorists who say traffic flow makes it virtually impossible to drive close to the speed limit. So when the state put speed zone cameras there recently, with the goal of fining those who speed, the reaction was anything but surprising. Patrick Freeman, a retired police officer who spent 30 years on SUNY Buffalo State Universitys force, has filed a complaint with the State Attorney Generals Office, claiming that there is not enough signage warning drivers of the cameras. In his letter to the state, he also says that the cameras are ticketing people when there is no work being done and that the state has failed to reconfigure the expressway after reducing the speed nine years ago. There should be signage out like you normally see, similar to rate speed being checked by radar, speed being checked by camera, Freeman said. Theres none of that. A spokesperson for the State Department of Transportation, which administers the speed camera program in areas where its employees are doing road work, said the goal of the cameras, which ticket drivers exceeding the 30 mph speed limit and notifies them by mail, is to keep its workers safe. The cameras have been in place alongside workers near where the Scajaquada and Kensington expressways meet since the spring, she added. During this time, our cameras have recorded thousands of motorists speeding through our work zones, including incomprehensible speeds of more than 70 miles per hour 15 times and 80 miles per hour five times, the spokesperson said in a statement. This is completely unacceptable driver behavior that puts our workers at risk on the job. The Department of Transportation is not in the gotcha business we are in the safety business and we will continue to do everything in our power to keep our workers safe. Motorists need to slow down, pay attention and do their part to maintain a safe roadway system. Buffalo's last school zone speed camera shut off The move followed what Mayor Byron Brown described as a passionate plea from University Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt in a Facebook post Thursday. The public backlash is reminiscent of the outcry after the City of Buffalo installed traffic cameras near school buildings throughout the city to enforce reduced speeds in school zones. The ticket-by-mail system, which city officials said was meant to improve student safety, was shut down a little more than a year after it was implemented. Freeman, who has been bombarded with messages on Facebook since talking to local television news stations about his issues with the speed camera, said he understands that the state has to do what they can to keep employees safe. But that stretch of road includes three exits packed in quick succession right as two highways come together. The crush of traffic sometimes makes it necessary to speed up in order to make your exit. And the state stands to make a great deal of money from the speed cameras in a section of the road where the speed limit drops from 50 mph on the Kensington to 30 on the Scajaquada, he added. If safety is your modus operandi, wheres the signage? Wheres the warnings? Wheres the public notice that were going to be enforcing this? Freeman said. I am all for safety, but Im not for you using your office in government as a money grab against citizens, because government is supposed to be for the people and by the people, and not using the people to close budget gaps. Justin Booth works to make roads safer for cyclists in his role as executive director of GObike Buffalo. He is also a member of the Scajaquada Corridor Coalition, an organization that advocated for the reduced speed on the state highway after Maksym Sugorovskiy, 3, was killed by a vehicle coming off the expressway while walking on the Delaware Park ring road with his family in 2015. Hundreds of mourners gather in Delaware Park to remember young victim After a relative shared happy memories of the young victim, the mourners lit candles and began a solemn walk to the site of Saturdays tragedy. Many of the vigil participants were dressed in the boys favorite color, But Booth, who also drives the stretch of highway where the speed cameras have been operating, said he understands the frustration of motorists. The Scajaquada Corridor Coalition also helped develop a set of redesign plans for the stretch of road where the speed limit was reduced that the Department of Transportation has stalled on implementing, he said. The current configuration was designed for higher speeds, he said. Since the 30 mile per hour speed limit has been put in place, the Scajaquada has certainly been safer, he said. But its also difficult as a driver to maintain 30 miles per hour. Coalition-supported design plans developed by the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council all include elements that would be more appropriate for the reduced speed limit, Booth said. A big part of the conversation with the Scajaquada Corridor Coalition, the work that we do here at Go Bike, is we understand that design influences behavior, whatever mode youre traveling in, Booth said. Cuomo hits reset on the 198, pushing planning in new direction A regional transportation organization is taking the reins to redesign the Scajaquada Expressway, raising the hopes of advocacy groups long frustrated by the failure to convert it into a slower and calmer parkway thats a better fit with Delaware Park and the community and reconnects nearby neighborhoods. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday turned to the Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council He also pointed to the expedited work on the massive and controversial project to build a platform over a stretch of the Kensington Expressway, and to more than $100 million in the states Long Range Transportation Improvement Plan fund available to move the Scajaquada project forward. I think the frustrating part from our side, and I think the general driving public side, is that these projects take so long to move forward, he said. The DOT spokesperson said plans for both the Kensington and Scajaquada projects continue to progress. The New York State Department of Transportation is progressing plans for the soon-to-be-commenced study for a phase two of potential future enhancements along the Kensington Expressway corridor in East Buffalo, which will also examine options for a reimagined Scajaquada Expressway in Buffalo, the spokesperson said in an email. Can the world be saved? Thats the question many young people in our region are asking as they worry about climate change, growing global chaos and political divisions among Americans. And many are asking if their generation will be the one to save the world from extinction. High school and college students who participated in a summer-long internship and enrichment program of the World Affairs Council and PennLive are so concerned about the state of todays world, they have organized a day-long conference to talk through some of the most important topics their generation will face in the years ahead. Can the World Be Saved: Perspectives from the Next Generation is the theme of the 2024 International Young Leaders Conference & Career that will be 10 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at the Capital Blue Cross Theatre on the campus of Central Penn College in Summerdale, which is a sponsor the event. The International Young Leaders Conference & Career Fair is free and open to the public with registration: https://wacharrisburg.ticketleap.com/2024-international-young-leaders-conference/ High School and college students participated in a summer-long internship and enrichment program organized by the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and PennLive. Students learned about local, national and international affairs.World Affairs Council of Harrisburg Students leading the conference have spent the summer learning about local, national and world affairs. They have met with government officials, visited the state capitol, and spent a day with officials at Harrisburgs City Hall and with Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas. They even shared lunch with Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams in her cabinet chamber. Commissioner Justin Douglas with interns of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and PennLive.Joyce M. Davis Their summer excursions included a recent visit to the U.S. Army War Colleges new state-of-the-art facility in Carlisle. The students were treated like VIPS, meeting with Major Gen. David Hill, the colleges 53rd Commandant, who gave them an overview of the conflicts raging around the world. Maj. Gen. Hill shared with them the armys pressing need to recruit more soldiers to ensure Americas shores and interests around the world are protected. Maj. Gen. David Hill speaking to interns with the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and PennLive about the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.Joyce M. Davis In their summer meetings, students have spent hours each week speaking to global experts in climate change, immigration, global economic and health disparities, the Middle East, Ukraine, and Africa. Theyve written op-eds and letters to the editor that our readers have seen on PennLive and in The Patriot-News. And theyve even produced the Next Gen PA podcasts to debate political as well as world affairs. They will take up these issues in depth during the International Young Leaders Conference & Career Fair with speakers who include: Mary Speck, Senior adviser with the U.S. Institute of Peace, Latin America Program Najiba Benabess, Dean, School of Business, Elizabethtown College Jose de Arimateia da Cruz, Professor of International Relations and International Studies, Georgia Southern University Sarah Niebler, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Dickinson College Sanjay Paul, Professor of Economics at Elizabethtown College John Dernbach, Emeritus Professor of Law and Founding Director, Environmental Law and Sustainability Center at Widener University. But thats just a sampling of the experts who will delve into some of the most pressing issues facing our world and the next generation of leaders who will have to deal with them. Mayor Wanda Williams welcome high school and college students from schools throughout the region to lunch in her cabinet room. The students were participating in a summer internship and enrchment programs sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and PennLive.Joyce M. Davis Heres where to find a full list of speakers and more information about the conference: https://wacharrisburg.org/international-young-leaders-conference/ Students will moderate each of the panels, and they will lead the discussions with the experts as they seek deeper understanding of the problems facing our world. The International Young Leaders Conference also will include a career fair to allow colleges, companies, and organizations to engage and possibly recruit some of the brightest students in our region. Each of the students will receive Global Scholar certificates in ceremonies closing the event and ending the summer program that has helped to prepare promising young leaders to meet the serious challenges threatening the worlds survival. If our world can be saved from climate change, famine, and World War III, the next generation may have to do it. They know their very survival is at stake. Joyce M. Davis is PennLives Outreach & Opinion Editor. She also is President/CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @byjoycedavis. Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Subscribe to Battleground PA podcast for the latest in the 2024 elections! The United States is planning on putting intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Germany. The Typhan hypersonic missile (now under development), which NATO plans to deploy to Germany, can carry a 100-kiloton nuclear warhead. Hypersonic missiles do not travel in a ballistic path, but instead fly at relatively low altitudes. This makes hypersonic missiles much harder for ground-based Russian Early Warning Radar systems to detect. The National Weather Service issued a report at 3:21 p.m. on Thursday for strong thunderstorms until 4:15 p.m. for Lebanon County. Residents can look for wind gusts of up to 40 mph. "At 3:20 p.m., Doppler radar tracked a strong thunderstorm near Lebanon, moving southeast at 10 mph," says the weather service. "Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects." Locations impacted by the alert include Lebanon, Cornwall, Myerstown, Pleasant Hill, Sand Hill, Newmanstown, Lebanon South, Avon, Richland, Fredericksburg, Schaefferstown, Quentin, Kleinfeltersville, Jonestown and Avon Heights. According to the weather service, "If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building." When lightning looms: Expert safety tips for thunderstorms Each year, lightning strikes the United States approximately 25 million times, with the majority of these electrifying events occurring during the summer months. Unfortunately, lightning is responsible for claiming the lives of approximately 20 people annually, as reported by the weather service. The threat of lightning becomes more pronounced as thunderstorms draw nearer, peaking when the storm is directly overhead and gradually waning as it moves away. To protect yourself during a thunderstorm, take these recommendations into consideration: Lightning safety plan: When venturing outdoors, it's vital to establish a clear plan for seeking shelter in case of lightning. Monitor the sky for threatening signs and listen for the sound of thunder. If thunder is audible, it's an indication that lightning is nearby. Seek shelter promptly in a safe location, preferably indoors. Indoors safety measures: Once you've found shelter indoors, abstain from using corded phones, electrical appliances, or plumbing fixtures, and refrain from approaching windows and doors. Lightning can follow conductive pathways, and these precautions reduce the risk of electrical surges. Wait for the all-clear: After the last lightning strike or thunderclap, wait at least 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities. Lightning can strike even when a storm has seemingly passed, so exercise caution. When indoor shelter isn't available: If you find yourself outdoors without access to indoor shelter during a thunderstorm, take these steps to maximize your safety: Avoid open fields, hilltops, or ridge crests, as they expose you to greater lightning risk. Steer clear of tall, isolated trees and other prominent objects. In forested areas, stay close to lower stands of trees. If you're with a group, ensure individuals are spread out to prevent lightning current from transferring between people. Camping in an open setting during a thunderstorm is strongly discouraged. If you have no alternative, set up camp in a valley, ravine, or other low-lying areas. It's crucial to note that a tent provides no protection against lightning. Do not approach water bodies, wet objects, or metal items. Although water and metal do not attract lightning, they conduct electricity effectively and can pose significant risks. In summary, when facing the threat of lightning, preparedness and vigilance are your best allies. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of lightning-related incidents and prioritize your safety. Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall When heavy rain pours, the risk of flooding and treacherous roads rises. Here's your guide from the weather service to staying safe during downpours: Beware of rapid water flow: In heavy rain, refrain from parking or walking near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a grave danger. Maintain safe driving distances: Use the two-second rule to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you and allow an extra two seconds in heavy rain. Reduce speed and drive cautiously: If it is raining and the roads are wet, slow down. Take your foot off the accelerator and let your speed drop gradually. Never use the brakes suddenly because this may cause the car to skid. Choose your lane wisely: Stick to the middle lanes on multi-lane roads to minimize the risk of hydroplaning, as water tends to accumulate in outer lanes. Visibility matters: Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by turning on your headlights. Watch out for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them. Watch out for slippery roads: The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil. Exercise heightened caution during this period. Keep a safe distance from large vehicles: Don't follow large trucks or buses too closely. The spray created by their large tires reduces your vision. Take care when passing them as well; if you must pass, do so quickly and safely. Mind your windshield wipers: Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely limits your sight, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or protected spots. If the roadside is your only option, pull off as far as possible, preferably past the end of a guard rail, and wait until the storm passes. Keep your headlights on and turn on emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position. By following these safety measures, you can significantly reduce risks and ensure your well-being when heavy rain pours down. Stay informed about weather conditions and heed advice from local authorities to make your journey safe and sound. Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service. Anti-mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. A jury is set to begin deliberating today the fate of two men accused of conspiring to kill police at the Coutts, Alta., blockade in 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Supporters of Alaskas ranked choice election system are asking the Alaska Supreme Court to rule on one final attempt to keep a repeal measure from this Novembers election ballot. Earlier this month, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin ruled that there was insufficient evidence to disqualify the measure from a statewide vote. While Rankin disqualified some signatures from a petition seeking to force a repeal vote, a recount by the Alaska Division of Elections confirmed that enough signatures remain for that vote to take place. On Thursday, opponents of the repeal initiative asked the Alaska Supreme Court to review an element of Rankins decision. In a document called a statement of points on appeal, they say Rankin was wrong when she allowed the Alaska Division of Elections to permit signature gatherers the ability to correct minor mistakes with the ballot measure petition after the submission deadline. In June, Rankin wrote that the division has allowed petitioners the ability to correct minor mistakes as far back as 2015 and that it is allowed under a 2006 Alaska Supreme Court decision that said in part that the right to initiative is not to be defeated by technical rule violations. If the high court rules against Rankins decision, it could leave petitioners with insufficient signatures for a 2024 vote. Attorney Scott Kendall, representing opponents of the repeal initiative, said by text message that the Alaska Supreme Court has never been asked whether ballot measures should be held to the strict timelines that apply to candidate filings. It is true that if the appeal does not succeed, then (the ballot measure) will most likely appear on the ballot, he wrote by text. The Supreme Court has set an accelerated timeline to hear the case, with written arguments scheduled to finish by Aug. 19. The court has scheduled oral arguments for Aug. 22, two days after the statewide primary election. The court must rule quickly: Ballot designs must be ready in time for ballots to be printed and mailed to overseas voters by Sept. 21. Senior reporter Claire Stremple contributed to this article. The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com. WATCH: The 888poker Team Headed to Las Vegas With a Dream Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) may be done and dusted but that doesn't mean the Las Vegas poker action has to stop. That's because 888poker sent a team of pros and ambassadors to "Sin City" to play in the $10,000 Main Event, and a camera crew to follow their progress in poker's most prestigious event. The 888poker docuseries is divided into five parts, with new episodes published on YouTube every Saturday for the next few weeks. Part 1 recently landed on the internet superhighway, and this is what happened. Episode 1: They Came to Vegas With a Dream starts with YouTube sensation Jack "JaackMaate" Dean loading up his car and setting off on the near three-hour drive from his home city of Norwich to Heathrow Airport in London. We also get to see the final preparations of Team 888poker's Vivian Saliba, Lucia Navarro, Aaron Barone, and Nick Eastwood, while Dean meets up at the airport with friend and Happy Hour Podcast host Stevie White, who bizarrely doesn't know what hole cards are despite heading to the WSOP to play in the Main Event! Thankfully, viewers are spared the 11-hour flight, and the video coverage resumes with brief interviews and vlogs of the five Team 888poker members once they land on terra firma. Although Eastwood, Dean, and White landed in Las Vegas a day before the WSOP Main Event, some of the other 888poker players arrived earlier. Lucia Navarro Barone headed to Sin City a week before he planned to hit the tables so he could enjoy a vacation with his fiancee and parents, while Navarro immediately hit the tables to warm up for the Main Event. One day before the Main Event shuffled up and deal, Navarro bought into the $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Moneymaker Main Event at MGM Grand. Several hours later, the popular Spaniard found herself at the final table, where she ultimately fell in fifth place for a career-best $91,855; a great start to the Vegas trip! Saliba took a less traditional route in her Main Event preparations, opting to cook some meals so as not to have to rely on Vegas' fast-food establishments. Saliba was quite philosophical in her approach to playing in poker's most famous tournament, stating she'd do everything in her power to win but was aware she couldn't control the cards and that any of the entrants had the ability to become world champion. Keep your browsers locked to PokerNews and the 888poker YouTube channel if you want to catch the other four episodes of Team 888poker in Las Vegas. Keep Tabs on 888poker MTTs with the PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar The PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNews website that enables you to find upcoming and in-play multi-tables tournaments on poker sites like 888poker, PartyPoker, and PokerStars. By using the intuitive filters, you can narrow down your search and find the perfect 888poker tournament for you, your bankroll, and your needs. Share this article Biden and Harris made a historic deal to free US hostages, and Donald Trumps response was a racist post about Kamala Harris. Biden and Harris negotiated the biggest hostage swap since the end of the Cold War. Three detained Americans are among those released. It is a historic event: Biden negotiates the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War involving Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. pic.twitter.com/o3xEOnDN69 Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 1, 2024 The Republican presidential nominee should have a lot to say about this news. He should be welcoming the Americans home, especially he couldnt get them released while he was president. This is what Trump posted: Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago! Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated. Donald Trump Truth Social 09:56 AM EST 08/01/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/13mKGX5AkZ Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 1, 2024 Instead of thinking about America, at the time of publication, Trump went all in on his racist campaign against Kamala Harris . The release of hostages doesnt matter to Donald Trump. The ex-president doesnt care about the Americans who were held and are still being held by his pal Putin. The release of the hostages didnt help Trumps campaign to return to the White House, so he is ignoring it at the time of publication of this story. There is not a single bone in Donald Trumps body that cares about the United States or the American people. Trump can sense that he is in danger of getting blown out in the presidential election, and winning the election is the only thing that will keep him from potentially becoming a federally convicted felon. Trumps racist attacks didnt work on Wednesday, and they wont work today. What Donald Trump is doing is reminding a majority of Americans why they rejected him in 2020 and are likely to do so again in 2024. Ten years ago, in an opinion article for the Los Angeles Times, Rick Steves advised readers to swallow their fears of terrorism and disease, just get on the plane and go see the world. And who am I to disagree with a beloved travel writer and fellow Norwegian American? But after returning from a three-week trip seeing family and sites in Norway and Italy, my advice is a little different: Maybe dont get on that plane, especially if you, like me, are concerned that tourists are ruining the world. The consequences of overtourism are well known, especially in the hapless places that are its targets: Cities built in a long-ago era or natural wonders become victims of their own charm, drawing far more people than they can handle. Pristine wildlife areas degrade, the markets and butcher shops that sustained locals give way to souvenir stores, and residents get crowded out as their homes are converted to short-term rentals. Increasingly, there is no offseason: Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, October crowds in European hotspots are what July was like 10 or 20 years ago, and July today is apocalyptic. Thankfully, tourism is now such a miserable, money-sucking experience that it stirs the resolve never to do it again. Take Romes Spanish Steps, where I saw la dolce vita clash with the tourist police state. There, the gorgeous, operatic wailings of Italian street performers were intermittently pierced by the whistling from street cops scolding anyone who dared to sit down on a blisteringly hot day. The crowds in Rome have become so bad, so incompatible with preserving structures that have survived hundreds and even thousands of years of human use, that its now illegal to sit down in certain places. Perhaps this newfound hostility to loitering accrues to visitors benefit. The crush of people streaming toward sites like the Spanish Steps, and the harsh vigilance of guards, will ensure that most anyone who ventures there will want to leave as quickly as possible. Venice is arguably Europes Exhibit A against overtourism. If there was a sector of the economy devoted to something other than tourism, I didnt notice. The resident population of Venices historic core has fallen below 50,000, a level not seen since the Middle Ages. Much of the housing that once served locals is now rented out to visitors like me. Nothing screams old-world authenticity like the brightly dressed hordes wheeling luggage down the street or holding the most unnatural Instagram poses so they can show off their amazing lives. Venice is finally pushing back. Last April, day-trippers to the city started having to pay a 5-euro entry fee, and large cruise ships have been banned from entering the Venice lagoon. Similarly, in Norway, Bergen (which is really the worlds most perfect city) caps cruise ship disembarkments to 8,000 passengers a day and even under that limit, Bergens historic waterfront is easily overcrowded. The good news is, for a taste of the post-pandemic travel experience, you dont have to fly to Europe. Just drive down the 5 to Disneyland on a summer day, spend $800 on tickets for your family and stand around in the sun with a few thousand impatient strangers. There, in Tomorrowland, you will perform the mental gymnastics I did at the Vatican: Tell yourself that this is beautiful and fun, damn it, because we paid for it, no matter the truth laid bare by your whining children, your burning skin and the suffocating claustrophobia while standing outside. Next time I muster another trip, Norway could be on the table, since most of my late mothers family is there. But as for sightseeing and serenity, nothing beats the spots known to locals here in Californias own mountains and deserts. New York State has equally beautiful places for locals to enjoy. Seek them out. The Berkeley County Sheriffs Office received its fourth Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) on July 27. Accreditation is one of the top forms of recognition a law enforcement agency can receive. Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis, Chief Deputy Jeremy Baker, Inspector Dan Isgett and Accreditation Manager Darleen Maloney-Martin attended the CALEA conference. Cane Bay High Schools cross country teams placed second in the First Baptist Hurricanes 5K meet Saturday, Oct. 5 in Charleston. Read moreCobras XC squads runner-ups in Charleston meet Margie Levine stood in a field of peppers on a recent morning. Most of them were dead. The heat has weakened the summer crop, making it more susceptible to disease, bug infestation and pathogens. These weather-induced pressures are part of operating any South Carolina farm, but this year has been different, said Levine, who owns Clintons certified organic Crescent Farm with her daughter and son-in-law. For the first time since relocating from Vermont in 2011, Levines plants were dropping in July rather than August, the typical height of the summer. I feel guilty putting plants out here," Levine said. "I feel guilty putting people out here." Farmers across the state are feeling the burn of this summers sultry temperatures. June 2024 was the second-hottest June in U.S. history and the 13th consecutive month of record-high global temperatures according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More recently, July 22, 2024 was the hottest day on Earth ever, according to NASA. Levine who grows sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, winter squash and grit corn in the summer wants to pass on Crescent Farm to her grandkids. Every passing scorching day raises more questions about that plan. Its petrifying, Levine said. The weather data is just as striking at the local level. As of July 24, the South Carolina State Climate Office reports 34 out of 46 South Carolina counties are experiencing "Moderate" to "Severe" drought conditions. According to Leonard Vaughan, a regional coordinator at Columbias National Weather Service outpost, 2024 was Columbias eighth average hottest June since 1887. Other regions of the state are not far behind, with this June being an average of 2.4 degrees above Charleston's normal temperatures and 3 degrees above Greenville's. Investigators are asking for DNA evidence in the case against one of the drivers charged with hitting two 20-year-old women on Morrison Drive this spring. A Charleston Police Department officer notified one of the defendant's attorneys on July 31 that they obtained a search warrant for Max Gentilin's buccal swab. His attorney, Chris Adams, said DNA evidence is "not relevant" to the investigation and asked a court for an emergency hearing to quash the search warrant. The motion, filed in Charleston County Circuit Court on Aug. 1, comes two weeks after a judge determined there was probable cause that both defendants contributed to the deaths of Arianna Gamber and Lizzy Zito. An investigation determined Seth Carlson struck the two women who were walking in the bike lane near the pedestrian entrance to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge around 1:12 a.m. on April 28. They were thrown off of the road and into the brush where they lay untouched until Gentilin's grey 2010 Acura TL sedan jumped onto the curb a half hour later, running over the top of the victims before reentering the roadway, according to court testimony. Gentilin and Carlson are both charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. Carlson, who allegedly hit the women first, is also charged with two counts of reckless homicide. "The issue in this case is whether the State can establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the victims were alive when Mr. Gentilin's car ran over the curb, whether Mr. Gentilin's car contacted the victims, and whether Mr. Gentilin was aware that his car came into contact with the victims," Adams wrote in the motion for an emergency hearing. News / National by Staff reporter Former Minister of National Healing, Moses Mzila Ndlovu, has been detained by police following a confrontation involving livestock belonging to one of the invaders occupying his farm in Matobo district, Matabeleland South.Ndlovu stated that on Wednesday morning, he drove away livestock belonging to one of the people who had occupied his land.The incident escalated when one of the farm occupants allegedly brandished a gun at his 25-year-old son, Tjakalisa, in retaliation for driving away his cattle.The former minister has been struggling to remove the illegal settlers from his property at Mapungubge Farm since last year. Speaking from Hlekweni police base in Figtree, Ndlovu said he and his son saw one of the occupants bringing cattle to graze on his land around 10 a.m."When a worker drove the cattle onto my farm, I chased them off, and the worker tried to run away. I apprehended the worker and told him to drive the cattle out, which he did. I then left for town, only to be informed that my son had been picked up by the police and taken to Hlekweni police base," Ndlovu said.The former minister added that the worker claimed he was assaulted by a group of people at his farm, while the owner of the cattle allegedly pulled a gun on his son."When I arrived at the police base, the owner of the cows accused me of assaulting his worker. The police decided to arrest us on charges of assault. But the cow owner had pulled a gun on my son in the presence of the police, who did not act. My son had also been beaten up," he said, adding that his son was now detained.Ndlovu described the situation as continued harassment, with the occupants now threatening his family."They must not come for my children because I will fight until the bitter end. They can do whatever they want to me because of my opinions, but my children have never expressed an opinion, so why should they be punished for being my children? Where have you ever seen collective punishment?" Ndlovu said.He also lamented previous incidents where his children were arrested after encountering a poacher on the farm. Additionally, he mentioned that his workers' house had been vandalised, but police investigations had not made progress despite "useful leads we gave them.""My farm fence has been pulled down, as well as a government fence running along mine. No one has been prosecuted for it. Our field perimeter fence is continuously stolen and part of it used to snare both livestock and wildlife. Cutting down trees and theft of property go on," decried the former minister.Ndlovu's efforts to evict the occupants last year suffered a temporary setback this year after the High Court demanded that he add more settlers to his application for a spoliation order. In his application, Ndlovu stated that he has occupied the farm since 2004 and that in August last year, Johanes Zifudze and others invaded his property.Ndlovu cited Zifudze, the Agriculture Ministry Secretary, the Agriculture Minister, the ZRP Figtree commanding officer, the Surveyor-General, and the Sheriff of the High Court as respondents.According to the application, Zifudze and other settlers pegged stands on 200 hectares of his 3,603-hectare Hami Magazine Site Farm last year. Ndlovu said Zifudze intended to settle more people on the farm. Opinion / Columnist Recently, the High Court of Zimbabwe granted bail to Alessandro Marconati, the son of Francesco Marconati, a self-styled Italian Mafia boss. Alessandro, who was facing an outstanding warrant of arrest for failing to serve a community service sentence, was released on US$300 bail pending appeal by Justice Happious Zhou. This decision has ignited a storm of controversy, with many questioning the integrity of Zimbabwe's judiciary system.The controversy stems from the circumstances surrounding Alessandro Marconati's failure to comply with a community service order. According to Section 350C of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, if an offender is found to have failed to comply with the terms of a community service order, the court has several options. These include amending or extending the order to ensure compliance or revoking the order and imposing any alternative punishment such as a fine or imprisonment that was originally considered.The relevant section states:"If the court is satisfied that an offender who has been brought before it in terms of subsection (1) has failed to comply with any requirement of a community service order, the court may- (a) amend or extend the order in such manner as the court thinks will best ensure that the offender renders the service specified in the order; or (b) revoke the order and- (i) order the offender to pay any fine or undergo any imprisonment that was imposed on him as an alternative punishment in terms of subsection (3) of section three hundred and fifty A."In Alessandro Marconati's case, four members of the community - Musozi Miti, Mathias Moyo, Shingirai Moyo, and Nevson Nyakadza-testified in court, providing written statements that detailed Marconati's failure to perform the mandated community service. These testimonies, which should have influenced the court's decision, suggest that Marconati had blatantly disregarded the community service order.Despite this evidence, Justice Zhou's decision to grant bail has led to allegations of judicial bias and corruption. The decision to release Marconati on bail, rather than enforcing the terms of the community service order or imposing a stricter penalty, has raised eyebrows and led to widespread criticism.Legal experts have expressed concern over the potential implications of this case for the rule of law in Zimbabwe. Thembinkosi Moyo voiced his dismay, stating, "The release of Alessandro Marconati on bail is not just a legal anomaly; it is a direct affront to the principles of justice. The law is clear on the consequences of breaching a community service order, and this decision undermines public confidence in the judiciary."Tinashe Muronzi echoed these concerns, adding, "This case exemplifies how the justice system can be compromised by powerful interests. The involvement of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission officer Willem Adamu, who is alleged to have been personally involved in pressuring the court officials who issued the warrant of arrest, indicates a troubling level of interference and corruption within our legal institutions."The allegations against Adamu are particularly concerning, as they suggest that the case may not just involve judicial leniency but also active attempts to shield Marconati from accountability. Such interference not only undermines the authority of the judiciary but also erodes public trust in the ability of the legal system to operate impartially.As the case continues to unfold, it serves as a critical test for Zimbabwe's legal system. The public and the legal community are closely watching to see how the judiciary will address the apparent breach of legal protocols and whether it will take steps to restore confidence in its processes. The Marconati case has become a flashpoint for broader discussions about corruption, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary in Zimbabwe.In the face of these challenges, there is a growing call for transparency and accountability within the judiciary. The outcome of this case will likely have significant implications for how justice is perceived and administered in Zimbabwe, potentially influencing the country's legal landscape for years to come. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 23:00:37 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 741 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / In the age of ubiquitous smartphones, the realm of digital advertising is changing at a blistering pace. Taking the lead in this progressive journey is Adspin ( https://adspin.io) . This ad tech venture, founded by sibling duo Andreas Dimitropoulos and Maria Dimitropoulou, has established itself by building a comprehensive network that encompasses the whole spectrum of the mobile app process. The distinctive strategy of Adspin involves nurturing independent, yet connected companies that thrive on shared resources and expertise, thereby creating a synergistic environment.An Integrated Network of InnovationThe transition towards mobile-centric strategies is not just a trend but a fundamental shift in how businesses engage with their customers. With over 6.8 billion smartphone users globally, the potential to reach customers via mobile advertising tactics is enormous. However, this immense potential also brings unique challenges.Several businesses require assistance to navigate the intricate world of mobile advertising effectively. Multiple hurdles, such as understanding user behavior and creating compelling content suitable for small screens, are prominent. Here, Adspin steps in with inventive solutions, enabling businesses to prosper in the mobile landscape. Adspin.io : Not Your Average Marketing AgencyAdspin is a marketing agency at its heart, but it's much more than that. It's a group of companies bound by a unified vision: to develop ad-driven businesses for the smartphone-infatuated era. This unique strategy distinguishes Adspin from conventional marketing agencies.Adspin's ecosystem thrives on the synergy of its four dynamic brands: SpinX, Adspin Games, Kanzaroo, and MoRewards. Each brand operates independently, yet they continually capitalize on the shared knowledge and technologies of the Adspin network, forming a potent engine of innovation and efficiency.SpinX is a groundbreaking mobile marketing firm with an in-house Ad Exchange. This platform effortlessly links advertisers to top publisher placements worldwide, ensuring ideal reach and engagement. SpinX's sophisticated marketing solutions are designed to optimize ROI without compromising the user experience.Adspin Games focuses on creating engaging, user-friendly mobile games that appeal to a diverse audience. Committed to user-centric design, the Studio aims to craft captivating experiences that encourage lasting engagement. The studio's consistent pursuit of innovation shines through its wide range of popular game titles.Kanzaroo, a trailblazing payment provider, offers inventive billing solutions through its cutting-edge platform. Whether direct carrier billing, cash payments, or traditional PSP options like credit card payments and SEPA transfers, Kanzaroo ensures smooth transactions, enhancing the overall user experience.MoRewards is set to transform the way users accumulate and redeem rewards. Users can turn their actions into cash by completing surveys, performing tasks, and participating in various activities within the app. With immediate cash-out options available through over 100+ gift card providers via mobile phone, MoRewards offers an innovative and gratifying experience. Launching in Q4 2024, it promises to take the US market by storm with its user-friendly interface.Devotion to Superiority in Ad TechAt its essence, Adspin is an ad tech firm devoted to deploying top-notch advertising technologies without compromising user experience. The company's objective is straightforward: to bolster every mobile app technology chain element with premium products and services. This steadfast dedication to excellence has positioned Adspin as a trailblazer in the mobile app market, continually stretching the boundaries of achievable goals.In a sector where trust is critical, Adspin stands out for its dedication to compliance and certification. It is a TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) member, a leading global initiative combating criminal activity and augmenting trust and transparency in digital advertising.Adspin is also a certified TCF Vendor and a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), adhering to their stringent standards and guidelines. These certifications indicate Adspin's commitment to building a secure and reliable ecosystem for businesses, advertisers, and consumers.Looking ForwardAs Adspin continues to grow and innovate, its synergistic network of brands will persist at the cutting edge of the mobile app industry's transformation. By harnessing the power of shared technologies and expertise, Adspin is not merely keeping up with the swift changes in the market-it's directing them.With its inventive solutions and devotion to quality, Adspin is poised to redefine the mobile app sector for years. It promises to make significant progress in bolstering user experience and boosting industry growth. The future of mobile apps is upon us, and Adspin.io is at the helm, navigating towards a horizon brimming with infinite potential.Media Details: Company Name: Adspin.ioPress Contact: Andreas Dimitropoulos Email:a.dimitropoulos@ adspin.io Company Website: http://Adspin.io SOURCE: Adspin.io PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 15:00:37 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 499 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Animal Surgical Center Earns Coveted AAHA Accreditation, Demonstrating Unwavering Commitment to Excellence in Veterinary CareOCEANSIDE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 /Animal Surgical Center, a premier multi-disciplinary veterinary practice located in Oceanside, New York, is thrilled to announce that they have achieved accreditation from the prestigious American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). This accolade places them among only 15% of veterinary hospitals nationwide that have successfully met the rigorous standards set by AAHA.Animal Surgical Center Animal Surgical Center LobbyBecoming AAHA accredited is a testament to Animal Surgical Center's unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality care at fair prices. This notable achievement is a result of consistent effort and dedication from their entire team, who work tirelessly to ensure that both pets and their owners receive exceptional service. The process of accreditation involves an extensive evaluation, encompassing over 900 standards of veterinary care and hospital protocols, affirming that they stand at the forefront of veterinary excellence."This accreditation is not just an honor but a reflection of our team's hard work and dedication," said Dr. Tomas Infernuso. "We are constantly striving to elevate the standard of care for all our patients." At Animal Surgical Center, the mission is to save as many animals as possible by providing excellent care and service at a fair price. Additionally, ASC strives to be exceptional in every aspect of service, ensuring that each pet receives the best possible care. Their core values drive them to provide compassionate, innovative, and outstanding veterinary care every day. They are dedicated to making a significant impact on the lives of pets and their families by ensuring that every animal receives the best possible treatment. Their vision is anchored in leading the veterinary industry through continuous improvement and a relentless pursuit of excellence."We are committed to shaping the future of veterinary medicine," noted an inspiring Animal Surgical Center reel on Instagram, highlighting the team's mission and core values. "Our guiding principles ensure that we remain focused on what matters most-advancing pet health and supporting pet owners." Animal Surgical Center is also deeply invested in giving back to the community through initiatives such as the "NO RUFF DAYS" fund. In collaboration with the Veterinary Care Foundation, this program provides financial aid for life-saving medical treatments for disadvantaged pets. Over the years, they have donated over $250,000 to various rescue organizations across New York, proudly saving more than 500 animals.As they continue to grow and positively impact the world of veterinary care, Animal Surgical Center invites passionate professionals to join their dedicated team. Those driven by a commitment to animal welfare and wanting to be part of an exceptional practice making a difference are encouraged to explore career opportunities with them.For more information about Animal Surgical Center, please visit their website or follow them on Instagram.Contact Information Karla HojasMarketing Directorkhojas@ asc.vet (516) 776-7127Alyssa RodriguezSocial Media Managerarodriguez@ asc.vet (516) 749-7436SOURCE: Animal Surgical CenterView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 18:02:02 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 440 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Mixed-use project will bring grocer-anchored shopping center into the modern ageWHITE PLAINS, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 /Callahan Construction Managers (Callahan), a full-service construction management company headquartered in Bridgewater, Mass., announced today that its New York office was selected to oversee a comprehensive renovation of the New City Shopping Center in New City, NY. When complete, the planned enhancements will provide shoppers with a 21st-century shopping experience.Located in the heart of New City, the shopping center has been serving the Clarkstown community since 1989. It is home to a diverse range of stores, restaurants, and service providers, dedicated to meeting the needs of local residents and visitors alike. The grocery-anchored retail asset currently contains a complementary tenant mix with strong demographics, traffic counts, and access. The center looks to become the premier retail destination in the area when the project is complete.Construction is expected to be completed in phases over the next 6 months to minimize disruptions to shoppers and businesses. The center will stay open throughout the renovation, and all businesses will continue to operate at their regular hours. The planned renovations will address all facets of redeveloping the plaza, from structural upgrades to aesthetic improvements, including new landscaping, updated lighting, and modernized storefronts. The anchor, Inserra Supermarket's New City Shoprite, will also undergo interior renovations, all of which aim to create a more welcoming and accessible environment for visitors."As our New York office continues to grow, we are proud to have the opportunity to oversee the significant improvements coming to the New City Shopping Center," said David Morrow, vice president - New York, Callahan. "Callahan's deep experience in both mixed-use and retail environments suit us well for this project, and our team in White Plains will work closely with the property development team to create a shopping experience like none other for Rockland County residents." # # #About Callahan Construction Managers Callahan Construction Managers is a full-service construction management company based in Bridgewater, Mass., with a regional office in White Plains, NY. Callahan has served the New England and Northeast regions for over 70 years. As one of the region's largest open shop construction firms, Callahan provides a wide range of preconstruction and construction management services to local, regional, and national clients. Callahan's markets include multi- family residential, senior housing, affordable housing, hospitality, life sciences, corporate office, educational, retail and tenant fit-up. Callahan was voted a 2023 "Top Place to Work" by the Boston Globe and 2024 "Best Place to Work" by the Boston Business Journal. Visit www.callahan-inc.com for more information.Media ContactJeff LaveryPedigree Public Relations jefflavery@ pedigreepr.com508.361.7539 SOURCE: Callahan Construction Managers PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-02 01:00:56 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 383 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Levi & Korsinsky notifies investors that it has commenced an investigation of Dril-Quip, Inc. ("Dril-Quip") (NYSE:DRQ) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.On July 8, 2024, Dril-Quip disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had identified "an error in the classification of certain inventory write-downs from 2021." Specifically, the Company had "misclassified inventory write-downs from 2021 totaling approximately $67 million, including $19.3 million related to the 2018 global strategic plan and approximately $47.7 million due to the discontinuation of certain product categories under the 2021 global strategic plan. The Company classified these charges as Restructuring and other charges'; however, these charges should have been classified in Cost of sales' in the Consolidated Statement of Income (Loss) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, in accordance with ASC 420-10-S99-3. As a result, Cost of sales' was understated and Restructuring and other charges' was overstated by $67 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the Affected Period')." Accordingly, Dril-Quip stated that its prior statements regarding the Affected Period "should no longer be relied upon" and will be restated. Dril-Quip further stated that "the Company's disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023 were not effective." On this news, Dril-Quip's stock price fell $1.76 per share, or 9.9%, to close at $16.01 per share on July 9, 2024. To obtain additional information, go to:or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212)363-7500.WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, Levi & Korsinsky LLP has established itself as a nationally-recognized securities litigation firm that has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. The firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212)363-7500 Fax: (212)363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 10:20:14 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 446 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW DELHI, INDIA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / In a landmark event, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Ministers Shri Devendra Fadnavis and Shri Ajit Dada Pawar laid the foundation stone for the Surjagad Ispat Pvt Ltd steel project in Gadchiroli. This ambitious project, with an investment of Rs.10,000 crore, is expected to generate employment for over 7,000 individuals, both directly and indirectly.During the ceremony, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis expressed confidence that Gadchiroli district will become the most progressive district in the state in the near future. He highlighted that in the future, Gadchiroli alone will account for thirty percent of the state's steel production. Fadnavis also emphasized that Gadchiroli will become Maharashtra's leading district and the largest steel hub in the country.He spoke about the positive impact of industry on the tribal community, mentioning the establishment of a medical college and the planned construction of an airport in the area. Fadnavis announced efforts to transform Gadchiroli into an education hub and initiate water transportation from Chamorshi to Kakinada port.Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Dada Pawar remarked on the significance of inaugurating a major company with an investment of Rs.10,000 crore in Gadchiroli. He stressed that this project will provide significant employment opportunities for local residents and meet the country's steel requirements.Vedansh Joshi, MD of Surjagad Ispat Pvt Ltd, stated, "We are contributing to our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by making significant investments and promoting industrial development in Maharashtra. We are establishing an integrated steel plant in the Naxal-affected region of Wadlapeth village, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, covering an area of 340 acres. Our project includes a 1.6 MTPA Beneficiation Plant, a 1.2 MTPA Pellet Plant, a Sponge Iron Plant of 4 x 650 TPD, an Induction Furnace of 0.75 MTPA, a Rolling Mill of 0.75 MTPA, a Captive Power Plant with a capacity of 120 MW, and a Pellet Plant of 1.2 MTPA and we plan to extend up to 2 million tons integrated steel plant in phase 2. Upon completion, we plan to achieve 8 million tons of integrated steel production." The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony was graced by prominent dignitaries, Cabinet Ministers- Uday Samant, and Dr. Dharmaraobaba Atram. Several government officials were also present. The first phase of the project is slated to commence in 2026, with the entire project expected to be completed by 2030.The Surjagad Ispat Pvt Ltd project stands as a testament to Maharashtra's commitment to industrial growth and regional development. The initiative promises not only economic benefits but also aims to uplift local communities by providing essential services and employment, marking a new chapter in Gadchiroli's development.Media Contact:Company Name: Surjagad Ispat Pvt LtdContact person - HimanshuPhone -9920034501Website: https://surjagadispatpvtltd.com/ SOURCE: Surjagad Ispat Pvt Ltd PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 18:01:07 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 620 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ACTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Geocomp, Inc., a leader in providing innovative geostructural solutions, is proud to announce the addition of two exceptional women to its leadership team, Anna Kotas, PE, Director of Business Development, Testing, and Lucky Nagarajan, Director of Business Development, Consulting & Monitoring. This strategic move reinforces Geocomp's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion while enhancing the company's capacity for innovation and excellence. Geocomp's technology-forward approach is central to its mission, ensuring the integration of cutting-edge solutions that help clients achieve their goals. By leveraging the latest technological advancements and maintaining strong industry partnerships, Geocomp continues to set the standard for excellence in geotechnical engineering.Anna Kotas and Lucky Nagarajan, Geocomp, Inc. Anna Kotas, PE, Director of Business Development, Testing, GeoTesting Express; and Lucky Nagarajan, Director of Business Development, Consulting & Monitoring, Geocomp, Inc.Sean P. O'Brien, PE, President of Geocomp, commented: "We are thrilled to welcome Anna and Lucky to our leadership team. Their extensive experience and dedication to advancing the field of geotechnical engineering align seamlessly with Geocomp's mission to leverage technology for innovative solutions. Their leadership will undoubtedly enhance our ability to deliver exceptional results for our clients and drive our commitment to diversity and inclusion within the industry." New Leaders of GeocompAnna Kotas, PE, Director of Business Development, TestingAnna is a professional Geotechnical Engineer with more than two decades of experience in the geotechnical field. In her career, Anna served as technical lead with a focus on solving client's geotechnical challenges with a personal and committed approach. Anna has been doing business development on behalf of GeoTesting Express (GTX) for 8 years. She feels that the most satisfying aspect of her work is connecting geotechnical engineers from all over the world with a lab of unmatched sophistication, attention to quality and fast turnaround. Anna is passionate about advocating for women's interests and is a dedicated mentor for women in STEM. She is committed to empowering women to become strong leaders while shedding light on the critical need to increase the representation of female leaders in civil engineering. Through her involvement with various organizations, she strives to create opportunities and support networks for women, championing diversity and inclusion in these vital sectors.Lucky Nagarajan, Director of Business Development, Consulting & MonitoringLucky has been in the industry for more than 20 years and brings a diverse range of experience, energy, and contagious enthusiasm to her work. Throughout her career, she has traveled around the world working in different market sectors with expertise in the design and construction of deep foundations. Lucky has developed a vast professional network around the world, leading to many conversations on challenges for women in the industry, leadership, industry advancement, and hiring and retaining talent. Her passion for culture, community, nurturing young engineers, and STEM has led her to being an active member of technical associations such as DFI, ASCE, G-I, USSD, and ISSMGE. She is the chair of Women in Deep Foundations (WiDF) and Co-Founder of WiDF groups in Metro NYC, India, and Mexico, part of the Board of Trustees of DFI, serving as a member on the Women's Advisory Board- Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and one of the Board of Directors for the ASCE Met Section.About GeocompGeocomp, Inc. is a leader in geotechnical engineering, technology, and testing. With more than 40 years of experience, Geocomp has a strong track record of helping clients achieve their ambitions, providing cutting-edge solutions on a wide range of projects. Geocomp provides geostructural consulting, monitoring, and laboratory testing services worldwide, and manufactures fully automated laboratory testing systems to commercial, research, and academic labs, globally.Contact Information:Julia HogginsMarketing Managerjulia.hoggins@geocomp.com 978-635-0012SOURCE: Geocomp, Inc.View the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 09:05:13 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1034 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 /Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE)(FSE:D7H0)(OTCQX:CMRZF) (the "Company" or "Commerce") is pleased to announce the appointment of highly experienced resources executive Mr. Ross Carroll as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2024. Mr. Carroll will also join Commerce's board of directors (the "Board") with immediate effect.With multiple decades of experience overseeing finance, M&A and strategy, operations and major projects across the natural resources sector, Mr. Carroll has a proven track record of leadership and strategic oversight. His international experience spans Australia, USA, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, having worked with leading companies such as BHP, Woodside Energy, Macmahon Holdings, and MMG Limited.Mr. Carroll has been appointed following an extensive global search to lead the Company's next phase of its growth as it advances the development of its world-class Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Project in Quebec, Canada, in conjunction with exploration of the adjacent and highly prospective Eldor Niobium Project.Most recently, during his time as Chief Financial Officer of MMG, he has overseen its growth into a significant international base metals producer, including the delivery of the Dugald River Project in Australia, the recent acquisition of the US1.875 billion Khoemacau Copper Mine in Botswana, and numerous debt refinancings and equity raises.Prior to MMG, Mr. Carroll was CEO of Macmahon, a major and well-regarded Australian mining contractor.Mr. Carroll holds a Bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Melbourne and is a Certified Public Accountant with the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and previously served on the Executive Committee of the Western Australian Chamber of Mines.Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Carroll said: "I am excited about the significant potential the Ashram Project offers. It is very rare that you get the opportunity to work on a Tier-1 project in a Tier-1 jurisdiction like this, and I look forward to being involved in the delivery of the project at a time when the North America needs additional critical mineral projects." Concurrently with Mr. Carroll's appointment, the current President and CEO, Mr. Chris Grove, has resigned as President, CEO, and director and will become the Company's "Director of Corporate Development." Mr. Grove will assist Ross with his vast knowledge of the Ashram Project and critical minerals landscape in North America.The Board would like to thank Mr. Grove for his many years of service to the Company as President and CEO and his considerable efforts in advancing the Ashram Project.About Commerce Resources Corp.Commerce Resources Corp. is a junior mineral resource company focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit located in Quebec, Canada. The Company is positioning itself to be one of the lowest cost rare earth producers globally, with a specific focus on being a long-term supplier of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or NdPr oxide to the global market. The Ashram Deposit is characterized by simple rare earth (monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime) and gangue (carbonates) mineralogy, a large tonnage resource at favourable grade, and has demonstrated the production of high-grade (>45% REO) mineral concentrates at high recovery (>70%) in line with active global producers. In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, Ashram is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally and has the potential to be a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets.For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email info@ commerceresources.com On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsCOMMERCE RESOURCES CORP."Ian Graham" Ian GrahamChairman of the Board and DirectorTel: 604.484.2700Email:info@ commerceresources.comWeb:http://www.commerceresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, that the Ashram deposit has the potential to become one of the largest fluorspar deposits and a long-term supplier to the mixed rare earth carbonate, NdPr oxide, and met-spar and acid-spar markets; and that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost rare earth element producers globally. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including: that we may not be able to fully finance any additional exploration on the Ashram Project; that even if we are able raise capital, costs for exploration activities may increase such that we may not have sufficient funds to pay for such exploration or processing activities; the timing and content of any future work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumptions based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that, with further test work, may not be comparable; testing of our process may not prove successful and even if such tests are successful, the economic and other outcomes may not be as expected; the availability of labour and equipment to undertake future exploration work and testing activities; the required permits to build and operate the envisaged open-pit shell may not be obtained in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all; and despite the current expected viability of the Ashram Project, conditions changing such that even if metals or minerals are discovered on the Ashram Project, the project may not be commercially viable; and those additional risks set out in the Company's pub PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 12:02:28 Press Information Published by ACN Newswire +65 6304 8926 e-mail https://www.acnnewswire.com/ # 848 Words ACN Newswire+65 6304 8926 - 12 MoUs signed to enhance trade relations and cultural exchange- A delegation led by Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, visited Laos as part of broader ASEAN mission- As superconnector, Hong Kong is well- positioned to support Laos's development, especially in finance, banking, renewable energy and green finance, agriculture and infrastructure developmentVientiane, August 01, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) A delegation led by Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), visited Vientiane on 28-30 July to deepen economic and trade relations, enhance cultural exchange and explore collaboration opportunities between Laos and Hong Kong.Twelve memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed in the areas of trade and investment promotion, finance, fintech, transport and logistics and education, paving the way for mutual prosperity between Hong Kong, Laos and the wider ASEAN region.The delegation, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), included some 30 leaders of international, Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong enterprises and conglomerates operating in finance and insurance, innovation and technology, professional services, infrastructure, transport and logistics, energy and hospitality.The delegates visited Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone and Vientiane Railway Station to understand the business and investment opportunities in Laos, its potential for Hong Kong companies and the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).A visit to Vientiane Secondary School fostered greater people-to-people exchange between Laos and Hong Kong.The delegation also met with executives and key members of local business chambers, such as the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) and Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC), to introduce Hong Kongs latest economic developments, business opportunities and unique advantages as superconnector between China and other Belt and Road markets.Potential partnerships to support the growth of Lao SMEs were explored in areas, such as finance, banking, renewable energy, green finance, agriculture and forestry, leveraging Hong Kongs expertise and connections to help them build capacity, find partners and explore new markets.Dr Peter K N Lam, Chairman of the HKTDC, said: "The objective of our mission is to explore opportunities and forge connections that will enable Laos to achieve its economic ambitions, while fostering stronger cooperation with Hong Kong. Leveraging its superconnector role, Hong Kong is well-positioned to provide assistance, nurture talent and strengthen infrastructure across various sectors in Laos. We believe there are immense opportunities for mutual growth. The cooperation we have witnessed during this visit is just the beginning." 12 MoUs were signed by the following members of the delegation, Lao government bodies and Lao companies:1.Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong, China and the Customs Department of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic;2.Invest Hong Kong and Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry;3.Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce (LCCC);4.Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI);5.Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce;6.CCB International (Holdings) Limited and Phongsavanh Group Co., Ltd;7.CLP SEA Infrastructure Limited; CGN Energy Technology (Laos) Co., Ltd and Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd;8.Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) and the Vientiane Capital Chamber of Commerce and Industry;9.Goldford Group and Lao National Digital Technology Group Co., Ltd (LADT);10.Lao National Digital Technology and HashKey Capital;11.Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Vientiane Secondary School (VSS); and12.The Hong Kong Shippers Council (HKSC) and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and IndustryWith the BRI entering its second decade and amid greater regional cooperation facilitated by agreements, like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Hong Kong will continue to build on its role as superconnector, linking the wider China market with ASEAN and the world at large.The HKSAR Government and HKTDC will host the Belt and Road Summit on 11-12 September in Hong Kong, at which Lao companies can make new connections and find new partners.The Hong Kong delegation's visit to Laos is part of a broader ASEAN mission taking place from 28 July to 2 August. This mission aims to strengthen ties with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, building on the success of previous ASEAN missions to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in 2023 and Thailand in 2022.Photo Download: https://bit.ly/3ymxliX Media enquiriesRDK Group Sole, Co.,Ltd Jonathan MeadleyTel.: (856) 205 950 6978Email: Jonathan.meadley@rdkgroup.la HKTDCs Communication & Public Affairs Department:Agnes WatTel.: (852) 2584 4554Email: agnes.ky.wat@hktdc.org Sam HoTel.: (852) 2584 4569Email: sam.sy.ho@hktdc.org About HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this press release please contact the company added in the press release. Please do not contact pr-inside. We will not be able to assist you. PR-inside disclaims the content included in this release. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 13:50:29 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 427 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Kosta Kini introduces a line of versatile swimwear designed with sustainable materials and eco-friendly practices.LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 /Kosta Kini, a new swimwear brand, announces its commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly practices in the fashion industry. Founded by Emily Miller, the brand offers versatile swimwear made from sustainable materials, designed to be reversible and mix-and-match, promoting a more mindful and environmentally conscious approach to fashion.Kosta Kini emphasizes the importance of reducing environmental impact. The brand uses eco-friendly fabrics and manufacturing processes that prioritize the well-being of the planet. Each piece of swimwear is designed with longevity in mind, some featuring reversible and mix-and-match designs that promote versatility and minimize waste. These designs not only allow customers to express their personal style but also contribute to a more sustainable approach to fashion consumption.Emily Miller, a native of Los Angeles, created Kosta Kini with a vision to create swimwear that combines style with sustainability. Growing up in a city known for its dynamic fashion scene and entrepreneurial spirit, Miller was inspired to blend her passion for fashion with a commitment to environmental responsibility. The brand name, "Kosta," reflects a commitment to constant quality and reliability. The swimwear is not only designed to look good but also to be a positive choice for the planet and the people who wear it.Miller's journey to establish Kosta Kini reflects determination and innovation. Despite the challenges of launching a brand at a young age, Miller remained focused on her goal of creating swimwear that aligns with her values. Her dedication to sustainable fashion is evident in every aspect of Kosta Kini, from design to production.Kosta Kini aims to encourage a more mindful approach to fashion consumption. By offering versatile swimwear that is reversible and can be mixed and matched in design, the brand promotes reducing waste and maximizing the use of each piece, allowing customers to create multiple looks from a single purchase. "By creating swimwear that can be worn in different ways, we give our customers the freedom to explore their personal style and feel confident in their bodies. It's about loving yourself and loving the planet at the same time." About Kosta KiniKosta Kini is a Los Angeles-based swimwear brand dedicated to sustainability, quality, and style. The brand aims to provide reliable and eco-friendly swimwear that customers can feel good about wearing. For more information, visit www.kostakini.com For more information about Kosta Kini, please contact:Jordan HayesPublicist pr@ xyzmediaco.com Kosta Kini www.kostakini.com SOURCE: Kosta Kini PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 19:30:45 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 499 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 G.J. Gardner Homes and the Gary Sinise Foundation team up to give a U.S. Marine a better quality of life and more independence.LAKELAND, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / G.J. Gardner Homes Lakeland has partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation to design a specially adapted, mortgage-free smart home for U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal John "JT" Doody, a severely wounded Tampa veteran.Family, Builder and Foundation Family, Builder and Foundation gather for ground breakingThe foundation's R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence, Supporting Empowerment) provides post-9/11 defenders with 100% mortgage-free homes designed better to support the needs of wounded, disabled veterans and first responders.Doody joined the Marines in 2005 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. While bravely serving our country, he sustained severe injuries that later led to a debilitating bacterial infection that caused a severe brain injury, quadriplegia, and cognitive blindness.Doody has shown incredible resilience and strength in overcoming his medical challenges and adapting to his new reality. His mother, Christina, is his full-time caregiver, helping JT with everyday tasks he can't manage independently."A smart home would make our lives so much easier," said Christina. Although I am in good shape, I will only continue to age while John will still need to be cared for." Through custom designs and smart home technology, these veterans and their families can attain a better quality of life, independence, and autonomy. So far, over 90 homes have been completed or broken ground across the country."We are incredibly proud to be part of this initiative and to contribute to giving back to those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom," said G.J. Gardner Homes Lakeland Franchise Owner Mitch Reiter. "Building homes is about building community, and this program is a great way to spread that mission." ABOUT G.J. GARDNER HOMESSince its founding in 1983, G.J. Gardner Homes has built over 40,000 quality, customized homes worldwide. The company has over 120 franchises across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Each franchise is locally owned and operated, with strong ties to the community and a dedication to service and quality. The Lakeland location specializes in custom homes, knockdown rebuilds, and accessory dwelling units in various styles.ABOUT THE GARY SINISE FOUNDATIONGary Sinise is an award-winning actor and humanitarian, best known for his roles in CSI:NY, Apollo 13, and Forrest Gump as Lt. Dan Taylor. An advocate for our nation's defenders since the 1980s, after 9/11, Sinise began supporting America's military and first responders with handshake tours and concerts with his Lt. Dan Band. In 2011, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation. Today, the Foundation builds custom homes for severely wounded heroes, supports the families of the fallen, provides essential equipment for first responders, and improves the mental wellness of our defenders. For more information and to support, visit www.garysinisefoundation.org Contact InformationSteve BairManagerlakeland@ gjgardner.com (863) 869-2526SOURCE: G.J. Gardner HomesView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 15:01:26 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 501 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Lucia Howell Vargas joins online gallery MIRAME Fine Art, showcasing Costa Rican art for sale.SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / MIRAME Fine Art, the premier online Costa Rican art gallery dedicated to promoting the nation's finest artists, proudly celebrates the work of artist Howell Vargas. Promoting the nation's rich cultural heritage, MIRAME Fine Art connects artists with art lovers worldwide.Lucia Howell Vargas, Untitled #1 Acrylic on Canvas Lucia Howell Vargas: A Journey of Dance and Visual ArtMIRAME Fine Art is thrilled to represent Howell Vargas, an artist whose dance background influences her work in Costa Rican contemporary art. Based in San Jose, Howell Vargas blends performance and visual arts, offering a fresh perspective in the art scene.With over a decade of dance experience, Howell Vargas has collaborated with renowned choreographers like Maria Amalia Pendones and Vanessa de la O. This deep connection between movement and music enriches her artistic practice, setting her apart as an exciting figure among Costa Rican painters.Dance as a Source of InspirationHowell Vargas' dance training has given her an understanding of the relationship between the body and space, which she translates into her visual art. The fluidity and energy of movement infuse her art, inviting viewers to explore motion captured in static forms.Performance Art as an Immersive ExperienceHer performance art goes beyond visual spectacle, creating immersive experiences that engage viewers in critical thought. For example, in her performance of "Fangal (Bog)" at Cero Uno in San Jose, she performed in a striking black costume with tendrils, blurring reality and fantasy. The costume's color palette of black, grey, and flesh tones, transformed her into surreal, alien-like forms.Transformation of Everyday ObjectsHowell Vargas' artworks - ranging from paintings to mirror installations and glass sculptures - infuse mundane materials with new life. Her acrylic mirrors, shaped into forms like butterflies and alien motifs, interact with viewers, blending reality and imagination.Groundbreaking Exhibition at Craig Krull GalleryHowell Vargas' participation in "Seguimos" at Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica marked a milestone for Costa Rican contemporary art. This exhibition highlighted Costa Rican artists in the U.S. for the first time, and Howell Vargas' video loop earned acclaim for its innovative blend of performance and visual art, showcasing the growing recognition of Central American art.Visit MIRAME Fine ArtLucia Howell Vargas brings a unique edge to the contemporary art scene through her blend of music, movement, and visual expression, enriching the Costa Rican contemporary art landscape.MIRAME Fine Art invites you to explore her work and experience the exciting intersection of dance and visual art. Discover her collection and celebrate her contributions to Costa Rican contemporary art.For more information about Lucia Howell Vargas and to explore our curated collection, visit MIRAME Fine Art's online gallery.Contact InformationBelinda SeppingsCo-Founderbelinda@ miramefineart.com +447821591397SOURCE: MIRAME Fine ArtView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 17:45:50 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 638 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 New initiative aims to increase access to human donor milk, building the milk donor community and educating the public about its life-saving benefits.SAN JOSE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Mothers' Milk Bank California(MMB California), the oldest continuously operating independent nonprofit milk bank in the United States, celebrates a significant milestone of half a century dedicated to serving infants and families in need across the country.MMB has updated the name of the organization to include 'California' to honor its roots in the state. Central to MMB California's legacy is a network of more than 30nonprofit mothers' milk banksacross the United States and in Mexico that have followed the model MMB California established 50 years ago.Since 1974, Mothers' Milk Bank California has distributed 16 million ounces of human donor milk to some of the country's most at-risk babies. That's equivalent to filling 7 swimming pools with liquid gold. Our community of milk donors at MMB California is nearly 25,000 strong, supporting thousands of families in their times of need. The organization collaborates with a growing number of hospitals nationwide to provide safe, lifesaving nourishment to their tiniest patients. MMB California advances the milk banking industry through partnerships, research support, and advocacy for stringent health and safety guidelines."As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we reflect on the incredible journey of saving lives and supporting families. Our newMMB California Cares Programis a testament to our commitment to quality, efficiency, equity, and education. We are excited to continue our mission and expand our reach to ensure that every baby in need has access to safe donor milk," said Jennifer Benito-Kowalski, Chief Executive Officer of Mothers' Milk Bank California.Today, MMB California announced the launch of their 50th anniversary, MMB California Cares Program, along with their vision for the next 50 years. This initiative aims to build and strengthen the Milk Donor Community, highlighting the ongoing dedication to:Quality Assurance and Compliance: Upholding rigorous standards for processing and distributing donor human milk to ensure safety and efficacy.Efficiency and Excellence: Streamlining operations to maximize the impact of milk donations across our expanding network.Equity and Access Initiatives: Increasing access to donor human milk for all families in California and beyond.Education and Outreach Campaigns: Launching comprehensive programs to raise awareness about the life-saving benefits of donor human milk and foster community among donors and recipients.Alongside these initiatives, Mothers' Milk Bank California has unveiled a newly redesignedwebsite.Featuring enhanced navigation and user-friendly interfaces, the site provides resources for donors, healthcare providers, and families seeking support.About Mothers' Milk Bank CaliforniaFounded 50 years ago, Mothers' Milk Bank California is a leading nonprofit dedicated to providing screened, donated human milk to babies in need. As a founding member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), it helped set standards for nonprofit milk banks across North America. The organization collects, pasteurizes, and distributes safe human milk to hospitals and families, ensuring essential nutrition for infants. Committed to improving lives, Mothers' Milk Bank California supports families and advances neonatal care.For more information about Mothers' Milk Bank California, our initiatives, and to explore our new website, please visitMothersMilk.org . For media inquiries, contact: Angelica Rojas at D: (877) 375-6645 ext. 4 | E: angelica.rojas@MothersMilk.org Founded 50 years ago, Mothers' Milk Bank California is a leading nonprofit dedicated to providing screened, donated human milk to babies in need. As a founding member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), it helped set standards for nonprofit milk banks across North America. The organization collects, pasteurizes, and distributes safe human milk to hospitals and families, ensuring essential nutrition for infants. Committed to improving lives, Mothers' Milk Bank California supports families and advances neonatal care.Contact DetailsMothers' Milk Bank CaliforniaJennifer Benito-Kowalski+1 408-831-7276jbenito@ mothersmilk.org Company WebsiteSOURCE: THE MOTHERS' MILK BANK PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 23:30:39 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 961 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Adjusted EBITDA reached US$ 200 million, up by 64% quarter-over-quarter and 180% year-over-year, mainly due to higher sales volume, higher zinc prices, improved margins at Aripuana and higher by-products contribution.Net revenues increased to US$ 736 million from US$ 627 million in 2Q23 and US$ 580 million in 1Q24, driven by higher LME metal prices in both cases, increased mining sales volume year-over-year, and increased smelting sales volume quarter-over-quarter.LUXEMBOURG / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Nexa Resources, one of the world's leading zinc producers, achieved solid financial performance in 2Q24. Adjusted EBITDA reached US$ 200 million, an increase of 64% from the previous quarter and 180% from the same period last year. This growth was primarily driven by increased by-products contribution, improved margins at Aripuana, and higher zinc prices. In 1H24, Adjusted EBITDA amounted to US$323 million, up by 58% compared to the same period a year ago.Additionally, net revenues for the quarter increased to US$ 736 million, up from US$ 580 million in 1Q24 and US$ 627 million in 2Q23. This increase was driven by higher LME metal prices in both cases, increased mining sales volume year-over-year, and increased smelting sales volume quarter-over-quarter. Over the first six months of 2024, net revenues reached US$ 1,316 million, rising by 2% compared to the first half of the previous year.Moreover, Nexa reported free cash flow of US$ 149 million in 2Q24, primarily due to the issuance of an ESG-Linked debenture. The issuance amounted to R$ 650 million (approximately US$ 130 million) and was part of Nexa's strategy to extend its debt maturity profile and optimize its financial structure.In 2Q24, the net loss was US$ 69 million compared to US$ 103 million in 2Q23 and US$ 11 million in 1Q24. The quarter-over-quarter increase was mainly due to accounting adjustments associated with impairment losses, changes in the fair value of offtake agreements, adjustments to asset retirement obligations, and increased exploration and project evaluation expenses."We are pleased to report a favorable second quarter of 2024, highlighting our continued operational efficiency, increased production, improved margins at our Aripuana mine, and disciplined capital allocation supported by higher zinc prices. Our ability to adapt to market dynamics has led to enhanced execution across our operations," said Ignacio Rosado, CEO of Nexa Resources.During 2Q24, Nexa's investments in sustaining CAPEX totaled US$ 64 million. This includes US$ 10 million allocated to Aripuana and Health, Safety, and Environment initiatives. These investments reflect Nexa's ongoing commitment to enhancing productivity, efficiency, and performance across operations and corporate areas, while also prioritizing the safety of its employees.Operational PerformanceIn 2Q24, Nexa's zinc production totaled 83,000 tons, representing a 2% year-over-year increase, mainly due to higher average zinc grades, despite a 5% quarter-over-quarter decrease. The quarterly decrease was primarily attributed to lower volumes from the Peruvian mines and the absence of contributions from Morro Agudo in May and June, following the cessation of mining operations on April 30, 2024, due to the divestment of this mine. This divestment was part of Nexa's portfolio optimization strategy to improve cash flow generation and returns. As of today, the Company reiterates its 2024 consolidated production guidance for all metals.Furthermore, copper production reached 10,000 tons, up by 13% from 2Q23 and 30% from 1Q24, driven by higher average grades, particularly from Cerro Lindo. Lead production totaled 17,000 tons, up 5% year-over-year and down 8% quarter-over-quarter, mainly attributed to the absence of contributions from Morro Agudo in May and June 2024. Silver production was 2.8 million ounces, up 8% year-over-year and relatively flat compared to the previous quarter.In the smelting segment, zinc metal and oxide production totaled 152,000 tons in 2Q24, up by 3% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter. This increase was mainly driven by higher volumes at the Cajamarquilla and Juiz de Fora smelters, attributed to improved performance in the roasters, which enhanced production stability in the period."We remain confident in the long-term fundamentals of our industry, and we are prepared to capitalize on new opportunities in our operations, always striving to create shared value for all our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate," added Mr. Rosado.Growth strategy and asset portfolioIn 2Q24, Nexa made significant progress on the main work fronts of the Cerro Pasco Integration Project. Support activities, including technical reviews and environmental studies and permits, are also advancing as expected. This project has the potential to unlock significant value for the Company and is anticipated to be submitted for final approval to our Board in the upcoming months.Additionally, in line with Nexa's review of its assets, portfolio optimization, and efficient capital allocation, the Company initiated a structured process to sell its non-operational Peruvian subsidiary, Minera Pampa de Cobre S.A.C (owner of the Chapi mine asset) and the greenfield project Pukaqaqa."We will maintain focus on our priorities, including the improvement of Aripuana's performance, the development of the Cerro Pasco Integration Project, delivering on guidance, extending the life of our mines, and consistently improving our cash generation," said Mr. Rosado.ESG UpdateIn early May, Nexa implemented key initiatives to boost safety practices, reinforce leadership oversight, and reduce risk exposure as part of a structured 30-day, 90-day, and 180-day safety plan. This plan aims to further improve the solid safety system already in place. "At Nexa, the safety of our people and operations remains our topmost priority. We are committed to ensuring safe operations in our facilities and continue to invest in strengthening the organization-wide safety framework," stated Mr. Rosado.In terms of Nexa's ESG strategy, the 2Q24 was also marked by several key initiatives:As part of Nexa's circular economy initiatives, the Company completed its first commercial sale transaction involving 26.4 tons of waste material (manganese dioxide - MnO2) from the Tres Marias smelter. This project aims to sell significant amounts of waste from its smelters by developing partnerships and evaluating viable technologies and trade routes for these materials.Nexa signed a three-year collaboration agreement with the National University PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 23:25:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 737 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CALGARY, AB AND SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Nexera Energy Inc. (TSX Venture:NGY)(OTC PINK:EMBYF) (the "Corporation", the "Company" or "Nexera") is providing a bi-weekly default status report (the "Default Status Report") in accordance with National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203").On July 16, 2024, the Company announced (the "Default Announcement") that, for the reasons disclosed in the Default Announcement, the filing of its annual financial statements, accompanying management discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certifications for the year-ended March 31, 2024 (the "Annual Filings") would not be completed by the prescribed filing deadline.Management of the Company is currently the subject of a management cease trade order ("MCTO") in regards to these Annual Filings, as granted by its principal regulator, the Alberta Securities Commission. The MCTO restricts all trading in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect, by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company until such time as the Annual Filings have been filed by the Company. The MCTO does not affect the ability of shareholders who are not insiders of the Company to trade their securities.The Company's board of directors and its management confirms that they are working expeditiously to meet the Company's filing obligations and expect to file the Annual Filings on or before September 13, 2024.As required by the alternative information guidelines specified by NP 12-203, the Company reports that since the Default Announcement and any subsequent press release disclosure there have not been any changes to the information set out in the Default Announcement that would reasonably be expected to be material to an investor nor any failure by the Company to fulfill its intentions as stated therein with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative information guidelines, and there are no additional defaults or anticipated defaults subsequent to the disclosure therein, other than the delay in filing the Annual Filings. Further, there is no additional material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed and there are no insolvency proceedings against the Company as of the date of this Default Status Report.Until the Annual Filings have been filed, the Company intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of further press releases, which will also be filed on SEDAR. To the extent applicable, the Company is scheduled to file its next default status report in two weeks from the date hereof.For further information, please contact:Nexera Energy Inc. President, Shelby D. Beattie, by telephone at (403) 262-6000Email: info@ nexeraenergy.comwww.nexeraenergy.com About Nexera Energy Inc.Nexera Energy Inc. (TSX Venture:NGY) is an energy company with oil producing properties in Southwest Texas. Nexera is owner and operator of the Lavernia, Wooden Horse and Stockdale Horizon Projects. The Company also now owns 100% of Production Resources Inc., a South Texas oil company.Forward Looking Statements Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein relating to the timing of the filing of financial statements constitutes forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.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: Nexera Energy, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 13:01:20 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 588 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Signal Gold Inc. ("Signal Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:SGNL)(OTCQB:SGNLF) is pleased to announce that it has received the Crown Land Lease and Licence Letter of Offer ("Letter of Offer") for the Goldboro Project, shortly after receiving its Mineral Lease, as announced by the Company on July 29 2024. The Letter of Offer covers the Crown Land surface area associated with the proposed site infrastructure for the Goldboro Project and includes a total of 2,165 hectares of Crown Lands. The Letter of Offer was issued by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables ("NSDNRR") and is subject to certain standard conditions, including a survey of the related land area and a formal Cabinet approval.The Company continues to progress in the regulatory approval process including with respect to the Industrial Approval ("IA"), which was submitted in August 2023 and for which the Company is actively addressing questions and feedback from the provincial regulators. Additionally, the Federal permitting process is also advancing. The Company entered the Duty to Consult phase for the Fisheries Act Authorization and Schedule 2 Amendment of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations in Spring 2024, and recently concluded the public comment period on July 27, 2024. Signal Gold previously received the Environmental Approval for the Goldboro Project on August 2, 2022."We are very pleased to have received the Letter of Offer from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables. This marks the second material Provincial permit this week, having recently received the Mineral Lease for the Goldboro Project while we actively address questions and feedback on the IA application. Federally, the public consultation period has now concluded by the Federal authorities and we are pleased with feedback received during the latest comment period. Throughout both the Provincial and Federal permitting process, Signal Gold remains committed to ongoing engagement with our stakeholder and Rightsholder groups in an open, inclusive, and constructive manner, and their concerns and interests play a critical role in the way we have designed and will develop the Goldboro Project." ~Kevin Bullock, President and CEO, Signal Gold Inc.ABOUT SIGNAL GOLDSignal Gold is advancing the Goldboro Gold Project in Nova Scotia, a significant growth project subject to a positive Feasibility Study which demonstrates an approximately 11-year open pit life of mine with average gold production of 100,000 ounces per annum and an average diluted grade of 2.26 grams per tonne gold. (Please see the NI 43-101 Technical Report and Feasibility Study for the Goldboro Gold Project, Eastern Goldfields District, Nova Scotia' on January 11, 2022, for further details). On August 3, 2022, the Goldboro Project received its environmental assessment approval from the Nova Scotia Minister of Environment and Climate Change, a significant regulatory milestone, and the Company has now submitted all key permits including the Industrial Approval, Fisheries Act Authorization and Schedule 2 Amendment, and the Mining and Crown Land Leases. The Goldboro Project has significant potential for further Mineral Resource expansion, particularly towards the west along strike and at depth, and the Company has consolidated 28,525 hectares (~285 km2) of prospective exploration land in the Goldboro Gold District.This news release has been reviewed and approved by Kevin Bullock, P. Eng., President and CEO with Signal Gold Inc., a "Qualified Person", under National Instrument 43-101 Standard for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:Signal Gold Inc.Kevin Bullock President and CEO(647) 388-1842 kbullock@ signalgold.com Reseau ProMarket Inc.Dany Cenac Robert Investor Relations(514) 722-2276 x456 Dany.Cenac-Robert@ReseauProMarket.com SOURCE: Signal Gold Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 13:56:54 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 831 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2024 /Tablas Ventures Corp. (TSXV: TAB.H) ("Tablas" or the "Company") announces that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement, in which it raised gross proceeds of $250,000.This placement consisted of 5,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of five cents per common shares (the "Financing"). All common shares issued in connection with the Financing are subject to a hold period expiring December 01, 2024. No finder's fees were payable in connection with the Financing. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Financing for general working capital purposes.Subsequent to the Financing, the Company has 8,560,598 common shares issued and outstanding.Early Warning DisclosurePrior to closing of the Financing, The Emprise Special Opportunities Fund (2017) Limited Partnership ("LP2017"), of Vancouver, British Columbia, owned and controlled 75,846 Common Shares, representing approximately 2.13% of the outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis. Pursuant to the Financing, LP2017 acquired 3,600,000 Common Shares at a price of $0.05 per Common Share, representing approximately 42.05% of the outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis. Following closing of the Financing, LP2017 owns and controls 3,675,846 Common Shares, representing approximately 42.94% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company after reasonable inquiry, LP2017, have knowledge of any material information concerning the Company or its securities which has not been generally disclosed.The Company has been advised that the securities noted above were acquired by LP2017 for investment purposes, and LP2017 does not have any present intention to acquire further securities of the Company, although it may, in the future, acquire or dispose of securities of the Company through the market or otherwise, as circumstances or market conditions warrant.To obtain a copy of the early warning report filed under applicable Canadian provincial securities legislation, please go to the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or please reach out to Scott Ackerman at 778-331-8505.Sale of Sparx Technology Corp.Further to the Company's new release dated July 12, 2024, announcing the sale of its primary operating subsidiary, iPowow USA Inc., the Company also announces that it has completed the sale of its Canadian subsidiary, Sparx Technology Corp. ("Subco") to companies controlled by former directors Drew Craig and Brian Brady. Subco has no current operations. In consideration for the transaction the Company was forgiven all debt owed to the purchasers. The transaction was approved by the Company's non-interested shareholders at its shareholders meeting held on May 31, 2024.Management ChangesThe Company further announces that Scott Ackerman, Doug McFaul, and Peter Dickie have been appointed as directors of the Company, replacing Drew Craig, Brian Brady, and Andy Batkin, who have resigned as directors of the Company. In addition, Scott Ackerman has been appointed CEO, CFO and Corporate Secretary, replacing Al Thorgeirson and Spencer Trentini, who have resigned as officers of the Company. The Company wishes to thank the outgoing directors and officers for their service to the Company.Grant of OptionsThe Company also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 850,000 incentive stock options to directors and a consultant of the Company. The options have an exercise price of $0.05 per share and expire on July 31, 2029.The Company currently does not have an active business and will be seeking a new business opportunity, with a view to graduating back to the main board of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange").Effective at the opening of trading on Friday, August 2, 2024, shares of the Company will resume trading on the NEX Board of the Exchange.On behalf of the BoardScott AckermanCEO and DirectorFor further information, please contact:Scott AckermanCEO and Director(778) 331-8508 sackerman@ emprisecapital.com 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.Forward-Looking StatementsStatements included in this news release, including statements concerning the Company's plans, intentions, and expectations, which are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forwardlooking statements". Forwardlooking statements may be, but are not always, identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forwardlooking statements, and related matters, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forwardlooking statements. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statement will prove to be accurate or that management's assumptions underlying such statements, including assumptions concerning the Company, or future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking information included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.SOURCE: Tablas Ventures Corp. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 22:55:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 849 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Tacora Resources Inc. ("Tacora") today announced that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved a sale of the company in connection with Tacora's proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") on July 26, 2024. The transaction was made possible through the strategic efforts and financial backing of an investor group anchored by Cargill Incorporated, Millstreet Capital Management and O'Brien-Staley Partners. The target closing date of the transaction is August 30, 2024.Tacora Premium Concentrate: A Critical Mineral for the Green Steel Industry Tacora operates the Scully Mine located near Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and produces a premium quality high-grade iron ore concentrate, recently recognized and added to the critical minerals list in Canada and branded as Tacora Premium Concentrate or "TPC". The Scully Mine is capable of efficiently and sustainably producing and exporting over 6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of TPC. TPC is a critical mineral that is required by end-users to produce environmentally friendly steel and is an integral part of the decarbonization process for the green steel industry globally.Background and Transactions In 2022-2023, Tacora faced liquidity challenges due to capital constraints, excess leverage and legacy contracts necessitating the company to initiate CCAA proceedings. The investor group emerged as the successful bidder via a transaction that will provide an equity injection of US$250 million to allow Tacora to exit the CCAA with a well-capitalized balance sheet and a fully funded capital plan. Tacora has also entered into a new 10-year offtake agreement with Cargill at competitive market terms and restructured other contracts that will result in higher cash flow generation per tonne.Tacora will be led by an industry-leading executive management team aligned with a new board of directors consisting of two independent directors and representatives from each of Cargill, Millstreet and O'Brien-Staley Partners. Tacora and its investor group are committed to preserving the strong relationship that it has established with local and provincial governments, the Labrador West community, the United Steelworkers (USW) 6285 and all its suppliers and service providers.Heng Vuong, Tacora's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said "on behalf of all 460 Tacora Team Members, I would like to thank the investor group for their commitment to Tacora and for recognizing the tremendous value potential of the Scully Mine. We look forward to closely working together to execute on our business plan and achieve our stated goal of 6 Mtpa of high-grade iron ore concentrate." For more information on Tacora's reorganization and related investment opportunities, please visit our website at www.tacoraresources.com or contact Heng Vuong at heng.vuong@tacoraresources.com About Tacora Resources Inc. Tacora is a private company that is focused on the production and sale of high-grade and quality iron ore products that improve the efficiency and environmental performance of steel making and, subject to final process verification and economic assessment, the development of a high purity manganese product for advanced battery technology. The Company owns and operates the Scully Mine, an iron ore concentrate producer located near Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada with a production capacity of six million tonnes per year. Additional information about the Company is available at www.tacoraresources.com About Cargill Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living.Our 160,000 team members innovate with purpose, providing customers with life's essentials so businesses can grow, communities, and consumers live well. With 159 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing-today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.About Millstreet Capital Management LLC Millstreet Capital Management LLC is a Boston-based SEC-registered investment adviser with the goal to compound superior absolute returns that are uncorrelated to traditional asset classes. The objective of Millstreet is to exploit the inefficiencies within the small-to-mid cap segment of the High Yield and Leveraged Loan markets. The Firm focuses primarily on this segment of the market, investing in a range of opportunities anywhere from new issues, the secondary market, and distressed situations. For additional information please visit www.millstreet.com About O'Brien-Staley Partners O'Brien-Staley Partners is a world-class value-investing firm that specializes in US financial industry dislocation. E. Gerald O'Brien (former head of CarVal Investors global loan portfolios) and Warren Staley (retired chairman of Cargill, Inc.) are the firm's founders. Through them, O'Brien-Staley Partners is imbued with the core value investment discipline, risk management and governance DNA that has long been recognized as hallmarks of their personal and professional brands. With these roots, and based in the Twin Cities, the firm attracts key financial professionals with similar pedigrees and deep market awareness to specialize in commercial & industrial loans, commercial real estate credits, and other banking situations. Additional information at www.osp-group.com SOURCE: Tacora Resources Inc PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-01 13:01:00 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1093 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 /Torq Resources Inc. (TSX-V:TORQ)(OTCQB:TRBMF) ("Torq" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that as of July 31, 2024 it has entered into a non-binding term sheet (the "Term Sheet") with an affiliate of Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") with respect to a proposed option and joint venture agreement to advance the exploration and development of Torq's Santa Cecilia copper-gold project in Chile (the "Option Agreement"). Under the Option Agreement, Gold Fields is to be granted a two-stage option to acquire up to a 75% interest in the Santa Cecilia Project in exchange for incurring an aggregate of US$48 million in spending at the project over a maximum of 6 years.The Santa Cecilia mineral exploration project ("Santa Cecilia Project") is a 3,250-hectare property located approximately 100km east of the city of Copiapo, Chile, in the southern region of the world-class Maricunga belt and immediately north of the El Indio belt. Under the Term Sheet, the parties intend to negotiate and execute a definitive Option Agreement within a timeframe to allow for consideration by Torq's shareholders for approval at Torq's 2024 annual general meeting anticipated to be held in mid-November 2024.Neither party will be bound to proceed with the transactions contemplated by the Term Sheet unless and until such time as the definitive Option Agreement is executed. Execution of the Option Agreement remains subject to completion by Gold Fields of its legal and technical due diligence which is presently in its advanced stage.Gold Fields is a "related party" to the Company, as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") due to its 15.5% ownership position in Torq. Accordingly, the transactions contemplated by the Option Agreement will constitute "related party transactions" under MI 61-101 and Torq will require the approval of its shareholders (which are not related to Gold Fields) to proceed with these transactions. Torq expects to convene a meeting of its shareholders to approve the Option Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein to be held in November 2024 if the Option Agreement is executed within the anticipated time frame. The proposed transaction will also be subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.A Message from Shawn Wallace, CEO & Chair:"We have been working with Gold Fields on Santa Cecilia since we acquired the asset. We are in agreement with what is needed to unlock the mineral potential of this very exciting asset.As a strategic investor in Torq, we believe this option with Gold Fields is the best way to advance the project for Torq in the current market conditions. The proposed option terms and intended exploration programme schedule will see significant new investment in the project in a timely manner.The Option Agreement best positions the Company and its shareholders to capitalize on both the Santa Cecilia Project with a major partner as well as focus on the highly prospective Margarita project where there is encouraging copper and gold grades from surface and excellent access to infrastructure. The Margarita project offers near term, expansive discovery potential that is both near surface and in a favorable location." Key TermsThe Term Sheet contemplates that Torq will grant to Gold Fields an initial option (the "Stage 1 Option") to acquire up to a 51% interest in the Santa Cecilia Project as follows:Gold Fields must fund an aggregate of US$18 million of exploration expenditures, property payments and any other direct or allocated expenses related to the project within the first 30 months from formal closing under the Option Agreement;Gold Fields must invest at least US$6 million in connection with the Stage 1 Option (the "Minimum Commitment");Gold Fields will receive a 10% interest in the Santa Cecilia Project (the "Initial Interest") upon completing the Minimum Commitment; andupon the completion of the Minimum Commitment, Gold Fields will have the option to earn an additional 41% interest in the Santa Cecilia Project upon completion the balance of US$12 million of exploration expenditures within the balance of the 30-month Stage 1 Option period.If Gold Fields acquires the Initial Interest but notifies Torq that it does not wish to complete the Stage 1 Option, Torq will have the right to purchase the Initial Interest back from Gold Fields for US$6 million at any time within 48 months of the date of notification.If Gold Fields satisfies the Stage 1 Option, it will have a further option (the "Stage 2 Option") to acquire an additional 24% interest in the Santa Cecilia Project by funding an additional aggregate of US$30 million and the option period will be extended by 42 months (for a cumulative option period of 6 years). If Gold Fields does not complete the Stage 2 Option by the expiry of the option period (as extended) or elects not to complete these expenditures, the Stage 2 Option will terminate and Gold Fields will retain its 51% interest. Gold Fields may choose to make a cash payment to Torq in lieu of any of its Stage 1 or 2 project spending commitments.Torq and Gold Fields will establish a joint venture for the exploration and development of the Santa Cecilia Project (the "Joint Venture") upon the earlier of:completion by Gold Fields of the Minimum Commitment to earn a 10% interest, followed by an election by Gold Fields not to complete the Stage 1 Option;having completed the Minimum Commitment and elected to proceed with the completion of the exercise of the Stage 1 Option, Gold Fields fails to complete the exercise of the Stage 1 Option;after completing the Stage 1 Option, Gold Fields determining not to proceed with the Stage 2 Option;having completed the exercise of the Stage 1 Option and elected to proceed with the exercise of the Stage 2 Option, Gold Fields fails to complete the exercise of the Stage 2 Option; andthe completion by Gold Fields of the exercise of the Stage 2 Option.The Joint Venture will be governed by a joint venture agreement to be incorporated within the definitive Option Agreement that will provide for the joint management of the Santa Cecilia Project (the "JVSA"). It is anticipated the JVSA will be governed by Chilean law and provide for customary provisions regarding management of the Santa Cecilia Project through a management committee with voting rights proportional to each party's interests, approval of annual programs and budgets, rights to participate on board-approved programs and budgets, dilution for non-participation, super-majority approval of extraordinary matters, restrictions on transfer and agreements relating to the project operator. Torq will rem The construction of two Italian migrant reception centres in Albania that were initially set to open last May is still underway, with no clear opening date in sight and with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni now announcing another postponement, the controversial centres are now unlikely to open before the end of this year. The centres are part of a five-year agreement under which Albania has agreed to host migrant reception facilities funded and managed by Italian authorities. Forza Italia MEP Flavio Tosi told Euronews that the opening should take place by the end of the year, in line with certain construction and bureaucratic timelines. While acknowledging that the upfront costs of the centres are substantial, running to several million euros, the real cost of illegal migration includes prevention measures and the use of the Coast Guard. "Migrants in Italy cost around 1,000 a month, so the price to pay to open these facilities is irrelevant compared to the overall cost to manage migration as a whole," he said. The controversial Italian-Albanian plan has faced significant criticism, but the Italian government insists it is a necessary measure to curb illegal immigration and relieve pressure on existing Italian reception centres. Under the agreement, Albania will host up to 36,000 asylum seekers annually on behalf of Italy while Italian authorities will examine their cases to determine eligibility for repatriation. Some organisations and opposition parties argue that the plan violates basic human rights. Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, said his organisation has serious worries about the plan itself and the overall European trend towards shifting the responsibility for processing migrant people's claims. People gather on the beach near a migrant centre in the port of Shengjin, northwest Albania. - Vlasov Sulaj/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved We are very concerned about the externalisation of migration policies and how its being implemented," he told Euronews. "The plan seems to imply the automatic detention of migrants for long periods, which breaches international law. "Most of these people will be classified as ineligible for international protection and will be sent back to their countries. This deal is cruel and aims to discourage migrants by violating their rights. In response to these concerns, Tosi said that Albanias EU accession process ensures that human rights will be respected. He also highlighted the importance of strengthening relations with some of the countries of departure, particularly in Africa. The outsourcing option The externalisation of asylum procedures is gaining traction among EU member states. Francesco Cherubini, Professor of EU Law at Luiss University, explained that these policies first began gaining traction with the 2015 crisis in the Mediterranean. The externalisation of migration policies is a model that has convinced several Member States due to its many advantages," he told Euronews. "It is very effective because it prevents migrants from being directly under the authority of the final European country of arrival, which entails respecting fundamental rights that might pose political consensus issues. Cherubini also pointed out that this approach has at least two major problems. "The first one is that we hand the migrant over to a country like Libya or Turkey with issues being raised when it comes to their human rights," he said. "The other is the cost involved in implementing these policies." Despite the controversies, the Italian model has garnered interest in other countries. Cherubini notes that before Italy, Great Britain did something similar with Rwanda. There are differences between the two, but in both cases, the level of cooperation with the third country is significant. However, the UK's Rwanda policy faced major hurdles in domestic courts, and only a handful of people were sent to the African country on a voluntary basis. The recent change of government in London has seen the plan scrapped altogether. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-02 01:00:25 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 412 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Undefeated Texas Personal Injury Law FirmHOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2024 / Zehl & Associates is pleased to announce that our law office recently recovered a $37.5 million dollar jury verdict for the family of a truck driver killed in an accident. Our trial lawyers Ryan Zehl, Matt Greenberg, and Mike Streich represented the family of the truck driver, Shamsher Singh, during a nine-day trial in the 160th District Court of Texas.Houston personal injury lawyer Ryan Zehl, undefeated Houston personal injury lawyer The Facts of the CaseMr. Singh, a loving husband and father of three, was a videographer who relocated his family from Italy to the U.S. in 2016. He became a long-distance truck driver to support his family.On the date of the accident, Mr. Singh was driving on I-635 West when his truck began to malfunction. He moved to the right shoulder to park his truck and examine the source of the mechanical issues. Shortly thereafter, a truck driver employed by the defendant collided with Mr. Singh's truck, resulting in fatal injuries to Mr. Singh. Zehl & Associates presented video evidence showing how other vehicles were able to avoid the truck, including another truck driver.Zehl & Associates presented extensive evidence from video depositions and other sources to the jury. Our trial team also utilized an accident reconstructionist who explained the circumstances surrounding the crash based on the damage to the vehicles and their positions. We also brought in an emergency medical doctor who detailed the pain and suffering Mr. Singh experienced in the last 15 to 20 minutes before he died.The VerdictAfter deliberations, the jury found the defendant 84% liable for Mr. Singh's death. The final judgment for the family of Mr. Singh will be approximately $37.5 million. This verdict was over 7x higher than the defendant's $5 million pre-trial settlement offer.Zehl & Associates remains undefeated in personal injury and truck accident cases. We are extremely proud to recover yet another eight-figure monetary award for a deserving client. Our personal injury lawyers have recovered billions in verdicts and settlements, including record-breaking awards. Our team has proven that it is willing to take on the largest trucking corporations and insurance companies - and win.Media Contact:Company Name: Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers - HoustonAddress: 2700 Post Oak Blvd #1000City: HoustonState: TexasZip: 77056Country: Harris CountyPhone: (713) 491-6064Contact InformationRyan ZehlHouston Personal Injury Lawyerzehlpersonalinjury@ gmail.com 713-491-6064SOURCE: Zehl & AssociatesView the original press release on newswire.com African Central Bank Governors have convened in Abuja on Thursday to push for deeper intra-African trade and advocate for reforms to the global financial system, which it believes is skewed against the continent. According to a statement by the leaders, the meeting, being hosted by Nigerias Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, is part of the African Caucus, an annual gathering that prepares input for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Banks annual meetings. It said the central aim of the meeting, which is taking place from at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, is to address the imbalance within the global financial architecture. This structure, according to African economic leaders, favours developed economies at the expense of developing nations, many of which are grappling with significant debt challenges. The primary goal of the meeting is to address intra-African trade as a crucial catalyst for sustainable economic growth and to prepare input for the IMF and World Banks annual meetings, the statement read. Keynote speakers include Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, James Garang, who has led reforms to integrate South Sudans financial system with the global order. Several issues top our regional and global agenda today, including the realisation that our planet faces unprecedented existential threats; poverty is on the rise; and geoeconomic fragmentation is increasing. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The effects of climate changefloods and droughtsand geopolitical conflicts pose significant risks and challenges for monetary policy globally, Mr Garang was quoted as saying. African leaders such as President William Ruto of Kenya, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina, and Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) President Benedict Oramah, have been vocal advocates for financial reforms. They argue that the current international financial system unjustly labels Africa as a risky borrower despite its vast potential. We need to transform this architecture to give Africa a fair chance to turn its immense potential into opportunity, President Ruto was quoted as saying. According to the statement, Mr Garang had in November 2023, spearheaded a modernisation effort at the Bank of South Sudan, prioritising transparency and accountability. The bank has undergone a restructuring to improve its ability to fulfil its mandate and strengthen its oversight of the financial sector. Global public debt reached $313 trillion in 2023, with developing economies bearing a significant burden. According to United Nations figures, over a fifth of tax revenue in 25 developing countries went towards servicing external debt, leaving approximately 3.3 billion peoplearound 40 per cent of the global populationspending more on interest payments than on health or education. Mr Adesina highlighted the need for financial reforms, stating, Africa needs $1.3 trillion annually to meet its sustainable development goals by 2030, but this cannot happen without a more responsive, inclusive, and accountable international financial system. The African Caucus, established in 1963, aims to strengthen the voice of African Governors in the Bretton Woods Institutions on development issues pertinent to Africa. Representing all 54 African countries, the Caucus meets twice yearly to consolidate views and convey them to the heads of the IMF and World Bank through a Memorandum. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The release date of controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, known as Bobrisky, who was sentenced to six months imprisonment, has been revealed. PREMIUM TIMES reported in April that Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced Bobrisky for Naira abuse. The judge, who sentenced the cross-dresser without an option of fine, said his sentence would serve as a lesson for others abusing the Naira. His jail term began on 24 March, coinciding with the day of his arrest. In its Wednesday report, Punch newspaper said an impeccable prison source and Bobriskys lawyer, Ayo Olumofin, confirmed his impending release from the Kirikiri Correctional Centre. Punch quoted the prison source as saying Bobrisky will be released on Monday, 5 August . Furthermore, the paper stated that Mr Olumofin, who appeared in court for Bobrisky said, Yes, its about that time for him to be released. There is nothing specific that would be done during his release. I might not go. Im engaged outside Lagos. Maybe other lawyers will go. As I told you, I am not his original lawyer. I just did allocution for him. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Lagos NCS speaks In a phone interview with this newspaper on Wednesday evening, Rotimi Oladokun, spokesperson for the Lagos Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), said he could not confirm the cross-dressers impending release. Mr Oladokun stated that the Correctional Services policy prohibits disclosing an inmates release date. He said: Due to privacy reasons I cant confirm what you see in reports. We have privacy regarding persons custody, so I cannot confirm or deny that. So you can call the National PRO to confirm that. Im giving you a response, but its your right to ask. If I have the National PRO contact Ill send it to you, but as the Lagos State spokesperson, I have told you, because of reasons, I cannot confirm or deny the date of release of an inmate. They are privileged information to the inmate and to his family. Its not because its the particular inmate you mentioned, its just general policy. So, its left for him if he has invited his family or members that want to do a party for him, if and when hes released, thats a different thing. So, from the service, we cannot comment on that. That is just it. Appeal This newspaper reported on 22 April that Bobrisky filed a notice of appeal to challenge the six-month sentence imposed on him by the Federal High Court in Lagos. The crossdresser in the appeal filed by his counsel, Bimbo Kusanu, prayed the court to set aside the sentence and replace it with an option of a N50,000 fine for each count. Bobriskys counsel stated in the notice of appeal that the trial court imposed the sentence on his client, who had no prior criminal convictions. He added that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) provided for the imposition of a lesser sentence. Background On 5 April, the EFCC arraigned the crossdresser on six counts on money laundering and other related offences and he was convicted. However, during the hearing, Justice Awogboro dismissed counts five and six, related to money laundering, leaving counts one to four. Bobriskys case was similar to actress Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, who was convicted for spraying and trampling on new Naira notes at a Lagos wedding. A video clip showing Ms Omoseyin spraying new Naira notes at a Lekki wedding on 28 January 2023, went viral, leading to her arrest on 1 February 2023. Ms Omoseyin was sentenced to six months in prison or a N300,000 fine by Judge Chukwujekwu Aneke on 2 February. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Thousands of Nigerians are expected to commence ten days of nationwide protests today. The organisers, many of them young people, say they are frustrated by the countrys economic conditions and have vowed days of rage in demonstrations. With momentum soaring on and offline, the Nigerian government fears a replay of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest which started peacefully but turned violent. President Bola Tinubu has said he recognises the right to peaceful protests. Still, his administration is wary of the dangers associated with demonstrations that are vulnerable to being hijacked by criminals. While the president has begged the youth to shelve the protest, some senior administration officials labelled the protests as unwarranted and politically motivated. Organisers of the protests are calling for the reversal of the fuel price hike, the restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and the reduction of import duties to their previous rates. The groups also demand the reversal of many institutions hikes in tertiary education fees. They are also demanding full transparency and accountability in governance, including the public disclosure and reduction of public officials salaries and allowances and an emergency fund to support SMEs. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The State Security Service (SSS) alleged that the protests were intended to undermine the government and plunge the country into chaos. Also, the Nigerian Army warned that the protests could lead to anarchy and has promised to take proactive measures to maintain control. The stance of Nigerian government officials and security agencies regarding the planned nationwide protests has raised serious concerns. Activists said the officials rhetorics suggest a troubling readiness to stifle dissent, heightening fears of a violent crackdown. PREMIUM TIMES will bring you live updates of the protests from many states in Nigeria. Follow the live updates here. 8:20 a.m: Abuja roads are deserted with only a few cars plying the always-busy Umaru Musa YarAdua Expressway, popularly known as Airport Road. 8:24 a.m: A police van is seen at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. There are no protesters at the stadium. 8:31 a.m: Armoured Personnel Carrier with soldiers and police operatives seen protect the entry into the Three-Arms Zone. The zone is where the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the Aso Villa are located. Some protesters are gathered at the entrance of the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja singing anti-government songs. Security operatives are present. Dozens of protesters are gathered at the Ikeja underbridge in Lagos. They are singing and dancing and are expected to march from there to other parts of Ikeja. 8:31 am: There are no protesters at the Eagles Square, a public venue the government earlier said would not be made available to protesters. There was, however, a heavy presence of soldiers and police officers at the venue. At 9 oclock, Abuja protesters at the entrance of the MKO Abiola stadium were told by the police to go inside. They refused, saying the road was a public road and they were going to stay there to continue their protest. I didnt say you shouldnt protest but carry all yourselves inside there, the head of the police team said The police chief said there is a court order that the Abuja protest be held inside the stadium, and the protesters are violating it. Take It Back Movement led by lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju are carrying out the protest at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. The FCT Police Commissioner, Ben Igwe, said the protesters are disobeying court orders that they should protest inside the stadium and not outside. The protesters disagree Many offices in the Abuja city centre, like Wuse, Wuse 2, and Central Area, are shut, and the streets are empty. Residents appear to be uncertain of how the protests will proceed and have chosen to stay at home. The entrances to the city centre, like Berger and AYA, are also heavily militarized with armed police officers and soldiers. 9:35 a.m: No Protest protesters arrive in three long buses. They carried No protest placards written on cardboards. 9:45 am: In Abuja, popular protest centres, like the Eagle Square and Unity Fountain, have been blocked by security operatives and heavily militarised. There are no protesters there. The main protest is at the MKO Abuja stadium where protesters have rejected the police directive to move into the stadium. 10.27 a.m: Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja So far, the protest at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja has been peaceful. The police have focused on crowd control and preventing traffic congestion. 10:17 a.m: More protesters arrive the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja. They tried to block the road but the police guided them away from the road to allow for free flow of traffic, which is now increasing. 10:32 a.m., Protesters are now marching from Moshood Abiola Stadium to the Eagle Square, Abuja. 10:45 a.m. Protesters are still on thier way to the Eagle Square. They are close to the National Hospital, Abuja. 10:56 a.m.Members of a group opposed to the protest have joined the protesters as the latter march to Eagles Square from the Moshood Abiola Stadium. 10:48 Lagos protesters are marching from Ikeja to Ojota chanting slogans demanding an end to bad governance. There is heavy presence of mobile police and anti-riot police officials. Tension at Gombe Metropolitan Street protests What started as a peaceful demonstration quickly escalated into a heated protest on Gombe Metropolitan Street, as hundreds of residents joined the protest. The protesters had gathered in the early hours, carrying placards and chanting slogans demanding immediate action from the state and federal governments to end the economic hardship. However, the demonstration has remained largely peaceful. 11:36 a.m. Protesters have arrived at the Federal Secretarait from the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. 11:45 a.m. Police are firing teargas canisters at the protesters as they (protesters) arrived the Federal Secretariat near the Eagles Square. 11:56 am: Protest turns rowdy as police fire teargas at protesters at the three arms zone In Taraba, the protesters, mostly children and young people, took to the streets of Jalingo, the state capital. Armed with placards and banners, the protesters converged at the Ministry of Works roundabout and marched towards the flyover. The demonstrators shouted in Hausa, Tinubu-Shettima bamuyi, meaning we dont want Tinubu and Shettima. There was little human and vehicular movement as of 12 noon in the area. Shop owners at the Jalingo market and Hammaruwa Road closed their shops. The police have dispersed another set of protesters in Abuja. Dozens of protesters were gathered and marching at the NYSC junction in Kubwa when police fired tear gas at them at about 12:40 p.m. Additional military reinforcements have been deployed along the road leading to the Presidential Villa, also known as Aso Rock. On the bridge leading into the Three Arms Zone, the military have blocked the entire road with barbed wire. In addition to the barricade, they have also deployed an Armoured Personnel Carrier with its gun aimed at the protesters. 12: 26 p.m. the protesters are chanting and marching towards the police that they are hungry. 12:21 p.m. The protesters are marching towards the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation. 1:14 p.m: An helicopter sighted hovering around the Central Business District, Abuja. 1:38 p.m.: The protesters, initially dispersed by the police with tear gas on Kubwa Express, have regrouped and are now marching towards NNPC Kubwa, Abuja. Earlier, at about 1:19 p.m., the police cleared the bonfire set up by the protesters on the road. Workers desert the Federal Secretariat on Shehu Shagari Way and the Federal Ministry of Finance as protest continues in Abuja. 1:39 p.m: Protesters throw stones at police as they fired tear gas. The protest had relatively gone calm before this sudden resurgence. 1:35 p.m., the police fired tear gas canisters, pushing protesters towards the office of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA). 1:59 pm: Again, security operatives fire tear gas to disperse protesters in Kubwa, Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print By Paul Ejime Global PR firm, PRovoke Media, has listed Anthony Chiejina, group head of corporate communications, Dangote Industries Limited, as one of the 100 most influential communications and marketing executives in the world in 2024, and for the fourth consecutive year. Mr Chiejina was among the 100 influencers for 2021, 2022, and 2023, and shares the 2024 illustrious list with global communications, brand and marketing executives such as Bea Perez, executive vice president (EVP), global chief communications, sustainability & strategic partnerships officer, Coca-Cola; Andreas Bartels; head of communications, Lufthansa; AJ Jones; EVP, chief corporate affairs officer, Starbucks, and Steve John, chief communications & brand officer, HSBC. Unveiling the list for 2024, PRovoke Media said, that against the backdrop of major geopolitical, economic, societal, cultural and environmental upheaval around the world, corporations and brands continue to face intense consumer, media and stakeholder scrutiny, even as their senior communications and marketing executives are expected to deliver more than ever, faster than ever. It noted: Meanwhile, smart CEOs recognise that trusted communications counsel is not only integral to reputation and transformation but is business-critical in such uncertain times and the 100 names on our 2024 list provide ample evidence of this recognition. In terms of demography, 44% of the 100 Influencers are new entrants this year, although a handful are re-entries who are now in different high-profile roles, PRoke Media said, adding: Unsurprisingly, CMOs, CCOs and corporate affairs chiefs based in the Americas remain dominant, making up 50% of the list, the same as last year. Asia Pacific representation is about the same as last year, at 12%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa, make up 38% of this years cohort. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Of these, European leaders constitute 28%, (including 11% from the dominant regional UK market), and Middle East and North Africa representation at 10%, the PR firm said, explaining that Overall, 20 countries are represented in the 2024 data, demonstrating the global reach and power of the communications industry. The gender ratio of the 100 influencers for 2024 is 59% female and 41% male. PRovoke Medias senior editorial team compiles the list every year based on research and external nominations, according to the following criteria: The nominees status within their organisations, as well as the profile and topicality of those organisations. Only one person can be selected from each company. The nominees influence over the PR agencies where they work, and the budget they control. Their thought leadership within and occasionally beyond the communications industry, and their reputation for innovation, and gender balance and racial diversity, as well as geographical spread. Also, on the list this year are Abhinav Kumar, global chief marketing officer, TCS; Alex Aiken, communications advisor, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Allyson Park, chief communications officer, Walmart; Amy Bonitatibus, chief corporate affairs & communications officer, PayPal. Other include Zenia Mucha, chief brand & communications officer TikTok; Vanessa Broadhurst, EVP, global corporate affairs, Johnson & Johnson; Valerie Tan, SVP corporate communications, CSR & Media, Emirates; Sally Susman, EVP, chief corporate affairs officer, Pfizer; Sandy Rodriguez, global chief communications officer, McDonalds, and Karine Jean-Pierre, US White House Press Secretary. Mr Chiejina was selected alongside 99 other communications and marketing executives of highly rated government agencies, global corporations and conglomerates. A 1981 Mass Communications graduate of the University of Lagos, Mr Chiejina has acquired advanced degrees including an M.Sc. Industrial Relations & Personnel Management, University of Lagos (1984), an M.A. in Organisational Analysis & Behaviour, University of Lancaster, UK (1988) and an M.A. Development Studies, Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, Netherlands (1994). He served in senior roles as a journalist including Associate Editor & Deputy Editor of African Economic Digest, London, Editorial Advisor for the Seven-Up Bottling Company, and African Concord, Lagos. He has worked with Zenith Bank Plc and Oceanic Bank International Plc where he left indelible communications, brand and marketing stamps as Assistant, Deputy General Manager and Group Head of Corporate Communications. Mr Chiejina has repositioned communications service delivery at Dangote Industries Limited. As group chief branding and communications officer, he oversees all communications strategies across business units and the groups pan-African operations. Mr Chiejina has been with the company for 14 years in senior communications roles overseeing the groups scooping of awards across the African continent. The Dangote Group has been named the most admired/favourite indigenous brand on the continent for the last six years by Brand Africa. This year it came second in a newly introduced sustainability category for brands doing good for people, society and the environment. The (Dangote) brand portends the inevitability of Nigerias global ascendancy and a gateway to regional and continental development, Mr Chiejina says of his employer. Mr Chiejina is a recipient of numerous academic distinctions and awards including Salzburg Fellow for Gifted Mid-Career Professional, Austria; British Government Scholarship for Graduate Studies, Netherlands Fellowship, University of Lagos Scholar 1982 and 1984, University of Oslo, Norway, Fellowship, and Fellow of the Oxford University Centre of Corporate Reputation. He is also a member of the American Public Relations Association, the British Public Relations Association, an Associate Member, of the Institute of Directors, and a Fellow of the Association of Sustainability Professionals of Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has mocked Nigerians who plan to take part in the nationwide protest against economic hardship, saying he and other members of the National Assembly would be eating while they (Nigerians) protest. Mr Akpabio stated this on Tuesday at the Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities, Youths and Women Group Sensitisation Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The event, organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was broadcast live on Arise TV. A video clip of Mr Akpabio making the remark has also gone viral on social media. Akpabios remark During the event, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, said the Niger Delta region was not interested in a change of government in Nigeria. Speaking shortly after, Mr Akpabio said Nigerians should exercise patience over the current economic hardship in Nigeria which he said would end soon. All of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while, he said, apparently referring to the current economic hardship in the country. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The senate president then corroborated Mr Ogbukus comments that the people of the Niger Delta were not interested in a change of government in Nigeria. Managing Director, I want to thank you for what you said. You said we are not interested in regime change; let us own this government. Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating, Mr Akpabio remarked. Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, is known for often making controversial remarks over serious national issues. The Senate president lamented the impact of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region. We acknowledge the fact that the impact of oil and gas activities in our region has done immeasurable damage to our people, he said. Mr Akpabio assured that the National Assembly was ready to help with necessary legislation to fight oil spillage and environmental pollution in the region. The specific issues faced by the Niger Delta must be contained in that communique because we are going to make it available to Mr President, he said. The ones that need legislation will come to us (National Assembly members), the ones that need intervention will go to NDDC, the ones that need more money will go to the president and commander-in-chief and I assure you that those issues will be addressed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has ordered protesters to limit their demonstrations to the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, less than 24 hours before the kick-off of a nationwide anti-government protest on Thursday. For weeks, there has been an intense online mobilisation for the protest against President Bola Tinubus handling of the economy, which has been blamed for the deepening hardship many citizens are grappling with. The organisers tagged the planned demonstration as the #EndBadGovernance protest. For those participating in the protest, the FCT High Court ordered on Wednesday that they are restrained by an order of interim injunction from gathering in any other place in the federal capital pending a further hearing. Judge Sylvanus Oriji, who gave the ruling at the instance of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, a vocal opponent of the planned demonstrations, also restrained the protesters from preventing residents in the FCT, Abuja, from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement and from destroying or vandalising properties or public facilities. Mr Wike applied for the orders through an ex parte motion on Wednesday, less than a week after threatening that the federal capital was not available for protest. The judge also granted the ministers prayer for an order directing the police and other security agencies to provide the protesters adequate protection within the Moshood Abiola Stadium Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, throughout the period of the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Oriji, who recognised the protesters right to protest peacefully, ordered Mr Wike to serve the filings on the defendants/respondents through a substituted means by publishing them in a newspaper and print media. It could not be ascertained if the defendants would be served with the court before the protest begins on Thursday. The judge fixed further hearing in the case for 13 August, three days before the protest was billed to have ended. Ex parte order against Sowore and unknown persons On Wednesday, Mr Wikes legal team, led by Onoja Ugwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, requested the orders through an ex parte application. The judge heard the application in the absence of the respondents on Wednesday. Courts have the power to hear applications filed as ex-parte motions in the absence of adversarial parties. They can also use their discretion to direct the applicant to put the other parties on notice should they consider the issue to be contentious. Chief among the respondents is a prominent activist, Omoyele Sowore, who leads a bloc of protesters styled as the Take It Back movement. They also include a key figure of the Take It Back movement, Damilare Adenola. The respondents also include Adama Ukpabi and Tosin Harsogba, both representing the Active Citizens Group. The fifth respondent, named persons unknown, appears to be listed to capture as many people as possible who will join the protest in Abuja. The rest of the respondents are the security agencies the court ordered to protect the protesters in the national stadium in Abuja. They are the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, the Director of the Security State Service (SSS), the Director General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief Naval Staff. Protest and countermoves Organisers said they mobilised for the protest to pressure Mr Tinubus administration to address its policies, which are bringing hardship to many Nigerians. Costs of living attributable to last years removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira by the government have skyrocketed since Mr Tinubus administration came on board last year. The president and top aides, including Mr Wike, have discouraged the hardly known protest organisers to shelve the protest plan. Many groups who are either afraid that the protest could turn violent or are convinced by the governments assurances of its commitment to addressing the protesters concerns have also joined Mr TinubusTinubus administrations call to cancel the demonstrations. On Wednesday, the eve of the protest, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, appealed to the protest organisers to pull back. Here are the orders given by the court in full. In the light of the above, the court considers it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are guaranteed and that the protest does not negatively or adversely affect the rights of other citizens to move about and to ensure that properties and other public facilities are not destroyed. The court hereby makes the following orders: 1). Leave is granted to the claimant/ applicant to serve the originating processes (Writ of Summons) and all subsequent processes in this suit on the defendants/respondents by substituted means to wit: through newspaper publications and print media. 2). The 1st to 5th defendants/respondents, while embarking on the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 in exercise of their constitutional rights are to use the Moshood Abiola Stadium in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja only and are restrained by an Order of Interim Injunction from gathering in any other place pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice. 3). The 1st to 5th defendants/respondents while embarking on the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 are restrained by an Order of Interim Injunction from preventing residents in the FCT, Abuja, from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement and from destroying or vandalizing properties or public facilities pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice. 4). The 1st to 5th defendants/Respondents are directed to give the 1st to 5th defendants/ Respondents adequate protection within the Moshood Abiola Stadium Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, throughout the period of the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice. 5). The Motion on Notice for order of interlocutory injunction with motion No. M/1129/2024 is fixed for hearing on 13/8/2024. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An angry Nigerian has expressed frustration over the unemployment rate in the country, lamenting that the POS business appears to be the only employment for the poor for now in the country. The Nigerian, Emmanuel Edunam, stated this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday at Ibom Plaza, a popular recreational hub in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital. POS is our only employment now in Nigeria, he said at the sideline of the nationwide protest against bad governance in Nigeria. Good jobs are reserved for children of the elites immediately after graduation, he added. Speaking further, Mr Edunam called on governments to expand employment to the poor, reduce petrol and food price. He said Nigerians were tired of the economic hardship. Youths in Nigeria have taken to the streets to protest bad governance and the cost of living crisis. The youths who are using social media to mobilise other youths in the country are making several demands, including the reversal of the hike in the price of electricity. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The youths have ignored the appeals by the federal and state governments to shelve protests. In Uyo, some youths defied the rain to protest around the Ibom Plaza. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The peaceful protest in Abuja is turning chaotic after police officers fired tear gas indiscriminately at protesters. The police fired tear gas indiscriminately in an attempt to prevent the protesters from accessing the iconic Eagle Square ground in the Three Arms Zone. As of 12:30 p.m., the scene around the Head of Service Complex resembles a war zone, with protesters throwing back the tear gas canisters at the police officers. Despite the use of force to disperse the protesters, they remain undeterred and are regrouping. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the protesters had peacefully marched from the Moshood Abiola Stadium to Eagle Square without any incident. As soon as the protesters approached the Eagle Square, chaos ensued. The police took up tactical positions around the protesters and sporadically fired tear gas at them. Despite the polices actions, the crowd has not dispersed. Many protesters have regrouped around the Ministry of Finance, blocking Ahmadu Bello Way and pushing back towards the police. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later At the time of this report, the protesters have remained peaceful and have refused to resort to violence. The protesters are demanding a reversal of government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol. They say the policies have worsened the economic situation in the country with Nigeria now witnessing its worst cost of living crisis in a generation. Follow our live coverage of the protests here. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The #EndBadGovernance protests organised across Nigeria have turned violent in major cities such as Kano, Gombe, and Abuja. In some cases, the violence was caused by the actions of security officials while in others, the violence occurred due to the actions of some overzealous protesters or counter-protesters. The protest started peacefully in all aforementioned states as well as others monitored by PREMIUM TIMES. Background Thousands of Nigerians began a 10-day nationwide protest on Thursday to express their frustration over lingering economic hardship. President Bola Tinubu has said he recognises the right to peaceful protests. Still, his administration is wary of the dangers associated with demonstrations that are vulnerable to being hijacked by criminals. The president, as well as other relevant officials of his cabinet, have urged the youth to shelve the protest, saying the protests are unwarranted and politically motivated. On Thursday, the protest organisers in Abuja and other parts of the country called for the reversal of the fuel price hike, the restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and the reduction of import duties to their previous rates. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later As displayed in some of the placards carried by the demonstrators, the protesters also called for the reversal of many institutions hikes in tertiary education fees, the security of farmlands for farmers, and a reduction in the prices of staple foods, among other things. They are also demanding full transparency and accountability in governance, including the public disclosure and reduction of public officials salaries and allowances and an emergency fund to support SMEs. Violent protests In Abuja, protesters moving towards the three Arms Zones were tear-gassed in a bid to disperse them and prevent them from accessing the area. The zone is where the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the Aso Villa are located. Armoured Personnel Carriers conveying soldiers and police operatives were deployed to prevent the protesters from entering the Three-Arms Zone. Earlier, Abuja protesters at the entrance of the MKO Abiola stadium were told by the police to go inside the stadium. They refused and instead commenced a march towards Eagle Square, close to the Three Arms Zone. PREMIUM TIMES reporters on the ground observed that in an attempt to prevent the protesters from accessing the iconic Eagle Square around the Three Arms Zone, the police fired tear gas indiscriminately. As soon as the protesters approached Eagle Square, chaos ensued. The police stationed at strategic points took up tactical positions around the protesters and fired tear gas at them. However, instead of dispersing, the protesters are regrouping. Many protesters have regrouped around the Ministry of Finance, blocking Ahmadu Bello Way and pushing back towards the police. Many people were injured, and police specifically targeted journalists and arrested at least two of them, including a PREMIUM TIMES journalist whose phone was seized after he was beaten despite identifying himself as a journalist. The police also used tear gas to disperse another set of protesters at the NYSC junction in Kubwa. In Kano state, the protest turned violent after some protesters took to the streets with dangerous weapons. At about 10:15 a.m., Kano protesters invaded a popular Rufaidah Yoghurt store in Hadejia Road, Kano, and went on a looting spree. The protesters also looted a yet to be commissioned industrial park belonging to the Nigeria Communications Commission. Similarly, the peaceful protests in Gombe took a dramatic turn as clashes erupted, leading to a chaotic scene that required the intervention of security officials. Local leaders and community organisations have called for calm and dialogue to address the underlying issues that sparked the protest. Efforts are being made to engage with protest organisers and government officials to find a resolution and prevent further unrest. Follow PREMIUM TIMES live updates of the protests here. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Growth at the University of South Carolina could lead to the demolition of some Greek Village houses on the schools campus. In favor of new ones, of course. The Greek Village, a charming neighborhood of elaborate mansions off Blossom Street, is home to 20 fraternities and sororities. About 700 students are able to live there. While some Greek life chapters have as many as 200 or 300 members, many of the houses can only accommodate about 40 beds, USC architect Derek Gruner said at a USC board of trustees meeting on Tuesday. Usually even less. All but two houses in the Greek Village Chi Psi and Alpha Chi Omega are two stories, due to Greek Village design guidelines and regulations set forth by USC in 2000. So when the Delta Zeta sorority asked the university about tearing down their house to build a new one with three stories, Gruner wanted to bring it to the board to open the discussion. I am in support of this idea, Gruner said. I have felt like Greek Village is a victim of its own success. Bigger fraternity and sorority houses would allow for more students to live in the village, and might take some of the pressure off of USCs growing need for student housing. In the fall of 2023, 35,590 students attended USC, more than 4,300 more than the 31,288 students in 2013. As undergraduate enrollment increases, the universitys on-campus accommodations are stretched thin. At a USC board retreat in January, Gruner identified the need for more housing, and a bigger Greek Village as part of the solution. While there are no immediate plans for construction, university officials said on Tuesday that if it happens, other fraternities and sororities will likely follow suit. A more robust Greek Village has long been a part of USCs master plan, which noted an uptick in Greek life. Last year, the university was aiming to buy three acres of property at the south end of campus, sandwiched between the village and the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center. The parcels were owned by Norfolk Southern Railway at the time, and were already leased to USC for recreational fields or for parking. At the time, the owners and the university had yet to agree on the price of the properties. According to Richland County records, they are still owned by the railroad. However, USCs campus master plan had designated the area for future Greek Village development, and it would be an optimal location if the Greek Village were to expand, documents show. The plan proposed three mansion-style houses and three to four townhouse-style residences on the property. Greek Villages 20 housing facilities accommodate less than half of USCs 47 Greek life organizations. While these houses sit on university property, the buildings are owned and managed by USCs fraternities and sororities. The police have imposed a 24-hour curfew in Borno State after 16 people were killed and 20 others injured in a suicide attack. The attack was recorded in Kauri, a village in Konduga Local Government Area of the state. The police spokesperson in the state, Nahum Daso, in a statement in Maiduguri, said the curfew was imposed following the bomb attack that killed many innocent citizens. Mr Nahum said the decision followed consultation between Governor Babagana Zulum and heads of security agencies in the state and was taken to forestall further security breaches in the state. The curfew is a measure to prevent further loss of life and property, and to allow security agencies to maintain control and ensure public safety. Residents are advised to stay indoors and avoid movements during the curfew period, he said. He urged the people of the state to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring that further developments would be communicated accordingly. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later NAN reports that a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a marketplace in Kauri, a rural community in the Konduga area of Borno. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. on Wednesday at the market area, which operates at night every day. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A bomb attack in Kawuri village in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State on Wednesday night left 19 dead and 24 injured, state officials say. The blast by suspected Boko Haram terrorists took place at a tea joint, a common evening gathering spot for the locals. Muhammad Barkindo, the director-general of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), confirmed the sad incident. Initially, we evacuated 20 injured persons to the State Specialist Hospital last night, and later this morning, four more were brought in with severe injuries. The police have since imposed a 24-hour curfew to prevent further attacks. In consultation with heads of security in the state, we find it expedient to declare a 24-hour curfew with immediate effect, Nahum Daso, the police spokesperson, said. We will update this report as soon as we get more information Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Amnesty International Nigeria has criticised the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, over his insensitive and reckless comment against Nigerians. Mr Akpabio, on Tuesday, mocked Nigerians planning to participate in the nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country, saying that he and other members of the National Assembly would be eating while they (Nigerians) protest. Mr Akpabio stated this at the Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities, Youths and Women Group Sensitisation Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating, Mr Akpabio remarked. The event, organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was broadcast live on Arise TV. A video clip of Mr Akpabio making the remark has gone viral on social media. Taunting people seeking accountability is unacceptable Amnesty International strongly condemns the insensitive and reckless comments attributed to the President of the Senate Godswill Obot Akpabio regarding plans of some Nigerians to peacefully protest current economic hardship, the rights group said in a statement posted on X, Thursday. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Taunting people seeking accountability is unacceptable: Millions of Nigerians are currently on the brink of starvation because of corruption and mismanagement, and mocking them is a stain on the exalted office held by Mr Akpabio. Harmful and irresponsible rhetorics from government officials at this difficult time must end, it added. Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, is known for often making controversial and embarrassing remarks over serious national issues. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on all parties in the planned nationwide protests to avoid actions that might undermine the democracy of Nigeria. This was contained in an Advisory read and signed by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN) on Wednesday in Abuja at a media briefing. According to Mr Ojukwu, the right to freedom of association and assembly enables individuals to express themselves which leads to shaping their societies. This Advisory is issued pursuant to the legal and inherent powers of the National Human Rights Commission in section 5(l)(m)(o) of the National Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Act, 2010 under the following principles: This Advisory shall be applicable to the conduct and management of all protests in Nigeria and other actions leading to the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly and other associated rights therefrom, he said. This advisory, according to Mr Ojukwu, is issued to all persons and authorities exercising powers over law enforcement, security, intelligence and military affairs. He added it also applies to all persons exercising executive, legislative and judicial powers in the federal, state or local government. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later All persons organising protests and assemblies in Nigeria whatever name called and who seek to enjoy or realise the aforesaid rights to freedom of association and assembly and all the associated rights and duties thereto. All civil society, media and professional organisations and bodies who has mandate to promote the rule of law, accountability governance, peace and human rights in accordance with the Fundament Rights and the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria he said. He explained that the right to freedom of association and assembly are enshrined in our laws in Nigeria, regional and international. Mr Ojukwu noted that the decision of the Court of Appeal on this issue aligned with international human rights standards regarding freedom of expression and assembly, with the following principles. Citizens do not require police permits to hold peaceful protests. Notification to law enforcement about planned assemblies does not equate to seeking permission but serves as an avenue for ensuring safety and orderly conduct of protests and assemblies. Law enforcement agencies must respect citizens rights while maintaining public order without infringing upon constitutional freedoms. Citizens and protesters have the consequential obligations to ensure orderly conduct, respect for law and the security of other citizens and public and private properties, he said. In its recommendation, the commission urged the government at all levels to uphold the Fundamental Human Rights and the Fundamental Objectives of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria. To the law enforcement agencies, it called for adherence to the recommendations of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. To the protesters; ensure that the protest is peaceful and avoid provocative actions such as carrying arms, hate speeches, attacks on law enforcement and security agencies or looting of public and private properties. Ensure that the protest remains peaceful and law-abiding. Violence and destruction of property will undermine the legitimacy of the protest. While the right to protest is guaranteed, the protection of critical infrastructure is also essential, he said. Mr Ojukwu said that through dialogue, respect for human rights, and adherence to the rule of law, it is possible to address the grievances of the protesters while maintaining public order. The NHRC, therefore, called on all parties to avoid actions that could endanger public safety or damage private and public properties as well as undermine Nigerias democracy. The NHRC will deploy its protective and promotional mandates to monitor every protest in Nigeria and ensure that the aforementioned human rights principles are observed by state and non-state actors. We will operete a -24- hour situation room to monitor the protest with a toll-free line 6472, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Twenty-five civil society organisations (CSOs) have cancelled their participation in the protest scheduled for 1-10 August after a town hall meeting hosted by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen. Executive Director of the Centre for Change and Democracy Studies, Matthew Nabut, said this on behalf of the group in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Nabut did not, however, disclose the names of the organisations in the statement. He said the meeting, which was held on Wednesday, provided a platform for open dialogue and led to a resolution after productive interactions with Mr Tajudeen. We came here prepared to protest because we felt our voices were not being heard. However, after engaging with Speaker Abass and seeing the sincerity in his approach, we believe that dialogue is the way forward. We have decided to cancel the planned protest and give the government the opportunity to act on their promises, Mr Nabut said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said the protest was initially scheduled in response to what the NGOs and CSOs perceived as government inaction on critical issues affecting the youth. He said that the decision to organise the protest was made after several attempts to engage with policymakers yielded unsatisfactory results. According to him, the town hall meeting was therefore seen as a last-ditch effort to avert the protest and find common ground. NAN reports that the town hall meeting, which was convened to address the grievances and demands of various youth-led organisations, saw robust participation from diverse groups across the country. Mr Tajudeen, while speaking, emphasised the governments commitment to addressing their concerns and highlighted on-going aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of youths This government recognises the critical role that our youth play in shaping the future of our nation. We are dedicated to creating an environment where their voices are heard, and their contributions are valued, Mr Tajudeen said. He said the purpose of this town hall meeting was to ensure that the government understood youths concerns and work together towards sustainable solutions. Responding to the cancellation, the Deputy Spokesperson of House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, commended the speakers initiative, describing it as a masterstroke. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Hoodlums blocked a highway to Abuja at the popular Mararaba junction in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Thursday. The hoodlums blocked the road and burned tyres. The News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) reports that the protesters and hoodlums, who hindered motorists from accessing the road, were seen holding placards and leaves. NAN also reports that fully armed police officers were seen trying to curtail them as residents fled in different directions. All the plazas and shops, motor parks along the roads and the popular Mararaba market are under lock and key. The organisers of the protests are calling for the reversal of the fuel price hike, the restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and the reduction of import duties to their previous rates. The groups also demand the reversal of many institutions hikes in tertiary education fees. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later They also demand full transparency and accountability in governance, including public disclosure and reduction of public officials salaries and allowances, as well as an emergency fund to support small and medium enterprises. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria took a deadly turn in Katsina State, on Thursday, as two people lost their lives and some churches were vandalised. The protest began peacefully but quickly escalated into violence. It was observed from videos circulating that the situation spiralled out of control, with some individuals taking advantage of the chaos to loot and destroy properties. #EndBadGovernance protest Nigerians took to the streets on Thursday to commence a 10-day nationwide protest, expressing their frustration over the countrys lingering economic hardship. The EndBadGovernance protest is a nationwide movement in Nigeria, sparked by growing frustration and discontent among citizens over the countrys deteriorating socio-economic conditions, insecurity, and perceived poor leadership. Nigeria, Africas most populous nation, has been grappling with numerous challenges, including a rising unemployment and poverty rate. The countrys infrastructure and public services have also been deteriorating, leading to perceived government insensitivity and lack of accountability. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The protests, led by civil society organisations, youth groups, and opposition parties, aim to demand improved governance and leadership, accountability and transparency, economic reforms and job creation, enhanced security and protection of citizens, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. The movement gained momentum on social media, with the hashtag #EndBadGovernance trending across platforms. Protesters demands The protesters are seeking the reversal of the fuel price hike, restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and reduction of import duties to previous rates. They are also demanding the reversal of hikes in tertiary education fees, the security of farmlands for farmers, and a reduction in the prices of staple foods. Furthermore, they are calling for full transparency and accountability in governance, including public disclosure and reduction of public officials salaries and allowances, as well as an emergency fund to support SMEs. The government called on the youths to shun protests. Despite the Presidents acknowledgement of the right to peaceful protests, his administration has expressed concerns about the potential dangers associated with demonstrations, citing the risk of hijacking by criminals. Mr Tinubu and his cabinet officials have urged the youth to abandon the protest, dismissing it as unwarranted and politically motivated. However, protest organisers in Abuja and other parts of the country remain resolute, calling for a range of economic reforms. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Residents of Kwara State, particularly in Ilorin, the state capital, shunned the #EndBadGovernance observed in many states in Nigeria on Thursday. Most people stayed indoors for fear of the unknown, except the few individuals who gathered to discuss the situations in the country. Even the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, which the State High Court on Wednesday ruled for use for any protest, was empty. There were no protesters in and around the venue except security operatives deployed there to maintain law and order. Most shops along major streets in Ilorin, such as Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Unity Road, New Yidi Road, Asa Dam Road and Airport Road opened late, but there was vehicular movement. Officers of NSCDS, the police, and the army took strategic positions at the ever-busy Post Office area and nearby Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office. Some petty traders also went about their businesses as security officers checked vehicles plying the major streets. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later However, commercial banks did not open their gates to customers. POS operators capitalised on the situation as people queued up to withdraw cash from them. Many people in the state had been apprehensive of violence that usually trailed protests and stayed indoors for the early part of the day. It would be recalled that traditional rulers, lawmakers and government officials had appealed to the youth not to join in the protest, urging them to embrace dialogue and constructive engagement. Police CP reacts Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES in Kwara State, the state commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, commended the people of the state for not joining the action. Mr Olaiya described Kwaran as a state of peace and harmony. He said there was no incident, explaining that most people went about their businesses peacefully. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Today is Day 1 of the #EndBadGovernance protest, which organisers aim to run nationwide for 10 days. The protest begins Thursday amid concerns of many Nigerians who are still gripped by the memories of the violent outcomes of the 2020 anti-police brutality #EndSARS demonstrations. Many have taken precautionary measures to stay away from work, while others have opted for an early shutdown of their businesses. On Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES observed that some traders in Irepodun market, an open-air market in Ikotun, Lagos, shut their stalls almost 24 hours before the protest. A supermarket in the area announced that it would close earlier than usual. The Nigerian government, scrambling to find a way to stop the protest, has repeatedly cited the horrific consequences of the 2020 demonstrations and recent events in Kenya to discourage the organisers from going ahead with the planned mass action. The government has accused the protest organisers of being politically motivated and claimed that the protest is an attempt to discredit the nearly one-year-old administration of President Bola Tinubu. On the other hand, many remain optimistic about the protest despite the governments relentless efforts to discourage it. Supporters of the nationwide protest view it as an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with President Tinubus economic policies, which they believe have caused widespread hardship. They also highlight corruption issues, general misgovernance, and the nations weak justice and accountability systems. Nevertheless, the protest has been gaining momentum, heightening anxiety among both supporters and opponents of the protest. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later But who are the organisers, who likely have the ambitious goal of mobilising thousands of Nigerians to the streets nationwide today and in the next nine days? Are their intentions genuinely political? There has yet to be a formal identification of the central leadership of the demonstration. Perhaps it doesnt exist. However, civil society organisations, human rights activists, and opposition figures have supported the nationwide protest. Some of the well-known personalities include Deji Adeyanju, Aisha Yesufu, Inibehe Effiong, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Labour Partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Two prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria Femi Falana and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa have justified the protest and warned the government against instigating violence to discredit it. Human rights activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has also organised members of the Take It Back movement to lead the protests in different parts of the country. However, many lesser-known organisers are mobilising support for the protest through social media platforms, especially X (formerly Twitter). Here are snippets of the contributions of some of these known personalities Omoyele Sowore Mr Sowore has accused the Nigerian government of sowing fear of violence during the protest to scare away potential supporters from joining the demonstration. He said the hardship and hunger Nigerians grapple with every day reflect President Tinubus performance in office. He added that the governments move to label the protests as political is an act of disrespect to the sensibility of every Nigerian. Pain and hunger have no political affiliation. Everyone is suffering. To suggest that there are political colourations to the underlying causes for the protest is to minimise and disrespect the real economic pain that Nigerians are dealing with, he told PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Sowore has been a leading voice against social injustice and economic hardship in Nigeria. Mr Soworefounded the AAC in 2018 and ran for president on the partys platform during the 2019 and 2023 general elections. He lost in both elections. In 2019, he was arrested by the State Security Services (SSS) and charged with treasonable felony over his #RevolutionNow protest. He was at the forefront of the #EndSARS protest, which turned violent after the government clampdown. In 2020, the protest to end police brutality left in its wake mass destruction, looting, prison breaks, and extra-judicial killing after hoodlums hijacked the protest. Mr Sowore blames the Nigerian government for the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest. Wherever you see protests turn violent, it is the high-handedness of the government and their security agencies that cause it. We are calling for peaceful protests, Mr Sowore said. Peter Obi Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, is perhaps the most criticised supporter of the planned nationwide protest. On his X handle on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused the former governor of Anambra State of plotting to unseat President Tinubu after failing to win the general elections last year. The malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. He should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action. They are attempting to call out our people via propaganda because their Messiah, Peter Obi, failed to win the Presidency in the 2023 election. As bad losers, they dont have the patience to wait for another election in 2027; they would rather destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr Onanuga wrote. In response to the allegations, Mr Obi demanded a retraction of the statement, an apology, and a compensation of N5 billion. But in a counter-response, the presidential aide called Mr Obis bluff, saying, Let me just tell Obi and his lawyer: I am not afraid of any legal action. We shall meet in court. Aisha Yesufu A social critic, Aisha Yesufu, on her X handle, said if elections could be held despite threats of electoral violence, peaceful protests to draw attention to economic hardship in the land must be welcomed. If Nigeria did not stop the election because of the violence that happens during elections, it should not stop protest because of the violence it says happens during the protest which by the way is instigated by the government, she said. Mrs Yesufu, who backed Mr Obi for president in 2023, co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement in the wake of the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, North-east Nigeria, in 2014. The Kano-born activist was at the forefront of the #EndSARS protest in 2020 and has since lent her voice to demands for good governance and electoral fairness. Atiku Abubakar Atiku, who is a former Nigerias Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Partys presidential candidate for 2019 and 2023, criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) government for attempting to suppress the citizens right to protest despite leading a similar protest against fuel subsidy removal in 2012. It is deeply ironic that those who now seek to stifle these rights were themselves leading protests in 2012. A responsible government must ensure a SAFE and SECURE environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to PEACEFUL PROTEST. Any attempt to suppress these rights is not only unconstitutional but a direct affront to our democracy, he said. Protests in Nigeria Nigeria has seen major protests in its colonial and post-independence history. One such protest was the 2012 #OccupyNigeria protest against the removal of fuel subsidies and eventual pump price hikes by then-President Goodluck Jonathans administration. Interestingly, President Tinubu, a key opposition party member, lent support to the 2012 protest against the Jonathan administration. ALSO READ: Court orders Abuja protesters to restrict demonstrations to stadium Analysts believe that the then-President Jonathans unpopular removal of fuel subsidies and rising insecurity paved the way for the APC to win the 2015 presidential election. Could this be part of the reasons this protest has rattled the APC government? Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Governing Council of the Federal College of Education, Technical (FCET) has announced the appointment of Isaac Miller as the acting provost of the institution. In an internal memo on Wednesday referencing FCE/T/AK/RO/IM/2/206 and signed by the Registrar of the College, Rasheed Dada, the council said Wahab Azeez should step down as the provost effective 31 July. This is in reaction to the crisis in the college that has lingered for over three months and degenerated into violence on Monday when some workers and students reportedly attacked the Chairman of the Governing Council, Olatunde Adenuga, and other council members, vandalising cars and properties. The Lagos State Police Command also confirmed the arrest of 32 persons in connection with the violence. This is to inform the College Community that at the inaugural meeting of the 8th Governing Council of the College on Tuesday, 30 July 2024, the Council directed that Wahab Ademola Azeez should step aside from office as the Provost of the College with effect from 31 July 2024, the statement reads in part. Sequel to the above, the Council at the same meeting unanimously resolved to appoint Dr. Isaac Oluwatoyin Miller as the Acting Provost with immediate effect. Backstory Some protesting unions on the campus since 27 May locked up the office of the Provost of the College, Wahab Azeez, and issued him a notice to quit his official residence over his tenure of office. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The protest was organised by the leadership of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN), FCET chapter, and other unions under the umbrella of concerned staff. The protesters insisted that with the amendment of the Educational Colleges Act 2023, which introduced a five-year single term of office for provosts and other principal officers of the colleges, the tenure of Mr Azeez had ended on 26 May. However, the provost said he was appointed for the first term of four years in 2019 and that having been duly reappointed by the institutions governing council in 2023, he already resumed his second term in office on 27 May 2023 before the amended act was signed into law on 12 June 2023. Following letters by the unions seeking clarification on the tenure of office of the provost based on the amended act, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, wrote the unions, affirming the legality of Mr Azeezs second term of four years. The protesters ignored the ministers verdict and continued to stage daily protests on the campus, denying management members access to their offices. Mr Mamman, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, subsequently met with the warring parties in Abuja, and resolutions were made. Resolutions Despite signing resolutions reached at a reconciliatory meeting chaired by Mr Sununu, some workers of FCET continued to threaten a showdown should Mr Azeez return to the office. The resolutions signed by the representatives of the ministry, the governing council, and the staff unions included the reopening of the office of the colleges provost and his return to the office. The meeting ordered an end to the prolonged protest by the workers, and the governing council chaired by Olatunde Adenuga was asked to meet with them to address the issues. The meeting also mandated the new council to investigate the concerns raised by the staff, including the alleged misappropriation of funds reportedly approved for the colleges fencing and the appointment of the colleges bursar. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Businesses have been grounded in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with many retail shops in the city not opening as at 8 a.m., on Thursday, the first day of the nationwide protest against bad governance in Nigeria. Worst affected areas along Ikot Ekpene Road, Oron Road, and Wellington Bassey Way which leads to the Government House, Uyo. Ibom Plaza, a popular commercial centre in Uyo, is deserted this morning. Meanwhile, the nationwide protest is yet to commence in the city at the time of filing this report but police operatives were seen at strategic positions in the city. In a meeting earlier in the week, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State had appealed to youths in the state not to join the planned protest, assuring that his administration was taking measures to address hardship facing the people of the state. President Bola Tinubu has also appealed to the youths to shelve the protest, with some officials of his administration saying the protest was politically motivated. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The protest organisers who are deploying social media including X (formerly Twitter) to mobilise the people are demanding reversal of petrol price hike, restoration of affordable electricity tariffs, and the reduction of import duties. Although the protest is yet to commence in Uyo, some police operatives on duty are seen welding guns and tying red armbands. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print At least 11 buses filled with No protest protesters arrived at the premises of Moshood Abiola National Stadium at about 9:35 a.m. on Thursday, the first day of the planned 10-day protests. Three of them told PREMIUM TIMES in separate interviews that they were promised N5,000 each to participate in the anti-protest. Two also said they were picked up from Asokoro village, a large sprawling settlement behind the highbrow Asokoro District where some wealthy and influentiallive. A man, believed to be their leader, who arrived at the venue in a black Toyota SUV with an Abuja plate number marked KWL 895 CH, was seen instructing them on what to do. One of the participants, who identified himself as Sabiu, told this newspaper that they were promised N5,000 each. He added that N2,000 had been paid to each of them and that the remaining N3,000 would be paid after the protests. Two others, who gave their names as Muhammad and Abdulkareem, said they were picked up at the Asokoro village. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later However, it is unclear if government officials hired them as they claim not to know. Several government officials have appealed to the protest organisers not to embark on the action as they were trying to address the economic hardship in the country. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print At least 28 journalists, including a PREMIUM TIMES reporter, were either arrested or attacked while covering the #EndBadGovernance protests across Nigeria. On Thursday, police officers hit Yakubu Mohammed, a conflict reporter with PREMIUM TIMES, with the butt of their gun and their batons until he sustained injuries on his head. He was then arrested and briefly detained in a police van placed near the Head of Service Building in the Secretariat area of Abuja. Mr Mohammed was wearing a press vest that clearly identified him as a journalist and also presented his identity card to the police officers. They told me they were not concerned about my ID card and that they had even arrested an NUJ chairman earlier, Mr Mohammed told his editors minutes after he was released. Mr Mohammed and other PREMIUM TIMES journalists joined their colleagues from other newsrooms to cover the #EndBadGovernance protest in Abuja. This newspaper reported how the protest turned rowdy after the police fired tear gas at protesters. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Targeted Recounting his ordeal, Mr Mohammed said he believes he was targeted because I was filming the moment they turned violent against the protesters. He said he was recording some protesters chanting slogans when the police officers turned on him. A policeman wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet just raced towards me and grabbed my trousers, Mr Mohammed recalled. All my efforts to identify and explain myself to him were rebuffed. The policeman, who was later joined by other officers, asked me to kneel down and submit my phone but I refused, he continued, adding that the officers resorted to brutalising him until they forcefully took his phone and threw him inside the police van. They later released him and gave him back his phone. Mr Mohammed sustained a head injury and pain on his right shoulder. 28 journalists victimised by police and hoodlums Apart from Mr Mohammed and Jide Oyekunle, the Abuja NUJ chairman, 12 other journalists were assaulted by police operatives in Abuja, Cross River and Borno states, according to the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). The failure of the police to provide adequate security also emboldened hoodlums to attack journalists. In Delta State, journalists were attacked by pro-government protesters who assaulted protesters intending to disrupt their demonstration, CJID noted in a statement signed by Busola Ajibola, the organisations Deputy Director, Journalism Program. Some of the journalists who fell victim to this attack are Guardian Newspaper reporter Monday Osayande and Punch Newspaper reporter Matthew Ochei. They were both attacked while interviewing protesters. Weapon-bearing hoodlums also injured a reporter with African Independent Television (AIT), while covering the Thursday protest. About eleven journalists were also attacked in a Channels TV vehicle, and in the process, TVC correspondent Ibrahim Isah was injured while trying to escape the scene, the organisation added. The police are yet to issue a statement about the attacks on journalists covering the protests despite allegations by the Abuja NUJ chairman who said the FCT police commissioner, Beneth Igwe, ordered the assault on him and other journalists covering the Abuja protest. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police in Zaria, Kaduna State have dispersed protesters who blocked the Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway. The protesters had earlier blocked the Gwargwaje junction, a section of the Kaduna -Zaria- Kano expressway, causing a gridlock of trucks travelling to Kano. Police officers tried to convince the youth to allow free vehicular movement, but they were stoned by the youth, prompting the security officers to throw tear gas at them. Meanwhile, the situation was brought under control after the protesters resisted the action and returned to the road, blocking vehicular movement. The police, however, later allowed the youth to continue with the blockage of the road and the gridlock persisted. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The anticipated #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to take off nationwide on 1 August failed to take place on Thursday in Ekiti, as no protester was seen at the Fajuyi park, the usual venue for such events. Most roads were also devoid of activity or any form of protest. Recall that the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, had on Wednesday vowed to ensure protection of lives and property of citizens of the state in the wake of the planned protests. Mr Oyebanji said Nigeria and its people cannot afford another massive destruction of our economic base as witnessed during the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of many private and government infrastructure. Addressing the people of Ekiti State in a statewide broadcast on Wednesday morning, the governor expressed concern that the planned protest has the potential to degenerate into violence and reverse his administrations steady progress to shared prosperity. In addition, the state government had met with various interest groups including monarchs, student leaders, market women, artisans, drivers unions and the security agencies with the goal of nipping the protest in the bud. It was also learnt that the Local Government chairmen were directed to use all means possible to prevent the protest from taking place in their domains. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later However, when PREMIUM TIMES visited the usual convergent point at Fajuyi park in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, there were no protesters, except armed security forces that cordoned off the area. At the State Secretariat and some other offices visited, workers stayed away from work as the doors were locked. But when PREMIUM TIMES visited the bank road, the banks along the corridor were opened for business, while shops around the area were also opened for business. A visit to some markets in the state capital, including Bisi market and Okeisa market, also showed that people were busy buying and selling. Meanwhile, Yoruba elders under the auspices of the Yoruba Leaders of Thought lauded the youth for shunning the protest. The leaders of thought, who declared their opposition when they addressed journalists in Ado Ekiti, urged youths in other states to think of those who depend on daily incomes to survive before embarking on long strikes with processions. Briefing journalists, the National Leader of the group and ex-permanent secretary, Tajudeen Olusi, said that most of the complaints of the youths, especially hunger, are being addressed by the government. Mr Olusi, who was represented by the National Secretary, Bayo Aina, said that the government has opened its door for people to bring food without paying any tariff, in addition to the free distribution of foods as palliatives. We have total aversion for a strike that will last 10 days. It is abnormal. We are not opposed to a protest, but a protest that will last long will degenerate to an unanticipated and undesirable outcome, and we dont want it. We urge people to go about their lawful duties without fear of molestation, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Hoodlums, armed with various weapons, on Thursday, took to the streets in parts of Kano metropolis, attacking shops and offices, looting property, and engaging in mob actions. The marauding hoodlums were seen carrying off items such as office furniture, air conditioners, and metal signboards. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a bus carrying journalists from various media outlets were also attacked along Sokoto Road. The hoodlums used sticks and machetes to shatter the bus windows, injuring TVC and Leadership reporters with glass sprinkles. Earlier in the day, protesters had gathered in front of the Government House, chanting anti-government slogans and calling for change. The situation, however, turned violent as tyres were set ablaze, with security forces forced to disperse the crowd with teargas. Several locations, including Rufaida Yoghurt at Kabuga, Kano Printing Press, and the NCC Office at Audu Bako Secretariat, were targeted by the looters. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Also, some personal properties and houses near the Government House were attacked and looted by the hoodlums. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in Nigeria, Bosun Tijani, has lamented the destruction and looting of Digital Innovation Park in Kano by residents protesting against the economic hardship in the country. The protesters attacked the yet-to-be-inaugurated park on Thursday, the first day of the nationwide protest. Mr Tijani, who commented on a PREMIUM TIMES post on X about the attack on the federal government facility, disclosed that the destroyed park was to be inaugurated next week. Sad to learn that our Digital Innovation Park in Kano, slated for launch next week to support our technical talent accelerator (3MTT), has been set ablaze and looted by protesters. Alongside #3MTT, this building is set to host our buildathon holiday maker programme for secondary school kids starting next week. A slight setback for our journey to deepening our workforce for technology while creating job opportunities for the youth. Millions of Naira down the drain, the minister said in his post on X. Nigerians in different parts of the country are protesting against economic hardship. Reports indicate that the protests had turned violent in some areas. There are also reports of police brutality against peaceful protesters and journalists. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Kano State said a section of the Digital Industrial Park (DIP) of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) in Kano State was attacked by protesters on Thursday. The Commissioner of Police, Salma Dogo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Thursday that the generator house was set ablaze and the office was vandalised. He said that the police, along with other security agencies, had already taken measures to safeguard the lives and property of the residents. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre, which serves the northwestern region of Nigeria, was scheduled for commissioning on Wednesday, 7 August. However, protesters invaded the centre, broke into offices, and looted state-of-the-art equipment worth billions of Naira. The generator room was also reportedly set ablaze. The centre was established to promote the federal governments digital economy initiative by training young Nigerians in digital entrepreneurship. The centre is one of six located in each of the countrys geo-political zones, with this particular one serving the northwest region. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The attack on the centre has significant implications for the governments digital economy project, which aims to foster young digital entrepreneurs. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The #EndBadGovernance protest near Eagle Square in Abuja turned chaotic on Thursday after police fired tear gas canisters at the crowd of demonstrators. PREMIUM TIMES reports that what started as a peaceful demonstration erupted into chaos around 11:46 a.m. when the police resorted to the use of tear gas in a bid to disperse the protesters. The protesters had defied the polices subtle threats to confine them to Moshood Abiola Stadium, which a court had designated as the only permitted venue for the protest. Addressing the protesters at the stadium earlier on Thursday, the Commissioner of Police, the FCT Command, Benneth Igwe, said the police would enforce the court order by not allowing the protests to be held elsewhere in the federal capital. However, the protesters said the constitution did not give the power to a court to decide where citizens should protest. The protesters defiantly marched from the stadium and headed to the Eagles Square, where police operatives began to fire bursts of gunshots, releasing canisters of teargas to break their resistance. The shells of the fired canisters injured many of the protesters. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The protesters, asserting their right to protest freely, chanted songs and slogans highlighting their reasons for embarking on the strike. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the procession began to march from the stadium to Eagles Square. At Eagles Square, police fired shots of teargas canisters to break their resistance. The canister shells injured many protesters. Some endured the burning sensation from inhaling the tear gas fumes to pick up and throw the canister shells back at the police line. As this was going on, a police helicopter was observed hovering overhead. Nearby, the usually bustling Federal Secretariat appeared deserted by workers and vendors on Thursday. The #EndBadGovernance protest was held in many states to pressure President Bola Tinubus administration to address hunger and the generally high costs of living resulting from its economic policies. Thursday is the first day of the protest billed to be held 10 days nationwide. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that an Executive Director with ARM Pensions, Abisola Onigbogi, is in its custody over an allegation of rape levelled against him by one of his colleagues, Ogochukwu Odogwu. Ms Odogwu, 36, who also works at the company as the human resource partner, in a leaked letter personally addressed to an individual identified simply as Opeyemi, recounted how she found herself naked in a hotel with her pubic area sore. She said on the night of 18 July, after an office party, she was tipsy. Her friend reportedly approached Mr Onigbogi to take her to her house since they live in the same neighbourhood around Chevron Drive in Lekki, Lagos. Ms Odogwu said rather than take her to her home, Mr Onigbogi reportedly took her to the Limeridge Hotel located at Chevron Drive in Lekki. But an official of the hotel had denied that Ms Odogwu was unconscious when she was brought to the hotel, saying the duo went in like boyfriend and girlfriend. Police confirm arrest The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a telephone interview with our reporter on Wednesday, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Onigbogi was in police custody. The outcome of our investigation will determine if he will go to court or not, the spokesperson said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later But I can confirm he is in our custody. How it happened According to Ms Odogwu, a friend, Francisca Azie, had opened a hard drink- Jameson Whiskey, and that she took some and mixed it with coke. She said at a point she had to stand up at intervals to coordinate the serving of food as a member of the planning committee, leaving the drink, food and other personal effects in the care of Damilola Oluyori, who is a colleague and one I am very friendly with. Ms Odogwu said her last memory of the party was about 7.30 p.m. She said: However, Damilola claimed that I mentioned to her that I was tipsy and could not drive. So she offered to find a way for me to go home and then approached Abisola Onigbogi to drop me off since he lived around the same axis as me. I live at Femi Okunnu Phase 4 Estate, Jakande, lekki. Along with the Jameson whiskey, which was like of a plastic cup, I had one cocktail from the bar, and that is the last thing I remembered. I lost total memory of every conversation and activity as my last memory of the night was from 7.30 p.m. My entire memory was wiped out, which was very unusual even for someone who might have drunk excessively, which I didnt and have quite a good alcohol tolerance from precedent. She said when she woke up around 3 a.m., she found out she was in a hotel with clothes and a wig in a pile, saying her private parts were sore and I felt like someone had invaded me. Ms Odogwu further said: I walked out of the room, looked around for a clue of the name of the hotel to even have a sense of where I was, I saw the name Limeridge hotel, I googled it, and I found that its on Chevron drive. I ask the receptionist and security man to help me get a taxi so I can go home. I further checked my WhatsApp messages and I saw that Abisola, the perpetrator, had sent me a message that he was with my laptop bag and ID Card. Damilola had sent me a couple of messages that sounded frantic wanting to know if I was okay and if Abisola dropped me at home. I sent her a message to tell her that I do not understand why my memory is wiped out and its unusual. Odogwu confronts Onigbogi Ms Odogwu said when she asked Mr Onigbogi what transpired she said she was told that she was incoherent and could not give her address, and that was why she was reportedly taken to the hotel. He also denied knowledge of what ensued in the hotel room when she was unconscious, she said. Meanwhile, Ms Odogwu said she returned to the hotel to see the CCTV footage the next day, saying the receptionist showed her evidence that Mr Onigbogi paid for the hotel room at 10:05 p.m. She said in the footage played for her, she was seen leaning on Mr Onigbogi and he was holding my shoes and a hand on my back guiding me into the hotel at about 15.52 and was seen leaving at 17:36. Ms Odogwu said the time on the CCTV at the hotel was not West African Time but that the time interval was about 1 hour 45 minutes Mr Onigbogi was with her in the hotel room. She said she reported the situation to her family and had a rape kit test done at Island Maternity on Friday. I made a formal report at the Ikoyi Police Station on Saturday morning. My private part was bruised and I have been in pain. I have also formally reported to the Head of HR, who is my boss with the MD and another executive director in copy. My life has been disrupted badly. I am a single mother with two kids and my mental and physical state has been impacted by this incident, and I need to take care and show up for my kids in all of this, she said. Hotel reacts However, the Operations Manager at Limeridge Hotel, Owowumi Ewarawon, told PREMIUM TIMES that Ms Odogwu was conscious when she walked into the hotel, and that if she was seen to be unconscious, the facility would not have accommodated her and the man that brought her. She walked in by herself, she said, adding: Please come in person with your ID to extract the facts. This is not a hospital. We can never allow anyone to enter unconsciously. She said Ms Udogwu and Mr Onigbogi went to the second floor, noting that if the front desk had suspected anything, it would have raised an alarm. They came in like a boyfriend and girlfriend. Thats the way I saw it. Even while entering the room, from the CCTV footage, it was as if she entered first, the operations manager told this newspaper. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print At least one protester has been confirmed dead after police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Suleja, Niger State, on Thursday. Neighbours and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) confirmed the death of Yahaya Isah, who was reportedly hit by a stray bullet during the protest against bad governance. PREMIUM TIMES reported the protests, held in various Nigerian towns on Thursday. The police used force, including firing tear gas, to disperse protesters in some cities like Abuja and Suleja. Mr Isah was reportedly hit by a stray bullet while riding his motorcycle near the Suleja Police Station where the Niger protesters gathered. There were reports that many people were shot in the violence but a resident of the area, Ismaila Liman, told PREMIUM TIMES that he could only confirm two. He named the two as Mr Isah and Mallam Abu, who he said also died on the spot. The Chairman of the Suleja branch of NBA, Abdullahi Liman, confirmed only Mr Isahs death to the Daily Trust newspaper. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I got information that a man was shot dead and I came to the house of the victim (Mr Isah) to confirm things for myself and I have seen the corpse, the lawyer said. Many were shot Some residents of the area said three others were shot at the same scene as Mr Isah, while two more were shot at the Suleja Junction. However, it is unclear if these victims survived and PREMIUM TIMES has not been able to confirm the actual number of victims involved. The situation in Suleja is tense, with residents describing the scene as ugly. When contacted, Wasiu Abiodun, the police spokesperson in Niger, said he had not received any report of such. However, he shared a statement explaining how the police arrested 11 violent protesters in the state. Mr Abiodun, a police superintendent, claimed that the suspects vandalised and set ablaze the secretariat of Tafa Local Government Area in Sabon Wuse, Niger State. Two cars were also burnt and two others vandalised, he wrote. They further looted valuables there-in. According to him, the suspects who wielded different dangerous weapons were dispersed from the scene. PREMIUM TIMES reported the nationwide protest against government policies such as removal of petrol subsidies. The policies have led to Nigerias worst cost of living crisis in a generation but the government says the policies are essential and the economy would soon improve. The government appealed to Nigerians not to embark on the protests but the organisers remained defiant and held the protests in several states. The protest turned violent in places like Abuja, Kano, Niger, Gombe and Jigawa states. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The #EndBadGovernance protest turned violent in Kano, on Thursday, as hundreds of residents poured out on the streets calling for an end to economic hardship. PREMIUM TIMES observed how some protesters around BUK Road ignored police advice and made bonfires with used tyres on a highway, causing obstruction and panic. Residents in various locations in the metropolis joined the protest, chanting anti-government slogans. However, the protests turned violent in some areas as the protesters destroyed billboards and attacked flashy vehicles, despite many motorists waving green leaves to indicate their solidarity with the protesters. In fear of possible attacks on businesses, the major markets in the state Kantin Kwari textile market, Kofar Wambai market, Sabon Gari closed on Thursday. Despite the precautions, some protesters broke into several shops in the metropolis and looted food items. The protesters also vandalised and looted valuables at government establishments, including a court records office at the Audu Bako Secretariat Complex at the State Road. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The protesters later converged at the Kano Government House where they delivered their charter of demands to the Governor, Abba Yusuf. Earlier on Wednesday, Governor Yusuf, at a town hall meeting attended by the reinstated Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, backed the protests. But he advised the organisers to be civil and submit their demands to him for delivery to President Bola Tinubu. At the meeting, also attended by the states council of Ulamas, traditional rulers, business community, Mr Yusuf said the exorbitant prices of petroleum and electricity have caused severe hardship. Government should review electricity tariff. It is another burden on Nigerians. We call on the federal government to reduce the prices as it would ease the hardship on Nigerians, the governor stated. Mr Yusuf stressed the constitutional rights of citizens to express displeasure over government policies but advised the protesters to be peaceful. Nigerians have the right to conduct protests but it should be peaceful. The situation in the country is what prompted the protest. But the protest should be peaceful. We will not condone lawlessness, a situation where people would be killed, government formations be attacked, schools attacked, Mr Yusuf said. In his remarks, the reinstated emir, Mr Lamido, subtly endorsed the protesters, calling on them to identify themselves. I am not against the protest but who are the organisers of the protest, and what are their agendas? We need to know all these before joining the protest, Mr Sanusi at the town hall meeting at the government house on Wednesday. The protest organisers submitted their complaints to the governor for upward submission to President Bola Tinubu. However, the governor, on Thursday, blamed the violence on the opposition in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the party of hiring thugs to turn the protest violent. The governor, in a statement by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, claimed that APC thugs vandalised public properties during the protest and called on the police to arrest them. Mr Bature said the governor expressed disappointment over reports that certain individuals he described as enemies of Kano State, allegedly hired thugs within and from neighboring states to disrupt the peaceful protest. He said the protest caused chaos in Kano, which he described as one of the most peaceful states in the country. We are aware that unpatriotic politicians from the opposition party have sponsored thugs, who are on a rampage, looting and destroying properties of innocent citizens, the governor was quoted in the statement. Mr Yusuf ordered security agencies to immediately arrest the thugs and their sponsors, the statement said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Thousands of Nigerians commenced the ten-day nationwide protests today. The organisers, many young people, say they are frustrated by the countrys economic conditions and have vowed days of rage in demonstrations. With momentum soaring on and offline, the Nigerian government fears a replay of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest, which started peacefully but turned violent. President Bola Tinubu has said he recognises the right to peaceful protests. Still, his administration is wary of the dangers associated with demonstrations that are vulnerable to being hijacked by criminals. While the president has begged the youth to shelve the protest, some senior administration officials labelled the protests as unwarranted and politically motivated. Organisers of the protests are calling for reversing the fuel price hike, restoring affordable electricity tariffs, and reducing import duties to their previous rates. The groups also demand the reversal of many institutions hikes in tertiary education fees. They also demand full transparency and accountability in governance, including the public disclosure and reduction of public officials salaries and allowances and an emergency fund to support SMEs. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later PREMIUM TIMES brings you photos from the protest in Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, has once again appealed to the protest conveners, their covert and overt benefactors, to sheathe their swords and seek dialogue. The sultan, in a statement signed by the Secretary General, Jamaatu Nasril Islam, Khalid Aliyu, on Thursday, warned that an escalation of the violent protest may cause a catastrophe in the West African sub-region. We genuinely feared escalation to an uncontrollable scenario and the reports are tilting towards that. Therefore, we, in the name of Allah, the Most High, call for an end to the snowballing rampaging, in the name of protest. We should all understand that there must be a stable country called Nigeria, before we can proudly call ourselves Nigerians, the sultan said, urging for calm. He called on Muslim clerics to explore tomorrows Friday Jummat prayer to calm nerves and pray for sustainable peace and restrain in the ongoing protest. With tomorrow being Friday, Jumuah mosque Imams and Muslim leaders are implored to calm nerves and call on the Ummah to appreciate peace rather than chaotic state of affairs, which may even deny us congregational prayers. The Quranic guidance in trying moments remains When the suffering reached them from us, why then did they not learn humility? Quran 6:43. Hence, sober reflection, sincere humility, and continued prayer to Allah, the Ever Merciful is the antidote to the quagmire. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Prophet (peace be upon him) said supplication is a weapon of the believer and the light of the heavens and the earth. Lets, therefore pray for Allahs apt intervention. All Imams are equally called upon to commence sustained supplications and/or prayers at this moment of grief, through Qunootun-Nawazil (special prayers at calamitous periods in the last Rakaah of each obligatory prayer and non-obligatory prayers), he said, in the statement. The traditional ruler said the call has become imperative, bearing in mind that the protest is getting out of hand and the consequence may be too heavy on the West-African sub-region. The Sultan further called on all Majaalis (knowledge-seeking gatherings), Halqas (study circles), Madaaris, and Makarantun Allo (Islamic schools), as well as the leadership of all Muslim organisations and/or societies in Nigeria to commence special prayers in calamitous situations and trying times (Qunootun-Nawazil), and seek Allahs compassion for Nigeria. A clarion call is therefore made to all leaders and the Nigerian citizens to fear Allah, for it is through such a spiritual medium that Allahs intervention descends with full assurance from Him, the Ever Merciful. Muslims are also urged to be introspective and should embrace more Dhikr (remembrance of Allah), through glorification of Allah, Istighfar (seeking Allahs forgiveness) and ceaseless Dua (prayers and invocations), for ease and relief in these trying moments, he added. The sultan also called on the Nigerian government to do the needful in addressing the hardship in the country. Nevertheless, the Sultan of Sokoto, implores the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria to address the nation, by assuring all Nigerians that peace, security, stability, relief to hardship and food security would be achieved under his stewardship, in-sha Allah. Likewise, State Governors should also calm nerves, as silence is no longer golden at this moment of anxiety. In this time of challenge, we pray for guidance, protection, good health, and peace for all leaders, and for tranquility to prevail in Nigeria. May Allah, the Most High, also provide the quickest relief to all problems bedeviling the Nigerian state, the statement added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Local government elections in Nigeria have long been marred by rampant rigging and manipulation, favouring incumbents and ruling parties. Since the 1950s, political interference has plagued these elections, thwarting the goal of establishing truly representative local governments. The key factors contributing to these flawed elections include the absence of constitutionally guaranteed financial and operational independence for State Electoral Commissions (SIECs). This lack of autonomy enables state governors to interfere in SIEC operations and deprive them of necessary funds, thus undermining their ability to conduct credible elections. These constitutional weaknesses incapacitate the SIECs, depriving citizens of their right to elect leaders who represent their will. The catalytic effect of the Supreme Court ruling strengthening the financial autonomy of local governments is evident in the current rush by state governments to conduct local government elections. Since the ruling, over 15 states have announced local government area (LGA) election dates. The Courts unequivocal declaration that a democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable has rendered caretaker committees appointed by governors illegal. Before this ruling, 462 local governments in 22 states were administered by caretaker committees. Following the verdict, these local governments will not receive funds from the Federation Account until elected officials are in place. Calls to liberate State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs) from the stranglehold of state governors have also intensified. Three proposals have emerged for ensuring credible elections at the local government level. First, state electoral commissions should be reformed to strengthen their independence from governors. Second, abolishing SIECs and transferring the responsibility of conducting local government elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and lastly, establishing a new national body to conduct local government elections. Nigerias upper legislative house recently took action to advance the third proposal. The Senate passed for first reading a bill sponsored by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) to create the National Independent Local Government Electoral Commission (NILGEC) as a federal agency to organize, oversee, and conduct elections for the offices of local government chairman and councilors in all 36 states and the FCT. State Electoral Commissions in Nigerias 1999 Constitution Under Nigerias Constitution, State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) are established in Section 197 (1b) as State Executive bodies alongside the State Civil Service Commission and State Judicial Service Commission. As specified in Section 3, Part II of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, the SIECs shall comprise a Chairman and not less than five (5) but not more than seven (7) other persons. Section 4 empowers the SIECs with the power to organize, undertake, and supervise all elections to the local councils. SIECs also advise the INEC on the compilation of the voter register. The Chair and commissioners of the SIECs are appointed by the Governor of the State subject to confirmation by a resolution of the House of Assembly (Section 198). Members of the commission serve a tenure of five years, renewable once (Section 199 (1c). SIEC members shall only be removed from office by a Governor acting on an address supported by a two-thirds majority of a state House of Assembly praying that a member is removed for inability to discharge the functions due to infirmity of mind, body or any other cause and for misconduct (201(1)). The Constitution also states that the power of SIECs to make appointments or to exercise disciplinary control over persons shall not be subject to the direction and control of any other authority or person (Section 202). Constitutional disempowerment of state electoral commissions Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later While the Constitution places a premium on democratically elected local government under Section 7 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, it fails to provide safeguards for institutional autonomy for the institution tasked with giving life to its aspiration of democratically elected local government councils. The following constitutional pitfalls significantly undermine the ability of SIECs to conduct credible local government elections: Operational control of SIECs by governors: Section 204(1) subjects the power of SIECs to regulate its procedure and confer powers and duties on any officer or authority to the approval of the Governor. By this provision, the Constitution fails to insulate the SIECs from executive control. This constitutional mishap emboldens state executives to manipulate SIECs and influence electoral outcomes. Electoral commissions are required to be independent so they can enforce guidelines and rules of procedure without bias. Unfortunately, state electoral commissions cant operate independently because the Constitution does not guarantee administrative independence. In contrast, Section 160(1) of the Constitution protects the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by stating that INECs powers to make its own rules and guidelines shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President. Lack of financial autonomy: Electoral commissions thrive where access to election funding is guaranteed. Financial autonomy facilitates planning and insulates the commission from undue interference from external actors. SIECs are financially dependent on state governors, as Section 121(3) excludes them from institutions funded directly by the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state. The lack of financial autonomy makes SIECs susceptible to control and manipulation. SIECs face significant uncertainties regarding their funding as they rely heavily on the discretion or benevolence of the Governor to release funds for election management even in cases where the state legislature has appropriated the commissions budget. Typically, SIECs receive funding only to conduct local government elections, and in the period between elections, they lack resources for necessary pre- and post-election activities. In instances where funds are allocated, they are often released merely 90 days before the elections, making it challenging to deliver credible elections. In contrast, INECs financial autonomy is secured through Section 81(3), which places it on the first-line charge of the Federations Consolidated Revenue Fund. The 2022 Electoral Act mandates the release of election funding one year before elections. No constitutional timeframe for local government elections: The Constitution is silent on the tenure of local government councils and the timeframe for conducting elections. This loophole is exploited to dictate the tenure of local government chairmen and councillors, including justifying the arbitrary dissolution of local government councils. SIECs often release election timetables based on the Governors body language. A defined constitutional timeframe for local government elections is necessary to ensure consistency and fairness. Insufficient qualification criteria for SIEC members: The only constitutional requirement for appointment into SIEC is non-membership of a political party. While this is a necessary condition, it is grossly inadequate. Other conditions essential for election administration, such as unquestionable integrity and competence, are excluded in Section 200 of the Constitution. INEC appointments require non-partisanship and unquestionable integrity, a standard that should also apply to SIECs. How To Strengthen State Electoral Commissions to Deliver Credible Elections Introduce tenure for local government councils: The tenure of local government councils should be prescribed in the Constitution. This will guarantee the conduct of regular elections and put an end to the loophole exploited to justify the appointment of caretaker committees or dissolution of local government councils. Safeguard the operational autonomy of SIECs: The Constitution makes explicit provisions that state that the power of SIECs to regulate their own procedure and confer powers and duties on any officer or authority shall not be subject to the approval of the Governor or any person. This will strengthen SIECs independence and liberate them from the stranglehold of governors. Strengthen the financial autonomy of SIECs: To guarantee the financial autonomy of the SIECs, its funding should be on first-line charge. In other words, the financing of the SIECs should be charged to the states Consolidated Revenue. By incorporating this provision, the financial independence of SIECs will be safeguarded, ensuring that their functions are free from undue political influence. Alternatively, local government may, through legislation, contribute 5 per cent of their allocation to SIECs and local government elections in view of the direct allocation from the Federation Account. Review the mode of appointments into SIEC: The power to appoint the Chairman and members of SIECs should be divested from the Governors. The Constitution should introduce the procedure outlined below: Nomination: Where a vacancy arises in the SIEC, the state assembly should set up an independent committee to handle nominations. The committee issues a widely publicized call for nominations. Interview panel: Shortlisted candidates undergo an interview to assess competence, character, and suitability for appointment to the SIEC Confirmation by the State Assembly: The state assembly shall consider the interview panel report and public petitions. A two-thirds majority resolution by the state assembly is required to recommend a candidate to the Governor for appointment. Introduce timelines for appointment in SIECs: The Constitution should be amended to introduce specific timelines for appointing members to State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs). Appointments must be made within 30 days of a vacancy. This will prevent unwarranted delays in constituting the commissions board, ensuring that SIECs can function effectively and without interruption. Strengthen the criteria for membership of SIEC: In addition to non-membership of political parties, the Constitution should be amended to introduce age, integrity, and competence as criteria for appointment into SIECs. Members of the SIEC should not be less than 25 years of age. Redefine the power and functions of SIECs: The powers of the SIECs should be reviewed to strengthen their independence and effectiveness. Its powers should be expanded to include; monitoring party primaries, congresses, and conventions related to local government elections, promoting knowledge of sound democratic election processes at the local government level, conducting any referendum required to be conducted under the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and any Law of the State House of Assembly. With the Supreme Court judgment, local government elections will be a cynosure for political actors and election stakeholders, significantly raising the stakes. As the stakes increase, so does the pressure to deliver credible elections. This could usher a new vista for local elections, which have previously been overlooked. The vision of a democratically elected local government can only be realized if the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) are reformed, repositioned, and strengthened to safeguard electoral democracy at the local level. By undergoing reforms similar to those implemented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), SIECs can significantly enhance the quality of local government elections. Proposals to create a new federal election body to conduct local government elections or to vest the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with this power are knee-jerk solutions. Such proposals risk centralizing power, which could undermine the principles of federalism. To deepen electoral democracy in Nigeria, focusing on strengthening SIECs with constitutional safeguards for conducting credible and inclusive elections at the local level is more advantageous. Samson Itodo is an election, democracy, and public policy enthusiast. Itodo serves as the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa and Principal Partner of the Election Law Center. He is also a member of the Kofi Annan Foundation board and the Board of Advisers of International IDEA. Please send comments and feedback to sitodo@yiaga.org. He tweets @DSamsonItodo Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Despite residing in Opebi then, and I living in Akute, a border town between Lagos and Ogun, when we had our first child, Nmesomachukwu, she equally journeyed all the way most Sundays just to attend baptism classes preparatory to being my daughters godmother. My first encounter with the no-nonsense and highly principled Elegant Stallion, Lady Onyeka Onwenu (MFR), is a great lesson on why we should never give up. Back then, at the defunct FAME Weekly, where I started my journalism career as an intern, I had suggested an interview with Ms Onwenu during one of our editorial meetings, as my story idea for the week. Raising his face from what he was reading, the gentleman who offered me the first opportunity ever to write, Mr Femi Akintunde-Johnson, aka FAJ, adjusted his sitting position before telling me that Aunty Onyeka, like I called her, took us to court over a story that obviously didnt jell with her. But you can still try, he added, not wanting to discourage me. After securing an interview appointment, in the course of which the interviewee equally reminded me of the court case, the unexpected happened! I found out on getting back to the office that the interview hadnt recorded. My tape recorder had malfunctioned. Down and demoralised, and again without informing my boss, I wrote Ms Onwenu a moving letter, begging for another opportunity and also explaining what happened, as best as I could. I dropped the letter in her office with her PA and no sooner did I get to the end of Isaac John Street (in Ikeja GRA, Lagos), where I was waiting to catch a bus, than I heard someone calling my name. I turned and behold it was the PA. Madam says you should come back! Trembling, I followed her to the office where the One Love superstar did not only empathise with me, but also consented to another interview. And so began a relationship that spanned over 25 years and, to be candid, benefitted me immeasurably. Besides always being there for me and constantly showering me with love, Aunty Onyeka played for me (FOC) on 6 August, 2005 when I got married to my beautiful fiancee, Nkoli, at the Niteshift Coliseum, in Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Despite residing in Opebi then, and I living in Akute, a border town between Lagos and Ogun, when we had our first child, Nmesomachukwu, she equally journeyed all the way most Sundays just to attend baptism classes preparatory to being my daughters godmother. Years later, she asked me to see her in the office and on getting there, she handed me a cheque which she said must be used to open an account for her goddaughter. Surprisingly, about a month before this sad and shocking news, she asked for everybodys account numbers which she credited yet again. I could go on and on enumerating all the beautiful ways she impacted my life and that of my family and business. On Saturday, 27 July, at exactly 3.28 p.m., she called to give me a quick update concerning an issue. If only I knew that that would be our last encounter and conversation. My whole family is in tears. Particularly her goddaughter, Nmesomachukwu. Shes remained frozen ever since I broke the news to the family. Please, continue to remember us in your prayers, especially as we grapple with this heavily devastating news. Rest in peace, Aunty Onyeka Onwenu! Azuh Arinze is publisher/editor-in-chief of YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine and author of bestselling books like The CEOs Bible 1&2, Success Is Not Served A La Carte, A Taste of Success, Anything And Everything Journalism, etc. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Upon receipt of all necessary approvals from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Old Mutual Nigeria Life Assurance Company Limited and Old Mutual General Insurance Company Nigeria Limited are proud to announce their rebrand and name change to emPLELife Assurance Limited and emPLE General Insurance Limited respectively. This transformation follows the completion of the acquisition of 100% of Old Mutuals equity in both businesses by emPLE Group. emPLE Group is dedicated to delivering superior financial solutions and fostering long-term growth and value creation across Africa. Central to emPLEs purpose is empowering people by providing innovative financial solutions that enhance their freedom, security, and prosperity. Old Mutual has been a prominent player in Nigerias financial landscape, offering comprehensive life assurance, general insurance, savings, and investment solutions to over 1.5 million customers across the country. With the acquisition finalized, the companies will now operate under the emPLE brand, reflecting their integration into the emPLE Groups vision and strategy. The acquisition of Old Mutuals insurance businesses in Nigeria and their transformation to emPLE mark a pivotal moment in emPLEs journey. emPLE is poised to enhance its service offerings and customer engagement, positioning itself as the premier insurer in Africa. This rebranding allows emPLE to consolidate its strengths, expand its capabilities, and build lifelong financial partnerships with its clients. According to Olalekan Oyinlade, Managing Director of emPLE General Insurance Limited, The rebranding to emPLEsignifies a new chapter for us. We remain steadfast in our dedication to delivering innovative insurance solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. emPLE, meaning empowering people, reflects our mission to protect and empower individuals and families throughout Africa, ensuring their financial security and prosperity. The acting Managing Director of emPLE Life Assurance Limited, Rantimi Ogunleye, added We are excited about this new phase. The acquisition will significantly bolster our commitment to expanding our market presence and strengthen our ability to achieve remarkable growth and enhance the value we provide to our customers. As emPLE embarks on this transformative journey, the company reaffirms its commitment to enhancing its operational capabilities and customer offerings. With a renewed focus on empowerment and sustainability, emPLE aims to innovate within the insurance sector by introducing cutting-edge solutions that prioritize customer needs and environmental responsibility. This commitment reinforces emPLEs dedication to delivering unparalleled service and fostering long-term partnerships with its clients across Africa. emPLE is a leading financial services company dedicated to providing insurance and investment solutions to retail and corporate clients across Africa. At emPLE, the purpose is to empower Africans by providing innovative financial solutions that enhance their freedom, security, and prosperity. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The company believes that true empowerment comes from providing not just access to financial products but also the knowledge and tools necessary for our customers to make informed decisions and achieve financial independence. For more information about emPLE, visit: www.emple.group Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerias police authorities late Wednesday criticised the leadership of the advocacy group, Take It Back Movement, for refusing to fulfill the condition mandating it to provide details of the organisers of Thursdays #EndBadGovernance protest. Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police, in a statement, said he has, therefore, directed all police formations across the country to protect innocent lives and properties from attack, harassment, molestation, or destruction while also descending on troublemakers. Regrettably, the organizers of the proposed protest have not deemed it necessary to supply the simple and basic information required by the Police, under the Constitution, the Police Act and all other enabling Laws in this regard, Mr Egbetokun said in the statement. To this extent, the Nigeria Police still demands from the organizers of the proposed protest that they furnish it with the said essential information/details mentioned above before the commencement of the protest. Intelligence at the disposal of the Nigeria Police reveals that the protests are practically aimed at unleashing mayhem on the polity, innocent citizens markers, stores, private and public properties, as well as critical infrastructure of government across the country. The name given to the movement TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT has far reaching undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal connotations. Mr Egbetokun also directed police officers to decisively deal with any act of arson, intimidation or harassment of any citizen, threat to lives and properties, breach of public peace by the protesters . Perpetrators of any crime will be arrested and promptly prosecuted, he added. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In the above circumstances, no responsible Law enforcement agency in any part of the civilized or democratic world would fold its arms and watch a degeneration of the situation into a state of anomy. Accordingly, therefore, all Police formations across the country are hereby put on alert and directed to protect innocent lives and properties from attack, harassment, molestation or destruction, the police boss said. Furthermore, pursuant to the essential duties of the Nigeria Police under the Constitution, the Police Act and other enabling Laws, all officers and men of the Nigeria Police are hereby directed to act and deal decisively with any act of arson, intimidation or harassment of any citizen, threat to lives and properties, breach of public peace and any act of criminality that may arise or flow from the planned protest in any part of the country. Perpetrators of any crime will be arrested and promptly prosecuted. The police boss threats came a day after he convened a virtual meeting with over a dozen key activists and youth mobilisers across Nigeria, proposing that they should confine the protests to specific locations. The activists turned down his proposal. The #EndBadGovernance protest is planned to hold from August 1 to August 10. Read the full statement of the Police Inspector-General below: PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE ON THE PROPOSED PROTEST PLANNED BY THE TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT Further to the earlier statement made in respect of the proposed/planned country-wide protest by the TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT, particularly, to the effect that while the Nigeria Police Force recognizes that protest by any group of citizens in a democracy can be organized, subject to compliance with rules and regulations, decency, respect for rule of law, as well as respect for the right of other citizens to move freely and carry out their normal duties and business without any threat or inhibition. The Nigeria Police hereby wishes to bring the attention of the general public to the following: 2. The Nigeria Police Force has in the last few days engaged with the leadership of the TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT and also through their accredited solicitors, and made it clear that in line with what operates in any civilized climes, they should submit to the respective State Commissioners of Police where they intend to carry out their protests, including the FCT, the venue/ route of their assembly, congregation or procession; the commencement and closing time during the day, the modus operandi of the protests and all other information necessary to guide the Police, as well as other members of the public, who are equally entitled to their constitutional right of movement. This is a necessary measure in the interest of the organizers and those who may want to participate in the protest, as the Nigeria Police Force equally owes them a duty of protection. 3. While liaising with the Police Commissioners in the respect States, an undertaking has to be given or entered that the organisers shall be in a position to control, guide and manage any congregation or assembly that comes up for the protest, so that the protests are not hijacked by unscrupulous elements who may want to hide under the guise of the protest to unleash terror or perpetrate mayhem on the innocent public, we are also concerned particularly, that there shall be no loss of lives or destruction of property, private or public. 4. Regrettably, the organizers of the proposed protest have not deemed it necessary to supply the simple and basic information required by the Police, under the Constitution, the Police Act and all other enabling Laws in this regard. To this extent, the Nigeria Police still demands from the organizers of the proposed protest that they furnish it with the said essential information/details mentioned above before the commencement of the protest. 5. Intelligence at the disposal of the Nigeria Police reveals that the protests are practically aimed at unleashing mayhem on the polity, innocent citizens markers, stores, private and public properties, as well as critical infrastructure of government across the country. The name given to the movement TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT has far reaching undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal connotations. 6. In the above circumstances, no responsible Law enforcement agency in any part of the civilized or democratic world would fold its arms and watch a degeneration of the situation into a state of anomy. Accordingly, therefore, all Police formations across the country are hereby put on alert and directed to protect innocent lives and properties from attack, harassment, molestation or destruction. Furthermore, pursuant to the essential duties of the Nigeria Police under the Constitution, the Police Act and other enabling Laws, all officers and men of the Nigeria Police are hereby directed to act and deal decisively with any act of arson, intimidation or harassment of any citizen, threat to lives and properties, breach of public peace and any act of criminality that may arise or flow from the planned protest in any part of the country. Perpetrators of any crime will be arrested and promptly prosecuted. 7. The attention of the general public is also drawn important statement, order for every Nigerian guided, guarded and properly advised. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph. D, NPM Inspector General of Police 31st July, 2024 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Niger State have arrested 11 suspects over the looting of a local government secretariat in Niger State. The police said the suspects invaded the secretariat of Tafa LGA of Niger State, located along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Sabon-Wuse. In a press statement on Thursday, the police spokesperson in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, said hoodlums looted and vandalised the secretariat before setting the building and two cars within the premises on fire. Mr Abiodun said the 11 suspects were arrested with different types of dangerous weapons, including firearms, and some looted items recovered from them. The statement said the police and sister security agencies also dispersed hoodlums blocking the Kaduna-Abuja expressway towards the old toll gate. He said the expressway has been reopened for motorists, adding that investigation continued to arrest other suspects. The police said violent demonstrations, destruction of public assets and looting will not be tolerated, and any act of lawlessness will be strictly dealt with by the law. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Kaduna State, along with the army and other sister security agencies embarked on a Confidence Building Show of Force Operation in Kaduna on Wednesday. The police spokesperson, Mansir Hassan, told journalists that the display was to ensure the states safety and security. He said, This operation is designed to serve as a clear warning to those who may seek to use the upcoming protest to destabilise the state. It also aims to showcase the capabilities and readiness of our security agencies to maintain peace and order. The operation saw the active participation of several high-ranking officers, including the Commissioner of Police Kaduna State Command. Others were the Garrison Commander 1 Division Kaduna, the Nigerian Air Force 453 Base Service Group Kaduna, the Commander of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps , the Commander of Kaduna State Vigilante Service among others. Mr Hassan explained that the primary objective of the show of force was to deter individuals with malicious intent from engaging in any form of violence during the upcoming protest. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said, Effective deployment of 25,000 security agencies have been made in strategic flash points to ensure strict compliance to public order. As formerly announced, the police will not deny citizens their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and protests. The Kaduna State police command reiterates that the protest should be peaceful. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has declared a 24-hour curfew after protesters looted government buildings and individual businesses on Thursday. The governors spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, in a statement, said the curfew is with immediate effect. The governor said the decision to impose movement restrictions was reached at an emergency State Security Council meeting dedicated to addressing the escalating violence and disruptions that accompanied the #EndBadGovernance protest in the state. The governor said the majority of demonstrators voiced their concerns responsibly, but that the protest was hijacked by thugs and hoodlums who engaged in rampant looting, destruction of property, and violence against innocent citizens. The governor said the violent actions, allegedly fueled by antagonistic elements, threatened the safety and security of citizens and must be addressed vigorously. To safeguard lives and preserve public and private property, the decision to implement a curfew was made unanimously during the emergency meeting. The imposition of this curfew is a necessary measure to restore order and ensure the safety of our communities, said the governor. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later It is paramount that we protect our citizens from further harm and preserve the sanctity of our states institutions and businesses. The governor called on all citizens to remain vigilant and united during this challenging time. Let us not allow the actions of a few selfish individuals to divide us. Together, we can navigate these challenges and fortify our resolve to build a stronger, more resilient Kano State. All security agencies in the state have been directed to ensure full compliance with the curfew, and citizens are urged to heed this directive for their safety and the well-being of all, the governor said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Residents of Nigerias South-east, on Thursday, shunned the nationwide protest against economic hardship and insecurity. The protest, which began on Thursday, is billed to last until 10 August. PREMIUM TIMES reports that the protest failed to hold across Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states on Thursday. Enugu A PREMIUM TIMES reporter who moved around Enugu Metropolis observed minimal human and vehicular movements on Thursday. Many street shops, banks and petrol stations did not open for business. Although the popular Ogbete Main Market, the biggest market in the state, was open, many shops remained shut. Most residents remained indoors. A food vendor in Enugu, Chinyere Edeh, told PREMIUM TIMES residents from the region were not interested in the protest because there were fears Nigerian security agencies could target them. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later If we protest now, you will see some persons being killed, but others in other parts of the country will not be treated like that, Ms Edeh said in Igbo language. So, everyone is afraid. Imo The situation appeared different in Imo. Ben Okolo, a resident of Owerri, the state capital, told this newspaper that everywhere was on lockdown in the capital city. No protest here. Everyone is inside, Mr Okolo said. The resident said the protest must have failed to hold in the state because of the shootings by gunmen suspected to be enforcing a controversial sit-at-home order in the area. Since Monday, there have been shootings everywhere in Imo, he said. Another resident, Chijioke Nwakamma, said there was no sign of protest in the Okigwe Area of the state. The truth of the matter is that the people are scared because, if you notice, for the past three days, gunmen have been burning vehicles here, Mr Nwakamma said. Anambra Arinze Ajaezu, a resident of Onitsha in Anambra State, said people remained indoors in the state. Mr Ajaezu, a shop owner at Onitsha Main Market, said he had to return home because he did not see anyone in the market. There was no protest. But everywhere was deserted, he said. Another resident, Dennis Emmanuel, said banks and other businesses did not open. Everywhere has been scanty since morning. But some people are beginning to open their shops now, Mr Emmanuel, who resides in the Nkpor Area of the state, said at about 3 p.m. Ebonyi Like in other states in South-east, residents of Ebonyi State shunned the nationwide protest. A resident of Abakaliki, Ifeanyi Nwigwe, said although there was no protest, businesses were shut down in the state. I am in the market now, Mr Nwigwe, a shop owner at Abakaliki International Market, said. Abia In Abia State, the situation was the same. One of the residents, Victor Akuma, said the protest did not take place in the Aba Area of the state. Everywhere is calm. No protest, Mr Akuma stated. Emmanuel Nwazue, a journalist based in Umuahia, the state capital, told PREMIUM TIMES that shops and banks did not open for business in the area. But there was nothing like protest, Mr Nwazue stated. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Lagos State has confirmed the detention of three domestic workers over the death of Justice Ofili Ajumogobias daughter. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday. Three domestic staff have been arrested and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, which has since taken over the investigation, Mr Hundeyin said. He said that the judges daughter, Chukwu, was found dead in Lagos on Wednesday. Chukwu was found lifeless this morning (Wednesday) about 6:45 a.m. at the entrance of her parents house on Bembe Street, Parkview Estate, Lagos, Mr Hundeyin said. The spokesperson that the detention of the three suspects was in line with a directive from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, for a thorough investigation of the death. Chukwus father, Soboma Ajumogobia, is younger brother of Odein Ajumogobia, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The planned hunger protest, which began in some parts of the country on Thursday, 1 August, did not hold in Akure, the Ondo State capital. However, witnesses say a lone protester who dared to march along the NEPA area of the city, was harassed by a group of young men in the area. The protester, whose identity was not immediately known, ran away from the scene and never returned for fear of being mobbed. However, the ever busy Arakale and the Oja Oba market were deserted early in the day for fear of the unknown. The popular Oba Adesida, Ondo, and Oyemekun roads located in the heart of the ancient city of Akure were empty without the usual vehicular or human traffic. Also, all the government offices located at Alagbaka, including the Governors Office, were all without any activities. Organisers of the hunger and #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest under the group named, Concerned Revolutionary Youths, had on Wednesday announced they were pulling out of the planned protest in Ondo State. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Ondo State secretary of the group, Ogundipe Olaniyi, said they were pulling out following the interventions of prominent indigenes of the state. Mr Ogundipe said the group was neither induced financially nor intimidated, but resolved to pull out of the planned protest due to the interventions and security reports that some groups were preparing to hijack the protest to settle ethnic scores. However, vehicular and human traffic increased in the city at noon and some shops started opening for businesses in the suburbs as the day went by. Security personnel were seen positioned at strategic locations and at identified flash points to maintain law and order, but they idled away as there were no protesters to curtail. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On Thursday, hundreds of young people and residents marched across major roads in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to protest poor governance and hunger in Nigeria. As early as 7:16 a.m., security operatives and other agencies consisting of Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Western Nigerian Security Network (Amotekun), and the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) converged at the Rosewale filling station on Iwo Road, the gathering point for the Ibadan protest, to monitor the event. Two hours later, the demonstrators arrived with megaphones, large banners, and placards with various inscriptions expressing their demands to the Nigerian government. They demanded a scrap of the 1999 Constitution; reasonable investment in education, reversion of the fuel price, and food price control, among others. The protesters mobilised residents and shop owners from the point of convergence and at motor parks at Iwo Road and began a procession to Agodi Government House. As they marched along, singing different protest songs, more people with bikes and cars joined them, while security operatives walked behind them with their trucks. Addressing journalists at Mokola Roundabout, Solomon Emiola, the protest leader, stated that the hungry youths of the nation are the victims of poor governance and that a party did not sponsor the protest. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Emiola said the protest was not against tribe and religion, noting that problems of hunger, poverty, insecurity, terrorism, unemployment, bad electoral practices and local government autonomy brought them to the streets. Our demands are very straightforward, we ultimately want an end to the 1999 constitution that causes underdevelopment, Mr Emiola said. Shortly after his address, the protesters moved towards the University of Ibadan, where another group of protesters joined them. The procession of protesters returned to the meeting place at Iwo Road, after which they dispersed. There were no injuries or acts of violence. The protesters vowed to continue the protest tomorrow until their demands are met. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On a warm July afternoon, the Vasquez family sat in the parish office of Zion Methodist Church in Chippewa Falls. The Vasquez daughters, ages 8 and 3, colored and played with blocks while husband and wife Paolo and Romina talked quietly, laughing and smiling at their girls. We waited a long time for this. This is all we want, Paolo Vasquez said. Everyone wants that. They want to be safe. They want to feel safe in their home and on the streets. Now we have that. In 2018, Paolo and Romina Vasquez left El Salvador with a young daughter to escape violence, organized crime and corruption. Now residing in Chippewa Falls, both Paolo and Romina serve as pastors in western Wisconsins United Methodist Church and are preparing to start seminary. We used to see people being killed in the streets all day, every day, Paolo said. Now we get to work for God. Church leaders Paolo and Romina are working toward ordination in the United Methodist Church. But in the meantime, the couple serves three churches in the region as licensed pastors. Paolo serves both the Zion United Methodist Church in Chippewa Falls and Hallie United Methodist Church. The Vasquez family lives in the parsonage next to Zion. In Chippewa Falls, Paolo has about 60 congregants, and in Hallie he serves about 30. Once Sunday morning services are over in Chippewa County, the family piles into their car and drives to Arcadia, where Romina serves as a Methodist pastor to a Spanish-speaking congregation at Arcadias Fuente de Vida Pepin Wisconsin. She holds that service at 3 p.m. each Sunday. It is a full day of church for us every Sunday, Paolo said. We do it as a family going to all the services together. We even play together. Paolo plays drums and guitar, and Romina plays drums. The whole family sings during services at each church, Paolo said. Romina said through her husband, who translated Spanish to English on Tuesday, that she fell in love with her husband when he taught her to play drums for church. Romina said they have about 15 people who come to church in Arcadia. The Vasquez family has dedicated their lives to spreading the word of God in western Wisconsin, a long way from their home country of El Salvador. Fleeing violence Romina and Paolo had to flee El Salvador in 2018 because of relentless violence in their home country, city and neighborhood. I never thought I would leave, but it was not getting better. It was just so violent. There was so much death, he said. The country became one of the most unsafe countries, and we felt we had to leave. Paolo was working for an insurance company a decade ago, while Romina was a nurse who assisted surgeons. Paolo said that in El Salvador it is impossible to make a living as clergy so they did not consider that as a viable career until they came to the U.S. Prior to seeking refugee status in the U.S., Paolo said the family had a hard time in El Salvador. We went through a very tough experience in my home country. So I had an experience of having a gun to my head, where it was, somebody was stealing from me, Paolo said. Then you know people ask for money in order to let me live. You pay just for living. And always they say they are going to kill my family, they name my family members and stuff like that when they threaten us. According to the El Salvador 2018 Human Rights Report, published by the U.S. Department of State, human rights issues have greatly impacted the country for years, though it is considered a constitutional multiparty republic that has held generally free and fair elections since 2014. In 2018, the state department reported that human rights violations in the country included allegations of unlawful killings of suspected gang members and others by security forces; forced disappearances by military personnel; torture by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. The state department also cited arbitrary arrests and detentions, lack of government respect for judicial independence, widespread government corruption and violence against women and girls that was infrequently addressed by the authorities. Paolo said violence and fear were a daily part of life. Every time you leave your house, you do not know if you will return. Every day. You know when you go out, it may be the last time, Paola said. Paolo said he worked with the police when a situation became too serious to handle himself. There was a man coming every day just watching our house. Threatening us. Paolo said. Extortion is a huge problem there. I went to the police and said this is what happened and they said you need to make a claim. They said, We are going to go get them, but you actually need to be there when we are going to be doing this and making arrests. Otherwise they said we need to run away from where you are. That's why we live in America. For Paolo and Romina, organized crime, gang violence and extortion became too big an obstacle to overcome. The state department says that in 2018 organized crime members in El Salvador committed acts of murder, extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, intimidation and other threats, and violence directed against police, judicial authorities, the business community, journalists, women and members of vulnerable populations. Family in US Throughout this ordeal, Paolo said he became certain that he and his wife were being asked to serve God. One point when we were recently married I talked to my wife and I said, What about me one day working for the church? God calls us to the ministry after years of working in church leadership positions. And she agreed, he said. Both Paolos parents and his sister lived in the U.S. when this was going on in El Salvador. Romina also had immediate family who are U.S. citizens. With those supports in place, Paolo and Romina decided to ask for refugee status in the U.S. because they feared for their lives. In 2018 they relocated to the U.S., arriving in Florida and staying with some family in California before moving to Wisconsin in 2019 after Paolo started the clergy discernment process. Serving the church Paolo and Romina are both getting ready to start seminary in the fall so that they can each earn a Master of Divinity an advanced professional degree of theological study that many denominations require from those completing the ordination process. Paolo and Romina are each licensed local pastors in the United Methodist Church. We believe in the Methodist Church that lay people can serve (as pastors), but they cannot perform sacraments, Paola said. Once they earn those degrees from Southern Methodist Universitys Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Paolo and Romina will be able to continue in their individual ordination processes and eventually serve congregations as ordained ministers. We are clergy right now. We are not ordained, but we are serving as pastors Paolo said. Ordination means that you will become an elder. Romina said through her husband that she feels like she is doing Gods work. She was able to start doing ministry from her home and now is leading a congregation and will one day be ordained. It brings joy and satisfaction to our hearts, Romina said. I see how we can be a blessing for the people and we see that people we work with are blessing us as well. Vasquez family photos Vasquez 3 Vasquez 17 Vasquez 6 Vasquez 7 Vasquez 9 Vasquez 1 Vasquez 10 Vasquez 11 Vasquez 12 Vasquez 5 Vasquez 13 Vasquez 14 Vasquez Vasquez 16 Vasquez 2 Vasquez 8 Info-Tech Research Group has unveiled its latest research blueprint, which provides valuable insights into achieving business autonomy through strategic data practices. This blueprint emphasizes the alignment of data strategies with business objectives, the use of advanced technologies, and the cultivation of a data-proficient culture. By following these guidelines, enterprises can drive unprecedented growth, innovation, and operational efficiency. TORONTO, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - As organizations navigate a complex data landscape fraught with challenges like disparate data sources and siloed systems, the need for a well-defined data practice strategy has become more critical. To support their evolution into autonomous enterprises, global research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has published its latest resource, Define a Data Practice Strategy to Power an Autonomous Enterprise. This comprehensive research highlights the obstacles that hinder effective data utilization and emphasizes the necessity of aligning data practices with organizational objectives. In the blueprint, Info-Tech advises IT leaders that by focusing on data literacy, collaborative operating models, and advanced technologies, organizations can leverage the transformative power of data to drive innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth. Info-Tech Research Group's "Define a Data Practice Strategy to Power an Autonomous Enterprise" blueprint outlines three focus areas for IT leaders to prioritize in their data management efforts. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group) The blueprint underscores how important it is for organizations to understand the full scope of data and IT challenges they face. As AI continues to evolve, it will demand an increasing volume and variety of high-quality data. "Applied AI is a true paradigm shift offering opportunities for transformative value generation and potential for disruption. AI will continue to demand an increasing volume and variety of quality data, delivered increasingly in real time, produced and consumed from anywhere," says Irina Sedenko, research director at Info-Tech Research Group. "This exponentially growing demand for data increases the pressure on technology and data leaders to deliver the necessary processes, capabilities, and technologies to service that demand. However, with just one in ten data leaders viewed as true business value creators by executives, leaders must innovate their strategies to meet these expectations effectively or face the threat of falling behind in the competitive landscape." The research insights support the firm's stance that in the Exponential IT future, the role of data will shift from a support tool for internal decisions to a driving force behind core business strategies. The rapid advancement of AI technologies allows organizations to address more complex problems and build systems that take advantage of real-time data from multiple sources. This shift demands that organizational leaders adopt innovative tactics to meet new expectations or risk being left behind. "Data & analytics practices need to change. CIOs need to lead the change by partnering with the business and empowering business leaders to own and drive data & analytics initiatives," explains Vince Mirabelli, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group. "Organizations need to redefine the data & analytics practice and its capabilities, break down IT and business silos, and recognize they have a skills gap. Data teams need to learn how to communicate with the business in terms of business value, and business teams need to learn data product management." The firm's resource details the process for identifying data best practices by incorporating AI, reimagining capabilities, evolving practices, and redefining the role and value of data within the organization. In its latest resource, Info-Tech outlines three focus areas for IT leaders to prioritize in their data management efforts: Redefine the Value of Data: Drive the proper utilization of data assets to differentiate unique products and services. This approach involves identifying and leveraging the most valuable data to generate significant business outcomes and competitive advantage. Consider Business and Technology as a Single Team: Establish a true business and IT synergy environment that drives strategic data use. This includes enhancing collaboration and partnership with the business, empowering the business to take ownership of data and analytics initiatives, and ensuring that data-driven decisions are made closer to where the impact is felt. Address the Skills Gap: Recognize the skills gap between IT and business teams and foster technical expertise and product management skills within business teams. Simultaneously, business awareness within the technology team should be developed to ensure they understand and align with business objectives and can effectively communicate the value of data initiatives. Info-Tech's comprehensive blueprint provides practical guidance for organizations aiming to define a data practice strategy that propels them toward becoming autonomous enterprises. The firm advises that by aligning data initiatives with business objectives, leveraging advanced technologies, and nurturing a data-driven culture, organizations can unlock new opportunities for growth, innovation, and operational efficiency. Embracing this strategic approach not only empowers organizations to harness the full potential of their data assets but also enables them to adapt proactively to changing market dynamics and emerging trends. This proactive adaptation ensures sustained competitiveness and long-term success in an increasingly data-centric world. For exclusive and timely commentary from Irina Sedenko or Vince Mirabelli, experts in data management, as well as access to the complete Define a Data Practice Strategy to Power an Autonomous Enterprise blueprint, please contact [email protected]. Info-Tech LIVE 2024 Registration is now open for Info-Tech Research Group's annual IT conference, Info-Tech LIVE 2024, taking place September 17 to 19, 2024, at the iconic Bellagio in Las Vegas. This premier event offers journalists, podcasters, and media influencers access to exclusive content, the latest IT research and trends, and the opportunity to interview industry experts, analysts, and speakers. To apply for media passes to attend the event or gain access to research and expert insights on trending topics, please contact [email protected]. About Info-Tech Research Group Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT and HR professionals. The company produces unbiased, highly relevant research and provides advisory services to help leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For nearly 30 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations. To learn more about Info-Tech's divisions, visit McLean & Company for HR research and advisory services and SoftwareReviews for software buying insights. Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected]. For information about Info-Tech Research Group or to access the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and X. SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global air separation unit market is propelled by rise in green hydrogen production. The increasing focus on renewable energy and sustainability is creating new opportunities for ASUs in green hydrogen production. ASUs play a crucial role in electrolysis processes for producing hydrogen from water, where oxygen is a byproduct. The demand for green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources, is expected to grow rapidly as countries strive to reduce carbon emissions and achieve energy transition goals. Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Air Separation Unit Market by Process (Cryogenic Distillation and Non-Cryogenic Distillation), Gas Type (Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon and Others), and End-Use industry (Iron and Steel, Petrochemical, Medical, Chemical Manufacturing and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, the air separation unit market size was valued at $5.8 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $8.8 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2024 to 2033. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A07825 Prime determinants of growth The global air separation unit market is driven by rapid technological advancements in air separation unit (ASU) systems. Manufacturers of ASUs are constantly engaged in R&D activities for improving efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and enhancing operational reliability. Modern ASUs incorporate advanced cryogenic distillation processes, sophisticated control systems, and innovative heat exchange technologies to optimize gas separation and liquefaction processes. For instance, the development of more efficient heat exchangers and distillation columns has significantly improved the energy efficiency of ASUs, reducing operational costs and environmental footprint. Additionally, digitalization and automation in ASU operations enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and remote control, enhancing overall system performance and reliability. However, high operational and maintenance costs of air separation units may restrain the growth of the air separation unit market during the forecast period. Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20242033 Base Year 2023 Market Size In 2023 $5.8 Billion Market Size In 2033 $8.8 Billion CAGR 4.3 % No. Of Pages In Report 350 Segments Covered Process, Gas Type, End-Use Industry, And Region. Drivers Industrial Growth And Demand For Industrial Gases Energy Sector Expansion And Demand For Oxygen Renewable Energy Integration And Green Hydrogen Production Opportunities Technological Advancements In ASU Systems Restraints High Operational Costs The cryogenic segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period The demand for cryogenic air separation units (ASUs) is increasing due to their critical role in supplying large volumes of high-purity gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for diverse industrial applications. Cryogenic ASUs utilize cryogenic distillation technology to separate and liquefy air components at extremely low temperatures, ensuring efficient and cost-effective production of industrial gases. These gases are essential in industries such as steelmaking, chemicals, healthcare, electronics, and aerospace. As industries expand globally and seek reliable and sustainable sources of industrial gases, the scalability, efficiency, and reliability of cryogenic ASUs make them indispensable. Additionally, advancements in cryogenic technology and energy efficiency further drive the adoption of cryogenic ASUs to meet growing industrial and environmental demands. Procure Complete Report (350 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3Wuu9d3 The oxygen segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period The demand for cryogenic air separation units (ASUs) specifically for oxygen is increasing due to several factors. Oxygen produced by cryogenic ASUs is crucial for various industries and applications, including healthcare, metal processing, chemicals, and combustion processes. The healthcare sector, in particular, relies on oxygen for respiratory therapies, anesthesia, and emergency medical treatments, with heightened demand during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In industrial applications, oxygen from cryogenic ASUs enhances combustion efficiency, supports oxy-fuel processes in steelmaking, and enables cleaner and more efficient chemical reactions. As industries prioritize operational efficiency, reliability, and sustainability, the scalable and energy-efficient nature of cryogenic ASUs positions them as essential infrastructure for ensuring a reliable supply of high-purity oxygen to meet growing global demand. North America to maintain its dominance by 2033 Countries in Asia-Pacific are experiencing rapid industrial growth and manufacturing expansion across sectors such as steel, chemicals, electronics, and healthcare. Cryogenic ASUs are essential for producing large volumes of high-purity oxygen, nitrogen, and argon required for industrial processes. Oxygen, in particular, is used in steelmaking for blast furnace operations and oxy-fuel combustion processes, enhancing process efficiency and reducing emissions. The expansion of manufacturing capabilities in APAC countries drives the demand for reliable and efficient industrial gas supply systems, positioning cryogenic ASUs as critical infrastructure for supporting industrial productivity and economic development. For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/air-separation-unit-market/purchase-options Leading Market Players: - Linde PLC Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Nikkiso ING. L. & A. BOSCHI ITALY Bhuruka Gases Limited Hangzhou Nuzhuo Technology Group Co., Ltd. TAIYO NIPPON SANSO CORPORATION Brise Chemicals Comi Polaris Systems INOX-Air Products Inc. Maddox Industrial Group. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global air separation unit market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Trending Reports in Air Separation Unit Industry: Green Hydrogen Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Technology, By Application, By End-use industry: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Electrolyzer Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Application, by Capacity, by Product: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Hydrogen Generator Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Product Type, Process, Capacity and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Renewable Energy Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Type and End Use: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Syngas Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Gasifier, Technology, Feedstock and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Industrial Gases Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Type, by End Use Industry: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 About us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/energy-and-power Follow Us on | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research Asep was selected to be a part of a special series titled Empowered, Hosted by Meg Ryan, focusing on science, technology and medicine leaders. VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Asep Medical Holdings Inc. ("Asep Inc." or the "Company") (CSE: ASEP) (OTCQB: SEPSF) (FSE: JJ8) is pleased to announce that its innovative sepsis diagnostic test will be getting national exposure in the US through a documentary series called Empowered, Hosted by Meg Ryan, now being aired on Public Television. The documentary, written and produced by Summit Studios of Boca Raton, FL, features interviews with Asep's Founder and CEO, Dr. Robert E. W. Hancock and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Evan Haney. To view the documentary, click here. In July of 2023, one of Asep's news releases announcing its groundbreaking AI-based technology for the rapid identification of sepsis caught the attention of the producers of the docuseries. Sepsis is a debilitating and severe disease that is responsible for one in five deaths worldwide1, and essentially all deaths from pandemic microbes like COVID-19. After a few meetings, the producers decided to bring the Asep story to its audience of over 60 million households in the US. The segment is distributed to over 170 Public Television stations in the US and will continue running for about a year. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to help educate a large audience about the seriousness of sepsis and provide hope for a faster, more reliable diagnostic tool for emergency room teams worldwide," said Dr. Hancock. "Once our technology is FDA cleared, we expect to see our test kits widely distributed to hospitals across the US." According to Dr. Evan Haney, Asep's CSO, "It is critical to identify sepsis as early as possible due to the 7.6% increased risk of death2 for every hour of delay in diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment. No conventional assay accurately predicts sepsis onset in the first hours after a patient enters the hospital. Our team has found that our test, called SepsetER, can help assess whether a patient will subsequently acquire sepsis in 9 out of 10 patients in the ICU, and 7 of 10 patients in the emergency department, based on analysis of company and published data." The technology was developed using an innovative team approach, including microbiologists and computer scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. "We've harnessed the power of AI to identify a minimum number of genes involved in the immune dysfunction underlying sepsis and translated this discovery to an in vitro diagnostic assay that can accurately identify those patients at highest risk of progressing to sepsis and associated organ failure," said Dr. Hancock. Chief Operating Officer Tim Murphy said, "We hope that current and prospective investors will take the time to tune in to PBS and learn a little more about our Company and the great work our scientific team is doing to tackle a global health crisis where every hour counts." ABOUT ASEP MEDICAL HOLDINGS INC. Asep Medical Holdings Inc. (asepmedical.com) is dedicated to addressing the global issue of antibiotic failure by developing novel solutions for significant unmet medical needs in human medicine. The Company is a consolidation of three existing private companies, all with technology in advanced development Sepset Biosciences Inc. (proprietary diagnostic tools to enable the early and timely identification of sepsis), ABT Innovations Inc. (broad-spectrum therapeutic agents to address multi-drug resistant biofilm infections), and SafeCoat Medical Inc. (an antimicrobial peptide, anti-fouling medical device coating technology). Sepset Biosciences Inc. (sepset.ca) is developing a diagnostic technology that involves a patient gene expression signature that helps assess the development of severe sepsis, one of the significant diseases leading to antibiotic failure, since antibiotics are the primary treatment for sepsis. Sepsis was responsible for nearly 20% of all deaths on the planet in 2017 and essentially all deaths due to COVID-19 and other pandemics. The SepsetER test is a blood-based gene expression assay that is straightforward to implement, and results are obtained about an hour after taking a blood sample in the emergency room or intensive care unit. This proprietary diagnostic technology differs from current diagnostic tests, enabling the risk assessment for progression to severe sepsis within 60 minutes of initiating the test. Bacterial culture, the gold standard, provides a diagnosis after ~15 hours but can be as long as three days. Asep Inc. believes its test will enable physicians to make critical early decisions regarding appropriate therapies and thus reduce overall morbidity and mortality due to sepsis. ABT Innovations Inc.'s (abtinnovations.ca) peptide technology covers a broad range of therapeutic applications, including bacterial biofilm infections (medical device infections, chronic infections, lung, bladder, wound, dental, skin, ear-nose and throat, sinusitis, orthopaedic, etc.), anti-inflammatories, anti-infective immune-modulators and vaccine adjuvants. The company is in the pre-clinical development phase with promising data. SafeCoat Medical Inc.'s (safecoatmedical.com) technology incorporates self-assembling biocompatible polymers combined with conjugated antimicrobial peptides and applied to virtually any surface as stable antimicrobial and/or anti-fouling coatings. Of particular interest is the application of this versatile antimicrobial coating to various medical devices and implants that often become contaminated with biofilm infections. SafeCoat is optimizing methods to manufacture and apply these anti-bacterial coatings to a host of surfaces and can tailor the composition of the coating and associated peptide sequences for any desired application. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "plan," "continue," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "will," "potential," "proposed," "positioned" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements include but are not limited to the successful clinical testing of our Sepsis in vitro diagnostic test and its intended filing for regulatory market authorization; the Company not receiving regulatory market authorization as planned or at all; the undertaking of pre-clinical studies on our lead therapeutic, with the expectation that this will lead to fast-track clinical trials; the timeframe for identification of sepsis with the company's products; the potential opportunities for the generation of revenue; the therapeutic benefits of the company's products; and other statements regarding the company's proposed business plans. Various assumptions were used in drawing conclusions or making the predictions contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks including the risk that the company's products may not perform as expected; that the company may not receive the requisite regulatory market authorization or results of testing; the Company's testing of the products may not be successful and market authorization may not be obtained in the estimated timelines or at all; the company may not be able to generate revenue from its products as expected or at all; the market for the company's products may not be as described in this news release; and various other risk factors identified in the Asep Medical Inc.'s prospectus dated November 9, 2021, and in the company's management discussion and analysis, available for review under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Asep Medical Inc. is under no obligation and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. ENDNOTES 1 https://www.biophysics.org/2024meeting#/ 2 Kumar, A. et al. Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock. Crit Care Med 34, 15891596 (2006). SOURCE ASEP Medical Holdings Inc. SAO PAULO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartKargo, the technology company that brings airlines into the age of e-commerce, and Azul Cargo Express, a subsidiary of Azul Brazilian Airlines, celebrate their success and ongoing collaboration that has revolutionized the e-commerce package delivery industry in Brazil. The two companies have been long-term partners, working together to drive innovation and efficiency in the logistics sector. Since its inception as the cargo division of Azul Brazilian Airlines, Azul Cargo Express has rapidly positioned itself as a leader in logistics solutions, especially within the burgeoning e-commerce sector. According to Abhi Shah, President of Azul Airlines, central to this success has been the "Strategic adoption of SmartKargo's advanced cloud-based technology, which has enabled Azul Cargo Express to streamline operations, optimize Booking, inventory and visibility, deliver superior customer service and drive revenue." Olivier Houri, CRO of SmartKargo, stated, "Azul is a phenomenal partner that shares our innovation DNA and focuses on the customers." Azul Cargo Express has witnessed a remarkable growth trajectory, with a consistent annual increase in package delivery volume averaging between 30-35%. This growth has been fueled by the rapid expansion of e-commerce in Brazil and Azul Cargo Express's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet customer demands. In November of last year, Azul Cargo Express set a record by handling over 2 million packages, reflecting the robustness of its strategic initiatives and the effectiveness of the SmartKargo platform. This achievement underscores the growing demand for e-commerce and customers' trust in Azul Cargo Express's logistics solutions. Azul Cargo Express delivers e-commerce packages for Amazon, and, with Prime Day last week, increased their volume by over 45% with great efficiency and customer satisfaction. The extension of the SmartKargo contract for another 5 year is a testament to the successful partnership and shared vision of innovation and growth. Azul Cargo Express is poised to lead the way in efficient and reliable logistics solutions, driving customer satisfaction and market growth in the competitive e-commerce landscape. About SmartKargo: SmartKargo empowers airlines and small package shippers with the technology platform to leverage the speed only an airline can provide. Whether it's a cargo company shipping from Miami to Bogota, or a retailer looking to send a package from New York to Los Angeles SmartKargo is the innovative solution that enables shippers to battle the status quo. With deep expertise in air cargo, technology, and e-commerce, SmartKargo enables airlines to open new revenue streams through e-commerce package shipping and delivery. SmartKargo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with key offices in India, the Philippines, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and Canada. For more information, visit www.smartkargo.com. About Azul Airlines: Azul Cargo Express, the logistics unit of Azul Linhas Aereas, has its business model in express parcels and cargo shipments, taking advantage of the capacity of Azul's airline network. Today, the Azul Cargo Express network has over 300 stores in Brazil and abroad, offering "door to door" service to over 4,200 Brazilian cities, besides the entire territory of the USA and Portugal. The services offered include critical parcels, B2C distribution for e-commerce, parcels at economical rates, and palletized cargo in the global market. For more information, visit www.azulcargoexpress.com.br CONTACT: Ed Burek, [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2330150/SK_color_logo_for_PR_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473214/Azul_Logo.jpg FIU-led study reveals those most affected by fishing are most needed for healthy oceans MIAMI, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shark conservation must go beyond simply protecting sharks it must prioritize protecting the ecological roles of sharks, according to new research published today in Science . The largest sharks of many of the biggest species, such as tiger sharks and great whites, play an oversized role in healthy oceans, but they are often the most affected by fishing. They help maintain balance through their eating habits. Sometimes their size is enough to scare away prey that would over-consume much-needed plant life. Sharks also help from the bottom-up. A variety of sharks are needed for healthy oceans, yet they are under threat from overfishing, climate change, energy mining, shipping and more. The study, led by Florida International University (FIU), sheds light on what role sharks play in ocean health and why size should be a factor in conservation decisions. "Some of these roles are really important," said Mike Heithaus, study co-author and executive dean of FIU's College of Arts, Sciences & Education. "We need to maintain a diversity of sharks in our oceans as well as a wide range of sizes of sharks. We need to rebuild heavily depleted populations and manage for how sharks will function amid climate change." Heithaus' work in Shark Bay, Australia is the most detailed study in the world on the ecological roles of sharks. There, he documented the top-down roles like keeping prey in check. "It's time to have a conversation about everything sharks are doing to maintain ocean health so we can better prioritize conservation efforts and have the biggest impact," said Simon Dedman, FIU marine scientist and co-lead author. Sharks feed in offshore waters and bring nutrients back to the reef. Others move nutrients that are used at the base of the food chain. Sharks also serve as food themselves and even as scratching posts for fish to remove parasites. But shark abundance has plummeted by 71 percent for oceanic species in the past 50 years. Populations of the top five reef shark species have been depleted by 63 percent. "This study verifies what we've long suspected sharks are critical to ocean health," said Lee Crockett, executive director of the Shark Conservation Fund which funded the study. "This landmark study serves as confirmation that marine conservationists, philanthropists, policymakers, and the public alike need to recognize that sharks are keystone species that have a now-proven significant effect on marine environments." Shark conservation becomes all the more critical as global temperatures increase, leading some sharks to move away from the warming waters. As the blue economy expands, people's encounters with sharks will likely increase. Finding a balance that protects the sharks most needed for healthy oceans is hitting a critical point. The scientists recommend policy to increase spatial measures like Marine Protected Areas and fisheries management measures like catch/size limits and gear limitations. Media Contact: JoAnn Adkins 305-348-0398 [email protected] SOURCE Florida International University HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueHalo, the company transforming the future of global defense with actively deployed and operationally proven Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) solutions, announced today the successful completion of critical milestones in the development of its agile and disruptive new Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM): Freedom Eagle (FE-1). FE-1 goes beyond current capabilities to increase lethality and range against Group 3 UAS and other larger air threats. Post this BlueHalo announced the successful completion of critical milestones in the development of its agile and disruptive new Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM): Freedom Eagle (FE-1). In June, BlueHalo announced its selection as one of two vendors chosen to continue development of the Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM) by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC) Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC). The company has since completed multiple rounds of testing for the FE-1, including the successful firing of its dual-thrust, solid rocket motor. Fueled by strategic early investments from the company, this milestone demonstrates the FE-1's technological maturity and readiness while significantly reducing the technical and scheduling risks typically associated with rapid development programs. "On battlefields around the globe, drones are proving to be one of the most rapidly evolving threats to national security, demanding the accelerated development of innovative technologies for continued all-domain dominance," said Jonathan Moneymaker, BlueHalo Chief Executive Officer. "Our forward-thinking investments and collaborative efforts have positioned BlueHalo as a trusted and viable alternative missile provider, ready to outpace these emerging threats with superior technology while expanding the solid rocket motor industrial base and creating a more robust national security supply chain." FE-1 goes beyond current capabilities to increase lethality and range against Group 3 UAS and other larger air threats while seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure and Command and Control (C2) systems. It offers a low-cost effector with superior maneuverability to defeat an array of Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) threats. FE-1 joins BlueHalo's suite of innovative, effective C-UAS solutions for national defense customers. This includes the company's LOCUST Directed Energy Laser Weapon System, which has been successfully delivered and operationally deployed to identify, track, and engage a wide variety of targets with its hard-kill High Energy Laser. "FE-1 doesn't just meet today's challenges; it evolves with them," said Jimmy Jenkins, President, BlueHalo Armed Forces Portfolio, and former air defender in the U.S. Army. "We've already reached the point in FE-1's development where we are firing rocket motors because we identified the need early and have the capability, know-how, and agility to develop and deliver a technically superior solution to the frontlines quickly. We're proud to work with AMTC and PEO Missile and Space to rapidly bring this critical capability to the warfighter." "With FE-1, we're providing warfighters with increased range, reduced time-to-target, and rapid launch capabilities," said James Batt, BlueHalo Chief Growth Officer. "With the addition of this kinetic offering to our proven C2, Directed Energy, and RF-based C-UAS solutions, BlueHalo is proud to deliver ironclad, industry-leading end-to-end layered air and missile defense." About BlueHalo BlueHalo is purpose-built to provide industry-leading capabilities in the areas of Space, C-UAS and Autonomous Systems, Electronic Warfare & Cyber, and AI/ML. The company develops and brings to market next-generation capabilities to support customers' critical missions and national security. Learn more at https://www.bluehalo.com and follow BlueHalo on LinkedIn. SOURCE BlueHalo Cerberus, EBRD and IFC announce acquisition of Poland's VeloBank VeloBank 100 per cent of VeloBank's shares acquired from Poland's Bank Guarantee Fund Bank Guarantee Fund PLN 687 million injected into VeloBank to meet its regulatory requirements WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- An affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management L.P. (Cerberus), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC member of the World Bank Group) announce today the successful completion of the acquisition of 100 per cent of shares in VeloBank from the Bank Guarantee Fund in Poland, after having obtained all the necessary approvals from all the relevant regulatory authorities. The acquisition follows an open, transparent, non-discriminatory and competitive sale process launched by Bank Guarantee Fund in 2023. The signing of the agreement opens up new growth opportunities for VeloBank across business lines, thanks to VeloBank's recapitalisation by the new owners with an amount of PLN 687 million and the removal of bridge bank status and related restrictions imposed by the European Commission. The sale of the bank does not in any way affect the situation and service of customers. The funds accumulated in VeloBank S.A. are invariably covered by the protection of the Bank Guarantee Fund on the same principles as in other banks covered by the Polish deposit guarantee system. "We are very excited to invest into VeloBank and support its participation in the dynamic Polish banking market," commented Charles Dunlap, Cerberus Senior Managing Director. "We are incredibly proud of the bank and its talented employees, especially their drive for digital innovation and customer-centric financial products. We believe that VeloBank is well positioned to build on its successes and become a leading bank for the Polish retail and business communities." As part of taking control of the bank, a new Supervisory Board has been appointed on August 1, 2024. This board includes experts with many years of experience in the financial sector. "I am privileged to be involved in the most interesting banking project on the Polish market. The unique competence of Cerberus as specialist in financial institutions, as well as commitment and strength of the EBRD and IFC, provide unprecedented sponsorship to VeloBank's future. I believe the new Supervisory Board will be a good partner for the Velo Team, providing inspiration and support in further growth and development of the bank," said Jakub Papierski, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at VeloBank. The transaction strengthens the financial and operational foundations of VeloBank, enabling its dynamic development in the coming years based on the results achieved so far across all business lines. Over the past two years, many strategic initiatives have been launched to offer customers efficient and digital service processes, expand the product range, and change credit processes. Since VeloBank's inception, nearly 300,000 new customers have been acquired, and since the beginning of 2023, deposits balances have increased by PLN 16 billion. Since October 2022, the sale of personal loans has increased fourfold. During the same period, the sale of mortgage loans has successfully resumed, and the bancassurance offering has been dynamically expanded, resulting in a significant and steady increase in commission income. The bank has also rebuilt its offerings for businesses and private banking. "The team of VeloBank has successfully completed one of the most challenging resolution processes in the history of European banking, conducted in accordance with the highest standards, in compliance with the letter of EU law. The sale of VeloBank was a necessary and indispensable condition for the completion of the resolution procedure, which ensures the stability of the entire banking sector and simultaneously serves as a positive signal of the safety of the Polish financial sector," noted Adam Marciniak, CEO of VeloBank. "As VeloBank, we aim to systematically build an increasingly stronger position in the Polish market. With ambitious implementations, we will support the development of both individual and corporate clients. We will also strive to enhance innovation not only in the financial sector but in the entire Polish economy," he added. Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions, said: "We are very happy to see the investment in VeloBank successfully closed. It marks a new beginning for and the end of a long and complex resolution process. We are looking forward to this new stage in VeloBank's journey, and to work with our co-investors and partners to support the bank's growth and the development of its lending to the real economy in Poland." Ary Naim, the World Bank Group Country Manager for Poland and IFC Manager for Central and South Europe, said: "We are pleased to contribute IFC`s equity and global expertise to this important transaction, aligning with our strategic goal to diversify financing options for the Polish economy. We look forward to working with our partners and with VeloBank Management to achieve this objective, with a focus on digital and green finance." About VeloBank VeloBank is a universal bank offering modern financial solutions for individual clients, private banking, SMEs, large enterprises, and corporations, as well as public sector institutions. It is among the top ten largest banks in Poland. VeloBank's strategy is based on technology, including Gen AI solutions, aimed at enhancing the convenience of both clients and employees. Comprehensive services are provided across over 160 branches throughout Poland, as well as through advanced online and mobile banking platforms. The offerings include current accounts, loans, savings, investments, insurance, and numerous beyond banking services. The bank's capital group has also launched VeloMarket, a shopping platform featuring products beneficial for health and the planet, aligning with the bank's strategy to support ecology. The bank's innovation and brand quality are evidenced by numerous awards, including the Golden Banker 2024 for personal loans, the Business Insider Award, and the Master of Innovation Leadership for VeloBank's leaders. The company also won international competitions such as the Internal Communications & Engagement Awards 2024 and the Banking Tech Awards 2023. HR activities have been recognized in contests such as Solidny Pracodawca 2023 and Friendly Workplace 2024, while the bank's communication and marketing efforts have been honored in the Marketing Director of the Year 2023, IN2SABRE Awards 2024, and CMO Awards 2024 in the Digital Champion category. About Cerberus Founded in 1992, Cerberus is a global leader in alternative investing with approximately USD 65 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. The Firm invests across the capital structure, where its integrated investment platforms and proprietary operating capabilities create an edge to improve performance and drive long-term value. Cerberus's tenured teams have experience working collaboratively across asset classes, sectors, and geographies to seek strong risk-adjusted returns for its investors. Cerberus has an extensive track record of investing in financial institutions globally and in Europe, including CCF and My Money Bank in France, Hamburg Commercial Bank in Germany, and BAWAG in Austria. Linklaters acted as a legal adviser to Cerberus. About the EBRD Set up to foster the private sector after the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe, the EBRD is active in 36 economies from central Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the southern and eastern Mediterranean and Lebanon. It is the largest single investor in many of these countries, and also mobilises significant foreign direct investment. It invests mainly in private enterprises. In Poland, to date the EBRD has invested more than 14.5 billion in 532 projects. About IFC IFC a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. IFC works in more than 100 countries, using its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. Contact: Cerberus Jason Ghassemi Chief Communications Officer [email protected] SOURCE Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. Investing KRW 1 trillion in Vietnam to establish a bio butanediol plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons. Building the world's first integrated production system for bio spandex, from raw materials to finished fibers . SEOUL, South Korea, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cho Hyun-joon, Chairman of Hyosung, has identified "Bio BDO" as the future growth driver for the company. Butanediol (BDO) is a chemical used to manufacture PTMG, which is used in the production of spandex. BDO is also used to manufacture packaging materials, automotive interior components, and industrial compounds. Bio BDO is produced by fermenting sugars derived from renewable sources such as sugarcane or corn. Compared to conventional products that are produced with fossil fuels, Hyosung's bio BDO is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 90%, making it a highly regarded material in the eco-friendly market. Investing KRW 1 trillion in Vietnam to establish a bio butanediol plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons After observing the rapid shift in the global textile market toward eco-friendly products, Chairman Cho swiftly decided to invest in bio BDO. In April, Hyosung TNC announced its plan to invest KRW 1 trillion in southern Vietnam's Ba RiaVung Tau Province to build a new plant capable of producing 200,000 tons of bio BDO annually. The company plans to start production and sales of bio BDO with an initial capacity of 50,000 tons per year beginning in the first half of 2026. The world's first integrated production system for bio spandex, from raw materials to finished fibers With Chairman Cho's investment in bio BDO, Hyosung TNC will establish the world's first vertically integrated production system for bio spandex in Vietnam. The plant in Ba RiaVung Tau Province will produce bio BDO, which will be converted into PTMG at the Dong Nai plant, and subsequently used to mass-produce bio spandex. This integrated production system is optimized for customers in the global eco-friendly premium textile market, including Europe and the United States. It enhances production efficiency through stable raw material supply and allows for quick responses to market demands by speeding up the production system's operations. Additionally, it secures cost competitiveness by reducing transportation costs and minimizes environmental impact by lowering fuel consumption for transportation. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon stressed, "The bio business, which focuses on transitioning from fossil fuel-based raw materials to plant-based ones, will be a key pillar of Hyosung's centennial vision. Strengthening our global market strategy by focusing on our bio BDO and bio spandex integrated production system is key to elevating Hyosung's premium brand status." SOURCE Hyosung Corporation -Fast casual concept celebrating grand opening on Aug. 13th with free chicken salad for a year- ATLANTA, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick, the nation's only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today it is once again expanding in Texas, opening in Lubbock in the Canyon West shopping center at 5015 Milwaukee Ave. The newest Chick in the Lone Star State is owned by business partners Laura Garrison and Meng Moua. Garrison opened her first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant just one year ago in Amarillo and is excited to invite the Lubbock community to celebrate this grand opening on Tuesday, Aug. 13th. The first 100 guests in line will win free chicken salad for a year. During grand opening week, local guests can expect to experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for with specials and giveaways that include: Tuesday, Aug. 13 Free Chicken Salad for a Year to the first 100 Guests The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. Wednesday, Aug. 14 - The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Water Bottle.** - The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Water Bottle.** Thursday, Aug. 15 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Canvas Tote Bag.** The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Canvas Tote Bag.** Friday, Aug. 16 The first 50 guests to purchase two Large Quick Chicks receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Cooler.** An alumna of Texas Tech University, Laura Garrison is thrilled to return to the Lubbock area with Chicken Salad Chick. She is a restaurant industry veteran, owning several Taco Bell locations in addition to her first Chick in Amarillo. With her experience comes an appreciation for the communities she does business in and the relationships she develops with her guests. "Chicken Salad Chick is a really unique brand, focused on spreading joy, enriching lives and serving others. Our Lubbock team looks forward to welcoming in our neighbors and getting involved with their special events. We love becoming part of their lives, whether it's enjoying a meal in our dining room or on our patio, picking up a few Quick Chicks to go or letting us cater their family and work gatherings. It's all an honor and a privilege for us to be part of," said Garrison. With this new Lubbock location, Garrison has partnered with Meng Moua to oversee daily operations of the restaurant. Moua is originally from Alaska but married a Lubbock native last year, quickly settling into the area. "Lubbock is a fantastic community full of wonderful people and great colleges," said Moua. "Laura and I can't wait to throw open our doors and do what Chicken Salad Chick does best, which is serve fresh, flavorful varieties of chicken salad, made from scratch every day." Chicken Salad Chick gives back to important causes throughout the year, with the CSC Foundation raising money for local food banks and CURE Childhood Cancer. With the Lubbock opening, the local team will be supporting the Texas Girls & Boys Ranch as part of their pre-opening Friends & Family events. The Ranch provides a safe haven for children of abuse and neglect, providing counseling, tutoring and other specialized services to heal hearts and transform lives. Chicken Salad Chick in Lubbock will be open Monday Saturday from 10:30 a.m. 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.chickensaladchick.com. Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and trends. For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickLubbockTX. *Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. The first 100 guests must remain in line and download the Chicken Salad Chick app. Wi-Fi will not be available on site. Once the restaurant opens, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of equal/greater value and enter a code in the Chicken Salad Chick app to officially secure their spot. If you leave the line for any reason, your spot will be awarded to the next guest in line. Guests will receive their first free Large Quick Chick electronically to their app the Monday following Grand Opening Day. **Must download the CSC App and be 16 years or older to purchase. Not valid with any other offers. Limit 1 reward per guest present. About Chicken Salad Chick Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama, by Stacy and Kevin Brown, in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 260 restaurants in 19 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the third consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2023, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information. Contact: Alexis Paul Fish Consulting 954-893-9150 [email protected] SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris will visit Eau Claire next week with her soon-to-be-announced running mate as part of a battleground state tour. Harris campaign told the Wisconsin State Journal the vice president will make a trip to the western half of the state to roll out her new vice presidential running mate. Harris potential running mates include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona. Harris has planned a host of swing state campaign rallies as she kicks off her presidential bid in earnest. From Tuesday through Saturday, Harris and her running mate will crisscross the country, traveling to battleground states to meet voters where they are and highlight the stakes of this election. The vice president and her running mate will travel first to Philadelphia then on to Eau Claire, Detroit, The Research Triangle in North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Her schedule shows she will be in Eau Claire on Wednesday afternoon. Western Wisconsin regional press secretary Olivia Oehmcke said in a press release that Harris will be in the area Wednesday afternoon. The exact time and location of her stops will be shared early next week. Energy Metals News Commentary Issued on behalf of Usha Resources Ltd. VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Metals News At the beginning of 2024, Forbes was reporting on a showdown between the United States and China over a dwindling copper supply, as prices soared. Now with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the tech sector is getting hungrier for more copper, with AI recently helping to find millions of tons of it in Zambia. Despite a small price slump over the last few months, there are still analysts confidently expressing bullish sentiment for copper over the long term, with Citigroup predicting further price increases. Looking ahead, the US copper supply is set to grow by 4% in 2024, while other developments from copper miners will look to ease shortage fears with new supplies as global demand is projected to skyrocket. Among the miners currently making progress are developers and producers, including Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTC: USHAF), Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO), Metals Acquisition Limited (NYSE: MTAL), Taseko Mines Limited (NYSE-American: TGB) (TSX: TKO), and Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE: ERO) (TSX: ERO). Critical energy transition metals developer Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTC: USHAF) recently entered the copper space after executing an option for the right to purchase an undivided 100% interest in the Southern Arm copper property from Abitibi Metals. The move comes after Usha entered an LOI to divest up to 90% interest in its Jackpot Lake lithium asset for US$26,025,000a transaction that would give Usha a return-on-investment of over 1,300% after only spent approximately US$1.835 million on acquiring and developing Jackpot Lake since 2022. Wasting no time on its new copper asset, Usha began August by commencing fieldwork on the drill-ready Southern Arm Copper-Gold VMS Property. The program is part of the option agreement that Usha signed with Abitibi Metals to earn 100% of the asset over 2 years, beginning with a biogeochemical survey on the property. Situated in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, the Southern Arm property features a ~7.3 km conductive copper-gold trend along the regional Bapst fault within the volcanic rocks of the Brouillan-Fenelon Group. This area includes the nearby Selbaie Mine (~15 km southwest), which produced 53 million tonnes at 0.96% Cu, 1.9% Zn, 0.58 g/t Au, and 40.7 g/t Ag. Additionally, Abitibi Metals' B26 Deposit (~16 km southwest) boasts an indicated resource of 6.97 million tonnes at 2.94% Cu equivalent (1.32% Cu, 1.80% Zn, 0.60 g/t Au, and 43 g/t Ag). "We are excited to apply modern and novel exploration techniques to the Southern Arm Property to penetrate the thick overburden cover that has deterred previous explorers," said Deepak Varshney, CEO of Usha Resources. "The Southern Arm property is exceptionally well-positioned for the Abitibi's next major discovery, and we are working closely with the region's most successful exploration team at Abitibi Metals Corp. Our planned exploration program will apply techniques that have proven their applicability in the Abitibi mining district, but have not previously been applied to this ground. This work will help us finalize drill target within the Hollywood Trend, prior to our fully funded maiden drill program, for which planning has already begun." Usha states that the biogeochemical survey aims to identify additional priority targets prospective for high-grade gold and copper mineralization. These targets will be included in the Usha's maiden drill program set to begin this coming fall. "Our strategic vision at Usha has always been to acquire and monetize undervalued assets," said Varshney. "With working capital of approximately $1.2M, Usha is in a strong financial position to execute over the coming year and we look forward to our maiden drill program at Southern Arm, particularly at "Hollywood", which has a ~1.8 km footprint that is open along strike." Recently in July, Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) (NYSE: SCCO) released its Q2 2024 and H1 2024 financial results, which included a 35.5% increase in net sales year-over-year to ~$3.12 billion. Among the products SCC sells, the company saw its sales volumes of copper increase by 5.5%, and copper production registering an increase of 6.6% in quarter-on-quarter terms to 242,474 tons. As of July 1, SCC restarted activities at its Tia Maria project in Arequipa, Peru, which is projected to produce 120,000 tons of copper cathodes per year. "Based on current copper prices, we estimate the [Tia Maria] project will generate exports of $17.5 billion and contribute $3.4 billion in taxes and royalties over its 20 years of operation," said German Larrea, Chairman of the Board of Southern Copper. "A significant portion of the economic benefits derived from Tia Maria will be utilized to boost the Company's programs to improve the productivity of vital economic activities in Islay, and agriculture in particular. SCC is fully committed to driving improvements in health and educational services in the Arequipa region, which will mirror the success of the Company's efforts in the Moquegua and Tacna regions." In Australia, Metals Acquisition Limited (NYSE: MTAL) recently reported favourable drill results to update the market on the continuing exploration and resource development at the CSA Copper Mine a world class mine that consists of a series of mineralized lenses that extend from surface to a depth of over 2.3km. These results included 22.1m at 9.8% Cu, 24.2m at 7.8% Cu, 22.1m at 7.8%, 17.5m at 8.0% Cu, 12.8m at 8.1% Cu, and 5.5m at 10.4%. "Drilling at QTSN has confirmed the location of the Inferred resource and will be used to upgrade the Measured and Indicated material, said Mick McMullen, CEO of Metals Acquisition Limited. "We see the typical QTSN intervals of approximately 20m plus grading at 8% Cu or greater in this drilling, which would be seen as spectacular in any other mine but in the CSA Copper Mine are considered normal." After a suspension at its Gibralter Mine at the beginning of June, Taseko Mines Limited (NYSE-American: TGB) (TSX: TKO) rebounded quickly within a few weeks to reach an agreement to get workers to restart mining operations. By mid-July, Taseko announced the mine's Q2 2024 production was 20 million pounds of copper (and 185,000 pounds of molybdenum). "Production in the second half of 2024 is expected to be stronger with the major project and maintenance work in both concentrators completed," said Stuart McDonald, President & CEO of Taseko. "An updated mine plan and mill throughput opportunities are being evaluated to recover some of the production that was lost during the strike. Copper production for the year is expected to be in the range of 110 to 115 million pounds, compared to original guidance of 115 million pounds." In Brazil, Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE: ERO) (TSX: ERO) recently achieved its first saleable copper concentrate production at its Tucuma Project, initiating a ramp-up right away. The milestone was achieved following the successful commissioning of the milling and flotation operations prior to the end of Q2 2024. "Producing our first saleable copper concentrate at the Tucuma Project and successfully completing the first 24-hour shift of continuous mining and milling operations are important milestones as we begin our ramp-up towards commercial production," said David Strang, CEO of Ero Copper. "We are rapidly progressing towards an important inflection point for our consolidated copper production and cash flows. It is an exciting time for the Company and with copper prices performing well year-to-date, the timing of the completion and ramp-up of Tucuma could not be better." In sad news, Ero Copper confirmed a report of a fatality in a non-operational area on surface at its other Brazil mine, the Caraiba Operationsthe company's primary asset which it holds a 99.6% interest. The tragedy resulted from a light-duty truck accident, which resulted in the death and a second team member in critical condition. In response to the tragedy, Ero Copper immediately activated its emergency response and safety protocols which included suspending operations, notifying the relevant government authorities, and undertaking a full investigation. Article Source: https://energymetalnews.com/2023/02/28/charging-along-the-highway-towards-domestic-lithium-dominance/ CONTACT: USA NEWS GROUP [email protected] (604) 265-2873 Source: USA News Group DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. Energy Metals News is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). MIQ has been paid a fee for Usha Resources Ltd. advertising and digital media from Energy Metals News ("the Company"). There may be 3rd parties who may have shares of Usha Resources Ltd., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ own shares of Usha Resources Ltd. MIQ and reserves the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Usha Resources Ltd. at any time thereafter without any further notice. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material disseminated by MIQ has been approved by the above mentioned company; this is a paid advertisement, and we own shares of the mentioned company that we will sell, and we also reserve the right to buy shares of the company in the open market, or through further private placements and/or investment vehicles. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment. SOURCE USA News Group Made with 100% recycled fabrics, these packs support Cotopaxi's mission of sustainability SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Certified B Corporation and impact-driven adventure brand, Cotopaxi is excited to announce the release of their new Allpa Travel Packs . As a recommitment to Cotopaxi's mission to empower people to see the world and make it better, and their quest for pack perfectiondesigned with years of testing and consumer feedback, as well as new, innovative features and sustainable materials, the new Allpa Collection has arrived. The new Allpa Travel Packs from Cotopaxi are now made with 100% recycled fabrics that boast an impressive level of durability, and include suitcase-style opening, carry-on convenience, and internal organization pockets. New details include air mesh shoulder straps for an ultra-comfortable carry, better weight distribution, a new exterior stretch water bottle pocket, and a luggage pass-through strap that easily slides over the handle of a roller bag. The new Allpa Travel Packs are now made with 100% recycled fabrics that boast an impressive level of durability. While all the customer-favorite features of the bestselling packs remain, including suitcase-style opening, carry-on convenience, and internal organization pockets, Cotopaxi made a number of game-changing updates. New details include air mesh shoulder straps for an ultra-comfortable carry, better weight distribution, a new exterior stretch water bottle pocket, and a luggage pass-through strap that easily slides over the handle of a roller bag (such as the Cotopaxi Allpa Roller Bags ). "Cotopaxi's continued commitment to elevating sustainability in the travel and outdoor space is highlighted with this expansion of our 100% recycled fabric offerings," explains Brad Hiranaga, Chief Brand Officer at Cotopaxi. "We're excited to reimagine our best selling Allpa Travel Packs with both a lower footprint and new design features that are designed to elevate our users' adventure experience anywhere they want to go." The collection also includes a new size option, Allpa Mini 20L Travel Pack (MSRP $140). Similar to the original Allpa Travel Pack, this 20L version is perfectly sized for anyone who prefers a more compact packwhether that's for a sleek carry on, a day trip or for the junior wanderluster. In addition, the redesigned Del Dia version of Cotopaxi's Allpa Packs will continue to be made from 100% leftover deadstock fabric. Allpa Mini 20L Travel Pack (MSRP Recycled TPU: $140, Del Dia: $130) Allpa 28L Travel Pack (MSRP Recycled TPU: $200, Del Dia: $190) Allpa 35L Travel Pack (MSRP Recycled TPU: $225, Del Dia: $215) Allpa 42L Travel Pack (MSRP Recycled TPU: $250, Del Dia: $240) The new Allpa Travel Pack Collection launches today, August 1, and is available in select retailers, Cotopaxi stores and online at Cotopaxi.com. As always, 1% of corporate revenue is routed to the Cotopaxi Foundation to support organizations that help communities facing extreme poverty. Cotopaxi Allpa Travel Pack Press Kit Here . Media Contact: [email protected] About Cotopaxi Cotopaxi is a B Corporation that makes adventure travel gear to empower people to see the world and make it better. Our Gear for Good promise is to make our products as ethically, sustainably, and durably as possible, while having a positive social, environmental, and economic impact. We dedicate 1% of revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which supports nonprofit partners with proven track records of alleviating poverty. Through our Foundation to date, we have helped more than 4.25 million individuals experiencing extreme poverty. For more information, visit www.cotopaxi.com . SOURCE Cotopaxi Transaction expands firm's forensics and legal consulting and cybersecurity businesses, bringing world-class incident response capabilities. CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowe LLP , a public accounting, consulting and technology firm, has entered into an agreement with Sylint Group, Inc. (Sylint), a global incident response and cybersecurity advisory firm, to join Crowe. Sylint is an internationally recognized advisory firm with extensive experience in dealing with cyber incidents and precedent-setting court cases. The deal will enhance and expand Crowe offerings across its forensics and legal consulting and cybersecurity businesses and boost its incident response (IR) services. Upon completion of the transaction, Sylint's business will be folded into Crowe's consulting business as part of the forensics and legal consulting practice and the cyber practice of its integrated risk management group. Crowe boosts cybersecurity capabilities with the addition of global advisory and incident response firm, Sylint. "Sylint is a well-established and internationally respected firm, with an impressive track record of providing cybersecurity, IR, and forensics services to top ranking law firms, Fortune 500 companies, public sector organizations and government agencies, as well as international clients," said Tim Bryan, leader of Crowe's forensics and legal consulting practice. "This transaction enhances our cyber and forensic services and brings over 25 years of world-class incident response experience to Crowe." In addition to IR and cyber offerings, Sylint also provides thought leadership in legal support and applied security consulting services. "Adding these capabilities to our robust portfolio of forensics and legal consulting services allows us to enhance the strategic value we bring to our clients. We're very excited to welcome the Sylint team to the Crowe family," added Bryan. Crowe's forensics and legal consulting practice offers a wide array of services from IP protection and post-acquisition management to eDiscovery and digital forensics and incident response. The addition of Sylint's expertise will bolster the firm's ability to serve the increasingly complex data security and legal consulting needs of its clients. "The Sylint team will join Crowe to build a global cybersecurity strategy and leverage Sylint's leading expertise in the critical world of responding to advanced threats and protecting digital data information for our combined clients across business and government," said John Jorgensen, founder and chairman of Sylint. "Our team comes to Crowe with decades of practical experience from the National Security Agency, Department of Defense, law enforcement, and corporate entities. We bring a unique understanding of protecting business and government entities to ensure our clients operate successfully in a secure data environment." About Crowe Crowe LLP is a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm that uses its deep industry expertise to provide audit services to public and private entities. The firm and its subsidiaries also help clients make smart decisions that lead to lasting value with its tax, advisory and consulting services, helping businesses uncover hidden opportunities in the market no matter what challenges the markets present. Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the best places to work in the U.S. As an independent member of Crowe Global, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world, Crowe serves clients worldwide. The network consists of more than 200 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 130 countries around the world. LinkedIn: Crowe SOURCE Crowe LLP CALGARY, AB, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is pleased to provide a production update for the DHC-515 Firefighter that is now in production in our Canadian manufacturing facilities. De Havilland Canada, through our partners at the Canadian Commercial Corporation have signed contracts with Greece, Croatia and Portugal for 11 aircraft as part of the European Union's consortium of countries that have announced their intention to initially purchase 22 aircraft and become the launch customers for this program. View the video here. About De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited With more than 5,000 aircraft delivered, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (De Havilland Canada) is well established across the globe and our talented team of aviation professionals is dedicated to advancing our near-100-year reputation for excellence in innovation, production, and customer support. Our aircraft operate reliably in some of the world's harshest climates and provide vital connections between rural communities and urban centres transporting essential cargo and millions of passengers annually. Our aircraft also support a wide variety of special mission operations including aerial firefighting, search and rescue, medical evacuation, reconnaissance, and coastal surveillance. Visit: www.dehavilland.com De Havilland Canada, Dash 8, Dash 8-100, Dash 8-100/200/300, Dash 8-300, Dash 8-400, ESP, ESP PLUS, Extended Service Program and Extended Service Program PLUS are trademarks of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. For additional media assets, visit: https://dehavilland.com/en/media SOURCE De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited Energy efficiency improvement is a key driver for the district cooling market, due to its potential for substantial energy savings and environmental benefits. District cooling systems are designed to optimize the use of energy by centralizing cooling production, which reduces the overall energy consumption compared to individual cooling units. This centralization allows for the use of advanced, energy-efficient technologies that are not feasible on a smaller scale. As energy costs rise and environmental concerns grow, businesses and municipalities are increasingly seeking solutions that lower their energy usage and carbon footprint. Additionally, many governments offer incentives and support for adopting energy-efficient systems, further driving the demand for district cooling. This focus on energy efficiency helps organizations achieve sustainability goals while also improving their bottom line, making it a crucial factor in the market's growth. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=27186936 Browse in-depth TOC on "District Cooling Market" 200 - Tables 150 - Figures 250 - Pages District Cooling Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2024 $1.1 billion Estimated Value by 2029 $1.3 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% Market Size Available for 20212029 Forecast Period 20242029 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Source, By Production Technique, By Application, By Region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, Middle East & Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Technological advancements in Smart Grid Integration and IoT Key Market Drivers Urbanization and population growth fueling demand for sustainable district cooling solutions Electric chillers is expected to hold largest share of the District Cooling Market in production technique segment during the forecasted period. Electric chillers segment by production technique hold the largest share of the District Cooling Market due to their high efficiency, reliability, and widespread availability. They can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure and are capable of producing large amounts of chilled water needed for district cooling systems. Additionally, electric chillers benefit from advancements in technology, which have significantly improved their energy efficiency and reduced operational costs. This makes them an attractive option for developers and operators seeking to minimize environmental impact and comply with increasingly stringent energy regulations. Their versatility in handling varying cooling loads across different applications further solidifies their dominant market position. Commercial application segment accounted largest share of the global District Cooling Market during forecasted period. The commercial segment holds the largest share of the District Cooling Market because commercial buildings have high and continuous cooling demands. District cooling systems provide an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective solution to meet these needs, reducing energy consumption and operational costs. Additionally, increasing energy efficiency regulations and sustainability goals in the commercial sector make district cooling an attractive and scalable option. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=27186936 Middle East & Africa region likely to account the largest share of the global District Cooling Market during forecasted period. The District Cooling Market in Middle East & Africa has a huge growth potential. The increasing number of construction activities in the commercial, residential, hospitality, and retail sectors has also positively impacted the district cooling market. Thus, the demand for district cooling is expected to increase in the region. Countries worldwide are increasingly adapting non-fossil fuel sources for their energy needs. This factor can potentially impact the economy of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as crude oil and gas exports are the major revenue sources. This, in turn, may affect the spending on infrastructure projects, and subsequently, the District Cooling Market in these countries. Key Players Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (UAE), Tabreed (UAE), Emicool (UAE), Shinryo Corporation (Japan), LOGSTOR Denmark Holding ApS (Denmark). The companies are majorly following product launches, investments, expansions, contracts, agreements, partnerships, funding, initial public offering, and acquisition as the strategy to grow and expand the market. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=27186936 Related Reports: Data Center Cooling Market by Solution (Air Conditioning, Chilling Unit, Cooling Tower, Economizer System, Liquid Cooling System, Control System), Service, Type of Cooling, Data Center Type, Industry, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2030 Thermal Energy Storage Market by Technology (Sensible, Latent, Thermochemical), Storage Material (Water, Molten Salts, PCM), Application (Power Generation, District Heating & Cooling, Process Heating & Cooling), End User and Region - Global Forecast to 2025 Get access to the latest updates on District Cooling Companies and District Cooling Industry Growth About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In their newly published, fourth annual edition of C-Suite magazine, the Los Angeles Times has honored Emil Davtyan, Founder & Managing Attorney of employment law firm D.Law, as one of its CEO Visionaries for 2024. As the publication notes, "No matter the industry, the buck always stops at the desk of the chief executive officer. Tasked with making vital decisions as they relate to every facet of running a business, the CEO must possess a multitude of qualities that define a captain of industry." Emil Davtyan, Founder & Managing Attorney of employment law firm D.Law, has been honored as a CEO Visionary for 2024 by the Los Angeles Times in their fourth annual edition of C-Suite magazine. These qualities, which include "intuition, resilience, and (the) ability to lead," were considered as qualifications for inclusion in this year's awards. Nominations were recommended by peers and colleagues based on the nominee's ability to "inspire their employees, connect with consumers, and push their companies to achieve ever loftier goals." "I am deeply grateful for this recognition and honored to be in the company of many of our region's most esteemed business leaders," said Davtyan. "As a company, D.Law is committed to the vision of redefining what an employment law firm can be, and this acknowledgment of our success to date is a confirmation of our ongoing efforts." The latest edition of C-Suite also reports on many of the unique issues that define the current business environment, along with the role today's top executives are taking in leading their companies to success in the face of these challenges. Articles exploring the role of AI and other new technologies, trends in outsourcing, sustainability, cybersecurity, attracting new talent, and maximizing ROI on tech investments are all part of the publication's coverage. The magazine also includes insights into the backgrounds and careers of the business executives it profiles, including Davtyan's steadfast commitment to defending the rights of California workers. This essential aspect of Davtyan's focus is also the theme of a full-page ad for D.Law that serves as the magazine's final image and message. Titled "Armored for Justice" and featuring a visual of a fully armored knight in a courtroom setting, the ad emphasizes that workers need more than just a law firm; they need a "knight in shining armor" who will defend their rights with not only strength and resolve, but unwavering commitment and admirable legal expertise. "We truly do see ourselves as champions of justice and fairness for the hardworking California employees we serve,' noted Davtyan. "We strive to earn and uphold the trust of those who need a well-equipped defender who will fight diligently for their rights." Media Contact: Armen Petrosyan [email protected] SOURCE D.Law, Inc. SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In June of 2024, an event called "Protopie World Tour" took place for the very first time. This event was organized by the global prototyping platform Protopie in Seoul. For this event, the presentation of global game project case studies, Cho Jung Eun, the Director of StudioX in DoubleMe, was invited as a key speaker to introduce Vivarium, a game currently under development.(https://www.linkedin.com/in/jude1203) Cho Jung Eun, the Director of StudioX in DoubleMe Vivarium is a simulation XR game with an emphasis on social play that allows players to create ecosystems, manage plants and animals, and experience growth and evolution in a virtual space. With director Cho Jung Eun's background and past experience of the successful launch of Battleground PS4 and running the global UX organization as UX Supervisor, Cho Jung Eun leads StudioX at DoubleMe with a core team that has won awards including Oculus Game of The Year 'Real VR Fishing'. She has assembled a team of professionals with extensive experience in large-scale project production and service platforms at Krafton, Nexon, NCsoft, Netmarble, and d'strict. The team's development mantra is relaxation, as many of their former colleagues have rejoined the team. Vivarium is a simulation XR game with an emphasis on social play that allows players to create ecosystems, manage plants and animals, and experience growth and evolution in a virtual space. It is being recognized as more than just a game, rather an innovative tool that can help overcome real-world challenges. At the conference, Cho Jung Eun mentioned that the company is also exploring the possibility of alleviating issues such as sleep disorders, psychosis, and depression experienced by astronauts in confined spaces. The goal of the Vivarium is to provide comfort and solace to its users, and to allow them to experience true healing, especially for those suffering from psychological distress. DoubleMe is a startup that is gaining attention for developing Twinworld, a spatial computing social platform that connects the real world and the virtual world. It has established itself as an all-in-one metaverse company that has internalized the entire process of planning, research, development, and marketing of realistic spatial computing platforms. "StudioX has provided global services for more than 18 game projects and has created more than KRW 5 trillion in cumulative value, and is a group of talented organizational members who have won various domestic and international awards," said Kim Hee-young, the representative director of DoubleMe "We will innovate XR games with StudioX in the near future and solidify our image as a realistic spatial computing company that connects reality and virtual reality." StudioX's Vivarium is making its global debut on the Protopie World Tour. The story and possibilities of Vivarium are highly anticipated in the gaming industry and beyond. In addition, Vivarium is aiming to launch PICO and META stores in the second half of 2024. Meanwhile, Protopie, whose clients include Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, WarnerBros, HBO, RiotGames, Tencent, Roblox, and more, will kick off its World Tour in South Korea, followed by Tencent's Riot Games. SOURCE DoubleMe Over $500 million in grants to 20,000+ charitable organizations since 1984 Video on the Duke Energy Foundation's 40th anniversary available here $240,000 in surprise grants awarded to long-standing nonprofit partners (photos available) CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This year marks a significant milestone for the Duke Energy Foundation as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. Born out of the company's historical commitment to citizenship and service, the Foundation has evolved over four decades into a philanthropic powerhouse focused on building vibrant economies, boosting climate resiliency, and fostering justice, equity and inclusion. "The Foundation's legacy is not just measured in dollars but in relationships we've built with nonprofits leading meaningful work across the communities we've served," said Amy Strecker, Duke Energy Foundation president. "From funding critical home repairs for seniors and supporting emergency preparedness for first responders, to providing financial relief to families for food, housing and other essentials, the Duke Energy Foundation addresses the unique needs of its communities and empowers thousands of nonprofits to make a difference." A legacy of giving With more than $500 million in grants to 20,000-plus charitable organizations since its inception in 1984, the Duke Energy Foundation has created significant value for the regions it serves and forged lasting relationships with countless community partners. To commemorate 40 years of giving, the Duke Energy Foundation surprised 24 long-standing partners with $240,000 in grants. Collectively, grant recipients represent the many types of partners the Foundation has worked with over the past four decades across North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. "Being selected by Duke Energy as a special anniversary grant recipient in Florida is an honor, evidence of the trust developed during our long-standing partnership and another example of their generous support of small businesses and the Hispanic community," said Augusto Sanabria, Prospera president and CEO. "We congratulate the Duke Energy Foundation on its 40th anniversary and remain committed to being diligent stewards of their investments in our mission to help start, sustain and grow Hispanic-owned businesses to achieve community prosperity." Looking ahead The Duke Energy Foundation remains steadfast in its mission to power the vitality of its communities, driving toward a five-year commitment to invest $150 million in line with the net-zero business strategy and efforts toward a just transition. With a sharpened focus on meeting the evolving needs of its customers, the Foundation is poised to continue listening, partnering and responding with volunteerism and strategic investments to foster a brighter tomorrow. "This milestone is a celebration of both our past and our future, and a testament to our community partners and Duke Energy employees who have been instrumental in our 40-year journey," said Strecker. "We look forward to harnessing our history to ensure many more years of creating positive, lasting impacts, together." For more information on the Duke Energy Foundation and its initiatives, visit duke-energy.com/Foundation. Duke Energy Foundation The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders. Duke Energy Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear. More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition. 24-Hour: 800.559.3853 SOURCE Duke Energy The instant quote solution startup notes that Ripley PR's expertise in the home service, tech and startup markets will help the company boost its brand awareness KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EDEN, a pioneering startup in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry, has selected Ripley PR, a global firm specializing in the skilled trades industry, as its public relations agency of record and lists Ripley's experience with the skilled trades and tech industries and with startups as the deciding factor. EDEN, the instant quote solution startup, has chosen Ripley PR as its agency of record because of the PR agency's expertise in the home service, tech and startup markets. "Ripley PR's demonstrated success in helping tech companies build brand awareness and their knowledge of the home service industry is exactly the expertise a startup like EDEN needs when entering the market," said EDEN co-founder and CEO Ben Phillips. "Having a PR partner that understands how our Instant Quote solution can help both homeowners and contractors means that we will be targeting the right audiences for our application. We are excited to grow this partnership and trust that Ripley PR knows the business challenges home service companies face and how our solutions can help them grow." EDEN's customizable digital sales enablement tool integrates into an HVAC contractor's website to provide a 24/7 interactive online experience for homeowners by providing them with accurate estimates based on the contractor's pricing. The tool also provides financing information and a detailed breakdown of federal, state, local, and utility incentives, including eligible tax credits and rebates, as well as expected utility savings. "We see the potential in EDEN's Instant Quote application and its ability to help home service business owners provide more accurate estimates to their customers," said Heather Ripley, founder and CEO of Ripley PR. "Their ground-breaking technology saves customers time and frustration by instantly providing a more accurate estimate based on a predetermined set of options. This is a win-win for homeowners and for contractors who can now better understand the homeowner and their environment before making a house call. We are honored to represent EDEN and look forward to promoting their solutions." Ripley founded Ripley PR in 2013 with a focus on providing public relations for the skilled trades, manufacturing , B2B tech startups and franchising industries. Her book, "NEXT LEVEL NOW: PR Secrets to Drive Explosive Growth for Your Home Service Business," is considered a PR toolkit of ideas for home service business owners. Ripley PR was recently recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Best PR Agencies for 2024 and Agency of the Year for the Southeast by the Prestige Awards. Ripley PR's unique combination of expertise and creativity in public relations helps clients build brand awareness, establish positive reputations and stand out from their competition. To learn more about Ripley PR, visit https://www.ripleypr.com or call (865) 977-1973. About EDEN EDEN's mission is to empower contractors with innovative technology, helping them to grow their businesses and provide exceptional customer experiences. Founded in 2021, the Seattle-based startup provides a digital sales enablement tool to help HVAC contractors provide quick and accurate instant quotes for HVAC systems. By leveraging technology to provide prices and detailed breakdowns of eligible incentives and expected utility savings online, EDEN helps promote high-efficiency systems that contribute to sustainability and benefits both homeowners and contractors. For more information, visit https://www.e-denhomes.com/. About Ripley PR Ripley PR is an elite, global B2B public relations agency specializing in home service and building trades, manufacturing, BRB and franchising. Ripley PR was recently recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Best PR Agencies for 2024 and has made Entrepreneur magazine's annual list of Best PR Agencies for Franchises for six consecutive years. Offering a full range of strategic communication services, including award recognition, crisis management, media relations and social media strategies, Ripley PR uses a blend of strategic business acumen and creative public relations branding to tell compelling stories and deliver measurable results. Ripley PR is a partner in IPREX, the $508 million network of more than 1,100 communication professionals in more than 100 markets globally. For more information, visit www.ripleypr.com or call 865-977-1973. MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected] SOURCE Ripley PR Largest Class in Firm's History Reflects Tremendous Growth in Advisory Services NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisner Advisory Group LLC, one of the world's largest business consulting firms, announced that it has admitted 23 new partners effective August 1, 2024. "These outstanding professionals possess deep expertise, a client-centric mindset, and a dedication to continuous learning that is so critical for success in today's hyper-competitive marketplace," said Eisner Advisory Group CEO Charly Weinstein. "We warmly welcome these deserving new partners and look forward to them adding even more value for our ever-growing roster of clients." Charly Weinstein (Partner's name links to his/her full bio and headshot.) Ryan Aldridge Ryan is a partner in the Consulting Services Group. With more than 10 years of experience, he is based in the Baton Rouge, LA, office. He leads class action, mass arbitration, and mass tort claims administration projects. He is proficient in settlement administration, including notice distribution, claims adjudication, data analysis, fund administration, and technology integration. He has led settlement programs involving consumer, antitrust, personal injury, mass torts, and labor and employment litigations. Derek Chamberlain Derek is a partner in the Audit Services Group. With approximately 12 years of experience, he is based in the Minneapolis, MN, office. He provides clients with solutions in accounting, audit, and advisory services across a wide variety of industries. He also frequently conducts training sessions for the Audit Services Group. Dana Daigle Dana is a partner in the Advisory Services Group. With nearly 15 years of experience, she is based in the Baton Rouge, LA, office. She is a leader of the Financial Management and Disbursements Service Line, providing services across numerous industries. Her expertise includes financial management, policy and process design, disbursements, disaster management, forensic accounting, compliance, and litigation support. Michele Epstein Michele is a partner in the Audit Services Group. With more than 12 years of experience, she is based in the Iselin, NJ, office. She is responsible for audit engagements for public and private companies across several business sectors. Michele has experience with SEC compliance, including SOX internal controls, complex debt and equity transactions, revenue recognition, and mergers and acquisitions. Ralph Estel Ralph is a partner in the Private Client Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the Philadelphia, PA, office. He provides accounting, consulting, and tax services to middle-market clients in the real estate, construction, and other sectors. John Ferraro John is a partner in the Private Client Services Group. With nearly 20 years of experience, he is based in the Melville, NY, office. John specializes in tax compliance and consulting, with a particular focus on investment and closely held partnership structures. John's proficiency extends across multiple sectors, including real estate, manufacturing, distribution, and others. Jennifer Fuselier Jennifer is a partner in the Audit Services Group. With 14 years of experience, she is based in the New Orleans, LA, office. She oversees fieldwork and performs financial statement audits, single audits, agreed-upon procedure engagements, and other services for nonprofits, governments, and charter schools. Adam Gager Adam is a partner in the Audit Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the New York, NY, office. He is responsible for audit, review, and compilation engagements for a variety of business sectors. He specializes in accounting for royalties and the valuation of investments in music, film, and television copyrights and licenses. Michael Grant Michael is a partner in the Tax Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the Iselin, NJ, office. He provides tax compliance and advisory services to clients in the manufacturing and distribution, retail, real estate, and life sciences sectors. He specializes in closely held businesses, individual taxation, and IRC 382. Kira Heizer Kira is a partner in the Outsourced Services Group. With nearly 30 years of experience, she is based in the San Mateo, CA, office. She provides fractional CFO services to privately owned businesses and venture-backed startups. Kira specializes in using financial forecasting and analysis to optimize resource allocation, increase operational efficiency, and maximize cash flow to determine funding needs. Zhi Man Huang Zhi is a partner at EA RESIG LLC. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the New York, NY, office. He leads several fund administration teams responsible for the day-to-day activities of real estate private equity funds. He has expertise with financial statements, waterfall schedules, preferred return calculations, and all areas of private equity. Zhi routinely works on funds that have master-feeder structures and structures that include real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and blocker entities. Sarah Irvin Sarah is a partner in the Advisory Services Group. With approximately 15 years of experience, she is based in the New Orleans, LA, office. A leader of the Financial Management and Disbursements service line, Sarah specializes in accounting and finance, compliance, financial management and disbursements, quality assurance and control, disaster management and recovery, and settlement fund financial administration across a variety of industries. Amy Jongerius Amy is a partner in the Outsourced Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, she is based in the Minneapolis, MN, office. She has a focus in healthcare, specializing in working with physician groups, medical practice clients, dental practices, and privately held clinics and their management teams to help improve their day-to-day accounting and monthly financial reporting. Nicholas Landera Nicholas is a partner in the Financial Advisory Services Group. With 18 years of experience, he is based in the Miami, FL, office. He provides consulting, forensic accounting, litigation support, and expert witness services. His experience includes multinational investigations, class-action litigation consulting, shareholder disputes, and derivative actions. He also has extensive experience assisting on clients' business valuation and transaction advisory matters for mergers and acquisitions, tax compliance, and dispute resolution. Anastasiya Lopatnikova Anastasiya is a partner in the Financial Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, she is based in the New York, NY, office. She serves hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, funds of funds, investment advisors, registered investment advisors, broker-dealers, and other financial services entities. Samuel Medina Samuel is a partner in the Private Client Services Group. With more than 25 years of experience, he is based in the Chicago, IL, office. Specializing in tax planning, compliance, and gift and estate taxation, Samuel serves high-net-worth individuals and their closely held businesses across various industries, including family businesses, law firms, professional services, and real estate. Michael Morse Michael is a partner in the Audit Services Group. With 13 years of experience, he is based in the New Orleans, LA, office. He provides audit and consultation services across many industries including employee benefit plans, construction, and marine vessel supply. Michael also has experience in planning and executing internal and compliance audits, including Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404. Kevin Nardone Kevin is a partner in the Private Client Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the Iselin, NJ, office. He provides attest and advisory services for closely held companies in the food and beverage, manufacturing and distribution, software, and construction sectors. He also has extensive experience in employee benefit plan audits including 401(k)s, defined benefit plans, and multi-employer benefit plans. Virginia Salazar-Miller Virginia is a partner in the Tax Services Group. With more than 25 years of experience, she is based in the New York, NY, office. She provides tax planning and compliance services to hedge funds, private equity, investment advisors, and other financial services companies, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Allen Shteynberg Allen is a partner in the Financial Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, he is based in the New York, NY, office. He performs audit services for private equity funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, funds of funds, and commodity pools. He assists clients with fund documents, structuring investment vehicles, and various regulatory issues. Cameron Trumble Cameron is a partner in the Private Client Services Group. With approximately 15 years of experience, he is based in the Chicago, IL, office. He provides tax, reviews, compilations, and bookkeeping services for private businesses and individuals in the technology, manufacturing, and real estate industries. Christine Wu Christine is a partner at EA RESIG LLC. With 18 years of experience, she is based in the New York, NY, office. She leads several fund administration teams responsible for the day-to-day activities of various debt and equity funds. She has expertise in complex organizational fund structure with blocker entities, shareholder loans, investment-by-investment performance fee calculations, and REITs. Christine onboards new funds including initial accounting system set-ups and treasury functions. Carolyn Zhang Carolyn is a partner in the Outsourced Services Group. With more than 15 years of experience, she is based in the San Mateo, CA, office. Carolyn supports the operational accounting functions for venture-backed early-stage tech startups. She manages the overall direction, coordination, development, and evaluation of accounting and financial operations for client companies, including producing financial reports, establishing financial performance metrics, and implementing accounting software strategies. About EisnerAmper EisnerAmper, one of the largest business consulting firms in the world, is comprised of EisnerAmper LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm that provides client attest services; and Eisner Advisory Group LLC, an alternative practice structure that provides advisory and non-attest services in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, standards and codes of conduct. Clients are in all sectors and leverage a complete menu of service offerings. Our combined entities include approximately 450 partners and 4,500 employees. For more information, please visit eisneramper.com, and follow us on (X) and LinkedIn. SOURCE EisnerAmper LANCASTER, Pa., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Electron Energy Corporation ("EEC") has joined Magnetic Holdings, LLC, the parent company of Dexter Magnetic Technologies ("Dexter") and Magnetic Component Engineering ("MCE"). Magnetic Holdings is a portfolio company of Tinicum. The Walmer family, who founded EEC as the world's first manufacturer of samarium cobalt magnets in 1970, retained a significant minority interest in Magnetic Holdings, and Michael Walmer, its Chairman and CEO, joined the Magnetic Holdings board of directors. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction creates a group of leading permanent magnet firms, each with unique and complementary capabilities to solve customers' most demanding challenges. The businesses of Magnetic Holdings collectively have nearly 500 employees, and over 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space, serving critical applications for aerospace, defense, medical, semiconductor, energy, and industrial customers. The companies of Magnetic Holdings will collaborate to provide integrated solutions, utilizing the most technically advanced raw materials, world-class magnet fabrication and assembly capabilities, and expertise in designing and developing customized high-performance motors and electromechanical components, all supported by one of the largest technical engineering and commercial teams in the industry. Moreover, Magnetic Holdings now has four highly capable facilities in three distinct locations and a vertically integrated manufacturing process, creating a robust and resilient supply chain. Magnetic Holdings is backed by Tinicum, which has over $2.4 billion of committed capital, providing the financial, operational, and strategic resources to grow and the stability that comes from its long-term ownership philosophy. Mr. Walmer stated, "In 54 years, EEC has grown from two people with a great vision and little resources to a team of 150 committed and talented individuals serving our specialized markets with strength. EEC will continue to find new opportunities to do what has never been done before in support of space exploration, aviation, defense, medical and energy initiatives. Our growth will be enhanced by this new, dynamic relationship with these strong partners. This growth enables EEC to keep pace with increasing vital customer demand, providing continual purposeful work for our employees." He continued, "After exploring partnerships with firms that are also rooted in and appreciate the advantages of our family-run culture, we found one that stands out as extremely well aligned with our values: Tinicum. Both Tinicum and EEC are led by their founding families, ensuring a continuation of vision for the future and legacy for the long term. Moreover, Magnetic Holdings now features three of the strongest, most entrepreneurial magnet companies in the United States. Together, each company will benefit from collaboration within Magnetic Holdings, the strength and scale of the larger enterprise, and the capital resources of Tinicum, while also maintaining agility and vitality in each of our respective markets. Based on our talent and creative spark, we know that EEC will continue to engineer solutions for a healthy, secure nation and for the challenges of a dynamic world for generations to come." Joe Stupfel, CEO of Magnetic Holdings, stated, "We are thrilled to join forces with EEC, a firm whose capabilities, employees, and leadership we hold in the highest regard. We are excited to now be able to offer our customers a comprehensive solutionunique in the magnetics industrywith the ability to design and produce custom samarium cobalt formulations, manufacture magnetics with world class speed, precision, and quality, and engineer, design and build assemblies and motors customized to customer applications." Stupfel added, "Our employees are our most important asset. Investing in their careers and personal development not only benefits them but increases capabilities of our businesses. The larger size of our business creates opportunities for all the employees of Dexter, EEC, and MCE to grow. We strive to attract and retain the best talent in the magnetics industry and to be the employer of choice in each market in which we operate." Rich Dosik, partner at Tinicum, stated, "We are thrilled to partner with the Walmer family and the team at EEC, and we are honored that they have entrusted us with their business. We have the utmost respect and admiration for EEC. As we have done at both Dexter and MCE, we are excited to continue to make significant investments into EEC to help them grow as we build Magnetic Holdings for the long term." About EEC EEC is an expert developer and leading American producer of rare earth magnets serving the global aerospace, defense, energy, medical and semiconductor markets. Founded in 1970 by Marlin Walmer, EEC is headquartered in Pennsylvania and is the only vertically integrated American manufacturer of DFARS- and ITAR-compliant samarium cobalt magnets. EEC's ability to control material compositions allows for customization and precise control of magnetic properties. Engineers at EEC collaborate with customers to devise solutions and enable applications that were previously not possible. For more information about EEC, visit www.electronenergy.com. About Dexter Dexter provides specialized magnetic components and assemblies for use in demanding applications in the medical, aerospace, defense, semiconductor manufacturing, oil and gas, and industrial end markets. Dexter has been solving complex customer challenges since 1951 and manufactures its products at its headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Dexter manufactures DFARS- and ITAR-compliant products and holds AS9100D, ISO13485, and ISO9001 certifications. For more information about Dexter, visit www.dextermag.com. About MCE MCE manufactures permanent magnets and magnet assemblies for the most demanding applications for aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial technology customers. MCE manufactures DFARS- and ITAR-compliant products and holds AS9100D and ISO9001 certifications. For more information about MCE, visit www.mceproducts.com. About Tinicum Tinicum, founded in 1974 as a family investment office, is a private partnership that manages a diversified group of industrial manufacturing, distribution, and technology companies. Based in New York, Tinicum also has offices in San Francisco, Houston, and Frankfurt. For more information about Tinicum, visit www.tinicum.com. Media Contact: Roger Mountford, Vice President of Sales & Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Magnetic Holdings, LLC CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly AACC), welcomed thousands of laboratory experts to ADLM 2024 (formerly the AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo) from July 28-August 1. The meeting featured groundbreaking advances in diagnostic research and technology that exemplify the essential role that the field of laboratory medicine plays in patient care. As of Thursday, August 1, 18,000 laboratory medicine professionals had registered for ADLM 2024, a 6% increase in attendance since the last time the ADLM Annual Meeting was in Chicago in 2022. More attendees are expected today, the last day of the meeting. One highlight of the meeting was a special session where representatives from ADLM, the American Medical Association, and the Children's Hospital Association detailed how the FDA's final rule placing laboratory developed tests under FDA oversight will negatively impact patient care. The session featured a caregiver and patient advocate who shared her perspective on why laboratory developed tests are crucial to timely diagnoses and treatment. Attendees also had the opportunity to see five plenary talks led by life sciences pioneers. In the opening plenary, Dr. Patrick Bossuyt the 2024 Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship awardee drew on his experiences leading efforts to improve diagnostic tests to make a compelling case for why we need strong clinical trials of laboratory tests. On Monday, Dr. Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson, chair of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, described how proteomic data can help healthcare professionals better understand how lymphomas form and drive development of precision oncology therapies. Tuesday's plenary speaker, Dr. Ron H.N. van Schaik, discussed the successes and challenges of implementing pharmacogenetics as a diagnostic tool in routine healthcare. Van Schaik is head of the department of clinical chemistry at Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam. On Wednesday, Dr. Sharon Hillier, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, explored the development of new products for HIV prevention, including those that can be used on demand and those that would minimize systemic exposure to antiretroviral drugs. In today's closing keynote, Dr. Diana Greene Foster, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed the mental health, physical health, and socioeconomic consequences affecting people who are unable to get an abortion. As part of ADLM's Disruptive Technology Award competition, biotech innovators presented novel technologies that could help more patients get accurate diagnoses. Mercy BioAnalytics won the competition with its liquid biopsy platform that detects ovarian cancer in its earliest stages by measuring tumor-derived extracellular vesicles. The ADLM 2024 Clinical Lab Expo boasted nearly 900 exhibitors and covered an astonishing 271,003 net square feet a 5% increase in exhibit space since the last time the meeting was held in Chicago. This dynamic exhibit featured cutting-edge tests from all laboratory medicine disciplines, including artificial intelligence, molecular diagnostics, automation, point-of-care testing, mass spectrometry, mobile health, and much more. "We are thrilled to see attendance at ADLM 2024 continue to increase after the COVID-19 pandemic," said ADLM CEO Mark J. Golden. "With the FDA publishing its final rule on laboratory developed tests, this has been a challenging year for laboratory medicine professionals. The meeting provided a vital opportunity for attendees to learn more about what the rule means for their labs and patient care. Additionally, the meeting offered essential education on everything from lab basics to cutting-edge topics such as data science. I hope attendees return home inspired and eager to implement what they've learned this week in their work, and I am excited to see what next year's meeting will bring." ADLM 2025 will be held in Chicago from July 27-31, 2025. About ADLM 2024 ADLM 2024 (formerly the AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo) offered 5 days packed with opportunities to learn about exciting science from July 28-August 1 in Chicago. Plenary sessions explored the projected consequences of ending abortion protection, new HIV prevention options, lymphoma biomarkers and therapeutic targets, pharmacogenetic testing in precision health, and the need for clinical trials of laboratory tests. At the ADLM 2024 Clinical Lab Expo, nearly 900 exhibitors filled the show floor of the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, with displays of the latest diagnostic technology, including but not limited to artificial intelligence, point-of-care testing, and automation. About the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, ADLM (formerly AACC) brings together more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, ADLM has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.myadlm.org. Christine DeLong ADLM Associate Director, Communications & PR (p) 202.835.8722 [email protected] Molly Polen ADLM Senior Director, Communications & PR (p) 202.420.7612 (c) 703.598.0472 [email protected] SOURCE Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Browse in-depth TOC on "Fintech as a Service (FaaS) Market" 375 - Tables 51 - Figures 331 - Pages Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=9388805 Scope of the Report Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 2018-2029 Base year considered 2023 Forecast period 20242029 Forecast units Value (USD Billion) Segments Covered By Type, Technology, Application, End User, Region. Geographies covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America Companies covered Major vendors in the FaaS market include PayPal (US), Mastercard (US), Fiserv (US), Block (US), Rapyd (UK), Envestnet (US), Upstart (US), Solid Financial (US), FIS (US), Synctera (US), Stripe (US), Adyen (Netherlands), Dwolla (US), Finastra (UK), Revolut (UK), Fispan (Canada), Nium (Singapore), Airwallex (Australia), Sofi Technologies Inc. (US), Marqeta (US), Finx (US), Synapse (US). FaaS solutions enable organizations to access pre-built financial technology solutions that can be integrated into existing systems, enabling businesses to provide innovative financial services, reducing the cost of new in-house development technology and the investment needed for resources, which makes it cost-efficient financial services, making high-tech tools available without a high upfront cost. With FaaS, companies can focus on competition and innovation with their core operations, delivering cutting-edge financial services to their customers. Request Sample Pages@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=9388805 Based on the type, Payments in the FaaS market accounts for the highest market size during the forecast period. Payments are expected to maintain the highest market share in the FaaS market for various reasons. Their ubiquitous nature, being important to daily transactions and serving a vast customer base involving individuals, businesses, and governments, and rapid technological advancements like digital wallets, biometric authentication, upgraded security on real-time payments, convenience, and efficiency play a crucial role in financial inclusion by providing services through mobile payments in the emerging market. It acts as a boon by providing solutions and services to a major segment of the population through digital platforms. It is enhancing the customer experience by integrating payment methods to various platforms such as e-commerce, ride-sharing, and digital commerce, driving the popularity of subscription-based models, and its regulatory evolution, such as open banking payments and Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), creating strong authentication and open API's. By application, KYC Verification segment will grow at the highest CAGR during the forecasted period. The Know Your Customer (KYC) verification segment is growing faster than any other part of the fintech-as-a-service market. This growth comes from a few key factors. Companies need to follow stricter rules, like those against money laundering and funding terrorism, as well as laws about data privacy, such as GDPR and CCPA. More cases of identity theft and financial scams make it crucial to have accurate and reliable KYC to keep customers safe. KYC also helps make signing up new customers online smoother and quicker, improving their first experience and letting companies assess risk better. As the fintech world grows and technology improves, like fingerprint scans and smart computer analysis, the need for solid KYC checks increases. This builds customer trust and protects the good name of financial companies. Inquire Before Buying@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=9388805 By region, Asia Pacific will grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is forecasted to grow at the highest CAGR due to the rapid adoption of digitization, rising internet penetration, and widespread use of smartphones in countries like India, China, and Indonesia, which have a large customer base. These regions are one of the largest populations, which provides an opportunity for fintech companies for financial inclusion. The government's support and praise for fintech solutions is being heavily backed up, showing a positive future aspect of growth in the FaaS market. The region also attracts a large number of investment interests from various sources due to its population and growing demand for digital financial services, mostly among middle-class earning entities. The market is also a rising hub of digital platforms, which further enhances the strong entrepreneurial ecosystem and the fintech landscape. Top Companies in Fintech as a Service Market: PayPal (US), Mastercard (US), Fiserv (US), Block (US), Rapyd (UK), Envestnet (US), Upstart (US), Solid Financial (US), FIS (US), Synctera (US), Stripe (US) , Adyen (Netherlands), Dwolla (US), Finastra (UK), Revolut (UK), Fispan (Canada), Nium (Singapore), Airwallex (Australia), Sofi Technologies Inc. (US), Margeta (US), Finx (US), Synapse (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Software and Services Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Blockchain Market - Global Forecast to 2029 Embedded Finance Market - Global Forecast to 2029 Cloud Based Contact Center Market- Global Forecast to 2029 eGRC Market - Global Forecast to 2029 Facial Recognition Market- Global Forecast to 2028 Get access to the latest updates on Fintech as a Service Companies and Fintech as a Service Industry About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets WESTFORD, Mass., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to SkyQuest, the global Fuel Cell Market size was valued at USD 2.90 Billion in 2022 and is poised to grow from USD 3.69 Billion in 2023 to USD 25.10 Billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 27.1% during the forecast period (2024-2031). The global fuel cell market is set to boom remarkably in the coming years owing to multiple ongoing trends observed, including fuel cell vehicles, fuel cell stack integration, improved electrodes, nanotechnology, alternate fuel cells, and more. Earlier, the traditional battery-enabled power solutions were less efficient like stable energy in data centers, off-grid energy sources, heavy-duty vehicles, and more. Developing companies are currently leveraging cutting-edge solutions to manufacture highly efficient and durable solutions. With improvements in hydrogen production and storage, new fuel cell developments are allowing more feasible and sustainable power storage methods. Global greenhouse gas emissions contain a significant amount of vehicle emissions. To curb this, governments of different nations are actively searching for alternative power solutions to be adopted in the transport industry. Hence, over the forecast period, the demand for fuel cell-based vehicles is projected to rise noticeably. Download a detailed overview: https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/fuel-cell-market Fuel Cell Market Overview: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 USD 3.69 Billion Estimated Value by 2031 USD 25.10 Billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 27.1% Forecast Period 20242031 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Size, Fuel, Type, Component, Application, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Increased Use of Fuel Cells in Data Centers in Backup Power Key Market Drivers Mounting Demand for Fuel Cell Vehicles Segments covered in Fuel Cell Market are as follows: Type Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell, Alkaline Fuel Cell, Microbial Fuel Cell, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, Others Size Large Scale, Small Scale Fuel Hydrogen, Ammonia, Methanol, Others Component Stack (Cells, Interconnects, End Plates, Sea Plants, Others), Balance of Plant (BOP)(Heat Transfer Components, Power Electronics & Control Systems, Instruments & Sensors, Fuel Reformers/Desulfurizers, Others) Application Automotive, Non-Automotive, Power, Others Request Free Customization of this report: https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/fuel-cell-market Hydrogen Segment to Lead to Increased Spending for Better Attributes of Hydrogen The hydrogen segment held the majority share of the market supported by growing spending for the storage, infrastructure, and production of hydrogen. Besides, mounting demand in fuel cell vehicles, industrial uses, and stationary power generation is anticipated to aid the market growth. However, the methanol segment is the fastest growing segment and will lead in the coming years. Methanol fuel cells are gaining popularity in numerous applications like backup energy systems. Electronic devices, and more. Also, methanol is readily available, can be transported easily, and holds optimal energy density. This makes it ideal for fuel cell applications, thereby driving the market. Intensified Demand in the Stationary Applications Due to its Attractive Qualities to Help Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Segment Lead By type, the solid oxide fuel cell is expected to be the dominating segment over the forecast period. The key reason behind the growth of the segment includes its compact design, which requires slow start time. This is essential mainly in stationary energy applications. It is prominently used owing to its simple design. Conversely, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell is expected to be the fastest-growing segment owing to its expanding demand in vehicles. This type of fuel cell is heavily demanded by fuel cell vehicles, and the trend is expected to grow in the future. This mounting demand will greatly drive the fuel cell market. View report summary and Table of Contents (TOC): https://www.skyquestt.com/report/fuel-cell-market Growing Shift Towards Clean Transport to Propel the Transport Segment Remarkably By application, the transport segment is the dominating segment and is expected to lead over the forecast period as well. The reason for the segment's larger growth is attributed to the growing shift towards cleaner transport worldwide. Many countries are heavily investing in zero-emission that will propel the transport segment in the future, thereby impacting the growth of the fuel cell market. The stationary segment is projected to be the fastest-growing segment on the back of its wide use in applications including UPS, data center, and more. The use is expanding at a speedy pace among investment in green energy and zero-emission targets. Consumer Demand and Government Guidelines to Amplify the Use of Fuel Cell-Based Vehicles With strong inclination on zero-emissions transport supported by consumer demand as well as government regulations, the fuel cell market is anticipated to prosper in the coming years. The fuel cell-based vehicles are seeing early advances mainly for passenger cars by the leading players in the industry. Moreover, heavy-duty industry offers increasing opportunities with fuel-based buses and trucks that do not need refueling in short intervals. Apart from just the on-road cars, more potential will be seen in zero-emission trains and in marine applications. Related Report: Hydrogen Market Hydrogen Energy Storage Market Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Market Electric Vehicle Market Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Market About Us: SkyQuest is an IP focused Research and Investment Bank and Accelerator of Technology and assets. We provide access to technologies, markets and finance across sectors viz. Life Sciences, CleanTech, AgriTech, NanoTech and Information & Communication Technology. We work closely with innovators, inventors, innovation seekers, entrepreneurs, companies and investors alike in leveraging external sources of R&D. Moreover, we help them in optimizing the economic potential of their intellectual assets. Our experiences with innovation management and commercialization has expanded our reach across North America, Europe, ASEAN and Asia Pacific. Contact: Mr. Jagraj Singh SkyQuest Technology 1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886 USA (+1) 351-333-4748 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.skyquestt.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2446095/SkyQuest_Logo.jpg SOURCE SkyQuest Technology DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Registration for the 2025 Global Insurance Symposium (GIS) in Greater Des Moines (DSM) is officially open. GIS offers an educational and networking opportunity that brings together over 500 insurance and financial services company executives, national and international regulators, state and federal government representatives, entrepreneurs, and startup tech firms. The theme of the symposium's 11th annual event is Insuring a World of Opportunity. The symposium will occur next spring on Tuesday, April 15, and Wednesday, April 16, at the Iowa Events Center in Downtown Des Moines. Since launching over a decade ago, the Global Insurance Symposium has hosted thousands of attendees from more than 13 countries. "The Global Insurance Symposium is a must-attend event for everyone in the finance and insurance sector looking to dive deeper into trends in the industry," said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. "It's an opportunity to expand your network on a global scale as the event provides attendees with insights from across the world right here in Iowa." The insurance industry has a significant global presence, and this year's symposium will unite representatives from across the country and the world in Des Moines, at the heart of America. The program will center around what new opportunities are arising in the insurance industry on a local and global scale. "Greater Des Moines is a renowned region in the insurance industry, making it the perfect place for this global conference," said Tiffany Tauscheck, President & CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. "It's our honor to host hundreds of regulators, insurance professionals and startups from all over the world in DSM. Here they have the opportunity to connect with thought leaders and learn about the future of the insurance industry." Julie Pearce, Consultant at the Iowa Department of Insurance & Financial Services, joins Christian Walk, Senior Vice President and Associated General Counsel for Global Atlantic Financial Company, as co-chairs of the 2025 event. To register for GIS, click here. Save $100 on registration with early bird pricing, available until Jan. 1, 2025. Additional event details will be released in the months leading to the symposium. Media Registration Media is invited to attend the Global Insurance Symposium. To register, contact Andrea Rodriguez, [email protected]. About the Global Insurance Symposium Established in 2014, the Global Insurance Symposium is the premier event for insurance professionals and regulatory authorities to hear from the world's most renowned insurance experts and to interact with fellow insurance industry colleagues from around the world. To learn more, visit www.globalinsurancesymposium.com . Reporters may contact: Andrea Rodriguez, for the Global Insurance Symposium (515) 943-9055 [email protected] SOURCE Global Insurance Symposium DENVER, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gravity Haus, the innovative lifestyle platform revolutionizing the outdoor adventure experience, is thrilled to announce that its exceptional food and beverage program has garnered significant recognition, with several of its restaurants receiving prestigious OpenTable Diners' Choice Awards. Award-Winning Dining Experiences Diners' Choice 2024 The OpenTable Diners' Choice Awards recognize the very best in hospitality, and Gravity Haus is proud to see Stella, Cabin Juice, Slope Room, and Wild Pine earn top marks from discerning diners. These accolades highlight Gravity Haus's commitment to exceptional food and beverage experiences. With innovative menus and locally sourced ingredients, Gravity Haus offers warm and curated dining in some of the country's most unique and beautiful outdoor destinations, perfectly complementing guests' invigorating adventures. At the heart of this success is Jason Brumm, Corporate Executive Chef. Local to Vail, CO, Brumm's creativity shines through every restaurant, blending culinary innovation with local roots and culture. Stella (Truckee-Tahoe, CA): Known for its fresh California cuisine, Stella offers a dynamic menu that emphasizes locally sourced ingredients and innovative flavors. cuisine, Stella offers a dynamic menu that emphasizes locally sourced ingredients and innovative flavors. Cabin Juice ( Breckenridge, CO ): This cozy eatery captures the essence of mountain dining with hearty, comfort-driven dishes perfect for adventurers seeking a warm, satisfying meal. ): This cozy eatery captures the essence of mountain dining with hearty, comfort-driven dishes perfect for adventurers seeking a warm, satisfying meal. Slope Room ( Vail, CO ): A favorite among both locals and visitors, Slope Room excels in delivering a sophisticated dining experience with a menu that showcases seasonal ingredients and bold flavors. ): A favorite among both locals and visitors, Slope Room excels in delivering a sophisticated dining experience with a menu that showcases seasonal ingredients and bold flavors. Wild Pine ( Jackson Hole, WY ): Located in the epicenter of outdoor recreation, Wild Pine combines rustic charm with refined culinary techniques, creating a unique dining destination that reflects the spirit of the region. ): Located in the epicenter of outdoor recreation, Wild Pine combines rustic charm with refined culinary techniques, creating a unique dining destination that reflects the spirit of the region. "Each of our restaurants has its own unique personality and culture, shaped by the diverse communities we serve," says Jason Brumm , Corporate Executive Chef. "It's the local talent on our culinary teams and their deep connection to these communities that make our restaurants truly special. Their dedication and hard work bring authenticity and heart to everything we do. I'm continually inspired by the incredible service they provide every day." Expanding Culinary Horizons Over the past 12 months, Gravity Haus has expanded its culinary footprint with the opening of four new restaurants, each bringing its own unique flair and flavor to the Gravity Haus family. The Boat Tow ( Aspen, CO ): Bringing a contemporary twist to traditional ski-town culture and a unique apres-all-day offering, The Boat Tow is a must-visit for food enthusiasts seeking a memorable dining experience and a sense of community. Since opening its doors in December of 2023, The Boat Tow team has been awarded 'Best Aspen Bartender,' in the Ajax Awards, and its sister location, Unravel Aspen, has been named 'Best Coffee Shop' in Aspen Magazine, Modern Luxury. ): Bringing a contemporary twist to traditional ski-town culture and a unique apres-all-day offering, The Boat Tow is a must-visit for food enthusiasts seeking a memorable dining experience and a sense of community. Since opening its doors in December of 2023, The Boat Tow team has been awarded 'Best Aspen Bartender,' in the Ajax Awards, and its sister location, Unravel Aspen, has been named 'Best Coffee Shop' in Aspen Magazine, Modern Luxury. Terrain Taco ( Winter Park, CO ): Offering a fresh take on Mexican cuisine, Terrain Taco has quickly become a go-to spot for delicious tacos and vibrant, authentic dishes. ): Offering a fresh take on Mexican cuisine, Terrain Taco has quickly become a go-to spot for delicious tacos and vibrant, authentic dishes. Wild Pine ( Jackson Hole, WY ): Adding to its accolades, Wild Pine continues to impress with its dedication to quality and regional inspiration. ): Adding to its accolades, Wild Pine continues to impress with its dedication to quality and regional inspiration. White Rabbit Tavern ( Steamboat Springs, CO ): This charming tavern offers a relaxed atmosphere and a menu of hearty, classic dishes. Their Nashville hot chicken sandwich, recently featured in the Steamboat Pilot, showcases White Rabbit Tavern's commitment to exciting new slopeside offerings. "We're honored by this recognition which reflects our dedication to crafting meaningful culinary experiences," says Jim Deters, CEO of Gravity Haus. "We believe that our relationship with foodhow it nourishes our bodies, enriches our lives, and fosters connections within our communityis a vital part of the human experience and a key element in living our best lives." As Gravity Haus expands into new destinations, the company looks forward to offering more culinary offerings in local communities that emulate the essence of the Gravity Haus Food and Beverage program and the mission of enabling modern adventure for all. About Gravity Haus Gravity Haus is not just a place to stay; it's a vibrant community for the modern adventurer. By combining thoughtfully designed accommodations, shared workspaces, premium fitness facilities, and outstanding food and beverage options, Gravity Haus seamlessly blends work, play, and adventure. It inspires a life well-lived through unforgettable experiences and exceptional hospitality. Their inclusive membership program provides exceptional value, offering members access to unique experiences, exclusive perks, and a supportive community that shares a passion for adventure and well-being. For more information on Gravity Haus and membership, please visit www.gravityhaus.com. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram For additional press inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact our media team. SOURCE Gravity Haus New campus in Florida will train up to 190 dental hygienists and dental assistants annually KANSAS CITY, Mo. and EFFINGHAM, Ill., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Concorde Career Colleges, the healthcare education division of Universal Technical Institute, Inc., and Heartland Dental today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to develop a co-branded campus for dental hygiene and dental assistant programs. Heartland Dental is one of the largest dental support organizations in the nation, with more than 23,000 employees at more than 1,750 supported dental offices. Heartland Dental (PRNewsfoto/Concorde Career Colleges) The partnership is designed to help address Heartland Dental-supported practices' significant demand for dental hygienists and dental assistants in specific markets. The first campus, scheduled to open in fall 2025 in Fort Myers, Fla., will train up to 120 dental hygienists and 72 dental assistants annually using Concorde's curriculum, instructors and student support services. Heartland Dental is funding the total cost of the construction, including durable equipment and initial supplies. The company will also provide scholarships to students. "In all my years in the dental field and at Heartland Dental, our investment in education and commitment to making opportunities available for individuals to grow their skills has been at the heart of who we are. Our partnership with Concorde has supported this commitment and our culture of education for many years. We know there is a strong need in the communities we serve for dental care, and the opportunity to establish a co-branded campus with Concorde to help meet this need with skilled dental hygienists and dental assistants is remarkable. We knew Concorde was the right partner for this venture given their deep expertise and strong curriculum in these areas," shared Pat Bauer, Heartland Dental President and CEO. "This groundbreaking partnership builds upon the alliance of two organizations that are committed to increasing access to dental services across the United States," said Kevin Prehn, President of Concorde Career Colleges. "Through our existing partnership with Heartland, we have seen how they are invested in their employees and are continually innovating to ensure the success of their supported practices. And, as one of the leading educators of dental hygienists and dental assistants in the nation, Concorde is uniquely positioned to help meet workforce needs in Heartland-supported practices while creating pathways to employment for our graduates." Nationwide, employment of dental hygienists and dental assistants is projected to grow 7% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.1 In states where Concorde has multiple campuses, the demand is significantly higher. In Florida, dental hygienists and dental assistants have a 15.8% and 15.7% projected job growth, respectively, between 2023 and 2031.2 Concorde currently has more than 1,900 students in its dental hygiene and dental assisting programs, which are offered at 14 and 16 of Concorde's 17 campus locations, respectively. The institution's dental hygiene curriculum blends online and on-ground coursework with in-person lab instruction and clinical experience to prepare students to enter the dental industry in as few as 17 months.3 The institution's dental assistant diploma curriculum combines foundational concepts of dental care and front office operations with an externship to prepare students for the profession in as few as eight months.4 Heartland Dental has collaborated with Concorde for several years to address its need for dental hygienists, including student scholarships, company-sponsored dental hygiene labs on campus and graduate pinning ceremonies. The company also supports Concorde's pediatric community events that offer free dental services. To date, Heartland has hired 325 Concorde dental hygiene graduates. For more information about Heartland Dental, visit World-Class Dental Support Organization | Heartland Dental. To learn more about Concorde's dental programs, visit Dental Programs | Concorde Career Colleges. 1Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook for Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants nationally, 2022-2032, viewed July 30, 2024. 2Source: Florida Department of Commerce, Employment Projections for Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Florida 2023-2031, viewed July 30, 2024. 3,4Program length may be subject to change dependent on transfer credits and course schedule. Please refer to current course catalog for more information. Concorde does not guarantee admittance, graduation, employment, or salary. About Concorde Career Colleges Concorde Career Colleges, the healthcare division of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI), operates 17 healthcare focused campuses across eight states under the brands Concorde Career College and Concorde Career Institute, preparing America's next generation of health care and dental professionals for rewarding careers. The Concorde blended education model combines online coursework with in-person lab classes and clinical settings. Concorde's 25 student-focused academic programs and personalized support prepares graduates for in-demand careers in nursing, dental, respiratory, diagnostic, and other healthcare roles. Concorde schools are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) and the Council on Occupational Education (COE). For more information, visit concorde.edu or uti.edu or, or visit us on LinkedIn at @Concorde Career Colleges and @UniversalTechnicalInstitute or on X (formerly Twitter) at @ConcordeCareer or @news_UTI. About Heartland Dental Heartland Dental is the nation's largest dental support organization providing non-clinical, administrative support services. What started from the entrepreneurial spirit of Rick Workman, DMD, with his single dental practice, has evolved into affiliating with over 2,800 doctors in over 1,750 locations across 39 states and the District of Columbia. The company is majority owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm. For additional information, please visit heartland.com. Media Contacts: Sharon Rolenc [email protected] 612-720-2083 Heartland Dental Jessica Thompson [email protected] 561-690-1465 SOURCE Concorde Career Colleges Members of Hawaii Fire Fighters Association will be featured in the shelter's annual calendar contest fundraiser. PU'UNENE, Hawaii, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Voting is now open for Maui Humane Society's highly-anticipated annual calendar contest fundraiser, in partnership with Maui's firefighters and lifeguards. The fundraiser intends to celebrate the bravery of Maui's first responders and resilience of pets, especially after the tragic Maui wildfires of August 8, 2023. Maui's animal and rescuer supporters can place their votes for their favorite pet-hero photo at just $1 per vote, and the top 12 photos will be featured in the printed calendar. Calendars are available for pre-order now. All proceeds from this innovative, community-focused calendar will benefit Maui Humane Society (MHS). Voting is open for Maui Humane Society's calendar fundraiser, in partnership with Maui's firefighters & lifeguards. Post this View contest submissions and vote at mauihumanesociety.org/2025calendar . Nearly one year after the fires, MHS continues to provide veterinary care and support to the pets of those affected. MHS took in more than 880 pets from the Lahaina burn zone and of those, 220 pets were reunited with their 'ohanas and 220 were adopted to new 'ohanas. More than 1,500 non-shelter animals were treated by MHS veterinarians outside of the shelter at emergency hubs and temporary housing sites for displaced residents. All photoshoots were held in West Maui and shot by the award-winning and Oahu-based photographer, Dana Edmunds, who volunteered his time and talent. Furry contestants (include dogs, cats, one guinea pig, and one pet chicken) have loving homes, are available for adoption, or are being cared for in foster homes. Human contestants include Maui's firefighters and lifeguards who are members of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association and Hawaii Government Employees Association. "The collective rescue efforts of Maui Humane Society's staff and volunteers, along with the heroic actions of Maui's firefighters and lifeguards, serves as a tribute to the unbreakable bond between animals and humans," MHS Director of Development, Kathleen Hogarty, said. "Through this calendar fundraiser, we aim to highlight the bravery and resilience of our island, and showcase the importance of community solidarity during crises." Thanks to the support of an anonymous donor, all donations will be matched up to $50,000, meaning the impact of calendar voting at just $1 a vote will go twice as far. Media can contact MHS Director of Marketing & Communications, Victoria Ivankic, with further questions or to arrange interviews. Behind-the-scenes footage from the photoshoot and photos in the competition can be found HERE (credit Maui Humane Society). Media Contact: Victoria Ivankic 808.447.5810 [email protected] SOURCE Maui Humane Society The comprehensive suite now backs up Microsoft Planner The new and upgraded functionality forms part of 365 Total Backup and 365 Total Protection Plans 3 and 4 The robust new features are provided at no additional cost LONDON, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hornetsecurity, a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced the release of an enhanced version of its 365 Total Backup solution for Microsoft 365, now including comprehensive backup and recovery support for Microsoft Planner. This upgrade extends Hornetsecurity's robust data protection suite, ensuring critical business data is securely backed up and recoverable. Hornetsecurity's enhanced 365 Total Backup for Microsoft 365 This enhancement follows the roll-out of Microsoft's Planner function to manage tasks and projects. The free update from Hornetsecurity is available for customers on both its 365 Total Backup products and 365 Total Protection (Plans 3 and 4). The broader scope of protection supports GDPR compliance and adds to the existing backup and recovery functionality across essential M365 applications, including Mailbox, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Empowering administrators via flexible restore options A key feature of this upgrade is the granular restore option, which empowers administrators to choose multiple restore points. It provides a visual representation of the plan and its evolution within selected timestamps, allowing users to restore specific tasks with ease. This mirrors that of Microsoft Planner for enhanced usability. Additionally, the full restore function allows administrators to restore all plans associated with one or more Microsoft 365 Groups to the same group, a different group, or a zip archive. If an organisation undergoes restructuring, relevant plans can be restored to new groups seamlessly. Restoring to a zip archive allows for easy offline review and long-term archiving. Crucially, disaster recovery can also be performed in the event of a complete loss of plans and boards from Microsoft Planner, minimising downtime and data loss. New Four-Eye Approval for greater security and accountability The latest release also introduces a new 'Four-Eye Approval' feature. This tackles the risk posed by cybercriminals or rogue administrators who can delete all backup data or change important settings for M365 organisations, potentially causing significant damage to businesses. This enhancement also addresses concerns where administrators might accidentally delete backup data or alter critical settings related to data retention without proper oversight. Four-Eye Approval enables a second approval step for any data deletion or changes to retention settings. This functionality is available both during the initial onboarding process and after a tenant has been established. Administrators will be able to specify whether all administrators can approve deletion requests or if only designated administrators are permitted to do so. This measure ensures an additional level of security and accountability in managing data retention policies. Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity, commented: "Our commitment to providing unparalleled data protection solutions is demonstrated through our continuous enhancements to 365 Total Backup and our 365 Total Protection suite. By incorporating support for the increasingly popular Microsoft Planner and introducing the 'Four-Eye Approval' feature, we are reinforcing the security and reliability we offer our customers and anticipating their needs. These updates ensure that businesses can manage their data across Microsoft 365 with greater confidence and resilience, safeguarding against both accidental and malicious data loss." For more information and to sign up for a no-cost trial of 365 Total Backup, please click here. About Hornetsecurity Hornetsecurity is a leading global provider of next-generation cloud-based security, compliance, backup, and security awareness solutions that help companies and organisations of all sizes around the world. Its flagship product, 365 Total Protection, is the most comprehensive cloud security solution for Microsoft 365 on the market. Driven by innovation and cybersecurity excellence, Hornetsecurity is building a safer digital future and sustainable security cultures with its award-winning portfolio. Hornetsecurity operates in more than 120 countries through its international distribution network of 12,000+ channel partners and MSPs. Its premium services are used by more than 75,000 customers. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2470802/MS_Planner_for_365_Total_Backup.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2033076/4833442/Hornetsecurity_Logo.jpg SOURCE Hornetsecurity CLEVELAND, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospice of the Western Reserve (HWR), a premier provider of hospice and palliative care services in Northern Ohio, has completed its acquisition of Hospice of North Central Ohio (HNCO) effective today. This strategic alliance aims to expand access to high-quality, comprehensive end-of-life care across a broader region. The news follows a February 2024 announcement that the two community-based, nonprofit agencies had entered a management services agreement, allowing HWR to begin a due diligence process in preparation for the full transition. The acquisition comes because of increased competition within the HNCO service area, economic challenges, and a need to stabilize and ultimately grow the organization. The acquisition brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to providing exceptional care and support to patients and families, enhancing service offerings, streamlining operations, and increasing community engagement. Hospice of the Western Reserve, with over 45 years of experience in end-of-life care, will expand its 15-county service area through Hospice of North Central Ohio to include Ashland, Knox, Richland and other nearby counties. The acquisition will create the region's largest team of hospice and palliative care certified physicians and specialists, offering the most extensive range of services and support. Additionally, the acquisition will strengthen the organization's ability to support local communities through enhanced education, outreach and volunteer initiatives. "We are excited to welcome Hospice of North Central Ohio to the Hospice of the Western Reserve family," said Bill Finn, president and CEO of Hospice of the Western Reserve. "This partnership marks an important milestone in our mission to deliver exceptional hospice and palliative care. By combining our resources and expertise, we can ensure that more individuals and their loved ones receive the compassionate support they need." Joan Hanson, MSN, RN, CHPCA, director of palliative care at Hospice of the Western Reserve, has been serving as interim executive director of Hospice of North Central Ohio during the due diligence process. As of Aug. 1, she will serve as Hospice of the Western Reserve clinical director in Ashland, Knox and Richland counties through the end of 2024. "I look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated staff in Ashland, Knox and Richland counties," Hanson said. "Over 90% of the HNCO staff has chosen to join the HWR team, showing their commitment to providing compassionate care and support in these communities." As a nonprofit, Hospice of the Western Reserve is governed by a Board of Directors. To create and maintain local community engagement and support for Hospice of Western Reserve's programs and services at the highest levels in Ashland, Knox and Richland counties, Hospice of the Western Reserve is establishing two Advisory Councils: the Hospice of the Western Reserve Ashland/Richland Advisory Council and the Hospice of the Western Reserve Knox County Advisory Council. The Advisory Councils will help improve access and use of high-quality, community-based palliative and hospice services; provide feedback and evaluation of programs and services; be a source of creative ideas for development, special events and volunteer engagement; and represent Hospice of the Western and its mission in Ashland, Richland and Knox counties. About Hospice of the Western Reserve Hospice of the Western Reserve provides palliative and end-of-life care, caregiver support and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio. In celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care and support effective grieving. For more information, visit www.hospicewr.org. Contact: Elizabeth McIntyre Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Hospice of the Western Reserve 216.294.6518 [email protected] SOURCE Hospice of the Western Reserve CINCINNATI, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperquake, the independent creative strategy, branding and experience design agency, today announced the launch of a vital new component to its award-winning offerings. Building upon its world-class pillars uniting the company's expertise in Innovation, Brand, Experiences, and Growth Marketing, Hyperquake is now offering far-ranging Sustainability-focused development services to optimize its clients' present and future business operations. To lead this area, Hyperquake has hired Thomas Federl as its Chief Sustainability Officer. Over the past several years, Federl engaged Hyperquake to help conceive and develop his foundational efforts for both Calavo Growers and Castellini Group. The success of those campaigns, which primarily focused on mission-essential activities including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, set the course for today's groundbreaking launch. "In my roles as head of communications and marketing for several global companies, Hyperquake was one of many agencies I contracted to help orchestrate and maximize all the extremely complex business matters related to sustainability," Federl began. "Simply put, in every engagement, Hyperquake over-delivered on expectations. "Given Hyperquake's sustained growth and its ever-expanding expertise and success building ambitious brands and experiences this new offering is our next logical chapter," Federl continued. "We are taking the term 'sustainability' quite literally, as in, 'How healthy is the business in all aspects of its operations to provide the best conditions for longevity?' In that context, defining a company's take on sustainability is a mission-critical first step in achieving profitability, and in building long-term success. We are ready to help our clients improve their business metrics, increase their relevance, and where it makes sense, secure vital new roles in a world that is changing faster than ever." As confirmed by Hyperquake's CEO Colin Crotty, under Federl's vision and direction, the firm has forged a proprietary approach to helping companies holistically develop their "sustainability" strategy. By his account, even before taking on matters related to ESG, it focuses squarely on bottom lines . "In partnership with our sibling management consultancy Several Thousand Alliance (STA), Hyperquake is uniquely positioned in its ability to support companies and brands in building bespoke sustainability strategies that address foundational business imperatives as well as ESG and climate impact," he said. With its full slate of graduated service offerings that systematically move from assessments into strategy development and on into guided action, Hyperquake's expertise simplifies the process of intelligently addressing the complexities of this realm. "Starting now," Crotty continued, "Thomas and our Sustainability team members are here to help future-proof our clients' businesses. Identifying and providing solutions to any and all people, product and process challenges, our goal is to get our clients' businesses running on all cylinders, so that together, we can make the world a better place." To learn more about Hyperquake's Sustainability Practice, please visit https://www.hyperquake.com. About Hyperquake Hyperquake is an independent creative strategy, branding and experience design marketing agency founded in 1986. With locations in Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Brooklyn, Hyperquake builds ambitious brands and experiences for those eager to activate a vision. Hyperquake specializes in strategic innovation, branded experiences and scaling organizations for growth, working with companies ranging from small startups to global enterprise. For more information, visit https://www.hyperquake.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: Image to accompany this story here: https://darnellworks.com/hq/sustain.htm Contact: Roger Darnell DWA for Hyperquake (+)1.828.773.4410 [email protected] SOURCE Hyperquake VALLETTA, Malta, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Malta, a sunny country with a Mediterranean climate, has become an attractive destination for foreign investors. Non-EU investors can obtain Malta citizenship or residency, which can be temporary or permanent. Each option involves a real estate investment, either through renting or purchasing property. Benefits of Malta residency and citizenship Maltese residents enjoy the following benefits: living in Malta with families spouses, children, and parents; with families spouses, children, and parents; visa-free travel to the Schengen countries; opportunity to work and run business in Malta ; ; safe haven residents can come to Malta even when the borders are closed. Citizens of Malta in addition get visa-free access to 169 countries, including the USA, the UK, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. They can reside, work, study and receive medical care in any EU country. Requirements for applicants Malta temporary residency is issued for 1 year with the possibility of extension. It is suitable for those who want to optimise taxes and are ready to either move to Malta or spend no more than 183 days in any other country. The expenses are: 34,150+ if renting real estate; if renting real estate; 270,200+ if purchasing. Temporary residents benefit from a special tax regime. It offers no inheritance tax, a 15% tax on income earned abroad and remitted to Malta, and 0% tax on global income not transferred to Malta. Malta permanent residency is granted for life. That's an appropriate option for individuals and families looking for obtaining termless residency in the EU without relocation. The expenses are: 150,000+ if renting real estate; if renting real estate; 370,000+ if purchasing. The main applicant also must have 500,000 in available assets, including at least 150,000 of liquid financial assets, such as deposits, stocks or bonds. Malta citizenship is a suitable choice for those seeking the full rights of EU citizens. To obtain this status, investors must make a contribution to the National Development and Social Fund. First, an investor receives a residence permit for 1 or 3 years, depending on the amount of their contribution 600,000 or 750,000. Afterward, they become eligible for citizenship. The expenses are: 690,000+ if renting property; if renting property; 1,310,000+ if purchasing. Immigrant Invest holds the licence to represent the interests of investors wishing to apply for Maltese citizenship or residency. Its experts help choose the appropriate option and accompany investors throughout the entire process of obtaining the status. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2333149/Immigrant_Invest_Logo.jpg Contact: Igor Buglo 8/2, Portomaso Business Tower, 1 Church Street St Julian's, STJ 4011 Malta +356 2033 0178 SOURCE Immigrant Invest Key Infusion Pump Market Trends and Highlights A surge in chronic diseases and an aging population are significant drivers of the infusion pumps market. These pumps are crucial in delivering precise and continuous medication, making them indispensable in managing chronic conditions. With the increasing volume of surgical procedures performed worldwide, infusion pumps have become essential for controlled drug administration during surgeries. Their accuracy and safety features contribute to their market growth. Rapid technological advancements in healthcare have led to increased health awareness, thus driving the adoption of infusion pumps. The development of technologically advanced pumps in various sizes and shapes continues to fuel market expansion. The adoption of specialty infusion systems is rising. These systems cater to specific medical needs and offer customized solutions. The trend provides high-growth opportunities for market players. NEWARK, Del., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Infusion Pump Market is expected to be valued at USD 104.7 million in 2024. The market is projected to progress at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2024 to 2034. By 2034, the market value is forecasted to hit USD 209.8 million. Surging Demand for Infusion Pumps is Attributed to their Ability to Cater to a Diverse Range of Medical Needs with Utmost Precision and Efficiency. The aging population is expected to drive the demand for infusion pumps over the forecast period. As people age, they are more likely to require medical treatment, which can include the use of infusion pumps. In addition, the elderly population is more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, further driving the demand for these devices. Advancements in technology are fueling the growth in the infusion pump market. Manufacturers are developing pumps that are more accurate, easier to use, and more reliable than ever before. Innovations such as smart pumps are making infusion pumps more accessible to healthcare providers and patients alike, further driving the demand for these devices. Request a Sample Copy of This Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-859 However, there are also some challenges that could impact the growth of the market. One of the key challenges is the high cost of these devices. Infusion pumps can be expensive, and this can limit their adoption in certain markets. In addition, there have been concerns about the safety of these devices, with reports of adverse events such as medication errors and device malfunctions. Despite these challenges, the infusion pump market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. With an aging population and increasing incidence of chronic diseases, the demand for these devices is likely to remain strong. Manufacturers will need to continue to invest in research and development to improve the safety and reliability of their products, while also working to bring down costs to make these devices more accessible to patients and healthcare providers. Infusion Pump Market Restraining Factors The infusion pump market faces challenges due to many product recalls, primarily related to design deficiencies. Issues such as alarm errors, software problems, and human factor errors have contributed to these recalls. Manufacturers are compelled to replace faulty devices, impacting the sustainability of the market. A shortage of skilled professionals and standardized usage guidelines hinders the growth of the market. Insufficient training and adherence to guidelines can lead to errors in pump operation, increasing the risk of emergencies, which subsequently hampers market development. "The market for infusion pumps is highly competitive, with several major players operating in the space. These manufacturers are investing heavily in research and development to improve their products, and are also expanding their distribution networks to reach new customers," says Sabyasachi Ghosh (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.). Key Takeaways from the Infusion Pump Market The infusion pump market is estimated to register a CAGR of 7.2% and reach a valuation of USD 209.8 million by 2034. and reach a valuation of by 2034. The small-volume infusion pumps are anticipated to dominate the global market, accounting for a 45.32% market share in 2024. market share in 2024. Stationary pumps account for a 65.96% market share, dominating the market by modality. Diabetes, a Leading Application Driving the Infusion Pump Market Diabetes is emerging as a dominant force, projected to hold a substantial share of 25% in 2023. The prominence indicates the crucial role infusion pumps play in managing diabetes and highlights the significance of this market segment in addressing the needs of a growing patient population. The infusion pump market is witnessing notable advancements in diabetes care. Manufacturers are continuously innovating to create user-friendly and technologically advanced infusion systems that address the specific needs of diabetes patients. The innovations include the integration of detailed drug libraries into pumps, multi-directional interoperability, and robust measures to ensure the safety of patient and device data, which align with the broader trend of electronic health record management. Competitive Landscape from the Infusion Pump Market The infusion pump market is highly competitive with a diverse range of players, including major healthcare companies, medical device manufacturers, and start-ups. To meet the growing demand for infusion pumps across the healthcare sector, companies are continuously innovating and introducing new products. Furthermore, smaller players and start-ups are committed to developing more affordable and user-friendly infusion pumps, which may potentially disrupt the market during the forecast period. Recent Developments in the Infusion Pump Market In 2023, Terumo Corporation revealed its plans to build a new manufacturing plant for its medical care solutions division. The facility will be located at the Kofu Factory premises situated in Yamanashi, Japan . . In 2023, Virginia Oncology Associates (VOA) procured the Ivenix Infusion System to deliver medications to its patients. This purchase was made under an agreement signed with Fresenius Kabi. In 2023, Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies collaborated with BioCentriq to showcase how automated cell and gene therapy platforms from Terumo can expedite the development of CAR-T cells. Key Market Players Terumo Corporation Medtronic Plc Smiths Medical MOOG Inc. B. Braun Melsungen AG Fresenius Kabi AG Terumo Corporation CareFusion Corporation ICU Medical, Inc. Baxter International Inc. Purchase the Report for Detailed Analysis: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/859 Infusion Pump Market Segmentation By Product Type: Syringe Pumps Small Volume Pump Ambulatory Pumps Volumetric Pumps Peristaltic Cassette/Piston Implantable Pumps Insulin Pumps Enteral Pumps PCA Pumps Pump Accessories By Modality: Stationary Pumps Infusion Pumps By Application: Chemotherapy/Oncology Pediatrics/Neonatology Analgesia Gastroenterology Hematology Diabetes By End User: Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers Home Care Clinics Others By Region: North America Latin America East Asia South Asia Europe Oceania MEA Author by Sabyasachi Ghosh (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) holds over 12 years of experience in the Healthcare, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceutical industries. His curious and analytical nature helped him shape his career as a researcher. Identifying key challenges faced by clients and devising robust, hypothesis-based solutions to empower them with strategic decision-making capabilities come naturally to him. His primary expertise lies in areas such as Market Entry and Expansion Strategy, Feasibility Studies, Competitive Intelligence, and Strategic Transformation. Holding a degree in Microbiology, Sabyasachi has authored numerous publications and has been cited in journals, including The Journal of mHealth, ITN Online, and Spinal Surgery News. Have a Look at the Related Report from the Infusion Pump Market: The global implantable infusion pump market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 485.1 Million in 2022. The intraosseous infusion devices market size is projected to be valued at US$ 4.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to rise to US$ 8.6 billion by 2033. The healthcare IT outsourcing market trend is projected to record a robust CAGR of 7.2% between 2023 and 2033, totaling around US$ 105.753 billion by the end of 2033. The global MRI-compatible IV infusion pump systems market is expected to enjoy a valuation of US$ 234.8 Million by the end of 2022. The global next generation infusion pump market holds a forecasted share of US$ 5059.7 million in 2022 and is likely to surpass US$ 8509 million by 2032. The medical device technology market is experiencing steady growth, with a projected market size of USD 549.2 billion in 2024. The global multi-therapy infusion pumps market size is projected to reach US$ 370.4 million in 2023. The pressure infusion cuffs market size is estimated to ascend at a valuation of approximately USD 350.8 million by 2024. The growing demand for vascular access systems will elevate the size of the industry from USD 5.4 billion to USD 10.1 billion from 2024 to 2034. The advanced infusion system market is projected to be valued at US$ 8,862.8 million in 2023 and is expected to rise to US$ 16,536.9 million by 2033. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 400 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: [email protected] Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs | YouTube Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/3531122/FMI_Logo.jpg SOURCE Future Market Insights Company Plans For National Expansion With New Locations Across North Carolina RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Linden Creek , Raleigh-based interior design and home staging firm set the stage for its national expansion with the launch of its franchise program and opening of its first two franchise locations in Charlotte and Cary, North Carolina. Alisa Sparks, Founder and CEO of Linden Creek "We are incredibly excited to launch our franchise program and partner with entrepreneurs and industry professionals who share our passion for design," said Alisa Sparks, founder and CEO of Linden Creek. "We want to bring Linden Creek design services across the US and this expansion into Charlotte and the Cary/Apex area is a significant step towards that vision." Founded in 2017 by Alisa Sparks, the Linden Creek franchise program ensures that each franchise location provides superior design quality and exceptional client services, while receiving extensive resources that will foster business growth and success, including: Operational tools, including administrative, financial, and project management software. Business training and support from a dedicated business consultant. Design training and support, including access to Linden Creek in-house interior designers. Exclusive and competitive pricing for inventory and project designs through Linden Creek design partners and e-commerce store, The Shoppe . . Scalability solutions that allow franchise partners to expand their business at their own pace and terms. Marketing resources and access to industry organizations. "There is a growing trend of people wanting to own a scalable business, whether launching a new venture or turning a side gig into a real business. Every day I have home stagers and interior designers express to me their desire to be business-centric vs. just design-centric, and that's what I want to help people do," added Sparks. In addition to its Raleigh office, Linden Creek has opened two new franchise locations, bringing its design services to homeowners and real estate professionals across North Carolina, with its new offices including: Linden Creek Charlotte , Linden Creek's first franchise location in Charlotte, North Carolina , led by franchise partner, Mary Grace Hartman . Linden Creek's first franchise location in , led by franchise partner, . Linden Creek Cary , the newest franchise location in Cary, North Carolina , serving the Cary and Apex area, led by franchise partner, Jessilyn James . Linden Creek aims to establish a nationwide presence over the next five years, expanding across the Southeast in cities, such as Charleston, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, and Atlanta, while continuing to grow throughout North and South Carolina. The total investment to open a Linden Creek franchise is $199,000 - $299,000, which includes a $50,000 franchise fee. For more information, view the franchise brochure or visit: https://linden-creek.com/franchise. ABOUT LINDEN CREEK Founded in 2017 by Alisa Sparks, Linden Creek is a luxury interior design and home staging firm headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2024 the company launched its franchise program, expanding its network of interior design firms, allowing them to serve prominent communities throughout the Southeast with innovative staging techniques and highly personalized design services. For more information please visit https://linden-creek.com . Media Contact Jaclyn Anderson [email protected] SOURCE Linden Creek The Last Keeper - a film in the acclaimed Killing the Shepherd series by Tom Opre - available now for streaming through August 30 after a sold out film tour in the U.K. WHITEFISH, Mont., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shepherds of Wildlife Society is proud to announce the release of its latest documentary, The Last Keeper. This film is the second in the acclaimed Killing the Shepherd series by award-winning director Tom Opre. It delves into the heart of the Scottish Highlands, exploring contemporary wildlife management issues and the struggle of rural communities. The film started its international premiere in Edinburgh, Scotland, on April 24, 2024, kicking off a 12-stop tour across the U.K. welcoming more than 1,000 people to sold-out theaters. "The reception in the U.K. has been incredible," commented Tom Opre, founder of the Shepherds of Wildlife Society. "We recognize this story's impact on the local political scene and appreciate the opportunity to highlight this story and inspire discussions across the countryside." The Last Keeper illuminates the plight of gamekeepers, ghillies, and stalkers who see their traditional role as stewards of the land threatened. The film follows their fight to ensure healthy ecosystems while preserving their cultural heritage and right to a livelihood. In June, Opre joined the Scottish Parliament for a preview of the film and to discuss the issues of the rural Scottish communities on which the film focuses. "We aim to highlight the rights of these rural communities in connecting with the local natural resources, and to screen the film with this prestigious audience was quite an honor," commented Opre. Selected for Multiple Film Festivals The Last Keeper is having an impact on the film festival scene as well as it has been selected and awarded by numerous international film festivals, including the following: Wildlife Vaasa Festival-International Nature Film Festival ( Finland ); Finalist ( ); Finalist Freedom International Film Festival ( USA ); Semi-Finalist ( ); Semi-Finalist Dubai Film Festival (UAE); Semi-Finalist (UAE); Semi-Finalist Nature Without Borders International Film Festival ( USA ); Outstanding Excellence - Environmental ( ); Outstanding Excellence - Environmental EuropeNow Film Festival (UK); Semi-Finalist (UK); Semi-Finalist Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival ( Canada ); Official Selection ( ); Official Selection Depth of Field International Film Festival ( USA ); Outstanding Excellence for cinematography, original score, SFX: Visual ( ); Outstanding Excellence for cinematography, original score, SFX: Visual Indie Vegas Film Festival Feature Film ( USA ); Award Winner - Best Editing ( ); Award Winner - Best Editing WorldFest - Houston International Film Festival ( USA ); Golden Remi Award: Documentary Feature ( ); Award: Documentary Feature Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival ( USA ); Official Selection ( ); Official Selection Nyack International Film Festival ( USA ); Official Selection ( ); Official Selection Paris World Cinema Festival ( France ); Best Feature Documentary Award Winner ( ); Best Feature Documentary Award Winner The Impact DOCS Awards ( USA ); Award Winner of Merit and Special Mention ( ); Award Winner of Merit and Special Mention Cannes World Film Festival ( France ); Award Winner - Best Educational Film ( ); Award Winner - Best Educational Film Terres Travel Film Festival ( Spain ); Official Selection ( ); Official Selection Ferrara Film Festival ( Italy ); Official Selection With the warm reception from film festivals and in the U.K., Shepherds of Wildlife Society is now hosting a digital cinema event in the United States. Tickets are now available for the digital cinema event. The digital film event will continue through August 30, 2024. Purchase your ticket today to explore the brutal truth of the land conflict in Scotland. To learn more about The Last Keeper and the Shepherds of Wildlife Society, visit https://www.shepherdsofwildlife.org/the-last-keeper . About Shepherds of Wildlife Society The Shepherds of Wildlife Society is a 501(c)3 educational organization with a mission to reconnect modern society with nature through storytelling. We use media and educational materials designed to reconnect society with nature and to bring to life abstract concepts pertaining to wildlife and wildlife habitats for generations to come. MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Opre, Founder of The Shepherds of Wildlife Society (501.c.3) Executive Producer - Firesteel Films, Inc. [email protected] SOURCE Shepherds of Wildlife Society LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- It's Boba Time, the beloved LA-based boba brand, is thrilled to announce the opening of three new stores in California. Known for its delicious variety of boba drinks and tasty treats, It's Boba Time is bringing its unique flavors to even more locations set to open in August. Get ready for fun, flavor, and fantastic freebies at our upcoming store openings! New Store Locations: Saugus (Seco Canyon Village): 22872 Copper Hill Drive, Santa Clarita, CA 91350 - Soft opened July 30, 2024 22872 Copper Hill Drive, 91350 - Soft opened Selma : 2874 McCall Avenue, Selma, CA 93662 - Soft opening August 2, 2024 2874 McCall Avenue, 93662 - Soft opening El Monte : 10458 Garvey Avenue, El Monte, CA 91733 - August soft opening To celebrate the new locations, It's Boba Time is giving away 100 free drinks and 100 free sticker packs to the first 100 customers at each soft opening! Don't miss out on these fantastic offers and be part of the boba buzz! "We are thrilled to bring It's Boba Time to more communities across California. Each new location represents our commitment to sharing the joy of boba and creating spaces where people can come together and enjoy our delicious offerings. We can't wait to welcome our new customers and continue growing our boba family," said Eunice Pak, President of Boba Time, Inc., franchisor of It's Boba Time brand. Join It's Boba Time as they expand their boba family and bring more joy to your neighborhoods. Stay tuned for the exact opening date for El Monte by following them on Instagram at @itsbobatime. Sip your way to happiness and treat yourself with It's Boba Time! About It's Boba Time Founded in 2003 with a passion for boba, It's Boba Time has expanded from 40 drinks to over 140 options, including smoothies, slushes, milk teas, and fresh juices, all made-to-order with fresh fruits and customizable toppings. It's Boba Time creates a welcoming environment where everyone can find their favorite drink, making them a beloved destination for boba enthusiasts across Los Angeles and beyond. Their commitment to quality and innovation ensures every visit is a delightful experience. For more information, please visit itsbobatime.com or follow us on Instagram at @itsbobatime. SOURCE It's Boba Time BELLEVUE, Wash., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Jobley , a hiring platform for US healthcare professionals operated by Medley (TSE: 4480), a Japan-based health technology group, begins a phased rollout to expand its service across the entire United States. Jobley: a hiring platform for US healthcare professionals Since launching in February 2023, Jobley has offered hiring services to healthcare providers and professionals, with an initial focus on the dental sector in Washington, Oregon, and California. Beginning with this region, Jobley has established a solid business foundation and gained promising prospects for geographic expansion. With strong momentum and growing interest from facilities and professionals in other states, Jobley has decided to expand its area coverage. Starting August 1, Jobley will provide service in 39 states* and the District of Columbia. In the months to come, Jobley will progressively expand access to all U.S. states. Throughout the process, Jobley will continue to reinforce its provider network and talent pool, gradually enhancing service as its coverage expands. *Jobley plans to cover the following 11 states in soon-to-come roll-out phases: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The American healthcare industry faces significant challenges when it comes to recruiting and retaining experienced healthcare workers. This workforce shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is further complicated by both an aging population and an aging healthcare workforce. The consequences are quicker burnout, heavier workloads, and compromised quality of care. The issue plagues not only large hospital systems, but also smaller private practices, direct-care providers, and dental offices. The entire healthcare industry's future relies on developing a strong talent pipeline. Aiming to close this talent gap, Jobley provides an online career marketplace to efficiently and effectively connect healthcare employers with healthcare professionals, beginning with dental workers. Jobley's Feature: Jobley's dedicated professional team sources high-quality candidates for smaller providers, often without a dedicated HR team. Throughout the hiring process, Jobley alleviates administrative burdens with comprehensive human support. Employers can post as many job listings as they want for any duration, free of charge. Only after a candidate has been successfully hired will employers be chargedand even these fees are lower than traditional hiring costs. In addition, to combat the risk of unexpected turnover, Jobley will refund between 50-90% of the fees for positions that become vacant within one month of hiring. Advocating for permanent, long-term employment, Jobley also promotes employee loyalty through the Jobley Bonus. Candidates hired through Jobley are eligible for the Jobley Bonus after they have worked with their new employer for two months. "Our goal is to create a widely-used service that addresses the long-term demand for job matching in the healthcare sector," said Sunny Tsang, Head of Product at Jobley. "Committed to continuously developing our platform, we will carefully consider user feedback and prioritize usability and overall user experience in our product offerings." Kohei Takiguchi, Founder and CEO of Medley, who also leads Jobley, elaborated,"By providing high-quality, user-friendly service at affordable prices, we aim to become an essential resource to the US healthcare industry. Starting with the dental sector, we aim to expand Jobley to include all healthcare professions and to serve healthcare providers of all sizes, addressing the persistent need for talent in the healthcare industry." Providers and job seekers are welcome to visit Jobley's website to register or learn more from our support team. Once registered, providers can post their job listings free of charge and will only be billed for successful hires. "Jobley was a game changer for us. We never thought we'd find a good candidate this quickly, and easily," said Dr. Nakada at Bellevue Premier Dental. "It was risk-free, as we didn't pay any upfront fees. Jobley provided basic screening for us, and engaged with the candidate to save us precious time. I'd definitely recommend Jobley to other healthcare facilities." As part of Medley, which aspires to create the future of healthcare through its SaaS solutions, Jobley continues to empower healthcare providers and professionals across the U.S. through its hiring solutions. To learn more or start your hiring or job search process with us, visit Jobley's website. About Jobley Jobley is a new hiring system for US healthcare professionals, launched by Medley in February 2023 to address issues in the US healthcare industry. Medley (MEDLEY, INC. | Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4480), which initially started as a healthcare-focused recruitment service, now provides one of Japan's largest healthcare recruitment platforms as well as various SaaS solutions for the healthcare industry. Since 2009, Medley has been committed to creating the future of healthcare through its products and services. Medley collaborates with engineers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals to develop and provide various SaaS solutions. The company focuses on building platforms that benefit patients, healthcare workers, healthcare providers, and society as a whole. For more details, please visit Jobley's website . SOURCE Medley US, Inc. BOSTON, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Investment Management, a company of Manulife Investment Management, has announced the addition of two new independent trustees to the Board of Trustees of the John Hancock Group of Funds effective immediately. The new trustees, William K. Bacic and Thomas R. Wright, bring deep knowledge of financial services, with expertise in accounting and audit, and capital markets and trading, respectively. William K. Bacic (CNW Group/John Hancock Investment Management) Thomas R. Wright (CNW Group/John Hancock Investment Management) A retired Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Bacic served as New England Managing Partner of a major independent registered public accounting firm, as well as a member of its U.S. Executive Committee, and has deep financial and accounting expertise. He also served as the lead partner on the firm's largest financial services companies, primarily focused on the investment management industry and mutual funds. In addition, Mr. Bacic brings expertise on corporate governance and regulatory matters. He has also previously served as a board member and audit committee chair of a large global asset management company. A retired Chief Operating Officer of a significant capital markets firm and a former Director of Equities and Executive Committee Member, Mr. Wright has deep executive, investment banking, portfolio management, securities brokerage, and equity research expertise. He has also served as the Global Head of Trading and Head of European Equity Trading and Sales Trading at an investment bank and asset manager and has substantial securities industry and international trading and markets expertise. "We're excited to appoint William and Thomas as new trustees as we feel their backgrounds and experience will bring additional insights and perspectives to navigate the complexities of the current financial landscape," said Dr. Hassell McClellan, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the John Hancock Group of Funds. "I am confident that their contributions will further strengthen and guide the strategic direction of our funds and help to deliver long-term value to our shareholders." About John Hancock Investment Management A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship. About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering investors for a better tomorrow. Serving more than 17 million individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members, we believe our global reach, complementary businesses, and the strength of our parent company position us to help investors capitalize on today's emerging global trends. We provide our clients access to public and private investment solutions across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, alternative, and sustainability-linked strategies, such as natural capital, to help them make more informed financial decisions and achieve their investment objectives. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com. John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC Member FINRA, SIPC 200 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 800-225-6020 jhinvestments.com SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management LOS ANGELES and PLANO, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Truelink Capital today announced that it has closed the transaction to acquire Air Distribution Technologies, a market leader in the air management and filtration solutions space, from Johnson Controls. Financial terms were not disclosed. Air Distribution Technologies, with its robust market presence, will now operate as an independent company. Doug Schuster, the current leader of the division, will continue to lead the company. "This strategic move is a monumental step for our company," said Doug Schuster. "Operating independently under Truelink's ownership empowers us to innovate and excel in the air distribution, filtration and movement markets. We are deeply thankful for the support from Johnson Controls during the transition period, and we are enthusiastic about the journey ahead." With over 4,500 employees across more than 25 global locations, Air Distribution Technologies is a key player in the HVAC ecosystem, boasting well-known brands such as Koch Filter, Titus, Ruskin, Krueger, PennBarry, and Tuttle & Bailey. The company was acquired by Johnson Controls in 2014. "Truelink is committed to bolstering Air Distribution Technologies' position as an industry leader and continuing its heritage of success," said Todd Golditch, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Truelink. "We are excited to partner with Doug and his leadership team to make strategic investments that will drive growth and innovation. We strongly believe in the business, its employees and partners and are thrilled to collaborate to help the business reach its potential." This transaction marks the fifth acquisition for Truelink Capital, launched in 2022 by Todd Golditch and Luke Myers. Jefferies LLC and William Blair & Company served as financial advisors to Truelink for the transaction. ABOUT TRUELINK CAPITAL Truelink Capital is a middle-market private equity firm based in Los Angeles. Truelink pairs deep industry experience in the industrials and technology-enabled services sectors with a commitment to building partnerships that drive long-term value through an operationally focused strategy. Truelink partners with management, corporate sellers, and founders to accelerate growth through the execution of strategic initiatives and transformative add-on acquisitions. ABOUT AIR DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES Air Distribution Technologies is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of a comprehensive suite of top performing products supporting the HVAC ecosystem. Its portfolio contains many well-recognized brands in the space serving a diversified customer base. The company was acquired by Johnson Controls in 2014. Media Contacts: Truelink Capital Peter Schultz [email protected] SOURCE Truelink Capital Data-driven Generative AI reaches EdTech, seeks to accelerate applications and reform higher education PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kollegio, the AI-driven platform for college applications, today announced its official launch to help students receive expert guidance for the college application process. Kollegio seeks to reinvent the college access infrastructure, creating more equitable opportunities while simultaneously dismantling the existing barriers that block out a majority of students from reaching top schools. Kollegio's advanced AI tools provide personalized guidance and expert advice to empower students to craft their best possible applications. Capabilities range from helping students prioritize colleges based on student career goals, GPA, and extracurricular activities, all the way to reviewing and suggesting edits to specific admission essays. The full launch comes on the heels of Kollegio's recently announced $750k pre-seed funding in June. 66% of students utilizing Kollegio's early access come from households that earn $100,000 or less in annual household income. The top 3 universities that these students are seeking to apply to include Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. A 2023 study conducted by economists based at Harvard found that students from the top 1% were 34% more likely to be accepted to an Ivy League school compared to their peers with the same or similar SAT or ACT scores. One advantage that students from more affluent backgrounds benefit from are highly personal recommendations provided by guidance counselors on their behalf. The average ratio for a public school counselor is 1:400 in California. Kollegio works alongside students during the college discovery and application process. Personalized profiles help determine target schools based on professional goals and grades. Students have the option to freely write admission essays and receive AI-provided feedback or can brainstorm using common application prompts. Students can work on admission essays anytime and receive support to best fit their unique schedule and work style. Data on important deadlines, application fees, financial aid, and more is also available from 1,600 schools to help keep students informed. "Kollegio was built with the guiding principle that all students, no matter their background or circumstance, should have the same shot at getting into their dream schools," says Kollegio CEO and Co-Founder Senan Khawaja. Saeed Naeem, the CTO and Co-founder echoed the same sentiment "No student with dreams of pursuing higher education should be limited because their families cannot afford the leg up that the wealthy minority can." To learn more about Kollegio, please visit www.kollegio.ai About Kollegio Kollegio leverages AI and data-driven solutions to make college counseling accessible and affordable to all students, so they may pursue their academic dreams. Led by a team of AI experts and college advisors, they have created a comprehensive platform that guides students through every step of the university application journey. Kollegio helps match students to the best schools based on personalized data and provides feedback on admission essays to help craft standout applications. Kollegio was designed to benefit not just students but also schools and colleges. Get started today by visiting: https://www.kollegio.ai/ Press Contact Rick Medeiros [email protected] (510) 556-8517 SOURCE Kollegio SOUTH FRESNO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) is excited to announce a new grant opportunity, sponsored by SoCalGas, to support local restaurant owners. This initiative will provide financial assistance to 35 restaurants in South Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties, focusing on restaurant owners of Latino heritage and those who have made significant contributions to the Latino community. "We are thrilled to collaborate with SoCalGas to support our local restaurants, especially those owned by members of the Latino community," said Lilly Rocha, CEO of the Latino Restaurant Association. "This grant program is designed to help these businesses thrive and continue contributing to our vibrant local economy. "By providing these grants to restaurants in South Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties, we aim to support the essential needs of these establishments. We believe in the power of our local restaurants and their significant contributions to the Latino community." To qualify for the grant, restaurant owners must meet the following criteria: Own up to three (3) restaurant locations Generate less than $1 million in annual revenue per location in annual revenue per location Have been in business for more than three (3) years Must be a current SoCalGas business customer Be a member of the Latino Restaurant Association (Free two-year memberships are available to restaurants in South Fresno , Kings , and Visalia Counties. Sign up by August 23, 2024 , using code VKF2024 to bypass the payment on the LRA Member Sign Up Page (HERE) Grant applications open on Monday, July 30, 2024, and close on August 23, 2024. Restaurant owners can apply through the Latino Restaurant Association using the following link: LRA Grant Applications. Participants will be notified of their application status by September 2, 2024, and grant recipients will be officially announced on September 9, 2024. "At SoCalGas we value diverse, local restaurants and recognize the contributions they make to our communities. We are glad to support the LRA in providing grants for small restaurants. These grants will provide some relief and can be used toward the purchase of interior equipment, technology upgrades, employee benefits or other changes that will support their small business," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government and community affairs at SoCalGas and member of the Latino Restaurant Association Board of Directors. For more information on the grant program or to apply, please visit the Latino Restaurant Association's website at https://latinorestaurantassociation.org/. About the Latino Restaurant Association: The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) is dedicated to supporting Latino restaurant owners and promoting Latino cuisine'. The LRA provides resources, advocacy, and networking opportunities to help Latino-owned restaurants succeed and grow. About SoCalGas: SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States serving approximately 21 million consumers across approximately 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest, most innovative energy infrastructure company in America. SoCalGas aims to deliver affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service through its pipelines to help advance California's clean energy transition by supporting energy system reliability and resiliency and enabling the integration of renewable resources. SoCalGas is a recognized leader in its industry and community, as demonstrated by being named one of Reuters' Top 100 Innovators Leading the Global Energy Transition and Corporate Member of the Year by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE ), a leading North American energy infrastructure company. For more information, visit SoCalGas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on social media @SoCalGas . Contact: Robert Alaniz Milagro Media Strategies (626) 437-3354 [email protected] SOURCE Latino Restaurant Association PLANO, Texas, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 17 years ago, LivePURE's founder, Mr. Dae Geun Jung, embarked on a journey in the MLM or Network Marketing distribution channel. With firsthand experience as a successful independent distributor, Mr. Jung recognized that many companies' decisions were adversely impacting the lives and families of their distributors. Determined to make a difference, he established LivePUREa company dedicated to honoring its commitments to distributors and fostering success. In Mr. Jung's words, "Our vision is to lead the global wellness industry alongside our brand partners. Whether you're embracing a healthier lifestyle, starting a flexible business, or both, we're here to support your journey to success and holistic health." Founder and chairman of LivePURE, Mr. Dae Geun Jung LivePURE superfruit juice products. From left to right: Goji, Acai, GoYin, Mangosteen, Noni, Fusion. Today, LivePURE remains steadfast in its commitment. While other companies have opted to cease MLM marketing, LivePURE reaffirms its dedication to Mr. Jung's original vision and the MLM distribution channel. Rick Redford, President of LivePURE, expresses, "We embrace the MLM channel wholeheartedly. It embodies the American Dream, offering opportunity regardless of background. Discontinuing MLM operations impacts millions of families globally, which we find deeply troubling. LivePURE is committed to the long-term prosperity of this vital industry." In response to evolving consumer trends over the past decade, such as the rise of Affiliates and Influencers, LivePURE pioneered the Customer Retention Bonus (CRB) in 2019. This innovation has become a cornerstone of the LivePURE compensation plan, enabling Brand Partners to earn up to 50% on customer purchases without structural requirements. This approach not only promotes customer acquisition but also rewards it on par withor even more thanteam building efforts, attracting numerous Affiliates and Influencers to LivePURE. Looking ahead, LivePURE remains optimistic about the future of MLM, anticipating significant growth by nurturing a community where customers, Brand Partners, and Influencers can thrive for generations to come. SOURCE LivePURE DUBLIN, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc ("Mallinckrodt" or the "Company"), a global specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that it will report second quarter 2024 earnings results for the period ended June 28, 2024, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. A conference call for investors will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET. The call can be accessed as follows: Live Call Participant Registration (including dial-in): https://register.vevent.com/register/BI91ab9f1056f04a59a2b623b63c39d8e7 Audio Only Webcast Link (live and replay): https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/7aqz6pyp At the Mallinckrodt website: https://ir.mallinckrodt.com/ ABOUT MALLINCKRODT Mallinckrodt is a global business consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. The Company's Specialty Brands reportable segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, hepatology, nephrology, pulmonology, ophthalmology and oncology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics; and gastrointestinal products. Its Specialty Generics reportable segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com . Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the Company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website. CONTACTS Investor Relations Derek Belz Vice President, Investor Relations 314-654-3950 [email protected] Media Michael Freitag / Aaron Palash / Aura Reinhard / Catherine Simon Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 212-355-4449 Mallinckrodt, the "M" brand mark and the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals logo are trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company. 2024. SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc IRVINE, Calif. , Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total July sales of 39,866 vehicles, an increase of 30.2 percent compared to July 2023. Year-to-date sales totaled 242,352 vehicles sold; an increase of 13 percent compared to the same time last year. With 25 selling days in July, compared to the same the year prior, the company posted an increase of 30.2 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis. CPO sales totaled 6,657 vehicles in July, an increase of 20 percent compared to July 2023. July 2024 sales highlights include: Best-ever July sales ever with 39,866 vehicles sold. Best-ever sales of CX-50 with 8,047 vehicles sold. Best-ever sales of CX-90 with 5,330 vehicles sold. Best-ever July sales of CX-30 with 8,679 vehicles sold. Mazda Canada, Inc., (MCI) reported July sales of 6,960 vehicles, an increase of 51.4 percent compared to July last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 39,965 vehicles sold; an increase of 21.6 percent compared to the same time last year. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported July sales of 8,375 vehicles, an increase of 33 percent compared to last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 52,769 vehicles sold; an increase of 29 percent compared to the same time last year. About Mazda North American Operations Proudly founded in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda has a history of sophisticated craftsmanship and innovation, and a purpose to enrich life-in-motion for those it serves. By putting humans at the center of everything it does, Mazda aspires to create uplifting experiences with our vehicles and for people. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia through approximately 795 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario; operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City; and operations in Colombia are managed by Mazda de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at news.mazdausa.com. Follow @MazdaUSA on social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Threads. Month-To-Date Year-To-Date July July YOY % % MTD July July YOY % % MTD 2024 2023 Change DSR 2024 2023 Change DSR Mazda3 3,959 2,994 32.2 % 32.2 % 21,786 18,121 20.2 % 18.9 % Mazda 3 Sdn 2,320 1,951 18.9 % 18.9 % 12509 9,633 29.9 % 28.4 % Mazda 3 HB 1,639 1,043 57.1 % 57.1 % 9277 8,488 9.3 % 8.1 % Mazda6 0 0 - - 0 0 - - MX-5 Miata 504 720 (30.0) % (30.0) % 4,508 6,233 (27.7) % (28.5) % MX-5 290 367 (21.0) % (21.0) % 2036 3,380 (39.8) % (40.4) % MXR 214 353 (39.4) % (39.4) % 2472 2,853 (13.4) % (14.3) % CX-3 - 0 - - - 0 - - CX-30 8,679 7,221 20.2 % 20.2 % 59901 45,748 30.9 % 29.5 % CX-5 12,430 12,443 (0.1) % (0.1) % 82644 92,464 (10.6) % (11.6) % CX-9 - 60 - - 4 17,419 (100.0) % (100.0) % CX-50 8,047 4,234 90.1 % 90.1 % 43244 25,700 68.3 % 66.4 % MX-30 0 28 (100.0) % (100.0) % - 94 - - Cx-70 917 0 - - 1976 0 - - CX-90 5,330 2,929 82.0 % 82.0 % 28289 8633 227.7 % 224.0 % CARS 4,463 3,714 20.2 % 20.2 % 26,294 24,354 8.0 % 6.8 % TRUCKS 35,403 26,915 31.5 % 31.5 % 216,058 190,058 13.7 % 12.4 % TOTAL 39,866 30,629 30.2 % 30.2 % 242,352 214,412 13.0 % 11.8 % *Selling Days 25 25 179 177 SOURCE Mazda North American Operations SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mikami Sushi is thrilled to announce the "Mikami Takes You to Japan!" sweepstakes, offering patrons a chance to win an unforgettable trip for two to Japan. This exciting promotion runs from August 1, 2024, to September 8, 2024. How to Enter: Spend $80 or more in a single transaction at Mikami Revolving Sushi or Take the Bait (our sister property next door) to receive an entry form. Visit mikamisushi.com to review other entry forms, including no purchase necessary, and official rules. Grand Prize: One lucky winner will receive two round-trip flights to Japan, valued up to $3,000. The winner will be selected in a random drawing on September 9, 2024. "We are excited to offer our customers the opportunity to win a trip to Japan," said Monserrat Mas, General Manager at Mikami Sushi. "This sweepstakes is a way to show our appreciation for our customers while also celebrating the delicious flavors of Japan that we bring to our restaurant every day." About Mikami Revolving Sushi: Mikami offers a unique dining experience with its "Kaiten" (Conveyor Belt) style setup. As the largest revolving sushi restaurant in San Diego, Mikami provides a wide range of sushi, creative rolls, appetizers, and drinks. The restaurant features a robot wait staff and a bullet train, creating a fun and engaging environment for both kids and adults. Highlights include: All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Happy Hour Specials Monthly Specials Vegan Sushi Options To make your reservation or view the menu, please visit mikamisushi.com. About this Sweepstakes: Enter Sweepstakes between 8/1/24 at 11:30 AM PST and 9/8/24 at 8:30 PM PST. Open to legal residents of the United States, who are 18+ at time of entry. Click here to view Official Rules including details on how to enter, eligibility requirements, prize descriptions, and limitations. Sponsor: Mikami Revolving Sushi, 7319 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92111. Contact: Priscila Damasceno Director of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Oceanic Enterprises What is body neutrality? Body neutrality is an approach that focuses on the inherent dignity of the person and on the human rights we all deserve regardless of what kind of body we have. It removes the pressure to have any specific feelings about the body. New York Times best-selling author Sonya Renee Taylor describes the practice of body neutrality in her book The Body Is Not an Apology: "Saying I'm fat is (and should be) the same as saying my shoes are black, the clouds are fluffy, and Bob Saget is tall. It's not good, it's not bad, it just is. [...] We don't need to stop using the word fat; we need to stop the hatred that our world connects with the word fat." Body neutrality emphasizes therapeutic concepts like radical acceptance and couples it with focusing on the functionality of our body. This approach is often an important part of therapy for those with body image issues or who have an eating disorder. It recognizes that bodies are different, that each person may have a different world experience based on their appearance, and that the body serves as a vessel through which we live our best life, not that our body's appearance determines our best life. Body neutrality focuses on working towards equity and equal rights for people in marginalized bodies and for managing various mental health conditions, especially in psychiatric treatment. Body neutrality aims to strip away anxiety caused by imposed beauty standards that society has imposed. If you feel like the body positivity community has left you behind, you're not alone. Tips for practicing body neutrality 1. Change your vocabulary. Use descriptive words like "fat" in a non-judgmental way. This can decrease the distress these words cause when used disparagingly. Try practicing non-judgmental language at home, with your pets, trusted friends, or a therapist to get used to how it feels and sounds. 2. Focus on functionality over appearance. Emphasize what your body can do over what it looks like. This can help you feel connected to yourself, capable, and energized. The thought of exercising can cause feelings of anxiety, especially for those with body image struggles, so it can be helpful to work with a therapist and psychiatric clinician on ways to get the support you need. Body-neutral functionality focuses don't require a sole focus on exercise. 3. Practice neutral affirmations. Positive affirmations (like "I am enough") are great tools for reducing feelings of depression and anxiety and can be used in your body neutrality journey. Body neutrality is about removing all judgment. Some examples of neutral affirmations are: a. "My arms allow me to hug the people I love." b. "I can walk with my dog because my legs carry me." c. "Using my voice helps me advocate for myself." If you are having trouble thinking of more ideas, a body-neutral therapist can help. 4. Curate your feed on social media. It's no secret that social media has a big effect on depression and anxiety. Here are some accounts of activists, writers, and influencers to start your search. Jessamyn Stanley (@mynameisjessamyn on Instagram): Author, yoga teacher, and advocate. She co-founded The Underbelly, a web-based platform for inclusive yoga classes focusing on body liberation and fat acceptance. (@mynameisjessamyn on Instagram): Author, yoga teacher, and advocate. She co-founded The Underbelly, a web-based platform for inclusive yoga classes focusing on body liberation and fat acceptance. Sonya Renee Taylor (@sonyareneetaylor on Instagram): New York Times best-selling author of The Body Is Not an Apology (quoted above), poet, activist, and leader. (@sonyareneetaylor on Instagram): best-selling author of The Body Is Not an Apology (quoted above), poet, activist, and leader. Imani Barbarin (@crutches_and_spice on Instagram and TikTok): Disability blogger, public speaker, writer, and model. 5. Check in with your values. When you think negatively about your body, ask yourself, "Who is profiting off this feeling I am having?" Chances are, you can point to a system of oppression that is actively trying to keep you dissatisfied and judgmental about your body. Staying close to your values about these systems of oppression, which you can work through with your therapist, can help with body neutrality. For those with eating disorders, body neutrality can be part of recovery. It shifts the focus from appearance, weight, size, and shape to overall health, well-being, and appreciation for the body's functionality. Neutral body image fosters a healthier relationship with ourselves, our bodies, food, and others. It heals our relationship with the summertime staple that keeps us cool, allows us to move freely in the water, and is long overdue for some neutrality of its ownthe bikini. Visit mindpath.com to learn more about your mental health treatment options and start your path to mental wellness. This article was written by Lauren Freymuth, LPC, a licensed professional counselor with Mindpath Health in Fort Worth, TX. Mindpath Health is an independent provider of high-quality outpatient behavioral health services, offering in-person and online visits. We coordinate care with primary care physicians and referring health care professionals to ensure a focus on total health. Visit mindpath.com to partner with us. We have locations in Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Schedule an appointment here. We offer TMS in California, North Carolina, and Florida. Learn how TMS can help here. We offer Mindpath On Demand in North Carolina for new and current patients seeking urgent psychiatry services. Schedule an appointment. SOURCE Mindpath Health Metro Diner celebrates the seventh annual holiday dedicated to their signature dish, giving guests two ways to win free and discounted servings of the sweet-savory treat. TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Metro Diner, where comfort food classics are reimagined for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is heating up the griddle for its seventh annual serving of National Fried Chicken & Waffle Day on Thursday, Aug. 8. This year, Metro Diner is sweetening the celebration with two special offers: Fried Chicken & Waffles at Metro Diner In-Diner Discount: Anyone who orders Fried Chicken & Waffles in-diner on August 8 will receive $5 off the dish. Plus, guests who order the celebrated meal will get a bracelet good for 10% off future dine-in Chicken & Waffle orders in August, while supplies last! Anyone who orders Fried Chicken & Waffles in-diner on will receive off the dish. Plus, guests who order the celebrated meal will get a bracelet good for 10% off future dine-in Chicken & Waffle orders in August, while supplies last! Fried Chicken & Waffles for A Year: Enter Metro Diner's annual social media contest for a chance to win free Fried Chicken & Waffles for a year! Festive Chicken & Waffle plushies will be awarded to a select few as a second-place prize. The contest runs Thursday, Aug. 1 , through Friday, Aug. 9 , on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, with the winner announced Monday, August 12 . Metro Diner's version of the classic dish features half a fried chicken (or substitute chicken tenders) on a Belgian waffle, topped with powdered sugar and sweet strawberry butter, and served with their signature sweet and spicy sauce. "One of our favorite holidays is right around the corner, and we can't wait to fill everyone's plates with the ultimate diner treat," said Stanley Goodman, Metro Diner President and Chief Operating Officer. "Fried Chicken & Waffles has been one of our best-selling dishes for many years, and we want to thank our guests for making it such a success and give them opportunities to enjoy it even more." Metro Diner created National Fried Chicken & Waffle Day in 2018 to honor its signature dish, part of a hearty menu of classic American comfort food. To find your closest location and see the full menu for dine-in, take-out, or delivery, visit www.metrodiner.com. About Metro Diner Established in 1992 by the Davoli family with a single eatery in Jacksonville, Florida, Metro Diner is among the nation's fastest-growing locally owned and operated family dining concepts, with 60 locations nationwide. Metro Diner is known for its warm, welcoming service, large portion sizes and serious diner food. Metro Diner has received many accolades, including features on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Cooking Channel's Cheap Eats. To learn more about Metro Diner, find a full list of locations or place a catering order, visit www.metrodiner.com. Be sure to "Like" Metro Diner on Facebook, follow @MetroDiner on Instagram and @metrodinerofficial on TikTok. Media Contact Brianna Pisacane [email protected] SOURCE Metro Diner WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement by Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club on the release of Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva from detention in Russia. "Our joy at Alsu's release today is tempered by our anger that she was taken in the first place. Alsu was guilty of no crime and was held in deplorable conditions and separated from her family in a cruel and heartless manner. "We congratulate the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Team which worked hard for Alsu's release and for all those who supported her case. "Alsu's family: Pavel, Bibi and Miriam, were her best champions and advocates. Through broken hearts they fought for her with skill and passion. We honor them and hope they are soon reunited with Alsu -- the heart of their family. "We are grateful to the U.S. Government for their ability to broker this historic swap. President Biden has shown strong leadership here and deserves significant credit. "Throughout the campaign, the Press Club coordinated with the family and the Radio Free Europe Team in Washington to lend support and experience when possible. We led a coalition of journalism organizations calling on the government to declare that her detention was wrongful. We look forward to honoring Alsu with The President's Award at our annual Awards Dinner on August 28. Today we celebrate her freedom!" Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization, the Club is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide. Contact: Bill McCarren, [email protected] for the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club The Kryder Law Group, LLC Announces Publication of Comprehensive Report on Parental Responsibility and Anti-Bullying Laws Across the United States CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers is proud to announce the publication of a detailed report that examines the varying parental responsibility statutes and anti-bullying laws across the United States. As kids look forward to returning to school in the next few weeks, this crucial document aims to inform parents, educators, and policymakers on the legal frameworks governing minors' actions and the necessary steps for ensuring a safe school environment. In light of recent incidents highlighting the need for clear accountability and protective measures, this report provides an extensive overview of the laws in states including Iowa, Georgia, Texas, and California. It outlines the financial responsibility imposed on parents regarding their child's misconduct, as well as the specific provisions schools must adopt to combat bullying and harassment. 31 states have laws that set a parental financial liability limit for personal injury caused by their child for personal injury caused by their child 8 of these states set the cap between $7,500 and $25,000 , with the rest setting limits at $5,000 or less "At The Kryder Law Group, we believe it is essential for communities to be aware of the legal implications of their children's actions and the protective measures in place against bullying," said Andrew Kryder, Esq., founding partner of The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers. "Our goal is to promote awareness, encourage dialogue, and ultimately foster a safer environment in our schools." Publication: Navigating Parental Responsibility: Bullying Laws Across the United States About The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers is a leading personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to the rights of accident victims and their families. With a strong focus on personal injury, bullying or hazing, car accidents, and wrongful death cases, the firm is committed to securing justice and compensation for those impacted by car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. Contact: Andrew A. Kryder, Esq The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers ***@kryderlaw.com Photos: https://www.prlog.org/13031798 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE The Kryder Law Group, LLC Fills Post-Acute Treatment Gap in Dallas Health Care Landscape DALLAS, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nexus Health Systems is pleased to announce a partnership between Nexus Children's Hospital Dallas and Pediatric Acute Care Associates of North Texas which will give pediatric patients at Medical City Hospital Dallas access to coordinated step-down care. Led by Dr. Michele Papo, this partnership creates a more continuous experience for those moving from a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to Nexus' transitional care unit. "We are thrilled to partner with Dr. Papo and Pediatric Acute Care Associates of North Texas to provide a more seamless transition from intensive to transitional care," said Nexus Children's Hospital Dallas CEO Roger Caron. "Dr. Papo and her team have a proven track record of providing exceptional care for medically complex patients. Together, we can ensure they experience a smooth transition from critical care to lower acuity levels of treatment and rehabilitation." Located 15 minutes east of the Dallas Medical Center, Nexus Children's Hospital provides complex post-acute care for infants, children, adolescents and young adults in a state-of-the-art facility. The hospital's interdisciplinary team creates specialized treatment plans to address debilitating conditions such as brain and spinal cord injuries, neurodevelopmental delays and co-occurring medical, behavioral and mental health needs. Nexus specializes in providing transitional care for young patients who have stabilized in the PICU but are not yet ready to return home. The partnership with Pediatric Acute Care Associates of North Texas makes it easier for caregivers to identify Nexus as an option, while minimizing disruptions that can occur when patients transfer between health care facilities. "Continuous care has been shown to improve outcomes, increase patient satisfaction, lower the risk of hospital readmission and decrease overall health care costs," Caron said. "We are dedicated to meeting the Dallas area's need for high-quality, coordinated care that extends beyond the acute phase of recovery." Since 1999, Nexus has developed programs to meet the most pressing needs of pediatric patients across the country. Current transitional care programs at Nexus Children's Hospital Dallas include Harbor, which provides rehabilitation and ongoing medical care after complex injuries and illnesses, and Rise, which offers rehabilitation and ongoing medical care after brain and spinal cord injury, stroke, and other neurological illnesses and injuries. "Nexus' mission has always been to help individuals return to lives of productivity and meaning, wherever they are in their post-acute journey," Caron said. "Our Dallas campus continues to provide the nationally recognized care Nexus Health Systems is known for, with a special emphasis on pediatric post-acute care." FACILITY INFORMATION Location 9525 Greenville Ave Dallas, Texas 75243 Standards of Care Continuous bedside monitoring and 24/7 monitor tech Early intervention rehabilitation services start immediately 24-hour respiratory therapy, including ventilator weaning Campus Highlights 87,000 square feet 60 private rooms 3 unique units, including a transitional care unit ABOUT NEXUS HEALTH SYSTEMS Nexus Health Systems is a safe and efficient discharge option for children, adolescents, and adults who need a bridge between hospital and home. Offering a unique combination of physical, behavioral, and mental health services and support, we care for patients across our network of facilities. With locations throughout Texas, Nexus offers a continuum of care that enables patients to transition from higher acuity to lower acuity environments as progress is made. Taking a holistic approach, our specialized programs guide individuals through behavioral or mental health challenges with co-occurring medical needs, brain and spinal cord injury, medically complex diagnoses and conditions, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Nexus is committed to serving the needs of our community and helping individuals return to lives of productivity and meaning. Learn more at nexushealthsystems.com. Media Contact: Madison Andrews Senior Copywriter Design At Work 832.726.5522 [email protected] SOURCE Nexus Health Systems Collaboration with Comcast Technology Solutions, DataBee and Comcast Ventures to accelerate access to new technology with a focus on data, security, AI, and critical infrastructure protection SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industry, today announced a new strategic partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions to help advance innovative cybersecurity technologies through increased go-to-market support and opportunities and access to expanded combined networks of industry leaders. As part of the new partnership, NightDragon will work closely with the teams from Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast Ventures and DataBee, the premier security, risk, and compliance data fabric platform in the Comcast Technology Solutions portfolio. Comcast Technology Solutions is a technology and infrastructure leader that enables partners by delivering proven technologies for global video, media, communications, data applications, and cybersecurity and compliance. Under this partnership, Comcast Technology Solutions will expose NightDragon to innovative companies and technologies that may be relevant for investment, go-to-market or partnership opportunities. Additionally, the company will evaluate opportunities to purchase technology from NightDragon portfolio companies or make capital investments through its Comcast Ventures arm. "This new partnership brings together a powerful combination of leaders at the forefront of cybersecurity protections for critical infrastructure and driving innovation in the marketplace. We look forward to working together with Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast Ventures, and DataBee to advance cybersecurity innovation in the marketplace and make a difference together in securing our world for tomorrow," said Dave DeWalt, CEO and Founder, NightDragon. Comcast Technology Solutions and Comcast Ventures will benefit from early access and exposure to the latest innovations within the NightDragon portfolio, including leading cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy technologies. Synergies identified between Comcast Technology Solutions and NightDragon portfolio companies will allow each party a fresh look at protecting critical infrastructure and driving innovation in the marketplace. "Innovation and investments in technology, infrastructure and cybersecurity are top priorities at Comcast Technology Solutions, as we've evidenced most recently with the creation of the DataBee business and security data fabric platform. Partnering with NightDragon and its portfolio companies offers us a valuable opportunity to get a first view into cutting-edge technologies that can best serve our customers and secure critical infrastructure," said Ken Klaer, President, Comcast Technology Solutions, and Executive Vice President, Comcast Cable. Additionally, DataBee, from Comcast Technology Solutions, will benefit from access to NightDragon's NightScale platform, which helps accelerate growth for leading innovators through access to proprietary playbooks, people, partnerships and programs, and the firm's Advisory Council of 100+ top cybersecurity and technology leaders. DataBee is a security, risk, and compliance data fabric platform that helps drive smarter decisions with analysis-ready datasets and an evidence-centric approach to security data. "Having spent time with NightDragon prior to this partnership, I believe in what this team and organization brings to the table. Comcast Technology Solutions provides a variety of innovative solutions developed and incubated by Comcast, like DataBee. We look forward to working with NightDragon to create synergies that will be mutually beneficial to enterprise customers and the security industry worldwide," said Nicole Bucala, Vice President and General Manager of the DataBee business. Amy De Salvatore, Partner, NightDragon said, "Comcast is a strong innovator, and this is a unique partnership in that they are a telecom provider, which is different from other strategic partnerships that fall under our NightScale platform and provide value to our portfolio companies. This partnership will be a powerful way for both of our companies to place greater focus and energy on innovation, as well as advance critical technologies like DataBee, which is revolutionizing how we manage and secure data." This partnership expands NightDragon's capabilities under its ND Go-to-Market business unit, a dedicated set of playbooks, programs, and partnerships in its proprietary NightScale platform to help accelerate its portfolio's go-to-market capabilities. Comcast Technology Solutions' leading services and advisory capabilities will complement existing go-to-market partnerships under the NightScale platform, including TD-SYNNEX, Arrow Electronics, World Wide Technologies, Jones Group International, SiteGround, Stratascale, and others. To learn more about the NightDragon NightScale platform, visit our website. About NightDragon NightDragon is an investment and advisory firm focused on growth and late-stage investments within the cybersecurity, safety, security and privacy industries. Its platform and vast industry network provide unparalleled threat insights, deal ow, market leverage and operating expertise to drive portfolio company growth and increase shareholder value. Founded by Dave DeWalt, the NightDragon team has more than 25 years of operational and market expertise leading technology companies such as Documentum, EMC, Siebel Systems (Oracle), McAfee, Mandiant, Avast and FireEye. Read more about NightDragon at www.nightdragon.com. About Comcast Technology Solutions Comcast Technology Solutions, a division of one of the world's leading media and technology companies, brings Comcast Corporation's proven technologies to an evolving list of industries worldwide. We believe in continuous innovation, always looking for new and better ways to connect with our customers, as well as aggregate, distribute, and secure our own content, advertising, and data. We invest in and test these solutions, so you don't have to freeing you up to focus on accelerating your business, not your tech stack. Through our portfolio of solutions, we bring these innovations to the global marketplace, enabling our partners to think big, go beyond, and lead the way in media, technology, and cybersecurity. For more information, visit Comcast Technology Solutions and DataBee NightDragon Media Contact: Sarah Kuranda Vallone [email protected] Comcast Technology Solutions Contact: Mary Cosmides [email protected] 267.207.5279 SOURCE NightDragon CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Guaranteed Rate Affinity announces that Nina Gonzalez has ranked number 60 on the 2024 NAHREP Top 250 Latino Mortgage Originators Awards. This accolade recognizes the top-producing Latino originators in the U.S., celebrating their commitment to excellence and service in the mortgage industry. The recognition further amplifies Rate Companies' ongoing commitment to working with underserved communities to transform the lending experience. Nina Gonzalez, who closed 63 transactions with a volume of $17,795,033, is recognized as a dedicated professional who understands that every client has unique financial goals. She takes the time to understand her clients' visions, recommending smart mortgage solutions that align with their unique needs. "We are incredibly proud of Nina's achievement," said David Dickey, President and Chief Production Officer of Guaranteed Rate Affinity. "Her tireless service to her clients and communities, as well as her outstanding performance exemplify the values we uphold at Guaranteed Rate Affinity. We all agree Nina's ability to connect with and support the Spanish-speaking community is second to none and incredibly aligned with our company's values. She truly deserves this industry recognition." "I am honored to be recognized by NAHREP and to be among such esteemed professionals," said Gonzalez. "This achievement is a testament to the trust my clients place in me and the support from my amazing team at Guaranteed Rate Affinity. I look forward to continuing to help my clients achieve their homeownership dreams." Guaranteed Rate Affinity values Nina's contribution and believes that her recognition will further enhance the company's ability to assist Spanish-speaking clients, solidifying its position as a leader in the industry and in the mission to transform the homebuying and lending experience for all Americans. About Guaranteed Rate Affinity Guaranteed Rate Affinity is a joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and Anywhere Integrated Services (NYSE: HOUS), which owns some of the most recognized and respected real estate brands in the industry. The innovative JV has funded more than $100 billion in loans since its inception. Guaranteed Rate Affinity originates and markets its mortgage lending services to Anywhere's real estate, brokerage and relocation subsidiaries. Guaranteed Rate Affinity provides unmatched support to Anywhere brokers coast-to-coast, assuring their customers receive fast pre-approvals, appraisals and loan closings, creating the ability for buyers to move quickly and confidently when purchasing homes in today's competitive market. Guaranteed Rate Affinity also provides the same services to the public and other real estate brokerage and relocation companies across the countryhelping employers improve their employees' relocation experience by putting the customer first, providing the customer the ease and security of digital mortgages and offering low rates with loans personalized to each customer's needs. Guaranteed Rate owns a controlling 50.1% stake of Guaranteed Rate Affinity, and Anywhere owns 49.9%. Visit grarate.com for more information. SOURCE Guaranteed Rate Affinity Significant capacity improvements will enhance critical rail corridor, open additional opportunities for statewide business and economic growth ATLANTA, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is investing to grow capacity on a key rail line in the state of Alabama, the 3B Corridor, which connects markets in northern and central Alabama to the Port of Mobile and destinations worldwide. The more-than $200 million investment positions the line to accommodate expected growth in several sectors as the Southeast progresses as an economic powerhouse for the US economy. The 3B Corridor is strategically aligned with the Port of Mobile, which contributes $85 billion in annual economic value to Alabama. The corridor represents an important segment of Norfolk Southern's annual traffic, serving critical industries like agriculture, automotive, chemicals, forestry, and steel. The investments are expected to yield immediate returns when they begin to come online in 2025. "Together with our customers, we are anticipating where markets are heading, and positioning to deliver on their supply chain needs now and into the future," said Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan H. Shaw. "These investments will bring immediate returns as they make rail an even more competitive part of our nation's supply chain and expand our customers end-to-end solutions." "We are grateful to Norfolk Southern for these investments in our state and for their support of our existing industries," said Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce Ellen McNair. "This is proof that our open for business approach is attracting growth in our state among world-class businesses looking to locate or expand their operation. We look forward to the positive impact these enhancements will have on Alabama's economic competitiveness and on the nation's supply chain more broadly." The project involves a mix of terminal and track-based infrastructure improvements, including capacity projects in central and southwest Alabama, customer-specific projects in north Alabama and locations north of Mobile, yard upgrades in Wilton and a series of grade crossing improvements throughout the region. Already, Norfolk Southern is collaborating on a project to allow a high-volume met coal customer to take advantage of the expanded 3B Corridor. This new premium met coal production facility, set to be developed in 2025, will help power global production of metals products, especially for essential infrastructure projects, for decades to come. Another customer, Packaging Corporation of America, recently expanded its paper mill located along the corridor, partnering with Norfolk Southern on the project to enhance efficiencies for both companies. "Without Norfolk Southern's investment in the region, we would not have been able to maximize the opportunity to ship more volume via rail," said PCA Vice President, Transportation Ross Corthell. "The projects Norfolk Southern is planning and doing in the region are great examples of how their long-term strategy to invest in infrastructure, operate safely and efficiently, and market their service, is designed to promote growth." "Norfolk Southern is focused on delivering long-term value through collaboration and innovation with our customers and their markets," said Norfolk Southern EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins. "This means being deeply engaged from the beginning, working with customers to identify business needs and help develop solutions, staying engaged throughout the development process, and finally executing on the safe, reliable, efficient transport of their cargo. Our comprehensive approach is all about being there for our customers' needs today and being ready to handle the next phase of their business tomorrow." An overview of Norfolk Southern's business and impact on the state of Alabama can also be found here. About Norfolk Southern Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and Norfolk Southern originates more automotive traffic than any other Class I Railroad. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S. It serves a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as major ports in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com. SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation All Credit Union Branches Accepting Book Donations for San Diego Elementary School Students SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- North Island Credit Union has launched a book drive to help ensure children in low-income households have access to books outside the classroom. In the third year of the partnership, the book drive is being conducted with the Scripps Howard Fund and ABC 10News as part of its "If You Give a Child a Book . . ." childhood literacy campaign. Through August 31st, North Island Credit Union encourages community members to drop off new books to any of its branch locations in San Diego County. A complete list of North Island Credit Union locations is available here. Donated books should be new and appropriate for kindergarten through elementary school students. All books will be given to students attending Title 1 schools in San Diego County. "We invite everyone to join this effort to make books accessible and nurture a joy of reading for children in our underserved communities," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "This campaign gets books directly into the hands of children who need them most, helping address the literacy gap in our communities. Every book donation makes a difference in a child's life and together we can provide the resources to support reading outside the classroom." Credit union branch drop off locations include: 7968 El Cajon Blvd, La Mesa 2550 Fifth Ave, San Diego 9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego 9420 Mira Mesa Blvd, San Diego Naval Air Base, Saufley St Bldg. 318, San Diego 10549 Scripps Poway Pkwy, San Diego 45 N. Broadway, Chula Vista 5898 Copley Dr, San Diego 1101 Palm Ave, Imperial Beach 884 Eastlake Pkwy, Chula Vista 301 N. Magnolia Ave , El Cajon , 1230 Auto Park Way, Escondido More information about the book drive for literacy is available here. Monetary donations are also accepted to purchase books for students in need here. The "If You Give a Child a Book . . ." book drive is complemented by "Story Time," a partnership between North Island Credit Union and ABC 10News continuing to promote child literacy. With the help of the San Diego Council on Literacy, monthly "mini" book fairs are held in Title 1 schools across San Diego, providing free books to students in underserved communities to encourage reading outside the classroom. The annual "If You Give a Child a Book " childhood literacy campaign is a partnership of the Scripps Howard Fund, members of the Scripps family, employees of The E.W. Scripps Company, and the communities it serves. The campaign has distributed more than 1,000,000 books since its launch in 2016. About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of nearly $5 billion, approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. The credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu. About the Scripps Howard Fund The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on journalism education, excellence in journalism and childhood literacy. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Fund is a leader in supporting journalism through scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry's top honors for outstanding journalism, and the Fund's annual "If You Give a Child a Book " childhood literacy campaign has distributed thousands of new books to children in need across the nation. In support of its mission to create a better-informed world, the Fund also partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and support organizations that help build thriving communities. The Scripps Howard Foundation, an affiliated organization with the Scripps Howard Fund, supports Scripps' charitable efforts through its endowment, key assets and major donations. SOURCE North Island Credit Union Rise in incidences of chronic diseases, favorable regulatory scenario, and increase in geriatric population are the major factors that drive the global market growth PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Pain Management Drugs Market by Drug Class (NSAIDs, Anesthetics, Anticonvulsants, Anti-migraine Agents, Antidepressants, Opioids and Nonnarcotic Analgesics), Indication (Arthritic Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Cancer Pain, Chronic Back Pain, Postoperative Pain, Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Muscle Sprain/Strain, Bone Fracture, Acute Appendicitis, and Others) and Pain Type (Chronic Pain and Acute Pain): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, the pain management drugs market was valued at $72.6 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $109.6 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.2% from 2024 to 2033. Request Sample of the Report on Pain Management Drugs Market Forecast 2033 - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/404 Prime determinants of growth Rise in incidences of chronic diseases, favorable regulatory scenario, and increase in geriatric population are the major factors that drive the growth of the pain management drugs market. However, availability of alternative therapies and patent expiration of prescription drugs restricts the market growth. Moreover, advancements in drug development and untapped markets in developing economies offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the global pain management drugs market. Report coverage & details Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20242033 Base Year 2023 Market Size In 2023 $72.6 Billion Market Size In 2033 $109. Billion 6 CAGR 3.9 % No. Of Pages in Report 216 Segments Covered Drug Class, Indication, Pain Type, And Region. Drivers Rise In Incidences Of Chronic Diseases Favorable Regulatory Scenario Increase In Geriatric Population Opportunities Advancements In Drug Development Untapped Markets In Developing Economies Restraints Availability Of Alternative Therapies Patent Expiration Of Prescription Drugs Segment Highlights The opioids segment is expected to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. By drug class, the opioids segment is expected to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in prevalence of chronic pain conditions, rise in aging population, and expansion of awareness and access to pain management treatments. Opioids, known for their potent analgesic properties, have traditionally been important in managing moderate to severe pain. However, their widespread use has also been associated with significant challenges, including the risk of addiction, misuse, and overdose. Want to Explore More, Connect to our Analyst - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/404 The postoperative pain segment to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period By indication, the postoperative pain segment dominated the market share in 2023. Aging population worldwide is experiencing a surge in surgical interventions, as older individuals often require medical interventions for age-related conditions such as joint replacements, cardiac surgeries, and cancer treatments. Postoperative pain management becomes crucial in these scenarios, as surgical procedures result in varying degrees of pain, requiring effective pain relief measures for optimal recovery. The chronic pain segment to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period By pain type, the chronic pain segment dominated the market share in 2023. This is attributed to growth in prevalence of chronic pain and rise in incidence of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. These conditions can lead to neuropathic pain, visceral pain, or pain associated with cancer treatments, chemotherapy, or surgical procedures, necessitating long-term pain management strategies. For Purchase Related Queries/Inquiry - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/404 Regional Outlook North America to maintain its dominance by 2033 North America dominated the market share in 2023. This is attributed to advanced healthcare systems, rise in prevalence of chronic pain conditions, and greater accessibility to healthcare services. These regions also witness significant research and development activities, leading to the introduction of innovative pain management therapies and medications. However, in emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific and LAMEA, the pain management drugs market is experiencing rapid growth driven by increase in healthcare expenditure, expansion in pharmaceutical industries, and rise in awareness about pain management. Key Players Novartis AG Eli Lilly & Company Abbott Laboratories Endo Health Solutions, Inc. Purdue Pharma L.P. Pfizer, Inc. Viatris Inc. Merck & Co. Inc. Johnson & Johnson GlaxoSmithKline Plc The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global pain management drugs market. These players have adopted different strategies such as agreement, product approval, clinical trials and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Recent Developments in Pain Management Drugs Market Worldwide In January 2024 , Heron Therapeutics, Inc. a commercial-stage biotechnology company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its supplemental New Drug Application for ZYNRELEF to expand the indication for soft tissue and orthopedic surgical procedures including foot and ankle, and other procedures in which direct exposure to articular cartilage is avoided. ZYNRELEF is the first and only therapy for postoperative pain management to be rigorously tested in Phase 3 studies and demonstrate superiority to bupivacaine solution, the current standard-of-care. In December 2022 , Tris Pharma, Inc. (Tris), a fully integrated, innovation-driven pharmaceutical company focused on CNS disorders announced new clinical data from its oral human abuse potential study in patients who are nondependent recreational opioid users, which demonstrate that cebranopadol (TRN-228) possesses significantly less likeability at high doses, above the therapeutic range versus immediate release (IR) formulations of tramadol or oxycodone. Cebranopadol is a novel, dual nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide (NOP) receptor and -opioid peptide (MOP) receptor agonist in development for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. In June 2021 , Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies announced a settlement agreement with the State of New York and its participating subdivisions, including Nassau County and Suffolk County , resolving their opioid-related claims against the Company. In June 2021 , Eli Lilly and Company and Incyte presented data from post-hoc analyses that suggested OLUMIANT (baricitinib) 4 mg tablet reduced pain and duration of morning joint stiffness, and improved overall physical function at 12 weeks, among patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as compared to HUMIRA (adalimumab) and placebo. AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) Offered by Allied Market Research: AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm representing 9/11 victims and their loved ones strongly condemns the recent plea deal reached by the United States government with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and two of his co-defendants as reported by CNN . The plea agreement, announced by the Defense Department, allows Mohammed and his co-defendants, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin' Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for life sentences instead of facing the death penalty. This decision comes after decades of legal complications and delays that have hindered the trial process. "We are deeply disappointed and appalled by this plea agreement," said Jerrold S. Parker, the founding attorney at Parker Waichman LLP. "The horrific events of 9/11 forever changed the lives of countless individuals, and justice demands that those responsible face the full weight of the law. This deal, which spares the perpetrators from the possibility of the death penalty, is an affront to the victims and their loved ones who have waited over two decades for justice." Mohammed, known as KSM, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and charged in 2008 with a litany of crimes including terrorism, conspiracy, and murder in violation of the law of war. The case has been plagued by legal challenges, particularly concerning the admissibility of evidence, resulting in prolonged delays and stalled proceedings. "This plea agreement undermines the principles of justice and accountability," added attorney Jerrold S. Parker. "Our firm stands with the 9/11 victims and their loved ones in condemning the decision to offer a plea bargain that eliminates the potential for the death penalty and urging the government to reconsider its approach to handling cases of such magnitude and impact in the future." Parker Waichman LLP remains committed to supporting the 9/11 community and advocating for the rights of victims and their loved ones. The firm continues to assist individuals with 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund claims ensuring they receive the compensation they deserve. 9/11 victims and their loved ones who would like more information about filing a claim are encouraged to visit the firm's website at YourLawyer.com or contact Parker Waichman LLP at 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529). About Parker Waichman LLP Parker Waichman LLP is a national law firm dedicated to advocating for the rights of 9/11 victims and their loved ones. With a commitment to achieving justice and holding wrongdoers accountable, the firm has recovered billions of dollars for its clients. Parker Waichman LLP handles a wide range of personal injury cases, including 9/11 victim claims, medical malpractice, defective products, and more. Contact: Raymond C. Silverman, Partner Parker Waichman LLP 6 Harbor Park Drive Port Washington, NY 11050 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) [email protected] https://www.yourlawyer.com/ SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global polyester straps market size is estimated to grow by USD 1.21 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.6% during the forecast period. Polyester straps have emerged as a viable option to steel strapping is driving market growth, with a trend towards flourishing e-commerce industry encouraging demand. However, alternatives such as polypropylene strapping are hamperinggrowth of polyester straps market poses a challenge. Key market players include Auto Strap India, Campanini ugo Srl, CONSENT Group, Crown Holdings Inc., DAE YANG STRAPS, DuBose Strapping Inc., Fromm Holding AG, GREENBRIDGE, Industrial Yarns Pty Ltd., LINDER GmbH, Messersi Packaging Srl, Mosca GmbH, Narrowtex Pty Ltd., National Webbing Products Co., North Shore Strapping Inc., Plastex Extruders Ltd., Samuel Son and Co. Ltd., Teufelberger Holding AG, Plastic Strapping Co. Ltd., and UNIVERSAL STRAPPING Corp.. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global polyester straps market 2024-2028 Get a detailed analysis on regions, market segments, customer landscape, and companies - Click for the snapshot of this report Forecast period 2024-2028 Base Year 2023 Historic Data 2018 - 2022 Segment Covered Grade Type (Machine grade and Hand grade) and Geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa) Region Covered APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Key companies profiled Auto Strap India, Campanini ugo Srl, CONSENT Group, Crown Holdings Inc., DAE YANG STRAPS, DuBose Strapping Inc., Fromm Holding AG, GREENBRIDGE, Industrial Yarns Pty Ltd., LINDER GmbH, Messersi Packaging Srl, Mosca GmbH, Narrowtex Pty Ltd., National Webbing Products Co., North Shore Strapping Inc., Plastex Extruders Ltd., Samuel Son and Co. Ltd., Teufelberger Holding AG, Plastic Strapping Co. Ltd., and UNIVERSAL STRAPPING Corp. Key Market Trends Fueling Growth The e-commerce industry's growth is driving significant changes in various sectors, including textiles and electronics. Online shopping's convenience has led to a shift from traditional purchasing methods. E-commerce simplifies business transactions, optimizes distribution channels, and reduces transaction costs. Moreover, the global credit payment system's development simplifies payments and minimizes risks. In the realm of e-commerce, effective packaging is crucial for brand equity and customer loyalty. Corrugated boxes, secured with polyester straps, ensure product safety during transportation. Consequently, the global polyester straps market is poised to expand due to the e-commerce sector's growth. This trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The Polyester Straps Market is witnessing significant trends in various industries such as Electronics, Construction, Textiles, and Food & Beverage. Brands are focusing on profit margins by differentiating their products through custom-printed polyester straps, enhancing brand visibility. Logistical partners play a crucial role in supply chain operations, ensuring cargo safety and timely delivery. Environmental sustainability is a key concern, with manufacturers turning to recycled polyester straps and circular economy solutions. Lightweight polyester straps offer cost savings and reduced carbon emissions. Safety precautions are essential in strap manufacturing, with packing grade, width, break strength, and thickness being critical factors. Electrical, Chemical, and Fertilizer industries also utilize polyester straps for bundling and packaging. The future market growth depends on the analysis period, consumer attention, and the ability to meet specific industry requirements. Strap manufacturers must adhere to safety standards and offer sustainable, recyclable materials to meet the evolving needs of their clients. Discover 360 analysis of this market. For complete information, schedule your consultation- Book Here! Market Challenges Polypropylene strapping serves as an affordable option for moderate-duty applications, including bundling, unitizing, and palletizing. Applications for polypropylene strapping span across various industries, such as newspapers, magazines, food goods, appliances, corrugated boxes, cut paper, and cartons. The higher elongation property of polypropylene strapping makes it a preferred choice in these applications. Consequently, the market for polyester straps experiences a decline due to the increasing preference for polypropylene straps in light to medium-duty jobs. This trend negatively impacts the growth of the global polyester straps market during the forecast period. The Polyester Straps Market faces several challenges in areas of branding, profit margins, logistical partnerships, and supply chain operations. Environmental sustainability is a growing concern with increasing focus on recyclable materials and reducing carbon emissions. Brands seek to differentiate themselves through sustainable products and brand visibility. Custom-printed polyester straps offer branding opportunities, but manufacturers must consider consumer attention, analysis period, safety precautions, packing grade, width, break strength, thickness, and electrical applications in various industries like electronics, construction, textiles, and food and beverage. Recycled polyester straps contribute to the circular economy and lightweight options enable customization. Ensuring cargo safety, bundling, and logistics are crucial for final consumers and packaging materials. Understanding these challenges is essential for manufacturers to remain competitive in the future market of Polyethylene Terephthalate straps. For more insights on driver and challenges - Download a Sample Report Segment Overview This polyester straps market report extensively covers market segmentation by Grade Type 1.1 Machine grade 1.2 Hand grade Geography 2.1 APAC 2.2 North America 2.3 Europe 2.4 South America 2.5 Middle East and Africa 1.1 Machine grade- For more information on market segmentation with geographical analysis including forecast (2024-2028) and historic data (2018 - 2022) - Download a Sample Report Research Analysis Polyester straps, manufactured from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), are a popular choice in various industries due to their durability, lightweight, and versatility. The global polyester straps market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, driven by increasing demand from sectors such as logistics, construction, and electronics. Recycled polyester straps are gaining popularity due to the circular economy trend, offering a sustainable alternative to virgin polyester. Manufacturers focus on customization and branding opportunities, catering to specific industry requirements and customer preferences. The market offers a wide range of polyester straps in various widths, break strengths, and thicknesses, suitable for diverse applications. Cargo safety is a major concern, leading to the use of polyester straps in bundling and securing goods during transportation. Polyester straps find extensive use in industries like electrical, electronics, construction and allied, paper, textiles, chemical, fertilizers, apparels, and allied sectors. The final consumer benefits from the increased safety, durability, and cost-effectiveness of these straps. Market Research Overview Polyester straps, manufactured from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), have gained significant popularity in various industries due to their durability, lightweight, and cost-effectiveness. The future market for polyester straps is projected to grow, driven by the increasing demand for circular economy solutions and sustainability in supply chain operations. Manufacturers focus on producing recycled polyester straps, reducing carbon emissions and promoting environmental sustainability. Customization and branding opportunities are key features, allowing for product differentiation and increased brand visibility. The market caters to diverse sectors such as logistics, cargo safety, packaging materials, electronics, construction, textiles, chemicals, fertilizers, apparels, food, and beverages. With the increasing focus on safety precautions and logistical partners, polyester straps offer bundling solutions for efficient transport and storage. The analysis period for the polyester straps market considers trends, growth drivers, challenges, and opportunities. Key factors include the width, break strength, thickness, and electrical properties of the straps. The market offers profit margins for manufacturers and branding opportunities for final consumers. Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation Grade Type Machine Grade Hand Grade Geography APAC North America Europe South America Middle East And Africa 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Company Landscape 11 Company Analysis 12 Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio WILMINGTON, N.C., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PolyQuest, Inc. (PolyQuest) unveiled today, the addition of four exceptional talents to its team. This strategic move underscores its unwavering commitment to further growth and expansion in its thermoplastics distribution business. PolyQuest welcomed Andy Fredericks, Brian Goldberg, John Sarrao, and James Nelson all distinguished industry experts poised to further elevate PolyQuest's industry standing. PolyQuest welcomed the addition of four exceptional talents to its team, further elevating its industry standing. Post this PolyQuest Employee Spotlight: Andy Fredericks, John Sarrao, James Nelson, Brian Goldberg PolyQuest, Thermoplastic Resins For Every Application "PolyQuest is forging ahead in exciting new directions. The addition of Andy, Brian, John, and James will be seamless within our organization. It's very rare to find external talents such as these in one package with the same DNA structure as PolyQuest. We welcome them with open arms," stated John Marinelli, CEO of PolyQuest. To further these efforts, during the Covid era, PolyQuest made strategic investments to implement new, modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) solutions that streamline its business processes, improve data analytics, and support future growth. PolyQuest is now ready to responsibly yet rapidly, scale its distribution business while maintaining a customer-centric focus with servitude as its overriding core principle. In conclusion, John Marinelli affirmed, "Although we have traditional values in building and nurturing industry relationships, our unmatched capabilities to oversee the supply chain and swiftly customize solutions for our customers stems from our people and our technologies. This is an enduring commitment." About PolyQuest, Inc. PolyQuest is a privately held thermoplastic resin distributor headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina with U.S. facilities in Darlington, South Carolina; Florence, South Carolina; and Farmingdale, New York. PolyQuest maintains a global reach offering one of the broadest resin catalogs in the hemisphere for the bottle, sheet, strapping, film, fiber, compounding, and injection molding markets. Contact us to learn more about PolyQuest as a partner for your PET, PP, PE, HIPS, and rPET materials needs and processing solutions. SOURCE PolyQuest, Inc. Organizations Receiving Part of the $5.7 Million Foster a Thriving San Diego Art Scene Prebys funds these grantees as part of a commitment to Accessibility, Creativity, and Financial Viability SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2023, The Conrad Prebys Foundation introduced a strategic plan focused on creating community well-being through the affirmation of purpose, opportunity, and belonging for every resident. The plan was based on more than a hundred interviews and a listening tour across the county. The foundation funds visual and performing arts, medical research, health care, and youth success and holds a vision in the arts for San Diego County over the next 10 - 20 years. The vision identifies investment in community-based arts groups will help achieve a vision of: Great Art for All : Ensuring that great art is created by and accessible to the entire community. : Ensuring that great art is created by and accessible to the entire community. National Recognition : Establishing San Diego's arts and culture landscape as a leader in culturally inclusive and excellent art. : Establishing San Diego's arts and culture landscape as a leader in culturally inclusive and excellent art. Financial Strength: Supporting artists and cultural practitioners and the arts economy to provide exceptional arts experiences to the community. NEW STUDY: San Diego Is One of the Most Culturally Robust Regions in the U.S. At the same time, according to a new study by Americans for the Arts, A new study of the economic impact of the arts ranks San Diego County as one of the most "culturally robust" regions in the United States. The study also finds that "nonprofit arts organizations generated nearly $1.4 billion in economic activity in 2022, supported over 19,000 jobs, and served 19.2 million visitors." One could say the timing of the Prebys grant announcement coming on the heels of the new study is serendipitous. Prebys recognizes that investing in our arts and culture community helps to build a more prosperous region for all San Diegans. About the Arts and Culture Landscape As a part of their vision, Prebys invited organizations to apply for grants based on their potential to expand audiences, serve diverse communities, uplift underrepresented artists, and align with the initiative's goals. 38 awards were made to local organizations. initial invitation, each applicant completed a thorough and intentional application process ensuring the alignment of the organization's work and the grant's intended outcomes. The Arts and Culture Landscape, also known as Arts Ecosystem, grant awards aim to empower arts organizations across the region by: Boosting Capacity : Enhancing staffing, improving facilities, and fostering strategic partnerships. : Enhancing staffing, improving facilities, and fostering strategic partnerships. Expanding Audiences : Engaging new and diverse audiences to broaden cultural participation. : Engaging new and diverse audiences to broaden cultural participation. Enhancing Relevance : Tailoring initiatives to the unique dynamics of the San Diego region. : Tailoring initiatives to the unique dynamics of the region. Promoting Sustainability: Introducing sustainable practices for the long-term viability of local nonprofits. About the Grantees "When combined with Prebys 2023 Arts grantees, these organizations paint a more comprehensive picture of the region's arts and culture ecosystem, reflecting our commitment to fostering a robust and inclusive cultural landscape," said Grant Oliphant, CEO of the Prebys Foundation. "The Conrad Prebys Foundation is thrilled to announce the 2024 "Arts Ecosystem" grantees, an initiative designed to invigorate San Diego County's vibrant arts and culture landscape." The awarded organizations represent the rich tapestry of art, culture, and creativity in San Diego County. They serve diverse populations, including individuals with disabilities and border communities. Many of these organizations work collaboratively, advocate for arts causes, and support local governments, aligning closely with the Prebys mission to build countywide arts capacity. The grantees include: Organization Name Award La Jolla Music Society $325,000 San Diego Art Matters $260,000 San Diego Museum of Art $325,000 The Old Globe $325,000 Asian Culture and Media Alliance Inc. $200,000 Asian Story Theater $150,000 Barona Cultural Center & Museum $125,000 Blindspot Collective $150,000 Borrego Art Institute $100,000 The Front Arte y Cultura at Casa Familiar Inc. $125,000 Center for World Music $150,000 Classics 4 Kids $110,000 Cygnet Theatre Company $200,000 Friends of Friendship Park $200,000 Imperial Beach Arts Bureau $195,000 INSITE $75,000 Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego $130,000 La Mesa Park and Recreation Foundation $120,000 Loud Fridge Theatre Group $50,000 Mainly Mozart, Inc. $180,000 Mingei International Museum $150,000 Museum of Us $250,000 New Village Arts $100,000 ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station $150,000 OnStage Playhouse Inc. $36,000 Outside the Lens $100,000 Pacific Arts Movement $125,000 Playwrights Project $100,000 WorldBeat Cultural Center $100,000 Reuben H Fleet Science Center $200,000 San Diego Museum Council Inc $150,000 San Diego Opera $200,000 San Diego Performing Arts League $100,000 The High Steppers Drill Team, Inc. $100,000 Trinity One Theatre Troupe Inc. $130,000 TuYo Theatre Inc. $140,000 Wheelchair Dancers Organization $70,000 Write Out Loud $80,000 Grand Total $5,776,000 "Prebys looks forward to continuing to partner with each grantee and learn from their experiences," said Emily Young, Vice President of Prebys Foundation. "Our hope is that they grow their organizations by investing in their staff, practitioners, and volunteers to serve the communities as they see fit." During the funding cycle, organizations will report on how the funds help and what additional support they need to further a vibrant arts and culture in the region. Quotes from the Awardees When asked about their vision for their continued work, those receiving the awards provided the following insight: Asian Culture and Media Alliance Inc. - "ACMA is deeply humbled and grateful for the generous support from the Conrad Prebys Foundation. This significant grant marks a pivotal moment for us, enabling the creation of the ACMA Digital Media Arts Academy that will serve as a cornerstone in providing not only greatly expanded capacity for our existing programs but also benefit our arts ecosystem by cultivating a new space for enhanced community engagement opportunities and facilities for supporting emerging artists." Cathlyn Choi, Founder and Executive Director. Blindspot Collective - "We are deeply grateful to the Prebys Foundation for their generous support, which will significantly enhance our capacity to serve historically excluded artists and communities. This grant will allow us to pursue permanent space in San Diego, providing a dedicated home for innovative and inclusive theater which will not only benefit our organization but the broader sector. With this support, we are excited to expand our reach and deepen our impact on the cultural ecosystem of our region." - Blake McCarty, Executive Artistic Director Center for World Music - "We are thankful for the Prebys Foundation's considerate approach and transformative impact," stated Monica Emery, executive director of the Center for World Music. "The Arts Ecosystem grant will enhance our ability to facilitate meaningful connections through world music and dance, nurturing a deep sense of belonging for all." Classics 4 Kids - "Classics 4 Kids is excited to continue expanding our live orchestra performances, in-school assemblies, and virtual music programs with the support of the Arts Ecosystem Grant. We look forward to deepening our partnerships and reaching more under-resourced and historically underrepresented communities throughout San Diego County." - Kiran Shelat, Executive Director Cygnet Theatre Company - "San Diego is a vibrant center for arts and culture, and this funding exemplifies our organization's dedication to harnessing the power of theatre to make a positive impact on people and places. We take great pride in the abundance of talented local artists, collectives, musicians, and theaters who continually create impactful works of art that showcase the diversity of our communities. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Prebys Foundation for their support of Cygnet Theatre and the arts in our region." Sean Murray, Artistic Director Friends of Friendship Park - "All of us at the Friends of Friendship Park are grateful to the Prebys Foundation for investing in the values of transnational solidarity and belonging. The cross-border meeting place known as Friendship Park holds unique potential to serve as a resplendent platform for these values in an age when separation, suspicion, and fearmongering are given such powerful voice." - John Fanestil, Executive Director Imperial Beach Arts Bureau - "At IBAB, we have a simple goal of making art accessible and fun for everyone that comes to Imperial Beach. We want people to have good memories of their time spent in Imperial Beach, and remembering all the art is a big part of those memories" - Justin Anderson, IBAB President. La Mesa Park and Recreation Foundation "We are incredible honored and thrilled to receive this grant" said Misty Thompson, Executive Director, "This support marks a significant milestone for our community's arts and cultural development. Thanks to the Prebys Foundation, we are building a vibrant cultural landscape where art and expression can thrive." Mingei International Museum - "Mingei is thrilled to partner with Prebys Foundation to fulfill our commitment to sparking community connections. These funds will enable the Museum to collaborate with local organizations and artists through a series of creative and accessible community-centered programs." - Jessica Hanson York, Executive Director & CEO Museum of Us "The "Race: Power, Resistance & Change" exhibit will be a community-centered platform for regional BIPOC artists to share their own narratives, challenge stereotypes and explore the complexities of the cultural constructs of Race. It will expose visitors to the experience of resistance, identity and advocacy for systemic change from the perspective of historically marginalized communities. We are deeply grateful to the Prebys Foundation for supporting this important work." - Micah Parzen, CEO New Village Arts - "New Village Arts is honored to receive support from the Prebys Foundation in support of our mission of creating adventurous artistic experiences to awaken the human spirit. These funds will be utilized to support the diverse staff at New Village Arts, creating sustainability and enabling growth for the organization. The Prebys Foundation is leading the way in philanthropic support in our region and the impact of their generosity will be felt for generations to come." - Kristianne Kurner, Founder and Executive Artistic Director Outside the Lens - "Outside the Lens cultivates confidence, creativity, and connection in the next generation of changemakers. We are so grateful for the support of the Prebys Foundation, which will play a pivotal role in expanding our out-of-school programming for San Diego teenagers, creating new opportunities for underserved youth to engage in creative expression and experience community connection."- Sarah Beckman, OTL Executive Director Pacific Arts Movement - "This partnership underscores our shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of storytellers and ensuring diverse voices are heard and amplified. We extend our deepest gratitude to the Prebys Foundation for their dedication to the arts and their belief in the transformative power of storytelling. Together, we are making a significant impact on the lives of aspiring filmmakers and enriching our cultural landscape. Thank you for your unwavering support and generosity. This summer marks the 20th year of Reel Voices, and we are excited about the many more years to come." Charles Thunyakij, Reel Voices Education Coordinator Reuben H Fleet Science Center - "The Fleet Science Center is excited to continue the work that was started with the Art for Planetary Health initiative. We look forward to co-creating programs with community partners and deepening the Fleet's existing relationships in the communities of San Ysidro, National City, Barrio Logan and the Greater Neighborhoods of Southeastern San Diego." Steven Snyder, PhD, President and CEO San Diego Museum Council Inc - "The Prebys Foundation is directly helping the San Deigo Museum Council make museums more accessible for all San Diegans. With their funding, we are able to remove economic barriers for all people to enjoy the cultural and educational benefits of museums, while also increasing access for museums throughout the region." Bob Lehman, Executive Director San Diego Museum of Art - "The San Diego Museum of Art is incredibly grateful to the Prebys Foundation for their support of arts in our community. This Prebys grant helps enable critical infrastructure upgrades that will equip us to continue inspiring, educating, and cultivating curiosity in San Diego and beyond." -- Roxana Velasquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director and CEO San Diego Performing Arts League - "The San Diego Performing Arts League is dedicated to fostering a vibrant arts community by ensuring accessible and inclusive opportunities for all. Our mission is to not only enhance public access to the arts, but also to support performing arts professionals in securing meaningful job opportunities. Through support from the Prebys Foundation, we aim to enrich the cultural landscape of San Diego and empower artists to thrive." Jay Henslee, SDPAL Board President About Prebys Foundation: Prebys Foundation is the largest independent private foundation in San Diego County, a unique tri-national area encompassing communities from San Diego, Tijuana, and the Kumeyaay Nation. The foundation works to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all San Diegans. Prebys advances excellence and shared opportunity through investments in groundbreaking institutions, ideas, and people to ensure more people in the region are financially secure, healthy, empowered, and connected. For more information about the Prebys Foundation, visit prebysfdn.org. SOURCE The Conrad Prebys Foundation ACCRA, Ghana, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 31 (local time), a large batch of LiuGong (000528.SZ) equipment was officially delivered to the Ghanaian government to support The District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) as part of the local economic development plan. The Ghanaian government held a grand project launch ceremony at Independence Square in Accra. Approximately 3,000 people attended the event, including Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mr. Li Yaohong, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, officials from various Ghanaian government departments, LiuGong Chairman & CEO Zeng Guang'an, and Senior Vice President Luo Guobing. Address by Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana "Ghana is at a critical stage of rapid development. To achieve economic takeoff, it is essential to first address the key issue of infrastructure construction. The government's procurement of a thousand units of LiuGong equipment has profound significance for improving transportation conditions in our rural areas and enhancing local livelihoods." Address by Zeng Guang'an, Chairman & CEO of LiuGong "LiuGong has been active in Africa since the 1990s through Chinese government aid programs. Today, LiuGong supplies equipment and services to numerous customers and major projects across the continent, with over 30,000 units currently in use. Moreover, LiuGong is committed to public welfare and social sustainability. Last year, we launched the Green Alliance Initiative to support public welfare projects in Africa. This year, our project started in South Africa and is planned to be expanded to other countries, aiming to provide clean water to local residents and lay the foundation for a healthy and sustainable life for African people." LiuGong has provided a thousand units of a full range of construction machinery for DRIP project. These machines will be distributed to 261 counties in Ghana to aid in local economic and social development. In addition, LiuGong has established a call center and spare parts depot in Ghana and set up 16 regional service centers nationwide, offering 24/7 professional services. These service centers aim to respond quickly to customer needs and ensure efficient operation of the equipment. LiuGong also plans to collaborate with local universities to cultivate engineering machinery talent, further advancing localized operations in Africa. Additionally, on the day prior to the event, LiuGong Chairman & CEO Zeng Guang'an, Senior Vice President Luo Guobing, and other senior executives were received by Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The two parties engaged in in-depth discussions regarding LiuGong's business development in Ghana and envisioned promising future collaborations. This meeting further solidified the close cooperative relationship between LiuGong and the Ghanaian government. In the future, LiuGong will continue to increase investment in the African market, establishing subsidiaries and offices in key countries, deepening relationships with local partners, and building a comprehensive distribution network to contribute more significantly to Africa's modernization process. SOURCE LiuGong Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1172 Browse in-depth TOC on "Process Automation and Instrumentation Market" 110 Tables 60 Figures 270 Pages Process Automation and Instrumentation Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2024 $ 74.2 billion Estimated Value by 2029 $ 98.6 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% Market Size Available for 20202029 Forecast Period 20242029 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Transmitter, Analyzer, PLC, DCS, SCADA, HMI, MES, Industry and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World Key Market Challenge Integration with existing systems and infrastructure Key Market Opportunities Rise of Cloud-based Solutions Key Market Drivers Increasing focus of manufacturing firms on achieving cost saving and better efficiency Field instruments dominated the global process automation and instrumentation market in 2024. Field Instruments is expected to dominate the global process automation and instrumentation market in instruments. Field instruments excel in providing accurate and reliable measurements of variables such as temperature, pressure and flow. The ability to provide predictive maintenance through continuous monitoring also helps reduce downtime and operating costs, making them indispensable in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, food and beverage industry. Field instruments also help in cost saving by reducing manual monitoring and minimizing errors associated with human intervention. They are essential to maintain optimal operational efficiency and safety in industrial systems. HMI to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2024 to 2029. Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) are poised to experience the highest growth rate (CAGR) within the process automation market. HMI provide a user-friendly interface that allows operators to monitor, control, and optimize production processes. It helps in efficient decision making, improved productivity and reduces human error. Increasing complexity of processes, rise of IIoT and a focus on security all combine to make HMIs the most dynamic part of the process automation market. The emergence of cloud-based HMI solutions and the increasing use of mobile devices for remote monitoring and control are expected to contribute to the high growth rate of the HMI segment in the process automation market during the forecast period. Pharmaceuticals to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2024 to 2029. Pharmaceutical Industry is expected to grow at the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the process automation and instrumentation market, owing to increasing demand for sophisticated tools and equipment to support drug discovery, development, analysis, and modeling of compounds. Companies focus on growth through innovation and adoption of advanced automation technologies, such as human-machine interface (HMI), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), it is expected that operations will increase efficiency, reduce reliance on manual processes, and improve compliance with stringent regulatory standards, contributing to the highest CAGR in the process automation and instrumentation market. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=1172 Asia Pacific to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of 2024 to 2029. Asia Pacific is expected to grow with the highest CAGR in the global process automation and instrumentation industry. In Asia Pacific, the demand for process automation and instrumentation solutions is due to rapid industrialization in countries like China, India, and Vietnam which is driving the demand for efficient and automated production processes. The region has shown investments in research and developments while increasing the adoption of advanced technologies, thereby boosting demand for automation solutions. And the government policies aimed at promoting automation and digitalization is further boosts the market. The region's established industries, such as pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, also boost the demand for process automation solutions. Major companies operating in this process automation and instrumentation companies include ABB (Switzerland), Emerson Electric Co. (US), Siemens (Germany), General Electric Company (US), and Schneider Electric (France). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=1172 Browse Adjacent Market: Semiconductor and Electronics Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market by Component, Solution (SCADA, PLC, DCS, MES, Industrial Safety, PAM), Industry (Process Industry and Discrete Industry), and Region (North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) Global Forecast to 2027 Manufacturing Execution Systems Market by Offering (Software, Services), Deployment (On-premises, On-demand, Hybrid), Process Industry (Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences), Discrete Industry (Automotive, Aerospace) - Global Forecast to 2029 Mexico Factory Automation and Machine Vision Market by Technology (ICS, MES, ERP, ITS), Field Devices, Products (PC-based, Smart Camera, Embedded), Components (Camera, FGOL), Application (Process, Discrete) - Global Forecast & Analysis to 2013 2020 Smart Manufacturing Market Size, Share, Statistics and Industry Growth Analysis Report by Technology (3D printing, Al in Manufacturing, Automated guided vehicle, Condition Monitoring, Cybersecurity, Digital Twin, HMI, Machine Vision, MES, PAM, Robot, Sensor), Industry, Region - Global Forecast to 2028 Industrial Services Market by SCADA, Distributed Control System, Manufacturing Execution System, Safety Systems, Motors & Drives, Industrial Robotics, Industrial 3D Printing, Industrial PC, PLC, Service Type, End-user Industry - Global Forecast to 2028 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/process-automation-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/process-automation.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To help employers and employees address the issue of increasing out-of-pocket health costs, Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America is enhancing its group ancillary insurance offerings with an innovative supplemental health solution. Powered by Ansel Health, an insurance technology company, the new offering enables quick and easy benefit payouts to members when one of 13,000 covered conditions is diagnosed. Simple, Comprehensive and Effective Coverage Offers Peace of Mind "As health care costs continue to increase, many employers are looking for solutions that ease the burden of unexpected medical expenses for employees," said Diana Steinhoff, LMHC, President and CEO of Renaissance. "This inventive supplemental health plan provides comprehensive coverage for a broad range of conditions, no medical underwriting requirements, a simplified claims experience and easy administration for employers." Designed to complement traditional health insurance, supplemental health insurance provides an extra source of support to help cover bills due to a health issue. Plans pay a cash benefit based on diagnosis, with no accident or hospital admission required. In addition, benefit amounts can be customized to help offset health insurance cost sharing. Employers may choose to fund all or a portion of premiums or offer supplemental insurance as a voluntary benefit where the employee pays the premium. The benefit administration and claims are easily managed through an online platform and mobile app, providing a streamlined experience and expedited benefit payments. Designed with simplicity in mind, the product also offers dedicated support for both employers and employees if questions arise. Phased Rollout to Begin in Late 2024 in Select Texas and Utah Markets Renaissance is continually enhancing its benefits solutions with offerings that empower customers to achieve their financial and wellness goals. This new product fits perfectly with that mission. The company will roll out the ability to quote a new supplemental health insurance solution, powered by Ansel, in select Texas and Utah markets in late 2024. Renaissance is targeting a nationwide footprint for this offering, along with an integrated member experience in 2025. Currently, Renaissance provides customizable dental, vision, life and disability plans to employer groups nationwide, as well as accident insurance to groups in select states. The company specializes in serving smaller groups of up to 250 employees, and it also offers dental and vision insurance for individuals. Focusing on Employee Wellbeing Provides Bottom Line Benefits, Too Based on research by Gallup, employers who care for their employee health and wellbeing also see numerous measurable benefits, from higher customer engagement, productivity and profitability to lower turnover and fewer safety incidents.1 "Pursuing strategies to improve healthcare affordability and remove barriers to visiting the doctor enables organizations to enhance their benefits and in turn, help attract and retain workers," said John Feeney, Vice President, Group Sales & Market Development at Renaissance. "We are excited to add this innovative new benefit to our portfolio to assist brokers and clients in creating smart, but simple solutions to bolster employee wellbeing, as well as organizational success." 1 Gallup, "What is Employee Wellbeing? And Why Does It Matter?" https://www.gallup.com/workplace/404105/importance-of-employee-wellbeing.aspx.aspx. Accessed July 2024. About Renaissance Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America and its sister company Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of New York underwrite ancillary benefits for employer groups and individuals nationwide. Dental, vision, life and disability insurance comprise the core line of the companies' ancillary benefits solutions. With headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind., Renaissance companies are focused on providing their members and partners with outstanding products and services. Visit renaissancebenefits.com , and find us on Facebook , LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) . About Ansel Health Inc. Founded in 2019, Ansel Health Inc. ("Ansel") is an insurance technology company on a mission to build a world where health hardships don't create financial hardships. Their new type of supplemental health insurance plan covers 13,000+ conditions and pays cash benefits upon diagnosis of a covered condition with no accident or hospitalization requirements. Ansel is made available in partnership with established insurance carriers that insure tens of millions of Americans and their families. For more information, visit joinansel.com and follow us on LinkedIn. SOURCE Renaissance Life & Health Insurance Company of America Digital Offering Allows Defense Tech Provider to Democratize its Offering to Public Investors PALM BAY, Fla., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Reticulate Micro, Inc. ("Reticulate Micro," "Reticulate" or the "Company"), a commercial and defense technology company dedicated to delivering trusted and resilient communications over any transport and in any environment, has launched its Regulation A stock offering to raise up to $10 million (the "Reg A Offering") to support Reticulate's product and market launch efforts as a leading provider of video compression and tactical and SATCOM management solutions. Its flagship product, VAST, is designed to enable ultra-efficient streaming video and situational awareness in bandwidth-challenged environments. Reticulate's offering was qualified with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") this week and allows anyone to now invest in the Company. The Reg A Offering has an offering price of $3.50 per unit. Each unit includes one share of the Company's Class A Common Stock and one warrant to purchase one share of the Company's Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $5.50 per share. The minimum investment is $700 for 200 units and is open to all investors. The lead selling agents for the transaction include Boustead Securities, LLC, a leading full-service investment banking firm and licensed FINRA member, and Digital Offering LLC, a next-generation investment bank focused on technology and innovation and helping high-quality private and public growth companies access U.S. capital markets. "We are delighted to launch our capital raise with such an experienced investment banking team who share our vision to democratize our offering to a broad investment pool," said Michael Chermak, Executive Chairman of Reticulate Micro. Reticulate will utilize the DealMaker platform which allows the public to invest directly in Reticulate's stock: https://invest.reticulate.io The Company plans to use the proceeds from the Reg A Offering to scale sales and marketing as well as operations, invest in new product development, and expand its IP portfolio. "We are excited to leverage the funds from our Reg A Offering to accelerate the development and delivery of our cutting-edge VAST video compression technology, ensuring we stay at the forefront of innovation in national security, healthcare, and critical infrastructure," said Joshua Cryer, President and CEO of Reticulate Micro. Investors can receive additional information on the offering either on Reticulate's investor page at https://reticulate.io/investors/ or via email at [email protected]. About Reticulate Micro, Inc. Reticulate Micro, Inc ., with headquarters in Palm Bay, Florida, is a commercial and defense technology company dedicated to delivering trusted and resilient communications over any transport and in any environment. Reticulate is building one of the world's first post-quantum-encrypted open-systems platforms for robust video streaming, simplified terminal management and satellite mobile connectivity in austere environments and diverse orbital regimes. Serving the defense, mobility, broadcasting, enterprise infrastructure monitoring and security sectors, Reticulate Micro and its newest business segment Reticulate Space embrace open standards across its software and product offerings. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition, our representatives or we may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing from time to time. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the available information. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance, including our financial performance and projections, revenue and earnings growth, and business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical facts, particularly those that use terminology such as "intends," "may," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "contemplates," "estimates," "believes," "plans," "projected," "predicts," "potential," or "hopes" or the negative of these or similar terms. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the offering statement filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained, and Company does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. The offering will be made only by means of an offering circular. An offering statement on Form 1-A relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and has become qualified. The securities offered by the Company are highly speculative. Investing in shares of the Company involves significant risks. The investment is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Furthermore, investors must understand that such investment could be illiquid for an indefinite period of time. No public market currently exists for the securities, and if a public market develops following the offering, it may not continue. The Company intends to list its securities on a national exchange and doing so entails significant ongoing corporate obligations including but not limited to disclosure, filing and notification requirements, as well compliance with applicable continued quantitative and qualitative listing standards. For additional information on the Company, the offering and any other related topics, please review the Form 1-A offering circular that can be found at the following location EDGAR Entity Landing Page ( sec.gov ). Additional information concerning Risk Factors related to the offering, including those related to the business, government regulations, intellectual property and the offering in general, can be found in the risk factor section of the Form 1-A offering circular. Contact: Media: Reticulate Micro Media Relations [email protected] Investor Relations: Reticulate Micro Investor Relations [email protected] SOURCE Reticulate Micro, Inc. DALLAS, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Senske Services, a premier provider of home services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Tee Time Lawn Care, a leading lawn care provider based in Illinois. This strategic acquisition aligns with Senske's commitment to expanding its footprint and delivering exceptional services to more customers. Founded in 2005 by Joseph Daou, Tee Time Lawn Care has built a solid reputation for its high-quality lawn care services and customer-centric approach throughout Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. "We are thrilled to welcome Tee Time Lawn Care to the Senske Family of Companies," said Casey Taylor, CEO of Senske Services. "Tee Time's dedication to excellence and customer satisfaction aligns perfectly with our values, and we are tremendously excited about further expansion into the Midwest." Joseph Daou, owner of Tee Time Lawn Care, shared his thoughts on the acquisition: "After nearly two decades of serving our communities, I am pleased to entrust Tee Time Lawn Care to Senske Services. Their reputation for quality service and customer care assures me that our clients will continue to receive the best lawn care in the industry." The integration of Tee Time Lawn Care into Senske will be seamless, ensuring that customers continue to receive the high level of service they have come to expect. This acquisition will also provide Tee Time employees with access to enhanced resources and opportunities for professional development within Senske's growing organization. Tee Time employees and customers will be managed by Pro Turf & Pro Pest Solutions, a platform brand within the Senske Family of Companies, based in Kansas City, Missouri. About Senske Services: Since securing investments from the private equity firm GTCR, the Senske Family of Companies has added twelve brands to its portfolio. Senske serves customers in fifteen U.S. states as well as Canada and remains committed to its international expansion strategy by actively seeking partnerships with distinguished home services companies. More on Senske's M&A process can be found at www.senske.com/why-senske/mergers-and-acquisitions/. SOURCE Senske Services HOUSTON, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Potts Law Firm has filed a civil lawsuit against Leroy "Art" Adam, a resident of Round Rock, Texas. This lawsuit comes in addition to the Williamson County District Attorney charging Leroy "Art" Adam with a felony count of indecency with a child under criminal case no. 24-1087-K277. Leroy Art Adam, 2024 The facts of this case are tragic, horrific to say the least. The victim Jane Doe is 9 years old. The civil lawsuit against Adam reminds us that "Every child has the right to feel safe and secure in their dwelling and surrounding environments," said National Managing Partner Derek Potts. "Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can't ignore or turn a blind eye to. As a society, one should have a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual behavior and discrimination." Leroy "Art" Adam, 2024 The sexual abuse alleged in the civil complaint would destroy any child' s sense of safety, turning a safe abode into a nightmare. The lawsuit (Case No. 24-1432-C395), filed in the 395th District Court of Williamson County, Texas alleges that from 2019 through at least early 2024, Leroy "Art" Adam subjected his own grandchild, Jane Doe, to severe, pervasive sexual abuse, harassment not limited to sexual contact, inappropriate touching, solicitation of nude photos and sexual comments. This lawsuit will also serve as a message to people who have control over their homes to encourage community dialogue, prohibit victim shaming and any sort of discrimination and/or criminal behavior. The Potts Law Firm is the nation's leading firm representing survivors in child sexual abuse cases. SOURCE Potts Law Firm NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against FutureFuel Corp. ("FutureFuel" or the "Company") (NYSE: FF). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. The class action concerns whether FutureFuel and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. You have until August 23, 2024 , to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired FutureFuel securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On May 10, 2024, FutureFuel disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it "has identified a correction required to be made to its historical consolidated statements of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2023, nine months ended September 30, 2023 and year ended December 31, 2023", "relat[ing] solely to the reported amount of 'Other assets' and the resulting total amount of 'Net Cash Flows From Operating Activities' and the reported amount of 'Collateralization of derivative instruments' and the resulting total amount of 'Net Cash Flows from Investing Activities' in the respective consolidated statements of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2023, nine months ended September 30, 2023 and year ended December 31, 2023 (collectively, the 'Correction')." Accordingly, FutureFuel advised that certain of the Company's previous financial statements should no longer be relied upon and would be restated. On this news, FutureFuel's stock price fell $0.47 per share, or 8.55%, to close at $5.03 per share on May 13, 2024. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Dril-Quip, Inc. ("Dril-Quip" or the "Company") (NYSE: DRQ). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Dril-Quip and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On July 8, 2024, Dril-Quip disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had identified "an error in the classification of certain inventory write-downs from 2021." Specifically, the Company disclosed that it "misclassified inventory write-downs from 2021 totaling approximately $67 million, including $19.3 million related to the 2018 global strategic plan and approximately $47.7 million due to the discontinuation of certain product categories under the 2021 global strategic plan. The Company classified these charges as 'Restructuring and other charges'; however, these charges should have been classified in 'Cost of sales' in the Consolidated Statement of Income (Loss) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, in accordance with ASC 420-10-S99-3. As a result, 'Cost of sales' was understated and 'Restructuring and other charges' was overstated by $67 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the 'Affected Period')." Accordingly, Dril-Quip stated that its prior statements regarding the Affected Period "should no longer be relied upon" and will be restated. Dril-Quip further stated that "the Company's disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023 were not effective." On this news, Dril-Quip's stock price fell $1.76 per share, or 9.9%, to close at $16.01 per share on July 9, 2024. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Stellantis N.V. ("Stellantis" or the "Company") (NYSE: STLA). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Stellantis and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On July 25, 2024, Stellantis issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first half of 2024. The Company reported a steep drop in earnings that fell below forecasts, citing weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations. In addition, Stellantis's Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares indicated that the Company was ready to dispose of underperforming brands in its portfolio, while Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight disclosed the need to take "decisive actions to address operational challenges" in North America, including reducing production and prices for the Company's vehicles. On this news, Stellantis's stock price fell $1.51 per share, or 7.7%, to close at $18.09 per share on July 25, 2024. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Ended the Second Quarter 2024 with $1.14 Billion of Liquidity DANIA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit Airlines, Inc. ("Spirit" or the "Company") (NYSE: SAVE) today reported second quarter 2024 financial results. Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results (unaudited) As Reported Adjusted1 Total operating revenues $1,280.9 million $1,280.9 million Operating income (loss) $(152.5) million $(166.9) million Operating margin (11.9) % (13.0) % Net income (loss) $(192.9) million $(157.9) million Diluted earnings (loss) per share $(1.76) $(1.44) "Summer demand remains robust and load factors have been strong; however, significant industry capacity increases together with ancillary pricing changes in the competitive environment have made it difficult to increase yields, resulting in disappointing revenue results for the second quarter of 2024," said Ted Christie, Spirit's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The continued intense competitive battle for the price-sensitive leisure traveler further reinforces our belief that we are on the right path with our transformation plan to redefine low-fare travel with new, high-value travel options that will allow Guests to choose an elevated experience at an affordable price. I want to thank our entire team for their dedication and patience as we execute on these initiatives intended to drive improvement in overall revenue production and put us on the path to profitability." Transforming our Guest Experience During the second quarter, Spirit began to execute on its transformation plan to better align its business model with the current market dynamics. On July 30, 2024, Spirit announced the next phase of its go forward strategy. The Company is introducing new offerings, including brand new premium selections, as part of a significant transformation that delivers an even friendlier, more comfortable, and cost-effective travel experience. The new premium selections and experience will range from elevated to economical to meet the needs of all travelers. Spirit will begin offering the new travel options for booking on Aug. 16 and launch the newly transformed Guest experience by August 27, 2024.To date, announced changes include: Four travel options: Go Big, Go Comfy, Go Savvy and Go Designated priority check-in at more than 20 airports for Guests who purchase the Go Big fare option or are Free Spirit Gold members or Free Spirit World Elite Mastercard holders Enhanced boarding experience aimed to reduce boarding time and enhance operational performance Expanded Guest-friendly policies: All four travel options include the flexibility of no change or cancel fees Increased checked bag weight allowance up to 50 pounds Extended Future Travel Vouchers expiration to 12 months (for vouchers issued on or after June 3, 2024 ) Delivering on Cost Saving Initiatives and Network Changes On track to achieve $100 million of annual run-rate cost savings with approximately $75 million expected to be achieved by year-end 2024 of annual run-rate cost savings with approximately expected to be achieved by year-end 2024 Initiatives include: Temporarily suspending the recruitment of pilots and flight attendants and related training costs Offering voluntary unpaid leaves of absences to flight attendants Right-sizing overhead and non-crew operational positions Reducing discretionary capital spend Furloughing approximately 240 pilots and downgrading approximately 100 captains Realigning the network Compared to the third quarter 2023, in the third quarter 2024 the Company will have exited 42 markets and added 77 new ones Offering more day of week routes which allows for route expansion at a lower risk profile Aggressively managing capacity to better match seasonal and daily demand variances Aligning capacity to markets where the supply/demand trends are more in balance In addition to other liquidity-enhancing initiatives, the Company deferred all aircraft on order with Airbus that were scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026 to 2030-2031 Second Quarter 2024 Operations System completion factor of 98.5 percent System controllable completion factor 2 of 99.8 percent of 99.8 percent Capacity increase of 1.7 percent year over year Load factor of 83.2 percent, an increase of 0.3 pts year over year Aircraft utilization of 10.6 hours, down 6.2 percent compared to the second quarter last year of 11.3 hours, primarily due to aircraft unavailable for operational service due to PW1100G-JM geared turbo fan engine availability issues ("AOG") Second Quarter 2024 Revenues Elevated domestic industry capacity restrained the Company's ability to drive increased ticket yields, pressuring fare revenue per passenger flight segment ("segment") during the second quarter of 2024. The Company also experienced downward pressure on non-ticket revenue per segment, primarily due to the elimination of charging for change and cancellation fees and competitive price reductions of ancillary items. Total operating revenues of $1,280.9 million , a decrease of 10.6 percent year over year , a decrease of 10.6 percent year over year Total revenue per ASM ("TRASM") of 9.05 cents , a decrease of 12.1 percent year over year on 1.7 percent more capacity , a decrease of 12.1 percent year over year on 1.7 percent more capacity Total revenue per segment of $108.46 , a decrease of 15.3 percent year over year , a decrease of 15.3 percent year over year Fare revenue per segment of $45.02 , a decrease of 22.2 percent year over year , a decrease of 22.2 percent year over year Non-ticket revenue per segment of $63.44 ,1 a decrease of 9.6 percent year over year As the Company executes on its transformation strategy, it anticipates that over time it will be able to drive improvement in total revenue per segment. Second Quarter 2024 Cost Performance Total operating expense of $1,433.4 million and adjusted operating expenses of $1,447.8 million 1 and adjusted operating expenses of Adjusted non-fuel cost of $1,040.5 million 1 Average fuel price per gallon of $2.78 Total non-operating expense of $37.1 million Second Quarter 2024 Liquidity and Capital Deployment Ended the quarter with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, short-term investment securities and liquidity available under the Company's revolving credit facility of $1.1 billion Extended the final maturity of its $300 million revolving credit facility to September 30, 2026 , subject to certain conditions revolving credit facility to , subject to certain conditions Recorded pre-delivery deposit refunds, net of pre-delivery payments of $162.2 million for the six months ending June 30, 2024 , partially offset by $60.6 million spent on the purchase of property and equipment for the six months ending , partially offset by spent on the purchase of property and equipment Recognized $57.1 million 1 of AOG credits on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of Cash Flows, bringing the year-to-date benefit recognized to $75.0 million 1 of AOG credits on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of Cash Flows, bringing the year-to-date benefit recognized to Estimates AOG credits to be issued in 2024 by Pratt & Whitney for AOG aircraft will benefit full year 2024 liquidity by approximately $150 million to $200 million "The Spirit management team is focused on returning to profitability, and we believe the transformation plan we recently announced places us on the path to improved financial performance," said Fred Cromer, Spirit's Chief Financial Officer. "We will continue to aggressively manage our costs to maintain our position as a low-cost leader in the industry and to make every effort to maintain adequate liquidity. Earlier this week, we closed on a Direct Lease and Pre-Delivery Payment Transaction that raised, in the aggregate, approximately $186 million. We expect to end the year 2024 with over $1.0 billion of liquidity, including unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, short-term investment securities, liquidity available under our revolving credit facility and additional liquidity initiatives, assuming that we are able to close those initiatives that are currently in process. Meanwhile, we remain in active discussions with the advisors to the noteholders to address the upcoming debt maturities and will provide updates on our progress when appropriate." Second Quarter 2024 Fleet and NEO Engine Update Took delivery of four new A320neo aircraft and four new A321neo aircraft Retired five A319ceo aircraft Ended the quarter with a fleet of 210 aircraft Secured $37.2 million of AOG credits to be issued by Pratt & Whitney based on AOG days during the quarter of AOG credits to be issued by Pratt & Whitney based on AOG days during the quarter Recorded $7.1 million of AOG credits within the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations, of which $3.6 million was recorded as a credit within maintenance, materials and repairs, $2.0 million was recorded as credit within aircraft rent and $1.5 million was recorded as a credit to depreciation and amortization of AOG credits within the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations, of which was recorded as a credit within maintenance, materials and repairs, was recorded as credit within aircraft rent and was recorded as a credit to depreciation and amortization Estimates that it will average about 20 AOG aircraft for the full year 2024 Spirit intends to discuss appropriate arrangements with Pratt & Whitney in due course for any Spirit AOG aircraft after December 31, 2024 Conference Call/Webcast Detail Spirit will conduct a conference call to discuss these results today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern U.S. Time. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at https://ir.spirit.com. An archive of the webcast will be available under "Events & Presentations" for 60 days. About Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is a leading low-fare carrier committed to delivering the best value in the sky by offering an enhanced travel experience with flexible, affordable options. Spirit serves destinations throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean with its Fit Fleet, one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. Spirit is committed to inspiring positive change in the communities it serves through the Spirit Charitable Foundation. Discover elevated travel options with exceptional value at spirit.com. Forward Looking Guidance The forward-looking guidance items provided in this release are based on the Company's current estimates and are not a guarantee of future performance. There could be significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Spirit undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements or estimates. Investors are encouraged to read this press release in conjunction with the company's Investor Update which provides additional information about the company's forward-looking estimates for certain financial metrics and is included along with this press release in the Current Report on Form 8-K furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Investor Update is also available at https://ir.spirit.com. Management will also discuss certain business outlook items during the quarterly earnings conference call. Investors are also encouraged to read the Company's periodic and current reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, for additional information regarding the Company. End Notes (1) See "Reconciliation of Reported Amounts to Adjusted (Non-GAAP) Items" tables below for more details. (2) Excludes the following events, which are outside of the Company's control, from the calculation of completion factor: weather, air traffic and uncontrolled airport/runway closures, which may include acts of nature, disabled aircraft incidents on the runway, political/civil unrest and disturbances preventing normal operations within airline control, among others, and any city/state closures as declared by local authorities and asserted by our Security department. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements Forward-Looking Statements in this release and certain oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company contain various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements are based on our management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. All statements other than statements of historical facts are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of these provisions. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "project," "predict," "potential," and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, guidance for 2024 and statements regarding the Company's intentions and expectations regarding revenues, cash levels, capacity and passenger demand, additional financing, capital spending, operating costs and expenses, pre-tax income, pre-tax margin, taxes, hiring and furloughs, aircraft deliveries, stakeholders, negotiations and settlement with Pratt & Whitney regarding neo engine availability issues, resolving outstanding indebtedness, vendors and government support. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors include, among others, results of operations and financial condition, the competitive environment in our industry, our ability to keep costs low and the impact of worldwide economic conditions, including the impact of economic cycles or downturns on customer travel behavior and other factors, as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as supplemented in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements. Risks or uncertainties (i) that are not currently known to us, (ii) that we currently deem to be immaterial, or (iii) that could apply to any company, could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or future results. Additional information concerning certain factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited, in thousands, except per-share amounts) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, Percent June 30, Percent 2024 2023 Change 2024 2023 Change Operating revenues: Passenger $ 1,253,803 $ 1,410,061 (11.1) $ 2,493,113 $ 2,737,534 (8.9) Other 27,086 22,411 20.9 53,313 44,712 19.2 Total operating revenues 1,280,889 1,432,472 (10.6) 2,546,426 2,782,246 (8.5) Operating expenses: Aircraft fuel 407,296 391,032 4.2 813,647 878,743 (7.4) Salaries, wages and benefits 418,378 407,705 2.6 849,861 796,890 6.6 Landing fees and other rents 116,064 106,487 9.0 222,782 203,832 9.3 Aircraft rent 125,339 92,101 36.1 240,545 177,368 35.6 Depreciation and amortization 84,486 80,542 4.9 165,832 158,533 4.6 Maintenance, materials and repairs 52,453 56,825 (7.7) 107,368 111,239 (3.5) Distribution 45,923 50,701 (9.4) 91,099 98,718 (7.7) Special charges (credits) (381) 19,972 (101.9) 35,877 33,955 5.7 Loss (gain) on disposal of assets (14,047) 802 NM (17,076) 7,902 NM Other operating 197,890 206,094 (4.0) 396,340 407,250 (2.7) Total operating expenses 1,433,401 1,412,261 1.5 2,906,275 2,874,430 1.1 Operating income (loss) (152,512) 20,211 NM (359,849) (92,184) NM Other (income) expense: Interest expense 54,307 28,880 88.0 109,116 80,673 35.3 Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt NM (14,996) NM Capitalized interest (5,689) (8,445) (32.6) (15,692) (16,093) (2.5) Interest income (12,169) (15,962) (23.8) (25,759) (31,396) (18.0) Other (income) expense 665 766 NM (65,825) 1,308 NM Total other (income) expense 37,114 5,239 NM (13,156) 34,492 NM Income (loss) before income taxes (189,626) 14,972 NM (346,693) (126,676) NM Provision (benefit) for income taxes 3,301 17,321 (80.9) (11,131) (20,416) (45.5) Net income (loss) $ (192,927) $ (2,349) NM $ (335,562) $ (106,260) NM Basic earnings (loss) per share $ (1.76) $ (0.02) NM $ (3.07) $ (0.97) NM Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ (1.76) $ (0.02) NM $ (3.07) $ (0.97) NM Weighted-average shares, basic 109,506 109,161 0.3 109,468 109,136 0.3 Weighted-average shares, diluted 109,506 109,161 0.3 109,468 109,136 0.3 NM: "Not Meaningful" SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. Selected Operating Statistics (unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Change Operating Statistics 2024 2023 Available seat miles (ASMs) (thousands) 14,146,192 13,908,113 1.7 % Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (thousands) 11,766,847 11,532,450 2.0 % Load factor (%) 83.2 82.9 0.3 pts Passenger flight segments (thousands) 11,810 11,189 5.6 % Departures 75,925 74,787 1.5 % Total operating revenue per ASM (TRASM) (cents) 9.05 10.30 (12.1) % Average yield (cents) 10.89 12.42 (12.3) % Fare revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 45.02 57.86 (22.2) % Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 63.44 70.17 (9.6) % Total revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 108.46 128.03 (15.3) % CASM (cents) 10.13 10.15 (0.2) % Adjusted CASM (cents) (1) 10.23 9.96 2.7 % Adjusted CASM ex-fuel (cents) (1)(2) 7.36 7.15 2.9 % Fuel gallons consumed (thousands) 146,686 149,513 (1.9) % Average fuel cost per gallon ($) 2.78 2.62 6.1 % Aircraft at end of period 210 198 6.1 % Average daily aircraft utilization (hours) 10.6 11.3 (6.2) % Average stage length (miles) 981 1,016 (3.8) % Six Months Ended June 30, Change Operating Statistics 2024 2023 Available seat miles (ASMs) (thousands) 27,635,211 27,117,249 1.9 % Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (thousands) 22,649,463 22,207,330 2.0 % Load factor (%) 82.0 81.9 0.1 pts Passenger flight segments (thousands) 22,624 21,787 3.8 % Departures 147,846 147,536 0.2 % Total operating revenue per ASM (TRASM) (cents) 9.21 10.26 (10.2) % Average yield (cents) 11.24 12.53 (10.3) % Fare revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 46.48 57.66 (19.4) % Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 66.07 70.04 (5.7) % Total revenue per passenger flight segment ($) 112.55 127.70 (11.9) % CASM (cents) 10.52 10.60 (0.8) % Adjusted CASM (cents) (1) 10.45 10.42 0.3 % Adjusted CASM ex-fuel (cents) (1)(2) 7.51 7.18 4.6 % Fuel gallons consumed (thousands) 286,826 291,855 (1.7) % Average fuel cost per gallon ($) 2.84 3.01 (5.6) % Aircraft at end of period 210 198 6.1 % Average daily aircraft utilization (hours) 10.5 11.3 (7.1) % Average stage length (miles) 988 1,004 (2.0) % (1) Excludes operating special items. (2) Excludes fuel expense and operating special items. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company evaluates its financial performance utilizing various accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted operating expenses, Adjusted operating income (loss), Adjusted operating margin, Adjusted operating margin adjusted for AOG credits, Adjusted income (loss) before income taxes, Adjusted pre-tax margin, Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted provision (benefit) for income taxes, Adjusted net income (loss) per share, diluted, Adjusted CASM and Adjusted CASM ex-fuel. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial information presented in this press release that is calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and these non-GAAP financial measures are presented because management believes that they supplement or enhance management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of the Company's underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past and future periods. Because the non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered superior to and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP financial measures presented in the press release and may not be the same as or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in the method of calculation and in the items being adjusted. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. The information below provides an explanation of certain adjustments reflected in the non-GAAP financial measures and shows a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures reported in this press release (other than forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures) to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Within the financial tables presented, certain columns and rows may not add due to the use of rounded numbers. Per unit amounts presented are calculated from the underlying amounts. The Company believes that adjusting for a litigation loss contingency (recorded within other operating expenses within the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations), loss (gain) on disposal of assets and special charges (credits) is useful to investors because these items are not indicative of the Company's ongoing performance and the adjustments are similar to those made by our peers and allow for enhanced comparability to other airlines. Operating expenses per available seat mile ("CASM") is a common metric used in the airline industry to measure an airline's cost structure and efficiency. We exclude aircraft fuel and related taxes and special items from operating expenses to determine Adjusted CASM ex-fuel. We also believe that excluding fuel costs from certain measures is useful to investors because it provides an additional measure of management's performance excluding the effects of a significant cost item over which management has limited influence and increases comparability with other airlines that also provide a similar metric. Reconciliation of Reported Amounts to Adjusted (Non-GAAP) Items (See Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures) Within the tables presented, certain amounts may not add due to the use of rounded numbers (in thousands, except per share or per unit amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 2023 Operating revenues Fare $ 531,652 $ 647,344 Non-fare 722,151 762,717 Total passenger revenues 1,253,803 1,410,061 Other revenues 27,086 22,411 Total operating revenues $ 1,280,889 $ 1,432,472 Non-ticket revenues (1) $ 749,237 $ 785,128 Passenger segments 11,810 11,189 Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment ($) $ 63.44 $ 70.17 Special Items (2) Operating special items include the following: Litigation loss contingency (3) $ $ 6,000 Loss (gain) on disposal of assets (4) (14,047) 802 Operating special charges (credits) (5) (381) 19,972 Total operating special items $ (14,428) $ 26,774 Total operating expenses, as reported $ 1,433,401 $ 1,412,261 Less: Operating special items (14,428) 26,774 Adj. Operating expenses, non-GAAP (6) $ 1,447,829 $ 1,385,487 Less: Aircraft fuel expense 407,296 391,032 Adj. Operating expenses excluding fuel, non-GAAP (7) $ 1,040,533 $ 994,455 Available seat miles 14,146,192 13,908,113 CASM (cents) 10.13 10.15 Adj. CASM (cents) (6) 10.23 9.96 Adj. CASM ex-fuel (cents) (7) 7.36 7.15 Reconciliation of Reported Amounts to Adjusted (Non-GAAP) Items (See Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures) Within the tables presented, certain amounts may not add due to the use of rounded numbers (in thousands, except per share or per unit amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 2023 Operating income (loss), as reported $ (152,512) $ 20,211 Operating margin (11.9) % 1.4 % Add: Operating special items expense (14,428) 26,774 Adj. Operating income (loss), non-GAAP (6) $ (166,940) $ 46,985 Adj. Operating margin, non-GAAP (6) (13.0) % 3.3 % Add: Adj. for AOG credit $ 30,128 $ Adj. Operating income (loss), non-GAAP (8) $ (136,812) $ Adj. Operating margin adj. for AOG credits (8) (10.7) % % Income (loss) before income taxes, as reported $ (189,626) $ 14,972 Pre-tax margin (14.8) % 1.0 % Less: Operating special items expense (14,428) 26,774 Adj. Income (loss) before income taxes, non-GAAP (9) $ (204,054) $ 41,746 Adj. Pre-tax margin, non-GAAP (9) (15.9) % 2.9 % Provision (benefit) for income taxes, as reported $ 3,301 $ 17,321 Less: Net income (loss) tax impact of special items 49,417 7,886 Adj. Provision (benefit) for income taxes, non-GAAP (10) $ (46,116) $ 9,435 Net income (loss), as reported $ (192,927) $ (2,349) Less: Operating special items expense (14,428) 26,774 Less: Net income (loss) tax impact of special items 49,417 7,886 Adj. Net income (loss), non-GAAP (9) $ (157,938) $ 32,311 Weighted-average shares, diluted 109,506 111,711 Net income (loss) per share, diluted, as reported $ (1.76) $ (0.02) Add: Impact of special items (0.13) 0.25 Add: Tax impact of special items (11) 0.45 0.07 Adj. Net income (loss) per share, diluted, non-GAAP (2) $ (1.44) $ 0.29 (1) Non-ticket revenues equal the sum of non-fare passenger revenues and other revenues. (2) Refer to the section "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information. (3) 2023 includes a $6 million litigation loss contingency (recorded within other operating expenses within the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations). (4) 2024 includes gains on four aircraft sale-leaseback transactions and net gains on the sale of five A319 airframes and nine engines. 2023 includes losses related to the write-off of obsolete assets and other adjustments, partially offset by gains on three aircraft sale-leaseback transactions and net gains on the sale of three A319 airframes and four A319 engines. (5) 2023 includes legal, advisory, retention award program and other fees related to the former Agreement and Plan of Merger with JetBlue and Sundown Acquisition Corp. (6) Excludes operating special items. Refer to the section "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information. (7) Excludes operating special items and aircraft fuel expense. Refer to the section "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information. (8) Excludes special items and adjusts for the difference between the AOG credits to be received related to the AOG aircraft in the second quarter 2024 and the AOG credits recognized in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations for the second quarter 2024. (9) Excludes total special items. Refer to the section "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information. (10) The Company determined the Adjusted Provision (benefit) for income taxes using its statutory tax rate. (11) Reflects the difference between the Company's GAAP Provision (benefit) for income taxes and Adjusted Provision (benefit) for income taxes as presented on a per share basis. The following supplemental information is provided to illustrate how the AOG credits earned during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were recognized on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. AOG credits were recognized on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as follows: Three Months Ended Six Months Ended (in millions) June 30, 2024 June 30, 2024 Net income (loss): $ 7.1 $ 8.7 Less: Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operations: Depreciation and amortization 1.5 1.5 Add: Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Deferred heavy maintenance 35.8 43.9 Net cash provided (used in) operating activities $ 41.4 $ 51.1 Investing activities: Purchase of property and equipment $ 15.8 $ 23.9 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities $ 15.8 $ 23.9 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash related to AOG credits recognized $ 57.1 $ 75.0 For the full year 2024 the Company estimates AOG credits to be issued by Pratt & Whitney in 2024 will benefit 2024 liquidity by approximately $150 million to $200 million. Through June 30, 2024, Pratt & Whitney has agreed to issue the Company $93.9 million in AOG credits, of which the Company has recognized $75.0 million. The difference remaining between the amount of credits Pratt & Whitney has agreed to issue and the amount the Company has recognized will be recognized in the future as reductions in the cost basis of goods and services purchased from Pratt & Whitney. SOURCE Spirit Airlines The structural steel tube market is growing due to rise in construction activities, increase in infrastructure investments, and rise in demand for durable, versatile building materials. Advances in manufacturing technology and sustainable practices further drive the market growth, positioning structural steel tubes as a critical component in modern construction and engineering projects. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Structural Steel Tube Market By Type (Hot-Rolled Steel and Cold-Rolled Steel), Material (Stainless Steel Tube, Carbon Steel Tube, Alloy Steel Tube, and Others), Sales Type (Direct, Distribution), and Application (Industrial Machinery, Medical, Aerospace and Defense, Transportation, Construction, Automotive, Energy, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, "the structural steel tube market" was valued at $105.3 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $167.5 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2024 to 2033. Prime determinants of structural steel tube market growth The global structural steel tube market is experiencing growth due to infrastructure development and technological advancements. However, fluctuations in raw material prices and environmental regulations hinder the market growth. Moreover, rise in demand for steel tubes from emerging markets, and global awareness towards sustainability provide opportunities for expanding the structural steel tube market. Download Sample Pages of Research Overview: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A157660 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2024203 Base Year 2023 Market Size in 2023 $105.3 million Market Size in 2033 $167.5 billion CAGR 4.8 % No. of Pages in Report 375 Segments Covered Type, Material, Sales Type, Application, and Region Drivers Infrastructure development Technological advancements Opportunity Rise in demand for steel tubes from emerging markets Global awareness towards sustainability Restraint Fluctuating raw material price Environment guidelines The hot-rolled steel segment is expected to dominate during the forecast period. The hot-rolled steel type segment dominated the structural steel tube market in 2023, due to its superior mechanical properties, cost-effectiveness, and versatility in various industries. Hot-rolled steel tubes are manufactured by rolling steel at high temperatures, which makes the steel easier to shape and form, resulting in stronger and more durable products. This process also allows the production of larger sizes and varied shapes, catering to diverse construction and industrial applications. Hot-rolled steel tubes are preferred in construction projects for their robustness, that are essential for structural integrity in buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure. Additionally, they offer better weldability and machinability, simplifying fabrication and reducing labor costs. The lower production costs of hot-rolled steel compared to cold-rolled alternatives make it a more economical choice for large-scale projects. These factors collectively drive the dominance of hot-rolled steel tubes in the structural steel tube market, meeting the high demand for reliable and affordable building materials. Procure Complete Report (291 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/structural-steel-tube-market The carbon steel tube segment is expected to dominate during the forecast period. The carbon steel tube material segment dominated the structural steel tube market in 2023, due to its superior mechanical properties, cost-effectiveness, and wide availability. Carbon steel tubes offer high tensile strength, durability, and resistance to wear and tear, making them ideal for demanding construction and engineering applications. In addition, carbon steel is more affordable compared to other materials like stainless steel or aluminum, providing a cost-efficient solution for large-scale projects. Its versatility allows for easy fabrication and welding, further enhancing its appeal in various industries such as construction, automotive, and manufacturing. Moreover, advancements in carbon steel production techniques have improved its quality and performance, reinforcing its dominance in the market. The combination of these factors such as strength, affordability, versatility, and technological advancements ensures that carbon steel tubes remain the preferred choice for structural applications, driving their significant market share. The distribution segment is expected to dominate during the forecast period. The distribution segment dominated the structural steel tube market in 2023, due to its extensive network, which ensures wide market coverage and accessibility. Distributors often have established relationships with numerous buyers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, enabling efficient supply chain management and timely delivery of products. Their ability to offer various products from multiple manufacturers also provides customers with a broader selection, enhancing their purchasing convenience. The construction segment dominated the structural steel tube market in 2023. The construction segment dominated the structural steel tube market in 2023, due to the extensive use of these tubes in various infrastructure projects, including commercial buildings, residential complexes, and industrial facilities. Structural steel tubes offer high strength, durability, and flexibility, making them ideal for withstanding heavy loads and ensuring structural integrity in construction. In addition, the growing trend of urbanization and the need for modern infrastructure drive the demand for structural steel tubes in the construction industry. However, the medical segment is the fastest-growing due to the increasing adoption of advanced medical equipment and devices. Structural steel tubes are essential in manufacturing hospital beds, surgical instruments, and diagnostic equipment due to their biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and ease of sterilization. The rise in healthcare infrastructure development, coupled with advancements in medical technology, fuels the rapid growth of structural steel tubes in the medical sector, catering to the escalating healthcare demands. The Asia-pacific segment to dominate the market by 2033. Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in 2023. Rapid urbanization and industrialization in countries like China and India drive significant demand for construction and infrastructure projects. These nations invest heavily in building residential, commercial, and industrial structures, requiring substantial quantities of structural steel tubes for their strength and durability. Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/structural-steel-tube-market/purchase-options In addition, government initiatives and policies in the region, aimed at improving infrastructure and boosting economic growth, further stimulate market demand. The availability of raw materials and cost-effective manufacturing processes in Asia-Pacific contributes to its leading position. Moreover, the expansion of the automotive and aerospace industries in the Asia-Pacific region fuels the need for structural steel tubes in various applications. Technological advancements and innovations in steel production enhance product quality and performance, making the region a key player in the global structural steel tube market. Leading Market Players: - Arcelor Mittal Tata Steel JFE Steel Corporation Nippon Steel Corporation. Posco Holdings Inc. Baosteel Group Corporation Hyundai Steel Nucor Corporation Maanshan Iron and Steel Company Limited Gerdau S.A. Apl Apollo Tubes Ltd. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the structural steel tube market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Similar Reports: About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa United States 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 [email protected] Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.com Allied Market Research Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com Blog: https://www.newsguards.com/ Follow Us on | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube | Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research According to AdoptAClassroom.org, 92% of teachers nationwide have students whose families cannot afford to purchase school supplies for their children. This has led to teachers spending an average of $860 per year to help provide for their classrooms. Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Subaru of America, Inc.: "At Subaru, we believe that every student deserves a fair opportunity at a quality education. We are incredibly proud of the progress achieved in supporting over 750,000 students, and we know the importance of continuing to support students and teachers around the country to have the best learning environment possible." Together, Subaru and its retailers are working to help students in high-needs* schools by providing teachers across the country with funding to purchase these supplies and resources. Many participating retailers will also be donating school supply kits with materials that are highly requested by teachers. Ann Pifer, Executive Director of AdoptAClassroom.org: "This record number of students being supported would not be possible without the help of the Subaru community. We are grateful to extend our partnership with Subaru for a fourth year in a row and sincerely thank Subaru and its retailers for the difference they make in the lives and educational opportunities of students and teachers around the country." To kick off the 2024 program, Subaru will continue to support students in the Camden City School District (CCSD) by once again adopting all kindergarten to fifth grade (K-5) classrooms near the automaker's headquarters in Camden, NJ. This latest hometown effort will impact over 2,090 students and 122 classrooms across eight different schools. Adopting every elementary school in the CCSD is just one of the many ways Subaru continues to do its part to be More Than a Car Company for its community. To learn more about the Subaru Loves Learning initiative and the partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, visit subaru.com/learning or follow #SubaruLovesLearning on social media. *High-need is defined as a school that has a Title I Schoolwide Program and/or a school where 40% or more of the student population qualifies for the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of about 640 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants, including Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $320 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged over 100,000 volunteer hours. Subaru is dedicated to being More Than a Car Company and to making the world a better place. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. About AdoptAClassroom.org AdoptAClassroom.org believes every child deserves the tools and materials they need to learn and thrive in school. To achieve this, teachers are spending an average of $860 of their own money each year on their classrooms. AdoptAClassroom.org is a national nonprofit that funds PreK-12 teachers and schools across the U.S. to help equip more classrooms and students for success and offset the financial burden on teachers. Since 1998, AdoptAClassroom.org has raised $73 million and equipped more than seven million students across the U.S. 90% of all funded classrooms are considered high needs. The 501(c)(3) holds the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the highest transparency rating offered by Candid/GuideStar. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.adoptaclassroom.org . Diane Anton Subaru of America, Inc. 856-488-5093 [email protected] Adam Leiter Subaru of America, Inc. (856) 488-8668 [email protected] Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_fJM6GuChY Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472905/2024_SLL_Hero_Image.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472906/Subaru_Loves_Learning_6_18_CenterCap_Edits3.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2472907/2022_09_30_Arroyo_Classroom_0692_re.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1732477/Subaru_of_America_Logo.jpg SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc. America's Most Trusted Home Builder built this year's charity home AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylor Morrison, America's Most Trusted Home Builder, and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBA) today announced the completion of the HBA Benefit Home located in the Taylor Morrison Travisso community. Taylor Morrison donated the residential lot and built the charity home. The proceeds of the sale will benefit the HBA, and the HBA will donate half of the funds to HomeAid Austin, a local non-profit providing supportive housing and services for the at risk and unhoused population. The HBA Benefit Home is the annual construction of a home built mostly if not entirely through donations of construction management, materials, supplies, labor and financial support of the members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin. The Benefit Home offers the HBA a unique opportunity to give back to the larger community, specifically to designated beneficiaries who are significantly and positively impacting the Greater Austin community. "Our team was truly inspired to sponsor and build this year's Benefit Home, as we are community-centric and strive to create lasting impressions on our neighbors," said Taylor Morrison Austin Division President, April Whitaker. "We are thankful for the opportunity to continue our philanthropic work with the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and look forward to seeing how the proceeds bring projects to fruition for HomeAid Austin." Since the construction of the first Benefit Home in 1991, the HBA of Greater Austin and its members have raised over $2.7 million for local charities through this program. "For over three decades, the Benefit Home has played a significant role in giving back to the community and it wouldn't be possible without support from the sponsors and members of the HBA," said Home Builders Association of Greater Austin CEO, Taylor Jackson. "Taylor Morrison continues to positively impact the local community through its philanthropy, and we could not be more grateful for their contribution as this year's sponsor and builder." About Taylor Morrison Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brandsincluding Taylor Morrison, Esplanade, Darling Homes Collection by Taylor Morrison and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted Builder by Lifestory Research. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities and our team is highlighted in our latest annual Sustainability and Belonging Report. For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com. About the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBA) Since 1953, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBA) has served as the leading professional trade organization dedicated to residential construction and remodeling in Central Texas. With more than 750 member companies and thousands of community members, the HBA works with government, public, business and community organizations in six counties Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee, Travis, and Williamson. About HomeAid Austin HomeAid Austin's mission is to build new lives for Austin's individuals and families who are at risk of or are currently unhoused through construction and community outreach. Through value engineering, which includes deeply discounted supplies and materials along with donated labor, the organization aids build projects across the entire continuum of care, from emergency shelters and transitional housing to permanent/supportive housing. Every HomeAid project supports an agency that provides services that help residents move toward self-sufficiency, such as education and job skills training and physical and emotional support. CONTACT: Tara Shultz (480) 466-3339 [email protected] SOURCE Taylor Morrison TYLER, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Sam Eljammal, MD is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member for his contributions in Leading Critical Care Medicine. Sam Eljammal Dr. Sam Eljammal stands as a beacon of expertise in critical care medicine, dedicating his career to treating critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. With a commitment to excellence and compassion, Dr. Eljammal performs all necessary procedures with precision, supported by a team of expert medical professionals. Additionally, he has been honored with the appointment as the Medical Director for the Tyler Continuous Care Hospital. Dr. Eljammal's journey in medicine began with a solid foundation, earning his MD from King Hassan II Medical School in Casablanca, Morocco. He further honed his skills through rigorous training, completing his internal medicine residency and fellowship in pulmonology and critical care medicine at the University of Southern California. Board certified in internal medicine, pulmonology, and critical care medicine, Dr. Eljammal brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his practice. Throughout his career, Dr. Eljammal has been actively involved in professional associations, including the Texas Medical Board, the Medical Association of Smith County, and the Society for Critical Care Medicine. He also demonstrates his commitment to community well-being through participation in medical awareness events sponsored by Christus Health. As a critical care medicine based in Tyler, Texas, Dr. Eljammal's dedication to his patients is unwavering. He attributes much of his success to the guidance and mentorship of esteemed colleagues, including Zea Borok, MD; Michael Irwin, MD; and David Kelly, MD. With a steadfast commitment to excellence and a passion for serving his community, Dr. Sam Eljammal continues to make a profound impact in the field of critical care medicine. His leadership and expertise ensure that critically ill patients receive the highest level of care, paving the way for brighter and healthier futures. Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected] SOURCE The Inner Circle From beds to lamps to pedestals, digital and retail icon Ballard Designs shows lovely organic shapeliness in its new assortment this August. ATLANTA, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Organic modern bedroom trends dominate the decorating conversation in shelter magazines, social channels, and home fashion. Increasingly popular, the style blends the best of modern design with cozy neutrals, organic shapes, and natural textures to create a look that feels warm, invitingly serene, and just right for today. New, organic modern bedroom furnishings at Ballard Designs starting August, 2024. Serenity, calm and cozy in trending shapes and colors. The Dover spool bed 4 poster, new at Ballard Designs, part of the new bedroom furniture collection for 2024. This month, omnichannel retailer Ballard Designs introduces new home furnishings and decor perfect for designing the ideal organic modern bedroom. At its heart and soul, this trending bedroom look is about serenity. Achieving that soothing mood can be as simple as reserving space for yourself. According to company president, Karen Mooney, the timing of Ballard's latest product releases couldn't be better. "Now more than ever, we all need a special place to retreat from the noisy world outside," Mooney said. "With summer's end and the hectic fall and holidays ahead, it's important to create a self-space in your bedroom where you can relax your body, soothe your mind, and rejuvenate your soul." The organic modern bedroom is as much about feel as it is looks. Cozy textiles and rugs play integral parts in the design, providing the comfort, texture, and warmth needed for a serene, tranquil environment. Ballard's new Amina Rug is hand tufted of plush wool in cozy tones. The yarns are Gabbeh-dyed to capture the look of a handmade tribal antique. Ballard's new Gali Pillow picks up on the artisan theme. Wonderfully soft with a chenille-like hand, the vintage Persian floral motif is blooming in hues of sage green, orange, and cinnamon all earthy tones that help ground the soothing space. picks up on the artisan theme. Art and accents transform a bedroom into a truly personal haven. In Ballard's soon-to-be-released "Go the Distance" landscape, water, woods, and sky meld into a dreamy world of restful color. Soft brushstrokes of deep green, French blue, and lavender provide the perfect antidote for a restless mind. "Every bedroom retreat needs a special spot for curling up, reading, and just being you," Ballard's president Mooney adds. "A comfortable chair by the window, a sculptural lamp for warm glow, and a cozy throw are really all it takes to create that nurturing, self-care moment." Natural wood elements are also key in achieving the organic modern style. Ballard's new Dover Bed captures the romance of classic American spool furniture in hand carved solid oak. The shapely spindle details add warmth and artisanal texture to your bedroom retreat, making it feel cozy and inviting. Simple lines and rustic finishes are another ingredient when creating the perfect bedroom. Ballard Designs' chunky Rebekah round pedestal table offers both. Sculpted of cast aluminum, the chunky belly base is hand finished in faux aged verdigris for a punch of rustic green color. The reclaimed pine wood top with rich brown stain adds dramatic contrast and utilizes sustainable materials, both basic principles of organic modern design. About Ballard Designs Since 1982, Ballard Designs has offered a unique curation of home furnishings and decor from all periods and provenance. Its designers travel the world for inspiration, translating the latest trends in fashion, color and style into finely crafted, proprietary products. Ballard Designs is part of Qurate Retail Group which includes QVC, HSN, Frontgate, Garnet Hill and Grandin Road. Media Contact: Ann Bailey | 404-603-7239 | 381159@email4pr. SOURCE Ballard Designs Charlotte residents will have expanded access to baked-to-order treats delivered straight to their door. AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiff's Treats, the original warm cookie delivery company, has officially launched a new delivery-only outpost in Charlotte's Belgate neighborhood today, August 1st, marking the newest delivery location in North Carolina for the beloved baked goods and gifting brand, complementing retail locations in Waverly, Uptown, and NorthPark. Charlotte-area residents can continue to spread cookie kindness and celebrate occasions of all kinds with their loved ones, enjoying gifts of hot and fresh treats that are baked-to-order and delivered on-demand. Tiff's Treats "We are excited to expand Tiff's Treats in Charlotte," said Tiffany Chen, co-founder and chief creative officer of Tiff's Treats. "We look forward to continuing to provide our signature treats to this community and being a resource for reliable, personal, and affordable gifting through sweet treats, whether it's a major milestone or a treat yourself occasion." Founded by Tiffany and Leon Chen when they were sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin, the brand has earned millions of loyal fans with its unique straight-from-the-oven delivery model and has grown to over 130 locations and counting. This opening is one of the many recent growth milestones for Tiff's Treats this summer, which will continue to expand in other cities and states throughout the year. Charlotte residents will be able to have treats baked-to-order and delivered warm to their doorstep Monday Sunday from 10 a.m. 9:15 p.m. Cookie flavors include all of Tiff's Treats' classic favorites, as well as a rotating Flavor of the Month. Flavors include Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Sugar Cookie with M&Ms, Double Chocolate Chip, Sugar, Peanut Butter, Pecan Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, White Chip Almond, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Catering trays, milk and select specialty packaging will be available for special occasions like birthdays and thank you's. The new locations will also boast a new flavor in honor of Tiff's Treats' 25th anniversary, Birthday Confetti with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles. Residents in Charlotte can also receive 50% off their first order of warm cookies from Tiff's Treats when they sign up at this link HERE. Tiff's Treats warm cookie delivery is available now in the Charlotte Belgate area. Orders can be placed through cookiedelivery.com, the Tiff's Treats mobile app, DoorDash and Uber Eats. ABOUT TIFF'S TREATS In 1999, Tiffany Taylor accidentally stood up Leon Chen for a date. As an apology, she baked and delivered a batch of warm cookies, and the concept of warm cookie delivery was born. Tiff and Leon, just 19-year-old sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin at the time, opened Tiff's Treats with $20, a cell phone and a dream. Since then, the business has grown to over 130 retail distribution locations and counting in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, California, Kentucky, and New Mexico, with more than 1,700 employees. The founders are now married and the business continues to grow, but Tiff's Treats has the same core mission: creating memorable moments with treats baked to order and delivered warm. Customers can order online at cookiedelivery.com, with the Tiff's Treats app or by phone, all supported by industry-leading technology and customer service. SOURCE Tiff's Treats The delivery-only location is the brand's first venture into the Greensboro metro area, following openings in Charlotte and Raleigh. AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiff's Treats , the original warm cookie delivery company, officially launched a new delivery-only outpost in Greensboro, North Carolina today August 1st, marking the eighth location in the state for the beloved baked goods and gifting brand, and the first Tiff's Treats location in Greensboro. Greensboro-area residents will be able to spread cookie kindness and celebrate occasions of all kinds with their loved ones, enjoying gifts of hot and fresh treats that are baked-to-order and delivered on-demand. Tiff's Treats (PRNewsfoto/Tiff's Treats) "We're ecstatic to expand the reach of Tiff's Treats in the Tar Heel State," said Tiffany Chen, co-founder and chief creative officer of Tiff's Treats. "Our fans have been asking for us to come to Greensboro for years, and we're so glad that dream is now a reality. We hope that the community will embrace the idea of cookie kindness and share a bit of love with their friends and family with gifts of warm cookie deliveries for all of life's special occasions." Founded by Tiffany and Leon Chen when they were sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin, the brand has earned millions of loyal fans with its unique straight-from-the-oven delivery model and has grown to over 130 locations and counting. The Greensboro opening is the latest step of many growth milestones for Tiff's Treats, which will continue to expand in other states throughout the year and recently opened two new delivery-only locations in the Raleigh area. Greensboro residents will be able to have treats baked-to-order and delivered warm to their doorstep Monday Sunday from 10 a.m. 9:15 p.m. Cookie flavors include all of Tiff's Treats' classic favorites, as well as a rotating Flavor of the Month. Flavors include Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Sugar Cookie with M&Ms, Double Chocolate Chip, Sugar, Peanut Butter, Pecan Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, White Chip Almond, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Catering trays, milk and select specialty packaging will be available for special occasions like birthdays and thank you's. The new locations will also boast a new flavor in honor of Tiff's Treats' 25th anniversary, Birthday Confetti with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles. Residents in Greensboro can also receive 50% off their first order of warm cookies from Tiff's Treats when they sign up at this link HERE . Greensboro's Tiff's Treats delivery will officially launch on August 1st. Orders can be placed through cookiedelivery.com , the Tiff's Treats mobile app, DoorDash and Uber Eats. ABOUT TIFF'S TREATS In 1999, Tiffany Taylor accidentally stood up Leon Chen for a date. As an apology, she baked and delivered a batch of warm cookies, and the concept of warm cookie delivery was born. Tiff and Leon, just 19-year-old sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin at the time, opened Tiff's Treats with $20, a cell phone and a dream. Since then, the business has grown to over 130 retail distribution locations and counting in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, California, Kentucky, and New Mexico, with more than 1,700 employees. The founders are now married and the business continues to grow, but Tiff's Treats has the same core mission: creating memorable moments with treats baked to order and delivered warm . Customers can order online at cookiedelivery.com, with the Tiff's Treats app or by phone, all supported by industry-leading technology and customer service. SOURCE Tiff's Treats VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard today announced an upcoming change to the portfolio managers of Vanguard Health Care Fund. Jean Hynes will step down as co-portfolio manager of the fund in January 2025. Ms. Hynes will continue to serve as the CEO and a Managing Partner of Wellington Management. Rebecca Sykes, CFA, who has worked closely with Ms. Hynes since joining Wellington Management's Health Care Team in 2007 and has advised the fund as co-portfolio manager since May 2023, will become the sole portfolio manager. The change is part of a thoughtful, long-term succession plan that ensures continuity for investors in the industry's largest health care fund. Ms. Hynes has focused on the health care sector throughout her 33-year career at Wellington Management, and she has served as a portfolio manager on the Health Care Fund since 2008. During her distinguished tenure as a portfolio manager, the Health Care Fund has outperformed its benchmark by more than 1.6% per year, and fund assets have doubled from $23 billion to $48 billion as of June 30, 2024. Ms. Hynes will continue to serve as a resource to Ms. Sykes and the broader Wellington Health Care Team. "Jean is a widely respected and incredibly talented leader and investor with deep knowledge of the health care sector built over decades," said Karin Risi, managing director of Strategy, Product, Marketing and Communications at Vanguard. "Vanguard is indebted to Jean for all she's doneand continues to dofor our clients, including the fund's impressive performance under her leadership and her strong commitment to developing a highly skilled and experienced team of health care investors. We have full confidence in Rebecca as she steps up to be the sole portfolio manager of Vanguard Health Care Fund." Ms. Sykes joined Wellington Management as a member of the Health Care Team in 2007. She is a Global Industry Analyst and health care portfolio manager, and team leader for Wellington's 15-person Health Care sector research team. Ms. Sykes earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.S. in economics, finance, and healthcare management from the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute. "The Vanguard Health Care Fund has such an amazing legacy, going back to 1984 with original portfolio manager Edward Owens, who was a legendary investor, a mentor to me, and a visionary leader of our Health Care Team," said Ms. Hynes. "I am confident that the fund's shareholders are in good hands with Rebecca Sykes at the helm. She is an experienced and extremely skilled investor and a great example of the depth of Wellington Management's investment talent. I'm excited to see her take over as the fund's lead portfolio manager." Throughout her tenure at Wellington, Ms. Hynes was a Global Industry Analyst covering the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors through 2013, became sole portfolio manager and leader of the Health Care Team in 2013, was elected one of three Managing Partners in 2014, and was appointed CEO in 2021. She is the fifth CEO in the firm's history and the first female to hold the position. Ms. Hynes is a recipient of several industry awards including Barron's 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance for the last five years and Morningstar's Top Female Fund Managers of 2024. About Vanguard Founded in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's leading investment management companies. The firm offers investments, advice, and retirement services to tens of millions of individual investors around the globedirectly, through workplace plans, and through financial intermediaries. Vanguard operates under a unique, investor-owned structure where Vanguard fund shareholders own the funds, which in turn own Vanguard. As such, Vanguard adheres to a simple purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success. For more information, visit vanguard.com. For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com or call 800-523-1036 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing. The performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that investors' shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data cited. You can view Vanguard Health Care Fund current month-end-performance data and standardized performance (1-, 5-, and 10-year returns) and expense ratio information here. All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. 2024 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. SOURCE Vanguard POMONA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Western University of Health Sciences has selected John Tegzes, MA, VMD, Dipl. ABVT, as Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, effective July 15, 2024. Dr. Tegzes is highly accomplished with an extensive career that spans over three decades and encompasses clinical practice, academia, research, and leadership roles. John Tegzes, MA, VMD, Dipl. ABVT, is the new Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences. (Jeff Malet, WesternU) Dr. Tegzes began his tenure at WesternU as an Associate Professor of Toxicology for the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003 the year of CVM's inaugural class. He has also taught toxicology for the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and the College of Pharmacy. He served as Director of WesternU's Interprofessional Practice & Education (IPE) program and as CVM's interim dean. He is a prolific researcher and author whose research interests include interprofessional education, toxicology, and animal health. "We are excited about the future of the College of Veterinary Medicine as we move forward with this appointment," said WesternU Provost and Chief Academic Officer Paula M. Crone, DO '92. "We are confident that Dr. Tegzes will provide the expertise, stability and guidance needed to achieve our goals." Dr. Tegzes earned his Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris (VMD) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts, Applied Psychology (MA) from the University of Santa Monica, and a Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, Nursing (BSN) from Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Tegzes' dedication to research, teaching, and leadership makes him a highly influential figure in veterinary medicine and interprofessional collaboration. He has served on advisory committees for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE), and Veterinary Education Worldwide (ViEW). Dr. Tegzes is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. He serves on the ASPIRE Executive Board of the Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE). He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology and holds a veterinary license in California. He has contributed to over 50 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters. He has presented his work at national and international conferences. He has also made appearances on television and radio to discuss animal health and toxicology. He is an avid champion of Interprofessional Education (IPE), and a significant portion of Dr. Tegzes' career has focused on developing and advocating for IPE. He has held leadership positions in numerous organizations promoting IPE, including the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), and the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative. Dr. Tegzes said he is committed to fostering a community where every student, faculty and staff member feels valued, supported and empowered to excel. Together, CVM will pursue academic excellence, promote interprofessional collaboration, and enhance the veterinary care of animals. "I am deeply honored to lead the College of Veterinary Medicine at a time when the veterinary profession, and how we educate future veterinarians, is expanding and evolving. I truly believe that it has never been a better time to become a veterinarian, and I am completely devoted to supporting our current and future students in their professional journeys and supporting and nurturing our faculty and staff," Dr. Tegzes said. "I genuinely believe that our future, as a college and as a profession, will be forged through a collaborative spirit as we approach the challenges ahead. I hope to bring together diversity of thought and perspectives as we navigate our pathways." About Western University of Health Sciences Western University of Health Sciences (www.westernu.edu), located in Pomona, Calif. and Lebanon, Ore., is an independent nonprofit health professions university, conferring degrees in biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences, dental medicine, medical sciences, nursing, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine. WesternU is home to WesternU Health, where the best in collaborative health care services is offered. SOURCE Western University of Health Sciences America's original work boot brand and Metallica's workforce education initiative come together to launch a limited-edition Rancher Boot that benefits the skilled trades. ROCKFORD, Mich., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolverine, the 141-year-old boot and clothing company, and Metallica Scholars, the workforce education initiative within Metallica's foundation, All Within My Hands (AWMH) have once again united to champion the next generation of skilled workers. Banding together since 2019, Wolverine and Metallica Scholars have released their fifth collection of co-branded products, where half of the proceeds benefit skilled workers. Wolverine and Metallica Scholars Launch Fifth Collection to Champion Skilled Trades Workers. The latest collaboration between Wolverine and Metallica Scholars brings an edgy twist to Wolverine's classic Wellington boot. Crafted with premium materials and waterproof full-grain leather, the Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Rancher Boot blends a timeless western silhouette with a bold, blackened pattern that features custom skull artwork by Metallica collaborator Brandon Heart. Built with Wolverine's quality craftsmanship, these boots are ready for anything, from tackling the workday grind or rocking out in the snake pit. The boots will retail for $169.95 on wolverine.com. "Wolverine is proud to continue our partnership with Metallica Scholars in supporting the next generation of skilled workers," said Scott Schoessel, Wolverine Boots Chief Marketing Officer. "The skilled labor workforce still faces a critical shortage, and this partnership has been pivotal in our team's mission to bridge that gap. We are excited to unveil our fifth collection together, capturing the perfect mix of style, quality, and a great purpose." In addition to the limited-edition rancher boots, the Wolverine x Metallica Scholars collection features an assortment of apparel and accessories, including: Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Trucker Hat (retailing for $19.95 ) ) Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Tee (retailing for $24.95 ) ) Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Bandana (retailing for $14.95 ) ) Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Socks 3pk (retailing for $22.95 ) "Wolverine has been a strong, dedicated partner to Metallica Scholars from the very beginning," said Pete Delgrosso, AWMH Executive Director. "Our team is honored to stand together for the fifth year of our partnership to continue championing the future of skilled workers." Wolverine will be donating half of the sales from this limited-edition style directly to Metallica Scholars, helping more individuals forge their own paths within the skilled trades. The Wolverine x Metallica Scholars limited-edition collection is now available at wolverine.com/metallica ABOUT WOLVERINE Wolverine, the 141-year-old boot and clothing company, is on a mission to honor the spirit and tenacity of the American worker and build the next generation of skilled trades people. Taking pride in crafting durable boots with unrivaled craftsmanship and the highest quality materials, Wolverine is dedicated to serving hardworking people all over the world. Through Project Bootstrap, Wolverine has contributed over $2 million to organizations in support of the skilled trades. For more information, visit www.wolverine.com. Wolverine is a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) ABOUT ALL WITHIN MY HANDS Founded in 2017, AWMH is a non-profit, philanthropic organization created by the members and management of Metallica dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. Metallica Scholars is a major workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, to enhance career and technical education programs. These programs provide skills and services to students who are looking to enter a traditional trade or other applied learning program. 100% of donations made to AWMH go directly to local organizations that the Foundation supports. Please visit AllWithinMyHands.org for more information. SOURCE Wolverine If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Tehran, Aug 1 : Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a media report said, citing three unnamed Iranian officials. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed, The New York Times quoted the three Iranian officials as saying. Of the three officials, two are members of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the report said. Khamenei in a message published on his website stressed that Israel prepared the ground for a "harsh punishment" for itself. In two statements on Wednesday, the IRGC accused Israel of assassinating Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards at their residence in Tehran in a "terrorist attack". It extended condolences over the "martyrdom" of Haniyeh and his bodyguard, adding Haniyeh was among the dignitaries invited to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday and had, over the past years, paid numerous visits to Iran. The IRGC condemned the "criminal act" as in defiance of international regulations and laws, saying Israel "will receive a harsh and painful response" from Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also, in a post on social media platform X, expressed condolences over Haniyeh's "martyrdom", saying Iran would defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honour, and pride and make the Israelis, which he described as "terrorist occupiers", regret their "cowardly move". Beirut, Aug 1 : The body of Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah's top military commander who was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, was found under the rubble in Dahie in Beirut's southern suburbs, local media reported, citing sources close to Hezbollah. An Israeli drone fired on Tuesday evening three missiles at a position near the Shura Council of Hezbollah, aiming to target Shokor, a senior military advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The attack on Dahie also killed five others and wounded around 74 people, Xinhua news agency reported. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying Lebanon preserves its right to take all necessary measures to deter the aggression. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. New Delhi, Aug 1 : A 22-year-old woman and her child drowned in a waterlogged drain in Delhi's Ghazipur, said officials here on Thursday. According to the police, the woman and her child were out to buy household items when they fell into a waterlogged drain and drowned. Delhi Police said, "Further legal action is being taken by Police Station Ghazipur East Delhi." The bodies of the two were later recovered, said the officials. AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar blamed the DDA for the deaths. In a post on X, he wrote in Hindi that due to the lack of any kind of barricading near the drain being built by DDA on the border of Khoda Colony of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, a woman and her 2.5-year-old daughter died after falling into that drain. He demanded that the Lt. Governor take strict action against the "careless DDA officers and file a police case". Heavy rainfall brought the national capital to a standstill on Wednesday evening causing severe waterlogging in several parts of the national capital, choking key stretches with unending traffic and leaving thousands of people stranded on roads. Delhi Education Minister Atishi announced shutting all schools on Thursday in the city. "In light of the very heavy rainfall this evening and the forecast of heavy rainfall tomorrow, all schools both government and private will remain closed on August 1st," she said in a post on 'X'. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that rainy conditions will continue in the national capital till August 5. Tel Aviv, August 1 : Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have geared up for any Iranian assault on Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday morning. Sources in Israel's Defense Minister's office told IANS that after the statement of Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei about a retaliatory attack on Israel, the IDF has prepared itself for any eventuality. Iran, according to sources in Israel's defence ministry, is likely to accelerate attack on it using its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, and Houtis in the sea. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the public face of Hamas in Tehran where he had rubbed shoulders with other state heads during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian president on Tuesday, had shocked Iran. Haniyeh, it may be recalled, had a one-to-one meeting with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, hours before he was assassinated. Israel's defence ministry sources told IANS that according to its intelligence reports, there could be a few strikes by Iran either directly or through its proxies, and added that Israel was prepared for it. The Israel Security Council, in its urgent meeting on Wednesday, has ordered the strengthening of its military base in Tel Aviv and Haifa following the open threat by Khamenei. Tehran, Aug 1 : Iran would seek revenge for the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in a "well-managed" way without escalating the regional crisis, an Iranian expert said. Tehran, Aug 1 (IANS) Iran would seek revenge for the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in a "well-managed" way without escalating the regional crisis, an Iranian expert said. "We would witness an escalation of tension in the region, but in a managed way," Hassan Beheshtipour, a Tehran-based international affairs analyst, told Xinhua. Beheshtipour emphasised that intensifying the crisis is not in Iran's interest nor in that of the resistance groups. He noted Iran's past actions, such as its measured response to the deadly Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria in early April, as examples of Iran's strategic approach, Xinhua news agency reported. Haniyeh, who was invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit, according to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which accused Israel of carrying out the "terrorist attack" and vowed "a harsh and painful response." Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had prepared the ground for a "harsh punishment" for itself. The alleged Israeli assassination of Haniyeh occurred a day after Israel claimed that a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut had killed Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah's top military commander. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would respond with overwhelming force to any counter-attacks, following the deaths of Haniyeh and Shokor. He said the country is prepared "for any scenario," adding it "will exact a very heavy price against any aggression -- from any front." Mumbai, Aug 1 : Indian equity indices opened at a lifetime high on Thursday following positive global cues. In the early trading hours, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 82,129 and 25,078 respectively. At 9.41 a.m., Sensex was up 299 points or 0.37 per cent at 82,040 and Nifty was up 101 points or 0.41 per cent at 25,051. Buying is also seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty midcap 100 index is up 213 points or 0.36 per cent at 59,222 and the Nifty smallcap 100 index was at 19,227, up 90 points or 0.47 per cent. There is a positive trend in the stock market also. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,503 shares are in the green and 570 shares are in the red. In the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Axis Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank are the top gainers. M&M, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv are the top losers. On the global front, the markets of Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta are trading briskly. At the same time, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong are in red. The US markets closed positive on Wednesday. Market experts said, "The Fed chief signalling a possible rate cut in September is positive for global equity markets. More importantly, his comments that the US economy is normalising is a shot in the arm for bulls." "A serious geopolitical risk is the escalation of tensions in West Asia following the killing of the top Hamas leader in Iran. The risk of a regional aggravation of the Gaza war is high," they added. Los Angeles, Aug 1 : Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck attended the New York premiere of 'The Instigators', where Matt Damon opened up about his friendship with Casey Affleck and his brother Ben Affleck. The Affleck brothers and Matt Damon have been friends for more than 25 years since the latter and Ben co-wrote 'Good Will Hunting'. Matt Damon said that after all these years, there are no surprises with the two siblings. He told People: "They're consistently great. They're consistently incredible partners to work with. And no, there aren't really, usually, any surprises." While the three collaborators will "get in creative arguments", Damon noted: "Those are healthy, and we know each other well enough that our feelings don't really get involved and our egos don't get involved. So it's a pretty healthy working relationship with both of them." As per People, Damon and Casey, returned to their hometown of Boston to shoot the film in 2023. However, the project almost didn't come to fruition until Casey enlisted help from Damon's wife, Luciana Barroso, Damon confirmed. Casey asked Barroso, 48, to get Damon to read 'The Instigators' script. Damon noted that Barroso also served as a producer on the film, adding that "like Casey and like Ben" he "just trusts her taste." "So when they say something, when they dig their heels in on something any of them do I pay attention," he admitted. "We all have blind spots creatively or otherwise. And, when I see somebody that I agree with so much feeling strongly about something, I look really carefully at it." As per the movie's official synopsis, 'The Instigators' follows Damon and Casey as Rory and Cobby: a father and an ex-con who team up to steal from a corrupt politician. When things go awry, the reluctant duo enlist the help of Rory's therapist to evade capture. The movie is directed by Doug Liman, and written by Casey and Chuck Maclean. Casey also told ExtraTV in an interview alongside Damon earlier this week that Barroso was instrumental in getting Damon to join him in the movie. "I went through Lucy," Casey said, referring to Barroso, "Who's way more agreeable and has got better taste than Matt does." New Delhi, Aug 1 : Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. During this, PM Modi received his counterpart, and both leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. After this, the Vietnamese PM inspected a Guard of Honour by the Indian defence forces. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh then met the ministers and delegations of the two countries. Later, Pham Minh paid his tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at Rajghat. He will engage in bilateral discussions with PM Modi, who will also host a luncheon in honour of the visiting delegation. Chinh reached New Delhi late on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit, aiming to further strengthen the age-old ties between the two countries. The Vietnam PM is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the visit. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishanakar called on the visiting Prime Minister and appreciated his guidance in bolstering the India-Vietnam bilateral relations. "Honoured to call on PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam during his State visit to India. Appreciate his guidance on our bilateral relationship and on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the EAM said in a post on 'X'. The Vietnamese Prime Minister also addressed a business event organised in the national capital on Wednesday. He stated that India's interest in exploring investments in Vietnam will extend cooperation into new areas such as transportation, economy, digitalisation and energy. He also appreciated the economic and trade cooperation as a "beacon of cooperation" between the two nations and called on to raise the bilateral trade to $20 billion. He also hailed the development of India under the leadership of PM Modi. India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's visit to Hanoi in 2016. PM Modi has maintained Vietnam's importance as an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and the Indo-Pacific vision while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship, including defence partnership, besides working for expeditious progress on the existing initiatives. New Delhi, Aug 1 : Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) platform has seen around 88 lakh candidate registrations till June, along with 9.59 lakh mobile app downloads and 7.63 lakh candidates being enrolled for online courses. SIDH offers 752 online courses, leading to 7.37 lakh minutes of digital content readily available and accessible for learners, informed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Jayant Chaudhary. According to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the primary objective of the platform is to provide a comprehensive and accessible platform for skill enhancement, offering industry-relevant skill courses, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship support. "SIDH is at the intersection of two of the most important initiatives of the government -- Skill India and Digital India," said the Minister. It aims to serve India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for skill development, education, employment and entrepreneurship landscape. Envisioned to integrate with MSME and facilitate access to entrepreneurship schemes for the learners and job seekers, it offers courses and apprenticeship opportunities to the learners. The minister also informed that there are 19 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) out of 33 which are exclusively for women. These women NSTIs offer 19 courses under the Craft Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) as well as 23 courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS). To empower women entrepreneurs and spur economic growth, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has also unveiled the Women Entrepreneurship Programme. This is aimed to address the distinct challenges that women face when starting and growing businesses. In partnership with Britannia Industries Limited, the initiative will also offer financial grants and feature their products and services on the Skill India Digital Hub. "In the skilling segment, under Jan Shikshan Sansthan, 82 per cent of our trainees are women. In the PMKVY short-term training programme, close to 45 per cent of the participants are women," said Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. New Delhi, Aug 1 : Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to declare the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district as a 'Calamity of Serious Nature'. Declaring it a calamity of a severe nature will allow MPs to recommend works up to Rs 1 crore from their MPLAD funds for the affected areas, Tharoor, who is also Chairman of Chemicals and Fertisliser Committee of Parliament, said in a letter to the Home Minister on Wednesday. He said that the said move will surely be invaluable in supporting the painstaking efforts for rescue, relief and rehabilitation. A series of devastating landslides struck the Wayanad district of Kerala, claiming over hundred lives and leaving many more severely injured in hospitals, his letter read. He said, "This disaster of unimaginable proportions has left behind a harrowing tale of death and destruction. The rescue operations involving the armed forces, the Coast Guard, the National Disaster Response Force and other agencies continue their pitched battle against the vagaries of nature. "The landslides have wreaked havoc upon countless lives and as such, it is of grave importance to extend all possible support to the people of Wayanad. Such is the scale of the disaster that it necessitates a coordinated and generous response from all sections of the society," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. The death toll in the Wayanad landslide tragedy has reached 264 while around 200 people are still missing, officials said. Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 : Cyber Wing of the Kerala Police on Thursday registered a case against a social media handle for criticising Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over seeking funds for the Chief Minister Dearness Relief Fund (CMDRF) for Wayanad natural disaster. The Kerala Police said that a case has been registered against the X profile 'Kozhikodans 2.0' which asked people not to contribute to the CMDRF. Police warned people from spreading rumours against the CMDRF and persons who indulge in such rumour-mongering will be booked. People across the country and political divide have contributed to the CMDRF including the Adani Group Chairperson Gautam Adani and others. More than 1,200 people have been rescued in Wayanad so far while the death toll has reached 264 with 200 people missing. A massive rescue operation is currently underway in four districts of Wayanad -- Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil, and Pothukalu. Washington, Aug 1 : The mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty, the Pentagon said in a statement. They are held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Pentagon said that the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case said the statement. The official said that the specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time. The three accused, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001, attacks against the US, the Pentagon said. US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the plea deals. "The Biden-Harris Administrationas cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the governmentas responsibility to defend America and provide justice" McConnell stated on X. New Delhi, Aug 1 : Lung cancer is the most common cancer that can spread to the brain and create secondary cancer, said experts on Thursday, on World Lung Cancer Day. World Lung Cancer Day is observed every year on August 1 to raise awareness around lung cancer -- a leading cause of mortality worldwide. In India, lung cancer accounts for an annual incidence of 72,510 cases, making up 5.8 per cent of all cancer cases and ranking as the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, according to a recent study published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health. The health experts noted that a significant challenge arises when lung cancer metastasizes to critical parts of the body, such as the brain. "Brain metastases are a prevalent complication across various cancer types, particularly among lung cancer patients," Praveen Gupta, Principal Director & Chief of Neurology, Fortis Hospital, told IANS. "About 10 per cent of newly diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) develop brain metastases. Lung cancer accounts for 40 to 50 per cent of primary tumours in these cases," he added. Addressing brain metastases requires a multidisciplinary approach involving oncologists, neurologists, and palliative care specialists to meet the complex needs of patients. The primary goals are to alleviate symptoms, extend survival, and enhance the overall quality of life through personalised treatment plans and supportive care. "Common symptoms of brain metastases include persistent headaches, seizures, cognitive impairments, personality changes, and difficulties with motor functions or speech. These symptoms result from cancerous cells disrupting normal brain function, causing swelling, pressure, and damage to neural pathways," Gupta said. Lung cancer that has spread to the brain can be treated via therapies such as radiation, and systemic chemotherapy. These interventions aim to manage both the primary lung cancer and brain metastases. Tobacco smoking is the primary risk factor for lung cancer in India, contributing to a significant proportion of cases. "Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for about 85 per cent of all cases. Quitting smoking is the most effective way to reduce the risk," Pavan Yadav, Lead Consultant - Interventional Pulmonology & Lung Transplantation, Aster RV Hospital, told IANS. "However, exposure to environmental pollutants, occupational hazards, and genetic factors also play crucial roles in the development of this disease," he added. Early cancer detection and screening, however, play a crucial role in improving lung cancer outcomes. When lung cancer is diagnosed at an early stage before it has spread to other parts of the body, there is a higher chance of successful treatment and potential cure, Yadav said. He also recommended screening programmes like Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans for high-risk individuals such as heavy smokers and those with a family history of the disease. The experts also called to quit smoking and to recognise warning signs "such as persistent cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, hoarseness, unexplained weight loss, and coughing up blood, can prompt individuals to seek medical evaluation if they experience these signs". Mumbai, Aug 1 : Actress Kriti Kharbanda, who will be next seen in 'Risky Romeo', is expressing her love for her husband, actor Pulkit Samrat through poetry. Recently, she took to her Instagram Stories and shared a picture of herself with her husband. She wrote on the picture: "Neend is coming, neend is going, husband is amazing." Kriti and Pulkit tied the knot at Delhi NCR's ITC Grand Bharat in March this year. As per reports, they specially curated a food menu filled with delicacies from different parts of the country for their guests. Later, they took to their Instagram accounts and shared a joint post along with a sweet note. The two dated for a couple of years before tying the knot. Pulkit was previously married to Shweta Rohira. Meanwhile, on the work front, Pulkit was last seen in the comedy film 'Fukrey 3'. Kriti will be next seen in 'Risky Romeo' in which she shares the screen with Sunny Singh. The actress recently completed 15 years in cinema and expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the audience and her peers for making the journey memorable. She wrote at the time: "I've spent the last 15 years, pretty much the majority of my life, being an actor. What started out as a hobby, as a way to pay the bills and be recognised slowly grew into a passion! A passion that I didn't even know existed inside of me." Kriti shared that during her journey, she grew as a human being and as an actor. New York, Aug 1 : India "will never be a formal ally or partner of the United States" as it is "also a great power" with "its own beliefs, its own interests" but the two can act as allies on the global stage, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has declared. Not being a formal ally "doesn't mean that we cannot have the strongest possible relationships as allied nations on the global stage," he said on Tuesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington "I do believe that we bent India's trajectory in ways that are consequential and very much in our interests," he added. He stressed that ties with India are "probably the most important relationship for the United States to get right". Campbell's characterisation of India acting on its interests and having alliances to reach objectives without formal pacts reflects External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's foreign policy rubric of strategic autonomy. He gave the assessments of ties with India during a committee hearing on strategic competition with China while replying to an interjection from Republican Senator James Risch, who said that front page pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi embracing Russia's President Vladimir Putin during his recent Moscow visit were a "bitter pill to swallow". However, he did add that India is an "important actor. There's no question about it" and acknowledged India's and Russia's "geographical location" and "historical connection". Campbell said, "I think we're likely to hear news of India engaging more directly in Ukraine. I'm grateful for that. I think India wants to play a responsible role globally." "One of the hardest things to keep in mind is that India is also a great power and it has its own beliefs, its own interests," he said. "There are very few other countries in the world that have such an appeal to the Global South and their ability to engage there is unmatched and we are seeking to work with them," he said of India's strategic importance to the US in the context of China's international diplomacy. "You've got to take comfort in some of these things and recognise fundamentally, that in a number of things that we're engaged in, India is an active and supportive partner," he said. On Washingtonas cooperation with New Delhi, Campbell said, "We've supported them in intelligence and military along the Line of Actual Control (on the border with China and) in the Indian Ocean". Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a tense standoff along the Line of Actual Control with periodic clashes. In the last major incident, about 20 Indian soldiers and several Chinese were killed in a confrontation in 2022 with makeshift weapons in an area where firearms are mutually banned. On ties that bind at the level of people, Campbell spoke of the Indian diaspora in the US and the favourable sentiments in India towards the US. There is a "wonderful diaspora in the United States that connects our two great countries", he said. "I believe that the vast majority of people in India want a better relationship with the United States," he said. "They're grateful for our bipartisan attention. They liked the work that we've done together in education and technology". New Delhi, Aug 1 : The use of antibiotics in preterm babies, as a lifesaving measure, may make them vulnerable to microbial resistance, claims a study. Preterm infants are vulnerable to infections and require early antibiotic interventions. However, the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals that these life-saving measures come with significant effects on the infants' nasopharyngeal microbiomes. Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Rigshospitalet in Denmark conducted a study on 198 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from 36 preterm infants, born between 28 and 32 weeks of gestational age. The infants were divided into two groups: those who received antibiotics within the first 24 hours of life due to an increased risk for early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS), and those who did not receive antibiotics. The samples were collected from birth up to 8a"10 months of age. The results showed the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) associated with the nosocomial pathogen Serratia marcescens, which remained in the nasopharynx of 92 per cent of affected infants long after hospital discharge. Serratia marcescens is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Achal Dhariwal, from the Institute of Oral Biology, at the University of Oslo said the study highlights "the importance of hospital environments in shaping the preterm infants' resistome (the antibiotic resistance genes)". While the study found no lasting alterations in the nasopharyngeal resistome beyond the early months of life, the consistent presence of resistance genes associated with Serratia marcescens highlights the lingering impact of hospitalisation, said the team calling for the "judicious" use of antibiotics. Bengaluru, Aug 1 : Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said on Thursday that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's decision to issue a show cause notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam was not incorrect. Speaking to reporters after meeting Home Minister G. Parameshwara here, Kharge said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had received the show cause notice and would provide an appropriate response to it. When asked about CM Siddaramaiah holding a meeting with his close associates, Minister Kharge stated that it was natural for CM Siddaramaiah to discuss the matter with his cabinet colleagues and others to gather suggestions. "The notice was issued to CM Siddaramaiah without prior information, which he deemed an incorrect measure. CM Siddaramaiah had already provided sufficient information to the Governor and submitted relevant documents. Despite this, the show cause notice was issued. If this is the case, from where is the script coming to initiate action against CM Siddaramaiah?" Kharge said. According to sources, the Governor is likely to grant sanction for prosecution against CM Siddaramaiah based on a MUDA land scam-related complaint by social activist T.J. Abraham. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah organised a breakfast meeting at his residence in Bengaluru for his cabinet colleagues, and will also chair a cabinet meeting. Sources said that the cabinet is likely to pass a one-line resolution against the Governor. Shimla, Aug 1 : Two bodies were recovered and over 50 people went missing due to multiple cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu, Shimla and Mandi districts. "Two additional battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed by the Centre for relief and rescue operations," Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said on Thursday. After chairing a high-level meeting here to review the rescue and relief operations, the CM said Rampur Tehsil in Shimla, Padhar Tehsil in Mandi and Jaon in Nirmand Village of Kullu were the worst hit. The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been requested to remain on high alert to handle any exigency as the Met department predicted that heavy rainfall would continue for the next 36 hours. The tourist resort of Manali has been cut off after damage to the National Highway. The calamity occurred at around 4.40 A.M., the CM told the media. He added that there was damage to the dam of the Malan hydropower project in Kullu. "There is some damage to the project. We are monitoring the situation and the government is working on a war footing," he said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to CM Sukhu on the phone to assess the situation following the cloudbursts that caused significant disruption in the Samej Khad area in Rampur in Shimla District. HM Shah assured the CM Sukhu of central assistance and the support of the NDRF. The CM, who is visiting disaster-hit areas, said two bodies were recovered and teams of NDRF, SDRF, police, Home Guard and fire services have been engaged in relief, search and rescue operations. "The local administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations smoothly. I am in touch with officials and monitoring the relief and rescue operations," he wrote on X, adding, "the state government is committed to provide all possible assistance." The main impact of the cloudbursts was seen in areas in Kullu District and in areas in Shimla District bordering Kullu. In Rampur at least 36 people have gone missing. Teams of the ITBP, SDRF and Home Guards are conducting search and rescue operations there. According to Mandi Police, a cloudburst occurred in Rajban Village near Terang in which two houses were washed away and one house was partially damaged. Nine people have been missing since then and one injured person has been rescued. The Meteorological office in Shimla has issued an 'Orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, at isolated places in the state for the next 24 hours. Reports say flash floods in the Beas and Parvati rivers in Kullu District have damaged public and private property. After heavy rain, a portion of the hydropower project in Malana located on the Parvati River has been damaged. The Kullu administration has issued an alert, advising people not to go near the river and water channels. Union Minister and BJP Chief, JP Nadda spoke to the CM and assured all possible help from the Central government. Nadda also spoke to former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and directed all BJP workers to engage in relief operations. The weather office also warned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas of Kullu, Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kinnaur districts. Heavy damage to public and private property was reported from Palchan to Patlikuhal in Kullu District. Scores of bridges in Palchan and Nehrukund have been damaged due to flooding in the river, officials said. A newly-constructed vegetable market building collapsed in Kullu. The National Highway between Kullu and Manali has been blocked due to a flood near Kalath. Seeing the rising waters, people living on the river banks in Nehrukund, Bahang, Rangdi, Aloo Ground, Kalath, 17 Mile, 15 Mile and Patlikuhal fled from their homes. The road in Palchan has also been damaged. The Manali-Leh road has been closed due to massive landslides and the Manali administration remained busy throughout the night alerting people. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) (Manali) Raman Sharma told the media that the police personnel kept alerting the people living on the river banks by sounding sirens throughout the night. He urged people to leave their homes only in case of emergency and not to travel. Indian authorities have hit leading IT outsourcer Infosys with a US$3.9 billion tax demand and some news reports suggest the pursuit of alleged unpaid taxes will soon target other big names. According to the UKs Financial Times the demand came as the Indian IT industry was showing early signs of recovery following a worldwide tech spending slowdown. Indeed, Infosys and other relevant players, like Tata Consultancy Services, posted buoyant quarterly earnings earlier in July. Infosys has apparently been issued notices for payment of goods and services tax (GST) by agencies in its home state of Karnataka and from the national Directorate General of GST Intelligence for the period of July 2017 to March 2022. The tax demand relates to expenses incurred by overseas branch offices, says Infosys, whose headquarters, like those of a number of IT companies, are in the Karnataka capital Bengaluru. It does not agree that GST applies on these expenses. Reuters, however, suggests Indian authorities may soon issue notices to more major IT services firms in an investigation of alleged tax evasion related to work done by their overseas offices. Reuters says these overseas offices carry out projects for Indian IT firms and provide services to international clients, among other functions. This isn't just about IT, however. In the last year, Indias GST department has sent more than 1,000 notices to companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dr Reddys Laboratories and Ultratech Cement. Tax authorities have also issued notices to online gaming companies demanding a total of about 1 trillion rupees (about US$12 billion) in taxes that they have allegedly evaded. Many companies have challenged these demands in tribunals and courts. This isnt the first backdated tax claim from Indian officials, as Vodafone, a company that has successfully fought retrospective taxes, might point out. As we reported at the end of the 14-year dispute, the Indian government decided to nullify its own tax demands against Vodafone, apparently to improve perceptions of its stance on taxation in order to encourage foreign investment into the market. But could the recent drive to pursue alleged unpaid taxes undermine this effort? New Delhi, August 1 : Seven people died and three were injured due to heavy rainfall in Delhi-NCR on Wednesday evening. Heavy rain led to waterlogging in most areas of Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad, causing inconvenience to citizens. In Delhi, one person died, and two were injured after a house collapsed. In Uttar Pradesh's Khoda area, a mother and daughter died after falling into a sewer due to waterlogging and in the state's Gautam Buddha Nagar District, two people lost their lives due to a wall collapse following heavy rain. Three people died in Haryana's Gurugram after being electrocuted due to the waterlogging on Wednesday night and in the state's Faridabad area, one person drowned due to flooding. Late on Wednesday evening, heavy rain caused the roof of a gym to collapse in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, injuring two people. Police rescued the injured and other trapped people with the help of local residents. Office-goers in Delhi-NCR spent hours driving back home through waterlogged roads and slow moving traffic on Wednesday evening. One office-goer from Noida said, "I live in Sector 50 and I work in Sector 16. The roads on Sector 16 were flooded and it became difficult to get to the cars parked outside due to the waterlogging. The drive back home that usually takes me 20 minutes took me an hour as most of the roads in Noida were waterlogged and at one point I was scared that my car would get stalled and I would be stranded." Due to heavy rain and waterlogging, Delhi Police received 2,945 calls related to traffic jams. Additionally, there were 127 calls reporting waterlogging in various parts of the city. The police also received 27 calls regarding house collapses and 50 calls about trees falling due to strong winds and rain. Due to the rainfall, ten flights scheduled to land in Delhi were diverted. Eight flights were redirected to Jaipur and two to Lucknow. Srinagar, Aug 1 : A bear attacked a farmer on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district which created panic in the area. Officials said that the farmer was working in his agricultural field in the Kokernag area of the district when a bear attacked him. "The victim identified as Ghulam Nabi Muglu of Loharsanzi village in Kokernag tehsil was shifted to a sub-district hospital in Kokernag town in injured condition. He has been referred by doctors to a government medical college hospital in Anantnag town for specialised treatment," officials said. The bear attack has created panic in the whole area and the officials have assured of the villagers. On Monday evening, a 50-year-old woman lost her life after being attacked by a wild bear in the Mirpora village in North Kashmir. A man was critically injured after a bear attacked him in the Handwara area of Kupwara district on Thursday. Incidents of Man-Animal conflict have alarmingly increased in Kashmir for some time now. This is attributed by ecologists to the growing human and wildlife population that has brought the two in direct conflict with each other. Due to the encroachment of natural habitats of wildlife by humans, the area for animals has shrunken. Due to the depletion of their natural habitats, the wild animals have moved towards human settlements looking for food, shelter, etc. The ecological solution to Man-Animal conflict is to respect and preserve the habitats of wild animals and ensure non-interference into such habitats by human beings. The staff of the Wildlife Protection Department has been catching bears and leopards that are found prowling in human settlements by using tranquillizer guns and then relocating them to their natural habitats. New Delhi, Aug 1 : She smiles that for her it is easy to relate to Kashmiri Pandits in India more than even the Parsis here who came from Iran long back. Having spent years documenting the Kashmiri Pandit population across Kashmir, Jammu, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, Iranian photographer Sarah Jabbari is all set to showcase her solo photography exhibition 'Selective 'Sympathy' curated by Georgina Maddox at Gallery Art Positive from July 31 to August 31 in New Delhi. She tells IANS that it was not hard for her to feel a major ancestral mutuality between them and the Iranians, which made her very comfortable. "Both groups -- Indo-Iranian communities share roots in the Gothic and Vedic periods. If you look at the architecture in northern Iran and Kashmir, it would not be hard to find similar structures. Even the cuisine of the two are very similar," she stresses. Adding that both groups share a history of conversions as Iranians were Zoroastrians who converted to Islam. The photographer says: "Even in the contemporary time, the migration and in a way the self-exile of millions of Iranians reminds me of what happened to Pandits. In short, I would say Kashmiri Pandits are a mirror to Iran, to its past, present and perhaps a mutual and similar destiny." Talking about her numerous visits to Kashmir where she spent considerable time with the Pandit community, she remembers the days spent with a Kashmiri family. "Not just one, all Kashmiri Pandit families were extremely kind and helpful, their house and lifestyle were very familiar to what we have in Iran. Being there, I felt closest to my subjects as they have lived there for thousands of years so it filled me with emotions that they are still standing. They were not afraid of being there as they believed in destiny. Frankly, I am extremely proud of those who are still living in Kashmir. They're true symbols of resistance," she says. For someone who began the work on this project in January 2019 in Kashmir before the pandemic hit and the Pulwama attack did not take place and had to pause after she contacted Covid and "challenges in personal life" only to re-start it in 2023, Jabbari insists on calling the Pandits the lost cousins of Iranians. Stressing that from ethnicity to cultural heritage, in pre and post-Islamic eras, Iranians and Pandits have much in common, she says that the social life experience in terms of change of religion in historical and contemporary contexts is another mutual understanding. "I believe there's a mutual destiny too. An important point is the title given to Kashmir as 'Iran-e-Saghir' or the small Iran. Some assume it's because of the influence of the Persian culture in post-Islamic times but indeed it's because of many things in common rooted in thousands of years of mutual ancestry. Of course, by the arrival of Islam and the 'post-Islamic Persian culture' to the Valley, similarities became more," she adds. The best part about the work she has done on the displaced community is the fact that there is no tone of 'victimhood'. Stressing that in Iran, people tend to have the mentality of victimhood and blame everything on the Arabs' attack on Iran in the 7th AD which led to the collapse of the Sasanian empire and mass conversation in Iran from Zoroastrianism to Islam. She adds: "I looked at Pandits not as victims but as proud survivors who lost everything but resisted and flourished again in the worst situation. I look at them as human beings who are strong and resilient, honourable people who have pride. I guess talking about their victimhood is essential but in a proper channel that could be constructive. Otherwise, it leads to their objectification, and I do not want to objectify these honourable people." Convinced that photography gives her access to the lives of people, she says the enthusiasm of the subjects and their curiosity are always inspiring. "The camera gives you a reason to connect to people and I love that. The best is the memories you make with your subjects during the shoot. When they let you in and share their food with you, they open their heart to you. There is no price for this human relationship and experience," says the photographer. Recalling that during her days in Kashmir, some moments made her extremely emotional -- a Kashmiri Pandit man who replied to her question on the key part of their resistance. He told her that there was only one reason they survived -- education. A Kashmiri Pandit woman insisted that she had forgiven all the pain, and in the end, we are humans, who without love are nothing. "Both these conversations made me cry," recalls Jabbari, who recently completed a Ph D research on the history of photography of Iran and the Parsis of India in the 19th century through the lens of gender in a comparative study. Stressing that she has always admired India considering the way crores of people belonging to different religions, casts and ethnicities live together, this photographer has always been interested in long-term documentary photography projects with a focus on human relations and cultural and religious issues. She hopes, "I wish, I could continue working with an unbiased lens looking for hope and humanity, and I wish all the best for the Kashmiri Pandit community." New Delhi, Aug 1 : Venture capital (VC) investment in India surged considerably to $4 billion in the April-June period (Q2 2024), from $2.9 billion in the previous quarter, a report said on Thursday. On the other hand, China saw a massive decline in VC investment from $13.5 billion to $6.9 billion in the same period. VC investment is expected to continue to pick up in India, driven in part by the country's stable government and positive economic environment, according to a KPMG report. During the quarter, VC investors in India focused on more traditional sectors for investment, including fintech, electric vehicles, and consumer technologies. Unlike many other jurisdictions where investment in the consumer-focused technology space has dried up dramatically, India's population and demographics have kept investment in the space relatively resilient, the report mentioned. The IPO market in India continued to be robust. The capital markets saw all-time highs during Q2a24, feeding the appetite of venture companies looking to raise funds in the public markets. "Investors continue to remain optimistic about India and as mentioned in the previous edition, our expectations of VC investments to bounce back are now playing out," said Nitish Poddar, Partner and National Leader, Private Equity, KPMG in India. Strong demographics, robust economy and a vibrant capital market are the real drivers behind this optimism. "Investors will however remain cautious and will continue to back sectors and companies which have a good operating model and an assured path to profitability," Poddar added. VC investment in Asia dropped from $20.8 billion to $17.4 billion, driven largely by a decline in China. "VC investment in other jurisdictions in the region saw solid increases. In Singapore, it rose from $1 billion to $2.6 billion, and in Japan, it rose from $842 million to $1.1 billion. Consumer e-commerce companies raised the largest rounds in Asia in Q2 2024," the findings showed. Global VC investment rose from $75.4 billion in Q1 to a five-quarter high of $94.3 billion in Q2. Heading into Q3, VC investment globally is expected to remain relatively steady, with AI continuing to attract a large share of funding, said the report. Bengaluru, August 1 : Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi stated on Thursday that the joint BJP-JD(S) Bengaluru-Mysuru padyatra (foot march) against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will go on as planned from August 3. Pralhad Joshi said this while answering questions by reporters in New Delhi regarding Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy's announcement that his party JD(S) would not participate in the march. Union Minister Joshi said he would speak to Union Minister Kumaraswamy and ensure that the padyatra takes place as planned. "I will also speak to BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi who have raised their voice against the state BJP leadership," he stated. "Everything will be sorted out as the JD(S) is the NDA's main partner. The office-bearers of the BJP will speak to them and if there are any issues, they will be sorted out," he said. Sources said that Kumaraswamy has expressed his unhappiness to BJP National President, JP Nadda, over the 'neglect' of JD(S) by the BJP while planning a foot march. Kumaraswamy had also insisted that BJP General Secretary Preetham Gowda should not be seen anywhere in the padyatra otherwise his party won't participate in the event. After discussions with JP Nadda and minister Joshi, the JD(S) leader conveyed to them that he would speak to his father, former Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda and take a final call on the issue. Earlier, Kumaraswamy had lashed out at the BJP stating that he can't share the stage with Preetham Gowda who distributed pen drives containing the sex videos of his nephew Prajwal Revanna who is now in jail. "Preetham Gowda has fed poison to my family so how can I share the dais with him?" Kumaraswamy had said. Seoul, Aug 1 : South Korean army operations troops on Thursday wrapped up an exercise around an island off the west coast designed to strengthen their maritime infiltration capabilities, officials said. The exercise, which began July 22, took place around Anmyeon Island, 123 kilometers southwest of Seoul, involving some 150 personnel under the Army Special Warfare Command and about 20 pieces of equipment, such as special operations boats, Yonhap news agency reported. During the drills, the troops trained on infiltrating coastlines aboard the inflatable boats and eliminating threats in target areas, according to the army. The exercise also mobilized coastal defense personnel from the 32nd Infantry Division to serve as troops defending against the infiltrating special forces, it said. The army said the exercise served to strengthen the operational capabilities of special forces and coastal defense personnel, adding that it plans to improve training methods to enhance troop readiness. New Delhi, Aug 1 : India on Thursday summoned the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to register a strong protest over the death of an Indian fisherman during a collision between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat five nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island, earlier in the day. Out of the four Indian fishermen who were on board the vessel, one lost his life and another is missing. Two of the fishermen have been rescued and brought ashore to Kankesanthurai. A search is ongoing for the missing Indian fisherman. The MEA said that the Indian Consulate officials in Jaffna have been instructed to "immediately rush" to Kankesanthurai and extend all possible assistance to the fishermen and their families. "The Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi was called in today morning to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the incident. We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government later today," the MEA stated. The ministry added that the Indian government has always emphasised the need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humane and humanitarian manner. "Existing understandings between the two governments in that regard must be strictly observed. Utmost efforts should be made to ensure that there is no recurrence or resort to the use of force. "Government attaches the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian fishermen. Issues relating to Indian fishermen have been raised regularly at the highest levels with the Sri Lankan leadership," it added. London, Aug 1 : The Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, on Wednesday announced its star-studded list of men players for the second season, scheduled to be held from October 3 to 12 at Friends House in London. London, Aug 1 (IANS) The Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, on Wednesday announced its star-studded list of men players for the second season, scheduled to be held from October 3 to 12 at Friends House in London. Joining the ranks of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Viswanathan Anand in the second season are returning Superstars, including World No. 4 Arjun Erigaisi, World No. 6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov, World No. 8 Praggnanandhaa R, and World No. 10 Wei Yi. Praggnanandhaa, who stole the limelight in the prodigy round of the first season and was awarded Player of the Tournament for his exceptional performance, will compete in the Superstar men's category. Making the competition even more compelling, Vidit Gujrathi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Grischuk, Parham Maghsoodloo, and Vladislav Artemiev will also be a part of the 12-member list of Superstar men players for the second season. Praggnanandhaa, who has had a memorable year in the world of chess, said, "I am thrilled to be back for the second season of the Global Chess League. The inaugural season was a remarkable learning experience as I got to play alongside Magnus Carlsen and other top players. I am looking forward to an exciting season with my team in this unique televised chess event. I am sure chess fans will be captivated by this exciting team chess format." Former FIDE World Rapid Champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, added, "The roster of players is incredibly strong, and the format challenges players and teams alike. I am looking forward to another memorable outing with my team in the Global Chess League." Sameer Pathak, CEO of the Global Chess League, said, "We are delighted to announce the list of Superstar men players for the upcoming season. These elite players are poised to deliver thrilling and unforgettable games for their teams in the league's innovative format that incentivizes risk-taking. We are confident that these players will deliver a remarkable chess spectacle in London." The first-of-its-kind franchise-based league features a total of six teams consisting of six players - one Icon player, two Superstar male players, two Superstar female players, and one prodigy in each team. In the tournament, each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system. Hyderabad, Aug 1 : Legislators of the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) were detained by the police when they staged a protest in Assembly premises, demanding an apology from Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for his alleged objectionable remarks against two women MLAs of the party. BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao and other MLAs were evicted from the premises after they protested before the Chief Minister's chambers. The Assembly Marshals physically lifted the BRS legislators out of the Assembly building. The protesting MLAs were shifted to police vehicles and were later dropped at BRS headquarters Telangana Bhavan. The MLAs, who were wearing black badges, began the protest outside the Chief Minister's chambers in Assembly premises after walking out of the Assembly to protest the denial of mike to their party legislator P. Sabitha Indra Reddy to speak. The BRS members stood up as soon as the House met for the day, demanding that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikarmarka apologise for their remarks against Sabitha Indra Reddy and Sunita Lakshma Reddy made in the House on Wednesday. As Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar proceeded with the listed business, the BRS MLAs trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans. They tried to disrupt the proceedings when Industry Minister D. Sridhar Babu was speaking on the Skill University Bill. Despite repeated appeals by the Speaker to the main Opposition MLAs to resume their seats, they continued the protest. Amid the protest, the Speaker conducted the proceedings. Intervening in the debate, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy made a statement, welcoming the Supreme Court's judgment on the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes for reservation. Sridhar Babu, who is also the Minister for Legislative Affairs, took strong exception to the sloganeering by the BRS members and appealed them to change their behaviour. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi urged the Speaker to bring the House in order. He wanted the government to either give an opportunity to speak to the main Opposition MLAs or suspend them. Sridhar Babu said the government wants the Opposition to participate in the debate on important legislations. On repeated demands by Owaisi, the Speaker allowed BRS MLA Harish Rao to speak on the Supreme Court judgment. The former Minister found fault with the way the House proceedings were being conducted and termed the House 'Kaurava Sabha'. After welcoming the Supreme Court order, when Harish Rao started speaking about the Chief Minister's remarks about women MLAs, the Speaker switched off his mike. Agitated over this, the BRS MLAs walked out and sat in front of the Chief Minister's chambers. However, Sabitha Indra Reddy and Sunita Lakshma Reddy remained in the House, demanding an opportunity to speak. The BRS has called for a state-wide protest against the Chief Minister's remarks. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had made the remarks while referring to defection of Sabitha Indra Reddy to BRS after winning the Assembly election on a Congress ticket in 2018. Hyderabad, Aug 1 : Telangana Chief Minister, A Revanth Reddy on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court order that the state government can sub-classify Scheduled Castes for quota and declared that his state would be the first to implement it. Making a statement in the Assembly, CM Revanth Reddy said, "I heartily welcome the order of the Supreme Court. I thank the Constitutional Bench for the historic judgment." CM Reddy said that six out of seven judges allowed states to opt for categorisation. CM Reddy said that after the strong arguments put forward by the Telangana government, the Supreme Court gave a favourable verdict for Madigas and sub-castes that have been fighting for categorisation for decades. "Telangana will be the first state to implement SC categorisation. We take this responsibility of implementing it," he said. CM Reddy said if necessary, the government would issue an Ordinance to implement the Supreme Court order in job notifications issued recently. CM Reddy noted that lakhs of youth from Madigas and sub-castes had been fighting for SC categorisation into ABCD sub-categories. "For 27 years they fought in united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," he said and recalled that he and then Congress MLA, SA Sampath Kumar, were suspended from the Assembly by the previous government when they had moved an adjournment for debate on the issue. CM Reddy said the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had promised to take an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister but betrayed Madigas by not taking the team. CM Reddy said after the Congress came to power, on the suggestion of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, he along with former Deputy Chief Minister and present Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and others met the Advocate General and sent him to Delhi to speak to legal experts and appoint a senior advocate. "As a result of the strong arguments put forward by the Telangana government, the Supreme Court has given the judgment in favour of Madigas and sub-castes," CM Reddy said. Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha said the Supreme Court order fulfilled a 50-year-old dream. "This is a historic day. It was a long-cherished dream. I have become a bit emotional today," he said. He stated that categorisation was not against any section but only to remove the imbalance. BJP floor leader Maheshwar Reddy termed the Supreme Court order as 'historic'. He said PM Modi fulfilled his word by backing the 70-year-old struggle. He recalled that the PM had declared his support for SC categorisation at a public meeting in Hyderabad last year. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and CPI member K Sambasiva Rao also welcomed the Supreme Court judgment. Recent African cable news includes a milestone for Namibia with the inauguration of its Equiano cable station and plans for a 2Africa cable landing in Pakistan. Telecom Namibia, at the moment celebrating 32 years of service, is said to be leading the celebrations of the Namibian activation of Googles Equiano undersea cable, which, local news reports suggest, positions the country to become a regional information and communication technology (ICT) hub. The Telecom Namibia Equiano Cable Station was inaugurated this week in the western Swakopmund. The high-capacity cable links Namibia to Europe via Portugal and to the rest of Africa by way of Cape Town and Johannesburg in neighbouring South Africa. According to Stanley Shanapinda, Telecom Namibia CEO, his company has implemented a 100G link via Equiano between Swakopmund and Johannesburg, easing congestion on terrestrial routes and reducing latency to South Africa. Meanwhile another African cable is going even further as Pakistan telco firm Transworld Associates (TWA) announces plans to land the 2Africa cable in Karachi, Pakistan. At 45,000 kilometres, it is the worlds largest subsea cable network and will connect 33 countries with 46 landing points in Europe and Asia. In this case an extension to the original 2Africa cable, known as 2Africa Pearls, is involved. Announced in 2021, it offers plans for further landing points in Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia. China Mobile International and Meta are the consortium parties responsible for the Karachi portion of the cable. They have contracted Transworld Associates to operate and own the landing. TWA says it plans to connect a Tier III-quality carrier-neutral data centre collocated at the telcos cable landing station, to the 2Africa cable and other cable systems. Karachi is currently home to at least seven cables, with more going live or landing soon. Transworld Associates owns the Transworld-1 cable, connecting Pakistan to the UAE and Oman. It is also a consortium member of the SeaMeWe-5 submarine cable project. Mumbai, Aug 1 : The upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel Honey Bunny' is set to drop on OTT on November 7, this year. The release date of the show was revealed after the noise metre (breathing decibel threshold) hit the score of 100 at the Mehboob Studios in the Bandra West area of Mumbai on Thursday. The special event was attended by Bollywood star Varun Dhawan and his co-star from the show, Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Varun, who spoke to media on the sidelines of the event shared that the creators of the show issued strict directions to him about this show being his single point focus and that he could not take up any other project, a film or even a brand film. 'Citadel Honey Bunny' is the Indian counterpart of the larger global series 'Citadel' which starred Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in the lead. Varun also revealed that he was a little surprised as he thought that there would be very elaborate sets since it's a Prime Video show. However, the actor soon went on field and took to the streets in 'Thane' and 'Bhandup' areas of Mumbai. He shared that he was told this was being done to bring authenticity to the show's narrative. The actor also shared that this is the second time in his career after 'Badlapur' where he is part of a dark narrative. 'Citadel Honey Bunny' also stars Kay Kay Menon. The show drops on Prime Video on November 7. Seoul, Aug 1 : The South Korean Unification Ministry on Thursday unveiled a monument near the inter-Korean border to commemorate North Korean defectors who lost their lives during escapes from the repressive regime. The monument was set up at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, a border city just south of the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas, the ministry said in a release, Yonhap news agency reported. The move came as the government has designated July 14 as the official day for North Korean defectors. The date marks the enactment of the law on protecting North Korean defectors and supporting their settlement, which came into effect on this date in 1997. The ministry held a ceremony to unveil the monument, bringing together Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho; Tae Yong-ho, the Secretary-General for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council; and around 60 North Korean defectors. The monument has the inscription, "To commemorate the 'yearning' and 'courage' of North Korean defectors for freedom, and to honour those who sacrificed their lives during their defection journey." In a speech, Minister Kim emphasised the significance of the establishment of North Korean defectors' day and the monument, expressing his commitment to spreading their noble courage. South Korea has a longstanding policy of accepting any North Korean defectors who wish to live in the South. Currently, South Korea is home to more than 34,000 North Korean defectors. The flow of defectors continues amid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression in North Korea. In the first half of the year, the number of North Korean defectors arriving in South Korea reached 105, slightly up from 99 the previous year. New Delhi, August 1 : Emphasising that India's 'Viksit Bharat 2047' and Vietnam's 'Vision 2045' continue to accelerate development and have opened up many new areas of mutual cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Thursday that both countries have decided to further strengthen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by adopting a "new plan of action". "New steps have been taken for cooperation in the field of defence and security. The Army Software Park built in Nha Trang was inaugurated today. The agreed US$300 million credit line will strengthen Vietnam's maritime security. We have also decided that cooperation will be strengthened on the issues of terrorism and cyber security," PM Modi announced while addressing the media along with Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Both leaders held bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi who also hosted a luncheon in the honour of the visiting high-level delegation from Hanoi, which included several ministers, deputy ministers and business leaders. In his remarks, PM Modi highlighted how the dimensions of relations between New Delhi and Hanoi have expanded and deepened over the last 10 years with the relationship transforming into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "Our bilateral trade has increased by more than 85 per cent. Mutual cooperation has expanded in energy, technology, and development partnership. Mutual cooperation in defence and security areas has gained new momentum. Over the past decade, connectivity has increased. And today we have more than 50 direct flights between the two countries. Along with this, tourism is continuously increasing, and people have also been given the facility of e-visa," said PM Modi. He also mentioned the extensive conservation and restoration work done by the Archaeological Survey of India at the UNESCO heritage site of My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam province of Vietnam. "As we all know, Buddhism is our shared heritage, which has connected the people of both the countries at a spiritual level. We invite people from Vietnam to the Buddhist circuit in India. And we want the youth of Vietnam to also take benefit of the Nalanda University," stated PM Modi. India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Hanoi in 2016. PM Modi has maintained Vietnam's importance as an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship - including defence partnership - besides working for expeditious progress on existing initiatives. "In our Act East policy and our Indo-Pacific vision, Vietnam is our important partner. There is a good agreement between our views about the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We welcome Vietnam's decision to join CDRI," he said on Thursday. Taking several steps to strengthen the relationship, both countries, revealed PM Modi, have reached an agreement between the central banks for digital payment connectivity. "We have decided to focus on the areas of green economy and new emerging technologies. We agree that, to realise the mutual trade potential, the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be concluded as early as possible. Each other's capabilities in energy and port development will be harnessed for mutual benefit. Work will also be done towards connecting the Private Sector, Small and Medium Enterprises and Start-ups of both the countries," commented PM Modi. Earlier in the day, Pham Minh Chinh received a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan and also visited Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Seoul, Aug 1 : North Korea may have sustained huge casualties from the latest downpour in border areas along the Amnok River, South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Thursday, amid a news report that the number of those who died or went missing could reach as high as around 1,500. North Korea's border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Phyongan were pummeled by heavy rains, with more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands left submerged, according to state media. But it did not disclose details about casualties, Yonhap news agency reported. The Unification Ministry said the North may have suffered "considerable" casualties though its material damage from the latest downpours appears to be smaller than those in 2010, 2016 and 2020. Citing satellite imagery, the ministry said the recent torrential rain inundated Wihwa Island of Sinuiju, an island in the Amnok River, and Uiju County, as well as the city of Manpo in Jagang Province. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju County on Sunday and guided an operation to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents. The North's state media said the military successfully saved some 4,200 people by mobilising the Air Force's helicopters. Kim called for "strictly punishing" those who neglected their duties at an emergency politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held in Sinuiju earlier this week. The North replaced the public security minister and chiefs of the WPK's provincial committees. It marked the first time that North Korea has convened such an emergency politburo meeting solely on flood damage, according to the Unification Ministry. Asked if the government is considering providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea, a ministry official told reporters that he has nothing to say at the current stage. New Delhi, Aug 1 : Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi arrived in Wayanad's Chooramala, one of the worst hit regions by the catastrophic landslides, on Thursday. Congress leaders, aided by rescue teams and paramilitary forces, are visiting multiple locations of the landslide-hit region to take stock of the damages and devastation. Chooramala, a small town near Meppadi of Wayanad is an idyllic and picturesque location with tea plantations on one side and a river on the other side, but it turned into a valley of death and destruction after landslides hit it hard on July 30. Rahul and Priyanka will also visit three relief camps in Meppadi and meet the affected families. They are expected to extend a "healing touch" to the victims and also express solidarity with them, in such times of difficulty and despair. They will visit three relief camps operating at Govt Higher Secondary School, St Joseph UP School, and Dr Moopen's Medical College in Wayanad's Meppadi. Notably, Rahul and Priyanka were scheduled to visit Wayanad on Wednesday but their schedule was put off because of adverse weather situations and incessant rains. "Priyanka and I were scheduled to visit Wayanad to meet with families affected by the landslide and take stock of the situation. However, due to incessant rains and adverse weather conditions, we have been informed by authorities that we will not be able to land," Rahul wrote on X earlier. Notably, Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he got elected from both Rae Bareli and Wayanad constituencies but he chose the former over the latter. Priyanka Gandhi is likely to contest polls from Wayanad, whenever elections happen. Seoul, Aug 1 : South Korea's top military officer held video talks with his new Australian counterpart on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral security cooperation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and Adm. David Johnston, Australia's new chief of the defence force, assessed the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and discussed ways for military cooperation, according to the JCS, Yonhap news agency reported. The two sides agreed to the need to expand combined exercises and personnel exchanges, noting their bilateral ties as "comprehensive strategic partners" and as countries that pursue a "rules-based security order," it said. Kim also thanked Johnston for Australia's participation in operations to monitor North Korea's violations of UN Security Council resolutions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, such as illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods. The talks took place at Australia's request as part of the country's efforts to strengthen cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the JCS. Kolkata, Aug 1 : With the BJP continuing to boycott his speech in the Assembly for his recent comment at a public event that there is a "need to spread Islam among non-Muslims", Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Thursday that he has always been secular with no intention to hurt anyone. Kolkata, Aug 1 (IANS) With the BJP continuing to boycott his speech in the Assembly for his recent comment at a public event that there is a "need to spread Islam among non-Muslims", Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Thursday that he has always been secular with no intention to hurt anyone. He made the statement on the floor of the House referring to his July 3 speech made at a community gathering where he reportedly said, "Those who are not born in Islam are unfortunate... We have to bring them under the fold of Islam." The remark has drawn sharp reactions from the BJP legislators, who have boycotted Hakim's speech in the Assembly demanding he withdraw his controversial "spreading of Islam" statement. On Thursday, Speaker Biman Bandopadhay asked Hakim to explain his stand to end the continuing impasse over the issue. The Speaker also requested the BJP legislators to remain present in the House and listen to the Minister's explanation. Claiming that whatever he said at the gathering was misinterpreted, Hakim said, "Do any of you consider me as a non-secular person? I have always adopted the secular path. There is no point in creating an uproar over what I said at a religious programme." Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari stopped him midway and said that no one had any objection to Hakim attending a religious gathering. "However, he was invited there as a state Minister and also as the Kolkata Mayor. We also attend different religious functions. It is quite natural that when you attend a religious programme of a particular community, you will praise that religion. But it is not fair to invite people from other religions to join yours," Adhikari said. Hakim replied that he was invited to the religious gathering since he belonged to that religion. "Although I am a Muslim by faith, I participate in festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja. I think there is no need to create a controversy over the issue. I had no intention to hurt anyone," the Minister said. Bengaluru, Aug 1 : The Karnataka government on Thursday launched a comprehensive Cyber Security Policy 2024 to combat rising levels of cyber-crimes and promote awareness to protect the state's digital infrastructure. The policy has been collaboratively drafted by the Department of Electronics, IT, BT and Science and Technology, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), and the Home Department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders from both the government and private sectors. The policy was also reviewed by the Indian Institute of Science, which is the anchor institute for the stateas K-tech Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security (CYSECK). Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge said, "The Government of Karnataka, recognising the rising importance of cybersecurity, has meticulously crafted this policy to establish a resilient and secure cyberspace for our citizens and enterprises." He emphasized that the policy, aligned with national and international efforts highlights Karnatakaas proactive stance in addressing cyber threats. He expressed confidence that its implementation would significantly protect the stateas digital infrastructure. "It will also foster innovation and growth within the cybersecurity sector, ensuring that Karnataka remains at the forefront of technological advancement and becomes the leading cybersecurity hub of the country," he added. The policy aims to build a dynamic, secure, and resilient cyberspace for all G2G, G2B, and G2C services of the Government of Karnataka. "Beyond establishing a secure cyber ecosystem, the policy aims to create an assurance framework, strengthen the regulatory framework, quickly respond to security threats, protect critical information, reduce supply chain risks, and develop human resources," Priyank Kharge said. He also launched a skilling programme by network giant CISCO. Kharge said, "This partnership with CISCO is a testament to our commitment to fostering a secure digital environment. By training 40,000 individuals, with a special emphasis on empowering women, we are not only addressing the skills gap but also promoting inclusivity in the tech sector." This policy has two parts: The first part focuses on building a strong cybersecurity ecosystem across all segments of society, including the public, academia, industry, startups and the government. The second part of the policy focuses on strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the stateas IT assets. Whilst the first part will be in the public domain, the second part will be internal to the stateas IT teams and departments for their implementations. The total financial outflow for the implementation of the Cyber Security Policy for five years is about Rs103.87 crore, which would be met from the budgetary allocation of the Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology. Out of this, Rs 23.74 crore would go towards providing incentives and concessions. Guwahati, Aug 1 : Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on Thursday asserted that the state government will promote digital classes in the schools along with physical teaching. He said the Education Department's digital attendance system will be utilised to bring down the school dropout rate. The schools in Assam re-opened on Thursday after the summer vacation that lasted for a month. Pegu interacted virtually with the teachers of at least 7,779 schools. He said, "As the academic session for this year resumed after a gap of one month, I addressed the teachers through virtual mode. I wish them good luck for the upcoming days." The minister mentioned that the Education Department has been working to promote digital education in schools. "We have decided to give thrust on imparting teaching through digital mode. The majority of schools in Assam are equipped with smart classrooms along with seamless internet connectivity," he added. Meanwhile, Pegu also said that the state government has been considering bringing down the school dropout ratio. "We have installed a digital attendance system for students and teachers in the schools. Students' attendance is being strictly monitored and necessary steps will be taken to increase the turnout. Once the attendance can be increased, the school dropout rates will automatically come down," the education minister said. Seoul, Aug 1 : South Korea on Thursday proposed providing humanitarian aid to North Korea over damage from the recent downpours in its northern border areas along the Amnok River, as the North is believed to have sustained huge casualties. South Korea's Unification Ministry said it is willing to urgently support the North Korean flood victims with the necessary supplies from a humanitarian and fraternal perspective through the Korean Red Cross, Yonhap news agency reported. "We are ready to discuss the items, scale and method of support with the North Korean counterpart. We expect North Korea's swift response," said Park Jong-sul, secretary general of the Korean Red Cross, expressing his "deep sympathy" for the victims. North Korea's border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Pyongan were pummeled by heavy rain, with more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland left submerged, according to the North's state media. The North did not disclose details about casualties, but the unification ministry said North Korea may have sustained "considerable" casualties amid a news report that the number of those who died or went missing probably exceeded around 1,000. The latest aid proposal came despite heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's continued provocative acts and its increased animosity toward South Korea. The government has said it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea regardless of the political and security situation on the peninsula. However, it remains uncertain whether North Korea would accept the aid proposal. The unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, noted that it marked the government's first proposal for flood damage relief to the North since 2012. At that time, North Korea rejected the offer. "(If Pyongyang accepts the offer) we will discuss the items and scale of support with the North. The supplies of food and medicine for the displaced will be prioritized," said a ministry official on the condition of anonymity. The latest offer marked the second proposal on humanitarian aid under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the official said. The ministry proposed having working-level contact with North Korea in May 2022 over COVID-19 quarantine supplies. The official said the government is ready to discuss details through various methods, including face-to-face meetings or coordinating through a third country. The government chose to use the press to deliver its intent for aid, as North Korea has remained unresponsive to the inter-Korean liaison communication channel since April last year. North Korea is vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure, with heavy rains, in particular, displacing thousands of people in the impoverished country. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju County on Sunday and guided an operation to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents. Earlier this week, the country convened a rare emergency politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea to discuss ways to cope with the flood damage. Thailands National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has reportedly changed its strategy for allocating two unsold satellite orbital slots after last weeks auction failed to attract any bids. According to the Bangkok Post, the NBTC board voted unanimously to sell the orbital slot packages of 50.5 East and 142 E via a beauty contest method instead, under which participants can set their own bidding details and name their price. NBTC commissioner Sompop Purivigraipong said top priority will be given to proposals that mainly focus in helping Thailand keep the rights to the orbital slots, the report said. The rights to the 50.5 E slot will expire early next year, while the 142 E slot will expire in 2027. Thailand which considers the orbital slots to be national assets will have to surrender them to the International Telecommunication Union if it cant get anyone to purchase them before then. The NBTC has been trying to find someone to buy the slots since at least January 2023, when it held an auction for five sets of orbital slots. Thaicom affiliate Space Tech Innovation paid THB797 million (US$22.1 million) for two sets (78.5 E and 119.5 E/120 E), and state telco National Telecom (NT) paid THB9.07 million for the 126 E slot. However, the slots for 50.5 E and 142 E went unsold. The NBTC hoped to sell the slots in an auction this month. However, the bid deadline of July 23 came and went with no submissions. The Post reports that Prompt Technology and Thaicom subsidiary TC Space picked up bid envelopes, but neither firm ultimately followed through. The result was largely expected by industry watchers. At an NBTC focus group meeting in April 2023 to discuss how best to allocate the two slots, satellite players said they would prefer any method except an auction. Sompop said the NBTC board aims to have the criteria for the beauty contest finalised in the next couple of weeks, while the contest is slated to take place sometime in September. If the beauty contest also flops, the NBTCs remaining option is to take ownership of the slots itself, the report said. Sompop said the NBTC office will conduct a feasibility study on this and submit it to the board within two weeks, although he added, "It is unclear whether the NBTC can act as an operator to reserve the rights to use the orbital slots by renting a satellite and drag it into the 50.5 E location before the expiry date. As a safety net, the NBTC will also seeks extensions from the ITU to keep hold of the slots until it can sell off the packages, the report said. New Delhi, Aug 1 : Young women are at an increased risk of recurrence of uterine fibroids majorly due to lifestyle habits and genetics, said experts on Thursday. Uterine fibroids are benign tumours of the uterus that frequently occur in women during their childbearing years. They are usually not malignant; however, they cause many problems, such as pain, heavy menses, and sometimes even infertility. While myomectomy surgically removes fibroids by preserving the uterus, the fibroids tend to recur. "In India, around 15-33 per cent of fibroids recur after myomectomy. There are many reasons for the recurrence of fibroids but importantly the main reasons are: genetic tendency and lifestyle habits," Ila Jalote - Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Manipal Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS "Uterine fibroids are becoming a major gynaecological concern. Although the precise cause of uterine fibroids is still unknown, the factors that are frequently associated with the condition include genetics and certain lifestyle factors," added Madhuri Vidyashankar P, Consultant Gynaecologist, Hysteroscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeon, Motherhood Hospitals, Bengaluru. The actual causes of fibroids remain unknown; however, several studies suggest a combination of factors. Fibroid growth is induced by hormones like oestrogen, which stimulate lining growth in the uterus. Genetics also plays a role since those whose families have had previous cases of fibroid development stand at higher risk. Other things that increase oneas chances of having this disease include the early onset of menstruation, obesity, and a lack of vitamin D. "The symptoms of fibroids depend on their size, number, and position. Some women never experience any symptoms at all, while others can go through a lot of discomfort, like excessive menstrual bleeding, pain or pressure in the pelvis, frequent urination, difficulties during defecation, painful sexual intercourse," Jalote said. Fibroids can also impact conception and pregnancy. Depending on their size and location, they physically block fallopian tubes, preventing sperm from reaching the egg or a fertilised egg from implanting in the uterus, the doctor said. Fibroids can also increase the risk of miscarriage, especially in the first trimester, and also affect the baby by leading to preterm labour and breech position (feet or buttocks first). "Fibroids can interfere with placental development or cause the placenta to detach from the uterine wall (placental abruption), both of which can be dangerous for the baby," Jalote said. Vidyashankar said that uterine fibroids can occasionally present without any symptoms, which makes them very harmful to reproductive health if not identified early on. "At least 50 per cent of fibroids are thought to be asymptomatic, however, this number is probably underestimated because it is based on women whose fibroids are unintentionally discovered during pelvic exams, ultrasounds, or cervical screenings," the doctor said emphasising the need for early screening and annual physical examinations. New Delhi, Aug 1 : The Supreme Court on Thursday suggested the application of the "creamy layer" principle to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for availing benefits of affirmative action. A 7-judge Constitution Bench was dealing with the question of whether a sub-classification amongst reserved category groups for giving more beneficial treatment would be permissible under the Constitution. In a 6:1 decision, the majority overturned its 2004 judgement, which had ruled against giving preferential treatment to certain sub-castes within scheduled castes (SCs). However, the apex court clarified that while providing for sub-classification, the government would not be entitled to reserve 100 per cent seats available for SCs in favour of a particular sub-class to the exclusion of other castes in the List. In his detailed opinion, Justice B.R. Gavai said: "When the 9-Judge Bench in Indra Sawhney held that applicability of such a test (creamy layer test) insofar as Other Backward Classes are concerned would advance equality as enshrined in the Constitution, then why such a test should not also be made applicable to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe." "Can a child of IAS/IPS or Civil Service officers be equated with a child of a disadvantaged member belonging to Scheduled Castes, studying in a Gram Panchayat/Zilla Parishad school in a village?" he asked. Justice Gavai said putting the children of the parents from the SCs and STs who, on account of the benefit of reservation, have reached a high position and ceased to be socially, economically and educationally backward and the children of parents doing manual work in the villages in the same category would defeat the constitutional mandate. He said that if a person after availing the benefit of reservation achieved a position of a peon or maybe a sweeper, he would continue to belong to a socially, economically and educationally backward class, however, the people, who, after having availed the benefits of reservation, have reached the high echelons in life cannot be considered to be socially, economically and educationally backward, so as to continue availing the benefit of affirmative action. "They (the latter ones) have already reached a stage where on their own accord they should walk out of the special provisions and give way to the deserving and needy," he opined. Justice Gavai's opinion, supported by Justices Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, and Satish Chandra Sharma, stressed that the government must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even from the SCs and STs so as to exclude them from the benefit of affirmative action. "In my view, only this and this alone can achieve the real equality as enshrined under the Constitution," he said. On similar lines, Justice Nath said: "The criteria for exclusion of creamy layer for the purpose of affirmative action could be different from the criteria as applicable to the Other Backward Classes." Justice Mithal suggested limiting reservation to one generation only, saying periodical exercise has to be undertaken to exclude the class of person who after taking advantage of reservation has come to march, shoulder to shoulder with the general category. "The reservation, if any, has to be limited only for the first generation or one generation and if any generation in the family has taken advantage of the reservation and has achieved higher status, the benefit of reservation would not be logically available to the second generation." Similarly, Justice Sharma said for the full realisation of substantive equality, the identification of the "creamy layer" qua SCs and STs ought to become a "constitutional imperative". In 2004, a 5-judge Constitution Bench in E.V. Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case had held that the members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) form homogeneous groups incapable of further regrouping or classification. The Chinnaiah judgement had said that to re-group the Scheduled Castes specified in the Presidential Notification issued under Article 341 of the Constitution would be tantamount to discrimination in reverse and would attract the wrath of Article 14 of the Constitution. In 2020, a 5-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra (now retired) opined that the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling is required to be revisited by a larger Bench saying that the benefit of reservation is not percolating down to the neediest and poorest of the poor. Thereafter, reference was made to a 7-judge to decide an appeal filed by the Punjab government against the ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashing the 2006 Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act providing afirst preferencea to Balmikis and Mazbhi Sikh castes under the SC quota. --IANS pds/vd Bengaluru, Aug 1 : The BJP announced on Thursday that the JD(S) would take part in the joint padyatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru seeking resignation of CM Siddaramaiah over allegations of corruption. JD(S) Karnataka President and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy will inaugurate the padyatra along with former CM, BS Yediyurappa. The declaration was made at a joint press conference in New Delhi by the Karnataka in-charge Radhamohan Das, state BJP President BY Vijayendra and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi. Vijayendra stated that the BJP and JD(S) will jointly take up the agitation and take the matter to the logical conclusion. He said the differences between the two parties had been sorted out and on Saturday at 8.30 A.M. the padyatra will begin from Bengaluru and all MPs, MLAs, party workers of BJP and JD(S) will take part. Radhamohan Das alleged that the Karnataka government had indulged in a Rs 4,000 crore scam and also gobbled money belonging to Dalits in the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board case. "We, as an Opposition, comprising both BJP and the JD(S) have decided to take up the padyatra. The regional leaders will lead the agitation," he stated. When asked about Kumaraswamy raising objection to the presence of BJP General Secretary Preetham Gowda, he stated that the BJP does not give importance to individuals, it's always about the organisation. "We have come to a consensus, if you want more clarity, Kumaraswamy can be approached and he will convey that all differences have been sorted out," Radhamohan Das stated. When asked whether any national leaders were taking part, Radhamohan Das maintained, no national leader was taking part and the state leaders would fight it out. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi stated, the BJP and JD(S) will take out the padyatra as decided from August 3 as the communication gaps between BJP and JD(S) had been set right. "We have spoken about it and the issue is fixed. Everything is sorted out. The leaders of both parties will take part in the padyatra," Joshi stated. Just a few hours ago, Joshi, Vijayendra and Das had met Kumaraswamy in a bid to pacify him. HD Kumaraswamy had lashed out at the BJP and declared that his party, the JD(S) would not take part in the August 3 foot march to Mysuru and not even extend moral support. According to sources, the BJP leaders held a meeting with Kumaraswamy at his office in New Delhi seeking his support for the padyatra by resolving their mutual issues. JD(S) leaders Bandeppa Kashempur and JD(S) MP Mallesh Babu were also present in the meeting. Earlier, Kumaraswamy expressed strong resentment over the BJP's decision to include former MLA from Hassan, Preetham Gowda in its foot march. Kumaraswamy lashed out saying it was impossible for him to share the dais with Preetham Gowda who had distributed pen drives in connection with the sex video case involving Prajwal Revanna. Union Minister Kumaraswamy's nephew Prajwal Revanna is the main accused in the sex videos case and he is presently in jail. Expressing strong outrage over the call to include Preetham Gowda in the BJP's foot march, Kumaraswamy questioned, "Is it possible to share a platform with someone who has poisoned former PM HD Deve Gowda's (his father) family? "Are you inviting someone like Preetham Gowda, who is intent on destroying Deve Gowda's family, to the meeting which I am attending?" He expressed disappointment, saying, "I am saddened by this matter. Why should we support the foot march? Who is this Preetham Gowda? We know who distributed pen drives on the streets of Hassan. This person has poisoned Deve Gowda's family. How can we share a platform with such a person?" Mumbai, Aug 1 : Bollywood star Varun Dhawan has revealed that his father and director David Dhawan didn't like what the actor became after doing 'Badlapur'. On Thursday, Varun attended the special teaser launch event of his upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' at the Mehboob Studios in the Bandra west area of Mumbai, along with his co-star Samantha Ruth Prabhu, the show creators Raj & DK and the music director duo Sachin-Jigar. Varun interacted with the media stationed at the venue, and shared that his character in the revenge drama 'Badlapur', in which he was pitted against Nawazuddin Siddiqui, took a toll on him and bled into his personal life. The actor revealed that he started behaving differently during the making of 'Badlapur' and the character triggered a change in his personality. Varun then shared that his role in 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' is also in a dark space but is not as disturbing as it was in 'Badlapur'. What's interesting is that David was all praise for Varun and how he handled his character during the making of the show. 'Badlapur' is a neo-noir action thriller film directed by Sriram Raghavan of 'Andhadhun' fame. The film was based on the novel 'Death's Dark Abyss' by Italian writer Massimo Carlotto. It also stars Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Vinay Pathak, Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta and Radhika Apte. Elsewhere during the event, Varun also revealed that his upcoming spy action streaming show 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' has a one take action sequence which lasts for 12 minutes. 'Citadel: Honey Bunny', which is the Indian counterpart of the global streaming series 'Citadel', features many exhilarating moments and action sequences, of which the one with a runtime of 12 minutes, stands out. Varun also lauded Samantha for her dedication towards the series and pulling off action sequences despite battling her medical condition. He said Samantha's physical training for the show outdid his preparations. The actor told the media, "She has inspired me, the creators, and put up a terrific show." New Delhi, Aug 1 : A Japanese parliamentary and business delegation led by Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of House of Representatives of Japan, met External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar in New Delhi as both countries continue to further strengthen their growing partnership. "Engaging discussion on enhancing India-Japan partnership in business, investments, education and technology. Expanding contacts in research, manufacturing and human talent and skill base will advance our cooperation," Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting. During the meeting, the EAM also spoke on the shared imperative of building trusted, resilient and reliable supply chains, especially in the field of digital and critical and emerging technologies. Earlier this week, during his visit to Tokyo for the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting, Jaishankar had emphasised on increase Japanese investments rapidly. "There are 1,400 Japanese businesses operating in India. We would like to see that number grow. And we have an investment target of 5 trillion yen, that is $42 billion by 2027. In India, I must tell you that Japan has long been associated with economic and technology advancement. It is not just the example of Japanese progress itself, but it is also reflected in the history of our collaboration," the EAM said in his remarks at the Japan National Press Club. He had highlighted that it is also "very much in Japan's own interest" to accelerate the emergence of resilient and reliable supply chains, as well as transparent and trusted digital collaboration. The EAM had also mentioned that the full potential of India-Japan relations is still to be realised, especially in the light of the changing global scenario. "We believe that both Japan and our relationship will be well served through greater utilization of skilled Indian professionals in the Japanese economy," he stated. Hyderabad, Aug 1 : Adani Logistics, O9 Solutions, Dr Reddy's Labs, State Bank of India (SBI), National Academy of Construction (NAC), Retailers Association of India, and Telangana VFX, Animation and Gaming Association will be the industry partners for Telangana's Skill University, the state Assembly was informed on Thursday. The Assembly passed the Young India Skill University Telangana (Public-Private Partnership) Bill, 2024, setting the stage for setting up of the institution which will equip students with skills to meet the industry demand. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced that the partner companies will design curriculum, train students in their respective sectors and provide jobs. The university, which will start functioning from a temporary campus at the Engineering Staff College of India, will give admission to 2,000 students for the academic year 2024-25. To begin with, it will offer courses in six verticals in partnership with industries. For the School of Pharma and Life Sciences, the industrial partner will be Dr Reddy's Labs. School of E-commerce and Logistics will be established in partnership with Adani Logistics and O9 Solutions. The State Bank of India (SBI) and Physics Wallah will be partners for the School of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI). The National Academy of Construction (NAC) has come forward for the School of Construction and Interiors. The School of Retail Operations and Management will be operated in partnership with the Retailers Association of India. For the School of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics, Telangana VFX, Animation and Gaming Association will be the partner. Replying to the debate on the Bill, the Chief Minister said he would be laying the foundation stone for the permanent campus of the university at Net Zero City at Mucherla on the outskirts of Hyderabad later on Thursday. To come up in a public-private partnership, the university will focus on delivering comprehensive skill training and job opportunities to students. Assuring that it will not charge like the Indian School of Business (ISB) or corporate universities, he said the average annual fee for the courses will be Rs 50,000. "If necessary, the government will reimburse the fee of SC, ST, OCBC, and minority students," he said. Earlier, Industry and Information Technology Minister D. Sridhar Babu said the Skill University would help create skilled human resources and thus enable the state to attract new industries and investors from all over the world. The minister said 17 verticals have been identified for starting courses - Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence & Information Sciences, Tourism & Hospitality, Automotive & Electric Vehicles, Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Animation & Visual Effects, Gaming & Comics, Construction and Interiors, Advanced Manufacturing, Retail Operations & Management, E-commerce & Logistics, Renewable Energy, Food Processing & Agriculture, Beauty & Wellness, Media, Gaming & Films, and Electronics & Semiconductor and Digital Designs. From the academic year 2025-26, the intake will be increased to 10,000. The university will offer degree, undergraduate, PG, diploma, certificate courses, and executive programmes. While focusing on the requirements of Telangana, Skill University will prepare students for the national and international market. It will also have a career development centre and will impart soft skills, communication, social awareness, and digital and financial literacy. While reiterating the government's commitment to fill 2 lakh vacancies in government departments, the minister said the government can't provide jobs to all the unemployed. Stating that there are over 20 lakh unemployed youth in the state, he said the Skill University would fill the skill gap to make them job-ready to meet the requirements of the industry. "This will be a win-win situation for both students and industry," he said. He said the government prepared the plan for the Skill University after holding a series of discussions with industrialists, vice-chancellors, principals of colleges, and students. He said 50 per cent of all courses will have a practical component. Industrial apprenticeship will also be part of the courses. The courses will be in tune with the framework of the University Grants Commission and the National Council for Vocational Education and Training. It will also be in line with National Education Policy 2020. The university will be modelled on the lines of IIIT Hyderabad, Skill and Entrepreneurship University, Delhi, and Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Haryana. The PPP project will be in the line with IIIT Hyderabad framework. He said the educational systems of Germany, China, South Korea, and Singapore were also analysed. These countries have linked vocational education with their traditional education system in tune with industrial demand. Bengaluru, Aug 1 : Union Minister of State (MoS) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday asked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to tender his resignation and face investigation on charges of "corruption" and "misuse" of power. Bengaluru, Aug 1 (IANS) Union Minister of State (MoS) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday asked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to tender his resignation and face investigation on charges of "corruption" and "misuse" of power. "The Congress government had previously issued a notice to former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa through the Governor. Today, the Karnataka Cabinet has decided against the Governor. The state government is acting against the law and the Constitution," Shobha told media persons. She said that if Siddaramaiah is not guilty then why is he afraid? "You should resign and face the investigation. If you are innocent, then you will return to power. You must respond to the Governor's notice. Siddaramaiah is an accused now. Instead, there is a conspiracy against the Governor," the MoS said A private complaint has been filed against Siddaramaiah in relation to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allocations. She said that Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot requested a report from the Chief Secretary on Wednesday, adding that another report had also previously been submitted to the Governor. "However, the Karnataka Cabinet has decided to press for the withdrawal of the Governor's notice related to the MUDA case and pursue legal action," Shobha stated. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka also said that the Congress government is "fearful" over the Governor's notice. "The complaint was not filed by the BJP or JD-S but a social activist. There is a provision for a citizen to question the loot of the state exchequer. Under that provision, the complaint has been lodged. Siddaramaiah has agreed on the floor of the House that not Rs 178 crore but Rs 89 crore have been misappropriated. In MUDA case, he agrees to have received sites but maintains that it is legal," the LoP said. He said that the violations of law in the case have come out and the Governor has initiated steps in a democratic manner. "The exclusion of Siddaramaiah from the Cabinet meeting held today proves that he indulged in wrongdoings," the LoP said. Hyderabad, Aug 1 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday said that he considers women MLAs his sisters, a day after his remarks about two BRS MLAs triggered chaos in the Assembly. Speaking in the Assembly, he lashed out at the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), saying the party is "using" sisters to play politics and stall the proceedings of the House. He was reacting to the protest by BRS MLAs who earlier staged a walk-out and held a sit-in outside his chambers in Assembly premises, demanding his apology over allegedly insulting remarks made against BRS women MLAs P. Sabitha Indra Reddy and V. Sunita Lakshma Reddy. Denying that he made any insulting remarks, the Chief Minister said he considers them his sisters. He clarified that he only said a sister left Congress after inviting him to the party and joined BRS for a ministerial berth. "For the other sister, I campaigned and two cases registered against me are still pending in the court," he said. He appealed to Sabita Indra Reddy and Sunita Lakshma Reddy to not fall into the trap of BRS Targeting BRS working president K. T Rama Rao, he remarked, "I will not roam around doing politics if my sister is in jail." The opposition leader went to New Delhi and entered a secret deal despite his own sister being in Tihar Jail, he said. He alleged that after Wednesday's proceedings in the House, BRS supporters posted memes on social media insulting Tribal Minister Seethakka. He alleged that BRS leader and former chief minister KCR is not coming to the Assembly as he does not want to sit in front of the Speaker who is a Dalit. CM Revanth Reddy said it was Congress that gave political life to KCR, and Harish Rao also became a minister because of the Congress party. "The opposition creates a ruckus in the House when they are given mikes. They stage protests before the podium when they are denied opportunity, he said. BRS leaders focused only on political gains and neglected people's issues in the House, he claimed. The BRS leaders obstructed the House from debating the farm loan waiver scheme by using women MLAs as puppets. He alleged that the main opposition does not want to discuss Skill University. Seoul, Aug 1 : South Korea expresses "deep concern" over the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East and urges all parties to exercise restraint and seek diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "Our government expresses deep concern over the recent sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East," ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a commentary, Yonhap news agency reported. "We strongly urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint and hope that diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, including ceasefire and negotiations on the release of hostages, will continue without interruption," he said. Tensions have heightened in the already devastated region in the wake of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of the Hamas militant group who had been leading the negotiations on pausing the conflict with Israel. His death has dampened the prospects for the negotiations on ending the war, as Iran has claimed Israel's responsibility for the killing and threatened to retaliate. Fears of a wider regional clash have also gripped the Middle East following Saturday's rocket attack on a town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children. Israel has accused Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of being behind the attack. New Delhi, Aug 1 : As many as 5,162 projects amounting to Rs 91,143 crore have been taken up under the Smart City Mission in the country, of which 4,548 projects worth Rs 76,735 crore (84 per cent of total projects) have been completed, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. "Under the Smart City Mission, 100 cities have been selected, of which 66 cities have a population of less than 10 lakh. This includes 12 cities having less than 1 lakh population, 33 cities having a population between 1-5 lakh and 21 cities with a population between 5-10 lakh (as per Census 2011). An amount of Rs 29,693 crore of central assistance has been released to these 66 cities," the minister explained. The Ministry also assists states and Union Territories through its Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0). Central assistance is sanctioned to states and Union Territories and not to cities. The schemes are implemented by the States/UTs in accordance with the Mission/Scheme guidelines, the minister further stated. The minister also provided detailed data on the central assistance allocated and released to all the states and Union Territories under AMRUT 2.0 and SBM-U 2.0. As per the provisions of the Constitution, matters relating to urban development fall within the purview of states and Urban Local Bodies. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides programmatic support to the states/Union Territories (UTs) in their urban development agenda through its flagship programmes, he added. Malaysian telco CelcomDigi officially submitted its proposal to build Malaysias second 5G network on Wednesday, while rival telco U Mobile has signed more MoUs including a new financing deal geared towards making its own case to be the new 5G operator. CelcomDigi said it has submitted its proposal for the deployment of Malaysias second 5G network to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), claiming it's in the best position to deliver the most affordable, fast, and efficient rollout of the new 5G network. Among its qualifications, CelcomDigi said it operates the widest 4G network in the country (with 18,000 sites) thats also 5G-ready, and also has the biggest network of tower and infrastructure companies to facilitate expedient deployment. CelcomDigi also noted that over two-thirds of its network will be modernised by the end of this year. Then theres CelcomDigis service portfolio, which includes digital solutions increasingly powered by AI via its recently launched CelcomDigi AI Experience Centre (AiX) collaboration hub. CelcomDigi also touted its ecosystem of global and local technology partners, and the global expertise of its shareholders Axiata and Telenor to drive rapid innovation of new emerging technology solutions for consumers and enterprises. We have an opportunity to capitalise and build on the existing solid infrastructure, financial strength and robust ecosystem that we have invested in, said CelcomDigi CEO Idham Nawawi in a statement. CelcomDigi isnt the only one angling to lead construction of the second 5G network. Maxis and U Mobile have also stated their intentions to be part of the action, although U Mobile has been the most aggressive in terms of publicly signing deals in preparation for it. U Mobile gets 5G financing and more On Wednesday, U Mobile said it has signed an MoU with AmBank Group, who will provide financing solutions to cover the cost of rolling out the second 5G network. We appreciate their commitment in providing us with the financial solutions to accelerate the deployment of the second 5G network in Malaysia," said U Mobile CFO Sandy Tsang, who added the deal would further strengthen U Mobiles ability to implement the network cost-effectively and efficiently. The AmBank Group deal is one of several U Mobile has signed in the past month to position itself as a contender for the second network. Earlier this week, U Mobile signed an MoU with Time dotCom to develop customised backhaul solutions using Times fibre backhaul network to support U Mobiles 5G deployment strategy and technical requirements. Last Friday, U Mobile announced it had formed strategic partnerships with eight state-backed network facility provider companies (SBCs) from the PPIT Consortium (AKA Persatuan Penyedia Infrastruktur Telekomunikasi Malaysia) to streamline the 5G rollout process by collaborating on knowledge sharing and provision of access to tower structures, space, power and expedited site implementations. Under that deal, U Mobile and the eight SBCs which include D Harmoni Telco Infra, Konsortium Jaringan Selangor, Perlis Comm, Infra Quest, Sacofa, Desabina Industries, PDC Telecommunication Services and PINS Network Solutions will also establish cost-efficient commercial models for various infrastructure requirements including built-to-suit sites, co-locations and site upgrades, with the goal of establishing a competitive and sustainable offering between U Mobile and PPIT Consortium. U Mobile has also signed tower-related MoUs with PPIT Consortium member EdgePoint Towers and Edotco (whose subsidiary Yiked Bina is also a consortium member) to further its 5G ambitions. While both CelcomDigi and U Mobile are keen to be the new 5G player, theyre also 5G collaborators. The two operators signed an MoU at Mobile World Congress 2024 in February to collaborate on developing use cases for 5G-Advanced as part of a broader agreement to share 100 multi-operator core network sites across Malaysia. CelcomDigi and U Mobile also signed a separate deal with ZTE at the event to demonstrate the capabilities of 5G-A, AI and digital solutions for real-time live broadcasting. On Tuesday, the three companies announced they will run a live TV broadcast using 5G-A during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Sukma Games on August 17. Decision by the end of this year The Malaysian government has been planning to launch a second 5G wholesale network to compete with existing 5G operator DNB since May 2023. U Mobile and CelcomDigi (via subsidiary Infranation) completed a deal to buy stakes in DNB via share subscription agreements (SSAs) in June, along with Maxis and YTL, while Telekom Malaysias SSA is expected to finalised this month. The SSAs come with an option that allows each telco to sell their DNB stake in order to take a stake in the second 5G network. They are not allowed to own stakes in both. According to The Edge Malaysia, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has said the process of selecting an operator to switch from DNB to the second network should be completed by the end of this year. Jaipur, Aug 1 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Thursday announced assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of three deceased who lost their lives due to drowning in the basement of a house amid heavy rains in Jaipur. The Chief Minister said that Rs 4 lakh each has been sanctioned from the Disaster Relief Funds and Rs 1 lakh each from the Chief Minister Relief Fund. Kamal Shah (23), Puja Saini (19) and Poorvi Saini (6) died in Jaipur in the VKI area due to drowning while they were in the basement area of their house. All the three deceased are from Ara in Bihar. Earlier, the Chief Minister also chaired a meeting on disaster relief which was attended by the Chief Secretary and other senior officers from divisions and districts. Jammu, Aug 1 : Security forces on Thursday recovered arms, ammunition and explosives in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri District. Officials said, "On a specific input received by the security forces, a joint team of the police, Army and BSF launched a search operation in Kalakote area of Rajouri District. "During the searches, a huge cache of arms and ammunition along with explosives was recovered in the area. "The recoveries include one AK-47 Rifle with 2 magazines, one pistol, two hand grenades and other arms and ammunition." Security forces are carrying out cordon and search operations almost daily in the hilly districts of Jammu division like Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur. The all-out operation to eradicate terrorism from Jammu division has become the top priority of the security forces after the militants carried out ambush attacks against the Army in these areas. The Army has already deployed over 4,000 of its elite commando forces and those trained in mountain warfare to eradicate the group of 40-50 foreign mercenaries reportedly operating in these areas. --IANS sq-zi/rad New Delhi, Aug 1 : Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), has highlighted the contribution of mobile phones and digital banking services in India in lifting 800 million people out of poverty. Addressing the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on 'Accelerating progress towards Zero Hunger for the current and future generations' on Tuesday, Francis gave India's example while explaining the change that technology and innovation can bring in the lives of people from developing countries. "India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the last five or six years simply by the use of a smartphone. Rural farmers in India, who never had a relationship with a banking system, are now able to transact all their businesses on their smartphone," Francis, a seasoned diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, told the gathering. "They pay their bills and they receive payments for orders... 800 million people lifted out of poverty because there is a high level of internet penetration in India and almost everyone has a cellphone," he added. The UNGA President then went on to speak on closing the gap between the developed and developing countries of the world with respect to technology and innovation. "The playing field is not levelled. This is, in fact, an important descriptor of the distinction between the Global North and Global South. Rather that gap being closed, we are witnessing it being widened, indicative of the fact that this calls for urgent action on the part of all states to address it," he mentioned. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained its commitment to expanding digital transactions in the Indian economy over the last many years. Digital payment transactions have registered unprecedented growth in India during the past 10 years with the UPI having emerged as the preferred payment mode of the citizens. The increase in digital transactions in India's economy, the government believes, has provided numerous benefits for growth as it promotes financial inclusion, enhances transparency in systems, fosters innovation, and provides valuable data for informed decision-making leading to the strengthening of the economy and driving sustainable growth. Chateauroux, Aug 1 : Shooter Swapnil Kusale added a third medal to India's tally, winning a bronze medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the Paris Olympics here on Thursday. The 28-year-old said he kept his breath in control and did not glance at the leaderboard during his final. Kusale also became the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in the Men's 50m 3 Position event. It was also the third shooting medal in the rifle event after Abhinav Bindra's gold in the 10m air rifle in the Beijing Olympics 2008 and Gagan Narang's bronze in the same event in the London Olympics 2012. Kusale shot a score of 451.4, to finish behind China's Yukun Liu (gold) and Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish (silver). He had ended seventh in the qualification round with a total score of 590. aI feel great. I was a little nervous and my heart is still racing. Ultimately, it's a sport and I'm proud to have brought home a bronze for India," Kusale said after clinching a medal for the country. "I didn't target anything and just focussed solely on my breathing. I was not looking at the leaderboard and sticking to what I'd been practicing for many years. I was also neglecting the leaderboard announcement as I only wanted the Indian fans to make noise. It was making me feel good and I wanted to see them happy," he added. The man from Kolhapur felt short on words to express his feelings about holding the medal in his hands but remained committed to being grounded. aI'm not sure if I'll feel different when I will have the medal in my hands. I definitely feel something inside, but I'm just used to staying grounded," he said. Detailing his mindset in the final, Kusale said he kept things simple and didn't focus on minimum points in any particular event. "In my mind, I wasn't targetting any particular points in each event and was focussing on procedures and kept on doing them. I didn't see anything else and I'm proud of that," he said. About his routine before the final on Thursday, Kusale said he did not have anything to eat. "There were butterflies in my stomach, so I just had black tea (before the final). I love drinking tea but I can't have it so I drank black tea. Every time, before the match, I chant God's name," the Indian shooter added. Imphal, Aug 1 : Manipur Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge after an altercation between violence-hit Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and security forces in Imphal East District on Thursday. Police said that around 100 IDPs from Akampat relief camp organised a protest rally but the security forces stopped it, leading to a heated altercation and then clashes. The IDPs, including women holding placards and banners, organised the rally demanding their rehabilitation at Moreh in Tengnoupal District and a solution to the ethnic violence so that they could return to their homes at the earliest. The protestors said that they were living in relief camps in harsh conditions and demanded that the government ensure security and funds to rebuild their homes. Local people also joined the rally towards the official residence of the Chief Minister and hurled stones at the security forces. Eyewitnesses said that several people among the IDPs were injured in the clashes but the numbers remain unconfirmed. Police officials said that the IDPs did not take permission to hold the rally and they came out on the streets holding placards and shouting slogans. A local journalist who was covering the protest claimed that he was assaulted by police personnel. The rally was organised by the Committee on Protection of Meitei Victims. The IDPs have been sheltered in the Akampat relief camp in Imphal East District since the ethnic violence in Manipur broke out in May last year so far claiming 226 lives, injuring over a thousand and displacing over 70,000 people belonging to Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh told the Assembly on Wednesday that over 59,400 displaced people are currently sheltered in 302 relief camps in the state and 11,133 houses have been burned in the ethnic riot. Shimla, Aug 1 : Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday expressed grief over the natural calamity in the state and prayed for the safety of more than 50 missing people. Reports of loss of life and property due to torrential rains that triggered landslides and flash floods are coming from all over the state. "More than 50 people are missing and many houses have been damaged due to floods." Two died and more than 50 people have been feared missing after five cloudbursts hit Kullu, Shimla and Mandi districts on Thursday. A government spokesperson said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu would visit the Rampur area of Shimla district on Friday to take stock of the damage caused by the cloudburst. Expressing condolences to those who lost their lives during the calamity and prayed for providing strength to the affected families, the former CM said, adding that during this tragedy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stands with the state government. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Chief Minister Sukhu and has assured to provide every support. I have also spoken to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and reviewed the situation and have also informed the Central BJP leadership about the actual situation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured to provide all necessary resources for relief and rescue work. NDRF teams are ready to deal with every situation and are engaged in relief and rescue work," the former CM Thakur said in a statement. He added that the government should identify disaster-prone areas as soon as possible and make proper arrangements for the safety of people living there to minimise loss. He said that he also spoke to Union Health Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda and apprised him about the prevailing situation. BJP President Nadda called upon all the party workers, office-bearers and public representatives at all levels to fully support the state government in relief and rescue operations. The Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur also urged BJP workers to come forward and help all the affected families in every possible way. He advised the residents and tourists to take precautions and avoid unnecessary travel. The former Chief Minister also urged the people in the state to stay away from rivers and streams and help each other in case of emergency. Tehran, Aug 1 : Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has called for an emergency ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in condemnation of the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh. He made the plea in phone calls with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, while stressing that Iran reserved its "inherent and legitimate" right to retaliate the "blatant crime," according to statements released by his ministry. Speaking to Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Bagheri Kani said Israel had seriously jeopardized regional stability and security by crossing several red lines, citing its "terrorist aggression" in assassinating Haniyeh and violating Iran's national security. The strike on Haniyeh, widely attributed to Israel, was not acknowledged or commented upon by the Israeli government. Bagheri Kani stressed that Iran would take a "regret-inducing and decisive action" against Israel to make it "eternally rue its constant insanity," calling for convening an emergency OIC meeting to discuss the "conspicuous Israeli crime." The Saudi foreign minister, for his part, condemned the assassination of Haniyeh and action against Iran's territorial integrity, assessing the region's current circumstances as "critical and dangerous." He highlighted the necessity of de-escalating tensions in the region, welcoming the holding of the OIC meeting, Xinhua news agency reported. In his phone call with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Bagheri Kani urged all regional and Muslim states to take action to counter the "terrorist aggression" by Israel. The Egyptian minister said his country had, in an official statement, condemned the "criminal" move of assassinating Haniyeh, while supporting Iran's initiative for convening an OIC meeting to counter the "terrorist actions." With Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Bagheri Kani said, "Israel martyred a prominent figure of the Muslim world and an indefatigable warrior of the Palestinian resistance." Urging for the OIC meeting, Bagheri Kani called on all regional states to condemn the "heinous Israeli crime" and take "decisive" actions to counter such "terrorist moves." Fidan condemned the "terrorist move," saying TArkiye fully supported Iran's "legitimate and diplomatic" initiative to hold an emergency OIC meeting. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in his phone call with Bagheri Kani, expressed condemnation of the assassination of Haniyeh, and welcomed the immediate holding of an OIC meeting. Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit, according to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which said Israel had carried out the "terrorist attack" and vowed "a harsh and painful response." Jerusalem, Aug 1 : US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, along with British Airways, have temporarily suspended their flights to Israel amid growing tensions in the region, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported on Thursday. Delta said that its flights are suspended through Friday, "due to ongoing conflict in the region," while United did not specify dates. Both airlines, operating flight routes between New York and Tel Aviv, said they are closely monitoring the security situation to determine their next steps, Xinhua news agency reported. Kan also reported that Thursday's early morning flights from Munich to Tel Aviv by German carrier Lufthansa, along with Austrian Airlines' Vienna-Tel Aviv flights, were diverted to Cyprus and Bulgaria. Lufthansa explained in a statement that the diversion was a precautionary measure due to security activity and emphasized that the safety of passengers and crew remains the airline's top priority. Beirut, Aug 1 : Hassan Ghayyad, the owner of a kids' apparel boutique in Marjeyoun, southern Lebanon, has observed a significant drop in customer traffic at his shop lately. "For the first time since October 8 (last year), residents in this area have stopped their purchases entirely for the past few days," Ghayyad told Xinhua news agency. The shop owner attributed the downturn to the heightened tensions between Hezbollah and Israel in recent days. Israel threatened to launch a military operation that will make Hezbollah pay a heavy price after a rocket attack in the Golan Heights killed 12 youngsters and wounded several others. Hezbollah said it had "absolutely nothing to do with the incident" and dismissed the allegations as false, while insisting on responding without restrictions to any Israeli aggression against Lebanon and its resistance. The escalating series of events is casting a pall of tense atmosphere over the southern regions of Lebanon. Ghayyad said most shop owners and commercial establishments in his area have closed their doors, and traffic has decreased significantly. Meanwhile, many families have moved to other regions, for fear of a potential military flare-up. Picnickers and swimmers, once fixtures on southern beaches, have now vanished, and a notable displacement trend has been observed in most towns. Salah Sabrawi, the mayor of Abbasiyeh in the western sector of the border area, told Xinhua, "The situation in southern Lebanon is unstable, and around 5 to 8 percent of the residents were displaced over the past 48 hours due to recent military developments." "We are monitoring the situation before thinking about displacement again, especially since we have adapted to our situation, and it is not easy to experience displacement a second time," Lama Al-Hajj, who was displaced eight months ago from a border village to the southern city of Tyre, told Xinhua. "But if the war expands, we may have to move again." For Hanan Abu Ali, a housewife from the southeast town of Marjeyoun, keeping an eye on the evolving dynamics between Israel and Hezbollah has become a daily ritual. "My family of five and I follow the developments almost continuously through social media. We can no longer differentiate between the correct and fake news, but we are almost certain that the mutual military strikes have become an inevitable reality," she told Xinhua. Jihan Hamdan, 50, from the southeast town of Shebaa, had already packed her bags with some of her family's identification papers and a few summer clothes. "We are baffled and do not know where to go, as danger is everywhere in these difficult times," she said. Echoing Hamdan's sentiment, Nabil Assi, a university student in his twenties, told Xinhua, "We are now facing the unknown. The military strikes can reach most areas, and the war is expanding and may go out of control. We do not know what awaits us, as the future is bleak." Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. Kolkata, Aug 1 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has apprehended an Indian tout instrumental in helping Bangladeshi infiltrators cross over the India-Bangladesh border into the country. The incident was reported from West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district after the BSF drove back a group of 20-25 Bangladeshis from the Indian territory. A BSF trooper also fired one round after the infiltrators attempted to mob him. "This incident took place at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday under the jurisdiction of the Ranghat Border Outpost. There was intelligence input regarding a possible attempt by infiltrators to cross over into India through a riverine stretch that is unfenced. The Commander of the 68 Battalion alerted his troops, which spotted a group of 20-25 people gathering on the bank of the Kodalia River, a natural boundary between India and Bangladesh. "As they attempted to cross the river, the BSF jawans ordered them to retreat. The group did not heed the warning and entered the Indian territory. When one of our jawans rushed forward, the infiltrators - armed with sharp-edged weapons - tried to surround him. "The jawan was then forced to fire a round at the Bangladeshis who fled across the river. When a search was carried out, a man was found hiding on the Indian side of the river. He attempted to escape but was caught," said A.K. Arya, DIG and spokesperson, South Bengal Frontier, BSF. The man was taken to the Ranghat BOP where he confessed that he was waiting there to take charge of the infiltrators and take them further inside the Indian territory from where they could disperse and mingle with the people. The arrested person is a resident of North 24 Parganas. According to Arya, such infiltration attempts are taking place regularly along the international border under the jurisdiction of the South Bengal Frontier of the BSF. Jawans are being mobbed and even attacked with lethal weapons and are forced to retaliate with stun grenades, pump action guns, and even rifles to thwart such efforts. Flag meetings are held with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after every such incident but there seems to be no credible action from their side, the DIG said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to make a decision on the protective status of grizzly bears in the next six months but it is unclear how sweeping it may be. A declaration by a high ranking agency official in a federal lawsuit and a settlement between Idaho and the federal government indicate the agency plans to either revise the current listing of grizzly bears or begin rulemaking to remove them from Endangered-Species-Act protections altogether by Jan. 31. The move will include a tangle of separate but related ESA decisions about grizzlies in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The federal government is reviewing petitions by Wyoming and Montana asking that grizzlies, listed as a threatened species, be stripped of federal protection in specific geographic areas. The Wyoming petition pertains to bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem an area around Yellowstone National Park that is predominantly in the Cowboy State but also includes parts of Montana and Idaho. The Montana petition relates to grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem a vast area in and around Glacier National Park. The federal agency rejected a petition from Idaho that asked it to strip grizzlies of ESA protections across the entire Lower 48 States. But Idaho sued and in a settlement agreement last winter, the federal agency said it would consider both a full, nation-wide delisting of grizzly bears and a presumably narrower revision to the current listing. Idaho argues that grizzly bears are fully recovered and federal protections should be dropped. But the state also contends the Fish and Wildlife Service made a critical error when it listed grizzly bears as endangered in 1975. In that process, the federal government protected grizzlies across the entire Lower 48 states. Idaho says that violates ESA rules and the bears should have been listed in much narrower geographic areas known as distinct population segments. Idaho and neighboring states have worked for more than 40 years in a broad-based effort to support and sustain healthy and reasonable grizzly populations in our states, but legal and bureaucratic gridlock has kept robust populations of grizzly bears unnecessarily under ESA protection. The settlement provides a path to escape regulations that are not necessary in Idaho, Gov. Brad Little said in a news release last winter. Washington, Aug 1 : American journalists Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan are coming home to the United States in a prisoner swap with Russia, according to US media reports. The exchange is said to be taking place at an airfield in Ankara, these reports said citing Turkish officials. There was no official statement or confirmation from the US yet. Gershkovich, the 32-year-old correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested by Russian authorities in March 2023 for espionage. He was convicted last month and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security prison. Whelan, a 54-year-old ex-Marine, was arrested in Russia in 2018 for espionage and was serving a 16-year jail term. --IANS yrj/vd Warsaw, Aug 1 : As Poland commemorates the 80th anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday to attend the ceremony. Steinmeier is the second German president invited to this commemoration in Poland, following Roman Herzog in 1994. Together with Polish President Andrzej Duda, he paid tribute to the victims of the Wola Massacre, the mass murder of civilians in Warsaw's Wola district carried out by German forces from Aug. 5 to Aug. 12, 1944. During the ceremony on Wednesday, Steinmeier asked for forgiveness for German atrocities committed in Poland during World War II, Xinhua news agency reported. The Warsaw Uprising, which began on Aug. 1, 1944, was the largest underground military operation in German-occupied Europe. Approximately 40,000 to 50,000 insurgents fought for over two months, resulting in the deaths of about 18,000 insurgents and up to 180,000 civilians. Following the suppression of the uprising, around 500,000 residents were expelled from the city, and Warsaw was almost entirely destroyed. Abuja, Aug 1 : At least 16 people were killed and 20 others injured after a deadly explosion at a local night market in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno late Wednesday, police said Thursday. The deadly explosion followed the detonation of an improvised explosive device, allegedly by the Boko Haram terror group, at a marketplace in Kawuri, a town in the Kondauga local government area of the state, Yusuf Lawan, the police chief in Borno, told Xinhua news agency by telephone Thursday morning. Lawan said a team of police personnel was immediately deployed to the scene to cordon off the area from further explosions while restoring normalcy. Following the deadly explosion, the police have imposed a 24-hour curfew across the state, said Nahum Daso, a spokesman for the police in Borno, in a separate statement. "The curfew is a measure to prevent further loss of lives and property and to allow security agencies to maintain control and ensure public safety," he said, adding that residents were expected to stay indoors and avoid "any unnecessary movements during the curfew period." Mumbai, Aug 1 : Tata Motors on Thursday reported a 74 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 5,566 crore for the April-June quarter of the current financial year (2024-25), compared to the same period of the previous year, on the back of higher sales of its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 3,203 crore in the April-June quarter last year. Tata Motors' revenue from operations rose 5.7 per cent to Rs 1,07,316 crore during the first quarter from Rs 1,01,528 crore a year ago. Revenue of the companyas UK subsidiary JLR increased by 5.4 per cent during the quarter to 7.3 billion pounds driven by favourable volume, mix and material cost improvements, according to a company statement. The share of JLR models increased to 68 per cent of the total revenue. In the Indian market, Tata Motors commercial vehicle revenues grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 17,800 crore, while EBIT margins improved 2.4 per cent to 8.9 per cent on the back of better realisations and material cost savings, the company said. Passenger vehicle revenues fell 7.7 per cent, reflecting "challenging market conditions", but EBITDA at 5.8 per cent expanded 0.5 per cent, driven by material cost reductions, according to the company statement. Tata Motors also said that the proposed demerger of the company into two separate listed entities is expected to conclude in 12 to 15 months. "In furtherance to the announcement made on March 4, 2024, the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Limited (TML), today, has approved a Composite Scheme of Arrangement amongst TML, TML Commercial Vehicles Limited (TMLCV), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (TMPV) and their respective shareholders," the company said. Pursuant to the scheme, shareholders of TML will receive one share of TMLCV of face value Rs 2 fully paid up for every one fully paid-up share of Rs 2 held in TML of the same class, the company added. Further, the merger of Tata Motors Finance with Tata Capital is also underway and expected to conclude over the course of the next 9 to 12 months, it said. Tata Motors shares are hovering at Rs 1,142.65 on the NSE. Washington, August 1 : US President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed his deepest condolences to those affected by the devastating landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district. "Jill and I extend our deepest condolences to all those affected by the deadly landslides in the state of Kerala in India," the US President said in a statement. "Our prayers are with the victims of this tragic event, and we mourn with the families who have lost loved ones. We commend the bravery of the Indian service members and first responders supporting the complex recovery effort. We will continue to hold the people of India in our thoughts during this difficult time," he added. Back-to-back landslides devastated Wayanad late on Tuesday night, leaving at least 281 dead and over 200 missing with scores of habitations wiped out. The massive rescue operation, involving personnel from all three armed forces, police, disaster relief agencies, and fire services besides locals and volunteers, is currently on at the four worst-affected landslide areas of Wayanad -- Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil, and Pothukalu. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday the army has informed him that there is no chance of any more survivors in the worst-affected areas. A bailey bridge at Churalmala is now ready and will enable big earth-moving equipment to reach the places which have been cut off. "Now the need of the hour is for a proper rehabilitation programme and we have already started working on it. We do have good experience of handling rehabilitation and hence it will be done," the Chief Minister said. More than 8,000 people have been evacuated safely and put up in 82 relief camps. Chennai, Aug 1 : Tamil Nadu unit BJP president K. Annamalai has written a letter to External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, regarding the alleged mid-sea attack by the Sri Lankan Navy on fishermen from Rameswaram on July 31 late night. His letter follows a mid-sea incident near Neduntheevu in which four fishermen from Tamil Nadu were allegedly attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy. In his letter, Annamalai said: "The recent surge in arrests of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy is a matter of grave concern. The tragic incident on July 31, resulting in the death of one of our fishermen and arrest of two others underscores the urgent need for your intervention." The BJP leader in a statement in the letter also said that one among the four fishermen went missing and demanded the intervention of the External Affairs Ministry in the early release of apprehended fishermen. He also requested the Union Minister for deployment of the Indian Coast Guard to find the missing fisherman. It may be recalled that fishermen and their families in Rameswaram conducted a road blockade in protest to the alleged attack by the Sri Lankan Navy in mid-sea leading to the death of one fisherman, Malaisamy. One fisherman, Ramachandran is missing while two others, Muthu Muniyandi and Mookaiya are in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy. Imphal, Aug 1 : Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Thursday said the state government is engaging itself to resolve the ethnic crisis in the state and several rounds of talks were held between influential leaders and various stakeholders. Biren Singh, who also holds the Home portfolio, told the Assembly that the state government has made serious efforts to resolve the crisis and talks with the assistance of a few MLAs and other members of different communities were held in Assamas Silchar. "I am strongly hopeful that some positive outcome would come up from the ongoing talks," he told the house without elaborating who all are involved in the talks. Terming the ongoing ethnic unrest in Manipur as an "unexpected and unwanted turn of events", Biren Singh said that the government is taking steps very cautiously so that any negative effects do not occur. "Some issues are being politicised and exaggerated causing complications of the situation. I appeal to all not to do any such activities which would derail the peace process," he said, as he expressed optimism about finding a solution to the ongoing ethnic unrest in the state. Responding to the queries of the members, the Chief Minister said that so far 226 people have been killed, as many as 11,133 houses have been set on fire leading to the complete destruction of 4,569 homes, and 11,892 cases have been registered in different police stations in connection with the ethnic violence that broke out in May last year. A total of 39 individuals are reported missing. The agricultural sector has been severely hit, with farmlands belonging to 5,554 farmers affected, jeopardising their livelihoods, he said. The state government has established 302 relief camps to provide shelter to 59,414 internally displaced persons. The Chief Minister last week went to Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting (on July 27) and the BJP Chief Ministersa two-day Conclave; both were presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He held separate meetings with several Union Ministers and Central leaders including Union Minister and BJP President J.P. Nadda and discussed the situation in the state. Jaipur, Aug 1 : Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari said on Thursday that she has directed government officials to resolve the problem of waterlogging here following the death of three people, including a child, due to drowning in the basement of their house caused by flooding amid heavy rain in the Vishwakarma Industrial Area. The Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA from Vidyadhar Assembly constituency, has expressed grief over the death of 23-year-old Kamal Shah, 19-year-old Pooja Saini and six-year-old Poorvi Saini, all residents of Arrah district in Bihar. On receiving information about the incident early Thursday morning, Diya Kumari sent municipal corporation teams with pumps and machines to the spot and instructed them to start rescue and relief work along with draining out the water. After strict instructions from the Deputy Chief Minister, officials of the district administration reached the spot. Diya Kumari visited the Kanwatia Hospital and met the families of the three deceased victims offering her condolences. Later, she visited the site and took stock of the situation. The shortage of water pumps with the Municipal Corporation will also be resolved so that at least one pump is available in every Assembly constituency, the Deputy Chief Minister said. She added that the state government will work by making a plan for the rehabilitation of the people living in the Vishwakarma Industrial Area. Diya Kumari thanked Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and said that the latter took immediate action as soon as received information about the incident and announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each from the Disaster Relief Fund and Rs 1 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the familes of the deceased victims. New Delhi, Aug 1 : In a commendable testament to India's growing potential, the indigenously produced goods are making their presence felt on foreign shores. The latest in the array of products going global is the 'Made in Varanasi' badges which are shining bright on the uniforms of armed forces pertaining to many countries including the US and African nations. Notably, army badges of many countries including the US, UK, Oman, Uganda etc., are made in the narrow streets of Varanasi. Shadab Alam is among a group of locals whose family has been engaged in the enterprise for three generations. For years, his family along with other residents of Varanasi have contributed immensely in giving the city a global recognition. As the indigenously produced badges and flags are showcased on uniforms of world's most powerful armies, it has given new vigour to the 'Made in India' campaign. Shadab in a conversation with IANS also spoke about the intricacies of foreign armies badge manufacturing. He said that the 'Made in Varanasi' badges got a major boost after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government came to power in 2014. "As the badge-making enterprise got listed under GI tag after 2014, the business got a new pace and direction. A lot of orders are being received, leading to many more employment than before. We have added 30 female and 25 male staff to our workforce," he said. Shadab also said that when French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Varanasi sometime ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted him a French envelope, which was made by his team. Reports suggest that about 5,000 to 10,000 orders are received on an annual basis. The business has been running for long time but this has found new momentum in the last few years. As Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of PM Modi, this also reflects government's focus and thrust on the 'Made in India' pitch. Kohima, Aug 1 : The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) on Thursday said that it would not accept the Indian Constitution and reiterated the separate flag and constitution demand. The influential Naga body claimed "as the Central government admits the historical fact that sovereign Naga people had not given their consent to join the Indian Union, the question of accepting the Indian Constitution does not arise". "Thus, acknowledging the position of the Nagas and appreciating the intricacies of the Indian system, the government of India, during the tenure of the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, proposed the option of solving the problem on the basis of the principle of shared-sovereignty, which was subsequently signed under the leadership of the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015," the NSCN-IM said in a statement. It said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and "NSCN-IM General Secretary/Ato Kilonser (the Chief Negotiator) of NSCN/GPRN along with high dignitaries from both the parties wherein the government of India has duly recognised and acknowledged the unique history and sovereignty of Nagalim". Announcing that the NSCN-IM would observe the 9th year anniversary of the "historic" Framework Agreement (FA) signed on August 3, 2015, the Naga body said that "the FA is a testament of Central government recognising Nagalim as a sovereign state". "Therefore, Nagalim national flag and constitution are an integral part of FA and duly recognised and acknowledged in the letter and spirit of FA. "The Nagas should treasure and hold on the FA unsparingly lest we miss the sure promise of God. Why should we allow doubt and confusion to seal the doom of our fate ? Our course is set: we are very sure and certain of what is ours and what we must be," the NSCN-IM stated. More than 90 rounds of meetings were held between the government and the Naga groups over the decades-old unresolved Naga political issue. The NSCN-IM has remained unyielding on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas as well as integration of Naga-inhabited areas spread over four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, besides Myanmar. Police were told a 30-year-old man from Moscow was riding a motorcycle southbound when he was hit by a sedan headed northbound driven by an 80-year-old Farmington man. The agency said in the news release the motorcyclist was thrown from the bike and struck a vehicle that was stopped along the highway. He was flown by a helicopter to a local hospital. The Latah County Sheriffs Office, Moscow Rural Volunteer Fire Department and the Idaho Transportation Department assisted Idaho State Police troopers with the crash. Mumbai, August 1 : The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) on Thursday congratulated the newly-appointed Governor of Maharashtra, C.P. Radhakrishnan, wishing for his successful stint in office. On behalf of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Abhay Swarup Swami and Tirth Swarup Swami met the Maharashtra Governor at his official residence and extended greetings. The BAPS swamis prayed for his successful tenure and also hoped that the humanitarian works would continue, as has been done by him for years. Radhakrishnan, who maintains a long association with the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, also recalled his memories of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Mahant Swami Maharaj during the meeting. Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 21st Governor of Maharashtra on Wednesday, replacing Ramesh Bais whose term came to an end. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya. After the ceremony, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadanvis and Ajit Pawar welcomed the Governor by presenting him bouquets. Before he was appointed the Maharashtra Governor, Radhakrishnan served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one-and-a-half years. He also held additional charge as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry for brief periods. With more than four decades of experience, Radhakrishnan is a respected figure in Tamil Nadu politics. He started as an RSS worker and became the state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (predecessor of BJP) in 1974. Akola/Sindhudurg : , Aug 1 (IANS) Ruling ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Amol Mitkari staged a protest outside the office of Akola Superintendent of Police (SP), demanding action against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for issuing death threats to him, here on Thursday. In a vicious rebuff to Mitkari, MNS leader Ameya Khopkar slammed the NCP, saying that the "Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is the President of a stolen party" and if persons like Mitkari dare to criticise MNS President Raj Thackeray, "then they will face the consequences". "Who is this Mitkari? He is a kerosene thiefa I have told my men that if anybody insults Raj Thackeray, teach him a lesson. If some second-third rung leaders, like Mitkari, don't stop their tirade against us, then we will strip him and beat him up. You want to lodge police complaints, go ahead, we are not scared," warned Khopkar, speaking to media persons in Sindhudurg. Two days after his vehicle was attacked in a government guest house complex, Mitkari and his supporters staged a sit-in protest outside the office of SP Bachchan Singh, demanding strong action against the accused in the incident that has led to a war of words between the NCP and MNS. Mitkari is upset that of the 13 MNS activists and local leaders booked by the Akola police, three were released on bail within hours while four others were detained on Thursday by the Civil Lines police station, which is investigating the matter. "I was expecting that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde would intervene in the mattera They (MNS) have openly issued threats to kill me. Is it their father's rule in the state?" Mitkari told media persons on Thursday evening. He has also levelled allegations against the police personnel for allegedly helping some of the accused, including the MNS's local office-bearers, to escape from the spot after the Tuesday (July 30) violence, that saw one of the MNS activists Jay Malokar, 24, dying of heart attack later. Incidentally, Ajit Pawar had called up Mitkari on Wednesday and taken a detailed briefing on the July 31 incident and assured he would do the needful in the matter. New Delhi, August 1 : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Wayanad in Kerala on Thursday, three days after landslides wreaked havoc in the region killing over 280 people. Now, questions are being raised about the timing and purpose of Rahul Gandhi's visit, with social media users criticising both him and his sister. BJP leader Shivam Tyagi wrote on X, "Rahul Gandhi's fashion show at the Wayanad disaster, 3 days late, 232 cameras, 20 guards so that 'King' Rahul isn't touched, and one person assigned to pick up his sandals. "Zero work, zero responsibility, and James Bond-like showiness. He has come to polish his image, not to save the people of Wayanad." The post in Hindi prompted questions about the timing and purpose of Rahul Gandhi's visit. In response to Tyagi's post, a user named Vivek Singh Paliwal wrote, "In the Wayanad landslide, 256 people have died so far and hundreds are injured. After that, the prince thought that it was a good opportunity for a photo session. That's why he set out with his entourage and cameras." He also included the hashtag #OpportunisticRahulGandhi. Meanwhile, another user responded to Shivam's post by saying, "This is the grandeur of the prince. Moreover, the other prince (a reference to Akhilesh Yadav) has become his disciple." Durgaprasad, another user, asked, "Which movie scene is this from", while Kuldeep Vyas commented, "He took his sister along because she has to contest elections from Wayanad." Meanwhile, a user named Neeraj Mishra wrote, "They talk about equal justice, but couldn't even pick up their own sandals? Why should someone else do it? Political vultures have gone there as tourists." Shivam Tyagi had earlier said in a post, "This Gandhi family is a panauti (disaster); wherever they go, they cause national ruin. Rahul was the MP from Wayanad, and Priyanka is the upcoming MP. But both brother and sister are enjoying the rainy season in Delhi. And the RSS volunteers, whom they criticise, are the ones helping people in Wayanad." On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Wayanad to inspect the area and meet with the victims' families. They offered condolences and assured every possible help to the victims. Rahul Gandhi said he stands with the people of Wayanad and is ready to provide all possible assistance. Priyanka Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the incident and assured the victims of every possible help. She said the Congress is ready to assist the victims in every possible way. The landslides that occurred in Wayanad in the wee hours of Wednesday have completely devastated four villages, leaving behind a scene of devastation. The rescue efforts are ongoing but are being hampered by heavy rainfall and further landslides. Hyderabad, Aug 1 : Meeting a key demand of unemployed youth and students, the Telangana government on Thursday approved the job calendar, which will be presented in the Assembly for a debate on Friday. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. The job calendar will give fixed time schedules for job recruitment in the government departments. Following protests by unemployed and student bodies over job recruitments, Revanth Reddy had last month announced that the job calendar will be released after discussion during the Budget session of the legislature. Revenue Minister P. Srinivas Reddy told media persons after the Cabinet meeting that the Congress government will honour all the promises made in the elections. The Cabinet discussed the issue of ration cards along with health cards, which will contain the health profiles of the citizens. It decided to set up a ministerial subcommittee comprising the Ministers of Civil Supplies, Revenue, and Health to work out modalities. The meeting passed a resolution condoling the loss of human lives in the landslides caused by heavy rains in Keralaas Wayanad. It conveyed its sympathies to the families of the victims. The minister said the government was ready to provide the required help for relief measures. The Cabinet resolved to constitute a sub-committee on the merger of villages along the Outer Ring Road into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Ministers Seethakka, Sridhar Babu, and Ponnam Prabhakar will be members of the sub-committee. It approved the release of Rs.437 crore for the completion of the Gouravelli irrigation project. It decided to prepare revised estimates with the necessary funds for the acquisition of 2,000 acres of land. The Cabinet also decided to send once again the names of M. Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan to the Governor for their nomination as members of the Legislative Council under the Governoras quota. The nominations were earlier sent back by the Governor following the High Court order. The Cabinet decided to give the job of Municipal Commissioner to Hari Ratan, son of Intelligence Director General Rajiv Ratan who passed away recently in the line of duty. It also decided to provide the job of deputy tahsildar to the son of Additional DG P. Murali, who recently died on duty. Agartala, Aug 1 : Despite strict vigilance by the Border Security Force (BSF), infiltration from trouble-torn Bangladesh continues unabated as eight more Bangladeshi nationals, including two women and two Indian touts were arrested by security personnel here on Thursday, an official said. Officials said that the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel apprehended the eight Bangladesh nationals, including two women, at the Agartala railway station "before they could board the train to move to some other area in India". The Bangladeshi nationals had entered Tripura illegally through a clandestine route. Aged between 19 to 38, they are residents of Rajshahi, Chittagong, Mymensingh and Kishoreganj districts, an official said, adding "they were trying to go to Delhi or Bengaluru in search of jobs". The Bangladeshi nationals along with the two Indian touts -- residents of Tripura's Sepahijala district -- would be produced in court on Friday. Over the last two-and-a-half months, more than 165 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas were arrested by the GRP, BSF, and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India. In view of ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, the Border Security Force (BSF) has stepped up its vigilance along the 856-km border with Tripura and maintained close coordination with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at various levels, a BSF spokesman said on Thursday. He said that to maintain close coordination with Bangladesh border guarding forces, during July, in addition to the Inspector General BSF-Region Commander BGB level conference, four Commandant level flag meetings and 150 Company Commander/Border Out Post (BOP) level meetings with BGB were held. Amaravati, Aug 1 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court order that the states are empowered to make sub-classifications of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for granting quotas within the reserved category to uplift more underprivileged castes. In his address at a programme in Kurnool district, he said that his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) believes that justice should be done to every section of society. Naidu, who as the then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh had introduced SC categorisation in 1997, said social justice should prevail. "Justice to all sections is the slogan of TDP," he said. He recalled that the TDP government headed by him in united Andhra Pradesh had divided SCs into ABCD categories for reservation. "Justice should be done to every section. The TDP followed this even in allotting tickets for elections," he said, adding that the TDP was the first party in the country to introduce SC classification after constituting Justice Ramachandra Raju Commission. Human Resource Development Minister Nara Lokesh also welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the SC categorisation issue. Lokesh said Naidu had implemented social justice 30 years ago and the implementation of categorisation through the Presidential Ordinance created job opportunities for many people. "We are committed to the categorisation promise made in the election. Economic and political development of all social classes is the agenda of TDP," he said. The TDP said SC categorisation was introduced in 1997 with the sole aim that the fruits of Independence should be extended to everyone as per the population ratio and to alleviate poverty. With the assent of the then President K. R. Narayanan, A, B, C, and D categorisation came into effect, ensuring reservation quotas to various castes as per their population ratio and backwardness. Though the High Court had dismissed it, the categorisation was re-introduced in 2000. "22,000 youth from Madugas and other sub-castes got jobs between 2000 and 2004 following the implementation of categorization. Had this been continued, equal justice would have been available," the TDP said in a statement. The Supreme Court delivered a judgment on November 5, 2004, that only Parliament has the right to decide on categorisation. Following this judgment, the Centre constituted the Usha Mehra Commission, which submitted its report in May 2008. "The report made it clear that Madiga sub-castes did not get due justice in the reservations being implemented now but when the categorisation was in force during 2000-2004 satisfactory results were yielded," it said. The TDP wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on October 10, 2012, with an appeal to introduce a bill in Parliament on SC categorisation to amend the Constitution. Kolkata, Aug 2 : A motion moved by the ruling Trinamool Congress against the three new criminal laws was passed in the West Bengal Assembly through a voice vote on Thursday after a detailed debate on the matter for the past two days. The new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively, with effect from July 1. However, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed that passing a motion in any state Assembly against a central law cleared by the Parliament is meaningless. According to Adhikari, since the three criminal laws have been implemented nationally, a motion passed against them in the Bengal Assembly will not impact its implementation in any way. While participating in the debate on the issue, Adhikari also floated a proposal that the state government should bring a law to stop cross-border infiltration and ban forceful religious conversion in Bengal. "If you have the courage, bring these two new laws," Adhikari said. Responding to Adhikari, state Law Minister Malay Ghatak said that both the Parliament and the state Assemblies have the power to enact laws. "The Constitution has given the right to the state Assembly to amend certain Central laws according to the needs of the state," he said. On June 20, 11 days before the three new criminal laws came into force, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to postpone their implementation. The Chief Minister had argued that any far-reaching legal change would require meticulous groundwork to ensure its effective enforcement and administration. Bengaluru, Aug 2 : The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday appealled to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the showcause notice issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam matter. The government also urged the Governor to reject the petition by social activist T.J. Abraham. Addressing a press conference at the Vidhana Soudha, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said: "The council of ministers strongly urge the honourable Governor to withdraw notice issued to CM Siddaramaiah and also to reject the said petition by T.J. Abraham. We make this appeal with all humility and humbleness. I want to bring it to the notice of the people of the state that this is murder of democracy and the Constitution." The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday elaborately discussed the showcause notice issued to Siddaramaiah. "On July 26, social activist T.J. Abraham had issued the letter (of complaint) and the Chief Secretary had given a detailed response. Within minutes of receiving the complaint, the showcause notice was issued by the Governor," Shivakumar said. Shivakumar further elaborated that the showcause notice by the Governor to CM reads: "I have received notice by T.J. Abraham. The petitioner submitted allegations against you and your family members for violations of sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Prevention of Corruption Act. On perusal of the request, allegations seem to be serious and are in prima facie nature. A complaint has already been lodged with the Lokayukta in this regard under Sections 117, 17A, 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. "Therefore, I direct you to submit a response in seven days on why prosecution should not be granted against you?" The Deputy CM wondered: "Why is this haste? What's the background? Isn't there any democracy? The allegations need to be proved in findings and commissions must approve of them. There is no investigation and the judicial committee is probing the matter. What is the urgency? There are no inquiries against the CM. How can the Governor go through and read more than 200 pages of documents within minutes and send notice?" He said that a 'false' case was made against Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam "to ensure his downfall". "This government has the blessings of the people and the matter is widely discussed. The entire sequence of events and the admitted facts and circumstances based on the available records lead to an unequivocal conclusion that there is gross misuse of the Constitutional Office of the Governor and a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations," Shivakumar said while detailing the decisions taken during the Cabinet meeting. "The Governor ought to have, under the present set of facts and circumstances, acted only on the aid and advice of the council of ministers and not at his discretion. The honourable Governor, while proceeding to issue the showcause notice has failed to apply his mind to the facts of the case and did not consider the material available on record. The governor ought to have taken into consideration the reply submitted by the chief secretary dated July 26, received by him at around 6.30 p.m. on the same day. "The Governor has failed to take note of the fact that the application for sanction suffers from serious legal infirmities. The Governor failed to take note of the fact that the application for sanction was also premature. "The Governor failed to take note of the fact that the entire allegations made by the applicant does not reveal any offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 or the BNSS 2023. The Governor failed to take note of the fact that T.J. Abraham comes with criminal antecedents having criminal cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him. His acts are motivated and lacks bonafides and suffers from factual and legal malafides," Shivakumar further detailed. Lucknow, Aug 2 : The state Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) on Thursday referred the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Properties (Management and Utilization for Public Purposes) Bill, 2024, to the Select Committee, a day after it was passed in the Assembly amid uproar by the opposition. The decision was taken after MLC and state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary asked the chair to refer the bill to the Select Committee for consideration. Other members of the Council supported Chaudhary's demand, after which the bill was referred to the select committee. Sources said some BJP MLAs had met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the bill was passed in the Assembly and expressed their displeasure over it. Subsequently, the Chief Minister agreed to send it to the Select Committee of the Legislative Council. Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel on Thursday termed the bill "unnecessary" and "against the sentiments of the common man". In a post on X, she said, "The bill related to Nazul land has been sent to the Select Committee of the Legislative Council for discussion today. I firmly believe that the Nazul land bill, which has been brought without extensive discussion, is not only unnecessary but also against the sentiments of the common man." In another post, she said that the Uttar Pradesh government should immediately withdraw the bill and strict action should be taken against "those officials who have misled (the government) in this matter". A new law in Idaho requires clinicians to seek consent from a parent or legal guardian for all health care services provided to minors outside of an emergency. The law also states that parents may sue a provider, health care organization or government entity that breaks the law for monetary damages and attorneys fees. Previously, minors between roughly 14 and 18, or those deemed able to comprehend the nature and risks of treatment, could consent to a range of health care services including treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, substance use disorder treatment and mental health services. Caitlin OBrien is a lawyer at the Coeur d Alene-based law group Smith + Malek, where she focuses on health care law working with Federally Qualified Health Centers. Lawmakers have described the measure as an effort to protect children, naming the new law the Parents Rights in Medical Decision-Making Act. However, OBrien said, the law as written leaves a gap in access to care for children who do not have a parent involved in their life and do not have a legal guardian. They might be living with a grandparent, or an aunt, an uncle, a neighbor, or friend that hasnt gone through the court system to be appointed legal guardian, she said. Theres nobody to consent for their health care, and they cant do it themselves. Matthew Lassen is a member of CHAS Healths medical director team, and the only director located in Idaho. In response to the new law, CHAS Health implemented a blanket medical consent form parents can fill out annually, he said. Lassen said CHAS always encourages parents to be active in their childrens health care. However, the biggest concern that providers face is for minors theyll have to turn away because a parent is unavailable, or unwilling to consent to care for sensitive issues related to things such as sexuality, substance use disorder or mental health services. Moscow, Aug 2 : President Vladimir Putin late on Thursday met Russian citizens, who were detained in foreign countries and returned to their homeland after a prisoners' exchange deal, at Vnukovo Airport here. Putin congratulated them and announced that they will be nominated for state awards. "First of all, I want to congratulate you all on your return to your homeland. Now I want to address those of you who are directly involved in military service. I want to thank you for your loyalty to the oath, your duty and the homeland, which has never forgotten you for a minute a" and here you are at home," the President said while addressing them at the airport. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin and Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov. The prisoner swap deal, mediated by Turkey, involved seven countries -- the US, Norway, Germany, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Slovenia. The most notable Russian prisoner released in the exchange was Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist leader. The Germans were reluctant to release but, according to reports, Biden personally got involved and called Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Beirut, Aug 2 : Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has announced that it targeted Israeli sites with rockets in response to an airstrike on southern Lebanon that killed four Syrians. "In response to the attack that targeted Chamaa and the martyrdom of several civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombed today enemy army sites in western Galilee and the settlement of Matzuva with dozens of Katyusha rockets," it said in a statement on Thursday. Hezbollah added that it also attacked the Jal al-Alam site with rockets, Xinhua news agency reported. Lebanese military sources told the news agency that the Lebanese army monitored the launching of about 70 surface-to-surface rockets in two separate batches from the Lebanese side into Israel, and some of them were intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome missile defence system. Israel's public broadcaster, KAN, reported that the rockets were launched towards the Western Galilee, with 15 of them being intercepted. The Israeli army in a statement said that five projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel, some of which were intercepted, and the rest fell in open areas. No injuries were reported. The latest attacks came amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel following Tuesday's Israeli attack on Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs, killing Hezbollah's top military commander, Fouad Shokor. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli attack at the appropriate time and place. Swedish audiobook streaming and media conglomerate Storytel, which runs Audiobooks.com in the U.S., has reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, ending June 30. The company's sales increased by 9%, to 924 million SEK (approximately $86m), while operating profit reached 47 million SEK ($4.4m), a significant improvement from a loss of 29 million SEK ($2.7m) in the same period last year. EBITDA rose to 110 million SEK ($10.3 m), compared to 42 million SEK ($3.9m) in 2023. The company exceeded 2.3 million paying subscribers in the quarter, growing its customer base by nearly 15%. The news of the profits prompted outgoing CEO Johannes Larcher to call these results "the best financial performance in the history of the company." He added: "The continued revenue growth, coupled with a higher internal share of content, and a significantly improved cost structure due to the measures implemented late last year and early this year, has made us firmly profitable, and we are proud to deliver bottom line profitability this quarter." Profitability comes in the wake of significant cuts at the company, especially among employees. Last year, the company had 665 full time employees in the second quarter; in the same period this year, Storytel said, that number was been reduced to 531. Storytel also recently announced a leadership change, with Bodil Ericsson Torp appointed as its next CEO, effective October 1. Torp, previously CEO of VO2 Cap Holding, brings experience from her longterm role as a Bonnier executive as well as stints at other media companies. In the streaming segment, which covers audiobooks, podcasts and subscriptions, sales grew 9%, to 868 million SEK ($81.5m), with 570 million SEK ($53.5m) from Nordic subscribers and 298 million SEK ($28m) from other markets. The publishing segment, which includes print and digital books, saw net sales increase by 16%, to 263 million SEK ($26.7m). The company also sold off the Finnish publisher Aula & Co, which it acquired in 2021, a move described as a strategic decision. Aula & Co is primarily known as a publisher of translations of bestselling English-language fiction, and the divestment may have been prompted by the extent to which many Finns are reading bestselling books in the original English. In its report, Storytel touted the success of some of its own original and exclusive content, noting that the Danish true crime title My Brother in 75 Parts drove significant new signups in Denmark, while Denise Rudberg's Storytel Original, Her Last Step, was the most-listened-to title on Storytel in Sweden for May. The company has a long-term development deal with the popular author. "Storytel is still mid-journey, and the best is yet to come," Larcher said. Sigmund Freud is having something of a moment. Psychoanalysis is suddenly everywhere: on such hit shows as Couples Therapy, where troubled lovers probe their unconscious minds; in upstart magazines, including Parapraxis, which applies the tenets of the talking cure to modern life and politics; at bookstores, where new titles on the Viennese psychologist, who died in 1939, hit shelves at a steady clip; and, of course, on social media, where Freudian memes abound. Now, Freud is getting yet another update for the modern age. In June, Rowman & Littlefield published a reimagined version of The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, widely considered to be the bedrock of the psychoanalytical canon. Translated and edited by James Strachey throughout the 1950s and 60s, the final volume of the Standard Edition was published by Hogarth Press 50 years ago, in 1974. The new 24-volume, 8,100-plus-page Revised Standard Edition has been three decades in the making, with psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist Mark Solms spearheading the once-in-a-generation project. In 1989, Solms began translating Freuds neuroscientific writings, which amount to more than 200 individual titles, fewer than 10 of which had previously been translated into English. This endeavor put him on the radar of the U.K.based Institute of Psychoanalysis (IOPA), which had recently decided, amid growing criticisms of Stracheys translations, that a revised version of the Standard Edition was sorely needed. The IOPA appointed Solms as editor of the Revised Standard Edition in 1994. Assembling the Revised Standard Edition, Solms said, was a mammoth task. He not only needed to revise Stracheys translations, but update his editorial apparatus to accommodate and incorporate the reams of Freud scholarship that have come out since the 1960s, much of which needed to be translated. Plus, Solms had to add and translate some 50-odd new works by Freudsome omitted from the Standard Edition, others discovered in the last half centurywhich include previously unknown notes, letters, and essays on such topics as homosexuality and womens rights, which Solms said reveal Freud to have been more progressive than has been appreciated. Solms was uniquely suited to the task of translating Freud's newly discovered writings, having grown up in a part of Namibia where the late-19th-century German dialect of Freud's era is still spoken. He is also an ambitious and fastidious scholar and editor, completely reworking the Standard Edition's index and bibliography and adding nearly 1,400 entries throughout the editing process. Solms lamented that the sheer amount of work required to put together the edition, which he did alongside his day job as a neuroscientist and clinician, is why, sadly, it has taken me a full 30 years to complete it! The two dozen volumes of the original Standard Edition were copublished from 1953 to 1974 by the IOPA and Hogarth Press, which was established in 1917 by Virginia and Leonard Woolf and is now an imprint of Penguin Random House. Solms said that it was initially assumed that the IOPA would publish the Revised Standard Edition with PRH, but the IOPAs publications committee instead decided to invite a number of publishers to make proposals. Rowman & Littlefield was selected unanimously. The selection was made, above all, Solms said, on the basis that they were an independent publisher that would give the Revised Standard Edition the bespoke attention that it requires and deserves. R&L was eager to make the Freudian canon available to a new generation of scholars, practitioners, students, and general readers with the Revised Standard Edition, said Julie Kirsch, VP and publisher of R&L. In its pitch, R&L proposed a plan to make the Revised Standard Edition available globally in print and digital editions, and to build a secondary product portfolio of works related to the new edition, which Kirsch believes sealed the deal. Plus, she added, seeing as R&L already had a strong presence in psychoanalytic publishing thanks to its 2003 acquisition of Jason Aronson Publishers, the publisher felt confident it could not only do the job right but reach the works intended audience. The RSE has made it increasingly possible to understand the continuity between Freuds work as a neuroscientist and his role as the architect of psychoanalysis, Kirsch said. We need this revised edition so that Freuds work speaks clearly to a society that has changed in so many ways, while his insights into the fundamental nature of human beings remain a foundation of our understanding of ourselves. As an indie publisher, R&L hopes to continue the legacy of Hogarth, which was a small press when it published the Standard Edition, Kirsch said. She echoed Solms in noting that the independent spirit and business model of both R&L and Hogarth was in large part why the IOPA chose to partner with R&L, just as it had with Hogarth a century before. (Hogarth Press and the IOPA first agreed to copublish Freuds works in English in 1924.) The Revised Edition was copublished by the IOPA and R&Ls academic division, which was acquired by Bloomsbury in May, and is distributed by National Book Network in the U.S. and Ingram Publisher Services internationally. As for the forces behind Freud's resurgence, Kirsch and Solms agree that it's because his ideas are both timeless and timely. Kirsch calls Freud's theories essential to understanding the human condition," not to mention ubiquitous in everyday life. Its easy to forget how many of his concepts have entered our mainstream vocabulary, said Kirsch, who cited his enormous impact on art, literary criticism, philosophy, and popular culture. Solms sees the culture's "growing disenchantment" with the treatment of psychiatric drugs as a panacea, as well as the fact that Freuds major scientific claims have been increasingly supportedperhaps surprisinglyby neuropsychological research findings, as reasons for Freuds renewed relevance. He added that, because "we are living in such troubled times," Freud's work has become a salient reminder of "all of how irrational we human beings are." Phyllis Marie Dixon Blain passed away peacefully at her home on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Phyllis was born in Knowles, Okla., on June 14, 1932, to Robert and Daile Dixon. She spent her childhood in Oklahoma City where she attended elementary school and high school. In her early 20s, she and a girlfriend decided to see the country and ended up in Spokane. She met her husband-to-be on a blind date and a year later married. They were blessed with three wonderful children. She was a homemaker, loving mother and grandmother. Her unique sense of humor was much appreciated. She was fortunate to have traveled all over the world with her husband in his work. She and Harold lived in Moscow for 37 years before downsizing and moving to Hayden where they lived for the next 21 years. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Robert, James, Larry; and son David. Since last October, the Biden administration has pursued one objective in the Middle East: de-escalation. But this policy has succeeded only in deterring Israel from acting independently in pursuit of its security interests in Gaza and around the region. As the simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates including the IDFs killing of senior military commander Fuad Shukr in response to Hezbollahs missile strike that killed a dozen Druze children in Majdal Shams over the weekend rather than avoid war, this policy guarantees it. When Hezbollah joined Hamas in attacking Israel on October 8 (the day after the Hamas attack), Jerusalem considered postponing a Gaza campaign to address the threat from Lebanon. With its arsenal of 150,000 to 200,000 Iranian-supplied rockets and missiles, Hezbollah poses a far greater strategic threat to the Jewish state than Hamas. Hezbollahs unprovoked attack the first cross-border strike since the 2006 Second Lebanon War provided Israel an opportunity to remove what has become an Iranian sword of Damocles to its north. However, to avert regional escalation, Biden had sent an aircraft carrier group to the eastern Mediterranean and issued a warning to those thinking of taking advantage of the situationdont. While these measures were ostensibly addressed to Hezbollah and Iran, they also served to restrain Israel. In a partial bow to American pressure, Israels newly formed unity war cabinet chose to first focus on the imperative of rescuing the hostages and defeating Hamas in Gaza. attacks Though Israel was deterred, Hezbollah was not, and began waging a war of attrition. To date, the Iranian proxy has launched over 5,000against civilian and military targets in Israel, forcing the government to evacuate communities within five kilometers of the border. Israel has responded with artillery and air strikes against sites in Lebanon and Syria to target Hezbollahs military infrastructure, killing over 300 of its fighters and senior commanders. However, Israel is unable to commit to a larger campaign in the north until it concludes its kinetic operations in the south, which the Biden administration has deliberately drawn out by restraining Israels operational freedom against Hamas for fear excessive collateral damage might anger the Democratic Partys progressive base. All the while, an estimated 80,000 Israelis remain internally displaced from their homes as refugees. In effect, the administrations deterrence policy against Israel has allowed Hezbollah to successfully depopulate part of the Jewish state of its Jewish residents. In the meantime, the Biden administration, along with European partners, has pursued diplomatic channels to negotiate between a major non-NATO ally and a US-designated terror organization. However, as Hezbollah remains as equally committed to destroying Israel as Israel is to not being destroyed, this futile effort has only succeeded in further limiting Israels ability to restore security to its northern border. Then came the night of April 13, when Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones against Israel. The first-ever direct strike between the two countries marked a paradigm shift in the region. Though the United States, Israel and regional partners successfully shot down over 99% of the projectiles, Israel considered a forceful response to restore its own deterrence against its greatest foe. However, in a phone conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu that evening, President Biden warned that if you launch a big attack on Iran, youre on your own. Without the support of the United States, Israel elected for a low-level response that demonstrated its capacity to strike Iran but did nothing to reset the strategic balance in the region. In restraining Israel from responding as necessary to strategic threats from multiple fronts, the administration signals to our enemies that they can strike our ally with impunity. favors Israel may soon be able to finally launch a war that restores security and deterrence to its northern border. The recent killing of Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and overall success of the IDFs operation in Rafah suggests the Gaza campaign could be winding down, and the Israeli publica full force attack against Hezbollah. However, due to the Biden administrations deterrence, after nearly 10 months of fighting Hamas, the operational window of opportunity for Israel to engage in a war in Lebanon which would be far more expansive and destructive than the one it is fighting in Gaza may have closed. While a cessation of hostilities would allow the IDF time to resupply and could see some or most Israelis return to their homes in the north, their long-term security remains in jeopardy. In the meantime, Iran will replenish Hezbollahs arsenal and continue its sprint for a nuclear weapon; Secretary of State Blinken recently stated Tehran is probably one to two weeks away from producing enough weapons grade material. The Biden administrations anti-Israel deterrence has undermined our ally and emboldened our enemies, which in the Middle East is a recipe for future war. Daniel Flesch in a Visiting Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Property details: American Patriot Placer Gold Mining Claim 20 Acres Plumas County CA Sly Creeks near a enjoying reservoir and Big Chief Placers Claims 20Acres Sierra City, CA Cherokee Creek only 2 miles from the city.You can use the Google Maps search the Sly Creek Reservoir And Sierra City .Well look no further! Located in the prolific historic Laporte Mining District. If you want the gold too ha-ha well break out that sluice, high banker and reclamation dredge on the claim and you'll find it. I bought these 2 ... Price: $ 3,800 Seller State of Residence: New Jersey City: Princeton State/Province: New Jersey Location: 085**, Princeton, New Jersey You will be redirected to eBay When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Nearby New Jersey Property details: WANT TO SELL THIS ASAP. I WOULD 4000.00, HOWEVER WOUKD LIKE TO SELL THIS ASAP IF THERE IS AN OFFER MADE This timeshare resort in the Caribbean is a must-have for anyone looking for a luxurious and relaxing vacation. With its stunning palm trees and crystal-clear waters, this village is the perfect addition to any collection. The seller, a resident of Maryland, is offering this timeshare for sale and is ready to negotiate a deal. The resort is located in Aruba and is perfect for anyone looking to... Price: $ 2,300 Seller State of Residence: Maryland State/Province: Maryland Location: , Noord You will be redirected to eBay When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Nearby Maryland TLC By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/31/2024 ADVERTISEMENT : Before the 90 Days' Season 7 premiere date and cast of eight new couples have been announced by TLC.The seventh season of : Before the 90 Days will premiere Sunday, September 1 at 8PM ET/PT on TLC.The new season of : Before the 90 Days will follow eight Americans traveling to Nigeria, Philippines, Ghana, Poland, Brazil, Jordan, South Africa, and Croatia to meet their online partners for the first time.The eight couples starring on the spinoff next season include Tigerlily, a 41-year-old from Texas, and Adnan, a 23-year-old from Jordan; Rayne, a 38-year-old from New Mexico, and Chidi, a 34-year-old from Nigeria; Loren, a 33-year-old from Nevada, and Faith, a 31-year-old from the Philippines; and Niles, a 28-year-old from Alabama, and Matilda, a 23-year-old from Ghana.: Before the 90 Days' new season will also star Joe, a 34-year-old from Florida, and Magda, a 23-year-old from Poland; Brian, a 52-year-old from Illinois, and Ingrid, a 33-year-old from Brazil; Veah, a 27-year-old from Florida, and Sunny, a 26-year-old from South Africa; and Vanja, a 41-year-old from Florida, and Bozo, a 38-year-old from Croatia.: Before the 90 Days' new season will follow the end of : Happily Ever After?'s eighth season, which is currently airing Sunday nights on TLC."While overseas, the couples attempt to navigate the cultural and personality differences they inevitably face as they take their relationship," according to TLC.In most : Before the 90 Days cases, a pair of lovebirds are hoping to get engaged and begin the K-1 Visa process.A sneak peek of : Before the 90 Days' upcoming seventh season shows a lot of drama will be taking place next season."I'm in South Africa! I'm so excited to meet my boyfriend Sunny. But Sunny doesn't know that I brought my ex-boyfriend here with me," Veah tells the cameras.Loren admits, "My dream is to marry Faith, but I don't think she fully understands how broke I am... It's complicated, because in America, I'm homeless."Chidi warns Rayne that he won't be having sex with her until marriage, and a lot of fighting breaks out between couples.Adnan, for instance, appears to have trust issues and tells Tigerlily that she's small-minded.Click thelink below to view photos and descriptions of : Before the 90 Days' Season 7 couples and learn more about them! BEGIN GALLERY >> Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. Around 10 a.m. on Monday morning, University of Georgia administration released a statement in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrators encampment and the arrests on North Campus. Earlier that morning, around 25 demonstrators set up tents and a netted barricade on the Old College front lawn, joining college campuses across the country in demonstrations in support of Palestine. Sixteen arrests were made as police cleared signs and tents from the quad. 'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy. IMAGE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replies to members's questions about the Budget, July 30, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo/SansadTV Critics of the ruling BJP in general and Modi 3.0 in particular have been running down Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's record-breaking seventh Budget for a variety of reasons. But what they cannot deny is that the steep cut in the duties for gold import has made the glittering yellow metal relatively affordable to the common man when compared to Pre-budget prices. No, the steep fall in bullion prices is not to levels that had existed a hundred years ago, or even ten or five years ago. But the fact that prices and affordability apart, there is a cringing desire in every Indian, male or female, to purchase even that one gram, where a sovereign is impossible, for a daughter's wedding or a grandchild's first birthday, is the mood and trend-setter all the same. But will it all be adequate to upset the daily dose of 'economic empowerment' that women-folk enjoy in Opposition-ruled states, starting with the DMK's Tamil Nadu, in the form of free bus-ride and the like? That is a different question, for a different time. If nothing else, barring the middle class, whose numbers, however, are reportedly burgeoning still, especially in terms of lifestyle and lifestyle expenses, gold is not something that the poor and the needy expect on their plates every day, morning, evening and night. If perchance, the import duty cuts cause gold prices to tumble down even more than already, then, yes, the BJP may have created at least one 'feel-good factor' that was evading Modi 2.0 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year. In the process, if the BJP-NDA alliance, including post-poll entrant in the now-ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh, could manage the numbers, that was god-given, not man-made. Maybe, Modi was 'right' when he said that he was a 'god-given leader' in one of his campaign rallies in a later phase of the parliamentary polls. However, the same cannot be said about the post-Budget prime ministerial declaration that most BJP state governments would prioritise Agniveer returnees for recruitments at their levels. This is a knee-jerk reaction to post-poll analyses that replacing regular long-serving military recruitments with the short-term Agniveer project was among the reasons for poll reversals, especially in Uttar Pradesh with its single largest number of 80 Lok Sabha seats. Of course, the PM was only repeating what those BJP chief ministers or governments had already said. But neither he, nor any of those chief ministers, explained what that 'preference' will be, or how it will be formalised or worked into the system. Do they mean that they would show it up as an add-on quota for government jobs at the level of individual states? If so, what kind of legal or Constitutional amendments would it entail? Could it be an omnibus Constitutional amendment to authorise individual state governments to fix additional quotas for Agniveers as the First Amendment (1951) had empowered them to do in the case of those communities that they identified as 'Backward Classes'? After all, the Modi Centre, while creating a new category called 'economic reservations', came up with a Constitutional amendment, over and above the 50 per cent uppernlimit fixed decades back in the 'Mandal case' (Indra Sawhney vs Union of India, 1992). The Supreme Court upheld the 10 per cent quota for the Economic Weaker Sections, caste no bar, by a 3-2 majority in 2022 (Janhit Abhiyan Akhil Bhratiya Kushwaha Mahasabha & Others vs Union of India & Others). IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi arrives for a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministers at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, July 27, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo It does not stop there. If the BJP's electoral reversals owed (also) to the Agniveer scheme elbowing out regular military recruitments in some parts of the country, it was not just about jobs -- which anyway does not flow near automatically under the promised project(s). The Agniveer returnees would have to compete like any other for the jobs advertised by state governments and maybe state PSUs, too. There, a select few from even among the Agniveers would be accommodated, not all of them. Incidentally, both the Agniveer recruitments and the returnees' induction into state government jobs would not be numerically as high as they would be in the case of recruitment for the three arms of the armed forces, starting with the army. Two, the patriotic pride and the sense of contribution to the nation's security and well-being that go with military service in many villages and communities across vast swathes, especially in north India, has to be felt to be believed. If they considered the Agniveer scheme as a very poor substitute for military service, the new announcement of accommodating some of the returnees in state government jobs may be seen as an insult, if not adding insult to injury. For many families from among them can trace back generations without break as having served in the armed forces -- and that, more than the salary and pension-benefits that go with military service -- was a qualification for prospective grooms. The question is is the Agniveer scheme, for instance, or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments, the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front? Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's 'one-year internship' scheme in public and private sector organisations, is it a permanent solution, either? Even Congress critics of the scheme stopped with recalling how it formed a part of their poll manifesto, like a few other promises in the Union Budget this time. Possibly, not to be embarrassed further about the past after Modi and his BJP colleagues sought to do it one more time on the 'Emergency anniversary' in Parliament especially this year round, they did not mention it -- but it was hugely publicised and also became popular in a sense, when introduced as a part of Indira Gandhi's 'Twenty-Point Programme' during the same period. For a populous and industrialised country like India, the manufacturing sector has been the main source of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled employment, especially for the blue, brown and grey collars. The 21st century manufacturing is more profits-based and hence technology-based, and so there are fewer jobs out there with each passing year. The services sector, which has sort of become the mainstay of the nation's economy and employment market, too, has limitations for providing jobs to these segments. Under-employment and relatively inadequate pay and perks, compared to their parental and grandparental generation, is the bane. In the post-Independence past, governments at the Centre and in the states over-staffed their offices across the board, to create more and more jobs. Leave aside their pays and pay-rises, even their pensions became a problematic albatross around the governments' necks that in the Economic Reforms era especially, the public sector too has been looking at cutting down on establishment costs. This has its own consequences for job creation, in a country that will take years if not decades to arrive at a balanced approach to population growth/reduction on the one hand and economic compulsions on the other. The question of employability or otherwise and the like would have to wait. IMAGE: Candidates undergo selection as Agniveers at Khelgaon in Ranchi, July 27, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo For those suffering from selective amnesia, Tamil Nadu's bold chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, sort of tried to address the issue by refusing pay hikes for government employees when they protested in a big way during her second term (2001 to 2006). She thought that a decade after the arrival of the reforms era, her government could introduce an element of economic discipline in the affairs of the state government -- and also declined procurement price-rise for farmers, even in matters of such procurement. Yes, it led to massive protests by the government employees on the one hand and farmers on the other -- both separately and at different times, all between 2001 and 2003. Jayalalithaa also sacked 100,000 state government employees through an omnibus government order, overnight. The Supreme Court of India upheld the mass sacking of state government employees. Be that as it may, the ruling AIADMK, in the company of its then BJP ally ruling the Centre, lost all 39 Lok Sabha seats, that too by huge margins, in 2004. In a state where the traditional hold of the Dravidian political rivals was already waning, 2 million government employees and pensioners, with an average four voters in the family, constituted the single largest voter constituency, that too equitably distributed across districts. That was in an electorate that stood at around 40 million at the time. In the post-poll scenario, the Jayalalithaa government modified most of the reforms agenda, making them employee- and farmer-friendly. The credibility gap of the government on continuing with these promises in a continuing term was wide, and the leadership also did not have the time to mend its ways even more, or convince the voters, more. So, in the assembly elections that followed two years later, in 2006, the ruling AIADMK still lost -- but more honourably than the rival DMK parent had lost in near-similar circumstances pertaining to political credibility and governmental sincerity, before and later. Is anyone there reading the writing on the wall? N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst and political commentator. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com 'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.' IMAGE: SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB. Rescuers carry the body of a victim at a landslide site. Photograph: C K Thanseer/Reuters Located in the Western Ghats, Wayanad has been witnessing landslides during the monsoon season. Scientist and ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil had warned of natural calamities in 2010 itself. Dr Gadgil headed the Western Ghats ecology experts panel set up by the Union ministry of environment and forests in 2010. When the Gadgil report (external link) came out, it shocked state governments in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The report raised serious concerns about the state governments' seriousness in dealing with ecologically sensitive areas. The report had recommended that several areas in Kerala which come under the Western Ghats should be classified as ecologically sensitive, which was ignored then, and is still being ignored. Subsequently, every government rejected the report, with the disastrous consequences that are witnessed currently. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Professor Madhav Gadgil after the Wayanad landslides on what the government could, and should, have done to avert such disasters. During the Kerala floods in 2018, you had warned about future natural disasters in Kerala. And now we have the landslides in Wayanad that have led to so many deaths. Why do you think this happened? Are heavy rains the primary reason for the landslides in Wayanad? Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad. There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area. For instance, there are rock quarries which are in the vicinity of the area where landslides took place. These rock quarries with their blasting send shockwaves that disturb the rock structure, which results in them becoming more fragile. And this has been going on without a break. The risk of such disasters has therefore increased in the last 10 years. There are false data given. For example, there is a village called Koottickal where the government said there are only three rock quarries in the area whereas Google Maps was showing 30 rock quarries. So the risk of landslides has increased in these areas and when heavy rainfalls happen it triggers such things. Were any lessons learnt from the 2018 Kerala floods to ensure that landslide like incidents will not be repeated? The nation is being ruled by people who without any doubt support muddied interest. They care a damn about the livelihood and lives of common people. The fishing community is deprived of fisheries because of pollution and the pollution department gives false data as if there is no pollution (in rivers or seas). When fishermen hold peaceful demonstrations against these polluters the government uses the police act against these fishermen to arrest them and suppress their voice. This is recorded in our report. What is nation? Nation is in the grip of a small coterie. Your critics had stated that your report was excessively environment friendly and not based on ground realities. What would you say to them now? Were you hurt by such criticism? You read the report and then make allegations. Who is hurt? I am not. I am a scientist and everything that I wrote in my report is grounded and written in careful observation. We have given evidence to it and the report is empirically valid though politically it may not be correct. Your report had stated that the entire Western Ghat be notified as Ecological Sensitive Areas (ESAs). The Kasturirangan committee that followed reduced it to 37% Was this a disastrous move looking back? Kasturirangan being a responsible government employee made a statement that the local community has no say in economic decision making. If the quarry is leading to landslides and killing the locals, they have no right to protest against the quarry. This is what is mentioned in the Kasturirangan report. Sadly, the floods of 2018 in Kerala and now the Wayanad landslides prove that you were right. What can be done to reverse things so that such calamities do not happen in the future? Become a law-abiding country. We are arresting people when they are protesting against quarrying which is done undemocratically. This must be changed. From a lawless society we have to become a lawful society. Which are the commercial activities that need to stop immediately at the Western Ghats? The quarry and mining work can go on. The question, however, is how can they be managed properly? In Goa, I have friends in a village of South Goa where the gram sabha has proposed that they will do mining which has been stopped because of illegalities. The gram sabha has undertaken that they will do mining very carefully without damaging the environment. They will give employment to local people, and these are the things that can be done. What happened to all those environmental awards like the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar? Are there no national awards or recognition given to environmentalists any more? I don't know about awards. I am not interested. Landslides and floods were not to be seen in the Western Ghats in the 1960s and 1970s when development activities were not on such a large scale. Is it true? Let me go back further in history. I am very much interested in Maratha history and Karnataka history, too. I have many documents from that period. There were absolutely no landslides in that period of 1600s. In Pune, there is a geologist who has studied all landslides which are small and big ones. His study shows that the frequency of landslides in Maharashtra Western Ghats has increased 100-fold. This has happened because of reckless construction of roads, railways and housing. Housing? Yes, they are not building homes for the poor (in the Western Ghats) but they are building second homes and third homes for India's rich class. But we need connectivity and roads like the Samruddhi Expressway to connect our cities for better transport, isn't it? You can check in Vidarbha and find that the Samruddhi Expressway cuts through a major hillock adjoining the village. Cutting that hillock has led to drying up of springs on which village ponds and irrigation was dependent. Now, the hyenas are coming to villages and attacking children (because water is not found easily). The Samruddhi Expressway has not taken into consideration environment or the effects that it is causing to the people staying around that expressway. One of the points in your report was that the government is not interested in natural based resources which is the real livelihood of the country and instead interested in industrial development which does not create much of employment. Will we have to change this mindset to save our ecology? It depends on what kind of industrial development we are pursuing. Certainly, not water polluting industries in coastal areas which destroy the fishing industry and the livelihood of a large number of fisherfolk. There are technologies which are in place which makes it possible for industries not to pollute the river or seawater but then the profit margins are reduced if you implement such technologies. And there is no way anybody penalises such industries. So things go on. Do you regret that if your report was fully implemented then this tragedy could have been averted? I was very honest and straightforward. And whether it is the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) government or the BJP or whichever political party, they never wanted my report. I never expected that my report will be accepted but I did expect what is happening now, that it will be paid attention to. This is the reason that even 13 years after I submitted it discussions are going on regarding my report. I am satisfied that my report played a role in highlighting what is going on and has brought it to the notice of the people of India. Irans new president Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn into office July 30, at a time of mounting tensions over the conflicts between Israel and Irans proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Pezeshkian has praised the so-called resistance front fighting against Israel and said Iranian support for it was a religious obligation. Later on Pezeshkians inauguration day, tensions rose even higher, when Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader who had attended the inauguration, was assassinated in Tehran. Just hours earlier, Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed in Beirut by an Israeli missile strike. The United States, which had no involvement in the attacks, has repeatedly underscored Israels right to defend itself. The U.S., however, is calling for renewed efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflicts - in the near term, by coming to agreement on the current ceasefire proposal for the conflict in Gaza. In his swearing-in address, Iranian President Pezeshkian, in addition to expressing support for Palestinians, advocated for normal relations with the world, and deplored the economic sanctions which have been imposed on Iran by the United States and other countries. He vowed to work for their removal and called them oppressive and unjust. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States has a different view of injustice when it comes to Iran: What the United States thinks is unjust is the Iranian regimes treatment of women and girls. ... What we think is unjust is the way ... we have seen the Iranian regime crackdown, time and time and time again, on just basic protests, basic people making their voices heard, expressing their opinion about actions that this Iranian regime [is] undertaking. Those are the true injustices that the Iranian people are facing. It is the ones that are inflicted by the Iranian regime itself on its own people. Spokesperson Patel said the United States is going to judge the Iranian regime on the actions that it takes, not any empty words. In the past, he noted, those actions have included violating its nuclear obligations; exporting terrorism; funding proxy groups; as well as disregarding basic fundamentals of democracy, basic fundamentals of human rights. If [Iran] is interested in being a member and party to the international world order, said Spokesperson Patel, it needs to begin by respecting and abiding by the international world order. 'Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable.' IMAGE: Search and rescue operations underway in Wayanad. Photograph: ANI Photo "Most climate change related issues have no solutions in one or two or three terms in office. So the politicians do not want to touch it, except come in to manage the rehabilitation," says former Caravan editor Dr Vinod K Jose. Dr Jose grew up in Wayanad and returned after working in New York and New Delhi for 25 years. An alumnus of Manipal University, Jamia Milia Islamia and the Columbia Journalism School, he has a master's in communication and a PhD in Sociology of Media. He was a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and is currently working on a book on Indian politics. In an e-mail interview with Rediff.com's Archana Masih, Dr Jose explains what Wayanad has experienced in the last few years and gives insights into the reasons behind the tragedy. The first of a two-part interview: This is the latest catastrophe that has occurred in Kerala during the monsoon. Five years ago there was a similar devastation in other parts of Kerala during torrential rainfall. Both these tragedies occurred during the LDF government's tenure. What has been Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's attitude and response to environmental concerns and dangers? In Kerala whoever is in power, you see the society, administration and the government comes forward single-mindedly to carry out relief work. We have seen this over and over again in many tragedies. From what I can see, the Pinarayi Vijayan government is not any different, and they are coordinating relief work as well as a state government can do. But the question is not just about how well you respond after a tragedy. The question is also about what you do to mitigate the tragedy if a natural calamity occurs so that the casualties of people and property are far less than what we see. The second larger question is also are these natural calamities avoidable, and if yes, how? IMAGE: Engineers and soldiers from the Madras Engineers Group construct a bridge in Choorlamala. Photograph: IaSouthern/X What has been the sentiment among the people in the aftermath of this tragedy? How have the local people, the district and state responded to the tragedy? There's a great deal of coordination between the revenue department, the local administration, the state administration, the disaster management authority, air force and the army. I don't think there has been any delay in the different wings of the government kicking into action post-tragedy. The challenge going forward will be to rebuild the two villages. Houses need to be built. Roads and bridges need to be fixed. The school needs work etc. IMAGE: Army personnel conduct rescue operations in landslides hit Wayanad. Photograph: IaSouthern/X When we were covering Rahul Gandhi's election in 2019, we learnt that there was no railway station in Wayanad district because of ecological reasons -- could you explain what are some of the reasons that make this region so environmentally fragile? There's no railway in Wayanad, partly because even under the British, and post-Independence too, the feasibility studies showed it would be unviable. Plus, even though Wayanad is part of Kerala, geographically it is easier to travel to Mysore or Bangalore. To reach any other district of Kerala, people of Wayanad need to take the ghat road, and climb around 1,000 metres down. Building the railways from the hills to the plains will be outrageously costly. Everyone is used to road transport. The British who used to grow timber to use in the railway tracks, and the Jewish, Arab, Chinese and European travellers who came to the nearby ports to buy the spices and coffee grown here, all of them, relied on the narrow paths winding down to the planes from the Western Ghats. If not the maritime trade from Kozhikode, Thalassery or Cochin, the goods travelled inland to Mysore and from there to Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai. Railways did not make commercial sense for the terrain of Wayanad. The reason was not ecology. IMAGE: A view of landslide hit Wayanad. Photograph: INC Kerala/X Ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecological Expert Panel, has said as reported in The Hindu that this was a man-made disaster and the state government did not adhere to recommendations that would prevent such disasters. His report when it first came was regarded as very polarising. In your opinion, why was it so? Gadgil is one of the finest ecologists in India. But he is also a highly misunderstood man in the last ten years, after he produced the Western Ghats Ecology Expert report. When his report first came, the way everyone went about dramatising the recommendations, people in the Western Ghats feared that they would immediately get evicted from their homes. When we talk about the Western Ghats, we are talking about 25 crore (250 million) people living in a stretch of 1,500 kilometres. His intention as I understand was to put a stop to new industrial-level constructions and mining activities in areas identified as ecologically sensitive. Ideally, that shouldn't be a problem for anyone thinking futuristic of their natural habitat. But as soon as the report came, the farmers and the forest dependent communities got really scared. Politicians, as usual tried to ignore it first, but then when they realised they would lose the support of people, took the side of the farmers and the forest dependent communities. Using the fear and the uncertainty that the report created, the real estate lobby managed to purchase lots of land at cheap rate. Once the dust got settled a bit, in places like Wayanad for instance, the administration passed rules that have restricted the height of buildings etc. So the report had some effect in some places. But I think the reason why the Gadgil Report got such a villainous reputation was because of a bunch of reasons. First of all, the local people felt that in the one-and-half-year long time that Gadgil took to prepare the Ecology Report, he did not consult the local bodies, the elected representatives, and farmers unions. Therefore, they felt the report ended up as partisan, siding on the side of environmentalism over the livelihood of the people. Second, Gadgil's report came six years after a historic legislation that was passed in Parliament, the 2006 Forest Rights Act, which gave the Adivasi people and forest dependent castes the right to cultivate in the forest. The Act was historic since across India, the forest dependent people had no say in the usage of the land of their ancestor. There were numerous agitations on this question of alienated land of Adivasis, one of which happened in Wayanad itself, the Muthanga agitation which led to police firing in 2003. Besides giving the tribal people the right to cultivate inside the forest, the Forest Act in 2006 had also made it mandatory that any corporation in future planning to mine in forest land must get permission from the local panchayat. It made it almost impossible for a few politicians and businessmen in the state capitals and the national capital to decide the future of a jungle. Local body self governance was at the centre of this decision making. IMAGE: Rescue operations in full swing in Wayanad. Photograph: C K Thanseer/Reuters Gadgil's report, in the contrary said the forest land should not be used for non-forest purpose, thereby stopping the cultivation rights that the adivasis were given by the Forest Act. Gadgil's assertion was seen by many of these forest dependent communities and the activists as an attack on what they achieved for the first time in India. History also was on their side, since it was such communities and the local people who stopped many devastating projects in the past. For instance, a few kilometres south of where the current tragedy in Wayanad took place now was the pristine Silent Valley, and in the 1980s, (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi wanted to build a massive hydro power project there. It was not the environmentalists in the big cities, but the local people, who stopped that project then. So in the classic debate of environmentalism versus livelihood of people, the Gadgil Report did not come across as nuanced and careful as it must have been. While the content of his report might still have agreeable points for all sides for the interest of ecology, the way it came across as talking down to the people, without adequate consultations, and seemingly diluting the Forest Act, Gadgil became a villain. Subsequently, he spent many years explaining himself saying he was misunderstood, and his report did not mean the people should get evicted, and it did not mean the spice or coffee farms need to be shut, and the local panchayat could decide at the end on the developmental activities etc. But public opinion somehow was set. In fact, the other narrative that needs to be read along with the Gadgil report is the man-animal conflict, another affiliated issue connected to both environment and ecology. Gadgil was of the opinion that the wild animals posing threat to humans must be hunted down, and such huntings should be legalised. Gadgil wants the local panchayats to handle such huntings. Any animal, grown beyond a certain number and is of threat to the people must be culled out, he says. But the environmental extremists or people living in the cities talking without knowing the nuances, are angry with Gadgil on this. But the local people, or even Gadgil for instance do not say go kill the wild animals in the forest, but if the population of such animals increase so much inside the forest, and they come out frequently, and destroy the livelihood of the people, then the situation is different. Gadgil says wild animals must be restricted inside the forest and national parks itself. The forest department and the environmentalists were on one side on this, and both had no stake in either the land, or their livelihood did not come from slogging in the field. They painted the people as villains. So once again, without much delay from the Gadgil Report, this debate became the second issue for people to feel there was an effort to evict them from the Western Ghats. In the man-animal conflict the villains were the forest department itself. They spearhead large scale industrialisation inside the forest. The teak plantations, not a natural plant to the Western Ghats, for instance gives hundreds of crore rupees annually to the forest department in Kerala. In Karnataka this revenue is even more. Besides what these teak plantations bring legally to the state exchequer, auctioning of timber is also a good opportunity for corruption. When the ecosystem inside the forest is destroyed, animals don't get food inside the forest. They don't even have water to drink inside the forest in the summer months, and come out to the villages. Elephants come for fruits for instance, which are plenty in the farmers's fields. So again, the bigger question of what's going on inside the forest, is not asked. When the forest department must make sure the animals get their food, fruits and water inside the forest, and build proper fencing to demarcate the human areas from the forests, the issue of the man-animal conflict can be brought under control. After all we are talking about the fears of 25 crore people. On any question of the ecology of the Western Ghats, whether issues arising out of landslides, or the man-animal conflicts, we will need to work in consultation with the multiple stakeholders. Top down policy prescriptions, or judicial orders would be counter productive. IMAGE: MES Raseena Matriculation students in Chennai, July 31, 2024, pay a candlelight tribute to the victims of the Wayanad landslide. Photograph: ANI Photo What are some of the man-made reasons behind tragedies such as the current one? From what we understand so far, the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide did not start in those two villages. The landslide started several kilometres inside the forest. We don't even know if it is technically called a landslide, or something else. But assuming it is a landslide in the common parlance we call it, there are a few possibilities. Obviously, the tragedy is so huge, since people living near the river bank was quite high. They were poor people, many working in the tea plantation nearby, owned by Harrisons Malayalam, whose owner is Harsh Goenka, the billionaire. I checked his twitter feed today, and he is asking the government to help the people. Of course, the government must do what it must. But if Goenka adopted these two villages, compensated all who died and rendered homeless, and reconstructed the roads and schools --that's being a good corporate citizen. His plantation is the lifeline of these two villages. His tea plantations in Mundakkai-Chooralmala could ideally be home for millions of trees. As far as the reasons, clearly, climate change is the main villain. We are seeing an age of extremes. In Wayanad for instance, this summer was the worst. And this monsoon has been the longest after a long time. It started raining on June 1st, as the monsoon calendar goes here, and it has been continuously raining since then. In two days before the landslide, the rainfall it seems was over 500 mm. A city like Delhi get flooded with just one-tenth of that rain. So clearly, there was a problem of scale of the rainfall in Wayanad leading to the landslide. It must be connected to climate change. Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable. Most climate change related issues have no solutions in one or two or three terms in office. So the politicians do not want to touch it, except come in to manage the rehabilitation. In deciding why the scale of the tragedy was so high, of course, the constructions that came about in the downstream must also be looked into. But clearly, to find a lasting solution, the inquiry should be truthful. Part 2 of the interview: 'Landslides Used To Be Quite Frequent In The Olden Days' Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Despite facing inclement weather, rising water levels and the challenges of working through the night, the Madras Engineers Group team completed the bridge at landslide-hit Choorlamala in Wayanad. Photograph: @IaSouthern/X Photograph: @IaSouthern/X Photograph: @IaSouthern/X IMAGE: Major General V T Mathew,General Officer Commanding Karnataka and Kerala sub area, who is charge of rescue operations, briefs Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on the ongoing rescue effort, here and below. Photograph: @IaSouthern/X IMAGE: 'A Bridge never too far for #IndianArmy, be it in war or in peace. Valiant #MadrasSappers constructed an improvised 100ft foot bridge overnight and opened for public. This will further aid the rescue operations and assist in quick evacuation of stranded people', here and below. Photograph: @IaSouthern/X Photograph: @IaSouthern/X Photograph: @IaSouthern/X IMAGE: Indian Army engineers and soldiers work through adverse conditions to complete the Chooralmala bridge. Photograph: @IaSouthern/X IMAGE: 'The Indian Army, in coordination with the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, conducted search operations at three locations -- Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. Each team is accompanied by a dog squad. Five JCBs have been shifted to the west side of the stream to clear debris and facilitate search operations', here and below. Photograph: Indian Army/ANI Photo Photograph: Indian Army/ANI Photo Photograph: Indian Army/ANI Photo Photograph: Indian Army/ANI Photo Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com and Anant Salvi/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com Lieutenant General Hitesh Bhalla, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps visited forward posts of the Siachen Brigade in eastern Ladakh near Demchok to review operational preparedness on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. IMAGE: Lieutenant General Hitesh Bhalla arrives at the forward posts. All photographs: ANI Photo IMAGE: The general interacts with soldiers at the post, here and below. IMAGE: The general signs the guest book... IMAGE: ... and poses for a photograph with soldiers of the Siachen Brigade, here and below... IMAGE: ... and presents a memento to the Siachen Brigade. IMAGE: A view of the mountains in eastern Ladakh, 3 km from the Line of Actual Control, here and below. Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com, Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com The Unique Identification Authority of India can be directed to disclose to court the data of a missing person in a sealed cover in exceptional circumstances, the Delhi high court has ruled. Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters The high court said in a habeas corpus case, there is a sense of urgency with which the court has to act as the missing person could be in danger and under such circumstances, the UIDAI can be directed to provide the data forthwith. A habeas corpus petition is filed seeking direction to produce a person who is missing or has been illegally detained. considering the urgency of the matter, and in order to safeguard the safety and security of an individual, UIDAI can also be directed by the high court dealing with the habeas corpus petition, in exceptional cases such as the present one, to disclose the data to the court in a sealed cover, even without being afforded a prior hearing, a bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said. The bench referred to the Supreme Court's KS Puttuswamy judgment in which the right to privacy was held as a fundamental right and said it is a settled proposition that the data provided to the UIDAI while making an Aadhaar card is private and personal information of an individual. The same (data) needs to be maintained with confidentiality and secrecy should be ensured by the UIDAI. Under normal circumstances the data given by any individual for preparing an Aadhaar card would be the personal data of the said individual and would be governed by the law of privacy. However, sometimes there are exceptions to this, the high court said. The high court was hearing a habeas corpus petition by a daughter seeking direction to the police to produce her mother who has been missing since May 2019. The court was informed that though the woman has been missing for over five years, her Aadhaar data has been updated and it mentioned her most recent address and mobile number. The mother of the petitioner is currently not traceable despite repeated efforts made by the Delhi Police. The daughter has information that recently the Aadhaar card of the mother has been updated. Under such circumstances, in a habeas corpus writ petition when the Aadhaar card of the missing person may have been updated, the court dealing with such a petition would not be able to hear the person concerned who is the holder of Aadhaar card and is missing, it said. The Delhi police, in its status report, submitted that there was no trace of the petitioner's mother. The high court said the only information now available is on the basis of the updated Aadhaar data and provided the updated address and mobile number of the woman to the police for investigation. In an order passed on July 30 and uploaded on Wednesday, the court asked the police to file an updated status report on her whereabouts. Let an updated status report be filed by the Delhi police. If there is any updating or editing of information with regard to the Aadhaar card of the mother of the petitioner by the next date of hearing, the same shall also be provided in a sealed cover to the court, by the UIDAI, on the next date of hearing, the bench said and listed the matter for further proceedings on August 20. It said the police should use the data of the missing person only for tracing her and maintain confidentiality. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held discussions with his cabinet colleagues in the wake of the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot reportedly issuing him a 'show-cause notice', seen as a precursor to sanctioning his prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam'. IMAGE: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Photograph: ANI Photo The Governor has reportedly asked the chief minister to explain why prosecution sanction must not be accorded in connection with the alleged irregularities in the distribution of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to his wife Parvathi. During a breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah is said to have discussed with the ministers regarding a political and legal strategy and the Congress high command's directions on the issue. Siddaramaiah, however, skipped a cabinet meeting which discussed the 'show-cause notice'. Home Minister G Parameshwara said Siddaramaiah authorised Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to chair the meeting. Parameshwara said since the cabinet was slated to discuss the notice issued to him by the Governor, ministers requested the chief minister not to attend it. Earlier on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah along with Shivakumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi and held discussions. The Governor's move comes after a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party legislators met the Governor on July 25 and submitted to him a memorandum demanding transfer of the MUDA case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a probe and resignation of the chief minister, and advocate-activist T J Abraham seeking sanction to prosecute Siddaramaiah. In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been 'acquired' by the MUDA. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single member inquiry commission under former high court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'. Meanwhile, ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet took exception to the Governor issuing the notice to the CM. Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre saw it as a 'conspiracy to topple a democratically elected government'. "We will wage a legal and political battle", he said. "We will take it legally," Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge told reporters. Kharge said the notice has been served 'without any information and without seeking clarification'. The Allahabad high court on Thursday rejected a plea challenging the maintainability of 18 cases related to the temple-mosque dispute in Mathura, and ruled that the 'religious character' of Shahi Idgah needs to be determined. IMAGE: A view of the Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex and Shahi Eidgah Mosque, in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Photograph: ANI Photo The court dismissed the Muslim side's contention that the suits filed by Hindu litigants relating to the dispute over the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple and the adjacent mosque violated the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act -- and were thus not maintainable. The 1991 Act prohibits changing the religious character of any shrine from what existed on the day of the country's Independence. It exempted only the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its purview. The cases filed by the Hindu side seek the 'removal' of the Aurangzeb-era mosque they claim was built after demolishing a temple that once stood there. Shahi Masjid committee secretary Tanvir Ahmad said they are studying the high court order and will approach the Supreme Court against it. In his ruling, Justice Mayank Kumar Jain said the 1991 Act did not define the term 'religious character' and the "disputed" place cannot have a dual religious character -- of a temple and a mosque, which are 'adverse to each other' -- at the same time. "Either the place is a temple or a mosque. Thus, I find that the religious character of the disputed place as it existed on August 15, 1947 is to be determined by documentary as well as oral evidence led by both the parties," the judge said. He concluded that the cases "do not appear to be barred by any provisions of the Wakf Act, 1995: the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991; the Specific Relief Act, 1963; the Limitation Act, 1963 and Order XIII Rule 3A of the Code of Civil Procedure Code, 1908". Hindu side counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain told reporters that with the dismissal of the plea challenging maintainability, the high court will continue to hear all related cases on the temple-mosque issue. Jain also said the Hindu side will now move the Supreme Court asking it to vacate its stay on an earlier Allahabad High Court order that had allowed a survey of the mosque. The Hindu litigants claim the mosque holds signs suggesting that it was a temple once. The mosque management committee and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board had argued that the suits were barred under Places of Worship Act and other laws. On May 31, the Allahabad high court reserved its judgment on this maintainability plea after hearing both sides. However, the court reopened the hearing at the request of Shahi Idgah counsel Mehmood Pracha. The judgment, pronounced Thursday, was finally reserved on June 6. The high court has now fixed August 12 as the date for framing of issues. The Mathura dispute mirrors the legal tussle in Varanasi, where the Gyanvapi mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath temple are located next to each other. Last December, the Allahabad high court dismissed pleas challenging the maintainability of a 1991 suit seeking the 'restoration' of a temple where the Gyanvapi mosque stands. "Either the Gyanvapi compound has a Hindu religious character or a Muslim religious character. It can't have dual character at the same time," Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had then said, while ruling that the Varanasi case was not barred under the Places of Worship Act. The search for survivors continues after several devastating landslides triggered by heavy rainfall hit the hills in Wayanad district. Caution: Graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised. IMAGE: Drone views shows landslide sites, here and below. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: A drone view shows Army and rescue teams building a temporary bridge to cross a river at a landslide site. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: A drone view shows members of rescue teams crossing a temporary bridge to reach a landslide site, here and below. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: Soldiers help the rescued to cross a temporary bridge at a landslide site. Photograph: C K Thanseer/Reuters IMAGE: A 68-member disaster response team from the Southern Naval Command with a medical team and equipment conducts rescue and relief operations at landslides hit Wayanad. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: The Southern Naval Command disaster response team conduct rescue operations. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: Territorial Army and Defence Security Corps personnel rescue 19 workers from Madhya Pradesh stranded at the Vanarani tea estate. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: The workers from MP stranded at the Vanarani tea estate. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB. Rescuers prepare to move the body of a victim from a landslide site. Photograph: C K Thanseer/Reuters IMAGE: Rescuers hold a stretcher as the search for survivors continues. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: Search and rescue operations underway at Chooralmala in Wayanad. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: A dog squad joins the search and rescue operations at Chooralmala. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: A man weeps as he speaks to relatives after his home and autorickshaw were destroyed. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: Damaged vehicles and shops. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: A destroyed home. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: An excavator clears tree branches as rescue operations continue. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: An excavator digs next to a damaged building. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: A volunteer throws a bottle of water to a man during rescue operations. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: Volunteers eat food as rescue operations continue. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters IMAGE: Coast Guard disaster relief teams en route to Wayanad to provide relief materials to the landslide-affected people, here and below. Photograph: ANI Photo Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: IAF personnel after rescuing stranded people from landslide sites. Photograph: ANI Photo IMAGE: The National Flag flies at half-mast at the Kerala assembly in Thiruvananthapuram as a two-day mourning is observed in the state for victims of the Wayanad landslides. Photograph: ANI Photo Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Thursday said the state government is working towards peace talks and has held several meetings in Assam's Silchar. IMAGE: A candlelight march being taken out to demand peace in violence-hit Manipur, at DDSC Stadium, Dimapur, September 3, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo "We are making immense efforts towards peace talks with the assistance of MLAs and other members. Meetings have been held in Silchar, and we will soon make an announcement," Singh told the assembly without elaborating on who are involved in the meetings. He described the ongoing violence as an "unexpected and unwanted turn of events" and added, "Given the grim law and order situation, taking extreme measures, including arrests, might have negative repercussions." Singh also noted that some issues are being politicised, which is complicating the situation. "There are elements which are politicising certain issues that cannot be immediately handled now. I appeal to all not to engage in such activities," Singh said. In response to Congress MLA Ranjit Singh's question about violence occurring despite the presence of over 38,000 state forces, Singh said, "An investigation is being conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge. The findings will identify the lapses that contributed to the violence, and responsibility will be fixed based on the inquiry's conclusions." Replying to a query from Congress MLA Surajkumar Okram, Singh said, "So far, 226 people have been killed in the violence. There have been delays in arresting culprits in certain cases due to mob-like conditions. There have also been instances of groups obstructing security forces." Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in a relief camp and security forces in Manipur's Imphal East district on Thursday after tear gas was used to disperse a protest rally, the police said. Approximately 100 IDPs from Akampat relief camp in the district attempted to stage a protest but were stopped by security forces, leading to an altercation, they added. The relief camp residents, holding placards and banners, were demanding their rehabilitation and a resolution to the ethnic violence in the state so they could return to their homes at Moreh in Tengnoupal district, and other areas. Ethnic violence in the state which started in May 2023 has so far claimed 226 lives and left over 59,000 people displaced, officials said. Locals also joined the fray, hurling stones at the security forces. The protesters managed to continue their rally for about 1 km but were stopped at Singjamei in Imphal West district after additional security reinforcements, including CRPF personnel, arrived. Reports of assaults and injuries have surfaced but the numbers remain unconfirmed. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh told the assembly on Wednesday that 226 people have died due to the ethnic violence in the state. Singh noted that over 59,000 displaced people are currently sheltered in relief camps and 11,133 houses have been burned in the unrest. Eighteen Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were suspended from the assembly till 2 pm of August 2 and were removed by marshals after they refused to leave the House on Thursday. IMAGE: Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs holding a massive banner protest against the state government over various issues, in Ranchi on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto took action against the BJP members after they created ruckus in the House in protest against the eviction of opposition MLAs by marshals on the previous day and Chief Minister Hemant Soren's 'refusal' to reply to their queries. Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri alleged that dictatorship prevails in Jharkhand, since the BJP MLAs did not hurl bombs in the House as was done by revolutionaries in Delhi assembly in 1929 but followed the non-violent path of Mahatma Gandhi. He also alleged that action was taken against the saffron party legislators at the behest of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government. Several BJP MLAs of Jharkhand spent Wednesday night in the assembly lobby after marshals evicted them from the well of the House where they were protesting against Soren's alleged refusal to reply to their questions on key issues including employment. The House proceedings were scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday. The BJP legislators, however, trooped into the well ahead of the start of the session and raised slogans demanding resignation of the chief minister. They were also seen tearing some documents while protesting. Members of the ruling and opposition parties were seen exchanging heated arguments. As the chaotic situation continued after the House assembled, Mahto suspended 18 of the 20 BJP legislators present. Since they refused to leave even after being suspended, he called marshals who removed those opposition members. The Speaker said the Assembly Ethics Committee will probe the matter and submit a report to him within a week. He then adjourned the house till 12.30 pm. BJP legislators told reporters outside the assembly that democracy was 'murdered' by the Speaker at the behest of the JMM-led government in the state. The Leader of the Opposition claimed that Thursday's act showed that the state government has turned into a dictator. "We requested the government to reply to questions on issues related to the people. What happened is an attempt to suppress the voice of opposition MLAs," Bauri said. The ruling JMM-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance added a black chapter to the history of the assembly, he claimed. When the House re-assembled at 12.30 pm, Bauri said this was the black day in democracy after Emergency. "We did not bomb the House like British Parliament. We followed Bapu's Ahimsa," he said adding that 18 MLAs were suspended under government pressure. He was referring to the 1929 incident when Bhagat Singh threw two low-intensity bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to 'make the deaf hear' and inspire fellow Indians to fight the British. Bauri said, "We just demanded the CM's reply on promises made by the JMM-led alliance when it came to power in 2019." Bauri and Neelkanth Munda who were not suspended then staged a walkout. Sudesh Mahto, chief of BJP ally Ajsu Party, urged the Speaker to reconsider the decision to suspend 18 MLAs. He said the matter could have been placed before the Business Advisory Committee before such an extreme step. The speaker replied, "There is a limit to toleration. Everyone has the right to disagree but disagreement had turned into aggression here and they crossed the boundary." After that, proceedings continued for a little over half an hour before the Speaker adjourned the House till 11 am on Friday. Outside the assembly, Bauri told reporters: "We will uproot this government. Our electricity was cut off, we were stopped from going to toilets by the government yesterday. People are watching all and they would give a befitting reply to the JMM." The assembly elections in the state are due later this year. The opposition BJP and All Jharkhand Students' Union Party MLAs were evicted by marshals from the House to the lobby late last night after they refused to budge from the Well even after the House was adjourned around 3 pm. Several BJP legislators slept on bed covers and blankets on the floor of the lobby near the entrance of the assembly building on Wednesday night. The Karnataka government on Thursday "strongly advised" Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the showcause notice he issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment 'scam', and alleged that it was part of a concerted effort to destabilise the Congress regime. IMAGE: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot (right) being welcomed by state CM Siddaramaiah on his arrival for the joint session of the state assembly, as state legislative council chairman Basavaraj Horatti (centre) looks on, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru, February 12, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo The council of ministers discussed the showcause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the constitutional office' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations. Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the governor issued the notice on July 26 directing the chief minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days justifying why permission to prosecute him should not be granted. "...Hence, the request of the petitioner needs to be processed as per provisions of section 17(A) and 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023...", the governor had said in his notice to the chief minister. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the council of ministers which lasted five hours, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, flanked by seven cabinet colleagues, said the governor failed to take note of the fact that Abraham has criminal antecedents, including cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him. The council strongly urged the governor to withdraw the notice and to proceed forthwith to reject the application for sanction filed by Abraham, he said. "I am hopeful that the governor will withdraw the notice and uphold the dignity of his office in spite of any pressure." Shivakumar said it expressed the view that the governor, in issuing the showcause notice, has acted in undue haste, circumventing all procedural requirements. He described the governor's decision as a "murder of democracy and the Constitution'. "There is no case for prosecution here," he asserted. "(This action against) a chief minister who has been elected with a huge majority in a democratic set up is a murder of democracy and detrimental to the Constitution by (sic) the Centre... the central government is using the governor..." he said. Shivakumar said that Abraham had submitted a letter to the governor on July 26. On the same day, the chief secretary had personally given a detailed reply to the governor on the issue through a report, as sought by him earlier. "Without looking into the aspects and issues, the genuinity (sic) of the report of the chief secretary, the governor has issued a show cause notice (to CM) on July 26... This is a political, malafide show cause notice. We never expected this from the governor. He could have studied and looked into the report submitted by the chief secretary," he said. The chief minister skipped today's meeting of the council of ministers and authorised Shivakumar to chair it. Home minister G Parameshwara said since the cabinet was slated to discuss the notice issued to the CM the governor, ministers requested the chief minister to skip it. Earlier on Thursday at a breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah held discussions with his cabinet colleagues regarding a political and legal strategy and the Congress high command's directions on the issue. The chief minister's legal advisor AS Ponnanna, an MLA, who was also present at the press meet, said as per Article 163 of the Constitution, the governor has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers and at his discretion when provided under the Constitution. He further said: "Prior approval under Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act can be sought only by the investigation officer after due verification, not by TJ Abraham." In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA. MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 percent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. On July 14, the Congress government constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former high court Judge Justice PN Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'. Siddaramaiah, along with Shivakumar, on Tuesday met Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi and held discussions. For the sixteenth time since its February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation called a meeting of the UN Security Council to complain about Western support of Ukraine as it defends itself. Russias representative attempted to paint the government there as a long-time puppet regime doing the Wests bidding that is, attacking Russia. In particular, Russia is incensed at the West supplying weapons and war materiel to Ukraine. According to Article 51 of the UN Charter, Ukraine has the right to self-defense. Contrary to the Russian Federations claims, Western weapons are not the cause of this war, nor the reason for its prolongation. Indeed, if Russia withdraws from Ukraine today, and the war would be over. Russias hypocrisy is once again on full display, said U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.N., Robert Wood. Despite repeated calls from more than 140 countries for Russia to end its war of aggression, a few countries have deepened their support to Russia. Despite its calls on countries not to prolong the conflict, China is exporting to Russia nitrocellulose machine tools, microelectronics, optics, and UAV and cruise missile technology that are prolonging and enabling Russias violation of the UN Charter through its invasion of Ukraine, he said. Collectively, exports from China have given the Russian war effort a lifeline and are increasing the threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security, said Ambassador Wood. Then there is Russias new pact with North Korea. In exchange for North Korean arms, Russia shields the DPRK and its ballistic missile program from UN scrutiny. The DPRK has unlawfully transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and over 15,000 containers of munitions to aid Russias war against Ukraine, prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people, said Ambassador Wood. Credible reporting suggests that Moscow plans to follow the same playbook with Tehran, elevating bilateral ties with a comprehensive bilateral agreement, he said. Iran is another country that continues to fuel Russias war of aggression with direct military support, providing Iranian UAVs, which the Kremlin is using to devastating effect against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure. We urge all countries to cease military cooperation with Russia, and to halt materiel and political support for its war of aggression against Ukraine, said Ambassador Wood. The United States will continue to stand by Ukraine. We will continue to call for justice for the victims of the Kremlins war of aggression, and accountability for those responsible. A Delhi court Thursday denied anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing of OBC and disability quota benefits, saying these are serious allegations that "require a thorough investigation". IMAGE: Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar. Photograph: ANI on X "Custodial interrogation of the accused is required to unearth the whole conspiracy and to establish involvement of the other persons involved in conspiracy," Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala said. Khedkar, who has not been arrested in the case, had approached the court through her lawyer, saying she faces "immediate threat of arrest". Hearing the plea, the judge said the case is "only the tip of the iceberg", and asked the Union Public Service Commission to have a relook at its recommendations made in the recent past and the Delhi police to widen its scope of the investigation. He said the UPSC is required to find out candidates who might have illegally availed of attempts beyond permissible limits, obtained benefits of OBC (non-creamy layer) and Persons with Benchmark Disability quota despite being not entitled. The judge directed the Delhi police to conduct its investigation "in all fairness" to find out candidates recommended in recent past who might have illegally availed of such benefits. The judge further directed the police to find out whether some insider from the UPSC also helped Khedkar. In order to maintain its reputation, fairness, sanctity and the faith of aspirants and the general public, there is need on the part of the UPSC to strengthen its SOP (standard operating procedure) to ensure that such an event does not occur in future, the judge said. The judge made the observation while noting that the officers appointed by the UPSC are the backbone of the country and "the faith of the society at large shall be lost if a thorough investigation to find out the truth is not conducted". "The applicant has been able to breach the wall of the UPSC not only once but repeatedly with deceitful means. The faith of the society at large shall be lost if a thorough investigation to find out the truth is not conducted. The accused has not only cheated and defrauded the UPSC but the lawful rights of eligible aspirant with benchmark disability aspirants have been snatched by the accused," the judge said. The judge said the UPSC was required to maintain the highest degree of transparency and fairness in its standard operating procedure. "It is an admitted case of the complainant also that its SOP has been breached by the accused, therefore, the complainant should introspect because its scrutiny system has failed to curb the breach'. The present case may be only the tip of the iceberg because if the applicant/accused can breach the scrutiny system of the complainant, why not others," the judge said. While denying anticipatory bail to Khedkar, the judge said the documents placed on record by her itself showed her "guilty mind" and the presence of mens rea (criminal intent). In response to Khedkar's claim she was falsely implicated in the case and was a victim of media trial and witch-hunt, the judge said the argument was not tenable because there were sufficient incriminating material on record. "Therefore, reporting of the incriminating material which is on record could not be considered as 'media trial' or 'witch hunt," the judge said. The judge said prima facie the entire conspiracy was going on for last many years in a pre-planned manner, therefore, the custodial interrogation is required to unearth the conspiracy and find out the persons who were involved in this conspiracy. "The accused has cheated the complainant by mis-representation," the judge said. He said the accused in order to attain the mis-representation has got prepared various documents to support her claim. "The conspiracy has been hatched in a pre-planned manner. The conspiracy was executed by the accused in many years. The accused alone could not have executed the conspiracy without the assistance of some outsider or insider," the judge said. On Wednesday, the UPSC cancelled Khedkar's candidature and debarred her from future exams. She was accused of 'misrepresenting information' in her application for the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination, 2022. Five people were killed and about 50 missing following several incidents of cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh where rains washed away many houses, bridges and roads, officials said on Thursday. IMAGE: NDRF teams conduct rescue operation after cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh where rains wash away many houses and roads. Photographs: @SukhuSukhvinder The state emergency operation centre said the cloudbursts took place in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts. The local Meteorological office has issued a 'red alert' of heavy to extremely heavy rains along with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in three districts of Kangra, Kullu and Mandi on Thursday. A cloudburst near Shrikhand Mahadev on Wednesday night triggered flash floods in Sarpara, Ganvi and Kurban nallahs, and as a result, the water in Samej Khud (nallah) in the Rampur subdivision of the Shimla district rose leaving two people dead and about 30 missing, Superintendent of Police (SP), Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI. Four people have been rescued from the spot. The rescue operation is challenging as roads have been washed away, Shimla Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anupam Kashyap said. The Manali-Chandigarh National Highway has been damaged at several places due to landslides, an official said. The Shimla DC and SP, who were on the spot, said that teams of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, State Disaster Response Force, police and home guards have started rescue operations and the help of drones is being taken to locate the missing persons. Another cloudburst in the Rajban village near Terang in the Padhar subdivision of the Mandi district on Wednesday night left three persons dead and seven missing. Two houses were washed away while another was damaged, officials said. Bodies of Chandi Devi (75), Chaitri Devi (90) and Baijru Ram (80) have been recovered and an injured person (25-year-old Ram Singh) has been rescued in serious condition, the officials added. A cloudburst also occurred in Kullu district, leaving seven people missing. "Seven people are missing and about eight-nine houses have been washed away in Bhagipul area of Nirmand block in Kullu district and CISF and special Home Guard (quick response team) have been deputed for search operation to locate the missing persons, Deputy Commissioner Kullu, Torul S Raveesh told the PTI. She said three people were missing and three-four houses have been damaged in Samej on the border of Shimla district. A breach was also reported in Malana Dam but the situation is under control. Some people are stuck in the Malana I hydropower project. They are in underground buildings and safe and NDRF and Home Guard teams are making efforts to rescue them, she said adding that the Manali-Chandigarh National Highway has been breached at numerous places due to landslides and gushing waters of River Beas. All educational institutions and schools in the district have been closed for two days, she said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and took stock of the situation arising due to the cloudburst in the state, and assured him of all help from the Centre. Speaking with reporters after an emergency meeting on the matter, Sukhu said that massive damage has been caused in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts since Wednesday night and about 50 persons are missing and Manali has been cut off by road. Sukhu said that state emergency operation centres have also been set up at 13 places in the state for disaster monitoring and directed the district administrations to provide immediate relief to the affected families, and construct Bailey bridges. Five transport drones will be made available to enable the police to carry out transportation activities in the affected areas and 50 generators would be given to the police to ensure power back up. He urged people to take precautionary measures and avoid going near rivulets and rivers. Shah and Union Minister J P Nadda have assured all possible help, he said and added that support from the Army and the Air Force would be sought and the state would get two more teams of the NDRF to help in the disaster. Nadda has sought a detailed report from the chief minister and assured all possible help from the Modi government. 'Received sad news of massive damage due to cloudbursts at different places in HP, had detailed talks on phone with chief minister regarding continuous natural disasters in the state and assured all possible help from Modi government,' Nadda posted on X. He also appealed to the BJP leaders and workers to reach out to the affected people and provide them relief. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi also condoled the loss of lives in the cloudburst incidents and asked party workers to extend help to those affected. State Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi said massive damage has been caused due to heavy rains and cloudburst in the state. Road connectivity has been hampered in the affected areas. Four motorable bridges and footbridges have been washed away and rescue operations are going on in full swing, he said, adding the apple crop has also been damaged. Shimla-Junga road was closed due to landslide and reports of vehicles being buried in debris in Rajnagar in Churah assembly constituency in Chamba and roads blocked in Hamirpur district have also poured in. Heavy rains have lashed parts of Himachal since Wednesday evening and Palampur with 212 mm of rain was wettest in the state followed by Chauri (203 mm), Dharamshala (183.2 mm) Jogindernagar (161 mm), Kangra (150 mm), Sujanpur Tira (142 mm), Baijnath (135 mm), Nadaun 9103.5 mm) , Poanta Sahib(121.2 mm), Nahan (98.9m mm), Kufri (84.5 mm), Shimla (64.6 mm), Sainj (61 mm), Bilaspur (56 mm) and Berthin (50 mm). Heavy to very heavy rain has been recorded at 20 stations in the state and the rainfall would continue in the state, said meteorological expert Sandeep Sharma, adding that an orange alert of heavy rain has been issued for Kangra, Chamba, Kullu and Mandi districts on Thursday. The wet spell would continue for the next four-five days in the state. Data recorded till Tuesday showed that rain-related incidents had claimed 65 lives since the onset of monsoon on June 27. The state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 433 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre. US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the release of three American citizens and one green-card holder who were imprisoned in Russia, under a prisoners' swap deal with the Russian authorities. IMAGE: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich (right), who faces charges of espionage, stands inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia July 19, 2024. Photograph: Dmitry Chasovitin/Reuters Among those released were the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmashev. This was part of multi-country deal with Russia. The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we've negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, Biden said. Their brutal ordeal is over and they're free. Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They're out of Russia earlier today. They were flown to Turkey and soon they'll be wheels up on their way home to see their families. This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here, the president told reporters in Washington, DC. Biden said under the deal, Russia has released 16 prisoners. Eight Russians being held in the West will be sent home as well. The 16 prisoners that Russia has released include four Americans, five Germans, and seven Russian citizens who are political prisoners in their own country, he said. Biden said he is grateful to the US allies, including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey, who stood with them throughout the tough and complex negotiations to achieve this outcome. This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home, he said. Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong, Biden said. Amidst online smear campaigns discouraging people from sending funds to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund, donations poured in from various quarters, with celebrities and institutions offering lakhs of rupees and some even pledging to construct houses for those who lost everything in the devastating landslides that hit Kerala's Wayanad. IMAGE: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (second from right) visits the landslide-affected Chooralmala to assess the ongoing rescue operations, in Wayanad, August 1, 2024 Photograph: ANI Photo The Kerala police on Thursday launched an investigation into an alleged social media campaign against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district. The campaign was aimed at motivating people to reject the CM's appeal for disaster relief, it said. Tamil actors, including Kamal Haasan, Surya, Vikram, Karthi and Jyothika, donated to the CMDRF. Malayalam stars Mammootty, his son Dulquer Salman, Fahad Faasil, and Nazriya, among others, also donated to the relief fund for Wayanad. While Haasan donated Rs 25 lakh, Jyothika, Surya, and Karthi together donated Rs 50 lakh. Mammootty donated Rs 20 lakh and Dulquer gave Rs 15 lakh. Fahad and Nazriya donated Rs 25 lakh. Noted filmmaker Anand Patwardhan on Thursday donated Rs 2,20,000 which he bagged as prize money in the recently concluded 16th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. While all the state ministers have decided to donate one month's salary, the Communist Party of India, a major ally of the ruling Left Front government has also decided that all its elected members to the assembly as well as Parliament will donate their one month's salary. United Democratic Front convenor and senior Congress leader MM Hassan on Thursday donated his one month's salary to the CMDRF. LDF MLA KT Jaleel has donated Rs 5 lakh. While, the Kerala State Beverages Corporation donated Rs 1 crore to the CMDRF, the Kerala State Small Industries Association has offered to construct 10 houses on one acre of land, which will be identified later, and hand them over to those who lost their residences. Aster DM Healthcare Group, which operates Wayanad's Dr Moopen's Medical College where numerous landslide victims have been admitted, has announced that the treatment will be given free of cost. The hospital group has also announced that it will contribute Rs 1.5 crore to the CMDRF and also pledged Rs 2.5 crore to construct houses for the landslide victims. The VPS group which operates the Lakeshore hospital in Kochi has offered medical supplies worth Rs 1 crore. The Communist Party of India-Marxist's Tamil Nadu and Tripura state committees have donated Rs 10 lakh each to the CMDRF. The Ayurveda Medical Association has handed over a cheque for Rs 10 lakh to the CMDRF. Senior vice president of IBM Dinesh Nirmal has donated Rs 25 lakh towards the disaster relief fund. Apart from these, numerous known and unknown persons have donated various amounts to the CMDRF. Vijayan had made a public appeal to contribute to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund to help the survivors of the landslides rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the rescue mission in the landslide-hit Mundakkai region of Wayanad could take a few more days, and appointed a cabinet sub-committee of four ministers to coordinate the rescue efforts. IMAGE: Search and rescue operations continue in the landslide-affected Chooralmala area triggered by heavy rainfall, in Wayanad on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo The four ministers will be camping in Wayanad where the landslides triggered by torrential rains have left at least 177 people dead. Vijayan, who met the media after an all-party meeting, praised the 'commendable' efforts of the rescue workers, especially the Indian Army. The chief minister told the media that the Army representatives had apprised him that all those who could be saved from the debris have been rescued. "There are so many missing people. We have recovered so many bodies from many parts of the region. The rescue workers have recovered many bodies from the Chaliyar River. Many body parts were also recovered," the chief minister added. He said the scale of the rescue work is such that it cannot be completed in a short period of time. "As of now, 12 ministers are camping in Wayanad. Now the all-party meeting has decided that four ministers will camp here to coordinate the rescue operations," Vijayan said. Vijayan said Revenue Minister K Rajan, Forest Minister A K Saseendran, PWD and Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas, and SC/ST Department Minister O R Kelu will camp in the district. The chief minister said that many people of the area were still missing, and it had initially been difficult to begin the search operations due to the massive accumulation of soil at the landslide spot. "Initially, it was not possible to take big machines for rescue operations. But now that the Army is completing the construction of the Bailey Bridge, the mission will be easier," Vijayan added. With the completion of the Bailey Bridge between Chooralmala and Mundakkai, being built by the Army, the required equipment for rescue operations can be transported to disaster-affected areas. When reporters asked about rehabilitation efforts, the chief minister said the state's experience with helping people rebuild their lives and livelihoods in the instances of previous natural disasters would be tapped to help the survivors of the Wayanad tragedy Special priority will be given to resume the education of disaster-affected children, Vijayan said, adding that they will be given the opportunity to continue their education wherever they are. "Arrangements for this will be made by the local bodies and the education department," he added. Moreover, the survivors are being offered counselling by the state department of health to help them deal with the psychological trauma caused by the disaster. Speaking about the numerous families housed in relief camps, the chief minister asked the media to to respect their privacy and refrain from shooting and reporting inside the encampments. The chief minister said that anyone, including reporters, who wants to meet the survivors can do so outside the camps, with due respect given to the privacy of others. On the possibility of the outbreak of infections at the camps, he said, "Measures will be taken to prevent the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases in the area. The instructions issued regarding this by the Department of Health shall be followed by all." Vijayan added that steps will be taken to reproduce or reissue important certificates and documents to those who have lost them in the disaster. He also said that the carcasses of domestic animals will be buried safely. After the press conference, Vijayan received cheques donated by various organisations to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). Addressing the all-party meeting, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the state would stand together during this crisis and overcome it. "The opposition will completely support the state government in the rescue efforts. Those who are missing should be traced," Satheesan was quoted as saying in a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office. Satheesan also suggested that the services of experts from CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) should be employed to ensure that such incidents are prevented in the future. Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League's leader P K Kunhalikutty urged the authorities to speed up the rehabilitation of the survivors. At the meeting, it was also decided that the details of migrant workers who lost their lives in the tragedy would be collected swiftly. It is suspected that workers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Assam, among other states, were employed at a tea estate near Wayanad. The opposition leader visited the relief camps and consoled the survivors. Vijayan visited the disaster-hit areas along with the ministers and met the army officials who constructed the Bailey Bridge. The chief minister said that searches of the disaster-affected area and the river would continue in the hope of recovering the bodies of the missing persons. China on Thursday conveyed its 'heartfelt appreciation' to the Indian Navy for rescuing a critically injured Chinese mariner from a cargo ship off the Mumbai coast and providing him with timely medical treatment. IMAGE: Indian Navy successfully evacuates a critically injured Chinese Mariner from Bulk Carrier ZHONG SHAN MEN, 200nm (approx 370km) from Mumbai, on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo The critically injured 51-year-old Chinese mariner, who reportedly suffered heavy blood loss, was airlifted by an Indian naval helicopter amid choppy waters and strong winds from a bulk carrier approximately 370 km from Mumbai (200 nautical miles) and provided medical care on July 24. "The Indian side swiftly came to his rescue and provided him with timely medical treatment. He is now in stable condition and recovering back in China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing here responding to a question from the official Chinese media. "Chinese side expresses its heartfelt appreciation to all the departments and personnel of the Indian side who overcame challenging conditions on the scene and carried out this humanitarian operation," Lin said. The Indian Navy helicopter airlifted the critically injured Chinese mariner from a Panama-flag-bearing bulk carrier 'Zhong Shan Men' in the wee hours and transported to an air station and subsequently shifted to a hospital for further medical management. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai coordinated the operation with the Indian Navy for the timely evacuation of the patient, notwithstanding the border standoff at the Line of Actual Control with China. A woman was groped by a rowdy group on a waterlogged street in Lucknow, prompting the arrest of 16 men, action against eight policemen including a deputy commissioner of police and a cryptic remark in the assembly by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He said a "bullet train" will be run for the offenders. IMAGE: Commuters ply through a flooded road amid torrential rains, near Ambedkar Park, in Lucknow on July 31, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo The alleged offenders were arrested after the woman who was riding pillion on a motorcycle was targeted Wednesday on a waterlogged street in the posh Gomti Nagar area. Five police personnel, including the local police station in-charge, were suspended for negligence. And deputy commissioner of police (East Lucknow), additional DCP and assistant commissioner of police were shunted, an official statement said Thursday. While speaking in the assembly on the state's supplementary budget, the chief minister referred to the incident, naming two of the alleged offenders. The first criminal is Pawan Yadav, the other criminal is Mohammed Arbaaz. These are people of sadbhavna' (goodwill)," he said, and suggested that no Sadbhavna train' will be run for them. Inkey liye bullet train chalegi, chinta mat karo (The bullet train will run for them, don't worry)," Adityanath told the House. And preparations are being made for the bullet train, he said, adding that anyone who plays with women's safety will bear the consequences. A video on social media shows a group of men splashing water on a motorcycle as it wades through the waterlogged road. The men quickly surround the motorcycle and some start pulling it from behind. Amidst the melee, while the man driving the motorcycle tries to push through, at least one of the accused gropes the woman who is riding pillion. The men stop pulling the motorcycle only when the woman falls down. "Taking cognizance of the incident, an FIR was lodged at Gomti Nagar police station. Police formed four different teams, including a crime team, to apprehend the culprits, a police statement said. "As a result, 16 accused were arrested and based on the evidence collected and the CCTV footage, additional relevant sections have been added to the FIR," it said. The accused were booked under sections 191(2) (rioting) and 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty) and other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, it said. Lucknow police commissioner Amrendra Kumar Sengar said two of the arrested accused, Pawan Yadav and Sunil Kumar, were identified through CCTV footage on Wednesday night. They led police to two others, Mohammed Arbaaz and Viraj Sahu. Acknowledging "apparent negligence" in handling the situation, the police statement said DCP (East Lucknow) Prabal Pratap Singh, Additional DCP Amit Kumawat and ACP Anshu Jain have been removed from their positions with immediate effect. Inspector in-charge Deepak Kumar Pandey, police post in-charge Rishi Vivek and three other police personnel present at the 'chowki' -- sub-inspector Kapil Kumar and constables Dharmveer and Virendra Kumar -- were suspended, the statement said. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Cloudy with showers. High 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 41F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High 59F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Chance of a shower or two during the evening, followed by partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 41F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Russia, the United States, and several other countries have carried out the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War, freeing 16 people -- including RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan -- from Russian and Belarusian prisons, while eight Russians were returned home. U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the historic exchange on August 1 at a White House news conference with several family members of the Americans who had been jailed at his side. "Their brutal ordeal is over," Biden said, calling the deal that made the exchange possible "a feat of diplomacy." Biden slammed Russia for conducting "show trials" that led to the imprisonment of Gershkovich, Whelan, and Kurmasheva, saying "all three were falsely accused of being spies." The prisoner swap also included dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British citizen who was imprisoned for making critical remarks about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. government released a photo showing Gershkovich, Kurmasheva, and Whelan on a plane, saying they were on their way back home. Kara-Murza was to fly to Germany, but he told Biden in a call that he hopes to visit the United States soon. The family members who joined Biden for the news conference included Kurmasheva's husband, Pavel Butorin, who also works for RFE/RL, and their two daughters, Bibi and Miriam. Biden said the prisoner swap was an "incredible relief" for all the family members present, adding that they had spoken to their freed loved ones by phone from the Oval Office right before the news conference. The White House released a photo showing Kurmasheva's daughters in the Oval Office leaning over a telephone and speaking to their mother. In an interview with RFE/RL, Butorin said he and his daughters are "overwhelmed with emotions, still trying to process what actually happened to us today, being in the White House, hearing Alsu's voice from the Oval Office, next to President Biden. That was something very special. "But it's been an incredibly difficult year for us, and I'm glad we're at the end of this journey, and now we look forward to hugging Alsu, and to helping her reintegrate into the free world after so many months of unjust imprisonment in Russia." During the news conference, Biden motioned for Kurmashevas daughter, Miriam, to come closer, telling reporters that August 2 was her 13th birthday and then asking everyone to sing Happy Birthday to her. The teen was emotional as Biden put an arm around her shoulders and then wiped away a tear before walking back to her sister and father, who embraced her. Now she gets to celebrate with her mom, Biden said. Thats what this is all about -- families able to be together again. Like they should have been all along. Biden said the prisoner swap required "significant concessions" from Germany, which released FSB Colonel Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the murder in 2019 of a former Chechen militant in Berlin. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the decision to release the convicted hit man had been difficult. "Nobody took this decision to deport a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment after only a few years...lightly," Scholz said, speaking in Cologne, Germany, where some of the released prisoners were due to arrive. "The state's interest in seeing him punished had to be weighed against the danger to the bodies and in some cases the lives of innocent people in prison in Russia and political prisoners," he told reporters. Biden said Germany asked for nothing in exchange. The president added that the prisoner swap was "a powerful example of why it is important to have friends in the world." Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey "stood with us," Biden said. "They made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being held, and provided the logistical support to get the Americans home." Biden said earlier in a statement that all told, the United States and its partners, in particular Germany, negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia and Belarus -- including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) said on August 1 it played "a major mediation role" in the swap involving 26 people from prisons in seven countries, "which is the most comprehensive in recent times." It said the negotiations allowed for the exchange of "Russian citizens and citizens of Western countries imprisoned in the U.S.A., Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, Russia, and Belarus, adding that German mercenary Rico Krieger imprisoned in Belarus and Russian dissident Ilya Yashin and Kraskiov imprisoned in Germany were also released. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel called the exchange "the largest multi-country swap of its kind." Speaking at a briefing on August 1, he said the Americans would be back in the United States within hours to be reunited with their families. The White House announced that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party's presumptive presidential nominee in the November 5 election, would welcome them at 11:30 p.m. local time. The eight freed Russians arrived in Moscow late on August 1. Putin welcomed them after they landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. "I want to congratulate you on your return to the motherland," Putin said in comments broadcast on state TV. Addressing those who had served in Russia's military, he added: "I want to thank you for your loyalty to the oath, duty, and the motherland, which did not forget about you." William Courtney, a career U.S. foreign service officer who worked on U.S.-Soviet arms talks before becoming U.S. ambassador to Georgia and Kazakhstan after the breakup of the Soviet Union, spoke with RFE/RL about the latest swap. "I think it sends a message to the world that the Kremlin really would like to offload some of these internationally prominent prisoners because detaining them doesn't help Russia's image," said Courtney, now an analyst at the Washington-based think tank Rand Corp. He said Russia didn't want Kara Murza to die in prison, like opposition politician Aleksei Navalny did in an Arctic gulag in February, "because Russia got only bad publicity" out of that. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by TASS as saying the Kremlin hoped those who had left Russia would stay away. "I believe that all our enemies should stay [abroad], and all those who are not our enemies should return. That's my point of view," TASS cited Peskov as saying. News of the prisoner swap was also welcomed by U.S. lawmakers; however, some Republicans questioned the "steep price" that the United States had to pay. "Those returning to Russia are some of [Russian President Vladimir] Putins most valuable assets who will be glad to return to their villainous ways," said Senator Jim Risch (Republican-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Representative Michael McCaul (Republican-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on X that he celebrated the news but remains "concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking." Speculation of a swap had grown in recent days as defense lawyers for several high-profile people being held in Russian prison facilities said the whereabouts of their clients were unknown, a situation that often arises when inmates are being moved. One of the first signs that the swap had started on August 1 came from a group of Russian lawyers and rights defenders known as Pervy Otdel, which posted a message on Telegram noting the flight track of an Antonov plane that had been previously involved in prisoner exchanges. Data from the flight-tracking site Flightradar24 confirmed the plane's movements, while the Russian media outlet Agenstvo reported that several special Russian government planes in recent days had traveled to and from regions where prisons holding dissidents are being held. Meanwhile, four Russians who have been charged or jailed in the United States disappeared from a database of inmates operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons prior to the announcement of the prisoner swap. Israel has claimed that the successor to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has likely been "eliminated," while U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called Tehran the greatest adversary of the United States. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 8 said that Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, was an "organization without a head." "Nasrallah was eliminated -- his replacement was probably also eliminated," Gallant told officers at the military's northern command center without providing details. "There's no one to make decisions, no one to act," he added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later echoed those comments, saying, "We've degraded Hezbollah's capabilities." "We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement, and the replacement of the replacement," Netanyahu said. Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollahs political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament. Hashem Safieddine, a top Hezbollah official and a cousin of Nasrallah, was widely expected to be named to the group's top position, but his whereabouts and condition are a mystery since an Israeli strike hit a suspected Hezbollah leadership meeting on October 2. Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine's fate, although unidentified members have told various media that the group had lost contact with him since the attack. Safieddine has been declared a global terrorist by the United States. Meanwhile, Harris told CBS TV's 60 Minutes program in an interview that she considered Iran to be the greatest adversary of the United States. "Iran has American blood on their hands," she said. "And what we saw in terms of just this attack on Israel, 200 ballistic missiles, what we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power -- that is one of my highest priorities." Harris -- the Democratic presidential nominee who will face Republican Donald Trump in the November 5 election -- declined to speculate on whether the United States would take military action itself should proof be uncovered that Iran is building a nuclear weapon. Tehran has denied it is building such weapons and says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. The comments came as the battered and bloodied leadership of Hezbollah suggested it might be ready to negotiate a cease-fire with Israel Deputy leader Naim Qassem, in a televised speech, for the first time did not suggest that ending the war in Gaza was a precondition to reaching a truce with Israel in Lebanon. Qassem said the group backed an effort by Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, to reach a deal to halt the fighting. Late on October 8, the Syrian government said that seven civilians were killed in an Israeli air strike in Damascus. A war monitor said the strike targeted a building used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah. Israel did not immediately comment and the reports could not be verified. The Israeli military said earlier on October 8 that it had killed another senior Hezbollah commander, a day after marking the somber anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people. Suhail Husseini, who was responsible for overseeing the logistics, budget, and management of Hezbollah, was killed in a targeted attack on October 7, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. "Husseini played a crucial role in weapon transfers between Iran and Hezbollah," the statement said, adding that he was also in charge of distributing advanced weapons to the group's members and for its "most sensitive projects" that included operations against Israel. The IDF said Husseini was also a member of the Jihad Council, the supreme military body of Hezbollah. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah. The Israeli announcement came after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets on October 7 into Israel, where President Isaac Herzog led a national moment of silence to mark the start of last year's Hamas attack, which started at Kibbutz Reim in the south of the country. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union. In Washington on October 7, President Joe Biden condemned Hamas on the anniversary, while also stating again the U.S. administration's commitment to reaching cease-fire agreements to end fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon. "On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7 attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day," Biden said in a statement. In Jerusalem, relatives of the some 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity, out of a total of 250, gathered outside Netanyahu's residence and stood in silence as a siren wailed in a gesture of protest against what relatives say is the failure of the government to secure their loved ones' release. The conflict in Gaza is still raging while Israel is now fighting on a second front in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. Following the October 7 attack, Israel launched a military assault on Gaza that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas. Some 90 percent of the population of Gaza has been displaced and large areas have been destroyed by Israeli bombardments. The Israeli military said on October 7 that over the past year it has bombed more than 40,000 targets in Gaza, found 4,700 tunnel shafts and destroyed 1,000 rocket launcher sites. Israel in recent weeks has been carrying out air strikes across Lebanon, including Beirut, and has staged a ground invasion into south Lebanon in its drive to wipe out Hezbollah's capabilities and leadership. In the attacks, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and dozens of other leaders of the group. On October 6, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters that Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force -- the overseas arm of the IRGC -- had also not been heard from in recent days since traveling to Lebanon. Tel Avivs campaign against Hezbollah prompted Iran to respond by attacking Israel with a large wave of rockets that were largely shot down by Israeli air defenses without causing substantial damage, but the attack renewed fears of a larger regional conflict. Gallant on October 6 threatened Iran that it might eventually find itself looking like Beirut or Gaza -- which has also been battered over the past year -- if Tehran attempts to further harm Israel. With reporting by CBS and AP Negotiations aimed at ending Israels devastating war in the Gaza Strip were faltering even before the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the EU- and U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. But Haniyehs assassination in a suspected Israeli strike in Iran on July 31 makes a cease-fire deal, or even the continuation of talks, even less likely. The 62-year-old had played a key role in internationally brokered talks on reaching a permanent cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave and securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages. He was also considered a relative moderate within the organization. How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" asked Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on July 31. The Arab Gulf state, along with Egypt, has brokered the monthslong talks. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed a similar sentiment, stating that the killing undermined the peace talks. Hamas's military wing said Haniyehs assassination in a Tehran suburb was a watershed that would take the war to new levels. Despite its threats, Hamas may not have the military capacity to retaliate. It is already reeling from Israels brutal 10-month war in Gaza that has killed nearly 40,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health officials in the territory. Even then, the group is unlikely to be eager to engage in further talks now. Beyond the prospect of a boycott, there are also practical considerations. Haniyeh was a highly experienced figure with global recognition who was used to managing relations with key allies across the Middle East and beyond. Some of the last photos of him show him embracing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Based in Qatar, he was able to travel and turn up at important meetings. His death leaves a significant void, and it is unclear who will succeed him. Yehya Al-Sinwar is the head of Hamass armed wing and widely seen as the mastermind of the groups October 7 attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis. Hundreds of others were taken hostage. He is currently believed to be hiding in Gaza. Another senior figure, Zaher Jabarin, heads the group in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which is partly run by the Palestinian Authority. He is also in hiding. Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas leadership, and both men are seen as prime targets. A new leader could emerge from Hamass political office in Qatar, but that is likely to take time and it is not clear what position they would take. Haniyeh had been cast by some as a pragmatist in contrast to more hard-line elements of Hamas based in Gaza. But he was also a U.S.-designated terrorist and voiced support for the October 7 attacks. Even if Hamas decides to keep talking, it is unclear who would have the capacity and authority to represent the group in the high-stakes negotiations. Iranian state TV said Haniyehs killing would delay further talks by several months. It has also been suggested by many observers that the assassination of Haniyeh heightens the risk of a regional conflict. Khamenei quickly blamed Israel and promised that Iran would avenge Haniyehs death, adding credence to those concerns. A major escalation would likely make the prospect of Israel-Hamas talks taking place, let alone making progress, even more distant. But much will depend on the actions of Iran and its network of militant groups and proxies in the region. In weighing up their response, Tehran and its allies are likely to tread a fine line between saving face and provoking a damaging Israeli reprisal. If Iran can avoid a serious escalation, that would remove one barrier to restarting talks between Israel and Hamas in the future. But that is considered a big if. Iran has also blamed the United States for Haniyehs killing because of Washingtons military, economic, and diplomatic support for Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denied that Washington had any involvement in or prior knowledge of an attack. But he was notably cautious about commenting on where Haniyehs assassination leaves the prospects for a truce in Gaza, merely saying on July 31 that the imperative of getting a cease-fire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains." One year ago, Hamas -- the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip -- carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, the deadliest in the countrys history. In response, Israel launched an aerial bombardment and ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave to destroy Hamas and rescue the 251 hostages taken by the group. Israel has expanded its war in recent weeks by invading Lebanon and launching air strikes targeting Hezbollah, the armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. RFE/RL spoke to Lior Yohanani, manager of quantitative research at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based independent research center, which on October 7 released a wide-ranging survey of Israeli public opinion after one year of war. RFE/RL: Can you explain what your study found as to how Israelis view the past year since Hamas's October 7 attack? Lior Yohanani: Well, I think Israelis still don't see October 7 as an event that's over. Sure, the actual horrific events of that day ended, but Israelis are still living with the consequences. There are two main aspects to this. First, since October 7, Israel has been in this multifront war that doesn't seem to have an end in sight. And then, of course, there is the issue of the hostages still being held in Gaza. So, we're seeing a sharp drop in people's sense of personal security. Almost three quarters of the public feel less safe compared to before October 7, and that's despite a year of war and some significant military achievements. On the flip side, we're also seeing that most people say their lives have returned to normal when it comes to things like work, media consumption, and family and social gatherings. Another thing we're noticing is that the Israeli public is giving pretty low marks to all the political and military leaders for the performance since October 7. For example, almost two-thirds of Israelis are rating Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu's performance since then as poor or not good. RFE/RL: How has Israel's involvement in a two-front conflict, in both Gaza and Lebanon, as well as a confrontation with Iran affected public opinion among Israelis? Yohanani: It's tough to answer that question, because we're at the point where things could go in a few different directions. In the last few weeks, we've seen a major escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and just last week, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, which Israel is expected to respond to. In a survey we just did recently, we asked whether Israeli society and the military could handle fighting on two or more fronts for an extended period of time, and the results were pretty striking. Over 70 percent believe that yes, both Israeli society and the military can handle that kind of prolonged fighting. So, while the situation is complex and evolving, there seems to be a strong sense of resilience and capability among Israelis, even in the face of these multiple threats. But of course, public opinion could shift depending on how events unfold in the coming weeks or months. RFE/RL: Is there support for Netanyahus response to October 7? Is there debate in Israeli society, as well as political circles, over Netanyahus strategic choices? Yohanani: First of all, it's important to say that the Israeli public has largely supported significant military operation against Hamas in Gaza. That said, the Israeli discourse around the October 7 events, the ongoing war, and especially toward Prime Minister Netanyahu, is very polarized between right-wing supporters on the one hand and left and center supporters on the other. People are hoping for a future where Israel can exist without constant threats, rather than expecting a harmonious relationship with its neighbors in the near-term." So, on the left and the center, there is a high level of distrust and suspicion toward Netanyahu and his government. For instance, Netanyahu's apparent reluctance to pursue a deal for returning the hostages in exchange for ending the fighting in Gaza is seen by large parts of the public, even on the right, as resulting from Netanyahu's dependence on far-right, ultranationalist members of his government who refuse any compromise or ceasefire. Now for a long time, Netanyahu and his ministers argued that only significant military force would lead Hamas to compromise and release the hostages. Now, with military attention and resources shifting to the north, people are asking, where is this massive military force that was supposed to bring the hostages home? One question we have asked several times since October 7 in our polls is what should be the main goal in Gaza: Dismantling Hamas or bringing back the hostages? And as time goes on, public opinion is increasingly supporting the return of hostages. In our current survey, 62 percent saw bringing the bringing back the hostages as Israel's main goal, while only 29 percent pointed to dismantling Hamas as the primary objective. RFE/RL: How do ordinary Israelis see the question of the remaining hostages amid the continued protests by the hostages' families? Yohanani: As I mentioned before, most of the public supports a deal to release the hostages, even if it means ending the war and withdrawing the military forces from Gaza. There's this widespread feeling that we've left the hostages behind, and that's really hitting at our sense of solidarity, which is a deep and fundamental value, I think, in Jewish history in general and in Israel society in particular. At the same time, the campaign run by the Hostages And Missing Families Forum has become very politicized. Many right-wing supporters see it as weakening Israel. As time goes on, we're seeing more and more harassment of protesters who support bringing the hostages back. There are cases of passersby cursing, even hitting and throwing eggs, at hostages' families. In our latest survey, we asked about the effectiveness of the protests and actions taken by the hostages' families. Despite most of the public feeling empathetic toward the hostage issue, only less than a third think these actions are actually helping to advance a deal for the hostages' release, while almost 40 percent think they're actually hurting the cause. So, you've got this complex situation where people want the hostages back, but there is disagreement and some backlash about how to make that happen. RFE/RL: Can you explain the reasons behind the apparent contradiction in views regarding prioritizing a negotiated return of the hostages, or destroying Hamas? Yohanani: You're right to point out that apparent contradiction. Let me break it down a bit. As I mentioned earlier, a clear majority of the public sees a deal to release the hostages as the main goal. But there is a big gap between political camps on this issue. In the center and left, about 80 percent support the deal for the hostages' release, while the opinions on the right are evenly split. So, for most of the left and center, the fighting in Gaza has run its course. They feel most military objectives have been achieved, and Hamas's military power has been significantly weakened. From their perspective, continuing the fight now only puts the hostages at greater risk. It's important to know that about half of the right-wing also shares this view of prioritizing the hostages' release, but the other half of those on the far-right thinks dismantling Hamas is more important. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, there's a security stance that Hamas must be wiped out and not allowed to recover. There is also a very strong sentiment of revenge, with minimal consideration for the cost, whether it's the lives of the hostages, soldiers, let alone innocent civilians in Gaza. Another significant component openly discussed in religious nationalist circles is the return of Jewish settlement to the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuated Jewish settlements from there in 2005. RFE/RL: Is there public confidence that Israel will ultimately be able to remove the threat of Hamas and Hezbollah and come out of this conflict with greater prospects for a peaceful and stable near-term future? Yohanani: Right now, the Israeli public isn't showing a lot of optimism. In our current survey, when we asked people if they're optimistic or pessimistic about Israel's future, we found more pessimists, 48 percent, than optimists, 45 percent. I also think it's important to note that a peaceful future, as you put it, or peace in general, isn't really a common concept in the current Israeli discourse. I would say the hope of Israelis is that the military actions against Hezbollah and Iran will lead to a situation where Israel's existence isn't in question, and that Israeli military superiority will prevent events like October 7 from happening again. So, it's less about peace in the traditional sense, and more about security and deterrence. People are hoping for a future where Israel can exist without constant threats, rather than expecting a harmonious relationship with its neighbors in the near-term. BUDAPEST -- Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary has stubbornly refused to join EU efforts to punish and isolate Moscow. And that behavior was on full display earlier this week when reports emerged that Budapest would make it easier for nationals from Russia and Belarus -- which has aided its ally with the full-scale Ukraine invasion -- to enter the country. Many of those people were workers, Budapest claimed, needed to work on a nuclear power plant that Russia is helping Hungary to build. But few were convinced by Hungary's expansion of its "national card" visa scheme, sparking a fresh spat between Brussels and Budapest. One senior European politician warned the expansion could lead to a fresh wave of Russian spies entering the European Union, after many were kicked out from European capitals in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion. Since the start of Russia's war, Hungary, led by its nationalist-conservative prime minister, Viktor Orban, has blocked, watered down, or delayed aid packages to Ukraine. Orban, long criticized for his friendly ties with Vladimir Putin, faced a fresh backlash earlier this month after traveling to Moscow to meet with the Russian president after a stop in Kyiv. With Hungary currently holding the EU's six-month rotating presidency, Orban cast the visit as a peace mission, but EU leaders made clear he did not represent them on his travels. With Russia considered a "threat" to EU security, according to a European Commission spokesperson, the EU's executive branch said it will contact Hungarian officials regarding the new visa program, "to clarify the scope of this scheme and whether it falls under EU rules," Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told Current Time. What Are The Concerns? Under the proposed scheme, Russians and Belarusians would largely forego any security background checks, and that has many worried. "Their reasons related to the [nuclear power] plant may be somewhat valid. But what we can question is whether this legal construction was necessary to exclude them from security clearances," explained Daniel Hegedus, a senior fellow focusing on Central Europe, at the Washington, D.C.-based German Marshall Fund, in comments to RFE/RL. Those security concerns were echoed by Manfred Weber, head of the center-right European People's Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament, in a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, a copy of which was published by the Financial Times on July 30. The "questionable" new rules "create grave loopholes for espionage activities...potentially allowing large numbers of Russians to enter Hungary with minimal supervision, posing a serious risk to national security," Weber said. In a post on X on July 30, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs rejected what he characterized as Weber's "lies" as "absurd and hypocritical because it is precisely the Brussels institutions...that are doing everything in their power to ensure that Hungary is forced to dismantle its strict border protection and asylum system, allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants into the country and thus into the European Union." Kovacs did not comment directly on the controversial new immigration rules. In July, Hungary published details of a new fast-track visa system for citizens of eight countries -- including Russia and Belarus -- to enter Hungary without security checks or other restrictions. Budapest has said many would be employed in the building of the Paks II nuclear power plant in central Hungary, which is being carried out by Russia's state nuclear giant Rosatom. Under the new rules, when entering Hungary, Russian citizens will also be entering the EU and the border-control-free Schengen zone, which also includes non-EU members Norway and Switzerland, if they possess a valid visa and have no ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rules on issuing working permits are a matter for each EU member state, and, despite Schengen's open borders, member countries are still allowed to deny entry for a number of reasons, including previous entry bans or if a person is considered a threat to public security or health. But Western sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine include a ban on Russian-owned airlines operating in EU airspace, making it more difficult for Russian nationals to travel to the EU. Others question whether there is a need for any Russian technical know-how at the Paks nuclear power plant. In 2014, Orban and Putin signed a deal to build two more reactors at the site, but the project has long been dogged by delays. The actual installation of nuclear technology -- the alleged reasons Russian and Belarusian experts would be required -- is not imminent, largely due to Rosatom's failure to fulfill EU safety requirements, explained Andras Racz, a Russian expert at Budapest's Corvinus University. "It is completely incomprehensible why an unspecified number of Russians should be allowed into the Hungarian labor market," he told RFE/RL's Hungarian Service. Why Now? Some have noted Budapest's announcement came shortly after Orban returned from Moscow, suggesting it may have been finalized there by the Hungarian leader and Putin. However, the German Marshall Fund's Hegedus suspects the deal was "in the pipeline for a while." "Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet on a bimonthly basis. So, there is a high-level of coordination between the two governments," Hegedus said, adding the timing of the announcement was likely not a coincidence. "Hungary holding the EU's presidency offers them some protection. They can get by with all these provocations because other countries are reluctant to take any action against Hungary because it holds the rotating presidency. It would set a precedent if they did," Hegedus said. Hungary has been suspected of being a backdoor for Russian spies in the past. A year ago, Washington pressured it to withdraw from the International Investment Bank, a Russian-controlled financial institution. The bank, which relocated its headquarters to Budapest from Moscow in 2019, was long viewed with suspicion as its Russian staff had diplomatic immunity. Shortly after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European capitals kicked out some 600 of its diplomats, about 400 of whom were believed to be spies. "Hungary is now the locomotive of those who hate the European Union and are doing everything to destroy it from within. And our patience will run out sooner or later," Lithuanian EU parliamentarian and former Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene told Current Time on July 31. Much of the Russian spy activity has returned, according to a February report by the Royal United Services Institute, a British-based defense think tank. "The Europeans had a sense of security that the Russian spies are not there anymore, that their capabilities have been significantly curtailed. But the problem is they have not been. They are mightier than ever," Marina Miron, an analyst at King's College London's Department of War Studies, told VOA in March. And now Hungary may be about to open the door to more Russian spies, suggested Hegedus. "We should not be naive to believe Russia will not use the opportunity to bring in Russian intelligence agents." * China is on the cusp of an industrial revolution powered increasingly by basic research, where AI technology is rapidly emerging as a key catalyst for the advancement of frontier sciences. * The Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the National Natural Science Foundation of China, launched a project to harness the power of AI in advancing frontier scientific research. * "AI4Science has enormous potential and will comprehensively transform the process from scientific research to industrial application," said E Weinan, a professor from Peking University. BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At a state-of-the-art lab, a researcher scribbles a chemical formula on the smart glass surface. Instantly, with a digital command, the robotic "scientist" empowered by artificial intelligence (AI) launches into executing a sequence of tasks including material retrieval, reagent addition, reaction initiation, monitoring and testing, all with the ease and precision of a culinary expert preparing a dish. This vivid scenario unfolds within the cutting-edge automated laboratory at XtalPi's Shanghai headquarters. Here, AI is revolutionizing the field of new drug discovery, infusing the process with unprecedented efficiency and innovation. This photo taken on March 1, 2024 shows robotic workstations developed by XtalPi Inc. in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Hong Zehua) China is on the cusp of an industrial revolution powered increasingly by basic research, where AI technology is rapidly emerging as a key catalyst for the advancement of frontier sciences. In recent years, the prowess of machine learning and the emergence of generative AI technologies in tackling complex mathematical challenges have combined to usher in a transformative approach to scientific inquiry -- AI for Science (AI4Science). This innovative paradigm is redefining the boundaries of research, enabling deeper exploration and discovery across various scientific disciplines. Last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the National Natural Science Foundation of China, launched a project to harness the power of AI in advancing frontier scientific research. The project is designed to deploy sophisticated AI models and algorithms to drive breakthroughs in genetic studies and stimulate significant progress in the field of biological breeding. NEW MODELS Earlier this month, OpenLAM, a Chinese open-sourced large language model (LLM), introduced a suite of seven innovative model solutions tailored to address complex challenges in areas such as alloy development, pharmaceutical small molecules, solid-state battery technology, semiconductors and high-temperature superconductivity. AI technology has also made significant strides in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of weather forecasting, revolutionizing the way that people predict and prepare for meteorological events. A Shanghai team has developed an AI weather forecast system named FengWu, based on multi-model and multi-task deep learning architecture, capable of generating high-precision global meteorological forecast results for the following 10 days in just 30 seconds. Compared with traditional physical models, FengWu reduces the rate of error by 19.4 percent and extends the forecast range to 10.75 days based on reanalysis data, according to the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, one of its developers. "The FengWu model exemplifies the transformative potential of AI within the realms of Earth sciences and beyond," said Ouyang Wanli, the lab's lead scientist. Visitors look at Pangu Weather AI model developed by Huawei during the 2023 World AI Conference in Shanghai, east China, July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Pangu Weather, another cutting-edge model developed by Huawei, is also making waves in the field of meteorology with its precise weather forecasts. Its predictive accuracy, ranging from a period of one hour to seven days, has surpassed that of several meteorological centers in Europe and the United States for these same periods. According to the Central Meteorological Observatory of China, the model showed impressive performance in the trajectory prediction of Typhoon Mawar in June 2023 and was successfully utilized in forecasting Typhoon Doksuri last year. Moreover, in the vast expanses of the universe beyond our planet, AI is proving its capabilities, contributing to our understanding and exploration of the cosmos. In a pioneering collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatories, Tencent, a Chinese tech giant, is spearheading a star exploration initiative that utilizes AI to boost the efficiency of pulsar searches conducted by China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). Remarkably, this AI-assisted approach can complete data processing work in three days that would otherwise have taken a year. The initiative has already detected two fast radio bursts via the processing of celestial survey data, thereby contributing to studies that aim to deepen our understanding of the universe's origins. NEW DISCOVERY A research team in China's eastern coastal city of Yantai has successfully trained an artificial intelligence system for the purpose of catalyst screening. From an extensive pool of more than 14,000 potential candidates, they have pinpointed four molecular formulas, all of which have yielded highly satisfactory outcomes. "Using conventional approaches, a seasoned analyst could perform approximately 20 experiments annually. To explore such a vast array of candidates, it would have required the efforts of 20 analysts over the span of 35 years," said Liao Zengtai, chairman of Wanhua Chemical. "However, with the adoption of AI, this extensive endeavor was completed in a mere six months," Liao added. The chemical supplier stands out as a pioneering enterprise that has mastered comprehensive manufacturing technology across the entire production chain of nylon 12, a polymer with excellent mechanical and corrosion-proof properties. A researcher records experimental data at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in north China's Tianjin, Jan. 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue) Another team from the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has leveraged AI algorithms to design a de novo type of enzyme called cytochrome P450, which is known as a "universal catalyst" in the field of industrial biotechnology. The catalytic capability of this enzyme has seen a 1.3- to 3.5-fold enhancement, according to the researchers. AI technologies are instrumental in the intelligent optimization of chemical synthesis pathways, thus enabling the automation of lab procedures and expediting the discovery of new materials through sophisticated high-throughput screening, said Yang Jinlong, a professor from the University of Science and Technology of China. Zhang Linfeng, the president of the AI for Science Institute in Beijing, cited an example of the enigmatic growth of lithium dendrites, which can render lithium batteries inoperative and remains an unsolved puzzle. This is largely due to the limitations of conventional techniques in capturing the rapid, millisecond-scale transformations involving hundreds of thousands of atoms, according to Zhang. Zhang's team and scientists from Peking University have worked with CATL, China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, to develop new battery materials. "The use of AI, particularly large language models, offers a promising avenue to achieve both precision and efficiency in this challenging domain," Zhang explained. Zhang is also a founder of DP Technology, a Beijing-based startup that utilizes AI for molecular modeling to offer industrial design across a spectrum of industries, including bio-pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and chemical engineering. DP Technology has been listed in CB Insight's AI 100 ranking in 2024. This exemplifies the significant shift of China's AI4Science from the confines of research labs to the broader market arena, emerging as a highly sought-after investment opportunity. MindRank, a Hangzhou-based biotech firm, utilized its own AI drug discovery to develop a small molecule medication. The AI tool assisted it to achieve an impressive feat which saw the research team identifying a preclinical candidate among nearly 100 molecules in just eight months. The drug MDR-001 has now received clinical trial approvals in both China and the United States, targeting conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Visitors experience the iFlytek Spark AI-powered model at the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, east China, July 6, 2024. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) AI4Science is set to exert a deep and lasting influence on the realm of basic sciences, with ripple effects extending to subsequent technological innovations and the field of smart manufacturing, according to a report by Crystal Stream Capital, a Beijing-based venture capital investor. "AI4Science has enormous potential and will comprehensively transform the process from scientific research to industrial application," said E Weinan, a professor from Peking University. "It represents the best opportunity in the history of China's sci-tech innovation," he added. (Video reporters: Sun Qing ;Video editors: Zhang Nan, Wei Yin, Liu Yutian, Wang Han) Editor: JYZ Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the EU- and U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, will not influence the peace process toward ending the Israeli-Hamas war because peace is not on the agenda at this point. Olmert told RFE/RLs Radio Farda in an interview on July 31 that Irans response to the killing will be shaped by Tehrans belief that Israel carried out the attack, regardless of the fact that Israel has not claimed responsibility. Whether we did it or not is less important, said Olmert, who was heavily involved in unsuccessful efforts to work out a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority while serving as prime minister from 2006 to 2009. It's what they [Iran] think happened that will probably determine their reaction. Haniyehs death on Iranian territory and Israels targeting of Tehran-backed groups involved in attacks against Israel have sparked fears of a direct conflict between Iran and Israel and a broader Middle East conflict. In a July 31 post on Telegram, Hamas announced that the 62-year-old Haniyeh was killed in an "air strike on his residence in Tehran. Haniyeh, who headed Hamass political headquarters in Qatar, was in the Iranian capital with other leaders of Irans axis of resistance opposing Israel to attend the July 30 the inauguration of newly elected President Masud Pezeshkian. While Israel has not commented on the incident, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge against Israel over the killing. The New York Times, citing Iranian officials, reported that Khamenei ordered a direct strike against Israel during an emergency meeting of Irans Supreme National Security Council on July 31. Pezeshkian said in a July 31 statement that Iran "will defend its territorial integrity" after the attack, without providing details. Haniyeh was heavily involved in internationally brokered talks on reaching a permanent cease-fire to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The 10-month war, sparked by a deadly assault on Israel on October 7 launched by Hamas and other Palestinian extremist groups, has killed nearly 40,000 people, mostly civilians, according to health officials in Gaza. Haniyehs killing came just a day after Israel said it had killed Fuad Shukr, a commander of the Iranian proxy Lebanese Hizballah, which Israel said was behind a July 28 rocket attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 Israeli youths. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed on August 1 that Shukr was killed in Beirut in strikes Israel said it had launched against Hizballah targets in Lebanon. Israel has described the July 28 attack as the deadliest since the October 7 assault by Hamas in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and hundreds were taken hostage. Israel vowed to wipe out Hamass leadership after the October 7 assault and has demanded the return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. Haniyeh, who was a U.S.-designated terrorist and was seen in a video released by Hamas celebrating the success of the October 7 assault, was a marked man. But he was also seen as a relative moderate compared to those in Hamass militant wing and was key to securing a cease-fire, the release of Israeli hostages, and a possible peace deal. Former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert downplayed the impact Haniyehs death will have on any peace negotiations. I don't think that it will in any way influence the chances for peace, because peace is not on the agenda altogether at this point, Olmert told Radio Farda. It may create some more difficulties in the process of reaching an agreement about the hostages. Olmert served as prime minister as a member of the hard-line Likud party currently chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During his time in office he endorsed the Arab peace initiative to end the longstanding Arab-Israeli conflict and was a supporter of a two-state solution to the Gaza crisis. In 2006, a member of Olmerts cabinet said that an attack on Irans nuclear facilities was unavoidable considering the apparent failure of international sanctions to deny Iran technology that could be used to develop a nuclear weapon. A spokesperson for Olmert subsequently said that all options must remain on the table and that more could be done to put financial pressure on Tehran. In 2012, then-former Prime Minister Olmert opposed the idea of strikes against Irans controversial nuclear facilities. Speaking to Radio Farda on July 31, Olmert said that the Iranians will look for a way to react to the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh. However, he said that the fact that the Israeli government did not officially take responsibility for his killing will influence the extremity of the Iranian reaction. I think it will be somewhat more moderate than under different circumstances, Olmert said. Olmert expressed hope that an expected Iranian response would not spark a broader Middle East war directly pitting Iran against Israel, saying that retaliation beyond a direct retaliatory attack launched by Iran in April would be a mistake. Iran and its partners and proxies launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israeli territory on April 13-14 in retaliation for an attack that Tehran said Israel carried out earlier that month against an Iranian Embassy compound. Seven IRGC members, including top commanders, were killed in the April 1 strike, which Israel did not take responsibility for. The Iranian retaliatory attack caused little damage, with most of the Iranian missiles and drones shot down or otherwise failing to reach their targets. After Iran reported downing a handful of small drones over the central city of Isfahan on April 19, which again was seen as a likely Israeli counterstrike for which it did not claim responsibility, fears of a wider conflict died down somewhat when Irans muted response was taken as an attempt to avert further escalation. I'm not certain that this is entirely in the interest of Iran and they may live to regret every such action, Olmert said. I think that the lesson they should have learned from the April confrontation is that even when you shoot hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, others, you are not going to cause such damage that you have planned to make, and you lose your deterrence, and you lose the power of your threat. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the EU- and U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, has thrown the Middle East into crisis. But his assassination in a suspected Israeli strike in Iran on July 31 and the heightened risk of a broader war also have implications in the wider region, including for Iran's eastern neighbors, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Experts say Kabul and Islamabad will likely struggle with the security, economic, and political fallout from a major escalation in the Middle East. But a potential regional war involving Iran is unlikely to directly drag in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which have cordial relations with Tehran, experts say. "The attacks will not draw either country into direct participation in the conflicts such as by offering to send fighters," said Marvin Weinbaum, director of Afghanistan and Pakistan studies at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington. Pakistan and the Taliban both directly blamed Israel for Haniyeh's assassination, which Tehran has also blamed on its archenemy. Islamabad denounced the killing as an act of "terrorism," and hundreds of supporters of a Pakistan Islamist party held a symbolic funeral for Haniyeh near Islamabad on July 31. 'Making Life Harder For Afghans' Iran is on friendly terms with the Taliban. Tehran is also the biggest trading partner of the cash-strapped and internationally unrecognized Taliban-led government. Kabul is dependent on Iranian ports for most of its imports and exports amid tensions with neighboring Pakistan. The Islamic republic is also home to around 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees. The remittances they send back home keep many impoverished families afloat in Afghanistan, which has grappled with an economic crisis since the Taliban takeover in 2021. Graeme Smith, a senior Afghanistan analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said rising tensions in the Middle East "could have destabilizing consequences for the fragile situation in Afghanistan." Smith said the risk is that a conflict involving Iran will harden the country's borders with Afghanistan, "making life harder for Afghans." He said Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, the largest in the world, could worsen if its borders with Iran are closed. "The exit route from that crisis depends on renewed trade across the region," he said. "[But it] requires borders opening to the flow of goods and labor." Pakistan Not To Become 'Directly Involved' Hundreds of thousands of Afghans and millions of Pakistanis work as laborers and traders in the oil-rich Arab Gulf countries. A potential regional war could disrupt the flow of Afghan and Pakistani migrant workers heading to the Gulf. That would deal a major blow to Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which are both heavily dependent on remittances sent from abroad. In Pakistan, some political parties and the media have called for Islamabad to take a more hard-line approach to Israel, which is not formally recognized by the South Asian country. But Weinbaum said the "general feeling among [Pakistani] policymakers is that the country has enough security concerns of its own not to become directly involved." Faced with rising militant attacks in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, Islamabad's choices are limited. "There are also worries about an American reaction if Pakistan makes any military commitments [to Iran]," Weinbaum said. Afghanistan and Pakistan are home to millions of Shi'ite Muslims. And Iran, a Shi'a-majority country, could look to Shi'ite communities living in its eastern neighbors for recruits in the event of a war. During the Syrian civil war, Iran recruited, trained, and armed thousands of Shi'ite fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight. Many of those fighters who survived have returned home as the war has died down. BUDAPEST -- In villages and towns across Hungary, adoring crowds gather to hear Peter Magyar speak, their enthusiasm spilling over onto social media where they post selfies taken with the 43-year-old opposition politician. In just a few months, Magyar has gone from being the unknown husband of the former justice minister to becoming the great new hope for Hungary's opposition. He is also possibly the most dangerous challenger that Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary's populist nationalist-conservative leader who has been in power since 2010, has ever faced. In European Parliament elections in June, Magyar's newly formed Tisza party received 30 percent of the vote. And in local elections held at the same time, Tisza took the same number of seats as Orban's ruling Fidesz party on the Budapest city council. Apathetic Youth Much of Magyar's success is his ability to mobilize young people, a generation known for political apathy. According to 2018 research by Policy Solutions, a progressive political research institute based in Budapest, only 17 percent of 18-29-year-olds vote. For Hungarians under 35, they have only ever seen Fidesz win an election -- and most of them aren't supportive of the ruling party. A June survey by independent Budapest-based pollster Median found that only 7 percent of people below 30 would vote for Fidesz. "[Fidesz] are becoming more of a pensioners' party," says Peter Kreko, a political scientist at the independent Budapest-based Political Capital think tank. According to the Median poll, 63 percent of their voters are above the age of 50. Many young people are deeply disillusioned with the electoral process, with only 22 percent of Hungarians under the age of 30 believing in the fairness of elections, according to a 2021 study sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation. Critics in Hungary and abroad have accused Orban's party of manipulating the nation's electoral system, clamping down on independent media, and dismantling Hungary's democratic institutions. "What is it like here [in Hungary]? I would say it's futureless," says Reka, a 30-year old student, who preferred to not give her family name to protect her identity. It is young people like Reka who have been drawn to Magyar and Tisza. According to Median, 46 percent of Tisza's voters are under 40, compared to 19 percent for Fidesz and 18 percent for the main left-wing coalition. Social Media Appeal Magyar's appeal lies in his bright, youthful appearance and a campaign style that resonates with young people. The Tisza team maintains an active social media presence, with Magyar himself sometimes entering the comments to take on the party's critics. "Peter Magyar communicates normally, seeing his audience as intelligent people," says Sara Darnot, 29, a Budapest-based lawyer. "He's not dumbing his message down." More than just savvy social media, Magyar's policies appeal to many younger voters. He has promised new housing programs, a beneficial tax system for freelancers, and pledged to support small businesses and the independent media. A former lawyer, diplomat, and businessman closely connected to Fidesz, Magyar rose to political prominence in March following a child sexual-abuse scandal that rocked the ruling party. As the ex-husband of former Justice Minister Judit Varga, who resigned due to the scandal, Magyar gave up his positions in government-run companies and then made public accusations about what he said was the pervasive corruption and nepotism in the Orban administration. It is his past as a Fidesz loyalist and insider that has concerned many voters. Plus, many young, opposition-minded Hungarians don't think he's left-wing enough. In an interview with independent Hungarian radio station Klubradio, Magyar denied being a liberal, claiming he was a "national liberal or a conservative liberal." Politically, Tisza remains hard to pin down. The party supports lowering tax on fruit and vegetables, a program for rehabilitating villages, and founding separate ministries for education, health care, and environmental protection. Yet, for other issues that many young people care about -- abortion or migration, for example -- Magyar has not indicated where he stands. "A party based on youth and one person is fragile," warns Kreko from Political Capital. He says that Tisza's young voter base could lead to instability in the party. "From research on youth, we know that the mainstream changes quickly," he says. This is what Aron Vasanyi, the 27-year-old press officer of the centrist Momentum party, has also found. Many young people who previously voted for Momentum abandoned the party at the last elections, preferring to vote for Magyar. "The young generation change jobs, partners, homes, and voting preferences easily," he says. Others, such as student Reka, have expressed concerns about Tisza's lack of experience in governance. "But at least [Magyar] managed to shake things up," she acknowledges. Brain Drain The most damning indicator of the political hopelessness of Hungary's youth is the country's brain drain. In 2023, a record 35,000 Hungarians left the country, mostly to live and work elsewhere in the EU, over 15 times more than in 2003. And, in 2023, over 40 percent of people aged 18-29 planned on leaving Hungary within three years, the largest percentage in the bloc after Cyprus, EU research has shown. Gaspar Kerekjarto, a 28-year-old social worker, moved with his partner to Austria for financial reasons. "The social sphere is incredibly underpaid. We want to get married, have kids, and for this we had to leave the country." Both Fidesz and Tisza have recognized the need to entice young Hungarians back home, given the labor shortage and the detrimental economic effects of the brain drain. The Fidesz government has tried to lure young people back by promising loans and other financial help. Magyar has also promised to implement a "detailed program" to enable young people to move back home, but the details remain unclear. "Young people are the hardest to get home," says Balazs Lang, a 49-year-old journalist and administrator of a Facebook group for expats voting for Tisza. "You have to promise them a lot. Those over 70 would go home for [a lot less]." Despite the skepticism, many young Hungarians see Magyar as an opportunity for change. "We want to move back to a free country," Lang says. Kerekjarto, himself a Tisza voter, agreed. "There's no guarantee that it will be good, but here's an opportunity we can't miss. We have to try," he says. A veteran human rights activist. A married couple who worked for years in deep-cover aliases. Two American journalists. The son of a Russian lawmaker. The list of people released on August 1 in a multiple-country prisoner swap, the largest of its kind since the Cold War, is a diverse and sweeping roster of personalities and backgrounds, a mix of people with little to nothing in common -- except being swept up in months of high-stakes, closed-door diplomatic wrangling. Some were convicted by U.S. juries and sentenced to U.S. prison terms. Some were picked up on dubious allegations of espionage and railroaded through a Russian judicial system with little pretense of fair justice. All 24 are now being set free, to either their home countries or elsewhere. Here's a comprehensive list of the people released on August 1, listed by country. Held In Russia Evan Gershkovich Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, was found guilty on July 19 by a court in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. government have rejected as politically motivated, and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. The 32-year-old was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. Accredited by Russia's Foreign Ministry and based out of The Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau, Gershkovich was accused of trying to access classified information. Gershkovich was the first American journalist to be arrested on spy accusations in post-Soviet Russia. Last month, prosecutors accused him of working on behalf of the CIA. The Wall Street Journal Journal has vehemently denied the accusation, calling the case against him a sham. Gershkovich, who had been held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison, was officially designated as wrongfully detained. Vladimir Kara-Murza An opposition activist and former journalist, Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two near-fatal illnesses that U.S. authorities classified as "intentional poisoning." His denunciations of the all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a treason conviction and a 25-year prison sentence. Kara-Murza, who worked closely with assassinated Putin foe Boris Nemtsov, also cultivated strong ties with members of U.S. Congress, which he leveraged to influence U.S. policy toward Russia. Despite warnings, Kara-Murza returned from living abroad to Russia to continue his political work. In April 2022, about two months after the Ukraine invasion, he was detained by police in Moscow for allegedly disobeying police orders. Later that year, prosecutors filed treason charges, and in April 2023 he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was sent to a maximum-security facility in the Siberian region of Omsk, where he was also placed in solitary confinement cells. In the months leading up to his release, his allies had warned that his health had deteriorated, and he had lost an alarming amount of weight in the maximum-security prison where he was serving his sentence -- one of the longest ever handed to a Kremlin opponent. Alsu Kurmasheva Alsu Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, was detained by authorities in June 2023 as she was visiting relatives in the central Russian region of Tatarstan. A dual Russian-U.S. citizen, she was initially charged with not declaring her U.S. passport, and released, but barred from leaving the country. That October, however, she was arrested and hit with additional charges of being an undeclared foreign agent -- under a draconian law targeting journalists, civil society activists, and others. She was later hit with an additional charge: distributing "fake" news about the Russian military, a charge stemming apparently from her work editing a book about Russians opposed to the Ukraine war. On July 19, Kurmasheva was convicted by a Tatarstan court and sentenced to 6 years in prison, after a secret, closed-door trial. Paul Whelan Paul Whelan, 54, was arrested in December 2018 while visiting Moscow for a friend's wedding, and accused of receiving a computer flash drive that contained classified information. A former U.S. Marine who was working as a corporate security executive at the time, Whelan has said he was set up in a sting operation and that he thought the thumb drive contained vacation photographs from his friend. In June 2020, a Russian court convicted him of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. His time has been spent largely in a prison in the central region of Mordovia. Whelan's family and the U.S. government have called his conviction a sham and a mockery of justice. Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian, and Irish citizenship, was designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained. Ilya Yashin Ilya Yashin, 41, has been a stalwart of street protests in the Putin era and was also a close ally of Nemtsov, presenting a report on Russian involvement in the war in Ukraine's Donbas region that Nemtsov had been working on when he was shot dead in 2015. A local lawmaker who was chairman of his Moscow district council in 2017-21, Yashin was convicted and sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in December 2022 over criticism of what he has called Russia's "monstrous war" in Ukraine. The charge stemmed from YouTube posts in which Yashin spoke about the killings of civilians in Bucha, a city outside Kyiv where survivors, rights activists, and Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces committed atrocities before withdrawing following Russia's failure to capture the capital. In his final court appearance before the verdict, Yashin urged Putin to "stop the madness" and end the war by withdrawing Russia's forces from Ukraine, adding: "Your name is now firmly associated with the words 'death' and 'destruction.'" Oleg Orlov Oleg Orlov, 71, is one of the most experienced and respected human rights activists in Russia, with a record of advocacy stretching back to the Soviet era and encompassing reporting on abuses in Moscow, Chechnya, and nationwide. A co-chairman of the now outlawed Nobel Peace Prize-winning Memorial human rights center, Orlov was convicted in February of repeatedly discrediting the Russian military and sentenced to 30 months in prison, a ruling that was upheld in July. The charge against Orlov stems from an article in which he condemned the Ukraine invasion and said that Russia was "slipping back into totalitarianism, but this time the fascist kind." "The bloody war that Putin's regime has unleashed in Ukraine is not only the mass murder of people and the annihilation of infrastructure, economy, and cultural sites. Not only the destruction of the foundations of international law," he wrote. "It is also a severe blow to the future of Russia." Kevin Lik Lik, a dual German-Russian citizen, was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2023 after being convicted of treason following a closed-door trial. He was 18 years old at the time of his conviction. A resident of the North Caucasus region of Adygea, Lik was found guilty of observing and photographing the local military base and sending the pictures by e-mail to a representative of a foreign government, according to Russian prosecutors. Memorial designated Lik a political prisoner. Aleksandra Skochilenko Aleksandra Skochilenko, 33, is a St. Petersburg artist who protested against the Ukraine invasion shortly after Putin launched it in February 2022 by replacing five shelf tags in a grocery store with information about the war. One said that Russia had "bombed an art school in Mariupol where about 400 people were seeking shelter." Another read, "Putin has been lying to you from the television screen for 20 years. The result of these lies is our willingness to accept war and senseless deaths." Skochilenko, who usually goes by the familiar form of her name, Sasha, was convicted in November 2022 of distributing false information about the Russian military and sentenced to seven years in prison. She argued that the words on the tags were the truth. "My great-grandfather didn't participate in World War II for four years so that Russia would become a fascist state and attack Ukraine," Skochilenko wrote on one of them. In a final statement in court, she wondered aloud why the state was frightened by "five tiny pieces of paper." Andrei Pivovarov Andrei Pivovarov, 42, is the former executive director of the now-defunct pro-democracy Open Russia movement set up by exiled former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He was detained in May 2021 after being taken off a Warsaw-bound plane just before takeoff from St. Petersburg and sentenced to four years in prison in July 2022 on a charge of heading an "undesirable organization." Memorial has declared Pivovarov a political prisoner, saying his right to a fair trial was violated. The "undesirable organizations" law, adopted in 2015, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and NGOs that received funding from foreign sources -- mainly from Europe and the United States. These laws are widely seen as a tool to stamp out political dissent and tighten the Kremlin's control over the countrys political landscape. Ksenia Fadeyeva Ksenia Fadeyeva, 32, is a former local lawmaker and the former head of the late opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's regional office in the Siberian city of Tomsk. In December 2023, she was convicted on charges including organizing activities of an extremist group and was handed a nine-year prison term. Her lawyer, Semyon Vodnev, called the judge's ruling "illegal, ungrounded, and unjust." He argued, among other things, that Fadeyeva had ended her involvement with Navalny's organization before it was labeled extremist in 2021. At the time of her conviction, Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, hailed Fadeyeva as "honest and brave" and said that those who fabricated the criminal case against her would eventually face punishment. In May, a court rejected Fadeyeva's appeal and Tomsk officials stripped her of her mandate in the city council in June. Demuri Voronin Political scientist Demuri Voronin, a Russian-German national, was convicted on a high treason charge and sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison by the Moscow City Court in March 2023. Voronin was arrested in Moscow in 2021, hours before he was due to depart to Berlin. The case materials were classified, but Voronin was mentioned in a high treason case against journalist Ivan Safronov, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison in September 2022 and was declared a political prisoner by Memorial. Voronin owned a consulting company in Moscow that collaborated with noted journalists. Patrick Schoebel Patrick Schoebel, a German, was arrested at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg earlier this year after officers who searched him said they found cannabis gummies. Accused of drug possession and smuggling, Schoebel was jailed in Moscow. The Russian Federal Customs Service said Schoebel told the authorities he brought 10 gummies from Germany into Russia to have a more "restful sleep" on long flights. Russia claimed that a test of the gummies found they contained a banned substance. Schoebel had faced up to seven years in prison, according to the Customs Service and Russian state media reports. At the time of the prisoner swap, it was not immediately clear whether he had been tried. German Moyzhes German Moyzhes, a dual German-Russian citizen who was living in St. Petersburg, is a lawyer and reportedly a managing partner in a company that provides support to Russians seeking residence permits in the European Union. He has also been a public advocate for pedestrian and cyclist-friendly streets. Moyzhes was arrested in late May while riding his bicycle along an embankment in St. Petersburg, accused of treason, and sent to the Lefortovo prison. It was unclear whether his trial had begun when the exchange took place. Lilia Chanysheva Lilia Chanysheva, 42, is the former head of the branch of Navalny's political network in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkortostan region. The network, established for Navalny's unsuccessful bid to get on the 2018 presidential ballot and challenge Vladimir Putin, was branded "extremist" in 2021. In June 2023, Chanysheva was convicted of crimes including creating an extremist community and inciting extremism and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. The regional Supreme Court later extended her term by two years, saying the initial sentence was too lenient. In comments to RFE/RL from jail before her conviction, Chanysheva described the case against her as "not only political, but actually absurd." Navalny, who died in suspicious circumstances in prison in February 2024, testified in her trial 10 months earlier. "Think about the beautiful Russia of the future that we will achieve. Thanks to you and people like you, we will do this. You are a rock. I never doubted you, not for one second. I am so happy I know you," Navalny said. "You have inspired a huge number of people." Vadim Ostanin Vadim Ostanin, 47, is the former head of a local branch of Navalny's team in the Siberian city of Barnaul. He was arrested in December 2021 and charged with organizing an extremist community and propagating the activities of a noncommercial organization that encroaches on citizens' privacy and rights. The charges were related to the activities of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which published numerous investigations into corruption and cronyism involving Putin and his close associates, as well as other top Russian officials. Ostanin was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2023 for activities that Navalny's supporters called "legal political work." Memorial designated him a political prisoner. Held In Belarus Rico Krieger A German citizen, Rico Krieger, 30, was sentenced to death in Belarus in June, before he was pardoned by Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka on July 30. Lukashenka's office provided no additional information about the reasoning behind the pardon. Details of Krieger's case were not known until the Vyasna human rights group reported that he was sentenced to death in June for mercenary activity, terrorism, creating an extremist group, intentionally damaging a vehicle, and illegal operations with firearms and explosives. According to Vyasna, it was the first trial in Belarus for "mercenary activity" and the charges were connected to the Kalinouski Regiment, a group of anti-government Belarusian exiles fighting for Ukraine. The Kalinouski Regiment denies any connection to the case. Krieger was born in Berlin and worked as a paramedic for the German Red Cross, according to Vyasna. He has a young son, who lives in Germany. He worked previously as a special security officer for the U.S. State Department in Berlin, where he gained experience in armed security operations. He then moved to health care and worked as a nurse specializing in emergency medical care. Held In Germany Vadim Krasikov Vadim Krasikov, 59, also known as Vadim Sokolov, is a former Russian FSB officer currently serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of ex-Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin. German prosecutors stated that Krasikov shot Khangoshvili from a bicycle before attempting to flee. He was arrested after being seen changing clothes behind a bush. The German investigation identified Krasikov as a senior officer in the FSB's Vympel special forces unit. Additionally, a joint investigation by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel found connections between Krasikov and the FSB, linking him to other crimes. Prosecutors in Germany claimed that Moscow ordered the assassination because Khangoshvili had commanded separatist forces in Russia's North Caucasus region from 2000 to 2004 and was seeking refuge in Germany. In 2015, Khangoshvili survived a daylight assassination attempt in central Tbilisi, where he was shot four times in the arm and shoulder. Krasikov has been serving his sentence in a German prison since 2021. Held In Norway Mikhail Mikushin Norwegian investigators in 2023 announced that an academic who claimed Brazilian citizenship and who worked as a university lecturer was in fact an undercover Russian agent named Mikhail Mikushin. Mikushin had first traveled to Norway, to work at the Arctic University of Norway in 2021, identifying himself as Jose Assis Giammaria, according to Norwegian media. But year later, he was arrested, first on charges of lying about his identity, and then later with being a Russian spy. In 2023, Mikushin reportedly confessed to using a false identity. He has been held in an Oslo prison, and had faced up to three years in prison under Norwegian espionage laws. Held In The United States Vladislav Klyushin An IT entrepreneur who ran a Moscow company linked to the Russian government, Vladislav Klyushin was arrested on a ski trip in Switzerland in March 2021 on a U.S. arrest warrant for insider trading. He was accused of using hacked press releases to make stock trades. After extradition to the United States, he was found guilty by a U.S. jury and sentenced to nine years in prison in September 2023. During the trial, U.S. prosecutors repeatedly referenced Klyushin's partnership with a man identified as an officer with the Russian military intelligence agency widely known as the GRU. That man, Ivan Yermakov, was charged in a separate indictment brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for the hacking of the Democratic Party during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Vadim Konoshchenok Vadim Konoshchenok, 49, is a suspected Russian intelligence agent who was detained by Estonian authorities in October 2022. At the time of his detention on a U.S. arrest warrant, U.S. prosecutors said that Konoshchenok was attempting to cross into Russia while carrying some three dozen types of microelectronics and electronic components. They called Konoshchenok "a critical participant in a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition in furtherance of Russia's war efforts and weapons development" in violation of U.S. sanctions. He was taken into U.S. custody in July 2023. He pleaded not guilty to charges that, if convicted, could have resulted in a maximum 30-year prison sentence. Roman Seleznyov The son of a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, Roman Seleznyov was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2014 on an arrest warrant for credit card fraud. His arrest, at an airport in the Maldives, followed by a quick extradition to the U.S. territory of Guam, sparked accusations by Moscow that he was kidnapped. U.S. investigators said they uncovered his online activities in the late 2000s and asked the Federal Security Service for help. But his online footprint soon disappeared, leading U.S. investigators to believe Russia was protecting him. Seleznyov, whose name was spelled Seleznev in U.S. court papers, eventually received a 27-year sentence -- one of the harshest sentences ever handed down to a Russian hacker because he chose to fight his case despite a preponderance of evidence rather than cooperate. Held In Slovenia Anna Dultseva And Artyom Dultsev (aka Maria Rosa Mayer Munos And Ludwig Gisch) Ludwig Gisch and Maria Rosa Mayer Munos are Russian citizens using aliases who were arrested in Slovenia in December 2022 on charges of spying for Russia. Shortly before the prisoner swap, the couple pleaded guilty to "spying and falsifying documents." Their real names are believed to be Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, and they both hold Argentinian passports and are around 40 years old. In 2017, the couple moved to Slovenia, where the husband ran an IT company and the wife operated an Internet art gallery. Media reports stated that they used Slovenia as a base to provide cash to Russian sleeper agents in the EU. Following their guilty plea, a Ljubljana court on July 31 sentenced them to more than 18 months in prison but then ordered their expulsion. Held In Poland Pablo Gonzalez (aka Pavel Rubtsov) Pablo Gonzalez is a Spanish-Russian freelance journalist who was arrested in Poland in February 2022 on charges of spying for Russia. Poland's ABW counterintelligence agency said in a statement at the time that it had identified him as an agent of Russian military intelligence. Gonzalez, who was born in Russia and is also known by his Russian name, Pavel Rubtsov, was alleged by Polish intelligence to have "carried out activities for Russia using his journalistic status," including in "zones affected by armed conflicts and areas of political tension." He was charged with "participating in the activities of foreign intelligence against Poland." The independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo reported shortly after Gonzalezs arrest that he had compiled reports on Nemtsovs daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova, after befriending her. Press-freedom watchdogs said Gonzalez should not be targeted for his journalistic activities and urged Poland to substantiate the charges against him. Among the media outlets that Gonzalez had provided reporting to is the U.S.-funded broadcaster VOA, which said it had taken six stories from him in 2020-21 and conducted a review of his work following his arrest. With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Todd Prince, AP, AFP, the BBC, and The Moscow Times A sculpture titled "Marco Polo" is on display at "Marco Polo in China" exhibition at the Academy of the Arts of Drawing (Accademia delle Arti del Disegno) in Florence, Italy, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Fu Xiao/Xinhua) FLORENCE, Italy, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A middle-aged man sits upright on horseback, gazing firmly into the distance. His bushy beard and distinctive headgear hint at his Western origin. This small sculpture, exuding a bronze sheen with simplistic yet expressive Chinese aesthetics, is at an exhibition that is currently being held at the Academy of the Arts of Drawing (Accademia delle Arti del Disegno) in Florence, Italy, and the sculpture depicts none other than the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo. Titled "Marco Polo in China," the exhibition commemorates the 700th anniversary of the famous Italian explorer's death through sculptures and paintings by Wu Weishan, the renowned international artist and curator of the National Art Museum of China, showcasing Marco Polo's journey to China centuries ago and engaging audiences worldwide. As Wu 's first solo exhibition in Florence, the exhibition features about 50 pieces by the artist, including well-known works, unfinished sculptures, and his latest paintings. The Academy, with a history dating back to 1563, is known for its focus on art research and creation, regularly hosting exhibitions and seminars to promote artists and their works. According to Cristina Acidini, the director of the academy, through this exhibition, the academy hopes to honor Marco Polo, a great emissary of cultural exchange between East and West. She told Xinhua in an interview that Marco Polo is an eternal symbol of global exploration. "Today, we can travel more conveniently, but that doesn't mean we truly understand others. Marco Polo is a model for us to continue learning and staying open," she said. At the exhibition, a series of Wu's latest Chinese landscape paintings were displayed on one side of the gallery, with Italian scenery in Chinese ink paintings on the opposite side. The gallery also features portraits of many ancient Chinese and Italian figures such as Laozi, Qu Yuan, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Maria, a visitor from Spain, told Xinhua that the exhibited works impressed her with a simple yet expressive style. "Seeing these artworks imbued with ancient Chinese charm allowed me to imagine Marco Polo's experiences in China," she said. Acidini said that through the sculptures, Marco Polo is placed in the same space with famous Chinese philosophers and poets, creating a dialogue that transcends time and space. Many visitors shared their thoughts in a guestbook at the venue. One, signing as "S.H.," wrote: "What a surprising variety of forms and styles, all of them are beautiful." Acidini said that art is a very effective bridge for intercultural communication because it can be expressed visually without using language or requiring specific background knowledge. "Sino-Italian artistic exchanges are excellent ways to gain a deeper understanding of each other," she said. According to Antonio Di Tommaso, curator of the exhibition, and also the head of the sculpture department at the Academy of the Arts of Drawing, Wu has a profound understanding of Marco Polo's life and history, and he told this story through his expert medium. The exhibition, which runs from July 9 to 28, is organized by the Academy and hosted by the China-Italy Contemporary Art Association. Photo taken on July 23, 2024 shows sculptures and paintings at "Marco Polo in China" exhibition at the Academy of the Arts of Drawing (Accademia delle Arti del Disegno) in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Fu Xiao/Xinhua) Editor: JYZ Several Americans and other Westerners have been freed, along with a number of Russian citizens who had been jailed in their own country, in a major prisoner swap involving multiple nations. Why did President Vladimir Putin's government release them, and why now? Here are three reasons. 'Patriots' And Prisoners During his 25 years as president or prime minister, Putin has increasingly sent signals to Russians about the kind of people he sees, or wants them to believe he sees, as valuable: loyal figures who serve what he casts as the interests of the state, even if -- and perhaps especially if -- their actions are an affront to the West. These signals have become clearer than ever since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has decorated soldiers from units accused of committing atrocities in the neighboring country and has clamped down ever harder on all forms of dissent, and particularly anti-war activism, at home. Putin, a longtime officer of the Soviet KGB and the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) before his rise to the heights of power, has repeatedly sought to show that the Kremlin elevates and protects those it sees as the right kind of Russian, including those seen as loyal members of the security services. A glaring example of Putin's projected values is Vadim Krasikov, the former FSB officer seen as the central figure -- at least for Putin -- of the prisoner swap. Krasikov had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder, in broad daylight in a prominent Berlin park, of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian citizen and former field commander in Chechnya. Prosecutors in Germany claimed Moscow ordered the assassination because Khangoshvili had commanded separatist forces in Russia's North Caucasus region from 2000 to 2004 in the Second Chechen War, which helped cement Putin's authority when he publicly played the lead role in pursuing it as prime minister in 1999 and then as president starting in 2000. In an interview with U.S. media figure Tucker Carlson in February, Putin praised Krasikov without naming him, referring to "a person [who], due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals," and made clear that he wanted to secure the convicted murderer's release and return to Russia. Enemies Of The State? The flip side of holding up people like Krasikov as examples is the Russian state's mounting pressure on political opponents, civil society groups, and dissenters, particularly those -- be they well-known or unknown to the general public -- who have spoken out against the war on Ukraine. Several of the Russians who had been imprisoned in their own country before the swap had been convicted, in trials seen in the West as entirely politically motivated, of treason or involvement in purported "extremist" activities. Others were found guilty of discrediting the Russian military or spreading what Putin's government deems false information about the war against Ukraine. While professing to take no interest in the cases against these defendants over the years and avoiding even mentioning the name of Aleksei Navalny, the political foe who died in suspicious circumstances in an Arctic prison, Putin has repeatedly said that anyone who breaks the law must be punished. By releasing them, however, he sends a signal that's the opposite of the message delivered about Krasikov: Good riddance to people the Kremlin portrays as enemies of the state and pawns of the West. In March 2022, shortly after launching the invasion of Ukraine, Putin said Russians "will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a fly that has accidentally flown into their mouths." At the same time, Putin can claim to be acting out of humanitarian interests, as he has done in the past with prisoners such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Meanwhile, the death of Navalny -- which his widow and many others blame on Putin -- has enabled Russia to conduct the prisoner exchange without releasing the one opponent he may not have wanted to see at liberty, even abroad. Allies of Navalny had claimed that a swap deal that would have included his release and Krasikov's was in the works when he died. The November Factor The prisoner swap follows U.S.-Russian negotiations on the issue and comes just over three months before the U.S. presidential election. President Joe Biden, who has been vocal about the desire to secure the release of Americans held in Russia and elsewhere on what Washington says are spurious charges, withdrew his bid for reelection last month. U.S.-Russian ties are close to a nadir, extremely strained by Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine. Whoever wins the U.S. election on November 5, former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, releasing several Americans held in Russia cleans the slate to some degree ahead of the vote and the next U.S. president's four-year term. Simply put, it alleviates one major irritant in relations between the two countries, one reason for the United States to be tough on Russia. Putin, who appears to be focused almost solely on the war against Ukraine, might try to use the prisoner exchange to undermine U.S. support for aid to Ukraine, particular in Congress, or to seek concessions on sanctions imposed over the war. The Kremlin may see "an opportunity to try to isolate Ukraine," said Sam Greene, a professor at the King's Russia Institute at King's College London. "By making this exchange, Moscow is seeking to demonstrate that (a) it can negotiate in good faith, and (b) it is willing to do deals with the West." "This will strengthen the hand of those who have been calling for Western governments to impose a cease-fire on Kyiv and weaken those who see such a cease-fire as detrimental to Ukrainian and European security in the near, medium and long terms," Greene wrote on X. "Sowing doubt in the West about the utility of continuing to support Ukraine may be enough of a win -- but the Kremlin is taking a risk," Greene added. "If it doesn't work, and if support continues, what bargaining chips does it have left? Only escalation, really." Despite his own public suggestions to the contrary, many analysts say Putin would prefer Trump win the election, and there had been speculation that the Kremlin might deny Biden the satisfaction of securing the release of Americans but approve a swap after the election if Trump were to win -- again, with the hope of smoothing the path for U.S. concessions on Ukraine or regional security issues. However, doing so could come across to audiences at home as obsequious, and if Harris wins as an unneeded concession, so the Kremlin may have considered it safest to act now. In addition, Biden is a known quantity, and the Kremlin might be less confident about how Trump or Harris would approach the matter. On the other hand, the timing of the exchange may have little to do with the U.S. election cycle, hinging more on when negotiations advanced to the point at which a swap was possible, as well as factors such as Putin's eagerness to bring Krasikov back to Russia. Meanwhile, despite the scope of the swap, several Americans and others apparently still held in Russia -- and seen widely in the West as hostages -- remain as bargaining chips for the Kremlin. And if disputes arise in the West about the wisdom of freeing the convicted murderer Krasikov, Putin will welcome that development. In any case, regardless of the timing, the prisoner exchange put Russia in a place where Putin, over a quarter-century in power, has always been eager for it to be: at the table with the United States. A 56-year-old man signed up to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion despite having previously had both lower legs amputated. Vasyl Shtefko joined the army at the very start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and served for six months before being discharged on medical grounds. But he was then injured in a grenade attack after starting work as a local councilor. "Squid Game" Season 2 Release Date Announced with New Olympics-Like Theme The global sensation Squid Game is making a highly anticipating return. Squid Game Season 2 Release Date: The global sensation Squid Game is making a highly anticipating return. Netflix has just announced that Season 2 will premiere on December 26, 2024, with a final season set to follow in 2025. This thrilling drama, which captivated audiences worldwide in 2020, is gearing up for a dramatic continuation. The exciting news was shared with fans through a heartfelt letter from Hwang Dong-hyuk, the visionary behind the series who serves as its executive producer, writer, and director. Alongside the announcement, Netflix released a teaser that promises more intense and gripping moments. The clip features a dramatic track race, not for glory, but for survival, setting the stage for the high-stakes drama to come. As the chaos unfolds and bodies fall, the enigmatic Frontman signals that the real game is about to begin. Advertisement Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who made history at the 74th Primetime Emmys by becoming the first Asian to win Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, returns to his multifaceted role as director, writer, and producer for the new season. Fans can also look forward to seeing familiar faces from Season 1, including Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo. Joining the returning cast are an impressive array of new actors: Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri, and Won Ji-an. This new ensemble is set to bring fresh energy and intrigue to the series. As the countdown to the new season begins, fans around the globe are eagerly awaiting what promises to be another thrilling chapter in the Squid Game saga. Advertisement ( For more updates apart from, Squid Game Season 2 Release Date Announced with New Olympics-Themed Teaser Watch Now!, stay tuned to Rozana spokesman) Telangana Waives Rs 12,000 Crore Farm Loans in 12 Days, 6 Lakh Farmers Benefited Telangana Waives Rs 12,000 Crore Farm Loans in 12 Days, 6 Lakh Farmers Benefited Telangana Waives Rs 12,000 Crore Farm Loans in 12 Days, 6 Lakh Farmers Benefited: Releasing funds under the second phase of the farm loan waiver scheme benefiting 6.40 lakh farmers in Telangana, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that his government waived Rs 12,000 Crore worth of farm loans in just 12 days. Announcing the farm loan waiver on Tuesday, Reddy said "While India attained Independence in August, farmers in the Telangana state also got freedom from the mounting debt burden in the same month and the farming community was relieved after the waiver of farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh". Advertisement The Chief Minister further said that the waiver of farm loans by allocating a whopping Rs 31,000 Crore funds at one go created a new record in the history of the country. "No state in the history of the country has waived such a large amount of farmers' loans so far", he said, maintaining that political parties usually remember the farmers during the election period and lure them with promises and that there are no elections and no political interests in the waiver of farm loans except safeguarding the interests of the distressed farmers. While the assembly session is going on, Revanth Reddy launched the second phase of the farm loan waiver scheme up to Rs 2 lakh at the Assembly premises in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Advertisement Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad, Council Chairman Gutta Sukhender Reddy, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, state ministers and MLAs participated in the distribution of cheques to the farmers and the entire premises wore a festive atmosphere. The Chief Minister announced that the loans up to Rs 2 lakh of all farmers will be waived by depositing Rs 6,198 Crore in 6.40 lakh farmers' accounts directly. Himachal Pradesh Death Toll: Cloudbursts Claim Lives and Leave Dozens Missing Late last night, a cloudburst struck the Samej Khad area of Rampur Himachal Pradesh Weather Update, Cloudburst Death Toll: A devastating series of cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh has resulted in the death of two individuals and left over 50 people missing. The severe weather events have prompted a large-scale search and rescue operation across the affected regions. Late last night, a cloudburst struck the Samej Khad area of Rampur in Shimla district, unleashing torrents of water that caused sudden and severe flooding. Rescue efforts are underway, led by teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), local police, and home guards. Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap confirmed that drones are being employed to aid in locating the missing individuals. Advertisement Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has taken immediate action, convening a meeting to assess the situation. He reported that the initial cloudburst occurred around 4:40 AM, resulting in two confirmed fatalities and approximately 50 individuals still unaccounted for. The chief minister indicated that heavy rain is expected to continue over the next 36 hours, which could complicate rescue operations. In addition to the Rampur incident, another cloudburst was reported in Thaltukhod, within the Padhar subdivision of Mandi district. This event has resulted in one confirmed death and nine people reported missing. The district administration and NDRF teams have been deployed to assist with the situation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been in contact with Chief Minister Sukhu, offering central assistance and the support of the NDRF. Shah assured Sukhu that the central government is committed to providing all necessary resources for the ongoing rescue operations. Advertisement Union Health Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda has also weighed in, urging all BJP cadres to participate in the relief and rescue efforts. A statement from his office emphasized that Nadda has spoken to both Chief Minister Sukhu and former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, directing party workers to engage in aiding those affected. Former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur expressed his concern over the repeated weather-related disasters impacting Himachal Pradesh. Thakur highlighted the significant damages, including the impact on the Malana (First) hydro power project in Kullu district and widespread destruction in Mandi district. He stressed the urgency of focusing on rescue efforts amidst the escalating crisis. Amid the chaos, alarming visuals have emerged from various parts of Himachal Pradesh, showing the Beas River swollen and surging through valleys and towns, exacerbating the already dire situation. Advertisement As the region braces for further rainfall, emergency teams continue to work tirelessly to locate the missing and provide relief to those affected by this catastrophic weather event. (For more updates apart from Himachal Pradesh Weather Update, Cloudburst Death Toll, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Rain Wreaks Havoc in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand | 2 Dead, 50 Missing in Shimla On Thursday morning, catastrophic scenes unfolded across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Weather Alert: On Thursday morning, catastrophic scenes unfolded across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as severe rainfall and cloudbursts caused widespread damage. In Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, a building collapsed and was swept away by the floodwaters, as captured in distressing video footage. Simultaneously, in Uttarakhand, dramatic scenes emerged of pilgrims being airlifted from the Badrinath Yatra route and floodwaters inundating Jageshwar Dham. The intense rainfall has resulted in tragic losses and significant disruption. In Himachal Pradesh, heavy rains have claimed two lives, and around 50 people are reported missing in Shimla, with 33 feared missing in Rampur and three in Kullu. In Uttarakhand, the death toll has reached five, including two children, with 200 pilgrims stranded due to disruptions on the Kedarnath yatra route. Advertisement The Mandakini River in Sonprayag has necessitated the evacuation of residents to safer areas, and three houses were moved in Thati village, Budha Kedar. In Kullu, the River Beas is flowing rapidly with increased water levels. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has visited the affected areas in Baheda Tehri Garhwal to oversee ongoing rescue and relief efforts. In response to the crisis in Himachal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured support from the Centre, including the deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams for rescue and relief operations. The NDRF, police, and local rescue units are grappling with significant challenges, including river erosion and washed-out routes. Banshidhar Tiwari, Director General (Information), reported that approximately 20 to 25 meters of footpath near Bhimbali, Kedarnath, has been washed away, with boulders blocking key routes. Advertisement In Himachal Pradesh, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Torul S. Ravish highlighted extensive damage, particularly in the Nirmand block, where two Public Works Department (PWD) bridges were washed away and 8-9 houses were lost. Search and rescue operations are underway with the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and NDRF teams. In light of the severe weather, registrations for the Char Dham Yatra have been temporarily suspended, and a safety advisory has been issued urging devotees to postpone their travel. DGP Abhinav Kumar emphasized, The Meteorological Department has issued an alert for heavy rain in most districts of Uttarakhand. Your safety is our priority. (For more updates apart from, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Weather Alert, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Bohemia meet Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, praises her for 'fighting for the rights' Pakistani rapper, mainly associated with Punjabi language music industry, Pakistani rapper, mainly associated with Punjabi language music industry, recently met Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, who has been busy campaigning for former US President Doland Trump ahead of US Presidential Elections 2024. Bohemia is considered to be the pioneer of the Desi hip hop industry. Advertisement Recently, he met with a an American lawyer and Republican Party official Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, who is the former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party. The rapper took to his social media and uploaded a photo with her. He wrote in the caption: "I want to thank Harmeet Kaur Dhillon ji @pnjaban. Shes a phone call away from @realDonaldTrump as his lawyer, and member of the Republican National Committee, fighting for our rights. Yet she still took the time to speak with me, and hear my concerns!" ( For more updates apart from, Bohemia meeting with Harmeet Kaur Dhillon , stay tuned to Rozana spokesman) Australia will on Friday release Q2 figures for producer prices, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Producer prices are expected to rise 1.0 percent on quarter and 4.4 percent on year after adding 0.9 percent on quarter and 4.3 percent on year in the three months prior. South Korea will see July figures for consumer prices, with forecasts calling for an increase of 0.3 percent on month and 2.5 percent on year following the 0.2 percent monthly decline and the 2.4 percent annual increase in June. Japan will provide July numbers for its monetary base, with analysts looking for an increase of 0.9 percent on year - up from 0.6 percent in June. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. The euro area manufacturing sector continued to contract on steep reduction in orders and output in July, final data from S&P Global showed on Thursday. Further, official data showed that the unemployment rate in the currency bloc edged up in June as firms scaled back their staffing capacity amid weak economic activity. The HCOB manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index posted 45.8 in July, unchanged from June and above the flash estimate of 45.6. There was a marked reduction in the of the euro area's goods-producing , the survey showed. "The widely held belief that the eurozone's recovery would pick up speed in the second half of the year is taking a hit, thanks to the latest HCOB PMI index for the manufacturing sector," Hamburg Commercial Bank Chief Economist Cyrus de la Rubia said. Earlier this year, the sector was expected to climb out of the production slump, but the doubts that surfaced in June have been intensified by an accelerated decline in production in July, de la Rubia noted. "Given this weak data, we'll probably need to lower our GDP growth forecast for the year from 0.8%," the economist added. The survey showed that the steep reduction in new orders led to a contraction in output and workforce numbers decreased the most since last December. There were further decreases in purchasing activity and inventories, while confidence softened to a four-month low. The survey showed a marked acceleration of cost pressures as input prices increased at the fastest pace in a year-and-a-half. Meanwhile, manufacturers refrained from passing on greater cost burden to clients. Germany and France, the bloc's two largest economies, saw their respective index values falling to three-month and six-month lows, respectively. Spain was the strongest performer so far this year. At the same time, Italy's manufacturing continued to improve but remained in the contraction zone. The downturn in Germany's manufacturing sector gathered pace in July. The final PMI slid to 43.2 from 43.5 in June. The flash score was 42.6. The current 25-month sequence of sub-50 readings was the longest on record since 1996. France's manufacturing activity contracted further in July. The indicator slid to 44.0 in July from 45.4 in June. Spain's manufacturing economy continued to expand, albeit at softer pace. The factory PMI posted 51.0 in July, down from 52.3 in the previous month and the lowest in the current six-month growth sequence. Italy's manufacturing downturn eased in July with both output and new orders dropping at slower rates. The factory PMI rose more-than-expected to 47.4 in July from 45.7 in the prior month. The reading was forecast to climb to 46.0. Elsewhere, Eurostat reported that the unemployment rate in the euro area posted 6.5 percent in June, up from 6.4 percent in May. Economists had forecast the jobless rate to remain unchanged at 6.4 percent. The number of people out of work increased by 41,000 from May and by 81,000 from the previous year. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate dropped slightly to 14.1 percent from 14.2 percent. RTTNews Economic Calendar helps you stay ahead of the curve and is updated in real-time. Get your Economic Calendar today and make data-driven decisions. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Iran has alleged that Israel carried out the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with the approval and intelligence support of the United States. This allegation was made by the permanent representative of Iran to the UN at the Security Council on Wednesday. As requested by Iran, an emergency meeting of the Security Council was convened to discuss the latest flare-up of hostilities in the Middle East. "The responsibility of the United States as their strategic ally, and main supporters of the Israeli regime in the region cannot be overlooked in this horrific crime," Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the Council. "Israel was also pursuing [a] political goal with this act, aiming to disrupt the first day of the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has prioritized strengthening peace and stability in the region, and enhancing cooperation and constructive engagement with international community," he added. "This act of terror is another manifestation of Israel's decades-long pattern of terrorism and sabotage targeting Palestinians and other supporters of the Palestinian cause across the region and beyond," said the Iranian diplomat. Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Iranian capital Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday. The political leader of the Palestinian militant outfit was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and to hold talks with Iranian leaders. Hamas alleged that Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike, but Israel did not respond to it. U.S. Ambassador to UN Robert Wood denied his country's involvement in the strikes on Lebanon or in the death of Ismail Haniyeh. Meanwhile, New York Times reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued an order to "strike Israel directly" in retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Shares of BMW Group were losing around 2 percent in the German trading after the automajor reported Thursday weak profit, revenues and deliveries in its second quarter. Looking ahead for fiscal 2024, the company continues to expect Group profit before tax to decrease slightly due to higher manufacturing and fixed costs. For fiscal 2024, the company continues to expect an EBIT margin of between 8 and 10 percent for the Automotive segment, compared to prior year's 9.8 percent. BMW Group expects to see slight growth in customer deliveries worldwide in the full year. In China, the company expects the economic situation to begin to stabilize in the third quarter. In its second quarter, net profit declined 8.6 percent to 2.71 billion euros from last year's 2.96 billion euros. Earnings per share were 4.15 euros, down 5.5 percent from 4.39 euros a year ago. Group earnings before tax or EBT was 3.86 billion euros, down 8.6 percent from last year. The EBT margin came in at 10.5 percent, down from 11.3 percent last year. Revenues edged down 0.7 percent to 36.94 billion euros from last year's 37.22 billion euros. Adjusted for currency effects, Group revenues remained largely unchanged. Automotive Segment revenues were 1.4 percent higher from last year to 32.07 billion euros, with favourable volume and product mix effects arising from deliveries to the dealership organisation. In total, the company delivered 618,743 units of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the second quarter, down 1.3 percent from last year's 626,726 vehicles. The company noted that pricing measures implemented in the previous year compensated for some of the increased level of competition, which was particularly strong in China. Sales went up slightly in the USA and remained in line with the previous year in Europe. Motorcycles segment deliveries grew 2.6 percent to 66,638 units in the quarter. In Germany, BMW shares were trading at 84.16 euros, down 1.93 percent. For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Several major airlines, including United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL), Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Air India, have suspended their flights to Israel due to the escalating tensions in the region. This decision came after reports that the Israeli government's forces had killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. The situation has raised concerns about the potential spread of conflict in the Middle East. While Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of the assassination, Israel has not confirmed its involvement. Delta has suspended its flights until August 2, citing the ongoing conflict, while United has halted its Newark to Tel Aviv route until further notice. Delta is offering a travel waiver for customers with travel booked to or from Tel Aviv before August 14. Both airlines, operating flights between New York and Tel Aviv, closely monitor the security situation. According to Israel National News, Air India, the only foreign carrier to fly between Israel and East Asia, announced that its flights were canceled as well. Lowcost carriers Wizair and Rayanair's flights are continuing as scheduled but the companies are looking into the continuation of the flight schedule. Following United and Delta, the Lufthansa Group has also canceled flights to Israel amid growing concerns about the conflict. This decision came after a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Tel Aviv was diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus, and passengers were informed that the flight would not continue to Tel Aviv due to security protocols. An Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Ben Gurion Airport was also redirected to Bulgaria for refueling before heading back to Vienna. Lufthansa has emphasized that passenger and crew safety remains their priority, and the diversions were precautionary measures due to security activities. Flight services to Israel have been frequently disrupted due to the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and previous incidents of conflict in the region, resulting in several interruptions in airline operations. The flight cancellations have left many Israelis stranded abroad, leading to efforts to arrange alternative travel plans. Israeli carriers are responding by adding flights from Athens to accommodate those wishing to return. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The Biden administration has introduced a new plan that would prevent airlines from requiring parents to pay extra to sit next to their children during flights. Under this proposal, both U.S. and international airlines would be required to seat children aged 13 and under next to their parents or guardians at no additional cost. This is part of a larger effort to eliminate what the administration calls " junk fees," which could have a significant impact on airlines' revenue. If this proposed rule is implemented, a family of four could potentially save up to $200 on a round trip. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that many U.S. airlines do not currently guarantee that families can sit together without incurring additional charges. He stated, "The idea that parents ought to be seated next to their own children on a flight is common sense, and also seems like something that ought to be standard practice. If you were flying with your child, you should expect to fly next to them." According to the proposal, airlines would face penalties for each instance of charging a family seating fee, with each child not seated beside a parent or guardian considered a separate violation. In cases where it's not possible to arrange adjacent seating for multiple young children, airlines will need to position them across the aisle from, directly in front of, or directly behind their parent or accompanying adult, as noted by the Department of Transportation (DOT). If adjacent seats are not available, carriers must either fully refund passengers or allow them to wait and see if family seating becomes available. The DOT also insists that refunds or no-cost rebooking options should be provided when adjacent seating cannot be guaranteed, should passengers choose not to take the flight. It's worth noting that airlines such as Allegiant, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, Spirit, and United do not ensure adjacent seating for children, while Frontier, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines do provide that guarantee. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The upcoming 2024 Kawasaki Versys-X 300 will be the companys third localized bike after the Ninja 300 and W175 Kawasaki does not have an able competitor in 300-500cc ADV motorcycle space. Royal Enfields Himalayan 450 sees high demand along with the KTM 390 Adventure. Kawasaki used to be operational in this segment and is eager to re-establish a presence again. Thats where the new Kawasaki Versys-X 300 comes into action. 2024 Kawasaki Versys-X 300 Kawasaki India is now actively testing the new 2024 Kawasaki Versys-X 300. Slated for launch in India sometime later this year, it gains several feature updates over the earlier model. The test model spied near Ooty, Tamil Nadu, is similar to the model currently on sale in global markets. The sporty adventure motorcycle will be heavily localized to ensure more affordable pricing as compared to its earlier counterpart which was priced at Rs 4.60 lakh (ex-showroom. Local manufacture should allow for lower taxes allowing the company to price the new Versys-X 300 in a sub Rs 4 lakh range. This will allow Versys-X 300 to ably compete with the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 which starts at Rs 2.85 lakh (Ex-sh) and the KTM 390 Adventure which starts at around Rs 3.4 lakh (Ex-sh). This will be the companys third localized bike after the Ninja 300 and W175. Where features are concerned, the new Versys-X 300 will be largely the same as its earlier counterpart. It will weigh around 185 kg, and get spoked wheels with tubed tyres measuring 19 inchers front and 17 inchers rear. Ground clearance will stand at 180mm and travel suspension at 150mm. A tall windscreen with large side fairings, a semi-digital display unit, an upswept exhaust and tall-riding height will also be a part of its makeup along with a single-piece stepped-up seat and raised handlebars. Specs and features As observed by our source, Kawasaki Versys-X 300 will get halogen headlights and turn indicators. The instrument cluster was identical to that of what Ninja 300 offers. Kawasaki test engineer informed our source that the convoy (Ninja 300 alongside) arrived from Pune and the bike will launch around March 2024. This particular test mule had panniers too and will be sold as an optional extra. Mechanically, India-spec Kawasaki Versys X-300 will share its engine with Ninja 300. This 296cc engine in Ninja 300 makes 39 hp power at 11,500 rpm and 26.1 Nm torque at 10,000 rpm mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox and gets an assist and slipper clutch. It will receive RSU telescopic suspension at the front and mono shock at the rear while braking will be via disc brakes at both ends with dual channel Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS). Previously, Versys-X 300 was launched via CBU route and commanded a hefty Rs 4.60 lakh (ex-showroom) price tag. India-spec 2024 Kawasaki Versys X-300 is taking the localisation route and prices could go below Rs 4 lakh. Once launched, it will compete with the KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G310 GS, and Royal Enfield Himalayan in the domestic market. Also read Kawasaki KLX230S ADV spied testing in India Triumph 400 Anniversary Celebration Offer extension will keep Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450s pricing in check establishing VFM quotient Exactly a year ago in July 2023, Triumph Motorcycles entered the affordable single-cylinder category. The company achieved this by a strategic partnership with Bajaj Auto. Speed 400 was the first to launch at Rs 2.23 lakh, followed by Scrambler 400X launch in October 2024 at Rs 2.63 lakh (Ex-sh). Fast forwarding to July 2024, Triumph India launched Anniversary Celebration Offer and slashed Rs 10,000 off the price tag. Thus bringing the price of Speed 400 to Rs 2.24 lakh (Ex-sh) and Scrambler 400X to Rs 2.54 lakh (Ex-sh). Now, Triumph just announced that they will extend this Anniversary Celebration Offer till 31st August 2024. Triumph 400 Anniversary Offer Extended The British brand is mentioned that the extension of Anniversary Celebration Offer is due to multiple new milestones achieved in the Indian market. Within a year of launch, Triumph has extended its dealer network to as many as 100 showrooms. Another milestone is Triumph 400 motorcycles being exported to 50 countries. lastly, global sales of Triumph 400 bikes exceeded 50,000 units. The 350cc to 500cc segment has been heated up quite a bit today, than it was a couple of years ago. Within this space, there is a race amongst the high-performance offerings to sack the top spot. Leading the charts is Bajaj along with its alliance partners like Triumph, KTM, and Husqvarna. Individually, Royal Enfield takes the cake with Himalayan 450. Pulsar NS400Z trails the Himalayan 450 in sales, despite packing incredible value-for-money proposition. Trailing Pulsar NS400Z is Triumphs 400 duo (Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X). Now, a new contender has entered the chat from Royal Enfield with immense sales potential than Himalayan 450. Were talking about the Guerrilla 450 recently launched starting from Rs 2.39 lakh (Ex-sh). With Anniversary Celebration Offer extended to August 31st, Triumph 400 buyers will enjoy reduced pricing that undercuts Guerrilla 450s. Statement from Bajaj Auto Mr. Sumeet Narang, President Pro-Biking, Bajaj Auto Ltd. commented. It has been a round of serial celebrations for us as we mark the first anniversary of the Bajaj Auto & Triumph Motorcycles collaboration. We crossed sales of 50,000 Triumph 400s across 50 countries. We also expanded to over 100 best-in-class showrooms in 75 cities, bringing the Triumph experience to more riders in India. In response to overwhelming bookings and retails, we are extending the anniversary offer till 31st Aug 2024. The incredible response to our Modern Classics is a testament to our commitment to exceptional customer service and our Ride & Community programs which ensure a truly immersive Triumph ownership journey. Hazel Park Take It or Leave It Pantry at 569 E. Mapledale Ave. Ive always been taught that if youre going to do something, do it right or dont do it at all. My dad was a very big advocate of that, Nickerson says. At the end of a small cul-de-sac stands a two-story house clad in white and brown, its lawn hugging the curved sidewalk and street. Its nestled there within a truncated stretch of Garfield Avenue and in between a series of homes that could be found just about anywhere in Hazel Park. It may look like an ordinary house on an ordinary street; its most definitely not.Its upstairs where Beth Nickerson lives, but the main floor belongs to Ms. Beth.Ive always been taught that if youre going to do something, do it right or dont do it at all. My dad was a very big advocate of that, Nickerson says.As such, it likely comes as no surprise to those that know her that Nickerson has sacrificed her own living quarters to dedicate more space to the infants and young children she and her staff care for here at Little Bloomers Childcare , a state-licensed childcare provider. What started with a dedicated childcare area in the front of the house has since expanded to cover the entirety of the first floor, as well as spilling out into all of her backyard.Her dining room now has a toddler-sized craft table with toddler-sized seats. Its here where Ms. Beth and her employees lead the children through crafts and activities at various points throughout the day. And its here where Beth Nickerson sits down for dinner after the young ones have gone home toddler-sized seats and all.Nickerson wouldnt have it any other way.I have three rooms upstairs, and thats my living space. So that might be the only thing someone would say is a downfall of running an in-home childcare business, Nickerson says.But when you love what you do, is it really work?When people talk about community, they talk about Nickersons Hazel Park. Family means a lot here, and that definition of family stretches well beyond blood relation. Nickerson moved here in 2010, first as an in-home grandma with her sons family on Coy Street before moving to her Garfield Avenue home, just two blocks away, in 2016. Nickerson counts her 19-year-old granddaughter among her three employees, all of whom are from Hazel Park. Even her two youngest grandsons attended daycare here.Of the few hundred children Little Bloomers has cared for since first launching in 2011, Nickerson says that approximately 70 percent of them have been from Hazel Park. Sometimes she runs into them at the store, and sometimes the toddlers from her first year in business have already grown taller than Ms. Beth herself.The fact that they remember me makes me feel good. Ive left a positive impact on that family, which is what I want. I want to leave a positive impact on families and children so that when the kids get older, they want to go to school and theyre not afraid to go to school, she says. I want them to be excited to learn.Hazel Park can be a close-knit community, she says, and she appreciates how people help each other out. Just one block north of Little Bloomers, on Mapledale, is the Hazel Park Take It or Leave It Pantry . Akin to a Little Free Library one might see in this neighborhood or that, the Take It or Leave It Pantry offers free perishable food items to those in need, humbly provided from an outdoor cupboard built in someone's front yard.My granddaughter Chloe, shes 13. Shes always asking, Do you have anything you want to put in there? She loves to go over and add to it, Nickerson says. And I like that because something like the pantry teaches our youth how important it is to give, share, and to look out for each other.That spirit extends through Nickersons philosophy for Little Bloomers. Its why she keeps her rates more affordable than many other childcare centers around the area, in-home or otherwise. And in keeping her childcare services in-home while leading a small staff, Nickerson and her team can provide more quality time to a group of infants and toddlers that never tops 14 children.I think its really important that the kids get to know us and we get to know them, so that we can better meet their needs, she says.As Nickerson decided to offer more and more of her living space to better meet the needs of Little Bloomers, her daycare expanded from her front room and into her dining room-turned-craft area, and eventually into her living room and beyond. One room is designed for toddlers, and a separate room is designed for infants. There are two different toddler nap rooms one for the easy sleepers and another for those who might take a minute. And her kitchen serves breakfast and lunch to the children as part of the Mid Michigan Child Care Food Program.Leading a Mother Goose Time-accredited preschool program each September through June, Nickerson plans to focus on providing more science lessons and hands-on activities this coming season. In her downtime, shes been scrolling social media looking for science projects shes found, and saved, many.Whether shes upstairs or downstairs, shes always Ms. Beth.I'm always thinking about daycare. I really am. It doesn't stop at five o'clock, Nickerson says.It's like a way of living.Find Little Bloomers Daycare on Facebook Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Kalamazoo Public Department of Safety took to the horses for the Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight The JR Clark Band performed at this year's Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight The JiR Clark Band performed at this year's Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight The Out of Favor Boys, a Blues Fest staple, have been performing since 2003. Fran Dwight Southwest Michigan's Out of Favor Boys received a warm welcome at the 30th Annual Kalamazoo Blues Fest sponsored by the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association. Fran Dwight Kalamazoo's Out of Favor Boys have been performing at the Blues Fest since its inception. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Six bands performed for large crowds at the 30th Annual Blues Fest on Saturday. Fran Dwight The JR Clark Band performed at this year's Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Blues Fest returned to its launching spot at Arcadia Creek Festival Site. Fran Dwight The 2024 Blues Fest drew old timers and newcomers at its 30th year on Saturday. Fran Dwight Kalamazoo's Out of Favor Boys have been performing at the Blues Fest since its inception. Fran Dwight The JR Clark Band performed at this year's Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Fran Dwight The Out of Favor Boys, a Blues Fest staple, have been performing since 2003. Fran Dwight The 2024 Blues Fest drew old timers and newcomers at its 30th year on Saturday. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Kalamazoo's Out of Favor Boys have been performing at the Blues Fest since its inception. Fran Dwight Blues Fest returned to its launching spot at Arcadia Creek Festival Site. Fran Dwight Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez performed at the Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight The JR Clark Band performed at this year's Kalamazoo Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Mandalyn and the Hunters performed at this year's Blues Fest. Fran Dwight Fran Dwight Little Ed and the Blue Imperials performed at this year's Blues Fest. This story is part of Southwest Michigan's Second Wave's On the Ground Kalamazoo series Please scroll through the carousel above for more photos. All photos are by Fran Dwight.The 30th Annual Blues Fest returned to its birthplace at the Arcadia Creek Festival Site on Saturday, July 27. This year's theme was Blues in the Zoo and featured a lineup of six bands: The Out of Favor Boys (a festival stalwart), JR Clark Band, Mandalyn and the Hunters, The Jimmy's, Nikki Hill with Laura Chavez, and Little Ed and the Blue Imperials. Heads were nodding and feet were tapping at this year's performances, sponsored by the Kalamazoo Valley Blues Association which is committed to "keeping the Blues alive!" ASIA DPRK (North Korea) Expected Council Action In August, the Chair of the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland), is scheduled to brief Council members in closed consultations on the 90-day report regarding the Committees work. Key Recent Developments The DPRK has continued to build closer ties with Russia in recent months. On 19 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, where the two leaders signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. According to media reports, the treaty refers to several measures intended to boost relations between the DRPK and Russia, including exchanges and joint research in science and technology, cooperation at the UN and other international organisations, and joint actions to strengthen defence capabilities. Most notably, the treaty reportedly provides that in case any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and the laws of the DPRK and [Russia]. Following the summit, Kim characterised the treaty as elevating relations between the DPRK and Russia to a new high level of alliance, while Putin thanked the DPRK for taking an objective and balanced stance on Ukraine and understanding the true original causes of this crisis. Putin also criticised the 1718 DPRK sanctions regime and called for it to be revised. In remarks delivered to the press on 21 June, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised that the sanctions had been approved by the Council and said that any relationship that any country has with [the] DPRK, including the Russian Federation, must entirely abide by those sanctions. On 28 June, the Council convened for an open briefing on the DPRK. The meeting was requested by France, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the US to discuss unlawful arms transfers from the DPRK. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu and Executive Director of Conflict Armament Research Jonah Leff briefed. The open briefing took place three months after Russia vetoed a draft resolution that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee for another year, until 30 April 2025. (For more information, see our 22 March Whats in Blue story.) In a statement delivered on behalf of 50 member states and the European Union on 1 May, the day after the Panels mandate expired, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (US) criticised Russias veto and emphasised the need to consider how to continue access to this kind of objective, independent analysis in order to address the DPRKs unlawful WMD and ballistic missile advancements. Since the expiration of the Panels mandate, reports have continued to emerge regarding the DPRKs efforts to evade UN sanctions and mitigate their effects. On 3 May, the White House announced that during March Russia shipped refined petroleum to the DPRK at levels that appear to violate a cap imposed by the 1718 sanctions regime. In mid-May, several former members of the Panel reportedly provided an unfinished report to the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee containing evidence suggesting that the DPRK laundered $147.5 million through a virtual currency platform in March. The DPRK has continued to test its weapons systems and military technology in recent months. On 27 May, the DPRK announced that its latest attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite had been unsuccessful. DPRK state media reported that the launch of the new satellite carrier rocket failed when it exploded in mid-air during the flight of the first stage and claimed that the rocket used in the launch had utilised a new liquid oxygen and petroleum engine. The Council convened for an open briefing to discuss the failed launch on 31 May following a request from France, Japan, Malta, the ROK, the UK, and the US. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari briefed. The DPRK has also recently conducted several missile tests, including the 1 July launch of a ballistic missile that DPRK state media claimed was capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead. On 12 June, the Council convened for an open briefing on the human rights situation in the DPRK at the request of Japan, the ROK, the UK, and the US. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK Elizabeth Salmon, and DPRK refugee Gumhyok Kim briefed. (For more information, see our 11 June Whats in Blue story.) From 13 to 16 July, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Qu Dongyu visited the DPRK. Qus trip marked the first occasion that a UN official has travelled to the DPRK since the country partially reopened its borders in August 2023. Human Rights-related Developments On 16 July, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report on forced labour in the DPRK. Among other matters, the report concludes that people in the DPRK are controlled and exploited through an extensive and multi-layered system of forced labour that is directed towards the interests of the state and institutionalised through various means, including prisons, schools, compulsory state-allocated employment, and overseas work. Key Issues and Options The expiration of the Panels mandate has created a significant issue for the Council. While the Council could choose to adopt a resolution requesting that the Secretary-General reconstitute the Panel, this appears unlikely given the prevailing dynamics among Council members. Those members who support independent oversight of the 1718 DPRK sanctions regime could choose to push for the General Assembly to establish a mechanism comparable to the Panel. This mechanism could be tasked with performing functions similar to those assigned to the Panel, including analysing information regarding the implementation of the 1718 sanctions regime, preparing reports, and making appropriate recommendations. These members could also choose to establish a body to monitor the 1718 DPRK regime outside UN fora. Council Dynamics The Council is deeply divided over the DPRK. The P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded countries, including Japan and the ROK, support using sanctions to manage the threat posed by the DPRK and often call on member states to comply with existing Council resolutions. Many of these members have urged the DPRK to engage in dialogue and abandon its weapons programmes, while emphasising that it is responsible for escalating tensions. Some of these members also call for the Council to show unity and respond to the DPRKs weapons tests and argue that China and Russia have emboldened it by blocking Council action on the file. China and Russia, on the other hand, blame the US for heightening tensions and accuse it of not doing enough to incentivise the DPRK to participate in denuclearisation talks. These two members have also contended that sanctions should be eased because of their impact on the humanitarian situation and continue to express their support for a draft resolution circulated by China in October 2021 that would provide sanctions relief to the DPRK if adopted. The divisions between Council members were evident during the negotiations of the US draft resolution on the Panels mandate. In a statement delivered before the vote on this draft, Russia claimed that the Panel had ceased to carry out its obligations and said that the sanctions regime no longer reflects realities on the ground, imposes a heavy burden on the population of the DPRK, and has failed to achieve the international communitys stated aims. It further argued that a provision requiring an annual review of the regime was needed to address these issues. China expressed support for an annual review of the regime and called on the Council to consider the draft resolution it circulated in October 2021. Other Council members strongly criticised Russias veto, arguing that it undermines the global non-proliferation regime and emboldens the DPRK in its attempts to evade sanctions. Several membersincluding France, Japan, the ROK, the UK, and the USlinked the veto to Russias alleged purchase of arms from the DPRK. Some of these members emphasised that the 1718 regime remained in place and said that they would continue efforts to monitor and enforce its provisions. It appears that some Council members are currently considering whether and how to establish an alternative to the Panel, including outside the Council. While some members are open to this idea, other members are apparently concerned about possible unforeseen implications and the precedent that such a mechanism would create. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON THE DPRK THEMATIC ISSUES In Hindsight: The Geneva Conventions at 75: Much Work to be Done On 12 August, the Geneva Conventions turn 75. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has described these foundational treaties in international humanitarian law (IHL) as one of humanitys most important accomplishments of the last century. Switzerland is organising an informal visit of Council members to Geneva to mark the occasion and to take a closer look at the meaning and purpose of the Conventions, which have been universally ratified. In recent years, blatant disregard for IHL has been a feature of conflicts around the world, including several on the Councils agenda. For the Security Council, the anniversary offers a time for sombre and sober reflection. What do the Geneva Conventions Say? The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols contain rules designed to protect civilians and those who can no longer engage in conflict, such as wounded and sick soldiers and prisoners of war. The Fourth Geneva Convention focuses on civilians and includes detailed provisions on their treatment, status, and rights. It also includes rules relating to humanitarian access, which are frequently referred to in contemporary discussions on the protection of civilians. All four conventions contain an identical Article 3, which applies to non-international armed conflicts. Among other things, it prohibits acts with respect to persons taking no active part in hostilities. These violations include: Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture; Taking of hostages; Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; and The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees widely recognised as indispensable. The Fourth Geneva Convention also sets out rules relating to accountability for grave breaches. Under Article 146, for example, parties to the Convention undertake to enact legislation that provides for penal sanctions for persons who commit grave breaches. The Growing Harm to Civilians in Armed Conflict That the Security Council has continued to play a key normative role in promoting some of the principles that underpin IHL is substantiated in a 2024 policy brief by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reviewing the Councils consideration of its protection of civilians agenda during the years 2019-2023. The brief describes ways in which the Council has pronounced itself on the obligations of conflict parties, including with respect to the conduct of hostilities and the protections accorded to specific people and objects in conflict. It notes that the Council has consistently integrated protection language into country-specific resolutions, including in the mandates of peace operations, most of which are called upon to investigate, monitor, analyse and report on IHL and IHRL [international human rights law] violations and abuses. It adds that the most common protection of civilians-related listing criteria for Security Council-authorised sanctions relate to violations of IHL and IHRL abuses. The Councils pronouncements notwithstanding, OCHA offers a grim assessment of the status of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, finding that the existing gap between the growing normative framework and the realities experienced by civilians in conflict-affected contexts across the world has remained, if not widened, in the past five years. The Secretary-Generals May 2024 report on the protection of civilians in 2023 similarly observes that in many conflictsincluding issues on the Councils agenda such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Syria, and Ukrainecompliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law is often lackingand the demands of the Councils protection of civilians resolutions of the past 25 years have gone largely unheeded. In 2023, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed or suffered appalling injuries as victims of deliberate or indiscriminate attacks, as well as purportedly lawful attacks under international humanitarian law: that year, the UN recorded more than 33,443 civilian deaths in armed conflict, representing a 72 percent increase over 2022. Not all civilian deaths in conflict can be attributed to violations of international law. But the lack of adherence to the laws and norms of war and what ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger calls the elasticity in how IHL is being interpreted are contributing to this high civilian death toll. Challenges in the UNSC Why do Council resolutions on protection matters, including in relation to IHL, go unheeded? In some cases, Council members, both permanent and elected, are directly involved or have strategic interests in conflicts under discussion. This has hampered the Councils leverage in resolving wars and in mitigating harm done to civilians by IHL violations. Conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria are notable examples of this. Longstanding concerns that some members express about interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states, and a willingness to defer to regional actors even when they are slow to act, can also limit the Councils engagement. A case in point was the civil war in Tigray, Ethiopia: from 2020 to 2022 some members preferred to have the Council take a back seat to regional actors, severely limiting its scope of action while the fighting raged, with reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, the use of starvation as a military tactic, and the denial and obstruction of humanitarian access. The war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas have focused international attention on how great power interests can hamper the Councils work. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Council has, by and large, been a bystander amidst reports of attacks on civilian infrastructure, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, summary executions, torture, and sexual violence. It has adopted only one resolution on Ukraine since the start of the war, a Uniting for Peace resolution, which referred the issue to the General Assembly for an Emergency Special Session (ESS) precisely because of Council gridlock. (As this is considered a procedural matter, the resolution was not subject to the veto, which is why Russia was unable to block it.) Although the General Assembly has adopted seven resolutions in the Ukraine ESS since February 2022, its resolutions lack the political and legal standing of Security Council resolutions and cannot, for example, impose binding obligations on member states under the UN Charter. A divided Council has also failed to protect civilians and uphold IHL in Gaza during the current war that began with the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. The Councils response to the conflict in Gaza has featured contentious and prolonged negotiations, with multiple failed adoptions. The US, which has provided Israel with political and military backing throughout the war, has severely constrained the Councils ability to respond to the crisis. It has vetoed three draft resolutions on the conflict. As well, China and Russia have vetoed two US-proposed draft resolutions on the war. The four resolutions that have been adopted on the crisis have largely gone unimplemented. The Gaza conflict has included violations of IHL and IHRL, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, according to a 27 May report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem, and Israel, covering the period 7 October to 31 December 2023. An additional challenge has been the loss of support for some of the Councils robust toolsfor example, peacekeeping and sanctionswhich have historically been used to protect civilians and promote accountability. In part, the waning support for these tools reflects perceptions that they are failing to promote peace and security. The value of UN peacekeeping, once an area of broad agreement among Council members, is increasingly being called into question; tasking the AU or multinational actors, such as the multinational security support (MSS) mission in Haiti, are the most widely considered alternatives at present, as reflected in A New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-Generals July 2023 policy brief. Similarly, some Council members are skeptical about the effectiveness of sanctions regimes, and in certain cases, believe that they harm the ability of target countries to serve their populations. Geopolitical interests also shape members calculations with respect to the Councils robust tools. The Mali sanctions regime, which included violations of IHRL or IHL among its listing criteria, fell victim to a Russian veto in July 2023. In June 2023, Mali withdrew its consent for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)a large peacekeeping operation with a robust protection mandatewhich has since been shuttered. The P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and their allies have criticised the involvement of the Wagner Group, a Russian security company now renamed the Africa Corps, in Mali, a former French colony that until 2022 hosted French military forces. Tension in the Council around legal accountability measures is not new, but has sharpened, judging by its approach to the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Three of the five permanent members (China, Russia, and the US) are not state parties to the ICC. While the Council referred two cases to the ICCSudan (Darfur) in 2005 and Libya in 2011such a referral today feels unthinkable, given the antagonism towards the court from some key Council members. Russia, which has regularly criticised the ICC, has amplified its opposition since the Courts 17 March 2023 announcement that it had issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russias commissioner for childrens rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for allegedly committing the war crimes of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia. For example, in the semi-annual briefing of the ICC prosecutor on the courts work in Darfur in January, Russia said that for some 20 years, the ICC has been engaged in sabotaging the mandates of the Security Council, shifting the blame to national authorities, the complex security situation or a lack of resources. The US, meanwhile, has continued to back Israel over Gaza, notwithstanding the fact that in May, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, announced that he was filing applications for warrants of arrest before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.[1] In fact, the US government has hosted both officials since the applications were filed. Silver Linings? The 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions invites reflection on how the norms and values they embody can be implemented in todays difficult environment. One heartening sign is that, notwithstanding the divisions in the Council, some members have continued to assert the importance of IHL and call out violations. In recent months, many elected Council members have done so in statements on issues such as Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine. This is also evident in the language of resolutions penned by elected members on Gaza, including resolution 2728, which was drafted by the E10 as a whole and demanded an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The Councils toolsincluding those that promote prevention, protect civilians, and enhance accountabilityneed to be reinvigorated. Nearly ten years since the report of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, it is worth revisiting how to strengthen UN peace operations in light of recent developments. Similarly, with the adoption of resolution 2744 in July, the resurrected Informal Working Group of the Security Council on General UN Sanctions Issues, whose previous iteration operated from 2000 to 2006, could provide a useful forum for building trust and understanding around the use of UN sanctions. In September, member states are expected to adopt the Pact for the Future, laying out their vision for the future of multilateralism. As a consensus document, the end product may not be bold and innovative. However, it could allow members to reaffirm the importance of international humanitarian and human rights law, and offer ideas for how to mitigate the barbarous effects of war on civilians. [1] Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for various counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the Head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar; the Commander-in-Chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas military wing) Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif; and was doing so for the now assassinated Head of Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. MIDDLE EAST Lebanon Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ahead of its 31 August expiry. Prior to that, Council members will hold closed consultations on UNIFIL. Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, is the anticipated briefer. Council members are also likely to watch developments in Lebanon, Israel, and the region closely and evaluate whether additional Council action is required. Key Recent Developments Following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on 7 October 2023, near-daily exchanges of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have continued, with the intensification of strikes and bellicose rhetoric by Israeli and Hezbollah officials in recent months raising concerns about the possibility of an all-out war. (While not representing an international border, the Blue Line acts in practice as a boundary between Lebanon and Israel in the absence of an agreed-upon border between the two states. Any unauthorised crossing of the Blue Line constitutes a violation of resolution 1701, which in 2006 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. For background on the war in Gaza, see The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question brief in our July Monthly Forecast.) The exchanges of fire have resulted in casualties among combatants and civilians on both sides of the Blue Line. A 16 July update by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that over 460 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the escalation in early October, including at least 100 civilians. According to figures cited by the Associated Press on 20 July, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed in Israel. The exchanges of fire have displaced tens of thousands of people, caused property and environmental damage, and generated unexploded ordnance contamination on both sides of the Blue Line. (For more, see the Lebanon brief in our July Monthly Forecast.) Developments in late July have the potential to change the trajectory of the confrontation and lead to a wider regional escalation. On 26 July, twelve children were killed in a rocket strike on the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan. Israel accused Hezbollah of being responsible for the strike, while Hezbollah denied having any role in it, with some analysts suggesting that the strike could have been a misfire. On 30 July, Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on the Haret Hreik suburb of Beirut, saying that Fuad was responsible for, among other things, the strike in Majdal Shams. Besides Fuad, five civilians, including two children, were killed in the Beirut strike. A few hours after Fuads assassination, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Irans capital, Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration ceremony of Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian. While Israel neither claimed nor denied responsibility for Haniyehs killing, it had reportedly pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks in Israel. Iran and Hamas accused Israel of Haniyehs assassination, with Iran stating in a 31 July letter to the Security Council that the killing could not have occurred without US authorisation and intelligence (S/2024/584). US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied that the US knew of, or was involved in, the operation in Tehran. Developments related to Haniyehs assassination were discussed in a 31 July Security Council emergency briefing requested by Algeria, China, and Russia following Irans request in its 31 July letter. The meeting was held under The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question agenda item. On 24 July, Council members held a briefing in consultations on the Secretary-Generals 12 July report on the implementation of resolution 1701, which covers the period from 21 February to 20 June. According to the report, UNIFIL recorded over 1,500 trajectories of projectiles fired from north of the Blue Line and more than 3,000 from south of the Blue Line, each trajectory possibly representing multiple projectiles. The report described the use of artillery, anti-tank guided missiles, surface-to-air missiles, mortars, rockets, and drones by Hezbollah and air and drone strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with UNIFIL observing the use of white phosphorus ammunitions in artillery strikes on Lebanese territory on at least three occasions. (Human rights organisations have attributed the use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon to Israel.) The Secretary-Generals report says that UNIFIL conducted Blue Line vehicle patrols and counter-rocket-launching patrols in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Operational activities such as foot patrols and air operations remained suspended, however, except for a limited number of foot patrols in areas sufficiently distant from the Blue Line. While the freedom of movement of the mission was respected in most cases, the report said that UNIFIL continued to experience restrictions, noting that in several such incidents, the LAF helped to resolve the situation through dialogue. UNIFIL also facilitated movement of civilians and civilian activities, such as infrastructure repairs, in areas close to the Blue Line. UNIFIL registered 25 instances of impacts on UN positions during the reporting period, with the missions headquarters in Naqurah being one of the most affected sites, and two incidents in March during which UN personnel suffered injuries during patrols. The report further noted that the LAF did not engage in the breaches of the cessation of hostilities, despite coming under fire, including on one occasion in which LAF soldiers were reportedly injured as the result of white phosphorus shell explosions. Lebanon has been without a president for almost two years since Michel Aouns term ended on 31 October 2022, with opposing politico-sectarian blocks unable to agree on a candidate. The presidential vacuum is compounded by the fact that, over two years since the 15 May 2022 legislative elections, Lebanons government remains in caretaker status. Almost four years since the 4 August 2020 Beirut port explosion, the inquiry into responsibility for the blast remains stalled. Key Issues and Options Averting a full-scale war in Lebanon and a possible regional conflagration are pivotal issues for the Security Council. A ceasefire in Gazahowever remote the possibility currently appearsmight contribute to de-escalating the situation along the Blue Line and in the wider region. UNIFILs mandate renewal is a key issue for the Security Council in August. Protecting the mandates integrity against a backdrop of escalating violence and uncertainty is an important issue for the Security Council. The Council could extend UNIFILs mandate for one year without changes to the missions mandate and configuration. The upcoming negotiations are likely to be complicated by issues on which Council members disagree sharply, including the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, and the war in Gaza. This may result in Council members opting to pursue a straightforward renewal of the missions mandate. Resolution 2695which in August 2023 extended UNIFILs mandate until 31 Augustwas adopted with 13 votes in favour and two abstentions (Russia and China), marking the first non-unanimous renewal of UNIFILs mandate since 1985. Although the lack of unanimity was caused by diverging positions on how language on the missions freedom of movement was framed and negotiated rather than a lack of support for UNIFILs mandate, re-establishing Council unity on UNIFILs reauthorisation is likely to be an important issue for several Council members and may send a message of stability to the region. Additional issues include the various violations of resolution 1701 identified in the Secretary-Generals report, such as the fire exchanges across the Blue Line; the maintenance by Hezbollah and other armed groups of weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state in the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line; the IDFs continuing occupation of northern Ghajar, a village which straddles the Blue Line, and its adjacent area north of the Blue Line; and violations of Lebanese and Israeli airspace and sovereignty. The report also noted that, if confirmed, alleged arms transfers to non-state armed actors in Lebanon would also constitute a violation of resolution 1701. That the root causes of the hostility between Israel and Hezbollah and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain unaddressed is a long-standing issue. Council Dynamics Sharp differences persist in Security Council members views of Hezbollah. Some members distinguish between Hezbollahs political and military wings and have designated only its military wing as a terrorist organisation; other members, including the UK and the US, have listed Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. On the other hand, Russia sees Hezbollah as a legitimate sociopolitical force in Lebanon. Despite these differences, Council members agree that a full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah must be avoided. Council members are also broadly supportive of UNIFIL. Nevertheless, the negotiations of resolution 2695 proved difficult. The resolution retained language introduced for the first time in 2022 reaffirming that, pursuant to the Agreement on the Status of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (SOFA), UNIFIL does not require prior authorisation to undertake its tasks and that it is authorised to conduct its operations independently. During the negotiations, however, the phrase while continuing to coordinate with the Government of Lebanon, as per the SOFA was added in an attempt to address the demands by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah, echoed in the Council by China and Russia, to remove language about UNIFILs not needing prior authorisation to undertake its tasks. China and Russia also asked and initially obtained the removal of a reference demanding that the parties guarantee UNIFILs freedom of movement, including by allowing announced and unannounced patrols. It seems, however, that then-Council member United Arab Emirates was particularly unhappy with these changes, apparently leading France (the penholder on Lebanon) to reinsert the language on announced and unannounced patrols in the draft text that had already been put in blue. In its explanation of vote Russia lamented the change, saying that the final version of the text failed to maintain the fragile compromise previously reached. China explained its abstention by saying that the resolution did not fully address the concerns expressed by Lebanon and some Council members. Unsurprisingly, differences have also emerged among Council members regarding how to address the relationship between the war in Gaza and the escalation across the Blue Line. In June, members were apparently unable to agree on a press statement proposed by France calling for de-escalation along the Blue Line. It seems that Algeria and Russia argued for including a reference to the situation in Gaza. Apparently, Russia also requested adding language on coordination between UNIFIL and the LAF. For its part, the US opposed the idea of issuing a Council press statement, apparently arguing in favour of giving space to diplomatic efforts on the ground. At the 17 July open debate on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, the US expressed support for a straightforward extension of UNFILs mandate. At the same meeting, Lebanon announced that in June it had submitted a request to the UN for the renewal of UNIFILs mandate without any modification. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON LEBANON AFRICA Libya Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will hold its bimonthly briefing on the situation in Libya. Deputy Special Representative and Political Officer in Charge of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Koury will brief the Council on recent political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country and on the Secretary-Generals most recent report on UNSMIL. The chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki (Japan), is also expected to brief on the committees activities. Key Recent Developments The political impasse in Libya continues between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, and the eastern-based Government of National Stability (GNS), led by Prime Minister Osama Hamad and aligned with the House of Representatives (HoR) and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of General Khalifa Haftar. The prolonged stalemate involving the rival governments has persisted since the indefinite postponement of elections that had been scheduled for December 2021 and is a key driver of Libyas political, security, and economic instability. Recent efforts by both the UN and national actors to facilitate agreement on a new roadmap for national elections to unify the countrys divided governments have not borne fruit. The joint 6+6 committeewhich was established by the HoR and the GNU-affiliated High State Council (HSC) to draft electoral laws to enable elections and includes six representatives from each bodypresented its initial draft legislation in June 2023. Because of persistent disagreement about certain provisions in that draft, however, the committee subsequently amended the proposed legislation in September 2023. The HoR approved this version, but HSC leader Mohamed Takala rejected it, instead endorsing the previous draft. Takala is considered a close ally of Dbeibah. A subsequent attempt by Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily to mediate an agreement between the stakeholders was unsuccessful. (Bathily has since stepped down.) Parallel to that effort, the heads of the HoR, the HSC, and the Presidential Councilwhich was established under the 2015 Libyan Political Agreement to serve as the countrys head of statemet on 10 March in Cairo under the auspices of the League of Arab States (LAS). In a joint statement following the meeting, the three leaders said that they had agreed on the need to establish a unified interim government to organise elections and had decided to set up a technical committee within a specified period of time to build consensus on the 6+6 committees legislation, consider amendments, and resolve contested issues. The talks did not include Dbeibah, who has opposed the establishment of a new interim government prior to elections. The heads of the HoR, HSC, and Presidential Council were expected to attend another meeting hosted by the LAS in mid-July to further develop their proposal. However, these discussions were put on hold after the HoR on 10 July unilaterally approved an additional $18.3 billion budget for the GNS, supplementing the original annual budget that the HoR had passed in April, which its lawmakers subsequently deemed insufficient. Funds for the additional budget would be drawn from the Central Bank of Libya, the countrys sole depository for state revenues, which services both governments. Takala opposed the adoption of the additional budget, which he argued had no legal effect without the HSCs approval, and reportedly withdrew from the scheduled follow-up meeting of the HoR, HSC, and Presidential Council under the LAS format. Instead, on 18 July members of the HoR and HSC met independently in Cairo, outside the structures of the LAS. In an outcome statement, the lawmakers agreed on the need to establish a unified interim government, to hold elections according to the electoral laws already issued by the HoR, and to develop a joint electoral roadmap on this basis. In a 20 July statement, UNSMIL took note of the meeting and welcomed steps in support of the political process towards elections but reiterated its previous calls for such steps to be inclusive and involve all relevant stakeholders to ensure the outcomes lead to a politically implementable solutionan apparent reference to the GNUs continued absence from the talks. Regarding the security situation, the 2020 ceasefire agreement continues to hold. However, sporadic violence has persisted between criminal groups and rival militias in the countrys western region, primarily in the coastal town of Zawiya, where one civilian was reportedly killed and 22 injured in clashes in mid-May. On 1 July, authorities re-opened the nearby Ras Jdir border crossing into Tunisia after a three-month closure following repeated confrontations between local authorities and GNU-affiliated security forces. Independent analysts have cited control over illicit economic activities such as drug smuggling and human trafficking as the main source of these tensions in the region. On 16 July, Libyas High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced that it had completed the first phase of the voter registration process for the countrys municipal elections. This phase of the process was open to 60 municipalities and registered over 210,000 voters after HNEC twice extended the registration period to facilitate higher-than-expected participation. In a statement, UNSMIL congratulated HNEC for its achievement in challenging circumstances and commended those who registered to vote for demonstrating their commitment to choosing their local leaders. The statement further urged Libyan authorities to provide the necessary resources to facilitate the next steps in the municipal electoral process, and it encouraged HNEC and other Libyan institutions to continue efforts to increase the participation of women, who currently make up 29 percent of registered voters. The second phase of the registration process for the remaining municipalities will begin after the full results of the first phase have been published and verified. The municipal elections are expected to take place later this year, although a specific date has not yet been set. Women, Peace, and Security On 25 June, the Informal Experts Group (IEG) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) met on the situation in Libya. Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Officer-in-Charge of UNSMIL Stephanie Koury briefed. Among other issues, Koury and Council members apparently discussed womens participation in the upcoming municipal elections as both voters and candidates, and efforts to guarantee womens safe participation in a context where politically active women have faced threats and violence, including sexual violence. IEG members also inquired about UN efforts to counter restrictions and reprisals against civil society in Libya and strategies to support accountability for gender-based crimes. It seems that other issues discussed at the meeting included arrests and detentions of Libyans, including women, for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and concerns raised by women human rights defenders (WHRDs) about reprisals for engaging or trying to engage with the UN. UN Women, as the IEG Secretariat, apparently recommended that the Security Council retain all existing gender-related language from resolution 2702 in its upcoming decisions on Libya, including provisions on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence. It seems that UN Women also recommended that the Council condemn and call for accountability for any threats, attacks and killings of women participating in public life, including WHRDs. UN Women further recommended requesting UNSMIL to prioritise activities related to the protection and promotion of womens rights, and to monitor and report on threats and reprisals against WHRDs. Human Rights-Related Developments On 9 July, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) conducted an interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the technical assistance and capacity-building that it has provided to Libya (A/HRC/56/70). The report noted that Libya continued to experience an accountability deficit, marked by the erosion of the rule of law, including attacks on judges, prosecutors and lawyers, due process concerns, and legislative enactments undermining the independence of the judiciary. The report also found that migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers continued to experience gross and widespread human rights violations and abuses at the hands of state and non-state actors. The report indicated that the absence of a comprehensive human rights-based national reconciliation and transitional justice process has allowed cycles of violence and impunity to persist. OHCHR recommended immediate steps to protect and promote the rights of women, human rights defenders, civil society actors, journalists, intellectuals, and other persons at heightened risk of human rights violations and abuses. On 11 July, during the same session, the HRC adopted a resolution (A/HRC/RES/56/16) requesting OHCHR to continue to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in Libya. Key Issues and Options Supporting political momentum towards national elections to unify Libyas divided governments remains the key issue for the Security Council. In this context, an important objective for the Council is to help foster common political ground between the countrys rival governments to reach an inclusive agreement on electoral laws, including the possible establishment of a unified interim government to organise the elections. To receive additional perspectives on the political process in Libya, especially womens participation, the Council could consider inviting a woman civil society representative to participate in the August briefing. A civil society briefer could also shed additional light on the human rights situation in the country. It is essential that members and the UN take all possible measures to keep briefers safe, in consultation with the briefer, including carrying out risk assessments, developing protection plans, and responding to any reprisals. Following the resignation of Special Representative Bathily in April, another issue for the Council is the Secretary-Generals appointment of his successor. When former Special Envoy Jan Kubis resigned in November 2021, it took nearly a year to identify a successor, leading to Bathilys appointment in September 2022. (Resolution 2629 of 29 April 2022 changed UNSMILs leadership position from a Special Envoy to a Special Representative.) Several Council members have urged a quicker appointment this time, although political differences may again complicate the process, and the Secretary-General had not yet officially nominated a candidate at the time of writing. Council and Wider Dynamics Council members remain united on the need for a Libyan-led, inclusive political process resulting in elections that will help to restore political, security, and economic stability to the country. They also remain broadly supportive of the UNs mediation role towards this end. Broader geopolitical tensions still influence Council dynamics with respect to Libya, however. The US and other Western members remain concerned about Russias presence in the eastern part of the country that is under Haftars control, which has reportedly included recent arms shipments to the port of Tobruk. For its part, Russia routinely blames Libyas current instability on the NATO-led military intervention in 2011 and accuses Western countries of seeking to exploit Libyas oil reserves for economic gain. The UK is the penholder on Libya. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON LIBYA UN DOCUMENTS ON LIBYA THE SECURITY COUNCIL Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africas effective representation in the UN Security Council Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council is expected to convene for a high-level debate titled Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africas effective representation in the UN Security Council under the Maintenance of International Peace and Security agenda item. Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio plans to chair the meeting. The briefers are expected to include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; Dennis Francis, the President of the UN General Assembly; and a civil society representative. No formal outcome is anticipated. Background and Recent Developments In recent years, the struggles of the Security Council in addressing major conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan and elsewhere have fuelled long-standing calls for its reform. Many advocates of Council reform note that the composition of the Council, which was founded in 1945, reflects an anachronistic world order. This perspective was echoed in A New Agenda for Peace by the Secretary-General, who wrote, A Security Council that is more representative of the geopolitical realities of today, and of the contributions that different parts of the world make to global peace, is urgently needed. The common position of the African Union (AU) on Security Council reform, known as The Ezulwini Consensus, is based on the communique it adopted in Addis Ababa in March 2005. It calls for Africa to have not less than two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats on the Security Council. (It currently has no permanent seats and three non-permanent seats on the Council.) The common position further states that while Africa is opposed in principle to the veto, so long as it exists, and as a matter of common justice, it should be made available to all permanent members of the Security Council. In July 2005, the AU Assembly reaffirmed the Ezulwini Consensus in the Sirte Declaration on the Reform of the United Nations. The AUs Committee of Ten (C-10)a group of ten African states (Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia) that advocates internationally for the Ezulwini Consensusheld a summit meeting in Oyala, Equatorial Guinea, from 22 to 24 November 2023. In the summit communique, the C-10 reaffirmed that the Common African position, as espoused in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration remains the only viable option for Africa to successfully achieve its objectives. The C-10 also decided to strengthen its efforts to promote this position in the UN Security Council reform process, addressing the historical injustice of African underrepresentation. A C-10 ministerial meeting was convened in Algiers, Algeria, from 9 to 10 June. In the outcome document, the C-10 said that Africas participation in the September Summit of the Future should be at the highest level, especially C-10 Heads of State and Government, to further solidify the aspirations of the continent and language input in the Pact for the Future. (This pact is the envisioned outcome of the Summit of the Future planned for September and designed to provide a blueprint for the future of multilateralism.) It further reiterated that the C-10 ministers should meet with their counterparts among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council during the opening of the UN General Assembly (that is, high-level week in September), in keeping with a decision made at the Oyala summit. The Intergovernmental Negotiations on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other related matters to the Security Council (IGN) is currently negotiating its input to the Pact for the Future. The IGN co-chairsAmbassador Tareq Albanai (Kuwait) and Ambassador Alexander Marschik (Austria)circulated the most recent iteration of the document to member states on 14 June. In it, the IGN calls for an enlarged Security Council of 21 to 27 seats, adding that the enlargement should redress the historical injustice against Africa as a priority and, while treating Africa as a special case, serve to improve the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups. Council Dynamics Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leonethe three African members of the Councilhave publicly championed the AUs perspective on Council reform. At the 16 July ministerial-level open debate on Multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order, Algeria and Sierra Leone explicitly referred to the historical injustice done to Africa regarding Security Council membership, and Mozambique argued that the need for reform should account for the common African position (that is, the Ezulwini Consensus). Echoing the common position, Sierra Leone, which currently chairs the C-10, called for increasing African representation in both permanent and elected categories, noting that much of the Councils work focuses on the continent. In this regard, 78 of the Councils 204 meetings in 2023 on country or region-specific situations (38.24 percent) were on African matters, more than any other region. In addition, of the 49 formal outcomes (45 resolutions and four presidential statements) that the Council adopted in 2023 focusing on country or regional issues, more than half (51.02 percent or 22 resolutions and three presidential statements) dealt with Africa. The permanent Council members have publicly expressed support for structural reform of the Security Council, including by adding seats for underrepresented regions such as Africa. The US says that it supports expanding the permanent and elected membership of the Council, including permanent seats for Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. France and the UK have also said that they support expansion of both the permanent and elected membership of the Council, including permanent representation for Africa. At the General Assembly debate on 24 September 2022, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov noted that the Council needed to adapt to todays reality and that this should be done through a broader representation of African, Asian and Latin American countries. China has indicated that it espouses greater representation of developing countries on the Council. Notwithstanding generic statements of support for structural reform, it is unclear how the permanent members would react if a critical mass of UN member states coalesced around a concrete reform proposal that required them to vote on it in the General Assembly. Reforming the composition of the Council and the use of the veto would require amending the Charter. The bar to do this is high. Any reform would require a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly membershipas well as ratification by two-thirds of UN member states, including all the permanent members, through their respective constitutional processesin accordance with Article 108 of the UN Charter. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON UN DOCUMENTS ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM Overview In August, Sierra Leone will hold the presidency of the Security Council. Sierra Leone plans to organise two signature events. The first is a debate titled Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africas effective representation in the UN Security Council under the Maintenance of international peace and security agenda item. Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis, and a civil society representative. The second signature event is an open debate titled A New Agenda for Peace Addressing global, regional and national aspects of conflict prevention under the Peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda item. Sierra Leones Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Timothy Musa Kabba, is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support; Bankole Adeoye, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; Hawa Sally Samai, Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion in Sierra Leone, a body established by an act signed by Sierra Leones Parliament in December 2020 with a mandate to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts; and a civil society representative. Additionally, Sierra Leone intends to convene a briefing on the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda, focusing on sustaining WPS commitments in the context of accelerated drawdown of peace operations. The expected briefers are UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, and a civil society representative. Also anticipated in August is a briefing on the Secretary-Generals biannual strategic-level report on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) to international peace and security. This month, several Council members will undertake a visit to Geneva following an invitation from Switzerland to mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. Middle Eastern issues on the programme of work in August are: African issues on the programme of work this month are: Libya , meeting on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the work of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee; Somalia , authorisation of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and meeting to review the concept of operations (CONOPs) of the ATMIS follow-on mission pursuant to resolution 2741 of 28 June, which reauthorised ATMIS mandate until 12 August; Sudan , the semi-annual briefing of International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan on the ICCs Darfur-related activities ; South Sudan , briefing and consultations on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and Central Africa , expected exchange of letters to renew the mandate of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA). The only Asian issue scheduled this month is a briefing on the work of the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee. As in previous months, the Council may hold one or more meetings on Ukraine in August. Council members are also likely to hold a meeting under any other business to mark the 16th anniversary of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. Other issues could be raised during the month depending on developments. PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will hold an open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, one of the signature events of Sierra Leones Council presidency, focusing on national and regional conflict prevention strategies. Sierra Leones Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Timothy Musa Kabba, is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar; AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye; Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion in Sierra Leone Hawa Samai, and a civil society representative. Key Recent Developments On 20 July 2023, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented his policy brief, A New Agenda for Peace (NAfP), which underscored the urgency of focusing on conflict prevention consistent with Sustainable Development Goal 16.1, through which all states are committed to reducing all forms of violence. The NAfP emphasised that preventive tools in Article 33 of the UN Charter have been underutilised. (Article 33 directs parties to any dispute to seek a solution by peaceful means, including negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and judicial settlement. It further asserts that the Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.) The NAfP recommended that member states and regional organisations develop prevention strategies to address the different drivers and enablers of violence and conflict in societies. It stressed that these strategies should have cross-regional dimensions to address transboundary threats, collectively harvesting and building on the wealth of knowledge and expertise existing at the national level on effective conflict prevention measures. The NAfP further recommended that the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) create a mechanism to mobilise political and financial support for national and regional strategies of states that are interested in receiving international assistance for developing and implementing their strategies. On 26 January 2023, Japan convened an open debate on Investment in people to enhance resilience against complex challenges as a signature event of its Security Council presidency during the month. The discussion explored the need to invest in conflict prevention and peacebuilding as one of its core subjects, a theme of A New Agenda for Peace, which had not yet been released. On 13 March, Japan also convened an open debate on Promoting Conflict PreventionEmpowering All Actors Including Women and Youth. Following the meeting, sixty-seven member states issued a joint statement at the press stakeout in which they committed to work together to effectively incorporate proposals and recommendations made by various countries and regions into the Councils activities to further promote conflict prevention. On 22 March, the PBC held an ambassadorial-level meeting on national efforts for prevention and peacebuilding, with the objective of providing a platform for member states to share good practices and lessons learned on these issues. Kenya, Norway, and Timor-Leste shared experiences based on their national prevention and peacebuilding efforts. The meeting encouraged member states to continue using the PBC as a forum for sharing experiences, best practices, and lessons learned on developing national prevention and peacebuilding strategies. It also underscored the need to promote inclusivity in these endeavours and called for stronger partnerships among international, regional, national, and local actors. Key Issues and Options The key issue is how to support the implementation of the recommendations contained in the NAfP regarding conflict prevention, particularly how to implement prevention strategies at the national and regional levels. The open debate could provide an opportunity for member states to share their experiences in developing national prevention strategies. Another key issue is the need to generate the political will, resources, and capacities to support the effective implementation of national and regional strategies. Many countries have strategies for the prevention of violent extremism, crime, or domestic violence, along with national development strategies, which contain elements or precedents of a national prevention strategy. Regional strategies that have been developed to target structural drivers or root causes of conflict and may be discussed at the August open debate include the Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery, and Resilience (RS-SRR) of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the UN Strategy for Peace Consolidation, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution in the Great Lakes region. A related issue is whether and how the open debate can feed into the ongoing negotiation on the Pact for the Futurethe outcome document expected to be adopted at the Summit of the Future in Septemberparticularly the language on conflict prevention. The co-facilitators of the negotiation, Germany and Namibia, circulated a second revised text on 17 July. The draft text, among other things, underscores the need to: prioritise conflict prevention and resolution by revitalising and implementing existing mechanisms for peaceful dispute settlement; develop and implement new mechanisms for peaceful dispute resolution, confidence-building, early warning, and crisis management at sub-regional, regional, and international levels to address new and emerging threats to peace and security; intensify diplomacy and mediation efforts to ease tensions, including early diplomatic interventions; urge the Secretary-General to actively use his good offices and encourage him to bring any matter that may threaten international peace and security to the attention of the Security Council; and support the role of regional and sub-regional organisations in diplomacy, mediation, and peaceful dispute resolution, and strengthen coordination and cooperation between these organisations and the United Nations. An additional important issue is how to leverage the role of the PBC in supporting national and regional efforts to develop prevention strategies and mobilise financial and political support for their implementation. Regarding the PBC, the draft Pact for the Future stresses the following: enhancing the PBCs role as a platform for building and sustaining peace by sharing best practices among member states and mobilising political and financial support for national prevention and peacebuilding efforts, particularly to avoid conflict relapse; making greater use of the PBC to support nationally owned peacebuilding and prevention efforts; enhancing its advisory, bridging, and convening roles; and facilitating the inclusion of stakeholders perspectives on peacebuilding through dialogue with civil society actors; and establishing more systematic and strategic partnerships with international, regional, and sub-regional organisations, including international financial institutions, to bolster peacebuilding efforts, mobilise resources, and align national development, peacebuilding, and prevention approaches. At some point, Council members could potentially consider a new resolution on conflict prevention. This could update resolution 2171 of 21 August 2014, the Councils most recent resolution dealing directly with conflict prevention, and focus on areas improving the UNs efforts in this regard. Council Dynamics The Security Council has struggled to engage effectively in prevention, often because of concerns about interference in states internal affairs, a particular impediment to addressing intra-state conflict. Past initiatives like Horizon Scanning and Situational Awareness briefings for the Council to identify potential conflict situations have failed to gain traction, partially because of these concerns. Even after conflict erupts, states frequently try to block the Council from discussing such situations because of sensitivities over external interference and the stigma often associated with being on the Councils agenda. Current geopolitical dynamics have made the Councils preventive engagement particularly complicated. Useful prevention tools that Council members all appear to value are the UNs regional offices for West Africa, Central Africa, and Central Asia (UNOWAS, UNOCA, and UNRCCA), known for their early warning and good offices activities. These offices also support states and sub-regional organisations in developing responses to structural conflict drivers and helping to promote common analysis and coherence among UN agencies, funds, and programmes for more conflict-sensitive development assistance. Several Council members are interested in seeing the Council strengthen its engagement on prevention. Sierra Leones organisation of this open debate is a further expression of its interest in prevention and peacebuilding. Japan capitalised on its two presidencies in January 2023 and March to facilitate discussion on these interrelated topics. The UK has traditionally been a proponent of improving the Councils engagement on prevention. Meanwhile, there appears to be rising interest among UN member states in having the PBC become more explicitly involved in prevention, given its mandate to address issues that lie between peace and development and the PBCs practice of discussing situations only with the consent of the country concerned. Some states remain hesitant, however, to endorse the PBCs role as a conflict prevention platform. (For more, see the In Hindsight on the Security Council and conflict prevention in our March Monthly Forecast.) Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON CONFLICT PREVENTION AFRICA Somalia Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council is expected to extend the authorisation of the African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which expires on 12 August. Council members are expected to receive a written update from the Secretary-General by 31 August on the modalities and timeline for the transition of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) to the UN Country Team, as requested by the Council in a 16 May letter. The mandate of UNSOM is set to expire on 31 October and was most recently renewed by resolution 2705 of 31 October 2023. Key Recent Developments In a 21 June communique, the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) endorsed the establishment of a new AU-led and UN-authorised mission for Somalia in support of Somalias federal government following the expected departure of ATMIS in December. It decided that this mission must be given a strong political mandate, with its scope, size, posture, composition, and duration aligning with the countrys security threats. The AUPSC requested the AU Commission (the organisations secretariat) to develop financing options for this mission in consultation with the UN, including through Security Council resolution 2719 of 21 December 2023 on the financing of AU-led peace support operations (AUPSOs). It also requested the AU Commission to submit by the end of July a concept of operations (CONOPs), including the mandate, configuration, and duration of the new mission, as well as timelines for the transition from ATMIS, in consultation with the Somali government, ATMIS and other relevant stakeholders. On 28 June, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2741, reauthorising ATMIS and extending the drawdown of 2,000 ATMIS personnel until 12 August. The resolution encouraged the AU Commission to include benchmarks in the CONOPs, with clear indicators and milestones to measure progress and a comprehensive exit strategy. (For background and more information, see the Somalia brief in our June Monthly Forecast and 28 June Whats in Blue story.) On 17 July, a nine-member AU delegation concluded a four-day visit to Somalia. During the visit, the delegation met with officials of ATMIS, the Somali government, and the troop-contributing countries (TCCs) as well as members of the Core Security Partners Groupthe EU, the UN, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US. The discussions apparently focused on the size, mandate, timelines, and exit strategy of the post-ATMIS mission. Tensions continued between Ethiopia and Somalia against the backdrop of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic in the northern region of Somalia, on 1 January. (For background, see the Somalia brief in our February 2024 Monthly Forecast and 28 January and 22 June Whats in Blue stories.) On 1 July, the foreign ministers of Ethiopia and Somalia convened in Ankara for mediation talks facilitated by Turkiye. Both parties engaged in separate discussions with Turkiye to address their differences and explore perspectives towards addressing them within a mutually acceptable framework. They further agreed to hold a second round of discussions on 2 September. However, it appears that the talks did not yield significant progress with both sides continuing their truculent rhetoric thereafter. In a 4 July address to Parliament, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed the importance of sea access to the countrys economy and claimed that Ethiopia signed the 1 January MoU only after all its neighbouring countries, including Somalia, rejected its request for support. On the other hand, Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud said, in remarks to the joint session of his countrys Parliament on 6 July, that the Ethiopian government continues to evade its responsibility for its diplomatic misstepand has never engaged with us in a neighbourly manner to resolve the current issue. He further claimed that Turkiye had proposed mediation at Ethiopias request; however, Ethiopias position remained unchanged, which led to the postponement of talks. On 15 July, local Marehaan clan militia ambushed and looted a convoy of trucks transporting heavy weapons near the town of Abudwaaq in central Somalia. The weapons reportedly included machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons, and rocket-propelled grenades. The origin of these weapons remains contested, but reports suggest that the convoy crossed into Somalia from Ethiopia and was escorted by personnel from the Somali National Intelligence Agency. The clashes apparently resulted in the deaths of at least five people, with some reports indicating a death toll as high as 20. The incident has raised significant concerns amidst the potential for these weapons to be acquired by Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group affiliated with Al-Qaida, as well as escalating inter-clan conflicts within the country. While some reports have linked the arms shipment to a political leader in Somalias Galmudug state, Somali officials maintain that government security forces seized the weapons from illegal weapons traders. The Council lifted the arms embargo on the Somali government through resolution 2741 of 1 December 2023, adopted unanimously. (For more information, see our 1 December 2023 Whats in Blue story.) On 18 July, Somali President Mohamud convened an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to address the looting of the weapons convoy. A press release issued after the meeting said that the NSC had instructed the Ministry of Internal Security to submit a detailed report and recommendations within two weeks, including identifying those responsible and proposing strict measures to prevent similar incidents. The NSC also agreed to impose a total ban on the trade, smuggling, and any other business related to weapons and ammunition within the country by non-state actors. On 22 July, clashes broke out between Somali security forces and Al-Shabaab militants in the west and south of Kismayo town in Jubaland state. According to media reports, the fighting erupted after the militants carried out coordinated attacks against military bases manned by federal and regional forces in three villages in the state, which were captured from Al-Shabaab earlier in July. The Somali Defense Ministry claimed that the forces repulsed the attack and, in a counter-offensive, killed more than 80 militants, while the Jubaland regional forces reported the number of militants killed to be approximately 135. Key Issues and Options The key issue for Council members in August will be the reauthorisation of the ATMIS mandate, which was extended until 12 August pursuant to resolution 2741. A related issue is the ATMIS drawdown process and post-ATMIS security arrangements. Council members are expected to convene a meeting upon receipt of the CONOPs for the post-ATMIS mission, which was anticipated to be submitted to the Council by 31 July, to review it and discuss subsequent steps. Regarding the ATMIS mandate, the likely option for Council members is to reauthorise ATMIS and extend the drawdown of 2,000 troops until the end of September. In the same resolution, the Council could request the Secretary-General to work with the AU and other relevant stakeholders to finalise the overall design of the follow-on mission, provide a cost estimate, and articulate a range of options for financing the mission, including through resolution 2719. The Council could also ask the Secretary-General, jointly with the AU and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to produce a consolidated CONOPs for the follow-on mission as well as the role and responsibilities of the UN Support Office in Somalia. The other important issue for Council members is the future of UNSOM. The Council is likely to be guided by Somalias request as contained in its letters circulated to members on 8 and 10 May, the Secretary-Generals written update, which is expected by 31 August, and the various discussions on post-ATMIS security arrangements. In his remarks during the 24 June Council meeting on Somalia, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of UNSOM James Swan said that a joint technical committee comprising senior officials from Somalias federal government and the UN had been established to outline the planning process for the transition. The committee held its first meeting on 22 June. Council Dynamics Council members support the Somali governments priorities and recognise the many challenges the country faces, including the persistent insecurity caused by the terrorist activities of Al-Shabaab. They also support ongoing efforts to fight the group. Some members, however, believe that a security approach will not be sufficient and underscore the need to make progress in governance, justice, and economic reforms. Other Council members emphasise the need for progress in implementing the Somali Transition Plan, including national force generation. Although Council members seem to agree on continuing security support to Somalia post-ATMIS, views differ on how such efforts should be financed. The US is apparently not keen to consider a follow-on mission in Somalia within the framework of resolution 2719. Some other Council members also share this view. These members seem to believe that there is a lack of clarity on the modalities of implementing resolution 2719, including burden-sharing. Apparently, the US preference is to apply the resolution to an entirely new AUPSO with a narrow set of tasks and a defined timeline. The EU, a major financial contributor to ATMIS, advocates a sustainable financing model based on diversified contributions and a significant element of cost-sharing, including the possible use of the AU Peace Fund and Crisis Reserve Facility. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON SOMALIA UN DOCUMENTS ON SOMALIA AFRICA South Sudan Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will hold a briefing, followed by consultations, to discuss the situation in South Sudan. Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Nicholas Haysom is anticipated to brief on the Secretary-Generals 90-day report on South Sudan, circulated to Council members on 29 July, and developments in the country. The mandate of UNMISS expires on 30 April 2025. Key Recent Developments On 9 May, high-level mediation talks (known as the Tumaini initiative) between the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) and the non-signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), facilitated by Kenya, commenced in Nairobi. Kenyan President William Ruto appointed former Kenyan army commander Lazarus Sumbeiywo as the chief mediator for the South Sudanese peace process. On 15 July, the parties reportedly reached agreements on eight protocols under the Tumaini initiative, including issues related to humanitarian access and support; trust- and confidence-building measures; a permanent ceasefire; security arrangements, and reforms; and land disputes. The agreement apparently provides for an inclusive governance structure among the government, opposition groups, and other stakeholders, covering areas such as executive roles, legislature, security, constitutional processes, and elections management. However, Riek Machar, South Sudans first Vice President and the leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLM-IO), reportedly decided to withdraw from the talks, arguing that the agreed protocols fail to recognise the revitalised agreement and establish alternative institutions to replace or run in parallel with those in the revitalised agreement. He asserted that the Tumaini Initiative was only supposed to be a mediation forum for the parties to agree on a document that could serve as an annex to the revitalised agreement, thereby bringing the non-signatories into the fold, and not a stand-alone agreement. On 3 July, South Sudans Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) passed the controversial National Security Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024, which reportedly grants the National Security Service broad powers to arrest and detain without a warrant individuals suspected of a crime, particularly under emergency circumstances and in instances of crimes against the state. The SPLM-IO rejected the legislation, saying that it goes against the spirit of the revitalised agreement and undermines security sector reforms. The hold-out groups participating in the Tumaini initiative also expressed their opposition to the legislation and called for reconstituting the National Security Service into a civilian intelligence service with the mandate to gather intelligence without powers of arrest, detention, and interference in political processes. In a 10 July joint statement, the embassies of Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK, the US, and the EU expressed grave concern about the passage of this legislation, noting that it constituted a significant step away from the opening of political and civic space, which is a prerequisite for genuine and peaceful elections to take place. In a 5 July press release, the National Elections Commission (NEC) announced that the much-awaited national elections will be held on 22 December. However, South Sudans information minister said the next day (6 July) that the presidency will decide the election date based on the outcome of the Tumaini initiative talks. On 7 July, the SPLM-IO political bureau adopted a resolution rejecting the proposed date. It argued that the NEC failed to take into consideration the pre-requisites for holding the elections, including the transitional security arrangements and the drafting of the permanent constitution. In an 11 July joint press release, the AU Mission in South Sudan, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and UNMISS urged the parties to the R-ARCSS to provide clarity on the electoral roadmap and reach consensus on the way forward. The humanitarian situation in the country remains difficult, with nearly nine million peoplealmost 76 percent of the countrys populationin need of humanitarian assistance and 7.1 million people facing high levels of food insecurity. At the same time, recent months have witnessed an increase in incidents that impeded humanitarian access. According to a 6 June humanitarian access snapshot by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 47 incidents related to humanitarian access restrictions were reported in May, 23 of which involved violence against humanitarian personnel and assets. Meanwhile, other incidents were attributed to bureaucratic impediments and operational interference. Human Rights-Related Developments In a 10 July press release, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said that the National Security Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 would entrench arbitrary detention and further repression by South Sudans National Security Service. Yasmin Sooka, the Chair of the Commission, called for the bill to be returned to the legislators to make amendments that align with the governments commitment to scrap this institutions arrest powers, which are systematically abused and unlawful. On 17 July, the UNMISS Human Rights Division released its quarterly brief on violence affecting civilians (covering January to March), which reported that widespread attacks against civilians persist across South Sudan, driven primarily by subnational armed violence. During the reporting period, the brief documented 240 incidents of violence affecting 913 civilians. In comparison to the previous quarter (October to December 2023), the brief reported an eight percent increase in the number of documented violent incidents (from 223 to 240) and a six percent increase in the number of victims documented (from 862 to 913). Key Issues and Options An ongoing concern for the Council is the significant political and security challenges in South Sudan stemming from the delays in implementing the R-ARCSS. A key issue in this regard is what the Council can do to encourage the parties to make progress towards implementing the outstanding tasks (including finalising transitional security arrangements, drafting a new constitution, and establishing an election dispute resolution mechanism) and reach consensus on the modalities for holding elections, expected to take place in December. Looking ahead to the general elections, several members may reiterate their call for these to be peaceful, transparent, inclusive, and credible. They may also continue to encourage South Sudanese authorities to promote free civic space and call on all parties to engage in dialogue and seek consensus to resolve any election-related disputes. Council members might be keen to follow up on the progress of the inter-party dialogue and the Tumaini initiative mediation talks. Ahead of the election period, Council members could consider a visiting mission to South Sudan to assess the situation on the ground and engage with the various parties to the R-ARCSS. (The last Council visiting mission to South Sudan was in 2019.) An additional key issue for Council members is the humanitarian and food security situations. An option would be to seek regular briefings on these matters from OCHA. The impact of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan on the humanitarian, political, and security situations in South Sudan remains a matter of concern for Council members. The final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee, dated 29 April, said that several senior South Sudanese government officials have confirmed the participation of mercenaries of South Sudanese origin in the Sudan conflict and have cautioned that this may trigger further illicit movement of firearms across the Sudan-South Sudan border. Reports have also suggested that the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group and one of the warring parties in the Sudan conflict, had secured a supply route from South Sudan for fuel. Council Dynamics Most Council members share similar concerns about the delays in implementing the R-ARCSS, the ongoing sub-national and intercommunal violence, and the economic and humanitarian crises in South Sudan. There are, however, differences in tone in members statements. Some members, such as the US, are more critical than others about what they perceive to be the South Sudanese governments lack of political will to implement the R-ARCSS. During the 5 March Council briefing on the situation in South Sudan, the US said that in the absence of urgent action from the South Sudanese government, allocating further financial resources for election preparationssends a wrong message. It added that future funding for the elections must be accompanied by a renewed push on the South Sudanese peace process and improved humanitarian access. On the other hand, Council members such as China, Russia, and the members of the A3 plus one (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana) are less critical of the government. In their statements, these members often highlight the progress the South Sudanese government has made amidst the countrys severe challenges, including the dire humanitarian situation, intercommunal violence, and the economic crisis. These members advocate for enhanced international financial support to assist South Sudan in its political transition and strengthen its capacity. The US is the penholder on South Sudan, and Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone) chairs the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON SOUTH SUDAN UN DOCUMENTS ON SOUTH SUDAN Status Update since our July Forecast The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question On 2 July, the Security Council held an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question (S/PV.9678). Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag briefed. On 17 July, the Security Council convened its quarterly open debate on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting. To accommodate all speakers, the meeting was resumed and completed on 19 July (S/PV.9678 and Resumptions I and II). Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet of the UN Secretary-General, briefed. On 26 July, the Security Council held a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Gaza under The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question agenda item (S/PV.9694). Deputy Commissioner-General (Operational Support) of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Antonia Marie De Meo and the Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) Muhannad Hadi briefed. The meeting was called by Algeria, China, and Russia. On 31 July, the Security Council held an emergency briefing under The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question agenda item to discuss developments related to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran (S/PV.9696). The meeting was called by Algeria, China, and Russia following a request from Iran (S/2024/584). Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed. Myanmar Meeting under Any Other Business On 3 July, Council members discussed the humanitarian situation in Myanmar under any other business. The Republic of Korea (ROK), the UK, and the US requested the meeting after a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse was looted and burned in the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine State on 22 June. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya briefed. Democratic Republic of the Congo On 8 July, the Security Council held a briefing and consultations on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the work of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (S/PV.9681). Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita briefed. The DRC and Rwanda also participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure. During the meeting, Council members discussed the implementation of MONUSCOs disengagement plan, agreed with the Congolese government and endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2717 of 19 December 2023. At the time of writing, Council members were negotiating a draft text proposed by France and Sierra Leone, co-penholders on the DRC, to authorise MONUSCO to provide limited operational and logistical support to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC). Stepping Up Preventive Action: From Environmental Challenges to Opportunities for Peace On Monday (8 July), Council members held an Arria-formula meeting on Stepping up Preventive Action: From Environmental Challenges to Opportunities for Peace. Slovenia organised the meeting together with Guyana, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and Sierra Leone. The briefers were Amy Pope, the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa Hanna Serwaa Tetteh; and Nohora Alejandra Quiguantar, the founder of Tejiendo Pensamiento-Indigenous Women for the Climate in Colombia. Ukraine On 9 July, the Security Council held an emergency meeting on Ukraine (S/PV.9682). Ecuador and France (supported by Slovenia, the UK, and the US) requested the meeting following a series of Russian missile attacks targeting multiple cities across Ukraine on 8 July, including a strike that caused significant damage to the Okhmatdyt childrens hospital in Kyiv. Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya and Volodymyr Zhovnir, a cardiac surgeon and activist, briefed the Council. On 25 July, the Council convened for an open briefing under the Threats to international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9693). Russia requested the meeting to discuss the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine. Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Adedeji Ebo briefed. Cyprus On 11 July, Council members held closed consultations on the situation in Cyprus. Special Representative and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) Colin Stewart briefed the Council, presenting the Secretary-Generals report on his good offices in Cyprus (S/2024/526) and on UNFICYP (S/2024/527). Colombia On 11 July, the Security Council held an open briefing on Colombia (S/PV.9683). Special Representative and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia Carlos Ruiz Massieu briefed on recent developments and the Secretary-Generals latest 90-day report on the mission (S/2024/509). The Council was also briefed by Diego Tovar, an ex-combatant from the former rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo (FARC-EP) and signatory to the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace concluded in 2016 between the government of Colombia and the former FARC-EP. Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego represented his country at the Council meeting for the first time since taking office in August 2022. The meeting also marked the first time that a former FARC-EP member briefed the Council in person. On 18 July, Council members issued a press statement on Colombia (SC/15768), in which they re-emphasised the importance of ensuring the comprehensive implementation of the 2016 agreement. Among other issues, they expressed concern about continuing violence, noting that conflict-related violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, as well as violations against children, such as recruitment and use, continue to disproportionately affect indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. The statement referenced the Colombian governments dialogue efforts with armed groups operating in the country, calling for the strengthening of the ceasefire with the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN), including the return to prior commitments to protect the civilian population with a view to improve security in the territories. Haiti On 12 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2743, renewing the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) for another year, until 15 July 2025. On 3 July, the Council received its regular quarterly briefing from Special Representative and Head of BINUH Maria Isabel Salvador on recent political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country and on the Secretary-Generals latest report on BINUH. Haitis interim prime minister Garry Conille participated in the meeting under rule 39 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure. Canada (on behalf of the Economic and Social Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti), the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Saint Kitts and Nevis (on behalf of the Caribbean Community) also participated. West Africa and the Sahel On 12 July, Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Leonardo Santos Simao briefed the Council (S/PV.9685), presenting the Secretary-Generals biannual report on West Africa and the Sahel and the activities of UNOWAS (S/2024/521). Following the public session, Council members held closed consultations with Simao. During July, Council members agreed to a draft letter that took note of the Secretary-Generals recommendation in his November 2023 and May 2024 letters to the Council to end the Secretariats reporting obligations on the Group of Five for the Sahel Joint Force. In their letter responding to this recommendation, Council members requested that the Secretary-General provide three annual reports on West Africa and the Sahel and the activities of UNOWASrather than two such annual reportsin 2024 and 2025. Multilateral Cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order On 16 July, the Security Council held a ministerial-level open debate on Multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order under the Maintenance of international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9686 and Resumption I). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting, which was one of the signature events of Russias July Council presidency. There were no briefers. UN Sanctions On 19 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2744, strengthening the mandate of the Focal Point for Delisting, which was established by resolution 1730 of 19 December 2006 to receive requests for delisting from UN sanctions regimes. Resolution 2744 also established an Informal Working Group of the Security Council on General UN Sanctions Issues, a previous iteration of which was active between 2000 and 2006. The resolution, which was co-penned by Malta and the US, was co-sponsored by 52 member states. Cooperation between the UN and Regional Organisations On 19 July, the Security Council held a debate on cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organisations (S/PV.9688), focusing on the role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in maintaining international peace and security. Russia, a founding member of these three organisations, convened the debate as a signature event of its July Council presidency, and its Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin chaired the meeting. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming briefed. UNRCCA (Central Asia) On 23 July, Council members held closed consultations on the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNRCCA Kaha Imnadze briefed. Central African Republic On 30 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2745, lifting the arms embargo on the CAR and renewing the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee until 31 August 2025, which henceforth will be known as the Panel of Experts pursuant to resolution 2745. The Council also extended all other sanctions measures targeted against armed groups and associated individuals until 31 July 2025. AFRICA Sudan Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will receive the semi-annual briefing of International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan on the ICCs Darfur-related activities. Background and Key Recent Developments More than 17 years after the Councils ICC referral on the situation in Darfur, through resolution 1593 of 31 March 2005, the first trial opened on 5 April 2022 with the case of Prosecutor v. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb). Abd-Al-Rahman, reportedly a former leader of the Janjaweed militia, is accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between August 2003 and approximately April 2004 in Darfur. The prosecution presented evidence from 81 witnesses during the trial and concluded its case on 28 February 2023. Subsequently, the defence for Abd-Al-Rahman made its opening statement from 19 to 20 October 2023 before Trial Chamber I of the ICC, following which the defence proceeded to call witnesses and present its case. Between 14 January 2022 and 6 May, the Trial Chamber authorised the participation of 1,331 victims in the trial proceedings. (For background, see the brief on Sudan in our January Monthly Forecast.) Four arrest warrants issued by the ICC remain outstandingagainst Omar Al Bashir, former Sudanese President; Ahmad Muhammad Harun, former Sudanese Minister of State for the Interior; Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, former Sudanese Minister of National Defence; and Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, commander-in-chief of the Justice and Equality Movement at the time of the warrant. Pursuant to resolution 1593 and the subsequent orders of the ICC, Sudan remains under an obligation to surrender the four remaining suspects to the court. In his 29 January briefing to the Council, Khan said that the failure to execute arrest warrants for those indicted by the court had contributed to the climate of impunity and the outbreak of violence that commenced in April [2023] and that continues today. He added that there is reason to believe that Rome Statute crimes are being perpetrated in Darfur by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group, in the current fighting, although he did not specify which type or types of crimes he was referencing under the statute. (Under the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over four crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.) Since the onset of the current conflict in April 2023, more than 18,650 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a non-governmental organisation that collects conflict-related data, as at 12 July. (For background and more information, see the brief on Sudan in our June Monthly Forecast and 17 June Whats in Blue story.) According to the ICC Prosecutors most recent reportsubmitted to the Council on 29 January, pursuant to resolution 1593the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has accelerated investigations with respect to crimes committed in Darfur as part of the current hostilities. To this end, the OTP deployed investigative missions to the region and carried out extensive open-source investigations and analyses. The report indicated that outreach missions had also been conducted to refugee camps in eastern Chad and noted that investigations into the current hostilities include crimes committed in El-Geneina, with other areas of Darfur also of significant interest because of alleged crimes in these states. With respect to the investigations of other individuals subject to arrest warrants in the Darfur situation, the prosecutors report said that these suspects were detained in Kober prison in Khartoum before the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023. Several reports, however, indicated that prisoners were either released from, escaped, or otherwise left Kober prison. The report also took note of accounts suggesting that Al Bashir and Hussein remained in the custody of the SAF at the Al-Alia military hospital in Omdurman. It noted that Harun remained at large in eastern Sudan and that Sudanese authorities were able to communicate with him. During the period covered by the report, the OTP was able to strengthen the case against Harun by collecting additional relevant information. In her remarks during the annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, held on 21 May, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu raised alarm about the spiralling situation in Sudan which she said bears all the marks of risk of genocide, with strong allegations that this crime has already been committed. The final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, dated 15 January, underscored that in West Darfur (particularly in El Geneina, Sirba, Murne, and Masteri), the RSF and allied militias specifically targeted the Masalit community and systematically violated international humanitarian law. The report indicated that some of these violations might constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Human Rights-Related Developments In a 26 June press release, a group of UN experts warned that the extent of hunger and displacementin Sudan today is unprecedented and never witnessed before. It also expressed concerns about the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers and local volunteers, which it said has undermined aid operations, putting millions of people at further risk of starvation. On 12 July, the UN Human Rights expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Radhouane Nouicer, issued a statement after his five-day visit to Port Sudan. He called on authorities immediately to address four key priority areas: ensuring the protection of civilians by refraining from indiscriminate attacks; permitting unhindered humanitarian access, including by expediting administrative processes; refraining from arbitrary arrests and detentions; and ensuring accountability for human rights violations and abuses. The International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, established by the Human Rights Council in October 2023, visited Chad from 30 June to 18 July and travelled to several areas in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan, including Adre, Farchana, and Abeche. In its press release following the visit, the mission noted that it had documented disturbing patterns of grave human rights violations and called on the international community urgently to step up efforts to end the conflict. Women, Peace and Security As the Councils president for June, the Republic of Korea (ROK) elected to include a focus on women, peace and security (WPS) at the 18 June Council briefing on Sudan. Several participants addressed WPS issues during the meeting. In her briefing, Director of OCHAs Operations and Advocacy Division Edem Wosornu said that the UN Population Fund received reports of women and girls being raped and subjected to other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) as they leave their homes in search of food, with local women-led organisations reporting rising suicide rates among survivors and shrinking access to services. Limiaa Ahmed, Senior Programme Director of the non-governmental organisation Sudan Family Planning Association, stressed that although womens rights and women-led organisations have spared no effort to assist women and girls affected by GBV, they are severely underfunded and do not have the capacity to cope with the scale of violence against women and girls. Malta, Slovenia, and Switzerland condemned sexual violence against women and girls, and the ROK urged the warring parties to maintain strict command-and-control systems over their forces. Ecuador noted that the political path to peace must ensure the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of Sudanese women. Similarly, Japan said that womens meaningful participation in political decision-making is a precondition to creating lasting peace and security. Key Issues and Options An underlying key issue for the Council is how to promote justice and accountability for past atrocities committed in Darfur and for the ongoing violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law by the Sudanese warring parties across the country. Another key issue for the Council is how to enhance cooperation between the ICC prosecutor and relevant Sudanese authorities. In the upcoming Council meeting on Sudan, several Council members, including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and like-minded members, may welcome the efforts of the OTP in leading investigations regarding ongoing hostilities and the work done by the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan. These members may encourage the ICCs cooperation with third states, as well as with regional and civil society organisations. They may call upon the Sudanese warring parties to uphold international humanitarian law and cooperate with investigative agencies in carrying out their work. In addition to receiving Khans briefing, Council members supportive of the ICCs work in Sudan could consider requesting a briefing from the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to spotlight the crimes being committed in the conflict. Council Dynamics The Council is divided on the work of the ICC. Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the ROK, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK are state parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Algeria, China, Mozambique, Russia, and the US are not. These distinctions, however, do not necessarily reflect how members view the courts work on Sudan. For instance, the US has supported the ICCs efforts regarding Sudan. In December 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he had determined that members of the SAF and the RSF had committed war crimes in Sudan. He further determined that members of the RSF and allied militias had committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. This determination, Blinken said, provides force and renewed urgency to African and international efforts to end the violence, address the humanitarian and human rights crisis, and work towards meaningful justice for victims and the affected communities that ends decades of impunity. At the last semi-annual briefing on 29 January, wide-ranging views were expressed about the ICCs work in relation to Darfur. Most members welcomed the progress on Abd-Al-Rahmans trial while calling on Sudan to increase its cooperation with the court, including by providing access to key witnesses. These members also welcomed and supported the efforts by the OTP to conduct investigations into crimes committed as part of the ongoing hostilities in Sudan. At the same time, Russia declared that [t]he regrettable, if not outright tragic, effects of the Councils involvement of the ICC in the situations in Libya and Darfur teach us one thing only: the Council made a mistake by transferring these situations to the ICC, a mistake that must not be repeated. It is important to assess the damage that this entity has caused to specific countries. Russias negative view of the ICC hardened following the courts announcement on 17 March 2023 that it had issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for allegedly committing the war crime of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia. The UK is the penholder on Sudan, and the US is the penholder on Sudan sanctions. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON SUDAN UN DOCUMENTS ON SUDAN MIDDLE EAST Syria Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will hold a meeting on the political process and the humanitarian situation in Syria. Key Recent Developments On 30 June, anti-refugee protests broke out in central Turkiye following a reported incident of sexual harassment of a child in the city of Kayseri, allegedly by a Syrian refugee. According to media reports, Turkish police arrested at least 474 people for targeting properties and assets belonging to Syrian refugees in Turkiye. In response, demonstrations erupted the next day (1 July) in several parts of north-west Syria, including Afrin, al-Bab, Azez, and Jarablus. The protests reportedly turned violent, leading to clashes with Turkish armed forces present inside Syria, in which at least eight people were killed and more than 20 others injured. In a 2 July press briefing, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said that protesters reportedly attacked vehicles, buildings, and commercial trucks entering the Bab al-Salam crossing on the Syria-Turkiye border. He noted that some medical teams operating in Afrin and al-Bab and several non-governmental organisations had suspended their operations. He also reported that fuel shortages had led to power outages and communications breakdowns. In response to persistent insecurity, Turkish authorities closed all three crossings on the Syria-Turkiye borderBab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salam, and Al Raeeused by UN agencies and partners to conduct humanitarian operations. However, the Bab al-Hawa crossing was re-opened on 3 July while the other crossings resumed operations on 8 July. On 10 July, the Syrian government announced its decision to extend its authorisation for the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing until 13 January 2025. The Syrian governments authorisation for the use of the Bab al-Salam and Al Raee border crossings is scheduled to expire on 13 August. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula travelled to the Al Hasakeh Governorate in northeast Syria from 7 to 10 July. During his visit, Abdelmoula met with various stakeholders and visited several humanitarian projects, including a water filtration station installed in Hasakeh city. He also visited camps for refugees and internally displaced persons, including Al Holwhich hosts more than 41,000 people, 90 percent of whom are women and children, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At the end of his visit, he highlighted the growing humanitarian needs in the area due to severe water shortages, destruction of civilian infrastructure, climate shocks, displacement, and economic decline. He also stressed the need to complement emergency assistance activities with early recovery programming. Despite the rising humanitarian needs across the country, securing funding has been a challenge for the UN and partner agencies. At the time of writing, Syrias 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which called for $4.07 billion, was only 20.5 percent funded. Syria and Turkiye have apparently indicated a renewed interest in pursuing diplomatic rapprochement. Since last year, Russia and Iran have led efforts to mend ties between the two countries. The foreign ministers of the four countries met in Moscow on 10 May 2023 to advance these efforts; however, the talks apparently stalled, with Syria insisting on the withdrawal of Turkish armed forces from northern Syria. (For background, see the Syria brief in our June 2023 Monthly Forecast.) It appears that Iraq has also made efforts recently to mediate between the two sides. According to media reports, in a 31 May press interview, the Iraqi prime minister acknowledged these efforts and said that Iraq is trying to create grounds for reconciliation and dialogue between the two countries. During a 26 June meeting with the Russian Presidents Special Representative on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed his openness to all initiatives regarding Syrian-Turkish relations, based on respect for Syrian sovereignty. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has similarly expressed his desire to improve relations with Syria. In a 7 July statement, Erdogan said that he may extend an invitation to al-Assad to visit Turkiye at any moment. According to media reports, the local council of the city of al-Bab in eastern Aleppo governorate announced in June the opening of the Abu al-Zandeen crossing, which connects the area controlled by the Syrian National Armya coalition of armed groups allegedly backed by Turkiyeand the region under the control of the Syrian government. The announcement reportedly came against the backdrop of Turkish-Russian efforts to normalise economic relations between opposition-held areas and regime-controlled territories. Airstrikes, allegedly by Israel, continue to target sites across Syria. On 14 July, airstrikes reportedly hit several military sites and a residential building in Damascus, killing one Syrian soldier and injuring three others. Media reports quoted Israeli Defense Forces as saying that the strikes were conducted in response to two drones that were launched from Syria towards the north of Eilat, Israel, the previous day (13 July). On 15 July, an airstrike that hit a car on the al-Saboura highway near Damascus killed a Syrian businessman, Muhammad Bara Qatirji, who reportedly had ties to the Syrian government as well as Iran-backed militias in the region, including Hezbollah, and was sanctioned by the US for facilitating shipments of fuel and weapons to the Syrian regime. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) continues to pose a significant security threat in Syria. In a 16 July statement on X (formerly Twitter), the US Central Command said that ISIS claimed 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria during the first half of this year; if sustained at the current pace, the number of attacks in 2024 will more than double the number claimed by Daesh in 2023. Between January and June, the US and the Syrian Democratic Forcesa primarily Kurdish group opposing the Syrian governmentconducted 59 operations, which resulted in the deaths of 14 Daesh operatives and the detention of 92 others. Human Rights-Related Developments In a 1 July statement, Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, called on Syrian authorities to implement the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 16 November 2023 and to take action to eradicate all forms of torture and ill-treatment in the country. She raised alarm about reports indicating that torture continues to be practiced on a large scale in Syria in flagrant disregard for the lives, and the physical and psychological health of thousands of individuals who are in detention centres operated by the Syrian government. In its 16 November 2023 provisional measures, the ICJ ordered Syria to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and ensure that its officials, as well as any organizations or persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, do not commit any acts of torture or other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (For background and more information, see the Syria brief in our December 2023 Monthly Forecast.) On 3 July, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said that the long-running conflict in Syria and its consequences have become further entrenched, adding that impunity and lawlessness have shaped a grim reality for all Syrians, with no end in sight. He highlighted several instances of abuses, including monetary extortion of civilians by security forces and militias, incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, the detention of Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon, and drug trafficking and smuggling involving both pro- and anti-government factions. Pinheiro urged member states to act urgently in three critical areas: repatriating their nationals detained in north-east Syria since 2019; reviewing the imposition of unilateral coercive measures on Syria to mitigate their unintended consequences on civilians; and increasing support for Syrias 2024 HRP. Key Issues and Options A key issue for Council members is the ongoing hostilities in Syria. Continuing violence and the lack of accountability threaten to destabilise the country further. The deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the country are also of concern. Determining how the Council can address the spillover effects of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and de-escalate rising tensions in the region, including in Syria, is an important issue for the Council. One option would be for the co-chairs of the Informal Expert Group on the Protection of Civilians (Switzerland and the UK) to hold a meeting on the situation in Syria to receive briefings from relevant UN entities about the impact of the conflict on civilians. Another important issue for the Council is maintaining international attention on the situation in Syria when its focus has largely shifted to other crises, such as those in Gaza and Ukraine. As well, a key issue is how to alleviate the growing humanitarian needs throughout the country. Council members could consider adopting a press statement calling on the international community to scale up the humanitarian response in Syria. The need to break the underlying political impasse in the country and support the Special Envoys work in this regard is another key issue. The Council could consider holding a private meeting with relevant stakeholders to discuss the impediments to the resumption of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, including the issue of venue, and support Pedersens efforts to reinvigorate the political process. (A private meeting is a closed, formal meeting format; unlike closed consultations, non-Council member states are allowed to participate in this format.) Council Dynamics Over the years, Syria has been one of the most divisive files on the Councils agenda. China and Russia are supportive of the Syrian government, emphasising the need to respect the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity and drawing connections between unilateral coercive measures on Syria and the challenging humanitarian and economic situations in the country. In contrast, the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded members criticise the government for violating international humanitarian law and human rights law, arbitrarily detaining people, not engaging meaningfully in political dialogue, and not creating conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees. Russia has consistently criticised the presence of US forces in Syria, accusing them of destabilising the country. The US maintains that its deployment of forces in the country remains focused on fighting Daesh and has blamed Damascus for allowing Iranian-backed militias to operate in the country. Council members also have diverging views on normalising ties with the Syrian government. While the US and like-minded members continue to oppose engagement with the government, China and Russia have advocated for the normalisation of ties. In a 2 July press briefing, the US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the US would not normalise relations with the Assad government absent authentic progress toward a political solution to the underlying conflict. He added that the US had been clear with regional partners, including Turkiye, that any engagement must focus on human rights, improving the humanitarian conditions and the security situation for all Syrians. Switzerland is the penholder on the Syria humanitarian file. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON SYRIA UN DOCUMENTS ON SYRIA THEMATIC ISSUES Women, Peace and Security Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council will hold a briefing on Sustaining Women, Peace and Security Commitments in the context of accelerated drawdown of peace operations. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous, and a civil society representative are the anticipated briefers. It appears that Sierra Leone intends to draw the Councils attention to challenges for the implementation of the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda and gender equality during and in the aftermath of drawdowns, reconfigurations, and accelerated terminations of UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions. Background and Key Recent Developments UN peace operations transitions have emerged as a key focus of Security Council attention in the context of the termination of the mandates of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali in June 2023 and the UN Integrated Transition Mission in Sudan in December 2023, as well as the drawdown of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from the end of 2023. Looking ahead, in May, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was renewed for a final 19-month period until December 2025, after which the mission will cease its operations. Also in May, Somalia sent two letters to Council members; the first calling for the swift conclusion of the necessary procedures for the termination of the [m]ission by the end of the mandate in October. The second letter expressed Somalias readiness to engage with relevant stakeholders in the preparation of [a] complex transition process within [the] appropriate timeframe. Strained relations between host countries and missions, as well as divisions among Security Council members, which are then exploited by host country leaders, have made recent transitions particularly challenging. In these circumstances, host governments may compel UN missions to withdraw in haste, possibly undermining gains made during their presence and with potentially dangerous consequences for civilians if the security vacuum left by the mission is not adequately filled. (For background, see our UN Transitions in a Fractured Multilateral Environment research report.) Additional risks and challenges for the WPS agenda in these contexts include a decline in attention to, and monitoring of, womens participation in peace and political processes; womens rights; sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV); and attacks on women human rights defenders and peacebuilders. The Council has held several thematic discussions on UN peace operation transitions in general, most recently in an open debate organised by former Council member Ireland in September 2021. Members have also begun to address the effects of such processes on specific capacities of UN peace operations. For instance, the Councils latest annual open debate on children and armed conflict, held on 26 June, spotlighted the need to preserve and transfer child protection data and capacities during the transition of UN peace operations. Augusts briefing will mark the first time that the Security Council focuses specifically on challenges of accelerated drawdowns for the WPS agenda. Some of these concerns have been touched upon in recent meetings of the Informal Experts Group (IEG) on WPS, such as the 6 November 2023 meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the 26 January meeting on Sudan, and the 8 April meeting on Iraq. Adopted following the September 2021 open debate, resolution 2594 was the first thematic Security Council resolution on transitions. It recognised that mission reconfiguration may entail increased risks for civilians, including women, and emphasised the need for peace operations to engage at the earliest possible stage in integrated planning and coordination on transitions with the UN presence on the ground, the host state and other national stakeholders including civil society. Resolution 2594 requested the Secretary-General to make sure that a comprehensive gender analysis; technical gender expertise; and the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women are included throughout the transition process, as well as to ensure the inclusion of youth and measures to safeguard the interests of persons with disabilities. It further requested the Secretary-General to make sure that their needs are fully integrated in all prioritised and sequenced stages of a mission mandate and mission transitions. (This language was likely based on resolution 2242 on WPS. Adopted in 2015, resolution 2242 had already urged the UN to make sure that gender analysis and technical gender expertise were included in mission drawdowns, and that womens needs and participation were integrated in all sequenced stages of mission mandates.) The June 2022 Secretary-Generals report on transitions in UN peace operations included examples of UN approaches to gender-responsive conflict analysis and integration of gender equality into transition processes. It noted the need for additional planning, monitoring and evaluation capacities, including on human rights and gender mainstreaming, as part of integrated transition teams in missions. In his latest report on CRSV, issued in April 2024, the Secretary-General noted that with the accelerated drawdown of peace operations in Mali and Sudan, the UN encountered significant challenges in sustaining the implementation of Security Council resolutions on CRSV. The report called for the timely deployment of womens protection advisers, noting, however, that the level of human and budgetary resources allocated to their deployment is far from commensurate with the scale of the challenge. More broadly, the 2023 Secretary-Generals annual report on WPS recommended that UN member states ensure that predictable resources are made available for gender equality and WPS programming and expertise during drawdowns and transitions. Women civil society representatives have highlighted these and other issues in their briefings at the Security Council. In her briefing at the 11 December 2023 meeting on the DRC, National Coordinator of the NGO Solidarite Feminine pour la Paix Sandrine Lusamba addressed MONUSCOs drawdown. She recommended that MONUSCO and the UN Country Team work with local and national NGOs to develop indicators to evaluate the security situation in the country, measuring the protection and promotion of womens human rights, including in the areas of gender-based violence, attacks on women human rights defenders, sexual and reproductive rights and the meaningful participation of women. Lusamba also recommended that donors support the DRC government so that it can fulfil its protection responsibilities. She further called for funding the UN humanitarian response plan for the DRC, and women-led and womens rights organisations. Key Issues and Options The pivotal issue for the Security Council remains the full implementation of the WPS agenda and its impact on the ground. A key issue for Council members supportive of the agenda is to preserve and strengthen WPS language in thematic and country-specific outcomes and to follow up on the implementation of these decisions. Regarding the topic of the briefing, an option for Council members is to politically and materially support comprehensive, context-specific, coordinated, and gender-responsive strategies for transition processes and the post-drawdown period by both the UN and host states. At Augusts briefing and in relevant Council decisions, members could call for the meaningful participation of feminist and womens rights organisations as well as women human rights defenders in determining such strategies, and follow up on the effective inclusion of such advice. Members could also call for and adequately fund mechanisms for the continuity, preservation, and transfer of knowledge and capacity on monitoring the implementation of the WPS agenda across all its pillars (participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery) including, for instance, monitoring sexual and gender-based violence and attacks on women human rights defenders and peacebuilders. Members can further provide enhanced support to the deployment of gender advisers and women protection advisers in peace operations, including those undergoing transitions. As the organiser of this briefing, Sierra Leone could prepare a chairs summary of the meeting to capture salient themes of the discussion to be circulated in a Council letter. Council Dynamics Most Council members are generally supportive of the WPS agenda. However, the prevalent assessment, including among several Council members and civil society actors, is that the dynamics on this file remain difficult and unconducive to the adoption of new WPS outcomes, these difficulties being further complicated by the Councils polarisation in the context of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Supportive members and civil society organisations emphasise instead the need to close the persisting gap in the implementation of the framework set out in the Councils WPS resolutions and the numerous domestic and regional initiatives it generated. Feminist civil society organisationssuch as the Womens International League for Peace and Freedomhave criticised Security Council members who express rhetorical support for the WPS agenda, human rights and the rule of law, while simultaneously contributing to violence and insecurity around the globe. Council members retained WPS-related language in several resolutions and were, at times, able to strengthen it. For instance, in June the Council adopted resolution 2736 which, among other things, demands that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) halt the siege of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in Sudan. For the first time since the outbreak of the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in April 2023, this resolution encouraged engagement by UN and regional actors to advance peace and an inclusive Sudanese-led political process with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women. At the same time, Russia and China often challenge the inclusion of language on WPS in Security Council products. Russia has regularly argued that the Councils engagement on WPS should be limited to the consideration of womens issues in a context of the maintenance of peace and security and in connection to situations that are on the Councils agenda, since human rights and the role of women are already discussed in other UN forums such as the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Russia has advanced a similar argument regarding the human rights and gender aspects of transitions and peacekeeping, saying that providing States with long-term assistance in the areas of development and human rights through peacekeeping organizations is not appropriate, and calling for reducing peacekeepers secondary and non-core tasks, especially those on the human rights, social and gender fronts. During the negotiations of UNAMIs final mandate renewal Russia opposed the inclusion of WPS language. Council members Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US have given continuity to the Shared Commitments on WPS initiative, which was started in 2021 by Ireland, Kenya, and Mexico. It seems that these members held regular strategy meetings and tried to coordinate their positions on key WPS issues. They have also held seven WPS-focused press stakeouts this year in connection with Council meetings, including on Sudan, the Great Lakes and Afghanistan. Engagement on some commitments remained uneven, however. Only Malta and the ROK have used their Security Council presidencies in 2024 to focus a mandated country-specific meeting on WPS, respectively on the Great Lakes and Sudan. In April, Malta also focused the annual open debate on CRSV on demilitarisation and gender-responsive arms control, seemingly the first time that this annual open debate addressed this issue. It also appears that commitment holders have yet to develop coordinated strategies to implement their pledge to draw attention to, and follow up on, the recommendations and priority issues raised by civil society briefers in Council meetings. The UK is the penholder on WPS, and the US is the penholder on CRSV. Sierra Leone and Switzerland are the co-chairs of the IEG on WPS. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY MIDDLE EAST Yemen Expected Council Action In August, the Security Council is expected to hold a briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Yemen. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and a representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are expected to brief. The Head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Major General Michael Beary, will brief in consultations. Key Recent Developments Attacks by the Houthi rebel group on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways threatened a further escalation of violence in Yemen. On 19 July, a Houthi-claimed drone attack hit a residential building in Tel Aviv, killing one civilian and injuring at least ten others. According to Israeli authorities, the strike was carried out by an Iranian model of a Samad-3 uncrewed aerial vehicle that had been adapted for long-distance flights. It was the first deadly Houthi attack against Israel, which had intercepted multiple drones and missiles that the group launched since October 2023 in response to its military campaign in Gaza that followed the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel. On 20 July, Israel carried out retaliatory airstrikes in the Hodeidah Port area, killing nine people and injuring 83 others, according to the Houthi-run Ministry of Health. This marked the first publicly acknowledged Israeli strike inside Yemeni territory. Israel claimed that it had struck sites used for military purposes, saying that Iran has been using Hodeidah Port to supply weapons to the Houthis. In a 20 July statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree maintained that the bombing struck civilian targets, including a power station that supplies the city of Hodeidah with electricity and fuel tanks. He said that the Houthis will continue to conduct operations against Israel. Meanwhile, continuing US-led strikes against Houthi targets since January have not appeared to slow Houthi attacks against commercial shipping. The Council held a briefing on the escalation on 22 July, which France, the UK, and the US requested following a letter to the Council from Israel on the attack against Tel Aviv. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Major General Beary briefed. DiCarlo noted that the extent of the damage to Hodeidah Port had yet to be confirmed, though local authorities had reported that the port was functioning at a limited capacity. Hodeidah Port serves as the entry point for the majority of Yemens critical imports, such as food, and the strikes heightened concerns about damage that could worsen Yemens humanitarian crisis. The next day, the Council held its monthly briefing and consultations on Yemen. Grundberg expressed concerns about Yemens trajectory of escalation, which had reached a new and dangerous level. However, in a rare recent positive development, Grundberg announced an agreement reached the day before between the Houthis and the Yemeni government to de-escalate the economic warfare that the sides have been waging against each other. According to the agreement, the parties committed to several measures and requested the UNs support in implementing them. Those measures called for: cancelling all the recent decisions and procedures against banks by both sides and refraining in the future from any similar decisions or procedures; resuming Yemenia Airways flights between Sanaa and Jordan and increasing the number of flights to three per day, as well as operating flights from Sanaa to Cairo and India daily or as needed; addressing the administrative, technical, and financial challenges faced by Yemenia Airways; and initiating meetings to discuss all economic and humanitarian issues based on the UN roadmap for an inter-Yemeni political process. Grundberg thanked Saudi Arabia for its role in brokering the deal, while underscoring the need for the parties to engage in good faith and address underlying issues. The deal followed the revocation of the licenses of six Yemeni banks by the government-controlled Central Bank of Yemen on 7 July for failing to relocate their offices from the Houthi-held city of Sanaa to Aden. The move threatened to exclude Houthi-held areas from using the SWIFT banking system. Grundberg and Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, who briefed as well, also highlighted the continued detention of 13 UN staff and of dozens of other Yemeni nationals from local and international aid organisations, civil society and the private sector whom the Houthis arrested in early June. They repeated UN demands for their immediate release. Msuya additionally drew attention to the importance of Hodeidah Port, which she called a lifeline for millions of Yemenis. There are no viable alternatives to receive commercial imports at scale, she said, adding, Infrastructure that plays such an indispensable role must be spared. Earlier, on 6 July, the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Detainees Agreement met in Oman. According to a statement by the Office of the Special Envoy, which co-chairs the committee with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the talks led to a significant breakthrough, with the sides reaching an understanding on releasing Mohamed Qahtana political leader aligned with the Yemeni government whom the Houthis have held incommunicado since 2015. The statement added that the sides had agreed to a follow-up meeting to finalise the list of detainees to be freed and the details of Qahtans release. On 8 July, the Council renewed the mandate of UNMHA, in resolution 2742, until 14 July 2025. Human Rights-Related Developments On 9 July, UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) remains extremely concerned about the well-being of the 13 UN staff and several employees of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who have been held incommunicado for more than a month by Houthis. Additionally, two UN staff members have been in prolonged detention since November 2021 and August 2023, according to Laurence. He called on those states and entities with influence over the Houthis to help secure the safe and prompt release of all detained UN and NGO staff. Voicing concern over the conditions of captivity, the spokesperson also urged the de facto authorities to ensure that those detained are treated with full respect for their human rights and are able to contact their families and legal representatives. The 13 UN staff detained include six who work for OHCHR; one each from the Office of the Special Envoy in Yemen, the UN Development Programme, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization; and two from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Key Issues and Options Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and Israel, retaliatory US-led strikes, and now Israeli strikes on Houthi targets are key issues. The crisis has frozen Yemen peace talks: Omani-facilitated talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia on a peace agreement and Grundbergs efforts to develop a roadmap for a ceasefire and an inter-Yemeni political process. The stalled processes and the risk to the gains that had been made in talks since Yemens April 2022 truce remain key issues. Members are likely to monitor developments. They could encourage the parties to engage in good faith with the Special Envoy to implement the economic measures that they have committed to and to use the momentum of this process to refocus on a broader political process. The humanitarian situation in Yemen, where 18.2 million people require assistance and protection services, remains a key issue. In addition to the importance of Hodeidah Port for responding to this need, Msuya also highlighted at the 23 July briefing worsening food insecurity because of the pause in food assistance in the Houthi-controlled north since December 2023 and deteriorating economic conditions across the country. The detention of humanitarian staff could further undermine the ability of the UN and other partners to provide assistance. The Yemen sanctions designation criteria include the obstruction or impediment of humanitarian assistance. Council members could consider expanding sanctions designations on Houthi officials if they do not release the detained personnel. Another issue, related to the sanctions regime, is the reports that Iranian ships have travelled to Hodeidah Port since October 2023 without informing the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), which provides clearance for and inspects ships travelling to Houthi-controlled ports to ensure compliance with the arms embargo against the group. These reports follow the end of ship inspections by the Saudi-led coalition, which it also conducted on vessels travelling to Hodeidah, after it began peace talks with the Houthis in October 2022. Council Dynamics Yemen is an issue on which Council members have maintained general unity in support of UN mediation to achieve a sustainable resolution to the conflict. The Red Sea crisis, however, has produced some notable divisions, despite all members having called for an end to the Houthi attacks on shipping and being concerned about the consequences for maritime security and Yemens peace process. Algeria, China, and Russia abstained on the vote adopting resolution 2722 in January on the Red Sea crisis because of their concerns over its wording, particularly on the right of states to defend their merchant vessels, which they argue does not reflect international law. China and Russia have also criticised the US-led strikes against the Houthis on Yemeni territory, since, as they contend, exceed the mandate of the resolution, which did not authorise such attacks. Moreover, the three countries regularly highlight the need to end the war in Gaza as the best way to resolve the crisis in the Red Sea. The US has called for the Council to take further action to impede Irans supply of arms to the Houthis, including by strengthening UNVIM, which was established in 2016 through an agreement between the UN and the Yemeni government and relies on voluntary funding. Further punitive measures by the Council against the Houthis or Iran would seem unlikely, however, given Council dynamics. Traditionally, Russia seeks to streamline references to the Houthis and is reluctant to single them out in Council products. A red line for Russia has also been Council products identifying Iran as violating the arms embargo against the Houthis. The renewal of UNMHA in July proved uncontentious. No members proposed changes to the mandate, leading to swift agreement on the renewal. The UK is the penholder on Yemen. The US and Japan have served as co-penholders on the Red Sea crisis. Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (Republic of Korea) chairs the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee. Sign up for SCR emails Subscribe UN DOCUMENTS ON YEMEN All eyes at the end of the week would be on the US jobs market - geopolitics permitting. At 1230 BST, the Department of Labor was expected to announce that the pace of hiring dipped to 175,000 during the month of July. That would be down from a preliminary estimate of 206,000 for the month of June; however, revisions to previous months' figures could end up being key. Average hourly earnings meanwhile were expected to rise by 0.3%. No major economic data were due out in the UK, but at 1115 BST Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill was to deliver a speech. French and Italian industrial production data for June would be published at 0645 BST and 0800 BST, respectively. For IAG's interim results, UBS analyst Jarrod Castle believed that investors would be focusing on the carrier's outlook for summer 2024, as well as the potential for capital returns. Castle's estimates were calling for second quarter revenues of around 8.2bn, against 7.7bn one year earlier. That was expected to yield a quarterly operating profit of 1.013bn and net income of 673m. IAG had posted operating profit and net income of 1.2 and 1.0bn for the comparable year earlier period, respectively. Friday 02 August INTERIMS AIB Group (CDI), Bluebird Merchant Ventures (DI), International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI), Intertek Group INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Heavitree Brewery, Heavitree Brewery 'A' Shares, Kitwave Group, Premier Miton Group QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE British American Tobacco, CT UK High Income Trust, CT UK High Income Trust B , I3 Energy , TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Factory Orders (US) (15:00) Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30) Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30) Q2 International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) FINALS Eutelsat Communications S.A. (CDI) SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Record AGMS Bluebird Merchant Ventures (DI) TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Pets at Home Group , Virgin Money UK FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI), Burberry Group, Bytes Technology Group , Discoverie Group, GB Group, Helical, Intermediate Capital Group, JPMorgan European Discovery Trust, Norcros, Record, Tate & Lyle, Vianet Group, Vodafone Group, Workspace Group, Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares, Young & Co's Brewery (Non-Voting) photo: Douglas Kirkland Herbie Hancock is one of the major jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century, paying his dues with mentors like Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter. He came into his own as a bandleader in the 1970s, fusing funk, rock, blues, and pop music into his signature style with the Mwandishi Band and seminal fusion album Headhunters. He's perhaps best known by mainstream audiences for the song "Rockit," from his album Future Shock, which he played at the 1983 Grammy Awards. He's continued to write and perform, producing diverse albums, and winning 14 Grammy awards, including 2008 Album of the Year for River: The Joni Letters. Herbie Hancock has been a practicing Buddhist most of his adult life, and continues to be of service to young musicians as the 2014 Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University, giving six lectures on "The Ethics of Jazz." His memoir, Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, recalls the musician's childhood in Chicago as a young prodigy pianist, his interest in engineering and gadgetry, his discovery of jazz and playing for Miles Davis, his solo career (both before and after Davis), and his eventual explorations in funk jazz fusion. The book relates Hancock's Buddhist philosophy to music, human relationships and life in general. The final chapters reveal his struggles with drug addiction, particularly with crack cocaine, and his journey to sobriety. One of the themes in your book is moving forward and not getting stuck in the past. You've evolved musically each and every time by letting the past go. It takes courage to do that, too. But what's involved with that is the process of going beyond the comfort zone and exploring pasts. Because eventually, something, whatever you are doing, gets comfortable. That's when you need to break down those walls, not create new ones, because the idea is continual evolution. Continuing to learn, continuing to be open and continuing to explore. Why do you think you're that way? Why do you and, say, Miles Davis, continually evolve, be open and just let things go? I've had the great fortune that so many circumstances in my life have encouraged me to explore. For example, Miles Davis continually explored. He encouraged his musicians. He told us he paid us to practice on the bandstand, in the moment and in front of people, and not just kind of prepare something in our hotel room and then bring that to bandstand. He wanted there to be truth in the music. I mean that's really the spirit of jazz: to respond to the moment. So he was a great encouragement from his activities in music, and also from what he brought from musicians in his band. My own interest in science and innate curiosity are some of my main characteristics. That's the way I am. It pushed me in that direction. I'm an early adopter. I like tech toys. And I like trying to put things together that everybody says can't be done. Jazz was a popular musical form when you started playing. What do you think about the current state of popular music? It was fairly popular, sure, but it was more popular in the '20s and the '30s. Actually, once bebop came in with Charlie Parker, it was popular then, but it wasn't as popular as it had been. It was more of a connoisseur's music. Don't forget we were playing clubs in the '60s, but we weren't playing a lot of concerts. And then it evolved. There aren't many clubs anymore. Now, it's mostly concert work. It's changed, but I'm very hopeful because I see a lot of young people gravitating toward jazz. It wasn't taught in school when I was young. When I first started to play jazz, there was only Dick Grove's school. I don't know when it started, maybe in the late '40s or '50s. But now, a lot of colleges and universities have jazz programs. Some high schools have jazz programs. As a matter of fact, I'm chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. We have programs in elementary schools and high schools. And it's also included in American history in a lot of schools, thanks to the Monk Institute. That is one of our programs. What was the hardest thing in writing this book? The hardest thing for me was to expose the fact that I had a problem with freebasing on crack cocaine. This is the first time that you've been public about that. Right. It's the first time. As a matter of fact, I'd been really trying to suppress that. Not just forget about it, but make it go away and disappear. But that's a process of working toward denial. That's never a good thing, because things will fester; it did happen. I did experience that, I went through that. But I conquered it. And, thanks to my daughter and my wife encouraging me, I put it in the book. They said it might help some other people. That's when a light bulb went on, and I realized, I'm a Buddhist, and what we always talk about is that we practice for ourselves and we practice for others. We try to encourage other people. We have this phrase we use: "turning poison into medicine." Here's a way I can turn do that. I can transform what I went through as a struggle into a victory that I can share with other people. Perhaps I can help someone in some way. How does that process of coming out and being public about something you struggled with affect your life? It emphasizes the fact that I'm a human being. Although people may look at my life thinking I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I wasn't. Throughout the book, you can see that I wasn't. I mean I had great things, I had really encouraging parents, which is something that a lot of people don't have. That's great for your foundation of your life. My parents were always encouraging, even though we didn't have a lot of money. I believe as a Buddhist that the whole point of life is you have the capacity for writing your own story, and not just have it written for you by external circumstances. Or by things that happened to you in the past. We all have struggles and obstacles we have to face from time to time. If we didn't have those struggles and obstacles, our lives would be really boring. There would be no victories. No way to learn. We can turn those struggles into benefits for ourselves, and for others by using them as tools for our own forward motion and our own evolution. That will make them important. That will turn them from darkness into enlightenment. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor Amy Neff (photo: Sylvie Rosokoff) Amy Neff's debut novel is The Days I Loved You Most (Park Row), a stunning love story and immersive family drama set in a New England beach town. Neff lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and their rescue dog. Joseph and Evelyn are genuine, fully developed characters, their marriage a remarkable example of lifelong devotion. Were they inspired by real people? That means so much to hear, thank you. Joseph and Evelyn are completely works of fiction; their story is not my family story, although their setting is inspired by my family place. That said, I was lucky to have great examples growing up which have informed my definition of love. My grandparents had a beautiful marriage for over 50 years, until we lost my grandfather swiftly and unexpectedly to cancer. The years my grandmother lived without him always struck me as bittersweet, seeing grandchildren marry and snuggling great grandchildren, but not being able to share those happy moments with the one she loved most. Jane refers to her parents' relationship as "impenetrable, a united front to a fault." What is the cost of this exceptional, almost exclusionary, marital bond for the rest of the family? Their great love affects each of their three children in different ways. Jane, their oldest, is disillusioned by a damaging relationship in her past, and bristles against the idea that you need another person to be complete. Thomas is extremely private and guards his emotions, prioritizing his career over his marriage. Violet, their youngest, idealizes her parent's relationship as a fairy-tale romance, and the reality of her own marriage always pales in comparison. Their children have always understood that if forced to choose, their parents would choose each other, and that devotion turns into the catalyst for Joseph and Evelyn's unthinkable decision. Stonybrook is a fictionalized version of the New England beach town where your family summered. Which aspects of your own experiences did you incorporate into the book? I wanted to explore all that comes with committing not only to another person, but to a place. I grew up spending summers on a shared lot with my extended family. The two cottages were revolving doors of cousins, aunts and uncles, and my summers were filled with sun-soaked beach days and big family dinners with people shouting over each other to be heard. It was the most beautiful chaos and an idyllic childhood. It is a very special place to me, and the sense of calm and belonging I feel along the shore imprinted on me so deeply I wanted to capture those feelings within the pages of this book. At its core, The Days I Loved You Most is a captivating love story with Joseph and Evelyn as the primary narrators, but it also includes the perspectives of their three adult children. What made you decide to add Jane, Thomas, and Violet? When I set out to write this novel, it was important to me that it remained first and foremost a love story. Originally, and for many drafts, the only two points of view were Joseph's and Evelyn's. An editor I worked with along the way made the case for hearing from their children, because as much as it is a love story, it is also a family story, and the decisions made between them don't exist in a vacuum. I loved writing those three chapters because they give crucial context and alternate perspectives to explore. I had spent so much time with the family that their voices came easily, as though they had been banging on the door, relieved to finally be let out. I'm so glad they got to speak for themselves. You mention that The Days I Loved You Most has been a lesson in novel writing. May I ask you to expand on that and share insight into the challenges of breaking into the publishing industry as a debut writer? I have always been an avid reader, so I had a sense of what worked, and had been writing all my life. But I embarked on this journey blissfully naive, for the fun and challenge of it, and followed where it led. I learned a lot about structure and pacing as I went, but I think some of the magic for me was the not knowing. I wasn't trying to hit certain beats, or follow a formula. These things can be incredibly helpful, and certainly is more efficient. But the meandering was all discovery and play. When I took the novel as far as I could on my own, I worked with editors that brought out different elements, and I learned so much from each draft. Breaking into the industry was much harder. It took me five years of querying this book to get a literary agent. Each batch of rejections, I revised again. I dug in deeper, uncovering layers to the characters, their motivations and fears, and the book was better for every year spent working on it. How would you describe your creative process? I am very disciplined. I like yellow legal pads and notecards and carving out overly ambitious schedules. To revise, I'd break down the weeks or months it would take, and then divide the number of chapters based on that timeframe. For the better half of my writing journey, I was pregnant and/or raising babies and toddlers full time. I don't write every day. It's not possible for this phase of life, at least for me. But I made time where I could, in early mornings, late nights, during the short-lived era of naptime, and in the rare stretches I could steal away thanks to sitters and grandparents. I took my self-imposed writing schedule seriously, long before there was anyone else holding me accountable. I found a way to move forward, even if I only had minutes. And there were stretches when I didn't touch the book at all. There are chapters that I wrote in one sitting, and ones that have been reworked and threaded throughout, and many scenes that were written and cut completely. I wrote far more than what ended up in the final version, and that helped me understand my characters on a far deeper level. Do you have advice for fledgling authors launching their writing life while navigating the demands of raising a family? Be patient with yourself. There is such an emphasis on getting published quickly, and getting your book out there fast. Don't buy into this. My journey was 10 years long. I started querying before I had children, and my children are now three and nearly five. It's not a race, and it's okay if it takes longer than you expect. My book is better for the years spent in revisions. Outsource what you can, ask for help. Take your writing seriously. Carve out time, but remember this season with your family is precious and fleeting, too. It's okay to not write every day. Stick with whatever you can commit to. The only one who can write your book is you, but give yourself grace when inevitably someone throws up, or your perfect flow is interrupted by someone needing to be wiped. As long as you keep going, you'll get there. --Shahina Piyarali Epsilon Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., a prominent entity in the aircraft cabin interior and refurbishment sector, has announced a strategic partnership with 4Repair, a leading European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 145 certified organization. This collaboration underscores Epsilon Aerospace's dedication to enhancing maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) services within India's aerospace infrastructure. By integrating advanced capabilities and nurturing local expertise, the partnership aims to establish a state-of-the-art facility for the maintenance and repair of aircraft composite parts in India, as formalized through a recently signed MoU between the two companies. The facility is designed to support aircraft operators by offering local repair services for complex composite and structural parts, including control surfaces, flaps, and radomes. This initiative aligns with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, aiming to enhance indigenous capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas maintenance services. India has emerged as the third-largest domestic aviation market globally. The size of India's aviation market is to grow to USD 26.08 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.08% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030. India also plays an important role in the military aircraft market due to its acquisition of new aircraft and indigenous development of military aviation technologies. The Indian government's allocation of resources towards enhancing aviation infrastructure and capabilities is expected to fuel the MRO sector. The global MRO market, driven by growth in fleet size, is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5%, reaching USD 126.6 billion by 2032, according to a recent KPMG report. In contrast, the Indian MRO industry, currently in its early stages, had an estimated market size of USD 1.2 billion in 2022, representing 1 to 1.2% of the global market. However, India has significant potential to harness domestic aircraft fleet growth and its engineering capabilities to emerge as a market leader in the MRO industry, aiming to meet 90% of local demand by 2047. This collaboration demonstrates the commitment of both companies to achieving operational excellence in India's MRO sector. It aims to create job opportunities, enhance skill development, and contribute to economic growth and sustainability goals. The state-of-the-art facility will efficiently meet the increasing demand for maintenance services in India, ensuring that regional airlines benefit from timely and high-quality repairs of critical aircraft components. Naveen Chawla CEO Epsilon Aerospace, said, "The collaboration will pave the way for pioneering solutions, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and global best practices to elevate India as a preferred destination for aerospace MRO services in the Asia-Pacific region". In a significant step towards developing Indigenous state-of-the-art next-generation telecommunications technology, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi (IIT Mandi) has signed an agreement with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India for the development of 'Cell-Free 6G Access Points'. The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, which has been designed for providing funding support to domestic companies, Indian startups, academia and R&D institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions. This scheme aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services, playing a significant role in bridging the digital divide across India. Traditional mobile networks use cellular topologies in which each cell is serviced by a single base station like 4G/5G to service mobile customers. Cell-Free Massive MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) eliminates the idea of cells and cell boundaries by deploying several access points (APs) across a vast region to serve many user devices at the same time. A large number of APs are dedicated to each user within their coverage area, meaning a single user may be supported by many APs. This ensures ubiquitous connectivity to the users, eliminates dead zones, enhances signal strength, and significantly boosts data speeds, offering an exceptional user experience even in densely populated areas. This 6G project will focus on developing APs for enabling the upcoming 6G radio access networks and also aims to contribute to the 6G standardization activity, drive commercialization, generate intellectual property rights (IPRs), and develop a skilled workforce to support the emerging 6G landscape. The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by the CEO, C-DOT - Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, the principal investigator - Dr Abhay Kumar Sah from IIT Roorkee, the co-investigator - Dr Adarsh Patel from IIT Mandi along with the Director of C-DOT - Dr Pankaj Kumar Dalela. At the event, Dr Sah and Dr Patel affirmed their dedication to advancing next-generation communication technologies, aligning with the Prime Minister's Bharat 6G Vision. They expressed their gratitude to DOT and C-DOT for the opportunity to collaborate on this research, emphasizing that it bolsters efforts to enhance cutting-edge research capabilities and infrastructure in the telecom sector. Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT underscored the key role of indigenously designed & developed technologies in meeting the specific requirements of communication for our diverse country, reaffirming the commitment towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. He also said this will help us generating IPRs in 6G domain and emerging technologies in the area of 6G. Prof. K.K. Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee, remarked, " This partnership with C-DOT marks a pivotal step in our commitment to indigenous development of state-of-the-art telecommunications technologies. IIT Roorkee is proud to lead this initiative, which aligns perfectly with our mission to foster innovation and excellence in research. This collaboration significantly contributes to India's 6G vision and reinforces our position as a leader in technological advancements. Representatives from C-DOT, IIT Roorkee, and IIT Mandi expressed their enthusiasm and commitment to this collaborative endeavor, underscoring their dedication to developing and shaping India's 6G vision. Looks like you typed in the wrong url. To visit the SiliconIndia Home page click here To view the SiliconIndia blogs page click here What is SiliconIndia? SiliconIndia is one of the largest content and community networks for Indian professionals, entrepreneurs and students worldwide. Since 1997, we have inspired successes for Indian professionals through our thought provoking SiliconIndia career events and magazines. Now, through the addition of the online professional network, we combine the power of news, magazine and events, with an online network that can exclusively help you develop deep professional and social relationships with the SiliconIndia member community. Some of the member benefits are: Your own trusted network, discussion groups, Messages and the Lounge to interact with and expand your professional and social network. Write on what you are passionate about and publish to the entire internet using our professional Blogs. Special web seminars and career events on topics of interest exclusive to SiliconIndia network members. Oportunities to get personalized one on one advice from experienced professionals for career growth, entrepreneurship and higher education through our unique mentorship program. Mentors are invited from within the SiliconIndia network. The opportunity to contribute to our leading magazine, online news and events, to help enhance your professional profile in the growing SiliconIndia community. TVS Mobility, the holding company for businesses managed by the T S Rajam family members, has today announced that it has signed an MoU with Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), a globally integrated business enterprise with a network of around 1,700 group companies, to launch TVS Mobility Mitsubishi Employee Exchange Program (TMMEEP). To start this agreement, MC Japan and/or its partners will host employees from TVS Mobility, offering skill development and training in Automotive and Mobility sector covering, inspection in auctions, service mechanics, etc. On the other hand, TVS Mobility India will host employees from MC providing them insights in the digital deployment in Aftermarket business and supporting the growth of the Independent Aftermarket. Employees under 45 years of age with over 3 years of service with TVS Mobility Group and Mitsubishi Corporation are eligible for this exchange program. This exchange program, a first-of-its-kind initiative, is designed to foster mutual growth and innovation, facilitate seamless cross-learning, enhancing skills, domain knowledge and sharing business management expertise besides training the next generation of leaders within the two organisations. Commenting on this initiative, Mr. R. Dinesh, Director, TVS Mobility group said, We are excited to embark on this journey with Mitsubishi Corporation as there is a huge scope to address skill gaps and share best practices between the two organisations. Further, this platform will enable us to leverage our synergies and identify mutually beneficial projects and initiatives, which could be explored through this two-way cooperation. I am sure this program, through cross learning, will propel both companies to achieve greater heights and collaborative success. Commenting on this initiative, Mr.Wakabayashi, Executive Vice President & Mobility Group CEO, Mitsubishi Corporation said "We are pleased to expand mobility business in the Indian market together with the TVS Mobility Group, who has a long history, a proven track record and is trusted by customers. Since we began collaborating with TVS Mobility in 2018 on the TASL/Ki (Automotive spare parts distribution and after-sales service) business, we have strengthened, expanded and deepened our relationship including our recent announcement to join hands with TVS VMS for multibrand dealership business.. With this mutual personnel exchange program, we hope that employees of both companies will not only acquire skills, know-how and expertise, but also gain a deeper understanding of each other's cultures, and contribute to the development of both companies and the development of Japan-India relations over the long term". An Upstate New York-based insurance company appears to be going out of business as it urges customers to find a new carrier. We regret to inform our agents and policyholders that our financial position has continued to deteriorate, Adirondack Insurance Exchange said on its website. We urge all current customers to begin working with their independent agent to secure new coverage with a rated carrier, immediately. A letter was also sent to customers earlier this month, telling them to find new insurance coverage as it begins a transition plan for existing policies. According to the Times-Union, the Buffalo-based company is withdrawing from the New York market entirely the only state where it operates. Its unclear how many customers will be affected, but Adirondack Insurance Exchange had an estimated 7,000 home and auto insurance customers in the Capital Region alone. The news comes weeks after Demotech, Inc., a provider of financial stability ratings of property-casualty insurance companies, said it withdrew its financial stability rating for AIE. Industry experts told the Times-Union that Adirondack Insurance Exchanges troubles likely began with rates that were too low to keep covering claims and maintain required reserves. AIE also faced competition from better-insulated firms... with rising rates on the reinsurance markets, or the backup insurance that all insurance carriers buy from large international firms. According to the Albany newspaper, AIE customers will still have protection under the states Property Casualty Insurance Security Fund, which provides up to $1 million in coverage when an insurance company becomes insolvent. Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Adirondack Insurance Exchange is a subsidiary of Allstate. AIE is a member-owned reciprocal exchange managed by National General, a subsidiary of Allstate. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A 50-year-old Staten Island man charged in a shooting earlier this year that prompted an emergency response in the boroughs North Shore will do prison time. Troy Hairston, of Netherland Avenue in Mariners Harbor, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the March 16 incident, which played out on a residential block in his neighborhood. Deborah Uraga has been visiting the Monmouth County grave of her father, George S. Jonas Sr., on his birthday and on Fathers Day every year since he died at age 78 on May 16, 1993. But two days after Fathers Day this year, Uraga discovered a disturbing and devastating truth. The funeral home kept Jonass remains in their basement for 31 years instead of burying them, according to a lawsuit filed July 3. After three decades of visiting what she thought was her late fathers cremains, the plaintiff was finally provided with decedents cremains on June 19, states a suit filed in Superior Court of Union County. Uraga, 69, of Garwood, says the discovery that her father had not been buried has caused her severe emotional distress and mental anguish. She has been denied her right to grieve the death of her late father for over 31 years and is now forced to relive the loss of her beloved father, the lawsuit states. The suit claims the John F. Pfleger Funeral Home, Mount Olivet Cemetery, and St. James R.C. Church, all of Monmouth County, misrepresented that Jonas remains were interred in the family plot, along with his wife, son and a daughter. Representatives of the funeral home and church did not immediately respond on Thursday to NJ Advance Medias requests for comment on the lawsuit. George S. Jonas died on May 16, 1993.ABC-7 ABC7ny.com, which first reported the story, obtained a statement from the funeral home saying the arrangements had been handled properly, but files were missing that could provide details on why the interment was not carried out. Simply stated, the visitation was provided, the cremation occurred, and we have been in custody of Mr. Jonas cremated remains up until they were turned over to the family at their request, the funeral home said, according to ABCny.com. All attempts by our funeral home to seek final disposition instructions from the Jonas family next of kin remained unanswered until we attempted to provide an honorable burial of this mans cremated remains in our states veteran cemetery, the statement said. Ed Cardoza, superintendent of Mount Olivet Cemetery, told NJ Advance Media his records show that no service or burial was ever scheduled for George S. Jonas and that his name does not appear on the grave stone. I dont know why were getting sued, Cardoza said. Nobodys ever scheduled a funeral for this person. Like the funeral home, Cardoza said attempts were made in 1993 to contact the family, but there was no response. According to the lawsuit, Uraga received a Facebook message on June 18 from a U.S. Air Force veteran trying to provide full military burials for other vets whose remains have been unclaimed. The message read: If your dad was George S. Jonas and died on 5/16/1993 in Middletown, Vietnam Veterans of America is trying to locate family for permission to inter his unclaimed remains at BG William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery with full military honors. Uraga told ABC7ny.com the revelation that her father had not been interred in the family plot left her shocked and in disbelief. He (the veteran) said they were sitting in the basement of the funeral parlor. Hes just sitting there for 31 years, Uraga told the news station. Uraga took possession of her fathers cremains and filed the lawsuit, which seeks monetary damages for negligence, mishandling of human remains, and severe emotional distress. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Fun-On-Us in Dongan Hills was recently filled with energetic children, laughter and an unwavering sense of community. What may have seemed like an ordinary get-together was actually an event for over 50 Ukrainian refugees, organized by Natalia Travilina, the founder of the TraNa Relief Association. We are meeting amazing Ukrainian families with their kids...we would love to unite them together, Travilina said. We are so happy to embrace them. We are enriching their lives because they escaped the war. Many people lost everything. And, here in America, they begin a new life from scratch. Its not easy, its a different country, different culture everything is new and people dont know each other. The TraNa Relief Association is a nonprofit organization that helps Ukrainian refugees build their lives in the United States. By providing valuable resources and information to newly-arrived individuals, TraNa which stands for Temporary Relief Assistance by National Association aims to make the international transition as smooth as possible. On Thursday, July 25, 2024, over 50 Ukrainian refugees gathered at Fun-On-Us in Dongan Hills for a community-building event hosted by the TraNa Relief Association. (Staten Island Advance/Sonya Gugliara)Sonya Gugliara They are great people, many people have been telling me very difficult stories, how they had to stay in the basement, where the bombing was. They had to stay weeks, sometimes no food, no light, nothing. Travilina continued. They are real people escaping the war, and I am glad that we can help them here and provide them with anything they need. According to Travilina, during the first month of the war in 2022, the organization helped over 25,000 Ukrainians flee the country and safely arrive in America through government programs. Since then, TraNa Relief Association has helped thousands more individuals. Although the day was centered around teenagers who are getting acclimated to America, people of all ages attended and mingled at the event. On Thursday, July 25, 2024, over 50 Ukrainian refugees gathered at Fun-On-Us in Dongan Hills for a community-building event hosted by the TraNa Relief Association. (Staten Island Advance/Sonya Gugliara)Sonya Gugliara Were hosting a teen night. I just feel like theres always something going on for two, three, four-year-olds, but theres nothing for older kids, Nicole Frantser, the owner of Fun-On-Us, said. Im always for Ukraine, so if there is any way I can help out. Guests were given a meal and a $20 gift card to a local grocery store. At the event, TraNa discussed resources for Ukrainian refugees to utilize, specifically about work authorization. Attendees enjoyed the gathering and felt it was a great way to support their community. Valyeriya Sobolevska, a 13-year-old Staten Islander who came to from Ukraine in 2022, discussed how she felt at the event. From left to right, Berana Duka, Marko Kepi, Natalia Travilina, Solomiya Momot and Lily Zaffaranloo on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Over 50 Ukrainian refugees gathered at Fun-On-Us in Dongan Hills for a community-building event hosted by the TraNa Relief Association. (Staten Island Advance/Sonya Gugliara)Sonya Gugliara Yeah, its pretty fun and you get to know a lot of people and new friends, Sobolevska said. She discussed her transition from Ukraine to the United States, explaining that although it was a challenging change, she is thriving in her new environment. It may be difficult, but its fine. I have a lot of friends here and I found company that I like, and a place that I can be myself, Sobolevska said with a smile. Alleysa and her husband Vasili, a veteran of the Ukrainian military, were also at the event. Alleysa said it was her first time gathering with the Ukrainian community since arriving on Staten Island just a few weeks ago. I like it, its a beautiful area, Alleysa said about living in the borough. Another attendee, 44-year-old Svitlana Ponomarova, opened up about her experiences since coming to America. After she arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2023, she came to Staten Island and is now studying accounting at the Manhattan School of Digital Technology in Brooklyn. Today was so fun, there were many people around. Its a good community, Ponomarova said. Travilina explained that TraNa Relief Association goes above and beyond to support Ukrainian Refugees. People can contact volunteers at any time of day and can reach out with all of their concerns. Volunteers help refugees overcome obstacles, from providing rides home from the airport to finding refugees sponsors for their green cards. On Thursday, July 25, 2024, over 50 Ukrainian refugees gathered at Fun-On-Us in Dongan Hills for a community-building event hosted by the TraNa Relief Association. (Staten Island Advance/Sonya Gugliara)Sonya Gugliara Several politicians and representatives from their offices came to show their support for Ukrainian refugees and the TraNa Relief Associations mission, including Republican candidate for New York State Senate Marko Kepi; Lily Zafaranloo, Director of Community Affairs at U.S. House of Representatives and Director of Operations at Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis office; and Solomiya Momot from Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spantons office. Were happy to be here, happy to support, Momot said. This is great, especially for the teens because I know they have a lot of these events for adults, but for teen networking, this is a great initiative. I applaud this organization for helping them find jobs, find homes and not depending on the state the whole time. Its a really great thing that theyre helping each other and also reaching out to open up more channels, more gates for them to find easier and faster ways to help them, Kepi said. For more information about TraNa or to donate, call (929) 800-0052 or email TraNaRelief@gmail.com. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton recently visited with some Staten Islanders who are in the business of improving NYCs streets. On July 17, City Asphalt -- a Staten Island company that supplies asphalt for the boroughs roads -- hosted Scarcella-Spanton and gave a behind-the-scenes tour to a select group from Northfield Bank, various construction companies and the Senators office. City Asphalt opened a state-of-the-art asphalt plant on South Avenue in April 2020, giving Staten Island contractors the convenience of sourcing their asphalt locally rather than traveling to New Jersey or Queens. The company has been meeting much of Staten Islands asphalt needs, including the North Shore area that Scarcella-Spanton represents and resides in, and where Northfield Bank has been established since 1887. Left to right: Erik Larsen, Senior Vice President of Northfield Bank of the NJ East Region; Regina Boukhvalova, Senior Vice President of the Business Development Office; Mike DiRenzo of City Asphalt; Gus Pinho of City Asphalt; Evarett Cruz, CEO of JRCRUZ Corporation; Danny Lefkowitz, owner of Ace Mohawk Consulting; State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton; Matheew Cruz of City Asphalt; Robin Lefkowitz, Executive Vice President, Director of Business Development and Branch Administration for Northfield Bank; and Steve Klein, President and CEO at Northfield Bank.(Courtesy of City Asphalt)City Asphalt It was wonderful to tour City Asphalt to see the impact of the work they do firsthand, Scarcella-Spanton said. Our roads keep Staten Islanders moving. Maintenance of our boroughs infrastructure is of utmost importance. I am glad that we have a local supplier of asphalt right in our backyard as we continue to invest in the future of our roadways. She added that it was fascinating to see the process and learn about their efforts in sustainability. State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton tours City Asphalt. (Courtesy of City Asphalt)City Asphalt Having a borough-based plant saves contractors time and money by eliminating long drives and expensive tolls. It also ensures the asphalt is able to be poured while its still hot, making it more durable and less likely to crack. Having to come back from New Jersey or Queens, the asphalt would get cold. That was one of the reasons Staten Islands roads were in poor condition, because when you pave with cold material, it doesnt hold up as well as when you pave with hot material, Matt Cruz, general manager of City Asphalt, told the Staten Island Advance in 2020. City Asphalt provided an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour for a select group from Northfield Bank, along with State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton. (Courtesy of City Asphalt)City Asphalt The plant uses Gencor Industries latest technology to produce up to 400 tons of asphalt per hour and store up to 1,800 tons at once. In a 2023 article on the Green Initiatives impact on the asphalt industry, Cruz highlights how the sector is adapting to environmental concerns. The Green Initiative encourages the use of recycled materials, warm-mix asphalt (WMA) technology, and porous asphalt to cut carbon footprints and energy consumption. By adopting these practices, the industry is advancing toward greater sustainability and reducing its environmental impact. Vice President Kamala Harris is trying for a promotion that isnt all that easy to get. While being vice president might seem like a pretty good stepping stone to the Oval Office, just 15 of the 49 veeps in American history have become president. And most of those assumed the higher office upon the death of their boss, the president. Another number have been elected president in their own right, either immediately following their terms as vice president or later. And one man who served as both president and vice president had the most unique path to power in American history. With Harris looking to become the 16th vice president to also serve as president, heres a look at the others, one of which should be very familiar to Harris. The electeds Six presidents have been elected in their own right after serving as vice president: John Adams President John Adams.Advance file photo Served as George Washingtons vice president for two terms before being elected president in 1796, the first veep to ascend to the presidency. He served one term. Thomas Jefferson President Thomas Jefferson.Advance file photo Was vice president under Adams before being elected president in 1800, when he tied for electoral votes with Aaron Burr and the election was decided in the House of Representatives. Martin Van Buren President Martin Van Buren.Advance file photo Old Kinderhook served as vice president under Andrew Jackson, was elected president in 1836 and served one term. He made unsuccessful White House bids in 1844 and 1848, getting 10% of the vote as the Free Soil Party candidate in 1848. Richard Nixon President Richard Nixon. AP Served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower beginning in 1953 and then lost the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy. But Nixon bounced back, winning the White House in 1968 and again, in a landslide, in 1972. He resigned amid the Watergate scandal. George H.W. Bush President George H.W. BushLC- Served two terms under Ronald Reagan starting in 1981 and won the presidency immediately following in 1988, but lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton. Joe Biden President Joe Biden walks on stage before speaking in Las Vegas, July 16, 2024.(AP Photo/David Becker, File)AP Was Barack Obamas ultra-loyal vice president for eight years, but Obama in 2016 backed Hillary Clinton for president. Biden won the White House in 2020, his third try for the brass ring. He pulled out of the 2024 race earlier this month and backed Harris. The successors Eight vice presidents have assumed the presidency upon the death of the president: John Tyler President John Tyler.Advance file photo Took over the Oval Office in 1841 after William Henry Harrison died after just a month in office, the shortest presidential term in history. Tyler served one term. Millard Fillmore President Millard Fillmore.Advance file photo Became the 13th president of the United States upon the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850. He did not win nomination for a term of his own. Andrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson.Advance file photo Assumed the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Johnson served until 1869. Chester A. Arthur President Chester A. Arthur.Advance file photo Became the second vice president to ascend to the Oval Office following the assassination of the president, in this case, James Garfield, in 1881. Arthur served until 1885. Teddy Roosevelt President Theodore Roosevelt.Advance file photo Became president following the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. Won a term in his own right in 1904. Did not seek re-election in 1908, but tried a comeback in 1912, which was unsuccessful. Calvin Coolidge President Calvin Coolidge.Advance file photo Silent Cal became president in 1923 upon the death of Warren Harding. Coolidge was famously sworn in by his own father, a justice of the peace and notary public, in the middle of the night in the family home in Vermont, where Coolidge had been vacationing. Harry S. Truman President Harry S. Truman.Advance file photo Truman, the last of Franklin Roosevelts vice presidents, assumed the presidency when after FDR died in 1945. Truman won a term in his own right in the upset, Dewey Defeats Truman election of 1948. Lyndon Johnson President Lyndon Johnson.Advance file photo Became president following Kennedys assassination in 1963. Was elected in his own right in a landslide in 1964 but bowed out of the 1968 race after a worse-than-expected showing in the New Hampshire primary. The unicorn Only one man in American history has served as vice president and as president without ever being elected to either office by voters: Gerald Ford. President Gerald Ford.Trenton Times photo Ford became vice president under Nixon in 1973 after veep Spiro Agnew resigned amid scandal. Ford then ascended to the presidency in 1974 when Nixon resigned because of Watergate. Ford lost his own election bid to Jimmy Carter in 1976. The also-rans Some vice presidents have run for president and lost, the most recent including Hubert Humphrey in 1968; Walter Mondale in 1984, and Al Gore in 2000. A GOP strategist said former President Donald Trump did crap the bed when he mocked Vice President Kamala Harris racial identity on Wednesday. He did crap the bed, Republican strategist Scott Jennings said on CNN. The only question is whether hes going to roll around in it or get up and change the sheets. Taking questions at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, Trump said of Harris, I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris is the first female vice president in American history and the first vice president of color. She is in line to become the first woman of color to be nominated by a major party for president. Harris father is Jamaican and her mother is Indian, and the vice president has identified as Black and South Asian throughout her career, according to The Hill. Trump later posted a 2019 video of Harris cooking with Indian American comedian Mindy Kaling. Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity! he wrote in the post. Trumps running mate, JD Vance, called Trumps NABJ remarks and the reaction to them hysterical, The Hill said. Vances wife is Indian American. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris, Vance told reporters on his campaign plane Wednesday night, The Hill said. Shes flip-flopped on every issue. Shes fake. Shes phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The race for the White House is heating up, with a new poll showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in various key states that could decide the election. A recent Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll, which included responses from 4,973 registered voters between July 24-28 in seven battleground states, shows Harris leading Trump in four out of seven states, with Trump leading two and a tie in the final one. The poll shows Harris leading Trump in Arizona (49%-47%), Michigan (53% - 42%), Nevada (47%-45%) and Wisconsin (49%-47%). Trump leads Harris in North Carolina (48%-46%) and Pennsylvania (50%-46%), with the two tied in Georgia (47%-47%). On average, across the seven swing states, Harris currently leads Trump 48% to 47%, though all figures are within the polls margin of error for the individual states, meaning the race is viewed statistically as a dead heat. Even after expanding the polling to include additional candidates, Harris maintained a one-point lead on Trump (45%-44%), with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. polling third at 5%. In the last poll conducted by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, former President Trump led in battleground states by two points. The three-point swing has been driven by Harris surging popularity among young, Black and Hispanic voters, a group Biden had struggled to connect with, according to recent polls. Polling aggregation site, RealClearPolling.com, shows Harris making positive strides since Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, with the vice president leading Trump in three of the last four conducted polls. No shot. Thats what Gov. Kathy Hochul thinks of former President Donald Trumps chances of winning New York state in this years presidential election, according to amNewYork. No Republican has won New York in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan did it in 1980 and 1984. Hochul was responding to upstate GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally, who during the Republican National Convention said that Trump would be the first Republican in a generation to win the Empire State. During an interview with CNNs Kate Bolduan, Hochul said that the chances of a Trump victory in New York were zero, zero, zero. She said that she was confident that Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, would keep New York in the blue column this fall. Donald Trump will not win New York state, Hochul said. Kamala Harris and her running mate will win New York state. Polls last month had showed Trump trailing by just 8 points in New York, before President Joe Biden pulled out of the race. Trump lost the state to Biden by 23.1 points four years ago and lost to Hillary Clinton here by 22.5 points in 2016. Said Hochul, And something else thats going to happen in New York state we are going to win back the House of Representatives. There are a number of New York House seats that the Dems hope to flip into their column, which could help the national party regain control of the House. Hochul said shed been raising money for the state Democratic organization and opening campaign headquarters in rural communities. The battleground for the House of Representatives goes from Long Island up to the rural parts of the Hudson Valley, she said. You knew it had to happen. Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris this season as Saturday Night Live takes on Election 2024, Deadline reported. The iconic NBC show marks its 50th anniversary season this year. Fans have been clamoring for Rudolphs return to SNL ever since Harris stepped in as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race last month. Pre-production on Season 3 of Rudolphs Loot comedy series on Apple TV+ has been postponed, with cast and crew being told it was for scheduling reasons. Reps for Rudolph and Saturday Night Live did not return media calls for comment. CNN reported that Harris herself likes Rudolphs impression of her. I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, she toldSeth Meyers in a 2019 interview. The thought that anyone would be in any way depicting me on Saturday Night Live was just I was a bit overwhelmed. I will tell you that I fully intend to make sure she (Rudolph) has a full eight years of work on SNL, Harris joked at the time. No word yet on who will play former President Donald Trump in the upcoming season of SNL. James Austin Johnson portrayed the Republican most recently on the show. The new season of SNL will premiere on Sept. 28. Harris presence in the race has also been a boon for the HBO Max show Veep, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. That show has seen a surge in viewership ever since Harris was tapped as Bidens White House successor. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has blamed Regional Express (Rex) expansion into capital city services as the reason behind its fall into administration, as pressure on the government to help fund its regional services intensifies. Albanese said the regional connectivity Rex provides must continue, but its decision to fly on the Golden Triangle between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne had been misguided. His comments have ramped up the blame game between political parties, aviation experts and industry leaders as to why two Australian airlines have hit financial woes in less than three months. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has blamed Rexs business strategy for its failure, while former competition tsar Rod Sims points to years of policy failures. Credit: Andrew Taylor It is a tough industry, aviation, Albanese told reporters on Thursday. There are a range of issues relating to Rex. One is that a regional airline made decisions to invest in routes that they hadnt previously gone in. High above Antarctica, a polar vortex swirls. When its in robust shape, its icy winds swirl in a circular pattern, keeping a ring of freezing weather contained above the frozen continent. This year, something else is happening. As warmer than average air temperatures have been recorded above Antarctica, the polar vortex has weakened, causing it to lose stability. As its circular pattern slackens, its edges have pushed into southern Australia, creating icy conditions and freezing winds. On Tuesday, Sydney shivered through an apparent temperature of 0.6 degrees, despite recording 7.6 degrees at 7.30am. In Melbourne on Thursday, the temperature plummeted to minus 1 at Avalon Airport at 7.40am. Advertisement Eating outJust open This friendly wine bar is winning over Glen Iris with $20 pastas and chicken-salt spicy margs With no hospo experience, only a passion for good food, wine and service, two couples have transformed their local wine bar into Central Park Cellars. Tomas Telegramma and Dani Valent August 1, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share As featured in the September 2024 hit list. See all stories . More openings you need to know about An old Elwood milk bar has been reborn as Dickens Street Grocer City favourite Miznon opens a suburban spin-off (with new dishes) opens a suburban spin-off (with new dishes) Cosy Italian Lulu is bringing all things carby and cheesy to Malvern When Glen Iris wine bar Tom Pockett Cellars closed, a quartet of regulars rallied to buy it. Despite having no hospo experience, they turned it into Central Park Cellars. Since the bars reboot late last year, the long-time local couples behind it Michael and Paula Stephenson, and Fiona Doyle and Craig Buffham have been working to incrementally zhoosh up the experience, while keeping it familiar for fellow regulars. Central Park Cellars in Glen Iris is evolving into a local destination. We didnt want to throw it on its head, says Michael. A lot of people loved it as it was. Advertisement The industrial Burke Road space is now brighter, with more comfy seating inside and out. And bringing on Sardinian-born chef Andrea Serreli (ex-Tipico) gave the menu an Italian edge: think charred octopus with nduja romesco and handmade gnocchi with slow-cooked duck ragu. Plus, $20 pasta or risotto deals on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Quality, reasonably priced wines are aplenty, but theyre shaking more cocktails than expected. The Salted Hen is Central Park Cellars take on the spicy marg. People loved the chicken salt on our chips so much we added it to the rim of a cocktail, says Fiona. The Salted Hen is a spicy marg with house-made jalapeno syrup. Open Wed 3pm-late; Thu-Sat noon-late; Sun noon-9pm Advertisement 155 Burke Road, Glen Iris, centralparkcellars.com.au Tomas Telegramma A southside milk bar is reimagined, complete with speedy coffee thats a rarity in these parts An old Elwood milk bar has been reborn as Dickens Street Grocer, a smart food store with outdoor seating for pastries, coffee and sandwiches. Its a perfect location, a thoroughfare between St Kilda Botanical Gardens and the beach, says owner Nicholas Totos. Advertisement Dickens Street Grocer has transformed an old milk bar a few streets from the beach. Supplied Fresh produce, dry goods and a well-stocked fridge mean locals can swing by for gourmet basics, upmarket treats, bunches of flowers and ready meals. There was instant interest from residents, who are already coming by in droves, often with their dogs. Oat lattes seem to be the brew of choice around here, says Totos. And the first change we made was to install hooks for dogs - everyone seems to have one or two. The liquor licence process is underway; as the weather warms up, one window may become a panini and smoothie hatch; and there are plans to go all-out with window decorations for Halloween and Christmas. Dickens Street Grocer in Elwood combines cafe and convenient corner store in one. Supplied Advertisement Totos family owns Ambient Food Group, which includes a wholesale bakery (its bread stocks the shelves here), South Melbourne Markets Emerald Deli and a number of cafes in city buildings. The team is used to serving office workers who want a speedy flat white. I noticed when we were looking around [this] area that I sometimes waited a long time for a coffee. We could be doing the quickest coffee in Elwood, says Totos. Open daily 7am-4pm 48 Dickens Street, Elwood, instagram.com/dickensstreetgrocer Dani Valent Advertisement Miznons cult cauliflower is now available at a second location Hardware Lane pita palace Miznon is bringing its Israeli street food to a sun-drenched corner on Derby Street, Collingwood. Its the second Melbourne location for the brand, started by Israeli chef Eyal Shani. Born in Tel Aviv in 2011, Miznon then expanded to Paris, Vienna, New York City and, in 2017, to Melbourne. Miznons second location in Collingwood. Simon Schluter With more of a neighbourhood feel than its CBD counterpart, Miznon Collingwood has a red-brick facade and huge windows all around that open up to the street. Advertisement The menu is mostly familiar because it wouldnt be Miznon without the golden-crusted baby cauliflower, roasted whole, and the abu kamal (like a lamb kebab in a pita, says venue manager Nicole Guzman), a long-time bestseller among meat-eaters. But there are a few new dishes youll only find here. Collingwoods reputation precedes it, says head chef Afik Gal, so weve added some more vegetarian and vegan options. One is a sabich featuring oven-baked eggplant, either in a pita or on a plate alongside potato, hard-boiled egg and more. Miznons only-in-Collingwood plant-based sabich pita. Simon Schluter And if you like it hot, theres a mezze plate with three fiery sauces including house-made harissa topped with a grilled chilli and pita off-cuts for dipping. Open Tue-Sat noon-3pm, 5.30pm-9pm Advertisement 54 Derby Street, Collingwood, miznonaustralia.com Tomas Telegramma Malvern strip strengthens its dining cred with cosy Italian local Lulu When Angus Brettingham-Moore opened Essie in an old Malvern music school in 2019, he hadnt planned for the wine bar to double as a restaurant. But he always thought the Station Street strip could do with more dining options. Five years later, he has taken matters into his own hands, opening warmly lit 45-seat Italian diner Lulu less than 100 metres down the road, so it and Essie can feed off each other. Advertisement Earthy tones, including that of a burnt-orange banquette, make Lulu cosier. Arianna Harry Photography Theres already been a large contingent of diners I know from Essie, says Brettingham-Moore. Its lovely to see those guys and their continued support. The lure? Crowd-pleasing Italian dishes by chef Rob Bramante (ex-Tiamo). Start with fluffy focaccia and freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with Campari vinaigrette. Then move on to leopard-crusted, stone-baked pizzas made with a 72-hour-fermented dough (the mortadella, pistachio and buffalo mozzarella is a clear-cut favourite, says Brettingham-Moore) and spanner-crab linguine with prawn bisque and brandy sauce. Mortadella, pistachio and buffalo mozzarella pizza has been an early hit at Lulu. Arianna Harry Photography Advertisement If youre partial to a post-meal coffee hit, you can get it in a few different forms: in a big slab of tiramisu, in a caffeinated riff on the negroni, and in a classic espresso martini. The cosy space, curated by local interior designer Alexandra Cerny, has been kitted out in earthy tones, including a curved burnt-orange banquette, sand-coloured tiles and textured walls. A statement steel-topped bar was made for casual drop-in wines. Open Wed-Thu 5pm-late; Fri-Sun noon-late 11 Station Street, Malvern, lulumalvern.com Tomas Telegramma Advertisement Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Advertisement Eating outNow closed Sydney dining scene hit with its biggest closure yet Cirrus Dining co-owners Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt of the Bentley Restaurant Group have announced the waterfront venue will have its final service on September 1. Scott Bolles August 1, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share Sydneys gruelling toll of hospitality closures has claimed perhaps its biggest scalp yet, with the Bentley Restaurant Group announcing it will close its luxe two-hat Cirrus Dining at Barangaroo. The seafood-focussed fine-diner will serve its last abalone schnitzel on September 1 after an eight-year run on the Barangaroo waterfront. The Barangaroo restaurant when it opened in 2016. Christopher Pearce The development has seen a number of recent closures, with Hamish Ingham and Rebecca Lines closing Tequila Daisy and Korean restaurateur David Bae shutting the doors early at his Soot pop-up. In a joint statement from Bentley Restaurant Group co-owners Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, they described the decision to close as bittersweet. Advertisement Whilst we wanted to extend our lease, we were unable to strike a deal with our new landlord, the statement said. While the pair were disappointed with the decision, they said it makes way for new opportunities, which will be announced soon. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved at Cirrus. We feel like we are going out on a high, with two hats in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, as well as currently holding the title of the Australian Wine List of the Year. Marron with lemonade fruit and sea banana from the opening menu. Christopher Pearce Savage and Hildebrandt were seen as key signings when Barangaroo opened for business, and the corner site Cirrus Dining occupied was so prized it was briefly home to, prior to their opening, the 2016 pop-up from international food royalty Rene Redzepi from Noma restaurant in Copenhagen. Advertisement The site didnt come without its problems. In Cirrus early years it faced towards another building site, Crown Sydney, a looming reminder of even more restaurant competition on the way. In recent times, construction has begun on the waterfront at Pier Pavilion. A Barangaroo restaurateur, who asked not to be named, said mid-week trade had been affected by nearby office workers slow to return to a five-day week following COVID. Brent Savage (left) and Bentley Groups Nick Hildebrandt at one of their other projects, Brasserie 1930. Kristoffer Paulsen Bentley Restaurant Group has been busy elsewhere, recently rebooting Monopole in the Sydney CBD as a French restaurant and last year opening an Asian-inspired restaurant, King Clarence. Cirrus Dining will host a handful of events before closing including a Crablis Sunday, a Cirrus alumni event and for the restaurants final service on Fathers Day. Advertisement Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up A breakaway faction of anti-coeducation campaigners have failed in their bid to stop plans by Newington College to admit girls to the historic private school. At a special general meeting at the colleges Centennial Hall on Wednesday night, members of the schools old boys union elected Edward Miller as its new president, defeating the Save Newington group by approximately 1400 votes to 1100. All-boys private school Newington College plans to become fully co-educational by 2033. Credit: Steven Siewert The Old Newingtonians Union has been embroiled in a bitter public feud for months, with one group of members, known as Save Newington, opposing the move to co-ed, while another faction, Your ONU, is more supportive of the move to enrol girls. Miller, who graduated from Newington in 2008 and led the Your ONU coalition, campaigned on a unity ticket, vowing not to resist the all-boys schools plans to become fully co-educational within a decade. Australian inventions Wi-Fi, the black box, plastic skin and the bionic ear have swept the world. So did the modern milk bar, a 1932 invention by Greek-Australian entrepreneur Mick Adams, real name Joachim Tavlaridis, touting the milkshakes as a glass full of health for four pennies. The shopfront as it looked in 1932. Credit: National Project Archives Yet for decades, the modern milk bar with banks of electric milkshake makers was thought to be an American innovation or was attributed to another cafe owner. The record was corrected on Wednesday after years of lobbying by Adams family. They include his daughters, Lilian Keldoulis and Helen Gerondis, who have since died, the Greek community, historian Leonard Janiszewski and photographer Effy Alexakis. Large bushland blocks similar to where two police officers and a curious neighbour were gunned down by religious extremists in Queensland were known for having mantraps and signs threatening to shoot upon entry, a coroner has heard. The three people were killed at a remote property at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, on the afternoon of December 12, 2022 when an arrest warrant turned into an ambush. The shooters, Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train, armed with high-powered rifles, were killed by responding police after a tense, hours-long standoff. Constable Craig Loveland testified on Thursday at the inquest at Brisbane Coroners Court. A review which aims to identify potential sites for a new state primary school in Brisbanes western suburbs should be finished by the end of the year. Last year, the Education Department pushed out the opening of a new inner-west school by five years, with authorities considering deals with the private sector to get it built. Loading The flood-prone Toowong Bowls Club site had been chosen as the preferred site to ease enrolment pressure on Indooroopilly, Ironside and Toowong state schools, with the new school set to open in 2024. But the Toowong plan was scrapped after community opposition, and the government also said the $90 million school was not required as soon as anticipated. In budget estimates, Education Minister Di Farmer confirmed a review to identify potential sites for a new primary school would completed by the end of 2024. The difficulty of finding a site in quite built up areas is obviously significant, she said. The Hamad crime syndicate remains a live and active threat in Melbournes underworld war and to the safety of the public, with police telling a court they fear a mass casualty event despite a slew of arrests and operations against the top-ranked gang. The polices claim was made during a bail hearing for suspected lieutenant Majid Alibadi, who has been accused of orchestrating a campaign of extortion, firebombing attacks and witness intimidation as part of the so-called tobacco war on behalf of exiled kingpin Kazem Hamad. Majid Alibadi. Credit: Jason South The gang has allegedly been linked by police intelligence and underworld sources to more than 70 firebombings, numerous shootings and at least two murders since Hamad was released from prison in mid-2023 and deported to his native Iraq. Alibadi, who was arrested and charged with extortion and arson offences in January, has been labelled by police as Hamads regional operations manager. Richmond player Marlion Pickett will face trial over allegations he was involved in stealing more than $380,000 in a spate of commercial burglaries across Perth last summer after pleading not guilty on Thursday. The 32-year-old is facing 12 charges, including stealing, criminal damage to a property and aggravated burglary, after police alleged Pickett and his brother-in-law, along with four other co-accused, targeted businesses in Perth and the northern suburbs of Nollamara, Girrawheen and Beechboro, and the regional town of Beverley, between December 2022 and January 2023, taking money from safes. Marlion Pickett (centre) outside court in Perth. Credit: AAP On one occasion, $325,000 was allegedly taken from a currency exchange. After Pickett was charged, prosecutors alleged he was tied to the crimes because his phone pinged near one of the burglary locations at the time the offence was being committed. For a while, Marie* complied with the threats from her ex-boyfriend. The business student living in Perth told her if she did not help him with assignments and send him money, he would send naked pictures of her to friends, family and the wider community. The student was jailed over the revenge porn threats. Credit: Louise Kennerley Marie, 22, lived in Mauritius and was petrified of the photos being distributed and damaging her and her familys reputation. She claimed the threats made to her by Karan Singh Purmah, now 33, led to her feeling suicidal, so she took action and went to the local authorities with the text messages in hand. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. In honor of its 150th anniversary, Kapital Bank, the country's first bank, organized a training program titled The Beginning of the Right Path in collaboration with Baku State University. During the event, students participated in various training sessions, intellectual and entertaining games, and the winning team was awarded a trophy. The main objective of the event was to support students personal development and career planning. As part of the training program, Kapital Bank employees conducted sessions on topics such as personal development and teamwork skills, IT security, your rights in the workplace, and career planning and advancement. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Alish Aghamirzayev, Vice-Rector for Social Issues, Student Affairs and Public Relations at Baku State University, discussed the social projects implemented at the university and emphasized that the joint project with Kapital Bank would be beneficial for the students career building. It should be noted that more than 100 members of the BSU Volunteers organization, the Student Trade Union Committee, and the Student Youth Organization also participated in the training program. Kapital Bank, the country's first bank, is part of PASHA Holding. Kapital Bank has the largest service network in Azerbaijan with 119 branches and 53 departments all over the country. For more detailed information about the banks products and services, please refer to https://kapitalbank.az website, 196 Call Centre or the banks various social network pages. To apply for a consumer loan visit https://kbl.az/prgtk, for a Birbank installment card visit https://kbl.az/prcrc. Emma Tucker, the Journals top editor, called it a day of great joy and said: I cannot even begin to describe the happiness and relief that this news brings and I know all of you wil feel the same. Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, the Democrat said, Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan pose with an American flag in the airport lounge in Ankara, Turkey after being freed. Credit: Getty Images In addition to Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, the Russians released included Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, and associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Five German citizens also were released, including a German national held in Belarus. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the US, including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained. Putin gave Russian nationals freed in a historic prisoner exchange with the West a heros welcome on Thursday as they stepped off a plane in Moscow, promising them state awards and a conversation about their futures. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Vadim Krasikov upon arrival of freed Russian prisoners at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow, Russia. Credit: AP The first to disembark, wearing a baseball cap and a tracksuit top, was Krasikov, the hitman, whom Putin hugged. Inside the airport building, Putin, who looked visibly pleased, told the returnees: First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on your return to the Motherland. Now I would like to address those of you who have a direct connection to military service. I want to thank you for your loyalty to your oath and your duty to your Motherland, which has never forgotten you for a moment. All of you will be presented with state awards. I will see you again, we will talk about your future. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich, which Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovichs, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and US officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the US. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. Alexander Vinnik is escorted by police officers from a Greek courthouse in 2017. Credit: Giannis Papanikos/AP US officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Beirut: Lebanons powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed a definite response to Israels killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase. The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite, said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address on Thursday (US time) to mark the funeral of the slain commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the groups yellow-and-green flag. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks at the funeral of their top commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Credit: AP We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response, Nasrallah said. An Israeli strike on Hezbollahs stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday killed Fuad Shukr, head of the groups military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians. For months now, Netanyahu has viewed a war with Iran as a potent means to camouflage his failure to eradicate Hamas (whose military leader, Yahya Sinwar, remains in charge of the resistance), and secure the release of Israeli hostages 10 months into his militarys scorched-earth operations in Gaza. Such a war would also, in his mind, deflect widespread opposition at home and abroad. Additionally, Netanyahu has sought to oblige the United States Israels key security guarantor to instrumentally participate in a war that Israel cannot win on its own. The killing of Haniyeh and Shukur fulfil several objectives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It tallies with his aim to hunt Hamas leaders wherever they are, to cripple Hezbollah as a threat to Israel, and to signal powerfully to Tehrans leaders that it can reach wherever and whatever it wants in Iran. Israel has once more daringly challenged its arch enemies, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, to retaliate. The potential for a regional inferno with major powers involvement has never been higher. Israel knows it is no longer a dominant power in the region. Its vulnerability was first tested by Hamas October 7 offensives and subsequent resilience and Hezbollahs cross-border firing, with its flailing dominance in the region tested again in April during Irans direct missile and drone attacks in response to Israels bombing of the Iranian Consulate in Damascus. Though most of the Iranian projectiles were shot down, it was US, British, French and Jordanian forces that oversaw the successful interceptions. Loading The US shares Israels opposition to the threat of an Iranian-led axis of resistance, of which Hezbollah is the most powerful sub-national militant force in the world, and has committed itself to defend Israel in the event of an all-out war. Even so, it is fully cognisant of the wider danger of such a conflict. America knows that Iran enjoys close strategic ties with its major adversaries Russia and China, not to mention North Korea and that their support cannot be ruled out should a regional confrontation come to pass. As a result, the Biden administration has opposed any direct US participation in a regional war and has engaged in intense diplomacy to prevent further escalation. Yet, one of the biggest problems for the US is that it lacks the necessary leverage to restrain either Israel or its adversaries. Netanyahu has persistently defied Washingtons cautions. And Tehran, along with its allies, views the US as a hegemonic power and committed backer of Israel despite its continued illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and its rejection of a two-state solution. Israel crossed a redline by assassinating Haniyeh on Iranian soil. Normally based in Qatar, he was an honoured guest visiting to celebrate the recent election of President Masoud Pezeshkian. The strike breached Iranian security and sovereignty, and embarrassed the Iranian leadership for not being able to protect a visiting ally. Though Pezeshkian comes from the moderate faction of politics and has a reformist policy agenda, he now has no option but to join hands with his conservative opponents, who swirl around the powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in any direct or indirect retaliatory actions towards Israel. What form this retaliation, along with that of Hezbollah, will take and when it eventuates will be critical. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Government of St. Maarten, under the leadership of the Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina, has taken swift and decisive action to address the tragic shooting incident that occurred last Sunday. In the wake of this incident, responsible ministries and departments have commenced preliminary discussions, investigations, and established agreements aimed at enhancing policies promoting public safety and preventing similar occurrences in the future. Ensuring the safety and security of our citizens and visitors is of paramount importance, said Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina. We are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to implement effective measures that will protect our community. In addition to the governments proactive measures, Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina, who is also the current acting Minister of Health, played a crucial role in facilitating the air ambulance evacuation of the injured music artist to his home country of Trinidad. This complex operation required coordination with various stakeholders to ensure the artists safe return. Reaching out to the necessary authorities and ensuring the artists safe evacuation was a priority for us, stated Prime Minister Mercelina. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the police department, the dedicated staff at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), and all those involved for their unwavering support and professionalism during this critical time. Special thanks to the police department that guaranteed the safe environment for the health professionals to execute their tasks. The music artist was successfully transported early Wednesday evening, following initial challenges in securing a host hospital in Trinidad. This delay was promptly addressed by the Prime Minister in cooperation with SZV, SMMC, and the relevant authorities in Trinidad to arrange for the payment and logistics of the air ambulance evacuation. We are relieved to report that the music artist has arrived safely in Trinidad and remains in stable condition, where he is expected to receive further medical treatment, added Prime Minister Mercelina. The Government of St. Maarten remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all individuals within its borders and will continue to work diligently with local and international partners to uphold this commitment. UK's Starmer warns social media firms to uphold law over misinformation London, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned social media companies Thursday they must uphold laws around spreading incendiary misinformation, following unrest blamed on the sharing of unverified details about the Southport knife attack. Addressing the nation from his Downing Street office and residence, Starmer pointed the finger at the role of the firms in two nights of violence after Monday's stabbing spree in the seaside town near Liverpool. "Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime," the UK leader said. "It's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere." Monday's attack left three young girls dead and five more children critically injured alongside two adults. A 17-year-old, named Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, has been hit with a slew of murder and attempted murder charges. Social media platforms like X have been heavily criticised for helping to spread misinformation about the suspect, including around his identity, faith and background. Speculation online that he was Muslim or an immigrant helped fuel anger around the attack, according to experts, with rioters targeting a mosque in the Southport disturbances. In his remarks, Starmer acknowledged there was "a balance to be struck" by social media platforms over tackling misinformation online while permitting free speech. But he warned: "Inciting violence online is a criminal offence and that is not a matter of free speech. It is a criminal offence." The country's former chief prosecutor, the UK leader added platform providers' services were "an amazing opportunity that we all enjoy as a country" but cautioned "there is also a responsibility that goes with it". "That's a space for a mature conversation to take place," he said. Starmer was speaking after meeting UK police chiefs to discuss the two nights of unrest seen since Monday's tragedy. He vowed "we will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe" following the Downing Street discussion. jj/jwp/giv Apple logs higher sales, quarterly profit beats forecast San Francisco, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Apple's quarterly profit rose from a year ago, the company said Thursday, besting analyst forecasts and giving its shares a boost in after-hours trading. The iPhone maker reported a $21.4 billion profit in the three months ending in June, on $85.8 billion in revenue over the period. The revenue is a new record for the June quarter, and a five percent jump from a year ago, CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. Cook added that the company looks forward to sharing new tools involving Apple Intelligence with users -- referring to its suite of AI features. Apple has been under pressure to win over doubters on its artificial intelligence strategy after Microsoft and Google rolled out products in swift succession. The Cupertino-based company unveiled Apple Intelligence in June. "For better or worse, Apple has married its AI efforts to other key parts of its core business, particularly the iPhone," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. He added that the effectiveness of its AI investments will mainly be evaluated through device sales and potential growth in subscription revenue. On Thursday, Apple reported iPhone revenue of $39.3 billion for the quarter, slightly below the same period a year ago. It logged solid growth in the iPad segment, with $7.2 billion in revenue. Apple added in a statement that it hit a new high in active devices across geographic segments, without giving specific figures. The company's shares edged up 0.5 percent in after-hours trading. bys/sst BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Yelo Bank offers farmers a credit card with excellent conditions for daily and emergency expenses. The Bank introduces an agro-credit card for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture, with the following benefits: Loan amount: up to 5000 AZN Credit line term: 24 months Grace period: up to 12 months Possibility of reusing the credit line Fast registration The main advantage of the card is a grace period of up to 12 months, applicable to all withdrawn funds, regardless of the amount. The Yelo application, with a simple interface, is available 24/7 to control expenses and loan payments. The agrocredit card is free, and cash withdrawals at Yelo Bank ATMs and offices, as well as at Azerpocht ATMs, are commission-free. Yelo Bank, rapidly developing in digital services, will soon introduce new products for business owners and improve a number of current services. More details: https://bit.ly/3yctDsf Need more information about our banking services? Then call 981 or visit our Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, or yelo.az accounts. Yelo Bank Brighter Banking! Canadian warship sails through Taiwan Strait Taipei, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Taiwan's defence ministry said Thursday that a Canadian warship sailed a day earlier through the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive waterway separating the democratic island from China. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military and political pressure as relations have plunged in recent years. The navies of the United States and its Western allies, meanwhile, have increased "freedom of navigation" crossings through the strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering Beijing. Taipei said Thursday that the Canadian ship's transit took place Wednesday, with the warship travelling "from north to south". "The military has monitored the situation and no anomaly was detected in our surroundings," the defence ministry statement said. The Halifax-class frigate "HMCS Montreal recently conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait", the Canadian Joint Operations Command confirmed on social media platform X without providing a date. "Canada supports the rules-based international order by operating in accordance with international law," it said. "Our activities promote peace, resilience, and security in the Indo Pacific." Though Taiwan has only a dozen diplomatic allies, it maintains strong partnerships with various Western democracies like the United States, which is its biggest weapons seller. Last November, US and Canadian warships passed through the Taiwan Strait, their second joint passage in two months -- a move that put Beijing's armed forces on "high alert", according to China's Eastern Theatre Command. Taiwan's military has been reporting near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around its waters, as well as sorties by drones and fighter jets around the island. On Thursday, the defence ministry said 29 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6 am (2200 GMT Wednesday). aw/dhc/cwl BP to develop new oil and gas fields in Iraq Baghdad, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Iraq signed an agreement with British energy giant British Petroleum on Thursday to develop four oil and gas fields in the northern province of Kirkuk. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani and BP's CEO Murray Auchincloss, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's media office said. "The memorandum includes the rehabilitation and development of the four oilfields under the North Oil Company in Kirkuk: the Kirkuk oilfield, Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz oilfields," the statement said. "This initiative is part of the government's efforts to optimally invest in promising energy opportunities, aiming to increase and enhance oil production and gas and solar energy investments," it added. BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate. According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate. But Iraq aims to keep exploring to boost its crude reserves to more than 160 billion barrels, Abdel Ghani said in May. Despite its vast oil reserves, Iraq hopes to increase natural gas production to help reduce dependence on imports from neighbouring Iran, a crucial supplier for Iraqi power generation. Sudani has repeatedly stressed the need for Iraq to diversify energy sources to ease Iraq's chronic power outages, especially during summer. To reduce its dependence on Iranian gas, Baghdad has started importing electricity from Jordan and Turkey, and it hopes to start connecting to the electricity grid of Gulf countries later this year. rh/hkb Israel confirms Hamas military chief Deif killed in July strike Jerusalem, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Israel's army confirmed on Thursday that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an air strike last month in the southern Gaza Strip. The announcement came a day after Hamas and Iran said the Palestinian movement's chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. Israel has not commented on that report. "Mohammed Deif, the Osama bin Laden of Gaza was eliminated" on July 13, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said. This is a "significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas" in Gaza, Gallant added. The army said fighter jets had struck Khan Yunis on July 13 and "following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike". He was killed along with one of his top commanders, Rafa Salama, the military said. Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza said more than 90 people had been killed in that strike but Hamas has denied Deif was among them. "Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre," the military said. On that day the militant Islamist group attacked southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,197 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Deif became head of Hamas's armed wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in 2002. He was among Israel's most wanted man for nearly three decades and on a US list of "international terrorists" since 2015. "During the war, he commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing," the military said. Deif, whose real name is Mohammed Diab al-Masri, was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in 1965. The word Deif means "visitor" or "guest" and some say he chose it because he was always on the move with Israeli hunters on his trail, never spending more than one night in the same place. - 'Cat with nine lives' - In videos, Deif has appeared masked or shown in a silhouette, while rare photographs have circulated of one of Israel's most wanted men. In January, Israel released a picture of Deif showing him with one eye missing, without specifying when it was taken. His enemies dubbed him the "cat with nine lives" because of his many close calls with death. In 2014, Israel launched an air strike on Gaza, killing Deif's wife and a seven-month-old son. It was Deif who announced the start of the Hamas attack -- operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" -- in an audio message on October 7. Deif became involved in Hamas in the 1980s when he was a student at the Gaza Islamic University. He is said to have played a key role in the huge network of tunnels built beneath Gaza. He was detained by Israel since the 1980s and spent about two years in a prison run by the Palestinian Authority. He was released or escaped, reports said. In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested a warrant for his arrest -- alongside with Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza who is still being hunted by Israel -- for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hamas political leader Haniyeh, who was killed Wednesday in the Iranian capital, was also on that list. The prosecutor has also sought warrants for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant. During the October 7 attack, militants also seized 251 people, 111 are still captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel's military campaign since then has killed 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the territory, which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths. Sweden and US sign cooperation pact on nuclear energy Stockholm, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Sweden's government said Thursday that it had signed an agreement with the United States to support the development of new nuclear power in both countries. The two countries "will exchange experience on issues related to policy, research and innovation related to supply chains, financing models, skills supply and development of advanced nuclear fuel," the government said in a statement. "This is good for Sweden, the United States, the labour market and competitiveness," Energy Minister Ebba Busch said in the statement. The government said that both Sweden and the United States "have extensive experience of nuclear power and there are plans in both countries to develop it". In November 2023, Stockholm presented a roadmap for a "massive expansion" of nuclear power in the coming decades to meet growing electricity demand. As a first step, Stockholm intends to build reactors with a total capacity of at least 2,500 megawatts by 2035, followed by a "massive expansion" by 2045. Sweden currently operates six nuclear reactors at three different nuclear power plants. Former Russian MP says wounded by drone attack in Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 A drone attack near Kyiv injured former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, he said Thursday, posting pictures of his bloodied face. Ponomaryov, 48, fled to Ukraine and gained citizenship after opposing Moscow's annexation of Crimea. Ponomaryov said that he was hurt by an overnight drone attack on his house near Kyiv. "This thing blew in very forcefully, right in front of the threshold of the house, and loads of shrapnel flew into me," Ponomaryov wrote on Facebook. He said that the attack happened at night after the all-clear had sounded and that he did not hear air defences firing at the drone. He posted photos showing fragments of a Russian Shahed drone, trees cut by an attack and a crater in a paved area. "My guards ran up and put out the fire quickly but there was a lot of blood and I had to go to hospital very quickly," he said. He said that he was around five metres "from death" and that the attack came after drones were downed near the house on Tuesday night, blowing out several windows. Ukraine's National Police said a drone attack on Thursday morning in the Kyiv region wounded a man and his wife, who were hospitalised, and damaged two private houses. It posted a photo of a large house with windows blown out and damaged roof and balconies. A police spokesperson told AFP that she could not disclose personal data of those injured. Ponomaryov was a Russian lawmaker from 2007 to 2016 and was the only MP to vote against the annexation of Crimea. Charged with embezzlement shortly after, he went into exile and obtained Ukrainian citizenship. Until this week he headed the political wing of the Freedom of Russia Legion, a unit of ethnic Russians who are fighting on the side of Kyiv and have carried out armed raids across the border. The Legion had announced Wednesday that it had unilaterally cut ties with Ponomaryov and no longer had a political wing. "Unfortunately in these two years we have not managed to reach the announced political aims," it said on Telegram. Ponomaryov wrote on Facebook that "Russian authorities have been trying to get me for a long time" and that he has "very serious guards" after four assassination attempts. Ukraine's air force said Thursday that its forces downed seven drones overnight including in the Kyiv region. 'Catastrophic' gearbox failure led to deadly 2023 US Osprey crash Washington, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 A "catastrophic" failure of a gearbox caused the crash of a CV-22B Osprey aircraft off Japan last year that killed eight military personnel, the US Air Force said Thursday. The late November crash during a military exercise prompted a multi-month grounding of the aircraft -- which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and also fly like an airplane -- and a more than five-month investigation into the incident. The crash "was caused by a catastrophic failure of the left-hand prop rotor gearbox that created a rapidly cascading failure of the aircraft's drive system, resulting in an instantaneous asymmetric lift condition that was unrecoverable" by the crew, the Air Force Special Operations Command said in a statement. Contributing factors to the crash "include inadequate risk management and ineffective crew resource management," it said. Ospreys have suffered a string of fatal accidents, including a crash in northern Australia that killed three US Marines in August, and another in Norway during NATO training exercises in 2022 that left four dead. Three Marines were killed in 2017 when another Osprey crashed off Australia's north coast and 19 Marines died when their Osprey crashed during drills in Arizona in 2000. The United States also temporarily grounded the aircraft in Japan in 2016 after an Osprey crash-landed off Okinawa. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments, Elchin Amirbayov, has discussed the Baku-Yerevan normalization process in the US, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani Embassy in the US, and Azerbaijan's Permanent Mission to the UN. During a working visit to the US, Amirbayov held a series of meetings with senior representatives of the US government, during which cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US was also discussed. According to the embassy, he met with Special Assistant to the US President, Senior Director for Europe at NSC (National Security Council), Michael Carpenter, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O'Brien, Principal DAS EUR (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs), Yuri Kim, Director, Office of Central Asian Affairs, Brian Stimmler, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, and Senator Pete Ricketts for Nebraska. "Constructive and useful discussions were held covering the bilateral agenda, the current state of affairs in the peace process, and recent developments in the region," the embassy said. Amirbayov also met with the representatives of prominent think tanks at the roundtable organized by the US Institute of Peace. Azerbaijan-US relations, the current status and prospects of the ongoing Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process, and regional and international security issues were discussed during the event. According to Azerbaijan's Permanent Mission to the UN, within the framework of a working visit to New York, Amirbayov met with Dicarlo Rosemary, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and discussed the current status and prospects of the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process and recent developments in the region. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Hezbollah killing was Israel's only air strike that night: army Jerusalem, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Israel's army said Thursday it carried out only one air strike in the region overnight on Tuesday when it killed Hezbollah's military commander in a Beirut suburb. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari was commenting when asked about the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an unclaimed attack in Tehran before dawn on Wednesday. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the death of Haniyeh, which has sent tensions soaring and raised fears of reprisals by Iran. Israel has claimed responsibility for the strike that killed Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr. Rear Admiral Hagari, when asked about a report that Haniyeh was killed by a pre-planted bomb rather than a missile, said Israel carried out only one air strike across the Middle East that night. "I want to make things clear: there was no other Israeli aerial attack, neither by missile or drone, that night in all the Middle East. I won't say anything more," he told an online briefing. The New York Times, quoting Middle East and US officials, said on Thursday that Haniyeh was killed by a bomb that had been smuggled into the guesthouse where he was staying. Iranian media have said he died in an air strike at 2:00 am Wednesday on his lodgings in northern Tehran. Hagari insisted that Israel, backed by its allies, was ready for any possible reprisals. "Our defensive systems are very good. Additionally, we have international partners who have increased their forces in the region to assist us against the threats," he said. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza erupted on October 7 after Palestinian militants attacked Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Militants also seized 251 people during the attack, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Since the October 7 attack, Israel has mounted a blistering military campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 39,480 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, Trend reports. Dear madam President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my sincere congratulations to you and all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Swiss Confederation. I believe that the relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland will continue to develop based on friendship and cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in line with the interests of our peoples. I am confident that we will cooperate closely with Switzerland in the fight against climate change within the framework of COP29, which will be hosted by our country in November. On such a remarkable day, I wish you robust health, success in your activities, and the Swiss Confederation everlasting welfare and prosperity, the letter reads. During her testimony at Nassars trial she said: The scars of this horrific abuse continue to live with all of us. I worked incredibly hard to make sure that my presence could help maintain a connection between the failures [around the Nassar case] and the competition at Tokyo 2020, she said. She added: That has proven to be an exceptionally difficult burden for me to carry, particularly when required to travel to Tokyo without the support of any of my family. I am a strong individual and I will persevere, but I never should have been left alone to suffer the abuse of Larry Nassar. And the only reason I did, was because of the failures that lie at the heart of the abuse that you are now asked to investigate. * FIRST NAME * LAST NAME * EMAIL Your email address * PASSWORD Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number Show * YEAR OF BIRTH You must be at least 18 years old to create an account 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 * Required fields I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice CREATE ACCOUNT I'LL TRY LATER Already have an account? SIGN IN By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Ukraines air force said on Wednesday that it had shot down all 89 Shahed drones launched by Russia in a night-time attack, in what was one of the largest drone barrages this year. As ever, we continue to speak to our communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to ensure we have our teams where they need to be and we are constantly reviewing our patrol plans to reassure residents. Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on awarding cinema workers, Trend reports. Azerbaijani cinema employees were awarded for their merits in the development of this sphere. The decree, guided by paragraphs 23 and 32 of Article 109 of the Constitution of Azerbaijan, tasked to: 1. award the following persons with the Taraggi medal for merits in the development of Azerbaijani cinematography: Ramziya Jilgamli Gulshan Guliyeva Rovshan Mammadov Bayram Najafov Adalat Yunusov 2. provide a personal pension of the President of Azerbaijan for many years of fruitful activity in the development of Azerbaijani cinematography to the following persons: Firangiz Gurbanova Akif Rustamov And I would ask that anybody that does intend to engage in any form of protest activity follows the advice that we issue to the public regularly on this, the advice is you should engage with the police and to stay lawful, you must not endanger the safety of yourself or anybody else. I have visited the scene myself this evening and have been in touch with the Chief Inspector. This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest. I would like to pay tribute to the brave police officers who worked hard to restore order. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. A total of 94 international observers from 23 countries and five organizations have been registered in connection with the snap parliamentary election in Azerbaijan so far, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov said at today's meeting of the CEC, Trend reports. On June 28, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the dissolution of the Azerbaijani Parliament of the sixth convocation and the appointment of an extraordinary election to the Azerbaijani Parliament. The snap election is scheduled for September 1, 2024. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The Employers' Association of Romanian Accounting Entrepreneurs (PACR) is calling for an end to what they say are "chaotic regulations" in the RO e-VAT system and to make tax authorities responsible at the same level as taxpayers. The employers are voicing "deep disappointment" with the implementation of the RO e-VAT system, arguing that it should be abolished, given a recent order of the chairman of the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF) introducing a pre-filled VAT return, considered "inadequate and inopportune." "If the tax authorities insist on the implementation of the pre-filled VAT return, we would have expected that the amounts presumed by the authorities regarding the VAT payable or VAT to be recovered would be owned up by them." The amounts, they say, especially the VAT payable "requested by the tax authority from taxpayers, are not owned up by the authorities, which shows that the system cannot work efficiently." The employers also point to parts that are not owned up by the tax authorities. "Row 38: 'VAT to be paid during the reporting period' - this fundamental element for the national budget, estimated at about RON120 billion from VAT, is not owned up by the authorities. The lack of this information can distort the national budget. Row 41: 'VAT payable cumulatively' - the most important information for any tax analysis, indicating the VAT due cumulatively by the taxpayer, is not included in the pre-filled statement. Row 44: 'Negative VAT amount to be paid' - although the term negative' is used, it represents the VAT to be refunded from the national budget to the taxpayer, essential for the national budget and taxpayers, especially for those who make investments or are exporters," according to the employers. The employers say the analysis of the controversial piece of legislation and the challenging situation ensuing the recent order of the ANAF chairman was carried out by Adrian Benta, a tax consultant and financial auditor. On Thursday, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu asked the minister of education, Ligia Deca, to come up with proposals to complete and amend the legislation in order to take measures in relation to the sexual harassment cases in the university environment. "We start with a topic that has been in the forefront of public life in recent days - specific cases of sexual harassment in the university environment. We definitely cannot accept such situations and there will be no tolerance for such acts, regardless of the name of the aggressor," said the prime minister, at the beginning of the Government meeting. He added that it is essential for the authorities to take the necessary measures. "I ask the minister of education, Ms. Ligia Deca, to come next week with proposals to complete and amend the legislation, in dialogue with the National Council of Rectors. I think our society expects a simple and clear fact - the law should really protect the victims, and the aggressors should be quickly brought to justice," Ciolacu said. The chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Nicolae Ciuca, declared on Thursday that there is no question for president Klaus Iohannis to occupy a position of European commissioner, being asked if he would be willing to take over the position of interim president of Romania in the event that president Klaus Iohannis would obtain a position of European commissioner. "First of all, there is no question of president Klaus Iohannis occupying a position of European commissioner. Secondly, this is not about my availability, but about the provisions of the duties that are established for the President of the Senate," Ciuca said at PNL headquarters. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made proposals for ambassadorial positions, which it has submitted to the select committees of the Romanian Parliament, with the request for a hearing, the ministry informs on Thursday. Thus, George Gabriel Bologan is proposed ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta. He has been a presidential adviser (Department of Foreign Policy) since February 2024. Previously, he was Consul General of Romania in Milan (2012), Ambassador of Romania to Italy (2016-2022) and Ambassador of Romania to the Kingdom of Spain (2022-2024). Dan Stoenescu is proposed ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He has been in charge of the European Union affairs in Syria since September 2021. Sergiu Nistor is proposed as ambassador to Latvia. He has been a presidential adviser (Department of Culture, Cults and National Minorities) since January 2015. Carmen Ileana Mihalcescu is the MAE proposal as ambassador to Greece. She has been Consul General of Romania in Thessaloniki since 2023. Nicolae Comanescu is proposed as ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He has been State Counselor for Foreign Policy and Strategic Affairs in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Government of Romania, since June 2023. Radu-Mihail Filip is the MAE proposal as ambassador to Uruguay. He is spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and director of the Spokesperson and Media Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since June 2022. Sena Latif is proposed as ambassador to the Republic of India, the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, residing in New Delhi. She is a career diplomat, with 19 years of experience, deputy head of mission at the Romanian Embassy in France, where, between 2022 and 2023, she also held the position of head of mission (charge d'affaires ad interim). After the hearings in the select committees of the Romanian Parliament and obtaining their opinion, respectively after receiving the approval from the receiving state, the president of Romania will sign the accreditation decrees and the letters of credence. Romanian winegrowers are calling on the authorities to take action as per the national legislation and keep on firing anti-hail rockets, cautioning that a possible halt of the hail suppression service will affect the production of the local industry. "The Romanian Winegrowers Club (CVR) has learned with concern of the request sent by a part of Prahova County farmers and agricultural producers to have the hail suppression service suspended and draws attention to the fact that this initiative does not have the assent of all agricultural sectors," the CVR said in a release on Thursday, pointing out that the local wine sector entrepreneurs support the activity of the Managing Authority of the National Anti-Hail and Precipitation Increase System (AASNACP) that helps prevent extreme phenomena and generate an increase in precipitation of up to 20 percent. Last week, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu announced during a visit to Vrancea County that he ordered the halt of anti-hail rocket firing in Prahova County after more than 90 percent of the farmers asked for this. "As for the other farmers from other counties, they need to put their bona fide signatures on an official request for the halt of the hail suppression service. But then no one will qualify for compensation for any damage caused by hail in the respective areas," the minister declared for AGERPRES. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has received a visiting delegation headed by the head of the General Directorate for Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Mehmet Samsar, the Azerbaijani ministry told Trend. During the meeting, the participants addressed the challenges and opportunities related to the existing alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, explored avenues for cooperation in multilateral formats, and discussed regional and international security concerns. It was highlighted that mutual visits and intergovernmental consultations play a crucial role in facilitating in-depth discussions on bilateral and regional matters. The importance of strengthening collaboration within various trilateral and multilateral frameworks, as well as international and regional organizations, including the Organization of Turkic States, was underscored. Minister Bayramov provided a detailed update on the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He highlighted ongoing obstacles to peace, including Armenia's constitutional claims that challenge Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as actions by third states that contribute to Armenia's militarization and regional instability. It was emphasized that these threats impede peace, stability, regional cooperation, the development of transport links, and overall regional normalization, underscoring the need to address these challenges. The sides also exchanged views on other bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The activities of Azerbaijan's Pirallahi Industrial Park, managed by the Economic Zones Development Agency, contribute to the development of the pharmaceutical industry, meeting the population's need for medicines, stimulating local production, and employment, Trend reports via agency. According to the agency, seven business entities with an investment capital of more than 121 million manat ($71 million) have been granted resident status in the industrial park, and two of them have already started production activities. The industrial park has made products worth 53 million manat ($31 million) to date. The agency emphasized that up to 41 million manat ($24 million) have been invested in the Pirallahi Industrial Park, creating more than 150 permanent jobs. Additionally, existing projects are expected to attract more than 76 million manat ($45 million) in investments and create more than 400 jobs. To note, the Pirallahi Industrial Park was established in 2016 by a decree of the head of state. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Airman 1st Class Tyler Jacobs, 19, died July 14, 2024, when his vehicle crashed into a roadside garage near Misawa Air Base, Japan. (Facebook) The Air Force has identified the airman who died July 14 when a car crashed into a roadside garage near Misawa Air Base, Japan. Airman 1st Class Tyler Jacobs, 19, died that morning in the crash near Misawa Station that killed another occupant, injured a third and set the garage on fire, according to Japanese police and an Air Force news release Wednesday. The Air Force did not identify Jacobs hometown. On his Facebook page, Jacobs listed Chattanooga, Tenn. Jacobs and Mikio Imanami, 26, of Rokkasho village, were believed to have burned to death in the 4 a.m. crash, a Misawa Police spokesman said by phone Wednesday. The crash victims were too badly burned to immediately identify, the Misawa Police spokesman said on July 16. The previous day, a spokesman for the 35th Fighter Wing said the Air Force had identified the airman but withheld his name pending family notification. Misawa police are still investigating the accidents cause but found that Jacobs, the driver, had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit in Japan, according to the police spokesman. The legal limit for driving under the influence in Japan is 0.03%. By comparison, the legal limit across the U.S. is uniformly 0.08%. A surviving passenger, Yuta Onoue, 20, was treated at a local hospital for a broken leg and burns to his back. A base spokeswoman, Senior Airman Brieanna Bolfing, referred questions about Jacobs duty assignment to Misawa city police. A Misawa Police spokesman declined Wednesday to provide that information. The base is still planning a memorial service for Jacobs and the return of his remains to his family, Bolfing said. The Air Force has received Tylers body from the local Japanese Government, the airmans father, Jason Jacobs, of St. Petersburg, Fla., posted on his Facebook page Tuesday. We think his body should be sent home to Florida sometime next week. The family expects to hold a funeral service on Aug. 10 at the Cavalry Catholic Cemetery in Clearwater, Fla., he wrote. Australian air force Flight Lt. Jaqui Ozanne refuels a fighter jet aboard at KC-30A tanker over Australias Northern Territory, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes) ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TINDAL, Australia F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lighting II stealth fighters took turns flying as red air the opposing force during multinational airpower drills Down Under, mimicking the threat the United States and its allies might face in a conflict with China or Russia. Pitch Black, a biennial exercise that began July 12 and ends Friday, brought 140 aircraft and 4,400 personnel from 21 nations to the Northern Territory and neighboring Queensland. U.S. Air Force F-22s, Australian F-35As and Italian F-35Bs soared over the Outback in high-tech mock dogfights. The fifth-generation aircraft, loaded with advance sensors and other avionics, alternated in friendly and aggressor roles, said Australian air force Squadron Leader Eamon Hamilton, a spokesman for Pitch Black, at RAAF Tindal on Thursday. A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor takes off from Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal during the Pitch Black exercise, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes) Red air pilots mimic the tactics of advanced Russian and Chinese fighters they might encounter in a real-world conflict. Chinas J-20 Mighty Dragon fighter, launched in 2017, is thought to incorporate stolen F-35 technology. Russias new Sukoi Su-57 fighter also boasts stealth capabilities and has seen combat in Ukraine. F-22s and F-35s as the opposition at Pitch Black makes sense, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. With appropriate limits on speed, maneuverability, avionics settings, and weapons they can replicate potential adversary aircraft, said the former deputy commander of what is now called Indo-Pacific Command. Italian F-35B Lightning IIs stealth fighters fly over Australias Norhern Territory during Pitch Black drills, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes) Flying opposition tactics, techniques and procedures as red air gives Raptor and Lightning II pilots a deeper understanding of what to expect in combat, Leaf said. The Raptors in Australia are from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base LangleyEustis, Va., according to information posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Services website. Six Raptors, deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, are at Tindal for Pitch Black, detachment commander Lt. Col. Ryan Nickell told reporters during a Zoom interview Wednesday. Its an absolute benefit being here for Pitch Black, he said, highlighting the chance to work with many foreign aircraft and train in a massive amount of airspace. The Raptors primarily served as escorts during the exercise, Nickell said. Its the first Pitch Black that we have participated in, and it happens to be the largest Pitch Black, he said. Air Force Maj. Aaron Kim flies a KC-30A tanker over Australias Northern Territory during Pitch Black drills, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes) The Raptors are operating out of facilities used by the Tindal-based 75 Squadron, which flies Lightning IIs, Nickell said. Having face-to-face debriefs and face-to-face briefings with these guys is huge, he said. Nickell said he saw little difference in capability between European and Asian pilots and aircraft at Pitch Black. They fly similar platforms, he said. Everybody is trying to pitch in. Alongside the Americans at Tindal, Australian air force Flight Lt. Jaqui Ozanne operated the boom on a KC-30A tanker assigned to No. 33 Squadron from RAAF Amberley in Queensland. Her tanker refueled German, Italian and Spanish Typhoons, Italian F-35Bs and an Australian F/A-18 Hornet on Thursday. On Wednesday the tanker refueled Raptors from Tindal. It also performed an elephant walk with five of the F-22s and six Australian F-35As from No. 75 Squadron, she said. We love having the Americans come to Australia, she said after her mission Thursday. They always bring good energy and a good attitude, and we learn a lot. The incoming commander of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Capt. Stephen Steacy, salutes at the Aug. 1, 2024, change-of-command ceremony at the base on the Greek island of Crete. (Facebook/NSA Souda Bay) A Navy pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours and experience managing a helicopter squadron in the Indo-Pacific assumed command Thursday of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay on the Greek Island of Crete. Capt. Stephen Steacy relieved Capt. Odin Klug, who had led the base since July 2022, NSA Souda Bay said in a statement Thursday. Rear Adm. Brad Collins, commanding officer of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central, presided over the change-of-command ceremony. In taking command, Steacy acknowledged the bases increasingly vital role in the services operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Small but strategically situated, NSA Souda Bay provides support for Navy operations, including port services. It is the homeport for the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel Woody Williams, which is assigned to U.S. Africa Command. Our location is key to the Navys ability to respond swiftly and effectively to nearby crises, the California native and George Washington University graduate said during the ceremony. Rear Adm. Brad Collins, left, head of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central, shakes hands Aug. 1, 2024, with the outgoing commander of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Greece, Capt. Odin Klug, as new commander Capt. Stephen Steacy watches. (Facebook/NSA Souda Bay) Steacys assignments include executive officer and commanding officer of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 77 deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific as part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, according to his Navy biography. He also was assistant navigator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Most recently, he was associate director for integration in the Chief of Naval Operations assessments division, his biography states. Klug was praised for his leadership during the ongoing mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the fight against attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Also, several joint task forces were stood up during his Souda Bay tenure in response to the Israel-Hamas war, according to the statement. Klug was recognized for strengthening ties between the U.S. and Greece. Several months before his arrival, the two countries inked a defense cooperation deal that gives American forces greater access to Greek bases. Klugs next assignment is at Navy Installations Command headquarters in Washington. A platoon leader with the 1st Republic of Korea Division looks through a set of binoculars toward North Korea from his position in the Demilitarized Zone. (Kim Ki Sam/Stars and Stripes) This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition Aug. 16, 1960. It is republished unedited in its original form. With the 1ST ROK DIV., Korea Farmers in the Republic of Korea may pray for rain, but ROK soldiers manning the Demilitarized Zone here dread the annual summer deluge as a season of mud. The soldiers live in isolated battle positions and perform a tense, lonely job year round. Soldiers of the 1st Republic of Korea Division keep their machine gun ready for any threats against their outpost on the Demilitarized Zone. (Kim Ki Sam/Stars and Stripes) But its worse when it rains. The narrow roads that lead to their positions turn into quagmires and are impassable even for emergency use. Stocking up for a hard summer, the soldier lay in the months supply of food before the downpours begin. Helicopters stand by to aid them in case of flood or other emergency. The rain falls on famous battle sites. The 1st ROK Div. soldiers stand a 24-hour watch and can look into north Korea at Heartbreak Ridge, scene of some of the bitterest fighting in the Korean War. Workers at the U.S. Embassy in Havana leave the building on Sept. 29, 2017, after the State Department announced that it was withdrawing all but essential diplomats from the embassy. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Spies, active-duty military, FBI agents, diplomats and at least 15 children are among the 334 Americans who have qualified to get treatment for Havana Syndrome in specialized military health facilities numbers that conflict with an earlier assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies minimizing the problem. The new data was published Monday in a study conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office between February 2023 and June this year, which examined the challenges patients face accessing care in the military health system and whether the Department of Defense has facilitated it, as required by federal law. The office, which conducts audits and investigations for the U.S. Congress, concluded that Americans affected by these still unexplained cases of what the government refers to as anomalous health incidents struggled to get proper care, confirming earlier reports by the Miami Herald that some had been denied medical treatment by their agencies and suffered retaliation. According to the report, almost half of the 65 patients interviewed told investigators that they have been stigmatized by their employer after reporting experiencing one of these incidents, which led to negative effects on their career. Some were pulled from their work assignments, referred to psychologists, had their security clearances delayed, were placed on leave or lost their jobs, the report says. They attributed these experiences to their agencies not believing them, according to the document. The new report also includes previously undisclosed details about the Americans affected by these mysterious incidents, which have taken place on U.S. soil, in Cuba and several countries since at least 2014. The study, commissioned by the Senate in 2022, also raises new questions about how the U.S. government and, in particular, the intelligence community have handled the investigation. As of January 2024, 334 people, including active-duty military personnel, current and former federal employees from other agencies, and their family members, had qualified for care in the military health system. According to Department of Defense estimates cited in the report, at least 15 children had qualified for treatment as of December 2023. The total number of people affected in these mysterious events is likely higher because some were never treated in military health facilities, including many of those affected in Havana between 2016 and 2017. Spies, diplomats, FBI agents targeted Most of the officials affected come from U.S. spy agencies and the Department of Defense. As of April this year, 257 non-military current and former government employees and family members had qualified for treatment, 88 of whom came from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the report says. Another 74 were referred by the Department of Defense, including employees of intelligence agencies, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as well as civilian employees from the military services. The list includes 28 people referred by the FBI, 44 by the State Department and 26 from the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture, the National Security Council, and the United States Agency for International Development. The report does not include an exact number of active and former military affected because the focus was on civilian access to the military health service, said Kimberly Gianopoulos, managing director for International Affairs and Trade at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The victims have described being exposed to sensory phenomena such as pressure and noise coming from a specific location and have developed brain trauma and a variety of other symptoms like vertigo, tinnitus, migraine, visual problems and cognitive impairment. The symptoms can be long-term and debilitating. At least one victim, CIA case officer Zoe Moulton, has died. She died in April after being diagnosed with cancer. A controversial assessment by some agencies in the U.S. intelligence community published in March last year concluded that it was unlikely that a foreign adversary was attacking U.S. personnel and dismissed most cases as having been caused by pre-existing conditions and other environmental factors. But to qualify for treatment in the military health system, a doctor must certify a brain injury or other significant symptoms that a known cause or a pre-existing condition cannot explain. Patients are referred to centers in the Defense Intrepid Network for Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Health. The new report does not explain the apparent contradiction between the official intelligence assessment and the high number of people who have qualified for treatment. It notes that the intelligence agencies writing the assessment had different confidence levels in their conclusions and had gaps in the information collected. It also mentions other government-funded studies that have reached different conclusions, including a report for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that concluded that commercially available devices using radiofrequency or ultrasound technology could explain the Havana Syndrome. Research on the subject has been riddled with problems and has provided contradictory results, the report notes, due to the lack of a precise definition and information about these incidents, a highly diverse population in terms of clinical symptoms and timing from incident to assessment; as well as the classified nature of the affected individuals circumstances and their work. After a team of National Institutes of Health researchers said in March they did not find signs of brain injuries in people affected by the Havana Syndrome after analyzing some MRI scans, other scientists immediately questioned the results. A group of patients involved in the study accused the investigators of bias, misreporting the data under pressure from the CIA and mishandling confidential medical information. The National Institutes of Health halted the study and launched an investigation as a result. A broken system The congressional report paints a portrait of a system that was put in place to help these patients but failed to do so correctly because of bureaucracy, communication gaps and a lack of trained staff. The patients reported inconsistent support from their agencies, a lack of information about the care process and treatment options available once they were accepted at military health facilities, and difficulty scheduling appointments to the point that some gave up and sought treatment in the civilian sector. Staff shortages at the Department of Defense units that were supposed to deal with these patients left them without a point of contact for months, the report found. In six cases, agencies did not inform patients that the Department of Defense had approved their Military Health Service access until they specifically inquired, the report says. These delays in communication ranged from three weeks to over a year. Parents of children affected by these incidents felt particularly frustrated, the report says, because they did not have a clear point of contact to work within the pediatric unit and struggled to schedule appointments. The Department of Defense has also been unable to maintain a proper registry of the patients who have received treatment in its facilities, the report found, hindering future research. The agency accepted all the recommendations made in the study, including implementing a new unit in charge of coordinating care for Havana Syndrome patients. However, the problems found by investigators go beyond accessing specialized medical care. Patients are also struggling to get compensation under federal laws that benefit those injured at work. and the 2021 Havana Act, which pays compensation for victims of brain injuries suffered in the line of duty. The report noted that some agencies, like the Department of Defense, had not issued guidance on obtaining Havana Act payments. The agency published such a proposal on Monday when the report was published. A recent U.S. Department of Labor rule added more red tape to Havana Syndrome patients trying to get compensation for disability or death. The Department now requires that claims for additional conditions beyond traumatic brain injuries will now require a review by a District Medical Advisor. The rule will impact both new and already accepted claims. We need to prove a brain injury. But doctors we are sent to are told not to write brain injury. And theyll never accept anything else additional, a Havana Syndrome patient who asked not to be named said. This how theyre making it go away. 2024 McClatchy Washington Bureau. Visit at mcclatchydc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Fumio Kishida, Japanese Premier is gearing up to spill the beans on an economic aid package for Central Asian countries, and this package includes a game-changing trade route across the Caspian Sea that will bridge the gap between the region and Europe, Trend reports via the Japan Times. During his August 912 tour of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, the prime minister will meet with the heads of state from five Central Asian nations in Kazakhstan to unveil the proposal. The initiative aims to kill two birds with one stone by strengthening Japan's ties with Central Asia and tipping the scales against Russia's traditional influence in the region. Japan hopes the new export route will be a game-changer for Central Asian countries, giving them a leg up in achieving economic independence. The plan also includes measures to promote economic decarbonization and incorporates technology and loans from Japanese companies for projects like natural gas processing. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Bella Kuykendall, now 3, with her mother Kaitlin Kuykendall, an Army spouse. (Kaitlin Kuykendall) FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii The parents of a toddler who was physically abused by employees at a Navy child care center in Hawaii intend to file a lawsuit in federal court alleging the service was negligent. Attorneys for Jeremy and Kaitlin Kuykendall, whose 15-month-old daughter Bella was abused in 2022 at the Ford Island Child Development Center, filed a pre-litigation SF-95 claim on Wednesday, according to a news release that day by Just Well Law, the Austin, Texas-based firm representing the family. Filing the claim is the first step in seeking compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act in federal court. Two center employees were convicted in Hawaii District Court of misdemeanor assault in the case and handed jail terms in January. Video footage from August 2022 revealed that employees pinched, slapped, squeezed, shook and smothered the toddler, according to the SF-95 claim. At times, the employees made the girl punch herself. The SF-95 claim alleges the Navy was negligent in its oversight of the day care facility. The necessary background checks were either inadequately performed or completely overlooked, allowing individuals unfit for childcare responsibilities to be employed at the facility, the claim states. At least one employee and potentially more were hired without the completion of necessary background checks. The Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Stars and Stripes on Wednesday. In an interview with Stars and Stripes in 2023, Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall said he and his wife had noticed bruising on Bellas legs and an unusual redness on her cheeks soon after she started attending the day care. Her demeanor also changed. The Kuykendalls brought their concerns to the day care director on Aug. 26, 2022, and the Honolulu Police Department was called in to investigate. The director initially said they could view video from the day cares closed-circuit system, but that offer was quickly withdrawn, the SF-95 claim states. The investigation languished, and the couple felt that Navy officials were downplaying the episode, the claim states. Four months later, the Kuykendalls acquired complete access to videos from the days Bella had attended the day care. [Jeremy] spent hundreds of hours reviewing 75 hours of footage from multiple angles that ultimately confirmed their worst fears, the SF-95 claim states. Over the three days spent at the CDC, [Bella] was consistently isolated, mishandled, neglected, and/or assaulted by three separate caregivers, the claim states. What started as negligent or basic inappropriate care on her first day rapidly escalated to violent acts. On her third and final day of attendance, Bella was assaulted from the time she was dropped off until the time she was picked up, the claim states. On that day, she experienced a host of batteries, including being pinched in multiple locations on her body including the back of her thighs, stomach, head, neck, and the side of her face, the claim states. She was kicked in her side, forcefully pulled by her wrist, pinned down, hit on the back of her head, held in a chokehold, and excessively squeezed, the claim states. During nap time, caregivers wrapped her blanket so tightly around her body and head that she could not move. After Jeremy Kuykendall lodged a formal complaint with the inspector general at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Quantico, Va., criminal cases were filed against two workers from the child care center by local Honolulu prosecutors, the claim states. Analyn DeGuzman and Marilyn Kanekoa were each charged with assault in the third degree. During separate hearings Jan. 17 in Honolulu, DeGuzman was given 30 days in jail and Kanekoa received eight. Attorneys for the family allege that the Navy failed to follow policy mandating that CCTV video footage be displayed in the lobby during operational hours. During the week of [Bellas] attendance, fewer than five TVs were operational, with none showing footage from [her] classroom, a breach of the centers guidelines, the claim states. There were obstructions in the camera view due to artwork hanging from the ceiling and the placement of [Bellas] cot between a bookshelf and a table, both of which are against [policy], the claim states. The Pentagons inspector general announced in May that investigators would evaluate how the Defense Department and military services respond to child abuse allegations at its day care facilities. The evaluation will look at how allegations are addressed and communicated to parents. Japanese soldiers set up a Patriot missile defense battery during a demonstration at Yokota Air Base, Japan, in August 2017. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes) TOKYO Japan will begin selling domestically produced missiles to the United States in a bid to bolster U.S. weapon supplies in the region. The U.S. will purchase approximately $19.6 million worth of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors, or PAC-3 missiles, the Japanese Defense Ministrys agency for acquisition, technology and logistics said in a Sunday news release. The number of missiles included in the deal was not disclosed. U.S. stocks of PAC-3 missiles, commonly used in the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system, have decreased over the past year due to U.S. support for Ukraine. The missiles transferred to the U.S. forces will complement the U.S. force inventory and help strengthen security and defense cooperation with the United States, as well as contribute to Japans security and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the agency said. Japan has given Ukraine equipment, but no weaponry, in part due to public opposition, said James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple Universitys Japan campus. By providing Japanese-made PAC-3 missiles to the United States, Japan can indirectly assist Ukraine with much-needed air-defense systems, but without provoking a public backlash, Brown told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday. The deal marks the first time a Japanese-manufactured weapon will be transferred back to the licensee since Tokyo revised its guidelines on weapons transfers to other countries, an agency official said by phone Tuesday. Some Japanese officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity. Japan in December revised rules governing the transfer of weapons produced under license. Missiles under the new deal will be transferred from the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces stockpile back to the U.S. An unidentified spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense by email Monday declined to comment on the subject and referred Stars and Stripes to Department of Defense press releases. The deal follows security talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo on Sunday, when the four committed to pursuing increased production of PAC-3 interceptors and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. The four ministers in a joint statement Sunday welcomed high-priority efforts to expand co-production of the two missiles to meet the critical demands for such advanced systems. Japans Mitsubishi Heavy Industries makes approximately 30 PAC-3 missiles per year under a license from Lockheed Martin and is capable of increasing production to 60 per year, the Japan Times reported July 20. Aranakigaa, a spring about a quarter-mile from Marine Corps Air Station Futenmas southwestern fence line, is pictured in Ginowan city, Okinawa, on Aug. 1, 2024. The spring registered 1.1 micrograms of PFAS per liter, 22 times the provisional standard, according to an annual report released by the Okinawa prefectures Environmental Protection Division in April. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes) MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, Okinawa Okinawa added four more checkpoints outside this U.S. base in its hunt for the source of PFAS in nearby wells, the prefecture announced in a meeting Wednesday. The prefecture began digging the checkpoints last week between MCAS Futenma and wells registering high levels of PFAS contamination, a spokesman for the prefectures Environmental Protection Division said by phone Thursday. The prefecture announced the additional checkpoints at a meeting of PFAS experts on Wednesday in Naha. The checkpoints part of a three-year project to find the source of PFAS contamination in the affected wells may be finished in August or September, the spokesman said. Eight checkpoints four per year were dug in 2022 and 2023, he added. I think we will be able to get data by around October and hope we can show it in November when the next meeting will happen, the spokesman said. Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity. We still think that contaminated groundwater is accumulated or exists under MCAS Futenma and this is flowing to these wells, the spokesman said. Researchers at two Okinawa universities also discovered PFOS a component of PFAS at levels 82 times Japans national average in porcupinefish caught in a canal where groundwater from MCAS Futenma flows, according to a Thursday report by Okinawa Times. Japans Ministry of the Environment surveys the level of chemical substances in living organisms each fiscal year. Professor Yutaka Tashiro of Meio University, who conducted the study with associate professor Takuma Ito of Okinawa International University, could not be reached by email Thursday. The report was not available online. PFAS and its components, PFOS and PFOA, are found in firefighting aqueous film forming foam, once commonly used on some U.S. military bases. They are also found in a wide variety of consumer products, including nonstick cookware and stain-resistant clothing and fabrics. In April 2020, 38,000 gallons of firefighting foam spilled into a stream and neighborhood near MCAS Futenma. The Defense Department has removed the firefighting foam from all its Navy and Marine Corps bases in Japan and from all Army bases and Misawa Air Base on Honshu, the largest of the countrys four main islands, U.S. Forces Japan said in June 2023. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dubbed PFAS and its components forever chemicals because they persist a long time in the environment. They pose a potential danger to the bodys immune system and may be linked to kidney and testicular cancer, low birth weight and lower anti-body response to vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The prefectures Environmental Protection Division discovered PFAS above Japans provisional safe drinking water standard in 19 of 37 sites it sampled around MCAS Futenma between August 2023 and January, according to an annual report released by the division in April. Japans provisional standard is 0.05 micrograms per liter. Vladimir Kara-Murza speaks in front of the Russian Embassy in 2018 in Washington. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) Vladimir Kara-Murza, a longtime opposition politician and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor who is serving a 25-year sentence in Russia for treason because he criticized the war in Ukraine, was being moved from the penal colony where he was being held, prison officials said on Wednesday, to an uncertain destination. Officials from Russias penitentiary service told Reuters that Kara-Murza was being transferred from the colony, IK-6 in the Siberian city of Omsk, but would not say to where. Kara-Murza has been in poor health, but his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, said that the defense team could not get access to their client at an Omsk hospital for two consecutive days. Prokhorovs statement, on Facebook, added to mounting speculation by lawyers, prisoners relatives and journalists that the United States, Germany and potentially other countries are preparing for a sweeping prisoner swap with Russia. Also this week, at least seven other political prisoners in Russia disappeared from the colonies where they were being held, including opposition figures Ilya Yashin, Lilia Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, as well as activist Oleg Orlov and artist Alexandra Skochilenko, a move that lawyers described as extremely unusual. In addition to Kara-Murza, two other prisoners were reported to have gone missing Wednesday, bringing to 10 the total number suddenly out of communication. According to Prokhorov, Kara-Murza is due to appear in court on Thursday, but it is not clear whether the hearing will be held. At the same time, he said, hospital administrators would not confirm that Kara-Murza had been moved. Plane spotters on Wednesday reported that a special government aircraft, part of the flight squadron Russia, which is managed by the presidential administration, visited several regions where the missing prisoners were being held before returning to Moscow, prompting speculation that some of them were moved to the capital. A lawyer for Paul Whelan, an American former Marine who was convicted of spying in 2020 and is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia, said that she is unaware of his whereabouts and cannot contact him. There are rumors about a possible exchange, the lawyer, Olga Karlova, told the Interfax news agency. I sent a request to the colony administration, but they are not responding. Karlova said she requested that the Public Monitoring Commission, a government body overseeing prisoners across Russia, visit Whelan and establish his whereabouts. Eva Merkacheva, a member of the commission, said the group did not have any information about a potential swap but did not rule it out. Could this be a group exchange? Anything is possible, Merkacheva wrote on her Telegram blog. This has never happened in modern Russian history, but in Soviet history it did. Could this be a pardon? In the case of some, it could have been (as they wrote a petition to the president), but the rest did not do this. Maria Ponomarenko, a journalist serving a six-year sentence for spreading fakes about the Russian military, was not brought to a scheduled court hearing on Friday, her employer, RusNews, posted on its Telegram channel. Prisoners relatives and friends said they are unaware of the reasons for the transfers. A lawyer for one prisoner told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the defense team did not get any heads-up about a potential swap, but everything looks very unusual and extraordinary; something very unusual is going on. I dont believe in coincidences; it looks like well-coordinated actions, the lawyer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of concern about legal repercussions for communicating with a foreign news organization. There was no confirmation from American or Russian officials that the prisoner movements were connected to an exchange. However, senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have said that talks are underway for an exchange that would involve the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, convicted in Russia this month of espionage charges that he, his employers and the U.S. government say are baseless. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday declined to comment on the possibility of a prisoner exchange, as he did the day before when also asked about the speculation. On Tuesday, Rico Krieger, a German citizen who was sentenced to death after being convicted in Belarus of terrorism, was pardoned in a surprise move by the countrys authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko. Some analysts suggested that Krieger could be involved in a swap as Russia is known to be seeking the release of Vadim Krasikov, an assassin serving a life sentence in Germany. Russia also holds a 19-year-old dual Russian-German citizen, Kevin Lik, who was recently sentenced to four years for treason. On Tuesday, Lik disappeared from a colony in the remote northern Arkhangelsk region. U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Clark was sentenced Aug. 1, 2024, at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany, after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. Clarks punishment is a year in prison and dismissal from the Army. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes) KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany An Army officer with nearly two decades of service was sentenced Thursday to a year and a day in prison and dismissal from the military after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. Capt. Matthew Clarks sentence was handed down by Lt. Col. Thomas Hynes after a daylong court session at Kleber Kaserne. Based on his guilty plea, Clark faced up to 10 years in prison. Clark, 44, was originally charged with five counts of child pornography possession but pleaded guilty to only one count as part of his agreement with prosecutors. The decision to be tried by a judge instead of a jury was made after his arraignment in March, leading to Thursdays proceedings. A former enlisted soldier on active-duty orders as a reservist, Clark was stationed in Stuttgart in March 2022, when his then-girlfriend, Sophia Wagner, found the explicit imagery on his personal laptop, prosecutors said. Clark was last assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, said Maj. Javon Starnes, a command spokesman. Captain Clark participated in the abuse of at least nine different children, as noted in the stipulation of fact, lead prosecutor Capt. Victoria Jones said. Every viewing, every download is another iteration of that abuse. The court also reviewed impact statements from victims representatives that detailed the enduring trauma caused by the exploitation in the imagery downloaded and viewed by Clark. Wagner, a German citizen, met Clark as a renter in her parents property. She attended the hearing but was not allowed to testify because the court ruled that she was not a direct victim. It was hard (to see this imagery), especially because I work as a preschool teacher and deal with young children every day, Wagner said in an interview Thursday. It deeply affected my trust in people. I realized that these children will suffer for the rest of their lives because of what was done to them. The defense underscored Clarks lengthy record of service. Over his 18-year career, he completed four combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and received numerous accolades, including the Air Medal for his actions as a Black Hawk crew chief and door gunner. Attorney Joseph Jordan sought leniency for Clark, telling the judge that he makes the mortgage payments for his elderly mother and has been receiving psychological treatment for the past two years. Clark also made a statement to the court in which he expressed remorse for his actions. I believe people should acknowledge their mistakes and stand up and take responsibility, he said. Ive crossed the line, but Ive never intentionally tried to hurt anyone. As a result of his dismissal from the Army, Clark will lose military benefits such as his pension. Wagner told Stars and Stripes that although Clark had taken a measure of responsibility, her heart aches for the children affected by his crime. Justice doesnt always equate to true fairness, especially when considering the lifelong impact on these young victims, she said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Azerbaijan and the UAE have discussed the progress on joint green energy initiatives, Trend reports via the statement of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy. According to the statement, this issue was discussed at a meeting between the co-chairs of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and the UAE, namely the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Mikayil Jabbarov, and his UAE counterpart, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, in Azerbaijan's Shusha city. "The meeting noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE are based on the principles of mutual friendship and respect, highlighting the important role of the political will of the heads of state of the two countries in developing cooperation. A special role for mutual visits and ongoing discussions in identifying new directions for bilateral relations was emphasized. It was brought to attention that the activities of the Trade Representative Office of Azerbaijan in the UAE and the Azerbaijani Trade House in Dubai contribute to the development of business connections. The bilateral meeting highlighted the existing great potential for developing cooperation, stressing the importance of further increasing mutual trade volumes and diversifying its structure. Discussions were held on potential investment projects in the fields of green energy and tourism, as well as the progress of negotiations on signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Azerbaijan and the UAE. Afterward, the 9th session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and the UAE took place. Speaking at the session, Jabbarov noted the successful development of the partnership between Azerbaijan and the UAE. The minister emphasized the growth of trade turnover between the countries and the positive results of joint initiatives. Participants in the event were briefed on the favorable business and investment environment created in our country, the activities of industrial zones and the Alat Free Economic Zone, as well as the 'open door' policy conducted for foreign investors. Investors from the UAE were invited to take advantage of the applied investment support mechanisms and participate in the implementation of joint projects. The UAE minister of economy expressed satisfaction with the visit to Azerbaijan and the organization of the commission's meeting in Shusha. He stressed the country's significant development, drawing attention to important energy, transport, and logistics projects implemented at Azerbaijan's initiative. Confidence was expressed that the measures taken to strengthen multifaceted cooperation between the two countries would contribute to the realization of new joint projects and the development of trade and economic relations. The parties also discussed issues of strengthening bilateral partnerships, implementing joint initiatives in green energy and other areas, and potential areas of cooperation within the framework of COP29. At the end of the 9th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UAE, a protocol was signed. The document signed by Jabbarov and Al Marri envisages the expansion of cooperation in trade and investment, support for small and medium-sized businesses, innovation and digitalization, energy, including green energy, industry, agriculture, food security, environmental protection, land reclamation and water resources management, transport and logistics, communications and high technologies, science and education, tourism, healthcare, culture, and others," the statement added. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh stands before a giant photograph showing al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, at his home in Gaza City in April 2018. (Heidi Levine/The Washington Post) Israel has pursued its enemies from afar for decades, targeting Hamas leaders not only in the Palestinian territories but much farther afield. The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran early Wednesday likely adds to the list. Hamas has described the death of Haniyeh, the head of its political wing, as an assassination. The group, along with Iran, blamed Israel for the killing and vowed retaliation raising fears that the Middle East could be plunged into further chaos. The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli prime ministers office declined to comment on Haniyehs death in Tehran, and Israel has not claimed responsibility. Israel does sometimes confirm its role in targeted killings. The Israeli military said this week that it had killed Fuad Shukr, whom it called Hezbollahs most senior military commander, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Tuesday. Israels military said the attack on Shukr was retaliation for a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. But often the country has refused to confirm its role in targeted killings across borders, preferring a strategic ambiguity that allows a veil of deniability. Here are some of the other significant plots to kill Hamas leaders that have been linked to Israel. Yahya Ayyash, 1996 Yahya Ayyash, the chief bombmaker for Hamas, was killed by answering a rigged cellular phone in Gaza in 1996. Nicknamed The Engineer, Ayyash was likely targeted by Israeli agents, The Washington Post previously reported. Ayyash was believed to be responsible for introducing suicide bombings as a terrorism weapon against Israel, the New York Times reported in 1996, adding that Israel considered him the mastermind behind terrorist attacks since 1992 that had claimed at least 60 lives and wounded hundreds. While nobody claimed responsibility for Ayyashs killing, Israeli state radio first reported his death, citing informed Israeli sources. Ayyashs killing sparked a string of fatal bus bombings in Israel. Khaled Meshal, 1997 Khaled Meshal, a Hamas leader who grew up in the West Bank, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997. Meshal left the West Bank after the Israeli takeover in 1967, moving to Kuwait and then in 1991 to Jordan, where he was an active member of Hamas. He became the chief of Hamass political bureau in 1996, as reported by The Post. One year later, while on a street in Amman, the Jordanian capital, Meshal was injected in the ear with a lethal poison by the Mossad, Israels overseas intelligence agency, in an operation approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meshal survived, after Jordans King Hussein arrested the agents responsible and threatened to break a newly minted peace accord with Israel if it did not provide the poisons antidote. The agents were later released in exchange for an apology for the botched assassination and the release of 20 Palestinian prisoners. The Hamas leader continued to live in Jordan until 1999, when the group was banned by the king; then he moved to Qatar, then Syria, and back to Qatar. Meshal became the groups top political leader in 2004 after Israel assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Hamass political leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Meshal remains a senior figure in Hamas. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 2004 Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in Gaza City in March 2004. Yassin, a wheelchair-bound Palestinian cleric, was among those who established Hamas in 1987. Yassin spent years of his life in an Israeli prison. In 1983 he was arrested by Israeli forces for allegedly forming an underground organization and possessing weapons. He was released two years later as part of a prisoner swap, according to Al Jazeera. In 1989, he was arrested again and sentenced to 40 years in prison, charged with inciting violence and ordering the killing of an Israeli soldier. He was released in 1997 after Jordans King Hussein struck a deal with Israel. Following Yassins death, Rantisi was named his successor, though Rantisi was killed in an Israeli airstrike less than a month later. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, 2004 Abdel Aziz Rantisi had been the top Hamas leader inside the Gaza Strip for barely a month when an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles on his white Subaru sedan in the streets of Gaza and assassinated him alongside two bodyguards in April 2004. Rantisi had taken the helm after Yassins assassination that March. Formerly a pediatrician, Rantisi was known for his lack of compromise with Israel and could mobilize tens of thousands of Palestinians into the streets within hours. The missiles had come three days after President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and vowed to wipe out Palestinian terrorism, according to a Post story from 2004. Israel defended the assassination. We are preventing terrorist attacks, and part of the prevention is to go after terrorists like Rantisi, said Gideon Meir, deputy director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Anyone who will replace him and will continue this business of terrorism against Israel is a legitimate target. Rantisi was taken to al-Shifa Hospital, where he died. Israel will regret this revenge is coming, Haniyeh told reporters at the hospital at the time. This blood will not be wasted. The battle will not weaken our determination or break our will. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 2010 Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas operative, was assassinated in a hotel room in Dubai in January 2010. Hamas officials accused Israel of the killing and vowed revenge. Israeli officials, in keeping with standard policy on such allegations, did not comment, The Post reported at the time. Mabhouh was one of the founders of Hamass military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and was widely known for his involvement in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989, The Post reported. Citing medical reports supplied to the family, Mabhouhs brother said the documents indicated that Mabhouh had been subjected to electric shocks and strangulation. Dubais official media office did not mention a cause of death but quoted police and security officials who said Mabhouh entered the country on Jan. 19 and was found dead within a day, suggesting that his movements were being tracked. Cate Brown, Susannah George and Mohamad El Chamaa contributed to this report. Hamas former political leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, and Yehiya Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind behind Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed at least 1,200 people. () Israels military confirmed Thursday it had killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif), in an operation in July. The news came a day after the head of Hamass political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Deifs death was a significant step towards eliminating Hamas as a military and governing organization. Hamas did not immediately confirm or deny the Israel Defense Forces announcement, though it had previously denied Deif had been killed. Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for Haniyehs killing, although Israeli officials have declined to comment on that operation. Israeli forces see the targeting of Hamas leaders as key to eliminating the group, even as experts warn that theres no single figurehead whose death would serve as a knockout blow to the movement. Israel has killed several high-ranking Hamas officials since the group attacked Israeli communities near the Gaza border in October. Some Hamas leaders live in the Gaza Strip, while others are scattered across the Middle East, in Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey. Here are some of Hamass key figures - many of whom have been killed. Ismail Haniyeh Haniyeh was the head of Hamass political operations and conducted much of his work from the Qatari capital, Doha. His role, according to analysts, was to be the public face of Hamas, spread the groups political rhetoric and raise money to fund its operations. He had been under U.S. economic sanctions since 2018. Haniyeh was involved in the cease-fire negotiations with Israel through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, although the two sides struggled to reach an agreement. Several of Haniyehs close family members, including three of his sons, at least two of his grandchildren, and his sister and her family, were killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent months. With the political and military leaders of Hamas kept separate - geographically and organizationally - it is unclear to what extent political leaders such as Haniyeh knew about the Oct. 7 attack. Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007, following an election to determine who would preside over the enclave after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005. No elections have been held since 2006. Haniyeh was chosen by members of the group to be president of its political bureau in 2017. Hamas said Haniyeh was killed Wednesday as he visited Tehran for the inauguration of its new president, and that he was killed by a missile that targeted him in the state guesthouse where he was staying. Yehiya Sinwar Yehiya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, is known by Israelis as the butcher of Khan Younis, his hometown in southern Gaza. He previously undertook counterintelligence work for Hamas, targeting spies and informants within the group. He is believed to be one of the few Hamas leaders who planned the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and is thought to be hiding in or around Khan Younis in tunnels, said Jonathan Lord, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. The scale of Oct. 7 can be attributed to Sinwars methodical approach to creating the plan and communicating about in a very analog way, Lord said. Sinwar, he added, kept discussions off devices that could be tapped by Israeli intelligence and kept the circle of those who knew about the attack very small. Sinwar spent two decades in an Israeli prison for orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers. He speaks fluent Hebrew and is considered to have a deep understanding of Israel. He was released from prison in 2011 as part of a large prisoner swap that involved the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Mohammed Deif Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif), a shadowy figure who rarely spoke or appeared in public, had led the al-Qassam Brigades for more than two decades. Israel targeted Deif in an operation July 13 in the Mawasi area of southern Gaza. At least 90 people were killed in the operation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated, the Israel Defense Forces wrote on X Thursday. It said his death was confirmed after an intelligence assessment. Not much is known about Deif. He was born in Khan Younis in 1965 and became a founding member of the al-Qassam Brigades in 1991, rising through the ranks to eventually lead the organization after its chief commander was killed in 2002. Deif had survived multiple attempts on his life over the years. Israel has said he was one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attacks, without providing details about his role. Hes a legend, a member of a Hamas security detail told The Washington Post of Deif in 2014. Imad Falouji, a former senior Hamas leader, also told The Post then that Deif kept a low profile, moving around with different passports and different identities. Marwan Issa Marwan Issa, deputy commander of Hamass military wing and a right-hand man to Deif, was killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza in March, the White House confirmed. Hamass number three, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the time. The rest of the top leaders are in hiding, likely deep in the Hamas tunnel network. And justice will come for them, too. We are helping to ensure that. Issa was believed to have run many of Hamass day-to-day operations, said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. With Deif spending much of his life incognito, Issa helped run logistical operations for the al-Qassem Brigades. Israel considered Issa a very significant threat, Byman added. Mohammed Sinwar Mohammed Sinwar is the right-hand man to his brother, Yehiya Sinwar. Although he has long been rumored to have been killed, the IDF has indicated recently that he is alive. It said in early November that it had raided Mohammeds office, where it said it found military doctrine documents. In December, the IDF also released what it said was video of Mohammed in a car inside a Gaza tunnel. If Israel assassinates the Sinwar brothers and Deif, it could find a way to declare victory and end the war in Gaza, Lord, the analyst, said. Khaled Meshal Once the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal is now in charge of the groups diaspora office, cultivating support for Hamas abroad, including among Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. After the Oct. 7 attack and the start of Israels war in Gaza, Meshal called for protests in Muslim nations, saying in a recorded statement, This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you; you all know your responsibility. Meshal survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 1997. The attempted killing, in the Jordanian capital, Amman, threw Jordans relations with Israel into disarray. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also prime minister in 1997, ordered the poisoning, U.S. and Israeli officials said at the time. Meshal survived after officials from the United States and Jordan demanded that Israel give him the antidote. He has said the assassination attempt was a pivotal moment in his life, calling it his second birth. Saleh Arouri Saleh Arouri, who was second-in-command of Hamass political wing, was killed in a Beirut suburb on Jan. 2. Hezbollah, the Iranian-aligned militant and political group in Lebanon that has engaged in skirmishes with Israel, said Arouri was killed by a drone armed with three rockets. Hezbollah said Israel was to blame for the attack, but Israel has not claimed responsibility for the killing. Arouri had been imprisoned in Israel on multiple occasions and was a founder of the al-Qassam Brigades. Israel accused him in 2014 of planning the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers, triggering an Israeli response in Gaza that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians. Arouris death in Beirut sent a signal to Hamas leaders outside Gaza that they were not immune to the risk of assassination. Andrew Jeong, Victoria Bisset, Sarah Dadouch, Steve Hendrix, Claire Parker, Adam Taylor and Sudarsan Raghavan contributed to this report. Emergency personnel respond to a report of a gas leak in Sterling, Va., on July 31, 2024. A failed valve was the cause of last nights ammonia leak that evacuated a large industrial building in Sterling and sent employees to several local area hospitals. (Loudoun County Fire and Rescue) At least 33 people were taken to hospitals Wednesday night after ammonia leaked inside a culinary facility near Dulles International Airport in Virginia, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. A department spokeswoman said five of the victims were transported with very serious, potentially life-threatening conditions. The incident occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. at Cuisine Solutions, the spokeswoman said. The company has a global reach, partnering with mega retailers such as Costco and Target to provide meal kits and food offerings such as a popular egg bite breakfast item sold at Starbucks, according to its website. Headquartered in Sterling, Cuisine Solutions is an industry leader in commercializing a culinary technique known as sous vide, which uses temperature-controlled water to slowly cook food in a vacuum-sealed bag. From chicken tenders to lamb shanks with portobello mushrooms, their products are ubiquitous - found on airlines and at conventions, hotels, cruises and in the prepared meal section of grocery stores. Wednesdays incident occurred in a building in the 22400 block of Sous Vide Lane in Sterling, at a commercial complex north of the airport. A company representative did not immediately comment Thursday morning. The company, which also has a presence in Alexandria, recently partnered with the regions professional rugby team, Old Glory DC. In a statement posted online, authorities said firefighters and other first responders from Fairfax and Prince William counties assisted, along with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Five of the people taken to hospitals suffered significant symptoms, according to updated information provided by the fire department Thursday morning. The fire department spokeswoman said that among those taken to hospitals, 17 people had serious injuries and 11 had minor injuries. Their conditions could not immediately be determined Thursday morning. It was not immediately clear what caused the leak or how ammonia was being used at the facility. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, inhaling ammonia gas, which is colorless and has a distinct odor, can cause short-term respiratory problems. Prolonged exposure can cause coughing and wheezing and impaired lung functions. Auditors estimated claims processing mistakes for veterans seeking full disability totaled $100 million between May 2022 and April 2023, but the value could be as high as $250 million. Most of the mistakes resulted in underpayment to veterans, according to an inspector general report. (Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON Workers with the Department of Veterans Affairs made mistakes costing $100 million when reviewing veterans claims for full disability connected to injuries and illnesses from military service, a new report from the agencys inspector general concluded. About 75% of claims for a 100% disability rating that auditors reviewed between May 2022 and April 2023 were improperly processed, resulting in overpayments and underpayments, according to the July report. Thats way too high of a number and, frankly, unacceptable, Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, said last week at a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committees subpanel on disability assistance and memorial affairs. The findings were the focus of a House hearing that looked at ways to improve education and training for processors to review and render decisions on disability claims. The errors were the result of processors failing to follow VA policies and procedures for deciding compensation in complex claims for full disability, according to the findings. When claims processors have to redo their work, and when veterans and survivors have to appeal incorrect decisions on their claims, that adds months or years to how long veterans and survivors must wait to finally receive the benefits they are eligible for, said Luttrell, the committee chairman and a Navy veteran. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said processors have larger workloads due to the volume of claims filed since passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, known as the PACT Act. Signed into law in 2022, the PACT Act provides disability compensation for veterans suffering illnesses linked to toxic exposure from burn pits, radiation and other hazardous materials during military duty. The VA has onboarded thousands of processors seemingly overnight in response to the PACT Act. Even the most robust system would be strained, Pappas said. Claims processors need the training and support from managers under increasing production quotas. Elizabeth Curda, director of education, workforce and income security issues at the Government Accountability Office, echoed those comments. She said the large volume of disability claims that veterans are filing can have an impact on the quality of the claim review. Curda also said it is essential to have effective onboarding and training for new employees as well as ongoing education and development for the existing workforce. The VA moved from on-the-job training for new processors to web-based and classroom education during the coronavirus pandemic. That practice continues. As a result, new processors do not learn with the tools and technology that they will use as workers, said Linda Parker-Cooks, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 138, representing the Veterans Benefits Administration regional office in Detroit. They need to review claims in the system and gain hands-on experience with technology they will use every day, she said. Parker-Cooks said new employees are not adequately trained to analyze the evidence that veterans present when seeking 100% disability. Instead, they are presented with printed examples of outcomes. Monthly compensation amounts from the VA are based on a veterans disability rating. A veteran who is considered unemployable can receive a 100% disability rating. When a veteran is unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation because of service-connected disabilities, VA policy states that the veteran should be rated totally disabled also referred to as total disability based on individual unemployability, according to the inspector general report. Auditors also found a large percentage of veterans were directed to undergo additional medical exams that were not needed to support their claims. Calling a veteran into an unnecessary exam is expensive, confusing to the veteran and delays the process. Its a big issue. We have a lot of work to do, said Ronald Burke, the VA deputy undersecretary for policy and oversight. Luttrell said many veterans are giving up on pursuing disability claims because of incorrect decisions and the time it takes to appeal a decision. The appeals process can extend for months or years before a final decision is rendered. Statistical samples of claims that were approved and denied for veterans seeking 100% disability were reviewed by auditors, according to the report. Though auditors estimated processing mistakes cost $100 million, they said the value could be as high as $250 million. Most of the mistakes resulted in underpayment to veterans, according to the findings. Burke said the agency is overhauling and modernizing training to improve the quality of decision making. He said the changes will include making class sizes smaller and giving new employees access to real cases in a more immersive learning environment. Weve asked ourselves what can we do better? We are out in the field talking to claims processors. Were listening to ideas and criticisms, he said. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. Retired Army Capt. Paul Bucha, a Medal of Honor recipient, died Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at the age of 80. He received the award in May 1970 for his actions during the Vietnam War. (U.S. Army) WASHINGTON Retired Army Capt. Paul Bud Bucha, a Medal of Honor recipient, died Wednesday in West Haven, Conn. He was 80. Bucha, a longtime resident of Ridgefield, Conn., received the Medal of Honor in May 1970 for his actions during the Vietnam War. Until his death, Bucha was the only living Medal of Honor recipient in the state, according to a statement from Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ron Welch. Medal of Honor recipients Paul Bucha, left, and John Finn at a reception in Washington, D.C. in 2007. Bucha died July 31, 2024 at age 80. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes) Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha at a National Medal of Honor Day wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery in March, 2009. Bucha died July 31, 2024 at age 80. ( Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes ) Medal of Honor recipients Robert L. Howard, left, and Paul Bucha at a National Medal of Honor Day wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery in March, 2009. Bucha died July 31, 2024 at age 80. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes) Paul Bucha is an American hero whose service to our country inspired many, including those who went on themselves to make the selfless decision to enlist in the military, Lamont said. Following his military service, he went on to work with several organizations that provide services to veterans and the military community. Bucha was born Aug. 1, 1943, in Washington, D.C., to an Army officer father. He was an All-American swimmer at Ladue Horton Watkins High School before being selected for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He graduated 18th in his Army class in 1965, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The honor was awarded to Bucha for actions that he took on March 16-18, 1968, as commanding officer of Company D on a reconnaissance-in-force mission against enemy forces near Phuoc Vinh in the Binh Duong province of Vietnam. On March 18, his unit encountered an overwhelming enemy attack. Capt. Bucha, with complete disregard for his safety, moved to the threatened area to direct the defense and ordered reinforcements to the aid of the lead element, according to his Medal of Honor citation. Seeing that his men were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire from a concealed bunker located some 40 meters to the front of the positions, Capt. Bucha crawled through the hail of fire to single-handedly destroy the bunker with grenades. He received a shrapnel wound during this action. Returning to the perimeter of the fight, Bucha observed that his unit could not hold its positions and repel the wave of enemy assaults. He ordered a withdrawal to a more defensible position. Throughout the night, Bucha encouraged his men, distributed ammunition and directed artillery and helicopter gunship fire. Using flashlights in complete view of enemy snipers, he directed the medical evacuation of three air-ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel and the helicopter supply of his company, according to his medal citation. Bucha led a rescue party at daybreak to recover the dead and wounded members of the ambushed force. After the Army in 1972, Bucha became prominent in business ventures, veterans support organizations and politics. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1993 but served as a foreign policy adviser for former President Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign. The UFC star narrowly avoided a jail sentence when he appeared in court yesterday where Judge David McHugh described McGregor's dangerous driving as "persistent, prolonged and deliberate" Conor McGregor has reacted to his two-year road ban for his appalling dangerous driving conviction, saying hes been fighting my whole life. The UFC star narrowly avoided a jail sentence when he appeared in court yesterday where Judge David McHugh described McGregor's dangerous driving as "persistent, prolonged and deliberate". Posting a picture of himself on Instagram as he arrived at Blanchardstown District Court he wrote: Ive been fighting my whole life..its worked out but, alongside a laughing emoji and a snippet of a song by Future featuring Drake. The photo shows McGregor looking serious as he makes his way into court with a snippet from the rap song Life is good playing in the background. Workin' on the weekend like usual. Way off in the deep end like usual, are among the lyrics in the song. McGregor admitted to the "appalling" episode of dangerous driving where he drove in a bus lane, jumped a red light and nearly collided with another vehicle. McGregor's Instagram post McGregor (36) told a garda "are you taking the piss" after he was asked to step out of his car on Dublin's M50. He also told the garda he was waiting to get out of his car because he "needed his security to catch up". A garda witness said he was driving at speeds of more than 160kph trying to catch McGregor's vehicle. Judge David McHugh said this incident was an appalling series of breaches of road traffic rules, and described McGregor's dangerous driving as "persistent, prolonged and deliberate". Judge McHugh convicted and fined McGregor 5,000 and banned him from driving for two years. The judge also imposed a five month jail sentence suspended for two years. The defendant, of The Paddocks, Castledillon, Straffan, Co Kildare, admitted careless driving at the M50 southbound and dangerous driving at the N4/M50 interchange. McGregor was initially charged with uninsured and unlicensed driving, but those matters were struck out after produced his documents, which were in order. Garda Denis Lordan told Blanchardstown District Court he was stopped at traffic lights at the junction of Lucan Road/R136 at 5.34pm on March 22, 2022, when he looked in his left wing mirror and saw a vehicle travelling along the bus lane at speed. The vehicle, a convertible, drove through the red light, failing to stop, and merged from the bus lane onto the Lucan Road, all in one movement. The car merged from the bus lane at high speed, and a second vehicle was forced to stop to avoid a collision. Gda Lordan said McGregor drove at high speed and out onto the roundabout outside Woodies without stopping. The car drove on the bus lane eastbound on the N4, before crossing the bus lane out onto the fast lane. Gda Lordan said McGregor drove at high speed on the N4, and the garda said he was doing more than 160kph trying to catch the vehicle. McGregor tried to undertake a car on the last lane, moving into the middle lane, before moving back out onto the fast lane, the court heard. He took the slip road, which has two lanes, to the M50. McGregor took the inside slip lane, moving to the outside lane over the hash markings, and causing dust to rise. Gda Lordan said McGregor drove onto the M50 southbound, moving from the fast lane to undertake a vehicle, before moving back to the fast lane. The garda said he tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over. McGregor finally pulled over onto the hard shoulder, he said. Gda Lordan told the driver to get out of the vehicle. McGregor said to him: "are you taking the piss? You want me to get out of the car, out of the vehicle on the M50?" Gda Lordan said he asked McGregor six or seven times to get out of the vehicle, and the defendant told him he was waiting because he "needed his security to catch up". The garda said he eventually opened the car door, and McGregor got out. He was arrested and taken back to the garda station where he was charged. The court heard McGregor had 20 previous convictions, mostly for minor road traffic matters. Defence lawyer David Staunton said that McGregor offered his apology to the court, and he regretted the incident. Mr Staunton said McGregor was acutely aware of the impact his behaviour had on others. The defendant was also very, very aware and acknowledged the difficulties driving like that can cause to others. Mr Staunton said the defendant had given back to his community, had a number of businesses and employed a lot of people. McGregor's father, who had been ill, was in court to support him, Mr Staunton said. Judge McHugh said McGregor put his life and the lives of other road users at risk, and he was considering an outright prison sentence due to the nature and degree of dangerous driving. Mr Staunton urged the judge to consider all other options, as prison should be a last resort. In all the circumstances, Judge McHugh said he would impose a five month suspended sentence. McGregor, wearing a three piece blue check suit, sat in the dock with his hands clasped for the duration of the hearing. He did not address the court. Dean O'Brien (38) was served with the book of evidence when he appeared on bail before Blanchardstown District Court Dean O'Brien of Blakestown Cottages in Clonsilla is charged with drug offences A Dublin man charged with drug offences after gardai seized an estimated 200,000 of cannabis and zopiclone tablets from an abandoned car has been sent for trial. Dean O'Brien (38) was served with the book of evidence when he appeared on bail before Blanchardstown District Court. The accused, of Blakestown Cottages in Clonsilla, is charged with possession of cannabis and zopiclone tablets as well as having the drugs for the purposes of sale or supply. The incident allegedly took place at Whitestown Park in Mulhuddart on August 5, last year. It is alleged that uniformed gardai came across an abandoned car, and when they searched it, they found the drugs. Mr O'Brien is further charged under Section 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act, where the alleged value of the cannabis was greater than 13,000. In this case, gardai previously alleged the street value of the drugs was 200,000, subject to analysis. A state solicitor said the book of evidence had been served on the accused, who goes forward to the next sittings of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge David McHugh gave Mr O'Brien the formal alibi caution. The judge assigned defence solicitor Mark O'Sullivan and one junior counsel on free legal aid. Given the seriousness of the allegations, Judge McHugh also assigned a second senior counsel on free legal aid. Mr O'Brien has not yet indicated a plea to the charges. The lethal medicine, containing pentobarbital sodium, is only allowed to be stored at a veterinary practice and to be administered intravenously by a vet A Dublin veterinary surgeon has been fined 12,500, while a supervisor at a dog pound has been fined 400, for their roles in the unlawful administration of a euthanasia drug to two dogs in 2020. The two cases are the latest in a series of prosecutions at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court relating to events at Ashton Dog Pound over the weekend of July 24, 2020, when a drug known as Dolethal was given orally to two dogs who later died. The lethal medicine, containing pentobarbital sodium, is only allowed to be stored at a veterinary practice and to be administered intravenously by a vet. Vet Sydney Nagle (65) of the Oaks, Hollystown, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or permitting someone other than a vet to have this medicine in their possession and control. Nagle also admitted to four counts related to his failure to keep records including batch numbers, serial numbers, sales and purchases of this animal remedy, and his failure to keep these records for five years. Raymond Connolly (56) of Claddagh Green, Ballyfermot, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts relating to possessing the vet-only medicine and causing or permitting a lay person to administer it to the two dogs over the weekend in question. The court heard that it had been decided previously at the pound that the two dogs, an Akita and a Bichon Frise, were to be put down. The dogs suffered symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea after they were dosed with Dolethal. One dog died while the other was humanely euthanised some days later. In a ruling, Judge Martin Nolan said he had no doubt that Nagle was a fine vet who has done considerable service to animals and animal owners. But Judge Nolan said the drug in question was particularly dangerous and can only be administered intravenously, by a vet. He is a professional vet, required to know the law by textbook. He should have known that and he didn't know it, he added. Judge Nolan gave Nagle, of Cara Veterinary Group, six months to pay the sum of 12,500. The judge described Nagle as a friendly and cooperative man with no previous convictions, and said he was likely to face some consequences as a result of an ongoing fitness-to-practise inquiry by the Veterinary Council of Ireland. Judge Nolan accepted that it was an established practice at this pound to administer Dolethal without a vet. Hugh Hartnett SC, counsel for Nagle, presented a number of testimonials which spoke highly of the vet, including from a veterinary colleague, animal owners and proprietors of kennels and a cattery. A picture emerges of a dedicated vet, said Mr Hartnett, who said Nagle accepted responsibility for not being appraised of the finer points of the law. Nagle, who has been a practising vet since 1982, told gardai that he was naive and did not know at the time that it was an offence. I accept it was my responsibility to know the law. I regret my naivety. At no time did I cause any pain or suffering to any animal; I tried to do my best, Nagle said. Judge Nolan described Connolly's culpability as quite low as he said he could not have been expected to know the intricacies of the law. He did what was done before; he followed instructions. He was administering drugs to dogs and thought it was normal procedure, the judge said of Connolly. It was illegal on many fronts and probably dangerous for himself and other employees, added Judge Nolan, giving Connolly six months to pay the fine of 400. Garda Aine McQuillan told Paul Carroll SC, prosecuting, that a member of staff at Ashton Dog Pound emailed the Bridewell Garda Station over the weekend in question, outlining their concerns for the welfare of the two dogs. Gardai went to the pound the following week and discovered the unlawful use of the animal-only remedy, which is labelled as such on the bottle. The court heard that Connolly, who was the pound supervisor, and two other staff members, administered the drug. Connolly would have held the dogs by a pole that has a mechanism to hold them about the neck, while the other staff squirted the drug into the dogs' mouths and into their food. Gardai established that Cara Veterinary Practice, of which Nagle was principal, sold about 30 bottles of Dolethal to the pound between January 2019 and July 2020. The drug was sold for 20 per bottle, and Nagle had a monthly retainer of 800 with the pound to supply them with the medicine. The longstanding practice at the pound was that staff would orally give some of the drug to sedate dogs deemed dangerous and then the vet would arrive some hours later to administer it intravenously in order to euthanise the dogs, the court heard. Connolly has no previous convictions. James Dwyer SC, counsel for Connolly, said he worked as a chef and a head porter at several Dublin hospitals before starting work at the pound in 2017. Connolly has also trained dogs for the blind, the court heard. Testimonials for Connolly, including from a couple who kept horses beside the pound, described him as conscientious and caring. Connolly was unemployed for a long time because of this case, counsel said, but has recently got work for a local authority. A letter was also submitted from Pieta House where Connolly got counselling after hitting rock bottom last year, the court heard. The case has had a significant impact on him but he is making a recovery, counsel said. A former manager of the pound, Donal Moroney (70), of Ayrfield Drive, Coolock, was fined 500 last month for allowing Dolethal to be stored at the pound and administered unlawfully to two dogs. The former owner of the pound, David Stone, was fined 30,000 in February 2023 for three similar charges. Stone (66), of Hazelbrook, Loughlinstown, Ratoath, Co Meath, had been running the pound since 1996 and had contracts with local councils including Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county council. Sonia Connolly allegedly provided an eyebrow blade used by a second attacker to cut the 16-year-old boy who was left permanently scarred A woman has been jailed for 20 months over an attack on a teenage boy who was "slashed" with a blade from his ear to the back of his neck on a double-decker bus in Dublin. Sonia Connolly (37) of Conyngham Road, Dublin 8 was accused of violent disorder on May 18 last year. She allegedly provided an eyebrow blade used by a second attacker to cut the 16-year-old boy who was left permanently scarred. She pleaded guilty to affray when she appeared before Judge Elma Sheahan at Criminal Courts of Justice yesterday who handed down the sentence. The violence disorder charge was not proceeded with. Ms Connolly had previously appeared before Judge David McHugh at Dublin District Court in January of this year after gardai received instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Detective Garda Keith Morrissey told the judge at that time that the woman "had nothing to say" to the charge The DPP directed trial on indictment in the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers. Ms Connolly did not address the court, which heard objections to her bail due to the seriousness of the case. Detective Garda Morrissey alleged that two males and two females, including the accused, boarded a number 16 bus and went upstairs. The injured party got on later in south Dublin. The contested bail hearing was told that an argument broke out among Ms Connolly's group, and one of the men left them and "shouted back at the three remaining members". The injured party, sitting near the front, made eye contact with the man, and there was a brief verbal exchange before a "fight broke out". A second male from the group joined the first, and it was claimed the pair attacked the boy with punches. It was alleged Ms Connolly made her way from the back of the bus to the two males and handed the first male an eyebrow blade, which he used to slash the back of the teen's neck for 20 centimetres from the left earlobe to the centre of the back of the neck". The court heard the blade "broke in two pieces during the assault". It was claimed the accused held the teen's head and got blood on her hand. The male was left holding the blade handle when they got off. But the accused allegedly re-boarded, "went upstairs and retrieved the blade" and left again. The injured party received 25 stitches. The detective handed into court photos of the boy's injuries. Cross-examined by defence solicitor John Quinn, the detective accepted the accused had health problems and had been in hospital before the case. The court heard she suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and had recently obtained secure accommodation. Mr Quinn said his presumed innocent client would abide by bail terms. Judge McHugh said Ms Connolly was accused of a serious offence but enjoyed the presumption of innocence and would get bail with strict conditions. He ordered her to provide her phone number to gardai and remain contactable, sign on daily at a garda station and reside at her current address. The judge set her bond at 150 and ordered her to return to the same District Court on March 15. Two other men are already before the courts on connected charges. Victim finally sees justice done after first telling gardai about crimes 23 YEARS ago Sex predator and former Dublin Bus driver Fergus Delaney is finally behind bars after pleading guilty to four counts of the sexual assault of 14-year-old Sinead Lay in 2000 and 2001. The pervert was remanded in custody on Monday by Judge Kerida Naidoo, for sentencing in October, more than 23 years after courageous Sinead and her mother first reported his crimes to gardai. In the intervening years, it has taken two more complaints from Sinead to gardai, a GSOC investigation, two complaints to Tusla and a civil case in the High Court which concluded Delaney had groomed and raped her to force the State to prosecute him. I feel relief for myself and for the public he has been remanded in custody, Sinead told the Sunday World following Mondays proceedings, He is a dangerous predator. He has shown no remorse for what he did to me and he has no insight into the damage he caused by his actions. Delaney was a Dublin Bus driver He actually claimed to gardai when he was finally arrested that he was in a relationship with me. He blamed me, he said I was the one who seduced him. He was in his late 30s I was 14 years old! Speaking of her battle for justice and of how, as a victim, she was let down by gardai and Tusla time and time again, Sinead said she had been forced to move mountains to force the State to prosecute her abuser. Initially I went to the gardai with my mother in 2001, she recalled. I sat in the garda station, still only a child, and told a female garda exactly what he did to me. That was a horrible experience for any child to go through and yet nothing was done about it. In fact, worse than nothing. A couple of months after Id made my statement, I got a call from gardai warning me not to be harassing Fergus Delaney. Sinead said she went back to gardai a second time in her early twenties. But she said she felt the investigation carried out on foot of her complaint was inadequate. The DPP came back and said no charges, she recalled. I then went to GSOC (the garda ombudsman) to complain, But they came back and said theyd hadnt found any deficiencies in the investigation - there was nothing to be done. Nor was Sineads experience at the hands of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency much better. Sinead Lay never gave up her fight for justice I first went to Tusla in 2011, Sinead recalled. It wasnt until six years later I got a letter from them saying, sorry about the delay, were now in a position to assess your case. When I first spoke to them, in 2011, I went in and spoke to two social workers. I went into graphic detail about what he had done to me. And then I heard absolutely nothing for six or seven years. But, finally, when they did come back to me after renewing contact, they said my complaints were founded. Around this time, Sinead had also initiated a case in the High Court seeking to have Delaney held responsible in the civil court. In May 2019, Judge Kevin Cross awarded Sinead total damages of 300,000 after finding Delaney had groomed, sexually assaulted and raped her on multiple occasions between November 2000 and August 2001. None of this is or was her own fault, the High Court judge said. She was not of an age in any way to consent to the attention given or what was done to her. The only person responsible is the defendant. Fergus Delaney Armed with newspaper reports from the civil case and the findings of Tusla, Sinead went back to gardai seeking justice for a third and final time. Its shocking to have to say this but, as a victim, I had to make a nuisance of myself, Sinead said. I told them Id taken this to the High Court and won and that Tusla had investigated my complaint and confirmed it was founded. I brought in all the newspaper articles. I didnt care how crazy it looked. I had to do it because this man was still driving a Dublin Bus, he still had access to children. I told the gardai they needed to look into it properly. And thats when, to be fair, they did take it seriously. And the investigating gardai this time round Ciara and Danielle, were excellent. But it has taken more than 20 years to get to this point. You hear these stories about victims who were afraid to speak up when they were kids but who finally got the courage to speak out as adults. I wasnt one of those people. I told the very people I was supposed to tell. Thats the really sad thing here and its what really hurts and annoys me. Sinead said, in light of her own arduous battle for justice, she isnt able to issue a blanket statement to other victims urging them to come forward. It depends on what you, the person this happened to, needs to move on, she said. Its a very personal and subjective journey. If I had known in the beginning what I would have to do to get to this point, would I have done it? The answer is probably not! I was retraumatised again and again by the system that was meant to help me. I would say be prepared for a long drawn out battle. And, possibly, to not get the outcome you are looking for. You may have to move mountains. I am who I am today because of what I went through to get this to where it is now. I feel it has given me character and the strength not to take no for an answer when something is wrong. There needs to be accountability. I do hope that my story is a warning to anyone considering abusing a child that we grow up! That child you plan on abusing will one day grow up and come seeking justice. The day may come, as it has come for Fergus Delaney, that you will be put behind bars. That you may one day lose everything if you do this, your reputation, your family, your liberty! If nothing else, I hope my story sends that warning to these people. Convicted child abuser Fergus Delaney will be sentenced for his crimes in October of this year. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each of the four counts of the section 2 sexual assault of Sinead Lay. John Ryan admitted a charge of fraud by abuse of position and was handed a 12-month sentence, which was suspended for 18 months A Belfast man who padded out his wages by falsifying his timesheets whilst employed as an agency worker with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) today avoided a jail term. John Ryan admitted a charge of fraud by abuse of position and was handed a 12-month sentence, which was suspended for 18 months, at Belfast Crown Court. As he imposed the sentence, Judge Neil Rafferty KC told the 35-year old, from Dunmisk Walk, that his offending was stupid and that he was always going to be caught. Ryans offending occurred over a period spanning from February 13, 2018, to September 22, 2019. The court heard that, via a recruitment agency, Ryan began working with the NIHE in June 2017. His offending came to light in September 2019 and, after being interviewed by a senior manager within the NIHE, he left his position as a clerical worker. As an agency worker, Ryan was required to lodge timesheets to a supervising officer with the NIHE. These timesheets were then signed off and passed to the recruitment agency. However, over an 18-month period, Judge Rafferty said that Ryan padded out his hours on a weekly basis, adding hours to his timesheet so that he could then claim for work that he hadnt actually done. The loss to the NIHE amounted to 19,946.10, with Judge Rafferty saying Ryans offending was committed over a sustained period. Defence barrister Michael Ward highlighted the delay in bringing the case to court, which Crown barrister James Johnston accepted was significant. Mr Ward also said that whilst Ryan manipulated the system for his own financial gain by lodging inaccurate timesheets, the offending was very different than someone who was in a position of financial trust. Defence submissions revealed that Ryan, after leaving this position, obtained full-time employment. It also emerged that he has a clear criminal record and has not committed any further offending. Judge Rafferty said that whilst there was a delay in the case, it has afforded this offender an opportunity to show that he has, and continues, to stay out of trouble. Addressing Ryan as he stood in the dock, Judge Rafferty told him: You were always going to be caught. At some point there is always an internal audit and that internal audit was always going to compare your timesheets with the timings recorded. The moment that happened, you were guaranteed to be convicted. It was stupid and it was short-sighted. You seem to be back on the straight and narrow. Let this be a one-off learning for you. Before leaving the court, Ryan was warned of the consequences should he re-offend over the next 18 months. The four male victims were assaulted with a bladed weapon, suffering life-threatening injuries which led to them being hospitalised. POLICE on the Algarve have arrested an Irish tourist on suspicion of attempted homicide after several Dutch holidaymakers were injured. Earlier this week it emerged weapons were used during a mass fight at an apart-hotel in the resort of Albufeira involving Irish and Dutch guests. Police sources had said they were expecting to make arrests after identifying those involved. On Wednesday, they confirmed the detention and gave details about the scale of the altercation, saying four men had been stabbed and suffered life-threatening injuries following initial reports the life of just one of the victims had been in danger. The violence flared around 4.30am on Monday at the three-star Soldoiro Tourist Apartments in Albufeiras Praia da Oura area. Local reports said an argument started between the two groups over the loud music coming from the Dutch tourists apartment. It was initially understood there were casualties on both sides, although police sources said the injured men aged between 17 and 21 were all from Holland. In their first official comments so far on the incident, a spokesman for the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) force on the Algarve said: The PJ arrested a 19-year-old man yesterday on strong evidence that he had committed the offence of aggravated attempted homicide which took place in the early hours of the morning on July 29 in the municipality of Albufeira. The four male victims were assaulted with a bladed weapon, suffering life-threatening injuries which led to them being hospitalised. According to the PJ's Southern Directorate, the attacks followed an argument which triggered exchanges of insults that quickly escalated to physical confrontation. The attacks were carried out in an intense and violent manner between three Irish citizens and nine Dutch citizens, aged between 17 and 21, inside the apartment complex where they were staying. In the course of the police enquiries, evidence was collected that led to the full identification of the suspect and his subsequent arrest. The detainee will be brought before the competent judicial authorities for questioning. It was not immediately clear this afternoon whether the unnamed suspect, who police sources confirmed was an Irish national, had already appeared before a judge. The courts will have to decide whether to remand him in custody or release him on conditional bail pending an ongoing inquiry. Reports on the day of the incident said three knives had been seized by police. Detectives have not made any official comment on the weapons confiscated. A police source said after news of the stabbings first emerged on Monday: According to the witnesses, the Irish group who were on an upper floor at the tourist apartment block started complaining about the noise coming from the Dutch groups apartment on the ground floor. There appears to have been a big argument between them. When officers arrived the fight was over and officers focus was on taking care of the wounded. Detectives have not yet said whether they expect to make further arrests later on. A dog warden said the heat in the house was unreal. The dogs were distressed and the pups were in an awful state. A pit bull breeder has been jailed for eight months after he was found guilty of neglect of dogs and failing to provide them with sufficient food or uncontaminated water. Anthony Costello (44) had left two adult female dogs in cages, and they had no food or water. Seven pups were in makeshift pens in a back room of his house, and their food was contaminated by faeces. A dog warden said the heat in the house was unreal. The dogs were distressed and the pups were in an awful state. Costello denied the charges, claiming he spent eight hours in Swords Garda Station, so the dogs had been left on their own all day and had been p***ing and s***ing. Asked by Judge Dermot Dempsey if the condition of the dogs was consistent with Costello being away from the house for six hours, the dog warden replied: No. Judge Dempsey imposed an eight-month sentence. He banned Costello from owning or training dogs for 10 years. The defendant, of Applewood Mews in Swords, was found guilty of neglect of a dog, and failing to supply a sufficient quantity of food or uncontaminated drinking water. Sergeant Alan Byrne told Swords District Court that gardai got a vile smell when they searched Costellos house on November 18, 2022. Sgt Byrne said a female dog was in a travel cage in the hall, while a second was in a front room. The sergeant took a video of the scene, which was shown to the court. Dog warden Stuart Murphy said the pit bull in the travel cage had no food or water and was barely able to move. He said the second dog, a black pit bull bitch, was going crazy. Mr Murphy said he heard yelping, and he went into a bathroom, which had paw marks and faeces. In a back room, he found two makeshift pens containing seven pups. They were in an awful state, their food was contaminated and they had no access to clean water. In cross-examination, Sgt Byrne accepted the dogs did not have fleas, while Mr Murphy said physically the dogs looked alright, but mentally they were in distress. In his evidence, Costello accepted the video doesnt look great. He said his house kept flooding with raw sewage from the neighbours, and the house was a building site. He said he had fed the dogs that morning and walked the older females. He further claimed that faeces was rubble and dirt. Defence lawyer Annette Kealy said dogs were important to Costello. He had owned and bred them for 20 years, and won awards at dog shows. Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Trend reports via the president's press service. During the meeting, the participants discussed the prospects for cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union. They also exchanged views on current international issues and regional cooperation among Central Asian countries. To note, Josep Borrell is also set to visit Kyrgyzstan. The visit presents a significant chance to reaffirm the EU's dedication to strengthening ties with both nations and the entire Central Asian region, even in the face of a difficult geopolitical climate. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Authorities in Ireland want him sent back to face weapons and violent disorder charges from incidents in 2018 and 2019. Drogheda gang boss Brendan Maguire refused to appear at his extradition hearing in Westminster Magistrates Court today. The hearing which had been scheduled for this morning did not take place because he refused to attend, according to the UKs court service. Last month it was heard Maguire would fight the case on the grounds that his life is in danger in Ireland and that he was never charged with the offences cited in the warrant. It also emerged during an application for bail that he still has a bullet lodged in his neck and has post-traumatic stress disorder after the 2019 attempt on his life. Brendan Maguire He had been shot six times and narrowly escaped death just months after his brother Owen was shot and left permanently disabled. Authorities in Ireland want him sent back to face weapons and violent disorder charges from incidents in 2018 and 2019. Maguire has since been living in the Manchester area with his wife and three children and denied being a fugitive from Ireland. Opposing his bail application, a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service said: The offending itself appears to be gang-related and there is potential for assistance in absconding. The magistrate said he appreciates these are accusations not convictions as well as the family circumstances and health issues that were referred to in court. However, I cant ignore the seriousness of the allegations you face. There may well be a custodial sentence passed if you are convicted. This is not a case that in my view where bail can be granted. In that hearing Maguire appeared by video link from Wandsworth Prison in which he spoke initially to confirm his name and date of birth. He refused to make an appearance today. Maguire is considered a senior member of the gang headed up by his brother Owen Maguire and now deceased gangster Cornelius Price. His brother Owen Maguire was left permanently disabled after also surviving being shot by gangland hitman Robbie Lawlor in July 2018. Brendan reportedly travelled back to Ireland briefly for a family celebration last year and appeared in photos posted on social media. He was also spotted at the lavish funeral of gang Cornelius Price in January 2023 in Rochdale last January. The involvement of Price and the Maguire brothers in drug dealing in the north-east of Ireland was laid in evidence presented to the High Court by the Criminal Assets Bureau. Brendan Maguire was described in the evidence as a person of significant strength and is the person that collects the money owed for drugs or uses intimidation when required. His brother Owen Maguire was left permanently disabled after he survived an assassination attempt by gangland hitman Robbie Lawlor in July 2018. Members of the Maguire/Price Organised Criminal Gang are believed to be behind the murders of William Maughan and Ana Varslavane who disappeared in 2015. The previous year Benjamin Whitehouse was shot dead in his car in Balbriggan in a killing suspected to have been carried out by members of the gang. They were also involved in the lethal gangland feud in Drogheda with members believed to have carried out the killing of Keith Branigan in August 2019. The Dublin criminal, aged in his 20s, is serving a lengthy jail term over a murder plot linked to the Hutch-Kinahan feud. A jailed Kinahan cartel hitman has emerged as a suspect for ordering a petrol bomb attack on a prison officers house. The officers home in Co Meath was targeted this week in an attack believed to be directly linked to his work. He and his wife were in the property at the time of the attack, but were uninjured. Detectives are following a number of lines of inquiry, including whether a jailed gunman who worked for the cartel, is connected to the incident. The Dublin criminal, aged in his 20s, is serving a lengthy jail term over a murder plot linked to the Hutch-Kinahan feud. The Sunday World understands the mans prison cell was recently searched and an illegal mobile phone was recovered. Sources said that incident is being looked at as a possible motive for the firebombing. The prison officer is highly regarded and has been doing significant work in seizing contraband from the jail, the source said. The cartel hitman had a phone taken from him in the past few weeks, so depending on what intelligence is on the phone, it could be seen as a costly device to lose. Unfortunately, this may have been reason enough to target the prison officer for simply doing his job and doing it well. The officer is attached to a specialist unit within the jail system that carries out intelligence work and targeted operations. The Kinahan associate has previously been involved in other incidents behind bars and has been transferred between prisons because of his behaviour. While he has emerged as a suspect in the probe, investigators are also following a number of other lines of inquiry. In an operation on the same day that the Kinahan mobster had his phone seized, a high-level member of the McCarthy-Dundon crime gang also had his cell searched and contraband was recovered. He was subsequently taken from the division he was on and moved to a more restrictive regime. Investigators believe this may be another possible motive for the fire-bombing. On Tuesday, a search was carried out at a Dublin prison, with cells searched from top to bottom. We previously revealed how the criminal involved in the attack burnt his own hand, with gardai carrying out inquiries with hospitals to determine if a man presented in recent days with similar injuries. It is understood that a Skoda Octavia, used in the arson attack was stolen in the Crumlin area of Dublin last November. The car, which was fitted with false plates, was found burnt out just a short distance from the prison officers home in Co Meath. The Prison Officers Association has condemned the attack as extremely sinister in nature, saying it could have led to loss of life. The associations deputy general secretary Gabriel Keaveny has called on the justice minister and the garda commissioner to take whatever action is necessary to ensure prison officers and their families are safe in their own homes. Murderer will have to serve his life sentence for killing Elaine OHara in 2012 Graham Dwyer's last bid for freedom has failed. Photo: Collins Graham Dwyer has lost his last-ditch appeal against his 2015 conviction for the murder of Elaine OHara. It comes after more than a decade of anguish for the OHara family, who have endured appeal after appeal by the killer. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that evidence of mobile phone data was admissible at Dwyers trial. The Court of Appeal rejected Dwyers appeal last year on all grounds. The Supreme Court agreed to hear this final appeal as it said it raised issues of law of exceptional public importance. Dwyer has now exhausted all his legal options and will continue to serve his life sentence. The original murder trial jury found that Dwyer stabbed Ms OHara to death on Killakee Mountain in Rathfarnham, Dublin, on August 22, 2012. Im a sadist. I enjoy others pain Ms OHara had been suffering from depression and had left a psychiatric hospital earlier that day. Dwyer was a married man at the time and had met his victim through a website. The trial had heard he was a violent sadomasochist who had been filmed stabbing sexual partners, one of whom gave evidence against him. Sadistic killer Graham Dwyer Mobile phone data played a large part in the prosecution case as it helped link Dwyer to Ms OHara and to locations connected with the murder. Dwyer had denied murdering Ms OHara and claimed she was suicidal when she disappeared. Dwyers trial was told a Nokia phone found in Vartry Reservoir in Co Wicklow in 2013 was used to send Ms OHara messages, including one about stabbing, culminating in a text dated August 22, the last day she was seen, to go down to the shore and wait. My urge to rape, stab and kill is huge. You have to help me control or satisfy it The prosecution argued that phone, and another phone found in the reservoir, were secret Master and Slave phones Dwyer and Ms OHara used almost exclusively to contact each other. Thousands of disturbing text messages, backed up on Ms OHaras laptop, revealed the unwavering control and power her Sir (Dwyer) had over his Slave (OHara) and the mental torment she suffered throughout their on/off BDSM sexual relationship, which involved Dwyer knifing her for his sexual pleasure. It was Ms OHara a fan of TV crime dramas who had warned Dwyer about the dangers of being caught for murder through DNA and phone mast coverage. Technology is a killer now Sir, she had texted him, more than a year before she was murdered. That phone data used in the trial included messages from Dwyer to Ms OHara in which he spoke of his desire to rape and murder. In one text, he told Ms OHara: Im a sadist. I enjoy others pain. You should help me inflict pain on you and help me with my fantasies. The late Elaine O'Hara Another in June 2011 read: I want to stick my knife in flesh while sexually aroused... blood turns me on and Id like to stab a girl to death. Another message, sent in April 2011, said: If you ever want to die, promise me I can do it. My urge to rape, stab and kill is huge. You have to help me control or satisfy it, he told her on another occasion. I want to kill someone and also I want to hurt u as a punishment Im having lots of thoughts about killing u, he told her in one text in July 2011 just over a year before he murdered her. He added: I want to kill someone and also I want to hurt u as a punishment. Dwyer fulfilled his fantasy when he lured Ms OHara to Shanganagh Cemetery in south Co Dublin and then brought her to Killakee Wood in the Dublin Mountains. Gardai mounted a major investigation to prove to a jury that Dwyer was in a secret relationship with Ms OHara and murdered her for his own sexual gratification. Dwyer later won a significant legal challenge against the inclusion of the mobile data in his trial, having argued that accessing retained data contravened EU law. He tried to overturn his murder conviction at the Court of Appeal, but that case was dismissed on all grounds last year. Dwyer then took his case to the Supreme Court the highest court in the country. Dwyer fulfilled his fantasy when he lured Ms OHara to Shanganagh Cemetery Yesterday, its judges ruled unanimously that the mobile phone evidence used to convict him was legally admissible during the 2015 murder trial. As Dwyers appeal was dismissed, Ms OHaras family members hugged one another in the court chamber. After the ruling, they released a statement that said they were relieved the Supreme Court had upheld the appeal courts verdict. They said they had experienced a long and arduous criminal trial, with many challenges to the jurys verdict over the years. The family thanked the gardai and the detectives who investigated the murder. They added that they hoped Ms OHara could now finally rest in peace. The court was told that the woman was seeking to have her partner's barring order varied by consent. A judge has granted a court application allowing a man who is barred from having contact with his partner to attend the birth of their child. The application was made by the man's pregnant partner at a court in Co Donegal today. The woman made the application as part of cases being dealt with under a list of Family Law matters at the court. The court was told that the woman was seeking to have her partner's barring order varied by consent. The judge in the case was told that the woman is due to have the child at a future date at Letterkenny University Hospital. The pregnant woman, who was present in court, applied through her solicitor to allow her partner to attend the birth. No specific time details of the lifting of the barring order was given in court. The judge asked if there was a date for the birth but this was not given. The judge said she would make an order allowing the application "in accordance with hospital procedures." The solicitor in the case representing the man told the court that when originally arrested, a condition of his bail was that he resided outside Donegal. The judge said that an application could be made down the line to vary the bail so as to allow the application. When leaving the court, the judge addressed the woman saying "Good luck with everything." Jonathan Abraham, 47, was arrested in Dublin on Tuesday A London-based rabbi accused of travelling to Ireland to perform an illegal circumcision on a young child has been refused bail. Jonathan Abraham, 47, was arrested in Dublin on Tuesday and is charged with carrying out a surgical procedure, male circumcision on a child, without being a registered medical practitioner at an address in Dublin 15. The father of 10 appeared before Judge Michael Connellan at Dublin District Court today. Detective Garda Megan Furey told the judge that Mr Abraham "made no reply" when charged at Blanchardstown garda station. There were objections to bail due to the seriousness of the case. The detective said the offence, contrary to the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, could result in a maximum fine of 130,000 and five years' imprisonment. Detective Garda Furey said there was strong evidence in support of the charge. Gardai entered an address in Dublin 15, just after 1 pm on Tuesday, with the homeowners' consent. According to the detective, they observed the accused "dressed in a white robe, a doctor's-style coat, with blue gloves and a scalpel in his hand. The court heard there was a table in the middle of the room with a changing pad, scissors and other medical supplies and implements. "Gardai at this time also observed a very young child on the changing pad naked," she said, adding that they established that a circumcision procedure had already been carried out on another child at the premises. The detective told the court that a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and "it's envisaged that there will be multiple further charges in due course". Citing "significant flight risk" fears, she said that the accused flew into Ireland on July 30 around noon and had a return flight booked for the same evening. She added that he had no ties to this jurisdiction and did not have any property, assets or dependents in this country. She described him as a man of means and had grave concerns that he would evade justice, adding that he had a strong incentive to leave the country. Cross-examined by defence solicitor Tertius Van Eeden, she agreed that if the DPP directed that the case stay in the District Court, the penalties would be considerably lower: a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of up to 5,000. He put it to the detective that she left that out during her bail objections and that it was too enthusiastic to suggest the case would go to a higher level, but she did not accept that suggestion. In later exchanges with the defence, the detective agreed that the accused had not held himself out to be a doctor, and she accepted that he was a rabbi. The garda detective claimed he had not given any information about his training and that he used the name rabbi Y. Abraham. The solicitor replied that the Y was for Yoni, Hebrew for Jonathan. The solicitor said his client was a member of the Initiation Society, which governs the practice or procedures of the Jewish faith, specifically circumcisions. Mr Van Eeden added that his client, who did not address the court, was registered as a mohel, the Hebrew word for a person qualified to carry out circumcisions. The detective conceded she was informed of this and said enquiries were still being conducted. When asked if she had done any Google research about that, she said she only learned this at about 8pm on Wednesday. Pleading for bail, Mr Van Eeden said the Initiation Society was the oldest Anglo-Jewish organisation founded in 1745. As a mohel, he was allowed to perform circumcisions and had done so for more than 13 years, and he was fully trained medically and ethically to perform them. The solicitor submitted that in the Jewish community, only a mohel could perform such procedures, and he was insured to do them. Mr Van Eeden submitted that if his client had performed the same procedures in England, it would have been completely legal. However, the judge pointed out that it was a separate jurisdiction. The solicitor stressed that these were allegations at this stage, and his client had no prior convictions and had the presumption of innocence. The court heard he was the primary breadwinner for his family and also received state benefits while his wife worked part-time tutoring children with learning difficulties. The solicitor said that his client could face a lengthy period in custody, and the trial venue has not been confirmed. He added that a 5,000 independent surety could be offered, and Mr Abraham would obey conditions not to perform such procedures in Ireland. Judge Connellan refused bail due to the seriousness of the case, potential flight risk and strength of evidence. Legal aid was granted to the accused, who was remanded in custody pending directions from the DPP. Mr Abraham has yet to enter a plea and will appear again on August 6 at Cloverhill District Court. They are also seeking the driver of a car that was set on fire nearby Gardai say they are on the lookout for anyone with unexplained burns to the hands who may have sought medical help after the home of a prison officer was targeted in a firebomb attack in Co Meath. Gardai are investigating the incident of criminal damage by fire in the Trim area at around 11.30pm on Monday. They are also seeking the driver of a car that was set on fire nearby. Gardai are also appealing for any information on any person with unexplained burns to the hands or who has presented for any medical advice or treatment for burns to their hands since the night of Monday, July 29, a garda spokesperson said. No injuries have been reported where the blaze broke out. The scene was preserved and a technical examination was carried out, gardai said. A window in the officers home was broken when the petrol bomb was thrown into a downstairs room. The prison officer and his wife were believed to have been in the house at the time but there were no reports of injuries. We previously reported that Gardai have been checking with hospitals to see if a male has presented with severe injuries to his hand. It is understood the prison officer was targeted after he was involved in a number of seizures and searches of inmates cells. Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have information to contact them, particularly anyone who observed any unusual activity between 10.30pm and midnight on Monday. Any road users or pedestrians who were travelling in the area during this time and who may have camera footage (including dash cam) are asked to make this available to gardai, a spokesperson said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trim Garda Station 046 948 1540, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. Detectives are following a number of lines of inquiry, including whether a jailed gunman who worked for the Kinahan cartel, is connected to the incident. The Dublin criminal, aged in his 20s, is serving a lengthy jail term over a murder plot linked to the Hutch-Kinahan feud. The Sunday World understands the mans prison cell was recently searched and an illegal mobile phone was recovered. Sources said that incident is being looked at as a possible motive for the firebombing. The prison officer is highly regarded and has been doing significant work in seizing contraband from the jail, the source said. The cartel hitman had a phone taken from him in the past few weeks, so depending on what intelligence is on the phone, it could be seen as a costly device to lose. Unfortunately, this may have been reason enough to target the prison officer for simply doing his job and doing it well. The Prison Officers Association has condemned the attack. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court An inmate was sentenced to more than four years on Thursday for his role in the 2018 killing of Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a troubled West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. DeCologero was already serving a 25-year sentence handed down in 2006 after he was convicted of buying heroin used to try to kill a teenage girl. Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios Freddy Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly bludgeon the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, both prosecutors and the defence said DeCologero only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger. US District Judge Thomas Kleeh said the sentence was fair, just and appropriate and strikes the balance the court is trying to seek. 'Whitey' Bulger, Jr. poses for a mugshot on his arrival at the Federal Penitentiary at Alcatraz on November 16, 1959 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) DeCologero, 50, declined to speak when given the opportunity to address the court. Defense attorney Patrick Nash began by conveying an apology from DeCologero to Bulger's family as well as the inmate's own relatives. Nash described DeCologero as the victim of an abusive and neglectful upbringing. Paul has had an incredibly difficult life, Nash said. As a result of that, Paul is a person who is easily led. Anyone who shows him attention, he's easily led. An uncle eventually took in DeCologero and made him part of a criminal organization, Nash said. In Bulger's killing, Paul was involved," Nash said. "He is guilty. But his role was limited. Assistant US Attorney Brandon Flower declined to comment after the sentencing. According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving at Hazelton. An inmate previously told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit. Prosecutors have said DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulgers cell. Geas hit Bulger, while DeCologero served as a lookout and helped cover Bulger's body, Flower said on Thursday. DeCologero's DNA was found on two blankets, the prosecutor said. Geas has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. His hearing is scheduled for September 6. Last year, the Justice Department said it would not seek the death penalty. Another inmate, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release. McKinnon had served out a sentence for stealing guns from a firearms dealer. James 'Whitey' Bulger mugshot in 2011. Photo: US Bureau of Prisons/Getty Plea deals for the three men were disclosed May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulgers death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on. Prior to Bulger's death, employees at Hazelton had been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing. After Bulger was killed, prison officials were criticized for placing him in the general population instead of more protective housing. A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of malicious intent by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters. In July, the US Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang. He became one of the nations most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Read more Three men charged with murder of notorious Irish mob boss James Whitey Bulger Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant. DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official made member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo Big Al Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Brunos killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said. Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said that despite not being an adult, the boy can be named because he will turn 18 next week Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle after disorder broke out on July 30, 2024 in Southport, England. Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana (centre) covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, following a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport. Picture date: Thursday August 1, 2024. PA Photo. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children suffered knife wounds - with five of them in a critical condition - while two adults were also critically hurt. See PA story COURTS Southport. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook /PA Wire A 17-year-old boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder for the stabbings at a dance class in northwest England was named in court on Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, as he made his first court appearance. Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said that despite not being an adult, the boy can be named because he will turn 18 next week. The appearance in Liverpool Crown Court came after the shocking crime inspired two nights of violent unrest across England and UK prime minister Keir Starmer summoned British police chiefs to address the crisis Thursday. The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. The deaths have been used by far-right activists to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed. The suspect, who police said was born in Britain, has not been charged with terrorism offenses but faces three counts of murder over the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England. He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were injured. The three girls who were killed (from left) Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Aguiar The adults, who were listed in critical condition, were publicly named for the first time as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children. The wounded children cannot be named because of their ages. Two of the children were discharged Thursday, Alder Hey Childrens hospital said. Five others were in stable condition at the hospital. Police have not disclosed a motive for the crime, but other new details emerged during the suspect's first appearance at Liverpool Magistrates' Court. The alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to an additional charge he faces. It was also revealed that the suspect is just a week shy of becoming an adult when he turns 18. The suspect, wearing a gray tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters before sitting down in the courtroom. He then pulled his sweatshirt above his nose and held his head low during the brief hearing. He did not speak. Neither the teen's parents nor family members of victims were in court. Far-right demonstrators fueled, in part, by online misinformation have held several violent protests, ostensibly in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and causing a melee near the prime minister's office in London the next day. Starmers office said he would tell police leaders that while the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law. Hundreds of protesters chanting we want our country back hurled beer cans and bottles near the prime ministers Downing Street residence in London on Wednesday evening, and launched flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker, Londons Metropolitan Police force said. Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, where a police car was set ablaze, as far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link to immigrants. A smaller disturbance was reported in Manchester. On Tuesday night a crowd of several hundred people hurled bricks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set garbage bins and vehicles on fire and looted a store, hours after a peaceful vigil for the stabbing victims. I am absolutely appalled and disgusted at the level of violence that was shown towards my officers, Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said. Some of the first responders who attended that awful scene on Monday ... then were faced with that level of violence. Police said a name circulating on social media purported to be the suspect's spread by far-right activists and accounts of murky origin purporting to be news organizations was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum-seeker. Patrick Hurley, a local lawmaker, said the violence by beered-up thugs was the result of propaganda and lies spread on social media. This misinformation doesnt just exist on peoples internet browsers and on peoples phones. It has real world impact, he said. Britains worst attack on children was in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot and killed 16 primary school children and their teacher in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The United Kingdom subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns. While knives are used in about 40pc of homicides each year, mass stabbings are unusual. But a recent rise in knife crime has stoked anxieties and led to calls for the government to do more to clamp down on bladed weapons, by far the most commonly used instruments in U.K. homicides. Chinese car giant unveils a glimpse into the future with their premium Yangwang Motormouths was invited to BYD headquarters this week to get a sneak peek at these utterly bonkers cars. Under the Yangwang brand, which is the luxury division of Chinese superbrand BYD, we were shown around the two-seater fully-electric supercar the U9, and their gigantic hybrid luxury SUV the U8. The cars had already made a huge impression at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK the previous week, but now was our turn to get behind the wheel and have a poke around the insane vehicles. The only problem is, these are unlikely to make it onto Irish roads. But that didnt stop the giddy press from having a good old root around the cars to play with some of the tech features and experience the potential that may filter through to BYD in their new cars over the coming years. The Yangwang U9 shows BYDs innovation Irish BYD importer MDL hosted the event and Sales Director Ciaran Allen told Motormouths: In the Yangwang U8 and U9, the ability of BYD to lead the industry in the use of technology is demonstrated in a range of features that have the potential to transfer into their mainstream production models over time. So, think of them as the pinnacle of luxury and performance that pushes the boundaries of automotive innovation and cross your fingers that some of the wow factor we got to witness and try out on Monday will filter down into the next generation of the current BYD line up or the new models due out in the future. So far we have three models on sale, the Dolphin hatchback, the compact SUV Atto 3 and the super slick Seal saloon. The Seal U DMi is also due out later in the year, which Daragh got drive in Spain earlier this year. But what about these two models? Well, the Yangwang U8 is a range-extending hybrid that is jam packed with luxury. It has a 300hp electric motor in each wheel for a grand total of 1,200hp, and it can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds. Now read that paragraph again while knowing that it weighs 3.5 tonnes and measures over 5.3m in length. Those electric motors are powered by a 49kWh battery, while a 2ltr four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine acts as a range extender to charge up the battery when youre on the move. BYD is quoting a range of up to 1,000km. But waittheres more. It swims too. Theres a float function that can see the car stay buoyant for up to half an hour while moving at 3km/h. Just what you need to beat the 30km/h Dublin quays traffic. Theres four-wheel steering also that offers you the tank turn allowing the U8 to turn in its own length. Inside, the Yangwang U8 has digital displays for the driver and all three passengers, while the central touchscreen offers a wide range of functions, and theres another in the rear. Then there is the U9, which is incredibly based on the same e4 Platform as the U8, yet this thing could not be any more different. The two-seat all-electric supercar features butterfly doors and an 80kWh battery thats capable of delivering a range of up to 450km. One of the quirky features on this is the innovative twin pump design meaning it can be charged from two sources at the same time. In theory, the U9 can be recharged from 30 to 80 per cent capacity in 10 minutes. Can you imagine an EV driver pulling up to a charge point and seeing this supercar sitting there using both cables to charge?! Were not sure that is going to take off to be honest. But this car may actually be able to take off because its top speed is 309km/h with 1680 Nm of torque and 1300 bhp. It can do 0-100km/h in 2.3 seconds. Thats not far off F1 numbers right there. Asked about the pricing and the BYD bosses couldnt give the gathered press an answer but Ciaran Allen did say whatever you think they are worth you can more than likely half that price in keeping with BYDs extremely competitive pricing. Mondays event may not have given us a chance to drive these cars but it did give us an insight into the extremely luxury and tech advancements that BYD can achieve. Lets just hope that some of that drifts into cars that are actually sold here. Donegal holidaymaker Stuart Wilson felt forced to intervene as 6ft 3in intoxicated man became aggressive mid-flight Stuart Wilson, from Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal, who intervened in an air-rage incident on a Ryanair flight earlier this month. Photo: Joe Dunne An airline passenger has said he felt compelled to act as airline security when a drunk passenger lost his temper on a flight. Donegal farmer Stuart Wilson (52) said there were people vaping and drinking on the flight when an intoxicated man woke up and went into a rage. This guy was sleeping, Mr Wilson said. Apart from their drinking and vaping, it was peaceful. But then he woke up and went bananas. His girlfriend was sitting with him and he just went into this rage. You could tell hed been drinking a lot. I dont know if drugs were used, but this was outrageous behaviour. He knocked his girlfriends glasses off her head and started punching the baggage bins above his head. He punched the ceiling and the armrests, the seat in front. Mr Wilson, from Dunfanaghy, a rural village in Co Donegal, was on a flight from Manchester Airport to Lanzarote on July 1. The farmer said he chose to fly from Manchester to save money. He was looking forward to a little rest and relaxation. Ryanair passenger tells of his 'flight from hell' from Manchester to Lanzarote However, he said he experienced the opposite. This guy was roaring, calling his girlfriend a slut, a slapper, a whore, Mr Wilson said. He kept calling her a whore. He was roaring abuse at her and wouldnt sit down. We were trying to get him to settle down and he was having none of it. His girlfriend was inconsolable. She was crying and shaking. Her friends were giving her more vodka, trying to calm her down. Everyone was trying to get him to stop. There were kids on the plane and an older person. People were crying, they were so upset. An older person on the plane was crying. People were roaring for him to stop. Mr Wilson said the aggressive man was seated in a row near him in an aisle seat. I was worried about the young woman, as he was getting increasingly aggressive, he said. I went up and stood in front of him and the whole thing took off. I told him clearly, Im not taking any of your s**t, youre not doing anything to your girlfriend. I said, no one is getting touched on this plane. The young girl thanked me for helping her. I dare not to think what might have happened Despite getting up the courage and intervening to try calm the situation, Mr Wilson said he was annoyed that he was put in such a position. Im not security, I was a passenger on a flight, he said. Mr Wilson said at one point, staff managed to move the man to the back of the plane, but he returned to his seat. He came back and got into a conflict with one of the other men. He pushed his head into another mans head hard, so hard the other man fell over, Mr Wilson said. He (the aggressor) was around 6ft 3in and around 100 kilos. And the other guy was only small, around 5ft 8in and thin. Mr Wilson said he felt like he had to become air security and step in to try to control the situation, on the flight from hell. The whole thing lasted about an hour, on and off, he said. Surely its got to be protocol to land and for someone like that to be arrested. People couldnt believe it when he got off the plane and just walked away. An elderly woman came up to me afterwards and thanked me. She said she didnt know what shed have done if I wasnt there. A couple beside me said they were writing to Ryanair and I tried getting in touch with them (Ryanair), but theyre impossible to contact. Are we going to become like America with air security because of people behaving in such an aggressive manner? Mr Wilson said he witnessed two men beating the man when he was leaving the airport in Lanzarote. I saw him then in Lanzarote with a bandage on his head and Id heard theyd broken his ribs, Mr Wilson said. The young girl thanked me for helping her. I dare not to think what might have happened, but this isnt normal and it shouldnt ever be allowed to happen on any flight, ever. If anything went any further, if I started to try to put him in a headlock, I was afraid I would get arrested. Are we going to become like America with air security because of people behaving in such an aggressive manner? Theres no excuse. It just ruins things for everyone. People didnt take videos of this aggression because they were afraid they might be next it was that bad. In response to queries, a Ryanair spokesperson said: A pair of passengers on this flight from Manchester to Lanzarote (July 1) became disruptive inflight. Crew defused the situation and moved one of the disruptive passengers to the other end of the aircraft for the remainder of the flight, which landed in Lanzarote as scheduled without any further disruption. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of these passengers unruly behaviour. The IAA said there has been a threefold increase in unruly passenger behaviour The spokesperson added: The safety and well-being of our crew and passengers is Ryanairs number one priority and we try to eradicate unruly behaviour onboard our aircraft. We will continue to work closely with An Garda Siochana, the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority), Irish airports and the wider aviation industry to eliminate all forms of unruly behaviour in airport terminals and onboard our aircraft. Ryanair staff are understood to have acted according to standard operating procedure in their efforts to deal with the passenger. It is understood they were not aware of the full extent of the incident outlined by Mr Wilson. Ryanair said it is supporting the Irish aviation industrys joint campaign to tackle unruly passengers. The NotOnMyFlight campaign is an industry declaration to stop unruly passenger behaviour in airports and on flights. All Irish airlines and airports, An Garda Siochana, the IAA, AirNav Ireland, ground handlers and international aviation organisations have come together to combat the issue of disruptive and dangerous behaviour. The IAA said there has been a threefold increase in unruly passenger behaviour reported between 2019 and last year. Unruly behaviour can include intoxication, aggressive or inappropriate behaviour, as well as not following the directions of flight crew. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. Investments in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) will improve land connectivity with the EU, said Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Trend reports. He made the remark during a press conference after a meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu. "Connectivity is another key word. Connectivity is an area of mutual interest. Upcoming investments will enhance land connectivity by supporting the development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor," he said. As Borrell noted, the Horizontal Aviation Agreement, which is almost ready to be installed, will boost air connectivity between the European Union and Kazakhstan. "It will be easier for me to visit you and for you to visit me, and Europeans will have more facilities to come and visit your beautiful country," the High Representative pointed out. The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor. The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye before reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes. A large plume of smoke can be seen from across the city and by passengers flying in and out of Dublin Airport Smoke plume seen across Dublin as firefighters battle large blaze Emergency services are battling a large fire at an industrial premises in the Clonshaugh/Coolock area of North Dublin, which can be seen from across the city. A large plume of smoke can be seen from across the city and by passengers flying in and out of Dublin Airport. Gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade are currently attending the fire at a business and industrial estate in the Clonshaugh/Coolock area of Dublin 17. Flights at the airport have not been affected, although local people have been advised to remain indoors. An image of the scene in the Clonshaugh area. Source: Dublin Fire Brigade Gardai from Santry Station are currently providing assistance to Dublin Fire Brigade at an industrial fire occurring at a premises in the Clonshaugh are of Dublin 17, a garda spokesperson said. Six fire engines including a turntable ladder are at an industrial unit fire off the Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock, Dublin Fire Brigade said. At 16.59 hrs Dublin Fire Brigade received multiple 999 calls reporting a fire in an industrial unit off the Oscar Traynor Road. At present six fire engines including a turntable ladder are fighting the fire and Dublin Fire Brigade are advising as a precaution for local residents to close all windows and doors if affected by smoke. "This is an ongoing operation and we expect to be at scene for the foreseeable, Dublin Fire Brigade said in an updated statement. If you can smell smoke we're advising local residents to close all windows and doors as a precaution Smoke is drifting across the locality, they advised. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content A garda spokesperson added that Dublin Fire Brigade currently have primacy at the scene. "Gardai are assisting with traffic management at this time, they said. The industrial premises is around 2km from the disused former Crown Paints factory earmarked for asylum accommodation that has been the focus of protests and arson attacks in recent weeks, leading to initial online speculation that that premises was again on fire. However, this evenings fire is at a different location. Dublin Airport has said the fire, close to the airport, is not impacting any flights. A fire in the Santry area is resulting in smoke blowing towards the airport this evening. This is not impacting on operations at the airport and flights continue to operate as normal. "The airport team, in collaboration with AirNav Ireland, continue to monitor the situation, a spokesperson for airport operator DAA said. Social media users from across the city have been posting pictures and videos of the large blaze. Emergency services are at the scene of a massive fire in Coolock in north dublin @rtenews pic.twitter.com/o4EIpuw75X Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) August 1, 2024 The fire is visible from Dublin Airport also. A fire in North Dublin, seen from Dublin Airport pic.twitter.com/XVE7vvL3NO Diari Liffey (@DiariLiffey) August 1, 2024 Here is the fire from a closer angle posted by one social media user Darragh Reid (26) died in the single-vehicle crash on the Trim to Navan Road last Sunday night A young Navan man described as a beautiful soul will be laid to rest this weekend after he lost his life in a car crash in Co Meath. Funeral details have been confirmed for Darragh Reid (26) who was killed in the single-vehicle crash on the Trim to Navan Road last Sunday night. A notice on RIP.ie states that the death has occurred of Darragh Reid, of Athlumney, Navan, Meath, tragically following an accident. Predeceased by his grandparents Mary and Owen Reid, (Darragh was) dearly loved by his heartbroken parents Natalie and Karl, the notice reads. Loving brother to Christopher, Stephanie and Elora, (he will be) sadly missed by his parents, brother, sisters, grandparents Eddie and Ann McCabe, uncles, aunties, cousins, relatives and friends. Darragh will be reposing at his home on Friday from 4pm to 7pm. A celebration of Darragh's life will take place on Saturday at 12 noon in St Joseph's Chapel of Rest, Old Johnstown, Navan followed by burial in St Finian's Cemetery, Old Athboy Road, Navan. People have left numerous messages of sympathy in the condolences section of the page including one that reads: Thinking of Darraghs family and friends at this time. A beautiful soul who brought such laughter and kindness into my life. Another added: We are all so very sorry to hear the shocking news. Such a terrible loss for you all. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you move through these surreal days. One person has written how they were: Thinking of you all at this very sad time but in particular Elora. May God give you all the strength to get through the days, weeks and months ahead. Another added: Heartbreaking news to hear of Darragh's passing. We will forever remember the laughs we all shared both in the work place and on our nights out. Privileged to have had you part of our life. Condolences to you all during this devastating time. Rest in peace Darragh. Locals said that Darragh loved cars and regularly travelled to car events all over the country. One friend said: Still cant believe it, I love and miss you bro. Another said: Rest in peace Darragh . Thank you for all the laughs we shared! Thoughts and prayers are with your family!" Earlier, his heartbroken family paid tribute to him, saying you couldnt ask for a better son. He has two siblings with special needs, and he was a great advocate and carer for them. There was no one in the world like him. He went into social care and he wanted to change the world, his mother Natalie told the Irish Independent. Darragh was the second eldest in the family of four children. While he had studied social care and had plans to open his own care facility in the future, he was working and studying in refrigeration, and was due to go to Cork to further his studies in the coming weeks. He would be the first to help you if you were in trouble. He was a treasure, Natalie explained. Darraghs younger sister Elora described him as an excellent mentor and brother. He used to say, dont judge the book, read the book. That was his motto, she said. Darraghs father Karl said he loved his car. He had only been hoovering and polishing it yesterday. And he was a very safe driver. He had an old head on young shoulders. Were all shocked. We really dont know what happened, he said. Darragh is survived by his parents Natalie and Karl, and his siblings Elora, Stephanie and Christopher. And he had two dogs that he loved as well, said Elora. Shortly before 10pm, gardai and emergency services responded to the single-vehicle crash on the R161 Trim to Navan Road at Philpotstown near Navan. The driver and sole occupant of the car, Darragh, was treated at the scene before being brought by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, where he was later pronounced dead. I am sending so much love and solidarity to the Southport community Violence broke out in the wake of the Southport stabbings The Brazilian delivery driver who was hailed a hero after intervening in a knife attack in which multiple children were injured in Dublin City has expressed his sorrow over the Southport stabbings. Caio Benicio, who was one of the first on the scene to disarm a knife-wielding attacker in the November 23 incident in Parnell Square said it was awful to see history repeating itself. Caio, originally from Rio de Janeiro, used his helmet to fend off the attacker in Dublin, posted the message on the 'Buy Caio Benicio a pint' GoFundMe page. He wrote: "It's awful to see history repeating itself with innocent children being attacked. I am sending so much love and solidarity to the Southport community and I wanted to share how you wonderful people who supported me last year can do the same." He also shared the link https://gfme.co/supportingsouthport. Meanwhile, the family of one of the children who was injured in the November 23 incident also offered a message of support, saying: "Our hearts go out to the families of the children in England." Violence broke out in the wake of the Southport stabbings A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after the mass stabbing in Southport. Three children, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died as a result of the attack at The Hart Space community centre. A Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop for children aged between seven and 11-years-of-age was taking place at the time of the attack in the seaside town north of Liverpool. The suspect, who is from the nearby village of Banks in Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, Wales, was arrested on Monday. He has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife. He will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates Court this morning. Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack, and five of them remain in a critical condition. Two adults - including one of the organisers of the event - are also in critical condition after being injured. More than 100 people were arrested in London on Wednesday night as a violent protest broke out in the wake of the Southport attack. Flares were thrown towards the gates of Downing Street and some among the crowd threw cans and glass bottles. Protesters later tried to kick down a fence as they were confronted by riot police. Those arrested were detained for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker and breach of protest conditions, the Metropolitan Police said. Riot police were also pelted with glass bottles in Manchester, after protesters targeted a Holiday Inn hotel where migrants are believed to be housed. The most chaotic riots, however, were seen in Hartlepool where thugs were seen throwing objects at riot police, striking their shields and setting a police car on fire. Despite appeals from Southport locals, including Elsie's mother, who called for the violence to stop after police vans were set on fire and bricks were hurled in violence that left 53 officers injured on Tuesday. The former glamour model has had five facelifts already. Katie Price is set to undergo her sixth facelift, forking out thousands of pounds for the procedure at a Turkish clinic. The former glamour model has had five facelifts already as well as numerous other cosmetic enhancements such as rhinoplasty, lip fillers, breast augmentation, and a Brazilian butt lift (BBL). She jetted out to Turkey with boyfriend JJ Slater this weekend to attend a consultation for her upcoming procedure at Trio Clinic in Istanbul, which will set her back a whopping 10,000 (almost 12,000). Katie was joined by a camera crew as she documented the trip, taking photos in a surgical gown and hair net with pen markings mapping out her face. She posed for photos while holding up a mirror to inspect the surgeons work. The 46-year-old will also get some work done on her veneers while in Turkey. On her Instagram Stories, she reshared a post from Dentica International in Istanbul where a dentist can be seen examining her teeth during a consultation. Last month, Katie revealed that her five children are fine with her surgery habits. I just think theyre used to me doing it. Its the norm for them. I dont even tell anyone now, not even my mum, because she just moans at me, she told Heat. The kids are just like: Oh, its just you, isnt it, Mum? Junior always says: Mum, youre beautiful, you dont need anything. Youre stunning anyway. But they know thats just me". It comes after Katie failed to appear at her 760,000 (900,000) bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday. Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Catherine Burton said Ms Price had received "very clear warnings" that she must attend the hearing, where she was due to face questions about her finances. A judge at a previous hearing said the former glamour model risked arrest if she did not attend further court dates, adding that evidence must be provided if she could not appear. Issuing the arrest warrant, Judge Burton said that Ms Price had "failed to attend today's hearing" and had provided no explanation for her absence. She said: "It is in my judgment necessary that the court issue a warrant for Ms Price's arrest. "She has no real excuse in failing to attend today's hearing." She continued: "The reason for her absence today is irrelevant." Katie later shared a statement on her Instagram account saying shes "aware of the severity of her financial situation. The mum-of-five said: Whilst I'm currently aware of the severity of my current personal financial situation with my ongoing bankruptcy, I am today shocked that whilst away working for a documentary on corrective surgeries that I should find myself yet again headline news. The media in my opinion once again are trying to cause continued humiliation to myself and family. There are far greater and more pressing issues going on around the world that are more important and I'm sure most people are bored reading stories that are constantly misrepresented. I am continuing to to cooperate with the relevant people on matters to the best of my ability which will be addressed after my return from work. "Despite consistent stories trying to humiliate me on my personal misfortunes, I am neither embarrassed or ashamed. I own my situation and I am trying my best to work my out out of it and put matters right. Katie added that she is currently going through challenging times and is trying her best. She continued: I have to continue in my work in order to satisfy these bankruptcy orders which is all I am trying to do right now. I am however not running from matters and will continue to take matters with great seriousness. I am doing the best I cam to rectify things during extremely challenging times. Once again I would like to highlight there are far greater and more news worthy stories. I will continue to work on my mental health disorders for the sake of my self and my family and do the best I can. Ms Price was declared bankrupt in November 2019 and again in March this year. At a hearing in February, she was ordered to pay 40pc of her monthly income from adult subscription website OnlyFans to the trustee for the next three years, in relation to her first bankruptcy. She was then declared bankrupt for a second time in March due to an unpaid tax bill worth more than 750,000 (890,000) owed to HM Revenue & Customs. New Zealanders have raised $1.44m for the national network of rescue helicopters, in a record-breaking year for the Westpac Chopper Appeal. The total is the highest in the annual appeals history and includes $72,930 raised in the Bay of Plenty region for the Philips Search & Rescue Trust. Westpac NZ chief executive Catherine McGrath is thankful to everyone who has contributed in some way or form to directly support the choppers life-saving services. The amount raised by New Zealand communities, despite cost of living challenges, shows the generosity of New Zealanders and how much we all value our chopper crews. Whether youve donated the spare change in your pocket to a collector on Chopper Street Appeal day, cycled the 235km from Invercargill to Queenstown in the Westpac Chopper Bike ride, or taken part in a bake sale, quiz night or auction event, a huge thank you. Every dollar remains in the region it was raised and goes to your local helicopter trust, helping keep the rescue helicopter network flying 365 days a year. Our connection with the rescue helicopters goes back over 40 years, and our staff around the country are passionate about working with locals to raise funds to help keep their communities safe. The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Fundraising drives by Westpac employees included: -The Million Dollar Bike Ride from Queenstown to Invercargill, featuring renowned broadcaster Patrick Gower, Westpac Ambassador and All Blacks legend Richie McCaw, Black Sticks champion Gemma McCaw, Olympic gold medal rower Nathan Cohen and local rescue helicopter crews, raised $150,601; -Bucket collectors on Street Appeal Day all around the country raised $97,887. -Westpac Matamata Branch quiz night raised $34,305; No matter where you are in the country, the rescue helicopter network means critical medical and rescue help is never far away, even in the most remote locations. Weve heard from patients that when youre in need of a lifesaving medical transfer, or stuck in the wilderness, the sound of the helicopter approaching is the most wonderful sound of all. As well as sponsoring the rescue helicopters, Westpac funds the marketing and administration costs of the Chopper Appeal and distributes all funds raised back to donors local rescue helicopter trust. Donations to Chopper Appeal are accepted all year round. More information and rescue stories can be found at www.chopperappeal.co.nz. - SunLive The New Zealand Defence Force contribution to the Solomon Islands Assistance Force has ended, with the four deployed NZDF personnel having recently returned to New Zealand. The SIAF deployed to Honiara in late November 2021 after a request from Solomon Islands Government to support the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in restoring peace and stability following a period of civil unrest. The contingent has continued to support Solomon Island police to maintain peace and stability, including through community engagement and reassurance. Over the course of the operation, the NZDF personnel have worked alongside New Zealand Police, Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police, Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Fiji Police Force and Royal Solomon Islands Police Force personnel. In September 2023 the mandate for this deployment was extended through to mid-2024. Senior National Officer, Major Stephen Challies, has held the role of Chief of Staff/Operations Officer for the Multinational Police Support Group. A veteran of Angola, Bosnia, Timor-Leste, Kosovo and South Sudan, he has enjoyed the challenge and variation of the work. An (unidentifiable) member of the NZDF contingent lowers the New Zealand Ensign at the completion of the New Zealand and Australian support to SIAF. One of my personal highlights has been working with the Australian 7th Brigade to provide security support as part of the national general elections. The Commanding Officer specifically tasked myself and the Regimental Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class One Adam Orlowski, as his eyes and ears on the ground during the elections. This was an honour and highlighted our particular skills and access to the community and with Solomon Island police. Other highlights included gaining a greater understanding of our very deep historical and family links to the 13,000 strong 3rd (NZ) Division that served here during the Second World War, and working on the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Camp tunnel project at Bloody Ridge. There were up to 5000 RNZAF personnel serving here in Honiara during the Second World War. The New Zealand flag is lowered in the same location at the completion of New Zealands deployment to Solomon Islands during the Second World War. Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, says the NZDF has been proud to work with Solomon Islands Government on the SIAF mission. This has been a key example of the value of Pacific-led solutions to Pacific challenges. The NZDF stands ready to partner with our Pacific neighbours when the need arises. We look forward to working with Solomon Islands Government again. Police are appealing to the public for information leading to the location of Rawhiti Okaharm Tokona. A warrant has been issued for Tokonas arrest and he is wanted by police. According to a police statement, Tokona is believed to be in the Waikato or Bay of Plenty districts and may have travelled within these areas. Members of the public are urged not to approach Tokona. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. For the European Union, Kazakhstan is an enormous stepping stone between East and West, said Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Trend reports via the European External Action Service (EEAS). His comment came during a press conference following his meeting with Murat Nurtleu, the foreign minister of Kazakhstan. "Kazakhstan has a strategic geographical position; it is a great bridge between Europe and Asia. Under the leadership of President [Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev, Kazakhstan has embarked on a path of wide-ranging political and economic reforms that we support. We support this path to modernization, where economic and political reforms should go hand in hand," he said. Borrell noted that the EU is keen on getting down to brass tacks and beefing up its collaboration with Kazakhstan. "As my mandate representing the European Union will end in three months, it was important for me to come here to Astana to reaffirm our strong interest and commitment to strengthen [our] cooperation with Central Asia as a whole and with Kazakhstan, the biggest country in the region in particular," he pointed out. Earlier, Borrell held a meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Takoyev. During the meeting, the parties discussed the prospects for cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union. They also had a meeting of the minds on current international issues and the importance of regional cooperation among Central Asian countries. Antonio J. Guerrero / Chus Heredia Antequera / Malaga Thursday, 1 August 2024, 19:37 | Updated 20:07h. Opciones para compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X (antes Twitter) LinkedIn Telegram Threads August has started off hot in the province of Malaga. The threat of an amber alert was more than fulfilled and the thermometers shot up, with the highest official record being in Alora: where the afternoon temperature registered a stifling 44.2C. That was the official figure from Spain's state weather agency (Aemet), on what has been, in general terms, the hottest day of the year in the province so far. Tomorrow (Friday), the amber weather alert will be activated again between 1 pm and 9 pm. There is a significant risk of exceeding 39 degrees on the Costa del Sol and in the Axarquia and Guadalhorce valley areas the temperatures could again exceed 40C. Meanwhile today, in Coin temperatures reached 42.5C this Thursday. Just behind was Alpandeire (41.3 degrees), Estepona (40.3) and Cortes de la Frontera (40), which surpassed the psychological barrier. Very close to 40 were Malaga Airport (39.4C), Malaga Consul (39 degrees), Torremolinos (38.6), Benahavis (38.5), Fuente de Piedra (38.3), Antequera (38), and Ronda (37.2). Residents and visitors in Velez-Malaga saw 35.7C, Rincon (34.8), Nerja (34.1), Algarrobo (34), and Marbella (33 degrees in the port) have breathed a little easier. On the first day of the month temperatures hit almost 50C in the street in Antequera, in the north of Malaga province. It reached 48C in the sun and 42 degrees in the shade in the early afternoon, on another very hot day in the town. The outside thermometers in the town's street reached 48 degrees at 5.30pm at the Hermanos Mir Munoz pharmacy in Avenida de Pio XII. At the same time, at the Cervera pharmacy in San Agustin, which was already in the shade, the temperature was 42 degrees. For days now, the streets of Antequera have been deserted since midday. There are those who prefer to stay at home with awnings providing shade, window blinds down and air conditioning on; and those who go in search of the swimming pools or the beach. Since the beginning of July, the town's municipal swimming pool has also been open on Friday and Saturday nights in a bid to allow people to take a refreshing dip in the evening. 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. New York MrBeast, YouTubes biggest star and a philanthropic force with nearly unrivaled influence among young audiences, acknowledged Wednesday that he used inappropriate language in his early online days, as numerous controversies bubbled up around him and a former collaborator. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and his reported $700 million empire have come under new fire in recent weeks after accusations of past racist comments by Donaldson surfaced along with allegations that a longtime colleague made inappropriate sexual comments to minors. When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny, a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press. Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language. After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world. His highly produced videos of whimsical challenges and lavish gifts, often accompanied by expressive thumbnails and punchy titles, have drawn a record 307 million Youtube subscribers. His latest uploads include Ages 1 - 100 Decide Who Wins $250,000 and I Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away! which, like most of his videos, garnered more than 100 million views. The philanthropic sector has received this content with a mix of praise for encouraging direct generosity and criticism of exploitative inspiration porn. Donaldsons greater ambition made itself plain in recent years through the launch of his snack brand Feastables, a branded burger chain with reviews bad enough that he sued the company behind it, and an Amazon Prime Video deal for a 1,000-contestant reality competition show. But before overtaking YouTube with his often-absurd charitable acts, Donaldson built a sizable following as a gaming content creator who sometimes interacted with viewers on livestreams. Blind ambition for attention In a 2017 clip circulated by YouTube influencer Rosanna Pansino in a July 24 post on X, Donaldson responded to a viewer who commented about selling Black people for money and said that the most I would pay is probably 300. Donaldson also used a homophobic slur at multiple points. After one commenter repeated a racial slur, Donaldson eventually instructed his audience to stop using that word in the chat. Pansino told AP shed worked on various potential business ventures with Donaldson over the last several years, though none ever launched. Last fall, she complained publicly about an edit of her appearance in a MrBeast video, though eventually deleted the posts after she said she received death threats from fans. Pansino said that contrary to popular opinion, its just not true that Donaldson has always made family friendly content. His first videos, where he was trying to be an edgy gamer and streamer, and he said horrible things and nasty things I didnt know that, Pansino said. I had no idea that history was there. In a separate clip from a May 2017 podcast appearance, Donaldson suggested he would have sex with the rapper Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli and who was 14 years old at the time. The video has since been removed for violating YouTubes community guidelines. Podcast co-host Leon Lush defended Donaldson in a video posted on X last week. Lush said Donaldson clarified later on the episode that he wouldnt do that because Bregoli was way too young and had joked they should say something offensive that people can take out of context. Lush added that the recording is cringe in hindsight and dismissed the outcry as a molehill turning into a mountain. Being unfunny seems like the worst offense here. When you mix a propensity for dark humor with blind ambition for attention, you get this content sometimes, Lush said. Was being edgy the best strategy? Certainly not, although it did work sometimes as far as getting attention. Collaborator controversy Those clips emerged as internet sleuths alleged that longtime MrBeast collaborator Ava Kris Tyson interacted inappropriately with minors online. Under scrutiny are Tysons past conversations with an underage teenage fan, including public posts where the two discussed nude images and anime pornography. The fan denied any exploitation in a July 22 post on X, describing such accusations as massive lies and twisting the truth. In a July 24 post on X, Nate Weyman said he and the fan had done unpaid technical work running Tysons streams and would all play video games together for hours on end. Weyman said Tyson had a private Discord server with about 10 people, mostly other minors around 14 years old, and would frequently spam the server with pornographic images. Tyson announced her departure from all things MrBeast and social media in a July 23 post on X. Donaldson posted on July 24 that he was disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts and is hiring independent investigators to look into the allegations. Tyson has been the target of transphobic attacks since she came out last year as transgender. Last April, Donaldson defended his close friend against a video describing her as a nightmare for MrBeast. Donaldson wrote on X then that this is getting absurd, affirmed their friendship and said this transphobia was starting to anger him. Giveaways questioned Last week, a former employee accused Donaldson of rigging the contests in his videos, running illegal lotteries and deceiving his fans. The person made the sweeping accusations under an alias in a YouTube video that has reached over 6.9 million views since it was posted last week. Donaldson has not publicly responded to the unsubstantiated claims. Chucky Appleby, who co-founded YouTube analytics platform ViewStats alongside Donaldson, said the former employee was fired within a month after displaying erratic behavior. In a July 29 post on X, Appleby denied accusations that MrBeast fakes videos and said it would have been impossible to hide scripted segments from the countless people on set. Jimmy spends unfathomable amounts of money and time to ensure the integrity of what he does, Appleby said. I hate to see it come into question with a bunch of lies. AP direct messaged several social media users behind the range of accusations, as well as the underage fan. Matthew Wade, a La Trobe University sociology lecturer focused on ethics of charity, credited Beast Philanthropy for establishing partnerships with esteemed philanthropic organizations. The gauche tone and occasional crassness of Donaldsons style might have been well worth his truly extraordinary reach for nonprofits eager to drive support toward their causes, Wade told AP in an email. But risk calculations could shift, he said. Charities and philanthropic foundations cannot gamble with their reputation, Wade said. They must be seen as above reproach, and the steady accumulation of controversies around the MrBeast brand may too easily tarnish the pristine glow of their own. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, August 1. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create an Uzbek-Kyrgyz Expert Council, Trend reports. The memorandum was signed on July 30, 2024, between the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS) and the National Institute of Strategic Initiatives under the President of Kyrgyzstan. The formation of the council is aimed at providing a structured and regular framework for expert dialogue between the two countries, following the high-level Uzbek-Kyrgyz summit held on July 1819, 2024. The council will focus on analyzing the current state of and identifying new growth opportunities in trade, economic, industrial, technological, and cultural cooperation. Experts will also work on advancing the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the construction of the Kambarata-1 hydropower plant. These projects are expected to have a significant impact on the economic development of the region. A roadmap has been agreed upon, outlining joint conferences, seminars, roundtables, and research on topics of mutual interest to be conducted by the end of 2024. Whitestown, N.Y. A 37-year-old Madison County man died Wednesday afternoon after his pickup truck went off a road and crashed into a home, sheriffs deputies said. Zechariah L. Lightsey, of Canastota, was driving a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado east on Clark Mills Road at around 3:33 p.m. when his truck veered into the opposite lane and off the road, Oneida County deputies said. It crashed into a mailbox, a utility pole and finally a home, deputies said. Lightsey was declared dead at the scene. No one inside the home was hurt, deputies said. Deputies are investigating why the truck crashed. Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him at falba@syracuse.com. Join NY Cannabis Insider for its next industry meetup in NYC on Aug. 13, 2024. Tickets available now. After over a year of work, the New York State Cannabis Workforce Initiative has launched a jobs board to help employers in the states legal weed industry staff up and assist job-seekers. CWI launched the beta version of its jobs board, CannaJobsLink, in mid-July, and will be optimizing it over the next few months, said David Serrano, CWIs project manager. But CannaJobsLink is already operational, and is garnering excitement among marijuana industry employers, he said. Were 10 for 10 every employer that weve shown the system to has signed up to our programming, Serrano said. Its really great to see that there are jobs available in the market, and employers are coming in very excited to hire a workforce. Sign up for the NY Cannabis Insider Newsletter Enter your email address to get exclusive reporting on NY's cannabis market delivered to your inbox: CWI is a state-funded collaborative effort of the nonprofit Workforce Development Institute and Cornell Universitys School of Industrial & Labor Relations. The organization has trained hundreds of people on the basics of the cannabis industry since 2022, including through its traveling two-day Seed-to-Success Statewide Live Workshop. CWIs job board aggregates cannabis industry job postings in New York State from sites like KayaPush, Indeed and others, Serrano said. Right now there are about 80 postings on the site, and Serrano expects there will be between 300 and 400 active job postings at any given time when the CannaJobsLink site is fully launched. An important aspect of CannaJobsLink, Serrano said, is its free and doesnt require users to create an account. The lack of gatekeeping will allow anyone whos interested in a job in New York cannabis to use the board as a tool, he said. We definitely try to make it as efficient as possible, said Serrano, who added that the job postings from the board are already being sent to students in their databases, as well as people who have signed up for CWIs programming. Additionally, CWI is working with employers on the job listings theyre posting, Serrano said. Its more than just sharing a job opportunity which is critical but its also making sure that the employer feels supported through the process that they have resources for how to hire, Serrano said. CWI is using a two-pronged approach to cannabis education with expertise from Cornell and the Workforce Development Institute. WDI is creating training focused on industry education, while Cornell is providing information about worker rights and employers legal responsibilities. Since the initiative launched in late 2021, its work has been funded by a $3,025,000 budget allocation from New Yorks state legislature to Cornell, along with an appropriation last year of $3,000,000. Our partnership with employers is also a training partnership, Serrano said. In addition to helping them find workers, we are giving them training and resources to not only hire those workers effectively and lawfully, but also to be a good employer for the longevity of their operation. Disclosure: The Cannabis Workforce Initiative is a sponsor of NY Cannabis Insider events. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003 in this photo obtained by the Associated Press. The man accused of being the main plotter in al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks has agreed to plead guilty, The Defense Department said Wednesday. (AP Photo, FILE)ASSOCIATED PRESS The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Minister Heydon Launches Positive Mental Health Guidance for Farming Community. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Farm Safety, Martin Heydon T.D., recently launched the joint Mental Health Ireland/Teagasc leaflet Sowing the Seeds of Support: Positive Mental Health Guidance for the Farming Community. Pictured at the launch of 'Sowing the Seeds of Support: Positive Mental Health Guidance for the Farming Community' leaflet (left to right): Dr David Meredith, Dr Diana Van Doorn, both Teagasc; Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Farm Safety, Martin Heydon T.D. and Dr John McNamara, Teagasc. Welcoming the publication of the leaflet, Minister Heydon said: This initiative will provide invaluable advice for the farming community on recognising and managing stress. The content in the leaflet is based on recent research findings and sets out useful coping strategies and pointers on how to minimise stress. The publication was prepared by Ms Finola Colgan, Mental Health Ireland and Teagasc Health and Safety Specialists Dr John McNamara and Mr Francis Bligh. Researchers Dr David Meredith and Dr Diana van Doorn contributed data on recent Teagasc research findings to the publication. Research on farmers mental health was part of the Farmers have Hearts cardiovascular health programme completed in 2023. Researchers found that 13.5% of farmers reported stress at the start of the project, based on a validated scale in a large sample (868), but that this reduced to 8% after one year when farmers availed of a health check and received health promotion messages. A recent study by Dublin City University and Teagasc revealed that almost one in four farmers reported burnout and half of farmers reported sleep issues which are associated with stress. The research also identified that knowing when, where and how to seek help when necessary, is an important part of taking care of your mental health. Minister Heydon added: The Total Health Model underpins the positive messages in the leaflet, whereby farm safety, health and mental health are interrelated and need to be actively managed as a unit. Recognising the need to improve the mental wellbeing of our farmers, I am implementing a number of initiatives including the expanded On Feirm Ground 2 Programme. This initiative is just one of a series of initiatives that my Department is implementing in support of the safety, health and wellbeing of our farmers. Ms Colgan emphasised that stress is an individual experience, and the leaflet provides a list of the signs of stress to assist with identifying and dealing with it. Ms Colgan said: Each person needs to be able to recognise the signs of stress, and how to alleviate the stress by responding to its sources. Seeking support from a reputable source should be considered. Highlighting the practical benefit of the leaflet when engaging with farmers, Dr McNamara from Teagasc stated: The FarMHealth project found that a session of at least 30 minutes duration can help farmers to understand how to manage their mental health. This leaflet will be used at Teagasc events and discussion groups to provide guidance to farmers and to assist them in improving their health and stress management. Francis Bligh from Teagasc spoke about how taking regular breaks from farming benefits farmers mental wellbeing, and that good work organisation and regular breaks allows farmers to re-focus and have a better work/life balance. Mr Bligh also pointed out that Teagasc and Mental Health Ireland have a comprehensive publication Coping with the Pressures of Farming, available on their websites. Teagasc and Mental Health Ireland acknowledge the use of material on the signs of stress from the IFA Leaflet Lets Talk Dealing with Stress. Sources: Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 8,552 Thanked: 56,246 Times View My Garage Vintage Tractor Show | Panningen, The Netherlands I have posted about tractor-pulling and vintage tractors before. Last weekend the 43rd edition of the IHF Panningen was held. https://ihf-festival.nl The largest gathering of vintage tractors in Europe. I had never been yet, so I started my vintage 1982 Mercedes W123 early Sunday morning and headed south. For those familiar with the Netherlands, Panningen is a small town southeast of Eindhoven. It is located in the province of Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands. This International Historic Festival is pretty huge. It attracts some 25000 visitors. I must admit although I did hear some German and Flemish, my impression was it is largely a Dutch crowd, both participants and visitors. It is entirely run by volunteers. One of the reasons I like these tractor festivals is because of the crowd it attracts. These are, as you would expect, mostly from the farming communities. And as you will see it is a real family outing, watching tractors. Lots of things for the kids to do and see. The lady with the trolly is very typical for Dutch people on a day out. Be it at the beach, out in the woods, or here at a festival. You pile the kids and everything you need for the day into the trolly and pull it along! First things first. After an hour and a half driving on a warm, sunny day in a vintage car with no AC, I was ready for some coffee and a snack. So I got myself some of these tokens. One token cost one euro. You pay in all the food stands with tokens. Everything was quite cheap! Coffee, tea, softdrinks and even a glass of beer or wine was one token! One of the first vehicles I bumped into, was a working steam model tractor! Look at this; vintage tractor galore! Next to vintage tractors, there were also a lot of stationary engines on display. You will get to see some of those too. Stationary engines were used in the olden days to provide power to all sorts of farming machinery. Gorgeous combination! Love the engine details This tractor was an aircraft tug, that worked in the UK for many years, around the 1960/70s. Although the vast majority of vehicles on display were tractors, there were a couple of vintage cars. And some vintage trucks too. Here you a gorgeous Saab. In Dutch, it is known as a "katterug" (A cat's back) One thing about tractors, more often than not, the colour will tell you immediately what brand it is! Of course, on an event like this there were quite a number of these market stalls selling model Tractors and farming equipment. As the day wore on I saw more and more little boys and their dads walking around with some of these! Look at this, it might be vintage, it is still impressive!! If you have read some of my other threads you will have picked up on the fact that I am a huge Unimog fan. Mrs. D has vetoed getting one, but at least I can have a good look at quite a few of them here. They come in a bewildering amount of different versions. This appears to be the Long Wheelbase version. There were also quite a number of these "track" vehicles. Here is a whole trailer full on them. These were all built in the early 1940s. Two of my friends from my model engine building forum were present as well. They were giving a demonstration in brazing. Here you see Wiel explaining it all. He is quite amazing, he can braze weld just about any material. If you like, you could have a try yourself! This articulated tractor is massive, from the 70s! You will notice that some of these tractors have been restored to factory-new conditions, while others look as if they have received no maintenance at all for the last twenty years. One of each, restored and unrestored side by side. Tractors as far as the eye can see. And make no mistake, just about every single one of them, was brought onto these display fields under their own power. Some might look old and beaten, but they still run!! A gorgeous Hanomag. The show was spread out over multiple fields. On each field, they also had an area where the old tractors were put to work. Here you see one of these vintage tractor pulling a vintage ground levelling machine. It also meant there was a constant coming and going of tractors driving through the public on their way for a demonstration or coming back to be put on display again. Another huge articulated tractor. John Deere. I like tractors! All tractors. I don't know much about tractors at all if I'm honest. I just like to look at them and see them at work. As it turned out, this particularly event I visited also showed me a vintage demonstration on making barbed wire. That in itself was worth the trip. See below for the little video!I have posted about tractor-pulling and vintage tractors before. Last weekend the 43rd edition of the IHF Panningen was held.The largest gathering of vintage tractors in Europe. I had never been yet, so I started my vintage 1982 Mercedes W123 early Sunday morning and headed south. For those familiar with the Netherlands, Panningen is a small town southeast of Eindhoven. It is located in the province of Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands.This International Historic Festival is pretty huge. It attracts some 25000 visitors. I must admit although I did hear some German and Flemish, my impression was it is largely a Dutch crowd, both participants and visitors.It is entirely run by volunteers. One of the reasons I like these tractor festivals is because of the crowd it attracts. These are, as you would expect, mostly from the farming communities. And as you will see it is a real family outing, watching tractors. Lots of things for the kids to do and see.The lady with the trolly is very typical for Dutch people on a day out. Be it at the beach, out in the woods, or here at a festival. You pile the kids and everything you need for the day into the trolly and pull it along!First things first. After an hour and a half driving on a warm, sunny day in a vintage car with no AC, I was ready for some coffee and a snack. So I got myself some of these tokens. One token cost one euro. You pay in all the food stands with tokens. Everything was quite cheap! Coffee, tea, softdrinks and even a glass of beer or wine was one token!One of the first vehicles I bumped into, was a working steam model tractor!Look at this; vintage tractor galore! Next to vintage tractors, there were also a lot of stationary engines on display. You will get to see some of those too. Stationary engines were used in the olden days to provide power to all sorts of farming machinery.Gorgeous combination!Love the engine detailsThis tractor was an aircraft tug, that worked in the UK for many years, around the 1960/70s.Although the vast majority of vehicles on display were tractors, there were a couple of vintage cars. And some vintage trucks too.Here you a gorgeous Saab. In Dutch, it is known as a "katterug" (A cat's back)One thing about tractors, more often than not, the colour will tell you immediately what brand it is!Of course, on an event like this there were quite a number of these market stalls selling model Tractors and farming equipment.As the day wore on I saw more and more little boys and their dads walking around with some of these!Look at this, it might be vintage, it is still impressive!!If you have read some of my other threads you will have picked up on the fact that I am a huge Unimog fan. Mrs. D has vetoed getting one, but at least I can have a good look at quite a few of them here. They come in a bewildering amount of different versions. This appears to be the Long Wheelbase version.There were also quite a number of these "track" vehicles. Here is a whole trailer full on them. These were all built in the early 1940s.Two of my friends from my model engine building forum were present as well. They were giving a demonstration in brazing. Here you see Wiel explaining it all. He is quite amazing, he can braze weld just about any material. If you like, you could have a try yourself!This articulated tractor is massive, from the 70s!You will notice that some of these tractors have been restored to factory-new conditions, while others look as if they have received no maintenance at all for the last twenty years. One of each, restored and unrestored side by side.Tractors as far as the eye can see. And make no mistake, just about every single one of them, was brought onto these display fields under their own power. Some might look old and beaten, but they still run!!A gorgeous Hanomag.The show was spread out over multiple fields. On each field, they also had an area where the old tractors were put to work. Here you see one of these vintage tractor pulling a vintage ground levelling machine.It also meant there was a constant coming and going of tractors driving through the public on their way for a demonstration or coming back to be put on display again.Another huge articulated tractor. John Deere. Last edited by Axe77 : 1st August 2024 at 18:51 . Reason: Minor edit. Highly anticipated: About a month ago, some leaked European retail listings suggested that AMD's upcoming Zen 5 processors might launch at lower prices than Zen 4. With the Ryzen 9000 CPU release date just a week away, newly leaked US listings from Best Buy seemingly confirm earlier speculation, with the top two Ryzen chips debuting $100 below their predecessors. Reliable tipster @momomo_us has shared screenshots revealing US and European prices for every Ryzen 9000 series CPU and the two new Ryzen 5000 processors. The Zen 5 chips will be markedly cheaper than their Zen 4 counterparts. The most detailed leak comes from Best Buy, showing the top two CPUs the Ryzen 9 9950X and 9900X launching at $599 and $449, respectively. Both processors are priced $100 below their Ryzen 7000 equivalents. Price reductions are smaller for the mid-range Zen 5 parts, with the Ryzen 7 9700X debuting at $359 and the Ryzen 5 9600XT at $249. AMD's new AM4 chips are also included with the company's previously confirmed prices. The Ryzen 9 5900XT and Ryzen 7 5800XT are priced at $349 and $249, respectively, but may not offer exceptional value compared to the Ryzen 5800X, which is available for just $180. Slovenian retailer Funtech offered an early look at European Zen 5 pricing a month ago. Although the their listings were lower than expected, Momomo has shared French and Belgian store pages that undercut the MSRPs further. Now-removed listings from LDLC positioned the 9950X at 749, the 9900X at 559, the 9700X at 444, and the 9600X at 384. The Ryzen 9000 series is expected to offer a significant performance boost over Zen 4, despite the lower prices. The flagship 9950X is a 16-core, 32-thread CPU clocked at 5.7GHz, with a theoretical maximum of 5.85GHz. A recent liquid nitrogen-cooled overclocking demonstration pushed it to a record-breaking 6.5GHz. Meanwhile, the 12-core, 24-thread 9900X reaches 5.6GHz. Further down the lineup, the 9700X features eight Zen 5 cores with 16 threads and a top frequency of 5.5GHz. The most affordable chip in the launch lineup, the 9600X, includes six cores and 12 threads with a 5.4GHz clock. The four processors were initially set to launch on Wednesday, but AMD delayed them at the last minute due to a packaging-related issue. Although the company hasn't disclosed the exact reason, information has surfaced suggesting that the labels on the CPUs had typos that would mislead customers. The Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X will now launch on August 8, while the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X will arrive on August 15. The big picture: Some analysts predicted the Xbox Series X would outsell the PlayStation 5 in 2020. Instead, Sony's console has likely sold more than double the Xbox Series S and X. The situation is so dire that Microsoft hasn't disclosed precise unit sales in over a year and has begun releasing its games on competing consoles. The company's latest earnings call certainly won't improve investor outlook concerning the future of Xbox hardware. Xbox console sales suffered a staggering year-over-year decline during the quarter ending June 30. The situation regarding Xbox hardware has been dire for a while, but Microsoft's larger gaming business has performed well. Although revenue from Xbox hardware decreased by 42 percent compared to the same quarter last year, general gaming revenue increased by 44 percent. Moreover, revenue from Xbox content and services rose by 61 percent. Microsoft didn't specify what that number encompasses, but it likely aggregates Xbox software, Game Pass subscriptions, PC games sold through Microsoft's storefront, and games the company published on all platforms. Microsoft said its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard significantly impacted gaming financials, including first-party titles that performed above expectations. Since the purchase, revenue from games like Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch 2, and Candy Crush Saga has contributed to the company's bottom line. Conversely, third-party software revenue was weak, but Microsoft didn't elaborate on that area. The company expects the trends it reported to generally continue into the next quarter, with overall gaming revenue rising by over 30 percent. Xbox content and services could grow by over 50 percent, but Microsoft predicts that console hardware sales will keep falling. Solid Xbox unit sales numbers haven't emerged since last year when the console manufacturer confirmed that Series S and X had sold over 21 million combined. In comparison, Sony has sold around 56 million PlayStation 5 consoles as of the end of April 2024. Meanwhile, Nintendo has sold 141 million Switch units, though it has been on the market for nearly three years longer than the Sony and Microsoft machines. A healthy outlook for gaming revenue despite struggles with hardware sales suggests that Microsoft's hardware-agnostic strategy is working. The company has focused on offering games on various hardware platforms and over the cloud. Despite de-emphasizing Xbox hardware somewhat, ambitious plans for a successor to the console are in the works. Why it matters: The US has long utilized large drones, but warfare is evolving, and adversaries are increasingly employing smaller drones. To counter this growing threat, the Army is turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Software company Camgian recently secured a substantial $55 million contract to enhance the Army's existing Integrated Air and Missile Defense systems with advanced kill chain automation technology. The objective is to enhance sensor survivability while streamlining the kill chain to provide faster, more reliable decision-making. Under the multi-year deal, Camgian will work closely with the Army to integrate its Reactor platform an AI-powered system trained through reinforcement learning into the IAMD architecture. The IAMD is a comprehensive system designed to protect the US and its allies from various airborne threats, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial systems. Camgian's Reactor technology aims to automatically provide the optimal engagement solution for defeating drone swarms and aerial attacks. It will quickly offer on-the-move recommendations, assigning the right weapons to the right targets at the right time. This should reduce cognitive overload on warfighters by providing a tailored course of action for each threat situation. The platform is compatible with multi-modal sensors such as passive RF, acoustics, radar, electro-optics/infrared, and laser range finders. It also integrates with a range of effector systems, both kinetic and non-kinetic. Camgian CEO and founder Gary Butler stated that winning on today's battlefield is all about "closing kill chains faster than adversaries," and that this contract allows the company to work closely with the Army's IAMD community to deliver new capabilities that enable warfighters to operate at "machine speed." On the broader counter-drone front, the Department of Defense held its most challenging demonstration yet. Dubbed "Demo Five," the June event pitted vendor systems against swarms of up to 50 drones converging on targets in an intense real-world test of sensors, shooters, and AI technology. It's fair to say that the increasing focus on drones in recent years highlights how countering them has become a major priority for maintaining US military superiority. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, August 1. Turkmenistan last week noted an increase in sales on its State Commodity and Raw Material Exchange, the total amount of which amounted to more than $38.7 million, Trend reports. According to the exchange, this is 2.7 times more than in the previous reporting period, during which the cost of raw materials sold amounted to $14 million. Enterprises from the UAE, Turkiye and Afghanistan purchased diesel fuel, low-sulfur heating oil, liquefied gas produced at the technological installations of the Turkmennebit State Concern, as well as edible salt (Turkmenhimiya State Concern) for industrial use. Furthermore, smooth-colored and jacquard terry products were sold to entrepreneurs in exchange for foreign currency. Turkmenistan's businessmen purchased polypropylene (Turkmennebit State Concern) and flat glass for the domestic market for a total of almost 12 million Turkmen manat ($3.3 million). Last week's auctions of Turkmenistan's State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange yielded 21 transactions. Meanwhile, on July 29, 1994, Turkmenistan established the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange. It is the most important body of state regulation for export-import operations. A hot potato: Reddit has been making moves as part of a crackdown on companies indiscriminately scraping the website for AI training purposes. Its philosophy is that AI companies stand to make millions or billions on large language models they are developing with resources they do not own. It's analogous to someone taking two-by-fours from a lumberyard to build their house just because the yard doesn't have a locked gate. But the issue goes way beyond Reddit and is central to how the open web has worked so far. The Robots Exclusion Protocol is a web standard used to control and manage web crawler and bot access to websites. Defined by the robots.txt file, it tells search engines which parts of a site can be crawled or indexed, helping webmasters protect sensitive content and manage traffic efficiently. However, it works on the honor system with few ways to enforce it. Last week, Ars Technica was reporting that Reddit posts were not appearing in any search engines except for Google. It's no big mystery that Reddit already penned a $60 million licensing deal with Alphabet to use its content for training meanwhile Reddit has been increasingly ranking at the top of Google searches this past year (quid pro quo, or maybe not...). The company also recently notified users that it changed its robots.txt file to exclude bots and crawlers that didn't have permission to access its data. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said he believes in an open internet but that companies now use search engine web crawlers to scrape information for profit, a far cry from their historical use. "I think the traditional value exchange from search engines has changed," Huffman told The Verge. "Search and summarization and training are merging, and the value exchange of crawling in exchange for traffic back is becoming muddied." To this point, Huffman said that blocking companies unwilling to pay for data harvesting has been "a real pain in the ass," prompting the changes to Reddit's robots.txt. For the most part, companies have respected Reddit's wishes, and several, including Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity, have entered negotiations to license its content. Hoffman said that the biggest thorn in his side is that some companies scraping Reddit data are turning around and selling it to other AI firms via their APIs. He specifically called out Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman for recently comparing all public data on the internet to "freeware." "We've had Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity act as though all of the content on the internet is free for them to use," said Huffman. "That's their real position." While Microsoft Bing has been gracious in respecting Reddit's decision to block its crawlers, the company managed to slip in a denigrating remark. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman: the social contract for content that is on the open web is that it's "freeware" for training AI models pic.twitter.com/FN1xrqnJC0 Tsarathustra (@tsarnick) June 26, 2024 "Reddit has blocked Bing from crawling their site for search, favoring another search engine and impacting competition from Bing and Bing-powered engines," Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston said last week. "We honor the directions provided by websites that do not want content on their pages to be used with our generative AI models." So far, Google and OpenAI are the only search engines on Reddit's whitelist. If other engines return anything but outdated Reddit content, then they are not abiding by the website's robots.txt document. Reddit profiting from user-generated content through these licensing deals is still a hot potato. On the one hand, the lucrative fees do not go into the pockets of the community who make up Reddit's forums. On the other hand, these licensing deals are not much different from those of other companies. OpenAI already pays licensing fees to large publishers like Dotdash Meredith, Axel Springer, the Associate Press, and The Atlantic. It is unconfirmed but doubtful that these publications pass those profits to their writers via raises or bonuses. Does that make it right? No, and the courts are still trying to decide about this unprecedented activity. However, it's par for the course at this point. And this very issue is not limited to Reddit but all online publishers, big and small. In the race against AI training abuse, Reddit is one of the few with the muscle and influence to call out AI companies. While big media companies try to monetize and reach agreements, the rest of the internet is struggling. In fact, some subreddits have their own bots that copy and paste entire written content from original sources and display it as the first comment in the thread, effectively copying the content and then selling that to AI companies. Until there are governing regulations, the AI gold rush will be like the California gold rush of 1848. Artificial intelligence firms will continue flocking to shovel AI products down everyone's throats for profit or to gather more data. Meanwhile, companies like Reddit and Vox will keep handing them the shovels. Image credit: Jernej Furman Arava Venkata Kesava Sai Kumar, known as Sai Kumar Arava, specializes in combining AI, machine learning, and data to glean insights into consumer behavior. Currently, both B2B and B2C businesses often struggle to identify the ideal audience for campaigns, especially for personalization and recommendations. Out of billions of potential customers, they want to target the right people to align with each campaign. Sai asks the question, "Why do this randomly when they can tap into data and sophisticated machine learning models?" The need for specialists in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is rapidly outstripping the rate at which new professionals can be trained. Unfortunately, the number of graduates equipped with these essential skills remains significantly below the rising demand. However, the field of AI and ML is not without its luminaries, who are making indelible contributions. Four emerging stars, in particular, stand out: Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the "Godfather of AI," is a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist renowned for his groundbreaking work in deep learning. His research on neural networks and backpropagation algorithms has been foundational to many of today's AI advancements. Hinton's ongoing work continues to push the boundaries of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Ian Goodfellow, known for inventing Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), has made significant contributions to the field of deep learning. His work has revolutionized the way machines generate and manipulate data, opening up new possibilities in areas such as image synthesis and style transfer. Goodfellow's innovations continue to influence both academic research and industrial applications of AI. Jurgen Schmidhuber, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, has made substantial contributions to deep learning and artificial neural networks. His work on long short-term memory (LSTM) has been crucial in advancing sequence learning tasks in AI. Schmidhuber's research continues to shape the future of AI, particularly in areas of unsupervised learning and artificial curiosity. Sai Kumar Arava, a distinguished figure in the realm of AI and machine learning, has forged a remarkable career that bridges the worlds of academia and industry. Predicting Sai's career trajectory required no fancy analytics, however. Sai's fascination with math and computer science began in his childhood, leading him to excel in numerous math competitions and develop a strong interest in programming. This early passion culminated in a specific expertise in machine learning and AI. His first job as a data scientist allowed him to explore the world of data. This was followed by positions as an Algorithmic Engineer and Machine Learning Engineer. This extensive experience eventually led him to his leadership position at Adobe, where he develops AI-driven solutions. Pioneering AI Services for Enterprise Customers During his tenure at Adobe, Sai has led the development of groundbreaking AI services that have significantly impacted the company's intelligent service offerings. As the lead architect for Attribution.ai, Customer AI, and Adobe Mix Modeler (AMM), Sai has revolutionized how businesses approach conversion propensity and measure marketing channel performance. These innovative tools have not only boosted user engagement but have also provided Adobe's enterprise customers with powerful insights for decision-making. Sai's work has directly impacted some of the biggest names in the industry. His AI solutions have been leveraged by companies like Nvidia, Disney, Home Depot, Walgreens, and MLB, generating billions of insights that have been consumed by enterprise customers for critical decision-making processes. The value realization achieved for these services has translated into millions of dollars in revenue for Adobe. Advancing the Field with Deep Learning and Attribution and Propensity Models One of Sai's most notable achievements is the development and patenting of "Deep Neural Nets with Attention for Multi-touch Attribution." This innovative work, which has garnered more than 70 citations, was published and presented at ADKDD 2018. The impact of this research extends beyond academia, as it has been successfully implemented in Adobe's attribution models, significantly enhancing the company's ability to provide accurate and actionable insights to its clients. Sai's contributions to the field of attribution modeling don't stop there. He has also patented influential models, including "Determining Algorithmic Multi-Channel Media Attribution Based on Discrete Time Survival Modeling." This patent has not only advanced the theoretical understanding of attribution modeling but have also had practical applications in optimizing ad distribution and budget allocation for Adobe's clients. Bridging AI and Business Value What sets Sai apart is his ability to translate complex AI and ML concepts into tangible business value. His approach involves direct engagement with clients to identify and validate use cases, ensuring that the AI solutions developed under his leadership address real-world business challenges. This client-centric approach has been instrumental in driving revenue growth and establishing Adobe as a leader in AI-powered marketing solutions. Sai's expertise extends to the cutting-edge domain of generative AI. He has been instrumental in launching several generative AI interfaces for Adobe's current services, significantly increasing adoption among customers. His recent work on improving the capabilities of Large Language Model-based marketing analytics copilots with semantic search and fine-tuning, published in the International Journal on Cybernetics & Informatics, showcases his commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI in marketing analytics. Putting the 'Intelligence' in Market Intelligence A key component of Sai's expertise in machine learning and AI is setting delivery metrics. This involves analyzing huge amounts of data to discover insights that businesses can act on to drive growth. By understanding customer behaviors and patterns, businesses can tailor their campaigns more effectively. This ensures that their marketing efforts are relevant, not random, and reach the most appropriate audiences. Sai focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) services like customer AI and predictive lead scoring. These services enhance business operations by identifying marketing opportunities and inefficiencies. This allows marketing analysts to set up predictions specific to a company's needs. Sai's AI expertise makes it easy for marketers to predict customer behavior, measure the impact of a campaign, and help provide a better return on every investment. Among the many other contributions of Sai's efforts are greater cost efficiencies at accelerating speed to market, higher accuracy at understanding the "what" and "why" behind predictive consumer insights, and faster insights that allow businesses to pivot quickly if necessary. From optimizing portfolio performance for advertisers to developing sophisticated attribution models that impact millions of customers, Sai Kumar Arava's career exemplifies the transformative potential of AI and machine learning. His journey continues to inspire the next generation of AI and ML specialists to push the boundaries of innovation while maintaining a steadfast commitment to ethical AI practices and tangible business value. As the field of AI and ML continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, visionaries like Sai Kumar Arava are not just keeping upthey're leading the charge, shaping the future of technology and its impact on businesses and society at large. Japanese researchers have reportedly developed a novel artificial intelligence model that can predict male infertility using a basic blood test with approximately 74% accuracy. The AI system can forecast male infertility with approximately 74% accuracy by examining hormone levels in the blood test. Significantly, it has shown a 100% success rate in detecting non-obstructive azoospermia, a condition characterized by the absence of sperm in the semen. Hideyuki Kobayashi, an Associate Professor at Toho University School of Medicine in Japan, who conducted the study, stated that they examined the levels of FSH, LH, PRL, total testosterone, and E2 in blood serum to research male infertility. The AI model was created by utilizing information from male infertility patients who underwent semen and hormone testing from 2011 to 2020. Subjects over 18 years old were considered in the study. The majority of individuals were of Japanese descent with an average age of roughly 36 years. The model uses the sum of motile sperm, which is determined by semen volume, sperm concentration, and sperm motility, as a point of comparison. The AI model checks if the overall sperm count is normal by comparing each patient's results to the WHO laboratory manual reference values. The research made use of specialized AI software named Prediction One, which is exclusively accessible in Japanese at present. This software streamlines the creation of AI models, enabling researchers with limited programming skills to get involved. Read Also : Alarming Study Suggests Hepatitis E Virus Could Be Sexually Transmitted, Linked to Male Infertility AI Model Effectiveness To confirm the effectiveness of the AI model, the researchers conducted tests using data from 188 patients in 2021 and 166 patients in 2022. This time, the accuracy rates were reduced to 58% in 2021 and 68% in 2022. However, it is important to note that the AI model maintained 100% accuracy in predicting non-obstructive azoospermia, a severe form of infertility, in both years. Artificial Remedies to Infertility While AI is improving male infertility tests, this year also saw scientists developing lab-grown testicle organoids that closely imitate natural testes, potentially revolutionizing infertility treatment. Organoids, small 3D organs created mainly from stem cells, have transformed the exploration of different organs and tissues, enabling scientists to simulate disease conditions and evaluate potential therapies. Organoids have been created for various organs like the brain, heart, and intestines in the last ten years, but there has been a lack of testicle organoids until recently. To fill this lack of scientific knowledge, researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel have developed testicle organoids using neonatal mouse cells. Under the guidance of Dr. Nitzan Gonen, an expert in fetal gender identification, the team created synthetic testicles that closely mimic real ones. The creation of these testicular organoids could potentially improve the development and function of testicles, especially in the case of disorders of sexual development (DSD) and male infertility. Gonen and her colleagues believe that these synthetic testes could offer a useful representation for fundamental studies, giving an understanding of the processes behind sex determination and infertility. The artificial testes are small organoids created from real mouse testicular tissue. Researchers believe that organoids provide a more precise depiction of the intricate cellular structure and interactions present in natural organs, as compared to traditional two-dimensional cell cultures. By carefully employing cultivation methods, the team managed to cultivate testicle organoids in a laboratory setting for an impressive nine weeks. Researchers can study important processes like sperm production and hormone synthesis in a controlled lab setting due to the longer lifespan. The development of the oil industry does not stand still. In order to adapt to new challenges, it is necessary to utilize global experience and advanced technologies that ensure not only the efficiency of field development but also the safety of employees. Our expert, Ruslan Mardanov, shared his extensive experience in these areas. For over 25 years, Ruslan has been involved in Oil and Gas Field Exploration and Development. He has a wealth of experience in the oil and gas provinces of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, and Uzbekistan, offshore fields in the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa), North Caspian (Kazakhstan), and the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, Ruslan's skills have been appreciated by major international companies: he has worked as an engineer and manager for TNK-BP, LUKOIL, HESS, Eni, Chevron, Statoil, and Aker Energy. Ruslan, you have been working in oil and gas production for 25 years. How did you come to work in the industry? Personally, I have been connected with it, without exaggeration, all my life. I was born into an oilman's familymy father, a geologist, was engaged in prospecting, exploration, and development of fields in Tatarstan and Western Siberia. He often took me to work, and I watched how engineers work in the office and in the field. There, I learned all the processes of field development: how wells are drilled, repaired, and maintained and how pipelines and infrastructure are built. That is precisely why choosing a profession in the oil industry was only natural for me. When the time came to decide on a university to enter, I did not hesitate to apply to the Industrial University of Tyumen, majoring in the development of oil and gas fields. There, I studied fundamental sciences, such as geology, reservoir physics, and chemistry, specialized in analysis and design of field development, calculated project economics, and production operations. All of the above laid a good foundation for starting my career. How did you start your oil industry journey? What projects have you worked on? Since my first year in university, every summer vacation, I used to work in the field, mostly as an oil production and well research operator. It was by no means a waste of my vacation, as I liked the work very much. However, what I consider to be the real start of my career is my work at the Tyumen branch of SurgutNIPIneft, the Project and Research Institute, where I got a job in my third year of studies. First, I completed an internship, and then I became a full-fledged employee. My mentors were both true professionals and wonderful people: Vladimir Sonich, Rifkhat Bulatov, Alexander Malyshev, Alexey Cheremisin, and Yury Baturin. Working at the Research Institute reinforced my theoretical knowledge with practice. For instance, I participated in the integrated engineering design of the oil fields of Surgutneftegaz. There, we studied the geological features of the fields, estimated oil reserves, selected locations for drilling wells, and developed new technologies. Nevertheless, I wanted to work in the oilfield like my father. Four years later, I joined TNK-BP, where I worked as a Production Engineer at the Kalchensky field, the southernmost field in the Tyumen Region. There, I was responsible for well research and construction, workover and scheduled maintenance, selecting equipment, supervising the drilling process and production. Surely, working in a small oilfield gave me invaluable experience, which formed the foundation of my career. The whole technological process opened up in front of me in full view: well construction, working with downhole and surface equipment, collecting, preparing, and selling oil and gas. In such an environment, you can clearly realize the importance of your role and responsibility for your work. Your expertise is not limited to local projects. You have worked in Asia, Africa, Mexico, and the Middle East. How did you get a job abroad? Having gained rich production experience at TNK-BP, I returned to the Research Institute and worked for several years at the Tyumen branch of LUKOIL Engineering. There, I was involved in preparing geological and technical programs and analyzing the current status of the development of Western Siberian fields. In 2008, LUKOIL Overseas invited me to lead the field development departments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and Azerbaijan. In addition to producing assets, we accompanied exploration work in Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Iran, and Iraq. We evaluated many new business development projects around the worldeven exotic ones such as open-pit tar sands mining in Canada and Madagascar. My experience of working and living abroad began in 2010 when LUKOIL acquired a project in Iraq and sent me to Dubai to work for the Middle East and Africa Regional Directorate. There, I gained invaluable experience that broadened my professional horizons and allowed me to make a significant contribution to solving complex problems. I built LUKOIL's relationships with international companies and government agencies, participated in tenders, and continued to improve my knowledge of natural resource development and production. What was the most memorable project you worked on? I would like to point out the deepwater projects of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. LUKOIL acquired several projects in that region in 2011, and their implementation required unique knowledge of ultra-deepwater field development, which no one in the company had at the time. I became part of a young and ambitious team that, in order to gain the necessary skills, went on an internship to Houston, the center of competence for offshore field development, where project teams of such oil and gas giants as Chevron, Exxon, BP, and Occidental worked. In collaboration with HESS's leading experts in deepwater production, we developed project documentation for a deepwater offshore field in the Republic of Ghanathere was only one such project in the world before us. Obviously, any project requires high-quality and detailed baseline data. So, the more data you have, the less likely you are to make mistakes, which in deepwater development can be extremely costly. Therefore, we have developed a methodology for modeling surveys that optimizes drilling rig operating time and reduces costs. For example, our assessment resulted in a decision not to drill a well, which saved the company more than $600 million. This experience was invaluable to me. I not only gained deep knowledge in offshore field development but also mastered new technologies that optimize costs and speed up the development process. In your opinion, how does the work organization in Russia and abroad differ? First of all, the mentality is, surely, different: foreign managers at all levels are always available and completely open. Then, I would also like to point out that foreign companies have extremely transparent work processes and flexible work schedules. At the same time, they set very high requirements for results, procedures, and safety. Abroad, working in multidisciplinary teams, where every decision is made in close cooperation with representatives of related disciplines, is very common. This way, the whole team is responsible for the final product. Thanks to this approach, specialists from different areas work together, sharing knowledge and experience. The results are impressive: decisions are made in a more balanced and informed manner, and the quality and efficiency of work are improved. Now you work in a Research Institute. What tasks and problems of the oil and gas industry does it help to solve? The foundation of my successful career lies in alternating practical and analytical experience. Having field experience and working in a research institute, I constantly change my views, reaching new levels of understanding of project implementation processes. The primary assets of oil and gas companies are the reserves beneath the earth's surface. Our task is to find optimal methods for extracting oil and gas that are safe for both people and the environment, with maximum economic benefit. In the early stages of development, the information about a field is limited, and decisions are made considering uncertainties and assumptions. As new data becomes available, we optimize resource extraction and review previously made decisions. This process is continuous and spans the entire lifecycle of the field. Currently, I actively participate in conferences and workshops, both corporate and international. For example, I moderated a series of multidisciplinary workshops for offshore field development in Kazakhstan. These workshops synthesized unique experiences from implementing projects in the Caspian Sea, where we proposed solutions that transformed a project considered unprofitable for over ten years into an economically viable one. I believe that participation in such events is an excellent opportunity to broaden your horizons, network with industry experts, and continue professional development. What challenges and prospects, in your opinion, is the oil industry facing? The oil and gas sector is undergoing a transformation due to the urgent need to transition to more sustainable and environmentally friendly extraction methods. Key trends will include digitalization, automation, and the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The industry's development prospects are closely linked to global trends and energy resource demand. Alternative energy sources are actively developing. The industry must successfully adapt to these new conditionsto meet market demands and preserve the environment; there is a need to consider implementing innovative technologies and sustainable development practices. Traditional and alternative energy sources can complement each other very effectively; the future lies in their synergy. In the Russian oil and gas sector, there is a need to work on technological independence. For example, in Upstream (exploration and production), issues such as software, high-tech services, equipment, and access to international databases are critical. In Midstream/Downstream, there are challenges with shortages of components and spare parts. These issues are actively discussed at industry congresses and symposiums. Sanctions have significantly affected the Russian oil and gas industry, jeopardizing the implementation of key projectsespecially in the Arctic and on the shelf. Restrictions on access to advanced technologies and equipment are slowing down geological exploration and reducing the quality of oil and gas reserves. The lack of domestic equipment and technologies in oil refining poses risks to the safety and the stable operation of plants. It is becoming clear that enterprises urgently need modernization and increased safety standards. It is evident that the government needs to participate in solving these issues at the legislative level, for example, by easing tax burdens or providing financial subsidies to the industry. Sanction-related difficulties, on one hand, hinder the implementation of many projects, but on the other hand, they provide opportunities for Russian developers and stimulate the development of domestic technologies. Samsung has introduced a significant privacy upgrade with its latest One UI 6.1.1 update, featuring new security enhancements for both Quick Share and Samsung Cloud. To know if your specific smartphone model is eligible for this upgrade, check this out. Quick Share Gets a Privacy Boost Quick Share, Samsung's convenient file-sharing service, has received a much-needed privacy upgrade. The newly introduced Private Sharing mode empowers users to control the visibility and lifespan of shared files. This feature allows users to set expiration timers, ensuring that shared content remains accessible only for a predetermined period. Related Article : New Samsung Galaxy S25 Lineup Will Boast Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Processors Worldwide, Kuo Says Samsung Cloud Enhances Data Protection According to The Sun, Samsung Cloud is also benefiting from the latest update with the introduction of end-to-end encryption. This robust security measure ensures that files stored in the cloud are protected with the highest level of encryption, making them accessible only to the device owner. To activate this feature, users can navigate to the Security and privacy settings. Device Compatibility The new security features are initially available for the Galaxy S24 series, with broader compatibility expected to expand to other eligible devices in the coming weeks. Samsung has yet to confirm a complete list of compatible models, but it's likely that devices running One UI 6.1.1 will be able to access these enhancements. Galaxy S24 series Galaxy S23 series, including S23 FE Galaxy S22 series Galaxy Z Fold 5 Galaxy Z Flip 5 Galaxy Z Fold 4 Galaxy Z Flip 4 Safeguarding Your Data These latest updates from Samsung underscore the company's commitment to user privacy and data protection. By implementing stronger security measures for file sharing and cloud storage, Samsung aims to provide users with greater peace of mind. As technology continues to evolve, it's essential for companies to prioritize user security, and Samsung's efforts in this area are commendable. When it comes to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra, early rumors suggest it's coming sometime in October. At the same time, he Fold 6 Slim is also rumored to arrive in the same month. According to Tech Times, Samsung wanted to achieve a thinner design for the Z Fold 6 Ultra/Slim, but this poses some challenges on its part. If they want to do this, there's a need to sacrifice the S Pen support. Chinese smartphone makers are now known for their foldables including the Honor Magic V3 and Xiaomi Mix Fold 4. This forces the South Korean tech giant to improve the quality of its foldable handsets even further. This competition indicates that Samsung should strive harder to attract more people to invest in foldables. It's a healthy indication that the market is not revolving around the same maker since innovation is always around the corner. The new direction for Reddit is leveraging its user data for AI training at a certain price, but the social news aggregator recently discovered a behind-the-back approach done by Microsoft. Reddit made a grand revelation about it by calling out Big Tech who allegedly "scraped" its data on the platform and used it for AI training without striking any deals with the company. It did not stop there, as Reddit has also revealed other companies who had their hands reaching for its data, without paying or asking for consent. Reddit Calls Out Microsoft for Data Scraping It was recently revealed by Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman, via an interview, that several companies have accessed its platform without permission, with software giant Microsoft called out for allegedly scraping data. However, Microsoft was not the only company named for doing so, as other AI search engine platforms including Anthropic and Perlexitywere also identified. Previously, Reddit vowed that whoever tries to access the platform without consent or striking a deal with them would either be blocked or have limited access. It was revealed by Huffman that some of the websites that it caught were already blocked by Reddit, but others were reached out to for negotiations. Read Also : Reddit-Infused ChatGPT Will Soon Be a Reality with New OpenAI Deal Reddit CEO Wants Them to Pay Huffman claimed that Microsoft was among those who are "refusing" negotiations with them, but a Reddit spokesperson clarified that the software company tried to strike up a deal but no agreements were made. That being said, Huffman wants these companies to pay them for scraping data off Reddit, and refusing to do so will end up withthem being blocked. Reddit's Data is Up for Sale A controversial move by Reddit last year centered on putting a price on using its data or accessing its API which led to apps from third-party developers shutting down and facing public backlash and protest. It was also revealed amidst this controversial issue that Reddit has been selling its user data to third-party clients to use for AI model training. Days later this early 2024, Reddit officially filed for its initial public offering (IPO) which was long speculated by the company as previous reports speculated it to go public. Users and reports were able to connect the dots on its user data sale for AI training and its expensive API pricing that it was because of the social networking platform's plan for its IPO. Moreover, Reddit made it official that it made a deal with Google that allowed Big Tech to access its user data for AI training in exchange for a whopping $60 million fee per year. After Reddit vowed to block companies for illegal data access, it named new names that have been accessing its platform to scrape data, now wanting them to pay, and has since banned them for access. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is presently still docked at the International Space Station after its first crewed flight, but its current situation for its anticipated return to the planet remains unknown. In several days, the Boeing Starliner would already have spent two full months since first docking to the space station in early June and bringing two NASA astronauts to orbit. June's test flight of the Starliner was nowhere near perfect, particularly as the astronauts encountered significant problems that prompted them to manually fly it to the ISS. Boeing Starliner Remains Docked to the ISS; Return Flight Still Unknown Boeing announced via its latest update that several feats and tests were done regarding the Starliner spacecraft, with these essential for the upcoming return of the vessel. Remote teams from Houston's Mission Control Center and Boeing's Mission Control Center (BMCC) over at Kennedy Space Center conducted these tests. Among some of the tests done was practicing Starliner's undocking procedure via an integrated simulation, in partnership with the International Space Station (ISS). Part of these tests were Starliner's passengers, Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams from NASA, Starliner-1 crew Commander Scott Tingle and Pilot Mike Fincke conducting it via the Boeing Mission Simulator, and Josh Kutryk, an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) participating from Houston. Boeing, NASA Revealed Starliner Passing its Tests According to Boeing, its practice, preparations, refilling, and inspection of the Starliner have already been done, with the spacecraft passing the tests that are needed for its return flight. However, there are still other items on its checklist before it can clear the Starliner for its next flight. There are still no dates confirmed by the company, but this is its next focus for the spacecraft's return. Boeing's Starliner and What Went Wrong The fated first launch of the Boeing Starliner is infamously known for facing significant delays and rescheduling from the company due to problems it encountered while still on the ground. However, it defied the odds in June when the company launched it using ULA's Atlas V, but it faced a helium leak while on the way to the ISS which prompted the astronauts to manually fly it. It was initially claimed that Starliner's problems would only lead to its return flight being delayed for several days, particularly as the ground crew and astronauts who boarded the spacecraft would assess it. Previously, it was revealedby Boeing and NASA that Starliner would be returning to Earth come June 25 and landing by June 26, with the companies not being able to fulfill it. Like when it was still on Earth, Boeing and NASA pushed back on its schedule to have the spacecraft return to the planet alongside its two astronauts who rode the spacecraft. After completing its ground tests, Starliner yet again passed the latest checks that put it closer to its fated return, but despite being cleared, there are still a lot more on its list before choosing a date for Starliner's comeback. A Taiwanese government-affiliated research center has fallen victim to a cyberattack orchestrated by a hacking group believed to be linked to the Chinese government. The attack, which occurred in July 2023, resulted in the theft of passwords and sensitive documents. Cisco's Talos threat intelligence group identified the perpetrators as members of APT41, a state-sponsored espionage group with ties to China's Ministry of State Security. The hackers employed outdated Microsoft Office software to gain unauthorized access to the research center's systems. Escalating Cyber Tensions Between Taiwan and China The cyberattack underscores the growing tensions between Taiwan and China. The self-governing island has become a focal point of geopolitical rivalry, with China asserting its sovereignty over the territory. Cyber espionage has emerged as a key tool for Beijing to gather intelligence and exert influence. According to Bloomberg, the compromised Taiwanese research center is part of a broader pattern of Chinese cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and government institutions. Recent reports indicate a surge in such activities, prompting Taiwan to bolster its cybersecurity defenses with the assistance of foreign experts. APT41: A Persistent Threat APT41, the hacking group responsible for the attack, has a history of targeting high-value targets, including government agencies and private companies. The group has been implicated in numerous cyber espionage campaigns, demonstrating its capabilities and persistence. The theft of sensitive information from the Taiwanese research center highlights the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyberattacks. Another Group of China-Backed Hackers A week ago, another group of state-sponsored hackers dubbed Daggergly launched a malware attack on select organizations in Taiwan and a US non-governmental organization based in China, according to The Hacker News. The gang of threat actors which hailed from Beijing engaged in "internal espionage" where it exploited a vulnerability within the Apache HTTP server. From here, the cyberattackers were able to send the MgBot malware to the systems. According to Symantec, Daggerfly is capable of immediately updating its malware toolset to deliver heavy damage with minimal disruption to the organizations. Last year, another group of Chinese threat actors under "Flax Typhoon" attacked government agencies in Taiwan. According to Microsoft, the group's modus operandi involves unauthorized access to the networks. Microsoft added that Flax Typhoon was first discovered in mid-2021. At the time, the group was seen attacking critical sectors in Taiwan. Aside from the government agencies, they also specialized in attacking educational institutions, tech firms, and other infrastructures. It's important to note that the group's activities are not only limited to Taiwan. It's been said that there were traces of attacks in other regions including Southeast Asia, Africa, and North America. Regarding the tools used in hacking, the group reportedly relies on the Juicy Potato privilege escalation tool, China Chopper web shell, the SoftEther virtual private network (VPN) client, and Mimikatz. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, August 1. Belarusian producers are showing growing interest in the transit capabilities of Turkmenistan, Trend reports. This was highlighted during a meeting between the Belarusian Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Vyacheslav Beskosty, and the Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers, Mammethan Chakyev, who also serves as the co-chair of the Intergovernmental Belarus-Turkmenistan Commission on Economic Cooperation. The discussions focused on the current state and future prospects of bilateral trade and economic relations, including plans for the next session of the Intergovernmental Commission. The sides expressed a desire to strengthen business contacts between entrepreneurs from the two countries. Moreover, on July 31, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov met with Turkmenistan's Ambassador to Minsk, Nazarguly Shagulyev. They discussed various aspects of Belarus-Turkmenistan cooperation at the bilateral level, including the schedule of upcoming meetings and visits. Additionally, the parties noted the positive developments in educational collaboration, particularly the training of Turkmen students in Belarusian universities. Gunfire, bombs as Colombia guerrillas flex muscles ahead of COP16 Jamundi, Colombia, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2024 Weary of gunfire and bombs, Ana Munoz recently closed her shop in a hamlet near the city of Cali, which will host a UN biodiversity summit in October that has been threatened by Colombian guerrillas. Residents of the small town of Robles, some 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Cali, say violence has reached new levels leading up to the COP16 meeting. In July, Munoz, 40, and her family hunkered down in their home for four hours as a gun battle raged outside between security forces and an armed group known as the EMC. Earlier that day, she heard a motorcycle loaded with explosives crash into a neighbor's house. Like many in the town, the neighbor fled in fear of the rebels, who are dissident fighters from the former FARC guerrilla movement who rejected a 2016 peace agreement and renamed themselves the Central General Staff (EMC). "Almost everyone has left," said Munoz, packing up the bags of animal feed she sells to take to another, safer, part of town. In July, the EMC warned the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity "will fail even if they militarize the city with gringos (foreigners)." On Tuesday, dressed in camouflage and armed with rifles, the rebels assured in a video that they would respect the COP16. Either way, their presence has authorities on edge. The summit security manager, General William Castano, said more than 10,000 uniformed officers supported by Interpol, Europol and Ameripol, were working on a defense and intelligence plan dubbed the "Hummingbird Plan". The idea is to "minimize criminals' attempts to affect security at the COP." - 'Very worrying'- Much of Robles is now deserted. Walls are riddled with bullet holes or damaged by explosions and broken glass marks the entrance to some homes. Soldiers and tanks keep close watch of the surroundings. The situation is much the same in other towns in the southwestern Valle del Cauca department, of which Cali is the capital. The area is an EMC stronghold, and is the main coca-growing region in the nation, the world's largest cocaine producer. "It is very worrying," said Munoz about the threat to the summit nearby in Cali, Colombia's third largest city, home to 2.2 million inhabitants. A dozen heads of state have already confirmed their attendance, according to Cali mayor Alejandro Eder. When the motorcycle bomb exploded, Fabio Diaz, 69, and his wife, who live a few meters away, threw themselves to the ground. According to the couple, about 50 chickens that they fatten up to sell have died from fright in a string of recent attacks. "When one is at home and a spoon falls, you tense up," said Diaz, who earns a few coins guiding car and bus drivers through the labyrinth of streets that security forces have barricaded. He has barely heard about the summit, but said it would be ideal if "they provide security for all of us. We want peace, we want to smile again." - 'Checkmate' - In the main park in Robles, three military tanks accompanied by soldiers and police keep watch. The state Ombudsman's Office warned this year that the FARC dissidents have the wider municipality of Jamundi in "checkmate" due to recruitment, kidnappings, extortion and homicides. On July 18, the mayor, Eder, traveled to New York to work on a cooperation plan with its police, which are experts in anti-terrorism. Some officers will soon travel to Cali to assess local security forces, particularly on intelligence matters. "We take any threat seriously," Eder told AFP. However, he said he feels "calm", and sure that COP16 will be a success. As is often the case in Colombia, the most brutal violence takes place in remote villages, while armed groups infiltrate cities in a more covert manner. In Cali, a city full of trees and criss-crossed by rivers, COP16 is seen by many as a sign of hope. "There is no need to be afraid," said Abraham Murillo, a 60-year-old public archivist. "Is a success for the city and it should happen." But others are more cautious. "The guerrillas have indeed threatened a lot," said Carlos Riano, a 72-year-old pensioner, adding he was unsure if authorities could stop them from carrying out attacks. "We will see how real their threats are." Nigeria unveils elephant sculpture to highlight illegal tusk trade Abuja, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2024 Nigeria's minister of state for the environment unveiled an elephant-shaped sculpture made with confiscated ivory on Wednesday -- the country's latest bid to raise awareness as it struggles to combat the illegal wildlife trade. The moulded grey statue incorporates ground-down fragments from a record $11 million, 2.5-tonne haul of seized tusks destroyed by the authorities in January, as well as pulverised pangolin scales. As he unwrapped the sculpture at the National Park Service headquarters in Abuja, minister of state for the environment Iziaq Kunle Salako said it was a "symbol of renewed hope for Nigerian wildlife". But he warned that poachers were "very tenacious and do not give up easily". "Demand for wild animal parts and derivatives persists with a surge in black markets," he said. "We must therefore be resolute, enforce our laws and upscale the deployment of technology in fighting these criminals." Salako said the sculpture, about the height of a human, was intended as a "monument in memory of hundreds of elephants killed illegally and as a symbol of our unwavering commitment to wildlife conservation". International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. But it has not stopped wildlife traders operating in Nigeria, where the number of elephants has plummeted from hundreds of thousands to under 400 due to poaching and habitat loss, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society NGO. The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime says Nigeria has also become the main transit hub for trafficking illicit wildlife products from East and Central Africa. Among these are the scales of African pangolins, small mammals coveted for use in traditional medicine including in China and Vietnam. One dead in Colorado blaze as fires ravage US west Los Angeles, United States, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2024 One person has died in a Colorado wildfire, officials said Wednesday, as around a hundred infernos continue to blaze across western US states and a dangerous new heat wave looms. The death occurred at a home near the town of Lyons, after a fire broke out Tuesday afternoon and consumed several buildings. It remains zero percent contained, despite the efforts of over 120 firefighters. Firefighters discovered "human remains in one of the residences," Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said. "I can confirm for you that we do have one fatality associated with this fire," he added, without providing further details. At 1,550 acres (630 hectares), the so-called "Stone Canyon Fire" is far from the largest of the dozens currently scorching the western United States. Fires are raging across the region, in a summer that has brought successive, intense heat waves that have dried out vegetation to create tinder-dry conditions. California, Oregon and Washington states have been particularly affected. In California, the Park Fire has swelled to 390,000 acres burnt, making it the fifth-largest conflagration in the state's history by area affected. Reinforcements have been sent from as far as Texas to help control the blaze, which is 18 percent contained. It was allegedly sparked last week by a man pushing a burning car into a ravine, according to local prosecutors, who have charged the suspect with arson. The massive fire has forced the evacuation of thousands of people from a region around 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of state capital Sacramento. Vast clouds of smoke have reached neighboring states. Further south, in central California, firefighters on Wednesday were also battling a large blaze in the Sequoia National Forest, home to world-famous giant sequoia trees. A slight drop in temperatures has helped with efforts to combat both fires in recent days, but a new heat wave is expected to sweep across the American West from Thursday. On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom urged people to remain extremely vigilant, with months of high fire risk still ahead in a region where climate change has lengthened the fire season to almost year-round. "Remember (...) it's not just August, September and October, but likely November, December, that we'll be fighting the ferocity of Mother Nature and these fires," he told a press conference. Repeated heat waves and extreme weather events are accelerated by climate change, which is linked to humanity's reliance on fossil fuels, according to scientists. Two killed, 28 missing in north India floods New Delhi, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Heavy monsoon downpours in India's Himalayan foothills triggered flash floods that killed two people, officials said Thursday, with the hunt on for around 28 others still missing. Fatal floods and landslides are common across India during the annual monsoon but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, intensity and unpredictability. Rescue crews worked through the night at two flood sites in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. Mandi district official Madan Kumar told AFP that rescuers had recovered two bodies. "One other person is seriously injured and eight people are missing," said Kumar. "Several houses have been damaged." In neighbouring Shimla district, a popular tourist destination in India's rugged north, local official Abhishek Verma said rescue crews were searching for around 20 more people believed missing. Landslides and flash floods killed more than 70 people in the state last year, also washing away arterial roads that left thousands stranded. Monsoon rains across the region from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are vital for agriculture -- and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia's nearly two billion people -- but also bring regular destruction. At least 176 people were killed in the southern state of Kerala this week when landslides hit villages and tea plantations, with search and rescue operations ongoing. "India will continue to see more and more of these kinds of impacts in the future," Kartiki Negi of the Indian environment think tank Climate Trends told AFP this week. str-sai/gle/pbt BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow received Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Trend reports via Turkmenistan State News Agency (TDH). The sides talked about exploring new avenues to amp up their energy game. "During the meeting, key issues were discussed, including the transportation of Turkmen gas to Turkiye and Europe, and the construction of a power plant on the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea. President Berdimuhamedow affirmed Turkmenistan's readiness to continue energy sector cooperation with Turkiye, grounded in centuries-old ties and mutual trust," the report stated. Special attention was given to the potential participation of Turkish companies in developing Turkmenistan's fuel and energy sector, ore mining, transportation and communications, agriculture, and investments. "In this context, President Berdimuhamedow emphasized that Turkiye holds a leading position in Turkmenistan's foreign trade and highlighted the significant opportunities for furthering bilateral and regional relations," the Turkmen state agency reported. A key focus of the meeting was the discussion of documents signed in March, including the "Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrocarbon Resources" and the "Memorandum of Mutual Cooperation on the Development of Partnership in the Field of Natural Gas." "These documents provide a crucial legal foundation for the continued expansion of bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector," TDH noted. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Pakistan's second-largest city Lahore hit by record rain: weather agency Lahore, Pakistan, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore was deluged with record-breaking rainfall on Thursday, the national weather agency said, with hospitals flooded and power cuts reported. The eastern city of 13 million people was lashed by almost 360 millimetres of rain in three hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said, breaking a previous record of 332 millimetres over three hours in July 1980. "This was record-breaking rainfall," the agency's deputy director Farooq Dar told AFP. One person was killed by electrocution as a result of the cloudburst on Thursday morning, local police said. The agency had forecast a wetter-than-usual monsoon season this year in Pakistan, one of the countries experts say is most vulnerable to extreme weather being spurred by climate change. Climate activists arrested in latest UK airport disruption London, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Several climate activists were arrested Thursday after staging a protest at London's Heathrow Airport, the latest such disruption by the Just Stop Oil group targeting airports. Police said seven people were arrested after they blocked a "passenger search area" at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, adding that "minimal disruption" was caused. Just Stop Oil, which has planned or carried out at least four such protests in July, said 17 were arrested in relation to the action, with seven at the airport and at least ten elsewhere. A picture posted by the group on social media showed several people blocking entry gates inside Heathrow Airport's departure area, carrying orange slogans saying "oil kills" and "sign the treaty". The protests targeting aviation during the summer travel season are organised by climate groups from across Europe as part of the "Oil Kills" coalition. They are demanding that governments sign an international treaty pledging to end oil, coal and gas extraction and burning by the end of the decade. Earlier this week, two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested for spraying Heathrow's departure walls and boards with paint, and eight others for blocking gates at Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest. Heathrow and Gatwick airports previously obtained court orders to stop environmental activists from entering their grounds. Colombia rebels to halt attacks during UN biodiversity summit Bogota, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Colombia's EMC guerrilla group said Thursday it would halt offensive actions during the COP16 UN biodiversity summit it had previously threatened in the city of Cali. The rebels, composed of dissidents who broke away from the FARC guerrilla movement when that group signed a peace deal in 2016, said in a statement they had "decreed the suspension of offensive military operations against public forces in the city of Cali, in the period between October 11 and November 6." The summit runs from October 21 to November 1. The EMC (Central General Staff) has ramped up attacks in towns around Cali in recent months, with a spate of bombings and shootings setting authorities on edge. In July, the EMC warned the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity "will fail even if they militarize the city with gringos (foreigners)." The event hopes to attract some 12,000 delegates and exhibitors, as well as heads of state, to one of the world's most biodiverse countries. The summit security manager, General William Castano, recently said more than 10,000 uniformed officers supported by Interpol, Europol and Ameripol were working on defense and intelligence cooperation dubbed the "Hummingbird Plan." The idea is to "minimize criminals' attempts to affect security at the COP," he said. Cali is the capital of the southwestern Valle del Cauca department, an EMC stronghold and the main coca-growing region in the nation, the world's largest cocaine producer. Being granted COP16 host status was a major coup for Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first-ever leftist president, who campaigned on an ambitious conservation and climate change program. Petro has seen his quest to achieve "total peace" in a nation struggling to emerge from decades of armed conflict bogged down in complicated negotiations with a variety of armed groups. The EMC recently split into supporters of Petro's peace efforts and opponents led by a man known as Ivan Mordisco, who commands an estimated 2,000 men. Rights groups accuse guerrillas in Colombia of taking advantage of various ceasefires to expand their influence by seizing more territory and recruiting new members. Signs of life spark hope for UK's felled Sycamore Gap tree London, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 New shoots have appeared at the stump of one of the UK's most beloved and photographed trees after it was illegally cut down last year, a conservation charity said Thursday. The news has sparked hope that the Sycamore Gap tree in northern England could "live on", the National Trust added. The tree, which grew for more than 200 years in a picturesque dip in the Northumberland landscape alongside Hadrian's Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was found felled in September 2023. Efforts have been underway to see if the tree in Northumberland National Park could regrow after it was determined that the stump was still alive. Now, eight new shoots have emerged, which "could develop significant new growth to form as 'new' trees around the original stump", according to the National Trust and the Northumberland National Park Authority. The sycamore became internationally famous when it was used for a scene in the 1991 blockbuster film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", starring Kevin Costner. The regrowth was spotted during a routine check by park ranger Gary Pickles, who called the discovery "serendipitous". "I've done this walk several times over the last year, but this time it was different, there was something new -- the trunk was showing signs of regeneration," Pickles said. Andrew Pond, general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian's Wall, said officials "always had hope that nature would find a way to recover, and to see signs of life, just ten months on, is astonishing". The National Trust, which looks after UK heritage and nature conservation, and the park authority said they would leave the shoots to grow for "a few years" to see how they develop. "We'll also do what we can to protect the root zone, and to avoid any compaction. The next few weeks and months are vitally important for the success of these shoots forming into the reinvigorated tree", Pond said. To protect the shoots, the authorities have asked visitors to keep away from the stump and not touch the shoots, as well as not leave ashes in the area -- done by people who have special memories associated with the site. There are also plans to "extend fencing around the site", according to the statement. Two men have been charged with criminal damage over the felling of the tree and damage to Hadrian's Wall. Daniel Graham, 38, pleaded not guilty while Adam Carruthers, 31, entered no plea in May. Hadrian's Wall was started in AD 122 during the reign of emperor Hadrian, and marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north. Zambia to import electricity as drought slashes hydropower Lusaka, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 Zambia announced Thursday it will import electricity from neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe as drought slashes hydropower output, leading to blackouts of up to 16 hours a day. The state-owned power company ZESCO will procure 218 megawatts of power from South Africa's Eskom and the Zimbabwe Power Company, Energy Minister Makozo Chikote said. "The electricity procured from the two companies is expected to be injected in the grid within the month of August," Chikote told a press conference. The southern Africa nation declared in February a national disaster because of the drought, which has been exacerbated by climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. ZESCO has been forced to limit power supplies to around eight hours per day due to low water levels in its dams, which produce around 80 percent of its power. At the end of July, ZESCO could only supply less than half of the country's peak demand, the minister said, putting the power deficit at around 1,360 megawatts. Other measures the government hopes will ease the crippling blackouts include the deployment of diesel generators to hospitals, schools and other key facilities, and accelerated private investment in power generation. Chikote also announced that Zambia has agreed on tax-free imports on solar power equipment. The outages are holding back economic activity, with small business being the most affected, the minister said. Zambia is facing its worst drought on record with some areas receiving less than 50 percent of their usual annual rainfall, the World Food Programme has said. The result is major crop losses and deaths of livestock, with millions of people facing food and water shortages, aid agencies say. 5.0 quake hits Italy's Calabria, no immediate damage Rome, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2024 A 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck Italy's southern region of Calabria late Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake was centred three kilometres west of Pietrapaola in the province of Cosenza on the Ionian Sea, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Fire officials wrote on X that there had been no reports of damage or calls for help, but checks were ongoing. Pietrapaola Mayor Manuela Labonia told RaiNews 24 that "the situation is calm". But, she said, residents felt "other tremors, less strong ones," after the first quake, and "we are all in the street." The head of INGV, Carlo Doglioni, told RaiNews 24 there had been various tremors in the area in recent days, and the agency was monitoring the situation. "We don't know if this is the maximum (tremor) in the sequence," Doglioni said. On social media, some people reported feeling the earthquake as far away as Bari, Puglia, some 250 kilometres (150 miles) to the north. ams/ach/giv BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Latvia is cooperating with Uzbekistan within the strengthening of traditional transport corridors as well as on the development of alternative transport routes, such as the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), Acting State Secretary of Latvias Ministry of Transport Ligita Austrupe told Trend in an exclusive interview. Our road haulers are ready to use alternative corridors of TRACECA, or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, and we see the interest also from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries to use alternative routes. When comparing two routes from Uzbekistan to Latvia the traditional one via Kazakhstan and Russia and an alternative such as the TRACECA corridor and the Middle Corridor we consider all aspects, both economic and political. It is essential to compute the transport and logistics expenses, but equally important is to mitigate political risks by developing as many new alternatives as feasible. Pursuing this strategy aligns with our shared interests, she said. Ligita Austrupe noted that the Latvian transport sector traditionally plays an important role in ensuring connectivity between Europe, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian countries. Latvia can use its railway network, which has the same gauge as in Central Asia, dense road network, and Riga international airport, which serves as the regional aviation hub in the Baltics and has an extensive network of connections throughout Europe, to enhance connectivity. "For Uzbekistan and the region, as well as for Europe, it is important to enhance connectivity with Central Asia. Given that the Central Asian region lacks access to the worlds oceans, logistics costs are significantly higher. Therefore, improved connectivity would be beneficial for all parties involved," the acting state secretary emphasized. She stressed that the Ministry also recognizes considerable potential in the growth of exports from Uzbekistan to Europe and other international markets, which includes the creation of sorting and distribution facilities for Uzbek cargo at Latvian ports. Several projects have already been successfully implemented by Latvian and Uzbek entrepreneurs for Uzbekistan's agricultural and textile goods distribution to the European market. Ligita Austrupe added that in recent years, the flow of railway and road cargo between Uzbekistan and Latvia has been increasing. Latvia perceives significant potential to develop new cargo flows between Uzbekistan and the global markets through its territory. "Specifically, we identify excellent prospects for creating consistent logistics flows of imported goods from Western Europe, the US, the UK, and Canada to Uzbekistan. This initiative aims to support and facilitate the industrial development of Uzbekistan across various sectors, including energy, geology, mining, machinery, construction, transportation, agriculture, and other industries. Our geographical positioning is advantageous, and we have experience serving the transit route from Latvia to the US and the NATO Northern Distribution Network in Afghanistan through Uzbekistan," she noted. According to the acting state secretary of the ministry, road transport from Uzbekistan to Latvia is growing, and there is significant potential to strengthen intermodal transport links between Uzbekistan and Western, Central, and Northern Europe through Latvian ports and across the Baltic Sea. Uzbek haulers can benefit from numerous advantages, including transit through intermediary countries and the use of transport permits. "We should also note very successful cooperation in the field of aviation. There are regular passenger flights between Riga and Tashkent provided by Uzbekistan Airways, which is a very popular connection route for passengers between Central Asia and the Baltics. In 2023, 42,000 passengers used this flight route, marking the highest historical passenger number. This establishes an excellent foundation for further cooperation between Latvia, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian countries in cargo aviation, postal services, and e-commerce," Ligita Austrupe emphasized. She noted that Uzbek entrepreneurs are active in Latvia in developing consolidation and distribution centers for goods within Latvia. Similarly, Latvian entrepreneurs could establish similar enterprises to distribute Latvian food or timber products in Uzbekistan and across Central Asia. All these bilateral business activities could potentially lead to the development of mutually beneficial infrastructure projects. "From the Latvian perspective, we could offer our expertise in the creation of IT and communication infrastructures. Furthermore, we are open to participating in multilateral investment projects in Latvia and Uzbekistan in partnership with our European and US partners. We would be highly interested in exploring opportunities for such mutually beneficial projects," the acting state secretary of Latvias Ministry of Transport added. Earlier, Uzbekistan and Latvia reached an agreement on granting forms of special permits for organizing cargo transportation by road through Latvian ports. The Head of Public Transport Service Department at the Latvian Ministry of Transport, Annija Novikova, noted that Latvia is ready to provide comprehensive assistance in creating favorable conditions for national carriers of Uzbekistan within the framework of mutual cooperation. Advertisement Review Eating outSouth Yarra Bet youve never had a hot sushi roll like this before, Melbourne Oshan is a culinary tale of tropical Brazil told via sushi and fruity jyos. Dani Valent August 2, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share As featured in the September 2024 hit list. See all stories . 1 / 8 Go-to dish: Tempura hot rolls filled with avocado and topped with a slice of strawberry. Bonnie Savage 2 / 8 Cod jyo. Bonnie Savage 3 / 8 Oshans nigiri selection is more limited compared to the citys other omakase restaurants. Bonnie Savage 4 / 8 Oshan is a stand-in for ocean and its the seas blues, greens and kelp-browns that dominate the plush decor. Bonnie Savage 5 / 8 Tiradito (salmon and tuna are dressed in the chefs secret sauce). Bonnie Savage 6 / 8 Jyos (vegetable-wrapped rice rolls). uth Yarra Bonnie Savage 7 / 8 Chef Peterson Maia Machado Correia behind the counter at Oshan. Bonnie Savage 8 / 8 A colourful takeaway platter from Oshan Contemporary Sushi. Supplied Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Japanese$$$$ Toorak Road, South Yarra, can seem predictable. Trams trundle by regularly, silver tracks gleaming in their wake. Car parkers get bitten by clearways every single peak hour. Any time of day or night, 38-year-old bistro France-Soir spills over with Bordeaux-fuelled bonhomie. Further along, by the train station, theres always someone struggling with the spice at Dainty on Toorak, the recently rebadged Dainty Sichuan. But not everything feels preordained on this storied, moneyed shopping strip. Halfway down the hill, behind sheer curtains, theres a surprise: a culinary tale of tropical Brazil told via sushi. Pretty, peaceful and poised, Oshan is a project by first-time restaurateurs Peterson Maia Machado Correia, a Brazilian chef, and Vanessa Fodera, the woman who inspired him to stay in Australia after he arrived in 2019. Advertisement Chef Peterson Maia Machado Correia behind the counter at Oshan. Bonnie Savage Chef Peterson is from Sao Paulo, a sprawling megalopolis known for having the biggest Japanese community of any city outside Japan. Roughly 2 million Japanese emigrants and their descendants live in Brazil, most of them in Sao Paulo. So it comes as no surprise to learn that Japanese food is a strong strand in the dining scene and that sushi is ubiquitous. Sushi is steeped in rules and tradition, but its also adaptable, changing as it travels. The inside-out California roll hails from Los Angeles in the 1960s. The munchable handrolls in every Australian food court are our own chunky invention and filled with everything from Peking duck to tinned tuna. And in Sao Paulo, sushi often incorporates fruits such as guava and mango, cream cheese is a popular inclusion and there are tempura-fried hot rolls. Bourke Streets slick new sushi train (driven by dining big guns) has plates from just $4.80 Peterson trained under a traditional sushi chef you know it was old-school because he spent eight months washing rice and cutting vegetables before he was allowed to touch a fish. He further developed his style while working in Ibiza, first at a branch of Japanese fusion restaurant Nobu, then at party palace Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, which has multiple catering outlets. Advertisement One day, a Russian oligarch asked him to become the chef on his super-yacht. Peterson spoke little English and unwittingly said yes. Do you know what you just agreed to? asked a colleague. No, admitted Peterson. He wriggled out of the yacht job and decided hed better learn English. Australias sun and surf beckoned, but somehow he ended up in the shivery bay city of Melbourne. Oshan is a stand-in for ocean and its the seas blues, greens and kelp-browns that dominate the plush decor at this one-room restaurant. Theres seating for 25, but numbers are restricted to 15, five of them at a comfortable counter, where the chef hands you your dishes directly. Diners can choose from six- ($155), eight- ($195), and 10-course ($245) menus that generally include Petersons signatures. In Sao Paulo, sushi often incorporates fruits such as guava and mango, cream cheese is a popular inclusion and there are tempura-fried hot rolls. You might start with sunomono, a lively, vinegar-soused cucumber salad topped with octopus and passionfruit dressing. Advertisement Tiradito is a spin on Peruvian marinated fish: here, salmon and tuna are dressed in the chefs secret sauce, a well-balanced condiment similar to ponzu, a citrus-dashi-soy. Jyos (vegetable-wrapped rice rolls). uth Yarra Bonnie Savage I love the jyos, a selection of rice parcels with vegetable wrappers. A shaving of cucumber encases tuna and caviar; tempura eggplant is wrapped around scallop and dressed with mango-orange sauce; flame-seared cabbage is the wrapper for a vegan bite of shiitake mushrooms and shaved Brazil nut. Hot rice rolls filled with avocado and topped with a slice of strawberry are a light-hearted bridge to a dessert of matcha panna cotta. Over the past five years, Melbourne has welcomed about a dozen high-end omakase restaurants, which serve a progression of small courses to diners who put their trust in the chef. The South American angle is interesting, and the experience here is cosseted and calm, but Oshans use of local seafood feels limited, with New Zealand-farmed salmon, locally farmed kingfish and wild bluefin tuna repeated across the menu. Advertisement Advertisement The 60-piece platter ($295) is arrestingly gorgeous, with fish rolled into florets and included in a variety of delightful and satisfying morsels. I could imagine eating this in a coastal cabin with a view of the waves, enjoying Oshan and ocean at the same time. The low-down Vibe: Plush sushi salon Go-to dish: Tempura hot rolls (part of a set menu, $155-$245) Drinks: Sake is a new passion for co-owner Vanessa Fodera, who matches the rice wine to each dish Cost: $155-$245 per person, excluding drinks This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Our digital and physical lives have never been more intertwined, but pretty soon, it will be a little bit easier for Australians to disconnect. A new law will allow Australia to follow in the footsteps of countries like France by enshrining employees rights to unplug and ignore that late night Slack message or email. From August 26, changes to the Australian Fair Work Act means workers will have the formal right to disconnect from all work communication outside of their usual work hours (for small businesses, these changes come into effect from August 2025). John Hopkins, Associate Professor of Management at Swinburne, welcomes the change. Over the last two decades, the growth in digital technologies has really meant that everybody is available 24/7. Contact happens whenever is convenient for the sender or the caller and we dont have any laws around it, so I think this is certainly a step in the right direction, he says. Is it going to be perfect? I very much doubt it, but its better than what weve got currently, which is gothic. But switching off after hours is easier said than done. While workplace cultural changes go beyond the individual, here are some strategies to help you properly disconnect come August 26. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said this afternoon that Hamas terrorism needs to be defeated at any cost a sharp contrast to the foreign ministers position that Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. The Liberal leaders comments at a press conference in Perth came around the same time as Penny Wong spoke in Adelaide today and again called for a Gaza ceasefire. At odds: Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, James Brickwood Circling back to Duttons media appearance earlier, the opposition leader was in Western Australia to campaign alongside the Liberal candidate for Curtin, Tom White. So-called teal MP Kate Chaney won the Perth seat off the party at the last election. But Dutton was also asked about the conflict in the Middle East amid heightened tensions and his recent trip. Heres some of his exchange with journalists, edited for length and clarity. Reporter: Your trip to Israel has it dimmed your hope that conflict can be resolved? Dutton: I think the raw emotion that we saw on the ground, in the kibbutz community where we went, where you saw many of the houses have been cleaned up but, the gun attacks, the safe rooms that have been breached, children being dragged out, the videos of people, including young women being slaughtered. All of that is something that most people youd hope would never see. So the continuation of that Hamas-style terrorist activity needs to be defeated at any cost. Dutton later said he thought the Jewish community here in Australia feels incredibly abandoned by the prime minister and emphasised Hamas was still thought to hold over 100 hostages in a tunnel network under Gaza so you can understand the raw emotion that is evident [in Israel]. Reporter: But [if] you rightfully condemn Hamas What about condemning Israel for its part in the slaughter of innocent people on the other side? Loading Dutton: Well, one of the things that we heard, as you know, is that Hamas hides their captives within the local community under hospitals. They hide their weapons and their rocket systems in residential areas. Hamas has no regard for Jews, and it has even less regard, in my judgement, for people who are living in the Palestinian territories. So, Israels right to defend herself, as is the right for Australia to defend itself against terrorist activity, shouldnt be questioned. Do we want to see conflict in the Middle East? No, I want to see it come to an end tomorrow, and theres a deal thats on the table. But the hostages need to be released and nobody wants to see any child, regardless of their religious affiliation, or their parents religious affiliation, suffer at all of course not. But what we know is that Hamas conducted a terrorist strike on Israel. It was the biggest attack and loss of life of people of Jewish faith since the Holocaust, where 6 million people were gassed and murdered. We should never forget the lessons of history. The popular American actor and producer Matt Damon attended the premiere of his new movie The Instigators surrounded by his family. The 53-year-old actor appeared on the red carpet in New York with six of his closest women, including his children, mother, and girlfriend. ADVERTISIMENT The celebrity's wife Luciana Barroso, who also became the film's producer, came to support her husband with the couple's three daughters: Isabella, Gia and Stella. The official event was also joined by the star's mother, Nancy Karlsson-Page, and the heiress of the star's chosen one, Alexia, People writes. For the gala, Matt Damon chose a restrained gray-beige suit that went well with a contrasting white T-shirt and sneakers. The celebrity's companions opted for exquisite fitted dresses, which they complemented with elegant heels. ADVERTISIMENT After appearing in the biographical film Oppenheimer, which gained great popularity among fans, Matt Damon decided to take part in a comedy film produced by his beloved woman. According to the celebrity, he was confident in the good quality of the thriller, as talented screenwriters Chuck McLean and Casey Affleck worked on it, in addition to Luciana Barroso. "She's one of those people whose tastes I completely trust, just like Casey and Ben (Affleck). So when they say something, or insist on something, no matter which one of them does it, I pay attention. We all have blind spots in creativity or other things. When I see that someone whose opinion I completely agree with has strong feelings about something, I look closely at it," the actor said. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The relationship between an avid sailor and a brothel owner will form part of a police investigation after their mysterious deaths on board a yacht on Sydneys north shore. The bodies of Peter Ray, 56, and Lixin Wang, 60, were found on the 47-foot yacht moored at Tunks Park in Cammeray on Wednesday night. Police removed two bodies from the yacht on Thursday morning. Credit: Nick Moir Police were told the pair had planned to stay on the 47-foot yacht Taloha on Monday night. However, a friend became concerned when they hadnt returned to land by Wednesday night and raised the alarm. When Sydney Water Police officers boarded the yacht about 9pm, they found the couples bodies. A Sydney man has been charged with plotting a terrorist attack at a busy shopping centre after he allegedly threw bottles of explosive chemicals around a bathroom. On Wednesday, July 24, police arrested Sebastian Newman, 21, after reports of a man acting suspiciously on level one of the Westfield Miranda shopping centre just after 2pm. Sebastian Newman allegedly planned a terrorist attack at Westfield Miranda in Sydneys south. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer Police and shopping centre security have been on high alert since the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attack on April 13 when six people were murdered. The incidents are not related. Police established several crime scenes at the Miranda centre without any evacuations across the five-level centre, located about 30 kilometres south of Sydneys CBD, and home to more than 400 stores. Stationery giant Officeworks is facing a human rights complaint after a staff member was filmed refusing to laminate a Jewish newspaper because she was pro-Palestine. Documents filed in May with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and seen by this masthead allege that a Jewish man, who asked to remain anonymous, was denied a laminating service at an Officeworks in Elsternwick because the staff member was uncomfortable. Footage shows an Officeworks employee refusing to laminate a copy of the Jewish News due to her political beliefs. Credit: YouTube The incident is the latest in a climate of hostility in Melbourne over the war in Gaza. After Hamas killed 1200 people in an attack on October 7, Israels bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians since October and displaced almost 90 per cent of Gazans. The man, who began filming a video of the March confrontation midway through the exchange, pressed the woman to explain why she would not laminate a page from The Australian Jewish News published earlier this year. And in other news, Football West has launched an investigation after spectators from two junior soccer clubs became embroiled in an off-field brawl that left one person injured and children shaken and traumatised. The altercation occurred during an Under 9s game between Floreat Athena and Stirling Lions Football Clubs at Britannia Oval in Mount Hawthorn on Sunday, July 28. In a statement released by Floreat Athena Football Clubs board to parents, it revealed at least one person had sustained physical injuries in the incident which had been captured on video later published by ABC Radio Perth. The club confirmed it was now taking statements from witnesses and had alerted its governing body Football West, which was in the process of conducting its own probe into the incident. WA Police have also been advised. Those involved in the brawl have since been barred from attending future games until the club and Football West conclude their investigations. A spokesperson from Football West told WAtoday it condemned the unacceptable scenes witnessed. Read the full story here. Palestinian refugees will be able to call Australia home rather than being forced to return in a major Albanese government move to deal with the Gaza crisis as the opposition hardens its support for Israel and warns of risks posed by refugees. Senior federal government sources, who asked to remain anonymous as the policy was being finalised, revealed a new special visa pathway would be created for Palestinians in a move set to re-energise the political feud over Labors handling of the conflict. Demonstrators walk through Melbournes CBD during a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne last month. Credit: AAP It follows months of lobbying by advocates who say those fleeing Gaza have struggled to put food on the table because the temporary visitor visas they were granted prevent them from working or accessing Medicare. Labor is working on the details of the humanitarian push as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton affirmed the Coalitions support for Israel in a meeting with its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand to end the war. July total sales increased 4 %; Year-to-date total sales up 2 % Best July for Elantra HEV, Santa Fe HEV, Tucson HEV, and Palisade Hybrid total sales increase 67% in July FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 1, 2024 -- Hyundai Motor America reported total July sales of 69,202 units, a 4% increase compared with July 2023. Hyundai set total sales records in July for Elantra HEV (+13%), Santa Fe HEV (+75%), Tucson HEV (+109%) and Palisade (+50%). Hyundai's total hybrid sales were up 67% in July. Retail sales of electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles represented 25% of the retail sales mix, with IONIQ 5 retail sales increasing 1.4%. Retail sales for Sonata (+65%) and Palisade (+41%) also climbed. This was also the best ever month in retail and total sales for the Tucson HEV. "Despite a challenging start to July as the CDK disruption began to resolve, Hyundai achieved a solid 4% increase in total sales, fueled by our HEV and EV lineup," said Randy Parker, CEO, Hyundai Motor America. "Our overall total sales results in July reflect the sustained consumer demand for diversified product portfolio." July Total Sales Summary Jul-24 Jul-23 % Chg 2024 YTD 2023 YTD % Chg Hyundai 69,202 66,527 +4.0 % 468,725 461,140 +1.6 % July Product and Corporate Activities Hyundai President and Global COO Jose Munoz Named Executive of the Year by NEMPA: President and chief operating officer of Hyundai Motor Company, and president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America Jose Munoz was named Executive of the Year by the New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) at the media organizations' annual award ceremony in Boston . President and chief operating officer of Hyundai Motor Company, and president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America Jose Munoz was named Executive of the Year by the New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) at the media organizations' annual award ceremony in . Hyundai Strengthens U.S. Marketing Team: Hyundai Motor America has restructured its marketing department creating two new divisions: marketing creative and marketing performance. Hyundai Motor America has restructured its marketing department creating two new divisions: marketing creative and marketing performance. Hyundai Announces 2025 Model Year Changes: Hyundai released a summary of changes to its lineup for the 2025 model year. Hyundai released a summary of changes to its lineup for the 2025 model year. Hyundai Launches "It's OK" Advertisement During the 2024 Summer Games: Celebrating the start of the 2024 Summer Games, Hyundai launched a new advertisement titled "It's OK." The sports-themed ad highlights the importance of finding joy in your journey even if that means taking a break from playing a particular sport and trying something new. Celebrating the start of the 2024 Summer Games, Hyundai launched a new advertisement titled "It's OK." The sports-themed ad highlights the importance of finding joy in your journey even if that means taking a break from playing a particular sport and trying something new. Santa Fe Named Top Midsize SUV in J.D. Power 2024 U.S. APEAL Study: J.D. Power has named the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe as the most appealing vehicle in the midsize SUV segment in the 2024 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study SM J.D. Power has named the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe as the most appealing vehicle in the midsize SUV segment in the 2024 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study 2025 Tucson SUV Pricing Released: Hyundai released pricing for its thoroughly refreshed 2025 Tucson compact SUV, starting at $29,750 , including a $1,395 destination charge. Hyundai released pricing for its thoroughly refreshed 2025 compact SUV, starting at , including a destination charge. Santa Fe Named Best U.S.-Built SUV by American Cars and Racing: Hyundai's all-new 2024 Santa Fe has been named Best U.S.- Built SUV by American Cars and Racing. Hyundai's all-new 2024 Santa Fe has been named Best U.S.- Built SUV by American Cars and Racing. Hyundai Launches New Marketing Campaign: Hyundai launched a marketing campaign tilted "Quality Isn't a Luxury" highlighting the quality, dependability, reliability, and safety of its vehicles. Hyundai launched a marketing campaign tilted "Quality Isn't a Luxury" highlighting the quality, dependability, reliability, and safety of its vehicles. Hyundai Donates To Support Child Passenger and Pedestrian Safety: Hyundai Motor America announced its donation of $100,000 to Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) towards its Injury Prevention and Child Passenger Safety Program. Model Total Sales Vehicles Jul-24 Jul-23 % Chg 2024 YTD 2023 YTD % Chg Elantra 13,764 11,898 +16 % 76,053 86,636 -12 % Ioniq 5 3,416 4,135 -17 % 22,144 17,776 +25 % Ioniq 6 778 1,745 -55 % 7,690 4,990 +54 % Kona 6,713 6,123 +10 % 53,252 44,048 +21 % Nexo 2 34 -94 % 79 139 -43 % Palisade 8,635 5,752 +50 % 62,382 45,199 +38 % Santa Cruz 2,615 2,903 -10 % 20,560 22,953 -10 % Santa Fe 8,989 10,612 -15 % 65,611 71,754 -9 % Sonata 5,755 3,209 +79 % 36,902 30,543 +21 % Tucson 16,135 17,534 -8 % 108,281 118,125 -8 % Venue 2,400 2,581 -7 % 15,771 18,940 -17 % Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, while supporting Hyundai Motor Company's Progress for Humanity vision. Hyundai has significant operations in the U.S., including its North American headquarters in Califor nia, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembly plant, the all-new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (in development in Georgia), and several cutting-edge R&D facilities. These operations, combined with those of Hyundai's 835 independent dealers, contribute $20.1 billion annually and 190,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, according to a recent economic impact report. For more information, visit http://www.hyundainews.com. Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok SOURCE Hyundai Motor America The alleged rivalry between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been well documented. A new book by a royal expert sheds more light on why problems began to arise between the two couples. ADVERTISIMENT In his new work, titled Catherine, Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, Robert Jobson discussed the events that led to the royal split. In an excerpt published by the Daily Mail, the author wrote: "Initially, the public reaction to Meghan was overwhelmingly positive, with the 'new kids in the family' grabbing most of the headlines - to the point where William and Catherine may have unknowingly raised the temperature. There was talk of pettiness and even envy." As soon as the problems began, relations between the newly minted in-laws deteriorated markedly. "The cracks between the two couples continued to widen over petty grievances," explained Jobson. Soon the situation became irreparable, writes Marie Claire. ADVERTISIMENT Although it is unclear whether Kate and William were actually jealous of Meghan and Harry, there were obvious changes in their relationship. The royal expert also recalled one of the situations that allegedly occurred between Kate and Meghan. "There was a time when Meghan asked to borrow a lip gloss, and Harry thought that Catherine was reluctant to give hers away," Jobson says. According to him, Middleton "cringed" after Markle squeezed some gloss onto her finger and applied it to her lips. ADVERTISIMENT Prince Harry and Prince William, who once seemed close, have also suddenly fallen out of favor. "Inevitably, details of the royal brothers' troubled relationship were leaked, as well as the fact that Catherine and Meghan also had a falling out," the excerpt reads. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Russian actor and Kitchen star Dmitry Nazarov, who left Russia for France with his wife after the outbreak of a full-scale war, wrote another poem in which he described how he imagines the ideal Russia and what he is "fighting" for after fleeing to Europe. He stated that his country is now in so-called captivity, which seriously angered his compatriots. ADVERTISIMENT The actor still has no hope that anyone will be able to overthrow the dictatorial regime of Vladimir Putin, but as we can see, he himself is not ready to do anything except write angry poetry. However, Nazarov, as a born Russian, romanticizes the war. This is clear from one phrase in his poem "Homeland" published on social media: "Our homeland is gently rude." Gentle rudeness are two words that cannot be combined. Instead, only Russians consider this normal, as evidenced by the cult of war, fierce respect for the military, who de facto bathe in blood, violence as a form of demonstration of love, and much more. "I'm fighting for my homeland. / Not for the one that's in captivity today / Not for the one that, in the arms of Marxism, / Choking, flew to the bottom / Not for the one that was whipped with whips / Torn nostrils, scorned the nail / That, in rebellion, burned at the stake / I'm fighting for a different Russia./ Not for the one that loved the yoke for the bar's mercy / But for the one that has not yet developed / And has not been washed away by misfortune," Nazarov read part of the poem. ADVERTISIMENT These few stanzas show that the actor does not like the way of life and customs of his homeland, so he dreams of something that has never been inherent in the Russian Federation: "I'm for the one that was not created." At the same time, the actor calls Russians slaves who are ready to do anything "for the lord's mercy." "I stand for the homeland that is sung / By the wild, fabulous, Russian tongue / And the tears of a poet's delight / And the dream of an age-old love./ I explain it cruelly and directly / To all who cannot understand it,/ For everyone has their own mother,/ So what does the motherland have to do with it?/ It is not the motherland that judges us, but the judges./ Our homeland is gently rough,/ Territory, life and all people,/ So, homeland is destiny./ There is neither mother nor child of propaganda, Our homeland is destiny./ I am fed to the gills with lies,/ The cross is supposed to be placed on my forehead," the second half of the poem reads. ADVERTISIMENT Nazarov stated that he wants to see Russia identical to the one sung about in songs and fairy tales, that is, as this style is called in Ukraine, "sharovarna" with balalaika and vodka, in the snow and with bears. However, later he notes that the fatherland is fate, and contradicts himself because instead of submitting to fate and staying in Russia, the actor for some reason went to France and from there tells Russians what they should be like. His compatriots did not like this harsh poem, so in the comments of one popular Telegram public "Worse than that" they pelted him with stones: "I'm not even going to listen to this cockroach. He makes me sick." ADVERTISIMENT "I wish he would stop with the kosorylivka. Let him fight for it in his new homeland. He is a fighter." "If it wasn't for SVO, he would still be writing poetry on his desk about the weather and nature, and now he's talking to the whole world." "The level of insanity is just overwhelming." "For some reason, there are no poems about how happy he is to live in a wonderful country. They have been striving to get there all their lives from the dictatorship. This is the moment, enjoy it! But no. What's up to their necks, does not give rest." "And they give a lot of American money for this? A cent a line? Then it's clear why this endless conveyor belt of poetry is there." ADVERTISIMENT Interestingly, on Instagram, under this video, people really sing his praises, thank him for his poetry, and encourage him to write more: "It's so nice to listen to people who have their heads on straight." "Powerful, strong, tough and piercingly accurate and tender. Thank you. The whole history of Russia in a few lines." "Creativity that is worthy of respect." "It's good that there are people like you." As a reminder, the actor publicly refused to support the war in Ukraine, after which he was fired from the theater, and harassed and a criminal case was opened for "discrediting the Russian army." However, in March last year, he also spoke out against supporting the Ukrainian army because he was against the war: "People should not kill people." ADVERTISIMENT Nazarov does not hide the fact that he receives threats from "fans" from the Russian Federation. Russians continue to send him and his family angry messages saying that the artist should have his skull fractured and his wife shot. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Capri is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea that is part of the Italian province of Naples. It is known for its stunning natural beauty and historical monuments. ADVERTISIMENT For many years, this place has been attracting thousands of tourists, among whom you can often see world stars. But recently it became known that a barrier against tourist boats will be built there, The Telegraph reports. Currently, the number of tourists on the island exceeds the total population. In May and June, an average of 16,000 foreigners visit Capri, which has a population of only 13,000. But with popularity comes problems, as crowds of people put considerable pressure on the island's ecosystem and infrastructure. This year, local authorities decided to take measures to preserve the natural beauty of Capri and reduce the negative impact of mass tourism. ADVERTISIMENT Anacapri Mayor Franco Cerrotta proposed to install a barrier of 40 buoys at a distance of 100 meters from the shore. It will stretch for 6 kilometers around the western edge of the island, which will limit access to the most famous and beautiful places. Visitors will be forced to anchor outside this perimeter, and tour operators organizing day cruises to the Blue Grotto will have to change their routes. "No one has the right to harm the environment or risk injuring children in swimming areas," Cerrott said in an interview with The Telegraph. Public and business reaction Tourism brings significant revenues to the economy, and a barrier can reduce the number of tourists willing to enjoy the views from the water. Therefore, not everyone supports the new measures. Boat rental companies are outraged, saying the barrier will hurt their business. ADVERTISIMENT However, some locals support the mayor's initiative. They emphasize the need to protect the island ecosystem and reduce pressure on infrastructure. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. Everyone and their dog has been strutting around in Hallensteins' comfort clothing line. Wherever you turn, a hoodie scribed with 'Leisure Club' is IN YOUR FACE! While the sweats range has been around for well over a year, it began trending big time with Kiwis earlier this year. It's like the entire country collectively decided these sweatshirts and trackies are the go-to fits for everything from gym sessions to shopping runs in 2024. One Kiwi has proved the point with a single trip to the mall. "POV you live in NZ," TikTok user Ezzil wrote. "Leisure club is taking over." Ezzil captured a bunch of youguns all wearing the clothing line around a Palmerston North shopping centre and they all had one thing in common - they were all sporting 'Leisure Club'. One commenter hilariously compared the clip to the Kathmandu puffer jacket era of the early 2010s, and if you lived through that, I get it, and I salute you. While Hallensteins is known for being a men's clothing store, it hasn't stopped the gals from grabbing themselves a hoodie or two. Why? 'Leisure Club' is giving popular Aussie clothing brand White Fox a run for its money. While White Fox is super cute, it's HELLA expenny. And at almost half the price for the same vibe, it's a more affordable choice for the gals. 'Love Island AU' contestants Mitch Hibberd and Aaron Waters have been seen strutting their stuff in these fits, and even the NZ Warriors are wearing them - if the Wahs have anything to do with it, you know people will jump on the bandwagon. So, what's the verdict? Are we jumping on the 'Leisure Club' hype or will we let this trend join the pile of regrettable fashion choices? Authorities remaintight-lipped Allegations ofharassment,child abuse atBhilai school Staff Reporter : BHILAI, AN ANONYMOUS letter addressed to the District Education Officer has revealed serious allegations involving a reputed school in Risali, Bhilai. According to the letter, the harassment claims involve the Head Mistress of the Junior Wing who is accused of mistreating teachers. Allegations include publicly insulting staff, making them wait for hours outside her office, and threatening to remove classroom chairs, among other issues. However, there is another issue of an alleged sexual assault on a 5-year-old girl of the same school that has been widely circulated on social media. In the child abuse case as per the social media reports there is an alleged attempt by the school management and authorities to suppress the matter. There is allegation that when the parents reported the incident to police, instead of receiving support, they faced pressure to drop the case. The child abuse case began when the girl child, a student in KG-I, complained of pain in her private area upon returning home on July 5. After being questioned, she disclosed that an uncle at school had touched her inappropriately. Her parents sought medical attention immediately; an MD referred them to a gynecologist, who confirmed bleeding and white discharge. The following day, when the family approached the school, the Principal initially agreed to file an FIR and promised action but later denied that any such incident occurred. The family claims that the CCTV footage was destroyed during this period to cover up the incident. The girls family, prominent local businessmen, found themselves uncertain about how to proceed. They reportedly informed the matter to a senior officer and a public representative. Despite the gynaecologists findings, which should have prompted an immediate medical examination and FIR under the POCSO Act, the police are reportedly making excuses. MiC member Shiju Anthony said that more than the safety of children the authorities seems to be more concerned about damaging the schools reputation. The familys attempts to involve an MLA were also met with failure, as the MLA later reneged on his commitment to act. Durg Range Inspector General of Police Ram Gopal Garg, when contacted stated that the police are working on the case and advised collecting more details from the SP, Durg. Despite various stories circulating on social media, there has been no official statement. All attempts by the newspaper to obtain an official version on the subject have been unsuccessful. A senior police official from Durg, speaking on condition of anonymity, has denied any sexual assault on the child in question. However, the medical report mentions bleeding and a white discharge which is not external. It has also come to light that the childs parents met a senior officer in Bhilai but have not filed a formal written complaint. Following their meeting, a senior female officer was assigned to investigate the matter. It is reported that the parents are not permitting the investigating officer to meet the child. Additionally, sources indicate that the CCTV footage has been preserved and not tampered with as claimed. Seema Nayak, Assistant Director District Education Office Durg head of the team deputed by District Education Officer Durg A K Mishra to investigate the matter of child abuse refused to comment on the matter stating she is not authorised to comment on this issue. Repeated attempts to contact DEO A K Mishra on his mobile were unsuccessful, as he was not available for comment BEYOND POLITICS UNION Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman has asserted that the Oppositions accusation is totally false that some States have been denied justice in budgetary allocation. Figures prove otherwise, Mrs. Sitharaman said in her reply to the discussion on Budget 2024-25 in Lok Sabha, while asking the Opposition to stop spreading narratives based on falsehood. Several leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have made similar appeals to the Opposition in the past several months -- even through the election campaign. This is a fully justified expectation from a responsible Opposition in a democratic system. For, if the Opposition is using planned falsehood on which to base its anti-Government narrative, then the sufferer in the long run is the people and democracy. The outcome of the Lok Sabha elections have proved that falsehood did not help the Opposition to post a victory on the wall. No matter what kind of falsehood it resorted to, the Opposition could not budge the NDA Government from power and Mr. Narendra Modi returned for a historic, consecutive third term, the only Prime Minister to do that after Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru. The lies such as the NDAs plan to alter the Constitution or withdraw social benefits of affirmative action to Muslims did not make much difference to the overall outcome of the Lok Sabha elections. Some figures did change, all right, here and there. Despite those, Mr. Modi managed to return to power with an authentic majority. True, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not win a majority on its own. Yet, the NDA that has had a pre-election agreement proved its clear majority in the Lok Sabha -- in the process proving that all Opposition narrative based on falsehood did not have a popular acceptance. It is obvious from this experience that utter falsehood will never help any political party to win. Unfortunately, the political masterminds of the combined Opposition did not realise the hidden danger of continued rejection by people in its narrative based on falsehood. Its election managers did not realise that nobody can fool all the people for all the time. Yet, the Opposition appears to be happy with its limited gains in the electoral battle in the past some time. In other words, the Opposition is not likely to learn the right lesson from the 2024 election experience. During the Budget session of Parliament, the Opposition continued its politics of false narrative -- and got severely rebuffed by countless numbers of ruling party Members of Parliament as well as Ministers etc. Even the presiding officers in both the Houses warned the Opposition Members from indulging in lie-telling and deliberately negative propaganda about issues that did not exist in the first place -- like the accusation that many States have been deprived of appropriate budgetary allocations. It was obvious from the Oppositions approach that it had really not studied the Budget 2024-25 but indulged only in superficial accusations that did not stand the scrutiny on the basis of truth. Many of its accusations were figments of imagination and did not stick in any manner. The Opposition possibly hoped to continue to bother the Government with the help of falsehood. But that did not help in any manner whatsoever -- and the Opposition got rebuffed almost at every step during the ongoing session of Parliament. No matter all those setbacks, the Opposition is less likely to learn right lessons beyond politics. It appears slated to keep indulging in falsehood. Its masterminds will not realise that in the long run, such an approach will not help its cause. But then, with jaundiced eyes, the Opposition cannot be expected to see the right thing in a right manner. The Japanese automotive market seems to be about to undergo significant changes. Three major car manufacturers have decided to expand their cooperation by merging into a joint structure. ADVERTISIMENT According to Reuters, Mitsubishi is also planning to join the newly formed Honda-Nissan alliance soon. The companies plan to work together to confront the challenges of the modern market, such as pressure from Chinese competitors, especially in the field of electric vehicles, and growing requirements for environmental friendliness of cars. The terms of the agreement signed in March between Honda and Nissan provide for cooperation in the development of automotive software platforms, key components related to electric vehicles, and additional products. Mitsubishi joining this agreement will strengthen these efforts. It also makes sense given that Nissan has a 34% stake in the company. Reports suggest that the likely expansion of cooperation between the three manufacturers has already benefited them. Soon after the information about the possible signing of the agreement appeared, Mitsubishi shares rose by 6.3%, Nissan also showed an increase of 2.8%, and Honda - by 2.6%. However, nothing is known for certain about the details of the future deal. Analysts suggest that it may involve the production of a joint plug-in hybrid and the development of compact cars. ADVERTISIMENT The cooperation of the three companies should reduce research and development costs and speed up work on them. This is expected to give Japanese companies a certain advantage over Chinese automakers. It is worth noting that Nissan and Mitsubishi have been working together with French Renault since 1999. The potential merger of Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi will not be the first such phenomenon in the Japanese automotive market this year. A few months ago, Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru teamed up to develop a new generation of internal combustion engines. They plan to focus on hybrid powertrains and compatibility with carbon-neutral fuels. Toyota is preparing several inline four-cylinder engines, Mazda is improving its rotary technology for electric vehicles with an increased range, and Subaru is improving its proprietary opposed engine. ADVERTISIMENT Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. DELAYS POST DERAILMENT Give passengers of Vid harrowing time as Railways time-table goes haywire Staff Reporter : TRAVELLERS continue to bear the brunt of delay as several trains on Mumbai-Howrah-Mumbai route are running behind their scheduled time due to which their long-drawn plans have gone haywire. After the derailment of Mumbai-bound Mail in Jharkhand, the route is yet to return to normalcy. The trains that started exHowrah on July 30 were running via diverted route as the site of derailment was yet to be restored. Due to long route the train timings have gone for a toss putting the travellers in limbo. Mumbai end also, the passengers on board Vidarbha Express (T rain No. 12105)had a nightmarish experience due to disruption in movement of trains on the route. Travellers on board the train said they had quite a traumatic experience. Due to the long delay, the train halted at several roadside stations or somewhere in the middle. While train running behind schedule is no issue, at least officials could have made arrangements for food and water. Since it is an overnight journey from Mumbai to Nagpur, the train does not have a pantry. But, when the train gets delayed for several hours, it becomes difficult for travellers to manage food and water. One of the travellers said that throughout the journey from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Nagpur, the travellers had no access to food or water. There was no way one could know the reason for so much delay faced by Gondia boundVidarbha Express since the route was all okay till Nagpur As per information, the train started a few minutes late from CSMT, and it contributed to severe delay enroute. Especially, fromThane station onwards, the Vidarbha Express lagged behind and at Nagpur, it arrived more than six hours behind scheduled time. Meanwhile, Train No. 18109 Tata Nagar-Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Station stands cancelled while Train No. 18110 exItwari to Tata Nagar will run only upto Bilaspur/ Train No. 18029 LTT-Shalimar Express is cancelled for August 1 and ex-LTT and also Train No. 12261 CSMT-Howrah Duronto Express is also cancelled on August 1. The decision was necessary as pair trains could not reach the Mumbai end due to disruption on the route. From Govt sends proposal to extend tenure of DGP Ashok Juneja By Mukesh S Singh : RAIPUR AFTER a relentless search for the next state police chief finally the Chhattisgarh Government has send a proposal to extend the service tenure of the Director General of Police (DGP), Ashok Juneja, by another six months. Juneja, a 1989-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre officer of Chhattisgarh, is due for his retirement on August 4, just 4 days later. A proposal for this has been prepared by the C h h a t t i s g a r h Governments Home Department, which got the approval from the Government, a senior IPS officer familiar with the situation told The Hitavada. According to this IPS officer, the proposal for the extension of the incumbent DGP was necessitated as the panel has not yet been sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to decide the next face of DGP in Chhattisgarh. He (Juneja) on the account of several merits and situational demand, may indeed get the post-retirement assignment, which is well in tune with exigency measures, like one recently exercised and executed by the Centre in giving one year extension in service of Tapan Kumar Deka, Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), he maintained. According to this officer, the proposal sent by C h h a t t i s g a r h Governments Home Department with clearance from the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, will be put forth before the Centre seeking approval for the extension in service for a period of six months beyond August 4, 2024 or until further orders, whichever is earlier, in relaxation of the provisions of All India Services Rules, 1958. Moreover, the proposal has been carefully drafted after seeking legal opinion in view of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the 2006 Prakash Singh case, which fixed rules for appointment and removal of DGPs in states to ensure that the policing system in the states stays out of political interference, he added. Notably, the Apex court in its 2006 order, among other directions stated, The Director General of Police of the State shall be selected by the State Government from amongst the three senior most officers of the Department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force. And, once he has been selected for the job, he should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation. However, the extended term beyond the date of superannuation should be a reasonable period. Some of the states have adopted a practice to appoint the Director General of Police on the last date of retirement as a consequence of which the person continues for two years after his date of superannuation. Such a practice will not be in conformity with the spirit of the direction. This recent proposal seems to have sparked controversy in the government circles, as Ashok Junejas appointment as DGP on November 11, 2021, was criticised for allegedly disregarding Supreme Court guidelines. Juneja was appointed over five senior IPS officers in Chhattisgarh, replacing Durgesh Madhaw Awasthi, a 1986 batch IPS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre. Interestingly, this situation has come up while the State already has three senior IPS officers viz Arun Deo Gautam and Pawan Deo both from the 1992 batch and Himanshu Gupta a 1994 batch. Gautam and Gupta were recently elevated to the rank of Special Director General of Police (SDGP). Pawan Deos promotion, which was previously put on hold, has now reportedly been approved for elevation to the rank of Special Director General of Police (SDGP). Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas supremeleader, killed in airstrike in Iran BEIRUT, Ismail was on Israels hit-list since Oct 7 attack Iran and Hamas blame Israel for killing, Israel has not commented He had attended swearing-in of Irans new President on Tuesday ISMAIL Haniyeh, Hamas supreme leader in exile who landed on Israels hit-list after the militant group staged its surprise October 7 attacks, was killed in an airstrike in the Iranian capital early Wednesday. He was 62. Iran and the militant blamed Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the conflict even as the US and other nations were scrambling to prevent an all-out regional war. Hamas said Haniyeh was killed at his residence in Tehran in an Israeli airstrike after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Irans new President. Israel has not commented on the accusation. Hours after theOctober 7 attacks, Haniyeh appeared in a video releasedbyHamasleading prayers with other top Hamas officials. They thanked God for the success of the attack, which blasted through Israels vaunted defences and resulted in the deadliest assault in Israels history. Haniyehs death makes him the latest Hamas official to be killed by Israel since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, when militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. The devastating Israel-Hamas war the attacks set off has become the deadliest and longest in the ArabIsraeli conflict. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in Gaza. While Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to have been the mastermind of the attacks, Haniyeh, seen as a more moderate force in Hamas, lauded them as a humiliating blow to Israels aura of invincibility. The Al-Aqsa flood was an earthquake that struck the heart of the Zionist entity and has made major changes at the world level, Haniyeh said in a speech in Iran during the funeral of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in May. We will continue the resistance against this enemy until we liberate our land, all our land, Haniyeh said ON RISING DENGUE, CHIKUNGUNYA CASES HC asks for detailed affidavit on situation Staff Reporter : Advocate who, in a PIL, raised concerns over lack of preventive measures by NMC asked to submit affidavit within a week TAKING cognisance of a news report by The Hitavada about the surge in Dengue and Chikungunya cases in Nagpur, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed Adv Tejal Agre to submit a detailed affidavit regarding the situation. This development came after the advocate raised concerns about the lack of preventive measures by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in addressing thespread of the diseases. In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filedin 2014, social worker Anil Agre had urgedthe court to mandate proactive measuresagainst Dengue and Malaria. AdvTejal Agre, through a recent application in the PIL, informed the court that there had been anotable increase in the number of cases, yet the NMC has not implemented effective preventive strategies. The division bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri hasinstructed Adv Agre to file the affidavit bynext week. The report published on July 28highlighted a troubling trend: Nagpur is experiencing a higher number of chikungunya cases compared to Dengue. Of 304 tested cases this year, 38 were positive for Dengue and 88 for chikungunya. Health experts attribute the rise in chikungunya to stagnant water, which serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, increased by high humidity and the continued use of water coolers without proper maintenance . Russian military begins3rd round of drills withtactical nuclear weapons MOSCOW : THE Russian military on Wednesday began a third round of drills with tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlins messaging intended to force theWest tolimititssupport for Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry said thedrillswill feature units of the central and southern military districts armed with Iskander shortrange missiles. They will practicereceivingnuclearweapons from storage and deploying them to designated launch areas.Themaneuvers will also include air force units that will arm their warplanes with nuclearweapons and perform patrol flights. The ministry said the drills are intended to maintain troops readiness for combat missions. Tactical nuclear weapons include bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions and are meant for use on a battlefield. They are typically farless powerful than strategic weapons massive warheads that armintercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to obliterate entire cities. The previous two rounds of the maneuvers were held inMay andJune.ThedrillsinJunewere conducted jointly withthearmed forcesofRussias allyBelarus. Last year, Russia movedsome of its tactical nuclearweapons into neighbouring Belarus, which also bordersUkraine and NATO membersPoland, Latvia and Lithuania. Belarus authoritarianPresident AlexanderLukashenkohasreliedoncloseties with Russia and providedhiscountry asastaging groundfor sending troops to Ukrainein February 2022. Russian President VladimirPutin and his officials haverepeatedly reminded theWestabout the countrys nuclearmight in a bid to discourageNATO allies from ramping uptheir support for Kyiv. Ukraine's decision to impose sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil does not threaten the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia. Oil transit through the "Druzhba" pipeline can continue even now, as Lukoil formally ceases to be the owner of oil on the Russian-Ukrainian border. ADVERTISIMENT From now on, Russian oil is considered the property of European importing companies. This was stated by the Vice President of the European Commission (EC) for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, Reuters reports. The EC's assessment, according to the agency, is contained in a letter addressed to the foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia. Dombrovskis said that the decision was based on information received from the Hungarian energy company MOL. "The oil becomes the property of trading companies on the Russian-Ukrainian border, and therefore is not subject to sanctions... The European Commission services have preliminarily concluded that urgent consultations are probably not justified, as there is currently no indication of an immediate risk to the security of supply," the statement said. Earlier, after talks with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine remains a reliable transit country, "but only for those countries that value freedom and the rule of law." The threat is Russia, its hybrid energy war against the Slovak people, its blackmail and political ultimatums," Shmyhal explained. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, in the second half of July, Hungary and Slovakia announced that they would stop supplying oil from the Russian company Lukoil, which is on the NSDC sanctions list, through Ukraine. As a result, both countries accused Ukraine of violating the EU Association Agreement and asked the European Commission to start consultations on the trade part of the agreement with Ukraine. In addition, a number of high-ranking Slovak politicians resorted to blackmail and threats: Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that this is a "crisis situation and Slovakia does not intend to be a hostage to Ukrainian-Russian relations" and supported Hungary in its decision to block the European fund for military aid to Ukraine; Ukraine; Minister of Foreign Affairs Juraj Blanar accused the European Commission of deliberately delaying the resolution of the situation; Defense Minister Robert Kalinak and President Peter Pellegrini threatened to cut off electricity and gas supplies to Ukraine. However, these supplies are mainly provided by private companies that profit from them. ADVERTISIMENT The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Serhii Tykhyi, said that Ukraine is ready to take part in consultations on resolving the conflict with Hungary and Slovakia. The main condition is that such consultations should be convened at the European level. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district, sapper divers found the remains of a Russian strategic cruise missile X-101. Specialists discovered them while inspecting the waters of a local pond. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the press service of the Mobile Rescue Center of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The explosive find was taken to a special landfill. "In Kyiv, sapper divers of the Mobile Rescue Center of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine found and removed the remains of a Russian strategic cruise missile X-101. They were found in one of the ponds after previous enemy shelling of the city and transported to a special training ground for further destruction by controlled explosion," the statement said. The X-101 is a Russian strategic air-to-ground cruise missile using radar-avoidance technologies. It was widely used during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, the undetonated remains of an anti-tank missile system were found in Irpin, Kyiv region, on the territory of a former recreation camp. The remains of the missile were stuck in the trunk of an old pine tree at a height of about 12 meters. As reported by OBOZ.UA, the wreckage of a Russian UAV was found during a cleanup in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. The incident happened on Saturday, July 27, near the ponds of the same name. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The Russian army fears that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may attack its forces in the temporarily occupied territories with the help of American F-16 fighters. To hunt for Western aircraft, which have been reported to have arrived in Ukraine in recent days, the Russians have deployed Buk in Donetsk region. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by agents of the Atesh military guerrilla movement. They published a photo of Russian military equipment and indicated its coordinates. It is noted that the invaders deployed the Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile system in the temporarily occupied Volnovakha district of Donetsk region. "It seems that due to the new arrivals of fourth-generation F-16 fighters to Ukraine, the occupiers are forced to deploy additional air defense systems closer to the front line," Atesh writes. Coordinates of the enemy's military equipment: 47,5337226, 37,2052414. The movement added that it will continue to monitor the activities of the Russian Armed Forces to identify targets for further destruction. ADVERTISIMENT As OBOZ.UA reported, the day before, Bloomberg wrote that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets from NATO allies had already arrived in Ukraine. However, the President's Office said that Kyiv would not officially confirm this information. They also did not comment on the alleged arrival of F-16s in the United States. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Chinese FM holds talks with Zambian counterpart Xinhua) 10:31, August 01, 2024 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Mulambo Haimbe, Zambia's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, in Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Mulambo Haimbe, Zambia's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, in Beijing on Wednesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that last year, the two heads of state jointly announced the elevation of China-Zambia relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, leading bilateral relations on a new journey. China appreciates Zambia's adherence to the one-China principle and stands ready to consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, Wang said. He called on the two sides to jointly activate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, coordinate the comprehensive development along the line, help Zambia turn its resource advantages into development momentum, and enhance its independent development capacity and industrialization level. Wang also briefed Haimbe on the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, saying that China will focus on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which will bring new opportunities to developing countries including Zambia. China is willing to strengthen the exchange of governance experience with Zambia, support it in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and help to advance its modernization process, he said. Noting that the new summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing this September, Wang said that China is ready to take this opportunity to work with African countries to make the event a success, carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Africa, and take the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future to a new level. Haimbe offered congratulations on the success of the plenum, saying that Zambia looks forward to learning from the successful experience of the CPC in party governance, improving its own governance capacity and better serving the Zambian people. Zambia cherishes its traditional friendship with China and will, as always, abide by the one-China principle and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Haimbe said. "President Hichilema paid a successful visit to China last year. He is looking forward to attending the new FOCAC summit and believes that the summit will be a complete success," said Haimbe. Haimbe said that Zambia is willing to take the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties to push for greater development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. He added that more Chinese enterprises are welcome to invest in Zambia and the two countries are willing to strengthen cooperation on agriculture, energy and mining. The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States is concerned about the advance of Russian occupation forces in Ukraine. He also praised Ukraine for its successful mobilization. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by Reuters. According to the Pentagon chief, the United States will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine. "Austin said that the United States is concerned about Russia's progress in Ukraine, to which Washington will continue to provide security assistance," the report said. At the same time, he noted that he was encouraged by Ukraine's ability to attract more people to join its army. "I applaud what the Ukrainians continue to do to make sure they can stand. Ukrainians are very determined people," he added. Earlier, the Pentagon chief said that the United States does not consider a large-scale war in the Middle East inevitable. Washington is doing everything possible to reduce tensions in the region and leave room for diplomacy. As a reminder, the Pentagon announced the purchase of interceptors for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems for Ukraine. The amount of assistance is 2.2 billion dollars. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! Creating more and more confusion Toeing the false narratives | It is getting more and more confusing and in such a scenario talking about putting Manipur on the track of peace and normalcy sounds like a pipe dream. It was just the other day that fingers were pointed at illegal migrants, poppy plantations-in short the drug cartel, the War on Drugs and crackdown on illegal occupation of land inside Protected and Reserved Forests as the prime reasons for the violence erupting on May 3, 2023 and today suddenly one is given to believe that the violence started due to the ruling of the Manipur High Court directing the State Government to send the socio-economic and ethnographic report of the Meiteis to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to study the feasibility of whether the Meitei community fits the bill to be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India or not. First it was Union Home Minister Amit Shah who pointed at the ruling of the High Court of Manipur and today Chief Minister N Biren seems to be toeing the same line. Playing into the hands of the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) one may say for the Tribal Solidarity March of May 3, 2023 was staged under this theme, but this lie can be called out by anyone as facts say that the rally ended peacefully at the Naga dominated districts of Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul with Churachandpur first erupting in violence and which quickly spread to Kangpokpi and Moreh. Just days before the violence of May 3, 2023, Churachandpur was already on the edge and one just has to recall how the Churachandpur Open Gym which was set to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister was set on fire on April 28, 2023. The arson came amid the strong voice of opposition raised by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) against the survey of Protected/Reserved Forest in Chura-chandpur and Pherzawl by the State Government. This itself should tell a story of its own and one wonders how the order of the High Court asking the State Government to send the report, which was sought by the Centre way back in 2013, could be the reason for the outbreak of the present crisis. Toeing this line would amount to digesting the lies that have been cooked up to further serve the false narratives that have been fed to the rest of the country. ATSUM, ITLF, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) and the Kuki Inpi, Manipur would know that it is not the job of the Judiciary to decide which community fits the bill to be declared a Scheduled Tribe and herein should lie exposed the lies that were woven so dexterously to feed the rest of the country and the world. If the State Government is under the impression that the time is not conducive the send the report, then it should say so instead of taking cover under a story cooked up the ITLF, CoTU, ATSUM and KIM. Or should one say that here is a point where the State Government meets eye to eye with these organisations ? For Manipur to talk of peace or take the next step towards normalcy or the next meaningful step, it should not rest on a premise of falsehood. This would go against the understanding of working things out for any resolution based on falsehood would be extremely shaky and this fact should not blow over the heads of the Government, either at Delhi or Imphal. This is where Delhi would need to accept the fact that the High Court order had nothing to do with the violence erupting on May 3, 2023 and one is left wondering why the Centre has not bothered to just take a look at the days before May 3 last year ? Or is it a case of Imphal failing to present the case of Manipur effectively before Delhi ? Either way it is disappointing that after more than a year of the violence erupting the Government at Imphal should today toe a line that has been floated so mischievously. Imphal and Delhi should also not overlook the fact that in all the years of the ST for Meiteis demand there has not been a single case of violence or anything coming near the understanding of extremism. This is where it becomes extremely crucial for Imphal not to be blind to the facts and not keep changing ones posturing on the ongoing ethnic clash. If it is about the ST for Meiteis demand and the ruling of the High Court then what explains the finger pointing exercise at illegal immigrants and the drive against poppy plantations earlier ? The Government needs to be clear on this. Educational exposure of ideas, assumptions or hypotheses, based on proven facts" (which need not be strictly current affairs) Value in judgments are excluded, and the text comes close to an opinion article, without judging or making forecasts , just formulating hypotheses, giving motivated explanations and bringing together a variety of data The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh is threatening to open a new front in Israels ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza over its October 7 massacre. Since that day, diplomatic efforts of the U.S. and its allies have largely focused on preventing the conflict from spilling over to the Middle East. The brutal Israeli response to the October 7 attack has not yet reversed the steps taken to de-escalate the conflict in the region (the Abraham Accords or the thaw between Saudi Arabia and Iran). All of that is up in the air again. Beyond the effects that killing Haniyeh might have on the ceasefire Israel and Hamas were negotiating (with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar), striking him in Tehran constitutes a clear warning to Iran, the patron of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes the aforementioned Palestinian group. Opinions are divided between those who fear the response of the Islamic Republic and those who are convinced that the Iranian regime will not enter into a war to defend Hamas. The former base their concerns on Irans official statements (We consider it our duty to take vengeance, said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei). While the latter point to Irans actions since October 7, in particular Tehrans measured response to the assassination by an Israeli missile of several Revolutionary Guard commanders in its Damascus consulate last April, and the disregard with which it reacted to the subsequent bombing of a military base in Isfahan. But Wednesdays attack (which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for) has heightened the risk: it was a strike against an officers residence in the capital of the Islamic Republic. For one thing, it is a blow to Irans security apparatus, led by the powerful Revolutionary Guard. The timing, just hours after the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian as president, adds insult to injury. Israels ability to penetrate Irans anti-aircraft defenses is humiliating for a regime that continuously makes threats against the West in general, and Israel in particular. Only last week, the outgoing Minister of Intelligence, Esmail Khatib, boasted that his greatest achievement had been breaking up [Israeli secret service] Mossads infiltration network. But what seems to be broken, or at least badly damaged, is the internal structure of his department. The Islamic Republic has found its match in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While waiting for the harsh punishment that Khamenei has vowed to take against the Zionist regime, the brazen assassination of Haniyeh puts the new president in a difficult position. Pezeshkians top priorities (in particular, improving relations with the West, as its sanctions over the Iran nuclear program are crippling the economy) have been postponed by the urgency of retaliation, which in turn is sabotaging the chances of rapprochement with the West. Any possible negotiation to restore the nuclear agreement is up in the air. And Irans neighbors are watching with concern as tensions continue to rise. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Our favourite Australians, Hoodoo Gurus, will rock across New Zealand in April for three concerts celebrating 40 years since their seminal debut album Stoneage Romeos. The Sound and Plus1 are delighted to present Hoodoo Gurus live in New Zealand. Hoodoo Gurus New Zealand tour is hot on the heels of their massive 47-date tour across the United States and Australia packed with sold-out audiences celebrating the anniversary and the Stoneage Romeos vinyl collectors set. Stoneage Romeos was the Gurus debut album and featured the hits Leilani, Tojo, My Girl and I Want You Back. It won Best Debut Album at the 1984 Countdown Awards and has consistently appeared in the Top 10 on almost every best ever Australian album list. The album, along with the bands regular New Zealand tours from 1984 onwards firmly cemented their Kiwi fanbase. They were last in New Zealand in March 2023, wooing crowds as headliners of the Sounds Series festivals. Back to the Stoneage 2024 tour will see the band play the Stoneage Romeos album in full followed by a selection of hit songs and fan favourites like Whats My Scene, Bittersweet, Like Wow Wipeout, 1000 Miles Away, and many more! Anandamay Barman, the BJP MLA from Matigara Naxalbari has appealed to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to urgently prepare for preventing the spread of dengue and malaria during the monsoon season in Siliguri and its surrounding areas. Mr Barman emphasized the high risk of these vector-borne diseases, including Japanese encephalitis, during this time and stressed the need for proactive measures to prevent and control any potential outbreaks. The BJP MLA also reported that there have already been over 100 cases in Siliguri sub-division, with over 50 cases in Matigara alone, including Patharghata, Matigara, Atharakhai, and Medical College and Hospital areas. Unfortunately, one child has also passed away recently due to these diseases. Advertisement He also reassured the CM of his willingness to work together to combat these diseases in the region and offered suggestions on how Miss Banerjee can prepare. He requested an increase in surveillance systems to detect early signs of dengue and malaria cases, as well as ensuring a sufficient stockpile of essential medicines, diagnostic kits, insecticides, and other medical supplies for potential outbreaks. Additionally, he recommended conducting public awareness campaigns through various media platforms and community meetings to educate people about preventive measures such as sanitation and fumigation drives to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds. In a letter to the CM, Mr Barman reiterated his commitment as an elected representative of this constituency to support her efforts in safeguarding the health and well-being of the people. He offered his assistance and resources for implementing these measures and urged them to work together towards this common goal. HUDCO regional office, Kolkata organized a yoga session for the students at Bidhannagar Municipal School, Salt Lake on Monday as a part of International Yoga Day celebration, followed by a tree plantation programme under the campaign #Plant 4Mother in association with Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. This is the part of Yoga Sessions being organized by HUDCO for students at schools throughout the country for creating awareness about yoga as a part of its CSR initiative. Debesh Chakraborty, regional chief, HUDCO Kolkata regional office highlighted HUDCOs operations throughout the nation and acknowledged the support of the state government as the key stakeholder. He welcomed Krishna Chakraborty, mayor, BMC as the chief guest of the programme. Sujay Sarkar, municipal commissioner, BMC, Bhaswati Chakraborty, principal of Bidhannagar Municipal School, were present at the programme, among others. The mayor highlighted the importance of yoga and physical training right from school days for ones well being and advised everyone to wholeheartedly integrate yoga/karate /any form of physical training into their daily routine. Advertisement A yoga session was conducted for around 250 students of Class VIII. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will attend the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous People on 9 August in Jhargram. She is likely to reach Jhargram on 8 August and is likely to hold an administrative review meeting. The programme to observe the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous People on 9 August will be held in the afternoon. Local youths will take part in a cultural programme. Advertisement After coming to power in 2011, Miss Banerjees repeated visits to Jhargram helped people of the region to regain their confidence. During the Left Front regime, the area was under the control of the Maoists and that had affected the life and livelihood of the local people. People stopped visiting the area fearing attack by the Maoists any moment. Miss Banerjee visited the area and won the confidence of local people. A stadium was constructed, along with a super specialty hospital. Sadhu Ram Chand Murmu University has been set up under her initiative. The infrastructure of the district has been improved by the construction of a bridge at Lalgarh along with improvement in the condition of the roads. Jhargram has come up fast as a favourite tourist destination. Beside state-run hotels, private hotels and home stays, farm stays have also become popular there. People are visiting the district throughout the year and the tribal museum and tribal fairs have attracted the people across the globe. To revive the traditional folk culture, the state government distributes musical instruments free to the folk artists, who also get a monthly stipend. Special drives have been conducted to issue caste certificates. Business leaders in Mexico are in the crosshairs of organized crime, which has diversified its business activities and now affects all links in the production chain: from agricultural activity to the distribution and sale of products. And those who speak out pay for it with their lives. Julio Cesar Almanza Armas, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Matamoros, was killed on Tuesday afternoon after a dozen bullets were fired at his cars window. His last public words have drawn attention: Businesspeople are hostages of criminal gangs and extortion has practically become a national sport, he said on Telediario Radio in Tampico. On July 8, Minerva Perez Castro, the leader of the Fishing Chamber of the state of Baja California, also dared to talk to the media about the need for greater security against illegal fishing and extortion. They are selling products in the same markets, but they save on production costs. We need more surveillance on the coasts, she said. Hours later, shots opened 16 holes in the windows of her van. Both Perez Castro and Almanza Armas were at the doors of their offices when they were murdered. On Tuesday morning, Almanza Armas was talking on the phone with Octavio de la Torre, the national president of the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco). The two discussed the violence, crime and extortion faced by businesses in Tamaulipas the same problems that at the root of the business leaders murder. Businesses in Tamaulipas began complaining following the closure of all OXXO convenience stores and gas stations in the city of Nuevo Laredo, on the northern border of Mexico. In total, 191 stores and seven gas stations lowered the shutters last Friday and will not open until the necessary security conditions are met. Before he was shot, Almanza Armas who was also vice president of Strategic Binational Affairs on the Borders of Concanaco spoke out about the closures to the media. Just a few hours after speaking to him, he was taken away from us, De la Torre told EL PAIS by phone on Wednesday. Tamaulipas is the northern state closest to Central America. In other words, it is the shortest route for the thousands of migrants who cross Mexico in the hopes of reaching the U.S. border. As a result, human trafficking and extortion has become a lucrative business for organized crime. Whats more, Tamaulipas is the Mexican state with the highest number of border crossings 17 in total. At these crossings, all kinds of goods, legal and illegal, are taken into the United States in a multimillion-dollar trafficking network controlled by force. The fearsome Zetas and the Gulf Cartel predecessors of the current Northeast Cartel extort businesspeople in Tamaulipas, charging them a piso, an illegal tax for permission to carry out their commercial activity. The Northeast Cartel has cells that are out of control, explains Raul Benitez Manaut, a UNAM researcher and security expert. Businessmen have no choice but to collaborate. A National Guard officer in front of the National Chamber of Commerce, where Almanza Armas was murdered, on July 30. STR (EFE) Almanza Armas was aware of the problem, and had been fighting against the insecurity faced by commercial establishments for some time. Today, his last words are echoed by Dario Mercado, vice president of Concanaco, who was on his way to Tamaulipas on Wednesday. In the last 20 years, crime has not stopped growing in Tamaulipas. Where before they controlled drug and human trafficking, now they are seeking to permeate the value chains and are becoming criminal monopolies of legal activities, he explains by phone. Mercado is referring not only to the primary sector agriculture , but also to commercial markets such as chicken shops. They force merchants to supply their products at the price they want and under their conditions. This is happening across practically all of Mexico, but Tamaulipas is a big market for the cartels. In Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, they have focused more on smuggling huachicol [pirated gasoline] at the border, and in other parts of the country, they already control construction materials. Six months ago, we detected that the cartels wanted to extend this business to Matamoros, we were trying to stop it, says Mercado, who adds that he and Almanza Armas were working with the Attorney Generals Office to stop the cartels from gaining control of the construction materials industry. Then OXXO decided to shut all its stores and gas stations in Nuevo Laredo, and Almanza Armas was killed in Matamoros. The illegal tax affects all levels of the commercial chain, says Mercado, from avocados to buying a car in the United States that has crossed the border illegally. In the Tamaulipas area, everything is permeated by crime, and each border has its particular phenomenon. The word drug trafficking has become too small to describe the activities of the cartels. It affects fishing in Baja California, avocados in Michoacan, chicken shops in Guerrero and street markets in Mexico City. Meanwhile, in the south, violent crime continues to wreak havoc in Chiapas. Mexicos authorities are trying to address the problem. The governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal, offered his condolences to the family of Almanza Armas. And promises have been made that everything possible will be done to find his murderers and lock them up, which rarely happens in Mexico. Tamaulipas security spokesperson, Jorge Cuellar, called on OXXOs to report crimes as soon as possible. He told the media that this is the only way that the state prosecutors can operate properly. The president of Concanaco, Octavio de la Torre, told EL PAIS: We are seeking the reform of the Penal Code because normally the victim is required to report [a crime], and that is re-victimizing. This has already made progress in the State of Mexico, where we have managed to start investigations ex officio. In Mexico, a country wracked by fear of organized crime, filing a report is no small feat. We are concerned, yes, these issues spark fear, says De la Torre. He acknowledged the work of state governments in combating insecurity and violence, but hoped that efforts in this area would be redoubled. Concanaco is the oldest in Mexico, it is 108 years old and is currently present in 1,857 municipalities throughout the country, says De la Torre Ninety percent of our members are small, family-run businesses, with no more than five people in many cases, explains the president of Concanaco. These are the people who are being affected by crime. We are calling for security for citizens because that is essential for the development of the community, he says. Mexicos development is currently focused on nearshoring: the relocation of foreign companies, mainly American, to the Mexican side of the border, where production costs are lower. This relocation is expected to bring a large number of jobs and lead to better social welfare in many states. But where there is business, there is crime, which, according to many experts, is more organized than governments. In recent months, there has been a diversification of illicit criminal activities, particularly in the dispute over border customs for the transfer of huachicol and the control of mines, the Lantia Intelligence firm in April states in its monthly report on violence and criminal gangs. This phenomenon is a cause for concern, since it does not guarantee economically reliable territories for foreign investment in the context of the relocation of production chains. Cartel violence also leads to internal displacement, as seen in Chiapas and Nuevo Leon, two examples listed by Lantia Intelligence. In Tamaulipas, the cities of Nuevo Laredo, Guerrero, Mier, Miguel Aleman, Diaz Ordaz, Reynosa, Rio Bravo and Matamoros are on alert, according to the report. The document states that the key players in the state are the Northeast Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), as well as Los Escorpiones and Los Metros. Like a thousand-headed serpent, crime is branching out in all directions. It is likely that some organizations will finance themselves in these new illicit markets in an attempt to challenge the Northeast Cartel, something that could happen in the medium term, says Lantia Intelligence. Business leader De la Torre hopes that justice will be done and is hopeful about the negotiations with Mexican authorities to increase security for businesses across the country. Julio was loved and admired by everyone in the Concanaco, his father was also from this organization. He has left a widow and several children, now we are seeing how we take care of the needs they present. We are just good citizens Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition I have never learned to compromise with injustice, and I never will, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote on Facebook last night. Meanwhile speculation was rife that MP from Maldaha South Isha Khan Chaudhari will be next president of Parades Congress Committee. Mr Chowdhury is angry with the Congress high command. He became furious when he was referred to as the former Pradesh Congress president during a meeting in Delhi. He is upset with AICC observer Ghulam Mir and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. On Tuesday night, Adhir expressed his anger in a post on his social media handle. Advertisement He clearly stated, I have never learned to compromise with injustice, and I never will. This senior Congress leader has always been seen standing by the party workers. On this day as well, he stood by Congress workers and highlighted the atrocities by Trinamul. He voiced his concerns on social media. Adhir wrote, Our people are being beaten up. The workers are being beaten day and night by Trinamul, if we dont speak for them, who will? The Congress leader questioned, Then how can we remain silent against Trinamul? If we do, it would be an injustice to my fellow workers! I cant do that. Adhir further stated that Delhi should also listen to the workers who have been fighting day and night, protesting on the streets with the partys flag. The overall coal production witnessed a significant upswing in July, reaching 74.07 Million Tonnes (MT), the Ministry of Coal said on Thursday. This surpasses the 69.42 MT recorded in the same month last year, representing an increase of 6.69%. The data further said that the production of Coal India Limited (CIL) rose to 55.04 MT in July, marking a growth of 2.54% compared to 53.67 MT in July 2023. Advertisement The cumulative coal production up to July 2024 has seen a commendable leap of 321.45 MT (provisional) in FY 24-25 as compared to 292.80 MT during the same period in FY 23-24, with a growth of 9.78%. The cumulative coal dispatch witnessed a significant boost in July 2024, touching 79.54 MT, compared to 76.05 MT recorded in July 2023, with a growth rate of 4.58%, the Coal Ministry said. The cumulative coal dispatch up to July 2024 stood at 341.61 MT (provisional) in FY 24-25, compared to 316.54 MT during the corresponding period in FY 23-24, with a commendable growth of 7.92%. Further, as of 31.07.2024, the coal stock held by coal companies witnessed a notable surge, reaching 86.8 MT. This surge reflects an impressive annual growth rate of 43.85%, the ministry data said. Vesting orders issued for 10 mines: On Thursday, the Minister of Coal, G Kishan Reddy, issued vesting orders for ten strategically important mines, marking a significant advancement in the nations coal production capabilities. This initiative, which includes one fully explored and nine partially explored mines, is set to enhance energy security and drive economic growth across the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh. These ten mines have the potential to substantially contribute to the nations energy security and industrial growth. Furthermore, they hold a substantial 2395 MT geological reserve, indicating a robust foundation for sustained coal production. These mines are expected to generate an annual revenue of Rs 166.36 crore and will attract a capital investment of Rs 150 crore. They will provide employment to about ~1352 people, both directly and indirectly, the Ministry of Coal said in a statement. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva alleged on Thursday that over the past two to three years, Delhis sewer system and storm water drainage have completely collapsed which points to a scam related to the desilting of drains. He said a CBI investigation is necessary in the matter as the corruption under the Delhi government has culminated in the Rajendra Nagar incident in which lives of three UPSC aspirants were cut short. Addressing a press conference here, Sachdeva lamented that even light rain causes waterlogging on Delhis roads. Advertisement Media chief of the saffron partys Delhi unit Praveen Shankar Kapoor, who organized the press conference, said it wont be an exaggeration to say the state government has crossed all limits of corruption, and the newly-emerged desilting scam would be the final nail in the coffin for this government. Sachdeva further claimed that since 1998 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not been in power in Delhi, but the party was dedicated to public service through the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, ensuring thorough cleaning of small drains and colony sewers. However, in the past two years, waterlogging has been observed on both main roads and colony streets alike, he alleged. The Delhi BJP chief said to study the issue, the party formed an internal committee comprising MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh, senior municipal councilor Sandeep Kapoor, and spokesperson and media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor. The committee was tasked with investigating the reasons for the increased waterlogging over the past two years, Sachdeva added. He said Delhi BJPs internal committee had warned around June 20, 2024, that the desilting of drains and sewers was not being carried out by any relevant department of the Delhi government or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and accordingly the party had alerted the Delhi government through a press conference that no preparations were being made for the monsoon, but the government did not take notice, Sachdeva claimed. The first monsoon rain on June 28, 2024, exposed the false claims of the Delhi government, the BJP leader alleged. The Delhi BJP chief further said that the Irrigation Department, Public Works Department, Delhi Jal Board, and Municipal Corporation of Delhi are responsible for the desilting of drains and sewers. However, none of the departments disposed of even a single truck of silt at the designated Singhola Khampur site or any other landfill site, indicating that no cleaning has taken place during the mentioned period, Sachdeva claimed. He called it a clear scam worth hundreds of crores of rupees has occurred in the desilting of drains in Delhi. The chief minister, ministers, MLAs, contractors, and some lower-level officials of the Delhi government are all involved, and a CBI investigation is necessary. This corruption has culminated in the Rajendra Nagar incident, he added. Fans of actor-philanthropist Sonu Sood have displayed their admiration in a monumental way, erecting a towering 100-foot poster adorned with the Indian flag in his honor. This grand gesture came on the heels of Soods announcement on his birthday that his much-anticipated directorial debut, Fateh, is slated to hit theaters on January 10, 2025. The news of Fatehs release date has sparked immense excitement among fans, who have eagerly awaited details about the action-packed film. Produced by Zee Studios and Shakti Sagar Productions, Fateh promises to push the boundaries of Indian action cinema. It delves into the gritty world of cybercrime, drawing inspiration from real-life incidents and featuring a star-studded cast. The real hero gets a heroic birthday celebration. A 100 feet standee was made by fans in Andhra to honour the real life hero@SonuSood pic.twitter.com/IM4ku5LbWS Advertisement BA Rajus Team (@baraju_SuperHit) July 31, 2024 Alongside Sonu Sood, the film stars the illustrious Naseeruddin Shah portraying a pivotal role as a hacker, adding to the anticipation. Jacqueline Fernandez also joins the ensemble, heightening expectations with her involvement in the project. The films production values are set to match those of Hollywood blockbusters, with action sequences crafted by renowned stunt coordinator Lee Whittaker. Filming spanned multiple international locations, including India, the USA, Russia, and Poland, underscoring the global scale and ambition of Fateh. Sonu Soods multifaceted career has endeared him to audiences not just for his acting prowess but also for his philanthropic endeavors, especially during the challenging times of the pandemic. His fans gesture of erecting a massive poster reflects the deep respect and admiration they hold for him, celebrating his contributions both on-screen and off-screen. As anticipation builds towards the release of Fateh, Sonu Soods fans are poised to support him wholeheartedly, ensuring that the film makes a resounding impact as it arrives on the big screen in early 2025. BLACKPINK sensation is set to star alongside Park Jung Min, known for his roles in Hellbound, Deliver Us from Evil and smugglers in a thrilling drama set against a zombie apocalypse in downtown Seoul. Poised to stream on local platform Coupang Play, the makers have dropped tantalizing snippets from the gripping show. The upcoming drama has been co-written by the Oscar-winning writer Han Ji Won who penned Parasite. Adapted from Han Sang Woons novel Influenza, Newtopia is slated for a 2025 release and also stars Kim Joon Han. Following the news of Jisoos casting, the BLACKPINK fandom, who call themselves BLINKS have been brimming with anticipation as they speculate the plotline that is being developed by ace writers. On August 1, the streaming platform, Coupang Play officially announced the star-studded cast of its 2025 series Newtopia in a press release. The platform also unveiled glimpses from the sets featuring Jisoo and Jung Min in fresh looks. The drama is set against a viral outbreak that transforms infected individuals into zombies. The lead actors will portray lovers navigating the outbreak as they desperately search for each other. Advertisement Catch the Newtopia stills here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coupang Play (@coupangplay) Park Jung-min, plays the leading man who initially encounters the zombie outbreak during his mandatory military service. His girlfriend, Kang Young Ju, (played by Jisoo) is an engineer with a new job who is waiting for his release. Separately, they navigate the city and fight off zombie attacks as they try to reunite. The slated drama, Newtopia is being helmed by Yoon Sung-Hyun, who previously directed hit crime thrillers and dramas like Time to Hunt, Bleak Night and Jury. Joining the team as script writers are A Shop for Killers writer Ji Ho Jin in collaboration with Han Ji Won who previously worked on penning the Oscar-winning film Parasite and Okja. Previously, on the acting front, Jisoo appeared in multiple cameos in several K-dramas while taking up a major role in the 2020 period action-comedy series Snowdrop. The K-pop idol also had a minor role in Dr Cheon and the Lost Talisman and is reported to be associated with Omniscient Readers Viewpoint, a multi-part film adaptation of a popular webtoon. Makers of Citadel: Honey Bunny starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan have announced the release date of the anticipated series with a compelling teaser featuring high-octane action sequences, grit, and flamboyance. Created by Raj and DK, the directorial duo behind The Family Man, Guns and Gulaabs and Farzi, the Indian adaptation of the Hollywood show has been penned by Sita R. Menon alongside the duo. The slated series has been backed by D2R Films, Amazon MGM Studios, and executive produced by the Russo Brothers AGBO. Citadel: Honney Bunny will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on November 7. The upcoming series is an amalgamation of a gritty spy thriller and an alluring love story, created against the backdrop of the 90s. The teaser features the cast looking dapper as they engage in pulse-pounding action sequences with sounds of cocking guns and revving cars bolstering the trill quotient. With a modernised rendition of Raat Baki playing in the background, the trailer promises a gripping and compelling narrative exuding the 90s charm, bringing together an ensemble cast and an ace team working behind the scenes. Catch the Citadel: Honey Bunny teaser here: Advertisement As reported by Variety, Nikhil Madhok, head of originals at Prime Video India revealed that Citadel: Honey Bunny is poised to take the audience back to the genesis of the international clandestine spy agency, going deeper into the exploration of its foundation, activities, influence, and rise in the signature style of Raj & DK that the audience has come to admire over time. The Indian adaptation of the series marks Samanthas second collaboration with the duo and the series will also star the celebrated star Kay Kay Menon, who played a key role in Farzi. The director duo also expressed confidence over the slated series and expressed gratitude towards the ensemble cast for helping them realise their vision. The World of Citadel found its inception with Priyanka Chopra and Richard Maddens 2023 eponymous series which became Prime Videos second most-watched original series outside the U.S. and fourth most-watched show worldwide, just after 24 days of release. Citadel and its subsequent original spy thriller series are being created across the globe, elevating the story of the spy agency- Citadel and its nemesis syndicate, Manticore. Each original series from the Citadel Universe stars local talent and is created, produced and filmed in the region, resulting in unique shows rooted in the cultural identities of the respective countries of origin. Ahead of the Indian adaptations release, the Japanese original variant Citadel: Diana is poised to premiere on October 10. On the other hand, the Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden series is set for a second season with the production going on floors this year with Joe Russo helming the instalment. Excitement is reaching a fever pitch as the much-anticipated Thangalaan gears up for its grand release on August 15, 2024. Following a captivating trailer and the infectious beats of its first song Murga Murgi, the films creators are pulling out all the stops to keep fans buzzing. Theyve kicked off what theyre calling Thangalaan Month, a lead-up to the big day, promising an exhilarating journey for audiences everywhere. The announcement came with a stunning poster shared on social media, accompanied by a message that teased, A storm is on its way. The #Thangalaan month begins! Get ready for an adventurous ride #ThangalaanFromAug15. This declaration has ignited a frenzy among fans eager to experience the cinematic spectacle promised by the film. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Thangalaan (@thangalaanthemovie) Adding to the excitement, the entire cast of Thangalaan is set to embark on a whirlwind tour across major cities in India. Beginning in Hyderabad on August 4th, the tour will touch down in Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kochi, allowing enthusiasts the chance to meet stars like Chiyaan Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, and others, alongside director Pa Ranjith. Thangalaan promises to deliver a gripping narrative inspired by the real-life exploits surrounding the discovery of the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) during British colonial rule. This tale of exploitation and intrigue is set to add another feather to the cap of South Indian cinema, known for pushing boundaries with its storytelling. With Chiyaan Vikram and Malavika Mohanan in pivotal roles, Thangalaan will hit screens worldwide in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages. The films soundtrack, composed by GV Prakash Kumar, is expected to complement the intense drama unfolding on screen. As anticipation mounts and the countdown to August 15th begins, Thangalaan looks set to captivate audiences with its unique narrative and stellar performances, marking another milestone in the cinematic landscape of the South. Pop icon Taylor Swift has expressed her deep shock and sorrow following a tragic stabbing incident at a dance class themed around her music in Southport, England. The attack, which took place on Monday, July 29, resulted in the deaths of three young girls and left several others critically injured. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Taylor Swift conveyed her grief over the senseless violence of stabbing. The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders, she wrote. These were just little kids at a dance class I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families. The stabbing resulted in the immediate deaths of two girls, aged six and seven, with a third girl, aged nine, succumbing to her injuries on the following day, July 30. The Merseyside Police confirmed that in addition to the fatalities, eight other children sustained stab wounds, with five in critical condition. Two adults who were also injured during the incident are reported to be in a serious condition. Advertisement Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy described the horrifying scene, explaining that the attacker entered the venue with a knife and began targeting the children. We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked, Kennedy said during a press conference. The devastating news has prompted a wave of responses from prominent figures. King Charles III and Queen Camilla expressed their profound shock and sadness over the incident. My wife and I have been profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in Southport, King Charles stated through the royal familys social media channels. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also voiced his deep concern, noting that the entire country has been left in shock by the events. The whole country is deeply shocked at what theyve seen in Southport, Starmer said in a statement to broadcasters. The community of Southport, along with the nation, is grappling with the aftermath of this unimaginable tragedy, as authorities continue to investigate the motives behind the attack. In a big setback for the Muslim side, Allahabad High Court said that the civil suit filed by the Hindu side is maintainable in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute case of Mathura. The verdict was given by a single judge bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain on the maintainability of 18 civil suits pending in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah case on Thursday. The Eidgah Committee announced they would challenge the high courts decision in the Supreme Court. Advertisement The court held a long hearing for days at end on the petition filed by the Muslim side regarding the maintainability of all the civil suits. After this, the decision was reserved in June last. The Civil suits from the Hindu side demanded removal of the structure of the Shahi Idgah Mosque, handing over the possession of the land and the reconstruction of the temple. It is claimed through the petitions that the Shahi Idgah mosque, dating back to the time of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, was constructed after allegedly demolishing the temple built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Therefore Hindus have the right to worship at that disputed site. At the same time, raising questions on the legal status of the plaintiffs, the Muslim side claimed that there was no dispute between Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust and the Shahi Idgah Committee. They claimed that the parties raising the dispute have no relation, association, or concern with the Janmabhoomi Trust and Idgah Committee. Apart from this, it has also been argued that the Idgah site is Waqf property. The mosque was established on August 15, 1947. Now, the form of a religious place cannot be changed under the Right to Worship Act. Hindu parties arguments were that the entire two-and-a-half-acre area of Idgah is the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Krishna and the Shahi Idgah Mosque Committee does not have any such record of the land. They claim that Shahi Idgah Mosque has been constructed by demolishing Shri Krishna Temple. Besides, without ownership rights, the Waqf Board has declared this land Waqf property without any valid process. However, the Muslim side argues that there was an agreement reached between the two parties on this land in 1968. It is not right to call the agreement wrong after 60 years. Therefore, the case is not maintainable. They also claim that the case is not maintainable even under the Places of Worship Act 1991.The identity and nature of the religious place will remain the same as it was on August 15, 1947. Ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, the Delhi Police has prohibited the flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like paragliders, hang-gliders and hot air balloons in the national capital from August 2 to August 16, keeping in mind the precautionary security measure in the national capital. An order to this effect was issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on Thursday. It has been reported that certain criminal, anti-social elements or terrorists inimical to India may pose a threat to the safety of the general public, dignitaries and vital installations by the use of sub-conventional aerial platforms like paragliders, paramotors, hang-gliders, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small sized powered aircraft, or by para-jumping from aircrafts, the order read. Advertisement Therefore, the Delhi Police commissioner has prohibited flying of such aerial platforms over the jurisdiction of the national capital on the occasion of Independence Day and doing so shall be punishable under section 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), it said. This order shall come into force with effect from Friday and shall remain in force for a period of 15 days up to August 16 (both days inclusive) unless withdrawn earlier, the order stated. Weapons possession, organized crime, money laundering and trafficking of multiple substances, including fentanyl, and conspiracy to murder at least four rival drug traffickers while serving as one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. These are just some of the 7 felony counts that Ismael El Mayo Zambada will have to answer for in the United States. On Thursday, the 76-year-old drug lord on Thursday will appear again in a courthouse of the Western District of Texas, in the border city of El Paso, where his legal team will receive an update on the status of the court process. He made his first appearance last week, when he pleaded not guilty to all charges. The prosecution requested that the case be recognized as unusual and complex and asked the judge on Wednesday for more time given the enormous volume of evidence, the delicate nature of the crimes and the accuseds high profile, according to a document to which this newspaper has had access. Zambada was seen in a wheelchair at his first hearing on Friday, held just hours after he was arrested at a rural New Mexico airport alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of El Chapo Guzman. The drug lord waived his right to be present at a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday, where an investigating judge ordered him to be held without bail. Thursdays hearing does require El Mayo to appear in court, at least according to the courts calendar. Zambadas defense has had to manage both the start of the trial in the U.S., and the media circus surrounding the case. Frank Perez the lawyer who represents both Zambada and his son Vicente Vicentillo Zambada Niebla dropped a bombshell last weekend, claiming that the 76-year-old had been kidnapped and betrayed by Guzman Lopez. He argued that El Chapos son handed him over to U.S. authorities, after being subdued by around six men wearing military uniforms. He also stated that his client had not negotiated his surrender with the United States: Zambada never set foot in prison in more than five decades of his cartel career. The federal court in El Paso, Texas, on July 31. ANDRES LEIGHTON (EFE) Jeffrey Lichtman, the attorney for El Chapos son, broke his silence and denied the allegations on Tuesday. When lawyers who are trying to score points with the media make accusations, then I ignore that because its meaningless, said Lichtman, who also represented El Chapo in the so-called trial of the century in 2018. In that trial, Guzman was sentenced to life in prison after Vicentillo and Jesus Rey Zambada, El Mayos brother, testified against him. The lawyer also denied that Guzman Lopez reached an agreement to surrender to the U.S., a point that had been widely accepted, according to information shared by the United States and Mexican governments after the arrest. The case became even more complicated on Wednesday after Jose Luis Gonzalez Meza, who appeared before the media as the legal representative of the Guzman family in Mexico, contradicted Perez and Lichtman, stating that El Mayo and El Chapos son turned themselves in voluntarily, after negotiating with U.S. authorities for four years. The lawyer said there was neither betrayal nor kidnapping. Gonzalez Meza said in a statement that the relationship between the families that run the Sinaloa Cartel has been impeccable and denied that an internal war could break out in the criminal organization after the controversial arrest. Hours earlier, another widely accepted aspect of the arrest was also called into question. In a press conference, the governor of the Mexican state of Sonora, Alfonso Durazo, said that the plane that took El Mayo and Guzman Lopez to the U.S. did not depart from Hermosillo, the state capital, as the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had initially reported last week. Durazo former federal Secretary of Security said that no aircraft with the characteristics of the plane that landed in New Mexico had been registered in airport records. Mexicos Attorney Generals Office has opened an investigation to find out what really happened in the hours before the arrest. In legal terms, the charges facing El Mayo in Texas are just a fraction of the sprawling accusations he faces in different jurisdictions in the United States. The case in the El Paso court only involves federal crimes committed on Texas soil or that affected that state. The case in question was opened in 2012 and concerns the war waged by the Sinaloa Cartel against the Juarez Cartel, on the border between the two countries. It is established, for example, that El Mayo and El Chapo were involved, along with their lieutenants, in the torture and murder of three rival drug lords, identified only by their initials: R. M. V., his brother J. M. V. and his uncle G. M. A. The murder was ordered in May 2010, after the three men were kidnapped at R. M. V.'s wedding in Ciudad Juarez. Their bodies were found by police days later, after being abandoned in the back of a pick-up truck. The two criminal bosses are also accused of the murder of S. S., a trafficker who lost a 670-pound shipment after a seizure in Texas in August 2009. The modus operandi was similar, according to U.S. authorities: S. S. was kidnapped by several men, interrogated, and finally executed in Juarez. The indictment points to the use of extreme violence, the public display of the victims body, including the dismemberment of body parts in a ritualistic or symbolic way, and written warning messages, known as narco banners. Guzman and Zambada, the men behind the Sinaloa Cartel criminal empire one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world are seen as the top leaders: the people who managed the trafficking of illicit drugs, collected the profits, oversaw the money laundering, coordinated the shipment of weapons and resources to their allies, and ordered the elimination of their rivals. The case involves 22 other defendants: eleven were extradited to the United States, three were killed in Mexico after the charges were filed, eight more pleaded guilty, and two more were sentenced to life in prison in 2021. It is understood, from the legal documents, that El Mayo was the last to fall. The court document details that FBI and DEA agents were present at the arrest of Zambada and Guzman Lopez last Thursday, after the men got off the plane. Nothing else is said about the arrest. The prosecution argued that due to the exceptional nature of the case, the 70-day period to move forward with the judicial process and prepare for an eventual trial should be extended. The defense has supported the extension, which will have to be ratified by the judge. There is still the possibility that El Mayo, whose health has deteriorated in recent months, will be transferred to another of the states where he is accused or that he may be offered some kind of collaboration agreement with the justice system. Amid the competing accounts of betrayal and secret deals, the future of one of the most elusive and feared Mexican drug lords in history is just beginning to be decided in U.S. courts. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Viillagers from various areas of rural Delhi, including Shahbad Mohammadpur, Pochanpur, Palam, Amrai, Bagdola, and surrounding regions staged a protest against the Delhi Jal Board on Thursday in support of their demand. The demonstration, led by Chaudhary Surender Solanki, the head of Palam 360 Khap, at the Delhi Jal Boards booster pumping station located in Dwarka Sector 20, highlighted the severe drinking water and waterlogging issues faced by the villagers. Speaking on the occasion, Solanki said there was a serious issue of sewage overflow in the villages and colonies which disrupt many lives and even causing fatalities. He accused Jal Board officials of negligence and said despite repeated demands, no action had been taken to clean the sewers. Advertisement He said in the name of urbanization, the villages have been turned into slums and that the officials are no longer paying attention to the villagers complaints. The protesters demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the Jal Board by breaking earthen pots and raising slogans against the Jal Board. A significant number of women also participated in the protest, raising their voices against the water authority. Following the protest, the Chief Engineer of the Jal Board met with the panchayat and assured them that the issues would be resolved within a week and also apologized to the villagers. Responding to this Solanki stated that the villagers would not tolerate disrespect, and if the issues were not resolved, further agitation would continue. The government, on Thursday, advised Indian nationals against travelling to Lebanon till further notice and leaves the country amid the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. In view of recent developments and potential threats to the region, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice, an advisory from the Indian Embassy in Beirut said. All Indian nationals are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon. Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut through their email id: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128, the embassy said in the advisory posted on X. Advertisement The advisory came two days after Israel targeted Hezbollahs top military commander Fouad Shukur in a strike in southern Beirut. Israel later confirmed that it had killed Shukur, who, it alleged, was behind the weekend rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 youths. Delhi was brought to a near standstill as torrential rains battered the city on Wednesday night, leading to severe waterlogging and widespread disruptions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of more heavy showers, urging residents to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. The downpour disrupted daily life in the national capital with schools across the city ordered to remain shut on August 1, following an announcement by Delhi Minister Atishi, who cited the hazardous conditions caused by the relentless rains. Advertisement In one tragic incident, a woman and her three-year-old son drowned after slipping into a waterlogged drain near Khoda Colony in Ghazipur. The heavy rains also led to a wall collapse at a private school in Daryaganj, damaging a car parked nearby. Air traffic was severely disrupted, with at least ten flights to Delhi being diverted to Jaipur and Lucknow due to the adverse weather conditions. Airlines have also issued warnings about potential further disruptions as the city braces for more rain. The IMD recorded significant rainfall across Delhi, with the Salwan station in Mayur Vihar receiving 147.5 mm of rain between 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and 7:15 a.m. Thursday. Other stations reported similarly heavy rainfall, with 113 mm recorded at Najafgarh, and over 100 mm at the Lodhi Road, Delhi University, and Safdarjung observatories. The citys already struggling infrastructure buckled under the weight of the heavy rain, with police urging residents to avoid submerged areas. In a social media post, the Delhi Police issued warnings, advising commuters to avoid traveling to Mundka due to severe waterlogging and potholes along the Rohtak Road, which had become a major hazard. In nearby Gurgaon, three men tragically lost their lives after being electrocuted near the IFFCO Chowk metro station. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Wednesday when the men were wading through water and came into contact with a live wire that had been submerged due to the rains. According to police reports, a fallen tree had caused the wires to break, leading to the fatal incident. Heavy damage to public and private property was reported on Thursday owing to the downpour that triggered a flash flood downstream in the Beas River from Palchan to Patlikuhal in Himachal Pradeshs Kullu district. No loss of life has been reported in the Kullu and Mandi districts so far. Scores of bridges in Palchan and Nehrukund have been damaged due to flooding in the river, officials said. Advertisement A newly constructed vegetable market building collapsed in Kullu. The National Highway between Kullu and Manali has been hampered due to a flood near Kalath. Seeing the rising waters, people living on the river banks in Nehrukund, Bahang, Rangdi, Aloo Ground, Kalath, 17 Mile, 15 Mile and Patlikuhal fled from their homes. The road in Palchan has been damaged. The Manali-Leh road has been closed due to massive landslides. The Manali administration remained busy throughout the night alerting people. Rain has been continuing since Wednesday evening. Although the water level of the Beas River has decreased, the danger persists. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) (Manali) Raman Sharma told the media that the police personnel kept alerting the people living on the river banks by sounding sirens throughout the night. He urged people to leave their homes only in case of emergency and not to travel. In a latest escalation in the confrontation faced by Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait, a Rmeswaram fisherman was killed in a collision involving a fishing trawler and Lankan Naval patrol vessel mid sea on Wednesday night. Badly damaged in the collision, the boat started sinking near Neduntheevu (Delft island) in Sri Lankan territory, the fishermen were thrown off, leaving them struggle for life in mid sea. According to the fisheries Department and the fishermen in Rameswaram, Malaichamy (59) was declared dead while two others Mookaiah(54) of Virudhunagar, Muthu Muniandi (57) were arrested and taken to Kankesanthurai. Advertisement The body of the deceased was handed over to Indian authorities in Jaffna. A search is on for V Ramachandran (64), who is missing. With the news of the fishermans death spreading like wild fire, the coastal belt along Rameswaram and Ramanathapuram had turned tense since Thursday morning. Demanding that the government register a case of murder against the Sri Lankan naval personnel for the death of Malaichamy, people resorted to a road blockade in Rameswaram. According to fishermen association leaders, the island navy has exceeded the limits in the guise of containing poaching in their territorial waters. Early on Wednesday morning, nearly 2000 fishermen in 349 boats have set sail in the Palk Strait Condemning the killing of the Indian fishermen by the Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased. Political parties across the spectrum have registered their condemnation and urged the Centre to take punitive action against Colombo. Meanwhile the Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement said that the Acting High Commissioner of the island nation was summoned and a strong protest was lodged. We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of of life. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government, it said. More than 15 people died and four went missing due to heavy rains in Uttarakhand since Wednesday evening as the Himalayan state witnessed two cloudbursts in the night. More than 1,500 tourists and pilgrims were rescued by the SDRF as normal public lives were paralised. Cloudburst at Lincholi led to complete blockade of the Kedarnath pilgrimage route leaving more than 15,500 pilgrims stranded four kilometers away from the shrine. State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) informed that three members of a family, including a husband-wife duo, were perished under the debris of a hotel that crumbled down owing to the cloudburst at Jikhyani area of Ghansali block in Tehri while a woman in the Rohida area of the states summer capital Gairsain was buried under the muck and debris as a thick mass of the land fell on her house roof resulting into its collapse. Advertisement In another rain-inflicted incident six persons, including two children, 10-year old Aas Mohammad and 8-year old girl Nagma, died in Haridwar. Nagma, Aas Mohammad and two other were buried under the debris and eight family members were injured as their house collapsed in the Bahadrabad area of Roorkee in Haridwar. In yet another incident in Haridwar two persons died of electrocution at Roorkee bus stand late Wednesday night amid heavy rains. Four persons, including two Delhi based tourists, died in Dehradun in the last 24 hours. Arjun Singh Rana, 55 years and 35-year old Sundar Singh died as they were swept away by a swelled monsoon rivulet in Dehradun late Wednesday night while two tourists from Sultanpuri in Delhi drowned in Sahastradhara water stream where they had gone for bathing with their third friend who was saved by the locals. The Ill fated Delhi tourists were swept away by the sudden rise in water level in the river they had gone for bathing on Thursday afternoon. The rain havoc was witnessed in Kumaon as well. A 48-year old man at Dhari area died of being hit by a rock coming down from the hill top while two boys one in Haldwani an another in Bageshwar were swept in overflowing seasonal rivulets. The missing boys were yet to be found by the rescue teams deployed there. Apart from this two other missing persons were from Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts. On the other hand, more than 1,500 kedarnath pilgrims were rescued by the SDRF as they were stranded since Wednesday night due to a cloudburst at Lincholi close to the shrine area. Cloudburst resulted in washing away almost 70 meters of the road near Bhimbali police post. All the stranded pilgrims were safely taken to a nearby Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVM) building and Bhimbali police post in the night. As many as 425 pilgrims were airlifted on Thursday while rescue of the remaining pilgrims were in process informed Rudraprayag district magistrate Ashutosh Gaharwar. More than 1100 tourists were rescued and shifted to the safer places through alternate routes created by the SDRF teams. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the two cloudburst sites in Tehri and Rudraprayag on Thursday and directed officials to be alert according to the weather forecast and warnings issued by the meteorological department. Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the cloudburst area at Lincholi in order to understand the situation. State government stands fully behind the disaster affected people and will leave no stone unturned to provide all support to them. Safety of the people and their properties is the first priority of the state government. District administration and officers concerned must ensure adequate timely restoration of the broken roads, power and drinking water supplies said Dhami. Around 300 roads were still blocked in different parts of the state, impairing vehicular movements and routine public life especially in the hills.Routine public life large areas in the plains and Dehradun were marred by water logging and rain water gushes in the homes. Engineers and teams of the BRO and PWD, state police and other agencies were working hard to restore the road connectivity in the hills. Assuring that an ordinance will be brought in if required, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday said that Telangana will be the first state to implement the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in reservation after the Supreme Court passed an order to that effect. The demand for sub-classification within reservation has been a long-standing issue for the Madiga, a numerically superior sub-caste within the Scheduled Castes in the two Telugu states. They had been agitating for the past three decades for equitable representation and reservation within the SC quota. In unified Andhra Pradesh, it was TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who first introduced sub-classification in the reservation for SCs, but it was struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2004 in the case of EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh. This judgment was overturned by the apex court on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had held a separate rally to woo the Madigas last year before the Assembly election in Telangana, had also promised to expedite the matter which was in the Supreme Court. An emotional Mandakrishna Madiga, who spearheaded the movement, was earnestly comforted by the Prime Minister as the Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) had pledged support to the BJP in elections. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, speaking in the Assembly, thanked the apex court and said, On behalf of the state government, I am announcing that Telangana will be the first state to implement the sub-classification. He promised that the state government would take appropriate steps to implement the sub-classification in the upcoming job notifications. If required, an ordinance will be brought in, said the Chief Minister. He added that his government had engaged senior Supreme Court lawyer Sidharth Luthra to argue in favour of categorisation. The government had also sent Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and State Health Minister Damodar Rajnarasimha to New Delhi to provide necessary information and other support to the legal team. Advertisement The BRS also welcomed the Supreme Courts verdict with its working president KT Rama Rao acknowledging that the persistent struggle by the Madiga community has borne fruit. He called on the Congress government to immediately initiate the steps to implement the classification. MRPS president Mandakrishna Madiga, who spearheaded the 30-year-long struggle to secure justice for his community, recalled Naidus contribution to their cause. Hailing the judgment, Mandakrishna said: Dharma has won while dedicating the victory to the children of the MRPS members who lost their lives during the struggle. MRPS has been fighting for this sub-classification for the past 30 years. We eagerly awaited this moment while agitating against the injustice meted out to the community. Several people lost their lives during the movement, he recalled. He said he was confident that Revanth Reddy in Telangana and Naidu in Andhra Pradesh would restore sub-classification within the SC reservation. Slamming the West Bengal and Jharkhand governments on the Rohingya infiltration issue, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the instances of Rohingyas entering eastern India have significantly increased, posing a serious threat of demographic invasion. The Assam Chief Minister said that illegal immigration by Rohingyas is a big problem for the security of the country. The system of West Bengal to curb infiltration is weak. I request the Central government to resolve this issue as soon as possible, Sarma told the media. Advertisement He said that recently, the Tripura Police have arrested a large number of Rohingyas. Last year, the Assam Police also busted a Rohingya infiltration network a matter which was also investigated by the NIA. Sarma said that the Centre should take up the issue of Rohingyas with the West Bengal government in an urgent manner. Demographic changes in several states in eastern and northern India are happening which would come as shocking news once a census is conducted. Due to the appeasement policies, we are not able to control it and Indian states are suffering the entire country is suffering. The incumbent West Bengal government is very soft about infiltration despite demography changing in Bengal, Sarma said, adding that in the 2024 and 2019 voter lists, the change of demography is very visible. Due to our constant steps and close monitoring, Assam is no longer a safe haven for illegal immigrants. However, West Bengal and Jharkhand are silent on the issue, Sarma said. Suggesting steps similar to those taken by Tripura against the infiltration, the Assam Chief Minister said that if the infiltration does not stop now, the entire country would face a demographic invasion. Rohingyas are continuously coming to India through the India-Bangladesh border and many states are already suffering from the demographic invasion. Referring to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees recent statement that the state would provide shelter to those coming from Bangladesh, the Assam Chief Minister said that the neighbouring country has not even endorsed such a statement. Meanwhile, over the last two-and-a-half months, more than 155 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas have been apprehended by the Government Railway Police, Border Security Force and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India. Describing civil services as the steel frame of governance, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday commended the dedication and hard work of the personnel of the Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services in taking forward the ongoing works, including efforts to attain Aatmanirbharta, and contributing to the welfare of soldiers. You are an important link between the Armed Forces and the rest of the civilian government. There is a need to further strengthen your capabilities for enhanced efficiency, the defence minister said while addressing the 83rd AFHQ Civilian Services Day here. He called upon the personnel of the AFHQ Civilian Services to continue enhancing their skills in todays fast-changing times for efficient policy making and implementation and execution of reforms being undertaken in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Advertisement Singh added that the three Services form a large part of the functioning in MoD and the AFHQ cadre ensures that the possibility of group-think, which results in poor decision-making, is negated in policy formulation. Unprecedented reforms have been undertaken in MoD in the last five years, and there has been tremendous progress in several areas. Our achievements have been recognised globally. This has happened due to team work. The Armed Forces and Civil Services should work together from Command Headquarters and Service Headquarters to the Ministry for better output. By including AFHQ Civil Services officers in key roles in MoD, the quality of decision making will improve, he added. Singh urged the Department of Defence to explore the possibilities of better career progression for the personnel of AFHQ Civilian Services. As their capabilities increase, their career progression will improve, and these personnel will be able to provide better support to the Armed Forces, bolstering our defence system. Ensuring better career progression will also attract best candidates to the AFHQ Civil Service, he said. He exhorted the personnel to pay attention to the core values of honesty, discipline and uniformity. The defence minister was of the view that everyone deserves respect, irrespective of their position or rank, emphasising that ego must be shed and the personnel must work as a team. He called for learning from one another, which makes even hard work easy to accomplish. The devastating landslides that hit Wayanad on Tuesday early morning killed 283 people, while 240 people, including 29 children went missing,with the death toll seemingly rising as rescue and recovery efforts continue. The picturesque villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai, which were among the sought after destination of tourists, now resembled as graveyards with flattened houses, collapsed buildings, mangled vehicles, boulders, huge uprooted trees and mud. It is not yet clear how many people are trapped under the debris. Many people were also washed away for kilometres in the gushing mountain water. As the rescue operations reach its third day the entire people of Kerala folds their hands before the rescue and relief team, who are wading through knee-deep slush searching for life under mounds of debris, risking their own lives. Advertisement The rescue teams of the army, navy , NDRF, Fire force and coast guard carrying out a detailed search at three locations at Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. The rescue operators are facing with adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings for survivors or bodies. The rescue teams operations have been facing obstacles as Mundakkai, where one of the big landslides happened, has been cut off from the rest of the district after the only bridge to the area was swept away in the landslide. In such a situation, the army men formed human chains with ropes to safely evacuate residents fromMundakkai. In areas where the situation was even more precarious, people were ferried across a turbulent river on wooden platforms. Meanwhile, the army has completed the construction of a 190-m-long Bailey bridge over Chooralmala river by Thursday after noon, to connect Chooralmala to Mundakkai. A team from the Madras Engineer Group, also known as the Madras Sappers, were engaged in the construction This bridge will help to speed up the rescue operations. More machineries including excavators meant for the rescue operations could be moved through this bridge. The Army has established a Command and Control Centre in Kozhikode, led by Maj Gen Vinod Mathew, General Officer Commanding of the Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, and Brig Arjun Segan, to oversee Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. It was only after the arrival of the army that the process of rescue operations became more professional and got it accelerated and intensified. Around 500 soldiers are present in the landslide-hit areas in various sectors. Soldiers from the Defence Security Corps(DSC)Centre in Kannur,a medical team from the military hospital in Kannur and soldiers from the Kozhikode territorial army are present in the affected areas. In this connection,the heavy rains lashing at Mundakkai and Punchiri Mattam, the epicenter of the landslide, created a severe crisis for the rescue operations on Thursday after noon.The rescue workers have been called back due to the fear of landslides The mission will resume after favorable weather conditions. The Wayanad has been devastated by three landslides that occurred at Meppadi, Mundakkai and Chooralmala within a span of 4 hours. The first landslide occurred in Mundakkai town at around 1 am on Tuesday during heavy rain, washing away houses and families. While the rescue operations were ongoing, a second landslide struck near Chooralmala School at around 2 am.Then a third landslide occurred at around 4am. Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha villages were the areas hit and cut off by the landslides. Mundakkai town was completely swept away by the landslide. Most of the victims were asleep when the landslides struck between 1 am. and 4 am on Tuesday. Huge boulders and uprooted trees rushed down from Mundakkai to Chooralmala, causing severe damage. The heavy water surge from the hilltop altered the small Iruvazhinji river, flooding everything along its banks. Several houses were destroyed, a temple and a mosque were submerged, and a school building was severely damaged. Of the bodies recovered so far, some bodies have been found in the Chaliyar river, which flows into neighbouring Malappuram district.The river carried around 80 bodies, or rather parts of human bodies mutilated by the vengeful landslide, for around 25 km to Pothukallu near Nilambur in Malappuram district. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi reached Meppadi on Thursday after noon. Leaders including K C Venugopala and V D Satheesan have accompanied them. They visited the landslide hit Choorimala, relief camps in Meppadi Govt Higher Secondary School, St Joseph UP School and Dr Moopans Medical College, hospital in Meppadi. The non-governmental human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the United States government for allowing the use of solitary confinement in its prisons, and in particular in immigration detention centers, where detainees have been held in isolation for periods of time that the U.N. considers torture. The international organization not only called for an end to solitary confinement, but also to gradually abolish the process of detaining undocumented immigrants. Imposing solitary confinement is an extreme deprivation of rights that is disproportionate to any legitimate state interest in the immigration detention context, states HRW. The call comes the same month that detainees in two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in California, run by the GEO Group, began a labor and hunger strike to protest the living conditions they are subjected to while awaiting deportation. The detainees at Golden State Annex in McFarland, 130 miles from Los Angeles, and those at Mesa Verde in Bakersfield denounced the standards of medical care and food, their isolation due to the end of free phone calls and the use of solitary confinement. Relatives and former detainees had planned to protest this week outside ICE offices in San Francisco over the treatment they received in these detention centers. The hunger strike ended for health reasons, according to the California Collaborative for Immigrants Justice (CCIJ). Edwin Carmona Ruiz, from CCIJ, condemned the use of solitary confinement, arguing that private companies that manage prisons use solitary confinement to silence protests. HRW says that nationwide, prison authorities hold about 122,000 people in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more a day. Between 2018 and 2023, ICE has detained more than 14,000 migrants in solitary confinement. Thats according to a report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in collaboration with the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program (HIRC), based on government data obtained thanks to the Freedom of Information Act. These two organizations were able to confirm that the average time in solitary confinement in ICE facilities was 27 days, which exceeds the 15-day threshold that the U.N. experts consider a form of torture. Holding children or people with psychological disabilities in solitary confinement is also a form of torture, no matter how long it lasts. According to the PHR report, in several hundred cases, a detainee was held in solitary confinement for at least 90 days, and in 42 cases, it lasted more than a year. Many of these cases involved people with mental health problems, who are often subjected to this regime as a disciplinary measure for minor infractions or as reprisals for protests regarding their treatment in detention. The treatment of people in immigration detention facilities and the excessive, punitive use of solitary confinement is not only contrary to ICEs own policies and guidance but also violates U.S. constitutional law and international human rights law, PHE states in the reports conclusions on what they describe as a degrading form of treatment. The Human Rights Watch call also warns that the use of solitary confinement disproportionally affects Black immigrants, especially Caribbean and African immigrants, and aggravates the effects of traumatic experiences. Segregation the term used by ICE worsens mental health and increases the risk of suicide. The NGO also calls for immigration detention to be used as a last resort, and recalls that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has long called for an end to the detention of people who are in deportation proceedings. The United States has had Alternative to Detention (ATD) programs since 2004 that allow non-citizens to remain in their communities, continue to attend to family obligations and prepare for immigration proceedings. According to data from Syracuse University, ICE has 37,004 people in detention facilities as of July 2024 and 177,670 families and individuals in ATD and monitoring programs. The data from Syracuse University found that from the beginning of the Biden administration until the end of 2022, 377,980 people have been under this type of monitoring and ATD regime. Since the beginning of 2023, these numbers began to fall and are now at one of their lowest point since January 2022, a drop that coincides with the US. governments recent decisions to limit asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Indias decision to maintain stringent restrictions on Chinese investments, despite some high-level support for easing these measures, underscores the delicate balance between economic interests and national security concerns. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyals reaffirmation that there is no rethinking on this issue, despite suggestions to the contrary from government officials, highlights the complexities at play. The 2020 border clashes in the Himalayas significantly strained India-China relations. These events led to heightened scrutiny and tighter regulations on Chinese investments in India. While these measures were necessary from a national security standpoint, they also had economic repercussions, given Chinas significant role in global trade and investment flows. Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswarans suggestion that India should welcome more Chinese investments to boost exports and address the growing trade deficit with China presents one side of an economic argument. Allowing targeted Chinese investments, particularly in sectors that can enhance Indias manufacturing capabilities and export potential, could indeed provide a much-needed boost to the economy. The logic is straightforward: by attracting foreign capital and technology, India can enhance its industrial base, create jobs, and increase its competitiveness in global markets. However, Mr Goyals firm stance against easing restrictions reflects a broader and more cautious approach. The primary concern is that opening up to Chinese investments, even in non-sensitive sectors like solar panels and battery manufacturing, could still pose risks to national security and critical infrastructure. The experience of other countries has shown that economic dependence can be exploited for strategic leverage, especially by the Chinese, and India is wary of such vulnerabilities. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamans support for easing restrictions, particularly in non-sensitive sectors, indicates recognition of the potential economic benefits of Chinese investment. The focus on areas like solar energy and battery manufacturing aligns with Indias broader strategic goals of advancing renewable energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. These sectors are not only crucial for sustainable development but also for enhancing energy security. Therefore, targeted Chinese investments could play a positive role, without compromising national security, it is hoped. The challenge lies in striking a balance that safeguards national interests while also leveraging economic opportunities. Advertisement A nuanced approach could involve stringent regulatory frameworks that allow for selective investments, ensuring thorough vetting of Chinese companies and their potential impact on national security. Enhanced transparency and stronger oversight mechanisms could mitigate risks while fostering a conducive environment for beneficial foreign investments. Moreover, India could also explore strengthening partnerships with other countries to diversify its sources of foreign investment. By building robust economic relationships with a broader range of international partners, India can reduce its reliance on any single country, thereby enhancing its strategic autonomy and economic resilience. Moving forward, a balanced and nuanced strategy that incorporates stringent regulatory measures, selective investments, and diversified international partnerships could enable India to navigate these complex dynamics effectively. This approach would not only safeguard national interests but also support long-term economic growth and development India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, making water-sharing a critical and complex issue, as both countries rely heavily on these waters. The complexity is enhanced by the fact that water is a state subject in India, meaning states through which these rivers flow are key stakeholders. Although the Union government handles foreign policy and international rivers, it must consider the interests of these states, which can be affected by international treaties. As India and Bangladesh aim for a shared vision of the future, finding a solution to these water-sharing issues becomes imperative. Despite sharing 54 rivers, India and Bangladesh have only reached water-sharing agreements for the Ganges and Kushiara rivers. The 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, also known as the Farakka Agreement, regulates the water sharing of the Ganges River between the two countries and is set to expire in 2026. This treaty has been crucial in managing the water flow between India and Bangladesh through the Farakka Barrage, affecting both upper riparian India and lower riparian Bangladesh. The Farakka Barrage has become contentious, with states like West Bengal and Bihar blaming it for erosion, siltation, and floods in their regions. These concerns have influenced their stance on the treaty renewal. While both India and Bangladesh wish to renew the treaty and a technical committee is examining the issue, opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee remains strong. Bihar has also opposed the Farakka Barrage in the past, citing siltation and erosion. Bihars Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, argues that the harm caused by the Farakka Barrage now outweigh its benefits. While the concerns of these states may have merit, disturbing the Ganges Treaty could exacerbate watersharing tensions between India and Bangladesh. Issues of siltation and erosion might be better addressed through river dredging. Among the shared rivers, the Teesta garners the most attention. Advertisement However, an agreement on its water sharing has been elusive due to its importance to both countries. In India, the Teesta flows through Sikkim and West Bengal. Sikkim has seen the development of hydro-electric projects, while West Bengal has implemented new irrigation projects. These developments have changed water consumption patterns. For West Bengal, the Teesta is crucial for irrigation, while Bangladesh relies on it for irrigation in its northern part, a key food production area. Bangladesh claims that most of the 111,000 hectares of irrigable land in the Teesta basin cannot be cultivated during the dry season. Securing the cooperation of West Bengal regarding the Teesta remains challenging. An interim agreement was nearly signed in 2011 during Manmohan Singhs visit to Bangladesh, but Mamata Banerjee withdrew from the delegation at the last moment. Since then, her stance on the issue has only hardened. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has attempted to break the deadlock over Teesta water sharing by involving China. In July 2020, the Ministry of Water Resources of Bangladesh requested a $983 million loan from China to implement a project on Teesta river, as stated in a letter to Bangladeshs Economic Relations Division. The Bangladesh government will cover 15 per cent of the total project cost, approximately $130 million. The project includes dredging the river for navigability, constructing strong embankments, developing townships and industries on both sides of the river, and creating a water reservoir and irrigation systems. This project known as the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) has faced criticism from Bangladeshi environmentalists. A demonstration by a Chinese company revealed that the project involves reducing the rivers width and increasing its depth through dredging, and building embankments on both sides. The project also plans to recover 170 square kilometers of land on both sides of the river by using dredged soil, and to construct housing and industrial parks on the reclaimed land. Currently, the maximum width of the Teesta River is 5.1 kilometers, with an average width of 3.1 kilometers. Under the TRCMRP, this width will be reduced to between 0.7 and 1 kilometer, which could severely impact the rivers velocity and water carrying capacity. India has expressed concerns about the Teesta River project due to its implementation by Chinese entities. Large-scale projects awarded to China are typically executed by staterun firms, raising fears that critical information, such as water flow data, could be accessed by the Chinese side. Additionally, the projects location in Bangladesh would enable Chinese personnel to establish a presence near the Siliguri Corridor, or the chickens neck the narrow strip of land that connects the rest of India with its strategic north-eastern region. To address these concerns, India has shown interest in implementing its own project on the Teesta. An agreement in this regard was reached during the recent visit of Sheikh Hasina to Delhi. A technical team will study the project. Sheikh Hasina expressed a preference for India to implement the project, given that the Teesta flows from India into Bangladesh. She also stated that if Bangladesh is to receive water from the Teesta, then India should be responsible for implementing the project. This marks a shift from water sharing to water conservation and management of the Teesta river within Bangladesh. There are plans to build reservoirs in Bangladesh to manage Teesta water, with India committing to send a technical team to assist in this effort. The new focus will be on water flow management rather than water sharing. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Bangladesh has also stated that it seeks an early conclusion to a watersharing deal on the Teesta. It seems both sides now clearly recognize the difficulty in achieving a water-sharing agreement on the Teesta in the near future. However, to improve the situation for Bangladesh and to work towards a shared destiny, both sides have decided to implement the Teesta project. This could be a good interim arrangement, as the earlier planned interim agreement on the Teesta could not be signed. While water-sharing between India and Bangladesh is fraught with challenges, addressing these issues with sensitivity to state interests and exploring technical solutions like dredging and building reservoirs could pave the way for more sustainable and cooperative management of shared water resources. (The writer is Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.) The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with private lender IDBI Bank to launch the IDBI-IITM Secure Systems Lab (I22SSL), a cybersecurity laboratory, here on Wednesday. The cybersecurity laboratory will develop and deploy security solutions in crucial sectors such as healthcare, fintech and aerospace among others, IIT Madras said. The lab will focus on creating market-ready intellectual properties (IP) in cybersecurity, productisation and commercialisation of research work, especially for mobile technologies, IIT Madras added. Advertisement The lab was inaugurated at the IIT Madras campus on Tuesday by Rakesh Sharma, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IDBI Bank in the presence of Prof V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras and other officials. With the rapid growth of Internet connectivity and automation, many critical sectors such as Banking, Finance and Insurance, Transportation, Government, Power and Energy, Telecom, and Strategic and Public Enterprises, depend considerably on Information and Communication Technologies. This has led to an explosion of cyber-attacks on these infrastructures by hackers. The lab would focus on cybersecurity in systems deployed in industries such as banking, automotive, power and telecommunications, among others, and undertake experimental evaluation and assessment exercises. The researchers would also develop test cases for testing, carry out vulnerability research, and help devise hardening guidelines. It would help Enterprise Systems in managing cybersecurity risks in real-time, IIT Madras said. This initiative is a testament to IDBI Banks commitment to proactively combating cyber threats and ensuring the security of data and information. We are optimistic that through such initiatives, we can together enhance our ability to anticipate, identify, and neutralize potential threats building a more secure environment for all, Sharma said. The finance sector, being a critical information infrastructure that forms the foundation of the economy of our country is facing increasing number of cybersecurity challenges on a day-to-day basis. It is very important to continuously keep studying the threat landscape and come out with effective proactive protection mechanisms. This joint effort between IIT Madras and IDBI is very timely and we aspire to comprehensively address the security challenge, Kamakoti said. The I2SSL, IIT Madras, plans to ingeniously design systems for critical applications such as hardware firewalls, point-of-sale devices, and mobile banking. Security would be achieved using memory safe languages, tagged architectures that provide fine grained access control, memory encryption, and an indigenously developed Trusted Platform Module (TPM). According to IIT Madras, in the area of cryptography, researchers will work towards developing hardware accelerators for crypto-primitives including symmetric and asymmetric-key cryptography as well as post-quantum cryptography. Calling the twin strikes by Israel killing senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah during a 24-hour period a dangerous escalation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an international diplomatic push to prevent a broader regional conflict. The international community must work together to urgently prevent any actions that could push the entire Middle East over the edge, with a devastating impact on civilians, the UN chiefs Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an audacious strike inside Iran on Wednesday during his visit for the swearing-in of newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to Hamas. Advertisement A short while earlier, Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an air strike in Beirut. The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Tehran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages, a massive increase of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and a return to calm in Lebanon and across the Blue Line that separates Lebanon from Israel, Dujarric said. While Guterres has been calling for maximum restraint, it alone is not enough at this extremely sensitive time and he urges all to vigorously work towards regional de-escalation, the spokesperson added. Irans UN Mission warned of an escalation, saying in an X post: The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations harder and intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator. While Israel military confirmed it had taken out Shukr, Israel was silent on the killing of Haniyeh, a serious setback to ceasefire efforts in Gaza because the Qatar-based leader was a key negotiator with Israel for a ceasefire and the return of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack. KYODO NEWS - Aug 1, 2024 - 22:40 | All, World, Japan Japan has requested the extradition of the founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, who was arrested in Greenland last month, the Danish government said Thursday. Paul Watson had been placed on an Interpol wanted list at Japan's request on suspicion of forcibly obstructing the country's so-called research whaling. Provided there are no grounds to reject the request, the Danish Justice Ministry said, Greenland police will investigate whether to proceed with the extradition, with the ministry making the final decision. Watson, 73, was detained on July 21 as his boat docked in Nuuk in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, to refuel while en route to intercept Japan's Kangei Maru whaling ship in the North Pacific. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation has urged the Danish government to release him, claiming the International Criminal Police Organization's "red notice" for his arrest was "politically motivated." Many Western countries are against whaling, with French President Emmanuel Macron voicing opposition to Watson's extradition. A French online petition demanding his release has garnered around 670,000 signatures, according to media reports. Watson, who is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, was a member of the environmental protection group Greenpeace but left it and founded Sea Shepherd in 1977. He also split from Sea Shepherd in 2022. Related coverage: Japan plans to add another whale species to commercial hunting list U.S. drops anti-whaling wording opposed by Japan in Indo-Pacific pact Shillong - The Vascular Society of India was started on August 6th, 1994. Every year on this occasion, Vascular Surgeons celebrate this day in the form of creating awareness of the importance of vascular health. Vascular surgeons treat disorders related to blood vessels in the whole body, except those of the heart and brain. These disorders include peripheral arterial disease, aneurysm, carotid artery stenosis, complicated arterio-venous fistulas, and arterio-venous malformation. Patients at risk of most of these disorders include those who are elderly, diabetics, hypertensives, smokers, and chronic kidney disease. Creating awareness to the public that these conditions are risk factors for vascular diseases is our aim. Educating them as well on how these diseases can aggravate vascular disease and how to prevent them will ensure that the awareness created is meaningful. One of the endeavors of the Vascular Society of India is to create an Amputation-free India and an Amputation Free World. With the motto of Save a limb, Save a life, we as Vascular surgeons wish to create awareness of all the causes and aggravating factors that can lead to amputation. India is the Diabetic Capital of the world and up to 80% of amputation of diabetic patients is preventable. In India, every year ~1lakh population with diabetes lose their limb to amputation. Every 20 seconds, a diabetic loses a limb. The numbers are staggering when the disease itself is preventable and manageable. Smokers as young as 18 years of age have lost their limbs to amputation. The worst part of losing a limb at such a young age is the tragic burden that they have to carry for the rest of their lives, and affecting the future of the family as well. Amputation can be prevented by controlling the risk factors of peripheral vascular disease smoking, diabetes, and hypertension. If patients with PVD symptoms are detected early on, they can be given medical management. With further progress of the disease, investigations and interventions are indicated. If not managed at the right time, patients with peripheral vascular disease will develop non-healing wounds or ulcers, followed by gangrene of the leg, which may then require an amputation. Vascular surgeons stand between patients and amputation, but the sad reality is that most patients reach us at a very late stage when nothing more can be offered. We hope that through this awareness program, people and patients become more self-conscious of their vascular health and approach vascular surgeons at the right time. Shillong is one of the cities participating in this event and a 5km run will be held here on the 3rd August 2024, starting from MFA grounds in Polo, at 6AM. Let's work towards better Vascular Health and a Brighter, Healthier Future. Every step brings us closer! REGISTER NOW and be part of this movement. We look forward to seeing you there! Join Now: https://bit.ly/vsi-walkthon Let's walk to achieve the goal of achieving an Amputation Free India and an Amputation Free World. By Dr Neelamjingbha Sun, Assistant Professor, NEIGRHIMS, Shillong, Meghalaya New Delhi (India), July 30: Raksha Bandhan, the festival celebrating the unique bond between brothers and sisters, is a time to show your love and appreciation. While tying a rakhi around your brother's wrist is a cherished tradition, giving a thoughtful gift to your sister is just as important. A well-chosen gift can express your affection and make your sister feel special. In this press release, we will guide you through finding the perfect Rakhi gifts for sister, ensuring she knows just how much she means to you. The Importance of Giving Gifts to Your Sister Gifts are a way to express your emotions and strengthen the bond with your sister. They are tokens of love, appreciation, and the special connection you share. Whether it's a small, heartfelt gift or an elaborate present, the thought and effort you put into selecting it make all the difference. A well-chosen gift can create lasting memories and show your sister how much you care. Rakhi Gifts for Sister Rakhi Gift Hampers for Sisters Rakhi gift hampers are an excellent choice for sisters who enjoy a variety of treats. These hampers can be filled with sweets, chocolates, skincare products, or even gourmet snacks. They are a great way to spoil your sister with multiple surprises in one package. Some popular options include: The Ultimate Pamper Hamper: A selection of skincare products, gourmet chocolates, and a stylish rakhi. The Sweet Tooth Hamper: Packed with her favorite candies, chocolates, and a beautiful rakhi. Personalized Gift Boxes Personalized gift boxes add a special touch to your Rakhi gifts. Customizing items with your sister's name, initials, or a heartfelt message shows that you put extra thought into her present. These boxes can include personalized mugs, keychains, photo frames, and more. Customized Memories Box : Features a personalized photo frame, a custom mug, and a lovely rakhi. Engraved Keepsakes Box: Includes an engraved pen, a personalized notebook, and an elegant rakhi. Gift Boxes for Kids If your sister is still a child, there are plenty of Rakhi gift boxes tailored for younger girls. These boxes often contain toys, snacks, and fun activities to keep them entertained. Adventure Kid Box: Filled with dolls, puzzles, and a princess-themed rakhi. Creative Kid Box: Includes coloring books, crayons, and a colorful rakhi. Unique Gifts for Sister For sisters who have everything, finding a unique gift can be challenging but rewarding. Think outside the box with gifts that cater to her hobbies or interests. Gadget Lovers Delight: A cool gadget like a Bluetooth speaker, along with a tech-themed rakhi. Fitness Enthusiast Set: Gym accessories like a water bottle, resistance bands, and a sporty rakhi. Choose Confetti Gifts to Make this Rakhi Memorable Raksha Bandhan is a perfect occasion to show your sister how much she means to you. Selecting the right Rakhi gift can make this celebration even more memorable. Whether it's a thoughtfully curated gift hamper, a personalized box, or a unique item that reflects her personality, your gift will undoubtedly make her feel loved and appreciated. At Confetti Gifts, we offer the best gifts for sister on Rakhi, ensuring high quality and a touch of personalization. Explore our wide range of rakhi gift hampers for sisters, personalized gift boxes, and unique gifts for sister to find the perfect present that celebrates your special bond. Make this Raksha Bandhan unforgettable with Confetti Gifts. Tata Motors (TML) will demerge its commercial vehicle business into a separate listed entity, with the shareholders of the company set to receive one share of the new Tata Motors CV business for every one share held in Tata Motors, under a composite scheme of arrangement approved by the board of directors on Thursday. Tata Motors is the largest truck and bus maker in the country. Over the last few years, it has also emerged as the largest electric passenger vehicle company, while also strengthening its market share in the ICE (internal combustion engine) passenger vehicle space. To capitalise on their individual strengths and opportunities, the company's board had in March approved plans to demerge Tata Motors into two separate listed entities. This would help them better capitalise on the opportunities in the market by enhancing their focus and agility, chairman N. Chandrasekaran had said. It would lead to a superior experience for customers, better growth prospects for its employees and enhanced value for shareholders, he had added. As a part of the scheme, the truck and business business will now be demerged into a separate company, with TML shareholders getting an identical shareholding (1:1) in both the listed entities. Once the scheme is effective, the two businesses will also be renamed, resulting in two separate listed entities. The passenger vehicle business, electric vehicle business, Jaguar Land Rover and their related investments will be under Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (TMPV) and the resulting company carrying on the CV business will be Tata Motors Limited. "These actions would further empower the respective business groups to pursue their differentiated strategies with greater agility while reinforcing accountability and will enhance shareholder value," it said. The scheme will not have any adverse impact on employees, customers, creditors and other business partners, TML added. The company on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,566 crore, up 74 per cent from a year ago profit of Rs 3,203 crore. Revenue, on the other hand, was at Rs 1.08 lakh crore, compared with Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the year ago quarter. Tata Motors has seen some slowdown in the domestic passenger vehicle business, with PV sales declining 1.1 per cent and EV volumes falling near 14 per cent. According to Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors PV, retails had slowed in the first quarter due to intense heat waves across the country and the general elections and the company had proactively adjusted its wholesales in line with retails to keep channel inventories under control. EV sales were impacted largely due to a "sharp" decline in fleet demand post the end of the Fame II subsidies, which had provided incentives for EV purchases. The fleet segment accounts for almost 20 per cent of EV volumes. P. Balaji, the CFO of Tata Motors said some amount of moderation in PV sales was expected after two strong years. He is hopeful of PV sales rebounding through the rest of the year aided by new product launches and the festive season. Tata Motors will launch the much anticipated Curvv, its first coupe SUV next week. The EV version of the Curvv will be launched first, followed by the ICE (internal combustion engine) version. Balaji also hoped the incentives for EVs would come back, which would help sales regrow. Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2019 shows a Chinese white dolphin bursting through the surface in Sanniang bay in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo by Zhao Yi/Xinhua) NANNING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- In Qinzhou, an important port city connecting south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and ASEAN countries, the port construction process had not been very smooth despite its favorable geographical location, only because of dolphins. In 2005, the planning for Qinzhou Port was adjusted westward to move the port area further away from the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins, even though that significantly increased the cost of port construction. Four years later, a new road was built that only served to separate the port's industrial zone and the conservation area of the dolphins. Besides, a project with an investment of 3.8 billion yuan (about 532.6 million U.S. dollars) near Sanniang Bay in Qinzhou was also halted to prioritize the conservation of the dolphins. An endangered species under first-class national protection in China, the Chinese white dolphin was included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2008. Sanniang Bay, located along the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, is dubbed the "hometown of Chinese white dolphins." Pan Yue, a researcher at the Chinese white dolphin conservation center located at Sanniang Bay, was ready to drive a mini speedboat out to sea early before the sun rose above the sea horizon. "The time before the sunrise and after the sunset is best for going out to sea to observe the Chinese white dolphins. We spent about 180 days a year on the sea for observation, so that we can accurately know the habits of the species," Pan said. In 2004, a scientific research team from Peking University established the center for the conservation of Chinese white dolphins in the Sanniang Bay Village. The team's research findings indicate that the population of Chinese white dolphins living in Sanniang Bay sees new dolphin cubs every year, suggesting a high reproductive potential. "There were only about 96 Chinese white dolphins in the area in 2004, but thankfully, the number has grown to nearly 300 now," Pan said, adding that the awareness of dolphin protection has also significantly increased among the locals. Bryde's whales, another national first-class protected aquatic animal mainly living in tropical and subtropical waters, are now frequently spotted preying on fish in the waters near Weizhou Island in the Beibu Gulf. Chen Mo, an associate researcher from the Guangxi Academy of Sciences, has been studying the species in the area since 2016. "We identified only about 10 individuals in the population of Bryde's whales from 2016 to 2018. Now, the number has exceeded 60 and continues to grow," Chen said. To maintain clean waters and preserve the island's ecological environment, the municipal government of Beihai City in Guangxi issued a regulation in July 2018, explicitly prohibiting the use of disposable food containers, non-degradable plastic bags, and plastic films on Weizhou Island. "The Beibu Gulf boasts various endangered animals and plants and diverse marine ecosystems. Due to its natural conditions and less disturbance caused by coastal economic activities, the biodiversity in the region is being well-preserved," said Guan Jieyao, director of the laboratory of Guangxi Beibu Gulf marine biodiversity conservation under Beibu Gulf University. Ning Yun, deputy director and chief engineer of Guangxi's department of ecology and environment, said that the marine ecological environment in Guangxi was continuously improving in 2023. "We will continue to monitor the status of typical marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, and further expand the survey of important marine indicator species such as Chinese white dolphins and Bryde's whales, and of fishery biodiversity," Ning said. Mollywood actor Fahadh Faasil and his partner Nazriya Nazim made a contribution of Rs 25 lakh to Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the victims of landslides in Wayanad of Kerala. As many as 288 people have been killed in the massive landslides that hit the district two days ago. The number is expected to go up as the rescue teams remove debris. Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim join fellow actors Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Rashmika Mandanna, Vikram and Suriya in making contribution to the relief fund. We write to you with a heavy heart for the people of Wayanad. The ongoing efforts of our government alongside volunteers, rescue teams and organizations involved in providing aid and support to the affected communities have been commendable. The dedication and resilience of our people have been truly inspiring and we feel compelled to extend our support during this challenging time, Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim wrote in a statement. To aid in the relief and rehabilitation efforts, we are making a donation of Rs 25,00,000/- (Twenty- Five Lakhs Only) to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. We hope this modest contribution will help provide necessary assistance to those in dire need. Our thoughts and prayers are with our people as we navigate through this difficult period. Together, may we endure and overcome. The contribution was made through the production company Fahadh Faasil And Friends. The closing show of India Couture Week (ICW) 2024 was all about paying homage to Indias rich textile heritage and artisanal craftsmanship. Actors Rashmika Mandanna and Vicky Kaushal, dressed in shades of white with gold embellishments, made an enigmatic pair as they turned showstoppers for the Falguni & Shane Peacock show. Celebrating Indian craftsmanship, models walked as a medley of Indian songs played in the background, including A.R. Rahmans Ye Jo Des Hai Tera. The designer duo marked their 20-year anniversary with the grand finale of FDCI's Hyundai ICW 2024 in association with Reliance Brands with the unveiling of their latest collection 'Rang Mahal', along with a showcase of jewellery brand Tanishqs collection. The Rang Mahal collection was presented in collaboration with Swadesh, a brand that champions India's textile heritage and craftsmanship. The collaboration has brought out a unique capsule displaying a range of sarees that feature textile-led crafts such as Kanjivaram silks, renowned for their luxurious texture and intricate motifs, woven with real gold and silver zari threads, along with a FSP monogram woven into the saree and dupatta borders. The capsule also includes Banarasi brocade lehengas and Chikankari, seamlessly combined with Falguni Shane Peacock's signature flourishes. This also marks the first time that the designers have worked with Indian weaves and textiles, celebrating indigenous weavers. "Rang Mahal is more than just a collection; it is a homage to the artisans, the storytellers, and the custodians of our cultural legacy. Our collaboration with Swadesh brings forth the finest handwoven textiles, celebrating India's rich artisanal heritage. As each model graces the runway, they carry with them the spirit of India's past and the promise of its future, wrapped in the splendor of our cultural history, preserved and celebrated through fashion, says Falguni Shane Peacock. The haute couture collection by FSP has been inspired by the regal and dreamy aspects of India's royal heritage. Rang Mahal or "Palace of Colours," draws from fifty iconic elements of India's rich history: grand palaces, lavish lifestyles, and exquisite craftsmanship. Luxurious silks, rich velvets, and intricate embroideries evoke the splendour of royal courts. Each piece is a tribute to the timeless elegance and sophistication of India's royal heritage, crafted by master artisans who carry the legacy of their ancestors. This collection celebrates the rich diversity and vivid hues defining our culture and tradition, drawing inspiration from India's majestic symbols: resplendent parrots and peacocks, serene swans, powerful horses and elephants, magnificent tigers, mystical palaces, traditional diyas, the melodious sitar, the sacred banyan tree and peepal leaf, expressive mudras, fragrant roses, the spiritual conch, revered cows, intricate paisleys and Kashmiri thread work, the unparalleled Taj Mahal, and sparkling diamonds. In light of the Wayanad landslide that claimed over 250 lives, Popular movie actors Vikram and Rashmika Mandanna made donations to the Kerala Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF). Rashmika Mandanna made a contribution of Rs 10 lakh to the CMDRF while Tamil superstar Vikram contributed Rs 20 lakh. "Pained by the sad news of the devastation caused by the recent landslide in Kerala's #Wayanad district that left over 150 people dead, 197 injured and several others missing, Actor @chiyaan today donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund," Vikram's publicist Yuvraaj said on X. Pained by the sad news of the devastation caused by the recent landslide in Kerala's #Wayanad district that left over 150 people dead, 197 injured and several others missing, Actor @chiyaan today donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. pic.twitter.com/mxb7O7YSSN Yuvraaj (@proyuvraaj) July 31, 2024 Earlier, Tamil actors Suriya, Karthi and Jyothika had together made a contribution of Rs 50 lakhs. "#WayanadLandslide my thoughts and prayers with the families.. Heartbreaking..! Respects to all members of Government agencies and people on the field helping the families with rescue operations," Suriya had tweeted. .#WayanadLandslide my thoughts and prayers with the families.. Heartbreaking..! Respects to all members of Government agencies and people on the field helping the families with rescue operations Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) July 31, 2024 Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets of Wayanad in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 280 people, including women and children, so far. Rahul, Priyanka visit Wayanad Congress leader and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the landslide-affected area of Chooralmala on Thursday afternoon. After reaching the spot amidst the rain, Gandhi and his sister left for the Community Health Centre in Meppadi, party sources said. From there, the two will then proceed to Dr Moopen's Medical College and two relief camps at Meppadi, they said. AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal is also accompanying them. ALSO READ | 'Wayanad landslide a man-made disaster': BJP MP Tejasvi Surya Rahul Gandhi, who won from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, had again won from here this year. However, as he also won from the Raebareli LS seat in Uttar Pradesh, he gave up the Wayanad constituency from where Priyanka is expected to contest when a by-election is held. Rahul and Priyanka landed at Kannur airport at 9.30 am and then travelled to Wayanad by road. In a shocking incident in northern Bihar's Supaul district, a nursery boy shot a senior student with a handgun that he reportedly brought from school. A class 3 student aged 10 was shot in the arm and was rushed to the hospital. The owner of the institution was arrested by the police following the incident, local media reports said. According to Bihar Police, the nursery child brought the gun to school in the Lalpatti area hidden in his bag. The family of the injured kin said that they saw the gun's magazine on the scene where their son was shot. The family told the media that the school authorities informed them that the boy had suffered a small injury. It was when they arrived they understood that the child had suffered a bullet injury. The boy had targeted their son's chest region but hit his arm in the process, they reportedly alleged. Later, the school was attacked by angry locals who vandalised the principal's office and several classrooms, LiveHindustan said in a report. The Hindi media said the nursery student strayed into the victim and pulled the trigger. The boy and his father are absconding with the firearm, it added. The police are in the process of finding out how the boy managed to bring the weapon to school. To avoid such situations in future, the police asked schools across Supaul to be vigilant about student backpacks. Parents should also keep an eye on their wards to avoid such situations, they added. A Border Security Force (BSF) personnel fired at international intruders in West Bengal's Nadia district after she was assaulted on Wednesday. The constable was attacked by around 14 infiltrators before a second BSF jawan reached the spot. According to a statement released by BSF, a woman constable on duty at the Indo-Bangla border noticed several people approaching the border fence in the Ranaghat area in the early hours of Wednesday. As they tried to enter India from the Bangladesh side, she rushed towards them and stood in their way. Armed with knives and swords, they tried to intimidate the constable as she issued them a verbal warning. As the BSF constable remained unbudged, the intruders surrounded and attacked her. A second BSF jawan reached the spot and tried to disperse the infiltrators using a stun grenade. But they were unmoved by the explosion, forcing the woman officer to draw her weapon. "...fellow jawan also reached the spot and threw a stun grenade towards the intruders, which failed to deter them. To stop illegal crossing and in self-defence, the constable fired one round towards the intruders," the BSF statement said. The paramilitary force said it is likely that an attacker was attacked in the firing. Since it was before dawn, the group used the darkness for cover and scrammed back to the Bangladeshi side of the border. In another development, an infiltration bid from the Pakistani side was foiled by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Jammu and Kashmir late Wednesday when an intruder was shot dead, officials said on Thursday. The intrusion attempt happened along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district. The vigilant BSF troops near the Khora post late Wednesday noticed the infiltrator trying to make it to the Indian side. The intruder paid no heed to the warnings from BSF personnel and was subsequently fired upon, news agency PTI quoted the official statement as saying. The tenuous peace in Manipur faces an imminent challenge from the protests being planned by the Kuki-Zo community against the purported move of the Centre to bring CRPF into the hill districts of Bishnupur-Churachandpur replacing two battalions of Assam Rifles for law and order duties. The move is being seen by the Kuki-Zo community as a deliberate attempt to remove the Assam Rifles whom they feel has played a neutral role during the ethnic violence witnessed in Manipur in the last one year. Intelligence reports suggest the Kuki-Zo groups are planning to protest during the transition phase when the CRPF moves in to replace the Assam Rifles. The process will take some time, security sources said. On Thursday, a meeting was held at the group centre of CRPF in neighbouring Assam between representatives of the Assam Rifles and members of different communities who agreed to take measures to ensure peace is maintained during the transition period by ensuring there are no incidents of arson and firing and all stakeholders cooperate with security forces. The security rejig in Manipur reflects a re-assessment of the role of central forces deployed in the tiny northeastern state like the Army, Assam Rifles, Manipur police and central paramilitary forces resulting in not only multiplicity of forces, but also confusion over the role of central forces. The Assam Rifles, popularly known as Sentinels of the Northeast, has been a border guarding force along the Indo-Myanmar border deployed in counter insurgency operations and to assist in maintaining peace in the region. Its contribution in counter insurgency operations in Northeast has been significant as the region has witnessed a sharp decline in threats from insurgent groups over the years. On the other hand, the CRPF is a central armed police force deployed in law and order duties to assist state governments in maintaining internal security in different parts of the country. Security sources told THE WEEK that the expansion of duties of the CRPF in hill districts will be for law and order duties as the existing security challenges are predominantly an outcome of ethnic clashes last year, rather than an insurgency problem. There is a reassessment whether AR needs to remain deployed in active law and order duties within the state, said a state official. The message is two pronged. It reflects an attempt being made by the Centre to treat the simmering tensions in Manipur as a law and order problem. Rather, the CRPF personnel, coming from other locations, would also convey a message of neutrality, said the official. But it is an uphill task. There is simmering suspicion as some of the Kuki-Zo groups, especially women groups in the Hill districts, who are planning to stage protest, believe that the CRPF does not have the local knowledge and expertise to handle the sensitivities of the people in the districts. A press statement issued by Zomi Mothers Association, Kuki Women Union, MPC Womens Wing and others urged the Centre to reconsider its decision in the interest of peace and stability in Churachandpur. The statement said, If the government remains adamant in its decision to remove nine Assam Rifles Battalions from their present place of posting, we want to make it unequivocally clear that the Civil Society Organisations and the people of Churachandpur will not remain mute spectators. We are prepared to mobilise and undertake all necessary measures to ensure that our voices are heard and that justice prevails, it said. The security brass is watching the developments closely and is on its feet to prevent a law and order fallout that can disrupt peace in the state once again. Almost a dozen Assam Rifles battalions have been deployed in Manipur over the years, said a senior security official, and it is the prerogative of the union home ministry to revise the deployment of forces as per requirements and threat assessments across the country. Sources said the Union home ministry is toying with the idea of deploying more boots on ground in Jammu where security challenges are mounting during the ongoing counter terror operations. The process of CRPF deployment may take weeks or months, but the lessons of the past one year has shown the need to overcome a trust deficit in Manipur. Whether it is the CRPF or the Assam Rifles, the challenge for the home ministry in coming days will be to maintain peace as it makes a fresh attempt to revise the role of central forces deployed in the complex security landscape of Manipur. The ministry of home affairs has increased the amount of money that the director generals of paramilitary forces and other intelligence agencies can offer to informers and interpreters in operational areas. The revised order from the ministry is applicable to director generals of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), Assam Riffles, the National Security Guards (NSG), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the National Police Academy (NPA). The limit, which was Rs. 50 at a time and Rs 500 annually, has been hiked to Rs. 3,000 at a time per person. The overall amount has been increased to Rs 30,000 per annum. Besides, the government has also revised the fund for the maintenance of Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals. The amount has been hiked from Rs. 15 per head per day to 51.43 per head per day, according to an ANI report. This amount includes money for three mealsbreakfast, lunch and dinner. There has also been an increase in the amount to be spent on visitors from India or abroad who have been contacted by security agencies for discussions on important matters. The amount has been Rs 2,000 to Rs. 50,000 per annum. Another infiltration bid from the Pakistani side was foiled by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Jammu and Kashmir late Wednesday when an intruder was shot dead, officials said on Thursday. The intrusion attempt happened along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district. The vigilant BSF troops near the Khora post late Wednesday noticed the infiltrator trying to make it to the Indian side. The intruder paid no heed to the warnings from BSF personnel and was subsequently fired upon, news agency PTI quoted the official statement as saying. Senior BSF and police officials have reached the area of incident and efforts are on to retrieve the body. A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of former trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar whose candidature was cancelled following allegations of 'misrepresenting information' and misuse of power. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala directed the Delhi Police to investigate if Khedkar had got any help from anyone inside the Union Public Service Commission and if any other person had availed of benefits under OBC and PwD quotas without entitlement. During the hearing, the prosecution as well as the counsel appearing for the UPSC opposed Khedkars application, saying that she has "cheated the system". "This person has abused the law and process of law. The chances of her abusing the law is still there. She is a resourceful person," the UPSCs counsel told the court. The UPSC on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of Khedkar and also debarred her from all future examinations or selections for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the examination rules by faking her identity. "The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules," the commission had said. The Delhi Police Crime Branch has booked Pooja for misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam. A case under section 420 (cheating), 464 (making a document in the name of a fictitious person), 465 (forgery) and 471 (passing off a forged document as genuine) of IPC and under sections 89 and 91 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and 66D of the Information Technology Act has been registered against Khedkar. The Pune Police has already launched an investigation against Khedkar over the alleged unauthorised use of a red-blue beacon light and 'Maharashtra Government' sticker on her private Audi car. With rescue operations in the aftermath of Wayanad landslides resuming for the third day, search is on for 240 people who were reported missing. Six more deaths were reported on Thursday morning, taking the toll to 276 while over 200 were wounded. At least 8,302 people were accommodated across 82 relief camps. Autopsy was completed on 167 bodies. Of these, 96 were identified including 77 men, 67 women and 22 children, according to district authorities. The Army is setting up bailey bridges brought from Bengaluru and Delhi amid adverse weather conditions in the region. A Command and Control Centre has been set up in Kozhikode under the supervision of Maj Gen VT Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, along with Brig Arjun Segan to coordinate Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts. Nine districts were issued yellow alert and holidays were declared for schools in 10 districts. IMD expects the rain to lose intensity in central and northern Kerala on Thursday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair an all-party meeting during the day. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Thursday after postponing it due to adverse weather conditions on Wednesday. YANGON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police have seized 13,500 kg of controlled chemicals sodium cyanide in Shan state of eastern Myanmar, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, the country's anti-narcotics police raided a house in Nawnghkio township of Shan state on Monday and confiscated the chemicals stored in iron barrels that were buried in the yard. The seized drugs had a street value of 81 million kyats (about 38,571 U.S. dollars), the CCDAC said. Two suspects involved in the case have been charged under the related law and further investigation is underway, it said. Rescue operations in Wayanad has entered third day and till Wednesday, 1,000 persons including children have been rescued from landslide-affected areas by joint forces. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has reached Wayanad and he would review the rescue operations. He has also convened an all-party meeting to discuss rescue and relief measures. Revenue Minister K. Rajan said it is a crucial day for rescue operations and social workers have been deployed along with the armed forces for it. Over 1,600 personnel including social workers have been deployed for rescue operations. Chief minister will be visiting the affected areas later today. A review meeting of rescue operations has begun at Wayanad district collectorate. Chief Secretary K. Venu and State Police Chief Shaikh Darvesh Sahib are also accompanying the chief minister. #WATCH | Wayanad Landslide | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan travelling to Wayanad from Kozhikode. The chief secretary Dr V Venu and DGP, Shaik Darvesh Sahib are accompanying him (Source - CMO) pic.twitter.com/WKsuzK6eYc ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2024 The Army said the construction of bailey bridge would be completed by Thursday afternoon and heavy equipment could be moved for rescue operation after that. Indian Army Brigadier Arjun Segan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre told ANI, A metallic footbridge was built overnight and we hope the construction of bailey bridge could be completed by afternoon. He added the bridge is of 24 ton category and construction work were progressing overnight. Heavy rescue equipment like excavators could be moved for rescue operations on completion of the bridge, officials said. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are en route to Wayanad and have landed at kannur Airport. The leaders will be visiting relief camps and meeting victims. Over 8,000 persons are sheltered in over 80 relief camps across the district. Scores of still feared trapped under the debris as two major landslides triggered by torrential rains left a trail of destruction in Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha villages in the wee hours of Tuesday. According to official sources, around 200 houses were completely damaged in the landslides. After Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's death in Tehran, Iran gears for a 'direct' retaliation attack against Israel. Top Iranian officials are set to meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss the strategies. With Haniyeh's 'assassination' on Wednesday, the prospects of a regional war are looming and experts believe that it has already led to instability in the Middle East. The killing of Hezbollah's senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike has also widened the conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies. "Iran and the resistance members will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel)," a senior Iranian official was quoted by Reuters. ALSO READ | Could Ismail Haniyeh's death spark a regional war? Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are set to attend the meeting. Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out the airstrike that killed Haniyeh in Tehran. However, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar, speaking at a military graduation ceremony in Israel late on Wednesday, warned Israel will act against anyone planning to harm its citizens."We are also strongly prepared in defence. Hundreds of aerial defence soldiers, along with air control personnel, are stationed across the country with the best systems, ready to carry out their mission," said Bar. After its leader's death, Hamas' armed wing warned of serious repercussions. However, after nearly 10 months of the Gaza war, it has little capacity to damage Tel Aviv. As fears of mounting escalation, Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri spoke with regional counterparts to discuss the concerns. Kani spoke separately with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. Also, after the elimination of two key targets, Israel on Thursday confirmed the death of Hamas leader Mohammed Deif in the July 13 strike on Khan Younis. However, Hamas has not confirmed the death. A member of the Hamas political bureau Izzat Al Rishq said that confirming or denying the martyrdom of any of the Qassam leaders is the responsibility of the Qassam Brigades leadership and the movement leadership. Unless either of them announces it, no news published in the media or by any other parties can be confirmed, Al Rishq added. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday was assassinated by an explosive device that had been covertly 'smuggled' into the Tehran guesthouse, said a New York Times report. The report quoting Middle Eastern officials said that the bomb had been hidden about two months ago in the guesthouse, where Haniyeh was known to be staying. Haniyeh was staying at the guesthouse which was under the security blanket of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Sources familiar with the matter said the device was remotely detonated once Haniyeh was inside the room. The explosion had caused partial collapse of the exterior wall, shattered some windows and shook the building. Hamas and Iran accused Israel behind Haniyeh's assassination. However, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Haniyeh was in Tehran for the presidential inauguration. It was not the first time Haniyeh was staying at the guesthouse in northern Tehran. He had stayed there several times while visiting Tehran. The report also said that the Israeli intelligence officials briefed the United States and other Western governments on the details of the operation after the strike. On Wednesday, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US had received no advance knowledge of the assassination plot. With the new details of Haniyehs assassination, questions are being raised on Irans huge security lapse. Officials are yet to ascertain how the explosives were planted inside the guesthouse. According to Middle Eastern officials, the planning and execution of the act took months. The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad staying next door was however unhurt. His room was not badly damaged as well. After Haniyehs assassination, Iran has vowed a retaliation attack against Israel. Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it was Irans duty to strike back. "Iran and the resistance members will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel)," a senior Iranian official was quoted by Reuters. The Indian embassy in Beirut has issued an advisory, warning citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon as tensions simmer in the Middle East over recent killings of Hamas chief and Hezbollah's top commander. The embassy has also asked citizen in Lebanon to restrict their travel and to keep in touch with it via email or phone number. All Indian nationals in Lebanon are advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Beirut through their email id: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128, the advisory read. ALSO READ: Who was Ismail Haniyeh? Hamas confirms its chief killed in 'Zionist raid' in Tehran The IDF had claimed that Fuad Shukr, a top military commander of Hezbollah, was killed in an airstrike on an eight-storey apartment building in Beirut on Tuesday. Shukr had Bashar al-Assad's troops fight Syrian rebels during the civil war in the war-torn country and was wanted by the US for his alleged involvement in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. ALSO READ: Who was Fuad Shukr? Israel's IDF says Hezbollah top commander killed in Beirut airstrike Meanwhile, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed along with his bodyguard in the Iranian capital on Tuesday after Israel allegedly targeted a building. He was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah ali Khamenei has ordered direct strike on Israel after the killings. Countries like the US, the UK and Australia have issued similar advisories to their citizens. The targeted killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on the early morning of July 30, purportedly by Israel has put the West Asian conflict into a deadly spiral. Aside from a successfully intercepted drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13, Iran had thus far avoided a direct all-out war with Israel. On Wednesday, Irans all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei minced no words that a direct Iranian offensive was on the way. Khamenei said: The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our homeland and left us bereaved, but it also set the ground for a harsh punishment for itself. We consider it our duty to avenge his blood in this bitter and horrific incident that came to pass in the Islamic Republic's territory." The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) too put out a statement vowing that the Axis of Resistance and especially Iran will hit back, indicating an impending direct attack by Iran. Symbolic of deadly intent, Iran raised the red flag of Imam Hossein over the Jamkaran Mosque in Qoman act that followed after the April 1 assassination of General Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, near the Baghdad International Airport. Soleimani headed the al-Quds Force, the most elite unit of the IRGC. Haniyeh, along with many global leaders, including senior Indian minister Nitin Gadkari, were in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Irans new president Masoud Pezeshkian. The killing also puts into light the extent to which Israeli intelligence and security forces have penetrated into Iran. The 62-year-old Hamas leader, who assumed the leadership role in the organization in 2017, was staying in accommodation facilitated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in north Tehran. Although three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza in April, Haniyeh had been among the main voices in supporting a peace plan. His death will strengthen the military leadership of the organisation led by militaristic leaders like Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif. Already under a lot of domestic pressure, an all-out war would also help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to uplift his political fortunes as his tenure is expected to continue only till the tenure of the war. Corruption charges, anger over Israels failure to stop last years October 7 attack by Hamas in Gaza, continue to plague him. There is seething anger against Netanyahu also because of his inept handling of the hostage crisis. Many Israeli hostages have died in Israeli bombings and friendly fire ordered by the PM. Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, a key figure in cease-fire negotiations with Israel, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31. He was in Iran for the inauguration of the new president and was killed shortly after meeting with Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Haniyeh, 62, was in Iran on a diplomatic visa and was staying at a guesthouse run by the Revolutionary Guards. Reports indicate that he was killed by a missile at around 2am Tehran time, along with his bodyguard. Both Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of orchestrating the assassination, but Israel has not yet responded to these allegations. Haniyeh, a long-time head of Hamass politburo, was a key figure in the group's diplomatic efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Gaza conflict. As a moderate and centrist within Hamas, he played a pivotal role in the groups development, including overseeing its takeover of Gaza in 2006 and managing the administration of the territory. Born in 1962 in the Shati refugee camp north of Gaza City, Haniyeh came from a family displaced from what is now Ashkelon in Israel. He was a founding member of Hamas when the group was established in 1988. Haniyeh played a significant role during the first Intifada, which led to his expulsion to southern Lebanon, then under Israeli occupation. In 2006, he became the senior-most Hamas leader in Gaza, the same year the group won parliamentary elections against the Fatah faction, and he briefly served as prime minister. After Israels withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's subsequent control of the territory, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh as prime minister due to the Wests refusal to engage with Hamas. In 2017, Haniyeh was appointed head of Hamass political bureau. The following year, the US state department designated him a terrorist. In 2019, Haniyeh moved to Doha, where he led Hamas's international diplomatic efforts. He was succeeded in Gaza by Yahya Sinwar, who is known as one of the key architects of the October 7 attacks on Israel. Recent Israeli strikes had inflicted significant personal losses on Haniyeh, including the deaths of three of his sons and several grandchildren in April, and his sister and her family in June. Just hours before Haniyeh's assassination, Israeli fighter jets conducted an operation in Beiruts southern suburbs, killing Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah leader. The two assassinations have rapidly altered the political and security landscape of the Middle East, especially as Israel and Hamas seemed close to reaching a ceasefire after nearly 10 months of intense conflict that has caused tens of thousands of casualties. The timing of the two assassinations suggests that they might be part of Israel's response to a recent Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights that resulted in the deaths of 12 Israelis, including children. Alternatively, it could indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not be fully committed to ending the conflict and could be aiming to prolong it until after the US presidential elections, possibly hoping for a more favourable settlement under a potential Trump administration. Reports from Israeli newspapers a few weeks ago suggested that Netanyahu was attempting to undermine the peace process by leaking sensitive information about ceasefire proposals, further hinting at a strategy to derail the negotiations. Following the attacks on Haniyeh and the Hezbollah leader, there are significant concerns about how Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah will respond. The primary worry is Irans reaction to the attack on its soil and whether it could lead to a broader regional conflict. Earlier this year, Iran and Israel targeted each other's territories, after an escalation caused by Israels assassination of two Iranian generals by a bomb attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Given the nature of Haniyehs assassination and the loss of face for the Iranian security apparatus, a retaliatory response from Iran seems likely. According to Iranian officials, Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel at an emergency meeting of Irans Supreme National Security Council. He has framed avenging Haniyehs death as a duty since the it occurred on Iranian soil. Khamenei has also directed the Revolutionary Guards and the military to be ready in the face of its likely escalation and retaliation from Israel or the United States. Hamas is expected to swiftly appoint a new leader for its political wing to replace Haniyeh. The group is likely to continue its operations and maintain its organisational structure, as it has several leaders capable of stepping into the role. However, Haniyeh's death could shift Hamas further to the right, leading to more hardline positions. This loss may also hinder Hamas's ability to pursue ceasefire negotiations effectively. The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, has described the assassination as a significant and potentially dangerous event with broader regional implications, suggesting that Israel has made a strategic miscalculation. Israel had the capability to kill Haniyeh in Doha, where he lived. It could have done so in Turkey, a country he visited frequently. But it chose to do so in Iran, and that, too, a day after the new president was inaugurated. Since 2019, Haniyeh had visited Iran more than 15 times, but he was never targeted. The attack now is clearly a message, intended to humiliate Iran. In that sense, it conveys the impression that Netanyahu, in fact, wants a wider regional conflict, and he does not want the ongoing war to end. It seems his political survival and his ability to stay out of prison depends on keeping Israel in a prolonged state of war. Netanyahu has also made it difficult for Iran and the US to start negotiations, during the final days of the Biden presidency. Biden had indicated that one of his priorities in his remaining days as president is to find a lasting solution to the Gaza crisis. The new Iranian president is a reformer, he campaigned on talking to the US, but Haniyeh's assassination makes it virtually impossible for the two sides to move forward. Except for Netanyahu, it appears to be a loss-loss situation for everyone with a stake in Middle East peace. The US has announced that it has entered into a pretrial deal with the alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti-Pakistani engineer, and two other co-accused in the 2001 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The agreement reached after 27 months of negotiations takes the death sentence off the table for Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Mustafa al Hawsawi, prosecutors said in a letter sent to the families of 9/11 victims and survivors shortly before the Department of Defense announced the news in a press release Wednesday. Mohammed and his co-defendants, who have spent almost two decades in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will enter guilty pleas at a plea hearing that could come as early as next week, according to the letter obtained by CNN. The settlement agreements with the Pentagon bring partial closure to a case that has dragged on for years and become mired in legal delays over whether the evidence extracted through torture during their interrogations was admissible in court. On September 11, 2001, two hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane struck the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth plane, heading to Washington, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back with the hijackers. Many family members of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the September 11, 2001, attacks want the 9/11 defendants put to death. Since a trial became increasingly unlikely, plea bargains were widely viewed as the only way to resolve the case, the US media reported. The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case, the US Department of Defence said in a press release. "The specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time," it said. The three accused, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001, attacks against the United States, the release said. The letter says that the families now have 45 days to submit questions to be answered by the alleged co-conspirators by the end of the year. Before his birth, Mohammed's parents immigrated to Kuwait from Pakistan's Balochistan province. Mohammed, a US-educated engineer, was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan and held with other Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Prosecutors argued that he came up with the idea of hijacking and flying planes into US buildings to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, and later helped recruit and train some of the hijackers. Meanwhile, an official with Amnesty International USA called the pre-trial agreement "welcome news" that will prompt some accountability for the 9/11 attacks and justice for its victims and survivors. "We are also pleased that there is finally an outcome for at least some of the accused, who were tortured and then languished in detention without trial for more than two decades," Daphne Eviatar, director of the group's Security with Human Rights programme, said on Wednesday. Eviatar said the announcement should mark the "beginning of the end" for the military prison. The Biden administration has sought to close Guantanamo prison facility quietly. By last year, the number of people held at the facility was 30, down from the nearly 800 who were there at its peak, NBC News reported. Widespread unrest and protests erupted in several regions of the United Kingdom after the tragic death of three young girls in Southport. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called a meeting of the police chiefs and took stock of the situation. Over 100 people were arrested on Wednesday for offences including violent disorder, assaulting police officers and breach of protest conditions. It is believed that the protests erupted after social media misinformation claiming the male suspect behind the stabbing was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived illegally in the country on a boat. The 17-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the incident was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife. ALSO READ: UK: Man goes on stabbing spree, injures eight including children in Southport Violent protests took place outside Downing Street in London. Protests also erupted in Southport, Hartlepool, north-east England, Aldershot and south-east England. We could hear the protesters chanting stop the boats, and save our kids. The protests were clearly driven by circulating misinformation, said a police officer. Met Police Superintendent Neil Holyoak said they were speaking to the protest organisers as well as local community groups, businesses and religious leaders, in particular the Muslim community who have been impacted by the protest. Police equipped with riot gear were deployed on the streets. Flares were thrown towards the gates of Downing Streets. Protesters also threw cans and glass bottles at the police, they also kicked down a fence. Police had to use force to disperse the crowd. Arrests were made from Hartlepool and Aldershot. Regarding the arrest of the suspect, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said, "Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). Three children six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar died after the suspect went on a stabbing spree at The Hart Space community centre. The kids had come to participate in the "Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop" aimed at primary school children. Eight other children were injured in the stabbing incident. The condition of five children remains critical. Two adults, including one of the organisers of the event, also suffered critical injuries. On July 30, Paul Dans, head of the Heritage Foundation's ultraconservative Project 2025, resigned from his position. Dans, who led the movement to draft the blueprint for a second Donald Trump presidency, stepped down amid mounting criticism about the project, including some from the former president himself. Dans, who served as senior adviser in the first Trump's administration, played a key role in outlining ambitious conservative plans for a potential Republican return to the White House. However, in recent months, Trump has realised that the project was hurting him electorally and has repeatedly criticised it, dismissing some of its proposals as absolutely ridiculous and abysmal and distancing himself from the initiative. Chris LaCivita, a top Trump adviser, called it as a pain in the a*s for the Trump campaign. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, confirmed Dans's resignation. He said Dans was also leaving the Foundation and he wanted to concentrate on Trump's re-election efforts. The Trump campaign, however, issued a statement, saying that the resignation should serve as a warning to those trying to associate themselves with Trump without authorisation and also expressed satisfaction about the project's demise. There are, however, multiple reports that Project 2025 is not being shut down, and what has happened was only a reshuffle of resources. Project 2025, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundationa think tank known for shaping personnel and policies for Republican administrations since the Reagan erawas launched before Trump officially entered the 2024 race. It is aimed at preparing a detailed plan for the first 180 days of a new Trump administration, especially aligning every federal agency with its conservative agenda. In addition, it plans to recruit and train thousands of individuals loyal to the conservative movement for federal government positions. The project clearly has the potential to significantly impact daily life for millions of Americans. Despite the Trump campaign distancing itself from the project, the fact that its 900-page report has been crafted by some of Trump's close allies cannot be overlooked. The report proposes a significant expansion of presidential power and a reduction in the independence of federal agencies. American media outlets have identified nearly 250 individuals linked to Trump working on the project. Among them are six former cabinet members, four individuals whom Trump nominated as ambassadors and several proponents of his controversial immigration policies. Notable contributors include former housing and urban development secretary Ben Carson, former acting defence secretary Chris Miller, deputy White House chief of staff Rick Dearborn, former OMB (office of management and budget) director Russ Vought and senior homeland security official Ken Cuccinelli. Former White House personnel director John McEntee, known for purging officials perceived to be disloyal to Trump, played a key role in gathering staff recommendations for the project. The American Accountability Foundation, one of the organisations that advised Project 2025, has compiled a list of federal employees it believes could obstruct Trumps plans for a second term. The Heritage Foundation paid it $100,000 for its services. Project 2025 supports increasing the number of political appointees aligned with the president within the executive branch, with a plan to replace many of the serving nonpartisan career civil servants, whom Trump calls the deep state. While critics argue that this could lead to abuse of power and political favouritism, Trump supports these proposals and is expected to implement them if given the opportunity. It also calls for an executive order that would appoint political figures to any confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positionsa strategy Trump employed at the end of his presidency, which President Joe Biden subsequently overturned. The project calls for a downsized federal government, which can be achieved by by disbanding federal agencies, such as the department of educationan idea previously supported by Trumpand the department of homeland security. It also recommends privatising agencies like the Transportation Security Administration and ensuring absolute presidential control over the executive branch. The project's opening section says that a modern conservative presidents role is to limit, control and direct the executive branch on behalf of the American people. The project wants the department of health and human services to adopt a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family. It plans to criminalise pornography, reject abortion as a form of health care and dismantle climate protections. It looks at imposing caps on the federal funding that states can receive for Medicaid expenses and introducing additional eligibility requirements for the plan, hurting the poor and the needy. It also recommends restricting food stamps and similar social welfare programmes. On abortion, although Project 2025 does not explicitly call for a total ban, it proposes several measures to significantly restrict access to the procedure. These include directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to prevent abortion equipment or medication by postan approach activists criticise as a backdoor method to restrict abortionprohibiting federal funds from being used for abortion-related health care coverage, requiring states to report all abortions to the federal government and prohibiting funding for patients travelling across state lines for reproductive health care. On climate change, the project proposes cutting federal funding for research and investment in renewable energy and asking the next president to "stop the war on oil and natural gas. It aims to repeal preventive climate change measures and replace carbon-reduction goals with increased fossil fuel energy production and a focus on "energy security. The project supports a two-tier individual tax system with rates of 15 per cent and 30 per cent, wants to bring down the corporate income tax rate and lower tax rates for high-income investors. On immigration, the project looks at a major overhaul, including the immediate deportation of unaccompanied children, increased funding for the southern border wall and fees for asylum seekers. It also suggests pausing funding for NGOs aiding immigration. Additionally, it wants to replace the current employment visa process, family-based chain migration and lottery systems with a merit-based system designed to grant visas only to the most qualified individuals. The project plans to block federal financial aid for up to two-thirds of American college students if their state allows certain immigrant groups, including Dreamers (children who were brought to the US without documentation) with legal status, to access in-state tuition. It also aims to terminate the legal status of five lakh Dreamers by cutting staff for processing renewal applications and using backlog numbers to automatically suspend application intake for large categories of legal immigration. Furthermore, it proposes suspending updates to the annual eligible country lists for H-2A and H-2B temporary worker visas, which would exclude most immigrants from working in agriculture, construction, hospitality and forestry sectors. Even more alarmingly, Project 2025 wants the new administration use its existing authority to aggressively suspend the issuance of all visas for citizens of countries deemed recalcitrant in accepting deported nationals. As of June 2020, 13 countries, including China and India, are classified as recalcitrant. No wonder, Democrats see a political opening by associating Project 2025 with Trump, repeatedly warning that it represents his extreme agenda for a potential second term. While Trump has been trying to distance himself from the project, his vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance is seen closely linked with Heritage Foundation's Roberts. He recently wrote the forward to a book by Roberts, which calls for a second American revolution. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon, wrote Vance. In a series of news releases, social media posts and television ads, the Democrats are painting the ideas from Project 2025 as an authoritarian MAGA blueprint. The Harris campaign said Trump was mistaken if he thought that he could distance himself from the initiative. It said the policies proposed by the group were likely to be "inflicted" on the country if Trump were to take office again. Project 2025 is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot. This is his agenda, written by his allies, to inflict on our country, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, campaign manager for Harris. Hiding the 920-page blueprint from the American people does not make it less realin fact, it should make voters more concerned about what else Trump and his allies are hiding. Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the crisis gripping the jute sector, which is affecting lakhs of farmers, mill workers and other stakeholders. In a letter to the PM, Ray highlighted the plummeting raw jute prices, which have fallen below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), causing financial distress to farmers. He claimed that inadequate government procurement of B Twill bags (a type of sack), non-compliance by the sugar industry with mandatory jute packaging norms and the apathy of the Ministry of Textiles are reasons for the crisis in the sector. Ray urged Modi to intervene in those issues to save various stakeholders of the jute sector. An estimated 4 crore farmers and 3.5 lakh jute mill workers in the country, mostly in West Bengal, are dependent on the industry. The Rajya Sabha MP stressed the need for timely intervention which, he said, is crucial to stabilise the market, secure livelihoods and maintain the operational capacity of jute mills. In his letter written on Wednesday, Ray warned that the welfare of thousands of jute mill workers and farmers, as well as the integrity and stability of the jute industry, depends on the PM's prompt action. The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) has also highlighted several pressing issues at the 32nd Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. "The jute industry is operating at 55 per cent capacity, affecting over 50,000 workers. The demand for jute bags is projected to drop to 30 lakh bales for 2024-25," IJMA Deputy Chairman Rishav Kajaria said. GAZA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Two journalists were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck their vehicle in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, Palestinian security sources said on Wednesday. The attack targeted the vehicle carrying Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi, said the sources who require anonymity. Al-Ghoul worked as an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza City, while al-Rifi had worked as a cameraman with him for several months during the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to the sources. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the attack. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the "crime" committed by the Israeli army against a group of journalists who were fulfilling their professional duties by covering events in the Shati camp. The syndicate said in a press release that the "new crime" of killing al-Ghoul and al-Rifi represented a blatant violation of international laws and norms that guarantee the protection and freedom of journalists. The statement held the Israeli army "fully responsible for this crime, which is part of a context of escalating assassination operations and a systematic policy to suppress the truth and silence the Palestinian voice." It called on the international community and the International Federation of Journalists to condemn the "crime," protect Palestinian journalists, and conduct an independent investigation to hold those responsible accountable. The deaths of al-Ghoul and al-Rifi bring the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since the conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, to 165, according to the Hamas-run Media Office. Lucknow, Aug 1 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that the state has achieved a revenue surplus status and is now capable of meeting most of its requirements independently. Speaking during the Assembly's monsoon session about the supplementary budget, he said, To support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of a 5 trillion dollar economy and to establish the state as a one trillion dollar economy, we have introduced a supplementary budget of over Rs 12,000 crore." He said that 44 per cent of the funds from the original budget for the 2024-25 financial year have been released, with 20 per cent already utilized and added that now the size of the basic budget for the 2024-25 financial year has now reached Rs 7.5 lakh crore, which is double the size of the 2015-16 budget. On the need of a supplementary budget, he said that the scope of the state budget has been expanded to meet the growing needs of the state. After passing the original budget in February, its implementation began immediately with the start of the financial year in April. The original budget for 2024-25 was Rs 7.36 lakh crore and despite the onset of general elections shortly after the financial year began, 44 per cent of the budget has been released for various departments, and over 20 per cent has already been spent. He said, This supplementary budget will boost investment in Uttar Pradesh. Today, both the GDP and per capita income of the state have more than doubled. When we came to power, our economy was ranked sixth or seventh in the country, and the state was facing an identity crisis. However, that perception has changed, and today UP has become the second-largest economy in the country. The Chief Minister stated that Uttar Pradesh has successfully increased its share in the National GDP. Previously, the states share was 6-7 per cent, but it has now risen to 9-10 per cent. He highlighted that UP is now among the states that have established themselves as revenue surplus through effective resource mobilization, enabling the state to meet most of its requirements internally. He said strict measures were implemented to combat tax evasion. He pointed out that in 2017, UPs Credit Deposit (CD) ratio was 44 per cent, but it has now increased to 60 per cent, indicating a rise in employment opportunities. The supplementary budget includes funding for the Ganga Expressway to complete its main carriageway by December 2024, ahead of the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh in 2025. This project aims to provide a seamless connection between Western and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Work is also progressing on the Chitrakoot Link Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, and Ballia Link Expressway. A new expressway is also being planned to connect the Agra-Lucknow Expressway with Shahjahanpur and Farrukhabad. The government is also working to connect the Purvanchal Expressway with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and enhance interstate connectivity by upgrading to four-lane roads, making Uttar Pradesh more accessible to visitors. Preparations are underway for the India-Nepal Friendship Gate on the Nepal border, symbolizing a warm welcome to visitors in cooperation with neighbouring states, he said. He said plans are afoot to establish the BIDA (Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority) in Bundelkhand, with construction underway on 36,000 acres of land. This initiative aims to create a new industrial city akin to Noida, revitalizing the Bundelkhand region after 46 years. The state has also launched the Rapid Rail service between Delhi and Meerut, significantly reducing travel time from three and a half to four hours to 40 to 45 minutes, thanks to a 12-lane expressway and the new rail service, he said. Earlier, speaking on the budget, Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey said that the Supplementary budget is brought only when there is extreme need. "The original budget was passed in February itself and a large part of it is yet to be spent and even in those subjects for which we have brought the full budget, a huge amount of budget is still left. While making the budget, the finance minister has a big responsibility to consider the possibilities of the entire state and then prepare the budget but at the time when the budget was being made, I think you did not consider the need for supplementary items," he said. "Within six months, you got the idea for something and for which you have brought the supplementary budget. then I think this way is also a kind of financial irregularity. The government had passed its budget in February and the financial approvals that you have issued have also not been completed," he said. "Today, there is a practice that wherever the Chief Minister or any minister goes, they make an announcement there. When the announcement is made, it has to be fulfilled. There is no provision for it in the budget, so you have to make arrangements for it in the supplementary budget," he said. Parliamentary Affairs minister, Suresh Kumar Khanna replying to him said that there is a provision of supplementary budget and there is no irregularity in this. Congress leader Aradhana Mishra Mona and other party leaders also briefly shared their views on the budget. Later, it was passed with a voice vote in the assembly and it was adjourned sine die. Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) The 16th Finance Commission in its report will consider the freebie schemes run by the states and the Centre meant to provide individual benefits as these have a deep impact on finances, Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Thursday. He said that in this view the commission also has to see that macroeconomic and financial stability is maintained in the country so it will consider the issue in its report. "The schemes that provide individual benefits that are given by the state and perhaps by the Centre also, have a deep impact on the finances. "Keeping it in view the commission also has to see that macroeconomic and financial stability is maintained in the country. This comes within our mandate," Panagariya told reporters here. He further said, "So, the Finance Commission will definitely consider it. Whether we will be able to say something on it or not and what we will say, it will take time. It may take six-seven months." After the formation of the 16th Finance Commission in the country, the commission is assessing the financial condition of the states. After holding discussions with the states and the central government, the commission will give its recommendations. Earlier, the Commission members held talks Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, Deputy CM Premchand Bairwa along with other officials of the state government. After the meeting, Panagariya said, "The state government has demanded 50 per cent share in taxes from the Centre instead of present 41 per cent share." He said that the government also demanded a change in the standards of sharing between the states in view of the state's geography, area and special circumstances. The Chairman said that in a presentation it was highlighted that Rajasthan is the largest state in the country in terms of area and two-thirds area of the state is desert. Around 21 per cent of the country's wasteland is in Rajasthan and there is about 1071 km of international border here. The state government said that due to low population density in the state, more expenditure is incurred on infrastructure to provide basic facilities to the people. Around 75 per cent of the population of Rajasthan lives in villages. At the same time, the population of SC-ST here is also 31 per cent and water shortage is a big problem in the state. On the demand for special state status for Rajasthan, Panagariya said, "Nothing can be said about it right now. We have visited four states right now. We have to visit 24 more states. Only after that, something can be said about it." Chennai, 1st August 2024: Kauvery Hospital, a leading multi-specialty healthcare provider in Tamil Nadu, proudly announces a remarkable milestone in its pursuit of medical excellence. The hospital successfully performed six robotic-assisted surgeries in a single day, underscoring its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology for superior patient outcomes. This achievement also marks the hospital crossing over 100 robotic-assisted surgeries, setting a new benchmark in advanced surgical care. The state-of-the-art Da Vinci 4th generation robotic system used at Kauvery Hospital is renowned for its precision and minimally invasive capabilities. This advanced technology enables surgeons to perform complex and delicate procedures with enhanced accuracy, reducing recovery time and improving overall patient experience. Speaking on the advanced Robotic Surgery, Dr Swaminthan Sambandam, Director- Liver, Multi-Organ Transplant Surgery, Robotic GI and Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgery, says Robotic-assisted surgery has revolutionized the way we approach complex cases,where hands of a surgeon may not be able to reach the most intricate parts, however with robotic assisted surgeries the surgeons can control the movement of the robotic arms thereby making it possible to reach difficult areas, and enabling us to perform intricate procedures. The robotic wrists can move 360 degrees, thereby helping surgeons to perform procedures such as complex gallbladder removal, hernia repair, kidney transplants, hysterectomies, donor hepatectomy and oncological surgeries with unparalleled precision. The robotic surgeries have also been proven to reduce hospital stays by 50%, and patients can get back to routine life much faster when compared to other methods of surgery. We had successfully performed 6 surgeries in a single day including one Kidney Transplant with a fantastic team of surgeons, anesthetists and nursing team. " added Dr Swaminathan Kauvery Hospital stands out as a healthcare institution in Tamil Nadu offering the most affordable robotic surgery options. This initiative aligns with the hospital's mission to make world-class healthcare affordable to all, ensuring that advanced medical treatments are within reach for a broader demographic. With Robotic Assisted Surgery, patients can experience faster recovery, lesser pain and shorter hospital stay. With over 100 robotic-assisted surgeries completed, our team of expert surgeons and dedicated medical professionals ensures that our patients receive the best possible outcomes, says Dr Aravindan Selvaraj Co-Founder and Executive Director Kauvery Group of Hospitals. As per the IRDAI guidelines majority of health insurance companies cover robotic surgeries thus maximizing the accessibility to a wider population. (Disclaimer : The above Press Release is provided by HT Syndication and PTI will not take any editorial responsibility of this content.). PTI PWR PWR In our hyperconnected world, cross-border transactions demand speed, security, and simplicity. XoomPay has emerged as a pioneer in this space, offering innovative payment solutions since 2015. With a strong focus on Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, and South Africa, XoomPay provides tailored services for these key markets. Users benefit from rapid withdrawals, currency exchanges, and payments, streamlining financial management. Powering Global Commerce XoomPay is committed to making international money transfers effortless. Their user-centric platform simplifies processes for both individuals and businesses. Robust security measures safeguard financial information, while seamless integration with e-commerce and banking systems enhances convenience. The company's powerful API facilitates quick and easy connections with multiple payment providers, optimizing operations. XoomPay's dedication to innovation and customer satisfaction sets it apart as a leading choice for secure, efficient, and rapid global money transfers. Encouraging Business with Streamlined Payments XoomPay is an expert in simplifying financial processes for companies of all kinds. Its primary products, mass payouts and cascade payments, are made to safely and effectively manage large numbers of transactions. The cascade payment system is a dependable option for multinational corporations since it performs admirably when handling payments for businesses with a range of risk profiles. With an astounding 96% success record for large payments, XoomPay proves its dedication to providing trustworthy and practical payment options. Global Perception of Strong Security XoomPay's ability to accept a wide range of foreign currencies and payment ways shows how global it is. Because it is flexible, it is a good choice for businesses and people who do business across borders. XoomPay makes foreign business easier and increases customer happiness by accepting a wide range of payment methods. XoomPay cares very much about security. Strong security measures have been put in place on the platform to protect it from advanced cyber threats like floods and parsing attacks. XoomPay shows it cares about protecting user data and banking information by putting money into cutting-edge security infrastructure. Customers trust and believe in the company because of its constant focus on security. The tool works well because it has an amazing turn rate of over 87%. As this measure shows, XoomPay can handle deals easily and successfully. By making its systems and processes more efficient, XoomPay makes sure that users have a smooth experience and that transactions fail as little as possible. Open Pricing and Outstanding Assistance XoomPay stands out in the payment handling business by having clear and reasonable prices that don't include any secret fees or extra costs. Businesses can choose their payment choices with confidence because of this commitment to clarity. They can also be sure that they fully understand the value and benefits of the services they choose. By putting an emphasis on openness, XoomPay builds trust with its customers, letting them focus on their main business without having to worry about unexpected fees. The platform's commitment to customer happiness is shown even more by the range of help options it provides. XoomPay offers quick and dependable help for many issues, such as handling transactions, setting up integrations, and general questions. Businesses can easily handle their payment processes with this strong support system, and they can get expert help whenever they need it. The customer service team at XoomPay is dedicated to quickly and effectively addressing issues, whether they are technical or more complicated. A Prospective Perspective XoomPay is dedicated to innovation and providing outstanding value to its clients even as it develops further. The platform's leadership position in the global payments sector is cemented by its capacity to adapt to market changes and technical improvements. With a foundation based on safe transactions, a user-friendly interface, and unmatched customer service, XoomPay is well-positioned to transform the payments industry going forward. XoomPay was founded in 2015 and has since developed into a reputable supplier of payment gateway services for both individuals and companies. Its success has been fueled by its persistent commitment to quality, secure platform, and worldwide reach. The trajectory of XoomPay is evidence of its capacity to enable people and transform the nature of cross-border transactions. (Disclaimer : The above Press Release is provided by HT Syndication and PTI will not take any editorial responsibility of this content.). PTI PWR PWR New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Thursday reported a dip in wholesales in July as companies reduced vehicle dispatches to dealers amid moderation in demand. Maruti Suzuki India said its total domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 1,37,463 units in July against 1,52,126 units in the year-ago month, down 9.64 per cent. The company's sales of mini segment cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, were higher at 9,960 units last month compared to 9,590 units in the year-ago period. However, sales of compact cars consisting of Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift and WagonR were lower at 58,682 units compared to 67,102 units in July 2023. Similarly, utility vehicles Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, and XL6 also clocked lower sales at 56,302 last month against 62,049 units in the same period last year, the company said. Rival Hyundai Motor India said its domestic dispatch of vehicles to dealers saw a dip of 3 per cent to 49,013 units last month from 50,701 units in the year-ago period. Similarly, Tata Motors said its total domestic sales dipped 11 per cent and stood at 70,161 units last month as against 78,844 units in the year-ago period. Mahindra & Mahindra however reported a 15 per cent increase in passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market to 41,623 units last month against 36,205 units in the year-ago period. Kia India said its domestic sales rose 2.5 per cent year on year to 20,507 units in July as compared with 20,002 units sold in July 2023. In the two-wheeler space, Bajaj Auto said its total domestic sales (including commercial vehicles) rose 18 per cent to 2,10,997 units in the last month compared to 1,79,263 units sold in the same month last year. TVS Motor Company said its domestic two-wheeler sales grew 8 per cent to 2,54,250 units in July over 2,35,230 units in the year-ago period. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) said its domestic sales for the last month registered a 41 per cent YoY growth at 4,39,118 units. Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) Stock markets remained on a record-smashing course for the fifth straight day on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty settled at record-high levels after buying in index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 126.21 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at a new lifetime high of 81,867.55. In the intra-day session, it soared 388.15 points, or 0.47 per cent, to hit an all-time intra-day high of 82,129.49. The NSE Nifty rose 59.75 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 25,010.90. Intraday, it scaled the record 25,000 level for the first time, rising 127.15 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 25,078.30. From the Sensex stocks, Power Grid, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Nestle India, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Maruti Suzuki India and Reliance Industries were the major gainers. In contrast, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors were the laggards. Brent crude -- the global oil benchmark -- rose 0.98 per cent to USD 81.63 per barrel in futures trade. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong closed in the negative territory, while Seoul ended in the green. The European markets were quoting lower in the mid-session deals on Thursday. The US stocks settled in the green territory in overnight trade on Wednesday. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday and offloaded shares worth Rs 3,462.36 crore, according to exchange data. On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled higher by 285.94 points or 0.35 per cent at 81,741.34 -- its all-time closing high -- while NSE Nifty rose 93.85 points or 0.38 per cent to close at an all-time high of 24,951.15. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) BJP member Kangana Ranaut, who was allegedly slapped by a woman CISF constable at Chandigarh airport recently, on Thursday sought to know whether the government has any monitoring system for scrutiny of CISF personnel at airports to detect any negative influence on them, resulting in bad behaviour towards passengers. Ranaut posed the question in the Lok Sabha to the civil aviation ministry. She wanted to know from the Civil Aviation Ministry "whether the government has any monitoring system for scrutiny of CISF personnel at airports to know about their involvement/influence by some negative elements or activities which results in bad behaviour with passengers". In a written reply, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the measures taken to ensure professional conduct of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at airports include a Personal Information System, a web-based project, where the personal and professional profile of deployed personnel are updated by supervisory officers. Personal Profile Sheet and dossier of all CISF personnel are maintained at the unit level and the same is transferred to the next place of posting. The specific remarks/comments in the personal profile sheet of the individual are taken into account while deploying them at the public interface, he added. "Social media monitoring of CISF personnel is done at unit/zone/sector level to know about involvement/influence of some negative elements," Mohol said, adding that the mentor and buddy pair system has also been implemented at every unit/airport to evaluate the psychological state of CISF personnel. According to the minister, regular behaviour detection/soft skill training is imparted to CISF personnel. Besides, he said motivational and awareness sessions are organised at the unit level regularly to enhance the morale and motivation of CISF personnel to perform their duties diligently and professionally. On June 6, Ranaut said she was allegedly hit in the face and abused by a woman CISF constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport. Constable Kulwinder Kaur, who appeared to be upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers' protests, was suspended and an FIR lodged against her, officials had said. CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) provides security at airports. Guwahati, Aug 1 (PTI) A consumer court directed Sony Mobile Communication along with its two sales and service outlets in Assam to pay more than Rs 50,000 to a woman, whose mobile phone was not repaired by the company nearly nine years ago. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Kamrup in an order on July 26 directed Sony Mobile Communication, its retail outlet Sony Center at Christian Basti and Sony Service Center at Rajgarh Main Road to pay the compensation within 45 days. The commission directed the three accused parties to pay an amount of Rs 40,000 with 10 per cent interest to the complainant Nina Bairagi for "physical harassment and mental agony" from the date of filing the case. Further, they were directed to pay an amount of Rs 10,000 to the complainant as a cost of proceedings, the order stated. The commission also mentioned in the judgment that if the decretal amount is not paid by the respondents within 45 days, then they will have to pay 12 per cent interest on the amount till its realisation. After a prolonged trial and proceedings since the filing of the case in 2016, the commission convicted Sony Mobile for its deficiency in service and also directed to repair the mobile handset within 45 days besides paying the compensation. Bairagi had purchased a Sony Mobile handset from the Sony Center on August 10, 2015, on payment of Rs 52,990. After one month, the phone dropped from her hand and as a result, it became inoperative. The complainant had then approached the Sony Service Center, but the service engineer informed her that the repair of the said model was not available and the only option left was to get a replacement at a cost of Rs 25,000. Bairagi had also contacted the service head of Sony Mobile at its country headquarters in New Delhi several times through emails but in spite of assurance to redress the grievance within 48 hours, it was not done. After that, she filed a complaint with the Consumers' Legal Protection Forum, Assam. On the basis of that grievance, the forum filed a case with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Kamrup. The three respondents had in their written statement to the commission termed the complaint "frivolous" and was an "apt illustration of flagrant abuse of the benevolent provision of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986". Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday requested the Finance Commission to recommend additional financial assistance to the state because of difficult geographical conditions and a severe water crisis in Rajasthan. The chief minister chaired a meeting with the delegation of 16th Finance Commission at the Secretariat on Thursday. He said that Rajasthan has a vast land area and scattered population, due to which it costs more to provide basic facilities like education, medical and health, drinking water, electricity, communication facilities etc. to the common people compared to other states. He said that keeping in mind this additional cost and the geographical situation of the state, financial resources should be provided to the state. Sharma said that the state has to face heat waves almost every year, which affect the livelihood of the residents of both rural and urban areas. Also, crops are damaged due to desert locusts. Keeping this in mind, the threat of heat waves and desert locusts should be considered a natural disaster and they should be included in the definition of natural disaster in the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). The Chief Minister requested the Finance Commission (FC) to develop a formula for the distribution of central taxes, which would become a means of removing regional disparities and help allocate more resources to provide important minimum infrastructure for all areas and sections of society. He also urged the FC to give special importance to the area of the state while finalizing the share of the states in the central tax income. He also requested the Finance Commission to restart the maintenance grants for roads and bridges, irrigation assets and forests. Sharma said that irregular and uncertain monsoon is a big challenge for the agriculture-based economy of the state. The state is facing extreme difficulties due to limited and continuously decreasing water resources. The Finance Commission should also consider giving grants for water deficit, he said. The Chief Minister requested the Finance Commission to recommend an increase in the grants for the local bodies of Rajasthan. Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari urged the Commission to adopt a standard approach in view of the difficult geographical conditions of the state and in accordance with the aspirations of 8 crore people of the state. Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya said that the Commission is visiting the states and getting suggestions from them. After Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, this is the fourth visit of the Commission to Rajasthan. The suggestions received from the states are being heard seriously. Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant said that Rajasthan is the largest state in the country. Mainly the districts of the western region face challenges in achieving the goal of service delivery. Due to limited resources, the state is dependent on central funds. Additional Chief Secretary Finance Akhil Arora presented the social and economic condition of Rajasthan before the Commission through a presentation. He urged the commission to provide financial assistance to the state based on the ranking of Sustainable Development Goals. Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) The Rajasthan government on Thursday said it will host an investment summit in December this year to attract investors in the state. The 'Rising Rajasthan' Investment Summit will be held in Jaipur from December 9 to 11. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma chaired a meeting on the issue with Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant and other officials on Thursday. The chief minister also launched the 'Single-point investor interface' of the state government. Through this platform investors can express their intent online and get their proposals approved. Soon after the launch of this initiative, the Bureau of Investment Promotion, the nodal department for organising 'Rising Rajasthan', received investment proposals worth more than Rs 8,000 crore, a release said. "The objective of the summit is to attract domestic and foreign companies, international institutions and investors to the state," the release said quoting Sharma. "The government is taking every possible initiative to ensure a better environment for industrial investment in the state. Under this, the investment summit is being organized which will create ample employment opportunities along with the development of the state," the release said. Sharma said that the state government will provide all possible help to the investors to give concrete shape to the investments coming to the state through this event. The chief minister also launched the logo of 'Rising Rajasthan'. Industry Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said that Rajasthan has immense potential for development and hence it is an ideal state for investors. "Through the 'Rising Rajasthan' investment summit, we do not want to just sign MoUs but bring real investments to Rajasthan," he said. BEIRUT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Hassan Ghayyad, the owner of a kids' apparel boutique in Marjeyoun, southern Lebanon, has observed a significant drop in customer traffic at his shop lately. "For the first time since October 8 (last year), residents in this area have stopped their purchases entirely for the past few days," Ghayyad told Xinhua. The shop owner attributed the downturn to the heightened tensions between Hezbollah and Israel in recent days. Israel threatened to launch a military operation that will make Hezbollah pay a heavy price after a rocket attack in the Golan Heights killed 12 youngsters and wounded several others. Hezbollah said it had "absolutely nothing to do with the incident" and dismissed the allegations as false, while insisting on responding without restrictions to any Israeli aggression against Lebanon and its resistance. The escalating series of events is casting a pall of tense atmosphere over the southern regions of Lebanon. Ghayyad said most shop owners and commercial establishments in his area have closed their doors, and traffic has decreased significantly. Meanwhile, many families have moved to other regions, for fear of a potential military flare-up. Picnickers and swimmers, once fixtures on southern beaches, have now vanished, and a notable displacement trend has been observed in most towns. Salah Sabrawi, the mayor of Abbasiyeh in the western sector of the border area, told Xinhua, "The situation in southern Lebanon is unstable, and around 5 to 8 percent of the residents were displaced over the past 48 hours due to recent military developments." "We are monitoring the situation before thinking about displacement again, especially since we have adapted to our situation, and it is not easy to experience displacement a second time," Lama Al-Hajj, who was displaced eight months ago from a border village to the southern city of Tyre, told Xinhua. "But if the war expands, we may have to move again." For Hanan Abu Ali, a housewife from the southeast town of Marjeyoun, keeping an eye on the evolving dynamics between Israel and Hezbollah has become a daily ritual. "My family of five and I follow the developments almost continuously through social media. We can no longer differentiate between the correct and fake news, but we are almost certain that the mutual military strikes have become an inevitable reality," she told Xinhua. Jihan Hamdan, 50, from the southeast town of Shebaa, had already packed her bags with some of her family's identification papers and a few summer clothes. "We are baffled and do not know where to go, as danger is everywhere in these difficult times," she said. Echoing Hamdan's sentiment, Nabil Assi, a university student in his twenties, told Xinhua, "We are now facing the unknown. The military strikes can reach most areas, and the war is expanding and may go out of control. We do not know what awaits us, as the future is bleak." Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) A day after the national capital experienced severe waterlogging, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday slammed the AAP government for not implementing the drainage master plan and asked it to take the necessary steps at the earliest. The minister also stressed the importance of modern infrastructure and its regular upkeep, as urbanisation is rising at a high pace. Replying to a short discussion on the working of his ministry in the Rajya Sabha, Khattar also asserted that urban problems cannot be resolved unless respective administrations take strict against those violating building bylaws. "The national capital did not implement the drainage master plan. Had it implemented (the master plan) properly, the Delhi government and MCD would have succeeded in completing the desilting process," he added. Khattar, who was Haryana Chief Minister for two consecutive terms, said that both the Delhi government and MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) should work towards the implementation of the master plan in the public interest. Heavy rainfall unleashed chaos in Delhi on Wednesday evening, inundating large parts of the city, while key stretches were choked with unending traffic snarls, leaving people stranded for hours. The minister highlighted the works done by the Modi government in the past for the betterment of the urban infrastructure in the country and moving towards achieving the goal of 'housing for all'. He said one of the major decisions of the Modi 3.0 government is to build 3 crore more homes under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY). Bangkok, Aug 1 (AP) China has sanctioned a United States lawmaker for frequently interfering in China's domestic affairs, in its latest effort to express displeasure with US politicians who have criticised China's policy and practice. The sanction against Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, is symbolic, since the congressman has no assets in China or business dealings there. The sanction includes freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him and his family a visa to enter the country, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the social media platform X, McGovern called the sanctions absurd and said he would wear his as a badge of honour. If (Chinese) leaders don't like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record, McGovern wrote on X. They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong. McGovern is the ranking member of the House Committee on Rules, and he co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. He also is a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses on China's human rights record. Beijing has previously sanctioned a number of US lawmakers, former Trump administration officials, and companies. It sanctioned Rep. Michael McCaul, also chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and former Rep. Michael Gallagher over their support for Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China claims as its own. In 2020 it sanctioned Rep. Chris Smith and several U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. McGovern and McCaul, along with two senators, last year introduced bicameral legislation calling for stronger US support for Tibet, a region in China where human rights groups have criticized authorities for the treatment of ethnic Tibetans. Congress approved the bill in June, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in July. (AP) RHL Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), Aug 1 (PTI) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alleged that the left Democratic Party bosses have installed Kamala Harris as a "puppet candidate" who is "totally scripted, owned, and controlled" by the donors and the power brokers. The former president's remarks came at an election rally in Pennsylvania, a state where he escaped an assassination attempt on July 13. The radical left Democrat party bosses have installed a puppet candidate to fight only for themselves. Kamala Harris got zero votes. She's totally scripted, owned, and controlled by the donors and the power brokers who created her campaign and who rip off our government and make billions and billions of dollars, Trump, 78, said. Trump has intensified his attacks on Harris as the race for the November 5 presidential election gained momentum with opinion polls showing that the Vice President has narrowed the gap with her Republican rival. Trump accused Harris, 59, of lying about 81-year-old Joe Biden's mental and physical condition. After lying to the country for years about Joe Biden's mental and physical condition, Kamala is now being given a personality makeover. Don't forget, four weeks ago, she was, like, considered the worst. Not smart. Terrible. The worst Vice President in history, he told his supporters who numbered 15,000 inside the indoor auditorium. Several thousands of his supporters could not get inside. People stood in queues for several hours and at one point the line extended for more than a mile. All of a sudden, she's the new Margaret Thatcher. .. No, I don't think so. Everything about Kamala Harris rollout, it's phony and it's fake, he alleged. Reiterating his allegations that President Joe Biden destroyed the country, Trump claimed that Harris, who is now the presumptive presidential nominee, is worse than him. Because she's a real radical left. He's a phony radical left. He didn't believe this stuff. He didn't believe in open borders, and she does. She wants to open your borders. She wants to have all-electric cars. She loves the all-electric car mandate. She destroyed San Francisco. But she's the architect of the border invasion, trying to pretend she's strong on border security. She's now pretending that she was never called the border czar, he said. Harris, he alleged, is a failed Vice President leading a failed administration while trying to convince others that she represents hope and change. Well, she does represent change. If she wants to turn us into a communist country, that's her change. She was voted the most unpopular vice president in history, he said. The contrast could not be more stark. On the one hand, you have a radical left puppet candidate who is fake, fake, fake. And on the other hand, you have a president who will fight, fight, fight for America, Trump said. Washington, Aug 1 (PTI) Describing India as a great power which will never be a formal ally or partner of the US, the Biden administration has told lawmakers that New Delhi wants to play a responsible role globally. These remarks were made by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during a hearing on US-China Competitiveness Beyond the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday, amidst indications that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Kyiv later this month against the backdrop of renewed global efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine. One of the hardest things to keep in mind is that India is also a great power. It has its own beliefs and its own interests. They will never be a formal ally or partner of the United States. But it doesn't mean that we cannot have the strongest of possible relationships as allied nations on the global stage, Kurt told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the hearing. He was responding to a question from Senator James Risch about the recent Moscow visit of Prime Minister Modi for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. You said it effectively about Russia, I'm not going to add to that directly. I think we're likely to hear news of India engaging more directly in Ukraine. I'm grateful for that. I think India wants to play a responsible role globally, he said. There are very few other countries in the world that have such an appeal to the Global South. And their ability to engage there is unmatched and we are seeking to work with them there in Africa and elsewhere, Campbell told the lawmakers. I actually believe it's probably the most important relationship for the United States to get right. Huge capacity, a wonderful diaspora in the United States that connects our two great countries. I believe that the vast majority of people in India want a better relationship with the United States, he said. They're grateful for our bipartisan attention. They like the work that we've done together in education and technology. We've supported them in intelligence and military along the Line of Actual Control. And in the Indian Ocean, we've stepped up in a variety of areas. That's important. And I do believe that we've bent India's trajectory in ways that are consequential and very much in our interests, Campbell said. Modi was in Russia for two days from July 8-9 for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit that has been watched closely by the West amidst the raging Ukraine conflict. This was Prime Minister Modis first visit to Russia since the war started between Moscow and Kyiv in February 2022. During his talks with Putin on July 9, Prime Minister Modi told him that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed amid bombs and bullets. Washington, Aug 1 (PTI) Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of leaning into 'identity politics' and claimed that she only considered herself Indian-American when "convenient." Ramaswamy, who supports the Republican Party's nominee Donald Trump now, said that Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, leaned on her Indian American heritage while running for office in California, where there is a significant Asian American population, but has since shifted her focus away from that identity on the national stage. The 38-year-old Indian-American biotech entrepreneur drew a comparison between Harris' heritage and his own to share his views on the subject. "On a very personal level, my parents were immigrants to this country, legal immigrants from southern India- the very same part of India that (Harris') mother also immigrated from," he told Fox News. "I think it's a hard fact... it's a fact whether you like it or not, that many Indian-Americans in the US are indeed somewhat offended by the way Kamala has suddenly cast aside the Indian-American side of identity," Ramaswamy said. She leaned into it when she ran for Office in California- big Asian-American and Indian-American population, he said. "So she wore that when it was convenient. She's wearing a different identity now when it is politically convenient on a national stage," he alleged. He said he does not think Americans should be relying on these ethnic identities at all. "We're actually American. And the problem is, when you're Kamala Harris and you actually lean into your identity politics, then you open the door to that type of criticism," he said. "But if you ask me, that shouldn't be how this election is decided one way or another. It should be decided on our own identity as Americans and what our vision is for the future of our country. And the number one thing missing in Kamala Harris' candidacy is that she lacks that vision for the country," he added. Harris, 59, is Indian American and African American. Her mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica. Former President Trump also mocked Vice President Harriss heritage during a combative live interview Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention, saying she happened to turn Black in recent years. Colombo, Aug 1 (PTI) An Indian fisherman was killed and another went missing following a collision on Thursday morning between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat allegedly poaching in the island nation's territorial waters, according to a media report. The incident took place around five nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island. Navy spokesperson Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya said that the incident occurred off Delft Island while the Navy was conducting an operation to chase away the alleged Indian poaching trawlers, Daily Mirror online reported. He claimed that the Indian trawler, carrying four fishermen, capsized due to aggressive manoeuvres and rough sea conditions. "One fisherman is missing and the Navy is conducting a search operation to locate him. One of the rescued fishermen was admitted to the Punkuduthivu Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The other two fishermen are reported to be in stable condition, the spokesman said. He said the Indian authorities have been informed of the incident. In New Delhi, the Sri Lankan acting high commissioner was called to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the incident. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each others waters. Dhaka, Aug 1 (PTI) Bangladesh on Thursday banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir under anti-terrorism law following nationwide unrest, citing the threat posed by the fundamentalist party to public security. A notification issued by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday confirmed the ban on the Islamist party, a key ally of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The Bangladesh government on Tuesday decided to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami following the deadly nationwide students protests over quotas in government jobs, accusing it of exploiting the movement that left at least 150 people dead. The development comes after a meeting of the ruling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas Awami League-led 14-party alliance passed a resolution earlier this week that Jamaat must be banned from politics. The recent decision to ban Jamaat comes over 50 years after its initial prohibition in 1972 for "misusing religion for political purposes". Colombo, Aug 1 (PTI) An Indian fisherman was killed and another went missing following a collision on Thursday morning between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat allegedly poaching in the island nation's territorial waters, the Navy said here. The incident happened off the coast to the West of the Delft islet in Jaffna, Navy spokesman Captain Gayan Wickremasuriya said. The Navy was trying to arrest or to make them flee. But they moved aggressively, causing a collision with the Naval craft, he said. He claimed that the Indian trawler, carrying four fishermen, capsized due to aggressive manoeuvres and rough sea conditions. The Indian trawler was toppled and sunk when the four fishermen jumped to the sea to avoid being arrested, Wickremasuriya said. One fisherman is missing and the Navy is conducting a search operation to locate him. One of the rescued fishermen was admitted to the Punkuduthivu Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The other two remain in Naval custody. The magisterial inquiry on the dead would be held in Jaffna on Friday, the Naval spokesman said. In New Delhi, the Sri Lankan acting high commissioner was called to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the incident. Meanwhile, the Indian Indian High Commission in Colombo and the Indian Consulate in Jaffna in cooperation with the Sri Lankan government authorities secured the release of 20 Indian fishermen. "DHC @DrSatyanjal and other officials met the fishermen today, ascertained their well-being and assured their repatriation within a day," the High Commission here posted on X along with some photographs of the meeting. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. On June 25, a senior sailor from the Sri Lanka Navy Special Boat Squadron died in an incident blamed on the aggressive manoeuvres of an Indian trawler, resisting its seizure, the Sri Lankan Navy said. The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each others waters. Washington, Aug 1 (PTI) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has launched a racially insensitive attack against Kamala Harris by questioning whether she is Indian or Black, drawing a sharp reaction from his Democratic rival who termed his remarks "the same old show" of "divisiveness" and "disrespect". Trump, 78, falsely claimed Vice President Harris had only emphasised her Asian-American heritage until recently when, he claimed, "she became a black person". Ive known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, as the race for the November 5 presidential election gained momentum with opinion polls showing that Harris has narrowed the gap with her Republican rival. "So I don't know - Is she Indian? Or is she black?" Harris' mother is originally from India, and her father is from Jamaica. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, a historically black school in Washington, and belongs to Alpha Kappa Alpha, the country's oldest Black sorority. She was also the president of the Black Law Students Association while studying at the University of California's law school in San Francisco, and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus during her time in the Senate. When one of the journalists who was interviewing Trump on stage tried to tell him that Harris had always identified as Black and had attended a historically Black university, the former president continued: I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt. Because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn, and she went she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that too. Trumps comments prompted immediate criticism. Speaking at an event in Houston Wednesday for the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, a historically Black sorority, Harris told the crowd that "this afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show." "The divisiveness and the disrespect, and let me just say, the American people deserve better." Harris, 59, did not directly address the content of Trump's words but said that Americans "deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts, we deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength." Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler earlier said the "hostility Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president." "Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in," Tyler said. "Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us." At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Trump's jab at Harris, calling the former president's comments "insulting." "As a person of colour, as a Black woman, who is in this position that is standing before you at this podium, behind this lectern what he just said, what you just read out to me is repulsive, it's insulting," Jean-Pierre said. "No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. That is no one's right. It is someone's own decision. It is I'll add this only she can speak to her experience." Trump has a history of attacking his opponents on the basis of race. He falsely accused Barack Obama, the country's first black president, of not being born in the US. Trump attacked the former UN ambassador and his Republican primary opponent Nikki Haley by falsely claiming she could not be president because her parents were not US citizens when she was born. Harris has faced a series of attacks since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. Republicans have criticised the decision, saying she was chosen only because of her race. Tim Burchett, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, called her a "DEI vice-president" - a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. On Wednesday, Scott pushed Trump to clarify whether he believed Harris was a "DEI hire". He replied: "I really don't know, could be." Harris has described growing up engaged with her Indian heritage and often visited the country. Her mother also immersed her two daughters in the black culture of Oakland, California - where she was raised, she said. Trump also attacked Harris' credentials during the discussion, saying she had failed her bar exam early in her legal career. "I'm just giving you the facts. She didn't pass her bar exam and she didn't think she would pass it and she didn't think she was going to ever pass it and I don't know what happened. Maybe she passed it," he said. Harris graduated from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1989. The New York Times reported that she failed her first attempt and passed at the second. The state bar of California says less than half of those who sit the test pass on the first attempt. Responding to Trump's comments, second gentleman Doug Emhoff said that the former president was a worse version of an already horrible person with his remarks. The insults.. its horrible, its terrible, it shows a lack of character but its a distraction, Emhoff said at a campaign fundraiser in Maine. Its about whats at stake in this election. Arizona Senator. Mark Kelly, seen as a potential running mate for Harris, slammed Trumps remarks, saying they were the comments of a desperate, scared old man who is, over the last week especially, having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor. London, Aug 1 (PTI) A planned incremental hike in the minimum income threshold for British nationals and permanent residents applying to bring family members to join them in the UK, a move impacting several Indian families, has been shelved by the new Labour Party government. UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons in a written statement this week that there will be no further hike on the current GBP 29,000 annual income requirement until the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) completes a review into the impact of the hikes on families. The MAC has also been tasked to review the reliance of some key sectors on international recruitment, in particular IT and engineering, which rely on significant levels of international recruitment, including from India. The family immigration rules, including the minimum income requirement, need to balance a respect for family life with ensuring that the economic wellbeing of the UK is maintained, Cooper states. To help ensure that we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any change, I will commission the MAC to review the financial requirements in the family immigration rules. The minimum income requirement is currently set at GBP 29,000, and there will be no further changes until the MAC review is complete, she notes. As part of a package of measures to curb migration in December last year, the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led Conservative government had announced that from April this year, the minimum salary or income required by British nationals to sponsor long-term Family Visas for spouses or parents will rise from GBP 18,600 to GBP 29,000 and then be followed by further increases to GBP 38,700 in line with the minimum income requirement for the Skilled Worker Visa route. Analysts had flagged that this steep hike will have a wide-ranging impact on the family plans of those on lower incomes. Indians made up the second-highest cohort under the Family Visa category in 2023 (5,248), after Pakistanis (14,330) and ahead of Bangladeshis (3,534) as the top three nationalities sponsoring such visas, as per UK Home Office statistics from earlier this year. Setting out her migration strategy, newly appointed Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out plans to strengthen the MAC so that it can highlight key sectors where labour market failures mean that there is an over-reliance on international recruitment. As a first step, I am commissioning the MAC to review the reliance of key sectors on international recruitment. In particular, I am asking the MAC to look at IT and engineering occupations that have consistently, over a decade or more, been included on shortage occupation lists and relied on significant levels of international recruitment, Cooper told the Commons. These occupational groups are in the top 10 occupational groups in the UK that have the highest percentage of their workforce made up of new foreign workers who have been issued visas, she said. Her plans to strengthen MAC include deployment of additional Home Office staff to its secretariat to ensure it is able to work more strategically to forecast future trends, while continuing to review and provide independent, evidence-based recommendations on key areas of the immigration system. Meanwhile, many of the other Tory government visa curbs have been carried forward by the new Labour regime, including restrictions on overseas students and care workers to bring family dependents on their visas. Cooper noted: This government strongly value the economic and academic contribution that international students make to this country, including those here on the graduate visa, and that is why it is important to ensure that the system is effective and not open to abuse. Therefore, we will continue with the previously announced measures to ensure that international students, the institutions they are coming to study at and the immigration system as a whole are protected from those who wish to exploit it working closely with DfE (Department for Education) to ensure that the measures are effective. Pointing the finger at the Tories for data showing that net migration trebled in five years, the minister said her focus will be on aligning migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the country. People gather in condemnation of the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 31, 2024. Tunisia strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. Tunisia considered the assassination as a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states and a disregard for all human and moral values and international conventions, said a statement made by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday evening. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua) TUNIS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. Tunisia considered the assassination as a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states and a disregard for all human and moral values and international conventions, said a statement made by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday evening. "This heinous assassination adds to the long list of the bloody history of the heinous operations carried out by the Zionist occupation before and after the occupation of Palestine against many figures who defended the Palestinian right," reads the statement. Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike on his residence in Tehran after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian. On the same day, Tunisia also condemned an Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital on Tuesday, saying "the attack on Lebanon's security and sovereignty is a flagrant violation of all international pacts and laws." People gather in condemnation of the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 31, 2024. Tunisia strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. Tunisia considered the assassination as a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states and a disregard for all human and moral values and international conventions, said a statement made by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday evening. (Photo by Adel Ezzine/Xinhua) Jerusalem, Aug 1 (AP) The Israeli military said Thursday that it has confirmed that the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The announcement came a day after an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital killed Hamas' top political leader. The rapid events this week have left US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators scrambling to salvage talks for a cease-fire deal in Gaza. At the same time, international diplomats tried to avert an escalation into all-out regional war after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh, Israel's killing of a top Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike and now Israel's announcement of Deif's death. There was no immediate comment on the Israeli claim by Hamas, which had previously said Deif survived the July strike in Gaza. A member of Hamas' political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq, said in a statement Thursday that confirming or denying his death is the responsibility of the group's military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, which so far has been silent. The apparent elimination of Haniyeh and Deif two of Hamas' most senior figures brings a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. After meeting with military officials Thursday, Netanyahu declared that Deif's death enforces a simple principle that we have established, that whoever hurts us, we hurt them. We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena, Netanyahu said. The assassinations also put him at a crossroads. They present him with a potential political off-ramp to end the war, allowing him to retreat from his lofty promises of total victory while showing Israelis that Hamas' military capabilities suffered a debilitating blow. The killings could also lead him to harden Israel's position in cease-fire talks, with Israeli officials insisting the blows to Hamas will force it to compromise. Hamas could dig in as well in the talks or quit them entirely. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas' military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. Israel targeted Deif in a July 13 strike that hit a compound on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The military said at the time that another Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time. In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said that following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike. In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million has been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the southwest corner of the territory, with limited food and water. So far Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Far-right nationalist coalition partners, on whom he relies to stay in power, have threatened to bolt the government if he halts the war. After the announcement on Deif, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the defeat of Hamas is closer than ever. He said the military would continue to eliminate thousands of other terrorists until our security is restored and we bring the hostages home. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike that killed Deif was a significant milestone toward achieving the goals of the war. The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organization in disintegration, he wrote on X. Deif was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing in the 1990s. He led the Qassam Brigades for decades through campaigns of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, volleys of rocket fire into Israel and repeated past Israeli assaults on Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. He survived a string of Israeli assassination attempts. Haniyeh's killing in particular threw into disarray months of efforts at reaching a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release. Haniyeh had been a main negotiator in those talks. Qatari and Egyptian officials had tense exchanges with US counterparts over the assassination, said an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal discussions. While the US has been pressing Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get Hamas to compromise, the Americans can't pressure the other party, Israel to refrain from provocative acts, the Egyptian official said, calling the assassination reckless. Qatar's prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, expressed frustration in a post on social media, saying: Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the US had no prior knowledge of the strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh. The Egyptian official said no deal was likely in the near future since Hamas must now name Haniyeh's replacement. Mediators had been waiting for Hamas' response on the latest version of the deal. Instead, after Haniyeh's funeral, expected Friday, he said they will reach out to Hamas officials to explore the next steps. After Haniyeh's assassination, Iran vowed revenge against Israel, and the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut could also bring reprisals and fuel fears of a wider spiral of escalation. The Egyptian official now said the priority was preventing full-scale war. Meanwhile in Beirut's southern suburbs, hundreds of black-clad mourners packed an auditorium Thursday for Shukur's funeral procession. Many of them held Hezbollah flags or photos of Shukur. An escort of red-capped fighters carried Shukur's coffin, also draped in a Hezbollah flag, down the aisle to the backing of a military band. (AP) ZH ZH Tallinn (Estonia), Aug 1 (AP) After years of isolation behind the bars and high walls of US penitentiaries and Russian penal colonies, the prisoners will find themselves suddenly free, an emotional moment culminating from long, back-channel negotiations between Washington and Moscow. Sometimes, they see those who are part of the swap as they pass each other on an airport tarmac or, as in the Cold War, the Glienicke Bridge connecting West Berlin to Potsdam. In decades of prisoner exchanges, those released have included spies, journalists, drug and arms dealers, and even a well-known athlete. Thursday's historic exchange was an especially complex affair involving months of talks among several countries before planes flew the large number of prisoners to freedom. Some notable previous swaps: BRITTNEY GRINER AND VIKTOR BOUT The Dec. 9, 2022, exchange of the WNBA star for a Russian arms trader nicknamed the "merchant of death" was notable and controversial for the magnitude of its disparities. Griner had been arrested 10 months earlier on arrival at a Moscow airport when vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. She was convicted of drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison, a harsh sentence even in low-tolerance Russia. Bout was arrested in 2008 in a US sting operation in Thailand for offering to sell surface-to-air missiles to men masquerading as Colombian rebels. He eventually was extradited to the United States and convicted of charges, including conspiring to kill US nationals, and sentenced to 25 years. Griner's celebrity status made her case highly visible, and the Biden administration worked intensively to win her release, which came at the airport in Abu Dhabi. Critics said Washington had caved in to political pressure by swapping an arms dealer for a famous athlete. TREVOR REED AND KONSTANTIN YAROSHENKO The exchange of Reed and Yaroshenko was notable because it came amid soaring tensions only two months after Russia started its full-scale war in Ukraine. Reed, an ex-Marine, was arrested in 2019 in Moscow for assaulting a police while allegedly drunk. Reed denied the allegations and then-US Ambassador John Sullivan said the case was so preposterous that "even the judge laughed," but Reed got a sentence of nine years. Yaroshenko, a pilot, was arrested in 2010 in Liberia for involvement in a lucrative cocaine distribution scheme. He was extradited to the US and sentenced to 20 years. The April 7, 2022, exchange took place at an airport in Turkey. THE SLEEPERS In June 2010, US officials rounded up 10 Russians alleged to be "sleeper agents" living under false identities without specific espionage missions to be activated as needed. Most of the intelligence they gathered apparently was of low significance. One exception was Anna Chapman, who captured attention in the tabloids with her long red hair and model-like features. They Russians were exchanged the next month at the Vienna airport in an unusual swap for four Russians imprisoned in their homeland, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with the British intelligence service. Skripal took up residence in the UK, where he and his daughter suffered near-fatal nerve agent poisoning eight years later that officials blamed on Russia. RUDOLF ABEL AND FRANCIS GARY POWERS In probably the most dramatic swap of the Cold War era, Abel and Powers were exchanged on Feb. 10, 1962, on the Glienicke Bridge connecting the US-occupied zone of Berlin with East Germany. Abel was the alias of British-born William Fisher, who moved to the Soviet Union and joined its intelligence operations in the 1920s. Posted to the US in 1948, he was arrested on espionage charges in 1957 and sentenced to 30 years. Powers piloted a U-2 high-altitude photo reconnaissance plane that was shot down over central Russia in 1960. Because of the highly sensitive nature of the flight, which was to photograph military facilities, Powers' gear included a coin coated with neurotoxin to be used to kill himself if discovered, but he did not use it. The exchange on the "Bridge of Spies," as it was known, was depicted in the 2015 film of the same name. (AP) ZH ZH Washington, Aug 1 (AP) President Joe Biden says detained Americans are coming home and their brutal ordeal is over'. Addressing the nation from the White House State Room, Biden said it was a feat of diplomacy that brought home Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza. He said multiple countries worked together to get it done. As Biden made his statement at the White House, he was joined by relatives of the freed Americans. The US president said he and the families had spoken to their relatives by phone from the Oval Office minutes before his address. Biden called the release an incredible relief for the families and a feat of diplomacy. Biden said the work to bring home those wrongfully detained began during his transition into the presidency. And he said his administration has brought home 70 Americans, many since before I took office. The United States and Russia completed a 24-person prisoner swap on Thursday, the largest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich and fellow American Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. (AP) ZH ZH Peshawar, Aug 1 (PTI) Violent clashes between warring tribes in Pakistan's restive northwestern Kurram district ended on Thursday after the two sides agreed on a peace agreement brokered by jirga leaders as the death toll rose to 50 in the week-long fighting that also left more than 225 people injured, a senior official said. All clashes in Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, have stopped after the peace agreement, said Deputy Commissioner Javed Ullah Mehsud. The peace agreement was reached at a grand tribal jirga held separately between the warring Shia and Sunni factions at Markazi Imam Bargah and Sadda Jirga Hall Parachinar headquarters of Kurram district, officials said. The leading tribal elders from both sides inked the agreement. Under the agreement, both the tribes agreed to cooperate with the government in the maintenance of public order. Any party violating the peace agreement will pay a fine up to Rs.12 crore as per the deal. Moreover, tight security would be ensured on all the main highways and roads in the district. The inter district roads have been opened for vehicular traffic. According to the police and district administration, armed clashes started seven days ago between Sunni and Shia tribes in the Upper Kurram district, which has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks in the past. The clashes between Boshehra and Maleekhel tribesmen turned into sectarian skirmishes and spread to other areas, including Peewar, Tangi, Balishkhel, Khaar Kalay, Maqbal, Kunj Alizai, Para Chamkani, and Karman. Officials with the help of tribal elders, military leadership, police and district administration earlier brokered a truce between Shia and Sunni tribes on Sunday. Washington, Aug 1 (PTI) US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the release of three American citizens and one green-card holder who were imprisoned in Russia, under a prisoners' swap deal with the Russian authorities. Among those released were the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmashev. This was part of multi-country deal with Russia. The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, weve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, Biden said. The brutal ordeal is over and they're free. Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They're out of Russia earlier today. They were flown to Turkey and soon they'll be wheels up on their way home to see their families. This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here, the president told reporters here. Biden said under the deal, Russia has released 16 prisoners. Eight Russians being held in the West will be sent home as well. The 16 prisoners that Russia has released include four Americans, five Germans, and seven Russian citizens who are political prisoners in their own country, he said. Biden said he is grateful to the US allies, including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey, who stood with them throughout the tough and complex negotiations to achieve this outcome. This is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home, he said. Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong, Biden said. Thane, Aug 1 (PTI) Police have arrested three persons from Navi Mumbai for allegedly stealing mobile phones and other items worth Rs 17 lakh in Maharashtra's Thane city two weeks back, an official said. "Some miscreants had entered the shop located in APMC Market area in Navi Mumbai's Vashi on July 14, and stole mobile phones and other items worth more than Rs 17 lakh," Sunil Shinde of the Navi Mumbai police's central crime unit told reporters. Following the incident, two teams were formed to trace the accused and based on the technical and intelligence inputs, zeroed in on the culprits in Turbhe village of Navi Mumbai, he said. The police recovered the entire booty from them, including 101 packed smartphones, 26 branded smart watches, 10 ear buds and other electronic goods, totally worth Rs 17,19,606, he said. An FIR under sections 331(4) (house breaking), 305 (theft), 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the accused, identified as Selvaraj Mani Nadar (55), Naresh Kumar Munnilal Varma (27) and Aniket Samsher Yadav (19), the official said. During their interrogation, it came to light that Nadar had 12 cases registered against him at nine police stations, while one case was registered against Yadav at the Sanpada station, he said. Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS. BOM13 MH-KUSALE-LD PARENTS * We let him focus on his goal, didnt even call him yesterday: Shooter Swapnils parents Mumbai: The parents of Olympic shooting bronze medalist Swapnil Kusale on Thursday said they were sure he would win a medal for the tricolour and the country. BOM5 MH-HC-MARATHA QUOTA-COMMISSION Exceptional backwardness in Maratha community, its members deserve quota: Panel to HC Mumbai: There is an "exceptional backwardness" among persons from the Maratha community and the entire group is looked down upon, hence they deserve reservation in educational institutions and government jobs, a Backward Classes Commission has submitted to the Bombay High Court. BOM6 MP-DIARRHOEA-DEATHS Diarrhoea claims 17 lives in 3 districts of MP in ongoing rainy season Jabalpur: Seventeen persons have died due to diarrhoea in three districts of Jabalpur division in Madhya Pradesh so far in the ongoing rainy season, a health official said on Thursday. BES7 MH-CM-UDDHAV-FADNAVIS CM Shinde attacks Uddhav over challenge to Fadnavis; takes jibe about strength Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over the latter's dare to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and said those talking of challenging others must realise if they have the strength to do so. BOM10 MP-HC-EVM-DIGVIJAYA Digvijaya Singh moves HC over EVM after poll defeat; notice issued Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to BJP leader Rodmal Nagar and the Election Commission (EC) seeking their responses on a petition challenging Nagar's election from the Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat. BOM11 MH-MNS-VANDALISM-MITKARI 4 MNS workers held for vandalising NCP MLC Mitkari's car; he says police shielding accused Akola: Police on Thursday detained four Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers in connection with the attack on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Amol Mitkari's car in Akola two days ago, an official said. BOM3 MH-MVA-MEETING Maharashtra assembly polls: MVA to meet on Aug 7 to discuss seat-sharing, other issues Mumbai: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra will hold a meeting on August 7 to discuss seat-sharing and other aspects related to the upcoming state assembly elections, a senior leader has said. BOM2 MH-GOVERNOR-CHAITYA BHOOMI New Maharashtra Governor visits Chaitya Bhoomi Mumbai: A day after taking charge as the Governor of Maharashtra, C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday visited the Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai and offered floral tributes to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. *** Pune, Aug 1 (PTI) A three-and-half-year-old girl died after the metal gate of a housing society in Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune fell on her, a police official said on Thursday. The incident took place in Bopkhel on Wednesday when she was playing with other children, he said. A video of the incident, which showed a child running towards a house to inform residents, went viral on social media. In the video, a man can be seen arriving at the site and lifting the injured child. "While they were playing, one child closed the sliding metal gate. The gate fell when the three-and-half-year-old child ran towards it. It seems the gate came out of the sliding channel and fell. An accidental death case has been registered," the Pimpri Chinchwad police station official said. Katni, Aug 1 (PTI) Four youngsters were killed on Thursday evening after their car collided with a bus near Surkhi Mod in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district, a police official said. The deceased, identified as Rohan Dube (20), Priyanshu Dube (17), Atul Mishra (30) and Akshay Singh (17), were proceeding to Umaria when the accident took place, NKJ police station in-charge Neeraj Dube said. "They were declared dead on arrival by doctors at a nearby hospital. The bus driver fled from the spot. Efforts are on to nab him. The bus and car have been impounded," the official said. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI) BAGHDAD, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding with British oil giant BP Thursday to develop four oil and gas fields in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani oversaw the signing ceremony of the memorandum between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and BP, according to the minister's media office. The memorandum includes the rehabilitation and development of the four fields of the government-owned North Oil Company in the province, according to the statement. This deal is part of the government's efforts to enhance the development of the energy sector, it added. Iraq's economy heavily relies on crude oil exports, which account for about 90 percent of the country's revenues. Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Thursday criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) for accusing the saffron party of dividing West Bengal, saying his party has no such plans. He also hit out at the TMC's decision to introduce a resolution and motion in the state assembly on Monday to oppose alleged attempts to divide the state. He claimed that the TMC is obstructing the development of the northern districts of the state, a blueprint of which was proposed by BJPs Bengal president and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar. "The BJP has never advocated for dividing West Bengal, nor has it included such a proposal in any manifesto. Our founder, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, was instrumental in the formation of West Bengal. Like everyone else, we (BJP) also cherish Bengal," Ghosh said outside the assembly. He accused the TMC of engaging in politics aimed at dividing the state for electoral gains. "The people of Bengal should be aware of those using division as a political tool," he added. Ghosh criticised the TMC for allegedly deceiving the people of north Bengal and being opposed to its development. He highlighted that Majumdar had outlined a development plan for the region. "The people of north Bengal have been deceived by different governments which have ruled the state since Independence. The TMC is against development of north Bengal," Ghosh said. During his visit to the assembly to meet party MLAs and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Ghosh noted that the TMC had established a separate North Bengal Development department, Uttar Kanya (a branch secretariat), and formed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which he said had not improved conditions in the region. "I came to the assembly to meet my party MLAs and media friends and also to celebrate my 60th birthday," Ghosh said. Patna, Aug 1 (PTI) A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday claimed that the Supreme Court judgement on sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and economically more backward vindicates the state governments old stand. State minister and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said that the Bihar government has already created sub-categories like Mahadalits and ati-pichda (extremely backward classes). These sub-quotas ensure that reservation benefits reach the most needy people. It is for the same reason that there is another category called creamy layer, which covers the relatively better-off people among SCs, STs and OBCs, who no longer require the facility. The Supreme Court's judgement vindicates the Bihar governments old stand," the state parliamentary affairs minister told PTI. 'Creamy layer refers to a class of persons within reserved categories. who are socially and economically advanced. At present, the concept of 'creamy layer' is applicable only to the reservation for OBCs. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and economically more backward. A seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, by a majority of 6:1, set aside the apex court's five-judge bench verdict of 2014 in the EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case which had held that no sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) can be allowed as they are a homogeneous class in themselves. Latehar, Aug 1 (PTI) Five Kanwar Yatra pilgrims were electrocuted to death in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Thursday morning when their vehicle came into contact with a high-tension overhead wire, police said. Three others were injured. The incident happened at Tam Tam Tola in Balumath police station area around 3 am. The pilgrims were returning from Baba Baidyanath temple in Deoghar when their vehicle hit an electricity pole, police added. "A high-tension overhead wire fell on their vehicle. Five people were killed and three others injured," Balumath sub-divisional police officer Ashutosh Kumar Satyam told PTI. The injured have been admitted to a hospital, police added. Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) The West Bengal assembly on Thursday passed a resolution seeking a review by the Union government of the new laws implemented in the country replacing the IPC and the CrPC. Opposition BJP members criticised the resolution, arguing that it was a waste of the House's time given that the new laws had already come into effect. They dismissed the TMC members' claims that the new laws were "draconian and anti-people" as unsubstantiated. Following a two-day discussion on the resolution, which was brought by the state's Law Minister Moloy Ghatak and other Trinamool Congress members, the House passed it on voice vote. The resolution urged upon the Centre through the West Bengal government to review the new laws to evolve consensus views of jurists, social activists and citizens in the interest of good governance and to protect the principles of fundamental rights and natural justice. The three new criminal laws - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam came into effect across the country from July 1, replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act respectively. Opposing the resolution, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that stakeholders' opinions, including that of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, were taken before the Bill was passed in Parliament. He stated that Banerjee had sent her opinion, suggestions and objections by letter to the Union government on the matter in November 2023, maintaining that she said that before enacting the new laws, utmost care must be taken and all stakeholders must be consulted. He said that the Union Home Minister had replied to Banerjee's letter in the second week of December 2023. Adhikari said the Union government enacted the three laws under powers vested in it under the Concurrent List given in the Constitution and as such the resolution and its discussion meant wasting the valuable time of the Assembly. Kohima, Aug 1 (PTI) Lone Nagaland MP S Supongmeren Jamir on Thursday alleged that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has been "delaying" in finding a solution to the Naga political problem. The Congress MP also said his party has been committed to fight for an early solution to the problem. Despite having two agreements, the Centre has been delaying in finding a solution to the Naga political issue. Instead of early implementation of the two agreements, the Union government started changing interlocutors who had already signed the agreements and declared that the peace talks had been completed, Jamir alleged. The union government held separate parleys with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) since 1997 and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) comprising seven organisations since 2017. The Centre signed a framework agreement with the NSCN(IM) on August 3, 2015, and also entered into an agreed position with NNPGs in December 2017. However, the Centre has not accepted the NSCN-IMs demand for a separate constitution and flag for the Nagas, which, according to officials, is delaying the final solution. The Congress leader also slammed all MLAs of the 60-member Nagaland Assembly for coming together to have an opposition-less government in the state. Jamir, who is the state Congress president, said, Our party is committed to fight for an early solution. The Congress is open to suggestions from NGOs, government and national workers towards finding a solution to the Naga political issue, he said during a press conference at the party office here. Asked if the party high command would support the Naga peace talks, Jamir claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is fully aware of the issues. He also said that the Naga people wanted a solution and they had raised the 'no solution no election' slogan in the 2018 state assembly polls but it was the BJP, which said election for solution. They (BJP) are making false promises but Naga people are still hoping that BJP will bring drastic changes. It will not. So people have to come forward and raise voices for their rights, he added. Agartala, Aug 1 (PTI) The Border Security Force Tripura frontier is monitoring the developments in Bangladesh and maintaining close coordination with Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) at various levels, a senior BSF official said. Bangladesh recently witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971. "Due to the ongoing situation, the BSF is constantly monitoring the development across the border and maintaining close coordination at various levels", he said. The senior official said in addition to the IG BSF- Region Commander level conference in July, four Commandant level flag meetings and 150 Company Commander /BOP level meetings with BGB were held. The border areas which are vulnerable are being dominated by BSF and BGB jointly by carrying out special coordinated patrols, he said, adding over 100 such patrols have been carried out during July. He said the efforts have reinforced the mutual trust between the two border guarding forces and have greatly enhanced the synergy. "This was visible in the recent safe return of students from Bangladesh through the Tripura Border. BSF was instrumental in facilitating the safe return of more than 900 students till date, he said. According to him, the BSF Tripura Frontier has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to prevent trans-border crime and illegal infiltration. "Troops on the border have been augmented especially in areas which are vulnerable to smuggling and infiltration. Surveillance has been stepped up and thermal imagers and drones have been inducted", he said. The official said Inspector General (IG), Tripura Frontier, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das has directed all field commanders to step up coordination with all agencies including state police, TSR, GRP, RPF, Customs, Revenue Intelligence and other agencies for sharing of intelligence and carrying out joint operation both on border and hinterland against illegal infiltrators and trans border smugglers. "In the month of July, 56 cases of firing from Non-Lethal weapons took place in the border area in which more than 70 rounds were fired to prevent the trans-border criminals and infiltrators. It has been reliably learnt that 6 trans-border criminals have sustained injuries due to the firing", he said. Samba/Jammu, Aug 1 (PTI) A Pakistani intruder has been shot dead by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district, officials said on Thursday. The infiltrator was spotted moving into Indian territory near the Khora post late Wednesday, the officials said. They said the intruder paid no heed to the warnings from BSF personnel and was subsequently fired upon. Senior BSF and police officials have reached the area of incident and efforts are on to retrieve the body. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Seven students from India died in violence or attacks in three foreign countries this year, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in a written response to queries on the number of students from India killed in attacks in foreign countries during the last five years. According to the data, 124 students from India died this year in various foreign countries due to "accidents or medical causes". He was also asked about the number of students from India who had died of accidents and medical causes in foreign countries during the last five years. Of the seven students who died due to violence or attacks this year, four were in Canada, two in the US and one in Australia. According to the tabular data shared in the response, five students from India died as a result of violence or attacks in two countries -- four in the US and one in Canada -- in 2023. In 2022, the corresponding figure was two -- one each in Canada and the UK. In 2021, one person died in China. Of the 124 students who died in accidents or medical causes this year, 37 were in the US and 31 in Canada. The corresponding figure for 2023 was 170. The minister also said that according to data collated from Indian missions and posts abroad, the total number of Indian students in foreign universities was estimated at 1.33 million as on January 1. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) An Indian fisherman was killed and another went missing following a collision on Thursday morning between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat around five nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The Sri Lankan acting high commissioner was called to the MEA and a strong protest was registered over the incident, it said. "We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government later today," the MEA said. BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The General Office of China's State Council has released a set of guidelines for maintaining high-level participation in basic medical insurance program in the long term. According to the guidelines, China will encourage people already covered by the basic medical insurance program, which has covered 1.334 billion, or over 95 percent, of its population at the end of 2023, to continue participating without quitting. As stated in the guidelines, starting from 2025, people who have continuously participated in the basic medical insurance program for four years can receive an incentive for each additional year of further continuous participation, which is a yearly increase of no less than 1,000 yuan (140 U.S. dollars) of their maximum insurance payout limit for major illnesses. From next year, people who participate in the basic medical insurance program but have not used any medical insurance fund reimbursements during the whole year can have the maximum payout limit for major illnesses increased by no less than 1,000 yuan in the following year. The guidelines also state that from 2025, people who have once quit the basic medical insurance program will need to wait for at least three months after the insurance is resumed before they can use reimbursement again. Fan Weidong, an official with the National Healthcare Security Administration, said at a press conference on Thursday that such policies are aimed at protecting the interests of all people participating in the basic medical insurance program and sustaining the stable operation of the medical insurance funds. The guidelines were adopted at a State Council executive meeting in June. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Opposition INDIA bloc parties have demanded that the working of the Union Home Ministry be discussed in Rajya Sabha as the House is deliberating on various ministries after the Budget presentation. Sources said opposition parties made the proposal on Tuesday during a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee to decide which ministries should be discussed in the House. On Wednesday, a Rajya Sabha bulletin said the BAC decided to discuss the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, on which the deliberations were initiated by the BJP, and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, which will be started by the Congress. The BAC also recommended two more ministries will be taken up during the Session and may be finalised by the Chairman in due course after consultations, the Rajya Sabha bulletin said. It was also recommended that the TMC and the DMK may initiate the discussion on the remaining Ministries. A source said INDIA bloc parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena (UBT), CPI(M), CPI, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) , Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) backed the demand that the Home Ministry should be discussed in the House. The demand was backed also by the Biju Janata Dal. The Rajya Sabha has a limited role in the passing of money bills, including the finance bill. While the Lower House discusses demands for grants for selected ministries, the Rajya Sabha holds discussion on the working of some of the ministries. Lucknow, Aug 1 (PTI) Samajwadi Party MLAs raised slogans in the well of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday over the demolition of a platform built to install former Cabinet Minister Hari Shankar Tiwaris statue in Gorakhpur. As soon as the House met, SP leader Kamal Akhtar raised the issue in the assembly. Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey said that the platform was constructed for installation of the statue after the village head wrote to the district magistrate and he was also given permission for the same. The SP members entered the well of the House and raised slogans. Speaker Satish Mahana said that as no notice was given on the issue he could not seek reply from the government. When the SP members insisted, the Speaker said that he would ask the government to look into the matter. Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the matter through a post on X. He said, "Till now, BJP's bulldozer used to run on shops and houses, now it has started running on the honour and respect of those who are not more as well. Getting the proposed site of installation of the statue of late Harishankar Tiwari, former Cabinet Minister of UP and seven times MLA from Chillupar, demolished by the BJP government is a highly objectionable act." "The site should be immediately rebuilt so that the statue can be installed with respect on his birth anniversary day, August 5," he said. Tiwari was a founding member of the Loktantrik Congress party and was a cabinet minister from 1997 to 2007 in Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta, Rajnath Singh, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav-led governments. He passed away on May 16 last year after prolonged illness. Tiwari was considered a political heavy weight and had established himself as a leader of Brahmins in the state. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday addressed select ministers and parliamentarians from India, Bangladesh and Egypt, along with heads of philanthropies from international climate organisations, on energy transition. Together, the leaders of different nations can drive collaborative efforts towards a sustainable and equitable energy future, he said. "It was a pleasure to address the gathering of select ministers and parliamentarians from India, Bangladesh and Egypt, along with heads of philanthropies from international climate organisations, in New Delhi today," he said in a post on X. The Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha said he was happy to do his bit in shaping the dialogue between leaders of the Global South on energy transition. Meanwhile, Gogoi was also part of a Congress delegation that met Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a visit to India. "Honoured to meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in New Delhi today, with CPP (Congress Parliamentary Party) Chairperson Smt Sonia Gandhi ji and Congress President Shri @kharge ji," he said in another post on X. "We had a fruitful discussion about strengthening India-Vietnam relations," he added. New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) The Public Works Department (PWD) has greenlit a major project to upgrade and strengthen the Okhla Estate Road between Sarita Vihar Underpass and Guru Ravidas Marg T-Point in South East Delhi, a critical artery for the bustling areas of Tughlakabad, Okhla, and Kalkaji, a statement said. While approving the project, PWD Minister Atishi said, "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has promised to provide excellent road infrastructure to Delhiites. In this direction, we are creating a world-class and safe transport network in the city by following international standards. In this direction, the government will upgrade Okhla Estate Road, an important road in South-East Delhi". While approving the project, Atishi also instructed the officials that all the standards of security and quality should be followed with commitment during the strengthening and that the commuters should not face any problems. Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 (PTI) A scientific research institute under the central government has been working without break for the last two days to prepare food items with longer shelf life for the survivors of landslides in Wayanad. A team of scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here has converted their incubation cell for technology transfer into a food processing and production unit with more than 70 people, including research scholars volunteering to help, working in one shift to prepare 1000 packets of each food item. They are using an exclusive technology developed by the institute to provide extra shelf life to food items like Upma, which the director said has a high protein value. "One is upma; we increased the protein content of it by 10 per cent. And we use retort processing and retort pouches that will keep the food fresh for at least one month. Then we have poha mixed with ground nuts in dried form, which also has a shelf life of one month. We also have millet puffs for kids," C Anandharamakrishnan, director of CSIR-NIIST, told PTI. He said the prime aim was to pack and send food items that are readily consumable and have a longer shelf life. Anandharamakrishnan said their unit is equipped to produce more if further requirements come, and they aim to complete the first batch by Thursday evening. "We are planning to hand over the consignment to the Thiruvananthapuram district collector by this evening," the director said. NIIST never had a full-fledged production capability at their technology incubation cell, but they used the existing infrastructure and converted it into a round-the-clock production line. "The retort process is a high-temperature, high-pressure process. With this process, any food item could be kept fresh for two to three months. A minimum of one month is our guarantee," V V Venugopal, head of the Department of Agroprocessing and Technology, told PTI. He said the Poha mix does not have any moisture content, so it could be kept for longer days and readily consumed. These food packets will be sent to the landslide-affected area through the district administration, where they will be distributed among the survivors. The devastating landslides in Wayanad district have killed 173 people and left about 200 injured, and authorities are struggling to trace the missing and continue the rescue efforts in challenging terrain without heavy machinery to uncover debris and buried victims. Bengaluru, Aug 1 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Thursday "strongly advised" Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the show cause notice he issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', and alleged that it was part of a concerted effort to destabilise the Congress regime. The Council of Ministers discussed the show cause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the Constitutional Office'' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations. Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the governor issued the notice on July 26 directing the chief minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days justifying why permission to prosecute him should not be granted. "...Hence, the request of the petitioner needs to be processed as per provisions of section 17(A) and 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023...", the governor had said in his notice to the chief minister. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Council of Ministers which lasted five hours, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, flanked by seven cabinet colleagues, said the governor failed to take note of the fact that Abraham has criminal antecedents, including cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him. The council strongly urged the governor to withdraw the notice and to proceed forthwith to reject the application for sanction filed by Abraham, he said. "I am hopeful that the governor will withdraw the notice and uphold the dignity of his office in spite of any pressure." Shivakumar said it expressed the view that the governor, in issuing the show cause notice, has acted in undue haste, circumventing all procedural requirements. He described the governor's decision as a "murder of democracy and the Constitution''. "There is no case for prosecution here," he asserted. "(This action against) a chief minister who has been elected with a huge majority in a democratic set up is a murder of democracy and detrimental to the Constitution by (sic) the Centre... the central government is using the governor..." he said. Shivakumar said that Abraham had submitted a letter to the governor on July 26. On the same day, the chief secretary had personally given a detailed reply to the governor on the issue through a report, as sought by him earlier. "Without looking into the aspects and issues, the genuinity (sic) of the report of the chief secretary, the governor has issued a show cause notice (to CM) on July 26... This is a political, malafide show cause notice. We never expected this from the governor. He could have studied and looked into the report submitted by the chief secretary," he said. The chief minister skipped today's meeting of the Council of Ministers and authorised Shivakumar to chair it. Home Minister G Parameshwara said since the Cabinet was slated to discuss the notice issued to the CM the governor, ministers requested the chief minister to skip it. Earlier today at a breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah held discussions with his cabinet colleagues regarding a political and legal strategy and the Congress high commands directions on the issue. The chief minister's Legal Advisor A S Ponnanna, a MLA, who was also present at the press meet, said as per Article 163 of the Constitution, the governor has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers and at his discretion when provided under the Constitution. He further said: "Prior approval under section 17A of Prevention of Corruption Act can be sought only by the investigation officer after due verification, not by T J Abraham." In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA. MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. On July 14, the Congress government constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'. Siddaramaiah, along with Shivakumar, on Tuesday met Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi and held discussions. Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 (PTI) The Kerala police on Thursday registered 14 FIRs against social media accounts that campaigned against donating to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, following the Wayanad landslide incidents. The State Police Media Centre (SPMC) said here that 194 such posts were found on social media, and notices were sent to social media platforms to remove them. Out of the 14 FIRs registered across the state, four are in Thiruvananthapuram City, two each in Kochi city and Palakkad and one each in Kollam city, Ernakulam Rural, Thrissur City, Malappuram, Wayanad, and Thiruvananthapuram Rural, it said in a release here. Police said to monitor fake campaigns against the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, cyber patrolling on social media has been intensified. "Legal action will be taken against those creating and sharing such posts," the police warned. The social media campaign was launched after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had called upon everyone to contribute to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) in order to help those affected by the landslides. Meanwhile, the office of Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, filed a complaint with the state police chief against a fake social media campaign that claimed he had appealed to not contribute to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund in the wake of the Wayanad disaster. The complaint states that such fake campaigns are being carried out with the ulterior motive of creating political divisions among the people when the state is unitedly facing a disaster. It demands immediate legal action against those who created and spread fake news in the name of the opposition leader. The massive landslides struck Kerala's Wayanad district on Tuesday morning, killing at least 177 people and injuring many. With nearly 200 people missing, the death toll is expected to rise. Amritsar, Aug 1 (PTI) The Punjab Police on Thursday said it has busted a trans-border narcotics smuggling network with the arrest of a person, adding that 3.5 kg heroin was recovered from his possession. Commissioner of Police (CP), Amritsar, Ranjit Singh Dhillon said the accused has been identified as Gurmej Singh of Bhindi Saidan Ajnala. Police said Rs one lakh cash has also been recovered from him. Dhillon said Gurmej was allegedly in touch with Pakistan-based drug smugglers. Drones were used to smuggle drugs from across the border, he said, adding that further investigations are on in the case. Police got a tip-off that Gurmej had retrieved the drug consignment and was waiting to deliver it to someone in the area of Chheharta in Amritsar. Police teams laid a trap and arrested him from the area of Ghanupur Kale. Thane, Aug 1 (PTI) A couple was injured after the plaster of the ceiling of their flat in Maharashtra's Thane city fell on them in the wee hours of Thursday, a civic official said. The incident occurred around 4 am in the ground floor flat of a two-storey building in Bedekar Nagar area of Diwa, he said. "The ceiling plaster fell on the couple when they were asleep," Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), said. The injured were identified as Santosh Shinde (41) and his wife Sharmila (35). Both of them were admitted to a civic hospital in Kalwa, he said. The building is 15 years old, he added. Students attend the "Belt and Road" International Ceramic Education Alliance Ceramic Creation Camp in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi) NANCHANG, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- When Marine Michele-Ange Nathalie Chaleron sat down at her potter's wheel, she was delighted to find that her every touch breathed life into the once shapeless porcelain clay. This summer, 24-year-old Chaleron's enthusiasm for ceramics brought her across Eurasia to Jingdezhen, a hub of China's ceramics industry. The city is located in east China's Jiangxi Province and is known around the world as the "porcelain capital," with a history of ceramics spanning more than 2,000 years. This profound history continues to spur innovation. With its strong cultural magnetism, Jingdezhen has become a window through which the world can experience China's development and appreciate Chinese culture. From June 28 to July 28, Jingdezhen Ceramic University held the "Belt and Road" International Ceramic Education Alliance Ceramic Creation Camp in the city. Alongside over 100 international ceramics enthusiasts from nine countries, Chaleron spent her summer holiday learning new skills, taking part in cultural exchange and gaining hands-on creative experience. During the event, she and her fellow camp participants placed their ceramic creations into a wood-fired kiln, with many experiencing the traditional firing method for the first time. "We don't even know what one-of-a-kind creations will be revealed until we reach the moment to open the kiln. That's amazing," Chaleron said, brimming with visible excitement. Having studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Art de Dijon (ENSA Dijon) in France, Chaleron has long been captivated by this art form and has taught herself to create her own ceramics. Speaking to Xinhua, she said that she tries to incorporate local cultural elements into her work whenever she travels to a new place, creating a new world at her fingertips. "During my time in Jingdezhen, the Chinese teachers and fellow participants here have been incredibly willing to share their knowledge and skills. I'm very grateful for this opportunity and have gained so much," she said. Rebecca Zhang, 19, who hails from the United States, said that the Jingdezhen camp has a magnetic pull and is a communication platform for ceramics enthusiasts. "This camp has given us demos from local masters. I've learned a lot of new techniques and skills that I've never seen before," Zhang said. "Each master was really specialized in their craft. They were very knowledgeable and had so much to share, and it was a lot to take in." Zhang also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from some of China's most skilled artisans, and for the sense of community she experienced in the city. "Art is universal. We are glad to see more and more young people participate in cultural exchange in Jingdezhen. They can better know each other through the porcelain," Amel Nafti, director of ENSA Dijon, said when she visited Chaleron during the event. Marine Michele-Ange Nathalie Chaleron paints on a porcelain body in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi) No one knows the importance of selecting the right running mate better than Vice President Kamala Harris. With Harris now the leading candidate to succeed President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, heres a look at the top contenders to be on the ticket. Andy Beshear The Kentucky governor secured his reputation as a rising party star by beating Donald Trump-endorsed candidates in a Republican stronghold. Beshear displayed a disciplined, tenacious style in winning reelection last year by defeating then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The governor has urged Democrats to follow his winning formula by focusing on the everyday concerns of Americans, from good-paying jobs to quality education and health care. Beshear, 46, supports abortion rights, but in Kentucky, he has tailored his message to push back against what he calls an extreme ban that lacks exceptions for rape and incest victims. He won widespread praise for his empathy and attention to detail in guiding the Bluegrass State through the COVID-19 pandemic and leading the response to tornadoes and flooding that caused massive damage. He honed his speaking skills by holding regular news conferences that often last an hour or so. Beshear has presided over record economic growth in Kentucky, and he typically begins his briefings by promoting the states latest economic wins. He frequently mentions his Christian faith and how it guides his policymaking. A lawyer by trade, Beshear won election as state attorney general in 2015. He then unseated Trump-backed Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019. Beshear entered politics with a strong pedigree as the son of two-term Gov. Steve Beshear, but has faced tougher political obstacles. Andy Beshear, unlike his father, has dealt with an entirely GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican lawmakers have stymied some of his priorities. One of them is state-funded preschool for every Kentucky 4-year-old. Mark Kelly The Arizona senator leveraged his career as an astronaut to build a brand as a moderate in a state that long supported Republicans. In his two campaigns the first in 2020 to finish the term of the late Republican Sen. John McCain and the second two years later for a full term Kelly has earned more votes than any other Democrat on the ballot. He outpolled Biden, who narrowly won Arizona, by 2 percentage points in 2020. Kellys first turn in the national political spotlight came through tragedy. His wife, then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head while meeting with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. The shooting left six people dead and spawned an early reckoning with political violence and partisan rancor. Giffords survival made her a national inspiration but snuffed out a promising political career of her own. She and Kelly went on to found a gun-control advocacy group, and Giffords has been a powerful surrogate as Kelly has taken her place in politics. In the Senate, Kelly has focused on national security and the military as well as the drought plaguing the U.S. West. He was instrumental in crafting the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill signed by Biden to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Kelly was a Navy test pilot and flew 39 combat missions during the Gulf War before joining NASA, where he flew four missions on the space shuttle. Originally from New Jersey, he settled with Giffords in Tucson after retiring from NASA and the Navy. Unlike Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected as a Democrat two years before Kelly but later left the party to become an independent, Kelly has managed to retain the support of the partys grassroots base without alienating independent voters. Josh Shapiro Shapiro is halfway through his second year as Pennsylvanias governor after easily winning his last election by trouncing a far-right, Trump-endorsed candidate. Shapiro, 51, has been a surrogate for Biden, backing the president in appearances on cable networks, and has years of experience making Trump the focus of his attacks, first as state attorney general and now as governor. He has won three statewide races two as attorney general, one as governor with a tightly scripted, disciplined campaign style, offering voters something of a lower-key alternative to the states brash political star, Sen. John Fetterman. As governor, Shapiro has begun to shed a buttoned-down public demeanor and become more confident and plain-spoken. In one recent MSNBC appearance, he said Trump should quit whining and stop [expletive] talking America. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has aggressively confronted what he viewed as antisemitism cropping up from pro-Palestinian demonstrations and has professed solidarity with Israel in its drive to eliminate Hamas. He is a staunch proponent of abortion rights in Pennsylvania and routinely promotes his victories in court against Trump, including beating back challenges to the 2020 election results. He also has positioned himself as a moderate on energy issues in the nations No. 2 natural gas state and plays up the need for bipartisanship in the politically divided state government. Tim Walz Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is a military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families. Walz, 60, has taken on greater national visibility since a 2023 legislative session that he calls one of the most consequential and productive in state history. He was elected chair of the Democratic Governors Association in December. He has served often as a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris advocate, and has made increasingly frequent appearances on national television. Walz won the first of six terms in Congress in 2006 from a mostly rural southern Minnesota district, and used the office to champion veterans issues. He served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military. When first elected governor in 2018, Walz had to find ways to work with a Legislature that was split between a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-led Senate. Minnesota has a history of divided government, though, and the arrangement was surprisingly productive in his first year. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit Minnesota early in his second year, and bipartisan cooperation soon frayed. Walz won reelection by nearly 8 points in 2022, and Democrats kept control of the House and flipped the Senate to win full control of both chambers and the governors office for the first time in eight years. Walz and other Democrats went into the 2023 legislative session with an ambitious agenda and a whopping $17.6 billion budget surplus to help fund it. Their proudest accomplishments included sweeping protections for abortion rights. (AP) Spirit Airlines is moving farther away from its history as a fee-happy budget airline and will start selling tickets that include some of its most popular extras in bundles. The Florida-based airline said Tuesday the top ticket will be a Go Big package that includes priority check-in, a roomier seat, snacks and drinks, a checked bag, a carry-on bag and free WiFi. CEO Ted Christie said the changes are taking low-fare travel to new heights. They also indicate the deep trouble with Spirits longtime business model. The airline with bright yellow planes hasnt made a full-year profit since 2019 it has lost nearly $2.4 billion since leading industry analysts to mull whether a bankruptcy filing could be in Spirits future. Full-service carriers Delta and United account for an outsized share of the U.S. airline industrys profit, and they are doing it by focusing on premium flyers while also selling bare-bones basic economy fares that compete with Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant for travelers on tight budgets. The budget carriers have suffered more than the giants from a glut of flights within the United States, which has led to price-cutting. Delta, United and American have a booming business right now in long-haul international flights that can offset weak pricing power at home. Spirit does not. The budget carriers are trying to adapt. Frontier Airlines which, like Spirit, has been losing money for more than four years matched a pandemic-era move by the bigger airlines and dropped flight-change and cancellation fees for many customers this spring. Spirit quickly copied the move. Spirit has other problems, including a looming debt payment of more than $1 billion and a shortage of planes because some of its jets are grounded for inspections and repairs of Pratt & Whitney engines. Spirit expects compensation of up to $200 million from the engine maker, but its condition is dire enough that Spirit announced in April it would furlough some pilots and delay delivery of new jets. TD Cowen analysts downgraded Spirit shares to Sell this month and said if Spirit cant renegotiate its debt or return leased planes to lessors, a pre-packaged bankruptcy filing is possible. Spirits announcement Tuesday targets travelers who might not consider a budget airline. It said customers will be able to book any of the four new ticket bundles starting Aug. 16. That means they wont be available during the height of summer-vacation travel but will be in use over the busy Labor Day holiday. We listened to our guests and are excited to deliver what they want: choices for an elevated experience that are affordable and provide unparalleled value, Christie said in a statement issued by Spirit. Spirit shares gained 5% in afternoon trading but are down more than 80% this year. (AP) A Toronto father and son have been charged with multiple terrorism-related offences, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of the ISIS, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested on July 28 in a Richmond Hill hotel room after a month-long investigation. The pair face a total of nine charges, including weapons offences for possession of an axe and a machete. RCMP Supt. James Parr said the alleged attack was targeted at Toronto, but the exact nature of the threat is under a publication ban. Both men are Canadian citizens and were not known to police before the investigation began in early July. The RCMP received information from various sources, including tipsters and governmental agencies, which led to the charges. A charge sheet also alleges Ahmad Fouad Mostafa Eldidi committed an aggravated assault for the benefit of the Islamic State in 2015 outside of Canada. The pair are currently being held in police custody and are scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday. The RCMP emphasized that there is no ongoing danger to residents of Toronto. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have energized Democrats in the early days of her candidacy, with the surge in warm feelings extending across multiple groups, including some key Democratic constituencies that had been especially tepid about President Joe Biden, a new poll shows. About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race. In a separate AP-NORC poll, taken before Biden dropped out but after his debate against Republican former President Donald Trump, only about 4 in 10 Democrats said they were somewhat or very satisfied that he was the Democratic Partys likely nominee for president. The rapidly changing views among Democrats in such a short time span underscore how swiftly the party from rank-and-file voters to elected officials has coalesced behind Harris as its standard-bearer, motivated by the fresh face at the top of the ticket and newfound confidence in the partys prospects against Trump in November. Gary Hines, a Democrat from Philadelphia, said he wasnt particularly impressed by Harris first presidential bid but now, shes shown shes up to the task, can do the work, has proven that shes running a strong campaign so far and maybe on a bigger level, shes somebody that can beat Donald Trump. All those factors have ignited an enthusiasm in Hines that wasnt there when Biden was still in the race, he said. I really want to go out and maybe knock on doors, which I wouldve never done, said Hines, 68. Its jazzed me up quite a bit. Americans are also more likely to say that Harris would make a good president than they were earlier in July, a shift that was primarily driven by Democrats. They still see a tough contest looming, though: A majority of U.S. adults, 56%, say that if Trump and Harris are their parties nominees for the general election in November, Trump is more likely to win. Lauren Schulman, a Democrat from Pompano Beach, Florida, said she admires Biden and what he has accomplished during his presidency. But she said with him at the top of the ticket, I have just been so terrified that we were going to lose. With Harris, on the other hand, shes been a bright, shining star, said Schulman, 66, noting that the vice president is smart and shes younger, and she even comes off younger than she is. That makes such a huge contrast with Trump. Growing enthusiasm for Harris especially compared to Biden About 7 in 10 Black adults and about half of Hispanic adults would be satisfied with Harris as the Democratic nominee a marked increase from earlier in July, when about half of Black adults and 15% of Hispanic adults felt satisfied with Biden as the Democrats expected nominee. (The poll did not include enough Asian adults to analyze their responses separately.) The share of younger adults (those under the age of 45) who say they would be satisfied with Harris as the nominee, at around 4 in 10, is higher than the 17% who said they were satisfied with Biden in July. Bryan Seigler, a Democrat from Raleigh, North Carolina, praised Harris broad appeal and pointed to a contrast that Democrats werent able to make before. Donald Trump is the old guy now, said Seigler, 36. The new poll shows that Harris overall favorability has risen slightly, from 39% at the beginning of the summer before the debate to 46% now. Democrats opinions of Harris have also shifted in a slightly more positive direction. Eight in 10 Democrats have a positive view of Harris, up slightly from around 7 in 10 in early June. Harris would be a historic candidate she would be the first woman to win the presidency, as well as the first Black woman, the first South Asian American, and the first Asian American. Around 4 in 10 Americans say that it would be a good thing for the country to elect either a woman or a person of color to be president. Even more about 6 in 10 when asked about electing a person of color and about half when asked about electing a woman say it does not matter. Majorities of Democrats, however, say it would be good for the country to elect a woman or person of color. Views of Bidens decision Most Americans, 54%, say they have heard or read a lot about Bidens decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. About three-quarters of Americans approve of his decision to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for president, including most Democrats and Republicans. For many Democrats, Bidens catastrophic June 27 debate showed that even if they were largely satisfied with his accomplishments during his time in office the incumbent president should not be running for a second term because of concerns about how his age was affecting his public performance or his ability to campaign effectively against Trump. When I watched the debate, you could just tell his cognitive ability was hardly there, said Julian Castaneda, a Democrat in Pocatello, Idaho. He had a hard time forming sentences and a lot of his responses, I couldnt even understand what he was saying. At his age right now, it was appropriate for him to stand aside. Bidens choice to endorse Harris as the Democratic nominee for president is slightly more divisive, with about half of U.S. adults in support, though Democrats overwhelmingly approve. There are similar levels of support for Bidens decision to serve out the rest of his presidential term. Withdrawing from the race didnt do much to change Americans views of Biden overall. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of how Biden is handling his job as president. That number is roughly in line with where it has been for the last two years. Bidens favorability ratings are similar to where they were before he dropped out of the race, with about 4 in 10 adults and about three-quarters of Democrats holding a positive view. Americans see a tough election contest for Harris Even as the new Harris campaign has reasons for optimism, the vice president faces an opponent who is better known by the country and who has a reputation for a loyal base of support. Most Americans perceive Trump as having the advantage going into the November election. A majority of U.S. adults say that if Trump and Harris are the candidates, Trump is more likely to win. About 9 in 10 Republicans say Trump is more likely to become president, while only about 7 in 10 Democrats say that about Harris. Schulman thinks Harris is more likely to win this fall. Still, she added: Democrats, were like a real, nervous, paranoid bunch these days. ___ The poll of 1,143 adults was conducted July 25-29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. (AP) New Jerseys ban on the AR-15 rifle is unconstitutional, but the states cap on magazines over 10 rounds passes constitutional muster, a federal judge said Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridans 69-page opinion says he was compelled to rule as he did because of the Supreme Courts rulings in firearms cases, particularly the 2022 Bruen decision that expanded gun rights. Sheridans ruling left both 2nd Amendment advocates and the state attorney general planning appeals. The judge temporarily delayed the order for 30 days. Pointing to the high courts precedents, Sheridan suggested Congress and the president could do more to curb gun-related violence nationwide. It is hard to accept the Supreme Courts pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are off the table when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes, he wrote. Sheridan added: Where the Supreme Court has set for the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it. This principle combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation necessitates the Courts decision. Nine other states and the District of Columbia have laws similar to New Jerseys, covering New York, Los Angeles and other major cities as well as the sites of massacres such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were killed by a shooter armed with an AR-15, one of the firearms commonly referred to as an assault weapon. Bans on so-called assault weapons are immoral and unconstitutional. FPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States, said Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, one of the plaintiffs. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement the ruling undermines public safety. The AR-15 is an instrument designed for warfare that inflicts catastrophic mass injuries, and is the weapon of choice for the epidemic of mass shootings that have ravaged so many communities across this nation, he said. He added: We look forward to pressing our arguments on appeal. Several challenges to state assault weapons bans have cited the Bruen decision. A gun rights group has challenged Connecticuts landmark 2013 gun control law, passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, that bans assault weapons, including certain AR-15-style rifles and large capacity magazines. A federal judge last year rejected a request by the National Association for Gun Rights to temporarily block the law while litigation continues, and an appeal of that ruling is pending before a federal appeals court. New Jersey has among the strictest gun laws in the country, particularly under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who has signed a number of measures into law, including the 2018 large capacity magazine ban at the center of this weeks ruling. More measures Murphy signed in 2022 include allowing the attorney general to use the states public nuisance law to go after gun makers in court. A message seeking comment Wednesday was left with a spokesperson for the governor. The states assault weapons ban dates to 1990 and includes various other weapons, but Sheridan focused on the Colt AR-15, citing the plaintiffs concentration on that weapon in their court filings, and the law specifying that make of the rifle. The large capacity magazine bill signed by Murphy lowered the limit from 15 rounds to 10 against the protest of 2nd Amendment advocates. The bills sponsors said the goal was to reduce the potential for mass casualties in shootings. (AP) The Polish and German presidents bowed their heads to the cadence of a military drum as they paid tribute Thursday to Poles slaughtered by Nazi Germany during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the ill-fated revolt. As Poland marked the hallowed day, news broke that the oldest surviving insurgent of the uprising, 106-year-old Barbara Sowa, died in the morning. With very few survivors left to take part in the ceremonies, it was a poignant reminder of the passing away of the generation shaped by the sacrifice of World War II. Later, the city will stop and sirens will wail to pay tribute to the insurgents. Taylor Swift, who is giving the first of three concerts Thursday evening in Warsaw, warned her fans on social media not to panic when they hear the sirens. Many are traveling from far away for the performance. Polish President Andrzej Duda and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stood together, heads bowed, to remember those days of August in 1944. They paid tribute to the Wola Massacre, the mass-murder of civilians of Warsaws Wola district carried out by the Germans from Aug. 5 to Aug. 12, 1944. They were led out of their homes, tenement houses, their homes were set on fire, and they themselves were shot in the streets, and their bodies were burned. Several tons of ashes were collected from the streets and squares of Wola, in order to place them in a common grave, Duda said. The German presidents bowed head and other symbolic gestures signaled remorse for the crimes of his nation. That Steinmeier lays a wreath, bows his head, kneels before the commemorative cross, calls for respect, said Duda, speaking for the nation under brutal occupation from 1939-1945, which suffered the extermination of millions of its citizens, Christian and Jewish, and the near-total destruction of its capital city. Many Poles feel the gestures of remorse are not enough, and the previous nationalist government in power from 2015-23 allied with Duda demanded $1.3 trillion from Germany in war reparations. Germany says it will not pay and the matter was settled with compensation paid to East Bloc nations in the years after the war and with territory given up to Poland. The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took power last December, has toned down the demands but says it would still like Berlin to consider possibilities for compensation. Warsaws revolt began Aug. 1, 1944, by the clandestine Home Army, which acted on orders from Polands government-in-exile in London. The aim was to free the capital from German occupiers and take control of the country ahead of the advancing Soviet army. Moscow, intending to rule postwar Poland, withheld help and kept its Red Army positioned on the other side of the Vistula River as the capital bled and burned. The Nazis, with their professional army and superior weaponry, killed 200,000 Polish fighters and civilians and razed the city in revenge. Today the uprising is remembered by Poles as one of the most important moments in a long history of independence struggles, often against Russia. The courage of the fighters remains a defining memory in the Polish image of itself as a nation willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. (AP) The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet thats been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years. Western countries have pledged F-16s to Kyiv, and some have arrived in Ukraine, officials in Washington and Ukraine confirmed to The Associated Press. The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the countrys current fleet of Soviet-era jets that are laboring to counter Russias invasion. United States President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the U.S. wont be providing any of its own planes. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries. Though Russias recent battlefield gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is adding up as Ukraine gradually yields ground. The F-16s will enhance Ukraines military strength, especially by upgrading its air defenses. But analysts say they wont turn the tide of the war on their own. Heres what to know: What can F-16s bring to the Ukrainian war effort? The F-16s will likely have three core missions, says Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. They will seek to intercept Russian missiles and drones that have relentlessly bombarded Ukraine; suppress enemy air defense systems; and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles. They will be able to affect some of the dynamics (of the war), Borsari says. A lot of information about the F-16 deployment is classified, including what Western governments allow them to hit and what weapons they will send with the aircraft. The F-16s could carry United Kingdom-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia. They might also get long-range air-to-air missiles that would threaten Russian bombers and fighter jets. The planes advanced radars will allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. Commanding the skies is an essential part of a wars ground campaign, as planes offer air cover to troops. But supporting Ukrainian troop movements on the front line with ground attacks may be too risky for the F-16s, given Russias sophisticated air defense systems. At the very least, the fighter jets could have a psychological effect on Russian pilots, and offer a morale boost for Ukrainians toiling against the Kremlins forces. What are the challenges for Ukraine? Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at Kings College London ticks off a long list of challenges the F-16s will bring for Ukraine. The roughly nine-month training in the U.S. and Europe for Ukrainian pilots amounted to a crash course compared with the usual three-year course for Western pilots in what Miron calls a very complex piece of machinery. That will mean limitations on their performance. The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems. Quality airfields are also a must as the F-16 air intake is close to the tarmac and runs the danger of sucking debris and dirt into the engine. So many associated issues need to be sorted out, Miron says. Ukrainian pilots with no combat experience in F-16s may shy away from engaging in dogfights. How will Russia react? Russian President Vladimir Putin would savor the image that destroying F-16s from NATO countries would bring. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the F-16s will not be a magic pill that changes the course of the conflict. He added that Russian authorities have already offered rewards to servicemen who destroy F-16s. The Kremlins forces will likely try to destroy the F-16s on the ground with long-range missiles. They have already been targeting Ukraines limited number of suitable airfields. The Ukrainians will need to park the F-16s in hardened hangars, disperse them between various locations, station decoy model aircraft and be ready to take off quickly in the event of an air raid warning, analysts say. Ukraine has said it might keep some of the fighter jets at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes. That prompted a harsh response from Putin, who warned that any Western air base hosting the Ukrainian fighter jets would be a legitimate target for the Kremlins forces. U.S. officials said the F-16s would be based in Ukraine. In the air, the Ukrainian F-16s will be up against Russias formidable S-300 and S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems that can target multiple aircraft at a time. Russias military also has what are estimated to be several hundred operational fighter jets, as well as sophisticated air surveillance radars. Russias Su-35 fighter jet will be one of the biggest threats to the F-16, Borsari of CEPA says. It has a long-range radar that allows it to track and engage up to eight targets at a time across a wide area. Even so, the Russians are aware that theyll be up against a more formidable aircraft than they have met so far in the war and will likely adopt a more careful approach. How will Ukraine protect the F-16s? Although Russian forces will try to strike the F-16s at the airbases where they are kept, Ukraine has robust defenses to protect the fighter jets against such attacks, says Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi. Ukraine has robust capabilities to protect its airfields with anti-aircraft defenses to deflect (Russian) attacks, Khrapchynskyi told The Associated Press. During the entire time since Russia has invaded Ukraine, it has been actively trying to hit Ukrainian airfields, but they have been somewhat unsuccessful. Khrapchynskyi said the F-16s will significantly increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force to protect the countrys air space from Russian attacks and increase the range that Ukraine can strike strategic targets in Russia. With the acquisition of F-16 aircraft, we will be able to solve a number of problems that are currently hurting Ukraine. These include: Russias massive missile attacks, its use of guided aerial bombs, and the deployment of S-300 installations in the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv, says Khrapchynskyi. We are talking about receiving F-16 aircraft, in my opinion, this will significantly help Ukraine to cope with the Russian aggression that is taking place now. (AP) A bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing they would be in position to get a better deal next year. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dared Republicans to vote against the tax cut package before lawmakers headed home for the month. He said they would be voting against tax cuts for many low-income families and local businesses. The legislation fell far short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure, with a vote of 48 in favor and 44 opposed. Three Republicans Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Rick Scott of Florida joined with Democrats in support. Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, independents who caucus with Democrats, were opposed. Both parties are trying to spotlight issues they believe will play well with voters in November. Schumer put the onus on Republicans to block tax cuts that were sought by the business community and that would financially help an estimated 16 million families when fully in effect. He was also looking to counter assertions from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, that Democrats are anti-family. The question is, will Senate Republicans join us to give Americans a tax break or will they stand in the way? Schumer said before the vote. The roughly $79 billion package passed the House overwhelmingly in January by a 357-70 vote, but has stalled in the Senate. Republicans were calling for the bill to go through the Senate Finance Committee, in a process that would allow lawmakers to offer amendments to address their concerns, but that did not happen. There were behind-the-scenes negotiations, but senators from both parties accused the other of not being serious. The child tax credit is $2,000 per qualifying child. The bill aims to make the credit more fully available to low-income families by gradually making more of the credit refundable. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the changes amounted to cash welfare instead of relief for working taxpayers. Im not so certain the American people are impressed by message votes, McConnell said. And I dont think theyll give out points for incomplete work. The bill was fashioned through negotiations by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. It would restore full, immediate deductions that businesses can take for the purchase of new equipment and machinery, and for domestic research and development expenses. The tax breaks had lapsed as a cost-containment measure under provisions of the 2017 tax bill that Republicans approved under the Trump administration. The changes in the child tax credit would lift as many as 500,000 out of poverty when the proposal was fully in effect, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. The bill would be paid for by speeding up the cutoff date by which companies could submit retroactive claims for employees they kept on the payrolls during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS has said a significant majority of retroactive claims are at a high risk of fraud. With the bill seemingly lacking the support necessary to overcome procedural hurdles, Schumer had opted for months not to bring it up for a vote. But the election season presented an opportunity for Democrats to spotlight the issue and Vance. Schumer even referenced the junior senator from Ohio when speaking on the Senate floor, leaving no doubt that Vance was part of their thinking in holding the vote. Vance claimed in a Fox News interview that Vice President Kamala Harris, the leading candidate now to be the Democrats White House nominee, was calling for an end to the child tax credit. But the Biden administration led the effort to bolster the child tax credit during the pandemic and tried unsuccessfully to continue the expansion, which temporarily increased the credit to $3,000 a year, added 17-year-olds and boosted the amount to $3,600 for children under age 6. Schumer called Vances claim plain old nonsense and said the 2021 expansion was one of the most significant achievements Democrats have had under the Biden-Harris administration. Vance also suggested in 2021 that political leaders who did not have biological children dont really have a direct stake in the country. He reaffirmed those remarks after clips of them resurfaced, saying this week on the SiriusXM radio program The Megyn Kelly Show that the Democratic Party had become anti-family and anti-child. Vance was in Arizona visiting the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday and did not attend the vote. His office did not reply to a question of how he would have voted. Wyden, meanwhile, said: Theres always a lot of talk among Republicans about supporting families, competing with China, and cracking down on fraud in government programs, but they just rejected a bill that would accomplish all of that in one package. Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, both in competitive races this fall, spoke on the Senate floor in support of the bill. But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called Thursdays action the latest in a series of show votes designed to fail but would provide Democrats with a talking point or two on the campaign trail. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said there are good things in the legislation, but if were in a position to do this next year, it will be a much stronger bill. Thune said it wont be hard for Republicans to rebuff criticism that they were insufficiently supportive of tax relief for businesses and families. There are certain issues that voters instinctively know that Republicans are better on, Thune said. They may try to make that argument in a political ad, but I think itll be hard to sustain when most voters know that it was the Republicans in 2017 that cut taxes and that next year it will be Republicans who extend those tax cuts if we have the majority. (AP) In an overnight operation, the IDF demolished the home of Murad Dahadhah, a Palestinian terrorist responsible for a fatal shooting attack in the West Bank in January. The attack, which occurred on Route 465 near the settlement of Ateret, claimed the lives of two individuals: Amar Mansour, a 33-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, and Lara Tannous, a 42-year-old Palestinian pharmacist from Ramallah. Dahadhah was arrested, along with two alleged accomplices, a day after the January 7 attack. The IDF has issued demolition orders to the families of the other suspects accused of participating in the attack. The demolition operation took place in the West Bank village of Atara, where Dahadhahs home was located. Israeli security authorities have classified the shooting as a terror attack with nationalist motives, despite the victims being Palestinians. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israel is on high alert as it awaits retaliatory responses to its high-profile targeted eliminations of terror leaders in the capital cities of its two most powerful enemies, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah. Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an order on Wednesday to carry out a direct strike on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported. The IDF has bolstered Israels missile defense systems, Air Force fighter jets are patrolling the skies, and ground forces along the northern border are at increased alertness. The assessment in Israel is that Iran and Hezbollah may carry out a coordinated and combined attack on its common enemy Israel. The IDF is also preparing for the possibility that Iran and Hezbollah may considerably delay a retaliatory attack to increase their readiness and cause prolonged tension in Israel. Irans Revolutionary Guards have vowed to carry out a special action against Israel that could take weeks to plan. As of yet, the IDF has not issued any changes to the Home Front Commands guidelines, and all regular civilian activities are allowed to continue as usual, including at Israels borders and Ben-Gurion Airport. However, countries abroad are also on heightened alert and several airlines have canceled their flights to Israel. The lack of public restrictions indicates the IDF is preparing for Israels military infrastructure to be targeted rather than civilian areas. According to NYT, Iran intends to target military sites near Tel Aviv or Haifa. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) YANGON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police have arrested five suspects who snatched cash on a street in Thonse town of Bago region, the state-run daily Myanma Alinn reported on Thursday. The theft occurred at around 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday when a local man placed his 20 million kyats of cash (about 9,523 U.S. dollars), which he had withdrawn from a bank, on his motorcycle and went to have a salad at a shop, the report said. A group of five men on four motorcycles arrived at the scene and snatched the cash from the motorcycle, the report added. The suspects were arrested on the same day in Letpadan township of Bago region, it said, adding that they were charged at the Thonse police station. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that top Pentagon and military officials were stunned by Israels elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran. According to the report, the Biden administration was not informed in advance of Israels plans to eliminate Haniyeh. US military officials were particularly stunned by its execution in the Iranian capital, humiliating the regime and making it difficult for it not to respond. However, a senior US military official told The Times that despite Irans embarrassment, it is still hesitant to launch an all-out war with Israel. Meanwhile, US and EU diplomatic officials are urgently holding discussions with their Iranian counterparts in attempts to deter a major war in the Middle East, UKs Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The report said that senior EU diplomat Enrique Moran flew to Tehran and held talks there on Wednesday. Everyone since last night is putting pressure on Tehran to not respond and to contain this, a Western diplomat said. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Several Turkish media outlets fell for fake news when they took an Israeli joke about the assassin who killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh seriously. Following Haniyehs death, some Israeli social media users joked around that the assassins name was Amit Nakesh, a play on the word hamitnakesh, [] which means the assassin. The outlets not only named Amit Nakesh but provided specific details about his persona, writing that Nakesh is a well-known Mossad agent and a former IDF officer who worked for many years in several of Israels security agencies. Another Turkish media outlet wrote that Amit Nakesh is probably an Israeli of Indian origin since Amit is a common Indian name [apparently unaware that its a common Israeli name as well.] This isnt the first time that foreign media outlets have fallen into the trap of Israeli jokes. Following the helicopter crash that killed the Butcher of Tehran Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi a French media outlet reported that the name of the pilot was Eli Kopter. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) An outrageous video shows an employee of the Officeworks store in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, refusing to carry out a laminating job because she is pro-Palestine. In a typical display of utter ignorance, she couldnt even explain why being pro-Palestine meant that she couldnt laminate the page, which was an article in the Australian Jewish News about a group of Australians who traveled to Israel to help victims of the October 7 Hamas assault. And of course, she definitely didnt explain why her personal views prevented her from carrying out her job and treating her customers equally. The incident occurred in March but is making headlines now after the Jewish customer, who said he suffered tremendous shock and embarrassment from the incident, decided to take legal action. The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) shared the video on Thursday. It should be noted that the customers decision to take legal action was only made after he wrote a letter to Officeworks demanding an apology and the termination of the workers employment. Their response was to offer him a $100 voucher and promise to investigate the matter. This incident has caused my family and me significant distress and has raised concerns about whether it is safe to visit our local stores and conduct our usual activities, he said in a statement shared with the ADC. ADC chairman Dr. Dvir Abramovich said: Treating Jewish people differently because of who they are is discrimination plain and simple and Officeworks Elsternwick might as well have posted a sign in the store saying, No service for Jews, Zionists or supporters of Israel. Imagine the public outrage if a member of the LGBTQI community, or an Indigenous Australian or a disabled person were turned away? It may begin with the Jews being turned away from a public business, but it will not end with the Jews, and red lines are now being crossed that I never thought Id see in my lifetime. The customer, who chose to remain anonymous, told Sky News Australia that he felt vilified and discriminated by the incident. He added that he is even considering moving his family to Israel due to the increasing antisemitism in the country since October 7. I find myself telling my family: Its a matter of when were moving to Israel, but not if.' He is suing Officeworks under the Equal Opportunities Act for racial and religious vilification. [It should be noted that he was wearing a yarmulke during the incident.] Australian Jewish News editor-in-chief Gareth Narunsky said he was shocked to hear about the incident, especially since AJN represents a broad range of Australian Jews with diverse opinions. To deny a customer who simply wants to laminate an article from our publication reeks of ignorance and antisemitism. Although Officeworks managing director Sarah Hunter issued a statement saying that the team members views are not Officeworks views and appropriate disciplinary action was taken, the antisemitic employee has not been dismissed. The store also did not issue a public apology. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Seven airlines Delta, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Air India have canceled all flights to Israel due to increasing tensions with Iran. The cancellations come after a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Tel Aviv was diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus, and then returned to Germany due to crew concerns about flying to Israel. FlyDubai has also canceled some of its scheduled flights. Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport had massive crowds on Thursday, with many attempting to catch the last flights out of the country in anticipation of further cancellations. Others are seeking to cancel their flights due to fears of being unable to return to Israel. The flight cancellations occur as Israel prepares for potential retaliation following the recent assassinations of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israel is bracing for potential attacks from Iran and Hezbollah in response to the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, and is working to finalize a regional and international coalition to thwart these attacks, according to Channel 12. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to discuss this joint effort with US President Joe Biden in an upcoming conversation. Britains Defense Secretary John Healey is also set to visit Israel to discuss the matter. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has publicly said that the US would help defend Israel if it is attacked in the wake of Haniyehs killing. Israel has conveyed a message to Hezbollah via third parties, warning that if the group responds to the killing of Shukr, it will be considered army against army. However, if Hezbollah targets civilians, Israel will consider it a broad war and may target Lebanese infrastructure. A senior Israeli source says the current high state of military preparation could last for several days, and that while Hezbollah may respond quickly, Iran may take longer to decide on a response. In his call with Netanyahu, Biden is expected to press for flexibility in efforts to conclude a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas in Gaza. However, Netanyahu believes that only military pressure has yielded Hamas flexibility to date, and that now is not the time to ease up. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The White House has announced new defensive military deployments by the US to bolster Israels defenses following the assassinations of Hezbollah senior general Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. This update was shared in the readout of a Thursday call between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The statement did not provide further details on the specific defensive measures being implemented. The following is the full statement: President Biden spoke today with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. The President reaffirmed his commitment to Israels security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. The President discussed efforts to support Israels defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments. Together with this commitment to Israels defense, the President stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region. Vice President Harris also joined the call. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Barclays pre-tax profits fell 9% in first six months of the year Barclays profits slumped in the fist half, as a strong performance in its investment banking division failed to offset a decline in its core UK businesses. The FTSE 100-listed lenders pre-tax profits fell 9 per cent in the first-half to 4.2billion, beating estimates of 3.8billion but down from 4.6billion a year ago. Group income was flat at 6.3billion in the second quarter, beating expectations of 6.16billion and bringing total half-year income to 13.3billion, down 2 per cent year-on-year. Barclays reports dip in first-half profits as investment bank income fails to offset weakness in UK business Income from Barclays UK business fell 4 per cent in the second quarter, as higher structural hedge income was more than offset by mortgage margin pressure and adverse product dynamics in deposits. This was partially offset by income from the investment bank, which rose 10 per cent in the three months to June. It was a bumper second quarter for equities with income up 24 per cent, compared with an 18 per cent increase for Morgan Stanley and 21 per cent JP Morgan. Barclays US consumer bank saw income increase by 5 per cent to 1.68billion due to higher credit card balances, but this also came with a small increase in credit defaults. Barclays increased the overall level of its impairment charge to 900million. The lender also announced another share buyback of up to 750million, per analyst expectations, after announcing a 1billion scheme in its last results and an interim dividend of 2.9p. Between this year and 2026, Barclays is estimating an extremely ambitious 10billion of returns, which are increasingly likely to be skewed towards buybacks rather than a progressive dividend policy, said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. On Wednesday, HSBC announced a similar buyback scheme, targeting $3billion worth of shares after the lenders profits beat expectations. Barclays said it was upgrading its target for return on tangible equity, which is a measure of profitability, to greater than 12 per cent by 2026. CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan said: We are making good progress on our three-year plan, with a RoTE of 11.1 per cent in the first half of 2024, which puts us on track for our target of greater than 10 per cent RoTE in 2024. The lender also said it was targeting income of 30billion by 2026. Shares in Barclays were up 1.45 per cent in morning trading and over 50 per cent year-to-date. It is the second best performer amongst the large UK banks behind Natwest. Hunter said: While the shares reacted positively to the update, the move was perhaps tempered by much of the good news already being in the price. A stellar six months has seen the share price rising by 58%, leading to a gain of 51 per cent over the last year, as compared to a rise of 9.2 per cent for the wider FTSE100. Barclays is a group with deep pockets and a diversified business model, and the longer-term outlook remains one which continues to attract investors. Indeed, the market consensus of the shares as a buy has recently edged past NatWest, such that Barclays is currently the preferred play in the sector. Participants attend the Hong Ting Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 31, 2024. The Hong Ting Forum, themed "China and Africa Join Hands Together to Modernization," was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Wednesday, drawing dozens of participants, including policymakers, diplomats, industry executives, media personnel and scholars. (Xinhua/Han Xu) NAIROBI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Ting Forum, themed "China and Africa Join Hands Together to Modernization," was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Wednesday, drawing dozens of participants, including policymakers, diplomats, industry executives, media personnel and scholars. Convened by Xinhua News Agency Africa Regional Bureau, the half-day symposium discussed innovative ways to strengthen Sino-African cooperation across diverse sectors and achieve renewal. There was a consensus among participants at the Hong Ting Forum that both Africa and China have a shared aspiration to prosper and modernize by leveraging partnerships and mutual learning. Cavince Adhere, a Nairobi-based international relations scholar, observed that a fruitful Sino-African cooperation will form the foundation for fostering economic modernization, creating jobs and spreading prosperity evenly. While acknowledging China's huge footprint in African economies, Adhere called for enhanced cooperation in digital inclusion, green transition, technology transfer, health, agriculture and security to achieve mutual benefits. In Kenya, Adhere said China has been instrumental in the modernization of the country's infrastructure, boosting economic growth through enhanced movement of goods and services. Steve Zhao, chief executive officer of MOJA Expressway Company Limited, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), noted that by tapping into Chinese technology, capital and expertise, African countries will benefit from modernization powered by improved transport networks. The 27.1-km Nairobi Expressway, built by CRBC through a public-private partnership and now operated by MOJA, has boosted Kenya's modernization through seamless mobility of manpower and cargo, Zhao said. Julius Thairu, chief commercial and customer officer of Kenya Airways, the national carrier, said the dream of establishing a Sino-African air "Silk Road" is slowly being realized to promote connectivity, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges. Thairu said strategic partnerships between African and Chinese airlines have been forged as part of the air "Silk Road" to strengthen commercial ties and people-to-people exchanges. African countries have been inspired by China's rallying call for countries to pursue modernization that suits their local conditions and spread benefits equitably, said Samuel Maina, editor-in-chief of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, the state-funded broadcaster. Maina underscored the urgency of powering Africa's modernization by leveraging partnerships with China in strategic areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, energy and infrastructure. "Africa can draw valuable lessons from the Chinese modernization journey to inform its development strategies," Maina said, adding that partnerships in the areas of innovation, advanced manufacturing and e-commerce will hasten modernization. Uwharrie Capital Corp (OTCMKTS:UWHR Get Free Report) shares were down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $7.65 and last traded at $7.70. Approximately 5,221 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 135% from the average daily volume of 2,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.75. Uwharrie Capital Stock Performance The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $7.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.70. About Uwharrie Capital (Get Free Report) Uwharrie Capital Corp operates as the bank holding company for Uwharrie Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in North Carolina. It accepts personal and commercial checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Uwharrie Capital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Uwharrie Capital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council and the Central Military Commission have issued a set of regulations for the settlement of veterans, aiming to better protect their rights and interests. The document, which will take effect on Sept. 1, outlines the settlement procedure for veterans, and clarifies that the location for veterans' settlement should be determined according to their needs for work and the locations of their families, with their contributions during their period of military service taken into consideration. Highlighting support for employment and starting up businesses, the regulations urge joint efforts from the military and civilian sectors to conduct skills training before and after retirement from the military. The document specifies that after leaving active duty, veterans are entitled to enjoy related benefits according to law. Shares of Abitibi Royalties Inc. (CVE:RZZ Get Free Report) fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as C$26.80 and last traded at C$27.00. 4,550 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 3,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$27.15. Abitibi Royalties Price Performance The stock has a market cap of C$336.50 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -168.75. The companys fifty day simple moving average is C$27.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$27.00. About Abitibi Royalties (Get Free Report) Abitibi Royalties Inc engages in exploring, evaluating, and promoting mineral properties and other projects in Canada. Its flagship royalty is 3% net smelter return royalty located on the eastern portion of the Canadian Malartic mine that includes the East Malartic, Odyssey, Sladen, Sheehan, Jeffrey, Barnat Extension, Gouldie Zone, and the Charlie Zone. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Abitibi Royalties Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abitibi Royalties and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Navy has completed extensive military exercises involving the Baltic, Northern, and Pacific Fleets, as well as the Caspian Flotilla, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Thursday. "Units and formations of the Russian Navy, which participated in scheduled exercises within the operational zones of the Northern, Pacific, and Baltic Fleets, as well as the area of responsibility of the Caspian Flotilla, have begun to withdraw forces. Crews of the ships, which carried out training and combat tasks as assigned, will soon return to their permanent bases," the statement said. Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Alexander Moiseyev said that the exercises achieved their goal of assessing the actions of naval command authorities at all levels and verifying the readiness of ship crews, naval aviation units, and coastal troops to perform their designated tasks. Moiseyev added that the Navy's General Staff will conduct a detailed analysis of the actions of surface forces, naval aviation, and coastal units as part of the comprehensive combat training activities. Approximately 300 surface ships, boats, submarines, and support vessels, around 50 aircraft, more than 200 pieces of military and special equipment, and over 20,000 military personnel and civilian staff from various units and formations participated in the exercises. Over several days, ship crews, naval aviation units, and coastal troops executed more than 300 combat exercises with practical weapon use, including anti-aircraft missile firing and artillery shooting at sea and air training targets. During the exercises, fleet and Caspian Flotilla command authorities also practiced coordination with other security agencies and federal executive bodies in organizing the defense of bases, preventing illegal activities at sea, and conducting water rescue operations. JOHANNESBURG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Hamas International Relations Director for East, Central and Southern Africa Emad Saber on Wednesday condemned the killing of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh. "It is clear that the Zionists do not seek peace, and do not care about the safety of their captives. The assassination of our leaders will never weaken or defeat us; it will only increase our steadfastness, our strength, and our unwavering determination to achieve our rights and our liberation," said Saber, who is based in South Africa. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed early Wednesday when their residence was hit in the Iranian capital of Tehran, according to a statement by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, adding the attack was under investigation and the results would be announced later. Israel has no comment on the incident yet. Saber vowed that Palestinians will continue to fight for their freedom and self-determination. The killing of the Hamas leader will not break the will of the Palestinians to "resist military occupation, apartheid and colonialism," he said. Saber also blamed "the Israeli military machine" and its supporters for the onslaught in Gaza and the West Bank. "Gaza has been reduced to rubble ... some communities in the West Bank have been besieged and repeatedly attacked," he said. Israel launched its offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year, following a surprise attack by Hamas militants in which about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. According to Gaza-based health authorities, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 39,445 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and displaced approximately 2 million people. WELLINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines will resume its direct service between New Zealand's Christchurch and south China's Guangzhou for an expanded summer season, starting at the end of October. The airline will fly seven days a week during the peak season between Dec. 17, 2024 and Feb. 12, 2025, with 75 percent more seats than during the same period last year, which is a boost for the Chinese New Year period, Christchurch Airport said on Thursday. This is a boon for all those choosing to celebrate the Chinese New Year in New Zealand's South Island, as well as providing more opportunities for travel and commerce, bringing significant benefits for travelers and the regional economy, said a statement of the airport. For eight years since 2016, The Chinese airline has offered direct flights to Christchurch, with close to 400,000 passengers using the Guangzhou service, it said. Gordon Bevan, general manager of aeronautical development at Christchurch Airport, said a memorandum of understanding was signed with China Southern Airlines earlier this year, which not only aims to boost tourism but also focuses on enhancing education and high-value cargo services, boosting regional economy and international connectivity. The return of China Southern Airlines and the increased services for Chinese New Year will provide a valuable two-way connection for more than 20,000 Chinese residents living in the South Island to reunite with their friends and family, celebrate their traditions, and enjoy the festivities as they welcome in the Year of the Snake, Bevan said. Currently, China Southern Airlines operates a regular air route between Auckland in New Zealand's North Island and Guangzhou. Hezbollah members attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) JERUSALEM, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is "in a very high preparedness level" for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. "We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any front," he said following a situational assessment at the Home Front Command. The remarks were made as Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. "You do not know what red line you have crossed," Nasrallah said in a speech made as part of Shokor's funeral, adding that "the war has entered a new phase." Hezbollah has "new commanders who can replace Shokor and others," he said, adding that the upcoming campaign will involve Iran, Yemen, and Iraq, in addition to Gaza and Lebanon. Nasrallah also denied Hezbollah's involvement in the weekend's rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 youngsters. Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of Shokor, saying it was a retaliation for the rocket fire, but has yet to confirm its involvement in the killing of Haniyeh. Hezbollah members attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Supporters attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Hezbollah members attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Supporters attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Hezbollah members attend the funeral of Fouad Shokor in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon-based military group and party will avenge the assassinations of Fouad Shokor, a senior military advisor to Nasrallah, in Beirut and Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Irish citizen Paul Whelan has been released from prison in Russia as part of a prisoner exchange today negotiated between the Kremlin and Western countries. Mr Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan who also holds Irish citizenship, was designated as wrongfully detained following his arrest in December 2018 after he had travelled to Russia for a wedding. He was convicted of espionage charges which he and the US said were false, and was serving a 16-year sentence. His release comes as part of the biggest prisoner swap between the US and Russia in post-Soviet history. READ MORE - ALERT: Gardai and family issue urgent appeal for missing woman last seen over a month ago Others released by Moscow include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality. Taoiseach Simon Harris has welcomed Whelans release, saying he has received confirmation from the US government that Whelans release was part of the prisoner swap that had been negotiated over many months. I have spoken to the US Ambassador in Ireland who confirmed the news, Harris said in a statement. I know this will be an enormous relief to his family who have campaigned for many years for his release. I would also like to thank Irelands diplomatic team in Russia and our consular team in Dublin for their years of tireless work on this case. A huge fire has broken out at an industrial estate in north Dublin this evening. Units from Dublin Fire Brigade are at the scene of the large fire, which is currently burning at the Clonshaugh industrial unit in Coolock in north Dublin. The alert was raised just before 5pm. Thick columns of dark smoke can be seen rising from the Camfil building in Port Tunnel Business Park in Dublin 17 in footage shared by one of our readers. Flames can be seen on top of the building as the fire rages. That is some fire out in Clonshaugh (near Coolock). Im standing in our office in city centre and can see it it from here pic.twitter.com/rsQUykvPbS Adrian Weckler (@adrianweckler) August 1, 2024 Dublin Fire Brigade and Gardai are at the scene of the incident. Five fire engines, including a turntable ladder are at the scene on the Oscar Traynor Road. In a statement, a spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said: "Five fire engines including a turntable ladder are at an industrial unit fire off the Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock. If you can smell smoke we're advising local residents to close all windows and doors as a precaution. Smoke is drifting across the locality." More to follow. JERUSALEM, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military confirmed on Thursday that Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas's military wing, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in July, following weeks of uncertainty about his condition after the attack. An Israeli airstrike targeted Deif on July 13, but Hamas denied he was in the area during the attack. "Following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," Israel's military said in a press statement. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Israel's military said that Deif was killed by a warplane bombing in Khan Yunis. At least 90 other people were killed in the bombing, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel also said that Rafa'a Salameh, the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade, was killed in the bombing. Deif, 58, head of Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, had survived at least seven previous assassination attempts by Israel. Ranked number two in Hamas in Gaza, Deif commanded Hamas's operations during the ongoing conflict, issuing directives to senior members of its military wing, according to the Israeli military. This photo provided by the interviewee shows professor Liu Xiaofeng talking with a graduate student on a humanoid robot at Hohai University in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 1, 2024. (Xinhua) NANJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Despite the summer vacation, Liu Xiaofeng, a professor at Hohai University in east China's Jiangsu Province, and his research team have remained immersed in the laboratory, focusing on developing humanoid robots with highly expressive facial features. Eyeing on optimizing human-robot emotional interaction technology, the research team has developed a new algorithm for generating facial expressions on humanoid robots. At its 26th annual meeting on July 2, the China Association of Science and Technology listed research on emotionally intelligent digital humans and robots at the top of the 10 major cutting-edge scientific issues of 2024. On the same day, Liu's team published their findings -- a new approach for action unit (AU)-driven facial expression disentangled synthesis -- in the international journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Humanoid robots often struggle to convey the intricate and authentic facial expressions characteristic of humans, potentially hampering user engagement, Liu said. "To address this challenge, we introduced a comprehensive two-stage methodology to empower our autonomous affective robot with the capacity to exhibit rich and natural facial expressions," he added. Liu explained that in the first stage, their method generates nuanced robot facial expression images guided by AUs. In the subsequent phase, they actualize an affective robot with multifaceted degrees of freedom for facial movements, enabling it to embody the synthesized fine-grained facial expressions. Ni Rongrong, from Changzhou University who is a co-author of the paper, said that people may be more familiar with various "digital humans" and "virtual anchors," which can generate a variety of real-time expressions. However, humanoid robots face specific constraints, such as the size and number of motors, which make this more challenging, Ni added. "For example, the humanoid robot we previously used had only nine micro motors beneath its facial surface, far fewer than the number of muscles in a human face." Therefore, according to Ni, the team divided the nine motors on the humanoid robot's face into 17 AUs to enable richer expressions and smoother transitions through coordinated movements. Liu said that the team of researchers plans to expand the number of facial AUs and endow a robot with delicate expressions autonomously. Liu believes that as the emotional interaction capabilities of humanoid robots continue to advance, these robots -- equipped with both high emotional and intellectual quotients -- will become widely used in nursing homes, kindergartens, special education schools, and other settings. "The humanoid robots will not only assist or replace humans in completing some tasks but also bring more emotional value," he said. This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows heavy-duty equipment being handed over by LiuGong Machinery at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) ACCRA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese company LiuGong Machinery on Wednesday handed over 2,200 heavy-duty equipment to the Ghanaian government to support the country's District Road Improvement Program (DRIP). The equipment, which included motor graders, bulldozers, concrete mixers, back wheel loaders, rollers, tipper trucks, and water tanks, was purchased by the government of Ghana for road maintenance across the country. During the handover ceremony, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the project marked an important milestone in Ghana's pursuit of infrastructure development. Akufo-Addo noted that despite the considerable progress made in the country's development, many roads, especially in deprived districts, remained in deplorable state, hampering economic activities and development efforts. "Road infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth and social development. Roads connect communities, facilitate trade, enable access to education and healthcare, and ultimately improve the quality of life of the citizenry," Akufo-Addo stated. He added that this is why the DRIP was critical to empower the various local government administrations with the equipment necessary to rehabilitate and maintain roads in their communities. "We continue to appreciate warmly the cooperation between the government and people of Ghana and the government and people of China and may the cooperation flourish," Akufo-Addo said. Zeng Guang'an, chief executive officer of LiuGong Machinery, said the company was glad to be part of such a massive project in Ghana, a country that holds an important position in Africa's development with a dynamic economy and rich resources. "We are looking forward to continuing cooperation and contributing to a prosperous Ghana," he added. This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows heavy-duty equipment being handed over by LiuGong Machinery at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows heavy-duty equipment being handed over by LiuGong Machinery at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows heavy-duty equipment being handed over by LiuGong Machinery at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) CANBERRA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has denounced Japan's decision to expand its commercial whaling. Tanya Plibersek, minister for the environment and water, on Thursday condemned Japan's move to add fin whales to its list of commercial whalers will target. "Australia is deeply disappointed by Japan's decision to expand its commercial whaling program by adding fin whales," she said in a statement. Fin whales are the second-largest whale species in the world and are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Japan's Fisheries Agency in May proposed expanding commercial whaling in the country's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone to include fin whales. In June the agency announced that it has authorized the hunting of up to 59 fin whales in the North Pacific in 2024. Plibersek said on Thursday that Australia is opposed to all commercial whaling and called for all countries to end the practice. "Australia's efforts through the International Whaling Commission have contributed to a whaling-free Southern Ocean and a decline in commercial whaling around the world. Australia will continue to advocate for the protection and conservation of whales and the health of our ocean for future generations," she said. This photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a view of the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a lake in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) This photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows the scenery of the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An off-road vehicle runs in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 30, 2024. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows the starry night sky over the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial drone photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows a lake in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) A drone photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows tourists taking photos of camels in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a lake in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial panoramic photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows a lake in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial panoramic photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows the scenery of the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) This photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a view of the Badain Jaran Desert at sunset in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a lake in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows camels in the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) This photo taken on July 30, 2024 shows a view of the Badain Jaran Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located in the hyper-arid region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is the country's third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. China's Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand and Lakes, was included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Bei He) SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's direct overseas purchase hit a record high in the second quarter thanks to rising popularity of Chinese online platforms, statistical office data showed Thursday. Local customers bought 2.02 trillion won (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) worth of products directly in the cyberspace during the April-June quarter, up 25.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the largest quarterly figure since relevant data began to be compiled in 2014. The record overseas purchase came on the back of the growing popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as AliExpress and Temu, among domestic customers. Online direct purchase from China surged 64.8 percent from a year earlier to 1.24 trillion won (907.5 million dollars) in the second quarter, accounting for 61.4 percent of the total. It was followed by the United States with 424.9 billion won (310.9 million dollars) and Japan with 134.6 billion won (98.5 million dollars). Of the total products directly purchased through overseas e-commerce platforms, clothing and fashion items took up the highest 43.7 percent, trailed by food and beverage with 18.6 percent and daily necessities and car accessories with 8.7 percent. Meanwhile, direct overseas sales by South Korean online vendors reduced 6.7 percent over the year to 448.9 billion won (328.5 million dollars) in the second quarter. It marked the first fall in four quarters since the second quarter of last year. The Hong Ting Forum, themed "China and Africa Join Hands Together to Modernization," was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Wednesday, drawing dozens of participants, including policymakers, diplomats, industry executives, media personnel and scholars. We don't know if our dear readers have a voting outfit selected but we merely serve to remind that temperatures will probably be hot along with tempers. As always, booty shorts provide a nice breeze for both better & worse . . . Very much like decisions at the voting both. And that'll have to qualify as a quick intro to this latest gathering of local voting news. Check TKC news gathering . . . We Blogged This News Last Week But Mayor Q Recycled The Same Report This Morning . . . KC mayor warns against Missouri voters supporting Amendment 4, about police funding The amendment's supporters say "adequate funding is needed" to keep Kansas City safe, but Mayor Quinton Lucas opposes the proposed amendment because it "takes power" from local officials. Meth Town Change Underway Original Independence City Charter author supports changes on next week's ballot It's been more than 60 years since the Independence City Charter was first adopted and nearly 40 years since its citizens helped update the document, but city officials hope that changes soon. Hipsters Entertain Pentagon Progressive Josh Hawley thinks "masculinity" is under attack, but his Marine Veteran contender for Missouri Senate isn't playing culture war games Lucas Kunce is running against Josh Hawley for Missouri State Senate. Here is what you should know about the Democrat before voting. Show-Me House Cleaning Redux Missouri Senate primary elections will test incumbents in a year of historic turnover Missouri Democrats are hoping that abortion and minimum wage ballot initiatives will help boost the party to its biggest gains of century. How much of a stranglehold the GOP will have in the Senate will be decided in six districts, five of which are in major metro areas. Kansas Declines Excitement 'Boring is very good': New group called Kansans First endorses moderate Republicans Kansans First is a new group endorsing moderate candidates over extremists for state offices this election season. Show-Me MAGA Fight In Missouri Senate District 31, a Freedom Caucus incumbent faces a challenge from two House members Incumbent state Sen. Rick Brattin is running for reelection for the first time. His opponents say Brattin is an obstructionist and that they want to restore order to the Missouri Senate. Reporting Rock Chalk Weaponry Kansas Republican supports stock ban for Congress. He won't say what he'll do with his own Pressure has been increasing to prevent members of Congress and their families from owning, buying or trading stock, after several lawmakers appeared to make big trades ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bitter Fight In The Stix Cass County incumbent fights to retain State Senate seat Rick Brattin, Mike Haffner and Dan Houx are facing off against each other in the Republican primary for the 31st District Missouri senate seat. Golden Ghetto Legal Power Play Democratic challengers say Johnson County DA office needs to change. Can they flip the seat? In the primary election, longtime prosecutor Vanessa Riebli runs against second-time candidate Zach Thomas. Both try to unseat Steve Howe. Politicos Going Bust Missouri's GOP gubernatorial primary as a hand of Texas Hold 'Em, part three: The river * Missouri Independent What's the best way to explain the GOP primary for Missouri governor? How about using a hand of Texas Hold 'Em. Local Democracy Help Wanted Wanted: Poll Workers. Must Love Democracy. A coalition is making a national push to encourage hundreds of thousands of Americans to serve as poll workers in November's presidential election. Developing . . . Lots of info to consider tonight as old school crime news resurfaces along with more deets about pending cases, recent allegations and public safety cost consequences. Check TKC news gathering . . . Pharmacist Robert Courtney expected to be released on Wednesday to home confinement July 31 is the day Robert Courtney is scheduled to be released from a federal prison in Colorado to home confinement. 3 men await trial in deadly shooting at Chiefs Super Bowl rally The cases against three men charged in the Chiefs rally shooting, which killed one woman and injured more than 20 others, are moving through the court system. Kansas court reporter's state certificate revoked amid blackmail, abuse allegations * Kansas Reflector Kansas Supreme Court revokes certificate of former Wyandotte County court reporter amid allegations she physicially abused people and attempted blackmail. Rocks hitting, damaging cars in Northland neighborhood, frustrating drivers People living near Kellybrook Elementary School are complaining of someone throwing rocks at their cars as they drive past. Businessman charged with wire fraud after $4 million stolen from clients A businessman in Flordia now faces federal charges of wire fraud for $4 million in funds stolen from clients in Kansas and Missouri. Man sentenced for 2023 south Kansas City deadly shooting of 66-year-old A 40-year-old Kansas City, Missouri man was sentenced for a 2023 shooting in south Kansas City that left a 66-year-old man dead. Chevy pickup believed to have been used in fatal drive-by shooting in Kansas City's Northland Clay County Sheriff's Office released a video of a dark blue or black 1996-98 Chevrolet Silverado 4X4 Z71 pickup believed to have been used in a drive-by shooting that killed a teen in Avondale, a small city near North Kansas City Hospital. Substance abuse costing Missouri $8.5 billion every year, new estimates reveal A new estimate from the Missouri Department of Mental Health said the societal cost of substance use disorders is $8.5 billion. California man sentenced to prison after flight forced to land in Kansas City A California man has been sentenced to prison after he attempted to open an emergency exit mid-flight and forced an American Airlines flight to land in Kansas City. Developing . . . Activists fight for control of the narrative in the aftermath of a horrific tragedy. To wit . . . THE KC DEFENDER SHARES RACIALLY CHARGED ACCUSATIONS AGAINST OWNERS & MEDIA IN DEFENSE OF PARENTS CONFRONTING NEGLECT CHARGES!!! They call it the "latest manifestation of violent neglect by slumlords." Here's how they report the situation . . . "In a heart-wrenching, outraging tragedy, a 3-year-old Black toddler fell to his death from an 8th-floor window at Independence Towers after his parents had repeatedly asked their slumlord to fix the broken window. "To make matters worse, prosecutors have now charged the grieving parents with child endangerment, compounding their unimaginable loss with criminalization and incarceration." Another quote accuses mainstream media of complicity . . . "White Media Criminalizes & Plasters Mugshots of Black Parent Victims "Adding insult to injury, Kansas Citys largest TV stationsFOX4, KMBC, and KCTVhave plastered the mugshots of the grieving parents, Moses Lee Bass Jr. and Destiny Randle, across screens, portraying them as negligent and criminal. "This media narrative is a gross distortion of the truth, shifting the blame away from the real culprit: the slumlord and company who neglected their responsibilities and allowed these dangerous conditions to persist." Meanwhile . . . Other residents of Independence Towers claim there is more than enough blame to go around as they advocate for their own safety. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . KC Slumlord Neglect Leads to Black Baby's Death from 8th Story Window; Rage Mounts After Parents Unjustly Jailed In a horrifying injustice, a Black baby fell to death from an 8th story window at Independence Towers after months-long slumlord neglect. Community demands justice after grieving parents are jailed and criminalized. Parents face life imprisonment after son's fatal fall from window at the Independence Towers Destiny Randle and Moses Bass could face life in prison after their 3-year-old son fell through a window and plunged eight stories to his death. Independence Towers residents say blame is shared in toddler's death From no hot water, to screens not being on all of the windows, to some of the building being deemed unsafe, to no air conditioning. Residents insist that blame should be shared with the complex. Developing . . . Apropos for #TBT . . . We merely note this occasion to the aftermath of a historic episode in local healthcare wherein a doctor betrayed the trust of an entire community. The aftermath . . . "Courtney pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with medicine. He was expected to serve 30 years in prison but was released on July 31, 2024 eight years early." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Pharmacist Robert Courtney expected to be released on Wednesday to home confinement July 31 is the day Robert Courtney is scheduled to be released from a federal prison in Colorado to home confinement. NANJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ship export revenue in east China's Jiangsu Province totaled 50.02 billion yuan (6.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half (H1) of 2024, an increase of 72.1 percent year on year and ranking top in China, according to local customs authorities on Thursday. The value of the province's ship exports accounted for 34.1 percent of the country's total in the same period, according to Nanjing Customs. Jiangsu has established a ship-building industry cluster, manufacturing a wide range of vessels, such as high-end cruise liners, cargo ships, "ro-ro" (roll-on/roll-off) ships, liquefied natural gas (LNG) transporting vessels, and self-elevating wind turbine installation vessels. Customs data shows that in the first half of the year, the province's exports of container ships, liquified cargo ships and bulk carriers had increased by 153 percent, 77 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively. Song Shuming, general manager of Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., said the company will build and deliver 15 ships this year, a record high in the company's history. The Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, delivered 20 new ships in the first half of 2024 -- resulting in export value doubling year on year. Wang Yi, the company's director of customs affairs, said that the company has nearly 100 orders in hand, with production plans scheduled through the year 2028. Nanjing Customs has vowed to continue to improve customs clearing efficiency to help boost ship exports. Fishing boats depart for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishing boats depart for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishermen prepare for fishing at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 31, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on Aug. 1, 2024 shows fishing boats departing for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows fishing boats at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishing boats depart for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on Aug. 1, 2024 shows fishing boats departing for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows fishing boats at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows fishing boats at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishing boats depart for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on Aug. 1, 2024 shows fishing boats departing for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishermen prepare for fishing at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 31, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishermen prepare for fishing at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 31, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo taken on Aug. 1, 2024 shows fishing boats departing for fishing from the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishermen prepare for fishing at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 31, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Fishermen prepare for fishing at the Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 31, 2024. Four types of fishing boats with special permission set sail on Thursday after a three-month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) From critical infrastructure repairs in Zhytomyr Oblast to a recent delivery of Mistral MANPADS that arrived less than a month ago, since the beginning of the Kremlin-ordered full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia has continuously stepped up to aid the Ukrainian people in their fight for liberty and liberation against the Russian invaders. In addition to providing aid to Ukraine, which by some accounts is the highest in percentage of national GDP, the Estonian government has already announced a plan to allocate .25% of its annual Gross Domestic Product to support Ukraines efforts at victory. With this in mind, along with the recent appointment of the now former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the head diplomat for the EUs Foreign Policy, Ukrinform sat down during the week of the NATO summit in Washington D.C. for an exclusive interview with the Estonian Ambassador to the United States, Kristjan Prikk. In a free-wheeling conversation with Ukrinform that touched on a diverse array of topics, from Ukraines fight against Russian imperialism and genocide to the role of Estonia in NATO and what lies ahead for Europe, Ambassador Prikk defended democracy, explained Putin's threat to the world, and shed light on the Moscow regimes' flaunting of international norms. On why Estonians feel a connection to what Ukrainians face against Russia: Someone being sent to Siberia, someone coming back from the Soviet Gulag, someones family member being shot and killed. The Soviet period is very personal. Every Estonian family has these stories about family members being shot, killed, deported, made to flee to the west from Soviet Occupation. On Russia posing a threat to Europe outside of Ukraine: Yes, I absolutely feel that unless aggression as the tool of statecraft is completely discredited unless Russia is defeated in Ukraine, we are only going to see this tragedy in other parts of Europe and against other parts of Europe. This is about defeating the imperial, colonial wars of aggression. On the mutual history between Estonia and Ukraine: During the Paris Peace Conference after the First World War, Estonian and Ukrainian delegations were working together to gain recognition for our respective independence. On the importance of trade with Ukraine: Ukraine was the first country that we concluded the zero to zero free trade agreement. We were interested in a big market close to us, but we also had a very clear understanding that a free, prosperous, democratic Ukraine is important to the existence of other free, prosperous, democratic countries in our part of the world. On the idea of Estonia as a post-Soviet nation: I feel really offended when I hear this term being used when someone writes or speaks about Estonia. First, we never became part of the Soviet Union voluntarily; this was a cruel and illegal annexation and occupation. Second, this cruel, illegal occupation and annexation ended 33 years ago. The more Estonia is ranked among the top countries in areas such as rule of law, freedom of the press, and ease of access for business, the more this term sounds utterly stupid and irrelevant. On the benefits of NATO membership for Estonia: The benefits that came with NATO are plentiful, but mostly, it is about a heightened sense of security, the sense of the future that people are not constantly thinking about whether there will be a tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. On Putins fear of NATO: NATO is this ultimate forum for discussing and charting the future of security in Europe, and this is what I believe angers Putin, the war criminal. There is this organization where were going to stick together and where they can decide the future by themselves, among themselves. On Russias ultimate goal for Ukraine: The statements that people connected to the Russian regime, including Putin, and the statements they have released throughout this war, including over recent days and weeks, indicate they dont have any intention to stop short of annihilation of Ukraines identity. On the fear of escalation: He (Putin) is trying to scare the world. The whole issue of escalation leaves me puzzled often because NATO has been the world champion in deterrence for the past 75 years. When it comes to vertical escalation, there is very little where they can go. They (the Russian Federation) have been doing the kinds of things that many believed would never happen again in history. They use weapons to attack civilian targets and the most vulnerable. The number of medical facilities, hospitals, and schools that have been deliberately attacked in Ukraine is in the hundreds. On Russian use of chemical weapons against Ukraine: They certainly have used chemical agents. They have used different weapons considered kind of illegal, and of using weapons that most countries dont use these days. On the potential of Russia in using nuclear weapons: I dont think Russia has anything to win either on the battlefield or politically from using tactical nuclear weapons. They only have a lot to lose. On the global impact of Ukraines fight for liberation: This is not just about Ukraine or just about the future of Ukraine; its about the future of wider security in Europe and, by extension, the rules that came globally. If Putin comes away with the notion that the aggression actually paid off, if this is the kind of conclusion, then this will not just be a problem for Ukraine. Unfortunately, this will not only be a problem for the countries that border Russia. This will be a problem for every country, which, at one point, may have to face the imperial instincts of its neighbor. This is a problem for everyone, not just Ukraine, not only Estonia, but every country in the world. If Russian is not taught a lesson, who on earth would think that Russia then stop there and wont start another round of violation of agreements and another round of atrocities, in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe or the world for that matter? On the use of the Russian language outside of Russia: The language itself is not usually the problem. What is the problem is if the language is used as a conduit for imperial propaganda. If it is used to draft the next generation of people who then get immersed in the Russian imperial view while degrading the role and importance of other nations and languages and culture. The use of subversion and the spread of hateful imperial propaganda behind the teaching of the (Russian) language should not be something we tolerate in the rest of the world. *Interviews have been modified for length and clarity. Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, Armed Forces of Ukraine The author's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Ukrinform's editorial board. ANKARA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has witnessed "impressive" development with the eradication of poverty for all of its inhabitants, a veteran Turkish journalist has said. "Xinjiang is a success story of Chinese socialism. Poverty there has been eradicated," Hasan Bogun, who visited the region in 2023, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "It was once one of the poorest regions of China maybe a couple of decades before, but now there is no poverty anymore, it does not exist anymore," said Bogun, who has been working as a journalist since 1983. As a member of a journalist delegation, Bogun visited several cities in Xinjiang, including Urumqi, Turpan and Kashgar. He said the media delegation visited various facilities in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, a very modern and developed city. "The infrastructure is very developed, the health system is also very developed and reaches all villages," Bogun said. "This is not as it is presented by some Western media outlets, with people allegedly being oppressed there. There are no tensions in Xinjiang. I was expecting a more remote and underdeveloped region, it is certainly not like that," Bogun added. When noting that the Chinese government pays great attention to delivering the benefits of development to the local residents, Bogun said that all-inclusive projects in health, social security and infrastructure have transformed Xinjiang into a modern, bustling region. In multi-ethnic communities around the world, ethnic issues have often arisen, and this is also true in some Western countries, the journalist observed. "Development is seen as the solution to ethnic issues" by China in Xinjiang, and the Uygur people of Xinjiang are enjoying their lives freely while preserving their own unique culture, Bogun said. There are many different ethnic groups in Xinjiang and "cultural differences are a good thing," he said, adding that "China is promoting these differences and does not try to eradicate them." A Maryland judge has ordered Johns Hopkins University to pay $6 million to students affected by the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by student Elena Botts, who alleged the university breached its contract by ceasing in-person education and access to campus facilities in March 2020. Botts sought prorated tuition refunds and fee reimbursements for herself and other students during the period affected by the switch to remote learning. Under the court order, Johns Hopkins must distribute $6 million to students who were enrolled during that semester and have not yet received refunds. "We are very confident in the quality of the education and services we provided to our students throughout the pandemic, including through a variety of financial, academic, and other supports. We do not agree with the merits of this suit, but we are pleased to see it resolved," the university told 11 News in a Wednesday statement. Chairman Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Zubair Motiwala on Thursday announced that the second edition of "FOODAg-24" would be held from August 9 to 11 at Expo Centre and hoped that it would generate $ 1 billion business as compared to previous event's $ 450 million KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Chairman Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Zubair Motiwala on Thursday announced that the second edition of "FOODAg-24" would be held from August 9 to 11 at Expo Centre and hoped that it would generate $ 1 billion business as compared to previous event's $ 450 million. He said this while addressing a press conference here at TDAP office. The Chairman TDAP said that Pakistan's agriculture sector demonstrated impressive growth, with agro and food product export surpassing $ 8 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24, which is 37 percent increase compared to previous year. This remarkable surge underscores the sector's growing significance in the global market. "TDAP is organizing second edition of the International Food and Agriculture Exhibition "FOODAg-2024" which is scheduled to be held from August 9 to 11 here at Expo Centre. Under the theme "Growing a Sustainable Future", the exhibition will showcase Pakistan's substantial contributions to global food security, empowering exporters to display their products, explore joint venture opportunity with international partners and elevate the qualitative standards of Pakistan's agricultural produce, Motiwala added. He said China has been designated as Guest of Honour country for the event. An exclusive Pak-China Agro Trade and Investment Conference will be held on the second day of the event, highlighting the robust trade relationship between the two nations, Motiwala said, adding that the exhibition will feature over 350 companies, showcasing a wide range of Pakistan's strengths in both raw and processed agro and food products. He said the product lineup includes seafood, cereals, fruits, vegetables, dates, spices, dairy, Hallal meat, poultry, edible oil/ghee, salt, confectionary and processed foods. He said the rice sector will have a significant presence with more than 45 companies participating. In addition to the main exhibition, a series of sideline activities will emphasize potential of various sectors. "Along with a conference on impacts of climate change,10 specialized seminars will cover topics of Horticulture, seafood, dairy potential, intellectual property connecting agricultural exports through the Transporters Internationaux Routiers (TIR), value addition, e-commerce opportunities in the agri sector". He told global Cuisine Show will also be held, featuring chefs from 15 countries who will prepare international cuisines using Pakistani ingredients. He said the exhibition will also host 800 buyers from 75 countries with significant presence from China. In selection of buyers, we have focussed more on China region, ASEAN, cars and Africa as these regions contribute 80% of our agro export. Last year, we had exported more than $ 1.2 billion rice to Africa region therefore we have invited buyers from 30 African countries. Secondly, we had exported $ 1.5 billion export to ASEAN region and focused on Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, he expressed. Zubair Motiwala said in order to further promote agriculture sector, major media outlets such as China Economic Net (China), Metro tv (Indonesia) Salamnews(Turkmenistan), Egyptian newspaper Elmasry, Elyoum and BTN (Rawanda) were invited to cover the event. He said in last edition, business of $ 450 million was generated and expecting to generate $ 1 billion business during second edition for which all 6 halls have been reserved. Director General TDAP Athar Khokhar and others were also present on the occasion. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Heavy rain in several parts of the provincial capital on Thursday resulted in loss of three lives and injuries to seven people. According to a Rescue-1122 spokesman, the roof of a house in a suburban village near Baba Bulleh Shah Interchange at Gajjumata Lahore collapsed, which resulted in one death and injuries to five people. Another roof collapsed at Shaukat Khanum Chowk, in which two people suffered injuries. One of the injured was taken to Jinnah Hospital for treatment. In two other incidents, electric shock claimed lives of two citizens. A 30-year-old man travelling by a motorbike suffered an electric shock after coming into contact with an electricity pole. The deceased could not be identified. The other incident took place on the premises of Kot Lakhpat police station, where a citizen touched an electricity pole accidently, suffered a severe electric shock. He was taken to the General Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. LONDON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is facing scrutiny over its handling of the child abuse image scandal involving one of its highest-paid former presenters. Huw Edwards, a renowned BBC newsreader known for covering high-profile events such as the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of making indecent images of children. According to law in the United Kingdom (UK), "making" such images can include actions like opening, accessing, downloading, storing content, or receiving unsolicited images via social media. In a statement following Edwards's guilty plea, the BBC expressed shock at the court's revelations, stating, "There can be no place for such abhorrent behavior." Court records indicate Edwards received 41 indecent images of children between December 2020 and August 2021. Seven images were classified as category A, the most serious, while 12 were category B and 22 were category C. Most category A images depicted children aged 13 to 15, with two clips showing a child aged around seven to nine, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. The Metropolitan Police began investigating Edwards after discovering his WhatsApp conversation with Alex Williams, a convicted pedophile, during an unrelated probe. Edwards is scheduled to appear in court in September. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and BBC Director General Tim Davie are expected to discuss the BBC's handling of the Edwards case via phone on Thursday. Key questions include why the BBC did not terminate Edwards's employment upon learning of his arrest and why he continued to receive his salary for five months until his resignation. The BBC stated that at the time of Edwards's arrest, "no charges had been brought against Mr. Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health." They added, "If at any point during the period Mr. Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge, he was no longer an employee of the BBC." It was recently disclosed that Edwards earned between 475,000 pounds (606,502 U.S. dollars) and 479,999 pounds (612,885 U.S. dollars) in the 2023-24 financial year, making him the BBC's third-highest-paid presenter. The BBC acknowledged that it was aware of Edwards's arrest on suspicion of serious offenses in November 2023. He was formally charged in June. Edwards resigned from the BBC in April, citing medical advice. He had not been on air since July 2023. The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday has unanimously passed a joint condemnation resolution of the attack on Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 20 by a gang of extremists and killing of Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday has unanimously passed a joint condemnation resolution of the attack on Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 20 by a gang of extremists and killing of Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. It added that some miscreants attacked Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt, pelting it with stones and desecrating the Pakistani flag through a proper agenda. While the flag is the symbol and identity of any country and its respect is necessary for every person across the globe. The Pakistanis have been hurtled by this disgusting act. Therefore, the house strongly condemned the attack on Pakistani consulate and emphasising the Federal government to covey its concern to German government. The House has demanded the German government to take strict action against the gang of extremists and arrest those involved in the attack on the consulate so that such incidents do not happened in the future. Under the Vienna Convention 1963, it was the responsibility of the host country to protect the sanctity of the consular premises and ensure the security of diplomats. The Balochistan Assembly also passed a resolution against the killing of Hamass political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an overnight air strike in Tehran. It is said that the house has strongly condemned the assassination attack on Ismail Haniyeh, the great leader of the Palestine Liberation Movement and the political head of Hamas, was martyred in an in Iranian capital Tehran on July 31, 2024. With his martyrdom, the Muslim Ummah, especially Palestine, lost a great revolutionary leader and Mujahid. Throughout his life, he played a vital role for the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and their freedom and highlighted the issue of Palestine at global level. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, leading a five-member delegation, met with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House on Thursday. The prime minister welcomed Secretary-General Scotland on her first official visit to Pakistan. Appreciating the Commonwealths consistent support for Pakistans socio-economic and democratic institutions, the prime minister reaffirmed the governments desire to work with the Commonwealth on issues of common interest, particularly on youth empowerment, good governance and climate change. Noting that young people below the age of 30 accounted for two-thirds of Pakistans population, the prime minister said that providing modern education and technical training to the youth was one of the governments highest priorities. He highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Prime Ministers Youth Programme and reiterated the governments commitment to working with the Commonwealth to help Pakistans youth by enhancing access and opportunities for them in todays high-tech global economy. Secretary-General Scotland appreciated the Prime Ministers Youth Programme and said that the prime ministers leadership and direct supervision of this Programme was reflective of his personal interest and commitment to youth empowerment initiatives. In order to further improve the performance of government departments and know progress in real time, Ms Patricia offered the Commonwealth's Performance Management System. She also invited Pakistan to join the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium (CAIC). The prime minister expressed keen desire to evaluate the Commonwealth Performance Management System for further improving governance and transparency in Pakistans public sector. He also welcomed the invitation to join CAIC where Pakistans youth will have opportunities for training and could benefit from global innovations such as cloud computing and generative AI and shall be more empowered to play their role in sustainable economic development. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also described combating climate change as a common priority for both Pakistan and the Commonwealth. He appreciated the Secretary-Generals climate advocacy for Pakistan, following the devastating 2022 floods. The prime minister said Pakistan wanted to work with the Commonwealth in helping mobilize more international support for climate-vulnerable countries like Pakistan at the forthcoming COP29 in Baku. Secretary-General Scotland appreciated the Governments efforts for post-flood reconstruction and hoped that the international community would provide more support in building Pakistans climate resilience. Looking forward towards the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa later this year, the prime minister and the Commonwealth Secretary-General discussed ways in which the two sides could coordinate on building consensus on key issues of mutual interest and chart a roadmap for the Commonwealth. The prime minister congratulated Secretary-General Commonwealth on successfully steering the Commonwealth through a time of significant global change, and wished her a successful and productive stay in Pakistan. Chairman PM Youth program Rana Mashhood and SAPM Syed Tariq Fatemi also attended the meeting. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Hunerkada successfully concluded its six-week Children's Art Workshop on Thursday with an exclusive showcase of the artistics endeavours of the children at the Islamabad Art Gallery in F-9 Park today. The exhibition featured artwork created by the young participants, highlighting their creativity and progress. The event was graced by Chairman Mr. Jamal Shah and Hunerkada Director, Amna Shah, hosted the showcase. Over the past six weeks, children aged 5-15 participated in an enriching art workshop led by experienced instructors from Hunerkada. The workshop provided a comprehensive exploration of various artistic techniques, including drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media. The participants were encouraged to experiment with different materials and develop their unique artistic voices. The showcase displayed a diverse range of artworks, reflecting the creativity and talent nurtured throughout the workshop. The event offered a unique opportunity for families, friends, and the public to celebrate the young artists' achievements. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday pledged to revamp Pakistan's economy by emulating China's model, with the objective of achieving similar economic success on a smaller scal ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday pledged to revamp Pakistan's economy by emulating China's model, with the objective of achieving similar economic success on a smaller scale. Speaking to a 12-member Chinese delegation led by Wang Fukang, the prime minister said that during his recent visit to China, he requested President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang to send experts to Pakistan. "The goal is to model Pakistan's economy after China's. Today, these experts are here, and were confident that progress will follow soon." Welcoming the delegation by emphasizing that China and Pakistan were eternal friends, with a friendship that knew no bounds, he emphasized that industrial cooperation was crucial at this time and expressed hope that it could be shifted to Pakistan. He believes that joint ventures and cooperation would create a win-win situation. He said the delegations visit was highly reassuring, and expressed hope that it would be both useful and productive for Pakistan. He anticipated that it would enhance bilateral arrangements in areas such as industry, agriculture, economic zones, and help increase Pakistans capacity to produce agricultural items in high demand in China. He noted that Pakistan could meet Chinese requirements by exporting high-quality goods and exploring opportunities in mining and minerals, IT, and export zones. He also suggested relocating certain industries to Pakistan due to China's shift towards more advanced and sophisticated industrial ventures. He stated that the federal cabinet has decided to offer free visas to Chinese citizens starting August 14, demonstrating Pakistans commitment. He emphasized that Sino-Pak relations were higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the oceans. The delegation, comprising representatives from 10 different Chinese ministries, was visiting Pakistan to enhance cooperation across various sectors. They will provide input on Chinese investment, the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and boosting Pakistani exports. Additionally, they will review and offer recommendations on IT, agriculture, industry, investment, energy, minerals, special economic zones, and communication. He stated that Pakistan has implemented robust measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal overseeing these efforts. The government was committed to maintaining stringent security and preventing any breaches. Those responsible for any harmful acts will be held accountable. Additionally, he conveyed deep sorrow on behalf of his government and people for the loss of Chinese citizens in Bisham a few months ago. The Prime Minister stated that those responsible for the killings of Chinese citizens have been arrested and will get exemplary punishment. He mentioned that he has held several meetings with law enforcement agencies, the Interior Secretary, and NECTA. Speaking on the occasion, delegation head, Wang Fukang stated that technical cooperation would further strengthen Pak-China strategic relations and expressed gratitude to Pakistan for its hospitality. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Mohsin Naqvi, Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Economic AffairsAhad Khan Cheema, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatmi, Coordinator to the Prime Minister Rana Ahsan Afzam, and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, along with other senior officials. Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Senator Rubina Khalid during her visit to the Peshawar Tehsil Office on Thursday emphasized that there will be zero tolerance against any misbehavior with the women beneficiaries ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Senator Rubina Khalid during her visit to the Peshawar Tehsil Office on Thursday emphasized that there will be zero tolerance against any misbehavior with the women beneficiaries. The purpose of the visit was to monitor the arrangements at the office and review the facilities provided for the deserving women receiving Kafaalat and educational stipends. Rubina Khalid engaged with the beneficiaries, listened to their issues, and provided guidance, particularly to the needy and elderly women in the program. In her conversation with the media, Senator Rubina Khalid reflected on the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for the welfare of poor women in Pakistan, which led to the establishment of BISP. "The program was founded by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto while she was in exile in Dubai and was implemented by President Asif Ali Zardari in 2008," she recounted. Highlighting the transparency measures in place, she noted that BISP payment centers were set up following instructions from President Asif Ali Zardari. Rubina Khalid also announced that President Asif Ali Zardari directed the opening of bank accounts for deserving women to streamline their access to stipends. Stressing the importance of skill development and technical education, she stated, "Empowering women with skills and technical education is crucial for their economic independence and the overall development of our society." She called upon the media to play a proactive role in creating awareness among beneficiaries about the program's benefits and guidelines. Rubina Khalid issued a stern warning to beneficiaries to ignore any communication from numbers other than the official 8171 and cautioned against handing over their National Identity Cards to anyone to prevent fraud. She reaffirmed BISP's dedication to protecting the rights of women and ensuring they receive their due support with dignity. MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani Thursday gave a go-ahead signal for the launch of artificially intelligent traffic management systems in Multan and Bahawalpur cities to cope with rising traffic pressure and tasked officials to list problematic points in order to install AI-powered sophisticated tools and software applications. Virtual 3D speed breakers would be installed at important cross-sections experiencing enormous traffic pressure to create an optical illusion to guide motorists and bike-riders when to slow speed and stop. One out of six AI-powered traffic management softwares would be installed in the traffic signals, according to an official release issued here. On the orders of ACS, a software engineer bureaucrat, Deputy Secretary Abdul Saboor Thakur, is leading a committee of engineers from development authorities of Multan and Bahawalpur to come up with a comprehensive policy on deploying AI and it's tools. Secretary Agriculture South Punjab Saqib Ali Ateel, Secretary Services engineer Amjad Shoaib Khan Tareen, additional secretary Farooq Dogar, deputy secretaries Nayyar Mustafa, Abdul Saboor Thakur, DG Bahawalpur Development Authority (BDA) Mahboob Alam, Additional DG Multan Development Authority (MDA) Ms Qurat ul Ain Wazir, Prof. Dr. Naveed Yasir from AI department of Emerson University, besides traffic police officials from Multan and Bahawalpur attended the meeting, whic was chaired by ACS Fuad Hashim Rabbani that discussed employing artificial intelligence in managing traffic in detail. Saqib Ali Steel said on the occasion that six models of AI applications were available for deployment. He said that MDA and BDA would provide infrastructure facilities for AI-powered traffic control system in their respective cities. Engineer Amjad Shoaib Khan Tareen said that a model 3D speed breaker would be installed in front of main gate of Emerson university on Bosan road. ADG MDA Qurat ul Ain Wazir said, three roads in Multan were traffic busy including Bosan road, metro route and inner city road. (@FahadShabbir) PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) The week-long celebrations of World Breastfeeding is underway at a local hotel here Thursday. The event aims to recognize the critical role breastfeeding plays in ensuring the health and well-being of infants and mothers alike. Celebrated globally from August 1-7, this week brings together communities, healthcare professionals, and policymakers to advocate for breastfeeding support. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), we dedicate the entire month of August to this cause, focusing on the theme "Closing the Gap; Breastfeeding Support for All. The four key messagesearly initiation, exclusive breastfeeding, age-appropriate complementary feeding, and breastfeeding up to two yearsare crucial for promoting optimal health and development in infants. By focusing on these areas, communities and healthcare systems can work together to overcome barriers and provide the necessary support for breastfeeding mothers. The Holy Quran recommends breastfeeding for two years but acknowledges that some mothers may not be able to do so for the full period. Alternative options are available in such cases. A woman who breastfeeds another child is recognized and supported in Islam, Razaat in islam holds not just the act of breastfeeding but also the legal, social, and spiritual dimensions of the practice. Breastfeeding is both a duty for the mother and a responsibility of the father or guardian to support her financially during this time. Breastfeeding is seen as an act of compassion and obedience to Allah, beyond just its physical benefits. The Holy Qur'an emphasizes breastfeeding until 24 months of age in numerous verses (such as verse 233 of Al- Baqarah, verse 15 of Al-Ahqaf, verse 14 of Luqman, verse 23 of Nisa, verse 6 of Talaq, verse 2 of Hajj, verses 12 and 7 of Qasas). Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two whole years, for those who wish to complete the term." His gestation and weaning period is thirty months. And if they should be pregnant, then spend on them until they give birth. And if they breastfeed for you, then give them their payment. These verses collectively highlight the significance of breastfeeding, portraying it as a natural and integral part of early childhood development in Islam. The benefits of breastfeeding are well-proven. Breast milk provides essential nutrients, antibodies, and enzymes vital for a baby's growth and development. It lowers the risk of diseases like respiratory infections, diabetes, and obesity in infants. For mothers, breastfeeding aids postpartum recovery, reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and strengthens the bond with their baby. Research shows breastfeeding is crucial for healthy child development. The WHO and UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, then continued breastfeeding with other foods for up to two years or more. Breastfeeding is the most natural and cost-effective nutrition intervention for child survival and development. It reduces healthcare costs by decreasing illness in mothers and children and saves families money on formula milk and medical treatments. Healthier children also grow into more productive adults, benefiting the workforce and economy. Investing in breastfeeding support saves on healthcare costs and boosts economic productivity. UNICEF continues to play a pivotal role in supporting breastfeeding and nutrition programs across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), in collaboration with the government and CSOs. Through its comprehensive nutrition program, UNICEF, and the Department of Health (DoH) are working to ensure that every child has the best start in life. The ceremony was also attended by UNICEF Chief Field Officer Peshawar Radoslaw Rzehaq, Principal ZAB PGPI Dr. Shaheen Afridi, Dr. Hussain, President Pakistan Pediatric Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter and Dr. Abdul Hameed, Pediatric Specialist who also spoke on this occasion and supported breastfeeding. Shengjin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Albanian port boss Sander Marashi is more used to handling cargoes of scrap metal than the thousands of migrants soon be sent from Italy to have their asylum claims processed outside the EU. Shengjin port is key to a controversial deal between the Adriatic neighbours which would see Albania take in migrants plucked from the seas off Italy. After being registered by Italian officials in the port in Albania's north, the asylum seekers would then be held at a camp run by Rome in a former Albanian military base in nearby Gjader. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the first migrants were expected to arrive at the port on August 1. But with the asylum seekers' housing -- which Italy was meant to build -- far from finished, that deadline is set to be missed. And Italian authorities are reluctant to provide a new start date. Yet Marashi, a former army officer, insisted that Shengjin -- the country's third largest port -- was ready to receive migrants. "The work here has been completed for around 20 days. The centre is ready to welcome immigrants," Marashi told AFP. In Gjader -- where AFP saw only a few assembled housing units -- "work continues at an accelerated pace". Italy is in charge of security inside the centres with Albanian police responsible outside and "during the transport of migrants from one zone to the other", according to Taulant Balla, who was Albania's interior minister until last month. Marashi, 56, will have to tread delicate diplomatic waters as he helps manage the movement of thousands of asylum seekers through the new system. That will involve working closely with Italian authorities, who have been handed a large part of the port now officially under Rome's jurisdiction. His staff will not be able to "enter the migrant centre... unless the Italians ask us". "We will help them if they need reinforcement," Marashi told AFP, his desk cluttered with paperwork. He said the port was ready to manage the risks. "There may be attempts to escape. But if this happens, we have planned procedures," he added. "Security will of course be reinforced even outside the port. We will carry out strict checks on all vehicles and all people, to prevent access to people who would like to take advantage of these men." Albania has experienced the other side of the migration equation for years. After the collapse of its hardline communist government in the early 1990s, and the chaos that followed, hundreds of thousands fled the country for a better life abroad. "Emigration is the bane of society. No one wants to leave their country for pleasure," said Marashi. Having watched his daughter move abroad and resettle in England with her family, the port boss said he knew that from personal experience. "Since 1990, many Albanians have left the country -- the majority for Italy," he told AFP, recalling the chaotic scenes of desperate people clambering onto cargo ships and boats. "I was 21 then and I still have them in front of my eyes," he said. It was this collective memory that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said spurred the country to repay Italy's hospitality then by agreeing to the asylum deal with Rome now. The deal, however, has been widely panned by human rights groups who say the agreement undermines international law. Despite the criticism, Marashi was confident in the plan. "Italy has extensive experience in managing migration crises and is obliged to respect all conventions, including the Geneva Convention," he said. To prepare, his staff have been trained by police and intelligence services "to manage possible security problems". Rights groups, however, have not been part of that training. Marashi said he and his team are well aware that they will be some of the first faces the migrants see when they arrive and understand the responsibility that comes with it. "We, the inhabitants of this region, know very well what it means to emigrate," he told AFP. "We are a small country, a small region but with a very big heart." Bogota, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Colombia's EMC guerrilla group said Thursday it would halt offensive actions during the COP16 UN biodiversity summit it had previously threatened in the city of Cali. The rebels, composed of dissidents who broke away from the FARC guerrilla movement when that group signed a peace deal in 2016, said in a statement they had "decreed the suspension of offensive military operations against public forces in the city of Cali, in the period between October 11 and November 6." The summit runs from October 21 to November 1. The EMC (Central General Staff) has ramped up attacks in towns around Cali in recent months, with a spate of bombings and shootings setting authorities on edge. In July, the EMC warned the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity "will fail even if they militarize the city with gringos (foreigners)." The event hopes to attract some 12,000 delegates and exhibitors, as well as heads of state, to one of the world's most biodiverse countries. The summit security manager, General William Castano, recently said more than 10,000 uniformed officers supported by Interpol, Europol and Ameripol were working on defense and intelligence cooperation dubbed the "Hummingbird Plan. " The idea is to "minimize criminals' attempts to affect security at the COP," he said. Cali is the capital of the southwestern Valle del Cauca department, an EMC stronghold and the main coca-growing region in the nation, the world's largest cocaine producer. Being granted COP16 host status was a major coup for Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first-ever leftist president, who campaigned on an ambitious conservation and climate change program. Petro has seen his quest to achieve "total peace" in a nation struggling to emerge from decades of armed conflict bogged down in complicated negotiations with a variety of armed groups. The EMC recently split into supporters of Petro's peace efforts and opponents led by a man known as Ivan Mordisco, who commands an estimated 2,000 men. Rights groups accuse guerrillas in Colombia of taking advantage of various ceasefires to expand their influence by seizing more territory and recruiting new members. El-Alamein, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih met yesterday with Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development Affairs and Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. The two sides explored ways to enhance and expand cooperation, particularly in attracting Saudi investments to the Egyptian health sector, including pharmaceuticals, and complementary industries. Abdel Ghaffar emphasized the depth of the historical relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the aspiration to leverage the two countries' strategic geographic location to support investments in the health sector across Asia, Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Al-Falih praised the efforts to promote investment cooperation between the two brotherly countries at the governmental and private sector levels, which aligns with their shared development goals. Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Saleh bin Eid Al-Husseini attended the meeting. A visitor looks at rock painting rubbings at an art center in Shangye Village of Baita Town in Xianju County, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Li He) HANGZHOU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zhu Kangxiao from Xianju County in east China recently proposed an initiative to assign a unique color to each of the county's 17 townships. These proposed colors will reflect local characteristics and will be incorporated into future tourism planning layouts to create distinctive visual identities. This proposal is the latest effort by Zhu, a native of Zhejiang Province's Xianju and a "rural development partner" in Baita Township, to revitalize his hometown. "Connecting townships with fixed colors makes Xianju more memorable," Zhu explained. In Zhejiang, the birthplace of the landmark Green Rural Revival Program, rural transformation over the past 20 years has evolved from merely improving living conditions to delivering common prosperity while building beautiful villages. In this context, concepts like "village CEOs" and "rural development partners" have emerged, as rural regions actively seek expertise to bolster their development. "The partners will revitalize the idle assets in collaboration with the government and village collective economies. In return, they will receive favorable policies for business operations," said Shen Jiang, Party chief of Baita Township. Xianju, with its picturesque landscapes, lives up to its name, which means "a place where immortals reside." However, its mountainous terrain has historically limited its development. Over the years, Xianju has embraced the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," phasing out polluting industries and developing scenic areas. Amid the recent wave of integrating culture and tourism in China, Zhu returned to Xianju after nearly three decades, utilizing his experience in cultural and artistic business to explore Xianju's millennium-old rock painting art. In 2023, Zhu rented an idle building from a village collective economy within the core area of the Shenxianju scenic spot -- one of China's top-rated attractions -- to establish an art center dedicated to Xianju rock painting. The modern white building houses a great number of rock painting rubbings, vibrant local intangible cultural heritage art and diverse exquisite cultural products. To generate revenue, the exhibition hall is connected to a rock painting workshop for visitors and a cafe. As a rural development partner, Zhu has specific performance indicators, including attracting 10,000 visitors to the local homestay industry within a year. "Tourism and culture are inseparable. Scenic beauty draws visitors, but rich cultural experiences make them stay longer," Zhu said. Meanwhile, eight kilometers north of the art center, the Xianju snack industrial park, a project led by another returnee Xu Ziyong, is in its final stages of development and will be operational soon. Xianju is known for three things: tourism, waxberry cultivation and traditional Chinese snacks. Currently, over 30,000 Xianju residents run more than 10,000 snack bars across the Yangtze River Delta region covering four provincial-level regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shanghai, selling items like stuffed baked flatbread and steamed dumplings. Before returning to Xianju, Xu ran 12 snack shops in Jiangsu's Suzhou city where he developed a digital platform to connect Xianju snack workers along the Yangtze River Delta. "Xianju snack industry faces two challenges: the scattered nature of individual businesses and the lack of contribution to Xianju's economy," Xu explained. In 2021, Xu returned to Xianju and established a semi-finished product factory, providing customized products for Xianju snack vendors nationwide and promoting employment among villagers. After becoming a partner, Xu rented land in Baita Township to create the 6.8-mu (about 0.45 hectares) Xianju snack industrial park. The park will offer whole industrial chain services, ranging from agricultural product purchasing and shared facilities for storage and packaging to brand building and online sales, fostering the growth of startup snack businesses and industry clustering in Xianju. "In the past, one family would get rich from their business. Now, we aim to achieve prosperity for everyone through industry clustering," Xu said. Recently, Xu and other Xianju rural development partners met with the village CEO of Lizu Village in Zhejiang's Yiwu City, at a studio in a centuries-old village named Gaoqian. They discussed how to introduce new industries like the cultural creative industry and dining to Gaoqian Village while preserving its ancient courtyards, drawing lessons from Lizu's early success. Currently, Gaoqian Village's collective economy has rented out villagers' idle properties to develop homestays with cultural tourism development teams from within Zhejiang. One beneficiary of this initiative is waxberry farmer Wang Jin, who earns an additional 70,000 yuan (around 9,815 U.S. dollars) annually by renting out his three houses. In Xianju, there are now 76 partners like Zhu and Xu. Additionally, around 2,000 talents have returned to their hometowns under the county government's "talent return" initiative, supported by economic and policy incentives. "We welcome talent from all over the country to come to Xianju. Beautiful villages are fertile ground for anyone with ambitions," said Xu Qiaoling, deputy head of the organization department under Xianju county's Party committee. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Chicago, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2024) Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris had decided to "turn Black" for political gain, as he attacked his Democratic White House rival during a combative and inflammatory interaction with African American journalists in Chicago. The Republican former president's provocation marked an escalation of the 78-year-old's vitriol against Harris, whom he falsely accused of having identified as Indian but then, "all of a sudden, she made a turn, and she became a Black person." Harris, who has long identified as Black and graduated from a historically Black university, "was always of Indian heritage" but then "happened to turn Black," Trump told a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists. "So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?" Trump's identity assault was at the heart of a hostile interaction with Black reporters, one of whom he berated for asking about his history of offensive remarks about Black people. "I think it's disgraceful," he said of the questioning. "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." The combative remarks by Trump, who has been eager to improve his performance with Black voters, are likely to send shockwaves through the 2024 White House contest. They come as the former president, convicted two months ago of felony fraud related to hush money payments to a porn star, struggles to formulate a new strategy less than 100 days before the election. He holds a campaign rally later Wednesday in Pennsylvania, a battleground state where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt earlier this month. The Republican's White House bid was thrown into chaos on July 21 when President Joe Biden, 81, withdrew his candidacy, backing Harris as the Democratic nominee. Since then, the 59-year-old Harris has seen her favorability ratings jump and raked in $200 million in campaign donations. Trump, who had placed Biden's health at the heart of the election, now finds himself up against someone nearly two decades his junior, a trailblazer who became the country's first Black, female and South Asian-origin vice president. The seismic shake-up has forced Trump and the Republicans to recalibrate rapidly, and it appears they are struggling to settle on a line of attack. As "Lyin' Kamala," "Laughin' Kamala" and "Crazy Kamala" all failed to stick, Trump's broadsides have become increasingly incendiary and untethered to reality. Over the last week, Trump has falsely accused the vice president of being anti-Semitic -- despite her decade-long marriage to a Jewish man, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff -- and has claimed outrageously that she supports the murder of newborn babies. The Harris campaign slammed Trump's Wednesday remarks as "personal attacks and insults" and the latest example of "the same hostility he has shown throughout his life." Harris, whose mother was an Indian immigrant and father was Jamaican, has long identified as Black. "My mother was very well aware that she was raising two Black girls to be two Black women, and she did that instilling in us pride in our culture and cultures," she said in a 2020 Biden-Harris video. Trump and Republicans have launched more traditional political attacks, highlighting Harris's pivots on positions she took while trying to carve out a lane in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential nominating contest. Harris no longer supports abolishing private health insurance or a government buyback scheme for guns. She has also disavowed positions against fracking and in favor of expanding the Supreme Court. "San Francisco liberal @VP Kamala Harris can't decide where she stands on the most basic issues," Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin posted on X. And Trump suggested in an interview this week with Fox news that Harris would be considered weak and "like a play toy" by other world leaders. "They're going to walk all over her," he said. The messaging appears to have had little impact, as Harris has erased Trump's lead in multiple key battleground states in the days since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. Saturday will see Trump head to Atlanta, Georgia, where he will campaign alongside running mate J.D. Vance. The 39-year-old senator from Ohio was once a staunch critic of Trump, but changed his tune to become one of his most vocal supporters. Since Vance's selection as Trump's running mate, a series of videos of controversial past statements have emerged, including one in which he mocks some Democratic women as "childless cat ladies." Harris travels later Wednesday to Houston, Texas, to address a gathering of African American students. SAN FRANCISCO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc., parent of Facebook and Instagram, reported on Wednesday an upbeat revenue and earnings for the second quarter, better than expected. In the second quarter, the California-based company had a total revenue of 39.07 billion U.S. dollars, a 22 percent increase year on year. Meta's quarterly net income jumped to 13.47 billion dollars, up 73 percent from 7.79 billion dollars year on year. The diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased to 5.16 dollars from 2.98 dollars in the same period of 2023, said Meta. The number of daily active users for Meta's family of apps increased 7 percent year on year to 3.27 billion on average for June 2024. The company's headcount was 70,799 as of June 30, a decrease of 1 percent from a year earlier. "We had a strong quarter, and Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year," said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. "We've released the first frontier-level open source AI model, we continue to see good traction with our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, and we're driving good growth across our apps." The company expected the third quarter total revenue to be in the range of 38.5 billion to 41 billion dollars, and the full-year 2024 capital expenditures to be in the range of 37 billion to 40 billion dollars. In addition, Meta said it continues to monitor an active regulatory landscape, including the increasing legal and regulatory headwinds in the European Union and the United States that could significantly impact its business and financial results. Officials in Nigerias Borno state say 19 people were killed and at least 20 injured when a bomb exploded in a popular tea house late Wednesday, the second major attack in recent weeks. Security and government officials say the bombing occurred at about 8pm local time in Kawuri village, about 50 kilometers from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, where the officials say the wounded were taken for treatment. Officials said the bomb was planted and it was not a suicide attack. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Boko Haram jihadist group and their rivals, Islamic State West Africa Province, are both active in Borno. According to local media reports, Nigerian authorities could implement movement restrictions, vehicle checks, or curfew measures on short notice in response to the assault. The bombing comes weeks after a series of coordinated attacks by suspected female suicide bombers that killed 32 in Borno state's Gwoza area where security officials say they targeted a wedding, a hospital and a funeral. Borno is at the center of a 15-year Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions more. Although the Nigerian military has degraded the capabilities of the militants, they still carry out deadly attacks against civilians and security targets. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. China and democratic countries, including Australia and Japan, have increased their efforts to deepen engagement with Pacific Island countries in recent weeks, intensifying what some regional politicians and analysts describe as great power competition, especially in the security sector. Geopolitical competition continues to intensify in the Pacific region as traditional partners [roll out] new activities while new partners continue to show new interests, said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia. Earlier this month, Jeremiah Manele and Charlot Salwai, the prime ministers of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, made high-profile trips to China, during which they vowed to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with China. After wrapping up his first trip to China as Solomon Islands prime minister, Manele announced on July 16 that China is providing more than $20 million worth of budgetary support to the Pacific Island country. The Chinese government has yet to confirm the news publicly. China also reiterated its commitment to help support and train the Solomon Islands police force, which began after Honiara signed two controversial security deals with Beijing over the last two years. Meanwhile, leaders from 18 Pacific Island countries agreed to enhance Japans role in the regions development following a three-day summit in Tokyo in mid-July. Tokyo and Pacific Island nations also announced a joint action plan for increasing port calls by Japans Self-Defense Force as well as deepening cooperation between coast guard agencies. Sora said Japans desire to deepen cooperation with Pacific countries in the security sector is a departure from its traditional role as an aid donor. We are seeing increased anxiety from Japan with respect to Chinas role and impact on international security, and they are particularly concerned with Chinas push into the security space in the Pacific, he told VOA in a video interview. In a joint declaration issued at the end of the Pacific Islands leaders meeting, Japan and Pacific Island nations expressed "strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by the threat or use of force or coercion anywhere in the world. They didnt identify China in the document. Sora said Japans efforts are aimed at upholding the rules-based order in the Pacific region and it hopes to increase engagement with regional countries in maritime security. Australia, which has traditionally been a security provider to regional countries, is looking into helping the Solomon Islands double the size of its police force as Canberra grows increasingly wary of Honiaras police deal with Beijing. Australia is also providing support to Pacific Island countries development needs, including a plan announced this week to open a new undersea cable connectivity and resilience center. The establishment of the center aims to help regional countries grow their digital economies by expanding data network connectivity. However, some politicians from Pacific Island countries view major democracies efforts to deepen ties with regional countries as potentially problematic. Instead of sending officials focusing on development to engage with Pacific Island nations, major democracies are sending more security folks to facilitate the dialogues, said Peter Kenilorea Jr., a leading independent member of parliament from the Solomon Islands. He says that while Chinas attempt to increase security ties with Pacific Island countries remains his top concern, democratic countries efforts to counter Chinas growing security presence in the Pacific region are overshadowing regional countries urgent development needs. While attention from major democracies is there, it is not the right attention for regional countries, Kenilorea told VOA on the sidelines of the IPAC Summit in Taipei, adding that Pacific Island countries should try to direct the focus back to their development needs during dialogues with big democratic countries. Some experts say politicians from other Pacific Island countries have expressed similar concerns about the increasing focus on security and competition with China in the Pacific region. There is a very healthy degree of skepticism among Pacific leaders about what is driving major democracies engagement with them, said Tess Newton Cain, an adjunct associate professor at Griffith Asia Institute in Australia. They are very clear that the reason everybody wants to be their friend and everybody wants to talk to them is because they see this as a way of containing China, she told VOA by phone. Despite Pacific Island nations desire to steer engagement with major powers back to development, Sora said concern about Chinas growing presence in the Pacific region remains the main driver of democratic countries efforts in the region. Concerns about Chinas activities in the Pacific region allow lawmakers to mobilize more resources than if they were just looking at the region through the traditional development lens, he said. But he adds that the securitization of the Pacific region is an inescapable trend. What differentiates various actors approaches is their commitment to transparency and coordination of their activities with Pacific Islands priorities, Sora said. As great power competition in the Pacific region will likely intensify in the near future, Kenilorea Jr. said the key for Pacific Island countries to safeguard their interests is to maneuver together. I think regionalism is where we can counter some of these big power challenges that we are going through, he told VOA. China issued sanctions on U.S. Representative Jim McGovern, the sponsor of a bill advocating for a peaceful resolution of the China-Tibet dispute China views Tibet as an "inseparable part of China since ancient times," despite supporters of the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Dalai Lama saying that Tibet has historically been independent. Framed as a response to McGoverns efforts to undermine Chinese territorial sovereignty, the sanctions freeze the representatives Chinese assets, prohibit organizations or individuals in China from engaging with him, and ban him and his family from entering Chinese territory, according to a publication from Chinese state-media agency Xinhua. McGovern has no assets or business dealings in China, according to The Associated Press. McGoverns Tibet-China Dispute Act, which passed through the House in mid-June, gives the State Department increased authority to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibet and promotes the resumption of talks between Chinese leaders and the Dalai Lama. No such talks have occurred since 2010. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law on July 12. China stands accused of large-scale human rights abuses in Tibet, which the congressman hoped to alleviate with this legislation. If PRC leaders dont like it when people speak out against their horrific human rights record, maybe they should improve their horrific human rights record, McGovern told VOA in a written statement Thursday. They can start by ending their oppression of Tibetans, ending their genocide in Xinjiang, and ending their crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, he added. "In the meantime, these absurd sanctions against me only serve to highlight how PRC leaders are afraid of free and open debate. They seek to punish and silence those who disagree with them. But the world is watching what they do, and people who care about human rights will not be silent. I will proudly wear this sanction as a badge of honor," he said. In a statement released on June 12 when the bill passed the House, McGovern said, "The Peoples Republic of China has systematically denied Tibetans the right to self-determination and continues to deliberately erase Tibetan religion, culture, and language." "The ongoing oppression of the Tibetan people is a grave tragedy, and our bill provides further tools that empower both America and the international community to stand up for justice and peace," he said. Among the signees of the statement were House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, Senator Todd Young, McGovern and Senator Jeff Merkley. In a response, Chinese state-sponsored media Xinhua said the Tibet-China Dispute Act "grossly interferes in Chinas internal affairs," violates international law and distorts historical facts to suppress China and encourage Tibetan separatist movements. This is not the first time China has sanctioned a U.S. representative for their involvement in an issue that threatens Chinese territorial homogeneity. Over the last year, China has sanctioned both Representative McCaul and former Representative Mike Gallagher over their support for Taiwan. China is expanding its imports of semi-processed agriculture from Africa in an effort to address a trade imbalance and also as a way of diversifying global food chains amid geo-political tensions. Kate Bartlett visits South Africas rural Limpopo province where avocado farmers are getting ready to export their products to the Chinese market for the first time. Video editor: Zaheer Cassim A British organization that focuses on bringing more transparency to ties between China and the United Kingdom says one of the countrys biggest China institutes at a top university, Kings College London, received almost all of its funds from one single donor a wealthy Hong Kong businessman who has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. In a report released Sunday, UK-China Transparency said 99.9% of funding for the Lau China Institute, or LCI, came from Lau Ming-wai, who has served as an adviser to the Hong Kong government working on Hong Kong integration with China. He was also given a formal role at a body overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, the report said. The United Front Work Department coordinates domestic and foreign influence campaigns for the Chinese Communist Party and is part of a broader effort known as United Front work that aims to co-opt individuals and silence opposition to the party. Lau received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from Kings College London and donated at least $14.1 million to support the institute, according to the report. UK-China Transparency said it has sought information from King's College under the Freedom of Information Act about the details of Lau's collaboration with the Institute and any terms or restrictions on Lau's donation. It also asked whether Lau has any requirements for the appointment of the institute's director. The university confirmed Laus donations but declined to provide the other information. UK-China Transparency then complained to the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office, which supported King's College's position. The organization has since appealed to a body known as the First-tier Tribunal to try to force the college to disclose more information. A British government spokesperson told VOA that it is the responsibility of higher education providers to ensure they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place, including on the acceptance of donations. We expect the sector to be alert to security risks when collaborating with international partners, conducting appropriate due diligence to comply with legislation and consider risks, including potential threats to freedom of speech and academic freedom, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement Thursday. The LCI was established in 2011 as part of the School of Global Affairs at King's College London. The institute has 76 members, including 30 doctoral students and 11 core members. Its projects include several topics that are considered sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party. Kerry Brown, director of the LCI, received an award from a Chinese government-owned think tank in 2020 for "telling Chinese stories and spreading Chinese voices." Brown is a former British diplomat who previously worked for the China Section of his countrys Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as first secretary of the U.K. Embassy in Beijing. He is a frequent contributor to Chinese state media. VOA contacted Brown for comment but did not receive a response at time of publication. However, Brown said in an interview with VOA in February that while there were legitimate security reasons that made the U.K. have reservations about Chinese investment, the U.K.'s options would be greatly reduced if China was rejected altogether. "You either accept that China poses problems and you try and deal with them, or you accept that you can't deal with China and you don't take any of the economic benefits that come from that, he said. It's about the conversation. It's about embracing how complex this could be." In a summary report released in 2020, the LCI thanked Lau for his continued support, noting that the institute works with several institutions around the world, including Transparency International, the World Bank, BHP Billiton and the G20. The LCI has become an important source of information for policymakers and the public to discuss China, the report said. A spokesperson for King's College London told VOA that as a matter of policy, all of its institutes operate independently from donors, who have no influence over the focus of any research undertaken by the institutes. We are proud of the work of our global institutes in bringing together leading academics to critically examine and deliver country-focused research and expertise that helps shape and inform global understanding," the spokesperson said. The close ties between U.K. universities and China have been under the spotlight in recent years, particularly in the economic and educational sectors. A report by the U.K. Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee last year warned that "China has taken advantage of the policy of successive British governments to boost economic ties between the U.K. and China, which has enabled it to advance its commercial, science and technology, and industrial goals in order to gain a strategic advantage." In February, a British government spokesperson told VOA, "We continue to talk to the sector to ensure advice, and measures on tackling security risks in international collaboration remains relevant and proportionate. The spokesperson said China was added in May 2023 to a list of countries subject to export controls on certain items with potential military uses. In April, Oliver Dowden, the U.K. deputy prime minister at the time, said the government would impose stricter oversight of higher education institutions, thereby strengthening protection for sensitive technology and reducing reliance on foreign funding. The move aims to prevent foreign interference in national security, especially from countries that "ignore the rules-based international order." Observers said the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act is an important tool for that purpose. However, the Labour Party's education secretary announced this week that the bill's implementation would be halted to ensure the "financial stability" of the higher education sector. Brown said last year that his colleagues at King's College London were well aware of the problems that arose in their interactions with Chinese students and were not naive. He believes it is important to understand and listen to the voices of Chinese students in the U.K., as they are an important part of the academic community. At the same time, he stressed that cooperation with China is still necessary, especially in areas such as life sciences and medical research, as these are common global issues. VOA's Adrianna Zhang, Yu-wen Cheng and Daniel Schearf contributed to this report. Chinese electric vehicle behemoth BYD announced a new partnership this week with Uber that aims to bring 100,000 new EVs to the ride-sharing app globally. The international collaboration, which starts in Europe and Latin America, will expand to the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, offering accessible pricing and financing for BYDs EVs on Ubers platform. Analysts say the agreement is just one example of how Beijing is still finding ways to penetrate international markets to continue expanding its global lead in the EV sector, despite looming tariffs and increased concern about Chinese electric vehicle dominance. One notable country left out of the BYD-Uber agreement is the United States, which is expected to start implementing a 100% tariff rate on Chinese EVs later this month. The EU and U.S. recently announced plans to hit Chinese EVs with tariffs amid concerns that a potential flood of cheaper electric vehicles could hit their markets and affect domestic automakers. China says the moves are protectionist, but Washington and Brussels argue that Beijings big subsidies for electric vehicles are to blame. Nearshoring and partnerships Although the United States is not included in the BYD-Uber agreement, Chengyi Lin, an affiliate professor at Insead University, said, The question really is, to me, not whether Chinese EVs are going to go into the U.S. market; the question is, really, how? Lin, along with other experts, add that nearshoring transferring factories and manufacturing operations to a neighboring country and manufacturing abroad are other ways for China to continue entering global markets, including the United States. China has already set up a manufacturing facility in Thailand because there's huge demand in Southeast Asia. That could happen for [the] North American market as well, or for [the] European market, Lin explained. BYD announced plans in July to build a billion-dollar factory in Turkey, and late last year it announced the construction of a plant in Hungary. Both countries have close ties with Beijing and are part of the EU. Nearshoring, particularly in Mexico, is one route for China to gain access to the U.S. EV market, said Tom Moerenhout, professor and critical materials lead at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy. The biggest threat is that they [Chinese electric vehicles] come in the country via Mexico or via other countries with which the U.S. has a very advanced trade agreement, he said. So, the way that looks like is, basically, Chinese EV companies set up shop in Mexico and as a result, they are able to export to the United States, he said. BYD is already in talks in Mexico to build a factory there, and even as Canada considers its own EV tariffs, Reuters reported earlier this week that the company is looking to enter the market there as well. Back doors Currently, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, allows the relatively free flow of goods between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, [which] does leave space for Chinese components to be coming from Mexico, said Mark Kennedy, director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center. But Moerenhout and Kennedy noted that the U.S. is already working to make sure China is not taking advantage of the trade agreement. The U.S. trade representative [Katherine Tai] has very clearly said to Mexico, and publicly, the fact that China might bring in electric vehicles through Mexico, and then export them under this trade agreement, is a problem for us, said Moerenhout. Kennedy said that there is sharp focus from both the [Biden] administration and Congress that we not allow USMCA to be a back door for Chinese goods that we were otherwise hoping to not be included in American supply chain. Part of the reason for the United States and EUs fear of Chinas EV dominance, Lin said, is the potential for new cars to upend the traditional automobile industry. Chinese EVs are not only cheap but at high quality with better technology, he said. When you have such a good quality and low-priced product into the market, the traditional industry might be disrupted. Green transition vs. jobs In addition, the United States and EU see Chinas EV dominance as a potential threat to the advancement of their own green technology industries and job markets. The EU fears Chinas growing market share threatens 2.5 million auto industry workers as well as 10.3 million more people whose jobs indirectly depend on producing electric vehicles. China says efforts taken by the U.S. and EU are unjustified and potentially slowing down the global-green transition. Lin said that despite concerns, electric vehicles can have a meaningful impact in moving the green transition forward. If you really want to drive meaningful change around energy transition within transportation, mass market adoption of electric vehicles is key, he told VOA. Kennedy said the U.S. and EU are in a tough situation in which they must balance protecting their own industries against advancing the green transition. I mean it's the old walking and chewing gum at the same time challenge, he said. We want to move on the green transition, we want to maintain an industrial base. If you're only worried about the green transition, allowing cheap EV vehicles might accelerate your path toward that end. But, he added, it could also leave a hollowed-out industrial core. In June 2024, Russia and North Korea drew concern from Western governments by signing a comprehensive strategic partnership amid Russias invasion of Ukraine. A month earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest to announce a comprehensive strategic partnership with Hungary, a European Union and NATO member state. And just the previous year, Vietnam elevated its ties with the United States to a comprehensive strategic partnership. But while these phrases are often used in diplomacy, their meaning can vary. Countries use terms like strategic partnership and comprehensive partnership to describe different types of diplomatic relations. While some may involve a formal treaty, these partnerships are often informal and broadly defined relationships that simply provide a general framework for bilateral cooperation. A comprehensive partnership may signal a general intent to cooperate across a broad range of issues, while strategic partnerships may have a narrower but deeper focus on particular sectors such as trade, energy or counterterrorism. A comprehensive strategic partnership, then, implies both broad-based cooperation and a commitment to specific joint pursuits. However, there is no universal international standard for how these terms are defined. That is for the individual countries to determine. Vietnam, for example, uses all three categories to indicate different tiers of bilateral relations, with comprehensive strategic partnership being the highest. Yet the fact that Vietnam maintains this status with China despite their conflicts in the South China Sea and with both the United States and Russia despite their current standoff over Ukraine means there are limits to how far these partnerships can go without upsetting the diplomatic balance. In the case of China and Hungary, the announcement mostly reiterated an already-existing economic relationship and a commitment to proceed with previously planned projects rather than introducing new initiatives. Russia and North Koreas partnership, on the other hand, involves a formal pact that includes guarantees of military assistance in case of attack, though some experts believe this still falls short of a direct military alliance. Other countries may use similar terms without necessarily implying a tiered approach. The United States has in the past announced strategic partnerships with countries such as India and Qatar. It also applies the term to NATO allies such as Romania, as well as other allies like Ukraine. Partnerships can even extend to organizations beyond national governments. Beyond Vietnam, the United States has established a comprehensive strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations a regional grouping that also includes Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. And Egypt recently issued a joint announcement of a strategic and comprehensive partnership with the European Union as they work to address migration. In all cases, the terminology used to designate a partnership matters less than how each of the parties interprets it and what specific agreements, treaties and trade deals it entails. But although partnership announcements may be largely rhetorical, they remain important tools of diplomacy in a time of global upheaval and realignment. CHANGSHA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- As of 7 a.m. on Thursday, heavy rainfall had affected over 1.2 million residents in central China's Hunan Province. In response, various resources have been mobilized for rescue and relief work. The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said on Thursday that the area of damaged crops caused by Typhoon Gaemi has reached 127,000 hectares, and 96,500 people have been safely relocated. As of Wednesday, the provincial aviation emergency rescue center deployed four helicopters to participate in rescue operations in Zixing City, one of the areas severely affected by the rainfall. A total of 258 flights have been conducted, transporting approximately 73 tonnes of supplies and transferring 92 injured individuals and pregnant women. Currently, the province continues to maintain a Level II emergency response for flooding and a Level III emergency response for geological disasters. Rescue teams are still working tirelessly to address the ongoing impact of Typhoon Gaemi. China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control and geological disasters, with Level I being the most urgent response. The families of some of the 346 people killed in two Boeing Max jetliner crashes have asked a federal judge to reject a plea agreement Boeing and the U.S. Justice Department have proposed. Instead, the families want the judge to schedule a jury trial for Boeing. Boeing and the Justice Department recently finalized an agreement for Boeing to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit fraud to settle allegations that it deceived Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max and then broke a 2021 settlement that would have let the company escape criminal prosecution. The case against Boeing stems from two Boeing 737 Max crashes - in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019 - and Boeings misrepresentations about a key software feature involved in both incidents. The decision to accept the deal or put Boeing on trial is now in the hands U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. OConnor wrote in a ruling last year, according to Reuters, that "Boeing's crime may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history." Paul Cassell, one of the lawyers representing relatives of the crash victims, wrote in a court filing the proposed fine of up to $487 million is inadequate and at the very least is based on misleading accounting and inaccurate accounting. Cassell also said in his filing that the fine fails to reflect that Boeings crime killed 346 innocent victims. He described the plea agreement as morally reprehensible. Meanwhile, another lawyer representing the families whose loved ones crashed in the Boeing aircraft over Indonesia, also said he wants the judge to decline the plea agreement. Sanjiv Singh wrote in his filing that many of the families in Southeast Asia have not received proper restitution for their losses. Instead, he said his clients were pressured to sign likely illegal releases which preyed upon them at their weakest, most vulnerable moments" shortly after the crash. Another lawyer had suggested that the Justice Department may be favoring Boeing, the worlds largest aerospace company, over the families because Boeing is a major U.S. government contractor. "To actually charge Boeing and its senior management with the actual crimes committed, including the homicide of 346 passengers, would make any explanation of ongoing business dealings difficult and uncomfortable, particularly in an election year," Adrian Vuckovich wrote. Boeing and the Justice Department have 14 days to respond to the families' filings, the Associated Press reports. A rare visit by the head of the Food and Agricultural Organization to North Korea has drawn criticism from former U.S. officials and humanitarian experts, with some raising the possibility of the U.N. official, a former Chinese official, using his position to serve Chinas political interests. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, currently in his second term and who formerly served as Chinas vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, took a rare trip to Pyongyang, July 13-16, and praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for making great achievement in food security and agricultural development, according to a FAO statement. Qus trip was the first by an aid organization since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. For several decades, North Korea has suffered chronic food shortages exacerbated by recurring famine and floods damaging harvests. A FAO report released in July described North Koreas food situation as fragile. Hit again by heavy rains that flooded vast farmlands in Sinuiju and Uiju near the Chinese border, Kim expressed deep concern at an emergency meeting held to restore the damage after inspecting flood-hit areas, said state-run KCNA on Wednesday. The fact that North Korea has suffered periodic famines and for the head of the FAO to praise the countrys food situation is beyond ironic, said Kevin Moley, former U.S. ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva from 2001 to 2006. Its nothing more or less than a political agenda between China and North Korea, he added. Other former U.S. officials and analysts said the visit seems to have been made to benefit bilateral interests of Beijing and Pyongyang. Qus comments were probably an attempt by the DPRK leadership to use the U.N. to tell the world everything is fine at a time when we have evidence there was a second famine from 2018 to 2023 that killed tens of thousands or more, said Andrew Natsios, who served as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2001 to 2006. The Chinese government is worried of an increase in Russian influence in the DPRK and a decline in [its own] influence. The Russians are providing food to North Korea beginning last year in exchange for the DPRK providing them artillery shells, which the Russians are running out of in the Ukraine war, added Natsios, the director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University. North Koreas official name is the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. China has long been the primary food aid provider to North Korea, and deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang since Russian President Vladimir Putins visit to Pyongyang in June is believed to make Beijing nervous about its own influence on North Korea. VOA contacted the FAO for its comments on the criticism of Qus Pyongyang visit but did not receive a reply. Max-Otto Baumann, a senior researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability, said China might be interested in promoting agricultural productivity in North Korea through the FAO. He said that could be done with little transparency and accountability such as through Qus signature Hand-in-Hand Initiative seen by some FAO insiders and diplomats as a continuation of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. The Hand-in-Hand Initiative is aimed at eradicating poverty and ending hunger and malnutrition through data-driven agricultural transformation. Courtney Fung, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute, said the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang sends an implicit message that Chinas leadership role at the FAO can gain access to North Korea when other leaders cannot or have not, while advancing ostensibly apolitical technical solutions for global governance problems. The Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang was the first to release a statement about Qus trip there ahead of the FAO. Qu has been accused of using the FAO as a vehicle to spread Chinas influence in countries the agency serves and to fulfill Beijings goals in the several occasions in the past. On the other hand, Jerome Sauvage, the U.N. resident coordinator in North Korea from 2009 to 2013, said, No FAO director-general has ever been completely protected from the influence of their country of origin. Qus connection with China actually facilitates the reentry of one U.N. agency into DPRK, he added. Bradley Babson, a former World Bank adviser and a current advisory council member of the Korea Economic Institute of America, said Qus trip does not seem to be motivated by Chinas political interest but rather by trying to help North Korea find a better way to feed its people with U.N. support. Iran held a funeral Thursday for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, whose killing in Tehran has added to fears of a regional conflict. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended the funeral proceedings along with Irans new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh was in Tehran for Pezeshkians swearing-in, and Hamas said Haniyeh will be buried Friday in Qatar where he was based. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not comment directly on the attack Thursday as he visited Mongolia, but he called for calm in the Middle East. "Right now, the path that the region is on is toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity and it is crucial that we break the cycle and that starts with the cease-fire that weve been working on, which I believe is not only achievable, it has to be achieved," Blinken said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that Haniyehs assassination and Israels killing of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut "represent a dangerous escalation" of tensions in the region. Guterres said in a statement that at a time when "all efforts" should be focused on reaching a cease-fire in the nearly 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and increasing humanitarian aid to famished Palestinians, instead "what we are seeing are efforts to undermine these goals." Israel on Tuesday evening killed a top Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, in an airstrike in Beirut. Israel said Shukur was responsible for a July 27 attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israel on Thursday also said it confirmed that a July 13 Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday the Jewish state "will exact a heavy price from any aggression against us on any front" but did not mention the assassination of Haniyeh. Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, told VOA that it is clear Israel was responsible for Haniyehs killing, and that it is part of an Israeli strategy to respond to its own failures in the October 7 attack, including a lack of deterrence against Hamas. "It was very clear that if that was left unaddressed, other actors like Hezbollah could get similar ideas," Berman said. "So, everything that Israel has done since, both in terms of the Gaza war, but also long-range strikes on the Houthis in Yemen, attacks in Syria, attacks in Lebanon, and now the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, is intended as part of a long-term strategy to rebuild Israeli deterrence." The U.S. State Department urged Americans to avoid travel to the entirety of Lebanon, not just the Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon for which it had previously issued do-not-travel guidance. Britain and Australia similarly warned their citizens. Khamenei vowed to retaliate for Haniyehs killing, saying Israel "prepared a harsh punishment for itself." "We consider his revenge as our duty," Khamenei said in a statement on his official website, noting Haniyeh was "a dear guest in our home." Hamas armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, also vowed to retaliate and warned of "major repercussions" for the Middle East. Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told VOA that because Haniyeh was killed on Iranian soil, there is a question about whether Iran will leave it to its proxies such as Hezbollah, the Yemen-based Houthis or militias in Iraq and Syria to respond, or whether Iran will act like it did in April in response to an Israeli airstrike on Irans consulate in Syria and launch its own attacks on Israel. "I think we should assume at a basic level that the proxies will respond," Goldberg said. "The question is whether Iran enters the battlefield again directly." Norman Roule, a former U.S. intelligence manager for Iran, told VOA there is a "high likelihood" Iran will respond, but that it will need to consider a type of action that shows it can hit Israel without starting a regional conflict. "The supreme leader has stated that Iran must respond to this," Roule said. "The Revolutionary Guard, which would have been responsible along with other Iranian authorities for Ismail Haniyehs protection will have been humiliated and will need to restore their sense of face, and last of all, Irans proxies will look to Iran to demonstrate that it has a deterrent capacity." Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told VOA that in addition to a direct attack on Israel, other options for Iran would be maritime provocations and ramping up its nuclear program. "It can also attempt terror plots throughout the region and also elsewhere abroad, targeting Israeli diplomatic facilities and installations in those countries," Brodsky said. "There are a variety of options that the Islamic Republic will try to employ. But at the same time, the Islamic Republic does not want to get involved likely in a direct war between with Israel and the United States, because in that contest, the Islamic Republic stands to lose mightily." Haniyehs death comes nearly 10 months after Iran-backed Hamas launched a terror attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israels counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 39,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, while Israel says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters it has killed. Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been trying for months to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but that process faced serious questions after Haniyehs killing. Israeli forces continued their Gaza campaign Thursday with airstrikes in Khan Younis and ground operations in Rafah and central Gaza, the military said. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. German airline Lufthansa announced Thursday that it is canceling all passenger and cargo flights to and from Israel until at least August 8. Citing a current development in the region for the pause on flights, the Lufthansa spokesperson also said the carrier is extending its suspension of flights to and from Beirut until August 12. Numerous airlines have halted flights to the Middle East as tensions in the region grow. Lebanon is bracing for expected retaliation from Israel after a strike on Saturday killed 12 children and teenagers in an Israeli-occupied area of the Golan Heights. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah denies any involvement in the attack. Lufthansa Groups announcement comes a day after the United States Embassy in Lebanon issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory. Some information for this story was provided by Reuters. There is no clarity about the losses days after the Malian military and the supporting Russian Defense Ministrys Wagner units clashed with Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaida affiliate JNIM fighters in the desert near the border with Algeria. The news reports vary from 20 to 80 Wagner troops killed. No official in Russia commented on the fighting or specified loses. Mali issued a vague statement about significant losses, after initially claiming that only two of its servicemen were killed in the attack. The fighting took place in the northeastern town of Tinzaouaten between July 22 and 27, when the Malian army and Wagner troops came under attack from Tuareg rebels, possibly in coalition with the JNIM. The Russian sources say the final attack came immediately after a strong sandstorm. A week earlier, the Malian Army and Wagner troops announced they had recaptured some areas from Tuareg rebels. The Associated Press reported that Russias Wagner unit suffered its biggest losses to date on African soil. What happened during the five days of fighting remains subject to propaganda and disinformation. On July 27, the Malian army claimed it had killed at least 20 terrorists and destroyed several vehicles and a large amount of military equipment. It then went on to declare its losses: There were two dead, ten wounded, two armored personnel carriers, and two pickup trucks were disabled. That is misleading. The Tuareg rebels in coalition with JNIM (Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin), distributed videos and photos of the aftermath saying they had killed 10 Malian soldiers and over 50 Wagnerites. The footage went viral on social media, and independent investigative journalists verified most of the videos and images, confirming the heavy losses suffered by the Wagner troops and the Malian military and thus discrediting the armys version of the events and casualties. The Tuareg rebels said they had taken hostage several Malian soldiers and Wagner fighters." On July 30, the Wagner group said in a post on its Telegram massaging app it had suffered heavy losses during the attack, which lasted five days in Malis north, but it provided no figures. However, international media outlets, including AP, Reuters and BBC, reported that "between 20 and 80 Wagner fighters" were killed during the attack. Russia's state-run news agency, TASS, reported that only three Russian fighters survived the battle, and their commander Sergey Shevchenko was among those killed in action. On July 30, the Malian army, while trying to do damage control, issued another statement admitting it had suffered significant losses, without stating the actual figures of the dead or injured. The Malian army and Wagner said that the military and the Wagner fighters [were] killed in combat" while on patrol in northern Mali in Tinzawaten village near the Algeria border. The Malian government has referred to the Wagner troops as Russian military trainers since their arrival in Mali in December 2021. At the time, Wagner was a paramilitary group operating covertly on behalf of the Russian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially placed Wagner under the command of the Russian Defense Ministry in 2023, after the death of the groups founders Evgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin in a plane crash. On February 8, the U.S. State Department, in a report titled The Wagner Groups Atrocities in Africa: The Lies and the Truths, said, Before Wagners deployment to Mali, Russia highlighted false narratives like those it deployed about [Central African Republic], repeating the myth that Russian instructors would bring peace, stability, and would also have new success at fighting counterterrorism in the country. A United Nations investigation said last year that more than 500 people were killed the vast majority summarily executed by Malian troops and foreign military personnel during a five-day military operation in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali in March 2022. Human Rights Watch and other human rights watchdogs accused Wagner of war crimes in Africa, including rape, torture and defilement. Residents of Kastigarh, a sub-district in central Jammu and Kashmir, say they are staying close to their homes following a recent attack by anti-India militants that injured two soldiers who were sheltering in a dilapidated school after a patrol. A large group of Indian forces had decided to rest in the school after a long search in the area. At around 2 a.m. we woke up to gunfire and realized that militants had attacked them, said a local resident who requested anonymity to discuss the pre-dawn July 18 incident. Since then we have been living in fear. People prefer not to venture alone, especially after dark, for safety, he told VOA. The patrol at Kastigarh was part of a larger effort of the Indian army to search for anti-India militants believed to be hiding in the dense forests and remote areas of the larger Doda district, which includes Kastigarh. In recent months, the Jammu region of the disputed Himalayan territory has witnessed 14 skirmishes between anti-India militants and security forces, resulting in the deaths of 10 soldiers, nine civilians and five militants. This is the first attack in our village in 20 years. I remember the previous incident that took place in 2004 during the elections, Kumar said. Soldiers nowadays regularly patrol in our area and during that time we feel secure, he added, saying that the villagers did not observe any suspicious activity before or after the shootout. In June 2023, VOA reported a resurgence of militancy by separatist insurgents in Jammu after a 14-year gap. This year, the armed conflict has expanded from two to four districts, including the Hindu-dominated Reasi district. The deployment of troops to address border tensions with China in Ladakh has resulted in a relatively lower presence of security forces in certain areas of Jammu, said Deependra Singh Hooda, a former commanding-in-chief of the Indian armys Northern Command. This reduced security presence has provided an opportunity for terrorists to establish a foothold and increase their activities in the region, he told VOA. The first major attack of the year took place in Reasi district on June 9, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath for a third consecutive term. Militants reportedly chased a passenger vehicle carrying Hindu pilgrims and later opened fire on it. The driver lost control and the vehicle fell into a gorge, resulting in the deaths of nine pilgrims, including an infant. India blames Pakistan for the rise in militancy in the part of the disputed territory under New Delhi's control. Islamabad rejects the charge. Ayaz Gul and Sarah Zaman contributed to this report. A United Nations-backed food security report concluded Thursday that more than a year of war in Sudan has pushed parts of North Darfur into famine, including a displaced persons camp that houses more than a half-million people. "According to the report, catastrophic hunger conditions are projected for the first time in the history of the IPC survey in Sudan, and 14 areas have been declared 'at risk of famine' in the coming months," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters about the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global monitor for food insecurity. The IPC does not declare famine but provides the evidence for an official declaration to be made. The IPC says famine conditions are prevalent in North Darfur, including at the Zamzam displacement camp, which is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) south of the regional capital, El Fasher, and are likely to persist through the end of October. The U.N. says intensified fighting in El Fasher has displaced about 320,000 people since mid-April, with about 150,000 to 200,000 of them believed to have moved to Zamzam camp since mid-May. It says the camp population has expanded to over half a million in just a few weeks. Fighting between rival generals leading the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces for the past 15 months has severely hindered humanitarian access, exacerbating the hunger crisis. In addition to the areas facing famine, the U.N. warns that half the country's population about 25.6 million people are at crisis levels or worse of food insecurity. Dujarric said the World Food Program is rapidly increasing its emergency response and trying to find new ways to reach millions of people across Sudan, especially in hard-to-reach areas. "Our colleagues at WFP are telling us that we are in a race against time to stop famine in its tracks," Dujarric said. "But there is an urgent need for a massive increase in funding to ramp up assistance at the scale required to avert famine." The United Nations has appealed for $2.7 billion this year for Sudan but has received about a third of that $870 million. "We and our partners warn that if the war doesn't stop, more and more people are being pushed into catastrophic levels of hunger," Dujarric said. Nongovernmental organization Mercy Corps said the IPC famine report is "merely the tip of the iceberg." "We can only imagine the extent of starvation and deprivation in other regions where we lack similar data, particularly in the 14 areas identified in the latest IPC report, including Greater Darfur, the Kordofan areas, and Khartoum State," Barrett Alexander, Mercy Corps' director of programs for Sudan, said in a statement. He said a recent assessment by his team in Central and South Darfur found that 9 out of 10 children, particularly those under age 5, are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council expressed its concern about the humanitarian situation, urging the international community to increase assistance. On July 18, the United States announced an additional $203 million in humanitarian assistance to support those affected by the conflict both inside Sudan and those who have fled to neighboring countries. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the IPC report confirms what was known already that people have been and continue to die in Sudan from starvation. "Families who fled horrific violence have been going hungry for months," she said in a statement. "Children have been eating dirt and leaves, and every day, babies have been starving to death." She urged the warring parties to attend the cease-fire talks in Switzerland on August 14, which the United States is mediating, and Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting. The United States is facing a series of unprecedented threats from foreign intelligence agencies, some of which are increasingly cooperating with each other to gain an advantage, according to a newly approved strategy to blunt the impact of espionage. The National Counterintelligence Strategy, signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday, calls out Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as the main culprits, identifying Moscow and Beijing as the most significant intelligence threats. But the document warns they are increasingly launching more aggressive operations and even working together, or with others, to undermine the U.S. U.S. counterintelligence officials see our leading adversaries cooperating more frequently with one another, enhancing the threat they pose, the strategy warns, adding that many PRC [Peoples Republic of China], Russian, and Iranian intelligence activities still go undetected. Commercial entities are playing increasingly important enabling roles, it adds. In some cases, foreign spy services are turning to widely available products to better conduct surveillance or collect massive amounts of data. In other instances, spies are using technology to infiltrate critical systems belonging both to the U.S. government and private entities. A growing number of commercial firms are flooding the market with high-quality cyber intrusion tools, expanding the pool of [foreign intelligence] actors that can threaten our networks and people, the strategy says. But U.S. intelligence officials have warned that in other cases, adversaries are turning to private companies to mask their involvement. Earlier this week, a U.S. intelligence official warned that Russia in particular was turning to private Russian companies in its effort to meddle with the upcoming U.S. presidential election. This includes outsourcing its efforts to commercial firms to hide its hand, the official said. Officials accused Beijing of also using companies in China and in the Middle East and Latin America to push disinformation campaigns and carry out other influence operations. China and Russia have repeatedly dismissed such accusations, with Beijing accusing the U.S. of being the biggest disseminator of disinformation. The warning of growing intelligence cooperation among key U.S. adversaries, however, echoes warnings of a growing collaboration on other fronts. U.S. and Western officials have recently accused Russia, China, Iran and North Korea of forming a new Axis of Evil, working together to supply Moscow with weapons and ammunition for its war in Ukraine. "It is a concern. It is a concern that you have both China, North Korea, Russia, Iran countries that are not necessarily coordinated in the past looking to figure out how they can have impact," U.S. President Joe Biden said during a news conference last month. "There is no time to lose," a NATO official told VOA, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the expanding cooperation. "This must be a key priority for all our allies. The new U.S. counterintelligence strategy seeks to provide U.S. intelligence agencies with a road map to counter the growing threats. Part of that involves investing in technologies and programs to help U.S. intelligence agencies better detect plots, anticipate threats and more widely share that information with other government agencies and allies. The strategy also calls for more use of artificial intelligence, or AI, to better defend against espionage activities and to launch offensive campaigns aimed at disrupting foreign plots. Foreign intelligence and security services and their proxies persist in seeking to acquire our most sensitive information, technology and intellectual property. Nonstate actors are following suit, Biden wrote in an introduction to the new counterintelligence strategy. The strategy, he added, ensures we are well-positioned to counter foreign intelligence threats. The United States has moved to significantly strengthen its alliances in the Indo-Pacific in recent days amid the security threat from China including a major upgrade of its military command in Japan. Just how ready are the United States and its allies to act if conflict erupts? Henry Ridgwell reports from Tokyo. Ukraine said Thursday its air defenses shot down seven Russian aerial drones that targeted areas in central and eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian air force said the intercepts took place over the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Poltava regions. In the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russian shelling killed one person and damaged homes, while a missile attack injured one person. Russias defense ministry said Wednesday it shot down a Ukrainian aerial drone over the Belgorod region, which is located across the border from Kharkiv. Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian drones struck three villages, damaging at least five homes. Gladkov said there were no reports of injuries. In Bryansk, another border region, officials said air defenses shot down three Ukrainian aerial drones, but that there were no reports of injuries or damage. Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov reported a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a bus and injured the driver. U.S. officials said Wednesday Ukraine had received its first shipment of F-16 fighter jets from the West, something Ukraine has been seeking for months to help it beat back the Russian invasion of its territory. Ukraine says the F-16s are crucial because of their ability to suppress enemy air defenses. Western allies have been slow in agreeing to supply the jets because they were fearful of escalating the conflict with Russia. It was not immediately clear how many of the jets were included in the shipment. NATO members Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have pledged to provide more than 60 of the jets to Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to allow allies to send the U.S.-built jets to Ukraine a year ago, after repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEW DELHI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people were killed and over 50 others went missing as torrential rains triggering cloudbursts, landslides, flooding and waterlogging wreaked havoc in north India, officials said Thursday. Heavy rains battered the Indian capital territory and its outskirts Wednesday evening and left most parts of the city waterlogged. The rains and inundation of roads severely affected traffic, leaving commuters stranded for hours. Reports said at least 10 people -- five in Delhi, three in Gurugram and two in Greater Noida -- were killed in the rain-related incidents. The incessant downpour, which saw parts of the city receive record rainfall, prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for Delhi. The IMD advised residents to stay indoors, secure their homes, and avoid unnecessary travel. The situation also prompted the Delhi government to close all schools on Thursday. The cloudbursts caused massive devastation in the three districts in the northern part of India by damaging bridges, houses and roads. Videos shared on social media show a building housing a vegetable market collapsing on a road. The local government has pressed into service disaster response force personnel to help trace the missing. Officials had been instructed to make all necessary arrangements. On Tuesday, multiple landslides hit the southern Indian state of Kerala's Wayanad district, causing large-scale destruction to life and property. According to India's official broadcaster All India Radio, the death toll in the landslide-affected region has risen to 260. A full-scale rescue and relief operation involving NDRF, army and Air Force personnel is underway in the affected area to help survivors, trace the missing and pull out bodies from the debris. U.S. Democrats began voting Thursday to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their 2024 presidential candidate to run against former Republican President Donald Trump in the November election for a new four-year term in the White House. Nearly 4,000 Democratic activists and politicians sent in signatures supporting Harris at the start of a five-day electronic vote ahead of the party's four-day national convention from August 19 to 22 in Chicago. Harris is expected to name her vice presidential running mate in the coming days and then embark on a string of rallies through several political battleground states that both Harris and Trump need to win to claim the presidency. The Democratic faithful voting to nominate Harris originally were picked in state-by-state party primary elections and caucuses earlier this year to vote for the reelection nomination of President Joe Biden. But when the 81-year-old Biden ended his campaign last month after a stumbling debate against Trump in late June and endorsed Harris, 59, the party adherents quickly coalesced behind her candidacy. No other major opponent emerged to challenge her for the nomination. Harris won the support of 99% of the delegates who signed petitions in the party's nominating contest, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement, while no one else met the qualifying threshold of 300 signatures. "Our delegates have an important responsibility and opportunity in the days ahead to cast their history-making ballots for Vice President Harris, ensuring that she will be on the ballot in every state this November," said Jaime Harrison, the national party chair. "Our party has met this unprecedented moment with a transparent, democratic and orderly process to unite behind a nominee with a proven record who will lead us in the fight ahead," he said. Harris will become the first Black and South Asian woman to ever secure a major U.S. party's presidential nomination. With the November 5 election less than 100 days away, polling across the U.S. and in key states shows Harris and Trump locked in a closely contested race. The head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, its eighth attempt to kill him. Deif was believed to be one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant movement, which triggered the Gaza war now in its tenth month. The operation stoked fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by the Gaza war and a worsening conflict in Lebanon. Israel has sought to show it can get anyone, anywhere. It has assassinated or attempted to kill leaders of Hamas and key operatives since the group was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Two years later, Hamas carried out its first attacks on Israeli military targets, including the kidnap and killing of two Israeli soldiers. Here is a list of Palestinian leaders and operatives who were targeted by the most powerful and sophisticated military in the Middle East. Yahya Ayyash Elusive Islamic militant mastermind behind a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings nicknamed "The Engineer", was killed in then PLO-ruled Gaza. He died on Jan. 5, 1996, when his cellular phone exploded in his hands. Palestinians blamed Israel, which declined to take responsibility. Hamas retaliated in four suicide attacks that killed 59 people in three Israeli cities over nine days in February and March. Khaled Meshaal Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal became known around the world in 1997 after Israeli agents injected him with poison in a botched assassination attempt on a street outside his office in the Jordanian capital Amman. The hit, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, so enraged Jordan's then-King Hussein that he spoke of hanging the would-be killers and scrapping Jordan's peace treaty with Israel unless the antidote was handed over. Israel did so, and also agreed to free Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, only to assassinate him seven years later in Gaza. Ahmed Yassin Israel killed the quadriplegic co-founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed, in a helicopter missile strike on March 22, 2004 as he left a mosque in Gaza City. Israel attempted to kill him in 2003 while he was at the house of a Hamas member in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza shouting calls of revenge and threatened to "send death to every home" in Israel. His death led to widespread protests and condemnation from the Palestinian territories and the broader Muslim world and marked a significant escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, underlining the deep-seated tensions and the challenges of achieving peace in the region. Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantissi An Israeli helicopter missile strike on a car in Gaza City killed Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi on April 17, 2004. Two bodyguards were also killed. The Hamas leadership went into hiding and the identity of Rantissias successor was kept secret. His assassination came shortly after he had taken over as Hamas leader in Gaza following the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Adnan Al-Ghoul Hamas master bomber Adnan Al-Ghoul was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Oct. 21, 2004. Ghoul was number 2 in the military wing of Hamas and known as the "Father of the Qassam" rocket, a makeshift missile frequently fired into Israeli towns. Nizar Rayyan A cleric widely regarded as one of Hamas's most hardline political leaders, had called for renewed suicide bombings inside Israel. Two of his four wives and seven of his children were also killed in the bombing in Jabalya refugee camp on Jan. 1, 2009. Days later, an Israeli airstrike killed Hamas's Interior Minister Saeed Seyyam, in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 15. Seyyam was in charge of 13,000 Hamas police and security men. Saleh Al-Arouri An Israeli drone strike on Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh killed Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri on Jan. 2, 2024. Arouri was also the founder of Hamas military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group said. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating. Iranian media reported that he was staying at "a special residence for war veterans in north Tehran". Iran's NourNews said Haniyeh's residence was hit by an airborne projectile. Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him "directly" in a state guesthouse where he was staying, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told a news conference in Tehran, quoting witnesses who were with Haniyeh. Mohammed Deif Israel's military said Deif was killed after fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis on July 13th after an intelligence assessment. The elusive Deif had survived seven Israel assassination attempts. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement, which came as crowds gathered in Tehran for the funeral procession of Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh. Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war, now in its 300th day. A spokeswoman from the United States Embassy in Harare has refuted allegations by Harare that its diplomat is on the run after allegedly killing an 11-year-old girl in a road traffic accident in Dema, 60 kilometers west of the capital, Harare. Zimbabwe has identified the diplomat as Eric Kimpton, the US Embassy Second Secretary. In an exclusive audio response to questions sent by VOA Zimbabwe Services Studio 7, a spokeswoman for the embassy said, The US embassy expressed its sincere condolences and deep sadness regarding the tragic death of a school-aged girl near Dema, Zimbabwe on June 3rd, 2024. She added, The US embassy including the US diplomat involved in the accident transparently complied with local officials following the accident. The diplomat involved in the accident has since departed Zimbabwe. US embassy representatives have been in communication with the family and community including attendance at the funeral and support for the girls family. The US embassy recognizes the devastation of this accident for all involved and will continue to communicate and cooperate with the police and other officials as they complete their investigation. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones, of the girl. Harare Response Reached for comment, Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesman, Commissioner Paul Nyathi told VOA that, "The police who attended the scene were told by senior US embassy officials that he (Kimpton) needed a period to rest but were told later he was no longer in the country. The documentation process hasn't been completed and the matter is still before the police because we could not proceed with the formalities in his absence. It appears he is no longer coming back to Zimbabwe. Investigations have stalled." In an interview with the state-leaning Herald newspaper, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), George Charamba was less diplomatic. He said, No one, from whichever country or continent, is allowed to spill innocent Zimbabwean blood and get away with it. The behaviour of diplomats must be consistent with the dignity of their profession but also with the expectations of the Vienna Convention. When a diplomat is involved in a fatal traffic accident, uses the pretext of counselling, which he thinks is only available in his country, and then decides to stay away from the police, he or she moves from being a diplomat to a fugitive and there are adequate instruments which Zimbabwe can summon to bring that diplomat to account. We will do precisely that." Diplomatic Immunity Texas-based human rights lawyer, Kennedy Masiye, says diplomats are protected under international law. Masiye said, Diplomats are protected from prosecution under international law. Zimbabwe is signatory to the Vienna Convention that protects diplomats from being prosecuted criminally or in civil court. Masiye admitted that Harare can ask for a waiver, though he notes that it is up to Washington to lift the immunity for the diplomat to stand trial. According to the U.S. Department of State Office for Foreign Mission Diplomatic and Consular Immunity: Guidance for Law Enforcement and Judicial Authorities: "The principle of diplomatic immunity is one of the oldest elements of foreign relations." It further says, "Ancient Greek and Roman governments, for example, accorded special status to envoys, and the basic concept has evolved and endured until the present. As a matter of international law, diplomatic immunity was primarily based on custom and international practice until quite recently. In the period since World War II, a number of international conventions (most noteworthy, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations) have been concluded. These conventions have formalized the customary rules and made their application more uniform." China is expanding its imports of semi-processed agriculture from Africa in an effort to address a trade imbalance and also as a way of diversifying global food chains amid geo-political tensions. Avocado farmers are getting ready to export their products to the Chinese market for the first time. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Sudanese military authorities confirmed that a graduation ceremony held Wednesday in the nations Genit Army Base was interrupted by a drone strike that killed five people, excluding Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF. UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on the parties concerned to take tangible actions to push for deescalation and the restoration of peace and tranquility in the Middle East region. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh that took place in Iran's capital Tehran, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, in remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Denouncing the act as a blatant attempt to sabotage peace efforts and wantonly trampled on the fundamental UN Charter principle of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, Fu said China is deeply worried about an exacerbation of the upheaval in the region that this incident may trigger. He expressed disappointment over the ceasefire negotiations. "Over two months ago, the council adopted Resolution 2735. As of now, however, ceasefire negotiations have yet to yield any progress, while the spillover effects of this conflict are increasingly visible, with the tensions between Lebanon and Israel, between Syria and Israel, and in the Red Sea sounding the alarm frequently." "The Middle East situation is hanging by a thread, much to the concern of the international community," he warned, "Given the severity of the situation, the parties concerned must heed the international calls for a ceasefire and cessation of fighting," said the ambassador, urging the parties to implement Security Council resolutions fully, actively coordinate with and support international good offices, and take tangible actions to push for deescalation and the restoration of peace and tranquility in the region. "They must not act singlemindedly and repeatedly take provocative or risky actions to stoke escalations," he said. "We strongly object to and condemn the recent irresponsible acts, including Israel's attack on Southern Beirut." Emphasizing that "military means and abuse of force offer no solution and will only lead to a bigger crisis," Fu said the continued deterioration of the Middle East situation is directly attributable to the continuous failure to implement a ceasefire in Gaza. He called on all parties to comply with the overwhelming international consensus and work jointly for an immediate ceasefire to save lives, mitigate the impact of the havoc, and contain any spillovers. "We urge Israel to implement council resolutions in full, immediately halt all its military operations in Gaza, and immediately stop its collective punishment of the people in Gaza." Fu also urged countries with major influence to put more pressure and work more vigorously on the parties concerned and make tangible good-faith efforts to put out the flames of war in Gaza. The first thing you need to know about Pippa Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers) is that she has a bob. The second is that she almost always wears overalls. And the third is that, unlike her party-animal friends who drink booze and go on hot dates Pip is a huge fan of school. Homework. The grind. These three characteristics (the bob, the overalls, the education dedication) should tell you everything you need to know about Pippa Fitz-Amobi, our leading lady in A Good Girls Guide to Murder. She is bookish, clever, and, most important, Not Like the Other Girls. Instead of a senior year spent throwing parties and slacking off, 17-year-old Pip has set her sights on a convoluted capstone: solving the disappearance of Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies). This is not the first time weve met Pip, who comes from Holly Jacksons 2019 novel of the same name. It is, however, the first time were seeing Pippa in the flesh, and Myers perfectly embodies headstrong Pip. As well soon learn, its fun to be a little irritated with Pippa while we simultaneously root for her to crack the case. She and that damn bob and those overalls go too far; we shake our heads and insist shed be better off quitting while shes ahead, but we keep watching because weve all gone too far with a little gossip, havent we? Its been five years since the scandal surrounding golden girl Andie Bell and her boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni), rocked Pippas hometown, an English village so quaint that its named Little Kilton. On April 19, 2019, Andie disappeared in the middle of the night. Just a couple of days later, police found Sal dead in the woods, overdosed on painkillers. Without an alibi for the night of Andies disappearance, Sal was ruled her killer posthumously. There wasnt even a trial police immediately claimed he died by suicide, riddled with grief after allegedly killing Andie. Sal did send a text to his father confessing to the crime hours before he died. Andie was never found. So, case closed? No. Now, its 2024, and Pip isnt satisfied with this conclusion. Pippa could research the case in her spare time, but wheres the fun in that? She is going to prove Sal innocent for her Extended Project Qualification get ready to hear the acronym EPQ endlessly which is the British way to describe a senior-year thesis mixed with a college application essay. While you maybe wrote something about being on the debate team for your college essay, and I wrote about being in theater, Pippa solved a whole damn murder case. Apart from school, theres another reason why Pippa is doing this; frankly, its a little flimsy. Pippa believes Sal to be innocent because he was kind to her as a kid. Good guys dont kill people, Pippa tells her best friend, Cara Ward (Asha Banks). Important to note: Cara is the younger sister of Sals friend Naomi (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi), meaning Pip grew up around sweet Sal. Plus, if Sal didnt do it, that also means that the killer is still lurking around Little Kilton. But, cmon good guys do kill people, Pippa. Its the oldest plot twist in the book. There are a lot of timestamps, receipts, and case-related history the first episode has to get across, and for the most part, the show seamlessly integrates this into Pippas conversations. Sometimes, though, we get a clunky exposition moment like when were forced to watch Pip build a crime-scene wall in her room, circling her Persons of Interest in red ink and writing zingers like WHERE WAS SAL? on her timeline. Well, Pippa, thats the question, isnt it? No need to emulate John Krasinkis whiteboard in A Quiet Place here; we got the gist before you literally spelled it out for us. Pippa begins with an obvious, if amateur, plan. Armed with a tin of homemade muffins, Pip bribes Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal), the cute younger brother of Sal, to talk to her. These two really kick it off. The pheromones are pheremoning as the pair chat literature, homework, and school. But Pippa soon swings in with a big confession: These muffins were actually baked to convince Ravi to spill the deets about his dead brother. Ravi, peeved that Pip pulled a bait and switch, tells her to leave him alone. He has every right to be wary about Pippa. Not only did Ravi lose his older brother, townsfolk have been traumatizing the Singh family ever since Sals death. I am firmly planted in the Protect Ravi at All Costs camp. Get a job! Stay away from him! Pippa carries out yet another ill-advised plan. Later, while hanging out with Cara, Pip uses her as a way to further wedge herself into the case. Pip wants to interview Naomi for her EPQ. Cara brushes her off; Naomi is too depressed about the Sal case to get involved. But Pippa ignores her friends request, sneaks out of the room, and tiptoes downstairs to find Naomi, who is mumbling something about missing jammy dodgers. Pip immediately uses that as a way in: Speaking of missing, does Naomi remember where she was on April 19, 2019, the night Andie Bell disappeared? Naomi hesitantly recalls the night. Before Andie went missing, Sal was kicking it at Max Hastingss (Henry Ashton) house with Naomi. They were playing Super Mario Party, which is important for two reasons. First, the exact game will later be contested. Second, Mario Party is the best game, and its inconceivable that anyone playing it could be a killer. Pip should factor this key detail into her EPQ. Sal left at 10:30 p.m., and was only seen later at 12:50 a.m. by his dad when he returned home. Pip wants more info on some alibi Naomi mentioned. Well, wouldnt you know it! Pips mom (Anna Maxwell Martin) just so happens to be in a book club with Ms. Hastings, who is just so happening looking for waitresses to work a big Hastings family party this weekend. Thus, Max becomes Pippas next target. Pip drags Cara along with her to serve Champagne at the event, as if betraying her and interviewing Naomi werent enough. To make matters worse, Pippa abandons bottle-girl duty, stalking Max down to the basement. Poor Cara! But Pip gets whats coming to her: Max is a scumbag. Pippa demands answers about Sals alibi, but Max wants a quid pro quo deal where he gets something out of the conversation, too. For every question he answers, Pippa must take a shot. Thats what you get for treating sweet Cara like trash. Pippa starts downing shots and Max finally offers some long-awaited insight. Shot: What is this alibi Naomi mentioned? Chaser: Sal asked Max and his friends to lie to the police and say he actually left at 12:50 a.m., which he didnt. Sals friends told the police the truth. Shot: What were they doing that night? Chaser: They were playing FIFA, not Mario Party. Shot: What did Max know about Sals new girlfriend? Chaser: Max literally never spoke to Andie. Max is an untrustworthy douchebag. FIFA and not Super Mario Party? Bail, Pippa. While exiting the party, a drunken Pip confesses to Cara that she also interviewed Naomi. They have a screaming match, Cara continues to be far too good a friend for Pip, and both leave the party in tears. Perhaps its time for Pip to hit pause on this EPQ and research, I dont know, literally anything else? But, again: This is Pippa Fitz-Amobi were talking about. She may not be sporting her overalls unless theyre on underneath her glitzy waitress costume but that bob is going to keep bobbing. Pip rolls up to the Singh household after the party, tears clinging to her eyes. Ravi tells her to go away again, but she rambles on about how important this is to her. Finally, he cracks. Ravi has something hes been dying to show someone, anyone, for the past five years: Sals phone. On it, two messages could prove Sals innocence. The first, on April 19: Goin 2 Max house after school 2nite will be bak late The second, on April 22: It was me. I did it. Im so sorry. Sal never typed out any punctuation. He simplified to to 2. Why, then, would his confession be so perfectly written? Theres only one answer here, Pip and Ravi agree: Someone else sent the confession. Now that Pips persistence has finally won her a singular ally who, lucky for her, is a key witness in the case theres actually a solid reason for her to continue the investigation. Ring a Bell? Pippa reads Jane Eyre at the corner store while her friends steal booze. (Again: Not Like the Other Girls .) Cute factoid: Charlotte Bronte wrote the novel under the pen name Currer Bell. Andie Bell, Currer Bell. Related? Side note: Couldnt Pippa have done her EPQ on, say, bildungsroman novels? Pips friend Lauren (Yali Topol Margalith), a tertiary character in this saga, is also at the Hastings party, on a date with a guy named Ant (Monty Eliot). (Ant?!?) Pip hates Ant because he says pacifically instead of specifically. This show is really great at a realistic characterization of teens there were at least three of these guys in my high school. Some guy at the Hastings party tells Pippa to stop being so nosy and plays the old Got your nose! trick on her. Dark forces are at work here, Pippa whispers to Cara. A good-looking man just tried to steal my nose. Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Authorities arrested 14 people as the result of a human-trafficking sting operation targeting sex buyers using the San Diego Comic-Con Convention to seek out potential victims, the California Department of Justice announced in a press release. According to the release, ten potential victims including nine adults and a 16-year-old girl were recovered and offered support services. As part of the operation conducted by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force from July 25 to July 27, law-enforcement agents went undercover as sex buyers and posted ads soliciting sex. Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit, California attorney general Rob Bonta said in a statement. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, the convention has suggested that it did not know about the sting. Obviously we find this very disturbing and, while we were not made aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event, SDCC said in a statement to IGN. We work closely with a variety of law-enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can. Hey, at least Timothys having fun, right? That kid, who may or may not still be the Antichrist, is giggling away while every other character on Evil is suffering. It really is the agony and the ecstasy over here, babes! Weve officially reached the final four episodes of this show (I have to keep typing it so I actually believe it) these are the four episodes Robert and Michelle King were given to wrap things up once Evil was given the axe. Those very meta scenes in which characters were in disbelief that the Archdiocese was terminating the assessor program even though it proved to be quite successful but it doesnt make any sense, its all about money, is the gist of the responses are both absolutely delicious and also heartbreaking. Alas, here we are. While Fear of the Future remains yet another fine outing in this excellent season-four run, you can certainly feel the pressure of drawing things in this complex, meaty show to an end. Theres a lot to cover and little time to do it, and those constraints show themselves a bit. With the pressure cooker of a timeline both outside the show and within it, in regards to the Big Evil and the 60 and the Antichrist stuff, imagine my surprise when I realized that this episode wasnt putting the mythology front and center, but some gorgeous character work. What a time we are having! The crux of this episode is set off by two events: First, Kurt Boggs goes to deliver Sheryls envelope to Andy and walks in on Andy having sex with a woman who is not Kristen while both participants are wearing animal masks (yes, that kink is back). The second is when a woman named Ellie (Anna Chlumsky joins the Evil crew!) shows up at Sheryls funeral and hits it off with Kristen, who really could use a gal pal, only to inform Kristen that, surprise, she is actually her daughter Laura from 30 years in the future. She stepped into a wormhole created by the particle accelerator and has come back to tell her mother that tomorrow shes going to learn Andy is cheating on her and shell divorce him and in six months David will leave the priesthood because hes in love with her. I dont know about you guys, but I guessed pretty early on that the two events were connected. Even so, realizing that Ellie is actually the woman from the mental-health clinic that Andys sleeping with doesnt make what transpires any less compelling. I mean, we are watching Kristen lose everything at a wildly rapid (perhaps, some might say, too rapid?) pace. Shes lost her mother, her job, and her marriage seemingly in one fell swoop. She doesnt seem like the same woman who would murder a man with an ice axe, but with this much trauma and whatever fresh hell awaits with Timothy and Leland all bets are off. Lets talk about her immediate response, though. Kristen doesnt want to believe that Ellie is a time-traveling Laura who has stepped through a wormhole to inform her mother of her fathers infidelity, but after a little visit from her Night Terror Demon George, she just cant shake it. When she calls Andy to calm her fears, he assumes Kurt has already told her and uses the phrase Ive met someone, meaning its more than just sex. Kristen goes off, and friends, it is a thing to behold. Just that moment of her keeping direct eye contact with Andy and slowly sweeping everything off his dresser really fuels my soul. Now, to be fair to Andy, as Kristen finds out at the end of the episode thanks to Sheryls second flash drive, he has had blood and brain matter drained out of his body for months and is highly susceptible to manipulation. Not to mention, Kristen has cheated on Andy as well. (And when Andy brings up David, Kristen really pops off.) Although, her little car tryst was a onetime thing, while Andy seems to have feelings attached to this woman from across the hall. Perhaps the end of their marriage does warrant a bigger conversation but also, be better, dude. Kristen comes home sobbing and finds Ben at her house and crumples into him. She tells him everything about Andy and about the woman from the future. Everyone needs a friend like Ben. Not only is he constantly at Kristens fixing stuff around the house, but she can say things like, She said she came through a wormhole, and he doesnt laugh at her. He also, though, points out that coming back 30 years to tell someone about a cheating spouse is highly suspect. Not to mention, Ben immediately offers to kill Andy for her, which on this show well, you know. I love that Kristens response here is to ask him how and he immediately offers up poison. Shed rather Andy get an STD and die a slow, agonizing death. Our little sickos never disappoint! The other kind of wonderful thing Ben does is let David know all of this is going on because Ben knows that Kristen needs David. (And that David needs Kristen.) David is hesitant because those feelings for Kristen hes been trying to repress are only getting stronger Demon Kristen seems to be a permanent fixture these days, and let us not forget about his I wish I had two lives sentiment; bathtubs havent been the same since. But of course David goes to see her. The girls overheard her conversation with Ben, so rather than have to explain anything more before shes ready, Kristen moves her conversation with David to the office. This private space only ratchets up the sexual tension between these two. The blocking of this scene is gorgeous. Theyre keeping their distance from one another David is especially aware of not getting too close but you can practically feel the pull between them. It doesnt take too long for Kristen to ask for what she really needs from him: For him to hold her. It is certainly the sexiest comfort hug my stupid little eyes have ever seen. The fact that, again, in the midst of so much going down within the mythology, we linger on this hug for as long as we do is yet another example of Evil really owning its many flavors. Sure, its a horror show and full of social commentary, its a thriller, and even funnier than most comedies on TV at times, but in the end, perhaps its a love story, too? I know Ben would back me up here. Its Ben who finally stops all the tiptoeing around David and Kristens obvious connection and asks David flat out: Why are you a fucking priest, David? The man obviously loves Kristen and she loves him, too. They should be together. David opens up about things hes obviously been bottling up for so long. Of course, he thinks about a life with Kristen; of course, he thinks about leaving the priesthood to be with her. But he has made a commitment to God. If that sounds like the Middle Ages to you, he says, borrowing a phrase Kristen used on him earlier, then fuck it, I am the Middle Ages. He emphatically tells Ben that he will not break his promise because he is tired of the broken promises in this world. He remains a priest and committed to his faith because it shows him what is right and what is wrong and he is sick thinking about the amount of evil out there. I will not break this promise, even if it breaks me. Even if I need Kristen. The delivery here yet another great Mike Colter scene; someone make this guy a romantic leading man tomorrow is full of passion and emotion, but theres anger and a bitterness, too. Its easy to believe that David really believes all of this to be true. And, yet, isnt the argument kind of flimsy? I was ready for Ben to take it in and follow up with a question about committing to Kristen. Isnt that good and right, too? While the boy chat is going on, Ellie shows up at the Bouchard house with a gift for Timothy. Only Laura is home, but Ellie insists on handing it directly to Lexis, if possible. Its all very ominous! Thankfully, the Bouchard women are pretty smart. While Ellie is in the bathroom, Laura runs out and grabs her license plate. When Kristen gets home, she makes sure not to let anyone touch the onesie in the box Ellie left. Both are great instincts. Ben runs with both and discovers that the onesie has been doused in a nerve agent and that the car was recently stolen by a patient from a doctor at Andys mental-health clinic. As Ben and his sister, Karima, are putting two and two together about the Ellie/Laura of it all, Ellie has returned to the Bouchard house. Its late, but Lynn winds up lured outside thanks to that pesky demon-detector app and runs right into Ellie, now armed with a box cutter and seeming more unhinged than ever. Kristen is upstairs listening to her daughter scream for help but unable to do anything because, yup, you guessed it, another paralyzing night terror. Lynn flees, but not before Ellie dumps all of this info on her about Lexis, that she will help Timothy bring on the end times, that something is wrong inside of her. Ellie might be batshit crazy, but I have to believe some of it is going to stick with Lynn. Will we get a big sister confrontation? Will Lexis be redeemed when all of this is done? I do not know and we do not have the time at the moment! Because now Ellie is upstairs. Thankfully, Lauras home, because this kid is crushing it. She heard her future self might be in town, and she said NOT TODAY. She uses that handy-dandy air horn to surprise Ellie before she suffocates Timothy. Kristen, finally able to break free from her nightmare, uses the stun gun. Ben arrives, and they realize Ellie must be Andys new girlfriend. Then they realize that she has escaped out the second-floor window. This woman is resourceful! By the time Kristen and David get to Andys clinic, Andy and Ellie have already run off together. Ellie did, however, leave behind a certain flash drive shes been obsessed with watching, in case you were wondering how she learned all of that information about Lexis and Timothy and the end of the world. Does this mean Andy is still in the dark about his missing brain matter? Will that change things once he learns the truth about whats happened to him? Apologies for all of these questions, but Evil is really setting up a whole bunch of plot that is going to need to be resolved in just three episodes. It doesnt matter at the moment. What matters is that Kristen and David are once again alone together. Unfortunately, the mood is less can we make out for a little and more I have some terrible news. David, at the top of the hour, was made pastor of St. Josephs because Father Ignatius has retired. (I refuse to believe this is the last well see of Wallace Shawn, though.) He assumes, and is later proved correct, that this promotion reeks of the Black Bluff, in which a Black person is promoted to a position of power when there is no power left in this case, the parish is going under financially, which means it will close down under Davids leadership. This also means that its David who has to deliver the news about the assessor program getting the first cut. He has to inform Kristen that on top of everything, shes also losing her job. Kristen lets out a small that tracks laugh because, man, has she had a week. And as we all know from this show and from life, generally and repeatedly, if youre not laughing, youre crying, you know what I mean? Church Bulletin Some items of note in regards to the now arrested Leland Townsend: He still cannot remote view into David without hearing crippling marching band music. His bumbling lawyer, Mr. Stick (John Carroll Lynch!!), advises him to take an insanity plea, which Leland than threatens Kurt into helping him secure. Just as Leland is about to fire Mr. Stick, the man shows up in court no longer bumbling and Leland now sees him as possibly the most terrifying demon Evils deployed. He is, apparently, the Evil coming to New York, and he tells Leland that if he fires Stick, he will eat [Lelands] brain out of [his] skull like soup. Leland keeps Stick around. Okay, this demon is grotesque, what with all the skulls and teeth and the bodies it is dragging behind it, but I let out a big laugh when I saw that even in demon form it still had Sticks mustache. George the Demon snorting Sheryls ashes while wearing a Sheryl wig? I really missed that guy. The fact that Lexiss most pressing question after learning that her parents are headed for divorce is Is Father Acosta our dad now? sent me. VULTURE NEWSLETTER Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows! Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Photo: Mat Hayward/Getty Images for The Latinx House How do you write like youre running out of time? After the success of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda went on a songwriting streak, contributing to the soundtracks of movies like Moana, Encanto, and The Little Mermaid. He did write lyrics for this years production of New York, New York, so its not like he stayed completely away from Broadway, of course. And now hes making his way back to the stage almost. On August 1, Miranda officially revealed an upcoming concept album for a Warriors musical that he wrote in collaboration with actress and playwright Eisa Davis. The adaptation of the 1979 cult-classic film, itself based on Sol Yuricks 1965 novel, will feature a star-studded cast, per the press release. It was previously reported by Bloomberg that the album will feature both pop and Broadway stars were hoping Laura Benanti gets on a track with Playboi Carti, basically. The album is out on October 18, executive produced by Nas. Yes, that Nas. Weve spent the past three years musicalizing the Warriors journey home, from the South Bronx to Coney Island, Miranda and Davis said in a statement. Along the way weve gotten to work with a lot of our favorite artists, and well be announcing their roles on the album in the weeks ahead. The plot follows a fictional New York City gang that is falsely accused of killing another gangs leader. So, you know, its a bit of a tone shift from something like Scuttlebutt. This post has been updated. Ka-Maya-la. Photo: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Whos ready for Lorne Michaels to throw another big birthday bash? This fall, Saturday Night Live is back on NBC for its 50th season. Michaels has been teasing this anniversary for a while now, telling the New York Times in 2022 that the big five-oh would be a big event. Well bring everyone back from all 50 years and hosts and all of that, he said at the time. It will be a very emotional and very strong thing. As SNL 50s September 28 premiere date approaches, what else do we actually know about the milestone season? Below, the latest update: an Emmy-worthy lineup of hosts and musical guests. Its hosting season! The first five hosts and musical guests got pinned to the bulletin board on September 18. Emmy winner Jean Smart will host the premiere with Jelly Roll as musical guest, and there will be shows every Saturday from September 28 through November 2 except October 26. Upcoming host/musical-guest duos include Nate Bargatze with Coldplay, Ariana Grande with Stevie Nicks, Michael Keaton with Billie Eilish, and John Mulaney with Chappell Roan. Maya Rudolph is reportedly ready to serve the country, by dusting off her Kamala Harris impression. On July 31, Deadline reported that production on Loot season three has been pushed back, giving Rudolph time to contribute to the memeification of the vice-president on SNL for the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. Neither Rudolph nor SNL has directly confirmed the news, but it feels inevitable. Missing the opportunity to get her back would be (coco)nuts. If they need any other political characters cast, we have some options. There will be some changes to the cast. A couple familiar faces wont be returning. Punkie Johnson, who joined the show in 2020 as a featured player and was promoted to repertory player in 2022, shared in an August 1 Instagram post that she is leaving SNL with no bad blood. A day later, fellow cast member Molly Kearney also took to Instagram to announce their departure. Kearney, who made history as SNLs first nonbinary cast member, joined the show as a featured player in 2022. Chloe Troast, who joined as a featured player in 2023, will not be returning as well. Some new cast members are joining in on the celebrations. On September 9, Emil Wakim, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline were announced as the new featured players joining the cast for the 50th season. Three new writers are RSVPing to the party; Allie Levitan, Moss Perricone, and Carl Tart have been added as writers on September 22, just a few days before the season premiere. With the new additions, three other writers have left the show as well; Alex English explained on August 28 on Instagram that he was not asked to return to the show after three seasons. Vannessa Jackson and Gary Richardson were both confirmed to not return this season. New writers are added to the mix. Were getting a three-hour special. In May, NBC announced that it would celebrate the shows anniversary with a prime-time special on February 16, airing from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the network said the three-hour event would cap a celebratory weekend in SNLs honor. Sounds like itll have everything. This post has been updated. Photo: Apple TV+ Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, sons of Boston (adjacent), have had Hollywoods most famous best bro-ship since their breakthrough Good Will Hunting, a movie in which they, not coincidentally, played best bros. Their bond that has weathered career ups and downs and various high-profile relationships as well as, more recently, homoerotic fan cams and monetization by way of Dunkin commercials. They sometimes seem like two halves of a single movie star, with Damon versatile and smart and generally much better onscreen than in public, and Affleck an incredible if reluctant tabloid fixture whos never entirely figured out his acting career a duality that means its always a little disorienting when the younger Affleck, Casey, gets thrown in the mix. Casey looks and sounds enough like Ben to feel like late-season recasting when paired with Damon, but while hes a better actor with a worse behind-the-scenes record, hes also meaner and sharper, capable of coming across as an actual dirtbag. When he and Damon played hiking buddies who get lost in the desert in Gus Van Sants Gerry, it made sense that the film ended with one of them strangling the other out of both mercy and exasperation. And in The Instigators, Casey and Damons characters, even when they begrudgingly arrive at an understanding, genuinely want nothing to do with one another. This dynamic is disastrous for whats meant to be a romp of a buddy picture, but its also kind of interesting. Casey Affleck wrote the screenplay for The Instigators with Chuck MacLean (Doug Liman directs), and while theres no reason to believe his part was ever intended for anyone else, the film nevertheless plays like an indirect comment on the Matt and Ben Show. As Rory, a depressive former Marine who embarks on his first venture into the wrong side of the law in order to pay off child support and other debts from his defunct marriage, Damon feels like hes waiting for the arrival of a more familiar screen partner who doesnt ever show up. This other Affleck doesnt lob the ball back to his co-star so much as spike it every time. As alcoholic ex-con Cobby, Casey fires off a stream of insults and complaints that not even a bullet wound can put a stop to, intermittently punctuated by a fuck your mother. Its a role that plays into Afflecks defeated aura and wiseass edge Cobby is basically doing color commentary on his own life, as though he isnt an active participant in his own bad decisions. If Damon is lost as Rory, whose suicidal ideation is primarily expressed by way of low energy, thats in part because Affleck doesnt really need a scene partner. He seems ready and willing to carry the movie on his own. Despite this, The Instigators does have a stacked cast. Hong Chau gamely plays straight woman to the two lead doofuses as Dr. Donna Rivera, Rorys psychiatrist, whos roped into their mess when what was supposed to be a straightforward robbery of the mayors election-night party goes wrong. As that mayor, a corrupt incumbent named Miccelli, Ron Perlman looks like he could be in Dick Tracy without any prosthetics, while Toby Jones is enjoyable as his squirrelly lawyer. Michael Stuhlbarg is arguably having the best time of anyone, hollering and wearing a fur coat as a local gangster, with Alfred Molina playing his bakery-owning partner. But Ving Rhames, as a tank-driving member of the BPDs Special Operations Unit, and Paul Walter Hauser, as a chain-wearing would-be tough, give him a run for the money. (Jack Harlow is also around for some reason.) This ensemble would, in the hands of another director, feel like an abundance of riches, but Liman opts to give The Instigators a grubby, underdone style that dulls a lot of the supporting casts colorful work. He shoots the film as if unaware of the moments that are meant to be funny, and has no rhythm for the bickering dialogue. When Donna agrees to be held hostage by a desperate Rory in order to treat Cobbys gunshot wound, it plays like a stressed-out discussion of professional ethics rather than the madcap sequence its meant to be. That complaint could be leveled at the inciting incident, too, a stickup attempt to snatch Miccellis kickbacks that ends with Rory and Cobby on the run. Liman mangles the escalation from disaster to disaster, but the sequence at least preps us for how many Boston gags to expect going forward. The references come fast and frequent, from Cobby claiming that hot-wiring cars is a mandatory extracurricular in Quincy to quips about trigger-happy security guards having failed their Statie tests to the universally agreed-upon view that Montreal, a place no one has been to, is where you go when you have to flee town for good. More than anything, The Instigators is ethnic comedy if being a white guy from Boston counts as its own ethnicity, an argument that Damon and the Afflecks have spent a good portion of their careers making. Those local specifics and in-jokes may not amount to much, but they are what distinguishes this film from other half-baked crime movies. Would it be better if Ben was in it? Probably not, but itd be whatd you expect, the latest installment in their self-mythologized friendship, instead of a mess thats at war with itself for most of its run time. SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export grew for the 10th successive month due to solid demand for locally-made tech products, government data showed Thursday. Export, which accounts for around half of the export-driven economy, advanced 13.9 percent from a year earlier to 57.49 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The outbound shipment kept an upward trend since October last year. Import expanded 10.5 percent over the year to 53.88 billion dollars in July, sending the trade surplus to 3.62 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for the 14th consecutive month since June last year. Of the country's 15 major export items, 11 products saw an increase in outbound shipment. Semiconductor shipment soared 50.4 percent from a year earlier to 11.2 billion dollars in July, continuing to rise for the ninth straight month. The rapid expansion was attributed to chip demand relevant to artificial intelligence (AI), higher memory chip prices, and the launch of new tech products. Display panel export added 2.4 percent to 1.73 billion dollars last month, maintaining an upward trend for the 12th consecutive month on the back of robust demand for flat screens used for smartphones. Mobile device shipment jumped 53.6 percent to 1.46 billion dollars on higher replacement demand, while computer export surged 61.6 percent to 1.17 billion dollars amid the continued demand for solid-state drive (SSD). Automotive export fell 9.1 percent to 5.37 billion dollars owing to summer vacations for major carmakers, but auto parts shipment climbed 9.5 percent to 2.22 billion dollars, turning upward in three months. General machinery shipment increased 12.5 percent to 4.95 billion dollars, marking the first rebound in three months on strong demand from the United States, Latin America and the Middle East. Shipment for oil products and petrochemicals gained in double figures to 4.53 billion dollars and 4.18 billion dollars each amid the higher crude oil prices. Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 83.8 dollars per barrel in July, up 4.2 percent compared with the same month of last year. Home appliances export mounted 9.4 percent to 730 million dollars, but shipment for steel and secondary batteries shrank in single digits to 2.79 billion dollars and 740 million dollars respectively. Export to the United States swelled 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 10.18 billion dollars in July, keeping an upward trend for the 12th successive month since August last year. Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew 12.1 percent to 9.95 billion dollars on strong demand from Vietnam, but export to the European Union (EU) shed 1.4 percent to 5.55 billion dollars due to lower car demand. Export to Japan, Latin America, India and the Middle East all increased in double digits last month. Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, climbed 11.9 percent to 10.92 billion dollars in July compared to the same month of last year. Non-energy imports gained 10.2 percent to 42.95 billion dollars on higher demand for semiconductors and naphtha. Dining chat: A waiter gave our anniversary bubbly to the table next to us. What should we have done? NANNING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- In Qinzhou, an important port city connecting south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and ASEAN countries, the port construction process had not been very smooth despite its favorable geographical location, only because of dolphins. In 2005, the planning for Qinzhou Port was adjusted westward to move the port area further away from the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins, even though that significantly increased the cost of port construction. Four years later, a new road was built that only served to separate the port's industrial zone and the conservation area of the dolphins. Besides, a project with an investment of 3.8 billion yuan (about 532.6 million U.S. dollars) near Sanniang Bay in Qinzhou was also halted to prioritize the conservation of the dolphins. An endangered species under first-class national protection in China, the Chinese white dolphin was included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in 2008. Sanniang Bay, located along the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, is dubbed the "hometown of Chinese white dolphins." Pan Yue, a researcher at the Chinese white dolphin conservation center located at Sanniang Bay, was ready to drive a mini speedboat out to sea early before the sun rose above the sea horizon. "The time before the sunrise and after the sunset is best for going out to sea to observe the Chinese white dolphins. We spent about 180 days a year on the sea for observation, so that we can accurately know the habits of the species," Pan said. In 2004, a scientific research team from Peking University established the center for the conservation of Chinese white dolphins in the Sanniang Bay Village. The team's research findings indicate that the population of Chinese white dolphins living in Sanniang Bay sees new dolphin cubs every year, suggesting a high reproductive potential. "There were only about 96 Chinese white dolphins in the area in 2004, but thankfully, the number has grown to nearly 300 now," Pan said, adding that the awareness of dolphin protection has also significantly increased among the locals. Bryde's whales, another national first-class protected aquatic animal mainly living in tropical and subtropical waters, are now frequently spotted preying on fish in the waters near Weizhou Island in the Beibu Gulf. Chen Mo, an associate researcher from the Guangxi Academy of Sciences, has been studying the species in the area since 2016. "We identified only about 10 individuals in the population of Bryde's whales from 2016 to 2018. Now, the number has exceeded 60 and continues to grow," Chen said. To maintain clean waters and preserve the island's ecological environment, the municipal government of Beihai City in Guangxi issued a regulation in July 2018, explicitly prohibiting the use of disposable food containers, non-degradable plastic bags, and plastic films on Weizhou Island. "The Beibu Gulf boasts various endangered animals and plants and diverse marine ecosystems. Due to its natural conditions and less disturbance caused by coastal economic activities, the biodiversity in the region is being well-preserved," said Guan Jieyao, director of the laboratory of Guangxi Beibu Gulf marine biodiversity conservation under Beibu Gulf University. Ning Yun, deputy director and chief engineer of Guangxi's department of ecology and environment, said that the marine ecological environment in Guangxi was continuously improving in 2023. "We will continue to monitor the status of typical marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, and further expand the survey of important marine indicator species such as Chinese white dolphins and Bryde's whales, and of fishery biodiversity," Ning said. Enzo's Cafe The popular local Enzos Cafe and Deli have made the decision to close their doors, for the time being, following significant roadworks in Ferrybank. Cavaliere brothers, Adriano and Dario Cavaliere, owners of Enzo's, have said the lack of progress on the Ferrybank roadworks, together with 'severe lack of parking' left them with no alternative. The closure of Marymount for two months and the lack of progress on roadworks and severe lack of parking on Fountain Street has effectively rendered the cafe unviable in the short term. The brothers intend to continue with plans to redevelop and re-open as soon as possible, with a sit-down restaurant in the adjoining premises. Hopefully when all the works are completed and the new Railway Station up and running that Ferrybank will prove to be a thriving place to do business. Late Vera Frisby The death has occurred of Vera Frisby (nee: Warren) Sweet Briar Lawn, Tramore, and formerly of Rockenham, Ferrybank, at University Hospital Waterford, on Tuesday, July 30. Formerly of The Irish Kidney Association, she was predeceased by her parents Mattie and Joan Warren. Vera will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband Edward, her loving sons Mark, Ward and Derek, her adoring grandchildren James, Joe and Rose; her daughters-in-law Majella, Charlotte and Kathy; her sisters and brothers Margaret, Joan, Ken and Gerald. She will be forever missed by all her nieces and nephews all her relatives, extended family, wonderful neighbours and many friends. The Waterford Branch of the IKA acknowledges the unstinting work of Vera and her husband Eddie for being the mainstay of the newly renovated apartments in Riverstown, Tramore, in 2021. Vera was laid to rest in St Declans Cemetery, Tramore following Requiem Mass in the Church of the Holy Cross on Friday, August 2. Late Aoife Walsh The death took place of former Abbey Park resident Aoife Walsh, late of Rathinure, Glenmore, on Tuesday, July 30. She was predeceased by her father John and will be sadly missed by her much-loved son Ruaidri, her loving mother Anne, her partner PJ, sisters Grainne, Ceara, Roisin and Enda, brother John, nieces and nephews: Cloideach, Luke, Caolan, Aine, Tadhg, Ide, Cillin and Fodhla, brothers-in-law Brendan, Diarmuid and Mark, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family, relatives, neighbours and friends. She was buried following Requiem Mass in St. James Church, Glenmore. Tidy Towns More great work carried out voluntary for Ferrybank Tidy Towns by local resident, Roscommon man, Damien Donoghue. When Damien became aware of the Ferrybank Tidy Towns being re-launched, he offered to help by cleaning up our Rockenham Green, and it's a huge improvement. As part of his tidy up, the old plaque which is on the green behind the Grotto on Rockenham Green, beats the inscription: 'Bord Na Mona Award 'Best Residential Estate' Munster Tidy Towns Competition 1978' (46 years ago). The group had a great response to the call for help with the relaunching of the Ferrybank Tidy Towns. Their immediate focus is to improve the area and route, which the Pride of Place judges will be passing on August 29. If you'd like to help in any way, email ferrybankcn@gmail.com. Late St Hanora Mary (Nuala) Mullins On Sunday, July 28, Sr Hanora Mary (Nuala) Mullins of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Madonna House, Ferrybank, formerly of Athlacca, Co Limerick, passed away peacefully in the exceptional care and love of her community and carers, aged 97 years. She was predeceased by her parents Michael and Mai Mullins (nee: Halpin), brothers Willie, John and Dermot, sister Kathleen. Sr Nuala will be sadly missed by her brothers Michael, Tony and Gerard, her nephews and their families Gerry, Fiona, Mark, Melissa, Melina, David, Miriam and Sadhb and her niece Nuala and her family Damian, Eoin and Rachel, grand nieces, grand nephews, The Sacred Heart of Mary Sisters, Madonna House community, relatives and her many friends. Sr Nuala was buried on Monday, July 29, in the Convent Cemetery after Requiem Mass in The Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank. Wedding Bells Congratulations to Brian Kinsella, Rockenham and Camila Byrne, who were married recently in Church of the Assumption, Slieverue. Also congratulations to Brona Wemyss, Glenmore and Dave Hearne, St Johns Park who were married recently in the Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank. Church Cleaning Ferrybank Church Cleaning group is a small group of people who keep our beautiful church clean and tidy. They hoover, sweep, polish, dust and clean. More volunteers are always welcome so if you would be in a position to help out, even one hour a week would be appreciated, please contact the Parish Office. Many hands make light work. Kilkenny People An interesting opinion piece written by journalist Christopher Dunne in last weeks Kilkenny People in the relationship between Kilkenny and Waterford summarised..'Since tensions peaked in 2017 around the county boundary dispute between Kilkenny and Waterford, much progress has been made. Communication and understanding between the two sides have been crucial in realizing the potential of planned infrastructure in the region. Through Piltown Municipal District meetings in Ferrybank, its evident that collaboration is yielding positive results. Kilkenny County Council and Waterford City and County Council have been working together on projects benefiting both counties, such as the South-East Greenway and North Quays Project. This cooperation is vital for developing a new local area plan for Ferrybank and Belview and has influenced the Waterford Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan, thanks to South Kilkenny councillors. The appointment of Lar Power, former Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Economic Development and Planning at Waterford City and County Council, as Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council, and Sean McKeown, former acting Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council, as Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council, is promising. Their experience on both sides of the border is expected to enhance collaboration. Belview Port exemplifies the benefits of cooperation, serving as an economic driver and hub for wind turbine infrastructure importation and a docking point for cruise ships. The Cabinet's approval to include the Rosslare-Waterford railway line in the EUs TEN-T rail network is a win for both counties, stemming from the All-Island Strategic Review published in July 2023. A strong partnership between Kilkenny and Waterford is essential for a connected and thriving South-East region. While friendly rivalries remain, the growing cooperation marks a positive step forward. Emergency services are currently at the scene of a blaze on the outskirts of Waterford City. A derelict building which once was a cash and carry, is alight with smoke bellowing through the Kilbarry community and at least six units of Waterford Fire Service are in attendance at present. The public are being asked to avoid the area and residents in the area should close all windows and doors. Smoke bellowing from the derelict building in Kilbarry, Waterford. An Garda Siochana has road diversions in place. It's not yet known if any injuries have been reported or how the fire began. The Waterford News & Star will have an update shortly... There were 96 adults in Waterford accessing emergency accommodation during the week of June 24 - 30, 2024, the highest in the South East region. That figure was 28 people more than a year prior in June, 2023. Kilkenny and Carlow both registered 43 adults in June, whilst Wexford registered 69 adults. Tipperary had the lowest in the region, with 40. In the South East, a total of 291 adults were in emergency accommodation, equating to 3 per cent of Irelands total amount. Across the country the figure was 9,899 adults total, which was an increase of 1,064 since June 2023. Commenting on the reports, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien, said: The Progress Report also records a total of 630 households, including 786 adults and 259 families, exiting homelessness in the quarter. Meanwhile, during a Leaders Questions session in the Dail this week, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: There are growing numbers, and in some instances coming into the country directly to avail of emergency accommodation from Europe. That happens. In that context, we have a challenge in terms of them, under the framework, not being eligible for social housing. That requires emergency accommodation. The key, in my view, is prevention and then rapid exit from homelessness as quickly as we can. The most effective way to do that is the supply of more houses. This weekend, thousands of people will be arriving at Curraghmore Estate for the All Together Now festival. Waterford City and County Council have issued a few updates about travelling to the festival. Ticket holders arriving at the festival on Friday by taxi or getting dropped off by private vehicles will be directed to the designated drop-off zone at Highfield Business Park, Portlaw (X91 D934) accessed from the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange. Waterford Council also noted that ticket holders can avail of the free shuttle bus, which will operate on Friday from 9am to 9.30pm and returning Monday from 8am to 1pm. Festival organisers advise travellers to not use sat nav in driving to the festival, but to follow the directions posted on the festival website. People travelling from Waterford City should travel the M9 to its end at Grannagh Proceed towards the N25 (west towards Cork) via the N25 Interchange. At the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange (Carrick Road Roundabout) motorists will be directed right at the roundabout towards the R680 through the town of Portlaw. In Portlaw, they will be directed out the Clonegam Road and enter via Gate 6 for access to the car park. Motorists from Dublin, the North and the East, are advised to travel the M9 to its end at Grannagh Proceed towards the N25 (west towards Cork) via the N25 Interchange. At the N25 Kilmeaden Interchange (Carrick Road Roundabout) motorists will be directed right at the roundabout towards the R680 through the town of Portlaw where they will be directed out the Clonegam Road and enter via Gate 6 for access to the car park. Motorists coming from the southwest and Cork will directed left off the N25 at Lemybrien. They will then use the R676 road, traveling north, then joining the event traffic at Crehana Junction of R676 - R677, then entering to event via Gate 5. Motorists from the West and Midlands, travelling via M7/M8/N24 , are advised to Travel East along the N24, then turn right at Kilsheelan to the R680. At the end of the R680, south of Carrick-on-Suir, they turn right at the T-Junction with the R676. They will then continue along this regional road and be directed left to the R677 towards Gate 5 (General) The carpark will be open on Friday, August 2nd at 9am. Traveling by road between 9 am - 1 pm is one of the quietest time to travel to the festival. Bus Eireann are also offering journeys from Cork, Dublin and Waterford through their Expressway service. Drop off at the site is prohibited on Monday and Friday. To keep up to date with traffic, install the All Together Now App or follow their social media. A County Waterford based boat club is making waves ahead of its 10th anniversary celebration which will see it give people an opportunity to engage in free water activities and a summer barbecue. The Villierstown Boathouse is inviting the community to their 10th anniversary celebration Saturday, August 17 and it will also give people a chance to recognise its work in the area and supporting sustainable tourism. The club is part of the Villierstown Education and Culture Project (VECP) a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity. Along with a range of free water activities on the Blackwater River, there will be a summer BBQ and music. People will be able to enjoy tasters of kayaking, SUPs, river tours and self-drive boats, starting at 3.30pm and running on the hour, with the last slot at 5.30pm. The Deputy Mayor of Waterford City and County Council, Councillor Adam Wyse, will also be in attendance to help mark the occasion. The Villierstown Boathouse has two initiatives, community membership and Blackwater Eco Tours - the tourism arm of the organisation offering river activities and glamping pods. The picturesque are outside the boathouse A spokesperson told Waterford News & Star there are currently 300 members with the organisation drawing people mainly from nearby villages, but also as far away as Mallow and Fermoy, to enjoy the beautiful river and popular facilities. These include water activities, safety courses, and access to the clubhouse including a food and drink station, changing room, lockers, bathroom, kitchenette and seating areas. Blackwater Eco Tours provide guided river tours, self-drive boats, kayaking, canoeing, woodland walking trails and glamping pods. Both projects employ five people, with staff and volunteers on-site daily to assist with activities. Commenting on the celebration, VECP Chairperson, Vincent Mernin, said: The anniversary is really important to us as we feel it marks ten years of positive work to support the local community, groups, economy, and sustainable tourism." Its about fostering the community to build a place where we can make it a great place to live while growing and keeping employment levels," he said. "We believe were an example to communities across Ireland of what can be achieved when a rural community takes ownership of its future," he added. River tours are very popular Vincent went on to comment: Were also in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) so theres a need to respect the environment whilst ensuring tourism and activities remain at a sustainable level." I want to say a special thanks to all the people involved in Villierstown Boathouse and all projects, who have volunteered their time to make it happen," he said. All the hard work will be on show on Saturday, August 17," he added. "Were looking forward to welcoming the local community and groups to come and try the river activities and enjoy a tasty BBQ." Kayaking is part of the overall range of activities Since 2010, the VECP has strived to develop education, arts and culture in the village and preserve the community spirit while taking steps to build a better future for Villierstown. It currently has 10 members on the board, on a voluntary basis. Other initiatives under the VECP include the Villierstown Montessori School and the Villierstown Enterprise Centre with office space. People are advised to bring wet gear or a change of clothes for taking part in the water activities starting at 3.30pm at Villierstown Boathouse. Even where holdings dont influence ministerial decisions, they create a perception of a conflict of interest which can damage public confidence in our political system, says Johnson. In America, scrutiny of politicians share trades is nothing new, and rightly so, with numerous suspicious trades occurring before large market moves. Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Credit: Getty Nancy Pelosi, a senior Democrat and former speaker, is satirically regarded as one of the best traders of all time. She reportedly returned a portfolio gain of 65 per cent in 2023, easily beating the S&P 500s gain of 24 per cent, as well as the returns of every hedge fund on Wall Street. With an estimated net worth of $US250 million ($381.7 million), she famously bought $US5 million of Nvidia shares in July 2023, before the chipmaker rocketed 180 per cent in the following 6 months. Last year, while studying a journalism degree in New York, I briefly managed the Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker Twitter account, which tracks unusual trades made by American politicians. I documented multiple trades by politicians shortly before the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, in which several politicians sold millions of dollars of banking shares days before the prices of regional banks plummeted. One of the most bizarre I uncovered, and one that was run by the Wall Street Journal, was a New York congresswoman who purchased shares in one of the failing banks a day before they were taken over, jumping 30 per cent the next day. These trades were only uncovered thanks to independently created registers, such as the Capitol Trades website, that tracks the disclosures, the size and date of congressional trades. We have no such tool in Australia, other than the parliamentary register of interests, which provides scant information, only requiring parliamentarians interests be declared. While we dont have any Nancy Pelosis (that we know of), we do have a Barnaby Joyce, who appears to be taking a liking to meme stocks. Barnaby Joyce has declared interests in various mining shares, Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Recently, a most curious disclosure from Barnaby Joyces register of interests is the purchases in the defunct Bougainville Copper in March of this year. In the same filing, Joyce discloses the opening of Superhero and Spaceship trading accounts. Bougainville Copper is a Papua New Guinean company that has not undertaken any operations since 1989 but from February to March became a meme stock, jumping over 100 per cent on multiple days following an announcement relating to an exploration permit. Joyce has also declared a purchase of Lynas shares, the largest rare earths producer outside of China, for one of his children a month before Gina Rinehart, to whom he has had much to do with, also took a substantial holding in. Other notable recent trades included those of Keith Pitt, the former resources minister who, earlier this month, purchased shares in several fossil fuel companies Stanmore Resources, Woodside, Whitehaven Coal, and Coronado Global Resources. Also not afraid of coal is Pauline Hanson, who has a declared an investment in Queensland coal company Bowen Coking Coal. Then there is Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearneys spouse Leigh Hubbard, who appears to be a lithium and rare earths speculator. In Kearneys 2022 declaration of interests, she reveals his holdings in Vulcan Energy, Syrah Resources, Galan Lithium, Lake Resources, Arafura Rare Earths (which received $840 million from Labor in March) and Northern Minerals, which was recently the subject of forced divestment from Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Ged Kearneys husband Leigh Hubbard has 36 shareholdings across various regulated and subsidised companies. Its not a good look, says Johnson. To be clear, I am not suggesting any insider trading or anything untoward has or is occurring in our politics, but rather there is a perception that it could occur under the existing system. Loading Family and staff purchases should be considered the same as purchases made by the members of parliament and be subject to equal levels of restrictions and scrutiny in any new legislation. At the very least, the public should have access to information regarding the size and exact date of transactions as they do in the US. From my experience as a trader, I can tell you the ASX is already as leaky as a sieve when it comes to share prices moving significantly before market-sensitive announcements such as contract wins or drilling results. If America is moving to ban politicians from trading shares, we should trump them and go one better in banning backbenchers, their immediate family and staffers too. Alexis Wrights mighty year has got significantly mightier after her epic satire Praiseworthy was named winner of the $60,000 Miles Franklin award. Wright becomes the first writer to win both the Miles and the Stella prizes for the same book, having already picked up the award for best writing by an Australian woman in May. Wright is now a two-time winner of both prizes, having previously won the Miles in 2007 for Carpentaria and the Stella in 2018 for Tracker, her multi-voiced biography of Aboriginal activist Tracker Tilmouth. Wright said winning both prizes was monumental and the success of Praiseworthy and its publication in the UK and the US, where The New York Times described it as the most ambitious and accomplished Australian novel of this century, had made it a huge year for her. Alexis Wright says we need works of scale to really think about issues. Credit: Wolter Peeters The other books on the Miles shortlist were: Only Sound Remains, Hossein Asgari; Wall, Jen Craig; Anam, Andre Dao; The Bell of the World, Gregory Day, and Hospital, Sanya Rushdi. The Americans 7plus Take this opportunity to binge it while you can. Its close to a decade since one of the best dramas of the 21st century has been available on a free-to-air service, and now all six seasons of The Americans 75 episodes! are out from behind the various paywalls that have enclosed them. Its fitting that a show in which revealing their true selves was a risk the characters could rarely afford can finally, six years after it concluded, step out into the open. Having watched this series year after year from its debut in 2013 onwards, I still wonder whether its architects, Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, knew what they truly had. The concept was fascinating, but open-ended. In this image released by FX, Matthew Rhys, left, and Keri Russell in The Americans Credit: AP In 1981, as the Cold War ramps up, a pair of deep-cover KGB spies from the Soviet Union live undercover in the suburbs of Washington DC. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) run a travel agency, have two children and covertly work to compromise Americas national security. BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh early Wednesday has triggered widespread condemnation, jeopardizing the ongoing, fragile Gaza truce talks and putting the region at great risk of intensified violence. Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, was killed together with his bodyguard in an airstrike before Wednesday dawn. The assassination was attributed to Israel by both Iran and Hamas, though Israel has not officially confirmed it yet. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei extended condolences to the Palestinian people, stressing that Israel has prepared the ground for a "harsh punishment" for itself. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in a statement condemned the "criminal act" as being in defiance of international regulations and laws, saying Israel "will receive a harsh and painful response" from Iran. The killing of Haniyeh, one of the key figures in the indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas over the past months, would probably undermine efforts to reach a truce deal in Gaza. Currently, mediators are waiting for a response from Hamas to a revised proposal that Israel raised on Sunday. A source close to Hamas told Xinhua that Haniyeh was expected to discuss the political and field developments related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip with the Iranian president. Qatar, the main negotiator between the two sides, expressed doubts about continuing talks. "Political assassinations and the continued targeting of civilians in Gaza during negotiations lead us to ask: How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners," Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on the social media platform X. Another important mediator, Egypt, also warned that the killing would "ignite confrontations in the region in a way that causes serious security consequences." "The coincidence of this regional escalation amid lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation, indicates the absence of Israeli political will for achieving calm, and undermines Egypt and its partners' efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In Israel, families of the hostages that had been taken also voiced their concerns that efforts to bring their loved ones home would be jeopardized. It was "appalling" that once again the Israeli government chose to kill senior Hamas officials first before rescuing the hostages, the cousin of a hostage told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The Israeli TV Channel 13 reported that negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal would be suspended for weeks or even months following Haniyeh's death, citing an estimation presented to the Israeli government on Wednesday. Apart from the truce negotiations, concerns are growing that violence in the region may escalate as a result of the assassination. The New York Times reported later Wednesday that Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel following the killing of Haniyeh, probably a combined drone and missile attack on military sites in Israel, citing several Iranian officials who had been briefed on the matter. The retaliation might be carried out in coordination with other armed groups in regional countries such as Yemen, Syria and Iraq "for maximum effect," according to the report. In a broadcast address to the nation on Wednesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israelis that "challenging days are ahead," vowing his country "will exact a very heavy price against any aggression -- from any front," without mentioning the killing of Haniyeh. An Israeli government source told Xinhua that Israel was preparing for "days of fighting," and has boosted its defense on multiple fronts. But so far, there has been no change to the Home Front Command's instructions to the public. Ahmed Rafiq Awad, a Ramallah-based political expert, told Xinhua that the assassination will no doubt impede the truce talks and lead to the continuation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The expert noted that the axis of resistance might respond to the attack with "large and dangerous" operations, further expanding the current conflict. The assassination, through which Israel hopes to restrain the Iranians, will backfire on Israel, said Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg. Israel has "crossed a massive line," and its adamant actions would unite the axis of resistance and push the international community back away from Israel, Goldberg added. George Brandis account of the creation of the Department of Home Affairs is not right. So, reluctant as I am to correct my learned friend, let me set the record straight. There had been for many years a proposal to bring all the domestic national security agencies together in one department, modelled on the United Kingdoms Home Office. It was Labor Party policy from 2001 under Kim Beazley to 2007 under Kevin Rudd. Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announces the appointment of Peter Dutton (centre) as minister for home affairs in 2017, flanked by then-attorney-general George Brandis (right). Credit: Andrew Meares Rudd commissioned former ambassador to China Ric Smith to undertake a review of domestic security and while Smith did not recommend the creation of a department in line with Labor policy, he did conclude that a small co-ordinating Department of Home Affairs could be effective at leading Australias counterterrorism effort if it focused on strategic issues. Several domestic security reviews undertaken in 2015, before I was prime minister, were supportive of the home affairs concept, although did not go so far as to formally recommend it. Tech behemoths could be slapped with big new taxes after publishers warned the federal government against pushing Facebook owner Meta into abandoning news content altogether, creating a news desert on local social media. Smaller online news outlets have urged Labor not to enforce a Morrison government-era code that would start a long arbitration process in the hope of reaching new deals for tech giants to pay Australian media firms for their content. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland are leading the governments attempts to rein in big tech. Credit: Ben Symons Those outlets, including The Daily Aus and Broadsheet, worry Meta will follow through on a threat, first reported by this masthead, to block all news content from Facebook and Instagram, crippling platforms reliant on social media for clicks. The fear of news-free social media feeds has opened up the possibility that Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, who is leading Labors negotiations with Meta, will opt against designating Meta under the news media bargaining code to avoid the company ditching news in Australia. Under legislation brought in by the Coalition in 2021, the minister can designate a digital platform to negotiate with news media companies if it refuses to do so of its own accord. BEIRUT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants on Thursday filed a complaint with the UN Security Council and the UN chief through its permanent mission in New York, requesting the council members to condemn the Israeli cyber-attacks on Lebanon. The ministry said in a statement that "cyber-attacks pose a serious threat to civil aviation services and threaten the security and safety of communications networks, devices, applications, and electronic data in Lebanese vital facilities and installations." The ministry also instructed its permanent mission in Geneva to file a complaint with the headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), requesting that the union "takes the necessary technical measures to stop these attacks and help Lebanon ensure the smooth functioning of communications networks." The filed complaints were based on a report from the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, which identified an interference source in northern Israel. The interference led to a decline in the accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in Lebanon, affecting transportation and communication services. The report also highlighted frequent alerts from the Network Time Protocol Server, showing the repeated loss of the GPS signal and a decline in the quality of service offered by mobile phone network operators. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a relocation site in Zhoumensi Town of Zixing City, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Li visited disaster-hit residents and inspected flood-control work on Thursday in Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) CHANGSHA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for all-out efforts to ensure effective flood-control and disaster-relief work, as well as to protect the lives and property of the people. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when visiting disaster-hit residents and inspecting flood-control work on Thursday in Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province. Li visited two flood-hit villages in the city of Zixing, one of the areas most affected by intense typhoon-induced rains, to learn about progress on disaster relief and the extent of the damage. He said every effort must be made to search for and rescue the missing people, restore infrastructure such as roads, power networks and communications, and guard against secondary disasters like mountain torrents and mudslides. The premier extended his regards to frontline rescuers, encouraging them to continue the rescue efforts while also taking care of their own safety. After the inspection, Li presided over an on-site meeting for flood control and disaster relief. He said that no effort should be spared in flood-relief work, and people's safety should always be the top priority. Li also stressed the need to ensure the safety of key dikes, reservoirs and infrastructure, promptly allocate disaster-relief funds and materials, actively promote post-disaster reconstruction, and accelerate the construction of major disaster-prevention projects. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a flood-hit village in Zhoumensi Town of Zixing City, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 1, 2024. Li visited disaster-hit residents and inspected flood-control work on Thursday in Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Castlebar councillors have voted to give the green light to a skate park development despite some objections from local residents. Residents from St Patricks Avenue addressed a meeting of Castlebar Municipal District on the issue. Their homes are 100 metres away from the proposed park located close to the entrance of Lough Lannagh. Maura Lavelle told the meeting that residents were not opposed to a skate park for Castlebar but did not feel the location was the most suitable. She said residents had grave concerns about noise, anti-social behaviour and possible road safety issues, given its location close to a main road. We have nothing against the skaters; it's more the people it will attract afterwards, said the St Patricks Avenue homeowner. Ms Lavelle said she did not believe that other areas of Lough Lannagh were properly explored by the council. Cllr Blackie Gavin asked if the Knockaphunta site which is being developed for sporting amenities by the council could be looked at. Its very important we take peoples views on board before a decision is made, he stated. I am in favour of the project and I support the proposal but at a different location, Cllr Michael Kilcoyne added. Cllr Al McDonnell said he looked at Westports skate park and found no noise issues for residents. He said he cant see noise issues for St Patricks Avenue residents given the presence of the busy main road. Head of Castlebar Municipal District, David Mellett, told councillors that a change of location would see 120,000 in funding which has to be spent on Phase One of the project by November go up in smoke. He said other sites had been looked at but the proposed location was deemed the most suitable. He said it was important that younger users would not be left isolated in the park. Cllr Kilcoyne proposed granting Part 8 approval for the project but at a different location. However, he was only supported by Cllr Gavin following a vote. The project in its current form will now proceed. The more observant of my readers will have noted that, by kind consent of the editor, the Return of Loftus at Large went missing this past couple of weeks, so I suppose one could say that the return of the column this week might correctly be referred to as The Second Coming. Whether or which, it is with considerable relief that I can now reveal that my truancy was all in the interests of extending our medical knowledge and paving the way for a more simplified (if that is possible!) procedure to repair an aneurism of the aorta. Your columnist was at the cutting edge of a breakthrough in aneurism repair. At this point, it is appropriate to admit that up to May 14 of this year, I was blissfully unaware of what an aneurism was and equally ignorant of the consequences of said aneurism sitting on top of my aorta. I did have a hazy notion that I had an aorta but had no clue as to what function it performed. Sometimes, it is just as well not to know about these things. Leave it to the professionals, would be my approach. And so it came about that I was introduced to Professor Sherif Sultan in the Galway Clinic. He is not a man who treats lightly with aneurisms. Not to put a tooth in it, he reckons that if the aneurism goes pop, thats it. End of the road. Kaput. So he put me on his list for the introduction of a stent that would, in some way, fix the aneurism. I did not ask for the detail because it would not mean anything to a non-medical person such as myself. He called me in for a number of x-rays and ultrasounds and such like to establish that I was in shape to undergo this repair job on the aneurism. I was giving the thumbs up myself, thinking I was as fit as a fiddle, but in stepped Dr Gordon Pate, Consultant Cardiologist, who spotted a number of deficiencies in the veins going to the heart and decided repairs had to be carried out before any job could be done on the aneurism. (Without referring to Dr Pate by name, I made brief mention of these stents in the veins in a column last May backend when I paid tribute to the excellence of our health service.) All of this, naturally, delayed the operation to repair the aneurism and it allowed the opportunity to hear further insights from Prof Sultan. He called to see me in my hospital bed and me having some family members visiting and announced that there was nothing really to worry about as there was a 98% success rate in aneurism repairs. Now everybody naturally latches on to the 98% and thinks thats great. But when you are lying on the bed anticipating, perhaps dreading, whats coming, the 2% becomes relevant. Still, there is nothing for it but to place your faith in the experts, accept that there is a far greater chance of being killed on our Irish roads and give a gung-ho thumbs up to the upcoming procedure. I can understand if, my dear reader, you find the pace of this column to be somewhat turgid. The simple fact of the matter is that there are things in life that set their own pace. I had another chat with Professor Sultan or, being more precise, he had a chat with me. It was on the subject of alcohol consumption and it was even more unnerving than his 98% revelation re aneurism success rates. He is not a fan of alcohol. I detected that at the start of the conversation so I resorted to bending the truth in my responses. I have no doubt that he saw through me especially when I referred to units rather than pints. This is something that the medical profession would like the public, especially the drinking public, to engage with. Measure your drinking by units and your consumption will go down. Well all be better off. Thats another rant off my chest.. perhaps less pressure on the aneurism, which is now repaired. So, finally, we come to my role in this ground-breaking piece of medical history. It was a minor role but quite important. I had no speaking lines, and no walk-on role. I was not even to be seen as an extra. In fact, I was wheeled in and was out for the count, so Ill let Professor Sultan, as detailed in his LinkedIn page, and speaking for his incredible team of essential performers, take up the story: We are proud to announce the successful launch of the GORE TBE Endo-Thoracic Graft at Galway Clinic, part of the Blackrock Health Group. The first-of-its-kind procedure using this FDA-approved device was performed by the esteemed Master of Endovascular Surgery, Professor Sherif Sultan, alongside his highly skilled vascular team. The GORE TBE Endo-Thoracic Graft is specifically designed for simplified, minimally invasive Zone 2 Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) procedures. This innovative device aims to maximise clinical outcomes while minimising the potential risks and complexities associated with open debranching or revascularisation surgeries. Commenting on the ground-breaking procedure, Professor Sultan stated: "The GORE TBE device has demonstrated exceptional safety and efficacy, particularly in patients requiring TEVAR without an adequate landing zone. This device offers an ideal solution for lesions in Zone 2, ensuring continued antegrade perfusion of the left subclavian artery (LSA) without necessitating endograft modifications, parallel stenting techniques, or additional open revascularisation." One of the significant advantages of the GORE TBE Endo-Thoracic Graft is its user-friendly design, which does not require a learning curve. Our experience in elective settings allowed us to develop immediate comfort with the device, thereby improving our success rates in more urgent settings," added Professor Sultan. "This landmark procedure at Galway Clinic underscores the clinic's commitment to leveraging advanced medical technologies to enhance patient care. The introduction of the GORE TBE Endo-Thoracic Graft represents a significant advancement in the treatment of complex aortic conditions, providing a new and effective option for patients in need of Zone 2 aortic repair." You will understand why I left it to Professor Sultan to speak of these ground-breaking developments. I can grasp what has been achieved but cant take in the detail. We dont need to understand the detail. We have people to do that for us. It goes without saying that I appreciate the wonderful people who work in our health service and who produce such incredible results. When I came around after the anaesthetic, I found myself in Room 1 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where I was wonderfully, caringly and professionally looked after by the most exquisite team of nurses. In the team were Irish, Indian, African, female and male nurses. There may have been other nationalities. I dislike having to make reference to nationality but unfortunately in todays Ireland of bigots and racists, it is necessary to do so. I just wonder what kind of a medical service we would have in this country if we were to ask all those people of colour, other than white, or nationality, other than Irish, to return to their countries of origin and leave us to our own devices. For sure, we would have a hell of a poor medical service. We would have a hell of a poor country. It is time the bigots and racists were called out for what they are. It is past time we properly recognised and appreciated the magnificent contribution being made daily by our immigrants. Thought for the day Nuair a bhionn an fion istigh, bionn an chiall amuigh NEW DELHI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- India and Vietnam on Thursday signed a plan of action for the implementation of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership over the next five years, during the ongoing state visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, announced the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Besides, both sides signed six memoranda of understanding in various fields, including taxation, agricultural research and education, law and justice, radio and television, medicinal plants, and maritime cooperation. Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Pham Minh Chinh arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday for a three-day state visit. He held a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday afternoon. Later in the day, the visiting prime minister called upon President of India Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. According to MEA, the two sides also announced two dollar-credit-line agreements amounting to 300 million U.S. dollars. SYDNEY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-headquartered lithium mining giant Albemarle has declared its decision to axe processing operations of its Kemerton lithium hydroxide conversion site in Western Australia, with a spokesperson flagging "market conditions" and "commercial realities" as the sole reason. According to a statement obtained by Xinhua on Thursday, Albemarle Corporation took actions to "proactively respond to ongoing industry headwinds, particularly in the lithium value chain, so it can preserve long-term competitiveness." Kent Masters, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, revealed that the long-term growth potential for their end markets remained strong. "Given the dynamics of the global markets we serve, we must be able to pivot and pace as necessary to maintain our leading position," he added. For the operation of the Kemerton lithium hydroxide conversion plant, the company decided to stop construction activities at Train 3, idle production at Train 2 and place the unit in care and maintenance, as well as focus manufacturing efforts on the continued ramp and qualification of Train 1. "Today's decisions regarding Kemerton are entirely due to market conditions and the commercial realities that lithium prices will stay lower for longer. This has nothing to do with State and Federal government policies," said a spokesperson from Albemarle's Australia Branch. Albemarle pledged to still employ around 460 people at the Kemerton plant and continue investment into Western Australia's economic growth. The two-train lithium hydroxide processing plant at Kemerton is located near Bunbury in Western Australia's southwest region, manufacturing value-added lithium products. In June last year, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission confirmed a 1-billion-Australian-dollar (about 652.7 million U.S. dollars) funding by Albemarle to add two new processing trains to the Kemerton site. "This investment, combined with the existing two trains at Kemerton owned under Albemarle's joint venture with Mineral Resources, represents the biggest investment by any company in downstream processing of lithium in Australia. It will make Albemarle the largest producer of lithium in Australia," said the commission. It was also estimated that once fully operational, the two new trains would double the plant's forecast annual output by 50,000 metric tonnes to 100,000 metric tonnes per annum. "This is enough lithium hydroxide to manufacture batteries for approximately 2.4 million electric vehicles. Construction is set to begin immediately, with the first train operational by 2026," the commission added. As one of Australia's largest lithium producers, Albemarle also holds strategic investments in lithium mining, such as Wodgina Lithium Mine joint venture in the Pilbara, and a shareholding in the Greenbushes lithium mine. In response to Albemarle's decision to downgrade operations at Kemerton, Australian Minister for Resources Madeleine King commented that it underlines the continuing volatility of international critical minerals markets. "Market concentration and volatility in demand have caused extreme price changes in lithium markets, including an 80 percent fall in lithium hydroxide prices over the last 12 months," said King. The minister has been advised that 300 Albemarle employees would be directly affected by the scaled-back activities. As part of its Future Made in Australia agenda, the federal government unveiled a Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive in May, valued at 17.6 billion Australian dollars (about 11.4 billion U.S. dollars) over 14 years to boost the processing and value-adding of critical minerals onshore. King saw the production tax credits as an aid to build Australia's sovereign capability, increase local resilience, add additional value to the country's commodities, and grow jobs. "Current conditions in lithium markets highlight the importance of policy support for Australia's critical minerals sector to help address distortions in global markets and secure opportunities for Australia to be a key supplier of high quality refined critical minerals," she said. The Great Reshuffling When: Friday, 02 August 2024 - Friday, 02 August 2024 Where: Hybrid Event SCIS Seminar Room, North Lodge, Parktown Management Campus, 2 St David's Place, Parktown Start time: 9:00 Enquiries: katrina.lehmann-grube@wits.ac.za kitso.kgaboesele@wits.ac.za RSVP: Zoom registration Cost: Free but registration is required. SCIS invites you to a seminar with Prof. David Hughes titled The Great Reshuffling on 2 August 2024, 09:00 - 10:30 (SAST). The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies invites you to a hybrid seminar with Professor David McDermott Hughes titled The Great Reshuffling on 2 August 2024, 09:00 - 10:30 (SAST). Abstract: The Global North should brace for a demographic and cartographic reshuffling. The current trajectory of climate and fossil fuels may render much of the Global South uninhabitable. Heat waves, combined with political collapse and economic inequality, are already driving people across the sea and desert. Migrants are also crossing borders with a high death toll. What would it take to remove those international boundaries and the entire system of exclusion and xenophobia underwriting them? The very question seems quixotic. But what is necessary must be possible, at least to imagine. David Hughes imagines a right of free passage independent of territory and against the grain of nationalism, sovereignty, and indigenous entitlements. He will draw upon ethnography conducted on the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border (in the 1990s) and on the Spain-Morocco border (in the 2010s). In both places, hosts incorporated migrants with care and at the bottom of social hierarchies. There is no utopia here: the great reshuffling will revive archaic forms of domination and servitude from local to planetary scales. Even so, reshuffling beats is surely preferable to suffering in place. About the speaker: David Hughes is a Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. He has worked as an activist scholar of race, inequality, and natural resources since the late 1980s. In southern Africa, he worked for a variety of NGOs and wrote ethnographies of settler colonialism and land reform: From Enslavement to Environmentalism (2007) and Whiteness in Zimbabwe (2010). Then, in Trinidad and Tobago, he carried out ethnography on petroleum geologists, publishing Energy without Conscience (2017). His fourth book, Who Owns the Wind?, proposes a post-oil energy transition more just than the current one (not) taking place. Hughes has served as president and chief negotiator of Rutgers AAUP-AFT, his faculty labour union. He currently serves on the Climate Justice Task Force of the American Federation of Teachers. Gauteng learners impress at WitsIE with solutions to Joburg gas explosion Forty teams of learners from schools across Gauteng participated in part two of the Wits Integrated Experience (WitsIE) Short Course. The journey began in June with part one of the course, as learners embarked on a multidisciplinary real-world problem-solving exercise with guidance from the five faculties at Wits. This year, they were assigned to investigate the methane gas leak that caused an explosion on Lillian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) that rocked the Johannesburg city centre in 2023. Learners partnered with Wits academics to investigate ways of assessing failing infrastructure and potential damage caused, as well as the possible impact on local communities, processing data collected and proposing how to deal with such a crisis from various disciplines in all faculties. Part two of this course saw young minds brimming with enthusiasm as they presented their innovative Response Plans to a panel of experts. A total of 40 teams participated with 8 teams competing with each other per category in five venues. One team from each venue was then awarded a first-place prize. Five schools emerged as winners of the Response Plan Challenge. On the same day, the collective efforts of all the students culminated in an awards ceremony during which certificates and prizes were distributed "For the first time, the R25 000 prize money for winning schools was withdrawn and split amongst all participants. The university decided to shift focus from the hyper-competitiveness of the event but rather hone in more on experiential learning that develops critical thinking and where every participant is acknowledged," said Zodwa Ndebele from the School's Liaison Office. The winning teams included: Al Aqsa High School Eden College King David High School, Linksfield second teams Roedean School (SA) St Dominics Catholic School for Girls "We had to sacrifice a lot of time during our holidays to meet up, plan, and come up with ideas. We had to do a lot of research. We all contributed equally and it all paid off," said grade 11 pupil Muhammed Raees Kathrada representing his winning team from Al Aqsa High School. The winning team from St Dominics Catholic School praised Wits for the opportunity to participate in this interdisciplinary course. "We are very excited and we are very proud of ourselves", said team representative Alyssa Joao. "Wits is a great university, and I really appreciate that they give us opportunities like this to really learn, expand our knowledge and show what we can do," she added. Learners thanked their teachers for the unwavering support they received throughout the process. TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has called for an emergency ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in condemnation of the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh. He made the plea in phone calls with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar, while stressing that Iran reserved its "inherent and legitimate" right to retaliate the "blatant crime," according to statements released by his ministry. Speaking to Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Bagheri Kani said Israel had seriously jeopardized regional stability and security by crossing several red lines, citing its "terrorist aggression" in assassinating Haniyeh and violating Iran's national security. The strike on Haniyeh, widely attributed to Israel, was not acknowledged or commented upon by the Israeli government. Bagheri Kani stressed that Iran would take a "regret-inducing and decisive action" against Israel to make it "eternally rue its constant insanity," calling for convening an emergency OIC meeting to discuss the "conspicuous Israeli crime." The Saudi foreign minister, for his part, condemned the assassination of Haniyeh and action against Iran's territorial integrity, assessing the region's current circumstances as "critical and dangerous." He highlighted the necessity of de-escalating tensions in the region, welcoming the holding of the OIC meeting. In his phone call with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Bagheri Kani urged all regional and Muslim states to take action to counter the "terrorist aggression" by Israel. The Egyptian minister said his country had, in an official statement, condemned the "criminal" move of assassinating Haniyeh, while supporting Iran's initiative for convening an OIC meeting to counter the "terrorist actions." With Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Bagheri Kani said, "Israel martyred a prominent figure of the Muslim world and an indefatigable warrior of the Palestinian resistance." Urging for the OIC meeting, Bagheri Kani called on all regional states to condemn the "heinous Israeli crime" and take "decisive" actions to counter such "terrorist moves." Fidan condemned the "terrorist move," saying Turkiye fully supported Iran's "legitimate and diplomatic" initiative to hold an emergency OIC meeting. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in his phone call with Bagheri Kani, expressed condemnation of the assassination of Haniyeh, and welcomed the immediate holding of an OIC meeting. Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit, according to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which said Israel had carried out the "terrorist attack" and vowed "a harsh and painful response." African archaeology has neglected Namibias deserts Scientists now know when an ancient lake supported human life in the Namib Sand Sea. Desert regions in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have been well studied by archaeologists as the home of early humans and as routes of migration along green corridors. The archaeology of southern Africas west coast desert belt has not received the same attention. The Namib Sand Sea, part of the Namib Desert, is on the west coast of Namibia. It is a hyperarid landscape of towering dunes, occupying about 34,000km between the towns of Luderitz in the south and Walvis Bay in the north. However, there are clues that this environment was not always so dry and inhospitable, suggesting that there is more to be learnt about ancient human life here. We are part of an interdisciplinary research team of physical geographers, archaeologists and geospatial scientists, interested in the long-term history of deserts and human-environmental interactions. Our research provides a timeframe for the presence of a small freshwater lake that once existed in the Namib Sand Sea. This lake was fed by an ancient river and is surrounded by a rich record of stone tools from the African Middle Stone Age (made between about 300,000 years ago and 20,000 years ago), indicating that people ventured into this landscape and used this occasional water source. Dating the former lake site, Narabeb, makes it clearer when ancient humans would have been able to live here. It draws attention to the Namib Sand Sea as a place archaeologists should study to learn more about far-reaching and deep human connections across southern Africa. An ancient lake and shifting sand dunes Today, Narabeb is a landscape dominated by long sand dunes that tower more than 100 metres high over the former lake site. There is no standing water here and the landscape receives little to no rain most years. However, thats probably not what our ancient ancestors would have seen here. Away from the lake, they might have seen a relatively flat plain, seasonally covered by grasses, beside a river. The clue is in sediments at the site: mud layers that were laid down by water. To find out how long ago the lake was at Narabeb, we needed to date these layers. We used a technique called luminescence dating basically, making sand glow to tell the time. Sand grains release a trapped signal that builds up when sand is buried underground, and is reset when sand is exposed to sunlight. Using this technique, we can date when different layers were last on the surface before they got buried. We dated the sand beneath and above layers of mud that were deposited by water. Our results show that the lake was present at Narabeb at some point between 231,000 20,000 and 223,000 19,000 years ago and again about 135,000 11,000 years ago. Another clue is the shape of the landscape east of Narabeb. It is dune free, reminding us that ancient humans were not the only things migrating in the Namib Sand Sea. Have the dunes been on the move? For how long? And how quickly? Drilling to the centre of these dunes to work that out remains logistically impossible. Instead, we used a novel mathematical model. The modelling suggests that it would have taken around 210,000 years to accumulate the amount of sand around Narabeb (those 110m high dunes). This number is remarkably close to the oldest age for the lake. This suggests that the dunes may only just have been starting to form and that a river was supplying the lake with fresh water, supporting animals and attracting people. The sediments at Narabeb also clearly tell us that a river once flowed where there are now dunes. The winds have pushed dunes from the south and west to north and east, creating barriers for the river and hindering movement of people and animals along the water course. Ancient human presence At other sites in the Namib we have found Early Stone Age tools from an earlier species of the Homo genus. This is part of a growing body of evidence, adding to research in the Kalahari desert in the centre of southern Africa, that suggests southern African desert landscapes are more important to the story of human evolution and technological innovation than has been supposed. The artefacts from Narabeb fit into the Middle Stone Age type of stone tool technology. Narabeb is a particularly rich site for stone tools, suggesting people made tools here for a long time and perhaps visited the site over many generations. This research illustrates the need for a comprehensive study of areas that have not been on the map of the major routes of human and animal migration. These might reveal exciting records of cultural diffusion, innovation and adaptation to marginal and changing environments. Our results also make us think about the dynamic nature of environmental conditions in one of Earths oldest desert regions. It has long been thought that the Namib has been consistently very dry for around 10 million years and not a place capable of containing green corridors at the times of interest for archaeologists. Now we can challenge that idea. Future steps Recent funding from the Leverhulme Trust will allow us to extend our fieldwork, documenting archaeological sites and dating these green corridors across more of this landscape. A 100 mile (160km) initial foot survey along the ancient river course has revealed an expansive artefact-littered landscape. We also need to know more about where ancient populations found the materials they used to make stone tools. This will allow us to piece together a network of archaeological sites and show where human migration might have been possible in this part of southern Africa. Up to now, its been a gap in the archaeological map. More work is also needed to understand the shifts in climate that allowed the rivers to flow into the Namib. This Southern Hemisphere, west coast desert has a very different setting to north Africa and Arabia, which have good frameworks for understanding their periodic green corridors. Ongoing work with the wider scientific community, including climate modellers, may create a clearer picture of the Namibs green corridors. Abi Stone, Reader in Physical Geography, University of Manchester and Dominic Stratford, Professor of Archaeology, University of the Witwatersrand. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. People attend a gathering denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2024. Hezbollah on Wednesday offered its condolences for the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, while Lebanon's prime minister condemned the killing as a grave danger. On the same day, a gathering took place in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where people protested against the assassination of Haniyeh. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah issued on Wednesday a statement mourning its top military commander Fouad Shokor, who was killed by Israel a day earlier in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs. "Our resistance presents him as a symbol of decisive commitment and firm resolve to continue the jihad until the liberation of the land, the holy sites, and the people from the injustice and brutality of this usurping, criminal, and murderous entity," said the statement. Fouad Shokor's martyrdom will be a strong motivation for his fellow fighters to move forward with steadfastness and courage to preserve the achievements, victories, and capabilities, and to achieve the goals and hopes this great leader was looking forward to, it added. Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will give a speech on Thursday afternoon to voice Hezbollah's political stance with regard to this attack, according to the statement. An Israeli drone fired on Tuesday evening three missiles at a position near the Shura Council of Hezbollah in the Dahieh suburbs in southern Beirut, killing Shokor and five other people and wounding 74 others. People attend a gathering denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2024. Hezbollah on Wednesday offered its condolences for the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, while Lebanon's prime minister condemned the killing as a grave danger. On the same day, a gathering took place in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where people protested against the assassination of Haniyeh. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) A woman attends a gathering denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2024. Hezbollah on Wednesday offered its condolences for the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, while Lebanon's prime minister condemned the killing as a grave danger. On the same day, a gathering took place in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where people protested against the assassination of Haniyeh. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) People attend a gathering denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2024. Hezbollah on Wednesday offered its condolences for the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, while Lebanon's prime minister condemned the killing as a grave danger. On the same day, a gathering took place in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where people protested against the assassination of Haniyeh. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) People attend a gathering denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Sidon, Lebanon, on July 31, 2024. Hezbollah on Wednesday offered its condolences for the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, while Lebanon's prime minister condemned the killing as a grave danger. On the same day, a gathering took place in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where people protested against the assassination of Haniyeh. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua) This photo taken on Aug. 16, 2023 shows a Delta flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) United Airlines and Delta suspended their flights to and from Tel Aviv, citing "security reasons." NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines on late Wednesday temporarily suspended their flights to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv amid heightening tensions in the Middle East region. United Airlines suspended its daily services to and from Tel Aviv, beginning with Wednesday evening's flight from Newark Liberty International Airport in New York to Tel Aviv, the company said, citing "security reasons." "We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews," a company spokesperson said in an announcement. Delta paused flights between New York and Tel Aviv through Friday, Aug. 2, "due to ongoing conflict in the region," the airline said on its website. Delta has issued a waiver for customers who booked travel to/from Tel Aviv before Aug. 14, allowing them to change their plans without paying a fare difference. The airline said it "is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports. " The U.S. Department of State updated a travel advisory for the Mideast region on Wednesday, warning U.S. citizens not to travel to Northern Israel and the West Bank, due to the rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, as well as armed conflicts. TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mournful people from different walks of life in the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday held a funeral procession for Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an alleged Israeli attack a day before. The ceremony officially began at 8:00 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) at the University of Tehran, where Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led the funeral prayers for the Hamas chief and his security guard, who was killed in the same attack. The funeral prayers were attended by many top Iranian commanders and officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, as well as a large number of mourners. Prior to the prayers, Qalibaf extended condolences over the tragic incident, saying, "It is our duty to respond (to Haniyeh's assassination) at the appropriate place and time." Israel would pay a "heavy price for its cowardly attack against Iran's secure territory," Qalibaf stressed. Following the prayers, Khamenei met Haniyeh's children and Hamas officials. During the procession, a huge number of Iranians, including top officials and military commanders, accompanied the Hamas leader's body from the University of Tehran to the iconic Azadi square in central Tehran, while chanting slogans in condemnation of Israel and the United States, holding pictures of Haniyeh, Iran's leader and General Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander who was killed in an attack by the United States in Iraq in January 2020, and waving Iranian and Palestinian flags. Speaking to reporters during the procession, the Iranian officials said that Israel would definitely be punished for its "act of terror." Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said Israel would certainly receive a far "stronger slap" compared to the one Iran delivered to it on April 14 in response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier that month, according to the official news agency IRNA. At the end of the ceremony, which lasted for four hours, the Iranians bade a final farewell to the Hamas leader before the transfer of his body to the Qatari capital Doha to be laid to rest. Haniyeh, who had been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian president on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit. Iran accused Israel of carrying out the assassination while Israel has yet to confirm its involvement. ABUJA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and 20 others injured after a deadly explosion at a local night market in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno late Wednesday, police said Thursday. The deadly explosion followed the detonation of an improvised explosive device, allegedly by the Boko Haram terror group, at a marketplace in Kawuri, a town in the Kondauga local government area of the state, Yusuf Lawan, the police chief in Borno, told Xinhua by telephone Thursday morning. Lawan said a team of police personnel was immediately deployed to the scene to cordon off the area from further explosions while restoring normalcy. Following the deadly explosion, the police have imposed a 24-hour curfew across the state, said Nahum Daso, a spokesman for the police in Borno, in a separate statement. "The curfew is a measure to prevent further loss of lives and property and to allow security agencies to maintain control and ensure public safety," he said, adding that residents were expected to stay indoors and avoid "any unnecessary movements during the curfew period." JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The South African government on Thursday condemned the "targeted assassination" of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas. In a statement issued by South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the government expressed its "heartfelt condolences" to the Haniyeh family and the leadership and people of Palestine. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran was hit early Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said in a statement, adding the attack was under investigation and the results would be announced later. Israel has no comment on the incident yet. "South Africa is concerned that the assassination of Dr. Haniyeh and the continuous targeting of civilians in Gaza will further spiral the already tense situation in the entire region," the statement said. "South Africa urges that a thorough investigation be conducted and call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to avoid any acts that would escalate tensions in the particularly fragile region." "Such acts of extrajudicial killings violate international law and the principles of human rights, undermining global efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East," the statement quoted South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola as saying. "No country is above the law and all nations must respect international law, particularly the principles outlined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," he said. South Africa also called for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, reiterating its view that "the international community must act immediately to bring to an end the genocide in Gaza, end impunity, end the aggression meted against Palestinians and end the illegal occupation by Israel." "Nothing can justify the deliberate killings and injuring of civilians as an entire population endures destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history," read the statement. "Continuing Israeli occupation, destruction of infrastructure, collective punishment, and extrajudicial assassinations would make the realization of a peaceful solution in the Middle East much more difficult to achieve." Israel launched its offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year, following a surprise attack by Hamas militants in which about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. According to Gaza-based health authorities, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 39,445 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and displaced approximately 2 million people. Rescuers work at a landslide devastated area in India's southern state of Kerala, Aug.1, 2024. The death toll of Tuesday's massive landslides in India's southern state of Kerala rose to 256, confirmed the state's Health Minister Veena George on Thursday while speaking to local media. (UNI/Handout via Xinhua) NEW DELHI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of Tuesday's massive landslides in India's southern state of Kerala rose to 256, confirmed the state's Health Minister Veena George on Thursday while speaking to local media. She said one of the main focuses of the state government was to prevent the spread of contagious diseases in the area, since it was still raining there and bodies lay under the rubble of the landslides. "So far we have conducted post-mortem on 256 dead bodies, which includes human body parts too. 154 dead bodies have been handed over to the district administration after the post-mortem. Genetic samples of human body-parts recovered are being collected and DNA tests on dead bodies are also being conducted. It will help us in identifying the dead bodies and human limbs at a later stage," the minister told media. "I visited the hospitals and relief camps. Our priority is to provide psychological support, and focus on controlling contagious diseases," said the official. According to her, another 220 persons were still missing, and the rescue work was on to pull out the injured persons from under the rubble of the landslides. Within a span of two hours three landslides had hit the Meppadi area of Kerala's Wayanad district early on Tuesday morning amid heavy rain, while the people were still asleep. The tragedy was described as one the biggest in recent times in the southern state. The state government had set up relief camps to accommodate those rendered homeless after the natural tragedy. Over 3,500 people were rehabilitated in these relief camps. Thousands of personnel of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy, the National Disaster Response Force, state-level disaster management body, local police, doctors, medical teams, and other local administration officials were put into service to carry out the rescue work, and also provide relief and succor to the survivors, a local government official told Xinhua over phone. This photo taken on Aug. 1, 2024 shows a view of the landslide devastated area in India's southern state of Kerala. The death toll of Tuesday's massive landslides in India's southern state of Kerala rose to 256, confirmed the state's Health Minister Veena George on Thursday while speaking to local media. (UNI/Handout via Xinhua) Rescuers work at a landslide devastated area in India's southern state of Kerala, Aug.1, 2024. The death toll of Tuesday's massive landslides in India's southern state of Kerala rose to 256, confirmed the state's Health Minister Veena George on Thursday while speaking to local media. (UNI/Handout via Xinhua) CANBERRA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has described a new government report on the welfare of First Nations people as deeply troubling. The Productivity Commission, the government's primary review and advisory body, on Wednesday published its latest report on Closing the Gap, the national strategy to reduce the structural disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The report found that five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met and that progress on four targets has gone backward. According to the new data, the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned, taking their own lives and losing their children to out-of-home care has increased from baseline levels. In 2021, 34.3 percent of Indigenous children commencing school were considered developmentally on track, down from 35.2 percent in 2018. McCarthy, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a statement on Thursday that a bipartisan approach was needed to close the gap. "These figures are deeply troubling, but I am determined to work in partnership with First Nations Australians, the Coalition of Peaks and State and Territory governments to bring about positive change," she said. "I will be reaching out to my colleagues across the parliament to seek a bipartisan approach to Indigenous affairs." The life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has narrowed, the report said, but a target of zero gap by 2031 is not on track. Indigenous people born in 2020-2022 had a life expectancy of 71.9 years for males and 75.6 years for females compared to 81.2 years and 85.3 years for non-Indigenous males and females respectively. Suicide was the leading cause of death for Indigenous Australians aged 15-39 in 2022. Targets concerning healthy birth weights of Indigenous children, the proportion of Indigenous children enrolled in preschool, Indigenous employment and the proportion of Australia's land mass and sea area covered under Indigenous legal rights are on track to be met. Boeing announced on Wednesday that it had hired a new chief executive officer at the same time the airline manufacturer reported it had lost $1.4 billion in the second quarter of the year. The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 13, 2021. [AP Photo/Richard Drew] In a press release, Boeing said its board of directors has elected Robert K. Kelly Ortberg as the companys new president and chief executive officer, effective August 8, 2024. Ortberg will also serve on Boeings Board of Directors. Ortberg, who is a career aerospace engineer and executive with 35 years in the industry, replaces Dave Calhoun, who announced in March that he was retiring. Calhoun resigned amid a series of near-catastrophic safety failures and a recent sweetheart plea deal with the US Justice Department over Boeings fraudulent response to two crashes of its 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Ortberg, age 64, worked at Rockwell Collins, a designer and manufacturer of avionics, communications and information systems for the aerospace industry for 30 years before he became company president and CEO in 2013. During his tenure, Ortberg led numerous mergers and acquisitions, including the integration of Rockwell Collins into the multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies). The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing would pay Ortberg $17.25 million in cash and stock for taking the job, plus $22 million a year, of which roughly $4.5 million would be in cash and the rest in equity. The Journal report added, Although the agreement is open-ended, the company said it wouldnt apply its mandatory retirement age to Ortberg until April 2031. Also on Wednesday, Boeing announced that it had lost $1.4 billion in the quarter ending in June, bringing its total losses in 2024 to $1.8 billion and cumulative core operating losses since 2019 to $33.3 billion. In the company statement on the deepening financial crisis of Boeing, outgoing CEO Calhoun claimed substantial progress strengthening our quality management system and positioning our company for the future. A primary objective of Ortberg is to oversee the acquisition of a key Boeing supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, which has been at the center of the quality and safety failures of the 737 MAX jets. Spirit manufactured the fuselage involved in the door plug that blew out of an Alaska Airlines jet during takeoff in January. In an investigation, federal aviation authorities say the fuselage made at Spirits factory in Wichita, Kansas, had defective rivets or fasteners, while they believe Boeing also failed to put back bolts needed to secure the door plug when it was opened for a repair at its plant in Renton, Washington. The door plug failure is one of many safety and quality problems originating at Spirit. Boeing announced on July 1 that it had agreed to acquire Spirit in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.7 billion. As part of the deal, it is expected that Spirit will shut down factories, including some in Europe, that make parts for Boeing rival Airbus. On July 7, Boeing announced it had accepted a deal offered by the US Department of Justice and pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiring to defraud the federal government in its response to the two crashes of its 737 MAX planes, one in Indonesia on October 29, 2018 and the other in Ethiopia on March 10, 2019. Both planes went into unrecoverable nosedives minutes after takeoff due to the malfunction of an automated system designed and installed by Boeing. The New York Times was enthusiastic about the hiring of Ortberg, saying industry experts welcomed the announcement and quoting aerospace and defense analyst Ken Herbert as saying, We believe this is a strong and safe pick. However, what the Wall Street Journal and New York Times left out of their reports on the new CEO is the fact that two weeks ago more than 33,000 Boeing machinists voted by 99.9 percent to strike the corporation when their contract expires on September 12. The workers, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), are demanding wage increases, cost-of-living increases, restoration of benefits and an improvement in safety and quality control in the Boeing factories. CNN referred to the strike vote, calling it the most immediate problem for Ortberg. CNN also reported that Calhoun spoke to investors about the likelihood of a strike, saying that the company knows the Machinists union, which represents those workers, will have a big ask on wages, but that the company is willing to reward its workers and is doing everything it can to avoid a strike. Calhoun, the entire executive management of Boeing and the Biden administration are relying on the union leadership of the IAM to prevent strike action and impose another rotten contract upon the workers. However, rank-and-file machinists are well aware of the repeated sellouts by the IAM bureaucracy, including in the last contract in 2008 following a 57-day strike. The strike was betrayed by the corporatist IAM leadership, and a supposed four-year contract was signed that the union extended repeatedly beginning in 2012. The workers only received a 1 percent wage increase in 2014. A strike by Boeing machinists in September would bring the workers into a direct confrontation with the Biden White House and the Democratic Party reelection campaign and its presumptive nominee of Kamala Harris. In particular, a strike by 30,000 Boeing workers would disrupt the US-backed war against Russia in Ukraine. The US-supplied long-range missiles being used by Ukraine for firing deep into Russian territory are made by Boeing. The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) from Boeing are also being supplied to increase the number of 100-mile missiles being used by Ukraine. According to a report in Reuters in January, The glide-bomb will allow Ukraines military to hit targets at twice the distance reachable by the rockets it now fires from the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and could force Russia to move supplies even farther from the front lines. There is no doubt the IAM will do everything possible to prevent Boeing workers from going on strike. A year ago, the IAM leadership announced the endorsement of the Biden-Harris ticket, claiming it was secured by a vote of the 600,000 members of the union in a democratic process that included a general membership vote open to all U.S. members in good standing. Without stating exactly how many members of the union voted, the IAM leadership claimed a majority vote for Biden with the participating IAM State Council Presidents, the IAMs elected political leaders from each state, voting to endorse the Democratic Party presidential campaign. The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday that polio had been detected in Gaza and warned that urgent preventive measures had to be taken to protect children from the infection, which can cause death or crippling paralysis. A boy sitting amongst rubble in Yarmouk Sports Stadium Friday, July 5, 2024 in Gaza City [AP Photo/AP Photo] The detection of polio in Gaza is another reminder of the dire conditions the population is facing, the WHO director wrote on X, referring to the Israeli military onslaught on the Palestinian enclave. The persistence of the conflict hampers efforts to identify and respond to preventable threats such as polio. The WHO has dispatched a million doses of polio vaccine to the Israeli-occupied territory, but how they will reach the population, particularly the children, under conditions of continuous military violence is unknown. The Gaza Health Ministry declared a polio epidemic Monday based on testing of wastewater samples. No actual cases have yet been reported, but the chaotic conditions in Gaza, with constant bombing and shelling and forced movements of population make any systematic monitoring for the disease impossible. In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry warned that polio poses a health threat to the residents of Gaza and neighboring countries, referring to both Israel and Egypt, the two countries which border on the Gaza Strip, as well as the wider Middle East. Gaza has been polio-free for a quarter of a century, thanks to effective mass vaccination, but this health achievement, like all the social gains of the Palestinians, is threatened with utter destruction under the impact of Israeli bombs, missiles and tank shells. Miles of tents line the beaches and empty lots and fields, people are piled into tents in clothes that have not been washed for months, children are playing in and drinking from puddles of water contaminated with sewage. The primary means of spread for polio is fecal-oral contamination, and the targeting of water and sanitary facilities by the Israel Defense Forces has as a conscious aim the spreading of infectious disease to decimate the Palestinian population. Repeatedly during the ongoing genocide, health authorities had warned that the destruction of critical infrastructure would bring with it a public health crisis. And last week, six of seven routine sewage samples detected the virus. The UN noted that besides polio, diseases like Hepatitis A, dysentery, and other gastrointestinal disorders are widespread and continue to rise. More than one million respiratory infections have been documented. Scabies and lice are running rampant among the population. And as many have noted, this is only the beginning of the broader public health crisis that the exhausted and trodden population will see adding to their historic misery. Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician, speaking with Al-Jazeera, called the detection of polio a ticking time bomb. She added, Normally if you have a case of polio, youre going to isolate them, youre going to make sure that they use a bathroom that nobody else uses, make sure that theyre not in close proximity to other people, [but] thats impossible. You have everybody clustering in refugee camps at the moment without vaccines for at least the past nine months, including children who would otherwise have been vaccinated for polio and adults who, in the setting of an outbreak, should receive a booster, including healthcare workers. Dr. Medhat Abbas, director general of Al Shifa Medical Complex, told the press that the streets were full of sewage. Personal hygiene is absent. You cant wash your hands, even after youve used the bathroom, he said. So, theres pollution and this disease is spread through feces. In May, Oxfams Middle East director, Sally Abi Khalil, lamented, The situation is desperate, with so many people in Gaza living in fear and being forced to endure inhumane and unsanitary conditions caused by sustained Israeli bombardment. One colleague told me there was so much human waste in the streets, it literally smelt like disease. She said at that time: Israels military assault on Rafah could be devastating, not only because of the risk of mass civilian casualties, but also the repercussions of vast numbers of people being forced to move. With the infrastructure already beyond breaking point, little or no healthcare available, and widespread malnutrition this could quickly escalate into a major epidemic. This week, Dr. Ayadil Saparbekov, the World Health Organizations (WHO) health emergency team lead for Gaza and the West Bank, told NPR, Its a very dangerous disease. And, in the situation of Gaza, its beyond dangerous. The limited investigation indicates the virus came from Egypt sometime in September before the commencement of hostilities. Another important element in the policy of extermination through disease is the blockade-imposed famine, which starves some victims to death and weakens the resistance to infection among many more. This is combined with the military offensive on hospitals, clinics, and healthcare workers that has killed 500 physicians, 50 of them specialists. More than 200 medical staff have been imprisoned in detainee camps in Southern Israel where they undergo violent interrogations. Twenty of 36 hospitals have been completely destroyed and the rest are functioning under most barbaric conditions. The sick and injured have no place to turn to address any of their immediate and life-threatening injuries and illnesses. In response to the reports of polio, Israel said it was offering soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip the polio vaccine to be administered during routine troop turnover, although it was not mandatory for them to accept it. The Israeli army also indicated it would allow international groups to bring the polio vaccine into the enclave. According to the WHO, more than a million polio vaccine doses were being brought in to be given over the coming weeks. Even before the military assault on the defenseless enclave, in March 2023, Israeli physicians were urging the government and medical community to respond to an outbreak of polio and prioritize and vaccinate the 176,000 Israeli children who had never received any doses. At the time, four children had been diagnosed with polio, and one had paralysis in his limbs. Prior to that outbreak, Israel had no clinical cases of polio between 1988 and 2022. Prosecutors in Washington D.C. announced on July 25 that they would drop charges against 11 people out of the 25 total who were arrested for protesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to the United States Capitol last week. The decision to drop the charges only a day later demonstrates the overt lawlessness of the police forces, who often detain and abuse protesters without a second thought. It is not uncommon for prosecutors to initially decline to press charges against individuals arrested during protests, especially those that turn violent, noted the Washington Post. The newspaper cites the former US assistant attorney for Washington D.C., Rizwan Qureshi, who added, when prosecutors bring cases, they have an obligation to look at the evidence individually and determine if they can present these facts and prove beyond a reasonable doubt the offense here. Despite the obvious weakness of the cases, it is possible for the attorney generals office to reinstate the charges and have those individuals rearrested. U.S. Capitol Police detain demonstrators protesting against the genocide in Gaza by Israel before a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. [AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite] Netanyahus appearance before Congress after being extended a bipartisan invitation to speak prompted massive outrage against the Israeli war criminal and his handlers in the American state. To date, the official number of dead in Gaza are more than 39,000. A far-higher calculation is provided by the prestigious Lancet peer-reviewed medical journal, which published an estimate, on conservative assumptions, of nearly 190,000 dead. Of those that were arrested in Washington, many were given misdemeanor charges for small acts of vandalism. Further revealing the fraudulent character of the official justification for the genocidal campaign, several of those arrested last week were family members of Israeli hostages seeking to denounce Netanyahus nine-month war on Gaza which has done nothing to free their loved ones. Of the 14 remaining charges, one of them is for a 15 year old from Ohio who allegedly assaulted a police officer. Ten people were arrested near Union Station, and eight of them are being charged. During the incident at Union Station, police deployed chemical irritants on the crowd and clashed with protesters. A few people were arrested after climbing a statue of Christopher Columbus and spray-painting it. Three others, Sonia Krishan, 21, Nathaniel Lawrence, 19, and Roger Miller, 43, were arrested for lowering an American flag at a flagpole and replacing it with a Palestinian flag. The American flag was then burned by demonstrators. In comments cited by the Post, Lawrence stated it didnt seem right that the US flag was sitting higher than the Palestinian flag, given that the US government just stands there and lets [the genocide] happen. Prosecutors later increased the charges against those who removed the flag, charging all of them with one count each of attempted theft, a felony that carries a heavier sentence than the other charges. Essa Ejelat, 33, was arrested and charged with threatening to do bodily harm to a police officer after he pointed his finger at a cop and allegedly threatened them. Frederick Coates, 25, Momamome Crow, 23, and Antonio Somerville, 23, were arrested for carrying weapons which supposedly included bats, batons and a dart gun. The prosecutors decision to drop nearly half of the cases provoked immediate outrage from the D.C. police union. Gus Papathanasiou of the Metropolitan Police Departments Fraternal Order of Police declared that the prosecutors were giving free passes to criminals. The union officials also stated that they were unhappy with the number of arrests made, saying that they would have liked to have arrested many more people if it werent for their staffing levels. The US political establishment has also swung behind the police, denouncing the protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) took to X/Twitter to denounce protesters and demand that [o]ur nations leaders on both sides of this aisle must fully denounce this and make clear that antisemitism has no place in America. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gave a reply Wednesday that was equal parts thuggish and ignorant when asked by Rachel Scott of ABC News about the mob of supporters who broke into the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and assaulted numerous police officers as they attempted to overturn his electoral loss. He claimed that the protesters against Netanyahu fought with police much more openly than I could show on January 6, although Scott had noted that 140 police were injured in the 2021 mob assault. Democratic Vice President and presumed presidential nominee Kamala Harris issued an official statement the day after the anti-Netanyahu, anti-genocide demonstrations in which she said that despicable acts were the product of unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric. Harris also accused protesters of being antisemitic: I support the right to peacefully protest, but lets be clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence of any kind have no place in our nation. Harris statement is a damning exposure of the lie, presented by the Democratic Party and its various supporters, that she would somehow be more sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people, to say nothing about the right to protest. With more than three years at the side of Genocide Joe Biden at the helm of American imperialism, Harris has the same fundamental policy outlook. In her private meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris reaffirmed her absolute support for Israels attacks on Palestine. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans offer any progressive solution to the crisis of the capitalist system. Their answers are provided through the wars abroad that they wage and the attacks on living standards and democratic rights at home. As the Socialist Equality Partys speakers presented at their rally on Wednesday outside the US Capitol, the solution cannot be through appeals to capitalist parties, but through mobilization of the working class as an international force against genocide, war and reaction. With Israels genocidal assault on Gaza now in its tenth month, the Netanyahu regime and its US imperialist paymasters and arms providers are relentlessly pushing the Middle East over the precipice and into the abyss of an all-out regional war. In what was simultaneously a calculated provocation and an act of extreme recklessness, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamass political wing, in Irans capital early Wednesday morning. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. [AP Photo/Vahid Salemi] Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Irans new president, was killed along with his bodyguard when a guided missile, said by Iranian authorities to have been launched from outside the country, hit the compound where he was staying. Only hours before this brazen act of criminality, Israeli drones demolished a five-story building in a heavily populated area of Beirut. Described by the Israeli government as targeted, the drone strike killed five and injured scores of other residents of the apartment block. The five fatalities included Fuad Shukr, said to be the right-hand man of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and two children aged 10 and 6. The Gaza-born 62 year-old Haniyeh was Hamass chief negotiator in the protracted, on-again off-again Gaza war peace negotiations. How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side? asked Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has hosted the peace negotiations, in a post on X. The reality is the negotiations have been a Biden-Harris administration-orchestrated sham. Israel, with the full support of the US, Canada and the European imperialist powers, has used them as a smokescreen for its continuing prosecution, through mass murder, ethnic cleansing and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, of a final solution to the Palestinian question. Haniyehs summary execution was a war crime. That it was carried out on Iranian soil and amid the ceremonies marking the assumption of office by a new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, adds a further explosive dimension of criminality and provocation. The Israeli strike was aimed at humiliating Iran, destabilizing its leadership, undermining confidence in its security forces and, last but not least, forcing it to respond, providing Israel with a pretext for still more aggression. Just hours before his death, Haniyeh had met with Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. For an Israeli government that is pursuing genocide and is responsibleaccording to The Lancet, one of the worlds leading medical journalsfor at least 186,000 deaths during the Gaza War, there are truly no limits. Still, the execution of Haniyeh, who for the last seven years had headed Hamass Politburo and prior to that led the civil administration in Gaza, represents a new level of lawlessness and brutality in international relations. By way of comparison, Israels murder by missile strike of the head of Hamass political wing would be akin to Russia using a drone to kill Ukrainian President Zelensky when he was visiting Washington or Berlin. In the imperialist capitals, this is no cause for even a quiver of embarrassment. Their universal response to the Israeli strikes in Tehran and Beirut has been to threaten Iran and Hezbollah and reaffirm their unflinching commitment to Israeli self-defence. As is now a familiar pattern after every Israeli escalation, there has been a flurry of statements from Washington, London, Berlin and Paris that blame Iran and its allies for the growing threat of a wider war and demand they stand down. Hezbollahs attacks on Israel must stop, exclaimed German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. It is important to prevent a regional conflagration. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood, in an emergency Security Council session Wednesday afternoon, declared: We call on the Security Council to send an unambiguous message to Hezbollah by standing with Israel as it defends itself against Hezbollahs repeated attacks. Continuing in the same vein, Wood demanded the Security Council take actions, including possibly new sanctions, to hold Iran accountable and address repeated action by its terrorist proxies. Earlier Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed the US was not aware of or involved in the Israeli assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran. Even if one were to accept that Tel Aviv did not share the operational details, Washingtons hands are smeared with the blood of this crime. Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other White House officials have been publicly urging Israel to make greater use of targeted assassinations against Hamas and its allies. Moreover, even amid the so-called peace negotiations, Washington has been pressing Qatar to expel the Hamas leadership in exile. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has issued an ominously worded statement preparing the population for an expansion of the war. Citizens of Israel, he declared, challenging days lie ahead. Since the strike in Beirut there are threats sounding from all directions We are prepared for any scenario [and] will exact a heavy price for any aggression. Since Netanyahus visit to Washington last week, which included meetings with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, Israel has gone on a rampage. In addition to the attacks on Beirut and Tehran, Israel has carried out strikes in southern Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. On July 20, it struck Yemens port of Hodeida, which is under the control of the Houthi insurgency. The timing of Israels escalation of the war makes clear that the expansion of the Gaza genocide into a major regional conflict was greenlighted by Washington during Netanyahus visit. At the key public event of his trip, his July 24 address to a joint session of Congress, the Israeli prime minister centered much of his remarks on bellicose denunciations of Iran. Turning reality on its head, he painted Tehran as the aggressor, just as he grotesquely claimed there have been almost no civilian casualties in Gaza. To boisterous applause, Netanyahu declared that in fighting Iran and its allies, Israel was waging Americas fight and that Israel deserved Washingtons unstinting support in using genocidal methods and otherwise shredding international law. If Israels hands are tied, he declared, America is next. Exactly how the war will develop in the coming days and weeks cannot be said with any certainty. What is incontestable is that the crisis of the Israeli regime and its imperialist backers, above all, Washington, and the logic of the war they have initiatedthe predatory aims they are pursuing and the escalating violence and recklessness with which they are seeking to realize themlead inexorably to a region-wide Mideast war, with the US joining in the assault on Iran and its allies. Such a war could rapidly draw in a host of regional and great powers and threaten to ignite a global conflagration. At issue would be the fate of the region that is the worlds largest exporter of oil, and that, because of its location at the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa, is of enormous geo-strategic importance. The imperialist powers, led by the US, have backed Israel to the hilt in its genocide for they see the Gaza war as a first step to realizing their plans for the establishment of unbridled imperialist domination over the Middle East. Moreover, as Biden and Blinken have themselves made clear, the war they are prosecuting alongside Israel is only one front in a developing global war. Securing domination over the Middle East is viewed as critical to subjugating Russia, with which the US and NATO powers are already at war, and prevailing in what is an all-sided military-strategic and economic offensive against China. As in the late 1930s, various regional conflicts are inexorably merging into a new imperialist world war. If such a catastrophe is to be avoidedand it must be avoidedthe global working class must be mobilized as an independent political force, united in struggle against imperialist war and the capitalist system which is its source. The rally the Socialist Equality Party organized outside the July 24 joint session of the US Congress that was addressed by Netanyahu outlined the programmatic foundations for such a struggle, uniting the fight against war, the degradations of capitalism and the defense of democratic rights with the fight for social equality and workers power. Socialist Equality Party (Canada) members have supported workers at Canada Post over recent months in the establishment of the Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (PWRFC). The PWRFC aims to seize control of the contract struggle from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) bureaucracy, which is in a corporatist partnership with the crown corporations management and federal Liberal government. Rejecting the CUPW apparatus insistence that Canada Post be run as a profit-making concern, the PWRFC demands that the postal service operate as a public utility, with decisions on wages, workplace safety, workloads, and other conditions determined by the rank and file. A Canada Post office in Winnipeg, Manitoba [AP Photo/Trevor Hagan] In the days leading up to and at its founding meeting on June 16, postal workers reviewed and discussed the committees founding statement. It declares in part, In opposition to the conspirators in Canada Post management, the federal government and the CUPW bureaucracy, we reject the claim that Canada Post must be run as a profit-making corporate enterprise. We oppose the use of new technologies to step up exploitation. We demand that workers on the shop floor make decisions about the operation of the postal service, the implementation of new technologies, and our wages and benefits. The Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee will fight for these objectives in a political struggle against the corporatist partnership between CUPW, corporate management and the Liberal government. We will do so in alliance with workers throughout the logistics sector, workers across Canadapublic and privatewho all have a stake in our struggle to defend public services and worker rights, and postal workers throughout the world. As part of its fight to establish the rank-and-file committee, the World Socialist Web Site has sharply criticized left-talking militant CUPW bureaucrats who have postured as defenders of workers interests. A key experience in this regard was the presidency of Mike Palecek, a former member of the pseudo-left Fightback group, affiliated with the International Marxist Tendency. Palecek was propelled to the presidency to control widespread anger among rank-and-file postal workers following the union leaderships capitulation to the Tory Harper governments strikebreaking legislation in 2011. Under Paleceks leadership, CUPW campaigned for the election of the pro-war, pro-austerity Trudeau Liberal government in 2015 and sold out the 2018 postal workers strike. Rank-and-file Canada Post workers have written in to the WSWS to share their experiences of ruthless exploitation and union-backed concessions. Individuals associated with the bureaucracy have also inquired about the committee. One of these was Matthew Aitken, a former CUPW local president. Aitken wrote to us in the lead-up to the PWRFCs founding meeting: I am interested in the committee because of my involvement with the CUPW over the last six years. I was local president in Kelowna from 2018 to 2020, and in Winnipeg from 2021 to 2023. I helped get Roland Schmidt elected to 3rd [vice president] in 2022, and worked on Julee Sandersons campaign [for union president] last year. I stood at the entrance to convention last year holding a sign that read, Vote for Julee, and I asked delegates to vote for Julee to save our union and I meant it. I am very much opposed to the actions of the CUPWs national executive board and believe our union needs wholesale reform. Given the bureaucracys intimate partnership with management and pervasive management harassment of rank-and-file workers at Canada Post, we had serious concerns about allowing Aitken to join the PWRFCs founding meeting, which involved Canada Post workers who could have been identified and victimized. Moreover, the WSWS is familiar with union bureaucrats seeking a radical left cover for their rotten opportunist politics. WSWS writer Steve Hill therefore forwarded Aitken a draft of the PWRFCs founding statement and requested a further discussion in order to determine whether his interest in the committee was genuine. Aitken responded angrily, Hi Steve, I read the discussion paper and take issue with some of the points raised. I would also like to ask the authors why they think Brother Palecek lied to the membership. I dont have the same opinion, and when I read those lines, I can clearly tell whomever wrote them did not read NEB [National Executive Board] minutes from Paleceks time as president. I think they would find that Palecek was essentially an island on that board, and as any person working with committees should know, the decision of that is the committees, not necessarily the president. Palecek dissented on many of the votes and issues that I believe the authors were referencing without being specific. If it were journalism, it would be shoddy. I dont mind some of the plans listed in the document, but I find some of them to be very naive. I think the authors are either out of touch with their workfloors or they have never actually been on a CUPW workfloor. Im uncomfortable with the idea of meeting alone with a group of non-CUPW members to be screened to be able to join a group of CUPW members. I do not have time to meet with a group of people who will deliberate on my character and deem me worthy or unworthy of joining. I dont need anyones approval in that way. I am a postal worker. Delivered mail on Friday. I wish you all the best with your organizing of postal workers. Please do not reach out to me with offers like this in the future. I am no longer interested in being involved. In solidarity, Matthew Aitken Hill sent the following letter in response to Aitken, who has failed to respond after several weeks. *** Dear Brother Matthew, I think its important that we clarify some of the issues you raised in your last email. The Sunday, June 16 meeting was a political meeting with workers who are CUPW members and was organized with the assistance of Socialist Equality Party members. Many of the workers we engage with around the world are wary of being exposed to company (or union) snoops during such meetings, so we take our responsibility to protect their identity and interests seriously. This approach is all the more important at Canada Post, where, as I am sure you are aware, management harassment and intimidation is a major issue and the CUPW bureaucracy colludes with this same management to attack workers rights. We make no bones about the fact that we are opposed in principle to inviting current union bureaucrats to these discussions. In the case of someone like yourself, who previously held a senior position within the union but says they have broken with the bureaucracy, we make no apologies for vetting them thoroughly before deciding whether we should allow them to attend. Anyone committed to advancing the interests of rank-and-file workers will easily understand why. Workers who are drawn to the World Socialist Web Site appreciate our political analysis, including unmatched coverage of the struggles of the working class around the world, because they know from bitter personal experience that the unions are no longer fighting organizations of the working class. The WSWS provides the context and history necessary for the working class to understand the current state of the world, how we got here and what to do nextincluding, crucially, why the unions and the political parties they support, like the NDP, have failed the working class. Our plans and demands are far from naive and are in fact the result of more than a century of serious analysis and collective experience. Our socialist-internationalist political program is the only solution to the problems of a world wracked by economic crises, a global pandemic, an ongoing genocide in Gaza and the looming danger of a nuclear war. Over the past four decades, we have explained how the trade union bureaucracies have become transformed into appendages of the corporations and state apparatus. Staffed by well-paid bureaucrats who have more in common with the bosses and government ministers than the workers they claim to represent, these organizations have been the main obstacle that has prevented all workers, postal workers included, from fighting back against the sustained attack on wages and living standards imposed by the ruling elite. They play this role not because of the failings of individual leaders, but because they are inseparably tied to the nation-state and defend capitalist private profit. Under conditions of the globalization of production and an ever-deepening capitalist crisis, the union bureaucracies are compelled to side with their own corporate elites as they step up the exploitation of the working class to stay competitive with their rivals. Our criticism of former CUPW President Mike Palecek is not based on whether he voted this way or that on a particular issue, or whether he lied. Rather, it concerns his fraudulent claims, in line with his long-time associates in the pseudo-left (and the misnamed) International Marxist Tendency, that the union could be transformed into an organization fighting for workers interests. Our position is that this militant program was aimed at maintaining the bureaucracys credibility in the eyes of the workers after the miserable betrayal of 2011, and covering up its deepening collaboration with the Trudeau Liberal government after 2015. In the run-up to the October 2015 federal election, Palecek played a leading role in the unions Anybody but Conservative campaign. This initiative, endorsed by all the major unions in Canada, promoted the Liberals as a progressive alternative, paving the way for their return to power after a decade of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper. In the contract negotiations of 2016, Mike Palecek led the CUPW bureaucracy in vehemently opposing any job action by postal workers on the grounds that nothing should be allowed to disrupt the work of a Liberal government task force into the future of the post office. The union offered to work with big business to make Canada Post better serve their needs and then signed on to a two-year contract that left in place all the concessions extorted from workers in 2011. CUPW mounted a Save Canada Post campaign calling for developing new revenue streams, like postal banking, endorsing the proposition that Canada Post must be run as a profit-making enterprise. Unsurprisingly, the Liberal government-appointed task force proposed a whole slew of anti-worker cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of five-day-a-week mail delivery, privatization of 800 additional postal stations, consolidation of postal-sorting plants, and pension cuts. In 2018, despite being armed with an overwhelming strike mandate, Palecek refused to call a nationwide strike. Instead, he restricted postal workers to a campaign of regional rotating strikes, which he himself acknowledged was aimed at having as little impact on Canada Posts business operations as possible. Palecek and the CUPW apparatus claimed that by keeping workers on a tight leash and issuing no appeal for broader working class support in the defence of public services and workers rights, a back-to-work law could be avoided. This only emboldened the big-business Liberal government. The CUPW bureaucrats worked to avoid a serious clash between postal workers and the government because it would have exposed the need to expand the struggle, rally support from the working class and transform the strike into a working class political struggle against the Liberal government and big business as a whole. The CUPW bureaucracy, as well as the Canadian Labour Congress, feared this prospect more than anything else. As I viewed with my own eyes this week, CUPW continues to follow the same strategy. Using banners at a local Canada Post depot, the union is mounting a miserable public appeal urging Justin Trudeau to show respect for postal workers, i.e., the same man who oversaw the criminalization of their strike in 2018. The union has no intention now, or ever in the future, to seriously confront not just particular governments, but the economic system that offers only greater exploitation to the working class. We urge you to study the record of Paleceks history and draw the necessary political conclusions from it. Above all, these are that nothing can be achieved for rank-and-file postal workers by seeking to reform the corporatist union bureaucracy and that new organizations of class struggle, rank-and-file committees, must be established to lead workers in a political fight and unify them with their colleagues around the world. Our offer remains open to arrange a discussion with you on these issues and any other points of disagreement you may have. Fraternally, Steve Hill On Wednesday, in a bid to appeal to a layer of upper middle class African Americans, former President Donald Trump appeared in person for a sit-down panel interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago. The interview was conducted by Rachel Scott of ABC News, Kadia Goba of Semafor and, a Trump favorite, Harris Faulkner of Fox News. Former President Donald Trump, left, moderated by, from left, ABC's Rachel Scott, Semafor's Nadia Goba and FOX News' Harris Faulkner, speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Chicago. [AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast] The convention has previously hosted a bevy of former and aspiring Democratic presidents, including Bill Clinton, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Besides Trump, Republican President George W. Bush appears to be the only other Republican president who has spoken at an NABJ convention. Trumps appearance immediately descended into the gutter when he took exception to the first question posed by ABCs Scott, who said, You have used words like animal and rabid to describe black district attorneys. Youve attacked black journalistscalling them a loser, saying the questions that they asked are, quote, stupid and racist. Turning to Trumps chummy relationship with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, Scott noted, Youve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. She then asked, So my question sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that? Trump refused to answer the very nasty and disgraceful question and instead attacked Scott for being employed by ABC ... a fake news network. Turning to Republican attacks on the ethnic identity of Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Scott asked Trump if he rejected Republicans characterization of her as a D.E.I. (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) hire? Trump, again, refused to answer the question. Scott pressed if he thought Harris is only on the ticket because she was a black woman? Trump claimed he only knew her from her Indian heritage until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she black? Trump asked, adding, I respect either one, obviously she doesnt. Harriss father is a Jamaican immigrant and a professor at Stanford University, while her mother is an immigrant from India. Despite speaking in front of a room of African Americans, Trump is apparently incapable of understanding the concept of multiracial families. While much of the mainstream press focused on Trumps attacks on Harriss identity, near the end of the truncated interview, in response to a question from Scott, Trump promised to pardon violent January 6 fascists if he was re-elected. Oh, absolutely I would, Trump said. An incredulous Scott retorted, Theyve been convicted. When the audience reacted positively to Scotts comment, Trump responded, Well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system. He then pivoted to attacking anti-police violence protesters, falsely claiming they suffered no consequences for exercising their right to protest unending police murder. Scott emphasized the well-documented violent character of the January 6 coup, noting that there is video of Trump supporters beating and dragging Capitol Police officers. Trump responded by defending Ashli Babbitt, a former Air Force veteran and QAnon fascist who was shot and killed by police while attempting to breach the interior of the Capitol. They shot a young lady in the face who was protesting, Trump said, then falsely claimed that you know, nobody died that day. In between his racialist attacks on Harris and defense of January 6, Trump railed against immigrants. He repeated his well-worn fascist talking points about an invasion of migrants stealing black jobs. Asked to define what a black job was, Trump replied, Its anybody who has a job. The convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, and represented Trumps first major appearance in the city in nearly five years. As part of his fascistic rhetoric, Trump regularly denigrates cities with large African American populations such as Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Atlanta as dens of crime and violence. Outside the event, a few hundred people protested Trumps appearance in the city. Some chanted, Say it loud, say it clear! Racists are not welcome here! Others carried signs in support of immigrant rights and Palestine, a few in support of Kamala Harris. Prior to the conference, Trump attacked Harris on his social media network for not appearing at the event. Trump wrote: Crazy Kamala disrespectfully refused to attend the National Association of Black Journalists Conference, but I am on my way to meet with em now in Chicago. Because of which, shell probably end up doing, she has no choice, but rememberit is only for that reason! President Joe Biden had been previously scheduled to appear at the event, until he dropped out of the presidential race. Campaign staff for Harris confirmed prior to the event that the presumptive Democratic nominee would also appear for questions in September, either in person or virtually. The fact that NABJ hosted Trump by himself provoked a crisis within the organization. Prior to the event, several members of the group condemned organizers for hosting Trump due to his previous attacks on members of the press, including black journalists. 2017 NABJ Journalist of the Year recipient and MSNBC contributor April Ryan wrote on X/Twitter Tuesday: The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then-president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact. To have a presumed orchestrated session with the former president is an affront to what this organization stands for and a slap in the face to the Black women journalists (NABJ journalists of the year) who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. I object to this NABJ session with Donald Trump in Chicago. Washington Post columnist and NAJB co-chair Karen Attiah announced on Tuesday that she was stepping down from her position over Trumps invitation, noting that her decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format. Responding to Trumps statements at a campaign event Wednesday, Kamala Harris offered the banalities that made her a non-entity until recently: JAKARTA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that had happened in Tehran, Iran. "Such acts of violence and murder are intolerable, and they occurred within the sovereign territory of Iran," Widodo said. Vice President Ma'ruf Amin criticized the assassination during the Hamas leader's visit for the inauguration of the Iranian president as unethical. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the assassination was a provocation that could escalate conflicts in the region and derail ongoing negotiations. A meeting in Tokyo on Monday of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a de facto military alliance of the US, Japan, India and Australia, threatened China and proclaimed Washingtons determination to maintain dominance in the Indo-Pacific, including through a further naval build-up in the region. From left: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after the Quad meeting in Tokyo, July 29, 2024. [AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama] The meeting was held at the foreign-minister level and included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In his remarks, Blinken referenced the full gamut of US imperialist operations globally, including its push for a coup in Venezuela, its proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, i.e., the American-armed and -financed genocide of Palestinians. However, Blinken and his counterparts in their separate remarks and joint statement emphasised the centrality of the Indo-Pacific to imperialist geopolitics. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that the US allies were facing the most confronting circumstances in our region in decades. The joint statement included generalities about peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, as such documents always do. But the central thrust was a clear and bellicose denunciation of China. Very prominent was a declaration of the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the US has always refused to sign, but which it nevertheless uses as a battering ram against Beijing. The Quad foreign ministers stated: We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. That was a barely veiled reference to longstanding territorial disputes between China and countries in the region, particularly the Philippines, which the US has deliberately inflamed over the past 15 years. The statement added: We also express our serious concern about the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, the increasing use of various kinds of dangerous maneuvers, and efforts to disrupt other countries offshore resource exploitation activities. Over recent months, with aggressive US support, the Philippines has come to the brink of open conflict with China over the Second Thomas Shoal and other disputed features in the South China Sea. The statement then outlined a series of measures that, taken together, represent a further naval build-up directed against China. These included a geographic expansion of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness. It is essentially a US-led network for intensive surveillance of the seas and oceans of the Indo-Pacific. Blinken declared that the US was seeking to integrate into this network, involving signal location data and satellite technology, countries all across the region. Among the first priorities is the opening of an Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region in Gujarat, India, which will pool surveillance from participating countries, with a particular focus on South Asia. The increasing integration of India and particularly its navy into the US-led war drive against China is one of the central purposes of the Quad. The leaders declared that they would expand naval exercises throughout the region, under conditions where provocative US allied operations, including by Australia, have led to near-clashes with Chinese forces. They pledged to develop a Quad maritime legal dialogue, which would focus our expertise on international law of the sea issues in support of our efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. That would be an instrument for bolstering the territorial claims of Chinese adversaries such as the Philippines, and for seeking to criminalise Beijings naval operations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded with a statement accusing the Quad meeting of artificially creating tension, inciting confrontation and containing the development of other countries, and of seeking to tar Chinas normal military development and national defence policy. The response was undoubtedly motivated by the fact that the Quad meeting was part of a broader regional push by the US. Straight from Tokyo, Blinken together with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin flew to Manila, for the first two-plus-two leaders meeting in the history of American-Filipino relations. Blinken and Austin declared that they would upgrade their alliance with the Philippines and announced half a billion dollars in military aid, which is part of a $2 billion fund approved by the US Congress for the region, explicitly aimed at confronting Chinese aggression. The week prior to the Quad meeting, Australia was a particular focus of this offensive. On July 26, the Chiefs of Navy for Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US held a joint meeting in Perth, Western Australia, where they pledged to deepen a military build-up under the AUKUS pact between the three nations. The chiefs issued a Statement of Intent for Lethality, pledging to press ahead with plans to upgrade the naval capabilities of each of the countries. That includes plans for a vast acquisition of missile and strike weapons for Australias naval fleet, as well as its acquisition, under the AUKUS pact, of nuclear-powered attack submarines, to be purchased first from the US and then jointly developed with Britain. Given the intense political instability in the US and Britain, the meeting had the character of an assertion by the military-intelligence establishment that nothing would be permitted to get in the way of the military expansion. An article in the Australian Financial Review, for instance, noted the unprecedented character of the visit. The chiefs of the US and British navies have reassured Australia about their commitment to AUKUS, after the recent change of government in Britain and the rising prospect of Donald Trump coming back as American president, it declared. The visit by the US and British military leaders toured the strategically located HMAS Stirling naval base in Perth, Western Australia, adjacent to the Indian Ocean. The chiefs emphasised their determination to proceed with plans for the expanded basing of US and British naval assets, including nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable attack submarines. Visits by such craft have already begun to accelerate, and Stirling is set to become a de facto US and British naval base by 2027 at the latest. The US and British naval chiefs were then the headline speakers at the annual Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference. The three-day event in Perth was titled Where AUKUS Meets the Quad, pointing to the central role of Australia and particularly the Stirling base, to US efforts to ring China militarily. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles hailed the gathering as the single biggest gathering of defence security ever in Perth. It underscored the geostrategic significance of Perth as the literal fulcrum between the Indo and the Pacific, he said, a city that would be home of the Submarine Rotational Force-West, which is one of the key early expressions of AUKUS. The flurry of activity in the Indo-Pacific, clearly directed against China, again underscores the global character of the US-led war drive. Even as it is setting the Middle East ablaze in partnership with the fascistic Israeli regime, and actively engaged in a proxy war with Russia in Eastern Europe, American imperialism is recklessly confronting China which is viewed as the chief threat to US capitalist dominance. ULAN BATOR, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- An imported case of measles has been confirmed in Mongolia, according to the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) on Thursday. "The patient is a 47-year-old Mongolian citizen who recently returned from abroad. Over 150 individuals who had close contact with the patient have been identified and vaccinated," Jantsansengee Baigalmaa, head of the NCCD, told a press conference. She urged citizens to adhere to infection prevention measures, including wearing masks in public places, washing hands regularly, and getting vaccinated against measles at least 14 days before traveling to countries where the infection has been reported. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted by respiratory droplets and direct contact. The disease can be prevented by immunization. Common complications include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat and inflamed eyes. There is no specific treatment for measles, and most people recover within two to three weeks. YANGON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will investigate the impact of forest pests and diseases in the Mekong River Basin, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the natural resources ministry Daw Zin Mar Tun told Xinhua on Thursday. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will implement the "Investigation of Forest Pests and Diseases in the Natural Forest of the Mekong River Basin of Myanmar" project with Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) special fund in the fiscal year 2024-25, the official said. This project will be conducted in the natural forests of Kengtung and Tachileik townships of Shan State and will span two years, she said. "Combating pests in the agriculture and forestry sectors is essential, but overuse of chemical insecticides can damage ecosystems and harm human health. To address this issue, we will first investigate how pests occupy forests and work on reducing pest-related diseases," she said. "Preserving forests and keeping them free from pests directly benefits local people who rely on these forests. We will provide awareness training and support to the local communities. Additionally, for those interested in forest farming, we will offer awareness programs and technological support," she added. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the ministry implemented a project focused on the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants, which is still ongoing. Two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker shares a name with a 19th century alpinist, the first woman to summit the Matterhorn, in 1871, and the Eiger, in 1864 (feats she accomplished in a full-length dress traditional womens attire in the Victorian era). In her new documentary, Walker tells the story of a present-day climber, Lhakpa Sherpa, a native of Nepal who has written her name into the mountaineering record books: Lhakpa has summited Mount Everest an astounding 10 times, more than any other woman. More from Deadline On the heels (or crampons) of a theatrical run that qualifies it for Oscar consideration, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa debuts on Netflix today. Lhakpa Sherpa in Mountain Queen Anyone who sees the movie can imagine how much I wanted to do justice to Lhakpas story and her whole family, Walker explained at a recent Q&A at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles. I felt like if ever someone deserved having the best documentary made about them, its Lhakpa. Whats remarkable about Lhakpa is not only what she has accomplished as a climber, but the obstacles she overcame to fulfill her dream of ascending the worlds tallest mountain. In the patriarchal culture of Nepal, girls like her were denied an education; instead of getting her own chance to study, Lhakpa strapped her younger brother to her back and toted him off to class. Two hours to school there and back every single day, Walker tells Deadline. She says that shes a very good yellow school bus, but she didnt get an education. To this day shes illiterate and its held her back so much. Lhakpa Sherpa climbs Mount Everest. Lhakpas grandmother attempted to discourage her ambition of climbing Everest by telling Lhakpa that Yetis lurked on the mountain, eager to snatch her if she stepped foot on the slopes. That did not deter Lhakpa, nor did her gender when boys in her village first got the opportunity to work as porters on mountain climbs. She demonstrated her might to prove she could handle the task. Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa She picked up a rock. She said, My cousin, this boy, cannot throw this rock. I can throw this rock, look! Walker says. So she cut her hair off and she got a job by pretending to be a boy, this incredibly physically demanding job as a porter carrying a hundred pounds up mountains for days on end. And then she got promoted to kitchen boy where you have to run extra fast you set up the kitchen tent and cook dinner by the time the Western tourists get up there, and she was being promoted up the ranks. But that was the beginning of her having to work so extra hard for what she wanted. Through circumstances explained in the film, Lhakpa was able to convince the prime minister of Nepal to allow her to attempt a climb of Mt. Everest. On May 18, 2000, she became the first Nepali woman to reach the summit of Everest and return safely (in 1993, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa summited Everest but died during the descent). She may have grown up without wealth, education, or opportunity, but she has never lacked determination. Im a wild girl, nature girl, she says in Mountain Queen. I want what my heart want. Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa Lhakpa found love twice, but not the fairytale kind. She had a son by a Nepali man, but he cheated on her. Later, she met George Dijmarescu on Everest, a man of tremendous physical strength who had settled in the U.S. after escaping communist Romania. They made a life together in Connecticut, raising their two daughters Sunny and Shiny. Lhakpa worked cleaning houses, and during climbing season she and George would return to Everest to summit the mountain. George could climb it without supplemental oxygen, despite smoking and drinking during ascents. But the relationship with Dijmarescu would almost cost Lhakpa her life. As seen in the film, drinking brings out a mean and violent streak in him and at one point he punches her, a moment recorded on video. [He] becomes very violent and even knocks her out, on camera, at basecamp, Walker recounts, and she has a near death experience. She goes through this incredible suffering and yet she manages to keep climbing, Walker continues. She says, Everest fixes my soul. Everest is my doctor. Shes very much tuned into the natural world, and it very much is her church, and climbing is an expiation for her. Its how she sort of works with all the difficulties shes been through and transcends them. L-R Shiny Dijmarescu, Lhakpa Sherpa, and Sunny Dijmarescu in Mountain Queen Lhakpa would go on to raise Sunny and Shiny as a single mother. Grown into young women, Sunny and Shiny become an important part of Mountain Queen as their mother embarks on another attempted climb of Mount Everest in 2022. Shiny joins her mom for part of the ascent, ascending as far as basecamp. It was scary at first, but I think being by my moms side and with my family around me gave me the confidence to keep going, Shiny said at the Academy screening Q&A. I was just really grateful to have experienced it. Sunny stayed home in Connecticut during that climb, appearing to suffer from depression. It was Lhakpas goal for the Everest climb to bring mother and daughters closer together, and their joint appearance at several Q&As, including the Academys, indicates the degree of healing they have experienced. Describing the impact of the documentary on her, Sunny said, Its made me more mature, and I understood my moms story, where shes coming from. (L-R) Lhakpa Sherpa, Sunny Dijmarescu, Lucy Walker, and Shiny Dijmarescu attend the world premiere of Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Walker has directed more than two dozen films, series, and shorts, including Blindsight, a 2006 documentary also shot on Mount Everest. She earned Academy Award nominations for her feature documentary Waste Land and the doc short The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom. Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa is expected to be another Oscar contender. The movies uplifting. And despite some of the really heavy subject matter, its not at all, I dont think, depressing. On the contrary, I think it couldnt be more uplifting, Walker says, describing Lhakpa as hilarious and charming. And the world is going to see that July 31st 190 countries, including very strikingly, its going to be the first ever thing that Netflix has put Nepali subtitles on. And thats going to be really impactful. I think its going to really shift the culture in that region because it is a very patriarchal society, still, in which it is hard for people to believe what women and girls are capable of. I think that her story being available, its going to be of tremendous importance in the world and Im really excited for that. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Cuba Gooding Jr. is trying to restore his career after scandal. What he's saying about reclaiming his spot in Hollywood. Cuba Gooding Jr.s new film, The Firing Squad, is about redemption and thats also the theme of his press tour. In recent years, the actor best known for his Oscar-winning role in Jerry Maguire has faced multiple sexual assault allegations. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching and is a co-defendant, alongside Sean Diddy Combs, in a sexual assault lawsuit. Now, as he promotes the Christian film, from Epoch Studios, hes addressing the allegations. Gooding said all the turmoil has made him only stronger and he feels confident hell be welcomed back into mainstream Hollywood again. What is Gooding saying? In a July 31 interview on News Nations Dan Abrams Live, the host asked Gooding if he expressed regret, sorrow, apologies for what happened and Gooding said its made him into a better person. Everything that happens in my life is for a reason, Gooding replied. I believe that, and if I continue to walk on my path, whatever that is, I know that the end result [will] be to make me stronger, to be a better person, to be a better father and right now that's the moment I am in. Gooding was confident hell be accepted back into the main fold of Hollywood and be hired by big film studios again in the future. Oh, sure, he said. One hundred percent. You got to remember, we in Hollywood talk to each other. We see each other Im in the Hamptons now, referring to the playground for the rich and famous on Long Island, N.Y. You go to a restaurant and you walk in, when you have a bad headline, everyone goes, Hang in there. [People] come up to me on the street all the time and yell, 'Show me the money' and 'I see what you're going through.' In an interview with Extra, he was asked about taking accountability and Gooding insisted he had. Ive walked my journey and understood that there are things and theres people and reactions in society that are shifting, he said. Life is about adjusting. People feel that Im accessible to them, so I come in contact with all kinds of people, from people who adore you to people who are offended by you, people who feel you're aggressive. And you have to learn that as you walk on this path, you must stay neutral. He continued, You have to make sure that you know your intention. You have to be accountable for your own actions, and I have been. People have spoken positive and negative, but I cant control that. Gooding called the sexual assault lawsuit filed against him and Diddy by music producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones the most ridiculous thing ever, adding, Welcome to being a celebrity! Welcome to my world. As for critics who think its convenient hes found faith amid the scandals, he told the outlet, Its that old saying: You cant please people every time. But people who want to celebrate artistry, thats my job and that's my only mission in life. What has Gooding been accused of? Gooding was arrested in 2019 after a woman claimed he groped her at a New York City nightclub. Two other women came forward in the criminal case with similar allegations. In 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching against one of the women, avoiding jail time. As part of the deal, he admitted to subjecting the other women to nonconsensual physical contact. There have also been a number of civil lawsuits. In 2020, Gooding was sued by a Jane Doe who accused him of raping her twice in a New York City hotel room in 2013. Just as the case was to go to trial, in June 2023, Gooding reached a last-minute settlement with the accuser. In November 2023, before the New York's Adult Survivors Act expired, Gooding was hit with two sexual assault civil lawsuits filed by two of the victims in his criminal case. Kelsey Harbert claimed Gooding grabbed her breast at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in 2018. The other plaintiff is Jasmine Abbay, a waitress at LAVO restaurant and nightclub, said Gooding forced his tongue into her mouth without her consent when she brought drinks to his table. Cuba Gooding Jr. in New York Criminal Court in 2022 for his sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of forcibly touching. (Mike Segar/Reuters) In March 2024, Jones named Gooding as a defendant in a civil lawsuit, alleging that the actor sexually harassed and assaulted him while on Sean Diddy Combss yacht. What is Goodings new film about? Gooding plays a drug dealer-turned-Christian in The Firing Squad, which is based on a true story about three men facing execution and how their faith helped them on that journey. I read [the script] and I wept and wept and wept at the end of it, Gooding said in an interview on Christian Broadcasting Networks The 700 Club. "It unlocked, again, a faith I have in God and the walk that I have with him. Gooding talked about how the film co-starring Kevin Sorbo and James Barrington shows that God is with people in the worst of times, He is not going anywhere. Even in the darkest moment, even in the afterlife, He's there for you ... no matter what you're going through. Timothy Chey, the writer and director of the film, out Aug. 2, said in the same interview that Gooding, whom he previously directed in the 2014 film Freedom, is a changed man in Christ. He and I prayed the other day, and I really felt the Holy Spirit in his fervent prayer. The outlet reported that Goodings commitment to his faith was on display at the films premiere. He led an altar call, when worshipers come forward to express their commitment to their faith. Since Goodings legal problems began to unfurl, hes appeared in the films Life in a Year (2020) and The Weapon (2023). The Firing Squad is one of three films he has out this year, previously including Skeletons in the Closet co-starring Terrence Howard and Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace with Denise Richards. Kayla Kosmalski, 18, of Middletown, will compete for the Miss Teen USA crown in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 1. Kayla Kosmalski, 18, of Middletown, will compete for the Miss Teen USA crown in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 1. CORRECTION: Kayla Kosmalski will attend Wilmington University. An earlier version of this story named another college choice cited in one of Kosmalski's TikTok videos. TikTok star Kayla Kosmalski has a knack for going viral, and it's bound to happen again if the Middletown resident gets crowned Miss Teen USA in Los Angeles this week. The competition features 51 accomplished young women representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 1. The event will be broadcasted on The CW Network from 8-10 p.m. EST. Kosmalski, 18, made history in April when she became the first contestant with Down syndrome ever to win the Miss Delaware Teen USA pageant, a victory that qualified her to compete for the national crown in LA this week. She's been competing in pageants since she was a little girl. Delaware teen Kayla Kosmalski has over 403,000 TikTok fans In early spring, before she graduated from Middletown High, Kosmalski's TikTok account ballooned from 236,000 followers and now includes more than 403,000 fans. Her most popular video has 28.4 million views. The influencer's TikTok page features lots of videos from her cheerleading days at Middletown High, along with clips of her competing on the swim team. Kosmalski has charmed fans this year with various videos about the four-year colleges shes been accepted into, including the University of Delaware, Penn State and Loyola University. The TikTok star has settled on Wilmington University where she'll be on the cheer team, says her mom, Amy Kosmalksi. Kayla Kosmalski lands movie role from TikTok fame The teen makes a point to share TikToks of herself having fun and living life. The purpose of her TikTok platform is to "promote acceptance and inclusion of Kayla and all of her friends like her," Kayla's mom recently told The News Journal/Delaware Online in a profile article about the TikTok influencer published March 20, the day before Kayla attended a red-carpet event in Oviedo, Florida, for her debut film role in the inspirational movie "I Win." Kayla landed a role in "I Win" after director Robin Hoffman found her on TikTok, which led to an audition, she said. The film was shot last year in Orlando and Kayla spent four weeks on set, first arriving in June and then flying back out to film her fourth and final week in October. "I Win" is an uplifting drama distributed through Hoffys Heart Productions and is a tale of bullying and friendship. It shines a light on others with Down syndrome like Kayla. The movie includes cameos from Kaylas parents, grandma and younger siblings Logan and Brynnley. Kayla's mom previously told The News Journal the goal is for the film to get picked up by a major streaming platform. Cool Delaware events in August: Festivals & more that you shouldn't ignore Kayla Kosmalski talks Down syndrome before Miss Teen USA In Kayla's latest TikTok video, posted on July 21, she explained how she's been getting prepared for the Miss USA Teen pageant. "The truth is I've been preparing my whole life. Countless hours of speech therapy. And physical therapy. Working hard to learn basic things that come natural to most. Like walking," Kayla said in the TikTok. "I've worked hard to prove to myself and the world that people with Down syndrome belong on every stage and every space. We shouldn't have to prove our worth. But often times we do. Better parks access: 'All-terrain' wheelchair available for use in Delaware state park. Other accessible parks "As Miss Teen USA I will show the world that EVERYONE BELONGS. And that being kind is far greater than bullying. My message to the world is this ... the only disability in life is a bad attitude," she said. "Whatever dream you have, you can achieve it. Dream big. Work hard. Anything is possible when you believe!" How can I watch Miss Teen USA 2024? The pageant will broadcast on The CW Network from 8-10 p.m. EST on Thursday, Aug. 1. For more info, visit themissusa.com. If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware TikTok teen competes for Miss Teen USA crown in Los Angeles Elon Musk Mocked for Claiming Christianity Is Under Attack While Wearing Baphomet Armor With Upside Down Crosses in His Profile Pic Last weekend, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to X-formerly-Twitter, an app that he also owns, to declare that "unless there is more bravery to stand up for what is fair and right, Christianity will perish." The CEO provided no other context for the comment, which was posted on July 27. But the statement notably came shortly after the release of his recent interview with alt-right podcaster Jordan Peterson, in which the billionaire said that he is a "big believer in the principles of Christianity," as well as amid accusations that the Paris Olympics had aired an offensively "woke" interpretation of the Last Supper that featured a diverse cast of performers, including drag queens. Musk weighed in on the controversy, writing in a June 26 X post published the evening before he declared that Christianity is at risk of perishing that the performance was "extremely disrespectful to Christians." He also responded with a 100 emoji to an outrage post declaring that if the Olympics had "dared to mock Muslims, Paris would be in flames right now." (All of these accusations were ultimately baseless, however, as the scene was in fact a recreation of the the feast of Dionysus, which celebrates the Greek God of wine and festivity.) Needless to say, Musk has the freedoms of both speech and religion to say whatever he feels like saying about Christianity. But some users, particularly in light of Musk's outrage regarding the Definitely-Not-Last-Supper controversy, were quick to point out his hypocrisy: after all, in Musk's current X profile picture, he's literally wearing a suit of Satanic armor engraved with a goat-headed depiction of the pagan Baphomet idol and upside-down crosses. "Elon's brave contribution towards the preservation of Christianity," Dilly Hussein, the deputy editor at the Islamic outlet 5Pillars, wrote in response to Musk's post, including an armored photo of Musk in which the upside-down cross on his back is clearly visible. "This you?" added X power user Jules Suzdaltsev, also affixed with a photo of Musks's goat-headed armor. https://twitter.com/DillyHussain88/status/1817482755548004607 Musk originally wore the suit to supermodel Heidi Klum's 2022 Halloween party, at which Klum herself famously dressed as a worm. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587317099843796992 At the time, Musk's costume drew ire from many Christians, who found the outfit disrespectful. The Gateway Pundit, a far-right digital publisher, even argued that it was "fair to question why the world's richest man" and "major US Defense contractor" is "wearing the Baphomet coupled with inverted crosses as if its a badge of honor." These are obviously some deeply conspiratorial claims, but the juxtaposition remains. Again, at the end of the day, Musk can believe and say what he wants to about Christianity. But when the pot is mistakenly calling the kettle sacrilegious, it's hard to ignore the irony. More on Elon Musk: Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Keeps Using X to Suppress Views He Doesn't Agree With The Korean variety show Jinnys Kitchen season 2 is all set to air episode 6 this week. The show features popular actors and celebrities running a restaurant abroad and serving their customers authentic Korean cuisine. While the first season saw them serve popular Korean street food in a quaint Mexican town, season 2 landed them in Reykjavik, Iceland. Episode 6 of Jinnys Kitchen season 2 will see the team handle another day of business, but this time more systematically. Cast members participating in Jinnys Ttukbaegi (Kitchen) include Lee Seo-Jin, Jung Yu-Mi, Park Seo-Joon, Choi Woo-Shik, and Go Min-Si. If the preview trailer is anything to go by, the members works seamlessly this time, even with the crowd rush. Jinnys Kitchen season 2 episode 6: When is the release date? Jinnys Kitchen season 2 episode 5 will be released on Friday, August 2, 2024. It will air on tvN at 8:40 p.m. KST, 5:10 p.m. IST, and 7:40 a.m. ET. Viewers who dont have access to the television network can watch the show later on Amazon Prime Video. This weeks episode will see Park Seo-Joon take on the role of the head chef once more after last weeks success. Not only will he receive the well-deserved star badge from Lee Seo-Jin, but he will also aim to continue the success streak. To beat the cold in Iceland, the team will offer their customers a new dish: Sundubu-jjigae (Korean spicy soft tofu). According to the trailer, Park Seo-Joons predictions benefit the team as the dish sells well. The upcoming episode will also see a long queue outside the restaurant. But this time, the team will develop a new strategy with the help of business major Lee Seo-Jin to run the kitchen with a system and form a peaceful management. Where to watch the Korean variety show Jinnys Kitchen season 2 episode 6? Viewers can tune in to Jinnys Kitchen season 2 episode 6 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Individuals who dont have a subscription can create an account on Amazon and subscribe to Prime Video at their convenience. Moreover, all the previous episodes are available to watch on the streaming service. Dont forget to tune in to this weeks Jinnys Kitchen season 2 on Friday at 8:40 p.m. KST on tvN. The post Jinnys Kitchen Season 2 Episode 6: Release Date & Where to Watch Online? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. From a young age, award-winning artist Tara Shakti knew she wanted to pursue a career creating paintings that empowered other women. What she didnt predict was that her work would one day be launched to the moon as a lasting memorial to human creativity. Growing up in Madagascar, off the eastern coast of southern Africa, Shakti was raised by a family of artists and was encouraged by her older brother to begin painting with bold colors at just seven years of age. Inspired by the intricacies of Renaissance paintings, she went on to pursue her passion for painting Accademia dArte in Florence, eventually moving to Paris to study the art market at the Drouot Auction House. Shaktis work sheds light on pressing issues such as human trafficking and systemic oppression. Growing up and seeing how women are mistreated, it filled my conscience, she told CNN. I want to use my art to highlight issues about women. I hope to raise voices to do something to help people. Shakti is one of 35,000 contemporary artists, writers, poets, podcasters, sculptors, musicians and filmmakers from across the globe whose work is being sent up to the moon via the Lunar Codex project. Tara Shakti will be the first Malagasy artist to have her work sent to the moon. She hopes to empower other women through her paintings. - Tara Shakti The initiative will launch work from 247 countries, indigenous nations, and territories divided across six time capsules that will be sent to the moon over 18 months. The first successful launch was onboard the Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and landed in the lunar south pole last February. Another three were successfully launched earlier this year. A ride share with NASA Self-funding the Lunar Codex is Canadian physicist, artist and entrepreneur Dr. Samuel Peralta, who describes the project as a message-in-a-bottle archival medium to showcase the beauty of human creativity. Peralta, who is also chairman of Toronto-based media and technology company Incandence, hopes the project will become a global endeavor to champion underrepresented perspectives. The main criterion for nomination is that artists work should have been included in a curated exhibit, collection, anthology or similar. The cultural artifacts are copied onto digital memory cards or inscribed into dime-sized nickel-based Nanofiche, an analogue format that can be read with a microscope and store up to 150,000 pages of text or photos on a single 8.5 by 11-inch sheet. This high-density storage medium is designed to last for billions of years on the moon. The Nanofiche is then sealed and bolted onto the lunar lander before its launch. You could think of us as a ride share with NASA, said Peralta, explaining the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander launching Shaktis art will carry NASAs VIPER rover as its main payload, with the Lunar Codex one of several secondary payloads onboard. Five of Shaktis paintings will be included in the Codex Polaris time capsule, which will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket onboard the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander in February 2025. An honor of immeasurable magnitude Shaktis work has already received international recognition. She was honored with the Mosaic 2019 Expose Award in New York for her series Archives, received the Leonardo da Vinci Award in Florence, in February 2022, and was awarded the Medal of Recognition from the Embassy of Madagascar later that year. Shakti's Archive III will be part of the moon collection. She says the painting acknowledges womens history of oppression, which still exists today. Shakti adds that the woman pictured, firmly seated yet imbued with an aura of defiance, represents a commitment to ensuring that future generations do not have to endure the same fate. - Tara Shakti The artist was invited by Peralta to submit her work for the project after he discovered her paintings through social media earlier this year. To have my work launched to the moon is an honor of immeasurable magnitude, Shakti told CNN in an email. It is a landmark achievement not only for myself but for the broader Malagasy (Madagascan) art community and reaffirms the significance of my heritage and the stories I strive to share through my art. I want to introduce people to Madagascar, my homeland. How we are, how we behave, our traditions and our clothing. The country is twice the size of France, for example so there is lots of culture, she said. Among Shaktis selected paintings is a large-format work titled The Keepers of the Lost Wisdom, which depicts the knowledge and strength passed down through generations of Malagasy women. Also going to the moon will be her painting titled La Reine, (The Queen, in English) which she says emphasizes the complexities and beauty of the feminine experience. Another piece, Astrochelys Radiata, highlights Madagascars unique biodiversity. Shaktis painting Astrochelys Radiata will also be onboard NASAs Griffin lunar lander. She says the painting offers an "emotional consideration "of Madagascars endangered turtles and the need to protect the islands wildlife. - Tara Shakti While living and working in Paris, Tara Shaktis incorporation of traditional Malagasy themes in modernist compositions establish a unique voice in contemporary art archived in the Lunar Codex collection, said Peralta. Although Shakti is currently the only confirmed Malagasy artist whose work will be featured, Peralta encourages artists from Madagascar and elsewhere to submit their portfolio for review and possible inclusion, which is free of charge. Other artists whose work has already been launched as part of the Lunar Codex project include Ada Limon, the current U.S. poet laureate, who wrote a poem for NASAs Europa Clipper spacecraft bound for Jupiter in October, and Didi Mendez, a Cuban American artist and curator whose work was included in the successful February launch. The real power of the Lunar project is to inspire artists of today. If theyre toiling in obscurity and wondering whether their work will amount to anything, now they can be sure of their works immortality, Peralta said. After all, why are we making art if not to leave it for the future, to have a part of ourselves that will last even after were done? For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced details of an unofficial royal tour to Colombia. Francia Marquez, the Vice President of Colombia, said in a statement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had accepted her invitation to visit the South American country. She said the Sussexes will visit the capital, Bogota, as well as Cartagena and Cali for meaningful interactions with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. The visit comes several months before the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, to be held in Colombia this November, she said. Harry and Meghan Playing Rival Royals Is Palace Nightmare: Source The Archewell Foundation, founded by The Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment, said the vice president. The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world. During their visit, The Duke and Duchess, as well as The Archewell Foundation, will engage in several activities related to this important topic. We are confident that their visit will further illuminate Colombias role as a beacon of culture and innovation. They are no longer representing the British royal family, but this will be the second foreign trip for the couple this year. They visited Nigeria for three days in May. 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. JERUSALEM, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, along with British Airways, have temporarily suspended their flights to Israel amid growing tensions in the region, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported on Thursday. Delta said that its flights are suspended through Friday, "due to ongoing conflict in the region," while United did not specify dates. Both airlines, operating flight routes between New York and Tel Aviv, said they are closely monitoring the security situation to determine their next steps. Kan also reported that Thursday's early morning flights from Munich to Tel Aviv by German carrier Lufthansa, along with Austrian Airlines' Vienna-Tel Aviv flights, were diverted to Cyprus and Bulgaria. Lufthansa explained in a statement that the diversion was a precautionary measure due to security activity and emphasized that the safety of passengers and crew remains the airline's top priority. Milo J - Credit: Florencia Dozzo* The first and last thing you hear on Milo Js new album 166 is Argentine musical icon Charly Garcia. The album opens with the father of Argentinian rock declaring, We need to prohibit autotune. Thank you very much, sampled from comments he made at the 2018 Gardel Awards. The cameo comes just after the track Rock Star, an autotune-filled cut that features Milos fellow rapper Duki. Garcias words playfully contrast the sound of the LP, which uses autotune as an instrument throughout. More from Rolling Stone Its like See where autotune brought us and where its going, explains Milo over Zoom from Argentina. Its doing so with a lot of respect for Charly, which is also why we sample him at the end. After 12 tracks, the LP ends with a sample of Garcias iconic 1983 song, Los Dinosaurios, written about authoritarian rule over Argentina at the time. Milo got permission to use the clip. We didnt want this to be a mocking of his legacy. We wanted to show where autotune has brought us, Milo explains. At just 17, Milo J has become one of the most promising rappers out of South America, thanks to his impressive lyricism and slick flow. Before dropping his debut album, he had already launched a collaborative EP with Argentine producer Bizarrap, who introduced the star to a wider audience. He rarely does interviews, instead opting to spend time in his home studio, where he wrote 166, his ode to Argentina and its changing music scene. This embedded content is not available in your region. This is a very Argentine album, but its not a cliche one, he says. Its about taking that Argentinidad to more places. Its an album for everyone, and we made it with that in mind. The album is named after the bus Milo would take as a 14-year-old kid from his native Moron into Buenos Aires, the epicenter of Argentinas music scene, to get time in the studio. To go to any of the studios, you had to take that bus. It wasnt the fastest, but it was the cheapest way to get there. The message of the album is how we took 166 to make our dreams come true, Milo explains. The album reimagines taking the same bus and getting his art to new places. Its also about reliving what this all cost me to get here, he adds. Dressed in a jersey of the Argentinian national team just days after Argentina won the Copa America, Milo J sat down with Rolling Stone and broke down the songs on his album 166. 3 Pecados Despues We made 3 Pecados Despues at a song camp. I went with [producer] Lisan. We had spent the day making songs, and he was already ready to go to bed. I sent him some mate and was like, We need to make a beat. I got some lyrics and I woke him up. I think the lyrics are the thesis of the album. Thats why we wanted it to be the opening track on the album. Hippie This song started as a happy trap song, but I was in touch with Zecca and he asked, Can I change the chords? He completely changed it to minor notes and it became a completely different message. I had to change some of the bars. At a second camp with Zecca, we decided to sample Los Dinosaurios by Charly Garcia. There was a dictatorship here in Argentina and he dropped this song as a protest. We wanted to sample the song at the end, knowing its a full circle because the album starts with Charly saying, Hay que prohibir el autotune. Muchas gracias. It opens and closes with Charly, who is very significant to the music scene in Argentina. Hes a one-of-a-kind artist. Its a sort of homage. We spoke to his wife, and we showed them the song, and he accepted. I dont know if he liked it, but he accepted! La Tola y El Velero feat. Morad This was the first song we made for the album. I made it while on tour in Spain when I met Morad. It was all very organic. We connected via Instagram, and I was a fan of his. We got together, I took a train from Barcelona and we met in the studio. The song was done in 5 minutes, because he wrote straight 2 minutes of bars in 20 minutes. I was mind-blown. Hes literally a machine. I used to struggle with writing in the studio. Most of my songs are written at home, but I started writing in the studio with this album. When I met Morad, I was in that transitionary period. Paraiso (Dana) I needed a song on here that talked about the impact of narcotics on the body. It was a song that we didnt think people would want to listen to. In the middle of the song is Dana, which complements the story of Paraiso. Paraiso is like if you had a night, and Dana is like having an epiphany after that crazy night. We made the second part 15 days before the album dropped. We had the team with stress attacks! We were wondering if we should separate the songs. I always thought we should put them together because it was very new and it fit so well on the album. Its the weirdest song on the album. Theres also about it feeling computerized and trappy. At the end of the song, were singing a classic Argentine trap called De La Risa by Malandro, so we wanted to pay tribute to it. And what better place than to put it than on the trappiest song? Alioli This is an ironic take on the effects of immediate fame. I dont want to say I went through that so much, but it was a lot to become known overnight. It ended up affecting me a bit. It starts with a lower-sounding intro, but then later it becomes a much happier song. Its about hiding the effects of fame at the beginning. The last line on the track is from a song I wrote when I was 13. Theres a video online somewhere of me singing that song in a McDonalds. The same lyrics represent me today: Right now, no hay plan. Secuencias fea de la vida me dejaron mal. (Right now, there is no plan. An ugly sequences of life left me feeling bad.) I wrote it when I was 13, but it keeps representing me today. Not everyone will get it, but it makes sense to me. Best of Rolling Stone Though depression lurks around the edges of The Instigators, Doug Limans heist movie is a loosely amiable return to South Boston for Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who also co-wrote the film. In the films opening moments, Rory (Damon), a former Marine, tells his therapist, Dr. Rivera (Hong Chau), that after a lifetime of screw ups and disappointments, hes not so much forlorn as simply ready to cash in his ticket. His phrase is a telling one for a film where midlife disappointments and a ramshackle heist-gone-wrong plot collide in farcical ways. As a last-ditch effort and to raise $32,480 for his child support payments, Rory signs up with a criminal band of misfits to steal election-night payouts to a corrupt Boston mayor (Ron Perlman) running for reelection. Therapists have made their ways into crime dramas like The Sopranos, but The Instigators (in theaters Thursday, on Apple TV+ Aug. 9) adds a novel wrinkle by bringing Dr. Rivera along for the ride. When Rory and Cobby (Affleck) go on the run, she tags along as a hostage by choice. But it takes a little time for the buddy comedy to develop. First, The Instigators works in a large percentage of todays top character actors among them Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones and Paul Walter Hauser all of whom raise the bar in this rudderless but winningly shaggy action comedy. Liman, the director of Go, The Bourne Identity and the recent Road House, has always had a knack for freewheeling ensembles and for getting the most out of his stars charisma. The Instigators may be a modern streaming movie but its a decidedly old-school kind of caper, stock full of local color and peopled with faces youre happy to see. Its a product of Damon and Ben Afflecks Artists Equity, which produced the film from the script by Casey Affleck and City on the Hill creator Chuck MacLean. For them, the blue-collar Boston terrain of The Instigators is about as a cozy as bleacher seat in Fenway Park. The Instigators doesnt live up to other Damon-Afflecks Beantown-set movies (Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone, The Town), and some of their Dunkin Donuts-adjacent schtick is at least approaching stale. You could call it a homecoming but its more like they never left. So, yes, this is them very much in their element, but that goes especially true for Affleck, the main reason to see The Instigators. His Cobby is a drunk and convict who enlists in the heist out of a lack of other options. Its an ill-considered scheme by a pair of small-time gangsters (Stuhlbarg, Molina), one of whom runs a bakery as a front. They dispatch a trigger-happy small-time crook (Jack Harlow) to lead the mission, a debacle from the get go. Nothing goes right, not even the expected election result, and out of the melee clatter Cobby and Rory, with a special police investigator (Rhames) in steadfast pursuit. On the run, their double act Damons earnest deadpan, Afflecks smart-aleck flippancy works as well as it ever has, even if the script could use a touch more wit. Affleck makes up for it with his melancholic motormouth routine, one that gets an even better foil once Chau, the talented co-star of The Whale and Showing Up, is roped into their escape. Though Liman knows how to mix action and comedy as well as anyone, The Instigators is better whenever there's less going on. The Instigators, an Apple release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for pervasive language and some violence. Running time: 101 minutes. In Finnish with English subtitles. Three stars out of four. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Robb Report may receive an affiliate commission. Considering the switch to a natural deodorant? Theres good reasonand not because the synthetic options are subpar. (We love those ones, too.) But because there are so many natural moisture-absorbing and odor-fighting ingredients to be mined, that the best natural deodorant options offer something for everyone, even those of us who are dependent on aluminum-packed antiperspirant deodorants to counter sweat and stink. More from Robb Report But dont just grab the first thing that promises to be natural: As you probably know, this term has become buzzier and buzzier over the years, and many brands are touting naturally sourced ingredients as opposed to naturals-only recipes. Again, its not that the non-naturals are bad, but it boils down to the consumer receiving something that he or she is promised, as opposed to being misled into believing. (After all, think of all the non-natural products out there, from face creams to medicines to sunscreens; theres no need to point the finger at non-natural deodorants as a bad thing.) Still, you should know what youre buying: When selecting a natural deodorant, I recommend reading the inactive ingredient list on the back, advises board-certified dermatologist Milton Moore, co-founder of LIV Dermatology & Aesthetics in San Antonio, T.X., as well as Holly Hall Supply Co. skincare. There are several compounds to stay away from if you want a natural-only formula, he adds: The primary things to skip are aluminum, propylene glycol, phthalates, parabens, talc, and triclosan. Always be aware of greenwashing, a type of false advertising and marketing used to mislead consumers into believing products are all natural with words like natural scent and aluminum-free, he says, echoing our skeptical sentiments. Read on for our pick for the best natural deodorants, along with insights into the best natural ingredients, from Moore and his LIV Dermatology co-founder, and board-certified dermatologist Tessa Cervantes. And remember, if youre switching from synthetic to natural, there is a period where the skin needs to adjust to the new product, meaning you might feel like its not working at firstespecially if switching from an antiperspirant. The halting of aluminum-containing deodorants could cause an increase in sweat production as well as the release of an unfamiliar body odor, says Moore. As each persons biology is different, the interim phase can last from a few days to three to four weeks [before the natural deodorant really feels effective]. So, stay patient. The Best Ingredients to Look For in Natural Deodorants There are two categories of active ingredients in natural deodorants: those that control stink (by fighting off odorous bacteria), and those that prevent moisture accumulation (not just for comforts sake, but because moisture also attracts the bacteria). For controlling moisture: Its important to understand that natural deodorants wick excess moisture rather than decrease sweat and moisture altogetherideally leaving the underarms dry, says Moore. Starches such as arrowroot powder, cornstarch, tapioca starch, and kaolin clay are great options that brands use to wick excess moisture. Charcoal is also a great option for absorbing moisture and detoxifying the skin. For odor control: Moore stresses the importance of understanding why our bodies produce a natural odor in the first place (and its more than just bacterial proliferation). There are two types of sweat glands, eccrine and apocrine, he says. Eccrine sweat glands occur over most of the body and open directly onto the skins surface while apocrine glands open into the hair follicles, leading to the surface of the skin. The latter, apocrine, becomes active during puberty and is associated with the underarm and groin areas of the body. These produce an odorless protein-rich sweat that gets broken down by bacteria which then causes an odor. To mitigate the odor, brands mask it with natural fragrances like an essential oil such as lavender, grapefruit, and tea tree. Another common inclusion is pre- and probiotic ingredients, which will feed the good bacteria in the skin, and balance the microbiome in their favor while they squash the odorous bacteria. Theres one controversial ingredient that makes skin inhospitable for the bacteria, too: Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. Its highly alkaline pH level can lead to irritation. So, while it is technically natural, Moore notes that its difficult to find an ingredient that works quite as effectively. So, it might be worth testing out a deodorant with baking soda, just to see if your skin will tolerate it. (Truth be told, most people will be fine, or else these wouldnt be on the market.) As for alternates to baking soda: We have found that lauric acid content in unrefined coconut oil can reduce odor-causing bacteria in moist areas such as under the arm, and provides hydration and barrier protection for the skin, Moore says. Other Ways to Reduce Sweating If youre looking for a more permanent solution to sweat and odor, then Cervantes recommends pairing adjunctive therapy with a natural deodorant. To decrease the bacteria in the underarm, use a gentle wash that contains hypochlorous acid, which is created by white blood cells that naturally exist in the body, she says. Hypochlorous acid is safe and more effective as a disinfectant, often used to treat open wounds around the eyes and mouth. One brand of body wash that accomplishes this is CLn. And in severe cases, candidates can even consider destroying sweat glands in targeted areas altogether. This can be done with Morpheus8 [radiofrequency/microneedling] or Miradry [thermal energy], both of which have a 90 to 92 percent reduction in the glands via delivery of heat to the area, Cervantes explains. Ask your board-certified dermatologist about these procedures, and which might be right for you. Not ready to haul out those big guns? Read on for the best natural deodorants weve tested and recommend. Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Aesop Deodorant Roll On Aesop Deodorant Roll On This Aesop formulas milky texture dries down to prevent both moisture and odor, thanks to the vetiver root powder and wasabi it contains. Buy Now on Aesop: Price: $35 Buy Now Baxter of California Cedarwood and Oakmass Deodorant Baxter of California Cedarwood and Oakmass Deodorant Did you think they just made shaving gear? Baxters delightful clear deodorant stick is one of our go-tos, and the brand recently released it in a calming, woody scent of cedar and oakmoss. Buy Now on Baxter of California: Price: $22 Buy Now Weleda Sage Deodorant Spray Weleda Sage Deodorant Spray Weledas deodorant spray has a loyal and devoted fanbase, thanks to its effective non-aerosol formula and its potent doses of botanicals. In this case, thats sage, but the Swiss brand also makes versions scented with citrus and wild rose. Buy Now on Weleda: Price: $14.49 Buy Now Corpus No. Green Deodorant Stick Corpus No. Green Deodorant Stick Corpuss clean formulas are so delightfully scented, you almost wish they released them as colognes. Until that happens, No. Green (bergamot, cardamom, orange blossom) will have to do as a stick. Buy Now on Corpus: Price: $26 Buy Now Malin + Goetz Eucalyptus Deodorant Malin + Goetz Eucalyptus Deodorant The bracing scent of eucalyptus (to say nothing of its anti-odor benefits) takes center stage in this best-selling stick. Its vegan formula goes on clear, so you wont have to worry about wearing it with your favorite black knit polo. Buy Now on Malin + Goetz: Price: $24 Buy Now Patricks ND1 Patricks ND1 Patricks squeezed a ton of good stuff into its natural deodorant, including Niodor. This vegan ingredient is derived from plant sources and works as effectively as sticks with aluminum salts. Plus, it smells like a long-lost Serge Lutens draft you wish you could spray on your puls points. Buy Now on Patricks: Price: $60 Buy Now Best Overall: Native Deodorant Best Overall: Native Deodorant We share this top pick along with Dr. Cervantes, who recommend Native to her patients that have any sensitivity issues with aluminum. Or they simply want to use a deodorant thats natural and free of chemicals, she says. And consider all of the deodorizing ingredients in play with this recipe: Baking soda, shea butter, and coconut oil bounce bad bacteria, while a probiotic blend fuels the good bacteria as an added defense in the effort. You can choose froma bunch of scents (or none at all), but this eucalyptus-mint is a tingly, refreshing candidate. Buy Now on Amazon: Price: $12.97 Buy Now Best Spray: Ursa Major Sublime Sage Spray Deodorant Best Spray: Ursa Major Sublime Sage Spray Deodorant A spritz of Ursa Majors soothing sage spray is your dream come true and bacterias worst nightmare: It neutralizes bacteria with lemon myrtle, blankets odor with a yeast ferment, and even smells like freshly picked herbs. All together, there are 23 natural ingredients comprising this surprisingly effective spritz. Dont be fooled by the small vessel either, as it should last you a third of the year. Buy Now on Amazon: Price: $18 Buy Now Best Balm: AKT Deodorant Balm Best Balm: AKT Deodorant Balm We previously sang our praises about AKT, the UK-native deodorant balm that is suitable for the entire body. It combines baking soda with zinc oxide and shea butter to reduce bacteria, along with Vitamin E and calendula to soothe and nourish skin. A pea-sized amount will satisfy each pit, and youll quickly adjust to the process of massaging deodorant into your underarm (ticklish or not). Choose their Onsen scent in the deep blue vesselits like a dip in a Japanese onsen at Lake Kawaguchiko; lavender, yuzu, and vetiver tether together for a soothing, refreshing zeal. Buy Now on Amazon: Price: $29 Buy Now Best Prebiotic: Caudalie Vinofresh Natural Stick Deodorant Best Prebiotic: Caudalie Vinofresh Natural Stick Deodorant Well call this one natural-ish, for its use of naturally prebiotic grape water which will help reduce odorous bacteria and balance the pits microbiome, while simultaneously hydrating the skin. Theres a lot of good to be sourced from those French vineyards (not just the wine, that is), all the way down to the eucalyptus-raisin scent that this refreshing roll-on casts. Buy Now on Nordstrom: Price: $16 Buy Now Best Baking-Soda Free: Salt & Stone Natural Deodorant Gel Best Baking-Soda Free: Salt & Stone Natural Deodorant Gel If youve got super sensitive skin, then its best to avoid baking soda from the jump. Worry not, because there are plenty of BS-less picks out there, including this exceptional gel deodorant from Salt & Stone. Its powered by probiotics to help fuel the good bacteria (in the war against bad bacteria), and contains a blend of hyaluronic acid, spirulina, and nourishing oils to keep the skin calm, hydrated, and nourished. Buy Now on Amazon: Price: $20 Buy Now Best for Fastest Results: Schmidts Charcoal & Magnesium Natural Deodorant Best for Fastest Results: Schmidts Charcoal & Magnesium Natural Deodorant Just like charcoal is a terrific purifier in face masks, scalp masks, and even toothpastes, its equally effective at purifying the pits. It absorbs moisture to keep skin dry, while magnesium neutralizes any odors that might make it past that initial moisture shield. This remains one of Amazons top-rated natural deodorants, too, with an impressive 4.5usually, in the natural deodorant department, there are an overwhelming number of naive negative reviews from people who werent patient enough to yield results. So a 4.5, well, thats about as stellar as it gets, and is evidence of the shortened window that Schmidts needs to detox your skin from the synthetic picks. Buy Now on Amazon: Price: $19.93 (2-pack) Buy Now Argon the German shepherd is recovering from neglect at the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County and will begin chemotherapy soon Courtesy of German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Argon the German shepherd with Maria Dales On July 3, hikers found Argon the German shepherd abandoned at Malibu Creek Canyon in California with zip ties around his mouth and neck After his rescue, Argon was brought to the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (GSROC) for treatment and care GSROC discovered the dog had lymphoma a week after Argon arrived and is planning to start the canine on chemotherapy Argon the German shepherd is adjusting to a new life and surprising diagnosis after his July rescue from Malibu Creek Canyon in California. On July 3, hikers spotted Argon wandering around the rugged environment with his mouth zip-tied shut and another zip tie around his neck. The Good Samaritans removed the restraints around the abandoned dog's mouth and called 911 for help. With assistance from rescuers, Argon made his way to the Palmdale Animal Care Center for medical attention. Shortly after this rescue, Maria Dales, the founder and executive director of German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (GSROC), started receiving calls about the canine. "When the story about Argon broke on local news, our phones and emails went crazy. Hundreds of animal lovers were reaching out to ask us to please get involved," Dales tells PEOPLE. Moved by the abuse Argon had overcome to get to the Palmdale Animal Care Center, Dales reached out to the facility to see if GSROC could take over the German shepherd's care. "Our rescue has previously assisted abused and neglected dogs, so we were poised and eager to help," she adds. Palmdale Animal Care Center agreed and approved GSROC to pick up Argon. After a four-hour round trip through difficult California traffic, Argon was at GSROC and in front of Dales. Maria Dales Argon the German shepherd dog "I can usually hold it together when I see the sad cases, but to see this shell of a majestic creature made me cry. It's unthinkable that someone deliberately did such a heinous thing to such a gentle animal," Dales says of her first in-person meeting with Argon. The founder shares that, upon arrival, Argon was scared and emotionally checked out from the cruelty he endured. "He didn't want to be touched. He cringed when I touched his head gently. He never tried to snap or snarl. He had clearly given up and was just existing, not living. His eyes were vacant, with no light in them at all. He wouldn't meet anyone's gaze," Dales remembers. Related: Yacht Rescues Stranded Dog Found Paddling in Florida Bay Over a Mile from Shore Physically, the dog was underweight and had swollen legs, lumps under his neck, and ear infections. The swelling and lumps especially concerned GSROC, who feared the issue might be symptoms of cancer. So, the rescue started Argon's medical treatment, and a few medical tests were performed on the dog. "He required fluids, antibiotics for ear infections, x-rays, blood work, and multiple meals of soft food every day," Dales says of how GSROC initially addressed Argon's health needs. Test results came back a week later and unfortunately confirmed GSROC's fears: Argon had multicentric B cell lymphoma, the most common variety of lymphoma in dogs, according to Dales. Courtesy of German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Maria Dales and Argon the dog "It felt like yet another cruel blow dealt to an incredible dog that had already been through so much," she says. GSROC didn't stay despondent for long. After learning Argon's diagnosis, the rescue determined the best path forward. For the moment, GSROC plans to start Argon on chemotherapy and see how he responds. "As long as his body can support the treatment, he will undergo 15 weeks of chemotherapy that includes oral and injected medication. This is uncharted territory for our rescue--we have never had a dog that required this aggressive treatment, so we will be carefully monitoring how well he feels during the treatment," Dales says of what comes next, emphasizing that Argon's overall comfort and happiness are the top priority. Related: 'Shy' Dog Finds a Forever Home After 2 Years in Florida Shelter: 'Finally at Peace' "If at any point we believe that it is causing him physical distress, we will discontinue right away. We don't believe in making him feel sicker to make him feel better. That seems like a different type of cruelty for a dog that has just learned to trust again," she adds. If Argon does respond well to treatment, he is expected to live comfortably for another 11 to 24 months, plenty of time for him to enjoy the love of a caring home. GSROC has received an "outpouring of applications" from animal lovers looking to adopt Argon. The rescue is carefully reviewing each one to determine which setting is best for Argon. "It's a huge responsibility because we want him to feel happy as well as safe," Dales says about the choice; she also notes that GSROC has 80 other "beautiful" dogs looking for homes. Maria Dales Argon at the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Argon is starting to open up after more than three weeks at GSROC but remains guarded. "For the first time, he extended a paw to ask for another treat, so we were all overjoyed. It felt like he was starting to relax," Dales shares, adding that the German shepherd "is still wary of new people touching him. He never ever snaps, but he doesn't welcome pets either." The rescue director hopes that learning more about neglect's effects on innocent animals inspires others to make more compassionate decisions when caring for pets. "There is no place for animal cruelty in a civilized world. Argon was helpless, and someone evil preyed upon his helplessness. What this poor dog endured is unthinkable. The antidote for cruelty is compassion," she says. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Animal lovers looking to help Argon through this challenging time are encouraged to donate to his medical expenses, which are "costly and ongoing." GSROC is also working to raise funds to turn a portion of their kennel into a dog park so their "resident orphans can stroll and relax." "It's so gratifying to see what a determined group of like-minded animal lovers can accomplish when they know that lives are depending on them. I would urge everyone who loves animals to get engaged to help end the senseless suffering of animals of all species," Dales says. According to the GSROC founder, the rescue and others are still searching for the individual responsible for dumping a zip-tied Argon in the canyon. "We believe that someone, somewhere, knows something. A seven-year-old dog didn't magically appear out of thin air someone must have seen him declining. So far, there haven't been any viable tips, but with a $25,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of his abuser, we are optimistic that Argon will have justice," she says. To learn more about GSROC and support the nonprofit's efforts, visit the rescue's website and social media accounts. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. We asked Mark Cuban how he's going to disrupt Big Pharma. He said it's pretty straightforward, actually. We asked Mark Cuban how he's going to disrupt Big Pharma. He said it's pretty straightforward, actually. In 2022, the "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban set up a no-frills, low-cost online pharmacy. Since then, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. has amassed more than 2,000 offerings, mostly generics. Recently, the billionaire has expanded into imports, competing directly with Big Pharma. Mark Cuban is on a mission to upend Big Pharma. In early 2022, Cuban founded Cost Plus Drugs, a discount pill-mailing service that promised to take some of the bloat out of America's pharmaceutical system by delivering drugs to consumers at lower, more-transparent price points. Here's how it works: Cost Plus Drugs, as the name implies, gets drugs directly from manufacturers, cutting out the pharmaceutical middlemen and their extra costs. You pay a 15% markup to Cost Plus Drugs, plus a fixed $5 for labor on each medication and $5 for shipping. Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Getty Images Typically, drug pricing is clear as mud Take Viagra, for example. How much will a name-brand 30-day supply of the biggest dose of the "little blue pill" (100 mg) cost you? Great question. Without insurance, it could be anywhere from about $2,000 to upward of $3,000. A generic form of the same 30-day supply might start at about $250 but can exceed $1,000. Cost Plus tells consumers that it pays the manufacturer $3 for that same 30-day supply of 100 mg generic Viagra tablets. It slaps on a 15% ($0.60) markup, plus $5 for "pharmacy labor" and voila: a 30-day supply of sildenafil citrate for $8.60 (plus shipping and taxes). The company has over 2,000 drugs on offer this way, mainly generics. It's everything from unbranded Crestor (about $6 to $7 a month, plus shipping) to generic Silvadene for wounds (about $10 to $11 a tube). You can replace a trip to the pharmacy with a few minutes of computer time: Create an online account, then connect with your doctor, who'll place your prescription order electronically. Cuban, the veteran "Shark Tank" investor and billionaire part owner of the Dallas Mavericks, isn't necessarily expecting his mail-order pharmacy to make him millions of dollars richer. Rather, his goal with Cost Plus, he says, is to change the "game" of drug pricing. "We are completely transparent, with the same price for anyone and everyone," Cuban told Business Insider via email. "We believe that when all data is transparent, then the market becomes efficient. At that point, prices will drop significantly." Importing $15 penicillin to compete with $500 shots from Pfizer is just the beginning alfexe/Getty Images Cost Plus has been bullish about its ultimate ambitions to end the secretive, uneven world of US drug pricing. And it's increasingly stepping out of the generic world and going after big, brand-name drugmakers such as Pfizer and Novo Nordisk. Earlier this year, the company started up a manufacturing plant in Texas aimed at alleviating drug shortages. And this summer, it signed an import deal with a Portuguese pharmaceutical brand to bring cheaper penicillin shots to clinicians in the US, who've been dealing with a surging nationwide syphilis outbreak that has cleaned out the US supply. Normally, Pfizer is the only American manufacturer of this specific shot, called Bicillin L-A, but it has been in short supply of that medication for over a year. For now, the US Food and Drug Administration is allowing Cost Plus to import Portuguese penicillin to the US ($15) but only until Pfizer's (about $500 or over) supply comes back out of shortage, likely in early 2025. "We are going to try to do the same thing for any med that is in shortage where we feel we can save patients a material amount of money," Cuban said. And he didn't outright dismiss my idea that the same could be done in the future for chemotherapy medications or GLP-1 weight-loss shots like Wegovy, which have both been in severe shortages for many months. "Where we can find a high-quality source that meets all regulatory requirements, we will do our best to import them," he said. One regulatory change that would bring down healthcare costs across the board Over the next decade, he said he expected Cost Plus to add more branded medications and move into "high-end specialty therapeutics." But he acknowledged his strategy could only go so far without firmer regulations aimed at showing consumers what drugs actually cost to produce. If he had his way, Cuban said that every healthcare provider, pharmacy middleman, and "any affiliated in any way company" would be required to "publish their un-redacted contracts, for all to see." "Prices could drop 30% across all of healthcare in a year," he said. "Transparency would end all the payment games." Read the original article on Business Insider Danish Secret to Happy Kids reveals tips to make children more independent and it doesnt involve homework If you're a parent, skip the homework and send your kids outside to play. That's according to journalist Helen Russell, who penned a book called "The Danish Secret to Happy Kids" drawing helpful tidbits from Nordic countries' unique parenting styles. When Becca and Jordan Itkowitz moved back to La Grange, Illinois, after three years in Denmark with their two sons, Evan, 8, and Max, 10, they experienced culture shock. Soon after moving stateside in 2017, Becca received a call from school that Max had thrown a snowball during recess. Not at anyone, mind you, Becca told The Post. Just throwing a snowball because its fun and hes a kid. I laughed and agreed to talk to him about American school rules and how snow can be perceived as a weapon.' Becca and Jordan Itkowitz moved back to the US from Denmark with their two sons, Evan, 8, and Max, 10. Courtesy Itkowitz Family Max was also chastised for picking up a stick. In Denmark, picking up sticks was always to build a fort or just play, she said. That stood in stark contrast to what they had experienced in Denmark, where children in kindergarten are given by American norms enormous latitude. They have the opportunity to play in the rain, cook over fires and are able to take safe and age-appropriate risks, Becca explained. Becca Itkowitz said her kids played outside often in Denmark. Courtesy Itkowitz Family Danish people can teach us quite a bit about raising children, according to British journalist Helen Russell, especially since the country has consistently been voted one of the happiest in the world since the 1970s. Currently living in Denmark with her husband and three children, she explored neighboring Nordic nations unique parenting styles a far cry from American tiger moms and helicopter parents in her book, The Danish Secret to Happy Kids. The Danish Secret to Happy Kids explores how the Viking way could lead to a happier childhood. Sourcebooks To start, theres less pressure on academics, Russell told The Post. Youre not starting school until the age of 6 (in Demark, 7 in Finland), she explained, adding that there is a huge emphasis on playing. Play is so valued, she said. Now, theres so much research showing how important it is, how actually learning through play is still so valuable. And in the Nordic countries, thats kind of celebrated. Russell currently lives in Denmark with her husband and three children. Courtesy of Helen Russell Even the school experience is markedly different than the US educational system. Theres no homework till around the age of 11, she said. Usually theres not tests until much later, around the age of 16. Russell said that inclement weather is no excuse for staying inside, sharing that there is an old adage: Theres no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes. The more I read books to my kids from the US or the UK, theyre all, like, And the kids couldnt go out to play because it was raining. And that just doesnt happen here, she divulged. You get chucked out no matter what. Along with improving mental health, Russell found that time outside helps to develop mastery. Play is so valued, Russell said, noting that her children often do outdoor activities. Now, theres so much research showing how important it is. Courtesy of Helen Russell Youre getting stronger, more confident, more robust physically, Russell said. Weve read enough lifestyle pieces to see that we feel better from it, but somehow were not giving that to our kids in the US, in the UK. And all that outside play must be doing something right: Denmark consistently tops the World Happiness Report, which rates peoples happiness from 130 countries and takes into account life expectancy, the DGP and social support. Russell also remarked that Nordic kids are not expected to go through childhood without some bruises and broken limbs. I would regularly pick up my kids with some scrapes, she shared, adding that oftentimes it had come from some physical activity like climbing a tree. However, she astutely noted that this laissez-faire attitude is a massive privilege of having tax-funded health care so that a broken arm is not a medical bankruptcy. Its just a broken arm. Russell said its not like Danish parents want their children to get hurt; there is instead an attitude that parents are harming their kids if we do not let them have adventurous, risky play. They think that giving kids these experiences and letting them stretch themselves, like being outside in all weathers, helps them to develop kind of confidence and to be more resilient. Sean McEvoy lived in Denmark for seven years from 2017 to 2023 with his wife, Amy, and three sons. Amy McEvoy Sean McEvoy, who lived in Denmark for seven years from 2017 to 2023 with his wife, Amy, and three sons, said they also noticed the differences immediately. Three-year-olds were like whittling with sharp knives and, like, tending and starting fires, he told The Post. And then, youd be, like, Where did that 3-year-old go? and then you would look up and theyd be in like the tallest branches of the tree, and the parents were either cooking their own sausages or drinking a beer or just kind of around but not, like, hovering over the toddlers to make sure that they didnt like come to some terrible calamity. The McEvoys three sons. Amy McEvoy McEvoy said he also realized that there is a huge difference in the way Danes approach education. We lived in New York City for a very long time, and the culture around school and education and academics was extremely hands-on, he said. What we found in Denmark, especially at younger ages, is the Danish sort of philosophy of education is children need to learn to love learning before theyre going to be ready to be tested on anything. Sam and Amy McEvoy said it took time to get reacclimated back into the American school routine. Amy McEvoy He admitted that it took some getting used to as they would ask one of their sons what he had learned at school, and he would reach in his pocket and pull out stones and dead bugs and be, like, I found all of these and we made a fire.' Their concerns grew when they would visit stateside family and cousins their sons age would be reading. However, McEvoy explained that in six months, it was like a switch flipped, and all of a sudden he was reading and reading at a very high level. I think their philosophy is, like, Dont do it until theyre ready, but get them ready very gradually. Dont burn them out on desk learning early like getting them to a point where theyre ready to really take on more rigorous academics. But dont do it too early, or youll turn them away and bore them. Kentucky Queer Bourbon Week to have tastings, distillery tours, drag brunches and more Bourbon, once seen as your fathers drink by a generation that tuned in, turned on and dropped out, increasingly has been embraced by a diverse audience of drinkers. There are Bourbon Women chapters, the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild and, now, a Queer Bourbon Week in Kentucky. Its the first year for an event that organizers hope will become a whiskey mainstay. The event will take place between October 2-6 in eight locations across Kentucky, including Lexington, Bardstown, Bullitt County, Frankfort, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Paducah and Winchester. The week-long event was inspired by other events across the country, like Gay Wine Weekend in Sonoma, Calf., and Queer Beer Fest in Washington, DC. From my Covington home to seven other amazing destinations around the state, we are excited for you to join us for a week of festivities honoring Kentuckys LGBTQ+ culture and bourbon tradition alongside the top bourbon brands in the world, Missy Spears, executive director of Queer Kentucky, said in a press release. Kentuckys Queer Bourbon Week will take place from October 2-6 and will feature events in eight locations across Kentucky, including Lexington. There will be multiple events throughout the week, such as cocktail classes, bourbon 101 lessons, behind-the-scenes distillery tours, drag brunches, multi-course dinners and a tasting event featuring Kentuckys only LGBTQ-owned distillery, event planners said in the press release. Events, listed on the website, in Lexington include: Many bourbon partners from across Kentucky are included in the weeks lineup. Event planners said the activities are designed to foster safety, belonging and togetherness while raising funds for Queer Kentucky and other Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ community service organizations. Select hotels, including 21c Museum Hotels (Louisville & Lexington), Common Bond Hotel Collection, Hotel Covington and Hotel Genevieve, are partnering with the events to provide accommodations attendees, according to event planners. Queer Kentucky is a LGBTQ+ nonprofit that works to bolster and enhance Queer culture and health through storytelling, education and action, event planners said. Thirsty? Here are 8 Kentucky bourbon makers to tour in Lexington this summer Kitten born with 4 ears rescued after being abandoned in box in Tennessee MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) A Tennessee shelter recently welcomed a new litter of kittens found abandoned in a box, including a four-eared feline that the staff has named Audio. Kristin Condite, the director of operations at True Rescue in Mt. Juliet, told Nexstars WKRN that employees first noticed his extra pair of ears during an exam after he was brought in on Tuesday. Whenever we took him out of his carrier, my counterpart said, Whats on his ear? And when we looked closer, it appears as if Audio has actually four ears on his head, said Condite. So he has two right-facing and two rear-facing. Its extremely abnormal. (Courtesy: True Rescue) Eight-week-old Audio and his ear-resistible charm are garnering a lot of attention on social media, which is putting the shelter in the spotlight at a time when its most needed. Weve had ongoing issues with drainage problems and foundation issues, said Condite. Sunday night, it was 4 inches [of water] from the rear wall to the front doors. Toddler rescued after falling into 10-foot pipe outside Kansas home On top of that, kitten season is in full swing. Right now, staff members said they need 150 to 200 adoptions per month to be on pace with the number of cats coming in. (Courtesy: True Rescue) The flooding issues slowed adoptions significantly, but despite this, True Rescue said the Mt. Juliet community stepped up to foster more kittens in an effort to get the shelter back on its feet. Others donated enough to fully stock the rescue with food. Well go through it very quickly, but its nice to see a few full shelves. Thats pretty rare this time of year, said Condite. (Courtesy: True Rescue) As for Audio, shelter employees said they wont remove his extra ears unless they start to harm him. Doctors are still monitoring him, so hes not ready for adoption just yet. In the meantime, the four-eared feline is bringing extra joy to True Rescue. For Audio to come at this timeit really does feel like a good luck charm, Condite said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Pulling Down His Socks Will Haunt Me Forever": People Who Work In The Medical Field Are Sharing Their Scariest Experiences As someone who has watched too many medical TV shows and movies, I realize there's so much that the "University of Grey's Anatomy" curriculum leaves out. Since I was curious about the more serious aspects of the medical field, I decided to ask doctors, nurses, paramedics, and all other medical professionals about the most terrifying experiences they've had while on shift. ABC Network / Via giphy.com And I was NOT expecting what they had to say... Here are 16 of their most heart-pounding stories, as well as some stories from the medical professionals of Reddit. Note: This post contains mentions of gun violence, death, gore, attempted suicide, and bomb threats. 1."I once worked as a security guard at a hospital. We had this very old man turn up at the emergency room in an equally old pickup truck driven by what looked like a 12-year-old. The old man opened his door, stepped out, and stood up." "There were V-shaped cuts in his jeans that were absolutely blood-soaked from the knees down. He asked for a wheelchair. I ran and got him one. As he was sitting down, he explained that he was working on his lawn mower, and it had started somehow and fell across his knees. He said he needed his kneecaps 'put back in,' reached into his pants pocket, and showed them to me. Darndest thing I've ever seen!" Norton, Yahoo 2."I worked as a school nurse in California. Two boys were roughhousing during recess and bonked heads. One of the boys developed a headacheunbeknownst to me. It became progressively worse throughout the day." "He walked into my office in mid-afternoon, clutching his head and crying in pain. He became incoherent and started projectile vomiting. It turns out he had a brain bleedhe was flown to the hospital and had emergency surgery. He recovered, and I have never been so terrified in my life." bittertoaster20 3."I was a new nurse during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. We were sad for the patients and terrified we would be infected and die, as not a lot was known, and there was a lot of misinformation especially here in the South. Any accidental stick with a patient needle was enough for an all-out panic." Belinda, Facebook 4."I was an RN in the ER at a hospital in NYC. A patient was brought in with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head. The major trauma room was filled with surgical and medical doctors, anesthesia, respiratory therapists, and RNs." "Everyone was talking loudly and excitedly. Many hands all over the body. While I was unwrapping the blanket she was wrapped in, I discovered the loaded gun they used. I immediately yelled out to get everyones attention and had a police officer remove the gun as I refused to touch it for fear of it going off accidentally." witchyshark90 Peopleimages / Getty Images 5."Had a nice older gentleman patient who was tachycardic, but all his labs were normal. He seemed like he took fairly good care of himself, he was a little disheveled, but he dressed nicely and had nice shoes. We initially couldn't find anything wrong with him, but he had a peculiar odor that seasoned nurses would get suspicious of." "I asked him if he had any infections on his body that he knew of, and he said 'no,' but I wanted to do a thorough check, so we took off all his clothes, and he was fine until I got down to his feet. He was wearing an old pair of socks, and as I peeled them down, literally, the skin around his foot came off with the sock. I was essentially degloving his foot. It was so vile I couldn't even get down more than a couple of inches. It was raw flesh under those socks. The wound odor was so strong I knew then that his feet were the source. He probably hadn't changed his socks in several months. He ended up being admitted and given lots of antibiotics and wound care. The memory of pulling down his socks will haunt me forever." u/SillyBonsai 6."When the oxygenator on the ECMO circuit blew off and sprayed blood all over everyone and everything in the room like a hose. It was horrible. It looked like a scene from Dexter." nurseynurse Svetikd / Getty Images 7."Not a nurse, but I work in the Emergency Department. The patient came in and said he hadn't pooped for a week. The doctor prescribes some stool softeners and decides to send him home...without ensuring that he had a bowel movement before he left." "Patient comes back in six hours later and is having severe abdominal pains and is brought in one more time. The patient is put on a bed and scheduled for some type of scan. All of a sudden starts feeling nauseated. Patient then starts throwing up his feces. He was obstructed. The nurse attending and I run into the room. The nurse pushed on the stomach and held his back, trying to get the rest out, then they aspirated and had a heart attack." u/Ilbkaro 8."ER RN here. This, so far, is the only death I've experienced from work that I've lost a significant amount of sleep over. A 24-year-old male walks, again walks, into the ER with complaints of flu-like symptoms for the past three days. He had decided to come in that day because he started to develop a 'rash' throughout his body that he was unfamiliar with." "Sadly, this rash was actually the result of a failed battle with bacterial meningitis, causing him to bleed internally and externally. By the time we got him back into the ER, he started crying blood, and the terror in his eyes was palpable. He went downhill fast. His lucidity diminished with his blood pressure, and the last thing he said before succumbing to pulseless V-tach was something about his mother that we could not make out. The code lasted close to an hour. At first, we could still keep his oxygen levels up with mechanical ventilation, defibrillation, and drugs, but blood was filling his airways faster than it could be suctioned out. He was bleeding too fast for any medications or fluids to keep his blood pressure up. We later found out that he was studying neurobiology and had a devoted girlfriend who was, for all intents and purposes, a fiance, a large family, and many friends. He was an athlete who lived healthily. He had beautiful curly hair. This made the death tragic in a way that you just don't experience when an 80-year-old dies. It made the unanswered pleas to god for help that had been sent echoing around the room by his family all the more bitter." u/wolfbriar 9."I was friends with a guy who was an ER nurse in a neighborhood with a lot of gang violence. One night, they get a gang member who was shot and in pretty bad shape, but still alive." "My friend left the room to go grab something, and when he came back, there was a guy dressed in a clown suit with a shotgun up his sleeve. As he raises his arm to shoot the gang member, security tackled the guy and arrested him." Ted, Yahoo 10."We had a guy come into the ER from a nursing home. According to the report, he asked the staff for a glass of water..." "When he didn't receive it quickly enough, his rational response was to start eating his fingers. By the time he got to us, he had eaten all 10 of his fingertips away. The bone was definitely visible. There was still flesh stuck in his teeth and on his sheets. That's a sight I won't forget anytime soon." u/hauolihaole 11."Severely addicted heroin user admitted for sepsis and respiratory failure. About 3 or 4 days into his admission, we find multiple broken needles lodged in his arms while trying to place a PICC line." "After a few more days, he codes, which was uneventful until the abscess that was brewing under his left clavicle exploded and sprayed pus everywhere. He survived that and went for an I&D, which left a gaping hole in his chest and neck you could fit 3 fists in. His clavicle had rotted away from osteomyelitis, and he had minimal tissue left connecting his neck to his shoulder on the left side. After 30 days intubated in the ICU, he finally died." u/newo48 Ariel Skelley / Getty Images 12."Not me, but my grandmother used to work at the ER back in the sixties. She saw some horrible stuff, but the worst she's told me about was about a car mechanic. This was back when, instead of lifting the car up to weld the bottom of it, you just parked it over a 'hole in the ground.'" "He'd been welding when the gas tube exploded. Since he's in a small hole with nowhere for the flames to go, they completely engulf him. The only reason for them bringing him to the ER was to have a doctor legally pronounce him dead. My grandmother saw his remains. He had been crouching down, shielding his face with his arms when it exploded. She could see his watch; it had melted into his flesh. Otherwise, it was all just like a coal statue of a man." u/rean25 13."When I was a junior neurosurgery resident, I was called to the ED for a 30-ish-year-old male who ran his motorcycle head-first into a telephone pole while intoxicated. No helmet." "His face was smashed beyond recognition. (I have no idea how the medics got him intubated in the field.) But when I saw him in the trauma bay, he had a frontal open skull fracture down to his orbit. We took him to the OR right away to decompress him. After 2 cranial operations and 3 months in the hospital, he went home." u/YorkeFan Science Photo Library / Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF 14."Driving away from a bombing with the first patient in my truck, while a ton of my coworkers were still on scene and hearing 'all units be advised there may be a secondary device. I repeat, ALL UNITS, there may be another device.'" "Driving away, not knowing if I was going to come back to my friends (and my boyfriend) in pieces or not, was one of the most sickening feelings Ive ever experienced. It was everything I could do to focus on my patient and not cry, not be able to do anything about it. There was no secondary device and no casualties. But the bombers got away. It was at a restaurant while a kid's family birthday party was happening." Sarah Jane, Facebook 15."A Royal Marine, not long back from Belize, came into Casualty at the hospital I work at. He had a 'cyst' swollen on the back of his neck." "The guy was in agony. 3 local anesthetic injections later, the doctor attempted to lance the thing, and it moved. He peeled off the top layer of skin to reveal a massive larvae wriggling underneath, about the size of a quarter. It popped out without any problems and was huge when it was unraveled. The hole in the marine's neck was clean, amazingly. A great example of a host." u/Tristania Cavan Images / Getty Images/Cavan Images RF 16."Lab guy here. Responded to assist in the ER when a 56-year-old boy was pulled from the irrigation canal he was swimming in during our first heat wave of the summer. Was unobserved and suspected of being under for a total of 79 minutes, completely blue and unresponsive to stimuli." "We worked on that kid for about 4 hours and finally got a weak pulse. I kept him on the monitor for the remainder of my shift, and he also got fluids, warming blankets, and oxygen. I left for the night before I knew the final disposition. He came in 2 weeks later with his family, running up and down the hallway, everyone getting big hugs and gratitude for helping to save his life. I am thankful I got to be part of that miracle. I'm pretty secluded back in my department and away from direct patient care, so I know it's serious if I get called down to assist." Bif, Yahoo Medical professionals what was your most heart-pounding on-shift moment? Let us know in the comments below, or if you prefer to answer anonymously, use this Google Form. Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Budget airlines continue to rapidly expand and fall foliage hunters get a new route option. Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Hot August nights are here. The kids go back to school soon, and many travelers minds are on that final summer break Labor Day weekend, maybe and cooler autumn days ahead. At the beginning of every month, Travel+Leisure highlights the most exciting routes launching that month. Airlines, like the travelers they serve, historically change little in August as they eye the fall ahead. But this year, eager to compete with their bigger competitors, budget airlines are rapidly growing. Meanwhile, other carriers are still building back from the pandemic or filling in the gaps on their map. Frontier Can't Stop, Won't Stop Frontier Airlines continues its breakneck growth in August with seven new routes. The routes, all of which begin on either August 13 or 14, include Atlanta to Boston and Los Angeles, Boston to Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), New York (JFK) to Las Vegas, and Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego. Frontier takes on a whos who of U.S. airline competition with the additions, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines; not a single one of its new routes is unserved, according to aviation data analytics firm Cirium Diio. Frontier will fly all seven routes daily with introductory airfares ranging from $19 to $69 one way. Spirit Connects the Dots Fellow discounter Spirit Airlines will add two new routes in August. The carrier will link Fort Lauderdale and Rochester, N.Y., and DFW and Houston Bush from August 13 and 14, respectively. One way Fort Lauderdale-Rochester fares range from $39 to $41 for a flight that departs South Florida at 7:40 p.m. and arrives in Upstate New York three hours later. One way DFW-Houston fares range from $20 to $39 for the one-hour-and-15-minute flight that departs DFW around noon and 8 p.m. American, Frontier, and United fly the DFW-Houston route, and Southwest serves the cities from nearby Dallas Love and Houston Hobby airports. Sun Country Adds Two From Minneapolis Not to be left out, budget airline Sun Country will connect its Minneapolis-St. Paul base to Monterey, California, from August 8, and to Manchester, New Hampshire, from August 22. Both routes operate less than daily with introductory airfares ranging from $69 to $79 one way. Sun Country is the only airline flying both routes. United Builds Back in San Francisco United resumes flights between San Francisco and Detroit as well as to St. Louis on August 19. The airline suspended both routes early in the pandemic. United will offer up to two flights a day on both routes with departures from San Francisco to Detroit around 11 a.m. and a red-eye just before 11 p.m. Departures to St. Louis are just after 11 a.m. and around 6:30 p.m. Economy airfares from San Francisco to Detroit range from $204 to $573 one way, and to St. Louis from $175 to $493 one way. Southwest Returns to Its Albany Routes Southwest will resume flights between Las Vegas and Albany, New York, on August 5. The route, one of the first four Southwest flew from Albany when it landed there in 2000, was last operated in 2019. Airfares range widely depending on the day of travel from as low as $265 one way to $785 for the flight that departs Albany at 1:15 p.m. and lands in Las Vegas at 3:25 p.m. American Expands to Quebec Ahead of Fall Foliage American will link Quebec City to its second largest hub, Charlotte, weekly on Saturdays from August 10. The flight that departs the Queen City at 9 a.m. and arrives in the Quebec capital at 11:49 a.m. will improve connectivity between the southern U.S., including Florida, and Quebec City. Economy airfares range from $304 to $413 one way. One More to Taipei from Seattle Following last months China Airlines Taipei-Seattle launch, Starlux makes its own foray into the crowded market with three flights a week beginning August 16. The airline is the fourth and smallest flying the route along with China Airlines, Delta, and Eva Air. Starlux economy airfares range from $520 to $831 between Seattle and Taipei. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. WARSAW, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- As Poland commemorates the 80th anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday to attend the ceremony. Steinmeier is the second German president invited to this commemoration in Poland, following Roman Herzog in 1994. Together with Polish President Andrzej Duda, he paid tribute to the victims of the Wola Massacre, the mass murder of civilians in Warsaw's Wola district carried out by German forces from Aug. 5 to Aug. 12, 1944. During the ceremony on Wednesday, Steinmeier asked for forgiveness for German atrocities committed in Poland during World War II. The Warsaw Uprising, which began on Aug. 1, 1944, was the largest underground military operation in German-occupied Europe. Approximately 40,000 to 50,000 insurgents fought for over two months, resulting in the deaths of about 18,000 insurgents and up to 180,000 civilians. Following the suppression of the uprising, around 500,000 residents were expelled from the city, and Warsaw was almost entirely destroyed. Ocean City invented the Orange Crush cocktail; is Delaware trying to steal the spotlight? The battle of the best Orange Crush has consumed the East Coast for nearly three decades. The cocktail's origins remain uncontested, with the famous drink having emerged from the popular resort town of Ocean City, Maryland more precisely, bayfront restaurant Harborside Bar & Grill in 1995. Over the last almost 30 years, many other business establishments across the Eastern Shore have tried to mimic the citrus-centered cocktail that Harborside has, according to most Marylanders, come to perfect. Although its origins are decidedly so, the battle to uncover the best Orange Crush has yet to cease. Now, tensions are at an all time high after Maryland's neighbor, the great state of Delaware, recently declared the one and only Orange Crush its official state cocktail. Here's what Ocean City has to say. DARING RESCUE MADE IN OCEAN CITY: Life-saving rescue in Ocean City, MD: How beach patrol hero saved one young surfer's life Delaware claims to have perfected the Orange Crush cocktail An orange crush cocktail is served on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at Harborside Bar & Grill in Ocean City, Maryland. The bill, which names the official state cocktail, was passed by Delaware lawmakers on Tuesday, July 30, and now just awaits Delaware Gov. John Carney's signature to become law. This comes after Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware battled it out in front of three judges in an effort to see who could concoct the best Orange Crush cocktail. Although Sen. Cardin won the mixology dual in the end, the state of Delaware is far from admitting defeat. "The Orange Crush has been made famous and become synonymous with Dewey Beach, Delaware," reads the legislation. "The Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware, perfected the Orange Crush and serves the most Orange Crush cocktails of any bar in Delaware every beach season." Harborside Bar & Grill, which has been credited with the cocktail's creation, was shocked to hear the news. "Our saying here is, 'Often imitated, never duplicated, '" said Lauren Rolleston, a server at Harborside. "We hear it all the time that Harborside's the best. It's either the charm of this building or the liquor we put in it, but something about our Crushes are truly the best." "So," continued Rolleston with a smile, "While we're flattered that Delaware would like to claim that drink, I think that we all know it's a Maryland drink at heart." OCEAN CITY REMOVES LOVE LOCKS: Ocean City's love locks come down, upsetting locals and visitors alike Ocean City's Fish Tales gives all the credit to Harborside Bar & Grill Most, if not all, restaurants peppering the resort town, including Fish Tales Bar & Grill, tip their hat to Harborside. "Harborside started it. I want to make sure that all the credit goes to them," said Ryan "Tiny" Hourihan, manager at Fish Tales. "That's why this area is so abundant with Orange Crushes because it was created here. Now everyone tries to mimic what (Harborside) started." Harborside's recipe, which can be found on the back of the restaurant's souvenir glasses, is as follows: 1.5 oz Smirnoff Orange Twist, 1.5 oz Triple Sec, juice of one orange, and top with sprite. "It's a great drink," Hourihan said, noting how it's a beloved recipe that Fish Tales follows. "It's refreshing. It's got all the good stuff in it." An orange crush cocktail is served on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at Harborside Bar & Grill in Ocean City, Maryland. THRASHER'S FRIES REIGNS SUPREME: Thrasher's in Ocean City wins our french fry poll: Here's why customers love it Hourihan didn't take offense at the news of Delaware's official state cocktail. Rather, he considers it a compliment. "What do they say? Imitation is the best form of flattery," he said. "I think it's friendly. It's fun," Hourihan added of the decades-long rivalry. "But, of course, there's always going to be some sort of competition there it is a border state. It's Maryland versus Delaware." Even Delaware Gov. John Carney poked fun at Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on X (formerly Twitter), prior to the battle of the state senators. "My good friend @GovWesMoore should visit the Starboard in Dewey Beach, and we'll have the best Orange Crush you can find," Gov. Carney said. Gov. Moore jokingly replied, "Good to know Delaware has a crush on our Crushes!" They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Good to know Delaware has a crush on our crushes! Yall are welcome to try the real McCoy anytime, @JohnCarneyDE! https://t.co/zC6zUZ5DPM Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) July 12, 2024 GOV. MOORE VISITS OCEAN CITY: 'I love coming back to Ocean City': Gov. Wes Moore says town exemplifies 'Maryland spirit' 'If you really want the best original (Orange Crush), come to Ocean City' says Fager's Island Fager's Island is pictured on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at 201 60th Street in Ocean City, Maryland. Like Fish Tales Bar & Grill, Fager's Island is a hotspot for beachgoers who are on the hunt for a refreshing Orange Crush cocktail; an ideal summertime staple drink. According to Jack Fager, manager and bartender at Fager's Island, the bayfront restaurant has been very successful when it comes to selling Orange Crush cocktails. "We've been squeezing oranges for quite a long time here," Fager said from behind the bar, adding how the restaurant utilizes an impressive amount of oranges each year. "Harborside is the first one to start it. I think we're a close second, rumor has it." When making an Orange Crush, Fager's Island's bar staff uses about two counts of triple sec, three counts of orange vodka, and a half an orange squeezed fresh into the drink. Then, the cocktail is topped off with either sprite or soda water by request. "Sometimes people like 'em skinny. And we'll always give it a toss to make sure it's all mixed up," said Fager. Fager believes there's no denying that Maryland's Orange Crush cocktails are superior to Delaware's, despite the new legislative bill. "Obviously, it wasn't started (in Delaware). But, we're kind of flattered by it," Fager said. "They can make some good ones up there, but I think if you really want the best original (Orange Crush), you've got to come to Ocean City." ROSENFELD'S DELI IS ON THE MOVE: Rosenfeld's Jewish Deli to open brand-new location in Salisbury, Maryland, this fall Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com. This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: OCMD loves its Orange Crush and invented it. Why does Delaware want in? TUSKEGEE, Ala. (WRBL) On the historic grounds of Moton Field, home of the Tuskegee Airmen, Rodney McKnight Jr., an aviation enthusiast turned animal rescuer, is using his passion for flying to transport rescue animals from overcrowded shelters in Bullock County, Alabama, to new homes across the country. I have delivered dogs to Morristown, New Jersey, Tulsa, Oklahoma, all over Florida, and various cities in Alabama, says McKnight. McKnight was introduced to animal rescue by Jason Mohrman, an Auburn graduate, airline pilot, and animal lover. Mohrman founded Pilots for Purpose, the 501(c) organization donates its airplane and fuel money to fly animals to safety. McKnight donates his skills as a pilot, building flight hours while saving animals. The very first flight I quickly realized this is more than flying around dogs and building time. I started getting attached to the dogs they told me it would happen, but I didnt expect it, McKnight explains. Recently, McKnight flew Red and Pixie, two dogs from the Bullock County Humane Society, to Morristown, NJ, where Red has an adoption pending. He hopes that longtime shelter residents like Madeline, and Bullock will find homes soon. Every time I fly a dog, those dogs get to live, says McKnight. Volunteers and donations are desperately needed to support the work of shelters. McKnight invites the community to join the freedom flight. Animal shelters all over the country are packed, and Bullock County is no different. All dogs are spayed and neutered, caught up on their shots, and have all their immunizations. These dogs are healthy and friendly. The more funds the shelter has to operate, the more dogs can find homes, and fewer dogs get put down, McKnight urges. The freedom flight movement is making a significant impact in communities where animal shelters and rescues are overwhelmed. McKnights efforts are supported by various organizations, including Woof Ave Rescue, Friends of Columbus Animal Care and Control Center, Bullock County Humane Society, CARE Humane Society, and Columbus Animal Allies. The dogs he transports are often those who have been in shelters for months, or even years, waiting for a chance at a better life. To support the Bullock County Humane Society or volunteer, visit their Facebook page or contact them at: Bullock County Humane Society 21426 Highway 82 East Union Springs, AL 36089 (334) 738-7387. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. Want a last minute getaway? JetBlue sale means wicked cheap flights out of Providence Planning a last minute summer getaway? JetBlue is having a sale on flights out of Rhode Island right now. JetBlue is currently having a "See-Ya-Summer" sale on flights, including several out of Providence . Here's what to know. When is JetBlue's summer sale on flights? JetBlue is having a summer sale on flights for three days only, and today is the last day of the deal. The sale applies to flights booked by 11:59 p.m. EST on Aug. 1 for certain destinations. It is also only available on travel between Aug. 13 and Sept. 25. What are the cheapest flights out of Providence on JetBlue? No. 4: JetBlue. JetBlue caters to passengers with new planes, plentiful routes, in-flight connectivity and some of the most legroom in economy for any American-based carrier. The airline flies to more than 100 cities across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, with live TV and in-flight Wi-Fi available on all flights. JetBlue's summer sale can be used to travel from Providence to three different locations. The best one-way deals out of Providence start at $84 for flights to Orlando, Florida. See the full list of destinations from Providence on sale: Orlando, Florida - one-way flights from $84 Fort Lauderdale, Florida - one-way flights from $89 West Palm Beach, Florida - one-way flights from $89 What are the cheapest days to fly? JetBlue's sale only applies to travel on Tuesday and Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: JetBlue sale means cheap flights (less than $100!) out of Providence Aerial and ground firefighting crews responding to the Quarry Fire in Jefferson County. (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office) Thousands of Coloradans remain evacuated from their homes as three major wildfires burn along the Front Range, and authorities say at least one person has been killed. Human remains were found Wednesday in a home north of Lyons in the burn area of the 1,500-acre Stone Canyon Fire, the Boulder County Sheriffs Office said. Five structures have been destroyed in the blaze, whose cause is unknown and which was first reported midday Tuesday. Fire officials said early Thursday morning that the Stone Canyon Fire is now 20% contained. Areas under mandatory evacuation orders include parts of Lyons north of U.S. 36 and extend into the foothills west of Carter Lake Reservoir. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX That area overlaps with the evacuation zone for the Alexander Mountain Fire, which has burned since Monday north of the Big Thompson River west of Loveland. Officials said Thursday that the fire had grown to over 7,600 acres and is just 1% contained. A federal incident management team dispatched by the National Interagency Fire Center assumed command of the fire as of 6 a.m. Thursday after response had previously been handled by the U.S. Forest Service and the Larimer County Sheriffs Office. An estimated 450 personnel are assigned to the fire. Evacuation centers for those displaced by the fire are open in Loveland and Estes Park, along with a large animal evacuation center in Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley. Quarry Fire A third fire burning in Jefferson County on the southwest edge of the Denver metro area has prompted the evacuations of nearly 600 homes nearby. The Quarry Fire was first reported late Tuesday night and was last estimated at 341 acres in size. No injuries or lost or damaged structures have been reported. But Mark Techmeyer, public affairs director for the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, said in a press conference Thursday morning that crews have prioritized containing the blaze along Deer Creek Canyon Road to prevent what he called the nightmare scenario of the fire spreading further to the north. Deer Creek Canyon Road is the key for us, he said. This fire cannot jump over to the north side of Deer Creek Canyon Road. We have a whole other situation on our hands, if that happens. Five firefighters assigned to the fire were injured on Wednesday, Techmeyer said. Four suffered heat exhaustion and one had a seizure, but none was hospitalized. A so-called hotshot crew of 20 experienced wildland firefighters from Durango joined crews responding to the fire on Thursday. Call for federal resources Fire officials have said that aerial firefighting resources and personnel are stretched thin by the outbreak of fires in Colorado and in many other Western states amid the most active summer wildfire season in several years. More than 750,000 acres have burned in California already this year, nearly 30 times the total acreage burned at this point in 2023. At least 31 large fires are burning in Oregon, and once-in-a-century fires are also impacting Canada. Colorado this summer recorded the third-hottest June in state history, according to the Colorado Climate Center, and multiple record high temperatures were set during a mid-July heat wave. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that much of the northern Front Range is experiencing moderate drought conditions, and an area spanning from Jefferson County to northern Larimer County is in severe drought. In a letter to NIFC chief Mark Hilton on Wednesday, four Colorado Democratic members of Congress said that the state has activated all available resources to address these wildfires and pleaded for more crews, incident management teams and aerial support as soon as possible. With existing wildfires and the continued high wildfire risk, the State expects to need additional resources in the coming days and weeks, said the letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Reps. Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen, who represent areas where the fires are burning. We understand the pressures facing our wildland firefighting workforce, as wildfires rage all across the western United States and continue to threaten many of our communities. Existing resources are stretched thin to meet those demands. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST FILE - Republican Tiffany Smiley speaks Aug. 2, 2022, at a Republican Party event on Election Day in Issaquah, Wash. Smiley is seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse in the 2024 primary next week. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) SEATTLE (AP) Congressional primary races in Washington state are attracting outsized attention, including one that pits one of the last remaining U.S. House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump against two conservative candidates whose platforms are in lock-step with the GOP presidential nominee. Another race in the states moderate 8th Congressional District held by centrist Democrat Rep. Kim Schrier has been shaken up by an upstart campaign by the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, who has made the Israel-Hamas war the centerpiece of his platform. And in the 3rd District, Trump-endorsed Joe Kent is trying to unseat Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who defeated him two years ago. That race is expected to see one of the tightest general elections in the country. Here's a look at key Washington congressional races next week: 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is seeking a sixth term, will face off against Trump-endorsed candidate Jerrod Sessler along with Tiffany Smiley, a former nurse who has made Trump a focus of her campaign, in the reddest congressional district in Washington state. But for the second election in a row, Newhouse must fight for reelection with Trumps looming presence hanging over his shoulder in the central Washington district that runs from the Canadian border to the Columbia River. His primary opponents have been quick to jump onto what they see as a huge liability, but political experts caution its difficult to say whether Trumps endorsement will sway voters who already stuck with Newhouse two years ago. Newhouse and U.S. Rep. David Valadao, of California, are the only Republican Congressional lawmakers left among the 10 who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Others retired or were defeated by Trump-endorsed primary challengers. The Trump impeachment vote and Newhouses views about Trump were probably more important two years ago. And yet he survived that primary. And he won pretty handily in the general election, said Cornell Clayton, director of Washington State Universitys Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service. "I mean hes got support in that community. Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver, has embraced Trump's endorsement, with images of him and Trump displayed high on his website. Smiley, who entered the race after losing to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray two years ago, called Newhouse absolutely delusional in an AP interview for thinking he could deliver for the district after publicly splitting with Trump. Newhouses approach has been to mostly stay clear of the subject, instead focusing on agriculture and border security in a state with millions of acres of pastures, orchards and cereal grain lands where immigrant labor is extremely important. As of July 17, Newhouse, who was endorsed by the NRA and the National Right to Life, had raised $1.6 million more than twice as much as Smiley and far more than the $409,000 raised by Sessler. But his path to victory will not be simple. Under Washingtons primary system, the top two vote getters in each of Tuesdays races advance to the November election, regardless of party. 3rd Congressional District Two years ago, Democrat Gluesenkamp Perez came out of nowhere to win a congressional seat against Trump-backed candidate Kent in a district that hadnt been in Democratic hands for over a decade. She took over a seat held by a more moderate Republican who lost the primary in part because she voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Now, armed once again with Trump's endorsement, Kent is back to try to take the seat in the southwest corner of the state. But he is facing stiff competition as former King County Prosecutor Leslie Lewallen gains a groundswell of support from conservatives looking to move the seat back into more moderate Republican hands. Joe Kent went on to lose in the general election to a Democrat, which was a shocker and nobody really expected that," said Clayton. "And given the fact that he had Trumps endorsement, raised quite a bit of money, had quite a bit of media exposure, there is a sense that maybe hes too extreme for that district. Lewallen, who has raised $820,000 not far behind the nearly $1.4 million accumulated by Kent is focused on reining in crime and homelessness that she attributes to Gluesenkamp Perez, while disparaging Kent for stepping back into the race. Meanwhile, Kent, a former Green Beret who has called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden, says Gluesenkamp Perez only pretends to be a moderate. Gluesenkamp Perez has far outraised her challengers, with $6.7 million. She supports abortion access and policies to counter climate change, but also increased border security to curb the fentanyl crisis and speaks openly about being a gun owner. 8th Congressional District Imraan Siddiqi has made the war in Gaza the centerpiece of his platform and has gained some traction as he derides Schrier for her approach, which often aligns with Bidens. But the district is filled with a mix of wealthy Seattle exurbs populated by tech workers and central Washington farmland, and until 2019 had been held by the GOP. Siddiqis presence could make Schrier appear more moderate, Clayton said, something she has historically sought by way of Republican endorsements. Schrier, a pediatrician, has stayed quiet about the war recently and did not respond to an emailed request for comment about Siddiqis remarks. Instead, shes touted the 14 bills shes had signed into law by Trump and Biden, while noting that she is one of two abortion-rights female doctors in Congress. As of July 17, Siddiqi had raised $387,000 -- more than twice as much as the Republican in the race, Carmen Goers, a commercial banker running to lower prices and cut back on crime. But its only a fraction of the $4.7 million raised by Schrier, and experts still anticipate a Schrier, Goers matchup in November. HONOLULU (KHON2) Ten workers will be affected when local hardware store, City Mill, closes its central warehouse on Sept. 12. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You In a WARN letter sent to the DOL on July 12, the company stated they would cease warehouse operations. The City Mill Board of Directors recently made the difficult decision to close the companys warehouse facility; City Mill retail locations are not affected, the company told KHON2. The 10 affected warehouse employees will retire or transition to other employers. The company was founded in 1899 and continues to operate eight retail stores across Oahu: Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii Kai, Kaimuki, Kaneohe, Mililani, Pearl City and Waianae. We are saddened by the need to take this step and are grateful to our employees for their many years of service to our company. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (WWLP) A piece of western Massachusetts aviation history arrived at its final resting place Thursday morning at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It was an exciting day at the museum as they welcomed the jet for the first time, making it the newest aircraft in their collection and the only active-service jet in the museum. The specific F15-C being added to the collection had its final flight down to Bradley International Airport last week and was demilitarized before its roll across the street to the museum. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in western Massachusetts for Pittsfield campaign fundraiser Demilitarizing involves Air National Guardsmen stripping away the weapons and any parts or materials that may be classified. The jet served a long tenure with the 104th Fighter Wing out of Westfield, even seeing combat action. This particular F15 flew in Operation Desert Storm and has quite a story, Air Museum CEO Stephanie Abrams.It flew in combat and actually had a victory in air-to-air with a Mig. That air-to-air victory was one of 34 total for the single-seat F-15 model in U.S. service. The jet first entered Air Force inventory in 1979 and is still in active service in the U.S. and air forces all over the world. Its scheduled to be officially retired in 2026 and replaced by the next-generation F35. If you want to see the F15-C and all the other aircraft they have on display at the air museum they are open seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Latest Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) After an inaugural year of local outrage and economic achievement, Las Vegas Strip leaders want to keep the cash flowing from annual Formula One races, though its seemingly costing millions of dollars to do so. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announced Monday a new partnership between the official marketing organization of Southern Nevada and F1. This is different than the ongoing $19.5 million sponsorship the LVCVA board of directors approved in 2022 to hold annual grand prix races through 2025. The new deal allows the Las Vegas brand to be advertised on and around the track, internet, hospitality suites, and fan activations of other F1 races around the world. A press release said it will last 18 months through the end of the 2025 season for a total of 15 races that will demonstrate the synergies between the worlds most exhilarating sport and the worlds most electrifying destination. In total, LVCVA is paying $12 million, equivalent to $800,000 per race for the partnership. A majority of the 2024 and 2025 F1 calendar show races held outside of the U.S. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman doubles as an LVCVA board member, who says business activity in her city was off by 35% during the restriction of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. She adds that no one alerted her to the new and major expenditure, including the authoritys President and CEO Steve Hill. I learned it when it was announced, Goodman said in her Downtown Las Vegas office Wednesday morning. A price and how they arrived at it is something, again, that we on the general board, at least for me, has not been shared. An LVCVA representative explained to 8 News Now Wednesday that the partnership was within the already approved marketing budget, hence the lack of board action. The 2024-2025 budget approved by the board in May lists $13 million in operating expenditures for Formula One without detailing specifically how it would be used. Mayor and Board Member Goodman believes any exposure we can get is wonderful but is at odds with why specificity was not detailed to her. Im not called for my opinion at all, which, to me, surprises me, Goodman said. As Mr. Hill has come in, more of the decisions are being made at the executive level and not so much the board level. As a board member, do you approve of that? 8 News Now Reporter Ryan Matthey asked. You know, Im conflicted on that, Goodman responded. You have to believe in your leadership, thats why you make a leader. The authoritys website said its primary source of revenue is through room taxes that are mostly paid by visitors. Those who live in the Las Vegas valley and stay at extended stay properties are subject to these taxes too. LVCVA reports 59.3 million people watched the televised inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, with another 316,000 fans physically in attendance over three days of practices and races. LVCVA said F1 spearheaded the economic report that showed an economic impact of nearly $1.5 billion. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. SAN DIEGO (KSWB/KUSI) Fourteen people were arrested and 10 potential victims were recovered after a human trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. As part of the sting, which was conducted Thursday through Saturday, law enforcement personnel posed as sex buyers to identify and contact potential trafficking victims and arrest their traffickers, according to the attorney generals office. Officers also posted undercover ads soliciting sex in order to arrest buyers. I could use a Wolverine: Jennifer Garner gets trapped in elevator at Comic-Con Of the 10 potential victims recovered, one was said to be a 16-year-old, the release stated. Child Welfare Services and other advocates were present to provide support to the victims, Bontas office said. Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit, Bonta said in a statement included in Wednesdays news release. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable. The task force responsible for the sting included members of the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as several local and state agencies and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez added, per a statement published in the release. The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal. As the Sheriff I support the efforts of all our justice partners in holding perpetrators accountable. Former Bachelor contestant Hailey Merkt dead at 31 San Diego Comic-Con, an annual convention focusing on comic books, film, television and pop culture, is said to be the largest comics and pop culture event in the United States, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority. This years event, which wrapped up Sunday, drew an estimated 135,000 attendees over four days, Nexstars KWSB reported. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. BUCHAREST, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Victoria Belous took the oath as Moldova's finance minister on Wednesday at the presidential palace in Chisinau, with President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean present. President Sandu thanked Belous for accepting the challenging role, emphasizing the high expectations and significant responsibilities associated with the position, particularly in maintaining critical public expenditures and leading negotiations with the European Union. The head of state also acknowledged the contributions of former Finance Minister Petru Rotaru, who has now been appointed deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova. She highlighted the importance of improving the business environment and ensuring the respectful treatment of citizens by the Customs Service and the State Tax Service. Prime Minister Recean praised Rotaru's efforts and wished Belous success. He stressed the need to bolster the economy, increase citizens' incomes, and judiciously finance development programs. The head of government also underscored the importance of effective management of the state's treasury and maintaining discipline to achieve the government's European integration goals. Belous noted her commitment to advancing the ministry's initiatives and reforms, expressing confidence that, with a strong team and dedicated effort, they will successfully implement their plans. Belous held the position of deputy director of the State Fiscal Service starting in August 2022 before her new appointment. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Recean submitted Belous's candidacy for minister of finance, following the announcement on July 25 that Rotaru would be stepping down from the position. Rotaru resigned after nine months in office on July 25. Before resigning, he sparked a public scandal by stating that the withdrawal of the Japanese Fujikura and German Coroplast factories from Moldova "will not have a significant impact because they are not major contributors to the budget," according to local media. SAN DIEGO (KSWB/KUSI) Fourteen people were arrested and 10 potential victims were recovered after a human trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. As part of the sting, which was conducted Thursday through Saturday, law enforcement personnel posed as sex buyers to identify and contact potential trafficking victims and arrest their traffickers, according to the attorney generals office. Officers also posted undercover ads soliciting sex in order to arrest buyers. I could use a Wolverine: Jennifer Garner gets trapped in elevator at Comic-Con Of the 10 potential victims recovered, one was said to be a 16-year-old, the release stated. Child Welfare Services and other advocates were present to provide support to the victims, Bontas office said. Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit, Bonta said in a statement included in Wednesdays news release. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable. The task force responsible for the sting included members of the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as several local and state agencies and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez added, per a statement published in the release. The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal. As the Sheriff I support the efforts of all our justice partners in holding perpetrators accountable. Former Bachelor contestant Hailey Merkt dead at 31 after cancer battle San Diego Comic-Con, an annual convention focusing on comic books, film, television and pop culture, is said to be the largest comics and pop culture event in the United States, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority. This years event, which wrapped up Sunday, drew an estimated 135,000 attendees over four days, Nexstars KWSB reported. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Fourteen people were arrested and 10 victims were rescued in a human sex trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con Convention. The San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a three-day operation ahead of the weekend bust, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release on Tuesday, adding that among those rescued was a 16-year-old girl. "Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit," Bonta said in a statement. "These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated." Police officers stand outside the San Diego Convention Center on the first day of Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on July 24, 2024. Attendees walk to the convention center during Comic Con International in San Diego, California, July 28, 2024. Officers worked undercover as sex buyers Law enforcement officers went undercover as sex buyers to identify and arrest traffickers, as well as find potential victims, according to the attorney general's officers. Undercover police also posted ads seeking sex as part of the operation. The comic book and pop culture event that concluded Sunday takes place at the San Diego Convention Center every summer, drawing over 100,000 people. "When people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, (Homeland Security Investigations) HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges," Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, said in a statement. "There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 14 sex buyers arrested in human trafficking sting at Comic-Con 19-year-old in stable condition after being shot in Hartford HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) A 19-year-old male is in stable condition after being shot in the Park Street area of Hartford on Wednesday night, according to Hartford police. Hartford teens get new bikes to improve physical and mental health At around 7:30 p.m., police were dispatched to Hartford Hospital on reports of a gunshot victim arriving for treatment. It was determined his injuries were non-life-threatening, and he was listed in stable condition. This is an ongoing investigation. Check back to News 8 for more updates. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Two siblings in South Carolina were arrested and charged with assault after insults over unseasoned chicken turned into a brawl involving Raid bug spray, a gun and a knife. Deputies were called to a home in Georgetown County on Sunday night about an assault in progress, according to a Georgetown County Sheriffs Office report. When Deputy Kyle Burns and Corporal Simpson arrived, they were told the situation began when Anthony Harper was asked by his sister Hope Harper why he didnt season the chicken that was cooking so it could crust up, the report said. Wanted man arrested after falling through apartment ceiling in New York Anthony Harper then told his sister he believed their grandmother would season it, after which Hope Harper called him a dumb dog, according to the report. Police said Anthony Harper then shoved his sister into a table and punched her about five times. The two continued to fight alongside another victim, according to the report until someone else in the home came into the room and fired a 9mm handgun into the ceiling. Hope Harper then went into the kitchen and grabbed a steak knife, at which point Anthony Harper, fearing for his life, ran to his grandmothers door, the report states. Hope Harper started swinging the knife toward her brother, but their grandmother came out of her room, grabbed a broom and started swatting Hope Harper until she walked away. Anthony Harper then grabbed a can of Raid bug spray and sprayed Hope Harper on the face and neck. Hope Harper took the can away and sprayed him back. Deputies said both Anthony and Hope Harper chose to press charges against the other. The two were arrested and booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center. Anthony Harper was booked on two charges of assault and battery one in the third degree and one in the second. Hope Harper faces a charge of assault and battery in the third degree. Both Anthony and Hope Harper were released on bond, according to the report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. 2 arrested on drug charges after SLO County police respond to woman screaming for help Two people were arrested on suspicion of several drug charges after Arroyo Grande police were called to help a woman who was allegedly screaming for help while being chased. Officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Ash Street for a report of a man chasing a woman who was screaming for help, the Arroyo Grande Police Department said in a news release. The woman, identified as 26-year-old Nipomo resident Janae Rodriguez, called her mother on the reporting partys phone and mentioned the man was possibly going to Burger King, police said. Both Rodriguez and the man left the area prior to the officers arrival. Officers later saw a woman matching Rodriguezs description enter a cars front passenger seat in the Burger King parking lot on Grande Avenue, police said, and conducted a traffic stop. Both Rodriguez and the driver, 30-year-old Oceano resident Kameron Merrilhooper, were identified in the vehicle. Rodriguez was on Own Recognizance release, meaning she was released from jail without having to post bail pending a criminal trial, and Merrilhooper was on post-release community supervision, which functions similarly to felony probation, police said. Officers searched both Rodriguez and Merrilhooper respective to the search terms of their releases, police said, and found a large quantity of suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and paraphernalia, which included evidence of alleged narcotics sales. Both were placed under arrest. Officers then authored a search warrant for Merrilhoopers residence because of their prior knowledge of Merrilhoopers involvement in alleged drugs sales and the items seized at the stop, police said. After a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge granted the warrant, police said, officers found a large quantity of methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia in Merrilhoopers home. According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office inmate database, Rodriguez is suspected of one count possession of a controlled substance for sale, one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of paraphernalia all health and safety code violations. She was in jail custody as of Wednesday afternoon with a $50,000 bail. Merrilhooper was being held in jail custody on suspicion of the same charges as Rodriguez, and was also suspected of violating his post-release community supervision terms, the database showed. He was being held without bail. 2 Belarusian journalists sentenced to sent to prison in a closed-door trial, rights group says Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle while visiting the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam monastery with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the Valaam island in Ladoga Lake, Republic of Karelia, Russia, Thursday, July 25, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Two Belarusian journalists working for news outlets that the government of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has declared extremist have been sentenced to prison, the country's leading human rights group said Thursday. The convictions in a closed-door trial are the latest in a persistent crackdown on dissent and independent journalism. The severe repression began when huge protests arose after the disputed 2020 presidential election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office. More than 35,000 people have been arrested in the crackdown. Many prominent opposition figures have fled the country and others have been sentenced to long prison terms. The rights group Viasna says there are nearly 1,400 political prisoners currently in Belarus. Reporter Ales Sabaleuski was sentenced on Wednesday to four years and cameraman Yauhen Hlushkou to three by the court in the city of Mogilev, Viasna said. They were convicted of participating in foreign military actions, but further details were not available. They worked with two Belarusian media operations that have been banned as extremist but that continue to work from abroad. MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) Two Mobile men were sentenced to federal prison in connection with the Darrin Southall drug trafficking organization, according to the United States Department of Justice. According to a news release from the USDOJ, 61-year-old Adrian McGhee and 23-year-old Jadarrin Barnes were sentenced after they were convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine as members of Southalls organization. ONLY ON NEWS 5: Scammers threaten to arrest Foley woman unless she pays up in cryptocurrency Court documents show that Barnes sold cocaine to a confidential informant, who used equipment to record Barnes image during the sale. McGhee was a courier for the organization, traveling to California and Texas to pick up drug shipments and bring them to Mobile. Southall bought a vehicle which was equipped with a concealed compartment for McGhees use to transport drug money to Houston, Texas, and to return with multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine, the release said. McGhee and Barnes were intercepted during wiretapped phone calls with Southalls phones, which implicated them as members of the organization. They pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine in 2021. 2 Mobile women sentenced for drug money laundering United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose sentenced McGhee to 60 months in custody, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release, the USDOJ release said. Judge Dubose sentenced Barnes to time served and ordered that he begin a five-year term of supervised release immediately upon his release. Both men can be searched if there is suspicion they violated the conditions of supervision. They are also subject to drug testing and treatment. Judge Dubose ordered both men to pay $100 in special assessments. The investigation included the Mobile Police Department; the Mobile County Sheriffs Office; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office; the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency; the Saraland Police Department; the St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, Sheriffs Office; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. An image of a noose and gallows is displayed during the final meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, in the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee is expected to approve its final report and vote on referring charges to the Justice Department. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Voter intimidation, an exodus of election workers fed up with harassment and continued misinformation and disinformation campaigns threaten the integrity of the November elections, officials with the government watchdog group Common Cause said Tuesday. This year will be the first presidential election since the big lie, Common Cause President Virginia Kase Solomon said on a video call with reporters. She was referring to the effort by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to undermine Trumps reelection loss in 2020 by promoting a series of unfounded conspiracy theories and encouraging supporters to obstruct Congress certification of the results on Jan. 6, 2021. Common Cause is a nonpartisan organization and Solomon and other speakers did not mention Trump, who is again the Republican nominee for president, by name. But Solomon said the countrys election integrity was damaged by the 2020 experience, with many veteran election workers opting to leave the profession rather than deal with the threats and harassment from believers in election conspiracies. Were still living with the legacy of those lies, she said. Theyve undermined the faith of many Americans in our elections and fed anger and heated rhetoric Those lies have also led to threats and harassment to election officials who have seen massive turnover in their ranks. On top of those challenges, election workers and voters also must deal this cycle with improving generative artificial intelligence tools that make disinformation easier than ever, Common Cause experts said. And state laws, such as a measure that went into effect in Florida after the 2022 elections to cancel automatic delivery of vote-by-mail ballots, promise further confusion and disenfranchisement, they said. To combat those threats to election integrity, the group is gearing up for campaign-season education drives. Threats of violence Instances of actual political violence remain rare, Suzanne Almeida, a Common Cause director of state operations who also leads the groups work on political violence, said. But threats, militant language, doxing and other harassment continue, Almeida said. That has affected election workers, with a recent study from the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice finding that 38% of election workers had experienced threats and more than half of local election officials feared for their safety. While surveys, including a recent University of California-Davis study, show that voters of both parties reject political violence, candidates who have large platforms have used them to drive turnout, Almeida said. We are seeing the normalization of hate, violent rhetoric, violent threats and harassment as a viable political strategy, she said. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday. AI and misinformation Intentional efforts to disinform voters and accidental spreading of misinformation remain a growing problem, Common Causes media and democracy program director Ishan Mehta said. The expansion and improvement of generative artificial intelligence makes it easier to create and spread fraudulent campaign content. The ubiquity of these tools means that you dont have to be a computer expert anymore to have misinformation that would convince a lot, over half the population, Mehta said. Social media platforms that surged misinformation enforcement after Jan. 6 have now backed off enforcing misinformation, he said. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, tweeted a doctored video of likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris over the weekend. Musk, who has endorsed Trump, bought the platform in 2022. He boasts 192 million followers. Florida law Amy Keith, the executive director of Common Cause Florida, said recent changes to state election law will create confusion and deprive some voters of ballots. More than 1.9 million Floridians who received a mail-in ballot in 2022 will not receive one this cycle, she said. The state enacted a law after that election that required voters to send new requests for mail-in ballots with additional identification. Even if some of those 1.9 million people might not wish to vote by mail this year, we know that thousands and thousands of Florida voters are likely expecting a mail ballot to arrive in their mailbox, she said. And it isnt going to. Ahead of the states Aug. 20 primary, Common Cause and allied groups are really working to spread the message to voters that they need to request a mail-in ballot if they wish to vote that way, and that they can vote in person even if they have requested a mail ballot, Keith said. Deploying poll monitors While predicting widespread violence on Election Day would not happen, Common Cause Pennsylvania Executive Director Philip Hensley-Robin anticipated some instances of political violence or intimidation. The group would send hundreds of poll monitors across the commonwealth to record such instances, with monitors who will also be trained in deescalation, he said. Hensley-Robin began his remarks by acknowledging the tragic events of the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, but said the isolated incident would not deter voters from turning out. He also anticipated that some would mount spurious lawsuits to disenfranchise voters and undermine public confidence in the election, but predicted those would be quickly dismissed. Trumps campaign lost scores of lawsuits challenging 2020 election results. Voter outreach Solomon said Common Cause would be reminding voters to be on the lookout for misinformation and disinformation, especially from AI, and that its likely Election Day will end without a clear winner in the presidential race, a situation that has encouraged conspiracy theories about election fraud. Thats not a sign that anything is wrong, she said. The group will also be in touch with election workers to understand their needs and to offer assistance, she said. She added that democracy had to be proactive. In the 2020 election, I think there was a false narrative that came out of that, and that was that democracy held and did what it was supposed to do, she said. And one of the things that I like to remind people of is that democracy did not hold. We made it hold. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Bronze Age hoard includes ax handles as well as arm bands. . | Credit: Podripske Museum Archaeologists discovered a hoard of Bronze Age artifacts while doing routine survey work in a field in the Czech Republic. The bronze objects which include eight arm rings, two pins, eight axes and one spearhead were found near Budyne nad Ohri, a town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Prague, Radio Prague International reported. Researchers estimate that most of the items, which they found using metal detectors, date to around 1600 B.C. "Most items are characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age, with only one ax belonging to the earlier period," Martin Trefny , an associate professor at the Museum of the Rip Region and the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyne and the curator of the hoard, told Live Science in an email. One ax is even older and dates to the Early Bronze Age. "Axes could have been used as tools or weapons. The latter function also applies to the spearhead," Trefny said. "Bracelets were forearm ornaments, and pins served either to fasten clothing or, for example, to style women's hair." Related: 'Jackpot' of 2,000 early-medieval coins discovered by hiker in Czech Republic Archaeologists remain unclear about why the hoard was buried, but they have proposed three possibilities. "In the first case, the hoards are presumed to have a votive function, meaning they served as offerings to deities," Trefny said. "In the second case, we speak of an economic function, where hoards are interpreted as, for example, storage for manufacturers of the given items." Alternatively, the buried items could reflect "a crisis situation, where it was necessary to hide the items, for example, from enemies," he said. RELATED STORIES Medieval belt buckle of 'dragon' eating frog discovered in Czech Republic may be from unknown pagan cult Bronze Age 'treasure' was crafted with extraterrestrial metal Nearly 8,000 medieval coins and 7 Bronze Age swords unearthed in Germany The treasure could be worth "millions of crowns," Trefny told Radio Prague International. (One million Czech crowns, or koruna, is about $42,500.) "All the items testify to the technological advancement of bronze casters and processors in Central Europe 3,500 years ago," Trefny told Live Science. "The composition of the hoard also contributes to understanding the warfare, craft techniques and contemporary fashion of the time. Considering that hoards might have a ritual significance, they can also reveal a bit about the contemporary religion." In the "near future," these found items will be on display at the Podripske Museum, located about 30 miles (50 km) north of Prague, Radio Prague International reported. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office targeted crimes unit arrested three felons in different cases. Detectives said they arrested Raykario Iverson, 21, after locating a magazine loaded with ammunition on top of Iversons probation paperwork. After a search warrant was authorized, detectives found a pistol, two magazines, ammunition, and body armor. The thorough nature of this investigation ensures this dangerous man will be held accountable for not only violating his probation, but, yet again, going down the wrong path, said Sheriff Chad Chronister. Hernando County cold case linked to serial killer decades later Heriberto Cantu Jr., 35, was on probation for criminal mischief and property damage when he was arrested on a probation check. Cantu Jr. was in possession of more than 1,200 rounds of various ammunition, according to the sheriffs office. This felon clearly was not taking probation seriously and will be forced to surrender not only his ammunition, but his freedom, said Sheriff Chronister. Both Iverson and Cantu Jr. were charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon. They both have been arrested in Hillsborough county more than 10 times. Gadiel Sierra, 20, was identified by detectives as an individual responsible for three thefts in Tampa. Sierra had warrants out for Polk County, where he was responding to Facebook Marketplace ads where people were selling cell phones, according to the sheriffs office. Each time he met with the victims about the phones, he would flee on foot before paying for the devices. Please, if youre completing an online transaction, use any of your district offices. Theyre designated as safe meeting places and have camera surveillance 24/7, said Sheriff Chronister. Sierra was arrested in Lakeland with the assistance of the Polk County Sheriffs Office. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. BRUSSELS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Severe storms struck Belgium on Thursday, causing significant flooding across several regions. Picardy Wallonia was particularly hard hit, with flooded homes and mudslides disrupting the daily lives of residents. In Brussels, several tunnels were closed due to flooding, leading to major traffic disruptions. Brussels firefighters received around 60 calls for weather-related interventions. The Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM) issued a yellow storm warning for this afternoon, indicating that intense storms could still develop across the eastern part of the country. Authorities are urging caution and recommending that citizens limit non-essential travel. Emergency services are on high alert, responding to emergency calls and intervening in the most affected areas. Teams of firefighters and civil protection are deployed to help residents impacted by the floods. According to a monthly climate report published Thursday by the IRM, July set a new record as the tenth consecutive month to register above-average precipitation levels. 3-Year-Old Who Was Killed in Dog Attack Donates His Heart to Save Another Child "This is the most beautiful thing to come from this tragedy," a family friend wrote on a GoFundMe page go fund me Covil Allen Nearly two weeks after a 3-year-old Minnesota boy and his mother were attacked by two dogs, the boy's heart was donated to another child following the boy's death. When Covil Allen of Brooklyn Park, Minn., and his mother Tasha were attacked by two dogs on Friday, July 19, it was determined that he would not survive the injuries he sustained. Therefore, the family decided to donate his organs. Now, they report via GoFundMe that his heart was donated to a 1-year-old girl. Family friend Lindsey Hemmerich wrote in an update on Tuesday, July 30, "This is the most beautiful thing to come from this tragedy and we couldnt be happier that his heart was able to save someone." GoFundMe Covil Allen The update further states that Covils liver did not "fit the child on the list." The Allen family had been working with Life Source, an organ procurement organization, to donate Covil's organs, per the fundraiser. "This will honor Covil's life and save more children's lives in hopes that no other parent has to endure the pain they are experiencing right now," Hemmerich wrote on July 24. Both Covil and his mother suffered severe injuries following the attack; a prior update stated that Tasha underwent three surgeries and would need multiple skin grafts. Go Fund Me Covil Allen go fund me According to Fox 9, Covil and his mother were in the backyard of a Brooklyn Park residence with his older brother Christian to adopt a puppy when he was attacked by the puppy's parents. During the attack, Tasha and Christian were allegedly playing with a puppy while Covil was nearby. Tasha heard her son scream and went to free him from the attack, along with the dog owner. Covils father told the outlet that the dogs were American Bulldogs. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. When the dogs attacked Covil, the adults allegedly defended the toddler "using hammers and pick axes to get the dogs off," WCOO-TV reports, citing a search warrant. CBS News reports that Brooklyn Park police were dispatched to the scene and "discharged their service weapons," striking both dogs. One died and the other was injured. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. HONOLULU (KHON2) A 33-year-old woman is in custody for the attempted murder of another female in Royal Kunia Tuesday night. According to Honolulu Police, the 33-year-old intentionally drove her vehicle into the victim. The victim was able to avoid getting hit and the suspect was arrested. Charges are pending. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) 24 high school seniors who recently graduated this year have been selected as West Virginias fifth cohort of Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars. A brand new photography studio opens its doors in Beckley The students will get the states newest and most prestigious scholarship of up to $10,000 per year, which is $40,000 total for their college education. These scholarships will be used to prepare them so they can become teachers in West Virginia. Im incredibly proud of these young scholars, and I cant wait to see what they accomplish over the next four years and beyond. We worked with the Legislature and Governor Justice to create a preeminent scholarship that would produce new generations of strong, committed teachers for years to come in the Mountain State. With a remarkable five cohorts of scholars now pursuing their teaching careers right here at home, we are well on our way to reaching that goal, said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginias Chancellor of Higher Education. The Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program addresses the ongoing need for teachers during the teacher shortage in the following subjects, which are math, science, special education, and elementary education. Individuals in this program must commit to teaching in one of these fields for at least five years after graduation. For help and success, each of these students will be paired with a practicing classroom teacher mentor, who will provide their guidance throughout. The 2024 Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars beginning their studies in West Virginia this fall are: Keci Armstead from Cabell Midland High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Danielle Bailey from Oak Hill High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Emma Broce from St. Marys High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Lily Campbell from Martinsburg Senior High School will be studying elementary education at West Virginia University. Teylah Carson from Bluefield High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Caitlyn Clendenin from Mauldin High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Emma Cremann from Moorefield High School will be studying elementary education at West Virginia University. AnnaKay Dean from Spring Valley High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Taylor Dempsey from Oak Hill High School will be studying math at Marshall University. Taylor Foster from Scott High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Jordan Groves from Bridgeport High School will be studying elementary education at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Jillian Huffman from Wheeling Park High School will be studying science at West Liberty University. Karlee Jozwick from Doddridge County High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Allie Kerby from Wirt County High School will be studying science at West Liberty University. Anna Lantz from Buckhannon-Upshur High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Rachel McClung from Parkersburg Catholic High School will be studying elementary education at West Liberty University. Caleb Messer from Scott High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Olivia Rupe from Herbert Hoover High School will be studying Math at Fairmont State University. Jada Sanders from Keyser High School will be studying elementary education at West Virginia University. Rosaline Shackleford from Buckhannon-Upshur High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State University. Jack Stanislawczyk from Keyser High School will be studying elementary education at Fairmont State High School. Katie Stephenson from Liberty High School will be studying elementary education at Concord University. Lily Taylor Whittaker from Sissonville High School will be studying elementary education at Marshall University. Lydia Wamsley from Tygarts Valley High School will be studying elementary education at Davis & Elkins College. Throughout the month of August, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commissions Facebook page will be featuring scholars highlights. For any high school seniors who want to become a teacher in West Virginia, applications are now open for the 2025 cohort. Visit College for West Virginia for more information and to fill out an application. Pottery By Maryanne offers locally made pottery, making it a fan-favorite at the State Fair The Underwood-Smith award has different accommodations such as financial aid. Residents of West Virginia who get the Promise Scholarship as well, which is $5,500 annually will receive $15,500 per year to help pay for college. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. More than 450 law enforcement officers in New Jersey faced major discipline last year for infractions ranging from rape to sleeping on the job. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor) An Edison patrolman was drunk off-duty when he drove off the road and hit trees and utility poles, killing two passengers in his car. An Ocean City police sergeant sexually abused a teenage girl over five years. And a Monroe cop failed a drug test, logged onto a police database to research his girlfriend, and used Facebook Messenger to solicit a resident online for Percocet, getting disciplined by his bosses at least 10 times. The three, who were fired for their misconduct, were among 460 law enforcement officers in New Jersey who received major discipline for wrongdoing last year, according to a 375-page report the state Attorney Generals Office issued Wednesday. Thats up almost 14% from 2022, when around 400 officers statewide received major discipline. There are more than 31,000 active, full-time officers statewide, according to the office. The office began publicly reporting major discipline annually in 2021 as part of an effort to increase accountability and transparency in policing. Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement the latest report builds on that goal by including fuller details of disciplinary cases. Increased transparency helps increase confidence in law enforcement, leading to greater public safety, Platkin said in a statement. New Jerseys law enforcement officers the vast majority of whom serve with professionalism and honor benefit from this increased public trust, enabling them to more safely and effectively serve New Jerseys residents. The report chronicles a staggering range of misconduct by 460 officers from 167 agencies disciplined with a five-day suspension or more in 538 cases. Fifty officers were repeat offenders, 58 officers got terminated, 402 were suspended (with an average suspension of 45 days), and eight were demoted, the data shows. Pending cases arent included in the data. State correctional officers, collectively, tallied the most major discipline charges, while the state police, county correctional officers in five counties, and the police departments in Newark, Trenton, and Jersey City rounded out the top 10 agencies with the most major discipline, according to the data. Newark and Jersey City are New Jerseys largest cities. Trentons police department is under federal investigation for abuses. Law enforcement agencies are required to report major discipline by the end of January annually. Of the 543 agencies that reported data, about 375 reported no major discipline. By county, Camden reported the most major discipline at 72 cases, followed by Essex and Hudson counties, with 51 cases each. Warren County listed two offenders, while Hunterdon reported three and Salem, six. New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association President Wayne Blanchard said the annual report continues to build transparency between the public and police, but noted that the number of disciplinary reports represents about 1% of the 30,000 or so officers working statewide. I think thats actually a really good record, Blanchard said. I mean, 99% of officers are out there doing the right thing, as weve always maintained. In Atlantic County, where county correctional officers racked up the third most major discipline statewide, spokeswoman Linda Gilmore said the agency is strictly following the Attorney Generals guidelines for discipline reporting. The majority of our 23 discipline cases in 2023 were for time and attendance violations, Gilmore said. Dan Keashen, spokesperson for Camden County, also noted that 75% of the disciplinary infractions attributed to Camdens correctional officers were for time and attendance issues. The Camden County Correctional Facility has been committed to transparency and accountability as it pertains to its operation and this report. Its critical for our organization to ensure that our public servants are doing the best job they can while running the jail and working alongside our inmates, Keashen said. A New Jersey State Police spokesperson said, Every day, our troopers work tirelessly and face significant risks to ensure the safety and security of our communities. We are dedicated to serving and protecting our communities with integrity, honor, and professionalism. We are committed to upholding the law, ensuring public safety, and building trust through transparency and accountability. The state Department of Corrections and Trenton Police did not respond to requests for comment. Alarming array of offenses Cops got disciplined for all sorts of reasons last year, including domestic violence, theft, assault and excessive force, positive drug tests, unsafe handling of firearms, sleeping on duty, speaking to colleagues in a sexually harassing manner, using racial slurs, flouting COVID testing protocols, smuggling contraband to incarcerated people, neglect of duty, and unprofessional conduct. The most frequent offenses stemmed from attendance issues, including lateness and call-outs too close to the start of a shift. Other offenses were far more alarming. North Bergen Officer Roberto Gonzalez was suspended after being accused of sexually assaulting someone while off duty, the report says. In Atlantic City, Officer Faryid Holmes was suspended after authorities accused him of recklessly fleeing police while off-duty, almost hitting a marked cruiser head-on, while another Atlantic City officer, Thomas Nealis, got suspended for punching a person in the face and choking them until they couldnt breathe, according to the report. Nealis resigned while the investigation was ongoing, the report says. Gloucester County Sheriffs Officer Mark Hasenpat got suspended after assaulting his neighbor twice, according to the report. Franklin Township Sgt. Teddy Cerra resigned after he was suspended for a road rage incident, the report says. Manville Police Chief Thomas Herbst got suspended and charged for various alleged offenses, including unwanted sexual behavior toward at least three women. Platkins office accused him of groping, exposing himself to, sexually harassing and sexually assaulting a subordinate between 2008 and 2021 and soliciting sexual favors from the wife of a subordinate officer. Herbst is on leave and set to go to trial in October, according to Patch. South Woods State Prison Correctional Officer JT Banks faces indefinite suspension after he was charged for kicking an incarcerated man in the head, according to the report, which says Tyrell HarrisMcLaughlin, a correctional officer at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, was terminated for sexual assault of an incarcerated woman. In Camden, officer Eddie Gonzalez resigned after he was accused of paying for sex while on duty, the report says. Cape May County Sheriffs Sgt. Douglas Siteman was accused of making inappropriate and unsolicited sexual advances toward a woman in England and got arrested for non-consensual sexual conduct, but he wasnt convicted, according to the report. He was demoted. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Massachusetts emergency shelter system will start enforcing sweeping new changes Thursday, including a five-day stay limit on migrants with overflow shelters at capacity. Nowhere to go: Newly arrived migrants in Massachusetts find themselves stranded Although this five-day rule takes effect today, there will be some flexibility for migrant families. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities fact sheet indicates it will be up to providers of the overflow shelters to grant extensions to families. These would be considered administrative extensions and could help keep a migrant family in the shelter for 5 to 30 days. Those administrative extensions could be granted at any time by the providers but would be for families working on rehousing plans, delays in transportation, and health-related events. The new five-day stay limit will include migrants being transitioned to temporary respite sites and the state offering to pay for plane tickets and other travel expenses for those who want to leave. Could sink the Commonwealth financially: Emergency shelter system cost tops $1 billion Governor Maura Healey said the state cant continue to take the number of people theyve been taking from outside Massachusetts. Half of the families in an emergency shelter are actually Massachusetts families. But I said for a long time, we need Congress to act, we need more funding, we need more help. But in the meantime, were trying to manage the situation, and Ive prioritized high, vulnerable families, Healey said. Healey added that she wants to protect the current law that Massachusetts residents have a place to go should they need the shelter system. If youre a woman fleeing domestic violence and youve got kids, youve got a place to go. If youre a veteran, youve got a place to go, you know. If youve fallen on hard times and youve had a medical catastrophe in your family and you cant afford a house or an apartment, youve got a place to go. And Im really, you know, thats the law here. And I want to make sure that were protecting that. Our shelters are full: Healey sends Bay State officials to southern border amid migrant crisis There are advocacy groups like the International Institute of New England who say the five-day stay policy is not enough time for migrants to apply for authorization documents to get jobs or make a plan for where to go next. Governor Healey sent a migrant crisis team to the border to emphasize that Massachusetts shelters are at capacity. Hundreds of migrant families are staying in four state-run overflow shelters in Chelsea, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Lexington. No new overflow shelters will be opened. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW CLEVELAND (WJW) U.S. Marshals in Cleveland announced Wednesday their officers recovered a 5-year-old child who was missing from Virginia. According to a press release, the child was taken by a non-custodial parent in Yorktown, Virginia, on May 1. Ohio-based Big Lots names nearly 150 stores closing amid bankruptcy risk Law enforcement in Virginia were able to identify a potential Cleveland location. The U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit found the child and arrested the non-custodial parent in the 14400 block of Cedar Road on Tuesday, according to a press release. This embedded content is not available in your region. Ashlee Benneson, 31, faces charges of parental abduction. Benneson was booked in the Cuyahoga County jail. She was living in Newport News, Virginia and is being extradited back there. Her name appears in municipal court records in Cleveland for a landlord eviction in 2012, but investigators are still determining her current connection to the area. The child is in the custody of the Department of Family Services until the child can be reunited with the custodial parent. Anne Murphy, Assistant Chief Northern District of Ohio U.S. Marshals Service, says multiple agencies began coordinating efforts to find the child soon after they were reported missing, and in any missing or child abduction case time is of the utmost importance. The speed of these cases is important because things can change so quickly. Kids are little and they dont have the capacity to take care of themselves, said Murphy. Man charged with making fake 911 call in Summit County At this time, no one else has been arrested or charged in connection with the abduction. The safety of children is a highest priority for us, and we are happy to recover this child and reunite them with their custodial parent, U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a press release. Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED or 1-866-492-6833. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. PRAKASH MATHEMA In a landmark decision, Nepals Supreme Court has ruled that Rukshana Kapali, a trans woman and longtime activist for trans and intersex rights, can at last be legally recognized as a woman. But LGBTQ+ advocates in the region say there are still significant hurdles that must be overcome. Kapali, 27, finally won the right to have her gender legally recognized after suing the Nepalese government more than 50 times, Human Rights Watch reported this week. The Court made its decision in November, but the full text was only released to the public this week, declaring that trans people must be allowed to self-declare their gender under Article 16 of Nepals constitution, according to the Hindustan Times. Although the decision will set a legal precedent, the court narrowly granted recognition only to Kapali herself, meaning other trans people will need to petition for recognition separately. I am very glad and happy that this verdict has finally put an end to the discrimination and stigmatization I faced everywhere I went, Kapali told the Times on Tuesday. [The verdicts] uniqueness is that it has recognised the transgender word. This is the first Supreme Court verdict that has clarified all aspects, such as right to privacy and other fundamental freedoms, and I hope this ruling is going to positively impact other verdicts. The Court ruled that Kapali should be verified as a woman on all legal documents, without requiring medical verification that she had received gender-affirming surgery a requirement made defunct by another landmark court decision in 2007, Pant v. Nepal, which declared that trans people do not need to undergo surgery to receive legal recognition and established a third gender category for trans people. (Kapalis victory will also allow her to be recognized as a woman rather than a third gender.) Nepal Just Registered Its First Queer Marriage Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey had a Hindu wedding ceremony in 2017, but it took until now for their union to be legally recognized. Still, advocates say that surgery rule is still used as a false pretense to deny trans people their legal rights, due to Nepals lack of specificity regarding the process of legal gender changes. Despite reforms like the self-identification precedent set forth in Pant v Nepal, we are still struggling with the over-medicalization of legal gender recognition for transgender people, Simran Sherchan, National Program Coordinator for the Federation of Sexual and Gender Minorities in Nepal, wrote in March this year. As a transgender woman, I find it painful to witness my community go through these horrible experiences 17 years after the Supreme Court made it clear that self-feeling was the only requirement for legal gender recognition, Sherchan added. But I know our community is strong, and that we wont stop pushing for a policy that respects our rights. Kapali, a law student, brought the case in protest of Tribhuvan University, which refused to register her on the basis that her identity documents did not list her as a female, the Hindustan Times reported. The Court found that the university had violated her rights to education under Nepals constitution. My life is going to be easy from now on, Kapali told the Times this week. I hope the situation I faced at the university will not remain the same after this verdict. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. (WKBN) The Ohio State Highway Patrol joined forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project to focus on move-over enforcement, citing over 511 drivers during the enforcement period. Read next: Tropical system 97L will impact US this weekend The 6-State Trooper Project is a multi-state law enforcement partnership aimed at providing combined and coordinated law enforcement and security services in the areas of highway safety, criminal patrol and intelligence sharing. The project included the Indiana State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, West Virginia State Police and OSHP. It began July 21 and ran through July 27. During the project, 511 drivers in Ohio were issued citations for move-over violations. It was by far the most citations, followed by 306 in Michigan and 218 in Pennsylvania. Locally, 44 drivers were cited in Mahoning County, followed by eight in Trumbull and one in Columbiana County. Collectively, troopers from the five states cited 1,134 violators during the enforcement period. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. With $8.5M Investment, New Mexico Tries Once Again to Get Tutoring Right In April, New Mexico launched a tutoring effort with all the high-impact elements experts say lead to success: small groups, led by a trained tutor for 90 minutes of instruction spread throughout the week. It was the third attempt in two years. With the school year winding down, some districts never even got word the program existed. Those that participated quickly scrambled to cram it into their schedules. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The timing wasnt optimal, said Matt Montano, superintendent of the Bernalillo Public Schools, north of Albuquerque, and one of just five districts out of the states 89 to sign up. Staff members, he said, were a little bit less than enthusiastic about the interruption. The late rollout was only the most recent snag in the states troubled effort to spend millions in federal relief funds for tutoring before the deadline to use the money hits next month. The first attempt with an on-demand, virtual provider met with a meager response from families. A second try never got off the ground because of a contract mishap the state still wont fully explain. And the delayed start on the third effort means only a fraction of the students slated for tutoring got it. State officials estimate that between 2,000 and 3,000 students received the extra help far less than the 8,000 they were hoping to reach. Clearly, it was not the best, Amanda DeBell, New Mexicos deputy education secretary, said of the condensed program. But in July, the legislature pumped new life into the effort, providing $8.5 million for high-dosage tutoring this fall. The state also plans to use whats left of the $4 million in federal relief funds that theyd hoped to spend last school year to support math tutoring for middle school students. Data shows New Mexico students still have a lot of ground to make up to combat pandemic learning loss. The state ranked last in fourth grade math and reading in the most recent iteration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The experience underscores the difficulty of pulling off a statewide tutoring effort even one backed by convincing research and millions of dollars in federal relief funds. At a May tutoring conference at Stanford University, Education Secretary Arsenio Romero spoke candidly about the states false starts. Sometimes we as educators are our own worst enemies, he said. We go through year-long cycles before we make changes. You need to be able to pivot. All the way to the living room Especially when the needs are so great. On state tests, less than a quarter of New Mexico students meet math standards and just 38% score proficient in English language arts. The state also continues to operate under a 2018 court order to improve education for English learners and low-income, special education and Native American students. In late 2022, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the state had signed a $3.3 million contract with Paper, a virtual, on-demand tutoring company. The deal promised to offer students in high-poverty elementary and middle schools those hit hardest by school closures up to 20 hours of free tutoring. But the state abruptly terminated the contract less than three months later. The model expected families to sign up for help on nights and weekends, which research shows doesnt often reach students who are furthest behind. Those students might not know the right questions to ask a tutor, and technical glitches associated with online programs tend to frustrate both kids and parents who are already discouraged. This service is not providing the results in terms of engagement, support or delivery of service to the states students, Mariana Padilla, then-interim secretary of education, wrote to the company. Montano in Bernalillo doesnt think any students in his district signed up for the program. Deployment from the state level all the way to the living room of families is a hugely difficult process, he said. Paper officials cited multiple reasons for the rocky rollout. The program launched just as students returned from holiday break in January 2023, and the state didnt give the company enough time to get buy-in from families and schools, said spokeswoman Ava Paydar. Re-envisioning tutoring Romero, appointed secretary by Lujan Grisham in March 2023, faced the immediate challenge of finding a more-effective tutoring provider. It really allowed us to re-envision what we wanted tutoring to look like, he said at the Stanford conference. Three months after it canceled Papers contract, the state education department put out a call for vendors who could offer a high-impact model, either in person or virtually. The virtual classes that predominated during the height of the pandemic set students back academically by months, even years. But research shows that live instruction from a tutor working remotely can produce positive results if schools schedule sessions during the school day and offer the same consistent and frequent support as an in-person tutor. The state chose three providers, who were slated to begin serving students last August. But officials abruptly canceled that program before it got started because of a protest from another vendor that wasnt chosen. The department declined to explain the nature of the dispute, and Romero said the education department never finalized contracts with the three providers. Related Study: Virtual Tutoring Boosted Young Readers Literacy Scores Some education advocates grew impatient as they watched the school year go by without a program in place. We failed to offer consistent access to quality, high-impact tutoring, said Amanda Aragon, executive director of NewMexicoKidsCAN, part of a national network of education policy and advocacy groups. She called the spring effort in no way sufficient. While New Mexico may have faced more obstacles than most, other states trying to provide tutoring to thousands of students have weathered similar ordeals. New Jersey was slow last fall to get funding to districts to hire tutors, and Virginia initially got a lackluster response from districts when Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his new All in VA plan, which includes high-impact tutoring in third through eighth grades. In Louisiana, some vendors passed on participating in a program that pays $40-per-hour for one-to-one sessions about half what providers normally charge. Any state that was ambitious enough to take on large-scale implementation of tutoring has experienced growing pains, said Nakia Towns, chief operating officer of Accelerate, a national initiative funding tutoring programs and research. Many have struggled to find high-quality vendors and convince districts to participate. With the new state funding, New Mexico is trying something different. The state will provide the money, but districts will issue their own contracts and have flexibility to hire teachers or choose the outside vendors they want. District efforts One reason New Mexico leaders ultimately changed course is that they saw proof that districts had succeeded in blending tutoring into the school day. Ten Las Cruces schools participated in a program this past school year with Tutored by Teachers, a virtual model led by credentialed educators. Students who were a grade level or more behind gained roughly twice as much learning as those who didnt get tutoring, leading the district to invite the provider back this fall, said co-founder Rahul Kalita. Romero visited one of the districts schools in October and saw Spanish-speaking students practicing their English skills with a bilingual tutor while also getting math support. Related After Literacy Wins, Oakland REACHs Parent Liberators Take on Math Tutoring Kalita attributed some of the states prior difficulties to a lack of steady leadership at the top. Romero is New Mexicos third education secretary since 2019. Funding is critical, but its just the first step, he said. Further evidence on in-school tutoring comes from a study on a virtual model that has helped prepare over 500 New Mexico middle school students for high school algebra. The program, continuing this fall, is used in large districts like Chicago, Miami-Dade and Fulton County, Georgia. In New Mexico, the effort includes 19 districts, many of them small and isolated, like Tatum Municipal Schools. Located about 15 miles from the Texas border, the rural district had just 26 seventh graders last school year. All of them received tutoring, and over half met or exceeded goals by the spring. Thats a small improvement over their scores from sixth grade, said Superintendent Robin Fulce, but he considers that progress significant because of the big jump in rigorous material in seventh grade. The Lake Arthur Municipal Schools is one of several small, rural districts participating in a tutoring study led by the University of Chicago and MDRC, a research organization. (Lake Arthur Municipal Schools) The program has convinced Fulce that students can form tight relationships even with tutors they meet online. Recently, two of those tutors passed through town for a visit. They brought doughnuts and every kid in that seventh grade went over and hugged them. It was a very good experience, Fulce said. To him, the states multiple tutoring efforts reinforced that offering services outside the school day doesnt benefit kids who need it the most. The results, Romero said, influenced the states decision to shift gears and make decisions based on research and data. Montano, the Bernalillo superintendent, estimated that about 800 students in his district received services roughly half those he felt should have gotten the support. But he doesnt consider it a wasted effort. It was too good of an opportunity for us not to take advantage of it, he said. Description The Mannix Shows host Karyn Mannix will be present a riveting conversation about Arts Activism with two original/former Guerrilla Girls, Alice Neil and Romaine Brooks. Topics discussed will range from how the Guerilla Girls, as a group of activists, made such an impact on the art world, plus newer concerns for us, as a society, on how and where do we go from here in the arts and beyond. We may not have the answers but its a topic that is worth a good conversation. The Guerilla Girls, founded in 1985, are a band of anonymous women artists who fought discrimination against women artists and artists of color in the art world. They wear gorilla masks and assume the identities of dead female artists, all to focus on the message. They have delivered this message in performances and presentations globally, from Australia to Europe, and all over the United States. Their witty, pointed posters, plastered all over lower Manhattan, called out gallerists, curators, collectors, and critics for their complicity within this system. The Guerrilla Girls brought into public discourse, for the very first time, how this sustained discrimination axed women artists and artists of color out of exhibitions, museums, the art market -- and art history itself. A famous Guerrilla Girl poster reads. Youre seeing less than half the picture without the vision of women artists and artists of color. * Signed, original posters will be available for sale. Iowa State University student volunteers help new students move into the Failey Residence Hall Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. Students will be returning to the Iowa State University campus at the end of the month, and the city of Ames is preparing for the infamous 801 Day. 801 Day is the Saturday in August before each new school year begins. Its name comes from 8:01 a.m., the time on that Saturday when the prohibition on alcohol at fraternities and sororities is lifted at Iowa State, according to the Iowa State Daily. This year, 801 Day falls on Aug. 24. While 801 Day is not an official event, students have turned the day into a partying and drinking tradition. Alpha Chi Omega sorority house members (from left) Isabella Tonnery, Molly McNeal, and Bryant Thelen paint their house's driveway to decorate for new recruitment at Sunset Drive Thursday, August 10, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. More: Budgets for Iowa's three public universities are rising with additional tuition revenue Why has 801 Day become so problematic? In a report to the council in 2022, officials described behaviors have grown since the late 2010s beyond a small part of the university's population to include being "a destination for people from outside Ames," no longer limited to Iowa State students. The report said that parties have grown to hundreds of people at private residences. Parties included "underage drinking, fights, noise above what is allowed by the noise ordinance, public intoxication, spilling onto neighboring property, public urination, and other inappropriate activities." More: U.S. 69/Lincoln Way and South Duff Avenue intersection will close overnight through Aug. 7 Nuisance and parking penalties for 801 Day The Ames City Council authorized enhanced penalties for nuisance parties during its July 23 meeting. They will be in effect from 5 p.m. Aug. 23 until 4 a.m. Aug. 25. The penalties will be $650 for a first offense and $855 for each repeat offense. The enhanced fine structure for nuisance party violations was utilized last year during the Cyclone Welcome Weekend, and city staff noticed some reduction in large parties. The council also approved the immediate towing of vehicles parked illegally on Aug. 24 from midnight to 11:59 p.m. The ordinance applies to the following streets: Lincoln Way between Beach Avenue and State Street. State Street between Lincoln Way and Mortensen Avenue. Mortensen Avenue between State Street and Beach Avenue. Beach Avenue between Mortensen Avenue and Lincoln Way. Staff do not intend to tow for overtime parking violations, absent a public safety risk. Iowa State University students move into the Failey Residence Hall Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. More: The Boone County landfill is filling up fast, officials predict only 30 years til capacity How is the city preparing for 801 Day? The month before Cyclone Welcome Weekend provides time to notify the community of the penalties taking place that weekend. The Police Department and ISU staff will inform residents while going door-to door during the Good Neighbor Campaign in early August. An email outlining the regulations and penalties will be sent to property managers and owners with a request to forward the message to tenants. A similar email will be sent to neighborhood associations. City staff will place signs in the affected parking areas emphasizing where parking is illegal. Electronic message signs will also be placed in the area before August 24, subject to availability. The city and Iowa State will publicize the nuisance and parking ordinances in press releases and social media accounts. Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: City of Ames enhances party penalties for 801 Day The accused mastermind of 9/11 has accepted a plea deal to avoid a death penalty trial at Guantanamo Bayand instead will be sentenced to a year for each life he claimed: 2,976 in total, according to a senior law enforcement official close to the situation who spoke with the Daily Beast. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, one of Osama bin Ladens closest confidantes, took the deal from his cell in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for close to two decades. Two other detainees also took plea deals to dodge a death penalty trial but are still to be sentenced, the law enforcement official said. As Mohammed agreed to the deal, a sandstorm from the Sahara blew through Guantanamo Bay, briefly knocking out the power, according to the same official. The Convening Authority for Military Commissions has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case, an Office of Military Commissions spokesperson told the New York Post. The deal was struck after victims families and the defense agreed there would be no way Mohammed could receive the death penalty because of legal difficulties that arose out of allegations that he had been tortured, according to the same official. The official added that the families also wanted to see justice in their life times. In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused (Mohammad, Attash and al Hawsawi) have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet, chief prosecutor for the military commission Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh wrote in a letter sent to the families of victims obtained by The New York Times. The discrepancy between the official death toll of those killed on 9/11, 2,977, and the charge sheet, arose after one family member of a victim had refused to accept the death certificate when the original charging documents were created. Currently, Mohammad, Attash and al Hawsawi are being held in Guantanamo Bay. Mohammad has been held in U.S. custody since 2003 when he was captured in Pakistan by Pakistani authorities. Mohammad may stay in Guantanamo Bay during the entirety of his sentence due to U.S. law, according to the same official, but they did not specify which. The official added that the families will also be able to file victim impact statements. Another 9/11 plotter was ruled legally insane and another will go to trial, according to the same official. 1,013 people who died on 9/11 have still not been identified. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. The U.S. has reached a plea deal with three prisoners accused of helping to plan the 9/11 attacks and who are being held at the infamous Guantanamo Bay facility. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi all reached a plea agreement with the U.S., the Defense Department announced Wednesday. The Pentagon would not comment on any further details of the plea agreement. The New York Times reports the three will receive life sentences, and the possibility of the death penalty is now off the table. The three accused prisoners were all charged jointly in 2008 and again in 2012 in connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the U.S., which killed nearly 3,000 people after the terrorist group al Qaeda hijacked two planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Along with the three prisoners who reached the plea deal, two others were similarly charged in connection to the 9/11 attacks: Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al-Shibh. The families of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks are likely to push back against the plea deal, which they have said in the past allows the prisoners to avoid a trial. The U.S. launched a war on terrorism after the al Qaeda attacks, invading both Iraq and Afghanistan. American forces killed al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in 2011. The three accused 9/11 plotters have been held since 2003, stuck in pretrial litigation. Mohammed, sometimes known as KSM, is accused of being the chief mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. He was subjected to torture during his early detention at Guantanamo Bay, including waterboarding, human rights groups have said. The U.S. has been accused of carrying out acts of torture and abuse against prisoners at the facility. Mohammed, a Pakistani national, is also accused of being behind at least 30 terrorist attacks or plots. The plea deal may allow the U.S. to incarcerate the prisoners and move them out of Guantanamo Bay. The Biden administration has been seeking to wind down operations at Guantanamo Bay, a facility located in a coastal port the U.S. leases from Cuba. The U.S. has been accused of carrying out acts of torture and abuse against prisoners at the facility. The U.S. last transferred a prisoner from Guantanamo Bay in April 2023, leaving around 30 prisoners at the facility. The U.S. once held 780 prisoners at the site. In a similar case, the Department of Justice (DOJ) denied a request by Zacarias Moussaoui to serve the remainder of his life sentence in France, the Times reported Wednesday. Two relatives of people killed in the 9/11 attacks told the Times that the DOJ said it had denied Moussaouis request last Friday. No explanation was provided for the several days delay in notification, even after senators wrote to the Biden administration demanding that Moussaouis request be rejected last week. Moussaoui is serving a life sentence from the supermax prison in Colorado. He was arrested in Minnesota a month before the attacks, and for some time after 9/11, it was believed that he would have been the 20th hijacker, but the assertion was later dropped. The Hill has reached to the DOJ for more information on Moussaouis denied request. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) harshly criticized the deals on Wednesday, calling the move revolting. The Biden-Harris Administrations cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace, he wrote on X. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the governments responsibility to defend America and provide justice. Lauren Irwin and Nick Robertson contributed to this post. Story was updated at 9:18 p.m. ET Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A local family who lost a loved one in the 9/11 attacks is reacting to Wednesdays announcement that a plea deal has been reached between the U.S. Government and the terrorists behind the attacks. As a result, they will avoid the death penalty. The plea agreements include the alleged mastermind behind the attacks. Paul Walier, a Hamburg resident, lost his sister Margaret Seeliger in the 9/11 attacks. He calls the plea agreement a disgrace and says 9/11 families werent part of the negotiations in the court case. In a statement from the Department of Defense, the Convening Authority for Military Commissions has reached plea agreements with three 9/11 attackers, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks. Two other 9/11 attackers are not part of this plea agreement. Walier says his sister was working for an insurance company on the 101st floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred. I still miss her everyday, she was great, always one of the smartest in the room, just really fun to be around well, well-rounded, he said. Wailer says the U.S. Government has failed many 9/11 families. This has been going on for so long, many years, our family basically thinks its a disgrace its an incompetence from the government, Walier said. I really dont even know what the purpose is of having a federal death penalty, if youre not going to use it in a case like this. He adds that he wanted to see federal prosecutors pursue the death penalty and says he still has questions about how the terrorists were funded. Walier goes on to say that the federal government alerted families about the plea agreement just a couple days ago about their decision. The decision to enter into plea agreements is something that 9/11 families are divided on with many supporting life sentences. In a letter from the Department of Defense to 9/11 families, the three attackers have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charges against them in exchange for the death penalty to be taken off the table. Sentencing is expected a year from now. Hopefully these guys just die down there soon enough, Walier said. The letter from the DoD to 9/11 families says federal prosecutors have been in plea deal negotiations for over two years. Latest Local News Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) On April 25th, 2024, Dr. John Kuhn officially became the new superintendent for Abilene ISD. On Wednesday, the district announced a hiring freeze amid a steady dwindling of enrollment over the past decade. KTAB/KRBC caught up with Dr. Kuhn as he addressed the Kiwanis Club of Abilene to discuss the reasoning behind that decision and his view of the districts goals moving forward. Abilene ISD appoints Dr. John Kuhn as new superintendent You know, the two biggest challenges any superintendent or school staff faces are taking off and landing the plane. Were getting ready to take off right now, Kuhn said. Kuhn highlighted student mental health, staffing concerns, and the district funding budget as areas of focus as he looks down the 2024-2025 runway. He admitted that there are a number of hurdles, but he is confident in facing them with the communitys support. Dr. John Kuhn addresses the Kiwanis Club of Abilene Ive been super impressed at just how kind everyone is in Abilene. People definitely voice their support for our school system, and that makes me feel really good I think were well-positioned to move forward. We definitely have some financial concerns that were dealing with as a school district, trying to get to a point where we can have a balanced budget instead of a deficit budget, said Kuhn. The hiring freeze is just one portion of the districts response to address funding. Kuhn says enrollment has been steadily in decline over the past ten years and is now out of sync with staff hiring. He assures that staff is sufficient to meet the needs of this school year and that layoffs will not be a part of the response. Abilene ISD elementary schools receive Title I benefits The school district hasnt reduced staff at a commensurate rate Now weve done most of our hiring for the next school year We just have to be extremely efficient with our expenditures. Payroll is usually about 80 percent of a school districts expenses, Kuhn said. A second tenant of that response is hiring proportionate to enrollment. The district is looking to develop a sustainable model to allocate employment by campus population and need. The State has not, they havent really done much to increase our funding, so we have to live within our means We sometimes will have a campus with twice as many students as another campus, but they have the same number of assistant principals, and so that doesnt make a lot of sense to me, Kuhn explained. While enrollment may have dropped, Kuhn said he is focused on ensuring the districts funding for enrolled students remains strong. Kuhn took a firm stance in opposition to school vouchers, which he said could disproportionately affect certain student groups in the public school system in favor of private education institutions. I think school vouchers are bad for public education Its a new expenditure for the State to cover these tuition costs that had been covered by upper-middle-class parents Unfortunately, some of the schools that will be accepting these vouchers have no obligation to accept students with special needs, students from different language backgrounds Wheres that money come from to cover that tuition? Well, a lot of its going to end up coming out of the coffers of our public school system, said Kuhn. Dr. Kuhn, during a presentation to the Kiwanis Club of Abilene He added that students who might not be accepted to private or charter schools may have public school as their only option. This is where his view on the responsibility of public educators comes into play. It doesnt make a difference to me what language they grew up speaking at home or in their nation of origin. We serve all kids, and thats one of the great things about the public school system. Im proud to educate them. Im happy to educate them If you live in Texas, and youre a student, student age. You have a right to a public education, Kuhn said. AISD hosts back-to-school supply drives in preparation for August distribution As previously mentioned, funding for those students isnt Kuhns only concern. The new superintendent spoke at length about the importance of mental health services for district students. We need to make sure our kids are healthy inside and out. It is stressful being a student in the United States today. There are the same peer pressures that have always existed, but now theres social media. I think any school system should be making sure that were providing resources to help kids cope and deal with the challenges that come their way, said Kuhn. In addition to reallocating staff-based on-campus enrollment and freezing hiring, Kuhn announced a new early retirement incentive program through which district staff near retirement can receive a small bonus for taking their retirement early. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) An Abilene man accused of sexually abusing a child has been arrested. James Westfall was taken into custody for Indecency with a Child Wednesday in connection to the allegations. Court documents state a child came forward in May 2024 and reported he had been sexually abused by Westfall from September to October of 2023. During an inverview with detectives, the documents state the victim described multiple instances of sexual assault. Westfall now remains held in the Taylor County Jail on a $70,000 bond. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. An US Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship recently used its 30mm and 105mm to help sink a decommissioned amphibious warship during an exercise, which comes amid a larger discussion about the relevance of these aircraft in future higher-end operations. The U.S. Air Force has released a video showing one of its AC-130J Ghostrider gunships firing its 30mm cannon and 105mm howitzer at the ex-USS Dubuque during a recent sinking exercise (SINKEX) in the Pacific. The Austin class amphibious warfare ship was sent to the bottom of the ocean as part of the larger biennial Rim Of The Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. At the same time, a review of the AC-130J fleets capabilities is underway, which may lead to the aircraft losing their iconic 105mm guns, amid a broader shift away from counter-insurgency operations to preparing for high-end fights, especially one against China. A rare player in SINKEXs, the AC-130J, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, is seen peppering the ex-Dubuques superstructure and other portions of the bow end of the ship, as well as its rear flight deck, with 30mm and 105mm fire in the footage from RIMPAC 2024. The former USS Dubuque, which the U.S. Navy decommissioned in 2011, had a fully loaded displacement of nearly 17,000 tons when it was in service, but was stripped down ahead of the sinking. The ex-Dubuque SINKEX occurred in the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii on July 11. This was one of two separate SINKEXs conducted during RIMPAC 2024, which wraps up today. The other one involved the former USS Tarawa, a decommissioned amphibious assault ship, the particular significance of which you can read more about here. Whether or not the Ghostrider employed any other weapons beyond its guns is unclear. Another picture of the aircraft from RIMPAC taken on July 9 shows it carrying a four-rail launcher for AGM-114 Hellfire missiles under its left wing, but without any actual missiles. The AC-130J, the only variant of the AC-130 now in service, can employ a variety of precision-guided munitions in addition to the AGM-114, including Paveway-series, GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), and GBU-69/B Small Glide Munition (SGM) bombs and AGM-176 Griffin missiles. The 27th Special Operations Wings AC-130J at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii during RIMPAC 2024 on July 9, 2024. The four-rail Hellfire missile launcher is visible under the very tip of its left wing. USAF Other assets also helped sink the former Dubuque, including a U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber that struck it with a specialized Quicksink anti-ship version of the 2,000-pound class GBU-31/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision-guided bomb. At least one U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter also employed Hellfires against the former Navy amphibious warfare ship. A US Army AH-64 Apache from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade fires a Hellfire missile at the ex- during the SINKEX on July 11, 2024. US Army The ex-Dubuque seen during the SINKEX after being hit by a Hellfire launched from an Army Apache. US Army Sgt. Perla Alfaro U.S. and foreign forces employed various air, sea, ground-launched cruise missiles in the subsequent Tarawa SINKEX, but it is unclear if any of those munitions were also used against the ex-Dubuque. A full list of the munitions used to sink both ships has not yet been released. Pictures from RIMPAC also show an A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft flying alongside the AC-130J during another live-fire portion of RIMPAC on July 15. An A-10 Warthog from the Air Force Reserves 303rd Fighter Squadron flies alongside the 27th Special Operation Wings AC-130J during RIMPAC 2024. USAF Senior Airman Mateo Parra Employing AC-130s in maritime operations is not new, as The War Zone has reported on in the past. In addition, despite the steady introduction of more types of precision-guided munitions into the AC-130Js arsenal, shorter-ranged guns have remained an important component of the aircraft armament package. The Air Force had originally planned to leave the 105mm weapon off of the Ghostriders, but reversed course in the 2010s. More recently, the gunships had started recieving improved howitzers. The AC-130J that took part in RIMPAC is one of the examples now fitted with the upgraded 105mm gun. The ability of side-firing gunships like the AC-130 to employ guns very precisely against specific targets on the ground, which also helps mitigate the potential for collateral damage, has long been one of the key benefits of aircraft of this type. This was on display during RIMPAC 2024, with the Ghostrider being able to put a round right into a door on the decommissioned Dubuques superstructure, as seen in the screen capture from the SINKEX video below. USAF capture Crews can more readily shift focus from one target to another with guns than with other air-launched munitions. The guns can also fire a wide array of ammunition types to produce different effects depending on the target set, all of which are also less expensive per shot than a precision-guided munition. The role of AC-130 gunships in the maritime domain has historically been heavily centered around engaging lower-end threats, such as swarms of small boats. The video from the RIMPAC 2024 SINKEX highlights how the Ghostriders, and their guns specifically, could be utilized against larger ships and in instances where the objective might not be to sink the vessel, such as during special operations boarding operations. The aircrafts 30mm cannon, in particular, could be used to engage personnel on a ships deck. However, during a future major conflict, just getting within gun range of a higher-value target like an amphibious warfare ship, likely operating as part of a larger group of warships further supported by air and other assets, would be a very tall order, if not impossible, for Air Force AC-130s. Ghostriders might still be able to leverage their guns against vessels in lower-risk areas or to help finish off severely damaged vessels separated from their companions. Armed overwatch over and around friendly forces on islands and anchorages could be another future maritime mission in a higher-end fight. It is worth noting that even during operations in largely permissive airspace over countries like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan in the past 20 years or so, AC-130s have almost exclusively operated at night in large part to help reduce their vulnerability to potential threats. As already noted, the Air Force is already taking a hard look at the Ghostriders current and future planned capabilities to help ensure its relevance going forward. The integration of new 105mm howitzers onto the gunships is on hold and there is the possibility that the entire fleet could lose those guns entirely. Plans to add a laser directed energy weapon to the AC-130Js arsenal, described in the past as having the potential to be especially useful in counter-terrorism missions, have been axed. A depiction of an older AC-130U gunship, all of which have now been retired, armed with a laser directed energy weapon. USAF A rendering depicting an older AC-130U Spooky II gunship employing a laser along with its other weapons. USAF There is a heavy emphasis now on greater stand-off capabilities, including small cruise missiles and air-launched drones, coupled with new sensors like active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radars. In addition to helping with targeting, an AESA radar would provide improved threat warning and general situational awareness, as well as electronic warfare capabilities. The AC-130J already has an extensive and still-expanding electronic warfare suite for self-protection. Other upgrades to the Ghostriders mission systems, including ones enabled by advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, could be on the horizon, as well. Discussions about the AC-130Js future roles and missions will now have the added data points gained from the employment of the Ghostrider and its guns during the ex-Dubuque SINKEX. Contact the author: joe@twz.com Wirestock / Getty Images/iStockphoto Pennsylvania has repeatedly been ranked among the best places to retire in the U.S. for myriad reasons. For many retirees, Pennsylvania has major appeal as a retirement destination because it doesnt tax retirement funds, like pensions and Social Security. It also has a wide landscape that has the right mix of cities and towns based on your preferences and hobbies. Read Next: 8 States To Move to If You Dont Want To Pay Taxes on Social Security Find Out: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Retirement Savings Reach $50,000 So where in the state can a retiree locate and live comfortably on a $2,000 budget? Here are 25 top Pennsylvania locations where you can retire on $2,000 a month. Althom / Getty Images/iStockphoto Renovo Population total: 1,081 Population 65-plus: 230 Percentage of population 65-plus: 21.3% Household total: 533 Household median income: $28,750 Household average value May 2024: $62,795 Mortgage monthly average cost: $374 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,702 Total monthly cost of living: $2,076 Total annual cost of living: $24,913 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $208.24 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $23,045.03 Be Aware: How Long $1 Million in Retirement Will Last in Every State Learn More: 40 States Where Youll Feel the Biggest Social Security Increase This Year Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto Hermitage Population total: 16,216 Population 65-plus: 4,372 Percentage of population 65-plus: 27.0% Household total: 7,631 Household median income: $66,922 Household average value May 2024: $201,521 Mortgage monthly average cost: $1,201 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,615 Total monthly cost of living: $2,815 Total annual cost of living: $33,781 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $947.24 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $31,913.04 Read Next: The Standard Retirement Age in the US vs. 5 European Countries tupungato / Getty Images North Belle Vernon Population total: 1,598 Population 65-plus: 325 Percentage of population 65-plus: 20.3% Household total: 750 Household median income: $51,293 Household average value May 2024: $133,365 Mortgage monthly average cost: $795 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,667 Total monthly cost of living: $2,461 Total annual cost of living: $29,533 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $593.26 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $27,665.26 Scharvik / Getty Images Brackenridge Population total: 3,214 Population 65-plus: 675 Percentage of population 65-plus: 21.0% Household total: 1,551 Household median income: $49,388 Household average value May 2024: $114,500 Mortgage monthly average cost: $682 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,690 Total monthly cost of living: $2,372 Total annual cost of living: $28,464 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $504.18 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $26,596.35 Story continues Alex Potemkin / Getty Images Arnold Population total: 4,778 Population 65-plus: 873 Percentage of population 65-plus: 18.3% Household total: 2,107 Household median income: $38,150 Household average value May 2024: $77,462 Mortgage monthly average cost: $461 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,651 Total monthly cost of living: $2,112 Total annual cost of living: $25,345 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $244.26 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $23,477.24 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Luzerne Population total: 2,718 Population 65-plus: 619 Percentage of population 65-plus: 22.8% Household total: 1,403 Household median income: $39,471 Household average value May 2024: $146,881 Mortgage monthly average cost: $875 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,676 Total monthly cost of living: $2,551 Total annual cost of living: $30,616 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $683.47 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $28,747.80 Check Out: What a Middle-Class Social Security Check Could Look Like in 2025 drnadig / Getty Images/iStockphoto Erie Population total: 94,826 Population 65-plus: 14,731 Percentage of population 65-plus: 15.5% Household total: 39,180 Household median income: $43,135 Household average value May 2024: $179,316 Mortgage monthly average cost: $1,068 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,615 Total monthly cost of living: $2,683 Total annual cost of living: $32,199 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $815.43 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $30,331.24 ChrisBoswell / Getty Images/iStockphoto Port Carbon Population total: 1,748 Population 65-plus: 416 Percentage of population 65-plus: 23.8% Household total: 798 Household median income: $54,706 Household average value May 2024: $118,016 Mortgage monthly average cost: $703 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,781 Total monthly cost of living: $2,484 Total annual cost of living: $29,808 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $616.19 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $27,940.37 drnadig / Getty Images/iStockphoto Hydetown Population total: 647 Population 65-plus: 183 Percentage of population 65-plus: 28.3% Household total: 286 Household median income: $45,179 Household average value May 2024: $112,739 Mortgage monthly average cost: $672 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,684 Total monthly cost of living: $2,356 Total annual cost of living: $28,267 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $487.78 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $26,339.45 Jakec / Wikimedia Commons Corry Population total: 6,209 Population 65-plus: 1,508 Percentage of population 65-plus: 24.3% Household total: 3,004 Household median income: $44,138 Household average value May 2024: $143,108 Mortgage monthly average cost: $853 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,633 Total monthly cost of living: $2,485 Total annual cost of living: $29,823 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $617.41 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $27,955.01 Discover More: Grant Cardone: $5 Million Is Now the Magic Number for Retirement Savings Althom / Getty Images Warren Population total: 9,353 Population 65-plus: 1,986 Percentage of population 65-plus: 21.2% Household total: 4,303 Household median income: $49,609 Household average value May 2024: $148,004 Mortgage monthly average cost: $882 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,678 Total monthly cost of living: $2,560 Total annual cost of living: $30,718 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $692.03 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $28,850.44 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Franklin Population total: 6,066 Population 65-plus: 1,323 Percentage of population 65-plus: 21.8% Household total: 2,676 Household median income: $54,235 Household average value May 2024: $129,370 Mortgage monthly average cost: $771 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,588 Total monthly cost of living: $2,359 Total annual cost of living: $28,308 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $491.16 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $26,440.09 Csoldner187 / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA 3 Altoona Population total: 43,821 Population 65-plus: 7,628 Percentage of population 65-plus: 17.4% Household total: 18,418 Household median income: $50,435 Household average value May 2024: $140,427 Mortgage monthly average cost: $837 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,624 Total monthly cost of living: $2,461 Total annual cost of living: $29,527 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $592.75 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $27,659.14 JackieNix / Getty Images Monessen Population total: 6,876 Population 65-plus: 1,602 Percentage of population 65-plus: 23.3% Household total: 3,236 Household median income: $51,364 Household average value May 2024: $81,437 Mortgage monthly average cost: $485 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,622 Total monthly cost of living: $2,107 Total annual cost of living: $25,290 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $239.64 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $23,421.79 Try This: 6 Expenses Retirees Never Regret Keeping in Their Budgets, According to Experts WilliamSherman / Getty Images/iStockphoto Johnstown Population total: 18,429 Population 65-plus: 3,599 Percentage of population 65-plus: 19.5% Household total: 9,061 Household median income: $33,466 Household average value May 2024: $96,651 Mortgage monthly average cost: $576 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,698 Total monthly cost of living: $2,274 Total annual cost of living: $27,288 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $406.14 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $25,419.86 Althom / Getty Images Oil City Population total: 9,599 Population 65-plus: 1,882 Percentage of population 65-plus: 19.6% Household total : 4,054 Household median income: $48,632 Household average value May 2024: $89,460 Mortgage monthly average cost: $533 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,602 Total monthly cost of living: $2,135 Total annual cost of living: $25,614 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $266.71 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $23,746.62 Serenethos / Getty Images Farrell Population total: 4,280 Population 65-plus: 996 Percentage of population 65-plus: 23.3% Household total: 1,976 Household median income: $29,063 Household average value May 2024: $59,524 Mortgage monthly average cost: $355 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,581 Total monthly cost of living: $1,936 Total annual cost of living: $23,226 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $67.69 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $21,358.35 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Meadville Population total: 12,929 Population 65-plus: 2,107 Percentage of population 65-plus: 16.3% Household total: 4,812 Household median income: $46,157 Household average value May 2024: $148,350 Mortgage monthly average cost: $884 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,647 Total monthly cost of living: $2,531 Total annual cost of living: $30,366 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $662.70 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $29,498.48 Trending Now: Im Retired and Regret My Frugal Retirement Heres Why SEASTOCK / iStock.com Uniontown Population total: 9,913 Population 65-plus: 2,092 Percentage of population 65-plus: 21.1% Household total: 4,845 Household median income: $37,886 Household average value May 2024: $149,271 Mortgage monthly average cost: $889 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,588 Total monthly cost of living: $2,477 Total annual cost of living: $29,728 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $609.47 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $27,859.77 Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock.com Punxsutawney Population total: 5,730 Population 65-plus: 1,533 Percentage of population 65-plus: 26.8% Household total: 2,578 Household median income: $43,160 Household average value May 2024: $109,479 Mortgage monthly average cost: $652 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,718 Total monthly cost of living: $2,370 Total annual cost of living: $28,441 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $502.26 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $26,573.25 j76n / Getty Images Seneca Population total: 911 Population 65-plus: 251 Percentage of population 65-plus: 27.6% Household total: 426 Household median income: $55,357 Household average value May 2024: $161,498 Mortgage monthly average cost: $962 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,626 Total monthly cost of living: $2,588 Total annual cost of living: $31,054 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $720.00 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $29,186.12 Althom / Getty Images New Castle Population total: 21,863 Population 65-plus: 4,002 Percentage of population 65-plus: 18.3 Household total: 9,145 Household median income: $39,948 Household average value May 2024: $137,741 Mortgage monthly average cost: $821 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,578 Total monthly cost of living: $2,399 Total annual cost of living: $28,788 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $531.17 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $26,920.19 For You: Im Planning My Retirement: 5 Expenses I Wish I Had Cut Sooner InfiniteImpactStudios / Getty Images/iStockphoto Sharon Population total: 13,143 Population 65-plus: 2,541 Percentage of population 65-plus: 19.3% Household total: 6,144 Household median income: $40,089 Household average value May 2024: $62,642 Mortgage monthly average cost: $373 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,570 Total monthly cost of living: $1,943 Total annual cost of living: $23,321 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $75.59 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $21,453.17 Althom / Getty Images Titusville Population total: 5,262 Population 65-plus: 1,250 Percentage of population 65-plus: 23.8% Household total: 2,340 Household median income: $36,071 Household average value May 2024: $103,403 Mortgage monthly average cost: $616 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,680 Total monthly cost of living: $2,296 Total annual cost of living: $27,557 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $428.59 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $25,689.25 DougSchneiderPhoto / Getty Images Homestead Population total: 2,905 Population 65-plus: 767 Percentage of population 65-plus: 26.4% Household total: 1,264 Household median income: $29,306 Household average value May 2024: $82,797 Mortgage monthly average cost: $493 Expenditure monthly average cost: $1,745 Total monthly cost of living: $2,238 Total annual cost of living: $26,854 Total monthly cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $370.03 Total annual cost of living after Social Security benefits (one person): $24,986.46 Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article. Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates found the best Pennsylvania cities to retire for $2,000 a month. First, GOBankingRates found cities in Pennsylvania along with their total population, population aged 65 and up, total households, and household median income as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. To qualify for this study, each city had to have data available for all sources. For each city, a number of factors were found, including cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces, and by using the national average expenditure cost for retired residents, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure cost for each city can be calculated. The average mortgage cost can be calculated by using the Zillow Home Value Index to find the average single-family home value from May 2024. By assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage can be calculated for each city. The mortgage and expenditure costs are used to find the average monthly total cost of living. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes for each city. Three cities qualify for this study without Social Security benefits sorted to show the highest to lowest livability. The average full Social Security benefits for one person were sourced from the Social Security Administration. The monthly total cost of living after Social Security benefits was calculated. The percentage of the population aged 65 and over was scored and weighted at 1.00, the monthly average expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 1.50, the average mortgage cost was scored and weighted at 1.50, and the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.25. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the best places to retire on $2,000 a month after Social Security. All data was collected on and is up to date as of July 12, 2024. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 25 Best Pennsylvania Cities To Retire on $2,000 a Month BELLEVILLE, Ill. An accused child predator is in custody in St. Clair County, Illinois, following a reported sexual assault earlier this week. According to Msgt. Gary Brewer, a spokesman for the St. Clair County Sheriffs Department, the investigation began on July 29. Deputies were called to St. Elizabeths Hospital just before 11:30 a.m. for a sexual crime involving a child. A deputy met with the victims parents, who said their daughter had been the victim of a sexual assault. A lifetime fish Blues defenseman Nick Leddy catches monster sturgeon in Canada waters With the hospitals help, Brewer said investigators identified Richard H. Hay, 41, as their primary suspect and filed charges with the county prosecutor. Hay was eventually taken into custody. The St. Clair County States Attorneys Office charged Hay with four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 years of age, one count of predatory criminal sexual assault, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim over 5 years of age. Hay remains jailed without bond. During the investigation, other victims came forward with similar allegations against Hay. Those incidents have been accounted for in the charges. The sheriffs department is seeking anyone else who may have been a victim of Hay. Those individuals are encouraged to contact Investigator Ben Vise at 618-825-5309. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) An accused drug dealer has been indicted for Murder after an Abilene woman died of a fentanyl overdose. Frederick Hunter was indicted by a Taylor County Grand Jury Thursday for Murder and Delivery of Fentanyl causing Death in connection to the death of Joanna Nicole Bryant, who died of a fentanyl overdose in January 2023. Court documents state Bryant was found unresponsive in her vehicle and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy revealed her cause of death was acute fentanyl intoxication, and the documents state that when officers searched her car, they found several pills that appeared to be Oxycodone Hydrochloride but were actually counterfeit pills containing Fentanyl. The documents also state surveillance video and witnesses confirmed Bryant was with Hunter prior to her death, and her family members also said they saw a narcotics transaction take place between Bryant and Hunter the day of her death. A text message sent to Hunter a few days before her death also state that she is, gonna need some meds be Im goin thru it. Hunter remains held in the Taylor County Jail on a $200,000 bond. No further information has been released. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Nearly eight years after his arrest, the trial of accused serial killer Fredrick Demond Scott will now face a new set of delays. Following an outburst in court this week, Scott was committed to a state behavioral health program through the Missouri Department of Mental Health for a mental health evaluation by order of a Jackson County judge, according to Scott Lauck, a public information officer for the Jackson County Circuit Court. Scott, 29, has been accused in the killings of Steven Gibbons, 57; John Palmer, 54; David Lenox, 67; Timothy S. Rice, 57; Mike Darby, 61; and Karen Harmeyer, 64. The killings took place between 2016 and Scotts arrest in August 2017. Harmeyer was killed in Grandview, while the rest of the fatal shootings took place along the Indian Creek Trail. All of the victims were shot without warning, some outside of their own homes. During Scotts latest hearing at the Jackson County Courthouse on Monday, Judge Charles McKenzie cleared the room following an outburst by Scott. According to Lauck, Scott was frustrated that his case wasnt proceeding faster, and had to be evacuated from the courtroom. The hearing had been meant to determine whether Scott was mentally competent to stand trial, The Star previously reported. After two judges had previously given conflicting opinions on Scotts mental competency, state law dictates that a new hearing was necessary to make a final call on whether Scott could face a jury. Through the civil commitment process in Missouri which was amended in July people sent to the Department of Mental Health by the justice system are evaluated by mental health professionals within 48 hours of each order. County judges can instruct sheriffs to assist in bringing defendants in for mental health evaluation if they do not cooperate. Officials have three to five days to decide whether or not the person should be sent to an inpatient behavioral health program or assigned outpatient treatment.The state cannot commit someone to a behavioral health program for longer than three months, though someone can be recommitted, according to state guidelines. Scott, who is Black, gained notoriety in 2014 for saying he wanted to kill all white people while enrolled at Kansas Citys Center Alternative School. All of his victims were white, and all but Harmeyer were middle-aged men. Scotts mother has also spoken with The Star about her belief that Scott suffers from undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia. Scott will next appear in court on August 30 at 3 p.m. for a hearing on his updated status. The News Khalid Sheikh Mohammed agreed to plead guilty to his involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US, which left thousands dead, triggered two wars, and reshaped American and global politics. Mohammed and two accomplices are expected to enter the pleas as early as next week, the Associated Press said, with their defense lawyers requesting life sentences in exchange. US officials say Mohammed was the mastermind of the plot, which involved the hijacking of commercial airliners to use as aerial suicide bombs. If it goes ahead, the deal will bring to a close a lengthy legal process in which US authorities use of torture Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times while in CIA custody was put in the spotlight. FILE - The downtown skyline is shown from the South Hill in Spokane, Wash., on June 4, 2018. The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has sued the city of Spokane, alleging that its anti-homeless laws violate the state constitution. The group filed the suit on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, on behalf of a currently homeless person and someone who was formerly homeless. (AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios, File) The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city of Spokane, Washington, on Thursday, alleging that its anti-camping laws violate the state constitution. It is believed to be the country's first such legal challenge since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that cities can enforce outdoor sleeping bans. The courts landmark decision which found in June that such bans do not violate the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, even when shelter space is lacking has prompted homeless advocates to seek new ways to challenge laws prohibiting outdoor sleeping. The complaint filed in Spokane County Superior Court challenges city ordinances that make camping, sitting or lying on public property misdemeanor crimes in certain circumstances. Under state law, a misdemeanor is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or jail for up to 90 days. This Spokane case serves as another opportunity for us to build out those protections under our state constitution, which is more protective than its federal counterpart, Jazmyn Clark, director of the ACLU of Washingtons Smart Justice Policy Program, told The Associated Press. It was unclear whether Spokane has begun enforcing its multiple anti-camping ordinances following the high court ruling. Erin Hut, a spokesperson for the Spokane city attorneys office, said in an email that the city had not yet been served the lawsuit and was unable to comment. Messages left with Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown seeking comment were not immediately returned. Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson said the council is aware of the complaint filed by the ACLU, but it has not been provided a copy. Once the City is formally served with the suit, the matter will be referred to the City Attorney, Wilkerson said in an email to the AP. "After that, the Council intends to let the legal process unfold in due course and will not formally comment on the matter. Clark said two of the plaintiffs, a homeless person and someone formerly homeless, were cited by police under Spokane's ordinances. A homeless services nonprofit is also a plaintiff. Clark noted the Eight Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment, but the Washington state constitution only prohibits cruel punishment and thus provides more protection. This means that if punishing sleeping outside with fines and jail time is found to be cruel, that alone is a violation of the state constitution, Clark said. You do not need to show that such punishment is also unusual, she said. Washington isn't the only state whose constitution prohibits cruel punishment without mentioning unusual punishment. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, Kentucky and South Dakota have similar language in their constitutions. While Clark believes her groups lawsuit is the first such challenge filed since the Supreme Court ruling, she said Spokane was targeted because its multiple ordinances against camping and sitting outside create near-total islands of exclusion throughout the city. Before the Supreme Court ruling, ACLU affiliates in other states, including Hawaii, had filed suits similarly claiming that local measures against homeless camping violated their state constitutions. Hawaiis constitution prohibits cruel or unusual punishment, in a minor difference of wording compared to the federal constitutions prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. In the context of Hawaii and our state constitution, it doesnt have to be both. It could be one or the other, said ACLU of Hawaii Executive Director Salmah Rizvi. Last month, the ACLU of Hawaii and Honolulu agreed to dismiss a 2023 lawsuit the group had filed against the citys homeless sweeps policy. Elsewhere, a lawsuit filed in 2022 by the ACLU of Colorado alleging that the city of Boulder's camping policy violates the state constitution is pending, said ACLU legal director Tim Macdonald. The trial on the case has been postponed while both side file briefs and the court is expected to hear arguments within the next month, he said. Spokane, in eastern Washington, is the states second most populous city with roughly 230,000 residents. One of its ordinances prohibits camping at all times, regardless of shelter availability, within 50 feet of a railroad viaduct located downtown or within three blocks of a homeless shelter. Another bars sitting or lying on the sidewalk in the downtown area between 6 a.m. and midnight. And voters in November approved a ban on camping within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of a school, day care or park. So far this year, the city has prosecuted at least 114 cases of unlawful camping and sitting and lying violations, according to the complaint. In 2023, it prosecuted at least 107 unlawful camping cases. Hundreds of people have been cited since 2014, when the city's first so-called sit and lie ordinance took effect, the complaint says. Before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, western cities had been allowed to regulate encampments under a lower court ruling but couldnt completely bar people from sleeping outdoors. They had argued the lower court ruling made it harder to manage encampments in public spaces, while homeless advocates said punishing those needing a place to sleep effectively criminalizes homelessness. Elsewhere, other cities and states have adopted more aggressive approaches to tent clearing since the Supreme Court decision. In California, home to nearly a third of the nation's 650,000 homeless people, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently ordered state agencies to begin removing tents on state land. And San Francisco's mayor recently announced new policies giving police and other city workers more leeway in dismantling encampments. In 2023, Washington had the fourth largest homeless population among the states with more than 28,000 homeless residents, according to federally mandated counts. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who spent the past three years staunchly defending elections in the county from GOP attacks, lost in the Republican primary to an opponent whose campaign was centered on criticizing the county's election procedures. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 Many Republican state and county officials in Arizona who have defended the fairness of the states elections appeared to have lost primary races Tuesday to challengers who campaigned at least in part on the idea of stolen or broken elections. The apparent defeats came in key places in the state, such as Maricopa and Mohave counties, and in a race for the state Legislature, where there has been immense pressure to change how elections are run, or to even overturn election results. This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access. The initial results suggest that unproven claims of widespread election fraud continue to have a strong hold on Republican voters in the state. And, in competitive contests, the results could lead some moderate Republican and independent voters who reject those claims to vote for Democrats in November, as happened statewide in 2022, when Democratic candidates swept top state races, said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat. Fontes said he believes voters in November will deliver the message that we are moving forward, and we dont want to have to play these shenanigans over and over and over again. That, to me, is the message that voters in Arizona sent in 2022, and I have a feeling that might be the message that gets sent in 2024, he said. Counties have yet to finish counting ballots, including the majority of the mail ballots brought to the polls on Tuesday. Final results are expected later this week or next week. The low turnout below the expected 30% of registered voters may have helped the candidates who are more extreme on election issues. That includes the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, where Kari Lake was projected to defeat Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. Maricopa County election officials lose their bids In Maricopa County, Recorder Stephen Richer and Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, both Republicans in critical roles overseeing the countys elections, conceded their races early Wednesday to their challengers. Both have vehemently defended the fairness and integrity of the last two general elections, in the face of harassment and ridicule from within their party. To the election deniers who have dedicated so much time, energy, and money to defeat me and others, I say: be careful what you wish for, Sellers wrote in a statement. At some point, you will have to answer for your efforts to undermine our democracy. I hope that you will eventually recognize that Maricopa County remains the gold standard for elections and have the courage and bravery to admit your mistakes. Sellers opponent, Chandler City Councilman Mark Stewart, emphasized the countys ballot printer problems during the 2022 election while campaigning, saying county officials have created confusion and challenges for voters. In response to Sellers statement, he clarified in an interview Wednesday that he hasnt claimed there was widespread fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections. He said he just wants to clean up what he describes as errors in the process, such as the faulty ballot printers. He also said voters he spoke with were concerned with many other problems in the county, not just elections. He will face Democrat Joel Navarro in November. State Rep. Justin Heap, who defeated Richer, has refused to say whether he believes the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen. He spent the campaign cycle criticizing the countys 2022 Election Day problems and calling for better cleaning of voter rolls. As recorder, Richer oversees only early voting and voter registration, not Election Day processes. Richer congratulated Heap in a statement posted on social media site X on Wednesday. Heap said Wednesday that he was waiting for more results to comment on his contest. He faces Democrat Tim Stringham in November. Stringham on Wednesday encouraged Richer supporters to vote for him in the general election, telling them in a social media post to continue to vote for the honest candidate. A Heap victory in the general election could change the dynamic in county government, which splits the responsibility for running elections between the recorder and the supervisors. The county has attempted since 2020 to present a united front against false claims and criticism about the countys elections. While Sellers and Richer lost, another defender of the countys elections, Republican Supervisor Tom Galvin appeared to have won against challenger Michelle Ugenti-Rita. And Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who has defended the countys elections in court against Republican challenges, appeared to have beaten challenger Gina Godbehere. Legislature will lose deciding no vote on election restrictions In state legislative races, Republican state Sen. Ken Bennett of Prescott acknowledged his loss to state Rep. Mark Finchem in in a phone call with Votebeat on Wednesday. Bennett has for two years been the deciding vote blocking Republican proposals to restrict voting in the state, such as eliminating early voting or transitioning back to precinct-based voting. Finchem has claimed widespread election fraud since Donald Trump lost in 2020, and has led the fight for hand-counting ballots in the state. He spent nearly two years challenging in court his 2022 loss in the secretary of state race. He didnt immediately respond to a call for comment Wednesday. Bennett said he believes Finchems broad attacks on his voting record did him in. The votes on elections were a contributing factor, Bennett said, but, you know, they pushed four to five other lies as well. Democratic State Sen. Priya Sundareshan, who has helped lead her caucuss push for greater voting rights and has worked across the aisle with Bennett, said she was disappointed to see Bennett, Richer and others lose. She said that the results show how the Republican Party continues to be influenced by false claims of election fraud, and that she believes it will continue to weaken voter confidence in elections. For the sake of democracy and voting rights, our Democratic candidates really have the duty to put forward as good of a campaign as possible, Sundareshan said, so voters are able to continue to have trust in our elections and voters have full access to the ballot. Mohave and Pinal counties vote against officials who defended elections In Mohave County, Supervisor Buster Johnson also told Votebeat Wednesday that he had lost his race against state Sen. Sonny Borrelli. Borrelli has led the campaign across the state for hand-counting ballots instead of using voting machines, while Johnson has been outspoken in his defense of the countys elections and his opposition to hand-counting. Johnson said Wednesday that, along with his defense of the countys current election system, he believes anger over his response to COVID-19 factored into his loss. He said he was just following state and federal laws in both instances. Borrelli didnt return a call for comment. In Pinal County, County Attorney Kent Volkmer, who advised supervisors there not to hand-count ballots because it may violate state law, appeared to have lost to challenger Brad Miller, according to initial results. Looking at the results across the state on Tuesday, Fontes said he hopes that if any of the candidates whom some may have classified as election denialists win election in November, they will see things differently once they are in office, as he has seen happen before. Once they see the work, once they understand the checks and balances, they change their tune, he said. So, I dont see this as a harbinger of doom. I see this as an opportunity to educate some folks and potentially change some minds. SULLIVAN COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) The attorney general announced a jury convicted an acting midwife of involuntary manslaughter after she and the parents failed to call for help in the death of a newborn. Attorney General Michelle Henry stated Brigitte Meckes was a friend of the childs parents and acted as a midwife for the birth around January 15, 2022. Shortly after the birth, the baby showed signs of severe distress, and Meckes, who was not licensed to practice medical care, used unconventional methods to treat the baby, who died about two days later, investigators stated. PSP: Man faces DUI after abandoning car on I-80 Following a three-day trial in Sullivan County, the jury convicted Meckes on Wednesday of the following; Involuntary manslaughter Aggravated assault Endangering the welfare of a child Reckless endangerment Concealing the death of a child Officials report Drew Hoenigke, the babys father, pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering another person and concealing the death of a child. Amy Hoenigke, the childs mother, pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault, Attorney Henry stated. Meckes, of New York, will be sentenced at a later date. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images. Activists opposed to allowing school police to hold students facedown on the ground say their concerns are being ignored by regulators, who are drafting a model policy that will govern how police can restrain students in Minnesota schools. What we were told by legislators is not happening, said Khulia Pringle of the group Solutions Not Suspensions. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a law reversing a 2023 law banning adults including school police from putting students in the prone position, e.g., facedown, or using any kind of hold that inhibits a students ability to breathe or communicate distress. The 2023 ban included an exception for prone holds to prevent bodily harm or death. The 2024 law allows school police officers to use the hold but mandates new training. The law, which came after a contentious political fight, also requires the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST board, to consult with educators and police groups to develop a model policy that law enforcement agencies with school officers will be required to adopt, with the goal of minimizing the use of prone restraints. Some law enforcement groups expressed concern that the POST board would craft a policy reverting back to the 2023 ban. But activist groups opposed to prone restraints say the opposite has happened. Solutions Not Suspensions, a coalition that supports anti-racist education, is one of the advocacy groups named in the legislation to help come up with a model policy. Manager Erin Sandsmark said they were promised theyd be allowed to share their concerns about prone restraints, but never got the opportunity. The POST Board shut down the conversation before we were allowed to have it, Sandsmark said in an email. Instead, POST board officials have said school police would adhere to the use-of-force statute which allows prone restraints that applies to all Minnesota police officers. POST board Executive Director Erik Misselt acknowledged in an email that he did tell the group there would be no discussion of banning prone restraints and that prone restraints could only be discussed within the parameters of the state law on officers use-of-force. He accused the activists of trying to do an end run and ban prone restraints. The whole reason the state ended up in this mess was because two different standards for officers were legislated in the previous session and the intent of the new fix-it legislation was to correct that mistake, he wrote in an email after being asked for an interview. The law requires that the model policy include considerations for the proper use of force on school grounds and response tactics and strategies that minimize the use and duration of prone restraints and other physical holds. Pringle, of Solutions Not Suspensions, said thats not happening during the discussions. It doesnt seem like were creating anything new; just recreating the status quo. Sandsmark said the bill author, Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, told activists theyd be able to talk about prone restraints and potentially create restrictions on them. We were not looking for an end run as Erik puts it, but rather pushing for changes in use of prone restraints as told to us by the bill author, she said. Frazier did not respond to a request for comment. The group is scheduled to continue working on the model policy at its next meeting on Aug. 22, but Sandsmark doesnt expect activists arguments to get far because theyre outnumbered by law enforcement groups. The law mandated that the group include representatives from the Department of Public Safetys School Safety Center, Minnesota School Boards Association, Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, Education Minnesota, Minnesota Sheriffs Association, Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, Minnesota Juvenile Officers Association, National Association of School Resource Officers, Solutions Not Suspensions, Minnesota Youth Council, Minnesota Council on Disability, and one community organization supporting special education students rights. Matt Shaver, policy director for EdAllies, which works to help historically underserved students, said activists were repeatedly told during the legislative debate that their concerns would be addressed by the model policy. Thats not happening, he said. This has been a pretty troubling process, Shaver said. There are ways to make it a much more inclusive and fair process for the folks who arent carrying sidearms to the table. Pringle got involved with Solutions Not Suspensions after starting a campaign to get police out of schools. In general, as a Black person, I dont feel comfortable with police officers in schools around kids that look like me, just because I know what they do in the community, Pringle said. A former student of hers, Darion Bell, was thrown to the ground by a school resource officer when he tried to enter Central High School in St. Paul in 2016. George Floyd was being held prone when he was killed by Minneapolis police in 2020. DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) Volunteers from ADM in Decatur will be handing out supply-filled backpacks to students during the Decatur Family YMCAs annual Backpack Attack on Saturday. From 9 a.m. to noon, more than 2,000 backpacks will be available for students who are entering kindergarten through 6th grade. Macon Co. Health Dept. hosts back-to-school service events While ADM volunteers will be in attendance at only the Decatur Family YMCA, located at 220 West McKinley Avenue in Decatur, three other locations will also be giving away backpacks. That includes Old Kings Orchard Community Center, Johns Hill Magnet School, and the Boys & Girls Club of Decatur. Students must be present at the event to receive their backpacks. To find more information, visit decaturymca.org. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. A Texas attorney and founder of an adoption agency has been arrested on charges of attempting to buy the unborn children of jail inmates in Tarrant County. Jody Hall, 68, was booked into the Hays County Jail on July 23 on two warrants issued out of Tarrant County, according to jail records. She was released a short time later after posting a $50,000 bond. The Tarrant County Sheriffs Office said in a statement Thursday that it began investigating Hall and her business, Adoptions International Inc., on May 28 in connection with unethical adoption practices. During this investigation, information was discovered that Jody Hall was paying money to multiple, pregnant Tarrant County inmates for the purpose of placing their unborn children up for adoption with Halls agency, the statement said. According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Star-Telegram, a Sheriffs Office detective reviewed communications on inmates jail-issued tablets and found messages Hall sent to incarcerated women. The messages showed that Hall discussed monetary agreements and made deposits to inmates commissary accounts for the purposes of acquiring a child for the purposes of adoption, the detective wrote in the affidavit. Hall told the inmates that she would send them packets of information about the adoption process and would continue to provide support to the women, presuming they did not scam her, the affidavit states. The messages included text conversations between Hall and a 29-year-old pregnant woman who had signed an adoption agreement with her agency, according to the court documents. I dont need birth moms that lie to me just to get financial support, Hall told the woman, according to the affidavit. And I cant give you anymore if (the babys father is) not willing to sign the paperwork. The woman received money from Hall totaling $846, the affidavit states. Hall stopped paying the woman in May when she decided to keep her baby, the detective wrote. When the woman decided not to put the child up for adoption, according to the affidavit, Hall wrote, Youre in jail and a drug addict. YOU! Did NOT keep him. You are a scammer and I will be telling the prosecutor in your case all about how this (adoptive) family supported you since November and you scammed them WITH THE HELP OF YOUR BOYFRIEND. Hes got pictures all over FB of him holding the baby. You are such a liar!!! Hall faces two charges of sale or purchase of a child, according to Hays County Jail records. Buying or selling children is a third-degree felony under Texas law. Sheriffs Office detectives and Texas Rangers served the arrest warrants on Hall at her home in Kyle, about 20 miles south of Austin in Central Texas. Hall could not be reached by phone for comment Thursday. More top stories from our newsroom: Adoption lawyer accused of paying inmates for babies 2 dogs shot on property of North Texas megachurch 20-year-old victim of brutal homicide [Get our breaking news alerts.] She is the founder and executive director of Adoptions International Inc., according to her social media and State Bar of Texas profiles. Shes also an attorney who is licensed to practice family and immigration law in Texas. The Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity, a U.S. State Department-designated accrediting body, canceled the accreditation of Adoptions International in August 2019 for failing to maintain substantial compliance with accreditation standards, according to the departments website. The action blocked the nonprofit agency from providing services for international adoptions. The market is up 2.1% in the last 7 days, with all sectors gaining ground. Over the past 12 months, the market is up 20%, and earnings are forecast to grow by 15% annually. In this favorable environment, identifying dividend stocks with solid yields can be a smart strategy for investors looking to capitalize on consistent income and potential growth. Top 10 Dividend Stocks In The United States Name Dividend Yield Dividend Rating Columbia Banking System (NasdaqGS:COLB) 5.50% BCB Bancorp (NasdaqGM:BCBP) 5.05% Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) 5.27% Premier Financial (NasdaqGS:PFC) 4.89% OceanFirst Financial (NasdaqGS:OCFC) 4.40% CompX International (NYSEAM:CIX) 4.68% Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) 4.47% OTC Markets Group (OTCPK:OTCM) 4.52% Carter's (NYSE:CRI) 5.28% First Bancorp (NasdaqGS:FNLC) 5.12% Click here to see the full list of 166 stocks from our Top US Dividend Stocks screener. Let's take a closer look at a couple of our picks from the screened companies. Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: ACNB Corporation, with a market cap of $354.47 million, is a financial holding company that provides banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. Operations: ACNB Corporation generates revenue through its banking, insurance, and financial services offered to a diverse range of customers in the United States. Dividend Yield: 3.1% ACNB Corporation recently reported a quarterly net income increase to US$11.28 million and declared a 14.3% higher dividend of US$0.32 per share, demonstrating stable and growing dividends over the past decade with a low payout ratio of 32.7%. Despite trading below estimated fair value, earnings are forecasted to decline by 9.1% annually over the next three years, potentially impacting future dividend sustainability and attractiveness compared to top-tier payers in the US market. NasdaqCM:ACNB Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank, offering banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan with a market cap of $246.22 million. Operations: ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. generates $83.14 million in revenue from its banking services segment. Dividend Yield: 3.9% Story continues ChoiceOne Financial Services has maintained a stable and growing dividend over the past decade, recently affirming a $0.27 per share dividend for Q2 2024, consistent with Q1 2024 and slightly higher than last year. Despite recent shareholder dilution from a $30 million equity offering, COFS trades at 45.7% below its fair value estimate. The companys payout ratio of 35.6% suggests dividends are well covered by earnings, though its share price has been highly volatile recently. NasdaqCM:COFS Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: Robert Half Inc. provides talent solutions and business consulting services across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia with a market cap of $6.62 billion. Operations: Robert Half Inc.'s revenue segments include Protiviti ($1.90 billion), Contract Talent Solutions ($4.01 billion), and Permanent Placement Talent Solutions ($517.33 million). Dividend Yield: 3.3% Robert Half recently affirmed a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable on September 13, 2024. Despite being dropped from several major indices, the company trades at 68.7% below its fair value estimate and offers a reliable dividend yield of 3.3%. Although profit margins have decreased to 5.3%, dividends are well covered by earnings (66.8% payout ratio) and cash flows (43.1% cash payout ratio). Earnings guidance for Q3 projects revenues between $1.39 billion to $1.49 billion with income per share ranging from $0.53 to $0.67. NYSE:RHI Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Make It Happen Take a closer look at our Top US Dividend Stocks list of 166 companies by clicking here. Have you diversified into these companies? Leverage the power of Simply Wall St's portfolio to keep a close eye on market movements affecting your investments. Take control of your financial future using Simply Wall St, offering free, in-depth knowledge of international markets to every investor. Curious About Other Options? 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. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqCM:ACNB NasdaqCM:COFS and NYSE:RHI. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com AUSTIN (KXAN) A man was arrested and charged after hitting a pedestrian with his vehicle and attempting to flee the scene afterward, according to Travis County court documents. The pedestrian had critical, life-threatening injuries because of the incident. It happened Thursday, July 25 around 6 a.m. near the intersection of Georgian Drive and Oertli Lane in north Austin. This embedded content is not available in your region. Police responded to the area after a witness called 911 saying they saw a Honda Civic hit a pedestrian. The affidavit identified the driver of the Honda as Aiona Key, 37. KXAN has reached out to his attorney for a comment on the charges. According to the affidavit, Key was driving on Georgian Drive and veered to the right off the roadway, then went onto the sidewalk where he hit the pedestrian, then he kept driving on the sidewalk and hit a utility pole. Key tried to start the Honda and drive away, but the vehicle was disabled after hitting the pole, the affidavit said. He then got out of the Honda and was standing near it when the officer arrived on scene. The affidavit said Key ran from the officer for about 0.2 miles until he laid down and tried to hide in vegetation, and then the officer took him into custody. The affidavit said Key never went to check on the pedestrian after the crash, and camera footage showed him attempting to drive away afterward. Key at the time had bloodshot, glassy eyes, stuttered speech, staggered walking, acted disoriented, and had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath, according to the affidavit. The victim did not have a pulse on scene after the crash, but EMS personnel were able to perform CPR and bring the pulse back. The victim was later transported to Dell Seton, where they were treated for several injuries and considered to be in a life-threatening state. Key was booked into the Travis County jail and charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle, evading arrest, and accident involving serious bodily injury. Hes being held on a bond totaling $155,000. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. With a little over a year to go until the trade preference programs expiration, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Washington, D.C. brought together stakeholders from across the globe to discuss its future. Over the course of three days last week, senior government officials from the U.S. and AGOA-eligible nations, along with representatives from the continents regional economic organizations, the private sector and civil society, gathered for a number of talks about how to boost the programs utilization, promote worker-centric trade policies and drive opportunities for Americans and Africans alike. More from Sourcing Journal But two central questions loomed large over the proceedings. When will AGOA be renewed? And for how long? Much to the consternation of suppliers, brands and other advocates intent on fueling Sub-Saharan Africas growth as a sourcing hub for apparel and textiles, concrete answers remain elusive. In a briefing on the outcome of the AGOA Forum on Monday, Constance Hamilton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, told press that she was unable to predict when the trade preference program, which has enjoyed more than two decades of broad bipartisan support, might be reinstated. Let me just say that Congress is completely in charge of the legislation being written, approved, and passed, she said. I am very confident that it will happen before AGOA is set to expire in 2025. I do think, as we look at the timeline and all the things that are happening here, it may be unlikely to happen in 2024, but certainly in early 2025 I expect to see it completed. Joy Basu, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs overseeing Economics and Regional Affairs across Sub-Saharan Africa, acknowledged that the question was asked many times during the Forum, and indicated that the State Department is pushing for a reauthorization as soon as possible. Obviously, our colleagues in Congress hold the pen, but if you look at a number of bills that have been introduced already, I think you will see that a longer extension periodat least a stable extension periodis on the table right now, which we would be happy to see in order to give companies and businesses that stability over the period that Congress allows, she added. Basu said similar bills have seen positive trends toward renewals of between 10 and 20 years. Widespread government support President Joe Biden has been effusive in his support for the renewal of AGOA throughout his time in office. Before the Forum kicked off on Wednesday, the Commander in Chief again called upon Congress to quickly reauthorize and modernize this landmark Act. For more than two decades, the bipartisan African Growth and Opportunity Act has formed the bedrock of Americas economic partnership with African nations, he added. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has increased the competitiveness of African products, led to the creation of tens of thousands of quality jobs, and helped advance human rights. The program has also created investment opportunities, new consumer markets and fresh sourcing alternatives for American companies intent on diversifying away from China. On both sides of the Atlantic, AGOA has promoted sustainable economic growth and resilient supply chains, Biden said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken doubled down on the agreements ability to help bolster U.S. industry. By allowing products from sub-Saharan countries to enter the United States without paying tariffs, AGOA has let entrepreneurs expand to new markets to grow their businesses, he said in his opening remarks at the Forum. Its helped companies further diversify and strengthen their supply chains so that consumers can benefit from more affordable, more innovative products. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai called AGOA the cornerstone of our economic partnership, with Africa. I dont mean it in the abstractit has positively touched so many peoples lives already. And it has the potential to do so much more. Updates and improvements Amid the outpouring of goodwill for the program were clues about why, despite the seeming ubiquity of positive sentiment, Congress is running down the clock on its renewal. Throughout the Forum, officials alluded to the need for updates and improvements to the 24-year-old treaty. Recapping those conversations, Assistant USTR for Africa Hamilton said theres a need to modernize AGOA across a few key areas. What we really want to do is strengthen the usage of the program, especially by the least developed countries, she explained. When we look at the experience of AGOA, were finding that maybe four or five countries are using it fully, and maybe one or two is using it more than everyone else, but the least developed countries are barely using the program. One of the major outcomes the federal government has been looking for is a tangible boost for smaller nations. Its really not happening in the program when we look at the experience of today, she said. Hamilton said some countries have invested in developing utilization strategies, but many are still not taking advantage of the free-trade benefits. Half, or 16 of the 32 AGOA beneficiary countries, have published national strategies for utilizing AGOA, according to the Center for American Progress. Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Eswatini, Lesotho, and others that have implemented such frameworks have seen their exports under AGOA increase significantly, the group wrote in a report last week. Kenya and Lesotho have exceptionally high utilization rates, with 57 percent of Kenyas exports and 74 percent of Lesothos exports to the U.S. last year entering the country duty-free. Hamilton also said the U.S. government has been exploring updates to the program that promote investment in supply chain integration to foster resilience and competitiveness, as well as possible updates to eligibility criteria surrounding human rights and worker rights. This is now becoming a serious issue, especially the human rights question, and we want to make sure that our countries are aware of what the expectation is on our side and what they can do to fulfill some of those commitments that Congress is currently looking for, she said. Human rights concerns Human rights issues have indeed percolated across Africa in recent years, prompting some nations to lose their AGOA benefits. Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic and Uganda were pulled from the program this year over human rights and government-related concerns. President Biden notably revoked Ethiopias eligibility in January 2022 following a devastating civil war in the Tigray region that ultimately claimed 600,000 lives, according to the Council on Foreign Relations Global Conflict Tracker. Mali and Guinea also lost their benefits that year under the recommendation of the USTR due to unconstitutional changes in government. Ethiopia once looked to be a rising star for footwear and apparel production, attracting household names like H&M, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and was branded one of Africas economic wunderkinds, by Dorothee Baumann-Pauly of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights in 2021. But following the pandemic, roiling civil conflict and the cutoff of AGOA benefits, the countrys economy has been in free-fall. On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to a landmark $3.4-billion bailout to support country-wide economic reforms over the next four years. One day later, the nations currency valuation fell 30 percent. Weve had years of conversation with the Ethiopian Government as to what the government needs to do to ensure that the countryis eligible again for AGOA benefits, the State Departments Basu said this week. Many of those decisions are in the governments hands, particularly when it comes to supporting civil society and government actions when it comes to the civil unrest. We dont make countries guess as to what they have to do to get back into AGOA, Hamilton added. We have been very specific in our conversations with the Ethiopian Government of what we need to see in order to reinstate them in the program. Ethiopias review is now underway, and President Biden is expected to announce his decision on whether the country can re-enter AGOA or not before the end of the year, she said. The industrys next moves Congress is taking its time weighing changes to the trade preference program, but continuing to defer AGOAs renewal may come at a high cost to the private sector and the countries that depend on its free-trade benefits. Research released this week by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) showed that 70 percent of American brands and retailers see a 10-year AGOA renewal as essential to their continued sourcing from the region. Whats more, 30 percent are already reining in sourcing from sub-Saharan African suppliers due to uncertainty surrounding the programs reinstatement. With AGOAs looming expirationnow just 14 months awaydiscouraging new trade and investment with African countries, the case for immediate renewal has become even more urgent, American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) president and CEO Steve Lamar told Sourcing Journal. Fortunately, last weeks AGOA forum brought together African and U.S. public policy leaders who all pledged to renew and strengthen AGOA, he added. We were pleased to see President Biden and bipartisan leaders in Congress restate their long-standing support and join this call. According to Lamar, the trade group hasnt given up hope for some movement on the issue in 2024. AAFA will continue to push for long-term renewal this year to re-establish a predictable U.S.-African trade partnership to support our industrys sourcing and diversification efforts, he said. California-based apparel and gear wholesaler SanMar was present at the Private Sector Forum, with general counsel and corporate secretary Melissa Nelson telling lawmakers and stakeholders in no uncertain terms that the time for renewal is now. According to Nelson, the 50-year-old firm has been sourcing from Africa since 2010 when it began to diversify sourcing. At that point, 46 percent of our apparel imports were coming from China. Right now, that number is 6 percent, and its in large part due to programs like AGOA. Over the course of the past year alone, SanMar has imported 58 million garments. No matter how many people tell our company, Dont worry about it, its going to be renewed, we have the example of GSP, so we do not have confidence, she said, referring to the Generalized System of Preferences, the U.S. oldest trade preference program, which lapsed more than three years ago. Theres simply too much uncertainty about the timing of AGOAs renewal and the impact of potential reforms, Nelson said. Currently, SanMar relies heavily on the agreements third-country rules of origin, which allow AGOA nations to use imported fabrics for the products they make under the agreement. In order to have the investment to do vertical integration, you need time there, she said. Investment in these textile facilities can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and thats simply not going to happen until it gets renewed. The company is also putting plans to expand into new countries on the back burner as it waits on a decision from Congress, and thats eating into the time it will take to get them up and running. Nelsons frustration was palpable as she explained how deferring renewal is delaying the creation of jobs and the establishment of a new global supply chain without China at its center. I do worry that what Ive heard today is a lack of urgency, she said. Etienne Snyman, right, executive vice president of power for Applied Digital, delivers remarks during a panel discussion on data centers hosted by the Public Service Commission next to Rich Garman, director of the Commerce Department's economic development and finance team, at the Capitol on Aug. 1, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Artificial intelligence is driving the demand for power-hungry data centers with North Dakota seen as one of the few areas capable of meeting that demand, but not without risks. Data centers and large power users were the subject of a daylong discussion Thursday led by the North Dakota Public Service Commission. Representatives of the energy industry, state and local government and data centers explored where power demand is coming from and how that demand might be met. While North Dakota generates a lot of electricity, meeting the energy demand will likely also involve the states excess natural gas, a byproduct of oil production. The ability to develop this much power may exist only in North Dakota right now, in terms of the ability to permit something, the ability to build something, the ability to have this much natural gas to do this, that opportunity exists here, North Dakota Commerce Commission Josh Teigen said, adding that just in the past few weeks there has been more interest from large power users. The Public Service Commission has no authority over where data centers might locate but it does regulate investor-owned utility companies that may supply data centers with power. PSC Chair Randy Christmann questioned how the state can avoid a repeat of a situation in Williams County where a data centers power demand has driven up electricity rates for other customers. We end up being the ones who mop up the mess when things happen without any regulation, Christmann said. He also mentioned noise complaints about the Atlas Power Data Center near Williston, which is supplied by the Mountrail-Williams Electric Co-op. A lack of transmission line capacity is partly to blame for the situation. It wasnt just a slight miss on the integration of that large load in western North Dakota, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said. It was a big miss. Matt Hanson, CEO of the McKenzie County Electric Co-op, said the oil and gas industry has been good about paying its fair share of power costs and he expects the same of data centers. The last thing we want to have happen is our legacy farmer and rancher be paying for large transmission and large infrastructure, Hanson said. Adding power generation and transmission capacity is key, he said. Theres a lot of great transmission thats getting built, and its going as quick as it can, but there still needs to be ways to figure out how to get it quicker, Hanson said. Applied Digital, which operates a data center at Ellendale in south-central North Dakota, was lauded as an example of how the industry can benefit North Dakota. Etienne Snyma, Applied Digitals executive vice president of power, said the site was chosen because the area has an excess of electricity generation, much of it from wind. The company is working with the state to expand housing in Ellendale as it ramps up for an expansion so that workers can live nearby instead of having to commute in from places like Aberdeen, South Dakota. Fedorchak advocated for North Dakota to be aggressive in expanding power production and transmission, saying the state and the country should not outsource AI technology centers. When asked about the importance of keeping AI centers, Snyman said, Historically, outsourcing lagging-edge, low-paying jobs has benefited the U.S., but outsourcing leading-edge technology will eventually lessen our countrys standing in the world. Teigen cautioned against adding state oversight to data centers that might slow down development. Aaron Birst, executive director of the North Dakota Association of Counties, said data center permitting should remain a local government decision. Christmann was more cautious. We have this responsibility to look at adverse impacts, to cultural resources, to the environment, to that neighborhood, to the citizens who live there, he said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX While we remain skeptical of artificial intelligence's storytelling and filmmaking abilities, it is proving to have genuinely useful applications in science. As a new study shows, AI can even perform better than clinical tests at predicting the progress of Alzheimer's disease. That could mean people showing signs of the early stages of dementia can be better informed about the risk of the condition progressing, and treatments and precautions can be put in place sooner, if necessary. The research was led by a team from the University of Cambridge in the UK, and used a machine learning approach to train AI algorithms on cognitive ability tests and brain scans from 410 individuals finding patterns matching cognition with levels of gray matter, which helps the brain process information. "We've created a tool which, despite using only data from cognitive tests and MRI scans, is much more sensitive than current approaches at predicting whether someone will progress from mild symptoms to Alzheimer's and if so, whether this progress will be fast or slow," says senior author and cognitive computational neuroscientist Zoe Kourtzi, from the University of Cambridge. When the AI was tested on 1,486 cases outside of the training data, it was able to correctly identify people who would go on to develop Alzheimer's within three years 82 percent of the time, and those who wouldn't develop the disease 81 percent of the time. That's about three times better than current clinical assessments and could make a huge difference in terms of Alzheimer's diagnosis. The AI was also able to identify how quickly the dementia would progress in many cases. This could help doctors identify those who would be most eligible for new treatments, as well as enable further study of Alzheimer's in its earliest stages, which is vital to finally figuring out how the disease gets started. "AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on," says Kourtzi. "To make sure ours has the potential to be adopted in a healthcare setting, we trained and tested it on routinely-collected data not just from research cohorts, but from patients in actual memory clinics. This shows it will be generalizable to a real-world setting." The new approach has a lot in its favor: It's relatively cheap, for example, and doesn't require any invasive procedures in terms of tissue or blood collection. With healthcare resources being continually stretched, that's important. And highlighting those at a low risk of developing Alzheimer's is useful too offering peace of mind for those who are experiencing memory problems as they get older, and are worried that dementia might be setting in. "The fact that we might be able to reduce this uncertainty with information we already have is exciting and is likely to become even more important as new treatments emerge," says psychiatrist Ben Underwood, from the University of Cambridge. The research has been published in eClinicalMedicine. Related News The U.S. Air Forces newly launched Foundations courses are meant supplement development in the ranks during traditionally slower periods of an airmans enlistment, the service announced in a press release Monday. The courses reached full operational capability on July 19 following nine months of testing and training, according to the release. The Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education developed the curriculum as part of the Enlisted Airmanship Continuum, which is meant to guide service member development. Some airmen go five or six years between PME courses, which is way too long, Barnes Center commander Col. Damian Schlussel said in the release. These courses close that developmental gap by delivering the right content at the right time in an airmans career. Three types of Foundations courses are available, the release said, each with the goal of developing leadership and knowledge of strategic concepts, such as great power competition, according to a report by Air & Space Forces Magazine. There is one course for junior enlisted airmen, one for noncommissioned officers and one for senior NCOs. The Foundations courses, which are each five days long, will replace base-level professional seminars and will be hosted at every installation operated by the service. The courses will also serve as prerequisites for existing schools, such as the Airmen Leadership School and the NCO Academies, which airmen undergo to successfully rise through the ranks. Eighty percent of the courses are standardized, according to the release, with the remaining 20% up to the command or wing hosting the course. Foundations courses have been in development for some time, with the first test runs taking place last October. Forty-eight representatives across major commands developed the course curriculum in the span of 10 days, the release said. The final course curriculum was then polished via feedback from thousands of airmen across active duty, the Reserve and the Air National Guard. Our mission was clear and concise, and our team had support from the top down, Barnes Center Foundations NCO in charge Tech. Sgt. Kate Hytinen said in the release. It was a lot of long days, weekends and late nights for the team, but we were able to do it, and do it well. Then-Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne D. Bass and then-Air Force Chief of Staff Charles CQ Brown Jr. said in a September 2023 letter to the force that the Enlisted Airmanship Continuum plan would be tailored to improve development opportunities for troops. The Continuum is first introduced to airmen at basic military training, then supplemented by career field education and training throughout. We owe every airman deliberate developmental opportunities throughout their careers to grow and become their very best, Bass and Brown Jr. said in the letter. They will be the difference makers in the future fight, and we are choosing to invest in them now to ensure we remain the Air Force our nation needs. DAYTON, OhioThe U.S. Air Force expects its annual foreign military sales to grow by 60% this fiscal year due largely to increases in F-35 and F-16 purchases. Air Force Foreign Military Sales officials told reporters Tuesday at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio, that the service anticipates booking more than $46 billion in weapon sales in fiscal 2024, up from $28.7 billion in fiscal 2023. The first of 14 new F-16 fighter jets from the US land in Slovakia Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Geraghty, director of the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, or AFSAC, said the demand is largely tied to a growing sense of global instability, which is driving U.S. allies to bolster their defense arsenals. Business is booming, Geraghty said. Our partners recognize that its a dangerous world once again. Some of the larger deals this year include a sale of up to 40 F-16s to Turkey and modernization kits for another 79 fighters in its existing fleet a package worth up to $23 billion that has been years in the making. The purchase was approved after several lawmakers tried to block it out of concerns about human rights violations and the potential negative strategic implications of providing jets to Turkey. The Senate in February voted firmly against the attempt to squash the sale. Greece was also approved by the State Department in January to buy up to 40 F-35s and associated equipment for up to $8.6 billion. The country signed off on an initial $3.8 billion contract in July for the first 20 of those aircraft with options for up to 40. Geraghty noted that despite the flurry of new activity in his office, there hasnt been a corresponding increase in manpower to support that work. But efforts in recent years within the Air Force and the Defense Department more broadly to make the foreign military sales process more efficient has helped the office manage that demand. Last June, the Pentagons Defense Security Cooperation Agency, or DSCA, made six recommendations to reform the foreign military sales process. Among those was a push to streamline the review and release of technology to international partners and a call for more collaboration between the State Department, Congress and other government agencies to reduce barriers. Much of the responsibility for implementing those reforms lies outside of the military services and within DSCA. AFSAC is focused on improving the parts of its process that it has control over, and according to Deputy Director Shawn Lyman, the office has been able to speed up its processing times in some cases. Even with the increase in demand, weve been able to accelerate portions of our process that we control and were able to go faster, he said. A child safety seat on display at Petersen Automotive Museum on August 4, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. An Alabama legislator has filed a bill that would increase the requirements for child safety seats. (Araya Diaz/Getty Images for 4moms) A state representative has introduced a bill for next years legislative session that would update the age and weight requirements for childrens car seats, along with increasing the penalties for those in violation. Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, the bills sponsor, said in an interview on Monday that it was introduced as a preventative measure and that the main goal is to keep children safe. All we are interested in is getting folks to put their children in the seats, Bolton said. We are just trying to save childrens lives. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX If passed, the bill would go into effect Oct. 1, 2025. The proposed bill would require infants to remain in a rear-facing position until the child is at least two years old or weighs 35 pounds. Under current law, the requirement is at least one year of age or at least 20 pounds. In addition, children would be required to use convertible seats until they are at least five years old or weigh 65 pounds. The current law requires at least five years or 40 pounds. Pediatricians were seeing heavier, larger children and the initial recommendations had changed with the poundage of the child, Bolton said. Alabamas law had not been changed to meet the statistics they were showing us, and we knew we had to increase these things. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, properly using car seats can reduce fatalities for children under 1 year old and by 71%, and 54% for children ages 1-4. The National Safety Council reported that in 2022, 599 children died in a vehicle crash. Bolton hopes that by instituting these new restrictions on car seats and by holding drivers responsible, that number will decrease. These are preventative measures, Bolton said. Were going to bring everybody into compliance to try to keep from having children injured by their actions and try to get people to comply with the law. Children riding in belt-positioning booster seats will also face an increase in restrictions. Under the new legislation, children must sit in a booster seat until they are at least six years old, and meet numerous requirements regarding seat belt placement and child height. In addition to seat requirements, punishments for those who violate the new mandates would also increase. After one violation, people will be ticketed $25 and will be required to attend court. The fine increases with each violation, with the fourth and subsequent violations in a five-year period carrying a $150 fine, along with a mandatory court appearance. Of the first $25 fine, $15 will be taken out and given to the Department of Public Treasury to work with the Department of Public Health to go towards a voucher program that will provide car seats to families in need. Beginning October 2024, the Alabama Department of Public Health will give car seats to families on a limited income who have received citations regarding car seats. However, the program is only available to those who receive citations in Montgomery, Calhoun and St. Clair counties. As long as the ticket was given in one of those counties, people can live anywhere in the state and qualify for the program. Bolton previously served as the Northport Police Captain. He said a police officer had reached out to an elected representative after witnessing a child fatality wreck, who put him in touch with Bolton. The parent had been ticketed numerous times for failing to secure the child in a seat, Bolton said. We worked a little bit to increase the fines and put in a mandatory court appearance to make sure that we do the best we can to curtail that behavior. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Updated at 9:01 a.m. to state that an officer who witnessed a child fatality wreck had reached out to a representative who spoke to Bolton. A previous version said a partner of Boltons witnessed it. The front of Hugo L Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama on August 15, 2023. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector) A federal judge Wednesday heard arguments over a new Alabama law that criminalizes some forms of absentee ballot assistance. The law, known as SB 1, limits who can assist voters with absentee ballot applications, banning anyone from helping if they are paid for their services. The bill makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a person to receive a payment or gift for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining or delivering an absentee ballot application. A person who knowingly pays or provides a gift to a third party to distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain or deliver could face a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Civil rights groups including the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries sued to block the law on April 4, argued that the law disproportionately affects disabled and elderly voters who rely on assistance to participate in elections. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Speaking to U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor, Valencia Richardson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said that assisting voters with absentee ballots is symbolic speech, protected by the 1st Amendment. That, she said, was particularly true for voters who have a very long history and understanding by the community that they are expressing the importance of the right to vote. The very act of assisting voters with their absentee ballot applications has symbolic context in and of itself, as much as voter registration would, Richardson said. Alabama Solicitor General Edmund LaCour, arguing for the state, said that the law does not infringe on any constitutional rights and emphasized that it aims to protect the integrity of elections and the voting process. He said Alabamians have been victimized by instances of absentee voter fraud. Any government that wishes to remain free and representative of the people must protect its electoral processes from fraud and confusion, LeCour said, adding that Alabama has done this by outlawing the sale of votes. Plaintiffs argued that the law imposes undue burdens on vulnerable populations. Anuja D. Thatte, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said terms used SB 1 are vague and do not provide clear guidelines on who can assist voters without risking criminal liability. Its untenable to ask or expect that ordinary citizens risk criminal liability, where the statute just does not provide any protection for it, Thatte said. Parties also argued over whether Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, which ensures voters who need assistance due to disability can choose a person of their choice to help them vote, is in conflict with the state law. Plaintiffs argued that when there is conflict, federal law should prevail. Attorneys for the state argued that it does not extend to candidates or paid advocates, while the plaintiffs maintained it allows voters to choose any person to assist them, regardless of their compensation status. The hearing also touched on the broader implications of the law. Thatte argued that the law excludes many individuals who could otherwise assist voters, including home health aides and interpreters, citing a decision in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas that struck down additional residency requirements for language interpreters assisting voters because it violated Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act. This is precisely the type of law thats been almost uniformly struck down, Thatte said. Proctor did not provide an immediate ruling and instructed parties to submit post-hearing briefs by Aug. 9. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Arctic native people of the Gwich'in Nation form a human banner on the banks of the Porcupine River near Fort Yukon, Alaska, with a message to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil development in 2010. On Thursday, NOAA announced a $105 million investment to restore salmon in Alaska waters that Indigenous communities subsist on. File Photo by Camila Roy/UPI Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Biden administration is investing another $105 million to assist salmon recovery projects in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday. This effort is the next step in a series of measures to restore salmon and their habitat in West Coast waters. It's part of the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund, which allocates money to the species and charts a future path of habitat sustainability. The investment will be channeled to projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington "that include habitat restoration, stock enhancement, sustainable fisheries and research and monitoring," NOAA said. It will be coupled with money being invested by Indigenous communities to assist salmon populations, which has been ongoing. "This $105 million investment... will build on decades of salmon recovery work, while helping Pacific coast tribes and Alaska Natives sustain their communities and cultural traditions in the face of climate change," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "This is a result of the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and I am proud that nearly half of all funds in this announcement are being awarded to Tribal applicants." Salmon restoration has been front and center in recent years, as persistent Western drought has reduced water levels in key habitat areas and threatened salmon and other aquatic life. NOAA took the rare step of canceling the Chinook salmon and Sacramento River fall-run Chinook, which returned to California's Central Valley last year at "near-record low numbers." Earlier last year, the Environmental Protection Agency took steps to protect Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed under the Clean Water Act to prevent the deposit of pebbles that could disrupt salmon resources. That action prohibited the disposal of dredged material or other waste in key watersheds. Thursday's funding move will help in the recovery efforts of 28 salmon and steelhead species listed as Endangered, other salmon that are not protected, as well as steelhead that are necessary for native subsistence or tribal treaty fishing rights, and for those in the Columbia River Basin, according to NOAA. "The PCSRF program has benefited fish populations and their habitats in so many ways," said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. "The value of these investments goes far beyond recovering Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitats, to also provide community and economic benefits, such as jobs and climate resilience." What Alaskans need to know ahead of the Aug. 20 primary Volunteers operate an in-person polling place for the special U.S. House primary election on Friday, May 27, 2022, in the atrium of the State Office Building at Juneau, Alaska. The state's 2024 primary elections are on Aug. 20, and by-mail voting has already begun. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Alaskas primary elections, less than three weeks away, are slated for Aug. 20. They are the first major elections to be overseen by the Division of Elections new director, Carol Beecher. Absentee by-mail ballots were sent out beginning last Friday, according to the Division of Elections operations manager, Michaela Thompson. However, voters can still apply for one until Aug. 10. Ballots for international voters and soldiers overseas were sent out in early July, Thompson said. Early or absentee in-person and special needs voting begins next Monday, Aug. 5. Voters can use this form from the Division of Elections to find polling locations by city and district, or use this map to search for polling locations based on an address. Not all ballots will be counted on election night, though enough should be counted to know the unofficial outcomes of many races. On election night, ballots voted at polling places will be included in the count, according to the division. Ballots voted at early voting locations between Aug. 5 and Aug. 20 will also be included, as will some absentee ballots. All absentee, early, and questioned ballots will be counted by Aug. 30, according to the division. Sept. 1 is the target date for the State Review Board to certify the election results. In the 2020 general election, Alaskan voters chose to implement an open primary system, which is open to all candidates and voters. Under this system, voters can cast a ballot for any one candidate regardless of party or political affiliation. The top four vote-getting candidates move on to the general election. Before this system was implemented, political parties controlled who was allowed to vote in primaries, and only one candidate per party could advance to the general election ballot. Recently, some Republicans have pledged to withdraw if they dont receive the most votes in the open primary. For some supporters, these pledges are a way of restoring some aspects of the previous primary system if the other candidates withdraw, only the top vote-getting Republican would progress to the general election. Many of the primary elections have four or fewer candidates running for office. Under the open primary system, this means that all of the candidates in these races will progress to the general election. However, three elections currently have more than four candidates in the running, meaning that not every candidate in these races will be on the ballot in November. One of these elections is the U.S. House seat, with 12 candidates, including Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, Republican Nick Begich III, and Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. So far, Peltola has raised more money than her Republican opponents amid television ads targeting her from a national Republican group. Senate District L, in Eagle River, has five candidates competing in the primary election, while House District 36 in Interior Alaska has six candidates. In a 2013 lawsuit, since renamed Toyukak v. Dahlstrom, Alaska Native tribes and voters successfully brought suit against the Division of Elections and lieutenant governor to enforce the language assistance outlined by the federal Voting Rights Act. In 2023, the settlement agreement was extended to 2026. As a result, the Division of Elections currently provides language assistance for six Yupik dialects, Nunivak Cupig, Northern Inupiaq, Aleut and Filipino. Spanish language assistance has been available for voters in certain communities along the Aleutian chain since 2012, but will not be offered this year, since the percent of the population needing the services fell below federal guidelines. Spanish language translation services will be available by telephone. In June, a U.S. Justice Department investigation found that Alaska violated federal law by failing to provide adequate accommodations to voters with disabilities in some 2022 and 2023 elections. In response, a division official said the division tries to make continuing improvements to help voters and was considering the points raised by federal officials. Beecher is a longtime state employee and registered Republican who was appointed by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom in 2023. Earlier this summer, the Beacon staff asked every U.S. House and legislative candidate their position on issues that were identified using input from readers. The Beacons 2024 Voter Guide, including the response to those questions, can be found here. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Over the last 7 days, the Indian market has risen 3.2%, contributing to a remarkable 45% increase over the past 12 months, with earnings forecast to grow by 16% annually. In such a thriving environment, companies that exhibit both high growth potential and significant insider ownership often stand out as compelling investment opportunities. Top 10 Growth Companies With High Insider Ownership In India Name Insider Ownership Earnings Growth Kirloskar Pneumatic (BSE:505283) 30.6% 30.1% Archean Chemical Industries (NSEI:ACI) 22.9% 28.9% Dixon Technologies (India) (NSEI:DIXON) 24.6% 36.1% Jupiter Wagons (NSEI:JWL) 10.8% 27.2% Shivalik Bimetal Controls (BSE:513097) 19.5% 28.7% Happiest Minds Technologies (NSEI:HAPPSTMNDS) 31.9% 20.7% Paisalo Digital (BSE:532900) 16.3% 23.8% JNK India (NSEI:JNKINDIA) 20.9% 31.8% Rajratan Global Wire (BSE:517522) 19.8% 36% Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (NSEI:APOLLOHOSP) 10.4% 33% Click here to see the full list of 88 stocks from our Fast Growing Indian Companies With High Insider Ownership screener. Let's take a closer look at a couple of our picks from the screened companies. Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, along with its subsidiaries, provides healthcare services in India and internationally, with a market cap of 951.18 billion. Operations: The company's revenue segments include Healthcare Services at 99.39 billion, Retail Health & Diagnostics at 13.64 billion, and Digital Health & Pharmacy Distribution at 78.27 billion. Insider Ownership: 10.4% Earnings Growth Forecast: 33% p.a. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, a growth company with high insider ownership, is forecast to see annual revenue and earnings growth of 15.8% and 33.03%, respectively, outpacing the Indian market. Recent developments include interest in acquiring Jaypee Healthcare amid bankruptcy proceedings and board changes with Ms Shobana Kamineni stepping down as Executive Vice Chairperson to focus on digital health initiatives. The company reported FY2024 net income of 8.99 billion (up from 8.19 billion). NSEI:APOLLOHOSP Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Dixon Technologies (India) Limited provides electronic manufacturing services in India and has a market cap of 724.39 billion. Operations: Dixon Technologies (India) Limited generates revenue from various segments including consumer electronics, home appliances, lighting products, and mobile phones. Story continues Insider Ownership: 24.6% Earnings Growth Forecast: 36.1% p.a. Dixon Technologies (India) has demonstrated strong growth with its recent Q1 2025 earnings showing revenue of 65.88 billion, nearly doubling from the previous year. Net income rose to 1.34 billion, reflecting significant profitability improvements. The company's insider ownership aligns with its robust financial performance and strategic moves such as a manufacturing MOU with Acerpure India CE Private Limited for consumer appliances, positioning it well in the competitive Indian market. NSEI:DIXON Earnings and Revenue Growth as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Titagarh Rail Systems Limited manufactures and sells freight and passenger rail systems in India and internationally, with a market cap of 219.50 billion. Operations: Revenue Segments (in millions of ): Titagarh Rail Systems Limited generates revenue from manufacturing and selling freight and passenger rail systems in India and internationally. Insider Ownership: 22.3% Earnings Growth Forecast: 32.8% p.a. Titagarh Rail Systems has shown impressive growth, with earnings increasing by 65.4% over the past year and forecasted annual profit growth of 32.8%, outpacing the Indian market. Despite some share price volatility and a low Return on Equity forecast of 18.5%, insider ownership remains strong with more shares bought than sold recently. The company is actively contributing to major infrastructure projects, including producing trainsets for Bangalore's Metro Yellow Line, highlighting its role in India's urban transportation development. NSEI:TITAGARH Earnings and Revenue Growth as at Aug 2024 Next Steps Discover the full array of 88 Fast Growing Indian Companies With High Insider Ownership right here. Already own these companies? Bring clarity to your investment decisions by linking up your portfolio with Simply Wall St, where you can monitor all the vital signs of your stocks effortlessly. Simply Wall St is your key to unlocking global market trends, a free user-friendly app for forward-thinking investors. Interested In Other Possibilities? This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.The analysis only considers stock directly held by insiders. It does not include indirectly owned stock through other vehicles such as corporate and/or trust entities. All forecast revenue and earnings growth rates quoted are in terms of annualised (per annum) growth rates over 1-3 years. Companies discussed in this article include NSEI:APOLLOHOSP NSEI:DIXON and NSEI:TITAGARH. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The murder suspect accused of DWI while released from custody will now remain behind bars. Emory Gallegos was staying at his grandmas as he was awaiting his trial for the 2022 murder of William Vencil. However, police arrested Gallegos in June and said he was driving drunk on Coors near the bypass which violated his conditions of release. Albuquerque woman sentenced for her role in shoplifting ring When you have such a serious charge as a murder, to think of someone, you know one oclock in the morning, I believe it was when he was pulled over, after work, going to drink, and then, to the point of being aggravated. Thats what concerned the court initially when I revoked his conditions of release. And Im still concerned. So Im not going to release him, said Judge Emeterio Rudolfo. Gallegos murder trial set for December. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) In response to a significant increase in juvenile crime, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) is urging parents to monitor their childrens online activities more closely. This call to action follows the release of a video aimed at educating parents on the warning signs of online danger and providing guidance on how to prevent youth from engaging in criminal behavior. Story continues below APD attributes much of the surge in juvenile crime to the influence of social media, which has provided easy access to illegal substances and firearms for minors. Commander Jeff Bernard of the Investigative Services Division noted that the department has seen children as young as ten involved in serious offenses. Weve observed a worrying trend of violent crimes among our youth, with incidents involving gun crimes and drug trafficking becoming more common, Bernard said. Social media has significantly increased the availability of these illicit goods, making it easier for juveniles to get involved in criminal activities. Last week, another shooting occurred at Coronado Center, adding to the growing list of juvenile-related crimes in Albuquerque. In one particularly tragic case, a 23-year-old woman named Sydney Wilson was murdered after finding her stolen vehicle. A teen was charged for her death. Auto thefts involving juveniles have also risen sharply, often driven by social media trends. We had a period where several vehicles, including bait cars, were stolen by juveniles, Bernard said. These stolen vehicles have been used in other crimes, including homicides. The APDs PSA video warns parents about the dangers posed by social media platforms. The video explains how these platforms are being used for illegal firearm, narcotics, and alcohol transactions. Bernard highlighted that many juveniles are more adept at navigating these platforms than adults, making it crucial for parents to stay informed and engaged. To combat this trend, the APD is working closely with the Albuquerque Community Safety Department to support parents of at-risk teens. The Violence Intervention Program, part of Bernards division, aims to provide alternative paths for youth involved in crime, offering services and support. Were trying to address the issue from multiple angles, Bernard explained. We have interventions in place for youth offenders and their families, and we also conduct targeted operations around high-traffic retail areas and downtown to maintain a strong police presence. Bernard urged parents to maintain open communication with their children, know their whereabouts, and be vigilant about their activities, particularly during late hours. Its easy to lose track of where your kids are and what theyre doing with the convenience of apps like Uber and access to vehicles, he said. Having regular conversations and setting clear boundaries can make a significant difference. The full PSA video can be viewed here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Former President Trump is interviewed by journalist Rachel Scott at the annual convention of the National Assn. of Black Journalists in Chicago on Wednesday. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times) It wasn't a debate. It was train wreck interview, and no one from Donald Trump's party has called on him to step out of the presidential race but they should. The former president characterized Vice President Kamala Harris as a woman who cant be trusted based on her mixed racial background during a livestreamed appearance in Chicago for the annual meeting of the National Assn. of Black Journalists. [Kamala] was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, Trump said of his likely opponent in the 2024 presidential election. Harris mother is South Asian and her father is Black. It's still a bit much for Trump to process, though he tried in real time to weaponize this information for his first big showing since Harris became his probable competition in the presidential race. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? he asked. I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person. I think somebody should look into that too. Look into what, exactly? And does this critical investigation require a DNA test, a lie detector test, or both? What is so hard about mixed heritage to understand here? Read more: Black women, white dudes, crazy cat ladies: Identity groups fuel a groundswell for Harris Trump stopped short of using terms like half-breed or unpure, but the message was clear: mixed-race folks and those of multiple ethnicities are oddball anomalies, flip-floppers who must pick one identity to be trusted. Even then, their birthplace, citizenship and religious beliefs will be dissected and scrutinized by the birther movement he spearheaded against Barack Obama nearly a decade ago. Race baiting and hating is nothing new to MAGA, of course, but it was still stunning to hear it come out of a presidential candidates mouth on a national stage with such confidence and candor. For those of us who grew up in mixed households, the demand that we stay in one lane is not new, but it's still absurd. Personally, Im moving between outrage and disappointment that were still having these sorts of midcentury conversations in 2024. Explaining who or what you are to hostile interrogators (i.e., teachers, school bullies) is exhausting, especially as a kid. It certainly was to me. I hoped the world would change in time for my son, who is Arab, Indian and white. Portraying Harris as The Other in front of a room full of Black journalists Wednesday backfired big time. His attempt to sow doubt about Harris blackness, in front of a predominantly Black audience, didn't appear to win hearts and minds. Read more: Ali: Racism and bigotry get a pass in 2024 as Trump talk that once shocked is normalized There were groans from the audience when he proclaimed he was the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln, and when he accused Rachel Scott of ABC News (one of three female interviewers on stage) of giving him a very rude introduction. Her tough first questions about his criticisms of Black journalists, Black prosecutors and communities in general were apparently nasty. That sort of speak is ear-candy in the MAGA-verse, where elected officials resurrect Jim Crow-era descriptors like colored" and use terms like DEI hire to discredit Harris. The latter smear suggests that she was picked for VP not because of her accomplishments as Californias attorney general or as a U.S. senator, but because she checks a few demographic boxes. But the GOP's desperate scramble for a winning screed against Harris is not taking hold yet, at least not in the same way the age card was used against President Biden when he was in the race. Still, Trump doubled down on his You cant trust her banter via his Truth Social platform. Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black, he wrote. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. Or perhaps it's that she's a threat to Trump's world order. Harris is the daughter of, wait for it, immigrants! Her father is Jamaican and her mother is Indian. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university and she pledged to the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator representing California, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Harris addressed Trumps attacks from where she was speaking on Wednesday the historically African American sorority Sigma Gamma Rhos 60th International Biennial Boule. It was the same old show: the divisiveness, and the disrespect, Harris said. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us they are an essential source of our strength. Harris is right. Those of us from mixed parentage already know this, even if Trump wants to portray that truth as a weakness. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox three times per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Donald Trumps onetime attorney and current campaign booster Alina Habba appeared to jump right into playing defense for the former president following his racist lie about his likely Democratic 2024 rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday drew widespread condemnation for his false claim that Harris had previously only promoted her Indian heritage and later happened to turn Black when it was politically convenient. But Harris has never hidden any aspect of her heritage and Trumps offensive comment was just the latest in a long line. That didnt stop Habba from ranting at a Trump rally that took place later in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Im going to speak to you, Miss Harris. Im a strong woman, a mom, a lawyer and an American. And unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are, I know where I come from and I dont play around with the Constitution, she added. Trump is innocent of any crime other than loving this country, Habba claimed of the convicted felon, who was found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money trial. Some critics on social media pointed out Habbas who my roots are flub. Others accused the Trump acolyte of doubling down on MAGA racism against Harris, which commentators have warned is only going to get worse in the lead-up to Novembers vote. Habba: Unlike you Kamala, I know who my roots are and where I come from pic.twitter.com/DMpdu2h861 Acyn (@Acyn) July 31, 2024 What's she even talking about? Kamala is quite clear about her heritage. The Great Gig in the Sky (@thegreatgig8) July 31, 2024 Never go full racist. (@ChidiNwatu) July 31, 2024 Oh man. Theyre going to keep doubling down on racism. These people are crass and vile. Im glad theyre doing it in a way, coz it will cause them to lose but it is truly hard to watch Metalmark (@MarkMantis) July 31, 2024 They are doubling down on racism. CB (@ConservBlue2020) July 31, 2024 Love that the concept of being biracial is breaking so many Republican officials brains in front of us Merrick (@punishedmother) July 31, 2024 cant believe theyre actually going to make literal racial attacks. coinmon (@therealCoinmon) July 31, 2024 Who my roots are? Shes painfully stupid. Rachel Vindman (@natsechobbyist) July 31, 2024 Related... Alleged Sinaloa cartel cofounder Ismael El Mayo Zambada appeared Thursday in federal court in Texas for his latest hearing since his arrest a week ago in an intrigue-packed case centered on one of the worlds most powerful and deadly drug trafficking organizations. In the seven-minute court hearing, both prosecutors and defense attorneys requested a 30-day delay in proceedings to allow for time to collect additional evidence, which was granted. Zambada, 76, is being held without bond after pleading not guilty July 26 to seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering. He was arrested the prior day in El Paso alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the 38-year-old son of infamous cartel boss and founder Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Zambada on Thursday was wheeled into the courtroom seated in a wheelchair and was wearing a blue hoodie and orange socks. The scene outside the courthouse in El Paso showed a heavy security presence, with federal agents and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling the perimeter. Now, several US attorneys are competing over who first will try Zambada, who is being held by US Marshals at an undisclosed location because of the security concerns and potential threats to his life. At least five US attorneys in New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Washington, DC have brought indictments against him, and several want first crack at the drug lord, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The decision ultimately lies with the US Justice Department. None of the US attorneys offices with indictments against Zambada would comment Thursday on the cases. Disputes like this arent uncommon where defendants could be tried in multiple jurisdictions and require Justice Department headquarters to referee the competition. The Deputy Attorney Generals office will make a final decision in the coming weeks, a person briefed on the matter said. Experts have warned the capture of the cartel bosses wont necessarily curb drug flow to the United States or violence in Mexico and could exacerbate it. But information that could be gleaned by the US from these leaders, especially Zambada, could be worth the upheaval it causes among Mexican cartels, some experts have said. Still, the mens arrests strike at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast, US Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram has said. Accounts of how the pair ended up in US custody clash By one account, Guzman Lopez duped Zambada to orchestrate their arrest, US law enforcement officials have told CNN. Zambada had thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate, but their small private plane instead landed north of the border, with US authorities waiting on the tarmac, the officials said. Guzman Lopez, however, has not made a deal with US officials, his attorney told reporters Tuesday after his client pleaded not guilty in federal court in Chicago to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges. Attorney Jeffrey Lichtmans assertion raised new questions about why Guzman Lopez flew to Texas if he had no cooperation agreement with American authorities. Zambadas attorney, meanwhile, has described last weeks flight as a violent kidnapping, he told CNN Sunday. Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client, attorney Frank Perez said in a statement. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head. He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the US against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquin and my client. US attorneys vying for first Zambada prosecution Zambada and Guzman Lopez had managed to elude law enforcement for decades, FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week, with the US government in 2021 raising the reward for information leading to Zambadas arrest to $15 million, the US State Department has said. Zambada also was indicted in 2009 by a northern Illinois grand jury. Zambada Garcia is unique, the agency said, in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in jail. Police officers with K-9 dogs walk outside the federal court where alleged Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was due appear in court on August 1, 2024. - Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters As to where hes prosecuted first, the Eastern District of New York, which successfully tried and convicted El Chapo in 2019, could be the obvious choice given the infrastructure established for the now-convicted cartel bosss trial, one source said, also noting the strong case the district has against Zambada and its proven track record with prosecuting cartel bosses. In Washington, DC, Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, a son of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel a significant Sinaloa cartel competitor and its potential heir is preparing for trial on charges related to cartel activity after he abruptly backed out of a plea agreement in October. Zambadas next hearing is set for September 9 at 1 p.m. local time. Decades-old cartel blamed in US drug scourge The Sinaloa organization, also known to deal in cocaine, has been blamed as a key player in the decades-long drug war thats left tens of thousands dead across Mexico and contributed to high levels of violence there. In the early 2010s, estimates indicated the cartel controlled roughly 40% to 60% of Mexicos drug trade, earning as much as $3 billion annually, according to a Congressional Research Service report. US officials were hesitant to brief Mexican counterparts before Zambadas and Guzman Lopezs arrests due to fears the operation could have been compromised, a law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN. Details of the operation were also highly restricted within the US government until the men were taken into custody, the source said. The Sinaloa cartel was founded in the late 1980s and led by El Chapo, who in 2019 began serving a life sentence in US federal prison. A power struggle between Zambada and El Chapos sons, also known as the Chapitos, has existed for some time within the organization, and with Zambada now away, violence inside the cartel and other criminal organizations in Mexico, is set to ramp up, experts have told CNN. El Chapo twice escaped Mexican prisons before authorities detained him in 2016. He was extradited to the US in 2017 and convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. CNNs Eric Levenson, Emma Tucker, Polo Sandoval, Evan Perez, Nicole Chavez, Cheri Mossburg and Christina Zdanowicz contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com HOUSTON Addressing a cavernous auditorium filled with thousands of Black women decked out in royal blue and gold the colors of Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically Black sorority holding its biennial celebration in Houston on Wednesday Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged the ugly, unhinged rant that former President Donald Trump delivered hours earlier at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. During a panel discussion moderated by a trio of female reporters, Trump had questioned Harris race, suggesting she turned Black as a matter of political convenience. Rachel Scott, a correspondent with ABC News, asked the former president about Republicans efforts to brand Harris, pejoratively, as a DEI hire a smear intended to paint the vice president and former U.S. senator as someone who was picked for a job not for her skills or accomplishments, but because she ticks a specific demographic box. Instead of distancing himself from the caricature, Trump launched an uglier attack, questioning whether Harris was Black at all. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now, she wants to be known as Black, he said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris responded to Trumps remarks about her race one of a series of stunning exchanges he made during the controversial 34-minute interview at Sigma Gamma Rhos 60th International Biennial Boule. This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. And it was the same old show: the divisiveness, and the disrespect. And let me just say the American people deserve better. Harris went on: The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us they are an essential source of our strength. Already, Trumps campaign seems determined to capitalize on, rather than back away from, Trumps remarks a signal that the campaign thinks his racist, bad-faith attack on Harris will have a political benefit. Just hours after his interview before the former president arrived at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania a Business Insider headline was projected on a screen at the rally that read: Californias Kamala Harris becomes first Indian-American U.S. senator. By then, Trump had already posted a video on Truth Social of Harris cooking with the actress Mindy Kaling, and talking about her South Asian heritage. He captioned it: Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity! Trump did not revisit the comments onstage at the rally, but his lawyer Alina Habba tried, declaring awkwardly at one point: Unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are, I know where I come from. Trump has a history with this type of attack: He milked bad-faith doubts about Barack Obamas birth certificate for years a campaign that eventually laid the path for his 2016 presidential bid. On Wednesday, far-right Trump supporter Laura Loomer posted that she was sharing a copy of Harris birth certificate, writing that it proves she is NOT BLACK. She added: Donald Trump is correct. Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been. The attack on Harris originated years ago, promoted by the right-wing provocateur Ali Alexander, who organized the Stop the Steal rally that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Alexander tweeted in 2019: Kamala Harris is implying she is descended from American Black Slaves. Shes not. She comes from Jamaican Slave Owners. Thats fine. Shes not an American Black. Period. Donald Trump Jr. retweeted it at the time. At a fundraiser in Maine, Harris husband, Doug Emhoff the target of recent faith-based attacks from Trump dismissed the former presidents comments, calling them a distraction. We cant get distracted by Hannibal Lecter, Emhoff said, referring to Trumps bizarre proclivity for the fictional cannibal. Even the insults hurled at myself and my wife thats to distract us and get us talking about that. The Trump campaign is in desperate need of a distraction: After weeks of withering criticism of J.D. Vance, his running mate, the Trump campaign must be grateful for any earned media opportunity that doesnt involve questions about whether or not his pick for vice president had sex with a couch, or revolve around his declaring war on broad swaths of the American electorate. Vance, himself the father of three mixed-race children, laughed off Trumps comments about Harris race at a rally in Arizona on Wednesday. I thought it was hysterical, Vance said. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris. Harris is the daughter of Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a breast cancer researcher who was born in India, and Donald Harris, an economist who was born in Jamaica. The couple met in Berkeley, California, and where they were both active in a legendary Black intellectual study group at U.C. Berkeley. Harris herself was born in Oakland, and she went on to study at Howard University, a historically Black college, where she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha one of the Divine Nine historically Black sororities and fraternities. She has spoken often about her Black heritage, including to the popular radio show The Breakfast Club in 2019. Im Black, and Im proud of being Black, she said. I was born Black. I will die Black, and Im not going to make excuses for anybody because they dont understand. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sometime before he withdrew from the presidential race, President Joe Biden secretly reaffirmed his own self-willed and self-created authority to kill persons in other countries, so long as the CIA and its military counterparts have near certainty that the target of the homicide is a member of a terrorist organization. That standard was concocted by the George W. Bush administration in 2002. There is no near certainty standard in the law, as the phrase is oxymoronic and defies a rational definition like "nearly pregnant. Just as one is either pregnant or not, one is either certain or not. There is no near there. Yet, the creation of this standard underscores the lamentable absence of the rule of law in government today. The Biden administration and its three immediate predecessors have all deployed drones to kill persons who were not engaged in acts of violence at the time of their killing, irrespective of the near certainty of their membership in any organizations. Terrorist cannot be a standard for extrajudicial murder because it is subjective. To King George III, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were terrorists. To the poor folks in Libya and Syria, to the popularly elected governments toppled by CIA-inspired violence in Iran in 1953 and in Ukraine in 2014, to the innocents tortured by the CIA at black sites around the world, the CIA is a terrorist organization. The presidential use of drones to kill persons overseas began in 2002 with Bush-ordered targeted killings. It continued under President Barack Obama who even killed Americans overseas. The rules for killing were made up by each president. They were relaxed under President Donald Trump, who gave CIA senior personnel and military commanders the authority to kill without his express approval for each killing. Trumps folks infamously murdered an Iranian general and his companions on their way to lunch with Iraqi generals to negotiate peace between the two countries. The Biden administration quietly took back the Trump grants of authority so that today only the president can authorize targeted killing. Yet, there is no moral, constitutional or legal authority for these killings. But presidents of both political parties do it anyway. The laws of war a phrase itself that is oxymoronic which are generally codified in the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Charter, all of which were spearheaded, written and ratified by the United States, mandate essentially that lawful wars can only be defensive and must be proportional to the threat posed or the harm already caused. Stated differently, treaties to which the U.S. is a signatory restrain the president from killing persons in other countries with which the U.S. is not lawfully at war. Under the Constitution, treaties sit alongside the Constitution itself as the supreme law of the land. The last four occupants of the White House have ignored this when it comes to secret killings. Each has claimed publicly or secretly that the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001, or its cousin, the AUMF of 2002, somehow provide congressional authorizations for presidents to kill whomever they please and somehow Congress can lawfully authorize these killings. Yet the AUMF of 2001 purported to authorize Bush to hunt down and kill the folks whom he failed to see coming on 9/11 (those would be his friends, the Saudis), and whom he reasonably found caused 9/11. The AUMF of 2002 authorized Bush to invade Iraq in pursuit of the weapons of mass destruction that he was told by experts inside and outside the CIA Saddam Hussein did not possess. Both AUMFs no longer have a valid purpose today, yet they remain the law. The Constitution authorizes Congress to declare war against foreign countries, not random killings of persons. Neither of the AUMFs was or is a valid declaration of war, which the Constitution requires as a predicate for all extrajudicial presidential killings. A declaration of war defines the target and sets the end. It is not open-ended as the last four presidents have claimed with respect to these two Bush-era statutes. If the presidents are right, and the AUMFs authorize them to kill whomever they wish including Americans then they are not presidents answerable to the law and the Constitution, but kings who can kill on a whim without transparency or legal consequence. The whole purpose of confining the war-making power to Congress and the war-waging power to the president was to keep those powers separate. History is littered with examples of tyrants using the powers of the state to kill for no moral purpose. American presidents have given themselves the power to kill. It is the functional equivalent to a loaded gun in a drawer of the presidents desk. More Napolitano: Freedoms extinction: Why do we tolerate it? Abraham Lincoln was the first head of state in world history to target civilians militarily and the first to engage in the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians of his own country. Franklin D. Roosevelt slaughtered thousands of innocent helpless German civilians at the end of World War II by carpet-bombing German cities, rather than targeting the German military. Harry Truman slaughtered many thousands of Japanese civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All these murders were met with popular approval, as the targets had been demonized by the machinery of government just like the terrorists Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden have killed. Andrew P. Napolitano But demonization of human targets and popular approval of their murders cannot turn an immoral act into a moral one. An act is moral when it is consistent with the Natural Law. According to the Declaration of Independence, under the Natural Law, all persons are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The right to live is the foremost natural right and the great divine gift to all persons not just Americans. No person may morally be targeted for death by government for any reason unless it is presently necessary to stop that person from actively killing an innocent. In the cases cited above, the presidential killings were done to terrify political opponents, as the civilian targets were helpless. And the killers were lauded as heroes. Today, American troops are on the ground in Ukraine showing Ukrainian forces how to use American weapons to kill Russian troops and in Israel showing the IDF how to kill civilians in Gaza. This was done by secret presidential orders that have never been publicly acknowledged. Russian troops and Gazan civilians pose no threat whatsoever to life, liberty or property in America. Why do American presidents kill? Because they can get away with it. Andrew P. Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge, has published nine books on the U.S. Constitution. To learn more, visit JudgeNap.com. This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: When presidents kill American prisoners in Russia to be released in multi-country swap American prisoners in Russia to be released in multi-country swap (WGHP) Multiple American prisoners who are currently being held in Russia are going to be released as the result of a multiple-country agreement, according to several sources. The agreement will result in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine Paul Whelan. Both are American citizens who are being held in Russia. This is a developing story. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who had both been detained in Russia on espionage charges, were released Thursday as part of a major U.S.-Russia prisoner swap. The exchange, which took place in Turkey, was the biggest prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War. President Biden on Thursday called the prisoner swap a feat of diplomacy. He said Russia had released 16 prisoners: five Germans, seven Russians who were political prisoners in their own country, along with three American citizens and one American green-card holder. In exchange, Biden said, eight Russians who were being held in the West will be sent home. The Americans include Whelan and Gershkovich, as well as Russian American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and green-card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza. Their families joined Biden while he spoke on Thursday. Biden led the room in singing happy birthday to Alsus daughter. Now she gets to celebrate with her mom, thats what this is all about. Families, able to be together again, like they should have been all along, Biden said. Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva are in Ankara and are going home! pic.twitter.com/p5vQUBiWsg Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) August 1, 2024 Who is Evan Gershkovich? Gershkovich, 32, was accredited to work as a reporter by the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the Journal. He was detained by the countrys Federal Security Service on March 29, 2023, while on assignment in Yekaterinburg a city about 1,200 miles east of Moscow just a day after he co-authored an article on Russias declining economy following its invasion of Ukraine. At the time Gershkovich was accused of espionage, Russian authorities didnt provide detailed evidence to support the accusation. He was being held in Moscows Lefortovo prison, infamous for its harsh conditions. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government denied the espionage charges and called them baseless. A Russian court convicted Gershkovich of espionage on July 19 and sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum security prison. The trial proceedings took place behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg. According to a June indictment, the American journalist was accused of gathering secret information on behalf of the CIA regarding a Russian facility that produces and repairs military equipment. At no point during the trial did the prosecution present any evidence publicly to support the espionage charges, the New York Times reported. The U.S. called the rushed trial a sham. Evan Gershkovich, left, and Paul Whelan. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images, Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images) Who is Paul Whelan? Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, is a corporate security executive from Michigan who holds U.S., Canadian, British and Irish citizenships. He had been detained by Russian authorities for over five years since Dec. 28, 2018 and was imprisoned on espionage charges for his alleged involvement in an intelligence operation. He, his family and the U.S. government have said the allegation is false. Whelan said he was in Moscow to attend a friends wedding. In 2020, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in a remote prison labor camp in Mordovia, where he had been detained ever since. If I had known that there would be any sort of problem, I would never have come here, Whelan told CNN by phone from the prison camp in December. Whelan had been left out of several prisoner swaps during the Trump and Biden administrations. Of all the Americans detained in Russia whose charges have been disputed by the U.S. government, he had been imprisoned the longest. Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who was detained in Russia in 2019, was released in April 2022 in exchange for a Russian citizen found guilty of cocaine trafficking charges in the U.S. WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia in February 2022 on drug-related charges, was released in December 2022 in exchange for infamous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The Hong Kong market has been experiencing notable fluctuations, influenced by mixed economic data and shifts in global investor sentiment. Amid this backdrop, identifying growth companies with high insider ownership can provide valuable insights into potential investment opportunities. In the current environment, stocks with strong insider ownership often signal confidence from those closest to the company's operations. This alignment of interests between insiders and shareholders can be particularly compelling for investors seeking growth in a volatile market. Top 10 Growth Companies With High Insider Ownership In Hong Kong Name Insider Ownership Earnings Growth iDreamSky Technology Holdings (SEHK:1119) 20.2% 104.1% Pacific Textiles Holdings (SEHK:1382) 11.2% 37.7% Tian Tu Capital (SEHK:1973) 34% 70.5% Adicon Holdings (SEHK:9860) 22.4% 28.3% Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (SEHK:9863) 15% 73% DPC Dash (SEHK:1405) 38.2% 91.4% Zylox-Tonbridge Medical Technology (SEHK:2190) 18.7% 79.3% Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) (SEHK:2315) 13.9% 100.1% Beijing Airdoc Technology (SEHK:2251) 28.6% 83.9% Ocumension Therapeutics (SEHK:1477) 23.3% 93.7% Click here to see the full list of 53 stocks from our Fast Growing SEHK Companies With High Insider Ownership screener. Let's dive into some prime choices out of the screener. Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Beijing Fourth Paradigm Technology Co., Ltd. is an investment holding company that offers platform-centric artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in the People's Republic of China, with a market cap of HK$22.62 billion. Operations: The company's revenue segments include CN2.51 billion from the Sage AI Platform, CN415.50 million from Sagegpt Aigs Services, and CN1.28 billion from Shift Intelligent Solutions. Insider Ownership: 22.8% Earnings Growth Forecast: 96% p.a. Beijing Fourth Paradigm Technology, with substantial insider ownership, is poised for significant growth. The companys revenue grew by 36.4% last year and is forecasted to grow at 19.3% annually, outpacing the Hong Kong market's growth rate. Earnings are expected to increase by nearly 96% per year over the next three years as it approaches profitability. Recent strategic alliances in AI training and executive changes underscore its commitment to innovation and sustainable development. Story continues SEHK:6682 Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Techtronic Industries Company Limited designs, manufactures, and markets power tools, outdoor power equipment, and floorcare and cleaning products globally with a market cap of HK$183.43 billion. Operations: The company generates revenue primarily from Power Equipment ($12.79 billion) and Floorcare & Cleaning ($974.75 million). Insider Ownership: 25.4% Earnings Growth Forecast: 14.9% p.a. Techtronic Industries, with significant insider ownership, is forecasted to grow earnings by 14.93% annually and revenue by 8.1% per year, outpacing the Hong Kong market's average growth rates. Recent executive changes include the retirement of CEO Joseph Galli Jr., succeeded by Steven Richman. The company commenced a share repurchase program authorized to buy back up to 183 million shares, aimed at enhancing net asset value and earnings per share. SEHK:669 Earnings and Revenue Growth as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Angelalign Technology Inc. is an investment holding company that researches, develops, designs, manufactures, and markets clear aligner treatment solutions in the People's Republic of China with a market cap of HK$9.08 billion. Operations: The company's revenue segment includes Dental Equipment & Supplies, generating CN1.48 billion. Insider Ownership: 18.5% Earnings Growth Forecast: 51% p.a. Angelalign Technology, with substantial insider ownership, is expected to see earnings grow at 51.02% annually and revenue at 15.9%, both outpacing the Hong Kong market averages. Recent developments include a special dividend of HK$1.1 per share, executive changes with Mr. Zhu becoming the sole company secretary, and product innovations aimed at expanding their North American market presence, such as new features for orthodontists and entry into Canada. SEHK:6699 Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Seize The Opportunity Reveal the 53 hidden gems among our Fast Growing SEHK Companies With High Insider Ownership screener with a single click here. Already own these companies? Link your portfolio to Simply Wall St and get alerts on any new warning signs to your stocks. Unlock the power of informed investing with Simply Wall St, your free guide to navigating stock markets worldwide. Contemplating Other Strategies? This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.The analysis only considers stock directly held by insiders. It does not include indirectly owned stock through other vehicles such as corporate and/or trust entities. All forecast revenue and earnings growth rates quoted are in terms of annualised (per annum) growth rates over 1-3 years. Companies discussed in this article include SEHK:6682 SEHK:669 and SEHK:6699. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Organizers are preparing an annual blood donation event to honor the life of a Hoover teen. The Sophia Zeigler Blood Drive will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the UAB Campus Greens, hosted by LifeSouth. On Aug. 3, 2022, Zeigler was shot and killed at a Hoover gas station. She was 19 years old and aspired to become a sonographer. Renew Birmingham to host Cookout and Car Show on Saturday In the wake of her death, Sophias Giving Hands Foundation has supported victims of domestic and gun violence. Saturdays event will feature free drinks, snacks, pizza and prize giveaways. Donors will receive a $20 e-gift card and a custom t-shirt. Platelet and double red cell donors will receive a $40 e-gift card while supplies last. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. A voter prepares a ballot at the Sugar Maple Square voting location in Bowling Green, May 21, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony) A judge has removed Democrat Richard Henderson as a candidate for the state House in Shelby County because of errors in his candidacy filing papers. The action July 30 by Shelby Circuit Judge Michelle Brummer at the request of Shelby County Judge-Executive Dan Ison leaves Republican incumbent Jennifer Decker unopposed in the Nov. 5 election for the states 58th House District. The district covers most of Shelby County. Henderson, an IT employee who had no opposition in the May Democratic primary, was the first Black Democrat to seek the seat. He said he will not appeal the judges order, but we will come back in 2026. He said he plans to run again in two years for the House seat. It will be a great opportunity then to flip this seat back to Democratic, especially with the success Democrats expect in keeping the White House this November. Decker, of Waddy, did not respond to calls for comment about Brummers order. Ison has said Decker did not ask him to file the lawsuit, which he did with Shelby County citizen Janrose Stillwell, Ison said he was involved in a similar case years ago and decided that it was his duty as Shelby Countys top Republican official to challenge Hendersons papers. Hendersons attorney, Fielding Ballard of Shelbyville, questioned that, saying Ison filed the lawsuit after Henderson handed out all his campaign cards at Shelbyvilles annual Dogwood Festival in the spring. In their lawsuit against Henderson, Ison and Stillwell claimed Henderson violated the state law that requires a candidates notification petition to be signed by the candidate and by not less than two registered voters of the same party. Hendersons candidacy papers were not signed by a single registered Democratic voter, said the legal challenge against him. The lawsuit said Adam Muntzinger and Taunya Muntzinger were the two citizens who signed Hendersons papers and both were registered Republicans in the district at the time They changed their party affiliation to Democrat in March of this year. Henderson, in a response to the court, denied the allegations and said he believed the persons signing his candidacy papers were registered voters of his party from all conversations and statements he had with them over the years. Judge Brummer in her four-page order noted that recent guidance on the issue was provided by the Kentucky Court of Appeals in a similar Jefferson County case. Isons attorney, state Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville, did not return calls seeking comment. Ballard, Hendersons attorney, said Brummers ruling was expected, given the recent Kentucky Supreme Court decision involving the case in Jefferson County. In early June, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter issued a one-page order that said incumbent state Rep. Nima Kulkarni of Louisville was disqualified as a candidate in this Mays Democratic election for the 40th District House seat. The Supreme Court order in the Kulkarni case came one day after the states highest court held a hearing on her eligibility to run in the May primary election. She handily won the primary and had no opposition for the November general election. VanMeters order said a majority of the court upheld the decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that Kulkarni should be disqualified from the race because of errors in her candidacy filing papers. He said the order was issued for the benefit of the parties involved and that the Supreme Court would issue an opinion in due course. It is not clear what will be done to make sure the Jefferson County district has a state representative for the next two years, beginning Jan. 1. Kulkarni was the only one on the ballot. Kulkarni did not return phone calls about the situation. Steve Megerle, a Covington attorney representing former state Democratic Rep. Dennis Horlander, who filed the suit against Kulkarni, said, We are waiting for the Supreme Court to say something about what will happen. He said Horlander is prepared to seek legal action to make sure that Kulkarnis name is not on the November ballot. He noted that ballots are to be prepared by mid-August. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST APB for Green Power Ranger: Actor wanted by Nampa police in attack on man using walker An actor who starred in the Power Rangers movie and TV franchise is wanted by the Nampa Police Department for allegedly attacking a resident in his early 60s who was using a walker. Nampa police said an arrest warrant was issued on a charge of misdemeanor battery for Hector David Rivera, 35 stage name Hector David Jr. after he was identified on video in an apartment complex parking lot knocking down the victim, who had been in front of Riveras truck. Police said that Rivera was parked in a spot meant for the disabled and that the encounter just before noon last Friday was captured by the victims vehicle dashboard camera, and then posted on social media by police. Do you recognize this battery suspect? the video caption read. The post was updated the following day saying the suspect was identified and the investigation was ongoing. Nampa police spokesperson Carmen Boeger confirmed to the Statesman that Rivera was the suspect. Rivera played Dr. Thomas Oliver, the Green Power Ranger, from 2011 to 2015. The Connecticut-born actor also appeared in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and has over 25 acting credits to his name. He was scheduled to be in Twin Falls this weekend for the Magic Valley Comic-Con, but is no longer on the schedule. UPDATE - I D E N T I F I E D The investigation is ongoing. Thank you to everyone who help! https://t.co/imfsjfKHTc Nampa PD (@NampaPolice1) July 28, 2024 The video shared by police showed Rivera wearing a white and blue New England Patriots jersey, red pants and an Illinois Foundation Seeds hat. He was seen having a verbal altercation about parking and then pushing down the man, police said. The victim called police and submitted a photo he had taken of Rivera, who was also holding up his phone to take a picture, Boeger told the Statesman. The man also gave the video taken with his dashboard camera to authorities. A white car drove by the victim while he was on the ground, the video showed, and the man said to be Rivera then drove away in a four-door truck with a Texas license plate. The man using the walker was helped up and was OK at the scene, police said. Boeger said that if the victim developed injuries, more charges would be a possibility. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) The Abilene Police Departments K-9 officers received multiple awards at the United States Police Canine Association Region 25 certifications earlier this summer, which were held in Wichita Falls, Texas. K-9 Barco, with his partner Officer Cox, won first place in Tracking for the Region and ranked in the top 20 out of nearly 60 Narcotics canines in the National Competition. Comanche PD welcomes K-9 Kiso to the team K-9 Rip and Officer Squyres took first place in the Patrol Dog Category, the Evidence and Detection Category, and Top Dog for the Region. Abilene Police Departments K-9 Panzer Each member of the APD K-9 team is nationally certified in patrol, tracking, and two national narcotics certifications. The Abilene Police Department would like to introduce K-9 Panzer, a 16-month-old Belgian Malinois. Panzer was born in Denmark and was purchased through Southern State Canine using seized funds at a cost of $14,500. Meet Kiso: Comanche PDs K-9 unit first days on the job Officer Jacob Kartchner and his partner, Panzer, have completed a six-week training period and are now patrolling the streets of Abilene. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Students work in a class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern states. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on the eve of the updated regulations taking effect brings the total number of states where the rule is temporarily blocked to 26. The administrations rule which seeks to extend federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ students has been met with a wave of GOP pushback since being announced by the Department of Education in April. The final rule is slated to go into effect Thursday, but faces mounting legal uncertainty. This is a big win in our fight to protect children, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement following the appeals court ruling. Weve argued that the Biden administration does not have the authority to make this change, and with this temporary injunction, we now have time to make our case in court without our children being put in danger. The 11th Circuit decision reversed what had been a victory for the final rules advocates in federal court in Alabama on Tuesday. In a 122-page opinion, Judge Annemarie Carney Axon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama wrote that in short, although Plaintiffs may dislike the Departments rules, they have failed to show a substantial likelihood of success in proving the Departments rulemaking was unreasonable or not reasonably explained. Axon, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump, also wrote that the evidentiary record is sparse, and the legal arguments are conclusory and underdeveloped. In late April, the group of Southern states, all with GOP attorneys general, sued the administration in federal court in Alabama over the regulations. Multiple organizations also tacked onto the lawsuit, including the Independent Womens Law Center, the Independent Womens Network, Parents Defending Education and Speech First. They quickly appealed Tuesdays ruling later in the day to the 11th Circuit. In a statement on Tuesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said we are surprised by district courts decision today to deny the States request to immediately halt Bidens Title IX degradation. He added that Alabamas young women deserve better. Since the department released the final rule, 26 states in total have signed onto lawsuits seeking to block the updated regulations from taking effect. Across multiple temporary injunctions, the final rule is also blocked in Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. On Wednesday, Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma halted the final rule from taking effect in the state. Oklahoma individually sued the administration back in May. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised the ruling, saying: Our students deserve the protections that have long been provided by Title IX, per a statement Wednesday. To further complicate the matter, when Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas temporarily blocked the measure in the Sunflower State, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier in July, he extended it to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty, all groups that sued alongside those four states. This means the final rule is blocked in schools across the country, including in states that never challenged the updated regulations. Despite Axons Tuesday ruling, the final rule was still set to be halted in any K-12 school or college in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina that is impacted by the earlier Kansas decision. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Janelle Stecklein contributed to this report. A New York appeals court rejected former President Trumps postconviction challenge to his hush money gag order Thursday. In a terse three-page order, a panel of five judges declined to reverse Judge Juan Merchans ruling, which following the blockbuster trial allowed Trump to resume making public remarks about key witnesses and the jury that convicted him but continued to bar him from attacking prosecutors overseeing the case. Petitioners contention that the conclusion of trial constitutes a change in circumstances warranting termination of the remaining Restraining Order provision is unavailing, the appeals panel wrote in its ruling. The panel added that, despite Trumps assertions, evidence presented by the Manhattan district attorneys office demonstrated that threats its staff has received following the verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat. Trump can still lodge complaints against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and Merchan. Trump has long asserted the gag order, as well as similar restrictions imposed in two of his other legal cases, violate his First Amendment rights as well as those of his millions of political supporters. His lawyers also told the appeals court that Merchan exceeded his jurisdiction since the trial had concluded, a contention the judges rejected. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, made to a porn actor to keep her allegations of an affair with the then-presidential candidate a secret until after the 2016 election. He denies the affair and any legal wrongdoing, has vowed to appeal the jurys verdict and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. After the trial, Trump again looked to lift his gag order, insisting the restrictions were no longer needed since the testimony had concluded. Merchan agreed to partially lift it, enabling Trump to again attack witnesses such as Cohen and the porn actor, Stormy Daniels, as well as the 12 New Yorkers who delivered the first criminal conviction of a former president. But at prosecutors urging, the judge had refused the former presidents demand to lift the order entirely. The narrowed terms still prevent Trump from attacking line prosecutors as well as the families of Merchan and Bragg. The judge and district attorney themselves have always been fair game. President Trump continues to forcefully challenge Acting Justice Merchans decision to leave in place portions of the unconstitutional Gag Order, which is meant to prevent President Trump from speaking freely about Judge Merchans disqualifying conflicts and the overwhelming evidence further exposing the Harris Biden Witch Hunt. The gag order is blatantly un-American as it continues to gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. There is no evidence connecting Biden or Harris to Trumps New York criminal case. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A Forrest City, Arkansas man was arrested and charged with 30 counts of rape, grooming a minor for future sex trafficking, and endangering the welfare of a minor. Forrest City Police say they received information last week that an endangered, underage runaway was at an apartment on Izard Street. Man last seen in Cordova gym found dead inside car dealership, family says When they went to the apartment, 34-year-old Amos Hines, the occupant, told them the juvenile was inside. When Forrest City Police responded to Hiness home here at North Izard Street Apartments officers say that Hines admitted that a minor was in his home and that she may have been there for quite some time, said Forrest City Police Chief Ronald Broussard. The juvenile was taken for an interview, and a search warrant for Hiness apartment was executed based on that interview. After an intense and exhaustive investigation, it was discovered that a long-term illegal sexual relationship between Mr. Hines and the underaged juvenile had been going on for some time, Forrest City Police said in a Facebook post. Police believe the girl had been living there for a while. Investigators wont say exactly how old the victim is, only that shes under the age of 16 and would frequently run away from home. Chief Broussard says Hines is not the only one preying on the victim. In at least one instance, officers say she had been with another adult. This young lady has revealed some things to us that are opening up other cases that possibly have had sex with her, so this is not isolated, he said. Broussard says runaways have been a growing problem in the area, which is why he encourages parents to have an open and honest relationship with their children. We can go on and have a conversation with them early and often about older men or older women, boys go through the same thing, said Broussard. Amos Hines was arrested on Monday and is being held on a $250,000 bond. The juvenile is in a facility seeking treatment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. DREW COUNTY, Ark. Arkansas State Police officials said an arrest has been made in connection to the killing of two people in Drew County in December of 2023 Investigators said Wednesday that 25-year-old Taiwan Collins Jr. was arrested Tuesday in connection with the deaths of 25-year-old Suquorey Pitts Jr. and 21-year-old Independence Young. Little Rock police arrest suspect in deadly Tuesday shooting near golf course On Dec. 3, 2023, deputies with the Drew County Sheriffs Office responded to a 911 call around 2:30 a.m. When they arrived at the old Wilmar School on North 5th Street, the deputies said they found two men, later identified as Pitts and Young, dead. Authorities said Pitts was found in the front passenger seat of a car parked in the schools driveway and Young was found lying on North 5th Street. State police officials said their Criminal Investigation Division then began investigating the homicides. On Tuesday, July 30, officials said troopers arrested Collins after identifying him as a passenger in a black Dodge Charger that was stopped for a traffic violation around 7:25 p.m. at the intersection of Highways 56 and 82 in Lake Village. Mayflower police identify victims found at church during welfare check ASP officials said Collins is being held at the Drew County Detention Center and is facing two charges of capital murder. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. FULTON COUNTY, Ark. A woman accused of shooting her son after an argument about a lawnmower has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will serve time in jail. According to online court records, 44-year-old Tabatha Lynn Pebler pleaded guilty under a plea agreement that reduced her second-degree murder charge to manslaughter. A judge sentenced Pebler to three years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman accused of fatally shooting son after lawnmower dispute Pebler shot her son in May 2023. Documents say she called 911 and said she had shot her son. When deputies arrived, Pebler told them she had been mowing the yard when the mower got stuck and had to ask her son, Brandon Chrisco, to help get it out. Documents say when Pebler got the mower stuck a second time, Chrisco called her a b**** and shoved her off the mower. Pebler went to her car, got a pistol from the center console and fired several warning shots at Chrisco as she moved toward him and he continued approaching her, according to a probable cause statement. She told police it was supposed to scare him into stopping, but the shot hit him in the upper left side of his chest and killed him. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. As global markets exhibit mixed performances and investors navigate through a varied economic landscape, small-cap and value stocks have shown resilience, outpacing large-cap growth shares. In this environment, identifying undervalued stocks becomes crucial for those looking to capitalize on potential market inefficiencies. A good stock in these conditions is typically characterized by strong fundamentals, stable earnings growth, and a price that does not fully reflect its intrinsic value. Top 10 Undervalued Stocks Based On Cash Flows Name Current Price Fair Value (Est) Discount (Est) CMK (TSE:6958) 543.00 1082.51 49.8% LaserBond (ASX:LBL) A$0.68 A$1.36 49.9% Atlanticus Holdings (NasdaqGS:ATLC) US$35.77 US$71.48 50% Medley (TSE:4480) 4060.00 8109.66 49.9% PSI Software (XTRA:PSAN) 21.50 42.87 49.8% Grifols (BME:GRF) 9.07 18.14 50% ECA Integrated Solution Berhad (KLSE:ECA) MYR0.405 MYR0.81 49.9% Silicon Laboratories (NasdaqGS:SLAB) US$120.13 US$239.85 49.9% Zynex (NasdaqGS:ZYXI) US$9.00 US$17.96 49.9% SunOpta (NasdaqGS:STKL) US$5.30 US$10.60 50% Click here to see the full list of 966 stocks from our Undervalued Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener. We'll examine a selection from our screener results. Overview: Novo Nordisk A/S, with a market cap of DKK3.97 trillion, is involved in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America and internationally. Operations: The company's revenue segments include DKK16.97 billion from Rare Disease and DKK227.27 billion from Diabetes and Obesity Care. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 14.5% Novo Nordisk, trading at DKK 912, is currently undervalued based on discounted cash flow analysis with an estimated fair value of DKK 1066.66. Despite a recent impairment loss of around DKK 5.7 billion and significant insider selling, the companys revenue and earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Danish market at rates of 13.4% and 13.7% per year respectively. Recent positive developments include EMA's approval for Wegovy label update reflecting cardiovascular benefits from the SELECT trial results, potentially bolstering future cash flows. CPSE:NOVO B Discounted Cash Flow as at Aug 2024 Overview: Oracle Corporation provides products and services for enterprise information technology environments globally, with a market cap of $384.30 billion. Operations: Oracle's revenue segments include Hardware at $3.07 billion, Services at $5.43 billion, and Cloud and License at $44.46 billion. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 48.3% Oracle, trading at US$139.45, is significantly undervalued based on discounted cash flow analysis with an estimated fair value of US$269.93. Despite high debt levels and recent index drops, Oracle's earnings are forecast to grow at 15.85% annually, outpacing the US market's growth rate of 15%. Recent client announcements like Advanced Info Service deploying Oracle Alloy highlight strong demand for Oracles cloud services, potentially enhancing future cash flows and supporting its undervaluation thesis. NYSE:ORCL Discounted Cash Flow as at Aug 2024 Overview: Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products in Japan, North America, Europe, and internationally with a market cap of 11.74 billion. Operations: Revenue Segments (in millions of ): Prescription Pharmaceuticals: 1,027,000; Generic Pharmaceuticals: 112,000; Vaccine Business: 24,000 Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 20% Daiichi Sankyo, trading at 6148, is undervalued based on discounted cash flow analysis with an estimated fair value of 7683.44. The companys earnings grew by 83.8% last year and are forecast to grow 20.7% annually over the next three years, outpacing the JP market's growth rate of 8.9%. Recent share buybacks and business expansions in oncology further strengthen its financial position and commitment to long-term growth, despite regulatory setbacks for key drug approvals. TSE:4568 Discounted Cash Flow as at Aug 2024 Turning Ideas Into Actions Click this link to deep-dive into the 966 companies within our Undervalued Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener. Are these companies part of your investment strategy? Use Simply Wall St to consolidate your holdings into a portfolio and gain insights with our comprehensive analysis tools. Unlock the power of informed investing with Simply Wall St, your free guide to navigating stock markets worldwide. Interested In Other Possibilities? 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. Companies discussed in this article include CPSE:NOVO B NYSE:ORCL and TSE:4568. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com A North Texas immigration lawyer from Durango, Mexico was killed in a hit-and-run while he was visiting his hometown, according to Star-Telegram media partner, WFAA-TV. Julio Paredes, 50, died after being run over on July 24 while attending a fair, the Feria Nacional Durango, El Sol de Durango reported. He died in a hospital on Saturday, according to WFAA. Paredes was an immigration attorney in Arlington, where he lived with his wife and five children, El Sol reported. He graduated with an accounting degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, according to WFAA. He went on to start his own tax business before earning a degree in law at the University of North Texas. A Durango native, Paredes immigrated to the United States to pursue the American dream, but would travel to Mexico every year to visit his family, according to El Sols report. Paredes was known for helping several of his clients and his fame grew as an immigration lawyer, El Sol wrote. He made friends, spent hours volunteering, and continued to help his community in any way he could, his daughter, Salma Paredes said in a Facebook post. With his businesses, his legal cases, his family here in Texas, his family in Mexico, he always put himself last. Salma goes on in the post to say she appreciated when her father would take time to visit his hometown. How could we have known that this would be where he would take his last breath?, Salma said in the Facebook post. According to video posted by Posta Durango, Paredes was involved in an altercation with two men before being run over by a white SUV. The driver of the vehicle, Jahaziel Adonay M. R., was arrested in connection with Paredes death, Posta Durango reported. Authorities told Posta Durango that the suspect vehicle attempted to leave Durango, but police issued a warrant and took him into custody. Paredes death is being investigated as a homicide, according to Posta Durango. His wife, Zaida Paredes, also took to Facebook Saturday to provide an update on the family. It pains me deeply to have lost my life partner, my unconditional support. The absence of his physical presence is a burden that weighs on us day to day, Zaida said in the post. Were trying to find a way to move on, to honor his memory, living our lives with the love and joy he taught us. Despite the suffering, I trust that, with the support of God and you, we will be able to overcome this very hard test. ARNOLD, Mo. A police K-9 with the Arnold Police Department died from heat exhaustion on Wednesday after he was left in a running car, according to a Facebook post from the department. Arnold Police Department K-9 Vader died at the age of four. He was trained and certified through the North America Police Work Dog Association in tracking, narcotics detection, evidence search, area search and apprehension. Vader had also assisted Arnold officers with several arrests throughout the years. According to the Facebook post, Vader was left in a running, air-conditioned patrol vehicle for an undisclosed amount of time while his handler attended to other matters. The police department says this is necessary and common practice when the K-9 partner is not actively engaged in police work. The department says as Vaders handler returned to the vehicle, it was discovered that the air conditioning system malfunctioned. Missouri AG investigates Ellisville womens gym locker room use Vader was sent to a local veterinarian clinic, then to a 24-hour clinic for treatment. The department says it was later determined that no further treatments were available and Vader died from his condition. The police department says all K-9 vehicles are equipped with a system that notifies the handler in multiple ways if the vehicle temperature increases to a certain level, though says the heat alarm system failed to activate in Vaders case. A blog from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) last year advised against leaving dogs in a car, even with AC units activated, though there isnt a nationwide policy that bans leaving dogs in a car, both for police K-9s or other dogs. In Missouri, there is an animal neglect law in which someone could face a misdemeanor charge if they knowingly abandon an animal in any place without making provisions for its adequate care. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News The Arnold Police Department, according to their Facebook post, says the system that failed to activate would notify the the handler by phone, activate the emergency lights and siren, sound the vehicle horn, activate cooling fans, and roll down the vehicle windows in the case the vehicle temperature reached a certain level while running. Additionally, a new Missouri law known as Maxs Law will take effect on Aug. 28, 2024, that increases penalties for a law enforcement animals that are injured or killed from an assault, though the legislation doesnt specifically address protocols or penalties for such animals being left inside vehicles. The Arnold Police department says theyre further investigating the k-9s death for the time being. Vaders passing is actually the second Missouri police dog thats passed away from heat exhaustion in a car this Summer. A k-9 named Horus died June 20 following an overnight shift in Savannah. Its a misfortune to lose any animal but the loss of Vader has been felt through the entire community of Arnold as the dutiful dog was playful, friendly, and a dedicated service member before his passing. The police department did not identify Vaders handler during the situation that led up to his death. This is a developing story. FOX 2 will reach out as more information becomes available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Arrest warrant out for third suspect in deadly fight at Kingsland home Arrest warrant out for third suspect in deadly fight at Kingsland home KINGSLAND, Texas (KXAN) A fight broke out at a birthday celebration at a home in Kingsland a few weeks ago. A former Lake Travis Independent School District student died as a result of it. Man dies after fight at Kingsland home, LCSO says Two teenagers were arrested, and now Llano County Sheriff Bill Blackburn said theres an arrest warrant out for a third person. Somebody ended up dead Sheriff Blackburn said it was a belated birthday celebration that ended in tragedy. Somebody ended up dead as a result of the actions of some other people, Blackburn said. On July 14, the Llano County Sheriffs Office said what was supposed to be a small gathering to celebrate David Justus birthday quickly grew out of hand. Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) Sheriff Blackburn said the fight happened at a lake house in Kingsland. (Photo: KXAN) A small number of people there, four to six people there, Blackburn said. Apparently the word got out, and we estimate around 35 people there. Blackburn said a fight broke out after someone threw a beer can at Justus girlfriend. She was upset went and told David, and she pointed out a guy that had thrown it, Blackburn said. It turned out being the wrong guy. He [David] went downstairs and he did knock that guy out. After that, Blackburn said a group started beating up Justus. A full fight ensued, Blackburn said. David got hit and kicked and it looked like five or six or seven different people. The sheriff said Justus got knocked out and hit his head on concrete. Deputies found him unresponsive when they arrived at the home. Justus was taken to the hospital where he later died. Lake Travis ISD confirmed Justus graduated from high school there in 2023. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Justus family during this difficult time. Lake Travis ISD Charged with manslaughter Blackburn said theyre working off cellphone video and eyewitness accounts as they figure out who will face charges. There were so many people involved. We have different views of it, and from different cameras. Sheriff Bill Blackburn, Llano County Law enforcement arrested and charged 19-year-old Ryan Moore and 18-year-old Francisco Reyes with manslaughter. Theres an arrest warrant out for a third person. His lawyer has contacted us and says he will turn himself in but not here in Llano, Blackburn said. However, the arrests wont stop there. Ultimately, Blackburn said anyone involved will be held responsible. Probably going to make at least one more arrest, possibly two, Blackburn said. They will be charged with manslaughter. Attorney information for Moore was unavailable as of Wednesday afternoon. KXAN is working to find attorney information for Reyes and will reach out for a statement on his behalf once that information is available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. This article was originally published in Oklahoma Voice. OKLAHOMA CITY Students at some of Oklahomas public colleges and universities will soon be able to pursue undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved artificial intelligence degree programs at Rose State College, Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma on June 4. While some universities have offered courses in artificial intelligence, these are the first degree programs in the state. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Trisha Wald, dean of the Dobson College of Business and Technology at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, worked to start up the program at the university. Representatives at Rose State College and the University of Oklahoma were not available for comment. While the degree program can begin in the fall for Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Wald said the late approval means some of the new AI classes may not be able to start until the spring. Wald said she looked at similar programs in other states to create the proposed curriculum for this new program. While Wald said there are not as many programs as you would think, she was able to use their programs to determine what Southwestern Oklahoma State Universitys program needed. Its a multidisciplinary program, so its not just computer science courses, Wald said. Weve got higher level math, psychology and philosophy courses, specifically on ethics. So its going to help us have more well-rounded individuals. Wald said the approval process took months and the proposal had to demonstrate workforce demand to the Regents as part of the proposal process. Over 19,000 jobs in Oklahoma currently require AI skills, officials said. This number is expected to increase by 21% in the next decade. AI is rapidly emerging as a vital employment sector, said State Regents for Higher Education Chair Jack Sherry in a statement. New career opportunities in areas like machine learning, data science, robotics and AI ethics are driving demand for AI expertise, and Oklahomas state system colleges and universities are answering the call. Gov. Kevin Stitt said the new degree programs will allow Oklahomas students to be at the forefront of the AI industry. These degree programs are a great leap forward in our commitment to innovation in education and will position Oklahoma to be a leader in AI, said Gov. Kevin Stitt in a statement. AI is reshaping every aspect of our lives, especially academics. Im proud of the Board of Regents for ensuring Oklahomas higher ed students do more than just keep pace, theyll lead the AI revolution. Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and X. Astronaut Poised to Become Vice President Could Reverse Plans to Destroy the Space Station That He Helped Build ISS Veteran Longtime NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, who's under consideration as running mate for vice president Kamala Harris's election bid, has a long history with the International Space Station. In 2001, Kelly helped attach the European Raffaello Module to the ISS using the space shuttle's robotic arm, one of three segments that would later form the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. And Forbes raises an interesting point: while he has yet to publicly comment on NASA's plans to destroy the station in 2030, his close connections with the aging orbital outpost could bolster a growing movement opposing the plans, since NASA typically reports to the vice president. It's a fascinating possibility of a Hail Mary for the decades-old lab, which could allow it to live on as a symbol of peaceful cooperation instead of crashing back down to Earth, as currently planned. Save Our Station In an open letter published last month, former NASA administrator Michael Griffin and Jean-Jacques Dordain, who was the director general of the European Space Agency when the station was being built, argued that the ISS' life should be extended instead by boosting its circular orbit to a higher altitude. That's instead of slowly pushing the station closer to the Earth's atmosphere and having it plummet into the Pacific Ocean. In June, NASA announced it had contracted SpaceX to develop a "US Deorbit Vehicle" to do just that, ending decades of peaceful international cooperation. Now, as Forbes points out, Kelly could be poised to throw his considerable weight as a potential vice president behind the movement trying to dissuade space leaders from destroying the station. "I love the idea that we might have an astronaut as VP," venture capitalist and commercial space station investor Rick Tumlinson, who is leading a movement called "Save Our Station," told Forbes. "As an astronaut, he will have a visceral understanding of how important it is" to safeguard the station. Kelly has spent over 54 days in space across four different Space Shuttle missions between 2001 and 2011, the year he retired from NASA's astronaut corps. In 2015, his twin brother Scott, also a veteran NASA astronaut, broke the American record for most days spent in space (which was broken again last year by Frank Rubio). According to Tumlinson, Mark Kelly's extensive experience would make him the perfect lead of the National Space Council, giving him plenty of leverage to oppose NASA's plans to destroy the ISS. While we can only speculate as to where Kelly stands on those plans, having him in the White House could have major implications for NASA. "There is a significant role that a president can play in the shaping of the space program," space historian Amy Foster told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "And I think when we really look at the perspective of the vice president, they can be as powerful as well." More on Kelly: Sketchy Pyramid Scheme Video Emerges of Former Astronaut Being Considered for VP Journalists at The Atlantic are expressing concern over their employers' content licensing partnership with OpenAI, Semafor's Max Tani reports. The Atlantic announced its deal with OpenAI back in May, arguing that the "strategic content and product partnership" with the ChatGPT maker would position the magazine as a "premium news source within OpenAI" as it inches further into the world of search. "We believe that people searching with AI models will be one of the fundamental ways that people navigate the web in the future," Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson said in a statement at the time of the deal. "We're delighted to partner with OpenAI, to make The Atlantic's reporting and stories more discoverable to their millions of users, and to have a voice in shaping how news is surfaced on their platforms." But today, in a letter addressed to Thompson and Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic's staff argue that "new revelations" about OpenAI and its famous chatbot, ChatGPT, have heightened their concerns about the controversial AI deal and as the journalists whose work is being lifted to fuel OpenAI's products, they also deserve to have a seat at the bargaining table. "Our editorial leaders say that The Atlantic is a magazine made by humans, for humans," reads the journalists' letter. "We could not agree more." "Although we understand that there may be a place at The Atlantic for artificial intelligence," they add, "Atlantic staffers must have a voice in how it affects our work." https://twitter.com/maxwelltani/status/1819027421212856826 As noted in the letter, the Atlantic journalists' concerns involve ChatGPT's failures as a product as well as OpenAI's actions as a company. On the product side, they correctly argue that ChatGPT is known to "hallucinate" fabricate false claims from nothing "links to partner publications, including our own," and also direct readers "to aggregations of our original reporting rather than to our actual site." In other words, according to the staffers, even though the Atlantic has entered a partnership agreement with OpenAI, the product is still failing to consistently point readers directly to the magazine's original reporting. This ultimately means that the Atlantic is losing reader clicks and thus advertising dollars and subscribers. The staffers' letter also points to OpenAI's exploits in its court battle against The New York Times, which last year sued the AI company for copyright infringement. The case is ongoing, and OpenAI recently made headlines after it demanded to see all notes by NYT reporters an unprecedented request that would challenge journalistic legal protections as well as baseline journalistic ethics, and a move that the Atlantic staffers recount in their letter as "troubling." "In litigation with one of our peer publications," the Atlantic staffers' letter reads, "OpenAI has demanded that journalists turn over their notes, interview memos, and other materials used in their reporting, which is incredibly troubling." Given the Atlantic's venerable status, its decision to enter a content deal with OpenAI the financial terms of which are unknown was a huge win for the AI firm, which also counts Vox and New York Magazine-owner Vox Media, Wall Street Journal owner News Corp, and TIME Magazine as publishing partners, among others. But while the Atlantic's leadership may have made their bet that AI search products will be the way of journalism's future, the magazine's journalists are making the case that maintaining journalistic standards and protecting the work of journalists can't play second fiddle in that process. "AI cannot replace journalists, and no publication that aspires to the standards The Atlantic has embodied for more than a century and a half can allow that to happen," the journalists write. "Among the possible points of contention between the editorial union and management, this should not be one." "We want the company to stop prioritizing its bottom line and champion The Atlantic's journalism by bringing a meaningful proposal on AI to the bargaining table," they added. More on AI and journalism: Amid New York Times Lawsuit, ChatGPT Is Citing Plagiarized Versions of NYT Articles on an Armenian Content Mill In an attempt to reverse the Supreme Court's immunity decision, Schumer introduces the No Kings Act Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., left, listens as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., offers remarks following the Senate Democrats policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation Thursday reaffirming that presidents do not have immunity for criminal actions, an attempt to reverse the Supreme Courts landmark decision last month. Schumers No Kings Act would attempt to invalidate the decision by declaring that presidents are not immune from criminal law and clarifying that Congress, not the Supreme Court, determines to whom federal criminal law is applied. The courts conservative majority decided July 1 that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their official duties a decision that threw into doubt the Justice Departments case against Republican former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Schumer, of New York, said that Congress has an obligation and the constitutional authority to check the Supreme Court on its decision. Given the dangerous and consequential implications of the courts ruling, legislation would be the fastest and most efficient method to correcting the grave precedent the Trump ruling presented, he said. The Senate bill, which has more than two dozen Democratic cosponsors, comes after Democratic President Joe Biden called on lawmakers earlier this week to ratify a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity, along with establishing term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the courts nine justices. Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., recently proposed a constitutional amendment in the House. The Supreme Courts immunity decision stunned Washington and drew a sharp dissent from the courts liberal justices warning of the perils to democracy, particularly as Trump seeks a return to the White House. Trump celebrated the decision as a BIG WIN on his social media platform, and Republicans in Congress rallied around him. Without GOP support, Schumers bill has little chance of passing in the narrowly divided chamber. Speaking about Biden's proposal, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that Bidens proposal would shred the Constitution. A constitutional amendment would be even more difficult to pass. Such a resolution takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, which is highly unlikely at this time of divided government, and ratification by three-fourths of the states. That process could take several years. Still, Democrats see the proposals as a warning to the court and an effort that will rally their voting base ahead of the presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the November election, said earlier this week the reforms are needed because there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court. The title of Schumers bill harkens back to Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent in the case, in which she said that in every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law. The decision makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law, Sotomayor said. In the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power entitles a former president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. But Roberts insisted that the president is not above the law. ___ Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Attorney general to investigate possible violation of law at Oklahoma education board meeting Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters speaks Thursday during a press conference. (Photo by Kennedy Thomason/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office on Thursday said it is looking into what appears to be a willful violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act by the State Board of Education. Three lawmakers on Wednesday were denied access to the boards executive session. In addition, the board appeared to hold one executive session when two were listed on the agenda. The board took all its action in the first executive session, although some of it was set for the second executive session, said Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, who sought to attend the executive session and serves on the House Common Education Committee. We are very concerned by what appeared to be a willful violation of the Open Meeting Act, said Phil Bacharach, a spokesperson for Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Our office will look further into the matter and take appropriate action. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor subject to a year in jail and a $500 fine, he said. A spokesperson for State Superintendent Ryan Walters did not respond by deadline to a request for comment. In a July 18 email to Walters and State Board of Education members, Deputy Attorney General Thomas R. Schneider said the law generally permits any legislator with a committee assignment to attend any executive session authorized by the Open Meeting Act at a meeting of a state agency, board, or commission; provided, the legislator must be assigned to a committee that has jurisdiction over the public bodys actions. The letter came after Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, a member of the Senate Education Committee, was denied admittance in June to a State Board of Education executive session. If the executive session was illegal, the votes taken are null and void, said Boren, an attorney. She called Walters lawless. He invents the law the way he wants it to be and proceeds accordingly, Boren said. Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, a member of the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee, was the third lawmaker seeking to attend the executive session. Osburn could not be reached for comment Thursday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST zimmytws / Getty Images/iStockphoto Going to college in the U.S. can be expensive, and when you factor in the additional costs of pursuing higher degrees, its no wonder that so many Americans need to take out student loans to pay for their education. The outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. stands at a staggering $1.75 trillion, per the Education Data Initiative. Of that, $1.62 trillion is federal student loan debt, which is spread out among 42.8 million borrowers holding an average balance of $37,853. Read Next: You Can Get These 3 Debts Canceled Forever Learn More: $10K or More in Debt? See If You Could Become Debt-Free (for Less Than You Owe) But how do those numbers break down across different generations, from Gen Z to baby boomers? A LendingTree study examined where each generations debt stacks up. Heres an overview of where each generation stands on student loan debt and some of the cities where Gen Zers owe the most in student loans. Also see five myths about debt that nobody should believe in 2024. Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. How Does Gen Z Student Loan Debt Compare? Researchers analyzed over 428,000 credit reports from consumers in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas to learn more about how debt is spread out across each generation. The data showed that Gen Zers have the lowest median student loan balance ($12,172) of any generation. However, theyre ranked second highest when it comes to the percentage of people in each generation who owe student loan debt. Check Out: This Is the One Type of Debt That Terrifies Dave Ramsey Millennials carry the highest percentage of student loan debt, with 38.4% of the generation owing a median balance of $24,112. On the other end of the scale, only 11.2% of baby boomers have student loan debt, but they have the second-highest median balance of $25,763. Gen Xers have the highest median balance overall at $31,066. Generation Percentage With Student Loan Debt Median Balance Owed Millennials 38.4% $24,112 Gen Z 37.2% $12,172 Gen X 25.4% $31,066 Baby boomers 11.2% $25,763 High-Debt Cities for Gen Z The cities where Gen Zers have the highest median student loan debt are in the Northeast, coinciding with the location of many prestigious and expensive universities. Boston The Boston metropolitan area is home to high-tuition institutions like Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, so it might come as no surprise that its the city where Gen Zers owe the highest median student loan debt. Almost half of all Gen Zers in Boston have outstanding balances on their student loans. Median student loan balance: $20,986 Difference from Gen Z median student loan balance: +$8,814 Percentage of Gen Zers with student loan debt: 47.7% New Haven, Connecticut While Gen Zers in New Haven owe slightly less than Gen Zers in Boston, a whopping 56% carry student loan debt, with a median loan balance thats around $8,000 more than the national median. Median student loan balance: $20,173 Difference from Gen Z median student loan balance: +$8,001 Percentage of Gen Zers with student loan debt: 56.0% Bridgeport, Connecticut Gen Zers in Bridgeport have a median student loan balance of $19,250, which is over $7,000 higher than the median student loan balance in other large cities. Median student loan balance: $19,250 Difference from Gen Z median student loan balance: +$7,078 Percentage of Gen Zers with student loan debt: 43.1% Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is home to many Gen Zers with student loan debt. Roughly 4 in 10 Gen Zers there owe a median student loan balance of $18,481. Median student loan balance: $18,481 Difference from Gen Z median student loan balance: +$6,309 Percentage of Gen Zers with student loan debt: 40.9% Scranton, Pennsylvania In Scranton, Gen Zers have a median student loan balance around $6,000 higher than the national median. Median student loan balance: $18,172 Difference from Gen Z median student loan balance: +$6,000 Percentage of Gen Zers with student loan debt: 36.6% More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Cities Where Gen Zers Have the Most Student Loan Debt (COLORADO) An agreement was reached to end unfair labor practices at oil change and auto services company, Valvoine LLC, Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising Inc, and VGP Holidings LLC. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and a coalition of six attorneys general announced the agreement on Wednesday, July 31. According to the attorney general, Valvoline required its hourly employees to sign non-competition agreements that barred them from working in the oil change business at any store within 100 miles of their Valvoline location for one year after leaving the company. Valvoline also mandated that its hourly employees sign non-solicitation agreements, which prohibited them from soliciting current Valvoline employees or customers for one year after their employment ended. Non-compete agreements are widespread in the workforce. These unfair agreements keep wages low, place an undue burden on workers, and significantly reduce their future job prospects. In Colorado, we are committed to protecting workers and fighting for fair treatment for all. Todays agreement provides security that Valvoline employees will not be subject to such restrictive employment conditions going forward. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser Under the agreement, within 15 days, Valvoline will notify all current employees and former employees who left within the past year, that the non-competition and non-solicitation agreements are void. According to the Attorney General, this settlement will benefit 440 current employees and 500 former employees across the coalition states. The agreement covers all locations in Colorado, including one in Colorado Springs and three in Pueblo. If Valvoline significantly breaches the agreement in any coalition state, that states attorney general can pursue a $500,000 penalty. Valvoline issued a statement in response to the settlement: At Valvoline Inc., we believe all employees should be able to seek opportunities that grow their careers. Valvoline stopped implementing non-competes for hourly store employees in 2021, and the agreement we reached with the State Attorneys General not to use them is consistent with that decision. Valvoline, Inc. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of Republican state attorneys general opposing the Treasury Department's opposition to state laws restricting banks from considering some factors when investing. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of attorneys general in a letter responding to the U.S. Treasury Departments opposition to state laws that restrict banks from considering social or environmental factors when investing. North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley also signed the letter. The Treasury Departments letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warned that these banking laws could hurt national security efforts to counter money laundering and terrorism financing. Birds letter, which was sent directly to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen and signed by 20 Republican state attorneys general, dismissed those concerns and accused the department of trying to stoke opposition to these laws. All of us oppose this latest attempt by the Biden-Harris Administration to fearmonger and stoke confusion about state laws to advance activists extreme agendas, the letter reads. The Treasury Departments letter singles out a recently passed law in Florida but other states like Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota have similar laws. These laws generally prevent banking institutions from denying financial services over non-measurable risks associated with social, environmental or governmental concerns. Proponents of these laws argue they are necessary to prevent banks from discriminating against those they politically oppose. Bird said in a press release that laws like Iowas or Floridas ensured banks couldnt use woke politics when determining who to work with and demanded that the department stop its fearmongering. The Biden-Harris administration is scheming to block state laws that ban banks from playing woke politics and discriminating against those they disagree with, Bird said in a press release. Americans need access to basic resources like bank accounts and debit cards to pay their bills and provide for their families. No one should be hung out to dry because they are on the wrong side of a banks woke politics. The Treasury Department wrote that these laws heighten the risk that international drug traffickers, transnational organized criminals, terrorists and corrupt foreign officials will use the U.S. financial system to launder money, evade sanctions, and threaten our national security. The letter from the attorneys general stands by those laws and alleges the department is using the concern over national security to promote woke political agendas. The Treasury Department has once again forsaken its statutory role and instead chosen to intervene on behalf of activists seeking to hijack the financial system for their political ends, the letter reads. It is even more disappointing that the Treasury Department would use national security as cover for large banks abuse of power to achieve those ends. States with attorneys general who signed the letter are Florida, Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and X. AUSTIN (KXAN) A teacher with the Austin Independent School District was arrested on multiple charges and accused of allegedly having an improper relationship with a student, the school district said in a letter sent out to parents and guardians. The teacher taught at LBJ Early College High School. The teacher, identified as Rodney Childers, was arrested Wednesday in Williamson County and was booked on three counts of improper relationship between an educator and student, two counts of indecency with a child by exposure and child grooming, according to Williamson County Jail records. Those records did not list his age. Childers does not have an attorney listed at the time. KXAN will reach out for a statement when that information becomes available. Rodney Childers | (Courtesy Williamson County online court records) According to the district, a parent reported the allegation on July 25, and the district immediately placed Childers on administrative leave. The AISD Police Department also conducted an investigation, the AISD letter states. The district said it is limited on what it can say in connection with the allegations, as well as Childers arrest. However, the district is asking anyone who may have any information related to this case to contact AISD Police at 512-414-1703. The letter from AISD Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Dr. Angel Wilson is provided below. LBJ Community Wide Letter.docxDownload We know this is a troubling situation and want you to know we are here to support, the district said in the letter. KXAN spoke with family members of the alleged victim, who tell us they wanted to share the story to spread the word. There could be other students out there that this has affected and they are just scared to come out, so we want this to be blown up as much as possible because this should not be happening, said a family member. The family also hopes that the vetting process for all schools will take a hard look at any new hires in the future. Whoever is hiring, doing the vetting process, you have to be on top of everything, you have to be a detective, you have to dig and dig, said a family member. The family says the student will receive counseling, but for now they are showing support during a difficult time. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. A teacher at LBJ Early College High School has been arrested and charged with indecency with a child by exposure and two counts of improper educator-student relationship, all second degree felonies, according to a letter the Austin school district sent to parents Wednesday. The Austin school police arrested Rodney Childers, who has taught band, piano and choir at LBJ since August 2023, according to the letter. Childers was placed on administrative leave, the district said. A parent first reported an allegation about a July 25 incident, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Angel Wilson said in the letter. Wilson didn't provide details about the allegation, citing privacy concerns for the student and family involved. "The safety of our students is our greatest concern," Wilson said. "We are doing everything we can to understand how this incident occurred to prevent situations like this in the future." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin LBJ High school teacher arrested for indecency with child FILE PHOTO: Cars queue as they drop passengers outside the BeirutRafic Hariri International Airport SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, saying there was a real risk that the tensions between Israel and militant group Hezbollah could escalate seriously. The request follows similar advisories by allies United States and Britain this week. "Now is the time to leave, the security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a video posted on social media platform X late on Wednesday. Wong said Beirut airport could shut down completely if the situation worsens, potentially stranding people wishing to leave for "an extended period" and urged Australians to use commercial flights while they operate. The Middle East has been on the edge for months amid Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis. Some 15,000 Australians reside in Lebanon, with the number rising by thousands during the country's summer months of June to September, according to the Australian Foreign Affairs website. Around half a million Australians reported Lebanese ancestry in the 2021 census. (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, has stressed that the calls for Ukraine to cede its territories in exchange for peace with the aggressor state, Russia, are unacceptable. Source: Schallenberg in an interview for Ukrinform, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "Lets imagine Southern Styria or Burgenland were invaded by a foreign state, and there was an attempt to destroy the federal government of Austria or to drive it away from the country. Then we would be told: Dear Austrians, why dont you just cede a part of your territory for the sake of peace?.. I consider such calls to be unacceptable." Details: He stressed that it was up to the Ukrainian people to decide when they would be ready for the negotiations. "After all, there will be talks with Russia. Because we all want peace. But there can be no peace under dictatorship. Its not peace if its imposed by Russia or anyone else without taking Ukraines opinion into account. It is unacceptable," Schallenberg stated. "So such calls coming from the outside are absolutely absurd. A final decision must be made by the Ukrainian people," he stressed. Background: At the beginning of July, Politico reported that Trumps team was allegedly seriously considering the option of "a deal with Putin" in order to end the Russo-Ukrainian war, which would mean Ukraines and Georgias refusal to join NATO and Ukraines territorial concessions. At the end of June, Trumps advisors presented him with their plan of ending the war in Ukraine. It stipulates that Trump may cut off military aid to Ukraine if it refuses to hold peace talks, while Moscow will be warned that any refusal to negotiate will lead to increased support for Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, called this plan "a bad idea". Support UP or become our patron! HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) An inmate that escaped from a Louisville facility was captured in Webster County Thursday morning. According to the sheriffs office, officials were notified that Jason Ashby had escaped from a facility in Louisville the previous day. Officials state the notification had several addresses listed in Webster County for Ashby. Officials say deputies along with the Clay and Providence Police departments went to a residence in Clay to attempt warrant service when Ashby allegedly fled from the back of the residence. Authorities state Ashby was able to be forcefully detained following a brief foot pursuit. Ashby was booked into the Webster County Detention Center on Escape, Fleeing/Evading Police and Resisting Arrest charges. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Map showing the location of a 200-square-mile range suspected to be part of a deer-poaching scheme across Fond du Lac, Dodge and Washington counties in Wisconsin. FOND DU LAC COUNTY Authorities are investigating a suspected a deer-poaching scheme on a 200-square-mile range spanning Fond du Lac, Dodge and Washington counties. Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office said in a news release July 31 that a mid-July tip led a deputy to uncover the suspected scheme, which is believed to have been occurring over the last 12 months. General boundaries of the range fall within a perimeter outlined between Campbellsport, Waucousta, Lomira, Theresa, West Bend and Kewaskum, the sheriffs office said. The sheriffs office is conducting a joint investigation with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. As part of the investigation, authorities are asking anyone with information that may be related to the investigation to reach out to law enforcement. Such information could include the following: hearing gunshots during overnight hours; observing a suspicious vehicle shining deer, stopping in the roadway and/or shooting from a vehicle; locating dead deer carcasses on public or private land with bullet wounds (bucks would have the full head removed and does would be fully intact); or observing deer, alive or deceased, with what appear to be gunshot wounds, especially outside of deer hunting season. People with information can contact Washington County Conservation Warden Zachery Feest at 262-237-0904 or Fond du Lac County Conservation Warden William Hankee at 920-904-2653. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by calling the Fond du Lac County Law Enforcement Tip Line at 920-906-4777. Accessibility: How accessible is Fond du Lac? Readers share opportunities for accommodating autism, PTSD and more. Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @breidHTRNews. This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Deer-poaching scheme suspected in Fond du Lac, Dodge, Washington counties Authorities cancel missing person alert for 81-year-old man last seen in Russellville RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) The missing and endangered person alert for 81-year-old man last seen in Russellville has been canceled. The Russellville Police Department was searching for 81-year-old Jack Harrison, who was last seen on Monday, July 29 in the area of Engle Plaza in Russellville. As of 8:54 p.m. on Thursday, authorities canceled the alert. Harrison may be traveling in a dark green Ford F-150 XL Extended Cab with Alabama tag #33A1561. Harrison is described as a white male who is 511 and weighs 190 pounds. He has blue eyes with gray or partially gray hair. Authorities say that Harrison may be living with a condition that may impair his judgment. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Harrison, please contact the Russellville Police Department at (256) 332-2230 or call 911. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. New aviation mechanic school in Blount Co. training locals for in-demand field MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A new aviation mechanics school is coming to Blount County, in hopes of keeping young people in the area and meeting the demand for the role from local companies. Blount Partnership worked with Pellissippi State Community College to develop the new program. Students will earn an associates degree of applied science and an airframe and powerplant, or A&P certification. Students will take general education courses at Pellissippis Blount County campus, and do hands-on machinery work at a newly-acquired building located at 1749 Triangle Park Drive. Construction of next-gen nuclear reactor Hermes begins in Oak Ridge Local aviation companies helped develop the idea for the school after seeing a shortage of A&P mechanics. Our A&P mechanics are a significant portion of our workforce, upwards of 25-30% of our current work staff here on site at our Maryville business unit and they provide critical roles, Greg Krekeler said. Krekeler is the Vice President and General Manager of Standard Aeros Maryville facility. They helped create the concept for the school, and are hoping to keep local talent local. It helps with retention. People that are interested in keeping their families local, it provides a great opportunity to do highly technical work in this area that a lot of folks are aware is actually here, he said. Cirrus, another Blount County aviation company that employs more than 80 A&P mechanics, also worked on the project. We plan to support the establishment of the school, helping them develop their curriculum, providing training aids in the form of parts and aircraft components that are currently unserviceable for them to train on, and also perhaps with some delivery of curriculum as well, Eric Brammer with Cirrus said. In addition to aiding in the shortage of mechanics, the school also aims to bring more business to the area. Theres a lot of interest from other aviation companies that are looking to relocate to Tennessee or to our region, so we see continued growth in that, Jessica Belitz with Blount Partnership said. Guantanamo inmate accused of being main plotter of 9/11 attacks to plead guilty Belitz also said the school will help guarantee a workforce in the future. We also see a lot of retirement. Its an aging workforce in aviation maintenance. So we have a lot of aviation mechanics that are retiring over the next ten years, which is going to give us an even bigger gap, she said. According to Belitz, the starting income in the area for an A&P mechanic is around $63,000 and the median income is $83,000, but its possible to make over six figures. Several different local governments are investing in the building and program: Blount County, City of Maryville, City of Alcoa, Knox County, City of Knoxville, City of Lenoir City and Monroe County. See more top stories on WATE.com The National Guard also uses aviation mechanics and has a base at the nearby McGhee Tyson airport. Lawmakers have been hoping McGhee Tyson will also be the new base for the Air Forces KC-46 Pegasus aircraft. Belitz said the addition of the new school to the area could help their case. The school is expected to be up and running starting in Fall 2025. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. During a session at the 2024 Alzheimers Association International Conference (AAIC), which concludes today, Ralph Carmona shared his experience of being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimers disease. While MCI can be an early stage of Alzheimer's disease, not all people with MCI go on to develop the illness. Now a member of the Alzheimers Associations early-stage advisory group, Carmona reflected on his MCI diagnosis and subsequent enrolment into a clinical trial for Eisai/Biogens Leqembi (lecanemab) at Boston University (NCT01767311). Carmona recalled how he gladly signed a consent form for the trial and was unconcerned over warnings of the potential side effects of the treatment. His stance seems particularly notable in light of the recent news that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has put the brakes on Eisai and Biogens plans to launch Leqembi in Europe. The EMAs drug review committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), recently recommended against the therapys approval, stating that Leqembis positive effect on delaying cognitive decline was not large enough to counterbalance the associated risk of serious adverse events. In particular, the CHMP cited concerns over the risk of developing amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) with Leqembi use. These are observed exclusively on MRI and can signify oedema, effusion and/or haemorrhage. Past research has shown that Leqembi caused ARIA with oedema or effusions in 12.6% of a 698-participant group. Ralphs story During a busy time in Ralph Carmonas life, wherein the 72-year-old was running for local US government office and teaching at a local community college, his wife Vana expressed concern over what she saw as his declining mental acuity. Ralph was in denial, but after a series of discussions with his wife, he said he embraced the challenge of going to get checked out. A neurologist diagnosed Carmona with MCI, leading him to question how bad his disorder may get and what could be done to stop this early-stage disease from becoming full-blown memory loss. Ralphs neurologist mentioned participation in clinical research trials and told him about the clinical study taking place at Boston University. Within days, I got admitted and was soon diagnosed with amyloid protein on my brain, said Carmona. I became subject to bi-weekly infusions of an experimental drug for the next nine years. Carmona continued that he never knew whether he was on the experimental drug (Leqembi) or a placebo. After around six months of receiving the infusions, Ralphs wife told researchers that she believed he was taking Leqembi as opposed to a placebo, and that it was working. Story continues According to her, I was less forgetful, more attentive, and followed up on matters that we agreed upon, said Carmona. Experiences like mine show how science betters life in the face of diseases like Alzheimer's, concluded Carmona. Going forward, what I'd like to see are efforts aimed more at genetic disposition and treatments that can totally eliminate, if not manage, disease-related brain changes. Leqembi received US market approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2023. GlobalData analysts forecast that the drug will generate total sales of $12.9bn between 2023 and 2028. "AAIC 2024: MCI patient reflects on Leqembi trial experience" was originally created and published by Clinical Trials Arena, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick and state Sen. Shawnna Bolick (left), his wife, attend an Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry event in 2023. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 An Arizona Supreme Court justice whose wife was on the legislative panel being sued for using unborn human being to describe the Arizona Abortion Access Act in a voter information pamphlet has decided to step away from the case. In a Wednesday court order, Justice Clint Bolick agreed to recuse himself from the lawsuit, which centers around whether a GOP majority legislative panels decision to include the contested phrase in a legal summary of the abortion rights initiative is impartial. One of the eight lawmakers who voted for that phrase and have defended it as legally neutral in court is Phoenix Republican Shawnna Bolick. Dawn Penich, a spokeswoman for the Arizona for Abortion Access campaign, said that Bolicks recusal was the right move to ensure due process. Like anyone else, we want to be able to trust that our arguments are heard in a fair way by an unbiased court, she said in an emailed statement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Last month, a trial court judge ruled that the phrase is packed with emotional and partisan meaning and ordered lawmakers to remove it from the publicity pamphlet that will be sent to voters before the November election. Arizona law mandates that the descriptions of every ballot measure in the pamphlet be impartial and the courts have long concluded that using provocative language violates that standard. GOP lawmakers argued that the phrase merely quotes the states current 15-week gestational ban while lawyers for the abortion rights initiative called for it to be replaced with the medically accurate and less politically loaded term fetus. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten sided with the initiative backers, writing in his ruling that legislators arent required to use neutral language when crafting state laws like that found in the 15-week gestational ban. The Republican legislators who approved the phrase, including Shawnna Bolick, have since appealed Whittens ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court in a last-chance bid to preserve its inclusion in the publicity pamphlet. Clint Bolick will be replaced by retired Justice John Pelander in the case, which has been put on an expedited schedule to ensure the matter is resolved before the Aug. 29 pamphlet printing deadline. Bolicks recusal is the second high-profile recusal from the high court in a lawsuit revolving around abortion. Last year, Justice Bill Montgomery withdrew from a case in which Planned Parenthood Arizona was the key defendant against an effort to reinstate a near-total abortion ban from 1864. Montgomery drew public criticism and calls for his recusal after previous comments he made accusing Planned Parenthood of committing genocide resurfaced. Montgomery hasnt indicated whether he will recuse himself from the lawsuit concerning the publicity pamphlet summary of the abortion rights initiative or a separate challenge against it launched by the Arizona Right to Life that is still in the trial court stage. The initiative has strong ties to Planned Parenthood Arizona, which helped craft its language, was involved in funding and signature gathering efforts and is one of several reproductive rights groups that make up the campaign behind it. Alberto Rodriguez, a spokesman for the justices, declined to comment on Montgomerys involvement in either of the two cases, saying that the Court doesnt comment on issues pending before it or likely to arise in the future. The Arizona Abortion Access Act seeks to enshrine abortion as a fundamental right in the state Constitution up to fetal viability, generally regarded to be around 24 weeks of gestation. If passed, it would nullify many of the states anti-abortion laws, including the 15-week gestational ban, and prohibit lawmakers from enacting restrictions around the procedure that arent intended to safeguard the patients health or safety. The proposal also includes an exception for procedures performed beyond fetal viability if a health care provider deems an abortion is necessary to preserve a womans life, physical or mental health. The initiative is widely expected to appear on the November ballot. The campaign behind it turned in a record-breaking number of signatures to qualify last month, more than doubling its requirement of 383,923. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Herron Abney III, known as "Tripp," has defied the odds since the day of his birth, when he was delivered at just 21 weeks weighing less than one pound. So, when Tripp celebrated his first birthday, he was appropriately dressed in a Superman outfit. "We're amazed by him," Tripp's mom, Trashinda Gavin of Mobile, Alabama, told "Good Morning America." "Our baby that was not going to survive is celebrating a 1-year birthday." Gavin was just five months pregnant with Tripp, her second biological child, when she went into preterm labor. She was hospitalized for several days at USA Health Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile, where she said she and her medical team worked to delay labor for as long as possible. But on July 12, 2023, just 21 weeks and three days into her pregnancy, Gavin gave birth to Tripp, who weighed just 15.3 ounces at birth. "I remember his arms and legs moving and asking, 'Is he OK?' and [my husband] saying that he was OK," Gavin recalled. "I told them I wanted them to do anything they could to save the baby." PHOTO: Tripp Abney, who was born at 21 weeks, celebrated his first birthday on July 12, 2024. (Courtesy Herron Abney) Babies born prior to 22 weeks are born without their critical organs fully developed, including their heart, lungs and intestines, according to Dr. Maran Ramani, chief of the Division of Neonatology at USA Health and the doctor who oversaw Tripp's care. Ramani and Lisa Gore, a neonatal nurse practitioner at USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital, told "GMA" that even as a hospital that specializes in neonatology, over the past decade, they have only cared for around 10 babies born before 22 weeks, and only half of those babies survived. "Tripp's case is unusual," Gore said. "There still are not a lot of cases of babies less than 22 weeks surviving ... Our OB team works really hard at trying to keep these moms pregnant as long as possible, because every single day matters." PHOTO: Tripp Abney weighed less than 16 ounces at birth. (Courtesy Herron Abney) Once Tripp was born, he was immediately put on a ventilator and taken to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, according to Gore and Ramani. In the NICU, Gavin and her husband, Herron Abney II, had to wait one month to even hold their son because he was so small and under so much medical intervention. This baby celebrated his last day in the NICU with a touching graduation ceremony According to Gore and Ramani, babies born before 22 weeks are often so small they fit in the palm of an adult's hand. Their eyes are usually closed and their footprint is close to 1-inch long. "It was scary to look at him, he was so small," Abney said, describing it as surreal to watch Tripp grow outside the womb and observe what normally happens in the last months of pregnancy. "I had faith, but I wasn't sure he would survive." Both Gavin and Abney also described it as "heartbreaking" to have to leave the hospital each night and say goodbye to Tripp. PHOTO: Trashinda Gavin holds her son Tripp during the five months he spent in the NICU and after his discharge. (Courtesy Herron Abney) The couple, already parents to a combined four children, said they balanced their work and school schedules -- Gavin is in nursing school -- to be able to visit Tripp multiple times a day. "We never missed a day," said Gavin. "Especially once we got to hold him, I wanted to hold him so much." Medically, Gore said Tripp experienced relatively few complications during his time in the NICU, a miracle for a baby born as early as he was. "He actually had a pretty good course, particularly for somebody born as early as he was," Gore said. "But it's still very complicated because we have to grow them outside in an environment that they shouldn't naturally be in. They shouldn't be touched and they shouldn't hear the sounds and they shouldn't have all of these things that have to be done to them, so it's a long course and it's difficult." Identical quadruplet sisters meet their brothers for the 1st time Tripp spent the first five months of his life in the NICU before he was finally discharged in December, just before Christmas. He weighed just 5 pounds at discharge, but came home with no ongoing medical issues, according to Gavin. PHOTO: Herron Abney holds his son Tripp during the five months he spent in the NICU and after his discharge. (Courtesy Herron Abney) "It's a dream come true to know that our baby is home with us," she said. "We love having him home." In July, Tripp celebrated his first birthday. Abney and Gavin described their son as a "perfect little baby boy" who is learning to crawl and who demands his mom and dad's full-time attention. "The day we left the hospital, a doctor told me, 'Tripp proved us wrong,'" Abney said, later adding, "You see what we have today." Baby born weighing less than 1 pound celebrates 1st birthday originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com A six-month-old baby boy died after one of his parents left him in a hot car, the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office said in Tuesday (stock image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto) A six-month-old baby boy in Louisiana has died after one of his parents forgot to drop him off at daycare, and left him in a car as temperatures soared above 100 degrees. The baby was discovered in the backseat around 5.46pm Tuesday, according to ABC News. The heat index - the real-feel measurement of heat - reached 112 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Baton Rouge that day. The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office said the parent realized what had happened when they went to try and pick up the baby from daycare at the end of the day. The Independent has contacted the sheriffs office for further information. An investigation is ongoing. The coroners office is conducting an autopsy in order to determine how long the child was left in the car. More than a dozen children have died after being left in hot cars across the country this year, according to safety group KidsAndCars.org. At least 1,100 kids have died in hot cars since 1990, with 88 percent under the age of three. In May, a six-year-old girl in Florida died after she was left in a locked car for hours and suffered exposure to extreme heat. The mothers boyfriend was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Earlier this month, a two-year-old boy died after he was found inside a hot car in Georgia. Authorities with the Cobb County Police Department said the toddler was found unresponsive in a parked vehicle in Marietta, about an hour outside of Atlanta. First responders took the child to the hospital but he was pronounced deceased. Baby dies in hot car after parent forgot to drop them off at daycare: Louisiana sheriff BATON ROUGE, La. (WVLA) Authorities in Louisiana are investigating after a baby was found dead in a car on Tuesday. The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office said they were called at about 5:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday. When deputies arrived, they found a 6-month-old baby dead in the car. The parent accidentally forgot to drop the baby off at daycare and went to work and then went to pick the baby up from daycare and realized that the baby was still in the car, the sheriffs office said. Former Bachelor contestant Hailey Merkt dead at 31 The East Baton Rouge Coroners Office said an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday. At this time, there is no word on whether charges will be filed in this case, and the investigation remains ongoing. High temperatures in the area on Tuesday were well into the 90s. A car can heat up by 20 degrees and become deadly in only 10 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For example, if its 75 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car can reach 105 degrees. WPRIs Melanie DaSilva contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. BOWIE COUNTY, Texas (KTAL/KSHV) Families in west Bowie County have a chance to celebrate the start of the school year with freebies and fun. Plentiful Harvest Church in New Boston is holding its 7th Annual West Bowie County Back to School Bash this Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The event will offer backpacks, school supplies, and free haircuts to get kids ready for the school year. Scholarships will also be available to support local teachers. Fun activities at the event will include free food, a bounce house, face painting, balloon artists, clowns, and other kid-focused activities. Plentiful Harvest said the bash is all about serving the community. Churches, groups, individuals, and leaders from every west Bowie county city are in some way involved or have donated. They said that people from as far away as Tyler and the Metroplex are coming to help serve the community at the event. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Spearheaded by councilmember Stephen Whitburn, a Back to School Drive is now underway in San Diegos District 3. The initiative is aimed at ensuring teachers and children in the community have adequate supplies and resources to begin the new school year, which is soon to kick-off. The drive officially started on July 25 and will continue until Aug. 25. County says complaints pouring in over odor at border Some of the school supplies needed includes backpacks, pens, pencils, notebooks, index cards and crayons. As far as classroom supplies, items like Clorox wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer and tissues are encouraged. Supply donations can be dropped off at the following city of San Diego libraries: Mission Hills Hillcrest Library: 215 W Washington St., San Diego, CA 92103 University Heights Library: 4193 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92103 North Park Library: 3795 31st St., San Diego, CA 92104 Central Library: 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101 City Admin Building: 202 C St., 10th Floor, San Diego, CA The Back to School Drive will benefit the following local K-9 schools: Grant UTK-8, Florence Elementary, Washington Elementary, Birney Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Roosevelt International, McKinley Elementary, Golden Hill K-8, Garfield High School and San Diego High School. Ed Lenderman contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. As summer comes to an end, different organizations across Central Alabama are hosting back-to-school events and giveaways for the upcoming school year. Families can find a list of back-to-school giveaways here: Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. BAKERSFIELD Calif. (KGET) A Bakersfield man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for receiving and distributing images of child sexual abuse. The Department of Justice in Fresno said Marcus Tatum, 32, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years and five months in prison. His sentence also includes 10 years of supervised release and he must pay $45,000 in restitution. Man resentenced to 11 years in gas station double homicide Federal prosecutors said over a six-year span between February 2012 and March 2018, Tatum used a laptop to distribute and receive hundreds of images of children being sexually abused. The children in the images were under the age of 12, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Tatum pleaded guilty to charges in December 2023. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, speaks to media following a ruling by the Utah Supreme Court that for now leaves in place an injunction on the states near-total abortion ban on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch) A few hours after a Utah Supreme Court decision sustaining, for now, a block of a 2020 law that would ban nearly all abortions in the state, Riverton Republican Sen. Dan McCay announced hes trying to coordinate a special legislative session to shorten the window on abortions currently allowed in the state. Despite the Legislature passing SB174 in 2020, a law that prohibited abortions at any stage of pregnancy, with certain exceptions, abortion has remained legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of gestation. McCay would like to shorten that time to up to six weeks. Its up to either Gov. Spencer Cox or two-thirds of the Legislature to call for a special session. McCay has notified the governor and legislative leadership, he said at a news conference, in hopes the session could take place by the end of the year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX I know that my colleagues, at least on the Republican side, have been very supportive of pro-life measures here in Utah, McCay said. I have not talked to them about changing the gestational ban down to six weeks, but Im confident that if we work through our process, work with the governors office, we can craft a law that will create a short-term solution while we wait for the courts decision. Cox and Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they are reviewing the courts ruling, but did not indicate whether they would indeed support McCays proposal or agree to call a special session. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss options with Sen. McCay, lawmakers and the governor to determine the next steps, Senate President Stuart Adams told Utah News Dispatch. McCay, who sponsored the 2020 ban, said Thursday morning, surrounded by three anti-abortion advocates, that while hes discouraged by the Utah Supreme Courts ruling, he still believes its likely that SB174 will ultimately be found constitutional. But, for now, he called the decision a setback. Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, was among the advocates dressed in black after hearing the decision. Ruzicka said she has been fighting her entire life for the anti-abortion cause. She emphasized that the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs decision returned the authority on abortion to the people and their representatives. Theres not one place where it says it goes back to the courts, for judges to decide, for activist judges to rule that its OK to continue to kill these little unborn babies, Ruzicka said. More than 6,000 abortions have taken place since the injunction was put in place, said Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, calculating that the decision to block the near-total ban will result in thousands more. The group believes life starts at conception, but, if the six-week ban will save a few more babies. We are certainly in support of that, Taylor said. The anti-abortion groups are also contemplating action against the use of Mifepristone, or the abortion pill, Ruzicka said, lamenting that young girls could order the medication without their parents consent though in Utah, parents must be notified before any abortion. Judges can excuse some consent requirements, but not the notification. I think thats something well continue to look at, even if today hadnt happened the way it happened, we still need to do something about the abortion pill, Ruzicka said. In a virtual news conference, Planned Parenthood of Utah said McCays intention to roll back the states abortion time limit isnt surprising and the organization is ready to fight the restrictions. Though, leaders are still unsure what a legal challenge to a potential new measure would look like. We will wait for anything new to develop as we continue to litigate our current case, Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said on Thursday. And should something new develop, well be right there, well be ready to go. Boyd also warned of the effect a six-week ban could have in Utah. When youre talking about a six and eight, a 10 or a 12-week ban, that limits the ability for a woman to seek the care that she desires, it causes harm, Boyd said, citing increasing maternal and infant mortality rates after the Dobbs decision. In Thursdays ruling, the Utah Supreme Court said that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that (Planned Parenthood of Utah) and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the injunction. The case now returns to a lower court for consideration. McCay, however, argued that there has never been a precedent that supports a constitutional right to an abortion in Utah and agreed with Chief Justice Matthew Durrants dissenting opinion, which stated that Planned Parenthood lacked legal standing to request an injunction and did not qualify as a plaintiff. Though other legal challenges from pro-abortion organizers may come if the current time restriction on abortions in the state is shortened, McCay said that while the court can wait years between decisions, the Legislature cant limit its actions based on when the court felt like we should react. Theres no reason why Utah cant implement a six-week ban, McCay said, pointing to states, including Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, which have similar policies. Let us know what you think... McCay stepped away from the comments of some of his Republican colleagues, such as Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, who described the Supreme Court as activist, arguing that all five justices are Utahns, very intelligent lawyers and good judges. The reaction mix, is how it was all meant to be, McCay said, with a balance of power between the legislative, judicial and executive branches. He added that he hasnt been part of conversations on potential changes to how the Utah Supreme Court operates. I think we have a process thats existed since statehood, and I think before we make significant changes to how they work, then, we probably ought to focus on our processes and our law and make sure that what we do is measure twice and cut once, McCay said. Contributing: Katie McKellar DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Cultural activists and members of civil society hold a march for victims who were killed during the recent nationwide student protests over quotas in government jobs. Syed Mahabubul Kader/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Bangladeshi government has issued an order outlawing the country's largest Islamic party and all its affiliates in the wake of last months deadly unrest that prompted the government to impose a curfew and deploy troops. As the government believes that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (Society of Islam, its student wing and its front organizations are involved with terrorist activities, the government declared these banned, the government order issued on Thursday said. The government possesses enough evidence that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing were involved in the recent killings, destructions and terrorist activities directly and through incitement, the order said, referring to the last months violent protests over government job quota reforms. At least 150 people were killed, according to the official counts, during the nationwide protests, but the local media put the death figure at more than 200. The Jamaat-e-Islami and its entire front organizations will not be allowed to operate as a political party from now on, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq told reporters in Dhaka. Jamaat, a radical right-wing party advocating for sharia in Bangladesh, was banned soon after Bangladeshs 1971 war of liberation as it sided with Pakistani forces to carry out atrocities on unarmed civilians during the war. But it resumed activities in 1977 after the then military dictator Ziaur Rahman allowed the party to operate following the brutal assassination of Bangladeshs founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. The party also joined the coalition government of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, widow of Ziaur Rahman, in 2001. Cultural activists and members of civil society hold a march as part of the nationwide student protests over quotas in government jobs. Syed Mahabubul Kader/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Advanced Info Service (AIS) Cloud will offer more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services and help organizations address relevant regulatory and data sovereignty requirements AUSTIN, Texas and BANGKOK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Info Service (AIS), one of Thailand's largest mobile network operators, today announced plans to deploy Oracle Alloy and launch AIS Cloud, the country's first locally owned and operated hyperscale cloud. Oracle Alloy will provide AIS' customers and all enterprises in Thailand, including the public sector, access to more than 100 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services, including the latest artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Oracle is the only hyperscaler capable of delivering AI and a full suite of 100+ cloud services across dedicated, public, and hybrid cloud environments, anywhere in the world. AIS has established a proven track record of providing mobile network services to more than 45 million subscribers across Thailand. To build on this success and capitalize on the business opportunities, scale, and performance of the cloud, while innovating at the speed of hyperscale cloud providers, AIS selected Oracle Alloy. AIS Cloud will help AIS' customers address data residency and sovereignty requirements such as Thailand's Personal Data Protection (PDPA) Act and the Cybersecurity Act. AIS Cloud will be the only hyperscale cloud in Thailand, providing business resilience with in-country disaster recovery capabilities. "For over 34 years, AIS has continuously developed digital technology infrastructure to provide customers in Thailand with a superior digital experience," said Somchai Lertsutiwong, chief executive officer, AIS. "This is coupled with leveraging our network's potential by collaborating with various partners to connect and support public and private sector organizations in achieving effective digital transformation. This enhances the capability and elevates the ability to create business growth, leading to sustainable competitive advantages for the country." "Cloud technology plays a pivotal role in supporting the IT infrastructure modernization and innovation for organizations in Thailand, and Oracle Alloy has made it possible for AIS to become a locally owned and operated hyperscale cloud provider in the country," Somchai Lertsutiwong added. "This strategic collaboration between Oracle and AIS will not only accelerate AIS' transformation from a 'Telco to a Techco' but also unlock the immense potential for digital transformation and AI innovation for all organizations. AIS Cloud, powered by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, will be key to transforming the core operations of businesses to capitalize on the market opportunities and create differentiation to take on the competition. This will significantly contribute to increasing the competitive advantage of Thai organizations, attracting investments, and supporting Thailand's economic engine for sustainable growth." Story continues AIS Cloud will be deployed in two AIS data centres located in Thailand and will be operated by AIS who will deliver cloud services to its customers including local support, providing them with a local cloud solution to meet regulatory requirements. Customer information will also be housed within Thailand to help customers address data sovereignty and regulatory requirements across industries. With Oracle Alloy, AIS will be able to extend 100+ OCI services to public and private sector organizations, as well as its managed service partners. This will allow customers to repatriate their existing cloud environments from overseas back to Thailand or move and modernize from on-premises to AIS Cloud deployed in AIS data centres in Thailand. "Providing our partners and customers with more choice has always been our priority," said Garrett Ilg, executive vice president and general manager, Japan & Asia Pacific, Oracle. "Thailand is a strategic market for Oracle and the Oracle Alloy collaboration with AIS will serve as an industry gamechanger for the country. It empowers AIS to become a hyperscale cloud provider, enabling them to build new services faster while delivering sovereign cloud and AI capabilities for its Thai customers. With its local expertise and deep market knowledge, AIS is strongly positioned to deliver tailored customer experiences by addressing specific customer needs related to where the workloads reside and how their cloud is operated." "IDC forecasts spending on sovereign cloud to increase at 31.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in APEJ," said Daphne Chung, Research Director, Cloud Services and Software Research, IDC Asia/Pacific. "The APEJ Cloud Survey 2023 showed that 19 percent of APEJ organizations expect to increase their spending on sovereign cloud in the near future as a component of organizations' hybrid cloud strategy driven by compliance and regulations as well as the need for greater operational resiliency." Oracle's Distributed Cloud Delivers the Benefits of Cloud with Greater Control and Flexibility Oracle's distributed cloud lineup supports: Public cloud: Hyperscale public cloud regions serve any size of organization, including those requiring strict EU sovereignty controls. See the full list of regions here. Dedicated cloud: Customers can run all OCI cloud services in their own data centers with OCI Dedicated Region, while partners can resell OCI cloud services and customize the experience using Oracle Alloy. Oracle also operates separate U.S., UK, and Australian Government Clouds, and Isolated Cloud Regions for U.S. national security purposes. Each of these products provide a full cloud and AI stack that customers can deploy as a Sovereign Cloud. Hybrid cloud: OCI delivers key cloud services on-premises via Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer and Compute Cloud@Customer and is already managing deployments in over 60 countries. Multicloud: Options including Oracle Database@Azure, HeatWave MySQL on AWS and Microsoft Azure, Oracle Interconnect for Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Interconnect for Google Cloud allow customers to combine key capabilities from across clouds. About AIS Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS), is a digital infrastructure service provider driving Thailand's digital transformation through four business groups, serving a customer base of over 49.8 million. These include mobile phone services on the 5G network with the highest frequency band of 1460 MHz, catering to over 45 million users; Broadband internet services under the AIS 3BB FIBRE3 with over 4.8 million users; corporate customer services; and digital service businesses. All of these are in line with the vision of becoming a leading telecommunications and smart technology organization Cognitive Tech-Co, supporting the strength of the digital economy and elevating the quality of life for Thai people. Meet us at www.ais.th (as of March 2024). About Oracle Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com. Trademarks Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud companyushering in the new era of cloud computing. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/advanced-info-service-selects-oracle-alloy-to-build-thailands-first-locally-owned-and-operated-hyperscale-cloud-302211855.html SOURCE Oracle Tabor Manor Care Center in Fremont County has filed for bankruptcy while owing the state $1.1 million. (Photo via Google Earth; court document courtesy U.S. District Court) A for-profit nursing home that has filed for bankruptcy says it owes Iowa taxpayers more than $1 million in fees the state failed to collect. In May, the for-profit Tabor Manor Care Center in Fremont County filed for bankruptcy, listing $1.3 million in assets and $2.3 million in liabilities. By far, the 46-bed nursing homes single largest creditor is the State of Iowa specifically, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services/Iowa Medicaid Enterprises. The home has reported that it owes the agency $1,169, 257. The debt is tied to unpaid Quality Assurance Assessment, or QAA, fees that date back to 2019, according to bankruptcy records. QAA fees are a mechanism that has been used by the state since 2009 to drive up expenses at Iowa nursing homes. The quarterly fees paid to the state have the effect of artificially inflating a facilitys cost of doing business. That, in turn, enables the facilities to draw down more money in Medicaid reimbursement from the federal government for resident care. By design, the increased revenue that the homes see in their Medicaid payments more than offsets the cost of the fees paid to the state. Under Iowa law, the care facilities are supposed to use most of the increased revenue to boost the pay of their front-line caregivers which is why the fees are labeled Quality Assurance Assessment fees. Its a circular, but legal, method of increasing the revenue collected by nursing homes and has been approved by the federal government in Iowa and other states. In recent years, however, it has become clear that not all Iowa nursing homes are actually paying the fees they owe to the state. Last month, the Iowa Capital Dispatch asked the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for a list of the Iowa care facilities that are behind in their payments, along with the amount owed by each facility. The department has yet to respond to that request, adding that the information needs to be reviewed by department leadership before being disclosed. One company owed taxpayers $3.9 million in fees Tabor Manor isnt the first Iowa nursing home to file for bankruptcy after neglecting to pay the QAA fees to the state. In 2021, the Iowa-based QHC Facilities nursing home chain filed for bankruptcy and informed the court that it owed taxpayers more than $3.9 million due to unpaid QAA fees. Initially, the state attempted to negotiate with the company to have that debt treated as a higher priority so that once the chain was sold and the companys assets were liquidated, Iowa taxpayers would be among the creditors first in line when the companys debts are settled. Eventually, though, the attorney generals office abandoned that effort. At the time, the attorney generals office said that doing so was in the best interest of the health and safety of residents since abandoning collection efforts might lessen the chances of QHC homes being forced to close. At the time of its bankruptcy, QHC Facilities also owed the state and federal government at least $2.2 million for unpaid fines and advance payments collected for resident care. The company had been cited for more than 180 regulatory violations during the previous two years. Not all homes comply with pay-increase requirement In 2022, DHHS reported to state lawmakers that of the 379 Iowa nursing homes that were required to spend their increased Medicaid revenue on pay increases for certified nurse aides, 68 of them or 18% of the total failed to do so. An additional 37 homes or 10% of the total failed to meet a different standard that required them to spend 60% of their excess revenue on compensation for all staff. Similar rates of compliance were reported in 2020. When the Capital Dispatch asked DHHS whether it was taking steps to enforce the law that requires payment of the QAA fees, a department official said that while the Iowa Legislature had required the department to collect data on the QAA program, it did not provide the department with any enforcement authority. Despite the lack of compliance by some care facilities, DHHS proposed a major increase in state spending on the QAA program last year. In a subsequent phone call with Iowa nursing home representatives, the industrys main lobbying organization, the Iowa Health Care Association, boasted of the increased revenue nursing homes would realize, calling it a pretty big chunk of money. According to a budget analysis by House Republicans, $111.2 million was appropriated from the Quality Assurance Assessment Trust Fund for Fiscal Year 2024, which ended June 30. These funds do not revert back to the general fund, the GOP advised state legislators, noting that it would result in a $68 million increase in revenue for facility owners. State, Tabor Manor fail to agree on payment plan In recent bankruptcy-court filings, Tabor Manor Care Center has said the biggest financial hurdle it now faces is the unpaid QAA fees owed to the state. In order to continue our important work, the company deferred payment of QAA fee obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic recovery period, the homes owner and administrator, Mitchell Worcester, told the court. He said that before filing for bankruptcy, his company tried to negotiate a plan to pay off the $1.1 million debt over a period of time which matched the companys ability to pay. He said the state was only able to offer a payment plan of relatively short duration, including escalating payments, which the company will not be able to perform to. Worcester told the court that one of the principal purposes of the companys bankruptcy filing is to address the $1.1 million debt in a manner that will enable the home to remain open. The companys goal, he said, is to renew negotiations with the state on a payment plan. Bath woman sentenced to more than a year in prison on drug charge BATH, N.Y. (WETM) A Bath woman will spend some time behind bars after being sentenced on a felony drug charge. According to the Schuyler County District Attorneys Office, 27-year-old Alexis Larin was convicted in court on the charge of unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the third degree, a class D felony. Elmira man sentenced on multiple charges including assault Larin was sentenced to 1.5 years in a New York State Prison and is required to do one year of parole after her release. The release states that Larin was found guilty of possessing lab equipment, reagents, and solvents used in the making of meth and that she knew another person was going to use them to make meth. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has been accused by insiders of double standards over Huw Edwards salary after it emerged that the British broadcasters freelance presenters are not paid if suspended and under police investigation. Edwards, a news anchor at the peak of his powers until last year, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges on Wednesday and the BBC admitted that it was aware of his arrest as far back as November 2023. More from Deadline The BBC is facing questions over its decision to keep Edwards on the payroll from November until his resignation in April 2024, during which time he was suspended from presenting duties. Edwards took home 480,000 ($620,000) in the year to the end of March 2024, meaning he was paid more than 200,000 ($255,000) during the five months after the BBC was made aware of his arrest. The BBC is funded by the license fee, a household levy that means it is in receipt of public money and faces intense scrutiny over star salaries. Edwards also remains entitled to his BBC pension after 40 years of service at the corporation. In a statement on Wednesday, the BBC said it would have moved to fire Edwards had he been charged while he was still an employee. It added that the risk to Edwards wellbeing was also a factor in its decision-making, given he was suffering with mental health issues during his suspension. The BBCs patience with Edwards following his arrest does not extend to other presenters, according to a document reviewed by Deadline. The BBCs terms for freelance on-air talent unambiguously state that the corporation has the right to withhold payment if an individual is suspended and under criminal investigation. The document states: If your alleged conduct is also being investigated by the police (an investigation) and this contract is (in the BBCs absolute discretion) suspended rather than terminated, you will not be entitled to the fees that would have been paid during the suspension period, even if no charges are brought. The BBC employs around 1,000 on-air freelancers, with notable examples including Gary Lineker. The Match of the Day host is the BBCs highest-paid presenter, earning 1.35M last year, according to the corporations annual report. Two sources said BBC employee contracts are not as explicit as freelance contracts if a staff member is embroiled in a police investigation. Employees are subject to boilerplate rules on not bringing the BBC into disrepute, per contractual clauses seen by Deadline. These include employees being expected to promote and protect the interests of the BBC at all times and not allowing private activities to interfere with work. The clauses also state that the BBC can terminate a contract if a staff member is guilty of any conduct whether within or outside the course of this employment which in the opinion of the BBC brings you or the BBC into disrepute. A criminal conviction can also result in termination. One BBC insider said the double standards over staff and freelancer contracts was evidence of the corporation seeking to protect those they wish to protect. Another BBC source was not surprised by the discrepancy, arguing that the broadcaster has always been more generous to staff than to freelancers. A third person said the BBC should have had the courage to sack Edwards after it was informed about his arrest even if it meant risking legal retaliation. This person said it was likely that privacy issues were a factor in deterring the BBC from acting, with the shadow of its legal battle with Cliff Richard still looming in the mind of some executives. Richard won a landmark 2018 High Court case against the BBC over its coverage of a police raid on his home, with a judge ruling that he had a right to privacy. The BBC declined to comment. A person familiar with BBC contracts said it was standard practice for UK employers to have different benefits and arrangements for freelancers. Shock & Anger At BBC BBC insiders are shellshocked at Edwards guilty plea to three counts of being in possession of indecent images of children. Deadline has spoken to several of Edwards former colleagues, with sources saying the news dropped out of the sky this week and has sickened and saddened the BBCs workforce. Katie Razzall, BBC News culture and media editor, told Radio 4s The Media Show, that it was difficult to underestimate the significance of Edwards. She said: This was a man who held our hand through some of the most important, momentous, landmark times of our nation. It is a spectacular fall from grace for someone who embodied all of the values that the BBC hold dear trust and responsibility. He was the face of the most trusted news brand in the UK and his guilty plea throws all that into question. Shock has turned to anger, however, with growing unrest over the BBCs handling of Edwards case. There is recognition that the matter was complicated by privacy and duty of care issues, but now that Edwards has admitted guilt over child image charges, BBC insiders are demanding the corporation be more transparent. Several insiders said the BBC should disclose the findings of an internal fact-finding investigation into Edwards conduct amid allegations he sent inappropriate and suggestive messages to junior BBC employees, including making comments about their appearance. The investigation is shrouded in mystery with the BBC refusing to comment on who led the work and the outcome of its inquiries. Publish the Edwards investigation, one long-serving employee demanded. What else are they hiding? Why did it take so long? Another added that the BBCs reluctance to engage with questions on the investigation no longer stands up to scrutiny. BBC News show Newsnight was looking into Edwards professional conduct in July 2023 and published a handful of allegations about messages some BBC employees deemed inappropriate. Sources said this work effectively ended when BBC managers made the Newsnight team aware that some staff felt uncomfortable being asked questions about their interactions with Edwards. It also coincided with UK press backing away from the story after Edwards mental health issues emerged. It is not known whether those who spoke to Newsnight also gave evidence to the BBCs fact-finding investigation. Edwards has not commented on any of the allegations. His court hearing on Wednesday was his first public appearance in a year. The BBC has been at pains to point out that the newsroom is independent of corporate decision-making. BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and her deputy Jonathan Munro have been recused from editorial decisions about Edwards. Journalists have been free to pursue stories about Edwards and the BBC with the same vigor as those at rival news organizations. This was acknowledged in an all-staff email on Wednesday. BBC director general Tim Davie and Turness wrote: Some of you may feel shocked and saddened by this news and some of you will have worked closely with Huw Edwards over the years. Many of you will be working on this story, and we want to thank you for your professionalism in carrying on with your jobs in difficult circumstances. Davie was due to meet Lisa Nandy, the UKs new culture secretary, on Thursday to discuss Edwards. He turned down a request to be interviewed on BBC Radio 4s Today show this morning. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The BBC is not hiding evidence about the conduct of disgraced presenter Huw Edwards, according to director general Tim Davie. In an interview with BBC News, Davie said the corporation is not sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadnt followed up properly. More from Deadline His comments come as fresh claims have been published about Edwards interactions with colleagues, while pressure is mounting on the BBC to be transparent about the outcome of an internal fact-finding investigation into the news anchors conduct. BBC News reported on Thursday that Edwards sent suggestive messages to an employee, including a picture of his hotel suite in Windsor at the time of Prince Philips funeral. A whistleblower told BBC News that they gave evidence to the internal inquiry but the findings had been swept under the carpet. Edwards was suspended in July 2023 amid allegations he paid a young person for sexual images. He resigned in April 2024 citing medical reasons. On Wednesday, Edwards pleaded guilty to fresh charges of being in possession of indecent images of children. The BBC admitted this week that it was made aware in November of Edwards arrest, but it chose not to fire the newsreader. Davie defended the decision, telling BBC News: We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offenses. He said the BBC had not ruled out efforts to claw back Edwards pay and block his pension. He said it would be very difficult but well look at all options. On the child abuse image charges detailed this week, Davie said: We were very shocked. No-one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing. He added: When it comes to the decision we made in November, we were obviously faced with a difficult decision, and we considered it very carefully. The police came to us and gave us information that they had arrested Mr Edwards. But they wanted to be assured of total confidence, and the reason they rung us at that point, its a technical process to ensure employees are protected and theres no risk. Davie continued: Another factor at this point was very significant duty of care considerations. I think it was right for us to say wed let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act. Earlier on Thursday, Deadline reported on growing calls among BBC employees for the corporation to publish the findings of its internal investigation into Edwards. Publish the Edwards investigation, one long-serving employee demanded. What else are they hiding? Why did it take so long? A staffer who gave evidence to the inquiry told BBC News: I certainly dont feel like Ive heard anything of substance about how the investigation went. In a way thats disappointing because it was quite a stressful thing to go through. It was all a big ordeal. Deadline also revealed how insiders accused the BBC of double standards over Edwards salary after it emerged that the British broadcasters freelance presenters are not paid if suspended and under police investigation. Edwards, who was an employee, was paid more than 200,000 ($255,000) during a five-month period in which he was suspended and the BBC was aware of his arrest. Meanwhile, the BBCs terms for freelance on-air talent unambiguously state that the corporation has the right to withhold payment if an individual is suspended and under criminal investigation. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. BELTON, Texas (FOX 44) Its time to suit up once again for the Bell County Comic Con! The eighth annual event will be returning to the Cadence Bank Center, located at 301 W Loop 121, this Saturday and Sunday! The community can expect an action-packed weekend of family-friendly fun! Attendees can meet their favorite celebrities from movies and TV, such as Jon Heder of Napoleon Dynamite fame, Tatyana Ali from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and legendary voice actor Billy West. Guests can also interact with their favorite superheroes and supervillains, explore Artist Alley and have fun with lots of free activities! LAST YEAR: Check out FOX 44 News at the 2023 Bell County Comic Con! For more information, and to buy tickets, you can visit www.bellcountycomiccon.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. DARIEN, Ill. A man was charged after allegedly providing narcotics to a Darien man who died as a result. Willie Woodgett, 37, is facing a count of drug induced homicide after authorities responded to a home in Darien on April 1, 2023. The family of Michael Rice, of Darien, called 911 that afternoon to report that Rice was unconscious in the home. Police allege Woodgett went to Rices home the night before a delivered narcotics to him. Rice was pronounced dead on April 2, 2023. Tranq dope: Xylazine continues to rip through area as DEA issues nationwide alert An autopsy determined the cause of death to be combined drug toxicity of fentanyl, ethanol, diphenhydramine, alprazolam, xylazine and buprenorphine. Rice was prescribed alprazolam. Woodgett was denied pre-trial release and his next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 26. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. By Andrew Chung (Reuters) - A new federal rule protecting LGBT students from discrimination in schools and colleges based on gender identity that took effect on Thursday remained blocked in 26 states after the U.S. Supreme Court did not act on requests by President Joe Biden's administration to widen its enforcement. The justices have yet to act on the administration's requests to partially lift lower court injunctions blocking the rule in 10 Republican-led states that had challenged it, while litigation continues. The complex legal landscape means that the U.S. Education Department can enforce the rule, announced in April, in 24 of the 50 states. The rule expands protections under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law that bars sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. A spokesperson for the Education Department said officials "crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to realize the non-discrimination mandate of Title IX. The department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for every student." Biden's administration had asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a lawsuit by Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho and numerous Louisiana school boards, and another lawsuit by Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia and an association of Christian educators. The administration sought to restore in those states a key provision clarifying that discrimination "on the basis of sex" encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the rule's numerous other provisions that do not address gender identity. The states and the other plaintiffs have said the rule forces schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms, and faculty to use pronouns for transgender students, that correspond to their gender identities. The plaintiffs have argued that the Democratic president's administration has unlawfully rewritten a law designed more than a half century ago to protect women from discrimination in education. "This is all for a political agenda, ignoring significant safety concerns for young women students in pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across Louisiana and the entire country," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said of the federal rule when she announced the state's lawsuit. Numerous lawsuits successfully blocked the law in 22 states - nearly all Republican-governed. While the administration scored a victory on Tuesday when a federal judge refused to block the rule in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted the rule on Wednesday in those states pending its review of the litigation. The rule makes numerous changes to regulations combating sex discrimination under Title IX, including by covering LGBT individuals as well as strengthening protections for pregnant students, parents and guardians. The administration has said that protecting LGBT students under Title IX is a "straightforward application" of the Supreme Court's landmark 2020 ruling that a similar law known as Title VII barring workplace discrimination protects gay and transgender employees. The Supreme Court is reviewing decisions by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana and U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in Kentucky. They both concluded that Title IX's reference to sex relates only to "biological" males and females, and that the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling did not apply in this context. In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear another case from Tennessee involving a Republican-backed ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) stands against the other gold mining stocks. Gold has reached an all-time high, capping a 20-month rally with a 50% increase. Although the selling pressure from the retail investor would have an adverse affect on gold prices, however, this surge is driven by central banks buying record volumes of bullion mainly due to the desire to reduce dependence on US dollar, conflicts in the Middle East, and strong demand from Chinese consumers amid disappointing local equities, property, and currency markets. Furthermore, Chinese political leaders noticed that financial assets of the Russian government including bonds and reserves got confiscated by Western governments after Russia invaded Ukraine. Christopher Mancini, who co-manages Gabelli Gold Fund says The Chinese central bank saw that happened and said We dont want that to happen to us. It would make sense for them to want to significantly retire their [U.S.] dollar reserves. With gold, they dont have to worry about being repaid. We know they have been buying a consistent amount of gold every day. Bernard Dahdah from Natixis suggests central banks might continue buying gold due to tensions between the US and China, potentially making prices above $2,300 the new norm. The move to gold also reflects a broader trend of nations reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar, prompted by the dollar's use as a geopolitical tool against Russia, leading to gold prices reaching an all-time high of $2,480 per ounce on July 17, 2024. In U.S. the Fed is expected to cut the Fed funds rate, but inflation may remain steady, leading to lower real interest rates. This scenario benefits gold as the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold decreases compared to cash and bonds. Additionally, a decline in U.S. real interest rates may weaken the U.S. dollar, making gold, which is globally priced in dollars, more attractive. Owning gold directly provides a "store of value" but offers limited returns rather than generate substantial gains like equities. However, other than its appeal in its ability to preserve value, many investors view it as a hedge against economic troubles rather than a high-return investment. So an investor otherwise seeking gold as a soaring investment would be disappointed in the longer term as it doesnt appreciate by much as gold has risen less than 300% in a century with annualized real returns of 1.34%, adjusted for inflation. Therefore investors looking for a more aggressive approach, aim for gold mining stocks that provide leverage to the gold price that yields returns surpassing those of the underlying commodity. Story continues Despite this leverage, the underlying stock valuations will consider future cash flows and market volatility of the gold as well as the consensus price estimates by market participants. Nonetheless, gold miner stocks should be more volatile than gold itself, offering greater returns if the investor's thesis on rising gold prices is correct. Regardless of gold prices rising over the last 15 years, gold mining ETFs and major miners (Agnico, Newmont, Barrick) have underperformed compared to physical gold. Although some companies covered in this article have succeeded, the gold mining sector requires careful scrutiny beyond just reserves and production. Like any other investment that is carefully analyzed mining companies need to be analysed based on management, capital allocation, and geopolitical risk. It is also because of these factors that gold mining companies are unable to reach their potential as viable investments. Methodology To curate our list of 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we gathered a list of all companies using the holdings of gold miners ETFs. We then further narrowed down on the basis of their upside potential. With this lets now jump to our list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A macro view of a gold mine, with miners hard at work in the foreground. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) Current Price: $74.75 Upside Potential: 12% Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM), a major player in the Canadian gold industry, manages mining operations across Canada, Finland, Australia, and Mexico, while also conducting exploration and development endeavors in the United States. The company adopts a strategy of retaining complete exposure to rising gold prices by abstaining from forward gold sales. Analysts have overwhelmingly endorsed the companys shares, with an average Strong Buy rating. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE) is a Canadian gold mining company with operations in Canada, Australia, Finland, and Mexico. In Q1 2024, its revenue soared to over $1.8 billion, a 21% increase from Q1 2023, driven by robust production from Canadian Malartic, Macassa, and Nunavut operations, and high gold prices. This resulted in a record $396 million in free cash flows, up 50%, and $1 billion in margins, largely due to the Detour Lake and Canadian Malartic mines. However, the company anticipates an increase in all-in sustaining costs from $1,191 per ounce in Q1 2024 to between $1,200 and $1,250, which could impact profitability and cash flows. Agnico Eagle also increased its stake in Maple Gold Mines from 12% to 19.9% in June 2024 and is advancing projects like the Odyssey mine at the Canadian Malartic complex, expected to produce 500,000 ounces by 2030. Overall AEM ranks 9th on our list of the best gold mining stocks to buy. You can visit 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in to see the other gold mining stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of AEM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AEM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These 10 Stocks in June. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will be released from Russia in a prisoner exchange that was announced Thursday, according to senior officials in the Biden administration, CBS News reported. Gershkovich and Whelan were imprisoned on espionage charges that were broadly seen as fabricated. Kurmasheva was detained on charges of ostensibly spreading false information about the Russian army. The Wall Street Journal reporter was taken into Russian custody while on assignment in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court in July following a rushed trial that the U.S. denounced as a scam. Whelan was arrested during his travels in Russia to attend a friends wedding in December 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. Vladimir Kara-Murza is also a part of the agreement, according to a European official, Bloomberg reported. Kara-Murza, an activist with a dual Russian-British citizenship has been a campaigner against President Vladimir Putin for quite some time. She was given a record 25-year prison sentence on treason and other charges for criticizing Russias invasion of Ukraine, in April 2023. It is not yet clear what prisoners the U.S. has offered to hand over to Russia as part of the deal. However, CNN reported that three Russian nationals serving federal prison sentences were transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in apparent preparation for a swap. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, speaking last month at the Aspen Security Forum, said that the Biden administration was determined to make a deal with Russia happen, CBS News reported. "I will consider it one of the most important things between now and the end of the year, and especially now at the end of the month, for us to try to get something done where we can get him home," Sullivan said, referring to Gerkshovich In May, Donald Trump who enjoys warm relations with the Russian president claimed that Gershkovich would only be released if he won the 2024 election. The GOP candidate made his assertion in a late-night Truth Social post, writing: "Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else." Thursdays massive multi-country prisoner swap with Russia touted by the US as the largest since the end of the Cold War marked a major diplomatic achievement and legacy-defining moment for President Joe Biden less than six months before he leaves office. The prisoner exchange, which included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, was Bidens first major foreign policy action since announcing last month he was ending his reelection bid and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris. The agreement involved months of complex negotiations with allies and adversaries alike, involving seven countries and 24 prisoners. Biden and Harris greeted Whelan, Gershkovich and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday night after the freed Americans had touched down on US soil. Their families were also waiting on the tarmac to receive them. I was absolutely convinced we could get it done, Biden told reporters after watching the emotional family reunions. I meant it when I said, Alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us, and it mattered a lot. Flanked earlier in the day by the families of the prisoners who were released, Biden spoke from the White House and praised the US alliances that helped make the deal possible an implicit knock of Donald Trumps criticisms of NATO in a moment that injects a new dynamic into the presidential race between the former president and Harris. Anyone who questions if allies matter: They do, Biden said, raising his voice. They matter. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world. Friends you could trust, work with, and depend upon, especially in matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this. Trump questioned the deal and what was given up in the exchange, calling the negotiators an embarrassment. Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps, Trump wrote on Truth Social. They are extorting the United States of America. Theyre calling the trade complex Thats so nobody can figure out how bad it is! Trump said in an interview on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show later Thursday, They allowed some really rough people out. The prisoner swap with Russia was just one of multiple foreign policy dilemmas that have vexed Bidens presidency, from a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to helping Ukraine keep up its fight against Russia. As he passed the baton to Harris last month, he said he would spend the last six months in office continuing to try to solve all of these issues. The presidents efforts to finalize the deal were ongoing even as he was preparing to drop out of the 2024 race. About an hour before Biden posted a letter making that announcement less than two weeks ago, for instance, he had been on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart to urge them to help push the deal over the finish line, according to a senior administration official. Biden also had multiple conversations about the deal with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, including when the chancellor visited the Oval Office in February. Convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed in Germany, was critical to getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a deal. Coming fewer than 100 days before Election Day, the prisoner swap is already playing into the 2024 campaign. Trumps running mate suggested that the potential for the former president to return to office had prompted Putin to agree to the swap. We have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think its because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trumps about to be back in office, so theyre cleaning house, Ohio Sen. JD Vance said in an interview with CNNs Steve Contorno on Thursday. Thats a good thing, and I think its a testament to Donald Trumps strength. Trump had previously suggested that he was the only one who could get Putin to release Gershkovich. In a May Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the Wall Street Journal reporter will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING! Trump said. As he finished his remarks Thursday, Biden was asked by reporters what he would say to Trump about his claims he could get the swap done without giving up anything. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden said before turning to leave the room. While Gershkovich was imprisoned by Russia in 2023, Whelan has been in custody since 2018, when Trump was still in office. A White House official told CNN that Harris played a role in the diplomatic efforts to get Germany on board with the swap. When Harris attended the Munich Security Conference in February, she asked staff to leave the room while wrapping up a meeting with Scholz. Just one aide each for the vice president and the chancellor remained. It was in this private conversation that Harris emphasized that the release of Krasikov would be critical to a deal, a White House official told CNN. Harris pressed Scholz to facilitate the release of Krasikov, whom US officials have said was the biggest fish the Russians wanted. Today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is finally over, Harris told reporters Thursday. Over many years, President Biden and I and our team have engaged in complex, diplomatic negotiations to bring wrongfully detained Americans home. We never stopped fighting for their release. The prisoner swap required making hard choices for Biden and the other countries involved, in what amounted to a release of dissidents held by Russia in exchange for criminals. The massive swap was the result of months of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia and Germany and several other countries, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to release Moscows key demand of Krasikov. At least seven countries played a role in the expansive deal. A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including four Americans. In addition to Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, was also freed. A senior administration official defended the release of Krasikov as part of the deal. He was certainly the biggest fish that the Russians wanted back. Nobodys turning a blind eye to his crimes and to his connection to Russian intelligence services. But look, in order to secure the release of innocent people overseas and innocent Americans, you have to make some tough decisions, the official said. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs MJ Lee, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Ivana Kottasova, Alex Marquardt, Betsy Klein, Donald Judd, Sam Fossum, Steve Contorno, Kit Maher and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Joe Bidens administration is pushing ahead on sweeping student loan forgiveness for more than 25 million Americans this fall. The administration has already begun notifying those who may qualify for potential federal debt relief targeting people with runaway interest or those who have been paying back loans for decades, mainly low-income individuals. U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a one-on-one interview with The Bee that continuing to work on federal student debt cancellation was common sense and having people owe more than they took out to go to college was criminal. Its common sense, first of all, that you shouldnt have to be sentenced to life in payment for a loan that you took out to help make yourself, invest in yourself, to make your community better. That just doesnt make sense to me, Cardona said. I also believe its a national security issue. The more we have an educated workforce, the more were able to compete. Beginning this week, the Education Department is emailing federal borrowers about the potential relief. Anyone who does not want it must notify their student loan servicer by Aug. 30. If someone opts out, they cant opt back in. The Education Department plans to send more information this fall. Even if a borrower is emailed about the relief now, it does not automatically mean they qualify assuming the rule can go into effect as written. It still isnt finalized, and it could be held up by anticipated Republican lawsuits. If it can be implemented, eligible borrowers dont have to take any action to have either partial or full debt erasure, Cardona said. This early email, prefacing relief before the rulemaking process is complete, suggests the administration will move swiftly to wipe debt once it is finalized. Quick implementation might be crucial to the administrations effort, given Republican-led lawsuits over the past couple of years have held Biden from delivering on some federal student debt forgiveness plans. In 2022, Biden announced a wide-ranging plan to forgive up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers who received a federal grant meant for low-income students and up to $10,000 for borrowers who earned below a certain income. The plan relied on an emergency relief statute, with the administration citing coronavirus pandemic hardships. GOP-led states sued, claiming the president overreached his authority and that the plan would injure student loan servicers. In 2023, the Supreme Court agreed that Biden couldnt implement the plan. Last month, amid Republican states legal action, a federal court temporarily halted Bidens new income-driven repayment plan that allowed many enrollees cheaper or zero monthly payments and quicker routes to debt cancellation. An income-driven repayment sets monthly payments intended to be affordable based on someones income and family situation. New directions Since the Supreme Court overruled the Biden administrations sweeping debt cancellation plan, officials have been working on a new pathway for broad student forgiveness. The administration released its first set of draft rules for this upcoming relief plan in April. If carried out as planned, relief would likely come shortly before the November election. Republicans called this an election-year ploy in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out, and former President Donald Trump. The Biden-Harris administration continues to dangle loan forgiveness in front of millions of borrowers across the nation, House Education and Workforce Committee chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said in a statement Wednesday. This is just another illegal scheme intended to buy votes in November, and it will do nothing to address the student loan disaster that Biden-Harris has exacerbated. Cardona said that he hopes Republican congressional lawmakers discuss why they dont support student debt forgiveness with constituents in August, while they are in their home states rather than on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. We anticipate that our Republican friends are going to try to block it or sue it, Cardona said of the plan. But now that they have plenty of time theyre on recess, our folks from the Hill I invite them to meet with their constituents to communicate why they think its not important that they receive debt relief. Who could benefit? Despite roadblocks, the Biden administration has so far canceled about $168 billion in federal student loan debt for almost 4.8 million borrowers, including for people working in public service, on income-driven repayment plans or who were defrauded by for-profit colleges. If this rule can go into effect as written, Cardona said the number of borrowers made eligible for student debt relief during this administration will balloon to over 30 million. Full or partial relief under the potential rule would go to the following people, according to the Education Department: Borrowers who owe more now than they did at the start of repayment due to interest, which the Education Department estimates impacts almost 23 million borrowers. Its almost criminal to see that people who have paid over $200,000 in debt for loans that were $60,000 are still being asked to pay loans, Cardona said. Borrowers who have only undergraduate loans and have been paying on them for over 20 years and borrowers with at least one graduate loan who have been paying for more than 25 years, which the Education Department anticipates affects 2.6 million people. Borrowers who are eligible for relief under an income-driven repayment plan, a closed-school discharge or other opportunities, but have not applied for it yet. Borrowers who enrolled in low-financial value programs an institution that failed to provide sufficient value or didnt meet the departments accountability standards. Cardona said that the Education Department has put almost $15 billion back into Californias economy through the administrations debt relief efforts. These are educators that are now getting debt relief and putting money back into the local economy, buying a home or starting a small business, or helping their children go to college, Cardona said. Those are the stories that Im hearing. South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace demanded to know what President Joe Biden was up to on Thursday, only to be brutally reminded that he does, in fact, still have a job. Shortly after Biden announced that he would no longer be running for president, MAGA Republicans immediately started pushing a conspiracy theory that he was dead or incapacitated, demanding he show proof of life. Despite the fact that Biden appeared on television within days of the announcement, it seems like Republicans just cant get used to not seeing his face every day. Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it? Mace wrote on X Thursday morning. A sentiment of heartwarming concern, to be sure. Of course, on Thursday, the White House announced Biden had helped to organize the release of 16 hostages from Russia, including three American citizens and one American green card holder: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza. The Biden-Harris White House made sure to keep Mace updated on the presidents schedule. Hes been busy, the White House wrote on X, quote-tweeting Mace. The account included a screenshot of a post from Biden, who met with the families of the released American hostages in the Oval Office. Screenshot of a tweet Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom. These families never lost hope. And today, theyll each be reunited with the missing piece of their soul, Biden tweeted. In the end, the Case of the Missing Biden had a simple solution: He was in his office. Likely place for him to be. US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the release of US citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan was part of a larger prisoner exchange his administration negotiated. The president, in a statement, said a total of three US citizens and one US green card holder, or permanent resident, "are finally coming home." They "were unjustly imprisoned in Russia." In addition to Geshkovich and Whelan, he named Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza. The latter is a Russian activist who was reported recently to have been in poor health. Biden said, "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy." Biden said his government negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens "who were political prisoners in their own country." The US president expressed his gratitude to US allies "who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome - including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. He said his administration will continue to work to free "all those wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world." (Bloomberg) -- The historic prisoner swap that brought about the release of US journalist Evan Gershkovich and 15 others was made possible by a personal promise German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made to US President Joe Biden during a White House visit. But until Thursday, it was far from clear the plan would succeed. Most Read from Bloomberg During the Feb. 9 trip, Biden appealed to Scholz to release Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian killer serving a life sentence for murder in Germany, as part of a complex six-country arrangement. The German leader was reluctant at first: Krasikov had gunned down a Chechen separatist in 2019 in broad daylight in Berlins Tiergarten park, supposedly at the personal order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end, Scholz conceded, based on a warm relationship with the US president that has led the chancellor to describe Biden as a close friend. It was two guys actually trying to figure out a solution, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday after the deal was unveiled. That was the nature of all of the conversations, and ultimately, the chancellor was able to say to the president, Lets do this. Scholz had agreed to the prisoner swap on the assumption that it would also involve Russian activist Alexey Navalny, who died a week later while imprisoned in Russia. When Navalny died on Feb. 16, Sullivan happened to be meeting with Gershkovichs parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, a senior US administration official said. The Wall Street Journal reporter was being held in Russia on espionage charges charges that he and the Journal reject. The national security team worried that Navalnys death would impact their efforts to secure the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American held prisoner in Russia, the official said. But Sullivan stressed to Evan Gershkovichs parents that he still saw a path forward. Shortly after, Putin made it clear in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that any deal would be contingent on Krasikovs release. We have certain conditions that are being discussed through channels between special services, Putin said. I believe an agreement can be reached. In April, Sullivan drafted a proposal for Scholz on Bidens behalf that reflected more than a years worth of work by the White House national security team, according to the senior US official. Meanwhile, German officials repeatedly denied reports that Krasikov might be part of a deal. Scholz declined to comment on the matter whenever he was asked about it. Final arrangements came together on July 21, after Biden called Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob urging him to help seal the deal by releasing two Russians held as spies in that country, according to a US official. It was an intense day for the 81-year-old president. About an hour later, Biden announced he was ending his reelection campaign. Scholz broke his silence Thursday evening, interrupting his summer vacation to welcome German nationals released as part of the exchange. Nobody took the decision lightly to let go a murderer serving a life sentence after only a few years, Scholz said at the Cologne, Germany, airport. But the governments obligation to protect its citizens, and solidarity with the US, mattered more, he said. Biden said Thursday he owes Scholz a great sense of gratitude. The demands they were making of me required me to get some significant concessions from Germany, which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question, the president said at the White House. --With assistance from Jordan Fabian. (Updates with Scholz comments starting in 13th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a press statement at the Cologne/Bonn international airport, after German political prisoners have been released in one of the biggest prisoner swaps between Russia and the West. Christoph Reichwein/dpa-Pool/dpa US President Joe Biden thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his contribution to the large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia involving 26 detainees and several countries. "I particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to the chancellor," Biden said during a press conference in Washington on Thursday. "The demands [Russia was] making of me required me to get some significant concessions from Germany, which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question," Biden said. But in the end, Germany made its contribution, as did several other countries involved in the negotiations. "But everybody stepped up. Poland stepped up. Slovenia stepped up. Turkey stepped up. And it it matters to have relationships. It really does. These things matter," Biden said. As part of the deal, Germany released convicted Russian murderer, Vadim K, who was serving a life sentence for killing an exiled Chechen in broad daylight in a central Berlin park in 2019 - on the orders of Russian state authorities. When asked what Germany had demanded in return for its own cooperation, Biden said, "Nothing." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a press statement at the Cologne/Bonn international airport, after German political prisoners have been released in one of the biggest prisoner swaps between Russia and the West. Christoph Reichwein/dpa-Pool/dpa President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed the release of four Americans from Russia as part of one of the biggest and most complex prisoner swaps in U.S. history. Now their brutal ordeal is over, and theyre free, Biden said in a speech from the White House State Dining Room, flanked by family members of the released prisoners. Its an incredible relief. The freed Americans include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. Gershkovich had been held in Russia for over a year on espionage charges, while Whelan was arrested in 2018 after being accused of spying. Biden had unsuccessfully sought their release for much of his presidency, pursuing talks with Russia that progressed for months in fits and starts. It took the eventual participation of several other allies to clinch an agreement, Biden said, calling it a prime example of the value of the global relationships that hes made central to his foreign policy. The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship, Biden said, taking a thinly veiled shot at former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who have advocated for a more isolationist approach to the world. For anyone who questions whether allies matter: They do matter. The prisoner swap involved 24 people held across five countries and required Germanys crucial decision to release Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in Russias secret service who was jailed for life in 2019 after killing a Chechen dissident. Biden was expected to personally thank the leaders of Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey on Thursday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. Biden, during his remarks, acknowledged Germanys significant concessions, praising the U.S.s allies for doing what was necessary to free the four Americans and 12 Germans held in Russia. The president also expressed a measure of satisfaction that the deal happened on his watch after Trump had criticized the administration for failing to secure Gershkovichs release and claimed that hed get it done if elected in November. My administration has brought home over 70 Americans that were wrongly detained or held hostage abroad, many from before I took office, Biden said. Asked later what he thought of Trumps claim that he wouldve secured the release of the prisoners without giving up anything in return, Biden said: Why didnt he do it when he was president?" Biden did acknowledge the price that the U.S. paid as part of the deal, which involved releasing seven Russians in addition to Krasikov. And while he expressed hope that the deal would improve relations with Russia, he gave few indications that it would. I dont need to speak to Putin, he said when asked if hed now be willing to speak directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that the administration would continue to advise people not to go to certain countries to avoid the need for more prisoner swaps. Still, those tough calls to release Russian criminals, he argued, were worth the return of several innocent Americans. Theres nothing that matters to me more than protecting Americans at home and abroad, Biden said. This is a good day. At the moment Biden received word from the plane in Ankara, Turkey, that the exchange was complete, he invited the former hostages family members into the Oval Office to inform them, Sullivan said. Biden then called Gershkovich, Whelan and journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza to welcome them almost home. They never gave up hope. I cant imagine what theyve been through, Biden said of the jailed Americans families. I cant imagine their joy right now, their hope. Biden set to speak first at Chicago DNC as he gives up his spot on top of the ticket Joe Biden will headline the opening night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, after giving up his spot on the top of the partys ticket. The president is expected to deliver a prime-time address on Monday, August 19, and will then hand over the keys to Kamala Harris the now-presumptive Democratic nominee. Monday is going to be Joes night, then hes going to hand over the keys, a source told CNN. According to the outlet, the speech will discuss the countrys transition from the Covid-19 pandemic era and bring the focus onto the vice president. Harris faces an imminent virtual roll call, during which party delegates will pledge themselves and likely nominate her as the official Democratic candidate before the convention even begins. The president is expected to deliver a prime-time address on Monday August 19 at the convention in Chicago, Illinois (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) An in-person roll call and her subsequent nomination at the DNC will be largely ceremonial. She will then give a speech on Thursday, the final day of the convention. Bidens address will not be the first time an outgoing president has opened the DNC. During the 2000 convention, outgoing president Bill Clinton, who was not up for reelection, delivered the opening remarks before passing the torch to his then-VP Al Gore, who went on to face George W Bush. Barack Obama also did not deliver the opening remarks to the 2016 convention, instead speaking on the last day to promote Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate. It comes as the Harris campaign seems to be gathering strength and momentum. Fresh polls show that she has made gains on Bidens top performance in all swing states except Pennsylvania, the presidents home state. Ahead of the DNC, fresh national polls indicate that Kamala Harris is securing a lead over Donald Trump at this stage in the race. (AP) The latest slew of national polls also indicate that Harris is securing a lead over Donald Trump at this stage in the race. Harris has led over Trump in four major polls taken over the past five days, though the race remains tight, with an average of 45.3 percent to Trumps 43.8 percent. Donations towards the vice presidents operation have also continued to flow, after pulling in a whopping $81m on the first official day of campaigning. According to the Harris for President campaign, that sum reflected money raised across the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees, and includes 888,000 grassroots donors, a full 60 percent of whom gave for the first time this cycle. David McNew/Getty Images The Biden administrations new Title IX rules protecting students on the basis of gender identity go into effect today but only in about half of the U.S., as court-issued preliminary injunctions have blocked the new rules in many Republican-led states. The new rules, which were first proposed in 2022, clarify that students are protected from discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and allow transgender students to use bathrooms and other gendered facilities that best match their gender. The update also rolls back a Trump-era amendment that required in-person hearings for allegations of sexual abuse. But it does not include equal-access protections for trans student athletes, which some sources have alleged was too much of a hot topic for Biden to broach during an election year. But although the new rules officially take effect today, August 1, a series of judicial decisions over the past several months have held up their implementation across more than half of the country. At least 26 states have now received preliminary injunctions blocking the Department of Education from enforcing the new rules within their borders. One of those injunctions came with mere hours before the rules would have gone into effect. A day after Judge Annemarie Axon (a Trump appointee to Alabamas Northern District) issued an excoriating 122-page decision rejecting four states request for a preliminary injunction on all fronts, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the injunction in just 129 words on July 31, giving no explanation for why Axons decision was reversed. (Earlier this year, the 11th Circuit also ruled against a trans man who sued his school for requiring him to use female-designated facilities after coming out, in an ideologically driven decision the plaintiffs lawyer called abhorrent.) At time of writing, the new Title IX regulations are blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Republicans hold the attorney generals office in each of those states. Biden Issues Pardon for Veterans Convicted Under Military Law That Banned Gay Sex The pardon is expected to impact thousands of veterans. The scattershot nature of those rulings has stirred up chaos among educators and Title IX coordinators, many of whom are still unsure about how to maintain compliance as schools prepare to reopen in a matter of weeks. Some aspects of the injunctions have made the process even more difficult to track, let alone enforce. The injunction issued in Kansas by Judge John Broome, for example, not only blocks the new rules in that state, but in any school attended by a member of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as any school attended by a minor child of a member of Moms for Liberty, even across state lines. Its a mess. Like honestly, its a complicated, constantly shifting mess, said Jon Fansmith of the American Council on Education in comments to the Washington Post this week. Schools arent sure what their obligations are. Brett Sokolow, chair of the Association of Title IX Administrators, also told the paper his members are absolutely freaking out over how to legally move forward with their jobs in the fall. Experts say that the Republican-led fight to defeat Title IX reform is part of a larger plan to overturn the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v Clayton County, which established that LGBTQ+ workers are protected under federal workplace nondiscrimination law. Theyre trying to carve out space so they could have these [anti-trans] laws in the future, Cornell constitutional law instructor Ezra Ishmael Young told The 19th in 2022, when the first legal challenges to Bidens proposals began. And theyre saying until we get the political power to pass these laws, which they might never have, we dont want the federal government doing what its doing. That makes no damn sense and thats destructive. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) stands against the other gold mining stocks. Gold has reached an all-time high, capping a 20-month rally with a 50% increase. Although the selling pressure from the retail investor would have an adverse affect on gold prices, however, this surge is driven by central banks buying record volumes of bullion mainly due to the desire to reduce dependence on US dollar, conflicts in the Middle East, and strong demand from Chinese consumers amid disappointing local equities, property, and currency markets. Furthermore, Chinese political leaders noticed that financial assets of the Russian government including bonds and reserves got confiscated by Western governments after Russia invaded Ukraine. Christopher Mancini, who co-manages Gabelli Gold Fund says The Chinese central bank saw that happened and said We dont want that to happen to us. It would make sense for them to want to significantly retire their [U.S.] dollar reserves. With gold, they dont have to worry about being repaid. We know they have been buying a consistent amount of gold every day. Bernard Dahdah from Natixis suggests central banks might continue buying gold due to tensions between the US and China, potentially making prices above $2,300 the new norm. The move to gold also reflects a broader trend of nations reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar, prompted by the dollar's use as a geopolitical tool against Russia, leading to gold prices reaching an all-time high of $2,480 per ounce on July 17, 2024. In U.S. the Fed is expected to cut the Fed funds rate, but inflation may remain steady, leading to lower real interest rates. This scenario benefits gold as the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold decreases compared to cash and bonds. Additionally, a decline in U.S. real interest rates may weaken the U.S. dollar, making gold, which is globally priced in dollars, more attractive. Owning gold directly provides a "store of value" but offers limited returns rather than generate substantial gains like equities. However, other than its appeal in its ability to preserve value, many investors view it as a hedge against economic troubles rather than a high-return investment. So an investor otherwise seeking gold as a soaring investment would be disappointed in the longer term as it doesnt appreciate by much as gold has risen less than 300% in a century with annualized real returns of 1.34%, adjusted for inflation. Therefore investors looking for a more aggressive approach, aim for gold mining stocks that provide leverage to the gold price that yields returns surpassing those of the underlying commodity. Story continues Despite this leverage, the underlying stock valuations will consider future cash flows and market volatility of the gold as well as the consensus price estimates by market participants. Nonetheless, gold miner stocks should be more volatile than gold itself, offering greater returns if the investor's thesis on rising gold prices is correct. Regardless of gold prices rising over the last 15 years, gold mining ETFs and major miners (Agnico, Newmont, Barrick) have underperformed compared to physical gold. Although some companies covered in this article have succeeded, the gold mining sector requires careful scrutiny beyond just reserves and production. Like any other investment that is carefully analyzed mining companies need to be analysed based on management, capital allocation, and geopolitical risk. It is also because of these factors that gold mining companies are unable to reach their potential as viable investments. Methodology To curate our list of 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we gathered a list of all companies using the holdings of gold miners ETFs. We then further narrowed down on the basis of their upside potential. With this lets now jump to our list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). Aerial view of a gold mine with equipment mining the earth for resources. Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) Current Price: $17 Upside Potential: 19.3% Alamos Gold Inc (NYSE:AGI) produced approximately 135,700 ounces of gold in Q1, marking a 6% increase from the same period last year and reported quarterly revenue of $280 million, a 10% increase from the previous year, and generated $24 million in free cash flow. The company is expanding its operations with the acquisition of Argonaut Golds Magino Mine, creating a Tier-1 scale mining complex in Ontario, Canada. This is expected to increase production to 600,000 ounces annually in the near term, potentially reaching 900,000 ounces long-term. This acquisition, including Argonaut Gold, is anticipated to generate $515 million in pretax synergies. Analysts predict Alamos Gold Inc will generate around $720 million in free cash flow by FY2028, driven by strong production at its PDA (Mulatos), Young-Davidson, Island Complex (Island/Magino), and Lynn Lake projects. Consequently, Wall Street analysts are optimistic about the stock's future performance. Overall AGI ranks 5th on our list of the best gold mining stocks to buy. You can visit 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in to see the other gold mining stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of AGI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AGI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These 10 Stocks in June. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Quaker Oats' decision to pull certain granola-based products from store shelves across the country in December 2023 was, at least as of this writing, the biggest recall in the company's history. But unsurprisingly, it was far from the first time the brand had to recall a food item. For a company like Quaker Oats, with roots that date back well over a century to 1877 when its name was first trademarked on cereal, at least one food product recall may well have been an inevitability over the course of such a lengthy existence. That said, more than just a few items have been recalled by Quaker Oats since food businesses in the U.S. started pulling products from shelves as part of official recalls that began in the 1970s. Food recalls generally fall under the oversight of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unless they involve meat, poultry, or processed egg products (those recalls are handled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture). The following is a list of some of the most impactful and widest-reaching Quaker Oats food product recalls in the history of the brand owned by Pepsico, from a cereal scare in the '90s to the one that started last year and expanded to encompass dozens of products. Naturally, some cases are more severe than others. Nevertheless, this list covers all of the biggest food recalls in the history of the Quaker Oats company, in reverse chronological order. Read more: Huge Mistakes Everyone Makes When Shopping At Sam's Club A Salmonella Scare Caused A Series Of Recalls In 2023 And 2024 two quaker chewy bar boxes - Jenari/Shutterstock The most recent food recall for Quaker Oats is actually a three-parter. The discovery of a potential risk from salmonella contamination prompted a recall in December 2023 involving about 40 granola-based products, including Chewy bars and some cereals. Products were distributed not just to all 50 U.S. states but to Puerto Rico, Guam, and Saipan as well. The recall's scope expanded significantly in January 2024 to include nearly two dozen other products, including more granola bars, some cereals, cereal bars, a protein bar, and a snack mix. Later that month, Quaker Oats added one more granola bar to the list. Beyond being a landmark moment for the company, it became one of the biggest food recalls for Target, which sold many of the products. Such a widespread recall ended up causing significant repercussions for Quaker Oats. First, the company's operating profits dropped, according to an earnings call, while certain expenses rose amid efforts to bounce back from the situation. In April, Quaker Oats confirmed that it would close the Illinois-based plant that was purported to be the source of the salmonella contamination. That plant had operated for about 65 years and employed more than 500 people. For what it's worth, there have been no reported illnesses resulting from salmonella in a Quaker Oats product, suggesting that the recall successfully mitigated any potential harm. Quaker Oats Recalled A Rice Cake Flavor Over Allergy Concerns In 2021 sweet barbecue rice crisps bag - Quaker Oats In early 2021, Quaker Oats initiated a recall of a specific flavor of its rice crisps bite-sized rice cakes that might serve as an alternative to potato chips. As it turned out, the company determined that snack-sized bags of its Sweet Barbecue Rice Crisps might contain soy ingredients, which the packaging failed to mention. Since undisclosed soy might pose a risk for customers with soy allergies or sensitivities, Quaker Oats decided to institute a voluntary recall of the product. This was not an altogether surprising determination, given that items with undeclared allergens account for some of the foods most likely to be recalled. Of course, in these sorts of cases, the product remains safe for anyone lacking an allergy to the offending ingredient, but the risk that it might unexpectedly trigger an allergy is enough to necessitate a recall. The distribution area for the recall covered 21 states and involved 4,550 bags of Sweet Barbecue Rice Crisps. These days, the ingredients list on the Sweet Barbecue Rice Crisps packaging is absent any soy products. It's unknown whether there was an error in production or a packaging gaffe or a change in the product's recipe that led to the recall. No illnesses were reported. A Salmonella Scare Came To Light In 2018 peanut butter crunch boxes - MDV Edwards/Shutterstock The 2023-24 product recall wasn't the first time Quaker Oats has had to take action due to the risk of salmonella. Another instance occurred in 2018, when the company instituted a recall of the Peanut Butter Crunch flavor of its signature Cap'n Crunch cereal. It's worth noting that this recall affected only five stores in three states. Nevertheless, the seriousness of the risk necessitated a recall all the same. People exposed to the salmonella bacteria can become ill and develop stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever. Certain populations, such as young children, people over age 65, and those with other health issues, may be at greater risk of more severe illness. In total, the 2018 recall affected Target stores in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and Wichita, Kansas, as well as P-Fresh stores in St. Louis and Blue Springs in Missouri. Furthermore, it was only 21 boxes of Peanut Butter Crunch Cap'n Crunch cereal produced during a specific period of time that were determined to be at risk of carrying salmonella. Quaker Oats was able to isolate the salmonella danger to that particular batch of cereal thanks to a sample taken at some point during the production process. This sort of sampling is a regular occurrence and presumably how the company is able to catch potential contamination risks in other cases. Thankfully, not one sickness resulting from a Peanut Butter Crunch Cap'n Crunch box carrying salmonella was reported. Listeria Risk Led To A Granola Bar Recall In 2016 chocolate nut medley quinoa bars - Quaker Oats In 2016, Quaker Oats recalled two specific quinoa-based flavors of its granola bars over concerns that they might carry listeria. That possible contamination was traced back to a company that supplied Quaker Oats with certain ingredients. It had apparently distributed sunflower kernels that could have potentially carried the bacteria. When Quaker Oats found out about the listeria risk, the company was able to withhold a significant number of the affected granola bar boxes from circulation. Nevertheless, a small quantity of Chocolate Nut Medley as well as Yogurt, Fruit & Nut flavors of the Quaker Quinoa granola bars with specific expiration dates were implicated. Since boxes of both relevant flavors were distributed nationwide, the recall had no geographical limitation despite what was otherwise a small scale. Listeria infections, for what it's worth, can cause intestinal symptoms but if the bacteria spreads to other areas of the body, it can become fatal in certain individuals, so even if the volume of product posing a danger was limited, that danger wasn't insignificant. Ultimately, the recall came and went without any customers reporting illnesses resulting from listeria bacteria in a Quaker granola bar. Undisclosed Allergens Caused A Product Recall In 2011 graham pretzel chewy smashbar box - Quaker Oats Before Quaker Oats decided to recall its Sweet Barbecue Rice Crisps in 2021 over undisclosed allergens, another shade of this same issue resulted in a product recall around September 2011. The recall involved an eight-count box of Quaker Chewy Smashbar Graham Pretzel bars. While the company didn't provide a specific number of boxes affected by the recall, those with 13 distinct best-before dates were implicated. The offending bars lacked text on the packaging that disclosed the possibility that they contained milk. Further necessitating the recall was one reported case of an adverse reaction from a customer with a milk allergy who promptly underwent treatment for their allergic reaction. Specifically, what Quaker Oats had failed to do was include the text "may contain milk" on the product's packaging. For what it's worth, such statements are voluntary and indicate a risk of allergens rather than a guarantee that a product will contain the listed allergen. Salmonella Concerns Led To A Pancake Mix Recall In 2008 aunt jemima mix on shelves - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The first time Quaker Oats instituted a product recall over the risk of salmonella was in 2008. In this case, it was three Pancake & Waffle Mix products from its Aunt Jemima brand (which, by the way, rebranded in 2021 to become the Pearl Milling Company) that were determined to potentially carry the bacteria. Included in the recall were Original, Original Complete, and Buttermilk Complete flavors of the Pancake & Waffle Mix, sold in both 2-pound and 5-pound quantities. As has been the case with similar product recalls, it wasn't every box of the three types of pancake mixes but only boxes produced during a certain period of time that were found to be a potential danger. Customers could determine whether a product fell within the purview of the recall based on its best-before date. Quaker Oats did report pulling a majority of the affected pancake mix boxes from circulation at the factory before they hit store shelves. The company estimated that roughly 1,000 boxes had been distributed to stores in 17 states that could potentially carry bacteria, prompting the official recall. That said, a statement the company published on its website at the time said the risk was limited to consuming the pancake mix raw or after cooking it for less than the recommend amount of time. Allergen Risk Caused An Oatmeal Recall In 2003 quaker oatmeal on shelves - Colleen Michaels/Shutterstock In 2003, Quaker Oats decided to recall 16-ounce boxes of a Quaker oatmeal flavor the company produced at the time called Brown Sugar Bliss. Necessitating the recall was the failure to declare that the product may contain almonds as an ingredient. Since this flavor is no longer in production, it's unclear whether almonds were an intended ingredient lacking representation on the oatmeal's packaging or mistakenly added to this particular oatmeal product's recipe. The affected boxes of Brown Sugar Bliss oatmeal were all produced at one plant in Sparks, Nevada, so it's also possible that equipment used in this oatmeal flavor came in contact with another product that did contain almonds. The recall covered about 23,000 cases of that oatmeal flavor distributed across the country with best-before dates limited to three days in September. Customers were encouraged to throw away the affected products and apply for a refund. Almonds are one of several varieties of tree nuts that can cause allergic reactions in some people. While different that peanut allergies, tree nut allergies can also cause severe symptoms. Anywhere from 70% to 90% of anaphylactic deaths involve a reaction to either peanuts or tree nuts, according to a 2018 review in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy. Concerns Over Allergens Also Led To A Recall In 2002 quaker apple cinnamon rice crisps - Quaker Oats Quaker Oats' recall of Brown Sugar Bliss oatmeal marked the company's second recall over an allergen risk in two years. In 2002, the recall involved Apple Cinnamon Quakes, a crispy rice-based snack product that is no longer in production. The company estimated that there were only about 50 to 100 cases of Quakes in circulation that needed to be recalled. At fault was the presence of a dairy product in the snack's flavoring component that somehow made its way into that batch of Quakes without proper labeling, though nobody reported any sort of allergic reaction. Given the small size of the batch, which was identifiable by a single best-before date, the presence of dairy in those Quakes bags seems to have been an error, as opposed to their packaging failing to mention an intended ingredient. In addition to encouraging consumers to return bags of Quakes implicated in the recall to the store from which it was purchased, Quaker Oats likewise urged stores to take the bags in question off of shelves. Quaker Oats Recalled Boxes Of A Few Cereal Brands After A Toy Injured Children In 1993 crunch berries boxes - ZikG/Shutterstock Prior to the 2000s, the reasons behind some of the recalls issued by Quaker Oats were of a markedly different nature than the scares over allergens or bacterial contamination. In 1993, Quaker Oats had to recall boxes of three different types of Cap'n Crunch cereal after a toy injured multiple children. The three cereals in question were Cap'n Crunch, Crunch Berries, and Peanut Butter Crunch. The offending toy, included in about 8.3 million cereal boxes distributed nationwide, was a sort of hollowed out half-sphere made of rubber called a popper. Used as intended, kids could invert the piece of rubber and place it on a hard surface. After a few seconds, it would snap back into its original shape, propelling itself into the air. However, some children opted to press the toy onto their faces or their eyes rather than a flat surface. Reported injuries ranged from bruises to bloodshot eyes. In total, 36 kids were injured before the cereal company recalled boxes of Cap'n Crunch and spinoff cereals containing the rubber toy. Parents who had already purchased boxes of cereal containing the toy were urged to throw the toy away. The company specified that the cereal itself was still safe to eat. Safety hazards are just one of the reasons that a lot of companies have stopped including toys in cereal boxes. Plus, the cheap toys just don't have the appeal they once did. Fears Over Granola Bars Containing Metal Resulted In Another 1993 Recall chocolate chip chewy bars shelved - The Image Party/Shutterstock Quaker Oats' cereal recall over the danger that its jumping rubber toy posed to children wasn't the company's only recall in 1993. About a month and a half prior to the toy debacle, Quaker Oats recalled a batch of Chocolate Chip Chewy granola bars. Rather than undeclared allergens or potentially harmful bacteria, the impetus for this decision was the possibility that the batch of granola bars at issue might contain pieces of metal. The source of the metal was not specified, but the danger that unexpected metal particulates in a food product might cause was plenty clear. In total, the recall's scope covered 1,600 cases of Chocolate Chip Chewy bars that were sent to stores in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. For what it's worth, at the time Quaker Oats issued this recall, the company claimed that the boxes of granola bars potentially containing metal fragments were likely not yet stocked on store shelves. It's possible, then, that some of the stores receiving boxes of the recalled product were able to return them before customers could even get their hands on any granola bars containing metal. There had been no customer complaints as of the time the recall was announced. Canned Beans Were Subject To A Recall Over Insufficient Processing In 1991 van camp's pork and beans - The Image Party/Shutterstock What appears to have been the earliest Quaker Oats food recall based on present-day public records was an instance in which the company recalled cans of beans and chili produced by then-subsidiary Stokely-Van Camp Inc. In total, 11 products under both the Van Camp's and Wolf labels were subject to the nationwide recall, ranging from the Van Camp's signature pork and beans product to Wolf brand chili with beans. The issue with those batches of canned beans and chili was an error at some point in the processing that was normally intended to prevent food spoilage in the relevant products. Due to insufficient exposure to heat, according to a company official at the time, those cans of beans were more likely to swell and develop harmful bacteria. The problem was discovered during a routine check at a manufacturing plant in Dallas. Customers at the time could identify whether or not a can of beans was a part of one of the relevant batches based on an alphanumeric product code. The company decided to take action before any illnesses were reported, and it seems that there were ultimately no illnesses from the cans of beans that lacked proper processing. Van Camp beans and Wolf Brand Chili remain in production to this day, but neither brand is currently owned by the Quaker Oats company. Read the original article on Mashed. Billions could be given to Fort Novosel, Lockheed Martin in Committee Defense Bill FORT NOVOSEL, Ala (WDHN) Fort Novosel, Lockheed Martin in Troy, and other military installations across the state could get billions from the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act. According to a release from Senator Katie Britt, Fort Novosel has been allocated $1.42 billion for flight training. This is a $32 million increase from last years DOD Appropriations Bill. The release goes on to say Troys Lockheed Martin facility will receive a total of $2,350,000,000: $247 million for twelve additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems $77 million for Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGMs) $896 million for Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASMs) $21 million for Hellfire missiles $284 million for Javelin missiles Alabama is at the forefront of Americas defensesbuilding the worlds arsenal, providing invaluable intelligence, training our airmen, and so much more. When I joined the Appropriations Committee, I promised I would bring home Alabamians hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Today, were doing not only that but also making strategic investments that would make our nation safer and give our troops a deserved pay bump, said Senator Britt. Along with Wiregrass-based facilities, $605 million will be allocated to the Missile Defense Agency, headquartered in Huntsville; $1.509 billion will go to the overhaul and maintenance of Army Vehicles at the Anniston Army Depot (ANAD); and $198 million in programmatic requests directly supported the Alabama defense small business industrial base. Sen. Britts office tells WDHN the bill has passed out of committee and will now head to the Senate for approval. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of Republican state attorneys general opposing the Treasury Department's opposition to state laws restricting banks from considering some factors when investing. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of attorneys general in a letter responding to the U.S. Treasury Departments opposition to state laws that restrict banks from considering social or environmental factors when investing. The Treasury Departments letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warned that these banking laws could hurt national security efforts to counter money laundering and terrorism financing. Birds letter, which was sent directly to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen and signed by 20 Republican state attorneys general, dismissed those concerns and accused the department of trying to stoke opposition to these laws. All of us oppose this latest attempt by the Biden-Harris Administration to fearmonger and stoke confusion about state laws to advance activists extreme agendas, the letter reads. The Treasury Departments letter singles out a recently passed law in Florida but other states like Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota have similar laws. These laws generally prevent banking institutions from denying financial services over non-measurable risks associated with social, environmental or governmental concerns. Proponents of these laws argue they are necessary to prevent banks from discriminating against those they politically oppose. Bird said in a press release that laws like Iowas or Floridas ensured banks couldnt use woke politics when determining who to work with and demanded that the department stop its fearmongering. The Biden-Harris administration is scheming to block state laws that ban banks from playing woke politics and discriminating against those they disagree with, Bird said in a press release. Americans need access to basic resources like bank accounts and debit cards to pay their bills and provide for their families. No one should be hung out to dry because they are on the wrong side of a banks woke politics. The Treasury Department wrote that these laws heighten the risk that international drug traffickers, transnational organized criminals, terrorists and corrupt foreign officials will use the U.S. financial system to launder money, evade sanctions, and threaten our national security. The letter from the attorneys general stands by those laws and alleges the department is using the concern over national security to promote woke political agendas. The Treasury Department has once again forsaken its statutory role and instead chosen to intervene on behalf of activists seeking to hijack the financial system for their political ends, the letter reads. It is even more disappointing that the Treasury Department would use national security as cover for large banks abuse of power to achieve those ends. States with attorneys general who signed the letter include Florida, Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Black Adults Are More Likely To Be Concerned About Pollution Black Adults Are More Likely To Be Concerned About Pollution | Photo: Getty Images Climate disasters last year set records. Not only was it the most expensive year in environmental emergencies, racking up $92.9 billion in damages, but also projected the highest number of likely heat-related deaths since 1987. As climate disasters become more frequent, disparities in where these disasters are striking and who is most impacted underscore the relationship between current community concerns and the historical relationship between production, marginalized people and the environment. A 2023 Gallup poll surveyed 12,684 U.S. adults over the age of 18 regarding their concerns about environmental contamination in their community and how pollution has impacted their livelihood. Across categories, Black Americans were more likely to be concerned about four types of environmental contamination than any other demographic. 39% of Black adults responded being very or fairly concerned about exposure to toxic building materials, nearly double the national average. The numbers only increased for water, soil, and air pollutionthe latter in which 53% of Black adults expressed increased concern, compared to 35% of White adults. These heightened levels of concern correlate directly with likelihood of exposure34% of Black adults experienced acute environmental crises including water boil advisories, chemical spills, and radiation leaks within the year of being surveyed, compared to 28% of White and Hispanic adults. The study also found that 14% of Black adults reported either temporary or permanent relocations due to harmful pollution in their local area. The national average was 9%. The modern analysis of heightened community concerns regarding the environment could be explained by the history of localities disproportionately susceptible to environmental crises and contamination. These areas, often populated by marginalized people, are known as sacrifice zones. A combination of concentrated industrial production and popularized redlining brewed a perfect storm for racialized sacrifice zones. According to ProPublica, cancer risk from industrial air pollution in majority-Black census tracts is more than double that of majority-white tracts. One of the most infamous sacrifice zones, known as Cancer Alley, is an 85-mile stretch in Louisiana brimming with petrochemical production facilities. Some communities along this industrial corridor, composed of 81% Black Americans, have a risk for cancer 50 times the national average, according to The Guardian. These sacrifice zones exist all around the countrycommunities in places like Institute, West Virginia have a cancer risk 36 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) level of acceptable risk. In Institute, Black community members have warned about carcinogens produced by the nearby Union Carbide manufacturing plant for years. As of 2023, it is one of just two majority-Black communities in the state of West Virginia. Key agencies and environmental protection organizations have outright acknowledged the increased exposure to polluted communities Black Americans face. Research from the EPA found that people of color increase higher air pollution exposure regardless of region or income; the American Lung Association acknowledged housing and land bias as a source of this major health disparity. Black adults exhibited concern for pollution exposure may not regard the risk of contamination as a distant hypothetical but as a very real and probable threat that has plagued communities for generations. 71 more products were added to the list. Boar's Head/Allrecipes According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS), the Boar's Head Provisions Co. recall has been expanded to include dozens of additional products totaling over 7 million pounds of deli meat. Boar's Head, along with the FSIS, issued an update to the previous recall of over 200,000 pounds of deli meat due to possible Listeria contamination. Testing has been ongoing since the original investigation of a nationwide Listeria outbreak began. Since then, "Whole genome sequencing results show that a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes," the FSIS said in a statement. Because the bacteria is so easily transmissible, anything containing or produced on the same production line and on the same day as the affected liverwurst is now being recalled out of an abundance of caution. Which Boars Head Deli Meats Are Part of the Expanded Recall? This expansion includes 71 products intended for slicing at retail delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products. The affected meats were produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boars Head and Old Country brand names. The sell by dates range from July 29, 2024, through Oct. 17, 2024, and bear the establishment number EST. 12612 or P-12612 inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. The products subject to recall were distributed to retail locations nationwide, and some were exported outside of the U.S. as well, to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. Some examples of the larger quantities shipped out include the following labels: Boar's Head Hot Butt Cappy Ham (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 09-SEP-24) Boar's Head Sweet Slice Ham Half (Selly by: 29-JUL-24 to 13-SEP-24) Boar's Head Tavern Ham (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 11-SEP-24) Boar's Head Olive Loaf (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 06-SEP-24) Boar's Head Bologna Thin Half (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 09-SEP-24) Boar's Head Beef Bologna (Sell by: 29-JUL-24 to 09-SEP-24) Boar's Head SmokeMaster Beechwood Smoked Black Forest Ham Whole (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 11-SEP-24) Boar's Head Sweet Slice Ham Service Case (Sell by: 30-JUL-24 to 13-SEP-24) Boar's Head Tavern Ham Whole (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 11-SEP-24) Boar's Head Brown Sugar & Spice Delight Off the Bone Ham (Sell by: 31-JUL-24 to 09-SEP-24) Boar's Head Skinless Beef Franks, 12-ounce (Sell by: 30-JUL-24 to 14-SEP-24) Boar's Head Natural Casing Beef Franks, 8/1, 14-ounce (Sell by: 30-JUL-24-15 to SEP-24) Boar's Head Bratwurst, 1-pound (Sell by: 29-JUL-24 to 17-OCT-24) Old Country Tavern Ham (Sell by: 30-JUL-24 to 08-SEP-24) The full product list is available on the FSIS site, and labels can be viewed here. As of July 30, the CDC has identified 34 sick people in 13 states, 33 hospitalizations, and two deaths related to this nationwide Listeria outbreak. If you believe you have purchased any of the recalled products, you are urged to dispose of them or return them to the place of purchase, and to clean out your refrigerator thoroughly to prevent the risk of cross-contamination. Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Boars Head Provisions Co., Inc., Customer Service at 1-800-352-6277. Listeria can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems. It is particularly risky during pregnancy. If you believe you have consumed any of the recalled products and are experiencing flu-like symptoms, you're encouraged to contact your healthcare provider and seek medical care. Read the original article on All Recipes. Fact checked by Nick BlackmerFact checked by Nick Blackmer Key Takeaways Boars Head has recalled over 7 million pounds of deli meat due to potential Listeria contamination in a deadly outbreak. The recalls affect 71 products produced between May 10 and July 29, 2024, with sell by dates from July 29 to October 17, 2024. Boars Head has issued recalls for over 7 million pounds of deli meat products due to potential Listeria contamination in a deadly outbreak. The recalls involve 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, including liverwurst, salami, bologna, ham, and roasted bacon. These deli meat products are linked to a multistate Listeria outbreak that has hospitalized 33 people and killed two. The issue was identified when a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. The products have sell by dates from July 29 through October 17 this year. They were distributed to stores and deli counters nationwide and exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. According to a statement by Boars Head, the affected products were produced at a Jarratt, Virginia facility. The company has recalled all items produced at the facility and paused its ready-to-eat operations. No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for the families that have suffered losses and others who endured illness, the company said. If you purchased any of the recalled products, you should discard the items and thoroughly clean the refrigerator. You can also bring the items back to the store where you purchased them for a full refund. If youre unsure whether your products are affected by this recall, check for the USDA mark of inspection for establishment numbers EST. 12612 or P-12612. Listeria is a type of bacteria commonly found in soil, water, and some animals. It can also be present in raw milk or products made from raw milk. It primarily spreads through contaminated food during processing. Refrigeration does not kill Listeria, but reheating to a high enough temperature will kill any germs that may be on these meats. Symptoms of a mild intestinal Listeria infection usually develop within 24 hours of consuming contaminated food and last for one to three days. In more severe cases where the infection spreads beyond the intestines, symptoms can appear one to four weeks after exposure, though they may begin as late as 70 days later. Healthy individuals infected with Listeria may only show mild, flu-like symptoms such as fever and headache, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. A severe case can cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. Listeria is especially harmful to pregnant people, people 65 or older, and those with a weakened immune system. While pregnant people may not show symptoms, Listeria could lead to miscarriage, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in the newborn. What This Means For You If you have purchased any Boars Head deli meat recently, check your refrigerator for products with the specified USDA inspection numbers and dates. Discard or return any affected items immediately, as Listeria can cause severe illness, particularly in older adults, pregnant people, and those with weakened immune systems. To minimize the risk of infection, thoroughly clean your refrigerator and surfaces the products may have touched Read the original article on Verywell Health. Authorities said it's unclear what caused them to fall, proposing that it might have been the result of human error or a potential rockslide Getty Two Austrian mountaineers have been found dead in the Italian Alps after being reported missing. On Thursday, Aug. 1, the climbers' bodies were located dangling from their climbing ropes at an altitude of roughly 2,000 meters (about 6,600 feet), according to a translated Facebook post from the emergency rescue service Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico Friuli Venezia Giulia. The mountaineers, both from Villach, Austria, were climbing the Cima di Riofreddo mountain in the Julian Alps, which stretch from Northern Italy to Slovenia. Their loved ones attempted to reach them by phone when they didnt return, per the statement. The rescue service said that it is unclear what caused the fall, suggesting that it couldve been the result of human error or a potential rockslide. Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico Related: 5 People Found Dead in Snow Cave After Going Missing on Ski Trip There were two rescue operations with a helicopter to recover the climbers. The bodies were located on the first mission, but they were unable to be recovered because of safety reasons. Around 5 a.m. local time, the second mission took off with rescuers and a helicopter technician on board, as well as 10 rescuers at the base camp for additional assistance. Prior to the rescue, the two climbers' vehicle was located in the parking lot, per the initial report. Related: YouTuber, 22, Dies Falling From Mountain While Filming Video: 'We Are in Great Grief,' Says Mom According to Summit Post, Cima di Riofreddo reaches an elevation of 8,225 feet and has "high walls and sharp ridges on all sides." According to the outlet, the mountain is difficult to climb as there isnt a marked path to reach its summit. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. That same day, the rescue service posted alerts for several other emergency situations, one of which involved a hiker who got stuck on the Tenente Ferrante di Ruffano climbing route. He was hanging with a safety cord after experiencing difficulties with his equipment. He was returned to safety by a group of rescuers. The other incidents involved a climber who had difficulties with a rocky wall at the shoulder of the Bila Pec mountain and a hiker who needed to be escorted to Piani del Montasio. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Democrat Trisha Calvarese holds an American Flag while campaigning in Douglas County on July 4, 2024, in the race for Colorado's 4th Congressional District seat. (Courtesy of Chas Goldman) When Lauren Boebert won the Republican U.S. House primary election in Colorados 4th Congressional District in June, news outlets nationwide declared that her efforts to remain in Washington D.C. for another term which included moving across the state, fending off a scandal at a Colorado theater and courting a different set of constituents had paid off. Political pundits expect the states most conservative district to stay solidly red, which would give Boebert an easy path to victory in the November election. A Democrat hasnt won the seat, which spans wealthy Douglas County on the Front Range, agricultural Weld County in the north, and the vast farmlands of the Eastern Plains, since 2008. The odds of a Democrat beating Boebert arent lost on her opponent, Trisha Calvarese, a native of Highlands Ranch and the daughter of two staunchly conservative Catholics. But to those whove written off a Democrats chance of winning, Calvarese says, Just because something hasnt been done, doesnt mean it cant. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX As of 2024, unaffiliated voters make up the largest voting bloc in Colorados 4th Congressional District, and Calvarese said that while Boebert may wait to ramp up her campaign until the end of the summer, shes not wasting any time between now and November. Everywhere I go, people tell me I cant win, Calvarese said. At an event called Parker Days in downtown Parker, women came up to me asking me why I was there if I already knew the outcome. Yet Calvarese believes that the race to win the seat in November is far from over, especially considering the fundraising momentum shes had since winning the primary. According to Chas Goldman, a consultant for Calvarese, her campaign has raised more than $750,000 since June 24, largely from individual contributions averaging $23 per donation. Boebert raised around $150,000 from June 1 to June 30, leaving her with nearly $530,000 in cash on hand, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, the most recent available. Goldman said Calvareses campaign now has more than $380,000 cash on hand, edging her closer to being able to match Boeberts spending. Goldman also noted in a statement that Trishas fundraising success comes on the heels of polling that shows her within striking distance of Lauren Boebert, with a clear path to victory in this race. The poll was conducted by Keating Research the same firm that correctly predicted Boeberts razor-close race in 2022. Boebert declined to comment for this story. County by county Calvarese and Boebert are the same age, 37, but they have vastly different backgrounds. Calvarese spent the last five years serving in various roles, including speechwriter at the National Science Foundation and director of speechwriting and communications at the AFL-CIO, a major federation of labor unions in the United States. Before entering politics, Boebert owned Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, known for its staffs open carrying of firearms. Calvarese decided to enter the race after Boebert announced in late December that she was leaving her current congressional district, the 3rd, to run for the 4th District seat, vacated by Republican Rep. Ken Buck upon his retirement. Calvarese said she felt called to step up after having moved home to Colorado to care for her terminally ill parents. Expanding access to health care for seniors is one of her main priorities. I started in January with zero name recognition and no campaign contributions. But, by picking up the phone and making call after call, I won my partys support, Calvarese said. I started in January with zero name recognition and no campaign contributions. But, by picking up the phone and making call after call, I won my partys support. Trisha Calvarese Her main primary opponent, Ike McCorkle, ran for the seat in 2020 and 2022 and had more than $300,000 cash on hand going into 2024. Yet, Calvarese said she believes she won the Democratic nomination for Colorados special election and topline billing on the primary ballot because of her experience in the nations capital and having grown up in the district. She said she also believes in good old-fashioned phone calling and face-to-face meetings. Calvarese plans to travel county by county to meet directly with voters. She said shes challenged Boebert to debate her at each stop. On the campaign trail In the span of one July weekend, Calvarese walked alongside longhorn cattle in the Larimer County Fair and Rodeo parade, volunteered at the Democrats booth during the Douglas County Fair, spent hours on Zoom calls, and attended meet-and-greets in constituents homes. She says shes focused on serving the needs of all of the districts constituents, regardless of their political ideology, and finding solutions that improve peoples lives in practical ways. Improving lives is precisely what voters wanted to talk about during a meet-and-greet Calvarese recently attended in a volunteers home in Loveland. The audience expressed concerns that workers in the countys oil and gas industry wouldnt have the skills necessary to transition to renewable energy jobs. Democrat Trisha Calvarese speaks during a meet-and-greet with Loveland residents at the home of a volunteer. (Suzie Glassman for Colorado Newsline) Referring to her experience leading communications for the energy and climate branch of the AFL-CIO, Calvarese agreed that labor would lead the pathway to a clean energy future but said it shouldnt come at the expense of coal miners and oil and gas folks. First, we need to ensure that job supplements are in place for anyone who needs to learn entirely new skills. And we need a representative who will fight to make Colorados Eastern Plains a leader in high-capacity electricity and storage, she said. Calvarese noted that Boebert voted against the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, legislation she helped pass while working in communications for Trump appointee Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. The act includes initiatives to develop a skilled workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Loveland voters also expressed concern about the countys lack of access to broadband internet and the need for federal money to help subsidize its expansion. Calvarese pointed to a recent incident in which Boebert had a medical emergency and could text her doctor to find care at a nearby hospital. Two-thirds of our district would not have had access to that type of care or direct access to the hospital, she said. Never mind that the overwhelming majority would not have even been able to make a phone call or send a text because we dont have the internet or cell service. Calvarese continued: Yet, Boebert was happy to benefit from all of those services in a privileged way while voting against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a bill that would invest in the nations infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and broadband. Calvarese then challenged Boeberts stance on abortion access, relaying a personal story about a time when her mother had to abort an ectopic pregnancy to save her life. This act made Calvareses life possible. As a result, Calvarese said shes not afraid to engage staunch conservatives on the subject. Douglas County has one of the highest rates of in vitro fertilization, and Boebert would take that away, she said. Calvarese was referring to Boeberts support for the Life at Conception Act, which primarily aims to grant legal personhood to embryos from the moment of conception. If the act became law, it could potentially have implications for in vitro fertilization practices. Calvarese also explained how Boebert voted against the Honoring Our PACT Act, which was a significant piece of legislation aimed at providing health care and benefits to veterans affected by toxic exposure, such as from burn pits used during military deployment. According to data from the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs, approximately 7.6% of the population in Colorados 4th Congressional District are veterans. This figure is slightly higher than the statewide average of 7.4% and above the national average of 6.2%. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday argued the Middle East is already in the middle of a wider war as concerns grow about an escalating conflict following the apparent assassination of a top Hamas political leader in Tehran this week. Bolton argued the larger regional conflict began after Oct. 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise assault on southern Israel, where they killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others. Were not dealing with conflict in Gaza or the conflict with Hezbollah and North Lebanon or a conflict with the Houthis closing the Red Sea or a conflict in Iraq with Shia militia, Bolton said Thursday on NewsNation. This is all an Iranian ring of fire strategy thats the Iranian name for it. Its been going on since at least Oct. 7, so weve been in a wider war since then, and unless the U.S. understands that directly, were going to be worse than useless in trying to deal with what the real threat is here, Bolton said. The real threat is the regime in Tehran. His remarks come a day after top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Wednesday while visiting for the inauguration of Irans new president. While Israel has not acknowledged the strike in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to seek revenge against Israel after Haniyehs death. I think its almost certain [Iran] will try something like that; it was a real humiliation for the Iranian regime that one of their terrorist commanders, in effect, was killed in Tehran. So I dont doubt that Iran will try to do something, Bolton said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday said the U.S. was not involved in the death of Haniyeh, and in fact had no advance knowledge of the operation. Haniyehs death followed an already tense week in the region, after Israel killed Fuad Shukr, the top military leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanons capital of Beirut. They are senior leaders of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, that Iran has been arming, equipping, training, financing and directing for years and years, decades in the case of Hezbollah, Bolton said. And they are the surrogate weapons really, that Iran intends to use against Israel and ultimately against the Arab states in the Persian Gulf. Thats why I say you cant look at this as discrete, unrelated, individual ad hoc conflicts. Its part of a bigger plan, the bigger plan comes from Tehran and thats what Israel is trying to respond to, Bolton said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The bomb used to assassinate a top Hamas leader this week was covertly planted months before it was detonated, officials told CNN and The New York Times. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh came as a shock to many in the Middle East early Wednesday morning, with the fatal blast taking place inside a heavily guarded complex in Iran. That complex was reportedly compromised two months prior, however, without the 62-year-olds knowledge. Officials did not tell the outlets how, exactly, the bomb was smuggled inside the compounds walls. Middle eastern officials told the Times the bomb was hidden away in a guesthouse used by Haniyeh that was run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Those officials also told the Times the bomb was detonated remotely, shaking the ground under the large compound known as Neshat, which is tucked away in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran. Iranian state media and Hamas had previously indicated that Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired from outside the building. Iranians attended a funeral for Ismail Haniyeh en masse on Thursday. Majid Asgaripour Haniyeh was visiting Tehran for its presidential inauguration at the time of the blast, which also killed a bodyguard. He reportedly frequented the guesthouse when he left his home in Qatar to visit Iran, a key Hamas ally. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the assassination, but has been widely considered to have been involved if not outright behind the attack. Both Iranian and Hamas officials have claimed Israel was responsible for the assassination and U.S. officials who spoke to the Times said theyd reached a similar assessment. The assassination threatens to usher in another wave of violence in the region, which has been unstable since war between Hamas and Israel broke out in Gaza, creating a humanitarian crisis there. Joe Biden and U.S. officials have called for a ceasefire for months, and Haniyeh had reportedly been a top negotiator in the ceasefire talks. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. had received no advance knowledge of an assassination plot from Israel. Mass protests broke out in capitals around the Middle East after Ismail Haniyehs assasination. In Amman, Jordan, demonstrators held up photos of Haniyeh and waved Palestinian flags Wednesday. Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters Three Iranian officials told the Times the slaying was a catastrophic failure of intelligence and security at the compound, which is used to house prominent guests like Haniyeh. The officials reportedly added that the assassination was a tremendous embarrassment to the compound guards. The blast rang out around 2 a.m. Wednesday, with Iranian authorities saying Haniyeh was killed instantly. The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, was staying next door, the Times reported, but his room was not badly damaged. 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. UPDATE: Dallas County Emergency Management reports that law enforcement has cleared the threat. It is now safe to re-enter the store. Original Story DALLAS COUNTY, Mo. Dallas County emergency management officials are reporting a bomb threat at the Walmart in Buffalo, Missouri. Officials say that authorities are on the scene and stay away until further notice. This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. said the US governments antitrust lawsuit accusing the tech giant of monopolizing the smartphone market bears no relation to reality and should be tossed out by a federal judge. Most Read from Bloomberg In a court filing, Apple denied allegations that it is a monopolist and said it is not required to give software developers more access to iPhones than they currently have. The company has set the terms for access to its own platform and technologies, Apple argued in its filing, but hasnt interfered or restricted third parties from dealing with its smartphone rivals. Those actions cant be challenged under US antitrust law, the company said. Apple faces robust competition from other smartphone manufacturers around the world, including Google and Samsung, company lawyers argued Thursday in federal court in Newark, New Jersey. The suit against the worlds most-valuable company came as the Biden administration made competition a cornerstone of its economic policy, with a primary focus on Silicon Valley. Apple, Alphabet Inc.s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. also face possible hefty fines as the European Union investigates their compliance with strict new laws reining in the power of Big Tech. In its motion to dismiss the US case, Apple argued the complaint fails to demonstrate that the companys conduct has harmed consumers a key component of antitrust cases. It is implausible to claim, as the government does, that Apple has deterred any customers from switching to Google or Samsung because of its policies with respect to super apps, cloud gaming, smartwatches, or anything else, according to the filing. In March, the US Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general sued Apple for allegedly blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its popular devices. The suit alleges Apple used its power over app distribution on the iPhone to thwart innovations that would have made it easier for consumers to switch phones. Antitrust enforcers alleged the company has refused to support cross-platform messaging apps, limited third-party digital wallets and non-Apple smartwatches, and blocked mobile cloud streaming services. The implausibility of the governments claim that Apples conduct has eroded smartphone competition is underscored by the complaints implicit recognition that the smartphone market exhibits ongoing innovation and vigorous competition, according to Apples filing. Story continues In addition to the competition Apple faces from other smartphone makers, third-party developers are flourishing on Apples platform, offering iPhone users a wide range of competitive choices, the company said. Companies typically ask judges to dismiss antitrust cases, though they rarely succeed in cases brought by the government. US District Judge Julien Neals, an appointee of President Joe Biden who joined the bench in 2021, is likely to hold a hearing on Apples request to dismiss the case later this year. The case is US v Apple, 24-cv-04055, US District Court, District of New Jersey. --With assistance from Mark Gurman. (Updates with details of filing) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. BPD searches for man suspected of forcing entry into a business BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for the publics assistance in identifying a man who forced his entry into a southwest Bakersfield business. Police say the man allegedly forced entry into the business, searched through various areas and left without any stolen property. The incident occurred on June 27 in the 6400 block of Ming Avenue. Police describe the man as 30 to 40 years old with a medium build and tattoos on both arms. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a black beanie, a white tank top, dark shorts and a black backpack. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Detective C. Jordan at 661-326-3859 or the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. Alex Beard was a part of the 'billionaire boy's club' who received large paydays from Glencore's London listing - GINNETTE RIQUELME/REUTERS A British billionaire who held a top role at the mining giant Glencore has been charged with conspiring to pay bribes in Africa along with four ex-colleagues. Alex Beard was one of the original members of the billionaire boys club who earned significant fortunes from Glencores stock market listing in 2011. He ran the companys oil business from a desk in London between 2007 and 2019, and is currently worth around $2bn (1.6bn), according to Forbes. But on Thursday, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it was charging Beard with making corrupt payments to benefit Glencores oil operations in West Africa. Former colleagues Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, Andrew Gibson and Martin Wakefield were charged with similar offences, with the latter two also accused of falsifying documents. The five men must appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Sept 10. Glencore's London listing was one of the City's biggest ever stock market floats - Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Contributor All are currently on bail with no travel restrictions. Beard, 56, faces two charges of conspiracy to make corrupt payments to government and state oil company officials in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014. Meanwhile, Hopkirk, 50, and Labiaga, 55, each face one charge of the same relating to officials in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014. Wakefield, 64, faces three charges of making similar payments to officials in Nigeria between 2007 and 2010, Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, and the Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010. And Gibson, 64, faces four charges for such payments to officials in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014 and the Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010. Gibson and Wakefield each face one further charge of conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011. Nick Ephgrave, the SFOs director, said: Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. Todays action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account. The SFOs announcement follows protracted court proceedings which at one point involved as many as 11 former Glencore staff members. Future hearings are set to take place about whether the others, who are currently protected by an anonymity order, can also be named. When Glencore listed in London with a valuation of 37bn in 2011, it was by far the Citys biggest ever stock market float. The deal triggered a huge payday for bankers, former Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg and loyal executives, such as Beard, who held shares in the mining and commodities company. According to reports at the time, Beards 4.6pc stake saw him make a paper fortune of about $2.8bn. He had joined Glencore in 1995 and helped to build the company into one of the worlds biggest oil-trading houses, before retiring in 2019. Asked once if Glencore traders had a work-life balance, Mr Glasenberg said: No. We work. You dont come here to take life easy. And we all got rich from it, so you know, theres a benefit from it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. British rock band 1975 lead singer Matt Healy (seen in Portugal in July 2016) has been sued in a British court by event organizers in Malaysia stemming from last year's same-sex kiss onstage with fellow band member Ross MacDonald. File Photo by Jose Sena Goulao/EPA-EFE Aug. 1 (UPI) -- British rock band The 1975 has been sued by event organizers in Malaysia stemming from the band's show last year in which two band members shared a same-sex kiss in violation of the country's strict laws on morality. A lawsuit filed July 23 in a British court by lawyers representing Future Sound Asia is seeking about $2.4 million in damages, contending the band breached its own contract that resulted in a financial loss for FSA, the organizer of the Malaysia-based Good Vibes Festival. Matthew Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel formed The 1975 in 2002 after meeting in high school. The group headlined the first day of the event in July last year when MacDonald and Healy shared a kiss onstage during their performance in Kuala Lumpur in protest of Malaysia's strict anti-LGBTQ laws, which still make same-sex relationships illegal. In 2018, a sharia court in Malaysia found two women -- then ages 22 and 32 -- guilty of attempting to have sex and caned them, a form of torture, as punishment inside a courtroom witnessed by more than 100 people. They also were fined 3,300 ringgit, or about $800 USD. Last year, Healy went onstage just prior to say he made a "mistake" for letting the band get booked for the event. "I do not see the [expletive] point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with," Healy said just before he and Macdonald kissed. The incident then promoted the country's minister of communications to call out the band on social media, saying the government's position "is very clear." "There is no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws," Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil posted on X at the time. The Malaysian government then cancelled the remainder of the 2023 festival the day after. Future Sound Asia claimed band members had planned to violate the rules ahead of time, which included restrictions such as kissing, swearing, removing clothes, drinking or smoking onstage and talking about politics or religion. The suit further alleges the band smuggled in wine to give Healy "easy access" to it, and that the group had been bound to the same contractual restrictions as its last performance at the festival in 2016, which stated that "flouting them will result in the event permit being revoked," according to the lawsuit. But in October, Healy defended the band while on stage in Dallas, Texas, saying that he and the other members did not enter Malaysia "unannounced," but instead "were invited to headline a festival by a government who had full knowledge of the band with its well-publicized political views and its routine stage show." He said the kiss he shared with Ross "was not a stunt simply meant to provoke the government," he continued, but was "an ongoing part of the 1975 stage show, which had been performed many times prior." "To eliminate any routine part of the show in an effort to appease the Malaysian authorities' bigoted views of LGBTQ people would be a passive endorsement of those politics," Healy said. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Its a phrase thats highly relevant to first impressions on arriving at the Lockheed Martin production facility in Fort Worth. Walking the corridors of Air Force Plant 4, theres visual reminders at every step that this is a highly significant place in aviation history and the current home of F-35 Lightning II production. Stepping onto the production line, looking left and right, it takes a few moments to comprehend exactly whats in front of your eyes. Two long nose-to-tail rows of bright green colored F-35s in their zinc chromate primer paint as far as the eye can see are lined up in either direction. Lockheed Martin is building these fifth-generation stealth fighters at full-rate production to the tune of 156 aircraft a year. Thats three complete jets rolling off the build lines every single week. The huge F-35 production operation to meet demand is underpinned by countless processes, a small army of skilled craftsmen and women, and technological advances that are designed to improve productivity, quality, and efficiency. A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B flies over MCAS Yuma. Jamie Hunter We already have 19 different customers across the globe that have selected the F-35 and there are aircraft for 11 different customers that are being built and are flowing down this production line right now for delivery, comments Greg Day, F-35 international business development director as he talked to The War Zone on a platform overlooking the production line. This [production line] is the culmination of over 1,650 suppliers worldwide that are delivering components to keep this line moving smoothly, says Day. Its really important to understand how the F-35 program never sleeps. Building the F-35 Air Force Plant 4 began operations in west Fort Worth on April 18, 1942, with bomber aircraft being the initial focus of production, earning the facility the nickname of the bomber plant. Some 2,743 B-24 Liberators were built here beginning in the early 1940s, and almost 400 B-36 Peacemakers were produced in Fort Worth in the late 1940s and early 1950s before work shifted to production of 116 B-58 Hustler supersonic bombers. Development and eventual production of 564 F-111 Aardvarks commenced in the early 1960s and gave rise to a new nickname for the Fort Worth facility, which then became known as the fighter factory. At that time around 30,000 employees worked at Plant 4, primarily supporting the F-111 program. Development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon began in the early 1970s, and this was to become the focus of operations at Fort Worth. The F-35 production line in Fort Worth is located in the same building that manufactured the F-16. Nearly every square foot of the main factory floor was updated in the transition from the F-16 to F-35 production, a process which began in the late 1990s. An F-35 in production in Fort Worth. Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin/Randy A. Crites In some areas, the move from F-16 to the F-35 was as simple as unbolting F-16 tooling and jigs from the floor and installing new F-35 tooling in their place. In other cases, the concrete floors had to be demolished and replaced so that the more precise equipment thats required to produce the fifth-generation fighter could be installed. Production of the very first F-35A (aircraft AA-1) began in Fort Worth in 2004, with final assembly commencing in May 2005. The aircraft rolled off the line on February 19, 2006, and was formally unveiled on July 7 that year, when the then USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley officially named it the Lightning II. This was the first of 13 instrumented production test aircraft built in the three F-35 variants, closely followed by batches of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) F-35s that were built for customers starting in April 2007. The F-35 is designed to be stealthy, which means it required specialist tooling and processes to build it, with external coatings complementing the design configuration to give it a low observable radar signature. Plus, all three variants are crammed with sophisticated sensors and avionics, some of which are planned to be updated as the program evolves. From an engineering point of view, the F-35 has to do so many things. It has to fly, it has to compute, it has all sorts of sensors and systems on board, but also it has to be in the most compact and light form factor possible, explained Steve Howes, vice president, F-35 Production Operations. So from an engineering point of view, its incredibly complicated and incredibly impressive both in the design and in how we put it together. An F-35A assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB. Jamie Hunter The approach to manufacturing the F-35 draws on Lockheed Martins experience with aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the F-22 Raptor. The F-35 adds complexity in that a single production line produces the three different variants. They share approximately 20 percent parts commonality with the three having differing external dimensions, so the build stations are adaptable to enable each to be able to accommodate either an F-35A, B, or C. The stations themselves are built in such a way that all three variants [of the F-35] can be worked on at that one station, theres certain features about each station that make them adjustable, explains Howes. If you have an F-35C variant, for example, the wings are larger, so theres sliders that can adjust so that the variant will fit. From the outset each aircraft is allocated a build number, for example a British F-35B is prefixed as BK (a B-model for the UK), followed by the production number in sequence. So the first British F-35B was BK01. All F-35 forward fuselages, and more than 120 sets of wings per year, are produced in Fort Worth, which employs more than 3,000 touch laborers, as well as 2,000 production leaders, quality professionals, engineers, and more than 500 material handlers in what is a 24-hour, seven day-a-week operation. All F-35 forward fuselages are manufactured in Fort Worth. Lockheed Martin The first challenge is getting the right parts to the right stations at the right time, says Howes. So theres a team that works every day on optimizing the material movement. Theres another team that works on making sure were doing the right job in the right order, or assessing if we can switch these around to save time, that type of thing. We assess data on how were doing on different elements of the build process and always look at ways to do it better. The way we move components around the line depends on the part we are talking about. In some areas, like the wing assembly line for example, the process flows from station to station every two-to-three days, Howes explains. In the first station youre taking the big structural pieces and bolting them together. Then you move over to the next station, where the team will conduct hole drilling for example, then the next station installs brackets. Each task performed on the aircraft by the touch labor force is done with a set of electronic work instructions that provides the details of how to perform the task along with the engineering specifications and technical drawings that are required. These are called operation cards. The electronic work instruction system records details on who performs each operation and the materials they use. To put this into perspective, it takes roughly 1,700 operation cards to build an F-35. An F-35 wing in production at Fort Worth. Lockheed Martin There are multiple small computer terminals at every single station, where the operators sign in and receive their work instructions. Those instructions will have an identifying number and details of the task to be completed, and it can be on any of the F-35 variants. The instructions will also detail if theres any differences between this time and the last time the person performed the task. If theres a significant change in the way a particular task needs to be performed it may require additional training, and theres a team of manufacturing engineers that decide on the specific jet and specific day when the change will be implemented. Manufacturing engineers understand the implications of how it might change our processes. Do we need new tools? Do we need new fixtures? Do we need new training for our mechanics? If theres tooling to be updated, that triggers another process within our digital production system, said Howes. The wings, for example, are built on what is called a pulse line, which means they move around the various build stations. Moving large components from one workstation to the next uses a fixed, overhead rail system. The wings are built as one piece, and they stand up vertically, mounted on adjustable height jigs, for ease of access during construction. Each F-35 includes four major components. The forward fuselage, which comprises the nose and cockpit, is built by Lockheed Martin. The center fuselage is built by Northrop Grumman, and the center wing (which includes the wing attach points and the engine mounts) are made at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia. The outer wings are built by Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth and Leonardo in Italy. The aft fuselage is built in the U.K. by BAE Systems. The F135 engine is supplied by Pratt & Whitney, with the LiftFan for the F-35B coming from Rolls-Royce. An F-35A is lifted by overhead crane to final assembly. Lockheed Martin The four major airframe components are mated at one of three final assembly and checkout (FACO) facilities, the largest being in Fort Worth, Texas, with two smaller FACOs located in Cameri, Italy, and Nagoya, Japan. The annual production figure of 156 aircraft includes the overseas FACOs, although the vast majority are built in Fort Worth, with Cameri assembling approximately 15 jets per year and Nagoya under 10, according to Lockheed Martin. The Electronic Mate and Alignments Systems Stations, or EMASS, is where the four major structure pieces are put together, Howes explains. Essentially, weve got four main pieces and were trying to align them and attach them together using laser alignment. During the mate process, the major aircraft components are brought together three times using the laser-guided alignment fixtures. The first time the components are brought together and measured for gaps. Then they are separated again so that the shims (aluminum pieces used to fill tolerance gaps), once theyre fabricated, can be installed. Then the aircraft is brought together again for a match drilling operation through the shim and both pieces of mating structure. The components are separated one final time to debur the holes, followed by a third and final mate for permanent fastener install. Following EMASS, the jet will be on its own wheels and it is lifted by an overhead crane to final assembly, where control surfaces will be added, along with final systems and engine installation. A Royal Australian Air Force F-35A taking off. Jamie Hunter Constantly evolving manufacturing processes With 20 years having elapsed since work on the first F-35A began, much has changed in the way an F-35 is built. From the outset, advanced manufacturing processes were introduced, such as inspection of the carbon-fiber wing skins and other composite components with a laser ultrasonic technology (Laser UT) machine, which is designed to detect imperfections that would cause a part to be rejected. Laser UT inspects parts at a rate that is 10 times faster than previous water-coupled ultrasonic inspection machines. The requirements of a low-observable platform force extremely tight tolerances on all major mate interfaces and on every panel and skin on the outer mold line of the aircraft, said Jon Olson, a member of Lockheed Martins advanced manufacturing technology team in Fort Worth. We use laser technology to make measurements at the installation of each panel and skin. We also use robots for a multitude of operations. For example, we robotically drill over 20,000 holes on the aircraft, and we have robots that install low-observable coatings both out on the production line and in the aircraft final finishes facility. The long line of F-35s on the Fort Worth production line. Lockheed Martin Its changed a lot, in terms of capacity too, says Olson. We identified the need for improved speed and quality, and opportunities for technology investment. Spending money to put automation in place to save time and improve quality. I could give you a dozen examples of technology improvements, but the auto drills are a good example. Their job is to take each of the wings, just the wing by itself, and drill between 2,000 and 3,000 holes in each. Robotics specifically can be tricky in aircraft applications compared to consumer products, for example, where youll build hundreds of thousands of the same part over and over again. It doesnt always make sense to use a robot when the volume doesnt justify the expenditure, Olson explains. But with the F-35 program, the technology has improved to the point where weve been able to have success with multiple robotic automation projects. If we think we could start using new technology for a process, we have to work up a business case analysis, and if it makes sense, we implement the technology. The use of additive manufacturing Constant analysis of production standards is a key element of building the F-35. The aircrafts internal weapons bay needs to accommodate a variety of different air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground weapons. Lockheed Martin must assess if all weapons configurations fit into each aircraft thats built. For this purpose, engineers built a rather unusual fit check device to ensure each jet meets tolerance levels for all the F-35s approved weapons. The design team made a CAD [Computer Aided Design] 3D model of every possible bomb or missile configuration as one giant chunk. It was a weird kind of knobbly, bumpy looking thing, says Olson. We 3D printed that in a series of six sections that represented the outer mold line of every possible missile or bomb configuration that could go in the weapons bay. We attach those sections together and physically put it all up into the bay. Close the bay doors and then check measurements to make sure everything is going to fit. F-35Bs at MCAS Yuma, one with its weapon bays open. Jamie Hunter It was a great example of additive manufacturing and we still use this kind of manufacturing for some of our fit checks. But it was a pretty clunky way of doing that. So we moved to a 3D laser scanner that you place up into the bay. It scans the whole bay and provides an automatic report that compares the actual store with the design specifications. It tells us about any parts that might be sticking out slightly too far, things like that. We do that scan to check every jet. The F-35 team at Fort Worth has sought to make use of emerging technology where appropriate in the production program, with notable applications of automation geared towards quality control. We have also started using artificial intelligence [AI], which is very good at simple decision making. For example, theres a quality check that we do on a certain part of each aircraft and based on data, it has to be exactly aligned to specifications. So it has to be reviewed by the quality team and they are now using AI for that. Were also looking at AI for other inspections, maybe it uses imagery of the item and then uses AI to highlight something that it thinks isnt supposed to be there? So, again a quality control solution. Weve also got areas where we use augmented reality. So the team can hold up a tablet computer or wear goggles and see overlaid information on the aircraft. Thats currently a training tool that we also use for new procedures. It works particularly well for training. Our training overall here is something that weve spent a good bit of time on over recent years. We have a whole classroom section in Fort Worth where we have actual aircraft parts and 3D mockups so our new trainees can do things like drilling in a safe environment before they hit the production floor. The team of employees that keep the F-35 production line moving are a critical resource in making each F-35 come to life. Recruiting the right people, with the right skill sets and the ability to embrace the bespoke F-35 training is vital. Ideally, we seek individuals with aerospace and defense experience and education, said Howes. The sheer volume of staff that we require also drives us to grow our own talent through the development and use of training material specific to the needs of the F-35 production system. Each employee, regardless of experience, goes through several weeks of initial training and assessment prior to deployment in the factory. That is then supplemented with annual training and specific skills training that allow us to continually develop the touch labor and support teams. A Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A. Allied Air Command Public Affairs Improving the F-35 As already mentioned, the F-35 program was conceived with a mindset of evolution and improvement over time. Lockheed Martin employs a principle called Continuous Capability Development and Delivery, or C2D2. Once a new requirement on the aircraft has been requested and agreed on by the customer and the contractor, the company initiates development engineering and tests the capability in both lab and operational environments. As the development of the requirement matures into the final solution for the changes, an engineering change is released and lead time for production integration is incorporated. Once the break-in is set, all of the incremental changes are made to each engineering drawing, process specification, or material specification. The engineering documents are then released, and the electronic work instruction teams provide updated instructions to the factory. As a result, the break-in tail number changes are implemented on the aircraft. Flight test Once completed and the stealth coatings are applied to the fuselage, each F-35 moves to one of the run stations at Fort Worth, ready for production acceptance flying. The run stations are a series of hangars that have been in use since before the F-111 and are set out adjacent to the factory as a continuous side-by-side row, and they allow access to the taxiways and runways at the adjacent Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. Scott Shark McLaren in a run station with an F-35A. Jamie Hunter We know the state of the airplane, the build of the airplane. Its a very mature process, says Scott Shark McLaren, an F-35 test pilot at Lockheed Martin. We know the state of the software, its already gone through testing at Edwards Air Force Base [California] and Naval Air Station Patuxent River [Maryland]. So when we get the new jet out here at flight test, it first goes through a series of ground runs. When we start up the airplane, it does its own system checks and gives us feedback to tell us the state that it thinks its in. I know where it should be, so I put those [pieces of information] together and I can step up my risk level a bit and taxi out to the end of the runway. I go through the entire process, understanding the risk where Im at and not moving forward until I have confidence to move on to the next step. Thats really our flight-test mentality, build-up to make sure we get through the entire profile, the entire checklist, to make sure the airplane is ready. An F-35C assigned to VX-9 Det Edwards for operational flight testing. Jamie Hunter For F-35A acceptance work its going to take approximately two flights. I can get through the entire checklist items in those two flights as long as everything is ready to go and I get on that normal timeline [with] the ground runs. We expand that for an F-35B to three flights because of all the different items that we need to check on an F-35B. The airplane can come into a hover and we open up a few more doors and that sort of thing. But Im also going to use a little bit more fuel as Im doing that. So I need to expand that into that third flight to make some room for that. For an F-35C, its very much like an F-35A. Well accomplish all those checks in about two flights. That very first flight, Im going to take someone with me, thats my chase aircraft and ATAC [Airborne Tactical Advantage Company] Mirage F1s are supplying that for us right now. When we take off, that chase is going to be there right with me supplying backup for things like my communications if something fails. We have airliners flying in Dallas Fort Worth airspace, so we want to deconflict with them, and the chase can help me out there. Those are just two small little pieces, but the chase is there for a lot of reasons. An F-35 pilot signals to ground crew that he is ready to start the engine. Jamie Hunter Alongside the production test work described here is development test, which is about evolving the new capabilities for the F-35. A lot of the development, design, and laboratory work is done right here in Fort Worth, and I participate in a lot of that, says McLaren. At the end of that development process, we update the [test] aircraft at Edwards and Pax River ready for flight-testing. They go through the flight-test rigor that needs to happen on new software and hardware combinations. We see all the reports and they send it back to us in a production version and now we can fly that on these airplanes. So really, were not seeing any of that [development] process until its end state. F-35 modernization: TR-3 deliveries begin The culmination of SDD in 2018 ended development of the F-35s original baseline capabilities. The current follow-on modernization effort is known as Block 4, which is upgrading new-build F-35s to better equip them to tackle threats that have emerged since the original program requirements were set out in 2000. You can read more about Block 4 here. There is also a modernization effort centered around the F-35s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine to address power and cooling needs for post-Block 4 enhancements. A U.S. Navy F-35C making an arrested landing on an aircraft carrier. U.S. Navy Technical Refresh 3 is a major hardware and software upgrade designed to provide the computational horsepower to underpin Block 4. More commonly referred to as TR-3, it includes a new integrated core processor with greater computing power, a panoramic cockpit display, and an enhanced memory unit. TR-3 entered flight-testing in January 2023, and production Lots 15-17 were the first F-35s to include the TR-3 updates. The first TR-3 standard production jets began to be built in February 2023 and these airframes were expected to be completed before the end of July that year. However, delays associated with development and testing of the new processor and software, which are core elements of TR-3, meant that deliveries of TR-3 configured F-35s had to temporarily be put on hold. The team continued to produce the aircraft though and announced in July 2024 that, in coordination with the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), deliveries of F-35 TR-3 configured aircraft have begun. The aircraft delivered in this initial phase include combat training capabilities, marking an important step as the team moves toward full TR-3 combat capabilities. Moving forward, Lockheed Martin expects continual software updates related to TR-3 insertions and Block 4 capabilities, with major milestone software drops along the way. A pair of U.S. Air Force F-35As in action. Jamie Hunter Lockheed Martin is very focused on Tech Refresh 3, Greg Day told The War Zone. Right now, we are making sure that we are going to deliver a quality product that has the full capability. Its important to note that today over 95 percent of Tech Refresh 3 capability is in flight and is being tested and evaluated. The clearance for TR-3 aircraft to be delivered marks the next critical step towards Block 4 standard F-35s joining combat squadrons, albeit initially in a training configuration. This is a major advancement for the program, as the Block 4-standard aircraft marks a new era in the F-35 program in this overarching modernization effort. Significantly, customer interest around the world in the F-35 continues unabated. What we see is continued interest in the F-35 and weve seen repeated selections, most recently Greece selected to procure 20 aircraft, commented Greg Day. Weve also seen the Republic of Korea step forward and increase their planned order to 60 aircraft in total, and right now we are supporting the U.S. government with the interest that is being shown by Romania in the F-35. Contact the author: jamie.hunter@teamrecurrent.io Bulgaria's interim government, at a meeting on Wednesday, 31 July, adopted the extension of humanitarian aid for people who have arrived from Ukraine since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. Source: European Pravda with reference to The Sofia Globe Details: The Bulgarian government decided to extend the humanitarian aid programme for the displaced Ukrainians without changes until 31 December 2024. The humanitarian assistance scheme provides for state payments to accommodation for the people who fled the war in Ukraine and sought temporary refuge in Bulgaria in accordance with the directive of the European Commission. The scheme was implemented for the first time in 2022 by Kiril Petkovs government. Since then, it has been extended several times, the previous time until 31 July. The latest official reports state that since Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a total of 2.4 million Ukrainians have entered Bulgaria. Of these, more than 181,000 Ukrainians have been granted EU temporary protection status in the country, and more than 55,000 remain in Bulgaria. In January, the Bulgarian government also extended temporary protection for the Ukrainians who had fled the war in accordance with the decision of the European Commission. The Bulgarian government also considers a possible delivery of surplus ammunition to Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! America250 Thursday announced that former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and former first ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush will be honorary co-chairs of the group marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Photo courtesy of America250 Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Non-profit America250 said Thursday that the former presidents and first ladies Barack and Michelle Obama and George W. and Laura Bush will be honorary co-chairs of the group planning the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence signing. A statement from the Obamas said, "America is not the same country it was 250 years ago -- but there are threads that tie us back to the very beginning of it all. Our history plays a big role in shaping the kind of future we hope to create. That's why we could not be more thrilled to serve as Honorary National Co-Chairs of America250." The Bushes said in a statement, "This milestone is an opportunity to reflect on our history and recommit to our country's founding values. We look forward to working with America250 and our fellow citizens to celebrate the goodness and greatness of the United States of America." America250 Chair Rosie Rios said both presidential couples will inspire others to take part in the upcoming commemoration. "As presidents and first adies of the United States, their stories are foundational to the American story," Rios said. "We hope that their unique voices will help encourage everyone to participate in this pivotal commemoration." Congress established the nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016. It is working with America250, a nonprofit organization, to plan activities for a multi-year commemoration of the anniversary in all 50 states and six U.S. territories. Among the many projects America250 is overseeing are Our American Story, a national oral history compilation effort to build the biggest oral history understanding of the United States. A nationwide scholastic contest called America's Field Trip has also been organized to encourage students to reflect on what America means to them and get a chance to have field trip experiences at iconic American historical and cultural sites. In the fall, the America Gives multi-year program will debut, focused on re-invigorating year-round service in charitable giving, volunteer work and public service. California Doctor Arrested After Hidden Camera 'Pointed Directly at the Toilet' Is Allegedly Discovered in Clinic Nicholas Vanderhyde, 40, was arrested in June after an employee found a hidden camera at the Joint Chiropractic clinic, per authorities Google maps The Joint Chiropractor A California doctor was arrested last month in connection with a hidden camera allegedly found in his clinic's bathroom and he is now facing a lawsuit from several families who claim to have been impacted. Nicholas Vanderhyde, 40, was arrested in June after an investigation into a hidden camera that was found in his Santa Clarita, Calif., clinics bathroom, authorities said at the time, according to KHTS, NBC Los Angeles and KTLA. He was arrested on a charge of possession of child pornography, Eyewitness News and The Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported, citing a criminal complaint. Now, 11 families have filed a lawsuit against him and the Joint Chiropractic clinic, they said at a press conference, Eyewitness News reported. The investigation unfolded on May 8 when an employee at the clinic allegedly found a camera secretly taped to a cabinet and connected to a power bank in the bathroom, she told Eyewitness News at the time. The employee, who was not named, told the outlet she discovered the camera when she went to retrieve her phone, which was on the cabinet, after using the bathroom. It was pointed directly at the toilet, so they were definitely aiming to record people using the bathroom, peoples private parts, she said, per KTLA. An investigation led authorities to Vanderhyde, who was arrested on June 4, a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriffs Station said at the time, per Eyewitness News. He has since been released on bail, per KTLA. It is unclear if he's retained an attorney to speak on his behalf. Now, in a lawsuit filed on Monday, July 29, 17 people claiming to be former patients, including four minors, claim that Vanderhyde violated their privacy after he allegedly purposely, strategically, and clandestinely placed the camera in the bathroom to record patients, including young children, in states of undress. The lawsuit, obtained by PEOPLE, further alleges that the clinic failed to assist the patients in determining whether or not their nude or partially nude body was retained in images on Dr. Vanderhyde's technology devices or if their image was distributed electronically in some fashion. The lawsuit further alleges that The Joint was aware that Vanderhyde was a predator who employed treatment measures not within the scope of services offered generally by The Joint, but that the clinic allowed him to continue doing so without any investigation. Dr. Vanderhyde was permitted to continue treating patients in his rogue fashion, including insisting on upper, inner thigh massage touching at least one patients vagina, reads a part of the lawsuit. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. In a statement, the Joint Chiropractic facility said they would not discuss "ongoing legal matters" but that "the safety of our patients and staff, and the integrity of the service we provide, are always our highest priorities," according to Eyewitness News. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. California man sentenced to 19 months in prison for forcing plane to divert to KCI A 52-year-old California man has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for causing a mid-flight disturbance that forced a cross-country flight to divert to Kansas City International Airport, according to court documents. U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark sentenced Juan Remberto Rivas of Los Angeles to 19 months in federal prison without parole and to pay $64,434 in restitution to American Airlines. Rivas was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Missouri. Rivas pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with flight crew members and flight attendants in January. The sentence is run concurrently with an ongoing Platte County case, where Rivas is charged with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and attempted escape while under arrest. According to court documents, Rivas was a passenger aboard American Airlines flight 1775, traveling non-stop from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in February 2022. While over Kansas, Rivas created a disturbance and became combative. During the flight, Rivas went to the front of the plane and argued with a flight attendant. He tried to force his way into the cockpit, yanked the handle of an exit door and tried to break a small champagne bottle on a counter. Yeah, hes trying to get in the cockpit, the pilot told air traffic controllers while requesting permission to divert to KCI, according to audio captured at the time by LiveATC.net. One of the flight attendants struck Rivas with a coffee pot, according to court documents. He was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to bring down the plane. Flight attendants and passengers ultimately subdued Rivas, binding him with duct tape and zip ties until the plane was on the ground. According to court documents, Rivas assaulted arresting officers after the plane landed while he was being taken into custody. (FOX40.COM) A man was stopped from potentially fleeing with a minor to Mexico on Wednesday in Citrus Heights, according to the Citrus Heights Police Department. Miguel Torres, 35, was arrested by detectives while he was attempting to pick up a 15-year-old girl that had a restraining order against him. Butte County women arrested for entering Park Fire evacuation zone Along with the restraining order Torres was charged for the sexual assault of a minor in Kern County and was to appear in a Kern County court on Thursday. In a news release on Wednesday, the Citrus Heights Police Department said they would help make sure that Torres appears in court. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. (FOX40.COM) The California Department of Education has announced an initiative to turn land owned by local education agencies into housing for education workers. The department says local education agencies own roughly 75,000 acres of developable land that could be used to create over 2 million housing units across the state. We know that families across our state are impacted, from the homelessness crisis facing our urban areas, to the long commute times impacting families priced out of once-affordable neighborhoods, to the staffing crisis in schools whose educators cant afford to live where they work, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said. I believe that California has enough resources and ingenuity to solve this, and the data shows that Californias schools have the land to make this happen. The agency said a school district in San Mateo County recently saw success filling all its teaching vacancies after building a 122-unit housing project last year. The San Jose Unified School District is placing a property tax measure on the upcoming November ballot that would raise $1.5 billion part of which would go to funding for affordable housing for educators if it passes. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. On July 3, a 19-year-old in Arroyo Grande, California, suffered a minor concussion after he was attacked by what he claims was a mountain lion. After conducting an investigation, however, wildlife officials say forensic evidence points to something much less intimidating: an ordinary house cat. The teen, whose identity has not been released, told officials in his initial report that he was riding a dirt bike when an animal dropped from a tree and nearly ripped him off the bike. In an interview with The Tribune, he alleged something grabbed his helmet, ripped him backward, and almost knocked him out just as he revved the throttle to get out of there. Initially, I did see something about the size of a dog a large dog drop from the tree and barely miss me, said the teen, who later returned to the scene to see if something else might have fallen on him. There was nothing I could have hit my head on. No tree had fallen. After receiving the teens initial report, California Department of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement officers launched an investigation. They interviewed the victim and collected DNA samples for lab testing. Capt. Patrick Foy, with CDFWs enforcement division, tells Outdoor Life that the evidence they collected did not support the teens claim of nearly being mauled by an apex predator. Our investigation, including interviews, collection of evidence in the form of clothing the reporting party was wearing, and forensic analysis of that evidence, did not confirm the presence of a mountain lion, Foy says. He did not clarify whether investigators searched the scene of the alleged attack for additional clues. What the investigation did reveal, he says, was DNA from Felis catus, a domestic cat. Regardless, the victim is sticking to his story. Read Next: Four Mountain Bikers Overpowered the Cougar That Nearly Killed Their Friend The teen told reporters in a follow-up interview that he has a pet cat at home, which could explain the DNA they found on his helmet and clothing. He also said that the glaring absence of mountain lion DNA in CDFWs forensic testing was because the cougar barely grabbed onto the back of my helmet and ripped me back. The reporting party has a domestic cat, so it was not a surprise, says Foy, adding that CDFW continues to take the incident seriously. We have been closely monitoring our Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) database to see if others in the community have reported seeing a mountain lion, Foy says. That is negative so far. Mountain Lion attacks on humans are extremely rare. Only 24 confirmed mountain lion attacks on humans have been reported in California since 1984, with most attacks occurring on young children. According to the CDFW, a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. But with nearly half of these confirmed attacks occurring within the past decade, it seems that conflicts with humans are on the rise in California. In March, two brothers were attacked and one was killed by a mountain lion while they were shed hunting near El Dorado National Forest. Taylen Brooks, 21, died after wrestling the lion off his 18-year-old brother. This marked the Golden States first fatal mountain lion attack in 20 years, and the tragedy has led Taylens uncle, Malcom Brooks, to call for changes to Californias policies around lion management. He joins a growing number of hunters and rural California residents who think the state should bring back cougar hunting in some form or at least find some way to make mountain lions less comfortable around humans. Were really playing with fire, and what happened to Taylen and Wyatt may well end up being the tip of the iceberg, Brooks said. Figure out a way to make pursuit permits a possibility for people who have lion hounds. Put pressure on this population. Get them to de-habituate from human population zones. Rough estimates put the statewide cougar population at between 4,000 and 6,000 cats. According to CDFW, the population is considered stable based on the best scientific knowledge, research, and methods available. Despite the abundance of these cats, however, California wildlife managers have one less tool in their toolbox due to the states laws protecting mountain lions Read Next: A Hiker Says He Was Attacked by a Cougar. Officials Say It Never Happened The state hasnt hosted a mountain lion hunt since 1972, and the feline predators were reclassified as a specially protected mammal when Golden State voters passed the California Wildlife Protection Act in 1990. The new laws made it unlawful to take, injure, possess, transport, import, or sell a mountain lion or a product of a mountain lion. (Under the law, lions mounted by taxidermists, even if they were taken in another state, are illegal to possess in California.) And since many Californians care deeply about protecting the states mountain lions, issuing dramatic displays of public grief when a 12-year-old urban cougar was euthanized after being struck by a car, the chances of state policy being overturned by public vote is a long shot. However, some may reconsider their stance if mountain lions start regularly falling from trees. Nearly nine years, one presidential term and three campaigns later, Donald Trumps rare honest words from early 2016 remain all too true: I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose voters. Trump has never literally tested his claim, of course, but he has tried to overthrow an election, been adjudicated as a sexual abuser and financial fraudster, gotten convicted for 34 felonies, swiped top-secret documents and said all manner of outrageous things that would doom any other politician. And still he retains enough voters to be a decent bet for reelection. It turns out, however, that Trumps Teflon superpower isnt transferable. In the two weeks since he picked as his running mate J.D. Vance Trumps MAGA Mini-Me in just about every respect Vance has been on the defensive for comments he made before and since becoming Ohios junior senator just 19 months ago. By now you know the ones I mean remarks about the childless sociopaths of the ruling class, a.k.a. Democrats, and specifically childless cat ladies led by none other than Kamala Harris, now the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Its been a disastrous debut, polls confirm: Vance is the least liked vice presidential choice in five decades, and the first with a net-negative approval rating. Read more: Column: It's hard sharing a party with Trump or Vance. They taint the right's good ideas Yet heres whats interesting: Trump is on the defensive for Vances inanities, too. Its a most unfamiliar stance for him. Had Trump made the cat lady crack, it would probably have been soon forgotten, following all his other insults, idiocies and lies into a memory hole. Trump doesnt explain his outrages when you explain, youre losing, the political truism goes and he never apologizes. (Which is likely why the sycophantic Vance has only doubled down , with smarmy asides about how hes got nothing against cats that exacerbate and prolong the catty controversy.) Read more: Black women, white dudes, crazy cat ladies: Identity groups fuel a groundswell for Harris Yet there was Trump on prime-time Fox News Monday evening, the misogynist in chief answering to an otherwise fawning Laura Ingraham for the misogynistic bro-talk of his potential veep. He loves family, Trump defended and explained. Well, Ingraham asked, what do you say to women without children? I think they understand it, Trump replied meekly. Yes indeedy. And so do their friends and family, men and women alike. Just not in the way Trump implies. Perhaps Trumps Teflon not only isnt transferable, its been nicked and scratched. Perhaps, by choosing Vance as his wingman, hes finally being held accountable, by proxy, for the outrageous discourse hes modeled. After all, Vance only started spouting stupidities after he decided to seek political office and needed Trumps support. To that end, the Yale Law grad, Silicon Valley investor, best-selling author and former Trump critic morphed into right-wing culture warrior and Trump lickspittle. Read more: Tim Ryan lost a Senate seat to J.D. Vance, but learned this: Vance really is 'weird' I met the former Vance in early 2017 when he came to the University of Chicagos Institute of Politics to promote his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. He genially fielded questions from David Axelrod, the institutes founder, before a large audience. Afterward a few of us went to dinner. I mostly recall that Vance was no fan of the newly inaugurated Trump and that he plainly contemplated running for office as a Republican. As a fellow native of Ohios working class, I came away thinking that Republicans in our home state would be lucky to have such a self-made, independent-minded pragmatist return as a candidate, and an antidote to Trumpism. Ha. Vances now-infamous cat-lady tirade reveals his cringey transformation and his sweeping judgmentalism masquerading as fact and deep-thinking: Were effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that theyve made. And so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. And its just a basic fact, he said . You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that weve turned our country over to people who dont really have a direct stake in it? Read more: Column: Why Latinos are missing from the Kamala Harris vice president sweepstakes (Buttigieg would announce just weeks afterward that he and his husband had adopted newborn twins, after repeated failed attempts at adoption.) As it turns out, Vances comments, made to then-host Tucker Carlson on Fox News in 2021, were only the latest in a long line of specious societal critiques in speeches and writings dating from his books publication in 2016, critiques that grew increasingly nasty and partisan as Vance advanced in Republican politics. In fact, Carlson said he invited Vance on his show because the Senate candidate had made a speech the previous week assailing the childless left. After the show, Vance promoted his comments in fundraising emails . Fighting back wont be easy our childless opponents have a lot of free time, he snidely wrote in one. In his attacks against the allegedly anti-family Democrats, Vance typically labeled them sociopaths and named Harris as the lead avatar. Fact check: Harris years ago became a stepmom to her husbands two children, and no less than his ex-wife, their mother, attests to Harris co-parenting cred. That Vances record of lambasting childless cat ladies is years long, not just a throwaway line to like-minded Carlson, suggests one of two things: Either Trump knew the record and saw no problems there, or his veep vetters missed it. Whichever it is, heres the good news: Finally Trump is having to answer for abhorrent remarks, even if theyre not his own, and potentially paying a political price. We can hope. @jackiekcalmes Get the latest from Jackie Calmes Commentary on politics and more from award-winning opinion columnist. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PATTON, Pa. (WTAJ) The Cambria County Farm Bureau held a legislative tour of Thousand Hill Dairy Farm Wednesday. Whether raising beef or dairy cattle, or growing crops, farmers face all types of challenges. Some of the issues that the farmers other than the weather were dealing with on a normal basis our volatility of pricing and like, on our, on our site, on the dairy, the two biggest things is milk pricing and, you know, coming up with a clean cut price to make everybody happy, Chad Hoover, Co-owner of Thousand Hill Dairy, said. While some things like weather are out of a farmers control, others, such as animal welfare, can be addressed through legislation. To help learn about the problems, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau holds annual legislative farm tours throughout the Commonwealth, inviting state and local legislators to see first-hand how the work of farmers impacts the local economy. Sen. Fetterman urges Dep. of Agriculture to protect small, domestic livestock producers The biggest thing is it opens the publics eye and lets them know, you know, Hey, were here 24/7, taking care of these animals. But it also gives you an eye opening experience of, Hey, milk doesnt, milk or other products dont come from a grocery store. They have to originate from somewhere, Hoover said. The tour comes only a few weeks after Governor Josh Shapiro signed the 2024 State Budget, allocating $228 million, an increase from the previous budget of 10%, to agricultural operations in the state. Marty Yahner, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureaus District 12 State Board Director, said funding farms helps support local economies. I personally just hate that term factory farm or corporate farm because 95% or more percent of all the farms in this nation are family owned and family controlled, Yahner said. However, many attendees of the legislative tour feel theres still a need for more funding as the 2024 farm bill has stalled in the State Senate and key provisions for farmers of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire in 2025. They feel that farmers and ranchers need a tax code that recognizes financial challenges faced specifically by the agricultural community and called on the legislatures in attendance to come together and act now. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. And in past years, for decades and decades, the farm bill was always a geographical area issue. It wasnt partisan. This year, unfortunately, like everything, its more partisan, Yahner said. So the House and Senate are too far apart. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. New campaign targeting visitors from Japan and West Coast HONOLULU (KHON2) Tourism officials have big plans this fall to help boost Hawaiis top industry. Businesses say theyll take all the help they can get. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The streets of Waikiki arent as crowded as theyve been. Hawaii needs more people, said Breck Foley of Akamai Rentals. Needs to be more lively again. Definitely notice when you work in the tourism industry you notice the decrease. Even just walking around Waikiki you dont see as many people walking around. Recent statistics show visitor numbers are down and visitor spending is down. Thats exactly what Dive Oahu has seen. Normally wed be sold out of chairs and surfboards by like 8 or 9, said Charles Boyd of Dive Oahu. But like, using today as an example, its been a lot slower. Took a long time to actually get all our umbrellas rented out. And Akamai Rentals says its Japanese rentals dropped about 50-percent from last year. All businesses in the tourism industry have taken a hit during these tough economic times, and theyve all had to adjust differently to try and survive. Skip long TSA lines at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport with CLEAR We used to be a lot of word of mouth now we do a lot of internet advertising, said Foley. They just raised the rates a little higher, said Boyd. But were still the cheapest on the beach, well as far as I know. And this is the spot to be at. There is where everybody learns how to surf. There is a concern and we are working diligently on addressing those concerns, said Daniel Nahoopili, interim President and CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority. The Hawaii Tourism Authority is launching a saturation campaign this fall, targeting Japan and the west coast. To be a part of this program to just fill Los Angeles with activities, said Nahoopili. Well be on the news doing some actual pop-up events as well to get the Los Angeles market aware that Hawaii is open. The HTA isnt only looking for the quantity of visitors but quality as well. Its campaign called The People, The Place, The Hawaiian Islands is targeting what it calls mindful travelers. Typically, theyre well-educated and are looking for more, just beyond the resort, said Nahoopili. Of course, they will enjoy and relax, but at the same time, have an educational experience, have a cultural experience. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Our hope it to just perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and to keep love peace and aloha in everyones hearts, said Boyd. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Carter Lake is a small part of Iowa that lies west of the Missouri River near Eppley Airfield. (Photo courtesy of Google Earth) A small western Iowa city for years has not complied with federal requirements to limit the amount of pollutants in its stormwater collection system, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Carter Lake, with a population of about 3,800, is among the smallest cities in the state that have the requirements, which is due to its location in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. It is among nearly 50 cities and universities in densely populated areas that are subject to the rules. Rainfall in the city flows into a stormwater system that pipes it to Carter Lake a so-called oxbow lake that was once a segment of the Missouri River. Flooding in 1877 rerouted the Missouri and left a small part of Iowa on the west side of the river, which is now the city of Carter Lake. The DNR for years has sought to get the city into compliance as a small municipal separate storm sewer system, but those efforts have been stymied by leadership changes in the city, said Alison Manz, a senior environmental specialist for the department. The city had failed since at least 2018 to create plans, programs or ordinances to operate and maintain its collection system, manage pesticide and fertilizer applications, inspect illegal pollutant discharges, and monitor for construction site runoff, according to a recent DNR order. The city is also required to have information on its website for residents and to form a stormwater advisory committee. For five years, it did not submit a mandatory annual report that documents all of those actions. Carter Lake recently agreed to pay an $8,000 fine for the violations and to comply with the requirements in the future. In May, the city posted an advisory to its Facebook page that warned residents about the potential for yard waste to pollute the lake and kill fish. The note said residents should bag grass clippings, leaves and other plant material and compost them. DENVER (KDVR) The town council of Castle Rock is considering placing a request for an additional 0.2% in sales taxes to help fund the hiring of 40 fire and police personnel in the next four years. The ballot measure has not been officially approved by the town council. A second and final vote is set for Aug. 20, which if approved would present the question to Castle Rock voters on the November ballot. The town said the proposed sales tax would be an additional 20-cent tax on a $100 purchase. Federal Reserve sees cooler inflation and slower job market, suggesting a rate cut is nearing In a release, the town said its sales tax rate has been the same since 2011 and is no longer enough to maintain public safety services, such as the police and fire departments. However, property tax rates have dropped 46% since 2011. The town said this means the owner of a median-priced home in Castle Rock (about $663,000) pays about $37.50 in property taxes to the town. The majority of shoppers in Castle Rock come from out of Town, meaning the majority of the Towns sales tax revenue is not paid by Castle Rock residents, the town said in a release. If a household buys $30,000 in taxable goods annually within Castle Rock, the total proposed increase would amount to $60, which would be spread out over hundreds of transactions during the year. Sales tax would fund 40 police, fire personnel The proposed tax is projected to raise just over half of the $7.6 million needed for annual funds by 2029, according to the town. The 40 additional police and fire personnel would allow for: A fourth ambulance for service in Castle Rock. Currently, there are about 18 minutes a day where there is no ambulance available in the town. Staffing of the new fire station planned in Cobblestone Ranch/Terrain in 2026 Additional police officers for patrol, schools and traffic safety Maintain service for the nearly 200% increase in immediate or urgent calls to the police department in the past 10 years The town wants to hire 18 fire personnel, including nine for the new fire station, and 22 police officers to allow for an average of three or fewer schools for school resource officers to patrol, whereas right now theyve been patrolling about seven schools. Free RTD fare is now permanent for people 19 and younger Other funds for the additional employees would come from permanent reductions in the towns spending, including downtown initiatives, economic development and other town expenses. The town council voted unanimously in favor of the measure in an initial vote in July. The town established a landing page to discuss the proposed measure and why town management is in favor of the additional tax, available here. The tax, if approved, would be enacted on Jan. 1, 2025. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. CAVE CITY, Ark. Arkansas is on the last day of National Watermelon Month, and more than 200 Arkansas farmers are harvesting over 1,500 acres of watermelons. Cave City Watermelon Growers Association is said to be home to the worlds sweetest watermelons. Annual Watermelon Crawl held in North Little Rock Saturday Those farmers attended an event outside the Arkansas State Capitol Building in Little Rock on Wednesday to showcase their offerings. Trenton Bell is a grower for Johnson Brothers Farms. Hes become a 5th generation picker for the 48-year-long business. He says the pressure is on to find and sell good watermelons, and this season has been pretty good so far. Around here you hear Cave City, and the first thing that comes to your head is watermelons, Bell said. Thats what were known as, were the watermelon capital for a reason. its a big part of agriculture and the economy around Cave City, especially around the summer. Wild About Watermelon: Recipes & Top Health Benefits Bell said being able to give people some free watermelon today was a fun experience, considering how happy people were to get a taste of the watermelon. Many of those who received watermelon gave hugs to the crews in return. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) CBS News has announced its new anchor team following Norah ODonnells departure after the presidential election. ODonnell will anchor the broadcast and lead the networks political coverage through the election. She will then move into an expanded role as a CBS News senior correspondent focusing on long form reporting and interviews across CBS. CBS announced that John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois would anchor the CBS Evening News from the CBS Broadcast Center. Margaret Brennan, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent and moderator of Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan will regularly lead coverage from Washington, D.C. when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts. Also, Lonnie Quinn is being named chief weathercaster for the CBS EVENING NEWS, where he will deliver the latest weather reporting and forecasts from the new AR/VR studio in New York. With Norahs decision, we began reimagining and redesigning the Evening News, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures. The strength of CBS News has always been in its ensemble of journalists, both in front of and behind the camera, and our goal with John, Maurice, Margaret and Lonnie at the Evening News is to elevate the best in their fields every night for our viewers. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Kansas students are preparing to head back to class in a few weeks, and high school freshmen have new graduation requirements. The class of 2028 is the first class that will have these new requirements, which are meant to help prepare students for life after high school. Instead of four English Language Arts credits, students will need three and a half, with an extra half credit focusing on Communication, which could include speech, debate, forensics and journalism. The Marion High School principal says students need to be prepared with communication skills and technology theyll use after graduation. Car clocked going 71 mph over the speed limit in Kansas I think we as educators have thought since weve given kids cell phones and iPads and technology at a young age, they know how to do it, Principal Donald Raymer said. We just assume that is it. And then they get to their junior, senior year, and they realize, oh, we really dont know that.' Students will also need a STEM elective to prepare more teens for the workforce. Three units of science, which include physical, biological, and earth and space science concepts shall include at least one unit as a laboratory course. Three units of mathematics, including algebraic and geometric concepts. We know that theres a lot of STEM-related occupations in Kansas, and so we want our courses to reflect what our priorities are as we think about employability skills and those areas that our kids are interested in, Kansas State Department of Education Commissioner Ben Proctor said. The KSDE also requires at least two post-secondary assessments, which could include a certain score on the ACT or SAT, 40 hours of community service or participation in a school sport or activity. A USD 259 representative says it gives students options on how they earn those credits. Instead of it just being about math, science, social studies and English, those are still a part of it, Holly Ingram, USD 259 executive director of secondary curriculum and instruction, said. But now also amplifying both sides that youre both academically and career-prepared when you leave Wichita Public Schools. Students still need at least 21 credits to graduate, which did not change from previous years. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. Local law enforcement leaders gathered Thursday morning to announce charges in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Cook County sheriffs deputy on the South Side earlier this week. Cordarrow Thompson, 31, was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted armed robbery and one count of armed habitual criminal in the early Tuesday shooting death of Rafael Wordlaw, according to Cook County court records. A Cook County judge ordered Thompson detained pending trial during his first court appearance Thursday. Wordlaw, also 31, was off-duty when he was fatally shot during a robbery attempt-turned-shootout at a gas station in the 500 block of East 67th Street, authorities said. A friend of Wordlaws, traveling in a separate vehicle but also at the gas station, suffered two graze wounds. This was an individual who dedicated his life to public service, Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a press conference to announce the charges. There are people across the city who are dealing with the same type of losses. Its senseless and its got to stop. We honor Deputy Wordlaw by bringing his killer to justice, Snelling added. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart praised the inter-agency work that led to the charges being filed, and called Wordlaw a true public servant, and somebody who was always there for everybody else. How in Gods name do we have someone firing off 69 rounds? Dart asked rhetorically. We have to do much better. Antoinette Ursitti, CPDs chief of detectives, said Thursday that Thompson fired approximately 69 bullets from two guns during the robbery attempt. Neither weapon was recovered by police, though investigators believe at least one of the guns was equipped with a switch a small device that allows for a semi-automatic handgun to fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull. Prosecutors on Thursday said Wordlaw was seated in his vehicle as his friend was pumping gas. Thats when Thompson allegedly approached Wordlaws friend and announced a robbery. Wordlaw opened his vehicle door and fired a shot before Thompson returned fire, prosecutors said, and one of those bullets likely struck Wordlaws gun, rendering it useless. Wordlaws single shot struck Thompson in the leg, authorities said. The off-duty deputy was shot in the chest, though he was able to drive a short distance from the crime scene before crashing. He was pronounced dead soon after. After the shooting, Ursitti alleged, Thompson went to Insight Hospital in Bronzeville for treatment, though he gave false information to responding CPD officers. He then took a rideshare to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, she said, where he again gave bogus details of the shooting, and he was taken into police custody. Prosecutors said Thompson has three prior gun-related felony convictions, each resulting in multi-year prison sentences. Thompson was discharged from mandatory supervised released in January 2024, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx said Thursday. CHICAGO Local law enforcement leaders gathered Thursday morning to announce charges in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Cook County sheriffs deputy on the South Side earlier this week. Cordarrow Thompson, 31, was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted armed robbery and one count of armed habitual criminal in the early Tuesday shooting death of Rafael Wordlaw, according to Cook County court records. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday. Wordlaw, also 31, was off-duty when he was fatally shot during a robbery attempt-turned-shootout at a gas station in the 500 block of East 67th Street, authorities said. This was an individual who dedicated his life to public service, Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a press conference to announce the charges. There are people across the city who are dealing with the same type of losses. Its senseless and its got to stop. We honor Deputy Wordlaw by bringing his killer to justice, Snelling added. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart praised the inter-agency work that led to the charges being filed, and called Wordlaw a true public servant, and somebody who was always there for everybody else. How in Gods name do we have someone firing off 69 rounds? Dart asked rhetorically. We have to do much better. Antoinette Ursitti, CPDs chief of detectives, said Thursday that Thompson fired approximately 69 bullets from two guns during the robbery attempt. Neither weapon was recovered by police, though investigators believe at least one of the guns was equipped with a switch a small device that allows for a semi-automatic handgun to fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull. Wordlaw, who was in his vehicle, was able to fire a single shot at Thompson, striking him in the leg. The off-duty deputy was shot in the chest, though he was able to drive a short distance from the crime scene before crashing. He was pronounced dead soon after. After the shooting, Ursitti alleged, Thompson went to Mercy Hospital & Medical Center for treatment, though he gave false information to responding CPD officers. He then took a rideshare to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, she said, where he again gave bogus details of the shooting, and he was taken into police custody. Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx told reporters that Thompson had two prior gun-related felony convictions, each resulting in multi-year prison sentences. Thompson was discharged from mandatory supervised released in January 2024, Foxx said. ____ CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA) The Charleston Fire Department has announced that their longtime chief is retiring. Chief Steve Bennett has served in the CFD for 25 years, but now hes stepping away from the job. His last day will be Friday. As for Bennetts successor, the city is promoting from within the department. City administrators appointed Tim Meister, Bennetts Assistant Fire Chief, as the new Chief. PHOTOS: Charleston Fire Dept. celebrates 150 years of service Incoming Charleston Fire Chief Tim Meister Meister has 30 years of firefighting experience, starting in 1994 with the Edge-Scott Fire Protection District in Urbana. He joined the Charleston Fire Department in 2000 as a firefighter and paramedic. He was promoted to Captain six years later and Assistant Fire Chief a decade later. After eight years as an Assistant Chief, Meister will assume command of a department that operates with 33 firefighters and paramedics and on a budget of over $7 million. Mattoon, Paxton cleaning up damage left by overnight storms In addition to serving in the CFD, Meister serves on the Eastern Illinois University Violence Prevention Committee and in the leadership roles of several organizations affiliated with first responders. He is certified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as a fire investigator, incident safety officer and HAZMAT technician. Meisters first day as Fire Chief will be Aug. 3. In addition to Meisters promotion, the City of Charleston promoted Captain Ryan Berkheimer, a CFD veteran serving since 2006, to Assistant Fire Chief. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. When the University of North Carolina System repealed its diversity, equity and inclusion policy in May, Valerie Kinloch was disappointed but not surprised. At Johnson C. Smith University, where Kinloch is entering her second year as president, she says equity, diversity and inclusion have been part of the fabric from the beginning. While the school was founded for Black Americans, students of any race and ethnicity are welcome to attend. Universities in this state and around the country have banned diversity, equity and inclusion without understanding fundamentally that diversity, equity and inclusion should be seen as cornerstones to everything we do, she told The Charlotte Observer. I think its a disservice. Valerie Kinloch, the president of Johnson C. Smith University, in her office in Charlotte on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Launched in 1867, JCSU is a private school and not part of the UNC system. It is among the countrys 100 historically Black colleges and universities. While its policies are not affected by the decision. Kinloch says the decision is misguided. Im disheartened that many universities are erasing, banning or disarming any kind of critical perspective when it comes to diversity equity and inclusion, she said. Diversity is not about just Black people ... Diversity is about understanding that we form a collective of critical, conscious individuals who pursue equity and justice because we have racial, ethnic, linguistic and gender differences. The policy that was repealed at UNC system schools required the employment of a diversity and inclusion officer at each of the systems 17 schools and the creation of a UNC system diversity and inclusion council, among other provisions. Attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, often referred to simply as DEI, began picking up steam in early 2023. Thats when conservative politicians from states, such as Texas and Florida, targeted at policies intended to attract and retain candidates of color at universities, corporations and government agencies. Since then, 85 anti-DEI bills geared toward programs at colleges have been introduced in 28 states, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. While proponents of DEI programs at universities say theyre a strategy to repair decades of exclusionary practices and policies, opponents say such practices are discriminatory toward white Americans and violate freedom of speech. All but two of the 24 voting members of the UNC system board of governors voted to repeal the schools DEI policy originally established in 2019. UNC System President Peter Hans emphasized the systems duty to remain neutral on political matters. We have well-established laws and policies that prohibit discrimination, protect equal opportunity, and require a safe and supportive learning environment for all students, Hans said in a written statement last May. We will continue to uphold those responsibilities. Kinloch believes its a step in the wrong direction. It just baffles me, but Im not surprised, she said. When we talk about equity, we talk about a redistribution of resources to the people and communities who need those resources the most, and at times, when you have people in positions of power who dont want to share resources, then it becomes an outright attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. Michigan's primary election is Aug. 6. If you're voting absentee, there are a few ways to verify whether your local clerk has received your ballot before the election. The Michigan Voter Information Center, an online resource, offers election details for voters, including the status of your absentee ballot, your voter registration status, what will be on your ballot and your local polling place. You can search for your voter information on the website, by your name or the ZIP code you're registered to vote in or your driver's license number. The website has contact information for your local clerk, who can verify whether your ballot has been received. It says my ballot hasn't been received. What now? If you mailed your absentee ballot in at least two weeks before Election Day, it will likely get to your local clerk before polls close Tuesday. This close to the election, however, officials recommend returning absentee ballots directly to your clerk's office or in secure dropboxes in the city or township you are voting in. Dropbox locations can be found on the Michigan Voter Information Center website. I'm still worried: Can I spoil my absentee ballot? If you're worried your absentee ballot won't make it to the clerk's office in time, you have the option of spoiling an absentee ballot. Voters can spoil an absentee ballot for any reason but common factors include a candidate dropping out of a race or a voter being concerned his or her ballot won't be received in time. Voters must submit a written request with their local clerk to spoil a ballot. If an absentee ballot has not been received, voters have until 4 p.m. the Monday before Election Day to go in person to their local clerk's office and submit a request to spoil their absentee ballot. This close to Election Day, visiting your clerk's office in person is probably better than submitting the spoiling request through the mail. More: Am I registered to vote in Michigan's primary election? How to register, check your status More: Michigan primary election 2024: Voter guide, everything to know If your ballot has been received by your local clerk and you'd still like to spoil it for any reason, this request must be submitted by 5 p.m. the Friday before Election Day. If you requested an absentee ballot but have not returned it by Election Day, you can surrender your ballot at the polls or sign a statement saying the absentee ballot was lost or destroyed. This will allow you to cast your vote at your local precinct. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to verify absentee ballot status for Michigan primary election Chico planned a burn that could have curbed the Park Fire. Heres why it didnt get done Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com. Just across the road from where Californias fifth largest fire in recorded history ignited last week, sat a 50 acre patch of extremely dry invasive yellow-star thistle that local authorities knew was dangerous. The area would burn at surprising intensity and flame height, a report states on the City of Chicos vegetation fuels management plan, which recommends a preemptive burn to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires. Mainly due to lack of resources, the prescribed burn project was planned but never done. Chico authorities could have never predicted that a man would allegedly push a flaming car into a ravine next door. Yet experts said the burn would have likely kneecapped the Park Fire in the key moments after ignition. The blaze now spans a 260-mile perimeter and forced thousands to evacuate their homes, some of which have been destroyed. Its a freak of nature chance that this fire happened right next to where we had a project planned, said Zeke Lunder, founder of Deer Creek Resources, the company that helped the city plan the burn. If we would have burned this spring, theres good odds it would have slowed this fire down and allowed us to catch it. The sun shines through smoke from the Park Fire east of Chico on Highway 32 on Tuesday. Experts said this origin story underscores the power of prescribed burns to avoid devastating wildfire and the barriers that still exist to doing them including extremely limited funding compared to the resources required to fight colossal fires. By the time this fires over were going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on it, said Lunder, who estimated the cost of the planned burn at $10,000 and a day of work. If we invested a fraction of that in prescribed fire we could have prevented a minor fire from becoming this catastrophe. Chico is widely considered a leader among California cities in wildfire mitigation. The citys fire chief said an unfortunate combination of hot temperatures, complicated terrain, limited personnel and lack of equipment kept his department from undertaking the burn this spring. Theres no magic to this, City of Chico Fire Department Chief Steve Standridge said, defending his departments decisions. Were not omnipresent, so we dont know whether or not the mitigation work were doing is going to be a benefit. Chico has had a prescribed burn program for over a decade, and completes roughly two to three prescribed burns a year. The city often burns a western swath of the park as a protective buffer for homes. This year it also burned outside the Chico Regional Airport. We have a lot of different priorities we need to balance, said Chico fire chief Standridge, noting that fires are especially common in Bidwell Park, the citys beloved 3,500 recreation area. We pick our best opportunities to burn and proceed with that. I cant predict where the fires will be. Firefighters light backfires at the top of a ridge as the Park Fire smolders below near Highway 36, northeast of Red Bluff in Tehama County, on July 27. Key early hours of the Park fire The Park Fire began in a gully in the northernmost section of Chicos lush upper Bidwell Park, roughly six miles from downtown. Authorities say 42-year old Ronnie Stout pushed a burning car into it, sparking flames that rapidly spread winds north. Arson investigators arrested a man accused of starting the Park Fire near Chico by pushing a flaming vehicle into a gully Once ignited, the Park fire erupted across Butte County on a triple-digit temperature afternoon aided by strong winds, tearing through the dense, dry fuel fed by last winters substantial rainy season and dried by already record summer temperatures. The Park fire has now burned 350,000 acres in 72 hours, prompting evacuation orders for more than 26,000 people, Cal Fire reported. But the fire continues to grow and 361 structures have been destroyed so far, according to Cal Fire data. Decades of fire suppression in California combined with climate change have dramatically increased wildfire size and intensity, according to officials. The practice of fighting wildfires with good fire has origins in Indigenous, pre-European settlement of California. A key piece of the states plan to tackle the problem is scaling up prescribed burns, which clear brush and dead tree fuels to choke fires, on a large scale. Last year, the state and U.S. Forest Service set a goal to thin state forests by 1 million acres a year by 2025. Experts on California wildfire and prescribed burning did not fault Chico for the Park fire coincidence, instead praising its efforts to incorporate controlled burns and other prevention in a state that has historically focused primarily on fire suppression. Len Nielsen, Cal Fires staff chief for prescribed fire, said its almost laughable to suggest the City of Chico erred. That someone happened to roll a car on fire down a hill on a triple-digit temperature, windy day, he said, is a total freak accident. Missed opportunities are rather common in the world of controlled burns, he said, although scientifically proving whether a fire could have been avoided by a preventative measure is nearly impossible. If we had a fuel break there, or had completed a project that was planned there, it could have prevented a catastrophic wildfire. Thats what we do every day, he said. Unfortunately, there are a lot of projects that need to be done and not enough resources to go around. A Cal Fire S-2T airtanker flies near smoke from the Park Fire near Cohasset Road east of Chico on July 25. The slow progress of good fire According to Cal Fire data, about 100,000 acres were treated with prescribed burns last year up from about 50,000 acres from 2020. But a variety of challenges are keeping the form of fuels reduction from scaling up fast enough to keep up with wildfires. Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the Fire Network at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the fact that this fire happened to start where a burn was planned highlights the power of small burns, not just a big million-acre goal. Really targeted burning at the right times of year can be really impactful, even if theyre not big projects, she said. A small project right around a community or home can be a total game changer. And we shouldnt underestimate that. Despite the progress that California has made, barriers still remain to conduct prescribed burns, partly because they are finicky. A given prescription requires specific weather circumstances including mild temperatures, moderate humidity, low wind speed and air quality permits. California recently established a $20 million claims fund for prescribed fire projects on private lands and for cultural burning, which Quinn-Davidson said has helped clear liability hurdles. The state is now home to approximately 40 certified burn bosses, people authorized to perform prescribed fire planning. Yet capacity and resources to do them remains a challenge. When the Goldilocks opportunity arrives in a given region, experts like Lenya said its often missed if the single dedicated person in a department is off doing something else, such as fighting a fire. She and Lunder, who helped craft the citys burn plan, hope to see more resources go toward prevention. Theres never enough money for the prescribed fire and fuels treatment side of things, but the checkbooks open when its a wildfire, she said. We write grants, they last for two years and then people lose their jobs. Yet this is one of our biggest solutions. Its all part of Californias ever-evolving relationship to fire that Stanridge, Chicos fire chief, said deepens each year. His city has had more experience with wildfires than most, not least its proximity to the infamous Camp Fire that destroyed nearby Paradise. Weve been through a lot of big fires, he said. Weve become better, more aware and more proactive each and every year. No matter what you do there is always more you could be doing. A firefighter with the Monterey Fire Department hoses down smoldering rubble in Cohasset on July 26. A group of firefighters put out hot spots to prevent fires from further damaging remaining structures in the area. By Manas Mishra and Mariam Sunny (Reuters) -Biogen lifted its full-year profit forecast on Thursday due to cost cuts and better-than-expected sales of its various treatments, even as the U.S. adoption of its Alzheimer's drug remains slow. CEO Christopher Viehbacher, who is spearheading a turnaround at Biogen since taking over the top job in 2022, said the company was now positioned for growth after a series of cost-cutting efforts, multiple acquisitions and a narrowed focus on new launches. "We're not done yet, and we've certainly had a few setbacks along the way. But I think we can now focus on sustainable growth," Viehbacher told reporters. Biogen also beat estimates for profit in the second quarter, helped by better-than-expected performance of its newer drugs such as rare disease treatment Skyclarys as well as older multiple sclerosis treatments. Sales of Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, which it sells with Japan's Eisai, came in at $40 million, modestly above estimates of $32 million. Its take-up has been slow due to requirements such as additional diagnostic tests, twice-monthly infusions and regular brain scans, and its EU application was rejected last week. The company also said it had decided to retain its biosimilars business after a year-long review. In the second quarter, sales of older multiple sclerosis drug, which are facing competition from rivals, fell 4.9% to $1.15 billion but came in ahead of estimates of $1.4 billion. Skyclarys brought in sales of $100 million for the quarter. Analysts had expected $92.06 million. The drugmaker raised its 2024 adjusted per-share profit forecast to a range of $15.75 to $16.25 from $15 to $16 previously. The company's second-quarter adjusted profit of $5.28 per share beat estimates of $4.03. Shares of the company were marginally higher at $214.44 in premarket trading. This is overall a decent quarter, said Jefferies analyst Michael Yee, but said there was "no major thesis change". (Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond and the United States Marshals Service held a news conference Thursday morning to address recent efforts to reduce crime in the city. All of us working together, we can come up with ideas and plans to reduce violence in our city, Thurmond said. And one of the things we just discussed is that you cant arrest your way out of everything. There are some other things that have to take place in order for us to provide a safer city, a safer environment for everyone. Thurmond explained that the effort to reduce violence will take time, and that although the effort is still ongoing, he believes it has been successful so far. Richard Kelly, Acting Associate Director of Operations for the United States Marshal Service, stated that the agency, along with the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, is committed to solve the problem of violent crime in Birmingham. As part of a leveraged effort across all of state and local law enforcement, we hope to be able to begin to make a dent in this. And certainly, were reliant on the people who best understand this problem, which is our presidentially appointed Marshal as well as the people that he partners with, said Kelly. The news can be watched in full in the video player above. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Col. Kevin Hicok, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, speaks at an event in Sumter Thursday, Aug. 1. 2024, announcing military families will be able to use their child care benefits at more centers in South Carolina. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) SUMTER South Carolina military families will now be able to use their military benefits at more child care centers in the state. Military families are now able to use federally-funded vouchers that help cover the cost of child care at centers that meet heightened health and safety standards under the state Department of Social Services ABC Quality Program. Col. Kevin Hicok, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, said hes often approached by people in the community thanking him for his service. But, he said, that service to country often goes beyond the soldiers themselves. Yes, it does have to do with the service member making sacrifices every day at home and abroad. But a lot of it also has to do with the family that gets left behind, he said during the child care announcement Thursday in Sumter. Military spouses and children are often uprooted every couple of years when a service member is assigned to a new base. Each move comes with new neighborhoods, new friends and a search for a new child care provider. Shaw Air Force Base offers on-base child care but that program always has a waiting list, Hicok said, forcing the families stationed there to have to look for care centers in the community. Previously, military members were only able to use their benefits at nationally accredited centers off base. But only about 9% of centers nationwide meet that standard, said DSS Director Mike Leach. Now, the U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to accept South Carolinas accreditation standards. South Carolina child care centers that participate in the ABC Quality Program and go beyond state minimum requirements to achieve at least a B+ rating now qualify to accept military child care vouchers. To achieve a B+ rating, centers must have smaller class sizes, have credentialed educators on staff and are subject to annual reviews by Social Services. Leach said there are currently 200 child care centers with a B+ rating or higher in South Carolina, all of which will be accessible to military families using vouchers to help cover costs. Social Services is hopeful that the expansion of military benefits will encourage more child care center operators to volunteer for the program and raise their ratings. Child care costs can reach upwards of $10,000 annually, making it difficult for many parents, Leach said. The value of these military vouchers varies based on a familys income and the cost of living in towns that are home to military bases, but assistance was capped at $1,800 per month as of September 2023. The child care industry across the country is in economic crisis right now, Leach said. The industry is struggling to stay afloat and in business and parents are struggling to find affordable quality child care. This is an opportunity to be able to get Department of Defense dollars and help those military families out with child care. Military-friendly South Carolina is home to nearly 33,700 active-duty military members and more than 24,400 National Guard and reserve members, all of whom are eligible for the expanded benefits. INDEPENDENCE, Mo. A couple faced a judge Wednesday charged in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy who fell nine stories to his death Monday. Now, FOX4 has learned it wasnt the first time in the past week one of the children inside the apartment disappeared, apparently without the adults in charge knowing. Keirra Canady had never seen the inside of her friends apartment on the 8th floor of Independence Towers. I just knew that they were hard-working parents, so it didnt dawn on me to investigate what the inside of their house looked like. Man pleads guilty to illegal purchase of firearm found after Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting Prosecutors say those conditions rose to the level of child endangerment, charging Destiny Randle, 28 and Moses Lee Bass, Jr. late Tuesday night. According to charging documents, there were piles of trash, the smell of urine and a bedroom window without a working lock and a hole in the screen where children were known to throw toys out. Canady, who works nearby, accompanied the family to the hospital when the boy fell Monday. They allowed Destiny to go over and see him, but after that it was like when everything just kind of hit the fan, she said. Independence police and SWAT officers executed a search warrant and say they also found safety doorknobs on the inside of the childrens room to keep them from getting out before the couple woke up. Canady says that may have been because of what happened Monday morning of last week. Independence police posted on July 22 about a 5-year-old wandering in the area of the gas station near Independence Towers at 7 a.m. He wasnt able to provide police with his last name or his parents name. A couple hours later they posted he was back home. FOX4 has confirmed the wandering boy was the older brother of the 3-year-old who fell from the window. It is tragic a baby had to lose its life, but it is on the parents and I feel like somebody should have definitely stepped in then, neighbor Raylee Pemberton said. Citizen app slated for Kansas City launch on Friday, August 2 Independence police referred questions about the sibling getting out last week to Missouris Childrens Division, who they say were notified. Confirmation the situations were connected came after their offices were closed, so at this point, it is unclear where that investigation stood and if they had visited the apartment or had planned to before the other childs death. According to prosecutors, the couple had been trying to get management to fix problems with the window for months. Independences mayor met with residents and faith leaders Wednesday about ongoing issues at the apartments. Meanwhile, prosecutors focus on what the couple could have done to have prevented the tragedy. Each had their bond set at $100,000 by a judge Wednesday. The person that I know as far as Destiny and Moses if they were a little bit more aware of the situation and attended to it a little bit more, Im very sure they would have done everything in their power to make sure that nothing happened to any of their babies, Canady said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. (Bloomberg) -- China installed a new army commander for its southern region, an unexpected move that comes after recent clashes in the South China Sea inflamed tensions with the US and its allies. Most Read from Bloomberg General Wu Yanan has been appointed to head the Southern Theater Command, a Chinese state media report revealed Wednesday by referring to him by that title. Wu, born in Aug 1962, has experience in the ground forces and previously served as commander of the Central Theater Command responsible for defending Beijing. The Southern Theater Command oversees military strategy in the South China Sea, where Beijings sweeping territorial claims have been disputed by its neighbors. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been pushing back against Chinas stake over nearly all of the water, and bolstering military cooperation with the US. Wu replaces 60-year-old Wang Xiubin. While there are no tenure limits for commanders, Wangs two predecessors stepped down at the de facto retirement age of 65. No official reason has been given for his departure, nor next steps for the general. Wang was first revealed as the Southern Theater Command chief in July 2021, when he was being promoted to general. He last appeared in public in that capacity in April, when he met with visiting French officials. Chinas military celebrates its 97th anniversary Thursday, after a tumultuous year. The worlds biggest troop by the number of active personnel has been mired in corruption scandals that impacted officials up to former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and ex-navy commander of Southern Theater Command Ju Xinchun. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater efforts to build a border defense system at a meeting this week, amid disputes with India and at the South China Sea. Beijing also expanded its export curbs on drones Wednesday, as Washington threatens China with sanctions over supplying Moscow with dual-use items that it says are bolstering Russias battlefield efforts in Ukraine. (Updates with more context throughout.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. China adjusted its export controls on military drones amid growing criticism from the U.S. and its allies over support for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. On July 31, a range of agencies, including the Central Military Commission, added drones with high-precision measurement equipment to a blacklist, Bloomberg reports. The updated list, initially published last year, will take effect on Sept. 1. President Xi Jinping's government issued the directive days after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. On July 24, Kuleba said that China remains "unshakably" committed to Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. China has positioned itself as neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war but has simultaneously deepened economic ties with Moscow and backed the country against Western sanctions. It has also shaped up to be Russia's leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry. Beijing, however, has consistently refuted Western accusations of supplying Moscow with dual-use items with military applications. While officials lifted export bans on consumer-grade drones, the Ministry of Commerce reiterated that civilian equipment should not be used for "the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, or military purposes." European officials recently claimed that Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine. China has denied these allegations, maintaining that it has not provided weapons to any parties involved in the Ukraine war and strictly controls the export of dual-use items. China "opposes drone exports being used for non-peaceful purposes, and opposes individual countries imposing illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals on the pretext of using drones," the Ministry of Commerce said. Read also: Chinese banks reject about 80% of Russian yuan payments, media reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that if China takes a strong stance, it will be able to force Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine. Source: Zelenskyy's interview with French media Quote from Zelenskyy: "If China wants to, it can force Russia to stop this war. This is how we talk about the whole world. China is an integral part of this world and one of the influential powers. I would like them not to be in a mediating role. I would like them to put pressure on Russia to end the war. Just like the United States is putting pressure. Just like the EU is putting pressure." Details: Zelenskyy says the stronger the state is, the more pressure should be put on Russia, and then there will be a quick result. In his opinion, mediation is not a strong position. Quote from Zelenskyy: "That's why I would like China to have a strong position in this war so that they can stop the Russians. We don't need anything else. We don't need any additional support. Everything should be based on international law. I would like China to have such a principled position." Support UP or become our patron! The California Highway Patrol identified the married couple killed in a head-on crash last week as they tried to pass a big rig on Highway 46 near Highway 41. The crash killed Paso Robles residents Helmut Stich, 83, and Karen Stich, 72, the CHP announced on Thursday. The Stiches were traveling westbound on Highway 46 East in a 2020 Hyundai about four miles east of the Cholame Y just after midnight on July 23, according to the initial CHP news release. Helmut was driving the Hyundai about 55 mph behind a tractor-trailer, which he then attempted to pass. When the car entered the eastbound lane in an attempt to pass the big rig, it crashed head-on with Grant McKenzie, who was driving a 2005 Ford F350 in the opposite direction. McKenzie, who lives in San Diego, was transported to Adventist Health Sierra Vista hospital in San Luis Obispo with major injuries, the CHP said. The Stiches both died in the crash, the CHP said. The agency said it does not suspect impairment was a factor in the crash. Dunns conviction was overturned by a Missouri judge on July 22 after two men, who were teenagers at the time the crime occurred, recanted their testimony CBS Mornings/X Christopher Dunn Christopher Dunn who spent 34 years in prison in connection with the 1990 murder of Ricco Rogers before being released on July 30 has spoken out publicly about regaining his freedom for the first time. The 52-year-old opened up in an interview with CBS Mornings about what it feels like to enter the world again after spending more than half of his life in prison after he was convicted of Rogers murder in 1991 at 18-years-old. There's a world I haven't seen in 34 years, Dunn admitted. To see the trees move, to see other people walking, to see the automobiles driving by, that's life. I still cant believe this is actually true, he added of his release. Dunns conviction was overturned by a Missouri judge on July 22 after two men, who were teenagers at the time the crime occurred, recanted their testimony of seeing Dunn shoot Rogers, citing coercion from police and prosecutors, per The Washington Post, The New York Times and BBC News. However, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed an appeal to keep Dunn in prison, and the Missouri Supreme Court took up the case, per The Washington Post. They ruled that Dunn could be set free if the St. Louis circuit attorney had no plans to retry him, which they confirmed, eventually leading to Dunns release. The 52-year-old had maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment, though he noted to CBS Mornings that it was difficult to keep hope. When asked about the worst part of it all, he noted that it was waking up everyday in prison and thinking to yourself, This is another day that your life [doesnt] matter, that you wouldve been better off if dead. He said another difficulty in prison was going without the security of my family, as some of his family members were able to visit him in prison, while others werent. But as Dunn said on the steps of Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis after his release, per CBS News, "I never gave up because my family never gave up. "It's easy to give up in prison when you lose hope, he continued. But when the system throws you away, you have to ask yourself if you wanted to just settle for it or fight for it." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Dunn noted that days after his release, he was still reacquainting himself with the world and his new life with his wife Kira Dunn. One of the surprises hes getting used to includes the high price of goods. When my wife gave me these things here, I looked at the price tag and it scared me, Dunn shared. Theres no way in the world I wouldve paid this much money on a shirt, a pair of pants and shoes [in the 1990s]. He also shared that there were many things he wanted to do on his bucket list which he joked was now a pail. Im [going to] go see a [Chicago] Cubs game, he said, adding that he also wanted to go skydiving, scuba diving and drive across the country to California to celebrate his 10-year anniversary with his wife. I dont think that we are really believing its real, Kira told CBS Mornings. We feel like were dreaming. I know we said to each other if we wake up the next morning and its still happening then we can start to believe it, but I think were still struggling to believe it. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Devou Good Foundation President Matt Butler, center, said the Fair Share for Cincy effort submitted more than 14,000 signatures in support of a fall ballot measure. It needs just shy of 8,800. Cincinnati voters should learn in coming days whether they'll consider a change in decision-making for how federal infrastructure dollars are spent locally on this November's ballot. The group behind the effort says it submitted 14,240 signatures to the Hamilton County Board of Elections as of Tuesday. If the board verifies that 8,787 of the signatures came from registered voters, the Nov. 5 ballot will include a measure to amend the city of Cincinnati charter and alter the voting structure of a key area transportation group called the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments or OKI. That's the number required for charter amendments this year, reflecting 10% of the total who voted in the city's last election. Board of Elections Director Sherry Poland confirmed that her office received approximately 14,000 signatures for the ballot item and that "the verification process is ongoing." She could not say when it would conclude. OKI, City Manager Sheryl Long and Cincinnati City Council member Mark Jeffreys, meanwhile, say the ballot issue could jeopardize millions in federal dollars for Cincinnati. $200K in funding, 24,000 door knocks Fair Share for Cincy, the group behind the ballot effort, collected the signatures at community council meetings and by knocking on more than 24,000 doors, according to Matt Butler, president of Devou Good Foundation, a Covington nonprofit supporting Fair Share. More than 55 volunteers joined the effort, he said. Butler was the sole giver to Fair Share's political action committee, called Sustainable Cincy, with $200,000 in contributions through June 30. Fair Share spent more than $141,000 of that, by Butler's tally, to pay signature gatherers and cover related expenses. If the Fair Share amendment makes the ballot and wins, OKI could be compelled to give Cincinnati more seats on its 118-person board. That would give the city more influence in decisions about how federal dollars are spent on infrastructure in Hamilton County and seven adjacent counties, Fair Share believes. "This is truly a movement for the people, by the people," an affiliated group called Greater Cincinnati Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development said on its Facebook page. OKI fighting 'special interest group' As supporters wrapped up their campaign this week and awaited a response from the Board of Elections, OKI spoke out against the proposed ballot measure. Calling Butler and his supporters an "NKY special interest group" and noting he lives outside Cincinnati like his foundation, Butler is based in Covington OKI said the amendment "could inadvertently deprive the city of Cincinnati millions of dollars in federal transportation funding." That's because the measure would kick Cincinnati out of OKI unless the group gives the city board seats proportional to the city's population. Under its present board, Cincinnati gets a fair share of federal dollars that OKI disperses, an OKI statement says. OKI has sent or will send Cincinnati $233.9 million of the federal infrastructure dollars designated for Ohio between 2010 and 2028, OKI said. That's about 31% of Ohio's total, for a city with 18% of the OKI Ohio population. In a statement released Wednesday, Fair Share for Cincy said its amendment "is designed to work within federal and state laws" not against them; that OKI has the power to update its bylaws on its own; and that federal law protects funding for Cincinnati. "Our goal is to enhance regional cooperation by ensuring all voices are fairly represented," the group said. Measure could mean 'significant loss' for city Long is also concerned the city could suffer "a significant loss of crucial transportation funding" if the Fair Share measure passes. "Passage of the proposed charter amendment could result in the city no longer receiving the benefits it has received by being part of OKI," she said in a July 18 memo to Mayor Aftab Pureval and members of Cincinnati City Council. Long also noted that OKI would be unlikely to alter its board, even if the ballot measure goes through. That's because OKI's bylaws can only be changed by the eight county members and three state members. That's a point OKI makes as well, saying, "the charter of the city of Cincinnati does not supersede" its bylaws or related state and federal law. Council member Jeffreys, who has taken the lead among the citys nine council members on transportation issues, said the initiative troubles him. I dont think this is in the best interest of Cincinnati, he said. It is a solution in search of a problem. We have a lot of real problems; this isnt one of them. Jeffreys said he understands Fair Share's desire for "fair representation," but said Cincinnati is "getting more than our fair share. Cincinnati could lose millions if the initiative passes and the city is forced to set up some entity to replace OKI, he added. Charter amendment and deadlines The Fair Share effort is unique in that it is being driven by somebody who doesnt live in Cincinnati. Charter amendments typically come from city council or from Cincinnati residents who have a personal stake in the issue they are seeking to change. The deadline to put the charter amendment on the ballot is Sept. 6, which is 60 days before the election. But city rules require signature verification and a council vote sooner than the deadline in order to give the city solicitors office time to write the charter amendment that citizens would be voting on. Council is expected to vote on the charter amendment on Aug. 7, its lone summer meeting. Under the charter amendment process, council members must move the legislation forward, no matter where they stand on the issue. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will OKI amendment make the fall ballot? MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Circle K is offering 40 cents off every gallon of gas on Thursday to celebrate Back-to-school Fuel Day, the company said on its website. The 40-cent discount will be available at participating stations across the country, the company said. The offer is valid Thursday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. local time. Map of Circle Ks Pee Dees locations Map of Circle Ks Grand Strand locations The average gas price per gallon in South Carolina is currently $3.126, according to AAA. For a full list of all Circle K locations, click here. * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Good morning. Boeings board of directors and the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts both took action yesterday to dispense with policy for two special people. Boeing waived its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its newly appointed CEO Kelly Ortberg, as it did when hiring current CEO Dave Calhoun. And Massachusetts state legislators passed an act authorizing the city of Springfield to let its new Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers, whod otherwise hit retirement age months into the job, work until hes 70. With all this recent debate over whether to impose a mandatory retirement age for, say, the president of the United States, its a reminder that nobody has this stuff figured out. Ortberg, an industry star as CEO of Rockwell Collins, was a few years into his own retirement when tapped for the gig at Boeing. Now, he joins peers like Disneys Bob Iger, Target CEO Brian Cornell, 3M CEO Bill Brown, and Chevrons Mike Wirth in having their companies' retirement rules waived to get them into the top job. What should temper any outrage over such casual trashing of the corporate canon is the fact that these rules dont apply to many of us. Like a personal security detail and your own Gulfstream V, mandatory retirement clauses are typically reserved for senior executives and board members. Most rank-and-file corporate workers are theoretically allowed to work until they drop or a colleague gently convinces them to move on to other adventures (without breaching the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, of course). There are exceptions. Many professional services firms populated with lawyers, consultants, physicians and the like, impose mandatory retirement because the partners are considered co-owners of the firm. The predictability of having a defined end point to employment makes it easier to transition clients, avoid difficult conversations, and plan fantastic goodbye parties. Mandatory retirement is also commonplace for pilots, air traffic controllers, firefighters, and police officers. Some say mandatory retirement is necessary to maintain safety and efficiency, while bringing in fresh thinking and talent. (The Coast Guard, meanwhile, is discovering the limits of telling people to retire.) But mandatory laws can also cut people off in their prime, when everyone wants them to stay on the job. Thats why Superintendent Akers needed a new law to keep him in his role. The broader question, of course, is how to creatively manage people towards the end of their professional careers. Unless youre an academic, a writer or, say, a Supreme Court justice, most career paths dont end at the grave. Retirements a more fungible concept when careers are eclectic and were all aiming to live to 100. One liners about retirement waivers in press releases can feel a little like high school, where the cool kids on the board announce who gets to rise above their rules. (Wait, I forgot to mention age limits on boards!) Story continues Common sense is a good place to start. As Akers, whos the first Black police officer to lead the Springfield department, recently said during his swearing-in ceremony: Please dont allow the state to end my career and ruin the police department at a time were moving in a positive direction. May Akers and Kelly Ortberg live long and prosper in their new jobs. More news below. Diane Brady diane.brady@fortune.com Follow on LinkedIn This story was originally featured on Fortune.com KANSAS CITY, Mo. A public safety app called Citizen is launching in Kansas City on Friday at noon. Its bringing new ways for metro residents to get information about whats happening around them but also a watchful eye from at least one law enforcement agency. Our mission is to keep people safe by giving them the information they need to stay safe in their area, said Citizen Director of Distribution Juliana Pignataro. FOX4 Forecast: Storm risks overnight Thats why Pignataro says the Citizen app can track users locations to send alerts when other users report emergencies, police activity, or other events nearby. Its already running in many other U.S. cities after initially launching in 2016. It could be a great tool that helps us out but it also could harm things, said Clay County Sheriffs Office Public Relations Manager Sarah Boyd. Boyd says her law enforcement contacts in other cities have had some tough experiences in the past with the Citizen app. It was removed from app stores soon after it launched in 2016 as Vigilante amid criticism that users were taking the law into their own hands. In May 2021, Citizen circulated a picture of someone it claimed was an arson suspect in California and offered a $30,000 reward for information about him. Investigators later determined that was the wrong person. Citizen has reclarified its mission in the last few years and put rigorous protocol in place to ensure that we are, first and foremost, keeping people safe, said Pignataro. Independence veteran honors mother with project to donate 500 handmade baby hats Pignataro says that includes moderators who look at posts coming in from users to vet the information and send information to local police if its warranted. Those moderators in place are looking at the information that comes in and they need to verify it before it gets on Citizen, said Pignataro. So we dont take everything and anything. These people are looking to make sure the information is legitimate and verified before we send it out. Still, Boyd says the app allows users to post pictures, videos and information about fluid emergency situations that can pull people to active crime scenes and spread information that could be incorrect. Citizen updates are available to users for free, but there are two subscription tiers. Plus costs $5.99 per month and gives users custom alerts and police and fire radio clips. Premium costs $19.99 per month and also gives users access to Live Agent monitoring and Safety Agents if someone wants a person to track them while they walk to a car at night or do similar tasks. You can get in touch with a Safety Agent, they can stay on the phone with you, they have access to your location data and they can get in touch with 911 if the situation were to escalate, said Pignataro. KCPD gets funding for new explosive detection K-9 KCPD, the Clay County Sheriffs Office, and Citizen all agree that people should call 911 directly if theyre ever in imminent danger, and law enforcement agencies point out that is always free. Boyd says a police department non-emergency line could also help someone who wants to have someone on the phone. Boyd says shes open to working with the Citizen app to see if it can be a helpful tool for law enforcement once it launches in the metro on Friday. If Citizen can help us do that in a responsible way then Im all for it, said Boyd. If theyve changed, if theyve set up ways to properly vet information, then thats great but if its just letting people speculate about incidents, then I think thats dangerous. Citizen and local law enforcement all stress that if you feel like youre in danger, call 911 directly. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. City attorney says stop being a jerk as Columbus cracks down on street racing City attorney says stop being a jerk as Columbus cracks down on street racing COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Columbus is cracking down on reckless driving as city leaders point to a surge in street racing that started during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, Columbus City Council approved a change to the part of the city code that banned street racing, adding language on stunt driving and street takeovers to the section. Stunt driving can include weaving in and out of traffic and bikers popping wheelies, and a street takeover is when multiple vehicles shut down an intersection for cars to do things like burnouts and doughnuts. Franklin County deputy arrested on over 50 sex crime charges An uptick in street racing, stunt driving and street takeovers throughout the country has led to an increase in dangerous activity on public streets, according to councilmembers and City Attorney Zach Klein. People are fed up with it, and its on their nerves from a quality of life standpoint, Klein said. But equally so, I think folks are concerned about the fact that its a threat to public safety. Although the Ohio Legislature recently passed House Bill 56, which addressed these issues, the city decided to double down on those efforts. What we did was take it a little step further, Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said. The amendment to the city code includes the following changes: Prohibits any person from knowingly participating in stunt driving or street takeovers in public areas. Specifies that anyone assisting stunt driving or street takeover be charged the same as the participants. Prohibits street racing on private property open to the public and applies the same legal penalties. Makes the two new criminal offenses first-degree misdemeanors, carrying a potential drivers license suspension ranging from 30 days to three years, and the assessment of six points on the offenders license. Defines a vehicle component as: any motor vehicle part or accessory specifically adapted for use in street racing, stunt driving, or street takeover. Vehicle component includes, but is not limited to, steering wheels, wheels and tires, and mufflers. Authorizes the forfeiture of vehicle components used in committing the offense. Of these changes, Remy and Klein said forcing offenders to give up parts of their vehicle could have the greatest impact. Klein said this will discourage street racing by putting a financial squeeze on the people involved. Ohio bill would allow impaired driving test for marijuana, but does it work? Remy said charging those who assist the offenders with the same crime was a significant change. Those that are surrounding and cheering and rooting, we have the ability to charge them as well as the actual driver themselves, Remy said. We are not going to tolerate that. Klein wanted to send a message to involved drivers to stop being a jerk. He supported the additional penalties because stunt driving and street racing can lead to accidents and gun violence. You could lose control of the vehicle at any moment, Klein said. You could run over a kid playing at a playground. It really does threaten public safety from a vehicle standpoint. But unfortunately, weve also seen a lot of these street takeovers especially escalate to gun violence. US Marshals find additional suspect in Short North mass shooting In March, a man was taken to the hospital after a street takeover resulted in a 21-year-old driver crashing into another car. At the time, Lt. Christopher Wayner of Columbus police warned of the trend increasing. Theyre putting a lot of themselves and their spectators at risk, Wayner said. April [2023], there was a large number of these, and we had officers actually get shot at who were trying to break up an event. Weve already had shots fired at events this year when we were clearing them out. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. DOWAGIAC, Mich. (WOOD) After recent water sampling in Dowagiac showed lead levels that exceed state standards, the city says it is continuing to work to reduce lead in its drinking water. In the latest round of sampling, water samples from 47 homes were tested, according to a Thursday release from the city. The testing found lead levels of 18 parts per billion in enough households to exceed the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energys action level of 15 parts per billion, prompting extra actions from education to increased testing to service line replacement. Its not the first time: In October 2023, city leaders announced that after some recalculation, water testing conducted in 2022 actually showed lead levels that exceeded state standards. On Thursday, Dowagiac leaders reiterated that they have been taking steps to reduce lead. They have been visiting homes to identify lead service lines, offering certified water filters to local households over 1,400 of which have been claimed so far and making use of resources from the state and federal government, like a $600,000 grant from EGLE, according to the release. Five more West Michigan communities net grants to identify lead service lines Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson previously told News 8 that the problem is not with the citys water source. What comes out of the plant does not have lead in it. As it goes through the pipes, it does not have lead, Anderson said in October. Where we have some incidents are when it comes through those lead service leads and then lead inside the house. The city explained that water may pick up lead from lead pipes, solder, plumbing and fittings. That means that the more time water sits in the pipes, the more lead it may leach. If youre a Dowagiac resident who wants to reduce your exposure to lead, the city has some tips. One thing you can do is run your water to help flush out lead. People whose homes have lead service lines should run the water for at least five minutes, while people without lead service lines need only run the water for between 30 seconds and two minutes, or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature. Boiling your water wont help when it comes to lead levels, the city noted. If your home may have a source of lead, the city says you should be using a certified lead-reducing filter until you can remove the lead source. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is offering free filters and replacement cartridges to Dowagiac households that have a source of lead, like lead plumbing, a lead service line or old faucets and fittings, and have a Medicaid-enrolled child under 19 or pregnant person living there. And if you dont qualify for a filter from MDHHS, Dowagiac is giving out free filters of its own from at the city hall, located at 241 S. Front Street. You can pick up these filters from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you dont know whether your home has a lead service line, check to find out. You can reach out to the city at 269.782.2195 for a service line inspection or visit michigan.gov/eglelab to learn about getting your water tested. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners this week approved a plan for a new Stabilization Center located in Milwaukie that will be focused on mental health and set to open more than a year from now. The Clackamas County Stabilization Center will be located at the former Womens Center at 9200 SE McBrod Ave. and is part of the countys larger effort of establishing a recovery-oriented system of care, officials said. Fresh details on Burgervilles newest location in nearly a decade opening soon There has historically been a disinvestment in mental health and addiction treatment. But in Clackamas County we are doing things differently, we are making this county safe and healthy for everyone who lives here, Commissioner Ben West said in a statement. We are committed to getting people the care they deserve. The center will aim to offer behavioral health stabilization and short-term care, including mental health, well-being and addiction services, officials said. It is being developed in partnership between Clackamas County and the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office. Service providers for the Stabilization Center will be selected in the fall, with renovations to the building set to begin by the end of the year. The plan is to open the center by the fall of 2025. Arsonist accused of setting trash on fire in Willamette National Forest KOIN 6 News reached out to Clackamas County to ask whether the center is designed to have sobering beds for intoxicated people or serve as a deflection center as part of HB 4002, as an alternative to jail for those caught with small amounts of drugs. A county spokesperson said the center is not designed for either of those things. [T]his stabilization center is primarily focused on mental health and is not a sobering center. The stabilization center is not related to the HB 4002 deflection program, the Clackamas County spokesperson said in an email. However, the stabilization center is part of Clackamas County commitment to focus on recovery through a recovery-oriented system of care. The center is part of a larger focus on recovery-centered capital projects that include the addiction-focused recovery center in Clackamas, the Caring Place resource center in Oregon City focused on getting people out of homelessness, the forthcoming transitional housing village in Clackamas, recovery-oriented scattered site homes and housing services-focused access centers in Estacada and Molalla that are still in the early stages. Washington study finds new cannabis product helps stress, anxiety According to a press release about the new Clackamas Stabilization Center, Capital funding includes $4 million approved by the Oregon Legislature in March, and additional funding from Trillium Community Health Plan. Health Share of Oregon and the regional Supportive Housing Services Measures will fund ongoing operations. In the neighboring Multnomah County, the Board of Commissioners is still hashing out the details of a new deflection center planned for Southeast Sandy Boulevard in Portland. That center will be related to HB 4002, with the facility opening Sept. 1, when the law takes effect. The plan doesnt include sobering beds until mid-2025 but city leaders like Portland Police Chief Bob Day are urgently asking the county to create them sooner. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. SOUTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The school year is kicking off Thursday for three nearby school districts Thursday in South Carolina. List of start dates across North and South Carolina Chester County Schools, York District 1, Chester, and Clover Schools in York County District 2 all head back to the classroom. Those districts end the year on May 29th. The district that took home the prize for earliest first day back was Chesterfield County, which opened its school doors on Tuesday. One of the biggest provisions for the upcoming school year in South Carolina and around the country is student cellphone use. South Carolina State Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver previously said the goal is to address cell phones impact on students mental health. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opens on August 26th. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Cleaver did not endorse in Jackson County prosecutor race. Why is he on campaign flyer? From left, Stephanie Burton, John Gromowsky and Melesa Johnson are Democratic candidates for Jackson County prosecutor. Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com. A photo of John Gromowsky, a candidate running for Jackson County prosecutor, with U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was featured on a flyer to voters in Kansas City. But the congressmans office on Tuesday released a statement saying Cleaver has not endorsed any of the three Democrats in the race. Melesa Johnson and Stephanie Burton are also running in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary to replace longtime prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who is not seeking reelection. Any representations to the contrary are simply false, Cleavers campaign spokesman Phil Scaglia said in the statement. While there are few restrictions on the content of campaign flyers, Johnson said the flyer was misleading. It does appear that my opponent is trying to message that he has the support of a respected, revered individual when he does not, she said. Gromowsky said his campaign had nothing to do with it, but did not think it was misleading. The flyer was paid for by the Stop Gun Violence Now PAC. Burton said it was a matter to take up with Cleaver and that she had no opinion on the flyer. Beth Vonnahme, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said there are legal restrictions on using photos without permission in commercial advertisements. But campaign advertisements are in gray territory since they are political speech, she said. Political speech tends to be afforded the highest free speech protection. This becomes even easier when the photo includes an established politician. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face Republican Tracey Chappell in the general election. Last week, Scaglia corrected Pat Contreras, a candidate running for the Missouri Senate who touted support from Cleaver, but did not have the endorsement. Cleaver has not endorsed Contreras or his opponent, incumbent Patty Lewis. A puppy is inventoried and assessed by a licensed veterinarian on the scene of an animal cruelty investigation by the Cleveland County SheriffOs Office. The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office this week arrested a 63-year-old Newalla man on more than 20 complaints of animal cruelty, one complaint of unlawfully leaving or disposing of a carcass and one complaint of dumping trash on public or private property. Detectives responded Tuesday to a citizens report about numerous unattended dogs on the property. When they arrived, the detectives observed from the roadway several emaciated dogs and a dead dog lying between two travel trailers, the Sheriffs office said in a news release. Detectives returned to the property with a search warrant on Wednesday morning. They observed several dogs running loose without access to fresh water. Small amounts of dry dog food were scattered on the ground, most of which was contaminated with dirt and feces, the Sheriffs office said. More dogs were found locked inside dilapidated travel trailers with no water and limited ventilation. Norman Animal Welfare along with other area animal welfare groups were called to assist. More: A man was arrested after 14 cattle were killed with a crossbow at St. Gregory's Abbey Living animals were removed from the property and assessed by a licensed veterinarian. Most of the dogs were in poor condition, with some being sick and others infested with fleas, the Sheriffs office said. In all, 26 dogs were placed with either the Oklahoma Humane Society or the Oklahoma Animal Alliance. Two carcasses were found. The man, whom The Oklahoman is not identifying because he has not yet been formally charged, told detectives he owned the dogs and left them on the property after he moved away, the Sheriffs office said. He remained in the Cleveland County jail Thursday afternoon. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 26 dogs recovered from Newalla home; man charged with animal cruelty WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) The fate of the woman charged in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash back in 2022 is now in the hands of a jury. Alicia Peckham is accused of picking up her then-boyfriend, Aramis Segura, after the crash on I-95 South that killed 17-year-old Olivia Passaretti, and then knowingly hiding him from police. The jury began deliberations officially began Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors: Suspected accomplice in deadly hit-and-run lied to detectives During the trial, prosecutors presented texts Peckham allegedly sent to Seguras sister the night of the crash, as well as an audio recording of the interview she had with police. Prosecutors also argue that Peckham, who pulled over on the highway that night after seeing what she thought was Seguras car, wouldnt admit that the vehicle involved in the deadly crash belonged to him. I pulled over because I thought he was there. But then they told me he ran, reportedly wrote in a text to Seguras sister. So they showed me the Benz, and I said, No, its not ours. But it is. Police believe Segura was speeding when he hit Passarettis car from behind while she was driving home early on New Years Day. The impact forced her car off the highway and down an embankment, where it hit a tree and rolled over. Segura allegedly fled, while Passaretti was pronounced dead at the scene. Text messages focus of first days testimony in trial connected to deadly 2022 crash Prosecutors said Peckham then helped Segura escape and lied to police when they arrived at their Charlestown home, telling them he was not there. Segura was found hiding under a bed in the home and arrested. The defense didnt dispute that Peckham lied, but rather tried to argue whether her actions constitute the charges shes facing. Peckham is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death as an aider and abettor, harboring a criminal, misprision of a felony, and obstruction of justice. Its unclear when Seguras trial will begin, but he has a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug. 23. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. Some CNY families to receive money to help with back-to-school shopping DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Some families in Central New York are not only getting an early start on back-to-school shopping, but extra money that could help offset high prices. On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $350 million in supplemental payments will be given to low and moderate income families across the state through the Empire State Child Credit program. More than one million eligible families will receive a payment of up to $330 per child without having to apply or sign up. The governor says the money will help back with back-to-school shopping. Usually whatever is on the list, we just check off. I just grab, and its not really a price matter. Its more of just whats on the list and what needs to be done, said Manar Suleiman, a mother of child going into third grade. But that list can add up fast. You have to kind of pick and choose, and see what items you really need, and see what you can kind of save a little money on too, said Jennifer Moore, mother of child going into sixth grade. To help offset high prices, eligible families with children will receive a check in the mail. But is this extra boost enough? Heres what parents had to say. I definitely do. But again, I know the kids all want the Stanleys. Is that really important at 10, 11-years old? Yes, I dont believe so. So $330, I think you can do it at $330, said Moore. Id say for us that would be plenty. We reuse a lot from past years, and other than new sneakers and some new clothes, we dont really need much, said Suleiman. It depends on the child. It depends on what grade. For her, it would be good. I believe sixth grade and over that, I dont think thats enough, said Angela Mossow, a mother of daughter going into first grade. But just how far will your money go? NewsChannel 9 stopped by a few stores and heres what we found: Staples: On average, a backpack can range anywhere from about $20 to $35. Five Star notebooks cost about $4 to $10. Some colored folders can cost as low as 25 cents. Walmart: On average, a backpack can range anywhere from $5 to about $40. Five Star notebooks can cost about $3 to $7. Some folders can cost as low as 50 cents. Target: On average, a backpack can range anywhere from $15 to $30. A composition notebook can cost as low as 50 cents. A college ruled notebook can cost about $3. A box of crayons can cost about $4. Colored pencils can cost a little more than $6. The tax department will begin mailing checks for the tax credit in the first week of August and continue for several weeks. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. IAG had been planning to buy the 80pc of Air Europa it did not already own - REUTERS/Borja Suarez The owner of British Airways has abandoned a deal to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa for the second time after regulators threatened to block the tie-up. International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia, revived the 400m (338m) takeover last February after an initial bid was thwarted by the European Commission in 2021. Despite IAGs hopes that it could convince Brussels to support the plan, officials signalled they would block the merger prompting IAG to pull the plug. IAG owns 20pc of Air Europa and had been attempting to buy the 80pc it did not already own from Spanish tourism operator Globalia. The group will pay a 50m break fee to Globalia after dropping the plan. IAG chief Luis Gallego said: We believe this decision is in the best interests of our shareholders. IAG remains committed to its strategy, including competing effectively from its Madrid hub. This is a strategy which is delivering strong results. We will continue to develop our presence in Madrid so that the hub can develop as a rival to Europes largest hub airports. EU competition tsar Margrethe Vestager warned IAG in January that the tie-up could harm passengers by increasing costs - OLIVIER MATTHYS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The outcome is embarrassing for IAG, given it decided to revive the deal despite EU regulators saying it should not proceed previously. The group also had to pay a 50m break fee last time the deal collapsed in 2021. Air Europa and IAGs Iberia are the two major airlines in Spain, and provide key routes between the country and the rest of Europe and Latin America. The group has spent the last six months trying to convince the EU to support the plan. However, European Commission competition tsar Margrethe Vestager warned IAG in January that the tie-up could harm passengers by increasing costs. Madrids main international airport would have been dominated by one group if the deal was allowed to proceed, the EU said. In response, IAG had offered a package of concessions to Brussels to try to ease concerns, including offering up take-off and landing slots to rivals. IAG said it offered to surrender half of the Air Europa slots but that didnt satisfy the Commission. Mr Gallego said: This was not enough to have the approval. To go beyond that did not make sense for the group and our shareholders. EU regulators have become increasingly sceptical about so-called slot remedies in recent years, with top Brussels anti-trust director Olivier Guersent saying they did not solve competition problems. News of IAGs decision to abandon the Air Europa deal came as the company published its half-year results a day early. IAGs operating profits for the six months ending June nudged up slightly to 1.3bn, from 1.26bn for the same period last year. Revenue rose slightly to 14.7bn, from 13.6bn. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The Federal Highway Administration is investigating allegations of racial discrimination after a coalition filed a civil rights complaint against the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project and will visit the region soon to talk to residents about their concerns. Residents met Wednesday night and talked about why they believe the project to widen Interstate 71/75 and build a double-decker bridge next to the current one will disproportionately impact poor families and minorities in Cincinnati and Covington. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development filed a federal complaint alleging that the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A tied arch design is one option for the "companion" bridge that will be built next to the existing Brent Spence Bridge. Ohio and Kentucky officials used this rendering in May when they applied for federal funding, calling it a "preliminary concept." The design is also featured on the bridge web site and in a just-out draft of "request for proposals" from interested bridge design contractors. The coalition is made up of 19 business, faith and civic leaders from organizations such as the Cincinnati Preservation Association, the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the Devou Good Foundation. We want to make sure that this project has the best long-term impact on the whole community, said Matt Butler, president of the Devou Good Foundation, which held a community meeting Wednesday night. Theres a lot of adverse effects like air pollution, additional sound from construction and vehicles, he said. Needs to be something written in stone for the small business people looking to grow. Residents who attended the meeting were concerned about job creation and potential economic growth. They worry outside companies will receive all the work and local residents wont have job opportunities. We the ones that are paying taxes on this side of the bridge and on that side of the bridge but yall have powerhouses come in and steamroll us then yall just say Well, the bridge is done. We out of here, one resident said. Chris Packer, a Cincinnati resident, says if the project doesnt bring jobs, that could impact the youth. To be able to come home and say O.K., my mom built that project or my dad worked on that project and they dont see that pattern of development working in trades, he said. Butler said he hopes to continue these kinds of conversations in the coming months. Were welcoming all ideas and all input into this and were here to organize the community and elevate their concerns, he said. Another community meeting will be held next week in the West End. Enquirer media partner Fox19 provided this report This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Brent Spence Bridge project: Civil rights complaint filed SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) San Jose now has its own Most Wanted list of suspected killers who evaded justice. The San Jose Police Department recently launched the list with mugshots on Facebook and on Instagram in an effort to nab fugitives. San Joses Most Wanted asks for the publics help to provide tips on suspected killers whereabouts and assist the Homicide Unit in apprehending dangerous wanted criminals, SJPD wrote. This week, police added unsolved cold cases in which the suspects identity remains a mystery to the list. As of Thursday morning, there were seven suspects on SJPDs San Joses Most Wanted list: Yuqi Yan Accused of killing her baby On April 4, 2023, a local hospital alerted SJPD Officers about a suspicious death of a two-month-old baby. The boy died as a result of chronic abuse at the hands of his mother, Yuqi Yan, the police department wrote. Detectives obtained a murder warrant for her arrest, but the mother fled before she could be taken into custody. Yan has since fled the country and is believed to be in mainland China, the police department wrote. Yuqi Yan is seen in an undated mugshot released by the San Jose Police Department. Uatesoni Joseph Paasi Suspected of killing neighbor On June 4, 2021, officers responded to a shooting at a sprawling apartment complex known as The Woods at 4300 The Woods Drive. Uatesoni Joseph Paasi shot and killed the victim in front of the victims children because of a parking dispute, according to police. Family members of the victim, Marco Santos, are seeking justice for the slain father of four. Paasi is still at-large. He is considered armed and dangerous, SJPD wrote. Uatesoni Joseph Paasi (Photo released by San Jose Police Department) Raul Torres Salazar Suspected gunman On April 13, 2021, officers found a body on Dumont Circle. The victim had died from gunshot wounds, police said. Raul Torres Salazar was identified as the suspect and a warrant was issued for his arrest charging him with murder. He is currently a fugitive and considered armed and dangerous. He may be hiding in Mexico, SJPD wrote. Raul Torres Salazars undated mugshot was released by SJPD. Joseph Jo Jo Martinez Suspected of killing homeless man On May 9, 2024, a deadly shooting broke out in a homeless encampment under Interstate-280 near Mclaughlin Avenue. Officers found the victim suffering from fatal gunshot wounds at the crime scene. Joseph Jo Jo Martinez was identified as the primary murder suspect. His current whereabouts are unknown. Martinez has a teardrop tattoo under his left eye. Joseph Jo Jo Martinezs undated mugshot was released by the San Jose Police Department. Kim Ngoc Tran Triple shooting suspect On July 9, 2009, a triple shooting left one man dead inside a business on North Capitol Avenue. A patron, 20-year-old Nam Hoang Mai, was killed by a group of men who fled the area immediately before officers arrived on scene, investigators said. Two more victims were also shot and survived. One suspect was later arrested and charged with murder. Kim Ngoc Tran is believed to have fled the country and is currently a fugitive. Investigators believe he may be hiding in Vietnam under a new identity, the police department wrote. Kim Ngoc Trans undated mugshot was released by SJPD. Israel Lopez Cardonio Suspected of bar killing On April 14, 2002, a deadly altercation between Israel Lopez Cardonio and a victim broke out at a bar. Officers found the victim on Auzerais Avenue. A warrant was issued for Cardonio charging him with murder. He is currently a fugitive, and may be in Mexico, or may be living under a new identity, SJPD wrote. Israel Lopez Cardonios undated mugshot was released by SJPD. Jose Manuel Birrueta Suspected of double shooting On the night of March 10, 2002, two people were shot at Fiesta Bar, located at 3840 Monterey Road. One victim died before emergency responders arrived. The investigation identified Jose Manuel Birrueta as one of the suspects and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He is currently a fugitive and considered armed and dangerous, SJPD wrote. Jose Manuel Birruetas undated mugshot was released by SJPD. If you have information about any of these suspects whereabouts, call SJPDs Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283. If you prefer to remain anonymous, call the San Jose tip line at 408-947-STOP. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Theres nothing that does so much harm, said the late University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman, as good intentions. Rarely has this been as pronounced as in the Department of Educations troubled rollout of Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA this year one that is likely to prove catastrophic for students and families from the very underserved communities it was intended to aid. Four years ago, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act, designed to streamline and make fairer the frustrating and sometimes agonizing process 17 million American families endure each year to access Pell grants and student loans for college. The cumbersome process frustrated even those who are experienced in the educational and financial systems, and have a mastery of English. But it proved a daunting barrier to entry for first-generation students, applicants for whom English is a second language, students with complex family structures and applicants who struggled to navigate the bureaucracy of the form. The Better FAFSA promised fairness, more aid for low-income students and greater access to the transformative power of a college degree. After years of delay, the Department of Education began the transition, planning to have Better FAFSA online by December 2023 already too late for many students applying for financial aid. Some students apply to colleges in the fall to learn their admissions status. Their final choice often depends on schools offer letters detailing scholarships, grants and loans. Colleges need FAFSA information to issue these letters. Without them, students and families are in the dark. As of the end of spring 2024, data estimates that more than 12% fewer high school seniors over 262,000 students had not completed a FAFSA relative to this time a year ago. And what happens when a student delays enrollment, as potentially hundreds of thousands may end up doing? Too often, they do not return to college. The most vulnerable in our society are hit hardest by this crisis. Students from lower-income and minority-serving high schools have seen a greater decline in FAFSA completion compared to those from higher-income and less diverse high schools. As vulnerable populations suffer, so do institutions that serve them. Many private colleges and universities are already in fiscal crisis following the one-two punch of COVID-19 and a rapid fall-off in the number of high school graduates known as the demographic cliff. A major drop in enrollments this fall may push many of those vulnerable institutions right off the ledge. The education research company EAB reports that FAFSA filings to larger, public institutions are faring better than small private institutions, with public schools enrollments down 11% versus 2023, while private institutions are down almost 20%. Much of this may be attributed to private university pricing models and the reality that to attend a small, private institution, most students need much larger scholarships. Fitch Ratings warns that federal and state actions threaten the financial health of private colleges serving minority and low-income students. The FAFSA crisis and new mandates endanger the ecosystem supporting vulnerable students, especially small institutions. Institutions such as Avila University serve our communities by providing ladders of social mobility for first-generation students. And they are needed: A college degree is still the most significant tool in this nations toolbox to promote intergenerational social and economic mobility. Too little attention has been paid to the potentially disastrous impact this years FAFSA crisis could have on the very populations it is intended to serve or to the remedies we must put in place to assure that vulnerable students and the colleges that best serve them will be supported even after Better FAFSA is finally fixed. Jim Burkee is the 15th president of Avila University in Kansas City. Colo. Professor Called 911 Saying Hed Found Wife and Baby Dead. Then Police Found Blood on His Knuckles Nicholas Myklebust allegedly claimed his wife had fallen from a ladder denver police department Nicholas Mykelbust custody image A Colorado professor has been arrested after his wife and infant daughter died. On Monday, July 29, Nicholas Myklebust, 44, called authorities around 7 a.m. to report that his wife was on the ground bleeding and their infant daughter was not breathing, according to a release from the Denver Police Department. Upon arrival, officers noted that the adult woman "appeared to be suffering from blunt force injuries," and they transported her to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Authorities report that the child was found deceased "but with no visible injuries." The Denver Post, citing an arrest affidavit, reports that Myklebust told police he found his wife and daughter after he awoke from sleeping on the couch. Myklebust allegedly claimed that his wife fell from a step ladder in the bathroom, but the press release states that the adult victim's injuries were "inconsistent with a fall." Myklebust was interviewed by authorities, who allegedly noticed that he had bruising and blood on his knuckles and scratches on his neck, per the release. Now, he has been arrested and is being held for investigation of one count of first-degree murder for the homicide of his wife. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Myklebust worked as an English professor at Regis University in Denver, Co., though his page on the schools website has since been removed. PEOPLE reached out to the Denver District Attorney's Office to obtain a copy of the arrest affidavit, but a spokesperson said the case hadn't yet been formally filed. The Denver Post, citing prosecutors, reports that authorities found a bloody glove in the trash and gloves in a dryer, which they believe suggests that someone had interfered with the crime scene. The outlet also reports that the baby is the second infant to die in Myklebusts care after a child died in 2021 after suffering skull fractures. A spokesperson for the Denver District Attorneys Office told to The Denver Post that no changes were filed in that case. The Denver Police Department said that the Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death for Myklebusts wife and baby and formal charges will be determined by the Denver District Attorneys Office. The investigation is currently ongoing. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. DENVER (AP) In a story published July 31, 2024, about the beginning of Tina Peters trial, The Associated Press erroneously reported in the headline that her defense lawyer said she didnt want to preserve election data. In opening statements, her lawyer said she did want to preserve the data. DENVER (AP) Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters, a hero to election conspiracy theorists who is accused of orchestrating a breach of election security equipment, was trying to prevent voting information from being erased, her lawyer said at the start of her trial Wednesday. Under the laws in place in 2021, when Peters allowed a man who prosecutors say was working with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to make a copy of a Dominion Voting Systems computers hard drive, she was allowed to hire a consultant to make such a copy, defense attorney Amy Jones said during opening statements. She believed she needed to save that data, said Jones, who did not deny that a copy was made. But prosecutor Robert Shapiro portrayed the man as a cyber mercenary who Peters brought in without conducting a background check and committed identity theft by passing him off as another person who had obtained clearance to work for her office. He said Peters contacted the man, who has not been charged, after she met with Douglas Frank, another person working with Lindell, one of the nations most prominent election conspiracy theorists. Frank, an Ohio math teacher, had been traveling around the country looking for evidence of voter fraud when he met with Peters and she hatched the plan, he said. Despite that, Shapiro told jurors the case against Peters was not about election fraud or conspiracy theories. Its a simple case of deceit and fraud, he said. Colorado state election officials became aware of the alleged security breach in Mesa County a few months later when a photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were posted on social media and a conservative website after Peters joined Lindell onstage at a cybersymposium and promised to reveal proof of election rigging. Peters, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, has argued she had a duty to preserve the results of the election before the voting system was upgraded and that she should not be prosecuted for carrying out her job. The hard drive copied included proprietary software developed by Dominion Voting Systems that is used by election offices around the country. The Colorado-based company has been the subject of conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trumps loss. It filed several defamation lawsuits as a result, settling a case against Fox News for $787 million last year. Experts have described the unauthorized release as serious, saying it provided a potential practice environment that would allow anyone to probe for vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a future election. The incident is one of a handful of suspected security breaches that occurred in the aftermath of the 2020 election amid false claims by Trump that voting systems were rigged against him. Trump ally Sidney Powell pleaded guilty last year to reduced charges in a case in Georgia. Prosecutors alleged she conspired with others to access election equipment without authorization in Coffee County and hired a computer forensics firm to copy software and data from voting machines and computers. Election security experts and computer scientists say an effort to access voting system software in several states and provide it to Trump allies poses serious threats ahead of this years presidential contest. It is unknown if Peters who has repeated false accusations that the 2020 presidential election in which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden was a planned fraud on a grand scale will testify during the nearly two-week trial in the city of Grand Junction. But Shapiro said two of her closest colleagues would testify take the stand and testify against her. Peters chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, and the aide who was with her when the first computer image was taken, former elections manager Sandra Brown, both pleaded guilty under deals which require them to testify against Peters. Judge Matthew Barrett has barred Peters from portraying herself as whistleblower during the trial and also ruled the defense cannot try to make the case about election integrity or Dominion, The Daily Sentinel reported. The trial began after several delays, Peters failed bid to become Colorados top elections official and her decision to change attorneys on the eve of a trial date in February. The jury was seated Wednesday after being questioned by lawyers earlier in the day in the solidly Republican county near the Utah border, which Donald Trump won in the 2020 presidential election with nearly 63% of the vote. Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state. Prosecutors allege a second image of the elections computer was taken after it was upgraded. The next day, they say Peters mailed a package to the man who had taken the first image but who left before the second one could be completed. He has not been charged. Peters case was the first instance amid the 2020 conspiracy theories in which a local election official was charged with a suspected security breach of voting systems. It heightened concerns nationally for the potential of insider threats, in which rogue election workers sympathetic to lies about the 2020 election might use their access to election equipment and the knowledge gained through the breaches to launch an attack from within. _____ Christina Almeida Cassidy contributed to this report from Atlanta. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) Several wildfires were burning thousands of acres along the Front Range on Wednesday. With dozens of agencies and hundreds of firefighters fighting the flames, Colorados firefighting resources are spread thin. There are four wildfires threatening homes on the Front Range: What to do if you need to evacuate due to Colorado wildfires In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Jefferson County Sheriffs spokesperson Mark Techmeyer said hundreds of Colorados professional firefighters have been deployed to other states to help fight other fires, stretching resources thin for local fires. This morning, we were not that hopeful, Techmeyer said. Resources are very, very slim right now for fighting fires. We have 600 professional firefighters that live in Colorado that are out of state, that have been deployed to other big fires in the country. Some Colorado firefighters working out-of-state For example, the Colorado Springs Fire Department has sent three firefighters to assist in the Quarry Fire, three in Mesa Verde National Park, four in the Alexander Mountain fire, one in Idaho and two in Oregon. Evergreen Fire Rescue and the Arvada Fire Protection District are just some of the other agencies with crews in California and Oregon. There were 270 firefighters at the Alexander Mountain Fire, 70 to 80 at the Quarry Fire and over 120 at the Stone Canyon Fire, as well as multiple aircraft assisting with each. Resources are slim. And then youve got to compete for the air resources that are working the two larger fires in this. We feel very fortunate and are grateful for the air support, it will make all the difference in the world. As I said this terrain is not conducive to ground-fighting the fire. I dont know how successful we would be, even with all the great efforts these firefighters do in these conditions, Techmeyer said. Techmeyer said there is hope that fire retardant from a big tanker and additional responding crews in the air will help improve conditions Wednesday. Techmeyer said resources were stretched thin a few hours before a fourth wildfire popped up in Boulder County. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, some 28,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are working to battle the dozens of wildfires across the country. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. By Liya Cui and Rich McKay (Reuters) -A fast-moving wildfire has killed at least one person in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Colorado, one of a handful of blazes burning across the state, while thousands of firefighters in California struggled to contain the largest fire in the country. The individual killed in the Stone Canyon Fire, burning about 20 miles (32 km) north of Boulder, Colorado, was found on Wednesday in one of five homes destroyed near Rocky Mountain National Park, officials said. "We did also today discover human remains in one of the residences," Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson told journalists. "So, I can confirm for you that we do have one fatality associated with the fire." Johnson did not provide details on the individual's identity. The Stone Canyon Fire, near Lyons, a community of about 2,000, has burned more than 1,500 acres (600 hectares) since Tuesday afternoon. It was 30% contained as of Thursday evening, according to Nathan Hallam, the fire incident commander on scene, who added that he hoped to see the fire begin to shrink significantly by Sunday or Monday. Evacuation orders were lifted for all of Lyons on Thursday afternoon, along with some outlying areas to the south and west of the blaze. Meanwhile, another fire is within about 500 yards (457 meters) of some homes in far southwest Denver. The Quarry Fire burned 420 acres by Thursday afternoon, according to local fire officials. Firefighters were focusing on keeping the fire on the south side of a road and away from those homes. Colorado Governor Jared Polis called in the Colorado National Guard to assist with the recovery. Since Tuesday afternoon, dry conditions and high temperatures have enabled the fire to spread quickly through timberland. The Stone Canyon Fire is one of multiple fires that have ripped through Colorado's Front Range mountains this week, prompting further evacuations. Across the country, more than 29,000 firefighters and support personnel are fighting 93 large wildfires, encompassing more than 2 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The national wildfire season has had an intense start, raising the risk of stretching fire-fighting resources too thin. The center has already requested help from firefighters in Australia and New Zealand, who will arrive starting Aug. 7 and deploy to Oregon and Washington. Wildfire activity in California is 2,816% higher than at this time last year, with 29 times the amount of acreage burned, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, in an X post on Tuesday. California's Park Fire, the largest, has burned more than 600 square miles (1,550 square km) as of Thursday morning, an area bigger than the city of Los Angeles, state fire officials said. It ranks as the fifth largest fire in the state's history and could soon become the fourth. Nearly 6,000 firefighters are battling the blaze in a wilderness area in the state's Central Valley, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Sacramento, the state capital. It has destroyed 437 structures and damaged 42, Cal Fire said. One of those homes belonged to Mike Wittenberg, 41, of Forest Ranch, close to where the Park Fire started. He said his newly renovated five-bedroom house was destroyed soon after he fled with his fiancee Andrea and three children. When they were given the evacuation orders last week, he said he hesitated but eventually the family departed. "I honestly didn't think the fire would take our home," Wittenberg said on Thursday. "We lost our cars, bikes, motorcycle, my kids' toys and clothes. We have virtually nothing. It's hard to take in." The family is now sleeping on the floor of his father's home in nearby Paradise, a town that was largely wiped off the map in 2018 by a wildfire that killed 85 people, the deadliest blaze in California's history. The man charged with starting the Park Fire, allegedly by pushing a flaming car down a Butte County gully last week, was formally charged with arson on Monday, but awaits additional charges, officials said. (Reporting by Liya Cui in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Christopher Cushing) Leo Del Rosario, 60, is one of many who benefit from the meal program. Since heart surgery last year, he has been able to work only sporadically. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Leo Del Rosario was renting space in a friend's Panorama City apartment for $900 a month. But since recovering from heart valve surgery last year, he's only worked sporadically as a nurses aide. So everything is tight, including the food budget. Not to be overly dramatic, he said but he has learned how to stretch a jar of peanut butter. You do what you have to do, right? Del Rosario thanks driver Esthela Lopez for a recent box of food. "It's not just a meal delivery; it's a relationship," says Councilwoman Heather Hutt. "To those that are shut in, that's important." (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) On July 1, Del Rosario, 60, came up with another way to cut costs. He moved out of the apartment and began renting a room in a nearby four-bedroom house. This was $100 cheaper," he said outside his new home on a recent morning. His budget is still tight, though, so the weekly delivery of free food through L.A.s Rapid Response Senior Meals Program has been a lifeline. But now that program which has delivered frozen meals to as many as 5,800 homebound people 60 and older each week since late last year, with 1,400 more on a waiting list is scheduled to get chopped at the end of August. As if on cue, the food delivery vans battery died after pulling up to Del Rosarios home the morning I met him. So whats he going to do? Theres always peanut butter, he said. He also knows from growing up in the Philippines how to take some rice, add a bit of fish or brisket, and make it last, although escalating food prices dont help. Hell call on friends and family, too, but try not to become a burden. Del Rosario checks out part of a recent delivery. "How we take care of our elderly is a reflection of ourselves and our society," he says. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) I will pray Gods grace, work hard, and implore City Hall to reconsider, Del Rosario said. How we take care of our elderly is a reflection of ourselves and our society. Councilmember Heather Hutt agrees, and said she isnt ready to give up on extending the program, even though its already winding down and a proposal to keep it alive is all but dead in a City Council budget committee. Im looking for it to be rescheduled for a more robust conversation, so I can fight for it, Hutt told me. Im not giving up. The program has cost about $11 million at a time when city leaders have had to make tough budget choices. A version of the program began during the pandemic, but "it was never meant to continue in perpetuity," a spokesman for City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield told The Times earlier this year. Read more: Column: If a driverless taxi pulls up to a senior center, will anyone brave a ride? One argument for its discontinuation is that several other food programs exist, including daily meals at senior centers. But that doesn't work for Hutt, whose district includes parts of Koreatown, Mid-City and South L.A. There are a lot of seniors that cant get to senior centers, said Hutt, who has more program recipients (634) in her district than any other except Councilmember Kevin de Leon's 14th District (which has 659). And its not just a meal delivery; its a relationship with the driver who drops off the meals, she said. To those that are shut in, thats important. In a report to the City Council on June 24, the L.A. Department of Aging said it planned to refer meal recipients to other programs or to food pantries, but acknowledged that those options could be problematic for those with transportation issues, and for senior centers that cant absorb the new demand. Some programs are fee-based, with a sliding scale depending on the seniors ability to pay, some may have limited home-delivery options, and some may provide only pick-up options, Jaime H. Pacheco-Orozco, general manager of the city Department of Aging, said in his report. Read more: Column: Perks of old age: Nobody says, Grandpa, would you please move this refrigerator? He noted that nearly a quarter of older adults in Los Angeles subsist on incomes that are at or below 150% of poverty level, and said that over time, malnutrition leads to poor health outcomes, longer hospital stays, and higher health costs for seniors. That is particularly true in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Black and Latino residents. What I worry about is that were pulling the rug out from under a program without other things in place, said Kayla de la Haye, a USC associate professor and director of the university's Dornsife Institute for Food System Equity. As wealthy people in particular transition to food delivery and easier access to food, we see stores closing" in lower-income L.A. neighborhoods. The food van that conked out at Del Rosarios house was from Revolution Foods, one of the vendors in the city's delivery program. Chief Executive Dominic Engels told me that if the program dies, it will at least have helped heighten the level of awareness for what the true need is in a city with high rates of poverty and food insecurity among older adults. Del Rosarios delivery this day included a turkey burger with sweet potatoes and peas, pork lo mein, a beef burrito bowl, chicken Alfredo with pasta and zucchini, chicken with brown rice and green beans, and fresh fruit and milk. David Greenwald, 68, counts on the weekly box of food, delivered here by Revolution Foods' Esthela Lopez. "We don't give up. We don't complain," says Greenwald, a former New Yorker. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) While Del Rosario peeked into the box, an AAA service truck arrived to jump the delivery wagons battery. The next stop was the Mid-City home of David Greenwald, 68, a marketing communications specialist who lives in an accessory dwelling unit. "The big difficulty for me is really in food preparation," says Greenwald, seen taking a delivery to his kitchen. He struggles to make his own meals due to a stroke three years ago. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Greenwald has had left-side paralysis since he suffered a stroke three years ago. He told me in his kitchen that as a former New Yorker, his attitude is to neither quit nor complain. But getting to the grocery store, hauling food home in his backpack, and cooking are big challenges. The big difficulty for me is really in food preparation, because obviously, if you only have control over one hand, its very hard, he said. The weekly delivery of five meals greatly simplifies his life. Read more: Column: DMV dumps stupid questions for license renewal, but the virtual assistant needs work You put it in the microwave, and in five minutes, its ready, Greenwald said. In June, a number of meal recipients sent pleas to the City Council asking for the program to be continued. I am a physically disabled senior aged 75. I cannot drive and public transportation is dangerous, one recipient wrote. If these home deliveries are stopped, I will surely starve. Another comment came from Harvard Heights resident Susan Richey, 76, who wrote that she prioritizes her rent to avoid becoming homeless. But that squeezes her food budget, so it was a godsend to discover the meal delivery program. "I never expected old age to ... be a battle between paying rent and buying food," Susan Richey, 76, wrote to the City Council. She eagerly awaits the meal deliveries to the boarding house where lives in a tiny shared unit. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) I visited Richey at the 30-unit rooming house where she pays $925 a month for a bed in a tiny shared unit. She said shed have to walk a mile and a half to get to a senior center, but that can be dangerous in a neighborhood with a lot of people living on the street. Theres a market nearby, but food is expensive, Richey added. I cant get food stamps because my income is more than $2,000 a month from a small pension and Social Security, she told me. So she depends on the food delivery, especially because it always includes fruits and vegetables. Its enough to sustain me." My challenges in old age are getting more difficult, and the anxiety and stress this causes me is sapping my energy and will-power, Richey wrote in her public comments for the City Council. I never expected old age to ... be a battle between paying rent and buying food. steve.lopez@latimes.com Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The article that appeared in The Herald-Times on July 30, 2024, entitled Indiana University approves expressive activity policy that could end encampments, contained several misconceptions that should be corrected. First, the article quoted Naomi Satterfield, a PhD student at IU's School of Public Health, who stated that [t]he proposed policy does not define 'expressive activity,' so it can be wielded to silence anything that our administration perceives as such. It's not difficult to see that this policy is not for Hoosiers." However, the final version of the Expressive Activity Policy does define the term expressive activity. It incorporates word for word the Indiana Code definition of both protected expressive activity (IC 21-39-8-5) and unprotected expressive activity that is materially and substantially disrupt[ive] (IC 21-39-8-4). The language in the Indiana Code has never been adjudicated to be vague or otherwise problematic, and there is no reason why it should be problematic as incorporated in the universitys policy. Nevertheless, it is worth noting the new policy is aimed only at forms of expressive activity that disrupt official activities, business, or operations of the University. There are other forms of expressive activity that can be problematic because they threaten or interfere with individuals in the IU community. These are governed by the Code of Student Rights, Responsibility, and Conduct, section II.C.15, which defines punishable harassment as unwelcome or unwanted conduct that is persistent, severe, or pervasive, and impacts a students ability to access their education, or an individuals personal safety, academic efforts, employment, or participation in university-sponsored programs and activities. This behavior includes, but is not limited to, direct or indirect written, verbal, physical, or electronic action or inaction. The new Expressive Activity Policy does not supersede the prohibition of harassment in the Student Code, and the Office of Student Conduct will have to enforce the Code consistently to ensure that all members of the IU community can pursue their legitimate activities in a safe and respectful environment. A second misconception is contained in the statement by the articles author that [t]he revised policy uses considerably softer language than the initial draft removing language that expressive activities must not take place in areas that are used for instructional, administrative, or residential purposes. (Italics added.) This statement suggests that the new Expressive Activity Policy does not apply to expressive activity that takes place in instructional, administrative, or residential spaces. However, this is not the case. While the new policy recognizes the historical importance of Dunn Meadow as an area set aside for freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations in accordance with applicable laws and University policies and procedures, it states at the outset that it applies to all Indiana University property. It thus strengthens, rather than diminishes, its scope of applicability. In fact, one of the great strengths of the new policy is its simple and straight-forward universality: it applies to everyone, regardless of political viewpoint, in all university structures and locations. It provides all members of the IU community a clear road map of simple procedures they must comply with to engage in protected expressive activities. This ensures that everyone will feel free to engage in political speech in a safe and respectful environment without creating unsafe, dangerous, or threatening consequences for others. This is the very point of fair and transparent time/place/manner restrictions; they do not impose restrictions to suppress speech, but in order to enable it to flourish. Thus, the new Expressive Activity Policy will promote, rather than suppress, free expression of any viewpoint. Ralph Gaebler is a member of IU Faculty and Staff for Israel. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Columnist writes IU protest policy promotes free speech for all Comic-Con is more than just a hub for all things nerdy. Its also a sex trafficking hotspot. Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert! CALIFORNIA AGS OFFICE TARGETS HUMAN TRAFFICKERS AT COMIC-CON Comic-Con is one of the biggest pop culture events in America, a premier destination for nerds everywhere, attracting thousands of visitors to San Diego. Its also, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a hotspot for sex trafficking. Bontas California Department of Justice went after both buyers and purveyors of sex trafficking victims during the three-day event, in partnership with both the San Diego County Sheriffs Office and the San Diego Police Department. The sting resulted in 14 people being arrested, and 10 victims being recovered and offered services, including a 16-year-old, according to a statement from Bontas office. Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit, Bonta said in a statement. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. According to Bontas office, police went undercover as both buyers of sex and as sex traffickers, posting advertisements soliciting sex in order to snare would-be buyers. There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking. The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal, said San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez in a statement. MCCLINTOCK RECOGNIZED BY CONSERVATIVE TAXPAYER GROUP Via David Lightman... Rep. Tom McClintock has been named a taxpayer friend by the conservative National Taxpayers Union for his staunch support of austere fiscal measures. McClintock, R-Elk Grove, got the second highest House score, voting 92% of the time for NTU positions. Only Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, did better. McClintock has long been a fiscal conservative, and has refused to back earmarks, or specific local projects. Tom McClintocks fiscal career in Congress has been defined by superlatives, said Pete Sepp, NTU president. In the 15 years of the groups ratings, he has received 12 A grades, nine finishes in the top five scorers, and four times as the highest scorer in the entire House. To earn an A grade on this scorecard, which is based on hundreds of votes, you have to show up every day with taxpayers foremost on your mind, and thats exactly what Tom McClintock has done, Sepp said. The difference in earning an excellent score and just a good one almost always comes down to tough votes on government spending. Congressman McClintock knows that federal programs can waste money anywhere, whether at the Education Department or at the Pentagon, he said. The highest score is 100%. No one attained that. Senators with scores above 81% or House members who got scores above 87% got the taxpayers friend award. The average score was 43%. THE BEE GETS A NEW STATE WORKER REPORTER William Melhado is The Sacramento Bees new State Worker reporter. Hes tasked with covering the states workforce, the politics of labor, and how bureaucracy impacts the people employed by California. William comes to The Bee from Austin, Texas, where he covered the courts and the LGBTQ+ community for The Texas Tribune. Before that, William was a staff writer for the New Mexico alt-weekly the Santa Fe Reporter. And before that, William taught high school chemistry for five years in New York City, Tanzania and Nepal. In 2016, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont after growing up in Colorado. Outside of the newsroom, William is looking forward to spending time on the American River and in the mountains around Lake Tahoe. He welcomes any and all recommendations for things to explore in the Central Valley. William hopes to chat with state workers from across California. He can be reached by email (wmelhado@sacbee.com) or phone (303-242-4617). QUOTE OF THE DAY Ive known her a long time, indirectly, not directly, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, I didnt know she was Black. Until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? - Former President Donald Trump, in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists, discussing Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris, who is Black and Asian American, attended Howard University, a historically Black institution. Best of The Bee: How Kamala Harris helped a California man become the nations first undocumented lawyer, via Mathew Miranda . University of California admits largest and most diverse class in history for fall 2024, via Jennah Pendleton . California hopes to bolster AI preparedness with employee training for state workers, via William Melhado. Fact checked by Nick BlackmerFact checked by Nick Blackmer Key Takeaways West Nile virus cases are likely underreported because 80% of infections are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms that go unrecognized. Severe infections from West Nile virus are extremely rare, with less than 1% of cases leading to serious neurological diseases like encephalitis or meningitis. No vaccine or specific treatment for West Nile virus exists, so it's best to prevent mosquito bites through repellents and protective clothing. Mosquito samples across the United States have tested positive for West Nile virus, but reported human infections remain low. At least 72 people, mainly in Texas, Nebraska, Nevada, and Louisiana, have contracted West Nile virus this year, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, about 80% of people infected with the virus dont experience symptoms and may not realize theyre infected, so the cases are likely underreported. Those that do have symptoms tend to be mild, so they may not seek care or get a diagnosis at all, Kevin Steiner, MD, PhD, an infectious disease physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Verywell. West Nile virus has spread in the U.S. in the last 25 years. Mosquitoes can pass West Nile virus to humans after they bite infected birds. Infections typically spike in August and September but can happen any time of year. If a person notices that mosquitoes are still around, wherever that person might be located, there is still the potential for West Nile virus, Steiner said. Related: Are You a Mosquito Magnet? Heres How to Make Yourself Less Prone to Mosquito Bites Severe West Nile Virus Infections Are Extremely Rare Most West Nile virus cases are asymptomatic, but some people can show mild symptoms, such as fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes. These symptoms can occur up to two weeks after an infection and may last for a month. Less than 1% of people infected with West Nile virus develop a serious neurological disease, such as encephalitis, inflammation in the brain, or meningitis, inflammation in the tissues around the brain and spinal cord. These severe cases can cause high fevers, seizures, paralysis, vision loss, coma, or death. Even if someone is bitten by an infected mosquito, the risk of developing severe disease is less than 1 in 100 and likely much, much lower in healthy adults, Ross M. Boyce MD, MSc, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, told Verywell in an email. Older adults and people who are immunocompromised may have a greater risk of developing a severe West Nile virus infection. Although severe cases are rare, taking precautions is still crucial to avoiding an infection. The problem is that it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause an infection. In some ways, you might think of it a bit like lightning. The odds of getting hit are very low, but most of us still take steps to minimize the risk in a thunderstorm, Boyce said. Related: Florida Will Release 750 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Stop Disease Spread Avoid Mosquito Bites to Prevent West Nile Virus Theres no West Nile vaccine for humans, so the best way to reduce your risk is to try to prevent mosquito bites. Heavy rain and flooding, like from Hurricane Beryl in Texas earlier this month, can create breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Its been raining a lot and weve seen a boom in the mosquitoes right now. So any buckets of water, any tires that have water, just dispose of that, so the larvae cannot reproduce, Rodrigo Hasbun, MD, MPH, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School, told Verywell. Mosquitoes can bite at any time of day, so wearing long sleeves and pants and using bug spray when going outside can also help reduce your risk. The Environmental Protection Agency has a tool to help you pick the right mosquito repellant for you, but most experts recommend using a product with DEET. Its hot and humid right now, but try to cover up as much as possible with clothes and put DEET to prevent mosquito bites, Hasbun said. Related: Infected Mosquito Bite Symptoms and Treatment There's No Treatment for West Nile Virus Blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests can help diagnose West Nile virus, but one study suggests these tests are underutilized. Patients with meningitis or encephalitis who live in areas that have West Nile activities during peak mosquito season should be tested more frequently to ensure accurate diagnosis and treatment, according to the researchers. Theres no way to tell after any particular mosquito bite or any particular time outdoors, whether or not those mosquito bites may have had the virus, Steiner said. Last year, more than 1,800 people were hospitalized in the U.S. due to West Nile virus, but there are no medications for the disease. For severe illness, healthcare providers help manage complications with anti-seizure medications or respiratory support, Steiner said. People with mild symptoms can manage their infection by staying hydrated, eating healthy foods, and taking over-the-counter pain or fever medications, he added. Sometimes people have swollen lymph nodes or a rash. Some might have some nausea or diarrhea, but most of these symptoms are pretty mild, Steiner said. People often dont even think much of them at all, and they improve within a couple of days or a week or so, and people continue to go on about their normal lives. Read Next: Does Using Heat Actually Help With Itchy Mosquito Bites? What This Means For You Mosquitoes remain active year-round. Protect yourself by using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves, and eliminating standing water where mosquitoes breed. If you experience symptoms like fever or body aches after a mosquito bite, consult a healthcare provider. Read the original article on Verywell Health. On Monday, July 15, Isothermal Community College (ICC), the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), and the North Carolina Student Success Center (NC SSC) hosted a one-day workshop to share lessons learned about ICCs transition to an eight-week course format. Representatives from 14 North Carolina community colleges and one Wyoming community college attended the inaugural event. Hosting a one-day workshop was vital for us because we wanted to share the knowledge and insights weve gained through our experience with eight-week courses with our sister colleges, said Dr. Greg Thomas, vice president for academic and student affairs at ICC. We believe in the power of collaboration and wanted to give back in the same way so many of these institutions have done with us in the past as they have shared their wisdom on various topics. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter From 16 weeks to eight Colleges have long debated the structure of academic calendars. From the quarter system to semesters, its a conversation that spans decades. In recent years, community colleges have been reevaluating course delivery, with some moving from a traditional 16-week semester to an eight-week course format. In fall 2023, ICC transitioned most of the colleges courses to an eight-week format. Fall and spring semesters include two eight-week terms and most summer courses are offered in an eight-week format. ICCs decision to move to a primarily eight-week course format was an intentional effort to better support successful outcomes for all students, said Dr. Margaret Annunziata, president of ICC. During a traditional 16-week semester, students complete on average 12-18 credit hours or four to five courses at a time. The shift to an eight-week format allows students to complete 6-9 credit hours per eight-week term or two to three courses at a time. View ICCs eight-week student handbook here. A growing body of research suggests that changing the semester structure gives students more flexibility and more continuous on-ramps. According to Achieving the Dreams (ATD) shortened academic terms guide, deconstructing the academic term helps support students and can accelerate them toward a credential of value. Offering two terms in an academic semester allows students at least five opportunities to enroll in courses over a calendar year and to focus on fewer courses at a time. Thats huge for community college students who, more often than not, are juggling work, families, and a host of other responsibilities in addition to school. What does the data show? Almost a years worth of data from ICC reveal both headcount and success rates are up. From fall 2022 to fall 2023, ICCs curriculum headcount increased nearly 4.5% making it the colleges highest headcount since fall 2019. In spring 2024, headcount increased 7.6% from the previous spring semester according to ICC. The colleges student success rate defined as students who complete courses with a C or higher increased to 86% in fall 2023, a 7% jump from the previous fall semester. Ultimately, this transformation has resulted in more students enrolling in more courses in their career pathways and experiencing more success than previously experienced in the 16-week format, Annunziata said. While it is early data, it is encouraging to see that through this work, we truly are expanding opportunity and impact for our students and the communities we serve. In fall 2023, ICCs student satisfaction survey revealed that 76.5% of students were in favor of the eight-week course format. In spring 2024, 78.9% of students found it favorable. Students felt the hard work required of the eight-week format was worth it to finish courses earlier, the workload and course content in their respective courses was manageable, and they learned as much in the eight-week course as they would have in a 16-week course. ICCs metrics are on par with ATDs research, which included data from five community colleges across the country that shifted to shorter terms. Lessons learned The one-day workshop was an opportunity for ICC leaders from various departments to share lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities about shifting most courses to an eight-week format. Attendees were asked to identify topics and areas they most wanted to learn about prior to the workshop and during. Transitioning to a primarily eight-week format impacts the whole college, Thomas said. And the transition is time intensive and requires a lot of planning, preparation, and communication. In his opening remarks, Thomas reminded attendees to remember their why when they hit roadblocks during the shift and to practice active listening when discussing how an eight-week format impacts each college department. If you encourage people to talk, then you get more feedback, Thomas said. And more feedback equals a better product. Leeann Cline-Burris, ICCs director of institutional effectiveness and strategic analysis, recommended several strategies for how colleges can share data internally. Some of those strategies included defining clear key performance indicators, regular reporting and feedback loops, disaggregating data, benchmarks, transparency, continuous evaluation and contextualization, and celebrating wins throughout the transition process. During the shift to an eight-week format, ICC offered institutional support of professional development for faculty who were tasked with moving their class content to an eight-week format. One of those supports included a course redesign academy for faculty through the ICCs Teaching and Learning Center. Faculty were not required to complete the academy but those who did received a stipend. Attendees heard from several ICC department leaders throughout the day about the work involved in moving to an eight-week format. Those departments included advising, student records, financial aid, the business office, Career and College Promise, and faculty from various academic areas. Leaders discussed what academic scheduling looks like from the college and student perspectives. Topics also included how ICC handled awarding financial aid and disbursements and the impact shortened semesters had on student records, particularly as it relates to students withdrawing from courses. After the plenary sessions, attendees were separated into three groups academic affairs, student affairs, and faculty to discuss what they had learned in the previous sessions while being guided by an ICC leader in each area. The groups were then tasked with developing questions that were not answered during the sessions or break-out groups for a final question and answer discussion. If your college missed the one-day workshop, more detailed learnings will be provided by the Belk Center at a later date. Additionally, the Belk Center and ICC plan to continue their support of other colleges as they transition to an eight-week course format. This article first appeared on EducationNC and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. This company promised to improve health care in Oklahoma jails. Patients in its care have died This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. NORMAN, Oklahoma Two days after Thanksgiving in 2022, Shannon Hanchett walked into an AT&T store for a new phone, and ended up in handcuffs. Hanchett ran the Cookie Cottage, a popular bakery in this college town, where she made treats named for places across the state, from Stilwell Strawberry to Lawton Lemon. But lately, her mental health seemed to be fraying. She was falling behind on orders. Her marriage was crumbling. And the 38-year-old mother of two had picked fights with family and friends. It all detonated that day in the AT&T store. Employees phoned police after Hanchett began pacing, ranting and calling 911. Body camera footage shows an officer from the Norman Police Department talking to her for several minutes, then tackling, handcuffing and arresting her for misusing the emergency line. Like so many people experiencing mental health crises in the U.S., Hanchett landed not in a psychiatric hospital, but in a county jail. In her case, it was Normans Cleveland County Detention Center, which contracts with a for-profit company to provide medical care: Turn Key Health Clinics. And for Hanchett, thats where things got even worse. Sidewalks around Okie Baking Co., as it stood headquartered in Main Street's Cookie Cottage on Dec. 12, 2022, were adorned with flowers and chalk messages honoring its late owner, Shannon Hanchett, who died in the Cleveland County jail the previous Thursday. A candlelight vigil was planned by family and friends late Monday. Jails have outsourced mental health care to private companies like Turn Key As local jails have morphed into some of the largest mental health treatment facilities in the U.S., many counties have outsourced medical care to private companies that promise to contain rising costs. Turn Key is one of the fastest growing in the middle of the country. At least 50 people who were under Turn Keys care died during the past decade, an investigation by The Marshall Project and The Frontier found. Our reporting unearthed company policies and practices that have endangered people in jail especially those with mental illness. In dozens of cases, Turn Key employees didnt send people to the hospital when they were in crisis, catatonic or refusing to eat or drink. The company staffed mental health and other medical positions with low-level nursing assistants trained to perform basic tasks like taking vital signs, but not to diagnose or assess medical conditions. Medical doctors and more advanced-level nurses working for Turn Key frequently consulted over the phone for a limited number of hours per week instead of making in-person visits, according to government records and documents obtained through lawsuits. More: An autopsy said Shannon Hanchett died of 'natural causes.' Her friends want more answers. Until last year, the company often restricted the kinds of medicines it would provide people in jail, not giving them long-acting psychiatric drugs and prescriptions they had received before their arrests. We obtained records from sheriffs who raised concerns about the company not providing the proper medications for people in jail with mental illness. I have been told that Turn Key does not prescribe those types of medications, one Texas sheriff wrote in a 2022 email. This is causing a cascade of problems not only for their safety and well-being, but for the staff and facility as well. Turn Key officials declined interview requests for this story. In response to written questions, the company issued a statement from its medical director, Dr. William Cooper: Turn Keys goal is to provide the highest level of care pursuant to the clients budget. The company continues to expand because of the quality of the care provided. He added that Turn Key is constantly working to build on the quality of care it provides. To examine the companys practices, we obtained records, including internal documents and emails between company leaders and public officials, in nearly 70 counties across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Kansas and Montana. We also reviewed more than 100 lawsuits involving jail deaths and injuries. Many were dismissed for not meeting legal hurdles required for civil rights lawsuits: Plaintiffs must prove that the company wasnt just negligent, but showed deliberate indifference to patients medical needs, among other requirements. Some suits resulted in settlements, many of which were confidential, and nearly two dozen suits remain pending. A woman in Colorado died after a bag of drugs shed hidden in her body burst, while a Turn Key nurse allegedly dismissed her symptoms and refused to call an ambulance. A man in Arkansas died after medical staff didnt give him medication to prevent deadly symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and didnt call an ambulance until he became unresponsive. Another man in Arkansas died after medical records show he wasnt given the seizure medication he needed, and he was strapped to a restraint chair and covered with a spit hood. Turn Key declined to respond to questions concerning these incidents. The cost of providing care in jails Medical care in jails can be complicated and costly, said Dr. Anne Spaulding, founder of the Center for the Health of Incarcerated Persons at Emory University in Atlanta. Most people in jails are there awaiting trial, and many arrive with complex needs some are in drug withdrawal or experiencing mental health crises; others need expensive treatments such as HIV drugs, insulin or dialysis. Jail operators have a constitutional obligation to supply necessary medical care, whatever the illness, she said. When you lock the door of a jail or prison cell, you are preventing the person from going out and seeking health care elsewhere, she said. So you have to provide it. But there are no national standards for what constitutes necessary medical treatment in jail, and federal courts are split over what level of care is adequate, especially for people awaiting trial. Close to half of people in jail have received a diagnosis of a major mental illness, according to government data last compiled in 2017, and two-thirds suffer from substance abuse. Women, the fastest-growing group of people in jails, have even higher rates of mental health and addiction problems. Some, like Hanchett, have undiagnosed psychiatric issues and were arrested after public episodes. It took 10 days after she was put in jail before a doctor consulted on Hanchetts care. Turn Keys primary psychiatrist prescribed antipsychotic pills and noted Hanchett didnt respond to questions. Medical staff recorded her symptoms as severe having a marked impact on the inmates ability to function satisfactorily in the current outpatient setting. By then she had been lying on the floor of an empty cell for days, mostly naked, dehydrated and in deep psychosis, records show. The licensed practical nurse at the jail consulted with an off-site Turn Key nurse practitioner, who said to give Hanchett some Gatorade, according to jail records. Her pulse was weakening, her blood pressure dropping she couldnt stand up or dress herself. A nurse reported hearing Hanchett saying: They are going to kill me. More: Friends mourn loss of 'Cookie Queen' as body cam footage reveals new details about her arrest As the population of people it treated in jails doubled over a span of six years to more than 20,000, records show Turn Key had four doctors, three psychiatrists and 10 nurse practitioners on staff. Some oversaw care at multiple jails in different states. Turn Key has staffed its jails with mostly licensed practical nurses or certified medical assistants, according to depositions and internal documents. These workers can get licensed with a year or less of schooling and are trained to perform basic tasks like checking pulse rates, not to assess medical conditions. In 2020, a contract monitor for the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office complained in an email that the company was using low-level personnel to fill the role of mental health technicians, which raised questions if inmates are truly being serviced accordingly. The sheriffs office declined to comment for this story. In its statement, Turn Key said it maintains an on-call team that has doctors, nurses, and mental healthcare providers who are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. But in many of the cases we examined, the on-the-ground workers failed to recognize severe health problems, and did not seek counsel from doctors and more senior nurses who consulted remotely. The outcomes were sometimes fatal, as in the case of Marconia Kessee. He lived in and out of hotel rooms and struggled with severe mental illness, said his uncle, Michael Washington. In 2018, Kessee went to a hospital for help and ended up in jail in Norman. Police body camera video shows Kessee stumbling and falling after officers ordered him to walk across the street to a homeless shelter so the officers arrested him for trespassing. At the county jail, a licensed practical nurse working for Turn Key did not recognize that Kessee was overdosing on methamphetamine and prescription drugs, instead accusing him of faking symptoms that included seizures, according to a lawsuit filed by his family. The nurse and jailers left Kessee alone in a cell. Within two hours, he was dead of an overdose. He was 35. In response to the lawsuit, the nurse said he hadnt been trained on overdoses and wasnt qualified to determine if someone was experiencing one. Turn Keys medical director agreed and conceded that without such knowledge, the nurse was unlikely to ask a higher-up for help. In a confidential agreement, Turn Key settled the case for an undisclosed amount last year. The company did not respond to questions about Kessees death. Some Oklahoma jails lack funds to pay medical bills for detainees who were hospitalized From the beginning, Turn Key has asserted that it can provide quality care to people in jails at a lower cost. The week after Cleveland County Sheriff Joe Lester took office in 2009, a bookkeeper brought him a stack of unpaid bills from the local hospital and health clinics. It added up to about $1 million in medical debt for treating jail detainees, Lester said later in a court deposition. The departments total budget for the year was half-spent, and the sheriffs office was getting collection calls. When somebody goes to the hospital, whether its a headache or what, its a big expense, Lester said. Hospitalizations also strain jail staffing because a deputy often remains with the detainee until they return to jail. More: Dozens of Oklahoma counties are missing out on mental health and diversion grants. Why? Lester reached out to Jon Echols, who ran a company that provided health care personnel to local nursing homes. The county awarded his company a contract to provide 24-hour nursing personnel at the jail. The company finished the first three months of the contract under budget and sent just one person to the hospital by ambulance, Echols told county officials in 2009, according to a local newspaper report. He and his business partners formed the company that would become Turn Key Health Clinics. Echols won a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2012. A Republican, he now serves as House majority floor leader. In March, we asked Turn Key corporate leaders for an interview, including Echols, who was still listed as the companys president and founder. He did not respond, but his title and photo have since been removed from the companys website. His most recent financial disclosure, filed in May with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, shows he retained a non-controlling minority ownership interest in the company, and received a salary through 2023. Turn Key has since expanded into a multimillion-dollar company with contracts to provide medical care for more than 75 jails and 23,000 people in 10 states. At first, most of the jails where Turn Key operated were lockups in small counties. But in 2016, the company won its largest contract, in Tulsa, after the local sheriff changed the bidding requirements, allowing the company to qualify. At the time, Echols told The Frontier: I wanted a fair opportunity. Theres no doubt that I asked that we be able to bid. Turn Key promised to cover up to $500,000 a year in outside medical costs, including hospitalizations; the county would pay for anything over that amount. Turn Key later boasted to prospective clients that it reduced emergency transfers in Tulsa by 77% and the number of days prisoners spent in the hospital by 35% within a few months. The company went on to get the contract for the troubled county jail in Oklahoma City, the states largest, on similar terms. In its statement, Turn Keys medical director said the company tries to reduce medical costs by providing treatment before emergency care is required. The company added that it rarely, if ever, reduces staffing when it wins a new contract. The Oklahoma County jail in Oklahoma City., Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. Oklahoma County detainee reportedly denied medication, care at hospital Christa Sullivan was jailed in Oklahoma City in 2020 after she suffered delusions, heard voices and attacked her husband with a knife. It was the first time the 64-year-old grandmother and military wife had ever been incarcerated. She told the jail staff she had been diagnosed with anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, a heart condition, high cholesterol, hypertension and fatty liver disease, records show. She reported a history of suicide attempts and hallucinations. She had been prescribed medicines, including the anti-anxiety drug Ativan. Sullivan was put on the lengthy state waitlist for people who need treatment because they arent competent to stand trial. Turn Key was in charge of her care while she waited. Within a few days of her arrest, Sullivan tried to kill herself by cutting her wrists, records show. She went on to attempt suicide numerous times, trying to drown herself in a toilet and to strangle herself with an adult diaper. Sullivan repeatedly asked for Ativan, the drug shed been taking before jail. She was told it wasnt on Turn Keys approved list, known as a formulary, according to her medical records. In its statement, the company said it monitors Ativan and other controlled substances that are addictive and prone to abuse and use as illicit currency in a correctional setting, and added that access to those medications is closely moderated. More: Living Hell: The Oklahoma County jail Sullivan had been in jail for more than six months when she confronted a doctor about her access to Ativan in January 2021. He wrote in his notes: As I approach her cell, I see she is walking around naked. Not currently screaming. I greet her and she tells me You lied to me. You have Ativan here. A nurse told me. I advise her again that Ativan is not on the psychiatric formulary. Instead, records show, doctors at the jail injected her multiple times with the antipsychotic Haldol, which was on the companys list of approved drugs. Sullivan was often in deep psychosis, records show. She developed pressure sores from lying naked on the floor. Medical exams noted she was at extremely high risk for complications including sudden death. But she wasnt taken to a hospital for nearly a year. Then, twice in one week, she was sent to the emergency room to be treated for dehydration, kidney issues and injuries to her head and back and then promptly returned to jail. After Sullivans return, a doctor noted that she was showing severe signs of failure to thrive, at high risk for poor outcome. Medical records note shed lost almost 30 pounds since her initial booking, and that she was allergic to Haldol the drug Turn Key had been injecting her with. A psychiatrist finally prescribed her Ativan on March 25, 2021, records show. More: Judge asked to ban surprise health inspections at Oklahoma County jail On April 13, 2021, she was found dead in her cell. The medical examiner labeled her cause of death undetermined. An investigation by the Oklahoma State Department of Health found the jail did not provide Sullivan adequate care, in violation of state standards. A spokeswoman for the Health Department said it referred the case to the local district attorneys office for criminal investigation. No one was charged. A spokesperson for the Oklahoma County district attorneys office said that Sullivans death happened under a previous administration, and the office didnt have records about the decision to not file charges. A lawsuit filed by Sullivans family alleges Turn Key repeatedly showed deliberate indifference to her condition and refused to transfer her to a hospital because the company didnt want to bear the cost for treatment. Turn Key has denied the allegations and contended in its response to the lawsuit that Sullivans treatment was reasonable and within the applicable standards of care. The case is scheduled for trial next year. After a suicide inside the Oklahoma County Detention Center in December 2021, the same psychiatrist whod treated Sullivan, Dr. Gabriel Cuka, emailed an entreaty to local public defenders, giving them a list of 18 inmates who need inpatient psychiatric stabilization that exceeds the capacity of the jail, records show. Basically, these individuals need forced long acting injectable antipsychotic agents, he wrote in an email. I am not saying that these inmates are incompetent in the Oklahoma legal sense of the term. These inmates are very ill and in some cases dying. Cuka no longer works for Turn Key and is a defendant in the Sullivan familys lawsuit. He declined to comment. In court filings, Cuka has denied allegations that he under-prescribed any medication or that Sullivans mental health worsened under his care. Similar problems cropped up at other jails served by Turn Key. An evaluation completed by mental health experts for the jails in Smith County, Texas, noted that detainees couldnt get long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs and the formulary limited access to drugs they had been prescribed before being jailed. A sheriffs department email we obtained shows Smith County waited weeks in early 2023 to get orders for forced medication for people with severe mental illness because the companys primary psychiatrist was out of the office. At least one person died by suicide in the jail during that time period, records show. Jason Weger, the sheriff of Eastland County, Texas, who wrote a 2022 email raising concerns about access to medications, told a local mental health authority: I am growing more and more concerned about the inmates not receiving the proper medical attention they need. Especially when it comes to the mental health people we are housing. Weger declined to comment. Turn Key didnt respond to questions about the emails from Smith and Eastland counties, but the company said it always has staff available. Turn Key's protocols were 'far below the standard of care,' physician says In mid-2023, The Marshall Project and The Frontier obtained a copy of Turn Keys formulary list after being denied copies numerous times via open records requests. Around that same time, the company stopped using it, records show. Dr. Jason Beaman, a forensic psychiatrist at Oklahoma State University who reviewed the formulary, told us it was missing a key drug for people with schizophrenia as well as many newer, more expensive long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs. When Eusebio Castillo Rodriguez was locked up in the Union County, Arkansas, jail on a DWI charge in June 2022, his documented symptoms of alcohol withdrawal a common problem in jails went untreated for more than five days, according to a lawsuit filed by his family. Most treatment protocols include a prescription for a medication to prevent deadly seizures or alcohol withdrawal delirium. Instead, a Turn Key doctor consulting over the phone prescribed a blood pressure drug, records show. The familys lawyer hired Dr. Thomas Fowlkes, a correctional medicine specialist who frequently testifies on behalf of jail health care contractors, to review Rodriguezs treatment. In his report, he wrote that Turn Keys protocols and treatment were far below the standard of care. When Rodriguezs condition became dire, jail medical staff first attempted to transport him to a local hospital in a deputys car, records show an ambulance was called after he became unresponsive. The hospital life-flighted him to a larger hospital in Little Rock, where he died days later, records show. Fowlkes wrote: The jail staff intended for Mr. Rodriguez to be merely dumped off at the hospital with no apparent concern for his wellbeing and without taking any responsibility for the serious medical condition which developed directly as a result of their lack of medical care. In some of the larger counties where Turn Key had contracts, our analysis of financial data showed jails paid for additional charges for things such as COVID-19 tests and sensors designed to improve health monitoring. Counties also paid for lab tests and prescription drugs when those costs were excluded from the contracts or exceeded a threshold. In Smith County, Texas, over the three-year period we examined, the jail paid an additional $1 million to Turn Key beyond the amount for base medical services largely due to payments for certain medications. The company said in its statement that counties never paid more than the contract required. The company cultivated close relationships with law enforcement. At conferences in Arkansas, Texas, Kansas and Colorado, Turn Key raffled off hunting gear including crossbows and knives to sheriffs and deputies, according to social media posts. It treated clients to steak dinners and delivered packages of smoked bacon for Christmas, according to emails we obtained. Private equity firms have taken an interest in Turn Keys growth: Gladstone Capital Corporation invested $11 million in the company in 2021 through secured loans, records show. The Dallas-based private equity group Trive Capital acquired a majority stake in Turn Key by 2019, according to court filings and interviews. Neither firm responded to requests for comment. The company said in bid documents that its revenue grew an average of 87% a year between 2014 and 2019. But as Turn Key has grown, so has the number of lawsuits alleging its care led to deaths and injuries. In July 2023, a federal judge in Colorado denied the companys request to dismiss a lawsuit that accused a Turn Key nurse at a jail north of Denver of refusing to call an ambulance for a woman she believed was acting a fool. In fact, Amy Lynn Cross was foaming at the mouth before she died of drug toxicity. Turn Key canceled its contract with Weld County last December. In bids submitted to officials in Larimer County in northern Colorado in 2022, Turn Key officials said the company had settled only 13 lawsuits, most of them for nuisance value and for strategic benefit to our clients a record we are willing to put up against any of our competitors. The company did not answer questions about ongoing lawsuits or settlements. In its statement, the medical director said the company trusts in its front-line healthcare providers, it values input from its correctional partners, and Turn Key investigates sentinel events and incorporates lessons learned to improve outcomes. But several jails have ended their contracts with Turn Key over its level of care. Garfield County, Colorado, did so in June 2023 after Sheriff Lou Vallario said he determined the company wasnt providing enough nurses and mental health staffing. Ouachita County, in southern Arkansas, ended its contract with Turn Key after just six months, in part because the company wasnt providing many in-person visits from medical providers, said Robert McAdoo, the county executive. In September 2023, officials in Smith County, Texas, also opted not to renew Turn Keys contract. Instead, the jail will use a local hospital system for medical and psychiatric care. It will cost more money, but having in-person visits from a psychiatrist to treat people with severe mental illness is worth it, said Neal Franklin, the countys chief executive. I know theyve actually treated this individual and seen them with their own eyes and talked directly to them, he said. Shannon Hanchetts friends called her The Cookie Queen. Her small shop in Norman sold out of cookies nearly every day. Bethney Grove became close with Hanchett through Facebook posts about baking. The first time they met in person, Hanchett surprised Grove with a vintage beehive cookie jar decorated with bumblebees Groves favorite symbol. She did everything 1,000% whether it was laugh, tell a joke, get mad, advocate for something, Grove said. She said she had assumed that after the post-Thanksgiving encounter with police, Hanchett had been taken to a hospital or psychiatric facility not locked in jail. Hanchetts family said they didnt want to post her $1,000 bond because they feared that if she were released without treatment, she might hurt herself or someone else. Four days after her arrest, her uncle, a lawyer, wrote a letter asking a county judge to issue an emergency order to transfer her to a local hospital. As a family we are extremely concerned about Shannon staying in jail with her current mental health issues that will continue to worsen without treatment, Michael Schade wrote. A hearing on her case was still two weeks away. Shortly after midnight on Dec. 8, Hanchett was found dead in her cell. The mental health evaluation Hanchetts family had pleaded for was scheduled to take place eight hours after her lifeless body was discovered. According to an autopsy, Hanchetts death was caused by complications from a heart defect, with contributing factors including psychosis with auditory and visual hallucinations and dehydration. In January, her widower, Daniel Hanchett, sued Turn Key and Cleveland County on behalf of his sons. She was a very loving mother and the boys were her biggest priority in life, he said. Turn Key has asked a judge to dismiss the case. In its filings, lawyers for Turn Key and its employees wrote that the case did not meet an evidentiary hurdle showing an unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain or that it was repugnant to the conscience of mankind. As in the case of Marconia Kessee, Shannon Hanchetts jail cell was video monitored. The footage remains under a protective order in federal court, so it is not public. But her familys lawyer, Daniel Smolen, said she was locked in a cell with no sink, bed or toilet for more than a week. When they finally removed her from her cell, they found her naked and so dehydrated that she couldnt even stand. Instead of calling an ambulance, they dragged her limp, naked body by the arms down a long, concrete floor, he said. Hours before Hanchett died, Smolen said, nurses didnt provide her adequate care. Instead, they mocked and laughed at her. Records show three months after Hanchetts death, Cleveland County renewed Turn Keys contract. The Frontier is a nonprofit newsroom that produces fearless journalism with impact in Oklahoma. Read more at www.readfrontier.org. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Dozens have died under Turn Key's care in jails, including Oklahoma COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Comstock Public Schools was awarded a half-million-dollar grant this week from a Michigan-based public safety company. In a letter sent home to families Tuesday, CPS shared the news, saying it will implement state-of-the-art weapons detections systems across [its] schools. Its not like an X-ray or anything like that The artificial intelligence can scan how somebody appears, when they walk through (a hall or doorway), and then can detect whether or not they have some type of gun, said Superintendent Jeffrey Thoenes. The grant comes after the district experienced a shooting outside of its high school last December. While no one was hurt after 30 gunshots were fired, the incident served as a reminder to the community just how important campus safety is. Comstock Schools adds safety measures to athletic events after shooting Schools arent fortresses. You do the best you can, but you always prepare for the worst and hope for the best, Thoenes said. In a letter that went home to families following the shooting, the district also noted it had secured upwards of $400,000 from the state. Since then, Thoenes said the district has used that money to add door sensors to every exterior-facing door, bought mobile detection systems that can be used at school events and added locks on a couple of bathrooms to monitor use. Hopefully if there is a threat, that its taken care of prior to entering the school versus getting into the school where the students are at, said Kalamazoo County Sheriff Deputy Dori Noble, the districts school resource deputy. Being one single person, I can only be in so many places at once. And having the capability to get eyes elsewhere would really help the potential situation. The school year starts Aug. 26. Thoenes said there is not set date of when the new software will be installed, but added he hopes to have it up and running by end of September. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) The Reagan County community will gather on the evening of Aug. 1 to remember Deputy Sheriff Josh Mitchell, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a call involving a suicidal suspect. According to a social media post shared by the Reagan County Sheriffs Office, the memorial event will start at 6:30 p.m. and feature a free community meal, including hot dogs and hamburgers. The meal will be served until food supplies are gone or all attendees are served. The event will take place at Josh Mitchell Park, located at the corner of 9th Street and North Montana Avenue. Deputy Mitchell was fatally shot on Aug. 1, 2012, during a confrontation with a suspect who had barricaded himself in his home, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. The suspect, who had fired at Mitchell, later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Deputy Mitchell had been with the Reagan County Sheriffs Office for six years at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, parents, siblings and grandparents. The Reagan County Sheriffs Office encourages everyone to attend and participate in honoring Deputy Mitchells memory. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. Congestion puts cars, pedestrians and cyclists at risk. Will this plan help Hillsborough? Over 20,000 drivers who negotiate a jumble of strip malls, fast-food restaurants and busy side roads on South Churton Street could see major changes happening in the next 10 years. The street is a vital transit corridor for Hillsborough and a southern gateway for people coming from Chapel Hill and Carrboro. It links local residents to communities to the east and west via Interstates 40 and 85 and U.S. 70A. But the current design is unsafe, especially for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers trying to turn left, town and state officials have said. N.C. Department of Transportation data shows over 200 crashes in the corridor between 2016 and 2020. Roughly 1 in 5 crashes were reported at the I-40 and Old N.C. 86 (South Churton Street) interchange, which is being redesigned. The next most-dangerous area was from McDonalds and the I-85 interchange to Mayo Street, which had 100 crashes, some with severe injuries and involving pedestrians. More crashes with pedestrians and cyclists were seen from Orange Grove Road to U.S. 70A, and at least one driver was killed at the John Earl Street intersection a notoriously difficult place to make left turns because of speeding and sometimes heavy traffic. The situation will only worsen as the corridor is further developed, including at the former Daniel Boone Village next to I-85 and the site of a long-anticipated Amtrak train station at South Churton Street and Orange Grove Street. The stretch of South Churton Street from Mayo Street to just past Orange Grove Road could remain two lanes, but with a landscaped median or turn lanes, according to a new plan being considered in Hillsborough. The town has worked with state engineers for several years to find ways to make the corridor safer. Previous plans to widen South Churton Street were rejected, because they focused more on cars, instead of bicycles and pedestrians, and because of the amount of private land required for right of ways and the number of trees lost. This summer, the town gave the public its first look at the results of a yearlong study to address those concerns. Stephanie Trueblood, the towns public space and sustainability manager, said Churton Street will be a much safer corridor and a beautiful entryway into downtown once the nearly $50 million project is completed. When we started this study, we asked what the community wanted for the future of Churton Street, Trueblood said. This plan expresses those interests and combines them with findings from traffic modeling and forecasting. What did the Churton Street study find? Congestion: Traffic often backs up on South Churton Street, but is especially heavy during the morning and evening commutes. NCDOT data shows 13,000 to 17,000 people on average drive between I-40 and I-85 daily, while the I-85 to U.S. 70A stretch averages 17,000 to 21,000 people. Crashes: The states crash rate for South Churton Street is 1.34 times the average crash rate for similar roads in North Carolina. Safety: Half of those who responded to the towns survey said they feel safe driving on South Churton Street during the day, and only 23% said they feel safe walking or biking during the day. Left turns into and out of Cates Creek Parkway and Lafayette Drive in Hillsborough are difficult now because traffic on South Churton Street (Old N.C. 86) does not stop. A proposed traffic light could improve driving conditions and make it safer for pedestrians. What are the recommended changes? Widen South Churton Street to four lanes from Interstate 40 to Mayo Street. Build a median on South Churton Street to slow traffic, encourage drivers to pay more attention, and give pedestrians a place to pause while crossing the street. Redesign I-85 interchange at South Churton Street. The NCDOT has long-term plans to widen I-85 to six lanes from the Orange Grove Road overpass to the Durham County line. Add traffic signals at major intersections that dont have them, such as Cates Creek Parkway, and replace some existing signals with roundabouts to keep traffic moving more effectively. Roundabouts are being considered for Mayo Street, Rebecca Drive and Orange Grove Road. An N.C. Department of Transportation plan for improving South Churton Street in Hillsborough includes roundabouts at Orange Grove Road (pictured), Rebecca Drive and Mayo Street, where traffic regularly backs up in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. Better landscaping and stormwater measures, including street trees and bioswales to collect and absorb or slowly filter rainwater. Remove or combine driveways on South Churton Street to reduce the number of places where cars, cyclists and pedestrians cross each others paths. Build a paved path, 10 feet wide and disability accessible, on the east side of South Churton Street from I-40 to Orange Grove Road. Build a sidewalk on the west side of South Churton Street from I-40 to Orange Grove Road. Widen a sidewalk across the railroad bridge between Orange Grove Road and U.S. 70A. Add pedestrian crosswalks with signals between intersections, such as between Cates Creek Parkway and Waterstone Drive. South Churton Street (Old N.C. 86) between Cates Creek Parkway and Waterstone Drive in Hillsborough could get a midblock crossing for pedestrians under a proposed road widening plan. A sidewalk and a multiuse path would be added on both sides of the road. Will the changes fix congestion downtown? Planners have previously acknowledged traffic still could back up at the Eno River Bridge, but downtown Hillsboroughs historic homes and buildings only leave enough room for two lanes. A plan to build a bypass around downtown using Elizabeth Brady Road was dropped in 2010. Will it improve the western end of Mayo Street? No. That intersection with Orange Grove Road is part of a different project. A 2020 study recommended roundabouts at Mayo Street and at Eno Mountain Road, where traffic often backs up and left turns are dangerous. There is no money or timeline for those improvements, Trueblood said. How much could the Churton Street project cost? NCDOT officials estimate the work for the stretch between I-40 and I-85 could cost between $20 million and $21.7 million in todays dollars. The estimated cost is $22 million to $23.8 million for the stretch north of I-85. When could the work start? The state could have the money to pay for the roadwork by 2031-32. Construction could take several years and have a significant effect on businesses and residents in the area, town planners have said. The I-85 construction project is not scheduled yet. Stay updated: The South Churton Street project and other state roadwork can be found at tinyurl.com/5n8jf767. The Orange Report Calling Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough readers. Check out The Orange Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Orange County published in The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. Get your newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday featuring stories by our local journalists. Sign up for our newsletter here. For even more Orange-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group "Chapel Hill Carrboro Chat." Connecticut animal lover nearly dies after he was bit by rattlesnake he tried to help off road A Connecticut animal lover was snake-smitten but his care for the reptile nearly cost him his life. Joseph Ricciardella, 45, was bitten by a rattlesnake Sunday night when he tried to bring the critter off the roadway to safety on his way to Torrington. The dad of one was driving home when he saw a snake in the middle of the road and stopped to help the slithery reptile. But as he placed a spare shirt over the rattlesnakes head and picked it up, the deadly animal bit his hand, WFSB reported. He quickly called his former girlfriend who he shares a 4-year-old daughter with, Brittany Hilmeyer, but she thought he was just joking at first until the venom started to affect his speech. He was getting to the point where he really couldnt talk, Hilmeyer told the station. You couldnt understand him. It was like trying to talk to someone with a mouth full of marbles. Joseph Ricciardella was bitten by the snake over the weekend. Ricciardella, who owns a landscaping business, found a way to drive himself to a nearby hospital before he was airlifted to Hartford Hospital where he was administered the needed doses of anti-venom, Hilmeyer said. Before that, his respiratory system began to fail and he went into cardiac arrest, WFSB reported. The snake was in the middle of the road when it bit the dad of one. The dad has been making slow progress since the terrifying ordeal but remains in the hospital. The doctor said he looks a little less swollen today, Hilmeyer told CT Insider on Tuesday. He woke up this morning because they lowered the sedatives, he was able to nod his head and he squeezed the doctors hand when he was talking to him, she added. They put him back under, but they also said intubation tubes may come out soon and they just have to wait for the anesthesia department to look at the swelling in his throat. Ricciardella has always had an outgrown love of animals, according to his loved ones. Growing up in Waterbury and upstate New York, he and his brother Robert used to capture snakes as boys, the sibling told the newspaper. He also let an injured bat that he found in his home stay there until it fully recovered. Connecticut has two venomous snakes in the state: the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead, but they will only bite if they feel threatened or are handled, according to the states Department of Environmental Protection. Yolanda Hill Robinson with husband Lt. Governor Mark Robinson celebrating his primary victory on March 2, 2024. (Photo: Video stream from Robinson's campaign YouTube channel) North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said a compliance review conducted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of his wifes nonprofit is politically motivated and claimed the agency is being weaponized to target him and his family for political purposes. Robinson made the comments during a Wednesday appearance on the conservative KC ODea Radio Program, comparing the state reviews of his wifes nonprofit to the criminal prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. Its just like what were seeing at the federal level with the former president and with conservatives all over this country, Robinson said. This is a state agency being weaponized against somebody for political purposes. Yolanda Hill, Robinsons wife, until this year operated Balanced Nutrition, Inc., a sponsoring organization that contracted with the state to help childcare centers apply for and receive federal funding for childrens meals. Last week, DHHS directed the nonprofit to repay more than $132,000 after the agencys recent review found improper claims for payment from the federal food program. The review cited inflated administrative costs and improperly documented food purchases. The report came a few days after officials declared the nonprofit seriously deficient after finding program violations in the most recent compliance review. Robinson denied all the allegations leveled by the state agency and said he has evidence that the recent reviews by DHHS officials are politically motivated. When folks ask us if were going to stand up and fight this, you best believe were going to stand up and fight it because its politically driven, we have the evidence to prove it, and were going to fight them up to the hilt. It is unclear to what evidence Robinson is referring. (Scroll to the end of this report to see a complete list of the agencys findings.) But in April, Hill claimed that her organization has been subjected to undue scrutiny by DHHS due to its connection to her husband. According to Hill in an interview with WRAL, a DHHS employee in February 2023 had circulated Facebook photos of Hill with her husband to other agency employees to make them aware of the connection. She used her state cell phone to send that picture to her colleagues on their state cell phones, telling them: Look who this is. Look who her husband is. Her husband is Mark Robinson, Hill alleged in the interview. DHHS said the case was assigned to a different specialist in March 2023. That same month, Hill told clients she was shutting down her nonprofit because the demands of her husbands campaign for governor made it impossible for her to continue operating the organization. Robinson said in the ODea radio interview that his wife closed the nonprofit because of what he claimed was political harassment by DHHS, which he said has taken a toll on his family. He implied that he had hoped the decision would end the scrutiny. It has been a drain on my wife, it has been a drain on my family. My wife was willing to simply just walk away from it and say if theyre going to continue to harass us politically because of this, Ill just give this up, said Robinson. But they simply will not let it go and they continue to pile on these erroneous charges. Robinson defended his wifes management of the nonprofit, saying its common for state audits and inspections to uncover errors in the work of organizations that contract with government agencies. He accused state officials of making false allegations but did not specify which findings were inaccurate. When youre running a nonprofit that works closely with the government, theres always room for errors and every year that my wife has done this, theres been audits, theres been the inspections that we have by the state, and we have small findings and then we have a plan of correction. That is a normal business process when youre working with any state or any government agency, he said. But what the state is doing here is they are alleging things that just simply are not true. Since 2017, when it contracted with the state to become a sponsoring organization, Balanced Nutrition has undergone at least four audits: in 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2024. State auditors found compliance issues in audits since 2017, but none warranted a notice of serious deficiency, the most severe finding, except for 2024. Though Hill officially shut down Balanced Nutrition on April 30, she is still obliged to respond to state officials because the agency had already scheduled a compliance review to begin two weeks prior to that date. She has thus far declined repeated requests to attend such a review. Were going to stand up and were going to push back and were going to fight. Were going to do it in a legal way, said Robinson. Were going to get all our ducks in a row, and when its time to go, and when our advisors and our attorneys tell us its time to go, were going to march forward and do the right thing because we want to fix this problem. DHHS gave Balanced Nutrition until Aug. 7 to provide documentation showing it has taken the required corrective action for each of the serious deficiencies. Last week, Robinson campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said the nonprofit plans to appeal and criticized the state agencys action as politically motivated. Balanced Nutrition, Inc. performance deficiencies identified in the NC DHHS audit: Recordkeeping Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not make all requested records available during the compliance review. Requests were made on 3/1/2024, 3/18/2024, 4/1/2024 for documents. An additional request for documents was made on 5/6/2024, however Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not provide all the documents requested. Balanced Nutrition, Inc.s management plan indicates the address where the institution records are maintained as 122 N. Elm Street, Suite 504, Greensboro, NC 27401-2818. When the compliance team was on site, Ms. Hill left the N. Elm Street location to collect records for the compliance review. Income eligibility applications (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not maintain accurate income eligibility applications for its sponsored facilities. Enrollment documentation (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not maintain enrollment documentation for its sponsored facilities. Civil Rights Balanced Nutrition, Inc. failed to participate in Civil Rights training conducted by the State agency. Programmatic training Balanced Nutrition, Inc. failed to participate in programmatic training conducted by the State agency. Monitoring (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition Inc. failed to implement the monitoring scheduled as described in the institutions management plan. Balanced Nutrition, Inc. failed to accurately monitor facilities under its sponsorship. Balanced Nutrition, Inc. failed to maintain all monitoring records for its sponsored facilities. Not all meal types were included in meal observations. The State agency reviewer identified other program violations from the sampled facilities not identified by Balanced Nutrition Inc. Meal counts (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not accurately claim meal counts on the claim for reimbursement. Menu review (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition, Inc. filed claims for meals that did not meet the CACFP meal pattern. Fiscal integrity (Repeat Finding) Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not disclose to the State agency less-than-arm length transactions relatives related to Yolanda Hill. Labor expenses were claimed for Kimberly Cephas, daughter of Yolanda Hill. Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not disclose or receive approval from the State agency regarding the less-than-arm length transaction. Verification of a valid claim Balanced Nutrition, Inc. failed to file valid claims. Doctors from the Alabama Fertility Clinic takes photos of the votes as the debate over SB159 bill (IVF Fertility Bill) in the House Chambers is voted on, Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill) When Missourians head to the polls in November, they may get to vote on whether to overturn their states near-total abortion ban and legalize abortions up to the point of fetal viability. But one lawmaker says the results of that vote may not matter if his colleagues approve his bill declaring that fetuses are people. Missouri state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican, plans to reintroduce a bill in January that would grant unborn children the same rights as newborns, building on a similar Missouri law that has been on the books since the 1980s. Seitz said the bill would provide protections for embryos and fetuses regardless of that vote in November. Absolute abortion bans remain unpopular, even in conservative-led states and among Republican women. So during this legislative session, many GOP state lawmakers pivoted to protecting the rights of fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. And when the national Republican Party released its official platform in July, it made no mention of a federal abortion ban. Instead, the GOP affirmed states prerogative to pass laws protecting life under the Constitutions 14th Amendment, which has been used in legal arguments to support fetal personhood. Fetal personhood, a longtime cornerstone of the anti-abortion movement, is the idea that a fetus, embryo or fertilized egg has the same legal rights as a person who has been born. If the law considers fetuses to be people, the thinking goes, then abortion would legally be considered murder. At least 19 states either through state law, criminal statutes or case law have declared that fetuses at some stage of pregnancy are people, according to a 2023 report from Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit that conducts research and advocates for the rights of pregnant people, including the right to abortion. When a pregnant persons rights conflict with fetal rights, fetal rights tend to trump them. Rebecca Kluchin, researcher and professor at California State University, Sacramento Missouri is one of several Republican-led states where lawmakers have taken a renewed interest in fetal personhood legislation in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and dismantled the federal constitutional right to abortion. If you elevate a fetus to the status of a person and grant it citizenship rights equal to that of a pregnant person, then now you have a clash of rights, said Rebecca Kluchin, a history professor at California State University, Sacramento, who is writing a book on the history of efforts to establish fetal personhood in the United States. Kluchin said one goal of the recent fetal personhood bills is to get a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Dobbs decision, and the conservative bent of the current court, have created an environment where lawmakers are saying, Lets try it, she said. If one of them gets it right, then others can pass identical laws. Seitz thinks his bill could fulfill that purpose. If it does get to the Supreme Court, due to the makeup of the court right now, I think they would see this commonsense legislation is, in fact, truth, he said. Critics, meanwhile, warn of legal chaos. The possible implications of fetal personhood bills extend far beyond abortion to fertility treatments, birth control and even child tax credits. In states that have enacted such laws, pregnant women have faced criminal charges for actions that might harm their pregnancies. When a pregnant persons rights conflict with fetal rights, Kluchin said, fetal rights tend to trump them. IVFs chilling effect Seitzs bill didnt make it out of committee before Missouris legislative session ended in May. He attributed that failure to the GOPs reluctance to push an anti-abortion bill in an election year, a concern that might have been justified: Missouri abortion rights supporters gathered more than double the number of signatures needed to get their constitutional amendment on the ballot. As of press time, the ballot petition signatures were still being reviewed by local and state officials. But Seitz said the bill will be the first he introduces when the legislature returns in January. With election season behind them, he said, I think it will be very easy for my Republican colleagues to come on board and support this. Conservative lawmakers in Alaska, Illinois, South Carolina and West Virginia introduced similar fetal personhood bills in their most recent legislative sessions, though none made it out of committee. Then in February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through in vitro fertilization are children under state law, and that people can be held liable for destroying them. The court cited Alabamas constitutional amendment, passed by voters in 2018, that confers personhood on fetuses and affirms the states responsibility to protect the rights of unborn children. The courts decision generated a national uproar, ignited bipartisan ire and halted fertility treatments statewide until Alabamas Republican supermajority legislature hastily passed a law protecting fertility service providers. The backlash underscored how many lawmakers hadnt fully considered the far-reaching implications and legal bedlam that can be created by fetal personhood laws. And it had a chilling effect on fetal personhood bills. In February, a Florida Republican state senator sidelined her bill that would have covered fetuses under wrongful death lawsuits after some lawmakers worried it would hurt IVF providers. In March, the Iowa House passed a bill to criminalize the death of an unborn person, but Republicans in the Senate declined to take up the bill over concerns it could criminalize IVF. Similarly, the Kentucky House refused to hear a bill that the Senate passed that would have granted the right to retroactively collect child support for costs incurred during pregnancy. Through the back door Last year, Arizona Republican state Rep. Matt Gress introduced five pregnancy-related bills that he said were inspired by his experience growing up in a family headed by a single mother. Im the youngest of four and raised by a single mom in a single-wide trailer house in rural Oklahoma. We grew up very poor, Gress said in an interview with Stateline. These bills, to me, represented a policy approach that helps women and families. One of the bills would have allowed families to retroactively claim child tax credits in the year before a baby is born; another would have allowed pregnant women to drive alone in a highway car pool lane, their fetus counting as a separate passenger. Yet another bill would have allowed a woman, after having a baby, to collect child support backdated to the date of her positive pregnancy test. Arizonas Democratic state legislators accused Gress of taking a back-door approach to inserting fetal personhood language into state law. But Gress denies that codifying fetal personhood was his intent. That didnt even cross my mind, he said. The way I read the bills, there were no rights being afforded to anybody besides women and families. Gress noted that he was the first Republican, and one of the few, who supported Democratic state legislators bid to repeal Arizonas near-total abortion ban, which dated to 1864. The repeal effort eventually succeeded in early May. Arizonas legislature passed two of Gress pregnancy bills, but Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed both. Gress said he doesnt intend to reintroduce the bills unless a new governor is elected who might support them. Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri tried but failed to pass similar fetal child support laws this year. Georgias 2019 heartbeat law, which went into effect in 2022, grants child support benefits for fetuses. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, now the speaker of the House, introduced a similar bill in Congress in 2022, and was explicit about its purpose. In a statement, he called it a first step toward updating federal laws to reflect that life begins at conception. Beyond abortion Fetal personhood laws, like abortion bans, end up having broader effects on all pregnant people and pregnancy-related care, said Dr. Daniel Grossman, an OB-GYN and the director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, a research program at the University of California, San Francisco, which focuses on abortion and reproductive health. Grossman points to cases in which pregnant patients experiencing obstetric emergencies had to be airlifted out of states with strict abortion bans, such as Idaho, because doctors were afraid of violating the law. In states such as Florida, North Carolina and Texas, pregnant women who werent seeking abortions but who experienced possible miscarriages or other emergencies have been turned away from hospitals. Stories of pregnant women being turned away from emergency rooms spiked after Roe was overturned, a recent Associated Press investigation found. Fetal personhood has implications for birth control, too. Hormonal contraceptive methods such as IUDs and birth control pills typically work by preventing an egg from being fertilized, but theres a small chance that some forms can also prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus, said Grossman. So, if state law considers a fertilized egg a person, that could create a legal basis for banning any contraception that could possibly prevent implantation. Grossman also worries about increased scrutiny these laws create for people who experience miscarriage or stillbirth. Before Dobbs, people were arrested and criminally prosecuted for allegedly trying to end a pregnancy on their own, he said. Im already concerned thats going to become more common, especially in places with fetal personhood laws. The laws also have resulted in women being criminally charged for actions that might harm their pregnancies, said Lourdes Rivera, president of Pregnancy Justice. Riveras organization documented nearly 1,400 instances of pregnant women being charged, often for substance use, in the 16 years leading up to the June 2022 Dobbs decision. Most of the cases occurred in a handful of Southern states including Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee that have expanded their definitions of child abuse to include fetuses, fertilized eggs and embryos. Nearly 85% of pregnancy criminalization cases in the Pregnancy Justice report involved charges against a pregnant person who was legally indigent, and the laws were disproportionately applied to poor women and women of color, Rivera said. These laws are forcing pregnant people to give up their bodily autonomy, their health and well-being, she said, and to be surveilled and criminalized for actions that would not be criminal if they were done by people who were not pregnant. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BW Energy Limited BW Energy completes farm-in and acquisition of securities of Reconnaissance Energy (With reference to stock exchange release dated 17 July 2024 regarding Letter Agreement to acquire shares in Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. and 20% interest in onshore exploration license PEL 73 in Namibia) BW Energy Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of BW Energy Limited ("BW Energy"), has acquired an aggregate of 17,600,000 common shares ("Common Shares") and 17,600,000 common share purchase warrants ("Warrants" and together with the Common Shares (Units)) of Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (the "Company"). The Units were acquired at a purchase price of CAD1.25 per Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of CAD 22 million or approximately USD 16 million pursuant to the previously announced offering (the Offering) of Units by the Company.. Each Unit is comprised of one Common Share and one Warrant, with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of CAD 1.75 within 24 months following the closing of the Offering. Following the closing of the Offering, BW Energy Services Limited owns approximately 6.6% of the outstanding Common Shares, not including the Warrants. Consequently, BW Energy Rundu Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of BW Energy, has entered into a farm-in agreement with Renaissance Energy Namibia Pty Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for the terms of a farm-in transaction, including the transfer to BW Energy Rundu Limited of a 20% working interest in the onshore exploration license PEL 73 in Namibia. For further information, please contact: Brice Morlot, CFO BW Energy, +33.7.81.11.41.16 ir@bwenergy.no About BW Energy: BW Energy is a growth E&P company with a differentiated strategy targeting proven offshore oil and gas reservoirs through low risk phased developments. BW Energy has access to existing production facilities to reduce time to first oil and cashflow with lower investments than traditional offshore developments. BW Energys assets are 73.5% of the producing Dussafu Marine licence offshore Gabon, 100% interest in the Golfinho and Camarupim fields, a 76.5% interest in the BM-ES-23 block, a 95% interest in the Maromba field in Brazil and a 95% interest in the Kudu field in Namibia, all operated by BW Energy, as well as approximately 6.6% (on an undiluted basis) of the common shares of Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. Total net 2P+2C reserves and resources were 580 million barrels of oil equivalent at the start of 2024. Story continues This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. DENVER, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Construction has begun on a new beach in Denver at Beatties Ford Park on the western portion of Lake Norman. Lincoln County Parks and Rec said the work, which is being done in partnership with Duke Energy, began last week. We are very excited for this project as it will add another amenity for Lincoln County families and visitors, Parks and Recreation Director John Davis said. Lake Norman is the largest man-made lake in the state of North Carolina, and creating a safe and enjoyable access for the public to enjoy adds to the caliber of our community. New amenities will include a paved parking lot, a fishing pier, a concession building with bathrooms, public swimming access, and future program offerings. Visitors to the park will now see signage for restricted areas for the construction and flow of equipment. The project is set to be completed later this year and will open to the public in May of 2025. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Saint Johnsbury, VT- A driver crashed his car into State Police barracks before approaching a construction site with a weapon, and we heard from the worker who helped put a stop to the chaos. Two weekends ago, Vermont State Police reported that Jeffrey Hale, 60, from Lunenburg, crashed his SUV into the VTrans and State Police building in Saint Johnsbury. From there, Hale stole a tool from a VTrans truck, smashed more windows on the building, and walked onto a construction site, where he approached workers with his weapon on Route 5. Harmony Turnbaugh, Supervisor at Four Seasons Traffic Control LLC, was in the work zone when a flagger radioed her about Hale. My flagger up top, he got on the radio, and he was like, Theres a man up here and hes coming towards me and he has a weapon,' said Turnbaugh. He wasnt okay, he wasnt in his right mind. He was not he was just not there. Turnbaugh had never been in a situation like this before, but she told us that she did what I thought I had to do, I neutralized the threat. When Turnbaugh came to help her coworkers, Hale charged at her, which is when she sprayed him with mace. The commotion bought nearby officers enough time to arrive at the scene, put Hale in handcuffs, and arrest him. It went as smooth as something that crazy could go, Turnbaugh stated. Turnbaugh told us that shes thankful she was there to stop Hale from hurting anyone, including himself. Turnbaugh told us Im not some kind of superhero, Im not saying that. Im not trying to look for rewards or blah blah blah, like I did what I thought I had to do, and I feel bad I hope that guys okay and I hope that whatever he was going through that day, I hope hes okay. Hale is currently being held at the Northeast Regional Correctional Complex without bail. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Contaminated work environments are fueling an epidemic for an entire generation: 'Why isn't anything happening?' A troubling rise in chronic kidney disease is occurring across the globe, primarily targeting workers in low-income agricultural areas. The country of Sri Lanka is particularly hard hit, reaching epidemic proportions with around 164,000 diagnosed with a form of the disease in 2020, although it's usually recognized as chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu). What's happening? As the New York Times detailed, working men in their 30s and 40s in Sri Lanka have shown late-stage kidney failure since the 1990s. Experts attribute this to multiple factors, spanning extreme heat due to the changing climate, frequent dehydration, and groundwater that's been contaminated by pesticide use. "Sri Lanka has made the perfect case for how climate change is affecting people in real time," Nishad Jayasundara, an expert in global environmental health at Duke University, shared in the article. Young men in similar scenarios from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and East Africa are facing the illness as well. In Ecuador, studies showed that 98% of adolescents working in the agriculture industry have high glyphosate levels, which is a common ingredient in pesticides and thought to damage the liver and kidneys. Why is this disease so concerning? Although this has been going on for years, it's clear not enough has been done to curb the advance of CKDu. While it's hitting low-income populations the hardest, similar problems have been cropping up around the world. People in hotter climates were found to be more susceptible to CKD. The prevalence of microplastics in almost every aspect of our lives is troubling, too. A correlation between these tiny particles and CKD has already been established. Ajith Pushpakumara is a 40-year-old rice farmer in Sri Lanka and the primary breadwinner for his family, the Times explained. He was advised to drink clean water and take care of his health after kidney issues were revealed 15 years ago, but his situation made it difficult. Now he's getting dialysis every four days. "People keep writing about it," he shared in the article. "But why isn't anything happening?" What's being done to solve the issue? In regions like Sri Lanka, the government has begun to provide some filtered water to the population in an attempt to limit exposure to harmful chemicals. The government has also increased clinics to help those in need. Elsewhere, breakthrough techniques have been employed to filter PFAS (sometimes called "forever chemicals") and other impurities from water supplies. Officials in the UK have also shared that the types of pesticides cited in this case are "absolutely unnecessary" for growing food. Knowledge of the issue is only half the battle, as Pushpakumara made clear. Even small efforts in everyday life, such as reducing plastic use, employing natural non-toxic alternatives in agriculture, and choosing cleaner transportation solutions can make a difference. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet. Weather Aware Thursday and Friday for Dangerous Heat and Humidity Thursday & Friday: The heat dome will stay in place for Thursday. This will keep Central Alabama very hot and humid with only a few showers. High temperatures will be in the middle 90s. The heat index will be dangerous as it sits around 105-110. Find ways to stay cool and hydrated! Another Heat Advisory is in effect. On Friday, the heat dome of high pressure will start to break down. We will still be very hot and humid, but there will be a little better chance for spotty storms in the afternoon as a cold front moves into North Alabama. Highs stay in the middle 90s, and the heat index is 105-110. Weekend Outlook: The weather pattern starts to change this weekend. The heat dome will continue to weaken and move to the west. A trough of low pressure will move over the eastern U.S. and send a weak cold front into Alabama Saturday morning. Saturday will still be hot and humid, but there will be scattered storms. Not everyone will see rain. High temperatures will be in the lower to middle 90s, and the heat index will be 100-105+. Sunday will be partly cloudy, hot, and humid with only a few pop-up storms in the afternoon/evening. Highs will be in the lower 90s, and the heat index will be around 105. Tracking the Tropics: A tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles remains disorganized. Conditions are forecast to become more favorable for development near The Bahamas and Cuba by this weekend. A tropical depression could form near the Greater Antilles to The Bahamas or Florida. NHC is giving this system a medium chance to develop. Forecast models hint at this system may move into the Eastern Gulf of Mexico early next week as a tropical wave. However, it may try to develop off the west coast of Florida, IF it develops at all. There is A LOT of uncertainty and there is plenty of time to watch this system. Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team: Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes, Meteorologist Alex Puckett, and Meteorologist Jacob Woods. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Whats the coolest thing made in North Carolina? Nows the time to have your say When people think of cool stuff made in North Carolina, what often comes to mind is food: Texas Pete hot sauce, Mount Olive pickles, Bright Leaf hot dogs or perhaps Cheerwine. These household names have been nominated for the North Carolina Chambers annual Coolest Thing Made in NC contest before. And as the chamber begins this years contest, they will no doubt be nominated again. But theyve never won. The states coolest manufactured products, as chosen by popular vote online, tend to be more practical and obscure. Last years winner in the medium-to-large business category was the C.R. Onsrud Q-Series 5-Axis CNC machine. Thats a computerized high-speed cutting machine made in Troutman. Very cool. The chamber started the coolest thing contest five years ago to highlight the importance of manufacturing in North Carolina. According to the chamber, companies that make stuff employ more than 10% of the states workforce and account for 17% of gross state product. We want to continue elevating the visibility of this vital industry and raise awareness about the limitless potential of modern manufacturing careers, president and CEO Gary J. Salamido said in a written statement. This annual contest is an effective and fun way to do just that. People can nominate a made-in-NC product for this years contest at coolestthingmadeinnc.com by Aug. 13. The chamber will publish a list of nominees on Aug. 22, when people can go back to the website and vote for their favorite. The field will narrow through three rounds of voting, with the winners chosen Oct. 3, on the eve of National Manufacturing Day. The nominees will be divided into two categories: those made by companies that employ 100 or more people and those made by smaller ones. Last years contest drew 130 nominees. Here are the winners from past contests: 2020: The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus made by Thomas Built Buses in High Point. 2021: The Western Star 49X dump truck made by Daimler Trucks in Cleveland. 2022: The Caterpillar Cat 299D3 XE compact track loader made in Sanford (large company) and the beachBUB All-In-One Umbrella System made in Greensboro 2023: The C.R. Onsrud Q-Series 5-Axis CNC machine (large company) and Static Rope Edge Protection (STREP) made by Fjord Inc. in Burlington. Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that former President Donald Trump is showing us who he is by questioning Vice President Kamala Harriss racial identity. Responding to Trumps comments after speaking at a Harris campaign event about abortion rights, Cooper compared them to Trump falsely claiming for several years that former President Barack Obama wasnt born in the United States. Hes showing us who he is, hes trying to divide us, Cooper told reporters following the event, in Durham. It reminds me of exactly what he did with President Obama and birtherism. This is what MAGA is about. Trumps comments came during a conversation with political journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday. Trump was asked if he believed Harris was a DEI hire, as a few Republicans in Congress have said, and if she was only on the Democratic ticket because of her race and gender. Trump said he had known her a long time indirectly, not directly, and claimed that Harris was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So, I dont know, is she Indian, or is she Black? He went on to add: I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, she became a Black person. Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, is multiracial. She attended a historically Black university, joined a historically Black sorority, and joined the Congressional Black Caucus, noted PolitiFact, which labeled Trumps claim Pants on Fire! Her campaign, responding to Trumps comments on Wednesday, said the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president. Trumps campaign, meanwhile, said in a statement following his comments that he has continually said that unlike Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, hes running to be President for ALL Americans, and if youre running to unite the entire Country, you have to back it up with action like President Trump did today at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago. Cooper: Trump will say anything to get elected During the Harris campaign event in Durham on Thursday, Cooper said that Trump doesnt tell the truth that much, but hes right when he brags about the fact that he is responsible for the destruction of Roe v. Wade. Cooper said that voters who dont support the new 12-week abortion ban North Carolina Republicans enacted last year over his veto can help change things by helping Democrats break the GOPs legislative supermajority in November. He also said that Trump is claiming to have moderated his position on abortion, and said he doesnt believe it. They will say anything to get elected, and Donald Trump, or J.D. Vance, would sign a federal abortion ban in a New York minute, Cooper said. Gov. Roy Cooper speaks about abortion rights during a press conference held by the Kamala Harris presidential campaign in Durham, N.C. on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. In April, Trump said he wouldnt sign a national abortion ban if one was passed by Congress, reversing his previous stance on the issue as a candidate in 2016 and during his first term in office, CNN reported. And ahead of the Republican National Convention last month, GOP delegates approved a new party platform that adopted Trumps current position that abortion policy should be left to each state to decide, abandoning the partys long-standing explicit support for national restrictions, the Washington Post reported. Cooper said that Harris, if elected president, would veto a potential national abortion ban, and instead push for legislation restoring Roe as the law of the land. Cooper and other speakers also said Trump would implement the policies laid out in Project 2025, a proposed overhaul of the federal government published by the Heritage Foundation. Asked by The News & Observer about the Trump campaign saying this week that reports of the projects demise would be greatly welcomed, Cooper said voters shouldnt be fooled, and said that the plan was put together by Trumps own former aides and allies. Matt Mercer, spokesman for the N.C. Republican Party, referred The N&O to a statement from the Trump campaign in which it said that the campaign has made it clear that only President Trump and the campaign, and NOT any other organization or former staff, represent policies for the second term. Mercer also referred The N&O to a statement regarding abortion policy in which Karoline Leavitt, the campaigns national press secretary, said that Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion. Texas woman shares her unspeakably hard experience Kate Cox, a mother of two from Dallas who had to travel outside of Texas last year to obtain an abortion to terminate her nonviable pregnancy, also spoke during Thursdays Harris campaign event. Cox said she and her husband always wanted a big family, and were overjoyed when they learned she was pregnant with their third child last August. Cox later found out that her baby was developing with full trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that her doctor said meant that if her child, a girl, survived the pregnancy, she would live for, at most, hours or days. The health complications also threatened her ability to safely have more children in the future. Amidst all my grief, at the loss of my pregnancy, I had to kiss my children goodbye and flee my state to get an abortion, Cox said. It was unspeakably hard. Cox said her experience has intensely reminded me that abortion is health care. She also said she didnt always pay attention to politics and didnt always vote, but said to cheers from gathered campaign volunteers that after what happened to me, I promise you I will never again miss an opportunity to vote. Wanted, prayed-for pregnancies sometimes end in abortion, Cox said. And mothers and parents are the right people to make compassionate, difficult decisions for themselves and their families, with doctors, not politicians. Under the Dome Get the latest news about North Carolina politics from The News & Observer's award-winning team. Get the free digest sent to your inbox by signing up here. Prosecutors from the state attorney generals office got a tongue-lashing from Fulton Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams on Wednesday for saying it was a mistake that they mishandled privileged attorney-client emails that were collected as evidence in the case against activists opposed to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as Cop City. What youre saying to the court is not credible, said Adams. It flies in the face of any logic. The judge issued her admonishment in the latest episode of this controversial case. The defendants are among dozens of organizers and protesters against Cop City who have been charged by Georgias attorney general under the states Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Georgia in recent years has become a hotbed for aggressive uses of the racketeering law, which was originally intended as a tool to prosecute organized crime syndicates. But even in that context, the use of RICO against Cop City dissenters stands out. Not only has the state charged those directly protesting the centers construction, but in the case of the three defendants in court this week, it has also targeted those involved with funding and supporting protesters through means like bail funds, which the state legislature has also sought to criminalize. Devin Franklin, movement policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights and a former Fulton County public defender, told Capital B Atlanta he believes there will be more racketeering cases against protest movements in the future. Franklin said that activists and defense attorneys were watching the hearing closely because the judges ruling will likely shape how the state and local district attorneys handle future racketeering cases involving protest movements. I think that this is a testing ground for them to see how it works and how movements are able to respond, he said. The Wednesday hearing was for a motion to dismiss filed by defense attorneys for the organizers of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, Marlon Kautz, Savannah Patterson, and Adele MacLean. They are just three of 61 people indicted on racketeering charges for their involvement in the Stop Cop City and Defend the Atlanta Forest movements. Defense attorney Don Samuels provided emails showing that he warned the AGs office multiple times that there were privileged communications collected when the state gained access to the defendants Gmail accounts. Assistant Attorney General Hallie Scott Dixon assured the judge in court that no one in the AGs office had seen the confidential emails, but Adams maintained that the mishap was gross negligence on the states part. Adams indicated that she is not going to dismiss the case or recuse the state AGs office from prosecution, but she did leave the door open for other remedies that could range from the suppression of certain evidence to requiring a diligent review of all evidence acquired by the state. No longer a trial attorney himself, Franklins Southern Center has led the charge in making sure each of the defendants in this case has an attorney since the indictment was announced in September 2023. For comparison, in the YSL RICO case that alleges rapper Young Thug and his associates operated a criminal gang in Atlanta, the indictment came down in May 2022. By the time the trial began over a year later in December 2023, four defendants had to be severed from the case because they were still unable to secure legal representation. As to why the state is using RICO to go after these protesters rather than charging individuals with the crimes they have allegedly committed, Franklin said its more efficient for the state to try for multiple convictions at once. In a racketeering case, the prosecution is not limited to evidence of the alleged crimes but also anything that shows how the defendants were connected to one another in order to form the alleged criminal enterprise. It lessens the burden of the state to prove the actual crime, Franklin said. You can just kind of muddy the waters in a way that makes it really difficult for even the most skilled attorneys to defend. The post Cop City Judge Calls Mishandled Evidence by State AG Gross Negligence appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta. Police in London are looking into allegations that Washington Post publisher Will Lewis led an effort to cover up a phone-hacking scandal more than a decade ago as it threatened to engulf Rupert Murdochs tabloid empire, it was disclosed Thursday. They are are investigating claims Lewis attempted to frame Gordon Brown, a former prime minister of the United Kingdom, by claiming he was conspiring to steal the emails of Rebekah Brooks, who was chief executive of Murdochs News International at the time. Lews allegedly tried to justify the deletion of critical documents by claming Brown was part of a bid to steal them from Murdochs servers. Brown revealed the police move in an op-ed for The Guardian on Wednesday that Scotland Yard had informed him it was assigning the matter to a special enquiry team. It will raise pressure on Lewis, the man picked by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to rescue his Washington Post after years of losses. Himself once the target of tabloid hackers, Brown said he received the police response after writing to them about new evidence in the matter that emerged through recent civil litigation surrounding the misleading allegations at the time. I have only recently discovered how Lewis attempted to accuse me of a crime I did not commit, Brown wrote in the op-ed, noting that Lewis told authorities in a July 2011 interview that the emails were destroyed to prevent them being seen. Billionaires, Secrets, Zegnas: Will Lewis Thirst for Power While Lewis has always claimed that he was Mr Clean Up, these new allegations point to a cover-up, he said. Brown and other hacking victims allege that Lewis and his former boss, Murdoch loyalist Rebekah Brooks, in fact masterminded the deletion of millions of incriminating emails amidst a police investigation into the 2011 events. Brown references Sue Akers, the police officer involved in the initial hacking investigation, who told The New York Times last month that she had only also just learned of the matter and found it to be ludicrous. Gordon Brown was obviously one of the victims, she said. The thought that he would do that is ludicrous. The civil case, which includes among its plaintiffs Prince Harry, is scheduled to go to trial early next year. Lawyers for the plaintiffs told the London High Court at a pre-trial hearing this week that Murdoch executives invented a fake security threat to justify the obliteration of 30 million emails, according to The Washington Post. (All but 9 million were later recovered.) Brown said the team sits under the London Metropolitan Polices central specialist crime command. A Met spokesperson told CNN that investigators were looking into the contents of Browns letter but that no criminal investigation had been immediately launched. We have responded to Mr Brown to acknowledge receipt of his letter. Its contents continues to be assessed and we will be writing again to update him on the likely timescales involved in that work, the spokesperson said. My Mom Was Among the First Hacking Victims, Says Prince Harry Murdochs News UK told The Guardian that it is strongly denied that News International sought to impede or worse conceal evidence from the Met investigation. A spokesperson for the company said Brown was acting on partial information that had been in the public record for years. Lewis declined to comment on the development through a Washington Post spokesperson, who said that neither he nor the paper had been contacted about any special enquiry. Lewis, who was named publisher and CEO of the Post in November 2023, invited further scrutiny last month after it was revealed he tried to kill an NPR story on his potential involvement in the cover-up. Blazoned across the top of every edition of the Washington Post is the statement Democracy dies in darkness, Brown wrote in his op-ed. But what if the publisher himself is a master of the dark arts? Lewis has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the matter. 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. Joe Martinez Editors note: Rep. Cori Bush lost her primary race on Tuesday August 6 to county prosecutor Wesley Bell. Per NBC News, Bush had 45% of the vote to Bells 51% with almost 97% of districts reporting results. Their race was one of the most expensive primary contests in the history of the House of Representatives, with a super PAC run by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other allied pro-Israel groups spending more than $8 million. The New York Times described Bush as falling to a campaign by powerful pro-Israel political groups intent on ousting a fierce critic of the nations war in Gaza. Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, there was just one clinic providing abortion care left in the entire state of Missouri. The St. Louis Planned Parenthood was recognizable by a bright blue, two-story banner that said simply: STILL HERE. On the day of the expected SCOTUS news, hundreds gathered for a rally outside that same Planned Parenthood building in a show of support. When Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) was a teenager, she visited this location to secure abortion services after a violent sexual assault. Nearly three decades later, she joined her constituents, clinic staff, and reproductive health advocates, in mourning the ruling when it was announced. Missouris Republican attorney general became one of the first in the country to enact the states trigger law banning abortion. Bush promised to fill the new chasm of reproductive need with whatever resources she could find. My daughter, who is 23 now, has less rights to her own body than I had when I was her age, Bush tells Teen Vogue. And I have to fight to make sure she has what she needs and every other person that would need those services. Fighting for something is how we lead, says Bush. We lead by showing up. If we really believe in an issue, we put ourselves on the line for that issue. St. Louis means that much to me. I don't want St. Louis and the people across this country harmed. That is the difference between being someone who supports something and someone who will fight for it. I'm fighting to actually see change. In Bushs two terms in Congress, shes become known for her leadership on reproductive justice and abortion rights. The former activist is one of the most visible, consistent, progressive voices on Capitol Hill, pushing for student debt forgiveness and arguing for the protest rights of young pro-Palestine demonstrators. And that visibility has made her a target. In a closely contested August 6 primary, shes facing off against Democratic challenger Wesley Bell, currently the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. Bells campaign is formidable, boasting a long list of endorsements, a flood of campaign money, and a wave of campaign ad funding primarily funneled through a political action committee run by the controversial electoral heavyweight, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). AIPAC has strongly criticized Bush for expressing support for Palestinian human rights. Pro-peace, anti-war, pro-democracy, pro-diplomacy, pro-humanity is a big part of our work because we're fighting for the people of Gaza, Bush tells Teen Vogue, leaning on a strong humanistic message, and mentioning the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon as other places of conflict that deserve attention. We want them to have their freedom. We want them to be safe and whole. AIPAC has been heavily criticized by some on the left for its outsized involvement in elections and lobbying, frequently targeting and undermining progressive Democratic candidates around the country. Bell, who was originally running to oust Missouris far-right senator Josh Hawley and abandoned that campaign to challenge Bush, has benefited greatly from the organizations support. As of Wednesday, July 31, AIPACs Super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has spent more than $8 million to oust Bush, according to Federal Election Commission filings. In the final weeks of the race, Bush and Bell are sparring over their pro-abortion bona fides. Bell told KSDK 5 On Your Side that he would absolutely commit to protecting reproductive rights, and he has pledged not to prosecute abortion cases after the Dobbs decision. Still, Bush says her track record is stronger as the only candidate endorsed by Abortion Action Missouri, Planned Parenthood, Reproductive Freedom Missouri, and National Nurses United. Showing up to vote and saying that you support abortion access [is] great, but fighting for it is a whole other universe, says Bush. Saying, I will support it, means that if it arises or if the bill comes up, I will be there. What I'm doing is trying to do the work to prevent loss of rights, and where there are rights, work to protect them. At a House of Representatives committee hearing in 2021, Bush was one of three congresswomen to share her abortion story publicly. And after the Dobbs decision, she countered with a steady stream of legislation: the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act in 2022, the Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act in 2022 and 2023, cosponsoring the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act in 2023, the Protect Sexual and Reproductive Health Act in 2022 and 2023, the Stop Comstock Act in 2024, and others. The people need to see that we're fighting because they want to be a part of something, says Bush. How do we win anything without working for it? Many of those fights are risky, especially for a congresswoman still early in her political career. Bush says shes okay with going against the grain and occasionally ruffling feathers. Opposing legislation and risking backlash is worth the risk if its in service of the communities she represents. The challenges she has faced in her personal life including poverty, homelessness, and living paycheck to paycheck alongside finding her political footing protesting with her fellow St. Louisans during the Ferguson Uprising have given her a different approach to electoral politics. For example, sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to pressure President Biden and congressional Democrats into extending the eviction moratorium was unconventional, but it worked. The stakes are always present, so for Bush, the fight for resources, rights, visibility, and access is always on. I've never forgotten what it felt like to be hungry, those days when I only fed my kids [and] I didn't eat, Bush explains. I've never forgotten what it felt like to be evicted from my home and have to put all of our belongings in trash bags because I couldn't afford boxes.That's how I approach legislation. That's how I approach being an elected official, doing the work for everybody in this district, but starting with those who have the greatest need, starting with those that people don't talk about or they don't see. And this is where Bush starts in her own district of St. Louis. Yes, the congresswoman has been homeless before, but her offices decision to focus on housing was really at the direction of her constituents. Bush says housing remains one of the top issues for the voters who call into her office. This is the backdrop to her protest on the Capitol steps, her commitment to increasing affordable housing, her staffs consistent support of struggling renters in St. Louis County, and her motivation to increase shelters and programs to better support the citys unhoused. Bush says her offices top priorities include making sure working-class people have the basics: clean water, clean air, shelter, and food. Medicare for All and mental health-care services are high on her list, too. As are complementing St. Louis mayor Tishaura Joness local initiatives around mitigating police violence and supporting reparations through bills like the Peoples Response Act and the Reparations Now resolution, respectively. The impact of gun violence hits close to home for Bush, too. She mentions that her car has been shot with bullets while parked in front of her house. I'm still a part of the community, she says. I weep with the community. I don't want the things that I've gone through myselfI don't want that to be so far for me that I forget, Bush adds. I want to still remember what that's like because it helps me to fight harder. One risky House vote in particular still hangs over Bushs campaign and has become a common talking point for critics and unconvinced constituents: her vote against the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Why would anyone vote against money for repairing roads, flood-prone drainage, and other infrastructure improvements that St. Louis so desperately needs? But Bush did vote for what would eventually be called the Infrastructure Bill. The first yes vote was cast back when the legislation was called the INVEST in American Act and was full of expanded programs, funding, and social spending. By the time the bill moved through the Senate and back to the House, moderate Senate Democrat leaders had peeled away most of what Bush described as the bills most progressive, impactful amendments. Some of them were turned into the Build Back Better Act, but others like universal paid family leave and free community college were discarded. The nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, which Bush is part of, opted for a tactical gamble: They announced they would vote against the standalone Infrastructure Bill if it wasnt linked to the forward-thinking social programs in the Build Back Better Act. We weren't voting against the bill, we were voting to hold the leverage, says Bush. The President asked us to fight for his agenda because that was his legacy. We told him we would. We wanted the full agenda. When SEIU home-care workers said to me at a town hall with secretary of labor Marty Walsh, Don't forget us. Don't forget about us. They just want to push through one bill. We need both bills. Can you please make sure that both bills move together? I made them a promise that I would. Despite the Congressional Progressive Caucuss earlier statement, only Bush and five other Democrats voted against the bill. True to their suspicions, the Build Back Better Act was eventually abandoned months later. Despite the recent campaign attacks, Bush stands by her vote. She promised St. Louisans she would refuse half-measures if they have the chance to secure more, so she did. And she says she plans to keep showing her city how loud shes willing to be, how much shes willing to risk, and how hard shes willing to fight to keep the citys most vulnerable top of mind. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more U.S. government coverage? (Getty Images) LINCOLN A Council Bluffs, Iowa, woman has been sentenced to 60 months of probation and 90 days in jail for financially exploiting seven developmentally disabled adults living in a group home in Blair, Nebraska. Beth Yeates, 32, was also ordered Tuesday to pay $16,876 in restitution to her victims and to write letters of apology to them. Yeates was a supervisor with DUET (Develop Unite Empower Together), a service provider for disabled adults. She was initially charged with seven felony counts of intentional exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a Class IIIA felony, but six counts were dropped as part of a plea deal with the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, which prosecuted the case. Yeates, according to the AGs office, used her credit card to order items for residents of the DUET homes, but after she was reimbursed for the purchases, she would cancel the orders and pocket the money. Supervisors at DUET uncovered the scheme and notified Adult Protective Services and law enforcement. The sentence was handed down by Washington County District Judge Brian Meismer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX B4Ukraine, a global coalition of 90 civil society groups trying to defund the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has called on the UK Government to intensify its measures against Russias so-called 'shadow fleet'. Writing to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, B4Ukraine applauded the UKs recent sanctions against Russias shadow fleet vessels, which represent approximately 10% of the global wet cargo fleet that transports non-edible products and liquids. A shadow fleet engages in illegal operations to get around sanctions, as well as evading safety or environmental regulations, and avoiding insurance costs. The coalition recommends that the UKs current sanctions against 17 vessels be extended to align with the US, which has now sanctioned 40 vessels. Denmark has also recently announced plans to challenge the shadow fleet as EU member states ramp up measures to indirectly fight Russia. Additional recommendations include sanctioning entities and individuals that are linked to the vessels, with an emphasis on multilateral cooperation and comprehensive policies. The UKs sanctions against Russia prohibit the maritime transportation of Russian oil, effective from 5 December 2022, and refined oil products, which came into force on 5 February 2023. B4Ukraine said that to ensure compliance with this regime, the UK should require proof of price-cap-compliant sale contracts for insurance and other maritime services. According to the coalition, since the ban on Russian oil products came into effect, oil products refined from Russian-origin crude oil worth more than 600m ($726.23m) have been imported into the UK, as the sanctions exclude imports from third-country refineries processing Russian crude oil. Closing this loophole is essential to defunding the Russian war economy, argues B4Ukraine. B4Ukraines letter also addresses potential environmental risks in the English Channel posed by the shadow fleet vessels, which it said are poorly maintained and uninsured. The coalition calls for stricter enforcement of environmental laws in UK waters for oil tankers, covering proof of adequate insurance and compliance with heavy fuel standards. Svitlana Romanko, founder and executive director of Ukrainian organisation Razom We Stand, which calls for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels, commented: The new UK Labour Government has a critical role in severing these financial lifelines to ensure Russia no longer has the financial power to fund its war in Ukraine. On 19 July, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky met with the UK Cabinet to discuss the ongoing suppression of Russias shadow fleet. Story continues Increases in Russias yearly oil revenue, announced in May, suggest that Russia is acclimatising to international sanctions, requiring countries such as the UK to reassess their stringency and scope. "Civil society group urges UK to intensify Russias shadow fleet sanctions" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Counties across the Carolinas will work to recruit thousands of people to be poll workers in the coming weeks. Thursday is national poll worker recruitment day. Election managers in two North Carolina counties are already preparing for the election. Anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people will help make the election process run smoothly in Mecklenburg County. There are fewer than 100 days until we cast our ballots, and Board of Elections Director Michael Dickerson said he already has a full roster of poll workers. But other local counties need hundreds. So far, weve recruited about 300 for election day and about 110 for early voting, said Kristin Holloway, director for Union Countys Board of Elections. Cooper withdraws from VP running out of concerns for NC Lieutenant Governor The 180,000 registered voters in Union County can expect to see new polling locations this election season. Weve added two additional early voting sites and two additional precincts, said Holloway. More precincts mean more polling workers are needed. We still need a few 100 people to call us and volunteer, she said. Holloway said voter ID laws are also part of the reason shes recruiting more people than ever before. That adds another step to the voting process which will require more staff to process those voters, she said. To ensure a fair and safe election, Lincoln County is looking for 10 to 15 more poll workers. Burke needs about 10 more for early voting and 20 to 30 more for election day. Other counties like Gaston, Cabarrus and Mecklenburg already have what they need but are always looking to recruit more. We always get a lot of people and its something that is really great to see because they want to make sure the election process works, said Dickerson. HBCU fraternities, sororities announce joint voter mobilization effort To be a poll worker, you must apply and then undergo a training session. Youll also have to help set up the night before the election and be at the polls on your assigned day. Election leaders are expecting a huge turnout in October and November. I can already tell the activity has increased, said Holloway. Just the people that are calling our office and walking in trying to register or update their address, things of that nature. Its already picking up. Poll workers do get paid for their time. If youre interested in becoming one, these directors said the sooner, the better. You can call or visit the website for your countys board of elections to learn more. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Thurston County jail. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard) The Washington State Association of Counties is suing the state over its decision to suspend intakes at two juvenile detention centers and house newly convicted youth in county jails due to overcrowding. The association, which represents all 39 of Washingtons counties, is asking King County Superior Court to reverse the intake suspension. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday and lists 13 county governments as plaintiffs, including Pierce, Clark, Spokane, Snohomish and Thurston Counties. [The states] decision not only risks the safety of our youth in the justice system but also transfers the states current overcrowding and safety issues directly to counties, Derek Young, the associations interim executive director, said in a statement. In the lawsuit, the counties argue the Department of Children, Youth and Families is failing to meet its legal obligations and that local jails are not equipped for housing juveniles long-term and providing rehabilitative programming. The department has said the suspension may last for months. The counties also say that despite Department of Children, Youth and Families director Ross Hunters reassurance that juvenile offenders will not be released early due to the decision, Secretary Hunter does not have the authority to ensure no offenders are released early. The counties remain uncertain that a court somewhere wont order that youthful offenders be released early if they cant be housed at a DCYF facility, said Rob Coffman, the associations vice president and Lincoln County Commissioner. The lawsuit comes amid recent calls for Hunters resignation from two state lawmakers and a letter sent to Gov. Jay Inslee by the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice asking the governor to fire Hunter. Young said the counties did not discuss asking for Hunters removal. The counties association said the Department of Children, Youth and Families failed to plan for the expected growth of young people in their facilities due to changes in the law, referring to a 2018 law known as Juvenile Rehabilitation to 25 that expanded the ages eligible to be housed in juvenile facilities. The department has two facilities, Green Hill in Chehalis and Echo Glen in Snoqualmie. The state closed one of its juvenile detention centers, Naselle Youth Camp, in 2022, which held up to 150 young men ages 16-25. Lisa Janicki, president of the Washington State Association of Counties, said it was obvious and foreseeable that the departments capacity would need to expand after the 2018 law passed. Instead, the agency reduced capacity but acted like the overcrowding problems at Green Hill and Echo Glen are a surprise, said Janicki, also a Skagit County commissioner. In a statement to the Standard, the Department of Children, Youth and Families said freezing intakes was necessary to mitigate ongoing threats to safety caused by overcrowding. Without safety we cannot provide a therapeutic environment and offer programming to young people at our facilities, said agency spokesperson Nancy Gutierrez. We anticipated legal actions but hope for a quick resolution based on our shared interests of balancing both public safety and juvenile rehabilitation. The lawsuit According to the counties association, the Department of Children, Youth and Families made the intake suspension decision without consultation with county officials and gave notice to county administrators on July 5th, one day before the departments public announcement. The state apparently gave no thought to the impact this decision would have on the rest of the system or the youth and young adults and their families, Young said. Green Hill, which has a maximum safe operational capacity of 180, reached 150 young people in January 2023, according to the counties associations press release. As of June 2024, the facility houses 240 young people. The department opened up remaining spots within Echo Glens capacity on July 19, a total of eight spots but Pierce County alone is on track to commit up to 50 additional youth to DCYFs custody by the end of the year, the counties lawsuit said. When announcing the intake suspension, the department blamed longer sentences and more convictions for the overcrowding issue. Its a sentiment echoed by Inslee, who has not directly addressed the calls for Hunters removal but told the Standard hes focused on helping the department handle the massive tsunami of juveniles sentenced this year. But the counties say overcrowding is legally irrelevant. The counties also argue the state is violating the Juvenile Justice Act, which requires juveniles sentenced to more than 30 days to serve their sentence under the supervision of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. The lawsuit also argues counties are bearing the brunt of the costs of recent actions because the state has failed to provide adequate funding for housing youth in county jails as promised. This story has been updated with a statement from the Department of Children, Youth and Families. County municipal judge suspended as he faces criminal charges; some call for resignation Ohio Supreme Court rules mean a Montgomery County judge is currently suspended without pay, and some people want him to resign. They also want Montgomery Countys clerk of courts to quit. Judge James Piergies would normally be handling misdemeanor cases at the Montgomery County Municipal Courthouse in Trotwood. But right now he isnt. Under Ohio Supreme Court rules the felony charges hes facing means hes automatically suspended from acting as a judge while the case is pending. Piergies is accused of working with Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley to unlawfully secure public contracts. State investigators say those charges are related to where Pierges son works. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Grand jury indicts Montgomery County clerk of courts and a Municipal Court judge Foley is accused of several crimes himself including theft in office and unlawfully asking public employees for political contributions. The indictment has political leaders on both sides of the aisle agreeing on one thing: You know, its. Its disheartening, State Rep. Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Republican Party Chair said. We should hold public office holders to a higher standard, to see those kind of indictments come not just against Mike Foley, but a sitting judge is a bit disappointing, Mohamed Al-Hamdani, Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair said. But they differ on the timing of what should happen next. Al-Hamdani wants immediate action. My first gut reaction was they should both step down immediately, he said. Plummer said hes not calling for resignations yet. He said he needs more facts. Unlike some other people who speak before they have the details, I want the details first. But This is -- on the surface its terrible and we dont we dont tolerate this. And I think you know where this is headed, Plummer said. Foleys lawyer said he is not stepping down. He feels like he did nothing wrong. News Center 7 couldnt reach Piergies for comment Thursday. Plummer said he plans to hold a press conference Friday. We will continue to follow this story. COLUMBIA, S..C. (WSPA) The Title IX change meant to accommodate students and teachers gender identity is taking effect on Thursday around the country except in a few southern states. Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Title IX is blocked from taking effect right now in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The Title IX change requires any school receiving federal funding to accommodate students and teachers gender identity. If eventually passed in the state, Title IX would allow biological males who identify as female and use womens bathrooms and locker rooms and vice versa. The pause comes as questions arise into if the law is being stretched. What the attorney generals office is saying is that the Biden administration does not have the authority to extend title IX to locker rooms and bathrooms and things like that, Law Partner with Ellis and Hinton Law, Brandi Hinton said. That the definition of the sex of a person is not what was contemplated under title IX. Students and teachers would also be required to use preferred pronouns. I am religious, a Greenville resident said. I love Jesus and thats just how I have always been brought up. Adam and Eve came separately and that just how I feel. If you have an open conversation with your teachers and you feel you are something that is different than what you appear to be then that is fine, a woman visiting from Maryland added. Attorney General Wilson said the pause is a big win in our fight to protect children. Some here in South Carolina say they agree. I believe they are trying to feed things into our kids that shouldnt be like that, Manuel Peralta, a father said. Our kids should have their own opinion and be brought up as God made us. You are a guy or a girl. Others say if changes to Title IX take affect it would be fine but with certain restrictions. If they use the same bathroom there should be no urinals for the girls to come in and see, a mother, Deb Cook said. If it is all behind closed doors, I think it is fine. With uncertainty of whats to come, many tell us they are left with mixed emotions and several questions. Theres lots of questions, an Ohio woman added. Whats wrong with what we have is my question. Whats wrong with what we have? The next step for the attorney generals office is to apply for another injunction pending appeal, pausing Title IX from passing for even longer. The would have to do that in the next week. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. A woman squeezes the sample liquid on a test strip while carrying out a COVID-19 rapid self test at home. (Photo by Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images) Levels of COVID-19 in Utahs wastewater are very high, according to a tracker from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the 35 wastewater monitors from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, including the majority of those on the Wasatch Front and in southwest Utah are seeing elevated levels of the virus, indicating that more people are getting infected in Utah. Theyre not the highest weve ever seen by any stretch of the imagination, but they are also clearly elevated, said Nathan LaCross, manager for Utahs Wastewater Surveillance Program at DHHS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The state saw similar elevations of the virus mid-January, which decreased to its lowest point this year in May, according to CDC viral activity levels data. Salt Lake City, Orem, Spanish Fork, Payson and Hyrum have experienced increasing COVID-19 wastewater levels, while two municipalities Coalville and Roosevelt are maintaining low concentration levels. The virus doesnt share the same seasonal nature of other respiratory pathogens, such as influenza, LaCross said. The rises and falls of the levels can usually be attributed to the introduction of a variant. For example, when the Omicron variant started to spread in 2021, COVID-19 wastewater levels quickly went up, LaCross explained. That lasted for a few weeks until levels fell as swiftly as they rose. These levels arent near the Omicron numbers. However, currently, there are additional mutations of some variants that make the transmission of the virus easier. This isnt a new development really, in that sense, (but that) doesnt mean that people should ignore it either, LaCross said, recommending Utahns take precautions including checking the data in their communities, washing their hands more often and keeping all vaccinations up to date. The CDC recommends everyone older than 6 months to get an updated 2024-2025 vaccine, which will become available this fall whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a news release. The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is always changing and protection from COVID-19 vaccines declines over time, the release reads. Receiving an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine can restore and enhance protection against the virus variants currently responsible for most infections and hospitalizations in the United States. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Health officials say people stay up to date with their COVID shots to have the best protection, especially the elderly who are vulnerable. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Another COVID outbreak is sweeping parts of the country, with infections increasing on the West Coast. The summer spread has become a yearly trend as temperatures rise, fostering the spread of the virus, which thrives in steamy, hot conditions. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking growing outbreaks in about 40 states, including Oregon. The virus is also spreading in Washington, California, Arizona and Colorado in the West. Dr. Paul Cieslak, Oregon Health Authoritys medical director, said infections have been on the upswing in Oregon since April. In Oregon, nearly 15% of people who tested for COVID over the past week had the virus, according to the Oregon Health Authoritys latest data. That rate only takes into account the 1,515 tests the agency knows about many people test at home but its an indicator of viral spread and is a high rate for this time of year. The only other year in which test rates were higher at this time was the week of July 23, 2022 when nearly 18% tests were positive. The difference between then and now is that many people have become sick, which can provide some immunity, and many have been vaccinated. Health authority data shows 80% of Oregonians had one initial dose of the COVID vaccine and about 74% had two. But fewer people have kept up with the booster shots, which are designed to protect against the latest dominant variant. As of early July, about 1 million Oregonians had received a booster shot designed to provide protection against the original variant and two omicron strains. Omicron continues to mutate, thus the need for updated shots. Vaccine manufacturers are expected to come out with an updated dose this fall to give people protection against the KP.2 variant, an omicron descendent thats been circulating. Oregon data shows that cases of KP.2.3, a variant of KP.2, and KP.3, another omicron descendent, are growing and are now dominant in the state. People with immunity can still become sick, though many experience less severe symptoms, health officials say. But people are still dying from COVID in Oregon. State data says that nearly 30 have died in the past four months, a relatively low number compared to mid-January, for example, when 25 died in a week. The hospitalization numbers are also relatively low compared to the pandemics peak but theyre double that of last year. The latest data from Tuesday shows that 225 people hospitalized in Oregon have COVID, 20 are in intensive care and only five are on a ventilator. This time last year 111 patients in Oregon hospitals had COVID. Health officials continue to advise people to stay up to date with the vaccines, wear a mask to avoid exposure and maintain distance between yourself and others. Inside, HEPA filters can be used to clean the air, or open windows to let fresh air in, provided its not smoky. For more information on how to protect yourself, to the CDC at www.cdc.gov/covid/prevention/index.html SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Crash with downed power pole closed portion of Stall Road, police say UPDATE: Stall Road has reopened. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) Authorities in North Charleston are responding to a crash that knocked down a power pole. Officials with the North Charleston Police Department said Stall Road is shut down between Midland Park and North Kenwood. Police say the power pole was knocked down with live wires. Traffic is being diverted at this time. Please avoid the area, the department said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. A resurgent Creed, riding a wave of rock nostalgia and newfound appreciation, rolled into a sold-out Pine Knob Music Theatre on Wednesday for an early stop on its first tour in 12 years. Its good to be back in rock city, front man Scott Stapp told an amped-up crowd of 15,000-plus as the Summer of 99 Tour brought the Florida-founded band to southeast Michigan for the first time since a Fillmore Detroit show in May 2012. Creed lead singer Scott Stapp performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. It was a homecoming night for Grosse Pointe-bred guitarist Mark Tremonti, who hit the stage in a Detroit-emblazoned shirt from the guitar-culture shop Fret12. Fellow post-grunge hitmakers 3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven opened the festivities. A rundown of Creeds night at Pine Knob: 1. The Creed set list was a turn-of-the-millennium jubilee From show opener Bullets with its hail of pyro and strobing lights, Creed was off to the races with a 16-song set drawn almost entirely from three albums released during the bands prolific 1997-2001 stretch. Only Overcome, with its low-slung wiriness, was plucked from 2009s Full Circle. Thicker numbers such as Torn gave way to the more spacious sounds of Never Die and atmospheric slow build of Faceless Man, along with perhaps the poppiest of all Creed songs, One. Its so rare that an artist gets one song that connects with a generation of people, Stapp said late in the show as the band served up the meat-and-potatoes of its hit repertoire with Whats This Life For, With Arms Wide Open and Higher. 2. Creed is a punching bag no more Much like Nickelback, another go-to nemesis for the rock cognoscenti in the 2000s, Stapp and company have come to embrace their mixed reputation with part defiance, part good humor. Those old haters, after all, came from the cool guy club, who liked bands that didn't sell a lot of records, as Stapp recently told Consequence magazine. Buoyed by Gen X and millennial nostalgia, a boost from young fans on TikTok and a quiet reevaluation of the bands contributions, Creed finds itself in a good spot as it ventures back onto the road a winner through endurance if nothing else. And anyway, given the anemic state of mainstream modern rock in 2024, the band might as well be the Rolling Stones at this point. 3. Scott Stapp's vocals were solid Just a few dates into the tour, the band sounded tight and familiar on an evening of distinctive baritone vocals, grunge-inspired drop tunings and dense but melodic tunes. Joining the core quartet onstage was rhythm guitarist Eric Friedman, who had also toured with the band in the early 2010s. Mark Tremonti on guitar as Creed performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Stapp, a decade removed from a self-described psychotic break caused by substance abuse, looked fit and healthy, drenching his tank-top in sweat on a sweltering summer evening as he ran through his signature crouched poses and emotive gestures. At 50, an age when many rock vocalists must start reckoning with the toll of time, Stapp benefits from having stuck to a limited range early in life and thus sounded no worse for wear Wednesday. Tremonti was reliably deft on guitar with the slicing riffs and squealing runs that drive the Creed sound, while Brian Marshall was the not-so-secret weapon on his five-string bass. 4. Michigan remains a Creed hot spot When Creeds sophomore album, Human Clay, debuted atop the Billboard album chart in 1999, many in the music industry were caught off guard, not realizing the band had secured such a devoted following across the American heartland through extensive touring. Rock-hungry Michigan was a crucial part of that rise, with the Detroit area in particular emerging as one of the groups top markets out of the gate. Scott Stapp, lead singer of Creed, performs with his band at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. That was certainly back on display Wednesday night at a packed Pine Knob a venue the band played four times in the summer of 2000 for a fervent crowd that was in full voice for the duration. And Creeds Motor City power will be reaffirmed in less than four months, when the band returns for a Nov. 20 show at Little Caesars Arena. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Creed plays Pine Knob for first Detroit show in 12 years: 4 takeaways ROY, Utah (ABC4) Crews responded to a house fire in Roy on Wednesday afternoon that caused two separate explosions, according to fire officials. Roy City Fire and Rescue posted on social media Wednesday to inform the public about the fire, and people were advised to avoid the area of 2900 W and 5700 S. Fire Chief Theron Williams told ABC4.com that crews were initially called out to the scene of the house fire around 1:50 p.m., but there was an explosion before crews arrived. A press release from Roy City Fire & Rescue said there was a strong smell of gas in the area. READ NEXT: PLANNED OUTAGE: Four-hour outage to affect these areas Wednesday night Fire crews respond to a house fire in Roy, Utah, on July 31, 2024. The fire caused an initial explosion before crews arrived, and then a secondary explosion while personnel were on the scene. (Courtesy: Roy City Fire & Rescue) Fire crews respond to a house fire in Roy, Utah, on July 31, 2024. The fire caused an initial explosion before crews arrived, and then a secondary explosion while personnel were on the scene. (Courtesy: Roy City Fire & Rescue) Fire crews respond to a house fire in Roy, Utah, on July 31, 2024. The fire caused an initial explosion before crews arrived, and then a secondary explosion while personnel were on the scene. (Courtesy: Roy City Fire & Rescue) Fire crews respond to a house fire in Roy, Utah, on July 31, 2024. The fire caused an initial explosion before crews arrived, and then a secondary explosion while personnel were on the scene. (Courtesy: Roy City Fire & Rescue) The release said private contractors were installing HVAC equipment in the home, and Williams said one of those workers received a minor injury. When units arrived on-scene, we had heavy fire and smoke showing from the eaves, and at that point, we went to a defensive attack, Williams said. A secondary explosion occurred shortly after, in the front of the house, and we were fortunate that no firefighters were injured at that time. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Williams said officials believe the fire was started by some type of gas leak. The cause of the second explosion is also under investigation, and the press release said the second explosion occurred after the initial fire was extinguished. In addition to the HVAC worker being injured, Williams said one firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion, but there were no other injuries reported. The gas and utilities have been shut off, and the fire has been extinguished, Williams said. He said there was no further danger after the fire was put out. According to Williams, five agencies responded to the scene, and there were about 40 to 45 firefighters at the scene. Roy City Fire & Rescue said three homes were evacuated because of the fire and the gas leak. There is no further information at this time. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. (Bloomberg) -- Chinese national Luo, 23, was thrilled when he was accepted into Cambridge Universitys electrical engineering PhD program in 2021. Most Read from Bloomberg All he needed before starting was clearance from a UK government agency that vets postgraduate students who study topics that could have military applications. Luo considered that a formality, he told Bloomberg in an interview, considering hed already been green-lit for his masters degree at the same school. But he was rejected. So he applied again, and was rejected again. The agency that reviewed his application the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office gave no reason. But since Luo couldnt fathom being considered a security risk, he applied 14 more times over the next two years while enduring Covid-19 lockdown from his hometown in Sichuan, tweaking the applications to what he hoped would be seen as less sensitive subjects each time to no avail, before switching his research to a field not covered by the FCDOs vetting process. I was on the edge of a breakdown that whole time, said Luo, who asked to be identified by only his surname for fear that his student visa might be revoked. If the UK government has doubts about us, why do universities give us offers at all? Luo said he believes he was caught in an escalating UK campaign to de-risk higher education, following warnings from British security agency MI5 that universities are magnetic targets for espionage and manipulation by hostile foreign states. Since its inception, the FCDOs vetting process, the Academic Technology Approval Scheme, has kept thousands of foreign students out of UK higher education, with the rejection rate increasing almost tenfold over four years. Students from China, which sends the most international students to the UK, represent a large portion of ATAS rejections, according to interviews with applicants and university professors and rejection emails reviewed by Bloomberg News. The apparent crackdown has swept up students who say theyve been unfairly maligned as potential spies and exacerbated universities funding crisis. Chinese students are a key source of revenue for UK universities, contributing an estimated 5.4 billion on tuition and other expenses in 2021, according to the British Council. The de-risking strategy is also reducing international research collaboration, an indicator often used to measure academic excellence.The UK government and its allies have pointed to a long history of alleged economic and cyber espionage by China. Last year, a joint statement by intelligence chiefs for the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand accused China of trying to steal intellectual property in sectors including robotics, biotechnology and artificial intelligence. But some business leaders and academics worry the response has been too heavy-handed, lacks transparency and jeopardizes the UKs tech and science talent pipeline. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied accusations of intellectual property theft. China has always encouraged and supported educational cooperation based on friendship, mutual trust and mutual benefit, and firmly opposes the politicization of normal study abroad and educational exchanges, said a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.A representative for the Chinese embassy in the UK added that Chinese students are hardworking and diligent and that any restrictions on them are unreasonable and unacceptable. The battle for technological supremacy between China, the US and allies is increasingly bleeding into higher education, with similar measures being applied across the US, Europe and Australia. Last month, Robert-Jan Smits, the president of a top Dutch technical university that feeds talent to chip giant ASML Holding NV, called out US officials questioning of the institution about its intake of Chinese students, Bloomberg News reported. Over-regulation of security in relation to international cooperation in research is not only associated with individual cases of discrimination, said Simon Marginson, director of the Oxford University-based Centre for Global Higher Education. It harms science and innovation in the West. An FCDO spokesperson said that ATAS is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence of sensitive technology to military programs of concern. The vetting process is country agnostic and there is an appeals process, the spokesperson added. Tenfold Increase When the UK government launched the ATAS program in 2007, it was intended to screen out individuals who might use their research in the UK to develop weapons of mass destruction, following MI5 warnings that al-Qaedas terror network was seeking to recruit university students. In 2020, it was expanded to include all advanced military technologies, casting a wide net around subjects including physics, mathematics, engineering and artificial intelligence. Students and researchers from the US, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand the UKs political allies dont need clearance. Those from other countries need to apply. Students from China make up about 22% of international students in the UK, the largest group of any country, followed by India (19%) and Nigeria (6.5%), according to higher education data provider HESA. The expansion of ATAS coincided with rising economic tension with Beijing, which has seen the US, UK and allies impose a range of trade restrictions on China. This has been coupled with warnings from the British government about the risk of foreign states targeting sensitive research, with a parliamentary committee stating in 2023 that universities provide a rich feeding ground for China to achieve political influence and economic advantage over the UK. Against this backdrop, the ATAS rejection rate has shot up nearly tenfold: from 148 out of 26,269 applications processed in 2019 (about 0.6%) to 1,683 out of 34,528 applications processed in 2023 (about 4.9%), according to FCDO statistics, obtained by Bloomberg News via a freedom of information request. The FCDO said that when you include duplicate and incomplete applications, the rejection rate was about 3.5% in 2023. The FCDO said it doesnt disclose the nationalities of those it rejects for fear of prejudicing diplomatic relations. Online forums and social media groups reviewed by Bloomberg indicate that Chinese students have been a large part of the rejections. At least three student-organized groups on WeChat, a Chinese social networking app, have emerged for applicants who have been rejected or havent heard back about their ATAS clearance for the 2023/2024 school year. The groups, with 500 members each (the maximum allowed), see students gripe, commiserate and strategize next steps. Bloomberg reviewed several of the group members ATAS rejection emails.You may be an innocent Chinese researcher, said Charles Parton, a former UK diplomat who spent the bulk of his career focused on China and is now a fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, but the UK has a duty to defend itself.Sadly, there will be collateral damage, he added. The FCDO declined to comment on the vetting criteria or how it measures the success of the program. There are recurring themes in rejected students accounts: degrees at Chinas military-linked universities, funding from the Chinese Scholarship Council, a government body; and a research focus in aerospace, materials science, telecom and quantum technology, according to hundreds of messages reviewed by Bloomberg and interviews with eight students. There are always certain areas where you dont want open engagement, said Marginson, but the broad brush nature of this policy is picking up far too many cases. The scrutiny of Chinese STEM students in the UK follows a similar clampdown in the US. In 2018, the Trump administration launched the China Initiative to counter economic espionage by Chinese researchers. The sweeping program prompted thousands of FBI investigations but yielded more wrongful arrests than spies. Although the plan was scrapped by the US Justice Department in 2022, the targeting of Chinese students has not gone away. At least 20 Chinese STEM students with valid visas have been denied entry to the US since September, spreading confusion and fear across campuses from the University of Virginia to Yale University, Bloomberg News reported. In an unprecedented transatlantic joint address in 2022 with FBI director Christopher Wray, MI5 head Ken McCallum said vetting reforms had resulted in 50 students, whom they linked to Chinas Peoples Liberation Army, leaving the UK. The British security agency declined to comment further on the circumstances of the students. Three months after the joint speech, Londons Imperial College shut down two major research centers sponsored by Chinese aerospace and defense companies, the Guardian reported, citing confirmation from the university. Imperial did not respond to several requests for comment. An Imperial spokesperson previously told the Guardian that all of its collaborations are thoroughly scrutinized, in line with our commitments to UK national security. Collateral Damage The sharp uptick in rejections and lack of clarity on the ATAS criteria has alarmed some academic supervisors seeking to fill places on their research programs, according to interviews with several professors across UK campuses. Every ATAS process is grueling, said Mingwen Bai, Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering at Leeds University whose prospective PhD candidates ATAS status had been pending for three months. There is no transparency. PhD programs are typically fiercely competitive and professors want to choose the strongest candidates who can produce high-quality research papers a necessity for professors future funding. But with ATAS rejections on the rise, professors increasingly have to debate between giving offers based on merit or chances of ATAS clearance. Youd have 600 students fighting for that one PhD spot with scholarship, Bai said. When your student gets rejected, you lose one researcher, and you can lose that project and the funding. This is detrimental to the talent pipeline. The rejections exacerbate the funding challenge of UK universities, which have become heavily reliant on Chinese money, particularly since annual tuition for domestic students has been capped at 9,250 since 2017. This contributes to losses of about 2,500 per student per year, according to an analysis by Russell Group, an association of the UKs top research institutions. To make up the shortfall, British universities have courted international students, who pay fees up to four times higher than domestic students. Chinese students contributed more than 50% of postgraduate income at 15 of the 24 Russell Group universities, according to DataHe, a provider of higher education data. Reduced International Collaboration On top of talent and tuition fees, China also provides funding for research, although this is also under increasing international scrutiny. China has matched hundreds of millions of pounds in funding from UK Research & Innovation, a government agency that spends taxpayers money on science and technology R&D. The collaboration has yielded 804 joint projects and 10,490 scholarly publications. International collaboration is broadly considered to advance academic research and is often used as a metric in rankings of top universities. But as the UK governments scrutiny of Chinese researchers has increased, joint research has started to taper. Prior to 2022, the number of UK research papers co-authored by Chinese colleagues had been steadily rising for two decades, but in 2023 that number fell by 2%, according to analytics firm Clarivates Web of Science data. If the trend continues, it could create problems for businesses, said Russ Shaw, founder of Global Tech Advocates, a community of business leaders and investors focused on developing tech ecosystems. Freedom of talent brings knowledge transfer, Shaw said. We cant do it on our own in isolation. William Wu, the founder of ZeroAI, a Liverpool-based startup that develops software for autonomous vehicles, said that Chinese students have made significant financial, intellectual and academic contributions to the UK. At a time when the UK is trying to build up trustworthy AI, getting rid of the top talent is very unwise, he added. Luo said hell most likely go into climate consultancy post graduation, where the salary would be half of what he could make as an engineer. Whenever I think about the last couple of years, I just want to cry, Luo said, adding that he gave up full scholarships at top universities in Hong Kong and China to go to Cambridge. I always wonder if I made the wrong choice. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Editors Note: The following arrest and incident reports were supplied by the Abilene Police Department. All information below comes from reports made by responding officers, and all suspects are considered not guilty unless determined otherwise in a court of law. Incidents 3600 block of Edgewood Drive Burglary of Vehicle A victim reported an unknown suspect entered his vehicle and took $800 worth of sunglasses. 600 block S Treadaway Boulevard Theft of Property An Abilene business owner reported a known suspect took a check worth $7,880. 2300 block of Walnut Street Burglary of Building A victim reported tools and accessories were stolen from a north Abilene residence that was being rennovated. 4300 block of Buffalo Gap Road Assault A report was taken for assault after a victim reported a coworker punched him in the face. 1700 block of Peach Street Theft of Property A victim reported someone cleaning her house took jewelry worth nearly $9,000. 3200 block of N Judge Ely Boulevard Forgery Financial Police took a report in reference to forgery. 5000 block of Sierra Sunset Fraudulent Use/Possession of Identifying Information Police took a report in reference to fraud. 2000 block of Briarwood Street Assault Family Violence 300 block of S 25th Street Burglary of Building A victim reported an unkonwn suspect stole a lawn mower, bicycle, and shovel from his storage building. 800 block of Cal Young Park Assault An assault was reported in north Abilene. 2900 block of N 2nd Street Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon Arrests Cynthia Mann Obstruct Highway Passageway Julian Gonzales Violation Bond/Protective Order, Evading Arrest Detention Yaniel Gonzales-Caballero Immigration Christopher Owen Assault Family Violence Megan Krause Warrant Rodrick Wilson Warrant Kevin Findley Warrant Keith Fields Warrant Zackary Hutchinson Public Intoxication Kennedy Cummings Public Intoxication Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Crime Stoppers: 2 wanted on warrants, 2 requests for information LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) This week on Crime Stoppers, law enforcement needs your help locating two individuals wanted on warrants, and identifying suspects in a case of assault and a separate case of property destruction. If you have information regarding the cases below, call Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan at (517) 483-STOP. You can remain anonymous. Those who contact Crime Stoppers with information can receive up to a $1,000 award. David Roy Copeland II Courtesy Jackson law enforcement David Roy Copeland II, 54, is wanted on a felony warrant for dangerous drugs out of Jackson. He is 62 and weighs 170 lbs, with gray hair and blue eyes. Veronica Annette Bullard Image courtesy Lansing law enforcement Veronica Annette Bullard, 43, is wanted on a felony warrant for assault out of Lansing. She is 53 and weighs 200 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Identify Suspect in Assault Image courtesy Lansing law enforcement The Lansing Police Department is requesting any information related to an assault that happened on the 5000 block of S Waverly Rd on July 7. Identify Suspect in Destruction of Property Courtesy LPD Courtesy LPD Courtesy LPD The Lansing Police Department is requesting any information that could help identify a woman who entered a business in north Lansing on June 18 and destroyed some property inside. (WLNS) Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. Donald Trump is a puzzle that the mainstream news media and responsible political class and many others outside of the MAGAverse and larger right-wing disinformation propaganda echo chamber still cannot solve even after nine years of (ostensibly) trying to. At this point, their failure to understand Donald Trump and his right-wing authoritarian fake populist appeal is a choice. There have been many moments that, per conventional wisdom, should have doomed Donald Trump and his political and personal future. Yet, Donald Trump through skill, a preternatural instinct for survival, devious intelligence, and lots of luck and help continues to endure if not prosper. Following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, instead of cowering in fear Trump defiantly raised a fist and told his followers to Fight, fight, fight! In the aftermath of that horrible act of political violence, he has only become more popular and powerful among his MAGA followers. Their belief in and adoration of Trump is now so powerful that they now view him as a type of martyr and prophet-warrior who has been blessed by their god as a tool of destiny. As seen at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Donald Trumps control of the Republican Party is now absolute. Todays Republican Party and conservative movement are now fully MAGAfied. Ultimately, the mainstream media, responsible political class, and other elites are unable to understand the Age of Trump and the larger democracy crisis because they are using the wrong framework and set of assumptions about politics and political behavior (specifically the importance of identity, emotions, and storytelling). By comparison, Steven Hassan possesses a deep understanding Donald Trumps power and control over the MAGA people and the larger Republican Party. He has been warning for at least eight years that Donald Trump is not a normal politician, but instead the leader of an extremely dangerous authoritarian personality cult. Hassans conclusion is not hyperbole or partisanship. It is based on the pattern of facts and the collective psychology and behavior that Donald Trump and his MAGA people have exhibited during the last nine years and beyond. Steven Hassan is one the world's foremost experts on mind control and cults. Hassan was once a senior member of the Unification Church, better known as the "Moonies." He is now founder and director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center and has written several bestselling books, including "Combating Cult Mind Control" and "The Cult of Trump." In this conversation, Hassan explains the roots of Donald Trump and his MAGA movements cult-like power and appeal and why it will continue to endure if not grow. He also explains how Donald Trump and his propagandists will use the failed assassination attempt to maintain and expand the corrupt ex-president and now convicted felons control over his followers. Ultimately, Hassan warns that Donald Trump and his MAGA movements power will be very difficult to break because Trumpism is part of a much larger project, one that has been decades in the making by the Republicans and the larger right-wing and other malign actors to end Americas multiracial pluralistic democracy. You have been warning about the power of Donald Trump and what you describe as his MAGA cult since the beginning of this crisis back in 2016 and 2015. How are you making sense of this all? We're in a lot of trouble. Trump did a great amount of damage to the country when he was in power. The judges he appointed are still there. The other institutions Trump and MAGA have captured are still working on his behalf. The global antidemocracy alliance, centered on Vladimir Putin, is still supporting Trump and wants to see him return to power. Trumpism is not something out of the blue. This has been a process taking place over decades. There are so many right-wing extremists all over this country, on the state and local level, in Christian fundamentalist churches and organizations, think tanks, universities, etc. etc. who are advancing the authoritarian cause. We all have an unconscious bias when we're trying to understand human behavior, to look at the individual's disposition instead of the social influence in the context. This is well-documented in social psychology. Outsiders look at cults like the MAGA movement and conclude that its members are stupid and dumb and gullible. That is not the case. Most of them are just vulnerable and are under the undue influence of an antisocial leader and his influencers across the right-wing echo chamber. America has many millions of these vulnerable people. Some of them have gotten swept up in Trumpism and the MAGA movement. Others become white supremacists or join the Christian Right and its most extreme elements. We also cannot underestimate the power of algorithms and big data to manipulate people and encourage the worst emotions and behavior. There is lots of research showing how sleep deprivation is widespread in this society. Many Americans and people in other countries are just overwhelmed and overloaded with inputs that stimulate their emotions in bad ways. When we are overstimulated with fear, anger, and disgust and other negative emotions the frontal cortex goes offline. You age regress and look for a strong father or mother figure or other authoritarian leader to tell you what to do. Thus, Donald Trump and other populist authoritarians have risen to power all over the world. When you saw the image of Trump, bloodied and rising from the ground and pumping his fist while saying "fight, fight, fight!" after the assassination attempt on Saturday, how did you make sense of it? Trump has been playing the victim for years. It is central to his propaganda strategy and cult leader power. The picture of him after he was shot has all those elements amplified to the extreme. Eric Hoffer famously said that Usually the strength of a mass movement is proportionate to the vividness and tangibility of its devil. Trump's been telling his followers that I am going to take vengeance and revenge for you. It looks like they, the Left, are attacking me. But they are really attacking you. I am going to stand up for you! The image of him after the assassination attempt is visible tangible proof to his MAGA people of his commitment to them. Trump, like other authoritarians and cult leaders, is always looking for an angle to make money. It doesn't wouldn't surprise me at all if Trump were to auction off his bloody suit and other clothing. What do we know about the psychology at work when the cult leader's life is threatened or otherwise imperiled? How do the followers respond? The leader will almost always be made stronger by surviving the danger. Facts will not persuade the Trump followers to leave him. Their attachment to Trump is deeply emotional. Seeing Trump's life threatened has bonded the followers to him much more. The interviews with the MAGA people at the rally were very revealing and telling and just confirm what others have been observing about the MAGA movement and those gatherings as a place of community and meaning-making and for some, family. Beyond the accounts of the horrible act of violence they saw, the MAGA people were telling reporters how much they love Trump and have seen him speak many times. They have this almost religious devotion and love for him. One woman basically said seeing Donald Trump speak the first time a few years ago and watching his plane fly overhead was one of the most moving moments in her life. To those outside of the MAGAverse and TrumpWorld, this seems absurd. There is an overlap between Christian religious cult churches and organizations and Trump's movement. Most notably, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) groups and charismatic Catholics who believe in prophets and apostles who speak directly to God: speak in tongues, do faith healings and cast out demons to prove it. Members of those groups were prominently involved on Jan. 6. Their leaders believe that Trump won the 2020 electionwhich of course is not true. The members of these Christian extremist groups will not question their leaders because they view them as divine and messengers from God. Thus, the support for Trump and religious ideation of him by the followers. The emotion of awe is a powerful motivational emotion. We see it with celebrities, billionaires, and other famous people who the public responds to and wants to be like. The passion and idolization for Trump are contagious among his followers and can expand to bring in others. The MAGA movement is based on this. At the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, there were people wearing bandages on their ears like Donald Trump. It is right out of a textbook on mass psychology. That is predictable behavior among personality cults and other mind control and undue influence groups. The followers identify with the leader who was harmed. Pretending to be bloodied and injured is a form of shared identity and loyalty. Trump's being injured and presenting himself as almost immortal is part of his attempt to present himself as a hero and force of destiny who overcomes all kinds of trials and tribulations to conquer and achieve victory. That is the narrative that Trump and his propagandists are trying to push and it seems to be working. Trump and his propagandists are using the failed assassination as a weapon to silence critics and other truth-tellers. That is a standard move by fascists and other authoritarians, literally textbook as Ruth Ben-Ghiat and others have highlighted. The mainstream news media is, of course, enabling and participating in this silencing of critics and truth-tellers with the lie that "both sides" are equally responsible for political violence in this country as part of its normalization of Trumpism. The Democrats seem cowed too. The silencing of critics is an example of authoritarian control. Information control has several basic elements such as deception, overt lying, withholding vital information and/or distorting it. Authoritarian control also involves telling members to not talk to ex-members or critics. Only believing in the propaganda and information that is approved by the leader and the cult organization. We are seeing that play out in front of us with Trump and the MAGA movement. The attempt on Trump's life has just amplified and spread it. There are too many powerful people in too many different positions of influence in America and around the world for the MAGA movement and Trumpism to collapse. The antidemocracy movement is too widespread now for it to just dissipate quickly. It will take lots of work to do that. How would you respond to those people who will say that you should not describe the MAGA movement as a cult and/or Donald Trump as a cult leader? And to do so, especially at this moment, is not polite or nice. You should tone it down and be more responsible because you, and people like you, are part of the problem in this country with all these troubles and how high the political temperature has risen. I would tell them that the MAGA movement is in fact an authoritarian cult. It is dangerous, destructive, anti-human rights, anti-woman, racist and white supremacist, antigay and has many other antisocial values and beliefs. The Trump authoritarian personality and the larger antidemocracy movement are very dangerous. People tried to stop these evil forces in the 1930s and 1940s. We can learn from them and rise to the challenge today. It is the very definition of being responsible to tell the truth about these dangers. Donald Trump and his agents across MAGA and the larger neofascist movement have made it very clear that their "enemies" and critics and anyone else who opposes them will be severely punished, including being put in prison and worse, when/if they take power in 2025. Enemies lists have already been made. This is a documented fact. Given your book "The Cult of Trump" you are likely on one of those lists. Are you afraid? Is that going to change your behavior? I believe in standing up against such evil I have been confronting danger since I was deprogrammed from the Moonies 48 years ago. I will not be silenced nor flee. I have always stood my ground against cults. Some of them are very powerful with billions of dollars. I will not surrender the truth or be intimidated into silence. I have had my life threatened by these powerful cults for many years. But I'm not going to stop talking. I want to live my life looking in the mirror knowing that I am doing the right thing. I will not just follow the crowd out of fear like too many other people have done in dark times. We need to be brave. I want people to know we are the majority, and they are the minority. If we believe Trump and MAGA will win, then we give up our collective resources and power. We are stronger together. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The man accused of killing a teen, a woman, and her unborn fetus has been indicted by the grand jury. The Montgomery County Prosecutors Office reported that Nicole Nico Narome Cunigan, Jr. was indicted Thursday by the Montgomery County grand jury on the following charges: 4 counts of murder 2 counts of felonious assault 1 count of involuntary manslaughter 2 counts of domestic violence 1 count of tampering with evidence 1 count of having weapons while under disability prior offense of violence 1 count of unauthorized use of vehicle Nicole Narome Cunigan, Jr. | Montgomery County Prosecutors Office Neighbors respond to arrest of alleged killer of pregnant woman, teen On May 22, officers from the Dayton Police Department were sent to the 1400 block of Shaftsbury Road in reference to a reported shooting. When officers arrived, they found that Precious Taste and Deante Johnson were dead. According to the Montgomery County Prosecutors Office, the individuals had been killed from multiple gunshots. Authorities continued their investigation, and reportedly identified Cunigan. Homicide fugitive captured in Mexico; worked as police officer Further investigation, including witness statements and surveillance video, found that the defendant had entered the residence by pushing in a window, fired multiple shots, and then fled the residence in Ms. Tastes vehicle, said the release. Cunigan was found in Cleveland, and was transported back to Montgomery County. He remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1 million bond. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. The Air Force Special Operations Command has released its report on the cause of the crash of a CV-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan last November, which killed eight crew. The accident investigation attributes the mishap to a catastrophic failure of one of the tiltrotors gearboxes and also points to decisions made by the pilot as a significant contributing factor. The crash had already led to all V-22s across the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy being grounded for more than three months, an order that was lifted in March. The Air Force Special Operations Command has released its report on the cause of the crash of a CV-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan last November, which killed eight crew. The accident investigation attributes the mishap to a catastrophic failure of one of the tiltrotors gearboxes and also points to decisions made by the pilot as a significant contributing factor. The crash had already led to all V-22s across the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy being grounded for more than three months, an order that was lifted in March. The accident, on November 29, 2023, involved CV-22B serial number 10-0054, callsign Gundam 22, assigned to the 353d Special Operations Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The tiltrotor was taking part in a joint interoperability exercise when the mission had to be aborted, following multiple advisories and a caution message displayed in the cockpit, instructing them to land as soon as possible. Wreckage of the CV-22B Osprey off Yakushima Island, as photographed by the Japan Coast Guard, November 29, 2023. Japan Coast Guard The crew then diverted toward Yakushima Airport, around 60 miles away. While on final approach to the runway, and around 800 feet above ground level, a sudden materiel failure put the aircraft into an immediate left roll. The tiltrotor rolled twice and then impacted the water, around half a mile off the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan, at approximately 2:40 p.m. local time. All eight crew on board the Osprey were killed on impact, with seven bodies subsequently being recovered in the search-and-rescue operation. A schematic of the typical crew positions in the CV-22B, as provided in the AIB report. The following section from the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) report specifies the factors determined to be behind the accident: The Accident Investigation Board (AIB) President (BP) found, by a preponderance of the evidence, the mishap was caused by a catastrophic failure of the left-hand Proprotor Gearbox that created a rapidly cascading failure of the MAs [mishap aircraft] drive system, resulting in an instantaneous asymmetric lift condition that was unrecoverable by the MC [mishap crew]. The BP further found, by the preponderance of evidence, Mishap Pilots decisions were causal, as they prolonged the mishap sequence and removed any consideration of an earlier landing at a different divert location. Other contributing factors were identified by the AIB, namely inadequate risk management and ineffective crew resource management. Taken together, all these issues resulted in what the AIB described as an insufficient sense of urgency throughout the entire mishap sequence, beginning with the first PRGB [Proprotor Gearbox] cockpit advisory approximately 49 minutes prior to aircraft impact. The CV-22 has a pair of PRGBs, one in each engine nacelle. Their job is to transmit power and provide speed reduction from the engine to the Ospreys trademark proprotors. The PRGB is a part of the Ospreys design that has proven to be problematic in various ways over the years. A schematic of the Proprotor Gearbox, or PRGB, provided in the AIB report. After an analysis of the parts of the left-hand PRGB that could be recovered, it was determined that the catastrophic failure in this instance was most likely initiated by a crack in one of the high-speed pinion gears and fatigue cracking of the associated pinion gears bearing cage. Additionally, at least one piece of the failed high-speed planet pinion wedged in the high-speed carrier assembly, grinding against the high-speed sun gears teeth until finally removed. Looking in more detail at the AIBs conclusion that the Mishap Pilots decisions were a causal factor in the accident, the board president states that the pilots decisions caused a prolonged mishap sequence of events that removed any consideration of an earlier landing at a different landing location. A schematic of the other end of the Proprotor Gearbox, including the teeth of the sun gear. Specifically, those individual decisions started with the Mishap Pilot electing to continue with the mission after a third chip burn advisory posted in the cockpit. A chip burn advisory gives a visual indication when the V-22s chip detection system detects debris in the PRGBs gear oil. At this point, the situation became Land as Soon as Practical, with the pilot then deciding to land at Yakushima Airport, although closer locations were available. According to the AIB, the pilot and crew did not plan for, deliberate, or even discuss closer suitable landing options after they received the chip burn warning about the left-hand PRGB. In response to the boards findings that the pilots actions had a causal role in the mishap, Tim Loranger, an aviation attorney and senior partner at Los Angeles law firm Wisner Baum, representing the families of two of the dead crew, provided the following statement: One fact remains clear: Gundam 22 suffered a catastrophic failure initiated by a crack in one of the high-speed pinion gears, which led to pieces of the high-speed planet pinion grinding against the sun gear. This mechanical breakdown resulted in a cascading failure of the drive system and an instantaneous asymmetric lift condition that was impossible to recover from. Loranger adds that, based on the reports findings, no amount of skill or experience could have fully overcome this kind of catastrophic mechanical failure. Loranger adds that it is crucial to understand that these decisions were made under extreme pressure and what became a rapidly deteriorating situation. The loss of these brave individuals is a profound tragedy, and any suggestion that places blame on those who are no longer here to defend their actions only adds to the deep pain their families are already enduring. A stock photo of a U.S. Air Force CV-22B. U.S. Air Force www.twz.com Asked by The War Zone about possible plans for a lawsuit, Tim Loranger said: There has not been a lawsuit and no decision has yet to be made. The report was just released. Meanwhile, we will also have to wait and see what, if any recommendations are made to V-22 operators to reflect lessons learned in the investigation. In a statement provided to The War Zone, the U.S. Marine Corps by far the largest operator of the Osprey, with some 348 MV-22Bs spread across 17 squadrons deferred any comment about the impact of the investigations on the V-22 to the Joint Program Office. The statement continued: The Marine Corps remains unwavering in our commitment to the airworthiness of our aircraft and ensuring the safety of our Marines who fly and fight in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Naval, and Joint forces. A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B and a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 conduct a bilateral formation flight over Mount Fuji, Japan, on March 17, 2022. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cesar Ronaldo Alarcon A Japanese MV-22B, in front, flies together with a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B, at rear. USMC Another Osprey subvariant, the Navys CMV-22B carrier onboard delivery (COD) is currently also unable to perform fully in its main mission set, being limited to flights and missions that stay within 30 minutes of a suitable divert airfield. Most critically, this prohibits the use of the CMV-22 for carrier onboard support of deployed aircraft carriers once they have ventured far from shore. As we have discussed in the past, the result is that the CMV-22 is essentially operating within the range of what a laden heavy-lift helicopter could achieve. In retrospect, this imposed limitation mirrors the findings from this report, considering the gearbox warning came 49 minutes prior to catastrophic failure. Theoretically, if the exact same circumstances were to occur that struck the doomed CV-22B, thirty minutes would put the CMV-22B within range of a divert location with significant margin to spare. Overall, the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor has had a checkered history, punctuated by numerous fatal crashes since its first flight in 1989, though U.S. military officials regularly point to a broadly improving track record in the past few decades. For now, we will have to wait and see to what degree this accident affects the broader V-22 community. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com Growing up in a multimillion-pound Chelsea townhouse and afforded the finest private education, Phoebe Plummer knew nothing but privilege for the first 21 years of her life. The star student made the most of it too, as a high achiever at her 50,000-a-year sixth form, St Marys School Ascot, and securing a place to study Computer Science at Manchester University. A comfortable life surely beckoned perhaps, like her father and two older brothers, pursuing a lucrative career in insurance. Yet, two years ago, a defining, headline-grabbing moment saw the promising student spurn her loving, middle-class background and settle on a decidedly different route in life one of civil disobedience, handcuffs, and, ultimately, prison cells. On October 14, 2022, Ms Plummer made headlines across the world as she walked into the National Gallery and threw a tin of soup over Vincent Van Goghs masterpiece Sunflowers, worth an estimated 72.5 million, all in the name of climate justice. The stunt, and her subsequent arrest, launched the pink-haired eco-warrior into the limelight and set her on the path to becoming the poster girl for the controversial campaign group, Just Stop Oil (JSO). The 22-year-old has since repeatedly broken her bail conditions to go on protest marches; she has attempted to confront MPs on their doorsteps, and, just this week, sprayed orange paint on departure boards at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. Given her generous upbringing, it is unsurprising that her transformation has not gone down well with her family. One of Ms Plummers brothers reportedly no longer talks to her, while her relationship with her father is said to be strained. So how did it come to this? After St Marys School Ascot, whose alumni include the Duke of Kents grandchildren and the Princess of Monaco, Plummer joined Mander Portman Woodward College in Kensington, London, named spoilt brat central by Vice magazine in 2006, where she received top marks in her Chemistry, Computer Studies, and Maths A Levels. All was going well. To those close to her, though, her change in direction was by no means a Damascene conversion. Ms Plummer who identifies as queer and non-binary but female-presenting had in her late teenage years increasingly embraced the counterculture. She went vegan, stopped flying, and stopped buying first-hand clothes. And, like many Gen Zers, she began to rally behind the climate cause, fearful of the existential risk it posed to her future, and was soon signing petitions, writing to MPs and joining marches. Ms Plummer has repeatedly broken the conditions for her bail and was arrested earlier this week at Heathrow - Denise Baker / Story Picture Agency With a London drawl, Ms Plummer is an eloquent and confident speaker, if a little blunt. (Readers may have watched her run-ins live on air with figures from former Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg to the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire). She is well-versed in climate-speak, trotting out the same bitesize quotes in various interviews and rarely straying off topic. That is aside from one interview she gave in April last year to Tipping Points, a little-known podcast by a PHD student at Imperial College London. Speaking with an ankle tag on, she gave a far more intimate take on why she felt it necessary to risk everything to become JSOs agitator-in-chief. It would be naive for me to turn around and say, I have no worries about having a criminal record or having been to prison, she told the host. Its a big step to take. But for me, I had a flip in my brain where I thought all of these plans and hopes and aspirations I have for my future, for a career, for a family. They dont exist unless I fight for a future in which theyre possible. Right now, the only future I see for myself is one of mass famine and constant drought, of wildfires and floods, and societal collapse. Theres no career on that kind of planet. Theres no having a family on that planet. So direct action is the best way I can secure my future not with a university degree as it should be. Plummer: 'The only future I see for myself is one of mass famine' - Tom Bowles Ms Plummers first short stint in prison was in November 2022, when she should have been enjoying her Freshers term at The School of Oriental and African Studies in London after dropping out of Manchester. Instead, she was sent to HMP Bronzefield on remand after breaking bail conditions. A fortnight after the Van Gogh arrest, she joined dozens of other JSO protestors in blocking the M25, causing four-days of travel chaos. Though intended as a punishment, Ms Plummer told the podcast that enduring Europes biggest female prison whose 540 inmates reportedly include Lucy Letby was in fact very doable, very manageable. Lying in the shadow of Heathrow airport, the privately-run jail is said to be one of the nicer places in the UK to be incarcerated, with the amount spent per prisoner 10,000 higher than at any other comparable facility in the country. It was reportedly the first in the UK to have its own branch of the Womens Institute, which provides prisoners with resettlement programmes prior to their release. Inspectors in a recent report praised the impressive array of activities on offer for prisoners, which include Zumba and legs, bums, and tums classes. The women's prison HMP Bronzefield, which has been commended for the wellbeing activities it offers - PA During Ms Plummers first spell, nearly two dozen inmates staged a production of West End musical Betty Blue Eyes that was deemed a great success. Allowed to share a cell with a fellow JSO activist, and regularly seeing others who had taken action over the M25, she said: It was nice in prison because theres the space and the time to have the conversations about why youre there. Ms Plummer who said her greatest heroes the Suffragettes had also faced jail in their fight for social change added: I think my biggest power in there was knowing I was in there for the right reasons. The impact on her family, however, was not quite so easy. My family have struggled to deal with it, she told the podcast. One of my brothers told me I wasnt his sister anymore, and that he wanted nothing more to do with me, and that he was beyond disgusted and ashamed by me. And thats harder, I cant pretend that its not. She told the host how, after her brother got engaged and spoke about wanting to start a family, she told her mother: When they have children, I will feel more grief than joy. This reaction was, she said, because she was so scared about the world that their child would grow up in. Conversations with her father, meanwhile, have been painful. My dad is a climate denier, she said, which makes it very hard to even start having the conversations about why I do what I do. Though initially causing her deep anger, they have tried to find common ground and rebuild their relationship, connecting more on an emotional level, about why Im so scared, so outraged a lot of the time, than on a pure scientific basis. Plummer, pictured locking herself to another activist in Piccadilly Circus, has spoken about her strained relationship with her family on the podcast Tipping Points - Alamy Ive come to a level of understanding that Im asking them to deal with something pretty big to accept the fact that Ive gone to prison. Its not something they ever thought their child would do, she added. Since then, Ms Plummer who was recently registered in court as living in a large house in Clapham, south London, on a street where houses cost upwards of 4 million has only upped the ante, having been arrested several more times for breaching bail conditions. She has further embraced her rock star image, posing last summer as Mona Lisa for an arty feature in fashion magazine Dazed. With STOP OIL emblazoned across her chest and holding a can of Heinz tomato soup, she wore a silk and cotton sweater by the exclusive Italian brand Loro Piana, whose jumpers can cost upwards of 1,000. Last week, Ms Plummer and fellow activist Anna Holland, both 22, were both found guilty of criminal damage over the Van Gogh incident. With sentencing due in late September, Southwark Crown Court Judge Christopher Hehir warned them both to be prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison. And given his words came just days after five other Just Stop Oil protestors received record multi-year jail terms for conspiring to block the M25, it may be for some time. In a recent interview, however, she addressed her privilege and the criticism JSO has received, including accusations that its ranks are filled by posh members who disrupt the lives of those less well-off with their abrasive tactics. I dont have to work three jobs to feed my kids or pay heating bills, Ms Plummer told The Times, which means I can dedicate time towards fighting for the people that dont have the means to fight right now and are being hit hardest. Soon, she may not even have that luxury. The Telegraph contacted Ms Plummer for comment, but was told by JSO that she was unable to respond as she was currently in prison. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. "Don't laugh. Just don't laugh. Don't laugh under any circumstances." In a recent interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News, Donald Trump did not mince words about how he wishes Vice President Kamala Harris would behave. The Democratic nominee for president is known for her easy and boisterous laugh, which contrasts with the unlaughing Trump or his forever stern-faced wife, Melania Trump. As many political analysts have pointed out, Republicans aren't doing themselves any favors by freaking out over the fact that Harris has a sense of humor. The ongoing GOP outrage that Harris sometimes expresses joy only reinforces the Democratic accusations that Trump and his allies are "weird." Laughing when something's funny is normal. Coming unglued because other people laugh is not. And yet, Republicans keep shaming Harris for laughing, no matter how weird and joyless that makes them seem. The main reason for this poor choice appears to be that Trump is downright obsessed. The GOP is a Trump cult now. Republicans cannot help but reflect and parrot the fixations of their leader, no matter how much it unnerves the un-weird. Trump is not a fan of women laughing, which is no doubt one reason his wife rarely even cracks a smile. The depths of Trump's loathing for female merriment were exposed during his two civil trials for sexual assault and defamation of journalist E. Jean Carroll, who he attacked in a department store dressing room in the '90s. As Carroll testified, she ran into Trump randomly that day and, as a lark, indulged his request to go shopping with him. During their outing, Carroll teased Trump with jokes about how he should try on lingerie. It appears that her laughing, which would be light-hearted fun to normal men, instead infuriated Trump so much that he responded with a violent assault. Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only. During the first trial, in which Carroll won $5 million in damages, the issue of her laughter didn't come up too much. But in the second trial, there were reports that Trump pushed his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, into going much harder after Carroll on the stand. Tacopina ended up dwelling at length over Carroll's description of her own jokes as if he expected the jury to share his client's outrage that a woman would laugh. The tactic backfired. Carroll won over $83 million in that trial. The judge in the case repeatedly emphasized in court filings that, even though Trump was technically found liable for sexual assault, "Trump 'raped' her as many people commonly understand the word 'rape.'" Feminists have long argued that rape is a crime of power, not of sexual incontinence. The story of Trump's assault of Carroll illustrates this idea perfectly. In her telling, they were having a good time, right up until she told a harmless joke that angered him. At that point, he attacked her so viciously that, as she told the jury, she was too traumatized to be with a man sexually ever again. On social media, the liberal reaction to Trump's lame "Laffin' Kamala Harris" nickname has been to repeat the famous saying: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." (This is often falsely attributed to novelist Margaret Atwood, who would never be so coy as to use the word "kill" instead of "rape.") As the Carroll assault demonstrates, Trump is indeed apprehensive women are laughing at him. But I'd argue that this isn't merely about his legendary narcissism. Most of the popular clips of Harris laughing have nothing to do with him or with any men at all. For instance, the goofy "coconut tree" video showcases Harris chuckling over the memory of her mother teasing her as a child. I suspect what sets off misogynists like Trump is the way a woman's laughter reminds them that women are autonomous human beings, who have full interior lives. For such men, they prefer to imagine women as appendages of men, who have no motivations outside of pleasing and serving men. A woman who laughs at a man's jokes is acceptable. You don't see Trump getting mad at the MAGA women who laugh at the faux-stand-up routine that he does at his rallies. But a woman who laughs out of genuine joy aggravates misogynists. We see this not just in the way that Trump and his allies hate Harris for laughing, they also detest her for dancing. The first attack ad released by the Trump campaign is ostensibly about immigration, but it's also just as much about stirring up outrage that the vice president dares to dance. Within a mere 30 seconds, the ad shows the same clip twice of Harris shaking a tailfeather while wearing a colorful shirt, which is contrasted with a photo of Trump scowling. "Failed. Weak. Dangerously Liberal," the ad intones, which seems like quite the overreaction to a middle-aged woman getting her groove on. It's all reminiscent of a similar Republican tantrum in 2019 when they discovered that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., once danced in a video in college. Right-wing outrage over the video, which showed her getting down to a song by Phoenix with her college friends, quickly spread online. It just as quickly backfired, when Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, "I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!" The hostility to dancing is typical of right-wing rhetoric on Harris. On Fox News, Jesse Watters complained that Harris appeals to "wine moms" and characterized her interviews as "ditsy sit-downs with fan girls" to "talk about date nights." The idea that women might relax with a glass of wine or talk about fun stuff with friends seems banal to most people, but misogynists come unglued. It's the same thing behind their bizarre hatred of cats, or at least of women who have cats. Owning a pet is something a woman does for herself, not for men. As feminist philosopher Kate Manne pointed out in a recent interview with Salon, these men are furious that a woman is "looking anywhere else other than a man's eyes. It's that simple. How dare you avert your gaze from men to appreciate others, including cats." Sexist petulance is so childish and self-centered that it's easy to laugh at, but as Carroll's experience shows, that level of male entitlement can get dangerous quickly. Men who feel threatened by a woman can and often do lash out violently. The good news is that Carroll is expected to return to court and to the news cycle in September. As the New Republic reported this week, a federal appeals court set September 6 for oral arguments in Trump's appeal of Carroll's legal victory. Trump's team was hoping to have the hearing after the election. Instead, the case will be back in the news, and people will once again be reminded of how Trump used sexual violence to tell a woman, "Don't laugh under any circumstances." Elizabeth Ha created the privacy-minded menstrual tracking app Monthly last year, after failing to find an option that felt safe enough to her following the Supreme Courts Dobbs decision. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Ha) After the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and abortion was banned in the state of Tennessee, Dr. Danielle Kelvas quit using an app that tracked her menstrual cycle. It frightened me. I actually got frightened because it tracked me for, like, a week, Kelvas said of the Oura Ring feature Cycle Insights. And I thought, wheres this information going? Immediately following the Dobbs v. Jacksons Womens Health Organization Supreme Court decision which struck down the constitutional right to abortion, data privacy experts cautioned to take a closer look at menstrual cycle tracking apps. Information logged into these apps, or tracked via wearable devices like a Fitbit or an Oura Ring, have the potential to be used in prosecuting those who seek abortions in states which criminalize it. Kelvas, a former emergency room physician, is a big fan of her Oura Ring. She researched the device which gives insight to users about their biometric data like heart rate and sleep quality thoroughly before buying it. When the company rolled out its menstrual tracking feature, called Cycle Insights, she was excited to try it. But when she started reading more into the terms of agreement, she couldnt find clear cut information about how the data was stored, how secure it was, or if it was encrypted. States Newsroom reached out to Oura for clarification on its privacy policy for Cycle Insights, but the request for comment was not returned. Kelvas, 34, lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where abortion is banned, with only the exception of preventing death for the expectant person. The law, a trigger ban that went into effect in August 2022, also makes obtaining or performing an abortion a criminal offense. So I deleted it, Kelvas said of the app. A woman in a lab jacket Opal Pandya is in the same boat. The 25-year old Philadelphian deleted the app Flo, after reading case studies about data releases to external third parties. She also took note when she started suddenly getting targeted ads on Instagram for products that would help soothe period symptoms shed just logged in Flo. I realized my data was flowing across multiple platforms, she said. She didnt feel comfortable with that, and didnt have the time to figure out who had access to that data. The final straw was learning that third-party data could be available to states in prosecuting abortions banned under their laws. Pandya also opted out of her Apple Watchs cycle tracking after trying it for a while, and has stopped wearing it to bed, as it tracks ovulation cycles via temperature at night while sleeping. Health care privacy has always been something Pandyas been wary of, she said, and while theres benefits of tracking menstrual information, the Dobbs decision showed her there could be serious consequences of that data being vulnerable. I have always been sensitive about my health information and understand theres a strong distrust of the medical system as a whole, Pandya said. And overturning Roe v. Wade did nothing but solidify and spread that distrust, especially among minority women. Kelvas, who now owns a medical writing service and is a consultant for software company IT Medical, is acutely aware of those delicacies of navigating menstrual tracking. As a physician, she said she cant emphasize enough how important it is that people have access to cycle tracking. Its one of the few tools people have to be in more control of family planning and their reproductive health, as some states attack access to birth control. But her experience in health care IT has highlighted how easy it is for sensitive data to go unprotected. Many people think all health care information is protected under the federal privacy law, known as HIPAA. But menstrual cycle tracking apps, along with other health care technologies, like texting platforms that patients can use with doctors, are not. In highly restrictive states, Kelvas said its challenging to navigate your reproductive rights It doesnt really matter what we do, were always in trouble, she said. For a lot of women, suddenly becoming pregnant means that they are illegal, Kelvas said. And what do you do after that? You know, for a lot of people, the reality is that they just dont own their uterus anymore. What data is up for grabs? There havent been any cases where a menstrual tracking apps data has been subpoenaed yet, but thats probably due to the slow speed of which cases proceed through the court system, said Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technologys Security and Surveillance Project. There have been few cases of electronic data of any form being subpoenaed yet, but via their terms and conditions, many companies leave themselves vulnerable to having to hand data over to prosecutors or courts. Laperruque warned that the data that could be used to prosecute abortion cases could be more far-reaching than just whats logged in a period tracking app. There are a lot of really innocuous seeming data in health care location information, communications, metadata patterns and even information you dont know youre generating, Laperruque said. If social media apps have access to your location, for example, prosecutors could timestamp your visit at an abortion providers office through the location data of any number of apps. Data collected by apps, wearables, could potentially now be used by law enforcement or even private individuals, seeking to sue or target people for exercising reproductive choice and seeking out information or care around abortion, he said. Digital footprints have been used in prosecuting reproductive cases even before the Dobbs decision. In 2018, a woman in Mississippi was charged with second-degree murder after she gave birth to a stillborn baby at home. Part of the prosecutions case noted that she had researched how to terminate a pregnancy in the past. Last year, a teenager in Nebraska was convicted for terminating a pregnancy after prosecutors subpoenaed Facebook messages between her and her mother. How to assess data privacy For now, most of the responsibility to protect a users data falls on the user themselves, said Andrew Crawford, a health care privacy-focused senior counsel with the Center for Democracy and Technology. It really is incumbent on users to do their homework, Crawford said. And unfortunately, sometimes that means reading really dense privacy policies and looking for keywords. The terms and conditions of an app or a wearable device need to spell out what data its collecting, what it does with that data and who else may have access. An app may automatically seek access to things like your contacts, your geolocation, or photos, but you may not have to give it those full permissions. Period tracking apps often share information with data brokers, advertisers or third parties that are hard to track. Users should also pay attention to how an app treats the data it gets. A keyword to look for is encryption, or data thats changed into a secret code that can only be unlocked with a unique digital key. Data thats stored locally on your device also tends to be safer than data thats stored in a cloud, Crawford said. It would be a lot harder for law enforcement to access encrypted data stored only on your device rather than if they can subpoena a company for it. Theres always risk as long as data is logged somewhere, Laperruque said. But police are only going to be able to search your phone if they hand you a warrant and seize the phone, he said. Most wearable devices that collect biometric data have some encryption aspect. Apples privacy policy says that when your device is locked, all your health and fitness data thats on the device and synced to iCloud is encrypted. This means that when you use the Cycle Tracking feature and have enabled two-factor authentication, your health data synced to iCloud is encrypted end-to-end and Apple does not have the key to decrypt the data and therefore cannot read it, the company said. Fitbit and Oura Ring say they use encryption measures, too. All three companies say that they have to comply with subpoena requests by law enforcement agencies. The cost of your data App developer Elizabeth Ha, 27, of Los Angeles, built cycle tracking app Monthly in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. All of the health data inputted into the app is stored privately on your device, and doesnt enter a database. You can delete your app (and subsequently, your data) at any time, and Monthly does not make your data available to anyone but the user. Ha had been a long-time user of one period tracker app, but the Dobbs decision and the attention that data privacy was getting at the time, forced her to take a harder look at where she was logging her information. Once your data gets sent to these data warehouses, its like a little bit of a black box, she said. She feels pretty secure about her reproductive rights in California, but you never know whats going to happen or who else might need a more secure option, she said of Monthly, which released on the app store late last year. The field of mobile apps is so new, developing in the last decade or so, she said, and it evolves so quickly. The reason so many period trackers are free is that theyre built by larger companies that can collect and sell your data, Ha said. For them to be a business, a lot of the business is selling the data, she said. Many Americans are waiting for a comprehensive, federal data privacy overhaul. The American Privacy Rights Act was proposed in congress in May, which would require covered entities to be transparent about how they use consumer data and give consumers the right to access, correct, delete, and export their data, as well as opt out of targeted advertising and data transfers. It would also mandate that a covered entity could not collect or transfer to a third party biometric data without the individuals affirmative express consent. For now, those who wish to keep data related to their reproductive health safe, should be vigilant about the terms and conditions of the devices and the platforms they use. It just kind of speaks to the importance of both the surveillance and consumer data side of upgrading the laws, Laperruque said. We have to be more protective. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X. Signs call for justice for the victims of the August 1, 2004, fire at the Ycua Bolanos supermarket in Asuncion, Paraguay. File Photo by Tony1940/Wikimedia Aug. 1 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1498, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela. In 1790, the first U.S. census showed a population of 3,929,214 people in 17 states. In 1907, an Aeronautical Division was added to the Army Signals Corps. The first aircraft bought by this forerunner of the U.S. Air Force was built by the Wright brothers. In 1961, the first Six Flags amusement park opened on 212 acres in Arlington, Texas. In its opening year, admission for adults cost $2.75 and for children cost $2.25. Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 from the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va., survey the wreckage of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis on August 7, 2007. The bridge collapsed August 1. File Photo by Joshua Adam Nuzzo/U.S. Navy File Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI In 1966, Charles Whitman killed 16 people, including his wife and mother, in Austin, Texas. Thirty-two people were wounded. Most of Whitman's victims were struck by shots fired from the University of Texas Tower. The gunman, a student and ex-Marine, was killed by a police officer. Fab 5 Freddy's iconic gold and diamond "MTV" ring is on display for an auction celebrating the history and cultural impact of hip hop at Sotheby's on September 10, 2020, in New York City. On August 1, 1981, MTV premiered with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI In 1977, Francis Gary Powers, pilot of a U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was killed in the crash of his weather helicopter in Los Angeles. In 1981, MTV premiered with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." Airman David Rodriguez (R) prepares cluster bombs aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence on February 12, 1998. On August 1, 2010, a worldwide ban on cluster bombs went into effect. File Photo by Felix Garza/U.S. Navy In 1994, Lisa Marie Presley confirmed rumors that she had married pop star Michael Jackson May 26 in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorced less than two years later. In 2004, nearly 400 people died in a supermarket fire on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay. Michael Jackson (R) is pictured in April 1995 with Lisa Marie Presley in Los Angeles. On August 1, 1994, Presley confirmed rumors that she had married the pop star May 26 in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorced less than two years later. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI In 2005, Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who had ruled since 1982, died after a long illness at the age of 83. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah. File Photo courtesy the Arafat press office President Barack Obama makes a statement about CIA torture in the White House briefing room in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 2014. File Photo by Dennis Brack/UPI In 2007, an eight-lane bridge across the Mississippi River at Minneapolis, collapsed during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring nearly 150. About 50 vehicles were thrown into or near the water when the steel-and-concrete Interstate 35W span buckled and fell. In 2010, a worldwide ban on cluster bombs went into effect. Cluster bombs, usually dropped from planes, are filled with smaller anti-personnel bombs, which are scattered over wide areas. In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama said CIA agents who interrogated suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States "crossed a line" and "tortured some folks." In 2023, Angus Cloud, best known from the HBO drama Euphoria, died of an accidental drug overdose. He was 25. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI Danone anticipates volumes will keep growing in the back half even amid the need for further pricing, which will continue to support margin recovery. The France-based dairy giant delivered what were generally positive first-half numbers for like-for-like sales, including for the group, regions and business divisions, along with positive volumes, pricing and gross margin. CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique and finance chief Juergen Esser, discussing the results with analysts this week, are confident the trajectory will be maintained as the year progresses, albeit not with the same intensity in some cases. With pricing normalising in the coming quarters, the effect on gross margin will not repeat with the same magnitude in the coming second half, Esser said, as he noted Danone is getting back towards the 50% mark of a number of years ago. The margin increased 257 basis points over the first six months to 49.4% as like-for-like (LFL) sales revenue rose 4% to 14.2bn ($15.3bn). Group volume-mix advanced 2.1%, with pricing up 2%. Esser added: We are very pleased with the gross margin expansion of the first semester [H1], which, in a way, shows that we are really working our business model - quality top-line growth, driving operating leverage and therefore, driving very naturally gross margins up. Moving forward, gross margin will definitely continue to expand. This is our business model we are aiming for to allow for continued value creation over time, also including reinvestment, but it will not grow at the same speed that we saw as some of the commodity indexes are rebounding a little bit. The CFO said what Danone is seeing in margin progression is quite promising, with Europe, North America and the single regional division of China, North Asia and Oceania, all registering increases. In terms of sales and volumes, Europe delivered LFL sales growth of 1.7% in the first half, although volume-mix was only just positive at 0.1% as short-term delivery disruptions spilled over from price negotiations with retailers. However, Esser said those negotiations are now behind us, making us again 100% focused on working with our retail partners to grow our categories. North America LFL sales were a positive 3.7%, with volume-mix up 2.9%. But it was China, North Asia and Oceania that led the way with increases of 8.6% and 8.3%, respectively. For the rest of the world region, the figures were 5.6% and 1.4%, while Latam posted 4.6% sales growth but a negative volume-mix of 0.2%. This is a volatile world, there's things happening here and there, Esser said in terms of the volume outlook. But as you hear, we are confident that we are on the right path, and this is also why we have been reinvesting to solidify the growth momentum for the second semester and the years to come. Story continues Danone kept its LFL sales guidance for the year at 3-5%, while the outlook for the recurring operating margin also remains a moderate improvement. The margin rose 45 basis points in the first half to 12.24%. Esser explained the pricing strategy, deemed to be selective, over the back half, with a veiled reference to Europe. Pricing will stay positive also in the second half of the year. Just to be very clear about this, there has been a reason why, in some instances, negotiation took a little bit longer than we would all have wished because the way we are approaching it is to ensure that we do consumer-led pricing where we have strong brands, brands which bring innovations into the market "Danone sounds positive tone for progressive second-half performance" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested a man on Thursday for his involvement in a fatal stabbing that happened over two years ago in Northeast D.C. Officers were dispatched to a local hospital at about 2:40 a.m. on July 9. There, they found a woman suffering from stab wounds who was pronounced dead. Montgomery County considers noise cameras to crack down on modified cars Investigators said the stabbing happened in an establishment in the 1600 block of New York Avenue NE. The woman was identified as 23-year-old Brittany Palmer. Two years later, on Aug. 1, officials found and arrested 33-year-old Domonic Tabron of Capitol Heights, Md. He was charged with Second Degree Murder While Armed. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The District of Columbia said Wednesday that it is suing StubHub over what it calls deceptive and unfair practices. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused StubHub of advertising low prices and then increasing the prices with extra fees. Its surprising, said Jaren Rubio, of Arlington, Va., who has used StubHub to get tickets for events around the District. I feel like it markets it as having cheaper tickets. So thats surprising and I probably will [not] be using StubHub anymore. StubHub, according to Schwalb, uses a practice known as drip pricing. Customers are forced to go through several steps before they get to the checkout page, where the total price is vastly higher than originally advertised. DC, Virginia, Maryland join DOJ suit against Ticketmaster, Live Nation It adds up to a $30 charge on some of the tickets, said Dawn, a D.C. resident. And so I do think that the ticket prices when theyre elevated is a little bit ridiculous. StubHub said its disappointed by the lawsuit. The DC Attorney General is targeting StubHub when our user experience is consistent with the law, our competitors practices, and the broader e-commerce sector, the company said in a released statement. We strongly support federal and state solutions that enhance existing laws to empower consumers, such as requiring all-in pricing uniformly across platforms. Schwalb is seeking financial penalties against StubHub and restitution for customers in the District. Thatd be great, if its a class action, Ill sign up right away, try and get some money, said Vatasansal Bhargavn of Potomac, Md. Schwalb claims StubHub has sold nearly five million tickets to D.C. customers since 2015, which collected an estimated $118 million in hidden fees. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. DCF blocked more than 700,000 calls in April from people who wanted to speak to a real person Bryan Simpson Unites States Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) JACKSONVILLE The Florida Department of Children and Families blocked 54% of phone calls from people wanting to reach one of its call center agents in April, according to data presented in federal court Wednesday. The agency, which handles calls related to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, lacks standards governing the number of blocked calls or hangups by clients because they cant remain on hold, the call centers director Nichole Solomon testified on Wednesday. DCF hung up on 744,000 people waiting on hold before they could talk to employees in April alone because the call center lacks capacity to manage all the calls it gets, said Solomon, who has been in charge of the call center since early 2023. Instead, those 744,000 callers who opted to speak to a person instead of the automated system, heard a message saying all agents were busy and to call later. The primary priority is to get as many people hired as quickly as possible, Solomon said about the agencys efforts to fill almost 200 roles in the center, which receives as many as 2.2 million calls each month. Who answers the calls? While the department must report the average wait time and the rate of abandoned calls to the federal government, it doesnt report blocked calls. During April, people waited 19 minutes on average to speak with an agent and nearly 30% of calls were abandoned, according to data DCF submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Earlier this year, Florida had the second-longest call wait times in the country. Solomon and other DCF officials took the stand Wednesday in the federal class action filed by Medicaid patients alleging Florida violated their constitutional right to due process when it took away their health care coverage without proper notice. The call center has been a key aspect of the trial because plaintiffs argue agents gave them wrong information about their Medicaid eligibility. The plaintiffs attorneys played several calls between their clients and DCF during testimony on Monday and Tuesday. Im not going to sit on the phone and go through every single thing thats not my job, a call center agent told a mother calling about her childs loss of benefits during one of the calls played in court. The state was just starting to review Medicaid eligibility for millions of people following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency when Solomon began leading the call center. But when Floridians called DCF after getting notices about the status of their coverage, it wasnt always a DCF employee answering the call. In fact, the automated voice response system routed those calls to a third-party vendor called Lighthouse, which provided only general information. Lighthouse employees put callers requesting more specific information back on hold to transfer them to DCF call center employees. Millions going into call center staffing During her testimony, Solomon spoke about changes DCF put in place at the beginning of the year, such as providing newer call center agents with a live chat through which they could ask more knowledgeable agents questions a caller might have, she said. Additionally, the agency wants to hire 700 call center agents this year; 521 are working now, Solomon said. New hires dont get trained to handle Medicaid calls as part of their initial onboarding, the call center director said. The initial training focuses on conducting interviews for other government assistance programs. So, you waited until the unwinding period was over to enhance the staff and the training of your staff? Florida Health Justice attorney Lynn Hearn asked Solomon, referring to the post-COVID emergency purge of clients. She replied that the agency also hired staff last year. Hearn and attorneys from the National Health Law Program represent the plaintiffs. Florida lawmakers gave the agency more than $12 million this year to improve staffing at the call center. Jared Nordlund of UnidosUS, a Latinx civil rights organization that lobbied lawmakers to invest in the call center, said the testimony suggests the Legislature needs to pay more attention to DCF. I dont think that [lawmakers] would want to have their constituents blocked trying to get help from the government, Nordlund said in a phone interview with Florida Phoenix. He is the UnidosUs Florida policy director. He continued: We need greater transparency and greater oversight. Theres no reason that this thing is as bad as it is because nobodys holding anybody accountable at all. And so, we got to put pressure on the Legislature to actually oversee DCF and whats going on with it. The groups Florida team made two reports illustrating longer wait times and higher abandonment rates than in data DCF submitted to the federal government earlier this year. He said the UnidosUS employees who made calls to DCF heard the message that all agents were busy at all times of the day during their research. Now, based on trial testimony, he said he knows DCF intentionally blocked those calls. UnidosUS is getting ready to start making calls to DCF for another report in August. If U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sides with the plaintiffs, all the people the state kicked off Medicaid without proper notice could have their coverage restored. FILE - A Charlotte neighborhood where an officer-involved shooting took place in Charlotte, N.C., April 29, 2024. Law enforcement were justified in using deadly force against a gunman in Charlotte who shot and killed four officers and injured four others in April, according to a new county report released Thursday, Aug. 1. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File) RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Law enforcement was justified in using deadly force against a gunman in North Carolina who fatally shot four officers and wounded four others in April, a prosecutor concludes in a report released Thursday. There is no question that the officers who killed Terry Clark Hughes Jr. did so to defend themselves and others, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather says in the report. Before he was killed, Hughes, 39, opened fire on officers serving arrest warrants at his home in the city of Charlotte, the deadliest attack on law enforcement in the U.S. since 2016. If law enforcement officers had not responded to an imminently deadly threat with lethal force, as difficult as it is to imagine, the outcome could have been even more catastrophic, Merriweather says. The district attorney's office interviewed law enforcement officers who were at the shooting, including 12 Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who fired their guns, to determine if the use of deadly force against Hughes was warranted. Authorities also compiled body camera footage and physical evidence, such as how many rounds were discharged during the shooting: 29 by Hughes and 340 by officers. Merriweather's report described a scene of chaos and confusion during the lengthy standoff that left the four officers dead: Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks. As state fugitive task force officers arrived at Hughes' residence to serve arrest warrants on the afternoon of April 29, he retreated inside his home and began firing on them with an assault rifle from a window upstairs, the report says. Weeks was hit while taking cover with Poloche behind a tree in the backyard, according to the investigation. Elliott and another officer were shot near the home's fence, authorities said. Eyer and Poloche were shot behind the tree while Eyer was attempting to help Weeks, the report says. Three other Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were shot at different locations outside the house, according to the report. Hughes jumped down from the home's upstairs window into the front yard, where officers told him to drop his weapon, according to the investigation. The officers opened fire, hitting Hughes 12 times and killing him, according to a state autopsy report. Hughes had two more 30-round rifle magazines in his pocket and an unused pistol on his hip, the district attorney's office said. During the course of the shooting, the investigation found that 23 officers had shot at Hughes. None of the four officers who were killed had fired their weapons before they were shot, according to the report. About 50 minutes after Hughes' death, his girlfriend called 911 to report that she and her 17-year-old daughter were hiding in a closet in the home. After interviewing them, investigators determined there was no evidence that they had been involved in the shooting of the officers. The Houthis attacked Tel Aviv with a long-range drone that attacked from an unexpected direction. Sensors picked up the unidentified aircraft but air defense crews failed to try to identify it. Like many other nations, Israel is seeking lower-cost ways to defeat drones than missiles. The Houthis' unprecedented July 19 drone attack against Tel Aviv from Yemen caught Israelis by surprise, piercing the country's battle-tested defenses and exposing vulnerabilities that the Yemen-based rebels were ready and willing to exploit. "The July 19 drone attack showed the importance of the human factor as well as training and mission planning in any military situation," Federico Borsari, a defense expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told Business Insider. "On the Houthi side, it confirms a quite sophisticated mission planning based on attacking Israel from the least expected direction the Mediterranean Sea." The Houthis carried out the attack using an extended-range Samad drone that slowly flew an estimated 1,600 miles before crashing into a Tel Aviv apartment building not far from the US embassy, killing one and injuring at least 10. "The Houthis carefully selected the drone's flight path and waypoints to make it fly at a relatively low altitude and along the Eritrean, Sudanese, and Egyptian coastline to minimize its exposure to Western ship-based radars and air defense assets in the Red Sea," Borsari said. "The time of the attack is also not casual, as night makes it more difficult to identify the drone without low-light and thermal sensors." The CEPA analyst explained that on the Israeli side, "human error in the identification process" possibly the result of poor communication, training, or even negligence was the most likely factor behind the failure to intercept. Sensors picked up the unidentified aircraft but air defense crews failed to try to identify it, a sign that they likely weren't focused on Israel's westerly approaches as a threat sector. "This confirms that technology alone, even for one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world, is not enough to provide effective protection," Borsari said. "Technology works only together with training (a skilled human component) and effective tactics." One challenge for Israeli troops is that they must maintain situational awareness of more threat sectors while Houthi rebels may only have a limited arsenal of drones with the long-range to fly roundabout routes to attack from new directions. Israel may also need to work more closely with partners like Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia for warning about suspicious air tracks. Freddy Khoueiry, a global security analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at the risk intelligence company RANE, believes the July 19 incident can be attributed to two primary factors. "Firstly, the advanced Houthi drone was launched for the first time, following an atypical flight path that likely caught the Israelis off guard," Khoueiry told BI. "Secondly, although Israeli forces detected the drone, they failed to recognize it as a threat, a human error similar to the one that occurred at Tower 22 in Jordan with US forces earlier this year." "Moving forward, the Israelis will likely take into account such unconventional drone paths from the Houthis, such as in the North, where they already anticipate Hezbollah drones coming in from the Mediterranean," Khoueiry said. "To prevent a similar Houthi attack, Israel will likely increase vigilance towards threats from the south by enhancing air defenses in Eilat and the Red Sea, and by collaborating more closely with regional partners for early detection of incoming threats." The Houthis released this image of a drone they claimed was used in the July 19 attack in the center of Tel Aviv that killed 1 person and injured at least 10. Houthi Media Center via Getty Images 'A more cunning approach' Following the deadly attack, the Israeli military promptly increased air patrols to protect Israeli airspace. The next day, Israeli fighter jets carried out a long-range airstrike against Yemen's Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port, killing six and injuring over 80. The Israeli military anticipates Yemen will become a more central theater in the regional conflict that began in October in light of the Tel Aviv attack and the retaliation against Hodeidah. The Iran-backed Houthis have also waged war on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, falsely claiming that their attacks would be limited to ships linked to Israel. Sebastien Roblin, a widely published military-aviation journalist, believes Israel's overall track record of defending against Houthi drones and missiles remains "very good," considering this was the first successful attack from Yemen. Since October, the Houthis have fired over 200 missiles and drones at Israel in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The US-led naval task force in the Red Sea intercepted several of them. "The successful Houthi attack on July 19 did reflect a more cunning approach to avoiding the gauntlet of air defenses along the Red Sea by routing over Eritrea and Sudan," Roblin told BI. "However, its success still depended on surprise too." "The incident has the potential to inoculate vulnerability at least of that specific (Mediterranean) blindspot Houthis will have to look for others, just as Hezbollah has managed to identify and exploit some tactical-level gaps to harry IDF border forces," Roblin said. "While Israeli air defenses have had successes and failures versus prior drone intrusions (mostly by Hezbollah), I'm dubious that this in particular heralds a new era of vulnerability," Roblin added. "Nor do I think Houthis can generate enough numbers over such long distances for an effective saturation strategy." Nevertheless, the attack has some important lessons and was a clear-cut reminder that drones, unlike ballistic missiles, can approach their targets from unexpected and less predictable angles. "Israel may increase patrols by its G.550 Eitam or 707 airborne early warning planes to improve monitoring down the Red Sea corridor, perhaps extending coverage further sideways over Eritrea and Sudan," Roblin added. "But it has only three G.550 conformal airborne early warning aircraft and two 707 AEWs, so greater coverage can be surged but likely not sustained indefinitely." The Houthis released a video purportedly showing the launch of a long-range drone that attacked Tel Aviv four days prior. Houthi Media Center via Getty Images Israel's defenses Fighter jets have also proven effective against drones. When Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone barrage against Israel in April, Israeli, British, French, and Jordanian fighters intercepted all the drones before they reached Israel. "Fighter jets with both air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions offer great flexibility as they can conduct defensive counter-air missions against incoming drones as well as left-of-launch strikes against the enemy's drone ground elements, including launchers, operators, and control stations," CEPA's Borsari said. "However, this is not cost-effective in the long term, so Israel must combine this option with ground-based solutions." Roblin also noted that fighters are a "cost-inefficient" way of intercepting drones, given the cost of their air-to-air missiles. "So far, Israel and the US Navy and others in the region have been able to pay the bill in order to attrit Houthi drones before they get close," Roblin said. "The IDF stated it was increasing fighter patrols in response to the July 19 attack, though should there be a war with Hezbollah, it might be forced to reduce patrols again as more fighters are assigned offensive missions." Israel also has a multifaceted air defense network designed to guard its territory from threats from inexpensive rockets to ballistic missiles and has been adapting more defenses to counter drones. Existing Israeli defenses, such as the well-known Iron Dome, can detect and down these drones. The Israeli military is preparing the redeployment of gun-based air defenses for point defense of military bases and sensitive infrastructure in northern Israel against repeated Hezbollah drone attacks. These may be the six-barrel M61 Vulcan cannons Israel is looking into mounting atop armored vehicles as a cost-effective defense against these drones. "Traditional anti-aircraft guns (preferably mobile and radar-guided) can certainly play a role in defending against drones, especially for short-range and point defense around critical infrastructure and other sensitive targets," Borsari said. "However, they are only part of the C-UAS (counter-unmanned aerial systems) solution. Israel needs to build a layered defense that also includes easy-to-manufacture and cost-effective interceptors." Such systems could include the Iron Dome's Tamir interceptors, US-made Coyote Block 3 missiles, advanced precision kill system (APKWS) laser-guided rockets, electronic warfare, and directed energy weapons like Israel's upcoming Iron Beam system. Borsari argued that Israel needs to strengthen its "already capable" air defenses to deal with "simultaneous multi-type saturation attacks" from different directions, including small and medium size drones "at the lower end of the spectrum" in addition to traditional cruise and ballistic missiles. "This means integrating low-tier air defense capabilities at scale, combining different types of effectors with an eye on cost-effectiveness," Borsari said. "These include electronic warfare, anti-aircraft artillery, cheap guided interceptors, decoys, and also directed energy solutions. Israel has access to all these solutions, but it should scale them up." Roblin also suggested Israel could explore cheaper guided weapons for destroying drones costing in "the low $10,000s instead of hundreds of thousands, or even $1 million+" that many traditional air-to-air missiles cost. For example, "trying to combo a laser-targeter with the APKWS laser-guided rocket/missile" or adopting the Tamir interceptor missile for aerial use. Israel has already deployed a naval version of the Iron Dome, the C-Dome, which has intercepted drones launched by Hezbollah. "More rapid deployment of the naval C-Dome system mounted on Israeli Navy Sa'ar-6 corvettes also seems an interesting possibility for a forward-deployable surface-based air defense capability that could sponge up drone attacks using Tamir missiles," Roblin said. RANE's Khoueiry also sees that corvettes armed with these could play a "significant role" in intercepting drones and missiles in the Red Sea. "However, unless the Houthis target the southern port city of Eilat, they are likely to continue aiming at other Israeli cities and the Eastern Mediterranean, using pathways that go over Egyptian or Saudi airspaces," Khoueiry said. Read the original article on Business Insider Joe Amrine, who spent 16 years on death row in Missouri for a killing he did not commit, speaks at a news conference Thursday calling for Attorney General Andrew Bailey to drop his opposition to an innocence hearing for Marcellus Williams, set for Sept. 24. Amrine was joined by, from left, Ray Krone of Arizona, Herman LIndsey of Florida and Eric Anderson of Michigan, who have all been freed from death row after their innocence was proven (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent). A group of men exonerated after years on death row gathered at the Missouri Capitol Thursday to call on Attorney General Andrew Bailey to stop blocking efforts to vacate the conviction of Marcellus Williams. Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home. He is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24. But since his 2001 conviction, new testing was able to determine DNA on the murder weapon matched someone else. Four members of a group called Witness to Innocence, each of whom were sentenced only to later have their innocence revealed, shared their stories Thursday in Jefferson City and advocated for Williams release. Were asking the Attorney General of Missouri to stop acting like innocence doesnt matter, said Herman Lindsey, executive director of Witness to Innocence and exoneree from Floridas death row. We are asking you to represent the people of Missouri by looking for the truth over politics. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who is running for U.S. House, filed a motion earlier this year to vacate Williams conviction, and a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge will hold an evidentiary hearing Aug. 21. Just 30 minutes after the exonerees began their press conference, Bailey joined Gov. Mike Parson one floor above in the Capitol for their own press conference on unauthorized cannabinoids. Asked about Williams case, Bailey said: The criminal justice system has to have a component of finality. The juries of the state of Missouri under the Sixth Amendment have a right to participate in that process, he said, and we should respect and defer to the finality of the jurys determination. Bailey said he doesnt want to forget the evidence used in the original conviction. The original case relied on testimony of a witness who served as a jailhouse informant in exchange for a reduced sentence. Williams isnt the first case that has stirred questions of innocence after new evidence arrived post-conviction. Among Witness to Innocences speakers was Joseph Amrine, who was exonerated in Missouri in 2003 after informants admitted to lying during trial. The Missouri Attorney Generals office, which at the time was then led by Democrat Attorney General Jay Nixon, acknowledged Amries innocence but still pushed for execution. Amrines case made it all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court, where Judge Laura Denvir Stith questioned then-Assistant Attorney General Frank Jung: Are you suggesting even if we find that Mr. Amrine is actually innocent, he should be executed? Thats correct, your honor, Jung said. For the last 30 years, the Missouri Attorney Generals office has opposed every innocence case. The Missouri Attorney Generals office is emphasizing winning and personal gain over truth and justice. To them, executing a person is just the cost of doing business, Lindsey said. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Missouri has exonerated four people from death row and has killed 99 since 1976, with four executions in 2023. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Video footage of the February 2023 incident was horrifying: a 6-foot-6 17-year-old Florida boy violently pushing a Palm Coast teachers aide to the ground and repeatedly punching her until school staff pulled him away. The teen, Brendan Depa, is on the severe end of the autism spectrum and has been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder which makes him uncooperative and hostile toward others and intermittent explosive disorder, which results in outbursts of anger. Before Depas arrest, his therapist had concluded that the teenager had the emotional maturity of a 4-year-old, his mother, Leanne, said. Depa now sits in Flagler County Jail, 25 miles north of Daytona Beach, awaiting sentencing after being charged as an adult under Floridas direct file laws sweeping powers given to prosecutors to move kids to the adult system. The Miami Herald recently reported that Black teens are disproportionately tried as adults under this law. Things could have been different: Depas parents had repeatedly sought help for Depa for years leading up to the incident. And numerous times, their efforts were thwarted by the limited support available to the states most troubled children. Depas family initially could not find any facilities in Florida that could support his needs. They found one in South Carolina in early 2020, but were forced to remove him less than a year after he arrived because their insurer had stopped paying for his care. By this time, space had opened up in a Florida group home that could care for him, but the facility was not equipped to provide him an education. Depa wound up attending Matanzas High School for his classes. The Depa family alleges that the Flagler school district, which includes Matanzas High School, failed to follow Depas customized learning plan a federal requirement and instead placed him in the care of a teachers aide who lacked the requisite training to work with children with special needs. The result? A 58-year-old woman with broken ribs, multiple bruises and mental trauma she is still recovering from and a teen with special needs facing the possibility of spending most of his adult life in prison. Why was he even allowed to attend a regular school? said Joan Naydich, the teachers aide. She told the Herald that she blames everyone who knew what he was capable of doing and said that school officials gave her the impression that she had completed all the required training. Parents who have teenage sons with autism are terrified by this case because what happens when their son has a bad day? said Stephen Furnari, a local Flagler attorney who is the father of a special needs child. Furnari chairs an advisory group that works with Flaglers school district on meeting the needs of kids with disabilities. Brendan Depa, a kid who has serious health issues, is basically bearing all of the burden of the failure of the governmental and insurance systems that shouldve been in place to protect them, he said. Even the criminal case against Depa, a Black teen, could have gone differently. The prosecutors office declined to say how long of a sentence they are seeking, but Depa could be sentenced for as long as 30 years a far harsher potential penalty than was recently given by the same judge to a white teen with similar problems who was accused of a similar crime. John Willford resided in the same group home as Depa and violently assaulted two aides and a teacher in 2019. He had just turned 18 and was charged as an adult. But even though he could have been charged with three offenses, one for each staffer, he was only charged with a single third-degree felony. In contrast, prosecutors upgraded Depas charges from a second-degree juvenile felony to a first-degree charge in adult court and the judge found him competent to stand trial despite grave doubts from one of the two experts appointed by the court to assess his mental fitness. Prosecutors didnt offer Depa a plea deal to reduce his potential sentence. Willford did not need to post bail after his arrest. As for Depa? $1 million. The criminalization of disability The Flagler County Sheriffs Office posted police body camera footage of Depas arrest the day after the incident. The agency described what happened in the post but, because of privacy laws, made no mention of Depas disabilities. The post went viral and led to stories in both local and national news outlets. Users on social media platforms described Depa as a hulking teen, a rabid creature and a monster who will never change. The sheriffs office also released CCTV footage of the assault three days later, fueling more public outrage. The sheriffs office did not respond to the Heralds questions about why it decided to publicly release the videos even though it hadnt done so for Willford. The state attorneys office of the Seventh Judicial Circuit under which Flagler County falls also declined to comment. Public outcry often influences prosecutorial decisions, said Michele Deitch director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Prosecutors are political beings, she said. They dont want to appear soft on crime. School districts are federally mandated to have an Individualized Education Program for each special needs student, which is a set of rules staff are required to follow when dealing with the student. The IEP maps out the instructions, supports and services kids like Depa need to make progress in school. Flaglers school district delayed implementing Depas IEP for months after he enrolled in December 2020 and Depa was only able to start school during spring the next year, attorneys representing him alleged in an administrative complaint against the school district. Depa got into altercations with other students and school staff multiple times over the next two years but the complaint says that his behavioral plan was never reviewed or changed and the school did not seem to have any control. The district failed to provide the direct instruction, supports and services to teach [Brendan Depa] how to not only function in the school setting but how to regulate his emotions, communicate his wants and needs, it states. The trajectory is clear. Had the district intervened at any of these points, [it] would have prevented the eventuality of what occurred. Exterior of Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, FL. Joan Naydich, the teachers aide whom Depa assaulted, had worked as a lunch lady in the school district for 17 years before becoming a teachers aide roughly two years before the incident. Records obtained by the Herald show that Naydich didnt have any special training to work with students with special needs. She completed such a training in September 2023, rougly six months after the attack, but only for pre-kindergarteners. Disability advocates say its all too common for teachers aides with no particular training to be thrust into the role of taking care of kids with special needs. Because they havent been taught how to de-escalate conflicts, it can lead to violent incidents like the one involving Depa and to instances where educators feel the need to call in law enforcement to address the problem, said Ann Siegel of Disability Rights Florida, an advocacy group. The schools failures turn into the criminalization of disability, she said. A death sentence On the afternoon of Feb. 21, 2023, surveillance cameras from inside the school captured Depa in the hallway pushing Naydich so hard she was flung a few feet in the air. She then fell to the ground motionless while he repeatedly beat her and per the arrest report threatened to kill her. The exact details of what transpired in the time leading up to the assault are disputed. Depa told police that Naydich had taken away his Nintendo gaming device; Naydich told the court that she never even touched it and had just asked him to put it away but Depa did not comply. He began to get highly irritated and screamed nasty names at her before finally assaulting her, she said. The assault broke five of Naydichs ribs. She suffered a concussion and told the court that she still often gets headaches and feels dizzy, has lapses in memory and gets anxiety attacks in crowded places. Naydich went back to work after physically recovering but left the school soon after. She didnt specify why she left but said she has been seeing an army of doctors and medical experts. I have lifetime injuries that make it difficult to get through life as I used to, she told the Herald. He is a danger to society and needs to be sentenced appropriately. Naydich testified in court that no one in the school administration had told her about the specifics of Depas disabilities or that his IEP stated that she was not supposed to reprimand or correct him in front of others. She did not know his gaming device was a known trigger. The Flagler school district and Matanzas High School declined to answer the Heralds questions about why Naydich was assigned to Depa despite not having specialized training to work with speciall need students and why no one had informed her about Depas specific disabilities. Depas mother, Leanne, is sympathetic to Naydich but worries about what prison will mean for her son. Joan did not deserve this to happen to her, Leanne Depa told the Herald. I hope the judge will allow Brendan to go to any facility other than prison because I just dont think hell survive. Prison for him is a death sentence. Lack of options Brendan Depa loves mac and cheese and playing with Legos, his mother said. He is an avid fan of video games and Pokemon. Eugene Lopes, who has been tutoring Depa in jail for his GED, said that Depa has an extensive vocabulary and is generally very polite. But he struggles to process emotions and adapt to changes in his routine and has a history of lashing out against things and people he dislikes, according to public records and interviews with those close to him. Illustration The Depa family were initially his foster care parents before they adopted him when he was 2. From an early age, Depa struggled to control his emotions and as he grew in size, his outbursts became more violent and harder for his parents to contain. Depa struggled in the chaotic environment of daycare from the very beginning. The family tried a range of traditional public and charter schools in his early years growing up in Riverview, a Tampa suburb, but his mother said that he did not do well. Leanne said she knew there were things wrong with him from the time he was little and decided to homeschool him. His psychiatrist put him on ADHD medicines when he was 4, and over the years the Depas have tried different medications to help him. None of them worked, Leanne said, and he gained weight 10 pounds a month at one point making him difficult to restrain during outbursts. She said that police officers detained Depa a few times via the Baker Act, a Florida law under which people with mental health issues can be temporarily detained for safety reasons. A few other times he was arrested. Depa has four prior juvenile battery misdemeanors two after he had an outburst and hit other kids at a park and two from when his family called the police to their home to restrain him, according to reports the Herald obtained from Hillsboroughs Sheriffs Office. The incidents took place in early 2019 when Depa, then 13, was in the process of changing medications. It was clear that he needed to be put in a residential facility to figure things out, Leanne said. They initially looked for places in Florida, but none of them matched their primary Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance and secondary Florida Medicaid plan. Eventually they found Springbrook Autism Behavioral Health in South Carolina right before the outbreak of COVID. Depa was 15 at the time. Depa was a resident at the facility for nearly a year in total. Medicaid continued to process payments during that time, but Blue Cross Blue Shield stopped paying after a few months. Eventually a Medicaid caseworker told Leanne that she was having difficulty continuing to get the payments approved. Leanne, an occupational therapist, couldnt afford to keep Depa at the facility without insurance she estimates it would have cost roughly $13,000 a month. She decided to look for group homes in Florida that were under the states Agency for Persons with Disabilities, which meant that most of Depas costs would be covered by the state. Florida has roughly 2,300 licensed group homes serving around 13,300 people with disabilities. None of them have in-house educational facilities. The only one that did, Carlton Palms Educational Center, northwest of Orlando, was shut down in 2018 after the suspicious deaths of three teenaged patients and multiple allegations of neglect and abuse. After Depa was forced to leave his residential facility in South Carolina, the closest Florida facility with an open bed was the East Coast Habilitation Options in Palm Coast, a two-and-a-half hour drive from the Depas home. While school districts typically arrange for tutoring in a residential facility if they think they will not be able to meet the needs of a student with a disability, Flaglers school district didnt do so for Depa. Instead, he attended school at Matanzas High School, a traditional public school around 10 miles from the facility. A different path From the outset, Depa did not adjust well to the school setting. Within a few months of starting classes in 2021, Depa, then 16, had been suspended several times for pushing a teachers aide, spitting at another student, yelling at teachers and being aggressive toward staff. But despite these instances, the school district made no changes to his behavioral plan or support services. Then came the day of Feb. 21, 2023, when Depa assaulted Naydich. State attorneys charged Depa in adult court with aggravated battery on an educational employee three days later. Both Jessica Anderton and Roger Davis, two court-ordered psychologists who evaluated Depa, noted that his autism and mental health issues compound his symptoms. But they found him alert and cooperative, per court footage the Herald obtained through records requests. Davis concluded that while Depa might need to be corrected at times, he seemed attentive and well-behaved and was competent to stand trial. Anderton, who evaluated him a month prior, disagreed. She was bothered by Depas inappropriate laughing bouts and hallucinations of voices that were mostly comforting, but occasionally suggested disturbing actions, like telling him that he should kick people, she told the court. She said she was unsure whether the voices were just manifestations of inner thoughts or psychotic symptoms. She said that Depa fell under the American Psychiatric Associations most severe autism classification and needed extreme levels of day-to-day support. Despite that, Judge Terence Perkins found Depa competent to stand trial, noting that Davis evaluation was more recent, that Depa had so far behaved well at court and that his answers regarding what the legal proceedings meant were as good as could be expected of a teen. Depa pleaded no contest neither admitting guilt nor disputing the charge on Oct. 30, 2023. The Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell, Flagler County. The outcome was a far cry from a similar incident the same judge had ruled on just two years prior, court records and arrest reports show. John Willford, who lived at the same group home as Depa and had similar behavioral issues, had attacked two teachers aides at Palm Coast High School in 2019. According to the arrest report, he repeatedly kicked the two aides, punched one in his chest and stabbed him in the shoulder with a pen, while screaming racial slurs and threatening to kill the staffers. Like Depa, his attack came after he had been told not to use an electronic device in class in his case, an iPad. Perkins ordered a psychological evaluation for Willford and initially found him incompetent for trial. He was sent back to the group home and ordered treatment to continue. In 2021, Willford was reevaluated. This time, he was judged sound enough to go through the legal proceedings and faced up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The judge accepted a plea agreement: Willford would serve 18 months probation, attend emotion management sessions, do 100 hours of community service and write an apology letter. The Herald was unable to determine where Willford currently resides, or who his guardian is. Judge Perkins and the prosecutors office declined to comment when asked about the differences in the handling of Willford and Depas cases. Depa has said little during his court hearings, but Anderton, one of the two court-appointed psychologists who evaluated Depa, said that he has taken responsibility for his actions. Anderton told the judge that Depa had said he should be held in jail until he is right with God and that he has learned his lesson. In jail, Depa is isolated from most of the general inmate population. He is allowed out when the dorm he is housed in is mostly empty. At other times, he is allowed outside an hour each day, Leanne said. The jail staff seem friendly and understanding, she said. He and his roommate are working on writing a book, possibly with a choose-your-own ending. But Leanne worries what a prolonged prison sentence would mean for her son and whether he would survive it. Floridas prison system is rife with allegations of abuse and brutality and inadequate medical care, even for inmates without developmental disabilities or mental health issues. Cindee Murphy, the mother of a severely schizophrenic son who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 for felony littering after he drove his truck into a pond, wrote to Judge Perkins asking him to be lenient with Depa. Her son, Tristin, had a documented history of mental health issues, but prison staff did not provide him with his prescribed medication for prolonged periods, she told the Herald. Tristin killed himself with a chainsaw while on a work detail 63 days into his sentence. What should have been a short sentence became a death sentence for Tristin, she wrote. I do not want the same thing to happen to Brendan Depa. Credits Shirsho Dasgupta | Investigative Data Reporter Ben Wieder | Editor Jessica Lipscomb | Editor Dana Banker | Editor Rachel Handley | Illustrator Susan Merriam | Graphics Reporter This week, a long-debunked election fraud claim has resurfaced on social media. The claim, perpetuated most prominently by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani after the 2020 election, argues that significantly more mail-in ballots were received in Pennsylvania than were sent out. In PA, 1,823,148 ballots were mailed out! However, in the final count, 2,589,242 were received! That's a HUGE discrepancy of 766,094! Trump only "lost" PA by 80,555! On the morning of the hearing, which was 22 days after the 2020 election, the SOS deleted their own records! pic.twitter.com/sa4SNup8jD Michelle #FKH (@MichelleRM68) July 30, 2024 The posts are false, as they combine data from two different elections. In October 2019, Pennsylvania adopted Act 77, an election reform bill that made mail-in voting available for most voters in the state. Because of the lockdowns and health precautions introduced at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvanians used the new mail-in voting option in high numbers during both the 2020 primary and general elections. According to state officials, more than 18 times as many mail-in ballot applications were received by the state for the 2020 primary election than for the 2016 primary election. In the 2020 general election, Pennsylvania officials reported that 2,673,272 mail-in ballot applicationsnot 1,823,148were approved and sent to voters. Of these, 2,273,490 were returned, or approximately 85 percent. A further 435,932 absentee ballot applications were also approved by the state, of which 374,659 were used to vote. The reference to 1,823,148 mail-in ballots is not entirely made up: That was the number of ballots requests Pennsylvania officials reported processing and distributing for the 2020 primary electionnot the general election as the post claims. Approximately 1.46 million mail-in ballots were returned in Pennsylvanias 2020 primary election according to state government records, or about 80 percent. According to legal documents filed in disciplinary proceedings against Giuliani in New York, the former New York City mayor repeated the false mail-in ballot claim on several radio shows following the election as well as in meetings with the Pennsylvania Republican State Senate Majority Policy Committee and the Michigan House Oversight Committee. On July 2, 2024, Giuliani was disbarred in New York for his conduct. [Giuliani] flagrantly misused his prominent position as the personal attorney for former President Trump and his campaign, through which respondent repeatedly and intentionally made false statements, some of which were perjurious, to the federal court, state lawmakers, the public, the AGC, and this Court concerning the 2020 Presidential election, in which he baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this countrys electoral process, a New York appellate court wrote in a unanimous decision. If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) has signed an agreement with a domestic manufacturer to purchase ground-based kamikaze drones, the Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 1. Throughout Russias full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in drone technology, revolutionizing warfare. For outnumbered Ukrainian forces, drones have been one of the key weapons to strike Russian warships, naval bases, oil refineries, and airfields inside occupied territories and deep behind enemy lines. "(Ground-based kamikaze drones) are an important component of our defense strategy, as they can effectively perform tasks to defeat the enemy," Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said. According to the ministry, the DPA also signed an agreement for the supply of ammunition. The name of the manufacturer has not been disclosed. "In total, during this visit, we signed agreements worth more than Hr 3.7 billion ($90 million)," said Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the agency. Kyiv has the production capacity to produce more than 3 million drones a year, but requires financing from foreign partners, Deputy Strategic Industries Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said. In the first half of 2024, Ukrainian soldiers received six times more drones than last year, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraines Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi said in July. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Key Insights Thomson Reuters' estimated fair value is CA$178 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Thomson Reuters' CA$224 share price signals that it might be 26% overvalued The US$228 analyst price target for TRI is 28% more than our estimate of fair value Does the August share price for Thomson Reuters Corporation (TSE:TRI) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Thomson Reuters The Model We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$1.95b US$2.13b US$2.21b US$2.28b US$2.34b US$2.41b US$2.47b US$2.53b US$2.58b US$2.64b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x6 Analyst x3 Est @ 3.61% Est @ 3.18% Est @ 2.88% Est @ 2.67% Est @ 2.52% Est @ 2.42% Est @ 2.35% Est @ 2.30% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 5.9% US$1.8k US$1.9k US$1.9k US$1.8k US$1.8k US$1.7k US$1.7k US$1.6k US$1.5k US$1.5k ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$17b Story continues The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 5.9%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2034 (1 + g) (r g) = US$2.6b (1 + 2.2%) (5.9% 2.2%) = US$73b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$73b ( 1 + 5.9%)10= US$41b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$58b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CA$224, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. dcf Important 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 Thomson Reuters 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 5.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.904. 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 Thomson Reuters Strength Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry. Debt is not viewed as a risk. Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows. Weakness Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Professional Services market. Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Opportunity TRI's financial characteristics indicate limited near-term opportunities for shareholders. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 3 years. Looking Ahead: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Thomson Reuters, we've compiled three important aspects you should further examine: Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Thomson Reuters (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for TRI's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the TSX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks 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. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com NEW MEXICO (KRQE) Some college students including some in New Mexico may be starting this school year without financial aid. The Education Department said schools will not be able to send corrections to students financial aid in bulk this year. Advocates push for electric school bus funding in New Mexico They previously announced it would be available by the middle of this month but it has been delayed until next year. This will cause more than 2,800 institutions to submit individual corrections which will delay financial aid for some students. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Delegates across GA, US begin casting ballots to make Harris official nominee for President Thursday marked the beginning of a new step in the election process as Democratic delegates in Georgia and across the nation started casting their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris for president. This comes after President Joe Biden stepped aside, paving the way for Harris to be the new choice as the Democratic nominee. At the Georgia State Capitol, Channel 2s Richard Elliot spoke with Democratic State Sen. Gloria Butler and State Rep. Billy Mitchell, both from Stone Mountain. They have expressed their full support for Harris. Unusual times call for unusual methods, Mitchell said. He emphasized that delegates who had initially pledged to Biden now need to cast their votes for a different candidate. The ballots for this process were sent out Thursday. RELATED STORIES: Mitchell explained the options available to the delegates. We could put down Kamala Harris or we could indicate someone else, Mitchell said. He has already cast his vote for Harris and believes she will become the official presumptive nominee by the end of the voting period on Aug. 9. Butler, who is also a Georgia delegate and the state Senate Minority Leader, expressed her enthusiasm about being part of this process. Weve already taken our own count, so all of our delegates are on board and excited, Butler said. She mentioned that while not all delegates were originally for Biden, there is unanimous support for Harris among the Georgia delegates. Mitchell is confident that Harris will be confirmed as the nominee at the convention in Chicago. The purpose of the convention is when we will actually have the roll call of states which she will officially be our nominee, Mitchell said. The delegates next step will be heading to Chicago to make Harris nomination official. RELATED NEWS: MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (DC News Now) The Berkeley County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) said a man was arrested in Maryland after he allegedly shot someone at a bar in Martinsburg earlier this month. Man in custody after resisting arrest while holding chainsaw, Berkeley County deputies say BCSO said on July 6 at around 2:30 a.m., deputies went to the Green Frog Bar, located at 5476 Shepherdstown Road, for a report of a shooting. There, deputies found a male victim who had been shot. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. On Wednesday, the U.S. Marshal Service Task Force arrested Christion Sayyid Gill, 25, in Hagerstown in Maryland at a convenience store for attempted murder. He was taken into custody without incident. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A teenager was killed in a boating accident in the Upper Peninsula Tuesday, authorities say. It happened around 8:30 a.m. off of Drummond Island near Howard Island in Lake Huron. A 14-year-old fell from a boat, the Chippewa County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday. It said he was run over and hit by the propeller. The boat driver jumped into the water after disengaging the motor. She flagged down a nearby fisherman for help, and they were able to get the teenager out of the water and bring him to Drummond Island. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after, the sheriffs office said. Please keep the victims family and boat operator in your thoughts and prayers, the sheriffs office wrote in a social media post. This embedded content is not available in your region. The death is under investigation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. A local school board race in Duval County is generating statewide interest, with Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Democratic Party each endorsing a candidate. In District 7, DeSantis-endorsed Melody Ann Bolduc is facing off against Sarah Ann Mannion, who has earned the endorsement of the Florida Democratic Party. Florida voters will get to decide whether they want to see partisan school board races in November, and given the endorsements in District 7, some local races will essentially get to test run that policy on Aug. 20. Another district race has also garnered some partisan attention. In District 1, DeSantis-backed Tony Ricardo is up against Dr. Nadine Ebri, who has received donations from prominent local Democrats and at least one moderate Republican councilman. Ricardo, a former teacher in Duval and current owner of a local graphic design business, told Action News Jax hes running to fix issues like inappropriate material in schools and rising student discipline problems. I believe theyre going to get some transparency hopefully and some commonsense values. Again, thats the platform, making decisions as though, you know, you have a vested interest in the outcome, said Ricardo. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Ebri, who also taught in Duval County schools and now works as a Global Education Community Manager for Microsoft, said shes running to solve the exodus of students leaving public schools and also, in part, to depoliticize local schools. I want to ensure that we have people in place who truly care about all of our students regardless of their demographic, sexual orientation, their religion, their race, anything, said Ebri. Like, we need to ensure that we have school board members who are advocating for all of our students. While Republicans have a solid registration advantage in District 7, District 1 is likely to be a closer race, according to the Duval Supervisor of Elections registration stats. UNF political science professor Dr. Michael Binder argued District 1 could go either way, which may explain the interest from partisan figures. And were seeing more and more of this as statewide parties are wanting to get involved, said Binder. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] And Binder argued were likely to see even more partisan involvement in these nonpartisan races moving forward. Because they understand how important local school boards are to determining a direction of the education systems in these large cities, said Binder. Read: We refuse to comply: Florida scores win in fight over new Title IX rules after week of court rulings While the trend may be more partisan involvement in school board races, recent polling suggests Florida voters want to keep them nonpartisan. Only 37% say they support Amendment 1, which would make the races openly partisan. CLARIFICATION: A PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS STORY INCORRECTLY STATED DR. EBRI HAD THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY. WHILE EBRI HAS RECEIVED DONATIONS FROM LOCAL DEMOCRATIC ELECTED OFFICIALS, SHE DOES NOT HAVE THE FORMAL ENDORSEMENT OF THE PARTY. THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS ONLY OFFERED AN ENDORSEMENT FOR SARAH ANN MANNION IN SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 7. Read: Jacksonville sheriff holds town hall, discusses Duval Connect program, new transparency portal Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Sen. Mark Kelly piled on to the criticism of former President Donald Trumps combative interview with Black journalists Wednesday, insisting that Trump is a scared old man who is not going to change. Speaking to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol, Kelly, D-Ariz., a vice presidential possibility whose every word now gains extra scrutiny, implied Trump is a racist unable to avoid racist statements. Trump commented on the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris, whose parents were Black and Indian American. She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person, Trump told reporters gathered in Chicago for the National Association of Black Journalists. His observation drew gasps and was part of a largely hostile 34-minute interview. Kelly took a dim view of Trumps words. I think those were the comments of a desperate, scared old man who, over the last week especially, has been having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor, Kelly said. And I think hes worried. His comments are not unexpected for him. Kelly has over the past week embraced a more aggressive tone toward Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. Its pretty obvious to me why hes doing this, Kelly said of Trump. Asked whether Trumps words were rooted in racism, Kelly said, Its who he is. Yeah, sure. But its who the guy is. Hes always been like this. Kelly, who grew up in New Jersey, said Trumps reputation as a New Yorker business guy hasnt changed since Kelly was a kid in the 1980s. Hes not going to change. Kelly is believed to be among the finalists for Harris running mate, along with others, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Earlier in the day, Kelly appeared on MSNBC to assail Trump and Vance, who was visiting Arizona on Wednesday, for derailing a bipartisan border-security bill. Like a lot of other Republicans, they dont actually want to solve this problem. They just want to talk about it. Thats why his running mate, JD Vance, is down at the border to take a picture. Thats the only reason hes there. Kelly has not commented about being in the running for the vice-presidential slot, though his social media included a campaign commercial showing biographical footage of himself as a Navy combat pilot and astronaut in a message touting the candidacies of fellow Democrats Harris and U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly calls Donald Trump 'scared old man' On Monday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called for dramatically restructuring the U.S. Supreme Court but provided almost no details about how they would implement the proposal. Several senators told The Dispatch this week that they were not sure exactly what the president and vice president had in mind. I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court, Biden wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reformsfrom imposing term limits for Justices active service, to requiring Justices to comply with binding ethics rules just like every other federal judge, Harris said in a statement. Most scholars have argued that term limits may only be imposed on Supreme Court justices via constitutional amendment because the Constitution states that all justices and federal judges shall hold their Offices during good Behaviourmeaning that Supreme Court justices must serve until death or resignation if they arent removed by the impeachment process. Spokesmen for the Biden White House and the Harris presidential campaign, however, did not respond to requests for comment from The Dispatch about whether they are proposing Supreme Court term-limits via amendment or statute. Their statements implicitly suggest theyre open to the latter. Biden in his op-ed explicitly called for a constitutional amendment to address the Supreme Courts ruling on presidential immunity, but included no such caveat on his term-limit proposal. Harris statement similarly treats the immunity question as separate from her call for Congress to pass important reforms on term-limits and ethics and recusal legislation. And how would their proposal of 18-year-term limits affect sitting Supreme Court justices? Bidens op-ed, Harriss statement, and a White House fact sheet do not say, and Biden and Harris spokesman again did not respond to requests for comment from The Dispatch. Three sitting justicesClarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Samuel Alitoalready have 18 years of service or more under their belts, but the term-limit bill that already has the backing of eight Senate Democrats and a panoply of progressive groups wouldnt immediately deem those justices retired. The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act was introduced in 2023 by Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, and three other Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee. It would allow presidents to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a new Supreme Court justice in the first and third years of a presidential term. Only the nine most recently appointed justices would be allowed to vote in almost all important casesthose under appellate jurisdictionwhile all justices would vote in the few cases where the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction. In other words, if the bill were enacted tomorrow, the winner of the presidential election would be able to effectively replace Justice Clarence Thomas in 2025 and Chief Justice John Roberts in 2027. The bill as written would take effect after an intervening presidential election, so a President Harris and Democratic Senate wouldnt immediately get to replace justices if the bill were enacted in 2025. But theres no guarantee from the Harris campaign or Senate Democrats to keep that provision. A lot of these details for me are open to negotiation, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, an original sponsor of the bill, told The Dispatch on Tuesday. Were trying to make this a bipartisan bill. Right now, its not. We were actually excited to see them draw from the work that me, [California Sen. Alex] Padilla, Whitehouse, and [Connecticut Sen. Richard] Blumenthal have done, Booker said. While the White House kept Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin and top House Judiciary Committee Democrats in the dark about its proposal, Whitehouse told the Washington Examiner last week that he was in touch with the Biden White House. The legislation has no chance of passing Congress with a Republican House, and the term-limit proposal would need to overcome some skepticism even in a unified Democratic Congress. I think it has to be a constitutional change. The Constitution says they should serve [during] good behaviour, Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told The Dispatch. Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, meanwhile, was more circumspect. My superficial response is that term limits would require a constitutional amendment, but I dont know that, he told The Dispatch. And as a lawyer, one of the things Ive learned is dont answer if you dont really know, so please mark me down as looking into it. Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada all said they were undecided. Were going to look at all of them, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said of Bidens proposals in an interview with Politico on Wednesday. Were going to look at all the various proposals. Advocates of the bill contend it is constitutional because the Constitution states that the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. We dont need a constitutional amendment for that because we can by law set the various criteria for the Supreme Court, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, an original cosponsor of the term-limit bill, told The Dispatch. In December 2021, the Biden-convened Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court noted in its final report (see pages 137 and 138) that critics of an original/appellate jurisdiction term-limit proposal contend that Congresss statutes must comport with the Good Behavior Clause and the Appointments Clause and that everyone who holds the office of Judge of the supreme Court must be able to participate in substantially all of the Courts final decisions. The report notes that critics argue that the regulations clause allows Congress to decide what appeals the Court can hear, but not who hears the appeals. While the Constitution states that [t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, critics contend the appellate/original jurisdiction scheme effectively creates two Supreme Courts. Furthermore, as legal scholar Adam White, a member of the commission, wrote at The Dispatch earlier this week, if Congress has the power to strip senior justices of their ability to decide important cases, Congress could play a number of games to strip disfavored justices of their power. Supreme Court term-limit legislation has already drawn fire from moderate GOP senators. Amid news reports last week that Biden was set to release various reforms of the Supreme Court, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney told the Washington Examiner: Its a separate branch. Keep the nose of Congress and the administration out of it. Term limits politicize the court and compromise its independence, Maine Sen. Susan Collins told The Dispatch on Tuesday. It treats judges as if they were members of the Senate or some other legislative body. Thats not their job. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. On Wednesday, exactly two years after two people were killed and six others were injured in a mass shooting over a parking dispute on Detroit's west side, the man charged with 20 counts, including murder, in the tragedy was found guilty. Winston Kirtley Jr., 38, of Detroit, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, six counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of discharging a weapon at a building and 10 counts of felony firearm. Witnesses and police said that in the early hours of July 31, 2022, Kirtley was arguing with two people later identified as Toyake Marshall-Thirkield, 39, and Andre Willis, 38 about where they had parked on Coyle Street, near his driveway. Kirtley allegedly went into his home and came out with a high-powered weapon that looked like an AR-15 or an AK-47 and opened fire at the pair's vehicle, a witness previously described to the Free Press. Marshall-Thirkield and Willis, who were inside, were killed in the shooting. More: Detroit mom sentenced to 35-60 years in case of son, 3, found dead in freezer After shooting at the vehicle, Kirtley went back inside his home and began shooting from atop an awning, this time toward the house across the street, where a family was celebrating a birthday. Six family members were injured, including a 19-year-old and two cousins who were shot in the face. Detroit Police Chief James White had said that Kirtley had a military background and "strategically staged" guns around his home, where police recovered 11 firearms. More: 'Bullets everywhere': Survivor describes shooting that killed two, injured six in Detroit A lawyer for Kirtley at the time said Kirtley was in a "confused state of mind" and was ordered by the court to undergo a psychological examination. He was initially found incompetent to stand trial but was found competent almost two years later. Kirtley is due back in court on Sept. 4, 2024, where a judge will determine his sentence. First-degree murder would normally carries a sentence of life in prison without parole. I have always known that at times the most trivial events can cause the heaviest damage. The alleged motive here is way beyond the pale and has now changed lives forever, Prosecutor Kym Worthy wrote in a statement following Wednesday's verdict. It is clear and has been clear for some time that absolutely nothing is sacred when it comes to gun violence these days. It is also apparent that there is little political will to control the mechanisms behind it. Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at asahouri@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit man found guilty of killing 2, injuring 6 in parking dispute Webasto Group facility in Fenton Township, Michigan. Photo by Jon King. The United Auto Workers (UAW) said an overwhelming majority of the approximately 500 workers at the Webasto-Detroit plant have signed union authorization cards indicating their desire to form a union. We know we need a voice at Webasto, said Trina Towns, a Webasto worker who works in the Final Assembly department at the Detroit facility. Webasto might try to scare us, but we are ready to stand strong. Its time for us to have fairness and equality in our plant. The filing came late Monday came just hours after a group of Webasto workers met with the lead lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to discuss their concerns about conditions at the plant, including mandatory overtime and a hostile work environment. The workers said they chose to file for an election with the NLRB shortly after asking for Webasto to voluntarily recognize their union as they wanted to quickly proceed to a full vote if the request was denied, which the UAW said appeared to be the case. Rather than recognize the workers union, Webasto began holding captive audience meetings where anti-union consultants attempted to persuade workers against unionizing, a release stated. Workers shared that anti-union consultants passed out materials explicitly encouraging workers to vote no in a union election. A request for comment on the union filing was made to Webasto, but has yet to be returned. If the NLRB accepts the filing and orders an election, it will be the second Michigan plant of the German-based auto parts maker to do so. In May, workers at the Webasto-Pilot Road plant in Plymouth ratified their first contract with a 96% approval margin, which included raises of up to 51% over three years, along with better benefits, and improved attendance policies. Both plants make parts used in Ford Broncos manufactured at the Michigan Assembly Plant in nearby Wayne, whose workers are UAW members. However, the UAW says the effort at the Webasto-Pilot Road plant was also defined by anti-union activity, as at least one employee expressed during Mondays meeting with NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. LM 10 Webasto Cat Blackburn, who works in quality gauging at the Plymouth plant, told Abruzzo that just days before their union election, Webasto management sent her to do an inventory at an off-site warehouse, something she had never been asked to do before. So, I wasnt there to try to bring everybody together to try to educate them about what was going on for our election, said Blackburn, who added that management brought in union busters to try and sway the election. To that charge, Webasto previously disputed the UAWs description of the consulting firm that was hired for the Plymouth facility, calling it instead an objective third-party organization offering comprehensive labor education seminars to our colleagues and management to provide full and undisputed facts on their rights and the implications of union membership. But according to a mandatory expense form filed by Webasto with the U.S. Department of Labor, between Aug. 7, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023, the company paid more than $300,000 to LRI Consulting Services, Inc., to educate employees regarding exercising their rights to organize and collectively bargain. LRIs website includes a page which states Lets win the union vote and ensure you never face one again. Another page provides information on how to Avoid a union, which states that unions feel like an ever-present risk. But you dont have to live in apprehension that your organization is next. Feel confident with a fail-safe plan to prevent a union in place. The UAW also supplied the Advance with pictures of pamphlets they say were distributed at the Detroit facility explicitly encouraging workers to vote against a union election. Stating Shields Up Webasto!! at the top, the pamphlets cover says in all caps: DONT BELIEVE THE UNIONS PROPAGANDA! ASK QUESTIONS TELL THE UAW TO PUT THEIR PROMISES IN WRITING! VOTE NO!! If the workers at the Webasto-Detroit facility are able to successfully join the UAW and secure a collective bargaining agreement, they will be only the second Webasto facility in the United States to do so, as the Plymouth plant was the first. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Killeen, Tx (FOX 44) A 44-year-old Belton woman is being held on felony charges after Bell County deputies found a 19-year-old disabled man alone in a home with the floor covered with trash, animal urine and feces. A deputy was sent to the home to meet with two case workers for the Department of Family and Protective Services, who said they had concerns about a disabled person at this location. The person was described as a 19-year-old man with congenital abnormalities which caused his legs to be folded under his body. The arrest affidavit stated he required a tracheostomy tube for breathing, leaving him with limited ability to speak. He required assistance for daily activities such as bathing, dressing and nutrition. The affidavit stated the deputy entered the residence and found the living conditions deplorable. The disabled man was found alone in the home, scooting on the floor covered in animal urine and feces. The affidavit stated that a woman, identified as Jesse Mae Whitaker, arrived at the home and identified herself as the mans mother and owner of the residence. The affidavit stated she did not want the man transferred to a hospital, but he asked to be taken away from the residence. The affidavit stated that a review of medical records indicated the mans primary source of nutrition was a feeding tube, and that the pump for the tube was broken. The records showed the tracheostomy tube required regular cleaning and changing with the affidavit, stating the tube was found to be dirty and in need of cleaning. Medical records indicated at one time when the man visited the doctor he weight 50 pounds. The affidavit had his weight at the hospital at 43 pounds and 13 ounces. The affidavit further stated he was admitted to the hospital because he was at risk of further harm due to refeeding syndrome. The medical records indicated that he was taken to doctor appointments consistently until September 2021. The affidavit stated a doctor had since made a report to protective services concerned about a lack of care for the man. Truck driver from Mexico held after patrol unit hit The affidavit stated that records indicated the man had a private duty nurse coming to the home to assist with his needs until December 2021. Medical records contained a letter dated February 4, 2022 addressed to Whitaker from a home health agency indicating they were trying to reach her to continue home health services. The affidavit stated that records from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services indicated the man was receiving SSI benefits, that Jesse Mae Whitaker was the representative payee and that she assumed care for the man. Whitaker was arrested in Worcester County, Massachusetts and brought back to Bell County. Bell County Jail records indicated Whitaker was booked in Wednesday on a charge of injury to a child, elderly or disable reckless bodily injury, with her bond set at $25,000. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. (Reuters) -Elliott Management has proposed board expansion and governance improvement at coffee chain Starbucks as part of a settlement that would allow CEO Laxman Narasimhan to keep his position, CNBC reported on Thursday. The offer was made weeks ago and Starbucks has not yet responded, the report said, adding that the move came before reports that the activist investor had a significant stake in the company. Starbucks and Elliott declined to comment. The coffee chain had on Tuesday confirmed that Elliott was a shareholder during its third-quarter earnings call and that talks with the investor had been "constructive". The hedge fund has not disclosed its stake, but CNBC had earlier reported it would be worth as much as $2 billion. The offer of settlement is also complicated by opposition from former CEO Howard Schultz, according to a report by the Financial Times last week. Schultz is the sixth-largest shareholder in Starbucks a company he propelled to global fame in his 41 years with the coffee chain, during which he was CEO thrice. In May, days after Starbucks cut its annual sales forecast, Schultz wrote on his LinkedIn account that its U.S. operations were the "primary reason for its fall from grace", and that senior leaders need to spend more time with its workers. Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2023 and was succeeded by former Reckitt and PepsiCo executive Narasimhan. The company's shares were down about 3% in early trade on Thursday. They have risen about 5% this week after the coffee chain met profit expectations for its third quarter, helped by in-store efficiencies, despite a drop in global sales. Starbucks has faced a slowdown in China its second biggest market after the U.S., as it tackles competition from local chains, as well as weak consumer spending. CEO Narasimhan had said on Tuesday that the company was exploring strategic options for its China business, which could include joint ventures and partnerships. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) Discrimination relief payments begin as some Black farmers ask courts to include heirs in program The Biden administration is sending out millions of dollars in relief checks to farmers who have faced discrimination, just ahead of an emergency request at a federal court to temporarily pause the process. President Joe Biden and the White House are touting the payments to over 43,000 people as part of an effort to address inequity in farm loan programs, which data obtained in a CNN Freedom of Information Act request reveal has persisted for Black farmers especially. Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nations land, Biden said in a statement Wednesday. But for too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support. But the long-awaited payments come amid a backdrop of a group of Black farmers who have sued, saying the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program should be open to applicants filing on behalf of their deceased relatives who faced discrimination. The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, which says it has over 20,000 members, lost at a federal district court. Its currently asking the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the relief payment process and reconsider the lawsuit before the program runs out of money. We are asking that the Department of Agriculture discontinue its attack of discrimination against the African American community, particularly African American farming and ranching community and their subsequent heirs, BFAA President Thomas Burrell told CNN. Fairness as it relates to the receipt of services to include loans and credit. And weve had to demand that in the form of lawsuits, he added. One argument the farmers association is using is from a major new Supreme Court decision that overturned a 45-year-old precedent governing how federal courts interpret executive agency actions. In June, the Supreme Court ended a legal doctrine known as Chevron named after a 1984 case that instructed courts to defer to an agencys interpretation of a law when the statutory language is ambiguous. The high courts majority opinion said that judges should exercise independent judgment in assessing whether an agency regulation complies with the relevant statute. As a result, the farmers association says the trial judge incorrectly relied on a discredited standard of review and that the appeals court should examine what the USDA is doing. This is one of the first major tests of how federal courts will interpret the new Supreme Court ruling, especially as it applies to previous decisions made while the Chevron doctrine was in effect. (The district court ruling in this case was made in early 2024.) The USDA has declined to comment on the lawsuit. Much needed payments for farmers of color More than 23,000 people will receive payments between $10,000 and $500,000, according to the USDA. Over 20,000 farmers and ranchers who planned to have a business but couldnt receive a loan will receive $3,500 to $6,000. In July 2023, the USDA announced it started accepting applications for financial relief of up to $500,000 for farmers who have faced discrimination in its lending programs, with a deadline of that October. (It was later extended to January 2024.) The discrimination relief funds are available to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by USDA in USDAs farm lending prior to 2021. There is also concern among some Black farmers that if the court were to pause the payment program, it would harm the very people waiting for relief from the federal government. John Boyd, Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, told CNN the inclusion of heirs is a reparations issue that should be looked at by the courts, but said he didnt want the program blocked in the meantime. Its good that the payments are going out to needy Black farmers and families. The law was clear on who was going to be eligible in that process for farmers, Boyd told CNN. Its timely, but we still want our 120% debt relief. Current USDA record on loans is lacking CNN previously reported that direct loan rejections for Black and Asian farmers increased significantly under the Trump administration in 2020 and the first partial year of the Biden administration through 2021. Exclusive USDA data obtained by CNN through a follow-up Freedom of Information Act request shows that rejection rates for Black farmers continued to climb, peaking in 2022. Nearly half of Black applicants were rejected for loans provided directly by the USDA in fiscal year 2022. Loan rejection rates fell to 43% for Black farmers in 2023, but remained much higher than those for other racial groups. Rejection rates for Asian/AAPI farmers fell to 13% in 2023, just slightly above the overall rejection rate of 9% for all direct loan applicants. Only 7% of White farmers were denied loans in 2023. Direct loan rejection rates for Black and AAPI farmers continued to be higher than for other racial groups for the first half of fiscal year 2024, through April 1, though the USDA is likely to continue to receive and evaluate more applications. A spokesperson for the USDA said the department has been working hard to dismantle systemic barriers to accessing loans and is assessing application trends, particularly of historically underserved customers. Analysis of this data has helped inform changes that have been enacted such as an online loan application, a new loan assistance tool, a simplified application process, and more, the spokesperson told CNN. CNNs Devan Cole, Betsy Klein and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Nancy Pelosi detailed how medical professionals expressed concern to her regarding then-President Donald Trumps mental health during her time as Speaker of the House, according to her new memoir. A copy of The Art of Power: My Story as Americas First Woman Speaker of the House, to be published next week, was obtained by The Guardian. At a 2019 memorial service for psychiatrist Dr David Hamburg, doctors and other mental health professionals shared their deep concern that there was something seriously wrong with Trump and that his mental and psychological health was in decline, Pelosi detailed in the book. Pelosi said she found Trumps behavior difficult to understand. The former speaker frequently clashed with Trump during her second stint in the top job in the lower chamber. She was speaker between 2007 and 2011 and between 2019 and 2023, which coincided with the latter half of Trumps presidency and the beginning of President Joe Bidens time in the White House. Trump is now the Republican presidential nominee yet again, for the third straight election cycle. The 78-year-old former president is the oldest-ever candidate for the office. His often bizarre behavior has come under increasing scrutiny following his two impeachments, including for the Capitol riot, his 34 felony convictions, the orders for him to pay hundreds of millions in damages in several civil cases, including one in which he was found liable for sexual abuse, his comments that he would spend day one of his next term as a dictator, and his questioning of Vice President Kamala Harriss racial identity during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rips up pages of the State of the Union speech after then-President Donald Trump finishes his State of the Union speech in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020 Pelosi writes in a new memoir that medical professional shared their concern with her in 2019 that Trumps mental health was in decline (Getty Images) By the time January 6, 2021, the day of the insurrection, came, Pelosi wrote that she knew Donald Trumps mental imbalance. I had seen it up close. His denial and then delays when the Covid pandemic struck, his penchant for repeatedly stomping out of meetings, his foul mouth, his pounding on tables, his temper tantrums, his disrespect for our nations patriots and his total separation from reality and actual events. His repeated, ridiculous insistence that he was the greatest of all time. She notes how staffers, such as Trumps last Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, indulged his odd behavior, and allowed him to listen into meetings on Capitol Hill, leading to the speaker banning phones in her meeting rooms. People still ask me how I remained so calm, she writes about the Capitol attack. Pelosi and other Capitol leaders were evacuated to Fort McNair in southern Washington, DC. My answer is that I was already deeply aware of how dangerous Donald Trump was, she writes. He continues to be dangerous. If his family and staff truly understood his disregard for both the fundamentals of the law and for basic rules, and if they had reckoned with his personal instability over not winning the [2020] election, they should have staged an intervention, she adds. Whether because of willful blindness, money, prestige or greed, they didnt and America has paid a steep price. Pelosi added that it was clear to me from the start that he was an imposter and that on some level, he knew it. After the insurrection, Pelosi and the Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer placed a call to then-Vice President Mike Pence about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Pelosi writes elsewhere that she admired Pence for his actions on January 6, when he presided over the certification of the 2020 election results after refusing to leave the Capitol even as the mob of Trump supporters chanted that he should be hanged. But after being on hold for 20 minutes, Pence never got on the phone with Pelosi and Schumer and didnt return their call, the former speaker wrote. In the contest to be Kamala Harris running mate, its raining men. And while Harris candidacy is a first time in history moment, her vice president may not be as groundbreaking. The all-male lineup of contenders is, to borrow from the White Dudes for Harris fundraising call, a rainbow of beige. Harriss first rally with her vice president pick will be held on Tuesday in Philadelphia, her campaign has said, fueling speculation that she will select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to be her number two. Also making the reported shortlist: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who hails from Indiana. White men are roughly 30% of the U.S. population, but apparently 100% of Harriss potential vice presidents. Josh Shapiro and Mark Kelly Vetted in Kamala Harris Veepstakes Not that one can really blame Harris or her team. The Kamala and a cracker lineup, as historian and writer John Ganz has coined it, is a prudent and probably necessary choice, not unlike Barack Obamas careful selection of the moderate, familiar, and very white Joe Biden. But its also a revealing one. Conservatives have long denigrated successful women and people of color as DEI hires and woke identity politics beneficiaries. Harriss veepstakes are just another example of how successful this racist and sexist narrative has been, and how often the identity calculus actually cuts the other waythat is, to the advantage of white men. Except that when its white men who benefit from their racial and gender identities, its largely invisible. If Harris wins, she would break the centuries-long streak of male rule in the US, which is no small feat. Her historic candidacy, and the sense that she is right for the moment, has infused the 2024 presidential race with new energy. Harris is drawing support from young voters, female voters, voters of color, and liberals more broadly and drawing that support not just away from Trump, but from undecided and apathetic voters. The Harris team is no doubt considering how to keep this momentum going while not alienating the white, moderate, swing state voters they realistically need in their coalition, and whose support (especially the male ones) Democrats have been hemorrhaging to Republicans. Enter a moderate white male vice president, ideally with working-class bona fidesa guy who with his very presence reassures these voters that the Harris-whoever administration wont be too radical. Kamala Harris Needs to Be More Than Brat to Beat Trump Luckily, the Democratic Party has a deep bench of talent, and each of the white men on Harriss shortlist would bring something valuable to the ticket. But so do a whole slew of candidates who dont fit that mold. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer may be the nations most talented Democratic politician at the moment; we should probably be honest and recognize that if she werent a woman, Whitmer would be a shoe-in. Other Democratic talents include Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworththe list goes on. It is fundamentally unfair that these candidates are not under serious consideration primarily because of their race or gender, while the white guys who already dominate U.S. politics have a leg up because Americans are simply conditioned to be more comfortable when white men are in charge. Even among the reported final five, the Harris campaign is likely drilling down into identity politics and weighing the fact that Josh Shapiro is Jewish and Pete Buttigieg is gay. This is, to put it mildly, a response to the appalling reality that both explicit anti-Semitism and homophobia remain common and that such prejudices also manifest themselves in subtle ways. (Not unlike misogynyvoters routinely say they would happily elect a female president, but when an actual woman is put in front of them, theres always a reason why they dont want to vote for that woman.) The charismatic Shapiro comes off as polished and highly intelligentcharacteristics that in a sane country would make him a stronger candidate, but are not nearly as beneficial in an America that has already elected Donald Trump once. A lot of voters, it seems, dont want to vote for someone who seems smarter than they are; they want a guy another guy might want to have a beer with, and that guy, apparently, is kind of a knucklehead. Buttigieg, too, is undeniably gifted, and inarguably the Biden administrations strongest surrogate. He would be a talented fighter in Harriss corner, the perfect person to send out to spread her gospeland to shank her enemies. But anyone who has paid even an iota of attention to the MAGA movement can already see the attack ads against a Harris/Buttigieg ticket: the perilously woke duo of a Black woman and a gay man. Such bad faith attacks would also be magnified for a two-woman ticket or one with two Black politicians on it. Never mind that a woke duoHarris-Whitmer, Harris-Buttigieg, Harris-Moore, or any other combination of Harris and another highly-qualified Democratsmight simply be one made up of the best candidates. This is a country that still presumes competence and a right to power among white men while side-eyeing successful women and racial minorities. And many of the same conservatives who complain about affirmative action and DEI initiatives as anti-meritocratic seem to reject the idea that women and people of color may, in fact, be the most meritorious picks; the underlying assumption seems to be that white men are somehow congenitally better-qualified. Andrew Cuomo: Heres How Harris Can Beat Trump and His Stream of Lies This goes a long way in explaining why so many conservatives seem to believe that racial minorities are underrepresented on college campuses because they couldnt cut it, but that conservatives are underrepresented on those same campuses because of discrimination (and not, say, the fact that modern conservativism has veered into the realms of conspiracy-mongering, magical thinking, science-denial and other positions that dont tend to track with intellectual rigor or academic success). The problem in this election, though, is that the conservative movement has been stunningly successful in convincing far too many Americans that their view of the worldwhite men qualified, everyone else a DEI hireholds some truth. That leaves Democrats in a bind. Do they approach the VP pick by selecting the most qualified candidate from a solid and diverse list? Or, in a country where racism and sexism remain real and pervasive, is racial and gender palatability itself an important qualification? No one in this election has leveraged identity politics more than Donald Trump, who molded the GOP into the party of the aggrieved white manand has now picked a vice president who embodies just that. Where his movement has been the most effective, though, is not in convincing conservatives that its only natural for white guys to run the show and that any deviation from that historical norm is discrimination. Its been in convincing everyone else. 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. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) A resident and a dog were rescued from a burning home in the Morena neighborhood Thursday, said the San Diego Fire Department. Crews responded to reports of a structure fire just before 5 a.m. in the 5500 block of Lauretta Street. Upon arrival, firefighters saw heavy flames coming from an attached unit on a property with a single-story duplex. Multi-vehicle crash involving tractor-trailer blocks lanes on I-5 in North County Scene were a duplex caught fire in the Morena neighborhood Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. The fire was contained to the room in which it started and quickly put out, with fire officials confirming there was no damage to the neighboring homes. Pedestrian hit, killed on I-5 in the South Bay SDPD told FOX 5 at the scene that one resident and a dog had to be rescued from the burning home. The dog was given oxygen at the scene and then taken to a local veterinarian. The resident was not at the scene, and their condition is unknown at this time. A fire official told FOX 5 that an individual was arrested in the area for unrelated reasons. No further details were immediately provided. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. FOX 5s Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The U.S. Justice Department says that Texas juvenile detention centers have violated children's Eighth and 14th Amendment rights, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. A nearly three-year federal investigation into Texas juvenile detention centers operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department found that five facilities have violated children's constitutional and civil rights, part of an ongoing pattern of abuse and violations that dates back decades, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday. The Justice Department discovered that the detention centers, which house children as young as 10 who are guilty of adult crimes, violated their Eighth and 14th Amendment rights, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, a report from the federal department says. Texas juvenile detention centers have a decadeslong history of violations and abuses, which began to be uncovered in the early 2000s by Texas newspapers. The findings which high-ranking staff tried to cover up led the entire system to be overhauled and be placed in a governor-ordered guardianship, the report says. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas Rangers investigations into the facilities in 2017 and 2021. The investigations led to the arrests of several employees for physical and sexual abuse. Advocacy groups pleaded with the Justice Department to launch a more thorough investigation, which it did toward the end of 2021. In a statement provided to news outlets, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department said it has a "zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect," pointing a finger at its prolonged and "unprecedented" staffing crisis. It noted the 2023 legislative session provided the resources to improve its staffing shortage, mental health care and educational programs, the statement says. We are grateful to the Department of Justice for their thorough investigation and detailed findings," Brett Merfish, director of youth justice at the advocacy organization Texas Appleseed, said in a statement to media. "The issues their investigation identified are systemic problems that have plagued the Texas Juvenile Justice Department for years. We are hopeful this will be a turning point for youth in these facilities." Department of Justice investigation Investigators visited the five facilities in person at least twice. They found staff members used "excessive force and prolonged isolation," failed to prevent and protect children from sexual abuse from staff and other children, and did not provide adequate mental health services, the report says. They also found evidence that staffers had discriminated against children with disabilities by denying them "reasonable modifications to complete programs required for their release," as well as an equal opportunity to education, the report says. Delays in completing programs often lead them to continue their sentence in prison after aging out of juvenile centers. The abuse and neglect have long-lasting effects on an already vulnerable population and have even led to the conviction of some employees for violent crimes, the report says. Detention center staff use pepper spray "far more frequently than necessary," discharging the canisters of irritating spray directly into children's faces "at very close range and for excessive lengths of time," the report says. Investigators found evidence that multiple staff members will spray a single child, causing the child to become physically sick and immobilized. Physical assaults by staffers on children held at the centers resulted in concussions, lacerations and loss of consciousness, the investigation found. Two unidentified staff members were offered a plea deal for their charge of official oppression after slamming a childs head into a brick pillar and spitting on him as he was dragged away to solitary confinement. Some children spent days or weeks at a time inside solitary confinement, leading to suicidal ideation, the report says. In a Bureau of Justice Statistics 2019 report, nearly 20% of children at two different detention centers reported being sexually abused. Investigators found evidence of grooming and predatory behavior, and that staffers' body-worn cameras were often turned off during instances of sexual abuse. Some staffers used sexually explicit language and made sexual threats toward children, the report says. The federal report determined the juvenile justice department ignored and disregarded the ongoing abuse, despite multiple investigations by state and federal authorities. The inquiry also found that educational resources are minimal to nonexistent for children with disabilities, especially given that 40% of children with disabilities at detention centers read below a third grade level and more than half of children with disabilities read below the fifth grade level, despite being high-school aged, the report says. They also failed to provide psychological counseling and speech-language pathology services. The conditions in the facilities are unacceptable. Tragically, this is not the first investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at TJJD facilities," said Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas. "Working with Texass other U.S. Attorneys Offices, the Civil Rights Division and the State of Texas, my office hopes to provide protections to the vulnerable and help right wrongs that have existed for far too long. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: DOJ finds constitutional violations at Texas juvenile detention centers Don Lemon Accuses Elon Musk Of Exploiting His Name In Lawsuit Over Cancelled X Show Don Lemon is ready to make Elon Musk and his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) pay for breaching their contract. The former CNN news anchor was set to launch the "Don Lemon Show" on X and actively promoted the gig as his return to the spotlight. However, the Tesla CEO backed out of their agreement at the last minute. Don Lemon is firing back against Elon Musk and X with a breach of contract and misappropriation lawsuit, claiming reputational damage. Don Lemon Cites 'Reputational Damage' In Lawsuit Against Elon Musk MEGA Lemon filed his case against Musk and his social platform X in a San Francisco court on Thursday. He painted a picture of exploitation, fraud, and selfishness on the defendants' part, arguing they used him to promote their platform. "This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don's name through the mud," Lemon's attorney Carney Shegerian said, adding: "You don't have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here." Lemon's legal rep, per The Hollywood Reporter, concluded, "Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who's committed to defending his good name and holding X's executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court." Lemon Claims He Was Pressured Into The Partnership MEGA The court filing accused Musk and X executives CEO Linda Yaccarino and head of content Brett Weitz of pressuring Lemon into the deal. He was told to sign a contract with them so that his show could be used in a presentation to advertisers. Lemon claimed he was concerned about partnering with X, but the defendants convinced him to join them. X allegedly agreed to pay him a minimum of $1.5 million for the one-year deal, among other benefits. These promises included 60% of gross advertising revenue, performance payments based on the number of followers Lemon's show received, a cut of revenue from the creators Lemon referred to as X, and $500,000 in advertising credits on the platform. The Defendants Suddenly Changed Their Terms MEGA According to Lemon's lawsuit, Musk and the other defendants suddenly changed the contract's terms after he agreed to the exclusive partnership deal on or around January 8, 2024. The filing claimed: "Defendants informed Lemon that the terms of their offer would be withdrawn unless he attended the CES Conference in Las Vegas." "And that Lemon make a social media post announcing their partnership to the public on the same day," the complaint alleged, claiming the CNN alum was also pressured to give a speech praising X in front of advertisers. Despite satisfying their demands, Lemon's lawsuit claimed they refused to honor their verbal deal because there was no signed agreement. The filing read: "Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to 'fill out paperwork.'" Lemon Slammed Musk For Canceling His Show MEGA Earlier this year, The Blast reported that Lemon had called out Musk for the sudden cancelation of his show on X. He announced their falling out on the platform with a lengthy statement bashing the billionaire. Lemon explained that Musk encouraged him to join X with a news show, pledging his "full support" and claiming his platform was a "digital town square" for all. The show's debut episode even featured an interview with the business mogul. The TV personality noted they "had a good conversation," as his questions were "respectful and wide-ranging." However, it seemed Musk's "commitment to a global town square" did not include him. Don Lemon Vowed To Continue His News Show MEGA While promoting the "Don Lemon Show," the former CNN news anchor noted it would air on X and YouTube. But with Musk's refusal to continue their agreement, Lemon promised to continue the gig on YouTube. "While Elon goes back on his word, I will be doubling down, I will be doubling down on my commitment to free speech, and I cannot wait to get started," Lemon declared. He also noted that his interview with Musk would air on the platform. Don Lemon's botched partnership with Elon Musk must be a relief for fans who vowed to boycott the show if it aired on X. But will the billionaire sit still while Lemon's program runs on YouTube? Former CNN host Don Lemon filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk this week, hitting the tech billionaire for terminating an agreement they made earlier this year on a new show. The complaint, filed Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco, accused the social media platform X which is owned by Musk of using Lemons good name, likeness, identity, and reputation to boost their own reputation, attract advertisers and to make a profit. Lemon also alleged he was not paid after the contract was terminated. Contrary to the promises and representations made to Lemon, once Defendants were enriched and gained the benefits of using Lemons name, likeness, identity, and reputation, they reneged on their express agreement with Lemon and have failed to compensate him, citing to false pretenses for their breach of the partnership agreement, the lawsuit states. The filing also noted that in the deal, X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million annually for creating videos for the platform, a percentage of the advertising revenue earned from his content and additional payments as he gained followers on the platform. According to the complaint, Musk told Lemon in a phone call last year that they would not need to have a formal written agreement or fill out paperwork. This case is straightforward. Xs executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud, Carney Shegerian, an attorney for Lemon, said in a statement. You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Dons a hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court, Shegerian added. Lemon revealed in January that he would be launching a new show on X, months after his split from CNN last year. However, the host said in March that Musk canceled the show just a week before it was slated to roll out. For the first episode in March, Musk agreed to sit down for an interview with Lemon. Within one day of taping, the lawsuit claimed he texted Lemons agent to say that the deal was off. The tech mogul criticized Lemon after he announced the show was canceled earlier this year. His approach was basically just CNN, but on social media, which doesnt work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying, Musk said at the time, after being interviewed by Lemon. The Hill has reached out to X for comment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk, alleging that the X owner refused to pay him after a content deal between the two blew up following a contentious interview, according to legal documents. Attorneys for the former CNN journalist accused the tech mogul and social media company of fraud, misappropriation of Lemons name and likeness, and breach of contract. The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 1 in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The lawsuit was first reported Thursday by the New York Times. Lemon entered into a content deal with X in January 2024, which was intended for him to provide exclusive content for the platform. According to the lawsuit, Musk agreed on a $1.5 million annual payment for Lemons content, as well as a share of advertising revenue from his videos and cash incentives for increased following. While Lemon did not sign a physical contract inking the deal, he and Musk entered into a verbal agreement, with X promoting the deal across their accounts. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages. The content agreement blew up after Musk appeared on Lemons show as his first interview guest. The conversation turned sour as Lemon breached subjects like Musks reported drug use and controversial political beliefs. Shortly after the interview was taped, Musk canceled the partnership, messaging Lemons agent contract canceled. This case is straightforward, Lemons attorney Carney Shegerian said in a statement. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud. You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here, Shegerian continued. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name and holding Xs executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court. The post Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk and X Over Content Deal Gone Sour appeared first on TheWrap. Attorneys for former CNN journalist Don Lemon sued Elon Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter), accusing the tech mogul and his social media company of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemons name and likeness, and breach of express contract. Lemons attorneys filed the lawsuit Aug. 1 in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco. A copy of the complaint is at this link. More from Variety Reps for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An autoreply from the companys PR mailbox said, Busy now, please check back later. The lawsuit comes after Lemon entered into a content partnership deal with Musk and X in January 2024 to host an interview show available exclusively on the X platform and create other original content. Musk canceled the partnership in March 2024, via text to Lemons agent with the words contract is canceled, according to the journalists lawyers. Lemons lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. According to the suit, Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million (with $200,000 paid up-front within three business days and the remainder paid in quarterly installments) under the pact. Per the complaint, the deal also included additional incentives including: the option to renew the one-year deal two times with the same terms, at Lemons sole discretion; 60% of the gross ad revenue that X received for programmatic advertising generated from Lemons content on X; performance threshold bonus payments (for example, $250,000 for reaching 4 million followers and up to $1 million for reaching 10 million); $500,000 in advertising credits on X; 10% of the net revenue that X received once it exceeded $350,000 for content creators that Lemon referred to X for a period of 48 months; and that all content created by Lemon originating on or distributed on X was wholly owned by Lemon. Lemon did not have a signed agreement with X. According to the lawsuit, Lemon had a phone call on June 16, 2023, with Musk, who asked Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal with X. Per the suit, Lemon expressed reservations about entering into a partnership with X due to the ongoing controversies surrounding the X platform. In response, and to induce Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal with X, Musk represented to Lemon that he would have full authority and control over the work he produced even if disliked by Defendants, and that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to fill out paperwork. Lemons attorney Carney Shegerian said in a statement: This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud. You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name and holding Xs executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court. Musk who has more than 192 million followers on X has tweeted negatively about Lemon repeatedly since March 2024, Lemons attorneys alleged. According to Lemon, Musk backed out of the content deal just a few hours after Lemon sat down with the tech mogul for a contentious interview for the new X show. Elon Musk is mad at me, Lemon said in a video at the time. Regarding the Musk interview, Lemon said, Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange, and that they would learn from our conversation. But apparently, free speech absolutism doesnt apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me. About the contract termination, X said in a statement in March, The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities. However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show. Musk, in a post on X in March referring to Lemon with the lemon emoji, is welcome to monetize on this platform, just like everyone else. What we arent going to do is guarantee minimum payments to him, as he was demanding, which would be going beyond everyone else! Unfortunately, all wants to do is rehash the dying CNN business model but on social media, which will do even worse here than it did on cable TV. Lemon was fired by CNN in 2023 after 17 years. He had faced allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women at the network, according to a Variety report. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and his social platform X, alleging a breach of contract and misappropriation of Lemons name and likeness, among other claims. Lemon sued Musk and X in a San Francisco court on Thursday, according to a copy of the complaint. More from The Hollywood Reporter Lemon, of course, signed a deal with X to host a show on the platform (other hosts announced at the time including Jim Rome and Tulsi Gabbard). The first episode was set to be an interview with Musk, however after the contentious interview, Musk announced that he was canceling the deal. This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud, said Lemons attorney Carney Shegerian. You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name and holding Xs executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court. The court filing alleges that Musk, X and executives including X CEO Linda Yaccarino and head of content Brett Weitz pressured him into agreeing to a deal so that his show could be used in a presentation to advertisers, even though he had personal concerns with partnering with the platform. Shortly before Lemon agreed to the exclusive partnership deal on or around January 8, 2024, Defendants informed Lemon that the terms of their offer would be withdrawn unless he attended the CES Conference in Las Vegas and that Lemon make a social media post announcing their partnership to the public on the same day, according to the complaint. The former CNN anchor was also pressured to give a speech praising X in front of advertisers, the complaint alleges. While Lemon did not have a signed formal contract, the complaint says that X agreed to pay him a minimum of $1.5 million for the one year deal, as well as 60 percent of gross advertising revenue, performance payments based on the number of followers Lemons show received, a cut of revenue from creators Lemon referred to X, and $500,000 in advertising credits on the platform. After the Musk interview, the Tesla founder told Lemons agent that the deal was off. Weitz spoke with Lemon by phone and told Lemon that Defendants were not going to pay him or follow through with the promises and representations made to him because there was no signed agreement, despite Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to fill out paperwork,' per the complaint. To this day, Defendants have not compensated Lemon pursuant to the exclusive partnership deal that Defendants induced Lemon to enter into. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is taking legal action against Elon Musk and X, nearly five months after Lemons planned talk show on the social media platform was scrapped. Attorneys for Lemon filed a lawsuit against Musk and X on Thursday; in a copy of the complaint obtained by our sister site Variety, Lemon is suing for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of name and likeness, breach of express contract and unjust enrichment. The monetary damages Lemon is seeking have not been specified. More from TVLine Lemons lawsuit comes after the abrupt cancellation in March of a talk show he was planning to launch on X (fka Twitter), titled The Don Lemon Show. When Lemon first announced the project in January, months after his termination from CNN in April 2023, he said it would be available first on X, the biggest space for free speech in the world and touted the series as a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors. Weeks later, though, Lemon shared that Musk had cancelled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform. Musks axing of the show allegedly came just hours after Lemon interviewed him for the premiere episode; that Q&A was still released in March, but Lemons talk show did not proceed on X. This case is straightforward, Lemons attorney Carney Shegerian said in a statement on Thursday. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud. You dont have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist whos committed to defending his good name and holding Xs executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court. TVLine has reached out to X for comment. An automatic reply from the companys press inquiry mailbox reads, Busy now, please check back later. Best of TVLine Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing billionaire Elon Musk, alleging the tech billionaire canceled a deal between them following a tense interview. Lemon filed the lawsuit Thursday against Musk and X, formerly Twitter, alleging Musk agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million annually to produce exclusive videos on the platform before backing out, The New York Times reported. After CNN fired him in 2023, Lemon struck a deal with Musk to host videos on the X platform. In March, Lemon interviewed Musk for his first video, where he challenged his racist posts, including when Musk retweeted a post about great replacement theory. Great replacement theory is a neo-Nazi trope, Lemon told Musk in the interview. Its in the neo-Nazi manifesto... Its referenced by the Buffalo mass shooter in his manifesto, where 10 Black people were murdered in Buffalo. Its the actual title of the Christchurch shooters manifesto. Fifty-one people in the Muslim mosque were murdered. Musk responded, If I quote something, that doesnt mean I agree with everything in it. Its just something that I want... I think... this is something people should consider. Musk is also currently being sued for defamation by a 22-year-old Jewish man after Musk falsely accused the recent college graduate of being a federal agent involved in a neo-Nazi brawl. Following the interview, Musk canceled Lemons show. Lemon didnt sign a contract over the agreement, alleging Musk told him in a phone call there would be no need to fill out paperwork, according to the lawsuit. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, Carney Shegerian, a lawyer for Lemon, said in a statement to the Times, then canceled their partnership and dragged Dons name through the mud, Read the full story at The New York Times. Related... We dont need more concrete: A new village in Tanzania will use a 3D printer and soil to build its community Building with 3D printers has matured rapidly in recent years, as advances in technology and material science allow for grander and more ambitious designs. The potential uses are also increasingly varied, from affordable housing to a planned NASA base on the Moon. Most 3D-printed structures are built using concrete or other pourable, cementitious substances that are cheap, reliable and durable although, almost invariably, with a hefty carbon footprint attached. But a nascent development in the field may offer a more sustainable approach: 3D printing with earth. In Kibaha, Tanzania, just west of the capital Dar es Salaam, a group of pioneering architects are set to build a new village with earth printing at its heart. Created by architecture firms Hassell and ClarkeHopkinsClarke, alongside charity foundation One Heart, Hope Village has been designed to help and house children from across the country who have experienced hardship or unsafe home environments. The village will offer schooling for up to 480 children, as well as accommodation, childcare and skills training for scores of vulnerable 3- to 18-year-old girls. Nearly 50 buildings are planned for the site, and the land purchased will also include areas for farming and livestock, sports and recreational areas. The landmark building for Hope Village is its community center, a 3D-printed design that will serve as a school hall and cafeteria during the week and open to the wider community for events at weekends. A rendering of the community center for Hope Village, which Hassell says is expected to begin construction in 2025. - Courtesy Hassell and Imigo The architects knew they wanted to use locally sourced earth for the community center, but were wary of the limitations of rammed earth, which is typically compacted into thick, flat walls. We wanted to make sure that were able to create walls that could ventilate the building, but at the same time also bring in light, said Hassells head of design and innovation, Xavier De Kestelier, in a video call with CNN. Turning to 3D printing allowed for an open, porous wall design that has already been prototyped up to a height of 2 meters (6.6 feet) by Hassells partner, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona, Spain. The walls will be constructed using soil sourced from within 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of the site, says Hassell, and contain a thin wire mesh between layers for reinforcement. The earth suitable for printing typically contains 15% to 30% clay, giving it natural bonding properties, though De Kestelier said the architects have not yet decided whether to add a further adhesive material to the mixture. The walls will not be load-bearing, as a metal structure will support the cantilevered roof that covers the walls and protects them from the elements. The roof will be made from short lengths of locally sourced timber, connected in an interlocking design on the ground before being raised up and draped over the frame like a fabric tent and finished with sheet metal, explained De Kestelier. Vernacular design, modern technology Building with earth dates back to prehistory and has taken many forms, including mudbricks, adobe and rammed earth. 3D printing with soil was first attempted in 2018, and the first 3D printed home made from entirely from earth, called TECLA, was designed by Mario Cucinella Architects and constructed near Ravenna, Italy in 2021. These structures, like any building made without rebar or steel frames, rely on shapes with strong structural integrity. That often means curves, whether arches, vaults, rotundas or domes (take the Pantheon in Rome, still the worlds largest unsupported dome in the world almost 2,000 years later). In Tanzania, the printer will build up layers of compacted soil in interconnected curved columns that leaves negative space for light and air to filter through. A prototype of the wall structure, fabricated with a 3D printer by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Spain. - Courtesy of 3dPA Beyond shape, engineering durability is a key challenge when working with earth. Concrete is a resilient material that can endure the elements; earth less so. But De Kestelier insists that when it comes to 3D-printed architecture, we dont need to use more concrete, and that more sustainable options are the future when used correctly. The cantilevered roof for the Tanzanian community center will be vital in protecting the walls from the eroding effect of rain, and Hassell said it was encouraged by a visit to the IAACs 2022 project TOVA, Spains first 3D-printed building made of earth. These walls can actually last a very long time, De Kestelier said. Given the recency of the technology, some experts retain reservations over how 3D-printed buildings will fare in the long term, while others have cited potential legal gray areas regarding building rules and regulations, which differ from country to country and are often highly localized. Even the engineer who pioneered 3D-printed construction told the New Yorker last year that all the hype is not warranted. Defenders of the technology meanwhile say its a fast and efficient way to build housing and other low-rise structures, at a time when even some of the most economically advanced nations are witnessing housing shortfalls. A rendering shows the planned design for the roof of the community center, which will utilize locally-sourced timber, crafted into an interlocking design that will be constructed on the ground and "draped" over the metal supports like a tent. - Courtesy Hassell and Imigo Immediate legacy The Hope Village project will be constructed with the 160,000-euro ($173,000) Crane WASP printing system that was used for both TOVA and TECLA. The plan is not just to use technology but to bring technology to the site in Tanzania and leave it there, said De Kestelier. As part of the projects commitment to community outreach and skills training, the constructors will teach locals how to use the printer so the community can construct further buildings in the future. The approach is similar to another Hassel project, the Bidi Bidi Music and Arts Centre in northern Uganda, which employed locals to create compressed earth bricks for the refugee community building. Hope Village is more ambitious, according to Mark Loughnan, principal and head of design at Hassell. Its (our) first go (at) what we hope will prove to be a successful methodology, he said, adding that the model could one day be replicated in other locations. For Dr. Consola Elia, who will oversee the childrens home at Hope Village, the project is the reality of a dream that Ive had for over 20 years, she said in a statement. Work on the masterplan has begun, with housing already underway and construction of the community center expected to begin in early 2025. Were using (design) to uplift the way people experience their daily life, said Loughnan . Were using it in this instance to hopefully help and heal and educate and were also using it to innovate at the same time. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the states death penalty is legal on Wednesday, the latest twist in the long history of state-sanctioned killing that cant be told without mentioning a Midlands family at the heart of the complex, emotional issue. The father-daughter duo of Clifton and Jocelyn Newman are well-respected Circuit Court judges whose public service has put them front and center at this debate over the years. Regardless of how you feel about the death penalty, and most Americans still support it but the margin is shrinking, we should all appreciate the way the Newmans have approached it here. Clifton is one of only seven South Carolina judges to have presided over multiple trials that sent people now on death row to it. Jocelyn wrote the 2022 ruling that firing squads and electrocution are unconstitutional, which the state Supreme Court just overturned. Its worth revisiting their involvement as the state is in the throes of a new wave of news coverage, congratulations and criticism following the Supreme Courts 94-page ruling. First the news: Supreme Court justices paved the way for South Carolina executions by lethal injection, firing squad or electrocution to resume, even though one called firing squads and electrocution cruel and unusual punishment, and another said the firing squad was unusual, and thus illegal. In the majority opinion, Justice John Few wote that letting inmates choose how to die is far from an effort to inflict pain. Choice cannot be considered cruel because the condemned inmate may elect to have the State employ the method he and his lawyers believe will cause him the least pain, Fews majority opinion says. It concludes that, a condemned inmate in South Carolina will never be subjected to execution by a method he contends is more inhumane than another method that is available. Whether there will be additional legal challenges or when executions will resume is unclear. South Carolina has executed 284 people since 1912, none since 2011. It became the eighth state to use electric chairs in 1912 and added lethal injection in 1995. It added firing squads in 2021 after the state, like others, had trouble getting drugs due to supply issues and company privacy concerns. Meanwhile, over the past 30 years, Americans have become increasingly troubled by capital punishment. In 1994, a Gallup survey conducted routinely since the 1930s found a record 80% of Americans supported the death penalty for a person convicted of murder while 16% opposed it. Last year, those figures were 53% and 44%, respectively. That shift in public perception shows the issues complexity. It also shows Jocelyn Newmans ruling may be ahead of its time. In 2022, she detailed how people electrocuted or shot by the state could live for 10 to 15 seconds or more in pain. She wrote, In 2021, South Carolina turned back the clock and became the only state in the country in which a person may be forced into the electric chair if he refuses to elect how he will die. In doing so, the General Assembly ignored advances in scientific research and evolving standards of humanity and decency. Earlier this year, she was one of three finalists considered for a pending vacancy on the state Supreme Court. Another judge was selected, but it should surprise no one to see her on that bench one day. Today, there are currently 32 inmates on death row in South Carolina. Clifton Newman presided over two of their trials, and the details of those two cases are horrific. Ron O. Finklea was sentenced to death for shooting a security guard at a plant in Lexington County and setting him on fire in 2003. Mikal Deen Mahdi was sentenced to death for shooting a police officer nine times with a rifle then setting fire to the body in Calhoun County in 2004. According to reporting from The State and Associated Press, before sentencing Mahdi to death, Clifton Newman explained how he sought to strike a balance between justice and mercy by looking for the humanity in the people who stood before him charged with crimes. That sense of humanity seems (to) not exist in Mikal Deen Mahdi, he said. In Finkleas trial, Clifton Newman faced another balancing act when he chose to allow a solicitor to hold a lit metal fire-starter before the jury while graphically describing Finklea lighting his victim on fire despite a defense lawyers objections. Under the judges watchful eye, the solicitor described the shooting then told that jury, Gasoline pouring on another human being and the fire, the fire, the burning. When youre cooking sometimes and you touch the stove or the frying pan or you reach in the oven and you touch that hot thing or youre grilling, whoo, oh, it hurts, its painful. It grabs your attention, you probably run to the sink, want to put some water on it. Probably the most painful thing that a person can do Objection, your honor, came the defense counsels interjection. ... is to be lit on fire, the solicitor finished. After a brief exchange, Newman issued his decision from the bench: The objection is overruled. The use of these things for demonstrative purposes is allowed. Only the jury knows how much that demonstration affected its ruling. But an appeals court ruled that Newman had appropriately allowed the prop to be used that day. It is clear the Solicitor was zealous in his closing argument, the appellate courts ruling reads. However, given the other evidence before the jury regarding the physical torture of [Walter] Sykes, we find the Solicitors use of the incendiary device was not unduly prejudicial. The jury was presented with the surveillance footage showing Sykes running from the building while engulfed in flames, Sykess charred uniform, and autopsy photographs. The manner in which murderers kill people cant be glossed over when considering the death penalty for them. Hearing the details, some people will always demand an eye for an eye while others reply that a life behind bars without parole is punishment enough or yet others make the economic argument for ending capital punishment. This column isnt to tell you what to think, but instead to remind you that judges have hard jobs and that two from one local family have balanced those pressures and demands skillfully in a bright South Carolina spotlight. Send me 250-word letters to the editor here, 650-word guest essays here and email here. Say hi on X anytime. Former President Donald Trump rejected pronoun labels and expressed his lack of understanding of gender diversity in a bizarre segment with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Ingraham asked the former president who is campaigning on rabid attacks on transgender healthcare protections and gender-affirming care what his pronouns were, noting that Vice President Kamala Harris had she/her pronouns in her X, formerly Twitter, bio. I have no . . . I dont want pronouns. I dont want pronouns, the former president said, before Ingraham attempted a joke, asking if Trump was fluid. Nobody even knows what that means. Ask her to describe exactly what that means. Nobody knows what that means, Trump said, appearing flustered. #Trump gets asked what pronouns he uses after Kamala Harris added She/Her to her X bio.#Kamala2024 #Trump2024 pic.twitter.com/Ana560pNKf Bruno (@sidportu) August 1, 2024 The comments werent the only time this week that the candidate seemed to fail to understand basic identities, with his comments on Kamala Harris Indian heritage making rounds on Wednesday, suggesting he doesn't understand the concept of biracial people. Later in the interview, Trump managed to bungle a softball question, passing on several opportunities to walk back his ominous claim that Americans wont have to vote anymore after a second Trump term. After that [November] you dont have to worry about voting anymore, I dont care. The country will be fixed and we wont even need your vote anymore, Trump told Ingraham. Pronouns are often used by individuals with all gender identities to express how to refer to themselves, though the linguistic feature has become a frequent target of conservative crusades. Right-wingers had already lobbed attacks at Harris and others for sharing their pronouns, most recently circulating and mocking a 2022 event in which the vice president introduced herself with she and her pronouns and described her outfit for vision-impaired attendees at a disability rights roundtable. Kamala Harris just introduced herself with she/her pronouns at an official event, far-right Colorado congressperson Lauren Boebert wrote in a 2022 X post. This is what happens when your speechwriter quits and you hang around with Geriatric Joe too long. CHICAGO (AP) Donald Trump falsely suggested Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race as the former president appeared Wednesday before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago in an interview that quickly turned hostile. The Republican former president wrongly claimed that Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump said while addressing the groups annual convention. Vice President Harris to make campaign stop in Savannah Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the U.S. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nations most prominent historically Black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting legislation to strengthen voting rights and to reform policing. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks on stage at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Trump has leveled a wide range of criticism at Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden atop the likely Democratic ticket last week. Throughout his political career, the former president has repeatedly questioned the backgrounds of opponents who are racial minorities. Michael Tyler, the communications director for Harris campaign, said in a statement that the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. Chatham County takes public input on unincorporated roads White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during her briefing with reporters on Wednesday about Trumps remarks and responded with disbelief, initially murmuring, Wow. Jean-Pierre, who is Black, called what Trump said repulsive and said, Its insulting and no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. Trump has repeatedly attacked his opponents and critics on the basis of race. He rose to prominence in Republican politics by propagating false theories that President Barack Obama, the nations first Black president, was not born in the United States. Birtherism, as it became known, was just the start of Trumps history of questioning the credentials and qualifications of Black politicians. He has denied allegations of racism. And after Biden picked Harris as his running mate four years ago, a Trump campaign spokesperson then pointed to a previous Trump political donation to Harris as proof that he wasnt racist. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The president, as a private businessman, donated to candidates across all aisles, the spokesperson, Katrina Pierson, told reporters. And Ill note that Kamala Harris is a Black woman and he donated to her campaign, so I hope we can squash this racism argument now, Pierson said. During this years Republican primary, he once referred to former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as Nimbra. Later Wednesday, Trump did not repeat his criticism of Harris race at a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, although he called her phony and said she has been trying to change her image. He also repeatedly mispronounced her first name. If she becomes your president, our country is finished, Trump charged. Before he took the stage, Trumps team displayed what appeared to be years-old news headlines describing Harris as the first Indian-American senator on the big screen in the arena. Trumps appearance Wednesday at the annual gathering of Black journalists immediately became heated, with the former president sparring with interviewer Rachel Scott of ABC News and accusing her of giving him a very rude introduction with a tough first question about his past criticism of Black people and Black journalists, his attack on Black prosecutors who have pursued cases against him and the dinner he had at his Florida club with a white supremacist. I think its disgraceful, Trump said. I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. Ive done so much for the Black population of this country. Atlanta man pleads guilty to making phone threats to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Trump continued his attacks on Scotts network, ABC News, which he has been arguing should not host the next presidential debate, despite his earlier agreement with the Biden campaign. He also several times described her tone and questions as nasty, a word he used in the past when describing women, including Hillary Clinton and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, moderated by ABCs Rachel Scott, Semafors Nadia Goba and FOX News Harris Faulkner, speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) The Republican also repeated his false claim that immigrants in the country illegally are taking Black jobs. When pushed by Scott on what constituted a Black job, Trump responded by saying a Black job is anybody that has a job, drawing groans from the room. At one point, he said, I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. The audience responded with a mix of boos and some applause. Scott asked Trump about his pledge to pardon people convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and specifically whether he would pardon those who assaulted police officers. Trump said, Oh, absolutely I would, and said, If theyre innocent, I would pardon them. Scott pointed out they have been convicted and therefore are not innocent. Well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system, he said. At one point, when he was defending his supporters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, he said, Nothing is perfect in life. He compared the 2021 insurrection to the protests in Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 following the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and to more recent protests at the Capitol last week by demonstrators opposed to the war in Gaza. Trump falsely claimed that no one was arrested in those other demonstrations and that only his supporters were targeted. As Trump made the comparison, a man in the back of the room shouted out, Sir, have you no shame? The former presidents invitation to address the organization sparked an intense internal debate among NABJ that spilled online. Organizations for journalists of color typically invite presidential candidates to speak at their summer gatherings in election years. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) As he campaigns for the White House a third time, Trump has sought to appear outside his traditional strongholds of support and his campaign has touted his efforts to try to win over Black Americans, who have been Democrats most committed voting bloc. Former President Trump and VP nominee Vance announce stop in Atlanta His campaign has emphasized his messages on the economy and immigration as part of his appeal, but some of his outreach has played on racial stereotypes, including the suggestion that African Americans would empathize with the criminal charges he has faced and his promotion of branded sneakers. Trump and NABJ also have a tense history over his treatment of Black women journalists. In 2018, NABJ condemned Trump for repeatedly using words such as stupid, loser and nasty to describe Black women journalists. The vice president is not scheduled to appear at the convention, but NABJ said in a statement posted on X that it was in conversation with her campaign to have her appear either virtually or in person for a conversation in September. Harris addressed Trumps comments briefly Wednesday night while speaking at a gathering of Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically Black sorority, in Houston. It was the same old show, she said. The divisiveness and the disrespect. Harris added: And let me just say, the American people deserve better. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) Former President Donald Trump appeared to tell a Harrisburg crowd that U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick (R) would be Pennsylvanias next Governor. Hes tough too, said Trump of McCormick. Hes tough, hes a great military hero. McCormick is making his second run for the U.S. Senate and is facing Democrat Bob Casey in the November general election. I have Mr. Governor, Mr. Future Governor, Trump said later again during the event while pointing down at the crowd of lawmakers and politicians in front of him. Trump later corrected himself calling McCormick the next U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shortly before McCormick retook the stage. Your Senator (Bob Casey) I dont think I ever met him in four years, said Trump before McCormick spoke. No one knows who he is. Trump added Bob Casey is a stiff, nobody knows who he is. Trump later remarked when they want try to say hes cognitively impaired, you know I stand up here for two hours and I speak without a mistake, but when I say Hanibal Lecter, they say why does he keep mentioning that.? Cause Hanibal Lecter was a serious psycho. He was Silence of the Lamb. Dr. Hanibal Lecter, hed like to have you for dinner. Pennsylvanias current Governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, defeated Republican Doug Mastriano in the 2022 election and is widely considered to be on the shortlist to be Kamala Harris running mate. McCormick spoke at the event prior to Trump taking the stage. According to a July Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey Casey continues to lead McCormick 48% to 44% with 8% undecided. Caseys lead on McCormick dipped slightly from his 6% lead in Emerson College Polling/The Hills June survey. Trumps comments came during his first rally in Pennsylvania since the attempted assassination in Butler. This is his second visit to Harrisburgs Farm Show Complex this year. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) Former President Donald Trump called Former President Jimmy Carter the happiest man and an old guy during his rally in Harrisburg on Wednesday. Trump was discussing the status of President Joe Bidens legacy when he invoked the 99-year-old Carter, who has been in hospice care since February 2023. The happiest man is Jimmy Carter, said Trump. Hes an old guy right now. Hes an old guy but hes happy because his administration is considered brilliant, brilliant by comparison to this disaster that we have right now. Trumps remarks came during his first rally back to Pennsylvania since an attempted assassination in Butler earlier this month. This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. At the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump stoked widespread ire when he questioned the racial makeup of his presumed 2024 presidential campaign opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black, so I dont know, he said on the stage next to three Black reporters. Is she Indian or is she Black? H. Samy Alim, a sociolinguist who studies Black cultural identity, identified the attack as a campaign strategy. Trumps going to try to de-authenticate her as Black, Alim said, trying to paint her as someone using Blackness to gain political favor. And indeed, by the end of the day, Trump proxies were attempting to build on this initial attempt to paint Harris as a liar and a phony. But whether Trump realized it or not, he touched on a topic that has circulated in fringe online communities for yearsand not just in right-wing forums. Another growing community, the American Descendants of Slavery, started calling Harris racial bona fides into question during the 2020 Democratic primary. Members of the group dispute the idea that Harris Jamaican ancestry aligns her with the Black American community, and question whether she qualifies as Black at all. To understand where these arguments come from, one has to understand that her critics are referring to Blackness as a political identity, not just as a race or ethnicity. As Jennifer Sims, a sociologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville who studies mixed-race identity, explained to Slate, the criticisms from some Black people often have to do with whose ancestors took part in the fight for racial justice in the United States. Things like: Those of us whose families are African Americans, [particularly] in the South, we were the ones that were marching through the state, boycotting the buses, had the dogs set on us, she said, referring to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s. But Black Americans frequently see multiracial or Black people whose parents were not born in the U.S. occupy the most visibleand powerfulroles in politics. Like Harris, former President Barack Obama was also a multiracial child of immigrants. But its important to note that critiques from ADOS and the like differ from those of right-wing actors like Trump. The latter seized on Obamas parentage to cast him as illegitimateand now theyre doing the same to Harris. There are already tweets circulating about Harris birth certificate, a clear callback to the bad-faith attacks on Obamas first campaign that were also pioneered by Trump. (Some people say that was not his birth certificate. Maybe it was, maybe it wasnt. Im saying I dont know. Nobody knows, the former president said in 2012.) Questions about Harris race from Black communities are often just offshoots of a larger conversation about colorismthe relative privilege that multiracial Americans might have because of their proximity to whiteness. Also, Sims noted, theres a common misconception among the American population at large that Black immigrants are seen as harder-working than Black Americans. This is backed up by several studies, including one touted by Bloomberg in 2018 that found that African-born immigrants were considered the hardest-working immigrant groups in the United States. A 2022 study from the Migration Policy Institute found that 6 percent of Black immigrants were unemployed in 2018 compared to 10 percent of U.S.-born Black residents. But that data obscures the conditions that come with immigrating to the United States in the first place: The U.S. immigration system mostly enables highly skilled African workers to emigrate to the country, and if you dig into that MPI study, it shows that Black immigrants still face underemployment and lower wages than American-born Black people. Theres a reason there are so many Nigerian doctors, Sims noted. Do you know what it takes to immigrate to this country as a student? Might Trump, who does have a seemingly unerring ability to put his finger on the resentments that divide people, see this dynamic as a way to split a bloc of Black voters away from Harris? To be clear, Black people arent a monolith. Some in fringe communities may question Harris cultural background, but their stance doesnt represent that of the majority of Black Americans, nor does it legitimize Trumps erroneous claims that she suddenly became a Black person. But it is useful to know how these arguments bubble up, because they arent going awayand because they are part of an arsenal of tools that the Trump team will use to sow doubt about Harris authenticity as a candidate. Since Harris and Obama both have multiracial backgrounds, the former appears to be taking cues from the latter in public life. Both have emphasized the Venn diagrams of their identity. But as is typical for politicians, they play up different parts of that identity to appeal to different campaign audiences. When it came to Obama, even though he just laid out his whole background for people, and in certain audiences, he really did highlight his Blackness publicly, Alim, who is also the author of Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S., told Slate. Whether he was quoting Langston Hughes or Jay-Z, he was highlighting his Blackness in ways that showed his familiarity and commitment to the community, at least culturally if not politically. Similarly, Harris campaign has begun featuring beloved Black entertainers at her rallies, with appearances from rappers Quavo and Megan Thee Stallion in Atlanta. (How she continues to appeal to different demographics of Americans remains to be seen; her campaign, after all, is only a week old.) Obamas 2008 campaign had a multifrontal approach to appealing to Black voters, highlighting his experience as a community organizer in the South Side of Chicago and his marriage to a successful, unambiguously Black American woman. I think his campaign tried to circumvent some of those concerns [about his Black identity] by highlighting his time in Chicago and by foregrounding his relationship with Michelle to convince people who were skeptical that Obama was, in fact, Black like us, said Robert Reece, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin who studies racial inequality and colorism. And I dont think that Kamala has the ability to ground herself in the same waynot to say she should have to. Indeed, Shantel Buggs, an assistant professor of sociology at Florida State University who studies race and relationships, noted Harris marriage to Doug Emhoff as another potential source of ammunition for those looking to delegitimize Harris. In Buggs research on the social lives of multiracial people, she found that being in an interracial relationship further complicated how others viewed someones identity. I think there are assumptions that youre more assimilated if youre in an interracial relationship, especially if you have a white partner, she told Slate. There are questions about what your loyalty is. Obama embraced his mix of identities, Alim noted, style-shifting to speak across multiple audiences. On top of flexing his knowledge of Black culture, he would greet Jamaicans with Caribbean slang and court Mexican citizens in Spanish, endearing him to potential voters watching at homeas well as audiences around the world. Harris has so far taken a more personal approach to displaying her racial identity. She attended the historically Black Howard University as an undergraduate, where she also pledged with the legendary Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alphaexperiences that shaped her and that she talks about in legislating and campaigning. She was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus while in the Senate. But she has also played up her Indian heritage, such as in 2019 when she made masala dosa with Indian American actress-comedian Mindy Kaling. It should go without saying that both approaches are legitimate; there are multiple facets to her story. The politics regarding identity have changed in the nearly two decades since Obamas first presidential run. Over that period, the country has witnessed the extrajudicial murders of unarmed Black Americans including men like George Floyd, women like Breonna Taylor, and even children like Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Obamas election seemed to usher in what pundits at the time called post-racial America, but Harris is running a campaign in a country where that is decidedly not the case. Polarization is the defining feature of American politics in this era. Amid growing political divides and deepening racial inequities, many voters are looking for politicians to pick sides. This is the message that Trump seeks to sow with his contempt for Harris identity: that she wont pick a sideand that her lack of allegiance to one race or ethnicity or side makes her inherently untrustworthy. Ultimately, Sims argued, that messaging is yet another symptom of a perverted racism designed to pit oppressed groups against each other. Because if theyre against each other, Sims noted, theyre not going to unite against who? Don't panic! Taylor Swift warned fans to expect sirens for WWII anniversary in Warsaw before concert FILE - Taylor Swift performs as part of the "Eras Tour" at the Tokyo Dome, on Feb. 7, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Toru Hanai, File) WARSAW, Poland (AP) Taylor Swift warned fans who traveled to her concert in Warsaw on Thursday to expect loud sirens in the afternoon honoring a key World War II anniversary. When the moment came, many of the fans who arrived for the concert also stood in tribute. The Polish capital held observances to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, a 63-day revolt by Polish insurgents after five years of brutal Nazi German occupation. The entire city stops and alarm sirens sound every year on Aug. 1 at the exact time when the revolt was launched. To the people who are coming to the concert on August 1st dont panic if you hear sirens alarm about 5 p.m. It will be the 80th anniversary & planes! Swift's The Eras Tour posted on social media. Thousands of ticket-holders, many who traveled to Warsaw from afar, were in the area of the stadium early ahead of the evening performance. A Polish news site, Onet, also published an important message for all Swifties who are going to the concert explaining the significance of the day. We ask you to remain calm and not to panic. In this way every year residents pay tribute to the heroes of 1944. Those who will be at that moment already outside the stadium, please remain quiet and get up. While some swifties joined the solemn commemoration, their mood was celebratory, as the countdown began to the singers performance. Swift is performing for three consecutive nights in Warsaw starting Thursday. On Aug. 1, 1944, poorly armed young city residents rose up against the German forces that had brutally occupied their nation for five years, battling them in the streets of the capital for over two months. The Soviets were approaching in their march westward against the German forces, and the Poles held out hope for help. The Germans, with their professional army and superior weaponry, killed 200,000 Polish fighters and civilians and razed the city in revenge. Germany in past decades has made many gestures of remorse, helping to bring about reconciliation. Poles, however, remain bitter toward the Soviets for allowing the slaughter when they could have intervened. Today the uprising is remembered by Poles as one of the most important moments in a long history of independence struggles against Russia and Germany. A recently closed floral warehouse at 425 W. Walnut St. has been sold to an affiliate of Cross Management Services Inc. A recently closed warehouse just north of downtown Milwaukee has been sold to the affiliate of a local consulting firm that's moving its office there. The one-story, 9,000-square-foot building, 425 W. Walnut St., was sold to 425 W. Walnut LLC, led by consultant Carla Cross, by The Denver Wholesale Florists Co. for $675,000. That's according to a new deed posted online by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Cross told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she's moving her firm, Cross Management Services Inc., to the building from 315 W. Court St., where it has leased space for six years. Cross plans to use around 2,000 square feet for her firm, which has four local employees as well as an office in Mississippi. Cross Management does compliance consulting work for companies hiring disadvantaged businesses for various commercial developments. That includes work tied to the recently expanded Baird Center convention facility and Northwestern Mutual's downtown campus expansion. Cross said she will seek tenants for the unused space. She also is meeting with architectural firms to consider possible redevelopment ideas for the property, which is near such newer developments as Dead Bird Brewing and Pilcrow Coffee. "It's a great site," said Cross, who approached the seller after learning this year that the floral warehouse would be closing. Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook. Subscribe to get the BusinessWatch email newsletter. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Consulting firm buys Milwaukee warehouse for its new office The Doris & Victor Day Foundation Board has awarded $800,500 to 44 charitable organizations through its annual grants program, according to a news release. These organizations will, in turn, significantly impact the Quad Cities, enhancing the lives of its residents and contributing to its development, the release says. The contributions, a testament to the foundations long-term commitment, stemmed from a significant $10 million gift from the Doris Day Estate in 1987. This generous gift was intended to make the Quad Cities a better place. The Board had many difficult decisions to make with the grant docket this year, said Tyla Sherwin-Cole, The Doris & Victor Day Foundation executive director. In response to the unprecedented demand for funding, The Foundation took a broad approach to our grant-making to fund larger amounts to fund as many nonprofits as possible with the limited funds available. We understand our critical role in providing general operating grants that are important to the organizations delivering the effective and impactful programs and services that contribute so much to the Quad Cities. Visit here for a list of the grant recipients and more information. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. TEL AVIV, IsraelJust before sundown on Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed senior Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in the Lebanese terror groups stronghold in southern Beirut. By sunrise Wednesday, more than 900 miles away in the Iranian capital of Tehran, another blast had killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh just hours after his meeting with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The twin attacksthe latter of which Israel has yet to take responsibility forswept the region into uncharted waters. Amid an ongoing multifront conflict with Iran and its proxies, Israels decapitation of senior terrorist leaders signals its willingness to go on the offensive against the militants waging war on its borders. The targeted strikes followed the deadliest day for Israeli civilians since October 7, when an Iranian-made Hezbollah rocket killed 12 children last week in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Israels military announced that it had targeted Shukr, the alleged orchestrator of that lethal attack and Hezbollahs chief of staff, shortly after the operation in Beirut on Tuesday evening. As the mastermind behind a Beirut suicide bombing that left 241 U.S. military personnel dead in 1983, Shukr also had a $5 million bounty on his head courtesy of the U.S. government. This is a person who has been a part of pretty much every major terror operation Hezbollah has conducted since its founding. This is somebody with a lot of American blood on his hands, not just Israeli blood, said Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Shukrs assassination also sends a message to his boss, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah: Israels ability to reach into Beirut, into the neighborhood where Hezbollahs leadership is headquartered, and to take out an individual of this level, certainly must have Nasrallah watching his own shadow. The retaliatory strike was nothing if not expected following the Majdal Shams massacre. But there was more to come. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement following the Beirut strike, in a possible presage of what was to come. Hours later, an explosion of unknown origin killed Haniyeh, Hamas Qatar-based leader in exile who was visiting Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. After attending a swearing-in ceremony that included chants of Death to America and Death to Israel, Haniyeh was assassinated in the capital city of the Islamic Republic, on the heels of a meeting with the ayatollah. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, meets with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, in Tehran on July 30, 2024. (Handout photo by the Iranian Supreme Leader's Press Office via Getty Images) It is a humiliation for the Iranians, because it is an assassination in their capital, on a very important day, and two hours after Haniyeh met with the supreme leader, Meir Litvak, a senior research associate at Tel Aviv Universitys Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, told The Dispatch. The supreme leader feels like this is a personal insult, an act of defiance against him. Though Israel is likely behind the strike, its methods remain a mystery. Early reports indicate that Haniyeh was killed after a rocket struck the apartment where he was staying, but no details on how the missile was delivered have yet emerged. Nor has the possibility of a covert ground operation been ruled out. Whether the U.S. had advance knowledge of the strike is also unclear. In an interview Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Washington was neither involved nor given notice of the attack. Regardless, the successful strike marked a catastrophic security breach for Iranand the latest demonstration of Israels ability to execute operations using pinpoint intelligence. Haniyeh joined a growing list of top Hamas leaders killed since October 7, a list includes the terror groups West Bank commander, Saleh al-Arouri, and its military leader in Gaza, Mohammed Deif. The assassination was also one in a string of covert operations on Iranian soil. In 2020, Israels Mossad intelligence agency carried out an elaborate hit against Irans top nuclear scientist using a remote-control operated machine gun. More recently, following a largely thwarted Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel in April, an Israeli weapon struck an air defense radar near a sensitive nuclear site in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. But with the region on the brink of a broader escalation, the dual attacks on Haniyeh and Shukr could push Israels simmering multifront conflict into an all-out war. Khamenei vowed to retaliate for the former after it took place on Iranian soil. The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house, Khamenei said in a statement Wednesday, but it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself. HezbollahIrans most important proxy, with a trained fighting force and arsenal of more than 200,000 rockets and missilesis also likely to respond following the killing of its chief of staff. Such a response could involve using new weaponry, like precision-guided munitions, or striking deeper into Israel than it has over the last 10 months. A coordinated aerial attack by multiple of Irans militias in the region including Hezbollah, which could overwhelm Israels air defense systems, is another scenario Israeli officials are now preparing for. Israeli President Isaac Herzog encouraged Israelis to show responsibility and diligence, and adhere to instructions and orders on Wednesday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to challenging days ahead in a speech later that day. A direct Iranian attackwhich could resemble the one in April that used more than 350 missiles and drones to target Israel following its killing of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member in Damascus, Syriamay also be under deliberation in Tehran. Iranian officials told the New York Times Wednesday that Khamenei had ordered a direct military response, but what form it might take is not yet known. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones are all on the table, Goldberg, a former National Security Council official, told The Dispatch. What we have learned over the last few months is not to underestimate Irans willingness to cross previous, imagined red lines in its own escalation. The regime has paid no price for crossing red lines in various domains. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. DEER PARK, N.Y. (PIX11) The man accused of slamming his car into a nail salon in Deer Park and killing four people in June has been indicted on a slew of charges including murder and driving while intoxicated, court records show. The 38-count indictment comes weeks after Steven Schwally, 64, allegedly crashed into Hawaii Nail & Spa on Grand Boulevard, killing off-duty NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, Jian Chai Chen, Yan Xu and Mei Zi Zhang and injuring nine others. 5 people, including 3 children, pepper sprayed in Times Square: NYPD Prosecutors said Schwally had 18 beers before the crash on June 28 around 4:40 p.m. Prosecutors said Schwally sped his car through the parking lot, then crashed into the front window of the salon. According to Schwallys indictment, released Thursday, the 64-year-old injured a child in the crash. Among those killed was Rennhack, an NYPD officer married to Detective Carl Rennhack. Carl and Emilias love story was just beginning. They met & fell in love at the 102nd precinct. They recently had their dream wedding in September 2023. Their lives were filled with hopes and dreams for their future together, said organizers of a fundraiser that raised over $68,000 for the family. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered New York City since 2023. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Local authorities in the Netherlands issued an urgent warning to parents with young children not to visit the forests of a large nature reserve near Utrecht. There have been several confrontations between wolves and children in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug park, which on Thursday prompted the authorities to warn that all visitors to the area should be extremely careful. A child was recently bitten on the side by a wolf during a school trip, but was only slightly injured. The statements of witnesses were confirmed by a DNA test. On Wednesday, a second small child came in contact with a large beast, which eyewitnesses said was a wolf. A DNA test is now being carried out to check whether it was the same animal. A small dog on a lead is also said to have been dragged off by a wolf in the area. "Wolf experts say this is atypical behaviour and worrying," the province of Utrecht explained in a statement. According to experts, a pair of wolves with five pups and a single young wolf live in the nature reserve. The surrounding municipalities cordoned off a small part of the nature reserve to visitors after the first incident with the child. However, it is not possible to close off the park completely. The Utrechtse Heuvelrug Nature Park is located between the cities of Utrecht and Amersfoort and is a popular destination for visitors. The province of Utrecht now wants to apply for a licence to shoot the wolf. However, the animals are a protected species, and the European Court of Justice has ruled that they may not be shot. Those looking to purchase recreational marijuana in North Carolina might not have to wait much longer. The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. in Cherokee announced on social media Aug. 1 that they will soon open adult-use recreational marijuana on Sept. 7, making it the first recreational marijuana dispensary to fully open to those over the age of 21 in North Carolina. The dispensary which is run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee-backed Qualla Enterprises had opened April 20 for medical marijuana sales. Until fully opening in September, only those over the age of 21 with a tribal ID or medical marijuana card are able to purchase products at the dispensary. The dispensary sells a wide variety of cannabis products, including marijuana concentrates, flowers and edibles. It is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The push to legalize marijuana in the United States has been a significant and evolving movement over the past few decades. The EBCI nation is located on the Qualla Boundary. It is a sovereign nation that has its own elections, laws, government and institutions that are self-governed and autonomous. It lies primarily in the Western North Carolina mountain counties of Swain and Jackson, with smaller parts in Cherokee, Graham and Haywood. 24 states legalize recreational marijuana, NC holds out The marijuana market has been seen as a huge economic boon for the EBCI, even as the drug remains illegal in North Carolina. Dispensary officials have previously estimated the total marijuana market could be around 80,000 pounds at the dispensary, though the amount sold was suggested to be limited by tribal investments in the dispensary and grow farm. In total, 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana, but North Carolina has held out as state legislators have not legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes, despite some proposals to do so. President Joe Biden in May moved to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, meaning it could become federally legal to prescribe marijuana as medication. Marijuana buds, including their cost and degree of potency, are shown in a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland, California. Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards recently told the Citizen Times that he will "remain steadfast" in his opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana in WNC, frequently claiming that data supports the drug being dangerous to youth. He had introduced the "Stop Pot Act," which threatened to remove 10% of federal highway funding from states and tribes that sell legal marijuana. The bill failed to pass a referral to a subcommittee under the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. His skepticism on marijuana has been shared by the state's two Republican U.S. senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, who sent a March letter questioning the EBCI's practice of opening the dispensary. At the same time, Caleb Rudow, an Asheville Democratic N.C. General Assembly member challenging Edwards in the Nov. 5 election, has recently stated to the Citizen Times that the actions have shown a lack of respect for tribal sovereignty and personal liberties over what one may safely put in their body. Rep. Caleb Rudow Those purchasing marijuana recreational or medicinal will not be able to take it outside the Qualla Boundary. District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said she respects the EBCI's tribal sovereignty, but plans to enforce North Carolina state law, which prohibits the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana. Welch is the chief criminal prosecutor in Prosecutorial District 43, which includes Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. "The mission, duty and privilege of the 43rd Prosecutorial District is to enforce state laws. We do not pick certain laws to enforce and ignore others," Welch said in April. This story will be updated. More: Henderson Sheriff's office, judge ask to dismiss federal civil rights lawsuit against them More: Cherokee vote passes: NC's first recreational marijuana market likely in '60-75 days' Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Eastern Band of Cherokee to open recreational marijuana in September ROCKDALE, Texas (FOX 44) The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded the Rockdale Independent School District (RISD) a $5.25 million grant. This grant will be used to renovate the districts College & Career Academy. It is an investment marking a big step towards enhancing educational opportunities for students. The district says its College & Career Academy once operated as a hospital, and will undergo extensive renovations to become a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to upper-level classes in health science, manufacturing and technology. The Center will also serve as an extension of Temple College (RISDs esteemed academic partner) with classes available to the community, and will offer dual-credit courses to provide students with the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school. The district says planning and behind-the-scenes work have already commenced. On-site renovations are expected to begin before the end of 2024. These projects are funded through the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) initiative and received competitive grants from the EDA to support communities affected by reduced coal usage including coal mining, coal-fired power plants and related manufacturing. The district says ACC projects focus on driving economic diversification, job creation, capital investment, workforce development, and re-employment opportunities. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. The backlash against former President Donald Trumps comment to a Christian group last Friday that if hes reelected, you dont have to vote again in four years was swift and predictable. Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris quickly saw the comment as a promise of future authoritarian rule and a possible end to democracy. After all, Trump has supported those jailed for the Jan. 6 attack to overturn the 2020 election results, has more recently speculated on how he would be a dictator on the first day back in office and predicted a bloodbath if he does not win. The politics of hate, chaos and fear is how the Harris for President campaign described Trumps speech in West Palm Beach, Florida. But lets say Trump didnt mean for his comment to be taken in that context. Lets say that, as a Trump spokesman later tried to explain, the Republican nominee was talking about uniting the country so that all Americans would then be happy (and perhaps so pleased with events that a chore like voting would be seen as optional). Its entirely possible that the 78-year-old convicted felon who often sees the world mostly in the context of whats in it for me would view this as the ultimate reassurance. Hey, vote me in, and your worries will be over. It wasnt a promise to overthrow the government so much as a pledge to deliver what he assumed must be the goal of everyone at the Believers Summit (and beyond): A reprieve from uncertainty and angst. The bottom line? That isnt much better. It might be worse because some voters may buy into it. In a democratic republic, voting is our sacred duty. Not just in presidential elections but local elections, too. We have freedom of speech and of the press, we can protest and assemble, we can petition the government for redress of grievances but voting tops them all. How dare someone running for the highest office for the land take voting so lightly whether as a threat or a reassurance. Our ancestors died so we might have this right. And we ought to be doing everything we can to prevent obstacles and barriers to voting. The poll taxes and literacy tests of the past have been replaced by voter ID schemes, gerrymandering and race-based voter suppression efforts, efforts strengthened as the U.S. Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act. Americans cant afford to take elections off. That should never be anyones goal no matter their political party or personal interests. And shame on Trump for articulating such a ruinous, and dare we say, un-American, proposition. _____ For people who supposedly revere the Founding Fathers, some Christian conservatives seem to have no problem ignoring one of their most abiding principles: the separation of church and state. Now the chief of schools in Oklahoma is demanding that all public schools teach the Bible from grades 5 through 12, saying it is necessary for an understanding of the countrys history. It is more of an attempt to ignore much of that history. The Bible can have a valid place in public school classrooms. In a 1968 case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that although the daily Bible reading in Pennsylvania schools was an unconstitutional effort to inculcate religious teachings, the Bible can be a part of the lesson plan when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education. Literature, for example, is full of biblical references. How could students understand John Steinbecks classic, East of Eden, if they aren't familiar with Eden or the story of Abel and Cain? Shakespeares plays are filled with biblical references. Comparative religion classes are another appropriate place to visit the Bible in public school; the AP World History course includes a unit on world religions. Read more: Editorial: Supreme Court should not approve Louisianas provocative Ten Commandments law But thats not whats happening in Oklahoma where, by the way, teachers already were free to use the Bible if it was relevant to an objective or secular lesson. In a memo, state Supt. of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said that the Bible and Ten Commandments must be taught in the classroom because of their substantial influence on our nations founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution. While he didnt say it explicitly, Walters language strongly implies the very thing that the 1st Amendment sought to prevent: that the United States be governed as a Christian nation. It is certainly the predominant faith in the country, but the Constitution prohibits religion from being imposed on others by popular vote or political mandate. Read more: Granderson: There's good reason we built a wall between church and state In his new guidelines for teachers, Walters goes out of his way to repeat wording about using the Bible only in the context of literature, history, art and so forth. But his guidelines call for teachers to use it for close literary analysis of writing. It certainly makes for an unusual choice over the genius of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ernest Hemingway, Maya Angelou and the like. Because teachers have limited teaching time, the mandate pushes out great works of literature and the consideration of great cultures that are not Western. The careful wording cant mask what is clearly an effort by Christian conservatives to blur the line between church and state in the classroom, especially in a country that is growing in religious diversity. It goes alongside the Louisiana governors recent order to place the Ten Commandments in public schools and a recent decision by Oklahoma's state board to approve a Catholic charter school. Charter schools are privately operated but publicly funded, and the state Supreme Court rejected the use of taxpayer money for a religious school. Expect more moves to bring Judeo-Christian religion into schools. It is unclear, given recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, whether todays court majority will honor the wise precedents that preserved Thomas Jeffersons wall of separation between church and state intact. The current wave of Christian nationalism should, if anything, prod the justices to keep that wall as strong and clearly delineated as their predecessors did. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Edmond couple shares their story after being lost at sea for nearly 40 hours Edmond couple shares their story after being lost at sea for nearly 40 hours EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) Nathan and Kim Maker returned home Monday night after a scuba diving trip took a scary turn. They were diving off the coast of Freeport, Texas last week. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Oklahoma couple found 36 hours after disappearing while scuba diving in Gulf of Mexico Nathan and Kim Maker scuba diving While in the water, one of their dives was cut short, due to a malfunction with a crucial piece of equipment on someones gear. On the way up to the surface, all divers were using a line to guide them back to the boat. One of the ladies in our group lost her hand on the line and started drifting out, said Nathan. So I got her back to the line, but I just didnt have enough to get there. The woman Nathan helped was able to make it back. He and Kim did not. Alone in the water, the couple turned to their years of experience from diving. He had the good sense to tether us together so that we dont get separated, said Kim. Sweet as a Cupa Sugar: Del City watermelon seller promises a comeback after wrecking his truck, trailer Hours went by, the couple remained stranded. They saw a light shining from an oil rig, north from where they were floating. We swam nine hours towards the direction and then a massive storm hit, Kim said. After the storm passed, the light was gone. Nathan and Kim were exhausted. Both being trained divers, they held on. The second day out in the water, they heard a miracle. It was the U.S. Coast Guard rushing to their rescue. To all the men and women of the Coast Guard. We want to say thank you. Thank you for not giving up on us, especially the lieutenant who is in charge, says Nathan and Kim. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. This Giant Residential REIT Just Posted A Strong Quarter. Is It Time For You To Invest? Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) has just released a strong earnings report for Q2 2024. That will come as music to the ears of both Equity shareholders and observers of the multifamily residential real estate REIT sector. Although the multifamily REIT sector has traditionally offered strong performance for investors seeking passive income, the specter of increased borrowing costs has cast a shadow over the entire REIT sector. However, Equity Residential's strong performance might be a sign that REITs have adjusted to elevated borrowing costs and are beginning to find their equilibrium going forward. That's not to say that REIT operators wouldn't welcome a rate cut, but Equity Residential's multifamily residential portfolio has some significant advantages working in its favor. First is the fact that Equity has something of a captive audience. Trending: A billion-dollar investment strategy with minimums as low as $10 you can become part of the next big real estate boom today. This is a paid advertisement. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fundrise Flagship Fund before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund's prospectus. Read them carefully before investing. It has a massive portfolio, and although it's heavily diversified, many of Equity Residential's assets are strategically located in cities with high rents and even higher home prices. Most of the 77,054 units in Equity's portfolio are in markets like Washington, D.C., Southern California, Northern California, New York City, and Boston. The high cost of housing in these markets, plus the fact that they are major population centers, creates a steady tenant base for Equity Residential. Their report shows a portfolio-wide occupancy rate of 96.4%, which is an improvement of 0.5% over Q2 2023's occupancy rate of 95.9%. Many investors consider 96% occupancy the "Goldilocks zone" that allows assets to service their debts and generate income for investors. A portfolio-wide average of 96% means many of the assets in Equity Residential's portfolio performed well for their investors. It certainly played a hand in Equity Residential's Earnings Per Share (EPS) increasing by an eye-opening 27% from $0.37 in Q2 2023 to $0.47 in Q2 2024. Rental income for the quarter was roughly $734,163,000, surpassing Q2 2023's $717,309,000. Net income also increased from Q2 2023's $144,862,000 to $183,555,000. Equity Residential's share price jumped to $71.29 on the news, and the 3.79% dividend yield is $2.70 per share. Story continues Equity Residential also raised its expectations for several key metrics. The earnings report revealed the REIT had increased its EPS estimates for Q3 from $0.49 to $0.53. It also increased the FFO per share estimate from $0.94 to $0.98. It was a solid quarter by almost any measure. Data firm Alreits estimates that Equity Residential accounts for a massive 21% of the multifamily residential REIT sector, which makes these results even more encouraging for investors. Equity Residential President and CEO Mark J. Parrell was understandably pleased with his REIT's performance. He released a statement praising Equity's performance and expressing optimism for the future, which said in part, We are pleased to report results that exceeded our expectations and to be seeing positive forward momentum in our business which led us to significantly improve our guidance." It's a safe bet that Equity Residential shareholders will be pleased with the REIT's quarterly results. This, of course, begs the question: Is an investment in Equity Residential right for you? Whether an individual offering is right for you always depends on a multitude of factors. With that said, if you were specifically looking for a residential REIT to invest in for both share value appreciation and passive income, Equity Residential is certainly one to consider. Dont Miss: Find out how you compare to the average American couples retirement balance will you make the $1,000,000 mark? With returns as high as 300%, its no wonder this asset is the investment choice of many billionaires. Uncover the secret. They have a very large portfolio spread across a diverse group of high-performing real estate markets. However, no offering is perfect, and potential threats loom on the horizon of every investment. In the case of multifamily REITs, one such threat is the proliferation of rent control laws and the growing popularity of enacting them where they don't exist. President Biden recently proposed putting an annual 5% cap on rent increases for residential property owners who operate more than 50 units. That legislation is aimed directly at REIT profits and even if it doesn't pass, legislators will continue pushing for similar measures. The law of gravity is another potential threat to REIT profits. Residential REITs have remarkably raised rents over the last several decades. That's been a boon to investors, but there is a resistance point in every business where consumers can't or won't pay above a certain price. The necessity of housing has made that resistance point harder to find for residential REITs, but if rents continue outgrowing tenant wages, rents will hit that resistance point. So, REITs may continue to deliver, but they may not be able to achieve 5%-10% annual rent increases in perpetuity. Keep these factors in mind, but there can be no doubt that Equity Residential has been a solid performer for its investors. That's both in the last quarter and over the last several decades. This is a well-run REIT with a good asset mix. With the caveat that risk always exists in every investment, Equity Residential certainly has the potential to be a long-term winner in your portfolio. Disclosure: Share prices and other data points change constantly due to numerous factors. Depending on when you read this article, there may be some variance between the most current information and the amounts quoted above. Looking For Higher-Yield Opportunities? The current high-interest-rate environment has created an incredible opportunity for income-seeking investors to earn massive yields, but not through dividend stocks... Certain private market real estate investments are giving retail investors the opportunity to capitalize on these high-yield opportunities and Benzinga has identified some of the most attractive options for you to consider. For instance, the Ascent Income Fund from EquityMultiple targets stable income from senior commercial real estate debt positions and has a historical distribution yield of 12.1% backed by real assets. With payment priority and flexible liquidity options, the Ascent Income Fund is a cornerstone investment vehicle for income-focused investors. First-time investors with EquityMultiple can now invest in the Ascent Income Fund with a reduced minimum of just $5,000. Benzinga Readers: Earn a 1% return boost on your first EquityMultiple investment when you sign up here (accredited investors only). Don't miss out on this opportunity to take advantage of high-yield investments while rates are high. Check out Benzinga's favorite high-yield offerings. 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. This article This Giant Residential REIT Just Posted A Strong Quarter. Is It Time For You To Invest? originally appeared on Benzinga.com Educators, others criticize book bans and dark night of censorship in letter to DeSantis More than 500 people, including educators, parents and best-selling author Jodi Picoult, signed a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticizing state laws that led to a dark night of censorship in the state. The letter released this week calls on DeSantis to take concrete steps to reverse some of the most prominent Republican-led education policies in recent history, including the laws often called the Stop WOKE Act and the dont say gay bill. The letter signers argued the laws weaponized and demonized diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and forced public schools to pull books from their shelves. The letter comes after a July meeting in Orlando of more than 200 people worried about censorship in schools. Picoult delivered the keynote speech at the event, which organizers said was the largest movement meeting of its kind, and attendees and hundreds of others later signed the letter. In response to one of the new laws, Orange County Public Schools reviewed books in classroom libraries and by December had pulled 673 books, including seven by Picoult, for fear they violated the law banning sexual conduct in material available to students. The list included classics like Madame Bovary and Paradise Lost as well as best-selling novels. Discrimination and erasure must not be Floridas future, the letter said. Public schools are and must remain a public good. The letter also noted one of Floridas new laws ended up blocking the teaching of sex education in some districts. That law, which heightened scrutiny of books on school shelves, required the state to review reproductive health curriculum but the Department of Education never responded to school districts when they submitted their plans for review, the Orlando Sentinel reported last month. OCPS and a few other districts skipped the lessons all together in the 2023-24 school year as a result. DeSantis has called DEI toxic and said it really means discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination. He has also said that claims of book banning were a hoax and that the legislation he signed rightly allowed parents to object to obscene material in schools. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter Thursday. Picoult, author of My Sisters Keeper and Nineteen Minutes among many others, said in an interview with ABC News in March that more than 20 of her books were removed from Martin County schools. The parent who complained about them hadnt read the books, she added. Twenty of my books were pulled off the shelf in one particular school district, Picoult said. That is not a hoax. That is a ban. PEN America, a free speech advocacy group that signed and released the letter, published a study last year that found 40% of nationwide book removals during the 2022-2023 school year happened in Florida. The letter said the new laws also meant Florida had inserted religious perspectives, such as requiring lessons in Judeo-Christian values into school curriculum and tried to erase and distort the historical struggles for equality of Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ people, among others. We are parents, horrified at the targeting of our children, furious over the ideological restrictions on their education and fed up with the political attacks on our community schools and the people dedicated to protecting access to them, the letter said. It added educators were chilled into silence because of Florida policies. The new laws require media specialists who are teachers with additional library training to review and approve all books in classroom collections and school libraries and to exclude those that include pornography or sexual conduct. New state training for media specialists warned them to err on the side of caution when approving books and noted they can face criminal penalties and the loss of their teaching certificates if they approve inappropriate books. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, the Florida Freedom to Read Project and the Miami-Dade County teachers union were among the groups that signed the letter. Though our leaders have tried to silence educators, we are determined to reclaim our democracy and protect the freedoms to learn and read, Kate Blankenship, a spokesperson for PEN Americas Florida branch, said in a statement. Senate conservatives are showing early resistance to expediting legislation to address a roughly $3 billion budget shortfall for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as officials warn millions of veterans benefits are at risk in the coming weeks. Some senators had been hopeful of passing the bipartisan bill this week amid growing concern over the shortfall. However, the effort is getting pushback from some conservatives, as Republicans have raised scrutiny over the issue. When we spend billions of dollars, we should ask, you know, are controls in place thats being spent wisely. Where was it spent? Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Hill on Tuesday afternoon. We gave them record amounts of dollars, was it gone. So, somebody made bad decision making or bad management, so all that needs to be discussed and worked through, and thats why I would never let it go through without a discussion, he said. The VA has said it needs Congress to provide about $2.9 billion in mandatory benefits funds for the fiscal year ending in late September, as well as about $12 billion for medical care for the following fiscal year. The agency has cited the PACT Act, passed in 2022, as the key driver behind the shortfall, pointing to increases in enrollment in VA healthcare, appointments and applications benefits. Senators have discussed the prospect of expediting passage of the legislation, which addresses the nearly $3 billion shortfall, before they leave for August recess this week. But that process, also known as unanimous consent, can also be held up if a single senator opposes passage. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also said he has a hold on the bill, while pressing for a hearing. I just want to know why? Dont send a letter over saying, We need $3 billion. Let us know why you need it. Let us ask questions on both sides. Its only fair, he said on Wednesday afternoon, though he added he is supportive overall of providing the funding to address the shortfall. The sentiment comes as more have also sounded alarm over the issue. The problem is that if we dont get this solved very quickly, it could start affecting benefits in October and so Im very worried about it, said Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which crafts all 12 annual government funding bills. Im also incredibly frustrated with the VA, because they had to know that they were underfunding these accounts, and I just dont buy the argument that they had no idea thats whats going to happen, she said. Thats just not possible. Veterans compensation and pension benefit payments, as well as their readjustment benefits, could be delayed if Congress doesnt provide additional funding by a Sept. 20 deadline. Collins joined Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in introducing the bill this week. The bill calls for upwards of $2.8 billion in additional funding for the VA, appropriating about $2.3 billion for the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions, as well as roughly $597 million for readjustment benefits. The bill also calls for the Government Accountability Office to review the circumstances surrounding and causes of the shortfall and possible remedies the Department may take in the future to improve annual budget submissions and prevent shortfalls, among other measures. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Elections 101 from Spotlight PA protects you against election misinformation and empowers you to make informed decisions. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG At the heart of former President Donald Trumps false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him is a fundamental misunderstanding of how elections work in Pennsylvania. Such massive fraud involving thousands of stolen votes would need to be witnessed here by members of both major parties in public spaces. To the election directors working on the ground, claims of stolen elections underline how little is known about the process. Thad Hall, election director in Mercer County, told Spotlight PA that theories about broad collusion to alter results just dont square with the reality that election administration in the commonwealth is local and decentralized. When you claim that mail ballots were mishandled or something like that, the people that would do that would be residents of Mercer County, Hall said. Youre suggesting that a lot of different people from both political parties were involved. Its your neighbors, your friends. Pennsylvanias system of election administration can be broken into three levels: the Department of State, county-level officials, and poll workers on the ground. Each layer of administration safeguards against fraud in different ways. The Department of State maintains the voter registration database used across the commonwealth. County election officials oversee the storage and testing of voting machines. Poll workers monitor activities at polling precincts to ensure that voters are casting their ballots correctly. The state sets guardrails While each of the states 67 counties can set different policies for conducting elections like whether to use drop boxes or allow voters to fix mistakes on mail ballots some overarching rules are set by state law and legal precedent. The basic administrative framework is laid out in Pennsylvanias Election Code. It includes requirements for things like the number of polling places and poll workers and the times when polls should open and close. The code is old, however, and hasnt had a comprehensive update since 1937. While new provisions have been added, like no-excuse mail voting, it still contains outdated, irrelevant language and contradictions that election administrators must navigate. To do that, they also rely on court rulings, seek advice from county solicitors, and consult with other county election directors to determine best practices. The Department of State also issues guidance on best practices in areas where Pennsylvania law is vague. Another key election administration responsibility for the state is managing the voter registration database, which tracks eligible voters. The state also certifies the final results of the election. However, many administration and decision-making responsibilities lie with counties. County administrators have a lot of autonomy Pennsylvania counties have a board of elections and an election director. The board and director, as well as the county solicitor, decide how to interpret Pennsylvanias old code when there are conflicts. Election directors are generally selected by their countys board of elections and come from a variety of backgrounds. While some who have served in the role in recent years came from other administrative local government roles, others were funeral home owners, educators, and nurses. These directors handle the day-to-day work of running elections and oversee the canvassing process, wherein poll workers sort and count ballots. They locate polling places, make sure there are enough poll workers for each precinct, and organize the printing of ballots. In preparation for Election Day, directors also test voting machines and secure them in a safe location where they cannot be tampered with. Boards of elections oversee this work and collaborate with directors to make major policy decisions. In most of Pennsylvania, elected county commissioners serve on election boards. Counties with home rule charters can use a different process to pick members. The Election Code requires each board of elections to feature representation from a minority political party, based on the composition of the county commissioners. The board is empowered to make critical decisions such as whether to use mail ballot drop boxes or allow voters to correct flawed mail ballots before Election Day. Thats an important responsibility, since there are ill-defined areas within the guardrails of the states Election Code, legal precedents, and directives that the board must clarify. The passage of Act 77 in 2019 raised the stakes. The law allows all voters to use mail ballots, but its silent on many issues, including drop boxes. So far, state lawmakers have not agreed on legislation that would fill in those details. This has led to disparate practices across the state, which can result in some voters having more opportunities to ensure their vote is counted than others, depending on the county in which they live. Poll workers are the boots on the ground Several types of poll workers in Pennsylvania help ensure that voting goes smoothly on Election Day. The lead election officer in a voting precinct is known as the judge of elections. This person manages any problem that might arise at the polling place like running out of ballots or a voting machine malfunction and alerts the county election director. They are also responsible for tracking numbers of voters, and for returning ballots and materials to the county election director at the end of the night. This is an elected position with a four-year term, though a county board of elections can also appoint someone to the role if there is a vacancy. Each precinct also has a majority and minority inspector in charge of managing pollbooks which contain voter registration info to sign in voters and aiding the judge of elections. Each of those positions is elected every four years, with the highest vote-getter becoming the majority inspector and the person with the second most votes serving as the minority inspector. These positions can be appointed if there is a vacancy, or if no one runs. Poll workers are volunteers who set up voting machines, sign in voters, and give instructions. In 2022, the state had about 9,000 different polling places and nearly 50,000 poll workers. Almost anyone can apply to be a poll worker though government officials and employees are banned so long as they are registered to vote in the county where they want to work. Counties also pay poll workers, though wages vary. Before Election Day, all poll workers go through training either virtually or in person. BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Who is eligible for unemployment pay in PA, and what happens if you quit? What the law says Did you recently lose your job? You might be able to collect unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania if you meet the right criteria. Pennsylvanias unemployment rate sits at just 3.4% as of June, according to the commonwealths Department of Labor and Industry. Pennsylvanians are out of work at nearly a record-low rate, but benefits are available for those who need supplemental income while they search for new employment. So, how can you file for unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania? Whos eligible, and what might happen if you quit your previous job on your own terms? Heres what you need to know. Who is eligible for unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania? Any unemployed person can file a claim with the Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation to potentially receive benefits. This program is designed to provide temporary income support to Pennsylvanians for a limited time while they work to find new employment or are working less than full-time hours. To begin the process, the commonwealth must determine whether you earned enough on the job and worked long enough, measured by credit weeks, to be eligible for benefits. Some jobs are excluded from eligibility under Pennsylvanias unemployment compensation law, including self-employment, certain types of agricultural work and domestic services performed in a private home, among others. Jobs that are excluded from the program cannot have their wages or credit weeks used while determining financial eligibility. Pennsylvanias Office of Unemployment Compensation must also determine an applicants eligibility to receive benefits. Once financial eligibility is established, the focus then moves to the nature of a workers job loss or separation. You must be out of work through no fault of your own to receive unemployment compensation, according to Pennsylvania law. To continue receiving unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania, you must be able and available to accept suitable work, not refuse work when offered without good cause and participate in reemployment services if required, the program mandates. Beneficiaries must also register for employment-search services through PA CareerLink within 30 days of filing a benefits application and actively seek work during each week you claim unemployment compensation. How can I apply for unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania? You can file an initial claim for unemployment compensation using an online portal or by calling the commonwealths toll-free number at 1-888-313-7284. A videophone service for those who use American Sign Language is available at 717-704-8474 between noon and 4 p.m. every Wednesday. While filing, you will need to provide plenty of personal information, including your Social Security number, addresses, banking details and more. You will also provide information about your previous employer, including dates worked, your reason for leaving and any details regarding a potential pension or severance package. Step-by-step instructions and a detailed forum answering frequently asked questions are available online. Could I be eligible for unemployment benefits if I quit my job? Probably not. Under Pennsylvania law, workers are deemed ineligible for benefits for any week in which unemployment results from voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. Ultimately, claimants who voluntarily quit their jobs are responsible for proving or establishing proper cause for quitting. The burden is on the claimant, the commonwealth says, to show that they made every reasonable effort to maintain the employer/employee relationship before quitting their job. Heres a look at what claimants would be required to prove to receive benefits through some common voluntary quit situations: After quitting for health reasons , a claimant must prove they informed their employer of their limitations before resigning so that the employer could offer suitable work within those limitations. If suitable work was not offered, the claimant may be eligible for compensation. After quitting due to transportation problems , a claimant must prove that the loss of transportation was not their fault and rendered job-related challenges insurmountable after attempting to secure alternative transportation. After quitting to relocate with a spouse , a claimant must show that their spouses relocation was beyond their control and that relocation created economic circumstances that could not be overcome or that it was economically impossible to maintain two residences. After quitting due to personal reasons , a claimant must prove that personal circumstances left no reasonable alternative and that, prior to quitting, they made a reasonable attempt to maintain the employer-employee relationship. After quitting to attend school , a claimant must prove that such schooling or training was covered under the Trade Readjustment Act. Most instances of quitting a job to attend school are not considered necessitous or compelling, the Office of Unemployment Compensation says. After quitting due to unsuitable work , a claimant must prove there were changes in the conditions of employment that were not agreed upon or that an employer intentionally deceived the employee regarding work conditions at the time of employment. The suitability of employment can include wages, the degree of risk involved in work, physical fitness, prior training and experience, the distance of work from the claimants residence and more. After quitting a job that was not the same as anticipated, a claimant must show that the monetary expectations of employment were not fulfilled through no fault of their own. The Office of Unemployment Compensation offers the following example: A claimant is selling vacuum cleaners because they were told they could make $50,000 per year through commission sales, but they quit because, after three weeks, they were unable to make any sales and the personal expenses exceeded income. Notably, a worker who is discharged or fired from employment for reasons that are considered to be willful misconduct is not eligible to receive benefits. In such a scenario, the employer must show that the employees actions rose to the level of willful misconduct. If you applied for unemployment compensation but were denied, you can appeal a determination of eligibility by requesting a hearing no later than 21 days after the date on your determination notice. You can file an appeal online or by mail, fax or through the PA CareerLink platform. Heres where home prices in PA will rise the most in 2025, Zillow predicts. See how much What is unemployment fraud? How is it penalized in Pennsylvania? Under Pennsylvania labor law, examples of unemployment compensation fraud include: Failing to report money earned while collecting benefits Being dishonest about why you are no longer working for a previous employer Saying you are able and available to work when you are ill, traveling or otherwise unable or unavailable to work Reporting that you looked for work when you did not make valid work search efforts Allowing another person to collect benefits for you Stealing someones identity to file for unemployment benefits in their name Sometimes, scams may attempt to trick workers or their employers through artificial unemployment benefit claims. Pennsylvanias Office of Unemployment Compensation advises workers and employers to look for warning signs regarding possible scams: Workers should watch for receiving correspondence suggesting they filed an unemployment claim when they did not, while employers should be wary if they notice a claim has been filed for an employee who is still working. The following general tips may help you combat unemployment scams, according to the Office of Unemployment Compensation: Never give out personal information through email, text messages or social media channels. Dont wire money. Ignore requests from someone claiming they can help you file benefits for a fee or otherwise ask for money related to your benefits. Dont open or respond to unsolicited emails or text messages. Dont trust benefits information from unofficial websites. Save the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industrys number, 888-313-7284, to know youre receiving a legitimate call from the agency regarding your benefits. Those who improperly receive benefits may face hefty fines and criminal prosecution, plus the required repayment of fraudulently collected benefits. Fraudsters may also need to have their federal income tax refunds offset to collect the debt owed to the commonwealth. How can I report unemployment fraud? You can report suspected instances of unemployment compensation fraud by browsing resources at uc.pa.gov/pages/report-fraud-here.aspx or directly visiting reportucfraud.pa.gov. There, youll find an online tool that guides users through a questionnaire requesting confidential information that will be used to investigate claims of fraud. Elon Musk is taking a larger role in the election. Can he influence voters? Less than a week after Elon Musk publicly endorsed the candidacy of former President Donald Trump, he shared an edited video of Vice President Kamala Harris that used artificial intelligence to mimic her voice. Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, spread the video on his social media platform X, where he boasts 192 million followers. The post appeared to violate X policies that disallow sharing "synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media." Later, Musk defended the video as parody, which is permitted on the platform when adequately labeled. A similar firestorm broke out this week after X suspended an account affiliated with a fundraising drive in support of Harris called "White Dudes for Kamala." A message from X indicated that the account had been suspended for "violating our rules against evading suspension," according to a screenshot posted by an event organizer. X, which plays host to nearly 250 million users, later reinstated the account. MORE: Fed holds interest rates steady, but cut expected soon The incidents stoked concern among some experts about the potential for Musk to wield X as a means of influencing public conversation about an election in which he holds a clear preference. "Its an unsettling situation," Paul Barrett, a professor at New York University Law School and deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, told ABC News. "It illustrates the power that can reside in the hands of a single individual because of the almost bizarre way our current communications architecture is structured." Some experts disagreed, however, saying critics lack evidence of Musks undue intervention at X. They also downplayed the role X plays in the wider political conversation, noting that a focus on the platform risks overstating Musks influence. "I actually dont think his ownership of Twitter or activities on Twitter make the slightest bit of difference," Siva Vaidyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, told ABC News, referring to the platform by its former name. X did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. The request also sought comment from Musk. When Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he vowed to relax content moderation and turn the platform into a "digital town square." The company cut more than half of its staff, eased restrictions on some forms of speech and reinstated an account belonging to Trump, among other changes. Meanwhile, Musks follower count soared. When he acquired Twitter, Musk had about 110 million followers. After adding more than 80 million followers, Musk has far surpassed the followings of top users like former President Barack Obama and pop star Justin Bieber. In some cases, Musk has posted and amplified misinformation on X, including a post in January that falsely claimed a dependence on mail-in ballots would lead to a "rigged election." "As the owner of Twitter, hes the person whos supposed to police the content but he himself is engaging in the spread of fake information," Hamed Qahri-Saremi, a professor of computer information systems at Colorado State University who studies social media, told ABC News. PHOTO: President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are seen at the Firing Room Four after the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft on NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 30, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters, FILE) After easing content moderation, the platform has come to rely on Community Notes, a system in which context is appended to false or misleading posts once it receives approval from a sufficient number of users. That system has proven inconsistent, however, allowing some false posts to spread widely without corrections, The New York Times reported last week. Sam Woolley, a professor at the University of Texas School of Journalism who focuses on political communication and technology, said Musks commitment to free speech has fallen short in recent cases, for instance the temporary suspension of the account affiliated with "White Dudes for Harris." "Musks actions suggest serious contradictions with his stated free speech intentions on the platform," Woolley told ABC News. Some experts sharply disagreed with criticism of Musk regarding his oversight of X, saying he hasnt interfered with the platform in a manner that suggests an intent to reward his political allies or punish his foes. "Has Elon come out and specifically set a policy or rule for X that in turn would then say hes abusing that power?" asked Jason Buckweitz, a professor of business at Columbia University who studies the digital economy. "I havent seen any evidence." "I dont necessarily think its a concern unless theres some level of negative influence," Buckweitz added. Plus, observers should not assume that Musks large follower count translates into immense impact, said Vaidyanathan, noting that some of the followers are likely bots and inactive users. "The very exposure to or posting of something doesn't mean that anybody saw it or believed it," Vaidyanathan said. Many of the followers are likely supporters of Musk who would already back his preferred candidate anyway, he added. For his part, Vaidyanathan said Musk still wields significant political influence as the owner of aerospace company Space X, which has current contracts with the U.S. government. MORE: Where do Trump and Harris stand on cryptocurrency? Joshua Tucker, director of the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University, said Musk's dual role as an owner and user of X raises a policy question surrounding the regulation of social media platforms. Tucker, who declined to say whether X warrants government regulation, pointed to a law calling for the ban or sale of TikTok as an example of the federal government weighing in on social media. On Wednesday, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation that aims to protect children's safety on social media, signaling further willingness to police the platforms. "We continue to live in an era where we have to think very carefully as a country about what types of public policies to regulate the behavior of social media companies in terms of public health but also the information ecosystem," Tucker said. Speaking about Musk's dual role on X, Tucker added: "If this is something the public finds objectionable, that's ultimately a public policy question." Elon Musk is taking a larger role in the election. Can he influence voters? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market stocks and currencies climbed Wednesday Jerome Powell signaled that the Federal Reserve could cut rates as soon as its next meeting in September. Most Read from Bloomberg MSCIs index for developing currencies closed 0.2% higher, while stocks ended the day with a 1.2% gain, after Powell told reporters that a rate cut could be on the table in September, boosting appetite for risk assets. The comments came after the Fed kept rates unchanged. Chairman Powells indication that the Fed could begin cutting rates as soon as next meeting should add fuel to EMs current run, said Malcolm Dorson, senior portfolio manager for Global X Active EM ex-China, Active India and Active Brazil funds. Dorson expects Latin America to extend its own easing cycle once the Fed begins cutting. Asian countries may soon follow too. In Latin America, Colombia delivered a half-percentage-point rate cut Wednesday, reducing the key rate to 10.75% in a region that has already moved toward easing. Central bankers from Brazil and Chile are also due to meet today to set rates. Brazil is expected to keep rates steady, while Chile is forecast to cut by a quarter-point. Israels shekel headed for its biggest three-day selloff in two years as traders worried the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil raises the danger of a broader Middle East war. The countrys dollar bonds were the worst performers in emerging markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In credit markets, bonds from Venezuela and its state-owned oil company slipped across the curve amid speculation that President Nicolas Maduro may try to bring forward the inauguration of his third term. Maduro also asked Venezuelas top court to audit the results of Sundays presidential election in a bid to legitimize his victory, despite the oppositions claim it has proof that he stole the vote. In Sri Lanka, the International Monetary Fund will conclude its visit to Colombo on Aug. 1, as the country awaits its decision on whether a deal with private creditors is compliant with an analysis of debt sustainability. --With assistance from Jorgelina do Rosario and Carolina Wilson. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) An employee was bitten during a large fight that erupted Wednesday evening at a Ladson Road fast food restaurant. Officers with the North Charleston Police Department were dispatched to a Bojangles shortly before 7 p.m. after being notified of an active fight at the business. 2 arrested in Georgetown County after brawl breaks out over unseasoned chicken The victim, an employee at the restaurant, told police that she was behind the counter when the suspects entered and said they wanted to fight her because one of the other suspects had lost a previous fight. The victim, 19, said she took her shoes and socks off as the suspects came behind the counter and challenged her to fight, according to an incident report. She also admitted to verbally challenging them before they began assaulting her. According to the report, the victim was engaged in a one-on-one fight with one of the suspects before another approached and started assaulting her and then engaged in another fight. A second victim who was working at the drive-thru window intervened and attempted to separate the individuals, but she was assaulted by one of the suspects before they all left the restaurant. Police say roughly four to six people entered the business to intimidate the victim. The victim and another unnamed person told police the subjects had been seen sitting outside of the restaurant on several occasions waiting for the victim to leave so they could confront her. The report says the victim suffered a broken fingernail, broken toenail, and a bite mark on her inner left bicep which broke the skin. The second victim injured her elbow. Police were looking to identify the suspects. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Misguided attempts to conserve wild salmon are an attack on tribal sovereignty and come at a huge cost to Indigenous culture and livelihoods. The Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) has petitioned the federal government to list Gulf of Alaska chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To be clear, this organization does not represent the interests of Indigenous nations in Alaska or in Washington, and it has no place interfering with fisheries management. An ESA listing would shift management of the fishery from the state of Alaska to the federal government and could lead to significant harm to Alaskas fishing communities. WFC is attempting to bypass the states existing process, which brings together stakeholders and managers to make wise use decisions about natural resources management. Our federal trustee, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), failed to follow its own tribal consultation policy when it accepted WFCs petition to list this population under the ESA. The petition was flawed to begin with. NOAA acknowledged it contained numerous factual errors, omissions, incomplete references, and unsupported assertions and conclusions within the petition. In addition to unsupported assertions of overharvest, the petition included a list of generalized environmental threats that are common to salmon coastwide. It also failed to provide a comprehensive review of the status of Gulf of Alaska chinook or an overview of Alaskas sustainable management of these stocks. This is not the first time that WFC has inserted itself into fisheries management. The Wild Fish Conservancy has a history of frivolous litigation, said Richard Chalyee Eesh Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Their attacks have impacted tribes in Washington and Oregon, taken time and resources away from important conservation and restoration efforts, and attempt to criminalize our traditional ways of life, as well as challenge tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. Their petition is a distraction from the real problems before us. Trawling and subsequent bycatch, climate change, and the destruction of habitat must be at the forefront of these conversations. In 2014, WFC sued to force an end to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlifes steelhead hatcheries. A year later, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe harvested the last returns from that program. Our ancestors gave up everything so that we could continue to fish in our traditional areas, said Scott Schuyler, natural resources director for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, at the time. Without hatchery production, we cant have a meaningful fishery. Since then, WFC has continued to file lawsuits attacking hatchery programs in western Washington and along the Columbia River. Litigation, not conservation, is their business plan. They seek donations under the guise of conserving salmon, but where does that money go, except to file more lawsuits? An ESA listing of Gulf of Alaska chinook salmon would disproportionately harm the Tlingit and Haida communities, whose purse seine fisheries already are being squeezed out by commercial and sport fisheries. Tlingit and Haida have asked the federal government to incorporate their traditional ecological knowledge into the review process for an ESA listing. Our traditional knowledge provides a long-term perspective on ecological changes, species behavior, and environmental health that is invaluable for informing sustainable management practices, President Peterson said. Similarly, NWIFC tribes have since time immemorial been the stewards of the salmon that originate or pass through our homelands. Our stewardship extends throughout their migratory range to ensure their health and sustainability. Chinook salmon in our waters are affected by sport and commercial salmon fisheries in Southeast Alaska, so an ESA listing would impact our treaty resources too. The listing would affect Indigenous economies, food sovereignty and traditional ways of life from the Aleutian Islands to the Columbia Basin. Here in Washington, our treaty rights are protected by the Boldt decision in U.S. v. Washington. Maybe thats why the WFC is now trying to interfere with fisheries in Alaska. Their misguided petition sounds well-meaning. The purpose of the Endangered Species Act, after all, is to protect and conserve imperiled species. However, the petition does not meet the conservation standard of distinguishing between species that are healthy and those at risk of becoming imperiled. As President Peterson said, this petition is a distraction from the real issues that need attention, such as climate change and habitat destruction. That is where we need to focus our efforts. Ed Johnstone is chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission based in Olympia. Endorsement: Kansas 1st District can vote for American democracy, or something else | Opinion Tracey Mann, the incumbent Republican representing Kansas 1st Congressional District, lost our endorsement on Jan. 6, 2021. Thats the day Mann voted to continue to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, mere hours after he and his colleagues were run out of their own chambers in the Capitol, under threat from an insurgent mob seeking to overturn the will of Americas voters and keep Donald Trump in the White House. Mann was a willing participant in the insurrectionist cause, voting to override results from Pennsylvania and Arizona based on bogus evidence of election fraud that had been debunked at every turn by election boards and courts. The fact that Mann was willing to try to subvert an election and American democracy so his favored candidate could win is, in our view, a disqualifying event. We called and sent email, asking if hed changed his mind about this (politicians do sometimes evolve), but what we got back was nothing. So we can only assume hell try the same play if given another chance this coming January. The fact that hes the odds-on favorite to win renomination in the Aug. 6 Republican primary is disturbing. Its a sad commentary on what has become of the sprawling district. Historically, the Big First has been an incubator for conservative and principled Kansas statesmen, including U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, and of course, Kansas political icon Bob Dole. But the last two go-rounds in the gigantic district brought us Mann, and before him, Sen. Roger Marshall. Marshall also sided with the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol, voting to overturn the election after seeing the Senate chamber taken over by a motley mob led by a self-styled QAnon Shaman in a fur headdress with animal horns. The 1st District deserves better than Tracey Mann. And voters have a better choice. Mann is being challenged by Eric Bloom, a Lawrence property investor and farm owner. Unfortunately, Bloom is not well-known and is running a self-funded shoestring campaign, more as an exercise in civics than anything else. Blooms previous candidate experience was a long-shot run at lieutenant governor, 22 years ago. His father, the late Dan Bloom, a longtime school superintendent, ran in the Republican primary for governor that year and needed a placeholder for the second spot on the ticket, so he tapped his young son to fill it. Bloom, now 45 and financially secure, was inspired to enter this years congressional race by the example of an aunt who year after year recruits Democrats to run in deep-red Nemaha County, so people there will have choices when they vote. I know the reality of somebody whos running without a PAC, and you know, running against a two-time incumbent; the math does not bode well, Bloom admits. At the same time, I have to believe just like my aunt that this is our system of government and thats why a democracy is wonderful. And if we dont give ourselves choices, well then its not really a democracy is it? On the issues, Bloom defines himself as anti-MAGA and an opponent of the Heritage Foundations Project 2025, a right-wing wish list of government services to be put on the chopping block if Trump wins a second term. Bloom is pro-choice, which puts him on the side of 60% of Kansans (though not the 1st District, where the ill-fated 2022 anti-abortion-rights amendment called Value Them Both enjoyed its strongest support). The only reason Bloom is eligible to represent the 1st District is because Republicans in the Kansas Legislature gerrymandered the overwhelmingly red district to include and cancel progressive and Democratic voters in Lawrence. The Big First now absurdly spans nearly the 400-mile width of the state, from Colorado almost to Missouri. If nothing else, a vote for Bloom would annoy GOP elders in Topeka, and send a message about the perils of abusing the district-mapping process. If you cherish American democracy like we do, Eric Bloom isnt just the best choice. Hes the only choice. ENFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) The Enfield community is mourning the passing of a 17-year-old student who died after a crash in Massachusetts over the weekend. On Thursday, Enfield High School Principal Erin E. Clark said Megan Davis was a senior who was beloved by her classmates and teachers. Enfield teen dies in Massachusetts crash Her teachers described her as kind and friendly and as someone who could light up a room with her infectious smile and playful personality, Clark said in a statement. She was described as inquisitive, curious and enthusiastic. The school is encouraging students and families to reach out for support and utilize resources available for grieving students from noon to 3 p.m. at the J.F.K. Middle School library. School counselors, social workers, and staff from Enfield Youth Services will continue to be available to meet with individual students or groups of students, as needed and should contact our school counseling office or school administration for assistance, Clark said. Meriden man dies after motorcycle, pickup collide The fatal collision happened around 2 p.m. on Sunday in Blandford. Not much information has been released as of Thursday. The crash investigation is being conducted by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorneys Office and the Chester-Blandford Police Department. News 8 has reached out to Hampden District Attorneys Office for more information. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. NEW YORK Rudy Giuliani agreed Wednesday to settle outstanding fees he owes to financial investigators with profits from the sale of his multimillion-dollar Manhattan penthouse or his Palm Beach condo to bring an end to his tortured bankruptcy case. The case was set to be dismissed without paying off his creditors until the judge last week slammed on the brakes, threatening Giuliani with a possible grilling about his finances under oath unless he resolved the outstanding fees. Instead, Giuliani has agreed to park $100,000 in escrow for Global Data Risk LLC, the forensic accounting firm his creditors retained on his dime with a judges approval. The proposed agreement, which the court must approve, says hell satisfy the remainder of the debt with proceeds from whichever property he sells first his $5.7 million Upper East Side E. 66th St. apartment, which he put on the market last year, or his Florida condo, valued at around $3.5 million, which is not currently for sale. The cash-strapped ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December after a Washington, D.C., jury determined he owed Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Shaye Moss around $148 million for baselessly accusing them of committing ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential election in a fictional plot to win President Biden the White House. He listed his existing debts at over $150 million and up to $10 million in assets. Earlier this month, White Plains federal bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said he would dismiss the case after all sides agreed to it. In his decision, he said Giuliani had failed to provide an accurate and complete picture of his financial affairs as ordered by the court. But in a written order July 25, the judge said he would consider reversing course and refuse to finalize the dismissal order amid Giulianis unwillingness to settle around $400,000 in outstanding fees owed to the financial investigators hired by his creditors, who accused him of disguising the true state of his finances. With no resolution on the horizon here, Lane said hed be forced to determine how the fees would get paid at an evidentiary hearing, possibly including a grilling in the witness box for Giuliani. He gave the parties until noon Wednesday to propose an alternative. What little we know about (Giulianis) financial situation makes his stance here more troubling, Lane wrote on July 25. Even assuming that (Giuliani) does not have the funds on hand to immediately pay these bankruptcy expenses, he certainly has considerable assets upon which he can draw to pay such expenses. Story continues The yet-to-be-approved order says the accounting firm will be granted liens on Giulianis properties as a precaution that will not be enforced for at least six months if he fails to cough up the cash. When the bankruptcy case is formally dismissed, Freeman and Moss can take action to enforce the eye-popping judgment awarded to them, and the unsecured creditors suing Giuliani for wide-ranging claims can proceed with their cases that were frozen when he filed for bankruptcy. Giuliani plans to appeal the verdict in the elections workers case. Those suits include claims brought by Giulianis former assistant, Noelle Dunphy, whos suing him for sexual assault and harassment; Bidens son, Hunter Biden, concerning the laptop saga; Daniel Gill, a fired Staten Island supermarket worker who says Giuliani framed him for assault; voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic, who say Giuliani defamed them as trying to rig the last presidential election; several law firms, the IRS and New York tax authorities. As he submerges ever deeper into debt, Giuliani, 80, also faces criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona related to his alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, to which hes pleaded not guilty. He was barred from practicing law in New York on Jul. 2 for repeatedly lying about the last presidential election. Lawyers for Freeman and Moss did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment, nor did Giuliani, his bankruptcy attorneys or his spokesperson. _____ An English professor in Colorado was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of murder after police found his wife bleeding and injured and his infant daughter dead at their home, Denver police announced. Authorities said Regis University professor Nicholas Myklebust, 44, called first responders on Monday to report that he had found his wife on the floor inside their home and that their infant daughter was not breathing, according to an affidavit obtained by HuffPost. The Denver Post reported Tuesday that Myklebust told police he had woken up from a nap to find his wife, 44-year-old Seorin Kim, on the ground bleeding, and that he believed she must have fallen from a stepladder in the bedroom. Police outside the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, home of the Colorado Supreme Court, on January 2, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Chet Strange via Getty Images Officers who arrived at the scene did not see evidence of that; Kim had multiple blunt-force injuries to her head and face not consistent with a fall, the Post reported, though the medical examiner has not released her official cause of death. Their daughter was found in a bedroom without visible injuries and pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives observed bruising and blood on Myklebusts knuckles, along with scratch marks on his neck and chest, according to the affidavit. Myklebust told police that the bruising was skin discoloration, and that his wife sometimes scratched his body because of his psoriasis, according to the Post. Denver Deputy District Attorney Anthony Santos told a judge at Myklebusts bond hearing that police also found bloody gloves in the dryer and on the dryer, according to the Denver Gazette. The child that died Monday was the second to die in Myklebusts custody, according to the Gazette, citing prosecutors at his bond hearing. Myklebusts first child died in 2021 after suffering skull fractures, but no charges were filed at the time. An attorney for Myklebust didnt immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment on Wednesday. Regis University shared a statement with HuffPost on Wednesday, saying news of Myklebusts arrest was profoundly distressing for our entire community. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this situation, especially the victims family, and all members of our community who are grappling with this difficult news, university officials said in the statement. Related... LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) The EPA has waived gasoline emission requirements in Michigan to mitigate the impacts of a supply disruption caused by a refinery shutdown in July. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced Thursday that the agencys requirements for Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin to sell low-emission gasoline during the summer months have been waived due to an extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance caused by the unanticipated closure of a prominent gas supplier in the Midwest. The ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery in Illinois unexpectedly shut down on July 15 due to severe weather, interfering with gasoline supply and distribution in Michigan. Additionally, hurricane season could potentially impact additional gasoline transportation from other regions like the Gulf. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday requesting an emergency fuel waiver to prioritize fuel access and distribution ahead of the 2024 hurricane seasonwhich is predicted to be severe. Today, Im taking action to help protect Michiganders from fuel supply disruptions, said Whitmer. With hurricane season in full swing and a refinery outage in Illinois, we must ensure were taking all the steps necessary to proactively protect Michiganders access to fuel for their cars, homes, and businesses without delay. This, according to Whitmer and the EPA, will increase the supply of fuel in the state and mitigate price fluctuations amidst the refinery outage. Other emission requirements still apply. This comes a day after the introduction of House Bill 5897, another effort to mitigate gasoline price spikes. If passed, the bill would prohibit excessive pricing for gasoline during periods of market disruption. See an excerpt from Whitmers letter to the federal government below: Michigan requests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue a waiver regarding reformulated gasoline regulations in Michigan. With a refinery in the region being offline due to unforeseen circumstances . . . precautionary measures must be taken to contain fuel supply disruptions and potential cost increases across the region. My administration has been in close communication with officials in Illinois and other Midwest states since the ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery lost power and went offline on July 15 due to severe weather. . . . I respectfully ask that you consider this request, as it has the potential to prevent fuel supply disruptions and reduce or eliminate the potential impact on residents in Michigan and across the Midwest. Letter from Gretchen Whitmer to the EPA, Aug. 1, 2024 Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The El Paso Police Department (EPPD) is encouraging the community to enroll to its new semester of their Citizen Police Academy (CPA). In partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety, EPPD will be hosting free sessions of the CPA starting in September, according to the department. The community education program begins on Tuesday, Sept. 3 and ends on Thursday, Sept. 26. The classes will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., according to EPPD. Applications for the CPA can be entered online at the El Paso Police Departments website. Applications must be turned in by Friday, Aug. 16, according to EPPD. All applicants must be at least 18-years-old and no longer in high school. There is no age limit. CPA is a community policing program to help citizens learn about different functions with the EPPD and the Texas Department of Safety. Topics that will be covered during the program are the following: Patrol Crime scene investigations Homicide investigations Texas Rangers Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) and more Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Disability advocates worry that the state health department had erroneously ended coverage for hundreds of Medicaid waiver recipients. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines. More than 250 Marylanders with developmental disabilities were erroneously disenrolled this summer from Medicaid programs that gave them access to community services and other care, leaving family members frustrated and angry as they try to regain services for loved ones. It feels like he somehow fell out of the system that was supposed to work for him, said Frederick resident Patricia Marshall, 67, of her grandsons sudden loss of his Medicaid waiver. After a handful of disability advocates flagged the issue to the Maryland Department of Health earlier this month, the state acknowledged that it had incorrectly ended coverage for some recipients that it deemed as being above the asset limit or having too much money to still qualify, in other words. Ryan Moran, the deputy Health secretary in charge of Medicaid and health care financing, confirmed Wednesday that there were erroneous disenrollments and that the agency has since restored coverage for 263 people. We are in the process of continuing to do a full review of all the particular circumstances of which the disenrollments occurred, Moran said. The actions that we took included an extensive review to determine the disenrollments that were identified and whether those disenrollments were processed appropriately. The Maryland Health Departments Developmental Disabilities Administration offers three Medicaid waivers that allow people to receive a wide variety of services, from live-in caregiver supports to transportation, respite care, employment services and more. In a July 2 letter, the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition alerted the department to what it believed were numerous cases of improper waiver terminations, calling on it to review and restore those services. We fear that hundreds of Waiver participants state-wide have been improperly issued these termination notices and will experience gaps in their services, creating an unnecessary risk of institutionalization, the letter said. While the investigation is ongoing, Moran said that the health department has identified opportunities where the agency can avoid future errors. We do believe that some of our initial work that we have done, in terms of those reviews, provide the opportunity for additional staff training as well as some updated opportunities with system modifications to prevent these types of erroneous determinations in the future, he said. Rachel London, executive director of Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, said she appreciates the department looking back at the hundreds of people who were potentially going to lose their critical services and supports. Donnie Marshall. Photo courtesy of Patricia Marshall. In the meantime, some families have found themselves lost in bureaucratic maze as they tried to understand why their loved ones could no longer access the services they need. Caregivers like Marshall who, along with her husband, takes care of their grandson, Donnegan. Donnie, as they call him, is 23 years old and relies on his grandparents for most aspects of his life, as he suffered from a traumatic brain injury due to shaken baby syndrome. Since 2022, Donnie has gone to the Arc of Frederick County for day services and physical therapy, which were covered by a Community Supports Medicaid waiver for people with developmental disabilities. On June 25, Marshall was surprised to learn that Donnies coverage would end just days later, on June 30. She heard the news from a state Developmental Disabilities Administration coordinator, but did not receive an official notice from the health department until July 8. That letter, which was dated June 17, said Donnies services were being terminated because he was above the asset limit. Its very upsetting, very depressing. Were trying to do everything we can to meet the requirements, she said recently. In the meantime, Marshall has been paying almost $600 a week to the Arc of Frederick to continue those services for Donnie. Baltimore County resident Trisha Kendall, 49, looks after her brother Mark, a 47-year-old who works in a grocery store and has been using Marylands Community Pathways Medicaid waiver for years. He has a rare genetic condition called chromosome five-p deletion syndrome, also known as cri du chat syndrome. Trisha received a notice on July 1 in Marks online account with the state that said his services would be ending on July 31, due to income over asset. She said earlier that this month that she had been trying to clear up and correct any issues with his account but has struggled to get in touch with someone from the health department or its various divisions that interact with the Medicaid waivers. Trisha Kendall stands with her brother Mark. Photo courtesy of Trisha Kendall. Im angry, Im extremely angry. And Im frustrated that no one will speak to me and help me, she said then. Moran said that determining which individuals qualify for the medical waivers is complex and that different parts of the eligibility process may be handled by different divisions of the health department. The eligibility-for-waiver service, specifically, requires a review of financial, technical and medical criteria, and that can be a variety of particular state agency teams working together on an individuals review of eligibility of services, he said. Randi Ames, managing attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, says that the Developmental Disabilities Coalition has been working with department officials to address the situation. The coalition is comprised of Disability Rights Maryland, the Arc Maryland, Maryland Association of Community Services, Maryland Disabilities Council, and People on the Go of Maryland. The coalition has had two meetings with the Department of Health now, Ames said. We appreciate that the department went back and did another review based on our concerns, Ames said. But I think its indicative of the larger problem that my organization and other organizations have had around improper termination broadly since the Medicaid redetermination process started back up in April 2023. Ames worries that there may be more people with Medicaid waivers who were terminated for other improper reasons. It took a lot of time and effort from the DD coalition for one piece of this Theres been a lot of confusion and misinformation, Ames said. Some improvements, but questions remain Monday, Donnies grandmother said that staff from the Arc of Frederick told her that Donnies waiver had been reinstated and that he would soon be eligible to receive services again. We learned this last week, that an investigation had been done, and it was determined that they had been in error for disenrolling Donnie, as well as a number of other people. And that Donnie is eligible and will be receiving services again, Marshall said. But she noted that she still has not received official notice from the Department of Health about her grandsons waiver. Im really frustrated because there have been no communication to us zero, Marshall said this week. We dont have the letter in the meantime I have to continue still paying for services. Trisha Kendall is still waiting for help with her brothers Medicaid waiver. On Wednesday, she received an email confirming that an appeal for Marks Medicaid waiver termination was received. But Marks services had ended the day before. She says that the uncertainty around Marks waiver services fills her with a mixture of devastation and anger. Hes a 47-year-old man whos lived in the state his whole life. His intellectual and learning disabilities are the same, she said. I dont know whats changed. I dont know whats different, she said. I just really need help. Im just asking for help. If its my fault, if I did something. If theres someone on the other end of the phone that will just answer my call help me. Estonia will impose customs control upon all travellers crossing the border with Russia starting from 8 August to combat sanctions evasion. Source: Margus Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, reports European Pravda Details: On Thursday, Tsahkna announced that in a week, customs control would be mandatory for all travellers crossing the Estonian-Russian border. Quote: "From 8 August, Estonia will implement full customs control on the border with Russia to better ensure that we do not feed Russias war machine and help the aggressor evade sanctions." The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia had developed a plan to gradually introduce customs control of all people and goods travelling from Estonia to Russia. "Unfortunately, attempts to evade sanctions and smuggle prohibited goods continue at our borders, as does Russia's brutal war against Ukraine By applying general control of goods, we will make it more difficult for Russia to evade sanctions and supply its war machine," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said. The government predicts that general control, instead of selective control, will increase border crossing times. Background: There were reports earlier in July that Estonia may tighten customs controls at the border with Russia due to increasingly frequent attempts to smuggle sanctioned goods, including dual-use goods. Estonian customs officials said that euros in cash, expensive branded goods, luxury wines, and car parts are the most commonly smuggled goods from the EU to Russia. Support UP or become our patron! Fashion technologys latest trend isnt on the runwayits in the law. Earlier this year, the EU passed watershed AI legislation with the EU AI Act, which effectively segments certain use cases for the technology by risk level. The legislation officially came into force Thursday. More from Sourcing Journal Most of the AI Acts provisions will become effective starting August 2, 2026, but systems presenting what the EU would deem unacceptable risk will be prohibited in six months, and rules for general-purpose models, often referred to as foundation models, will be applicable in August 2025. Companies that develop or deploy the technology in European markets will be responsible for adhering to the regulations, regardless of whether they have a physical presence in the bloc. So, for instance, if a U.S.-based company sells to EU consumers digitally, it will still be responsible for aligning its practices with the law if it uses AI systems. Some use cases, like biometric identification and categorization, social scoring and behavioral manipulation of vulnerable groups, will be banned. Other use cases will be considered high risk or limited risk; high-risk applications face more stringent requirements. Generative AI, which includes tools for text generation, like ChatGPT, and technology focused on image generation, like Midjourney, is not automatically considered high risk. However, companies will have to disclose that content has been generated by AI or that a user is interacting with an AI system. That applies to deepfakesimages, audio or video designed to look or sound like a real-life person, which are sometimes used by fashion brands for product images. Karen Schuler, principal and head of global privacy and data protection at consulting firm BDO, said companies should start preparing for the regulations implementation. To do so, Schuler suggested taking a hard look at data collection, storage and usage, particularly for personalization use cases that have to do with a consumers body measurements or biometric characteristics. A lot of [this] always comes down to what kind of information are you going to collect, and how long are you going to store it for [and] where are you going to store it? Whos going to store it for you, and how are you going to protect it? she said. As companies and regulators alike work to interpret the stipulations of the EU AI Act, Schuler said, the bloc will likely work to help retailers understand their true requirements. Emily Burrows, an attorney with Bass, Berry & Sims, said she has started recommending her clients conduct risk assessments on their systems preemptively. If companies violate the EU AI Act, they could face hefty fines, which exceed even the strictest penalties for the GDPR. According to the EU, Non-compliance with certain AI practices can result in fines up to 35 million or 7 percent of a companys annual turnover. Other violations can result in fines up to 15 million or 3 percent of a companys annual turnover. Providing incorrect or misleading information can result in fines up to 7.5 million or 1 percent. Schuler said once the EU has made its full expectations clear, she doesnt expect much leniency on enforcement. Especially for large companies, if they dont take the EU AI Act seriously, they will likely face steep penalties and might even be impacted from delivering certain products or services in the EU, she said. But consumers data is far from the only consideration large companies need to take into account, Burrows said. The EU AI Act also has stipulations around acceptable levels of risk for internal people management. I think a lot of [companies] focus on consumers and dont always think about the employees who are also people and have privacy and personal rights, especially in the EU. The Act is very focused on using AI for recruitment, targeted job advertising, filtering applications and things like that, Burrows explained. Even once somebody is already hired, is AI making decisions that affect actual work relationships? So things like promotion, termination, monitoring performance [and more]. The EU has a head start on comprehensive AI regulation, particularly as compared with other countriesthe United States among themthat lack federal-level regulation around AI in a meaningful way. President Bidens Executive Order, focused on the safe and trustworthy development and use of the technology, was a catalyst for some movement from certain departments and some industry titans. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), for example, has proposed a plan for developing global AI standards, published several draft publications on safe use of generative AI and more. Last year, some of technologys heavy hitters made voluntary commitments around AI transparency and fairness alongside the Biden administration. But even as NIST and other entities continue to solicit public feedback about AI and develop frameworks to guide companies, some states have started to become impatient. They have proposed their own legislation or called on federal regulators to pass legislation. Much of the potential regulation circulating on the U.S. front has little to do with the fashion, apparel and retail industries. However, those industries have started to pop up in some AI-based legislation. The New York Fashion Workers Act added language to protect models from unauthorized use of their digital likenesses. Burrows said while she thinks the EU AI Act will likely influence other nations decisions about AI regulation, it has come under scrutiny in a way that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) did, too. Thats because some countries in the EU bloc have expressed concerns over the AI Act being too restrictive. Comparing back in 2016 [with the GDPR] versus now, it seems like theres a bit more criticism on the [AI] Act potentially hampering innovation, and countries are taking more of a policy framework approach versus being prescriptive, she told Sourcing Journal. Even despite its critics, Schuler said, the EUs regulations could soon become a globally accepted standard in the way the GDPR did. At the moment, the EU AI Act is the highest bar companies have to meet for AI deployment and development, which means that many have started to make plans to adhere to it. Adding another layer of contradictory regulation in a different area of the world could throw a wrench in those plans or create complexities that would make it even more difficult for companies to assess and implement tools as the technology continues to evolve. I do believe the EU AI Act will have a similar halo effect as the GDPR. Where the GDPR became the global standard for data protection and privacy, the EU AI Act could definitely influence other regions and countries to adopt similar or compatible rules for AI, Schuler said. You are going to need to pay attention to the EU AI Act if you want to do business in the European market or collaborate with partners in Europe. The EU is discussing new sanctions against Russia, which may include a ban on imports of Russian fish. Source: Die Welt, as reported by European Pravda Details: The EU imposed a ban on the import of crustaceans and caviar from Russian companies in April 2022 as part of the 8th sanctions package, but fish was omitted. The EU is now considering stricter import bans, which may also encompass fresh fish. This issue is being raised by the EU's Baltic states. First of all, the Lithuanian government complains that fishing trawlers from Russia are fishing in the country and demands countermeasures, including further restrictions on fish exports. Political observers expect discussions on this issue in the European Commission after the summer recess. The European Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE) estimates that more than 70% of pollock imported to the EU in 2022 came from Russian fisheries. The industry association Fisch-Informationszentrum estimates that up to 85% of Alaskan pollock consumed in Germany currently comes from Russia. Germany is dependent on imports for fish processing, as it has only six deep-sea trawlers and has little or no deep-sea fishing of its own. "If the supply from the Russian Alaskan pollock fishery were to stop completely due to sanctions, there would be no substitute for it at the moment," commented Stephan Mayer, Managing Director of the Federal Association of the German Fish Industry and Fish Wholesalers. The US fishery alone cannot compensate for these volumes for the German market, he added. "At the moment, there is no other fishery in the world that provides the necessary volumes and the stamp of sustainability," Mayer said. The United States is the second largest supplier of this type of fish to Europe after Russia. The US has banned imports of Russian Alaskan pollock. Background: The finance ministers of eight EU countries recently stated that Russia is disseminating a false narrative about the strength of its economy. They noted that Western sanctions have effectively impacted Russia's military machine, although they believe the sanctions need to be further strengthened. At the end of June, the Council of the EU adopted the latest, 14th package of economic and individual restrictive measures against Russia, which, for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, included sanctions against Russian gas. Support UP or become our patron! People carry the coffin of Hamas Political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian Capital, during his funeral ceremony at Tehran University in Tehran. Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa A spokesman for the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell criticized the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in line with the EU's opposition to "extrajudicial killings." The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor was seeking an arrest warrant for Haniyeh on various charges of war crimes, the spokesman added. The spokesman also called for maximum restraint "because no country and no nation stands to gain from furthered escalation in the Middle East and in the wider region." Iran and Hamas accuse Israel of killing Haniyeh in an airstrike as he visited Tehran. Israel has not yet officially responded to the claims. Hamas chief Ismaeil Haniyeh meets Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian (Not Pictured) in Tehran. Palestinian militant organization Hamas has said on Telegram that Haniyeh, was killed in a "Zionist raid" on his residence in Tehran. In a statement, Hamas added that Haniyeh was killed after he had attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian in the Iranian capital. -/Iranian Presidency/dpa (Bloomberg) -- The European Union rebuffed concerns from Hungary and Slovakia over a decision by Ukraine to sanction a major Russian oil company and rejected for now their request for urgent consultations over the security of crude supplies. Most Read from Bloomberg European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis notified Hungary and Slovakia on Thursday that a preliminary analysis shows sanctions Ukraine introduced on Russias Lukoil PJSC in June dont affect transit operations carried out by trading companies via the Druzhba pipeline as long as Lukoil isnt the formal owner of the oil. As the consignees of the oil, the traders involved in the transactions are considered by Ukraine to be the owners of the oil, according to two people familiar with the matter. One such company is Litasco SA, which is owned by Lukoil. Others are Tatneft-Europe AG, Blackford Corporation Ltd. and Normeston Trading SA. Litasco isnt under Ukrainian sanctions, Taras Kachka, Ukraines deputy economy minister, told Bloomberg. In July, scheduled deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia where Litasco was indicated as the consignee were cancelled by the Russian side, the people said. Dombrovskis discussed the transit issue with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in a phone call Thursday after Hungary and Slovakia rang alarm bells over the sanctions slapped by Kyiv on Lukoil. The two central European governments raised concerns over the security of supplies and called on the EU to help resolve the situation. A commission spokesperson said the blocs analysis shows no immediate risk to the security of supply for the two countries and that the commission is now waiting for more details from Hungary and Slovakia. Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Ukraine hasnt taken any steps to block transit of oil. Our partners need to know: Each dollar which Russia receives for gas and for oil, they contribute to the military machine, and of course for us it is important, he said in a Bloomberg interview in Kyiv. One issue that the EUs executive arm is seeking to clarify is the status of the oil imported by the Hungarian company MOL. The trading firms selling the oil are considered the formal owners of the shipment. The commission services were informed that MOL set out in formal letters that Lukoil was indeed not the owner of the oil transported via Ukraine for the MOL Group. We would appreciate a confirmation from you that this is indeed the case, Dombrovskis said in a letter to Budapest and Bratislava seen by Bloomberg. He also noted that several member states asked about the availability of alternative supply routes for importing crude and questioned why Hungary and Slovakia had apparently not explored alternatives so far. Hungary has been reluctant to diversify its oil supplies, claiming, without evidence, that costs would be significantly higher to import from alternatives like Croatia. Budapests reliance on Russian crude oil appears to have increased last year compared to 2021, according to Eurostat data. --With assistance from Alberto Nardelli, Daryna Krasnolutska, Kateryna Chursina and Stuart Livingstone-Wallace. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. EU sees no threat to Hungary and Slovakia from Ukraine's sanctions against Russian energy giant Lukoil The European Commission is continuing to investigate the situation concerning oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia following Ukraine's halt of oil transit from Russian oil giant Lukoil. However, at this stage, no impact on oil supplies has been observed as a result of this decision. Source: European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari at a briefing, as reported by European Pravda Details: The spokesperson noted that the relevant services of the European Commission had contacted the governments of all three countries to clarify the circumstances. "From the information we have at our disposal and based on the internal analysis by the European Commission, it seems that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Lukoil do not affect the current transit of oil through the Druzhba pipeline, as Lukoil is not the official owner of this oil," Ujvari said. He added that the European Commission is still awaiting more detailed explanations from Budapest and Bratislava to confirm its findings. "I can also confirm that the European Commission services have tentatively concluded that urgent consultations are not warranted at this stage, as there is no indication of an urgent risk to supply security," the spokesman said. Background: Hungary and Slovakia are known to have been granted exemptions from the European-wide ban on Russian oil imports following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine recently stopped the transit of Lukoil products through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia argue that Kyiv's decision threatens their energy security and have initiated discussions with the European Commission. Ukraine insists that de facto the same amount of oil is flowing through the pipeline as before, thanks to other Russian companies. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of consequences if Ukraine does not resume the transit of Russian Lukoil oil. Budapest has threatened to block 6.5 billion in payments from the European Peace Facility to compensate for arms supplies to Ukraine until the problem with Lukoil's oil transit is resolved, and Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that it was the EU that asked Ukraine to stop transiting Russian oil. Support UP or become our patron! Like you, we have read countless comparisons between today's enthusiasm for all things AI and the top of the TMT bubble in 2000, with the implication being that stocks are on thin ice. In terms of technical description, the parallels are accurate the narrowness of the market, the elevated cross-sectional volatility, and the concentration of capitalization in a few issues all look similar to the 2000 top. One way of looking at this is to count how many stocks it takes to explain the return of the S&P 500. Exhibit 1 shows how the number of stocks increases as the size of a six-month market move gets larger in both directions. It also shows that the narrow markets we have recently lived through are rather like those of early 2000 in magnitude and breadth: over the six months ending June 2024, just a few stocks accounted for all the S&P 500 return. Normally we might expect a return of this magnitude to be driven by hundreds of stocks. GMO Insight: Concentrate! Is It Like 2000 Again? We are wary of arguments of the form, the last time technical event X was observed, Y followed, and we see X today, so Y is just around the corner. While these X-then-Y arguments can be useful prompts for vigilance here, the investing equivalent of don't run with scissors they are too limited in scope. Investment returns ultimately come from three sources: earnings growth, dividends received, and change in the earnings multiple. Our approach could be summarized as taking care of fundamentals by focusing on quality while controlling valuation risk by seeking to avoid overreach on the earnings multiple. If we compare today's markets with the market top in 2000, we see less to fear today on both the fundamentals and the multiples. 1 In 2000, the top-10 stocks comprised five telecom companies, two networking beneficiaries, a software business, an oil company, and a holding company. At the June 2024 quarter end, we have five cloud tech businesses, two chip companies, a pharmaceuticals company, an oil company, and a holding company (Exhibit 2). GMO Insight: Concentrate! Is It Like 2000 Again? In 2000, the price-to-earnings ratio of the top 10 was 60x. Market participants were intoxicated by the ongoing communication revolution and heady fundamental returns of 22% per annum (p.a.) for the group over the preceding five years. The valuation was simply too rich. Even if the fundamental return expectation of 19% p.a. had been delivered and stock prices held, the top 10's multiple would have still exceeded 25x by 2005. In reality the outcome was starkly different the fundamental return was a relatively puny 8% p.a. for the group, with earnings falling at the telecom companies after what turned out to have been disastrous capital allocation in 3G spectrum auctions. Total returns were famously poor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the stellar performer of the group the only one to deliver a positive return was the company the furthest from the TMT epicentre, Exxon (NYSE:XOM). 2024's top 10 have delivered similarly impressive fundamental returns of 19% p.a. since 2019, but the set-up is rather different to 2000, with a median P/E of 27x. If today's top 10 were to deliver on 19% fundamental return expectations and prices were to stay the same this time around, the multiple would collapse to 12x by 2029. Implicitly, investors expect less from the mega-caps now than they did in 2000. In a real sense, the stakes are lower today. A final then and now observation relates to the quality of the two top 10s. GMO's longstanding systematic quality metric that we use for idea screening was in active service in 2000 (as were the writers of this piece). Based on an assessment of the level and stability of profitability, alongside balance sheet strength, 2000's top 10 were barely better than the median business. By contrast, today's top 10 sits squarely in the high-quality camp, with the midpoint just shy of the 10th percentile globally. That fits well with our fundamental assessment of quality most of the current crop have stronger barriers to entry, interesting optionality (e.g., in AI and digitalization), and a better record in capital allocation, too. None of this is intended to be determinative and we are not making another X-then-Y case. We are pointing out that in an important way the stars have aligned differently this time around, even if the market is superficially similar from a technical perspective. In the short term, it's anyone's guess. But looking further out, whether today's mega-caps turn out to be great or less-than-great investments will be a result of the evolution of their fundamentals and the consequent impact on their valuation multiples. Unlike in 2000 when we held only a non-material weight in the top 10, we invest with confidence in a number of these companies today. 2 1 All numbers quoted here relate to medians for the top 10. Fundamental returns are calculated as dividend income and EPS growth in reporting currency. We proxy fundamental return expectations using dividend yield plus consensus earnings growth using IBES estimates. Price-to-earnings ratios are calculated using a constant 12-month window by blending a mix of FY1 and FY2 estimates. 2 Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta are currently among our top holdings in GMO's Quality and Quality Spectrum strategies. Disclaimer: The views expressed are the views of the Focused Equity team through the period ending August 2024 and are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions. This is not an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security and should not be construed as such. References to specific securities and issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as, recommendations to purchase or sell such securities. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. EU sees no threat to Hungary, Slovakia due to Ukraine's Lukoil sanctions so far The European Commission said on Aug. 1 that it is still investigating the situation with oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia after Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian Lukoil oil, but it has not seen any impact as of now. In June, Kyiv imposed sanctions blocking the transit of pipeline oil from Lukoil through its territory to cut off the Kremlin's source of income used to support its military. Kyiv's ban does not apply to other Russian oil exporters who still use the pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia turned to the EU in July as Ukrainian sanctions effectively halted the supplies from the Russian Lukoil company to the two countries via the Druzhba pipeline. Balazs Ujvari, the European Commission's spokesperson, said the body had contacted the governments of all three countries to clarify the circumstances. The sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Lukoil do not affect the current transit of oil through the Druzhba pipeline, as Lukoil is not the official owner of this oil, Uzhvari said. The European Commission services have preliminarily concluded that urgent consultations are not warranted at this stage, as there is no indication of an urgent risk to the security of supply, the spokesperson said. Ujvari also added that the European Commission is still awaiting more detailed information from Budapest and Bratislava to confirm its conclusions. Hungarian and Slovak officials complained that Kyiv was violating its association agreement with the EU and asked the European Commission to intervene. EU ambassadors are not sympathetic to Budapest's and Bratislava's complaints, Politico reported on July 29, as the two countries did not reduce their dependency on Russian oil despite the ongoing war. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal denied on Aug. 1 that the ban on the transit of Russian Lukoil's oil through Ukrainian territory violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, echoing the European Commission's statement. Commenting on Hungary's and Slovakia's reaction to the ban on Lukoil's oil transit, Shmyhal called it "extremely politicized and manipulative." Shmyhal said that Kyiv is open to cooperating with EU member states, particularly Hungary and Slovakia. The prime minister also added that Ukraine is not the real threat to these countries' energy security but Russia, which "is trying to avoid fair sanctions through energy blackmail." Read also: Opinion: Europe must clamp down on Russian oil flows through Turkey Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's internal affairs chief warned Hungary on Thursday that its decision to ease visa restrictions for Russians and Belarusians posed a potential security threat and said she would take action if her concerns were not addressed. Hungary last month extended its "national card" immigration programme to include Russians and Belarusians, among others. The holder of such a card is allowed to work in Hungary without security clearance and can bring their families to the country. The move sparked alarm among EU officials, who said Russia and its ally Belarus could exploit the scheme to send saboteurs and spies into the EU's border-free Schengen zone even as the bloc is trying to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine. "Russia is a security threat. We need more, not less vigilance," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said in a post on X on Thursday evening. "Today in a letter I ask the Hungarian government to explain. If their easy access scheme is a risk, we will act." The incident reflected broader tensions between EU leaders and the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over Russia's war in Ukraine. Orban has maintained close ties to Moscow and visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last month as part of a self-styled "peace mission" - undertaken without EU backing - days after taking over the bloc's rotating presidency. In her letter, Johansson asked Hungary to answer questions about the visa scheme by Aug. 19, "given the potential threat to the Schengen area of these unilateral measures". She said she would draw the "appropriate consequences" if the move breached EU law or put the functioning of the Schengen zone at risk. Johansson did not specify what action she might take. But the European Commission, the EU's executive body, can take legal action against a member country if it deems EU law has been broken. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian citizens still needed a visa to enter Hungary, and therefore the Schengen area as well. He said residency permits for Russian and Belorussian citizens will need to be authorized by relevant authorities. (Reporting by Andrew Gray; editing by Diane Craft) (The Hill) Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released in a historic prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday. President Joe Biden confirmed that they, plus Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, were freed along with five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were being held as political prisoners. He credited Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey with helping secure the deal and called it a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families, Biden said in a statement. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong. In remarks from the White House, Biden was joined by family members of Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza. Live updates: Biden praises allies in celebrating largest prisoner swap since Cold War The Wall Street Journal reported that Gershkovich and other released prisoners had left Russian aircraft around 11 a.m. EDT in Ankara, Turkey. Biden said they would soon be headed back to the United States. The president and the family members were able to speak with the released prisoners on the phone from the Oval Office. Asked what his message was, Biden said, Welcome almost home. The president also emphasized how the U.S. worked not just to free its own citizens, but Russian dissidents who were held in their own country. It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world, Biden said. But it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and later convicted of spying, charges that he, his family and the U.S. has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. government designated him wrongfully detained but had failed to secure his release in earlier prisoner exchanges that saw the release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who were released in separate exchanges in 2022. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of collecting state secrets on the Russian military on behalf of the U.S. government. He became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War and was sentenced in July to 16 years in prison. Bloomberg was the first to report on the release, citing unnamed sources. The Biden administration, press freedom groups and Gershkovichs employer had all called for his release and dismissed the charges as fabricated. Biden had previously said he was willing to agree to a prisoner swap to free Gershkovich, a tactic he had used before to secure the release of Griner in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout known as the Merchant of Death. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in a February interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he would be open to a prisoner exchange, and there had been speculation that Moscow wants the return of Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Georgian citizen who fought against Russia in Chechnya. Bloomberg also reported that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident and husband to an American citizen, is also part of the exchange. Kara-Murza is a prominent Russian opposition politician who was arrested in Russia in 2022 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and spreading disinformation about the Russian military related to its war in Ukraine. OPINION: Russia is using American journalists as pawns on its geopolitical chessboard Republican and Democratic lawmakers began welcoming the release of the detained Americans but also raised concern that prisoner exchanges risked motivating the hostage-taking of Americans and others. I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement He added that he was thrilled over the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Kara-Murza, the U.S. resident and prominent Russian opposition politician. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also commented ahead of U.S. confirmation of the prisoner exchange. He spoke to the challenge of engaging in prisoner swaps without encouraging more arrests. Its always a mixed blessing, because the detainees in Russia shouldnt be detainees, the prisoners that were going to swap are people who have committed really bad things, he told reporters in a roundtable Wednesday. So it always is hard for us to accept that. But the realities are that thats who we are as individuals, thats our values. Our values is to take care of people who are wrongfully detained if we can get them released. Were prepared to make certain sacrifices, which is unfair, but it does provide certain hopes for people who shouldnt be incarcerated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. (The Hill) Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released in a historic prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday. President Joe Biden confirmed that they, plus Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, were freed along with five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were being held as political prisoners. He credited Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey with helping secure the deal and called it a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer. Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families, Biden said in a statement. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong. In remarks from the White House, Biden was joined by family members of Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza. Live updates: Biden praises allies in celebrating largest prisoner swap since Cold War The Wall Street Journal reported that Gershkovich and other released prisoners had left Russian aircraft around 11 a.m. EDT in Ankara, Turkey. Biden said they would soon be headed back to the United States. The president and the family members were able to speak with the released prisoners on the phone from the Oval Office. Asked what his message was, Biden said, Welcome almost home. The president also emphasized how the U.S. worked not just to free its own citizens, but Russian dissidents who were held in their own country. It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world, Biden said. But it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and later convicted of spying, charges that he, his family and the U.S. has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. government designated him wrongfully detained but had failed to secure his release in earlier prisoner exchanges that saw the release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who were released in separate exchanges in 2022. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of collecting state secrets on the Russian military on behalf of the U.S. government. He became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War and was sentenced in July to 16 years in prison. Bloomberg was the first to report on the release, citing unnamed sources. The Biden administration, press freedom groups and Gershkovichs employer had all called for his release and dismissed the charges as fabricated. Biden had previously said he was willing to agree to a prisoner swap to free Gershkovich, a tactic he had used before to secure the release of Griner in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout known as the Merchant of Death. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in a February interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he would be open to a prisoner exchange, and there had been speculation that Moscow wants the return of Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Georgian citizen who fought against Russia in Chechnya. Bloomberg also reported that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident and husband to an American citizen, is also part of the exchange. Kara-Murza is a prominent Russian opposition politician who was arrested in Russia in 2022 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and spreading disinformation about the Russian military related to its war in Ukraine. OPINION: Russia is using American journalists as pawns on its geopolitical chessboard Republican and Democratic lawmakers began welcoming the release of the detained Americans but also raised concern that prisoner exchanges risked motivating the hostage-taking of Americans and others. I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement He added that he was thrilled over the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Kara-Murza, the U.S. resident and prominent Russian opposition politician. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also commented ahead of U.S. confirmation of the prisoner exchange. He spoke to the challenge of engaging in prisoner swaps without encouraging more arrests. Its always a mixed blessing, because the detainees in Russia shouldnt be detainees, the prisoners that were going to swap are people who have committed really bad things, he told reporters in a roundtable Wednesday. So it always is hard for us to accept that. But the realities are that thats who we are as individuals, thats our values. Our values is to take care of people who are wrongfully detained if we can get them released. Were prepared to make certain sacrifices, which is unfair, but it does provide certain hopes for people who shouldnt be incarcerated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Wrongfully imprisoned reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and two others have been released by Russian authorities in a multinational prisoner swap with President Joe Bidens administration. The United States secured the freedom of Gershkovich, Whelan, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and U.S. resident Vladimir Kara-Muza. The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy, Biden wrote in a statement. All told, weve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia-including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome- including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer, Biden added. Let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza are coming home. pic.twitter.com/wWGA83Ss8A President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024 Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained by Russian authorities while on assignment in Yekaterinburg last year. Gershkovich has been held in the notorious Lefortovo prison since March 2023 on trumped-up charges of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison earlier this month. Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020 on charges of espionage. Wheelans detention regained international attention after the Biden administration secured the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner in December after she was arrested on drug charges in 2022. Russian authorities had rebuffed efforts to secure Wheelans release in the prisoner swap that returned Griner to the United States. The successful swap was not without its tragedy. According to the Wall Street Journal, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was intended to be a part of the exchange. Navalny died under incredibly suspicious circumstances in February while serving a 19-year sentence on controversial, extremism-related charges. Navalnys family and several governments have accused the Russian government of murdering the long-time critic of Vladimir Putin. The Biden administration had previously hinted at concerns that negotiations to secure their citizens return would collapse as the 2024 election loomed over talks with Russian authorities. In May, former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Gershkovich will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else. Apparently not. During a press conference announcing the successful recovery, Biden was asked what he would say to Trumps claims that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden retorted. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone By Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) - Evan Gershkovich landed what he told friends he regarded as a dream assignment in Moscow in 2022 - reporting for a famous newspaper on one of the world's top stories, at the age of just 31. But the new job turned into a hellish ordeal when Gershkovich became the first American journalist since the Cold War to be arrested in Russia with investigators accusing him of collecting sensitive military information for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, a charge he and his employer denied. During the 16 months he was held, The Wall Street Journal reporter became a Kremlin bargaining chip as President Vladimir Putin held out the prospect of exchanging him in a deal with Washington. Initially kept in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo jail, a Russian court handed him a 16-year sentence in a rushed and secret trial in July 2024 after convicting him of trying to gather military secrets about a tank factory that is central to Russia's war machine. His employer and the U.S. government said he was innocent and had been subjected to a sham trial. The Kremlin maintained he had been caught spying "red-handed." Gershkovich's fate played out against the background of the war in Ukraine which, in the Kremlin's words, had plunged relations with the United States to "below zero". On Thursday, the Turkish presidency said Gershkovich was being freed as part of a major east-west prisoner swap involving 26 people. During his time in jail, Gershkovich, a literature and philosophy graduate, kept himself going by reading Russian classics such as Vasily Grossman's "Life and Fate", an epic novel set during World War Two. In his cell, he followed events via a TV which showed only Russian state television channels. In his regular correspondence with the outside world, Gershkovich poked fun at his life in jail. His chief request remained gossip from friends and colleagues. One email account, set up by friends and colleagues to forward messages of support from wellwishers via Russia's prison correspondence system, received thousands of letters addressed to Gershkovich during his imprisonment. His contact with the outside world was largely restricted to court hearings where he stood inside a glass cage and exchanged smiles with fellow reporters. He was allowed to speak in the courtroom when his parents Ella and Mikhail, former Soviet citizens who left for the United States in the late 1970s, flew back to Moscow for a hearing to support their son. Gershkovich, now 32, is a New Jersey native who learned Russian from his parents. After graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, he was hired as an assistant at the New York Times before moving to Russia in 2017 to work for the English-language Moscow Times newspaper and then for the French news agency Agence France-Presse. During his years in Moscow, Gershkovich honed his knowledge of a language he said had been patchy before leaving America. Summers were spent at a dacha country house in the forest west of Moscow, while he kept warm during Russia's winters at the capital's steamy bathhouses. CAREER BREAKTHROUGH Gershkovich got the career break he craved in January 2022 when the Wall Street Journal hired him. He was just weeks into his posting when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 of that year. For the next 13 months, he wrote about a country at war, where soldiers were beginning to come home in body bags and the Kremlin was cracking down hard on dissent. "Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years," he posted on Twitter five months after the war began. Based in London and periodically visiting Moscow for reporting trips, he was one of a few Western journalists to continue to travel there as new laws imposed stiff prison sentences for anyone found guilty of "discrediting" the armed forces or spreading false information about them. Gershkovich wrote stories on Putin's inner circle, the Wagner Group mercenary army, and the shift of the economy to a war footing. Then on March 29, 2023, during a trip to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, he was arrested while dining in a restaurant. The FSB security service said he had been collecting information about Uralvagonzavod, a factory that makes tanks for the Ukraine war. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the White House all denied he was a spy, or had ever worked for the U.S. government. President Joe Biden called his detention "totally illegal" and the United States designated him as "wrongfully detained." News of Gershkovich's release followed months of speculation, fuelled by Putin, that Moscow was ready to strike a deal if the terms were right. "I do not exclude that the person you mentioned, Mr. Gershkovich, may end up back in his homeland. Why not? It makes no sense, more or less, to keep him in jail in Russia," Putin told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview that was aired on Feb. 8. Almost six months later, Gershkovich was on his way back to the United States. (Reporting by Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Philippa Fletcher) Evan Gershkovich: Timeline of US journalist jailed in Russia as prisoner swap underway Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, June 26, 2024 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich is set to be released in a high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the US. The exchange would mark the largest prison exchange between the two countries since the Cold War. First detained in March 2023, Mr Gershkovich has been unable to return home for over a year. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prision last month on charges of spying and espionage. The allegations have been routinely denied by US authorities alongside the American journalist and the Wall Street Journal, which employs him. He was detained while working on a report of Russias economy, and accused of attempting to collect classified information about a Russian battle tank manufacturer. Mr Gershkovich has now been in Russian custody for nearly 500 days, with the latest news being the first glimpse of hope for his release. Heres a timeline of Mr Gerskovichs arrest and time in Russian prison: March 29, 2023 Mr Gerskovich is detained in Yekaterinburg by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) and then taken to Moscow. This was despite being accredited by the countrys Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist. He was reporting on the financial cost on the Russian economy from Putins invasion of Ukraine at the time. April 7, 2023 The FSB formally charges Mr Gerskovich with espionage and orders he be held in custody until May 29. The journalist denies the allegations, alongside the WSJ and the Biden administration. April 10, 2023 The US State Department declares Mr Gerskovich to be wrongfully detained. The rare intervention was seen as an attempt by the Biden administration to put pressure on Russian officials to drop the charges. Four days later, the journalists family receive their first direct contact from him: a handwritten letter dated April 5. April 18, 2023 Mr Gerskovichs detention is upheld by a Moscow Court. He is denied bail and ordered to be held in Lefortovo prison before his trial. The location has be known to be used to house political prisoners in the past. US ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, was allowed to meet with the journalist the day before, saying that he was in good health and remains strong. May 23, 2023 A Russian court extends Mr Gerskovichs pre-trial detenton. His parents travel to Moscow for the hearing, telling press: Any parent who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for five minutes. This would mark only the first extension. His pre-trial detention was extended again in August 2023 for three months, and for two more in November 2023. It would not be until June 2024 that the trial takes place. March 29, 2024 Joe Biden releases a statement to mark the on year anniversay of Mr Gerskovichs detention. He says his administration will continue working every day to secure his release. We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russias appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips, he adds. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journaliststhe pillars of free society. October 26, 2023 Mr Gerskovich turns 32 in prison. Friends send him around 300 pages worth of letters from well-wishers, the WSJ reports. June 26 and July 18, 2024 The WSJ journalist appears in a Russian court for his trial on two dates. On July 19, he is found guilty of spying and espionage, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. August 1, 2024 Reports indicate that Mr Gershkovich could be included in a high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the US. Everything we know about Trumps ancestry after he pushed his rivals into question Donald Trump faced heavy criticism on Wednesday after questioning the heritage of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, while speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, he said. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harriss father is from Jamaica and her mother was from India. The vice president said on Wednesday night that Trumps comments were the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. That has sparked questions on the backgrounds of both candidates. Trump is one of five children of the real estate developer Fred Trump and the Scottish immigrant Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. The former president has five children with his three wives as well as 10 grandchildren. Here is everything we know about Trumps ancestry and immediate family. Grandparents Frederick Trump Donald Trumps paternal grandfather was born in 1869 in Kallstadt in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria. He immigrated to the US in 1885 before moving to the Yukon in Canada and operated a restaurant and brothel for Whitehorse miners, according to CBC News. He returned to Kallstadt where he married Elisabeth Christ in 1902 but as he had allegedly left Bavaria to avoid conscription, he had been stripped of his citizenship and he subsequently went back to the US. Frederick Trump moved his family to Queens, where he bought a number of properties before he died at the age of 49 in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza epidemic, according to Politico. Elizabeth Christ Trump Following her husbands death, the 37-year-old took on the management of his properties, co-founding the real estate development company E Trump & Son with Fred Trump, the former presidents father. She died in 1966 at the age of 85. Parents Frederick Trump Sr While Donald Trump has claimed that his father was born in Germany, he was in fact born in New York City to German immigrants Frederick and Elisabeth in 1905. Trump Sr started his own construction company as a 15-year-old in high school, partnering with his mother, according to The New York Times. Donald Trump and his father, Fred, at the opening of Wollman Ice Rink in 1987 (Getty) Starting out by building garages for cars, which were then fairly new, most of Trump Srs wealth came from building low- and middle-income housing in Brooklyn and Queens following the World War II. He died in 1999 at the age of 93. Mary Anne MacLeod Trump Born in 1912 in the Outer Hebrides west of the Scottish mainland, MacLeod emigrated to the US in 1930 and became a citizen 12 years later, according to The New Yorker. Her father was a fisherman and she was the youngest of 10 children. After meeting Fred Trump Sr at a party, they married in 1936 and settled in Jamaica, Queens. Framed photographs of Donald Trump's parents, Fred and Mary Trump, sat on a table in the Oval Office (Getty Images) In The Art of the Deal, published in 1987, Donald Trump wrote that his mother was a very traditional housewife, but she also had a sense of the world beyond her. She subsequently became a philanthropist as the family became wealthier. She died in 2000 at the age of 88. Siblings Maryanne Trump Barry Barry was the oldest of the Trump children, born in 1937. A federal judge, she was married to David Desmond for 20 years, between 1960 and 1980. They had a son, David William Desmond. She married fellow attorney John Joseph Barry in 1982 and they stayed together until his death in 2000. Attending Hofstra University School of Law while her son was in the sixth grade, according to The New York Times, Barry would go on to spend decades as a federal prosecutor and judge. She was nominated to the US Court of Appeals in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. She stopped hearing cases in 2017. Donald Trump (L) is pictured with his sister Maryanne Trump Barry as they adjourn for lunch during a public inquiry over his plans to build a golf resort near Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference centre, Scotland, on June 10, 2008 (AFP via Getty Images) She officially retired in 2019, 10 days after the launch of an investigation on allegations of judicial misconduct and tax evasion. She was secretly recorded in 2018 and 2019 calling Donald Trump cruel and accused him of having no principles. She died in November last year at the age of 86. Frederick Trump Jr Born in 1938, Trump Jr had two children, Frederick Trump III and Mary Trump, after marrying Linda Clapp in 1962. He was expected to take over the family real estate business, but he instead pursued his ambitions to become a pilot, creating unease between him, his father and his brother. After becoming an alcoholic, he quit flying, got divorced, and moved back into his parents house in Queens. He died of a heart attack in September 1981 at the age of 42. Mary Trump wrote in her 2020 book Too Much and Never Enough, that Fred Sr played a large role in destroying her father. Elizabeth Trump Grau Born in 1942, Grau is four years older than the former president. She attended Southern Seminary College in Virginia before joining Chase Manhattan Bank as an administrative assistant, The New York Times noted. She married TV and film producer James Grau in 1989. The couple has no children and has retired to Florida. Robert Trump Donald Trump (R) hugs his brother Robert Trump after delivering his acceptance speech at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 (Getty Images) Robert Trump was born in 1948, the youngest child of Trump Sr and MacLeod. He attended Boston University and started working on Wall Street before joining the family business, The New York Times reported. He died in 2020 at the age of 71 with his funeral being held at the White House during the Trump presidency. Wives Ivana Trump Donald Trump and Ivana Trump attend The Eric Trump 8th Annual Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club Westchester on September 15, 2014, in Briarcliff Manor, New York (Getty Images) Donald Trumps first marriage lasted for 15 years from 1977 to 1992. They had three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. Born in 1949 in what was then Czechoslovakia, she lived in Canada in the early 1970s before her marriage to Trump, whom she met via her modeling career. She held managerial positions in the Trump Organization and worked with her husband on projects such as Trump Tower in New York and the Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to The New York Times. She died after a fall at her Manhattan home in July 2022 at the age of 73. Marla Maples Marla Maples attends Taoray Taoray fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Gallery II at Spring Studios on September 11, 2019, in New York City (Getty Images for Taoray Taoray) Mapless relationship with Trump started while he was still married to Ivana Trump, leading to their 1990 split, according to People. Maples, a 60-year-old from Georgia, and Trump were married in 1993 two months after having a daughter, Tiffany Trump. They divorced in 1999. She worked as an actress, appearing in films and on TV in the 1990s and the 2000s. Melania Trump Former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump during the final day of the Republican National Convention (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Melania Trump was born in what was then Yugoslavia in todays Slovenia in 1970. She briefly attended the University of Ljubljana before starting her modeling career and moving to New York in 1996, according to The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. She met Trump two years later at a Fashion Week party in 1998. They were engaged in 2004, married in early 2005 and had their son Barron in 2006. In 2017, she became the first First Lady born outside of the US since UK-born Louisa Adams served as John Quincy Adamss first lady in the late 1820s. Jeremy Bamber found guilty of the murder of his adoptive parents, his sister Shelia and her six year old twin boys in 1986 - Getty Images There are murder cases that fade away once the crime is solved, ultimately remembered only by a handful of family and friends of the deceased. Then there are those that linger in the public imagination, spawning television mini-series, books, podcasts and forensic journalistic revisitings even decades later. The murders at White House Farm in 1985 fall comfortably in this category. The story is a gruesome one, packed with ingredients guaranteed to keep it alive years after the delivery of a guilty verdict. It begins in a Georgian farmhouse in the Essex village of Tolleshunt DArcy, where Nevill and June Bamber, 61, their adoptive daughter Sheila Caffell, 26, and her six-year-old twins Daniel and Nicholas were found dead with gunshot wounds in the early hours of August 7, halfway through the Eighties. The killings at White House Farm have been the subject of numerous books, documentaries and podcasts even after nearly 40 years - Ted Blackbrow/Shutterstock The only surviving immediate relative was Nevill and Junes adoptive son, Jeremy Bamber, then 24. Bamber was convicted in a trial in 1986 of murdering all five. Almost four decades later, he continues to protest his innocence from behind bars. He claims that Caffell, who suffered from schizophrenia, shot her family before turning the gun on herself. A tireless campaign by Bambers supporters to have him exonerated has helped keep his hopes alive from the outside. Now, a new twist comes in a case that has repeatedly returned to the headlines. This week, The New Yorker magazine published a 17,000-word investigation into the infamous saga, raising fresh questions about the safety of Bambers conviction and a leading legal expert comparing the case to the Post Office scandal in terms of the alleged miscarriage of justice involved. In the aftermath of the murders, Bamber wasnt immediately suspected. Detectives believed the case was a clear-cut murder-suicide by Caffell, a model known as Bambi. She was found with her fathers rifle across her body, her fingers by the trigger. The weapon was pointed towards a gunshot wound on her chin. Beside her, a Bible lay open, bloodstained and with a line underscored in red: Save me from bloodguiltiness. Sheila, 26 at the time of the killings and pictured with twin sons Nicholas and Daniel, was known as Bambi It was her brother Bamber who alerted the police, calling them at 3.36am to report that his father had called him to say, Your sister has gone crazy and has the gun. But a month later, Bambers girlfriend Julie Mugford told police he had been planning the killings for more than a year. His adoptive parents were wealthy, presiding over a local farming dynasty, and Mugford claimed Bamber wanted the money. Mugford and Bamber at the Bamber family funeral; a month after the killings Mugford told police Bamber had been planning it for some time - Anglia Press Agency Her testimony wasnt the only evidence used to convict him. A key part of the prosecutions case centred on a silencer for the murder weapon, found in a cupboard three days after the massacre. It was said to bear traces of Caffells blood. The trial heard that her wounds would have prevented her from placing it in the cupboard before she died. The logical conclusion: she could not have killed herself. Handing Bamber a life sentence for the murders, the judge described him as warped and evil beyond belief. In 1994 he was told he would never be released from prison. Bamber has repeatedly challenged his conviction, arguing that crucial information has been withheld. It has been the subject of several appeals and reviews, all of which have upheld the verdict. In 1994 Bamber, pictured being led away by police in 1986, was told by then Home Secretary Michael Howard he would never be released from prison - Alamy But The New Yorker piece has brought to light several pieces of information that Bambers supporters hope will make a difference. One is the question of the 999 call or calls. Scotland Yard records suggested Bambers had not been the only one, but that a second call to police was made at 6.09am from inside the house. By this time, Bamber was outside the house with officers. The obvious implication: that someone in the house was still alive at this time. Essex Police later produced a statement in the name of an officer called Nicholas Milbank, which made no mention of any 999 call at that time. But when The New Yorker spoke to Milbank recently, he said a call had indeed come in at 6.09am from inside the farmhouse, though the caller hadnt spoken to him. He told the magazine he had never made the statement that was put out in his name. This clearly exonerates Jeremy completely because he was outside the farm and that call can only have been made by Sheila, says Philip Walker, a spokesman for Bamber and member of the Jeremy Bamber Innocence Campaign. If that 999 call happened, theres no question hes not guilty. Another revelation comes from Det Sup Neil Davidson, who was deputy to the late Det Insp Ron Cook, the lead crime-scene officer. While the bodies were being examined at the farmhouse, Cook lifted the Bible up and had a look at it, said Davidson. He said he remembered Cook had been fumbling with it, before asking which page it had been open on, then replacing it by Sheilas body before the crime scene photographs were taken. In Davidsons words, the aim had been to re-create what we just screwed up. At Bambers last appeal, a Court of Appeal justice said that for an officer to disturb the scene is a moral sin. Bamber reportedly hopes that new evidence suggesting such a disturbance might have occurred will provide grounds for another re-examination of the case. Whether Sheila had handled [the Bible] was quite a contentious issue at trial and its now proven that what was presented to the jury wasnt accurate, Walker said. That [is] very important. Bamber in 2020: some have claimed the scale of the miscarriage of Bamber's could be as large as the Post Office scandal - Andrew Hunter/PA Wire/PA Media There are also question marks hanging over the murder weapons silencer, which was found by some of Bambers relatives. At the end of his trial, the jury reached their verdict just 21 minutes after asking the judge to clarify if the blood on it was a perfect match for Sheila. They had been assured it did not match anyone else. The case files, it has transpired, cast some doubt over this as they show there had in fact been another match. Days before the trial, scientists discovered Junes brother-in-law, Robert Boutflour, had the same blood type as Sheila. He denied touching the silencer before the family handed it to the police, but he wasnt cross-examined about whether his blood could have been on it. Bambers team has previously claimed the police seized a second silencer too, suggesting evidence from both could have been conflated. This has long been denied by police and prosecutors, even though records indicate silencers with two different reference numbers were taken into the forensics laboratory. During the trial, Bambers cousin David Boutflour who had been the one to spot the silencer in the cupboard said police had not seized his own silencer as well. He has now told The New Yorker the police actually took it away for months and months. It has always been our contention there were two silencers, says Walker, adding that Bamber was very encouraged by what the magazine has reported. The question now is whether the case stands a chance of being reconsidered again and whether anything will change for Bamber. If it doesnt, it would be a scandal, says Dr Dennis Eady, director of the Cardiff University Law Schools Innocence Project. Its already a scandal. How long can you go on saying none of this makes any difference? The loss of face that would accompany a reversal of the verdict may help explain why nothing has changed so far, Dr Eady suggests. Theres almost 40 years of errors, cover-ups, misjudgements, whatever you want to call them, he says. Its gone so far that I suspect theres a fear that to overturn this case now will cause a lot of embarrassment to an awful lot of people. Comparing the case to the Hillsborough disaster cover-up and the wrongful prosecution of postmasters in the Post Office scandal, he says it is time to come clean nonetheless. For Jeremys sake and the sake of justice you need to do that now. You cant just keep covering up for ever more. The campaign is not going to go away. Essex Police has been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A former Trump aide has accused Donald Trump of falsely identifying as Swedish, following his outlandish claim that Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black despite being always of Indian heritage. Omarosa Manigault Newman called out Trump during an appearance on CNNs Laura Coates Live Wednesday night, saying that she distinctly remembered him identifying as Swedish, because he didnt want to acknowledge that his father was German and his mother was Irish, and he thought that that would play better to those who were patronizing his businesses. So can we call the question, his past of self-identifying as first Swedish, then German, and then Irish whenever its convenient? Donald doesnt know the difference between ancestry and race. He doesnt want to know the differences, nor does he understand the nuances of how people self-identify. And so, I believe that thats disqualifying for him, Newman said. Omarosa: Can we call the question his past of self identifying as first Swedish then German, and then Irish whenever it's convenient.. pic.twitter.com/JRFT6zfX8x Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024 Trumps grandfather, Frederich, came to New York City from Kallstadt, Germany, according to The Daily Beast. Trumps father then lied about having Swedish heritage, so that he could more easily sell apartments to Jewish tenants in the aftermath of World War II, according to The Boston Globe. That lie made its way into Trumps 1987 bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, where he wrote that his grandfather came here from Sweden as a child. It was only when the Trump family received a request from a Swedish organization to put up an exhibit about the family in one of their museums, that it was time to give up the charade. When Trump wrote his next book 13 years later, it correctly identified that his grandfather had come from Germany. While Newman identified Trumps mother as Irish, she was Scottish by birth. In front of Zhengyangmen Gate, which rises at the southern end of Tian'anmen Square in the heart of Beijing, tourists hustling and bustling on Qianmen Street keep instilling vitality to this gateway dating back over 600 years. With the gate tower in the north and the archery tower in the south, Zhengyangmen, a key marker on the Beijing Central Axis, is the largest among all the gates of the inner and outer cities of Beijing during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The busy scene resonates with the previous era's prosperity, but the gate was subjected to the evolving times. Though the site witnessed the traditional way of urban management and played a crucial role in military defense and ceremonies during the imperial period, the Zhengyangmen area experienced major changes after the monarchy ended. The old fortified barbican was replaced by an urban road in the early 20th century. Zhengyang Bridge in front of the gate used to be an imperial road across the moat surrounding the inner city but had also disappeared from above ground. People thought the largest single bridge along the Beijing Central Axis no longer existed in the last century's urban development, but recent archaeological research tells another story. To identify its status quo as a reference for the studies of the Beijing Central Axis, archaeologists have excavated the Zhengyang Bridge site in two phases on Qianmen Street since 2021. To their joy, the bridge is still there, intact and well-sealed beneath the busy traffic of today. A bridge made of bricks and stones, as well as a goose wing-shaped revetment, was discovered. "We could only refer to ancient documents and paintings to imagine what Zhengyang Bridge was like," says Zhang Lifang, an associate researcher at the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute who leads the excavation. "Archaeology now provides us a clear lineage of its evolution." The bridge was first constructed with wood and reinforced with stones and bricks in 1439, according to records in a Ming Dynasty file. In the early 20th century, the arch bridge was widened and flattened to facilitate traffic. Later, the moat was filled. "We found cement under its arches, which shows vestiges of renovation in the early 20th century," Zhang says. During its discovery, the bridge was still safeguarded by a 3-meter-long stone statue of a mythical water-harnessing beast. The lion-headed, tiger-bodied beast is covered with scales and decorated with auspicious clouds on some parts. Zhang says this remarkable statue echoes the bridge's exceptional status. This archaeological research was an important preparation process in the successful seeking of UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the Beijing Central Axis. "The Beijing Central Axis is not only a cluster of separate buildings," explains Deng Chao, director of the department of historic monuments under the National Cultural Heritage Administration. "The roads and bridges along the axis connect the heritage components and form a continuous entity." However, compared with many magnificent architectural structures rising along the northern section of the axis, the southern section needs to be better clarified in the public's eyes as it has a smaller number of grand buildings, as Deng notes. Archaeology thus plays a crucial role in helping people to understand the values of this section. On the Zhengyang Bridge site and other spots along the southern section of the Central Axis, Zhang's team has been devoted to unveiling some crucial but long-forgotten chapters of the past. In the Zhushikou area near the southern end of Qianmen Street, archaeologists found drainage ditches of the Qing Dynasty, the style of which is identical to those of royal resorts of that time. Remains of the Tianqiao Bridge, which is more than 1 kilometer to the south of Zhengyang Bridge, were also discovered. Thanks to the archaeological work, the southern section road, which was the route used for national rituals and ceremonies during the Ming and Qing dynasties, was gradually resurrected. Zhang's team found as many as seven layers of overlapped road foundations. She says that the deepest layer may date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) or earlier, when the Central Axis was first formed, but she adds more evidence awaits to be unearthed. The Southern Section Road Archaeological Sites were listed as one of 15 components gaining World Heritage status as part of the "Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital". As the World Heritage bidding documents point out: " (The sites) are material evidence that irrefutably show the location, orientation, engineering techniques and history of the continuous use of the central road and bear witness to the state ritual traditions that have continued on the Beijing Central Axis to this day." Jiang Bo, vice-president of the Chinese national committee for the International Council on Monuments and Sites, says: "Since the initiation of the World Heritage application project, Beijing residents have revitalized their memories and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the protection of urban cultural heritage with unprecedented enthusiasm. "The ancient city is returning in a new heritage landscape." Google and TikTok were fined by Russia on Wednesday (31 July) for failing to comply with an order from communications regulator Roskomnadzor over banned content, Reuters reported. The search engine giant was fined Rbs5m ($58,038) and TikTok Rbs4m, according to the publication. The fines follow a crackdown from Russia on foreign technology companies posting content it labels as illegal. The country has charged multiple companies with consistent fines when they fail to comply with the takedown orders. Last year, Russia fined Google after claiming it failed to delete YouTube videos that promoted false information and LGBT propaganda. Alphabet-owned Google has been ordered to pay Rbs3m as Russia pushes for more control over what its citizens see online. The Russian Government has issued an increasing number of fines to Western technology companies over the past year. Google was accused of refusing to remove a number of videos on YouTube, many of which Russia has deemed as being LGBT propaganda. One video in particular, about the LGBT community in St. Petersburg, was deemed by Russian prosecutors as being made by a foreign agent, according to the TASS news agency. The fine comes after Russia enforced a new law narrowing down what it deems as the promotion of LGBT propaganda. "Google and TikTok fined by Russia over banned content" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. (WWLP) More than 100 students from across the world are looking for host families here in Western Massachusetts. Non-profit, cultural homestays international, needs the communitys help to grant these students American dream. One host parent from East Longmeadow says shes had the pleasure of welcoming teenagers from Spain and France. I have a daughter whos 13 and a son whos 15 and these two children that weve hosted are now their brother and sister, we just are trading information constantly, cultures and traditions and food and music and dance and hobbies and interest, says host parent, Bonnie Rivera. Within the program all host families are volunteers. Students traveling to the U.S. range in age from 15 to 18-years-old. The organization says the qualifications to extend your family are simple. We have empty nesters we have same sex couples, we have single parents or you know um grandparents so you know really anyone can be a host family, says Mallory LaBonte, Academic Administrator with Cultural Homestay International. Im a teacher at east long meadow high school I have been for 22 years and to bring these kids into east long meadow high school that community learns from this child too. Theyre so excited, one of my first students said I cant believe Im going to get on a yellow school bus because they dont have yellow school busses where hes from, says Mallory LaBonte. The deadline to find these students a host family is August 31st. For more information email Cultural Homestay Internationals Academic Administrator at mallory.labonte@gmail.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Exonerees and advocates on Thursday called out Missouris Republican attorney general for pushing for a mans impending execution despite efforts by the local prosecutor to overturn the mans murder conviction. Marcellus Williams is scheduled to die Sept. 24, roughly a month after a planned Aug. 21 hearing before a St. Louis County court judge to determine whether hes innocent. Republican Attorney General Andrew Baileys office had asked judges to stop the hearing, arguing that the state Supreme Court had rejected Williams innocence claims twice. At bottom, the evidence supporting conviction at trial was overwhelming, attorneys for the state wrote in a June motion that was denied. Ray Krone, a co-founder of Witness to Innocence, a group that advocates for death row prisoners who might have been wrongfully convicted, called on Bailey to reverse course and support people with serious innocence claims, like Mr. Williams. Missouri AG investigates Ellisville womens gym locker room use Krone and other advocates spoke to reporters in the state Capitol building flanked by signs that read, You can release an innocent man from prison, but you cant release him from the grave. A great leader, he or she will love to accept accountability and do the right thing, said the groups executive director, Herman Lindsey. He or she will not take pride of killing an innocent person to gain votes. Both Krone and Lindsey are former death row inmates who were wrongfully convicted. Bailey, who is seeking the Republican nomination to seek reelection in next weeks primary, said Thursday that the justice system should respect and defer to the finality of the jurys determination. Too often, people forget about all of the evidence that was used to convict the defendant the evidence that jury relied on and the victims, Bailey told reporters. And I want to make sure that we always honor the victims voices, because they get forgotten. In January, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell submitted a motion to vacate Williams 1998 murder conviction, citing DNA evidence. A 2021 Missouri law allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe an inmate could be innocent or was otherwise erroneously convicted. Williams, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home. He was hours from being executed in August 2017 when he was given a reprieve after testing that wasnt available at the time of the killing showed that DNA on the knife matched someone else, not Williams. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Williams is one of several prisoners claiming innocence who have faced opposition from the attorney generals office. In 2023, Bailey opposed the release of Lamar Johnson, who spent 28 years in prison for murder. A St. Louis judge overturned Johnsons conviction and he was freed. Sandra Hemme, 64, was freed in July after a judge ruled in June that her attorneys had established clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence and overturned her conviction. Bailey fought her release. Christopher Dunn, 52, walked free on Tuesday after 34 years behind bars. A judge overturned Dunns murder conviction on July 22 and ordered his immediate release, but Dunn remained imprisoned for several more days during a chaotic appeal process led by Baileys office. Political scientists have said Baileys efforts are a way to appear tough on crime and shore up votes in advance of a tough primary race. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Expanded ADA compliance on its way for Erie Canal communities across New York State FAIRPORT, N.Y. (WROC) Access to water-based activities will soon be extended to all across the Erie Canal, thanks to a new initiative from state and local leaders. For a few years now, Fairport has welcomed ADA compliant kayak and docking accessibility to those with disabilities. That same education is about to go statewide, so other canal-based communities can offer similar benefits and needs in their respective areas. Lily Milliman of Webster loves to ride her bike. At 13-years-old, shes living with cerebral palsy. The neurological condition affects muscle movement and development. But Lily doesnt let that stop her from exploring the outdoors, more specifically, Fairports section of the Erie Canal. I havent been in a kayak, and I want to do that sometime or someday, she said. With credit to a partnership between the Erie Canal Boat Company, Rochester Accessible Adventures, the NYS Canal Corporation and NY Power Authority, Fairport has set the example. We want to be here to help eliminate that next question that almost always gets asked, Can we go? Are they expecting us? Today, were asking new questions, and there is a new attitude prevailing. Its an attitude formed from confronting this question: How is it even possible that someone would have to ask whether or not they can come and play in our village, our town, or our canal ways? said Anita OBrien, executive director of Rochester Accessible Adventures. With the growth of whats called the On the Canals Accessibility Education Program, more canal communities will move in that direction with inclusive training provided along the way. The options were first made possible locally by small business owners like Peter Abele of the Erie Canal Boat Company. If they have programs that they want to initiate, if they contact us, we will help them develop their programs. It might be bringing our equipment to them, or it might be helping them to choose the right equipment themselves, said Abele. And for Lily who, like many others, may be looking forward to that kayak ride soon it means a lot. This means to me that more people can understand how people without and with disabilities can be part of going on the Erie Canal, and actually be a part of this event, she said. The Erie Canal will celebrate its bicentennial anniversary next year. Fittingly by that time, these efforts will be well in motion to give all New Yorkers access if they so choose. To find more information on the states program, visit their website. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. Experts say new IU policy limits free speech. Here's how it changes things on campus this fall As students start to return to college towns, those attending school at one of Indiana University's nine locations may wonder how a new policy will affect free speech on campus. Indiana Universitys new expressive activities policy is raising eyebrows from First Amendment experts and campus free speech advocates, who say the policy as written could severely limit free speech everywhere on campus. This policy was created in response to the encampments and protests taking place on IU campuses, with students and faculty raising awareness for the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and encouraging IU to disclose and divest from its financial ties to Israel. The policy was approved by the IU Board of Trustees at their meeting on July 29 and will take effect on August 1, The Herald-Times reported. Here's what we know. What is IU's new "expressive activities" policy? The draft policy, expanded on IUs existing First Amendment policies and established specific time, place and manner restrictions on overnight camping, use of signs and structures, noise levels and use of materials like spray chalk and paint. The revised policy that was passed uses considerably softer language than the initial draft, allowing some leeway for camping/encampments with prior approval, removing language prohibiting markings of any kind on vertical surfaces and removing language that expressive activities must not take place in areas that are used for instructional, administrative, or residential purposes. More from Bloomington: 'I begged you yesterday not to make martyrs': An inside look into IU's protest response Will the policy apply to all IU campuses? Yes, the policy will apply to all of IU's nine campuses. Why is IU creating this policy? While the policy does not explicitly mention the current pro-Palestine encampment at Dunn Meadow, former IU trustee member Jeremy Morris said during a June meeting the policy was drafted in response to issues from the past few months, and in a social media video, said he was working on crafting a policy in response to the encampments. The policy has been critiqued by pro-Palestinian protesters at IU Bloomington, IUBs Student Government, IUs American Association of University Professors chapter and First Amendment advocates for its vague wording and for allegedly targeting pro-Palestinian activism. Although encampments in Dunn Meadow and at other IU campuses have been in violation of IU policies since April, codifying the new expressive activity policy is seen by many as a step toward clearing encampments ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. Protesters who erected the encampment to raise awareness for the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and have been asking for IU to disclose and divest from its financial ties to Israel say the encampment has been an effective means of organizing and applying pressure to the university. What to know: Indiana University releases review of Dunn Meadow clash What are the implications of the 'expressive activity policy' on IU campuses? First Amendment experts expressed concern that the draft policy, as written, could severely limit student speech in classrooms and dorms. Naomi Satterfield, a Ph.D. student at IU's School of Public Health, said the policy could have wide-ranging implications for expressive activities at IU, even outside of protest. "The proposed policy does not define 'expressive activity,' so it can be wielded to silence anything that our administration perceives as such," Satterfield said. "It's not difficult to see that this policy is not for Hoosiers." Do students, faculty support the new policy? IU Faculty and Staff for Israel, a pro-Israel group on Bloomingtons campus thats been critical of the encampment in Dunn Meadow, expressed support for the policy and encouraged the trustees to extend the policy to staff and visitors, as well as adopt or reference language from IUs codes on harassment within its definition of expressive activities. During the July 29 board meeting, IU General Counsel Tony Prather said his office received more than 200 pages of feedback from IU students and stakeholders on the initial draft of the policy sent out in late June. That feedback, alongside comparing IUs policy to peer Big 10 institutions, was used to craft the final policy, Prather said. Indianapolis protest: Police say 14 people arrested outside Indiana Governor's Mansion in Gaza ceasefire protest Bryce Greene, a leader of the Bloomington encampment and founder of IUs Palestine Solidarity Committee, said the policy was built to justify IUs actions on April 25 and 27, when more than 50 people were arrested. Greene, who attended the July 29 meeting, said during a public comment period the policy did not have the support of IU students and community members. Why do you hate students? No student Ive talked to was in favor of this policy. No faculty member Ive talked to was in favor of this policy, Greene said. So why does the Board of Trustees think that the voices of students and faculty dont matter? How did the IU Board of Trustees vote on the policy? Disagreement and dissent were visible amongst the trustees during the July 29 meeting, with the final draft passing 6-3 a rare occurrence for a board that frequently votes unanimously. Student trustee Kyle Siebert, and elected trustees Donna Spears and Vivian Winston, voted against the policy. Siebert and Winston introduced four amendments in total attempting to further soften the language and prevent more punitive measures with respect to students, but ultimately their amendments failed. Spring semester protests: Catch up on what happened at Indiana University Bloomington Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at@brianwritesnews. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU's new 'expressive activities' policy takes effect August 1 WATCH: One-on-one with lawyer for accused nephew of Providence police chief BOSTON (WPRI) The nephew of Providence Police Col. Oscar Perez pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a multistate fentanyl drug ring out of the capital city at the same time his uncles were climbing the ranks of the police department. Jasdrual Josh Perez, 36, changed his plea to guilty two years after being charged with one count of conspiracy with intent to deliver fentanyl. Along with Col. Perez, the defendants uncle is Providence Police Sgt. Andres Perez, who previously worked drug cases in the departments intelligence bureau. In the video above, Perezs attorney well-known defense lawyer Jack Cicilline discusses the case with Target 12, and addresses the adjacent federal investigation into the Providence Police Department. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. The first of Ukraines long-awaited F-16 fighters have arrived in the country, according to reports and photographs. While there had been previous statements suggesting that the first of these fighters would arrive in Ukraine this summer, the program to transfer the jets, and train the crews to operate them, had faced consistent challenges. Its therefore a remarkable milestone and one that will provide a significant morale boost to Ukraine as well as kickstart a notable advance in capability, but one that will take some considerable time to fully mature. Today saw Bloomberg report that the first F-16s were now in Ukraine, with the same account citing people familiar with the matter as saying that the deadline for this delivery was the end of this month. The same sources, speaking to Bloomberg under condition of anonymity, confirmed that the number of jets supplied so far to Ukraine is small. Ukraine receives the first F-16 fighter jets from NATO allies, a long-awaited move to help repel Russia's invasion https://t.co/cDDfMF1UZ7 Bloomberg (@business) July 31, 2024 Meanwhile, The Telegraph newspaper said it understands that the Ukrainian F-16s have only been used in an air defense capacity so far, although its source for this claim is unclear. If the Ukrainian F-16s have only been in the country a matter of days or even hours, flying combat missions at this stage would seem to be very rapid progress, although certainly not impossible. At this stage, there has been no comment from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense or from the Pentagon. A photo that began circulating online today claims to show one of the jets flying over the western city of Lviv. A building in the photo has been geolocated to the citys town hall, although we cannot say for sure that the photo is genuine and hasnt been manipulated. And the most concrete evidence: Ukrainian F-16 jet spotted over Lviv today. pic.twitter.com/Qxuzjx6xz6 Clash Report (@clashreport) July 31, 2024 There has also been at least one other photo that claims to show an F-16 over Ukraine. It shows an apparently unmarked jet in flight, carrying drop tanks but otherwise seemingly unarmed. There are unconfirmed reports this photo was also taken in Lviv. Ukrainian media published what is apparently the first image of a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 flying in Ukrainian skies. Bloomberg earlier reported the first F-16s have arrived in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/vRNAN4PGYc Jimmy Rushton (@JimmySecUK) July 31, 2024 A video that appeared yesterday also claims to show an F-16 operating over Ukraine. While this cant be confirmed at this point, todays developments suggest that its at least a possibility. Possible F-16 sighting over Ukraine! Tough to confirm from this video but it definitely sounds like one and the outline matches.. Pretty cool! Slava Ukraini pic.twitter.com/83mNuu65R2 BostonBrian (@BostonBrian23) July 30, 2024 To briefly recap the complicated saga of getting F-16s into Ukrainian skies, after months of campaigning in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden finally relented in May 2023 and approved the transfer of these jets to Ukraine. This turnaround came after pressure was applied by European NATO allies who offered their F-16s to Ukraine. As it stands, Ukrainian F-16s are now being drawn from a multinational European consortium spearheaded by Denmark and the Netherlands. At the latest count, around 85 F-16AM/BMs have now been committed to Ukraine. These comprise 24 from the Netherlands, 19 from Denmark, and 12 from Norway (with the same country providing 10 more that will be used for spare parts), while Belgium says it will supply 30. Greece has also since been suggested as a possible source of more of the fighters, of the F-16C/D Block 30 version. One of the first five Dutch F-16s donated to Ukraine and sent to Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and maintainers are being trained on them. Dutch MoD Dutch Ministry of Defense As we have discussed before, the process of getting Ukrainian crews trained on F-16s has been one of the biggest hurdles in the whole effort. Now that Ukrainian pilots and ground crews have completed training with their Western allies over the past months, there is the question of how long it will take to actually bring them into combat and then to do so on a regular basis for more meaningful effects. These issues will be compounded by the apparently relatively few Ukrainian pilots who have been trained on the F-16 so far. According to a report last week by the Washington Post, only six Ukrainian pilots have qualified to fly the F-16, reducing the number of sorties that could be flown each day. This will also depend upon the kinds of weapons that have been integrated on the Ukrainian F-16s. At this stage, we dont know for sure, but we have examined the various options in depth in the past. A U.S. Air Force F-16C armed with AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder, and AGM-88 HARM missiles, all weapons that have been previously supplied to Ukraine. USAF www.twz.com The sources who spoke to Bloomberg said it was not clear whether the Ukrainian Air Force would be able to use the F-16s in combat immediately, or if further training would be required in country. At the very least, a degree of familiarization flying in the local region will be required before embarking on operational missions. Ultimately, its hoped that the F-16s can help make an impression on the overwhelming numerical and technical superiority of Russian air power in the conflict, as well as Moscows relentless drone and missile strikes on critical infrastructure. But this is something that will take time and will require a much bigger force of F-16s than currently available in Ukraine, simply to ensure there are enough aircraft to maintain meaningful combat air patrols alone. As Gen. James Hecker, head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), as well as Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA) and NATOs Allied Air Command, explained recently, the F-16 is not going to be the golden BB or the golden bullet, that all of a sudden, you know, they have F-16s and now theyre going to go out and gain air superiority. Hecker continued: And its not just because its Ukraine, its just the integrated air and missile defense systems that theyre going up against is [sic] that good. And we have a hard time with [stealthy] fifth-generation aircraft going against that. Gen. James Hecker, head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), as well as Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA) and NATOs Allied Air Command. USAF U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, seen here speaking at the African Air Chiefs Symposium 2023 in Dakar, Senegal, on February 28, 2023. USAF There is also the very real threat that Russia poses to the Ukrainian F-16s while they are on the ground. In recent weeks, a spate of ballistic missile strikes has targeted Ukrainian air bases and the Soviet-era equipment that makes up the vast majority of its combat fleet. Bad day for Ukraines Air Force. Russia posts footage of drone-guided Iskander missile strikes that destroyed or damaged several Ukrainian Su-27 and Su-24 jets in Myrhorod air base near Poltava. pic.twitter.com/fhwBYiY7lB Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) July 2, 2024 Moscow has already put a bounty on the Ukrainian F-16s, and the preservation of the precious fleet will be a primary concern for Kyiv. For this reason, its likely that the jets will be moved around different bases in the country, as well as operating from temporary airstrips, to make them harder to target. The Ukrainian Air Force has utilized similar tactics with its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, with generally good results. A Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29. Getty Images www.twz.com Part of the effort to protect the F-16 fleet appears likely to involve only a certain number of the total Ukrainian fleet being in the country at any given time, even as the pilot and support cadre for the jets grows. Some of the jets will be used for training outside of Ukraine, while still more airframes will provide a strategic reserve that is kept at readiness in allied countries in Europe. In this way, jets exposed to combat can also be rotated out of Ukraine and can likely undergo heavier maintenance outside of the country. Even once Ukraine is in possession of a larger fleet of the fighters, a similar policy will likely be retained, with certain sorties perhaps also originating from non-Ukrainian bases, with a major caveat. For example, it would seem feasible to launch the jets in an unarmed configuration from a base in another nearby country, land in Ukraine where they would be rapidly armed and refueled, before completing a mission, and then potentially fly back out to an air base outside Ukraine, even possibly landing again before doing so. This could keep the jets safe while also walking the tightrope of escalation that has so concerned Washington and some of its NATO allies. Russia has repeatedly said it would strike bases outside of Ukraine if the F-16s fly combat missions from them. Russia has made similar threats, but the F-16 issue is a very sensitive one for obvious reasons. While still unofficial, the first delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, if confirmed, is a very significant move. Necessarily, the small fleet will, at first, only have a limited ability to fight back against Russia. However, it signals an entirely new era for the Ukrainian Air Force, one in which Western-supplied equipment is, at long last, at the forefront. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com One of the F-16s helping Ukraine fight Russia has crashed. Heres what to know about their role FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 fighter jet at Skrydstrup Airbase, in Vojens, Denmark, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has received from its Western partners to help fight Russias invasion one of which crashed this week while countering a Russian barrage have been the front-line combat planes of choice for the NATO alliance for 50 years. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered to Ukraine from European countries, and one of them crashed Monday, the Ukrainian military said, in the first reported loss of one of the planes. U.S. experts have joined a Ukrainian investigation into why it went down, military officials said Friday. The F-16s enhance Ukraines military strength, especially by upgrading its air defenses and enabling it to hit distant targets with sophisticated NATO weaponry, if Western suppliers give permission for that. Analysts say the F-16s wont turn the tide of the war on their own. The U.S. wont be providing any of its own F-16s. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries. Heres what to know: What can F-16s bring to the Ukrainian war effort? The F-16s will likely have three core missions, says Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. They will seek to intercept Russian missiles and drones that have relentlessly bombarded Ukraine; suppress enemy air defense systems; and strike Russian troop positions and ammunition depots with air-to-ground missiles. They will be able to affect some of the dynamics (of the war), Borsari says. A lot of information about the F-16 deployment is classified, including what Western governments allow them to hit and what weapons they will send with the aircraft. The F-16s could carry United Kingdom-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), potentially striking targets inside Russia. They might also get long-range air-to-air missiles that would threaten Russian bombers and fighter jets. The planes advanced radars will allow Ukrainian pilots to pinpoint targets further away than they can in their MiG-29s, Su-27s and Su-24s. Commanding the skies is an essential part of a wars ground campaign, as planes offer air cover to troops. But supporting Ukrainian troop movements on the front line with ground attacks may be too risky for the F-16s, given Russias sophisticated air defense systems. At the very least, the fighter jets could have a psychological effect on Russian pilots, and offer a morale boost for Ukrainians toiling against the Kremlins forces. What are the challenges for Ukraine? Marina Miron of the Defense Studies Department at Kings College London ticks off a long list of challenges the F-16s bring for Ukraine. The roughly nine-month training in the U.S. and Europe for Ukrainian pilots amounted to a crash course compared with the usual three-year course for Western pilots in what Miron calls a very complex piece of machinery. That will mean limitations on their performance. The F-16s also require a large number of support personnel, such as skilled maintenance engineers, munitions loaders, intelligence analysts and emergency crews. Ukraine must also establish a network of radar stations, reinforced hangars, a supply of spare parts and refueling systems. Quality airfields are also a must as the F-16 air intake is close to the tarmac and runs the danger of sucking debris and dirt into the engine. So many associated issues need to be sorted out, Miron says. Ukrainian pilots with no combat experience in F-16s may shy away from engaging in dogfights. How has Russia reacted? Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian authorities have offered rewards to servicemen who destroy F-16s, which would have propaganda value for the Kremlin. The Ukrainian F-16s are up against Russias formidable S-300 and S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems that can target multiple aircraft at a time. Russias military also has what are estimated to be several hundred operational fighter jets, as well as sophisticated air surveillance radars. Russias Su-35 fighter jet is one of the biggest threats to the F-16, Borsari of CEPA says. It has a long-range radar that allows it to track and engage up to eight targets at a time across a wide area. The Kremlins forces may also try to destroy the F-16s on the ground with long-range missiles. They have already targeted Ukraines limited number of suitable airfields. The Ukrainians need to park the F-16s in hardened hangars, disperse them between various locations, station decoy model aircraft and be ready to take off quickly in the event of an air raid warning, analysts say. How will Ukraine protect the F-16s? Although Russian forces will try to strike the F-16s at the airbases where they are kept, Ukraine has robust defenses to protect the fighter jets against such attacks, says Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi. Ukraine has capabilities to protect its airfields with anti-aircraft defenses to deflect (Russian) attacks," Khrapchynskyi told The Associated Press. "During the entire time since Russia has invaded Ukraine, it has been actively trying to hit Ukrainian airfields, but they have been somewhat unsuccessful. Khrapchynskyi said the F-16s will significantly increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force to protect the countrys air space from Russian attacks and increase the range that Ukraine can strike strategic targets in Russia. With the acquisition of F-16 aircraft, we will be able to solve a number of problems that are currently hurting Ukraine. These include: Russia's massive missile attacks, its use of guided aerial bombs, and the deployment of S-300 installations in the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv," says Khrapchynskyi. ___ Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Fact Check: Kamala Harris Failed Her Bar Exam on First Try Claim: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris failed the California bar exam on her first attempt, soon after she graduated law school in 1989. Rating: Rating: True Context: Harris eventually succeeded in the bar exam and was admitted to the California bar in 1990, a year after she graduated law school. In late July 2024, former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic frontrunner for president, failed her bar exam. At a campaign rally earlier in the month, Trump also claimed Harris was a "lousy student" and "couldn't pass her bar exams." JUST IN: Donald Trump suggests Kamala Harris wouldn't pass a cognitive test because she "didn't pass her law exam." For whatever reason, the journalists and crowd appeared offended by the comment. "You know what? She failed her law exam. She didn't pass her law exam, so maybe pic.twitter.com/hiuzD6E73K Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 31, 2024 A number of posts on X discussed Harris' credentials, questioning why she became a prosecutor and later attorney general of California after having failed her bar exam. Im voting for the guy who raised the bar. pic.twitter.com/JUiZM0ERRH Jake Slade (@JakeSladeUSA) July 25, 2024 Harris did fail the California bar exam on her first attempt, but she later passed and was admitted to the California bar in 1990, just a year after she graduated. As such, we rated this claim as "True" with added context. The bar exam is a qualifying written exam administered by a jurisdiction for lawyers to practice law in that particular state. According to a 2016 New York Times profile of Harris about her Senate campaign, she did fail the bar exam on her first try. Harris described consoling a recent law graduate who did not make it either: "[Harris] failed the bar exam the first time she took it. Harris says she recently consoled a young law graduate who also didn't pass; 'I told her, it's not a measure of your capacity'." Harris was admitted to the bar in June 1990, according to the State Bar of California records. She graduated from the University of California Hastings school of law in 1989. The California bar exam has been described as notoriously difficult. According to the Los Angeles Times, there was only a 41.8% pass rate in 1985. In July 1989, also according to the Los Angeles Times, 59.5% of people passed and won the right to practice law from the July 1989 exams, and the pass rate was 72.2% among the 4,909 people taking the exam for the first time. In February 1990, the likely date Harris took the bar exam for a second time, the pass rate was 45.9%. Only 33.9% of people passed the February 2024 general bar exam. Sources: "Bar Examination." LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bar_examination. Accessed 26 July 2024. Bazelon, Emily. "Kamala Harris, a 'Top Cop' in the Era of Black Lives Matter." The New York Times, 25 May 2016. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html. Accessed 26 July 2024. "General Bar Examination Pass Rate Summary." The State Bar of California, http://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News/News-Releases/state-bar-releases-results-of-february-2024-bar-exam. Accessed 26 July 2024. "Kamala Devi Harris # 146672." Attorney Licensee Search. https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/146672. Accessed 26 July 2024. Kepley, John. "UC Law SF Congratulates Kamala Harris '89: California's next U.S. Senator." UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings), 9 Nov. 2016, https://uclawsf.edu/2016/11/09/uc-hastings-congratulates-kamala-harris-89-californias-next-u-s-senator/. Accessed 26 July 2024. Oliver, Myrna. "41.8% Pass Rate Baffles Experts : Legal Profession Frets as Bar Exam Failures Soar." Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 1985, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-20-mn-10438-story.html. Accessed 26 July 2024. "PASSING THE BAR EXAM." Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 1990, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-03-me-1540-story.html. Accessed 26 July 2024. "State Bar Releases Results of February 2024 Bar Exam." The State Bar of California, http://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News/News-Releases/state-bar-releases-results-of-february-2024-bar-exam. Accessed 26 July 2024. "Trump Turns His Focus to Harris at His First Rally after Biden's Exit from the 2024 Race." NBC News, 25 July 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-turns-focus-harris-first-rally-bidens-exit-2024-race-rcna163496. Accessed 26 July 2024. "Trump Turns His Full Focus on Harris at His First Rally since Biden's Exit from the 2024 Race." AP News, 24 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-charlotte-north-carolina-harris-7c7e6e405fecc8927a63763c76f2db1e. Accessed 26 July 2024. (Reuters) - Following are details of some of the people from the United States, Russia and several other countries being freed in a major prisoner exchange, as named by the United States. U.S. PRISONERS IN RUSSIA EVAN GERSHKOVICH U.S. journalist Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and went on trial in June, accused of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to obtain secrets about a Russian company making tanks for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin said he had been caught "red-handed." He, his employer The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government all denied the charges. He was convicted on July 19 and sentenced to 16 years in jail on day three of a trial that was closed to the media on grounds of state secrecy. PAUL WHELAN A former U.S. marine holding U.S., British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018. He was convicted of espionage in 2020 and handed a 16-year sentence. He denied the charges. At the time of his arrest, Whelan was head of global security for BorgWarner, a Michigan-based car parts supplier. Russian investigators said he was a spy for military intelligence and had been caught red-handed with a computer flash drive containing classified information. The U.S. invariably referred to the cases of Gershkovich and Whelan side-by-side, saying both were being used as bargaining chips by Moscow. It designated both as "wrongfully detained", meaning it considered the cases politically motivated and was committed to trying to get them home. ALSU KURMASHEVA A Russian-American journalist for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Kurmasheva was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison on July 19, the same day as Gershkovich. She was convicted for violating Russian laws on "military fakes" in connection with a book she edited about Ukraine. RFE/RL has called Kurmasheva's case a "a mockery of justice" and the U.S. embassy in Moscow has urged Russia to free her. GERMAN PRISONER IN BELARUS RICO KRIEGER Krieger had been sentenced to death in Belarus on terrorism charges and was pardoned on Tuesday by President Alexander Lukashenko, a top ally of the Kremlin. RUSSIANS JAILED ABROAD VADIM KRASIKOV Krasikov is a Russian national who was serving a life sentence in a German prison for murdering an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park in 2019. A German judge accused Russia of state terrorism, saying the order to kill must have come from President Vladimir Putin himself. Russia contests the judge's interpretation. In a February interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin hinted that Krasikov was the Russian prisoner he wanted swapped for Gershkovich, referring to a person who "due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals". ROMAN SELEZNEV The son of a Russian lawmaker, Seleznev was found guilty by a U.S. federal court in Washington state in 2016 of perpetrating a cyber assault on thousands of U.S. businesses that involved hacking into point-of-sales computers to steal credit card numbers, resulting in $169 million in losses. He was sentenced in 2017 to 27 years in prison, the longest ever hacking-related sentence in the U.S. That same year Seleznev pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering scheme in Nevada and conspiracy to commit bank fraud in Georgia and received a 14-year jail term for each, to run concurrently with the Washington sentence. DISSIDENTS JAILED IN RUSSIA VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA Kara-Murza is a Russian and British national who was serving a 25-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony. He was convicted of treason last year in a case he compared to the Stalinist show trials of the 1930s, after he repeatedly condemned Russia's war in Ukraine and called for Western sanctions against Moscow. Following the death of Alexei Navalny in February, he is the best-known dissident now imprisoned in Russia. He suffers from a nerve condition after surviving two poisoning attempts in the 2010s, and his supporters have voiced fears for his life. Although not a U.S. national, he has connections to the United States - he advocated for the adoption of the Magnitsky Act imposing sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights abuses, and was a pall-bearer at the funeral of Republican senator John McCain. Even from prison, he has published columns in the Washington Post, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in May. ILYA YASHIN Yashin, 41, was jailed in December 2022 for 8-1/2 years on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian army, part of a package of sweeping wartime censorship laws. He was convicted over statements he made on his YouTube channel about alleged war crimes by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Having risen to prominence during a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in 2011-12, Yashin was elected head of a Moscow district council in 2017, but has been repeatedly blocked from standing for higher office. Like many other leading opposition figures, he was branded a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. Yashin was a longtime friend and ally of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony in February. (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan and Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Frances Kerry) By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday claimed it had killed the head of Hamas' military wing in the latest of a series of targeted actions against the leadership of the militant group, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy. Mohammed Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war. Hamas has not confirmed his death. On Wednesday, the group's political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in an attack that Hamas and Iran have blamed on Israel, which has not claimed responsibility. Here are some of the remaining leaders and commanders in Hamas. MARWAN ISSA In March, Israel said it had killed Marwan Issa, Deif's deputy, but Hamas has not confirmed his death. Issa, nicknamed the "shadow man" by fellow Palestinians for his ability to stay off the enemy's radar, had risen to No. 3 within the Islamist militant group. He and the other two top Hamas leaders formed a secretive three-man military council that made strategic decisions. YEHYA SINWAR Sinwar, released from an Israeli prison in 2011 during a swap deal between Israel and Hamas, is the group's chief in Gaza and another of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack. Sinwar is still believed to be directing military operations, possibly from bunkers in a vast network of tunnels beneath Gaza, while calling the shots in indirect negotiations with Israel for a truce and prisoner swap deal. KHALED MESHAAL Meshaal, 68, is tipped to become the new paramount leader of Hamas to replace Haniyeh, Hamas sources said. He had previously led Hamas between 2004 and 2017. Meshaal became known around the world in 1997 when Israeli agents injected him with a poison in the Jordanian capital Amman in a botched assassination mission. KHALIL AL-HAYYA Hayya is Sinwar's deputy and has recently been leading the Hamas team in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel under the supervision of Haniyeh. Hayya was in the same residence when Haniyeh was struck by a missile in Tehran, but not in the same apartment at the time of the strike. He has survived two direct Israeli attempts to kill him. In 2007, an Israeli strike hit the house of his extended family killing several of his relatives and in 2014 an attack on his house killed his eldest son. MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR Zahar was a surgeon by profession. Friends and enemies used to call him "General" for his hardline views towards Israel and other opponents of Hamas. Zahar has made no public statement or appearance since Oct. 7 and his fate remains unknown. The 79-year-old official survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003. He served as the first Hamas-appointed minister of foreign affairs after the group assumed power in Gaza in 2007 in a brief civil war with the secular Palestinian Authority, a year after it swept a parliamentary election. MOHAMMAD SHABANA Shabana, better known as Abu Anas Shabana, is one of the remaining top and veteran armed commanders of Hamas, heading its battalion in Rafah in the south. Hamas sources said Shabana played a significant role in developing the network of tunnels in Rafah, which were used to attack Israeli troops along the border, including a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured. Shabana took charge of the Rafah battalion after Israel killed three main commanders of the group during a 50-day war in 2014, during which the Islamist faction said it had abducted two Israeli soldiers. RAWHI MUSHTAHA Mushtaha is Sinwar's confidant and strongest ally within Hamas. Together with Sinwar, Mushtaha founded the first Hamas security apparatus in the late 1980s that was responsible for tracking and killing Palestinians accused of spying for Israel. He was released from an Israeli prison along with Sinwar in 2011 and has recently been tasked with coordinating between the group in Gaza and Egyptian security officials over a range of issues including the operation of the Rafah border crossing. His fate remains unclear. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Michael Georgy and Sharon Singleton) FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) A 62-year-old Fall River man has been convicted of performing uncertified commercial hood cleaning services at multiple restaurants in Southeast Massachusetts, District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced Wednesday. Antonio Borges, the former owner of Borges Cleaning Pro, was sentenced in connection with a series of criminal complaints in the Fall River and New Bedford District Courts. Between April 2022 and Oct. 2023, Borges engaged in a scheme to carry out illegal commercial hood cleaning services at local restaurants, according to the complaints. Prosecutors said that despite his license being suspended and later revoked by the State Fire Marshal in 2022, Borges reportedly forged inspection stickers from certified companies so he could continue operations in at least seven Fall River restaurants. Investigations revealed that Borges also posed as a representative of a licensed grease hood cleaning company and performed fraudulent services at two Westport establishments and one in New Bedford. Quinn stated that Borges crimes had a wide-ranging, significant impact, exposing local restaurant owners to potential business losses and damaging their reputations, as well as jeopardizing the lives and safety of the operators, staff, patrons, and firefighters who would respond to potential grease fires due to the lack of proper cleaning. Additionally, Quinn said, Borges adversely affected the legitimate businesses he impersonated, damaging their reputations and imposing financial costs as they pursued charges to rebuild their credibility and avoid suspension or revocation of their licenses. Borges was sentenced to one year in the Bristol County House of Corrections. He will serve 90 days, with the balance suspended for two full years. Quinn said if he is arrested again during the next two years, he would be liable to serve the remainder of the one-year jail term. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. The Fischers spent Wednesday afternoon sifting through the remains of their incinerated Forest Ranch home, struggling to reach a consensus on what they would miss most. For Linda, it was the house deck now unrecognizable. Perched on the edge of the ridge, it once offered cinematic views of Upper Bidwell Park to the left and Lassen Peak to the right. Fifteen years ago, the couple decided to marry on this spot. Thats one of my favorite memories, said Linda, 62, before breaking down into tears. Just a few feet away from the deck, her husband, Dennis, reminisced about the garage where he had spent decades fixing up cars. His prized possessions a 1946 Chevy and 1964 Chevrolet El Camino were indistinguishable. Only the metal frames of the cars remained. Linda and Dennis Fischer hug at their home in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. Ive lived up here 30 years, and youre always sort of ready for this in the back of your head, Dennis Fischer said. And it doesnt make it that much easier. Thirty years, same home. Linda Fischer stands near the chimney of her home, burned in the Park Fire, in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. Fischer and her husband, who have been together for 15 years, got married on the deck of their house. Destroyed cars and other equipment sit in the wreckage of Dennis Fischers 1,500 square foot shop at his home in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. I dont think anythings gonna polish up, Fischer said. That was my world, Dennis, 65, said. Only a few days have passed since the Park Fire blew through Forest Ranch, a town northeast of Chico. Hundreds of families like the Fischers were displaced for days as the blaze destroyed more than 430 structures and ballooned into Californias largest wildfire of the year. On Thursday morning, Cal Fire reported the fire had charred 392,480 acres (613 square miles) and was 18% contained. While Butte County only saw roughly 53,000 acres burned, 310 homes were destroyed and another 38 were damaged. Large portions of affected communities remain under evacuation orders, but most Forest Ranch residents have been able to return since Monday night. All through town were remnants of the devastation including ash-covered mailboxes, cars and streets. While most homes had been saved, the surrounding scenery suffered considerable damage. At the local Nopel Road post office, people regularly stopped by to pick up days-old mail. Residents expressed their appreciation for the firefighters who had protected their homes, yet felt sorrow for their neighbors who were not so lucky. Dennis Fischer, back, comforts his wife Linda Fischer in front of the Forest Ranch Post Office on Wednesday. The Fischers went into town to get their mail before meeting a contractor at their home, which had been destroyed in the Park Fire. Im still in shock to see all the burn damage, said Brianda Bastida, 30, whose home was spared. How do you explain to your kids that everything is gone? Back on the Fischer property at the end of Peregrine Road, the couple was trying their best to move forward. The Fischers had scheduled an afternoon meeting with a contractor to discuss rebuilding, though they hoped federal funding for survivors would be issued. While just a fragmented foundation and chimney of the three-story home remained, Dennis walked the contractor through the house. In what had been their front yard, Dennis pointed out a small pond where some dead koi and goldfish floated to the top. On Monday night, Dennis said, about a half dozen fish were still alive. The couple bought a small aquarium and planned to transfer them. None were moving by Wednesday. We gave them a real good life, Dennis said. Dennis Fischer stands on a sidewalk near the remains of his home in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. Fischer, whose shirt reads, Elmos just checking in! How is everyone doing? said he wore the shirt intentionally to bring humor to an otherwise heavy day. Linda Fischer uses her cellphone to look a photos of her Forest Ranch home, before it was destroyed by the Park Fire, on Wednesday. A photo from March 2023, showing her three-story home blanketed in snow, is displayed. As Linda recalled the rooms in the house, she used her phone to compare the charred items to what once stood. At times, she pulled out ash-covered remnants and expressed her disbelief for how they had survived. We got a souvenir, babe, yelled Linda, finding a green cup from their ziplining trip in Hawaii. It wasnt the only time the Fischers attempted to downplay their loss. When they saw metaled aluminum, they suggested it could adorn their walls as art. At least the poison oak is gone now, Linda joked. The couple even had a running bet about the number of still-intact buffalo memorabilia they would discover. Dennis had collected figurines, sculptures, art and other items that resembled the animal for close to 30 years. A teacup sits amidst the rubble of the Fischer home along Peregrine Road in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. Just the stuff that passed down from generation to generation, and now its notthe buck, it stopped here, Fischer said. Thats what hurts the most. Ive always tried to not get too concerned about things I cant do anything about, Dennis said. You have to focus on what you can do, and all we can do now is move forward. Still, they both admit, some personal items are irreplaceable. A coat made by Dennis mom nearly 50 years was nowhere to found. His toy soldiers and trucks from his childhood had likely been reduced to dust. Lindas computers and hard drives from years of teaching at Butte College were in pieces. Linda Fischer picks through debris at her home in Forest Ranch on Wednesday. Although her neighbors homes were largely untouched by the Park Fire, hers was completely destroyed. Theres a lot of history lost here, Dennis said. Later in the afternoon, Linda walked back to the deck. There, she explained the couple had set up a bird feeder for the 40 to 50 birds who lived in the thick forests around their home. Then, she knelt down to wipe her tears with ash-covered hands. Im just lost, she said. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) The family of an armed Brooklyn man who was shot and killed by NYPD officers earlier this year has filed a notice of claim against the city. The footage we have does not show Christin pointing the gun at anyone, said Attorney MK Kaishian, who represents Christin Emiles family. She does not deny that Emile had a gun on him, which can be seen in the NYPD body camera video and surveillance video of the May 12 incident that the New York State Attorney General released. More Brooklyn News Emiles family questioned why he was shot multiple times in the back while running away from police officers. As I watched the video of his murder, we were filled with sadness and so many questions, like, do these officers even deserve a badge?' his cousin, Shanell, said at a news conference on Monday. In the hours after the shooting, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said that officers on patrol on Church Avenue in East Flatbush observed a male, pointing a gun at another male. The video shows one of the officers did try to use a stun gun first on Emile, but he kept running with the gun. More Crime News I think the officers showed restraint in waiting as long as they did to discharge him when he was clearly demonstrating to them that he was not going to comply, Ralph Cilento, a retired NYPD lieutenant commander of detectives and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told PIX11 News. Hes fleeing away from the police in a direction where there are cars and windows and civilians walking; even at one oclock in the morning, there are still people on the street; you can see it on the video. So the officers are allowed to fire in defense of bodily harm to themselves or another human, in the face of potentially deadly physical force, which is what a firearm is, Cilento added. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. MEMPHIS, Tenn. One of the two men critically injured in a drive-by shooting in Parkway Village Friday evening died this week. WREG spoke with the family reeling from this tragic incident. Surveillance video shows a black, four-door sedan pulling up alongside a white sedan, waiting at the light on Winchester Road and Goodlett Road around 7 pm Friday. Driver in Winchester crash shot video shortly before he was killed Then, gunfire erupts. Reginald Williams, 43, and his two sons were in the white sedan. Police say the victims were rushed to Regional One Hospital. Reginald, who was shot in the head, succumbed to his injuries on Monday. His 16-year-old son Donavin Williams, who was also shot, still has a bullet lodged in his back. Donavin says it started with a honk. His uncle sounded off at the driver in the black Sedan, which was sitting still at a green light, and thats when the shooter jumped out and took aim. So were driving, we made it to the next light, as soon as I looked up dude just got out and started shooting the car, he said. I ducked. As soon as I ducked, I felt something hit my back. I looked up to see if my brother was straight. My uncle drove to the apartment. My dad was bleeding out. He wasnt saying anything. MPD released the surveillance footage Tuesday evening, hoping someone can identify the shooter. Reginalds oldest son, Reginald Williams Jr., says he truly believes his fathers killer will face consequences even if police do not catch them. My pops wouldnt want us to get revenge. Keep it in Gods hands, he said. Hes gonna get whats coming to him. If police dont catch him, God will catch him in the end. Reginald Williams leaves behind four children. So far, his killer has not been found. Police urge anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. What fuels fashion? The short response is we dont know. Even clothing thats touted as sustainable or eco-friendly is often the product of a manufacturing system stoked by coal, oil and natural gas. But the truth is, its tough to tell the virtues of one garment from the vices of another because so much is unknown, said Delphine Williot, policy and campaigns manager at Fashion Revolution, the advocacy group whose latest report both asks and attempts to answer that question. More from Sourcing Journal While 58 percent of the worlds top 250 fashion purveyors publish their sustainable material targetsmore recycled polyester, say, or a shift to regenerative cottononly 11 percent divulge the energy mix that powers their supply chains. In other words, we do not know what fuels fashion because the vast majority95 percentare not upfront about what fuel is used in their supply chains, she said. That such a foundational question lacks a proper answer while the planet continues to burn is maddening for campaigners like Williot. Both NASA and Copernicus, the European climate change service, declared July 22 the hottest day on Earth since recordkeeping began. It exceeded the previous holder, just one day earlier, by more than a tenth of a degree Fahrenheit. And for all their talk of a clean or just transition, theres been a dearth of disclosure of how brands are financing supply chain decarbonization or protecting livelihoods from climate harms. Its why Fashion Revolution decided to hold the industry accountable with a single-issue report, separate from its annual Fashion Transparency Index. What the organization found was disappointing if not unsurprising. Despite the profusion of net-zero ambitions and emissions-reducing targets, fashion companies are clearly completely unprepared at the moment to truly mitigate their environmental impact across their supply chains, Williot said. Just a little over half (52 percent) of brands broadcast their Tier 1 factory lists, the report found. Even fewer declare the processing facilities where energy-intensive textile washing, dyeing and treatment occur. Whether the lack of public information is due to brands playing their cards close to their chests or the result of ignorance are options with equally alarming ramifications. It raises the question, can you map out your environmental risks if you do not know where youre currently producing? she asked. For companies that are aware but choose not to say, theyre robbing themselves of opportunities to collaborate with buyers they share production lines with, Williot said. The knowledge deficit looms large in other areas. Though almost half (47 percent) of the brands Fashion Revolution looked at now disclose carbon reduction targets verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative, a 13 percent increase from the year before, just fourthat would be Asics, H&M Group, Marks & Spencer and Patagoniahave carbon reduction targets that meet the level of ambition that the Paris Agreement has determined will forestall the worst effects of climate change. Meanwhile, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of the names reveal nothing about decarbonization, suggesting that the climate crisis hasnt registered as a priority. More pointedly, 86 percent of the entire cohort lacks public, time-bound and measurable targets to phase out coal, which is not only the most carbon-intensive fuel available but also an almost intractable part of fashion productions energy mix. Theres so little transparency looking at the overall carbon impacts of the fashion industry, Williot said. Theres so many figures going aroundit may account for 2-8 percent of the global carbon footprint. But again, we dont know, simply because the fashion industry is not currently backing up. Waiting for regulationa lumbering beast at the best of timesto kick in, isnt the answer. One issue is unequal access to renewable energy infrastructure in the global South, where the bulk of clothing production takes place. From Fashion Revolutions vantage point, powerful buyers havent been exploiting their tremendous leverage to push for legislation that shores up solar or wind availability in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia or Vietnam. Only 13 percent of the 250 brands offered evidence of renewable energy advocacy in their supply chains, the report said, and just 2 percent communicated the outcomes of those efforts. Overproduction is something else an industry that has profited from fashions high turnover is keen to ignore, though there are embryonic moves to decouple profits from production through the use of circular business models such as resale and repair. Even so, the vast majority of companies89 percentfail to disclose how many products they pump out every year. Less than half of those specify the raw material emissions footprints of their SKUs, which further disconnects manufacturing from its environmental impact. I think we cannot realistically decarbonize the fashion industry if we cannot address the fact that the fashion industry is producing excessively, Williot said. We cannot realistically reduce the amount of energy that the industry is currently using if we simply dont reduce the amount of clothes that were producing. Fashion Revolution wants to industry to put its money where its mouth has been. Extreme weather exacerbated by climate change could see leading garment-producing countries such as Bangladesh shed $65 billion in export earnings and 1 million new jobs by 2030. With only 3 percent of brands disclosing efforts to financially support workers affected by heatwaves, monsoons or droughts, the industry needs to provide compensation mechanisms, not as charity but as a matter of justice. Suppliers also need financing, not debt, for infrastructure improvements such as solar panels, Williot said. Though initiatives like Fashion Pacts Future Supplier Initiative, which facilitates low-interest loans, are better than nothing, yoking manufacturers with additional financial liabilities only perpetuates the existing power imbalances between buyers, suppliers and workers, she said. We have a very clear demand where we ask all brands to invest at least 2 percent of their revenues into financing that clean and just transition, to ensure that not only is there greater access and generation of renewable energy across their supply chain, but also ensuring that garment workers are not left behind, Williot said. We think its their responsibility to truly ensure that those impacts are mitigated and dealt with. But back to the question posed in the beginning: What fuels fashion? To find out, brands need to, at minimum, map and disclose 100 percent of their processing facilities, Fashion Revolution said. It isnt even a matter of morality, either. As mandatory due diligence regulations like the European Unions corporate sustainability due diligence directive, or CSDDD, are incorporated into member states laws, most companies wont have a choice in the long run. It makes absolute sense from the financial perspective, too, Williot said. One reported dead after fatal rollover crash in Parrish, troopers say One person died in a rollover crash that temporarily blocked both lanes of traffic on State Road 62 in Parrish, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash happened just before 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of State Road 62 and Duette Road in the northeastern corner of Manatee County. One person is dead and another is being taken to the hospital as a trauma alert, troopers say. The crash temporarily blocked the eastbound and westbound lanes, troopers said. No further details were immediately available Thursday afternoon. Father, girlfriend charged with endangerment after boy falls to his death from 8th-story window INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) The father of a 3-year-old boy who tumbled out of the eighth-story window of a Missouri apartment building and died has been charged with child endangerment, along with his girlfriend. No attorney is listed for either of them in online court records. Emergency crews rushed Monday to their apartment building in the Kansas City suburb of Independence after a fourth-floor resident called to report seeing the child fall. The boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to online court records, the father and his girlfriend had known for months about problems securing the window in the room where the boy and two other children lived. The father told investigators that neighbors and building management had alerted them that the children were throwing toys out of the window. And the girlfriend told police that she had long been concerned that one of the children would fall out of the window but still left them in the room unattended for long periods. The probable cause statement said the apartment was piled with trash, and the other two children were placed in state protective custody. One of the children described being whipped in an interview. Resident Elliot West told The Kansas City Star earlier this week that people in the building had their windows open because central air conditioning hasnt been working throughout the summer. Weather on Monday was humid with a temperature in the mid-90s. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@kcstar.com. After a toddler fell from the eighth story window of a troubled Independence high-rise apartment building on Monday, authorities said it was an unsecured window that led to his death, according to charging documents filed by the Jackson County prosecutor Wednesday. The 3-year-old was found lying on the grass outside the building at 728 N. Jennings Road, unconscious but breathing, and was rushed to the hospital where he later died. On Wednesday, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced charges filed against the boys father, Moses Lee Bass, and his girlfriend, Destiny Leeann Randle, including a class A felony of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree. But the woman charged in the case told police that, for months, she tried to get the window fixed by building management. Randle reported that she has attempted several times to get building management to fix the window and stated the window has been in that condition since they moved in approximately (one) year ago, Independence police detective Kurt Jarnagin said in the probable cause statement. Its the latest tragedy in a series of problems that have plagued the Independence Towers apartment building for years, including a June fire that displaced residents in dozens of units, as tenants alleged their calls for help to address a litany of complaints have gone ignored. Tenants complained for months publicly about living among rats, mice, cockroaches and bed bugs. In March, The Star reported residents didnt have hot water for two weeks. During the winter, there is no heating and in the summer,no air conditioning. Their maintenance requests ignored, residents were told if they complained they could be forced to leave, or the building could be condemned. Residents enlisted the help of KC Tenants, a local tenant union, and a court ordered changes to the buildings management and ownership. Kansas City Tenant activists and Independence Towers residents held a press conference on May 21. But despite all the issues, the City of Independence claims their hands are tied, because they say no official claims have been filed. City officials acknowledge theyre aware of the conditions at the apartment building, yet despite the known issues, Tom Scannell, Director of Community Development, said the city is unable to take action unless formal complaints are filed to the city. We can only enforce the rules and regulations and processes that we have in place. If there are tenants that would like to file a complaint for items that are wrong in their unit, they can reach out to city staff, Scannell told the The Star in a phone interview. ...Once we have the complaint form, the city can then step in to follow the process to ensure that those units are safe and livable. Justin Stein with KC Tenants said thats no easy task for some residents, who he said are unable to file complaints because it requires a copy of their lease, which many claim they were never given. Stein also said that many have expressed its physically difficult for them to go to city hall to fill out the form. Scannell said residents can use government identification and proof of residency like a utility bill if they dont have a copy of their lease. He also noted a copy of the form can be found online under the citys Rental Ready program page. But as the investigation into the boys death continues, so does the legal wrangling over the buildings ownership and management, after the previous owner FTW Investments and management company Tango Management was ousted by a court in May after allegedly failing to pay back Fannie Mae for the loan and for not maintaining the building according to their loan agreement. An attorney for Parker Webb, the chief executive officer of FTW Investments whose name is on the LLC still listed as the owner of the building, said in a statement to The Star on Wednesday afternoon that LLC is no longer in control of the building. (The LLC is) no longer in control of the property, is not and cannot exercise any rights of an owner or manager of that property. That, instead, is the responsibility of the court-appointed receiver, Trigild, Inc. and their hired property management company, Tarantino Properties, Webb said in the statement issued by his attorney. The vice president of Trigild, Nancy Daniels, is out of office and has not responded to The Stars requests for comment. KC Tenants union advocates said despite the family reporting the broken window to management and requesting fixes for months, its now the family facing consequences after being charged with child endangerment. This reassignment of responsibility, away from the building owners, and towards the parents, is disturbing and harmful, KC Tenants said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. The charges need to be dropped and a proper investigation should occur, including context about the building itself. Windows exempt from city code Window locks and restrictions for openings were written into Independence building code roughly 20 years ago, according to Scannell. Independence Towers is older than the code though, and the city code does not allow the city to retroactively enforce the amendment to older buildings. Elliot West, a longtime building resident, on Monday said everyone in the building had their windows open because the central air conditioning at the building has not been working all summer. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the Kansas City metro Monday, with temperatures expected to climb above 100 degrees this week. The building is technically supposed to have a central AC unit run off of a chiller, that chiller is not working, West said. They really havent had anyone up there to fix it, as much as theyd like to claim that they have. Trigild, the property management company appointed to receive the property by a Jackson County judge, installed individual air conditioning window units in June after the tenant union advocated for action, according to Stein. But residents said they dont sufficiently cool the whole apartment, and that their electricity costs have since doubled. A boarded-up window is seen at the Independence Towers on March 19. KC Tenants says Trigild has done little else to improve conditions in the building, including fixing faulty windows. On Wednesday, another resident confirmed the air conditioning issues, telling The Star that most residents keep their windows open all summer as a result. But Damien Hill, 20, whos lived there since May 2023, doesnt believe the death is due to the state of the building, citing the presence of functioning window screens on most windows as the reason the child shouldnt have fallen. When you open them one way and theres no screen, you open them the other way, Hill said. The kid shouldnt have fallen out. According to charging documents, Randle said the window the toddler fell from was closed and secured when the accident occurred, but said she knew the window did not properly lock, and that they normally use a blue pole to secure it. Officials said when they checked the room they didnt see a blue pole. After being arrested, Bass allegedly told police in a formal interview that he had known the window was a safety hazard since June 2023, and that the children had been able to bypass the locks and get out the window since December. He allegedly said he knew one of the children could remove the pole they used to secure the window because neighbors had brought it to their attention that the children were throwing toys out of the window. Randle also allegedly said she knew of the hazard but had become complacent and overlooked it. She allegedly said she was concerned from day one that one of her children would fall out the window. Independence mayor Rory Rowland visited Independence Towers Wednesday afternoon, speaking with residents as they came in and out of the building. Hill said residents have been under a lot of stress since the childs death was reported, and that communication between residents and building management has been limited. The people I have talked to are upset,Hill said. When a kid falls out of the building you live in and dies, its upsetting. In the wake of the childs death, many Independence Tower residents have reported that building management has dissuaded them from speaking publicly about maintenance issues, according to a source familiar with the police investigation. Every tenant deserves better An inspection of the building was last done by the Rental Ready program, run by the city of Independence, in December 2023. The program, started in 2017 to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents, is required to inspect 10% of all rental units. It requires all properties to be licensed and pass a health and safety inspection every two years, according to the programs website. At Independence Towers, the property has 130 units, meaning 13 were observed. The inspection assessed nine basic aspects of the building including functioning smoke detectors, secure handrails and a visible street address. The building passed inspection despite two active cases in units, 111 and 112, which have been labeled as unsafe to occupy since Jan. 1, 2023 because of holes in walls and ceilings, according to the city of Independence. No permits have been submitted to fix the issues, according to the city, and no formal complaints for Independence Towers have been filed. A fire at Independence Towers on June 17 displaced tenants in 27 apartment units over three floors. According to Scannell, there is no deadline on when violations need to be fixed, but the owner is penalized by not being allowed to rent those units out. It becomes a challenge in how to address that. Obviously as long as those units are tagged, the property owner cant rent those units out, and that is the state of it as we sit here today, he said. The city has taken action in three cases without a formal complaint at Independence Towers, all related to air conditioning or heating issues in June 2023, September 2023 and November 2023. In these cases, a tenant called the city to complain, and on each occasion, staff followed up with property management and the issues were fixed, according to Riley Newton, then spokesperson for the city. KC Tenants said those fixes arent enough. In their Wednesday statement, KC Tenants said Independence Towers is dangerous, and every tenant deserves better. The Stars Ilana Arougheti, Robert A. Cronkleton, Kendrick Calfee and Nathan Pilling provided reporting for this story. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The FBI arrested a man who is accused of committing a string of bank robberies this year. Joaquin Ricardo Molinar, dubbed the Tan Pants Bandit, is accused of robbing six banks across Rio Rancho and Albuquerque. Cell phone location data revealed Molinar was near those banks at the time of the crime. Albuquerque police investigating death of 8-year-old boy When the FBI searched his home on Wednesday, agents discovered two tan pants and several robbery demand notes. One note said Lets not make this hard. Give me money now. No dye packs, quick, easy. No Alarm. Hurry. His first heist was in March and his latest was earlier this month. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. HOUSTON (Reuters) -Shares in U.S. oil producer Hess suffered their largest daily percentage drop in 20 months on Thursday on fallout from the lengthy new delay to its proposed sale to Chevron An arbitration panel organized to hear an Exxon Mobil challenge to the $53 billion sale will not meet until next May, pushing back any closing until the second half of 2025. The two companies originally had hoped to conclude the merger earlier this year. Hess' stock fell $11.25, or 7.35%, the largest daily percentage drop since November 2022. Chevron shares were also off 4%, or $6.57, at $153.93 in midday New York trading. Exxon and CNOOC Ltd filed arbitration claims claiming a pre-emption right to any sale of Hess lucrative stake in a Guyana oil-producing joint venture. The challenge threatens to block Chevrons biggest deal since its 2001 acquisition of Texaco for $36 billion. Exxon and CNOOC have argued Chevron's bid for Hess triggered a right of first refusal clause in their Guyana joint operating agreement. Chevron and Hess dispute that claim. The all-stock sale, announced last October, has been stalled by a second request for information by antitrust regulator, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Its review should be completed this quarter, a spokesman for Hess said. (Reporting by Gary McWilliamsEditing by Marguerita Choy) FAYETTE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) A warrant is pending for a San Antonio man after a traffic stop in Fayette County led to the discovery of illegal drugs hidden in odd places. A Fayette County Sheriffs deputy found plush beaver dolls stuffed with illegal drugs, according to a social media post from FSCO. The deputy conducted that traffic stop around 1:10 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 10 westbound, near the 665 mile marker for a traffic infraction, FCSO said. That is between Schulenburg and Flatonia. The driver gave consent to the deputy to search the vehicle, according to the agency. During that search, the deputy smelled marijuana in the vehicle, FCSO said. That is when the deputy found the the plush beaver dolls in the back seat. Charges are pending for a San Antonio man after a traffic stop in Fayette County led to the discovery of illegal drugs found in odd places. (Courtesy Fayette County Sheriffs Office) When the deputy felt the plush beaver dolls, he noticed they were re-stitched, according to FCSO. That is when the deputy found the plush beaver dolls had packages of marijuana and ecstasy, the agency said. The driver told the deputy he was suffering from chest pain, and EMS responded to the location of the traffic stop and took him to a local hospital, the agency said. However, FCSO said the marijuana and ecstasy were seized, and officials said a warrant will be issued for the man. Additionally, the agency said the marijuana weighed more than two pounds. The incident remained under investigation by FCSO Wednesday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. A federal judge has struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX. (Photo by Getty Images) A federal judge has struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX, shortly before the final rule takes effect nationwide on Thursday. The administrations updated regulations which seek to extend federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ students have been met with a wave of GOP pushback since being announced by the Department of Education in April. Though the final rule is slated to go into effect on Thursday, its now blocked in 22 states and has faced mounting legal uncertainty. In short, although Plaintiffs may dislike the Departments rules, they have failed to show a substantial likelihood of success in proving the Departments rulemaking was unreasonable or not reasonably explained, Judge Annemarie Carney Axon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama wrote Tuesday in a 122-page opinion. Axon, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump, also wrote that the evidentiary record is sparse, and the legal arguments are conclusory and underdeveloped. In late April, the group of Southern states, all with GOP attorneys general, sued the administration in federal court in Alabama over the regulations. Multiple organizations also tacked onto the lawsuit, including the Independent Womens Law Center, the Independent Womens Network, Parents Defending Education and Speech First. They quickly appealed Tuesdays ruling later in the day to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. In a statement on Tuesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said we are surprised by district courts decision today to deny the States request to immediately halt Bidens Title IX degradation. He added that Alabamas young women deserve better. Since the department released the final rule, 26 states in total have signed onto lawsuits seeking to block the updated regulations from taking effect. Across multiple temporary injunctions, the final rule is blocked in Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. On Wednesday, Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma halted the final rule from taking effect in the state. Oklahoma individually sued the administration back in May. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised the ruling, saying: Our students deserve the protections that have long been provided by Title IX, per a statement Wednesday. To further complicate the matter, when Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas temporarily blocked the measure in the Sunflower State, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier in July, he extended it to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty, all groups that sued alongside those four states. This means the final rule is blocked in schools across the country, including in states that never challenged the updated regulations. Despite Axons Tuesday ruling, the final rule will still be halted in any K-12 school or college in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina that is impacted by the earlier Kansas decision. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Janelle Stecklein contributed to this report. This week, a federal judge ruled that a major provision of New Jersey's "assault weapon" ban is unconstitutional, but he was not happy about saying so. The decision illustrates how the Supreme Court's Second Amendment precedents have constrained the discretion of judges who are personally inclined to support gun control. New Jersey's Assault Firearms Lawwhich the state Legislature approved in 1990, responding to a mass shooting at a Stockton, California, elementary school the previous yearbans a list of specific rifle models, along with "any firearm manufactured under any designation which is substantially identical to any of the firearms listed above." According to guidelines that New Jersey Attorney General Peter Verniero issued in 1996, the latter description encompasses semi-automatic rifles that accept detachable magazines and have at least two of five features: a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one, or a grenade launcher. Illegal possession of "assault firearms" is a second-degree crime punishable by five to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $150,000. In separate lawsuits that U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan considered together, several gun owners and two gun rights groups, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), argued that the rifle ban is unconstitutional. Sheridan's decision in ANJRPC v. Platkin focuses on the Colt AR-15, one of the specifically banned rifles, because it was the model mentioned most frequently by the plaintiffs and the state. "The information presented to the Court focuses largely on one specific type of firearm: the AR-15," Sheridan writes. "And given the variety of firearms regulated in the Assault Firearms Law and the nuances that each individual firearm presents, the Court's analysis of the Assault Firearms Law is limited to the firearm with which the Court has been provided the most information: the AR-15." Sheridan, a senior judge who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by George W. Bush in 2005, repeatedly refers specifically to "the Colt AR-15." But he also notes that "the AR-15 is produced by several different manufacturers," including FN, Ruger, Remington, Bushmaster, Rock River Arms, Wilson Combat, Barrett, Panther Arms, H&K, Lewis Machine, Olympic Arms, Palmetto State Armory, and Mossberg. So his conclusion that "the AR-15 Provision is unconstitutional" evidently applies to all AR-15-style rifles, regardless of who makes them or what they are officially called. Before explaining his reasoning in reaching that conclusion, Sheridan expresses his dismay at the Supreme Court precedents he is required to follow. "It is hard to accept the Supreme Court's pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are 'off the table' when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes," he says. "Even so, the Court's decision today is dictated by one of the most elementary legal principles within our legal system: stare decisis. That is, where the Supreme Court has set forth the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it. This principlecombined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nationnecessitates the Court's decision." Despite his personal policy preferences, Sheridan thinks it is clear that the AR-15 qualifies as a weapon "in common use" for "lawful purposes like self-defense"the sort of arms that the Supreme Court has said are covered by the Second Amendment. He notes a 2022 estimate that Americans owned about 24 million "AR-15s and similar sporting rifles," and he highlights testimony that such guns are useful for home defense. "Plaintiffs have shown that AR-15s are well-adapted for self-defense," Sheridan writes. "Evidence has been presented to the Court that the build of the AR-15 makes it well-suited to self-defense because it is 'light weight, [has] very mild recoil, and [has] good ergonomics'; it is a weapon which is 'well suited to younger shooters, female shooters, and other shooters of smaller stature.'" He adds that "the AR-15's design featuresincluding the effectiveness of its cartridge for self-defense use and its better continuity of fire when used with available magazinesmake the AR-15 a good choice for self-defense." And he notes that "the AR-15 has been used recently in several, relatively high-profile self-defense events in Florida, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma." Those points should be disregarded, the state argued, because handguns are a more popular choice for self-defense and one that New Jersey allows. But as Sheridan notes, the Supreme Court's decision in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which overturned a local handgun ban, explicitly rejected that sort of argument. "It is no answer to saythat it is permissible to ban the possession of handguns so long as the possession of other firearms (i.e., long guns) is allowed," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion. "It is enough to note, as we have observed, that the American people have considered the handgun to be the quintessential self-defense weapon." Like the law at issue in Heller, "the Assault Firearms Law's AR-15 Provision acts effectively as the total prohibition on a commonly used firearm for self-defenseAR-15swithin the home," Sheridan writes. And under Heller, "a categorical ban on a class of weapons commonly used for self-defense is unlawful." Given "the Supreme Court's clear direction on this point," Sheridan says, "the AR-15 Provision of the Assault Firearms Law is unconstitutional" as applied to "the Colt AR-15 for use for self-defense in the home." Sheridan reached a different conclusion regarding another provision of New Jersey's Assault Firearms Law that the plaintiffs also challenged: the ban on "large capacity magazines" (LCMs). Legislators originally defined LCMs as magazines that hold more than 15 rounds but reduced the limit to 10 rounds in 2018. That restriction, Sheridan says, is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation"the test established by the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Sheridan acknowledges that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, which includes New Jersey, has recognized ammunition as "arms" within the meaning of the Second Amendment. But he thinks the LCM ban differs from the AR-15 ban in a crucial way. "The LCM Amendment passes constitutional muster because although the Second Amendment right is implicated, this regulation is in line with the historical regulations within the tradition of our Nation," Sheridan writes. "Put more precisely, the reduction of capacity is a limitation on firearms ownership. It is not a categorical ban preventing law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights [with] a weapon that is in common use for self-defense." Sheridan notes that "detachable magazines did not exist in the Founding period" and that "it was not until the mid-l800s that patents for magazines falling within the definition of the LCM Amendment began appearing in the historical record." While "rifles capable of holding more than ten rounds became available" in the 1860s, he adds, "the magazine was fixed." And "despite the issuance of a patent for detachable magazines in 1864, firearms with detachable magazines were not widely available until the end of the Nineteenth Century." Magazines that could hold more than 10 rounds, Sheridan notes, "did not exist in 1791," when the Second Amendment was ratified, and "were not widely available in 1868," when the 14th Amendment required states to respect the right to arms. He says it therefore would be plainly unreasonable to demand that New Jersey "locate a statute or regulation from that time" that closely resembles its LCM ban. In Bruen, Sheridan writes, the Supreme Court "noted that current regulations may implicate either 'unprecedented societal concerns' or 'dramatic technological changes' different from those that existed when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791 or when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868. In those circumstances, 'a more nuanced approach' to determine if historical regulations are 'relevantly similar' to the currently challenged regulations must be utilized based on two measurements: 'how and why the regulations burden a law-abiding citizen's right to armed self-defense.'" Sheridan thinks the LCM ban's "how" is "relevantly similar" to the scope of historical restrictions on pistols and Bowie knives. "The LCM Amendment places a burden on self-defense that is comparable to the burden imposed by the historical analogues," he says. "Like these restrictions, the LCM Amendment isa restriction responding to safety concerns present in our time." As for the LCM ban's "why," Sheridan says, there is evidence that LCMs "increase the lethality of mass shooting events." In recent years, he notes, magazines holding over 10 rounds often have been used in mass shootings, including "all" such crimes from 2019 through 2022. The "stated purpose" of New Jersey's LCM ban, which is to "effectively slow down a mass shooter," is "well-served" by that restriction, Sheridan writes. "A limitation on magazine capacity stops the rate at which victims can be injured," he says, and "allows for time during which a shooter may be intercepted, interrupted, or hopefully, stopped." While "such a problem" may be "new to us," he adds, it is "analogous to other safety issues presented by [weapons] commonly usedfor lawful purposes confronted by our Nation in the past." Sheridan, who decries the "alarming frequency" of mass shootings, never acknowledges that they remain rare compared to other kinds of lethal crime. Based on the commonly used definition of mass shootings as public attacks that kill four or more people, they account for around 1 percent of homicides committed with guns. And while Sheridan implies that mass shootings are on the rise, the RAND Corporation notes that "chance variability in the annual number of mass shooting incidents makes it challenging to discern a clear trend" and that "trend estimates are sensitive to outliers and to the time frame chosen for analysis." Sheridan nevertheless decries the "reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation," which both exaggerates the frequency of these crimes and takes for granted that they could be prevented if only politicians tried hard enough. In addition to a lack of political will, Sheridan implicitly blames the Supreme Court for saying that the Second Amendment puts some gun restrictions "off the table." Yet despite these views, he felt constrained to reject New Jersey's AR-15 ban. At the same time, Sheridan was curiously reticent to extend his analysis by considering the illogic of banning "substantially identical" rifles and defining that category based on an arbitrary set of features. With or without those features, a rifle fires the same ammunition at the same rate with the same muzzle velocity. Does it make any sense, for example, to expect that banning rifles with both folding stocks and threaded barrels would have any noticeable impact on mass shooting deaths, let alone homicide generally? While Sheridan's concern about the use of LCMs in mass shootings is more plausible, it is based on an inconclusive correlation. The public safety benefit of banning them is speculative, and Sheridan did not even consider the argument that the ability to fire more than 10 rounds without changing magazines can be important in some self-defense situationsa point that legislators take for granted when they exempt current and former police officers from magazine restrictions. The FPC plans an appeal to the 3rd Circuit, which it wants to "address legal deficiencies in [Sheridan's] opinion," and "seek the full relief" that the plaintiffs requested. "Bans on so-called 'assault weapons' are immoral and unconstitutional," says FPC President Brandon Combs. "FPC will continue to fight forward until all of these bans are eliminated throughout the United States." The post A Federal Judge Reluctantly Concludes That New Jersey's AR-15 Ban Is Unconstitutional appeared first on Reason.com. ST. LOUIS A convicted felon appeared in federal court on Wednesday to be sentenced for robbing a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint last year in a popular St. Louis neighborhood. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Antione Shockley, 26, and his girlfriend placed a false order with a local Dominos on April 13, 2023, and provided a delivery address of a vacant home in the Central West End. According to court documents, when the driver arrived at the home, Shockley pointed a gun at the victim and stole two pizzas, hot wings, and the insulated bag the driver had been carrying. St. Louis police traced the order to Shockleys email address as well as Shockleys phone. New Missouri executive order bans sale of psychoactive cannabis products Shockley was arrested on June 24, 2023, after allegedly firing a handgun into the air in a school zone. Shockley passed the handgun over to a woman who was with him and then pulled two more firearms from his waistband. Following his arrest, Shockley struck and injured a St. Louis police officer. Shockley pleaded guilty in January to robbery and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. Hes also pleaded guilty in St. Louis Circuit Court to a gun charge and to resisting arrest, and he was sentenced to seven years in prison. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Shockley to 9 1/2 years in federal prison. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Project 2025's eliminating of the federal Department of Education opens the door for radical changes to Americas education system, a guest columnist writes. The Heritage Foundation Project 2025, often referred to as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, is an ultraconservative plan to remake America. The Heritage Foundation president, Kevin Roberts, reportedly made a comment, We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be. A Heritage Foundation spokesperson stated their initial focus will be eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, using taxpayer money for religious schools, increasing Arctic drilling, deregulating big businesses and big oil, and expediting capital punishment. Project 2025 will remake all U.S. government executive presidential managed agencies using ultraconservative values while eliminating many programs. It takes an authoritarian president to implement it. Authoritarian leaders operate without obeying laws, including a countrys constitutions. More: Guest analysis: Project 2025 is the radical conservatives' machination The following information is related to Project 2025. Two examples of how authoritarian leaders operate follows this information. Roberts identified Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban as the authoritarian leadership model needed in remaking the U.S. government. Prime Minister Orbans authoritative actions have imposed restrictions on its citizens in violation of Hungarys European Union democracy membership agreement. Orban is a hard-right-leaning opponent of immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, judicial courts, controlled election systems and freedom of the press. Former President Donald Trump met in a closed-door session with Orban at The Heritage Foundations Washington headquarters in the spring of 2024. He reportedly made the following statement after this meeting: There is no better leader than Viktor Orban. He is a noncontroversial figure because he says this is the way it is going to be and that is the end of it. He is the boss. During a campaign rally on July 20 in Michigan, former President Trump praised Orban, along with Putin of Russia and Xi of China, for their leadership. Trump has been identified by sponsors of Project 2025 as the type of leader to implement Project 2025. Project 2025's eliminating of the federal Department of Education opens the door for radical changes to Americas education system. The Oklahoma State Department of Education's current activities reflect the Project 2025 approach. The state Education Department's statewide social studies curriculum activity uses authoritarian leadership principles to make changes. The state Education Department has dictated that Christian Bibles be placed in each classroom of public schools, along with the Ten Commandments. This dictate was not coordinated with local schools. Authoritarians do not coordinate their decisions with those impacted. They threaten those who dont obey. In further support of their dictate, the state Education Department created an Executive Review Committee to revamp the Oklahoma public school social studies curriculum. Roberts is a member of this committee. He has close ties to the radical Christian group Opus Dei, which does not believe in the separation of church and state. He reportedly worked with Opus Dei to establish Christian-based programs in certain Texas public high schools when he served as CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. More: How freedom of religion, freedom from tyranny were key in developing our democracy | Opinion Project 2025 proposes to staff the federal Department of Health and Human Services with dedicated anti-abortion authoritarians. They would establish a No Abortions policy across America. No exceptions. More than 34 department policies would be remade under Project 2025 under direct control of the U.S. president. The information referencing Roberts, Orban, Trump and the state Education Department suggests the Project 2025 revolution is focused on ultraconservative changes that would create chaos and ultimately destroy Americas democracy. Fighting against the Project 2025 revolution begins with electing a U.S. president who honors and protects our democracy. Many cells of Project 2025 supporters will continue to exist even then. Continuous monitoring following this election is essential to prevent authoritarian revolutionaries from destroying America. Richard C. "Dick" Hall Richard C. "Dick" Hall, of Norman, is an Army veteran who served 30 years in federal civil service and retired as a division manager. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Project 2025 would be enforced by authoritarian president | Opinion Finland to set up containers on border with Russia for interviews with asylum seekers Special infrastructure is being set up at checkpoints on the Finnish border with Russia to accommodate new methods of working with migrants; in particular, containers for interviews with asylum seekers have already been delivered there. Source: European Pravda with reference to the Finnish broadcaster Yle Details: In this way, the Finnish Border Guard is preparing to adopt a law on expulsion. If the document is adopted, border checkpoints will need premises to conduct interviews with asylum seekers. Mark Turunen, Deputy Head of the Department of Border and Maritime Transport, said, "It is our responsibility to organise the necessary infrastructure". He also said that 2,000 Border Guard officers are currently undergoing training on how to operate under the new law. In particular, border guards will be able to prevent asylum seekers from crossing the border or expel them from the country. A person subject to expulsion will receive a written decision and instructions on how to appeal. The purpose of the expulsion law is to prevent managed migration. Background: Earlier, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that Finland's border with Russia could be partially opened when the expulsion law is passed. In April, the Finnish government left the border with Russia closed indefinitely to counter the hybrid migration crisis. Support UP or become our patron! DENVER (KDVR) A witness spotted a group of people shooting off fireworks before a small wildfire sparked Wednesday at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, investigators said. The fire was reported at about 6:27 p.m. The Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office said the witness saw several young people shooting off the fireworks, and large flames were seen shortly after. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox South Metro Fire Rescue said the fire reached about an acre and was under control before 7 p.m. with firefighters left extinguishing hot spots. Aurora Fire Rescue also responded. The sheriffs office said the people suspected of starting the fire had left the area before deputies arrived. Arapahoe County is under a Stage 2 burn ban. The sheriffs office said anyone caught in violation will face consequences under the law. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. First 2024 rabies case reported in Thurston County. Heres how to protect yourself and pets Thurston County Public Health and Social Services has reported the first case of rabies this year in Thurston County, and the third overall case in Washington state. According to a news release, Public Health and Social Services was notified on July 31 of positive test results for rabies in a bat. Renae Miller with PHSS said the bat was found in a garage and there was no human exposure. But there was uncertainty of exposure to a household pet that was seen nearby. Miller said there was no medical response needed for the person, but their pet was given a vaccine booster. It is not possible to tell if a bat has rabies just from its appearance, the public health department warned in a news release. Whether a bat is alive or dead, handling an infected bat can potentially transfer rabies. To prevent exposure to rabies, dont handle bats, alive or dead, or allow anyone in your family to handle one. Dont allow your pet to touch or play with a bat, and keep your pets vaccinated against rabies, as required by Washington law. If you find a bat in a bedroom or with an unattended child, try to safely capture the bat and have it tested. If you believe you or a family member may have touched a bat, or have been bitten or scratched by one, wash the area with soap and water. Contact your medical provider and call Public Health and Social Services during business hours at 360-867-2667, or Washington Poison Control at 800-222-1222 after hours and on weekends, or 9-1-1 if it is a medical emergency. First F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine to boost battle against Vladimir Putins war First F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine to boost battle against Vladimir Putins war The first F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine to boost the countrys battle against Vladimir Putins invasion. Lithuanias foreign minister and a US confirmed the planes had been delivered to the Kyiv government. The first six F-16s to be supplied to Ukraine were reported to have come from the Netherlands. Ukrainian pilots have trained in Britain and other countries on how to fly the modern aircraft. F-16s, built by Lockheed Martin, have been on Ukraines wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability. The fighter jet is equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles. F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible, tweeted Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the delivery had been complete. Ukraines Air Force did not immediately respond to request for comment. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian forces were prepared to shoot down Ukraine's first batch of F-16 jets and the weapons will not be a "panacea" for Kyiv's army. Denmark has committed to donate 19 jets in total, while the Netherlands has promised to deliver 24 aircraft. Both countries have been driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s. Norway has also said that it would donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has had to rely on a relatively small fleet of Soviet-era jets as it has fought to hold back Russias full-scale February 2022 invasion. Ukrainian officials see the addition of the F-16 as a vital upgrade for its Air Force. Analysts and officials say the F-16s will not alone prove a turning point in the war. But it could hinder Russian attempts to gain more ground in the east of the country. British defence chiefs say Putins army is expected to seize more territory in the Donetsk province of the Donbas region in coming weeks. But they stressed that his forces were being hit by heavy casualties and had a shortage of officers. Ukraine is also suffering high military losses as it defends its territory. Britain has led the West in supplying military aid to Ukraine, first with anti-tank weapons, then Challenger II tanks, and long range Storm Shadow missiles. Other countries have stepped up their military support packages for Kyiv. The Ukraine war has seen a massive increase in the use of drones. Kyiv is seeking to build a million drones this year to step up the air battle against Russia. It has developed unmanned aircraft which can fly around 1,000 miles to attack targets deep inside Russia. The UK has also supplied Ukraine with drones. Ukraines air force said on Wednesday that it had shot down all 89 Shahed drones launched by Russia in a night-time attack, in what was one of the largest drone barrages this year. No damage or injuries were immediately reported in the bombardment, which mostly targeted the region of Kyiv, the capital. Russia used the same number of Iranian-developed Shahed drones in a January 1 attack, an air force statement said. Some Russia drones targeting Ukraine have recently strayed into Nato-member Romania. The Russian drones are being shot down by Ukraines Soviet-era aircraft, according to Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, an aviation expert in Kyiv. The air force is using electronic jamming against the drones GPS which forces the drones to fly at a higher altitude, which then makes it easier for Ukrainian aircraft to strike them down, he said. He stressed that the tactic will likely also be used as US-made F-16 fighter jets are delivered in coming weeks by Kyivs European partners. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they struck more military targets on Russian soil overnight. They hit a warehouse for weapon storage and military equipment in the border region of Kursk, a statement from Ukraines General Staff said. BERLIN Ukraine has received its first collection of F-16 combat jets, Lithuanias foreign minister and several officials confirmed on Wednesday. The jets have been long-anticipated, with discussions about providing the fighters to Kyiv dating back to the early days of the February 2022 Russian invasion of its smaller neighbor. F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible, Vilnius Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on X. The Associated Press and Reuters cited unnamed U.S. and Ukrainian officials who confirmed the delivery of the first jets. Publicly, Ukraine and its supporters are keeping tight-lipped; a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would neither confirm nor deny that Ukraine has received F-16s, NPR reported on Thursday. Ukraine is to receive six of the aircraft this summer and up to 20 by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported in July. U.S. President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for F-16s to be sent to Ukraine, though the U.S. will not be providing any fighter jets directly. Ukrainian pilots and maintenance crews have been training on the warplanes in Western countries for months. The White House said last month that Ukraine will be flying operational F-16s this summer. The Netherlands and Denmark, both NATO members, have been the driving force behind the push to get F-16s to Ukraine. Norway and Belgium have also promised to donate fighters. Between them, the four countries have pledged 79 of the fourth-generation multirole fighter jets. It is unclear whether the arrival of F-16s in Ukraine will amount to a game changer, but defense officials hope they will assist Ukraine in challenging Russias air supremacy, particularly over the Black Sea. Although the first F-16s took to the skies half a century ago, reportedly around 2,000 of the aircraft are still in use by air forces particularly in U.S.-aligned countries around the globe. Well over 4,000 F-16s have been sold, with over 25 countries operating them today. They were used to enforce no-fly zones in Iraq during the Gulf War and were heavily employed in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. More recently, the jets have seen combat over Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has signed two new Taj Hotels in the Kingdom of Bahrain, marking the company's foray into the country. The Taj resort in Hamala will offer 251 rooms and other amenities, including an all-day dining restaurant, two restaurants, a swimming pool, and an exclusive beach club. This resort also features a gym, a spa and 1,200m banquet facilities. The Taj Hotel in Downtown Seef, Manama, will feature 200 rooms and a host of amenities, including a gym, spa, swimming pool, all-day dining and speciality restaurants, and an exclusive pool bar. The Downtown Seef Hotel will offer additional banquet areas. IHCL managing director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said: We are pleased to announce two hotels in the island nation of Bahrain in line with our strategy of growing Tajs presence in key gateway cities of the world. With a portfolio of seven hotels including four under development in the Middle East, these hotels will extend our presence in the MENA region. We are delighted to partner with Kingdom Projects to introduce the iconic Taj with its world-class hospitality, elevating Bahrains tourism landscape. The two properties will expand IHCLs footprint in the Middle East to seven hotels, of which four are under development. Recently, IHCL signed an agreement for a 200-key Taj hotel in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. "IHCL signs two Taj Hotels in Bahrain " was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. A first officer fainted during a flight to Lisbon. It's a reminder why commercial airplanes should always have 2 pilots. A first officer fainted during a flight to Lisbon. It's a reminder why commercial airplanes should always have 2 pilots. An easyJet first officer fainted during a flight from London to Lisbon on Saturday. The captain landed the plane safely, highlighting the importance of the two-pilot rule. Regulators and pilot unions oppose single-pilot operations, citing safety concerns. Passengers don't usually get on a flight expecting their pilot to fall ill. But on the rare occasion that it does happen, the two-pilot minimum rule means somebody can land the plane safely. On Saturday, for example, an easyJet first officer fainted during a flight from London to Lisbon with nearly 200 passengers on board. An airline spokesperson told Business Insider that the plane was "met by the paramedics upon landing due to a pilot feeling unwell." "The captain landed the flight routinely in line with procedures and passengers disembarked normally," they said. "At no point was the safety of the flight compromised." Mark Stephens, a retired Delta pilot, recently told BI that domestic or short-haul flights should have at least two pilots, while international or long-haul flights should have two pilots and two captains. Safety in numbers The incident on Saturday highlights the importance of having an additional pilot on board. Over the years, there have been reports of medical emergencies in midair, including sudden illnesses such as heart attacks or even death. On these occasions, the remaining pilot or pilots should focus on diverting or landing the plane safely while the rest of the crew tends to the pilot who is injured or unwell. In March 2023, a Southwest Airlines pilot had stomach pains and became "incapacitated" during a flight from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio. A pilot from another airline who was on board as a passenger stepped in to help the remaining Southwest pilot land the plane, the outlet said. The concept of single-pilot operations has been debated and criticized by regulators and pilot unions in Europe and the US. Reuters reported in February 2023 that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency rejected an industry push to allow planes to be operated by one pilot by 2030. Andrea Boiardi, chief expert of operational suitability at the regulator, told Reuters at the time that the idea of a single-pilot flight was "absolutely not realistic." While single-pilot flights can take place, it is rare and would require approval from the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization, individual airlines, and their pilot unions, Reuters said. Read the original article on Business Insider L-R: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan in first pic released after their release in a prisoner swap between Russia and several countries including the US (Courtesy of US Government) The first photo of three Americans marine Paul Whelan and journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva has emerged after the historic prison swap. The photo showed the three Americans smiling while holding the American flag. The trio were released in Turkey on Thursday in the massive prison swap between Russia and western nations. Wall Street Journal assistant editor Paul Beckett shared the photo on Thursday afternoon. Two dozen prisoners were freed in the exchange 16 of them from Russian captivity marking it as the largest swap since the Cold War. President Joe Biden celebrated the historic exchange, speaking from the White House hours after the swap: Their brutal ordeal is over, and now theyre free. He added: Its an incredible relief. Biden later shared another photo, showing the group on a plane, writing on X: After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024 The president is gathering the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House to share with them the news that an exchange is underway to secure the release of their loved ones from Russia, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday morning. The release ends the one-year detainment of Gershkovich, 32, who was detained in Yekaterinburg in March by the Federal Security Service on charges of espionage while he was on a reporting trip for the Journal. In July, the reporter was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges by a Russian court. Whelan, the former Marine, was arrested in 2018. At the time, he had been working as a director of global security and investigations for BorgWarner and occasionally traveled to Russia on business. The arrest came as he was attending a friends wedding. Two years later, he was convicted to 16 years in prison. Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days. His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions, the Whelan family wrote in a statement Thursday. Paul Whelan is free. L-R: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan in first pic released after their release in a prisoner swap between Russia and several countries including the US (Courtesy of US Government) Kurmasheva, a journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was given a six-and-a-half-year sentence in June 2024 after a Russian court convicted her of spreading false information about the Russian army. Kara-Murza, a journalist and permanent resident of the US, was also released on Thursday. He was detained in April 2022. The following year, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison over his criticism of the war in Ukraine. Kara-Murza won a Pulitzer Prize for the columns he wrote at a Moscow detention center. Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva are going to touch down on American soil later on Thursday when they arrive at Joint Base Andrews, where President Biden and Vice President Harris will welcome them, Sullivan said. Kara-Murza is heading to Germany to meet his family there before returning to the US, Sullivan. SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. (WTVO) On Thursday, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency announced the first set of 2,600 upcoming state-funded electric vehicle fast chargers have been installed, including four in South Beloit. In total, the IEPA said 16 Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) had been installed in Beach Park, Le Roy, Troy, and South Beloit. Four Chargepoint-branded DCFC units are now open at Fas Fuel, at 15766 Manchester Road, near the Interstate 90 ramp. Here in Illinois, we are excited to continue the build-out of our electric vehicle charging network to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles, said Interim Director Jennings. The Driving a Cleaner Illinois program addresses gaps in the current EV charging network to assure that electric vehicles remain a choice for motorists across Illinois. Depending on the model, fast charging stations can output up to 350 kW and recharge a cars battery in less than 30 minutes. By contrast, the more readily available Level 2 chargers, often found in business parking lots and residential garages, output up to only 19 kW and are typically used for overnight or long-term charging. DCFC units often have one or more Combined Charging System (CCS) standard plugs, with the possibility of another plug supporting the aging CHAdeMO protocol, reserved for drivers of the Nissan LEAF. The Illinois EPA has already awarded or is in the process of awarding a total of $82.6 million in grants to build DCFCs and Level 2 chargers at public locations, including hotels, shopping centers, and gas stations. Of these public charging ports, approximately 2,000 will be DC fast charge and 600 will be Level 2. Previously, the state announced funding was in place for additional charging stations at the following locations: Pilot Flying J Travel Center in Rochelle An unnamed gas station in Loves Park Road Ranger gas stations in Dixon and Rochelle Road Ranger in South Beloit Pilot Flying J Travel Center in South Beloit BP gas station in Roscoe The auto industry has committed to adopting Teslas proprietary DCFC connector, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), starting with 2025 models. Teslas Supercharger Network is in the process of becoming available to users of non-Tesla EVs. That rollout has been slow, with compatibility currently limited to EVs manufactured by Ford. According to Teslas website, the automaker intends to install a third Rockford Supercharger sometime in 2024, possibly near downtown. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. A sign directing voters to a polling location on the Navajo Nation on July 30, 2024. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror Covering elections as a journalist on the Navajo Nation can be challenging due to the sheer size of their tribal land in Arizona. But what often gets lost is that Indigenous voters face those same challenges not to do their job, but to participate in their own governance and have their voice heard. The Arizona primary election was on Tuesday, and as part of my job, I visited different polling locations to see if any voters wanted to chat about the election. Spoiler: No one wanted to, at least on the record. I have always covered state elections from the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, and was struck this year by just how difficult it was and how different it is from driving to multiple polling locations in Maricopa County. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX On Tuesday, I spent the day driving around the Navajo Nation and some parts of the Hopi Nation, stopping off at polling locations in Navajo and Apache counties. By the end of the day, I had spent nearly 10 hours in my car, driving more than 250 miles, and visited only 10 polling locations. If I were in Maricopa County, I wouldve hit 10 polling locations within a few hours and far fewer miles. There were over 230 polling places in Maricopa County Apache County had only 44, while Navajo County had just 39. The Navajo Nations land mass on the Arizona side spreads across Apache and Navajo counties and partially into Coconino County. The Hopi Nation spreads into part of Coconino County and across Navajo County. I have voted at my local chapter house in my community for a few election cycles now, and often voting includes casting a ballot for tribal, state, and federal elections. It really should not surprise me how rural and spread out the polling locations are in this part of Arizona, or that voter turnout during a primary election is dismal. But it still does. My family lives about 12 miles from our Apache County polling location, and it takes at least 20 minutes to get to the polls. The whole trip, including casting our ballots, can take about an hour. On average, the polling stations within the Navajo Nation are about 20 to 30 miles apart, depending on the part of the reservation you live in. But there are places where people may have to drive up to an hour one way just to vote. As I visited voting sites throughout the day, I noticed a few things at each of them. Turnout was small: I never got to a site and saw lines outside. At most, there were a handful of voters coming and going at any time. A polling location on the Navajo Nation on July 30, 2024. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror One election official at the Kin Dah Lichii Chapter House told me that it was still early, and many voters work for the tribe and wont be let out until after 3 p.m. to go vote. Polling locations in Arizona are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voter turnout may increase later in the day at polling locations in more populated areas of the Navajo Nation, such as Window Rock or Chinle, though late-day surges of voters often dont materialize in the smaller polling locations in the more rural parts of the reservation. Another thing to note is that the atmosphere at some voting locations is energetic, while others are simply places to vote with no real interactions with others. My dad used to tell me how he would vote about an hour or two before the polls closed because he liked socializing afterward. Hed sit at tables set up by local advocates, enjoy a bowl of stew, and talk local politics with people from his community. That atmosphere can still be seen at polling places across the Navajo Nation. At the Fort Defiance Chapter House, an entire area is blocked off for voting advocates to set up in a dirt parking area nearby. When I stopped by around noon, there were very few voters walking in and out of the chapter house, but several canopies were set up where local advocates handed out soda, water and food after voters finished. One thing to note about the supporters who set up on Election Day is that they are mostly for tribal candidates, and very few are for state or federal candidates. Driving from voting site to voting site, I probably saw only a handful of campaign signs for state and federal candidates. The many signs that covered the fences entering the chapter houses or lined populated driving areas were predominantly tribal candidates for local seats, such as the chapter president or school board. As you travel west on State Route 264 through Navajo County, you drive through part of the Hopi Nation. I am familiar with the area and have visited the polling location on the Hopi Nation before, but I learned that many people have no idea its even there. During a pit stop in Keams Canyon, which is about 20 miles away from a Navajo County polling location on the Hopi Nation, I wanted to make sure that there were no polling locations in Keams Canyon itself, because its a small community. I asked the gas station and marketplace clerks if they knew where the polling site site was and if they would vote in the Arizona primary election. None of them knew it was Election Day or where they could go to vote. The gas station clerk told me I had a good chance of finding out that information from the nearby hospital. A similar interaction occurred after visiting another Navajo County polling location at the Hardrock Chapter House. I noticed an older Navajo man riding his horse away from the chapter house, and I was curious if he had finished voting and was maybe headed home. I pulled up beside him in my car and asked if he voted. He told me that he did not know it was Election Day, but hed be sure to visit the chapter house before polls closed to vote. There are many communities in Arizona where its hard to get people to vote and there are pointed efforts to encourage voter turnout. However, not all communities in Arizona have been denied their right to vote for over a century. Indigenous people were not considered citizens of the United States until 1924 12 years after Arizona became a state and about 60 years after it became a U.S. territory and it would take decades for many to gain access to the rights that are supposed to coincide with citizenship, including voting. Indigenous people in Arizona were not granted the right to vote until 1948. Arizona has one of the largest Native voting populations in the country, with more than 305,000 people of voting age, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizonas overall population. In 2020, I worked for the Arizona Republic and wrote a piece highlighting how Indigenous communities contributed to turning Arizona blue during Joe Bidens historic win in what had long been a reliably red state. The story came from when I tweeted an observation about the voting maps: how many of the voting precincts that turned blue fell within the boundaries of tribal nations across Arizona. In the 2020 general election, Native voters cast more than 69,000 votes in six counties with large Indigenous populations, and of those, about 52,000, or 75%, were cast for Biden. His margin in Arizona was just over 10,000 votes. About an hour before the polls closed on Tuesday, a voter advocate set up at Pinon Chapter House told me that she saw roughly 400 voters come throughout the day and that advocates are going to have to strategize more to get more voters during the general election. Statewide, voter turnout was a little over 26%, according to the unofficial election results from the Secretary of State. Were in the last leg of the 2024 election cycle, which includes a presidential election in November. Candidates should pay more attention to Indigenous communities, especially in Arizona, where its status as a battleground state means races are likely to be decided by narrow margins. After covering another Election Day on the Navajo Nation, I want to note that voter education is drastically needed within the community, and the main people providing that education are the Native voting advocates who are on the ground talking directly to their communities. One thing Ive never seen are state or federal campaign managers or advocates for candidates who are working to engage Native voters while I am out covering Election Day. Voting within Indigenous communities is a grassroots movement led by people from their communities who care and want to ensure that their community members understand what is on the ballot this election season. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST A sign directing voters to a polling location on the Navajo Nation on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Shondiin Silversmith / Arizona Mirror) Covering elections as a journalist on the Navajo Nation can be challenging due to the sheer size of their tribal land in Arizona. But what often gets lost is that Indigenous voters face those same challenges not to do their job, but to participate in their own governance and have their voice heard. The Arizona primary election was on Tuesday, and as part of my job, I visited different polling locations to see if any voters wanted to chat about the election. Spoiler: No one wanted to, at least on the record. I have always covered state elections from the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, and was struck this year by just how difficult it was and how different it is from driving to multiple polling locations in Maricopa County. On Tuesday, I spent the day driving around the Navajo Nation and some parts of the Hopi Nation, stopping off at polling locations in Navajo and Apache counties. By the end of the day, I had spent nearly 10 hours in my car, driving more than 250 miles, and visited only 10 polling locations. If I were in Maricopa County, I wouldve hit 10 polling locations within a few hours and far fewer miles. There were over 230 polling places in Maricopa County Apache County had only 44, while Navajo County had just 39. The Navajo Nations land mass on the Arizona side spreads across Apache and Navajo counties and partially into Coconino County. The Hopi Nation spreads into part of Coconino County and across Navajo County. I have voted at my local chapter house in my community for a few election cycles now, and often voting includes casting a ballot for tribal, state, and federal elections. It really should not surprise me how rural and spread out the polling locations are in this part of Arizona, or that voter turnout during a primary election is dismal. But it still does. My family lives about 12 miles from our Apache County polling location, and it takes at least 20 minutes to get to the polls. The whole trip, including casting our ballots, can take about an hour. On average, the polling stations within the Navajo Nation are about 20 to 30 miles apart, depending on the part of the reservation you live in. But there are places where people may have to drive up to an hour one way just to vote. As I visited voting sites throughout the day, I noticed a few things at each of them. Turnout was small: I never got to a site and saw lines outside. At most, there were a handful of voters coming and going at any time. One election official at the Kin Dah Lichii Chapter House told me that it was still early, and many voters work for the tribe and wont be let out until after 3 p.m. to go vote. Polling locations in Arizona are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voter turnout may increase later in the day at polling locations in more populated areas of the Navajo Nation, such as Window Rock or Chinle, though late-day surges of voters often dont materialize in the smaller polling locations in the more rural parts of the reservation. Another thing to note is that the atmosphere at some voting locations is energetic, while others are simply places to vote with no real interactions with others. My dad used to tell me how he would vote about an hour or two before the polls closed because he liked socializing afterward. Hed sit at tables set up by local advocates, enjoy a bowl of stew, and talk local politics with people from his community. That atmosphere can still be seen at polling places across the Navajo Nation. At the Fort Defiance Chapter House, an entire area is blocked off for voting advocates to set up in a dirt parking area nearby. When I stopped by around noon, there were very few voters walking in and out of the chapter house, but several canopies were set up where local advocates handed out soda, water and food after voters finished. One thing to note about the supporters who set up on Election Day is that they are mostly for tribal candidates, and very few are for state or federal candidates. Driving from voting site to voting site, I probably saw only a handful of campaign signs for state and federal candidates. The many signs that covered the fences entering the chapter houses or lined populated driving areas were predominantly tribal candidates for local seats, such as the chapter president or school board. As you travel west on State Route 264 through Navajo County, you drive through part of the Hopi Nation. I am familiar with the area and have visited the polling location on the Hopi Nation before, but I learned that many people have no idea its even there. During a pit stop in Keams Canyon, which is about 20 miles away from a Navajo County polling location on the Hopi Nation, I wanted to make sure that there were no polling locations in Keams Canyon itself, because its a small community. I asked the gas station and marketplace clerks if they knew where the polling site site was and if they would vote in the Arizona primary election. None of them knew it was Election Day or where they could go to vote. The gas station clerk told me I had a good chance of finding out that information from the nearby hospital. A similar interaction occurred after visiting another Navajo County polling location at the Hardrock Chapter House. I noticed an older Navajo man riding his horse away from the chapter house, and I was curious if he had finished voting and was maybe headed home. I pulled up beside him in my car and asked if he voted. He told me that he did not know it was Election Day, but hed be sure to visit the chapter house before polls closed to vote. There are many communities in Arizona where its hard to get people to vote and there are pointed efforts to encourage voter turnout. However, not all communities in Arizona have been denied their right to vote for over a century. Indigenous people were not considered citizens of the United States until 1924 12 years after Arizona became a state and about 60 years after it became a U.S. territory and it would take decades for many to gain access to the rights that are supposed to coincide with citizenship, including voting. Indigenous people in Arizona were not granted the right to vote until 1948. Arizona has one of the largest Native voting populations in the country, with more than 305,000 people of voting age, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizonas overall population. In 2020, I worked for the Arizona Republic and wrote a piece highlighting how Indigenous communities contributed to turning Arizona blue during Joe Bidens historic win in what had long been a reliably red state. The story came from when I tweeted an observation about the voting maps: how many of the voting precincts that turned blue fell within the boundaries of tribal nations across Arizona. In the 2020 general election, Native voters cast more than 69,000 votes in six counties with large Indigenous populations, and of those, about 52,000, or 75%, were cast for Biden. His margin in Arizona was just over 10,000 votes. About an hour before the polls closed on Tuesday, a voter advocate set up at Pinon Chapter House told me that she saw roughly 400 voters come throughout the day and that advocates are going to have to strategize more to get more voters during the general election. Statewide, voter turnout was a little over 26%, according to the unofficial election results from the Secretary of State. Were in the last leg of the 2024 election cycle, which includes a presidential election in November. Candidates should pay more attention to Indigenous communities, especially in Arizona, where its status as a battleground state means races are likely to be decided by narrow margins. After covering another Election Day on the Navajo Nation, I want to note that voter education is drastically needed within the community, and the main people providing that education are the Native voting advocates who are on the ground talking directly to their communities. One thing Ive never seen are state or federal campaign managers or advocates for candidates who are working to engage Native voters while I am out covering Election Day. Voting within Indigenous communities is a grassroots movement led by people from their communities who care and want to ensure that their community members understand what is on the ballot this election season. Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and X. Police alleged the man admitted to intentionally starting a fire in the home with the intent to burn the house down" Danilo Alvarez/Hillsborough County Fire Rescue via AP The scene of the house fire in Plant City on July 31, 2024 A Florida man has been arrested after police allege he intentionally set fire to his home, killing four people and several pets inside. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) shared in a news release that it has arrested Shawn Gossett, 25, on four counts of murder in the first degree while engaged in arson, three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, and one count of arson of a dwelling. Police said they received a report about a potential fire on Wednesday, July 31, at around 12 a.m. local time at a home on South County Line Road near Lakeland, Fla. After the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue worked on extinguishing the house fire, they found four people deceased inside the mobile home, along with the bodies of three dogs, Chief Joseph Maurer said in a press conference. They also located Gossett uninjured adjacent to the residence. Through their investigation, Gossett, who lived at the home, admitted to intentionally starting a fire in the home with the intent to burn the house down, Maurer shared. He said that the 25-year-old told detectives that he used a BIC lighter to start the fire on some paper towels. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Shawn Gossett Maurer noted that detectives were still trying to figure out the details of the fire and Gossetts motive. "This is an utterly senseless and horrific crime where four innocent lives were tragically taken due to the evil actions of this man," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement in the release. "I want to commend our detectives and our partners at Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for their swift actions which resulted in the arrest of this individual and their relentless efforts to ensure justice is served," he added. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The HCSO said it is working with the Medical Examiners Office and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue on positively identifying the victims of the fire, who were all adults. He also said that their names will be revealed after their family members have been notified. Maurer told reporters at the press conference that Gossett was friends with the family, though police did not know the extent of the relationship they had. He added that they were still working to figure that out, as well as how the family got trapped inside the home. I know that they could not get out. The manner and reason why they could not get out, I cannot get into that right now. Were still working through that, Maurer said. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. My flat is now worth 100,000 less than it was four years ago David Humber could not quite believe it when an estate agent told him his flat would sell for as much as 100,000 less than what it was worth four years before. The 49-year-old, who lives in south London, had accepted a 750,000 offer on his two-bedroom home just before the pandemic, but the offer fell through. Since then, his service charge has risen to 450 a month, his flat has suffered severe water damage after a botched roof job, and the building itself is now in a state of disrepair while pipeworks are being replaced. An estate agent told him recently that he now might only be able to get between 650,000 and 700,000 for his flat, citing a combination of the building works and high service charge which was 200 when he bought it back in 2012. This is despite house prices having risen more than 20pc across England and Wales since early 2020. Agents have also told him that the 450 monthly service charge now makes his home unaffordable for many and those who can afford it might just prefer to buy somewhere they can get more for their money. Mr Humber has watched eagerly for leaseholder rights to reach the top of the political agenda. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill became law earlier this year and gives homeowners the right to request information about their service charges and the management of their building. But there is still no regulator for managing agents in the UK, and campaigners say until this changes many leaseholders will be at risk. Leaseholders can use the first-tier tribunal, but agents have been known not to pay up even if they are found against by the judge. Preparing tribunal cases also takes time, which many do not have when they are trying to juggle full-time jobs. It has felt relentless for Mr Humber, who has now been trying to sell for more than four years. In 2020, the flats were required to complete the long-winded process of getting an EWS1 form to satisfy lenders that the building did not have dangerous cladding and met fire safety standards. In the end, no cladding needed to be removed, but heat sensors were needed in each flat alongside an upgraded alarm system. These works finally finished last year. But in March, work on the roof replacement for the building began, despite it being just 12 years old. London & Quadrant (L&Q), the housing association that owns Mr Humbers flat and which doubles up as a managing agent, contracted the work out to Durkan a company that then sub-contracted it out to a second firm. Builders took the waterproof layer off on a Friday, but then left the site over the weekend without covering it back up. It rained that Friday evening and water poured through the light fittings of Mr Humbers flat into his kitchen. Walls on all sides were also soaked and consequently stained with rainwater, and his furniture was ruined. Because Mr Humbers flat is on the top floor, he bore the brunt of the damage. Mr Humber says it took five days seal the roof, and even then the builders made the same mistake on other parts of the building - Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph He said: L&Q said they would get someone to seal the roof the Monday after that weekend, but they didnt. It took five days in the end. And even when they did, builders made the same mistake on other parts of the roof. On four separate occasions since March, there have been leaks from the roof which was previously sound above my flat virtually all of which could have been avoided. The work to replace the pipes has resulted in the communal areas looking like a bomb site for months, front doors have been broken, and holes have been drilled into the ceiling that now are leaking. L&Q has an obligation as the freeholder to not impact the value of properties like mine. I have been impacted financially as a result of all this and now feel trapped. I cant sell the flat and block in its current state and cant rent it out either. Who would live in a wrecked flat? Despite paying into a pot of money for his buildings insurance, L&Q initially refused to let Mr Humber claim for the water damage to his flat. Due to the delays, he turned to his own home insurance with Privilege, which has so far covered 4,800 for the soft furnishings damaged. L&Q should have been the ones to fix my flat from the start, Mr Humber said. Durkan, the contractor, has since apologised to Mr Humber and offered him 5,000 to cover the cost of repairs, which he says will be closer to 15,000. Rain water poured through his ceiling and light fittings after the roof was left exposed for a week - Clara Molden for The Daily Telegraph Meanwhile, the pipework replacement will also cost leaseholders such as Mr Humber up to 10,000 each, based on a 2.2m bill to be shared across 140 flats. Mr Humber is now hoping to salvage his flats value. Agents say he might still have to accept a discount while the communal works continue, but that this will be more like 25,000 to 50,000 if he can get everything fixed inside the flat before putting it on the market. Mark Newstead, director of major programmes at L&Q, said his was a charitable housing association and that it does not make any profit from service charges. He said increases in recent years have been driven by new costs associated with the Building Safety Act 2022, and rising building insurance premiums across the sector. He added: Were very sorry for the delays fixing the issues at Mr Humbers building. We have completed roof works, and our contractor has made an offer to cover the costs of repairing and redecorating his home. We are also upgrading the communal heating pipework, which has reached the end of its life. We appreciate this is inconvenient and are working with our contractors to minimise the disruption to residents. A Durkan spokesman added: Weve been in constant communication with Mr Humber, and have apologised personally to him for the damage to his home. We have offered 5,000 to cover the cost of repairs, based on a detailed assessment. Mr Humber declined but the offer is very much still open to him. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) Florence 1 Schools said late Thursday afternoon that the district has taken action after an inappropriate picture taken during a Hispanic heritage celebration was posted on a social media page of one of its elementary schools. The image posted on the Royall Elementary School Facebook page on Wednesday showed staff members wearing sombreros and other Hispanic attire. Two people are shown wearing gray t-shirts that read U.S. Border Patrol. I was notified by my staff of an inappropriate social media post on one of our schools Facebook accounts, Superintendent Richard OMalley said in a news release. What was posted, and the conduct of the staff involved, is inexcusable and not a representation of the school, its students and staff, or of our district as a whole. Today this matter has been thoroughly investigated and those who contributed to this event have been held accountable for their decision-making and actions. There is no room for anything of this nature in our schools and I will not tolerate it in our school district. We have made great strides in Florence 1 over the last several years and I believe that the best is yet to come. Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff of Florence 1 Schools. Earlier Thursday, the school acknowledged the insensitive picture and removed it from its Facebook page, while also issuing an apology. It is with regret that we acknowledge that a picture that was posted on our Facebook page yesterday showed an insensitive disregard for the current challenges our Hispanic population faces, the post said. At Royall, we take great pride in our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building. Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every student at Royall is successful, happy, and recognized for his or her unique culture and abilities. We apologize for our insensitivity but look forward to fostering relationships as we begin a new school year. After the initial post, the Florence County Democratic Party responded in an email release, saying racism has no place in our community. I am appalled by the images shared by educated professionals but I am more disappointed that someone thought that this tasteless display was representative of Mexican culture, Chairman Isaac Wilson wrote. In a time where we should be bringing communities together to solve issues that chronically challenge us like racism and bigotry, this type of tone deaf behavior cannot be tolerated. Our schools should be at the forefront of educating our children in how to behave online and how to show kindness to the diverse populations who reside in Florence County. Approximately 50 students at Royall Elementary will attend classes this morning with the impression that their school doesnt see them or the struggles of their community. Words and images released online have power and permanence. The entire Florence Community should use this unfortunate incident as an opportunity to discuss online behavior, implicit bias, and the important contributions of our ever increasing Hispanic population. The Racial Justice Network, a national civil rights organization, also weighed in on the posting of the photo in an email. There was a lot of work, time, effort and thought put into this display, the organization said. There was no regard for the students and how some would feel and what message they were sending to others. The group also questioned the motives behind the post and demanded that all parties involved be fired. The organization also called on state Superintendent Ellen Weaver and the state Department of Education to get involved. * * * Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. By Nikunj Ohri and Haripriya Suresh NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian authorities may issue notices soon to more major IT services firms in an investigation of alleged tax evasion related to work done by their overseas offices, a government source said on Thursday, a day after Infosys was slapped with a $4 billion tax demand. In serving its highest-ever tax demand on Infosys, the government accused India's second-largest tech services company of evading taxes and sought 320 billion rupees ($3.8 billion), or almost all its revenue for the quarter ended June 30. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), an industry lobby group, said that the tax demand "reflects a lack of understanding of industry's operating model", and that companies are facing avoidable litigation, uncertainty, as well as concerns from investors and customers due to such actions from the government. "The government circulars issued... must be honoured in enforcement mechanisms so that notices do not create uncertainty and negatively impact perceptions on Indias ease of doing business," it said. Yet, tax authorities are not confining their investigations to Infosys. "This is an industry-wide issue," a senior tax official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, adding that notices were likely to be sent to some other IT companies. Infosys said late on Wednesday it had received "pre-show cause" notices from the tax authorities but believed the relevant taxes had been paid. The company said in a statement it had paid its dues and is in compliance with central and state regulations. The source spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media. India's finance ministry did not reply to an email seeking comment. Experts said more tax notices for the same alleged violations were likely to be in the offing. "Issuing such a substantial show-cause notice is likely to set a precedent, leading to similar notices being issued to other multinational companies, particularly in the IT sector," said Rajat Mohan, director at accounting firm MOORE Singhi. The overseas offices carry out projects for Indian IT firms and provide services to international clients, among other functions. Shares of Infosys were down 1% at 1,868.25 rupees on Thursday. Infosys may be in for a long and protracted battle, some tax experts said. "The pragmatic solution for Infosys lies in going to court and getting a stay on these proceedings," said Abhishek Rastogi, founder of Rastogi Chambers, adding that the services were provided outside India and in that case the company should not have to pay any tax. Story continues In the last year, India's goods and services tax department has sent more than 1,000 notices to companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Ultratech Cement. Tax authorities have also issued notices to online gaming companies demanding a total of about 1 trillion rupees in taxes that they have allegedly evaded. Companies have challenged these demands in tribunals and courts. ($1=83.7175 Indian rupees) (Additional reporting by Haripriya Suresh in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, David Holmes and Susan Fenton) The big story: Even before lawmakers passed the law, school district and law enforcement officials across Florida raised concerns about their ability to keep an increasing number of doors and access points locked on campuses. As schools attempt to implement the requirements for the new academic year, theyre finding it tough to do. And the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Commission has taken note. During a meeting this week, commission members suggested that lawmakers need to refine the statute in a way that retains the goal of safe schools in a more attainable way. We dont want to get away from the intent or the purpose of it, but were having a really hard time, said commission member Grady Judd, the Polk County sheriff. Read more here from Florida Phoenix. In other school security news ... The Volusia County School Board approved a new policy allowing random searches of any person at a district site or event, WKMG reports. Broward County superintendent Howard Hepburn said his district has made significant improvements to school safety in the past two years, WFOR reports. Hot topics Ballot battle: A Hillsborough County judge said she wont hear oral arguments as she fast tracks a case to decide whether the county commission may override the school boards November property tax referendum date. The campaign supporting the referendum is set to kick off this afternoon despite the uncertainty, Florida Politics reports. Budgets: The Pinellas County school board approved its lowest tax rate in more than 50 years during its first budget hearing, while the Pasco County board OKd its first budget to surpass $2 billion. The Flagler County school district budget includes $10.8 million to fund a 56% increase in private and homeschool vouchers for local students, Flagler Live reports. Elections: A Pasco County school board race that initially promised to be low key is heating up amid the challengers accusations. A Martin County school board candidate is fighting what she says are false campaign text messages being sent by her opponent, WPTV reports. Immigrant students: A Florida advocacy group is working to protect the education rights of undocumented children, as a national coalition forms to fight conservative rhetoric and policies aimed at generating a Supreme Court case challenging those rights, Chalkbeat reports. Phones in school: The Martin County school district may suspend students for using cellphones during the school day, TC Palm reports. Research spending: The University of Florida hit a record $1.26 billion in faculty research this past year, fueled by an increase in federally funded research, MainStreet Daily News reports. Teacher certification: The State Board of Education has approved a new, less stringent certification for teachers headed to Florida classical schools, Florida Phoenix reports. Teacher pay: Negotiators for Collier County teachers said their salary talks have hit a stalemate, WINK reports. Title IX: A federal judge sided with Floridas request to halt implementation of revised Title IX rules that include protections for transgender students, News Service of Florida reports. The DeSantis administration instructed schools to ignore the rules. Trustees: Florida Polytechnic University has three trustee vacancies, with only one board member who opposed the schools new president remaining, the Ledger reports. From the police blotter ... A Palm Beach County elementary school teacher was arrested in an anti-pedophilia sting, WPTV reports. Dont miss a story. Yesterdays roundup is just a click away. Before you go ... How could you not want to listen to a bassoon quartet called Breaking Winds? LAKE WORTH BEACH When planning a trip for a medical procedure that cant be had locally, the little things are essential. The little things include snacks for the trip, stomach-soothing herbal tea, pills for pain and nausea, thermal patches for cramping, sanitary supplies and, for someone traveling alone to an unfamiliar city for a procedure shrouded in stigma and clouded by blame, a note of encouragement: Youve got this. On a recent sunny Saturday, 20 volunteers got together at Compass Community Center to pack 60 bags of those little things for women leaving town to get abortions they can no longer get in Florida. The event was sponsored by the Emergency Medical Assistance fund EMA one of the oldest funds providing financial assistance for abortions in the nation. The fund, which was founded in 1972, originally focused most of its efforts and resources on helping women to secure abortions in Palm Beach County, predominately women living locally. In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, the nonprofit's work has increasingly supported women forced to travel to Florida from their own states Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama where abortions already were prohibited. On May 1, the start of Floridas ban on abortions after six weeks following a womans last menstrual period put the procedure out of reach for all women who dont discover their pregnancies or the need to terminate a pregnancy within a few weeks of conception. Since then, EMA has focused on helping women here get to a state where a clinic can still provide the care they need. For Florida women seeking abortions now, that can mean a trip to New York, Washington D.C., Maryland or Illinois. Many who need financial help to make the journey are taking their first flight. On arrival they may be using a ride share app for the first time and spending a first solitary night in a hotel. The bags mean one less thing for people to think about, EMA Executive Director Jessica Hatem said. Jessica Hatem executive director of Emergency Medical Assistance Saturday July 27, 2024 in Lake Worth Beach. Volunteers span generations of struggle for abortion access The supply bags assembled by the volunteers will go to the Presidential Womens Center, a clinic that has provided abortions in West Palm Beach for more than four decades. When, two years ago, Floridas ban on abortions after 15 weeks put the procedure out of reach for women who did not discover their pregnancies, fetal abnormalities or conditions threatening their own health within that time frame, the center helped find appointments at clinics in states without restrictions. The West Palm Beach clinic still provides abortions to those who discover their pregnancies and choose to terminate them in time, as well as follow-up care for those who had to travel for the procedure itself. The volunteers worked briskly, filling the bags in about 10 minutes, with time to turn their attention to writing thank you notes to the hundreds of people who have donated money and supplies this year, as this states six-week abortion ban loomed. Volunteers for Emergency Medical Assistance gather to pack bags with items to assist women needing to travel out of state to seek an abortion Saturday July 27, 2024 in Lake Worth Beach. The volunteers who gathered Saturday included people who remember the last time abortion was out of reach in Florida and across most of the United States. The group also included people who never lived in a country without a constitutional right to terminate pregnancies but who have faced anti-abortion rights protesters and fought laws standing between women and care for decades. Thirty-five years ago with my baby in a stroller, I was escorting women into the Presidential Womens Center, said Jill Morris, a volunteer from Boca Raton. I dont know why its so emotional to be here at this time, said Mona Reis, who founded the center 1974. She smiled as she remembered the late Harriette Glasner, the Palm Beach activist who launched the EMA fund the following year by selling a diamond bracelet. She would be proud of what the volunteers were doing today, Reis said, but she would be crying over the hardship so many are being subjected to. Abortion rights advocates hopeful Amendment 4 will bring change Volunteers for Emergency Medical Assistance gather to pack bags with items to assist women needing to travel out of state to seek an abortion Saturday July 27, 2024 in Lake Worth Beach. Two volunteers had come straight from their jobs at the center, where they work as counselors and had spent the morning helping patients. The counselors worry that pressure added by the law to act quickly, and practical concerns added by the need to travel are overtaking time patients need to think and be comfortable with the choice whether to have an abortion or not. You are not alone! a volunteer wrote on a pink slip of paper that would go into one of the bags. Take care of yourself. Are we signing the cards? another volunteer asked. Yes, to make it personal, another answered. Volunteers for Emergency Medical Assistance gather to pack bags with items to assist women needing to travel out of state to seek an abortion Saturday July 27, 2024 in Lake Worth Beach. This might be scary, but you are so strong, another wrote. Keep going. Hatem believes Amendment 4, the Florida ballot initiative to limit government interference against abortions, will pass in November. The amendment would override any law that bars abortion before a fetus could survive outside the womb and any law restricting abortion that a healthcare professional finds necessary to protect a womans health. In the meantime, Hatem said, the volunteer involvement and donor generosity have continued to grow in response to need. Im here because I cant think of a more important cause to support, said Sandy Cohen of West Palm Beach. She said what I was going to say, her husband, Lenny Berger, added.Antigone Barton is a reporter with The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at avbarton@gannett.com. Help support our work: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Abortion rights advocates pack supplies for women traveling for care Amid the ongoing war in Gaza and mounting calls for a ceasefire, Fontaines D.C. have canceled their upcoming concert at Zorlu PSM in Istanbul in a show of support for the Palestinian people. With the Irish band set to embark on a tour through Europe and North America later this month, bandmates Grian Chatten, Carlos OConnell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III and Tom Coll had been slated to take the stage at the Turkish venue on Aug. 20. In a group statement posted to Instagram Stories on Thursday (Aug. 1), however, they shared that theyd be pulling out of the performance as part of an ongoing, international call for companies like Zorlu Holding which owns the performing arts center in question to divest from Israel. More from Billboard To all our wonderful fans in Turkey, it reads. Further to conversations with Palestinian artists and human rights activists, we have now decided to cancel our show at Zorlu PSM, Istanbul on Tuesday 20th August. The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement led by the largest Palestinian coalition, has called on artists to refuse to play Zorlu PSM until Zorlu fully divests from the supply of energy to Israel while it carries out what the International Court of Justice now agrees is plausibly a genocide. We were really looking forward to visiting and playing Istanbul, however in this instance, we must be clear in our convictions and put solidarity with the people of Palestine first, the message continues, with the band pledging full refunds to ticket-holders. We promise to play in Turkey as soon as we can make it possible. According to a post on the BDS committees official Instagram which Fontaines also reshared on Stories Zorlu owns part of Dorad, a large power plant located in Israel. A campaign from BDS Turkey has already compelled Zorlu Energy to partially divest from the Israeli energy market, it reads. But until it fully divests from the Dorad plant, Zorlu Holdings and all its subsidiaries should be held accountable. Israel has been at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks, in which 1,200 Israeli people were killed and 250 abducted. Since then, more than 39,000 Palestinian people have been killed by Israels forces, according to The Associated Press. Best of Billboard Former Army specialist turned his pain into a passion for helping others Warning: This story references suicide. Viewer discretion is advised. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) One veteran has turned pain into a passion for helping others. Former Army Spc. Michael Blount served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He says joining the military was one of the best experiences of his life. At the same time, its come with its share of challenges. For Blount, enlisting in the Army was a calling. Ive always been very patriotic ever since I was a kid, he said. Im the only one in my since World War II to actually be in the military, and so for me, it felt like it was the right thing to do. Blount joined in 2006 at 20 years old. Three months out of basic training, he was sent to Afghanistan. Not even in a full year yet, but it was probably one of the best experiences Ive ever had. I got close to so many people. At the same time, during that deployment, he experienced, for the first time, a friend getting injured on duty. Thats your family. Your actual family is so far away that they cant help you, and so knowing that theyre there to be, to have your back, said Blount. Hed experience that pain again in his second deployment, witnessing an attack on an Army vehicle directly behind him. I knew the people who got hurt; you know, those kinds of things just dont go away, said Blount. It started his journey coping with PTSD, something that others he served with struggled with, too. For a while, almost there, twice a year, Id get a phone call, or Id see on my Facebook somebody had taken their life. One of my friends, said Blount, holding back tears. Guilt became a familiar feeling for Blount. He says some of his friends werent comfortable talking through their trauma. Im tired of seeing it, and I wanted to do something to help, he said. Blount realized massages helped him with his PTSD symptoms, so he went to school to become a massage therapist. Offering services under Bootleg Bodyworks Massage Therapy, taking special care with friends and other veterans. Its more of Im there, you know. Im there with you even if you dont want to say anything. Someones there. Im caring. You dont have to say anything. You dont have to show anything. Im just there in the room and hoping that it helps, he said. To this day, Blount says that when a buddy calls and needs to talk, he drops everything to take that call. He hopes that through massages, he can give them another path to relaxation and another opportunity to open up about how they feel. If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, email KSN at news@ksn.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. Former correctional officer pleads guilty to having part in death of Anthony Tony Mitchell at Walker County Jail BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A former correctional officer has pleaded guilty to abusing the rights of an inmate whose family said was subjected to inhumane treatment in harsh conditions at the Walker County Jail before dying in a hospital. Collectively we did it. We killed him are the words of former Walker County Corrections Officer Joshua Conner Jones, written in his plea agreement. Jones, who served as a correctional officer in the Walker County Jail, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under color of law following the death of Anthony Tony Mitchell. According to court documents, Jones admitted to conspiring with five other codefendants, who were not named, to neglect that ultimately led to Mitchells death. Mitchell was a 33-year-old inmate who died hours after losing consciousness at the jail on January 26, 2023. He was booked in the jail on Jan. 12, 2023, after being arrested for firing a gun at deputies during a welfare check. The plea agreement states Jones and the codefendants were told Mitchell was being brought to the jail because he shot at deputies. It goes on to say they dismissed his urgent need for medical attention, saying he gets what he gets since he shot at cops. 2 charged with death of child in Blount County According to a lawsuit filed by his family, Mitchell was subjected to harsh treatment by officers while at the jail, allegedly being withheld food and water for 70 hours and being kept in frigid conditions. On Jan. 27, he was taken to a nearby hospital after losing consciousness, where he later died. An autopsy concluded that Mitchell died from hypothermia and sepsis resulting from medical neglect. In the plea agreement, Jones details Mitchells incarceration describing harsh conditions and intentional neglect from himself and other codefendants. It says he was almost always naked, wet, cold and covered in feces. Specifically, Jones pleaded to intimidating Mitchell to his rights as well as assaulting another inmate by striking him in the face with a spray can containing a chemical irritant. In his plea agreement, Jones admitted that Mitchell did not receive any medical treatment until the day of his death. Jones is facing between 10 years and life in prison on the charges. He is set for an arraignment on Aug. 15. Following the plea deal announcement, Mitchells sister Maranda Mitchell-Gutzemer issued a statement on behalf of his family: We are happy to see the individuals involved in Tonys death being held accountable. The last year and a half have been excruciating for our family as we waited for justice for Tony, and we hope to see all those involved held accountable in the coming days. After 18 months of misery, were finally feeling hopeful that justice will be served, not only for Tony but all those wronged by the Walker County Sheriffs Office. Maranda Mitchell-Gutzemer CBS 42 reached out to both the Walker County Sheriffs Office and Jones attorney for comment but did not receive a response by this articles publication. The full plea agreement can be read below: Joshua-Conner-JonesDownload Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. A man who owned a south Georgia gym and tanning business is being accused of making child porn inside his business. Walter Joey Drew, 41, was charged in a federal indictment on six counts of production of child pornography, three counts of attempted production of child pornography, six counts of possession of child pornography and one count of each of receipt of child pornography and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Drew owned the now-closed Legacy Performance Center in Lyons, Ga. The indictment says that between February 2021 and June 2023, he either made or tried to make child porn of at least eight kids at the gym and at his home. It goes on to say that Drew tried to get at least one of the victims to help him make child porn. In addition to his federal charges, Drew faces state charges in Toombs County and White County, where he used to live. TRENDING STORIES: If convicted on all counts, he could face up to life in prison and have to register as a sex offender. Anyone who has information that could assist prosecutors or believes they could be a victim should call Homeland Security Investigations at 866-347-2423. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Former Mayor of DeRidder arrested, charged with rape of a juvenile DERIDDER, La. (KLFY) The former Mayor of DeRidder has been arrested in connection with sex crimes involving children, authorities said. Misty Roberts, 42, is charged with third degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, according to State Police. The Beauregard Parish Sheriffs Office asked the Louisiana State Police Special Victims Unit July 26 to investigate a complaint against Roberts for allegations of sexual relations with a juvenile. Officials said LSP SVU conducted interviews with two juveniles, one of whom was the victim, who confirmed Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile while serving as mayor. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Roberts from the Beauregard Parish 36th Judicial District Court. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Roberts, who resigned as mayor July 27, turned herself in to Investigators Thursday without incident, authorities said. This case remains under investigation. Latest news Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A former Norfolk police officer was ordered to pay $20,000 in connection to an illegal arrest in August of 2021. According to court documents, on Friday, July 26, a judge ordered Officer Mormando to pay $20,000 towards the plaintiff, who claimed that Mormando and another officer violated his constitutional and state rights. The documents state that on Aug. 8, 2021, the plaintiff called the Norfolk Police Department to his home in Norfolk, hoping that the officers would be able to diffuse an argument between the plaintiff and his partner. The two officers, Mormando and an unknown partner, arrived to the scene and immediately began to treat the plaintiff as if he were a criminal, according to the documents. Shortly afterwards, the plaintiff asked both of the officers to leave after Mormando began arguing with the plaintiff, stating that they were making the situation worse. Mormando then allegedly became agitated, slamming the plaintiffs head on the floor and placing him in handcuffs. The second officer was said to have taken no action, documents state. The plaintiff then asked both of the officers why he was being arrested, to which they provided no explanation, later driving the plaintiff to a hospital several miles from his home to have his head examined. The documents then state that once the plaintiff was cleared to leave the hospital, both of the officers entered their police cruiser and stranded the plaintiff at the hospital, forcing him to find an alternate way home. After several complaints made to the police department, an investigation from the department, as stated in a letter on Feb. 22, 2023, determined that Mormandos actions violated police policy and procedure. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Chip giant Intel's (INTC) stock price cratered than 26% in Friday trading, closing out one of its worst trading days in 40 years. The massive declines followed a disastrous second quarter earnings report Thursday during which the company shared anticipated third quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations and announced that it would be cutting 15% of its workforce and suspending its dividend payments amid a broader restructuring plan. The decline was among the stock's worst performances since at least 1982, according to available data from Bloomberg. In its earnings release, Intel said it expects Q3 revenue of between $12.5 billion and $13.5 billion, well short of analysts' expectations of $14.3 billion. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.02 on revenue of $12.8 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $0.10 and revenue of $12.9 billion. The company saw EPS of $0.13 on revenue of $12.9 billion in the same quarter last year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Intel is in the midst of a massive turnaround effort as it seeks to regain PC chip market share lost to rival AMD (AMD). The company is also spending billions of dollars on factories and other facilities around the world as it seeks to reclaim its share of the chip manufacturing industry, which is dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC). Intels Data Center and AI segment brought in $3.05 billion in the quarter, below expectations of $3.07 billion. The Data Center and AI business offers Intel a chance to grow its revenue thanks to the massive demand for CPUs and GPUs to power AI applications. But Intels GPUs arent as in demand as Nvidia's (NVDA), which are seen as the best overall chips for AI processing. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger delivers a speech at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center during Computex 2024 in Taipei on June 4, 2024. (I-HWA CHENG/AFP via Getty Images) (I-HWA CHENG via Getty Images) While Data Center and AI get the most attention, Intels Client segment, which includes sales of chips for enterprise and consumer computers, is still its largest overall business. For the quarter, Intel saw Client revenue of $7.4 billion. Wall Street was anticipating revenue of $7.5 billion. The company saw Client revenue of $6.7 billion in the same quarter last year. Intel, however, is facing a potentially existential threat in the PC space from an unlikely source: Qualcomm (QCOM). The company, which is better known for developing chips for smartphones and tablets, released its new Snapdragon X Elite PC chip as part of Microsofts new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro in May. The chip offers better power and battery life than competing Intel and AMD chips, making it a quality rival for Apples own M-series chips. But Intel is expected to launch its answer to Qualcomms processor later this fall. Story continues Then theres Intels Foundry business. The company is opening up its foundries to third-party chip designers in the hopes that it can create a business to rival TSMCs own foundry enterprise. But so far, Intel is its own biggest client. And while there are customers lined up, including Microsoft, it will take time for the company to gain traction in the market. For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance StockStory aims to help individual investors beat the market. Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives to court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Judge Juan Merchan gave the jury instructions, and deliberations are entering their second day. The former president faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images) Former President Donald Trump will attend a campaign event next Friday, Aug. 9, alongside Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, a spokesperson for the county and Sheehy confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Sheehy confirmed the presidents upcoming visit in a video he posted to the social media site X. Were so happy to welcome President Trump back to Montana once again. Hes here to campaign alongside us. Were grateful for that, because he knows how important it is we flip this seat so we can put the America First agenda back in the fast track, get this country fixed, and save America, Sheehy said in the video. The Trump campaign confirmed Thursday morning the event would be held at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9 at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman. Doors for the event will open at 4 p.m. While the Trump and Sheehy campaigns did not immediately respond to questions about details of the event on Wednesday, Gallatin County spokesperson Whitney Bermes said Wednesday afternoon the sheriffs office had been planning for a safe and peaceful event and were working with other local and state law enforcement. Bermes said the sheriffs office would be meeting with the Trump campaign later this week to firm up plans for the event. Montana Talks radio host Aaron Flint first reported earlier Wednesday Trump and Sheehy would be hosting an event in Bozeman at 8 p.m., on Aug. 9. Emails requesting details sent to Sheehys campaign and a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee were not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon. The former presidents endorsement of Sheehy in early February was key in the first-time politicians bid to face U.S. Sen. Jon Tester Montanas lone statewide elected Democrat in November. It came just hours after Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, announced he would face the NRSC-backed Sheehy, who had already secured endorsements from Gov. Greg Gianforte, NRSC chair and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, and led to Rosendale dropping out of the race just days later. Former President Donald Trump endorses Tim Sheehy in the Republican primary in Montana's U.S. Senate race. (Screenshot via Truth Social) Tim is the candidate who is currently best-positioned to DEFEAT Lazy Jon Tester, and Regain the Republican Majority in the United States Senate, Trumps endorsement said of Sheehy, in part. Tim is a Political Outsider, Strong on the Border, the Military/Vets, and our constantly under siege Second Amendment. He will stand tall in the fight against the Radical Left Democrats, who are Destroying our Country. Also, he is far more likely to Defeat Lazy Jon. America First Patriot Tim Sheehy has my Complete and Total Endorsement! Trump is widely popular in most of Montana; he won the state in 2020 by more than 16 percentage points over Joe Biden, and beat Hillary Clinton here by more than 20 percentage points in 2016. Sheehy is trying to keep Tester from securing a fourth term in the U.S. Senate as the NRSC tries to take back the Senate majority this November, and Montanas seat is key to that happening. Trump visited Montana four times during the 2018 campaign to support Rosendale as he tried to unseat Tester, including a Bozeman visit days before the election. Tester would end up beating Rosendale by about 3.5 percentage points. This years visit would be former President Trumps first visit to Montana during this election cycle, but his son Donald Trump Jr. spoke at a rally in Missoula in late April alongside Sheehy, Gianforte and Zinke. A Trump appearance in Montana would also likely present a hearty fundraising opportunity for Sheehy and Montana Republicans, as Tester held about three times as much cash as Sheehy to start July. After Trump endorsed Sheehy in April, Sheehy said in a statement that he and the people of Montana stood proudly behind Trump: Thank you, Mr. President. Lets MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.! Editors note: This story has been updated Thursday morning to include details of the time, date, and location of the rally. Former President Trump rallies support in Harrisburg. Here's what we saw outside the arena HARRISBURG Thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump descended on the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex Wednesday for his evening campaign rally, filling its parking lots to capacity. Some attendees parked along nearby streets in auxiliary parking lots and walked to the complex. The line to enter New Holland Arena stretched along the Capital Area Greenbelt loop trail parallel to Cameron Street, around the corner and back into the parking lot. 'A great badge of honor': Defiant Trump returns to Pa. post-shooting for rally Walking from the parking lot to the line, vendors selling hats, shirts, buttons and even cigars approached potential buyers, many of whom already wore Trump memorabilia. Other sellers took their chances walking the length of the line back and forth. Others closer to the front of the line sold their wares from the comfort of tents. A large crowd waits to enter the Donald Trump rally in Harrisburg on Wednesday afternoon. David Stonesifer and John Akimov, both from Harrisburg, said they went to the rally partly because it was on both of their bucket lists. At around 3:45 p.m., and just over halfway through the line, they said they had been waiting for about two hours. If we dont get in, then at least we tried, you know? Akimov said. Stonesifer said he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and planned to do so again in November. He approved of Trump's policies at the southern border and didnt like President Joe Bidens exit from Afghanistan. Tony Ondrusek, 62, also had a Trump rally on his bucket list. He drove about two hours from Parkville, Maryland. He espouses the ideals that I truly believe make America great. He really believes that America is a great nation, and we are a great nation. And thats nothing to be ashamed of to say that. He believes some of policies implemented in the past four years are a detriment to the country, particularly foreign policy, and that there are some who make others feel they cant be proud of their American heritage. That means for everybody whos an American. Black, white, brown, yellow, gay, straight, trans; I dont care. Were all one people, were a great country. A 91-degree temperature greeted people waiting in line, and about 40 were treated by paramedics for heat-related issues, Harrisburg City Spokesperson Matt Maisel said. "No one thankfully had to be taken to the hospital. They are all in good to fair condition." Some were able to cool off by standing in front of industrial-sized fans moved in by event workers. Others stood under the spraying water of a hose set upon a stepladder. Many congregated near the walls of the complex to take in as much shade as possible. JoEllen Holler, 54, of Denver, Pennsylvania, wasn't surprised by the size of the line that had formed. JoEllen Holler, 54, of Denver, Pennsylvania, wasn't surprised by the size of the line that had formed outside New Holland Arena in Harrisburg in anticipation of former President Donald Trump's rally Wednesday evening. What I am surprised at is if the crowd is this big, and was this big years ago, how did we lose the election? Thats what Im surprised about," she said. She said she was there to support Trump because she opposes abortion and supports the message behind making america great again. She believes the former president if elected would unite the country once more. "Not Republicans, not Democrats, America." Holler wasn't surprised to see Trump return to Pennsylvania so soon after the attempt on his life in Butler County. While she appreciated much of the memorabilia being sold around the site, she did take issue with those selling T-shirts implying that the shooter had missed. "They didn't miss, they hit, and they hit somebody that they shouldn't have," she said. "Not only my president, but they hit some innocent bystanders. So I'm not real crazy about that T-shirt, but the rest are pretty cool." Joe Mandara, 58, of Wrightsville, also wasn't surprised that Trump was back in Pennsylvania. He didnt finish that rally; in his mind, he didnt finish that rally. So he wants to go back and finish it, Mandara said. Just like you would go to a concert and get rained out. Your ticket would be good for another concert." Mandara said he had no concerns about attending the rally, calling those who were in attendance during the Butler rally "patriots." "They stood there when those shots were fired. They didn't scream and run, like crybabies. That's a true patriot, right there." Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on X @djlarlham. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: What was it like outside the New Holland Arena before Trump rally? The South Dakota State Penitentiary, pictured on March 27, 2024. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Two former Department of Corrections employees, three inmates and another person were indicted Tuesday for a series of incidents at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko told lawmakers during a committee meeting Wednesday that some bad apples had been indicted, during a discussion on staffing. Attorney General Marty Jackley, whose office prosecutes criminal cases that take place behind the prison walls, sent a news release hours later listing six defendants indicted in five separate cases for crimes including arson, drug distribution and possession of synthetic cannabinoids. The indictments on file at the Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts office do not include detailed narratives on how the alleged crimes took place. DOC spokesman Michael Winder did not reply to a message seeking more details about the allegations. Gov. Kristi Noems spokesman, Ian Fury, also did not reply. In one of the cases, former DOC medication aide Madyson Alexis Bixby was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree arson and possession of an unauthorized article (a cell phone). Also charged in that case are 28-year-old inmate Tyler Dane Larvie and 30-year-old Merced Patlan, whos listed as a Sioux Falls resident in the news release but as an Iowa resident in the indictment, and is not an inmate or an ex-DOC employee. Patlan is charged with criminal solicitation and arson-related charges. The indictment in that case says Larvie and Bixby conspired to direct Patlan and/or any other known or unknown co-conspirators, to start a vehicle fire. On Jan. 4, the indictment said, Larvie asked Bixby about the location of a person identified as A in the court documents. Bixby allegedly told Larvie, who in turn communicated with Patlan and directed Patlan to set the vehicle ablaze. Jackleys news release says the trio conspired to destroy another persons vehicle between Dec. 1, 2023, and Jan. 4, the day the arson occurred in Sioux Falls. In another case, a former DOC nurse named Alexis Rose Hiller, 27, of Sioux Falls, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute and possession of contraband with intent to deliver to an inmate. All three alleged crimes took place around Jan. 31 and involve the synthetic opioid buprenorphine. There were three other indictments filed Wednesday involving the penitentiary. Inmate Seth Thomas Peplinski, 24, was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault for an alleged attack on another person in the prison on May 6. Inmate Kelly Michael Irby, 64, was charged with possession of a weapon by an inmate for allegedly having a blade on May 8. Larvie, charged for the reported arson, faces nine counts of synthetic cannabinoid possession in a separate indictment. None of the accused have made their initial court appearances, which had yet to be scheduled as of Wednesday. The indictments add to the recent drama swirling around the states prisons. The DOC shut down inmates electronic tablets on March 10 and issued a memo saying it had done so as the result of an ongoing investigation. In the hours following two days of violent unrest at the penitentiary later in March, Gov. Kristi Noem said the tablet shutdown served to spark the incidents. In the weeks following the shutdown, inmates and their family members complained about being cut off from each other by the change. Noem said prior to the shutdown that inmates had been using tablets which had delivered $1.25 million in commissions revenue to the state since 2021 for nefarious purposes. Earlier this month, Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield experienced two skirmishes between inmates, resulting in injuries to six of them. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Since Fort Lauderdale attorney John Spencer Jenkins emergency suspension in January, the amount of client funds hes alleged to have misappropriated has gone up to $612,000, and Jenkins has gone from a suspended lawyer to a disbarred lawyer. John Jenkins, aka Spencer Jenkins, also remains gone. READ MORE: A Fort Lauderdale lawyer disappeared. An auditor said he misappropriated $452,000 No filings or any form of communication came from Jenkins to prevent Thursdays disbarment by the state Supreme Court. When his Truist Bank accounts were frozen on Jan. 16, a referees report said, his law firm trust account had $93.16 and the operating account had a negative balance. No post-judgment filings appear from Jenkins on the professional malpractice lawsuit by former client Peter Mullins, on which Mullins was awarded a $235,600 judgment in September 2023. Mullins was able to get $6,632 from Jenkins E-Trade account via garnishment. John Spencer Jenkins aka Spencer Calling Jenkins professional and personal phones reaches disconnect messages. His professional office is closed. One database placed Jenkins at a hotel loft in Philadelphia, but staff said he wasnt registered there. No database lists Jenkins as deceased, unlike the man whose estate Jenkins is accused of swiping. Estate money in, money and Jenkins out Much of what follows comes from the report by the referee in the discipline case, 15th Circuit Judge Sarah L. Shullman. Jenkins refused to participate in the disciplinary process at any stage. In fact, hed disappeared by the March 15 final hearing. Wilton Manors resident William Walters died on Oct. 18, 2021, and left an estate of $643,399 to go to Louisville, Kentucky, residents Larry Corbin, Walters nephew and the personal representative of the estate; Walters sister, Shirley Dennison; and Walters nieces, Cindy Brown and Kelly Jarrell. Corbin remained in text message contact with Jenkins until June 7, 2023. Jenkins stopped answering texts, answering his phone and, Corbin said, his mailbox was always full. Corbin filed a Florida Bar complaint on the grounds of lack of professional service and lack of communication. The Bar proved no more successful in getting a response from Jenkins. No response to the complaint, no response when asking about what he knew about the money from Walters estate, no response to requests for trust account records. Bar auditor Carl Totaro hit Truist Bank with a subpoena for Jenkins trust account records from Dec. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2023. As of April 29, 2022, the balance of the trust account was $394,478.34, the referees report says. The Trust Account records demonstrate that between May 27, 2022, and December 5, 2022, [Jenkins] received several deposits into his trust account totaling $637,813.75, entrusted to [Jenkins] for the benefit of the William L. Walters estate matter... Bank statements also showed, over 13 months spanning 2022 and 2023, $543,000 in online banking transfers from the trust account to Jenkins Law Firms operating account. But the operating account balance on Sept. 29, 2023, was only $15,544. The trust account balance was $144,602. By Jan. 16, the trust account had $93.16 and the operating account was overdrawn. And not a dollar went to Walters beneficiaries, who should have been paid from the trust account. Consequently, [Jenkins] has misappropriated $612,507 in client funds, the referees report stated. Fox News Jessica Tarlov gave her blunt take on Donald Trumps disastrous Q&A at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday. My reaction is that it was a complete, absolute dumpster fire for the former president, said Tarlov, a co-host of The Five. The Republican nominees chaotic appearance at the NABJ convention included his racist claim that Vice President Kamala Harris wants to be known as Black now as he questioned her identity. Is she Indian or is she Black? She was Indian all the way and then she made a turn and she became a Black person, said Trump of Harris during a Q&A where he insulted ABC News Rachel Scott as being very rude and nasty. Tarlov said she wouldnt give Trump credit for the appearance due to his attitude and added that he gave all of his regular hits, including his ridiculous talk of doing the most as president for Black Americans since Abraham Lincoln. Unemployment is lower for Black Americans under Joe Biden than Donald Trump. Everybody knows that, even Donald Trump knows that. People have told him. He just wont stop, said Tarlov, who noted that Trump was rude and offensive to the moderators of the Q&A. She went on to hit back at Fox News contributor Joe Concha, who claimed that moderators went into debate mode with Trump when it came to asking him about Republicans calling Harris a DEI hire. And then his response that she used to be Indian and is now somehow Black was offensive, no matter the color of your skin, Tarlov said before Fox News host Martha MacCallum interjected. We all know, all right, look. She. I, I, you know, she, she has an Indian mother and a Jamaican father , MacCallum said. Right, shes Black, Tarlov replied. She has an Indian mother and a Black father, so those are two different backgrounds, MacCallum said. H/T: Mediaite Related... How to get free diapers in Tennessee: Who's eligible for the TennCare Diaper Benefit program? In August, Tennessee will become the first state in the nation to help families cover the cost of diapers. Beginning on Aug. 7, TennCare and CoverKids members under two will be eligible to receive up to 100 free diapers per month, as part of the TennCare Diaper Benefit program. The benefit is expected to eliminate the financial burden which comes from buying diapers, something which until recently, wasn't covered by state or federal programs. The benefit was introduced by Gov. Bill Lee back in January of 2023, as a pro-life and pro-family way to use the $330 million in savings from the states new Medicaid block grant funding structure. As previously reported by the Tennessean, lawmakers approved $30 million in funding for the diaper benefit during the 2023 legislative session. "Strong families are central to strong communities, and Tennessee is leading the nation in prioritizing resources for families in need," said Lee in a statement to The Tennessean. "We are the first state in the nation to cover the cost of diapers for mothers in the first two years of a child's life, and we hope this is a model for others." Here's everything to know about the program. Who is eligible to receive diapers in Tennessee? How many diapers will be offered? Any TennCare or CoverKids member under the age of 2 is eligible for the benefit. If you're unsure about your child's eligibility, participating pharmacies can help check to see if a child is eligible. A prescription is not required, however, make sure to have your childs OptumRx pharmacy card or Social Security number. For newborns, who may not yet have their OptumRx card, the parents OptumRx card or SocialSecurity number may be used. Eligible members will be able to receive up to 100 diapers every 30 days from the list of approved brands/types of diapers. What pharmacies will be participating in the diaper benefit? Pharmacies across the state will be participating in the diaper benefit, tn.gov/tenncare will be providing a list of participating pharmacies on Aug. 7. What brands of diapers will be offered? TennCare will be providing four major diaper brands during the benefit. Within ease of those brands, specific package sizes and types of diapers will be covered. Brands include: Huggies Cuties Pampers Luvs How much will diapers cost? Diapers will be free of cost. Reporter Vivian Jones contributed to this report. Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Diaper Benefit: How to get free diapers in Tennessee Volodymyr Arkhipov, who fled Russian advances towards his hometown of Toretsk, sits in an evacuation train in Pokrovsk Volodymyr Arkhipov, who fled Russian advances towards his hometown of Toretsk, sits in an evacuation train in Pokrovsk By Max Hunder POKROVSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Sitting in a spartan, third-class train carriage about to leave Pokrovsk's railway station in eastern Ukraine, Volodymyr Arkhipov reflected on the grinding Russian advances which this week forced him to flee his second home in two years. "I hauled out a corpse where (the Russians) bombed us, a woman of 37 ... by the time we dug her up, she had suffocated," the 57-year-old told Reuters, describing his final days in the embattled town of Toretsk before being evacuated. The heavy Soviet-era train jolted into motion, taking him and his 84-year-old uncle, Mykola Arkhipov, towards western Ukraine from Pokrovsk, where they had spent the night after arriving by bus from embattled Toretsk, 30 miles to the east. The two men are part of a wave of people fleeing Russian advances on several fronts in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Moscow batters slowly through formerly solid Ukrainian defences. Pressing home their advantages in manpower and weapons, Russian forces have fought their way towards major towns and supply routes in pursuit of their goal of full control of Ukraine's industrialized and mineral-rich Donbas. One recent advance has allowed Russia to open a salient only 20 km (12 miles) from Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub and still home to about 60,000 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Pokrovsk was now Russia's main target. Moscow has claimed control of four villages east of Pokrovsk in the last week. Ukraine did not comment on those claims. Russian soldiers have reached the edge of Toretsk, where the regional governor said a week ago that only 3,500 people were left, just over 10% of the prewar population. More have since been evacuated by authorities and humanitarian organisations. "The areas (on the outskirts) where they have entered have been levelled to the ground," recalled Volodymyr Arkhipov, who had fled there with his nephew from the eastern town of Rubizhne in April 2022, shortly before the Russians captured it. LUCKIER THAN OTHERS With friends to stay with in western Ukraine, the two men are luckier than many others who know no-one there. Mykola, a former coal miner, stared out of the window as the landscape of his once-proud mining region zoomed past him. Volodymyr glumly shared that he was originally from Russia and had moved to Ukraine aged 30 - a common story in eastern Ukraine, where many Russians migrated during the Soviet era to work in the region's factories and coal mines. The Arkhipovs and others evacuated with them had looked dazed as they arrived from Toretsk at the shelter in Pokrovsk on Tuesday, carrying the few possessions they were able to take stuffed into suitcases and supermarket bags. They gave harrowing descriptions of civilian death and destruction caused by intense shelling. "We thought that our house had been hit. But instead, in the house next door, the roof was swept away," Lidiia Poliakova said. The evacuees said the shelling was so intense that locals were no longer able to reach the town's cemetery to bury the dead and had to find patches of earth within the town instead. Poliakova, 75, said she had to bury her daughter, who had succumbed to a long chronic illness, in this way. "I found a (clear) spot and buried her under a tree," she said. "What else could I do?" (Additional reporting by Vitalii Hnidyi; editing by Tom Balmforth and Philippa Fletcher) Invest In The Tampa Apartment Market And Earn A 13% Target Net Preferred Return Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Any real estate investor who has been following the Tampa Bay region of Florida in recent years is well aware of the significant growth in the area. According to U.S. Census data, the population in Tampa has surged by 4.9%. Where the population grows, home prices tend to rise as well. Redfin's June report showed that the median home price was up 12.6% to $499,450, higher than the national median. Unlike many markets with more homes for sale than last year, Tampa's inventory is down 3.3% year over year. When home prices spike in a market, it often represents an opportunity for multifamily investors. That's the case with the Captive Club Apartments, a 361-unit multifamily property in the Westshore submarket of Tampa, which is being offered for investment on the EquityMultiple platform. The project was first launched in September 2023 but is now closing for investment at the start of August, giving accredited investors one last chance to join in and capitalize on the potential for a 13% net preferred return. The investment minimum is $20,000. If you are not ready to commit $20,000, the Ascent Income Fund from EquityMultiple is another option. This fund takes a loan-focused approach, targeting stable income from senior commercial real estate debt positions. It has a historical distribution yield of 12.1%, backed by real assets. With payment priority and flexible liquidity options, the Ascent Income Fund is a cornerstone investment vehicle for income-focused investors. First-time investors with EquityMultiple can invest in the Ascent Income Fund with a reduced minimum of just $5,000. A Unit-By-Unit Upgrade EquityMultiple is offering a $3 million preferred equity investment pari-passu in a larger $11 million preferred equity investment. The sponsor, Stolar Capital, is co-investing $8 million. The property was acquired by Sinatra & Co, which bought it for $63.3 million. Stolar has invested with Sinatra & Co. on two other properties in the Tampa area with a very similar business plan. Sinatra & Co. is a real estate development and investment firm that owns three other properties in Tampa. It has a total of $650 million in assets under management, with 4,500 multifamily units and 900,000 square feet of commercial space. The property is centrally located in Tampa and is less than six miles from Tampa Bay Airport. The building has two swimming pools, a clubhouse, dog parks, and a fitness center. The seller completed the necessary amenity upgrades and base building improvements. This is a value-add deal, and Sinatra & Co. is concentrating on upgrading individual units to bring the rents up to the market rate. Story continues Don't Miss Out: Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, but few investors have the capital or resources needed to invest in this asset class. Get started investing in commercial real estate today. When Sinatra & Co. bought the property, the in-place rent of $1,441 per unit represented a 21% discount to comparable leases in the area. The plan was to renovate 268 units and spend approximately $18,500 on upgrades, allowing Sinatra & Co. to increase the rent by around $325 per unit. The first quarter results showed good progress on the plan; 90 units have been renovated so far, with an average lease rent premium of $381 per unit. All of the capital improvements on the complex are underway and currently under budget. A new property manager was hired to oversee the building and manage the budget. Full details of the project are available on the EquityMultiple platform. Prospective investors are encouraged to read the terms carefully before investing. The early signs of success of this project are promising and demonstrate the strength of multifamily investing in the Tampa area. This article Invest In The Tampa Apartment Market And Earn A 13% Target Net Preferred Return originally appeared on Benzinga.com Friends, family come together to honor 2 men killed in Las Vegas apartment building fire Friends, family come together to honor 2 men killed in Las Vegas apartment building fire LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Family, friends, and fellow residents all gathered at the Riverbend Village Apartments on Wednesday evening to remember Vincent Herrera and Kameron Moore. They were so young, and they had their lives ahead of them. Its a tragedy really, friend Danielle Abella said. Both men died in a raging fire that erupted Sunday night at the complex located near Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road. Vincents mother, Ronise Herrera, hosted a vigil for both men, and the entire parking lot was filled with emotion and support. Family, friends, and fellow residents all gathered at the Riverbend Village Apartments to remember Vincent Herrera and Kameron Moore. (KLAS) Family, friends, and fellow residents all gathered at the Riverbend Village Apartments to remember Vincent Herrera and Kameron Moore. (KLAS) Family, friends, and fellow residents all gathered at the Riverbend Village Apartments to remember Vincent Herrera and Kameron Moore. (KLAS) Beautiful, kind-hearted: Mom remembers son killed in Las Vegas apartment fire I live in California and I came here so I could be here for Vincent. He was a good friend and I feel like he wouldve done it for me, Abella shared. Friends and family of Kameron Moore also spoke out for the first time after learning about his passing. Theres like these diamonds that you find in these rough places and he was one of them and he was determined, and he had so much to give, Victoria Brown shared. 2 victims from raging Las Vegas apartment fire identified Moores cousin, Tony DiAngilo said he just wanted the best for everyone and also shared that Moore and Herrera were soon going to visit Moores hometown to meet the rest of his family. 24-year-old Kameron Moore and 23-year-old Vincent Herrera who were killed in apartment building fire on July 28, 2024 23-year-old Vincent Herrera killed in an apartment building fire on July 28, 2024. 24-year-old Kameron Moore killed in an apartment building fire on July 28, 2024. 23-year-old Vincent Herrera killed in an apartment building fire on July 28, 2024. 24-year-old Kameron Moore killed in an apartment building fire on July 28, 2024. They were getting ready to take a trip back to Ohio, in September. Kameron was really excited to take that trip and show Vincent his life, DiAngilo said. Investigators still havent determined what started the fire however both families want answers. Id like to know what happened and how it happened and what caused this. There are a lot of questions, DiAngilo added. Loved ones set up GoFundMe pages for both families. If youd like to help, click the links below. GoFundMe for Vincent Herreras family GoFundMe for Kameron Moores family. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson refuted statements made by Supervisor Kevin Crye at Tuesdays board meeting that the law enforcement agency was involved in the decision to set up a media room for journalists covering board meetings. The new policy says that journalists who want to cover meetings are requested to do so from inside a designated media room in the foyer outside of the board chamber. Journalists who choose to sit in the chamber will be considered participants in the meeting and may be asked to leave the chamber in the event of a disruption, the policy states. Journalists who sit in the chamber can set up their equipment in the designated media section, it goes on to say. At Tuesdays meeting, the policy received harsh criticism from most of the people who addressed the board during public comment time. Critics told supervisors the policy would hinder the medias ability to cover the news openly, without obstacles. Most of the media chose to sit in the chamber to cover the proceedings Tuesday. At one point during public comment, Supervisor Mary Rickert said, The first I heard of this change of having the media go into the media room was when it came out in the press. I was not part of the decision. Who makes that decision and what does that process look like? Shasta County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Crye reacts to members of audience speaking during a board meeting Tuesday, July 30, 2024. The sheriff," Crye said. "The sheriff made that decision. "The sheriff wrote that policy? Can we see ..." someone in the audience yelled out before Crye gaveled him. "The public wants to know, someone else from the audience blurted out. Go ask the sheriff, Crye said. Crye reiterated to a Record Searchlight reporter after the meeting that the sheriffs office, County CEO David Rickert, who is not related to Supervisor Rickert and County Counsel Joseph Larmour set the new policy. Crye explained that there was a meeting this month with the sheriffs office, CEO Rickert and Larmour. Their recommendation, with county counsel and the CEO, was putting forth the policies and procedures. They said this is how we are going to handle it as the sheriffs office, Crye said. Crye said he stands by the sheriffs decision to keep the public and media safe. Sheriff Johnson responds In response to a Record Searchlight inquiry, Johnson, who was not at Tuesday's meeting, emailed a long statement that addressed the meeting earlier in July that Crye referenced. Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson appears before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. The sheriff said the idea of creating a media room was not his. This was NOT introduced or in any way developed by the Shasta County Sheriffs Office. In fact, upon learning of this new development, I questioned why it was even discussed or brought into play. In my time as Sheriff, that media room has been exclusively used by department heads that occasionally attend BOS (board of supervisors) meetings. Because of this option now being introduced, the (sheriffs office) had to account for other safety considerations that could become a factor when implementing the safety protocol/process, Johnson said. Johnson continued: Again, for clarification, the Sheriffs Office had nothing to do with the decision to move the media or offer the option to move the media to the glass media room. Additionally, the Sheriffs Office does not make policy for the County Administration or Supervisors. CEO Rickert at Tuesdays meeting said the media room was established to allow journalists to remain inside in the event the chamber was closed due to a meeting disruption. So, it was an additional accommodation that didnt exist before. I want to clarify that. The sheriff did not limit the press in any capacity, Rickert said. Johnson in his statement goes on to say that he distances himself from the frivolous politics of the county and his job is to keep the peace, enforce the laws and protect the public. I will not be drug into the frivolous politics and bickering that occurs, he wrote. Crye didn't immediately respond to an email and text message seeking comment. Sheriff met with county officials last August Johnson said in his statement that he met with CEO Rickert, county counsel, District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett and then board chair Patrick Jones in August 2023 to discuss decorum and safety at supervisors meetings in response to the chaos and disruptions that had occurred at board meetings. A clearly defined process was agreed upon by the conclusion of the meeting. The only mention of the media was the fact that they would have to vacate the board chambers with everyone else if the Board Chair, County (Counsel), and/or the CEO had identified a problem or threat and moved to clear the chambers. There was no other discussion regarding the media, Johnson said. Johnson said there was another meeting in February and the rules that were established at the August meeting did not change. Two new supervisors question media policy Meanwhile, Supervisors-elect Allen Long and Matt Plummer were critical of the new media policy. Both start their terms in January. There are Brown Act protections and First Amendment protections and I would not want to get in the middle of that, said Long, who won the countys District 2 seat in March. Matt Plummer is running against Patrick Jones for the District 4 Shasta County Board of Supervisors seat Before Tuesdays supervisors' meeting, the First Amendment Coalition sent a letter to the supervisors protesting the countys new media policy and procedures for covering board meetings. The coalition said the new rules run counter to the Brown Act and "threaten the ability of journalists to exercise editorial independence in covering government meetings. Allen Long Plummer said he would like to see the board address the cause of the disruptions during meetings and work on ways to reduce them rather than focusing on the media. Any time the government restricts the rights of the public it should be obligated to offer a thorough explanation on why it is doing that, and I dont feel thats been done, said Plummer, who beat District 4 incumbent Patrick Jones in March. District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman has also told the Record Searchlight that he opposes the new policy. Jones defends new media rules Jones, meanwhile, said he defends the new policy and says it gives the media more options. He said he thinks people are misinterpreting the policy. He said the media shares some of the blame for the new policy being established, suggesting that the one-woman sit-in that happened at the July 24 supervisors meeting would not have happened if the media had cleared the chamber when Jones shut the meeting down after a disruption. Shasta County Board of Supervisors Chairman Patrick Jones listens to a speaker during a board meeting on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. But yet you (the media) want to stay behind because you think youre something special. Well, youre not, Jones said. Jones called the letter from the First Amendment Coalition saber rattling and meaningless. While Jones dismissed the letter from the First Amendment Coalition, the nonprofit got the countys attention last year when the coalition and the ACLU of Northern California demanded officials to stop charging the public a $25-an-hour fee to fulfill public records requests. The Board of Supervisors eventually agreed to rescind an ordinance that allowed the county to collect the fee to do research to find materials requested under the California Public Records Act. David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. Hes part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta sheriff distances himself from supervisors' new media policy Andrii Derkach, a fugitive ex-member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, may be nominated for the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on July 31. Derkach is one of three candidates that Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin plans to propose to the Federation Council if he wins the regional elections, which are scheduled for Sept. 6-8. Members of the council unofficially called the Russian Senate are not directly elected in a popular vote but are nominated by regional administrations. In the end, a region can send only two representatives to the Senate: one proposed by the governor and approved by the regional legislature, and another elected by the legislature itself. The U.S. government has called Derkach "a Russian agent" and sanctioned him in 2022, accusing him of attempted election interference. Kyiv also imposed sanctions against the ex-lawmaker in 2021 and placed him on its wanted list. According to TASS, Derkach now lives in Astrakhan and has Russian citizenship. President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked Derkach's Ukrainian citizenship in January 2023. In 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed a Russian agent network in Ukraine, which included Derkach. The former lawmaker received funds from Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) to create private security structures that Russia planned to use to capture Ukraine. Russia allocated $3-4 million every few months for the purpose, according to law enforcement. In 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) completed an investigation into suspected treason and illicit enrichment on Derkach's part. Derkach, a former member of the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions, received at least $567,000 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive activities against Ukraine, NABU said. The politician was supposed to discredit the country at the international level, deteriorate diplomatic relations with the U.S., and hinder Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO, according to the investigation. Read also: Court rules to seize MP Dubinskyis property Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Who is funding the GOP candidates campaigns for Sedgwick County judge? The four Republicans vying to replace retiring Sedgwick County District Judge Patrick Walters have dropped tens of thousands of dollars of their own money on the primary campaign, Kansas campaign finance records show. No Democratic candidate filed to run, meaning the new 18th Judicial District Division 14 judge will likely be chosen by Republican voters on Aug. 6. Three of the four GOP candidates Jarrod Kieffer, Clark V. Owens II and Joshua Wright paid for the majority of their campaigns using their own money they loaned to their campaigns. Jacqueline Kelly, who loaned her campaign more than $5,000, received the most campaign donations and is the only candidate in the race who accepted donations from businesses or nonprofit organizations. But Kelly did not raise or spend the most money on the contest between Jan. 1 and July 25, campaign finance filings show. Your primary voter guide to Republican candidates for Sedgwick County District Court judge Heres a look at the candidates campaign finances, in order of who raised and spent the most: Jarrod Kieffer Jarrod Kieffer Kieffer, a private-practice lawyer from Bel Aire who specializes in property taxes, loaned his campaign $45,597 and received $5,644 from individual donors from Jan. 1 to July 25. Campaign finance reports show he spent more than $53,000 between January 1 and July 25. Those figures include a $15,000 check Kieffer gave his campaign on March 29. He spent an additional $30,597.20 of his own money on campaign activities such as billboard advertisements, brochures, voter lists, yard signs and T-shirts which he listed in his reports as in-kind contributions. Kieffer did not accept any campaign funds from businesses. His largest donations came from James Long, a Friends University professor; Daniel Giroux, an attorney; Tyler Dehn, a construction manager for Wildcat Construction; and Arnold Klein, a general contractor at Klein Construction. Each gave the maximum $500. Wichita City Council member JV Johnston gave $200 to Kieffers campaign. Kieffer ended the fundraising cycle with $13,088.33 cash on hand. Jacqueline Kelly Jacqueline Kelly Kelly, a Wichita Republican and city attorney for Derby, raised $27,724 including $5,100 of her personal funds and spent $17,117. Some of her campaign materials said they were paid for by the Kansas Republican Party. But her campaign paid the state party $9,086 to send mailers on her behalf, records show. Kelly accepted the most money from businesses and had the most individual contributors of the candidates. She accepted maximum $500 contributions from 17 donors, including former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael ODonnell; local business owners Rodney Steven, Jon and Lauren Rolph, and Ben Hutton; and Culture Shield Action, the political arm of the anti-abortion Christian-right organization run by Donna Lippoldt, who has said she wants to reshape the judiciary in Kansas to ban abortion. Kelly ended the fundraising period with $10,606.14 cash on hand. Clark V. Owens Clark Owens Owens, a Wichita Republican and former Sedgwick County district attorney and district judge, raised $12,400 including a $10,000 loan from himself and spent $3,181. He did not accept donations from businesses. The individuals who donated the maximum amount to his campaign were real estate investors Brad Smith and Cathrine Smith and lawyers Charles OHara and Henry Blase. He ended the period with $9,218.63 cash on hand. Joshua Wright Joshua D. Wright Joshua Wright, a public defender in Reno County who lives in Bel Aire, raised $9,628.51 including $6,473.35 he loaned the campaign and spent $9,526.41. Wright did not take donations from businesses. His maximum $500 donors included family members and Clearwater retirees James and Debbie Charles. He ended the period with $102.10 cash on hand. Primary Voter Guide Your primary voter guide to who is running for Sedgwick County Commission District 3 Your voter guide to Wichita-area races in the Kansas Legislature Your primary voter guide to Republican candidates for Sedgwick County District Court judge Fundraiser set up to pay for funeral of Independence child killed after falling 8 floors An image from a GoFundMe page shows 3-year-old Titus, identified as the child who died after falling from a window at Independence Towers. A grandmother is raising funds to bury her 3-year-old grandson, after he died Monday from a fall from his eighth floor apartment in an Independence high-rise. Sarah Walker-Crook created a GoFundMe to pay for the funeral costs of the boy, identified only as Titus, and for the care of her three other grandchildren who she said are now in her custody. Anything helps during this incredibly difficult time, Walker-Crook said in the post. Titus, who has not been publicly identified by police or prosecutors, was found lying on the grass outside the building at 728 N. Jennings Road Monday morning, unconscious but breathing, and was rushed to the hospital where he later died. On Wednesday, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced charges against the boys father, Moses Lee Bass, and his girlfriend, Destiny Leeann Randle, including a class A felony of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree. Authorities said an unsecured window led to his death, according to charging documents filed by the Jackson County prosecutors office. But the woman charged in the case told police that, for months, she tried to get the window fixed by building management. Randle reported that she has attempted several times to get building management to fix the window and stated the window has been in that condition since they moved in approximately (one) year ago, Independence police detective Kurt Jarnagin wrote in charging documents. KC Tenants, a local tenant union representing residents in building, is also collecting donations for the family, including size 3 and 4 diapers, Simulac Advance baby formula, kids juice and snacks. Our hearts go out to the family, the neighbors, and everyone affected by this tragedy. While none of us have the full details, what we do know is this: Independence Towers is dangerous, and every tenant deserves better, said director of KC Tenants Tara Raghuveer in a statement. For months, tenants have organized to advocate for fixes to what they say is an unsafe and unhealthy building. Tenants lived without hot water for two weeks in March, and have contended with cockroaches, pests, plumbing problems and a broken HVAC system. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, $2,720 has been raised of the $7,500 goal. CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) Kids are gearing up for a firefighting adventure at camp where they gain hands-on experience. The Corning Joint Fire District hosts the camp for 14- to 18-year-olds. Its about getting young people interested in firefighting at an early age. I was brought out because I wanted to return due to the fact that there are so many skills that I can take out of the camp, and it was fun the first two years I did it. The main reason I came back the second year is because I enjoyed it, but you meet new people, you get the skills out of it especially if youre in a fire department, said Noel Mclean, a third-year camper. Blood drives coming to the Southern Tier in August The Corning Joint Fire District covers 36 square miles and 7,000 people. Many of the campers joined in the fun because they have firefighting in their blood. The last four generations of my family before me have all been firefighters. My great, great, great grandfather was actually part of the team that built our towns original fire station in Caton and like got all of the trucks put together so its really like a family legacy at this point that everyone in our family joins the fire department at some point in time, said Olivia Obrian, a second-year camper and fifth generation firefighter. Other campers are experiencing the camp for the first time and wanted to try something new. Elmira Fire Department to receive federal funding for new gear, training My parents found that theres this firefighting camp and then I decided to just go on for it because I always wanted to try out some of this firefighter stuff, added Bryan Lee, a first-year camper. Campers can even earn college credit for attending the camp. The fire district is working with SUNY Corning Community College on an associate degree program in fire protection technology. The course will be offered for the first time during this falls semester. Its really easy if you have experience with it during from past classes or even if you havent during your station time, its easy, said Noah Mclean, a third-year camper. The camp runs from Wednesday, July 31, to Friday, Aug. 2. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. After more than a week of upheaval across Georgia related to a decision to cancel the states funding and approval for a test-piloted African American Studies Course from the College Board, the state superintendent has shared his reasoning for the programs rejection. Channel 2 Action News reported Dr. Richard Woods first made his rejection of the AP Studies course public on July 23. Eight days later, and after multiple school districts, lawmakers and members of Georgias education community pushed for answers and reinstatement, Woods put out a statement going into detail about his thought process, and an apology for his poor communication on the topic. To all, I wish to begin by apologizing for how I failed to effectively communicate my rationale for not recommending this specific course for approval to the State Board of Education. As an elected official, I owe all citizens of Georgia an explanation for any decision I make. To all our school districts, I apologize for any confusion that this may have caused as well, Woods began in his statement. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As the back-and-forth over the course and AP credit continued in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp had requested information on the decision from Woods, noting that Georgia was a state where it was up to parents to decide what their childrens academic needs were, and how to meet them. In the letter from the governor to Woods, Kemp said families should ultimately make the decisions which best meet their childs academic needs and futures, in a phrase reminiscent of his previous commentary on parental rights in education, such as when he signed off on a bill banning so-called divisive concepts in 2022s Parents Bill of Rights legislation. While a few days after the superintendents decision, it appeared the state had somewhat changed course, confusion persisted across Georgia. Some districts in the metro Atlanta area announced they would fund the program themselves, while others said the mixed messages meant they would not be funding the program this year. RELATED STORIES: However, it was the divisive concepts legislation that Woods centered his rejection of the course upon. At the completion of the mentioned course pilot year and the finalization of the course standards and framework, I was approached to either move the course forward for adoption or to not recommend. As this course had received much controversy over the pilot year concerning some content, I proceeded to read the complete course standards and framework, Woods explained. This was done to see if the course material violated Georgia law 20-1-11. This section of Georgia law deals with the topic of Divisive Concepts as was initiated in the originating legislation of House Bill 1084. To that end, Woods said that parts of the courses content violated Georgias divisive concepts law, so he chose to reject the course. In particular, Woods said that the topic of intersectionality in the course was at issue, though there are additional areas of concern, but this topic raises the highest level of concern. The state superintendent said that had the course provided a comparative narrative with opposing views on this and other topics, it was possible the course would not violate Georgia law. Woods added that allowing the course would have made him break his oath of office and would require him to ask the state and local school districts to ignore state law in the process. Still, while statewide approval for the course remains off the table for Woods, he said districts can individually adopt the course in question still, though the content may be challenged for violating the states divisive concepts law if adopted in full without addition or editing. Can students currently take a course on African American Studies? Yes. I passed an African American Studies course in 2020. Though not specific in content, districts have had the ability to offer this course to all students, not just those taking an AP class, Woods said, in similar comment to previous responses over the course. Currently, I have asked for legal clarification as it pertains to 20-1-11. There may be an exemption as it pertains to course adoption for not only AP courses but also International Baccalaureate (IB) and dual enrollment college courses. Should the ruling reverse my decision, then I will follow the law. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Gallo is selling well-known Central Coast winery. Heres what we know E&J Gallo has announced it will sell the Edna Valley Vineyard and Winery property on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo. As part of the sale, it will close the winerys scenic tasting room at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road at the end of August, a representative confirmed. After much consideration, we have decided to list the Edna Valley property for sale, E&J Gallo corporate communications and public relations senior manager Krista Fontana told The Tribune in a statement Wednesday. As a result, we will be permanently closing the tasting room as of Saturday, Aug. 31. The winerys name, however, will live on. Fontana said the company plans to continue to make and sell wines under both the Edna Valley Vineyard and The Language of Yes brands. The latter is a pop-up, small-batch outfit that has operated out of the Edna Valley Vineyard tasting room since 2023. Grapes from Gallos variety of vineyard properties will be used in the brands wines moving forward, Fontana added. Our wine production will not be affected, as our winemakers will continue to work with the grape crop that is sourced from the surrounding areas, she said. Edna Valley Vineyard. Both brands will be available for purchase in retail stores and in restaurants, Fontana said, while the Edna Valley Vineyard wines will also be available online at The Barrel Room. Fontana said the company decided to sell the property as part of its assessment of its portfolio, when it measures our operating efficiency. At times, changes are necessary to ensure we are operating as effectively as possible, she said. The announcement comes on the heels of two other hits to SLO Countys wine industry. Vintage Wine Estates, owner of Laetitia Vineyard and Winery in Arroyo Grande, is filing for bankruptcy and announced mass layoffs, leaving Laetitias future in doubt. And Derby Wine Estates in Paso Robles is looking to sell the iconic Farmers Alliance building home to its wine processing facility and tasting room as it downsizes its operations. Edna Valley Vineyard has remodeled its tasting room. Worlds largest winery has large footprint in SLO County The announcement comes at the heels of the June death of Bob Gallo, the second-generation leader of the organization that has often been heralded as the worlds largest winery. Its portfolio includes brands like Apothic, Barefoot, La Marca, Manischewitz, Prophecy, Proverb, Talbott Vineyards and more. Headquartered in Modesto, E&J Gallo sources grapes from throughout California and the United States, as well as some other international locales. Over the years, it has bought up properties throughout the Central Coast, starting with the 2004 purchase of Bridlewood Estate Winery in Santa Barbara County and the 2007 purchase of William Hill Estate Winery in Napa. It acquired its first San Luis Obispo County property in 2011 with the purchase of Edna Valley Vineyard. Founded by pioneering vineyard developer Jack Niven in the 1980s, the Edna Valley Vineyard has specialized in the regions signature Chardonnay wines for three decades, according to its website. Edna Valley Vineyard in San Luis Obispo unveiled its renovated tasting room in 2017. At the time of the purchase, E&J Gallo said it would help us expand both our footprint in the Central Coast and in the Chardonnay category. The brand represents wines from a superior appellation and is well positioned to offer consumers wines of extraordinary value long into the future, the company said in a news release in June 2011. Owner of Laetitia Vineyards is going bankrupt. What does that mean for SLO County winery? The company since has grown to have a large footprint in San Luis Obispo County, where it was the sixth largest property taxpayer in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Beside Edna Valley Vineyard, it also owns Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles and Courtside Cellars in San Miguel. Fontana said the company continues to be fully committed to our presence in the Central Coast region with our winery production facilities, as well as our beautiful tasting room at Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles. Edna Valley Vineyard. Gateway Church and founding elder part ways in the latest of a series of exits Gateway Church and one of its founding elders have parted ways in the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal involving former pastor Robert Morris. Leaders of the Southlake megachurch met with Steve Dulin this week and decided to go in a different direction regarding the 63-year-olds role as elder and staff member, the church announced in a statement obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV. Dulin, who was the executive pastor of the Gateway Kingdom Business Leaders Ministry, has been on a temporary leave of absence from the North Texas churchs board since the end of June. We love Steve, his wife Melody, and their family and sincerely thank them for investing their lives here at Gateway Church, the statement said. They have faithfully served our congregation, our community, and our church through the years. Following Robert Morris admission that he sexually abused Cindy Clemishire when she was a child in the 1980s, Gateway Church hired the law firm Haynes & Boone LLP to conduct an independent investigation. The firm recommended that anyone who served on the board of elders between 2005 and 2007 the time period in which Clemishire said she reached out to Gateway about Morris abuse temporarily step down during the investigation. More top stories from our newsroom: Adoption lawyer accused of paying inmates for babies 2 dogs shot on property of North Texas megachurch 20-year-old victim of brutal homicide [Get our breaking news alerts.] Dulin and two other elders volunteered to take a temporary leave of absence at that time, the church said in a June 28 statement. Each of these three Elders has clearly stated that they had no knowledge of the true facts of this situation, the statement said. Robert Morris son James Morris also stepped down from the board of elders at the recommendation of the law firm. The church announced James Morris resignation in a statement last week. Gateway elder Tra Willbanks told the congregation Sunday that James Morris and his wife, Bridgette Morris, were leaving the church to establish a new one somewhere else. He also apologized for the churchs initial characterization of Clemishire as a young lady. He said the church is praying for her and that Robert Morris actions were unacceptable. Robert Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, resigned from his position as lead pastor on June 18. Clemishire, who is now in her 50s, told the religious watchdog blog The Wartburg Watch in June that Morris abused her for four years in Oklahoma and Texas beginning when she was 12 and Morris was 21. When Clemishire confronted Robert Morris with her intention to file a civil lawsuit in 2005, his attorney responded by saying the abuse was Clemishires fault, according to an email. After she asked for $50,000 to reimburse her for counseling, Morris and his attorney said they would provide $25,000 if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, which Clemishire refused, The Wartburg Watch reported. North Texas leaders including former Southlake mayor John Huffman urged Robert Morris to resign after Clemishires allegations came to light. Two well-known evangelical leaders - Max Lucado and Joakim Lundqvist will serve as interim pastors until a replacement can be found for Robert Morris, the church told its congregation Sunday. The South Dakota Board of Regents OK'ed a new undergraduate certificate request Thursday to offer a Gateway to Teacher Education. Its billed as offering students a head start to pursue a career in K-12 education by giving them insights into the profession and the various teacher education degrees offered at Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.. The four certificate courses can be delivered to high school juniors, seniors and public university students on-campus, online and through the states high school dual credit program, and they are stackable with elementary, secondary and special education degrees. Washington High School teacher Alison Terhorst works with her students to decorate her classroom door for an annual contest on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Terhorst is one of the many teachers in the Sioux Falls school district that is a part of the teacher pathway program. SDBOR Executive Director Nathan Lukkes said in a press release that the certificate serves as a solid stepping stone toward (students) academic and career goals in education. The program also strengthens the pipeline for educators and makes quality education more accessible, SDBOR President Tim Rave said in a press release. A report from the SDBOR states that the need for teachers in the state is estimated to increase by 7% by 2030, and that as of January this year, there were about 300 vacant teaching positions. The report also quotes South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Joe Graves as saying, the teacher shortage right now is historically unprecedented. More: South Dakota needs more teachers. Here's why it's not as easy as just hiring more. Introducing high school students to the profession is good practice and may encourage students to consider teaching and return home to address the teaching shortage in their home communities, the SDBOR report states. During the public comment portion of Thursdays meeting, Travis Lape, the director of teaching and learning in the Harrisburg School District and the president of Educators Rising South Dakota, expressed his support and gratitude for the new certificate. Pam Carriveau, the SDBOR associate vice president for academic programming, said the certificate will help recruit more future educators into the teaching profession. More information can be found online at OurDakotaDreams.com. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New undergrad certificate aims to fight South Dakota's teacher shortage TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese trading houses Mitsui and Mitsubishi posted increases in first-quarter net profit thanks to asset sales and a weaker yen, beating estimates. Mitsui reported a 9.2% increase in net profit to 276.1 billion yen on the year, and Mitsubishi saw a 12% rise to 354.4 billion yen, beating forecasts in an LSEG poll of analysts by 3% and 22%, respectively. Mitsubishi attributed the rise in profits to the sale of two metallurgical coal mines and Mitsui from the sale of machinery and infrastructure assets. Both also benefited from a weaker yen thanks to assets overseas. Mitsui and Mitsubishi kept their forecasts for the year ending March 2025 unchanged at 900 billion yen and 950 billion yen, respectively. ($1 = 149.8400 yen) (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum) Alya Gali, a Gaza Strip-born doctor, looks at debris two weeks after a missile killed nine as it hit a private clinic where he has worked for most of his professional life in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 22, 2024. Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 catapulted Galis life into the chaos of constant air raids and missile attacks. Israels war on Hamas turned his hometown into a hellscape, uprooting his family and killing two of his relatives. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) In war-torn Ukraine, he is Alya Shabaanovich Gali, a popular doctor with a line of patients waiting to see him. To his family thousands of kilometers away in the besieged Gaza Strip, he is Alaa Shabaan Abu Ghali, the one who left. For the past 30 years, these identities rarely had cause to merge: Gali moved away amid instability in Gaza, settled into his new home in Kyiv, adopted a different name to better suit the local tongue, and married a Ukranian woman. Through calls, he kept up with his mother and siblings in Gazas southernmost city, Rafah. But mostly, their lives played out in parallel. In February 2022, Russias invasion of Ukraine threw Galis life into chaos, with air raids and missile attacks. Nearly 20 months later, the war between Israel and Hamas turned his hometown into a hellscape, uprooting his family. Both are violent conflicts that have upset regional and global power balances, but they can seem worlds apart as they rage on. Ukraine has lambasted allies for coming to Israels defense while its own troops languished on the frontlines. Palestinians have decried double standards in international support. In each place, rampant bombardment and heavy fighting have killedtens of thousands and wiped out entire towns. In Gali's life, the wars converge. A month ago, his nephew was killed in an Israeli strike while foraging for food. Weeks later, a Russian missile tore through the private clinic where he's worked for most of his professional life. Colleagues and patients died at his feet. I was in a war there, and now I am in a war here, said Gali, 48, standing inside the hollowed-out wing of the medical center as workers swept away glass and debris. Half of my heart and mind are here, and the other half is there. You witness the war and destruction with your family in Palestine, and see the war and destruction with your own eyes, here in Ukraine. Gaza to Kyiv There's an Arabic saying to describe a familys youngest child the last grape in the bunch. Galis mother would say the last is the sweetest; the youngest of 10, he was her favorite. When Gali was 9, his father died. Money was tight, but Gali excelled in school and dreamed of becoming a doctor specializing in fertility, after seeing relatives struggle to conceive. In 1987, the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupted in Gaza and the West Bank. Gali joined the youth arm of the Fatah Movement, a party espousing a nationalist ideology, long before the Islamist Hamas group would take root. One by one, friends were arrested and interrogated; some went to prison, others took up arms. Gali had a choice: Stay and risk the same fate, or leave. There was good news: an opportunity to study medicine in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Gali bade tearful goodbyes to his family, not knowing if he'd see them again. He traveled to Moscow, expecting to catch a train. Instead, he learned Almaty was no longer an option. But there was a spot in Kyiv. And so a young Gali arrived in Ukraine in 1992, just after the Soviet Union's collapse. It was like leaving one bedlam for another, he said: The country was in a state of chaos, with no law and very difficult living conditions." Many peers left. Gali stayed, enrolling in medical school. New life, new name In the Ukrainian language, there's no equivalent for Arabic's notoriously difficult glottal consonants. So in Kyiv, Alaa became Alya. He assumed a patronymic middle name, adding the usual suffix to his fathers name Shabaanovich. While learning Russian spoken by most Ukrainians who'd lived under the Soviet Union Gali struggled with errands. Neighbors helped. Through them, he met his wife. They would have three children. He finished medical school, becoming a gynecologist specializing in fertility. His career's early days were long, seeing dozens of patients. Eventually, he landed at a practice at the Adonis medical center, where he thrived. When Gali drives to work, listening to songs in Arabic, he passes Kyivs Maidan, a square where anti-government protests set the stage for Russias seizure of Crimea in 2014. There was a war in Gaza that year, too, he remembers. Gali mouths the lyrics as Ukrainian street signs whiz by: "You keep crushing us, oh world. Wars collide On July 8, Gali was at work, but his mind was on Gaza. A week earlier, a relative reached out Gali's 12-year old niece had been killed as Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of the Mawasi camp for displaced Palestinians, northwest of Rafah. Like tens of thousands of Gazans, his family had fled there on foot after Israel designated it a humanitarian zone. Gali had already been mourning. A nephew, Fathi, was killed the previous month. Gali saw it himself, he said, on television his nephews lifeless body on the screen, headlines flashing in Arabic. He described the image and Fathi's clothes to a relative, who confirmed it was him. Their deaths weighed heavily on Gali. For nine months, he'd lived in fear for his family, of a text message saying they'd all been killed. In the medical center that day, air raids rang out all morning. Before greeting his next patient, he shared a few words with the center director. She'd just driven by Okhmadyt Childrens Hospital, struck hours earlier by a missile a terrible sight, Ukraines largest pediatric facility in ruins, she told him. He told her about the deaths of his niece and nephew, the darkness of his grief. Not long after, Galis world went even darker. A Russian missile came hurtling toward the center, triggering an explosion that obliterated the third and fourth floors. Gali worked on the fourth. In the dense cloud of debris, he sought out shadowy figures covered in blood. He saw a patient and, using his phone for light, pulled her out from under the collapsed roof, as colleagues and others died around him nine killed in all. He led the woman to his office to wait for rescuers. Amid bodies on the floor, he found a colleague, Viktor Bragutsa, bleeding profusely. Gali couldnt resuscitate him. A room holding patients documents had been reduced to debris, their records spanning decades up in smoke. He felt pangs of deja vu. For months, he'd seen images of Gaza's war. It was as if they'd somehow bled into his life in Ukraine. Nothing is sacred," he said. "Killing doctors, killing children, killing civilians this is the picture we are faced with. Only pain Two weeks later, Gali stood in the same spot, gazing at bombed-out walls as workers sifted through rubble. What can I feel?" he said "Pain. Nothing else. The center director's office is destroyed. So is the reception area. Ultrasound machines and operating tables lay haphazardly. He had stayed in Ukraine, didn't evacuate his family he took comfort in his office, in helping patients. And still, he said, he'll stay. In Gaza, he knows, there's no safe place for his family to evacuate. Communicating isn't easy, with telecommunications blackouts. Weeks go by without word, until a nephew or niece finds enough signal to tell him they're alive. No matter how difficult and impossible the situation is," he said, "their words are always filled with laughter, patience and gratitude to God. I am here, feeling the weight. The presidential races gender dynamics have dramatically transformed in recent weeksnot only because a woman will almost certainly lead the Democratic presidential ticket, but also because the GOP chose a vice presidential candidate outspoken about his notions regarding family formation and womens societal roles. President Joe Bidens decision to end his reelection bid earlier this month, and Vice President Kamala Harriss subsequent ascension, means that there will likely be a woman facing Trump for the second time in the last three elections, going back to 2016 when Hillary Clinton carried the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College. This November will no longer offer the expected rematch of the 2020 election, between two older white men. Instead its one older white man and a Gen X woman of Jamaican and Indian heritageonce again raising questions of what women, and particularly women of color, can achieve in the United States. When you are a Black woman running for office in a high-level leadership position, there is this trope of the angry Black woman, said Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, describing the tightrope that Harris must walk: not bowing to bullying pressure while also not seeming aggressive. But if Harris will need to avoid appearing too angry, masculine outrage is one of Trumps campaign strengths. Trump embodies a particular expression of masculinity, one that emphasizes macho toughness and even anger. His choice of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate reinforces that vision of not only a mans role in society but expectations of women. He has otherized women throughout his political career, Walsh said of Trump. He has questioned their place in politics always implying theyre not smart enough, theyre not supposed to be there, this isnt their space. By portraying himself as Trumps successorand by extension the future of the Republican PartyVance is indicating that men belong here in the political sphere, while women do not, Walsh said. The choice of Vance could appeal to young men, who increasingly lean toward Republicans. The Republican National Conventions macho trappingsincluding celebrity wrestler Hulk Hogan praising Trump as the toughest of them all and Trump walking onstage on the final night to the song Its a Mans Mans Mans Worldpresented a vision of a masculine party that could engage young male voters. Recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal found that men between the ages of 18 and 30 support Trump and Republican control of Congress this year, unlike in 2020, when they supported Biden and Democrats. GOP Senator Josh Hawley hypothesized that young men may be shifting to the right because of specific concerns regarding their future, particularly whether they will be able to find a good-paying job and buy a house. People want to own something and have some kind of control over their life, Hawley said. For a lot of people, young people especially, that just seems so far out of reach. Young men may be hearing something from Republicans that Democrats are not offering them: a clear vision of their place in society. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that the Democratic Party has been far too afraid to have a conversation with young men about the future of maleness and masculinity. Theres a lot of men in crisis today because things have changed incredibly rapidly, said Murphy. Democrats need to construct a much more responsible version of masculinity than the one being proffered by Republicans. Divorced men are also trending toward the right, a pattern that American Enterprise Institute scholar Daniel Cox recently attributed to uncoupled Americans being more likely to develop a tribal approach to politics, a tendency to see the political interests of men and women as fundamentally at odds. He added: More than any time in the recent past, American politics is pushing men and women apart rather than bringing them together. But even as he may embody a form of masculinity that appeals to alienated young men, Vances position on the ticket could also estrange women voters. Not only has Donald Trump spent most of his life insulting women and degrading them whenever possible, he has deliberately picked a running mate whose attitudes towards women are so outside the mainstream that many women will turn their back on that whole ticket, argued Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Vances previous comments about childless Americans have garnered renewed interest in recent weeks. Beyond his now-infamous 2021 comments on the childless cat ladies supposedly running the Democratic Partya view that he has largely reiterated in recent daysVance has repeatedly disparaged childless Americans. He has suggested that they should pay higher taxes, should not have the same voting power as people with children, and are sociopathic. In 2021, Vance said that we have to go to war against the anti-child ideology that exists in our country, suggesting that millennial feminist writers who focus on their careers over having children are sad, pathetic, lonely people. For his part, Trump said on Monday that Vance loves family but continued that people without children are every bit as good as anybody else that has the most beautiful family. Vances eye-catching comments are not exclusively directed toward women: In 2019, he praised the positive role that fatherhood played in turning relatively driftless young men into rooted and grounded members of society. But the onus of pregnancy and child-rearing is often borne by women, giving Vances words a gendered dimension. GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski told Politico on Tuesday that she found Vances comments about childless cat ladies to be offensive. If the Republican Party is trying to improve its image with women, I dont think that this is working, she said. Conversations around childlessness and motherhood have become increasingly fraught in recent years, thanks to the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning the federal right to an abortion. Fourteen states have a total abortion ban in place, while four more have barred the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. The new developments in the presidential race may bring abortion accessalready a critical campaign issueeven closer to the front of voters minds. This year, Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic, and she has supported abortion rights more explicitly than Biden, who earned criticism from some advocates for his hesitance to even use the word abortion. She is probably the most powerful messenger that we have in the country on the issue of abortion rights and reproductive freedom, said Jessica Mackler, the president of Emilys List, an organization dedicated to electing women who support abortion access. The vice president at the top of the ticket brings an energy and excitement for women voters who know that this issue has such an impact on their lives. Meanwhile, Democrats have hammered Vance on his previous comments opposing abortion access. In 2021, he defended the lack of exceptions for incest and rape in a Texas abortion ban, saying that two wrongs dont make a right. Vance has also voted against legislation that would expand access to in vitro fertilization, and his office recently broke off bipartisan negotiations to make childbirth more affordable, The Washington Post reported. Still, Harris is not guaranteed universal support from women. White women supported Trump by a narrow margin in 2016, and their support for him increased in 2020. Some Harris supporters are hoping to minimize that gap in 2024 and specifically to mobilize white women; a Zoom rally last week titled White Women: Answer the Call had roughly 200,000 participants and raised millions of dollars. Similar Zoom events in support of Harris by the groups Win With Black Women and Win With Black Men have ginned up enthusiasmand money. Being a woman of color may excite potential supporters enough to counteract opposition based on her race and gender. Harriss race and gender are actually an advantage for the first time in presidential politics, said Tresa Undem, a partner in and co-founder of PerryUndem, a public opinion research firm that has conducted polling on womens election turnout. I dont think magically were going to get a big majority of white women suddenly voting for Harris, or for Democrats. But I think a change by a few percentage points can make a change in an election. The overturning of Roe in the interim between 2020 and 2024 may also motivate white women to support the Democratic nominee, particularly if they believe that Republicans want to further restrict reproductive access nationally. In 2016 and 2020, white women couldnt really believe that their reproductive freedom could be taken away from themthey now can see it, Democratic Senator Tina Smith said. They know that its been done. So theres a sense of what is at stake here that I think is dramatically different. She added that the sudden prospect of electing the first woman president had resulted in women voters pent-up enthusiasm and excitement and hopes and dreams being released all at once. People want to feel the joy and the possibility of politics. They want to feel that there is something thats happy and productive about it. And thats been missing, and its now there, said Smith. Everybody can feel it. They can see it in the sparkle in [Harriss] eyes as she goes out there and is ready to make the case. General Staff: Russia has lost 579,490 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 Russia has lost 579,490 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Aug. 1. This number includes 1,370 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day. According to the report, Russia has also lost 8,399 tanks, 16,203 armored fighting vehicles, 21,816 vehicles and fuel tanks, 16,119 artillery systems, 1,132 multiple launch rocket systems, 907 air defense systems, 363 airplanes, 326 helicopters, 12,968 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine. Read also: Ukraine war latest: First F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) After several weeks of fun during the summer break, students in Georgetown County reported back to school Thursday morning, and many students and parents will be faced with new rules and procedures this year. Students will have limited access to cellphones or any smart device connected to Wi-Fi or the internet. Each school will have designated areas to store the devices until the end of the school day. Parents with children in second grade and below are asked to follow the green tag policy. Upon arrival at each bus stop, parents must present a green card to the bus driver to identify the correct parent or guardian picking up the child. Lastly, there will be security detectors at high schools across the county to ensure no weapons are brought into the buildings. Dr. Giles told News 2 that education and safety are the school districts top priorities, and she is excited to see what positive aspects the new rules will bring to students this year. Were excited to see all our students, not just our students but all team members, including our staff, parents, community members, and even volunteers. Were in this together, and were team GCSD, said GCSD Interim Superintendent Bethany Giles. Officials said there would be a grace period to understand the new rules and policies, but after August 9, consequences will follow if regulations are not followed. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Georgia aims to 'reset' relations with U.S. after Washington pauses aid TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday proposed a "reset" to mend relations with the United States, Interpress news agency reported, after Washington paused more than $95 million in aid over concerns about democratic backsliding. Georgia was plunged into crisis this spring over the passage of a law on "foreign agents," which came into force on Thursday. Opposition politicians and the West say the law, which requires organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence", is authoritarian and will stifle dissent. "As for Georgian-American relations - we are in a waiting mode. We are fully prepared to reset relationships," Interpress quoted Kobakhidze as saying. "You know that in the last three to four years, a lot has gone wrong in these relationships, so the relationship needs a reset. We are absolutely ready for it, the main thing is to see the next steps," he added. The ruling Georgian Dream party says the "foreign agents" law is necessary to protect national sovereignty. The pause on U.S. assistance, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday, is the result of a review of bilateral cooperation that was unveiled in May, along with visa restrictions against some Georgian nationals. "The Georgian government's anti-democratic actions and false statements are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO," Blinken said, adding that Washington would continue to provide some assistance to Georgia, which has historically strong ties to the West. Kobakhidze on Thursday reiterated government assertions that such restrictions amounted to "blackmail" and discussing additional sanctions against Georgia was "counterproductive". "Instead of blackmailing and threatening, we should have a healthy conversation about improving relations, restarting them," Kobakhidze said. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Giles Elgood) ST. LOUIS A Georgia man appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court on Thursday and admitted to gunning a man down in the citys Academy neighborhood more than two years ago. Vernell Julion, 21, was shot and killed on July 21, 2022, in the 1100 block of North Kingshighway Boulevard. Police said Darius Griffin, now 33, was parked outside Pops Fish and Chicken Market waiting for Julion. Griffin believed Julion was responsible for killing his 16-year-old cousin two weeks prior. Investigators said Griffin watched and waited until Julion appeared alone in an alley behind a building. Griffin donned a blue ski mask and got out of his car with an AK-47. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Griffin chased after Julion and shot him 18 times. The entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras. Griffin later admitted he was the shooter after being shown stills from the surveillance video. Revenge killings merely perpetuate violence and are indicative of a lack of faith in our criminal justice system, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said. Griffin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge sentenced Griffin to 20 years in prison for murder and an additional three years for armed criminal action. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. State school Superintendent Richard Woods. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Georgias 2022 divisive concepts bill is to blame for the states sidelining of an Advanced Placement African American studies course, State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a statement Wednesday. Last week, Woods said he would not recommend approval for the class but said districts that want to offer it can still do so through a workaround. He didnt immediately provide an explanation for the different approach, even when a letter from Gov. Brian Kemp pointedly asked him to do so. Woods said Wednesday that he was concerned the course could run afoul of the law, which bans classroom discussion of nine so-called divisive concepts: that one race is inherently superior to another race, that the United States is fundamentally racist, that people are racist or oppressive by virtue of their race, that anyone should be discriminated against because of their race, that someones moral character is determined by their race, that individuals bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of their race, that performance-based advancement or appreciation of work ethic is racist or any other form of race scapegoating or race stereotyping. After reviewing the content, it was clear that parts of the coursework did violate the law, Woods said. As with most states with laws like Georgia on this issue that have raised concerns, the most glaring violation is on the topic of intersectionality. There are additional areas of concern, but this topic raises the highest level of concern. If the Advanced Placement course had presented a comparative narrative with opposing views on this and other topics, an argument could be made that the course did not violate Georgia law. The course has been a flashpoint in the culture wars nationwide, including in Arkansas, where a lawsuit involving the course is underway, and in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would ban the course because he said it represented an attempt to indoctrinate children. Intersectionality refers to an academic framework introduced in the 1990s by scholar Kimberle Crenshaw. It states that peoples lives are shaped by various intersecting identities including race, religion, education, income and ability, and that people may experience different forms of privilege and oppression depending on their identities and their society. Like critical race theory, intersectionality was once a term used mostly by academics, now drawn into national focus by groups who say insidious actors seek to indoctrinate young students in the classroom. The AP African American studies course description lists The Black Feminist Movement, Womanism, and Intersectionality as one topic in the year-long course. The topics objective is to explain how the Black feminist movement of the twentieth century drew inspiration from earlier Black womens activism. A separate topic, Interlocking Systems of Oppression, seeks to describe how social categories (e.g., race, gender, class, sexuality, ability) are interconnected, and considers how their interaction with social systems creates unequal outcomes for individuals. Rashad Brown, an Atlanta Public Schools teacher who previously taught the class and is preparing to do so once again this week, said intersectionality comes up a few times in the course. Brown gave the example of abolitionist Sojourner Truths speech Aint I a Woman? It discusses the treatment that she is articulating to many in the feminist movement regarding how she experiences treatment as a woman, one, but then also as a person of color in this country, he said. Its impossible to talk about historical figures such as Sojourner Truth without talking about her experiences from the lens of a woman as well as a person of color. So that would be a specific example of why that is discussed in that manner, and its appropriate to be discussed in that manner because she is a woman and a person of color. Brown said nothing in the course is likely to offend anyone. There are approximately 64% of students who took this course who identified as black in some way or form. The rest were from another ethnic or racial group. No one had anything but positive glowing reviews of the course. For example, in my class and in my school, many students, white, Jewish, and otherwise, they were some of the strongest students in the course, and their feedback was they think everyone should have access to this course because this rich history isnt something thats well known or taught to people and it may broaden their perspective about African Americans or Black people at large. In his statement, Woods said his decision was about following the law, but he said he was looking for some legal clarification on a possible exemption. There may be an exemption as it pertains to course adoption for not only AP courses but also International Baccalaureate (IB) and dual enrollment college courses. Should the ruling reverse my decision, then I will follow the law, he said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Georgia's controversial foreign agents law came into effect on Aug. 1, giving organizations that receive foreign funding one month to register with the Justice Ministry. Failure to do so by Sept. 1, when the official monitoring period begins, could result in fines of 25,000 Georgian lari ($9,200). The foreign agents law, first introduced in the parliament in 2023 by the ruling Georgian Dream party, would require organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as such. Widespread demonstrations broke out in protest of the proposed law, and it was eventually abandoned in March 2023. Georgian Dream nonetheless revived the law in April 2024 and passed it in the face of historic street protests and international condemnation. The legislation, along with the excessive use of police force toward protesters and a growing crackdown on civil society, has strained Georgia's relations with its traditional Western allies. Read also: Russias shadow over Georgia and Kyrgyzstans foreign agent laws Tangible consequences have begun to emerge as a result. The U.S. implemented the first tranche of sanctions against Georgian government officials on June 6, imposing travel restrictions on individuals "responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia." The U.S. on July 5 indefinitely postponed joint military exercises with Georgia. On July 31, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will pause more than $95 million in assistance to Georgia. The U.S. move comes weeks after Brussels froze 30 million euros ($32 million) in defense sector funding for Georgia after halting its EU accession process in June. Read also: Explainer: Whats behind ongoing protests in Georgia? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A hole has been cut in the fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Several activists are demonstrating for more climate protection at Leipzig/Halle Airport. According to initial findings, part of the five-strong group had stuck to the ground in the southern area of the airport, said a spokesperson for the German police. Julius-Christian Schreiner/dpa Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists. Some of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport's southern area, a police spokesman said, adding that a helicopter is currently searching the area for further activists. As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday), an airport spokesman said. One of the two runways has since been cleared for use, but there may be delays to passenger flights due to the ongoing police operation, he added. Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air freight hub in Europe, handling some 1.4 million tons of freight annually, according to its website. Last Generation said that the protest aimed to send a message against the increasing air traffic, the planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels. The climate group said in a post on social media platform X that the blockade would primarily affect freight traffic. Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway, holding signs that read "Oil kills," and at least one person with their hands glued to the tarmac. According to climate activist group Oil Kills, five activists glued themselves to the runway. Last week, climate demonstrators disrupted air traffic at Frankfurt Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport. As a result, Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security precautions. Jerome Powell made it clear Wednesday that he is ready for the inevitable political blowback if the Federal Reserve does in fact cut rates at its September meeting, just seven weeks before Election Day. When asked at a press conference if the Fed could, in fact, remain apolitical in taking such an action, he said, "I absolutely do." "Anything that we do before, during, or after the election will be based on the data, the outlook, and the balance of risks, and not on anything else," he added. The collision of Fed monetary policy and a red-hot election season is now officially in play after Powell signaled the Fed could cut rates at its next meeting on Sept. 17-18 as long as inflation continues to cool. "We think the time is approaching," Powell said in response to a question from Yahoo Finance. When asked if there was a growing sense of confidence on the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee that a cut could be made in September, he added, "Yes," as long as the data supported such an outcome. Jerome Powell, left, with then-President Donald Trump in 2017 as Trump introduced Powell as his nominee to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Drew Angerer via Getty Images) A September rate cut could cause the central bank to face political criticism from both sides of the aisle in Washington. Lawmakers from both parties have signaled they would criticize the Fed if a decision made at the last meeting before Election Day didn't go their way. If Powell and his colleagues choose to keep rates at a 23-year high, a growing chorus of Democratic critics calling for cuts may reach a crescendo. But if policymakers do indeed cut, Republicans from Donald Trump on down will be sure to cast the move as caving to election year pressure. In an interview with Bloomberg published earlier this month, the Republican nominee and former president again reiterated that central bank officials should not ease monetary policy before the November election. "Its something that they know they shouldnt be doing," Trump said. Powells response to this mounting wave of political pressure has been to echo an independent, apolitical approach he has honed throughout 2024, emphasizing that the only criteria that he considers will be data on prices and jobs. He came back to that theme on Wednesday, saying this is my fourth presidential election at the Fed" and "we never use our tools to support or oppose a political party, a politician, or any political outcome." Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at his news conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) In May he even offered a challenge to reporters: "You can go back and read the transcripts," he said. "See if anybody mentions, in any way, the pending election." What Yahoo Finance found after reviewing years of FOMC meeting transcripts was as Powell promised few overt mentions of coming elections and no debate on the political merits of any one candidate over another. Story continues But political topics still came up repeatedly as Fed officials wrestled with decisions that affected the US economy. In just one example, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari took time in a January 2018 meeting to highlight these pressures as then-Chair Janet Yellen was set to depart and Powell was preparing to take his current seat at the head of the table. "We work very hard, all of us, to be nonpolitical and nonpartisan, and yet we exist in a partisan, political world," Kashkari said in the transcript of that gathering. He praised Yellen, saying she had effectively "navigated that tension." Throughout the seven meetings that Powell went on to chair in 2018, as one example, the term "political" was uttered 40 times, according to a search of the transcripts. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the Federal Open Market Committee met in this room in the Eccles Building in Washington before renovations began in recent years. (Brooks Kraft/ Getty Images) (Brooks Kraft via Getty Images) It came up as committee members discussed everything from then-President Trump's trade policy to developments in Europe to the economic effects of "political tensions in the United States" around that election year. The publicly available transcripts cover Powell's tenure from 2012, when he became a Fed governor, to his first year as chair in 2018. Transcripts are released on a five-year delay, so recent meetings are not yet publicly available. This year, there is just one Fed meeting left until voters go to the polls to select their next president. The Fed's November gathering is scheduled to kick off on the morning of Nov. 6, just hours after the election voting sites close. "The bottom line is, if we do our very best to do our part, and we stick to our part, that will benefit all Americans. If we get it right, the economy will be stronger," Powell said Wednesday as he defended the Fed's approach. "We'll have price stability. People will find jobs, wages will rise in real terms, everyone will benefit. So that's what we believe and that's how we will always act." Former St. Louis Fed president Jim Bullard downplayed the impact of a Fed cut on the November election. In D.C., "somebody is going to be mad at you all the time," but "I would dispute the idea that anybody ever won an election based on 25 basis points at the September meeting," he told Yahoo Finance Thursday. "The notion that this has some kind of big impact on the election is kind of hyperbole, I think." Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance A hole has been cut in the fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Several activists are demonstrating for more climate protection at Leipzig/Halle Airport. According to initial findings, part of the five-strong group had stuck to the ground in the southern area of the airport, said a spokesperson for the German police. Julius-Christian Schreiner/dpa Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists. Five of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport's southern area and two more were prevented from doing so, a police spokesman said. The activists were eventually removed from the tarmac around 5 am (0300 GMT), he said, adding that officers had discovered holes in the fence at the edge of the site. As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight, an airport spokesman said. One of the two runways had been cleared for operation in the morning, and passenger flights began with a slight delay. The first flight took off some 15 minutes later than scheduled, according to the airport's website. Leipzig/Halle Airport is the fourth largest air freight hub in Europe, handling some 1.4 million tons of freight annually, according to its website. Last Generation said that the protest aimed to send a message against the increasing air traffic, the planned expansion of airport capacity and the lack of a government plan to quickly phase out fossil fuels. The climate group said in a post on social media platform X that the blockade would primarily affect freight traffic. Accompanying photos showed activists on the runway, holding signs that read "Oil kills," and at least one person with their hands glued to the tarmac. The activists are currently under investigation for unauthorized entry into the security area, trespassing and interference with air traffic, a police spokesman said. Last week, climate demonstrators disrupted air traffic at Frankfurt Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport. As a result, Leipzig/Halle Airport, among others, announced that it would take security precautions. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (M) lays a wreath at a memorial to the victims of the Wola massacre. In the first days of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, the Nazis murdered thousands of Polish civilians in the Wola district as a punitive action. Steinmeier traveled to Poland to take part in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 against the German occupation. Friedemann Kohler/dpa German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Polish President Andrzej Duda laid wreaths together to commemorate the victims of the Warsaw Uprising 80 years ago. They chose a memorial in Warsaw's Wola district, where some 30,000 Polish civilians were systematically killed within the span of a few days in 1944. "They were taken from their homes, their houses were burnt down, they themselves were shot in the streets and their bodies were burnt," said Duda about the massacre. Duda called Steinmeier's presence at the ceremony an important symbolic moment for the two nations. Steinmeier stood quietly in front of the wreath he had placed. On August 1, 1944, members of the Polish resistance led by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) took up arms in Warsaw against the Nazi occupiers. The military goal was to free Warsaw from German occupation ahead of the arrival of the Soviet Red Army in order to prevent the creation of a Soviet-controlled government in Poland. However, the uprising fell after 63 days of fighting, costing the lives of nearly 200,000 Poles, most of them civilians. The remaining half a million Warsaw residents were deported and the city nearly completely destroyed. Polish President Andrzej Duda (R) welcomes German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for talks. Steinmeier traveled to Poland to take part in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 against the German occupation. Friedemann Kohler/dpa Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich requested an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a form he had to complete to finalize his release, according to a new report from the Journal. Before being released as part of a major prisoner exchange, Gershkovich had to officially ask for presidential clemency. On that form, Gershkovich inquired if the Russian president would consider doing an interview, the Journal reported just after he and others were exchanged. Gershkovich was freed Thursday alongside former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara-Murza, five Germans and seven Russian citizens. Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families, President Biden said in a statement. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong. In a Thursday letter, the Journals editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, thanked Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didnt commit. We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evans nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role, Tucker continued. We know the U.S. government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice, Tucker added. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. While Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza were released in the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War on Thursday, another American still remains in Russian custody: Marc Fogel. A history teacher from Pennsylvania who taught for nearly a decade at a Russian school, Fogel was arrested at a Moscow airport in August 2021 for possession of medical marijuana prescribed to treat spinal pain. In 2022, he was sentenced to a 14-year prison sentence at a Russian penal colony. Here's what we know about Fogel and the attempts to obtain his release: Who is Marc Fogel? Fogel, in his early 60s, grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania. He attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and went on to work teaching history courses at schools attended by children of U.S. diplomats. The work brought Fogel and his family across the globe as he taught in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Venezuela and Russia. Starting in 2012, Marc Fogel and his wife, Jane, taught at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. In the summer of 2021, Fogel told his wife that he would retire after one more year teaching in Moscow, according to The Washington Post. It was upon their return to Moscow from a summer vacation that Fogel would be detained. Why was Marc Fogel arrested? On Aug. 14, 2021, Fogel was taken into custody at Moscows Sheremetyevo International Airport on a cannabis possession charge. Fogel and his family have said the cannabis was used to treat his chronic back pain. His case would draw comparisons with that of WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner, who was arrested in February 2022 at a Russian airport for possession of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years at a labor camp. In December of the same year, she was released in a prisoner exchange. Unlike Griner, the U.S. Department of State has not declared Fogel as wrongfully detained, which has frustrated his family and lawmakers petitioning to get Fogel out of Russian custody. Efforts to bring Fogel home Since his arrest, Fogel's family have petitioned the U.S. government to free the longtime teacher and have been critical of the response they've received from the State Department and the Biden administration. "I don't think the administration has helped us one bit," Fogel's mother, Malphine Fogel, told CBS Pittsburgh in early July. Days later, Malphine Fogel told The New York Post that former President Donald Trump promised to bring her son home when they spoke just before Trump took the stage at a rally in Butler and was wounded in an assassination attempt. Also in July, Malphine Fogel filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the U.S. Department of State for not designating Fogel as wrongfully detained, reported local television station WTAE. The effort to free Fogel has also been taken up by lawmakers, especially Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly. Kelly as well as a group of bipartisan lawmakers in December 2023 wrote a letter to Blinken urging the government to classify Fogel as wrongfully detained, saying he meets at least six of the 11 established criteria for the classification. Kelly and Pennsylvania representatives Chris Deluzio and Brendan Boyle also introduced the Marc Fogel Act, which would require the State Department to submit documents and communication to Congress about how it determines whether a U.S. citizen is being wrongfully. On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman as well as Kelly and other lawmakers again asked the Biden administration to include Fogel in prisoner exchanges with Russia. As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvanias Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, they wrote in a letter. Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible. As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel. Fogel's family 'heartbroken' and 'outraged' by prisoner swap Fogel's family said they "are completely heartbroken and outraged" that Fogel was not among the Americans who was freed from Russian captivity on Thursday, according to a statement shared with USA TODAY through the family's lawyer, Sasha Phillips. While the family sent well wishes to the families of Gershkovich and Whelan, they said the U.S. government's handling of Fogel's case has been a "glaring injustice," adding, "It is wrong, unfair, and not the America we know and love." "Marc is not rich, a celebrity, or connected to powerful patrons. All he has is his family, led by his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, who is fighting for her sons rights. This fight has been met not with support and understanding, but with stonewalling, double standards, andtodayabandoning Marc to die in prison for less than an ounce of medical marijuana prescribed to manage his severe decades-long spinal disease," the statement said. "We demand immediate action to secure Marcs release and call on President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Deputy Secretary Verma, and National Security Advisor Sullivan to say Marc Fogels name, designate him as wrongfully detained, and bring him home. The time for half-measures is over; we need results now." Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marc Fogel, American teacher, remains in Russia after prisoner swap EMPORIA (KSNT) The City of Emporia shared positive news about a ring-tailed lemur baby that had its first physical exam at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia. According to the city, Daisy had her first physical exam this week and she is healthy and thriving. The zoo said Daisy has continued to hit milestones and is very curious about her surroundings. She is eager to explore but knows that mom is only a hop away if she is feels uncomfortable or spooked by a grasshopper, the city wrote in a press release. Photo courtesy of the City of Emporia. Nearly 100,000 in Kansas lose power due to severe weather Lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar and are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). According to the ICUN, almost one-third of all lemur species in Madagascar are now critically endangered. The ICUN says 33 lemur species are critically endangered mainly due to deforestation and hunting. It is now believed that fewer than 2,400 individuals live in the wild, which makes the arrival of any new births critical for their long-term survival as a species, the city wrote the press release. You can visit Daisy at the Madagascar Habitat at the David Traylor Zoo. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. GLAADs Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire following an investigation published Thursday by The New York Times focused on her spending and expenses as the nonprofits long-serving president and CEO. The piece details months of expense reports, lavish travel costs, a rental in popular summer vacation destination Provincetown, Massachusetts, and a home office renovation paid for by GLAAD, the countrys prominent media watchdog group that campaigns for fair treatment and coverage on behalf of the LGBTQ community. More from The Hollywood Reporter Per the investigation, written by NYT reporter Emily Steel, Ellis spent nearly half a million dollars to rent a seven-bedroom chalet (with GLAAD staff) in Switzerland for a week while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos; billed back approximately $18,000 for a home office renovation at her Long Island home (an upgrade that reportedly included a new chandelier); and took more than 30 first-class flights over an 18-month period. GLAAD reportedly picked up a $60,000 tab (airfare and accommodations) for Ellis and the orgs COO Darra Gordon to attend the Cannes Lions advertising summit in France. Ellis also reportedly receives a salary in the high six figures. Steel cites sources who claim Ellis spending is more aligned with what is considered commonplace at for-profit companies rather than a nonprofit organization and that some of the receipts could be in violation of IRS rules. It appears she may have fallen into the trap of excess, Michael West, a lawyer who advises charities at the New York Council of Nonprofits, told the Times. GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro is quoted defending Ellis by stating that many of her expenses from travel and renovations to the summer rental helped advance the organizations mission or bring her closer to donors. He said the Davos trip was paid for through a donation by the Ariadne Getty Foundation, a longtime supporter of GLAAD. I take my role as GLAADs financial steward incredibly seriously, and well continue updating our procedures to keep pace with the organizations rapid growth, Ellis said in a statement. Our work has never been more urgent, because the LGBTQ community is under increasing attack. Ellis, who has held the post since 2014, re-upped with GLAAD in 2022 by signing a new contract that extends through 2027. Per the report, Ellis received a base salary of $441,000, with automatic 5 percent increases per year along with bonuses tied to fundraising, though she could receive anywhere from $700,000 to $1.3 million per year. GLAADs Ferraro told The Hollywood Reporter: In practice, it is impossible for Ms. Ellis to receive $1 million in a year, and she has not received anything near that on this contract. The sizable salary is attributed to how Ellis brought the organization back from the brink to becoming a philanthropic force with major sway in media circles and across the cultural landscape. (By 2022, she helped quadruple revenue to $19 million.) The report also states that GLAADs CFO, Emily Plauche, flagged spending concerns to Liz Jenkins, a chairwoman for the organizations board of directors. In turn, the board hired a law firm to investigate the claims. The firm, Sheppard Mullin, then recommended that GLAAD update its travel policies, which it did do. Plauche left the organization shortly thereafter. The board and I stand firmly behind Sarah Kate Ellis, with respect and appreciation for how she and her team are leading the movement at a time when our community is under attack. We have full confidence that theyre doing so with integrity and that they share the boards commitment to irrefutably strong governance and business practices, Jenkins said in a statement. THR reached out to GLAAD for a response to the investigation and a spokesperson lashed out at the Times by addressing the fraught relationship between the two organizations. Since 2023, GLAAD has been a vocal critic of NYTs coverage of the LGBTQ community, focused specifically on its reporting of the transgender community. Ellis herself has been quoted with claims that the Times publishes inaccurate, irresponsible coverage of the trans community, ink that is then co-opted by conservative lawmakers causing further damage as it relates to access to health care and other services. It is disappointing but not surprising, especially at a time when LGBTQ violence and anti-LGBTQ legislation are growing, that the Times committed significant resources to spin a negative story about GLAAD by reporter Emily Steel, who last year signed a letter that criticized concerns from GLAAD and other LGBTQ leaders about coverage of transgender people in The New York Times, says a GLAAD spokesperson. The tabloid-esque article excludes much of our critical advocacy work and grossly mischaracterizes the organization, which consistently garners top marks from charity rating organizations. The Times should spend more time and resources bringing its coverage of transgender people up to par. A Times spokesperson has countered GLAADs claim regarding the letter: The letter was not critical of GLAAD. It was signed by over 80 members of our newsroom opposed to the NewsGuild of New York engaging in or taking sides in public debates over internal editorial decisions at The Times. The letter stated: Our duty is to be independent. We pursue the facts wherever they may lead. We are journalists, not activists. That line should be clear.' Regarding the publication of todays article, the spokesperson also reported that the newspaper stands by its reporting. This article was fair, accurate and based on objective information in GLAADs expense reports, employment contracts, tax filings and other documents. As far as we are aware, GLAAD has not challenged any of the facts in the article. Thursday, Aug. 1, 5 p.m.: Updated to include statements from The New York Times and to correct that the renovations were done in Ellis home office. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Glendale man charged for his role in the US Capitol breach on Jan. 6 "I was, like, the first person in, Momma," a suspected insurrectionist from Glendale was heard saying on camera at the U.S. Capitol On Jan. 6, 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges Wednesday against Jason Robert Tasker, 43, for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach on the Capitol. The tip leading to Tasker's arrest stemmed from his mother showing friends videos of Tasker inside the Capitol. Tasker was arrested Tuesday after an investigation revealed the suspect shared videos of his role in the riot. A Glendale detective submitted a formal complaint to the Justice Department that described Tasker's role in the riot in Washington, D.C., including acts which were recorded on cameras and confirmed through an investigation, according to a Justice Department news release. The complaint detailed that Tasker attended the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, assaulting officers and assisting other rioters who broke into the Capitol building. "All of you are dismissed; go home!" Tasker yelled in video outside of the Capitol, according to the news release. Tasker reportedly climbed the northwest stairs of the building, joined other rioters surrounded by U.S. Capitol police, lunging at officers multiple times before he was pepper sprayed. He eventually descended into the Capitol building with a mob of people. Tasker reportedly was inside the Capitol for less than an hour between 2:43 p.m. until 3:13 p.m. He was seen taking pictures and videos on his cell phone, leaving the Capitol and overhead in a third-party video saying, "I was, like, the first person in, Momma." In spring of 2024, the FBI conducted interviews with Tasker's friends who confirmed he was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the news release. The FBI learned that Tasker's mother had paid for his airline ticket the month before the incident, reportedly a gift from the mother to her son. Tasker told his friends that he was going on the trip to "do tourist stuff" in Washington, D.C., according to the complaint. Tasker's friends told authorities that he and his mother had shared photos and videos of Tasker inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the complaint. The complaint contained 27 images of Tasker throughout various stages of the Capitol breach, from assisting other rioters ascend the Capitol walls, to him trying to subdue the effects of pepper spray with milk outside the Capitol. Tasker faced felony charges of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, along with misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct on a restrictive ground. Tasker would next appear in a federal court in Arizona, with an ongoing investigation conducted by FBI's Phoenix and Washing field offices. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Glendale man accused of assaulting law enforcement at Jan. 6 Capitol breach Global food monitor says famine has taken hold in Sudan's Darfur By Maggie Michael, Lena Masri, Ryan McNeill and Deborah Nelson CAIRO (Reuters) - The war in Sudan and restrictions on aid deliveries have caused famine in at least one site in North Darfur, and have likely led to famine conditions in other parts of the conflict region, a committee of food security experts said in a report on Thursday. The finding, linked to an internationally recognised standard known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), is just the third time a famine classification has been made since the system was set up 20 years ago. It shows how starvation and disease are taking a deadly toll in Sudan, where more than 15 months of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have created the world's biggest internal displacement crisis and left 25 million people - or half the population - in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Experts and U.N. officials say a famine classification could trigger a U.N. Security Council resolution empowering agencies to deliver relief across borders to the most needy. In its report, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) found that famine, confirmed when acute malnutrition and mortality criteria are met, was ongoing in North Darfur's Zamzam camp for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and likely to persist there at least until October. Zamzam has a population of 500,000. It is near the city of al-Fashir, home to 1.8 million people and the last significant holdout from the RSF across Darfur. The RSF has been besieging the area and no aid has reached the sprawling camp for months. The primary causes of famine in Zamzam camp are conflict and severely restricted humanitarian access, the FRC said. It said it was plausible that similar conditions were affecting other areas in Darfur including the displaced persons camps of Abu Shouk and Al Salam. In late June, an IPC process led by the Sudanese government found that 14 areas in the country, including parts of El Gezira, Kordofan and Khartoum states, were at risk of famine. In a statement on Thursday Islamic Relief, a charity, said it saw rising numbers of children needing treatment in clinics across Darfur and other parts of Sudan. "It is not too late for them, but time is running out," it said. Reuters has reported that some Sudanese have been forced to eat leaves and soil, and that satellite imagery showed cemeteries expanding fast as starvation and disease spread. A Reuters analysis of satellite images identified 14 burial grounds in Darfur that had expanded rapidly in recent months. One cemetery in Zamzam grew 50% faster in the period between March 28 and May 3 than in the preceding three-and-a-half months. The FRC used the analysis as indirect evidence of increasing mortality. LEAN SEASON The FRC finding comes during Sudan's lean season, when food availability is lowest. Experts fear that even when harvest season comes in October, crops will be scarce because war prevented farmers from planting. Sudan's war erupted in mid-April last year from a power struggle between Sudan's army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition towards civilian rule. The factions had staged a coup in 2021 that derailed a previous transition following the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir two years earlier. During the war, aid workers say international relief has been blocked by the army and looted by the RSF. Both sides deny impeding aid. In February, the army-backed government prohibited aid deliveries from Chad to Darfur through the Adre border crossing, one of the shortest routes to the hunger-stricken region. Government officials have claimed that the crossing is used by the RSF to move weapons. The alternative Tine border crossing is currently inaccessible because of heavy rain, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency, OCHA. The FRC called for a ceasefire and "unhindered access" into Darfur. 'ILL-WISHERS' Sudan's government has signalled its opposition to any famine declaration. Al-Harith Idriss, Sudan's envoy at the U.N., said in late June that a famine "dictated from above" could lead "ill-wishers to intervene in Sudan". The famine review was strongly opposed by the Sudanese government, sources familiar with the matter said. FEWS NET, a U.S.-funded organization and IPC partner that issued its own findings on Thursday, was the first to request activation of a review. Nicholas Haan, a member of the FRC and cofounder of the IPC, said he hoped the finding would "shake people, the power brokers, to respond as they need to". "And that means humanitarian access, that means funding at the level that needs to be funded and it means all due political pressure to end the conflict." The IPC, which includes U.N. agencies, regional bodies and aid groups, is the main global system for measuring food crises. Its most extreme warning is Phase 5, which has two levels, catastrophe and famine. Criteria for famine include at least 20% of the population suffering extreme food shortages, 30% of children being acutely malnourished and two people in every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or from malnutrition and disease. In Zamzam, the FRC said data from Medecins Sans Frontieres on acute malnutrition from January 2024 revealed rates exceeding the IPC famine threshold, while the mortality rate reached 1.9 deaths in every 10,000 people per day. Since the IPC process began, famine has been classified in parts of Somalia in 2011 and in parts of South Sudan in 2017. (Reporting by Maggie Michael, Deborah Nelson, Lena Masri and Ryan McNeill; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Peter Hirschberg and Giles Elgood) A Macon man admitted to threatening to kill Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a federal court in Atlanta on Tuesday, according to court documents. According to an indictment filed on Nov. 14 last year with the Northern District of Georgia, Sean Patrick Cirillo called Greenes office on Nov. 8 and spoke with her staffers, saying he had a sniper rifle and was planning to kill her, her staffers and their family. He pleaded guilty to this, on a interstate communication of threats , Tuesday in front of Judge Victoria Calvert. According to an FBI affidavit, Cirillo called Greenes Washington, D.C. office two times one at 1:22 p.m. and another at 5:36 p.m. Based on an emergency disclosure request with T-Mobile, where the phone number was registered, the phone was located in the Inman Park area of Atlanta and was owned by Cirillo. Im gonna shoot her in the f****** head and kill her, OK? Cirillo said on the first call. Tell the FBI, okay? Im gonna kill this (woman.) Tell her. Ill kill you too if you want. The affidavit also said that Cirillo shouted, F*** your party, your grandchildren are gonna f****** die! Die! Die! He also made similar comments toward Greenes staffers, accusing them of taking money. You dont think youre gonna get payback?! shouted Cirillo. Youre gonna die! Your family is gonna die ... you dont think its gonna happen when youre out of power?! Then, at approximately 5:36 p.m., Cirillo was asked if he called early in the day, to which he responded, Yeah, I did. I threatened you, right? Ill come kill your family, Cirillo said later in the call. FBI agents visited Cirillos residence in Dekalb County the following day, where he confessed to making the threats over the phone, saying he did it for attention and denied having a sniper rifle. He also mentioned he had made similar calls to other people including other members of Congress. Cirillo will be sentenced Nov. 7 in the federal courthouse in Atlanta, where he faces up to five years in prison. A rumor spread in late July 2024 positing that Google purposely and manually sought to hide or suppress both suggested phrases and search results for former U.S. President Donald Trump's name, with even X owner Elon Musk getting into the discussion. In response to these claims, on July 30, Google issued a five-post threaded statement from its Google Communications X account. The statement hit on issues regarding three main points: questions about search predictions for the July 13, 2024, Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania; search predictions for Trump's name; and search-result discrepancies for both Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Over the past few days, some people on X have posted claims that Search is censoring or banning particular terms. Thats not happening, and we want to set the record straight. The posts relate to our Autocomplete feature, which predicts queries to save you time. Autocomplete Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 30, 2024 "Over the past few days, some people on X have posted claims that Search is 'censoring' or 'banning' particular terms," Google's statement began. "That's not happening, and we want to set the record straight." At the same time, however, the company's statement also acknowledged uncovering what it called "bugs." The controversy involving Google occurred around the same time Meta acknowledged an incorrectly-flagged photo on Facebook showing Trump's assassination attempt. Meta communications spokesperson Dani Lever posted on X: "This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake." Trump himself responded on his Truth Social platform to the claims about Google and Meta, alleging without evidence the two tech giants were "rigging the election." As with many online rumors, honest users genuinely looking to learn the facts of this subject would do well with reading through all of the available data before establishing conclusions. Sometimes with rumors of a political nature, the facts don't shake out to completely validate one side of the aisle or the other. Search Predictions for Trump Assassination Attempt On July 28 and 29, numerous X users posted evidence showing Google displayed search predictions for assassination attempts of past presidents, with the exception of Trump's. To be clear, this matter involved complaints about predictions displayed to users as they type, before performing a search not search results themselves. For example, one X user posted screenshots of Google suggesting search phrases for the assassination attempts of presidents Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman but no relevant predictions for Trump. The user added, "Okay, this really is weird. Why is Google search hiding the Trump assassination attempt?" Okay, this really is weird. Why is Google search hiding the Trump assassination attempt...? pic.twitter.com/aZJnermu0r Michelle Tandler (@michelletandler) July 29, 2024 In Google's threaded statement posted on X, the company explained its autocomplete feature and acknowledged an "issue" regarding search predictions for the Trump assassination attempt: Autocomplete is just a tool to help you complete a search quickly. Regardless of what predictions it shows at any given moment, you can always search for whatever you want and get easy access to results, images and more. Here's what happened, why and how we responded to it. First, Autocomplete wasn't providing predictions for queries about the assassination attempt against former President Trump. That's because it has built-in protections related to political violence and those systems were out of date. After the horrific events in Butler, PA, those predicted queries should have appeared but didn't. Once the issue was flagged, we started working on improvements, and they're already rolling out. The second post in Google's thread on X displayed a screenshot showing numerous predictions after simply typing in the first four letters of Trump's name. (2/5) First, Autocomplete wasnt providing predictions for queries about the assassination attempt against former President Trump. Thats because it has built-in protections related to political violence and those systems were out of date. After the horrific events in Butler, pic.twitter.com/kwbV0WgLIn Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 30, 2024 After Google released this statement on X, Snopes confirmed that, as of July 31, for at least some users, Google search predictions for the Trump assassination attempt correctly displayed under the search bar. In a statement to The Associated Press, a Google spokesperson said the company enables automated protections regarding violent topics such as searches for theoretical assassination attempts. The AP's reporting also included comments from two professionals with knowledge of the world of tech, who explained from a technical standpoint the facts behind this subject including the complex nature of how Google's search platform works without any political cheerleading. We contacted both professionals by email and will update this story if we receive responses. Search Predictions for 'President Donald' On July 28, Elon Musk posted on X, "Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump! Election interference?" Musk's post featured a screenshot showing that typing "president donald" into Google's search bar, without quotes, displayed only two predictions for users: "president donald duck" and "president donald regan." The latter, misspelled result also displayed information with the prediction including former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's name, photo and attribution as the 40th U.S. president. This matter did not involve search results themselves. Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump! Election interference? pic.twitter.com/dJzgVAAFZA Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024 We located no evidence that this matter constituted some sort of purposeful "election interference" on Google's part, as Musk baselessly claimed. In response to claims like Musk's, the third X post in Google's statement read, "This particular issue was a bug that spanned the political spectrum, also affecting queries for several past presidents, such as former President Obama, as you can see in the attached image. Typing 'vice president k' was also showing no predictions. We've made an update that has improved these predictions across the board." (3/5) Second, people posted about how Autocomplete wasnt showing relevant predictions for President Donald. This particular issue was a bug that spanned the political spectrum, also affecting queries for several past presidents, such as former President Obama, as you can see pic.twitter.com/cmqa1yxhAo Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 30, 2024 As of July 31, tests in Google Chrome's "incognito" mode, including typing "president donald" into Google's search bar but not yet performing the search, displayed at the top of the list Trump's name, photo and the label "45th U.S. President." Our tests did not display any additional predictions for Trump: Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. Unlike our tests of Trump's name, we noted our tests of "president barack" displayed numerous additional predictions for former U.S. President Barack Obama. Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, a test of typing "donald trump" instead of "president donald" displayed a seemingly normal list of predictions, including about his assassination attempt: Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. Further, we also noted search predictions displayed when typing "president hillary" compared to "president donald," even though former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not win a presidential election. She did, however, experience a longer career in the world of American politics than Trump, which might explain the additional results. Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. Search Results for Politicians' Names Other users subsequently claimed performing searches for Trump's name displayed news results for Harris, while searches for Harris showed only news about Harris. For example, one X user claimed on July 29, "Why is it that when you Google Donald Trump, you get news about Kamala Harris but when you Google Kamala Harris, you don't get news about Donald Trump?" Why is it that when you google Donald Trump, you get news about Kamala Harris But when you google Kamala Harris, you don't get news about Donald Trump? pic.twitter.com/gjLBgPW1Hw Arynne Wexler (@ArynneWexler) July 29, 2024 The user's post displayed screenshots highlighting areas in Google search results showing topics in this case the names of Harris, Trump or both of them. Google posted in its X thread, "Some people also posted that searches for 'Donald Trump' returned news stories related to 'Kamala Harris.' These labels are automatically generated based on related news topics, and they change over time." The post also featured examples of how searching for various terms might display results for a broader range of related topics. (4/5) Some people also posted that searches for Donald Trump returned news stories related to Kamala Harris. These labels are automatically generated based on related news topics, and they change over time. They span the political spectrum as well: For example, a search for pic.twitter.com/55u1b5ySCr Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 30, 2024 We noted varying results in our tests performed on July 30 and 31, after Google issued its statement on X. Again, as Google said, the labels where topics such as politicians' names display "change over time." For example, one Google search for "donald trump" displayed "top stories" with a label naming both Harris and Trump, as well as a majority of article headlines naming Trump. Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. In another example, a search for "kamala harris" displayed "top stories" about Harris. Online users claimed in July 2024 Google censored or banned search predictions for both former US President Donald Trump's name and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as manipulated search results when searching for Trump or US Vice President Kamala Harris. In Google's fifth and final post on X, the company posted, "Overall, these types of prediction and labeling systems are algorithmic. While our systems work very well most of the time, you can find predictions that may be unexpected or imperfect, and bugs will occur." (5/5) Overall, these types of prediction and labeling systems are algorithmic. While our systems work very well most of the time, you can find predictions that may be unexpected or imperfect, and bugs will occur. Many platforms, including the one were posting on now, will show Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 30, 2024 Then, the final post included a remark possibly written with Musk in mind, seeing as Google posted the thread on X. The end of the post read, "Many platforms, including the one we're posting on now, will show strange or incomplete predictions at various times. For our part, when issues come up, we will make improvements so you can find what you're looking for, quickly and easily. We appreciate the feedback." Snopes reporter Jack Izzo contribute to this article. Sources: @Dani_Lever. "This Was an Error. This Fact Check Was Initially..." X, 29 July 2024, https://x.com/Dani_Lever/status/1817969794446143638. Goldin, Melissa. "FACT FOCUS: Google Autocomplete Results around Trump Lead to Claims of Election Interference." The Associated Press, 30 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-misinformation-google-autocomplete-trump-b31855c23eb6e387dc324983ea4859bc. "@Google_Comms." X, https://x.com/Google_Comms/. Ogles, Jacob. "Matt Gaetz Accuses Facebook, Google of Censoring Info on Donald Trump Assassination Attempt." Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government., 31 July 2024, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/687265-matt-gaetz-accuses-facebook-google-of-censoring-info-on-donald-trump-assassination-attempt/. @realDonaldTrump. "Facebook Has Just Admitted That It Wrongly..." Truth Social, 30 July 2024, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112875529445800066. What Jeff Bezos' Purchase Of 400,000-Acre Texas Ranch Did For The Town Of Van Horn The arrival of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has turned the once-sleepy West Texas town of Van Horn into a burgeoning space industry hub. In 2004, Bezos purchased the 30,000-acre Figure 2 Ranch just north of Van Horn. Now known as Corn Ranch, the property has grown to 400,000 acres and is the launch site for Blue Origin, the aerospace company Bezos started in 2000. Don't Miss: This billion-dollar fund has invested in the next big real estate boom, here's how you can join for $10. Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you. The influx of highly skilled workers revitalized local businesses, with restaurants and shops seeing a significant uptick in revenue. Blue Origin employees have also become integral to the community, volunteering at the local school and museum. Blue Origin employs 275 people, supplemented by 50 on-site contractors. While the company recruits engineers for specialized roles, it also hires local residents for a variety of positions, including construction, procurement and food service. Trending: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are bullish on one city that could dethrone New York and become the new financial capital of the US. Investing in its booming real estate market has never been more accessible. Lisa and Vance Cottrell own the NAPA Auto Parts franchise, which sells parts and equipment to Blue Origin. The couple also owns two restaurants, and their daughter Starvanna manages Hotel El Capitan. The hotel fills with Blue Origin employees before a launch, and they celebrate afterward. Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket system, a 63-foot-tall vehicle composed of a booster and crew capsule, has completed 15 unmanned test flights. "They do a good job about making us feel like we're part of the team, and we're all pitching in to help make it happen," Starvanna Cottrell told the Houston Chronicle. However, the rapid transformation brought its own set of challenges. The town's economic profile has shifted dramatically, disqualifying it from certain federal grants typically reserved for low-income communities. This has left Van Horn grappling with infrastructure issues, including a strained housing market and an aging water system. See Also: Will the surge continue or decline on real estate prices? People are finding out about risk-free real estate investing that lets you cash out whenever you want. Despite the challenges, a sense of anticipation hangs in the air. Residents are eager to see what the future holds, with the possibility of Van Horn becoming a major launch site for space tourists. Story continues This wouldn't be the first time Bezos has revolutionized an industry. Known for transforming online retail with Amazon.com Inc., Bezos launched into the world of space exploration with a quieter approach. He launched Blue Origin in 2000, just six years after Amazon's inception, and later began construction on the West Texas launch site. Now, Blue Origin's presence has become a catalyst for Van Horn's Transformation, raising both hopes and concerns for the future of the small town. See Also: America's construction sites are desperate for Robots heres how to invest in a house-printing startup whos making them and be a part of a $16 trillion industry. "At the beginning of Blue Origin, everything was hush, hush, hush," Paradise Beauty Salon owner Cruz Parada told the Houston Chronicle. "They wouldn't tell you what they were doing." Blue Origin's facility is in the mountains about 25 miles north of Van Horn near another of Bezos' ambitious projects a clock designed to keep precise time for 10,000 years. Bezos acquired his vast Texas property through a strategic land-buying spree reminiscent of Walt Disney's tactics in Florida. According to Culberson County Attorney Steve Mitchell, Bezos purchased the land piecemeal under different names to avoid driving up property prices. "At that early stage, nobody ever really knew it was all a mosaic to put them together," Mitchell told the Chronicle. Read Next: Want to invest in homes? $100 is enough on this platform that lets you cash out whenever you want. Warren Buffett flipped his neighbor's $67,000 life savings into a $50 million fortune How much is that worth today? "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article What Jeff Bezos' Purchase Of 400,000-Acre Texas Ranch Did For The Town Of Van Horn originally appeared on Benzinga.com 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Youre neck deep in a research project but the finish line is in sight. You hit the close button on your browser. It vanishes and takes the dozens of tabs you had open with it. You heave a sigh of relief and then remember that you need to verify just one more detail from one of the web pages you had open. The problem is that you have no idea which one it was or how to get back there. You start digging through your browsers history, feverishly clicking on any pages that look familiar, but the page that you knew you looked at seems to have vanished. If this sounds familiar, a new feature coming to Google Chrome on the desktop in the next few weeks might be just what you need. With it, you'll be able to ask questions of your browsing history in natural language using Gemini, Googles family of large language models that power its AI systems. You can type a question like What was that ice cream shop I looked at last week? into your address bar after accessing your history and Chrome will show relevant pages from whatever youve browsed so far. Google Search History with AI (Google) The high level is really wanting to introduce a more conversational interface to Chromes history so people dont have to remember URLs, said Parisa Tabriz, vice president of Chrome, in a conversation with reporters ahead of the announcement. The feature will only be available to Chromes desktop users in the US for now and will be opt-in by default. It also wont work with websites you browsed in Incognito mode. And the company says that it is aware of the implications of having Googles AI parse through your browsing history to give you an answer. Tabriz said that the company does not directly use your browsing history or tabs to train its large language models. Anything related to browsing history is super personal, sensitive data, she said. We want to be really thoughtful and make sure that were thinking about privacy from the start and by design. In addition to making wading through your search history more conversational, Google is also adding two new AI-powered features to Chrome. Its finally bringing Google Lens, which is already on both Android and iPhones, to Chrome on the desktop in the US. This means youll be able to easily select, search and ask questions about anything you see on the web, all without leaving your current tab, according to Googles blog post about the feature. You can search with Google Lens in Chrome on the desktop by selecting its icon on the address bar and then clicking on anything on a web page that you want to search. Clicking on a picture of a plant on a web page with Google Lens, for instance, will open a sidebar directly on the web page and identify it. You can then ask follow-up questions such as how much sunlight does this plant need to stay alive? and get AI-generated responses inline without leaving the page youre on. Lens is also capable of parsing text within videos, which means you can hit pause and directly select any text displayed in the frame (such as a math equation) and quickly get a description in a sidebar with more AI-generated information about it. Google Lens in Chrome Desktop (Google) Finally, Google is adding Tab Compare, a feature that will present you with an AI-generated overview of products across multiple tabs in a single place By bringing all the essential details product specs, features, price, ratings into one tab, youll be able to easily compare and make an informed decision without the endless tab switching, Google says. Tab Compare (Google) For now, the feature is restricted to products, but Tabriz imagines a future when it might evolve to let you compare multiple schools, universities, daycares, or anything that might make it easier for people to make decisions that are comparisons. Republicans were on the defensive after GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris racial identity in front of a group of Black journalists, drawing condemnations on both sides of the aisle. In interviews on Wednesday, Republican senators ducked, dodged, or downplayed Trumps comments about the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said, Of course, Trumps comments were defensible during an interview on CNN in which he spent the vast majority of time bringing up things the former president didnt bring up himself in Chicago, such as Harris progressive policy positions she has shed since becoming the de facto Democratic nominee for president. He also said, either is fine, both is fine, Cotton said of Trump. He loves African Americans, he loves Indian Americans, he loves all Americans. The point is, we dont know where she stands politically. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told reporters on Capitol Hill that Trumps comments are often misconstrued and he should be more careful about discussing race because they often lack nuance. I dont think hes doubting her Blackness, Cramer said. What hes doing is hes making fun of the fact that she chooses it when its convenient, and chooses another race when thats convenient. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and has always identified as a Black woman. Other Republicans said that their party should stick to talking about Democrats record on the economy, border security and national security just about anything but race and gender. We focus on that we win. We shift focus away from it, we start losing, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of Harris policy positions. The president speaks for himself, and I speak for myself, added Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), declining to state whether Trumps comments about Harris were appropriate. My concern is her positions I think her record helps Republicans win. At Wednesdays convention for Black journalists in Chicago, ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump whether his supporters should keep calling Harris a DEI hire, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump said about Harris, the first Black woman vice president who attended Howard, a historically Black university. Trump has a long record of making racist statements and questioning his opponents racial identities, suggesting they are somehow un-American. He was a prominent backer of the birther movement that baselessly cast doubt on former President Barack Obamas U.S. citizenship, promoted the false claims that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Harris might not be a U.S. citizen, and also falsely suggested former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley couldnt run for president because she wasnt born in the U.S., even though she was born in South Carolina. Trumps attacks on Harriss racial identity were preceded by several other outrageous comments this week. He agreed with a radio host that Doug Emhoff, Harris husband, is a crappy Jew and said that Harris dislikes Jewish people even more than [President Joe Biden] did. At a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday night, Trump again attacked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Schumer has become a Palestinian. He then falsely said that the senator has become a proud member of Hamas, the terrorist militant group. The lower he drops in polls, the more unhinged he becomes, Schumer responded in a statement provided to HuffPost. Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan, the states former governor, also condemned Trumps comments about Harris without directly referring to the former president by his name. Its unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyones racial identity. The American people deserve better, Hogan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is just about the only elected GOP official willing to publicly criticize Trump these days, also lamented the state of the campaign. If youll recall, in the previous election, you had former President Trump questioning [Barack] Obamas citizenship Again, its unfortunate these are the issues being raised, Murkowski told reporters. Maybe they dont know how to handle the campaign, she added, so they default to issues that simply should not be an issue. Related... A GOP state senator faces two foes, and his own party leaders The Washington state Capitol building, Feb. 19, 2024. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard) A conservative Republican state senator faces opposition from top leaders of his own caucus as he pursues re-election in Tuesdays primary. Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, who is seeking a second term in Washingtons 2nd Legislative District, is up against Republican Ronda Litzenberger and Democrat Erasmo Ruiz Gonzalez in next weeks election. The two top vote-getters will meet in the November election with the winner earning a four-year term serving the district that encompasses parts of Thurston and Pierce counties and stretches east to Mount Rainier. Litzenberger, who ran for the seat in 2020, is backed by Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, Deputy Republican Leader Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, and Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, the former House Republican leader who currently serves in the 2nd District. Wilcox will retire after this year. Its the first time as minority leader that Braun endorsed against an incumbent in his caucus in a contested primary. I dont do this lightly. Im not saying anything negative about Jim. I think residents of the district would be better represented by Ronda, he said. Braun said his goal is to elect Republicans who are problem solvers and who are principled but also committed to finding solutions for the entire state. McCune said GOP leaders were planning this behind my back. He contended leadership doesnt appreciate his forthrightness on conservative issues and in some legislative debates. He pointed to his opposition to a bill governing educational materials in public schools which he said Wednesday effectively legalizes inclusion of pornographic images in instructional materials. Majority Democrats passed House Bill 2331 on a party line vote. Another example he cited was Senate Bill 5599. This allows emergency shelters to notify state authorities rather than parents when a youth seeks refuge as they pursue gender-affirming health care or reproductive services. McCune said it amounted to kidnapping when parents arent told. It passed along party lines as well. Im conservative. I speak out on tough issues, he said. Im pretty tactful but I am going to speak the truth. They want me to be quiet. They dont want to take on those issues. McCune, who formerly served in the state House of Representatives and on the Pierce County Council, is endorsed by the Pierce County Republican Party. The Washington State Republican Party sent out mail on his behalf though the party has not formally endorsed in the race. Democrats hold majorities in the House and Senate, benefitting from the Republican Partys move to the right under former president and current presidential nominee Donald Trump. Wilcox and Braun have quietly worked against that tide to try to elect Republicans with experience hashing out policies in local government and school boards. At times its meant not abetting electoral efforts of the more ardent and outspoken members of the partys right flank. Turnover from time to time is good for a robust state government, Braun said. I think this moves us forward as a caucus and more importantly as a state. Litzenberger is a 16-year member of the Eatonville School Board and active in the Washington State School Directors Association. In the 2020 primary, she finished third among five Republicans competing. Litzenberger said she was very honored to have the GOP leaders endorsements and thinks it will help garner votes. I cant speak to what they were signaling, she said. They want someone in the seat that works hard. McCune isnt sure how much it will impact Tuesdays outcome. It may have a little bit of effect, he said. We wont know until I see the results. Gov. Katie Hobbs is coming after Arizona's GOP Legislature, and she's not fooling around Theyre still counting ballots from Tuesdays primary election, but Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs isnt wasting any time. On Wednesday, Hobbs launched a preview of what is to come as she mounts what is expected to be a multimillion-dollar campaign to wrest control of the Arizona Legislature from Republicans. For many candidates, yesterday marked the beginning of what will be a highly competitive general election campaign, Hobbs said in a social media post. Arizonans will get to choose between allowing insurrectionists, white supremacists, and indicted fake electors to continue to control the Legislature, or Democratic candidates who are focused on lowering everyday costs for Arizonans, investing in public education, and restoring reproductive freedom. I have confidence that Arizonans will choose sanity over chaos once again, and I look forward to electing governing majorities and working with them in the next legislative session. Hobbs won't win Republican goodwill with that Gov. Katie Hobbs has said for months that she wants to flip the Legislature to Democratic leadership. Yeah, shes not fooling around. Two years of trying to work with a Legislature dominated by the hard-right Arizona Freedom Caucus will do that, I suppose. It's doubtful that labeling all Republicans insurrectionists and white supremacists and such will win Hobbs any Republican goodwill when next years legislative session convenes. Consider this response to her roundhouse punch from Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge: Gov. @katiehobbs, Im just trying to figure out if our all Hispanic LD16 team of Shope, (Teresa) Martinez & (Chris) Lopez are the insurrectionists, white supremacists, or fake electors..., he wrote on social media. Talk about a positive unifying campaign message for ya good luck. House won't flip, but maybe the Senate can tie Then again, there havent been many Capitol kumbaya moments since Hobbs became governor and the Legislature lurched to the right anyway. It seems unlikely that Hobbs will succeed in her campaign to flip the Legislature. The last time Democrats controlled both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, the Vietnam War was escalating and a guy named Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California. Still, I like Democrats chances of getting at least a share of power most likely in the Senate and getting a seat at the big kids table. Republicans control both the House and Senate by just one vote each and more Republicans will be playing defense than offense in November. Here are the legislative races to watch Pay particular attention to north Phoenix, where GOP Sen. Shawnna Bolick will try to fend off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Judy Schwiebert. Republican Sen. Justine Wadsack also figures big in the Democrats strategy, though she is trailing former Republican Sen. Vince Leach in a nailbiter southern Arizona primary. If Wadsack prevails, Democrats are hoping John McLean, a retired Tucson businessman making his first run for office, can knock her off. If Leach wins, that seat likely stays in the R column. Wadsack was 'weird': Months before Dems took the slogan national Democrats are also hoping challenger Sharon Winters can knock off Sen. J.D. Mesnard in a swing Chandler district and Stacey Seaman can oust Sen. T.J. Shope in Pinal County. Mesnards vote for the 1864 abortion ban makes him vulnerable, but Shope voted to repeal the 1864 ban. His defeat would be a surprise. Republicans, meanwhile, are making long-shot bids with Carine Werner in Phoenix to oust Democratic Sen. Christine Marsh and Robert Scantlebury in Mesa to oust Democratic Sen. Eva Burch. Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz and on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz. Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Katie Hobbs launches plan to flip Legislature while votes come in The federal government in Nigeria issued a stern warning over concerns that recent weather events have worsened the spread of the bacterial disease cholera in the country. What's happening? As explained by Channels Television, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Joseph Terlumum implored state governments across Nigeria to clear blocked drainages after recent devastating rainfall led to continued flooding in multiple states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory. While speaking at a press conference last month, Terlumum reported that the flooding has led to an outbreak of a cholera epidemic with 63 deaths and 2,102 suspected cases recorded as of July 3. "We are calling on states and local government councils, to intensify and step up efforts to avert flood-related disasters in their domains as we approach the peak of the flooding season," Terlumum said, per Channels Television. "At the national, some states have started experiencing some level of flooding and its associated disaster as of April this year. So far, more than three states such as FCT have experienced high levels of flooding, with several casualties recorded, including displacement of people and loss of properties." Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Jide Idris confirmed the numbers reported by Terlumum and revealed that the cases were recorded across a total of 122 local government areas in 33 of the country's 36 states and the FCT. Idris added that 90% of the cases stemmed from 10 states, seven of which are in the southern region. Why is this important? Cholera is a diarrheal disease that spreads quickly in areas with inadequate sanitation and access to clean water. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease can cause "severe diarrhea, dehydration, and even death if the disease goes untreated." The World Health Organization announced in June that cholera cases have reemerged across countries in Africa, East Asia, America, Europe, and the Eastern Mediterranean region, with Africa ranked as the region with the second-most cases behind only the Eastern Mediterranean. Africa had the highest deaths recorded with 1,698, while the Eastern Mediterranean had 256 deaths. Per Channels Television, Idris identified multiple challenges Nigeria faces in the fight against cholera while speaking to the federal government, including "open defecation, inadequate toilet facilities, and poor sanitation." It was also noted that "the exacerbating effects of climate change and flooding" are hindering efforts by the government to contain the outbreak. In the East African country of Malawi, the country's largest cholera outbreak occurred following an especially rainy season. The outbreak peaked at 700 cases per day, with a fatality rate three times higher than average. The Nigerian government is hoping to avoid a similar disaster. What's being done about this? Idris said the NCDC conducted a dynamic risk assessment that led to the activation of the National Cholera Multi-Sectoral Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate a "robust response" to the nationwide cholera outbreak in Nigeria. "In response to the rapidly increasing cholera cases, a dynamic risk assessment was conducted by subject matter experts on the cholera outbreak situation in Nigeria last week," he said. "The subject matter experts were drawn from relevant ministries (health, environment, agriculture, water resources, etc.), departments, agencies, stakeholders, and major partners. The outcome of the risk assessment placed the country at 'high risk' of increased risk of cholera transmission and impact." As for the ongoing flooding in the country, Terlumum stressed the need for cleaning the drainage systems, which would help curb the issue. "Clearing of blocked drainage systems and canals, replications of people living along waterways and states and local governments, are encouraged to desilt river channels and canals in their respective constituents, to collect runoff water is part of the recommendation file for flood motifs," he said. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet. Government scientists join forces in major push to make space-age energy source a reality: 'We need to build on that momentum' The U.S. Department of Energy has completed negotiations with eight companies that could make space power a reality on Earth, with the grant agreements providing a path to help keep the country economically competitive and energy secure as it transitions to a cleaner grid. On June 7, E&E News by Politico reported that the congressionally authorized Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program has allocated $46 million combined to the companies, which will develop pilot programs to showcase the commercial viability of fusion energy based on the same process that powers the sun and stars. "We have had remarkable breakthroughs in fusion research," DOE Deputy Secretary David Turk said, per the news outlet. "We need to build on that momentum." Unlike fission reactors, which are used for nuclear power plants, fusion devices don't produce long-lived, high-risk radioactive waste, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This makes fusion an even cleaner solution in the quest for non-carbon-generating energy sources. While nuclear power is a low-carbon type of energy, it requires resources that are finite on Earth. Its adoption can also face misinformation hurdles regarding its overall safety. Scientists worldwide have been seeking ways to introduce fusion technology on a broader scale. For example, one startup incorporated lasers into its design, while others have focused on making existing fusion reaction devices like stellarators more powerful, affordable, and efficient. Regardless of the method, research has been ongoing for decades. A breakthrough in commercial-scale fusion technology could not only benefit the economy but also provide Americans with even more low-cost, reliable energy, which may eventually complement or replace current money-saving technological upgrades like energy-efficient appliances and solar panels. According to E&E News, the companies participating in the milestone program are "relative newcomers" in the energy sector but have a wealth of scientific knowledge and research. The DOE announced another initiative, the Fusion Innovation Research Engine, the same day as the milestone grants. That program aims to build connections between laboratory findings and commercial development, boosting U.S. manufacturing and supply chains. While milestone negotiations took one year, with intellectual property considerations among the key concerns, one of the companies told E&E News that its project was still on schedule. "We're on track to meet our first milestones," Type One Energy senior vice president Matt Miles told the outlet. "We kept going. We felt pretty confident we would reach an agreement." The seven other awardees are Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Focused Energy, Princeton Stellarators, Realta Fusion, Tokamak Energy, Xcimer Energy, and Zap Energy, according to a release by the DOE. "Commercial fusion energy will revolutionize the energy industry," U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN) said in the release. "... This is a major step to developing commercial fusion energy that will transform how America meets its energy needs and make our nation the global leader in fusion energy science and technology." Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. I want my children to grow up to be proud Missourians. When theyre old enough, I want them to raise their kids here in a safe, vibrant community full of opportunity. If we continue on our current course, I wont blame them if they leave. The people who run this state continuously pass and keep trying to pass legislation that is not only regressive but is counter to everything I learned growing up here, from Sunday school to business school. The only thing that has saved our state is the utter incompetence and infighting of the elected Republicans in Jefferson City. Earlier this year, GOP state Sen. Rick Bratton said, When youre not doing what you said you were going to do when you are elected, people are going to be angry and mad at you for not doing what you said you were going to do. And thats what the Republican Party has turned into: feckless, spineless, ambassadors of nothing and not fighting for whats right. Brattons right, but fortunately, we have a way forward. We must elect Crystal Quade to be Missouris next governor. Democrats have a competitive primary with Quade matching up against Mike Hamra, a businessman with deep pockets. But make no mistake: Crystal has earned her role as the leader of the state Democratic Party. Her vision excites me for the future. She can bring order to chaos and strengthen our state. A quick background on the last decade of Missouri politics: Republican politicians opposed unions, raising the minimum wage, marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion. Those measures all passed by the ballot initiative petition, a tool that gives us a direct role in writing laws. Its no wonder that making it harder to get these people-driven initiatives on the ballot is the top priority for the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Quade at the top of the ticket would ensure that we keep this effective tool that makes our voices heard. It is the states responsibility to keep kids healthy and safe, but more than 136,000 Missouri children have lost health insurance this year. That is unacceptable. Our government is doing such a bad job getting folks food assistance that the feds are investigating. Meanwhile, Republicans legislative priority is to move our tax dollars from public schools to religious and private schools, stealing opportunities from our children. We deserve so much more. In addition her extensive experience as minority leader in the Missouri House, Crystal is a working mother. She knows how hard it is to hold a job while affording day care and doctor visit costs. As the first in her family to go to college, she values education. As a woman in Missouri, she knows what its like to have personal freedom taken away. She will fight for all of us. Crystal is the best candidate to push back against the extreme agenda being pursued in Jeff City. Did you know that all the Republican candidates for governor supported a bill that allowed children to openly carry assault rifles in St. Louis? The state GOP literally punished Missouri police departments if they worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration on gun-related crimes. Crystal believes in the same commonsense gun safety regulations that have been proven to make communities safer and help cities thrive and that most Missourians support. You want to see businesses move back downtown? Take away the argument that it isnt safe. Im very pro-business, and I know that to hire the most qualified people, it is essential that prospective employees want to live where they work. For most, that is in a state where their bodily autonomy and health care decisions arent dictated by others. Regardless of personal or religious beliefs strictly from a business perspective many highly qualified individuals refuse to work in a state that wants to control their bodies. Do your employees like having healthy babies? Good luck finding an OB-GYN in a state that doesnt let doctors do their jobs without fear of lawsuit and retribution. Crystal supports reproductive freedom. She plans to increase teacher salaries. She supports trade schools. She would fund social services. All of these will stimulate our economy. She wants to make sure parents have free or affordable day care options so they can go to work, because day care for two kids can cost more than what a single parent brings home. Its also a great way to bring more people into the workforce. She is truly a pro-business candidate. A lot of people admire candidates who have cushy jobs or trust funds who run for office supposedly because they dont have to. I admire a candidate who runs because she knows she must because we deserve better, because her children deserve better, and because she is the best person for the job. Please join me in making Crystal Quade Missouris next governor, and start by voting for her in the primary on Aug. 6. Spencer Toder is a former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, entrepreneur, father and fourth generation Missourian. He does not work for the Crystal Quade campaign. Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that federal law enforcement officials have dropped a probe that was looking into allegations that Connecticut State Police officers fabricated hundreds of traffic tickets. Following a news conference at Connecticuts Forensic Science Laboratory, Lamont said the U.S. Department of Justice recently informed state officials that it was dropping its examination of state police ticketing data. The announcement brings partial closure to a years-long saga that began when Hearst Connecticut Media revealed that State Police leadership had discovered in 2018 that several troopers had created hundreds of fake tickets in an attempt to boost their reported productivity. Ronnell Higgins, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation into state police troopers allegedly falsifying traffic stop ticket data. That coverage prompted subsequent audits by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project and several investigations, including one that was opened by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. A federal grand jury subpoena that was issued in October 2023 showed the U.S. Department of Justice required the state police to turn over data on traffic tickets going back to 2014. But, according to the governor, that investigation has ended without any criminal charges being filed. Lamont and Ronnell Higgins, the state commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said officials in the U.S. Department of Justice informed state officials in recent weeks that the investigation into the ticketing data has been closed. Officials with the U.S. Department of Justices Public Integrity Section, which was leading that investigation, did not immediately return a call on Thursday. Federal prosecutors did not provide the state with a letter confirming the closure of the investigation, but Lamont, a Democrat who is in his second term, painted the decision to drop the probe as vindication for the state police. Lamont said the closure of the investigation showed that there wasnt a collective effort to falsify tickets. The governor acknowledged, however, that several state troopers and a state constable were still under internal affairs investigations within the state police and could face administrative discipline. It was perhaps six or seven troopers who were falsifying. Everybody else there were mistakes made, but nothing conscious about what was going on, Lamont said. Those seven police officials were flagged as part of a separate investigation that was conducted by a law firm hired by Lamonts office last year. Higgins, who took over as the public safety commissioner late last year, said the internal investigations into those seven individuals were complete and were in the final stages of administrative review. The closure of the federal criminal investigation, Higgins added, was positive news, but he also noted that state police have work to do to improve the processes for recording traffic stop and ticket information. Were committed to continuous improvement, Higgins said. Andrew Brown is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org). Copyright 2024 The Connecticut Mirror. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Conn. State Police traffic ticket scandal investigation closed INDEPENDENCE, Kan. The governor of Kansas makes a stop in Montgomery County to celebrate a nearly 8 million dollar health care center expansion project in the works. This project represents a big step forward for both health care and economic development in Kansas, said Gov. Laura Kelly, Kansas. The project is a large expansion and renovation of the Labette Health Independence Health Care Center in Independence. Thats where Kansas governor, Laura Kelly met with state and local leaders to break ground, marking the start of a 7.9 million dollar construction project. Brian Williams, Labette Health President/CEO It functions, really, as a rural emergency hospital and thats probably what the future of rural health care will be in smaller communities. A lot of outpatient services, emergency room services, where the metropolitan areas will house the larger, acute care hospital inpatient beds. The expansion will include a new cancer infusion center, rural health clinic, and patient testing labs. The renovation part of the project will add outpatient ultrasound, 17 exam rooms, and emergency department upgrades. Labette Health President and CEO, Brian Williams, says the the project is the result of federal, state, and local leaders all working together. This is a beacon for Kansas, and really all of America, for us to not polarize but listen, listen to agree and listen to collaborate and try to find common ground, and I think the governor has tried to do that, said Brian Williams, Labette Health President/CEO. During the groundbreaking ceremony, Governor Kelly spoke about the importance of quality health care, especially in rural areas of the Sunflower State. What Im seeing here today in Independence is just exactly what needs to happen in so many of our other rural communities across the state of Kansas, where theyre taking advantage of some of the funding thats available at the federal level, some of the funding thats available at the state level, and theyre building the resources that they need for their people to be able to access emergency care and outpatient care right here in their own communities, said Gov. Kelly. The completion of the entire project is expected in late spring of next year. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. China's booming EV market boosts growth in charging piles Xinhua) 11:40, August 01, 2024 BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure continued to increase in the first half (H1) of this year, thanks to the rapid expansion of the country's EV market. By the end of June, the total number of charging piles in China reached 10.24 million units, an increase of 54 percent year on year, Zhang Xing, a spokesperson for the National Energy Administration (NEA) told a press conference Wednesday. These facilities have met the charging needs of 24 million new energy vehicles across the country, Zhang added. During the period, the country's new energy vehicles have consumed a total of 51.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, expanding 40 percent over the same period last year, according to Zhang. The NEA has promoted the building of charging facilities in rural areas to tap the potential of EV sales, Zhang noted, adding that one-third of the country's provincial-level regions have built charging piles in towns and villages. China's new energy vehicle market has steadily advanced in H1, with the production and sales of such vehicles up by 30.1 percent and 32 percent year on year, respectively, industry data have showed. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) China will intensify the implementation of its fiscal policies to support economic recovery, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday. The country will issue the ultra-long special treasury bonds in a timely manner and make good use of the funds raised from the bond sales, Lin Zechang, of the Ministry of Finance, told a press conference. Lin said that the country will also speed up the issuance of local government special-purpose bonds and expedite the use of funds raised from these bonds. The issuance of local government bonds has reached 1.9 trillion yuan (about 266.31 billion U.S. dollars) as of July 26 this year. China will expand the range of areas to which the funds can be channeled to include sectors such as new types of infrastructure and new industries, Lin said. According to the government work report, the country will implement a proactive fiscal policy this year, and issue 3.9 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds for local governments. China has also planned to issue one trillion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds this year, Lin said, noting that as of July 24, 418 billion yuan of such bonds have been issued. Vermont Governor Phil Scott addressed Mondays flash flooding and its impact on infrastructure in the Northeast Kingdom. Governor Scott spoke about the unexpected amount of rain from Monday nights storm. Other state leaders addressed the threat of more rain and potential flooding. The overnight storm on Monday reportedly caused damage to 105 homes and 6 businesses, which only adds to the hundreds of reports from July 11th. Rainfall combined with saturated soil left nowhere for the water to go, leading to more flooding, more damage to infrastructure, property, and businesses. Especially concerning is the number of homes that have been destroyed, a list that unfortunately seems to be growing by the week, said Governor Scott. Officials are not sure if this latest storm will qualify Vermont for federal aid from FEMA. However, many believe that the July 11th flooding may bring Vermont FEMA aid based on damage assessments. A formal request for assistance from the July 11th floods will be sent to President Biden within the next few days. In the meantime, Governor Scotts team called for the removal of debris to minimize any further flood damage. Jennifer Morrison, Vermont State Commissioner of Public Safety, also encouraged those who have reported their damage not to wait on making repairs. Morrison said that As soon as we hear anything about either public assistance or individual assistance we will share that out. In the meantime dont wait for FEMA to make repairs or to clean up, just be sure to save receipts and document your repairs with photo and video. As of Wednesday, the following roads are closed: Route 5 in Barnet, Route 2 in East Saint Johnsbury Route 5 in St. Johnsbury Route 105 in Brighton Glacier Dr. to Ethan Allen Dr. Route 111 from 114 West to Public Beach in Morgan Route 114 in East Burke If you have received damage from yesterdays floods, contact Vermont 211 and your insurance provider. If you experienced damage from July 11th and suffered new damage Monday, make separate reports for each incident. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) A 43-year-old Rochester resident wanted in connection to a bank robbery in Greece, was arrested Thursday afternoon after another reported robbery. Greece police said around noon Thursday, police in Rochester arrested Michael Hogan for an alleged knife-point robbery in the city. According to Rochester police, around 11 a.m., the victim of the knife-point robbery claimed he had picked up the suspect on Lyell Avenue in Rochester, believing the suspect was a woman. Police said they drove together to Burrows Street, when Hogan took out a knife and forcibly took the car from the victim. Hogan was later found on Lyell Avenue near Dewey Avenue where police made the arrest. Detectives quickly discovered their suspect is also the person wanted in connection to a reported bank robbery in the town of Greece. Greece police said Hogan faces robbery charges with both Greece and Rochester police departments. He faces an additional charge of Grand Larceny in Rochester. Hogan is set to be arraigned in Greece Town Court. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. LEWISBURG, WV (WVNS) Greenbrier County Schools administrators are making a significant change to their daily schedule for the upcoming school year. Justice family issues statement after The Greenbrier put up for public auction Starting this fall, the school day will be reduced for students for a better approach to education and to maintain instructional time in the classroom. Since the 1970s, Greenbrier County Schools has exceeded the amount of instructional time, even accruing additional minutes. This has provided students with more educational opportunities and even time for sick or make-up days. Due to this, the decision has been made to revise the schedule to better meet the needs of students, families, and staff. Key Changes: Reduced Daily Instructional Minutes: Instructional minutes from the day will be reduced in the new schedule, while still meeting state requirements. Maintained Accrued Time for Make-Up Days: Even with the reduction, the schools will still have accrued instructional time for make-up days, inclement weather or other closures. Enhanced Balance for Students and Staff: This gives students more time for extracurricular activities, rest, and family engagements, which helps to give them a healthy educational experience. Benefits of the New Schedule: Increased Focus on Quality Over Quantity: The schedule change gives teachers the opportunity to teach engaging lessons without the constraints of an overly extended school day. Support for Student Well-Being: A shorter school day can reduce stress and burnout among students, and give them the opportunity to engage in activities that they enjoy and to spend more time with family and friends. Enhanced Afterschool Opportunities: Students will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one tutoring, free dinner, and engage in other educational programs, which are optional. These programs will be in afterschool programs at all elementary and secondary schools. Staff Professional Development: The revised schedule offers teachers and staff additional time for planning, development, and collaborating giving them an overall better educational and teaching experience. We believe this adjustment will benefit our students and staff by providing a healthier balance between academic demands and personal well-being. Our commitment to delivering exceptional education remains unwavering, and we are confident that this new schedule will support that mission, stated Superintendent Jeff Bryant. In the state of West Virginia, the required instructional minutes go accordingly by grade level. According to West Virginia State Board of Education Policy 2510, the time is as followed, however, each school in Greenbrier County will continue to obtain more minutes daily by attending 30 minutes longer than required by the Policy. Grades K-4: 315 minutes per day Grades 5-8: 330 minutes per day Grades 9-12: 345 minutes per day These requirements are to make sure students receive the certain amount of instructional time needed to meet the educational standards and rules. The policy also helps students when addressing their needs, as well as school needs while still meeting the state standards. The following new schedule for schools in Greenbrier County will start on the first day of the school year. August 26, 2024: Students in grades one to 12 return to school. September 3, 2024: Kindergarten begins. September 5, 2024: Pre-K starts. The busing schedule can make a difference to each schools daily schedule. The following are the schools start times and end times for the upcoming year: Alderson Elementary: 7:50 A.M. to 2:35 P.M. Crichton Elementary: 7:50 A.M. to 2:27 P.M. Eastern Greenbrier Middle: 8:00 A.M. to 2:48 P.M. Frankford Elementary: 7:45 A.M. to 2:45 P.M. Greenbrier East High: 7:58 A.M. to 3:07 P.M. Greenbrier West High: 7:50 A.M. to 3:08 P.M. Lewisburg Elementary: 7:55 A.M. to 2:32 P.M. Rainelle Elementary: 7:45 A.M. to 2:32 P.M. Ronceverte Elementary: 7:50 A.M. to 2:32 P.M. Rupert Elementary: 7:55 A.M. to 2:42 P.M. Smoot Elementary: 7:53 A.M. to 2:42 P.M. Western Greenbrier Middle: 7:50 A.M. to 2:44 P.M. White Sulphur Springs Elementary: 7:50 A.M. to 2:27 P.M. One week out: State Fair of West Virginia final push For more information or for additional questions, contact Nancy Hanna, Associate Superintendent, Greenbrier County Schools at 304-647-6470, or her email, nhanna@k12.wv.us. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Facing a host of accusations, including that he used government equipment for personal reasons, the Lawrence Township fire chief has been fired. In a special board meeting on July 17, township administrators voted to terminate Fire Chief Mike Anchor from Lawrence Township Emergency Services based on charges brought against Chief Anchor regarding misuse of Township equipment, not filing state reports, and total lack of communication with the board for several months, the meeting minutes show. ACCUSED OF MISUSING GOVERNMENT PROPERTY The meeting minutes lay out a series of allegations against Anchor. According to the minutes, though Anchor was only allowed to have one township-owed cellphone, he was listed as having two and his oldest daughter was using a phone from the township, too. The minutes also say that several pest control traps were invoiced to the fire department, but the address for the traps was traced back to one of Anchors family members. A member of the fire department told Township Supervisor Donna Spenner that the fire department did not have or use any such traps. Next, though the fire chiefs truck is owned by the township and should not be used for personal reasons, the truck was seen at a tanning salon in Paw Paw and at sporting events for Anchors children both out of the area covered by Lawrence Township Emergency Services, according to the meeting minutes. In addition, Anchor was accused of putting thousands of dollars of township money into the fire chiefs truck, which had problems with its frame, even though the township bought a new truck intended to replace the previous truck. And while Anchor was on medical leave from the fire department, the minutes allege that the fire chiefs truck was seen at a business where Anchor was allegedly working. Anchor also stored personal property at the fire station, the minutes say. OTHER ACCUSATIONS He was also accused of failing to file reports with the state. Spenner said that mandatory fire department reports hadnt been filed since the end of 2022, and incident reports from January 2023 through June 2024 hadnt been filed either, according to the minutes. Finally, Anchor was accused of hiring an employee without the boards approval, knowing that the person did not meet residency requirements. The Board found Chief Anchors actions to be gross neglect of Township funds, possibly rising to the level of embezzlement, the minutes read. After the allegations were discussed, four administrators voted to terminate Anchor effective immediately, with one abstaining. The motion passed. Anchor did not show up at the July 17 meeting, though a notice of the meeting had been delivered to his home, the minutes show. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Half of the U.S. population has been exposed to lead, experts say Half of the U.S. population has been exposed to lead, experts say DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The National Institutes of Health reports that half of the U.S. population more than 170 million people were exposed to harmful lead levels in early childhood. Its a problem that continues even today, with lead being found in everything from imported products to food items. If you live in Montgomery County and have a child diagnosed with lead poisoning, the Montgomery County Health Department will likely be your first stop after those high lead levels are identified. Im in charge of setting up the investigation, talking to the parent, said Johnny Holloway, an Environmental Health Specialist with Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County. Walking them through what that day is going to look like. Lurking Lead He explained that he starts outside, looking for signs of lead on the homes exterior. Then he heads indoors. See if theres any damage within like the ceilings, the floors, windows and things of that nature, Holloway said. It turns out, some of the red flags for lead are often easy to spot. Alligator skin, Holloway said. And if thats on the windowsill, thats an indicator that theres probably lead in the home. Technology playing an increasing role in detecting lead New technology is making it even easier to identify sources of lead on the spot. Whats nice about the new XRF machine is that it can tell you if its positive or negative right then and there, Holloway said. So as Im walking through the house, I can explain to the parent thats positive, I can give them some educational pointers on keeping their kids safe. But sometimes finding the exposure source isnt as easy as looking for old paint. Sometimes it comes from food, makeup and things of that nature, Holloway said. Link to cancer a new motivation for many to shed unwanted pounds Sometimes, the exposure source isnt even in the home at all. It could be a relatives home, at a daycare or school, or a parent bringing home lead from work. Johnny says theres only one way to determine that: The primary message that I would send to parents is to get to to get the child tested, but also to get retested, Holloway said. Holloway says its important for parents to know that theyre not in trouble when their child tests high for lead. Many parents worry their children will be taken away or they will face legal consequences. Holloway says thats not the case: The Health Department is a resource to help parents keep their kids safe. Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County reports that so far this year, its investigated 11 homes for lead. Last year, its crews investigated 30 homes. In 2022, the number was 14. A dozen homes were investigated in 2021. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. The Israeli military said on Aug. 1, 2024, that it has confirmed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip is shown here on July 13, 2024. Credit - Jehad AlshrafiAP JERUSALEM The Israeli military said Thursday that it has confirmed that the head of Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The announcement comes a day after an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital killed Hamas top political leader. The rapid events this week have left U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators scrambling to salvage talks for a cease-fire deal in Gaza. At the same time, international diplomats were trying to avert an escalation into all-out regional war after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, Israels killing of a top Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike and now Israels announcement of Deifs death. There was no immediate comment on the Israeli claim by Hamas, which had previously said Deif survived the July strike in Gaza. A member of Hamas political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq, said in a statement Thursday that confirming or denying his death is the responsibility of the armed wing, known as the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, which so far was silent. The elimination of Haniyeh and Deif two of Hamas most senior figures brings a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. It also puts him at a crossroads. It potentially presents him with a political off-ramp to end the war, allowing him to retreat from his lofty promises of total victory while showing Israelis that Hamas military capabilities suffered a debilitating blow. It could also lead him to harden Israels position in cease-fire talks, with Israeli officials insisting the blows to Hamas will force it to compromise. Hamas too could dig in as well in the talks or quit them entirely. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. Israel targeted Deif in a July 13 strike that hit a compound on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The military said at the time that another Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were killed in the strike, Gaza health officials said at the time. In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said that following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike. In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gazas Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the southwest corner of the territory, with limited food and water. So far Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Far-right nationalist coalition partners, on whom he relies to stay in power, have threatened to bolt the government if he halts the war. After the announcement on Deif, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the defeat of Hamas is closer than ever. He said the military would continue to eliminate thousands of other terrorists until our security is restored and we bring the hostages home. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike that killed Deif was a significant milestone toward achieving the goals of the war. The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organization in disintegration, he wrote on X. Deif was one of the founders of Hamas military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s. He led the unit for decades through campaigns of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, volleys of rocket fire into Israel, and repeated past Israeli assaults on Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. He survived a string of Israeli assassination attempts. Haniyehs killing in particular threw into disarray months of efforts at reaching a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release. Haniyeh had been a main negotiator in those talks. Qatari and Egyptian officials had tense exchanges with U.S counterparts over the assassination, said an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal discussions. While the U.S. has been pressing Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get Hamas to compromise, the Americans cant pressure the other party, Israel to refrain from provocative acts, the Egyptian official said, calling the assassination reckless. Qatars prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, expressed frustration in a post on social media, saying: Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. had no prior knowledge of the strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh. The Egyptian official said no deal was likely in the near future since Hamas must now name Haniyehs replacement. Mediators had been waiting for Hamas response on the latest version of the deal. Instead, after Haniyehs funeral, expected Friday, he said they will reach out to Hamas officials to explore the next steps. After Haniyehs assassination, Iran has vowed revenge against Israel, and the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut could also bring reprisals raising fears of a wider spiral of escalation. The Egyptian official now said the priority was preventing full-scale war. Contact us at letters@time.com. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran by bomb planted months before blast, source says Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday using an explosive device that had been covertly hidden in the guest house where he was staying, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. According to the source, who had been briefed on the operation, the bomb was concealed about two months ago in the guest house where Haniyeh was known to stay in Tehran and detonated remotely once he was inside his room there. The Iranian government and Hamas say Israel carried out the assassination. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. US officials were briefed on the operation by Israeli officials only after the assassination, the source said. The New York Times was the first to report the details of Haniyehs assassination. Haniyehs assassination raised fears once again that Israels conflict with Hamas and its allies could develop into a multi-front, fully-fledged war in the Middle East. Iranian state media and Hamas previously indicated that Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired from outside the building in which he was staying. But the revelation that a bomb was smuggled inside the guest house, which was under the protection of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, indicates a startling breach of security for the IRGC. CNN has sought comment from the Iranian government. An image published by the New York Times shows the building where Haniyeh is believed to have been assassinated. A corner of the building is now covered with a green cloth. Apparent debris also litters the ground floor roof of the building, directly underneath the green cloth. - From Telegram/The New York Times Its unclear when Haniyeh arrived in Tehran, but Iranian state media first reported that he would be flying in to attend the inauguration of the countrys new president on Monday. He had a full schedule of public appearances and meetings before he was assassinated, according to Iranian state media press reports. Haniyeh was first pictured on Tuesday, before the inauguration, meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Afterwards, Iranian state media published images of Haniyeh meeting with Irans new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh was next spotted arriving at the inauguration ceremony at Irans Islamic Consultative Assembly building, where he sat in the front row. Just before 7:00 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET), Haniyeh made his final public appearance at an exhibit at Tehrans Milad Tower. At 2 a.m. that night, according to state media outlet IRNA, he was killed, with what IRNA described as an airborne guided projectile. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday: You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment. Haniyehs body arrived in Doha on Thursday from Iran in preparation for his burial on Friday, videos obtained by CNN show. According to Hamas and Qatari state media, Haniyehs funeral prayer will be held after the Friday prayer at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in the Qatari capital, followed by the burial at the Imam Founder Cemetery in Lusail city. Video obtained by CNN showed Haniyehs wife, Umm al-Abed, crying over the coffin and mourning her husband. You strengthened us every day, making us as strong and determined as iron. We owe it all to you, she said. His death marked the start of an unpredictable new phase of Israels war with Hamas, coming just hours on from an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Hezbollahs leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that Israels killing of its top commander had crossed red lines and would be met with an inevitable response, hinting at coordination with other regional groups. Nasrallah delivered his speech remotely from a large screen in front of a crowd of mourners attending the funeral of Shukr, the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since Mustafa Badreddine in 2016. Nasrallah said Israels strike in southern Beirut had prompted a new phase in the low-intensity battles between Israel and Iran-backed forces in the region. Iran-backed allies in the region include Iraqi proxy militias, the Houthis in Yemen and groups in Syria. IDF is on high alert The chief spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Thursday that Israel was ready to face a range of scenarios amid heightened tension in the region. The IDF is on high alert, on both defense and offense. IDF forces are deployed in the air, at sea and on the ground, and are prepared for all scenarios, especially for offensive plans within the immediate timeframe. Hagari said at a briefing Thursday: We have very good defense systems and in addition we have international partners who have reinforced their forces [deployed] in the region, to help us counter the threats. But he cautioned that Israels defenses were not hermetically sealed. Hagari noted: Iran has been running over the past few years a terror infrastructure, to smuggle Iranian explosive devices into Israeli territory to perpetrate attacks. We will continue operating against the Iranian terror with determination. Several Israeli agencies and services are stepping up readiness, following the Israeli strike that killed Shukr and threats from Iran that it would retaliate following the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran. The emergency services Magen David Adom (MDA) said it was prepared for every scenario after a three-day exercise aimed at preparing for a potential war in the north and blackout scenarios. MDA said one practised scenario involved a simulated rocket strike on a building in a northern kibbutz in which MDA teams worked with the emergency team from Kibbutz Afek and police. Israel on Thursday also announced it had confirmed it had killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas military wing and a key architect of the October 7 attacks, last month. The Israeli military said it killed Deif on July 13 in a strike on Khan Younis. Those same attacks also killed at least 90 Palestinians in the sprawling tent city of Al-Mawasi, the Gaza health ministry said. CNN reached out to Hamas to confirm Deifs death but has not heard back. Haniyehs coffin was moved through the streets of Tehran in a procession on Thursday, with thousands lining the streets to watch. He will be buried in Qatars capital Doha on Friday. CNNs Mostafa Salem, Tamara Qiblawi, Kareem Khadder, Tamar Michaelis, Tim Lister, Eyad Kourdi, Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Kellanova has raised its 2024 organic net sales guidance on the back of better-than- expected second-quarter results. The company, which previously made up US cereal giant Kellogg's global snacking business, was spun off last year and now has a portfolio made up of snacks, frozen food and cereal (outside of North America) with brands including Pringles, Eggo, Pop-Tarts and Nutri-Grain. In the three months ended 29 June, Kellanova reported net sales of $3.19bn, which although down 4.7% year-on-year beat analysts' expectations of $3.15bn, with key brand sales holding up despite several rounds of price increases. It is now forecasting organic net sales will grow 3.5% or more for the year, compared to its prior outlook of about 3% or higher. The forecast range for adjusted earnings per share has also been raised, to $3.65 to $3.75, from a previous range of $3.55 to $3.65. CEO Steve Callahane said: Our top-line growth featured a return to volume growth in two of our regions and improvements in other markets, led by our biggest brand Pringles. He said growth was supported by fully restored commercial activity, including a double-digit increase in brand-building investment. Kellanova said sales were down year-on-year as a result of significantly adverse foreign-currency translation and last years Russia divesture. It pointed out that on an organic basis, excluding the impact of currencies and divestures, net sales increased by 4%. Reported operating profit of $493m for the quarter was up 18% year-on-year, partly as a result of continued improvement in gross profit margin. Kellanova's adjusted gross margin rose to 36.5%, from 33.1% last year. It saw volumes return to growth in North America in the quarter, with operating profit up 21%, but demand in Europe disappointed, with organic net sales down 1% from last year. Earlier this year, Kellanova set out plans to close two factories - in the US and UK - as part of efforts to drive efficiency and increase productivity. "Kellanova ups guidance on back of US snack brand sales" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. FILE - Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh claps as newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks while deputy leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Kassem, left, sits during the swearing-in ceremony of Pezeshkian at the Iranian parliament, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. Two back-to-back strikes in Beirut and Tehran, both attributed to Israel and targeting high-ranking figures in Hezbollah and Hamas, have left Hezbollah and Iran in a quandary. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Explosions in secretive underground nuclear facilities. Cyber attacks. Top scientists poisoned. Natural gas pipelines sabotaged. All these and more have been blamed on Israel in its shadow war with Iran. And the latest accusation, that Israel is behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, only expands that list. Israel has allegedly carried out highly secretive and deadly attacks on Iranian soil repeatedly over the years, though the country rarely takes responsibility. Most have been aimed at the countrys nuclear program. Here is a look at that history of alleged attacks: Years of alleged covert operations Prior to this week, the most prominent assassination blamed on Israeli was in November 2020, when a top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while traveling in a car outside Tehran. Not all of Israel's suspected attacks have targeted people. One of the first attacks against Iran attributed to Israel was the Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation. The virus disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Iran also accused Israel of sabotaging major natural gas pipelines earlier this year. In 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had obtained tens of thousands of pages of data showing that Iran had covered up its nuclear program before signing a deal with world powers in 2015. He didnt say how Israel obtained the information, but an ex-Mossad chief confirmed that it was obtained by more than a dozen non-Israeli agents from safes in Tehran in 2018. Iran says the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Alleged Israeli attacks against Iran's nuclear program stepped up significantly in 2020, after the disintegration of the 2015 nuclear deal meant to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, explained Meir Litvak, the director of the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. In the past four years, Iran said Israel attacked multiple nuclear sites deep in central Iran. Some of the attacks Iran directly or indirectly accused Israel of carrying out include destroying nuclear facilities with explosive drones in Isfahan and setting off at least two explosions at an underground nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran accused Israel of poisoning two nuclear scientists in different cities within three days of each other in 2022, though circumstances remain unclear. The shadow war between the two countries burst into the open earlier this year, when Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israeli territory after an airstrike blamed on Israel killed two Iranian generals in Syria. An exquisite intelligence capability Haniyeh's brazen assassination in Tehran this week, just hours after Irans President Masoud Pezeshkians swearing-in ceremony, had little to do with Iran's nuclear program. And if Israel was behind it, it would represent an opportunity to target two major enemies at the same time: Iran and Hamas. Litvak said that Israel may have made the decision to target Haniyeh in Iran because it did not want to carry out an assassination in Qatar or Egypt, two of Israels major partners hosting the Gaza cease-fire negotiations. The assassination carried the double meaning of eliminating the most senior Hamas leader while also sending an important message to Iran. They knew which specific apartment and where he was, and it shows that something is really rotten in the Iranian security system, Litvak said. Norman T. Roule, who served as the United States National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the office of the Director of National Intelligence from 2008 to 2017, added that killings like Haniyehs show an exquisite intelligence capability that allows pinpoint strikes on security-conscious targets to be carried out without civilian casualties. Hamas said that Haniyeh was killed by a missile, but Roule said it wasnt publicly known if the weapon was launched from inside or outside Iran. However the operation was carried out, it's likely it required significant cooperation with people on the ground in Iran. People inside Iran who are disaffected with the government provides Israel with a pool of potential cooperators in operations against the Islamic Republic, said Meir Javedanfar, who teaches Iranian politics at Israels Reichman University. Iran weighs retaliation Details of such operations are highly guarded secrets, and are regarded by the Israeli security establishment as essential for the country's survival. Israelis see Iran and its allies as the most serious strategic threat against the state of Israel and the Jewish people since the fall of the Nazi regime, said Javedanfar, who was born in Iran and emigrated to Israel as a teenager in 1987. The strike Wednesday highlighted significant failings in Iran's air defense network, said Roule, now a senior adviser with the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Given the severe humiliation of Irans defenses, Roule said, Iran now is likely trapped between the need to retaliate and the desire to maintain internal stability during a time of economic and political transition. It's a delicate period that is only compounded by fights between Iranian proxies on one side and Israel and its allies such as the U.S. on the other. If youre Iran you have a real challenge in front of you, he continued. This is a package issue. You dont have one problem. ___ Weissenstein reported from New York. HAMPTON, S.C. (WSAV)After admitting to trying to cut a tree down while a man was in it, the Hampton Police Chief has been charged by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) on Thursday. Police Chief Perry Zachary McAlhaney, 61, has been charged with assault and 3rd degree battery and was booked into the Hampton County Detention Center. On Nov. 4, 2023, McAlhaney arrived at a property where a man was hunting from a deer stand. The man had paid the property owner $500 for a hunting lease, which the owner has confirmed to SLED. Senate passes bills meant to protect children online McAlhaney accused the man of trespassing and returned to his home to get a chainsaw in an attempt to cut down the tree that the man was in, which McAlhaney admitted to SLED. The man recorded the incident and McAlhaney was not successful in his attempt. WSAV will continue to update. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. What happened this week in Springfield 100 years ago SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Springfields historical narrative traces back to the early 1800s, intricately weaving a collection of significant events that span two centuries. Missouri Department of Conservation rehabilitates bald eagle full of raccoon Heres an exploration of intriguing headlines and stories from this week, but with a twist theyre from a century ago, meticulously preserved by the History Museum on the Square. September 1924 City Park Board announces a meeting will be held on Oct. 3 to consider purchasing 80 acres from Ed Fassnight on Campbell Street south of the city. The Drury College picnic will be held on the Kershner Farm near Turner Station on Friday night. The Davis Candy Company announced they will be moving to a new building being constructed across the street from the Federal Building on Boonville. Voters by a four-to-one margin approved school bonds of $150,000 to complete Pipkin Jr. High School. Now showing in 1924 The Electric The Enemy Sex When chorus girl Dodo Baxter is invited to a party given by millionaire Albert Sassoon, she meets five wealthy and worldly-wise men who attempt various schemes to add her to their conquests. But she beats them all at their own game and declines offers of a stage career, wealth, and position in favor of restoring the health of an alcoholic, Garry Lindaberry. Landers Theatre America The story of a family caught up in the American Revolutionary War. Courtesy: Eastern Productions Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Harford County Executive Robert Cassilly (R). File photo by Bryan P. Sears. Harford Countys longtime tourism organization filed suit Wednesday against the administration of Harford County Executive Robert Cassilly (R), claiming that it breached its contract by failing to pay $215,000 that was owed to the organization. In the suit filed Wednesday in Harford County Circuit Court, Visit Harford! accused the Cassilly administration of breach of contract and tortious interference. A county spokesman said the administration had been working with the tourism group to resolve the funding dispute, and that the county was disappointed to get news of the lawsuit. Visit Harford! is a nonprofit corporation that was created in 2014 and had been handling business and data collection related to tourism for Harford County since. The lawsuit said that the county and the nonprofit agency entered into a contract on June 29, 2023, under which the county agreed to pay Visit Harford! a total of $645,000 in three installments of $215,000. It said Visit Harford! received two payments, but when it asked for the third in January, the county did not pay, and has continued to decline despite repeated attempts from the tourism group to get the funding, according to the court filing. Visit Harford! also claims in the lawsuit that $50,000 in a tourism grant earmarked for the organization was redirected to the county government instead. The lawsuit argues that by withholding the funds, the county intended to portray the Plaintiff (Visit Harford!) negatively in the community and in the tourism industry by saying that the nonprofit has no money. The lawsuit also said that, before terminating the contract, the Cassilly administration instructed other county entities, the Maryland Tourism Development Board, and the Office of Tourism Development, not to communicate with Visit Harford!. Visit Harford! is seeking $215,000 in relief to complete the last payment, as well as an additional $75,000 if it wins the lawsuit. The suit notes that the organizations funding does not come directly from county taxpayers but from a hotel occupancy tax, paid by visitors to the county, that generated almost $3.6 million in fiscal 2023. But Matthew Button, public information officer for the Harford County government, said the decision to terminate the contract was a legitimate action to protect taxpayer dollars. Tourism marketing is funded with taxpayer dollars, and it is essential that these dollars be used effectively and fairly to support all local businesses and other stakeholders, Button said in a prepared statement. Funding was provided to Visit Harford over the past year, but it was contingent upon certain requirements. We were working with them to reconcile accounts and money due and reach a collaborative path forward. We were disappointed to receive notice of a lawsuit, his statement said. Button said the Cassilly administration had concerns over the tourism nonprofits transparency. Promoting tourism had been solely a function of Harford County government until the prior administration shifted that responsibility to the nonprofit Visit Harford, although it continued to be funded by county and state tax revenue, he said. When Cassilly took office, his administration undertook a review of all county-funded activities. Despite concerns about a lack of transparency and effectiveness concerning Visit Harford, Cassilly decided to take a year to assess the situation, Button said. Over the past year, Harford County has been carefully reviewing all the models for tourism and the one we found to be most transparent and effective is the one used by Baltimore County and most other Maryland jurisdictions, Button said. The suit adds to a growing list of county officials and partners who have become disgruntled with the administration since Cassilly became county executive in 2022. Harford County Council Member Aaron Penman (R), who has clashed with Cassilly before, said that the county executives actions in regard to Visit Harford! violated County Code and breached contractual obligations. The topic of this latest lawsuit was decided almost unanimously by the Harford County Council on January 16th, 2024 when they clearly established Visit Harford! as the premier destination organization for Harford County, Penman said in a written statement. In another deja vu moment, the County Executive again ignored the Councils majority support for Visit Harford! and defunded a proven and successful organization, Penmans statement said. Maryland Matters reporter Josh Kurtz contributed to this report. Harris to appear as sole candidate for Dem presidential nomination on virtual roll call Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Vice President Kamala Harris is the only candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Democratic National Committee said late Tuesday. Harris was the only person to reach the threshold of 300 delegates petitioning for her to become the partys nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection, setting her up to officially become the partys nominee during a virtual roll call scheduled to begin Thursday, according to a DNC press release. The DNC allowed party delegates to petition for a new nominee after Bidens withdrawal. After sweeping primaries and caucuses, Biden had secured the vast majority of the 3,949 pledged delegates in the Democratic nominating process. Most of those delegates quickly declared their support for Harris following Bidens exit. About 84% of Democratic delegates submitted a signature during the petition phase, with 99% of those supporting Harris. A total of 3,923 Democratic delegates petitioned for Harris to be the presidential nominee, according to the release, which called Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee. Democratic delegates from across the nation made their voices heard, overwhelmingly backing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and Democratic National Convention Committee Chair Minyon Moore said in the statement. Harris won the backing of many state parties, elected officials and other party leaders within hours of Biden bowing out of the race and endorsing her. Candidates rumored to harbor their own presidential ambitions quickly fell in line with Harris, with a few still thought to be under consideration for Harris running mate. Democrats virtual roll call a departure from the traditional roll call at the party convention initially designed to ensure the partys nominee was on the ballot in Ohio despite an early deadline that has since been changed will begin 9 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and wrap up at 6 p.m. on Aug. 5, the DNC release said. Harris and running mate to Philadelphia Harris will campaign on Aug. 6, the day after the virtual roll call concludes, with her yet-to-be-named running mate in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star confirmed Tuesday. The commonwealth is perhaps the most important battleground in the presidential race and Gov. Josh Shapiro is reportedly on Harris short list for vice president. The first-term governor and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stumped for Harris at a Monday rally in the Philadelphia area. Politico reported that the Harris campaign swing will also include western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Las Vegas; and Phoenix. Other top candidates for Harris running mate include Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also under consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Vice President Kamala Harris in a 2023 file photo. Harris was the only Democrat to get the needed signatures to put her name in the running for a virtual roll call of Democratic delegates picking a presidential nominee after President Joe Biden's sudden departure. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images Vice President Kamala Harris will be the only candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the virtual roll call that began Thursday, the Democratic National Committee said this week. Harris was the only person to reach the threshold of 300 delegates petitioning for her to become the partys nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection. That makes hers the only name on the ballot, setting her up to officially become the partys nominee during a virtual roll call that was scheduled to begin Thursday, according to a DNC press release. The DNC allowed party delegates to petition for a new nominee after Bidens July 21 withdrawal. After sweeping the primaries and caucuses through the first part of the year, Biden had secured the vast majority of the 3,949 pledged delegates in the Democratic nominating process. Most of those delegates quickly declared their support for Harris following Bidens exit. Maryland Democratic leaders said all 106 convention delegates agreed unanimously to back Harris during a conference call one day after Bidens announcement, About 84% of Democratic delegates submitted a signature during the petition phase, with 99% of those supporting Harris, the DNC said. A total of 3,923 Democratic delegates petitioned for Harris to be the presidential nominee, according to the release, which called Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee. Democratic delegates from across the nation made their voices heard, overwhelmingly backing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and Democratic National Convention Committee Chair Minyon Moore said in the statement. Harris won the backing of many state parties, elected officials and other party leaders within hours of Biden bowing out of the race and endorsing her. Candidates rumored to harbor their own presidential ambitions quickly fell in line with Harris, with a few still thought to be under consideration for Harris running mate. Democrats virtual roll call a departure from the traditional roll call at the party convention initially designed to ensure the partys nominee was on the ballot in Ohio despite an early deadline that has since been changed was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. EDT Thursday and wrap up at 6 p.m. on Aug. 5, the DNC release said. Harris and running mate to hit battlegroud states On Aug. 6, the day after the virtual roll call concludes, Harris and her yet-to-be-named running mate will begin a five-day tour of seven battleground states, with their first stop in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star confirmed Tuesday. The commonwealth is perhaps the most important battleground in the presidential race and Gov. Josh Shapiro is reportedly on Harris short list for vice president. The first-term governor and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stumped for Harris at a Monday rally in the Philadelphia area. The Harris campaign announced Thursday that Philadelphia would be followed by campaign stops in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Detroit on Wednesday; North Carolinas Research Triangle on Thursday, Aug. 8; Savannah, Georgia, and Phoenix on Aug. 9; and Las Vegas on Aug. 10. Other rumored candidates for Harris running mate include Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also under consideration. Harris calls Trump's false claims about race 'the same old show' of divisiveness and disrespect WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump's false assertions about her race were the same old show" as she emphasized the need for Black women to organize for his defeat this November. Addressing the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. one of "Divine Nine" historically Black fraternities and sororities in Houston, Harris told the crowd, "When I look out at everyone here, I see family. She drew knowing chuckles from the audience as she mentioned Trumps comments earlier in the day at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. Trump said Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past promoted only her Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump said while addressing the NABJ in Chicago. Harris responded briefly during her address to the sorority, saying Trump's display was "the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect. She added: And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. Our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength, Harris said. Referencing the combative tone of Trump's interview at the NABJ convention, she said, The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the U.S. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the nations most prominent historically Black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho members, Harris said, Our nation is counting on you" to register people to vote and ensure they go to the polls. When we organize, mountains move," she said. Black Greek life is often seen as a lifelong involvement, leading many members to return to regular gatherings or boules in the organizations phrasing that gather tens of thousands of members each. Harris has attended three such events in the last month, including the boule for her own sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. The Divine Nine organizations, which are officially apolitical, emphasize public service as a mission and have deep networks in politics, business and media. June Penny, 66, of Georgia, an attendee at Harris' speech in Houston, said Trumps comments about Harris race reminded her of how he tried to discredit then-President Barack Obama. Im not surprised he would try to find something like that, Penny said. She said Trumps views dont reflect the reality of race in the country, noting, I have biracial grandchildren her son-in-law is white and the world views them as black. More than 30 members of Congress are affiliated with a Black Greek letter organization. Close advisers to President Joe Biden, including Stephen Benjamin, Cedric Richmond and Keisha Lance Bottoms, are members of Divine Nine organizations. Harris has welcomed such connections to staff her operation and build her own network in Washington. Associated Press writer Matt Brown in Chicago contributed. Is the Harris campaign hinting at running mate pick? Heres what we know Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro meets with children during his visit to Philadelphia Youth Basketball's new Alan Horwitz "Sixth Man" Center in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. The Harris campaign has been tight-lipped about who the running mate would be, but Shapiro is one option that has been floated. | Matt Rourke Vice President Kamala Harris is set to hold the first campaign rally with her pick for vice president in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Harris and the vice presidential nominee will then embark on a four-day tour of battleground states. Campaign stops are scheduled in western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, Savannah, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The Harris campaign has been tight-lipped about who her running mate pick is and dismissed any speculation, saying, Any reporting is premature. But the rallys location suggests Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro might be moving up on Harris shortlist. Voters in his swing state supported Biden in 2020 after turning red for former President Trump in 2016. CNBC reported Thursday the governor canceled at least two fundraisers in the Hamptons in New York that were planned several weeks ago, according to Shapiros office. This move raised some eyebrows. If Harris picks Shapiro, he would be the second Jewish vice presidential nominee, following Joe Liebermans failed campaign bid in 2000 alongside Al Gore. But, as the Deseret News reported, Shapiro isnt popular among all Democrats, some of whom have criticized his handling of sexual harassment claims in his office. Others have targeted his Jewish faith and condemned his support for Israel. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks with members of the media during his visit to Philadelphia Youth Basketball's new Alan Horwitz "Sixth Man" Center in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. | Matt Rourke Nearly 50 progressives sent a letter to Harris, saying, The correct vice presidential candidate can build on the amazing momentum you have established or set us back, especially among hard-to-reach, young, and disenfranchised voters, as The Hill reported. Besides Shapiro, here is who the Harris campaign is looking at for VP The letter made the case for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The two governors are persuasive advocates for core Democratic values and will energize voters across America without marginalizing any of the communities that we must engage in order to win the electoral college, progressives said. Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions financial rules impose restrictions on contributions to campaigns that include a sitting governor on the ticket, the Harris campaign asked Wall Street to write their donation checks early, according to Axios. If the reporting is accurate, it could narrow the running mate picks to Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and exclude Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. All of these potential picks have met with Harris vetting team, two sources close to the campaign told NBCs Julie Tsirkin. Harris vetting team is led by Eric Holder Jr., the former attorney general who served on former President Barack Obamas vice presidential selection committee in 2008. Harris is up against the August 7 deadline to announce her pick, as Democratic National Committee chairman Jamie Harrison said Monday. I want to assure you that we are committed to an open and fair nominating process, Harrison told reporters on a conference call. The work ahead may be unprecedented, but we are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) stands against the other gold mining stocks. Gold has reached an all-time high, capping a 20-month rally with a 50% increase. Although the selling pressure from the retail investor would have an adverse affect on gold prices, however, this surge is driven by central banks buying record volumes of bullion mainly due to the desire to reduce dependence on US dollar, conflicts in the Middle East, and strong demand from Chinese consumers amid disappointing local equities, property, and currency markets. Furthermore, Chinese political leaders noticed that financial assets of the Russian government including bonds and reserves got confiscated by Western governments after Russia invaded Ukraine. Christopher Mancini, who co-manages Gabelli Gold Fund says The Chinese central bank saw that happened and said We dont want that to happen to us. It would make sense for them to want to significantly retire their [U.S.] dollar reserves. With gold, they dont have to worry about being repaid. We know they have been buying a consistent amount of gold every day. Bernard Dahdah from Natixis suggests central banks might continue buying gold due to tensions between the US and China, potentially making prices above $2,300 the new norm. The move to gold also reflects a broader trend of nations reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar, prompted by the dollar's use as a geopolitical tool against Russia, leading to gold prices reaching an all-time high of $2,480 per ounce on July 17, 2024. In U.S. the Fed is expected to cut the Fed funds rate, but inflation may remain steady, leading to lower real interest rates. This scenario benefits gold as the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold decreases compared to cash and bonds. Additionally, a decline in U.S. real interest rates may weaken the U.S. dollar, making gold, which is globally priced in dollars, more attractive. Owning gold directly provides a "store of value" but offers limited returns rather than generate substantial gains like equities. However, other than its appeal in its ability to preserve value, many investors view it as a hedge against economic troubles rather than a high-return investment. So an investor otherwise seeking gold as a soaring investment would be disappointed in the longer term as it doesnt appreciate by much as gold has risen less than 300% in a century with annualized real returns of 1.34%, adjusted for inflation. Therefore investors looking for a more aggressive approach, aim for gold mining stocks that provide leverage to the gold price that yields returns surpassing those of the underlying commodity. Story continues Despite this leverage, the underlying stock valuations will consider future cash flows and market volatility of the gold as well as the consensus price estimates by market participants. Nonetheless, gold miner stocks should be more volatile than gold itself, offering greater returns if the investor's thesis on rising gold prices is correct. Regardless of gold prices rising over the last 15 years, gold mining ETFs and major miners (Agnico, Newmont, Barrick) have underperformed compared to physical gold. Although some companies covered in this article have succeeded, the gold mining sector requires careful scrutiny beyond just reserves and production. Like any other investment that is carefully analyzed mining companies need to be analysed based on management, capital allocation, and geopolitical risk. It is also because of these factors that gold mining companies are unable to reach their potential as viable investments. Methodology To curate our list of 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we gathered a list of all companies using the holdings of gold miners ETFs. We then further narrowed down on the basis of their upside potential. With this lets now jump to our list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). Best Junior Silver Mining Stocks To Buy Now Aerial shot of a mine entrance, the bedrock of the company's gold and silver extraction. Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) Current Price: $8.92 Upside Potential: 17.5% Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) operates mines in the U.S., Brazil, Chile, Mauritania, and Canada. In Q1 2024, it produced 522,000 ounces of gold, benefiting from increased gold prices. The company achieved a per ounce profit margin of $1,088 by maintaining consistent sales costs. Kinross ended the quarter with $407 million in cash, generating $145 million in free cash flow, positioning itself well for debt repayment and future growth. The company is on track to meet its full-year production and cost guidance. Additionally, Kinross is expanding its portfolio by potentially acquiring a 75% stake in a project with Riley Gold, following a $20 million investment. Overall KGC ranks 6th on our list of the best gold mining stocks to buy. You can visit 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in to see the other gold mining stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of KGC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KGC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These 10 Stocks in June. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Hours after Donald Trump questioned whether she was truly a Black woman, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed the former presidents racist remark as she spoke before a cheering crowd of members of a predominantly Black sorority in Houston, Texas. Harris told sisters of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority a member of the Divine Nine group of historically Black fraternities and sororities that Trumps remarks before the National Association of Black Journalists, in which he claimed that she had all of a sudden she made a turn and ... became a Black person, were the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect from the ex-president. Trumps comments came during a bizarre 30-minute sit-down at the journalism organizations annual conference in Chicago moments after he told ABCs Rachel Scott that he didnt know that Harris was Black. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? The vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee for president is the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, making her both the first African-American and Asian-American person to hold the second highest office in the US government. The former presidents remarks have been widely condemned as racist by members of both parties, and in a statement, Harris campaign communications director said Trump showed ... the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people. In response, Harris simply told her audience: The American people deserve better. And the American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength, she said. The vice president added that her campaign for the presidency is a fight for the future and a fight for freedom across our nation against a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won, fundamental freedoms and rights from Trump and his allies. Vice President Harris has reversed her position on fracking, signaling a move to the center on the issue. The rightward shift comes as she tries to court swing voters in states like Pennsylvania. Harris was met with a wave of left-wing enthusiasm when she became the partys presumptive nominee after President Biden left the race. Her shifted stance on fracking could dampen excitement among progressives, but the partys left flank is still poised to ultimately back her over former President Trump. The Hill first reported, citing a Harris campaign official, that the vice president no longer supports a ban on fracking, despite taking the opposite stance when she ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential cycle. Fracking is a method of extracting oil and gas from shale rocks. It involves injecting the rocks with a mix of water, sand and chemicals. Using this method is a key driver of the shale revolution that cemented the U.S.s role as a leading oil and gas producer. Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in the upcoming election, is the second biggest gas-producing state, and the energy sector represented 4.6 percent of its total employment in 2022. The state had nearly 18,000 people working in fuel extraction that year. However, fracking has come under scrutiny due to its environmental impacts. Beyond its role in producing planet-warming fossil fuels, it has been linked to earthquakes and pollution. A 2022 study also found that children living near fracking sites had a higher likelihood of developing leukemia. Climate is a weighty issue for many in the Democrats constituency, especially young voters. Nevertheless, some political strategists said they believed Harriss pivot was smart because it could reassure some voters, particularly those concerned about economic and labor issues. Fracking is a central part, a foundational part, a significant portion of Pennsylvanias economy. The economic argument is going to be extremely significant nationally, and in the States, its the top issue on voters minds, said Jon Reinish, a national Democratic strategist. Samuel Chen, a Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist, expressed a similar opinion, saying that if Harris doubled down on her previous support of a fracking ban, its not going to play well in states like Pennsylvania. Others disagreed, saying they dont believe Harriss stance on fracking will have major implications for the race. Her path to victory in key states like Pennsylvania is unlikely to include many hardcore oil and gas supporters, said Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist Mike Mikus. Mikus was skeptical Harriss reversal on the issue will be a millstone in the state, which was ground zero for the 2010s natural-gas boom. He noted that Republicans levied similar attacks on President Biden, who, unlike Harris, has not signaled support for a ban. The Republicans have always used this as an attack regardless of whether that was a candidates position its like the boy who cried wolf, Mikus told The Hill. It became an attack that never stuck. Mikus added that Harriss most likely path to victory in Pennsylvania runs through the suburbs of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, a virtual world away from the southwestern regions of the state that were the site of its natural gas boom. Now that she has stated her position, I really dont think its going to have much of an impact here, he said. People who are strongly in favor of fracking to the point that it affects who theyre going to vote for, theyve already picked a side. Chen, on the other hand, argued that union laborers who work in the energy industry could be among those whose voters are up for grabs and could be swayed by the decision. Energy is a large industry in Pennsylvania, and there are probably energy voters in this state, he said, adding that a very, very small percentage could be enough to do damage to the vice president. President Biden often touted his relationship with organized labor, including walking the picket line with United Auto Workers (UAW) members. Harris has not been as publicly associated with labor, but her reversal on fracking comes at the same time a number of major unions, including the UAW, have endorsed her as she consolidates support among Democratic voter blocs. And while many progressives and environmental advocates were disappointed in Harriss position, they also point to climate progress that has been made under the Biden administration the past few years, and they note Harris will do more to fight for the environment than Trump. Movements need to create immense pressure to show politicians that its more strategic for them to break from fossil fuels than not, said Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the progressive Sunrise Movement, when asked about Harriss fracking position. If Im looking at the options around the election this November, theres a lot of ways in which Kamala Harris would be immensely easier to pressure and change on that than a Donald Trump presidency would, Shiney-Ajay said. The GOP has emphasized Harriss 2019 opposition to fracking, particularly her statement in a CNN town hall that year that there is no question Im in favor of banning fracking. Trump has highlighted her 2019 stance, telling supporters at a rally last week that she wants no fracking. Youre going to be paying a lot of money. Youre going to be paying so much. Youre going to say bring back Trump, the former president added. Although Harris has now changed her position, Chen said Republicans should still stress her former stance. The GOP should definitely continue to message that this was her position he said. When people change their views its important to remind people of what their views were. Such attacks may not be limited to Harris herself. Before last weeks reversal, Rep. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), the GOP Senate nominee against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), sought to tie Casey to the position. Casey, who has consistently run ahead of both Biden and Harris in polling in the state, has bucked the White House on natural gas issues in the past, notably joining his colleague Sen. John Fetterman (D) in opposing the Biden administrations temporary moratorium on new natural gas exports. Casey told The Hill on Wednesday he believes Harris made the right decision in reversing her position. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (The Hill) Vice President Kamala Harris has reversed her position on fracking, signaling a move to the center on the issue. The rightward shift comes as she tries to court swing voters in states like Pennsylvania. Harris was met with a wave of left-wing enthusiasm when she became the partys presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden left the race. Her shifted stance on fracking could dampen excitement among progressives, but the partys left flank is still poised to ultimately back her over former President Donald Trump. The Hill first reported, citing a Harris campaign official, that the vice president no longer supports a ban on fracking, despite taking the opposite stance when she ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential cycle. Fracking is a method of extracting oil and gas from shale rocks. It involves injecting the rocks with a mix of water, sand and chemicals. Using this method is a key driver of the shale revolution that cemented the U.S.s role as a leading oil and gas producer. Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in the upcoming election, is the second biggest gas-producing state, and the energy sector represented 4.6 percent of its total employment in 2022. The state had nearly 18,000 people working in fuel extraction that year. Harris slices Trumps national lead in half: New polling average However, fracking has come under scrutiny due to its environmental impacts. Beyond its role in producing planet-warming fossil fuels, it has been linked to earthquakes and pollution. A 2022 study also found that children living near fracking sites had a higher likelihood of developing leukemia. Climate is a weighty issue for many in the Democrats constituency, especially young voters. Nevertheless, some political strategists said they believed Harriss pivot was smart because it could reassure some voters, particularly those concerned about economic and labor issues. Fracking is a central part, a foundational part, a significant portion of Pennsylvanias economy. The economic argument is going to be extremely significant nationally, and in the States, its the top issue on voters minds, said Jon Reinish, a national Democratic strategist. Samuel Chen, a Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist, expressed a similar opinion, saying that if Harris doubled down on her previous support of a fracking ban, its not going to play well in states like Pennsylvania. Others disagreed, saying they dont believe Harriss stance on fracking will have major implications for the race. Her path to victory in key states like Pennsylvania is unlikely to include many hardcore oil and gas supporters, said Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist Mike Mikus. Mikus was skeptical Harris reversal on the issue would be a millstone in the state, which was ground zero for the 2010s natural gas boom. He noted that Republicans levied similar attacks on President Biden, who, unlike Harris, has not signaled support for a ban. The Republicans have always used this as an attack regardless of whether that was a candidates position its like the boy who cried wolf, Mikus told The Hill. It became an attack that never stuck. Harris veepstakes thrills Democrats as they look beyond 2024 Mikus added that Harriss most likely path to victory in Pennsylvania runs through the suburbs of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, a virtual world away from the southwestern regions of the state that were the site of its natural gas boom. Now that she has stated her position, I really dont think its going to have much of an impact here, he said. People who are strongly in favor of fracking to the point that it affects who theyre going to vote for, theyve already picked a side. Chen, on the other hand, argued that union laborers who work in the energy industry could be among those whose voters are up for grabs and could be swayed by the decision. Energy is a large industry in Pennsylvania, and there are probably energy voters in this state, he said, adding that a very, very small percentage could be enough to do damage to the vice president. President Biden often touted his relationship with organized labor, including walking the picket line with United Auto Workers (UAW) members. Harris has not been as publicly associated with labor, but her reversal on fracking comes at the same time a number of major unions, including the UAW, have endorsed her as she consolidates support among Democratic voter blocs. And while many progressives and environmental advocates were disappointed in Harriss position, they also point to climate progress that has been made under the Biden administration the past few years, and they note Harris will do more to fight for the environment than Trump. Movements need to create immense pressure to show politicians that its more strategic for them to break from fossil fuels than not, said Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the progressive Sunrise Movement, when asked about Harriss fracking position. If Im looking at the options around the election this November, theres a lot of ways in which Kamala Harris would be immensely easier to pressure and change on that than a Donald Trump presidency would, Shiney-Ajay said. Vance calls reaction to Trumps attacks on Harriss heritage hysterical The GOP has emphasized Harriss 2019 opposition to fracking, particularly her statement in a CNN town hall that year that there is no question Im in favor of banning fracking. Trump has highlighted her 2019 stance, telling supporters at a rally last week that she wants no fracking. Youre going to be paying a lot of money. Youre going to be paying so much. Youre going to say bring back Trump, the former president added. Although Harris has now changed her position, Chen said Republicans should still stress her former stance. The GOP should definitely continue to message that this was her position, he said. When people change their views its important to remind people of what their views were. Such attacks may not be limited to Harris herself. Before last weeks reversal, Rep. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), the GOP Senate nominee against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), sought to tie Casey to the position. Casey, who has consistently run ahead of both Biden and Harris in polling in the state, has bucked the White House on natural gas issues in the past, notably joining his colleague Sen. John Fetterman (D) in opposing the Biden administrations temporary moratorium on new natural gas exports. Casey told The Hill on Wednesday he believes Harris made the right decision in reversing her position. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Vice President Kamala Harris gives the eulogy during a service for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church in Houston. Brandon Bell | Getty Images) Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, praised the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, one of the most prominent Black women lawmakers in Congress, in a Thursday eulogy focused on the Texans decades of fierce advocacy. Her fight was born out of love, she had a big, big heart, Harris said. Very few people have loved the people of Houston more than Sheila Jackson Lee. Fallbrook Church in Houston hosted Jackson Lees homegoing service. Local and national leaders commended Jackson Lee for her public service. Jackson Lee announced in early June that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. She died July 19 at the age of 74. She survived a previous breast cancer diagnosis. Harris remarked that Jackson Lee would sometimes have to get a little creative to help her constituents. She recalled the city of Houson had a budget shortfall in 2011 and was going to close outdoor public pools and several community centers for the summer. Well, Sheila Jackson Lee wasnt having that, Harris said. Harris told how Jackson Lee called business owners and convinced them to donate more than $350,000 to keep the pools and community centers open. She touched the lives of people all over our country, Harris said. Advocate for Black community, women A long-time advocate for progressive causes, Jackson Lee is known for her work in leading federal protections for women from domestic violence and making Juneteenth a federal holiday. She was also an advocate for reparations for the descendants of enslaved African Americans, civil rights and voting rights. In 2021, Jackson Lee was arrested for civil disobedience over a federal voting rights bill. She also served as whip of the Congressional Black Caucus and as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the caucus. She worked with all her heart to lift up the people of her city, of her state and of our nation. And to honor her memory, let us continue to fight to realize the promise of America, Harris said. A promise of freedom, opportunity and justice, not just for some, but for all. Before Jackson Lee was elected to Congress, she sat on Houstons city council from 1990 to 1994. She joined the House in 1995 and served this Congress on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Accolades in Houston Several members of Congress, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, paid their respects at Thursdays service. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made remarks. Jackson Lee was a surrogate for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign, and gave a speech during the Democratic National Convention that year. Hillary Clinton said she had a message for Jackson Lee, that Democrats will carry your good work onward. She added that she wished Jackson Lee could see Harris sworn in as the first Black and Asian American woman president if she wins this November. Jeffries said that Jackson Lee was beloved by her colleagues in Congress and that he was amazed how Jackson Lee was always on the scene. I dont think there was a single event on Capitol Hill that she missed, Jeffries said. Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pramila Jayapal of Washington said that Jackson Lee was courageous and caring. She believed in our collective power to stand up for justice and she pulled all of us forward with her strength and her vision, Jayapal said. President Joe Biden paid his respects earlier this week, bringing a bouquet of flowers to a service at Houston City Hall on Monday. She spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity and grace, Biden said. During his visit, he also offered condolences to her immediate family: husband, Elwyn Lee, and their two adult children, Erica Lee Carter and Jason Lee, according to White House pool reports. There was a guest book at the service that Biden signed: Fearless, proud, and bold. May God bless a dear friend and great American. May God bless you, Sheila Jackson Lee, according to the White House. Harris dismisses Trump as the same old show as he rips into her on race A harsher, more familiar version of former President Donald Trump reemerged Wednesday as he lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris with crass personal insults, exaggerated criticism of her policies and a dose of the racial animus that was a highlight of his first run for office. At a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump focused his remarks on crazy Kamalas policies. He questioned how she would deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He attacked her as a liberal from California. And he criticized press coverage of her, saying all of the sudden shes the new Margaret Thatcher, and said they gave her a transformation like Houdini. But while Trump did not repeat his suggestion at the rally that Harris only recently became Black he posted on social media that Harris was a stone cold phony. And if Trump had opened a wound, his campaign seemed intent on pressing a thumb deeper into it. In the arena before Trump spoke, an old headline displayed on a megatron read: Californias Kamala Harris becomes the first Indian American US senator. Alina Habba, the Trump attorney and surrogate, told the crowd: Unlike you Kamala, I know who my roots are and where I come from. And, later, across the country in Arizona, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, called Harris a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her. Trump ticked through much of the primaries and then the early phases of the general election under the careful watch of a more professionalized campaign, with fewer of the off-message moments that became the hallmark of his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. Then came the assassination attempt, which had left him, allies told POLITICO, emotional and serene and even spiritual. But that new tone, too, quickly faded, giving way to insults and personal attacks. And then came not only a marked return to what has been the animating force of Trumps turn on the political stage an instinctive racial insensitivity that was the hallmark of his first run for office. Trumps remarks came on a day that in many ways marked the beginning of the final sprint of the campaign with Harris in Houston on the brink of choosing a running mate and Vance deployed at a rally in Glendale, Arizona. And they featured echoes of his 2016 run for office, with some allies like Laura Loomer circulating Harris birth certificate on X a callback to the birtherism that marked his first campaign. Harris, speaking in Texas as Trump was finishing his remarks, didnt take the bait. She dismissed Trumps remarks as divisiveness, disrespect and the same old show as she spoke to a gathering of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority in Houston. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts, Harris told the historically African American sorority. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength. Harris has since her Howard University days been a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, which like Sigma Gamma Rho is part of a group of historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the Divine Nine. Her comments represented a stark departure from the fiery pushback of her allies. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Trumps comments repulsive and insulting, saying no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a top contender to be Harris running mate, called Trumps remarks the comments of a desperate, scared old man who has been having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor. I think hes worried, and shes going to continue to do this, and shes going to win the election in November, Kelly told reporters outside the Capitol. During an interview at a convention of Black journalists in Chicago earlier Wednesday, Trump had tried to boost his profile with Black voters by arguing that immigrants coming to the country illegally were taking over Black jobs and taking employment away from Black people. But strategists on both sides of the aisle believe he did the opposite, including by suggesting that Harris was unqualified for the job and could be a DEI hire. Hes hurt his chances with Black men because, although there was a percentage of them that were looking to vote for him, theyre hearing DEI, theyre hearing that Kamala was Indian before and now shes Black, thats going to be very offensive because a lot of folks in the Black community come from mixed backgrounds, said Douglas Wilson, a Democratic strategist in North Carolina. Today he lost a large portion of whatever support he had in the Black community. There were other signs on Wednesday that Trump was channeling the darker vestiges of 2016. He called ABC News Rachel Scotts questions nasty, a derogatory title he used for his then-opponent, Hillary Clinton. His campaign stroked his perennial grievance with the press, saying in a statement on Liberal Mainstream Media Malpractice that the media need to make a decision, and answer if their goal is to unite the Country or further divide us, because based on the unhinged and unprofessional commentary directed toward President Trump today by certain members of the media, many media elites clearly want to see us remain divided. And back in Harrisburg, Trump himself acknowledged a kind of reversion had taken place. Following the convention and the assassination attempt, he admitted he was nice for about three, four, five hours. And then I said, these are bad people. We have to win this battle. Isabella Ramirez contributed to this report. By Andrew Hay (Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday lauded U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee as a "fierce champion of justice" at the funeral of the prominent voice on African American and women's rights within the Democratic Party. Jackson Lee announced in June she had pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. The Texas lawmaker died on July 19, aged 74. Harris was the highest ranking U.S. official at Jackson Lee's Houston service, acting as consoler in chief for the 15-term representative who promoted legislation addressing social justice, economic inequality and public health. "To know her was to marvel at her mastery of the legislative process," said Harris, who is poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden quit the race last month. Harris recalled her work with the congresswoman on a bill to recognize "Juneteenth" as a federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans. She recognized they were both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically African American sorority for female students at U.S. universities and colleges. The vice president's rival, Republican Donald Trump, on Wednesday falsely suggested to the country's largest annual gathering of Black journalists that Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, has long identified as both Black and Asian. The service at Fallbrook Church included a gospel choir, singers and tributes from fellow Democrats ranging from U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who lauded Jackson Lee's commitment to democracy. She "really believed that we were all created equal," said the 42nd president. Jackson Lee, a graduate of Yale College and the University of Virginia Law School, was a vocal proponent of police reform in the face of congressional roadblocks after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, a Black man whose death sparked nationwide protests. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said she was among the first to support the families of Black people killed by police, ranging from Breonna Taylor to Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. He was among speakers who said she prepared the ground for Harris to become the first Black woman to be a major party's presidential candidate. The Reverend Al Sharpton called on the audience to follow in Jackson Lee's footsteps fighting for criminal and racial justice. "We will fight every bigot and racist whether they're Black of white or orange," said Sharpton. (Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Deepa Babington and Daniel Wallis) Fox Newss Harris Faulkner said much of the audience enjoyed former President Trumps interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention Wednesday, despite what she described as a little bit of contention on the dais. Faulkner who co-moderated the event with ABC Newss Rachel Scott and Semafors Kadia Goba joined Fox Newss Martha MacCallum after the interview to describe the dynamic from inside the room, where Trumps combative tone at times evoked a negative and animated response from the audience. Asked for her behind-the-scenes take on some of the heated moments, Faulkner first noted some of the backlash ahead of the interview from NABJ members who disagreed that the association should hold an interview with Trump. Faulkner said she was glad to see attendees were mostly pleased that Trump accepted. What the nation has seen is this incredible buildup with journalists here reportedly upset because Donald Trump was coming some of them. And some of them we really hadnt heard from, Faulkner said, referring to journalists at the convention. So what I loved about what you couldnt see today was how much of that audience was enjoying the moment of hearing from a candidate that they might not always agree with. So for all of that pushback, young journalists that Im talking to after the event are saying, Well, were glad hes here, Faulkner added. Faulkner later acknowledged that it did get a little chippy when the former president sidestepped questions and attributed some of the contention to technical problems that Faulkner said made it difficult for those on stage to hear each other. In terms of the former president answering questions, Martha, you and I have both interviewed him. Its, its an interesting journey that you go on, but youve got to keep pressing, Faulkner told MacCallum. And there was a little bit of contention on the dais about whether or not he could hear, and when he could hear, would he answer the question, she continued, referring to Trump. Faulkner noted the animated responses from the audience, appearing to pick her words carefully as she slowed her speech in describing what she saw. In terms of the audience shouting back and having some reaction to him, it was, it was chippy at times, Faulkner said. But for the most part, they were laughing, and they were getting kind of, kind of what they, they didnt have before this, and that was a conduit to a man that they see a lot on TV, but dont know a lot about his policies. Trumps performance during his NABJ interview was broadly panned by Democrats, as Trump fought back against tough questions about his record, berated a Black moderator on the panel for using a hostile and nasty tone, and questioned the heritage of his likely Democratic opponent, Vice President Harris. She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said of Harris. So I dont know, is she Indian, or is she Black? She has always identified as a Black woman, Scott interjected. But you know what, I respect either one, Trump said. But she obviously doesnt. Because she was Indian all the way then all of a sudden she made a turn. And she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that. Harris is Indian American and African American. Her mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica. She also attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Vice President Harris on Wednesday responded directly to former President Trump after he mocked her heritage earlier in the day, saying the American people deserve better than the former president. Trump said that Harris was always of Indian heritage and then happened to turn Black during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention. It was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect, Harris said about Trumps remarks. And let me just say, the American people deserve better, she said. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us; they are an essential source of our strength. Harris, who is Indian American and African American, attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., and was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Her remarks on Wednesday were at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.s 60th Biennial Boule in Houston to celebrate another member of the Divine Nine, which is made up of Black fraternities and sororities. In this moment, once again, our nation is counting on you. To energize to organize and to mobilize, she told the crowd. Because when we organize, mountains move. When we mobilize nations change and when we vote, we make history. Harris also criticized Trump over Project 2025, the Heritage Foundations outline for the next GOP presidency, which Trump and his campaign have tried to distance themselves from. As we work to move our nation forward, let us be clear, there are those who are trying to move us backward, she said. She told them that a pillar of her campaign is freedom and vowed to defend the freedom to love who you love, the freedom to learn Americas full history, and the freedom for women to make decisions about their own bodies, among other freedoms. Bring it on, those who would dare to attack those fundamental freedoms, she said. Harris also gave keynote speeches at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.s Grand Boule in Indianapolis last week and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.s 71st Boule in Dallas earlier this month. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. MINNEAPOLIS The clock is ticking with less than 100 days until the election, and former President Donald Trump still has his sights set on flipping Minnesota, but Democrats aren't losing sleep over this dream. The 78-year-old has to overcome a losing streak and over 50 years of Democratic presidential wins in the state. Before President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection last week, the race between the two was tight. Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has taken charge of the ticket, Trump's hopes of giving Democrats a run for their money in the North Star State might just be out of grasp. More: Harris' VP options: From Josh Shapiro to Mark Kelly, sizing up the slate's pros and cons But Minnesota is a state of close calls, so despite an impressive loss streak from Republican presidential candidates, and a chaotic election cycle enduring political violence and extreme polarization, it could still mean a close race in November. A 'nail-biter' election Minnesota Democrats have the fourth-largest winning streak in the nation winning 26 consecutive statewide elections, But, Smart Politics, a political analysis site, founder and Minnesota elections expert Eric Ostermeier said that doesn't mean Harris has this election in the bag. More: A look at the closest Minnesota presidential election races in the last 50 years "Despite Democratic success," he said, Minnesota is "not a deep blue state" like California and New York. A quarter of those most recent statewide elections won were "nail-biters," Ostermeier said, most of them being off-year midterms. The state's average margin of victory has slimmed to 5.4% since 2000. In 2016, Trump lost the state by less than 2%. In 2020, his loss margin tripled to more than seven. "Minnesota, I believe, has the electoral pedigree in presidential elections over the last quarter century to have earned the right to be called one of the top seven or eight most competitive states," he said. Minnesota is consistently one of the top states for voter turnout in both general and midterm elections, which typically benefits Democrats. It is highly unlikely Minnesota would be a tipping point state, Ostermeier said, but if Harris loses it, other less securely Democratic states are also likely to go to Trump. "If Harris runs a good national campaign," he said, "I would be surprised if she lost the state." And the polls are saying she's winning Minnesota, at least for now. Before dropping out, Biden was holding on, just barely, in local polling. But now he has stepped aside for his second-in-command, Her reception from Minnesotans has been positive. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as she visits the St. Paul Health Center, a clinic that performs abortions, in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 14, 2024. A Fox News poll conducted after the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden stepping off the ticket shows the Democrat ticket and Harris' win over Trump widening to six points. Another poll, conducted by KSTP/SurveyUSA expresses even more Minnesota support for Harris, giving her a 10-point lead. Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said Harris' skyrocketing popularity is "nothing short of miraculous," citing her record-breaking fundraising and viral support from Gen Z. Martin said he is confident her identity as a Black woman and of South Asian descent combined with her age, significantly younger than both Biden and Trump, will energize the youth vote and minority blocks to turn out for her in November. More: Abortion laws are on the books but still on voters' minds in these states Minnesota GOP Party Chairman David Hanh said this bump in polling is expected, and he's not worried. "Now that you've got a new candidate, that's the new shiny object," he said. "Of course, people are going to be more satisfied with that, at least initially." Battling it out Less than two weeks after the Republican National Convention where he named his running mate, Trump and vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, campaigned in St. Cloud for a joint rally that attracted more than 8,000 attendees. Hahn said the Minnesota GOP's biggest obstacle for breaking the Democrat's winning streak is turning out their voters, a problem Democrats in the state don't typically have. He said the light being shed on Harris' left-wing record in the Senate could mean she loses support from more moderate voters. In addition to Harris' own political history, she'll also have to answer for Biden's. "The election has always been a referendum," Hahn said. "She is ultimately connected to the Biden administration and is in the same position of having to defend the terrible policies." In June, the Trump campaign announced their intention to open up a number of offices and expand their operations in the state to turn out support to the polls. The St. Cloud Times was not able to verify whether these leases have been obtained. The Trump-Vance campaign did not respond for comment. Martin said that this November is about "moving forward versus moving backwards," and despite knowing the election will be close, Trump's talks of winning the state are a head fake. "[Trump is] a trophy collector," Martin said. "He collects trophy wives, he collects trophy properties, there's no bigger trophy for a Republican running for president than flipping Minnesota." Harris' most recent visit to Minnesota was in March to St. Paul when she made history as the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic. She is expected to make her pick within the next week and will embark on a multi-battleground state blitz with her new running mate, starting on Tuesday in Philidelphia. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's standing in the unofficial race for vice president has soared to one of the top remaining names on the list in recent days. USA TODAY previously reported when asked on CNN if he was being vetted for the spot, Walz sidestepped the question and said just "being mentioned is an honor." Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Harris makes big gains against Trump in Minnesota polling MINNEAPOLIS The clock is ticking with less than 100 days until the election, and former President Donald Trump still has his sights set on flipping Minnesota, but Democrats aren't losing sleep over this dream. The 78-year-old has to overcome a losing streak and over 50 years of Democratic presidential wins in the state. Before President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection last week, the race between the two was tight. Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has taken charge of the ticket, Trump's hopes of giving Democrats a run for their money in the North Star State might just be out of grasp. More: Harris' VP options: From Josh Shapiro to Mark Kelly, sizing up the slate's pros and cons But Minnesota is a state of close calls, so despite an impressive loss streak from Republican presidential candidates, and a chaotic election cycle enduring political violence and extreme polarization, it could still mean a close race in November. A 'nail-biter' election Minnesota Democrats have the fourth-largest winning streak in the nation winning 26 consecutive statewide elections, But, Smart Politics, a political analysis site, founder and Minnesota elections expert Eric Ostermeier said that doesn't mean Harris has this election in the bag. More: A look at the closest Minnesota presidential election races in the last 50 years "Despite Democratic success," he said, Minnesota is "not a deep blue state" like California and New York. A quarter of those most recent statewide elections won were "nail-biters," Ostermeier said, most of them being off-year midterms. The state's average margin of victory has slimmed to 5.4% since 2000. In 2016, Trump lost the state by less than 2%. In 2020, his loss margin tripled to more than seven. "Minnesota, I believe, has the electoral pedigree in presidential elections over the last quarter century to have earned the right to be called one of the top seven or eight most competitive states," he said. Minnesota is consistently one of the top states for voter turnout in both general and midterm elections, which typically benefits Democrats. It is highly unlikely Minnesota would be a tipping point state, Ostermeier said, but if Harris loses it, other less securely Democratic states are also likely to go to Trump. "If Harris runs a good national campaign," he said, "I would be surprised if she lost the state." And the polls are saying she's winning Minnesota, at least for now. Before dropping out, Biden was holding on, just barely, in local polling. But now he has stepped aside for his second-in-command, Her reception from Minnesotans has been positive. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as she visits the St. Paul Health Center, a clinic that performs abortions, in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 14, 2024. A Fox News poll conducted after the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden stepping off the ticket shows the Democrat ticket and Harris' win over Trump widening to six points. Another poll, conducted by KSTP/SurveyUSA expresses even more Minnesota support for Harris, giving her a 10-point lead. Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said Harris' skyrocketing popularity is "nothing short of miraculous," citing her record-breaking fundraising and viral support from Gen Z. Martin said he is confident her identity as a Black woman and of South Asian descent combined with her age, significantly younger than both Biden and Trump, will energize the youth vote and minority blocks to turn out for her in November. More: Abortion laws are on the books but still on voters' minds in these states Minnesota GOP Party Chairman David Hanh said this bump in polling is expected, and he's not worried. "Now that you've got a new candidate, that's the new shiny object," he said. "Of course, people are going to be more satisfied with that, at least initially." Battling it out Less than two weeks after the Republican National Convention where he named his running mate, Trump and vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, campaigned in St. Cloud for a joint rally that attracted more than 8,000 attendees. Hahn said the Minnesota GOP's biggest obstacle for breaking the Democrat's winning streak is turning out their voters, a problem Democrats in the state don't typically have. He said the light being shed on Harris' left-wing record in the Senate could mean she loses support from more moderate voters. In addition to Harris' own political history, she'll also have to answer for Biden's. "The election has always been a referendum," Hahn said. "She is ultimately connected to the Biden administration and is in the same position of having to defend the terrible policies." In June, the Trump campaign announced their intention to open up a number of offices and expand their operations in the state to turn out support to the polls. The St. Cloud Times, a USA TODAY Network partner, was not able to verify whether these leases have been obtained. The Trump-Vance campaign did not respond for comment. Martin said that this November is about "moving forward versus moving backwards," and despite knowing the election will be close, Trump's talks of winning the state are a head fake. "[Trump is] a trophy collector," Martin said. "He collects trophy wives, he collects trophy properties, there's no bigger trophy for a Republican running for president than flipping Minnesota." Harris' most recent visit to Minnesota was in March to St. Paul when she made history as the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic. She is expected to make her pick within the next week and will embark on a multi-battleground state blitz with her new running mate, starting on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's standing in the unofficial race for vice president has soared to one of the top remaining names on the list in recent days. USA TODAY previously reported when asked on CNN if he was being vetted for the spot, Walz sidestepped the question and said just "being mentioned is an honor." Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Harris makes big gains against Trump in Minnesota polling Impact of Covid-19 on Thailand Tourism Thailand as a tourism destination has been severely struck. The tourism-reliant destination took a hit from the onset due to the Chinese Government suspending air transportation on January 23. Chinese tourists are the main source market for Thailand, accounting for 43% of arrivals in 2019, according to GlobalData. Thailand tourism Chinese tourists are the main source market for Thailand, accounting for 43% of arrivals in 2019. Credit: GlobalData. From the suspension of airlines, to the closures of hotels and attractions, to now the economic impact of Covid-19 affecting animals and sanctuaries in Thailand. It has become obvious that the tourism machine in Thailand relies on all the cogs to be in working order for it to be a success. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) predicted a revenue loss of $3.05bn from fewer Chinese tourists from January to April. It is probable that this number could rise higher as tighter travel restrictions are implemented, meaning travellers from other countries are now staying put. The decline has been swift and sharp. The graph shows historic and forecast international arrivals in Thailand between 2015 and 2023. The forecast figures are subject to change as the implications associated with Covid-19 are causing international arrivals to rapidly decrease. Due to drastic decreases in tourism numbers, caretakers are struggling to feed many elephants in sanctuaries within Thailand. The reduction in tourism numbers creates a huge economic loss for many industries in the Thai tourism sector. The fact that the wildlife, a major attraction in Thailand, cannot be fed illustrates the ripple effect that Covid-19 is creating. The government and TAT must work with sanctuaries to ensure helpless animals are fed. This can be done by providing bailouts so sanctuaries can operate. Elephant sanctuaries are considered a key tourist attraction in Thailand and attract thousands of tourists every year. It is in the Thai Governments interest to assist these sanctuaries. The government and tourism authorities must liaise in order to proactively manage this situation. There are other ways in which the elephant sanctuaries can be saved. Promotions can be set up to encourage worldwide donations and persuade other charities to assist. The Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival (EARS) foundation has set up a foundation to help provide provisions and care for elephants at risk. This charity should be heavily promoted. Thailands destination marketing organisation (TAT) can also promote this to reach overseas markets. Story continues "Knock-on effect of lack of tourism is far reaching in Thailand" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. (Bloomberg) -- Kamala Harris effort to tackle the root causes of migration is now one of her biggest liabilities as she seeks the presidency. Most Read from Bloomberg As vice president she had a broad, if ambitious, mandate to tackle problems contributing to a surge in migration from Central America to the US: Fight corruption; lure investment and strengthen the rule of law. Promote human rights and battle organized crime. Three years later, theres little to show for the effort, even if it was never intended to put an immediate halt to emigration. Before President Joe Biden issued an executive order in June to limit asylum claims, resulting in a slowdown in newcomers at the border, arrivals from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador the three countries known as the Northern Triangle that Harris focused on had fluctuated, falling in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 before rising in the first few months of this year. That failure, as critics see it, has dogged Harris since she became her partys presumptive nominee for president in this years election. Polling in swing states by Bloomberg News and Morning Consult has shown immigration is the No. 2 most important issue to voters, behind only the economy. Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have already sought to hammer Harris on the issue. To the extent that the policy was meant to stem migration flows, we still have very significant flows of immigrants from those countries, said Risa Grais-Targow, director for Latin America at Eurasia Group. Efforts at promoting transparency in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador sometimes strained ties with their leaders, ultimately pushing the administration to prioritize investment rather than the plans other objectives, she said. When Harris was assigned the responsibility in June 2021 amid a jump in emigration from Central America, the idea was to make fundamental fixes to the countries civic framework in a bid to make life better and lessen locals desire to leave for the US. This would show moderates that the border was a priority, while avoiding upsetting progressives who were horrified at harsh crackdowns during the Trump administration. Harris supporters point out that her mandate was limited to three countries, not a broad remit to fix a broken immigration system. They say her accomplishments were significant, arguing the measures will pay dividends for years to come. Outward migration has declined in locations where the strategy has successfully attracted companies and created jobs, and foreign direct investment has risen in the region due in part to White House efforts to encourage private investments, proponents say. And they highlight how difficult the job was in the first place: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are all developing countries with volatile politics, and Harris backers say critics are naive to suggest decades-old problems like endemic corruption or a lack of judicial transparency could be swiftly and easily solved. She managed to mobilize and connect with the private sector, said Jordi Amaral, a researcher who runs Americas Migration Brief, a newsletter that tracks the subject. At the end of the day though, the Root Causes Strategy was always a long-term deal this was never going to slow migration in the short term. The White House announced this year that it had cemented $5.2 billion in investment pledges for the region from companies including Meta Platforms, Nestle and Target. Thats equivalent to more than 3% of the countries combined gross domestic product. But participating organizations had deployed only $1 billion as of September 2023, according to a State Department report to Congress. In reality, very little has materialized. It was more of an image thing, an expression of political support, said Paulo de Leon, the director of Guatemala City-based business consultancy Central America Business Intelligence. The White House acknowledges investment has been slower than initially hoped for. It says the Partnership for Central America has created more than 20,000 jobs, led to 160,000 bank accounts being opened and connected 2 million people to the internet in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. While the Root Causes Strategy included broad efforts to strengthen government integrity and the rule of law, its hard to identify specific achievements in that arena. Last year, the US helped lead efforts to uphold election results in Guatemala following attempts by local prosecutors overturn them. This year, a US delegation visited Guatemala to advise its government on good governance, improving infrastructure and antitrust law. Military officials from US Southern Command visited Honduras last year to discuss security cooperation. The United States Agency for International Development has also launched food and education programs in Central America to reduce malnutrition and keep kids in school. Those initiatives have yet to yield much in the way of concrete results, and by some measures democracy has actually retreated in the region. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has used a state of emergency to undertake mass arrests of violent criminals, suspending civil liberties like freedom of assembly in the process. Honduras followed Bukeles lead when President Xiomara Castro embarked on a similar campaign in late 2022. In Guatemala, President Bernardo Arevalo has pledged to add 12,000 recruits to the countrys police force over the next four years. Its crucial for US government to engage in initiatives that democratize the economies in the region, not just investment, said Ana Maria Mendez Dardon, Central America director at the human rights research group Washington Office on Latin America. Perhaps the most successful business initiative fostered under the program involved the auto-parts maker Yazaki North America, which signed Harris pledge. In 2023, the firm opened a $10 million factory in northern Guatemala making wiring harnesses used by Ford, General Motors and BMW. The factory hired 1,000 people in its initial stage. Still, Republicans have hit at Biden, and now Harris, on the more than 8 million recorded crossings between ports of entry since Trump left office. GOP officials have advocated for a border crackdown but have blocked legislative efforts, including this years bipartisan Senate proposal, that would have directed new funding to the border. Their messaging has been effective, according to the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing-state voters. When asked who they trusted more to handle immigration, 53% of respondents favored Trump, compared with just 37% for Harris. Still, betting market PredictIt has Harris as the favorite to win the presidency against Trump. Harris, the daughter of immigrants, has pushed back in the early days of her presidential campaign, pledging at a rally in Georgia this week to find bipartisan agreement on the US-Mexico border. As president, I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed and I will sign it into law and show Donald Trump what real leadership looks like, Harris said in Atlanta. Her campaign has signaled she would allow Bidens executive order limiting asylum claims to stand. But Harris herself has distanced herself from the policy she wasnt at its announcement, didnt put out a statement and has declined comment this week on whether it will continue. Trump, for his part, has pledged to lead the largest deportation effort in the nations history and redirect local police to aid in border control. He has also vowed to complete the construction of the border wall that he ran on in 2016. A common fixture of his stump speech equates undocumented migrants with criminals and asserts that they are poisoning the blood of the country. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, defended Harris record. Vice President Harris has been a constructive player in recognizing the challenges that we have in our hemisphere, and recognizing that you take multiple approaches to dealing with this, including addressing economic opportunity and crime, he said. She has been a strong proponent in helping us with legislation that would provide a more orderly way in our border. One critical question is how much help the next US president will get from Mexico, which has stepped up its own enforcement measures to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the US border. Much of the effort has been concentrated in the south, near Mexicos border with Guatemala, where authorities bolstered highway checkpoints. Mexico also rounded up migrants in the north and bused them south, setting back their journeys. Authorities have increased monitoring of freight trains in a bid to prevent migrants from jumping aboard. President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum takes power in October, but so far theres little sign that her approach will be different from her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. In June, she met with White House Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and discussed migration among other topics. For all the effort the US has put forth in Central America, Border Patrol encounters with with citizens of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were at 29,077 in May, up slightly from when Biden and Harris took office. They dipped to 24,120 in June as Bidens new restrictions on asylum took effect. The US has tried for decades to promote economic prosperity in the region, but unfortunately these efforts have not been successful in preventing irregular migration, said WOLAs Mendez Dardon. The prospect of the American dream still enchants people, especially in rural areas, who face limited economic opportunities. These measures havent had the impact Harris expected because they arent necessarily linked with realities in the region, she said. --With assistance from Josh Wingrove, Stephanie Lai, Maya Averbuch, Sarah Halzack, Robert Jameson and Eric Martin. (Adds data from betting market PredictIt in 20th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Sometimes, when Vice President Kamala Harris would see Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee coming down the hall, she would think about hiding. Harris confessed this with a smile at the memorial service for the Texas Democrat, where those in the audience were well aware of how relentless Jackson Lee could be. Jackson Lee, Harris said, never wasted time on small talk or trivial niceties, but dug right into whatever detailed problem she was trying to solve, and what Harris could do about it. Harris, who took time out of her 96-day campaign for President to eulogize Jackson Lee on Thursday, praised the example she set for others over nearly three decades in Congress. Jackson Lee showed that once power had been earned, there is an obligation to do something good with it, Harris said. In the week and a half since locking up her partys nomination for President, Harris has focused her public remarks on drawing a distinction between her work as a prosecutor and Donald Trumps criminal record. She has also laid out her vision for a country that welcomes more people into its success, a goal that she said Jackson Lee spent her life pressing her colleagues to pursue. Speaking inside the cavernous Fallbrook Church on the northern outskirts of Houston, Harris described Jackson Lee as one of the smartest and most strategic legislators in Washington, D.C. and said she was also one of the most unrelenting. Harris was joined on stage by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She always expected in all of us that we would rise to a point of excellence, knowing life was too short and theres too much to be done, Harris said. A few days before Jackson Lee passed away on July 19 at the age of 74, Harris described calling the congresswoman to thank her for her encouragement over the years. I thanked her for her courage and her conviction and her relentless focus on those who are too often left out and left behind, and her unwavering belief in the power that we each have to change our country for the better. Harris told the story of how in the summer of 2011, when several Houston community pools were closed during the hot days of summer because of budget shortfalls, Jackson Lee called city businesses and pressured them into donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to reopen the pools. Jackson Lee was a coalition builder who knew that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us, Harris said. Harris said that her husband Doug Emhoff and Jackson Lee had developed a bond over the years and the two had attended many events with the Jewish community of Houston together. She described her work as a champion for womens rights, protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ federal workers, founding the Congressional Childrens Caucus, and pressing to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. To honor her memory, let us continue to fight to realize the promise of America, a promise of freedom, opportunity and justice, not just for some, but for all, Harris said. Contact us at letters@time.com. Kamala Harris is going on a border offensive as she tries to tackle one of her biggest vulnerabilities an issue the vice president and her campaign know they cant ignore. The Harris camp believes that by adopting a more active posture on the issue, it can take advantage of former President Donald Trumps many vulnerabilities on immigration, including his role in killing a bipartisan Senate bill earlier this year and controversial policies he supported as president, such as family separation. At an Atlanta rally on Tuesday, Harris tried to flip the issue of immigration on its head by taking a position unfamiliar to most Democrats in past cycles: bragging about her work on the border, both as state attorney general in California and as vice president. Her campaign launched a new immigration-focused ad on its social channels with this message: Kamala Harris is fighting to fix our broken immigration system. Donald Trump is trying to stop her. The Harris campaign is planning more digital ads that will needle Trump on the issue and will use surrogate events to help elevate the vice presidents message, according to a campaign official, granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy. Arizona border-city mayors endorsed Harris earlier this week and will hold a press conference on Thursday ahead of Sen. JD Vances visit to the border to highlight how Vance and Trump have failed local communities by killing the border security deal. The decision to take on immigration a traditional liability for Democrats and particularly Harris as a core part of her message on the trail marks one of the first strategic decisions from her campaign, as aides and allies rush to define their candidate on key issues before the Republican party does. It previewed an aggressive posture from Harris, as she counters a barrage of GOP attacks on the border. Harris aides and allies believe changing conditions will aid her argument, which will focus on Trumps role in killing the bipartisan border deal, as well as the controversial policies from his first term. Months after the collapse of the border talks, President Joe Biden issued an executive action clamping down on asylum between ports of entry. Illegal crossings are down 55 percent since the new policy was enacted in June, the lowest figures seen since the end of Trumps administration. She wants every American to know that the Biden-Harris administration negotiated a bipartisan border bill with House Republicans, and it was ready to pass. And it was Donald Trump who blocked it, said Matt Barreto, president of BSP Research, a polling firm that works with the Harris campaign. Thats the truth, and she is going to tell that story. While notably absent from Harris public remarks in the first days of her presidential campaign, immigration was the first policy issue Harris tackled during Tuesday nights speech, pointing to her record as an attorney general of a border state when she prosecuted transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers who came into the country illegally. And she touted the White Houses efforts to work with lawmakers earlier this year on a bipartisan border deal, only to have it squashed by Trump. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk, she said. He tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election, which goes to show Donald Trump does not care about border security. He only cares about himself. And when I am president, I will actually work to solve the problem, she continued, vowing to bring back the border security bill Trump killed and sign it into law. Her decision to dig in speaks to how important the issue remains for voters this cycle and one that has emerged as one of her top political liabilities. Immigration has polled as a top concern for voters this year, and recent polls show that more voters trust Trump to handle the issue than they do Harris. White House and campaign aides for months worked to sharpen Bidens messaging on immigration, operating on the belief that the scenes of chaos at the border could turn off independent and suburban voters. This thinking, in part, inspired the presidents crackdown on asylum in June and motivated congressional Democrats efforts to craft legislation. To Harris benefit, its the first time Democrats in Washington have carried a consistent message on immigration. After the collapse of the bipartisan border legislation, Democrats embraced the issue, pulling a page from Rep. Tom Suozzis playbook after he won his February special election in New York by running on strengthening border security. The lawmaker has talked with Harris aides since Biden endorsed her and passed along the message that she needs to hit the immigration issue hard and now. Thats exactly what she needs to do. So Im excited that shes done it as early as she has, Suozzi said in an interview. Its a top-of-mind issue, and you cant ignore it. And the answer is to lean into it, and to say what would you do? And she has said, she wouldve done the bipartisan deal. Complicating this issue for Harris is that Republicans have exaggerated her role working on migration in the Biden administration, slapping her with the misleading title of border czar. About six months into his term, Biden asked Harris to work with Central American countries to address the root causes of migration. This work has made her one of Republicans favorite targets over the last few years, as the White House struggled with immigration staff turnover and widespread confusion over the administrations policy and poor messaging. It wasnt until this year that the Biden administration and Hill Democrats coalesced around a consistent message: They support border security and relief for long-term immigrants inside the U.S. trying to navigate a broken immigration system. It remains to be seen whether her offensive will be enough to combat the onslaught. Trump and Republicans have zeroed in on immigration as the No. 1 issue now that they cant hit Harris for age or fitness for office as they did with Biden. The former presidents campaign and allies are already pouring millions into ads blaming Harris for the border crisis. Like Biden did in 2020, Harris took several progressive stances on immigration when she sought the Democratic nomination for the first time from supporting undocumented immigrants eligibility for health care and saying that she wanted to decriminalize border crossings. Republicans are resurfacing these comments to portray Harris as a supporter of open borders, even as the vice president, like much of the Democratic Party, has shifted to the right on the issue. Kamala Harris deadly destruction of Americas borders is completely and totally disqualifying for her to be president. You cant have a person like this as president, Trump said during his rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, last weekend. No person who deliberately releases these kinds of savage criminals to prey on our youth and our people ... not just youth, elderly people too ... should ever be trusted with power. Again, she has no clue, she has no clue, shes evil. Outside immigration advocacy groups and campaign surrogates are also participating in the Harris effort to shift the narrative, circulating memos and talking points in recent days about Harris role in drafting the White Houses immigration policy and the resulting drop in border crossings. Beyond border security, Harris is preparing to hit Trump on policies that remain unpopular with key swaths of the electorate like mass deportations while elevating the Biden administrations moves to grant legal protections to long-term, undocumented spouses and children of American citizens. Aides and allies say it will give Harris an opportunity to ding Trump once again for his controversial family separation policy, like she did when he was in office. While Vice President Harris was a senator, she did hold the Trump administration accountable for child separations. She did press them on that, Barreto said. And I would expect that she will stand up for and promote both border security and the integration of long-term immigrants simultaneously. Democrats giddiness over Vice President Harriss competitive veepstakes is underscoring the partys newfound excitement over what it sees as a deep and formidable bench that could extend well beyond 2024. The chatter around who could become Harriss running mate has elevated several rising stars in the party, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), and it has given Democrats a jolt of energy for future cycles. Weve seen through the veepstakes process that Democrats have a deep bench it includes governors, senators and other elected officials. I think its exciting for Democrats and energizing, said Democratic strategist Tim Hogan, who served as communications director when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) ran for the White House in 2020. The core excitement is that all these people are deeply qualified, and that there is an embarrassment of riches for the party, and for Vice President Harris, as she picks a running mate. Before his historic withdrawal, President Bidens presence on the ballot had bottled up what needed to be a generational turnover for Democrats, said Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota. Voters were apathetic about the idea of a Trump-Biden rematch, and the incumbent was weighed down by a barrage of concerns about his age and warning signs that key demographics, including younger voters and voters of color, were souring on the party. By stepping down, Biden has kind of unplugged, uncorked the next generation of political leaders. And Kamala Harris is part of it, Jacobs said. While announcing his withdrawal, the president argued its time for new, younger voices and that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. And in elevating Harris, who made history as the first woman and first person of color to take on the second-in-command role, Biden has renewed enthusiasm about the future of the party. Now, talk about who could join Harris on the new ticket made urgent by the short stretch before shes set to accept the official nod at the party convention next month has boosted top Biden surrogates and rocketed lesser-known Democrats into the national conversation. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has blanketed the airwaves in the days since Harris took over Bidens bid, and Shapiro has been hitting the trail to stump for Harris in his critical battleground state. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has said she doesnt intend to seek the No. 2 slot, but she nevertheless is stoking speculation about her next move. Observers suggest Harris will look to a battleground-state governor, such as Shapiro, to help shore up a key swing state. But in a blitz of media appearances that have looked to some observers like hearty auditions for a bigger national role, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has become a top attack dog defending the vice president as the successful Democratic leader of a red state. At the same time, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has gone viral for his down-to-earth branding of Trump as weird, a label the Harris campaign quickly latched onto. The surprise veepstakes is serving as a speed dating exercise for voters, heralding a new class of high-profile party leaders, said Democratic strategist and attorney Abou Amara. Its a chance for the country to get to know Democrats in leadership from different states in a way that has been fairly unique. I cant think of another time weve had an opportunity like this, said Democratic strategist Martha McKenna, who argued its opened up a healthier dialogue about Democrats future. On the other side of the aisle, [its] like everything is related to Donald Trump. Does he like you? Is he in a good mood? McKenna said. Whereas I feel like were in a situation where, even just with Biden stepping aside, its allowed a number of weeks here of conversation about the level of talent and strength among governors and senators and cabinet secretaries. The stage is now set for the first White House race in decades without a Biden, Clinton, Obama or Bush on the ticket, key names that have long dominated Democratic leadership. Those standard-bearers have done great things for the party, said Amara. But he noted while theyve been in the drivers seat, youve had a lot of pent-up demand, pent-up talent that really hasnt been given the sunlight and the nurturing that it deserves. The veepstakes is building optimism not just about Harriss VP pick and their chances in November, but also about whom the party could put forward in future cycles up and down ballot. Newsom, Whitmer and numerous other veepstakes contenders many of whom were also rumored names amid talks about who could replace Biden on the Democratic ticket before he endorsed Harris have already raised speculation about the White House race in 2028 and beyond. And while many of the names are already familiar to political observers, they will be new to many everyday voters. The American people get to see the crop, this new generation of Democratic leaders, and I think theyre excited about not just the diversity within them, not just the energy, not just the generational shift, but the sheer numbers, Amara said. I mean, weve got almost a dozen all-star-level talent at the Senate level, governors offices all across the country and for many, this is the first introduction to the depth of the bench. Harris was the only candidate to earn enough delegate support to qualify for the Democratic National Committees (DNC) virtual roll call to nominate the partys official presidential candidate, a process thats set to wrap up by Aug. 7. Shes expected to select her running mate in the coming days, with plans to kick off a swing state tour alongside her pick in Philadelphia next week. The Democrats convention starts in Chicago on Aug. 19. Early polling on a Trump-Harris match-up suggests the vice president is narrowing the gap against her Republican rival, but she nevertheless is headed toward a competitive fall contest, with tight fights in key battlegrounds. But even if Harris doesnt win the White House this November, the post-2024 conversation is now more likely to focus on the next generation, rather than bloodletting over Biden screwing up their chances, said Jacobs, the political science professor. Its really going to be: OK, whos the talent moving forward? Whos the voice of the party? Thats what were seeing right now. Its setting the scene for the 2025 and then the 2028 conversations about the direction of the Democratic Party, Jacobs said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro met with Kamala Harris representatives while some labor groups expressed opposition to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, as the Democratic candidates search for a running mate nears its end. Most Read from Bloomberg Shapiros meeting Wednesday is part of Harris selection process and took place without the vice president, said people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity. Its unclear whether the session was held virtually, or who else has held discussions with the vice presidents team. Shapiro, Kelly and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are among the top contenders for the job. One person familiar with the meeting said it was a routine part of the deliberations and warned against using it to draw conclusions about Harris ultimate selection. Labor groups, meanwhile, have expressed worries about Kelly joining the Democratic ticket, a potential warning sign as Harris looks to harness President Joe Bidens clout among major unions. Harris on Wednesday received the support of the United Auto Workers, an influential union in battleground Michigan whose endorsement Biden worked hard to secure. Kelly cannot possibly be seriously considered for vice president, said John Samuelsen, head of the Transport Workers Union, who said he relayed his worries to the campaign. Hes not nearly pro-trade union enough for serious consideration. Samuelsen cited Kellys prior refusal to endorse legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize, which is backed by almost all Senate Democrats. Kelly said last week that he would vote for the bill. Multiple unions have made their concerns about Kelly known to the Harris campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. The Arizona senator has received backing from other corners of the labor movement. I respect Senator Kelly and am encouraged by the consideration he is being given by @KamalaHarris campaign, Jim McLaughlin, president of the Arizona AFL-CIO, wrote on X. Spokespeople for Harris, Kelly and Shapiro declined to comment. Harris will make her pick within the next week, and the newly formed duo will kick off a tour of all seven major battleground states on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia. Harris said Tuesday she had not made a selection. My advice to the Harris campaign is remember the most important rule of picking vice presidents, which is do no harm, Jim Messina, who managed Barack Obamas 2012 campaign and is a possible candidate to join Harris team, told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. --With assistance from Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. HARTFORD, Mich. (WOOD) With residents concerned that the Hartford Police Department may soon become a thing of the past, the citys mayor says leaders plan to preserve the local police department. In the coming weeks, city staff intends to develop a long-term plan for preserving our police department, partnering with the Van Buren County Sheriffs Department and Tribal Police to help provide 24/7 coverage, Mayor Richard Hall said in a statement released Thursday. This is something we havent had for more than a year. Many Hartford residents expressed concern after a notice went out about a July 29 special meeting for the purpose of abolishing the police department. Movement to eliminate Hartford PD sparks concern The meeting was ultimately canceled. City Manager Nicol Brown told News 8 the notice was poorly worded and was not approved by her. But she noted that the city was exploring its options for policing one of which, Brown said Friday, would involve phasing out the Hartford Police Department in exchange for contracting services from the sheriffs office because the police department had been experiencing staffing issues for several years. Hall, too, emphasized that staffing issues have been a challenge. One of our highest priorities as a city is ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of our residents, businesses, and guests. It is a priority we take seriously, but one that has presented challenges in recent years, he said. We continue to experience turnover in the police department and problems with our leadership. City manager: Hartford reviewing options for PD amid staffing issues Just last week, former Chief Michael Prince who stepped in as interim chief in early 2023 after the previous chief, Tressa Beltran, stepped down amid a drug investigation was let go. City officials have not explained why, saying it is their policy to not discuss employment issues, though Hall attributed the decision to performance issues. Despite the problems the Hartford Police Department has faced, the mayor said Thursday that he and other city leaders are unwavering in our commitment to rebuilding the culture and integrity of our police department. We believe that this is the best way to ensure that Hartford remains a safe, secure place to live, work, and raise a family, and we are confident in our ability to achieve this goal, his statement concluded. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. A 35-year-old Harwich man pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Boston to one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, according to the office of Joshua Levy, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the district of Massachusetts. Jonathan Fleischmann was arrested and charged on May 16, 2023, and remains in federal custody. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs has scheduled sentencing for Oct. 16. Between March 17 and 18, 2023, Fleischmann's co-workers saw his cellphone downloading suspected child sexual abuse media files at work, according to the affidavit. The phone was left open and charging on a counter at their workplace when it happened, according to the statement. A subsequent search of the device found about 255 images and 55 videos that contained suspected child sexual abuse materials, according to the affidavit. Pleads guilty to separate charges on May 23 On May 23, Fleischmann pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for separate state charges in Barnstable Superior Court for invading a Yarmouth home and forcibly taking a 16-year-old female at gunpoint into her house as she came home from school in 2020, according to Levy's office. That investigation also revealed that Fleischmann had accessed a dark web hidden service on his cell phone dedicating to the trafficking of child sexual abuse material. Fleischmann is a registered as a Level 3 sex offender in Massachusetts due to previous convictions of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, in Barnstable District Court in 2006; and of open and gross lewdness, in Barnstable Superior Court in 2017, according to an affidavit filed with court papers. Level 3 offenders have a high risk of reoffending and pose a high degree of danger to the public, according to the state website. The charge of possession of child sexual abuse materials provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, according to the statement. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, the project uses federal, state and local resources to find and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as find and rescue the individuals harmed. Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz. Gain access to premium Cape Cod Times content by subscribing. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sentencing next for Harwich resident for photos, videos on phone Kyowa Kirin will optimize Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations and maximize the value of the company's Global and Established Brands for patients in APAC. Kyowa Kirin has agreed to enter into strategic partnerships with DKSH Holding and Hong Kong WinHealth Pharma Group Co. Limited. Kyowa Kirin will focus in-house resources on Global 2 Brands (G2B), CRYSViTA and POTELIGEO, and their rare diseases pipeline in South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia markets. SINGAPORE, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyowa Kirin Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Kyowa Kirin, TSE:4151, President and CEO: Masashi Miyamoto), announced plans to transform its Asia-Pacific (APAC) business for more sustainable and profitable operations, through strategic partnerships with DKSH Holding Ltd. ("DKSH") and Hong Kong Winhealth Pharma Group ("Winhealth"). Kyowa Kirin will also focus in-house resources on its future-growth core disease areas of bone and mineral, intractable hematological diseases/ hemato-oncology, and rare diseases by forming its APAC Cluster covering South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia markets. These moves underscore Kyowa Kirin's Vision 2030 goals of delivering life-changing value to patients in APAC by ensuring continued access to a portfolio of 11 brands across four therapeutic areas such as NESP for renal anemia and ROMIPLATE for platelet production. Under the terms of the agreement with DKSH, Kyowa Kirin has entered into a promotion and distribution agreement with DKSH for commercial rights to Kyowa Kirin's established medicines portfolio including seven brands in Hong Kong / Macau, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand markets. Additionally, Kyowa Kirin has also signed a promotion and distribution agreement with DKSH for commercial rights to Kyowa Kirin's global products: CRYSViTA in the Hong Kong / Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand markets, as well as POTELIGEO in Singapore. Under the terms of the agreement with WinHealth, Kyowa Kirin China Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., including its five established brands in China, will be transferred to a special-purpose company that will inherit them under Winhealth at a transfer price of up to RMB 720 million (approximately JPY 15.0 billion). Additionally, Kyowa Kirin has entered into a promotion and distribution agreement with WinHealth for commercial rights to Kyowa Kirin's global products (CRYSViTA and POTELIGEO). Abdul Mullick, Ph.D., Chief International Business Officer (CIBO) of Kyowa Kirin said, "Guided by our 'Story for Vision 2030', we have developed a strategy to continue delivering life-changing value and shape the future of Kyowa Kirin. We have defined our focus disease areas and identified opportunities to maximize the value of our products through in-house efforts and strategic partnerships. Recognizing the increasing challenges in the APAC region, we have made the difficult decision to restructure our APAC business, to ensure continued access to our medicines for patients, securing the future for as many of our employees as possible and ensuring sustainability. This transformation will enhance our efficiency and agility, empowering our team to make a great impact on patient lives and make people smile." About Kyowa Kirin Kyowa Kirin aims to discover novel medicines with life-changing value. As a Japan-based Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we have invested in drug discovery and biotechnology innovation for more than 70 years and are currently working to engineer the next generation of antibodies and cell and gene therapies with the potential to help patients affected by a severe or rare disease. A shared commitment to our values, to sustainable growth, and to making people smile unites us across our four regions Japan, Asia Pacific, North America, and EMEA/International. You can learn more about the business of Kyowa Kirin at www.kyowakirin.com. About DKSH Holding DKSH's purpose is to enrich people's lives. For almost 160 years, DKSH has been delivering growth for companies in Asia and beyond across its Business Units Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Performance Materials, and Technology. As a leading Market Expansion Services provider, DKSH offers sourcing, market insights, marketing and sales, eCommerce, distribution and logistics as well as after-sales services. DKSH is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business. Listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, DKSH operates in 36 markets with 29,040 specialists, generating net sales of CHF 11.1 billion in 2023. As a strategic healthcare business partner, DKSH Business Unit Healthcare distributes and commercializes pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and over-the-counter products as well as medical devices. With around 8,140 specialists, the Healthcare Business Unit generated net sales of CHF 5.6 billion in 2023. www.dksh.com/hec About Hong Kong Winhealth Pharma Group Hong Kong Winhealth Pharma Group is a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Hong Kong, with commercial operations across the Greater China Area and an expanding regional footprint in Asia and Europe. Specializing in the commercialization of innovative medicines, the company is dedicated to delivering breakthrough therapies for patients with cardio-renal, gastrointestinal, respiratory and anti-infectious and rare diseases, as well as other unmet and severely underserved medical needs. Winhealth has established successful long-term partnerships with numerous world-leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, creating a uniquely impactful and diversified portfolio that includes over 15 specialty products in both commercial and late clinical stages. Committed to patients and partners, Winhealth continuously expands its portfolio and seeks to bring more transformative therapies from its global network of partners. For more information, please visit www.winhealth.hk. Issued by Bridges M&C on behalf of Kyowa Kirin Asia Pacific. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/kyowa-kirin-announces-a-new-sustainable-business-strategy-for-the-asia-pacific-apac-region-302211907.html SOURCE Kyowa Kirin Vladimir Pavlov, the head of the Russian military's clothing and food supplier Voentorg, was detained on fraud charges, law enforcement officials reported on Aug. 1. Since April, several high-ranking military officials have been arrested on charges ranging from bribery to abuse of power after the dismissal of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov. Russia's Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Vovk claimed that Voentorg's general director "entered into a criminal conspiracy" with several other individuals to sell toiletries to the military at inflated prices. Vovk did not mention the name of the company's head, but according to the Voentorg website, Pavlov has been its CEO since 2012. Russian law enforcement agencies estimate that the "organized criminal group" inflated prices by 400 million rubles ($4.6 million) through government contracts between 2019 and 2022. Sign up for our newsletter WTF is wrong with Russia? Sign up Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) also recently reported a sharp increase in registered criminal proceedings for bribery in the Russian military. In the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces alone, the number of criminal cases opened over five months of 2024 due to illegal dismissal from service through bribery has tripled, according to HUR. Almost half of these proceedings are being investigated in the 8th Combined Arms Army, whose units are deployed in Ukraine. Another 36% are related to the 58th Combined Arms Army, whose commander was arrested in the spring of this year on corruption charges. Over 100 bribery cases have been launched against service members of the Southern Military District related to illegal dismissal from service. These proceedings include 38 cases against military personnel of the 102nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, based near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, 35 cases concerning the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment, located on the border with Sumy Oblast, and 33 cases concerning the 49th Brigade of the 49th Army. "The level of corruption in the Russian army has always been high, but previously, such bribery cases were not paid attention to," the statement read. Read also: Putin more than doubles lump-sum payment for joining war against Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Head of state prison system wants to close the doors to public scrutiny of security incidents A photo taken at 3 a.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024 shows interior lights on in the South Dakota State Penitentiary's East Hall. The lights stayed on overnight after a second night of unrest in East Hall. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) A photo taken at 3 a.m. on March 29, 2024, shows interior lights in the South Dakota State Penitentiary's East Hall. The lights stayed on overnight after a second night of unrest. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) The leader of the South Dakota Department of Corrections told lawmakers she doesnt want to answer to the states Corrections Commission, a body that exists to provide oversight and guidance to prison officials. Some commission members told South Dakota Searchlight in recent weeks that theyve felt uninformed and uninvolved lately, noting that theyve heard no details about two bouts of violence in the space of four months in two of the states prisons. Some even questioned the value of the commission and suggested it serves no purpose. According to the DOCs own website, state law requires the Corrections Commission to undertake a continuing study of criminal justice issues in South Dakota, which may include a review of current felonies, felony sentences, sentencing options, practices, programs, trends and initiatives. Corrections in focus More recent reporting: The DOC has taken the position, however, that the commissions only role is to sign off on funding requests from the prison industries where inmates work. That role is also listed in state law. The shift in focus came recently, according to two of the commissions longest-serving members. DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko told the Legislatures Government Operations and Audit Committee on Wednesday in Pierre that she also questions the commissions purpose, and suggested that lawmakers ought to take another look at what the commission does. Rep. Ernie Otten, R-Tea, chairs the audit committee and is a member of the Corrections Commission. For weeks, Otten did not return calls from South Dakota Searchlight seeking comment on the commission. During Wednesdays meeting, he offered a sentiment similar to the corrections commissioners who did respond. Ive been thinking about how to phrase this, but me being me, Ill just do it my way, Otten said. Its the biggest waste of time Ive ever had to endure. And so to have it rethought, we need to do that. Lawmakers: Information gap after security failures Wasko told lawmakers she believes she ought to answer to lawmakers, not a commission that includes community members. Wasko was on hand at the audit committee meeting to present the agencys annual performance metrics, something state agencies are required to do. Kellie Wasko, secretary of the Department of Corrections. (Courtesy SD DOC) After her presentation, Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, wanted to know if the Corrections Commission might be able to offer more oversight and information on security issues than audit committee members can in their once-a-year meetups with prison officials. Reeds taken plenty of questions lately about the prisons, he said. The South Dakota State Penitentiary saw two nights of violence, sparked in part by the shutdown of tablet-based text messaging, in March. That incident included injuries to staff and inmates, and led to 11 inmate indictments. Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield saw two skirmishes between inmates July 9-10. Before Wednesdays meeting, the DOC had released only two pieces of information about the Springfield incidents: that six inmates were injured, and that order was restored. Reed told Wasko its difficult to talk with constituents about prison issues without information, noting that the committee only sees her once a year. Members of the Legislatures budget committee see Wasko more often to talk about funding, most recently on Tuesday, but those meetings are also infrequent and lack representatives from the general public. At some point, Reed said, the incidents probably need to be reviewed by a broader group of people. Wasko: Public wants information too quickly Wasko disagreed. She didnt know anything about the commission or its role before her arrival from Colorado in the spring of 2022. The commissions role as an overseer of prison industries made sense to me, she said, because Colorado had a similar commission made up of similar people. The commission in South Dakota has four legislators, as well as judges and representatives from the labor, manufacturing and retail sectors. Wasko described the non-lawmakers on the committee as people from industries in the community. I dont feel like some of my high-security, high-risk incidents, Im not accountable to share that with somebody from the community, Wasko said. And those are public meetings. Wasko told the committee members shes comfortable being accountable to you because shes legally required to be. The problem, she said, is that people want information within 24 hours of what happened. In those first 24 hours, were still trying to figure out what happened, she said. At one point, shed heard that 40 shanks a slang term for items fashioned by prisoners into knife-like weapons were found after the Springfield violence. There were actually only four, she said. With regard to the number of inmates involved in the fighting, she said, I got four numbers in four weeks. Wasko did not specify where those numbers on shanks or inmates involved may have come from. The public wants answers before theyre ready, she said. Thats the problem. Theyre firing at us when were in the midst of this: I wanna know this, I wanna know this. Shes willing to close the doors and get into the nitty-gritty with lawmakers once the DOC completes an after-incident report, she said. She also trumpeted the DOCs annual statistical report, which she said is more detailed than recent annual reports to the Corrections Commission. The DOC secretary is obligated by law to call at least two Corrections Commission meetings a year. Based on her experience in Colorado and her review of the groups annual reports, she said, shes conducted the groups meetings the way I understood it to work and that made sense to me. Commission: Either involve us or change it Reed told Wasko he understands the difficulty of responding with public information when information is in flux. But he also said he wasnt asking about reviews in the immediate aftermath of a problem. Once there is an after-incident report, he said, there ought to be a way for lawmakers and the public to learn what happened and how the situations were addressed. He said the commissions makeup could be changed, but that the information ought to be available. Theres probably actions that have been taken since things happened, and those should be reported out and talked about to a group, Reed said. Otten offered his take on the commission being a waste of time, then closed the discussion by asking for a motion to accept the DOCs performance measures report. Dave McGirr is a representative for retailers on the Corrections Commission, as well as the former mayor of Huron and the former liaison to the police department for the Huron City Commission. McGirr now lives in the Sioux Falls area. He said Wednesday hes been pushing the commission to take up more serious matters for several years, and that he intends to bring up the issue again at the commissions September meeting. Outside perspectives can be helpful for any agency, he said, and he argued that the role of the commission is meant to reflect that. There are labor and business representatives on the commission to address prison industries, but he said the presence of judges and lawmakers suggests its meant to address broader issues than metal shop operations. The staff would prefer, and apparently Secretary Wasko would also prefer, that they not communicate any of that to us, McGirr said. And yet state law would seem to indicate that they need to. McGirr pointed to the issues surrounding the proposed new mens prison in Lincoln County as an example of why outside voices and transparency matter. Neighbors to the project some of whom have sued the state over its site selection process have repeatedly complained about a lack of information and consultation on the project. One neighbor a half-mile from the site told South Dakota Searchlight she first learned of the DOCs site plans less than 24 hours before the agency announced them to the public. Had the public been consulted and informed up front, McGirr said, the current controversies might have been avoided. Wasko may be experienced in corrections, but he said she clearly doesnt have much experience dealing with the public as he does. Ive served in elected positions for over 20 years, been on many, many boards, and gone through many, many trials and tribulations, McGirr said. And the worst thing you can do is not tell them as much as youre legally allowed to. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)With some of her major legislative priorities scuttled at the end of formal lawmaking, Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday morning would not comment on the failure of the House and Senate to strike an accord on a much-vaunted economic development bill. The legislation, which Healey has championed for months, would have reauthorized the states life sciences initiative and made a similar investment in the climate tech sector, as the administration has repeatedly harped on the need to maintain the states competitive edge. House, Senate Dems leave big priorities unfinished Look, Legislature is still in session. Theyre still at work, Healey told reporters outside the Park Street T station around 9:15 a.m., moments before the House adjourned and hours after top House Democrats admitted the economic development bill would not clear the branches by the end of the formal session. I know that Im gonna keep working this, the governor continued. I also am, you know, Im really glad we got a great budget done with really important investments. Weve got a housing bond bill done that, you know, is our top priority. We need more housing in the state. Weve got a veterans bill passed, you know, and theres more to come. Pressed on her reaction to the crumbling negotiations when informed the Legislature was not currently working on her priority bills, Healey said, Legislatures at work, and were gonna keep working on all this, OK? The House and Senate differed on the size and time span for reauthorizing the life sciences initiative, though lawmakers have largely agreed in recent months on the importance of continuing to support the growth of the biopharma sector. Healey has also stressed her mission to make Massachusetts a global hub for climate tech. These are important investments that we need to make, and thats why Im going to continue to stay at it with the Legislature, Healey said. Theyre in session, and were going to continue to work this. Healey declined to comment on her conversation with House Speaker Ron Mariano Wednesday night. But the governor told reporters that she spoke with both Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka. And you know, continuing to work on this and moving forward, Healey said. We gotta move forward with important agenda items here. Asked about the future of the commonwealths clean energy goals after a bill focused on siting and permitting reforms also collapsed, Healey reiterated, Were gonna continue to work on that. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. The Springfield-Greene County Health Department is planning a return to the Bengsch Building next week. According to a press release from the department, the first phase of renovations at the Bengsch Building (227 E. Chestnut Expy.) are complete, and the following services are set to return there on Aug. 6: STI testing and treatment Vaccinations Vital Records (such as birth and death certificates) Lab services (such as well water testing) To make the transition, those services will be closed on Aug. 5. They are currently available on the fourth floor of the Cox Medical Tower (1443 N. Robberson Ave.) and will be available there through Aug. 2. Health Department services in other locations will not be impacted during this transition. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Health experts are urging Mississippians to take the heat seriously. Jim Pollard, public affairs manager for AMR Central MS, said the high temperatures can cause serious medical conditions or even death. There are certain groups who are at greater risk of suffering heat exhaustion or potentially fatal heat stroke. That would include elders, small children; three, four years old and younger. Also, folks who are chronically ill, substance abusers, folks who are obese and pregnant ladies. You want to keep a close eye on all of those groups, neighbors, friends, relatives throughout a heat wave such as were experiencing, he said. MDOT worker rescues injured puppy Pollard encouraged people to limit outdoor activity until sundown or early morning hours. If you have to be outside during the day, wear protective coverings, take frequent breaks and stay well-hydrated. Allie Jasper, public information officer with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), said students going back to school should also take precautions. On a bus, you can put your window down to make sure that youre getting air circulating. If you can, get them a little fan or something like that. Wear a hat, light-colored clothing and make sure theyre wearing light clothing in general. Nothing too heavy, Jasper said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heavy sweating an weakness are signs of heat exhaustion. If you begin to experience fainting or dizziness, contact 911. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Weather Forecast Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Poll worker Darcy Smith (second from left) helps check in voters at Sequoyah United Methodist Church in Fayetteville on March 5, 2024. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansans ability to vote in November falls heaviest on the shoulders of the people who staff polling places a neighbor, a grocery store clerk or a friendly grandmother. But in Arkansas counties with dwindling and aging populations, finding poll workers can be challenging. The current political climate also has some county officials concerned about their ability to staff voting locations in November. Mike Adam, chair of the Jefferson County Election Commission, said officials consistently struggle to find enough poll workers for its 34 voting locations. [The population] is getting older, and the people that are younger are leaving, Adam said. Some of my very best poll workers in previous years are no longer doing it because theyre getting too old. Power the Polls, a national nonpartisan initiative to recruit the next generation of poll workers, is tracking a national shortage of election officials and recently identified four Arkansas counties that have an urgent need: Pulaski, Faulkner, Little River and Desha. Aug. 1 is National Poll Workers Recruitment Day, and Power the Polls assesses needs by calling local officials, monitoring news articles and working with organizations. In Arkansas, the national initiative noted that counties in need are typically short a few dozen poll workers, Program Manager Marta Hanson said. County election commissioners interviewed by the Advocate reported varying levels of readiness with the Election Day just three months away. Many officials said they will rely on workers from previous elections to return, though theyre also recruiting an adequate number of alternatives in case someone is unavailable on Election Day. Jefferson County needs about 240 poll workers on Election Day, and Adam said recruitment efforts are underway. Jefferson County officials, along with those in Desha and Little River counties, have turned some focus on recruiting at local high schools. Under the 2023 LEARNS Act, graduating students are required to have 75 hours of community service, which Election Day work can help fulfill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Critical role Poll workers put in long days on Election Day. They start before sunrise and usually dont end until well into the evening, checking in voters, monitoring the process and ensuring any issues voters have are handled. Arkansas election officials are guaranteed at least minimum wage for their work, though some people may choose to file an affidavit rejecting pay and serve in a volunteer capacity instead. Get Loud Arkansas, a nonprofit voter advocacy group, is partnering with Power the Poll to recruit enough election officials come November and identified nine additional Arkansas counties with a high need. Poll workers are a vital part of ensuring that elections run smoothly and that every vote is counted, said Kristin Foster, deputy director of Get Loud. Encouraging more members of the public to become poll workers can also increase representation and accessibility for voters on Election Day, Hanson said. It very well might be that a jurisdiction has enough warm bodies to staff a polling place, she said. If its in a community that has a lot of eligible voters who speak a language other than English at home if they get 10 new poll workers who are fluent in both [languages], that is an opportunity to place them in those locations to make voting more accessible for voters who speak other languages. Each of Arkansas 75 counties recruit and train local poll workers, and the process in which officials prepare for upcoming elections varies. The prep is largely left up to county officials, and the State Board of Election Commissioners does not track how many poll workers are logged in each jurisdiction. Board Director Chris Madison said its typical for counties with smaller populations to struggle with finding enough poll workers, though there are procedures in place if Election Day comes and a location is short staffed. You could not do the election without them, Madison said of poll workers. Every polling place needs at least four workers, though some counties will assign additional workers to more populated locations. Larger counties with more polling places often start planning earlier because of the volume of workers needed. Heightened political concerns It takes nearly 1,000 election officials to ensure Election Day runs smoothly at Pulaski Countys 92 polling places. Amanda Dickens, Pulaski Countys election coordinator, said she isnt too concerned about having enough people to work the polls in November because there is a pretty hefty pool of former workers to choose from, some who have been doing it for more than a decade. Dickens said the county election commission has received about 400 applications for poll workers this year, and they will be saved as alternates for experienced folks who are unavailable on Election Day. Training for Pulaski County poll workers starts as early as mid-September, and Dickens said its important each worker knows the proper procedure and how to solve common issues like name and address changes or questions about identification cards. While shes not worried about staffing the polling locations, Dickens said she is concerned about what the environment will be like on Election Day. Its just the temperature of everything right now, and hoping that things stay good here locally and nothing gets out of [hand], kinda crazy, Dickens said. Thats our main concern, is to make sure everybody stays safe. Angela Jean Scott, chair of the Johnson County Election Commission, said the upcoming heated presidential election may affect the ability to staff the countys 12 voting centers if people get cold feet. It is harder, especially as you have people that are watching the news, and theyre older and they watch news a lot, they get a little more nervous, Scott said. Not necessarily about aging out, per se, but just the heated debate around things is a little more difficult. Despite these concerns, Scott said she is on track to have about 70 poll workers ready to go on Election Day. The Johnson County Election Commission is also creating an emergency contingency plan if there are any issues in November. Scott said part of that plan will be preparing members of law enforcement to be positioned if anything goes awry. With the landscape as it is this year, the need for responsible, reliable and committed poll workers is more important than ever, Hanson said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Dangerous heat is spreading throughout much of the United States as a heatwave expands from the Plains into the Southeast, including Tennessee. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service extended the heat advisory for Middle Tennessee until 7 p.m. Thursday, with temperatures reaching the high 90s and heat index values reaching as high as 109. According to the National Weather Service Prediction Center, the extreme temperatures are spreading throughout the entire Southeast region. Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, parts of North Carolina and Kentucky, and other states are under a maximum heat risk until Thursday, with temperatures expected to exceed 100 and heat index values reaching 110. The heat will spread south and east to the Lower Mississippi Valley, Gulf Coast, and Mid-Atlantic through Friday before slowly waning into the weekend, said the prediction center. According to the weather service, the latter half of the weekend will bring slightly "cooler" temperatures to Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Dangerous heat is expected to continue in the Great Plains and move into the Southeast throughout the rest of the week. High temperatures are expected to exceed 100F, with heat indices approaching 110F. This level of heat may impact anyone without proper hydration or cooling. pic.twitter.com/oRTGdiwJ08 NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) July 30, 2024 "High humidity values, especially for eastern portions of the Plains into the Mississippi Valley and Southeast, will bring heat indices soaring into the 105-110 degree range for many, with some locations reaching as high as 115, and many heat-related warnings and advisories are in place," said the weather service. According to the weather service, the combination of hot temperatures and high heat indices will be dangerous to anyone without access to adequate air conditioning. Here's what else to know about the heat in Tennessee. National Weather Service warns of 'oppressive heat' across Middle and West Tennessee On Wednesday, the weather service issued a heat advisory for all of Middle Tennessee except the Cumberland PlateauRegion until 7 p.m. Thursday, warning of "oppressive heat". According to the weather service, heat index values are expected to reach up to 109 in the afternoon with "very little overnight relief." Counties included in the heat advisory are Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Sumner, Macon, Houston, Humphreys, Dickson, Cheatham, Davidson, Wilson, Trousdale, Smith, Perry, Hickman, Lewis, Williamson, Maury, Marshall, Rutherford, Bedford, Wayne, Lawrence, and Giles. Also on Wednesday, the weather service issued two seperate excessive heat warnings for West Tennessee. The first heat warning will be in place until 8 p.m. Wednesday and the second will be in place on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. During the first warning, heat index values will reach up to 114 . On Thursday, "dangerously hot conditions" will return with heat index values expected to reach up to 111. Slightly "cooler" conditions will arrive on Friday, however temperatures will remain above normal. It's HOT out there Mid-South... Please be careful when heading outdoors today! It's only going to get hotter as we head into the afternoon..... #mowx #arwx #tnwx #mswx pic.twitter.com/6PNnjR7z1S NWS Memphis (@NWSMemphis) July 31, 2024 Much of Middle and West Tennessee will be experiencing major heat risks which can impact some health systems, heat-sensitive industries and infrastructure, while East Tennessee will experience moderate heat risks. The high temperatures and humidity have the potential to cause heat illnesses, said the weather service. Drinking plenty of fluids, staying in air-conditioned rooms, staying out of the sun, and checking up on relatives and neighbors is recommended. Heat warning vs heat advisory What's the difference? The weather service will issue an advisory when the heat index value is expected to reach 100 to 104 or 105 to 109 degrees within the next 12 to 24 hours. An excessive heat warning will be issued when the heat index value is expected to reach or exceed 105 or 110 within the next 12 to 24 hours. A warning is issued during high heat conditions that pose a significant threat to life, said the weather service. An advisory is for less serious conditions that cause significant discomfort or inconvenience. However, if caution is not taken, heat conditions during an advisory could also pose a threat to life. What heat-related illnesses are there? What are the signs to watch out for? Sunburn - Redness and pain are indicators of a sunburn. In severe cases swelling of skin, blisters, fever, and headaches can occur. Ointments may be applied to alleviate a sunburn, although more serious cases should be seen by a physician. Heat cramps - Heat cramps cause painful spasms usually in muscles of the legs and abdomen. Heavy sweating is also possible. Firm pressure should be applied on the cramping muscles, gentle massaging may also relieve the spasm. Sips of water may also be given. Heat exhaustion - Someone with heat exhaustion may experience heavy sweating, weakness, and cold, pale and clammy skin. They may also experience fainting and vomiting. If someone experiences heat exhaustion, get the victim out of the sun. Lay down, loosen their clothing and apply cool, wet cloths. Offer the victim sips of water and move them to an air conditioned room. If nausea occurs, discontinue use. If vomiting continues, seek immediate medical attention. Heat stroke - People experiencing heat stroke will have a high body temperature of 106 or higher. They will have a rapid and strong pulse and hot, dry skin. They may become unconsciousness. Heat stroke is considered a severe medical emergency, victims should be given medical assistance or transported to a hospital immediately, as delays can be fatal. Victims should be moved to a cooler environment, body temperature may be reduced with cold bath or sponging, with extreme caution. If temperatures rise again, repeat the process. It is not recommended to offer fluids. How to remain cool during extreme heat In instances of extreme heat, the weather service recommends the following: Slowing down - Strenuous activities should be reduced, eliminated, or rescheduled to the coolest time of the day. Individuals most at risk, like older adults and young children, should stay in the coolest available place. Dressing appropriately - Lightweight, light-colored clothing reflects heat and sunlight, and helps your body maintain normal temperatures. Consuming the right foods - Certain foods, like proteins, increase metabolic heat production and also increase water loss. Be sure to drink plenty of water or non-alcoholic fluids, as the body needs water to keep cool. Avoiding alcoholic beverages Reducing time in the sun - Spend more time in air-conditioned places. If you're outside, take frequent breaks in the shade. Try to avoid the sun, as sunburn makes the job of heat dissipation much more difficult. Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee heatwave bringing dangerous heat: Will cooler temps return? When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An example of a Herrerasauridae dinosaur skeleton (not the one discovered in Brazil). Herrerasaurus, pictured here on display in the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip, lived around the same time as the individual recently exposed in the Brazilian rains, which has yet to be identified. | Credit: Adwo/Shutterstock Heavy rains in southern Brazil have exposed the remains of one of the world's oldest dinosaurs, researchers say. Paleontologists found the fossils next to a reservoir in the municipality of Sao Joao do Polesine in May, The Associated Press reported on July 17. The team claims that the dinosaur, which has yet to be formally identified, is around 233 million years old and belonged to a family of Triassic predators called Herrerasauridae. Scientists are still debating evidence from the earliest-known dinosaurs . The oldest undisputed dinosaur fossils are around 231 million years old and include bones from a few different groups, including Herrerasauridae. However, there are also older fossils from a disputed dinosaur called Nyasasaurus , which lived around 240 million years ago. The skeleton of the newly discovered dinosaur is almost entirely preserved, according to Agencia Brasil , a public news agency in Brazil. If the specimen is indeed a 233-million-year-old Herrerasaurid, then it will help researchers decipher the base of the dinosaur family tree. "It's among the oldest in the world" and will likely play a role in "helping us understand the origin of the dinosaurs," Rodrigo Temp Muller , a paleontologist at the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil who led the excavation, told Agencia Brasil. Related: T. rex could have been 70% bigger than fossils suggest, new study shows The fossils will help scientists better understand the first wave of predatory dinosaurs to occupy the top of the food chain, Muller said. The individual would have been around 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) long, but its species may have grown even larger. "It's a carnivorous, bipedal animal, so it walked on its hind legs and probably had its hands free to handle prey," Muller said. "We can't say it had reached its maximum size. Although he was 2.5m long, some individuals in this group could reach five or six meters [16.5 to 19.5 feet]." RELATED STORIES Pair of dog-size dinosaurs likely crushed to death in underground burrow collapse If birds are dinosaurs, why aren't they cold-blooded? Newfound dinosaur with giant, horned headpiece named after iconic Norse god Muller and his colleagues uncovered the fossils after rains sped up natural erosion in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This region experienced a record amount of rainfall earlier this year, which created floods that killed at least 182 people, The Associated Press reported. The site where Muller and his colleagues work is part of the Quarta Colonia Geopark and is known for dinosaur fossils. The rains mean the researchers are now racing to recover exposed fossils before they are lost or destroyed, Agencia Brasil reported. "If there's a lot of rain, small materials are sometimes lost before we can get to them, so now we are rushing to rescue all the materials that have been uncovered," Muller said. HONOLULU (KHON2) Hawaiian Electric customers around Oahu are advised to conserve energy and prepare for rolling power outages starting at 6 p.m. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The rolling outages are a result of the unexpected loss of the largest independently-owned power plant on the island. 20K East Honolulu customers impacted by power outage HECO reported that a 208-megawatt Kalaeloa Partners plant went offline around 1 a.m. on Wednesday after an underground pipe ruptured. Crews are working to restart other generating units and will rely on solar energy systems, available wind power and battery energy storage systems to help make up the shortfall of generation during the day. Officials said the following areas will experience 30-minute outages if needed: Waipahu, sections of Pearl City, Kunia, Ewa Beach Waiawa, Crestview, Mililani, Kunia, Waimalu, Upper Kipapa areas Pearl City, Waimalu Majority of leeward areas Lower Kalihi, sections of Upper Kalihi Kakaako Sections of Kahala Sections of Kaimuki and Kapahulu Majority of Kaimuki, sections of Kapiolani Boulevard and Waikiki University of Hawaii Manoa campus, Manoa Nuuanu and School Street area According to HECO, downtown, Chinatown and Hawaii Kai are not included in the rotation due to recent large outages in those areas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. How you can help save bears lives in Yosemite YOSEMITE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) After finding scat near tent cabins in Yosemite, park rangers advise the public why it is so important that people keep their food items locked and how that could help to save the bears. Park rangers say they found scat near tent cabins at Curry Village in Yosemite on Tuesday morning. The discovery, rangers say, happened after a bear got into the trash left out in the area. Rangers say when a bear gets human food or trash, it can seek high-calorie food and lose its natural fear of people. They warn that just one instance of getting human food can alter a bears behavior, eventually causing it to become persistently bold or aggressive in search of food. Bears looking for human food and garbage can damage property and occasionally injure people. To prevent this, park rangers encourage visitors to make sure their food, drinks, toiletries, and trash are not a trap that changes a bears behavior by keeping all trash and disposable items within arms reach, in a food locker that is latched, or inside car with windows closed, door locked, and food out of sight during daytime only. Since 1998, people have improved their food storage, with park rangers say resulted in a 95% drop in negative human-bear interactions. By joining most visitors in following food storage regulations, everybody can actively help save bears lives. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. The motel owners, in their lawsuit, allege the city took action by faking the existence of serious housing code violations purportedly discovered on the plaintiffs' properties in order to invoke emergency powers to evict tenants and revoke the motels business license and certificates of occupancy. (Photo: Dana Gentry/Nevada Current) A federal lawsuit filed against the City of Henderson in July alleges the city intentionally imposed enforcement actions designed to close a Motel 6 on the corner of Lake Mead Parkway and Water Street, so the property could be acquired on the cheap, bulldoze the low-income housing units, and replace them with a planned shopping center. The action amounts to a private taking, the suit alleges. A source familiar with the citys decision-making who asked not to be identified out of concern for retaliation says Henderson officials agreed to close down the Motel 6, a laundromat, and a sandwich shop in order to appease Strada Development Group, the planned developer of a 22-story tower and fulfill the citys goal of establishing a gateway to Water Street. No one wants to put a beautiful building across the street from that motel, the source said. It was a condition of the development that they had to go. The city and the developer deny the allegations. There was no coupling between the two projects, says Tom Wucherer, founder of Strada, which is seeking to purchase the two-acre parcel that is partially owned by the citys redevelopment agency and envisioned as the gateway to Water Street. The motel owners, in their lawsuit, allege the city took action by faking the existence of serious housing code violations purportedly discovered on the plaintiffs properties in order to invoke emergency powers to evict tenants and revoke the motels business license and certificates of occupancy. The lawsuit says the city informed the property owner that current building permits that have been submitted and reviewed a few times will not meet the current Downtown Masterplan standards. From February of 2023, six months after Strada Development Group submitted plans to the city for the Waterfalls, until May of this year when the city revoked the motels business license, code enforcement initiated eight actions at the Motel 6. While the motel has been closed, the sandwich shop and laundromat, both tenants, are still operating. They may have been doing things wrong. I dont know. But code enforcement made it nearly impossible for the motel to come into compliance, the source said. They did all of this to be able to shove homeless people out of areas so the public wouldnt be disturbed by them. Private taking California attorney Frank Weiser, who is representing the motel owners, says hes argued cases with similar circumstances before the Ninth Circuit of Appeals and prevailed. In 1996 the Ninth Circuit found the City of San Bernardino engaged in a private taking when it boarded up low-income housing units and evicted tenants who were suspected of being gang members and drug dealers. The plaintiffs alleged the city conducted the sweeps to enable a commercial developer to acquire contiguous property. Eminent domain laws allow governments to take property that is necessary for public purposes. Private takings, according to the Ninth Circuit, are a special type of constitutional violation. Weiser says his clients in Henderson were never provided with proper notice that the Motel 6 would be closed or with a hearing. Arpit Patel, one of the owners of the motel property, says in late 2023 he asked the city if it was interested in buying the property. Henderson officials offered him $2 million to $2.5 million for the parcel, which he says he purchased in 2021 for $5 million. He says hes invested another $1 million in upgrades. The city insists it made no formal offer to Patel. Patel says when he turned down the governments offer, the city put him in touch with a developer who was interested only in the value of the land. Two developers are still eyeing the property, according to their attorney David Edelblute, who says his clients asked not to be identified. Edelblute also serves on the Henderson Redevelopment Commission, which oversees Water Streets revitalization. The citys acts were taken pursuant to a policy, custom, or practice, to close the motel, and other properties nearby, in order to transfer such properties at a reduced and depressed value to a private company. The city says it did not depress the motels value by closing it. Water St. or bust Henderson fancies itself a premier community, but downtown Henderson, the oldest part of the city and home to City Hall, bears little resemblance to the luxury master planned communities that surround it. Instead, much of it remains a throwback to the 1940s and the citys creation as a home for workers at Basic Magnesium, Inc. a national defense contractor during World War II. Bars and restaurants have popped up in recent years along Water St., downtowns main drag, but some areas, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods, remain blighted. The owners of the motel and the source who spoke to the Current suggest the events are part of a larger effort to gentrify Water Street, regardless of the impact on residents. In April, the Regional Transportation Commission, at the request of the city, moved two bus stops on Water St between Pacific Ave and West Atlantic at the request of business owners. The stops were adjacent to a senior apartment complex and a senior community center. You basically did it because you want to discourage the homeless population from being settled on the downtown corridor, resident LesPierre Streeter said during public comment at a city council meeting in May. You took no consideration of how it affects seniors, how it affects the disabled to have to travel an extra half a mile to three quarters of a mile in order to take the bus. On the way down here today, I noticed the sign. Henderson. A wonderful place to live. Unless youre handicapped or disabled or homeless, resident Richard Dover told the council. While the relocation of any stop always has a negative impact on riders, in this instance, the walking distances to alternative stops are not outside our typical service standards, Angela Castro, deputy chief executive officer of the RTC said via email, noting one stop is .33 miles from the removed stop, while the other is .22 miles farther. Castro says the bus stop locations meet American Disabilities Act requirements. The new location is more centrally located in the heart of downtown Henderson, with accessibility to City Hall and the Justice Facility, Henderson spokeswoman Madeleine Skeins said via email. This enhancement will ease traffic congestion and offer additional parking for local businesses and events at Water Street Plaza. Development delayed Strada, the developer of the Waterfalls, which is projected to have 284 apartments and 37,890 square feet of commercial space, according to its website, has yet to purchase the two-acre parcel across from the Motel 6. Were 50% through construction documents and putting together the capital stack on it, says Wucherer of Strada. We should be moving forward sometime in the fairly short future. Strada associate DTH 215 Venture LLC filed for bankruptcy protection in June on the Waterfalls sister project, the Watermark, a seven-story mixed-use Water Street project that was slated to open in 2022. The $50 million project has liabilities between $50 and $100 million, according to court documents. Im not going to lie, Wucherer told the Current. The Watermark project is consuming time on our side on a project that, frankly, should have been open by now, but were certainly moving forward with the Waterfalls and our quest to put more people on Water Street. We do agree with the citys vision for what Water Street wants to be, and are glad to be part of it. Note: This story was updated to included corrected information on Strada Developments website, which previously said the proposed development included hotel rooms. New elementary school opens in Henry County Schools for first time in over 10 years Just two days after its ribbon-cutting ceremony, Birch Creek Elementary School in Henry County is welcoming students in for the start of the school year. Birch Creek Elementary is the Henry County School Districts 53rd school and 29th elementary school. School officials said it was the districts first new school in more than 10 years. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Tuesday, the school district held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new schools readiness to open, which was attended by local officials, families and Atlanta native and film star Chris Tucker, known for his roles in the Rush Hour film series and sci-fi classic The Fifth Element. Now, officials hope the school will help balance enrollment for three nearby elementary schools, Oakland, Wesley Lakes and Bethlehem. Birch Creek Elementary will be led by Principal Quavious Wright, who the district said has deep ties to the area and its education system. Previously, Wright was the assistant principal at Wesley Lakes Elementary School, as well as a student at Oakland Elementary. Located just 20 minutes south of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Atlanta Airport, Henry County Schools is the eighth largest district in the state of Georgia. MORE BACK 2 SCHOOL STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: In her second year, Johnson C. Smith president has future mapped: new era of excellence Valerie Kinloch leaves 20 extra minutes to walk across the red brick, tree-lined campus at Johnson C. Smith University whenever she has a meeting. She knows students will stop her to chat about their classes, their families and their weekend plans. And to take the occasional selfie, of course. Im a selfie queen, Kinloch said, smiling. Im proud of the fact that I love students, and I think they love me. Im proud of the relationships Ive been able to form. Kinloch took office as JCSUs 15th president last August, and says she spent her first year focused on hearing from the universitys population of just over 1,100 students about their vision for the school. Heading into her second year as president of her alma mater and Charlottes only historically Black college, shes focused on taking action. A common theme I heard was a need to think differently and outside of the box to understand who we are and what our identity is as well as to thrive, Kinloch told The Charlotte Observer. It feels like the university is embarking on something thats new. At the heart of Kinlochs vision is what she calls the schools new era of excellence, which she says will involve rethinking the schools academic offerings, recruitment and retention strategies and role within Charlottes rapidly changing West End. The $80 million the school received as part of the Mayors Racial Equity Initiative will play a big part in the transformation. Kinloch was chosen unanimously by the schools board of trustees, and Board Chairman Steven Boyd says hes confident in her vision. We have zero regrets about the decision we made to bring Dr. Kinloch on as our 15th president, he said. Shes done all the things we realistically expected her to get done in this first year, so were very pleased with her performance and eagerly look forward to continuing to grow in areas that are critical to the universitys growth and to the city of Charlotte. Malcolm Graham is a Charlotte city councilman and active JCSU alumnus whos looking for Kinloch to put students first. One of the things Im looking at from her, as someone who graduated from the university, is the student experience to make sure that the student experience from the classroom to the football field to the dining hall is second to none, said Graham. We want Johnson C. Smith to help Charlotte grow and prosper and to help propel us into the future. Valerie Kinloch, the president of Johnson C. Smith University, is entering her second year leading her alma mater and is pushing the school into what she calls its new era of excellence. Shes pictured here in her office in Charlotte on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Who is Valerie Kinloch? Kinloch is originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and graduated with a degree in English from JCSU in 1996. Thats easy to tell for anyone looking at the wall in her office lined ceiling to floor with books or the fact that she quotes writer and poet Audre Lorde in casual conversation. As an English major, you think deeply about how to transform the world, how to leave it better than you found it, and I realized I could do that also through education, Kinloch said. So I entered education as a profession. She received masters and doctorate degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, before teaching education classes at Columbia University and the University of Houston. She later spent 10 years at The Ohio State University, first as a professor in the college of education and later as the associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement. Kinloch spent six years as dean of the education school at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to her alma mater. She served on JCSUs board of trustees for two years before throwing her hat in the ring for president and recusing herself from the selection process. A photo collage composed of images of Valerie Kinloch, Johnson C. Smith University staff and students, represent the first months of Kinlochs position as president at JCSU. Academic programs Johnson C. Smith this year tied for 172nd out of 211 listed liberal arts colleges in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Reports 2024 rankings of the nations best schools. It tied for 29th when it came to the publications ranking of the best historically Black colleges and universities. Kinloch aims to elevate the schools prestige. I want JCSU to be a top-performing university in the state of North Carolina and in the entire country. I want us to be on the lips of everyone when thinking of all the other universities they could go to, they say Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, she said. I want us to be the crown jewel of the Queen City. Kinlochs predecessor, Clarence Armbrister, shared a similar vision and sought to elevate the school to a top 10 HBCU. Armbrister was president of the university from 2018 until his retirement in June 2023. Armbristers four-year strategic plan remains in place and aligns with many of Kinlochs goals. But she spent her first year as president focused on hearing from students and faculty about their long-term vision for the school, rather than making changes from the start. Part of Kinlochs plan is taking a look at the universitys 20 academic programs with an eye toward adding more particularly in business administration, retail, pre-health and data analytics. Shell also assess how the school can better attract and retain top-notch faculty. We have to make sure that the types of academic offerings that we have today are the ones that we need and that our students want, Kinloch said. The 157-year-old university previously had an education department, which it shut down in 2016 due to low enrollment. Kinloch says reviving the education program at JCSU could happen, but she makes no promises. Personally and professionally, I believe that without a focus on education within institutions of higher education, we do a disservice to the types of students who want to become educators in classrooms and communities but have to seek that type of experience elsewhere, Kinloch said. I just believe that its important. Mayors Racial Equity Initiative Kinlochs new vision for JCSU is being funded largely through $80 million from the Mayors Racial Equity Initiative, composed of public and private dollars. The funding for Johnson C. Smith, intended to transform the school into a top-tier, career-focused HBCU is one prong of the $250 million initiative launched in November 2021. It was originally spurred on by the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the protests that swept cities across the nation, including Charlotte. People dont always look at our history, but its very important, and its caused inequities in opportunity, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told The Observer. We realized that policing is just one aspect of what we could do to better our city. In addition to JCSU, the initiative funds three other priority areas: bridging the digital divide by providing marginalized residents with access to technology, investing in Charlottes six corridors of opportunity neighborhoods and getting businesses to advance leaders of color within their organizations. The initiative initially caused friction at city hall when City Councilman Tariq Bokhari from District 6 alleged Lyles, alongside City Manager Marcus Jones, kept council members in the dark about the initiative in order to rush a vote for financing it with $80 million in public funds. Tensions intensified when an employee hired to oversee the initiatives money, Kimberly Henderson, came under scrutiny after Ohios state auditor found millions of dollars in fraud and overpaid unemployment claims from her department. Bokhari critiqued Lyles claim she had no hand in hiring Henderson and that Henderson would not be handling public funds. Clearly this role is going to, at a minimum, pull all the strings behind the scenes, he said at the time of the scandal in 2022, according to Queen City News. Bokhari did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Henderson subsequently resigned. The equity fund has reached $245.5 million toward its initial $250 million goal, including $157 million from private investments. While an $80 million allocation is planned for JCSU, those funds, which represent a mix of investments in specific initiatives, in-kind donations and cash, will be distributed over time. The investment comes after the university encountered significant financial challenges beginning in 2013, resulting in its accrediting agency, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission, delaying the schools re-accreditation in 2017 due to concerns about financial stability. The school was re-accredited the following year. After the pandemic halted in-person classes in 2020, Lyles said it was all the more important to support JCSU. Coming out of COVID, we had to step up and make sure that JCSU was supported like our other major universities, Lyles said. I told leaders at JCSU, I dont want to be the mayor if Johnson C. Smith is going to be closed. Lyles says another large donor recently sent her a letter seeking to invest in the Mayors Racial Equity Initiative, three years out from its launch. She didnt provide additional details about the potential donor or the size of the gift, but she believes the initiative could continue well past the five years it was initially slated to last as more donors come forward. She says the equity fund is one of several initiatives that have helped promote equity in Charlotte and that mayors of other cities like Philadelphia and Houston have taken notice, seeking to implement similar projects in their cities. Its something that weve been able to accomplish quietly but very effectively, said Lyles. Im very proud of this initiative. Charlotte ranked 50th out of the nations 50 largest cities in economic mobility in 2014 according to a study from Harvard University-affiliated Opportunity Insights. That means, out of the countrys largest cities, Charlotte was the hardest place to ascend into a higher economic bracket for those born into poverty. In a follow-up study released last week, Charlotte ranked 38th out of 50, thanks partly to the citys efforts to close opportunity gaps, including the equity initiative. It ranked third in the nation for improvement over the last decade. For comparison, Atlanta ranked 49th out of 50 in 2014. This year, it ranked 50th. Johnson C Smith University, Charlottes HBCU, sits in Charlottes historic West End community. JCSU and the historic West End JCSU sits in the West End, along Beatties Ford Road. Thats minutes from uptown Charlotte as well as some of the citys most historic neighborhoods. And as record-breaking growth changes those West End neighborhoods, JCSU has an opportunity and, Kinloch says, a responsibility to advocate for long-time residents of the community it sits within. Development can happen around us, but if were an anchor institution, development has to happen in conjunction with the goals of the university and in conjunction with the desires of community residents, she said. Its thinking about how this could benefit people that are living here as well as the people attending and working at Johnson C. Smith. Its also a primary goal the board of trustees has for the school. Wed love to continue to be more engaged with the West End corridor projects and to be realized as a central part of the growth and development of the West End, Boyd said. Dr. Kinloch has done a lot of the groundwork to begin that process. Kinloch says the university hasnt played as active a role in the West End as it should have in recent years. When decisions are being made, we have to be in those conversations. When development plans are happening, we have to be in those conversations, Kinloch said. I think weve been absent from most of those conversations for a long period of time. She said she plans to collaborate with community leaders and stakeholders in order to lead conversations between them and potential developers. Graham shares Kinlochs perspective. As the largest landowner on the Beatties Ford Road corridor, they have to flex their university muscle, he told The Observer. I think Johnson C. Smith needs to work with nonprofit groups and community organizations up and down the corridor to ensure that theyre a part of the change and not victims of change. BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed on Thursday a "definite" response to Israel's killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase. "The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite," said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address to mark the funeral of the slain commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the group's yellow-and-green flag. "We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response," Nasrallah said. An Israeli strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday killed Fuad Shukr, head of the group's military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians. Just hours after Shukr's killing, the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran in an attack widely blamed on Israel but that Israel has not officially taken responsibility for. Shukr's killing was the most serious blow to Hezbollah in nearly two decades and threatened to push the tit-for-tat fighting across Lebanon's southern border in parallel with the Gaza war into a full-blown regional conflict. It followed an ultimately-failed diplomatic effort aimed at pushing Israel to avoid a hit on Beirut in the aftermath of a strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan last weekend that killed 12 children and that Israel blamed on Hezbollah. Nasrallah said the group carried out an investigation that determined it was not responsible for the Golan strike. He said Israel's attacks on Beirut and Tehran, coupled with a U.S. strike in a province south of Baghdad, in the space of just a few hours showed the conflict had entered new phase of regional war on multiple fronts. Nasrallah said some countries, which he did not name, had asked his group to retaliate in an "acceptable" way - or not at all. He denounced those attempts and outlined the response would be proportional to Israel's targeting of a civilian building in the capital city's suburbs. "There is no discussion on this point. The only things lying between us and you are the days, the nights and the battlefield," Nasrallah added in a threat to Israel. Ordinary operations against Israel - the near-daily drone and rocket strikes that have taken place since shortly after the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7 - would resume on Friday, he said. The retaliation for Shukr's killing would come later. And those seeking to prevent a wider war should work on a Gaza ceasefire, Nasrallah said, instead of knocking on Hezbollah's door. "There will be no solution except via stopping the aggression on Gaza," he said. (Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Maya Gebeily and Timour Azhari; Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark Potter) Hiker rescued after losing shoes, flashlight on Lone Mountain in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A lost hiker is safe Thursday after being rescued by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments Search and Rescue unit. The lost hiker was reported around 3 a.m. Thursday after they became separated from a family member and went off the trail during a hike on Lone Mountain in the northwest valley, according to a post on social media. The hiker had lost a flashlight and removed their shoes because they were inadequate for hiking. Officers did locate the hiker and gave that person a pair of shoes to use as they headed down the mountain. The lost shoes and flashlight were recovered during the walk down the mountain. The hiker was not injured but police said this is a reminder that wearing appropriate shoes for the outdoors is critical. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. TOPEKA (KSNT) Two historic buildings in the capital city are long overdue for renovation. The question is: whats the holdup? The old Red Carpet Inn has sat in a state of disrepair for nearly 20 years and the Menninger Tower even longer. Last purchased via Shawnee County auction in Oct. 2021, a City of Topeka spokesman said the owners of the hotel are still working on securing grants to help fund a revamp. The owners have not responded to multiple requests for comment. According to the Shawnee County Appraiser, they currently owe $41,285.48 in property taxes for the eyesore off I-70. As for the Menninger Clock Tower, it was originally built in 1929. The facility changed functions over the years and was most famously home to the Menninger Clinic, which relocated to Houston in 2003. Its been vacant since then. Kansas sky could change color with Northern Lights as space storm activity increases In April 2023, the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) awarded $637,500.00 to the Kansas City, Missouri-based Sunflower Development Group (SDG) to help fund the construction of The Menninger Clocktower Apartments as an affordable housing option for the disabled and elderly. KSNT 27 News has visited the site multiple times. There are no visible signs of construction. According to a KDC spokesman, SDG has until March of 2025 to finish the project. The KDC spokesman also noted they have not transferred any funds to SDG. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R) took a dig at former President Trump on Wednesday, after the GOP nominee questioned Vice President Harriss racial identity during a combative interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago. Its unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyones racial identity, Hogan, the former Maryland governor, wrote Wednesday evening on the social platform X, without naming the former president. The American people deserve better. During the event, Trump mocked Harris over her heritage. Asked about Republicans claim that the vice president was a DEI hire referring to diversity, equity and inclusion the former president replied that Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, happened to turn Black in recent years. So, Ive known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage, Trump told the crowd. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black, he added. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott then interjected, saying Harris has always identified as a Black woman. Trump continued, calling Scotts tone hostile and nasty. But you know what, I respect either one. But she obviously doesnt, he said. Because she was Indian all the way, then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that. The vice presidents mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica. She also attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Democrats and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre immediately responded to the comments, describing his answers as repulsive and insulting. Hogan has emerged as one of his most vocal GOP critics over the past several years, though Trump said in June he would like to see the former governor win. The former governor has attempted to distance himself from the former president as he pursues the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D) in deep-blue Maryland. He even launched an ad in which he discussed his independence from Trump. The Hill reached out to Trumps campaign for comment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Home and Away spoilers follow for Australian-paced episodes, which some UK viewers may prefer to avoid. Home and Away star Joshua Orpin has addressed his character Rory Templeton's surprise exit from the soap. In scenes that have aired in Australia already, River Boy Rory arrived in Summer Bay as part of Mali Hudson and his brother Iluka's ongoing storyline. After Iluka was beaten and hospitalised by the dangerous Allen family for stealing money from them, Mali arranged to meet the family face-to-face to put an end to their reign of terror. Channel 5 Related: Best streaming services UK 2024 Shortly after, he called up his friend Dean Thompson, who used to be involved with the River Boys gang, for reinforcement. Mali is soon backed up by two River Boys David 'Dingo' Lewis and Rory. However, Orpin's guest stint on the show is now over. Posting on Instagram, he confirmed his character's fate, writing: "Tonight we say goodbye to Rory as he departs Summer Bay for greener pastures... And by greener pastures, I mean the oppressive concrete pastures of a tiny prison cell. "I'd be lying if I said he doesn't entirely deserve it! Nonetheless, I hope you've enjoyed having him around these past few weeks." Orpin added that joining the show was "an utter privilege", and praised the soap's "enormously talented and hard-working" cast and crew. "What an honour to make my own small contribution to the storied legacy of this iconic Australian TV series!" he continued. Related: Home and Away newcomer shares real-life friendship with co-star "Don't know if we'll ever see Rory again, but I'm sure the River Boys will make their return to the bay sooner or later..." In scenes that aired this week in Australia, Cash arrested Dingo as part of an investigation into the murder of Mangrove River police officer Franklin McGrath. Cash, who's recently returned to policing, found evidence that linked Dingo to the crime. However, when Rory heard news of the arrest, he rushed to the station to make his own statement. Following Rory's arrest, Cash's sister Felicity Newman was left feeling dubious about the authenticity of his statement, questioning whether the man she has been falling in love with could truly be a killer. Meanwhile, Home and Away viewers in the UK will get to see Rory's storyline from next week onwards. Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5, with repeat screenings at 6pm on 5STAR and first look screenings at 6.30pm on 5STAR. Selected classic episodes are available via Prime Video in the UK. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus. Read more Home and Away spoilers on our dedicated homepage You Might Also Like Editors Note: Information initially provided by firefighters as to the nature of the incident changed. The story has been edited to reflect the update. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) said it was at the scene of a house fire with explosion in Kensington on Thursday afternoon. MCFRS said it was dispatched to the 4000 block of Byrd Road just before 2:45 p.m. for a house fire with an explosion. Crews on the scene reported a gas-fed fire involving the gas and electric meter. David Pazos, a spokesman for MCFRS, said firefighters were inside the single-family home trying to put the fire out. Courtesy of David Pazos via X/@DavidPazos15 Courtesy of David Pazos via X/@DavidPazos15 Arlingtons warning period starts for new red light cameras All of the people were able to get out of the house, including a cat who was initially missing. Just before 3:15 p.m., Pazos said officials put out the bulk of the fire and were checking for extensions. Washington Gas and Pepco were requested to the scene. The two homeowners both of which are adults were displaced. Traffic on Byrd Road between Mitscher Street and Spruell Drive was closed. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. The Caldor Fire burns homes along a ridge on Aug. 30, 2021 near South Lake Tahoe, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Insurance companies have profited from Nevadans and their homes for the last decade, but that isnt stopping them from pulling coverage or hiking rates over concerns about the risk of wildfires, state lawmakers were told Wednesday. Thousands of homeowners insurance policies are being canceled or not-renewed this year due to wildfire risk, according to the State of Nevadas Division of Insurance, leaving administrators concerned about peoples abilities to secure adequate protection in the face of natural disaster. In Nevada, home insurers have been profitable every year of the past decade, with profits on average ranging from 5 to 10% of written premiums, according Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper, who appeared before the interim legislative committee on commerce and labor on Wednesday to discuss the issue and what the state might consider doing to address the growing problem. Kipper highlighted one unnamed insurer that covers 584 Incline Village homes with a combined estimated value of approximately $1.4 billion. That companys annual average profits are approximately $5 million to $10 million. In spite of these profits for homeowner insurance companies, the increases in national catastrophic losses, especially from western state wildfires, is causing them to reduce exposures in Nevada, said Kipper. Nationwide, natural disasters have resulted in an estimated $79.6 billion in insured property losses, he said, and nine of the 10 costliest wildfires have happened since 2017. Kipper noted that earlier this summer State Farm announced it will no longer offer home insurance to new customers in California, citing high construction costs and rapidly growing catastrophe exposure. That skittishness is industry-wide. Karen Collins of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association referenced a report finding that nationwide in 2023 there were $21.6 billion in underwriting losses for personal lines, which includes homeowners and auto insurance. Collins said the biggest factor in these market issues is the rise in exposure values and replacement costs put more plainly, increasingly bigger and increasingly more homes being built in high-hazard areas at higher construction costs. In Nevada, when homeowners cannot get or keep coverage through a carrier that is licensed and regulated by the state, they can turn to whats known as a surplus-lines or non-admitted carrier, which typically charge significantly higher premiums and are subject to far less oversight by state regulators. Last year, 2,527 homes in Nevada were insured by non-admitted carriers. That number will likely rise. The Nevada Division of Insurance found that, in 2023, 481 homeowners insurance policies were canceled or non-renewed due to wildfire risk a 82% increase compared to the previous year, when 264 were. Similarly, in 2023, 4,994 applications for homeowners insurance were declined due to wildfire risk a 104.8% increase over the previous year, when 2,439 were declined. According to Kipper, insurers this year have notified DOI of their intent to cancel 4,892 policies due to wildfire risk. Not surprisingly, the vast majority 4,731 are in Northern Nevada. This year, Incline Village has seen two of 21 companies stop writing policies for their homes, while in Stateline the number of available companies has dropped from 18 to 14. State administrators recently held a town hall in Incline Village to hear from property owners. They have also been studying how other states have attempted to address their similar issues. We have a pretty splendid history of not having many wildfire challenges, said Kipper. But the potential and location is right across the street from areas that have experienced, even today, significant wildfire activity. Its enough to make the industry just a little nervous. And when they get nervous they manage risk. The issue is not limited to the Lake Tahoe area, which accounts for about one-third of policy cancellations in Northern Nevada this year, according to the Division of Insurance. Approximately 1,900 home insurance policies in Reno, Sparks and Verdi are being canceled this year. Kipper said the issue is extremely concerning to both residents and state officials alike but emphasized there is no easy or complete fix. One thing being considered is changing regulations to expand the divisions oversight over the predictive models used by insurance companies, or to require companies to consider the use of the states wildfire mitigation incentive program. Administrators would also like to explore the possibility of creating whats known as a FAIR plan an insurance of last resort for homeowners who cannot reasonably obtain coverage through an admitted carrier. Numerous states, including California, offer such plans. The Nevada Division of Insurance plans to request a feasibility study on what a Nevada FAIR Plan might look like. Another possibility, which could work in coordination with a Nevada FAIR plan or independently, would be to launch an in-state or multistate reinsurance program that protects insurers from high claims Donna Zanetti, an attorney at Leach Kern Gruchow Anderson Song, in public comment said lawmakers should consider amending NRS to allow HOAs to secure bare walls coverage, which covers less than what is currently required, and allow HOAs to charge the cost of repairs homeowners who negligently and carelessly damage units. Zanetti told lawmakers that one HOA, which she didnt name, recently went from paying $115,000 for insurance to being denied renewal. The best policy they could get was $750,000 with a $250,000 deductible, she said, adding, $250,000 is self insurance for all but a catastrophic loss. The HOA was forced to do a special assessment of $4,600 per unit. This has been a crisis for many associations throughout the state, said Zanetti, (with) the most vulnerable being condos and townhomes because thats what first-time buyers can afford. While the state must review and approve homeowner insurance policies for single-family homes, it has much less oversight over commercial insurance policies, which include policies covering condos and townhome communities. Because commercial policies are so unique and tailored to the specific risk, they have generally been excluded from statutory regulation, said Adam Plain, insurance regulation liaison with the Nevada Division of Insurance, when asked about the different levels of regulation. Commercial policies, commercial buyers are thought to be sophisticated enough to have their own best interests in mind and the state does not need to have that statutory oversight. The interim legislative committee on commerce and labor took no action during its meeting Wednesday, but related bill draft requests may be proposed and considered at a future meeting. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) After nearly two decades, a wanted Butler County suspect has been apprehended in Mexico. The U.S. Marshals Service and authorities in Mexico arrested Antonio Riano of Zapotitlan Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. According to a release, Riano was charged for the December 2004 shooting death of 25-year-old Benjamin Becarra in Hamilton. Authorities claim Riano didnt want to face prosecution, so he fled the U.S. In 2005, John Walshs Americas Most Wanted television show asked for tips to locate the suspect. Butler County ERS deployed to New Mexico When local and federal authorities collaborated to locate and take the fugitive into custody, they found he was employed as a police officer. This type of apprehension would not be possible without the cooperation and due diligence of both the Prosecutors Office investigators, the United States Marshal Service, and the United States Department of Justice, said Michael Gmoser, prosecutor for Butler County. Riano was extradited from Mexico to Ohio on Aug. 1. He is currently in the Butler County Jail, where he reportedly remains pending court proceedings. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. MANCHESTER, Ga. (WRBL) A deadly shooting in Manchester on Tuesday may link back to a dispute between two brothers, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Police responded to a home on West Main Street at about 7:35 p.m. on July 30. Manchester police officers say upon arrival, they learned 26-year-old Jaquavios Carter, of Manchester, was shot by his brother during a dispute. Carter was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, according to the GBI. No arrests have been made at this time. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI regional investigative office in Midland at (706) 565-7888 or the Manchester Police Department at (706) 846-3155. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477) or online. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. HOPKINTON, R.I. (WPRI) Jim Larisa remembers when he first met Stephanie Francis. Larisa, the owner of Wood River Bar and Grill, had called her in for a job interview. When Im looking for servers, Im not looking for someone who has 20 years of serving experience. I want someone that my customers can relate to, he said. I knew within seconds that Stephanie was going to be someone who was likeable. The 44-year-old had only worked at the Hopkinton restaurant for a few months before her estranged husband shot and killed her in front of their two young children and a neighbors child. Joseph Francis, 45, then led officers on a high-speed chase through several towns before crashing his car and killing himself. Larisa and his staff were devastated by the unimaginable loss of their beloved friend. RELATED: Police tried to prevent Hopkinton murder-suicide suspect from buying guns She was caring and friendly and was always thinking, how can I put a smile on somebody elses face?' he said. That much was evident when he watched her bond with a younger server over her earrings. Stephanie Francis She always used to compliment Stephanie on her earrings, because she had all sorts of earrings and wore different ones all the time, Larisa said. The next time they worked together, Stephanie brought in a pair of earrings from her box for her. Thats just who Stephanie was, he added. She was a good person. Francis 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter are now living with their grandparents. Larisa told 12 News he didnt think twice when creating a GoFundMe page for her children, especially since the siblings are now forced to live the rest of their lives without either of their parents. I just dont know how you process that, Larisa said. Larisa hopes the money raised will ease the familys financial burdens, while also allowing them to heal and move forward. So far, the GoFundMe has raised more than $10,000 for the Francis children. We wanted to raise funds for the kids as soon as we could, Larisa explained. Theres going to be so much that these kids and family are going to need. MORE: Man who killed wife previously faced domestic violence charges His efforts arent stopping there, however. Larisa has banded together with Francis loved ones to organize a vigil for her this fall, and there are talks about eventually creating a nonprofit in her honor. What we dont want is for her to ever be forgotten, Larisa said. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, seek help immediately: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 Rhode Island Helpline RI: 800-494-8100 Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center: 800-494-8100 Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center: 401-738-1700 Womens Resource Center: 401-846-5263 Crossroads RI: 401-861-2760 Massachusetts SafeLink: 877-785-2020 SSTAR Womens Center: 508-675-0087 The Womens Center: 508-999-6636 New Hope: 800-323-HOPE (4673) Health Imperatives: 508-588-TALK (8255) Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) The New Mexico Health Care Authority announced new changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for those impacted by wildfires and floods in New Mexico. Hot food benefits extended SNAP customers in New Mexico will have an additional 30 days, or until Aug. 25, to purchase hot prepared foods from deli departments at EBT-authorized retailers. FEMA: Additional disaster assistance available for New Mexico following fires, flooding in Ruidoso area Prepared hot meals are an essential source of nutrition, convenience, and comfort, especially in the aftermath of the fires and floods, Kyra Ochoa, deputy secretary for the New Mexico Health Care Authority, stated in a news release. Being able to purchase ready-to-eat, warm meals can make a significant difference for families as they recover and rebuild. The New Mexico Health Care Authority requested and was granted this emergency measure in the wake of fires and flooding. This benefit is not applicable to restaurants or other non-EBT-authorized retailers. Disaster food benefits expanded to Rio Arriba and San Juan counties New Mexicans affected by flooding in San Juan and Rio Arriba counties may be eligible for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits, according to the New Mexico Health Care Authority. Those affected can apply for D-SNAP on Aug. 12-16 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Aug. 19 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Approximately 127,000 residents of San Juan and Rio Arriba counties were impacted and may be eligible to apply for D-SNAP benefits. The current Presidential Disaster Declaration has been expanded to include community members who live or work in San Juan or Rio Arriba County in the identified zip codes: 87548 87510 87537 87566 87037 87364 87401 87402 87410 87412 87413 87415 87416 87417 87418 87419 87420 87421 87455 87461 87499 We are grateful for our federal partners assistance as New Mexicans recover from devastating flooding. Their support, along with the efforts of our dedicated staff, will help more families as we work together to rebuild our communities, Kari Armijo, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Health Care Authority, stated in a news release. Impacted residents can apply for D-SNAP at the following locations: San Juan County HCA Office, 101 W. Animas, Farmington, NM 87401 Rio Arriba County HCA Office, 228 Paseo de Onate Street, Espanola, NM 87532 Residents unable to drive to the D-SNAP locations may call 1-800-283-4465, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday to apply by phone, document their case, and verbally attest their information. To be eligible, residents may qualify if their home or belongings were damaged or destroyed or have experienced a loss or reduction in income and have unreimbursed disaster-related expenses, due to the disaster. Eligible households will receive one month of D-SNAP benefits to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stores or select online retailers. These benefits will be deposited onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, allowing applicants to use it like a debit card at authorized retailers. Additionally, participating SNAP households in the impacted areas, not already receiving the maximum benefit amount for their household size will automatically receive a supplement to increase their benefits to the monthly SNAP allotment for one month. HCA staff will determine applicants eligibility. The only requirements to apply for D-SNAP is to verify your identity and have information about your households income and any expense related to the disaster. The table below shows the benefit levels: Household Size Income Limit D-SNAP Allotment 1 $3,041 $291 2 $3,958 $535 3 $4,547 $766 4 $5,354 $973 5 $5,899 $1,155 6 $6,588 $1,386 7 $7,087 $1,532 8 $7,588 $1,751 Each Additional member +$501 $219 HCA will assist residents alphabetically by last name for the first four days of the application period. The remaining three days will be open to all applicants, regardless of their last name. Date Alphabet Served Monday, Aug. 12 A-G Tuesday, Aug. 13 H-N Wednesday, Aug. 14 N-T Thursday, Aug. 15 U-Z Friday, Aug. 16 A-Z Saturday, Aug. 17 A-Z Sunday, Aug. 18 Closed Monday, Aug. 19 A-Z Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Warm. muggy summer weather will continue, with scattered showers and storms associated with upper-level disturbances, though the strongest activity will tend develop south and west of central Ohio along a boundary. A few storms could move into parts of central Ohio from the west this evening. Any storm can contain cloud-to-ground lightning, gusty winds and short-lived downpours. The Storm Prediction Center has much of central and southern Ohio in a Slight Risk (Level 2 out of 5) for damaging winds and hail, if stronger storms develop this evening. Temperatures will warm into the upper 80s and low 90s, depending on the afternoon cloud cover. The humidity will make it feel hotter, in the upper 90s. A cold front will slide southeast across Ohio Friday night and Saturday, accompanied by showers and storms, and resulting in slightly cooler and less humid weather later in the weekend into early next week. Forecast Thursday: Some sun, warm, sticky, isolated storms. High 91 Tonight: Spotty showers, storms, muggy. Low 73 Friday: Some sun, warm, sticky, showers, storms. High 89 (73) Saturday: Early showers, some sunshine later. High 84 (70) Sunday: Mostly sunny. High 89 (69) Monday: Sunny. High 88 (68) Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High 90 (68) Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) There may still be time to get a good deal on a trip if you havent been able to get away this summer. A travel expert told 22News that airfares and hotel prices are down compared to this time last year. Airlines are adding more flights and offering competitive prices to attract travelers, according to Doreen Coakley-Rodriguez the Owner of Doreens Going Places Travel Services in Springfield. She says you can save up to $400 for a group of two or three if you travel internationally. Money-saving tips if you plan on traveling this summer The Nerdwallets Travel Price Index shows that the cost of travel has decreased by 2% overall. This means that a trip taken now would cost less than it did last year, but more than it would have before the pandemic. Airfares decreased by 5% and are down nearly 6% from pre-pandemic prices. Hotel prices also fell 2.8% from last year. To protect yourself from unexpected things before or during your trip, she recommends travel insurance. You are in hurricane season, so anything can happen right between your lips and Mother Natures is right at that point. Thats why you come to an agency and we put insurance and we can cancel for any reason up to the day before travel and you have a credit, said Coakley-Rodriquez. According to Nerdwallet, these are some other ways you can save money on flights: Be flexible Book at the right time The time frame changes when youre traveling domestically, where youll want to wait until 64 days before departure to book your trip. So a great method to save on flights is by timing your purchases. Use points and miles Award travel is one of the easiest ways to save money on flights. Using airline miles or credit card points to travel can score you discounted plane tickets, even in first class. Set a price alert Price alerts can contact you when the fare youre looking to buy drops in price. Jump on fare deals Coakley-Rodriguez says the best deals can be found in locations such as Cancun, Belize, and European countries like Dubai and Portugal. She adds its also been a big year for the cruises and says there are great deals for cruises, especially out of New York, Baltimore, or New Orleans. Train travel in Europe is also becoming more affordable, with routes like Barcelona to Madrid dropping from $135 to $68. Now is also a good time to start looking for holiday travel deals. Latest Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. The Rhone has burst its banks in Switzerland Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is among a string of luxury carmakers to be hit by major disruption after flooding in Switzerland paralysed a top aluminium producer. The company is scrambling to find alternative suppliers after Novelis, an Indian-owned manufacturer that runs a mill in the alpine city of Sierre, was forced to shut down operations at the end of June. Porsche, BMW and Mercedes have also been affected. It followed heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in parts of central Europe, with Novelis and other aluminium producers in Switzerland hit by floods from the nearby Rhone river. JLR said this issue was partly to blame along with normal summer plant shutdowns for the constrained production it now expects from July to December this year. It is understood that the aluminium alloys Novelis produces are used in car panelling and body parts. A spokesman added that production was continuing but the carmaker was hunting for alternative suppliers to Novelis, both through its own channels and with help from parent company Tata. She said: Our priority is to minimise any impact on our production and in turn client orders. So we are working with Novelis to assess the impact on JLR and understand their recovery plans. We have had good conversations with other suppliers, including within our own group, Tata, to source aluminium from elsewhere. JLR, which revealed the aluminium issue in its first quarter results, also stressed that its full-year profit forecast remained unchanged. Jaguar Land Rover is developing more electric models - Aly Song/REUTERS It is the latest carmaker to warn about the problem after fellow luxury brand Porsche was hit by the Novelis closure. Porsche said it was now facing a significant supply shortage of certain aluminium alloys and issued a profit warning to investors. The aluminium shortage has also affected the supply chains of fellow German carmakers BMW and Mercedes but both have said they were able to find alternatives. Novelis has declared force majeure when one party in a contract excuses themselves from their obligations because of factors outside of their control to its customers. Meanwhile, JLR reported a 5pc rise in first quarter sales to 7.3bn, a record for the British company, as profits rose by 59pc to 693m. The company also said it was ramping up investment, from 15bn to 18bn over five years, into its transition to electric vehicles, which will involve developing new models and retooling factories. That is equivalent to a 600m-per-year increase, taking the annual average investment to 3.6bn. As part of this, JLR has 20,000 employees in electrification and digital skills. It says 95pc of mechanics at its partner garages are also ready to work on electric vehicles. Story continues The company is getting ready to begin deliveries of the first fully-electric Range Rover model next year, while the first of a new generation of electric Jaguars is being road-tested in great secrecy. Adrian Mardell, JLRs chief executive, said: Thanks to the hard work and commitment of our people, JLR has delivered an outstanding set of results in the first quarter. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee raised concerns on Wednesday about antisemitic harassment and intimidation at the University of California San Francisco and its health facilities, threatening to revoke federal funding from the institution. In a letter to UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY), who chair subcommittees, suggested thatCongress could pull UCSF and UCSF Healths federal health care and scientific research funding if they dont comply with federal civil rights laws. Failing to comply with basic safety protections for members of the UCSF and UCSF Health communities or failure to respond appropriately to and prevent harassment and discrimination, no matter the cause, may be grounds to withhold federal funds from the university and its associated medical centers, the three House members said. The lawmakers said that an encampment outside a UCSF Health facility, which they said features pro-terrorism signs and symbols, has caused significant disturbance to campus and health care operations, as well as great distress for members of the community, including health care professionals and patients, who can hear antisemitic chants from their rooms. At the schools Mission Bay Campus, the path into a cancer treatment center is marred by antisemitic graffiti, the lawmakers added, making Jewish patients feel unsafe or uncomfortable with coming in for treatment. The lawmakers said that Jewish health-care providers also feel unsafe coming into work, a concern the lawmakers called well founded, as there have been numerous antisemitic public statements by faculty, staff, and students at UCSF and/or UCSF Health. The letter further warns UCSF, which has a large health-focused graduate school, that it must not allow antisemitism to permeate its medical school and infect medical students whose patients from all ancestral and faith backgrounds will rely on UCSF for treatment and care. The lawmakers alleged that hundreds of antisemitic discrimination and hostility complaints have been filed with various UCSF offices, which the lawmakers said have been largely dismissed. They also alleged that UCSF health-care employees have repeatedly violated UCSF Healths code of conduct. The letter further raises concerns about the encampment and other anti-Israel activity on the UCSF campus, which has included graffiti, theft and damage to university property, as well as antisemitic chants. The lawmakers noted that UCSF received $850 million in National Institutes of Health grant funding in 2023, and that the activity could be grounds for revoking that funding. The lawmakers asked Hawgoodto respond to questions on what UCSF and UCSF Health are doing to address antisemitism on their campuses. View comments Housing for kinship families to be built near Dayton Childrens Housing for kinship families to be built near Dayton Childrens DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A new housing project aims to bring stability and support to kinship families in the Dayton area. The Department of Planning, Neighborhoods and Development will enter into a contract with Kinship Family Housing to build affordable housing units near the hospital. These units will be for family members to stay in and care for children who otherwise would be in the foster system. Kinship families can be in the form of family members like grandparents or godparents, who may face unique challenges while caring for children. Spike in COVID cases leads Montgomery County health experts to raise caution In total, 26 three-bedroom units will be built. Two units will be accessible to those with mobility issues, and another for those with sensory impairments. The project cost is around $1.65 million but will leverage some federal funding as well. The exciting thing about this is that the $1.6 million leverages just under $13 million in federal low-income tax house credits in HUD community project funding, and Montgomery HOME, and private funding. So this is a really great example of how we all collaborate around a good idea and bring a project forward, said Shelly Dickstein, Dayton City Manager. 2 NEWS is working to learn when construction on those units may begin. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) The Huntsville Police Department is searching for a missing 20-year-old man. According to the Huntsville Police Department (HPD), officers are looking for 20-year-old Gadiel Roblero. HPD tells News 19 that Roblero is between 50 and 56 and weighs around 110 and 130 pounds. He was last seen driving a 2013 black Honda Civic with Ohio tag #KIH6947. Officers say that he was last seen in Huntsville on June 22, while visiting family and looking for a job. HPD says that Roblero last spoke with his parents in Guatemala on June 23. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Investigator Mia Bruce at (256)-213-4537. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. SANTEE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) A shooting that left a husband and wife dead in a Santee home Tuesday has been confirmed as a murder-suicide, authorities said. Michael Sheehan, 74, and his wife Beverly Slater-Sheehan, 78, were identified as the people who died, Lt. Michael Krugh with the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said in a news release Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, authorities responded to a call about two elderly adults dead at a home in the 300 block of Lantern Crest Way. 14 arrested in human trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con Autopsies for both Michael and Beverly revealed they died from a gunshot wound. The cause of death for Beverly was homicide. The cause of death for Michael was suicide. Michael has been identified as the only suspect in the deaths, Krugh said. The motive for the crime has not been determined at this time. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 858-285-6330/after hours at 858-565-5200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. LEAP Housing is partnering with Teton County-based housing group, Sustainable Trades + Housing Partners. (Courtesy of Julie Ellison) LEAP housing is creating affordable housing units in Teton County, and those interested in buying and building their own home can apply to the program now. LEAP Housing is an Idaho-based nonprofit whose mission is to develop and preserve affordable housing while providing services to increase housing stability. It has partnered with groups in Boise, Nampa and Mountain Home to build affordable housing. For the first time, the nonprofit is making its way to eastern Idaho. The nonprofit is partnering with Sustainable Trades + Housing Partners, an affordable housing organization based in Driggs, to build a housing community of eight homes in Victor. The selection process for homeowners will begin immediately, and interested individuals can apply on the LEAP Housing website. Who qualifies for affordable housing units through LEAP Housing? Applicants must meet income requirements. Only income-qualified homebuyers at or below 80% of the area median income are eligible for the program. For example, a household of four making $68,300 or less would qualify for the homeownership opportunity. According to LEAP Housing, the buyers are the builders, meaning those participating in the program will build their own homes through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Mutual Self Help Program. The federal program brings below-market rate interest loans to home buyers and credits them with the sweat equity contributed directly to the project. This is the first USDA Mutual Self-Help program project LEAP is working on, LEAP Housing asset manager Becca Mathias told the Sun. Teton Region native Lindsey Love leads Sustainable Trades + Housing Partners and will direct and train each homeowner on building the homes. The development is a beacon of hope for many in the community who have struggled with housing affordability, Love said in a press release. These homes will not only provide housing stability in our community but will also empower residents by involving them directly in the construction process. By building their own homes, future homeowners will gain valuable skills and a sense of ownership and pride in their community. LEAP Housing will oversee the development of the affordable housing community. They will guide and support homebuyers during the construction process. Bart Cochran, CEO of LEAP Housing, said this project is a significant step forward for Victor and Teton County. We are committed to providing affordable housing solutions that are both sustainable and community-driven, Cochran said in a press release. These homes represent our dedication to innovative, eco-friendly building practices and the empowerment of residents throughout the state of Idaho. Cochran said this housing model is collaborative, and it serves to inspire other communities to address the affordable housing crisis with innovative and sustainable solutions. Through partnerships, endurance, and unused funding pools, it is possible to create affordable housing in resort and rural communities throughout Idaho, he said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Mourners, colleagues and fellow journalists examine a tattered press jacket that surrounded the body of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami Al-Refee, in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday. Photo by Hossam Azzam/UPI July 31 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces allegedly targeted a reporter and cameraman working for Al Jazeera west of Gaza City on Wednesday. Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Rifa, both 27, died when a single missile launched by an IDF drone struck the car in which they were driving while at the Shati refugee camp, Al Jazeera reported. They were abiding an evacuation order issued by the IDF just before a missile killed them. The two men were reporting near the house of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated early Wednesday in Tehran. Both Iran and Hamas have blamed the IDF, which has yet to comment on the attack. The two Al Jazeera staffers were wearing vests that identified them as media and were traveling in a car with marking identifying it as a media vehicle. Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami Al-Refee in an Israeli airstrike Tuesday. Photo by Hossam Azzam/UPI The pair had contacted the Al Jazeera news desk about 15 minutes prior to the missile strike that killed them, according to Al Jazeera. They were traveling to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital when the missile strike killed them. Officials for the Al Jazeera Media Network called the airstrike a "targeted assassination" and said the news outlet would "pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes." The Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded an explanation from the IDF. "Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted," CPJ Chief Executive Officer Jodie Ginsberg said. "Israel must explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what appears to be a direct strike." The IDF previously arrested Al-Ghoul at the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza and has killed at least seven journalists and media personnel, the CPJ said. A reporter who had been working with the two men earlier in the day told CNN he was about 300 meters away from the vehicle when a single missile struck it and killed the two journalists. The IDF on June 9 rescued three hostages who were held at the home of a Gaza journalist who previously contributed to Al Jazeera. The journalist was killed in the rescue, and Al Jazeera afterward denied the man worked for the media outlet and only had contributed a story in 2019. Israeli officials in May temporarily shut down Al Jazeera's operations in Israel and called the media outlet a "mouthpiece for Hamas." Israel kills an Al Jazeera journalist and says, without evidence, he was a Hamas operative JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday it had killed Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul in an airstrike in Gaza, saying he was a Hamas operative who had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, without offering proof for the assertion. Al Jazeera dismissed what it said were "baseless allegations" which it said were an attempt to justify the deliberate killing of its journalists. "The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, without providing any proof, documentation or video," it said in a statement, adding that it reserved the right to take legal action against those responsible. The Qatari broadcaster said on Wednesday that Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rify were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza City while on an assignment to film near the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas chief killed in Iran earlier on the same day. The Israeli military said Al-Ghoul was a member of the elite Nukhba unit who took part in the Oct. 7 attack and instructed Hamas operatives on how to record operations. It said he was involved in recording and publicizing attacks on Israeli troops. "His activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas' military activity," the Israeli military said in a statement. Al Jazeera said Al-Ghoul had worked for the network since November 2023 and his only profession was as a journalist. It said he had been arrested and detained at Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip when it was taken by Israeli forces in March before being released, which it said "debunks and refutes their false claim of his affiliation with any organization." The Israeli government has banned Al-Jazeera from operating in Israel, accusing it of posing a threat to national security. Al Jazeera, which has been heavily critical of Israel's campaign in Gaza, has denied inciting violence. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said the deaths of the two Al Jazeera crew raised to 165 the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli fire since Oct 7. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jon Boyle) The Biden-Harris administration's strengthened efforts to secure the border led to the lowest monthly tally of unlawful entries since September 2020 Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum seekers from an aid camp at the U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz., on March 13, 2024 Illegal crossings along the United States' southwest border reached a new low for Joe Biden's presidency in July, according to preliminary reporting. Data compiled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that unlawful crossings have been on a downward pattern since hitting a record-breaking high in December 2023, when the U.S. Border Patrol recorded nearly 250,000 border encounters. The official statistics for July have yet to be released, but preliminary figures obtained by CBS News and the Associated Press reveal that U.S. Border Patrol agents made roughly 57,000 migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border last month an estimated 30% decrease from June. The anticipated July figures would mark the lowest tally since September 2020, when about 55,000 illegal border crossings were recorded. It also falls below the monthly average of border crossings in all of 2019, under then-President Donald Trump. Related: Republicans Impeached the Homeland Security Secretary over Border Security Fears While Blocking a Bill to Fix the Issue According to government statistics, the record-breaking tally of Border Patrol encounters in December more than halved by January. The number of encounters rose slightly in February the same month that Trump urged Republicans in Congress to kill a hard-fought bipartisan border security bill but has steadily decreased each month since. In June, after Biden took executive action to secure the border in the absence of meaningful immigration legislation, Border Patrol saw a staggering decline in illegal border crossings that has continued to drop since. These numbers do not reflect people who were turned away by the CBP's Office of Field Operations at official ports of entry. CBP told PEOPLE that the official July data will likely be released mid-month. Related: Ariz. Rancher Who Fatally Shot Migrant on His Property Near Border Rejects Plea Deal, Will Face Murder Trial Andrew Harnik/Getty President Joe Biden speaks to reporters at the White House on July 1, 2024 The latest border crossing figures come nearly two months after Biden announced that he would take executive actions to temporarily block migrants from receiving asylum if they illegally enter the U.S. "These actions will be in effect when the Southern border is overwhelmed, and they will make it easier for immigration officers to quickly remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States," explained a White House fact sheet released at the time. "These actions are not permanent. They will be discontinued when the number of migrants who cross the border between ports of entry is low enough for Americas system to safely and effectively manage border operations," the release added. Related: Joe Biden Proposes Supreme Court Term Limits and Reform: 'What's Happening Now Isn't Normal' Whenever daily arrests drop below 1,500 over a seven-day average, the asylum halt will end, according to the Associated Press. However, it will be reinstated any time the number of daily arrests reaches a seven-day average of 2,500. Joe Raedle/Getty Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point USA Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 26, 2024 During Trump's presidency, he notably proposed building a Mexico-U.S. border wall, which he claimed would be paid for by Mexico. In the end, the project primarily focused on reinforcing areas where barriers already existed and Mexico did not fund the wall upgrades. The project was never completed. Related: President Trump Was Lying When He Said the Former Presidents Agreed About Building a Border Wall Trump has made border security a key focus of his reelection campaign, portraying the Biden-Harris administration as weak on immigration. PEOPLE previously reported that Trump's allies will put pressure on him to complete a border wall and militarize the border if he's elected to another term. The Trump-aligned Heritage Foundation has suggested that temporary protected status should also be stripped from nearly 700,000 individuals, many of whom settled in the U.S. decades ago, putting them at risk of deportation. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was interviewed twice this week by Vice President Kamala Harris vetting team as she nears an announcement on a running mate for her nascent presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with the conversations. The most recent interview took place Wednesday, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the confidential process. Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is expected to make the first public appearance with her running mate Tuesday in Philadelphia, kicking off a tour of battleground states that also will include stops in Wisconsin and Michigan. Among those also reportedly in the running are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Pritzker, a second-term Democrat, has not been among the most frequently mentioned candidates for the No. 2 spot. But hes been a loyal surrogate for Harris and, prior to his withdrawal from the race, to President Joe Biden. The Hyatt Hotels heir, who will be de facto host of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, is also a potential financial asset to the campaign, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $3.5 billion. The Harris campaign did not respond immediately Thursday to a request for comment. While largely sidestepping direct questions about his role in the vetting process, Pritzker has stepped up his national media appearances in the past few weeks. His campaign operation on Thursday released a video, pegged to the upcoming DNC, touting his accomplishments as governor such as raising the minimum wage and enshrining protections for abortion access in state law. In the nearly 4-minute video, titled Democrats Deliver, Pritzker says: Perhaps of everywhere in this great country, theres no better place to see the change possible under Democratic leadership than here in Illinois. Also on Thursday, the leader's Illinois abortion rights political action committee Personal PAC and Men4Choice Advocacy sent a letter to Harris urging her to choose Pritzker. At a time when support for our individual liberties and for bodily autonomy could not be more important, Gov. Pritzkers unwavering commitment, demonstrated by decades of allyship and activism in support of abortion rights, access, and so much more, speaks volumes about his character and priorities, wrote Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Men4Choice Advocacy Executive Director Oren Jacobson. Pritzker and wife MK have contributed $425,500 to Personal PAC since 2005, state campaign finance records show. Separately, Pritzkers campaign posted a video to social media Thursday of the governor reemphasizing his endorsement of Harris, which he made a day after Biden dropped out of the race. Pritzkers abortion rights advocacy group, Think Big America, which is run by the same team as his campaign, shared the video as well. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday night, Pritzker spoke out in Harris defense after Republican nominee Donald Trump falsely claimed at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago that Harris only recently embraced her Black identity. Noting that Trump ended an interview with three Black journalists at the convention early, Pritzker said, I start to wonder whether hes got the stamina to actually get up on a debate stage with Kamala Harris for 90 minutes. Virtual voting by delegates for the Democratic presidential nomination began Thursday morning and is scheduled to conclude Monday evening. Under new rules approved by party officials last week, Harris, who is the only official candidate, will be able to name her running mate after securing the nomination. _____ SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) Voters in Illinois will get a chance to decide whether Illinois millionaires should pay an additional tax to fund a statewide property tax relief fund. Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn kicked off a campaign Thursday to pass the Illinois Property Tax Relief Amendment referendum, a measure that would establish a dedicated property tax relief fund by requiring the states millionaires to pay a 3% surcharge on their annual income tax returns. Quinn said the current property tax system is unfair to people who live paycheck to paycheck. The Illinois Property Tax Relief Amendment Referendum offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Illinois voters to reform an unfair upside-down tax code and give significant annual property tax relief to millions of Illinoisans who urgently need help, he said. Quinn said the 3% surcharge on millionaire income would fund at least $1.5 billion in annual property tax relief funds. Critics of the plan say the policy will deter capital and entrepreneurs from coming to the state. As Governor, Quinn previously advocated for a 3% millionaire tax to fund education. Illinois residents currently pay the highest percentage of property taxes in the United States, behind New Jersey. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. Illinois sheriff Jack Campbell is asking for forgiveness on behalf of his department after his former employee, Sean Grayson, fatally shot Sonya Massey, who was 36 years old. According to the Springfield State Journal-Register, Campbell issued an apology at Union Baptist Church in Springfield, which was hosting a listening session for the Department of Justice Community Relations Service on July 29. I stand here before you with my arms wide open and I ask for your forgiveness, Campbell said at the session. I ask (Donna Massey, Sonyas mother) for forgiveness. I offer up no excuses. Attendees of Mondays meeting included Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, Sangamon County States Attorney John Milhiser and Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette . Representatives from the Springfield NAACP and the Faith Coalition for the Common Good were also in attendance. Despite Graysons questionable employment history, the Sangamon County Sheriffs Department hired him in 2023. Grayson worked at six police agencies in the past four years. And, in 2016, he was discharged from the U.S. Army for serious misconduct, according to Bossip. We failed. We did not do our jobs, Campbell said. We failed Sonya. We failed Sonyas family and friends. On July 6 at around 1 a.m., Grayson fatally shot Massey, who called out police to report a possible intruder at her house. As Blavity reported, Grayson and his partner said Massey appeared to be distraught and not thinking clearly when they showed up. Bodycam footage shows both men entering Masseys home to speak with her. The fatal shooting occurred shortly after when Grayson saw Massey grab what appeared to be a pot of boiling water. On July 18, Grayson plead not guilty after being charged with murder. Springfield resident Sierra Helmer is among those demanding police accountability. I should be able to call (them). Theyre meant to protect and serve, but here in Springfield, apparently, as shown on camera, they harass and unfortunately kill, Helmer told The State Journal-Register. Sonyas tragic death has sparked an outrage in me as a single Black woman raised by a single Black mother. As a Black woman, Im scared. As a nurse, my heart mourns. Some community members called for Campbells resignation, but he insisted that he will not abandon the sheriffs office at this most critical moment. He added, That would solve nothing. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept its use of deadly force secret. Until now. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept its use of deadly force secret. Until now. This article was reported in partnership with The Trace and Type Investigations. Nemesia Martinez was working at one of Mississippi's dozens of poultry plants on July 20, 2016, when she missed a call from her neighbor. It was 9 p.m., and her shift defeathering and extracting the livers from chickens, at a facility about an hour outside Jackson, wouldn't end until 10:30. But Martinez had a feeling something was off. When she went to the bathroom to call back, her neighbor told her: "There's police at your home. I don't know what happened." Martinez, now 47, shared the modest ranch-style house with her partner, Gabino Ramos Hernandez, 48, and a few housemates. She and Ramos had landed in Laurel more than a decade earlier, attracted by the plentiful if grueling poultry work, and had built a stable life for themselves. But they were both unauthorized immigrants, and the threat of arrest by immigration officials was a part of life. Martinez arrived home at about 11 o'clock, filled with trepidation. There, she saw a patrol car and a white van along with three agents, one of whom was wearing a vest from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Like every poultry worker in Laurel with her immigration status, Martinez had heard about the agency's raids and deportations and knew how to recognize and avoid its agents. Anxious that Ramos had been arrested, and worried about risking arrest herself, she turned around and headed to a friend's place to spend the night. "I was afraid," she said. Ramos wasn't picking up his phone, and she struggled to get to sleep that night, not knowing what had happened. Meanwhile, news of a shooting in Laurel began circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp. Friends began messaging Soledad Ramos Hernandez, Ramos's younger sister, to send condolences, assuming her brother had been killed. That's how Soledad first got wind that her brother might have been shot. She had no idea where he was, or whether he was even alive. "How am I supposed to tell my parents if he died?" Soledad remembered thinking. Gabino Ramos Hernandez, center, with his sister, Soledad Ramos Hernandez, right, and his partner, Nemesia Martinez, left, in their home in Laurel, Mississippi. Timothy Ivy for The Trace and Business Insider Approximately one in every 20 US workers is unauthorized, and Donald Trump has threatened to enact mass deportations of those workers and their families if he is again elected president. Yet when and how ICE agents use deadly force has long been shrouded in secrecy. Last year, a federal oversight agency found that ICE had failed to thoroughly documents its use-of-force incidents. Previously unreported bodycam footage and documents related to Ramos's encounter with ICE agents that day in July 2016 offer an unusual window into the use of deadly force by immigration agents, and what happens in the aftermath. Public records obtained through litigation show that Ramos's shooting was not an isolated case. It was one of 59 shootings by ICE officers from 2015 to 2021 that took place across 26 states and two US territories, including two that were self-inflicted. At least 24 people were injured in the shootings. Twenty-three were killed. This first comprehensive look at ICE shootings across the country, a collaboration among Business Insider, The Trace, and Type Investigations, shows that several incidents went unexamined and others appear to have violated the agency's own policies. The use-of-force logs we obtained are bare-bones and selectively redacted. They include the location and the date of the shooting and list injuries and deaths. But they don't include agent or victim names or narrative details. We've pieced together additional details from police departments, prosecutors, police and court records, an inspector-general report, and local media coverage. We could not identify supplemental records for 18 of these shootings that might have shed light on the circumstances surrounding them. ICE closely holds its use-of-force logs. This one, obtained through a public records request, documents a shooting fatality that took place on February 23, 2018 in Woodbridge, Virginia. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Many of the shootings posed considerable risks to bystanders. ICE agents shot people in public places, such as traffic intersections and strip-mall parking lots. They fired their weapons at moving vehicles. In at least a dozen cases, we uncovered evidence suggesting that the shooting victims were unarmed. This full list of incidents has never been publicly reported by ICE. And if any of the officers who fired their weapons were disciplined, ICE has kept that secret, too. ICE has even refused to release its current use-of-force policy. Read more: ICE agents 'don't fire warning shots' ICE agents are assigned to either civil immigration enforcement detaining and deporting unauthorized immigrants like Ramos or criminal investigations. The latter are led by Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE that partners with other law-enforcement agencies to investigate cross-border crimes ranging from drugs and weapons smuggling to financial crimes. A large proportion of the shootings we uncovered involved HSI agents, and some occurred during genuinely risky operations such as undercover drug busts or multi-agency raids targeting human-trafficking operations. Yet in over half of the shootings we identified, ICE agents never made an arrest. In at least seven cases, the person shot by an ICE officer was not the target of the enforcement action. Eleven shootings occurred while officers were off-duty. With more than 12,000 agents, ICE is one of the largest federal law-enforcement bodies in the country, bigger than any local police department other than the New York City Police Department. Yet many other large law-enforcement agencies have more independent oversight than ICE. For instance, the Los Angeles Police Department, which employs about 9,000 officers, has an internal-affairs division, a professional standards bureau, an independent board of police commissioners, and an inspector general to investigate misconduct. At ICE, oversight of misconduct is fragmented. It's handled sometimes by ICE, sometimes by ICE's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and sometimes primarily by local law enforcement with jurisdiction in the location where an incident took place. The results of ICE's internal investigations are not made public. Not a single shooting we examined resulted in an indictment anywhere in the country, even in instances when ICE's narrative of a shooting was contradicted by video footage. In some of these cases, ICE agents hindered investigations by violating protocols. Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum, says federal agencies haven't faced a "reckoning" about use of force the way municipal police departments have in recent years. "Generally speaking, there's a big difference, a huge difference, between what federal law enforcement does and what municipal law enforcement does," he said. ICE has admitted to wrongful use of firearms only once since 2016, after an ICE agent accidentally fired his weapon during an apartment search. No one was injured. The person of interest was not there, but ICE conducted an impromptu arrest of someone else on the scene. Genia Blaser, an attorney with the New York nonprofit Immigrant Defense Project, described the cases we examined as being part of a long-standing pattern of unnecessary escalation. "We have regularly seen that ICE tactics and arrests themselves created violence, and how quickly ICE agents escalate," she said, "from kicking down doors to holding people at gunpoint in front of children." Miguel Alvarez, an ICE spokesperson, declined to respond on the record to detailed queries about our investigative findings, including whether any ICE agents have been disciplined over their use of deadly force. But he said ICE agents operate with "the utmost integrity" and that "leadership across the agency and department further reinforce standards of ethical and responsible conduct to further build and maintain public trust." "ICE's mission brings an authority to use force when necessary," Alvarez said by email. "Authorized law enforcement officials are highly trained to only use force as a last resort when objectively reasonable and necessary, and to leverage de-escalation tactics. ICE personnel are regularly re-trained, and required to be familiar with all applicable directives, guidance, and policy and take appropriate action to comply with relevant laws and procedures. Any deviation or violation is investigated thoroughly, and if substantiated, disciplinary and/or other appropriate actions are taken." DHS did not respond to queries. Like the rest of his siblings in Puebla, Mexico, Ramos only finished the fourth grade. He knew from childhood that he would probably follow the path laid by his older cousins and move to Mississippi to work in a poultry plant. The first time he tried to cross into the United States, at age 23, he was caught by Border Patrol. The final time he tried, in 2002, carrying only a change of clothes and a bottle of water, he crossed through the desert into Arizona and made his way to Phoenix, where his cousins picked him up and drove him to southeastern Mississippi. There, he found work at a poultry plant in Laurel, about an hour and a half outside Jackson. He spent years jumping between the poultry plant and other day work, earning enough to send a few hundred dollars to his family back home each month. The following account of what happened to Ramos that summer evening in 2016 is based on body-camera footage, ICE incident and investigation reports, a DHS inspector general report, a lawsuit filed against the ICE agent, court depositions, reports from the Laurel Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and interviews with Ramos, his partner, and his sister. That evening, Ramos stopped by a friend's home in Laurel for a birthday party. After having several beers, he and his then housemate each got in their cars for the drive home. Ramos stands at the spot on the street near his Laurel home where he was shot by ICE agents in 2016. Timothy Ivy for The Trace and Business Insider According to a subsequent deposition by a Laurel police officer, Jake Driskell, he and another officer saw Ramos and his housemate roll through a stop sign. They suspected that the housemate, who was driving behind Ramos in a white Nissan, was intoxicated and pulled him over in a grassy driveway behind the home he shared with Ramos. Ramos pulled over, too. The men stepped out of their cars, and Driskell asked the housemate a few questions: "Do you speak English?" "Do you have ID?" Video shows that within minutes, Driskell walked back to his squad car and called nearby ICE agents to the scene. Laurel police officers described Ramos as "mouthy" and asked for Spanish translation assistance. When the immigration officers arrived, Ramos recognized them as ICE and bolted, running around to the street in front of his home. An ICE agent, Phillip Causey, ran after him, yelling at him to stop. "Baja!" (Down!) Causey can be heard yelling. "Get down! Get on the fucking ground! Get the fuck down!" Scared and confused, Ramos gave up and stopped running, according to a subsequent civil complaint. He turned around and walked back toward the agents. When Causey ordered Ramos to put his hands up, according to Ramos' complaint, he lifted one into the air, using the other to hold up his falling pants. That's when Causey shot him. Body cam footage shows a Laurel, Mississippi, police officer calling ICE for translation assistance after pulling over Ramos' housemate, left. Ramos moments after being shot by ICE agents, right. Laurel Police Department Ramos wasn't the target of the police stop. And neither he nor his housemate was the target of an immigration enforcement action. But Ramos still became one of dozens of people on the receiving end of an ICE agent's deadly force. Causey's bullet penetrated Ramos's arm, hitting bone. Another officer's body camera appears to show him running toward Ramos. In an otherwise pitch-black street, the officer's flashlight shows Ramos writhing in pain, bleeding onto the black asphalt. "You shouldn't have went for your pockets," Causey yelled at Ramos as he crouched over him, putting pressure on the wound. Soon, eight officers stood around Ramos, a mix of ICE agents and Laurel police officers, as his plaid shirt became saturated with blood. "Me no hear nothing," Ramos said, in between shrieks of pain. The police tried to remove Ramos's shirt to access the wound and provide first aid as he twisted and thrashed. When they rolled him on his side looking for signs of other injuries, Ramos screamed. He lay on the asphalt until an ambulance arrived and paramedics loaded him onto a gurney. "Please," he groaned. ICE agents have shot other unarmed people. In a February 2018 shooting in Dumfries, Virginia, an ICE agent, who was a member of a US Marshals fugitive task force, killed an unarmed man named Mario Bass by shooting him as he was fleeing arrest. The commonwealth's attorney's office began to investigate but abruptly stopped, saying it lacked jurisdiction, and wrote an opinion saying the ICE agent enjoyed immunity from state prosecution while acting as a federal agent. The case was turned over to the FBI, the attorney's office told us, but the Justice Department did not respond to queries about whether it had investigated. Bass' family wrote a letter to the commonwealth's attorney saying that by failing to prosecute the ICE agent, "you have endangered the lives of every citizen in the county of Prince William and the larger community. In September 2019 in Nashville, a deportation agent shot at a man twice as he drove a truck out of a grocery-store parking lot that has heavy foot traffic. An ICE spokesperson, Bryan Cox, told reporters the man behind the wheel drove toward the agents. Video footage obtained by a local TV station shows that the truck was parked when the ICE agents drove up and then shows the agent, later identified as Bradley Epley, drawing his gun and giving chase as the truck pulls away. Epley then fires a shot through one of the truck's windows. The FBI, which was tasked with investigating an attempted-assault allegation against the driver, declined to charge the driver. Alvarez, the ICE spokesperson, declined to comment on this incident, or any other shooting incident, including whether the agent involved was disciplined. He also said ICE does not comment on investigations or litigation. DHS's 2018 use-of-force policy says that shooting to disable a moving vehicle is prohibited. But the Nashville incident was one of 18 shootings we identified that appear to have involved a moving vehicle, including several car chases. These shootings were connected to at least nine deaths and six injuries. The use-of-force policy says agents should try to place the public in as little danger as possible when discharging a weapon. Yet in many of the incidents we reviewed, agents may have put civilian safety at risk. Twenty-one shootings took place in public spaces, such as parking lots or traffic intersections. In June 2017 in Denver, a deportation officer named Rueben Coray fired once at Hector Santana-Arreola, grazing his forehead, after he fled a traffic stop at a commercial intersection. The Denver district attorney later said that Santana, who was wanted on two felony warrants, had a knife in his hand within arm's reach of the officers. Santana was charged with first-degree assault; the Denver DA's office decided not to indict the ICE officer who shot him. A July 2018 shooting in Phoenix appeared to be among the most dangerous to passersby. Agents engaging in a narcotics operation opened fire in a commercial parking lot lined with shops and an urgent-care facility. The agents shot at the driver at least twice, injuring him. ICE offered inconsistent explanations for the shooting. An ICE spokesperson told local reporters that agents fired their weapons after a driver tried to "ram them with a vehicle." But an ICE log, which we obtained, says agents noted the suspect had a handgun. (The log made no mention of the vehicle being used as a weapon.) The man who was shot acknowledged having a handgun in the car but said in an interview with Phoenix police investigators that he didn't point it at anyone. A store clerk who witnessed the shooting told local media they saw the police remove a young boy who'd been sitting in the car's passenger seat. The 4-year-old, the son of the man's girlfriend, was injured by shards of the windshield shot out by one of the agents. Maricopa County prosecutors later said the agents did not provide statements until nine days after the shooting, in violation of protocol. As a result, prosecutors said, it would be difficult for the agents to be "fully cleared of any wrongdoing." They did not recommend criminal charges. In another incident in a commercial parking lot, an undercover drug sting gone awry in Mesa, Arizona, in May 2018, agents shot a suspect 17 times. US Customs and Border Protection agents and Maricopa County sheriff's deputies who were also part of the mission didn't fire a single shot. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which investigated the incident, did not recommend any charges either. A significant number of the shootings documented in the logs happened while ICE agents were off-duty or in plain clothes. At least two occurred during attempted robberies, but others were provoked by far less. In Lithia Springs, Georgia, in February 2019, an off-duty ICE agent, Othello Jones, pulled into a Walmart parking lot with his wife and three kids. Surveillance video captures Jones stepping out of his car and pointing his gun at another car as it pulls into the spot next to his. His wife called 911, saying the man in the other car had followed them and had a gun. In a matter of moments, Jones shot the man in the chest, killing him. The victim, later identified as 45-year-old Johnathan Liddell, did have a weapon in the vehicle a pellet gun. Douglas County prosecutors declined to press charges. "This was a justified shooting," said District Attorney Ryan Leonard at a press conference held less than two weeks later, arguing that Jones had faced a reasonable threat. "Nothing that he did is criminal." For more than a decade, ICE agents operated under an interim use-of-force policy, which the DHS Inspector General's Office said was outdated and didn't incorporate lessons learned since its establishment. Then, in May 2022, President Joe Biden signed an executive order mandating that DHS update its use-of-force policies to align with new standards at the Department of Justice. DHS updated the use-of-force policy in February 2023 and instructed all of its agencies, including ICE, to do the same. ICE confirmed that it had created a new policy in 2023 but refused to release it to us, saying the policies had "not been published for public view" but that the policy meets or exceeds DHS policy in all material respects. ICE did later publish the policy document with all but two sentences fully redacted. ICE eventually made public its 2004 Use of Force Policy, with all but the first sentence redacted. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez, a professor of civil rights and liberties at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, said it's "next to impossible" to access ICE's use-of-force policies because no law requires it. He also said the agency's policies are unlikely to evolve until they're made public. "If you don't know how they're operating because they're hiding it, it makes it really hard to get that democratic oversight," he said. "You don't know what your starting point is." An internal ICE handbook from 2021 sheds some light on the procedures agents are supposed to follow in the field. Both the February 2023 DHS policy governing use of force and the 2021 ICE handbook direct agents to de-escalate situations when possible and give verbal warnings before using a deadly weapon. But the 2021 handbook has different reporting requirements from ICE's 2004 interim use-of-force policy. While the interim guidance instructed agents to "immediately" report an incident to their supervisor, the updated guidance says agents should report an incident within an hour only "if it is safe and possible to do so"; otherwise they can do so "as soon as is possible." Both handbooks require the agent's supervisor to follow up with a written report to ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility; the 2021 handbook shortens that deadline from five days to 48 hours. Across these ICE and DHS policies, any use of force must be both "reasonable" and "necessary," such as when required for agents to protect themselves or to prevent the escape of a suspect who poses a serious danger to others. A DHS 2018 policy provides even sharper guidance on the use of deadly force that officers must have a reasonable belief that they face imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. The 2023 DHS policy says deadly force cannot be used against a person "whose actions are only a threat to themselves or property." With limited exceptions, it also forbids agents from shooting a firearm from a moving vehicle or to disable a moving vehicle. DHS policy now requires that officers be trained in the use of deadly force at least annually and requires DHS agencies, including ICE, to ensure their officers are proficient in de-escalation tactics and techniques. ICE's 2021 handbook also prioritizes de-escalation. "When feasible," it reads, "Authorized Officers shall employ tactics to de-escalate, i.e., stabilize, slow, or reduce the intensity of, a potentially violent situation without using physical force." The evening after the shooting, Martinez again got a call during her shift. This time, it was Soledad, Ramos's sister. Soledad had spent much of the night calling hospitals, trying to find her brother. She finally found the local hospital where he'd been admitted and discovered he'd been transferred to another a half an hour away, where he was scheduled for surgery the next morning. The following day, Soledad went to bring Ramos home. She brought her 9-year-old son to the hospital with her, hoping that if ICE agents were there, they wouldn't arrest her with her young son. When she saw her brother, attached to tubes and wires, his arm bandaged, Soledad burst into tears. Doctors found that the gunshot had "completely lacerated" his radial nerve, medical records show, requiring the administration of IV antibiotics. The surgeries would ultimately be extensive, involving a bone graft, the installation of a plate, and the removal of muscle tissue. "I remember when we left, he was in a robe because we didn't know where his clothes were," Soledad said. The bloody garments had likely been discarded. Doctors found that the ICE agent's gunshot had shattered a bone in Ramos Hernandez's arm and "completely lacerated" his radial nerve. Courtesy of Gabino Ramos Hernandez The women were not Ramos's first visitors. At about 3 a.m., just six hours after the shooting, a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation officer named Leo Clemons arrived at the first hospital to interview Ramos. Doctors had given him painkillers, but Ramos was still in immense pain. Clemons described his condition in an incident report as "groggy" but said he "was able to speak enough broken English for us to have a conversation." Ramos later told us that was not the case; he said he was so disoriented during the questioning by Clemons that he did not even remember meeting him. "I was practically unconscious," he said. In a 26-minute audio recording of the interview, Ramos moans frequently. He does not seem to understand all the questions. Clemons asks him to explain what happened and whether he could see the officer who shot him. "You heard him but you couldn't see him?" Clemons asks. "I don't know. I don't understand anybody," Ramos responds. Clemons did not request Spanish translation assistance, though it appears he knew he needed it; at one point he asks a nurse who comes to check on Ramos's vitals if she speaks Spanish. Though Ramos was interviewed within hours of being shot, the two Laurel police officers and one ICE officer at the scene waited a week to come into the station for questioning. Causey, the officer who shot Ramos, wasn't interviewed by MBI until two weeks later. MBI promised Ramos that an officer would interview him again after he got out of the hospital, but Ramos said no one ever did. Body cam captures a Laurel police officer in the moments after Ramos was shot by an ICE agent. Laurel Police Department An MBI spokesperson, Bailey C. Martin, said Clemons was no longer with the bureau and he could not comment on "decisions made pertaining to a particular investigation." Alvarez, the ICE spokesperson, declined to respond to detailed queries about the incident. It may seem unusual that MBI was the agency that handled the Ramos shooting. But documents we obtained show that ICE assigned jurisdiction to another law-enforcement agency in nearly half of the shootings by its agents that took place from 2015 to 2021. Alvarez, the ICE spokesperson, confirmed that ICE is required to notify local law enforcement of any allegations involving potentially criminal behavior, and that ICE and the DHS inspector general cooperate on any local law enforcement investigations. Yet we found that confusion over who had jurisdiction might have allowed some cases to escape criminal investigation. In October 2019, for example, a deportation officer fired his weapon in Metairie, Louisiana. ICE said that while no one was struck or injured, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office would investigate. But the sheriff's office told the local NBC affiliate that it never opened an investigation. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to requests for comment. It's not clear the fatal shooting of Mario Bass in Virginia was investigated either, once the Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office found it didn't have the authority to investigate. The office said it turned over all of its investigative files to the FBI, but the FBI press office said the bureau could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation and declined to comment further. We identified several cases in which ICE agents may have hindered investigations by failing to follow protocol or provide documentation. In one case in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March 2018, a special agent with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division, working in a team of three, fired at least three shots at a suspect who fell back onto the ground with a gun still in his hand. While writhing from his injuries, he pointed the weapon in the general direction of the special agent, according to a Scottsdale police report shared with us by Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University. The agent shot the man again, according to witnesses interviewed for the report, killing him. The Maricopa County District Attorney's Office investigated the incident and concluded that the HSI agent had disregarded the county's officer-involved shooting protocols by failing to remain on the scene and refusing to participate in interviews until six days later. The agent who repeatedly fired his weapon violated policy in four different ways, the investigators found, but was "excused by on scene Federal Homeland Policy Security Supervisors who relied on Internal Policies to justify the decisions made at the scene," the DA's report said. The DA's office said the violations could "justify further investigatory steps" but cleared the agent of wrongdoing anyway. Similarly, in the Mesa, Arizona, incident in May 2018, when three agents fired 17 shots, killing a suspect, the Maricopa County DA found that the agents violated protocol by failing to remain on the scene and delaying their interviews in this case for eight days. In a June 2016 incident in Chula Vista, California, an HSI agent named Chris Baroni advised a fellow HSI agent, Ronaldo Gonzalez, not to participate in an investigation. Gonzalez had just shot and killed someone, according to a transcript of the body-wire recording obtained by the victim's family. "Don't worry about it," Baroni told him. "Remember ... no statements, none of that shit." (Attorneys representing Baroni and Gonzalez declined to comment on their behalf.) Jerry Robinette, who once oversaw Homeland Security Investigations operations as a special agent in charge, says the internal process for investigating ICE shootings is a "quagmire" littered with potential dead ends. First, the agent must file a report for agency review. If there's an allegation of misconduct, DHS's Office of Inspector General has the right of first refusal to investigate. If the incident involves a shooting, whether or not the inspector general gets involved, the case goes to ICE's Firearms and Use of Force Incident Review Committee. That committee determines whether the use of force violated ICE or DHS policies and whether the agency needs to respond by making changes to policy, tactics, or training. If an incident involves potentially criminal behavior, and it's not taken up by the inspector general, it will still get reviewed by ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility. If either the inspector general or the review committee determines that a use of deadly force violated policy, the case is referred to OPR for further investigation, according to Gretta Goodwin, a director on the Government Accountability Office's Homeland Security and Justice team who has reviewed ICE's internal-investigation process. An officer's supervisor may also refer a case to the OPR. "There is no consistency with how some of those shootings have been handled," said Robinette, who began his career as a US Customs special agent and ultimately managed a terrorist-financing task force in Washington, DC, before retiring in 2012. He said the process could fall apart at any point a supervisor may choose not to escalate an incident for review, and the review committee may choose not to recommend discipline. Getting to the point of actual discipline, if it's imposed at all, can take years, he said. Because of inadequate recordkeeping, the GAO found, some use-of-force incidents might not be visible to DHS officials. And critically, the Office of Professional Responsibility doesn't have the authority to issue disciplinary measures. OPR simply issues recommendations and "local management is responsible for taking any appropriate disciplinary actions," the GAO report says such as a warning or a suspension. In other words, Goodwin says, an agent's frontline supervisors ultimately decide whether the agent will face professional consequences. Goodwin calls this a critical shortcoming. "The board is saying, 'This is a violation,'" she said of ICE's use-of-force review committee. "If they send it forward for disciplinary actions, and the manager decides not to discipline, it goes nowhere. That's it. So the individual who commits an egregious act doesn't get punished." What those disciplinary recommendations are and whether they're implemented is never made public, even to oversight agencies. "There's no way for us to get at the heart of what happens after the board finds you're out of compliance," Goodwin said. In many ways, the Ramos case illustrates how ICE has never developed a robust system of accountability. After Causey shot Ramos, it took almost a year for the case to be brought before a grand jury. MBI led the criminal investigation, which DHS "monitored," according to a report by DHS's Office of the Inspector General. The ICE interim use-of-force policy that was in effect at the time outlines a range of documentation the agency is required to collect when an agent uses deadly force, including witness and officer statements, medical reports, and photos and diagrams of the scene. But the inspector general's report made reference only to police statements and body-camera footage, indicating that the other documents may not have been collected or turned over. ICE requires a robust list of records to be compiled when agents fire their weapons. But an inspector general found that few of these documents were collected in the Ramos case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tommy Cox, Laurel's police chief, told us that he was unable to recall whether ICE or MBI ever reached out to interview the officers present the night of the shooting. The inspector general found that ICE didn't follow its own protocols in another way. The policy said any agent who uses deadly force that results in death or serious injury shall be placed on leave for three consecutive workdays. In Causey's case, he took time on his own accord and returned to work before the grand jury made a decision in the case, nearly a year after the shooting, not to indict him. He was never suspended, and the OIG report says there is no record of either his absence or his return. A person whose name was redacted, presumably Causey's supervisor, told the inspector general's office that since the language in the policy says "shall," he didn't believe a leave of absence was "mandatory. The Office of the Inspector General said it was unable to interview Causey, an Army reservist, because he was on active duty in Africa. The investigation closed, and the inspector general's report makes no mention of discipline. Both ICE and DHS have repeatedly come under scrutiny for inadequate procedures to address employee misconduct. In 2017, as ICE was enforcing Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies, the DHS inspector general found that the department lacked "policies that emphasize the respect for human life when using force." In 2019, the OIG found that DHS was not adequately handling misconduct allegations because its policy "does not include procedures for reporting allegations of misconduct, clear and specific supervisor roles and expectations, or clearly defined key discipline terms." "Without department-wide procedures," the report said, "DHS cannot ensure supervisors administer disciplinary actions consistently and may leave itself vulnerable to costly litigation." DHS concurred with the report's recommendations, and subsequent reports by think tanks and human-rights organizations have come to similar conclusions. Yet DHS's new use-of-force policy, released in February 2023, does little to strengthen these shortcomings in oversight beyond establishing new data collection and reporting mechanisms, such as requiring that DHS agencies participate in the FBI's Use of Force Data Collection Program. It bars some dangerous practices critically, it prohibits shooting at a moving vehicle but it does not provide remedies for people harmed by such practices in the past. A 2020 report from the Center for a New American Security found "fragmented oversight" at DHS; a year earlier, the DHS inspector general told Congress that the agency was "struggling to mature as an organization" and suffered a "dysfunctional work environment." "No administration has been committed to reining in their power," said Jennifer Chacon, a professor of immigration, constitutional, and criminal law at Stanford Law School. "When it comes to accountability for agents, you don't see a lot there." Garcia Hernandez, the professor at Ohio State Law, says ICE's aggressive policies enacted under Trump remain today. "Even if they weren't created under Biden, the Biden administration has taken ownership of them," he said. "I would want DHS leaders and the White House to take seriously that the largest armed law-enforcement agency in the country are constantly interacting with ordinary people and those people have a lot at stake and should be able to understand what to expect of those armed law-enforcement officers." Last July, the GAO found that DHS had undercounted use-of-force incidents across agencies and had never set up a plan to analyze use-of-force data. Even when DHS agencies did submit data, the report found, they sometimes recorded multiple uses of force as a single incident or in a single report, which not only disguised the true tally but lost track of incidents that could have informed policy or training changes. The GAO report, which Goodwin authored, said it had previously recommended that two federal agencies, the Secret Service and ICE, issue updated data-collection policies. The Secret Service complied in February 2023, but ICE still has not. As the GAO was preparing its report, ICE reported that it had implemented a couple of changes to its policies and training curriculum. But Goodwin said ICE didn't provide any substantiation that those changes had been made. In complying with Biden's May 2022 executive order, DHS, for the first time, required its member agencies to report use-of-force data but asked for data going back only to 2018. A year after he was shot, Ramos hired an attorney, Timothy Cerniglia, who has since brought a lawsuit against Causey. In preparing for the suit, Cerniglia was stymied by ICE's opacity. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the agency refused to give him the use-of-force incident report, citing a state exemption for law-enforcement investigations. By February, a judge had dismissed all the claims, saying he had failed to prove that the agents had violated his constitutional rights. In April, Cerniglia filed an appeal. "Private lawsuits are basically the only option and they're not a particularly great option," said Garcia Hernandez, the Ohio State Law professor. "But really they're the only genuine mechanism for someone who is aggrieved because of an ICE agent's use of force to be heard." Martinez, Ramos's partner, said her life has two eras: before and after the shooting. Once Ramos came home from the hospital, she was the one who helped him shower, fed him, and organized his medication. She also took over financial responsibilities for the household. Ramos's recovery has been slow. He spent nearly two years in the bedroom the couple shared, where the window looks out onto the street where he was shot. Martinez says he still sometimes experiences a dread so severe he does not leave his bedroom all day. "It just left him feeling really depressed and with no sort of energy," Soledad said. "He was suffering every day." Ramos and Hernandez's home in Laurel, Mississippi. Timothy Ivy for The Trace and Business Insider Eight years later, he still hasn't been able to pay off the $5,000 he owes for the surgeries he received to treat the gunshot wound and later to graft and replace damaged bone. He hasn't regained full mobility in his arm. And he never returned to the poultry plant. Because she needed to be home more and couldn't work late hours, Martinez had to quit her job at the poultry plant, too. To maintain a flexible schedule, she turned to cleaning homes and selling street food. The pay was less, and more sporadic, and yet her earnings had to support them both. Soon, Martinez also stopped sending money back home to her family in Oaxaca her two daughters and her 93-year-old mother. For years after the shooting, Ramos's main form of income was working the blueberry harvest. But the picking season is very short less than three months of the year. "I came to work, and now I can't do that," he said. Driskell, the Laurel police officer who pulled them over that night, never indicated to Ramos that he was getting a traffic ticket, according to court documents. But Driskell wrote up two while Ramos was in the hospital. Ramos underwent multiple surgeries after he was shot. He never regained full mobility in his arm. Timothy Ivy for The Trace and Business Insider Ramos and Martinez had been thinking about going back to Mexico anyway. What's the benefit of being here any longer? they asked each other. He's been worried his aging mother might die soon. But Soledad insisted that Ramos stay through to the end of his appeal. He may have been an unauthorized immigrant, she said, but he did not deserve to be shot in the act of surrendering. "There's the sense that they have the right to use guns and that they will be protected," Soledad said. "He had no gun. He had nothing on him." In early May, Ramos had another encounter with the Laurel police in which ICE got involved. He was pulled over for a suspected DUI, and this time the police said they found drugs in the car. Ramos denies that the drugs were his, but he hasn't yet had a chance to enter a not-guilty plea. On May 30, he was brought from the Laurel jail into ICE detention, where he remains. A grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism supported research for this story. Loevy & Loevy provided pro bono legal support in a public-records suit. Credits: Reporting: Lila Hassan Editing: Aviva Shen, Tali Woodward, Esther Kaplan, John Cook Research: Paco Alvarez, Emma Davis, Rosemarie Ho, Schuyler Mitchell, Iqra Salah, Nina Zweig Photography: Tim Ivy Data visualization: Daniel Nass Design and visuals: Rebecca Zisser, Selin Thomas, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol Read the original article on Business Insider EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Local health officials are reminding parents to get their childrens recommended vaccinations as soon as possible with fall being right around the corner. Immunize El Paso said with schools back in session, the chances for children to come into contact with preventable diseases increases. Right now, we have a campaign called Back-to-School Vaccinate Now. We are urging parents to come into one of our three clinics at Immunize El Paso because when they get to school, when school starts, they ask that their children be vaccinated against specific vaccines and if they dont have those vaccinations, then theyre not allowed to start the first day of class, said Cristina Rodda, spokesperson with Immunize El Paso Rodda said the vaccines children are required to get depend on their age, but staff at the center can assist in looking up that information. We have a record system from the state that tells us which vaccines are necessary. So, if parents dont know, go ahead and bring your children in and we can tell them which vaccines they need at what age. Now, the vaccines that are usually taken are against measles, whooping cough, against respiratory and bacterial infections and against polio. Those are the most common that children, school age children have to take, Rodda said. Immunize El Paso takes appointments and accepts walk-ins. More information on what types of vaccines the clinic offers can be found on its website. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Avanish Kumar, approaches a man living on the street to offer transporting him to the Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, or SHEOWS, a home for the aged and unwanted, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/David Goldman) GARHMUKTESHWAR, India (AP) They were found in gutters, on streets, in bushes. They were boarded on trains, deserted in hospitals, dumped at temples. They were sent away for being sick or outliving paychecks or simply growing too old. By the time they reached this home for the aged and unwanted, many were too numb to speak. Some took months to mouth the truth of how they came to spend their final days in exile. They said, Taking care of him is not our cup of tea, says Amirchand Sharma, 65, a retired policeman whose sons left him to die near the river after he was badly hurt in an accident. They said, Throw him away. In its traditions, in its religious tenets and in its laws, India has long cemented the belief that it is a childs duty to care for his aging parents. But in a land known for revering its elderly, a secret shame has emerged: A burgeoning population of older people abandoned by their own families. This is a country where grandparents routinely share a roof with children and grandchildren, and where the expectation that the young care for the old is so ingrained in the national ethos that nursing homes are a relative rarity and hiring caregivers is often seen as taboo. But expanding lifespans have brought ballooning caregiving pressure, a wave of urbanization has driven many young far from their home villages and a creeping Western influence has begun eroding the tradition of multigenerational living. Courtrooms swell with thousands of cases of parents seeking help from their children. Footpaths and alleys are crowded with older people who now call them home. And a cottage industry of nonprofits for the abandoned has sprouted, operating a constantly growing number of shelters that continually fill. This is one of them. The Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, known as SHEOWS, houses about 320 people on 16 acres of land in this small north Indian city. Nearly all of them were abandoned by their families. One woman spent more than eight years living at a faraway temple where she was deserted by her children. Another tells of a son she loved who forced her out, saying if she didnt leave, his wife would. A man sitting atop a bed with sheets adorned with teddy bears and smiling anthropomorphic mushrooms was left to die on the street, arriving here so starved that he ate 22 rotis, one after another after another. Birbati, the lead caregiver in the womens building, who does not use a surname, says after years of tending to the abandoned, she finds some of them visiting in her dreams. Each of them has a story, she says. All are sad stories. Where growing old is new Wealthy countries have grappled with aging societies for decades, but the issue is only now beginning to ripple in the developing world, where the idea of growing old is still new for swaths of the population. By 2050, two-thirds of the worlds population of people 60 and older will reside outside the worlds wealthiest nations. India is projected to see growth among its old that far outstrips that of the young. Already, the curses of that demographic shift have begun to emerge alongside its blessings. An Indian born just 70 years ago was forecast to live nearly half as long as one today. But longer lives have often brought with them greater medical need and thrust the next generation into economic binds that force them to balance the needs of their parents with the needs of their own children. By tradition, Indian parents live with a son, who is responsible for their care, though in practice, the work typically falls to women. That remains the norm, but a growing number of older Indians now have absentee children and inadequate help to keep up with expenses or care. Others feel forced to leave homes where toxic feuds fester. And, in the very worst cases, parents are ousted from their home by a child in a dispute over money or in a wits-end solution to incontinence they cant stomach or dementia they cant handle. ___ This is the first in a series of stories from the AP about aging in the developing world. ___ Driven from their homes, these elders end up begging on the streets or, if theyre lucky, in a shelter like this, where separate buildings for men and women overlook a sun-soaked lawn with towering palms and a fountain ringed by rose bushes. Monkeys crisscross the roof of an on-site hospital while inside, in its small physical therapy room, a doctor tries to coax a patients arthritic knees to work. The patient, Rajhu Phooljale, has his black pants rolled up, and around his right ankle, he has tied black thread to ward off evil. He says he is 65, but like many older Indians, isnt entirely certain of his age. How he ended up here, though, he cant forget. Phooljale was working as a cook and living with his wife and two adult sons when he was hit by a motorist and left initially unable to walk and permanently blinded. He could not work. His wife left him. His sons told him they arranged for surgery in New Delhi, far from their home in the countrys center, and when they arrived at the hospital, they told him to sit while they went off to consult a doctor. Wait here, they said. But they never returned. For two or three days, Phooljale stayed on the grounds of a hospital in a strange city in a world that, for a man newly blind, had just gone black. He went hungry and thirsty and broke down in tears. A hospital staffer eventually called the police, who in turn alerted SHEOWS, which picked him up. It has been about two years since then and Phooljale has not heard anything from his sons. He doesnt even have a photograph of them. He wonders if they think he is dead. I nurtured them from the time they were small, he says. Isnt it their duty to take care of me? He clutches the side of his head and sobs as he speaks. Through the window of the therapy room is a hospital ward full of patients with similar stories and, outside, there are two more buildings with hundreds more. The scene repeats at three other sites run by SHEOWS and the constellation of other organizations shelters dotting this vast subcontinent. Scouring the streets In New Delhi, about 60 miles and a world away from the dirt roads of Garhmukteshwar, a two-man SHEOWS crew inches an ambulance through the capitals choked thoroughfares, where cows amble beside clusters of tuk-tuks and vendors pile their carts high with perfectly stacked fruit. On streets overflowing with humanity, there is no shortage of heartache and, with traffic snarled, the men study the streets edges looking for signs of someone old and in need. They pull over to check on a shoeless man with a torn shirt lying on the side of the road, and another man who is sitting at the riverbank with all his belongings stuffed in two rice bags. Do you have a son? asks the ambulances driver, Rinku Semar. Do you have a daughter? Some approached by Semar and his partner, Avanish Kumar, refuse to go with them. Others appear drunk or drugged and are disqualified from being taken to one of SHEOWS shelters. As an orange sun descends in a hazy sky, they pick up a man named Atmaram whose jeans and shirt are worn and dirty and who drags a sack with a blanket and his other belongings. Inside the ambulance, flashes of red and blue strobes ricochet and the siren buffets a nearby mosques blaring call to prayer. Atmaram doesnt use a surname and doesnt know his age. A few white hairs sprout from his nearly bald head, his left eye is clouded by cataracts and most of his teeth are gone. The ambulance arrives at SHEOWS newest shelter, where seesaws and swings hint at the propertys former life as a school. Atmaram is shown to a shower, where the pool of water beneath him turns brown as a caregiver scrubs his legs with a pink bar of soap. Both men are silent. The stories of the abandoned are often incomplete, riddled with holes punched by time, their reticence and, sometimes, the fog of dementia. Atmaram is no different and, this night, has no explanation for why he was living on the street. Basic questions, such as whether he has any children, are unanswered. Some clues drip out in the days to come: He used to make clay pots. He and his brother shared a home with their respective wives. His wife died, then his brother. Then, his sister-in-law forced him out. This house is not yours, he says she told him. His shower is done and Atmaram is given fresh clothes and served a hot meal on a metal tray before being shown to a bed in a communal room. The shelters staff has repeated this routine many times but none utters what they know to be true: Few who arrive here will ever see their families again. They say, Hell come back one day, says Saurabh Bhagat, the 35-year-old leader of SHEOWS, the organization his father founded. But almost none of them ever come back. How can children do this?' Though most who are taken in by SHEOWS come from New Delhis streets and spend time in one of the organizations city shelters, in time most end up here, at its largest site in Garhmukteshwar. The centers staffers are a stand-in for absent families and are quick with a caring touch or extra helping of food. And as caregivers years here pass, each amasses memories of cases that haunt them. The old man whose leg was so infested with maggots he spent a month hospitalized. The woman who looked like a skeleton when she was found shivering in the bushes on a winter day that would be her last. A man with dementia often seen crying but unable to say why. How can children do this? the homes manager, 30-year-old Naved Khan, asks in disbelief. Each who comes here has a different answer, but similarities emerge. Again and again, they tell of being turned away when their needs grew too great, when finances got too tight or when the strife of a packed house was too much to bear. Men outnumber women. Many are in declining health. Dementia and mental illness are common. Most have outlived their spouse, a crucial line of protection. Shushila Jain, who is about 80, pushes a plastic chair as a makeshift walker and, looking around the room at so many others like her, believes they are living in what Hindus call Kali Yuga, the worst of times, a period marked by conflict and cataclysm. She raised two sons and two daughters and cared for her husband and in-laws and three grandsons, too. But no one reciprocated as her own needs grew. I never thought it would come to this, she says. Bhagats father, Girdhar Prasad Bhagat, started SHEOWS two decades ago when he began seeing Indias cherished traditions flouted and elderly people left in New Delhis streets. Hed heard of people abandoning their parents before, most notably in the northern city of Vrindavan. For hundreds of years, its serpentine maze of temple-lined streets and alleys have drawn widows whose families abandoned them after the death of their husbands left them branded as purveyors of bad luck. As the elder Bhagat moved through New Delhis streets, though, he saw something new. A problem that was once concentrated in a single place, driven by religious and cultural issues on societys edges, was now finding a foothold among a broader cross-section of people in a much wider swath of the country. SHEOWS has taken in 10,000 people since its founding, but there is no reliable tally of Indias total population of abandoned elders. In cities across the country, organizations that care for the abandoned say a simmering decades-old problem has grown far worse in recent years. SHEOWS opened a second shelter, then a third, then a fourth. Similar organizations have done the same, some with the backing of billionaire philanthropists like Azim Premji and MacKenzie Scott. The problem has only continued to grow. It comes even as India, now the worlds most populous country, has experienced decades of phenomenal growth in which billionaires were made but inequities also deepened. The backgrounds of many here might be surprising, including academics, businesspeople and professionals. SHEOWS residents are more likely to hail from middle-class families than poor ones. Still, economics are a major driver of abandonment. Most older people in India do not receive a pension, government assistance or health insurance and families are often looked to for support. Annapurna Devi Pandey, an anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose research has taken her to homes for the abandoned in her native India, says respect for elders remains ingrained in society, but some must make a difficult choice between caring for their children or their parents. The sense of duty, she says, becomes kind of an existential issue. Left to die alone Neatly planted rows of vegetables cut across the Garhmukteshwar propertys midsection, a limp Indian flag comes to life with a breeze and a wall along the perimeter is painted with messages of hope. Keep Smiling. Love and Respect Old Age People. Be Happy & Youll Fly. Places like this werent supposed to be needed. Parliament passed the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act in 2007 to ensure grown children and grandchildren provide for their aged relatives. Indias Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, which oversees the law, has not released data on the number of claims it has received. One mid-sized state, Kerala, said in 2022 that its dozens of tribunals had processed some 20,000 cases since the laws passage, a microcosm of the national total. Surveys show the vast majority of seniors are completely unaware of their rights under the maintenance act. Even if they do know, many are unlikely to take their kin to court. Bhagat, the leader of SHEOWS, says hes not aware of a single resident of his shelters who has pursued a case. Many concede their fates and remain protective of the children that have deserted them. A feeling of acceptance is pervasive here. Those who call this home may have been cast away by their families, but they have been saved from the streets. Comfort comes with the rhythm of reliable meals and afternoon teas and their own quiet prayers. Castes disappear and friendships bloom. More striking than the gravity of the stories or the weight of the sorrows is the warmth residents exude. Wide smiles spread across weathered faces as hands are pressed together in a sign of welcome or placed on a visitors head, gently mussing their hair to extend a blessing. Its not that they dont miss their families, Bhagat says, but Ive seen a lot of broken people heal over time. Most who arrive here end up staying several years. Some have been here since it opened. Tucked in one corner of the centers hospital are piles of folders, one for each resident, stashed in cubbies. Each amounts to an individuals history here, beginning with where they were found. A woman dumped at a Sikh gurdwara. A man lying in the street. A woman left at a police station. One pile of folders is of those whose son or daughter came back for them, filled out paperwork for their release and pressed a purple thumbprint on it to make it official. But far more files grow fat and tattered until one final insertion is made, a thin strip of grid paper with the flat lines of an EKG. It is left unsaid when someone arrives here: More than likely, this is the place they will die. When it happens, caregivers bathe and dress the dead, then take the body to the river, where they rub it in ghee and set it aflame. No family will come to mourn them and no words of remembrance are spoken. A bed is freed and, soon, a new resident arrives. ___ Matt Sedensky reported from seven shelters for abandoned elders in four Indian cities and interviewed more than 70 exiles, advocates, caregivers and other experts. He can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://x.com/sedensky. By Munsif Vengattil, Chris Thomas and Jose Devasia CHOORALMALA, India (Reuters) -Indian soldiers rushed to complete construction of a metal bridge on Thursday to connect the worst affected area in the Kerala landslides as the search continued for survivors and bodies after the disaster that has killed at least 189 people. Heavy rain in the southern coastal state of Kerala, one of India's most popular tourist destinations, caused landslides in the hills of Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept. Army engineers scrambled to build a 190-foot (58 m) bridge to ferry heavy equipment from the nearest town of Chooralmala to the affected area, Mundakkai, after rising water in a local river washed away a makeshift bridge on Wednesday. The main bridge was washed away in the landslides on Tuesday, cutting off Mundakkai. "Our bridge will be ready in a few hours and once the bridge comes up, it will be a major change," V.T. Mathew, a senior army official in charge of the rescue operations, told Reuters. "We need to search the entire area with heavy equipment which can move on the bridge. It will speed up all rescue and retrieval efforts." People trapped in places like tea plantations have all been rescued, locals and rescue officials said. Authorities said they were not expecting any more survivors and were looking to retrieve the bodies. There was no information on the number of tea-plantation workers staying in makeshift houses made of clay, wood and tin that were completely flattened by the landslides. Steady rain and lack of road access to affected areas have hampered rescue work over the last two days. Light rain continued on Thursday as rescue workers shifted through the debris amid the mud and sludge. Teachers at a nearly destroyed local school in Chooralmala were seen trying to retrieve relevant documents and student records. U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin were among leaders who extended their condolences. "Our prayers are with the victims of this tragic event, and we mourn with the families who have lost loved ones. We commend the bravery of the Indian service members and first responders supporting the complex recovery effort," Biden said in a statement. The disaster was the worst in Kerala since deadly floods in 2018. Experts said the area had received heavy rain in the last two weeks that softened the soil before extremely heavy rainfall on Monday triggered the landslides. Authorities said 189 dead bodies have been recovered while 206 were still missing. The local Asianet news TV channel put the death toll at 283. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates during the last two days, authorities said, adding that nearly 350 buildings were affected. The death toll was expected to rise further once the construction of the metal bridge was completed and authorities are able to speed up the search. "Our focus is to rescue those who were isolated and stranded," Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of the state, told reporters after conducting an aerial survey of the landslides-hit areas. "Rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing persons. Rescued people are temporarily being shifted to camps and rehabilitation work will be done at the earliest." Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who won a seat in Wayanad in the recent general election, but resigned as he was also elected in his family bastion in the north, also visited the affected areas on Thursday. (Reporting by Munsif Vengatill, Chris Thomas and Jose Devasia; writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Kirsten Donovan) MEMPHIS, Tenn. On National Mutt Day, the Mississippi Department of Transportation is recognizing a maintenance technician who rescued an injured puppy while working on State Route 72 just outside Corinth. In May, David Walker found a dead puppy that had been hit by a vehicle in the roadway. MDOT said while he was removing the dead dog, he spotted another pup in the right of way that was severely injured. The black lab mix puppy, later named MDOT, had two broken hind legs and was taken in by the Tishomingo County Foster Rescue. The Mississippi Department of Transportation said that after word spread about the injured pup on social media, donations began pouring in to cover the dogs costly surgeries. MDOT said the dog has made a miraculous recovery. Although he may never fully use his hind legs, he can now walk on all four paws and is looking for a forever home. For information on how you can adopt MDOT, click right HERE. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. WEBSTER PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS)Webster Parish Sheriffs Sergeant Aaron Barnes received a prestigious award from the Louisiana Sheriffs Association. During its annual convention, Barnes received the Sheriff Bob Buckley Award. The award is presented to deputies and the families of those who have been seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Barnes was directing traffic around a stalled vehicle on Highway 371 back in early February when he was struck by another vehicle. Barnes suffered multiple injuries, including a broken hip and tailbone. More: Salute the Badge Despite that, he is already back at work on a light-duty, part-time basis. In Sheriff Jason Parkers recommendation statement for the award, he wrote the following. Sgt. Aaron Barnes has shown a dedication to duty throughout his career with our office, and never more so than in the circumstances surrounding the serious injury that almost took his life, Parker wrote. He knew the risks an officer takes each time he puts on the uniform and goes out to serve the people, and on that day, like every other day, he did it willingly and enthusiastically. After he was struck by the vehicle, he continued to display the strength, determination, and resilience that has made him an outstanding lawman. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Thomas Torr presented with 'A Gentleman and a Scholar' award Thomas Torr was presented with 'A Gentleman and a Scholar' award on July 19, 2024. DOVER Thomas F. Torr, Esq. founding partner of Cocheco Elder Law Associates, PLLC, traveledto Hays, KS, from July 18 to July 19, 2024, to meet with top elder law firms and financial advisors fromacross the nation. On July 19, Torr was honored with the Gentleman and a Scholar award. This awardis presented to an attorney whose broad experience and heart for others have led to a deep understandingand compassionate application of elder law. After years of working in the political and government arena, Torr transitioned into estate planning law towork more personally with individuals to create meaningful impact in their lives. As an attorney, Torr iscommitted to continuously deepening his knowledge of elder law planning and embraces everyopportunity for education and growth. If you are in need of an elder law attorney, you can schedule an appointment with Torr byreaching out to Lillian Burke: info@cochecoelderlaw.com, 603-749-1300 or cochecoelderlaw.com. Leone, McDonnell & Roberts adds four new team members The Certified Public Accounting firm of Leone, McDonnell & Roberts, PA welcomes Lisa Soucy, Victoria Senter, Shannon Crowley, and Elisa Careggio. Lisa Soucy Soucy recently joined the administrative team in the Dover office. Bringing over 37 years of experience and a wealth of skills to the firm. Soucys extensive professional experience includes working as a Paralegal and Office Manager in law firms in R.I., and N.H. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Soucy graduated with honors from Providence College and currently resides in Barrington, N.H. Outside of the office, Soucy supports the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, a cause close to her heart as the proud mother of a pediatric neurocytoma brain tumor survivor. Vicki Senter Joining the firms Client Accounting Services team in Dover, Senter brings over two decades of experience in accounting and bookkeeping knowledge to her role. Senter is a member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), demonstrating her commitment to maintaining high standards in her field. Originally from Newburyport, Mass., Senter currently resides in South Berwick, Maine. She holds an associate's degree from Lasell College. Shannon Crowley A resident of Gilford, N.H., Crowley is a Staff Accountant in the firms Wolfeboro office. She has extensive experience in auditing, forensic accounting, and private investigation. Crowley holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Plymouth State University, and she is currently pursuing a master's degree in forensic accounting at Southern New Hampshire University. Outside of work, Crowley is actively involved with her alma mater, Plymouth State, serving as vice president of the class of 2018 and formerly holding leadership roles in the Kappa Delta Phi NAS sorority. She is also deeply passionate about supporting the American Diabetes Association in honor of her cousin, who passed away from the disease in 2020. Story continues Elisa Careggio Careggio joins the firm as a Staff Accountant after completing a busy season internship in the North Conway office. Raised in Torino, Italy, Careggio is a current resident of North Conway, N.H. She recently graduated from Granite State College (GSC) with a degree in accounting. Careggio enjoys giving back to the community and has a history of volunteer work, starting during her high school years. We are pleased to welcome these talented professionals to our team, said Managing Partner Evan Stowell. Collectively, these individuals bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to all areas of our firm, and we are confident their skills will greatly benefit our clients. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Names to Know: Seacoast business professionals receiving recognition Inmate sentenced to more than 4 years in prison killing of Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) An inmate was sentenced to more than four years Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a troubled West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. DeCologero was already serving a 25-year sentence handed down in 2006 after he was convicted of buying heroin used to try to kill a teenage girl. Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios Freddy Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, they said that he had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger. 3 men charged in Whitey Bulgers 2018 prison killing have plea deals, prosecutors say An inmate told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit at United States Penitentiary, Hazelton. Geas faces a hearing on Sept. 6. He has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. Last year the Justice Department said it would not seek the death sentence for the pair. Latest Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) An inmate was sentenced to more than four years in prison Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios Freddy Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at troubled USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, they said that he had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger. RELATED: Accused lookout in James Whitey Bulger prison killing pleads guilty, gets no additional time An inmate told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit at United States Penitentiary, Hazelton. Geas faces a hearing on Sept. 6. He has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. Last year the Justice Department said it would not seek the death sentence for the pair. Another inmate who acted as a lookout, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents about his role. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release. McKinnon had served out a sentence for stealing guns from a firearms dealer. Plea deals for the three men were disclosed May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulgers death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on. According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving. DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulgers cell during the attack. MORE: Prosecutors wont seek death penalty against men charged in Whitey Bulgers prison killing After the killing, experts criticized Bulgers transfer to Hazelton, where workers had already been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing, and his placement in the general population instead of more protective housing. A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of malicious intent by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters. In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. SEE ALSO: Call shows inmates knew Whitey Bulger was moving to prison Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang. He became one of the nations most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant. DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. DeCologero was sentenced in 2006 to 25 years in prison. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official made member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo Big Al Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Brunos killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said. NEXT: Watchdog finds many failures before Whitey Bulgers killing Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) An inmate was sentenced to more than four years in prison Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James Whitey Bulger in a West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an assault charge. He could have faced up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios Freddy Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at troubled USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida. But on Thursday, they said that he had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger. An inmate told a grand jury that DeCologero said to him that Bulger was a snitch and they planned to kill him as soon as he came into their unit at United States Penitentiary, Hazelton. Geas faces a hearing on Sept. 6. He has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. Last year the Justice Department said it would not seek the death sentence for the pair. Another inmate who acted as a lookout, Sean McKinnon, pleaded guilty in June to lying to FBI special agents about his role. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release. McKinnon had served out a sentence for stealing guns from a firearms dealer. Plea deals for the three men were disclosed May 13. Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulgers death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on. According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving. DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulgers cell during the attack. After the killing, experts criticized Bulgers transfer to Hazelton, where workers had already been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing, and his placement in the general population instead of more protective housing. A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of malicious intent by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters. In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and 80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang. He became one of the nations most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant. DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. DeCologero was sentenced in 2006 to 25 years in prison. Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official made member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo Big Al Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Brunos killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Its late at night, and a stranger walking down an alley sees your family dog sleeping on the porch inside your fenced yard. The stranger softly calls the dog over and begins to pet him. While checking to see if anyone is watching, he opens the gate, clips a leash to your dogs collar and leads him away, never to be seen again. The next morning, your family is distraught; when a neighbors video surveillance reveals that your dog was stolen, you feel deeply violated. While the emotions described are implied, the circumstances are not: Reports suggest that dog thefts are on the rise in the U.S.. Losing a pet can be devastating, and its a crime that has repercussions that go far beyond the animals financial value. Many dog owners view their dogs as members of their family; a 2020 study found that the loss of a pet can have a similar emotional impact to the loss of a loved one. As criminologists, we wanted to better understand dognapping and dognappers, while pointing to some ways pet owners can keep their four-legged friends out of harms way. Working with criminal justice researcher J. Mitchell Miller, we studied 82 incidents of dog thefts captured on surveillance cameras and posted online. Breaking down the footage In the videos we analyzed, about half of thefts seemed to involve a single perpetrator operating alone. Around 38% appeared to involve two perpetrators, while 9% involved three or more people working together. The thefts appeared to usually involve some planning and strategy. In our sample, nearly 38% of thieves used vehicles to transport the stolen pets, approximately 3% used bicycles, and 50% fled on foot. Three incidents involved the use of violence such as shoving the owner and around 15% of the thefts included some form of force, such as breaking into a property. In roughly 37% of the cases, the thieves were able to hide the animal using bags, clothing or other methods. Thieves sometimes deployed distraction techniques. In one case, two thieves distracted a pet store clerk while the other snatched a puppy from a display kennel by the front door. The vast majority of incidents 74% involved the theft of a single animal, and these were usually small dogs. According to the American Kennel Club, certain breeds, such as French bulldogs and Yorkshire terriers, make more attractive targets; theyre relatively small, and they tend to sell for higher prices than other breeds. Interestingly, only a handful of dogs nipped or barked as they were being whisked away. Over half appeared calm during the incident, while around 33% acted friendly toward the thieves. About 68% of the thefts happened during the day, and 60% occurred indoors; those that occurred inside tended to happen in pet stores, rather than peoples homes. When the dognappings happened outside, the dogs were usually snatched from peoples front yards, where the pets could be seen from the street. Punishment that doesnt fit the crime There are several reasons why someone might steal a dog. Some people do it to simply make a quick buck a practice known as pet flipping or to extract a ransom from the owner. Others have grander visions, targeting highly valued purebreeds, such as rottweilers and chow chows, to start a breeding operation. Then there are those who steal pets for dogfighting rings, while some thieves simply want a dog for themselves and dont want to pay for one or go through the process of adoption. Recent reports indicate that pet theft is on the rise. One clear indicator is an increase in the number of social media posts detailing lost or stolen pets. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this trend: The demand for pets exploded during lockdowns, and dog prices surged on the secondary market. Compounding matters is a legal system that, in our view, often fails to adequately address the gravity of this crime. Many jurisdictions treat pet theft similarly to property theft. As a result, many pets even some purebreds could be valued at less than $1,000, which usually results in relatively lenient penalties. A thief who comes onto your property and steals your dog and sells it to someone else would likely receive the same punishment as someone who took your bike. Needless to say, viewing and valuing a dog no differently than other possessions overlooks the deep emotional attachment between pets and their owners. Defensive measures There are some preventive steps that dog owners and pet shop owners can take. Many thefts happened where pets were easily accessible and visible to passersby, such as front yards or near the exit of pet stores. Something as simple as a higher fence could better protect dogs. Microchipping pets and using GPS collars can make stolen pets easier to recover and less attractive to thieves. Of course, stricter laws and harsher penalties for pet theft could further deter criminals. While there is no database on the number of stolen pets, each pet that is kept safe means one less devastating loss for a family. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ben Stickle, Middle Tennessee State University and Brenda Vose, University of North Florida Read more: The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of Republican state attorneys general opposing the Treasury Department's opposition to state laws restricting banks from considering some factors when investing. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of Republican state attorneys general opposing the Treasury Department's opposition to state laws restricting banks from considering some factors when investing. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of attorneys general in a letter responding to the U.S. Treasury Departments opposition to state laws that restrict banks from considering social or environmental factors when investing. The Treasury Departments letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warned that these banking laws could hurt national security efforts to counter money laundering and terrorism financing. Birds letter, which was sent directly to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen and signed by 20 Republican state attorneys general, dismissed those concerns and accused the department of trying to stoke opposition to these laws. All of us oppose this latest attempt by the Biden-Harris Administration to fearmonger and stoke confusion about state laws to advance activists extreme agendas, the letter reads. The Treasury Departments letter singles out a recently passed law in Florida but other states like Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota have similar laws. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX These laws generally prevent banking institutions from denying financial services over non-measurable risks associated with social, environmental or governmental concerns. Proponents of these laws argue they are necessary to prevent banks from discriminating against those they politically oppose. Bird said in a press release that laws like Iowas or Floridas ensured banks couldnt use woke politics when determining who to work with and demanded that the department stop its fearmongering. The Biden-Harris administration is scheming to block state laws that ban banks from playing woke politics and discriminating against those they disagree with, Bird said in a press release. Americans need access to basic resources like bank accounts and debit cards to pay their bills and provide for their families. No one should be hung out to dry because they are on the wrong side of a banks woke politics. The Treasury Department wrote that these laws heighten the risk that international drug traffickers, transnational organized criminals, terrorists and corrupt foreign officials will use the U.S. financial system to launder money, evade sanctions, and threaten our national security. The letter from the attorneys general stands by those laws and alleges the department is using the concern over national security to promote woke political agendas. The Treasury Department has once again forsaken its statutory role and instead chosen to intervene on behalf of activists seeking to hijack the financial system for their political ends, the letter reads. It is even more disappointing that the Treasury Department would use national security as cover for large banks abuse of power to achieve those ends. States with attorneys general who signed the letter include Florida, Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and X. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST The Iowa Board of Regents heard from state university presidents Wednesday as they discussed programs supported by state dollars. (Logo via Iowa Board of Regents) The Iowa Board of Regents approved state universities fiscal year 2025 budgets at its Wednesday meeting and heard from university presidents about how they are spending state and private dollars. After receiving flat funding from the state in fiscal year 2024, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University received a 2.5% increase in state appropriations for fiscal year 2025. The combined general education operating budget across the state universities totals $1.72 billion, according to the fiscal year 2025 budget document, compared to the $1.66 billion reported in fiscal year 2024. The total regent enterprise budget comes out to $7.8 billion, of which $3.24 billion is restricted funds. It also includes University of Iowa Health Cares budget, which totals $2.77 billion, and special purpose funds. University of Iowa The UIs $823 million fiscal year 2025 budget is an almost $21 million increase from last year. The university received a $5.5 million increase in state allocations and a budgeted increase of $16.8 million in tuition revenue from approved increases as well as indirect cost recoveries and interest income, according to the budget document. Just over 63% of the budget comes from tuition revenues, with state appropriations making up 27% of the budget. Spending on instruction, academic support, scholarships and fellowships make up 70% of the UIs expenses, according to the document, and this year the student aid budget will increase by $2.8 million to account for enrollment changes. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX UI President Barbara Wilson said in the board meeting that the university has doubled its spending on academics and cut administrative costs by 30% in the past 20 years, evidenced by the fact that, according to a study by the American Council of Trustees, the UI spends 11 cents of every dollar on administration and 89 cents on instruction. Just to give you a sense of what that looks like among our Big 10 peers, thats 8 cents lower than the Big 10 average administrative spending, which is something to be proud of, Wilson said. Whenever I meet with our colleagues at other institutions, we are leaner and doing as much as many of our peers are doing. Wilson said the UI is also working to meet retention goals for students, increasing its fall-to-fall retention for first-year students from 88% in 2021 to 89.3% in 2023 with the goal of hitting 90% within five years of fiscal year 2020. The UI has also recruited 65 new faculty members over the past four years in health care, business analytics and other areas, and retained 26. Last year the UI received $2.8 million in state allocations for its College of Nursing, which has been used to hire 10 faculty members and increase enrollment by 14 students. The university will use state dollars this year to focus on rural health care, Wilson said, hiring more faculty in certain areas in order to increase enrollment in the social work masters program, clinical mental health counseling, other areas of nursing and programs that serve as launchpads for the universitys health care degrees, like biology and chemistry. These are all focused on areas of rural health and the areas that are critical to the health care deserts across the state by adding more students graduating from our degree programs so that they can foster improved health in the state, Wilson said. Iowa State University Almost 25% of ISUs $725.5 million fiscal year 2025 general operating budget comes from state appropriations, with tuition revenues comprising another 71.6% of the budget. The $4.4 million increase in state dollars and estimated additional $27.8 million in tuition revenue, along with indirect cost recoveries and other incomes, bring the revenue to a $34.4 million increase over last year. A total of 72% of general university expenses go toward instruction, academic support, scholarships and fellowships, according to the budget document, and the university increased its student financial aid budget by $9.5 million for fiscal year 2025. According to the budget document, ISU has reallocated more than $10 million to align the budget with its strategic goals and critical institutional needs. ISU President Wendy Wintersteen said the university has used the $2.8 million it received last year from the state for STEM workforce development to invest in 26 faculty and staff involved in six different initiatives to grow high demand STEM programs that meet the states workforce needs and produce innovative solutions for business and industry. These initiatives focus on areas including biomanufacturing, artificial intelligence, meat science and swine nutrition, digital agriculture and health sciences. State dollars were also used to renovate spaces for new and expanding programs, like the biomedical engineering bachelors degree program, which launched last fall with 53 students and currently includes 109 students. ISU is offering new programs through these initiatives, Wintersteen said, including an AI minor and an online masters degree in digital health. New degrees in development include bachelors degrees in integrated health sciences and digital agriculture. University of Northern Iowa UNI, the only state university with state appropriations comprising more than half of its operating revenue budget, expects a revenue increase of $7.1 million compared to last year, bringing its budget to $174.2 million. About 55% of the universitys budget goes toward instruction, academic support, scholarships and fellowships, according to the budget document, and the increased tuition and expected enrollment growth led to the student aid budget getting a $1.2 million bump. UNI President Mark Nook said during the meeting that all university budget decisions are made with a focus on student success on the long-term health of UNI. We continue to make investments in key academic programs that meet Iowas workforce needs, and in programs that potential students have a high interest in so that we can continue to grow the enrollment, Nook said. The universitys new nursing program is set to launch this fall with a cohort of 30 students, Nook said, with 48 more joining in the spring. The nursing program has received $1 million in private support for scholarships and equipment as well as $275,000 from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, and phase one of facilities renovations for the program is complete. Nook said the university is also making investments in its material science engineering, material science engineering technology and hybrid accounting programs, all of which will be able to help meet workforce needs. UNI has raised at least $275 million through its capital campaign, Nook said, with 31% going to scholarships and around 36% going to academic programs and faculty support. There are six new or expanding programs included in the campaign, he said, including nursing, data science and applied engineering. Regent Jim Lindenmayer complimented UNI for its quick response to workforce needs in terms of academic offerings. I know thats not always easy to do, its like turning a battleship, and it seems like youve gotten it done rather quickly, so thank you, Lindenmayer said. When discussing the budget narrative and a chart showing the trend of decreasing percentages of state allocations and rising percentages of tuition in general education funding, Regent David Barker said the past eight years have been the longest period of stability the state has ever seen. State appropriations dropped from 32.2% to 30.3% of general education funding from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018, and in fiscal year 2025 appropriations are reported at 29.3% of general education funding. Tuition jumped from 63% to 64.7% of general education funding in that same time period, and now sits at 64.9%. I would kind of reemphasize what some others have said, that were grateful for that state support, Barker said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Apple on Thursday announced that its third-quarter financials beat Wall Street expectations, as its overall revenue ticked up 5%. iPad, which had languished in recent years, saw the biggest category increase for the quarter, up from $5.8 billion to $7.2 billion year-over-year. Tablet sales, fueled by the lines largest refresh in years, helped counter slowed iPhone revenue, which dropped from $39.7 billion to $39.3 billion year-on-year. In spite of a drop for the quarter, iPhone remained Apples most important category by a wide margin, followed by service, which includes software offerings like iCloud, Apple TV+ and Apple Music. That category continued to grow, up to $24.2 billion from $21.2 billion over the same three-month period last year. Much of the iPhone slowdown can be attributed to the greater China region. Overall, the region dropped from $15.8 billion to $14.7 billion for the quarter. Canalys figures from last week show a marked decline in iPhone sales, down 6.7% from 10.4 million to 9.7 million for the quarter, Reuters reported. The drop in Apples third-largest region (behind the Americas and Europe) had a clear impact on the companys bottom line. The company aggressively discounted iPhone prices in China starting in May, as competition intensified from domestic rivals. The strategy resulted in strong iPhone sales that month, up close to 40% from a year prior. Huawei had previously been sidelined by U.S. sanctions that cut off access to software and components from companies like Google and Qualcomm. After turning in-house to produce its own chips as well as an Android alternative, the company has seen a sizable rebound in its home country. Canalys figures show a 41% year-over-year growth spurt for the quarter, as the Huawei topped Apples overall sales China sales at 10.6 million for the quarter. Q3 marked the second consecutive quarter decline for global iPhone sales. The news puts additional pressure on the generative AI strategy that the company laid out at WWDC in June. In an interview with CNBC, CEO Tim Cook noted that the company has invested a good portion of resources into growing Apple Intelligence. What weve done is weve redeployed a lot of people on to AI that were working on other things, the executive noted. From a data center point of view, as you know, we have a hybrid approach. So we both have our own and we partner with people. And so that capex would be in the partners financials, and we would be paying expense. Some of those resources reportedly arrived after Apple closed the door on its autonomous electric car effort, Project Titan. A Palestinian hangs a huge picture of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief political leader of Hamas, who was assassinated in Tehran, at hall in the Palestinian refugee camp of Burj al-Brajneh as the movement prepares to receive condolences following his death. Marwan Naamani/dpa Iran and its allies said Israel will face harsh retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a brazen attack that dramatically ratchets up tensions in a region already on edge. "The criminal Zionist regime [Israel] has murdered our guest in our house," Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. "There will be a severe punishment." Haniyeh had led Hamas' political operations for years. He was based in Qatar rather than in Gaza, where Israel's military has been waging a war to completely eliminate the Palestinian militant group since October. UN Security Council calls for de-escalation The UN Security Council on Wednesday convened in New York for an emergency session, requested by Iran and backed by China, Russia and Algeria, to discuss the escalation in the region. "The international community must work together to prevent any actions that could make the conflict much bigger and wider very quickly," Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, said. "Communication by means of missiles, armed drones and other deadly attacks must end," DiCarlo said. The 15 council members all called for a de-escalation of the situation. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned the latest incidents were a "dangerous escalation" and undermined the goal of ending the Gaza war, he said in New York. "The secretary general urges all to vigorously work towards regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability for all." All actions that "could push the entire Middle East over the edge, with a devastating impact on civilians" must be avoided, he added. US says escalation isn't inevitable US National Security Council adviser John Kirby played down the risks of an increase in hostilities. "We don't believe that an escalation is inevitable, and there's no signs that an escalation is imminent. But I also said that we watch it very, very closely," Kirby said. "It was always complicated. It remains complicated and and reports coming out of the region, as we've seen again, over the last 24 to 48 hours certainly don't make it less complicated." Netanyahu says Israel prepared for every scenario Israel's military has not commented on Haniyeh's assassination, although Israeli politicians have welcomed his death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told citizens in Israel to be ready for "challenging days" ahead. "We are prepared for every scenario and will stand united against all threats," Netanyahu said after a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet at military headquarters in Tel Aviv. "Israel will exact a high price for any aggression against us, from any front," he said. "Since the beginning of the war, I have declared that we are fighting against the Iranian axis of evil," Netanyahu said in his televised address. "This is a fight for survival against a ring of terrorist armies and missiles that Iran wants to tighten around our necks." The main players are Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen, he said. Israel has recently dealt hard blows to all three players. "We will settle the score with anyone who harms us," the premier said. Haniyeh's death was second high-profile assassination Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hamas confirmed that Haniyeh was killed at a residence he was staying at in Tehran. The attack took place hours after he attended an inauguration ceremony in parliament for new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. "A rocket hit the room where Ismail Haniyeh was staying and he was hit directly," said senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haja at a press conference in Beirut. Haniyeh's death was the second high-profile assassination in the span of around 12 hours. Israel says it killed a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut on Tuesday. The Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon has deep ties with Hamas, and both are backed by Iran. Israel's foes express outrage at killing Israel's foes expressed outrage at Haniyeh's killing and demanded retribution. The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said Israel "will pay the price for its aggression." Netanyahu is "blinded by megalomania" and is leading Israel "towards the abyss and is speeding up its collapse and disappearance from the land of Palestine once and for all," a statement said. The terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is active in Gaza, described Haniyeh as a "symbol of resistance," while the Houthi militia in Yemen called his death "a great loss." The Houthi militia stands firmly alongside Hamas, with both groups supported by Iran. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called the killing "despicable attack" and accused Israel of wanting to expand the war against Hamas in Gaza to the entire region. Hezbollah said Haniyeh's death "will increase the resistance fighters' determination ... to continue the path of jihad," using an Arabic word meaning 'holy war' or 'internal struggle against sin.' China also condemned the killing and called once again for a ceasefire in the region. Funeral details announced Haniyeh will be buried in Qatar following funeral prayers on Friday. A public and official funeral service will be held on Thursday in Tehran, where Haniyeh was killed. After that, the body will be transferred to the Qatari capital, Doha. Funeral prayers will be held on Friday in Doha, then he will be laid to rest at a cemetery in Lusail, north of the capital. Iran issued a statement also blaming the United States for his death in addition to Israel. "The US is also responsible for this brutal act of terrorism," a Foreign Ministry statement said. Washington had always supported the Israeli government and consistently endorsed its crimes, thus also playing a role in this incident, it added. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington was not involved in the Haniyeh's assassination. Iran, its proxies will meet to discuss retaliation against Israel, say sources By Parisa Hafezi, Ahmed Rasheed and Laila Bassam DUBAI (Reuters) -Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters. The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah's senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Representatives of Iran's Palestinian allies Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, as well as Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi resistance groups will attend the meeting in Tehran, said the sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. "Iran and the resistance members will conduct a thorough assessment after the meeting in Tehran to find the best and most effective way to retaliate against the Zionist regime (Israel)," said a senior Iranian official, with direct knowledge of the meeting. Another Iranian official said Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards will attend. "How Iran and the resistance front will respond is currently being reviewed ... This will certainly happen and the Zionist regime (Israel) will undoubtedly regret it," General Mohammad Baqeri, Iran's armed forces chief of staff, told state TV on Thursday. Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president in Tehran on Wednesday. But Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fuelled further concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza was turning into an all-out war in the Middle East. Israeli air force chief Tomer Bar, speaking at a military graduation ceremony in Israel late on Wednesday, warned Israel will act against anyone planning to harm its citizens. "We are also strongly prepared in defence. Hundreds of aerial defence soldiers, along with air control personnel, are stationed across the country with the best systems, ready to carry out their mission," said Bar. Haniyeh and the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziad al-Nakhala, as well as senior representatives of Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah, attended the inauguration ceremony for Iran's new president in Tehran on Tuesday. Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassim and lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah were in Iran for the inauguration and have remained there for the funeral and meeting, sources familiar with Hezbollahs thinking said. 'MAJOR REPERCUSSIONS' Hamas' armed wing has said in a statement Haniyeh's killingwould "take the battle to new dimensions and have majorrepercussions". Vowing to retaliate, Iran said the U.S. bore responsibility because of its support for Israel. "Iran asked key commanders of the Iraqi resistance groups to travel to Tehran on Wednesday to attend an urgent meeting to discuss retaliation against recent Israeli strikes, including in Lebanon and Iran and the U.S. strike in Iraq, said an Iraqi militia local commander. Another militia source said the resistance group commanders left to attend Haniyeh's funeral and also to attend a "top urgent meeting" to decide the following steps to retaliate against Israel and the United States. Iranians turned out to mourn Haniyeh on Thursday, a day after he was assassinated. "All fronts of the resistance will take revenge for Haniyeh's blood," Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency. The Iran-backed Axis of Resistance includes Hamas - the Palestinian group that ignited the war in Gaza by attacking Israel on Oct. 7- Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and various Shi'ite armed groups in Iraq and Syria. . On April 13, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in what it said was retaliation for Israel's suspected deadly strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, but almost all were shot down. "Iran's response to the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh will be stronger than before," former senior Revolutionary Guards Commander Esmail Kosari told state TV. (Writing and reporting by Parisa Hafezi, additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut, Ahmed Rasheed in Iraq, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Editing by Sharon Singleton) You are here: Business This photo taken on Nov. 7, 2023 shows a view of the Light of Internet Expo in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua] China's internet sector saw steady growth in business revenue in the first half of this year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed. In the first six months, China's major internet companies and related services companies generated 867.6 billion yuan (about 121.6 billion U.S. dollars) in business revenue, an increase of 5.6 percent year on year. This growth rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than that registered in the first five months. Specifically, business revenue of firms mainly providing information services soared 9.5 percent compared to one year earlier -- a pace 5 percentage points faster than the January-May period. The major internet companies' cumulative profits came in at 74.37 billion yuan, up 1.9 percent year on year. The data also revealed that spending on research and development in major internet and related service companies stood at 45.98 billion yuan from January to June, edging up 1.2 percent year on year. Major internet companies and related services companies refer to those with annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan. We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) stands against the other gold mining stocks. Gold has reached an all-time high, capping a 20-month rally with a 50% increase. Although the selling pressure from the retail investor would have an adverse affect on gold prices, however, this surge is driven by central banks buying record volumes of bullion mainly due to the desire to reduce dependence on US dollar, conflicts in the Middle East, and strong demand from Chinese consumers amid disappointing local equities, property, and currency markets. Furthermore, Chinese political leaders noticed that financial assets of the Russian government including bonds and reserves got confiscated by Western governments after Russia invaded Ukraine. Christopher Mancini, who co-manages Gabelli Gold Fund says The Chinese central bank saw that happened and said We dont want that to happen to us. It would make sense for them to want to significantly retire their [U.S.] dollar reserves. With gold, they dont have to worry about being repaid. We know they have been buying a consistent amount of gold every day. Bernard Dahdah from Natixis suggests central banks might continue buying gold due to tensions between the US and China, potentially making prices above $2,300 the new norm. The move to gold also reflects a broader trend of nations reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar, prompted by the dollar's use as a geopolitical tool against Russia, leading to gold prices reaching an all-time high of $2,480 per ounce on July 17, 2024. In U.S. the Fed is expected to cut the Fed funds rate, but inflation may remain steady, leading to lower real interest rates. This scenario benefits gold as the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold decreases compared to cash and bonds. Additionally, a decline in U.S. real interest rates may weaken the U.S. dollar, making gold, which is globally priced in dollars, more attractive. Owning gold directly provides a "store of value" but offers limited returns rather than generate substantial gains like equities. However, other than its appeal in its ability to preserve value, many investors view it as a hedge against economic troubles rather than a high-return investment. So an investor otherwise seeking gold as a soaring investment would be disappointed in the longer term as it doesnt appreciate by much as gold has risen less than 300% in a century with annualized real returns of 1.34%, adjusted for inflation. Therefore investors looking for a more aggressive approach, aim for gold mining stocks that provide leverage to the gold price that yields returns surpassing those of the underlying commodity. Story continues Despite this leverage, the underlying stock valuations will consider future cash flows and market volatility of the gold as well as the consensus price estimates by market participants. Nonetheless, gold miner stocks should be more volatile than gold itself, offering greater returns if the investor's thesis on rising gold prices is correct. Regardless of gold prices rising over the last 15 years, gold mining ETFs and major miners (Agnico, Newmont, Barrick) have underperformed compared to physical gold. Although some companies covered in this article have succeeded, the gold mining sector requires careful scrutiny beyond just reserves and production. Like any other investment that is carefully analyzed mining companies need to be analysed based on management, capital allocation, and geopolitical risk. It is also because of these factors that gold mining companies are unable to reach their potential as viable investments. Methodology To curate our list of 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we gathered a list of all companies using the holdings of gold miners ETFs. We then further narrowed down on the basis of their upside potential. With this lets now jump to our list of the 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in. At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A gold mine entry with a conveyor belt transporting minerals from the depths of a shaft. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) Current Price: $47.36 Upside Potential: 14% Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) is the world's leading gold producer, mining copper, silver, zinc, and lead as well. Its assets and operations include favorable mining regions in Africa, Australia, Latin America & Caribbean, North America, and Papua New Guinea. Founded in 1921, Newmont has been publicly traded since 1925 and is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) reported an adjusted EPS of $0.55 per share in Q1 2024, up from $0.40 a year earlier. The increase was driven by higher gold production of 1.7 million ounces compared to 1.3 million ounces in the same period last year, and rising gold prices. This resulted in an adjusted net income of $630 million, a 97% increase year-over-year. Following the acquisition of Newcrest, Newmont's consolidated mineral reserves grew to 128 million ounces, a 40% increase from the previous year, making its reserves almost equal to the combined reserves of Barrick Gold and Agnico Eagle. This substantial reserve base underscores Newmont's long-term strength and growth potential. The new Goldrush mine, in which Newmont has a 38.5% stake, is also ramping up production, with an expected output of 130,000 ounces in 2024, potentially reaching 400,000 ounces by 2028. Newmont offers a robust dividend, with an annual yield of 2.27%, paying out $0.25 per share in the first quarter of 2024. The company's strong cash position, bolstered by $1.4 billion generated in the quarter due to higher gold prices, highlights its growth prospects. The stock has risen 15.3% in the past month, with analysts setting a target price of $49.85, indicating a potential upside of 12.96% from its current price of $44.13. Additionally, there has been an increase of eight hedge fund holders, bringing the total investment to $925 million as of Q1 2024. Overall NEM ranks 7th on our list of the best gold mining stocks to buy. You can visit 10 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in to see the other gold mining stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of NEM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NEM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These 10 Stocks in June. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. The cornerstone of the Iranian regime's strategy for the elimination of Israel is its network of proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraqi Shiite militias, Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. The mission the Islamic Republic tasks these militias with is to wage a war of attrition against Israel. The strategy aims to gradually weaken Israel and eventually destroy it through executing a coordinated, multifront assault attack. All the while, the Iranian regime and its key assets remain shielded from direct retaliation. So far, the plan has served the Iranian regime well. And from its perspective, the plan has been progressing in the right direction. Recent events, however, have dramatically altered the strategic landscape. The elimination of Fuad Shukr, Hezbollahs strategic military leader, and considered the second-in-command followed a few hours later by the assassination of Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has reshuffled the deck regarding the Iranian threat to Israel. These high-profile killings have forced the Iranian regime into a difficult position, presenting two major dilemmas that require immediate decisions. :Hundreds of protesting Iranians take part in a protest against the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, in Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, Wed. July 31, 2024. Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, was killed in exile. In the air attack on Wednesday morning in the capital of Iran, Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an airstrike in Tehran after attending the inauguration of Iran's new president. Israel has yet to claim responsibility for his death. Iran now faces a major decision on how Hezbollah should respond to the recent Israeli strike in its stronghold of al-Dahiya, Beirut's southern suburbs and the operation center of Hezbollah. If Hezbollah retaliates by targeting major Israeli cities like Haifa or Tel Aviv, and causes significant damage to civilian lives and essential infrastructure, that could trigger a full-scale war. Iran wants to avoid this scenario for two main reasons: First dilemma: Hezbollahs response Lebanon: A full-scale war could push Lebanon, already teetering on the edge of collapse, toward total disintegration. This would be detrimental to Iran, as Lebanon which is a facade state, effectively controlled by Iran and Hezbollah, is a vital foothold for both Iran and Hezbollah, serving as a base to extend their regional influence. Hezbollahs: A full-scale war that severely damages Hezbollah would severely weaken Irans most important and central proxy. For Tehran, Hezbollah has two primary missions: maintaining and entrenching Iranian control in Lebanon which also secures Irans foothold on the Mediterranean coast and deterring attacks on Iranian assets. Iran has resigned itself to the damage its Gaza proxy, Hamas has suffered, but it cannot afford to lose its most important proxy, Hezbollah. A full-scale war that would severely impact Hezbollah might even force Iran into a direct military confrontation with Israel, potentially escalating into a wider conflict involving the U.S. Live updates: Hamas, Iran vow 'harsh' response to killing of Ismail Haniyeh Second dilemma: Direct retaliation against Israel The Iranian regime must also decide whether to directly retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, even though Israel has not claimed responsibility. This situation parallels Irans response on April 13-14, when it retaliated for the killing of senior Revolutionary Guard officers in Damascus, allegedly by Israel. Irans considerations include: Previous retaliation failure: The Iranian attack in April was largely thwarted by a U.S.-led coalition. Despite Israels measured response, the incident caused significant embarrassment for Iran. Another Iranian attack on Israel might provoke an even harsher Israeli response. Distance and risk: The recent powerful Israeli strike on Yemens Hodeida port, which is further from Israel than Iran is, demonstrates Israels ability to project power across long distances. This adds to the complexity of any potential Iranian retaliation. As these words are being written, intense discussions are underway within Iran and with Hezbollah. The pressing issue is not whether an Iranian or proxy response is imminent, but what form it will take and what the outcome will be. The Hezbollah attack that killed Druze children in Majdal Shams on July 27 has already intensified tensions and reshuffled the deck, bringing the region close to a multi-front conflict. Avi Melamed is a former Israeli intelligence official who went on to serve as deputy and then as senior Arab affairs adviser to Jerusalem Mayors Teddy Kollek and Ehud Olmert, operating as a negotiator during the first and second intifadas. He is the author of Inside The Middle East | Entering A New Era, and his latest docuseries, The Seam Line, available on the Izzy streaming platform, focuses on Jerusalems flashpoints and his work during the intifadas. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Iran threatens Israel: What comes next? By Jack Queen and Luc Cohen EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) -Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the notorious alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, appeared in an El Paso, Texas courtroom in a wheelchair on Thursday after pleading not guilty last week to drug trafficking charges following his dramatic arrest. Zambada wore a navy sweatshirt that read "carpe diem" ("seize the day") above an image of a soccer ball to his first status conference before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone. At the 10-minute hearing, Cardone told lawyers she had designated the case as complex - which extends the timeline for trial - and set the next status conference for Sept. 9. The murky circumstances leading up to the July 25 arrests of Zambada, who is believed to be in his 70s, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of the legendary imprisoned drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, were not discussed at the hearing. El Chapo co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Zambada. U.S. officials said last week that the 38-year-old Guzman Lopez duped Zambada into boarding a plane by telling him they were going to scope out real estate in northern Mexico, only to fly north of the border - where Guzman Lopez planned to turn himself in. Zambada's lawyer Frank Perez disputed that version of events, asserting on Saturday that Guzman Lopez and six men in military uniforms "forcibly kidnapped" his client near Culiacan in Mexico's Sinaloa state and then brought him to the United States against his will. Perez said at the time that Zambada was dealing with some back and leg issues as a result of the violent incident. He and fellow Zambada lawyer Ray Velarde declined to answer reporters' questions about the circumstances of the arrest and the alleged drug lord's health outside the border city's federal courthouse. Velarde answered "no" when asked by reporters if a white plastic wristband Zambada wore on his arm during the hearing was from a medical clinic. During the hearing, Zambada wore an interpreter's headset and spoke only once, answering "yes" in Spanish when asked by Cardone if he was comfortable being represented by a lawyer who also represented one of his many co-defendants in the case. The two men's arrest was a major coup for U.S. law enforcement, which could also reshape the criminal landscape in Mexico. Guzman Lopez pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges on Tuesday in Chicago federal court. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado. A lawyer for the Guzman family denied that Guzman Lopez kidnapped Zambada in an interview with a Mexican radio station. In the Texas case, which was brought in 2012, Zambada was charged with racketeering conspiracy and murder in furtherance of drug trafficking. Prosecutors said cartel members under the leadership of Zambada and El Chapo kidnapped a Texas resident in 2009 to answer for the loss of a seized marijuana shipment, and kidnapped a U.S. citizen and two members of his family in 2010. Both victims were murdered, prosecutors said. Zambada also faces charges in four other federal jurisdictions, including the Brooklyn borough of New York City, where El Chapo was tried and convicted. In the Brooklyn case, Zambada is charged with conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid fueling an epidemic throughout the U.S. (Reporting by Jack Queen in El Paso, Texas, and Luc Cohen in New YorkEditing by Noeleen Walder, Amy Stevens, Matthew Lewis and Alistair Bell) Ismael El Mayo Zambada makes second court appearance since being taken into US custody Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, appeared in an El Paso federal court in a wheelchair, looking far from the drug kingpin who is charged with being the leader of the deadly criminal organization. Zambada appeared at a status conference about 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, where two key issues were discussed. These included a possible conflict of interest with his attorney and whether he would be tried along with Sinaloa drug cartel members. Zambada is being represented by Frank A. Perez, a Dallas attorney, and Ray Velarde, an El Paso attorney. Both declined to comment after the hearing. The conflict of interest concerns were because Perez has previously represented drug cartel members, and Velarde had represented Zambadas son in a Chicago drug cases. Zambada agreed to waive any conflict of interest concerns and wanted to keep his attorneys. Ismael Zambada, right, the reputed leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, appeared in a federal courtroom in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, Aug. 1, accompanied by his attorney, Frank Perez of Dallas. The second issue was whether Zambada would be tried with co-defendants in the cases. U.S. Attorneys Office prosecutors knew about this concern and said they were working on whether to try Zambada separately or with the co-defendants. Another status hearing was set for 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9. Zambada was surrounded by four U.S. Marshals' deputies during the hearing. A dozen marshals stood in the courtroom and outside. Zambada looked old and sick. He sat in a wheelchair wearing a blue hoodie and jailhouse pants with orange jail shoes. Frank Perez, lead counsel for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, exits the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in El Paso, Texas after a status conference for his client on Aug. 1, 2024. Zambada was arrested Thursday, July 25, by U.S. Marshals at a Dona Ana County private airport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, a small town bordering El Paso. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of "El Chapo" Guzman, was also taken into custody. The status conference was held at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone presided over the hearing. More: Sinaloa drug cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada hearing in El Paso set for Aug. 1 Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada narco charges Zambada is facing seven federal charges in connection with his alleged role as a leader in the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, which he co-founded with "El Chapo" Guzman. The charges are: A U.S. Marshals deputy provides screening of reporters at the entrance of the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse ahead of the status conference for reputed drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada on Aug. 1, 2024. Authorities say Zambada is a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel. Continuing criminal enterprise - murder Two counts of continuing criminal enterprise Conspiracy to possess narcotics Attempt/conspiracy - narcotics - importation/exportation Laundering of monetary instruments Conspiracy to possess firearm/drug traffickers and aid and abet Zambada pleaded not guilty to the charges during a Friday, July 26, initial hearing. The federal prosecutors handling the case against Zambada are Antonio Franco Jr., Joseph H. Gay Jr., Kyle Myers, Michael Cramer Williams and Stephen Gregory Garcia. More: Mexican drug lord 'El Mayo' appears in El Paso court, pleads not guilty The Sinaloa drug cartel is known as one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico and responsible for trafficking massive amounts of illegal drugs, including fentanyl the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in El Paso and throughout the U.S. across the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Department of Justice officials have released limited information on how Zambada and Guzman Lopez were taken into custody. Attorney claims alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader was kidnapped Zambada was taken into U.S. custody after he was allegedly kidnapped by Guzman Lopez, Perez claimed. Guzman Lopez brought Zambada to the U.S. in an effort to get a better plea agreement with U.S. authorities, Perez said. "My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government," Perez said in a statement given exclusively to USA TODAY. "Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin." More: Exclusive: Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada kidnapped, flown to the US, lawyer says Zambada's "legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head. He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the U.S. against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquin and my client," he added. Son of 'El Chapo' Guzman facing federal charges in Chicago Guzman Lopez pleaded not guilty Tuesday, July 30, to drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, court records show. A court hearing is set for Aug. 13. Jeffrey Lichtman, lawyer for El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, speaks to members of the press at the Dirksen U.S. courthouse as his client is set to make his initial U.S. court appearance in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent Alban Court records show Guzman Lopez is charged with: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substance Continuing criminal enterprise Attempt/conspiracy - controlled substance distribute Money laundering - transportation of stolen property Penalties for firearms Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Alleged cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada makes second court appearance Palestinian prisoners released by the Israeli army arrive at the Al-Aqsa Hospital for medical examination. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Israeli military said that Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip and an accused mastermind of the October 7 attack, was killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis on July 13. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in a social media post, called Deif the "Osama Bin Laden of Gaza." "This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war," he wrote on Thursday. One of Israel's central aims in the nearly 10-month-old war has been to capture or kill Deif and the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar. Al-Sinwar is believed to be still at large. The third most senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Marwan Issa, was killed in March. Deif's fate has been a matter of speculation for weeks, but it was only on Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed he was killed in the aerial attack on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The strike that took out Deif also killed some 90 Palestinians, health authorities in Gaza have said. Gallant said the operation was "conducted precisely and professionally." "The IDF announces that on July 13, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," the IDF said in a statement. "Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 251 hostages abducted into the Gaza Strip," the IDF said. "Over the years, Deif directed, planned, and carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the state of Israel," the IDF added. The confirmation of Deif's death comes shortly after a strike in Tehran killed top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the death of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli attack in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's death. The Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon has deep ties with Hamas, and both are backed by Iran. Israel's foes have expressed outrage at Haniyeh's killing and demanded retribution. The al-Qassam Brigades, which Deif had led before his death, said Israel "will pay the price for its aggression." Thousands of people took part in a state-organized mourning ceremony for Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on Thursday. Iran's entire political elite was also present, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the new President Massud Peseshkian The Israeli army has been put on high alert in anticipation of possible retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allies. Israeli radio reported that the country's air defence was also on the maximum level of readiness. Israeli fighter jets patrolled the country's airspace and ground troops on the borders increased their operational readiness, Israeli radio reported on Thursday. Palestinian prisoners released by the Israeli army arrive at the Al-Aqsa Hospital for medical examination. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Relatives of the Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks, perform funeral prayer after they received the dead bodies from the morgue of Al-Aqsa Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Relatives of the Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks, perform funeral prayer after they received the dead bodies from the morgue of Al-Aqsa Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Israeli military said that Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip and an accused mastermind of the October 7 attack, was killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis on July 13. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in a social media post, called Deif the "Osama Bin Laden of Gaza." "This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war," he wrote on Thursday. One of Israel's central aims in the nearly 10-month-old war has been to capture or kill Deif and the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar. Al-Sinwar is believed to be still at large. The third most senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Marwan Issa, was killed in March. Deif's fate has been a matter of speculation for weeks, but it was only on Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed he was killed in the aerial attack on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The strike that took out Deif also killed some 90 Palestinians, health authorities in Gaza have said. Gallant said the operation was "conducted precisely and professionally." "The IDF announces that on July 13, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," the IDF said in a statement. "Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 251 hostages abducted into the Gaza Strip," the IDF said. "Over the years, Deif directed, planned, and carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the state of Israel," the IDF added. The confirmation of Deif's death comes shortly after a strike in Tehran killed top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the death of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli attack in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut. In response to Haniyeh's death, Hamas is calling for a "day of rage" in the West Bank on Friday. Haniyeh was killed in the early hours of Wednesday in an attack on the residence he was staying at in Tehran. Both Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination and vowed retaliation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for his death. Hamas issued a statement urging Palestinians to pray for Haniyeh during Friday prayers in mosques. "May marches of thunderous anger pour out of every mosque to denounce the cowardly crime of the assassination," the Hamas statement said. Following a funeral service in Tehran, Haniyeh, who had been living in exile in Qatar, will be buried in Doha on Friday. The Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon has deep ties with Hamas and both are backed by Iran. Israel's foes have expressed outrage at Haniyeh's killing and demanded retribution. The al-Qassam Brigades, which Deif had led before his death, said Israel "will pay the price for its aggression." Thousands of people took part in a state-organized mourning ceremony for Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on Thursday. Iran's entire political elite was also present, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the new President Massud Peseshkian The Israeli army has been put on high alert in anticipation of possible retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allies. Israeli radio reported that the country's air defence was also on the maximum level of readiness. Israeli fighter jets patrolled the country's airspace and ground troops on the borders increased their operational readiness, Israeli radio reported on Thursday. The aftermath of a July 13 Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza targeting Hamas leaders which the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Thursday killed the commander of the group's military wing, Mohammed Deif. File photo by Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Israeli military confirmed Thursday that it killed Hamas' military leader, Mohammed Deif, whom it said was responsible for planning and carrying out the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in a targeted airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza last month. In a statement posted on X, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military had received intelligence in the past few hours that Deif was "eliminated" in the July 13 joint IDF-Shin Bet operation. The IDF confirmed Rafe Salama, the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade and many other militants, had been killed a day after Israeli warplanes struck a compound where, according to "accurate intelligence from Aman [military intelligence] and Shin Bet," Deif and Salama were in hiding. The announcement followed Tuesday's strike on Beirut that killed Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed 12 children in Israel's Golan Heights and a second on Wednesday that killed Hamas' political chief and lead peace negotiator Ismail Haniyeh while on a visit to Tehran. Israel said it carried out the airstrike targeting Shukr but has not claimed responsibility for the rocket strike in Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address Wednesday night that Israel had delivered "crushing blows" to Iran's proxies over the past few days, including Hamas and Hezbollah -- but was careful not to directly refer to Haniyeh. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed Deif's killing, dubbing him the "Bin Laden of Gaza" as a major milestone in Israel's war against Hamas. "The killing of the master murderer Muhammad Deif is a big step on the way to eradicating Hamas as a military and governmental organization, and to achieving the goals of the war we set," he wrote in a post on X accompanied by a photo of him appearing to cross Deif's name off a list of Israel's most wanted. "The results of the operation make it clear that Hamas is an organization in disintegration, and that the terrorists must choose between surrender and death." Gallant pledged the military, security and intelligence apparatus of the Israeli state would "pursue the Hamas terrorists -- from the planners of the massacre to the perpetrators -- and will not rest until the mission is completed." The raid on the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis that killed Deif and Salama also killed 71 civilians and injured 300, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to warn Israeli government officials that the civilian death toll in Gaza remained "unacceptably high." The IDF had earlier designated al-Mawasi a safe zone for civilians but has since issued orders for civilians to evacuate parts of the area alleging militants and their leaders were using it to hide. Thought to be either 58 or 59 years old Deif was born Mohammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masriin in the Khan Younis refugee camp, set up in Gaza for Palestinians displaced by the establishment of Israel as a state. He earned the El Deif moniker, "The Guest," from his MO of never sleeping in the same place two nights in a row to avoid falling victim to Israeli security forces. "In recent years, Deif has planned and carried out many terrorist plots against the State of Israel," said the IDF's Hagari. "Deif worked closely with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and during the war he managed the terrorist activities of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, issuing orders and instructions to the senior military wing of the organization." Hagari said Deif joined Hamas during the first 1987-1993 Palestinian intifada, planning and directing numerous attacks, including suicide attacks inside Israel, and helping to strengthen the group in Judea and Samaria in the West Bank. He was also on the terrorist blacklists of the United States and European Union. An Israeli airstrike killed at least two Palestinian journalists on Wednesday, including an Al Jazeera correspondent who told the world about the conditions he and other members of the press faced while detained by Israeli soldiers raiding Gazas largest hospital earlier this year. Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi, both 27 years old, were driving in the al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City when they were struck by an Israeli missile. Just minutes earlier, the two were reporting live to Al Jazeera from near the destroyed home of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas political wing who was assassinated by Israel on Tuesday in Iran. The strike killed both journalists, who were wearing the blue press vest that over the last 10 months has become a kind of symbol for press solidarity and Palestinian freedom around the world. The attack also killed a child who happened to be riding his bicycle in the area when the missile hit. A funeral ceremony is held Wednesday for Palestinian journalists Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi, who were killed in an Israeli attack west of Gaza City. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images Extremely graphic photos and video of the scene of the strike show what appears to be al-Ghoul sitting in the drivers seat of his now-destroyed white car, which was marked as a press vehicle. He is decapitated, with no sign of his head in photos of him behind the wheel. Footage also shows Gaza Civil Defense workers recovering the journalists remains from the car, collecting pieces of their shredded bodies in plastic bags. The men were taken to al-Ahli Arab Hospital, where journalists and loved ones gathered to mourn before their shrouded bodies that still donned tattered, bloodied press jackets, according to Al Jazeera. Despite facing extreme hardships, including hunger, illness, and the loss of his father and brother, Ismail relentlessly dedicated himself to covering events and delivering the reality of Gaza to the world, Al Jazeera Media Network said in a statement, pledging to pursue legal action. The assassination of Ismail and Rami, while they were documenting the crimes of Israeli forces, underscores the urgent need for immediate legal action against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity. Al Jazeera condemns the assassination of its correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al Rifi by Israeli forces. pic.twitter.com/uPXFES4srV Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 31, 2024 Fellow journalists praised al-Ghoul for his humane reporting on Israels offensive on Gaza, which began in retaliation for Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, in which an estimated 1,200 people were killed and about 240 others were taken hostage. Since then, Israeli military actions have led to the destruction of Gaza and the mass killing and suffering of Palestinians, with a particular focus on the Gaza Strips northern region. At least 39,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to figures reported by the Gaza Health Ministry. I had this call with Ismail a couple of days ago, and we were talking about helping Palestinians sick in the northern parts and trying to find a way to evacuate [them] to the southern parts of the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary, who has covered the deaths of many of her fellow journalists, shakily said through tears during a live broadcast outside of the hospital. Ismail was not only a journalist, but he was trying his best to help everyone in the north, to help find food for everyone in the north, she said. He was just a very kind person. Al-Ghoul grabbed the worlds attention earlier this year when he reported on his own arrest by Israeli soldiers who were raiding Gazas largest medical facility, al-Shifa Hospital. The two-week siege trapped tens of thousands of people at the hospital, effectively turning the complex into a graveyard. Al-Ghoul and dozens of other journalists were documenting the raid in March when soldiers destroyed their broadcast equipment, tents and vehicles before detaining them. Journalists were stripped, handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten for hours, al-Ghoul reported, and Israeli troops would open fire if they sensed any movement from the detained press. He said he was finally able to leave the compound by helping escort an elderly man who had been released. After he was freed, al-Ghoul posted a hashtag in Arabic on X that roughly translates to: Coverage continues. Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami al-Rifi in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp on Wednesday. Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 111 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the current wave of fighting began Oct. 7, all but five of whom are Palestinian. The Gaza media office has put the figure at closer to 165 Palestinian journalists. Israels military offensive has become the deadliest conflict for journalists that CPJ has documented in 30 years. Specifically, Israeli forces have killedmultiple Al Jazeera journalists since Oct. 7, according to the media outlet. Israeli officials have long voiced their opposition to the Qatar-based network, bombing its Gaza office and banning its journalists from reporting in Israel. The U.S. State Department says it has requested more information about Wednesdays strike, while United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric called for a full investigation. Mohamed Moawad, Al Jazeeras managing editor, posted on X what he said was Ismails tribute to himself and the dying humanity before he was killed. I can no longer bear the sound of childrens voices from beneath the rubble, nor can I forget the energy and power that reverberates at every moment, turning into a nightmare, al-Ghoul wrote, according to Moawad. It is no longer easy for me to stand before the rows of coffins, which are locked and extended, or to see the dead people more than the living who are fighting death beneath their homes, not finding a way out to safety and survival. I am tired, my friend. Related... Israel will not be invited to this years peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki to promote a peaceful and somber atmosphere at the August 9 event, the citys mayor told local media Wednesday. The decision contrasts with that of Hiroshima, where authorities told CNN last month they had no intention of retracting Israels invitation to their own peace event, despite calls for the country to be sidelined. Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack. Nagasakis mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters Wednesday that Israels exclusion was due to security concerns and was not a political decision. I would like to emphasize that this decision was not based on political considerations, but rather on our desire to hold the ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombings in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere, and to ensure that the ceremony goes smoothly, he said, calling the decision difficult. The arrangement differs with Hiroshima, the first city hit with an atomic bomb during the closing stages of World War II, that ultimately led to Japans unconditional surrender. Every year diplomats are invited to peace ceremonies in both cities, held within days of each other, to reflect on the importance of peace and the perils of deploying nuclear weapons. Hiroshimas annual peace ceremony is the larger of the two and representatives from 115 countries and the European Union are set to attend this year. Tens of thousands of people were killed by the 1945 atomic bombs, both instantly and in the months and years that followed due to radiation sickness. In a post on X, Israels Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen described Nagasakis decision as regrettable, adding it sends a wrong message to the world. Israel is exercising its full right and moral obligation to defend itself and its citizens and will continue to do so. There is no comparison between Israel, which is being brutally attacked by terrorist organizations and any other conflict, any attempt to present it otherwise distorts the reality, he said. Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations from critics including rights groups and experts that it has broken international humanitarian law with the breadth of its response to Hamas attacks. It argues its war is against Hamas, not Palestinians. A controversial invitation The ceremony in Nagasaki will take place at the citys Peace Park on August 9, marking the day the US military dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, three days after the one that hit Hiroshima. Nagasaki officials had previously indicated some reluctance to host Israel at the event. In June, Suzuki sent a letter to Israel calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, leaving an invitation to the ceremony on hold due to a risk of unexpected situations such as protests, according to Kyodo News. On Wednesday, Suzuki said he had not seen any changes in recent weeks that would lessen the risk of inviting Israel. Hiroshima authorities dont appear to have the same security concerns, despite having sidelined Russia and Belarus to order to ensure the ceremony goes smoothly, according to a spokesperson. Both countries have been excluded from the event since 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine. Russia used Belarus as one of the launch pads for its assault and later moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons there. Some local activists and peace advocates accused Hiroshima authorities of double standards for excluding Russia and Belarus but allowing Israel to take part. It is not a double standard. Our policy is to invite all countries. However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine, a Hiroshima city government spokesperson told CNN last month. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Arunima Kumar and Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's decision to increase a windfall tax on oil and gas producers to help pay for its push to grow renewables will lead to a sharp drop in revenue and accelerate the ageing basin's decline, North Sea drillers said. The new Labour government announced on Monday it will increase the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) by 3% to 38% starting Nov. 1, bringing the headline rate of tax on oil and gas activities to 78%, among the highest in the world. It will also scrap the levy's 29% investment allowance, which allows companies to offset tax from capital that is re-invested. Its duration was also extended to March 2030. The exact details of the changes are expected to be announced with the next budget, likely in October. The measures will "ensure oil and gas companies contribute more towards our clean energy transition," a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters. The government has set up a state-backed power company GB Energy to help to sharply grow its renewables capacity and decarbonise the power sector by 2030. Francesco Mazzagatti, CEO of oil producer Viaro Energy, said that the new proposal are not conducive to the stated net-zero goals. "Industry reports overwhelmingly prove that a reliance on oil and gas will be required in the decades to come, and the imports are significantly more emissions-intensive than the local supply," Mazzagatti said. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said the EPL could raise 1.2 billion pounds ($1.54 billion) per year, or 6 billion pounds over the next parliament, but warned it would also lead to a "premature slowdown of investments" in the sector. Company executives said the measures will dry up investment in the basin. "I hope the government do something sensible rather than cast a wrecking ball across the North Sea," David Latin, chairman of North Sea producer Serica Energy, told Reuters. "The risk is that they will try to reduce capital allowance and that will mean we won't invest. As the basin stops investing, output starts declining much faster and revenue drops," Latin said. The first 25% windfall tax was imposed in 2022 after a surge in energy prices that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was later raised to 35%. The windfall levy wiped out most profit for producers last year. Producers, including Serica, Ithaca Energy and Harbour Energy, the basin's largest producer, are also seeking to shift operations overseas. Britain's North Sea output stands at about 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), according to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulator. That is down from about 4.4 million boed - more than OPEC heavyweight Iraq - at the start of the millennium. Output is projected to decline to less than 200,000 boed by 2050, the NSTA says. Story continues The new government measures will increase Britain's reliance on imports of oil and gas, Mazzagatti added. "Sooner or later, the government will be forced to address the very serious concern for the energy security of the UK, as they do not appear to be factoring in the energy risks they are exposing the country to," Mazzagatti said in a statement to Reuters. Viaro announced on Tuesday it would buy oilfields and assets in the southern North Sea from Shell and Exxon Mobil. Shell CEO Wael Sawan said that fiscal stability was crucial for the government to meet its energy transition targets. Consultancy Welligence said that the government was likely to halt future oil and gas exploration licensing rounds. "Prematurely ceasing licensing and new developments has the triple effect of the reducing UK's energy security, challenging its ability to meet net zero targets and placing impossible expectations on new energies to deliver," Welligence analyst David Moseley said in a note. (Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Ron Bousson in London; editing by David Evans) Israel is facing one of the gravest crises in its recent history, fighting a war on multiple fronts against groups backed by the ayatollahs in Iran. In the past few weeks, the Israeli military has struck against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. In all these instances, action was taken in response to unprovoked attacks. Israels daring military mission to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in his Tehran guest house represents the latest act in Jerusalems escalating campaign against Iran and its network of terrorist surrogates in the Middle East, which the Iranians call the axis of resistance. Yet, rather than backing Israel in its hour of need, there are disturbing indications that both the Labour Government and the US Democratic Party are committed to reducing their support. In the UK, the Government has announced that it no longer intends to challenge the right of the International Criminal Court to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a politically-motivated initiative that the previous Conservative administration said it would try to stop. Britain has also decided to renew funding for UNRWA, the UN Palestinian relief agency implicated in the October 7 atrocities. There are now even suggestions that the Government is considering an arms export ban on Israel. With Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, adopting a similarly critical tone, the Israelis could be forgiven for feeling betrayed by their so-called allies. It is a betrayal made worse because it appears to be driven not by an assessment of our strategic interests, but by cynical electoral calculations. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Israel says it has confirmed that chief of Hamas' military wing was killed in a July strike in Gaza FILE -Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. Israel said it targeted Hamas' shadowy military commander Mohammed Deif in a massive strike Saturday in the crowded southern Gaza Strip that killed at least 71 people, according to local health officials. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File) JERUSALEM (AP) The Israeli military said Thursday that it has confirmed that the head of Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The announcement came a day after an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital killed Hamas top political leader. The rapid events this week have left U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators scrambling to salvage talks for a cease-fire deal in Gaza. At the same time, international diplomats want to avert an escalation into all-out regional war after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, Israels killing of a top Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike and now Israels announcement of Deifs death. There was no immediate comment on the Israeli claim by Hamas, which had previously said Deif survived the strike in Gaza. A member of Hamas political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq, said in a statement Thursday that confirming or denying his death is the responsibility of the group's military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, which so far has been silent. The apparent elimination of Haniyeh and Deif two of Hamas most senior figures brings a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as Israeli forces continue to operate in Gaza. After meeting with military officials Thursday, Netanyahu declared that Deifs death enforces a simple principle that we have established, that whoever hurts us, we hurt them. We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena, Netanyahu said. The White House said Netanyahu was expected to have a phone conversation later Thursday with President Joe Biden. The assassinations also put Netanyahu at a crossroads. They present him with a potential political off-ramp to end the war, allowing him to retreat from his lofty promises of total victory while showing Israelis that Hamas military capabilities suffered a debilitating blow. The killings could also lead him to harden Israels position in cease-fire talks, with Israeli officials insisting the blows to Hamas will force it to compromise. Hamas could dig in as well in the talks or quit them entirely. Israel believes that Deif, the head of Hamas military, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza. Israel targeted Deif in a July 13 strike that hit a compound on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The military said at the time that another Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, was killed. More than 90 other people, including displaced civilians in nearby tents, were also killed, Gaza health officials said. In a statement, the Israeli military said confirmation of Deif's death was made following an intelligence assessment. Elsewhere Thursday, Israeli airstrikes on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza City district of Shujaiya killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 40 others, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, which sent teams to recover bodies. The army alleged that Hamas fighters used the compound to plot attacks against Israel. When the bomb hit, there were people wounded and screaming in front of my eyes, said witness Khaled Sukar, 23, whose cousin was among the dead at the Dalal Mughrabi School. Now I'm back to fearing the next time this will happen," he said. Please, God, just make it stop. In its 10-month campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million has been driven from their homes. In other developments, Thursday marked 300 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a grim milestone for Palestinians in Gaza crammed into tent camps with limited food and water. Enough destruction. We are exhausted," said Ahmad Othman, who was forced to flee from the southern border town of Rafah to nearby Khan Younis. We want to go back to our destroyed homes. Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, family members of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza protested outside the Israeli militarys headquarters, calling on Netanyahu to strike a deal to bring their loved ones home. Three hundred days is a lot of time, said Sharon Kalderon, sister-in-law of Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon. We just hope that it will end soon because we are tired. So far, Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Far-right nationalist coalition partners, on whom he relies to stay in power, have threatened to leave the government if he halts the war. After the announcement about Deif, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the defeat of Hamas is closer than ever. He said the military would continue to eliminate thousands of other terrorists until our security is restored and we bring the hostages home. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike that killed Deif was a significant milestone toward achieving the goals of the war. The results of this operation reflect that Hamas is an organization in disintegration, he wrote on X. Deif was one of the founders of Hamas military wing in the 1990s. He led the Qassam Brigades for decades through campaigns of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, volleys of rocket fire into Israel and repeated Israeli assaults on Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007. He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. He survived a string of Israeli assassination attempts. Haniyehs killing in particular threw into disarray months of efforts at reaching a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage release. Haniyeh had been a main negotiator in those talks. Qatari and Egyptian officials had tense exchanges with U.S counterparts over the assassination, said an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal discussions. While the U.S. has been pressing Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get Hamas to compromise, the Americans cant pressure the other party, Israel to refrain from provocative acts, the Egyptian official said, calling the assassination reckless. Qatars prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, expressed frustration in a post on social media: Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. had no prior knowledge of the strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh. The Egyptian official said no deal was likely in the near future since Hamas must now name Haniyehs replacement. Mediators had been waiting for Hamas response on the latest version of the deal. Instead, after Haniyehs funeral, expected Friday, he said they will reach out to Hamas officials to explore the next steps. After Haniyehs assassination, Iran vowed revenge against Israel, and the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut could also bring reprisals and fuel fears of a wider spiral of escalation. The Egyptian official said the priority now was preventing full-scale war. In Beiruts southern suburbs, hundreds of black-clad mourners packed an auditorium Thursday for Shukur's funeral procession. Many of them held Hezbollah flags or photos of Shukur. An escort of red-capped fighters carried Shukurs coffin, also draped in a Hezbollah flag, down the aisle to the backing of a military band. We've entered a new phase that is different from the previous period," Hezbollahs leader, Hassan Nasrallah, told mourners, vowing a well-studied retaliation" against Israel. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report. The Israeli military said Thursday that Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamass military wing, was killed last month in an airstrike. Deif was believed to be one of the top militants behind the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza and left more than 1,100 people dead. About 250 others were taken captive. The military official was also thought to have escaped or survived multiple assassination attempts and had not been seen in public in years. The announcement from the Israeli military comes nearly two weeks after Israel launched a strike in southern Gaza, targeting Deif and Hamass top Gaza official, Yahya Sinwar. At the time, Israeli forces did not confirm whether the July 13 strike killed either official. Hamas has claimed Deif survived last months attack and did not immediately comment on the Israeli militarys death confirmation, per The Associated Press. Sinwar, however, is believed to still be in hiding in Gaza, it noted. Muhammad Deif, the Osama Bin Laden of Gaza, was eliminated on 13.07.24, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote Thursday on the social platform X. This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war. Gallant added that the strikes were conducted precisely and professionally. At least 90 Palestinians were killed in the July 13 strikes, local health officials said last month. The confirmation of Deifs death comes just more than a day after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Tehran while visiting for the inauguration of the Irans new president. The nations Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to seek revenge after Haniyehs death, bringing the region closer to an all-out war. The AP and other outlets said the death was reported by Hamas and Iran. Israel has not claimed responsibility, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave defiant remarks following the news, saying the Israeli military is achieving its war aims. Israels war with Hamas has persisted in Gaza for nearly 10 months, killing about 39,480 Palestinians and wounding more than 91,100 others, according to Gazas Health Ministry. More than 80 percent of Gazas population were forced out of their homes and into tent camps with limited access to food, water and medical supplies. Deif was the head of Hamass military wing, the Qassam Brigades, since the 1990s, leading the group in various suicide bombings against Israelis and helping to build a supply of rockets to strike into Israel, the AP reported. The Associated Press contributed. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. By Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah did not clear its sensitive sites or evacuate top officials in Beirut's suburbs before this week's attack that killed a top commander because it thought U.S.-led diplomacy would keep Israel from striking the area, security sources close to the group and diplomats said. Hezbollah's impression was that Israel would not hit the southern suburbs, or Dahiyeh, a heartland of support for the Shi'ite Muslim group, as it believed Israeli forces would adhere to unofficial red lines both sides have generally observed in the conflict that has escalated during the Gaza War, they said. This assessment was relayed to Reuters by eight diplomats with knowledge of recent mediation efforts led by Washington and including France and the United Nations, as well as three security sources close to Hezbollah. They all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic. That understanding was shattered on Tuesday when an Israeli strike on Beirut's Dahiyeh killed Hezbollah's top military commander, an Iranian military adviser and five civilians. Lebanese officials and Hezbollah now question whether diplomatic assurances had been relayed to the group accurately. "We were not expecting them to hit Beirut and they hit Beirut," Lebanon's foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. Coupled with the killing in Tehran hours later of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Palestinian armed group Hamas, it has risked sending the entire region into a violent tailspin. Tensions began spiralling after a deadly strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 27 which Israel blamed on Hezbollah, vowing retaliation. The group denied any involvement. Diplomats rushed to contain the fallout by urging Israel not to strike Dahiyeh as part of its response, with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein specifically passing on those messages, several diplomats and a Lebanese official with direct knowledge of mediation efforts told Reuters. A Hezbollah official said mediators had informed them of such efforts. The Lebanese official and three diplomats involved in the messaging said Israel had not made any commitments. 'DIPLOMACY HAS FAILED' Still, Hezbollah's posture signalled its comfort: in the days leading up to the strike, top officials from the group were seen moving around Dahiyeh. Hezbollah had cleared out some of its key sites in south and east Lebanon in anticipation of possible strikes, but did not take similar measures in Beirut, two security sources told Reuters. Hezbollah figures living near the targeted building were rushed out in a panic after it was hit, the sources said. A regional diplomat said that meant Israel had no major Hezbollah targets to hit in south or east Lebanon. Two European diplomats said Hezbollah had not taken protective measures in Beirut and "were not cautious". Several of the diplomats, as well as a Western envoy, said they had understood Dahiyeh would be spared. "There was a clear message sent" that Israel would spare big cities including Beirut, a diplomat said. Instead, they said, Israel shunned efforts to constrain its response. "Israelis do not listen to a word that we tell them. They are following their plan and don't listen to us," one of the European diplomats said. The Western envoy and an Iranian official said Israel had "crossed red lines" by striking Dahiyeh. "Diplomacy has failed," the envoy told Reuters, saying the ability of countries, even the United States, to influence Israel was limited. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a speech on Thursday marking the funeral of the slain commander Fuad Shukr, said Israel "does not know to what extent it has crossed the red lines" and that unnamed countries had asked the group not to respond to the strike - a request he rejected. MISCALCULATION Already, international efforts to rein in Israel's military blitz against the Gaza Strip - a response to Hamas' cross-border attack into Israel on Oct. 7 - have had limited success. The United States has urged Israel to unblock aid deliveries into Gaza, avoid civilian casualties and refrain from launching a large-scale military offensive in Rafah, but its diplomatic efforts have yielded few results. "The Israelis feel they are beset from all angles, politically, militarily, and it is a bit of a risky situation," a Western diplomat told Reuters. As a result, Israel had shifted the war's rules of engagement, carrying out more audacious strikes against its Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian foes, diplomats and analysts in the region said. Hezbollah had "misread" Israel's mindset and thought it had done enough to deter Israel from bold strikes in Lebanon, several diplomats working on the issue and the Lebanese official said. "Hamas, Israel, Hezbollah and Iran have all miscalculated since Oct. 7 and mis-assessed each other," the Western envoy said. (Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and Ros Russell) ROME (Reuters) - A controversial plan in Italy to set up detention camps in Albania for migrants picked up at sea has again been delayed, with a source close to the matter saying on Thursday it was a few weeks behind schedule. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had announced an Aug. 1 inauguration date for the facilities during a visit to Albania in June. Earlier, her government had hoped to make them operational by spring. The source, who couldn't be named because he wasn't authorized to speak on the matter, declined to provide a new date for the opening of the camps, but said delays were partly due to hot weather in Albania, which was limiting working hours for builders. Last week, cabinet undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano - a close Meloni aide - was cited by Italian media as saying the facilities' inauguration was delayed by a few weeks. Meloni's right-wing government signed a deal with Albania last year for the camps as part of its efforts to curb immigration, saying they would process some 36,000 migrants a year via two facilities, one at the port of Shengjin and another in Gjader. Opposition parties and human rights groups denounced the plan, which resembles a now-abandoned similar migrant deportation deal between Britain and Rwanda. Rights group Amnesty International this week said the project was "a stain on the Italian government." "It's shameful that despite all the criticism and concerns raised by human rights bodies, the Italian government has decided to go ahead with this agreement," said Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty's European Institutions Office. Italy expect to spend a total of 670 million euros ($722.19 million) over five years for the camps, and Meloni has said asylum requests would be processed within 28 days, instead of several months currently. ($1 = 0.9277 euros) (Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini, Editing by Bernadette Baum) J.D. Vances Attempt to Insult Kamala Blows Up in His Face J.D. Vance got slammed by X users after accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of being fake. Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her, Vance said, during a rally speech in Glendale, Arizona, Wednesday night. Vance: Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her pic.twitter.com/2jKVWjmBiS Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024 She went down to Georgia and started with a fake Southern accent. Im serious, now, what the hell was all that about? Kamala Harris grew up in Canada! They dont talk like that in Vancouver or Quebec or wherever she came from, Vance said. The line of argument seemed like a weak chaser for Donald Trumps shot at Harris earlier that day, questioning his opponents Blackness in a room full of Black journalists. Of course, from someone like Vance, with his history of stretching the truth and making flip-flopping statements, no one on the internet was buying it. There were the easy hits, about Vances ever-changing name and where he grew up. Screenshot of a tweet Screenshot of a tweet Vance has seemingly changed his name a few times, from James Donald Bowman, to James David Hamel, and finally to Vance around 2013, according to Vanity Fair. As for the Ohio senators supposed Appalachian rootswhich he capitalized on in his bestselling book, Hillbilly Elegywhere he grew up in Middletown, Ohio, is not within the Appalachian region defined by Congress. But then, theres the more pressing stuff, like what Vance purports to actually believe. Vance went from being a self-proclaimed never-Trump guy, to being Trumps running mate, in just a few years. In an attempt to appeal to Trump voters, it seems that Vance is already capturing the very essence of Trump, who rarely casts an accusation thats not also an admission. After President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a deal to free American hostages in Russia, J.D. Vance somehow tried to give Donald Trump the credit. Vances initial reaction to the news began normally, in an interview with CNNs Steve Contorno. Look, I think its great news, at least what little we know. We certainly want these Americans to come back home. It was ridiculous that they were in prison to begin with, the Republican vice presidential nominee said, before going in a completely different direction. But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think its because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trumps about to be back in office, so theyre cleaning house, Vance said. Thats a good thing. And I think its a testament to Donald Trumps strength. The Ohio senator isnt making any sense here. He appears to be echoing Trumps comments from May that only he could free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, claiming that Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING! But this was easily disproved Thursday after the release of the hostages, who also included Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. National security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about Vances claim at a press conference Thursday, and he dismissed the idea. I dont follow, Sullivan replied. Reporter: Vance says I think that really what this shows is that a lot of bad guys across the world are worried that Donald Trump is coming back into office. Your response to those comments? Sullivan: I don't follow pic.twitter.com/B0jid0unU2 Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024 Applications are now open for the Jacksonville Public Education Funds Resiliency Through Community mini-classroom teacher assistance. The program provides $300 to help teachers buy supplies and resources for their classrooms. To be eligible, teachers must: Apply before the August 16 deadline Be a full-time Duval County teacher Spend 75% of your time on direct classroom instruction [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Up to 15 teachers will be selected. Selected recipients will receive an email with instructions, a timeline, and acceptable uses of the money. Click here to apply. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Kartel, 48, who has worked with Eminem, Rihanna and Jay-Z, always maintained his innocence after being accused of a 2011 murder Scott Gries/Getty Vybz Kartel poses for a photo backstage during MTV's Tempo network launch celebration in 2005 Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel is a free man after being released from prison after his 2014 murder conviction was overturned, according to reports. The popular artist who has collaborated with music icons including Eminem, Rihanna and Jay-Z, was sentenced to prison in 2014 after being convicted of killing Clive Lizard Williams in Jamaica in 2011, the BBC reports. Kartel whose real name is Adidja Palmer allegedly gave two unlicensed guns to Williams and another man to hold for him, according to court records, the BBC reports. A dispute arose over the missing guns and Williams ended up dead, the BBC reports. Williams body has never been found, Fox 5 New York reports. Despite pleading not guilty to the crime, Kartel and three co-defendants Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison, the BBC reports. Kartels sentence was later decreased to 32-and-a-half years in prison, The New York Times reports. The star appealed to the Jamaica appeals court before taking the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the highest court of appeal for Jamaica and other countries including the Bahamas and Granada, according to the BBC. In March, the Privy Council in London overturned the conviction, citing alleged juror misconduct, The New York Times reports. A juror called Juror X in court documents had tried to bribe other jurors, court records show, according to the The New York Times. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Allowing Juror X to remain on the jury is fatal to the safety of the convictions which followed, the court said in its ruling. It was an infringement of the appellants fundamental right to a fair hearing under the Jamaican Constitution. But a Jamaican appeals court had the final say as to whether or not Kartel would be retried. On Wednesday, the Jamaican appeals court decided that he would not be retried for the murder. His lawyers said Kartel spent much of his time in inhumane conditions in the prison while battling Graves Disease, which has left him ailing, Fox 5 New York reports. Lawyers for Kartel could not immediately be reached. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Orca Opens Data Center To Support Companys Rapid Growth in the LATAM Region and Furthers Commitment to the Needs of Brazilian Customers PORTLAND, Ore. & SAO PAULO, August 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orca Security, a leader in agentless cloud security, today announced the launch of its newest data center in Brazil. By opening its latest global data center, Orca Security is strengthening its presence and commitment to the Brazilian market. With this launch, Orca Security aims to meet the growing demand for cloud security solutions and offer more comprehensive support to its customers in Brazil. According to Grand View Research, the Brazil cloud computing market's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is projected to be 15.2% from 2024-2030, reaching $6.7B in revenue. Orca Securitys new data center in Brazil enables the company to provide world-class security solutions tailored to the specific needs of the local market. Through this initiative, Orca Security is offering robust and secure infrastructure to protect the data and operations of its customers in Brazil. "With Brazil and the broader LATAM region experiencing exponential growth in cloud adoption, our expanded data center footprint in Brazil is important to Orca Security," said Gil Geron, CEO & Co-founder of Orca Security. "We have experienced significant growth in Brazil and the broader LATAM market. This expansion is a further testament to the company's commitment to driving innovation and excellence in cloud security globally." Vinicius Mendes, Director of LATAM Sales at Orca Security, emphasized the significance of the new data center launch: "With the exponential growth of cloud adoption in Brazil and the LATAM region, expanding Orca Security's infrastructure in the country is a strategic move. This initiative reinforces our commitment to delivering cutting-edge security solutions tailored to the specific needs of the Brazilian market." The implementation of a local data center offers robust and secure infrastructure to protect the data and operations of Orca Securitys customers in Brazil and brings significant benefits that include: Enhanced Performance: Physical proximity to servers results in lower latency and faster processing speeds. Data Residency: Compliance with local data residency and regulatory requirements, including the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGDP) Improved Security: Enhanced protection of sensitive data through secure and robust infrastructure. The Orca Platform is powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest cloud providers in Brazil, providing complete coverage across all cloud assets in minutes through its patented SideScanning technology. As one of the most comprehensive cloud security platforms, Orca gives organizations a holistic view of the entire cloud estate and enables them to prioritize the most serious risks to their crown jewel data. Story continues Orca Security data centers now span nearly every major continent, including North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Orca Security is sponsoring the AWS Summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 15. For more information on the Orca Security platform and to schedule a demo, please visit https://orca.security/demo/. About Orca Security Orca Security is the pioneer of agentless cloud security that is trusted by hundreds of enterprises globally. Orca makes cloud security possible for enterprises moving to and scaling in the cloud with its patented SideScanning technology and Unified Data Model. The Orca Cloud Security Platform delivers the worlds most comprehensive coverage and visibility of all risks across the cloud. With continuous first-to-market innovations and expertise, the Orca Platform ensures security teams quickly identify and remediate risks to keep their businesses secure. Connect your first account in minutes:https://orca.security or take the free cloud risk assessment. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801224783/en/ Contacts Media: Susie Dougherty fama PR for Orca Security orca@famapr.com FILE PHOTO: Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of their offices in San Diego TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese health ministry panel on Thursday recommended approval for Eli Lilly's dementia treatment donanemab. Formal approval is expected shortly after the panel's vote, which would make the drug Japan's second approved treatment for Alzheimer's disease after Leqembi, developed by Eisai and Biogen. Donanemab, sold under the brand name Kisunla, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration early last month. (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Andrew Heavens) MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) For 45 years, the City of Marquette and Higashiomi, Japan have held a special relationship as sister cities. In celebration of this anniversary, local artist Jacob Darner curated a special exhibit of Japanese art and artifacts that is now on display at Wintergreen Hill Gallery and Gifts until the end of August. This embedded content is not available in your region. The opening reception for the exhibit, titled Japanese Treasures, was held in the afternoon July 31. Higashiomi delegates, including the mayor, looked through the exhibit and met with board members of the Marquette Area Sister Cities Partnership (MASCP). After the reception, the group traveled to Marquettes lower harbor, where they held a maple tree planting ceremony to commemorate the 45 years of friendship. The MASCP is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining international relationships between the City of Marquette and its two sister cities: Higashiomi, Japan and Kajaani, Finland. This is the first year the organization has had a special art exhibit during a delegate visit to Marquette, but there is a permanent display of a private Japanese artifacts collection on display at the Peter White Library. Japanese Treasures has a little bit of everything, said curator Darner at the opening reception. From ceramic works, scrolls and print works to memories and photographs of delegate visits to and from Marquette over the years, theres a diverse but accurate representation of not just Japanese art, but the 45 years of this sisterhood, Darner said. MASCP board member Amber Dohrenwend said something she finds interesting is that visiting and learning about another culture often makes one more aware of their own. You start to appreciate your culture in a different way, said Dohrenwend. In addition to delegate visits, the MASCP works to host outreach programs and events that encourage international and cultural education. Each year, they also host a foreign exchange student program. To learn more about the MASCP, click here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJMN - UPMatters.com. JASPER COUNTY, Mo. An initiative in Jasper County is helping families start their little ones on a path to success. Beginning August 1, a free program is available for eligible families with children 3-5 years old. This initiative is to provide comprehensive support to ensure school readiness and overall well-being. The Economic Security Corporation in Jasper County says families can benefit from weekly home visits by a teacher to support early childhood education. These visits include at-home activities that are designed to build necessary school readiness skills. Additionally, bi-monthly group experiences at a local Head Start are included to foster social development. The program also includes comprehensive health, dental, and nutrition support to promote the overall well-being of kids. Assistance is also provided to help families and children transition to a center-based program when they are ready. This free program also follows a traditional school year calendar, with summers off to align with family and teacher schedules. For more information follow this link here or call 417-781-0352. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. K. D. Kirchmeier/Getty Joe Urie, owner of Jasper Tour Company, was looking for coyotes in Jasper National Park when all of a sudden this fire bursts up. He called it in, tried to put it out himself, then got back into his tour van and told his passengers, a group of travelers from England, we gotta go. Since that evening on July 22, what became the areas biggest fire in a century has caused a wave of loss and destruction in the Canadian park. In the Town of Jasper, around a third of structures have been destroyed and all residents evacuated, including Urie, who filled up his 15-seater tour van and transported locals and tourists to safety. On August 3, a 24-year-old firefighter from Calgary died while battling the wildfire. As of August 7, day 17 of the fire, the wildfire remains classified as out of controlmeaning its expected to continue growing. However, firefighters have been able to extinguish critical portions and recent cooler temperatures are helping to minimize the fires spread. Fires have been extinguished in the town itself, and plans for the return of residents under evacuation orders are taking shape. Beloved for its mountains, valleys, glaciers, hot springs, and abundant wildlife, Jasper National Park attracts around 2.5 million visitors a year. If you have an upcoming trip to the area, heres what you need to know. What is open? Currently, the entire park is closed and there is no estimated date for reopening. If youre planning a trip to Jasper in the near future, keep an eye on the Parks Canada and Municipality of Jasper websites for updates. Parks Canada has automatically canceled and refunded all camping reservations through September 3. Recently there have been suggestions that Parks Canada campsites, accommodation, and other visitor offerings will be resuming regular operations on September 3, 2024, we must reiterate that this is not the case, Mireille Kroeker, Parks Canadas Fire Information Officer for the Jasper Wildfire Complex, told Conde Nast Traveler over email. Campgrounds, otentiks, and other visitor offerings, including access to day use areas and trails in Jasper National Park will be closed for the remainder of the summer season, she says. The only exception is the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier trail (around 65 miles south of the Town of Jasper), which will open on August 9, with limited visitor safety resources. Alberta Highway 16, which runs through Jasper National Park, is closed to non-commercial vehicles from the Jasper East Park Gate, west of Hinton, AB to the British Columbia border. On August 9, the Icefields Parkway (93N)accessible only from the south via Highway 11 or Highway 1will open between Lake Louise and the Athabasca Glacier area of the Columbia Icefield. Public access on the Icefields Parkway, which travels through both Jasper and Banff national parks, will be extended from Saskatchewan Crossing to the vicinity of the Icefield Centre in the Athabasca Glacier area. However, due to limited resources, not all services on the 93N will be available. The Icefields Parkway and the remainder of Jasper National Park are still closed between the Athabasca Glacier area and the Town of Jasper. Banff National Park day-use areas and trails on the Icefields Parkway are now open, except for Nigel Creek Trail. Train travel has also been impacted. VIA Rail has canceled its train service without offering alternate transportation between Jasper, AB and Prince George, BC and between Vancouver, BC and Edmonton, AB until September 3. The Rocky Mountaineer rail-tour company has modified routes taken by their Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush journeys until late September and is contacting ticket holders. These routes will now travel through Banff National Park instead of Jasper. Flights to the closest major airports (Edmonton and Calgary) remain operating as normal. Just outside the park, in Hinton, known as the gateway to the Rockies, attractions including the Overland Mountain Lodge, Folding Mountain Brewing, and Sundance Provincial Park, known for its hoodoos, remain open. What about other parts of Alberta? Alberta is a big province, of which the Rockies is just a fraction, says Urie, who is a board member of Indigenous Tourism Alberta (ITA). The north, south, and central regions are unaffected, including Calgary, Edmonton, and the comparatively beautiful Banff National Park (143 miles from the Town of Jasper). We have the opportunity to redirect travelers out into the province, Urie says, recommending that visitors who need to rethink travel explore the ITA website, which highlights Indigenous-run attractions from Metis Crossing in Northern Alberta to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park in the south. Leslie Bruce, President and CEO at Banff and Lake Louise Tourism, encourages visitors who have planned summer trips to the area to see their plans through. She says that Banff and Lake Louise are open for business, and theres currently no threat to public safety or infrastructure here. How can you help? In Canada, the months of May through September are the most active period for wildfirescoinciding with the peak summer tourism season. Fire season is the new norm and thats not right, says Urie. That said, travelers can help minimize wildfire risks by following common sense and respectful practices. According to Destination Canada, the countrys marketing organization, this includes adhering to any fire bans or restrictions, not discarding flammable materials in natural areas, not lighting fires or using camp stoves in restricted areas, and only using designated fire pits or grills where permitted. Its also a good idea to monitor local news outlets weather reports and updates on wildfire conditions in the region youre planning to visit. Visitors to Alberta can stay informed by checking Travel Albertas dedicated Wildfire Status page or by downloading its Alberta Wildfire Status app. Visitors to Alberta and British Columbia should take into consideration that, due to the fires, helicopters are in extremely high demand across both provinces. As a result, any rescue could be severely delayed, even in areas that were not impacted by the fires. Jaspers economy is very tourism dependent, says Stuart Back, COO at Pursuit Collection, which operates a number of Jasper hotels and attractions, including the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, all of which escaped the fire. One of the areas biggest employers, Pursuit currently has around 750 team members displaced. When its safe to do so, the area will desperately need visitors to return, he says, adding that he expects that to be possible in early September, a phenomenal time to visit the park with the fall colors and fresh [mountain] snow. In the meantime, travelers can donate to the communitys recovery through the local nonprofit, Jasper Community Team Society and the Canadian Red Cross, or to Calgary-based Parachutes for Pets, which supports evacuees with pets. Whats next for Jasper? Its believed that a combination of factors fueled the fire, including a three-week stretch of searing temperatures, a dried-out landscape, lightning strikes, and strong winds. Around 25,000 people were evacuated, including around 5,000 Jasper town residents who still dont know when they can return. Jasper Tour Company is in limbo right now, says Urie, but hes looking ahead. As a Metis tour guide, Urie provides an Indigenous perspective on Jasper National Park. That includes talking with his guests about mismanagement of the natural world since Indigenous people were removed from the park, specifically how suppression of the low-severity fires that help maintain healthy forests has created a tinderbox. The Indigenous people of these lands knew well and they used fire as a tool, he says, adding that we have an opportunity for a great reset. And thats where he and his tour guests come in. When he gets back to work, he says, were coming back better than ever. And weve got lots to talk about. This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date. Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler The Latest Travel News and Advice When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A scan of the Youti yuanshi larva fossil. | Credit: Yang Jie/Zhang Xiguang Researchers have discovered how the brain of the largest animal group evolved after finding the remains of a microscopic, worm-like creature that lived half a billion years ago. The creature died while still in its early development, or larval stage, and belongs to a new species named Youti yuanshi, which combines the standard Chinese words "youti," meaning "larva," and "yuanshi," meaning "primitive," according to a new study published Wednesday (July 31) in the journal Nature . Y. yuanshi inhabited the Cambrian seas and helped give rise to living arthropods like insects, spiders and crabs. Despite being about the size of a grain of sand, the fossil is exceptionally well-preserved, revealing never-before-seen details that help explain how arthropods developed complex brains. "When I used to daydream about the one fossil I'd most like to discover, I'd always be thinking of an arthropod larva, because developmental data are just so central to understanding their evolution ," study lead author Martin Smith , an associate professor in paleontology at Durham University in the U.K., said in a statement. "But larvae are so tiny and fragile, the chances of finding one fossilised are practically zero or so I thought!" Related: Stunning 3D images show anatomy of 500 million-year-old Cambrian trilobites entombed in volcanic ash A team of researchers recovered the fossil from the Yu'anshan rock formation in the Yunnan Province of China. They scanned the fossil with X-rays to create virtual 3D images of its internal structures. The images revealed a brain and primitive circulatory system, including traces of nerves serving the larva's simple legs and eyes, according to the study. "I already knew that this simple worm-like fossil was something special, but when I saw the amazing structures preserved under its skin, my jaw just dropped how could these intricate features have avoided decay and still be here to see half a billion years later?" Smith said. While researchers aren't sure how the animal became such an exceptional fossil, at some point soon after death, its soft tissues were replaced with phosphate and preserved in rock. Smith told Live Science that there must have been higher levels of phosphorus in the water that provided the raw materials for the creature's cells to be converted into phosphate minerals. RELATED STORIES Spectacularly rare fossils of snakes that died huddled together 38 million years ago unearthed in Wyoming Pair of dog-size dinosaurs likely crushed to death in underground burrow collapse 280 million-year-old swamp monster with 'big, flat toilet seat-shaped head' discovered in Namibia The exceptional preservation allowed researchers to see more of an early arthropod's anatomy than they normally would. This included signs that arthropod brains were becoming more sophisticated during Y. yuanshi's time. For example, the larva had an ancestral brain region that would become the nub of a more specialized arthropod head with antennae and various other appendages, according to the statement. These specialized heads meant the creatures could adopt a variety of lifestyles, including becoming sophisticated predators. "As the arthropod brain has developed, that's allowed arthropods to exhibit much more complicated behaviors and even more complicated morphologies," Smith said. This "led to their rapid rise in diversity, which they've maintained to the modern day," he added. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Joe Bidens administration over an executive order that promotes access to voter registration. U.S. President Joe Biden signed the executive order in 2021, which calls for federal agencies to promote voter registration and participation through methods that are appropriate and consistent with applicable law. The order called for websites, online forms, social media platforms and other resources to expand access to information to register to vote. With his lawsuit, Ashcroft argues that the order represents federal overreach and violates the principles within the U.S. Constitution. A lifetime fish Blues defenseman Nick Leddy catches monster sturgeon in Canada waters Missouri has a robust and effective election system in place, and it is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government, to manage voter registration and election procedures, Ashcroft said. This executive order undermines state sovereignty and threatens the integrity of our elections. This legal action is not about partisan politics; it is about maintaining the balance of power between the states and the federal government as intended by our Founding Fathers. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, seeks to block the implementation of the executive order, according to a news release from Ashcroft. It argues that the order imposes undue burdens on state election authorities and disregards legal frameworks governing elections. Documents for Ashcrofts lawsuit were not immediately made available to FOX 2. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. TechCrunch California's newest law could land social media users who post, or repost, AI deepfakes that deceive voters about upcoming elections in legal trouble. Governor Gavin Newsom suggests that AB 2839, which went into effect immediately after he signed it on Tuesday, could be used to reel in the retweets of Elon Musk, among others who spread deceptive content. "I just signed a bill to make this illegal in the state of California," said Newsom in a tweet, referencing an AI deepfake Musk reposted earlier this year that made it appear Kamala Harris called herself an incompetent candidate and a diversity hire (she did not). HEREFORD JD Vance blamed Vice President Kamala Harris as the reason for the nations immigration troubles during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, using an unfinished portion of the border wall as the backdrop to make his case. Vance notably sidestepped President Joe Biden in taking on Harris, referring to the Biden administration as the Harris administration in his remarks now that Biden has dropped out of the presidential race. It's hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border, Vance said. Vance toured the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County Thursday, going to the heart of a top election issue on his first trip to battleground Arizona as former President Donald Trumps running mate. Vance was hosted by the Cochise County Sheriffs Office and received a briefing from officials there. Arizona border rancher John Ladd was also on hand to greet Vance. The vice presidential nominee had been scheduled to tour Ladd's property, but rain made the roads too muddy. The border tour was moved to the Coronado National Memorial instead. Battleground Arizona was the stage for Vances campaign pitch against Harris, the new presumptive nominee he derides as a failed border czar. Vance said that Trump would finish building the wall that began construction during his first administration, reimplement the Remain in Mexico policy and expand deportations. If people can come into this country and they know they're never going to be deported, you effectively have an open border. That's what Kamala Harris promised. That's what Kamala Harris did, and Donald Trump and I promise to do exactly the opposite, Vance said. Arizona has the most fortified stretch of border in the nation with more barriers built under Trump than in any other state. Still, that did not stop smugglers from cutting holes in the wall in broad daylight at the peak of border crossings last year. By the time he left office, Trump had shut down asylum processing at the border under a public health rule called Title 42. The former president created a program to keep asylum seekers in Mexico two years prior while their cases were adjudicated, and his administration negotiated agreements with the Central American nations that were the largest source of migrants seeking protection in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted migrant flows because of global lockdowns during Trumps term. Biden repealed all three of those policies when he took office, but later used an executive order to restrict asylum processing between border crossings. In 2022 and 2023, encounters at the southern border exceeded 2 million for the first time. Those numbers have been on the decline for the last several months, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Officials attribute the new numbers to Bidens executive order. Arizona was the busiest migrant crossing route last year, and the decrease in apprehensions here has been dramatic. The number of apprehensions in Arizona in June 2024 was lower than the same month in 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. The U.S.-Mexico border runs for 84 miles in the southern reaches of Cochise County and is home to two ports of entry: Douglas and Naco. The Cochise County Sheriffs Office is willing to provide border tours and briefings to educate all interested political candidates, Sheriff Mark Dannels said. The area Vance visited was heavily guarded by law enforcement, with some officers wearing camouflage uniforms and holding long guns atop of a SWAT vehicle. Others patrolled the grass nearby, and officials parked large trucks along the border wall in the area that Vance spoke. Before Vance arrived, organizers played pop music at the tour side, including Katy Perrys Never Really Over. Vance toured the border at a time when immigration is top of mind for Arizona voters. Thirty percent of registered voters in the state named immigration as their top issue, according to a recent Emerson College poll, a higher percentage than those who named the economy as their top issue. The issue is seen as a challenge for Harris, who President Joe Biden tasked with addressing the root causes of immigration from Central American countries early in his term. Harris fought against that perception during a Georgia rally this week, blaming Trump for killing a bipartisan immigration deal earlier this year and pointing to her time as California attorney general. "I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them. In case after case, and I won," Harris said on stage. "Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk." Harris also rolled out endorsements from four Arizona border mayors this week, including Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge in Cochise County. She launched a new ad campaign focused on immigration, with pledges to hire more border patrol officers and invest in technology to block fentanyl. The border bill would have made our country safer, made the border more secure, and it was supported by Donald Trump and JD Vances allies like the Border Patrol union which endorsed Trump for president twice, Budge said on a Harris campaign press call. And now that its election time, JD Vance and Trump are here to campaign on the border even though theyre responsible for blocking the most important bill weve seen to improve border security. Vance tied his own childhood experience when his mother was suffering from drug addiction to the struggles of people who are impacted by fentanyl coming over the border from Mexico. The vast majority of fentanyl seizures at the border happen at ports of entry, and much of it is through Arizonas border crossings. I have been a little kid waiting at the bedside of his mother, angry that his mom took something that she shouldn't have taken, but praying to God, please Jesus let her wake up, Vance said. The unfortunate truth is because of the poison that Kamala Harris has let come into this country, there are a lot of those prayers that won't be answered. There are a lot of parents that won't wake up. Because when you take fentanyl, you don't wake up, it takes your life. Problems at the southern border have been a core focus of Trumps three presidential campaigns, from his 2016 pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to his 2024 campaign promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez appeared with Vance Thursday and gave the Trump campaign a vote of confidence. There is a playbook. President Trump had it, and he still has it. They can make it happen, Perez said. Republic reporter Sarah Lapidus contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JD Vance visits Arizona-Mexico border and criticizes Kamala Harris New Jersey lottery player wins $5,000 a month for life on $3 scratch-off lottery ticket A trip to the liquor store netted one lucky Bergen County lottery player a nice monthly paycheck ... for life! A $3 scratch-off ticket purchased at Budy's Wine & Liquors on Hudson Street in Hackensack was worth $5,000 a month for life through the New Jersey Lottery's Win For Life scratch-off ticket game, the lottery announced on social media on Wednesday. "$5,000 a month FOR LIFE! That's a whole lot of cash!" the New Jersey Lottery posted. More: 21 New Jersey lottery players won big playing Mega Millions, Powerball, NJ Lottery games The Win For Life scratch-off tickets offer prizes from $5 to $5,000 and three $5,000 a month for life grand prizes. In addition to the Hackensack win, another grand prize was sold at the Zee Mart on South Main Street in Williamstown, according to the lottery website. One $5,000 a month for life ticket still remains. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ lottery player wins $5K a month for life on $3 scratch-off We recently compiled a list of the 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) stands against the other American energy stocks. Energy, primarily oil, drives the economy. This makes it one of the most important sectors for global and American economic prosperity. This importance has changed the US economic landscape quite a bit over the past couple of years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2020 was a historic year for the US energy industry as it was the first time since 1949 that America became a net petroleum exporter. In 2020, the US imported 7.86 million barrels of oil per day, which was 640,000 barrels lower than its 8.50 million barrels per day of exports. Since then, US energy exports have continued to grow, and the oil surplus jumped to a record of 1.26 million barrels per day in 2022. At the heart of this historic shift is the American energy industry which produced a historic 20.08 million barrels per day in 2022. This was nearly enough to theoretically meet America's oil consumption of 20.28 million barrels, but despite this, the US continued to import oil. On the surface, this sounds counterintuitive since a net energy exporter should be sufficient to meet all of its requirements through its own production. However, as America has historically depended on sour oil imports from the Middle East, US shale, which is sweet oil with low sulfur content, cannot be processed in similar volumes due to its different chemical characteristics. Building on this, even though the US might be unable to use all the oil it produces, on the surface, it would also appear that fewer regulations on the oil industry and more drilling would be great for the sector. Well, the reality, as is in most cases, is slightly different. This is because low regulations lead to high drilling and end up benefiting firms with high production capacity in the short term. In the long term, as output rises and more companies invest in drilling, the price of oil falls. This appears to be great, after all, who doesn't like cheap gas prices? However, the US aims to have at least half of all new cars on the roads by 2030 be electric vehicles according to new rules by the Biden Administration. This goal will be fueled by initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has earmarked $500 billion in spending and tax breaks for clean energy technologies and other areas. So, if half of all new cars by 2030 are EVs and American oil producers end up expanding their production capacity to meet current demand, then they could end up sitting on excess capacity. Oil exploration is one of the most capital intensive industries in the world (upstream capital expenditure sat at $490 billion in 2022 according to the International Energy Forum) and recovering these costs requires steady demand. As a result, if regulations are strict, as opposed to lax, then oil producers will be forced to generate higher margins which carry the chance of improving production efficiency and lead to profit maximization that moves in line with the lower EV costs (and higher proliferation) of the future. Story continues Shifting gears to focus on energy stocks, their performance depends quite a bit on energy prices. This was the case in 2022 when the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the global energy supply chain and led to crude oil prices shooting to as high as $134 per barrel. During the same year, State Street's energy ETF shot up by 54% as oil companies all over benefited from record revenue and profits. However, the outlook for the energy industry in 2024 isn't as optimistic. While the same ETF has gained 9.5% year to date, Brent crude opened 2024 at roughly $78 per barrel and is trading at $78.5 right now. For the second half of 2024, the EIA estimates that it will trade at $89 per barrel - higher than the first half average of $84. This is despite the fact that the world's largest oil user, China, is facing an uncertain economy that has led some to believe that its oil consumption could drop by 3.8% in the year's second half with diesel usage dropping by 5.6% annually. In fact, as FactSet notes, this "lower-than-forecast" global demand growth coupled with production increases might lead to an oversupplied oil market. If this is true, then the subsequent downward oil price adjustments could also lead oil stocks lower - and make current valuations overvalued. Our Methodology To make our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts, we ranked US based energy stocks with a market cap greater than $300 million by their average analyst share price target upside and picked out the stocks with the highest upside. We also mentioned the number of hedge funds that had bought these stocks during the same filing period. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A drilling rig fueled by the energy and expertise of the oil & gas exploration and production company. Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) Number of Hedge Fund Investors in Q1 2024: 34 Average Analyst Share Price Target Upside: 83.28% Average Analyst Share Price Target: $84.27 Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) is a Colorado based oil and gas company with operations in Texas, Oklahoma, Canada, Utah, and other regions. The firm has a considerable presence in one of America's largest oil production areas, the Permian basin. It expanded its Permian operations in 2023 through a massive $4.3 billion acquisition, and touted additional efficiency increases through a process that Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV) dubs as 'Trimul-frac.' This allows it to save $125,000 per well by fracking three wells at a time instead of two through Simulfrac. However, Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)'s Permian expansion has increased its debt load, and it ended 2023 with $6 billion in long term debt. Free cash flow was $1.4 billion during the year, dropping by $600 million annually on the back of higher capital expenditures which also led to lower debt repayments and stock purchases. Looking ahead, production growth, debt repayment, and efficiency improvements will be key for Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)'s share price performance. Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)'s management highlighted productivity gains to enable it to reduce the debt load during the Q1 2024 earnings call: "The combination of strong productivity across the portfolio, our leading capital efficiency and stronger oil price environment have raised our expectations for 2024 free cash flow from $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion, roughly $750 million more than last year with similar volumes and less capital spend. This will allow us to deliver enhanced returns to our shareholders and accelerate debt repayment. As we highlighted in February, we also added 65 premium 10,000-foot equivalent locations in the Permian through three bolt-on transactions at an average cost of less than $3 million per location. These inventory additions are immediately competitive for capital, and are contiguous with our existing acreage in the core of the Midland Basin. Our multiyear disciplined strategy of both organic and inorganic inventory extension has added about 1,650 premium net 10,000-foot locations to our portfolio, delivering a huge boost to our full cycle returns and the durability of our business. We believe our 2024 program is highly repeatable in 2025 and beyond, reflecting our leading capital efficiency and the depth of our premium inventory." Overall OVV ranks 5th on our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts. You can visit 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts to see the other American energy stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of OVV as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OVV but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and 10 Best of Breed Stocks to Buy For The Third Quarter of 2024 According to Bank of America. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. CBS will attempt to reinvent its evening newscast after Norah O'Donnell leaves the anchor desk following November's presidential election. The network announced Thursday that "CBS Evening News," which still draws as many as 5 million viewers a night, will have a pair of anchors and draw on correspondents from the division's other signature programs. John Dickerson, political editor for CBS News, and Maurice DuBois, a local news anchor for the network's New York station, WCBS, will helm the revamped telecast. The program will be moved back to its former home at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, after several years in Washington, where O'Donnell has been based. It's the first time the network has tried a multi-anchor format since it paired Dan Rather with Connie Chung in the mid-1990s. ABC News also tried it in 2005 with Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff when it replaced the late Peter Jennings. Neither pairing improved the ratings of the programs. This time around, the dual-anchor format is aiming to play up what CBS News executives are calling an "ensemble" approach that gives more on-air time to the network's correspondents, including those on newsmagazine "60 Minutes," which is the most-watched non-sports prime-time show most weeks. Margaret Brennan, the Washington-based moderator of "Face the Nation," also will have a prominent role. Bill Owens, who has run "60 Minutes" since 2019, will be supervising producer for "CBS Evening News" in addition to his current duties. Wendy McMahon, chief executive of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said she is putting Owens in charge to assure the newscast can tap into the "the DNA of '60 Minutes.'" The newsmagazine has never had a single host, long relying on a cadre of correspondents. "It should be more about the reporters than one person," Owens said in an interview. "We are not trying to copy '60 Minutes,' but we want to bring in '60 Minutes' values. We don't want to be following what everyone else is doing." Read more: How the JFK assassination changed TV news and the journalists who covered it 60 years ago The changes come after O'Donnell announced she will end her five-year stint in the anchor chair to take a new role as a senior correspondent. The program ranks third in the evening broadcast news ratings, behind "ABC World News Tonight With David Muir" and "NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt." "Face the Nation" moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan interviews Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in Eagle Pass, Tx. on Jan 3, 2024. (Josh Huskin / CBS via Getty Images) The network newscasts are no longer the agenda-setting platforms they were in the era of Walter Cronkite. But even though the internet has upended the news business, the long-running programs remain appointment viewing for more than 17 million viewers a night, according to Nielsen data. The audience is largely older, as younger viewers have migrated to streaming platforms. CBS has tried a series of anchors over the years since Rather left the job in 2004 after 25 years, including a five-year stint by Katie Couric, who was lured away from NBC's "Today." But the network has had trouble improving its competitive position going back to the mid-1990s, when it lost a number of affiliates that provided potent audience lead-ins with their local newscasts. Owens said the format change is a way for "CBS Evening News" to differentiate itself from its competitors. The program will offer a lower story count with longer reports and debriefings from the news division's top correspondents, he said. The approach worked in Cronkite's glory days and can be an alternative to today's faster-paced, picture-driven network newscasts, Owens said. Owens named "60 Minutes" veteran Guy Campanile to be executive producer of "CBS Evening News." He will succeed Adam Verdugo, who has held the post since 2022. Dickerson and DuBois will both be deployed for breaking news coverage on the network. They had a dry run together on July 13 when they covered the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa. For Dickerson, "CBS Evening News" will be the fourth significant assignment since he joined the network in 2009. Known as a thoughtful analyst, he is the son of Nancy Dickerson, one of the first prominent woman network correspondents in the 1960s. A veteran Washington journalist, formerly with Time magazine, John Dickerson succeeded Bob Schieffer as moderator of "Face the Nation," the network's Sunday roundtable program. Dickerson, 56, moved to a co-host role on "CBS This Morning" after Charlie Rose departed due to sexual harassment allegations in 2017. He lasted a year on the morning program before being moved off into a correspondent role. Since 2022, he has anchored a nightly program, "The Daily Report," on CBS News 24/7, the division's streaming service. McMahon said Dickerson will continue to have a presence on the streaming platform. Separately, he co-hosts Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast. DuBois, 58, has been an evening local anchor at WCBS in New York since 2004 and was previously a staple of the city's NBC station. While not widely known nationally, DuBois has served as an occasional fill-in host on "CBS Evening News," which means he should be familiar to habitual viewers. He is known as a smooth on-air presenter with experience handling breaking news stories on the local stations. "We've done our homework," said McMahon. "We feel quite confident about his value to our audience." The rejiggering comes at a time of significant change at CBS. Budgets and salaries at CBS News are expected to undergo scrutiny when new ownership takes over parent company Paramount Global next year. The companys board and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone recently approved an $8-billion agreement to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Hi, I'm Madeline Mitchell, and I write about education for The Enquirer. Do you have a story tip or a question about Greater Cincinnati's schools? Let's chat! I'm holding public office hours on Thursday afternoons in August at local libraries across the region. Anyone is welcome to stop by, say hello, ask questions or let me know about what's happening at your school or university. Here's where I'll be this month: Thursday, Aug. 8 I'll be at the Downtown Main Library, located at 800 Vine St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15 I'll be at the Cheviot Branch Library, located at 3711 Robb Ave., from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 I'll be at the Campbell County Public Library Newport Branch, located at 901 E 6th St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 I'll be at the Mariemont Branch Library, located at 3810 Pocahontas Ave., from 1 to 5 p.m. Other ways to stay in touch If you can't make these office hours, feel free to reach out any time at memitchell@enquirer.com or message me on X, formerly known as Twitter. You can also find out how to send general news tips to The Enquirer here. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enquirer education reporter hosts public office hours in August Who is Josh Shapiro? Get to know the Pennsylvania governor and potential Harris VP pick Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to select a running mate for her 2024 presidential campaign, but according to the campaign, shes scheduled to visit several swing states next week with her vice presidential pick, meaning that a decision and announcement is near. Once selected, the Democratic duo plans to visit Philadelphia, western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, N.C., Savannah, Ga., Phoenix, and Los Vegas, according to the campaign. Based on prior reporting by USA TODAY, the first stop will be Tuesday in Philadelphia, but does that mean Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is the chosen one? While the Keystone State is necessary for Harris, the campaign aide downplayed connecting the dots. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro react during a visit to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. More: DNC schedule: Less than three weeks out, here's the latest updates to know Where is Josh Shapiro from? Shapiro was born in Kansas City, MO, and raised in Montgomery County, PA. His mother, Judi, is a teacher, and his father, Steven, is a pediatrician. How old is Josh Shapiro? Shapiro is 51. His birthday is June 20, 1973. More: Vice President Kamala Harris tells Trump to 'say it to my face!' at Atlanta rally Is Josh Shapiro married? Shapiro is married to Lori Shapiro. She worked under the Clinton administration as an analyst in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and was later promoted to liaison to the Presidents Information Technology Advisory Committee. The two have been married since May 25, 1997, and have four children: Reuben, Sophia, Max and Jonah. Where does Josh Shapiro live? Shapiro currently lives in Abington Township in Montgomery County, PA. How long has Josh Shapiro been in politics? Shapiro was elected to Pennsylvanias 153rd district in the House in 2004 and later served as Montgomery County commissioner in 2012. He was endorsed by then-President Barack Obama in 2016 when he became the states Attorney General and won re-election in 2020. In 2022, Shapiro was elected as Pennsylvanias 48th governor, defeating state Senator Doug Mastriano by 12 points and becoming the states third Jewish governor. His campaign focused on criticizing Mastrianos anti-abortion stance and his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot in 2021. Shapiros campaign also raised funds eight times that of Mastrianos. Should he be elected, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would succeed Shapiro, becoming Pennsylvanias first Black governor. Whats the history between Shapiro and Harris? Shapiro has endorsed Harris candidacy along with the other 23 Democratic governors. He and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer held a joint rally in Montgomery County, PA to support the Harris campaign. What are Shapiros policy positions? Shapiro is seen as liberal on social issues such as abortion. However, hes also received praise from conservatives for his support of expanding school choice in the state and removing the requirement of a college of 65,000 state government positions, his first act as a governor. When a section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed, Shapiro pushed for its quick repair, having the job completed in two weeks. Who are Harris other options? In addition to Shapiro, other Democrats Harris is considering as her vice presidential nominee are Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Joey Garrison contributed to the reporting of this story. Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Who is Josh Shapiro? What to know about the governor, VP contender JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Jackson State University (JSU) unveiled a long-range plan to preserve the history of J.R. Lynch Street, while also providing an economic home base for the City of Jackson. The plan aims to pay homage to the historic location and culture value of JSU and the West Jackson community. We have tried to put forth a plan that not only focuses on Jackson State but being a community pillar to help with the revitalization of West Jackson and to tell that authentic history of what occurred here, whats happening here, said Heather Denne, director of Community Engagement at JSU. JSU using surrounding apartments to house students One retired developer and property owner on J.R. Lynch Street said the project could provide a boost to share the rich history of Jackson with the world. When you think about the success of the Two Museums, and you think about the success of the various historic sites out across the state of Mississippi, you have, what I believe, can be just some of the top tourist and historical tour destinations anywhere and second to none in the world, said Milton Chambliss, a property owner on J.R. Lynch Street. The corridor project began with a $155,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. JSU also plans to add J.R. Lynch Street to the historic registry to gain access to additional funding for the project. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. A Tri-Cities woman will spend months in jail after her aggressive dogs fatally attacked a Kennewick business owner. Sara Amilia Madrigal, 34, of Kennewick, was sentenced Thursday on a charge of dog attack resulting in injury or death. Court documents show that her two pit bulls involved in the attack that led to the death Billene Billi Cameron had been declared dangerous and had a history of getting loose. More than a dozen friends and family members were present during the sentencing in Benton County Superior Court, bringing with them Camerons small dog Diego that the pit bulls also attacked. Sara Amilia Madrigal leaves Benton County Superior Court following her initial appearance on Dec. 20, 2023 for charges related to dangerous dogs in front of Judge Norma Rodriguez at the Benton County Justice Center in Kennewick. Madrigal changed her plea to guilty last month. Judge Diana Ruff sentenced her to 10 months with work release, more than double the prosecutions recommendation of four months. The maximum could have been up to 365 days. Ruff said she viewed the case as similar to drunk driving, saying no one leaves the bar wanting to get in a wreck and hurt anyone, but they take that risk. She said Madrigal similarly knew there was a risk and not only kept the dogs, but did not do enough to keep them secured. She had dangerous dogs roaming the neighborhood, she knew they had attacked people and animals before, Ruff said. Instead of moving heaven and earth to get these dogs back safely in her yard, she gave up the search and they attacked someone who, in the law, we call an eggshell (victim), who was at heightened risk of dying. I know you didnt think it would happen, but you absolutely have to have known it could happen again, Ruff said. Ruff said she didnt think it was appropriate to tell the community that if you have dangerous dogs you can let them roam the community and if they kill someone youll only get four months. Madrigal will also be subject to as of yet undetermined amount of restitution and cannot own a dog for the next five years. Ruff said she hopes Camerons family can now find closure. Emotional hearing Madrigals two pit bulls attacked Cameron in her yard when she tried to stop them from hurting her small dog. Cameron later died from medical complications because of the attack, according to court documents. Cameron and Madrigal lived in an unincorporated area of Kennewick just off Canal Drive, often referred to as a county doughnut hole. Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge explained that the law limited the state to a sentence of 365 days or fewer, with no consideration for the severity of the crime or the difference between an attack and a death. He said he tried to find a reasonable recommendation within the sentencing guidelines, and hopes Madrigal will consider what her compassion for the dangerous dogs cost Camerons family. Its four months that Miss Madrigal will have to go to jail and face the cost of her compassion (for her dogs), Grandgeorge said. Camerons husband, Dwayne Woodard said his children lost their mother, her family lost a sister and so many others lost a friend. He lost his best friend, his lover, his partner and much more. If she was here today Im sure she would ask you for some leniency for Miss Madrigal, yet shes not and Im left to figure out why, he said. He asked the judge to consider a sentence of six months with work release. Grandgeorge said no amount of time could bring justice for Camerons family. This is one of those instances where a just sentence may not necessarily be a just outcome, he said. Barbara Cameron told the court that her sister worked hard her entire life and was finally at a point where she could reap the rewards for all of her effort. My sister Billi had a long and exciting life ahead of her before her life was cut short by being mauled by two pit bulls, she said. She worked very hard and she was a great friend ... One thing she wanted most in her life was having grandchildren. Her daughter blessed her with a grandson, her little man she would call him, Barbara Cameron said. Billi was at a point in her life when she could finally relax, travel and be a grandma. If it wasnt for this womans irresponsible choices, she would be doing just that. Hope Woodard said she could not accept that Madrigal just couldnt bring herself to have the dogs put down, despite them previously attacking others. Thats all my mom wanted was a grandchild and this woman gets to still continue to raise her children, and I dont have a mom to call anymore due to the negligence of her actions, she said. Camerons other daughter Jordan Woodard said that the idea that justice can be served is inappropriate, because nothing could right this wrong for their family. My mom was the glue of our family that held everyone together, kept everyone included, was the voice of reason, the shoulder to cry on, she said. Christmases, birthdays, Thanksgivings ... all of those things will be different now. Madrigal addressed the court, telling the family she was sorry and thinks about what happened every day. She said if she could go back and change things, she would in a heartbeat. They were my dogs, I should have known better. If I could change things, I would go back in a hurry, she said. I just want to express how sorry I am. I know you guys will probably never forgive me, but I swear on everything I love Im sorry. This is something I will live with for the rest of my life, I promise I think about it every day, she said. Billene Billi Cameron, 65, after she was attacked by two pitbulls who entered her yard on West Victoria Avenue in an unincorporated Kennewick neighborhood. Dogs declared dangerous Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge wrote in the probable cause statement that the dogs had previously been declared dangerous by Benton County Animal Control officers and that Madrigal was required to file for a permit to keep the dogs after they attacked a man in 2021. The two pit bulls, Mando and Macani, originally belonged to Madrigals ex-boyfriend, but she kept the dogs after he no longer wanted to be responsible for them, according to the documents. In 2021, the dogs rushed and attacked a German Shepherd and bit the owner on the hand when he was trying to get his dog away from them. At that time the dogs were declared dangerous and Madrigal and her ex-boyfriend were informed of their legal responsibilities for keeping them when they went to claim the dogs from animal control. A month later the dogs got loose again, and she had to apply for permits to keep them. She took ownership of the dogs after her ex no longer wanted to be responsible for them after the attack. A year later, in October 2022, the dogs were again identified as potentially dangerous, according to the documents. The court documents did not provide details about that incident or if it was an annual renewal of the permit, only that Madrigal was informed for at least the third time of her responsibilities as the owner of dogs that had been declared potentially dangerous. Fatal attack Billi Cameron was in her back yard on Sept. 20, 2023, when Mando and Macani came into her yard and attacked her small dog, according to the documents. Witnesses told police that the pit bulls were trying to bite the smaller dog on its neck when she tried to stop them. The pit bulls bit Cameron on her legs and calves, and she retreated inside her house, with the dogs following and still attacking her. Law enforcement found and caught the pit bulls when they arrived. When they were talking to witnesses, investigators say Cameron came out of the house seemingly in shock and bleeding profusely from injuries to her legs. She had tried to stop the bleeding, and paramedics applied a tourniquet. Cameron died at the hospital, according to the documents. When officers found Madrigal after the attack she allegedly told them that she had kept the dogs in the backyard in part because she didnt believe it was safe to have them in the house around her children. Officers said she appeared remorseful and told them she had found a hole under the fence earlier that day and had been working to fill it in and cover it so that if she found the dogs, they wouldnt be able to escape again. The dogs were euthanized by Benton County Animal Control after the attack. Mary Galligan at a League of Women Voters of Topeka and Shawnee County voter registration booth Aug. 22, 2022, at the Topeka and Shawnee County library. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Mary Galligan, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters of Topeka and Shawnee County, provides voting information at a voter registration booth Aug. 22, 2022, at the Topeka and Shawnee County library. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA Kansas civic groups are resuming voter registration efforts after a three-year-pause due to a law that made it a felony to represent oneself as an election official. A case filed by civic groups including Loud Light and the League of Women Voters led to a district judge blocking enforcement of the law July 29. The groups argued that the false representation provision put civic organizations at risk because they often provide information and assist with voter registration. They feared such activities could have been construed as representing their members as election officials. The League of Women Voters resumed voter registration efforts in 2022. But Loud Light, a civic group focused on young voters and other civic groups did not resume until the decision last month. We are fired up and ready to register thousands of young Kansans to vote again, said Loud Light president Davis Hammet. For 1,125 days, Kansass democracy suffered irreparable harm under the Legislatures most recent voter registration suppression scheme. If the youth vote didnt matter, the Kansas Legislature wouldnt be working so hard to block young Kansans from registering to vote. According to a study by Tufts University, young voters are the most diverse group in U.S. history. But while young voter turnout has been increasing, the group historically has the lowest voter participation of any age demographic. We do know that if a young person isnt registered to vote early in their adulthood, they are far less likely to vote for the rest of their life, said Loud Light advocacy director Melissa Stiehler. This means that any amount of missed opportunity to get young people civically engaged is very difficult to resolve, and the harm is irreparable. Young people, especially those of college-age, move frequently. Many are confused about how to register to vote, especially when theyre not in their home state. According to a news media release from Loud Light, before the law took effect, Loud Light had registered 10,000 voters in advance of the 2020 election. There was a record number of voters in Kansas that year. Since then, Stiehler said, the groups base of volunteers, supporters and fellows has grown extensively. This law, Senate substitute for House Bill 2183, was part of a national wave of voter suppression bills passed after the 2020 election. The suppression movement was evident in the most recent Kansas legislative session, too, with proposals such ase limiting advanced voting and adding further verification for mail-in ballots. District Judge Teresa Watson issued a temporary injunction that restrains and prohibits enforcing the false representation provision. A final decision will be made at trial, where the judge will look at the evidence. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A judge Thursday cracked down on Serenity Towers apartments on Highland, calling for a sweep of the entire building. Special Master Marcus Ward revealed that Serenity is still struggling to meet compliance standards, prompting the Judge of the Environmental Court to take a firm stance. The judge ordered Serenity to be in compliance by August 8, warning that failure to do so will result in being held in contempt of court. Fines were imposed once again, adding to the growing list of penalties. The main concerns remain, including one that residents say theyve been dealing with for months. Aint no management, resident Grandison Taylor said. We dont really have maintenance here. Its one guy thats a maintenance tech for 300-something apartments. Previous coverage of Serenity Towers For nearly a decade, Freda Jennings has called this place home, and for months, she says she and her neighbors have been forced to take cold showers. No hot water. There are other issues that we just tolerate, but not having hot water is really getting to me right now, Jennings said. Or heating water and taking it to the tub, which is dangerous because were senior citizens. One person fell holding hot water. Leaks from the roof are causing water damage, and temporary plexiglass is filling in for missing glass. Meanwhile, Taylor says the broken front door has become an open invitation for robbers, targeting vulnerable senior citizens. We just had an incident last night, he said. They kicked in her door, took her phone, ripped her place up and shes 70 years old. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters outside the Mesa County courtroom where her criminal trial got underway on July 31, 2024. (Sharon Sullivan for Colorado Newsline) After three postponements, the long-awaited trial of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters is finally underway. Fifteen jurors eight women and seven men, 12 jurors and three alternates were selected Wednesday after two days of vetting by Mesa County District Court Judge Matthew Barrett and attorneys on both sides. In 2022, a Mesa County grand jury charged Peters with three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, three felony counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and one felony count of identity theft. She also faces three misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, elections violations and failure to comply with the Colorado secretary of states office all stemming from her attempt to find irregularities with election equipment in her own elections office. If convicted on all counts, Peters could face up to 20 years in a state prison and be fined millions of dollars. She pleaded not guilty on all counts, saying the charges are politically motivated. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX During a Tuesday review hearing, Peters defense attorney, Dan Hartman of Michigan, asked Barrett to consider sequestering jurors during Peters trial. Hartman mentioned repeatedly that it would be difficult to find unbiased jurors due to the media coverage the case has attracted since the alleged election security breach came to light three years ago. We may need to conceal jurors from the press. Theres the editor talking to the prosecution side, Hartman said, motioning toward where the prosecution team consisting of Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, Deputy Attorney General Janet Drake, and Robert Shapiro, first assistant attorney general for special prosecutions at the attorney generals office, was seated. Although there were four reporters were in the courtroom, no editor was present. A number of uniformed and plainclothes law enforcement agents were inside and outside the courthouse due to threats of violence by election deniers in recent days. Law enforcement agencies are taking security very seriously, said Rubinstein, who declined to give more details. In addition to Hartman, Peters attorneys include Michael Edminister, of Carbondale; John Case, based in Greenwood Village; and Amy Corrigall Jones, of Ohio. Peters fired her last set of attorneys earlier this year, days before her previously scheduled trial in February was to begin. That trial was rescheduled for late July. Jurors selected Jurors were asked if they have participated in Stand For The Constitution, a far-right political group in Grand Junction that supports Peters. They were asked if they were aware of the Tina Peters show, or attended a voting integrity event at a local hotel in April 2020. They were also asked if they had attended a July event at Orchard Mesa Baptist Church featuring election deniers MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Joe Oltmann, a right-wing podcaster. Jurors who expressed distrust of government answered questions such as, We are going to have government witnesses in this case will you have trouble listening to their testimony? Several potential jurors said they were largely unaware of Peters and the case, despite media coverage, including national outlets. On Tuesday, Edminister repeatedly attacked the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, often citing the 700 articles that have been published regarding Peters various legal problems. Edminister went on to tell jurors that newspapers are designed to publish articles to get attention and dont care whether theyre biased or not. Unless (the prosecution) can prove each and every element of the charges, shes not guilty, he told jurors. Assure me you will hold the state to their burden (of proof). Former child actor Ricky Schroder, center, outside the courtroom during the trial of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on July 31, 2024. (Sharon Sullivan for Colorado Newsline) Opening statements After the 15 jurors were seated on Wednesday, attorneys for both the defense and prosecution gave opening statements. The prosecutions Shapiro said the trial is about a case of deceit and fraud, as he laid out how Peters, a Republican, had three duties managing the department of motor vehicles, recorders office, and most important and relevant, the elections office for Mesa County to fairly and accurately manage the electoral process in this county. The prosecution will show how Peters violated her office during a trusted build, also known as a software update, Shapiro said. Evidence will show how the defendant intentionally took the identify of another person, subjecting that person to legal consequences, and conspired with others, he noted. She used the identity to allow an unauthorized person from out-of-state into Mesa Countys secured election area, he said. The case is not about systemic election fraud in the county, or the country, Shapiro said, but rather, Its a simple case of deceit and fraud. He described how Peters participated in a plot to post secure passwords and other information associated with Mesa Countys electoral system on the internet, with the aim of proving Dominion election equipment is somehow corrupt. Two of Peters former staff have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and have agreed to testify against Peters. Shapiro told jurors that Peters became fixated, verging on obsessed, working with conspiracy theorists like Sherronna Bishop and Douglas Frank. Shapiro mentioned how Peters ordered surveillance cameras be turned off to protect the identity of Conan Hayes, the unauthorized person who Shapiro referred to as a cyber mercenary. While not against the law at the time, it had always been Mesa Countys policy to have cameras on 24/7, Shapiro said. In her own opening statements, Jones said she wanted to introduce jurors to the defendant. Tina Peters is 68, shes lived 30 years in (Mesa) county, Jones said. She ran for office at age 62 because she wanted to improve the government system. She said she wanted to fix things in her community. She lost a son, Remington, at age 27. He was in the U.S. military. He was an angel on Earth to her. Constituents came to her and wanted to run an audit of election equipment, Jones said. Regarding the identity theft charge, evidence will show that Tina Peters had permission and even if she didnt she didnt get cash or anything of value, said Jones. After the jury left the room, Judge Barrett admonished Jones for repeatedly mentioning the felony classification of crimes something not typically mentioned to jurors who are instructed to not consider possible punishments, but only the verdict based on evidence presented in court. Prior to the proceedings beginning on Wednesday, approximately 30 Peters supporters had gathered outside the courtroom, hoping to find a seat inside the courtroom. Mesa County sheriffs deputies stood in the hallway and inside the courtroom. At one point, Ricky Schroder, known for his career as a child actor, verbally accosted a Daily Sentinel journalist, before being asked to move on by a sheriff deputy. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Just Stop Oil protesters have been removed from Heathrow airport following another failed protest. Several activists sat or stood by the gates to departures in the London airports Terminal 5, before some of them were physically removed by police. It follows several other damp squib demonstrations at airports this week. On Monday, holidaymakers at Gatwick stepped over activists who had attempted to block security gates, while on Tuesday two Just Stop Oil members reportedly sprayed information boards, windows and the floor in Heathrow Terminal 5s departures area with orange paint. A Heathrow spokesman said: Earlier this morning a protest incident in Terminal 5 was swiftly resolved and all involved were immediately removed from the airport. Our priority will always be to maintain the safety of passengers and colleagues, and well continue to work closely with our partners and the police in taking proportionate action to protect travel plans this summer. Unlawful and irresponsible protest activity is not the way forward and will not be tolerated. The activists were seen being dragged away by officers - Tim Bowles Police remove Just Stop Oil protesters from Heathrow airport - Tom Bowles The Telegraph understands that the protesters did not daub orange paint on anything unlike their protest earlier this week and did not glue themselves to the floor or any other structures. Just Stop Oil, which is calling on the Government to establish a fossil fuel treaty, vowed last week to use all means necessary to disrupt summer holidays. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: At 08:48hrs on Thursday, 1 August, officers at Heathrow Airport became aware of protesters blocking a security lane at Terminal Five. Seven protesters were arrested on suspicion of interfering with key national infrastructure contrary to Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023. They were taken to a west London police station where they remain at this time. The incident was complete at 09:08hrs. Enquiries are ongoing. Just Stop Oil protestors block the departure gates at Heathrow Terminal 5 - Guy Smallman/Getty Images It comes the day after two of Just Stop Oils number were jailed for breaking their bail conditions. Phoebe Plummer, 22, and Jane Touil, 58, were remanded in custody on Wednesday after targeting Heathrow Terminal 5 in a similar protest on Tuesday. Both were out on bail after committing previous offences while carrying out protests for the group, which wants the Government to commit to banning all fossil fuels. Just Stop Oil claimed that two of the seven people arrested on Thursday were septuagenarians. Di Bligh, 77, a former chief executive of Reading Borough Council, and Ruth Cook, 72, from Somerset, were both said by the group to have been arrested by police. I want to tell my grandchildren that I did all I could In a prepared statement seeking to justify obstructing travellers in Heathrow Terminal 5 this morning, Ms Bligh said: Electric cars and windfarms wont do it: governments must act together before we reach more tipping points into chaos than we can prevent. We need our political leaders to act now, by working with other nations to establish a legally binding treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. Ms Cook added, in a statement issued by Just Stop Oil: I am here for my two grandchildren, my two grandnieces who have just come into this world, and for all children what future will they face? I want to be able to look them in the eye and tell them that I did all that I could. The protest group claimed that a total of 17 people had been arrested this morning, including ten people detained on public transport, six blocking travellers and one person filming the protesters. Police appear to have arrested the protest inside the airport terminal within 15-20 minutes of it beginning, with Just Stop Oil saying its protesters began waving placards saying oil kills at around 08.50am. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Vice President and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris is better for business and the economy than some portray, contends Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "You can expect a continued focus in this administration on sustaining the historic economic and job growth we have experienced. This administration has demonstrated that you can be pro-worker, pro-consumer, pro-competition, pro-little guy, and business thrives too," Buttigieg told me in a live interview on Yahoo Finance. Buttigieg was speaking in an official capacity and unable to comment specifically on the presidential election. It's widely believed Buttigieg is being vetted by the Harris campaign to join her on the Democratic ticket as vice president. Added Buttigieg, "It's not like profitability has collapsed as we have been supporting workers, unions, and better wages." Vice President Kamala Harris, flanked by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday, May 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Kent Nishimura via Getty Images) In the meantime, Buttigieg does have a day job one that is keeping him focused on saving travelers a few dollars and lots of headaches. The Biden administration put forth a new rule on Thursday that would ban airlines from charging junk fees to seat families together on a flight. The Department of Transportation would require that airlines seat parents next to their children (age 13 or under) for free when adjacent seating is available at time of booking. Buttigieg says his department has received "hundreds of complaints" on this issue. "It's certainly one of the most troubling in terms of severity," Buttigieg said. Per a DOT release, "Mandating fee-free family seating would lower the cost of flying with young children saving a family of four as much as $200 per roundtrip if seat fees are $25." The rule proposal is just the latest effort by the Biden administration to ensure major airlines aren't sticking it to the passengers. In April, the DOT rolled out fresh rules requiring airlines to automatically give cash refunds to passengers for canceled or significantly delayed flights. The delays covered would be more than three hours for domestic flights and greater than six hours for overseas flights. Buttigieg says he has been "frustrated" by airline execs pushing back on these new rules. These rules came in the wake of Southwest Airlines' (LUV) holiday 2022 meltdown that led to massive delays for passengers. The airline launched a $140 million compensation program for the delays earlier this year in a settlement with the DOT. Three times each week, I field insight-filled conversations with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your preferred streaming service. Or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. In the below Opening Bid episode, Warren Buffett's son Howard G. Buffett chats about his dad's ownership of railroad Burlington Northern and investing lessons learned through the years. Story continues This embedded content is not available in your region. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Investigative Summary: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons office is now finally admitting what a KXAN investigation first revealed nearly two years ago: staffing problems have indeed led to a backlog of crime victims waiting for financial help. But state lawmakers are fed up, as our team learns of a new legislative change in the works to address major discrepancies with the payment system. AUSTIN (KXAN) Alone, walking through the parking lot of a north Austin grocery store, Terry Reager heard her attackers running footsteps just before impact. The next thing I knew I had been body slammed really hard, and I was flying through the air and then landed down on the pavement, Reager told KXAN. The suspect jumped into a waiting white Volvo with Reagers purse and vanished, according to Reager and police records. Reagers physical trauma a jammed wrist and elbow lingered for weeks. The emotional toll lasted much longer. That night outside Central Market, her attacker took more than her purse. He stripped Reager, then 67 years old, of her sense of safety. Within months, Reager developed PTSD, anxiety attacks and a malaise that she said pervaded her life and drastically affected her ability to perform her work as a real estate agent. I just couldnt focus, Reager said. The first summer after it happened, I kind of either stayed in bed curled up in a ball, or just kind of sat there and looked out the window. Almost two years after the incident, Reager learned she was eligible for assistance from Texas Crime Victims Compensation Program. She was hopeful the fund could help her, but the application process started a whole new set of struggles. EXPLORE: KXANs investigations of the Crime Victims Compensation Program The Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton operates the CVC program, which is meant to relieve victims from the financial fallout of violent crimes. The fund provides money for medical bills, lost earnings, therapy, relocation, funerals and more. But for victims like Reager, and many others who have spoken with KXAN, the programs intent has been undermined in recent years by dysfunction and extended wait times. After applying for CVC help in January, Reager faced a frustrating labyrinth of application miscues, the droning of phone calls placed on hold and bureaucratic runaround that took months to navigate and drained hours of her time, she said. KXAN has aired nearly a dozen investigations into the CVC programs chronic understaffing and extended wait times for assistance. In April, the average victim was waiting 230 days for a first payment, nearly an all-time high, according to data obtained by KXAN through a public record request. KXAN also discovered flawed reports submitted by the program to lawmakers that make it appear claims are being paid much faster than reality for victims. Representatives on the House Appropriations Committee, like Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, could soon address that issue. The House Appropriations Committee oversees the CVC programs budget allocation. Leading up to next years legislative session, the Committee has been tasked with examining the programs performance. Howard also had a hand in helping Reager, who called the representatives office for assistance when she ran into roadblocks getting her claim processed. Howards office found Reager experienced significant delays in her application. The problems Reager experienced trying to get help were unacceptable and must be addressed, Howard told KXAN in a statement. Bill expanding crime victim compensation signed into law As a legislator and appropriator, it is deeply concerning and disappointing to know that the Attorney Generals Office has continued to fail to meet the goals of the program, Howard said. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to find solutions ahead of next session. To improve the CVC programs efficiency, Howards office said they will be looking at trimming red tape and bureaucratic obstacles that could slow down the application process. Reager said she was stumped by the hurdles she faced with her claims for chiropractor bills, mental health therapy and lost earnings. She said the CVC worker who processed her claim was helpful, knowledgeable and tried her best, but the program needs help. Regarding her chiropractor bills, she was told they couldnt be reimbursement because she didnt use her insurance. Reager explained her out-of-pocket chiropractor payment is higher if she uses insurance, so paying cash saves money. She struggled to get her lost earnings reimbursed because she is a self-employed real estate agent, and the CVC system is better equipped to handle hourly, or W2, workers claims, Reager said. woman going through bills at table Its a bunch of B.S., Reager said. Just stupid. It shows how inadequate the system is. With the help of Howards office, and after KXAN reached out to the AGs office about this case, her claims appear to be getting resolved, Reager told KXAN recently. Reager, like too many Texans, was forced to wait months to receive any update from the OAG; when she finally heard back, she was met with additional barriers instead of the support she needed, Howards office said. Skewed legislative reports Paxtons office has laid the blame for CVCs past problems largely on staffing shortages, which it said have been largely resolved and normalized, according to legislative reports obtained by KXAN. The issue now will be training the staff on complex CVC rules and addressing the backlogged claims, Paxtons office said in its most recent quarterly performance report to the Legislative Budget Board. The staffing shortages, which were most acute in FY 2023, depressed days to first payment as fewer payments were made overall. The increase in days to first payment is demonstrative of backlogged claims being worked and successfully resolved, Paxtons office said in the report. It is expected that this metric will remain elevated as backlogged claims continue to be processed and resolved. Former AG official: skewed math obscures Texas victim compensation delays Paxtons office also asserts that claims were being awarded in an average of 56 days in the second fiscal quarter of the year, according to the most recent quarterly report. For crime victims like Reager who was in her sixth month of waiting for assistance when she spoke with KXAN that doesnt ring true. What they are putting me through is very traumatic and theres never any closure to it, Reager said. Theres never a feeling that somebody is advocating for me and moving forward with this. In the quarterly reports, Paxtons office fails to mention that the 56-day average includes thousands of sexual assault examination claims that are processed within days and paid directly to health care providers. Victims are not involved in sexual assault examination claim applications, and they do not receive money for them, according to records obtained by KXAN. In the most recent months of data obtained by KXAN, the OAGs office continues to report performance numbers to the state that significantly understate the average number of days crime victims wait for a first CVC payment. Source: Texas Office of Attorney General and Legislative Budget Board (KXAN Interactive/David Barer) It isnt clear why Paxtons office continues to average together sex assault examination claims and victim claims. His office has refused to respond to dozens of calls and emails from KXAN seeking an interview, a comment or to answer questions sent in the past 10 months. KXAN has also printed and dropped questions at the office headquarters, to no avail. Ahead of the legislative session, House lawmakers will convene to discuss the CVC programs funding and performance. They could address flawed performance measurements first uncovered by KXAN. Getting the program running smoothly is no small matter, given the size and complexity of the fund. Last fiscal year the program received more than 25,000 victim applications and paid out over $58 million, which was $17 million short of what was expected and budgeted, according to an annual report. One former CVC division attorney who spoke with KXAN in 2023, described the $17 million shortfall as a measurable failure resulting from the programs sluggish performance. The programs money comes mostly from court revenues collected from offenders, according to program records. Victims are required to use insurance and other forms of collateral before accessing CVC funds. Reager hopes airing her case publicly will push state officials to notice the programs problems and take a stronger hand in fixing them. String of robberies Austin authorities charged Quinton Gaulding, who was 19 years old at the time, with aggravated robbery in Reagers attack. The first-degree felony remains pending, and he is suspected in a string of similar robberies that happened within days of Reagers incident, according to his arrest affidavit. mug shot In a videotaped confession obtained by KXAN, Gaulding admits to multiple purse-snatching robberies in Central Texas, including one at a Target in Austin just one hour after Reager was robbed. In each case, the same Volvo was recorded at the scene. Gaulding told police his girlfriend was driving the car, and his infant daughter was in the backseat when he robbed Reager, according to the confession. Three more robberies in Bastrop followed the Austin incidents, according to an arrest affidavit. Gaulding was arrested in Bastrop and charged with aggravated robbery with a firearm. He told police he and his girlfriend had run out of options, according to the confession video. We werent working, so theres no way for us to have money, you know, Gaulding told police. I was trying to get stuff to support my daughter, you know? Hit by stolen car, victim waits months for state assistance. Hes not alone. In total, he said he stole less than $20. Gaulding didnt respond to our mailed request for comment. He pleaded guilty in the Bastrop case and received a 23-year prison sentence, which he started serving in 2023. He will be eligible for parole in 2033, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. I feel bad we did that s to the ladies, for what? You know? We didnt get s out of it, Gaulding told police in the video. Keith Lauerman, Gauldings attorney in the pending Austin case, told KXAN the sides are talking and trying to resolve the case. For Reager, it would be some consolation if exposing her case to the public prompts state officials to take a harder line on CVC improvements, she said. They can do better. They can do way better, Reager told KXAN. Paxtons office needs to show some compassion and expedite this process. Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. I just want justice for my brother, says the sister of homicide victim Kermit Camel I just want justice for my brother, says the sister of homicide victim Kermit Camel OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) 33-year-old Kermit Camel was killed Monday in Northeast Oklahoma City, following a double homicide, per the Oklahoma City Police Department. Camels sister, Liz, was asleep that night, until she got a horrifying text from her younger sister. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police investigating after two found dead in NE Oklahoma City She said Kermit is dead, and I couldnt breathe at that point, she says. Liz told News 4 she felt numb after reading the text message. Heartbroken by the devastating loss to her family, she says her brother was loved by many, and that he was a good man. He was very helpful in the community, he has a lot of friends, said Liz. He was also so giving and loving, and his smile lights up a room when he comes in. Camel leaves behind two daughters. Kermit Camel was killed in a double homicide shooting Liz described him as the perfect dad. We reached out to Oklahoma City Police Department for any updates on the investigation. Gary Knight from OKCPD says there are currently no updates, and that they are still working to figure out the details. Authorities are asking anyone with any information to call Crime Stoppers. Kermits family has organized a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, click here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. TOPEKA (KSNT)Kevin Cook, the director of communications and parent engagement for K-States division of Academic Success and Student Affairs, joined the 27 News Morning show to discuss back-to-school events. Cook also discussed the tough transition of first-year college students and whats available for them. Watch the full interview above for more information. Stormont Vail Health moves into new headquarters in downtown Topeka For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Kal Penn thinks Vice President Kamala Harris should pick Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to be her running mate, making the case in an opinion piece for Esquire. While Penns best known as an actor, he also worked in White House outreach under President Barack Obama during both of his terms in office, as well as on both of the former presidents campaigns. Penn pointed to how Obama won the presidency in making his argument, writing that it was in part because of his ability to raise policy expectations and expand the electorate. Thats where, in 2024, Pete Buttigieg comes in, Penns piece reads. A son of the Midwest, Buttigieg is a former Rust Belt Mayor, a polyglot and a Navy veteran, and for the past three and a half years, he has served as secretary of transportation. He has the highest name recognition and favorability of anyone on Vice President Harriss shortlist. Buttigieg built much of that name recognition by running for the 2020 Democratic nomination, but hes also received praise for his talent at media appearances, particularly on potentially adversarial outlets like Fox News. There is no other politician in either party who can effortlessly appear on Fox News and Bill Maher and TMZ Live, Penn stated. Buttigiegs regular media interviews and viral congressional testimonies exemplify what an unafraid, sharply skilled leader he is. We shouldnt underestimate the potential of this. Penns editorial lays out his belief in how a Harris/Buttigieg ticket could contrast nicely against their Republican rivals. Buttigieg rejects false us-versus-them narratives. Hes respectful. He disarms with a physical smile and an intellectual shiv, Penn wrote. Imagine him joining a President Harris for that version of America every day. Now imagine the bluster of JD Vance and Donald Trump. The article from Penn concedes that it would be difficult to pass legislation, no matter how well its argued for, without 60 votes in the Senate. At the same time, Penn noted, It would be a miss to choose a VP candidate who might take away a Senate or governors seat from a Democrat alluding to many of the other most-discussed potential picks for Harris running mate, including names like Gov. Josh Shapiro, Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. Mark Kelly. The article doesnt mention, however, the biggest concern that most opponents to the idea of Buttigiegs nomination have seemed to raise: his orientation as an openly gay man. With that said, Penn who has also publicly come out as gay does talk up Buttigiegs normalcy as a family man, writing, As a young husband and father of two with a modest home in northern Michigan, he speaks openly about his own familys struggles and triumphs, which mirror what many Americans deal with day to day. That type of empathy doesnt exist across the aisle. Penn also noted that Buttigieg was the top pick for suburban and rural voters behind Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has publicly said that she doesnt want the job at this point. He used his argumentative powers to win the 2020 Iowa caucuses. Along with a certain gift of gab, Penn argued that Buttigieg has shown talent in fundraising as well, bringing in $100 million in the last presidential cycle. Those funds largely came from first-time donors. Penn also explained why Buttigiegs background as transportation secretary would be an asset coming into the VP role and help him be prepared from the jump in a Harris administration. Just 42 years old only a few years older than Vance Buttigiegs youth could be an advantage, Penn added. Younger Americans cite economic concerns as top of mind, he wrote. Buttigieg is young enough to understand and experienced enough to advise on rapid evolution in things like AI and technology. With China and India investing heavily in these arenas, wouldnt it benefit the American worker to have a vice president who gets it? Penn also argues how Buttigieg could be an asset on policy when it comes to the war in Gaza and more. His essay concludes, Vice President Harris should choose Pete Buttigieg because he raises the bar on the conversations we ought to be having on the direction of our country. I hope she does. Its the winning ticket. You can read the full Esquire article by Kal Penn here. The post Kal Penn Backs Pete Buttigieg for Kamala Harris VP Pick, Praises His Effortless Fox News Appearances appeared first on TheWrap. KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says there has been a recent uptick in attempted car thefts, many of which have targeted Kias. Police say the trend is fueled by social media, where information about a vulnerability in certain Kia models has been shared. In the past month, KDPS says there have been at least 12 attempts to steal Kias. Only two were successful, police say, largely thanks to ignition cylinder protector devices that owners have installed. Kia, Hyundai settle class-action lawsuit after a rash of thefts due to security flaw Kia has been offering these devices to owners, and KDPS says they work but would-be thieves often dont know that the device is in place until they have already broken into the car, causing significant damage. A decal showing that a Kia has been equipped with anti-theft software. (Courtesy Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety) To prevent this damage, Kalamazoo police are recommending that Kia owners try out an anti-theft device that is clearly visible. They also recommend using a decal from a dealership, which shows that the car has been updated. Our primary concern is the safety and security of our community, stated Zach Hamelton, public information officer for KDPS. We are working diligently to address this issue and encourage all Kia owners to take preventive action to protect their vehicles. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. [Source] Vice President Kamala Harris is beginning to entice Indian American voters, who make up a significant portion of the population in some swing states. On Tuesday, the likely Democratic nominee, joined by rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo, led her first major rally in Atlanta, whose suburbs house growing Indian American communities. The South Asian community here is fairly excited because this is really unprecedented, state senate candidate Ashwin Ramaswami told AP News. Indian Americans also compose the largest fraction of North Carolinas Asian American population. Hetali Lodaya, a Durham attorney, told WUNC of Harris, I feel very confident that she's someone who's largely on the same page with me. Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! In our In the Spotlight stories, Herald-Leader journalists bring you continuing coverage of news and events important to our Central Kentucky community. Read more. Story idea? hlcityregion@herald-leader.com. In newly minted presidential candidate Kamala Harris ongoing search for a running mate, we know one thing today: Shell campaign with her vice presidential nominee in Philadelphia Tuesday. And heres what we still dont know: Who will it be? All indications point to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear still being in the mix, though he and his team have remained quiet on the matter. Beshears schedule was noticeably blank Wednesday. Thats significant because its rare that the 46-year-old governor is not out-and-about in the commonwealth at public events. Eric Hyers, Beshears top political consultant, confirmed that Beshears schedule was clear Wednesday. Crystal Staley, the governors official spokesperson, told the Herald-Leader Beshear had no scheduled public events Wednesday and Thursday before the governor will headline an event for the Oklahoma Democratic Party tonight. This is happening on the same week that, according to numerous media outlets, the Harris team is conducting formal interviews. Beshear underwent his own miniature social media news cycle Tuesday. A California political commentator on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, posted that an unidentified source told him Beshear was receiving extra security. The post was viewed around 3 million times. Shortly thereafter, Beshears odds skyrocketed from a relatively distant fourth-place to number one on PredictIt, a New Zealand-based betting market popular among political observers. A couple hours later, he was back down to third-favorite behind Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Late Wednesday night, Shapiro was the clear favorite on the betting site. What are other media sites reporting? If youve missed it, numerous mainstream outlets and digital sites have been buzzing about who Harris might choose: On CNN late Wednesday night, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said he was a huge Andy Beshear fan and favored him as a VP candidate, closely followed by Walz. The Beshear Effect Regardless of the national medias reaction, Kentucky Democratic circles are abuzz. Such was the case Tuesday night, when Gov. Andy Beshear visited two fundraisers for state representative candidates in Louisville Colleen Davis and Kate Farrow, both of whom are running against Republican incumbents in politically purple districts. Democratic strategist Will Carle is involved with both campaigns. Ill tell you, the Beshear Effect is real. The first event, we had 60 RSVPs, so I was like. thatll be great. Then we had 220 people show up. We literally ran out of everything in 40 minutes. For the second event, we had 50 RSVPs and there were 131 people there. A lot of people are really excited. Carle said that down-ballot candidates are particularly hopeful they could benefit from a potential Beshear bump if hes on the Harris ticket. How Kentucky voters may react to one of their own at the top of the ballot is a relatively untested theory. No major party has featured a Kentuckian on the ticket since Alben Barkley won as Harry Trumans vice presidential nominee in 1948. Carle predicted less-engaged Kentucky Democrats would show up to the polls for their governor, and to be a part of something bigger. He also said that volunteer and party operative excitement would likely shoot up. I think its a sense of immense pride. A lot of these folks worked really hard for the governor in 19 and 23. They donated time, talent and treasure. They see themselves in him. They see whats possible, and I think that thats where a lot of the energy is coming from. Over 100 Silicon Valley investors have vowed to support Kamala Harris. The current vice president of the United States is actively campaigning to win over voters and secure the Democratic nomination in the upcoming 2024 presidential race, where she will face off against Donald Trump. She recently had her first rally in Atlanta, GA, and is preparing for a second one in Philadelphia, PA, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. Donald, I do hope youll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage. Because, as the saying goes, if youve got something to say, say it to my face, she said in front of an energized crowd in Atlanta. Support From Interested Voters Harris has received an influx of support since she announced her quest for presidency. As AFROTECH previously reported, Harris raised $200 million in just seven days. Whats more, 66% of the donations were provided by first-time contributors. Harris also raised the most ever in a 24-hour period for either party, Democratic and Republican, earning $81 million, AP News reports. Vice President Harris has been a candidate for less than a week, but shes already coalesced the entire Democratic Party around her campaign and the organic, grassroots enthusiasm is producing results, Michael Tyler, Harris campaign communications director, said, according to CBS News. Support From Silicon Valley Harris support has also hit Californias Silicon Valley. In fact, over 100 venture capitalists and tech executives have pledged to vote for her in November and have already solicited donations for her campaign, The New York Times mentions. We the undersigned are Venture Capital investors, founders and tech leaders who pledge to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, a statement on VCsForKamala.org reads. We spend our days looking for, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs who are building the future. We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship, and pro-technological progress. It continued, We also believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation. We believe that strong, trustworthy institutions are a feature, not a bug, and that our industry and every other industry would collapse without them. That is whats at stake in this election. Everything else, we can solve through constructive dialogue with political leaders and institutions willing to talk to us. In this pivotal moment, we are united in our support for Vice President Kamala Harris. We invite you to join us. Investors involved in the pledge include Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn; Mark Cuban, founder of Mark Cuban Companies and former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Vinod Khosla, founder and partner of Khosla Ventures; Ron Conway, managing partner of SV Angel; Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner of Collab Capital; Barbara Iyayi, founder and managing partner of Unicorn Growth Capital; and Stephen DeBerry, managing partner of BRONZE, among others. There was a lot of women, particularly Black Women VCs, behind organizing this effort. Im proud to serve and organize with them as well our male colleagues. We understand the assignment, Erika Lucas, founder and general partner of VEST Her Ventures, said on LinkedIn. She is also listed on VCsForKamala.org as a volunteer. The investors support for Harris follows a clear divide among some investors and tech executives. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has used the X platform, which he acquired, to promote material that appears to mock Harris. Most recently he shared a fake AI-generated campaign video featuring Harris that labeled her as the ultimate diversity hire. I Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for President because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate, thanks Joe. I was selected because I am the ultimate diversity hire, she appeared to say in the video clip. Im both a woman and a person of color. So, if you criticize anything I say youre both sexist and racist. I may not know the first thing about running the country, but remember thats a good thing if youre a deep state puppet. Must accompanied the video with a post stating, This is amazing. That post has been viewed over 133 million times and has received more than 936,000 likes (at the time of this writing). Musk is also looking to donate millions to support America PAC, which is pro-Trump, CNBC mentions. Sequoia Capitals Shaun Maguire and 8VCs Joe Lonsdale plan to follow suit in the support of Trump. They dont speak for me, said Leslie Feinzaig, a managing director of the venture firm Graham & Walker and a primary organizer of VCsForKamala, referring to Musk and others, according to The New York Times. They dont speak for most of us. And they dont speak for the founders. Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that the American people deserve better than former President Donald Trump after he questioned her ethnicity. Trump dropped to a new low of mudslinging on Wednesday at a convention for Black journalists, accusing Harris of turn[ing] Black for political points. Harris was set to deliver remarks at the Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rhos biennial conference in Houston, Texas, just hours later. We all here remember what those four years were like, and today we were given another reminder, Harris told the crowd. It was the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts, she went on. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. .@KamalaHarris is speaking now at the 60th International Biennial Boule of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. #Decision2024https://t.co/xVCWw4FI4U The Atlanta Voice (@theatlantavoice) August 1, 2024 Trump has long questioned his opponents racial identities, and was a proponent of the baseless birther conspiracy theory that suggested former President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen. Ive known her a long time indirectly, not directly, very much and she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage, Trump said in response to a question from moderator Rachel Scott of ABC News. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Houston. via Associated Press Harris was born in California. She is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. In his interview Wednesday, the former president also attacked Scott and her employer for being nasty and rude after she questioned him on his accusations against Obama and his remarks that immigrants were taking Black jobs. Trump has amped up his criticism of ABC News, which is set to hold another presidential debate on Sept. 10, as he seeks to duck out of his commitment to attend. Earlier this week, he said that while he would probably wind up facing off against Harris on the debate stage, he wasnt sure it would benefit his own bid. Everybody knows who I am, he told Fox News. Harris threw down her own challenge in response, urging the former president to appear. In Houston, the vice president cast her candidacy as a choice between the future and the past, asking those gathered to help get out the vote in the run-up to November. When we organize, mountains move, Harris said. When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history. Related... In celebration of his 100th birthday (On August 2, coincidentally the same day my wife and I went on our first date), I recently found myself channeling my inner James Baldwin. Why would I want to be accepted by this world culture? Baldwin famously asked in 1964. I, like him, disapprove of our politics, inherent racism and misogyny and I remember, Where all human connections are distrusted, the human being is very quickly lost.: And thus, there we are at the nexus of 2024 politics: Two extremes of our major political parties sometimes hate the same people and also hate each other because the extremists dont hate the same people for the same reasons. Human beings are quickly consumed by the hate particularly that which is generated on social media. Some of us are unable to decipher fact from fiction and have taken to shouting at each other behind anonymous handles. Of course, some of us are just, as George Carlin once famously said, either stupid, full of shit or f**king nuts. Sometimes they are all three. That brings us to Donald Trump. In what passes for wisdom in that void between his ears, Trump found himself visiting the National Black Journalists Associations gathering in Chicago Wednesday where he offered his keen insight on the current presidential race. Trump falsely claimed in an interview with three Black women reporters that Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black a few years ago, saying that all of a sudden, she made a turn in her identity. You can imagine how well that went over. Of course, Trump began the interview with the reporters at the NABJ by insulting co-moderator Rachel Scott of ABC News because the event was delayed about 30 minutes for technical reasons. For those of us who covered the Trump presidency for any length of time, that was not only hypocritical but hilarious. We routinely used to bet on just how late Trump or any of his staff would be at any event it hosted. After a while we automatically assumed that when the Trump administration announced a set time for an event we would have at least 45 minutes after that announced time before the event actually occurred. After the NABJ debacle, April Ryan, a dear friend and experienced reporter, tweeted, Trump came into our home a Black Press advocacy convention and insulted us in our face. What is worse he was invited to do this by NABJ leadership. Shame! Then again, maybe it was a stroke of genius to invite him just to watch him make a complete ass of himself on stage. Meanwhile, the GOP vice presidential candidate, JD The Human Shape Shifter Vance, was adhering to his barefoot and pregnant theme for American women on the homestead and his childless cat ladies dig that sounds more like hes insulting Lindsey Graham than anyone else I know. Harris hasnt even picked a running mate yet and there are even Republicans who are telling me, As long as they arent drooling or actively engaged in cannibalism Ill consider voting for that ticket. You almost wonder if the best Harris campaign strategy is to just play videos of Donald Trump and JD Vance making fools of themselves during the next three months. You know its coming. What a difference 10 days makes on the campaign trail. Simply naming Harris as the Democratic candidate for president instead of incumbent President Joe Biden has caused the Republicans to engage in a circular firing squad thats more reminiscent of the Democratic Party than the GOP. Suddenly the MAGA party looks like the gang that couldnt shoot straight. That has prompted a response from Democrats about the MAGA partys weird behavior, to which I personally take exception because Ive enjoyed the moniker of weird for a lifetime. Ive even seen signs that say things like Keep the Bronx Weird or some other locale. Ive always considered it cool to be weird. But, then again, as Mary Trump said on Tuesday, Theres weird and then theres MAGA weird. No one wants to be MAGA weird. It aint cool. We also dont want to get lost laughing or dismissing the weirdness and forget the true danger of what were dealing with either; the destruction of our democracy. Besides, theyre not just weird. MAGA politicians are Creepy Corporate Criminal Politicians. Thats right, just start calling them the CCCP and see how they like that. Id love to see Harris and the Democrats start saying they have to Drain the Swamp! of this slimy pestilence. Trump and his ilk are nothing but bottom-feeding swamp and sewer rats. But, chaos in a blender rules in this country. Rational thought has apparently left the building and probably did so right after Elvis did. As Baldwin reminded us; Love has never been a popular movement. And no one's ever wanted, really, to be free. The world is held together, really it is held together, by the love and the passion of a very few people. The path ahead in the election will illuminate this difference unlike any presidential race in my lifetime. Trump seems comfortable on the same rocky road hes left skid marks on for his lifetime; flying by the seat of his pants engaging those who feel left out and sidelined by promising a reign of terror and never having to vote again. Comedian Hal Sparks, of the Sexy Liberal comedy tour, said on my Just Ask the Question podcast recently that he wont give into Trumps pleas of victimhood, anger and despair and that Trump always screws up. Others have said Trump always manages to step on his manhood, no matter how small it may be, but I leave that for the reader to decide which is more accurate. For me, I am the pragmatist trying to figure out how Harris can convert the Democratic Partys newfound energy and verve into votes in those swing states which may be the deciding factor in the fall election and I naively cling to hope that as Baldwin pointed out, hate isnt the answer. All Im sure of is that its going to take more than calling Trump weird. Harris tells us she knows how. At a Tuesday speaking event in Atlanta at the Georgia State Convocation Center, the vice president said she would bring her experience as a prosecutor, district attorney and attorney general of California to bear in the race. In those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain so hear me when I say, I know Donald Trumps type. She said shed been dealing with people like Trump her whole life. Afterward, the crowd chanted Lock Him Up! I didnt like that when Trump used it and I like it less that some Democrats have begun to use it though Trump, as a convicted felon, certainly deserves to sit in a cell, dressed in orange with nothing more than three hots and a cot for the remainder of his natural life. But Im not sure Harris reaches across the aisle with the same rhetoric Trump used to divide us. His own words have always been best used against him. I questioned him six weeks before the 2020 election and he was unwilling to concede to a peaceful transfer of power unless he won. His own words in that case were used to bring criminal charges against him. Now, in embracing right-wing Christians Trump tells them to get out and vote and theyll never have to vote again. As Maya Angelou told us, when someone tells you who they are, believe them. Trump told us six weeks before the last election and hes telling us 12 weeks before this election who he is: He wont accept defeat and he is willing to erase your right to vote. That might just reach a few undecided voters. The Supreme Court has already sided with him, giving him cover for any action they believe is an official action of the executive. Theyve destroyed Democracy and Trump is ready, willing and able to step in and exploit that for his own purposes, and after he passes, his minions will fight over the best way to screw the rest of us while exerting their power over us. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Meanwhile, those marvelous evangelical Christians supporting Trump admit his weaknesses but claim God can use anybody in his grand plan. On this point, we may agree. The question remains how does God use Trump? Maybe he isnt the second coming, but a test to see if well fall for a fool - or in their words - the antichrist. Just a thought to consider. And while were considering thoughts, if we still can, we should be thinking about how Trump continues to manipulate the issues, particularly immigration. He fought against bipartisan legislation to deal with the problem just so he could run against Joe Biden for being weak on immigration though Biden took executive action that has effectively lowered the number of illegal detainees in the country during the last year. But, now, Trump faces Harris. When it comes to immigration, Harris used her prosecutorial background and tried to flip the script on Trump. I was the attorney general of a border state. In that job I walked underground tunnels on that border she told the Atlanta audience Wednesday. I went after drug cartels, human traffickers I prosecuted them in case after case and I won. Donald Trump on the other hand talked a big game about securing our border but hes not walking the talk. . . hes not walking it like he talks it. Harris noted Trump tanked the bipartisan deal on border funding because he thought it would help him win the election. Which goes to show Donald Trump doesnt care about your security, he only cares about himself. The key for Harris is sticking the landing among those who are still, for who knows what reason, on the fence about a race that shouldnt even be close. When a Republican leader concedes that their running mate choice is weaker than expected and they fear that Harris could Nominate a turnip as Vice President and do better than we did, you know theres a Grateful Dead song in there somewhere; Trouble ahead and trouble behind. So, giving into despair isnt an option, and as Baldwin told us, we must find the things we have in common that bind us all together as we move forward. Otherwise, of course, you can despair. Walk down the street of any city, any afternoon, and look around you. What you've got to remember is what you're looking at is also you. Everyone you're looking at is also you. You could be that person. You could be that monster, you could be that cop. And you have to decide, in yourself, not to be, he said. We will decide, definitively, in November in which path we walk. Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, talks democratic needs. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector) The ACLU of Kansas will provide a statewide voter assistance hotline for the 2024 primary and general elections, staffed by lawyers and on-site poll monitors to help voters with any issues or concerns. The hotline offers assistance in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog. Voters who call 1-866-OUR-VOTE will be connected with an attorney, thanks to a partnership with Kansas City law firm Stinson Leonard Street. Most of the issues we anticipate could be as simple as someone at the wrong polling location because they moved and didnt update their information, said staff attorney Kunyu Ching in a news release. Historically, weve resolved the vast majority of calls quickly. In those cases, voters benefitted from just talking to one of our trained hotline attorneys about the next step they could take to make sure their votes counted. This is the ACLUs sixth year providing the service. Calls are logged, tracked for trends and flagged for follow-up. In August 2022, when the Kansasabortion amendment was on the ballot, the hotline reported that multiple voters were turned away from a polling location in Maize. They were in line before 7 p.m., meaning they were legally allowed to vote. According to Dawn Johanson for KSNT, a line of voters was wrapped around the building. Johanson said an election worker told the voters in line that computers were down and they needed to go to a different polling location. The Mazie voters contacted the election protection hotline, which resulted in the county releasing a statement that night saying election workers did not have the authority to make this decision. Those who were turned away voted provisionally at a different polling location. Ching, leads the hotline, said the ACLU is prepared to address serious issues. The primary Aug. 6 will come just days after a judge cleared the way for civic groups to resume voter registration. Earlier this year, Micah Kubic, executive director for the Kansas ACLU, told Kansas Reflector about multiple bills from theKansas legislative session that could prevent people from voting. He referenced former president Donald Trumps false claims that the election was stolen from him as a reason. Amidst heightened attacks from the Legislature on our right to vote as well as a barrage of politicized rhetoric aimed at undermining faith in our election, the ACLU of Kansas remains determined to ensure that every vote counts and that voters have the assistance they need because citizens actually participating makes our democracy stronger, Kubic said in the news release. Hotline calls will be answered live on the primary and general election days, and during weeks leading up to the elections during business hours. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Starting Thursday, you could get a free drink from a Kansas City brewery if you donate blood through the Community Blood Center. The Community Blood Centers Pint for a Pint campaign starts Aug. 1 at local Kansas City breweries and goes until Sept. 10. All who show up to donate will receive a voucher redeemable for a free or discounted beverage or ice cream treat at a participating venue. Blue Valley seniors fear new parking changes will be really chaotic More than 20 breweries, pubs, and creameries are coming together to support the critical need for blood donations in the summertime by participating in this years Pint for a Pint campaign. You can click here to find a full list of participating breweries. According to CBC, August is a historically challenging time for the blood supply as schools are closed and families go on vacation. Boulevard is excited to support Community Blood Centers 2024 Pint for Pint campaign and offer our sincere gratitude to those willing to donate blood at a critical time, Mary Clara Hutchison, the Marketing & Events Manager for Boulevard Tours & Rec. said. View the latest headlines from Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas at fox4kc.com We appreciate CBCs work in our community and enthusiastically hope you can join the cause. Beer is on Boulevard if you can! Drink vouchers cannot be used on the day of donation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. This article was originally published in The Beacon. Facetime calls. Blaring music. Video games. You name it, it was happening during class at DeLaSalle High School, said Breona Ward, director of college and career progressions. Students cellphone use got in the way of learning at the Kansas City charter school. The difference Ward saw in her English classroom was night and day after a crackdown on cellphones midway through the 2022-23 school year. With students phones locked up, she saw fewer power struggles, disruptions and social media-fueled conflicts. Even students downtime was different, Ward said. Instead of having their heads bowed, eyes fixed on phones, they talked with one another and played board games. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Its beautiful, she said. You see kids who normally arent talking to each other, theyre not in the same friend group, but they are growing bonds, and theyre actually communicating. But 18 months after introducing a stricter cellphone policy, the Kansas City charter school is pondering how to ease up without reverting to the same old problems. Students are advocating to use their phones in some circumstances, such as outside of class. Executive director Sean Stalling wants to encourage their initiative. While I might not agree 100% with every change students have proposed, Stalling said, I will agree 100% that having the policy thats co-created with students and school will be easier to enforce and easier to implement. Related Banning Smartphones at Schools: Research Shows Higher Test Scores, More Exercise How the policy worked DeLaSalle launched its strict approach to cellphone use in early 2023. The school which specializes in working with students who were behind on credits or otherwise struggled at other high schools urgently needed to get more out of classroom time. After all, they were still catching up from the pandemic. Some research shows negative impacts on academic performance, mental health and exercise when students use cellphones in school. Three-quarters of public schools nationally prohibited using cellphones for nonacademic reasons during the 2020-21 school year, but enforcement of those bans is wildly uneven. A 2023 study of about 200 children ages 11 to 17 found 97% of them used cellphones in school. Rather than just putting a cellphone ban in writing, DeLaSalle used magnetically sealed pouches made by Yondr and marketed for schools, events and workplaces. Students can carry the pouches with them, but they only open with a special unlocking station. Related Exclusive: Sales Skyrocket for Phone Pouch Company as In-School Bans Spread At least, thats how it was supposed to work. Students quickly discovered that the pouches are fallible, Principal Erin Wilmore said. A Google search brings up advice on breaching the lock, sometimes without tell-tale damage. Students attempts to skirt the policy have required the school to devote time to enforcement rather than relying on Yondr alone, Wilmore said. As part of the morning routine, students go through bag checks and Wilmore or a vice principal examines every Yondr pouch. When they find a damaged pouch, they toss it. In class, teachers who catch students using phones call administrators. Students who violate the policy can have their phones confiscated during school, sometimes for days or weeks. Other than those consequences, the policy isnt meant to be punitive. We do not want to suspend kids, restrict them and do things to them that could lead to them not being in school, Stalling said. Students also got around the policy by bringing tablets too big to fit in Yondr pouches or Apple watches, Ward said. But in general, those devices have been less disruptive than phones. For example, its easier to see at a glance how a student is using a tablet. Reactions and impact Stalling said the policy left more time for teaching. Students beat the scores of their Kansas City Public Schools neighborhood high school peers, on average, when they took their 2023 state English exams. DeLaSalle records also show they narrowed the gap on math scores. Final scores for 2024 arent available yet. Stalling said its notable because many DeLaSalle students previously struggled in those neighborhood schools. Its not clear how much of the improvement is a result of the cellphone policy. Teachers generally supported launching the cellphone policy, Stalling said, with the exception of one who already had a policy that was working well. Wilmore, the principal, said teachers generally appreciate the clarity and the attempt to reclaim instruction time. But they also say enforcement hailing an administrator when a kid gets busted for using a phone can pose its own distraction. About 95% of parents also support the policy, Stalling said. Some even help enforce it. We have had parents call us to say, Hey, my son just called me from the bathroom, and I know hes not supposed to have his phone, he said. Some parents say they worry about safety and how theyd reach their child during a shooting or some other crisis, Ward said. The school made exceptions for special circumstances such as students using phones to monitor medical conditions, expecting an important phone call from court or going through a family tragedy. Students who go off campus for internships or college classes are generally allowed to keep their phones with them for safety reasons, Ward said. She thinks phones pose their own risks. Social media drama spills over into real life here in the building, she said. Behavioral incidents have (gone) down significantly because they have less access to their phones. Phone restrictions also prevent real-life teasing or conflict from being recorded, going viral and becoming a schoolwide incident, Stalling said. Students, generally, arent so hot on the policy. Related Parent Poll: Its the Economy Not Culture Wars Worrying Them & Cellphones OK Administrators and students are negotiating potential changes, Stalling said. DeLaSalle will still keep phones out of class but could retire Yondr pouches unless a student breaks the rules. Instructional time will still be sacred, Stalling said. But students have lunch, students have passing periods, students have out-of-the-building programs. And so there are times that the students would like to have access to their phone. Ideas about tweaking the policy are worth listening to, Wilmore said. But she also likes what the strict version of the cellphone ban has done. Students now understand, she said, that were not going to let phones take away from the culture of learning. It showed them an extremity. Now, its putting the ball back in their court if we revise the policy. This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas City and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. In a photo distributed by his campaign, Republican Shawn Tiffany is seen filing as a candidate in the 2nd District congressional race Republican congressional candidate Shawn Tiffany threatened to withdraw from a Thursday night television debate among 2nd District candidates if frontrunner Derek Schmidt didn't reverse course and agree to take part in the KTWU event. There are five Republicans and two Democrats on the Aug. 6 primary ballot to selection major party nominees in the contest to replace departing U.S. Rep Jake LaTurner. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA Second District congressional candidate Shawn Tiffany vowed to withdraw from KTWUs televised debate Thursday among Republican candidates if frontrunner Derek Schmidt didnt participate in the event. Tiffany, a feedlot businessman from the Council Grove area, said Wednesday that Schmidts absence would be detrimental to potential voters in the eastern Kansas district because Schmidt wouldnt be available to discuss his political record. Tiffany said Schmidt should be considered a RINO or Republican in name only. Derek Schmidt is now dodging debates because he doesnt want to be held accountable for his RINO voting record, Tiffany said. Derek Schmidt should quit hiding and defend his votes to allow illegal immigrants to collect taxpayer benefits and his efforts to block the enforcement of our immigration laws. Schmidt, a former Kansas attorney general and member of the Kansas Senate from Independence, was recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who is the 2024 GOP nominee for president. Schmidt has held a wide lead in polling ahead of the Aug. 6 primary election. Eric Pahls, a campaign spokesman for Schmidt, said the decision of the Tiffany campaign to generate controversy from a scheduling conflict wouldnt change the fact Schmidt was the only candidate in the race who Trump trusted to work alongside him. By the time this short primary campaign ends, Pahls said, Derek will have appeared on stage with his opponents more than half a dozen times. He will participate in yet another this coming weekend. He has laid out his vision to stand tall for our conservative values, just as he always has. Pahls said the congressional candidacy of Tiffany, a former president of the Kansas Livestock Association, faltered when voters learned the KLA had endorsed a Democratic candidate for attorney general in 2022. The KLA also has been criticized by conservatives for advocating for laws that preserved the immigrant labor base of the meatpacking industry and other agricultural producers in the state. Tiffanys campaign manager, Ben Davis, said Tiffany would step away from the KTWU live debate at 7 p.m. Thursday unless Schmidt agreed to appear. On Thursday, Tiffany told KTWU that he wouldnt show up for the televised debate. This is clearly a two-man race between Shawn and career politician Derek Schmidt, Davis said. Hosting a debate without Schmidt present to defend his RINO voting record would be a disservice to Kansas voters. Tiffany previously confirmed he would take part in the debate along with Republican candidates Jeff Kahrs and Michael Ogle, both of Topeka, and Chad Young of Lawrence. Schmidt had notified KTWU that he wouldnt be able to take part in the debate. In addition to the KTWU broadcast for Republican candidates, the station scheduled a 7 p.m. Friday program with Democratic candidates Nancy Boyda and Matt Kleinmann. The 2nd District seat is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican who decided not to seek reelection. Mike Brown, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, doesnt see his Democratic rivals as human. Dont take my word for it. Take his. On Wednesday when much of America was talking about Donald Trumps racist attacks on Kamala Harris Brown sent out an email from the party, asking recipients to donate to Trumps presidential campaign. Democrat policies have destroyed our beloved America open borders, inflation, chaos, and crime, he wrote. And if that seems hyperbolic, well, thats politics I guess. What he wrote next, though, went beyond the usual hyperbole. It was frankly scary. As the chair of the KSGOP, it is my job to elect Republicans and keep Biden and his leftist pals and operatives out of our great state, Brown wrote. Early next year in my second term, I will begin the hard work as KSGOP Chairman of removing the Democrat infestation at the Kansas Governors Mansion. Democrat infestation. To describe Gov. Laura Kelly the rightful winner of two straight Kansas gubernatorial elections. Goodness. Infestation is not the kind of word you use to describe mere political opponents. Its not even the kind of word you use to describe other people you consider to be actual people. Its the kind of word youd use to describe an outbreak of lice, or cockroaches, or rats. You know. Something to be exterminated. Maybe it would be easy to write Browns comments sent out to Republicans across the state as a one-off, an accidental overstatement, except that he sure seems to be following Trumps example in using such startling language. We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, Trump told a New Hampshire crowd back in November. Vermin. Not people. This isnt the language of democratic politics. Its the language of violent authoritarianism. An unidentified woman kicks an effigy of President Joe Biden at the Johnson County Republican Party's "A Grand Ol' Party" March 8, 2024. Beating up effigy of Joe Biden in Johnson County Kansas Republicans have spent years suggesting that Kelly isnt quite a legitimate governor. She didnt win a majority of the vote in either of her campaigns beating the Republican candidates both times with a little help from third-party candidates who divvied up the electorate. Her presence in the governors office is a tragic collision of timing, Ty Masterson, now the president of the Kansas Senate, said in 2019. Thats merely sore loser talk. Browns infestation talk like the vermin speech is something a bit more threatening. Because weve seen this before. Some of the worst regimes in human history have justified their crimes against despised minorities and ideological groups by defining them as something other than human. When you dehumanize an opponent, you strip them of their constitutional rights to participate securely in a democracy because youre saying theyre not human, Columbia Universitys Timothy Naftali told The Washington Post after Trumps November comments. Thats what dictators do. Indeed. It also seems to be what the more extreme elements of the Kansas GOP do as well. This isnt the first startling incident this year, after all. In March, a gala gathering of the Johnson County GOP featured an effigy of President Joe Biden that attendees were invited to kick, punch and violently assault. It became a national story, more evidence of GOP excess in an era of unending excesses. A lot of Kansas Republican leaders distanced themselves from that incident, saying the effigy was the work of an outside exhibitor who went too far trying to generate enthusiasm among gala attendees. Nothing to see here, right? Browns infestation comments wont be so easy to disavow, though. Hes the leader of the party, communicating on its behalf. But heres the thing: I dont believe that most rank-and-file Kansas Republicans the folks who live in our communities and who might not live and breathe politics every day, but who go to the polls and dutifully cast their votes for GOP candidates see their Democratic neighbors in such crude, contemptuous terms. Disagree? Yes. See them as an infestation? No. So I suspect Browns language is too extreme for the party he leads. I fervently hope so. Its certainly too extreme for Kansas. Joel Mathis is a regular Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle Opinion correspondent. Formerly a writer and editor at Kansas newspapers, he served nine years as a syndicated columnist. After a possible pancreas-kidney transplant fell through earlier this year, Andy Obermueller asked his friend Sarah Murray Tauer to drive him to his hometown of Lincoln. They visited the cemetery where Andy's father and grandparents are buried. He spent a quiet moment with their markers. (Sarah Murray Tauer) My past and present colleague, friend and companion on the long road of type 1 diabetes, Andy Obermueller, died last week. He was 48. Its a punch in the gut for me, and it may be a punch in the gut for Kansas Reflector readers who followed Andys columns in which he detailed his wait for a kidney and pancreas transplant. Obermueller in the Reflector Andy received that transplant, on May 19. With the new pancreas, he was no longer diabetic. With a new kidney, he no longer received dialysis. According to his sister Kate Unruh, he named the new organs Statler and Waldorf, after the wisecracking oldsters from the Muppet Show. Unfortunately, once Andy returned home from the hospital, he developed an infection. While most of us can fight those off, we also arent taking powerful anti-rejection drugs to preserve our new organs. The fight was tough. But Andy wrote on his Facebook page and in messages to me that the worst had passed. He joked about coming to work at Kansas Reflector after we advertised a job opening. After an extended period on dialysis and waiting for the transplants, he was looking toward the future. Most days are good. A few are not. I guess the trick is to keep going, he wrote me via Facebook Messenger on July 2. Ill start looking for some sort of gig in August. That gives me a month to heal. Its been a long road. Twenty days later, on July 22, Andy died in his sleep. He was buried Sunday in Lincoln. Its a painful loss, not only for his friends and family and daughter, but also for Kansas journalism as a whole. We all needed him. Im not going to say Andy wasnt a complicated character. Like fellow gregarious spirit Walt Whitman, he contained multitudes. He stuffed a titanic amount of living into his 48 years working at newspapers, writing financial advice columns and crafting speeches while living in Colorado, New Jersey, Arkansas, West Virginia, Texas and Idaho. Still, he returned to Kansas, and he returned to journalism. I met Andy during my freshman year at the University of Kansas. He served as opinion editor at the University Daily Kansan student newspaper, where I contributed the occasional column and editorial cartoon. Even then he was a memorable presence, wise and curmudgeonly beyond his years. I looked up to him as someone who understood opinion writing and how to execute it with wit and verve. A couple of years later, I wrote a story for my advanced reporting class about challenges facing students who lived with type 1 diabetes. I was one of those students, having been diagnosed at age 8. So was he. Andy had faced challenges in managing the disease, and he spoke frankly and openly with me about his experience. He didnt have to do so, but he knew a good story when he saw one. Fast forward a decade and a half. The two of us reconnected when I returned to Kansas in 2016. We both had stayed in touch with former Daily Kansan general manager Tom Eblen and his wife, Jeannie. Tom died in 2017, and Jeannie followed in 2021. For myself and Andy, the passing of these beloved figures made the relationships we developed during college and the memories of those days seem even more precious. We spoke of the Eblens often. I recruited Andy for the Reflector in 2021, a few months after starting here. Now I was the opinion editor, and he was the contributor a wise and deep and humane one. He wrote about diabetes, the raid of the Marion County Record newspaper, and his own transplant waiting game. I was excited by the possibility of him writing even more for us in the years ahead. Wry yet warm, cynical yet gentle, clear-eyed yet hopeful, his columns sounded like Kansas to me. Kansas boasts a proud tradition of incredible journalism. Im researching an upcoming book about great Kansas opinion writers of the last century, the grand old men and women who shaped the Sunflower State through their words. I always thought Andy was destined to become a grand old man himself. The fact that he wont be here in the years and decades ahead leaves me, and so many others who knew him, bereft. Yet we cannot despair. Our legacies live in the hearts of those we knew and loved. If were lucky enough, as Andy was, to write with power and personality, those words live on, too. Godspeed, my friend. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. ACCRA, Ghana, Aug. 1, 2024 /CNW/ -- On July 31 (local time), a large batch of LiuGong (000528.SZ) equipment was officially delivered to the Ghanaian government to support The District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) as part of the local economic development plan. The Ghanaian government held a grand project launch ceremony at Independence Square in Accra. Approximately 3,000 people attended the event, including Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mr. Li Yaohong, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, officials from various Ghanaian government departments, LiuGong Chairman & CEO Zeng Guang'an, and Senior Vice President Luo Guobing. Address by Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana "Ghana is at a critical stage of rapid development. To achieve economic takeoff, it is essential to first address the key issue of infrastructure construction. The government's procurement of a thousand units of LiuGong equipment has profound significance for improving transportation conditions in our rural areas and enhancing local livelihoods." Address by Zeng Guang'an, Chairman & CEO of LiuGong "LiuGong has been active in Africa since the 1990s through Chinese government aid programs. Today, LiuGong supplies equipment and services to numerous customers and major projects across the continent, with over 30,000 units currently in use. Moreover, LiuGong is committed to public welfare and social sustainability. Last year, we launched the Green Alliance Initiative to support public welfare projects in Africa. This year, our project started in South Africa and is planned to be expanded to other countries, aiming to provide clean water to local residents and lay the foundation for a healthy and sustainable life for African people." LiuGong has provided a thousand units of a full range of construction machinery for DRIP project. These machines will be distributed to 261 counties in Ghana to aid in local economic and social development. In addition, LiuGong has established a call center and spare parts depot in Ghana and set up 16 regional service centers nationwide, offering 24/7 professional services. These service centers aim to respond quickly to customer needs and ensure efficient operation of the equipment. LiuGong also plans to collaborate with local universities to cultivate engineering machinery talent, further advancing localized operations in Africa. Additionally, on the day prior to the event, LiuGong Chairman & CEO Zeng Guang'an, Senior Vice President Luo Guobing, and other senior executives were received by Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The two parties engaged in in-depth discussions regarding LiuGong's business development in Ghana and envisioned promising future collaborations. This meeting further solidified the close cooperative relationship between LiuGong and the Ghanaian government. Story continues In the future, LiuGong will continue to increase investment in the African market, establishing subsidiaries and offices in key countries, deepening relationships with local partners, and building a comprehensive distribution network to contribute more significantly to Africa's modernization process. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/president-of-ghana-marks-successful-liugong-equipment-delivery-302212125.html SOURCE LiuGong Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2024/01/c4163.html A Kansas City pharmacist convicted of diluting prescription drugs has been released to community confinement, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed. Robert Courtney was convicted of diluting patients medications to treat cancer, AIDS and more. Authorities estimated that his scheme could have affected 4,200 patients care. The 71-year-old was sentenced in federal court in December 2002 to a maximum of 30 years, according to court records. Robert Courtney belongs in prison and should have served the remainder of his 30 year sentence. This is a sad day for all of his victims, said attorney Michael Ketchmark, who represented 275 families in wrongful death lawsuits against Courtney. According to an April notification sent to victims and their families, Courtney was to be released June 20 to a halfway house in Springfield. That was delayed to July 31. He was released from the federal prison in Littleton, Colorado, and will remain under home confinement or at a halfway house until May 2, 2026, the BOP said. The agency wouldnt confirm his precise location, citing privacy concerns. Judy Drigans was one of Courtneys many patients who received diluted chemotherapy drugs. She died at age 48 in 2004, leaving behind two children and her husband Jeff Drigans. In a phone interview Thursday, Jeff Drigans said he was disappointed Courtney had been transferred from prison. His grandchildren never got to meet their grandmother, he said. In a previous email, Drigans wrote that Courtneys greed was unforgivable and if I had my way, he would have remained in prison for the full 30 years until 2031. During an investigation that began in mid-2001, Courtney admitted to diluting 72 different medications over nearly a decade. Most were cancer treatment drugs, but others could have been used to treat AIDS, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and other diseases. Courtneys insurance company agreed to pay $35 million to victims, and two pharmaceutical makers paid $71 million in settlements. In 2020, Courtney requested an early release or compassionate release in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those motions provoked backlash from victims as well as elected officials and were ultimately denied. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KCAU) You may have noticed that KCAU 9 Anchor Tim Seaman has been absent from KCAU 9s evening newscast. Thats because he and other Siouxlanders are exploring Alaska through Holiday Travels Alaska & Glacier Bay Cruise. The group took off on Tuesday from the KCAU station. On Wednesday, Tim shared some photos of what the group saw, sharing aerial views of a glacier and the beautiful mountain scenery, where even at the end of July, there are snow caps on the mountains. Tim also reported that the weather was mostly sunny and in the 60s Wednesday, very different from our weather in Siouxland. Thursday, the group took took a tram up to the the Chugach Mountains from Alyeska Resort near Anchorage. The area can get more than 700 inches snow in winter ski season. Well have more on that visit Thursday night in the 10 p.m. newscast. Along the trip, the Siouxland group will also be visiting the Iditarod Trail Headquarters, Denali National Park, pan for gold and glide along the Chena River, and then take a cruise to get close to tidewater glaciers and wildlife in Glacier Bay National Park. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. KANSAS CITY, Mo. August 1 marks the first day that a citywide ban on source of income discrimination takes effect. Members of KC Tenants and voucher holders drafted the ordinance with the KCMO City Council passed in January. According to KC Tenants, the band is the strongest of its kind in the nation. Source of income, or SOI, discrimination is the act of landlords treating their tenants differently based on how they pay their rent. This is focused on poor and working-class neighborhoods and creates the conditions for tenants to rent from landlords of last resort, who know that the tenants are out of options and use that knowledge as leverage over them. Leawood Hereford House closes due to financial troubles caused by recent events The ban that takes effect today, August 1 bans discrimination against tenants based on: Source of income from an occupation, profession or activity. Use of public programs, including but not limited to Housing Choice Vouchers. Credit score, previous evictions and alleged damages older than 12 months, as well as prior convictions or arrests. Essentially, landlords in KCMO are no longer able to exclude someone from consideration based on their income, credit, evictions or convictions. Landlords who are found guilty of these acts will be fined $1000 for each offense. Repeat violators rental permits will be placed on probation by the City. Child disappeared from same apartment where boy died KC Tenants says this victory has been a long time coming, and it represents a major feat in co-governance. I am so proud to be a member of KC Tenants, the citywide tenant union, said Alaysha Jenkins, KC Tenants leader. This ban matters deeply to me and to my daughters. It will change everything for us and for so many like us who have been trapped by limited options. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma Democratic Party is planning to host Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Thursday evening for its Future Fund Banquet. The Future Fund Banquet is a ticketed event dedicated to supporting candidates and celebrating volunteers who work on their campaigns. Beshear, who is on the shortlist of potential running mates in Vice President Kamala Harris pesidential bid, is set to speak at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum for the event. Representative Forrest Bennett (D-OKC) will be the master of ceremonies. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) A measure passed by Kentucky lawmakers to restrict the sale of vaping products has been upheld by a judge who dismissed a lawsuit that claimed the new law was constitutionally flawed. The action by lawmakers amounted to a legitimate state interest and was well within the scope of the General Assemblys police power over the health and safety of Kentucky citizens, Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate said in his ruling Monday. Under the measure, vaping products not granted authorization by the Food and Drug Administration would be kept out of Kentucky stores in what supporters have promoted as an effort to reduce youth vaping. It would have no impact on FDA-authorized products or those that come under the FDAs safe harbor rules, supporters have said. The measure won passage this year in the states Republican supermajority legislature and was signed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. The law takes effect at the start of 2025. Opponents including vape retailers immediately filed the lawsuit challenging the legislation. During the legislative session, lawmakers opposing the measure called it an example of government overreach. Vape retailers warned the restrictions would jeopardize their businesses. The suit claimed the measure was unconstitutionally arbitrary, an argument rejected by the judge. Wingate sided with arguments from the laws defenders, who said the regulation of vaping products is a proper subject for legislative action since it deals with the health and safety of Kentuckians. The sale of nicotine and vapor products are highly regulated in every state, and the Court will not question the specific reasons for the General Assemblys decision to regulate and limit the sale of nicotine and vapor products, the judge said. The regulation of these products directly relates to the health and safety of the Commonwealths citizens, the power of which is vested by the Kentucky Constitution in the General Assembly, he added. Plaintiffs also claimed the measure violated a state constitutional provision limiting legislation to only the subject expressed in its title. They said the title dealt with nicotine-only products while the legislation contained references to products of other substances. In rejecting that argument, the judge said the title more than furnishes a clue to its contents and provides a general idea of the bills contents. Republican state Rep. Rebecca Raymer has said she filed the measure in response to the states vaping epidemic and, in particular, complaints about how rampant vaping has become in schools. In a release Tuesday, Raymer said she was pleased with the ruling. If a product cant get authorized or doesnt fall under the FDAs safe harbor rules, we dont know if the ingredients are safe, where theyre from or what impact they will have on a users health, she said. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Colemans office defended the measure. The ruling reaffirmed that the legislature is empowered to make laws protecting Kentuckians health, Coleman said Tuesday. A group representing Kentucky vape retailers did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Canoeing the Green River is one of Mammoth Cave National Park's many above ground attractions. (National Park Service) Mammoth Cave National Park is famous for whats below the ground, featuring the worlds longest explored cave system with hundreds of miles of passages and a unique ecosystem of fish, insects, worms and crustaceans. But its whats happening in the air above the cave system that has Kentucky environmentalists concerned. Mammoth Cave is one of the countrys haziest national parks, says a national group dedicated to conserving the parks. Environmental groups say a Kentucky plan being drafted for controlling the air pollution that causes haze falls short criticisms state officials largely refute. Haze is tiny, airborne particulate matter that can obscure outdoor visibility. It can be created from natural sources such as wildfires but largely comes from man-made sources, such as emissions from motor vehicles and power plants. This pollution can impact peoples health by aggravating asthma, reducing lung function and leading to heart problems. It can also negatively impact wildlife. Were seeing more of these haze pollutants depositing into the soil and the water and impacting wildlife, because they eat a lot of things that are in the soil and in the water, said Natalie Levine, the senior manager for clean air and climate programs at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), the group that analyzed haze pollution in national parks. According to the NPCA, the large majority of that haze drifting into national parks is man-made. And at Mammoth Cave, more than 70% of pollution contributing to haze is coming from electricity generation specifically coal-fired power plants. Smokestack emissions from coal-fired power plants contain toxic gasses sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which can react with water and other atmospheric gasses to become acid rain that acidifies water and soil and harms the wildlife that rely on them. Excess nitrogen and sulfur from these gasses can be deposited into the soil and water through acid rain or by settling onto surfaces through the air, potentially killing and inhibiting the growth of trees and other plants. We are concerned about our national parks. Were concerned about their biodiversity. Were concerned about hazy skies and giving people the best outdoor experience possible. But were really talking about the health of the communities as well, said Julia Finch, the director of the Sierra Clubs Kentucky chapter. A spokesperson for Kentuckys environmental protection cabinet, however, says its efforts to reduce haze are significantly reducing emissions and that air quality around the national park is better than national standards. John Mura, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet that houses the Division for Air Quality, in a statement said the state is committed to working with federal agencies and other interested parties to ensure the cleanest air quality possible for our citizens by understanding and addressing the emission sources that are contributing to visibility issues at Mammoth Cave National Park. Slow improvements in haze Haze protections for national parks date back to the establishment of the Clean Air Act in the 1960s and the additions and amendments added to it over the decades, In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), empowered through the Clean Air Act, issued new regulations requiring states to develop regional plans to reduce haze in national parks and control the pollution sources contributing to it. Such regional plans, for example, could require coal-fired power plants to install smokestack scrubbers or controls to filter out sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions. The long-term goal of the plans is to return national parks to their original natural visibility by 2064. But there have been a number of delays in getting states to submit these plans, Kentucky included. The EPA required the first version of these plans to be submitted by the end of 2007; Kentucky did, but 37 states did not. Progress reports on how states are meeting goals set in their haze plans are due every five years, and new versions of the regional haze plans are due every 10 years. The EPA set another deadline for states to submit their second version of regional haze plans in July 2021, a deadline that Kentucky and 14 other states did not meet. Kentucky is now trying to submit a new draft haze plan for the EPA to consider by a new deadline of Sept. 29 under the potential threat the EPA could step in and create its own haze plan for Kentucky. State officials say Kentuckys first regional plan has decreased the states sulfur dioxide emissions by 310,047 tons since 2008, and that air quality at the park is better than national standards. Data from the National Park Service (NPS) does show visibility and the impacts of acid rain and ozone at the park have improved in a little over a decade since the states first haze plan was submitted, though acid rain and ozone are still impacting wildlife and human health. Median visibility at the park only reached a fair classification as of 2021 after having poor visibility since 2009, according to NPS data. The amount of sulfur and nitrogen deposited into the parks soil and water every year through acid rain and the air has decreased, though sulfur levels have decreased much more significantly than nitrogen levels. The levels of ozone, a reactive gas largely created from emissions from power plants and cars that can harm human health, have also decreased since 2009. Ozone impacts to vegetation in the park are rated at a good level but remain as only fair for human health, according to the NPS. Environmentalists say more should be done Even with that progress, environmental groups including the Kentucky Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Kentucky Resources Council, say the updated haze plan Kentucky is considering doesnt do nearly enough to reduce air pollution impacting the park through haze and acid rain. These environmental groups say only two coal-fired power plants the Tennessee Valley Authoritys Shawnee Fossil Plant in McCracken County and the Big Rivers Electric Corporations D.B. Wilson Generating Station were analyzed by the state as potential sources of haze pollution in the draft plan when over a dozen more pollution sources including other power plants and industry are also contributing to the haze. Among the two power plants analyzed, these groups say, the state decided to not require any additional emissions controls to reduce nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from the plants. The groups say state officials also only accounted for controlling sulfur dioxide emissions and not nitrogen dioxide emissions, which also can create haze. In the excluded list were five coal plants and nine other industrial facilities, including those with aluminum and metal smelter operations, oil and gas operations, and lime and cement operations, said Audrey Ernstberger, a lobbyist with the Kentucky Resources Council at a public hearing on the draft haze plan last month. Ernstberger said the result, according to KRCs analysis, is that more than 82,000 tons of haze pollution will still be released under the draft plan. In Kentuckys draft plan, state officials write that because the electric utility Big Rivers Electric Corp. had installed a device in November 2022 to control sulfur dioxide at its Wilson coal-fired power plant, a deeper analysis into potential emissions controls wasnt needed. Officials also write that the emission levels of nitrogen dioxide coming from the Wilson and Shawnee plants didnt exceed screening thresholds in the states modeling, so officials did not perform any reasonable progress analyses for nitrogen dioxide emissions. For the Shawnee Fossil Plant, Mura said the state worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority to modify its state air permit to limit sulfur dioxide from the plant to 8,208 tons per year starting in 2028. State officials chose that limit following a deeper four-factor analysis conducted into potential emission controls for the coal-fired plant. When asked by the Lantern why the state chose only the Wilson and Shawnee plants to analyze for haze pollution, Mura said the state used modeling to determine the plants were significantly impacting Mammoth Cave National Park and that limiting SO2 emissions at these facilities would have the greatest impact in improving visibility in the region. If Kentucky meets the September deadline for submitting a haze plan, the EPA could approve the plan as is, ask the state to make revisions or step in and make its own plan. A federal judge last month signed a consent decree directing the EPA to speed up action on haze plans submitted by 32 other states. Hilary Lambert, a former Lexington resident who led a New York-based water protection nonprofit, said at the July public hearing she owns a cabin in Green County less than 50 miles east of Mammoth Cave National Park. She echoed what she wrote in a Louisville Courier-Journal column saying the state needs to do more to curb pollution and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. It's the state's own, the commonwealth's only big national park, and it's a jewel for people to visit, Lambert said at the hearing. Please get up to date and bring a number of businesses into compliance with the law to clean up the air for everybody. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Kentucky Young Democrats, a political activism group for Democrats younger than 40, is calling on Rep. Daniel Grossberg to resign from office immediately amid an investigation into inappropriate behavior by the Democrat from Louisville. Members of Kentucky Young Democrats have made additional accusations of impropriety against the first-term Democrat from Louisville, in recent days, the group said Thursday. On Tuesday night, the Herald-Leader reported Grossberg was the subject of an investigation by the Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the state legislature. Three women shared text messages that often came late at night from Grossberg that they said were creepy or weird and made them feel uneasy. Grossberg often commented on their appearances, telling one she looked beautiful, calling another exotic and, in a separate exchange, he sent a text to two women inviting them to a lesbian-themed movie night. The Herald-Leader reviewed and verified each of the texts. The recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Daniel Grossberg are deeply disturbing, the groups seven-member executive board said in a statement Thursday. Since these allegations were made public in Tuesdays Herald-Leader article, several members of our organization have come to us with their own stories detailing Rep. Grossbergs inappropriate behavior towards them. The organization said they will be internally reviewing the allegations reported to us regarding Rep. Grossbergs behavior toward our members, as well as reviewing our anti-harassment policies to ensure that our organization continues to be a safe place for all our members. Considering the evidence we have already seen, as well as the experiences of multiple board members, we call on Rep. Grossberg to resign from office immediately, they added. Anna Whites, Grossbergs Frankfort-based attorney, said her client does not intend to resign. The calls for resignation appear to be based solely on rumors, Whites said in a statement. Grossberg works tirelessly to benefit his constituents and Kentucky voters and continues to uphold the will of the people. Whites said her client has not been provided with any allegations of sexual misconduct and does not believe such evidence exists. She adding Grossberg will trust the Legislative Ethics Commission to undertake a professional review of the matter promptly and calls upon the Kentucky Democrats to allow that organization to do its work before engaging further in this matter. The Kentucky Young Democrats are the first political organization to call directly for Grossberg to step down. Kentucky Young Democrats President Allison Wiseman told the Herald-Leader the vote among the seven-member executive board to call on Grossberg to resign was nearly unanimous. House Democrats voted to temporarily suspend Grossberg from their caucus Wednesday morning after the Herald-Leader broke news of the investigation late Tuesday. They also requested a formal investigation by the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission. We believe this is the appropriate organization to review the issues that have been raised. Given the sensitive nature of these allegations, we have no further comment at this time, House Democratic leaders wrote in a statement. This breaking story will be updated. Indian house crows thought to have been deliberately introduced to the island of Zanzibar and have since spread up the coast - ROBIN CHITTENDEN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Kenya has pledged to poison a million invasive crows to protect its wildlife. The Indian house crows are accused of killing local species, disfiguring buildings with their droppings, mobbing people and attacking livestock. A poisoning campaign began this week to stop the rapidly growing crow population from spreading inland from the coast towards the capital, Nairobi. Conservationists blame the crows for significantly reducing the number of small indigenous birds, such as weavers and waxbills, by ripping their nests apart while targeting eggs and chicks. The Kenya Wildlife Service said it wants to eliminate one million house crows from the coast by the end of 2024. Bait laced with a specialist slow-acting bird poison called Starlicide will be used, which is highly toxic to crows, starlings and rooks, while less poisonous to other birds and animals. Significantly affecting local birds Wildlife officials in June announced the birds were invasive alien birds that have been a nuisance to the public for decades, significantly affecting local bird populations by driving them from their natural habitats. Thought to have originated from India and other parts of Asia, the birds are believed to have been deliberately introduced to the nearby island of Zanzibar in the 1890s to help tackle a mounting waste problem in what was then a British protectorate. From Zanzibar, they spread up the coast and were first recorded in Mombasa in 1947. As human numbers and rubbish dumps have grown, so has the number of birds. Maureen Awuor, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers chairman, told the BBC: The crows have really become a big bother to guests who visit our hotels to enjoy their meals outside the tropical beaches. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A dog is receiving treatment after firefighters rescued it in the Borel Fire. Officials with the Kern County Fire Department say the dog was rescued near the Breckenridge station when firefighters saw the dog running across the road to get away from the fire. Smoke from Borel Fire causing poor air quality for Bakersfield, Kernville and Ridgecrest residents Fire officials say the dogs paw appeared to be burned. The dog stayed in the fire engine while firefighters continued to fight the fire. The dog, who has been given the name Walker, is being treated at Kern County Animal Services. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage A firefighter has offered to foster the dog when he is off duty. Fire officials say they are hoping to reunite Walker with its owner. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. Khaled Meshaal has been tipped as one of several possible candidates to become Hamass new political leader after the assassination of Ismael Haniyeh. A senior figure of the Palestinian militant group, Meshaal became known around the world in 1997 after Israeli agents injected him with poison in a botched assassination attempt on a street outside his office in Amman, Jordan. The hit, ordered by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, so enraged Jordans then-King Hussein, that he spoke of hanging the would-be killers and scrapping Jordans peace treaty with Israel unless the antidote was handed over. Israel did so and also agreed to free Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, only to assassinate him seven years later in Gaza. For Israelis and Western states, the Iran-backed Hamas, which has directed suicide bombings in Israel and fought frequent wars against it, is a terrorist group bent on Israels destruction. For Palestinian supporters, Meshaal and the rest of the Hamas leadership are fighters for liberation from Israeli occupation, keeping their cause alive when international diplomacy has failed them. Meshaal, 68, became Hamas political leader in exile the year before Israel tried to eliminate him, a post that enabled him to represent the Palestinian Islamist group at meetings with foreign governments around the world, unhindered by tight Israeli travel restrictions that affected other Hamas officials. Hamas sources said Meshaal is expected to be chosen as the paramount leader of the group to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran in the early hours of Wednesday, with Tehran and Hamas vowing retribution against Israel. Khalil al-Hayya, a Qatar-based Hamas official who has headed Hamas negotiators in indirect truce talks with Israel, has also been a possibility for the leadership as he is a favourite of Iran and its allies. Meshaals relations with Iran have been strained due to his past support for the Sunni Muslim-led revolt in 2011 against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Israel has assassinated or tried to kill several Hamas leaders and operatives since the group was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Meshaal has been a central figure at the top of Hamas since the late 1990s, though he has worked mostly from the relative safety of exile as Israel plotted to assassinate other prominent Hamas figures based in the Gaza Strip. After the wheelchair-bound Yassin was killed in a March 2004 airstrike, Israel assassinated his successor Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantissi in Gaza a month later, and Meshaal assumed the overall leadership of Hamas. Like other Hamas leaders, Meshaal has grappled with the critical issue of whether to adopt a more pragmatic approach to Israel in pursuit of Palestinian statehood Hamass 1988 charter calls for Israels destruction or keep fighting. Meshaal rejects the idea of a permanent peace deal with Israel but has said that Hamas, which in the 1990s and 2000s sent suicide bombers into Israel, could accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as a temporary solution in return for a long-term ceasefire. The Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants from Gaza, which killed 1,200 people and led to the kidnapping of over 250, according to Israeli tallies, made the militant groups priorities clear. Palestinian flags hang outside a shop in Berlin after Meshaal calls for an international 'Day of Jihad' a few days after the Oct 7 attack - Adam Berry/Getty Images Israel retaliated with airstrikes and an invasion of Gaza that have killed over 39,000 Palestinians, pursuing a campaign to eradicate Hamas that has reduced much of the densely populated coastal enclave to rubble. Meshaal said the Oct 7 attack returned the Palestinian cause to the centre of the world agenda. He urged Arabs and Muslims to join the battle against Israel and said Palestinians alone would decide who runs Gaza after the current war ends in defiance of Israel and the United States who want to exclude Hamas from post-war governance. Meshaal has lived most of his life outside the Palestinian territories. Born in Silwad near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Meshaal moved as a boy with his family to the Gulf Arab state of Kuwait, a hotbed of pro-Palestinian sentiment. At the age of 15, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood, the Middle Easts oldest Islamist group. The Brotherhood became instrumental in the formation of Hamas in the late 1980s during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. Meshaal became a schoolteacher before turning to lobbying for Hamas from abroad for many years while other leaders of the group have languished for long periods in Israeli jails. He was in charge of international fund-raising in Jordan when he barely escaped assassination. Netanyahu played an accidental but important role in establishing Meshaals militant credentials when he ordered Mossad agents to kill him in 1997 in retaliation for a Jerusalem market bombing that killed 16 people and was blamed on Hamas. The suspected assassins were caught by Jordanian police after Meshaal was injected with poison in the street. Netanyahu, then in his first term as premier, was forced to hand over the antidote for the poison, and the incident turned Meshaal into a hero of the Palestinian resistance. Jordan eventually closed Hamass bureau in Amman and expelled Meshaal to the Gulf state of Qatar. He moved to Syria in 2001. Meshaal ran Hamas from exile in Damascus in 2004 until January 2012 when he left the Syrian capital because of president Assads fierce crackdown on Sunnis involved in an uprising against him. Meshaal now divides his time between Doha and Cairo. His abrupt departure from Syria initially weakened his position within Hamas as ties with Damascus and Tehran, which were vital for the group, gave him power. With those links damaged or broken, rivals based within Gaza, the birthplace of Hamas, began to assert their authority. Meshaal himself told Reuters that his move affected relations with Hamass main paymaster and weapons supplier Iran a country Israel believes poses by far the greatest threat to it because of its ambitious nuclear programme. In December 2012, Meshaal paid his first visit to the Gaza Strip and delivered the main speech at Hamass 25th anniversary rally. He had not visited the Palestinian territories since leaving the West Bank at age 11. While he was abroad, Hamas asserted itself over its secular rival, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has been open to negotiating peace with Israel, by seizing control of Gaza from the PA in a brief 2007 civil war. Friction between Meshaal and the Gaza-based Hamas leadership surfaced over his attempts to promote reconciliation with president Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority. Meshaal then announced that he wanted to step down as leader over such tensions and in 2017 was replaced by his Gaza deputy Haniyeh, who was elected to head the groups political office, also operating overseas. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Container shipping has become so profitable in 2024 that Maersk is raising its full-year earnings guidance for the third time, increasing its expected income by $2 billion. The ocean carrier now expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to be between $9 billion to $11 billion, up from a previous forecast of $7 billion to $9 billion. More from Sourcing Journal That range was originally $1 billion to $6 billion when it was first announced in February, before it was narrowed down to a $4 billion to $6 billion range. Maersk is also expecting double the free cash flow it initially anticipated at least $2 billion, up from the previous $1 billion estimate. Given the multiple guidance raises from both Maersk and future alliance partner Hapag-Lloyd, the second quarter is expected to bring in another windfall on par with the industrys $5.4 billion net profit in the prior quarter. The Danish company didnt just raise its own profit outlook. The container shipping giant said global container market volume growth for 2024 has been revised up to 4 percent to 6 percent, in a positive sign for global trade for the remainder of the year. The previous growth projection was toward the upper end of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. Maersk said the changes were due to the continued supply chain disruption caused by the situation in the Red Sea, which is now expected to continue at least until the end of 2024, coupled with robust container market demand. Like many of its container shipping contemporaries, Maersk has largely avoided sailing the Red Sea due to the ongoing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels near the area. Instead, these ships have been diverted around southern Africas Cape of Good Hope, tacking on 10-to-14 days of extra sailing time for cargo leaving Asia to both Europe and the U.S. East Coast. The Red Sea diversions have resulted in a cutting of capacity out on the oceanparticularly on the Asia-to-Europe trade lanewith Maersk saying second-quarter capacity on that route was reduced by 20 percent. The capacity issue has been exacerbated by port bottlenecks, where congestion had major hubs like Shanghai, Ningbo and Singapore have thrown ships off schedule and manufactured a shortage of empty containers. Schedule reliability has clearly been impacted by the port congestion. In June, global schedule reliability dropped by 1.2 percentage points month over month to 54.4 percent, according to data from Sea-Intelligence. This has kept in line with the trends seen so far in 2024, where global schedule reliability has largely been within 50 percent and 55 percent. On a year-over-year level, schedule reliability was 9.8 percentage points lower. Story continues The average delay for late vessel arrivals has also deteriorated, the maritime trade advisory service said, increasing by 0.04 days month over month to 5.19 days. Compared to last year, the vessels are 0.82 days later than the 4.37-day arrivals. The fallout from the diversions also has been felt in container prices, which seen two major spikes since the end of last yearonce in December and January and then again from the start of May to July 4. However, ocean spot freight rates are finally starting to level out after the second early summer spike. The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) has decreased for the second week in a row as of Thursday, with rates falling 1 percent to $5,736 per 40-foot container. In that two-week span, rates have fallen 3.3 percent from their peak at $5,937. The raise comes as Maersk released preliminary numbers for its second quarter. The company reported an unaudited revenue of $12.8 billion and underlying EBITDA of $2.1 billion. These numbers are both down from the prior years figures of $13 billion in revenue and $2.9 billion in EBITDA. Although Maersk has bolstered its full-year expectations, the company acknowledged the uncertainty of the global supply chain. Trading conditions remain subject to higher-than-normal volatility given the unpredictability of the Red Sea situation and the lack of clarity of supply and demand in Q4, said Maersk. Maersk initially thought the disruption from the Red Sea would only last a few months, but CEO Vincent Clerc said last month that the disruptions were expected to linger into the third quarter at minimum. Most industry stakeholders seem to believe that the Houthi attacks are unlikely to stop this year, forcing container vessels to continue rerouting their ships into 2025. Clerc warned in July that Maersk may not be able to fulfill all demand in the coming months, as any ship that can sail has been redeployed to plug holes throughout the network. A.P. Moller-Maersk will publish its full second quarter interim results on Aug. 7. A Bradenton man is charged with extorting and threatening his former employer after he was fired, the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida announced Wednesday. Prosecutors say Jeffrey John Borho, 38, made threatening phone calls and sent text messages and videos to his former employer and his former employers wife after he was fired from his job. According to court records, Borho was arrested on July 19. In the phone calls and messages, prosecutors say Borho threatened to kill the owner of the company and the owners wife if he didnt give him $10,000, $20,000 and then $100,000. Borho sent videos of himself threatening to harm the owner, saying (expletive) with me again and Ill kill you easily and I dont sue people, I kill people. And I get away with it every (expletive) time. Praise God, youre on my time now, according to court documents. In one instance, detectives say Borho sent a message asking for $10,000 and included his Venmo username, saying On Venmo or die. Around the same time that Borho allegedly threatened his former employer, the Manatee County Sheriffs Office sent deputies to Borhos house on July 4 after receiving reports that he was threatening to kill his neighbors. After arriving, deputies decided to hospitalize Borho under the Baker Act, according to court documents. Borho faces charges of extortion by interstate communication and interstate communication of a threat to injure, according to court documents. Prosecutors said Borho is ordered to be detained until his trial. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. KILLEEN, Texas (FOX 44) UPDATE: The sixth annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive in Killeen brought out 121 residents and 57 first-time donors! The city says the event was held at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center, located at 3601 S W.S. Young Drive, and was a partnership with Carter BloodCare. Carter BloodCare was able to get 106 units of blood from the 121 donors. This amount can save up to 318 lives. According to the city, the Killeen Police and Fire Departments challenge each other each year to see who can get more citizens to come donate blood and vote for their favorite department. For the second year in a row, the Police Department edged out the Fire Department by 73-53 votes. Traditionally, the department with the least number of votes must wash the company vehicles of the department who received the most votes. Details for the car wash will be announced at a later date. Carter BloodCare says Killeens Battle of the Badges Blood Drive is the largest one-day event like this in Central Texas. All blood remains local in Bell County, including the Veterans Administration Clinic. The city says the Police Department has now won in 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024, while the Fire Department received the most votes from citizens in 2021 and 2022. There are no losers in this life-saving battle, as the goal is reviving lives and injecting hope into the Central Texas community. The City of Killeen and Carter BloodCare appreciate the community support and courage to help save lives, and welcome citizens to future blood drives. All departments involved would like to send a big thank you to those who donated! Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. A historic prisoner swap took place on Aug. 1, with Russia and several Western countries exchanging a total of 24 detainees, the largest such move in almost 15 years. Those freed by Russia include activists, journalists, and opposition leaders, most notably the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Russian-born Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza. Those who Russia demanded in return are different, with the list largely consisting of spies, assassins, and cyber-criminals. Read also: Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap? Vadim Krasikov Vadim Krasikov has been imprisoned in Germany since 2021, after being given a life sentence for the 2019 murder of Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili. Khangoshvili was a Georgian citizen of Chechen descent who fought against Russian forces in Chechnya, before he claimed asylum in Germany. The German court that sentenced Krasikov said he had acted under order from the Kremlin and had been issued a fake passport in order to travel to Berlin. There he shot Khangoshvili multiple times from behind with a silenced handgun, and witnesses subsequently saw him throwing a bike, a gun, and a wig into the Spree River. The Kremlin denied the claims. A portrait of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Chechen war veteran shot dead by Vadim Krasikov, who the German government claims was working for the Russian government (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) In February, it was claimed that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed in prison to prevent his exchange for Krasikov. The theory which was not supported by concrete evidence was put forward by Anti-Corruption Foundation Chair Maria Pevchikh, who said the proposal was conveyed to Putin by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Putin was told that swapping Navalny was the only way of ensuring Krasikov's return, and realizing that the West was open to exchanging the hitman, the Kremlin's leader had Navalny killed to instead consider swapping Krasikov for somebody else, according to Pevchikh. Putin said in a Feb. 8 interview with U.S. political commentator Tucker Carlson that the U.S. could ask their allies to exchange Gershkovich for a "patriot" serving a life sentence for "liquidating a bandit." Although he did not mention Krasikov by name during the interview, it is widely understood that this is who he was referring to. On Aug. 1, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that Alexei Navalny was to be part of prisoner exchange before dying in prison on Feb. 16 under suspicious circumstances. The Kremlin previously made an attempt on Navalnys life, poisoning the opposition leader with the Novichok nerve agent in 2020, a fact that suggests the Kremlin was invested in killing the politician. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer were an Argentinian couple happily living in Slovenia with their two children since 2017. He ran a startup IT company, and she ran an online art gallery. Only it was all a front the couple were actually deep-cover Russian spies Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva. They were arrested in 2022 and on July 31, 2024, just one day before the prisoner swap, they pleaded guilty to spying and falsifying documents. The deep-cover passports for Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva They were both sentenced to 19 months in jail and then released on time served, ordered to leave the country, all just in time to be part of the prisoner swap. Since their arrests, the couple's children have continued to attend an international school in Ljubljana and what will happen to them is not currently known. According to several media outlets, the children accompanied their parents to Russia. Mikhail Mikushin Mikhail Mikushin was detained in the Norwegian city of Tromso in October 2022. At the time of his arrest, he went by the name Jose Assis Giammaria, a Brazilian citizen working as a guest lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway. An investigation by The insider and Bellingcat released shortly after his arrest concluded Mikushin was a "poorly disguised GRU (Russia's military intelligence agency) officer."More than a year later in December 2023, Norwegian authorities announced he had finally confessed to his real Russian name. Mikhail Mikushin pictured before his arrest (X) Pavel Rubtsov Pavel Rubtsov was born in Moscow and moved to Spain as a child. He was arrested in Poland near the border with Ukraine just days after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, when he identified himself as Pablo Gonzalez, a Spanish journalist. Polish authorities accused him of spying and using his journalistic credentials as cover. The Voice of America (VoA) reported at the time that he was "identified as an agent of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation (GRU)." "He carried out activities for Russia using his journalistic status. As a result, he was able to move freely around Europe and the world, including zones affected by armed conflicts and areas of political tension," Polish authorities said. They also said that during his time in Poland he "obtained information the use of which by the Russian secret services could have a direct negative impact on the internal and external security and defense of our country" and was heading to Ukraine to "continue his activities." Rubtsov denied the accusations. Read also: Alexei Navalnys life and death as main opponent to Putin regime Roman Seleznev Roman Seleznev was arrested in 2014 and charged with hacking into the databases of U.S. retailers to steal credit card data. He was indicted on the charges in 2011 but was only arrested when he took a vacation to the Maldives in 2014. A search of his laptop revealed he had 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers, the U.S. Justice Department said. It added that he made at least $2 million in profit from selling the data. Roman Seleznev is the son of Valery Seleznev, a longtime member of Russia's parliament. Vladislav Klyushin Vladislav Klyushin was convicted by a U.S. court in February 2023 of making millions of dollars by using hacked information to conduct insider trading. He had been arrested in Switzerland in 2021 before being extradited to the U.S. "The jury saw Mr. Klyushin for exactly what he is a cybercriminal and a cheat," the prosecutor said after he was convicted. Vladislav Klyushin (U.S. Justice Department) Vadim Konoshchenko Vadim Konoshchenko was detained in Estonia several times whilst trying to smuggle U.S. weapons and technology into Russia. After being indicted in December 2022, he was finally extradited to the U.S. in July 2023 on suspicion of smuggling and sanctions violations. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A Kirkland man facing up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud has pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced that 58-year-old Joseph D. Bergevin of Kirkland pleaded guilty to wire fraud after being arrested for forging subcontractor invoices and stealing over $3.5 million from customers. According to the plea agreement, Bergevin was hired as a general contractor for home remodeling projects and falsified hundreds of subcontractor invoices to charge customers for work done, future work or to falsely lock in lower rates for building materials. Bergevin oversaw paying subcontractors for work completed but instead Bergevin used the names, logos, and other identifying information about the subcontractors to create the false invoices, Gorman said. The fraud occurred between 2016 and 2019 and affected 24 different customers. Bergevin will have to pay back over $3.5 million in restitution as part of the agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for November 7. What You Need to Know About the Massive Deli Meat Recall Happening Now What You Need to Know About the Massive Deli Meat Recall Happening Now There is a multi-state deli meat recall happening right now. Boars Head has recalled more than 7 million pounds of product. Two people have died due to the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak and 33 have been hospitalized. Theres been a lot of news around deli meat over the past few days, and it hasnt been positive. On July 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning about a multi-state Listeria monocytogenes outbreak connected to deli meat sliced at deli counters. Two people have died and 33 people have been hospitalized across 13 states due to the outbreak, per the CDC. Now, the outbreak has been linked to several Boars Head products. Boars Head has recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli and poultry items linked to the outbreak, the company announced on Tuesday. Last week, Boars Head recalled more than 207,000 pounds of deli meat, including liverwurst and ham products, over concerns that they may contain Listeria monocytogenes. In a statement on the Boars Head website, the company said that it immediately and voluntarily expanded the recall to include all products made at its facility in Jarratt, Virginia. We have also decided to pause ready-to-eat operations at this facility until further notice, the statement continues. As a company that prioritizes safety and quality, we believe it is the right thing to do. Meet the experts: Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., is an extension specialist for food safety at Michigan State University Extension; Ellen Shumaker, Ph.D., is director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University; Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., is a professor and director of the Center for Food Safety at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences The expanded recall includes 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boars Head and Old Country brand names, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Heres what you need to know about the recall, plus how to stay safe. Which deli meats are recalled? As of right now, it appears that only select deli meats from Boars Head are being recalled. According to the CDC, those include Boars Head Ready-to-Eat Liverwurst Products produced between June 11, 2024 and July 17, 2024, with sell-by dates ranging from July 25, 2024, to August 30, 2024 Other Boars Head deli meat products that are recalled have EST. 12612 inside the USDA mark of inspection, with sell-by dates of August 10 or August 15. Those include: Virginia Ham Old Fashioned Ham Italian Cappy Style Ham Extra Hot Italian Cappy Style Ham Bologna Beef Salami Steakhouse Roasted Bacon Heat & Eat Garlic Bologna Beef Bologna What is Listeria monocytogenes? Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can cause a serious and potentially deadly infection called listeriosis, per the CDC. About 1,600 people get listeriosis each year and an estimated 260 people die from the infection. Listeriosis symptoms Listeriosis can cause a range of symptoms, although pregnant people, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable to severe illness, according to the CDC. Listeriosis can cause symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, fever, flu-like symptoms, headache, stiff neck, and seizures. Listeria typically spreads through contaminated foods, which can include deli meats, pre-made deli salads, and cut melon, among other things, per the CDC. How does listeria get into deli meat? Its not clear how listeria got into the deli meat in this particular case. However, listeria tends to like moist environments, says Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., an extension specialist for food safety at Michigan State University Extension. That can include soil, water, decaying vegetation, and animals, and even food manufacturing facilities, he says. Listeria can persist in places like drains, flooring and walls, air vents, and equipment. It can cross-contaminate equipment and food contact surfaces, which creates a problem in cases of poor sanitation, poor product handling, and poor employee practices, adds Ellen Shumaker, Ph.D., director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University Listeria can easily be spread from one surface to another and that includes the equipment used to process foods, Syers adds. To further complicate things. deli slicers can also cross-contaminate deli meat products because theyre hard to clean, Shumaker says. Keeping meat refrigerated wont help once its contaminated. Listeria can increase its numbers during refrigeration storage, says Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Food Safety at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. If the meat happens to be exposed to higher temperatures when its distributed or when you take it around the grocery store and home in your car, the bacteria can also continue to grow, he says. How to stay safe from Listeria monocytogenes If you have any of the recalled meats at home, FSIS recommends throwing out the impacted products or returning them to the store. FSIS also recommends cleaning out your refrigerator, since Listeria monocytogenes can grow in cold temperatures and spread to other foods. If you fall into the vulnerable population categorywhich, again, includes older adults, those with weakened immune systems, pregnant people, or young childrenthe CDC recommends reheating deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or until steaming hot. Other advice from Shumaker: To reduce risk of Listeria and deli meat, make sure that your refrigerator is set to 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below and follow the use-by date on product packaging. What to do if you suspect you have listeriosis If you develop symptoms of listeriosis, Syers recommends contacting your healthcare provider. Most healthy people recover from an intestinal illness caused by listeria without intensive treatment (although the CDC recommends that they have extra fluids). However, people who have severe or invasive forms of listeriosis are usually treated with antibiotics. This is a developing reported story. All information is accurate as of press time. You Might Also Like What you should know about school cellphone bans in Michigan before school starts While more technology is making its way into the classroom every year, school districts are increasingly asking students to leave one gadget in their lockers: their cellphones. Numerous Michigan school districts from Flint to East Lansing have adopted policies limiting mobile phone use in the classroom and even school hallways in recent years. School administrators say devices are ultimately distracting and can even pose safety risks, with some students eager to record fights and other calamities. "There really is no need for phones or other electronic devices like AirPods and things like that during instructional time," said Ashley Schwarzbek, principal at East Lansing High School, which adopted stricter limits to cellphone use in the 2022-23 school year after concerns about school violence and student behavior. While smartphones have been around for decades now, the recent proliferation of sending students to school with devices has led to reckonings from districts to district in Michigan over what an appropriate policy should look like. In other states such as Florida, lawmakers have even waded into the debate, instituting statewide phone bans in public schools. The arguments for and against devices are complicated and nuanced: Students with cellphones have been able to reach their parents in dire emergencies, such as the Oxford High School shooting. And cellphones can help document when something goes wrong. However, with the entire internet at a teen's fingertips, the devices are massively distracting. Ananya Bhumireddy, 17, an incoming freshman at Purdue University who just graduated from Novi High School, said she understands why school leaders want phones out of students' hands: ecause some kids do misuse them. But in other instances, the devices can be crucial for emergencies, she said. "Kids should use their phones the right way," she said. More: Federal report urges formal apology for Native American boarding schools where 900+ died What does a phone ban entail? How much cellphone use is banned during school time depends on the district. Schwarzbek said East Lansing's policy forbids phones from classrooms or campus common spaces during instructional time students can have their phones out during lunch, she said. An increase in violence and behavioral issues at the school prompted community members to pack school board meetings and share concerns over safety measures, including cellphone use, in school. Since banning phones and taking other measures, the principal said the climate at schools has improved. "We saw a really positive change in our overall school culture last year, and it's hard to tell, because we implemented several other initiatives last year around positive behavior support and other interventions," Shwarzbek said. "But teachers certainly commented on the increase that they felt in instructional time by not having to constantly redirect students on phones." Liz Kolb, a professor at University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education, said before the pandemic, cellphones in some settings were thought to help bridge the gap between students who could afford access to technology and students who couldn't. But with federal pandemic aid, more schools began to adopt personal device policies, because by then, most schools could afford to supply each student with their own laptop or Chromebook. More: Report: How kids are taught to read in Michigan varies widely "Federal funding allowed almost every school to be able to afford a laptop per child or Chromebook per child," she said. "This idea of cellphones being a way to mitigate the gap wasn't as needed or important anymore, and bring your own device policies weren't as needed anymore. And so that's where we're starting to see schools now really push back against the student's cellphone." Here are the policies for some of the biggest districts in the state: Detroit Public Schools Community District : Detroit's official adopted policy requires students to keep smartphones and other personal devices out of reach during instructional time. Utica Community Schools : Students can carry phones and other personal devices during the school day, but they can only take them out in the classroom if a teacher gives them permission to use for educational purposes. Dearborn City School District : Dearborn's policy depends on the school level. Elementary students can have phones with parent permission, while middle and high school students can have phones, but they should remain off during school hours. However, individual high schools are permitted to institute their own policies allowing phones during lunch or other times. Plymouth-Canton Community Schools: Elementary and middle school students can have a device at school if it "remains off and concealed" throughout the school day. High school students can have a device, but they can only use it before and after school, as well as during lunch periods. Statewide policies adopted in other parts of U.S. Florida and Ohio have adopted limits to cellphone use by students in schools, while a handful of lawmakers in other states have introduced bans. Florida's law, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023, prohibits students from using wireless communication devices during class time, though students can still bring devices to school. Such a proposal hasn't been introduced this year in Michigan. However, in 2022, a Michigan lawmaker proposed a law that would similarly ban devices during school hours, according to Chalkbeat Detroit. The bill wasn't considered in a committee and died. It's unclear whether a similar proposal would make it in Michigan, where many schools and families prize local control of districts, which means it's up to individual public school districts to set many important policies and choose curricula. Kolb said because school communities are vastly different, she believes it's better that the state stays away from adopting a one-size-fits-all policy. "If there's one thing I know about students and learning in schools is that each school is different, and the demographics, the culture, the community, all play a role in how important or less Important cellphones might be for learning, for safety," she said. "I think instead of the government making a decision about cellphones, it should be each school district ... to make a decision that makes sense for their community and their teachers and their students." Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: School cellphone bans in Michigan: What you should know PITTSBURGH, PA (WJTV)- Former Jackson Prep shortstop Konnor Griffin has signed his professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Griffin received a $6,532,025 bonus. The 9th overall pick in the MLB Draft was the National Gatorade player of the Year this past season. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. FILE - Passengers approach a Korean Air counter at Gimpo airport in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 25, 2012. Cups of Shin Ramyun instant noodles, which have become a fan favorite among Korean Air travelers over the years, will no longer be available for Economy class passengers starting August 15, 2024, a spokesperson for the Seoul-based airline confirmed. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) NEW YORK (AP) Turbulence is knocking a beloved instant-noodle offering off Korean Air's economy menu. Cups of Shin Ramyun instant noodles, a favorite among Korean Air travelers over the years, will no longer be available for economy-class passengers starting Aug. 15, a spokesperson for the Seoul-based airline said. This decision is part of proactive safety measures in response to increased turbulence, aimed at preventing burn accidents, Korean Air said. The instant noodles are currently part of Korean Air's in-flight snack service, which is a self-serve bar beyond meals available for economy passengers on long-haul trips. In this week's announcement, the carrier added that it had renewed economy's snack options to instead include offerings like sandwiches, corn dogs and hot pockets. But business- and first-class passengers will still get their noodles. Korean Air told the BBC that the noodles are brought individually to business- and first-class travelers, reducing spill risks. Concern about the dangers of serving hot food and liquids on airplanes isn't new. Over the years, several carriers have faced lawsuits from customers who say they suffered serious burns after having hot coffee, for example, spilled on them during a flight. And, while legal precedent may vary around the world, the European Unions highest court ruled in 2019 that an airline can be held liable if a passenger is injured in this way, even if turbulence or other flight-related factors didnt cause the spill. But turbulence, of course, still adds to risk. Flying through unstable air can make balancing something like soup or a hot beverage in-flight all the more precarious. Numerous turbulence-related injuries have been reported over the years, but most incidents are minor and airlines have made steady improvements in reducing accident rates. Those include suspending cabin service when needed or taking extra caution when distributing certain refreshments. Still, rough air might be getting harder and harder to avoid. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise, pointing to the potential impacts climate change may have on flying conditions. Kremlin comments on idea of Russia's participation in second Peace Summit and possibility of negotiations Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Vladimir Putin, ruler of Russia, has claimed that Russia is "open" to negotiations regarding the end of the war in Ukraine but does not trust the Ukrainian government, and so far Russia is not planning to participate in the second Peace Summit. Source: Russian Kremlin-aligned media outlets RIA Novosti, TASS Details: Peskov said that Putin has allegedly "repeatedly declared" that Russia is open for negotiations concerning ending the war in Ukraine. Peskov also expressed readiness to "talk" to the Ukrainian authorities, but the Kremlin believes that they "should not be trusted". Peskov complained that "Russia sees indistinct discussions about the possibility of negotiations that are not followed by specifics". Commenting on the idea of Russias participation in the second Peace Summit, Peskov stated that "no summit upon Russias participation is being prepared so far". Background: Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, stated that most countries of the world wanted Russia to participate in the Second Peace Summit, so "Ukraine cannot be against this initiative". Support UP or become our patron! Kremlin reacts to arrival of F-16s to Ukraine, threatens to strike them down Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, said the Russians "will shoot down Western F-16 fighters delivered to Ukraine." Source: Radio Liberty Quote: "Their number will gradually decrease, they will be struck down... But, of course, these deliveries will not have any significant impact on the development of events at the front." Details: According to Peskov, these fighter jets "will not become a magic pill" for Ukraine. Background: On 31 July, Bloomberg sources reported that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets had arrived in Ukraine. The White House refused to confirm the delivery of the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from partners. Support UP or become our patron! (Bloomberg) -- Roblox Corp. shares slid Thursday morning after the operator of a popular video-game platform for kids said Chief Financial Officer Michael Guthrie is stepping down to pursue personal interests. Most Read from Bloomberg The departure of Guthrie, who has been at Roblox since 2018 and helped shepherd the company through its 2021 stock market listing, overshadowed an otherwise positive earnings report. The shares were down 4% to $39.87 at 10:25 a.m. in New York. Bookings, a measure of sales, will be $1 billion to $1.03 billion in the third quarter, the company said Thursday in a statement. That compares with the $935.8 million average of analysts estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the second quarter, bookings rose 22% from a year earlier to $955.2 million, also beating analysts expectations. The company boosted its forecast for full-year bookings to as much as $4.23 billion. On May 9, Roblox shares tumbled 22%, the most in more than two years, after managements forecast for second-quarter bookings missed Wall Streets estimates. Across the industry, video-game businesses have been grappling with a drop in player engagement after a record surge during the pandemic. To address the unseasonable growth rate declines that began in the first quarter, Roblox said Thursday it has made improvements to its artificial intelligence-driven discovery algorithm the positioning of various content on its homepage, and created dynamic price floors in the marketplace, among other changes. As demonstrated by our results today, the positive impacts of these ongoing efforts continued through the first month of the third quarter, the company said in a letter to shareholders. Guthrie will stay in his role as Roblox searches for a new CFO, the company said. Roblox is investing more in advertising, which represents a small but growing part of its business. The company has penned partnerships with brands like PacSun for in-game billboards, and in May announced video ads with brands like Elf Beauty Inc., Walmart Inc., and Warner Bros. In the second quarter, Roblox said 79.5 million people logged in every day to play the San Mateo, California-based companys user-made games. That compares with analysts estimates of 77.1 million. Growth was particularly strong with users 13 and older, the company said. Story continues As a platform thats particularly popular with minors, Roblox has struggled to keep predators off its site. Bloomberg reported earlier this month on the sites pedophile problem. Since 2018, US police have arrested at least two dozen people accused of abusing or abducting children theyd met or groomed through the platform. Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said safety is foundational to the platform and rejected the idea that Roblox has a systemic child endangerment problem. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Speaking in Bowling Green against Kentucky's abortion laws, Dr. Janet Wygal said: No physician should be forced to wait until someone becomes sick enough to intervene with basic necessary health care because the government says so. (Getty Images) Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund members, who in June announced a pro-abortion access messaging campaign, gathered at the Warren County Courthouse in Bowling Green Thursday to say their campaign has reached 1.8 million people through digital ads. Ona Marshall, who founded KRFF and co-owned one of Kentuckys last two abortion clinics, also criticized Kentuckys lack of avenues for citizens to put abortion access on the ballot. We could follow the lead of other states that are moving to protect reproductive rights, she said. These are states that have citizen-led ballot initiatives to protect abortion access in their state constitutions. But that choice isnt possible in Kentucky. Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Florida and Maryland will have abortion-related questions on the ballot this November, States Newsroom has reported. Others are working to qualify and follow suit, including Arizona, Montana, Missouri and Arkansas. Kentucky is one of 24 states that do not allow citizen-led ballot initiatives. Thursdays event came two years after a judge reinstated Kentuckys abortion ban after a brief injunction following the fall of Roe V. Wade and subsequent trigger law. Kentucky is in a health care crisis, and our choices to reverse this dire situation are being limited by lawmakers, Marshall said. Our freedom in Kentucky is not being protected, our freedom is being denied. Our lawmakers can repeal the abortion bans and restore our freedom. Marshall co-owned Louisvilles EMW Surgical Center, which provided abortions Louisvilles but closed when the abortion ban took effect.. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion, in 2022, a trigger law went into effect in Kentucky that banned abortions. Another law bans abortions after six weeks. Doctors have previously said many people dont know theyre pregnant at the six-week mark. abortion Later that year, Kentucky voters rejected an anti-abortion amendment that would have stated there is no right to an abortion in Kentuckys Constitution. Only the legislature has the power to put constitutional amendments on the ballot in Kentucky. Kentucky does not have abortion exceptions for rape or incest, though both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have filed unsuccessful bills to change that in recent years. Kentucky has an exception in cases where the life of the pregnant person is at risk. Dr. Janet Wygal, an OB-GYN who spoke alongside Marshall Thursday, said thats not enough. No physician should be forced to wait until someone becomes sick enough to intervene with basic necessary health care because the government says so, said Wygal. These laws create an environment of fear and uncertainty, not only for doctors and their patients seeking abortion care, but also for those needing the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including IVF (in vitro fertilization), contraception and cancer screenings. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The toes of a baby peek out of a blanket at a hospital in McAllen, Texas. Native American babies have high rates of sudden unexpected infant deaths, and tribal members and health experts say a patchwork system of collecting information hinders strategies for preventing more deaths. Eric Gay/The Associated Press When Jessica Whitehawk helped start a womens health support center over a decade ago, her team worked out of a tiny room in the back of a nonprofit office on the Yakama Nation Reservation in Washington state. Pregnant women traveled to that room from the farthest reaches of the 1.3 million-acre reservation because they had nowhere else to go for health care or prenatal advice, Whitehawk said. Many tribal communities have a similar lack of resources, which contributes to American Indian and Alaska Native infants being twice as likely as non-Hispanic white babies to die before their first birthday. A recent study suggests another reason for the high infant mortality rate among Native babies: the way that law enforcement authorities investigate possible cases of sudden unexpected infant deaths, known as SUIDs, in tribal communities. Researchers found that compared with other racial groups, American Indian and Alaska Native SUIDs were most likely to result in police investigations, which were often incomplete, as opposed to the more thorough investigations conducted by medical examiners or coroners forensic staff. As a result, experts say, less is known about those cases, and so less can be done to help prevent future infant deaths in tribal communities that might have scant access to prenatal care or whose cultural practices call for sensitivity. Medical examiners are pathologist physicians who are trained to explore all causes of death, while law enforcement agencies are trained to explore criminal circumstances. Rural Native communities often dont have medical examiners, and they frequently have strained relationships with police. Pathologist Dr. Nicole Jackson, the former associate medical examiner for King County, Washington, said that during her training in New Mexico, she saw many tribal infant deaths. Police, often tribal law enforcement agencies, were frequently the ones leading those investigations, she said. The medical, legal death investigation system in America is just so understaffed and underfunded, said Jackson, now an assistant professor at the University of Washington and director of Autopsy and After Death Services at the UW Medical Center. If it was better staffed and better funded, we would not have to rely on law enforcement in certain regions conducting these delicate investigations, she said. The authors of the recent SUIDs study looked at more than 3,800 cases between 2015 and 2018. They categorized investigations as incomplete if there was no autopsy or no investigation of the scene, or if details were missing on where and how the body was found. That lack of data can hamper prevention efforts. In many of the incomplete cases, for example, investigators didnt ask the caregivers to use baby dolls to show the position in which they found the deceased infant even though that exercise is recommended by experts including the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of Medical Examiners. These doll reenactments help investigators determine whether unsafe conditions or sleep practices might have led to suffocation. Our public health data system collects the lowest quality information on the groups that have the worst health outcomes, when those are the groups we should be collecting the most information about. Naomi Harada Thyden, University of Minnesota public health research scientist Sometimes, for example, babies could be sleeping in poor housing situations. Abigail Echo-Hawk, executive vice president at the Seattle Indian Health Board and director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, recalled one babys death on a high-poverty reservation with a shortage of housing. The babys family members all slept on the floor in a single room. She added that because the reenactments can be so traumatizing, its critical for investigators to be culturally sensitive. Additionally, untrained investigators may misinterpret a familys culture: For example, some tribes refrain from speaking the name of the baby for a year after the death. Our public health data system collects the lowest quality information on the groups that have the worst health outcomes, when those are the groups we should be collecting the most information about, said Naomi Harada Thyden, a public health research scientist at the University of Minnesota and the lead author of the study, which was published this spring in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice. Whitehawk, who is a member of the Winnebago and Santee Tribes of Nebraska, said those disparities led her and co-founders to launch the Ttawaxt Birth Justice Center 12 years ago. The center now operates a clinic that offers reproductive health care, lactation education and support groups that center tribal traditions. The team plans to eventually launch a birthing facility. Whitehawk tied the high infant mortality rates to structural racism and a lack of investment in tribal communities. Two hundred years of systemic racism and systemic violence against women and children dont we think that might have an impact on why [our] infants are dying all across the nation? Strained relationships Janelle Palacios is an attending nurse-midwife and an associate professor at Montana State University who studies parenthood in tribal communities. As a mother herself, she saw firsthand how incomplete data collection can skew public health statistics. Palacios is Salish and Kootenai, but when her last two children were born in California, she had to insist that Native American be added to their birth certificates, as their race had only been recorded as Hispanic. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Palacios said medical examiners should lead SUIDs investigations, because the relationships between tribal communities and local law enforcement agencies often are strained. As a result, many Native families are reluctant to share information with police, she said. Tribal communities have a long memory, Palacios said, referring to the history of the U.S. government removing Native children from homes and placing them in boarding schools, often with deadly outcomes, along with Native childrens current disproportionate representation in foster care. We have this tension over land and resources, tension over people, tension over the children, Palacios said. Dr. Reade Quinton, a Minnesota medical examiner and vice president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, likewise said that many of these communities are distrustful of law enforcement, and understandably so. Quinton said Native parents might wonder, when investigators ask routine questions about a cause of death, Are you really trying to answer that question, or are you trying to blame me for something? Cultural competence In Wyomings Fremont County, coroner Erin Ivie has handled death investigations at the neighboring Wind River Reservation for two decades. Ivie said her staff members, who are not Indigenous, have taken training courses for cultural sensitivity. Her office also returns to a family months later and asks how they felt about the interactions to make sure the questioning is done in an appropriate manner. She added that her office works in tandem with law enforcement agencies on investigations. We treat every case as a homicide until we can rule it otherwise, Ivie said. Were not leaving any question or stone unturned, and consulting with both our forensic pathologist and the childs primary care provider. That approach, of treating each case as a homicide from the start, can affect how the investigation is conducted, said Jackson, the University of Washington assistant professor. We never want to miss a homicide, she said. But a more holistic approach, with social workers and trained medical examiner staff, can better connect with families during that very delicate time, because as we know, most of these arent homicides. Jackson said her job of studying unexpected deaths is ultimately to serve the living. A life is lost, but hopefully, collectively, we can study and learn some things, feed public health systems to improve lives, she said. At Ttawaxt, breaking down barriers to help parents and babies is a core mission. In interviews with new mothers and families, Whitehawks team found that families were less likely to lose their babies if there are elders living in the household. Infant health, she said, is a marker of the health of a community. The advocacy, the education, the quality care, the caring around mothers and children, it changes the narrative of the whole entire community, Whitehawk said. We center building community around birth the birth of a child or bringing new life into the world. Editors note: This story has been updated to more accurately describe Janelle Palacios Native American heritage. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A housekeeper at a Las Vegas Strip resort allegedly stole large amounts of money and personal items from hotel rooms officers later arrested her wearing a guests bracelet, police said in documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained. Maria Menendez Betancourt faces theft and burglary charges for several incidents at the Palazzo Tower at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, police said. In early June, a guest at the resort reported that her room was burglarized and more than $8,000 was missing, documents said. Investigators with the hotel identified Menendez Betancourt as a suspect in that burglary. A review of the rooms lock revealed Menendez Betancourt entered the room while the guest was gone, police said. Police added on that day, Menendez Betancourt was not assigned to that floor and had no reason to be there. Later that month, hotel security called police saying they had detained Menendez Betancourt, believing she stole more than $110,000 from a guest, documents said. In that case, Menendez Betancourt did not show up for work but was recorded on video the same day entering the property, documents said. Once inside, Menendez Betancourt activated a key fob allowing her access to guest rooms. In less than an hour and a half, security said surveillance captured Menendez Betancourt entering multiple rooms on multiple floors without any cart of cleaning products, documents said. A hotel guest later reported $110,000 in cash and checks disappeared while he was away from his room, documents said. Menendez Betancourt discovered these items and concealed them in white bath towels [she] found in the room, documents said. The video then shows Menendez Betancourt leaving the room and the property. Police took Menendez Betancourt into custody on June 18. They noted she was wearing a gold bracelet reportedly stolen in an earlier incident. Police rearrested Menendez Betancourt on new charges on July 12, documents said. Menendez Betancourt had three active cases in Las Vegas Justice Court as of Wednesday. She posted bond and a judge ordered her to stay away from the Strip. A representative from the Venetian did not return a request for comment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Clinton, S.C. (WSPA) Laurens District 56 is looking to start off their second year on a modified schedule beginning a week earlier in the Summer and receiving a week off in October. Organizers want to highlight their fully staffed transportation crew transporting students to and from school on nearly 30 busses. Principal Johna Finley of 4K said their child development center is helping 4k students do better starting school and get a feel for what the full day looks and feels like. The schools here are working to combat absenteeism dropping several percentage points last year by calling parents and caretakers and educating them on the importance of being on time and at school daily. Elementary 5K parents are encouraged to walk children in on the first day. You can look for photos and pictures of your children on the first day, which organizers said encourages transparency. Organizers said the District got a Safe School grant redoing every elementary school entrance to make them safer. Be advised you may be entering the elementary school through construction. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. The Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) PORTLAND, Ore. Before Bailey McQueeny-Rose attended law school at the University of Oregon, she worked in reproductive health care, first as a medical assistant and then as a trainer, teaching others to do the same job. The work opened her eyes to how access to health care differed based on the laws in the six states where she oversaw training, and she began to consider becoming a civil rights lawyer. Shed planned to take the bar exam after law school, but in late 2023, Oregon began offering graduates an alternative pathway to practicing law. Instead of sitting for the multiday bar exam, which most states offer twice a year, new graduates can be admitted to practice in Oregon through on-the-job training. The graduates are required to work 675 hours under the supervision of a licensed attorney as well as submit a work portfolio for approval to Oregons Board of Bar Examiners. And just like anyone who takes the traditional bar exam, those approved under whats known as a Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination, or SPPE, are required to pass an ethics test. The bar exam is not going to teach me how to be a civil rights lawyer, McQueeny-Rose said. But the SPPE pathway, working with civil rights employers, learning what the day-to-day duties and what the day-to-day job looks like, its a hands-on way. Thats whats going to teach me how to be a civil rights lawyer. Soon, such options will be available beyond Oregon, as other states begin rethinking their reliance on the bar exam as the sole means to ensure qualified lawyers enter the profession. Already, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah and Washington are considering comparable licensure options, and California has been studying the approach. Arizona, South Dakota and Texas have expressed interest in such programs as well. And New Hampshire since 2005 has had a version of supervised practice that allows a select group of law school scholars to work in the state upon graduation. Many states see alternative licensure as a way of directing graduates toward areas of the law with too few specialists or to places where people lack access to legal representation. Such places might include rural areas and other underserved communities. Oregon and other states have faced challenges in meeting the demand for public defenders. Many states in the West with large rural expanses including Arizona and Idaho have counties with only a few lawyers. The new pathway also is expected to diversify who becomes a lawyer; law schools have long known that wealthier students are more likely to pass the bar exam, as are white graduates. The bar exam is not going to teach me how to be a civil rights lawyer. Bailey McQueeny-Rose, University of Oregon School of Law graduate Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Meagan Flynn said in an interview that shes been astounded at the various approaches emerging in other states since Oregons move. She serves on a national committee of lawyers and court officials who will recommend practical changes to help diversify the bar admissions process through the National Center for State Courts, an administrative organization. And really, no two look alike, Flynn said. Every state looking at this is coming up with very, very state-specific approaches. States administer their own bar exams and determine passing scores. Most states use the Uniform Bar Exam, and some states have their own specific tests. Critics of the bar exam say that in most states, it doesnt assess minimum competency to practice the law, especially when it comes to skills that involve working directly with clients, such as handling negotiations or counseling people facing incarceration, divorce, bankruptcy or other stressful matters. Multiple-choice tests fail to assess whether someone has the necessary skills to be a good lawyer, said Catherine Bramble, an associate professor at Brigham Young University Law School in Utah. And research has found that new lawyers perform better if theyve had practice and supervision. We all know this intuitively, said Bramble, who has been pushing for change in Utah. Some things are not best assessed through a multiple-choice test. For example, the ability to fly an airplane. We would really hope a pilot has time in the cockpit under observation of an experienced flight instructor before we allow them to fly a plane. Real-world skills In Utah, the state Supreme Court, which oversees licensure, is considering a supervised practice proposal that would require applicants to take a core curriculum during law school. They would be required to complete 240 hours of supervised practice, which could be paid or unpaid. Twenty of those hours would have to be client-facing work, and 50 pro bono, meaning the services are provided to clients free of charge. Utah encourages lawyers in the state to commit to 50 hours of pro bono work each year, Bramble said, and theyve found that those who are exposed to such service early in their careers tend to continue it. The proposal would require that prospective licensees take a six-hour well-being online module that teaches lawyers how to manage the stress of a legal career. Finally, there would be a three-hour test, which would require test-takers to write a basic legal motion using a sample law and case materials. For Nevada, its proposed rules emphasize the necessity of representing clients well, said Joan Howarth, a professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. There, the proposal in front of the state Supreme Court would allow law students to complete most of the requirements for licensure during law school. The Oregon Supreme Court is considering approving a similar, third licensure path in addition to the traditional bar exam and SPPE that would allow students to take coursework and complete supervised practice requirements during school so that they are licensed when they graduate. Even the national bar exam is changing: The National Conference of Bar Examiners will begin rolling out a NextGen test in select states in 2026, with a focus on more foundational lawyering skills such as client counseling and advising, dispute resolution, and client relationship and management. Law schools for several decades have been incorporating more real-world skills into their curriculum, said Deborah Jones Merritt, professor emerita at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, who has studied the bar exams deficiencies in producing good lawyers. Merritts research has determined that the exam is far more challenging to pass for people of color, those with caretaking responsibilities, or those who come from low-income households. Beginnings of change Many states began rethinking the necessity of the bar exam in 2020 during the pandemic, when gathering hundreds of people together in a big room for an exam was a potential superspreader event for COVID-19. In place of the test, several states and the District of Columbia issued whats known as diploma privilege, the ability to practice without passing the bar. Utah, for example, required their graduates to fulfill a pro bono requirement first. It was an eye-opening experiment, said Bramble, in part because nothing crazy happened. Then in 2021, the American Bar Association for the first time released statistics breaking down bar exam passage rates by race. White test takers were far likelier to pass the exams in 2020 than those of other races or ethnicities, according to the group. Although there are other barriers to a legal career, including law school entrance exams and the time, expense and quality of the schooling, the numbers made it clear that the bar exam itself had flaws that kept many candidates of color from becoming lawyers. One of the biggest flaws of the bar is that its an expensive and time-consuming exam, said Brian Gallini, the former dean of the Willamette University College of Law in Oregon and one of the architects of the licensure push in the state. Law school graduates often pay for a law review class, which often can cost more than $1,000, to study for the test in the months following their graduation, as well as put off earning a living in their degree field until theyre licensed and can begin working as lawyers. Those who work a job while they study are more likely to fail, but many students cannot afford not to work they carry an average of $160,000 in student loan debt when they exit school. Gallini, now the dean of the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut, fielded a lot of angry emails when he first introduced the idea to the Willamette law schools alumni in 2022. Many objections were reflexive: Critics of the proposal said they had suffered through the bar exam, so aspiring lawyers who followed them should face a similar rite of passage. Bailey McQueeny-Rose, a University of Oregon School of Law graduate, chose an alternative pathway to licensure that doesnt require taking the bar exam. (Courtesy of Bailey McQueeny-Rose) Oregons licensure is not portable for now, which means that graduates who choose the SPPE are not able to transfer their licenses to other states. This will likely change as more states adopt alternative licensure. So far, only a handful of 2024 graduates from the states three law schools have chosen the new pathway; McQueeny-Rose said many of her peers havent been able to find supervising attorneys who are familiar enough with the program to oversee their work. Thats also expected to change quickly. The states law schools are beginning to establish prestigious post-graduate fellowships aimed at placing SPPE participants in communities of need, including immigration law, public defense and rural law practices. Judicial clerkships also are eligible to fulfill many of the programs requirements. McQueeny-Rose will be joining the team at Levi Merrithew Horst, a Portland, Oregon, firm, where shell work on police misconduct cases, class-action suits on behalf of incarcerated people and other civil rights work. Instead of studying for the bar, shes taking the summer off to devote time to her artwork and to move to Portland for her new job. She anticipates shell fulfill the requirements of the SPPE program in early 2025. For me, it was a pretty easy decision, McQueeny-Rose said. I knew I wanted to stay in Oregon. Im committed to practice here, I love it here. I have a lot of ideas how to make Oregon better, and I want to stay and do my part. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X. State Senator Terrell McKinney leans against a column during the Nebraska Legislature's special session to address local property tax State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha. July 26, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN An Omaha lawmaker is taking an alternative route to provide Nebraskans property tax relief by seeking to decrease the states prison population and offer second chances. State Sen. Terrell McKinneys Legislative Bill 25 seeks to reallocate direct savings from reduced incarceration costs to property tax relief. It would accomplish this in one of three ways: encouraging alternative sentencing such as probation, community service and house arrest; early parole discharge; and second chance relief. Nebraska State Penitentiary Lawmakers are holding a special session to give taxpayers a break from property taxes, McKinney said, but taxpayers also need a break from a horribly ran criminal justice system. Its like a black hole of money that we just keep wasting and not solving the problem, McKinney told the Nebraska Examiner. Part of the concern, McKinney said, is that the state is building a replacement prison but not explaining what will happen to the current Nebraska State Penitentiary. Either way, he argued, legislation will be needed. Estimated millions in savings LB 25 encourages judges to offer alternative sentencing, when appropriate and legally allowed. McKinney led a significant package LB 631, in the regular session to reform the Parole Board. It took effect July 19 and seeks to help offenders learn how to navigate the parole process. He said his most recent bill would continue those reforms and are about really looking at them as humans and asking if theyve improved themselves since theyve been incarcerated. McKinney estimated his bill would save the state millions. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the average daily cost per inmate was $36.67, amounting to $13,383.33 annually. The most recent data, for fiscal year 2023-24, indicate the average daily state prison population is 5,880, 144.86% above design capacity and 115.86% above operational capacity. If passed, LB 25 would require the Department of Correctional Services to report cost savings by July 1, 2026, and in each successive year. Those savings would be diverted to any property tax relief programs established this special session. Alternative sentencing, early parole discharge The proposal would expand early parole discharge opportunities for Nebraska parolees who meet eight criteria, including: Spent at least six months in a community corrections facility. Successfully completed at least 90 days of parole. Holds a high school diploma or completed equivalent education. Maintained steady employment or stability in postsecondary education. Participated in necessary programming. Completed other criteria as established by the department director. The other two criteria relate to disciplinary violations, with eligibility limited to offenders who have never had a major violation and no more than five minor violations in the past two years. The Parole Board would review the offenders record. If recommended by the Parole Board, the Pardons Board would review and could opt to shorten parole, by at least 90 days. If the Pardons Board declines to do so, it must provide a list of steps or requirements that the parolee must complete to be granted an early discharge. The Pardons Board consists of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Second chance relief The final part of LB 25 is establishing a second chance relief program that would encourage the Board of Pardons to commute all or part of a parolees sentence. LB 25 states it could help those Nebraskans responsibly reintegrate into their communities as fully free individuals. The second chance program would offer committed offenders, including those with life imprisonment sentences, eligibility for the program based on their age. For an offense committed when the offender was 25 years of age or younger, it would come after serving 25 years. For older offenders, it would be after completing 30 years of their sentence. The Parole Board would recommend commutation to the Pardons Board. If rejected, the Pardons Board must list steps or requirements for the person to be granted a commutation at a subsequent review. If granted a commutation and paroled, the Parole Board would: Develop a detailed reentry plan tailored to the offenders needs, including job placement, housing support and access to continuing education and mental health services. Provide access to mentorship programs and community support networks to facilitate successful reintegration into the community Offer restorative justice opportunities, when appropriate, to allow amends with victims and the community. Require accountability and monitoring by requiring regular check-ins with parole officers and continuous monitoring during the initial phase of reentry to ensure compliance. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Republican and Democratic lawmakers celebrated the return of Americans jailed in Russia on what they criticized as politically motivated charges, but raised concern that the exchange for Russian prisoners could encourage future hostage taking. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was thrilled at the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and green card holder and Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza. But he raised concern over the release of Russian prisoners as part of the exchange, notably a convicted murderer from a German jail and convicted criminals held in the U.S. I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime, McCaul said in a statement, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Biden, during a brief news conference announcing the release of the four Americans and 12 others, said he would encourage Americans not to go to certain places, tell them whats at risk, whats at stake, in effort to prevent hostage taking and politically motivated arrests. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ahead of confirmation of the prisoner exchange, spoke to the challenge of engaging in prisoner swaps without encouraging more arrests. Its always a mixed blessing, because the detainees in Russia shouldnt be detainees, the prisoners that were going to swap are people who have committed really bad things, he told reporters in a roundtable on Wednesday. So it always is hard for us to accept that. But the realities are that thats who we are as individuals, thats our values. Our values is to take care of people who are wrongfully detained if we can get them released. Were prepared to make certain sacrifices, which is unfair, but it does provide certain hopes for people who shouldnt be incarcerated. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the exchange of Americans for Russian prisoners in the U.S. and elsewhere not equal. U.S. citizens wrongfully detained are not the same as Russian war criminals. In the Senate, we will continue to oppose all attempts by Putin to use Americans as political pawns to achieve his egregious goals. We will never stop fighting for Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained, whether by Hamas, the [Chinese Communist Party], Putin, or anyone else, Young said in a statement. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Ron DeSantis signs anti-woke law to stop banks from freezing Floridians bank accounts based on their politics The Treasury Department has taken aim at Floridas new anti-woke banking law warning it could open the floodgates for criminals to use and manipulate the U.S. financial system. The new state law (HB 989), signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, declares it would be unsafe and unsound for banks to consider non-financial factors like politics, religion or environmental, social and corporate-governance (ESG) when doing business. Don't miss Commercial real estate has beaten the stock market for 25 years but only the super rich could buy in. Here's how even ordinary investors can become the landlord of Walmart, Whole Foods or Kroger Car insurance premiums in America are through the roof and only getting worse. But 5 minutes could have you paying as little as $29/month These 5 magic money moves will boost you up America's net worth ladder in 2024 and you can complete each step within minutes. Here's how We reject a global elite trying to force their ideology on us by capturing major institutions, DeSantis, who has led an aggressive campaign against so-called woke ideology in the Sunshine State, said when signing HB 989 into law. We are not going to allow big banks to discriminate based on someones political or religious beliefs. But while DeSantis claims hes fighting discrimination, the U.S. Treasury has labeled the Florida law and other similar laws under consideration in mostly conservative states like Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota as a potential threat to national security. Heres why policymakers are butting heads over so-called debanking and what it means for Americans. Florida deters debanking DeSantis goal with HB 989 was to strengthen Floridas protections for consumers from being forced to adopt ideologies or reflect a preferred political behavior. Per an Associated Press report, DeSantis said the law will protect the access that conservative groups and the firearms industry have to the financial sector and stop them from having their accounts frozen or closed. The law makes it illegal for banks to deny or cancel, suspend, or terminate its services to a person, or to otherwise discriminate against a person in making available such services on the basis of several factors, including (but not limited to): The persons political opinions, speech, or affiliations Any factor if it is not a quantitative, impartial, and risk-based standard, including any such factor related to the persons business sector The persons engagement in the lawful manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, or use of firearms or ammunition The persons engagement in the exploration, production, utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacture of fossil fuel-based energy, timber, mining, or agriculture Story continues It also allows Floridians to appeal unwarranted account cancellations and restrictions through a coordinated complaint and investigatory process within the states Office of Financial Regulation. This potentially places banks and other financial institutions operating in the Sunshine State between a rock and a hard place. Theyre required by federal law to implement U.S. criminal and national security policies including stringent background checks but in doing so, they risk breaching Floridas broad-based anti-discrimination law. Read more: Car insurance rates have spiked in the US to a stunning $2,150/year but you can be smarter than that. Here's how you can save yourself as much as $820 annually in minutes (it's 100% free) Treasury bites back The Treasury has openly criticized the new Florida law and any other state laws that bar financial institutions from carrying out necessary risk assessments. In a July letter to lawmakers, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson reiterated the importance of banks being able to probe customers in order to prevent money laundering and counter terrorist financing. State laws interfering with financial institutions ability to comply with national security requirements heighten the risk that international drug traffickers, transnational organized criminals, terrorists and corrupt foreign officials will use the U.S. financial system to launder money, evade sanctions and threaten our national security, he wrote. The letter was sent in response to a July 8 request from Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who shared concerns about the potentially negative impact of new debanking laws. To any states that are considering similar laws, I urge them to think twice before putting Americas national security at risk, Rep. Gottheimer said in a statement. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. A lawsuit against the city of Tampa stirs chaos in real estate circles TAMPA A deep-pocketed developer wanted to build a hotel in one of the citys most affluent neighborhoods, drawing staunch opposition from residents who said the project would harm the quality of life in their gated community. The Tampa City Council voted against the $40 million project twice in 2022. The developer sued the city, a routine response when someone thinks a land-use decision was made incorrectly. This week, the dispute took a surprising turn, with possible ramifications reaching far beyond the pristine lawns and gates of Harbour Island. A Hillsborough County circuit judge issued a sweeping ruling that challenges the councils authority to make those kinds of decisions at all. The ruling has lawyers across the city scratching their heads, stirring uncertainty about how real estate projects will proceed and raising questions that could alter how municipalities statewide handle zoning issues. This has sent shock waves through the development community, Stephen Michelini, a longtime Tampa-based business consultant, said of Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moes July 29 order. It could throw the entire process into turmoil. Judge Moe dismissed a request for the decision to be reviewed from the Liberty Group, which was seeking to overturn the councils denial of a new AC Marriott hotel at 800 S. Harbour Island Blvd. But she did so without weighing the applications merits. Instead, Moe wrote, the City Council, as a legislative branch of government, lacks the legal ability to conduct the sort of quasi-judicial hearings used to consider zoning and other land-use matters. Such hearings have been a bread-and-butter operation for the council and other local Florida governments for decades. Its how the city decides whether a plot of land once zoned for commercial use could become residential, whether to allow more dense development to boost the supply of affordable homes, or even which restaurants can have permits to sell alcohol. The judges order posits that only Mayor Jane Castor or someone appointed by her can legitimately wield such power. Michelini, the consultant who often works with clients with business before the council, said the ruling has catapulted the industry into unstable territory. How is this city going to resolve this chaos? he said. The city attorneys office declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Liberty Group lawyer Jake Cremer said his client is weighing its options. Our team is still digesting what this means, he said. Liberty Group, helmed by Punit Shah, bought the site, which currently houses a one-story office, in 2016 for $1.75 million, according to property records. Shah envisioned a 15-story, 180-room hotel in walking distance to Amalie Arena and the Tampa Convention Center. He shrank the proposal to 12 stories with 150 rooms in response to community pushback. Still, in May 2022, Harbour Island residents packed Old City Hall, saying the hotel would exacerbate traffic problems and bring hoards to the brink of their gated community, where waterfront homes can list for millions of dollars. The council denied the rezoning and land-use requests. After filing a lawsuit against the city and going through mediation, Liberty Group presented a second proposal seven months later: A 10-story, 145-room hotel. Parking spaces were reduced by 60%. A rooftop bar was removed. City staff, again, recommended approval. The council denied the project on a 4-3 vote. The hotel would have created desperately needed jobs in our community, built tourism, and boosted the local economy, Shah said in a statement after the vote. Two bridges link Harbour Island to downtown, but the enclave prides itself on being, according to one community website, worlds away from the stresses of day-to-day life. The southern end is gated, with only residents and registered guests allowed. The northern end is a mix of residential and commercial property. Shahs site sits just north of the gated community. Our fundamental concern in this case was that the City Council made their decision based on a popularity contest, said Cremer, Liberty Groups lawyer. But the law says the council has to look at the law and the code. In its lawsuit, Liberty Group didnt question the councils ability to wield quasi-judicial power, just whether the case had been correctly decided. In a quasi-judicial hearing, council members take on a judgelike role, applying law and policy to a particular situation. Subjective preferences are supposed to be disregarded; their decision must be rooted in evidence. Members of the public can participate, though speakers must swear to tell the truth. Moe wrote that the state constitution does not expressly provide such authority to the Tampa City Council. Plus, the city charter grants the council legislative power only. Her 33-page ruling, which applies only to Hillsborough County as she is judge in the 13th circuit, poses questions relevant across the state. A beautifully-written Constitution is not what makes us the envy of the world, she writes. We are the envy of the world because we demand that our government must work the way it was designed in the Constitution. Ethan Loeb, another attorney representing Liberty Group, said he believes the decision is a game-changer that allows the project to move forward as originally planned: A 150-foot-tall hotel. This gives him the opportunity to do what he always wanted with the property, Loeb said of Shah. Earlier this summer, Liberty Group filed a new application to erect a 14-story building with 162 apartments, according to city records. They filed using the states Live Local Act, which allows affordable housing developments to bypass zoning, density and height requirements altogether. In new lawsuit, Florida professors say tenure changes chill speech, harm academics A legal fight is ramping up on yet another portion of Gov. Ron DeSantis' higher education agenda: Tenure overhaul. A trio of Florida public university professors filed a lawsuit Wednesday over recent tenure changes that they say deprive them of the "substantive protections inherent in their current tenured position." That not only damages professional development, they write, but also means "professors' speech is at risk of being chilled, the progress of intellectual inquiry will slow and students will not be exposed to cutting-edge or novel thoughts and ideas." And that's not the only allegation listed in the lawsuit, which was filed in Leon County Circuit Civil court. The tenure changes and the allegations The professors' concerns are driven by a 2023 law created by DeSantis and GOP legislators that requires tenured faculty members in Floridas public universities to go through a comprehensive post-tenure review every five years. It also assigns final decision authority to the president. The most significant deadweight cost at universities is typically unproductive tenured faculty, DeSantis said, as previously reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. Tenure generally protects professors' jobs until they retire. The three professors involved in the case, though, said, "(This) amounts to a five-year renewable contract renewable at the discretion of their university's president." The loss of tenure protections, they continued, makes it harder for state professors to get grants and advance in their fields. New College graduates Rae Thompson and Phynyx Soltis-Tatro pose for photos before the graduation ceremony in Sarasota on May 17. They are New College of Florida sociology professor Sarah Hernandez, University of Florida College of Law Steven Willis and University of South Florida social science professor Adriana Novoa. The professors additionally allege that the Legislature unconstitutionally encroached on the authority of the Florida Board of Governors, which governs public state universities. "Having successfully imposed its will over the Board of Governors ... the Legislature is likely to expand its control over the state university system when it comes to curriculum, tenure and core policy determinations in the future," the professors wrote. Those sued are the Florida Board of Governors, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner. Representatives for the board and Renner did not immediately respond to media requests. "The Senate has not been served at this time, though we did receive a copy of the lawsuit earlier in the week, which the President has reviewed," said Katie Betta, a spokesperson for Passidomo, in an email. "Her practice generally has been not to weigh in on pending litigation." Leon Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh last month refused to dismiss a separate challenge to the tenure changes, according to the News Service of Florida. Judge Angela Dempsey is overseeing the latest case. Not the only higher education battle This is not the only legal fight against a higher education policy pushed by DeSantis and Florida's Republican legislative supermajority. They've made a flurry of controversial changes in recent years. In fact, this is not plaintiff professor Novoa's first lawsuit. She's challenged a key portion of DeSantis' much-touted "Stop WOKE Act," which limits discussion of race, gender and other topics in state university classrooms. That portion is currently blocked by federal judges while awaiting a decision from an appeals court. Plaintiff Hernandez also sued over the state's funding ban on state college and university diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. That lawsuit failed because of a cited lack of legal standing to sue, but the federal judge who made the decision appeared unhappy about the measure. "Here we have real professors who teach real subjects at a real school where lawmakers and decisionmakers have demonstrated real hostility toward certain ideas and viewpoints, and there is now a law that could or could not be used to punish them," wrote Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an Obama appointee. On top of all that, DeSantis has mounted a conservative takeover over the New College of Florida, which had been known for having a progressive faculty and student body. And, at an event last month, DeSantis said the state is going to make more higher education changes. He accused left-leaning professors of trying to indoctrinate students: "If Marxist professors are leaving Florida, that is not a bad thing," he said. This embedded content is not available in your region. Contributed: News Service of Florida. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida professors file suit, say tenure change harmful, chills speech A man was nearly beaten to death by a fellow inmate in Pierce County Jail and then sexually assaulted by a Washington state corrections officer after he was taken to a hospital with a catastrophic brain injury, two recently filed lawsuits contend. In a federal complaint filed July 26, Pierce County is accused of failing to protect Nathaniel Woods, a 37-year-old sex offender, despite knowing that his status put him at risk for victimization in jail. A lawsuit brought July 25 in Pierce County Superior Court alleged that a Department of Corrections officer sexually assaulted Woods following the jail attack as Woods lay unconscious in a Tacoma General Hospital bed. Attorney Nate Bingham, whos representing Woods in both lawsuits, said in an interview that the system failed his client. It doesnt matter if Nathaniel had a criminal conviction or not, he needed to be treated humanely and he needed to be protected from harm, Bingham said. Spokespersons for the state Department of Corrections and Pierce County declined to comment on the allegations, citing ongoing legal proceedings. DOC does not comment on pending litigation, but the agency takes all allegations of misconduct by its employees seriously and investigates each thoroughly, DOC spokesperson Chris Wright said in a statement. Woods was sentenced to nearly two years in prison after pleading guilty in July 2022 to failing to register as a sex offender for a third time. His status stemmed from a 2002 conviction as a juvenile for first-degree rape of a child, court records show. The federal lawsuit said that Woods was 12 or 13 years old when he had a relationship with another minor. Woods also pleaded guilty in July 2022 to taking a motor vehicle without permission, for which he was sentenced to four months in prison to run concurrently to his failure-to-register conviction, according to court records. He was taken to the county jail on July 28, 2022, awaiting transfer to state custody. The federal suit claimed that the jails corrections officers knew that tank bosses a description for inmates unofficially in charge in jail housing units were checking other inmates court papers to determine who was a sex offender and should be attacked. Woods was assaulted unprovoked by an inmate who slammed him on a concrete floor, knocked him unconscious and continued to punch and stomp on his head, the complaint said. The inmate was later convicted by a jury of first-degree assault for the attack and sentenced to 26 years in prison, court records show. After the assault, Woods was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, where he was handcuffed to a bed and guarded at all times by a state corrections officer, according to the lawsuit filed in Pierce County. On the night of Sept. 4 and the morning of Sept. 5, 2022, a nurse discovered an officer lying in bed with Woods. The officer had an erection and told police that he didnt know where else to lay down, the suit said. Nathaniel was not competent to consent to sexual contact with (the corrections officer) due to his status as an inmate and his incapacity, the suit said. Based on the circumstances, it is alleged that (the officer) made non-consensual and sexually motivated contact with Nathaniel. The complaint, which also names the officer as a defendant, alleged that police and the state botched a rape investigation by not acting promptly. Both lawsuits, brought on behalf of Woods by a court-appointed guardian and conservator, seek unspecified damages, legal fees and other relief deemed appropriate by the court. The office of Family Elder Law in Highland City is one of three that abruptly closed. The company, formed in 2013, had its main office in Lake Wales. A law firm specializing in representing elders has abruptly closed its offices in Lakeland, Lake Wales and Sebring. Family Elder Law provided no warning before shuttering the offices on July 18, a relative of a client said. The Florida Bar has opened an investigation into the firms owner, Jason Penrod, spokesperson Jennifer Krell Davis said. Leticia Labate of Lakeland began posting online after realizing that the firms Lakeland office had closed, one day after she delivered documents there on behalf of her 91-year-old mother. Labate said that her mother, who has extremely limited mobility following a stroke, approved paying $4,500, nearly all the money in her bank account, to Family Elder Law for representation in a disability claim. Labate said that she visited the Family Elder Law office at 5908 Hillside Heights Drive in the Highland City area on July 17 and found the office closed and unoccupied. Thinking the staff might be at lunch, she slid a packet of documents under the door, she said. Upon learning that the business had suddenly closed, Labate feared that her mother had lost the $4,500 without receiving any services. On Thursday, though, she reported with relief that her mother had received a refund. As of Thursday, the website for Family Elder Law consisted of a blank screen asking for a username and password. Calls to the firms main phone number yielded a womans recorded voice saying, part: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Family Elder Law is in the process of closing its operations and therefore unable to answer your call. We understand that this news may come as a surprise and may cause some inconvenience. The greeting asked clients to contact the firm by email, saying, We will do our best to respond in a timely manner, to the best of our abilities. The recording also gave a phone number for The Florida Bar, the organization that oversees all lawyers in the state. We deeply appreciate your trust and confidence in Family Elder Law over the years, the recording concluded. An email to the company prompted an automatic response with the same language as the phone recording and with referrals to three law firms in Polk County. For clients who have incomplete work with our firm and have already paid for services, we will be reaching out to you individually to discuss the best way to proceed, the emailed response said. Our goal is to ensure that your legal matters are handled with the utmost care and attention during this transition period. A spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff's Office said that the agency is in the early stages of an investigation of the firm. Company formed in 2013 Family Elder Law incorporated in 2013 and received a corporate reinstatement in 2015. The firm had its main office at 122 E. Tillman Ave. in Lake Wales. Polk County Property Appraiser records show that the firm bought the 5,568-square-foot building in 2014 for $385,000. The parcel was deeded the next year to Jay & Den Properties, which lists Penrod and Dennis Scovazzo of New York as principals in filings with the Florida Division of Corporations. The Florida Bar is investigating lawyer Jason Penrod, owner of Family Elder Law. The recently closed its three offices with no notice to clients. The firm also had an office in Sebring. A gold plaque for Family Elder Law is posted on the sign in front of the Colonial Square building at 124 S. Florida Ave. in Lakeland. But the firm is not listed on an interior directory and does not appear to occupy space in the building. Family Elder Law submitted its most recent annual report to the state on March 26. Before the closure, Family Elder Laws website listed the firms practice areas as estate planning and asset protection, Medicaid and nursing home care, probate and estate administration and special needs protection and planning. A section on the website featured dozens of testimonials from people identified by their first names and first initials of their surnames. The website stated: We help seniors and their families with the challenges that accompany aging. When you work with us, you become family. Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce selects Polk County native as next leader Penrod, a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, is listed as a member in good standing on The Florida Bars website. He was admitted in 2003 and has faced no disciplinary action over the past 10 years. The listing describes his firm size as two to five people, though news reports say the firm employed as many as 20 people. Penrod, a New York native with a bachelors degree from Niagara University, moved to Lake Wales in 2004 and became a partner at Weaver, McClendon and Penrod before forming his own firm, according to previous Ledger reporting. He was named president of the Lake Wales Noon Rotary Club in 2008, becoming one of its youngest leaders. The club named him Rotarian of the Year in 2010. He has also served on the board of directors for the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Wales Care Center, the Lake Wales Senior Center and the Lake Wales Public Library. Penrod wrote a guest column on Alzheimers disease published in The Ledger in 2022. 'Ruckus' prompts refund The Tessier Law Firm in Winter Haven is one of three listed as possible alternates in the automatic reply to the Family Elder Law email address. Sophia Misayvanh, client relations and marketing manager, said the firm had received about five calls from former Family Elder Law clients as of Thursday. Labate had paid a retainer to the firm in hopes that it could help her obtain Medicaid funds to cover full-time care. Before learning of her mothers refund, Labate shared her frustrations on a Facebook page for Lakeland residents and on a Reddit thread. She said that another member of the Facebook page reporting losing $5,000 paid to the firm. Labate suspects that the company pledged to refund her mothers payment only because of the ruckus she caused on social media. She was also interviewed for coverage by local TV stations. What they pitched themselves as being, at least to me, they pitched themselves as being, Oh, we're extremely solid. We've been in business eight years, Labate said. When you hear, I've been in business eight years, I just didn't open up, you think, OK, these people are the real thing. On the Reddit thread, someone claiming to be an employee of Family Elder Law wrote that workers were given less than a weeks notice of the plans to close. We did not return calls or emails, and frankly I don't know what actually has happened, we were given no info and we tied up operations en masse on Thursday of last week, the person wrote. The Florida Bar outlines its process for investigations on its website. After a complaint is filed, an intake counsel determines whether the allegations would constitute a violation of rules warranting discipline. If so, the complaint moves to a branch office and can eventually be considered by a grievance committee, The Bars Board of Governors or an appointed referee. Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Family Elder Law closes Polk offices. Owner now under investigation Leader of the Venezuelan opposition says she is in hiding and fears for her life Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she is in hiding and that she fears for her freedom and for her life, in an op-ed published on Thursday in the Wall Street Journal. Machado, who is the main force behind the presidential candidacy of former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez, emphasized that Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro lost Sundays election and that she can prove it. I write this from hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom and that of my fellow countrymen under the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro, Machado wrote in an editorial titled: I can prove that Maduro got trounced. Mr. Maduro did not win the Venezuelan presidential election on Sunday. He lost by a landslide to Edmundo Gonzalez, 67% to 30%. I know this to be true because I can prove it. I have receipts obtained directly from more than 80% of the countrys polling stations. Machado has not been seen for 24 hours. The op-ed was published as the Caracas regime steps up its repressive campaign in the country to contain the protests sparked by the announcement from its tightly controlled electoral agency declaring Maduro the winner of the election with more than 51% of the vote. The announcement, however, has been questioned around the world, with a large group of countries, including the U.S., demanding the regime produce official election documents showing that Maduro in fact obtained the highest number of votes. So far, the regime has announced that it has detained more than 1,000 people while human rights organizations have reported that at least 11 people have died and dozens have been injured. El Foro Penal, a non-governmental organization that watches over the rights of political prisoners, reported earlier on Wednesday that it has been able to independently confirm that at least 672 people have been arrested. Those arrested include opposition leader Freddy Superlano, and his friends and family members fear he is being tortured. In her column, Machado said the Venezuelan opposition was aware that Maduro was going to cheat in the election. We have known for years what tricks the regime uses, and we are well aware that the National Electoral Council is entirely under its control. It was unthinkable that Mr. Maduro would concede defeat, she wrote in the opinion piece. She also recounted the large number of illegal, unjust or just plain abusive actions undertaken by the regime to sabotage the oppositions campaign, including banning her from holding office after she won the oppositions primary election with 92% of the vote, which made her the top leader of the countrys democratic forces. Following the CNEs announcement that Maduro won the election, the Venezuelan opposition has concentrated its efforts on digitizing and publishing on the internet the voting records showing that Gonzalez won with nearly 70% of the votes, documents that the regime has so far been unable to produce. At least 15 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on school in Gaza, emergency services say A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel (Reuters) -Israeli forces hit a school in Shejaia in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 29, Palestinian civil emergency services said, as fighting continued in various parts of the Gaza Strip. The military said it had targeted fighters operating in a compound within the school that it said was used as a hideout for Hamas commanders and fighters. "Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence," it said in a statement. It gave no information on any casualties but accused Hamas of deliberately operating in civilian infrastructure. Hamas denies using civilian facilities such as hospitals and schools for military purposes. (Reporting by Nidal al Mughrabi and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson) At least 229 dead after heavy rains trigger landslides: 'They had no clue that the land they were standing on was about to swallow them' Two deadly landslides killed at least 229 people in Ethiopia in late July. They mark the latest additions in what is becoming an increasingly worrisome pattern of purportedly climate-fueled weather events in the region. What happened? The New York Times reported on the disasters, which happened in Ethiopia's central Geze district. The first landslide struck in the morning following days of significant rainfall, swallowing houses whole and killing "entire families," according to local officials. As emergency responders and people from neighboring villages rushed to help, they were unexpectedly hit by a second mudslide, which killed many more people. The Times quoted local emergency response official Habtamu Fetena, who said, "They had no clue that the land they were standing on was about to swallow them." Fetena was expecting the death toll to rise as volunteers and responders worked to excavate more victims from the mud. Why is this so concerning? The Geze area, which is primarily rural, had been experiencing many days of heavy rain. But this is far from a one-time event. Instead, the Times reported, this is "a region that is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including long droughts followed by strong storms and more frequent and intense rainfalls." The United Nations also reported on the climate-fueled weather threats facing southern and eastern Africa. It stated a third of the countries considered most susceptible to the threats and risks of climate change are located there. Ethiopia is particularly prone because it's subject to the effects of both La Nina and El Nino, extreme weather patterns that many experts believe are amplified by climate change, according to the Yale School of the Environment. More than 3 million people in Ethiopia have been displaced by floods and/or droughts in the last five years, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. In addition to fatalities, the mudslides were also extremely devastating for the area's wheat and barley crops, causing concern about economic losses. What's being done to protect against future landslides? While some villages in the region had been moved following prior landslides, others are now occurring in places where they had been rare, the Times reported. Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the country's Federal Disaster Prevention Task Force to the area to assist. However, the best way to deal with landslides is to prevent them from happening, not to simply manage their devastating aftermath. To this end, constant weather monitoring and alerts can help evacuate residents to safety. And perhaps most importantly, the underlying and amplifying influence of global heating must be reduced by corporations and governments taking steps to limit planet-warming pollution. Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. At least 30 dead after Typhoon Gaemi cut off towns in Chinas Hunan province Heavy rains and floods from Typhoon Gaemi caused at least 30 deaths and left 35 people missing across eight towns in the southern Chinese province of Hunan, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday, citing local authorities. On Thursday, rescue teams reached eight towns that had been cut off from the outside world since last Sunday, due to destroyed infrastructure and power grids. As of 12:00 on August 1, the roads, electricity, and communications in the eight towns in Zixing City most severely affected by Typhoon Gaemi are largely restored, and search and rescue efforts have made significant progress, the local authorities confirmed to Xinhua. Rescue operations are still underway, local authorities said. In response to the severe flooding in Hunan, China raised its emergency response level to better support local disaster relief efforts and ensure basic living security for the affected people, the countrys Ministry of Emergency Management said Thursday. Typhoon Gaemi initially made landfall in China on the evening of Thursday July 25, with winds approaching 110 kph (70 mph). The storm continued west-northwest through China, bringing heavy rainfall and winds, with forecasters predicting that rainfall could range from 150 to 250 mm (6 to 10 inches), with amounts up to 400 mm (15 inches) in higher elevation areas and along the coast. The storm previously caused torrential flooding in Taiwan, with rainfall in five townships totaling over 1,285mm (50 inches). Typhoon Gaemi was deflected off its forecasted track by Taiwans mountainous terrain and spent more than six hours offshore, making a loop near the Hualien coastline instead of making landfall on the evening of Wednesday, July 24. Farther south, Gaemi had also flooded much of the Philippine capital after it worsened torrential monsoon rains. CNNs Robert Shackelford, Brandon Miller, Taylor Ward, and Avery Schmitz contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Jicarilla Apache Boarding School in Dulce, New Mexico, in 1931. Text accompanying the photo identifies the students as orphans. (Federal Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report Vol. II / Princeton University Library) The U.S. legacy of genocide against Native people through public education may never be completely told. Now, there is a little more truth to share. The second half of an investigative report was released Tuesday as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative led by the Department of the Interior. Its another step in acknowledging, learning and potentially healing from harms the U.S. government caused people from every Indigenous nation in the country through federal school programs between 1819 and 1969. In the update to the report commissioned in 2021, the Interior Department estimates that more than $23.3 billion was appropriated by Congress to run an education system that forced at least 18,624 children from tribes across the country to schools where they were assaulted, forced to labor and assimilated until their entire culture was destroyed. The report, which acknowledges that all of this new data remains incomplete, states that 973 children died in that period. Researchers do not go into detail on students at boarding schools past 1969 or before 1819. An additional 11 federal Indian boarding schools were identified. This brings the total number of schools to 417. The review also updates how many religious institutions were involved with the federal government in carrying out the education assimilation plan. The Catholic Church (80) and Protestant religion (134) were the most active in operating the schools. Four additional schools run by non-sectarian Missionary, Unitarian Church, the United Brethren in Christ and an independent denomination are also listed. Between 1819 and 1969, the federal Indian Boarding School system operated in 37 states and territories, including New Mexico before statehood. The report lists two schools in southern Utah, one in Panguitch and one in St. George. Based on information found in the investigation, the federal government said it can identify the name and tribal affiliation for the 18,624 children, some of whom are at 74 marked and unmarked graves across 64 school sites. The Interior Department does not give specific locations and said it is working with tribal nations on how they want to return any person from these boarding school gravesites. In New Mexico, 46 schools operated in the central and Four Corners regions of the state from 1819 to 1969. Only 32 of the many students at the Albuquerque Indian School during that time were identified. Ten of the students who died in Albuquerque were identified. The report lists an unmarked grave and a marked grave for the school. In 2021, federal boarding school officials conducted a ground radar review of remains under a city park that was once part of the school. The city of Albuquerque committed a section of the park for a memorial. That has yet to happen. The Interior Department investigation identified 725 students who attended Santa Fe Indian School between 1819 and 1969, including 34 students that died. Profiles for each school are listed for the public to view. Leading its disclaimer on the information, authors write, The content of this document may be disturbing or distressing. The information in it is subject to change or revision. Eight recommendations for moving forward are listed, including community support for mental health treatment, a national memorial, returning land to tribes where boarding school sites are located, and establishing investments that could be modeled after repatriation work for First Nations harmed by Canadas boarding school policies. Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: info@sourcenm.com. Follow Source New Mexico on Facebook and X. At least three killed in Nigeria protests, witnesses say ABUJA (Reuters) - At least three protesters were killed in Nigeria's Kaduna state on Thursday, Reuters reporters and eyewitnesses said, as demonstrators rallied across the country against rising cost of living and governance issues in the West African nation. One of the protesters claimed police shot two others, while a Reuters witness saw a lifeless body in front of the government house in Kaduna State. Kaduna state police spokesperson Mansur Hassan said the police fired tear gas at protesters and not live ammunition. He added that the police would release a report on the incident soon. (Reporting by Bosan Yakusak in Kaduna; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Bate Felix) You are here: Business People watch a UAV model at the booth of Shanghai during a China brands exposition as part of the 2024 China Brand Day events in Shanghai, east China, May 12, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] China has adjusted its export control measures on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday. The adjustment includes the revision of management standards for certain important components of UAVs, such as infrared thermal-imaging devices and target-indicating lasers, according to an MOC statement. Additionally, high-precision inertial-measurement equipment will be included within the scope of control, while temporary controls on specific consumer-grade drones will be lifted. Furthermore, the adjustment prohibits the export of all civilian drones that are not subject to export controls but are for use in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist activities or military purposes. The aforementioned policies will be effective from Sept. 1 this year. This is an update to China's UAV export control measures that have been in place for a year, according to the MOC. Abraham Shafi spent tens of thousands of dollars on holidays in Hawaii using company credit cards - IRL A social media boss and his wife used millions of dollars of company funds to pay for their wedding and luxury holidays, US regulators have said. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Abraham Shafi, the founder of the social media app IRL, and his wife, Barbara Woortmann, for fraud. IRL, an app aimed at Gen Z smartphone users that enabled them to discover real-life events, raised $170m (132m) from investors including SoftBank. The app was presented as a version of Facebooks Groups feature for younger users who had abandoned the social network. IRL claimed that a quarter of US teens had downloaded it. However, it was shut down last year when its backers found that the vast majority of its users were fake, according to a separate SoftBank lawsuit. The SEC said that Mr Shafi and Mrs Woortmann had used company credit cards to fund millions in personal expenses. This included hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses related to their wedding in 2022 including luxury hotels and airfare for guests and tens of thousands of dollars for holidays in Hawaii. The SEC said Mr Shafi spent $34,700 on a luxury resort in Hawaii in October 2021, while Mrs Woortmann spent more than $16,000 at a merchant specialising in spirituality and alternative medicine in June 2021 the same month it raised funds from SoftBank. The couple also used company credit cards for home improvement purchases, clothing and jewellery, restaurants, groceries and food delivery apps. It said that after Mr Shafi was confronted by IRLs chief financial officer, he repaid around $2.5m in personal expenses but that some expenses were never repaid. The lawsuit also said that Mr Shafi had lied about the companys heavy spending on advertising to drive downloads of the app. Mr Shafi had told investors that IRLs growth was built on word of mouth and viral adoption, when the company had spent $5.7m on incent adverts, which reward users who download the apps with extra lives for games or credits in other apps. Mr Shafi took advantage of investors appetite for investments in the pre-IPO technology space and fraudulently raised approximately $170m by lying about IRLs business practices, Monique Winkler, the San Francisco director of the SEC said. Mr Shafi also directed employees to hide advertising spending as hosting costs, the lawsuit said. SoftBank, which put $150m into IRL, sued Mr Shafi for fraud last year, alongside five siblings and cousins who it claims were part of the cover-up. IRLs founders, Mr Shafi, Krutal Desai and Genrikh Khachatryan, have sued SoftBank, claiming it drove the company off a cliff by taking control of the app. Story continues Mr Shafi faces a fine and being banned from raising investment in future if the SECs lawsuit is successful. Lawyers for Mr Shafi were contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ***EDITORS NOTE: Some of the following details may be disturbing. Please use discretion.*** KANSAS CITY, Mo. A spokesperson for the Leawood Hereford House announced it is closing due to financial troubles caused by recent events. The restaurants last day of service will be Saturday, Aug. 3. Charges filed in Independence Towers child death In May, the Johnson County District Attorneys Office filed food adulteration charges against 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson, who worked at the Hereford House. According to court documents, on April 25, information was received from an FBI special agent regarding possible intentional food contamination ongoing at Hereford House, located at 5001 Town Center Drive. The tip was about a restaurant employee contaminating food by means such as urinating in food or rubbing food items on his genitals and posting videos online. The special agent later provided thumbnails for videos posted to a website from the username Vandalizer. The images depicted a male urinating in food contained in restaurant-style bins, pressing food items against his privates and buttocks and using their feet to touch food items. Some of the titles of videos include pissing in the serving sauce again, pissing on restaurant desert, Spitting on everything in restaurant part 2 and more. Hereford House mass food contamination detailed in court documents When Hanson was questioned, he described instances of urinating in Au Jus sauce, placing his privates on salmon and urinating in pickles, according to court documents. He estimated there have been over 20 instances where he had contaminated food at the restaurant. Since charges were filed, a number of lawsuits have been filed by people who said they got sick after eating at the restaurant. In a statement announcing the closure, the restaurant said it was a hard yet necessary decision. Our decision to close the Hereford House Leawood is not easy, but is necessitated by the recent events which were beyond our control. Again, a heartfelt thank you to our staff who have held their heads high and persevered through public and media scrutiny and to those of you who have continued to support us. According to the statement, they will work with each team member to place them at one of the other restaurants that bear the Hereford House brand or with other restaurants in the community. They also thanked its customers, chefs, managers, servers, kitchen staff and support staff in the statement. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. PINK HILL, N.C. (WNCT) An Eastern North Carolina man is facing multiple charges after a video on social media showed apparent animal abuse. Matthew Neal, owner of East Carolina Retrievers, was arrested Wednesday afternoon. Neal was charged with nine felony counts of cruelty to animals in Lenoir County and two counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals in Duplin County. Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers said the community and social media have played a huge part in the investigation. The video went viral on several social media platforms like Facebook and Tik Tok. Sheriff Rogers said many people came forward with experiences with Neal and his business. Sheriff Rogers now hopes that the business will be shut down. It was just getting people to come forward. You know, they share videos on Tik Tok and social media, Sheriff Rogers said. And then finally, you know, we were at a point that we needed people to come forward. We explained it to them and they said they were going to. Eleven dogs have been rescued from his property and were taken to the Lenoir County SPCA. The dogs are not up for adoption at this time. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Empty news racks where Spanish-language newspapers were sold are seen in Santa Ana on June 26. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: One thing is clear from the story about the Bay Area community of Richmond, Calif., a city of more than 100,000 residents, having only one news source funded by a local industry giant: This cannot be the future of reliable local news. ("This California city lost its daily newspapers. It faces a crisis over what comes next," July 24) If the purpose of local media is not just to be an outlet of various happenings, but also to be a source of independent analysis, we need community coverage that is financed on its own. In western North Carolina, where I am originally from, a community-focused news source called The Paper has popped up to fill the otherwise corporate-funded news gaps. All stories are local, and it has a dedicated staff to analyze local institutions and hold them accountable to the public. The newspaper is a nonprofit and funded by grants and a journalism foundation in addition to advertising. There is sustainability and independence. "Follow the money" is an apt phrase that applies to so many things, including our information. Aaron Kohrs, Alexandria, Va. .. To the editor: The shrinking impact of print news is probably inevitable, but there was a tone-deaf aspect to your articles on the declining news industry that was hard to ignore. Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, your front page has featured several articles portraying her as an underdog who will have difficulties overcoming all her weaknesses and flaws. Of course I don't expect all your coverage to fawn over how she has charged up the electorate or her remarkable ascent in polling, but more balance with the negative would be appropriate. Instead I'm seeing the lopsided reporting I saw in the New York Times, which led me to cancel that subscription. I certainly hope I won't have to do that with you guys. Nick Duretta, Pasadena .. To the editor: Thank you for writing about the precipitous decline in newspaper circulation. While I still get your newspaper, I do intend to cancel my subscription at some point soon. My reason for canceling is the decline in coverage of news from a politically centrist point of view, as opposed to the all-too- common leftist point of view that your staff offers. Will it take your complete demise before you learn that you are no longer serving a wide enough audience? Mark Forbes, Glendale This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Letters to the Editor: The ridiculous argument that Kamala Harris doesn't have enough experience To the editor: A letter writer raised some concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris' qualifications to become president. Among them were no experience running an organization, no demonstrated "concern over the ballooning deficit," and "indifference to the border crisis." The California Department of Justice that Harris oversaw as attorney general for six years may only have 5,600 people, but I think it should still count as some experience running an organization. More importantly, that experience demonstrates that she is well versed in the U.S. Constitution and the law. Deficits do contribute to the national debt, and when you compare data on national debt accumulated per year in office, only George W. Bush accumulated more of it than Donald Trump. Also, remember earlier this year it was Republicans at former President Trump's direction who walked away from a bipartisan deal to address the border crisis. And I don't think Trump's achievements in New York City would necessarily qualify him for the presidency. After all, one of those achievements was becoming a convicted felon. John Eaglesham, Long Beach This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Letters to the Editor: All rodeos are cruel to animals. There no excuse for allowing them A cowboy throws down a cow before hog-tying the animal's feet during the Bill Pickett Rodeo in City of Industry on July 20. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: I was extremely disappointed to see a piece in the L.A. Times glorifying rodeos. ("Bill Pickett rodeo brings its show to Los Angeles," July 22) In 1990, the city of Pittsburgh, Pa., passed an ordinance that in effect banned rodeos after a bull was videotaped suffering a broken leg and screaming in pain. The Pittsburgh City Council quickly banned flank straps, electric prods and other harmful equipment used in these events, and rodeos have not been held there ever since. Humans have also been injured and killed at rodeos. In this very violent world, we need our leaders to bring us toward a kinder, more compassionate world for all. It should be noted that Bill Pickett started his rodeo because Black cowboys weren't allowed to participate in events run by white men. So the racism is really among them, not those who oppose all rodeos. Our opposition has nothing to do with culture, racism or sexism it's about cruelty to innocent, defenseless animals. Patty Shenker, Woodland Hills This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Letters to the Editor: It's time for Democrats and everyone else to put antisemites in their place Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, seen campaigning in 2022, has a emerged as a front-runner to run on the ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris. (Lindsey Shuey / Republican-Herald / Associated Press) To the editor: I've reflexively thought of the antisemitic blowback if Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro were chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate since I am Jewish. But reading about it in The Times made it more painful. ("Chatter about Josh Shapiro as Harris' running mate veers into antisemitism," Opinion, July 30) Jews have been at the forefront of championing Palestinian rights and the rights of all oppressed and needy people, and yet the extreme left despises us. The antisemitism of the extreme right has been seen by all. This antisemitism on both the left and the right tells me the problem is extremism. The time has come for the great majority of us to call out, marginalize and drive out the extremists. As philosopher Eric Hoffer taught us decades ago, extremists either don't change or they lurch from one extreme to the other, but almost universally do not moderate. We are better than this. It's time to throw the fanatics into the dustbin of history. I don't need Shapiro as vice president, but I do need blind hatred quashed. Paul Malykont, Los Osos, Calif. .. To the editor: I am deeply appreciative of columnist LZ Granderson's fair mindedness when it comes to dealing with antisemitism and not allowing it to influence politics. But as a Jew, I would rather not have a Jew as running mate with Harris if there's a chance it would contribute to a loss for Democrats in the race for president. This is a sacrifice of ideals that must be made in order to beat Trump and prevent further civil rights losses. And who would be blamed for these losses if having a Jew on the ticket contributed to them? Why, the Jews, of course. Nancy Flesch Brundige, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Lifetime sex offender charged in attacks on Milwaukee's east side after victim stabs him, police say A 54-year-old convicted sex offender is facing new charges after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted a woman on Milwaukee's east side who defended herself by stabbing him. After his arrest last week, Scott R. Dykas also was linked to a sexual assault that had occurred last year on the east side in which the victim was stabbed by an attacker, court records show. Dykas is a lifetime sex offender registrant after his conviction in a 1988 sexual assault case. He served time in prison and was on parole in 2014 when he was suspected in another series of sexual assaults in Milwaukee. No charges were filed in 2014, but he was sent back to prison for a parole violation. Dykas was released from Wisconsin Department of Corrections supervision in 2021 after completing his sentence, online records show. "I just keep digging myself into deeper and deeper holes," Dykas reportedly told police after his arrest Friday, according to the criminal complaint. Dykas was in custody in the Milwaukee County Jail on Wednesday on $100,000 bail. Scott R. Dykas He faces charges of first-degree sexual assault by use of a dangerous weapon, first-degree reckless injury and second-degree sexual assault, and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Aug. 7. His public defender did not return a call or email late Wednesday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel typically does not publish mugshots unless there is a public safety reason to do so. In this case, the Journal Sentinel is publishing Dykas' mugshot given the serial nature of alleged offenses. Two women report similar sexual assaults on Milwaukee's east side, one year apart The current allegations and past convictions have striking similarities: A man approaches a woman on the street, forcibly gropes her, threatens her sometimes at knifepoint and then flees. According to court records: Last Thursday night, a woman was walking on Bradford Avenue near Oakland Avenue when she felt something touch her hand. She looked over her shoulder and saw a man with his hood up. The man quickly wrapped his arm around her neck and told her to be quiet as he shoved his other hand down her pants. The woman reached into her fanny pack, grabbed a knife and stabbed the man, who released his grasp. "I have one, too," the man said, reaching into the front of his sweatshirt and walking back toward her. The woman sprayed the man with pepper spray twice and ran back to her house, where her roommate called police. About two hours later, Dykas appeared at a local hospital with a stab wound. A Milwaukee police detective interviewed him about the stabbing. Dykas changed his account, at one point saying he had been on Brady Street and then Bradford Avenue and then saying had been attacked on the south side by two Hispanic men, according to a criminal complaint. Dykas was arrested in connection with the sexual assault. When police searched his SUV, they found a black hooded sweatshirt with bloodstains. Authorities also checked the department's license-plate reader system and saw that cameras had captured images of his license plate and car on the east side during the timeframe of the assault. Police noted that Dykas matched the description of a sexual assault that had occurred nearly a year earlier, July 30, 2023, on Maryland Avenue near Park Place on the east side. A woman told police she had been walking home from work that night when a man followed her, grabbed her buttocks and ordered her to turn around at knifepoint. The woman struggled with the man, who then stabbed her in the chest before fleeing. The woman was hospitalized for a collapsed lung. The woman gave police a description of the man, noting he was wearing a mask that covered half his face, and police created a composite sketch of the suspect. After Dykas was arrested last week, police asked the woman to view an in-person line-up and the woman identified Dykas as the man who attacked her, the complaint says. Suspected in a series of sexual assaults a decade ago, but not charged Milwaukee police last arrested Dykas in 2014. That January, a woman flagged down officers and pointed at a man who she said had just groped her the intersection of Frederick Avenue and Park Place on the east side. The man ran away and officers chased after him. Police caught the man who was identified as Dykas. The victim had left the scene before officers had a chance to gather her identifying information and so the case was referred to the District Attorney's Office on a tentative obstructing an officer charge, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Torbenson told the Journal Sentinel this week. The district attorney's office did not charge him with obstruction, Torbenson said, and the office did not have any other referrals from police for Dykas in that time period. Wisconsin Department of Corrections records showed that Dykas returned to prison after that arrest on a parole violation. At the time of the 2014 arrest, Milwaukee police believed Dykas could be a suspect in a series of sexual assaults from the previous two years, according to Journal Sentinel archives. It's unclear why those cases did not move forward or if Dykas was cleared as a suspect. Similar to the recent investigation, police placed Dykas' vehicle at the times and areas of the reported sexual assaults using license-plate reader cameras and technology. A search warrant from 2014 showed police had sought a DNA sample from Dykas to see if it matched a DNA profile developed from a sexual assault Aug. 5, 2013, when a woman told police a man followed her, put her in a headlock and sexually assaulted her in Bay View. The Journal Sentinel has asked Milwaukee police if the DNA testing was completed in that case and if so, what the results found. As of Thursday morning, the department had not responded. Dykas' criminal history dates back to 1988 when he was 18. On May 24, 1988, a woman told police that a man approached her while she was on North 31st Street and held a hard object to her back, telling her not to yell and sexually assaulting her, according to a criminal complaint. Dykas was convicted of first-degree sexual assault in that case. On June 16, 1988, a 15-year-old Milwaukee girl told police that a man grabbed her and tried to force her hands toward his genitals before fleeing when the girl's mother and sister approached them, court records show. A jury acquitted Dykas of attempted first-degree sexual assault but found him guilty of attempted armed robbery. The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached 1-800-656-4673 and a list of local resources is available here. Anyone with information about these cases can call the Milwaukee Police Department's Sensitive Crimes Division at (414) 935-7405. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sex offender charged in two more attacks on Milwaukee's east side List: Nearly 40 beaches closed across Massachusetts on Thursday as heat, humidity climb List: Nearly 40 beaches closed across Massachusetts on Thursday as heat, humidity climb Nearly 40 beaches in Massachusetts are closed to swimmers on Thursday due to bacteria concerns as heat and humidity climb to potentially unsafe levels ahead of the weekend. One of the hotter days of summer: Heat advisory in effect in Mass. before humidity peaks As of Thursday morning, there were 39 beaches, lakes, and ponds closed, including popular destinations on Cape Cod and the Islands, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Healths interactive beach water quality dashboard. Nearly all of those bodies of water are closed due to harmful bacteria levels, the dashboard indicated. The dashboard is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. during beach season. The water quality at beaches in Massachusetts is required to be monitored. This monitoring data helps local health officials determine when to close a beach due to unsafe conditions and notify the public so that beach visitors can make informed decisions about swimming at the beach. Swimming in unsafe waters can result in gastrointestinal and respiratory health issues. The state conducts weekly water quality testing at the start of each week from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Below is the current list of active closures shown in the dashboard: Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW In Tennessee, many elections are decided in the primary, making the August one at least as important as the November one. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) In Tennessee, many elections are decided in the primary, making the August one at least as important as the November one. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) The 2024 primary election in Tennessee mean all 99 state house members are on the ballot and half of the states 33 senators, in addition to two high profile federal elections: the four-way Democratic primary for U.S. Senator and the 5th Congressional District primary in which a Metro Nashville council member tries to unseat first term U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles. The down ballot elections could be a harbinger for the fate of Gov. Bill Lees private school voucher program, as money from outside pro-voucher groups has poured into Tennessee races to support backers of the plan. Key Events 1 month ago Private school vouchers are on the ballot tonight 1 month ago Father of East Tennessee Senate candidate gets summon for sign-stealing 1 month ago 5th District Republican challenger Johnston: People are ready for a serious legislator 1 month ago Spencer, Haile canvass polls on Election Day for District 18 Senate seat; challenger calls for spending caps 1 month ago Private school vouchers are on the ballot tonight The fate of any future plan by Gov. Bill Lee to offer scholarships for students to attend private schools is on the ballot tonight across several Republican primaries. Five pro-voucher groups have independently spent more than $4.5 million as of July 30 on advertisements to boost candidates in favor of private school scholarships. The largest spender of the pro-voucher groups, the School Freedom Fund, has decided to pour more than $3 million into five races, but only one involves an incumbent. That race is in East Tennessee between Sen. Frank Niceley and Jessie Seals. Niceley has represented the area in the state House or Senate for almost two decades. Hes a known quantity and considered one of the most conservative members of the Senate. Last week, Niceley told the Lookout, If we allow out-of-state, dark political action committee money to come in here and label the most conservative senator as a liberal, theres no need to have elections anymore. Just call up and ask em who they want. But the state Senate was not the biggest impediment to school vouchers earlier this year. Instead, it was the state House. For pro-voucher supporters to feel better about their chances next year, they need the following to happen: Aron Maberry wins in Clarksville Lee Reeves in Franklin Chris Todd (incumbent) in Jackson Jason Emert (incumbent) in Maryville Patsy Hazlewood in Signal Mountain John Ragan (incumbent) in Oak Ridge A win in Franklin and Maryville would essentially be a flip to a pro-voucher seat, as the two state representatives who arent seeking reelection didnt support vouchers. If any incumbent loses, especially when candidates challenging them have been clear about their anti-voucher stances, it could put us in the same situation as earlier this year, where a majority of state House Republicans support the concept, but not enough to get the 50 votes needed to pass a bill. 1 month ago Father of East Tennessee Senate candidate gets summon for sign-stealing A Sullivan County judicial commissioner has found probable cause that Bob Harshbarger, father of Republican state Senate candidate Bobby Harshbarger, stole yard signs supporting Sen. Jon Lundberg, against whom the younger Harshbarger is running. Bob and Bobby Harshbarger are the husband and son, respectively, of 1st Congressional District U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger. As reported by WJHL, Lundberg filed an affadavit on Wednesday alleging the elder Harshbarger stole and vandalized signs. The race is considered to be one of the more competitive Senate campaigns. Lundberg has been the beneficiary of more than $191,000 in support from pro-school voucher groups/ Last updated: 4:21 pm 1 month ago 5th District Republican challenger Johnston: People are ready for a serious legislator Metro Nashville Councilmember Courtney Johnston with supporters at the Brentwood Library on August 1. (Photo: J. Holly McCall) Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District, said shes feeling optimistic about her chances with only hours left before polls close. Weve worked incredibly hard, Johnston said, surrounded by a clutch of campaign volunteers as she waved at voters outside the Brentwood Library. Weve gotten a great reception in all six counties and people tell us they are ready for a serious legislator. Johnston, in her second term on Metro Council, has received the backing of prominent Republicans, including former U.S. Sens. Bob Corker and Bill First and former Gov. Bill Haslam. Since Ogles was elected in 2022 after defeating state Sen. Heidi Campbell in the general election, he has introduced a resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Kamala Harris and a measure that would prohibit the use of federal funds to pay the salary of the director of the United States Secret Service, among recent measures. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization that supports enforcement of federal campaign finance laws, has raised questions about Ogless financial disclosures. A political action committee called Conservatives for Character has supported Johnston, spending more than $140 on her behalf. Last updated: 3:31 pm 1 month ago Spencer, Haile canvass polls on Election Day for District 18 Senate seat; challenger calls for spending caps Republican challenger Chris Spencer and veteran Sen. Ferrell Haile spent Election Day visiting precincts, capping a race that saw hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to re-elect the incumbent in Senate District 18. Spencer visited Jack Anderson Elementary School early Thursday near his Hendersonville neighborhood where he noted the final two weeks of the campaign were dramatically affected by political action committee money. He contends action is needed at the state level to cap dark-money spending, which has few restrictions. My door-knockings been tremendous, but you just dont know the amount of money theyve thrown against me. You just dont know what that does, Spencer said. He added that the same lawmakers who make the campaign finance rules are receiving the benefits of PAC expenses. Chris Spencer with wife, Lisa, at Jack Anderson Elementary School in Hendersonville, Tenn. (Photo: John Partipilo) Pro-voucher groups spent nearly $68,000 backing Haile with ads in this campaign, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNallys political action committee put nearly $400,000 toward independent expenditures backing Haile and criticizing Spencer. Haile also traveled from precinct to precinct in District 18, which includes Sumner and Trousdale counties. The Senate speaker pro tem, who said his main effort was to thank campaign volunteers, agreed some new regulations need to be considered for PAC spending, even though he benefited the most from the influx of money in this race. Theres a conversation to be had concerning PACs (and spending limits). Im not opposed to that, Haile said. For the individual, private donations that have been given to me, my supporters expect me to spend that money. They dont expect me to put it in the bank and then lose the election. In the pre-primary reporting period, Haile brought in more than $48,000 and spent $368,324, leaving him with nearly $303,000 in the bank. For the campaign, Spencer raised around $14,000 and loaned himself about $70,000. He spent nearly $35,000 and had just over $1,600 in the bank. Republican Sen. Ferrell Haile greets voters at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin on Thursday morning. (Photo: John Partipilo) Last updated: 11:25 am WASHINGTON (AP) The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. The Journal confirmed that Gershkovich had been freed. Its the latest exchange between Washington and Moscow in the past two years, following a December 2022 trade that brought WNBA star Brittney Griner back to the U.S. in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Russia meanwhile secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West. Heres the Latest: The trade The sprawling deal, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the last two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, was heralded by President Joe Biden as a diplomatic achievement in the final months of his administration. But the release of Americans has come at a price: Russia has secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West by trading them for journalists, dissidents and other Westerners convicted and sentenced in a highly politicized legal system on charges the U.S. considers bogus. The Wall Street Journal confirms Gershkovichs release The Journal confirmed the release, with top editor Emma Tucker saying in a staff email: I cannot even begin to describe the immense happiness and relief that this news brings and I know all of you will feel the same. Russia extended Gershkovichs detention several times In February, a Moscow court ruled to keep him in custody pending his trial. In March, the court ordered him to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late June. The 32-year-old had spent nearly a year behind bars by then. In April, the court rejected an appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention. His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges. Gershkovich appeared in Russian court more than a dozen times Since his detention, Gershkovich has appeared more than a dozen times in Russian courtrooms first in Moscow, where he was held at the notorious Lefortovo Prison, and then at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. His pretrial appearances became almost formulaic, as he was led in handcuffs over and over from a prison van to a glass defendants cage. They offered his family and friends both a painful reminder of his detention but also a chance to lay eyes on him. Its always a mixed feeling. Im happy to see him and that hes doing well, but its a reminder that he is not with us. We want him at home, Gershkovichs mother, Ella Milman, told The Associated Press in an interview in March. Although Gershkovich was often seen smiling in the brief appearances, friends and family said he found it hard to face a wall of cameras pointed at him as if he were an animal in a zoo. As his trial started behind closed doors on June 26, Gershkovich stood in the defendants cage with a shaved head as the media were allowed briefly into the court. Russia has detained many other journalists The arrest of Gershkovich the first U.S. journalist taken into custody on espionage charges since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986 at the height of the Cold War came as a shock, even though Russia had enacted increasingly repressive laws on freedom of speech after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry. There was nothing to suggest that this was going to happen, said Emma Tucker, The Wall Street Journals editor-in-chief in an interview in March. Since the invasion, Russian authorities have detained several U.S. nationals and other Westerners, and Gershkovich knew the risks, said Washington Post correspondent and friend Francesca Ebel. After his arrest, he knew right from the very start that this was going to take a long time, she said. Long before his arrest, Gershkovich lamented that many friends in Russia were being locked up In early 2022, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich wrote on social media that reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years. A year later, he was the one locked up arrested in March 2023 on charges of spying that his employer and the U.S. government have denounced as fabricated. Last month, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. WSJ reporter freed in massive US-Russia prisoner swap The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. Both had been convicted of espionage charges that the U.S. government considered baseless. The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The sprawling deal, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the last two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich that Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. By Jihoon Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's exports rose at the fastest pace in six months in July on strong chip sales but missed market expectations, trade data showed on Thursday, amid worries about a sustained recovery in China demand. Overseas sales by Asia's fourth-largest economy rose 13.9% year-on-year to $57.49 billion, after a 5.1% rise the previous month and marking the fastest growth since January. It was, however, weaker than an 18.4% increase tipped in a Reuters survey of economists. Exports of semiconductors grew for the ninth consecutive month, rising 50.4%, along with gains across other IT products, but automobiles fell 9.1% due to earlier summer vacation periods at major auto firms. By destination, exports to the United States rose for the 12th straight month, up 9.3%, while China-bound shipments jumped 14.9% to a 21-month high of $11.4 billion. "Last month was somewhat disappointing, even after taking base effects into account," said Park Sang-hyun, chief economist at HI Investment Securities. "Exports momentum is seen weakening. China will be key, but recent signs raise doubts over whether its economic recovery will be sustained." China's manufacturing activity weakened in July as factories grappled with falling new orders and low prices, a survey showed on Wednesday, pointing to a grinding second half for the world's production powerhouse. "Exports got off to a good start in the second half of the year," trade minister Ahn Duk-geun said, reaffirming the government's goal to achieve record-high exports this year. Imports rose 10.5% in July to $53.88 billion, after a 7.5% decline in June. It was the fastest increase since September 2022, but slower than a gain of 13.4% expected by economists. As a result, the country posted a trade surplus of $3.62 billion in July, narrower than the previous month's $7.99 billion, which was the biggest since September 2020. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes) UPDATE (11:51 p.m.): President Joe Biden spoke on the prisoner exchange that resulted in the release of three American citizens and an American green-card holder during a Thursday press conference. The prisoner exchange mentioned in the conference involved the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and U.S. green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, CBS News repored. News 5 investigates: Deadly motorcycle crash involving Mobile police officer Biden said Russia recently released 16 prisoners: four Americans, five Germans, and seven Russian political prisoners. We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice, Biden said. Not just for our own people but others as well. Biden told reporters that he spoke with the now-former prisoners on the phone from the Oval Office, where he told them, Welcome almost home. Now they are free, Biden said. According to Biden, ending the prisoners ordeal was a feat of diplomacy and friendship. He noted that multiple countries were involved in orchestrating the release and emphasized, For anyone who questions if allies matter: They do. Watch the full press conference in the video player above. ORIGINAL STORY: MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) President Joe Biden will hold a press conference on the historic U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange. The prisoner exchange involves Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, according to The Hill. Okaloosa County suspect in spiders death arrested Watch the live stream in the video player above. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. Planned Parenthood's office on Congress Street in Portland, Maine. (Maine Morning Star) Representatives of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England called on leaders in Maine and other New England states to fund Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers with state money during a press conference Thursday morning. PPNNE has a projected financial deficit of approximately $8.6 million over the next three years, said interim CEO Nicole Clegg, adding, and this does not include any impact from the potential outcome of the November elections. This past session, the Maine Legislature considered a bill, LD 1478, to provide funding for family planning services, which wouldve included access to birth control, STI testing and gynecological exams, among other healthcare. Despite receiving initial support in both chambers, the bill got caught in the funding process. We are often the first and the only health care provider a patient sees in a year, due to the patient being uninsured or underinsured or having a low income, said Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs for PPNNE and Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund. We are an essential piece of the state safety net here in Maine, and despite that, we received no funding from the state of Maine. Vermont provides some funding to Planned Parenthood, but Maine and New Hampshire do not. Cuts in Maine came under former Governor Paul LePages administration. Weve had an increasing reliance on fundraised dollars to help cover our health care costs, Clegg said. That really shouldnt be the way its operating, but that is what has happened for us. Clegg attributed the projected deficit to some systemic failures, specifically below market reimbursement rates for reproductive care and, even for those who have insurance, an increased demand for free and discounted care given high deductibles. Planned Parenthoods centers in Maine and elsewhere in New England have also seen increased costs related to the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which ended the nationwide right to abortion. Centers have seen increased demand from patients traveling from out of state, in particular states where abortion has since been banned, Clegg said, and insurance rates related to abortion have increased, too. The loss of Roe reverberated throughout the entire provision of this type of care, Clegg said. Another factor in the bleak financial outlook is the Medicaid unwind, which has resulted in people losing health insurance. When less people are insured, it drives up the cost for us, said Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. The Planned Parenthood representatives underscored that they believe the financial challenges theyre seeing are because of politics. This has been evident in the New Hampshire Executive Councils repeated rejections of funding Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers that provide abortions with money the states Department of Health and Human Services had set aside for reproductive health care providers. In the wake of the overturn of Roe, Maine passed a number of laws to protect and expand reproductive care in the state, including allowing abortions at any time during pregnancy if deemed medically necessary by a doctor as well as a shield law to protect the states health professionals who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care from being targeted by other states bans. But, Margulies said, these laws mean nothing if people cant access care. This story was updated to include details about Maines previous funding of Planned Parenthood. CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Weve seen them fuel fights, increase anxiety, and be a distraction in the classroom. Now, Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to ban cell phones in schools, announcing that she will introduce legislation to ban smartphones in schools during the states 2025 legislative session. Latest local news A push that would ban the use of smartphones in schools statewide. Its a hot topic of discussion that has parents and educators talking. Youre not going to find anybody that says that cell phones arent a distraction. They are a distraction, said Tom Colabufo, superintendent of Central Square School District. But would implementing a cell phone policy lead to even more distraction? Colabufo says it could, giving us this scenario. Pretend Im the teacher, Ok kids we are going to learn about the causes of the revolution. Sarah you have your phone out, thats the second time Ive seen your phone out. I need you to give me your phone. Billy, I need you to put your phone away. Alright kids now, Sarah, what, youre not going to give your phone up? Ok, I am going to have to call the main office now because youre not going to give me your phone. And so thats going to become power struggles. Kids are going to say, Look, that kid has his phone. That kid had his phone. Youre targeting me,' said Colabufo. Colabufo says this would be a disruption to both administrators and teachers. It would be a disruption to our teachers that prepare quality lessons that are constantly stopping to enforce the policy, said Colabufo. Currently, the district does not have a cell phone policy in place. Instead, they have a practice, referred to as Out and Away during the Day. Colabufo says this practice applies to students in both middle school and high school. At the middle school its out and away during the day and the students understand that, and its not really an issue. They totally understand the expectation, said Colabufo. Its not nearly as pervasive as it is at the high school. At the high school, when a teacher sees a student thats texting, they say, alright I need you to focus. But they arent writing the student up, so it doesnt generate a referral, which would ultimately be hundreds of referrals if all of our teachers either here or at any other district were actually enforcing a policy banning cell phones to fidelity. There would be hundreds of cell phone violations a day, said Colabufo. Colabufo says some teacher give cell phone breaks, allowing students to use their phones in the classrooms. If a student is caught using their phone outside of a break, the districts practice would not result in a referral or taking away their phone. However, if a statewide policy to ban cell phone use in schools is put into place, that would change the way things operate. Were in a society right now about instant gratification. communication is at the touch of our fingers, to now all of a sudden turn that off and say we have a policy that says if you take your phone out, its going to result in a behavioral infraction or a referral thats going to result in my administrators becoming cell phone police officers, and the majority of their day will be spent chasing cell phone violations and ultimately it will end in, in-school suspension or out of school suspension, said Colabufo. Colabufo now letting the school community know what the outcome would be. If we end up having a ban from the governor on all schools in New York or that my board of education selects that, I ultimately want all the parents and I want the staff to know that what the outcome will likely be and that will be my administrators will be spending the majority of their day doing that, instead of getting into classrooms, instead of doing their observations and investigating things like drugs, vaping, sexual harassment allegations, bullying allegations, all of the things that my administrators are already tasked with doing, said Colabufo. Central Square plans to hold a community forum at the beginning of September to hear from parents and staff about the issue. Governor Hochul is expected to announce a statewide policy proposal on cell phones in schools later this year. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. The US Air Force's top officer in Europe has highlighted how kamikaze drones present threats, as well as opportunities, especially for smaller friendly countries that might not be able to afford higher-end capabilities. The U.S. military is increasingly viewing the growing threats posed by kamikaze drones, especially longer-range types, and the need for more ways to defend against them, as evidence of an opportunity. The top U.S. Air Force officer in Europe has said that what are also now commonly called one-way attack drones could be a very useful lower-cost stand-off strike capability, particularly for smaller NATO members and other American allies and partners who might not be able to afford higher-end exquisite weapon systems. This could also be a critical avenue to help address growing concerns about the size of U.S. military stockpiles of stand-off munitions. Air Force Gen. James Hecker talked about what kamikaze drones might offer to friendly forces, as well as the dangers they represent, yesterday during a virtual talk hosted by the Air & Space Forces Associations (AFA) Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Hecker is the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), as well as head of Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA) and NATOs Allied Air Command. The war in Ukraine, which is right in Heckers operational backyard, as well as ongoing crises in and around the Red Sea and elsewhere in the Middle East, have fully thrust drone threats into the mainstream consciousness. An Iranian-designed Shahed 136 kamikaze drone launched by Russian forces at a target in Ukraine. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images Different than [during] the Cold War is the precision of the munitions that we now face from the adversary, and the quantity of precision munitions, Hecker explained. We were just talking about cruise missiles about two and a half years ago, and they are pretty expensive, so a country couldnt buy a lot of these things. But what we see now are 10-20,000-dollar one-way UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles] produced, obviously cheaply, and produced in mass and at scale. Tonight, Russia conducted one of the largest drone attacks to date, using almost a hundred #Shahed drones. Additionally, one missile was launched from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region. Ukrainian defenders successfully downed all 89 drones. pic.twitter.com/8kYY4d2g8V MFA of Ukraine (@MFA_Ukraine) July 31, 2024 Its worth noting here that estimates of the true unit price of an Iranian-designed Shahed 136, the primary example today of a kamikaze drone with cruise missile-like range, are between $50,000 to $150,000. Shahed 136s, as well as its predecessor the Shahed 131, and derivatives thereof, are in widespread use by Russia against targets in Ukraine and by Iran and its proxies across the Middle East. However, $100,000 is still relatively low-cost compared to traditional cruise missiles and many other precision air- and surface-launched munitions, which can easily be exponentially more expensive. The U.S. military also still very much views cruise missiles, which continue to proliferate, including to non-state actors, as a serious threat. A US Defense Intelligence Agency infographic discussing the Shahed 136, also known as the Geran-2 in Russia. DIA And theyre [kamikaze drones] quite capable, as well. They know how to play with altitude, they know how to avoid sensors, and they have a pretty good package to get them to the target that theyre anticipating get[ting] to, he continued. So, you know, the problem got complicated here in the last two and a half years, and the proliferation every country, you know, can afford these kinds of things and we have to go against them. Hecker did not elaborate on the capabilities he described or how widespread the use of kamikaze drones with those guidance packages might be. The Russians have clearly been working to improve the guidance and other capabilities of the core Shahed 136 design. The war in Ukraine has also become a battlefield incubator for the rapid iterative development of other kinds of kamikaze drones, especially highly maneuverable, but relatively short-range first-person view (FPV) types. Reposting this video showing a Russian T-80BVM tank with a roof screen and deploying smoke surviving multiple FPV hits and misses.https://t.co/nS5v1Vx15F https://t.co/YpwuUrelOT pic.twitter.com/A6ethi6l0O Rob Lee (@RALee85) December 13, 2023 Hecker did say that getting after these threats would require novel approaches, highlighting Ukraines ad-hoc acoustic sensor network as he has done now multiple times. The network makes use of thousands of cellphones and microphones mounted on poles to help detect incoming drone attacks and alert drone-hunting teams on the ground primarily armed with machine guns mounted on trucks, as you can read more about here. Heres what we cant do. We cant go against them with a Patriot [surface-to-air missile]. We cant go against them with a $1 million hammer, Hecker said. That is on the wrong side of the cost curve when it comes to those things. What Hecker said makes him view this concerning reality as an opportunity, as well as one of the things that keep me up at night, is that this calculus goes both ways. We can use them [as] well and put adversaries on the wrong side of the cost curve What weve seen with Ukraine and Russia [is] that theres a lot of cheap systems that enable the exquisite and we have countries here in NATO that would be happy to build those because they cant afford the exquisite stuff, the Air Forces number two officer in Europe continued. And that can be complementary to the exquisite and, sometimes, it can actually do the mission by itself. Western defense contractors, including in Europe, are already increasingly offering lower-tier one-way attack drones, as well as loitering munitions with additional capabilities, in part in response to contracting opportunities to supply Ukraine. NATO members, such as Poland, which can also afford more exquisite capabilities, are themselves starting to acquire those capabilities in greater numbers, as well. The German defense company Donaustahl will supply the Ukrainian special unit KRAKEN with a test batch of FPV drones MAUS. These FPV drones are capable of reconnaissance and strike missions, targeting both infantry and armored vehicles. Characteristics: The MAUS can pic.twitter.com/Mck4H6vnhv Mila.Alien (@mila__alien) July 18, 2024 Interest in more Shahed-like kamikaze drones is growing in the West and there are already options available on the open market, especially from firms in Israel who have been and continue to be pioneers in this field. Irans Shahed 131/136s and their derivatives are heavily influenced by, if not directly derived from the first-generation Israeli delta-winged IAI Harpy loitering munition. Harpy and its successors in Israel have also at least inspired designs developed elsewhere. A US Central Command infographic offering a general look at the evolution of Iranian delta wing kamikaze drones between 2014 and 2021. CENTCOM And then you throw in the high-low mix, where now I can take 15 countries that really couldnt afford and couldnt help a whole lot within NATO with exquisite stuff, now they can purchase one-way UAVs that can make the exquisite better or sometimes even do the mission, Hecker added. The value proposition that kamikaze drones present is not only limited to countries with smaller defense budgets, either. There are already a growing number of efforts to field various tiers of air and surface-launched loitering munitions across the U.S. military. At least one loitering munition, the Switchblade 600, was among the first batch of systems designated to receive special attention through the Pentagons Replicator initiative. The Replicators main goal is to help the branches of the U.S. armed forces field thousands of uncrewed systems with autonomous capabilities in 2025. It also reflects a larger push for a culture change across the Department of Defense when it comes to thinking about uncrewed systems, especially lower-cost ones. On top of this, the line between longer-range kamikaze drones like the Shahed 136 and traditional cruise missiles is increasingly blurry. The U.S. Air Force, as well as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, have been actively working to develop and field new lower-cost stand-off munitions that may ultimately end up somewhere in between design-wise. As a prime example of this, there has been debate over the appropriate classification of the so-called Enterprise Test Vehicles (ETV) now being developed under a program the Air Force is running together with the Pentagons Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). One of four separate vehicle designs now under development as part of the ETV program. Leidos Dynetics People were thinking about how we do a better job of applying digital engineering and said you know, if we built a software programmable, modular, but recoverable air vehicle that looks a lot like a missile and flies over most of the missile envelope that could greatly accelerate how we do test[ing], Tim Grayson, Special Assistant to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, said during a separate talk AFAs Mitchell Institute hosted today. And it was sort of like chocolate and peanut butter coming together. this modular thing for testing purposes, its very adaptable, one of the modules is a warhead, sure looks like a low-cost cruise missile. Grayson said this particular chain of events led to a concept now called the Affordable Mass Munition, which also sounds very much in line with the thinking behind the ETV effort. It also reflects larger trends within his service. A way of thinking that I think is increasingly taking hold across the Department of Defense, and certainly in the Department of Air Force [is] this idea of cost-effective mass, Undersecretary of the Air Force Melissa Dalton also said this week at a talk at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, D.C. For the Department of the Air Force, in particular, historically, weve focused on building a discrete set of exquisite platforms with an emphasis on quality, less on quantity. But quantity can have a quality of its own when youre thinking about how to be able to penetrate through or to be able to disrupt the type of contested environments that certainly we would find ourselves in, these types of scenarios. The scenarios Dalton was referring to include potential high-end conflicts like one in the Pacific against China. Wargames conducted under the auspices of the U.S. military and done independently have repeatedly produced evidence that swarms of relatively cheap networks of drones with high levels of autonomy could be a deciding factor in the success or failure of a Chinese intervention against Taiwan. Those swarms would be capable of performing electronic warfare, intelligence and surveillance, and other missions in addition to kinetic strikes. The U.S. military is now openly pursuing a strategy to help defend the island centered around turning the Taiwan Strait into a hellscape for invading forces full of marauding uncrewed systems in the air and down below. The Taiwanese armed forces have been working to acquire large stocks of kamikaze drones in line with these plans. A rendering of a notional drone swarm overlaid on a map of Taiwan. USAF/CDC Gen. Heckers further highlighting of how kamikaze drones are one avenue to get on the right side of the cost curve also comes amid deepening concerns that Americas existing munitions stockpiles will not be able to meet future, if not current operational demands. On top of that, there are fears that existing supply chains and industrial bases are insufficient to help rectify those issues economically and in useful timeframes. New production concepts and expanding the number of available suppliers and producers are key components of the aforementioned ETV program. There is also a question in all of this about why the U.S. military does not just invest in its own Shahed-like design. The U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the United States and its allies and partners, a report released just this week by the congressionally-manded Commission on the National Defense Strategy also declared. A protracted conflict, especially in multiple theaters, would require much greater capacity to produce, maintain, and replenish weapons and munitions. We dont have enough topline money for munitions, full stop. We [also] dont necessarily have the weapons that we want right now, Special Assistant to Secretary of the Air Force also said today. So we need capabilities that expand the types of weapons we have and the diversity of that weapon portfolio. For all the focus on the very real and still growing threats that kamikaze drones present, they are also emerging as a potentially critical way for the U.S. military and its allies and partners to meet new and future operational needs, and do so in a cost-effective manner. Contact the author: joe@twz.com The November election will be critical in many ways. One significant ballot issue is Initiative 2124, which would remove long-term care options for many people who cant afford private insurance. The League of Women Voters of Washington opposes I-2124 and urges voters to reject this initiative. The league supports the WA Cares Program because it will reduce poverty and promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families. A comprehensive, uniform and affordable set of health services includes long-term care. I-2124 would send us backward, where only people of means can afford long-term care insurance. It would widen the gender income gap, take women out of the workforce and increase medical debt for families with long-term care expenses. Nearly 70% of the population will need long-term care at some point, but only about 3% have private coverage. Without long-term care coverage, women fill the gap for family members and friends as unpaid workers. One in four people mostly women are forced to scale back or quit their jobs to care for a loved one, exacerbating the labor shortage that is harming businesses. There are about 820,000 unpaid caregivers in Washington. Mothers are often sandwiched between caring for children and aging parents and in-laws, and they will be hit hardest by I-2124. As a consequence, if there is no access to state long-term care benefits, more women will be forced to reduce their hours or leave their jobs altogether to support ill, injured or aging loved ones. This also lowers lifetime earnings for women. Half of women over 25 report struggling financially; if an emergency occurred, theyd be wiped out. Seventy-five percent of us have less than $5,000 in savings. And women are typically charged more than men for private insurance coverage. Furthermore, a grey tsunami is about to crash on our state. In just a few years, all Baby Boomers will be 65 or older. According to The National Council on Aging, 80% of households with older adults are in such a financially precarious position that they would be unable to absorb a financial shock to pay out of pocket for long-term care costs. I-2124 is especially harmful to people with diabetes, cancer and other pre-existing conditions because private long-term care insurance companies wont cover them. Forty percent of people who need long-term care support are under the age of 65 due to a serious accident, illness or disability. Long-term care finance experts indicate that what may sound like a simple change in I-2124 allowing people to opt out of our states long-term care insurance program would actually bankrupt the program. This would eliminate care benefits from 3.9 million Washingtonians. By dismantling our states public long-term care benefits, I-2124 will cost taxpayers more, not less, because shutting down our long-term care program will force more people to depend on taxpayer-funded Medicaid. If I-2124 passes, it will harm Washingtonians by taking away benefits that will help cover the cost of care when they experience serious injury, illness or the limitations that can come with disease or aging. Washington doctors and nurses are telling us I-2124 will make health care even more expensive by jeopardizing the ability of millions of Washingtonians to access the care they need when they experience a disabling disease, illness, injury or the normal challenges that can come as we age. When people cant get the help they need managing medications, bathing, dressing and getting around safely, they often cycle in and out of the ER, instead of getting the support they need at home. Backers of the initiative know if voters find out the initiatives true impact, they will reject it which is why they filed a lawsuit to block information about its financial impacts from appearing on the ballot. The League of Women Voters believes in transparency in government and politics and supports giving voters objective information about ballot issues they need to make informed decisions. Washington voters deserve to get the facts about how this measure will impact families and taxpayers increasing our costs and taking away our choices when we experience the most physically, emotionally and financially stressful times of our lives. Please reject I-2124 and protect Washingtons long-term care insurance for nearly 4 million people. Mary Coltrane is president of the League of Women Voters of Washington. Cynthia Stewart is first vice president. BENTON, La. (KTAL/KMSS)As we head into the presidential election this year, there are not enough workers to run the polls in Louisiana. This job is vital for overseeing the democratic process. The Bossier Parish Clerk of Court said the state is experiencing a shortage of poll workers for various reasons, but the process to become certified is easier than people think, plus it pays well. If we dont have enough poll workers for our elections, then we cant have an election, said Jill Sessions, Bossier Parish Clerk of Court. Certified commissioners are community members who ensure local elections run smoothly and correctly. It is an important role that demands their time and focus. Changes to Louisiana law affecting voter registration drives That it is a very long day. They take their jobs very seriously, Sessions said. Sessions said Bossier Parish currently has 579 certified poll workers, with 50 new applicants since April. Her office is seeing more success than other parts of the state, especially south Louisiana, where many poll workers never returned after being displaced by hurricanes. Were lucky to have qualified, certified poll workers in Bossier Parish. So please be patient because this presidential election is going to be very heated, Im sure. Im expecting some lines this year, Sessions said. DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court Lisa Lobrano Burson said they have 355 certified commissioners and commissioners-in-charge, however that number may not be final because some may be deceased or want to be removed before election day. It is a similar situation in Caddo Parish, where Clerk of Court Mike Spence said they had increased the number of certified commissioners from 900 to 1,200 for this election. He also said that amount does not actually turn out on election day, so they always need more. Clerks offices will soon start their training programs to certify new workers. Changes to Louisiana law affecting the absentee voting process, requirements We do on-hand training. So, if we have a class that day, we certify them from the top to the bottom with testing and hands-on training with machines. I will have a deputy clerk who is a certified election worker who will be at every precinct in Bossier Parish as well as myself. I make the rounds during the day. So if theres any problems or any issues they cant handle, I will be there along with my staff, Sessions said. Poll workers earn a paycheck, too. Parishes across Louisiana pay between $250-350. If you want to become a poll worker, you can register through your local Clerk of Courts Office and the Louisiana Secretary of States website. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Louisiana Supreme Court building in New Orleans (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator) Theres still a possibility the race for the Louisiana Supreme Court could be decided through a lawsuit and not an election. A Baton Rouge woman filed paperwork Wednesday to challenge a district court ruling Tuesday that allows all three candidates to remain in the Supreme Court District 2 race. Elisa Knowles Collins sued to disqualify two of the three people running for the seat, citing their delinquent state income tax filings and that one didnt meet the residency requirement to run in the district. Judge Donald Johnson of the 19th Judicial District Court ruled against her Tuesday night and decided not to kick anyone off the ballot. On appeal, Collins case would normally go to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, though that could be tricky. The candidate who would benefit most from her lawsuit, John Michael Guidry, is also the chief judge of that appellate court. If the lawsuit succeeds, Guidry would automatically become the newest Louisiana Supreme Court justice without having to face opponents in an election. The two remaining candidates, Marcus Hunter, a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, and Leslie Chambers, chief of staff for the Louisiana Housing Corp., would be kicked off the ballot. Members of the First Circuit could recuse themselves from the case, which would mean the matter would then head to the Louisiana Supreme Court or another appellate court for consideration. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Collins has a personal connection to Guidry. She testified that her daughter works for the judge as an attorney. Her lawsuit alleges Hunter and Chambers arent qualified to be candidates because they havent filed their state income tax returns for every one of the past five years as required. Both Hunter and Chambers said they attempted to file all of their returns, though some might not have been fully transmitted to the Louisiana Department of Revenue. Chambers is also being challenged as a candidate based on her residency. She lives in Ascension Parish, which is outside of District 2. If she won the election, Chambers has said she would move to Baton Rouge. Whether Hunter and Chambers stay on the ballot should be settled in a matter of days. The court system is required by law to expedite election disputes to avoid public confusion. District 2 for the Supreme Court was dramatically redrawn in May to include a predominantly Black voting population. It will be the second majority-Black seat on the seven-person court. Hunter, Chambers and Guidry are all Black Democrats. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, an influential corporate organization, has endorsed Guidry in the race. Trial attorneys, who are often at odds with the business group, recruited Chambers to run. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Its unclear who is paying for the lawsuit. Collins had a large legal team, four attorneys from two different firms, representing her in court this week. The attorneys declined to say who was paying them for their work. Collins lead litigator, David Bienvenu, and Guidry could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. Hunter and a spokesman for Chambers declined to comment. Lufthansa aircraft stand on the apron at Rhine-Main Airport. Lufthansa cancels flight to Israel for security reasons. Andreas Arnold/dpa The German airline Lufthansa cancelled an onward flight from Cyprus to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, for security reasons. The A321 aircraft had previously landed at Larnaca Airport from Munich as planned in order to fly to Israel with a new crew, according to a company spokesman. However, that leg of the flight was cancelled because Iran had announced it was temporarily closing its airspace in the early hours of Thursday morning. Lufthansa therefore did not consider the safety of flights to Tel Aviv to be guaranteed. Another flight, operated by Group subsidiary Austrian, had to divert to Sofia. The security situation in the Middle East is even more tense than it already was, following the killing of two important opponents of Israel. One of the attacks, for which Iran blames Israel, took place in the Iranian capital Tehran. The Iranian leadership is threatening to retaliate. The Lufthansa spokesman explained that there are currently no more restrictions on flight operations to Tel Aviv. Following the cancellation of the onward flight from Cyprus to Israel, 23 of the 190 passengers did not want to fly back to Munich and chose to remain on the Mediterranean island. Lufthansa introduced stopovers in Cyprus to avoid overnight crew stays in an area of conflict and tension. Lufthansa aircraft stand on the apron at Rhine-Main Airport. Lufthansa cancels flight to Israel for security reasons. Andreas Arnold/dpa The German airline Lufthansa is cancelling its flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv for the coming days due to the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran. The suspension applies to all of the group's airlines and to cargo and passenger aircraft alike, said a company spokesman on Thursday. The Lufthansa Group also includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings. Flights to Beirut have been cancelled up to and including Monday August 12. Flights to Tel Aviv will be suspended until Thursday, August 8. Lufthansa cancelled the onward flight of an aircraft from Cyprus to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night for safety reasons. The A321 aircraft had previously landed at Larnaca Airport from Munich as planned in order to fly to Israel with a new crew, according to a company spokesman. Lufthansa introduced stopovers in Cyprus to avoid overnight crew stays in an area of conflict and tension. The onward leg of the flight was cancelled because Iran had temporarily closed its airspace. The security situation in the Middle East has become even more tense following the killing of two important opponents of Israel. One of the attacks, for which Iran blames Israel, took place in the Iranian capital Tehran. The Iranian leadership has threatened to retaliate. DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) The Macon County Health Department is hosting back-to-school events throughout August to provide students with physicals, vaccines, screenings, and more. Each event will be held at the department building located at 1221 East Condit Street. They are walk-in only and patients will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis though all Macon County students are welcome. Decatur childrens museum unveils new climbing display Parents are asked to bring an insurance card and records, if possible. Here is a list of what services will be offered and when: Friday, August 2 8:30-11:30 a.m.; 1-3:30 p.m. Services: School vaccines, lead testing, dental screenings Saturday, August 3 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Services: School vaccines, lead testing, dental screenings Tuesday, August 6 1-3:30 p.m. Services: Physicals (for kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades) Those getting physicals can also get vaccines, vision screening and lead testing Tuesday, August 20 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Mobile unit for physicals); 8:30-11:30 a.m.; 1-3:30 p.m. Services: Physicals in the mobile unit, school vaccines and lead testing Friday, August 23 1-3:30 p.m. Services: Physicals (for kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades) Those getting physicals can receive vaccines, vision screening and lead testing Decatur Wings & Wheels event to feature drone and fireworks show Families unable to attend any of the above dates but would still like the services should call 217-423-6988 option 2 to schedule an appointment. Further questions can be directed to the same number. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. By Shivansh Tiwary and Rajesh Kumar Singh (Reuters) -Spirit Airlines on Thursday warned of a steeper loss in the current quarter, citing an "intense competitive battle" for the price-sensitive leisure travelers as well as an oversupply of airline seats in the domestic market. The airline has failed to report a profit in the last five out of six quarters despite strong travel demand, raising questions about its ability to manage debt that is due to mature in 2025 and 2026. CEO Ted Christie said Spirit is engaged in "productive conversations" with bondholders to address the upcoming debt maturity, calling it a "priority" for the company. "We are focused on refinancing our debt, improving our overall liquidity position," he said. Spirit's shares have fallen more than 82% this year, compared with a 0.06% decline in S&P 500 passenger airlines index. Its shares were down about 7% at $2.80 in afternoon trade. The Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier's troubles, along with those at some of its rival budget carriers, are making some analysts and industry officials wonder if their business models are broken. Christie said while the low-fare business model is not broken, excess industry capacity is hurting pricing power. The company said it is aggressively managing capacity to better match seasonal and daily demand variances, and has exited 42 markets. Spirit this week unveiled plans to tap into a growing demand for high-end travel to boost its earnings. On Thursday, its executives said the changes would take more than a year before showing full results. In the meantime, the company is doubling down on cost cuts to save cash. It is downgrading about 100 captains and offering voluntary unpaid leaves to flight attendants to save costs. It has also temporarily suspended the recruitment and training of pilots and flight attendants. It has already announced plans to furlough about 240 pilots and defer all aircraft deliveries from Airbus. Spirit is among the most heavily impacted by issues with RTX's Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines, which have forced it to ground multiple aircraft and have left the airline with bloated costs. The airline said it expects to end 2025 with about 67 aircraft on the ground, compared with an average of about 20 grounded planes this year. Spirit forecast a negative adjusted operating margin in the range of 26% to 29% in the September quarter. Analysts at Raymond James said the outlook implies an adjusted loss of $2.40-$2.55 a share for the quarter - wider than a loss of $1.20 per share expected by analysts in a LSEG survey. Story continues It reported an adjusted loss of $1.44 per share in the June quarter, wider than analysts' estimates of $1.36 per share. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Nick Zieminski) PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Is Macys on the way out of Providence Place? The department store giant isnt saying one way or another yet. But speculation is growing about the shutdown of its location in the states biggest mall after a New York financial firm reported that the retailer has it on the closure list. The loss of Macys would be a significant blow to Providence Place, where a previous incarnation of the store as Filenes was one of the original anchor tenants when the mall opened in 1999. Macys executives have warned for months that they planned to close roughly 150 underperforming locations. During an earnings call in May, they said they expect to close 50 of those stores this year, with the rest set to be shuttered by 2026. In a June report examining a $255 million loan secured by Providence Place, the Kroll Bond Rating Agency told clients that the malls owner has indicated that the [Providence Place] Macys is on the list of locations planned for closure. Asked for confirmation by Target 12, a Macys spokesperson said, A final decision on specific locations has yet to be made. Our new strategy is designed to create a more modern Macys Inc. and enhance the customer experience, the spokesperson said. We intend to close approximately 150 Macys stores while further investing in our 350 go-forward fleet over the next three years. Target 12 has learned that the Providence Place store is expected to remain open for the remainder of 2024 regardless of its eventual fate. The malls owner, Brookfield Properties, did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. WATCH: After 20 years, RI is done paying for Providence Place but whats next? The mall has gone through some changes in the age of online shopping. Nordstrom, a former anchor tenant, left the mall in January 2019. The high-end department store was quickly replaced by a Boscovs. The KBRA report also indicated Providence Place still has a high leasing rate, with tenants like restaurant Fogo de Chao, and the gaming establishment, Level 99, opening new locations in the mall. The malls current tax treaty with the city ends in 2028. Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for Mayor Brett Smiley, told Target 12 that the city does not have any active applications for an extension or a new agreement with the mall at the moment. The mayor will reevaluate the potential for a new agreement that reflects the long-term economic goals of the city closer to that date, Estrella said in a statement. Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. Ted Nesi contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. (Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden has called him. Nicolas Maduro wants to get him on the phone. The Venezuelan opposition is yearning for his support. And even his most ardent regional rival, Javier Milei, is now publicly thanking him. Most Read from Bloomberg Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has found himself at the forefront of Venezuelas crisis after Maduro declared himself the victor of an election his opponents say was fraudulent. The dispute and Maduros subsequent crackdown on dissent have thrust the leader of Latin Americas largest nation into an increasingly uncomfortable position. The Venezuelan president is an old ally who still has the support of many within Lulas leftist Workers Party, which endorsed Maduros victory this week. The opposition and the growing list of global leaders who back it, meanwhile, have appealed to Lulas efforts to paint himself as a defender of democracy, especially after he rallied international support for fair elections in his own race just two years ago. Lula has remained conspicuously careful since Sundays vote. He has avoided acknowledging the result and called on Venezuela to release full ballot records. But he has also refused to endorse the idea that the election was rife with fraud, as the opposition has claimed, and said in a TV interview he would have to accept the outcome if a Maduro-friendly top court ruled it legitimate. That has left him a step short of the US, which on Wednesday declared opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez the legitimate winner of the race, but in line with most other Latin American leaders who have yet to accept the results. Lulas allies say that his approach is part of a deliberate strategy in line with Brazils traditional prioritizing of dialogue in foreign affairs. To his many critics, however, it is merely the latest example of his unwillingness to take a stand against a socialist leader he has long defended, even as Maduro tightens his authoritarian grip on the beleaguered nation. The 78-year-old Brazilian, whose government faced an insurrection attempt in the wake of his narrow 2022 election victory, is concerned about Venezuelan democracy, five officials with knowledge of his thinking on the matter said. And Lula has grown increasingly frustrated with Maduro, whom he urged to hold a transparent and fair election ahead of the vote, for not heeding those calls, the people said. But Lula also believes that further isolating Maduro and Venezuela, which has been subject to crushing sanctions from the US in recent years, will fail to resolve the crisis, the people said. And as one of the few global leaders who still has open diplomatic channels with Caracas, he sees it as his role to keep talking to both sides as well as with other nations that have demands for Maduro. Lulas office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lula on Thursday spoke with Mexicos Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Colombias Gustavo Petro two other Maduro allies about the situation. Immediately after, the three nations released a joint statement calling on Venezuela to quickly release the ballot records, and for the impartial verification of the results. Maduro has also asked for a call with Lula, according to two people familiar with the matter. The approach is part of Lulas view that in South America, Brazil is the adult in the room, said Christian Lynch, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Growing Tensions For now, those efforts have won at least some support from across the region. Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader Maduro barred from the election and has since threatened to arrest, on Wednesday thanked Brazil for taking control of Argentinas embassy in Caracas after Venezuela expelled the countrys diplomats. Six of Machados aides are currently taking refuge in the embassy. This could contribute to advancing a constructive and effective negotiation process like the one that Brazil has supported, Machado said in a social media post. Milei, the libertarian Argentine leader who routinely trades public barbs with Lula, also lauded Brazils move, and Argentina raised a Brazilian flag over its embassy Thursday morning. Still, Maduros actions against the opposition only continue to intensify: On Wednesday, he said Machado should be behind bars. She wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that she had gone into hiding. That has generated skepticism that Maduro is open to more dialogue. Lulas prior embraces of Maduro, meanwhile, have raised questions about whether he will eventually accept the results even if Venezuela fails to produce the evidence of the elections legitimacy that he has demanded. Last year, Lula labeled Maduro the victim of a narrative of anti-democracy and authoritarianism, and allies within his government still sense that he has been slow to recognize that support for Chavismo has plummeted inside Venezuela, the people familiar said. Lulas democratic credentials are particularly important right now, and support for Maduro tarnishes them, said Celso Rocha de Barros, a newspaper columnist and author of a history of the Workers Party. For all the attention paid to Lula, his leverage is limited in a nation where even sanctions imposed by the US once the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil failed to sway Maduro. Trade between Brazil and Venezuela totaled roughly $1.7 billion last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, less than a third of Venezuelas flows with the US. Venezuela is strategically very autonomous because it doesnt depend much on its neighbors, said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo. Lula, the people familiar said, is still deliberating over his next steps. Even if Maduro does not meet his demands, he is unlikely to break ties completely, according to one person familiar with his thinking. Instead, the person said, he is likely to take the approach he has applied to Nicaraguas Daniel Ortega another ally turned regional outcast, with whom Lula hasnt spoken in more than a year. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (left) applauds as UMaine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy and David Daigler, president of Maines community college system, announce the new Transfer ME partnership. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star) Maine Community College students are now guaranteed admission to at least one of the states public universities after they finish their associate degree. In a new partnership announced Wednesday by the Maine Community College and University of Maine systems, Maines community colleges will proactively notify their students about transfer opportunities to public universities after they finish 30 credits or approximately, their first year at the community college. Students dont have to apply, pay fees, or send transcripts to the university to initiate the transfer if they participate in this new program, launching this fall. I think one of the one of the immediate attractions to a student is that its guaranteed admission, said David Daigler, president of Maines community college system. We jointly counsel them, we work with them, we make sure that theyre on track, and they can at that point, opt in to get direct admission to a university. And then when they graduate from the community college, they get a letter of acceptance from the university. Although this partnership, called Transfer ME, builds on more than 180 articulation agreements between the two institutions, which allowed different courses taken at the community college is considered to be the same in terms of their credit-worthiness as a course taken at the university, it was a complicated system for students to navigate to figure out which courses counted, which was holding them back from pursuing a transfer even if they were interested, according to Daigler. The partnership, called Transfer ME, builds on more than 180 articulation agreements between the two institutions, which allowed various community college courses to be considered the same credit-worthiness as a course taken at the university. However, that was a complicated system for students to navigate and, according to Daigler, was holding them back from pursuing a transfer even if they were interested. Those students have new opportunities to go to a four-year institution because its just a simplified process, he said. They dont have to figure it out. Well figure it out for them. At the event announcement at Southern Maine Community College on Wednesday, Gov. Janet Mills emphasized the importance of this partnership on workforce and economic development in Maine. No more wondering if you can continue your education in Maine, she said. You can and you should, because a four-year degree program and a rewarding career are here waiting for you right here in Maine. Two years ago, Maines community colleges started offering tuition-free associates degrees, which was an important benchmark in signing this agreement, Daigler said. The community college systems enrollment increased by about 20 percent, or 4,500 students since it started offering free college. Now, those students have a clear pathway to a baccalaureate degree, both Daigler and UMaine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy said. Were already seeing an increased number of people transferring, and what we want to do is start that process earlier, really to make life easier for the person whos going to get their associate degree and then wants to get into a baccalaureate program, Malloy said. When Maines community colleges started the free college initiative, the chancellor predicted that there might be a slight drop in enrollment in the first and second year students at the states public universities, but also expected an increase in transfer student enrollment which the system has already begun to see, he said. According to Daigler, the increase in community college enrollment is not due to students choosing community colleges over state universities, but rather offering a tuition-free associate degree has opened the door to many students that were not considering or could not afford to go to college at all. Transfer agreements in other states, such as Florida, Rhode Island, and Virginia, have proven to boost both student success and enrollment. What I think has happened is one system looked at the other system as competition. And I think what David and I are trying to do is make it truly a partnership, Malloy said. And now were cooperating to the greatest extent possible to make sure that the students that we will share will be successful. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Theyre out, finally. The release of a group of Americans and other westerners held in Russian detention provided a jolt of energy for an unsuspecting figure on Thursday: President Joe Biden, whose relevance as commander-in-chief has suddenly been sharply reinforced for a national news media with a short attention span. A total of 16 captives held by Russia were released, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Evan Gershkovich, and British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza. It was a clear political victory for Biden at an unexpected time. He is still reeling from the political effects of withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race just weeks before his partys national convention. Kamala Harris, his vice president, is now the presumptive nominee and has taken on a starring role in the campaign as well as back home in Washington. And this victory couldnt have come at a better time. Bidens former opponent, Donald Trump, is in the middle of what appears to be a downward spiral as pressure mounts on his campaign over past statements about women made by JD Vance, his running mate. His campaign has also largely been unable to blunt the stunning momentum Harris has seen out of the gate, though it fired back on Thursday with its own impressive monthly fundraising total for July: $327 million. With his new opponent quickly eating away at his polling lead and pulling in nearly two-thirds of that total in just her first week in the race, Trump appeared for a disastrous interview on Wednesday at a conference held by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). The result: a news cycle focused around him questioning the race of Americas first Black vice president, as other negative headlines pile up. On Capitol Hill, Trumps loyalist firing line has fallen silent. Once in unison attacking the president over his age and mental faculties, the GOP conferences in the House and Senate have been left, like the Trump campaign, divided and scattered in their response to Kamala Harriss asendancy. Now, theyre back on uncomfortable ground as they are forced to respond to the former presidents racist line of attack against the vice president. The Republicans who spoke to The Independent on Thursday found themselves unwilling to directly attack Joe Biden over the news of the prisoner swap, as Trump had done on Truth Social. Even some of Trumps closest allies couldnt bring themselves to take away the moment from the Democratic president, and instead offered lukewarm questions about what the Russians got in return. That question appears to at least so far include one convicted hitman held in Germany, as well as a few other Russian agents held in western countries including the US. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican freshman senator from Alabama, came the closest: What did we get? he asked, before it was pointed out that two Americans were released as part of the deal. Im glad that theyre both out, he said, but whatd we have to give up? John Thune, who may be the next Senate GOP leader after Mitch McConnell steps down later this year, echoed Tuberville. Calling the return of two Americans great news, he added that everybody's asking the question about what was the price that we paid to the Russians. But the clearest sign of the Republican Party holding fire: Ted Cruz, the conservative gadfly from Texas, didnt even go that far. I'm very glad that Evan [Gershkovich]s back but I want to examine the details and just assess it on the merits. I haven't seen the full details of what occurred, Cruz told The Independent. The stage is set for Kamala Harriss honeymoon phase to continue. Pundits, meanwhile, are increasingly coming around to the idea that the races trajectory could be too much for Trump to survive especially given that Harris is set for her own four-day coronation in front of thousands of Democrats later this month. SALUDA COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) In South Carolina, Saluda County is seeing big changes to its schools. Those include a near total overhaul to the elementary, middle and high schools. The total budget was around $90 million. Half of that money comes from last years bond referendum. The rest of the money comes from state funding. The morale of our community, and support of our community has been great. Our students that were going to be able to put them in brand new buildings thats going to provide them with the best learning opportunities, and were going to put them in safer buildings. So, just very appreciative of the community realizing the need, and coming behind us and supporting us, said Dr. Harvey Livingston, Superintendent, Saluda County School District. Construction has been underway for about year. It should be wrapped up by March 2025. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. China is narrowing the artificial intelligence (AI) gap with the US through rapid progress in deploying applications and state-backed adoption of the technology, despite the lack of access to advanced chips, according to industry experts and analysts. Chinese tech firms have rushed to create their own large language models (LLMs) - the underlying technology behind generative AI technologies like ChatGPT - with many even claiming to match or exceed their US counterparts, all amid tighter US restrictions on advanced chips considered critical to the training of AI systems. "It's an emerging trend that the lack of [advanced] graphic processing units in China, amid US restrictions on exports, results in the drive and push for efficiency in AI in China," according to Winston Ma, author of the book Digital War - How China's Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace. 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. A staff member demonstrates a gesture-controlled robot during the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, July 4, 2024. Photo: Xinhua alt=A staff member demonstrates a gesture-controlled robot during the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, July 4, 2024. Photo: Xinhua> In one example, Shengshu AI, a little-known start-up based in Beijing, launched its text-to-video tool this week, becoming the latest local firm to offer a Sora-style service for unlimited public use, after Kuaishou and Zhipu AI. The tool, called Vidu, is able to generate clips from Chinese and English text prompts. While text-to-video was pioneered by Sora, the three Chinese tech firms have been able to put their AI video tools in the hands of global users. In comparison, San Francisco-based start-up OpenAI, which was the first to demonstrate the function, has yet to make its tools widely available. Chinese firms are also contributing to global AI development by launching open source LLMs so anyone can build their own AI systems. Alibaba Group Holding launched its Qwen2 open-source LLM family in June, which was ranked No 1 at the time by Hugging Face, a developer community for open-source AI models. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. "Qwen 72B is the king and Chinese open models are dominating overall," Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clement Delangue said in a post on social media platform X. Analysts partly attribute China's rapid progress in AI to its ability to work around the chip restrictions to develop the intelligent computing power required to train local LLMs. Story continues Since the US placed export restrictions on Nvidia's A100 and H100 chips - considered the gold standard for training sophisticated AI systems - in mid-2022 and later included the less powerful A800 and H800 chips, Beijing and some of the nation's tech champions have managed to build a large reservoir of intelligent computing power, thanks in part to locally developed solutions. "Looking at the numbers, domestic computing power has been racking up rapidly, as many state-owned-enterprises and regional [governments] are tasked with [developing] intelligent computing power," said Li Yangwei, a Beijing-based technical consultant working in the field. China is narrowing the artificial intelligence gap with the US through rapid progress in deploying applications. Photo: Shutterstock Images alt=China is narrowing the artificial intelligence gap with the US through rapid progress in deploying applications. Photo: Shutterstock Images> Li added that chips developed by local firms, such as Huawei Technologies, have gained popularity, and that Huawei's Ascend solution is China's best shot in developing a home-grown AI infrastructure. Huawei's Ascend 910B AI chip has been found in some tests to deliver between 80 per cent and 120 per cent of the performance of Nvidia's A100 when training LLMs, Wang Tao, chief operating officer of Jiangsu Kunpeng Ecosystem Innovation Centre, said on the sidelines of the Nanjing World Semiconductor Conference in June. Zhang Yi, founder and chief analyst at technology consultancy iiMedia, said the buildout of computing resources infrastructure by the state has also helped alleviate anxiety over the lack of advanced chips. When compared with other nations, China's vast market size and public sector demand for AI and its applications are advantageous to further AI progress in the country, according to Zhang. "China has a comprehensive and complete manufacturing industrial production system ... [and] many entities are in dire need of improving their efficiency, so that's where AI could be tapped," he said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. A second aircraft which took off from Ankara, has landed at the military section of Cologne/Bonn Airport as part of the prisoner exchange with Russia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa-Pool/dpa Two high-profile US citizens imprisoned in Russia were on their way back home on Thursday after being freed in exchange for a convicted Russian murderer sitting in a German jail and others in a major prisoner exchange involving 26 detainees and several countries. The exchange, announced on Thursday by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and later confirmed by US President Joe Biden, included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan. The prisoner exchange took place at the airport in the Turkish capital Ankara, MIT said. It also included German national Rico K, who had been sentenced to death in Belarus for alleged involvement in a bomb attack and then pardoned. Among the Russians released from Russian detainment were prominent Kremlin critics such as Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin. Among those released to Russia was a convicted murderer who killed a Chechen dissident in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin. He was released from German custody as part of the deal. Late on Thursday, US ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake said a plane carrying the released Americans had taken off from Ankara and was heading to the US. Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin personally welcomed the Russians released at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. In a statement on Thursday, Biden said "the deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy." He said his administration will continue to work to free "all those wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world." Gershkovich and Whelan had been imprisoned in Russia. The reporter was recently sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, following his detention last year on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. Whelan had been in Russian custody since 2018. In Berlin, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit defended the release of convicted Russian murderer, Vadim K, who was serving a life sentence for killing an exiled Chechen in broad daylight in a central Berlin park in 2019 - on the orders of Russian state authorities. "The release was only possible because Russian citizens with intelligence backgrounds who were imprisoned in Europe were deported and transferred to Russia," Hebestreit told reporters. Putin had previously said during an interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson that he was open to a prisoner exchange involving Vadim K. Germany's Ministry of Justice approved his release as part of the major east-west prisoner swap. In return for the transfer of Vadim K and another nine individuals previously detained in the US, Norway, Poland, and Slovenia, 16 Western citizens and Russian opposition figures were freed. The MIT described the operation in Ankara as the "most extensive prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia and Germany in recent years." It includes numerous Kremlin critics. Signs of an imminent exchange increased in recent days Recently, there had been growing reports of numerous political prisoners in Russia being moved to unknown locations, including the former heads of the regional staff for Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in February in Russian prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. Observers in Moscow interpreted Gershkovich's swift sentencing in July as a potential sign that an agreement on a prisoner exchange might soon be reached. Generally, under Russian legal practice, a verdict must be in place for an exchange to take place. Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) welcomes prisoners released following the swap deal at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. -/KREMLIN/dpa German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a press statement at the Cologne/Bonn international airport, after German political prisoners have been released in one of the biggest prisoner swaps between Russia and the West. Christoph Reichwein/dpa-Pool/dpa Inside Scoop launched the limited edition flavour which combines vanilla ice cream with a syringe of Pei Pa Koa, a popular herbal cough syrup A Malaysian artisan ice cream brand has landed in hot water over its latest special edition flavour: vanilla topped with cough syrup. The company, Inside Scoop, was forced to rapidly withdraw its new gelato after the Ministry of Health warned that mixing ice cream with cough syrup was against the law and may threaten the safety of consumers. The chain which has 49 stores in the southeast Asian country selling premium ice cream without artificial flavourings or preservatives this week launched a limited edition flavour combining vanilla ice cream with a syringe of Pei Pa Koa, a popular herbal cough syrup. Inside Scoop touted the ice cream as a soothing and cooling sweet treat inspired by similar products in neighbouring Singapore including Pei Pa Koa flavoured milk and bubble teas. But the government disagreed. The Malaysian Ministry of Health is aware and takes seriously the sale of ice cream products mixed with traditional cough medicine Pei Pa Koa, the department said in a statement on Facebook. The ice cream includes a syringe containing Pei Pa Koa, a popular cough medicine It added that mixing medicines registered with the Drug Control Authority with food is illegal under the Food Act and could trigger a fine of 20,000 Malaysian ringgit (3,400) or five years in jail. Accordingly, all premises that carry out the activity of selling these products are instructed to immediately stop the sale for the purpose of safety for consumers and the public, the ministry said. As the saga was splashed across Malaysian media, debates erupted on social media, where many users were concerned the flavour could encourage cough syrup abuse among teenagers. But Inside Scoop rapidly complied, telling the New Strait Times that the flavour had been recalled and discarded nationwide after a call from regulators. We view the matter raised by the ministry very seriously and apologise for any inconvenience caused, said Andrew Hong, the chains marketing director. It is known to be a hot-selling flavour in Singapore and this inspired Inside Scoop to churn out its very own Pei Pa Koa flavour. We were genuinely unaware of the Health Ministrys regulation against mixing the Pei Pa Koa cough syrup with food products, he added. We regret the mistake on our part and will make sure to be extra careful/mindful in future, not to repeat the mistake. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday accused Meta Platforms of cowardice after his Facebook post on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was removed, in his government's latest run-in with the firm over blocked content. Muslim-majority Malaysia is a supporter of the Palestinian cause and Anwar had posted a video recording of his phone call with a Hamas official to offer condolences over Haniyeh's death, which was later removed. Haniyeh's assassination in Iran on Wednesday has added fuel to concern the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war. Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has said he has good relations with the Hamas political leadership but no links on a military level. "Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Meta: Cease this display of cowardice," Anwar posted on his Facebook page. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Malaysia's Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said an explanation had been sought from Meta and it was unclear whether the posts were automatically removed, or taken down following a complaint. Meta has designated Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, as a "dangerous organisation" and bans content praising the group. It also uses a mix of automated detection and human review to remove or label graphic visuals. Malaysia has previously complained to Meta over its takedown of content, including local media coverage of Anwar's last meeting with Haniyeh, which was later restored. Meta at the time said it was not deliberately suppressing voices on its Facebook platform and was not restricting content supporting the Palestinians. Malaysia has long advocated a two-state solution for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. (Reporting by Danial Azhar; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Man accused of hitting, dragging child with vehicle in Dayton indicted Man accused of hitting, dragging child with vehicle in Dayton indicted WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The man accused of hitting and dragging a child has been indicted on multiple charges. Jeffrey Atkinson | Montgomery County Prosecutors Office Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. announced the indictment of Jeffrey Jay Atkinson, 55, of Dayton. Atkinson is accused of striking and dragging a girl on July 22 in Dayton. Cunigan indicted in shooting deaths of pregnant woman, teen Heck reports Atkinson was indicted on the following charges: 2 counts of aggravated vehicular assault 1 count of child endangering 1 count of failure to stop after an accident 1 count of OVI When a selfish, careless drunk is behind the wheel, no one is safe, said Heck. As they were waiting on the side of the road for an ambulance, this little girl said to the officers, I dont want to die! Is this a dream? Our prayers are with her as she begins her lengthy recovery. Atkinson is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. A Long Beach man has pleaded guilty to participating in a multimillion-dollar smash-and-grab robbery of a jewelry store in Beverly Hills in March 2022. Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 32, pleaded guilty to felony robbery charges on Thursday; hed been in federal custody since September 2022. On March 23, 2022, Vernon was among a group of thieves that used heavy tools to smash the display case at Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills while employees were present. The brazen robbery was captured on camera and witnesses shared the video with KTLA. The footage showed several people wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts smashing the street-facing display windows and running off with handfuls of expensive jewelry. One of the thieves, according to the United States Department of Justice, was Vernon. In total, 20 watches, 19 bracelets, eight rings, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces and a pair of decorative obelisks were stolen during the crime. The listed value of all items taken was around $2,674,600, the DOJ said. Pedestrians walk past a boarded up Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) Vernon and his accomplices ran from the store and took off in an Audi, leaving behind a stolen Kia that theyd driven to the scene. Officials said it was ultimately Vernons own carelessness that was his undoing. Charging documents stated that he dropped his cell phone out of his sweatpants pocket while smashing the stores windows and it was later recovered by investigators. In addition to Vernons mistake, one of his accomplices posted several photos on social media that included large stacks of money with the caption robbery gang. Footage released by the Beverly Hills Police Department shows officers gearing up for a raid in Long Beach on Sept. 21, 2022. Vernon and his co-defendants were identified shortly after. Deshon Bell, 22, and Ladell Tharpe, 39, were arrested during an overnight operation in Long Beach in September 2022. Vernon was arrested that same day in Barstow. Bell previously pleaded guilty to federal robbery charges and was sentenced in February to one year in federal prison. Tharpe has pleaded not guilty and is expected to face trial in October. Vernon is due in court for sentencing on Oct. 10 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The crime was one of the most high-profile robberies in the Los Angeles area post pandemic and was a flashbulb moment for law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California. The Los Angeles Police Department eventually issued warnings to citizens and tourists not to wear expensive jewelry in public due to the risk of becoming the victim of a follow-home robbery. Smash-and-grab robberies like the one at Luxury Jewels eventually led to an increased onus on retail crimes by law enforcement and helped set in motion the establishment of statewide task forces to combat the rising problem. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Man in Appling Co. sentenced to federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking BRUNSWICK, Ga. (WSAV) The Southern District of Georgia has sentenced and Appling County man to federal prison after pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine. According to Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Christopher Eric Stone, 40, of Baxley, Ga., has been sentenced to 68 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood has ordered Stone to serve three years of supervised release following the completion of his prison sentence. Christopher Stone has a substantial history of arrests and convictions in Appling County, dating back more than two decades, said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. Significant time behind bars will provide the community with a measure of relief from his serial criminality. According to documents and testimony, deputies from the Appling County Sheriffs Office found Stone in possession of methamphetamine during multiple traffic stops, the second time when he was on bond on state charges. Stone has a long history of criminal convictions for charges including drug trafficking and domestic violence, primarily in the Baxley area. As Sheriff of Appling County, I am very thankful to our federal partners at the DEA and the U.S. Attorneys Office, said Appling County Sheriff Mark Melton. The sanctions we see through this partnership make a statement that we are not going to tolerate drug dealers and if they choose to do so here, there will be severe repercussions. The investigation and subsequent conviction of this criminal drug dealer demonstrates the DEAs commitment to fight the drug traffickers who have no regard for the citizens of our community, said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administrations Atlanta Division. The case was investigated by the Appling County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Man Arranged to Meet His Newborn for the First Time. Then He Ambushed the Infant and Family, Killing 2 Ebony Wright and her mother Wanda Wright were killed in 2021 by Ebonys ex-boyfriend, who also tried to set his infant on fire GoFundMe Wanda Wright and Ebony Wright A Maryland man has been convicted of murder more than three years after he tried to set his own child on fire and killed the childs mother and grandmother in a shooting spree. Ebony Wright and her mother Wanda Wright were killed by Ebonys ex-boyfriend in April 2021, after he arranged to meet his newborn for the first time, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. announced last week. Keanan Turner, 34, also shot Ebonys sister in the face and tried to set the infant on fire in the Washington, D.C., attack on April 12, 2021, authorities said. The investigation revealed that Ebony and Turner had been in a relationship when she got pregnant, per the statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Turner asked Ebony to terminate the pregnancy, which she declined to do, per authorities. As a result, he ended all communication with her. (The statement did not detail the timeline of events, but the infant was 4 months old at the time of the violent incident, according to a GoFundMe set up by the family). After she gave birth to the child, Ebony sued Turner for child support in a D.C. court. In response, Turned reached out to her and asked to meet his child for the first time, the statement said. They arranged to meet in Ebonys Washington, D.C., home, where her mother Wanda Wright and sister were also present. Metropolitan Police Department Keanan Turner Turner and the Wright family members, along with the newborn, had all been together for an hour in the home when Turner carried out his rampage. He first shot Ebony in the head and then her mother, Wanda, in the back of her head. He then went to another bedroom where he shot Ebony's sister in the face, per authorities. Prior to leaving the apartment, the defendant lit the custody paperwork on fire in an attempt to kill the child, read a part of the statement from prosecutors. He would later be identified by authorities because he ended up exposing a unique arm tattoo in a ring camera he was trying to remove when he was fleeing the apartment. Ebony's sister, still alive, heard her nephew cry from the next room and managed to carry him out of the apartment before notifying authorities, per the statement. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. According to the GoFundMe, Ebony's sister, who was a college student at the time of the slayings, was preparing to raise her nephew after the tragedy. Turner was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder while armed with aggravated circumstances, assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, attempted first degree murder of a minor, second-degree cruelty to children, arson and destruction of property, per the U.S. Attorney's Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces a maximum of life in prison. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Man arrested in South America in connection to 6-year-old Maryland boys murder PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Police said that a man was arrested in Guyana in connection to the deadly shooting of a 6-year-old boy at a Fourth of July block party. Prince Georges County police officers responded to a shooting in the 4500 block of Akron St. around 8 p.m. on July 4. When officers arrived, they found two adults and Ahsan Payton, 6, who had been shot. Police said the two adults (a man and a woman) had non-life-threatening injuries. Medics took Payton to the hospital for treatment. He died from his injuries two days later. PWCPD: Police shoot, kill man in Woodbridge, investigation underway As the investigation developed, detectives found that the shooting happened during a block party in the community. Police identified the suspect as 33-year-old Rakeem Gilgeours. The Prince Georges County Police Department said Gilgeours was caught in Guyana, South America by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Special Branch of the Guyana Police Department. He was charged with second-degree murder and related charges, according to police. Gilgeours was deported back to the United States and is awaiting extradition in Florida. Anyone who attended the party, or with more information, is urged to contact Homicide Unit detectives at 301-516-2512. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. CHICAGO The man charged with killing Cook County Sheriffs Deputy Rafael Wordlaw in an attempted armed robbery while Wordlaw was off-duty early Tuesday morning is a convicted felon. Cordarrow Thompson, 32, of Chicago is charged with first-degree murder, along with six other felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and attempted armed robbery. The charges were announced Thursday morning in a press conference by Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx. UPDATE: Police release image of SUV linked to shooting death of Cook County Sheriffs deputy In his opening remarks, Snelling said Thompson is a convicted felon. Thompson is charged with shooting and killing Wordlaw, 31, during an attempted armed robbery at a gas station in the 500 block of East 67th Street, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the citys South Side, around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Wordlaws family said he had been out earlier in the night with friends before stopping at the gas station. Officials allege Thompson tried to rob Wordlaw at the gas station with two guns, firing off at least 69 rounds. During the ensuing shootout, officials say Wordlaw fired once from his vehicle, striking Thompson in the leg. Wordlaw was shot in the chest and tried to drive away from the scene, but he crashed into a pole a few blocks away and later died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. According to officials, Thompson allegedly fled the scene and made his way to an area hospital to receive treatment for his gunshot wound, where he provided false information and a fake alias. Then, officials allege, Thompson fled to a different hospital in a ride share to seek treatment after refusing to cooperate with police, where he again provided false information. Officials say Thompson was arrested within three hours of the shooting. Additionally, officials say a 30-year-old man on the scene was also shot at and sustained minor injuries. Wordlaw, described by family and friends as a hard worker who loved his job and the life of the party who loved to make people laugh, wouldve turned 32 on Aug. 10. READ MORE: Family, friends remember Cook County Sheriffs deputy killed off-duty in armed robbery attempt Deputy Wordlaw shouldve been celebrating his 32nd birthday next week, Snelling said Thursday in announcing the charges against Thompson. Instead, his family is now dealing with the loss of a loved one. Sheriff Dart also spoke with Wordlaws mother, who told Dart her son aspired to be like his father, who was a police officer in Englewood. Officials say they will release information on the vehicle the suspect was in later Thursday. Other fallen officers Wordlaw is the second law enforcement officer to be shot and killed in the city while off-duty this year, and the third in a little over a year. CPD Officer Luis Huesca was shot and killed in the early-morning hours of April 21, two days shy of his 31st birthday, in the Gage Park neighborhood on the citys Southwest Side while returning home from a work shift. Xavier L. Tate has been charged with Huescas murder. Tate pleaded not guilty to all charges against him during an arraignment hearing in June and was scheduled to be in court again Thursday for a status hearing. In May 2023, CPD Officer Areanah Preston, 24, was fatally shot outside her home in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the citys South Side in the early-morning hours, just after returning home from her shift. Three men and a juvenile were charged with first-degree murder in Prestons killing. Just prior to that, in March 2023, CPD Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso, 32, was shot and killed in the line of duty while investigating a domestic incident in Gage Park. Losing one of your own is never easy, Snelling said Thursday. Its also worse when you know that youve lost someone to senseless gun violence. Weve seen this all too often. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. An East Gwillimbury man is now facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of Markham woman Ying Zhang. (York Regional Police - image credit) A 26-year-old man is facing charges of second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body after the coroner's office confirmed that human remains found during a search in Kawartha Lakes this week were those of missing Markham woman Ying Zhang. In a news release Thursday, York Regional Police said East Gwillimbury man Changlin Yang is now facing upgraded charges. He was initially facing charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement and aggravated assault. Yang briefly appeared at a virtual court hearing Thursday afternoon, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He is expected back in court later this month. Zhang's body was found on Monday in the Village of Kirkfield, roughly 140 kilometres northeast of Toronto, police said. Investigators announced Wednesday that a body had been located, and said at that time officers were waiting for the coroner to confirm its identity. The discovery was made on Monday around 5 p.m., police said, in the area of Palestine Road and Fenel Road. Yang, right, briefly appeared in a virtual court session Thursday afternoon. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC) Investigators had been conducting a ground search in the area after a white van, alleged to belong to the accused, was seen in that location, Const. James Dickson said in an interview with CBC Toronto. "The body was located inside of a green bin," Dickson said. "It appears that there were other items that were discarded along with her remains before it was dumped at the side of the road." Dickson said the circumstances in which the body was found contributed to the indignity to a dead body charge, but he could not specify what sort of condition it was found in. "While this is an absolutely horrible situation, this is insult to injury for the family," he said. Police say the suspect was driving this white van in the area where Zhang was last seen on the morning of July 25. Police say the accused was driving this white van in the area where Zhang was last seen on the morning of July 25. (York Regional Police) Zhang, 57, was last seen on July 25 around 10:40 a.m. at a wellness centre in the area of Woodbine Avenue and Steelcase Road in Markham. Her family reported her disappearance that evening after she failed to return home from work, police said. Investigators are still working to determine Zhang's cause of death, Dickson said, as well as exploring any sort of link or relationship between the two. "At this time, we still do not have a full understanding of their relationship," Dickson said. Similarly, officers are still examining potential motives, he said. "At this time it would be too early for me to speculate," Dickson said. Police are asking anyone who was in the area at the time Zhang was last seen, or who may have seen the white Ford van that the accused is alleged to have driven, to contact investigators. The Titanic building and Harland and Wolff cranes in Belfast The Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic has scrapped an overly ambitious ferry service as it battles for survival. Harland & Wolff announced on Thursday it had ceased the operations of Scilly Ferries, a new venture it was preparing to launch before getting into financial difficulties. The business, which has effectively put itself up for sale, also extended an overdraft from Riverstone, its Wall Street lender, by a further $25m (20m). This increases the facility to $140m. Its decision to scrap Scilly Ferries follows months of preparation under former boss John Wood, who left last month. Mr Wood announced Harland was launching the ferry service, which would have served people travelling to and from the Scilly isles, after his company missed out on a contract to design and build new boats for the historic Isles of Scilly Steamship Company. But on Thursday, the company told customers: It is with great sadness that we announce that Scilly Ferries, including the Atlantic Wolff fast ferry, has ceased operations. The decision has been made because of the need for Harland & Wolff to refocus on its core business activities. As the companys new board assesses all aspects of the groups functions, the ferry operation was identified as being overly ambitious given current circumstances. As a result, the decision was made to cease Scilly Ferries with immediate effect. Atlantic Wolff, the high-speed catamaran used by Scilly Ferries, will be returned to its manufacturer, Damen, in the Netherlands Russell Downs, Harland & Wolffs interim executive chairman, said: We understand that this will be difficult news for those affected directly and for the people of the Isles of Scilly and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty caused. Harland & Wolff Marine Services, which transports freight between the mainland and the Isles of Scilly, will continue unaffected. The company added that customers with reservations would be contacted today but did not explicitly say whether they would receive refunds. Meanwhile, staff have been informed about the companys closure and Atlantic Wolff, the high-speed catamaran it had outfitted for the job, will be returned to its manufacturer, Damen, in the Netherlands. As recently as July 18, the company had announced the arrival of the Atlantic Wolff in Penzance Harbour for berthing trials. The vessel, capable of carrying 400 passengers and painted in Harland & Wolffs signature colours of yellow, black and white, would have provided two return crossings per day during the tourist season. However, the companys ferry plans later became a problem when Mr Wood sought a lifeline loan guarantee from the Government, with the Scilly steamship company threatening legal action over the allegedly unfair support. Story continues There were also concerns within the Treasury, revealed by The Telegraph, that the loan guarantee would require sign off from the European Union under state aid rules that were agreed with the bloc post-Brexit. It culminated in ministers informing the company that it would not receive the support, plunging it into financial uncertainty. Harland had long said it needed the loan guarantee to carry out a major restructuring of its debt pile. The borrowings from Riverstone carry high rates of interest. The turmoil prompted the departure of Mr Wood and the installation of Mr Downs, a turnaround expert, as the new interim chairman. Bankers at Rothschild have been drafted in to assess strategic options for the business, which are expected to include a potential sale. Meanwhile, the companys London-traded shares remain suspended after it failed to file an audited set of accounts by a July deadline. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. (WHTM) A New Jersey man is facing charges in Lebanon County after police say he sexually assaulted a minor According to the charges filed by Lebanon City Police, Jose Enrique Rivas, 47, is accused of performing inappropriate acts on the girl after he allegedly got into bed with her. Viral Capital City Mall security officer video prompts investigation Police said they began investigating in early July when a girl reported being inappropriately touched and sexually assaulted by Rivas. The home had surveillance cameras inside that police say showed Rivas walking down the hall, passing the bedroom the child was in, but then returning and entering. Police said afterward, the girl texted a relative saying that Rivas had sexually assaulted her. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nittany Insiders Rivas faces multiple felony charges of statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault complainant less than 16-years-old, aggravated indecent assault without the consent of another, unlawful contact with a minor sexual offenses and corruption of minors. He also faces misdemeanor charges of indecent assault. Rivas was arrested in New Jersey and is awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania, police said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. ST. LOUIS A Breckenridge Hills man made his first appearance in St. Louis Circuit Court on Thursday after being charged with a fatal hit-and-run crash in the citys Soulard neighborhood this past March. The crash happened just after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 17, near the intersection of Gravois Avenue and Russell Boulevard, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Departments probable cause statement. Police said Cynthia Curtis was crossing the street when she was struck by a speeding vehicle traveling eastbound on Gravois. The driver did not stop and continued eastbound on Gravois. Curtis was rushed to the hospital, where she later died. She was 43. Police said surveillance cameras allowed investigators to identify the make and model of the vehicle, as well as other notable features. Investigators learned the vehicle had been stopped a few days prior to the hit-and-run and police retained the drivers information. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Authorities located the vehicle and noticed some repairs had been made. The vehicle was towed, and police spoke with a woman who said that her son, Eddy Aguiluz-Castro, told her hed recently been in an accident. Police said they spoke with Aguiluz-Castro, who admitted to hitting Curtis and said he was drunk at the time. The St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office charged Aguiluz-Castro with second-degree assault, armed criminal action, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Aguiluz-Castro was jailed without bond. According to the probable cause statement, Aguiluz-Castro has an arrest warrant against him in Texas for human smuggling, and federal authorities say hes in the country illegally, but did not specify his country of origin. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A 47-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly stole thousands of dollars from a Donelson campground office. The theft happened just after midnight on Wednesday, May 22 at the Two Rivers Campground on Music Valley Drive. Woman killed in multi-vehicle crash on I-40 in West Nashville Metro police reported Davi Reynolds used a pry bar to enter the campgrounds office while wearing a mask and dark clothing. Surveillance footage captured Reynolds running through the business to the back office where he broke into the safe. Reynolds took several bags of money along with rolled and loose quarters, according to Metro police. He used an office chair to roll the money out to his vehicle. According to Metro police, $2,732.49 in cash was taken from the office. The stolen desk chair is estimated to cost $250 while damage to the front door was around $230. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Reynolds was booked into the Metro jail and charged with felony burglary, theft of property, vandalism, possession of burglary tools and probation violation. His bond was set at $50,000. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Man convicted of killing woman in Jackson after argument over keys JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) A man was convicted in connection to the October 2020 shooting death of a woman in Jackson. Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens announced Otis Singleton was convicted of second-degree murder in connection to the death of 26-year-old Victoria Hollingsworth. Trial delayed for woman charged in fatal DUI crash in Jackson The shooting happened in the 700 block of Monterey Street on October 29, 2020. Police said Hollingsworth was found unresponsive, lying in a pool of blood. She had been shot in the head with an assault-style weapon after a domestic-related argument over a set of keys. Police arrested Singleton. He is expected to be sentenced on August 14, 2024. He faces up to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Man facing murder charge after woman found stabbed to death in her Lynn home, DA says A man has been arrested on a charge of murder after a woman was found stabbed to death inside her home in Lynn on Wednesday morning, authorities announced Thursday. Zachary Vozzella, 26, of Lynn, is slated to be arraigned Thursday in Lynn District Court on charges including murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Brianna Welsh, also of Lynn, according to Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker. Welsh was found suffering from what authorities believe to be multiple stab wounds after her mother requested a well-being check at her apartment at Breakwater North Harbor at 254 Lynnway, Tuckers office said. Vozella was taken into custody following an investigation by the Lynn Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to Tuckers office. There were no additional details immediately available. An investigation into Welshs death is ongoing. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW BOSTON (AP) A Massachusetts man was sentenced Wednesday to consecutive life terms for killing a police officer and a bystander, following emotional testimony from family and colleagues about the suffering the murders caused. Emanuel Lopes, now 26, was fleeing the scene of a minor car crash on July 15, 2018 when prosecutors said he threw a large rock at the head of the investigating officer, Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42. The rock knocked Chesna to the ground, unconscious, and then Lopes grabbed the officers gun and shot him multiple times, they said. Then he fled the scene, shooting 77-year-old Vera Adams, who was on her porch, as he tried to get away, prosecutors said. When he was caught, Chesnas service weapon was out of ammunition, authorities said. Mistrial for man charged with killing a Mass. officer, bystander Lopes was found guilty earlier this year of multiple charges, including murder. Wednesdays sentences mean Lopes would be eligible for parole in 40 years short of the 55 years requested by prosecutors. This was the second trial for Lopes after Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial last year when a jury couldnt reach a unanimous verdict. The new jury also sent notes to Cannone saying it hadnt been able to reach a decision, but the judge ordered jurors to keep deliberating. During the second trial, prosecutor Greg Connor portrayed Lopes as a calculating killer and urged guilty verdicts on 11 charges. The defense argued that Lopes, who had no previous criminal record, lacked criminal responsibility because he had a long history of mental illness and was in a state of oblivion on the day of the killings. Lopes addressed the court before hearing his sentence, apologizing to the two families and the Weymouth police department. I am so sorry. This should never have happened, he said. Two Weymouth officers who responded that day, both now retired, recalled the heartache of not being able to save Chesna and how the murder had ruined so many lives. The image of the defendant standing over Mike shooting him repeatedly is forever ingrained in my mind, and the flashbacks I experienced daily of this is something that no one should ever have to endure, Nicholas Marini told the court. These horrific memories consuming and continue to haunt my dreams even six years later, Marini continued. I have been forever changed as a husband, a father and as a friend. Chesnas widow Cindy read letters from her two children about missing their dad and recounted how she has struggled to rebuild their lives after the death of someone she described as a hero, her protector and a beautiful person inside and out. They are always going to live with the grief that I cant fix, and the pain that I cannot heal, Chesna said, standing in front of several family photos. But I can ask the court to give them the only thing I can the comfort of knowing the monster who murdered their daddy will never walk free. An attorney for Lopes, Larry Tipton, asked that his clients mental illness be considered in arguing for a lesser sentence 25 years for the Chesna murder and 15 years for the Adams killing to be served concurrently. He said his request wasnt meant to degrade or take away from the personal and honest beliefs and feelings of the family and of the victims. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. Man Killed In 'Execution-Style' Shooting Was On His Way To Mosque, Police Say A 43-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday on his way to a prayer service at his mosque in north Philadelphia in what police described as an execution-type homicide. Police identified Raheem Jefferson as the victim of the fatal shooting in the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society parking lot, according to The Associated Press. Raheem Jefferson, 43, was killed at close range in the parking lot of the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia on Tuesday. AP Photo/Matt Rourke Surveillance footage showed Jefferson walking toward the mosque with another man around 5 p.m. before a shooter ran up behind them and opened fire from a few feet away, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters on Tuesday. Jefferson could then be seen falling to the ground as the shooter stood over him and continued to fire a total of 17 shots at him, according to Small. The shooter then got into a dark sedan before driving off, Smalls said. Authorities discovered Jefferson with a gunshot wound to the head and several gunshot wounds to his torso. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No suspect has been identified or motive has been released. The Philadelphia Police Department told HuffPost in an email on Wednesday that it had no further updates. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) addressed the incident on social media, saying that hes been to Al-Aqsa Islamic Society several times and is praying for the community. Violence outside of a house of worship is deeply painful and traumatizing for those simply showing up to worship and practice their faith, he said. Police are asking the public for assistance in locating the suspect. Related... WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Police said a man died in the hospital days after he was struck by a minivan in Southeast, D.C. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on July 22, police officers noticed a man lying in the road in the 700 block of Chesapeake Street Southeast just before 6:30 p.m. The man, identified as 55-year-old Donnell Howard of Northeast, was taken to the hospital for treatment. He died days later. Man arrested in South America in connection to 6-year-old Maryland boys murder During the investigation, police learned that Howard was hit by a dark-colored minivan, which fled the scene, according to police. Police said Howards autopsy revealed that he died from internal blunt trauma that was consistent with being struck by a vehicle. As of Aug. 1, police had not identified the vehicles driver, and no arrests had been made. Anyone with information should call police at 202-727-9099 or text 50411. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. A man was killed when he was fatally struck by another vehicle while standing outside of his disabled car on the Indiana Toll Road early Thursday morning in East Chicago. Around 2:20 a.m., Indiana State Police dispatchers began receiving calls of a serious crash between two vehicles in the westbound lanes of the Indiana Toll Road near the 8.3-mile marker, according to an ISP news release. Troopers from the Indiana State Police Lowell and Toll Road posts responded. Police said the preliminary investigation showed that the victim was driving a grey 2004 Honda passenger car when they believed the car crashed into the center concrete barrier wall and became disabled in the westbound passing lane, facing north, the release stated. The driver was allegedly standing outside his vehicle when it was struck in the back by a silver 2020 Honda SUV that was also traveling westbound. The driver of the Honda passenger car suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lake County Coroner, police said. His name has not yet been released pending notification of his family. The SUV was driven by Luke Coffey, 20, of Oak Park, Illinois, who was transported to a local hospital and treated and released, the release stated. Police said toxicology reports are pending. Police closed the westbound lanes of the Toll Road for nearly 7 hours while the crash was investigated and the vehicles were removed. FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A 63-year-old man in a military-style tractor-trailer was arrested after breaking through a gate, and ending up in the area known as Sandspit Beach in San Luis Obispo County. The San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office says they arrested 63-year-old Patrick Kevin Van Ess for felony evasion after the Sheriffs Office received a report of a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot off Los Osos Valley Road in Los Osos. Deputies say the vehicle was described as the front portion or cab of a tractor-trailer. When deputies arrived, Van Ess fled in the military-style vehicle to Montana de Oro State Park, breaking through a gate, and ending up in the area known as Sandspit Beach. Deputies, Harbor Patrol, Coast Guard, and State Park Rangers, were able to set up a perimeter around the truck. Deputies say they attempted to make contact with Van Ess but he refused commands to leave the truck. The Sheriffs Special Enforcement Detail (SED) arrived on the scene. The suspect refused to leave the truck and the team introduced tear gas into the truck; the suspect then exited the vehicle and was taken into custody. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. Communications stockslike TMUS, GOOGL, and SPOTare intriguing options for investors to consider after the recent wave of market-wide turbulence. The following names may also be considered technology companies since they leverage impressive innovations to keep us all connected. Given this, they may feel some rumbles should the Tech sector continue to sag relative to the rest of the market. Nonetheless, a strong case could also be made that the following connectivity-enabling firms are more utility-like in nature. Undoubtedly, each one of the firms offers essential services that can withstand the monthly budget cuts come the next period of economic instability. Whether were talking Gmail, music streaming, or wireless plans, its just so tough to cut any one of the following essential services, making them intriguing options to consider amid macro headwinds. Therefore, lets check out TipRanks Comparison Tool to see where analysts stand on the following Strong-Buy-rated names. Shares of telecom titan T-Mobile have been mostly shrugging off the wave of volatility hitting the markets this July, now down just 2% from its recent peak. Undoubtedly, T-Mobile has continued reaping the rewards of being head and shoulders above the competition. The company is a 5G network leader, with a U.S. footprint that covers more ground than its two top rivals combined (98% of Americans are within T-Mobiles 5G range). As the firm goes full speed ahead with its continued expansion, its looking almost impossible for rivals to catch up. With such a remarkable competitive edge, Im staying bullish on TMUS stock. At writing, TMUS stock is up a respectable 28.4% in the past year, thanks in part to a recent fourth-quarter spike that saw 934,000 postpaid phone additions. Most notably, annual churn rates came in at an industry-low 0.87%. Its not just the new customer adds thats impressive, but its the fact that T-Mobile knows how to hang onto its users. With such an impressive and expansive network, its not a mystery as to why T-Mobile has pretty much been the only investable big-name telecom stock in these past few years. The companys impressive promos and value proposition dont hurt, either. For the full year, T-Mobile expects to add 5-5.5 million postpaid subscribers along with a 22% boost to free cash flow. Indeed, the dividend, which was initiated last September, seems poised for a big raise if T-Mobile can hit its targets. I think it can. Moreover, T-Mobile could be the next big dividend grower as it balances growth with giving back to investors. For such a dominant firm, a 19.5 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, which is in line with the past-year range, doesnt do the stock justice. Story continues What Is the Price Target for TMUS Stock? TMUS stock is a Strong Buy, according to analysts, with 17 unanimous Buys assigned in the past three months. The average TMUS stock price target of $191.96 implies 5.3% upside potential. See more TMUS analyst ratings Alphabet stock has been rocked hard amid the latest pullback in tech, now down over 10% from all-time highs. Indeed, the correction came fast and it came furious, as investors hit the sell button with aggression after the AI search giants latest quarter. With OpenAI getting into the search business with a product called SearchGPT (it looks a lot like Perplexity AIs search product to me), theres a new haze of uncertainty surrounding GOOGL stock. Despite the rough post-earnings sell-off, Im inclined to stay bullish as Alphabet still possesses one of the best AI engines in the world. Alphabets underwhelming quarter played a huge role in pushing tech stocks off a July cliff. The earnings were good, but they werent great, especially given the hype built in the past few months going into the number. Notably, YouTube was a sore spot, while investors seemed just a bit more impatient when it came to AI. Undoubtedly, AI efforts are going to take not only money but time, perhaps a lot of time, to pay off in a big way. Amid the recent rotation back to mid-caps, it seems like investors are ready to punch their ticket off the AI train as the early excitement begins to wear off. As Alphabet advances Gemini, its Waymo self-driving project, and its TPUs (Tensor Processing Units), which is reportedly being leveraged by Apple (AAPL) for training models, I believe the recent correction has created a great buying opportunity. Sure, OpenAI is a threat to search, but with GOOGL stock going for 21.9 times forward P/E, well off the highs for the past year, Im giving CEO Sundar Pichai and the company the benefit of the doubt. What Is the Price Target for GOOGL Stock? GOOGL stock is a Strong Buy, according to analysts, with 30 Buys and seven Holds assigned in the past three months. The average GOOGL stock price target of $204.62 implies 19.3% upside potential. See more GOOGL analyst ratings Spotify is a music streamer thats been on an explosive run over the past year, surging more than 116%. With new all-time highs in sight, potential catalysts on the horizon, and a very reasonable valuation, Ill be staying bullish on the name, even amid the latest tech rumbles. Undoubtedly, the latest (second) quarter results have been music to investors ears. Premium subscribers grew 12% year-over-year, while ad-supported sales surged 13%. As the company seeks to improve the value of its ads (think Creative Lab and all-new AI tool Quick Audio), Id not be surprised if Spotify ends up as one of the big early beneficiaries of generative AI. Indeed, generative AI music may be far off from going mainstream. However, when it comes to AI-enhanced ads, Spotify may just be in the running to take its ad business and margins to the next level. At 57.5 times forward P/E, SPOT isnt a value stock, but it is trading on the low end of the past-year range. Given recent strength and realistically monetizable AI offerings, the streaming stock looks primed to buy. What Is the Price Target for SPOT Stock? SPOT stock is a Strong Buy, according to analysts, with 22 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months. The average SPOT stock price target of $392.80 implies 14.2% upside potential. See more SPOT analyst ratings The Takeaway The following communications stocks are Strong Buys on Wall Street for a reason. Whether were talking about T-Mobile and its continued dominance, Alphabet and its still-underrated AI potential, or Spotify and its ability to grow via advancing its ad tech, the following tech-savvy firms seem to have what it takes to finish the year strong. Of the trio, analysts see the most upside to be had in GOOGL stock (19.3%) for the year ahead. Disclosure BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) A 24-year-old man was sentenced to eight decades in prison earlier this week for his role in a deadly Bloomington shooting two years ago. According to McLean County Circuit Court records, Jaylin Bones, 24, was sentenced Tuesday in court to 80 years in prison for the shooting death of then-29-year-old Timothy Manns. Bones was initially charged with one count of first-degree murder with intent to kill or cause great bodily harm, which caused the death of Manns. Bones also faced charges of aggravated battery and discharge of a firearm. Each charge is a felony. The sentencing range for the murder count is higher than normal as the jury found that Bones personally discharged the gun that killed Manns. That finding triggers a stiffer sentence under Illinois law. On Jan. 24, 2022, Bones shot Manns in the head inside an apartment near Jefferson and Evans streets in Bloomington. The shooting resulted from a dispute between the two over a gun, according to court records. Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service and Great Lakes Regional Task Force later found arrested Bones on Feb. 2, 2023, in a Peoria retail store in connection to Manns killing. Man faces at least 45 years in prison in connection with January 2022 homicide Coroner identifies victim of Bloomington homicide Arrest made in Bloomington homicide Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. Man sentenced for trying to open exit door on flight, forces it to land at KCI KANSAS CITY, Mo. A California was sentenced in federal court for trying to open the exit door on an American Airlines flight en route to Washington D.C. and forcing the plane to land at Kansas City International Airport. U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark sentenced 52-year-old Juan Remberto Rivas on Wednesday to 19 months in federal prison without parole. Leawood Hereford House closes due to financial troubles caused by recent events The court has also ordered Rivas to pay $64,434 in restitution to American Airlines. Rivas pleaded guilty back in January to one count of interfering with flight crew members and flight attendants. Rivas was a passenger aboard American Airlines flight 1775 traveling nonstop from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., which was diverted to KCI on Feb. 13, 2022, according to the Department of Justice. Court documents say Rivas grabbed some plastic silverware and placed the plastic silverware in his shirt sleeve to appear to create a shank. He grabbed a small champagne bottle by the neck and attempted to break the bottle on the counter. Rivas then attempted to open an exit door by lifting the handle. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Another flight attendant grabbed a coffee pot and hit Rivas with it. He was then restrained for the remainder of the flight. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. ST. LOUIS A St. Louis man appeared in federal court earlier this week and was sentenced for setting his girlfriends apartment on fire after threatening her with a gun. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Willie Latimore, 27, pleaded guilty in April to one count of arson and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The fire was set on May 11, 2023, at the victims Washington Avenue apartment. Missouri AG investigates Ellisville womens gym locker room use Latimore admitted piling clothing on his then-girlfriends stove and setting it ablaze. The victim was hiding at a neighbors apartment after Latimore threatened her with a gun earlier in the day. The St. Louis Real Time Crime Center tracked Latimores vehicle and police arrested him later that day after brief pursuit. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Latimore to 66 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $7,087 in restitution to the owners of the apartment building. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing American journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, officials said. The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Marine veteran Paul Whelan sentenced to 16 years in Russia on spying charges The sprawling deal, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the last two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, was heralded by President Joe Biden as a diplomatic achievement in the final months of his administration. But the release of Americans has come at a price: Russia has secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West by trading them for journalists, dissidents and other Westerners convicted and sentenced in a highly politicized legal system on charges the U.S. considers bogus. Under the deal, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the U.S. vehemently denied and called baseless; Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive and Marine veteran jailed since 2018 also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. The dissidents released included Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated; 11 political prisoners being held in Russia, including associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; and a German national arrested in Belarus. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained. US soldier convicted of theft in Russia sentenced to nearly 4 years Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the U.S. as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians living in their homeland, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter in 2018 were nearly killed by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich that Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovichs, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and U.S. officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Russia releases US Marine vet as part of prisoner exchange Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to the country in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. U.S. officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have also said were false and trumped up, and he was serving a 16-year prison sentence. Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the U.S. released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Brittney Griner, whod been jailed on drug charges. Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. (Bloomberg) -- Arizona Senator Mark Kelly offers Kamala Harris a potential running mate with a powerful life story a former astronaut and fighter pilot tested by space, combat and personal tragedy. Most Read from Bloomberg The working-class son of two New Jersey police officers, Kelly counters the testosterone-infused appeal of Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance with a swashbuckling career as a Space Shuttle commander and Navy aviator who flew 39 combat missions in the Persian Gulf War. He turned to politics only after his wife, then-Representative Gabby Giffords, was grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting near Tucson. Giffords recovery with her husband at her side inspired a documentary film, People magazine cover story, a book, and the founding of a new national gun safety organization. Kelly, a compact, broad-chested 60-year-old, has been through the hardest trials that anybody could ever imagine and passed it with flying colors, said John Hickenlooper, a Democratic Senate colleague from neighboring Colorado. Kelly also may provide some reassurance on of one of Harriss greatest vulnerabilities a surge in illegal migration under President Joe Biden that polls show is now a leading voter concern. Trump has long made cracking down on immigration a signature issue, and Republicans have attacked Harris for her role addressing root causes of migration. Kelly, a border-state senator, was a vocal critic of the Biden administrations decision two years ago to end pandemic-era migration restrictions known as Title 42, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security hadnt adequately coordinated with local governments or crafted a plan to handle a rise in illegal crossings. But hes taken a nuanced approach to border policy that is sensitive to Democratic constituencies, also championing immigrants rights. He supported a bipartisan compromise earlier this year that would have restricted access to asylum during migration surges. Republicans abandoned the deal after Trump criticized it, but Biden imposed similar measures by executive order and illegal crossings subsequently declined. Voters in swing states have a positive impression of Kelly, with 27% viewing him favorably versus 20% unfavorably, though more than half have never heard of him or had no opinion, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll taken July 24-28. Thats similar to views of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, another potential VP pick. The poll gives Harris a narrow 2-point edge in Arizona. She has more ground to make up in Pennsylvania, where she trails by 4 points. Harris Wipes Out Trumps Swing-State Lead in Election Dead Heat Kelly is one of the few Democrats with a personal connection to billionaire Elon Musk, who has become a Trump ally. The former astronaut worked with SpaceX on their safety advisory panel and drives a black Tesla Model S Performance. Ive worked with him mostly on stuff that has to do with rockets and spacecraft, Kelly said. Hes very good at that. He also has a long relationship with Republican John McCains family dating back before Kelly won the late senators Senate seat, and has called his fellow Navy aviator a personal hero. Kelly can tap an extensive fundraising network he built during the years he spent promoting the gun safety group he co-founded with his wife and his run for the Senate in 2020, when he won one of the most expensive congressional campaigns in history. He won a full term in 2022. He raised nearly $190 million between the two election cycles, according to OpenSecrets data. Sounds crass, but theres not a better fund-raiser in the entire United States Senate, Hickenlooper said. Kelly has shown a light-hearted side with his identical twin brother, Scott, also a former astronaut. He arranged for a gorilla costume to be smuggled onto the International Space Station for their birthday when Scott Kelly was commanding in 2016, and the twin donned it to chase a fellow crew member. Bloomberg Opinion: Mark Kelly Would Propel Harris Presidential Bid: Erika D. Smith Still, Kelly hasnt been tested on the national stage nor does he have a reputation as a dynamic campaigner, though hes a draw for other Democratic senators at events around the country. Hes been a cautious senator, less apt to grab the limelight or launch a partisan broadside than many of his colleagues. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware recalls last year, when his fellow Democrats were pontificating about what it would take to train up Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, Kelly let them go on for about 15 minutes before piping up. He sort of clears his throat and says, Excuse me, I think I may be the only jet fighter pilot in the room, Coons said. Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16s in Arizona with backing from Kelly, who has visited Ukraine twice and sharply criticized Vance for opposing aid. Though Kelly would bring home-state appeal to the Harris campaign in the swing state of Arizona, he isnt a regional figure in the Rust-Belt Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Michigan that many Democrats believe will be pivotal electoral battlegrounds this year. Should he become vice president, Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs could only appoint a temporary replacement and the party would have to defend the seat in the midterm 2026 election, when the party in the White House usually loses seats. Republicans during his Senate campaigns have also attacked Kelly for his work as a co-founder of World View Enterprises, a high-altitude balloon company based in Tucson that received some funding from Chinese company Tencent. Asked about the criticism, Kelly touts jobs the company created and work it has done for NASA and the Department of Defense. Hes actively assailed Vance in the weeks since Trump picked the Ohio senator as a vice presidential nominee on issues such as reproductive rights. He pounced when past comments by Vance denigrating step-parents like Harris and Giffords surfaced, lauding his wife on social media as an amazing role model and stepmother to our daughters. --With assistance from Ellen M. Gilmer. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has a response to the state investigation of his wifes nonprofit, and its straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. Balanced Nutrition, the nonprofit operated by Robinsons wife, Yolanda Hill, is under scrutiny for issues regarding its finances and other alleged violations. The state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently found that Balanced Nutrition submitted excess claims for government funding and must pay back $132,000 to the state. In a recent radio interview, Robinson said that DHHS is playing a dangerous game and claimed the agency is being weaponized for political purposes. That sounds a lot like Trumps protests of various investigations into his alleged crimes, including crimes related to his mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has long said that the Biden administration is weaponizing the justice system as part of a political vendetta, like something out of a banana republic or Stalinist Russia horror show. Hes framed his legal troubles as a noble crusade against a greater evil, telling supporters, Im being indicted for you. Much like Trump, Robinson has taken an aggressive stance in claiming the states review of Balanced Nutrition is tied to his campaign for governor. Its politically driven, we have the evidence to prove it, and were going to fight em up to the hilt, Robinson said. Robinson dismissed the allegations as erroneous and simply untrue, but then also seemed to suggest that the situation was normal. Basically when youre running a nonprofit that works closely with the government, theres always room for error, Robinson said. Every year, theres been small audits, theres been inspections that are by the state, and we have small findings, and then we have a plan of correction. That is a normal business process. Its not a normal business process for a lot of people, but it must be for Robinson. After all, this is not the first time that a business tied to Robinson or his wife has come under scrutiny. He and his wife were cited for numerous violations at a child care center they operated in the early 2000s, including for presenting falsified certification documents to state inspectors. Thats on top of Robinsons past bankruptcies and failures to pay taxes. Of course, the business violations occurred long before Robinson ever had a political career, so its hard to call that some sort of political conspiracy. Robinsons campaign said last month that reporting on those violations is just another attempt by liberals to dig up old news some of it even by decades to smear Mark Robinson. Thats a common theme in Robinsons responses: deflecting the blame rather than acknowledging a potential mistake. Its never just an apology or admission of guilt, even if it was an honest mistake. Its instead an attack on the people or agencies who dare hold him accountable for it. In Robinsons eyes, any attempt to hold him accountable for his past or his present is some form of liberal slander. Reporters asking valid questions about his public statements? Government agencies trying to enforce the law? Its all a conspiracy to Robinson. Robinson and Trump want you to think that government institutions are out to get them. They want you to think that theyre under some sort of siege from political elites, as opposed to being investigated by normal people who are just trying to hold him to the same standards as everyone else. Thats not only insulting to the employees who carry out the mission of those institutions. Its dangerous. Patti Smith, director of the Greenway Learning Center in Greenbelt, with some of the children under her care this spring. Smith is reluctant to join the state's pre-K program. Photo by Mira Beinart/Capital News Service By Audrey Keefe and Mira Beinart Maryland is counting on private child care providers to take part as the state expands its pre-K program but many providers dont plan on becoming involved. In a survey of the states child care providers conducted this spring by the Local News Network, only 12.9% of respondents said they plan to or were already involved in the pre-K program created under the Blueprint for Marylands Future, the states expansive education reform plan. More than a third of the 256 respondents said they were unsure whether they will participate in the pre-K expansion and nearly 40% said they would not participate. The pre-K expansion plan under the 10-year Blueprint for Marylands Future aims to expand pre-K enrollment to all 4-year-olds and all lower-income 3-year-olds through a mixed delivery system involving both public schools and private child care operations. But many child care providers who responded to the survey said they are reluctant to take part in the program. Some said they would have trouble finding staff for a pre-K operation. Others said they didnt want to get the additional education required to qualify for the program. And still others said they didnt want the Maryland State Department of Education to be more involved in their businesses than it already is. Patti Smith, the director of Greenway Learning Center in Greenbelt, said shes concerned that developmental differences between 3- and 4-year-olds would make managing a pre-K program difficult. Asked if she would take part in the pre-K expansion, Smith said: Its more no than maybe, just for the first year because I want to see what other providers do. And I dont have faith in MSDE. You know, I dont think they have all the answers so Im not ready to be that guinea pig. The mixed delivery system The Blueprint for Marylands Future, which the General Assembly passed in 2021, calls for widespread changes throughout the states public schools. Related stories: One of the most wide-ranging changes is a vast expansion of early childhood education. The plan calls for state-funded pre-K to be available to all low-income 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 fiscal year. Pre-K will be free to all 3- and 4-year-olds from families that earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level. A sliding scale will determine how much families with incomes between 300% and 600% of the federal poverty level will pay for pre-K, while higher-income families will pay in full. This is another step in the right direction to ensure pre-kindergarten programs continue to grow and create more opportunities for our children and families, especially those who have been historically underserved, Clarence Crawford, then-president of the Maryland State Board of Education, said in 2023. While 40% of the states eligible youngsters were enrolled in pre-K in the 2022-23 school year, the Blueprint aims to double that percentage in a decade. Given that 30,718 young Marylanders were enrolled in pre-K in 2022-23, the change means tens of thousands of additional children would be enrolled in pre-K in the coming years. State officials have set a goal of having private providers fill half the states pre-K slots by the 2026-27 school year. And part of the reason for that is there is not enough space in the public schools to actually provide all those slots for pre-K, said Rachel Hise, the executive director of the Blueprints Accountability and Implementation Board, at a conference of school principals late last year. Hise acknowledged, though, that the mixed-delivery effort faces some major challenges, including one that haunts the states entire child care system. The pandemic really drove a number of child care providers out of business, she said. A widespread reluctance On top of a statewide shortage of child care providers, education officials face another significant challenge in creating that mixed delivery system. The Local News Network survey this spring found many of the remaining child care providers are either reluctant to participate in the pre-K expansion or are refusing to take part. Several child care providers said joining the pre-K program would make a hard job even more difficult. Im overwhelmed with the day-to-day operational issues, such as staff turnover and increased operating costs, said Dana Miller of Little Smiling Faces Childcare in Mitchellville. Having to find a qualified (pre-K) teacher would just add more issues. Under the Blueprint, by the 2025-26 school year, pre-K teachers will have to be state-certified in early childhood education or have a bachelors degree and be taking part in an alternative educators training program. Pre-K teaching assistants will be required to have an associates degree, whereas now they only need a high school diploma. Those requirements automatically block some child care providers from offering pre-K. Its my understanding that you have to have a bachelors to participate, and I do not, said Danielle Zulauf, owner of Tiny Trailblazers Daycare in Preston. Michele Stritch, owner and operator of Michele Stritch Family Child Care in Dundalk, said in response to the survey that she is reluctant to participate in the pre-K because she doesnt know what it entails. She also noted her center faces financial challenges and concerns about state regulations. I am inclined to not participate because I do not want the state being even more involved in how I run my business, Stritch said. On top of all those issues, state education planners face one more challenge: The LNN survey showed the percentage of child care providers who want to take part in the pre-K program 12.9% is exactly the same as the percentage of those who had never heard of it. I would love to participate but have never heard of the program, said Charnetta Bailey, owner and operator of Children Learning Wonders in Ellicott City. A publicity push? Told about the survey results, Maryland Department of Education spokesperson Raven Hill indicated better publicity is the key to making sure more child care providers decide to offer pre-K. MSDE continues to invite private providers to participate in Push to Pre-K webinars to increase awareness of publicly funded Pre-K and provide accurate information and support regarding Pre-K grant opportunities and requirements, Hill said in a written response to questions. MSDE will continue to encourage local education agencies to engage private providers in their areas about pre-K opportunities and the pre-K grant program benefits to children and families, she said. In addition, the state is tweaking its grant awards program to make more child care facilities eligible for pre-K funding, Hill said. Tiffany Jones, owner of Precious Moments Family Childcare in Rockville, said she plans on participating in the expansion program. But she said its difficult for many child care providers to understand the states pre-K effort. The requirements to participate in pre-K expansion are very challenging for the average family child care provider, she said. So while pre-K is a wonderful program, they need the spaces in family child care for the system to really work but there are a ton of requirements for providers (that are) very difficult. Even so, some child care providers said they plan on taking part in the pre-K expansion because doing so is important for the survival of their business. After all, if they lose 3- and 4-year-olds to either public schools offering pre-K or to other providers, that means fewer enrollees and lower revenue. I feel the school is taking all of the 4-year-olds and some of the 3-year-olds, said Laurie Arnold, owner of Laurie Arnold Home Daycare in Frederick, who plans to take part in the pre-K program. In order to keep my numbers up, I have to adjust. In time, despite the fact that she said she doesnt want to be a guinea pig, Patti Smith of the Greenway Learning Center may end up adjusting, too. She said shes taking a wait-and-see attitude toward joining the pre-K expansion and may join it eventually. But she said shes afraid those providers who decided to take part starting this year may have a difficult confrontation with reality when the next school year starts. Come September, theyre going to go: Oh, we dont have enough room. We dont have enough teachers, Smith said. I do think theyve bitten off more than they can chew. Local News Network director Jerry Zremski contributed to this report. MINEOLA, Nassau County (PIX11) A Massachusetts man is facing charges for allegedly stealing over $140,000 from a 9/11 victim and her mother, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. Richard Yasnis, 43, of Natwick, pleaded not guilty to grand larceny charges Thursday. More Local News The victim developed medical issues while working at Ground Zero during the post-9/11 efforts in 2001, which qualified her for 9/11 Victim Compensation funds, officials said. Between May and June 2023, Yasnis allegedly met with the victim, claiming to be a licensed investment broker for Cahill Financial Group, prosecutors said. Yasnis allegedly advised her that he could invest her money in a real estate renovation opportunity that would result in a profit, officials said. She was also told that Yasnis would invest the rest of the funds in the stock market. Driver indicted after allegedly slamming car into LI nail salon, killing 4 Between July 31 and September 2023, the victim allegedly provided Yasnis with over $136,000 in cash and jewelry worth around $5,000, prosecutors said. Part of the funds came from the victims mother, who cashed a portion of her deceased husbands life insurance policy. Yasnis failed to provide the victim and her mother with communication and cut communication, according to DA Donnelly. Nassau County Police determined that Yasnis was not a licensed investment broker employed by Cahill Financial Group. He was arrested on December 20, 2023. Taxi drove past railroad crossing gates before train hit it on Long Island: MTA Yasnis is due back in court on September 18 and faces seven and a half to 15 years in prison if convicted. Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV)School leaders at Mattie Lively Elementary are asking families to prepare their students for warm classrooms, as HVAC issues continue in new school year. With a big project like this its not something that we want to rush because ultimately you run into more problems, said the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Brad Boykin. Boykin says the repairs they make to their HVAC system are constant. As the system begins to age, we are running into more and more problems with each of the units, said Boykin. It could have multiple units go down at once or just one unit but were trying to fight an aging system. Theyve added portable units to classrooms that need it, added tint to windows and even started pre-cooling the school in the middle of the night to try and stave off afternoon heat. Chatham County takes public input on unincorporated roads The challenge with this system is when one unit goes down that involves 8 classrooms that are down versus in a single use wall-hung units, that goes down it affects one classroom or just one whole space, Boykin said. There are eight classrooms that need the portable units and fans are set up throughout the school, according to Boykin. Were working here as a school to make sure that the temperatures dont affect the students as much as possible, that it doesnt affect the learning environment, said Assistant Principal of Mattie Lively Elementary, Bernard Bodison. Just making sure that theyre well hydrated, making sure that theyre not wearing real heavy clothes would be best. Before the summer break, school leaders started the process to completely overhaul their current HVAC system. Its in its final design stages now. When does school start in the Lowcountry? We want that job to be where were not running into the same challenges that were currently running into and that the building has a more long-term solution. Boykin says theyre carefully planning when to build, since construction can be very loud and disruptive to a learning environment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. As global markets continue to send mixed signals, with small-cap and value shares outpacing large-cap growth stocks, investors are seeking resilient opportunities in an unpredictable landscape. In this context, companies that demonstrate robust growth potential coupled with high insider ownership can offer a compelling proposition for long-term investment stability. Top 10 Growth Companies With High Insider Ownership Name Insider Ownership Earnings Growth Medley (TSE:4480) 34% 28.7% Fine M-TecLTD (KOSDAQ:A441270) 17.1% 36.4% Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV) 13.6% 26.8% KebNi (OM:KEBNI B) 37.8% 90.4% Credo Technology Group Holding (NasdaqGS:CRDO) 14.4% 60.9% Calliditas Therapeutics (OM:CALTX) 11.6% 52.9% Plenti Group (ASX:PLT) 12.8% 106.4% Vow (OB:VOW) 31.7% 97.7% UTI (KOSDAQ:A179900) 33.1% 122.7% EHang Holdings (NasdaqGM:EH) 32.8% 74.3% Click here to see the full list of 1454 stocks from our Fast Growing Companies With High Insider Ownership screener. Here's a peek at a few of the choices from the screener. Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Hangzhou Lion Electronics Co., Ltd. is involved in the R&D, production, and sale of semiconductor silicon wafers, power devices, and compound semiconductor radio frequency chips in China, with a market cap of CN15.74 billion. Operations: The company's revenue segments include semiconductor silicon wafers, power devices, and compound semiconductor radio frequency chips in China. Insider Ownership: 18.9% Hangzhou Lion Electronics Ltd. has seen substantial insider ownership, aligning with its high growth potential. Despite being removed from key indices like the SSE 180 Index on June 14, 2024, the company forecasts strong revenue growth of 24.8% per year and expects to become profitable within three years. Recent buybacks totaling CNY 119.99 million indicate confidence in future performance, although debt coverage remains a concern and Return on Equity is forecasted to be low at 5.7%. SHSE:605358 Earnings and Revenue Growth as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Hubei Dinglong CO., Ltd. specializes in the research, development, production, and service of integrated circuit chip design, semiconductor process materials, advanced semiconductor packaging materials, semiconductor display materials, and printing and copying general consumables with a market cap of CN20.42 billion. Story continues Operations: Hubei Dinglong CO., Ltd. generates revenue primarily from its Photoelectric Imaging Display and Semiconductor Process Materials Industry segment, which amounted to CN2.80 billion. Insider Ownership: 29.8% Hubei Dinglong Ltd. demonstrates strong growth potential with expected annual earnings growth of 36.4%, outpacing the Chinese market's 22.2%. Revenue is forecasted to grow at 16.8% per year, above the market average but below 20%. Despite trading at a discount of 25.6% below its estimated fair value, Return on Equity is projected to be modest at 11.9%. Recent amendments to company bylaws suggest active corporate governance, though no significant insider trading has been reported in the past three months. SZSE:300054 Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Shenyang Xingqi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. focuses on the research, development, production, and sale of ophthalmic medications in China and has a market cap of CN21.42 billion. Operations: The company's revenue segments include research and development, production, and sale of ophthalmic medications in China. Insider Ownership: 30.9% Shenyang Xingqi Pharmaceutical Ltd. shows promising growth potential, with earnings forecasted to grow 35.15% annually, significantly outpacing the Chinese market's 22.2%. Revenue is expected to increase by 23.8% per year, also above the market average of 13.7%. Despite a recent dividend increase and amendments to the company's articles of association, its current dividend yield of 2.14% isn't well covered by earnings or free cash flows, raising sustainability concerns. SZSE:300573 Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Taking Advantage Unlock our comprehensive list of 1454 Fast Growing Companies With High Insider Ownership by clicking here. Hold shares in these firms? Setup your portfolio in Simply Wall St to seamlessly track your investments and receive personalized updates on your portfolio's performance. Discover a world of investment opportunities with Simply Wall St's free app and access unparalleled stock analysis across all markets. Contemplating Other Strategies? This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.The analysis only considers stock directly held by insiders. It does not include indirectly owned stock through other vehicles such as corporate and/or trust entities. All forecast revenue and earnings growth rates quoted are in terms of annualised (per annum) growth rates over 1-3 years. Companies discussed in this article include SHSE:605358 SZSE:300054 and SZSE:300573. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com HONOLULU (KHON2) A Maui man is still standing strong, even after his prosthetic legs were stolen. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news His prosthetics were in his SUV, which was taken from right outside his home in Haiku. Adaptive surfer Josh Bogle parks his Toyota outside his home in Haiku every night, but it was not there when he woke up on Saturday, July 27. At first I thought, Did I park the car somewhere different? It just didnt make sense to me that someone would steal my car, Bogle said. Never give up Oahu man overcomes hardships and wins Emmy Bogles car had been stolen and all of his adaptive gear and his prosthetic water legs that he uses to surf were in it. He became a quad-amputee in 2018 and has traveled the world to compete in adaptive surfing competitions. In essence, surfing is not only my career, but it is the vehicle that saved my life, Bogle said. Maui police found Bogles car a few days later it had been stripped of its license plates and had a damaged transmission. All of Bogles belongings were gone. A close friend started a GoFundMe to help raise the money for Bogle to replace his legs and gear and said vehicle theft is not an isolated incident. Waves crash Hawaii Island wedding: It was a blast This is a huge problem on Maui, right now. Like, Josh is probably like the fifth person I know who has had their car stolen just this year, Nicole Lennox said. Maui police said there has been a 17% increase in motor vehicle thefts so far in 2024 compared to the same time in 2023 and there has also been a 30% increase in suspects being arrested in connection to motor vehicle thefts. This one is just a bit too personal for Bogle. Two days of not having a car and as a quad amputee, not having your freedom to go fill up water jugs, or go to the gym, he said. Bogle said the silver lining that he is finding is the outpouring of support from the community and the one personal belonging that the thieves left untouched. They did leave my handicap placard, which strangely enough, those are very hard to get, he said. To live here in the Aloha State and to receive all this love and kindness from everyone, I just want to say thank you because I wouldnt know how to ask for it, but they just gave it right up front. Stolen jewels, boa constrictors killing owners, check out Weird News here Click here for more information on how to support Bogle. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com. As a result of a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling, top City of Sacramento staff have been laying the groundwork to ramp up homeless sweeps and criminal anti-camping citations. After the ruling, Mayor Darrell Steinberg cited the citys success in curbing homelessness by combining more shelter, housing, and services with an insistence that people cannot live in large encampments and violate ordinances protecting sidewalks, parks, and other critical spaces. This court ruling should not change our balanced, compassionate approach, the mayor said in a June 28 statement. However, actions that have been largely unannounced publicly could lead to an overhaul in the way the city responds to its homeless crisis. On Friday, the city added a new item to its 311 system, allowing residents to report a new complaint unlawful camping. The category falls under the citys Incident Management team, which means it could include a police response. That means the unhoused at the reported camp could be cleared or criminally cited for camping. Previously, reported incidents that were directed to the Incident Management Team included blocking sidewalks, being within 500 feet of schools, or storing items on public property. For the callers who did not know if the camp met one of those specific categories, they would likely previously file the complaint under homeless concern, which was directed to the Department of Community Response, social workers and behavioral health specialists people who cannot write criminal citations or order sweeps. Since Friday, the city has received 126 complaints for the unlawful camping category, said city spokesman Tim Swanson. The Sacramento Police Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to an email asking how many criminal citations it had written for camping-related violations in recent weeks. In March, police issued a criminal citation for storing personal items on public property to Theresa Rivera in the River District. She now faces a fine of $233. On Wednesday police again swept Rivera, who is in a wheelchair, and threw away her medical papers and supplies. My hands are sore from packing, Rivera said Thursday. I cant even sit down and eat right now because they keep coming around and around til we have nothing left. The type of criminal citation that Rivera received is among the options that Incident Management Team can take in responding to the newly added unlawful-camping 311 category. Steinberg, whose term ends in December, has said he does not support charging homeless people hundreds of dollars or jailing them. But under the citys form of government, City Manager Howard Chan, not the mayor, is in charge of day-to-day functions. The Grants Pass ruling overturned the 2018 Martin v. Boise ruling and is generally interpreted to mean cities can go back to clearing and citing homeless camps on public property without offering shelter beds. Email sent to council After the high-profile ruling, the city posted a long FAQ to its website July 25 to help the public understand what it means for them. The public post did not include an important new policy however, which top staff only sent to the council. In an email to the council we were told the IMT will be primary, however other city departments were going to be asked to enforce ordinances proactively when they have capacity to do so, Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela said. Im interpreting that to mean code, park rangers and police officers ... I certainly think that would increase citations. Sacramento saw a large decrease in its homeless population from two years ago, from about 9,300 to 6,600, according to the latest homeless census, Valenzuela pointed out. There are about 2,500 people on the waitlist for one of the citys 1,300 shelter beds. For the first time in over a decade we are seeing progress in addressing homeless, so now is absolutely not the time to change course, she said. We need to continue to be focused on getting people enrolled in services ... thats harder to do when youre moving people this frequently and using penalties to enforce local ordinances No more notice The city when it clears camps typically gives at least 48 hours notice. But on July 16, the city gave no notice to clear a large camp under the overpass at F and 5th streets. And earlier this week, the city placed a new type of notice at camps that gives a temporary 24 hour notice. The city of Sacramento is educating residents about this code following the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson and is temporarily providing 24-hour notice for people in violation to comply, reads a copy of one of the notice, placed near Harris and Grand avenues in North Sacramento. The notice looks different than the bright green notice to vacate stickers posted at camps by police and code enforcement officers. Valenzuela said she wants to know what a temporary 24-hour notice means. The 24-hour notice is shorter than the 48-hour notice Gov. Gavin Newsom included in his executive order last month. The executive order only applied to state property, not city property where the city is posting the 24-hour notices. Still, 24 hours is not enough time for the unhoused to safely move their survival gear, especially with temperatures in the triple digits this week, said Crystal Sanchez of the Sacramento Homeless Union. It puts excessive stress on their bodies, especially in the heat, to move the entire camp, Sanchez said. It is also unreasonable for those with disabilities and children without accommodations. Deprivation of survival gear and basic needs is state-created danger and will force a person to do what they need to survive. The city is under increasing pressure to clear homeless camps, including increasing lawsuits from businesses and from Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho. The ruling has been making waves across California. San Francisco has also stopped giving its usual 72-hour notices to clear camps and criminally citing homeless people, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Valenzuela and Steinberg, whose office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment, asked for city staff to present on the topic at an upcoming council meeting. Its unclear if that will happen at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 13. Tuesdays council meeting lasted 58 minutes and contained no items on the homeless crisis. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) After the Multnomah County Sheriff announced her office would refuse to throw people in jail based on a Portland city camping ban, Mayor Ted Wheeler said he is directing the Portland Police Bureau to enforce the ordinance through citations. This all comes after the first person was arrested for unsanctioned camping on Friday, whom KOIN 6 News spoke to on Tuesday. That man, Alasdair McDonald, was not booked into jail as Multnomah County Sheriff Morrisey ODonnell declined to enforce the city ordinance. The mayor claimed on Tuesday that the sheriffs office lifted booking restrictions last summer. However, ODonnells team fired back using PPBs own policy definition of bookable offenses to highlight city ordinance violations are not eligible. MultCo. leaders address deflection center plans as public criticism grows Given that each camp has been talking to each other since the spring of last year, its unclear why this apparent miscommunication is only just now coming to light or what it means moving forward. Todd Mylet, a Northeast Portland neighbor of the man who was arrested for illegal camping, told KOIN 6 News hes siding with the sheriff. Certainly everybody needs to be on the same page, Mylet said. But I mean, I guess I kind of agree with the sheriff, I dont think we should be jailing people just because theyre homeless. Portland faces $2M wrongful death suit after alleged killers release before attack In a statement on Tuesday, Sheriff ODonnell defended her decision not to jail the man, saying accountability is still possible through citations and the court. That was a message she doubled down on Wednesday during a press conference. At this point, Im standing by that statement in anticipation of having an opportunity to have further conversations with our public safety leaders and the City of Portland to again determine the best pathways forward to support community safety in all of our communities, ODonnell said. Mayor Wheeler issued a directive just 30 minutes after that press conference, in an email to Portland police. He wrote in part, In light of the Sheriffs decision not to book and process arrests for violations of the Citys public camping ordinance, I am directing the Portland Police Bureau to continue to cite those who repeatedly violate this law and refer these cases for prosecution. Fresh details on Burgervilles newest location in nearly a decade opening soon KOIN 6 News reached out to the mayors office for clarification on what prosecution would look like if most people cited cant afford to pay a fine or may struggle to make it to court. His office said PPB will issue a ticket with a court date and if the person doesnt show, a warrant could be issued for their arrest. A PPB spokesperson said Chief Bob Day is passing it along to the Bureau membership today with the added direction that officers have the option of transporting persons arrested on charges related to 14A.50.170 to a police precinct to process, complete paperwork, and serve the criminal citation. Thats not booking, its just detaining the person pending the completion of the necessary documentation and processing (and its something we do for other criminal citations as well depending on the circumstance). KOIN 6 also reached out to the sheriffs office to ask what her response is to the mayors new directive to PPB to issue citations to enforce the camping ban. We also asked whether the sheriff spoke with the mayor about the disconnect in communication between the two. Below is Sheriff ODonnells response: Providing accountability through a citation and court date is the applicable avenue for these violations, and is what happened on Friday. I am in contact with the city of Portland and the Portland Police Bureau to continue meeting the public safety expectations of the communities we serve. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. TISHOMINGO COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) worker helped save an injured puppy in Tishomingo County. Recently, officials said MDOT District 1 Maintenance Tech David Walker was working on State Route 72 in Burnsville when he found a deceased puppy in the roadway. While removing the animal, he noticed another puppy in the right of way that was badly injured. Walker contacted the Tishomingo County Foster Rescue, who responded and picked up the injured pup. The puppy had two broken hind legs and other injuries. Applications available for August 2024 Wild Hog Control Program According to officials, the puppys story was shared on social media, and donations started pouring in to cover his costly surgeries. Gail Milligan, who runs the Tishomingo County Foster Rescue, named the puppy MDOT, after Walker who found him. In recent weeks, MDOT the dog continues to heal and can walk on all paws, although he may never have full use of his hind legs. MDOT the dog is now looking for someone to adopt him. Applications for adoption can be requested from the Tishomingo County Foster Rescue. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Recent travelers through Southern California are being alerted to possible measles exposure, according to a Thursday report from Los Angeles' KTLA 5 news and those exposed could be at risk of developing the illness. California health officials have traced the instance to a passenger on Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0711, which arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX at about 2:15 p.m. on July 26. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health said the person then traveled to Orange County. The Orange County Healthcare Agency is investigating additional exposure sites in Orange County, the department said in a Thursday news release. Health officials told the outlet that travelers who were in either the Tom Bradley International Terminal or Terminal B, between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on July 26 are at risk of developing measles. Passengers on the affected flight who may have been exposed will be notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via the passengers' local departments of health. Those who believe they may be at risk are advised to confirm their measles vaccination status. Those who have not been vaccinated nor had measles in the past are advised to remain alert for symptoms of infection including rash and fever, and to contact their doctor if signs emerge. Public health officials said that among persons who may have been exposed if no symptoms appear by Aug. 16 (21 days from exposure), the individual is no longer at risk for measles. UK HealthCare is experiencing a shortage of supplies used to detect bloodstream infections. Dr. Kevin Hatton, acting chief medical officer of Albert B. Chandler Hospital, said the University of Kentucky is planning for the worst-case scenario a months-long shortage. But there is no circumstance where UK HealthCare completely runs out of blood culture bottles, he said. At UK HealthCare weve dealt with a number of shortages over the years, he said. As an organization we used our standard work for recognizing and addressing shortages. While we dont want shortages because they impact our ability to provide best care, we have a robust system to really ensure that we are able to continue to provide good care. Healthcare supply manufacturer Becton Dickinson announced that a supply chain shortage has resulted in the slowed production of blood culture bottles. Becton Dickinson is the only supplier UK HealthCare uses for the tests. Once officials realized the shortage would be a problem, UK HealthCare put in an emergency request with another manufacturer to supplement the need for the bottles. That new system will be delivered Monday, and will be used by doctors starting Aug. 12. How are blood culture bottles used? When a doctor orders a blood culture, the hospital lab runs two tests, using a total of four bottles, to help lessen the risk of a false positive or false negative result. Each test uses two bottles, one tests for bacteria that live in oxygen environments and one tests for bacteria that live in non-oxygen environments. Sometimes people have infections in their blood. We call that a bloodstream infection. The best way to test for that is to get a sample of blood and look at it over a period of time and see if bacteria grows in that. Blood culture bottles are the media that that growth occurs in, Hatton said. Blood cultures are not ordered for every patient admitted to the hospital, they are just for people showing possible signs of infection. To conserve the current supply of bottles on hand, the medical lab will only run one test for patients at low risk for blood infection, cutting the usage of bottles from four to two. For most patients, thats more than enough to get a good diagnosis, Hatton said. Patients at high risk of infection or complications from infection, like people in septic shock or who are immunocompromised, will continue getting two tests for every culture order. We do not anticipate that if you come to us with concerns of infection we would treat you significantly differently, Hatton said. If you have an infection, we will have the ability to detect it, we will have the ability to treat it. Our patients will still get the same level of care. More than 800 powerful venture capitalists organized to pledge support for Kamala Harris. Current and former CEOs separately worked together to sign a letter endorsing Harris. Here are the biggest signatories and their history with the historic election cycle. As the once decidedly liberal Silicon Valley splinters this election, with figures like Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks publicly backing former President Donald Trump, a group of powerful venture capitalists have combined forces to declare their support for Vice President Kamala Harris. By late August, more than 800 venture capitalists pledged to vote and solicit donations for Harris on a new website, VCsForKamala.org. According to one of the group's organizers, the original signatories represent a combined $150 billion in assets under management. The current signatories represent a combined $276 billion, according to the group's founders. "We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship, and pro-technological progress," reads a statement on the VCsForKamala's website. "We also believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation." Harris, who was born in Oakland, has garnered support from dozens of leaders in her backyard supportive of her pro-business policies. In September, the effort by business and tech leaders stretched from coast to coast. A group of 88 prominent Wall Street and tech executives jointly signed a letter endorsing Harris, writing that she is "the best way to support continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy." The leaders also celebrated her support for small businesses. Here are some of the biggest names on the VCsForKamala list and recent letter of corporate leaders. Mark Cuban Mark Cuban. Europa Press Sports/Getty Images The billionaire, Shark Tank star, and former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks is one of the most well-known signatories of both VCsForKamala and the corporate letter. Valued at $5.4 billion according to Forbes, Cuban voted for Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP primaries but later attended a Biden fundraiser, ABC News reported. He vowed to support Biden after his disastrous debate performance but said hewas interested in whether other Democrats were better positioned to beat Trump. He was one of the quickest to react when Biden dropped his reelection bid, writing on X, "Father time is undefeated." Cuban has retweeted various posts about Harris' campaign, including one saying that Democrats had "some well-needed momentum." He anticipates that she will be more open to business, artificial intelligence, and crypto, Politico reported. Reid Hoffman Reid Hoffman. Kimberly White/Getty Images Reid Hoffman, a LinkedIn cofounder and longtime Democratic donor, wasted no time throwing his weight behind Harris, offering his support for her campaign the same day that Biden ended his. Of the president, he said that dropping out was "one of the most selfless acts we've seen from a politician in modern American history." In January, Hoffman poured $2 million into a super PAC that led a write-in campaign in New Hampshire for Biden's campaign. The Information first reported that Hoffman pushed Reed Hastings, Netflix chairman, to donate $7 million to a PAC supporting Harris. He has openly sparred with business and tech leaders, namely David Sacks, who support Trump. He plans to host a fundraiser for Harris and has signed both the VCsForKamala and letter of executives. James Murdoch James Murdoch broke with his father, conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, to voice his support for the vice president. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images The former CEO of 21st Century Fox broke even farther away from his father, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and added his name to the list of CEOs endorsing Harris. It was the first time he publicly declared his support for the vice president. Murdoch is far more politically moderate than his dad and his older brother, Lachlan. He has donated hundreds of thousands to Democratic congressional candidates, according the Federal Election Commission records. James Murdoch is currently locked in a real-life succession battle over the future over his family's media empire, which includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. Vinod Khosla Vinod Khosla. Steven Ferdman/Getty Images The OpenAI investor and founder of Sun Microsystems was quick to back Harris after an initial post on X in support of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Khosla, who endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, hosted a fundraiser for Biden in May and has donated to various Democratic candidates and super PACs. His name is among the hundreds on the VCsForKamala list. Khosla has said on X he would not support a candidate who denies the outcomes of elections, is in favor climate policy and regulations on emissions, and supports growth-oriented economic policy. He has been outspoken about his views contrary to other leading tech executives. Khosla engaged in a heated exchange with Elon Musk on X the day Biden ended his 2024 campaign in which he said there was "no reason to accept depravity in his personal values." "Hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, rapes, demeans women, hates immigrants like me," Khosla replied to Musk on X. Ron Conway Ron Conway. Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch The venture capitalist who runs the venture firm SV Angel is a longtime Kamala Harris donor who has contributed to liberal PACs and campaigns for local Democratic leaders. Conway is known for his philanthropic contributions to the UCSF Medical Center and Children's Hospital and other organizations protecting firearm safety, rights for trans youth, and immigration reform. He's added his name to VCsForKamala and the letter of executives. "She is thoughtful and collaborative, able to bring people together to solve difficult problems and accomplish critical goals," Conway wrote about Harris on X. "She is also a fighter for justice, fairness, and prosperity. She has proven all of that throughout her career and as vice president, and she will prove it again as the democratic nominee and as the 47th President of the United States." Earvin "Magic" Johnson Johnson posted about the letter on X, saying that he was "proud" to be part of the group supporting Harris. Gisela Schober/Getty Images The NBA Hall of Famer and billionaire businessman joined the corporate executives endorsing Harris. He celebrated the effort in a post on X, writing, "I'm proud to be a part of this elite group of leaders supporting VP Harris!!" Johnson has posted about Harris before after her interview with CNN, he said that she was "outstanding" and "clearly explained why she changed viewpoints on a couple of issues which shows her humility, growth, and willingness to be open." He has given money to Democrats in the past, including Obama. Katie Stanton Katie Stanton. Joe Scarnici/Getty Images A founder of and general partner at venture capital firm Moxxie Ventures, Stanton has graced Forbes' list of the most powerful women in technology. She was formerly Twitter's vice president of international strategy and is a part of the VCsForKamala effort. When Biden dropped out, she called him a "hero" on X and listed many candidates who could replace him, with Harris as the first name on her list. She quickly expressed her support for Harris on the platform, reposting a video of her and saying that she is "fired up and ready to vote." Shortly after Biden dropped out, Stanton told the New York Times that most of Silicon Valley does not support Trump, despite Elon Musk and others' endorsements for the former president. "You have people with the loudest voices claiming to speak for the broader community, and the views don't match," she said. "By no means do they line up with the thousands of founders and employees and investors who live and work in Silicon Valley." Steve Wozniak The Apple co-founder has been a long time philanthropist to educational causes. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images A co-founder of Apple, Stephen Wozniak, often referred to simply as "The Woz," added his list to the name of venture capitalist signatories. Though he's been relatively quiet online about this year's election, Wozniak told Time in 2016 that Trump is "a very rude person" and made him cry aloud. "The Republicans to me just don't match my own personal ethics," he said. "If I do vote, it'll probably be for Bernie Sanders." Wozniak is a major philanthropist to educational causes according to his website, with a particular focus on increasing computer capabilities in schools. Chris Sacca Chris Sacca. Getty The venture investor behind the VC firm Lowercase Capital has long opposed Donald Trump and backed Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. Sacca donated $150,000 to the ACLU after Trump signed an executive order temporarily restricting the admission of citizens from seven countries. Sacca also worked for Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Despite saying that he "hates politics" on his website, he noted that he and his partner Clay Dumas have "invested millions of dollars and countless hours helping build organizations and companies that we think have the best shot at giving blue candidates an edge in a game that is rigged against them." He advocated donating to Biden's campaign before he dropped out and has signed onto VCsForKamala. Barry Diller The billionaire media mogul has supported various Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama Ray Tamarra/Getty Images Media mogul Barry Diller is among the 88 corporate leaders who endorsed Harris, continuing his pattern of supporting Democrats. The chairman of IAC, Diller is worth an estimated $4.5 billion and has donated to candidates like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Cory Booker, according to OpenSecrets. In July, Diller said that he and his wife, designer Diane von Furstenberg, were no longer supporting the Biden campaign. Diller had donated $6,600 to the president's reelection campaign in 2023, but was evidently turned off by the disastrous debate. "Do not discount Kamala Harris," Diller told Deadline when she entered the race. He said that business leaders could be convinced to support her candidacy. Aileen Lee Aileen Lee. Cowboy Ventures The Cowboy Ventures founder, VC angel investor, and VCsForKamala signatory coined the term "unicorn" and cofounded the nonprofit All Raise to advocate for women in venture capital. Though Lee hasn't written much publicly about her support for Harris, she responded to a conservative activist suing a VC firm supporting Black women owners last year on LinkedIn, writing, "With every opportunity we have - let's vote in folks who are going to create and support more opportunities for economic empowerment and achievement, not spend their energy trying to crush opportunities for deserving, under represented folks." Deven Parekh Deven Parekh. Monica Schipper/Getty Images In addition to being the managing director at Insight Partners, a global venture capital and private equity firm, Parekh is a philanthropist and Democratic donor. He was included on the guest list for the White House State Dinner in June 2023, and he was a key fundraising organizer for Democrats during the 2018 midterms, the New York Times reported. Though Parekh has been relatively quiet online in recent weeks, he did retweet an announcement that Salman Rushdie, an author, had endorsed Harris. He pledged to support Harris through VCsForKamala and the letter of CEOs. Hamilton "Tony" James James was an outspoken Biden supporter. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images Hamilton "Tony" James is the former president, COO, and executive vice chairman of Blackstone, the New York-based asset management firm. With a network of $4.5 billion, he signed the letter of corporate executives endorsing Harris. In May, James hosted a fundraiser for Biden and the Democratic National Committee at his New York apartment, Bloomberg reported. At a separate fundraiser, James said that "Donald Trump is destroying the fabric of America." Jesse Draper Draper retweeted Harris' statement announcing that she was the presumptive nominee and a post from the VCsForKamala account Harry Murphy/Getty Images A fourth generation venture capitalist, Draper is a founding partner of a Los Angeles-based firm, Halogen Ventures, according to her website. She has also received an Emmy nomination for her television series, The Valley Girl Show. Draper is a gender equality advocate and focuses on empowering women in the workforce, making her support for VCsForKamala in line with her brand. Draper reposted Harris' statement announcing that she was the presumptive Democrat nominee, as we well as post from VCsForKamala. Mark Suster Mark Suster. Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images Suster, a VCsForKamala signatory, is a well-known face in the Los Angeles venture capital scene, where he is a partner at the firm Upfront Ventures. He thanked Biden for dropping out in a post on X and has reshared various statements from Harris. In particular, he has posted about her stance on Israel and her condemnation of Hamas. In his role at Upfront, Suster oversees more than $3 billion in assets and has enmeshed himself in the LA tech world. Leslie Feinzaig VCsForKamala may not have launched without Feinzaig, one of the primary organizers. She said that she formed the group partly in response to a cascade of tweets from Silicon Valley leaders supporting Trump and characterized it as a grass-roots effort. Feinzaig is the managing director of the firm Graham & Walker and the cofounder of Female Founders Alliance, according to her LinkedIn. She celebrated the VCsForKamala launch on Twitter and posted updates throughout Wednesday, noting that by the late afternoon, 400 people had signed their names. When Biden dropped out, Fainzaig retweeted his letter breaking the news with the caption, "It's done." She announced her support for Harris in a tweet the following day, and the day after posted a screenshot proving that she purchased a now-widespread domain name: vsforkamala. Chris Larsen The billionaire crypto executive and Ripple co-founder signed onto the letter endorsing Harris, publicly signaling his support for the vice president for the first time. "Proud to support the Harris campaign she's the right leader for our fast-changing world," Larsen told Business Insider in a statement. "And I'm confident that she will reset the misguided Biden policies that were too anti-business and anti-innovation. At the same time, I'm confident she will maintain Biden's strong leadership on our energy transition." Larsen told Business Insider that he appreciated Harris' speech at the Democratic National Convention and hopes that she'll appoint individuals who establish clear crypto guidelines. He also said that he recently donated $1 million in crypto Future Forward, a PAC supporting Harris. Read the original article on Business Insider After Meeting His Son for the First Time, This Killer Did The Unthinkable Keanan Turner and Ebony Wright were together in a relationship when Wright became pregnant with her first child. While this may have been cause for celebration for some couples, it wasnt for Turner, who asked Wright to get an abortion. When Wright decided that she wanted to keep the baby, Turner stopped speaking to her entirely, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Columbia. This led to Wright filing a custody and child support lawsuit against Turner, to get full custody of her baby while still receiving support from Turner. After he was served the lawsuit, he reached out to Wright to meet his child for the first time. On April 12, 2021, he finally did, meeting Wright, her mother Wanda Wright, her sister, and the child at his baby mothers apartment in Maryland. More from the U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Columbia: After meeting with the family for nearly an hour, the defendant took out a gun and shot Ebony Wright in the head. He then shot Wanda Wright in the back of the head. He then went into the back bedroom, where the sister was located, and shot her once in the face. Prior to leaving the apartment, the defendant lit the custody paperwork on fire in an attempt to kill the child. As he was running out of the apartment, the defendant attempted to remove a Ring camera on the front door and, in doing so, exposed a unique tattoo on his arm. Despite being shot in the face, Wrights sister survived and was able to rescue the baby from the apartment and call emergency services. Last week, Turner learned his fate in a Superior Court for the District of Columbia. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder while armed with aggravated circumstances, assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, attempted first-degree murder of a minor, second-degree cruelty to children, arson, and destruction of property. He was also found guilty of four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence and carrying a pistol without a license, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Columbia. Turners sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 14, 2024. He faces life in prison. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Megyn Kelly came to the defense of Donald Trump following a widely criticized interview he gave at the National Association for Black Journalists annual convention on Wednesday, slamming the ABC News representative who opened up with a tough question for the Republican candidate. To me, its so funny. All [of the] white liberals being like, Ah! Hes horrible,' Kelly began the segment. She claimed that actual Black people all over Twitter didnt think it was a big deal, adding that they were posting videos of themselves watching it and tweeting about it being like, And?' The former Fox News journalist, later turning to the meta-discussion of Trumps appearance, made racially charged comments about the journalists involved. I wasnt aware as a journalist myself of the rule that you cannot attack Black journalists. Im just now finding this out that they are too fragile, I guess, for us to call them names, Kelly said. She continued on the same track before taking a turn back to praise some Black journalists, adding, Does the Black skin make them just completely weak and unable to take criticism, because thats not true of the amazing Black journalists I know. During the segment, the host described Trump giving interviews to a panel of Black journalists at the event as the former president going into the lions den. This reporter Rachel Scott from ABC News, decides to open up the event with the nastiest question she could dream of, Kelly said, echoing Trumps complaints about the question that cited Trumps own prior statements about Black people. I will just tell you as a journalist who has asked Trump very hard questions, I thought this was grossly inappropriate, Kelly said. Its not a presidential debate. That is not how you begin an interview. He does not unlike a presidential debate have to be there. Kelly famously received highly critical, sexist comments from Trump during the 2016 campaign and was even defended by 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but Kelly has since turned around on Trump and come out as a strong supporter of his in the 2024 race, doubling down on that support following the recent attempted assassination of the former president. Scotts opening question for Trump was, You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabid to describe Black district attorneys. You have attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. Youve had dinner with a White supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that? Trump responded at the time, Well, first of all, I dont think Ive ever been asked a question so in such a horrible manner, first question, before adding that ABC is a fake news network and terrible. Theres an understanding of presidential debates in the primary contest that you will be there, at least back then when it was unclear he was going to win it anyway, Kelly said. However, Trump notably didnt participate in primary debates during the 2024 primary. Kelly shared Trumps frustration that he attended while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, citing scheduling conflicts, did not attend in person. You can ask some tough questions, but there should be a crescendo and decrescendo, Kelly argued of how the interview should have been structured. And by the way, the question should be fact-based and she put a lot of non-facts in her question as though they were true. So I did have a problem with what she did, though I liked tough questions as a general principle. You can watch the full Megyn Kelly Show segment in the video above. The post Megyn Kelly Blames NABJ Journalist for Asking Trump Nastiest Question She Could Dream Of | Video appeared first on TheWrap. BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS) Mercer County Airport staff had the chance to honor a vital member of the airports history. On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, airport staff hosted an event honoring the late Commander Henry J. White. White was inducted into the West Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame during the West Virginia Airport Managers Association Banquet. Commander White, a native of Maryland, was a U.S Naval Academy graduate who served during World War I. Whites legacy will forever be a piece of the Mercer County Airport Terminal. The two Bluefields earn free lemonade due to the extremely high temps The significance of being an early pilot and a test pilot for planes and other items. It was the fact that he was also a naval pilot, said Bill Archer, a Mercer County Commissioner. The award will be displayed at the Mercer County Airport. White was also a skilled linguist and was fluent in German, which helped him translate German writing for American pilots. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. It's been a pretty great week for Trifast plc (LON:TRI) shareholders, with its shares surging 12% to UK0.77 in the week since its latest full-year results. Things were not great overall, with a surprise (statutory) loss of UK0.033 per share on revenues of UK234m, even though the analysts had been expecting a profit. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year. View our latest analysis for Trifast Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Trifast's four analysts is for revenues of UK238.4m in 2025. This would reflect an okay 2.0% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Trifast is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of UK0.031 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of UK240.2m and earnings per share (EPS) of UK0.043 in 2025. So there's definitely been a decline in sentiment after the latest results, noting the pretty serious reduction to new EPS forecasts. The consensus price target held steady at UK1.13, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Trifast analyst has a price target of UK1.40 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at UK1.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure. Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that Trifast's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.0% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 4.9% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.9% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Trifast. Story continues The Bottom Line The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Trifast. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates. With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Trifast going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.. Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Trifast that you should be aware of. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) The Mexican consulate in El Paso plans to unveil a plaque on Monday in honor of the victims of the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting at the Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall. The Mexican government does not want the victims or the act itself to be forgotten, said Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon, Mexicos consul general in El Paso. This was one of the most serious attacks against the Mexican community in the United States and is a situation that should not happen again. The plaque will include the names of the 23 people who were killed. Nine of them were born in Mexico, though two had become naturalized American citizens. The Mexican consulate in El Paso is building a memorial to the victims of the Aug. 3, 2019 mass shooting. (Julian Resendiz/Border Report) A cinder-block and concrete pedestal is being built outside the consulate to hold the plaque. Dignitaries from the Mexican Foreign Ministry are expected to attend the 8:30 a.m. ceremony on Monday. Because of social distancing, the public is invited to follow the ceremony through the consulates Facebook page. Ibarra said the massacre shocked Mexicans residing in El Paso. Many sought the consulates mental health counselors in the days following the shooting. It took a long time for the community to internalize the incident, he said. El Paso is among the safest cities in the United States. The fact that an individual came from the outside to commit such a crime had a profound impact not just on the victims, but in the community. Ibarra said El Paso residents were able to overcome the trauma of the event by comforting each other and relying on the unity that characterizes this largely binational community. Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon is the Mexican consul general in El Paso. (photo by Julian Resendiz) The anniversary will obviously reopen some wounds, but (the survivors and their families) take strength in the support and solidarity they have received from people, organizations and government agencies who came to their aid, Ibarra said. Many individuals showed their support, and I think that is the most important takeaway one year after this regrettable event. A North Texas resident allegedly carried out the attack upset over a Hispanic invasion of Texas. The consul said such violent xenophobic views should not be condoned. Its important to be united in eradicating hateful expressions that not only affect the Mexican community, but others as well, Ibarra said, adding there should also be a conversation to fight the indiscriminate use of firearms. Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. FILE - This image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Zambada, who was taken into U.S. custody last week, made his second appearance in federal court in Texas on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (U.S. Department of State via AP) EL PASO, Texas (AP) A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader on Thursday made his second appearance in federal court in Texas after being taken into U.S. custody last week. Ismael El Mayo Zambada, 76, used a wheelchair for the hearing before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso. Zambada, the longtime leader of Mexicos Sinaloa cartel, eluded authorities for decades until a plane carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman," landed at an airport near El Paso on July 25. Both men were arrested and remain jailed. They are charged in the U.S. with various drug crimes. Discussions during the short hearing Thursday included whether Zambada would be tried with co-defendants or separately. He is being held without bond and pleaded not guilty during a short hearing last week, where he also used a wheelchair. His next hearing date was set for Sept. 9. His attorneys declined to comment after Thursday's hearing. One of his attorneys, Frank Perez, previously has alleged his client was kidnapped by Guzman Lopez and brought to the U.S. aboard a private plane. Guzman Lopez, 38, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago. Zambada was thought to be more involved in day-to-day operations of the cartel than his better-known and flashier boss, El Chapo, who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019. Zambada is charged in a number of U.S. cases, including in New York and California. Prosecutors brought a new indictment against him in New York in February, describing him as the principal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States. The capture of Zambada and Guzman Lopez has fueled theories about how federal authorities pulled it off and prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to take the unusual step of issuing a public appeal to drug cartels not to fight each other. Indigenous families with loved ones who have gone missing or been murdered march in Farmington, New Mexico on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Bella Davis / New Mexico In Depth) This article was first published by New Mexico In Depth on July 17. It has been updated below and republished here with permission. It is unclear who is on a state advisory council on missing and murdered Indigenous people announced eight months ago by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham amid upset over her decision to disband a task force focused on the crisis. A story by New Mexico In Depth about the councils decision to hold its meetings behind closed doors included a list of members the Indian Affairs Department (IAD) shared with the news organization. The department named two council chairs and five members. But two of the seven people listed say they have never been members. One of the people on the list, Dawn Begay, formerly the Native American affairs coordinator for the City of Albuquerque, wrote to New Mexico In Depth in a July 12 email that I am not and have not been a member of the advisory board. She was asked to join the council but didnt submit the required paperwork, she wrote. Another person on the list, Navajo Nation Police Commander Daryl Noon, submitted paperwork for a background check to be on the council but never heard back, public information officer Chrissy Largo said July 16. IAD listed him as police chief, but hes no longer in that position, Largo confirmed. The governors administration has said the council met in March to organize itself, but its unclear who attended. Noon, despite being listed as a member, did not know about the meeting, according to Largo. Neither the governors office nor IAD has responded to questions sent July 15 about why Begay and Noon were named or whether the other people on the list are indeed members. IAD spokesman Aaron Lopez said the agency would respond after a special legislative session that concluded July 18, but the department has yet to provide answers. Update (published Wednesday, July 31): Delilah Tenorio, general counsel for the Indian Affairs Department, responded to questions from New Mexico In Depth on July 29. Tenorio explained why Begay and Noon were asked to be on the advisory council. But she did not directly answer questions about why they were included in a list of active council members the department provided New Mexico In Depth. The department has gone through transition with a new cabinet secretary and the departure of a lead MMIP coordinator and thats caused some uncertainty about who would continue helping the advisory council carry forward recommendations issued by a now-defunct task force, Tenorio wrote. Tenorio said there are currently three council members and two chairs, all of whom attended an organizational meeting in March. She added the department hopes to add affected families and other advocates to the council, along with more law enforcement officials. Of the three other people on the list, one Tiffany Jiron, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women confirmed she is a member. Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Jenelle Roybal and Picuris Pueblo Gov. Craig Quanchello, who are listed as chairs of the council, havent responded to inquiries. In October, New Mexico In Depth reported Lujan Grishams administration had quietly disbanded a state task force focused on a national crisis of Indigenous people disproportionately going missing and being murdered. (In February, the Legislature included $200,000 in the state budget for Attorney General Raul Torrez to create a new task force, which he says he plans to do.) Affected families and other advocates protested Lujan Grishams decision at the Roundhouse. Confronted in the lobby of the governors office, a spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham apologized to the group for a lack of clarity about the states plans, adding that officials wanted to involve them going forward. A month after the protest, the governor announced she was creating the advisory council, which would guide efforts and support the states ongoing work to address the crisis, a press release read. The work of this group will help bring missing Native people home, provide closure to families and communities, and prevent other families from experiencing these tragedies, Lujan Grisham said in a November statement. Michigan members of Congress rejoiced at word Thursday that Paul Whelan, a Novi man and former Marine who was arrested and jailed in Russia since December 2018, had been released in a large-scale prisoner swap. "Paul, after more than five years, we finally get to say, welcome home," U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, posted on social media platform X on Thursday morning. "You lost your job, your home and your dog but you never lost your faith and we never lost our faith in you." Stevens, who had led several efforts in Congress to push Russia for the release of Whelan who had been head of global security for BorgWarner and accused of espionage charges he denied credited the Biden administration and Whelan's family for keeping up efforts to see him released. "Justice has prevailed, and today, an innocent man is free," she continued. More: Paul Whelan released from Russia in prisoner swap that includes reporter Evan Gershkovich More: Paul Whelan's brother gives family statement following release from Russia The prisoner swap, which involved some two dozen prisoners across six countries, was described by the New York Times as "the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades." Among those freed by Russia was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Today, a Michigan family can breathe a long sigh of relief after a years-long nightmare, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Paul Whelan, a proud United States Marine and Michigander is finally coming back home." The whole state of Michigan is thankful and relieved that Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and other Americans are coming home, said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. Thanks to tireless diplomacy by the Biden-Harris administration, they have been freed from cruel and unwarranted detention in Russia. Today is a testament to our power to get things done and leave no American behind. My thoughts are with Paul and Evans families and friends who have waited so long to welcome them back. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, issued a statement, saying, "Today is a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan ... Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Whelan's parents, Edward and Rosemary Whelan, live in Manchester, southwest of Ann Arbor. "Im incredibly thankful and relieved to learn that after years of wrongful imprisonment, both Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich are in American custody and on their way home," said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, whose district includes Manchester. "Their detainment has been an affront to due process, international law and human rights." Dingell said she has become friends with Whelan's parents and siblings. "I have seen how difficult this has been and know how tireless they have been in their efforts to bring him home," she said. "Now we must give those who have been released and their families the time and space they need to recover and heal from their experiences." U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, added that he was "overjoyed" to hear of the release of Whelan and Gershkovich, noting his district used to include Manchester before the boundary lines changed in 2021. "Pauls parents, Ed and Rosemary, were constituents of mine and have spent nearly six agonizing years wondering if theyd ever get to see their son again," Walberg said. "Pauls siblings, Elizabeth and David, have done everything in their power to bring him home and never lost hope, even during the dimmest days. Paul and Evan are innocent Americans who have been wrongly detained simply to increase the Kremlins geopolitical bargaining power." Walberg warned, however, that the U.S. "must be careful not to establish a new norm by accepting when our adversaries conflate innocent civilians with real criminals. This puts every American at risk." U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, who is a former intelligence officer and former acting assistant Pentagon secretary, issued a statement, calling Whelan's release "tremendous news" and credited the "determined diplomacy" by President Joe Biden's negotiators and the advocacy of his family and those in Congress, mentioning Stevens by name. Todays happy news is also a reminder that we face a dangerous and unprincipled adversary in (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," Slotkin added. "He uses innocent Americans as pawns. Those who want to cozy up to him, or simply turn a blind eye to his demands in Ukraine, would do well to remember the suffering of Paul, the Whelan family, and the millions of Ukrainians living with the consequences of Putins actions. Other statements of gratitude and relief poured in as well: From U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township: Russia wrongfully detained Paul and Evan as political prisoners after sham trials with no evidence of wrongdoing. Both Paul and Evan, as well as their families, suffered greatly through this terrible ordeal. But even on the darkest days, they never gave up hope and neither did the American people." From U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan: "Wonderful news today! After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Thank you to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for your incredible work to bring these Americans home. From Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist: The whole state of Michigan is thankful and relieved that Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and other Americans are coming home. Thanks to tireless diplomacy by the Biden-Harris administration, they have been freed from cruel and unwarranted detention in Russia. Today is a testament to our power to get things done and leave no American behind. My thoughts are with Paul and Evans families and friends who have waited so long to welcome them back. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Paul Whelan released from Russia prison: Michigan leaders react Microsoft has a long and tangled history with OpenAI, having invested a reported $13 billion in the ChatGPT maker as part of a long-term partnership. As part of the deal, Microsoft runs OpenAI's models across its enterprise and consumer products and is OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider. However, the tech giant called the startup a "competitor" for the first time in an SEC filing on Tuesday. In Microsoft's annual 10K, OpenAI joined a long list of competitors in AI, alongside Anthropic, Amazon, and Meta. OpenAI was also listed alongside Google as a competitor to Microsoft in search, thanks to OpenAI's new SearchGPT feature announced last week. It's possible Microsoft is trying to change the narrative on its relationship with OpenAI in light of antitrust concerns -- the FTC is currently looking into the relationship, alongside similar cloud provider investments into AI startups. Microsoft recently agreed to give up its board observer seat at the startup -- a seat it gained after a kerfuffle last fall when OpenAI's board briefly fired CEO Sam Altman, prompting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to offer him and other top execs jobs at Microsoft. However, SEC filings like this are often places where corporations throw out hyper-cautious warnings to investors. Partners and competitors are certainly not mutually exclusive titles in Silicon Valley. In the year 2000, the dominant search engine at the time, Yahoo, announced an agreement to let Google's search results appear on its web page. The two companies were partners for a few years, until Google ate Yahoo's lunch in search and became the unofficial, but dominant, doorstep to the internet. The two companies were partners, but were still threats to each other. (Yahoo is the owner of TechCrunch.) There's enough history of this kind of power-switch in tech that it's at least conceivable that Microsoft and OpenAI's relationship will take a similar route. Regardless, Microsoft is not putting all its eggs in one basket. In March, Microsoft hired the co-founders of billion-dollar AI startup Inflection AI, Mustafa Suleyman and Karen Simonyan, to lead its new Microsoft AI division. The cloud provider is investing heavily into Microsoft Copilot and building out an AI future that's entirely separate from OpenAI. Microsoft is modifying its high-stakes plan to share sensitive AI hardware and intellectual property with Emirati AI firm G42, amid growing concerns about the companys ties to China, according to one person familiar with the plans and two Congressional aides briefed by Microsoft. In the last week, the Redmond-based tech giant has begun informing Congressional committees, executive branch agencies and White House staff that it plans to install greater safeguards around a sensitive part of the deal that is still under negotiation, the person familiar said. That aspect of the $1.5 billion partnership, which was first announced in April, would have involved the transfer of sensitive technology including advanced semiconductors and model weights, the key mathematical instructions powering proprietary AI models to G42. The U.S. has tried to restrict China from accessing those technologies because they are viewed as critical in the race to develop the most cutting-edge AI tools. Overseen by the UAEs national security adviser, G42 is striving to build the worlds fastest Arabic large-language model a powerful, multi-purpose AI system like OpenAIs ChatGPT that is trained on enormous reams of data. The Abu Dhabi-based company has previously come under scrutiny for its partnerships with technology and surveillance firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Under the new plan, Microsoft would instead lease its AI products to G42, an arrangement that will allow it to exert more oversight over any hardware and software it transfers to the UAE, the person familiar said. Microsoft did not provide a stated rationale for the shift, they added. But the move suggests that the U.S. tech company is bowing to growing Congressional warnings that G42s ties to China mean the deal could allow Beijing to siphon off cutting-edge tech from the U.S. Its clear Microsoft is having to change gears in light of all this controversy, said the individual. Microsoft declined to comment for this story. Spokespeople for the National Security Council, G42 and the UAE Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the majority staff on the House China Committee and a Congressional aide from a separate office confirmed they were briefed last week by Microsoft and received similar details about the change of plans. The congressional aide and the person familiar with the plans were granted anonymity as a condition of sharing details about sensitive negotiations. The Biden administration previously endorsed the deal announced in April as a way to pry G42 away from China. G42 firm promised to cut ties with Chinese tech and investment firms in exchange for access to Microsoft cloud and AI technology. But the partnership has since come under steady fire from GOP China hawks, who argued that the more sensitive second phase could expose critical intellectual property to Beijing and was progressing without adequate government oversight. Earlier this month, Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), the chairs of the House Foreign Affairs and China panels, sent a letter to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urging him to order a comprehensive intelligence community review of G42s ties to Beijing. The change of plans from Microsoft also comes shortly after the House China Committee accused the Emirati ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, of personally intervening to cancel a planned meeting between congressional staff and representatives of G42 in the UAE last week. The move inflamed the committee, one of the leading congressional skeptics of the deal. In a statement to POLITICO, the GOP spokesperson for the House China panel praised Microsoft for being candid and transparent with Congress about the deal. They also celebrated the firms decision to weigh new safeguards for it. After we relayed national security concerns to the White House, Microsoft proactively adjusted the terms of its deal with G42 to ensure key American technology is not directly handed over to potentially problematic actors with close ties to the CCP, they said. The prior negotiations for the transfer of advanced semiconductors to the UAE would have required an export license from the Commerce Department. It is unclear whether the revised plan would also require that approval. A spokesperson for Commerce declined to comment when asked whether they had also been briefed about Microsofts new plans. Migrant shelter moves into former NYC college dorm near ritzy Riverdale prep school: Neighborhood will be destroyed A new migrant shelter will open next month at a former college dorm building in the Bronxs swanky Riverdale section angering some local residents who fear the neighborhood will be destroyed. The city is putting the finishing touches on the shelter at 435 West 238th St. a stones throw away from the $63,500-per-year Ethical Culture Fieldston School which is set to open sometime in August, according to City Council Member Eric Dinowitz. The building, previously used as off-campus Manhattan College housing, will house 95 migrant families, according to City Hall. As furniture was being moved inside the facility on Wednesday local residents fumed over the soon-to-be shelter. A new migrant shelter is set to open at 435 West 238th St. in the Bronx. James Keivom Im not happy to see them moving these people in here, Hugh McGuire, 94, a Korean war vet who lives across street, told The Post. Its not going to be good if theyre hanging around all day with nothing to do. Thats not going to lead anywhere good. I can tell you all the people in my building are pissed off, added neighborhood resident Gerri, 71. A lot of people are talking about leaving, but its probably mostly talk. I cant leave so Im just going to hope for the best. The neighborhood will be destroyed, I have to get out, said Nicole L., a US resident of 30 years after spending her first 43 in the former Soviet Union. I see a lot of people moving away from New York City. I think it is probably for these reasons. The local outrage aimed at the shelter isnt new. Last year, as many as 75 demonstrators carrying signs reading Affordable Housing, yes! Migrants, no! and, No land grabs! Save our Children stood in the rain to denounce the shelter plans. Dinowitz said he is still awaiting basic information from the Adams administration like social services that will be available and coordination with local schools, according to a statement posted to X Tuesday evening. Furniture was scheduled to begin being moved inside the new shelter on Wednesday. James Keivom We should prioritize the construction and renovation of housing over shelters, but the administration has chosen to incentivize the use and construction of shelters rather than permanent housing, Dinowitz wrote. Though I disagree with this choice, the administration must take great care in supporting both the current residents and new migrants. The shelter will be run by Yonkers-based Westhab Inc., which runs homeless shelters in the boroughs. It is slated to provide meals, connections to social services, and referrals to other support systems for the migrant families, according to City Hall. A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) told The Post the new shelter will assist some of more than 210,000 asylum seekers that have arrived within city limits since Spring 2022. The 83-unit dorm dubbed Overlook Manor was purchased in May 2023 for $18 million by the Stagg Group and was originally slated to be a homeless shelter. James Keivom Despite previous reports, the shelter is not currently contracted to be a permanent or long-term facility, DSS added. These families are arriving in the City after long, harrowing journeys, and we are committed to providing them a safe and secure place to stay, the spokesperson said. Dinowitz recalled grim visits to the areas migrant shelters to The Post including one shelter, the Van Cortlandt Hotel, sporting mold on the walls and reports of vermin. Neighbors told The Post they protested the shelter last year but we could not do anything. James Keivom Other shelters in the district which encompasses the northwest corner of the Bronx have resulted in residents panhandling and under-resourced schools that arent equipped to handle asylum seekers, he said. Regardless of how anyone feels about our immigration system, kids should not be in a place with mold concerns, Dinowitz said. There were kids that werent registered for school, and we were trying to make sure that DOE [Department of Education] employees were at the site and at times where the families were able to register their kids for school. I look forward to the [Adams] administration changing course and immediately engaging with the local community, the council member added via X. The 83-unit dorm dubbed Overlook Manor was purchased in May 2023 for $18 million by the Stagg Group and was originally slated to be a homeless shelter but under a deal inked by the company last September, the city would pay the owners $2.4 million in annual rent for the migrant shelter, The Post previously reported. These families are arriving in the City after long, harrowing journeys, and we are committed to providing them a safe and secure place to stay, a DSS spokesperson said. James Keivom I think the reality is, nobody wants to live next to a shelter, Dinowitz told The Post. I think a lot of that is going out of fear about things like crime. Truthfully, the biggest complaint were getting is panhandling, which to me suggest that families there are not getting the support and the attention they need, Dinowitz added, which is why Im so adamant that the administration is working constantly my office to make sure that the new families arriving there are getting support they need there so that they dont have to look elsewhere. As of this week, 64,300 migrants remain in the citys care and hundreds of asylum seekers are still coming in each week, pushing the shelter system to its limit, the DSS said. 213 emergency sites, including 15 humanitarian centers, have been opened as a result. It is therefore imperative that we continue to open new facilities across the city, as necessary, to meet the growing need for shelter, the DSS spokesperson told The Post. (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela promised Brazil that it would respect the integrity of the Argentine embassy in Caracas, including the six opponents of Nicolas Maduros government who have taken refuge inside the diplomatic mission, according to a Brazilian official with knowledge of the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg Brazil took custody of the embassy this week after Maduro expelled Argentinas diplomats in response to President Javier Mileis criticism of his self-declared election victory. The diplomatic mission has become a flash-point in regional relations as governments decide how to respond to Maduros hardening crackdown on dissent in the wake of the election. Brazil is also set to take diplomatic responsibility for the Peruvian embassy, after Maduro expelled its diplomatic staff after the vote, accordion to two officials familiar with the situation. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, meanwhile, will hold a call with Mexicos Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Colombias Gustavo Petro on Thursday afternoon to try to conclude a joint communique calling for the release of full ballot records from the election, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal matters. Maduro has also asked for a call with Lula, although Brazil is organizing it for after the discussion with Petro and Lopez Obrador, the people said. Venezuelas Information Ministry didnt immediately answer a request for comments. Earlier on Thursday, Milei thanked Brazil for taking custody of Argentinas embassy in Caracas, at which aides to Venezuelas opposition leader are sheltering. Argentine diplomatic staff are leaving the country after being expelled by Maduro, Milei said Thursday in a post on X. The expulsion orders are retaliation for the Argentine governments condemnation of Venezuelas electoral fraud, Milei added. I have no doubt that we will soon reopen our embassy in a free and democratic Venezuela, he said. The ties of friendship that unite Argentina with Brazil are very strong and historic. In addition to Argentina and Peru, Maduro also gave diplomats from Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic until Friday to leave the country. Although he has declared himself the winner of the Sunday election, banned candidate Maria Corina Machado says she has proof her stand-in, Edmundo Gonzalez, won last Sundays vote by a large margin. The top US diplomat for the Western Hemisphere told the Organization of American States on Wednesday night that Gonzalez defeated Maduro by millions of votes and that world governments should acknowledge the Venezuelan oppositions overwhelming victory. A half dozen of Machados advisers have sought asylum at the Argentine embassy since March, and Venezuelan police patrols had been encircling the building as Maduro cracked down on dissent after the disputed vote. The custody of the diplomatic headquarters involves the political asylum seekers of the Venezuelan opposition, Argentinas foreign ministry said in a statement detailing the departure of its staff and Brazils oversight of its facilities. On Monday, Lulas chief foreign affairs adviser told Maduro in a private meeting that the Argentine embassy must be protected, according to government officials familiar with the matter. Brazils government is also in talks with Uruguay about safeguarding its diplomatic assets in Venezuela, officials said. Machado thanked Brazil for its willingness to help resolve the embassy standoff, saying late Wednesday in a post to X that it could contribute a negotiated settlement of the broader election dispute. Her aides said Thursday morning Brazils flag had already been raised over the diplomatic mission. Milei, meanwhile, has had a rocky relationship with Lula. The pair have traded barbs over their ideological differences ever since Argentinas election campaign last year. (Recasts story with news of immunity and Lulas calls with AMLO, Petro and Maduro) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Miles College will host a registration day for its incoming student body on August 13. The event will take place in front of the Student Activity Center. Organizers hope to reach unregistered scholars and community members ahead of the upcoming election season. The Worship Center in Birmingham hosting back-to-school event Founded in 1898, Miles College is the only four-year institution in Birmingham designated as a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). For more information, visit its website by clicking here. The college is one of only 39 HBCUs to have the designation of a United Negro College Fund institution. The event will take place on August 13 from 11:00 am 2:00 pm. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. For most people, the Cass Review into gender-identity services in England came as a relief. Finally, an evidence-led, expert group of people led by a renowned paediatrician had confirmed what we all were thinking, using research instead of Twitter spats: puberty blockers are not safe to give to kids. One of the few things the Conservative Party did right in its ill-fated last stretch in government was to ban puberty blockers, instituted by the then health secretary Victoria Atkins. The current Government seems to agree. Following a High Court challenge to the ban, which was upheld, Health Secretary Wes Streeting welcomed the ruling, arguing that being evidence-led was the key factor in any approach to childrens healthcare. And yet, in its infinite wisdom, the British Medical Association (BMA) has decided that the ban on puberty blockers should be lifted. Why? Because it didnt like the Cass Review. In a statement published on Wednesday, the doctors union argued that there were weaknesses in the methodologies used in the Review and problems arising from the implementation of some of the recommendations. This is a familiar argument levelled at Dr Hilary Cass and her team that data has essentially been cherry-picked. But this misses the key argument for the Cass Reviews criticism of medicalised pathways for gender dysphoric children that there simply isnt enough good evidence to justify such radical medical intervention. If doctors arent nervous about doling out medicine that hasnt been properly tried and tested, what chance do the rest of us have? Isnt a central tenet of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm? If the BMA was simply arguing that more research should be carried out into puberty blockers, many of us would agree. With such an exponential rise in the number of children particularly girls requesting medical intervention on account of feeling that they are in the wrong body, well-researched and trustworthy medical knowledge is vital to make sure no mistakes have been made. But that isnt what the BMA is arguing. In fact, it wants to continue as normal, allowing young people to pop pills to stop their bodies progressing along normal, healthy pathways to adulthood. It argues that trans children have been silenced by this ban. It is time that we truly listen to this group of important, valued, and unfortunately often victimised people, the BMAs chair of Council Prof Philip Banfield says. This statement directly contradicts the opinions of many whistleblowers from the Tavistock and other clinics, who argued that doctors were being bullied into affirming the demands of children, rather than exerting their authority to keep them safe. The BMA press release also links to a report published by the Integrity Project at Yale. This critique of the Cass Review reads like a political tract, despite pointing the finger at Cass for the exact same crime. Our concerns about the Cass Review reflect the politicised context for transgender healthcare, especially for youth, it says, if politics continue to interfere with transgender healthcare, clinical services and research in this field may not recover. This is a classic copy-and-paste response from trans activists question our approach and you endanger us. Such hostility to scrutiny is worrying in the world of politics, and downright dangerous in the field of medicine. Healthcare should not be politicised and yet, in many cases, it is. From abortion care to access to contraception, trans people are hardly the first to have debates raised about their right to pills. The BMA is currently involved in industrial action, having just announced a work-to-rule for GPs protesting a new contract with measly pay increases. This is what most people consider the stuff of a doctors union regardless of whether they agree with its recent actions not trying to curry favour with trans activists by playing politics. The twisted logic of extreme trans ideology that asserts the fiction that sex isnt real and all your problems can be solved by mutilating your body has been adopted by too many working in healthcare. The ban on puberty blockers was informed by science and experts. But there is a broader political battle to be won by those of us not in white coats one for truth, and the protection of our children. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A second lawsuit has been filed against Richland School District 1, claiming that clearing trees for the districts controversial early learning center project has caused flooding damage to nearby homes in Lower Richland. Richland 1 broke the law by beginning construction and spending public money on an early learning center without the necessary legal authority, according to a state Inspector Generals report. Now clear-cut, the partially developed parcel on Caughman Road is diverting massive amounts of stormwater into the Creekside neighborhood, the lawsuit said, where Meaghan and Aleni Ilimaleota live. The couple purchased their home in the neighborhood in 2021. Meaghan, an active-duty member of the United Stated Army stationed at Fort Jackson, received orders to deploy for a multi-year assignment overseas in April 2025, and her family is relocating with her. They had intended to sell their home. The lawsuit alleges that before repeated flooding caused by Richland 1, the couple would have been able to recoup their investment and then some. But since the flooding, which the lawsuit says has no end in sight, their property value had been badly diminished and their yard, shed and fence have been damaged. It is an ongoing hardship for the family, the lawsuit says, and they are seeking compensation and damages. Until October 2023, the property behind the Ilimaleotas home was covered with trees, before Richland 1 clear-cut it to build the $31 million Vince Ford Early Learning Center. Construction on the project was paused in January after Richland County issued a stop work order due to the school districts lack of permitting. Construction has yet to resume. Meanwhile, the clear-cutting has resulted in a massive diversion or stormwater into the Creekside neighborhood during heavy rain, the lawsuit alleges. The Ilimaleotas had never previously experienced flooding at their property. The lawsuit claims that the family will suffer imminent financial harm in just a few short months when they relocate overseas to serve their country. Meaghan is under orders from the Army, she and her family do not have the luxury of waiting and hoping Richland One will fix the mess it has created, the lawsuit reads. A district spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Ilimaleotas lawsuit is the second complaint filed against the district complaining of flooding damage. The first was filed on July 8 by Johna Wilkes, another resident of the Creekside neighborhood with a home adjacent to the Vince Ford Early Learning Center site. Wilkes complaint alleges that repeated flooding from stormwater diverted from the early learning center construction site has made her home unlivable, and damaged furniture, cabinetry, flooring, walls, a pool and more. According to the lawsuit, Wilkes has lived on her property since 1997 and had never experienced flooding prior the site being cleared of trees. According to both lawsuits, the district failed to anticipate or plan for stormwater, and failed to design and implement an adequate drainage system to protect neighboring properties. The district has been heavily criticized for its efforts to build the learning center, which was the focus of an investigation by the South Carolina Inspector Generals Office. The office found that Richland 1 had broken state law and cost taxpayers money when it began construction without acquiring the proper permits, according to a July 25 report. The district also started the second phase of the project without approval of the school board. In doing so, the District exposed itself to wasteful expenditures, contractual liabilities, costs associated with project delays, reputation damage, and insurance issues, Inspector General Brian Lamkin wrote. Under state law, school districts must first seek approval from the state superintendent before constructing a public school building. But John Tyler, deputy superintendent and general counsel for the state Department of Education, wrote to the district in December that because the center would be serving infants, it could not be considered a public school building. By then, construction had been underway for months. Despite the education departments concerns, construction continued until Richland County issued a stop work order Jan. 19. The report also found that Richland 1 wasted $352,078 on costs associated with building without a permit, according to the report. The district told The State in May that the project the project had already cost Richland 1 $813,000 for site inspections, stabilization and security since putting construction on hold. The Inspector General also pointed to issues with unauthorized or illegal procurement. The investigation lasted more than six months after state superintendent Ellen Weaver requested the review of the district, raising alarms about potential malfeasance with the early learning center project. She noted that Richland 1 had already been placed on fiscal watch since 2022 by the state Education Department because of problems with its procurement card system. Jason Raven, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the Inspector Generals report validated the departments concerns over state law violations and wasteful spending. The Department knew the construction of the Vince Ford Early Learning Center should never have begun without the appropriate permit. The SIG report clearly identifies further illegal activity related to procurement, Raven said in a statement. ... staff will review all the findings to determine appropriate action to pursue. The Department is deeply concerned... Milwaukee police released body camera and security footage on Thursday showing a July 17 shootout at a Capitol Drive gas station between officers and a wanted 22-year-old Milwaukee man who allegedly shot two of his family members the day before. The Milwaukee Police Department released seven videos from a shooting at a gas station at 4302 W. Capitol Drive that ended with officers shooting Jayuntae Gregory and taking him into custody. Gregory was charged with four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, among other charges, related to the shootout and an incident earlier in the day where he authorities say he shot two of his family members. The videos were posted on the department's YouTube page. It was released in accordance with a recently reinstated department policy that requires footage of critical incidents to be released publicly within 15 days and allows for the family of those killed by police to access the footage in private within 48 hours. The gas station where Milwaukee police said they exchanged gunfire with a man wanted in connection with a double shooting earlier in the week. Police said the man fired shots at them and those inside the store. Officers shot him and he was taken to a hospital with non-fatal injuries, police said. Gregory was previously arrested in connection to a 2019 armed robbery at a Wauwatosa Qdoba when he was 17 and he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to two years of prison and four years of extended supervision, according to state court records. The police shooting of Gregory occurred during the Republican National Convention and came one day after officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed Samuel Sharpe Jr., after he was seen wielding two knives and moving toward another man. That shooting sparked outrage from many who criticized the involvement of out-of-state police and what they describe as a lack of de-escalation attempted by the officers. The shooting of Gregory drew little attention, with the incidents starkly different, despite it occurring the next day. Footage released on Thursday ranges from body camera to gas station security footage. It shows the suspect disregarding police commands, firing his gun at them and, as the nearly 10-minute standoff progresses, he attempts to leave the gas station and shoots at officers again, before being shot by police. The footage matches much of the criminal complaint that the Milwaukee County District Attorney filed against Gregory on July 20. Gregory was charged with the four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide; one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety; one count of failure to comply with officers; and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 16, when a doctor's report on his competency to stand trial is scheduled to be returned. According to the criminal complaint: On July 16, Gregory shot two family members in their home, striking one eight times in his body and two times to another's chest. In the aftermath, they were hospitalized in critical condition. Police interviewed three family members, including two of Gregory's brothers and his father. One brother told police that the suspect had fired a "Draco"-style assault rifle inside the house and that Gregory suffered from mental health issues. The brother told police that as Gregory ran out of the house, he told him that he had "killed" the two family members. The complaint further detailed the shootout at the gas station at 4302 W. Capitol Drive. Gregory was inside the gas station buying two bottles of water when officers arrived outside, where they encountered his father, who told the officers, "Please don't kill baby ... he shot my two cousins ... there he go," before pointing toward the gas station. Officers shouted through the glass for Gregory to drop his bag and put his hands up, but he instead walked to the front door and asked, "Me?" He then moved into the store and retrieved the AK-47-type assault rifle from his backpack, taking cover behind the store's merchandise. Two officers entered the store and told Gregory to show his hands, but instead Gregory fired at the officers multiple times, prompting the officers to retreat. Gregory opened the door multiple times, at one point fired at police again, before he attempted to run out of the store, when he was shot. Police recovered nine bullet casings that matched the gun they pulled from Gregory's rifle at the gas station and in his family's home. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police release footage of July shooting of wanted man HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) A global lifestyle retailer offering a wide variety of design-led, affordable, and stylish products is holding its grand opening celebration at Holyoke Mall this weekend. According to the Holyoke Mall, MINISO is now open and will offer 20% off to the first 50 customers, redeemable during the first hour on Saturday, August 3rd during their grand opening celebration. Families participated in the Holyoke Mall free Tykes Tuesday MINISO opened its fifth location in the state and its first in western Massachusetts. Their journey began back in 2013 when founder and CEO Jack Ye, opened their first store in China, since then they have expanded to over 6,000 stores worldwide. The brand caters to young people offering affordable, well-designed, quality products from plush toys to skincare products and everyday household items. MINISOs licensed collections include brands like We Bare Bears, Sanrio, Care Bears, Disney, Pixar, Barbie, Peanuts, and more. As our fifth store in Massachusetts and a part of the Pyramid Management Groups portfolio, this location represents an exciting opportunity for us. With its vibrant shopping environment and diverse retail offerings, Holyoke Mall provides an ideal setting for MINISO to bring our unique IP products and innovative designs. We look forward to welcoming the local community and enhancing their shopping experience with our wide range of lifestyle products, said Shines Shen, MINISO USAs Business Development Manager. Were thrilled to bring MINISOs innovative shopping experience to the heart of Western Mass. The global lifestyle brand promises to captivate shoppers with its unique blend of quality, affordability, and style. Get ready to explore and indulge in a whole new level of retail fun! said Ruth-Ann Hastings, Holyoke Mall Marketing Director. MINISO is located on the upper level of the Holyoke Mall near Pandora. Latest Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Minister asks for 'additional checks' after company won tender to rebuild Kyiv children's hospital at inflated price Health Minister Viktor Liashko requested on Aug. 1 that law enforcement conduct additional inspections of the tender for the reconstruction of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, that was won by a company offering its services at a reportedly inflated price. The Okhmatdyt hospital, Ukraine's largest children's medical center, was hit during a Russian missile attack on July 8, killing two people and injuring over 30. Over 600 patients and at least as many staff members were at the Okhmatdyt and the Ukrainian Center for Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, located near the hospital, at the moment of the strike. Investigative project Nashi Groshi reported that the Ukrainian company Bud-Technology won the tender and proposed to rebuild the destroyed building in the hospital at a significantly higher price than the other bidders for a total of Hr 307 million ($7.4 million). Among the 14 companies that submitted their bids for the tender, Bud-Technology was reportedly the third-highest bidder. The contract with the winning company has not yet been signed, Liashko said. In his Facebook post, the minister wrote that the bidders were evaluated according to five criteria, and some companies were excluded from the competition due to open criminal proceedings. "I see that this choice has caused a resonance, which is why today we have turned to law enforcement agencies to conduct additional checks," Liashko said. "For my part, I want to emphasize once again that my team and I are doing everything we can to make the process completely transparent." Ukrainians raised Hr 300 million (around $7 million) within 41 hours to rebuild the Okhmatdyt children's hospital, the fundraising platform United24 said on July 10. Read also: Hard work underway to reopen Kyiv childrens hospital hit by Russian missile Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Native Vote 2024. Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) could become governor of Minnesota in January 2025. If it happens, Flanagan would become the first Native American female governor of a state. This scenario could play out if Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee selects Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate and they get elected in November. Walz, who is in his second term as governor, is reportedly on Vice President Harris short list of those under consideration for the second most powerful job in the federal government. Walz made national news when he said about Donald Trump and J.D.Vance these guys are just weird while speaking to a crowd of canvassers for the Harris campaign in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday. The word stuck. Even Vice President Harris used the words just plain weird describing the Republican ticket. Vice President Harris will make her decision early this month. The Harris for President campaign announced on Wednesday, she and her running mate will embark on a campaign blitz making stops in battleground states. The tour begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, August 6th. The tour will stop in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan on Wednesday; Research Triangle, North Carolina on Thursday; Savannah, Georgia and Phoenix, Arizona on Friday and will end in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday. Walz would make an attractive running mate who could provide balance to a ticket with Harris, who is a former prosecutor from blue state California. Walz, 60, taught high school social studies for two decades before he decided to enter politics. Prior to being elected governor, Walz served in Congress for six terms. He represented a rural congressional district. Peggy Flanagan is Minnesotas 50th lieutenant governor, a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and currently the countrys highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office. As lieutenant governor, Flanagan co-chairs the work of the Young Womens Initiative to center the voices of young women in the work of state government. She also works to address homelessness as the chair of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness. She also serves as chair of the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) and chair of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security (ACCAS). Flanagan earned her bachelors degree in American Indian studies and child psychology in 2002 from the University of Minnesota. She then went on to serve on the Minneapolis Board of Education from 2005 to 2009. Not long after, she started working at Wellstone Action, the organization founded to carry on the work of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, for nearly a decade. As one of the original trainers of Wellstone Actions signature program Camp Wellstone, she trained thousands of organizers, elected officials, and candidates including the now Governor Walz. Following her work at Wellstone Action, Flanagan served as the executive director of Childrens Defense Fund - Minnesota, a non-profit child-advocacy organization working to level the playing field for all children in our state. It wasn't until 2015, Flanagan was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives to serve her home community of St. Louis Park, as well as Golden Valley, Plymouth, and Medicine Lake. She served as the DFL lead on the Subcommittee on Child Care Access and Affordability. In 2017 she collaboratively formed the states first People of Color and Indigenous Caucus which works to improve the education, health, and economic opportunities of people of color and Indigenous communities across the state. Flanagan was elected lieutenant governor in 2018. The Walz-Flanagan administration was reelected in 2022. Flanagan served as the Minnesota DemocraticFarmerLabor Party (DFL) lead on the subcommittee on Child Care Access and Affordability. In 2017, she joined her DFL legislative colleagues to form the states first POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus. Together, the caucus works to improve the education, health, and economic opportunities of people of color and Indigenous communities across the state. As the Minnesota lieutenant governor, Flanagan is currently the top state elected female in the country. She serves as the chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association at the same time that Walz is chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Last week in Phoenix, Flanagan hosted the first Native American campaign event for the Harris for President campaign only one day after President Biden announced he would drop out of the presidential race and promptly threw his support around Harris. Back in Minnesota, later in the week while being introduced, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman said: Its my honor to turn the podium over to someone who might become the first female governor of the state of Minnesota, depending on how those veepstakes go, Hortman said when she was referring to reports Vice President Harris was considering Walz as a potential running mate. Thank you madam Speaker, Flanagan said. One. Thing. At a time. About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net." Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net Christopher Dunn, 52, was released from prison on Tuesday after spending some 34 years behind bars for a crime a judge ruled he did not commit. Photo courtesy of Midwest Innocence Project/Facebook Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Following 34 years behind bars and nearly two weeks of litigation after being exonerated, Christopher Dunn is a free man. Dunn, 52, exited a St. Louis courthouse on Tuesday night to cheers. He said there were no words in the dictionary to describe what he was feeling. "St. Louis, listen: It was 34 years ago that they took me away from you but it shouldn't have been this long nor should it have taken this long for everyone to come forward," he said during a brief press conference following his release. Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1990 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers, for which he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Throughout his time behind bars, Dunn maintained his innocence. His conviction was largely based on testimony from two boys who later recanted. On July 22, A St. Louis judge ordered Dunn's release, stating he was unlawfully convicted of murder. Following the retraction of the testimonies, there was no evidence to support his charges and it was ruled that Dunn's attorneys made "a clear and convincing showing of 'actual innocence.'" However, he was to remain jailed by an effort headed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey who appealed the decision and ordered the Department of Corrections to not release Dunn. But on Tuesday, an emergency stay that had barred his release was lifted by the Missouri Supreme Court, paving Dunn's path to freedom. "I got a life to live now," he said from the courthouse steps. "It's time to move forward." The Republican race for Missouri governor rushed toward the finish line this week, setting up voters to render a momentous decision about whether to reaffirm the partys embattled traditional establishment or empower its aggressive right wing. Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and state Sen. Bill Eigel the major contenders have all placed different bets on the path to victory in the Aug. 6 primary election. Whoever is correct will win the nomination in a deeply conservative state and possess a strong chance of becoming the states next chief executive. Kehoe, a former car dealer from Jefferson City who sharpened his political instincts as a state senator, is betting that enough traditional Republicans remain in Missouri, combined with moderates and even some independents, to put him on top on Election Day. He has centered his campaign around his experience and values such as leadership and common sense, hoping voters want stability amid a turbulent moment in American politics. Ashcroft, whose name evokes memories of his father former governor, senator and U.S. attorney general John Ashcroft has sketched out a vision of a staunchly conservative state. From his perch in the Missouri Secretary of States Office, he has engaged in a series of charged political battles over public library books, voter fraud and abortion ballot measures that have helped raise his profile. Eigel has staked his campaign on the belief that Republicans are ready to radically upend state government. His extreme policy proposals, including promising the mass arrest of migrants and refusing to take federal education funding, would fundamentally transform the state. The Weldon Spring state senator built a reputation as a caustic presence in the state Senate but has attracted enthusiastic campaign crowds with his soaring oratory. My understanding is that the Kehoe campaign has a very extensive get out the vote machine, said Jean Evans, a former Missouri Republican Party executive director. I think Eigel voters are very passionate, or are going to show up no matter what. And then I think with Ashcroft, its sort of, if they havent made up their mind, do they come home to the name that theyve known? Former President Donald Trump endorsed all three candidates over the weekend, leaving his true preferences unknown. Still, they have rushed to release new ads promoting the endorsement in the final days of the race. Among the candidates and their supporters, a very real sense exists that the primary election marks a true turning point in the states history. At a campaign stop in Blue Springs last week, Kehoe called the election a watershed moment for Missouri. The vision I have for Missouri is very different than the vision of the other folks on the ballot, Kehoe said. The most recent publicly available polling shows a close contest between Kehoe and Ashcroft. A Remington Research Group survey of likely voters conducted last week found the two candidates tied at 29%, with Eigel at 18%. I think in a three-way race with a few other candidates tossed in, if you can pull out 34% youre the winner, said Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri. Whoever wins will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the November general election. Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and businessman Mike Hamra, both of Springfield, are the major Democratic candidates. The two share a similar policy vision and have engaged in a mostly positive contest. But Democrats have struggled to win statewide elections in recent years. The last Democrat to win a governors race was Gov. Jay Nixon, who won reelection in 2012. Against that backdrop, the Republican primary takes on even greater importance because of its potential to effectively decide who becomes the next governor. Kehoes common sense Kehoe, 62, has assembled a sweeping coalition of business, agricultural and law enforcement groups in support of his campaign. The massive network has delivered him a strong financial advantage and provided a ready-made get-out-the-vote operation. Kehoe is the overall money leader in the race, with his campaign and a supporting PAC reporting more than $11.4 million in receipts so far. Eigels campaign and a supporting PAC have reported $5.8 million in receipts, and Ashcrofts campaign and supporting PAC have reported $4.2 million, according to reports filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Im not a screamer and a holler. Im not a guy whos going to stand up and tell you how great I am. Im not going to stand up and tell you Im more conservative than somebody else, Kehoe said during the Blue Springs stop. In my mind, Kehoe said, if youre a Republican, youre a Republican. Its not a scale of one to 10. Missouri Lt. Gov. and Republican candidate for governor Mike Kehoe. Kehoe was picked to be lieutenant governor in 2018 when Gov. Mike Parson, then the lieutenant governor, took office following the resignation of Eric Greitens. Parson has endorsed Kehoe, whose agenda bears some resemblance to the current governor, with a focus on public safety and economic development. Kehoe is the only major GOP candidate, for instance, to express interest in providing aid to the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to ensure the teams remain in Missouri. Kehoes campaign has also voiced an openness to changing Missouris abortion ban to allow exceptions for rape and incest. The only exception allowed under current law is for medical emergencies. Voters will likely decide in November whether to approve a state constitutional amendment that would overturn the ban. At the same time, the lieutenant governor has taken other stances largely in line with the Republican field. Kehoe, Ashcroft and Eigel all support prohibiting sales of Missouri farmland to entities from foreign adversary nations, such as China. Kehoe has been attacked for his support of a 2013 bill that ended a state ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land. More recently, Kehoe has faced criticism for leasing a campaign bus from a lobbyist representing a Chinese company that owns agricultural land in the state. In Blue Springs, Kehoe stressed the importance of voting in the Republican primary and not waiting until the general election. Primary elections in both parties naturally attract the most highly-motivated voters, who are often more conservative or more liberal than the overall public. Since Republicans dominate Missouris general election, GOP candidates tack further and further to the right to win over conservative primary voters. Kehoes comments appear to suggest a need to mobilize less ideologically-driven voters who may not otherwise be inclined to cast a ballot in a primary. Theres a lot of common-sense conservatives in this state and Im not sure sometimes what party they identify with. I think they just understand conservative values and making sure people understand the Aug. 6 election is when youre going to pick your next governor, Kehoe said in an interview. Ashcrofts moment? As Kehoe has emphasized his experience, Ashcroft has portrayed himself as an outsider despite his familys political past. Ashcroft, 51, has cast himself as an engineer who will provide conservative solutions to problems while ignoring Jefferson Citys insider and lobbyist class. The engineering moniker has attracted controversy; a complaint was filed over Ashcrofts use of the word despite holding no professional license. Ashcrofts campaign has defended his professional background. Even as he has helped boost his sons name recognition among voters, John Ashcroft has largely stayed on the sidelines in the campaign, at least publicly. The father appeared in an ad several months ago defending the son against attacks over his record on opposing Chinese ownership of land, but has otherwise not been a regular part of the campaign. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. Jay Ashcroft became secretary of state in 2017 and has gradually developed a public profile distinct from his family history. Last year, Ashcroft pulled Missouri out of a nonprofit organization that analyzes voter registration, motor vehicle department and other data to help maintain accurate voter rolls and eliminate duplicate registrations. His decision came after some Republicans grew suspicious of the organization, commonly referred to as ERIC, amid the conspiracies promoted by Trump and his supporters. In 2022, he rolled out a rule that prohibits public library employees from giving minors access to materials without first receiving parental permission. It blocked libraries from using state funds to buy materials for minors that could be considered pornography or obscene under state law. As governor, I want to make sure that parents are in charge of education. Mom and dad know best. I want you to control the money, control the values and education for your children, Ashcroft said during a recent TV debate. Ashcroft has emphasized his desire to end state income taxes, though Kehoe and Eigel have both also voiced support for the idea. Eigel has focused on calling for the elimination of personal property taxes, while Ashcroft also wants to repeal a recent gas tax increase. Missouri collects roughly $10 billion a year in personal and corporate income taxes that support the states general revenue making the revenue a key component in funding state government. Ending the state income tax would force lawmakers to confront large, painful choices about the role and scope of government. Fewer than a dozen states lack an income tax. Im running for governor because Missourians deserve more. They deserve leadership. They need someone to plot a course and show them how they can be better than they even realize, Ashcroft said during the debate. Eigels reckoning Eigel potentially represents the biggest threat to an Ashcroft victory, as the state senator competes for the most ardent conservative voters. Eigel, 46, has spent eight years in the Missouri Senate, often irritating Republican leaders. His background includes running a small remodeling company, and he is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, a hard-right band of senators who frequently filibuster legislation to create leverage over top Republicans. They regularly scold other GOP senators for being insufficiently conservative. Its time for a reckoning, Eigel has taken to saying recently. Polls have mostly shown him in third place in the race, but his support appears to have grown over time. One poll this spring pegged his support as low as 3%. I think Eigel has been able to raise the bar above what the expectations might have been in the beginning, said Carl Bearden, a former Republican Missouri House speaker pro tem who supports Eigel. Missouri state Sen. Bill Eigel Eigel has attracted supporters by putting forward the most explosive platform of any major GOP candidate. He wants to abolish the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and has voiced support for making gold and silver legal tender. He has also said he will conduct mass arrests of migrants in Missouri and deport them. He has said repeatedly he will declare an invasion under the Missouri Constitution, allowing him to enlist the Missouri State Highway Patrol and county sheriffs in making arrests. What remains unclear is whether a court would block the plan and under what process Missouri would deport individuals or whether they would be turned over to federal authorities. But Eigel revels in the controversy, which helps fuel his campaign through public attention. Last week, he released a TV ad where he appears with an unidentified Hispanic-looking man standing in front of an American flag backdrop as on-screen text says the ad is a message for illegal immigrants. In the ad, Eigel promises to crack down on illegal immigration and says hes throwing them in jail and sending them back where they came from. The unidentified man acts as a translator, but includes flourishes, at one point saying the party is over in Spanish. When Eigel says migrants will be sent back, the man puts his hands on his head in exasperation. When you guys turn on your TVs in the morning and you see bold, conservative governors in other big, red states doing all those things they promised in campaign season, Im willing to bet theres a point in your mind where you said to yourself, When is it going to be Missouris turn? Eigel said at a rally in Lees Summit on Monday night. When is Missouri going to take on the mantle of leadership in this country? he said. When is Missouri going to lead these United States? Missouri state Sen. Bill Eigel campaigns for governor in Lees Summit. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Eigel, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft in the race. Turnout crucial Even if Eigel loses the race, a strong showing could further embolden the Freedom Caucus and other hard-right lawmakers. While Eigel would be out of state government, the Freedom Caucus has been building a statewide network of supporters who they can use to pressure top Republicans. With no competitive Republican race for U.S. Senate, the governors contest is the marquee GOP primary battle. The primary election on Tuesday will pit three contrasting approaches against each other Kehoes well-financed network of endorsements and supportive groups, Ashcrofts name ID and conservative plans, and Eigels burn-it-to-the-ground rhetoric. The winner will help set the tone for the rest of the state party heading into the general election. Kehoes probably assuming hes going to get sort of the Main Street Republicans, the people who supported Parson and that the other two will compete for the MAGA side of the party, Squire, the political science professor, said. But its not clear which group will show up in bigger numbers next Tuesday. The Stars Kacen Bayless contributed reporting Christopher Dunn leaves the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis on Tuesday after more than three decades in prison (photo courtesy of Midwest Innocence Project). On Tuesday, Christopher Dunn walked out of a courthouse in St. Louis a free man after serving 34 years for a murder he did not commit. A week prior, Dunn was only 50 feet from freedom, dressed in a suit he picked out for himself, after a St. Louis Circuit Court judge ordered his immediate release. However, he remained incarcerated as Missouris Attorney Generals Office fought to keep him in prison. This situation raises critical questions about the attorney generals commitment to ensuring true justice for all Missourians. Dunn was convicted in 1991 of first-degree murder based mainly on the testimony of two eyewitnesses, age 12 and 14, who have since recanted, claiming they were coerced. Despite mounting evidence of his innocence and a judges order citing actual innocence, the Missouri Attorney Generals Office vehemently opposed his release. This opposition is not an isolated incident but part of a troubling pattern of practice in Missouris criminal justice landscape. The case of Sandra Hemme highlights the same issue. Hemme was released after 43 years in prison when her conviction for a deadly stabbing was overturned. The Missouri Attorney Generals Office repeatedly challenged her release, leading to a judge reprimanding the office for instructing prison officials to defy court orders. Judge Ryan Horsman criticized the Missouri Attorney Generals Office for calling the warden and telling prison officials not to release Hemme after he had ordered her to be freed on her own recognizance. In Dunns case, the Missouri Attorney Generals Office attempted to file an appeal. The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately ruled that while the circuit court could cancel Dunns conviction, it couldnt let him go without giving prosecutors the chance to retry him. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore then dropped the charges against Dunn, resulting in his immediate release. This resistance from Missouris attorney general is nothing new. In 2003, the Missouri Attorney Generals Office, under the direction of Democrat Jay Nixon, argued that Joe Amrine, a man fighting for his innocence, should be executed in the name of finality. When asked by state Supreme Court Justice Laura Denvir Stith if Amrine should be executed even if found actually innocent, Assistant Attorney General Frank Jung affirmed that stance. Amrine was eventually exonerated and released. The Attorney Generals Office must focus on upholding justice, not merely securing and maintaining convictions. Upholding justice means ensuring the innocent are freed and the actual perpetrators are held accountable. When people are wrongly convicted, there is no justice for the original victims, whose cases remain unsolved. True justice for victims includes acknowledging judicial errors and recognizing that those wrongfully imprisoned are victims, too. These types of legal gymnastics prove even more dire for people like Marcellus Williams, who is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney reviewed new DNA evidence and filed a motion to vacate Williamss conviction, believing the results proved by clear and convincing evidence that Williams did not commit the crime that put him on death row. The Missouri Attorney Generals Office must ensure justice for all Missourians. Clinging to convictions in the face of clear evidence of innocence undermines the duty of the office. It prioritizes past decisions over present truths, erodes public trust in the justice system, and fails to correct miscarriages of justice. Achieving justice means more than upholding convictions. It means righting wrongs and ensuring that the wrongly incarcerated and victims of unsolved cases see true justice. The market in the United Kingdom has seen a positive trend, rising 2.7% in the last 7 days with all sectors gaining ground, and is up 8.8% over the past 12 months. In this favorable environment, identifying growth companies with high insider ownership can be particularly beneficial as it often indicates confidence from those closest to the business and aligns their interests with shareholders'. Top 10 Growth Companies With High Insider Ownership In The United Kingdom Name Insider Ownership Earnings Growth Filtronic (AIM:FTC) 28.6% 34% Plant Health Care (AIM:PHC) 34.2% 121.3% Petrofac (LSE:PFC) 16.6% 124% Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LSE:GKP) 12.1% 74.6% Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (LSE:IDHC) 26.7% 23.5% Helios Underwriting (AIM:HUW) 23.9% 14.7% Belluscura (AIM:BELL) 39.5% 117.8% Velocity Composites (AIM:VEL) 27.6% 173.3% Judges Scientific (AIM:JDG) 11.5% 26.2% Hochschild Mining (LSE:HOC) 38.4% 53.8% Click here to see the full list of 63 stocks from our Fast Growing UK Companies With High Insider Ownership screener. Let's review some notable picks from our screened stocks. Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: Foresight Group Holdings Limited is an infrastructure and private equity manager operating in the United Kingdom, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, Spain, and Australia with a market cap of 596.36 million. Operations: Foresight Group Holdings Limited generates revenue from three main segments: 84.17 million from Infrastructure, 47.35 million from Private Equity, and 9.80 million from Foresight Capital Management. Insider Ownership: 31.9% Foresight Group Holdings has shown solid growth, with earnings increasing by 11.9% over the past year and revenue rising to 141.33 million from 119.16 million. Despite trading at 21.8% below its fair value estimate, FSG's earnings are forecast to grow significantly at 27.88% annually, outpacing the UK market's growth rate of 13.1%. The company also announced a final dividend of 15.5 pence, maintaining strong shareholder returns despite not fully covering dividends with current earnings. LSE:FSG Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: International Workplace Group plc, with a market cap of 1.75 billion, provides workspace solutions across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific through its subsidiaries. Story continues Operations: The company's revenue segments include 1.05 billion from the Americas, 1.32 billion from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 319 million from Worka, and 273 million from the Asia Pacific. Insider Ownership: 25.2% International Workplace Group (IWG) is forecast to grow revenue by 6.7% annually, outpacing the UK market's 3.5%. Insiders have shown confidence with more shares bought than sold recently. IWG's earnings are expected to grow significantly at 108.16% per year, becoming profitable within three years, which is above average market growth. Recent debt financing includes a 575 million bond and a $720 million revolving credit facility, enhancing financial stability and extending debt maturity through June 2030. LSE:IWG Ownership Breakdown as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Growth Rating: Overview: TBC Bank Group PLC, with a market cap of 1.68 billion, offers banking, leasing, insurance, brokerage, and card processing services to corporate and individual customers in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan through its subsidiaries. Operations: The company's revenue segments include banking, leasing, insurance, brokerage, and card processing services provided to corporate and individual customers across Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. Insider Ownership: 17.7% TBC Bank Group's earnings are forecast to grow 14.86% per year, outpacing the UK market's 13.1%. Despite a high level of bad loans (2.1%), it trades at 39.7% below its estimated fair value and has substantial insider ownership, indicating confidence in its growth prospects. Recent developments include a share repurchase program worth GEL 75 million and the appointment of an AI head for its Uzbekistan unit, underscoring strategic expansion efforts. LSE:TBCG Earnings and Revenue Growth as at Aug 2024 Summing It All Up Gain an insight into the universe of 63 Fast Growing UK Companies With High Insider Ownership by clicking here. Hold shares in these firms? Setup your portfolio in Simply Wall St to seamlessly track your investments and receive personalized updates on your portfolio's performance. Elevate your portfolio with Simply Wall St, the ultimate app for investors seeking global market coverage. Ready For A Different Approach? This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.The analysis only considers stock directly held by insiders. It does not include indirectly owned stock through other vehicles such as corporate and/or trust entities. All forecast revenue and earnings growth rates quoted are in terms of annualised (per annum) growth rates over 1-3 years. Companies discussed in this article include LSE:FSG LSE:IWG and LSE:TBCG. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com Moldova's Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov to inform him that an employee of the Russian embassy had been declared persona non grata. Source: Moldova's Foreign Ministry; European Pravda Details: The Foreign Ministry explained that the expulsion decision was made following an investigation that gathered information and evidence indicating that the Russian diplomat was engaged in activities incompatible with his diplomatic status in Moldova. This followed the detention of two people in a treason case after searches in the Moldovan parliament. One of the detainees, as reported by the media, is the head of the parliament's legal department, Ion Creanga. He was reportedly caught red-handed while passing information to the Russian Embassy in Chisinau. "We perceive all these actions as very unfriendly," the Russian ambassador said in a conversation with journalists after being summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry, as quoted by Moldovan news outlet Newsmaker. Asked whether he was aware that the embassy employee had received information from Moldovan officials, Vasnetsov replied: "We have a small number of diplomats left in the embassy... the investigation is still ongoing, as you know... Strangely, the declaration of persona non grata is taking place at a time when the evidence has not yet been collected." Asked whether Russia would react to Chisinau's decision, he replied: "You know that Russia always finds a response. There will definitely be a response." Background: Earlier, it was reported that officers from Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service, along with prosecutors from the Main Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, conducted a search of the country's parliament in connection with a high treason case. Support UP or become our patron! Montana Public Service Commission (via PSC Twitter account). The Montana Public Service Commission voted unanimously this week to ask NorthWestern Energy to address allegations it selected members of an advisory committee contrary to state statute and has held meetings closed to the public possibly illegally. A spokesperson for NorthWestern Energy said Wednesday the official who can speak to the matter would not be available until likely Monday. The request for information by the Public Service Commission comes after three renewable energy groups raised concerns about the formation of the Electric Technical Advisory Committee and how its operating. A NorthWestern Energy webpage with a link to information about the committee goes to a page not found message. The committee is charged with making recommendations to the public utility about its electricity system, according to state statute cited by the Public Service Commission in its letter. Last week, the Montana Environmental Information Centers Nick Fitzmaurice told the Public Service Commission that the committee was an extreme outlier among other utilities in the region in closing its meetings and may even be in violation of the states public meeting laws. Fitzmaurice also said NorthWestern Energy gathered the advisory committee to guide its resource planning, but the committee isnt broad based as statute requires. He said NorthWestern wants to eliminate the committee from statute altogether, but the Montana Legislature hasnt made any changes, so the utility still needs to follow the laws in effect today. NorthWestern Energy is a monopoly in Montana. It has come under criticism for relying too heavily on fossil fuels and being out of step with the economic benefits of renewable resources. In the past, NorthWestern has convened a larger pool of unbiased, independent representatives from varying interested parties, but groups that have served on this committee for years, some even decades, are notably excluded from the committee, said Fitzmaurice, energy transition engineer, in prepared remarks. Absent are large and small-scale energy developers, low and fixed-income customer advocates, independent economists, Montana-based NGOs, and qualified members of the public. Residential customers, NorthWesterns only customer class showing substantial growth and arguably NorthWesterns largest stakeholder, neglect representation. The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities in Montana. Last fall, the PSC approved a settlement proposed by NorthWestern that increased residential customers electric bills by 28% compared to summer 2022. MEIC is a conservation nonprofit focused on energy; the letter from the PSC to NorthWestern said the Montana Renewable Energy Association and Renewable Northwest expressed similar concerns in subsequent comments. Instead of a broad-based group, NorthWestern selected government employees, a national environmental nonprofit, and a member from the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research, which the MEIC said represented a financial conflict of interest given the research group receives funding from the utility. This week, commissioners who were present at a meeting Tuesday voted with no opposition to sign the letter asking NorthWestern to address concerns raised by the three conservation groups. Im in full support of signing this letter. How long was this procedure not followed? asked Commissioner Randy Pinocci. PSC Executive Director David Sanders said Pinoccis question was one of the reasons for the letter, and commissioners also wanted to understand the utilitys procedures and rationale. Were trying to ascertain that, Sanders said. The letter from the PSC refers to the comments of Fitzmaurice and the two other groups and requests a response to questions by Aug. 9. Specifically, the Commission requests that NorthWestern explain how its ETAC membership complies with the requirements in (Montana code, MCA 69-3-1208) for a broad-based committee, said the letter from the PSC. The explanation should include a description of the ETAC membership and the decision-making process and criteria NorthWestern used to establish membership. The PSC also asked for details about the meetings the committee held. Fitzmaurice had noted administrative rules in Montana state utilities shall open committee meetings whenever possible, and a utility will engage with the committee before closing a meeting. The public has been given no notice of ETAC activities, and there was no opportunity for a committee to be engaged before closing meetings to the public, Fitzmaurice said in his remarks last week. In its letter, the Public Service Commission requested NorthWestern relay the number of committee meetings it has held to develop its next integrated resource plan, how many of them were open and how many closed, in whole or in part, to the public, and the process used to decide to open or close them. This is clearly a matter of public interest, and the Commission appreciates your assistance in helping the public better understand the process, said the letter from the PSC to NorthWestern Energy. Letter from PSC to NWE re ETAC Travis County nonprofit TreeFolks is seeking donations from the public after more than $100,000 in stolen vehicles and equipment were stolen from its office over the weekend. In a statement, TreeFolks shared the stolen items included an F-250 pickup truck and a rechargeable lawn mower. TreeFolks said it is working with law enforcement to track down the perpetrator, and that it had no update on the case as of Wednesday afternoon. "The recent burglary at our TreeFolks office has left us shaken, but not defeated," TreeFolks shared in a post to Instagram. "We've lost over $100K from two vehicles and vital tools, but not our passion for planting and protecting trees. We are implementing new security measures to safeguard our assets and remain committed to making a positive impact." The organization is accepting donations on its website, treefolks.org, to help recover from the losses. According to the press release, TreeFolks employees discovered the burglary early Saturday morning. In response to the theft, the nonprofit said it had implemented additional security measures such as new cameras and locks. TreeFolks has been operating in Austin since 1988 and is dedicated to addressing global warming and deforestation by planting trees around Central Texas. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nonprofit TreeFolks reports theft of vehicles, tools worth $100K Two out-of-state Republican super PACs have thrown their support behind Sedgwick County Commission candidate Greg Ferris, raising more than $90,000 in support of the former Wichita City Council member, business consultant and lobbyist in a GOP primary. A Texas-based super PAC R.E.D. PAC raised and spent more than $65,000 on mailers, text messages and other advertisements for Ferris. A Wisconsin-based PAC Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC raised another $25,000 to help Ferris win over voters. The spending represents a major infusion of out-of-state money in a local contest. The two PACs raised and spent more money on campaigning than all of the candidates in the race combined, including Ferris, whose campaign raised $33,099 compared with Stephanie Wises $50,774 and Alan Reicherts $3,900. Its unclear why the two groups are so interested in influencing voters in the largest, most rural district in Kansas second most populous county. Ferris said he is unsure why they picked him. He said he made no promises to either group and was surprised to learn how much they spent on his primary race. Its a lot of money. Why are they doing it? I have no idea, Ferris said. They must think Im the best candidate is all I can say. One PAC appears to be a political front group for a clean energy organization focused on nuclear, solar and wind energy regulation. The other sprang up almost overnight with a local-sounding-name, an out-of-state treasurer and thousands of dollars in funding from a local real estate developer who has built houses throughout west Wichita. Who is R.E.D. PAC? R.E.D. PAC has raised more than $1.1 million in the past 18 months. All of that money came from Conservatives for a Clean Energy Future, a 501(c)4 nonprofit led by Michigan Republican Larry Ward that is not required to disclose its donors. R.E.D. PACs treasurer, Cabell Hobbs, was also treasurer of Never Back Down Inc., a super PAC accused by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center of coordinating with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss presidential campaign in violation of campaign finance laws that cap the amount of money candidates can accept from a single donor and require candidates to disclose who those donors are. The Texas-based super PAC doesnt appear to have any direct links to Kansas, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports. But it is spending tens of thousands of dollars and endorsing several county commission candidates across the state. Those candidates include Cole Proehl of Labette County, Kenny Roelofsen of Dickinson County, Michael Pasco of Butler County, Lance Gormley and Kevin Pouch of Harvey County, and Greg Ferris of Sedgwick County. R.E.D. PACs website says it is dedicated to protecting private property rights, increasing local government transparency, fostering common-sense solutions and innovation, bolstering national security, and promoting rural economic development. It does not say how any of those candidates would further those goals. The only sign that the super PAC funded entirely by a clean energy group has any interest in clean energy is an opinion column written by the PACs chief strategist, Charlie Kolean, that is linked on the R.E.D. PAC website along with two other columns opposing eminent domain. Ferris said the PAC didnt mention clean energy to him when they called about a month ago and told him they were interested in endorsing him. As far as what I know, they asked me three, four questions, they saw that I was conservative, and theyre doing whatever theyre doing. I dont even know who they are to be honest with you, Ferris said. I havent talked, made any promises, made any commitments, Ferris said. Ive made a lot of commitments on solar but its not anything that theyll like if thats what theyre behind. In recent months, Ferris has been a vocal opponent of efforts to allow industrial solar developments in Sedgwick County, an issue that remains in flux as consultants hired by the county prepare a report on how to proceed. This guy is such a walking contradiction, and he is beholden to these special interests, Wises campaign manager, Ben Davis, said of the former Wichita city councilman. Its very clear that Ferris is saying one thing and being supported by people who want exactly the opposite of what hes saying. Wise has said shes against large-scale solar developments. Reichert says he supports them under certain circumstances. Anytime youve got donations coming in from business interests, youre going to have some obligation felt by the candidate, either directly or indirectly, Reichert said. Thats just the way it is. I dont think you can separate the donation from an obligation. Developer money Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC raised $25,000 and spent $16,917 on attack ads aimed at Wise and ads supporting Ferris. One attack ad depicts Wise as a puppet being controlled by Joe Biden. The groups listed treasurer is Thomas Datwyler, who provides virtual treasurer services and runs 9Seven Consulting, a political compliance firm that specializes in federal and state reporting and compliance. He was at one point listed as treasurer for former U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York, who was later charged in a campaign-finance fraud scheme. Datwyler did not respond to questions about why the group was supporting Ferris. State campaign finance records show $20,000 for that PAC came from Great America Coalition, a Washington DC nonprofit whose treasurer is Datwyler and whose donors are allowed to remain anonymous. The other $5,000 came from businesses owned by Wichita real estate developer Jay Russell. Most of those same LLCs gave directly to Ferriss campaign, totaling $2,000. Ferris said he has a strong personal relationship with Russell but that Russell told him he was not involved in the Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC. Campaign finance records show several of Russells LLCs contributed to the Wisconsin-based PAC. At the time that I talked to Greg, its true. I told him I dont know anything about it. But its obvious that I did [donate] so it is what it is, said Russell, who does not live in District 3 and cannot vote on the race. He said he spoke to someone on the phone and instructed a business associate to facilitate the transaction, thinking his money was going to support a different PAC, not the Wisconsin-based group that has paid for text and mailer ads attacking Wise. He said he has nothing personal against Wise. Asked if he felt misled about what his LLCs money would be spent on, Russell said he didnt want to throw anybody under the bus. Im a big boy and I didnt pay attention to what I was doing, and I should suffer the consequences, Russell said. He said the incident wont discourage him from spending on local candidates in the future, as he has for the past few election cycles. Theres nothing more important to my business than being politically connected. Nothing, Russell said. Mother faces charges after her baby died of a possible fentanyl overdose Photographs of people who died due to drugs are on display during the Second Annual Family Summit on Fentanyl at Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Washington in 2023. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) A Santa Cruz County mother is facing criminal neglect charges after her 18-month-old baby died of a possible fentanyl overdose. On July 28, the Santa Cruz Police Department responded to Dignity Health Dominican Hospital for a report of a deceased infant who was brought in by her mother, 38-year-old Korisa Woll, according to a news release. When officers arrived at the hospital they met with Woll and observed the deceased infant. The department's investigators who were immediately called in learned the child passed away while in Woll's care at their residence in the city of Santa Cruz. The county coroner took possession of the deceased child, and the results of a complete autopsy are pending. But according to the district attorney's office, early autopsy results showed a "presumptive positive" for cocaine and fentanyl in her system. An official cause of death has not been completed. Read more: In the fentanyl crisis, infants and toddlers become unsuspecting victims Woll was later booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail on two charges of felony child endangerment, one with enhancement for great bodily injury to a child younger than 5 years old, plus an additional misdemeanor for evidence destruction, the Mercury News reported. The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office did not respond to The Times' request for comment before publication. The district attorney's office told the Mercury News the baby, who they are referring to as "Zhorriah Doe," was found dead Sunday in a bed with her sleeping 4-year-old brother. Santa Cruz police Det. Robert Caposio said that Woll had taken her child to a known drug area and a residence therein. Wolls alleged neglect of her child directly led to her death, the Mercury News reported. The Mercury News reported that Woll, her children and her baby's father were recently homeless until the father died of a fentanyl overdose in April. Woll took her children to live with her parents in Scotts Valley after his death until July 16. Wolls living situation beyond the July date is unknown. The district attorney office's investigation is ongoing and Woll's initial arraignment at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court was delayed until Aug. 7. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks with families at the Mattie Rhodes Center in Kansas City (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). WASHINGTON Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states all with GOP attorneys general rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations only went into effect Thursday in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier this year. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ students LGBTQ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a briefing on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, discussed the new Title IX regulation that has gone into effect. In this photo, Cardona speaks at the Queen theater on Dec. 23, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Joshua Roberts | Getty Images) WASHINGTON Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states all with GOP attorneys general rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations went into effect Thursday in only 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts, and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming earlier this year. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ students LGBTQ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a briefing on Aug. 1, 2024 discussed the new Title IX regulation that has gone into effect. In this photo, Cardona speaks at the Queen theater on Dec. 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images) WASHINGTON Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states with GOP attorneys general including Iowa rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations only went into effect Thursday in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier this year. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ students LGBTQ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states Teachers at Evergreen Public Schools clap in support of their bargaining team. Evergreen High School, Sept. 11, 2023. The Biden administration updated rules protecting trans students from discrimination went into effect Thursday except in states litigating against them. (Courtesy of Evergreen Education Association) WASHINGTON Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ+ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states all with GOP attorneys general rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations only went into effect Thursday in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier this year. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ+ students LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks at the 2023 American Indian Higher Education Consortium on Feb. 7, 2023. (U.S. Department of Education/Flickr, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks at the 2023 American Indian Higher Education Consortium on Feb. 7, 2023. (U.S. Department of Education/Flickr, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) WASHINGTON Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states all with GOP attorneys general rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations only went into effect Thursday in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier this year. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ students LGBTQ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE This photo taken on Aug. 16, 2023, shows a Delta flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua] Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said on Wednesday that the massive IT outage earlier this month cost the company 500 million U.S. dollars. He said the figure included not just lost revenue but "the tens of millions of dollars per day in compensation and hotels" in five days. The airline canceled over 5,000 flights amid the outage through July 25, which was sparked by a botched CrowdStrike software update and took thousands of Microsoft systems around the world offline. The meltdown was rare for Delta. Its slower recovery from the outage than other airlines prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation. After the outage, Delta's platforms that match flight crews to planes couldn't keep up with the changes, leading to further disruptions, according to the company. Bastian told CNBC on Wednesday that the carrier would seek damages from the disruptions, adding, "We have no choice." CrowdStrike has so far made no offers to help Delta financially, Bastian said. A CrowdStrike spokesperson said in a statement that the company had "no knowledge of a lawsuit and had no further comment." Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, CNBC reported. "We have to protect our shareholders. We have to protect our customers, our employees, for the damage, not just to the cost of it, but to the brand, the reputational damage," Bastian was quoted as saying in the report. The UK-based Paramount Retail Group has acquired Yorkshires craft beer producer Saltaire Brewery, its first acquisition in the drinks sector. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Paramount Retail Group said in a statement that it "foresees" a growing demand for authentic British products in the UK and worldwide. Based near Shipley, West Yorkshire, Saltaire Brewery's product range such as its Saltaire Blonde and Meet The Brief beer brands is currently sold in UK retailers including Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco, Booths and Marks and Spencers. The brewery has an annual capacity of 30,000 hectoliters. Saltaire Brewery also undertakes contract brewing and packaging. Its management team will remain in their positions following the acquisition, Paramount Retail Group told Just Drinks. With the increasing global demand for UK-made products, particularly in the USA and Asia, we see tremendous growth potential, Paramount Retail Group director Sunny Sharma said in the statement. This acquisition enables us to introduce the best of British brewing to a broader audience, underscoring our commitment to quality and innovation. We are excited about the opportunities this acquisition presents and are confident it will significantly contribute to our growth strategy to pursue further acquisitions of prominent brands, strengthening our market presence. Also based in Yorkshire, in Sheffield, Paramount Retail Group owns several pet businesses and the sweets producer Great British Confectionary Group - a merger of Bristow's of Devon and Crawford and Tilley, purchased in 2017 and 2018. In 2023, the group also snapped up Montezuma Chocolate for an undisclosed sum. Paramount Retail Group chairperson Paul Taylor said: Acquiring Saltaire Brewery is a strategic step to enrich our portfolio with another esteemed UK heritage brand. We are committed to preserving Saltaire Brewery's unique identity while using our resources to expand its market reach. By incorporating Saltaire Brewery into our extensive distribution network, we expect to achieve significant operational efficiencies and enhanced market reach. Saltaire adds to the growing list of independent UK craft brewers being snapped up by larger firms. Last year, UK private-equity firm Keystone Brewing Group, purchased four breweries in the UK market, all of which had entered or were about to enter administration. In March, Asahi Group Holdings shuttered its Meantime brewery in London as the Japanese giant looked to consolidate its production in the UK. Story continues "UKs Paramount Retail Group enters drinks with Saltaire Brewery acquisition" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states Participants in the Portland Pride Parade head down Congress Street. June 15, 2024 on June 15, 2024. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Though the Biden administrations final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states all with GOP attorneys general rushed to challenge the measure. Given the myriad legal challenges, the updated regulations only went into effect Thursday in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, celebrated the final rule on Thursday during a briefing. Cardona said the updated regulations are the culmination of a lengthy and thorough process that included unprecedented public input from students, parents, educators, administrators, experts and other stakeholders. These regulations make crystal clear that everyone has the right to schools that respect their rights and offer safe, welcoming learning environments, he added. Lhamon said its a very fluid legal environment and the department continues to defend the rule we believe in in these cases, with the Department of Justice as our counsel in the courts. We anticipated this moment when we were finalizing the 2024 regulations, and we know they are legally sound, she said, noting that the department has appealed the injunctions that have so far been issued and sought clarification of their application. While the appeals of these rulings are pending, we have asked the United States Supreme Court to allow the unchallenged provisions which are the bulk of the final rule to take effect in the enjoined states as scheduled, Lhamon said. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide on that emergency request, which came in a pair of filings from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar last week. Discrimination protection The final rule protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, per the department. The updated regulations are also aimed at restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. The administration initially scored a legal win Tuesday when an Alabama federal judge rejected an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the final rule. But a federal appeals court granted the states request for an administrative injunction Wednesday, which temporarily blocked the final rule from taking effect in those Southern states. Judge Jodi W. Dishman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma also halted the final rule from taking effect in the state on Wednesday after the state individually sued the administration back in May. The final rule is temporarily blocked in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Challenges affect more schools But the challenges to Title IX span beyond the 26 states that initially sued the administration affecting schools across the country. Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas expanded the temporary blockage to also include the schools attended by the members of Young Americas Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as the schools attended by the children of the members of Moms for Liberty. These groups sued alongside Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming earlier this year. In Maine, the injunction extends to Narraguagus High School in Harrington, Thornton Academy in Saco and Winthrop High School, as well as the University of Maine and Bowdoin College. However, the Maine Attorney Generals Office said those schools still must abide by state law that prohibits discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation. House GOP tries to stop rule Congressional Republicans have fiercely opposed the final rule. In July, the GOP-controlled House passed a measure to reverse the updated regulations under the Congressional Review Act a procedural tool Congress can use to overturn certain actions from federal agencies. But the measure is unlikely to find success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it land on his desk. LGBTQ students LGBTQ advocacy groups have pushed back against GOP-led efforts to block the final rule from taking effect. Every student in this country deserves access to an education without fear of bullying and discrimination, Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom. But MAGA politicians, promoting blatant discrimination, have fueled eight preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of the Biden administrations new Title IX rules in 26 states. Wolf added that we must continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students across the country because everyone deserves a safe educational experience full stop. Meanwhile, the department has yet to decide on a separate rule establishing new criteria regarding transgender athletes. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE How much does your city know about you? This Southern California city opens up A person scans a QR code in March 2024 to find out what data Long Beach's security cameras log about residents near the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) Rain was falling steadily as the group huddled underneath umbrellas outside the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library in Long Beach in early March, equipped with their smartphones and a mission. Their goal: take a "data walk" around a few blocks of the city to see various technologies security cameras, public Wi-Fi hotspots, the library self-checkout kiosk with signs explaining how the city collects residents' data, how it stores that information, and why. How much does your city know about you? A lot, it turns out. On any day in Long Beach, residents encounter dozens of technologies that collect their personal information. Some are easier to spot than others. Police patrol cars scan license plates. A camera logs how many vehicles pass through an intersection. Smart water meters track each time a resident turns on their tap. Beachgoers heading to the sand enter their license plate number and credit card information into a mobile app to pay for parking. Even in-person shopping is an opportunity for data collection. A parking structure at 2nd & PCH, the city's newest outdoor shopping mall, can tell exactly how long you've been parked there and whether or not you'll have to pay. That's just a sliver of what officials collect. And Long Beach offers just one example of how personal data is being hoovered up by local governments statewide. Gwen Shaffer, a professor at Cal State Long Beach, who is spearheading the project in partnership with the city of Long Beach, asked participants before they launched on the stroll whether the services being provided were worth the trade-off in data privacy. The group of roughly a dozen residents hesitated. "That's a hard question for me to answer if I'm not aware of what technology the city is in fact utilizing," 72-year-old Genevieve Vigil responded. More information, she said, could help foster some acceptance of the technologies being used and the personal data being collected. That's exactly what researchers and the city are seeking to do with the recently launched digital rights platform. Gwen Shaffer, right, guides data walk participants through a questionnaire in Long Beach in March. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) The platform, which is funded through a National Science Foundation grant, consists of data privacy notices for nearly two dozen unique city-deployed technologies that collect personally identifiable information. Each sign features a QR code that takes residents to an online platform where they can learn how the city stores and uses the data. It also details the length of time data is stored and whether it is shared or encrypted. "The whole project is about transparency," Shaffer said. "When the city is using data for certain purposes, they want to make sure residents understand those uses." Ryan Kurtzman, technology partnerships officer for Long Beach, hopes the initiative will become a model for other California cities. Boston, Washington, D.C., and cities in Canada, Australia and France have rolled out similar signage on technologies in recent years. "We've known from the beginning that data privacy is something our residents are concerned about, and it's our responsibility as city government to make sure we're being transparent about the data that's being collected, how it's being shared and how it's protected," Kurtzman said. The United States, unlike the European Union, does not have a comprehensive law regulating how personal data are collected, stored and sold. Instead, California has been a leader on that front, adopting broad data privacy laws and creating an agency to enforce them. The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act and the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act combine to form the strictest data privacy regime in the country. Under these laws, Californians have the right to know about the personal information a business collects about them and how it's used and shared, the right to delete personal information and the right to opt out of the sale of their information. The measures were bolstered by the Delete Act, passed last year, which lawmakers say will make it easier for consumers to get sensitive information erased. But these laws apply only to businesses, not government. The idea behind the digital rights platform is to move Long Beach closer to complying with the "spirit of the law," Shaffer said. Read more: Newsom signs bill that would make it easier to delete online personal data Advocates with the Center for Democracy and Technology have been pushing public agencies to provide community members with input and choices surrounding what data are collected about them. Long Beach's platform is a positive start, but consumers should understand that the list isn't an exhaustive one, said Elizabeth Laird, the director of equity and civic technology at the nonprofit. "Using technology responsibly means you're conscious of the ways it can harm people, especially vulnerable communities," Laird said. "One of the core tenets of being able to use technology responsibly is the forcing mechanism of telling people what you're doing." Read more: LAPD automatic license plate readers pose a massive privacy risk, audit says During the March data walk, the residents' first stop was the self-checkout kiosk at the public library. This technology, created to help streamline library services, encrypts data and doesn't store it indefinitely. Next, they scrutinized the public computers and printing inside the library. Many said they were fine with this kind of technology. The group traveled outside into the rain where the technologies the city's bike share program, public Wi-Fi hotspot and a security camera affixed to a light pole high above MacArthur Park got a bit more sophisticated and, for some, troubling. The security camera, which captures video that can be accessed by law enforcement, made Vigil uneasy. In 2020, Long Beach and Pasadena faced scrutiny for sharing data from license plate readers with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency despite pledges not to do so. Long Beach police launched a review in 2020 and determined that an employee had inadvertently granted ICE access to automated license plate reader data through its vendors' "group approval" feature, the agency said at the time. People participate in a data walk to test out Long Beach's new digital rights platform near the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library in March. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) The camera at the park collects video and still images at a resolution high enough to identify individuals and license plate numbers. "The surveillance that's in the park, it's stored indefinitely, and it's assumed that there will always be good actors that are handling that information," Vigil said. "But I don't know that." Researchers are seeking another round of funding to develop a privacy assistant mobile app that will give residents the ability to set privacy preferences, if feasible, when they encounter some of the city-operated smart tech around Long Beach. If funded, the app would enable residents to opt out of data collection in some instances, Shaffer said. They also would be able to set their preferences for how often they're notified about certain smart technologies around them. "We want to show this is a way for cities to boost trust among their residents," Kurtzman said. "I believe that cities have a responsibility to be open and honest about the technologies they are using." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A 24-year-old woman was killed in a multiple-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 in West Nashville Wednesday night. The crash happened in the westbound lanes near mile marker 204 around 9:45 p.m. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Metro police reported the woman, identified as Taylor Burns, was stopped in a travel lane for unknown reasons when her Chevy Prism was hit by a Acura TSX. Burns was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died. The driver of the Acura was also taken to Vanderbilt for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. That driver said a vehicle in front of her suddenly swerved to avoid the Prism and she was unable to stop prior to colliding with the back of it, according to a release. A post to X, formerly Twitter, from the official TDOT account added traffic was diverted to the Briley Parkway exit. No additional information was immediately released. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) A multi-vehicle crash involving a semi tractor-trailer blocked several traffic lanes on southbound Interstate 5 in Oceanside Thursday morning, authorities said. The collision occurred shortly before 5 a.m. near the Cassidy Street exit. According to California Highway Patrol, the right two lanes were blocked in the impacted area for several hours. The crash included at least one overturned vehicle. No further details were immediately available. FOX 5/KUSI is working to gather more information. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. (WHTM)Multiple tractor-trailer accidents, two of which were vehicle fires, occurred around the central Pennsylvania region Thursday morning, causing delays. According to PennDOT, an accident involving two tractor-trailers traveling southbound on I-81 near mile marker 93 in Lebanon County has blocked all lanes, causing severe delays. PennDOT said the closure is at exit 100 by Pine Grove. One trailer tractor has reportedly rolled over, and the driver is being transported to the hospital. PennDOT says the lanes on I-81 are now open. A tractor-trailer fire shut down a section of I-83 near exit 16 in York County around 1:15 a.m. Thursday. According to PennDOT, traffic is being redirected through exit 16 and back onto the interstate. PennDOT says lanes were closed but have since reopened. A second tractor-trailer fire occurred around 2:00 a.m. on I-81 North at mile marker 31.5 in Cumberland County, according to PennDOT. PennDOT says a single lane of traffic is currently getting through. The road is now clear. Only one injury has been reported from this mornings incidents. Expect further developments throughout the morning. This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A case thats been unsolved for almost 39 years in northwest Missouri may soon be solved. The Holt County Prosecuting Attorney has filed a first-degree murder charge against a suspect for the killing of an overnight gas station clerk in Mound City. View the latest Weather Alerts in the Kansas City region on FOX4 Kirby David is already serving a 20-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections for a drug crime conviction. Now hes accused of murder for allegedly shooting and killed Peggy Horseman in September of 1985. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android The charge comes two years after the Holt County Sheriff hired a new cold case investigator. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) The Mustang Police Department is concerned after seeing a rise in animal abandonments at Mustang Dog Park at Wildhorse Park. The police department sent out a message on Thursday saying six dogs were abandoned at the park this past week, with four of them being puppies. LOCAL NEWS: Ready, Set, Tag! details changes to Oklahoma vehicle registration starting Sept. 1 Officials say dumping animals violates Oklahoma State Statute 21.1691 and Mustang Municipal Ordinance 14-87. If you spot someone dumping animals, police say not to intervene, but to contact the departments non-emergency line at 405-376-2488. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. The News Myanmars junta extended its state of emergency for six months as it struggles to contain a more than three-year armed rebellion. The countrys military government further delayed elections until next year, reportedly blaming terrorist acts. After the junta seized power in 2021, powerful ethnic minority militias joined forces with Myanmars main opposition, taking over wide swathes of territory in recent months; the government is now estimated to control less than half the country. The instability is frustrating China, which wants to protect oil and gas pipelines that run through northern Myanmar, The Diplomat wrote. Beijing wants an election as soon as possible to shore up the junta as a viable, if weak, central government, said one Myanmar specialist. A mysterious group, "Protect Patients Indiana," is funneling more than $50,000 in health care ads purporting to protect Hoosier patients. (Screenshot from Protect Patients Indiana ad) A vague television commercial streaming across Hoosiers screens during the airing of the Olympic Games seems to call for increased patient protections and less government regulation over health care. But details about Protect Patients Indiana are scarce, and the mysterious group which has so far funneled more than $54,000 in ads appears to be based out of state, in Ohio. The 30-second ad features generic clips of doctors and patients inside hospitals. An off-camera narrator says Protect Patients Indiana is committed to safeguarding our health care by reducing red tape, supporting local hospitals and their staff and ensuring access for all Hoosiers. A join us callout at the end of the video points viewers to a website under the same name. This embedded content is not available in your region. Absent from the ad and website, however, is any information about Protect Patients Indiana, its financial supporters, or any other details about the group. Though its not made clear in the campaign materials, the ad appears to be the work of Protect Patients Indiana, a limited liability company registered in Ohio in June. Its one of 83 LLCs or nonprofits created since 2023 by Cincinnati-based Langdon Law, according to Ohios Secretary of State. The firm is run by David Langdon, described as a behind-the-scenes conservative lawyer, who over the last decade has quietly helped nonprofits and super-PACs pour millions of dollars into elections. Langdon did not return the Indiana Capital Chronicles request for comment. Few details exist about Protect Patients Indiana Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records indicate that Protect Patients Indiana purchased 39 ad spots to air between July 15 and Aug. 25 on WTHR, the Indianapolis NBC-affiliate. Another 23 ad spots were purchased to air between July 15 and Aug. 31 on Indianapolis WXINs FOX 59. The commercials are scheduled to run during local news hours, as well as throughout primetime evening shows like NBC Nightly News, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games. FCC records show the ads were purchased in early July by Denver-based M2 Placements LLC. Representatives from the group did not respond to the Capital Chronicles requests for comment. Tim Phelps, vice president of Hathaway Strategies in Indianapolis, is listed as a contact for Protect Patients Indiana on the WXIN form. He is also listed as chairman of the group. Reached via email Phelps didnt provide additional details and only said in a statement that Protect Patients Indiana is an organization that advocates for minimal government intervention, trust in healthcare providers and access to a range of healthcare options in every Indiana community. Story continues below. Protect Patients Indiana The wording mirrors the groups website, which says its mission is to advocate for minimal government intervention, trust in healthcare providers, and support for community hospitals. That includes safeguard(ing) local health care services, addressing workforce challenges, and promoting policies that protect and enhance access to care for all individuals across the state. A video of the TV ad is the first to pop up when visiting the website: When your lifes on the line, you shouldnt have to worry if the local hospital is open, if theres enough staff, or if government regulations will affect your care, the narrator said in the video. Four in 10 Hoosiers will need hospitalization this year. Thats why Protect Patients Indiana is committed to safeguarding our health care; by reducing red tape, supporting local hospitals and their staff, ensuring access for all Hoosiers. Protect Patients Indiana. Prioritizing health in every community, Join us. The hospitalization statistic is more than four times the states current hospitalization rate. According to the American Hospital Directory, there were roughly 653,000 hospital patient discharges in 2022, equal to about one in 10 Hoosiers. An issues page on the website further highlights staff shortages and workforce concerns in Indianas health care system; concerns over rural hospital closures; Hoosiers minimal appetite for increased government regulation in health care; the vital role of community hospitals that provide essential services and preventive to low-income patients; and advocacy for for policies prioritizing patient-provider relationships, fostering trust in healthcare institutions, and minimizing government interference in medical decisions. Both the Indiana Hospital Association and Hoosiers for Affordable Healthcare said they are not affiliated with the effort. Website users are asked to sign an inconspicuous online petition to secure the future of community healthcare in Indiana. The form asks for a name, email, zip code and phone number. No agents or contacts are mentioned anywhere on the advertisement or website. An inquiry into the websites domain shows it was additionally registered anonymously. What who is Langdon Law? Currently, 72 of the LLCs or nonprofits created by Langdon are active, per Ohio records. Most were registered in 2023. Protect Patients Indiana, along with the Nevada Jobs and Growth PAC LLC became effective June 5. Two other LLCs the Ohio Christian Education Network LLC and the United States Christian Education Network LLC were registered with Ohios Secretary of State during the last week of July. Other organizations formed by Langdon since 2023 include: Working Ohioans Against Recreational Marijuana, Coalition to Restore American Values, Conservative Alliance of Republicans, Cambridge Digital Bible Research, and both an LLC and a PAC with the name Parents Against Stupid Stuff. A 2015 report from Politico described Langdon as the Suburban Ohio Lawyer Behind the Rights Dark Money Machine, and found that at least 11 groups connected to Langdon or his firm collectively spent at least $22 million on federal and state elections and ballot initiatives around the country between 2010 and 2015. A Columbus Dispatch report, also from 2015, further described Langdon as an unswerving legal warrior for conservative, often Christian, nonprofit organizations that together spend millions more to influence public policy and wield great influence among evangelical voters. Langdon was a lead author of a proposed amendment to Ohios constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which voters passed in 2004. Hes also donated thousands of work hours to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit Christian legal ministry that specializes in religious freedom cases. While Langdon Law has donated thousands to political campaigns and committees in other states, no such donations appear in Indiana campaign finance records though Langdon or the new LLC could still choose to do so ahead of the November election. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By Jody Godoy and Max A. Cherney (Reuters) - U.S. progressive groups and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed the Department of Justice to investigate Nvidia over competition concerns, citing the company's dominance of the market for the chips driving the artificial-intelligence boom. Demand Progress and nine other groups wrote a letter this week urging Department of Justice antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter to probe business practices at Nvidia, whose market value hit $3 trillion this summer on demand for chips able to run the complex models behind generative AI. The groups, which oppose monopolies and promote government oversight of tech companies, among other issues, took aim at Nvidia's bundling of software and hardware, a practice that French antitrust enforcers have flagged as they prepare to bring charges. "This aggressively proprietary approach, which is strongly contrary to industry norms about collaboration and interoperability, acts to lock in customers and stifles innovation," the groups wrote. In June, Reuters reported a deal was reached among U.S. regulators that directs the Justice Department to oversee potential antitrust probes into Nvidia, while the Federal Trade Commission is looking at Microsoft and OpenAI. An Nvidia spokesperson said the company spent billions of dollars developing AI-capable computing technology before demand existed, and is "committed to opening new markets and growth opportunities for our partner ecosystem." "Regulators need not be concerned, as we scrupulously adhere to all laws and ensure that NVIDIA is openly available in every cloud and on-prem for every enterprise," the spokesperson said. "We'll continue to support aspiring innovators in every industry and market and are happy to provide any information regulators need." Nvidia has roughly 80% of the AI chip market, including the custom AI processors made by cloud computing companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com. The chips made by the cloud giants are not available for sale themselves but typically rented through each platform. Excluding the cloud providers' chips, Nvidia achieved nearly 100% market share. That domination helps the company report gross margins between 70% and 80%. Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, expressed concerns about Nvidia's control of the market in a statement to Reuters. "Allowing a single company to effectively be the gatekeeper for the world's AI future is dangerous and poses dire economic risks. The DOJ is right to investigate Nvidia's anticompetitive practices," she said. Story continues A spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment. Kanter said in an interview on CNBC on Friday, without discussing Nvidia specifically, that antitrust enforcers are concerned about areas where there are bottlenecks that companies could take advantage of to exclude rivals. "We want a world where, one, there is room for investment and development and growth into new rivals and technologies," he said. Last year, Reuters reported that investments in the semiconductor industry were down considerably in the face of Nvidia's overwhelming market share. (Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Max Cherney in San Franciso; Editing by Matthew Lewis) The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is under fire after former President Donald Trump accepted an invitation for a panel interview moderated by Rachel Scott, Harris Faulkner and Kadia Goba Semafor. It only took a few minutes for Trump to make Semafor uncomfortable after essentially bashing the panel, Semafor said in a CNN interview. At the beginning of the panel, Rachel Scott, an ABC News reporter, asked Trump why Black voters should trust him after his racist track record of attacking Black journalists and district attorneys, welcoming a white supremacist for dinner at his Mar-a-lago resort, and questioning Nikki Haley and Barack Obamas nationality. Well first of all, Ive never been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump responded. You dont even say Hello, How are you?. Are you with ABC? Because I think theyre a fake news network. It was at that moment Semafor sank in her seat after Trump disrespected the moderators and their legitimacy. I was shocked. I didnt anticipate that because I figured if the former President made the effort to come to Chicago in front of a bunch of journalists, Black journalists, he would anticipate certain questions, Semafor told CNN. In addition to Trump deflecting questions, he attempted to cast doubt on Vice President Kamala Harris,claiming that she was always of Indian heritage ... [and] happened to turn Black and that she failed the bar exam. (Harris said in her autobiography that she failed the exam on her first try.) Trump has a history of blatantly disrespecting Black journalists, such as calling reporter April Ryana loser. He has also repeatedly labeled press as the enemy of the people, and accused news outlets of spreading fake news for criticizing him or pointing out his lies. Trump was supposed to be present for an hour at the NABJ panel, but only stayed for 35 minutes before leaving. According to reports by Huffington Post and New York Times, he also threatened to abandon the panel unless the NABJ agreed to cut thelive fact-checking. Presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was attending the funeral of U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson on Thursday, but NABJ announced that its in talks with her camp to schedule a sit-down interview between now and November. They released a statement regarding Trumps appearance. We all remember what those four years were like and today, we were given a reminder, Harris said at a campaign event in Houston. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The sister journalists, particularly Rachel Scott of ABC News, did a good job of challenging Donald Trump when he showed up at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. The former president and current Republican nominee was his usual racist blathering self, unfairly attacking Scott for her appropriately tough first question and repeatedly complaining about technical difficulties. As a sometime member going back to NABJs earliest years, I know there are many of its professional members who know how to produce a broadcast. But whoever did the set up were not working in their home studio. Give em a break. What Trump was saying, between the lines, is Black journalists dont know what theyre doing, theyre inferiorlies I resent and know to be untrue. My nearly 50 years of experience and associating with other Black journalists says so. Scott, who moderated the panel of three Black women questioners, deserves credit for maintaining her cool as she challenged the half-truths and outright lies Trump spouted. She often called him Sir even as she corrected his misstatements again and again. The big news was Trump questioning the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris. Yo, Donald, thats not for you to decide. It might be too much for your small mind to figure out that shes both Black and Indian, but shes lived in the Black world, as a Howard graduate, AKA and former member of the Congressional Black Caucus. When I met her in 2006, she told me her mother was Indian and her father Black. Then the district attorney in San Francisco, she had come all the way across the country to attend a conference organized by Black graduate students at Harvard. Trumps appearance was in keeping with NABJs tradition, as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, of inviting both major party nominees to its convention in an election year. Most Republicans have taken a pass. So why did Trump show up, knowing he wasnt walking into MAGA heaven? Because hes trying to peel off some Black voters or given them a reason stay home on Election Day. Thats why he made his bogus comments about her race. He knows if Black voters turn out in massive numbers, as they did for Barack Obama, hes most likely going to lose. To a Black woman. Dont go for the okey doke. Shes sure enough Black. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The National Association of Black Journalists has a long history of inviting presidential candidates to speak, ABC News Rachel Scott reminded those present on Wednesday to witness Donald Trump wreak havoc at its annual conference in Chicago. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have attended past conventions, she said, and the organization is also in talks to host an event with Trump's opponent Vice President Kamala Harris in September. As journalists, we use opportunities like these both to inform our reporting, but also to help voters understand the choices that they face in a consequential and historic election year, Scott explained. All that sounds reasonable, if this were a normal election and Trump was a normal candidate. But once Trump joined Scott and her fellow moderators Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Semafors Kadia Goba onstage he proved yet again, as if we needed reminding, that he is not. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir, Scott began after thanking Trump for being there and giving what was supposed to be an hour of his time, but turned out to be around 37 minutes, after starting more than an hour late. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today, she continued, citing Trumps birther smears against Nikki Haley and former President Barack Obama; his telling four American Democratic Congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from, and his describing Black district attorneys as animals and calling them rabid. She brought up his dinner with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, at Mar-a-Lago. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, is why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that? Scott asked. Predictably, Trump answered in a way that made it obvious he wasn't there to win over Black voters. Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, a first question, he said. You don't even say, Hello. How are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think it's disgraceful. I came here in good spirit. Since this is about journalists and their obligation to the public; since this specific scenario places Black journalists in a physical gathering devoted to sensitizing all media to the importance of fairness in the workplace for Black journalists, as TheGrios Michael Harriot, an NABJ member, points out in his column about the mess; let me clarify what I mean by normal. A normal candidate would endeavor to answer a reporter's questions about things they're on record as saying. This also assumes theyll pivot from a questions wording to discuss their platform, along with massaging the truth to suit their agenda and even making mistakes. A normal candidate would not attack a mainstream news organization as fake news or call a reporter rude for asking a reasonable question about inflammatory statements hes made about Black people specifically Black journalists. To that point, a normal candidate would expect questions about his record of calling Black journalists losers and their questions stupid and racist when appearing before a room of their peers, and maybe endeavor to explain himself. There is no excuse for those statements, but thats not what I mean. As I said, Trump's answers ultimately didnt matter because none of them were for the Black audience, either in that room, or watching PBS' livestream. Trump is not a normal candidate trying to sell himself to the American people. Everything he did on that NABJ stage was bloody meat for his base. Trump lied and prevaricated from start to finish, banging out his old hits with a special spice for his audience. He was the "best president for the Black population" since Abraham Lincoln, he said. The Jan. 6 insurrectionists were treated unfairly. Immigrants are "invading" us from the southern border and taking Black jobs. "What is a Black job, sir?" asked Goba. "A Black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is," Trump babbled. Donald Trump; National Association of Black Journalists annual convention Then he tossed a whopper about Harris that was racist to a hysterical degree. She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black? . . . I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, Trump continued, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went . . . she became a Black person. Harris mother was a biologist who emigrated from India. Her father is a Black emeritus professor of economics who came to the United States from Jamaica. She's also an alumnus of Howard University, one of the top HBCUs Trump is keen on taking sole credit for supporting. Do you even need to ask if there were fact-checkers in the room? No. There were not. NABJ instead directed the audience to PolitiFacts live blog which could neither keep up with the lies nor refute Trumps assertion that the event was late because NABJ couldnt get its audio setup together. That wasnt what organizers told a few media reporters, who said Trumps people kept them in a stand-off by demanding that NABJ not do live fact-checking. No matter, since Trump's falsehoods are already circulating. Scott and Goba did a fine job of pushing back at the most ridiculous lies, generally comporting themselves and the profession well. Colleagues on X and other social media outlets said as much within their echo chambers. Faulkner, teasing her one-on-one with Trump conducted aside from this appearance, set him up for a few tee-ball base hits with, What is your message today? and What's your plan for the Black community when it comes to money? and Why did you choose JD Vance? But even his nonsensible marshmallow responses to her didnt matter. Wednesdays bleak comedy served only Trump, doing a disservice to the NABJ, and to Harris, the first Black and South Asian woman to top a major party's presidential ticket. Amplifying the organizations self-injury was its announcement on Tuesday that it denied Harris offer to appear virtually this week since her campaign schedule wouldnt allow her to be there in person. Trump used this to his advantage, claiming he was lured to the conference under false pretenses: I was told my opponent, whether it was Biden or Kamala, I was told my opponent was going to be here, he alleged. What hes describing sounds like a debate, which, to my knowledge, NABJ does not do during election years. Regardless, accepting NABJ's invitation enables Trump to brush aside suspicions that hes afraid to debate Harris, citing his verbal attacks on two other Black women, Scott and Goba as proof he's up for the challenge. Trump has a long history of slandering Black women journalists, regularly insulting White House correspondents April Ryan and Yamiche Alcindor and former CNN anchor Don Lemon when Trump was in office, as well as encouraging attacks on Jemele Hill and Tiffany Cross. Those are just the names I can recall off the top of my head. So what is to be gained by the NABJ bringing him onto its turf to make a live show of disparaging two more? Trump is the latest in a series of controversial political figures that NABJ has platformed over the years. His announcement stirred up social media reminders of the time the organization hosted his surrogate Omarosa Manigault Newman in 2017, who was mainly just disagreeable. My memory rewound much farther to one of the first conventions I attended in 1996. That years political firebrand was remembered afterward for calling the assembled reporters slave writers, slave media people." Most of those in the room were right to feel insulted. But Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was not running for office. He was fresh off organizing the Million Man March in 1995 and stood accused of making some truly bigoted and antisemitic statements. He still is. The Southern Policy Law Center lists a collection of sourced antisemitic statements on its page designating him as an extremist. He also has a complicated legacy and reputation among Black folks, as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. describes in his reported essay in The New Yorker: This is a man whose political identity is constituted by antagonism to the self-image of America. To moderate his stance of unyielding opposition would be to destroy the edifice he has spent his life constructing. The NABJ had a sense of what it was getting into with him too. Now, contemplate what it welcomed into its midst Wednesday as you take in what else Farrakhan said to its members in Nashville 28 years ago. When you have the right and the privilege to feed the human mind, then to feed the human mind lies mixed with truth, skewing the truth, hiding the truth, manipulating the truth for this one's benefit and to that one's degradation, is not my idea of protecting democracy and the fundamentals of a democracy. Which is pretty much what NABJ allowed enabled Trump to do this week. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. On Wednesday Ryan spoke for many when she lamented on X, Trump came into our home, a Black Press advocacy convention, and insulted us in our face. What is worse, he was invited to do this by NABJ leadership. The offense didn't stop once Trump left the stage well short of his promised hour. Soon after he posted on Truth Social: The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT! His campaigns senior adviser Lynne Patton released a statement that says in part, You would think that the media would have learned something from their repeat episodes of fake outrage ever since President Trump first came down the escalator in 2015, but some just refuse to get it. Pattons right, but not for the reasons she thinks. Harris entry into the presidential race was guaranteed to generate racism and misogyny from Trump and his minions, but the easiest way to spread that poison is to legitimize him in mainstream forums. Headlines describing what he said about Harris amplified those slurs and other lies he dropped on Wednesday, which only energizes his base and its worst actors. These are the same mistakes media watchdogs warned fellow journalists to refrain from making after handing Trump billions in free promotion in 2016 and flirting with a repeat performance of that in 2020. I don't think this is going to work for Trump. But if it does it will likely be with a big assist from the new york times pic.twitter.com/LiX1jjwyhH Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 1, 2024 To see it recur via an organization dedicated to supporting Black journalists and journalism is infuriating. Still, I never would have guessed I would be invoking another politically consequential and controversial guest's three-decades old warning in response to this organization's terrible judgment. At least Farrakhan said something worth remembering, and true a call to refuse framing damaging acts as business as usual, by saying, "This is what we've always done." That means NABJ and the Fourth Estate; that means anybody interested in defending democracy. Disbelieve those observations at your peril. They will stand up to a fact-check. Check out the full "PBS News Hour" stream of the conversation. (Fast-forward to 1:10 if you want to skip the hold music and blank stage): NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) One Nashville man is in custody for multiple vehicle-related crimes, according to Metro Police. Tuesdays arrest of 21-year-old Derryon Lyons marks the third time that Lyons has been arrested since May. Metro Police said in a release that Lyons was identified as the man seen on surveillance video in a 3rd Avenue South parking garage. He was arrested after Metro police placed a tracking device on his vehicle. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime news from Middle Tennessee There, he allegedly broke into several vehicles before stealing a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Later investigation led to recovery of not just the Jeep, but also a gun that had been taken in a County Hospital Road vehicle burglary on July 23. At the time of Lyons arrest, Metro police said that he was free on a $14,000 bond stemming from a July 13 arrest on charges of felony evading arrest, evidence tampering and unlawful gun possession. During that July 13 arrest, Lyons reportedly sped away after a Metro officer tried to stop him. That car matched the description of a vehicle that had been used to commit several vehicle burglaries in the days prior. Using a helicopter, Metro police found and arrested Lyons, but not before he tried to hide a gun in a barbecue grill. At the time of the July 13 arrest, Lyons was free on a $1,500 bond stemming from a May 2 arrest for domestic assault. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com During a search of Lyons residence on Tuesday, detectives were able to recover another gun and property taken in a Sunday vehicle burglary. As of print, Lyons remains in jail on a $90,000 bond. Lyons arrest is part of the Metro Nashville Police Departments Operation 72. Since February, the department said the operation has led to the recovery of over 345 stolen vehicles and more than 130 guns. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A televised speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is transmitted on large screens during the funeral service of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut's southern suburbs. Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike that also claimed the lives of five civilians and injured dozens. Marwan Naamani/dpa The pro-Iranian Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Thursday to avenge the Israeli assassination of the movement's top commander, Fuad Shukr, with an imminent retaliatory attack on Israel. "Our response is coming," Nasrallah said during the funeral of Fuad Shukr, the group's top military commander and the head its operations in southern Lebanon. His comments came shortly before at least four Syrian nationals were killed when an Israeli strike hit a building in southern Lebanon, security sources and the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The ministry said that large quantities of body parts were found and will be tested to determine the final number of dead. It added that five Lebanese citizens were also wounded when the Israeli strike hit an area between the towns of Shamaa and Tayr Harfa in the western sector of southern Lebanon. The situation between Lebanon and Israel has deteriorated since Tuesday, after the killings Shukr in Beirut's southern suburbs and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Before the Israeli strike on Thursday, Nasrallah stressed that Israel and those behind Shukr's death must inevitably wait for our next response, stressing that there is no discussion or debate about this, and reiterating that between us and you are the days, the nights, and the battlefield. He added that they are looking for "a real response and real opportunity." Israel's military killed Shukr on Tuesday evening. A few hours later, Haniyeh was killed in an attack in the Iranian capital Tehran. Since then, there have been fears of a potentially large, coordinated attack on Israel by Iran, Hezbollah and other allied militias in the region. "We are in an open battle on all fronts that has entered a new phase, said the Hezbollah secretary general via a video link message at the Shukr's funeral in Beirut. Nasrallah said the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran was an attack on Irans honor. Nasrallah said he had been in constant contact with Shukr, who trained most of Hezbollah's commanders and was a "pillar" of the militia, before his death. Shukr was a prominent friend of former Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyah, who was targeted in a car bomb attack in Damascus in 2008. The killing of Shukr is considered Israel's worst blow against the Shiite militia since the killing of Mughniyah more than 15 years ago. Mughnijah was a founding member of Hezbollah and is said to have played a key role in numerous kidnappings and attacks in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Argentina. WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 13: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) at the National Republican Senatorial Committee building on June 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. Trump is visiting Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans and participate in additional meetings. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) WASHINGTON Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who is in charge of flipping the chamber from blue to red this November, said Tuesday he expects his home state will play a key role in ensuring a Republican majority come January. Daines, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that of the four toss-up states that will determine control of the Senate, he believes Montana is the most likely to choose a new senator over the incumbent, Democrat Jon Tester. Of all of the states were currently battling, itd be the most likely pick-up right now, if you graded on a curve, Daines said. Republicans expect to gain the West Virginia Senate seat currently controlled by independent Joe Manchin III, who is retiring. But, theyll need one more pick up to hold at least 51 seats in the 100-member chamber and secure the majority. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter categorizes Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Nevadas races as toss-ups, while the other Senate races are rated as at least leaning toward Democrats or Republicans. Electoral trends Daines said that he expects the November elections will follow a trend from 2016 and 2020, in which the winner of the Senate race very closely tracks with which presidential candidate wins in their state. The only exception, of 69 races in 2016 and 2020, with Trump on the ballot, was Susan Collins where Joe Biden won Maine, but Susan Collins won the Senate race, Daines said, referring to former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and the current Republican senator from Maine. History shows in a presidential year, these races will all start to track by the time we get to the end of October, and then on Election Day, importantly, well be tracking pretty close with the presidential ballot. Daines, who was sitting for a panel interview with members of the Regional Reporters Association at the National Republican Senatorial Committee offices in Washington, D.C., said the party is applying the lessons learned from 2022 to this years campaigns. Democrats targeted their messaging effectively two years ago, while Republicans had candidates that were able to win primary elections, but were not as appealing in a general, Daines said. And thats why one of the key strategies here at the NRSC was to be intentional in primaries, Daines said, adding he wanted fewer wounds and battle scars for the GOP candidates who won their primaries as they went into the general election campaign. Daines said that he doesnt expect reproductive rights and issues around democracy to be as central to how voters cast ballots this year as compared to 2022. In 22 the Democrats mentioned a lot on abortion and a lot on January 6 and the threat to democracy, Daines said. I think both of those issues are going to be less powerful in the 24 election. On abortion specifically, he said that GOP Senate candidates are messaging well on this back in their respective states. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia said in a written statement that Senate campaigns are candidate vs candidate battles, and Senate Democrats will win because we have the better candidates in every single battleground. Steve Daines failure to vet his candidates has saddled Senate Republicans with deeply flawed recruits who are embroiled in a never ending series of scandals: theyve been caught lying about their biographies, face vulnerabilities stemming from their finances and are running on a platform of deeply unpopular policies, Garcia added. Montana focus Daines said he expects Montana voters will elect Republican candidate Tim Sheehy over Tester in November, citing data from former election years as well as how recent transplants to the state have registered to vote. Weve had a net migration of center-right voters to Montana since Jon Tester was last on the ballot, Daines said. He won by 18,000 votes against Matt Rosendale back in 2018. Weve had 100,000 new voters move to Montana since 2018. If you look at the voter rolls, by a 2-to-1 margin, theyre Republicans. Daines said he refers to these transplants as COWs since they are leaving California, Oregon and Washington states to live in Montana the first letters of each state. He also says they arent looking to bring the blue-leaning politics of their former states to their new home. These are refugees, not missionaries, Daines said. Theyre moving to Montana to join us, not to change us. And thats how thats shifting the political numbers in Montana; just mathematically, it becomes increasingly difficult for Jon Tester to win. Daines said that mid-July polling in the race mirrors what he experienced ahead of his last re-election. The polling data that we are seeing with Tim Sheehy matches exactly where I was polling with Steve Bullock by the same pollster four years ago, Daines said, referring to the former Democratic governor who ran for Senate in 2020. And we ended up winning by 10 points. When thats combined with the millions of dollars that Democrats have spent on Testers re-election campaign, Daines said the odds are good for Republicans. (Senate Majority Leader Chuck) Schumer and Tester have poured $45 million of negative ads on Tim Sheehy since last November, Daines said. Weve never seen anything like it in any Senate race in the history of the United States that early, that much money spent. And the fact that Tim Sheehy is tied up right now on public polls is quite remarkable. DSCC Chairman Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, told States Newsroom on Tuesday that he expects Tester will win reelection. Hes wrong. Hes not going to flip Montana. Jon Tester is a strong candidate. Hes authentic. Hes running against a seriously flawed candidate that the Republicans have put forward. Clearly they didnt do any vetting before they recruited him to run in Montana, Peters said. And people in Montana, want someone whos authentic, has lived in the state and understands the challenges of people in Montana. And thats Jon Tester. Nevada battleground Daines also has hopes that the GOP can pick up Nevada, where Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is facing a challenge from Republican candidate Sam Brown. During the 2022 Senate race, he noted that Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican candidate Adam Laxalt by about 8,000 votes. It was the tightest Senate race that cycle. Thats four votes per precinct, Daines said. Thats not lost, certainly on both sides of the ledger. Had Laxalt been running during a presidential election year, when rural voters tend to turn out in higher numbers than during midterm election years, Daines said Laxalt would have won a seat in the Senate. Looking at more recent polling numbers in Nevada, Rosens ballot number is very low. Shes in the low 40s. Thats a big warning sign for an incumbent, Daines said. It also shows theres great upside for Sam Brown at the moment. Michigan race In Michigan, which presents another chance for Republicans to gain and potentially grow a Senate majority, Daines said he isnt worried about negative ads from the Republican primary impacting their prospects during the general election. You always worry about whether youre on the Democratic or Republican side damaging primaries. And something that we have done at the NRSC in this particular election cycle, is to be intentional about getting behind candidates early in primaries, Daines said. And Michigans an example of that. The NRSC and Trump both endorsed GOP candidate Mike Rogers early, he said. And so far in this election cycle, theres been $250 million less spent in Republican primaries versus last cycle, Daines said. Democrats have spent $60 million more in their primaries versus last cycle. And in part thats due to a strategy that we had to get behind candidates early and try to minimize primary battles. Daines wasnt too concerned about recent polling that shows Democrat Elissa Slotkin ahead of Rogers in a likely general election match up. Its not a new phenomenon, Daines said. Generally, we run behind. Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey hopes Daines has hope for GOP candidates in other states that traditionally send Democrats to the Senate. In Maryland, he expects former Gov. Larry Hogan has a chance to defeat Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks for the open seat. When Republicans polled the chances for Hogan before he entered the race, they showed he had higher favorability than when he left office, Daines said. And while Daines said he knows that Kamala Harris will likely win Maryland by 25 points or more, he still expects Hogan will have a strong campaign. Thats not a new phenomenon for Larry Hogan. And so he will run in this maverick kind of lane, Daines said, noting that Hogan has distanced himself from Trump. Daines sought to put a little bit of distance between the NRSC and the Aug. 13 Republican Senate primary in Minnesota when asked about the candidates, though he said he stood by a previous comment that Royce White cant win the GOP primary or the general election. Well wait and see how the primary shakes out in Minnesota. Again, its coming up here pretty soon, mid-August, Daines said. But yeah, I think Joe Fraser is going to be a more electable candidate, certainly in the general. Whichever GOP candidate wins the primary will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the general election, fighting for a seat that is rated as solid Democratic by The Cook Political Report. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendezs recent conviction has also led Daines to not entirely count the state out, though the odds are long. Curtis Bashaw, he said, is a very strong candidate. Its a race were keeping an eye on, Daines said. Obviously, whenever you have an open seat, its an opportunity. And with Menendezs problems that doesnt help overall. Menendez isnt seeking re-election and will resign from the U.S. Senate in August. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who was pictured cleaning up litter inside the U.S. Capitol following the Jan. 6 attack, was elected as the Democratic nominee. The Cook Political Report rates the race as Solid Democrat. The Oyate Health Center in Rapid City on April 24, 2024. The center serves patients eligible for care through the Indian Health Service. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) The Oyate Health Center in Rapid City on April 24, 2024. The center serves patients eligible for care through the Indian Health Service. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) Its not easy to make public health decisions without access to good data. And epidemiologists and public health workers for Native American communities say theyre often in the dark because state and federal agencies restrict their access to the latest numbers. The 2010 reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act gave tribal epidemiology centers public health authority and requires the federal Department of Health and Human Services to grant them access to and use of data and other protected health information thats regularly distributed to state and local officials. But tribal epidemiology center workers have told government investigators thats not often the case. By July 2020, American Indians and Alaskan Natives had a COVID-19 infection rate 3 times that of non-Hispanic whites. Problems accessing data predated the pandemic, but the alarming infection and death rates in Native American communities underscored the importance of making data-sharing easier so tribal health leaders and epidemiologists have the information they need to make lifesaving decisions. Tribal health officials have repeatedly said data denials impeded their responses to disease outbreaks, including slowing contact tracing during the pandemic and an ongoing syphilis outbreak in the Midwest and Southwest. Were being blinded, said Meghan Curry OConnell, the chief public health officer for the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The sharing of data has improved somewhat in recent years, she said, but not enough. Federal investigators and tribal epidemiologists have documented a litany of obstacles keeping state and federal public health information from tribes, including confusion about data-sharing policies, inconsistent processes for requesting information, data thats of poor quality or outdated, and strict privacy rules for sensitive data on health issues like HIV and substance misuse. Limiting the ability of tribes and tribal epidemiology centers to monitor and respond to public health issues makes historical health disparities difficult to address. Life expectancy among American Indians and Alaskan Natives is at least 5 years shorter than the national average. Sarah Shewbrooks and her colleagues at the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center are among those whove found themselves blinded by bureaucratic walls. Shewbrooks said the data dearth was particularly evident during the COVID pandemic, when her team couldnt access public health data available to other public health workers in state and local agencies. Her team was forced to manually record positive cases and deaths in the 311 counties of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa the region the center serves. Sarah Shewbrooks, director of the data-coordinating unit of the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center and its lead epidemiologist, says she and her team manually recorded positive covid cases and deaths in the 311 counties of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa the region the epidemiology center serves in the pandemics early days. (Sarah Shewbrooks) Shewbrooks, director of the centers data-coordinating unit and its lead epidemiologist, estimates staffers spent more than a years worth of their time during the pandemic scraping together their own datasets to steer information to tribal leaders making decisions about closing down reservations and asking residents to isolate at home. She said the process was frustrating and stressful, especially since it robbed her team of hours they couldve spent trying to save lives in the communities they serve. The tribes in their region were doing incredible things, she said, by providing food and shelter for people who needed to quarantine. But they were having to do it all without being given real-time understanding of whats going on around them, Shewbrooks said. Contact tracers who work for state governments cover Native American populations, but its important to have people from within the community take the lead, Shewbrooks said. Tribal workers are better equipped to move around within their communities and meet people where they are. Shewbrooks said state contact tracers relied on calling and texting patients, which is often not the most effective method. Tribal members can be a hard-to-reach community for state workers whose protocol is to move on to the next case if they dont get a response. So many cases were just getting closed, Shewbrooks said. In 2022, the Government Accountability Office published a report that confirmed concerns raised by tribal health officials, including at the Great Plains tribal epidemiology center. Federal investigators found that health officials working to address public health issues in Native American communities dealt with federal agencies lacking clear processes, policies, and guidelines for sharing data with tribal officials. In one example, officials said that as of November 2021, 10 of the 12 tribal epidemiology centers in the U.S. had access to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID data, but not all had full data. Some centers had access to case surveillance data that included information on positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Only half said they also had access to COVID vaccination data from HHS. The GAO report also found that staffers responding to data requests at HHS, the CDC, and the Indian Health Service did not consistently recognize tribal epidemiology centers as public health authorities. Center officials told federal investigators that theyd sometimes been asked to request data they needed as outside researchers or through the Freedom of Information Act. The report recommended agencies make several corrections, including responding to tribal epidemiology centers as required by law and clarifying how agency staffers should handle requests from epidemiology centers. HHS officials agreed with all the recommendations. The agency consulted with tribal leaders in fall 2022 and, this year, published a draft policy that clarifies what data centers can access. Some tribal leaders say the proposal is a step in the right direction but is incomplete. Jim Roberts, senior executive liaison in intergovernmental affairs at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, a nonprofit organization that provides care and advocacy for Alaskan tribes, said the GAO report focused on tribal epidemiology centers, which operate separately from tribal governments, each serving dozens of tribes divided into regions. The report left out tribes, which he said have a right to their data as sovereign nations. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US HHS officials declined an interview request, but Samira Burns, principal deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, said the agency is reviewing feedback and recommendations it received from tribal leaders during consultation on the draft policy and will continue to consult with tribes before its finalized. Stronger federal policy on tribal data sharing would help with relationships with states, too, Roberts said. Tribal officials say problems theyve experienced at the federal level are often worse in states, where laws might not recognize tribes or tribal epidemiology centers as authorities that can receive data. At the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, which works on behalf of tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, forging a data-use agreement with state governments in Washington and Oregon before the pandemic helped their response by providing immediate access to near real-time data on emergency room and other health care facility visits. The centers staff used this data to monitor for suspected COVID-related visits that could be shared with tribal leaders. It took seven months for the center to get access to COVID surveillance data from the CDC, said Sujata Joshi, director of the Northwest centers Improving Data and Enhancing Access project, and about nine months for HHS vaccination data after vaccinations became available. Even after getting the information, she said, there were concerns about its quality. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. Navajo Nation to Reinforce Its Laws that Prohibit Transport of Uranium Through Its Territory Navajo Nation President Buu Nygrn opposes the transport of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation. (Photo/Navajo Nation) WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren called the semi trucks hauling uranium ore through the Navajo Nation illegal smugglers. President Nygren said his deputy chief of staff informed around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. It was so disappointing and disheartening because our people have suffered so much, he said on Tuesday. So as far as serving or doing our part we've done so much as far as the Navajo Nation and for people, for illegal smugglers to try to smuggle uranium across Navajo Nation, thats just complete disrespect and they shouldn't get permission from the Navajo Nation. And at this moment in time, we don't want no uranium transportation across the nation. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Kaibab National Forest, on the morning of Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Energy Fuels Resources informed the Kaibab National Forest that hauling uranium ore had begun earlier that morning. The forest service stated they requested an advanced notice, but there are no requirements for the mine to do so. While the uranium ore would be hauled by truck to the White Mesa Mill near Blanding, Utah, Energy Fuels is authorized to use two haul routes. The forest service stated the companys long-term to transport the ore would take them through State Route 64, which connects to Cameron, Arizona, Tuba City, Arizona, and U.S. Highways 180, 89, 160, and 191, which stretches through the Navajo Nation, through Kayenta, Arizona, and Mexican Water, Utah, to access the mill. The forest service added that a portion of the route passes through state and private lands that require additional permissions. Until Energy Fuels obtains these permissions, the haul route will follow State Route 64 further south to I-40 at Williams then to US 89 through Flagstaff. Both routes will pass through the Navajo Nation, states the Forest Service. President Nygren said he directed Navajo Nation police to be stationed along U.S. Highway 89, which goes through the Navajo community of Cameron, Arizona. We're going to continue to monitor that if they decide to try to bring uranium Wednesday, we're going to tell them to turn around, said President Nygren. A 2016 map from Grand Canyon Trust, depicts the route the trucks transporting uranium ore, will take, which is about 300 miles through Arizona, the Navajo Nation, Utah, and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation to deliver uranium ore mined at Canyon Mine (renamed Pinyon Plain Mine) to the White Mesa Mill for processing. While a route for trucks to haul uranium ore is eight years old, the U.S. Forest Service stated back in January that Energy Fuels Resources notified the Kaibab National Forest that uranium ore had been removed from Pinyon Plain Mine and placed on an ore pad. This is the first time that ore has been removed from the mine. This follows notices that Energy Fuels filed with the Environmental Protection Agency on November 3, 2023, and December 14, 2023, under EPA's Approval to Construct/Modify the mine, notifying EPA of the anticipated date of initial startup of ventilation and the actual date of startup, respectively. Although this designation withdrawals the area from future mineral entry, Pinyon Plain Mine is not affected because it is a valid existing right, states the U.S. Forest Service. Energy Fuels cites the current high price of uranium as the reason for beginning ore production. There are approximately 1,629,000 lbs. of Uranium 3O8 at Pinyon Plain Mine, contained in 82,800 tons of inferred resource at an average grade of 0.98% U3O8. In northern Arizona, uranium deposits are located in breccia pipes, which are vertical cylindrical bodies of broken sedimentary rock. The mine is within the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. This monument was designated by the Presidential Proclamation on August 8, 2023, which was signed by President Biden at the site. We're already trying to clean up five hundred-plus mines, unless they want to help clean up existing mines, we're more than happy to invite them out to help us clean up the mines and then they can help us transport uranium off the Navajo Nation, President Nygren said. This pipe carries water from upstream and discharges into the Cape Fear River in Wilmington. Before Chemours stopped discharging GenX into the river, this pipe was a source of the contamination, according to a former riverkeeper. (Photo: Lisa Sorg) The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce has privately leaned on the states powerful Environmental Management Commission to delay critical PFAS rules, emails obtained under state public records law show, including providing members with the resume of a scientist who has downplayed the toxicity of the compounds. At the same time, a crisis involving these forever chemicals emerged in rural Randolph County, where drinking water at an elementary school contained the compounds far above federal limits. The schools groundwater is contaminated, among the issues the proposed rules are meant to address. North Carolina became one of the nations hotspots for the compounds in 2017, when state regulators discovered the chemical company Chemours had been discharging a type called GenX into the Cape Fear River, a major drinking water supply. More than 300 water systems in North Carolina, serving an estimated 3.4 million peoplea third of the states populationprovide drinking water that contains levels of PFAS above federal limits, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality. These include homes, schools, childcare centers and mobile home parks. Most of the public utilities source their drinking water from groundwater; the rest tap into lakes and rivers. the Haw River The drinking water for another 200,000 people who rely on private wells is also contaminated with PFAS at concentrations above the legal limit, DEQ figures show. Alarmed by the toxicity and pervasiveness of the compounds, DEQ now wants to regulate eight PFAS compounds in surface water and groundwater in hopes of reducing levels before they flow from household taps. Rulemaking requires several steps, including a public comment period and approval by the EMC before going into effect. The PFAS rules, introduced by DEQ in November, are stuck in an early phase of the process as they await votes from EMC committees. Members of the public, including managers of downstream water treatment plants, have pleaded with the EMC to make progress. Some conservative EMC members have attributed delays to DEQ. They say the commissions water quality and groundwater committees havent received a full analysis of the rules fiscal impacts. DEQ has given more than a half-dozen presentations to the EMC about the proposal since last year. The agency provided the EMC with a 72-page draft of the fiscal impacts of surface water rules in May. But the final version wasnt delivered until July and ran 214 pages. We want to get the regulatory impact analysis as right as we can before it goes to the full commission and the public, EMC Chairman J.D. Solomon told Inside Climate News, so we can get good, meaningful comments back from the public. On March 27, Solomon, appointed by GOP House Speaker Tim Moore, spoke to the Chambers environmental committee. Solomon told Inside Climate News this week that he discussed the EMCs accomplishments over the past year. The topic of PFAS did come up, Solomon said, but none of the attendees asked for a delay. My main message to everybody is, This is coming, Solomon said. Youre not going to get out of it. Youre not going to run and hide. Three weeks later, on April 22, the chamber sent a letter to DEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser: It is important that we do not hastily pass regulations without fully accounting for both the positive benefits and potential negative impacts on the state and its business community. Since then, the chamber has provided the EMC with links to talking points about the benefits of PFAS. This chemical family is essential to mobility, communication, medical treatment, and more, the chamber wrote on its website, which features the headline: When it comes to North Carolinas water, lets let science dictate our action, not politics. What are forever chemicals? There are more than 15,000 types of PFASper- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the so-called forever chemicals. They are found in many consumer products, such as microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, stain- and water-resistant clothing and furniture, and lithium-ion batteries, including those used in electric vehicles. Theyve been linked to many serious health conditions, including several types of cancer. PFAS also disrupt the oceans ability to sequester carbon, a driver of climate change. PFAS manufacturers emit thousands of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. In 2022, the Chemours Fayetteville plant emitted 52,000 tons of greenhouse gases, according to EPA data. In May, Jake Cashion, the Chambers vice president of government affairs, sent members a resume for scientist Michael Dourson, who has been retained by chemical companies for studies downplaying the toxicity of the compounds. Dourson was also former President Donald Trumps nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agencys Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Dourson withdrew his name from consideration after it became clear the U.S. Senate would not confirm him. Cashion did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Climate News. Asked via email if the Chamber had hired Dourson, and if so, in what capacity, the organizations spokesperson did not respond. Solomon said its routine for the EMC to consider different experts but that he has not seen anything come to the commission directly from Dourson. In June, Dourson wrote an article for the Carolina Journal, a publication of the conservative John Locke Foundation, in which he wrote that North Carolinians faced little to no risk from PFAS in their drinking water. That contradicts findings by the EPA, federal toxicologists and independent scientists, who have linked PFAS exposure to kidney, prostate, breast, pancreatic and testicular cancer; thyroid and liver disorders; decreased fertility and low birth weight; ulcerative colitis; and a depressed immune system. The North Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, whose members include Chemours, also opposes the draft rules, which dont prohibit PFAS manufacturing, but only require facilities to keep the chemicals out of water supplies. The NCMA would like the State of North Carolina to be consistent in regulating these substances with our neighboring states and the federal rules, so as to not place North Carolina manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage in cost of manufacturing our products and expanding our operations, the alliance wrote to DEQ and the EMC. However, no neighboring states have enacted groundwater rules, according to DEQ. Nineteen other states have some type of groundwater guidance in place. The EMC in July instructed DEQ to remove five of eight compounds from its proposed groundwater standards. The remaining three, GenX, PFOA and PFOS, will be considered in September. Solomon said the proposed standards for the removed compounds were more lax than existing ones, which depend on the lowest level a laboratory can detect. Those are known as practical quantitation levels, and can vary among laboratories, whose sensitivities differ. That can create regulatory uncertainty for industries. Michael Ellison, an environmental consultant and vice-chairman of the EMCs Water Quality Committee, has downplayed concerns about PFAS contaminationboth privately and publicly. In private, according to the emails obtained under state records law, Ellison dismissed concerns about the delays, telling a concerned resident in late June that PFAs have been around for several decades, so any potential cost from another month or two to get the regulations right are likely to be incalculably small. At an EMC meeting on July 10, Ellison questioned their toxicity. There is some difference of opinion about safe levels, Ellison said, reinforcing points made by Dourson. For decades weve been making and discharging this stuff. How many people have died from PFAS poisoning? Contacted by Inside Climate News, Ellison did not elaborate on his comments. Ellison worked at DEQ under Republican Gov. Pat McCrorys administration, when the agency weakened many environmental rules. He left the agency in 2017 after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was elected. GOP Senate leader Phil Berger appointed Ellison to the EMC in 2023. Elizabeth Biser The disagreement over PFAS rules escalated last month between Secretary Biser, appointed by Cooper, and conservative members of the EMC. Biser publicly criticized the groups repeated delays, telling the media on a call: Do they really need to count body bags before they take action? Commissioner Charlie Carter, an air quality specialist and another Berger appointee, called for her resignation. Bisers conduct is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS time for Biser to apologize or resign! Carter wrote in an email to his fellow commissioners on July 14. Chairman Solomon tried to rein Carter in. Charlie, This is over the top. No personal comments are needed on fellow Commissioners, DEQ staff, or DEQ Secretary. Stop it now, Solomon wrote in an email to the full EMC. Everyone, Lets make these emails stop. Focus on the technical and rulemaking process. We are getting this donetogether. Biser responded to Carters email in a statement provided to Inside Climate News. Its my duty as Secretary to protect the health of North Carolina residents and these standards are critical to reducing PFAS in our surface water and groundwater and ensuring residents arent paying the entire cost of meeting drinking water standards, Biser said. PFAS in an elementary schools water Farmer Elementary School near Asheboro, in Randolph County, serves 215 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, about half of them economically disadvantaged. The school sources its drinking water, used to quench the thirst of young children, cook school lunches and make staff coffee, from two wells drilled more than 30 years ago. the sign for Farmer Elementary school In June, DEQ tested the schools drinking water as part of the agencys routine assessment to help public water systems comply with EPA limits. The results were stunning. Of the 14 types of PFAS detected in Farmer Elementarys drinking water, two of the most toxicPFOS and PFOAwere detected at levels 144 and 233 times greater than federal limits, respectively. That was driven by contamination in one of the schools wells, since disconnected. It contained PFOS at 400 times the proposed state groundwater standards. A second well on the property also contains several types of PFAS, but only one is above federal limits. Both the school district and the Randolph County Health Department sent letters to parents and staff about the contamination. DEQ is working with the school on ensuring a new water supply is safe, an agency spokesman said; school starts Aug. 26. a water tower DEQ is still investigating the source and the scope, according to an agency spokesperson. Its unclear how long children and staff have been drinking contaminated water. A commercial site west of the school also had elevated levels of PFAS in its wells, but regulators have not pinpointed a source. Since the compounds linger in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years, the source of the contamination could pre-date both the school and the business. Therese Vick, research director with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, told Inside Climate News that the results were shocking and devastating. The cost of providing clean water to North Carolinians whose drinking water supplies are contaminatedand determining who will pay for that treatmentlies at the heart of the fiscal analysis that the EMC committees are now considering. The Office of State Budget and Management found the groundwater rules financial impact would yield net benefits of $604,000 to $3.3 million over 10 years. An analysis of surface water standards released in July by the office shows that by the year 2060, industrial dischargers and publicly owned wastewater treatment plants would spend $9.6 billion to comply with the new rules. But accounting for the savingsfor water treatment plants and private well owners, health costs and property valuesbenefits would total $9.96 billion over the same time period. This represents a net surplus of $460,000. Without the standards, according to DEQ, the health impacts across North Carolina through mid-century would equate to 44,925 cases of health harms. Of these cases, the agency estimated 10,279 could result in death. Marion Deerhake, a Cooper appointee, has been on the EMC for seven years, as the scope of contamination and dangers of PFAS in North Carolina have become clearer and more urgent. How many more meetings before we act? Deerhake said at the July meeting. It must be frustrating for people of the state who have suffered for years, having persistent toxic chemicals in their drinking water. This report was first published by Inside Climate News. By Victoria Waldersee BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen will need to make "significant cost-cutting efforts" in the second half of the year and beyond if it is to revive profit margins, the automaker said on Thursday, after reporting first-half margins it described as "too low". The German group is further reducing production capacity and changing software spending following its investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian, it said. It had already cut capacity by 25% in certain locations, including its main plant in Wolfsburg, as part of a wider goal of reducing capacity by 10% across Europe. Volkswagen is revamping its line-up globally with bespoke EV models in particular for the Chinese and U.S. markets as it tries to fend off competition from the likes of Tesla and China's BYD. But, like many in the industry, it is struggling with slower than expected demand for EVs, as well as supply chain challenges and rising costs - even as European and U.S. regulators try to keep cheap Chinese EVs out of their markets with tariffs. CEO Oliver Blume said on Thursday Volkswagen would join some rivals in prolonging its combustion engine line-up, potentially adding new models across its brands but without increasing total investment spending. With the focus on costs, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said investment spending for 2025-2029 would be reduced to around 165 billion euros from 180 billion for 2024-2028. "It's about costs, costs, and costs," Blume said. Volkswagen is in the midst of a 10 billion euro savings drive announced in December, with cuts of up to 4 billion euros due in 2024. The impact of some measures, like incentivising early retirement, would take time to take effect, Antlitz said. MARGINS AND SOFTWARE Volkswagen posted second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of 5.46 billion euros, down from 5.6 billion euros a year earlier. That was largely in line with analyst estimates after a cut in 2024 margin guidance in July to 6.5-7% from 7-7.5%. Volkswagen shares were down 1.6% at 1005 GMT. The operating margin at its core VW brand sank to 5% in the first half due to restructuring costs, while premium brand Audi's returns were hit by supply chain bottlenecks. "A (group) return of 6.3% after six months is too low," Antlitz said in a statement. "We will have to make significant cost-cutting efforts in the second half of the year and beyond in order to achieve our goals." Volkswagen said in July it planned to invest up to $5 billion in Rivian as part of a venture to share EV platforms and software, prompting analysts to question the future of the group's own software unit Cariad, which has been plagued by delays and losses since its inception. Story continues Investment in the unit would fall as a result of the Rivian venture, Blume said on Thursday. Cariad would drive Volkswagen's efforts in infotainment and connectivity, but the next-generation software platform would be built out of the joint venture, Antlitz added. ($1 = 0.9235 euros) (Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Michael Perry and Mark Potter) NC judge gets more than just paychecks from the state. He collects rent, too. The state Office of Administrative Hearings has been paying rent to one of its judges for its Triad-area office since losing space in a Guilford County courthouse a year ago. The office conducts hearings on proposed state rules, state personnel disputes and other administrative matters, and has four satellite offices across the state. All four had been in county buildings until last year, when Guilford County officials told OAH that commitments to other government agencies meant the agency could no longer rent space at the High Point courthouse. Guilford County gave the office notice on May 15, 2023, and said Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Dills and his law clerk had to be out by Aug. 1. Records show OAH Chief Administrative Judge Donald van der Vaart told Dills that he could relocate to the building that formerly housed Dills legal practice in downtown Winston-Salem. The annual lease began that day. With such short notice, the Chief asked me to house our offices in my former firm offices on a trial basis, Dills wrote in an email May 17, 2023, to an OAH staffer. We need to schedule moving furniture and equipment as soon as possible. Dills is charging the state the same rate as Guilford, $416.50 a month, for two offices with a combined 390 square feet, plus access to a conference room and a break room, the records show. That averages out to $12.82 per square foot, which was about $5 less than the $17.88 average square foot asking rate for office space in Winston-Salems central business district at that time, according to the commercial real estate investment and services firm CBRE. There are no state laws or regulations prohibiting agencies from leasing property from their employees, said Julia Hegele, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Administration, which includes the State Property Office. But officials there are not aware of any instances where thats happened, she added. The state allows individual agencies to negotiate leases that are $5,000 or less a year, or for no longer than three years. The annual lease struck with Dills is just under that, at $4,998. But the state requires agencies to notify the State Property Office to make sure there is no state-owned or leased property available. Agencies are also supposed to send a copy of the lease to the State Property Office. Hegele said officials there did not have a copy. We do not have a copy of the lease and we were not aware of this agreement, she said. Delayed answers Donald van der Vaart The News & Observer first inquired about the office move in March. Chief Hearings Clerk Maria Erwin said then she did not know the new office location and directed questions to John Evans, the senior administrative law judge at OAH. Evans declined to answer questions then, and did not provide requested records about the lease arrangement until Tuesday. By then, The Assembly, a second media outlet, had also requested them. The records Evans released of the leasing efforts do not show OAH interacting with the Department of Administration. Senior Administrative Law Judge John Evans Evans said in an email response to follow-up questions from The N&O that OAH opted to rent the space from Dills after finding it comparable to the rents the office paid to Guilford and the other counties. He said the lease is being renewed. Van der Vaart, a former secretary for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, could not be reached. He was appointed chief judge by N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby in July 2021. Evans was van der Vaarts chief deputy at DEQ. Dills was hired as an administrative judge in September 2021. He referred The N&Os questions to Evans. Dills is paid a $126,468 annual salary. The N&O visited Dills office building in March. Stenciling on a front door advertised the entrance to what had been Dills private practice, but did not mention that it is his state office. A Mexican restaurant takes up much of the first-floor space. Lease records indicate the state offices are on the top floor. The rent is less than the $790 monthly rent Mecklenburg County charges for space in its courthouse, but more than the $350 monthly rate Onslow County charges. Haywood County does not charge the state for office space, OAH records show. None of the street locations for the judges offices could be found on OAHs website. Though Newby appoints OAHs leader, the office is not under the state court system, which is run by the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. No such arrangement is used for state courts, a spokesman said. NCAOC has not and does not rent office space from its judges, spokesman Graham Wilson said in an email response. Administrative law judges also are not required to file annual statements of economic interest with the State Ethics Commission, said Executive Director Kathleen Edwards. The commission identifies real or potential conflicts of interest after reviewing officials assets and business interests with state government. Under the Dome Get the latest news about North Carolina politics from The News & Observer's award-winning team. Get the free digest sent to your inbox by signing up here. Some Charlotte-area elected officials say theyre frustrated about being left out of negotiations to overhaul the regions public transit system, creating friction that could stall progress on long-awaited projects. The Charlotte City Council is expected to vote in early September on the citys purchase of railroad tracks for the Red Line commuter rail project and in support of a ballot referendum for a sales tax increase to pay for transportation needs, according to a July presentation to some city leaders. The presentation indicates the City Council will discuss transit in open and closed meetings in August. But the presentation also included information on draft legislation creating a new transit authority for the Charlotte region, something that took City Council member Tariq Bokhari by surprise. Bokhari, one of only two council members in the meeting, spoke out on social media after seeing the presentation, claiming Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones told him previously governance would be figured out later. Bokhari told The Charlotte Observer elected officials are generally frustrated theyre not more involved in negotiations, too. Now, hes willing to make sure the upcoming votes dont go through without assurances elected officials will play a major role in crafting a new governance model for transit, he said. Charlotte-area state Sen. Vickie Sawyer called elected officials being left out a structural deficit in the plan, one that could further jeopardize vital support from a Republican-led state legislature already reluctant to give Charlotte what it needs to get its transportation plan in motion. Charlotte rail spending caps A map shows the current stops planned along the Red Line. Under the draft legislation presented at the July meeting attended by Bokhari and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, spending on light rail, commuter rail and streetcar projects would be capped at 40% of the new revenue. The presentation lists the Red Line and Silver Line, as well as expansions of the Gold Line and Blue Line, as rail projects. But, it notes funding availability will determine how those projects are prioritized and what the final mode of transport will be. A 40% cap could endanger the Silver Line to east Mecklenburg as currently planned, and some have floated bus rapid transit as an alternative, the Observer reported previously. Spending on buses including bus rapid transit, micro-transit and mobility hubs would be capped at 20% of revenue, leaving 40% of the new money for roads. Money allocated for rail that goes unspent could be rolled into bus projects. Road money would be distributed directly to the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburgs towns, based on local road miles, population and relative transit service, according to the presentation. Who will run Charlottes public transit? The proposal presented to Charlotte City Council members also includes an overhaul of how the regions transit system is managed. The Charlotte Area Transit System is currently a city of Charlotte department and also governed by the Metropolitan Transit Commission. The voting members of the commission are the mayors of Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville. Representatives from the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners and the North Carolina Board of Transportation also vote. It also includes five non-voting members representing local governments outside Mecklenburg and from the South Carolina Department of Transportation. But the draft legislation would create a new transit authority with 27 members, according to the presentation. Charlotte would appoint 12 members, including three people representing business interests. Mecklenburg County would also get 12 appointments, including six representatives from the countys towns. There would also be three seats filled at the state level one by the governor, one by the state House and one by the state Senate. The new authority could expand to include more jurisdictions, according to the presentation. Its problematic Bokhari said he likes almost everything that was presented, except the fact that a governance model has been put in. Right now the governance model is not going to fly with a lot of different parties, because its clear that a couple of bureaucrats put it together, he said. Bokhari said his support also hinges on the purchase of outer carrier bulletproof vests for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Hes been advocating for the cause for months, citing support from rank-and-file officers despite pushback from CMPD leadership. For a guy like me in a super minority, I have to find opportunities for leverage. And they have played in enough bad faith with me through this process that I have no problem making this the ultimatum, Bokhari, one of two Republicans on the City Council, said. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police said Thursday afternoon on Facebook CMPDs Human Resource Department notified officers they could now apply for outer carrier vests Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham, a member of the councils transportation committee, said Bokhari speaks for himself. But the District 2 Democrat also has concerns not everyone is on board with the plan presented beyond approving the Red Line purchase and putting a sales tax referendum on the ballot. I think its problematic, he said of elected officials not being more involved in governance negotiations. And I dare not speak for the council, but I think we just need to have a lot more conversations with regional lawmakers, i.e. the city, the small towns. Elected officials now need to be involved and not just the managers. Hes supportive of the Red Line purchase and a bill that talks specifically about the 1-cent sales tax. But any conversation that goes beyond that is conversations that have not included this council, and thats a problem for me, he said. It is the City Council that will decide the transit future for our city and the region, not managers of the small towns and even our city manager. The lawmakers would have to do that, and thats why Im saying that its important that we understand that we take this thing in stages and that we dont overreach right from the very start, he said. Elected officials raising concerns about transparency is significant because it could potentially impact our ability to close these deals, Council member Dimple Ajmera said in a statement to the Observer Friday. However, I dont believe these concerns are insurmountable if we address them proactively and thoroughly, she said. Ultimately, while these concerns about transparency present challenges, they also offer an opportunity to strengthen our process and potentially improve the deals we are negotiating. Ajmera, who raised questions about transparency during the debate over putting public money into Bank of America Stadium renovations, said shed like to see the full council get a detailed briefing on the transit plan and for all council members to have equal access to information about the negotiations. Transparency is not just about following legal requirements; it is about building trust and confidence with our constituents and ensuring we make decisions that truly reflect the needs of our communities. If there are aspects of the negotiations that have been less transparent than they should be, we need to address that promptly, she said. I fully recognize that some level of confidentiality may be necessary during complex negotiations to protect the citys interests. Our challenge is striking the right balance. The citys response In a statement, city of Charlotte spokesman Lawrence Corley said the managers of Mecklenburg County, Charlotte and the towns have been meeting along with outside counsel to discuss and develop draft language for potential legislation to get a sales tax referendum on the ballot. Jones regularly briefs a working group of three council members Ed Driggs, James Smuggie Mitchell and Dante Anderson and meets regularly with individual council members and discusses a number of items with them including mobility, he added. The draft language has not yet been shared with legislators but reflects guidance based on their public comments. There is not currently consensus from all municipalities on draft language and the members of the General Assembly will ultimately determine legislation and if any legislation was passed, Corley said. Can transit plan get through the NC Legislature? Sawyer, an Iredell County Republican, says shes stayed out of transit negotiations and hasnt looked at draft legislation reported on by news outlets because its not a finished product. But she also believes local elected officials need to be involved directly in transit negotiations because theyre the ones who are going to have to answer to the people. It is a political process, and keeping electeds out of the room is really a structural deficit of the deal from the beginning, she said. Sawyers District 37 includes parts of southern Iredell and northern Mecklenburg counties. The Republican is also one of three Senate transportation chairs. Earlier this summer, she worked with fellow Iredell Republican state Rep. Grey Mills to get legislation passed requiring Charlotte to get approval from affected counties, cities and towns if it acquires any portion of an existing railway line beyond Mecklenburg County. That was in response to concerns from Mooresville and Iredell County leaders about Charlotte getting tracks in their jurisdictions for the Red Line. The reason why I had to pass the legislation in the first place is that there are voices that are getting left out of the room, she said. Neither Saywer nor any other transportation chairs have received proposals for a sales tax increase, she said. The General Assembly must sign off on Charlottes referendum for a 1-cent sales tax increase before it can be voted on by the public. She doesnt think legislation on a sales tax increase will move at all this year. It could get a look in the 2025 legislative session, Sawyer said, but shes doubtful it could gain traction in the Republican caucus. Im just not hearing a lot of great things about it, she said. ... Its just very difficult to get our caucus behind a tax increase. Sawyer said that despite her questions shes still generally supportive of the Red Line. My concern that Im voicing is because I dont want to see it fail, she said. Timeline for Red Line purchase, sales tax referendum The Charlotte City Councils transportation committee will hold a meeting on the transit deal Wednesday, according to the citys presentation. Council members are also scheduled to get a closed session briefing on the plan Aug. 19 and discuss it at their Aug. 26 meeting. The council is scheduled to vote to authorize the purchase of the Red Line and on a resolution in support of the sales tax increase Sept. 3, with Sept. 9 as a closing date for the Red Line purchase, the presentation says. Graham said hes cautiously optimistic things will move forward. Im very excited about moving forward, but I am making sure that Im dotting Is and crossing Ts along the way, and also, more importantly, reading the fine print of anything that we do. The city needs to be in the drivers seat and not merely a passenger, he said. In our Reality Check stories, Charlotte Observer journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Read more. Story idea? RealityCheck@charlotteobserver.com. When you walk into Beverly McIvers art studio in Chapel Hill, the smell of oil paint fills the room and the eyes of her portraits follow your every move. Her studio is a sacred space. Sometimes she finds herself painting till the early-morning hours. Other times she enters when her emotions overwhelm her and she needs to unwind. On a corner lies a bed; behind it, paintings inspired by McIvers own struggles. In one self portrait her hair wraps around her eyes, her hands covering her face. On her palette, you may find a cherry pit in paint, whats left of a favorite snack to fuel on when shes focused on her work. To McIver, a 61-year-old Greensboro native and art professor at Duke University, art is a way to reach out and educate younger generations on the political state of the world. Her work has been featured in over 40 exhibitions and is in over 10 collections, including the N.C. Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institutions National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. All the rights that my generation and my mothers generation fought for are slowly being taken away from women by men, McIver said. Beverly McIver at her painting studio in Chapel Hill on Thursday, July 25, 2024. VOTE Black Beauty At a retirement party at the Museum of Art in Raleigh, McIver found herself in awe of a passerby: a nude woman covered in body paint from head to toe and proudly wearing an Afro a living art piece. McIver took her photo, knowing she had to paint her. After painting the woman several times, McIver made her the centerpiece of a painting for a National Artists For Democracy campaign organized by People For the American Way, to get out the vote and save democracy. Her piece, titled VOTE Black Beauty, depicts a red-headed Black figure covered in flowers standing with her arms at her sides. At the top is the word VOTE, with the T stylized as a uterus. A banner of the painting is on display at the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Durham. The government shouldnt be telling us what we can and cannot do with our bodies, McIver said. Thats horrific. If I could paint that a thousand times I would because Im screaming Young people, pay attention! McIver hopes the painting captures peoples attention for its beauty, but also that by taking a deeper look, people will understand what its saying about womens reproductive and voting rights. Though McIver doesnt have any of her own children, she takes issue with male lawmakers taking away the right of women to choose what they want to do with their bodies. Im afraid of people like [Mark Robinson] who are making big assumptions about women and blasting on TV that [women] should keep [their] skirts down, she said. What a disrespectful and horrible thing to say to any woman. Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina and Republican candidate for governor, has become known for controversial remarks, such as telling women who get abortions its their fault for not keeping their skirts down or pants up as The N&O previously reported. Complicated emotions Linda Dougherty, chief curator and senior curator of Contemporary Art at the N.C. Museum of Art, said McIver examines racial, gender and social identities through the lens of her own experiences as an African American female artist. The history of her family and her personal experiences allow McIver to contemplate and illustrate the complicated emotions that arise from these situations, such as depression, frustration, tender compassion and innocent joy, she said in a written statement. McIvers works can reveal as much about the artist as they do about the subjects portrayed therein, she added. One of McIvers pieces, titled Truly Grateful, is currently on view at the Museum of Art. McIver said she understands her fame as an artist is a privilege that many artists hope to enjoy one day, but that is why she dedicates her platform to amplifying political issues she deeply cares about. I feel honored that I can be a voice from the South, a meaningful voice that hopefully is making a difference and inspiring others, McIver said. Nearly one in five teenagers displays symptoms of smartphone addiction Nearly one in five teenagers aged between 16 and 18 suffers symptoms of smartphone addiction, researchers have found. Experts at Kings College London said fears that mobile devices were harmful were not just older people being hysterical and warned that young people were genuinely struggling because of their phones. Researchers surveyed pupils at five schools in London, the East Midlands and the South West and found that 18.7 per cent showed signs of problematic smartphone use (PSU) which included having difficulty concentrating in class, or feeling panicky without their device. Those who exhibited smartphone addiction symptoms were also twice as likely to experience anxiety and almost three times as likely to experience depression compared with those without a problem. Dr Nicola Kalk, a visiting senior lecturer at Kings institute of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience (IoPPN), said: There is some evidence that some teenagers are getting a bit addicted to their phones. And if this happens, it can really increase their anxiety and make them feel quite depressed. This is not old people being hysterical This is not old people being hysterical. There are people who are genuinely struggling with their smartphone use and could use incentives to reduce things. Many young people in our studies employed reduction strategies, showing they are already taking active steps to manage their smartphone use. They found silent mode, removing notifications and placing the phone in another room at bedtime as the most effective. The team said it was not sure whether phones were inherently addictive or provided a delivery device for addictive content. The study found that TikTok and Instagram usage was higher among 16- to 18-year-olds who reported PSU, compared with those who did not. There was little difference in usage of WhatsApp, general gaming or general internet usage. TikTok and Instagram usage was found to be higher among teenagers who said they depended on their phone - Vincent Besnault/The Image Bank RF The experts said the social media apps may be addictive because they trigger a phenomenon called variable reward reinforcement, in which scrolling through them is sometimes rewarding but not all the time. It relates to behavioural experiments where you have a pigeon pressing a lever for a treat, Dr Kalk added. If you give a treat every time a pigeon presses the lever, they wont keep pressing, but if the occurrence of treats are unpredictable, that pigeon is going to keep pressing that lever. You are scrolling through Instagram, and its boring, boring, boring, quite interesting, boring, boring, interesting, so there is that unpredictability in reward that keeps you going. Problematic phone use, which is not yet classed as an official addiction but has similar symptoms, includes behaviours such as feeling upset when a phone is unavailable, or using the phone to the detriment of other enjoyable or meaningful activities. Isolated from friends and family Teenagers reported that their phones had sometimes left them isolated from friends and family and made it harder to talk to people. The research disclosed that one in eight young people wanted help to reduce their smartphone use. A second study, on 13- to 16-year-olds, showed that increases in problematic phone use were linked to increases in self-reported anxiety, depression and insomnia. Nearly nine in 10 of the younger group reported that they had attempted at least one strategy to limit their smartphone use, including putting it on silent or turning off notifications. Huge concern for parents and carers Prof Ben Carter, a professor of medical statistics at Kings IoPPN and the first author of both studies, said: Adolescent smartphone use is a huge concern for parents and carers. We found that problematic smartphone use was linked with anxiety, depression and insomnia across two separate adolescent age groups using two different research methods. By revealing the link between problematic use of smartphones and poorer mental health, and demonstrating that young people are aware of this problem and are eager to manage their use, these studies highlight the need for evidence-based interventions to help adolescents struggling with difficult behaviours around their smartphone use. The study is the first to distinguish between screen time and smartphone use. The team found increased screen time was not associated with anxiety or depression in 16- to 18-year-olds, although did directly link to increased insomnia. The research was published in the journals Acta Paediatrica and BMJ Mental Health. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Nearly one year on, the mental toll of the deadly Lahaina wildfire lingers Lahaina, Hawaii Almost one year after the horrific wildfire that tore through the historic Maui town of Lahaina and claimed 101 lives, the physical scars remain. But what isn't often seen is the mental toll it took on the community. "Just animosity, the energy, the negative energy, it's there," Kiha Kaina told CBS News. Kaina says his "downward spiral" began when his father's body was discovered in the ruins. "He was found right outside the Maui outlet mall, right on Front Street in his truck," Kaina said. "And he had his little dog with him." It's why remaining "Lahaina strong" can be so elusive. "I've had things sneak up on me and hit me a little differently for a guy who was always positive about life," Kaina said. "It put me in a little bit of a scary area where I would feel myself falling into the trap of suicidal thoughts." In a June survey from the Hawaii State Rural Health Association, 71% of Maui County respondents who were directly impacted by the fires said they have since had to cut back on food and groceries for personal financial reasons. The survey found that most residents of Maui were more worried than hopeful about the future. In the days after the Lahaina fire broke out on Aug. 8, 2023, CBS News first documented the deadly evacuation. Dozens of burned-out cars lined Lahaina's historic Front Street as desperate residents and tourists attempted to flee. Today those cars are gone, but much of Front Street remains frozen in time. "It's just a daily reminder of the trauma," said John Oliver, public health program manager for the Hawaii State Department of Health, an agency that ensures people like Lynette Chun are receiving access to mental health services. "The fire devastated me andmy mind was fractured," Chun said. Oliver described the crisis created by the fire as "unprecedented." "What we're seeing is grief," Oliver said. "There's uncertainty, there's anxiety, there's depression, we have whole families that are impacted." When Lahaina burned, it was not just a community that was lost, it was Hawaii's ancient capital, its rich history and a way of life passed down from generations. Before the fire, about 12,000 people resided in Lahaina. Of those, 10% have sought help for mental health, per the Hawaii Stare Department of Health. Oliver estimates that number could soon reach around 30%. While there are signs of progress, including some businesses that were undamaged now reopening, much of downtown is still a landscape marked by trauma. "The people of Lahaina must come back," Oliver said. "I think that is what everybody wants. Lahaina is not Lahaina without the people." Kaina said he finally found the help he needed. "I have a little baby, that was my savior," Kaina disclosed. "She was the reason why I think I held firm, I held tight and I'm still here." Out of the fury that ripped so much of Lahaina apart, it has been strong bonds that are keeping this community together. Man confesses to the murder of his best friend: "He was in a panic - I was in a panic." Estranged husband kidnaps his wife at gunpoint How Stimulating Our Microcirculation Can Have Macro Health Effects Getty Images Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing back against DTE Energys proposed $456.4 million revenue increase, filing testimony with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) that argues the requested increase is excessive and unnecessary. A statement released by the Michigan Department of Attorney General said the companys requested rate increase would result in a 10% hike for residential customers, with Nessel arguing DTE should instead receive a $139.5 million annual increase, representing a 2.5% increase for residential customer rates. DTE is one of the states largest energy providers, selling electricity to approximately 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and natural gas to 1.3 million customers across the state. Nessel also requested the company reprioritize customer dollars toward vegetation management and tree trimming, saying these options are proven to be more effective at reducing outages than more expensive, capital-intensive options proposed by DTE. The company has been repeatedly criticized for poor reliability and lengthy outages. DTE spokesperson Jill Wilmot said tree-trimming remains an important part of the companys four-point plan for reducing power outages by 30% and cutting outage time in half over the next five years. Wilmot said the requested rate case dollars would be used to accelerate the deployment of technology and the companys transition to a smart grid, upgrade existing infrastructure with equipment like stronger poles and fiberglass crossarms to better withstand extreme weather, rebuild significant portions of the grid and continue to trim trees around equipment and power lines. The increased revenue would also be used to convert the Belle River coal-fired power plant to natural gas, enabling the retirement of two of the units of the coal-fired Monroe Power Plant in 2028 and to accelerate the development of energy storage by building the newly approved Trenton Energy Center, Wilmot said. Nessel also raised concerns about some of the costs listed for recovery in the companys rate request. A deep dive into DTEs latest electric rate case reveals a disturbing pattern of exaggerated projections and unsubstantiated projects that clearly prioritize corporate interests over customer benefits, Nessel said in a statement. DTE is once again seeking MPSC approval to bill its customers for corporate jet travel by executives on top of these inflated costs. Such exorbitant expenditures not only inflate customers bills but also undermine DTEs corporate pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These unnecessary costs directly contribute to rising utility bills, Nessel said, referencing private jet travel expenses included in the companys projected expenses as part of its justification for a proposed revenue increase. The costs were also included as part of the companys ongoing gas rate case. Wilmot acknowledged the inclusion of the travel expenses in the rate case, saying a fraction of the costs for limited air travel for business-appropriate needs including industry association meetings, which provide best practices and information sharing to run best-in-class energy companies, as well as meetings necessary to attract investment dollars into Michigan were included in the initial DTE rate request. On Wednesday, community advocates and organizers with We the People Michigan hosted a gathering outside DTE headquarters in Detroit, calling for the MPSC to host a hearing in Detroit, rather than its office in Lansing, and to reject DTEs requested rate hike. Pontiac City Councilperson Mikal Goodman emphasized the impact that DTEs lengthy outages are having on his residents. In a state where we have communities with public power, with solid energy infrastructure, it is deeply unconscionable that we have an energy company that has a monopoly in our state that is doing really nothing to improve their system and improve their services for the people of Michigan. Especially my residents who are heavily Black and Brown and working class, who are in need. Goodman said. When we lose power for two weeks its not just a matter of losing power, but were losing weeks, if not an entire month worth of food that cannot be replaced with the money that they have, Goodman said, pointing to other residents who are heavily impacted due to their use of medical devices that must maintain power. If DTE cannot reliably supply that power, consumers need to ask whether the company deserves to receive more money and charge more without providing actionable services, Goodman said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST U.S. President Biden meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu at the White House in Washington WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden will speak by phone on Thursday, the White House said, following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the Iranian capital, earlier this week. The assassination drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war. Iran and Hamas have blamed Haniyeh's killing on Israel, which has neither denied nor confirmed a role in the assassination. Israel did, however, confirm that it killed a senior commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in Beirut on Tuesday. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan offered little insight into how Haniyeh's death could affect the Gaza war. "It is too soon to tell what the impact of his death will have on negotiations (for a ceasefire deal in Gaza), and so I'm not going to speculate on that, especially in light of the broader dynamics and set of events unfolding in the region right now," Sullivan said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Ismail Shakil, Stephanie Kelly and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Leslie Adler) Iraqi and Iranian clerics and officials hold a vigil in Najaf following the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh (portrait) on Aug. 1, 2024. Credit - Qassem al-KaabiAFP/Getty Images There is little doubt that Israel was behind the audacious assassination of Hamas hostage-deal negotiator and political head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. By deliberately maximizing Tehrans embarrassmentHaniyeh was killed only hours after the inauguration of Irans new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkianthe Israeli government also maximized the likelihood of Iranian retaliation. That isat least in the view of a former Deputy Head of the Israeli National Security Councilbecause Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to spark a larger war and drag the U.S. into it. Though Israel itself would pay a high price in a region-wide war, it would serve Netanyahus interests in numerous ways. Firstly, Haniyehs assassination kills the prospect of an imminent ceasefire deal. Netanyahu has consistently opposed a deal that would end the war. The Israeli daily Haaretz revealed that, in prior rounds of negotiations, he strategically leaked sensitive information to the media at crucial moments to sabotage talks. As President Biden told TIME when asked whether Netanyahu was prolonging the war for the sake of his political career, There is every reason to draw that conclusion. Netanyahu knows that a hostage deal will collapse his government and end his reign as Prime Minister. It would also likely mean the expedition of his ongoing corruption trial, which may very well land him in jail. Nothing kills these talks more effectively than ending the life of the negotiator on the other side of the table. Secondly, Haniyehs killing may corner a future President Kamala Harris. While the Biden Administration has consistently blamed Hamas for the failure to reach a deal, there are signs Harris could take a different approach to Bidens near-complete deference to Israel. As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done, she said after he visited Washington last week, pinning the blame for the lack of progress at his feet. Her cold body language, her expression of empathy for the suffering of Palestinians, and her willingness to publicly point to Israels obfuscation were hard for Netanyahu to miss. Read More: How Gaza Policy Could Change With Harris Thirdly, killing Haniyeh also killed another line of potential negotiation: between the U.S. and Iran. The surprise election of Pezeshkianwho campaigned on a platform of restarting talks with the U.S.created a small window for renewed diplomacy. But the escalation sparked by the assassination has severely undercut Pezeshkians prospects of creating political space in Tehran for such an outreach. This is particularly true since Tehran believes that Israel acted with the Biden Administrations blessing. In a letter to the President of the U.N. Security Council, Irans U.N. ambassador wrote that the attack could not have occurred without the authorization and intelligence support of the United States. Given Israels longstanding opposition to improved U.S.-Iran relations, choosing to assassinate Haniyeh around Pezeshkians inauguration is unlikely a coincidence. Indeed, Netanyahu has for two decades sought to get the U.S. to go to war with Iran. The last four American Presidents have all at various times faced pressure from Israel to attack Iran. Though much focus has been on Irans nuclear program, the desire for a direct U.S. attack goes deeper than uranium enrichment. Israel sees Iran as threatening a regional arrangement that otherwise provides Israel with maximum maneuverability, including the ability to strike Syria and Lebanon with almost complete impunity. A nuclear deal that prevents Iran from building a bomb would not shift the regional balance away from Iran, the Israelis believe. In fact, through the sanctions relief that Iran was promised under Obamas nuclear deal, Irans conventional capabilities would probably grow. Obamas rapprochement with Iran edged the regional balance of power away from the Persian Gulf states and Israel. That balance of power cannot be sustained by Israels military capacity alone. It requires severe economic sanctions and American military action. Israels apparent attack appears designed to elicit an Iranian response, one that could easily spiral into a larger war that draws in the U.S. In April, the Biden Administration prevented an uncontrollable escalation by helping choreograph an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel following Israels bombing of Irans consulate in Damascus on April 1. Today the U.S. can still stop the region from descending into chaos, but only if it is willing to put clear and public red lines in front of Netanyahu. Contact us at letters@time.com. The Economic Development Board (EDB) of Mauritius will be conducting a financial services promotional campaign in India, notably in Mumbai, Ahmedabad GIFT City, Coimbatore and Chennai in August. The Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Hon. Soomilduth Bholah will lead the delegation comprising senior officials from his Ministry, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Economic Development Board of Mauritius. The ties between Mauritius and India are not merely confined to geographical proximity. They are deeply rooted in historical, cultural, and economic bonds that have withstood the test of time. Bilateral relations have constantly demonstrated commitment to fostering mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation. India has been one of the largest trading partners of Mauritius since 2005. Trade between India and Mauritius has grown by 132% over the past 17 years. Mauritius and India signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) in 2021. To note that CECPA is the first trade agreement signed by India with an African country. Mauritius remains the biggest source of cumulative FDI in India, accounting for an estimated 25% of total FDI into India during the period April 2000 to March 2024. The core objectives of this mission are to: further consolidate Mauritius as a platform of choice for investments into Africa explore avenues of collaboration for the India-Africa Corridor renew the confidence of the Indian investors community and to sustain the momentum following concrete interests and leads for Africa bound investments generated from a previous mission conducted in March 2024; and re-assert the position of the Mauritius IFC as the preferred cross-border platform. During the mission, the delegation will showcase the potential of Mauritius IFC offers as an investment hub to the Indian investing community. There will be networking sessions and one-to-one meetings with potential investors including law firms, fund and asset managers and wealth managers. It is also expected that Hon. Minister Bholah will deliver a keynote address at the Elektrotec 2024, one of the largest industrial electronics sector trade events in Coimbatore, India. In addition, the EDB will make a presentation on the various business offerings of the jurisdiction and encourage the audience to consider Mauritius as the preferred trade and investment conduit for Africa and the globe. Media events have been scheduled to further showcase Mauritius as a jurisdiction of certainty, predictability and substance. Story continues Explore the unique attributes and characteristics of Mauritius as a tax-efficient offshore finance hub and investment destination for financial services "We want to be the gateway for Africa-India investment flow" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) speaks at the a Security Cabinet meeting. Israel's government is preparing for a retaliatory strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon following the devastating rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where at least 12 children were killed on Saturday. Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO/dpa Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran and its proxy groups in the Middle East against attacking Israel. "We will demand a high price for any act of aggression against us, wherever it may come from," he said on Thursday at a briefing with commanders from the home front, according to his office. Israel is in a state of maximum readiness for any eventuality, he added. This applies to both defence and possible attack options. Following the targeted killing Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian militant Islamist Hamas group on Wednesday in Tehran, Iran and Hamas threatened Israel with retaliation. Hamas says its Israel was behind the Haniyeh attack, but the Israeli government has not yet commented on this. The news of Haniyeh's killing came just a few hours after an Israeli air strike on a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut, in which, Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed. Both Israel and Hezbollah confirmed his death. The Shia militia, which is allied with Iran, is also threatening to retaliate. A view of a destroyed building that was targeted by an Israeli drone in Beirut's southern suburb. The Israeli military said Tuesday it has carried out a "targeted attack" on a commander of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Beirut. The explosion occurred three days after a deadly rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Marwan Naamani/dpa LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is the latest leader to endorse a plan to exempt tips from the federal income tax, he tells 8 News Now. Nevadans in the service industry work hard to provide exemplary service to customers and to provide a great quality of life for their families and they deserve to keep every tip theyve earned, Lombardo said. I support a federal ban on taxing tips, and I look forward to Nevadans benefitting from keeping more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets. Under current federal law, employees who make tips whether from cash, card or check must include the tipped amount when calculating their taxes. Nevada has no state income tax. Former President Donald Trump floated the No Tax on Tips idea during a June 9 rally in Las Vegas. In July, Nevada Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen signed on to a bi-partisan plan in the Senate to exempt tipped wages from the federal income tax. Nevada Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford and Susie Lee are co-sponsors of the House version of the bill. Culinary Union Local 226 first called the idea a stunt but its leadership has since called on Nevadas delegation to support the proposal in Congress. Nevada has the highest concentration of tipped workers in the United States, the Associated Press reported. Those against the proposal, including Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, worry the exemption would halt efforts to increase the national minimum wage, among other things, which sits at $7.25. Opponents also caution it would only affect higher-income tip earners. According to the IRS, only Congress can amend the countrys tax policy. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. News outlets sue over law making it illegal to be within 25-foot buffer zone of working police Brandon Bell/Getty Images Six news organizations sued the state of Louisiana on Wednesday in an attempt to strike down the states new law that makes it a criminal offense to knowingly or intentionally come within 25 feet of a working police officer after being ordered or asked to step back. Gov. Jeff Landry signed Act 259 into law in May. Violators could be fined up to $500, face up two months in prison or both. The lawsuit, filed in the Middle District Court of Louisiana, alleges that the new law is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment rights of journalists and others throughout the state. Plaintiffs in the case, which includes Verite News, say that making journalists stay at least 25 feet away from police officers forces them to choose between committing a crime or forgoing newsgathering. We believe that this law is an unconstitutional impediment to the gathering of news and to the peoples right to observe and document police interactions with citizens, said Terry Baquet, editor-in-chief of Verite News. The arbitrary buffer zone in the law will be difficult to establish in real time and is open to being abused as a means to intimidate observers who are not interfering or hindering the police in their duties. The news organizations say the law would prevent journalists from covering aspects of stories essential to the publics right to know, such as being so far away that they cant observe or film officers interacting with protesters or record audio of newsworthy events where officers are present. Without audio, video may give the public a misleading or incomplete understanding of an event, the complaint says. When an officer is making an arrest, for instance, Plaintiffs reporters would not be able to hear at 25 feet whether an officer identified themselves as law enforcement or provided Miranda warnings. The other plaintiffs in the case, Gannett, Gray Local Media,, Nexstar Media, Scripps Media and Tegna, own newspapers and television stations throughout Louisiana. The plaintiffs are represented by the Washington-based legal group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and New Orleans attorneys Scott Sternberg and Suzanne Montero. Louisianas Attorney General Liz Murrill, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Robert Hodges and East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore were named as defendants in the suit. State Police spokesman Capt. Nick Manale declined to comment on the suit, saying the agency does not comment on pending litigation and citing Verite News position as an opposing party. Representatives for Moore and Murrill did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The plaintiffs in the suit ask that the Middle District Court prohibit the state from enforcing the law until the case can be heard. They are also asking for the judge to declare that the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The law takes effect Aug. 1, unless a judge grants the injunction that the plaintiffs request. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. When the Fresno City Council renamed a 10-mile stretch of Fresno streets to honor a farmworker icon, it also marked the start of a campaign to designate a cultural arts district for the citys southeast sector. The future of Cesar Chavez Boulevard was unveiled last Friday when Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Miguel Arias were joined by Andres Chavez, grandson of United Farm Workers founder Cesar E. Chavez, to celebrate the end of a three-decade effort to rename city portions of Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Avenue and California Avenue. The council allocated more than $1 million dollars to repave the Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard corridor and to make it a cultural art district. To make sure it remains a good, solid, modern street, Arias said. A woman holds up a copy of the Cesar Chavez Boulevard street sign during a July 26, 2024 celebration in southeast Fresno. Establishing a cultural arts district will allow for future events and cultural festivals that retain and honor the Latino culture, the campesino history and the legacy of Cesar Chavez, Arias said. The Cultural Arts District will be focused on southeast Fresno from First Street eastward to Peach Avenue, according to Arias. Luis Chavez said he envisions Cesar Chavez Boulevard as an educational opportunity to explain to future generations of children what the struggle was and how they got there. Because it wasnt easy, and its been through the hard work of a lot of people in this room in our community. A lot of them have passed away and they didnt get to a chance to see (the street signs), Luis Chavez said. Street name change remains controversial In March 2023 the council voted 6-1 to rename the streets 32 years after a similar effort was approved and then rejected by the council and mayor following public outcry. There has been a lot of public debate regarding the name change. Fresno City Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Miguel Arias presented Venancio Gaona with a portrait during the July 26, 2024 celebration in southeast Fresno. Its been 11,244 days (work began in October 1993) since the community achieved the renaming of Cesar Chavez Boulevard, before it was yanked away from them, said Arias. Ever since we reestablished that more than a year ago, theyve met by legal challenges by the agriculture farm company interest each step of the way. We have won every court decision. I anticipate nothing different in the August hearing, Arias said. A Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled in March in favor of the city in a lawsuit by 1 Community Compact, an informal coalition of business owners and residents who opposed the change. They challenged the council process, saying residents and business owners were not consulted in time about the name change. A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Aug. 1. A trial on the lawsuit is scheduled for March 2025. Arias said the City of Fresno clearly has all legal authority to name its public streets. We follow the process that we follow for every other street naming. Traffic flies on Cesar Chavez Boulevard near Winery Avenue in southeast Fresno. Cesar Chavez and the UFW farmworker movement have origins on these corridors that are clearly established in our history books and in our history as a city, Arias said. Californias fifth-largest city, became the first and only community in the San Joaquin Valley the heart of the United Farmworkers movement to name a street after Cesar E. Chavez, who died in 1993 and organized farmworkers in California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Ohio and New York. Its an honor, and its wonderful that we recognize one of our own, an American hero, a person that did a lot of work to improve working conditions for farm workers, said Jose Leon Barraza, CEO of the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association (SEFCEDA). As we implement name changes along the corridor, we have to have better communication with all business owners, because there has been, and I say with a lot of respect, some criticism that there hasnt been enough interaction with everybody. Mariachi Nuevo Rubi of Visalia performed at the July 26, 2024 celebration of Cesar Chavez Boulevard in southeast Fresno. Thats what the business owners, some business owners, are telling me, said Barraza, whose organization works with business owners in southeast Fresno. I think thats a little bit of an oversight, but I believe that whatever omissions occurred, we have to work hard at fixing that and moving forward with a proposal or a concept of beautifying the area and making us feel proud. A statue of the UFW founder is a possibility Barraza said his organization is working with Luis Chavez in designating the area as a cultural arts district and exploring the possibility of creating a cultural arts center as well as a roundabout on Cedar Avenue and Cesar Chavez Boulevard and possibly a statue of Chavez. But there are a lot of proposals, projects that that were hoping to accomplish now, Barraza said. Albert Alvarez of the Fresno Bombs Car Club showed up with his 1937 Plymouth at the July 26, 2024 celebration of Cesar Chavez Boulevard in southeast Fresno. Luis Chavez said when constituents have asked him why it was so important to him his response is its not about just a sign, its about honoring an individual that fought and advocated for the most vulnerable in our community. Its about what he stood for. Its about making sure that farmworkers have access to restroom breaks, said the councilmember. Humberto Gamez, who worked 25 years with Cesar Chavez, said seeing the name of Cesar Chavez on a main street of Fresno means a lot, but its just the beginning. Gamez, a retired union worker, said it was in Fresno County where we established the first strikes and negotiated the first contacts. We honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez by not only praising the efforts and the work that he did will pass, but what were going to do in the future, said Emilio Huerta, who was representing his mother Dolores Huerta at the unveiling. When we look at that sign, I hope that it reminds each and every one of you that we have another 30-year battle in front of us. Participants at the July 26, 2024 celebration of Cesar Chavez Boulevard in southeast Fresno received a commemorative pin. NJ residents forced to stay indoors after town plagued by disgusting smell of rotting fish: You cant breathe Theres something fishy in this New Jersey town. Residents of Osborn Island in Little Egg Harbor have been forced to remain inside their homes as the pungent smell of rotting fish overwhelms the town. Thousands of dead fish are floating up into a lagoon in the area. Locals are unable to see the water because there are so many of the stinking carcasses there. People on Osborn Island in Little Egg Harbor have been forced to remain in their homes as the pungent stink of rotting fish has overwhelmed the town its shore-ly cut into their summer fun. FOX 5 NY Its disgusting, it is the worst smell in my entire life. It even goes inside the house. I burned every candle I could possibly find and now Im in my infusers, Debbie Wuss, who lives near the lagoon, told CBS News. Well, if you were ever at the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, its probably about 10 times worse, Joseph DiGrande told FOX 29 Philadelphia. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told CBS News that the agency is aware of the fish mortality and determined that poor water quality resulting from warmer temperatures and low dissolved oxygen in the lagoon caused the wave of deaths. Health officials warn against swimming in the infested waters. The agency claimed that this was an isolated event, and most of the dead fish will naturally be removed from the lagoon by the tides, or by tide flow, but residents say its become an ongoing issue. Thousands of dead fish are floating up in one lagoon, filling the area to the point that onlookers cant see the water. FOX 5 NY DiGrande moved to the beach town in 2019 and said that the rotten situation has been happening two to three times a year for three years now. Here we go again. We wait all summer to enjoy our home on the water, and youre literally locked in the house for two weeks, DiGrande said. Its definitely unhealthy. You cant go outside. You cant breathe. You really cant stay outside more than 10 minutes. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told CBS News that the agency is aware of the fish mortality and determined that poor water quality resulting from warmer temperatures and low dissolved oxygen in the lagoon caused the wave of deaths. FOX 5 NY The dead fish are also attracting large flocks of seagulls that are wreaking havoc and leaking waste throughout the town. Its uncomfortable. You dont really want to spend time outside. People normally are coming down here for the summers and theyre swimming, but you cant do that right now, Fin Handel said to CBS News. And unfortunately for those in New Jersey, Osborn Island isnt the only town with disgusting conditions ruining their summer. High levels of fecal bacteria were recently found in the water at Beachwood Beach West in the Jersey Shore borough of Beachwood, leading officials to ban swimming for the rest of the summer. The Ocean County beach had four straight weeks of high fecal bacteria readings by the Ocean County Health Department leading up to the closure. Whenever we get heavy rain, between like spring and summer, it just ends up having more of the deposit from the goose poop, which causes the pH of the water to go pretty high, Beachwood resident Paul Allocco told News12 New Jersey. No link between US-Russia prisoner swap and war in Ukraine, Sullivan says The negotiations between the U.S. and Russia about prisoner swaps and any potential talks over Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine are not related, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a briefing on Aug. 1. Sullivan's statement came after a major prisoner exchange that involved 26 people from seven countries the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus. Eight of them, including convicted Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, were returned to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. When asked if such interactions with Moscow lay the groundwork for talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, Sullivan said that the White House does not see a link there. "We see those operating on the separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange. The other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in that kind of diplomacy," Sullivan said. As Russia's war stretches into its third year, Kyiv has said it aims to invite a Russian representative to the second peace summit to present a peace plan based on President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula and international input. No official invitation has been sent so far, but the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already said that Moscow is not planning to participate in the event without an agenda "that would suit" Russia. Speaking a day ahead of the Switzerland summit, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that as a condition for peace negotiations, Ukraine must fully withdraw from four partially occupied regions that Moscow illegally annexed in 2022. Kyiv rejected this demand. Read also: Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The state is moving to eliminate vehicle emissions testing in Wake, Durham, Johnston and 15 other counties, but first it needs approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The change would mean that only residents of Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, the states largest city, would still be required to have annual emissions inspections for their cars and trucks. The states proposal would reduce the number of vehicles tested each year in Mecklenburg until the program is eventually phased out in about 2037. Cars and trucks in all 100 counties would still be required to get annual safety inspections when their registration is renewed with the Division of Motor Vehicles. The fee for a standard safety inspection is $13.60. The combined safety and emissions inspection costs $30. The N.C. Division of Air Quality says emissions inspections are no longer needed to help the state comply with federal air quality standards. Cars and the fuels they burn have become much cleaner, the agency says, producing far less pollution. Newer models also have onboard diagnostics that tell drivers if their emissions systems need repairs, which is the function of inspections. North Carolinas emissions inspections program began in 1982 and was eventually expanded to 48 of the states 100 counties. The goal was to identify vehicles with unusually high emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides that cause ozone, the main ingredient of smog. In recent years, the effort has been scaled back as air quality has improved. The EPA allowed the state to end inspections in 26 counties in 2019, and three more Lee, Onslow and Rockingham in 2022. Last fall, the General Assembly authorized the state to eliminate inspections in 18 of the remaining 19 counties through the state budget. The state expects to submit its proposal to the EPA this fall and is seeking public feedback through Sept. 4. The EPA would have up to 18 months to review the states proposal. Only when and if it approves will the inspection requirement be dropped. In the meantime, emissions inspections remain in place in the 18 counties: Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Union and Wake. Vehicles that are more than 20 years old are exempt, as are ones less than three years old, as long as they have less than 70,000 miles on the odometer. Under the states proposal, inspections would still be required in Mecklenburg County for vehicles that are less than 20 years old but earlier than the 2017 model year. That window would grow smaller every year until it closes in about 2037. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is conducting successor programs with implications that he has his 11-year-old daughter in mind "as of now" to be his successor, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a closed-door briefing to the members of the National Assembly on Monday. Curiosity over Kim Jong Un's preteen daughter, as known as Kim Ju Ae in the last two years, has been accumulating since she first accompanied him holding hands to the ICBM test launch site in November 2022 wearing a white padded jacket and bright red flat shoes. She appeared again three months later at the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the army. She walked the red carpet with Kim while dressed in a formal long black coat highlighted by a fur scarf and beret. The father-daughter duo proudly received military salutes while more than a dozen high-level North Korean officials in full uniforms tagged behind. PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, reviews an honor guard with his daughter, center left, and his wife Ri Sol Ju during a military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP,FILE) MORE: Kim Jong Un's daughter tags along to missile launch, again raising questions about succession plans "Dressing up in dark, extravagant clothes makes her look like a mini version of Kim Jong Un, and that is exactly what the regime wants people to see of her," Professor Jeon Young Sun of Konkuk University told ABC News. "The regime is deliberately differentiating her from other kids her age, to show that her ancestry is of the revered Kim leadership." Since her first appearance in 2022, Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's state newspaper, reported her whereabouts at least 28 times. Kim Ju Ae was spotted at missile launch sites, military parades and drills most of the time, including rare tag-along to factories and city construction sites. "Important to note that she was never depicted at a place that was child-like, never somewhere an ordinary father would take his 10-year-old daughter to," Professor Andrei Lankov of Kukmin University told ABC News. "The regime doesn't want her to look like a child, she should look like an emerging boss. Although it is a bit early to say for sure, if she is to become the leader, she could say that she spent all her childhood visiting military facilities." Until now, analysts in Seoul have been skeptical of the speculation that Kim's 11-year-old daughter may become the next North Korean leader, given that North Korea is a strongly male-centered society. Kim Ju Ae's frequent public appearances have not only got analysts scratching their heads but also the public inside the hermit kingdom. A North Korean defector who fled to the South last October told ABC News that the public opinion was not favorable to the young fancy daughter where he came from. "When I first saw Kim Ju Ae in the news, from head to toe she was what we call 'impure element' to the society," Mincheol Lee told ABC News referring to Kim Ju Ae's imported designer clothes and long hair when she appeared in the papers. "I was angry to see that she could dress up like she wanted to because she was the leader's daughter while a farmer's son like myself had to follow the strict suppression from the People's Party," referring to North Korea's strict social policies on people's outfits and hairstyles especially imposed upon the younger generations. PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Premier Kim Tok Hun visit a flood-affected area near the border with China, in North Pyongan Province in this undated photo released July 31, 2024 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters) MORE: Seoul's intelligence reveals new facts about North Korean leader's daughter According to the NIS, the North Korean regime is adjusting how often the young Kim Ju Ae appears in public in certain events -- mostly at sensitive militaristic occasions and less at economy-related matter -- and to what degree she should be propagandized to the people. Based on updated intelligence the spy agency confirmed that they now see Pyongyang as planning the succession program for real. "Kim Jong Un had a difficult time consolidating his power and position due to his father the late leader Kim Jong Il's early passing and consequently getting hasty successor lessons," Cheong Seong Chang, director of Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy at Seoul-based Sejong Institute, whose analysis pointed to Kim Ju Ae to be the successor from her first appearance, told to ABC News. "Kim Jong Un's unfavorable health conditions may be the background for beginning the successor program so early." The spy agency has not completely ruled out the possibility of a change in successor, based on the fact that North Korea did not finalize their announcement on the successor and the chance of having another undisclosed sibling. PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un steps off a train during a visit to a flood-affected area near the border with China, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea, in this undated photo released July 31, 2024 by the Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters) "South Korean authorities have speculated for a long time that there is an elder son among Kim Jong Un's children, but they found no existing evidence to back the guess, and have recently turned prudent," Cheong said. The spy agency also updated on Kim Jong Un's health. Kim is estimated to weigh about 300 pounds and is believed to be at high risk for heart disease, the agency said. The agency estimates that his body mass index is in the mid-40s, far exceeding the normal standard of 25. It is understood that this is due to stress, cigarettes and alcohol, the agency said. If his current health condition is not improved, the possibility of cardiovascular disease, which is a family history, is being closely monitored, the agency said. Seoul's NIS also reported that they have detected indications that North Korean officials are looking for new drugs to treat Kim. North Korean leader trains daughter to become successor, says intelligence service originally appeared on abcnews.go.com North Shore man regains voice after historic surgery Ten years ago, Marty Kedian got some bad news. Doctors diagnosed the Haverhill man with laryngeal cancer, a tumor that grows on what is commonly known as the voice box. Over the years, as he underwent treatment, Kedians voice shrunk to a whisper and then, last year, to no voice at all. My only option in Massachusetts was a total laryngectomy, he said. I said to my wife, Im not doing that. Kedians reluctance to undergo that surgery is understandable. A laryngectomy would get rid of the cancer but at the expense of his voice forever. And so Kedian signed on to an experimental surgery something thats only been done twice before in the U.S. Last February, doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, removed Kedians cancerous larynx and replaced it with the larynx of a donor. And after 18 months of living in Arizona, Kedian and his wife, Gina DeFeudis, returned to Massachusetts. Thursday, friends and family threw a welcome home party at the Steeple Hall at Mission Oak Grill in Newburyport. They were treated to Kedian talking. Its been a journey, he said. Its been more than a journey. Its been an adventure. An adventure thats left Kedian determined to see that others have an opportunity to get the same surgery he had. Everybody should have a voice, he said. Nobody should be left without a voice. Laryngeal cancer is considered rare and incidence in the United States has dropped dramatically over the last 30 years largely, the American Cancer Society reports because fewer people are smoking. Still, the Society estimates 12,650 Americans will develop laryngeal cancer in 2024. About a third will not survive. Kedians transplant left him cancer-free. However, he is still dealing with a tracheostomy tube but anticipates it could be removed soon. That would mark the first time in five years hed be free of the trach, which assists with breathing. I pray for the people who have them, he said. Its not a good way to go through life. Kedian said his first priority is to spend time with family and friends most especially his young granddaughter, Charlotte. He is looking forward to reading books with her. Someday, Kedian and his wife hope to meet the family of the person who donated the larynx. Its such a tremendous gift theyve given us, said DeFeudis. I cant imagine what theyve gone through. But just knowing the donor is living on in Marty... I hope they can take some comfort in that. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) The Nevada Attorney Generals Office said the real estate tech firm RealPage, which has faced accusations of price-fixing rents in multiple states, is on its radar but wouldnt say if it was investigating corporate landlords that use the software. A ProPublica investigation in 2022 found rental pricing software by RealPage used algorithms, which collect lease transaction data and advertised rates, to effectively tell landlords the highest rent an apartment applicant is able to pay, and then charge it. There have been more than 30 lawsuits nationwide alleging that RealPage has colluded with corporate landlords to inflate rent prices, according to Stateline. Accountable.US, a center-left watchdog group, sent letters to nine attorneys general offices around the country since 2023 warning there might be price-fixing in their rental markets. Nevada wasnt one of them. The group said in an email with Nevada Current that of the six publicly traded property management companies tied to RealPage, one was Mid-America Apartments, which manages 721 units in the state. ProPublicas reporting also singled out one of the nations largest property management firms, Greystar, which lists 44 apartment complexes under its management in Southern Nevada and five in the Reno area. Alicinia Whiters, a spokeswoman for the Attorney Generals office, said they are aware of the RealPage but couldnt provide additional details on what the office is doing in response to allegations of price fixing. RealPage is on our radar at the Nevada Attorney Generals Office, said. We cannot share any specifics regarding the existence or nonexistence of an investigation. AG (Aaron) Ford is constantly monitoring threats to consumer rights and safety and is open to all possible options, from litigation to legislation, in order to protect Nevadans access to affordable housing. Arizona Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit against RealPage in January. Stateline reported that North Carolina, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is also investigating the tech firm. RealPage has pushed back against the reporting on the software and in a June statement called the investigation false and misleading. The real estate tech firm is scheduled to have a conference at Wynn Las Vegas starting Aug. 10 The corporate landlords that use RealPages software have reported nearly $300 million in profits in the first quarter of 2024, according to Accountable.US. Where there is smoke there is fire and any big property company that has used RealPage should face a probe, Liz Zelnick, the Director, Economic Security & Corporate Power Program for Accountable.US, said in a recent press briefing. No renter in America should be price gouged under a potentially illegal rent fixing scheme. NYPD offering up to $3500 reward for info on deadly Randalls Island shooting The NYPD on Wednesday put up a reward of up to $3,500 for information on a bloody Randalls Island shooting that killed one woman and wounded two other people near a troubled migrant shelter. A gunman opened fire into a crowd of roughly 50 people celebrating the re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro around 3:30 a.m. Monday on Field 71, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a press conference. Cops said the gunman, described as Hispanic, was the victim of an earlier gunpoint robbery nearby; it was not reported to police. A migrant at the shelter had told the Daily News a gunman came looking for someone he believed stole his necklace. He thinks that person was in the party. So he got pissed, the witness said. He went back to the Bronx to get a gun. He came with a gun. All the people that were partying, they got nothing to do with the robbery. There were a lot of shots, like a machine gun. Pop pop pop pop pop, said the man. Sandra Serrano, 44, was shot in the face, and a 32-year-old man was hit in the throat by bullets intended for someone else, the witness said. She was innocent. He was innocent. She was dancing at the party when the gun was fired, he said. A 31-year-old woman was also shot in the back, cops said. Medics rushed the three victims to Harlem Hospital but Serrano could not be saved. The others were in stable condition, police said. Residents had spoken fondly of Serrano. She was a very nice woman, the witness said of the victim. She was selling juice here, he added, pointing to the shelter entrance near a pedestrian bridge. Another woman said she saw Serrano every day. Why? Why they got to kill her? she said. She was always right there. Selling Coke, hotdogs, drinks, soda. We all met her. We would buy from her. She was very nice and friendly. Serrano was staying at the migrant shelter on Randalls Island, according to police. There had been no arrests as of Wednesday night. Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the 25 Precinct Detective Squad at 212-860-6536 or the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a small copy of the constitution at a press conference in the Miraflores presidential palace three days after his controversial re-election. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) wants the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "It is time for justice," Luis Almagro said on Wednesday at an emergency meeting of the organization in Washington. Almagro blamed Venezuela's authoritarian head of state for the violence which erupted after Sunday's disputed presidential election, in which Maduro was declared the winner of a third term despite allegations of widespread fraud. Non-governmental organizations in Venezuela say more than a dozen people died in the protests. Before the election, Maduro had warned of a bloodbath and civil war in the South American country if he was not re-elected. Almagro claimed that Maduro was now carrying out that "bloodbath." "It is time to press charges and request an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against the main perpetrators, including Maduro," Almagro wrote on Platform X. "We will request this indictment with an arrest warrant," he said at the Washington meeting. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating Maduro's government for alleged crimes against humanity in the country. The government in Caracas rejects the accusations. The emergency meeting of the OAS saw the organization's Permanent Council unable to reach a common position on the situation in Venezuela. A resolution calling for the publication of detailed election results and a guarantee of freedom of assembly failed to gain majority support. Seventeen member states voted in favour of the draft, 11 abstained and five other countries did not send a representative to the meeting. Maduro's government unilaterally withdrew from the OAS several years ago, and accused it of being in the service of "imperialism." Two men charged with murder were found guilty by separate juries this week at the Marion County Judicial Center. Here's what we know: State v. Marquis Luis Rosado Judge: Circuit Judge Tim McCourt. Lawyers: Amy Berndt for the prosecution and A. Antonio Tomas, a private lawyer, for the defense. Charge? Death caused by the unlawful distribution of fentanyl. Trial details: The trial was held July 30-31. About the case: Rosado was charged in 2022 with providing pills to 26-year-old Marcus Lane II, who died at his residence. Who testified at the trial? Multiple people, including the victim's father, law enforcement officials and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy. Rosado did not take the stand. What happened during trial? Berndt argued the case is about "the devastating effects of fentanyl." The prosecutor said Rosado sold Percocet to Lane that led to his death. She said text messages, phone records and other evidence proved Rosado sold the pills to Lane. Berndt said Rosado admitted to selling the pills to Lane and told someone the person had died. She said Lane had an addiction and Rosado sold him the drugs, which contained fentanyl. Tomas said Lane died from a lethal combination of pills and alcohol, but his client did not kill the victim. The lawyer said Lane was intoxicated and authorities found a nearly full bottle of alcohol near his body. How long did the jury deliberate? The jurors, eight women and four men, began deliberating at 10:18 a.m. July 31 and signaled they had a verdict at 11:47 a.m. What was the verdict? Guilty. The court clerk read it aloud at 11:54 a.m. Did anyone speak after the verdict? Yes, the victim's father, Marcus Lane. What did he say? He said although he wanted some closure, it will never come because his son is never coming back. He said his grandson will never get to know his father or spend time with him. The victim's father said his son's addiction ended his life and told Rosado he has to face the consequences. He told Rosado he hopes he finds some peace and learns from his action. The father thanked Berndt, the jury and Tomas for doing their jobs. What was the sentence? Life in prison. Rosado's family members, who were in the court, were saddened by the decision. Rosado, 22, has been locked up at the county jail since his arrest. Did the defense have anything to say? Tomas told a Star Banner reporter that selling drugs to people is bad. However, equating that with first-degree murder is problematic. He said the law equates selling two pills to someone for $25 with breaking into a residence and shooting someone in the head while they sleep. State v. Steven Alan Swearingen Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges. Lawyers: Amanda Sizemore, Michael Novak and Frances Watson from the Public Defender's Office. Assistant State Attorneys Adam Smith, Katrina Self and Kevin Steiniger for the prosecution. Charge? Second-degree murder with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and false imprisonment. About the case: Marion County Sheriff's deputies said Swearingen shot and killed a deliveryman, Steven Smolensky, 52, who was a retired Citrus County sheriff's deputy. Swearingen has been incarcerated since his arrest nearly three years ago. When was the trial? July 30-31. What happened during the trial? The defense told the court that roughly a week before the November 2021 shooting, Swearingen, now 41, was unable to get in touch with his ex-girlfriend. When he finally was able to contact her, it appeared she was held against her will. They said Swearingen received threatening text messages, including one about blowing up his home. Leading up to the shooting, the defense said, Swearingen, who lived with his father in a remote area of Weirsdale, saw strange people in the neighborhood and vehicles driving up and down the roadway. On the day of the shooting, he woke up when dogs started barking. He looked outside to find a stranger in the yard delivering propane. The defense said the shooting was tragedy. They said their client cooperated with law enforcement officials and his statements on what happen were consistent. The defense said Smolensky was belligerent, had a bulge in his waist that could have been a weapon, and had his hand there when he was shot. The defense argue the shooting was self defense. Prosecutors countered that the shooting was murder and it was senseless and depraved. Smolensky, who was unarmed, was wearing his uniform and standing 50 feet from his work truck when he was shot four times, including once in the back of the head, the state said. The lawyers said the victim was there just to do his job and wasn't a threat to anyone. They believe the shooting was done out of anger and it turned into murder. The lawyers said Swearingen, who didn't testify, had a problem with people coming onto his property. Prosecutors said he was sleeping when the dogs woke him up. They said he was fed up, grabbed a gun, and shot the victim. How did the jury rule? Jurors, four women and two men, went to the back to discuss the case at 3:37 p.m. July 31. At 4:59 p.m., they announced they had made up their minds. At 5:06 p.m., the clerk read the verdict aloud: guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm and false imprisonment. The third charge, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, won't be addressed until Swearingen's sentencing, which could be within the next few months. He faces up to life in prison. The families of both Smolensky and Swearingen were in court and sat on opposite sides. Life: Jury finds 'sovereign citizen' guilty of murder; judge sentences her to life in prison Did anyone say anything after the trial? Yes. Sizemore said while they're disappointed with the verdict, they respect the jury's decision. Jennifer Smolensky, the victim's eldest daughter, told a Star Banner reporter outside the courtroom: "I think we finally got justice for him and for his whole family. I'm very thankful for the state attorneys and for all what they did. I think the evidence showed what was clearly there." She said she appreciates "everyone's thoughts and prayers for us going through this." Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Two Ocala, Florida juries return guilty verdicts in murder trials Captain Pauls actions have always been in the interest of upholding international laws and ensuring the health of the oceans, said big-wave surfer and environmentalist Greg Long. Despite doing the work of governments, he is being treated as an international criminal, for defending sea life and the ecosystem we all depend on to survive. The people who defend our life support system should be celebrated, not arrested! Here is an explainer of why the 73-year-old former Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd activist was arrested, what could happen next, and what you can do to help. Who Is Paul Watson? The dual American and Canadian passport holder was one of the influential early members of Greenpeace in the early 1970s. In 1978, following the purchase of the Sea Shepherd vessel, he founded The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. It advocated a more direct approach to environmental action. The Japanese government has labeled the organization eco-terrorists for impeding their whaling research. We could add more quote marks around the term whaling research. Japan, along with Norway and Iceland, continue to pursue their whale hunting ambitions. This year a new, $48 million whaling mothership called the Kangei Maru was launched in Japan. Is Watson Still With Sea Shepherd? Since 2016 Sea Shepherd increasingly co-operated with national governments in assisting anti-poaching activity in national territorial waters and marine reserves. Watsons opposition to the government collaboration approach saw him removed from the board of directors of Sea Shepherd Global in 2022. He started the Captain Paul Watson Foundation and a competing Sea Shepherd group called Sea Shepherd Origins. The French, Brazilian and UK chapters of Sea Shepherd have recently pledged their allegiance to Watson, rather than the Global group. Related: Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested in Germany Why Was He Arrested? Watson was arrested and handcuffed on an international warrant in Greenland, a territory of Denmark on July 21, 2024. The charges included accomplice to assault and ship trespass. They stem from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Societys alleged boarding of the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 in Antarctic Waters in February 2010. Watson will be held in Nuuk, Greenland until 15 August while Denmark considers his potential extradition to Japan. He was denied bail on the grounds of being a flight risk. Why So Long? In 2010 Sea Shepherd Activist Peter Bethune boarded the Shonan Maru from a jetski in a bid to detain its captain after the groups speedboat was destroyed in a collision with the Shonan Maru. He was seized by the whalers and eventually arrested in Tokyo on charges of illegal boarding. He was given a two-year sentence, suspended for five years. A warrant to arrest Watson as an accomplice of Bethune was issued in 2010 and an Interpol warrant was filed in 2012 and remained active, a spokesperson for the Japan Coast Guard said. However, Watson said that the Interpol red notice had disappeared months ago and was part of the Japanese government's ploy to arrest him. What Is the Potential Penalty? The statutory penalty for such crimes ranges from up to three years in prison for vessel trespassing and to up to 15 years for assault, according to Japans Ministry of Justice. French President Emmanuel Macrons office has asked Danish authorities not to extradite Watson, who has lived in France for the past year. A spokesperson from the French branch of Sea Shepherd said that Watson was doing well and had no regrets. Related: Study Shows Ocean May Be Spitting Toxins Back at Us Why Was He in Greenland? Watsons vessel, the John Paul Dejoria, had stopped in Greenland to refuel on its way to intercept Japan's factory whaling ship, the Kangei Maru, in the North Pacific. In 2019, Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission and resumed commercial whaling. Last year, it launched the 9,300-ton, $47m Kangei Maru whaling mothership. The new vessels range of 9,000 miles has fuelled suspicion that Japan is again preparing to slaughter the mammals far from its shores. What Can Be Done? Under #FREEPAULWATSON there is a petition asking the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, to release him from custody. Another French online petition urging Macron to demand Watsons release had 670,000 signatures in eight days. Please share this far and wide and demand the immediate release of Captain Paul Watson, concludes Long. As a devoted father and passionate environmentalist, he has stood for the oceans for decades, and now he needs us to stand up for him. Related: Patagonia Launches Petition To Protect 30% Of Australia's Ocean By 2030 Underneath a blazing orange-and-yellow sky, with massive smoke plumes billowing seemingly from every direction, the Daneau family made a desperate drive for safety. But their three-car caravan didn't get far. The explosive Park fire had crossed over the only route out of Cohasset, a mountainous enclave on the outskirts of Chico. The Daneaus, firefighters said, would need to turn around. Kristy Daneau started hyperventilating. Scarcely 30 minutes earlier, she, her husband and their 17-year-old daughter had rushed to pack up what they could a few important documents, some clothes and their five dogs before taking off south on the community's main two-lane road. It was frightening, and all too familiar. The family had previously been forced to flee as a wildfire bore down on another mountain town they called home: Paradise. Now, with their path blocked and a horizon swallowed by flames, Kristy had an eerie feeling they were going to lose all they'd fought to build. "I kind of knew then, like, we're never coming home again again, again," she said. Read more: As massive Park fire marches into history books, firefighters face hurdles to slowing it down The Camp fire, the deadliest in California history, devastated Paradise in 2018, consuming thousands of homes, including the Daneaus'. They relocated to the town of Cohasset, putting them in the direct path of another wildfire, one that has since become the state's fifth largest on record. Within just six years, the family again found themselves in jeopardy. The trio eventually made it to safety, trekking seven hours down an unpaved loggers' road to Chico. But their home in Cohasset was no match for an inferno's fury. "We're starting completely over, again," said Michael Daneau, 41. Every property they've ever owned has "burned to the ground with no value and nothing to our name." Speaking from his father's house in Chico, where the Daneaus are staying temporarily, Michael still seemed stunned at their misfortune. "Not once, but twice. What are the odds?" he said. A few days after the fire passed through Cohasset, a neighbor confirmed their worst fears. Their home was a total loss. Another neighbor sent photos Monday of what little was left standing: a brick fireplace and some metal appliances; a small, stone Buddha statue, now meditating over piles of ash and burned rubble instead of a green garden. "Our house was just like it was before in the Camp fire just barely anything standing," Michael said. The two-story house is just nothing now. The Park fire ignited on July 24 after officials say a man intentionally pushed his burning car into a gully. The fast-moving blaze has now surpassed 390,000 acres. Although early evacuation orders helped residents avoid danger, dozens of homes in Cohasset, and elsewhere, have been destroyed. Read more: Massive Park fire sparked by man pushing burning car into a gully, officials say The latest assessments have confirmed more than 480 structures across Butte and Tehama counties, many of them residential, were ruined in the Park fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. An additional 10,800 remain threatened. The Daneaus estimated that about 10 other families from Paradise also relocated to Cohasset one of the few affordable options they could find in the area, still close to family, their kids' schools and their jobs. Several of them also lost their homes to the Park fire, the couple said. "We've already been through this, we know what it's like. We know the heartache, we know the pain," Michael said. "We know what it's like to have to rebuild your life completely from the ground up. "We have a better outlook on it purely because we've been through it not that it's easier," he said. Recovery, the Daneaus expect, will actually be much harder, as they were without fire insurance this time around. Insurance on their Paradise home was their saving grace six years ago how they were able to buy a new house, to feel some security again. Now they aren't sure what will come next. "We never imagined putting ourselves in this situation," Michael said. "We never would have bought the house if we thought that in a few short years ... that we would not be able to afford insurance." A home destroyed by the Park fire is seen along Cohasset Road in Cohasset on July 26. (Jessica Christian / San Francisco Chronicle via AP) The first two years they were able to afford fire insurance through the California FAIR plan the state's last-resort insurance program and the only provider that would offer them coverage, given the home's location. The premium started out at about $7,000 a year, then went up to $10,000. By the third year, they were quoted a price of more than $12,000, something they couldn't afford. The California FAIR plan is just not fair, Michael said. A longtime electrician, he recently took a job at the Chico Unified School District, where his wife also works. But they are trying to stay positive. It helps that, the day after they evacuated, their eldest daughter went into labor, delivering a healthy baby boy their first grandchild. "He's beautiful," said Kristy, 38. "So he's kept us very distracted. He's our silver lining in all of this." Read more: California home insurance program accused of selling policies with subpar fire coverage "We're trying to be as positive as we can," her husband said. "We know that even though we're in a worse position than we were last time, by far ... we have an amazing support group and community." A friend started a GoFundMe page for them, and they're trying to focus on their new role as grandparents even though the future they'd envisioned has changed dramatically. "That was our house [where] our grandson ... was supposed to come spend his summers," Michael said. A tanker drops retardant on the Park fire near Cohasset Road east of Chico on July 25. (Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee via AP) The Cohasset community has rallied around those who lost their homes, selling "Cohasset Strong" clothing to raise money for fire victims. Dan Holmes, president of the Cohasset Community Assn., estimated that about half of the area's residences had been destroyed. But he knows the toll could have been much worse. The greatest thing about this is we didnt lose anybody, and we dont have the county up there looking for bodies, which is just truly amazing, Holmes said. There have been no deaths or major injuries confirmed in the Park fire, unlike in 2018, when the Camp fire killed 85 people and destroyed Paradise. Paradise is only about 13 miles southeast of Cohasset, as the crow flies. The Camp fire scared us all; it really showed us the reality of what a disaster could be if it hit us," Holmes said. A lot of us have been getting ready for this." Read more: Has California addressed the failures that led to the deadly Camp fire five years ago? Local officials had been working hard to prepare Cohasset for wildfires, clearing brush, planning emergency procedures, supporting a volunteer firefighting team and procuring potentially necessary tools, such as radios to use if cell service failed, Holmes said. He thinks all that helped, but he also knows they got a little lucky. "It happened at the right time of the day communication lines hadnt dropped; they gave us an early evacuation warning," Holmes said. Burned vehicles are left in the wake of the Park fire in Cohasset. (Scott Strazzante / San Francisco Chronicle via AP) But there was no such luck when it came to the fire's origins. It ignited just south of Cohasset, and a blend of wind, hot weather and dry fuels pushed it north, fast and hot. It was one of those series of unfortunate events, that perfect storm, said Diane Stanfield, a longtime Cohasset resident who also lost her home in the monstrous blaze. When the evacuation warnings first went out, Stanfield was at a doctor's appointment in Chico. She made it back with her son and husband to pack up what they could from the home where the family had lived since 2000. She was only able to find one of her cats, and the family had no way to carry out their cockatiel, so she left behind extra food and water and hoped for the best. Her beloved pets fell victim to the fire as it destroyed the family's home. It's hard for Stanfield to talk about her cat, Mrs. Z, without getting choked up. But she reassures herself that the fire was so dangerously hot that her animals didn't suffer. "Im OK during the day but I dont sleep at night," Stanfield said. "The true [grief] wont hit until I see it. ... I loved my place. The Stanfields had fire insurance, but it's still hard to think about all they lost across their 2.25-acre property. Even if we put all that we lost down, theres no way it will cover everything, Stanfield said. Read more: California wildfires off to explosive start, burning 30 times as many acres as all of last year It's the sentimental items family photos, her music collection, VHS tapes of her late parents, family heirlooms that are hardest to think about. "All those memories are gone," she said. Her mind keeps returning to the song "Where Do I Go From Here?" by the Carpenters. "That song kept hitting me: Where do we go from here? Stanfield said. I think I want to be back where I was, thats my hope." But she also worries that Cohasset won't feel like the same peaceful, beautiful community she has loved for decades. Kristy Daneau and her husband also aren't sure what will come next, but they don't think they could move back to Cohasset, or anywhere like it. "I really, really loved living in the mountains," she said. "But honestly I don't think I'll ever be able to live in the mountains again." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A U.S. Treasury police officer had to have his leg amputated after a federal employee dragged the officer with her car outside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing office in Fort Worth earlier this month, according to the FBI and the officers family. Officer Joe Lock was critically injured and remains hospitalized following the assault on July 18, according to his familys account on a GoFundMe page. With the suspect continuing to try an escape, Joe found himself lying on the concrete, unable to move with his blood quickly leaving his body, the GoFundMe account reads. This is where many people wouldve folded, called it a day, and just gave up, but not Joe. As a veteran police officer of 33 years, Joe fell back on his training; he remained calm, cool, and collected, and made that dreaded call of officer down. Lock radioed in details to help other officers arrest the woman, his family said. The suspect, 26-year-old Juliza Aguilar, is charged with assault of a federal officer, court records show. In an affidavit, an FBI agent who investigated the assault wrote that she responded to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing parking lot at 9100 Blue Mound Road, where she was met by officers from the BEP and Fort Worth police departments. Aguilars supervisor said he had received concerning text messages and emails from the suspect, according to the affidavit. About 4:30 p.m., the supervisor met with Aguilar to discuss the messages and concerns with her attendance, he said. Aguilar told her boss that medication she was taking was making her feel off and a bit paranoid, the affidavit states. She said she was worried about losing her job, which the supervisor reassured her wouldnt happen, he told the FBI agent. The supervisor said she seemed calm and she declined an offer to take the rest of the day off. But after she left the meeting, he saw her activate the fire alarm system, he said. Aguilar said she felt unsafe and was going to leave, according to the affidavit. Her supervisor contacted the BEP police to intervene, and Lock responded, the affidavit says. Video reviewed by the FBI agent shows Aguilar in the driver seat of a Toyota Scion and Lock standing in the open driver side doorway. Aguilar put the car in reverse and backed up, dragging Lock with the car door, the affidavit says. The Toyota hit a parked sedan, pinning the officer between the two cars, the agent said. Aguilar tried to drive away, but hit a light pole, disabling her car, according to the affidavit. After she was detained, Aguilar was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital to be evaluated. Lock was flown by CareFlite to Harris Hospital, where he underwent surgery to amputate his right leg near the knee. He also suffered a fractured hip, the court documents say. Lock has since had multiple surgeries and has a long road of rehab and recovery ahead, according to the GoFundMe. Joe has served 33 years as a police officer in Texas, both at the municipal and federal levels, the GoFundMe page says. He has an amazing wife who has been by his side since the incident and 3 kids who love him dearly. As of Wednesday night, almost $3,000 had been raised toward a $10,000 goal to help the family. Officials declare California wildfires have burned 5 times more area this year alone: 'We are not just in a fire season, we are in a fire year' Wildfires in California burned more than 300,000 acres through the third week of July. Heat waves have worsened the situation this year compared to previous years. What's happening? It is still relatively early in California's wildfire season, but it is unfortunately already off to a roaring start. Record-breaking heat in the state has exacerbated the problem. Through the third week of July, the number of acres burned had nearly tripled the average of the past five years, according to Cal Fire. "We are not just in a fire season, we are in a fire year," said Joe Tyler, the director of Cal Fire, per The Guardian. "Our winds and the recent heat wave have exacerbated the issue, consuming thousands of acres. So we need to be extra cautious." There have been more than 4,000 wildland fires and over 2,500 structural fires in California so far. The Park Fire, the state's biggest to this point, had charred nearly 400,000 acres alone by July 30. More than 4,000 residents of Butte County have been ordered to evacuate as firefighters try to contain the enormous blaze. The evacuation included Paradise, the town that endured the most deadly and destructive wildfire in state history in 2018. Why is an active wildfire season in California important? California's winter was the second in a row to feature above-average amounts of rain and snow. The moisture helped grasses grow, which have since withered and dried out amid record heat in the West. The grasses are now fueling fires across the state. A deepening drought in the northern part of the state is compounding the problem. A moderate drought there nearly tripled in size between the second and third week of July. Our warming world is changing the climate, making it more conducive to wildfires. Scientists say shifts in precipitation patterns along with rising temperatures are creating conditions favorable for larger and more intense wildfires. According to research, wildfire seasons are getting longer and more active as the climate becomes warmer and drier. These changes are putting more people and property at risk. What's being done about the increasing number of wildfires? The National Interagency Fire Center reports that 87% of all wildfires each year are human-caused and that most can be prevented. Its recommendations include learning "how to properly use outdoor equipment; burn debris safely; start, maintain, and extinguish a campfire; maintain a vehicle and tow safely; and practice fire-safe target shooting, to name a few." Whatever we can do to reduce the amount of heat-trapping gasses released into our atmosphere can help too. Avoiding the use of dirty energy sources and embracing renewable sources instead can have a significant impact. Investing in a tankless water heater or installing a heat pump are other steps to take. Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. AMBER Alert issued for Georgia newborn believed to be in extreme danger SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (WSPA) The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has issued an AMBER Alert for a missing two-month-old who was abducted Wednesday. According to GBI, Reya Clark was last seen wearing a pink t-shirt and a diaper. The infant is 18 inches long and weighs around 15 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Reya Clark. (Photo/Georgia Bureau of Investigations) Officials said that child was abducted by Randy Bernard Clark, 22. Clark is a Black man who is 5-foot-11 and weighs around 250 pounds. GBI added that the infant is believed to be in extreme danger. The man and the child were last seen at 6110 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Atlanta. Anyone with information regarding Reya Clarks whereabouts are asked to call 911 or the Sandy Springs Police Department at (770)551-6900. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. A Franklin County Sheriffs Deputy was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Task Force this week and charged with 58 counts, including over 30 counts of rape. Charles Davis, 50, was arrested Wednesday and has been indicted on 32 counts of rape and 26 counts of gross sexual imposition in Ross County, according to a release shared by the Franklin County Sheriffs Office. >> Local teacher pleads guilty to child porn charges The sheriffs office said they were made aware of the investigation involving Davis in September 2023. At that point, he was immediately placed on administrative leave. Court documents obtained by our news partners at WBNS in Columbus, Davis is accused of engaging in sexual conduct several times with someone under the age of 13 between March 2020 and August 2021. Hes also accused of engaging in sexual conduct when he purposely compelled the said other person to submit by force or threat of force. In a statement, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said the matter is extremely serious. >> Man accused of killing pregnant woman, 16-year-old indicted I have full faith in the investigation. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct and accountability. I want to reassure our citizens that we are dedicated to transparency, professionalism, and, as always, the safety of our community, Baldwin said. The department is also conducting an internal investigation. Davis pleaded not guilty to all counts on Wednesday. Hes since been released from jail on his own recognizance. CINCINNATI, Ohio (WDTN) A Hamilton County man is facing charges related to child pornography in his arrest by FBI agents. On July 26, Mark A. Altherr, 44, of Cincinnati, was arrested on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the DOJs Southern District of Ohio. According to the DOJ, Altherr is accused of making more than 260 posts on a child-porn website over the past three years. Some of the posts included images that appeared to be minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, said the DOJ. The victims were alleged to be between the ages of five and 12. Montgomery County clerk of courts, judge facing charges It is reported that the man is a fitness education teacher at a Cincinnati-area school district. The FBI believes he may have also taught in Colorado. As a part of the investigation, the FBI is looking to locate anyone who may have been impacted by Altherr. The FBI is always working to protect children in our community, said Elena Iatarola, special agent in charge for FBI Cincinnati. As we continue to investigate this matter, we appreciate the support of the public in coming forward with any information they may have about potentially inappropriate actions of Mr. Altherr. To contact the FBI, visit its How We Can Help You website. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. We recently compiled a list of the 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) stands against the other American energy stocks. Energy, primarily oil, drives the economy. This makes it one of the most important sectors for global and American economic prosperity. This importance has changed the US economic landscape quite a bit over the past couple of years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2020 was a historic year for the US energy industry as it was the first time since 1949 that America became a net petroleum exporter. In 2020, the US imported 7.86 million barrels of oil per day, which was 640,000 barrels lower than its 8.50 million barrels per day of exports. Since then, US energy exports have continued to grow, and the oil surplus jumped to a record of 1.26 million barrels per day in 2022. At the heart of this historic shift is the American energy industry which produced a historic 20.08 million barrels per day in 2022. This was nearly enough to theoretically meet America's oil consumption of 20.28 million barrels, but despite this, the US continued to import oil. On the surface, this sounds counterintuitive since a net energy exporter should be sufficient to meet all of its requirements through its own production. However, as America has historically depended on sour oil imports from the Middle East, US shale, which is sweet oil with low sulfur content, cannot be processed in similar volumes due to its different chemical characteristics. Building on this, even though the US might be unable to use all the oil it produces, on the surface, it would also appear that fewer regulations on the oil industry and more drilling would be great for the sector. Well, the reality, as is in most cases, is slightly different. This is because low regulations lead to high drilling and end up benefiting firms with high production capacity in the short term. In the long term, as output rises and more companies invest in drilling, the price of oil falls. This appears to be great, after all, who doesn't like cheap gas prices? However, the US aims to have at least half of all new cars on the roads by 2030 be electric vehicles according to new rules by the Biden Administration. This goal will be fueled by initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has earmarked $500 billion in spending and tax breaks for clean energy technologies and other areas. So, if half of all new cars by 2030 are EVs and American oil producers end up expanding their production capacity to meet current demand, then they could end up sitting on excess capacity. Oil exploration is one of the most capital intensive industries in the world (upstream capital expenditure sat at $490 billion in 2022 according to the International Energy Forum) and recovering these costs requires steady demand. As a result, if regulations are strict, as opposed to lax, then oil producers will be forced to generate higher margins which carry the chance of improving production efficiency and lead to profit maximization that moves in line with the lower EV costs (and higher proliferation) of the future. Story continues Shifting gears to focus on energy stocks, their performance depends quite a bit on energy prices. This was the case in 2022 when the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the global energy supply chain and led to crude oil prices shooting to as high as $134 per barrel. During the same year, State Street's energy ETF shot up by 54% as oil companies all over benefited from record revenue and profits. However, the outlook for the energy industry in 2024 isn't as optimistic. While the same ETF has gained 9.5% year to date, Brent crude opened 2024 at roughly $78 per barrel and is trading at $78.5 right now. For the second half of 2024, the EIA estimates that it will trade at $89 per barrel - higher than the first half average of $84. This is despite the fact that the world's largest oil user, China, is facing an uncertain economy that has led some to believe that its oil consumption could drop by 3.8% in the year's second half with diesel usage dropping by 5.6% annually. In fact, as FactSet notes, this "lower-than-forecast" global demand growth coupled with production increases might lead to an oversupplied oil market. If this is true, then the subsequent downward oil price adjustments could also lead oil stocks lower - and make current valuations overvalued. Our Methodology To make our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts, we ranked US based energy stocks with a market cap greater than $300 million by their average analyst share price target upside and picked out the stocks with the highest upside. We also mentioned the number of hedge funds that had bought these stocks during the same filing period. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A mining worker in a hard hat and coveralls hammering away at the uranium rich walls of the mine. Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) Number of Hedge Fund Investors in Q1 2024: 27 Average Analyst Share Price Target Upside: 72.23% Average Analyst Share Price Target: $9.80 Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) is another uranium mining company with operations in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Canada, and Paraguay. These provide it with a diversified operations base which allows Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) to hedge the effects of a disruption in one production site by managing output in another. At the same time, since it primarily produces uranium and titanium, Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) is also left at the mercy of the broader uranium market since a slow demand for its products means that sales will fall. Like some other uranium producers though, the firm is also targeting the rare earth metals industry which has come under increased analyst, investor, and government focus because of tensions between the US and China. On this front, Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE:UEC) announced an MOU with an Australian company to develop 14,000 metric tonne rare earth site in Australia. Overall UEC ranks 7th on our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts. You can visit 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts to see the other American energy stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of UEC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UEC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and 10 Best of Breed Stocks to Buy For The Third Quarter of 2024 According to Bank of America. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. OKC man sentenced to federal prison accused of firing at police car In Oklahoma City federal court this week, an Oklahoma City man accused of firing at a police vehicle was sentenced to federal prison. An Oklahoma City man accused of shooting at a police vehicle has been sentenced to federal prison. In Oklahoma City federal court this week, Michael Anthony Wilson II, 40, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. Last October, police reported that an officer had been shot at while in his patrol vehicle near W Wilshire Boulevard and Lyrewood Lane. The officer initially had been flagged down by a person unrelated to the shooting, police said. While speaking with the person who flagged the officer down, someone nearby started shooting, police said. The officers vehicle was hit, and he suffered minor shrapnel wounds. More: Man who shot at OKC police officer gets second sentence Six gunshots were reported to have been fired. Police spoke with witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage. Wilson was later taken into custody without incident along Northwest Expressway and booked into the Oklahoma County jail. In November, a federal grand jury charged Wilson with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in February. Wilson had previous felony convictions, including kidnapping, domestic assault and second-degree burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle, court records show. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC man sentenced to prison for firing gun at police car Oktoberfest tickets on sale now, new weekend pass available Oktoberfest tickets on sale now, new weekend pass available Video in player above showcases Oktoberfest 2023 festivities. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Oktoberfest celebrations kick off in just under two months. The Dayton Art Institute will host its annual Oktoberfest event from Sept. 27 through Sept. 29. Tickets are now available for purchase, beginning Aug. 1. New attraction coming to Kings Island next year New this year, attendees can purchase a weekend pass, allowing them to attend on Saturday and Sunday for a discounted price of $15. Advance general admission tickets are $8 adults, $5 seniors and youth (ages 7-18). Tickets purchased at the gate are $10 adults, $7 seniors and youth. Children 6 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased online here or at DAI during regular museum hours. The festival was established in 1971, making it one of the longest-running Oktoberfest celebrations in southwest Ohio. Every year, the festival averages between 20,000 and 30,000 attendees. Dayton Art Institutes Oktoberfest has become a beloved tradition for the Dayton community, said DAI Director & President Michael R. Roediger. We are thrilled to bring everyone together for another fantastic weekend of art, friendship and celebration. Whether this is your first time attending the event, or you come year after year, you will eat up this years festivities. Money raised throughout the weekend goes toward the museums ongoing initiatives. To learn more about events, parking, and the Friday Preview Party, click here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Colorado officials confirmed one death on Wednesday related to the current Stone Canyon Fire, which is 20% contained going into Thursday morning. The wildfire in the Boulder County area has burned five homes, as the fast-moving fire quickly erupted in size after starting on Tuesday and had reached 1,548 acres. Authorities called for evacuations in portions of Boulder and Larimer counties. "We did also today discover human remains in one of the residences," Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said, according to CBS News. "So, I can confirm for you that we do have one fatality associated with the fire. "We're still in the process of trying to figure out exactly what things look like in the most impacted areas of the fire." The fire, taking advantage of dry conditions and high temperatures, spread through the wildlands that included Loveland, Lyons and Jefferson counties. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called in the Colorado National Guard to assist with the recovery. Polis said the guard would assist with logistics and road closures, among other things, freeing up firefighters to directly combat the wildfire. He declared disaster emergencies for different areas on Tuesday, prompting state emergency operation plans. "Additional evacuation orders can be issued at any time," said a message on the City of Boulder Disaster Management website said. "If you see, hear, smell or sense danger, do not wait for an emergency alert to take action to keep yourself safe." One of SCs first Black officers still working more than a half a century later. His story Ralph Vaught is holding a black-and-white photo of the Horry County Police department from 1975. There are 25 people in the photo the entire department, which included the police chief, secretaries and officers. Vaught is the fourth person from the left one of only three Black officers on the force at the time. Ralph Vaught is the director of security for the Horry County Sheriffs Department at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. The 87-year-old has been working for Horry County for more than 50 years, starting out as the second Black officer on the department in 1973. He can be seen in the photo - the fourth person from the left. Two years earlier, Vaught was only the second Black officer hired by the county 12 years after the first Black officer joined the department. Vaught pauses for a moment before sharing what it was like being one of only two Black county officers during a time when racial segregation still existed in the South. We only covered anything that happened in the Black area, Vaught said in a measured tone. At that time we were not allowed to arrest white people. We didnt start arresting white people (until) 1977. Vaught joined the force in 1973 at the encouragement of Jobe Blain, who was the first Black officer in Horry County. Between the two of them, they covered the entire county from Georgetown, to Myrtle Beach, to Aynor. On July 10, the 87-year-old marked a half a century working for Horry County. While hes no longer a police officer, he can be seen daily at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway, sitting behind a desk as the security supervisor for the Horry County Sheriffs Department. Ralph Vaught is the director of security for the Horry County Sheriffs Department at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. The 87-year-old has been working for Horry County for more than 50 years, starting out as the second Black officer on the department in 1973. Its just the latest in a long career for the Horry County native, who continued helping to break racial barriers in both his job and family. I like people, Vaught said. I like meeting people. Horry County has been good to me and my family, and I feel like I need to give back when I can and while I can. They call him Pappy Vaught joined Jobe Blain, the first Black Horry County police officer, after Blain encouraged him to apply. Vaught laughs as he describes how Blain, whose daughter is Conway mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy, would drive around Atlantic Beach in a Studebaker and furnished his own gun. He was a big man, said Vaught, adding that if Blain came to get you, you were going with him. He said the first white arrest that he and Blain made was in the Aynor area. We went to get the guy with a warrant, Vaught said. He came to the door and Jobe asked him, Are you so and so? and he said, Who are you? Blain identified himself as a police officer and the man replied, You aint the police, and told the men to leave his house, calling them the n-word, Vaught said. Jobe told him, Were gonna leave your house, but youre going to leave with us. Blain told Vaught to open the car door. I opened the door to the car and the next thing I knew the man came by me gettin in the car, Vaught said. If the door hadnt been locked, he wouldve went through the other side. The man continued to call them the racist remark all the way to the jail. Vaught had to deal with a lot of racism during that time, he said. He often had to work the county by himself, as the white officers wouldnt go with him to incidents in the primary Black areas, he said. Early in his career, Vaught worked many hours as the police department didnt require officers to punch in or out. You didnt have days off, Vaught said. If you had a case, rape case, shooting or death, we normally worked until we got a lead or solved it. He said there was no going home at 5 or 6 p.m. Many nights Vaught would go home at midnight or 2 a.m., only to get another call and have to go back out. And Vaught often had to deal with dangerous situations, including fighting with suspects and facing having a gun pointed at him during an arrest. I didnt have the sense enough to be afraid of nothing, Vaught said. And everyday I looked forward to coming to work. While responding to a shooting on Dick Pond Road, Vaught recalls having to get behind the police car and told another man riding with him to get down inside the vehicle. I looked and saw him standing up, Vaught said. I said, Watcha doin standing up? The man told Vaught he was trying to see where the bullets were coming from. I said, Get your ass down and get back in that car, Vaught said laughing. Vaught eventually was promoted within the department, becoming the first Black detective for Horry County in 1983. Then, when the J. Reuben Long Detention Center was built in 1989, Vaught was a part of its design and became its first director. I learned to curse when I started running the jail, Vaught said. Thats when I started cursing. Ive been cursing ever since. Vaught retired from the jail in 1999 and then took two years off, working at a funeral home during that time. It was when Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson took office in 2001 that Vaught went back to work. Thompson asked Vaught to come work for him. After much persistence from Thompson, including him showing up in Vaughts driveway one evening, Vaught became the security desk supervisor. Thompson said he went to work for Vaught in 1980. They have been together for 44 years, Thompson said. Ralph Vaught is the director of security for the Horry County Sheriffs Department at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. The 87-year-old has been working with Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson, right, for 44 years and more than 50 years for Horry County. With his experience, his knowledge, folks in the county know him very well; he was just the right choice for us, Thompson said. People come here now just to see Ralph and get advice. Most people in the sheriffs department call him Pappy, and almost every day people come in and shake my hand and thank me for what I did (for them) when they were at J. Reuben Long, Vaught said. He has mentored so many people in law enforcement and in life. He has a passion for people. And the young folks that come to work for us now, he is mentoring them. They gravitate to him, Thompson said. He mentored me; he taught me a lot. We just continued our relationship. We have had a whole lot of good times and weve had a few rough roads along the way. Vaught still uses the advice given to him by his mentor, Jobe Blain. Treat people the way you want to be treated, he said. The one thing that Jobe Blain taught me when I first started, he said if you see a person and you know them, keep repeating their name so they stay with you, and he said if you didnt know them, try to get to know them. Thompson said that Vaught has compassion for people. Sometimes he doesnt show it and wants to be a tough guy, Thompson said. He is a very giving person. He makes a difference. Something to look forward to every day Vaught, who now lives in Conway, was raised in the Wampee community, which is near North Myrtle Beach. I came up poor. P-O. Not p-o-o-r, Vaught said. My family never owned a vehicle. Never. Anywhere that we went, we walked. If we had to go to Wampee, we had to pay someone to take us there and back. All the Black kids walked to school, he said. You didnt have any buses. Its that reason that Vaught now has so many vehicles. Im down to four, he said. I did have five. The reason I have so many cars is because my family never owned one. I promised the Lord if he let me live, that one day, I would eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat it, I would build me a decent home and I would have me a decent car. And the Lord has blessed me with that. Vaught was married when he joined the police force in his 30s. He had served as a military police officer in the Air Force. He and his wife, Marva, had three children, and not only had to deal with racism in Vaughts job, but also with their children. His daughter was the first Black student to go to Burroughs school on Main Street in Conway. Vaught said he doesnt remember Horry County ever having a problem in the school system, when they began to be integrated. If it did happen, I wouldve known because like I told you, (the Black officers) worked all the Black areas, he said. Vaught and his wife were married for 56 years before she passed away in 2013. He also has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Vaught said his wife understood his role as an officer and offered her support. If I wanted to do it, she was behind me, he said. Vaught continues to work every day. He also comes to work dressed to impress, often wearing a blazer and slacks, and making sure his shoes are polished. Ralph Vaught is the director of security for the Horry County Sheriffs Department at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. The 87-year-old has been working for Horry County for more than 50 years, starting out as the second Black officer on the department in 1973. He does have a plan for when he will stop working, and thats when Thompsons term is done. Thompson has been sheriff since 2001 and is up for re-election this November. Until then, Vaught continues to come to work every day. I think every man or woman needs to have something to look forward to every day, he said. I have a pretty sweet job. The only Spanish-language Mass in St. Cloud got canceled. The congregation is fighting back. Latino members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waite Park are calling on the diocese to resume a long-running Spanish-language Mass. Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer. Leer in espanol: Cancelan la unica misa en espanol que ofrecen en St. Cloud. La congregacion se resiste. The one place Eylin Sosa felt at home in the U.S. was at St. Josephs Catholic Church in Waite Park. Every Sunday, she walked to St. Josephs from her home for the Spanish Mass. There, she worshiped alongside other people from her home country of Nicaragua and those from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries. Its the only thing I have from my country here, Sosa said in Spanish. Sosa doesnt speak English, and she doesnt have a car. When the Diocese of St. Cloud abruptly ended the well-attended weekly Spanish Mass at St. Josephs at the end of June, she and other congregants felt blindsided. In May 15 letter to the congregation, St. Cloud Bishop Patrick Neary explained that the priest who led the Spanish Mass had been reassigned to another parish. Unfortunately, we do not have any other Spanish-speaking priest who can replace him at the church of St. Josephs in Waite Park, the letter reads, before suggesting members instead attend Spanish-language services at a smaller parish in Rockville, a 15-minute drive from St. Josephs. The congregation was stunned. In response, they wrote a letter to the bishop proposing possible alternative solutions there are other Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese who serve much smaller populations and could potentially be reassigned, they wrote. Maybe the smaller congregation in Rockville could come to St. Josephs, or Spanish-speaking deacons could help out the English-speaking priest of St. Josephs to give a bilingual Mass. The Spanish Mass is a lifeline for us, offering spiritual nourishment in a language and context that we fully understand and appreciate, the congregation wrote in their letter to the bishop. But the church didnt entertain any of those options, the members said. Church and diocese leadership did not respond to the Reformers multiple requests for comment. Since the Spanish-language Masses began as a bilingual service in 2001, volunteers created classes on baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage and more all in Spanish. The church became a hub for community organizing; members put together a monthly free health clinic and traveled together to the state Capitol to express support for Drivers Licenses for All and guaranteed sick and safe leave. The Spanish Mass at St. Josephs was the only Spanish-language Catholic Mass in the cities of St. Cloud and Waite Park, which together are home to more than 80,000 people, more than 3,000 of whom speak Spanish at home, according to 2020 census data. But in the years since the census data was collected, even more Latino immigrants have arrived in St. Cloud, many finding work at a nearby Pilgrims Pride chicken processing plant. Around 43% of Latinos in the U.S. identify as Catholic, and Latinos born outside the U.S. are more likely to be religious than those born in the country, according to the Pew Research Center. For many of St. Josephs Spanish Mass attendees, the service served both a religious and cultural purpose; it was a place to celebrate holidays, preserve the family language and to organize around issues affecting immigrants and people of color. For the churchgoers, the sudden cancellation of their service followed a pattern of mistreatment towards the Latino population in central Minnesota, they said. Yoanna Ayala-Zaldana said her family has been berated for speaking Spanish in a St. Cloud restaurant. Denise Cruz said a church staff member treated her with hostility while she was volunteering in the building. When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump rallied in St. Cloud on July 27, the audience cheered as he called immigrants criminals and compared them to Dr. Hannibal Lecter from the horror movie Silence of the Lambs. We feel discriminated against, said Maria Maldonado of St. Cloud, who regularly attended the Spanish Masses for more than 20 years. On July 7, more than 100 people marched from St. Josephs Catholic Church to St. Marys Cathedral in St. Cloud, wearing white and holding signs asking for the Spanish language service to be reinstated. The congregants say their calls have fallen on deaf ears, but that they will not stop calling for the return of their Mass. The only voter fraud being perpetuated in Montana is the bogus theory Jacobsen tried Attorney Raph Graybill argues in front of Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan on July 26, 2024 in a preliminary injunction hearing. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan) Attorney Raph Graybill argues in front of Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan on July 26, 2024 in a preliminary injunction hearing. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan) When news broke that Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen had changed her offices approach to counting signatures on ballots, I truly believed it was a case of gray areas and semantics. Not 16,000 voters (at last count) being ignored. As much as Americans are consumed by the specter of conspiracies, those conspiracies are like Sasquatches, aliens and Loch Ness monsters easy to see, impossible to prove (and, rest assured: Im looking forward to the raft of grainy photos that Ill receive by suggesting these are more mythology than reality). The preposterous lie that a presidential election was stolen is unimaginable because of the sheer number of people at the local, state and federal level, all working in cahoots. The lie is premised upon thousands keeping their silence, despite promises of rewards and fame for anyone who had even the slightest evidence of fraud. But facts, especially in 2024, will not stand in the way of a good story. Thats what Donald Trumps Big Lie of 2020 is a great story about an orchestrated election theft by the same party that insisted that Joe Biden was sharp and youthful. Republicans, please pick a narrative and stay with it. Thats why I originally chalked up a novel approach to counting Montana Constitutional ballot signatures as the opinion of some fresh-faced lawyer looking to help his career and political party by inventing a new legal theory. I was wrong. Instead, what we learned is that two lawyers for Jacobsen had been negotiating behind the scenes with Republican lawmakers and candidates on a deal to not count inactive voters signatures a practice that has been done for at least the past 30 years, by both Democrat and Republican Secretaries of State. That deal was apparently a ruse meant to trick a Lake County judge into blessing the deal, without the knowledge that another case challenging the ballot signatures was brewing just down the road in Helena. By agreeing to not count the signatures, Jacobsen and her attorneys apparently wanted to use the lawsuit in Lake County as a cudgel to beat back the lawsuit in Helena by telling Lewis and Clark District Judge Mike Menahan that Jacobsen must be forced to ignore inactive voters because, well, a deals a deal. That plan fell apart when the Lake County judge vacated the order, clearing the way for Menahan. We dont know what exactly transpired behind the scenes leading up to that, though. We dont know much about that deal among Republicans, which included Montana Speaker of the House Matt Regier, R-Kalispell. And the only comfort, if such a word can even be used, is that the attorneys for the State of Montana from the attorney generals office also didnt know about this little end-run around the court. Thats because the two lawyers for Jacobsens office couldnt be found to testify in the case of the signature counting, even under the threat of a subpoena. Let that soak in for a second: Attorneys who are working for the state, at taxpayers expense, cant be found on the job for fear of having to testify in court. Later, we learned that the two attorneys for Jacobsen now have attorneys of their own, although why theyve retained counsel is anyones guess because, again, the attorneys didnt bother to show up in court. Menahan did about the only thing a judge could do in that situation: Issue a temporary restraining order, and sympathize with the states attorneys who, unfortunately for them, dont get to choose their own clients. The absence of the two attorneys, Clay Leland and Austin James, raises serious questions that, as of right now, dont have answers. For example, if they were just doing their work on behalf of the Secretary of States Office, why do they need representation? And why didnt they tell the lawyers with the Attorney Generals Office about the whole Lake County scheme? Which leads me back to the topic of conspiracies you know, often suspected and almost never proven. I wanted to believe that Jacobsen, who is a Republican, would transcend the politics, even though her own Montana GOP has positioned itself vociferously against the three ballot measures which looked to cruise to an easy signature threshold. For nearly the past four years, weve heard Republicans fret and fear stolen elections, riling up voters to make a swath of them believe there may be malfeasance, even though the safeguards at the county level are remarkable. Yet, what were witnessing is the Secretary of State apparently colluding with Republican legislators to undermine and discredit legitimate Montana voters. Thats like being OK with your banker taking a few extra dollars out of your checking, you know, for the effort. In the midst of all these concerns about election integrity and security, it is the very person who is charge of elections statewide who has made an attempt at discounting or ignoring ballot signatures. Keep in mind that the very attorneys who should be advising her are not hired by the party but state employees, who now need attorneys themselves. If theres voter fraud in Montana, theres mounting evidence that its an inside job. JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Onslow Memorial Hospital is still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to staffing. Thats why theyre hosting job recruiting events for positions in both clinical and other departments. The hospital is hiring for positions across the board ranging from medical to administrative. They are in need of people to work in the lab, emergency department and food service. They hosted a job fair Wednesday to try and get the word out and find employees. Job recruiter Samantha Conoly said like other hospitals, they are experiencing a staff shortage. Theyre still trying to bounce back from the pandemic which Conoly said included layoffs and people being scared to return to work. She still said the staff is doing a good job keeping up despite any shortages. I think its just a big market now that everyones trying to enter in, she said. And so everyones trying to find their own place now. And so were just thankful that we have the opportunity to hopefully provide that place for people. The next recruitment event is supposed to be in September but in the meantime, people can check out their website to see open positions. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Onslow Memorial Hospital celebrated a high honor as it was recognized by the American Heart Association for quality heart care. This is part of the associations Get with the Guidelines Program. It recognizes hospitals that follow their research and reduce re-admissions. This includes prescribing certain medications and setting up patients for when theyre discharged. The evidence in the research have shown that utilizing these standards of care have improved outcomes, Associate Vice President Performance Improvement and Accreditation and Patient Safety Officer Josephine Malfitano said. Heart failure is a progressive disease, and so ensuring the highest quality of care ensures that they have the best quality of life that they can for heart failure. Hospital leaders said the award is a team effort. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. We recently compiled a list of the 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) stands against the other American energy stocks. Energy, primarily oil, drives the economy. This makes it one of the most important sectors for global and American economic prosperity. This importance has changed the US economic landscape quite a bit over the past couple of years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2020 was a historic year for the US energy industry as it was the first time since 1949 that America became a net petroleum exporter. In 2020, the US imported 7.86 million barrels of oil per day, which was 640,000 barrels lower than its 8.50 million barrels per day of exports. Since then, US energy exports have continued to grow, and the oil surplus jumped to a record of 1.26 million barrels per day in 2022. At the heart of this historic shift is the American energy industry which produced a historic 20.08 million barrels per day in 2022. This was nearly enough to theoretically meet America's oil consumption of 20.28 million barrels, but despite this, the US continued to import oil. On the surface, this sounds counterintuitive since a net energy exporter should be sufficient to meet all of its requirements through its own production. However, as America has historically depended on sour oil imports from the Middle East, US shale, which is sweet oil with low sulfur content, cannot be processed in similar volumes due to its different chemical characteristics. Building on this, even though the US might be unable to use all the oil it produces, on the surface, it would also appear that fewer regulations on the oil industry and more drilling would be great for the sector. Well, the reality, as is in most cases, is slightly different. This is because low regulations lead to high drilling and end up benefiting firms with high production capacity in the short term. In the long term, as output rises and more companies invest in drilling, the price of oil falls. This appears to be great, after all, who doesn't like cheap gas prices? However, the US aims to have at least half of all new cars on the roads by 2030 be electric vehicles according to new rules by the Biden Administration. This goal will be fueled by initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has earmarked $500 billion in spending and tax breaks for clean energy technologies and other areas. So, if half of all new cars by 2030 are EVs and American oil producers end up expanding their production capacity to meet current demand, then they could end up sitting on excess capacity. Oil exploration is one of the most capital intensive industries in the world (upstream capital expenditure sat at $490 billion in 2022 according to the International Energy Forum) and recovering these costs requires steady demand. As a result, if regulations are strict, as opposed to lax, then oil producers will be forced to generate higher margins which carry the chance of improving production efficiency and lead to profit maximization that moves in line with the lower EV costs (and higher proliferation) of the future. Story continues Shifting gears to focus on energy stocks, their performance depends quite a bit on energy prices. This was the case in 2022 when the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the global energy supply chain and led to crude oil prices shooting to as high as $134 per barrel. During the same year, State Street's energy ETF shot up by 54% as oil companies all over benefited from record revenue and profits. However, the outlook for the energy industry in 2024 isn't as optimistic. While the same ETF has gained 9.5% year to date, Brent crude opened 2024 at roughly $78 per barrel and is trading at $78.5 right now. For the second half of 2024, the EIA estimates that it will trade at $89 per barrel - higher than the first half average of $84. This is despite the fact that the world's largest oil user, China, is facing an uncertain economy that has led some to believe that its oil consumption could drop by 3.8% in the year's second half with diesel usage dropping by 5.6% annually. In fact, as FactSet notes, this "lower-than-forecast" global demand growth coupled with production increases might lead to an oversupplied oil market. If this is true, then the subsequent downward oil price adjustments could also lead oil stocks lower - and make current valuations overvalued. Our Methodology To make our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts, we ranked US based energy stocks with a market cap greater than $300 million by their average analyst share price target upside and picked out the stocks with the highest upside. We also mentioned the number of hedge funds that had bought these stocks during the same filing period. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletters strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). Aerial view of an oil well and the rig in the Permian Basin, West Texas. Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Number of Hedge Fund Investors in Q1 2024: 32 Average Analyst Share Price Target Upside: 51.57% Average Analyst Share Price Target: $64.75 Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) is a small oil and gas company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The firm, like other American oil producers, is busy expanding its production portfolio through acquisitions. The US shale sector has been focusing on acquisitions for the past two years, and through its deals, Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) aims to expand its production base in the Delaware base regions. While expanding through acquisitions is a solid growth strategy as it provides oil companies with greater control of assets, Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) currently has $1.6 billion of debt. The latest acquisition that expanded the firm's presence in Delaware came with an $880 million price tag will be financed through a revolving credit facility that could strain earnings in the future and force Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) to operate with greater profitability. Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)'s management commented on its production during the Q1 2024 earnings call. Sustained production is key to financing its growth, and according to them: "As a company, were pursuing multiple paths to reduce breakevens and extend inventory. We are improving productivity by extending lateral lengths, pumping high intensity completions, testing and proving up new horizons, implementing a wide array of new technologies, acquiring new assets, improving base operations and so much more. Weve increased our average well productivity by 35% since 2019, and nearly 95% of our oil production comes from assets we acquired in the past five years. We have been consistent in our strategy to create value by building depth and quality of inventory, while also improving our financial structure and generating free cash flow." Overall VTLE ranks 14th on our list of the best American energy stocks to buy according to analysts. You can visit 14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts to see the other American energy stocks that are on hedge funds radar. While we acknowledge the potential of VTLE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VTLE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion Opportunity for NVIDIA and 10 Best of Breed Stocks to Buy For The Third Quarter of 2024 According to Bank of America. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Ballots wait to be counted at the Adams County Government Center in Brighton, Nov. 7, 2023. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline) An election reform group backed by an influential Colorado megadonor says it has submitted 213,000 signatures to the Colorado secretary of states office in support of a sweeping measure to abolish party primaries and adopt ranked choice voting. The submission makes it likely that Initiative 310, backed by the group Colorado Voters First, will comfortably exceed the minimum threshold of 124,238 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot once its petitions are verified by the secretary of state. The initiative proposes to replace Colorados partisan primary system with a single all-candidate primary for each state and federal office. The top four candidates would advance to a general election decided by ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting. Under this method, voters would rank as many or as few of the four candidates as they wish, and candidates with the fewest first-place votes are eliminated until one candidate receives a majority. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The nonprofit Unite America backed a successful effort to establish such a system in Alaska in 2020 and is pushing its model in Colorado and a half dozen other states in 2024. The group is co-chaired by Kent Thiry, former CEO of Denver-based dialysis services company DaVita, who has previously bankrolled successful efforts to open Colorados primaries to unaffiliated voters and establish independent redistricting commissions. The group touts its model as a cure for partisan polarization and political dysfunction. A press release sent by Colorado Voters First on Thursday touted support from both sides of the aisle. The partisan primary system in place right now excludes too many voters and gives too much power to the political parties to determine which candidates are ultimately elected, said Terrance Carroll, a Democratic former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. Colorado voters are eager to assert their voices in our elections and improve elected officials ability to work together and govern effectively. Dick Wadhams, former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, said in a statement that Colorado voters deserve the freedom to vote for any candidate they choose in any election. Colorado elections have evolved as the need for improvements have emerged over time, and opening the Primary Election process to all voters, whether they are affiliated with a political party or not, is another common-sense step in that evolution, Wadhams said. But other members of both parties have been highly critical of the measure. A group of Republican activists have filed a series of competing ballot initiatives to block the Colorado Voters First plan, including a blanket prohibition on ranked choice voting. They face an Aug. 5 deadline to submit signatures. Some Colorado Democrats argue that the proposed system would advantage wealthy candidates possibly, they say, including Thiry, who previously has publicly mulled a run for governor. Local elections officials across the state have also been cool towards the proposal, fretting over the feasibility of implementing the new system on the timeline envisioned by Thiry and his allies. With support from the Colorado County Clerks Association, a last-minute amendment to an elections bill passed at the end of the 2024 legislative session erected several significant obstacles that could delay the initiatives implementation. But alongside top Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said upon signing the bill in May that state leaders will take prompt and good faith actions to successfully implement the will of the voters if the measure passes, promising the measures reforms would take effect no later than the 2028 election cycle. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction, the late great Toni Morrison once said. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. For Donald Trumps entire political career, hes used racism as a tool to distract the public from matters more significant. In 2012, he resorted to birtherism while questioning Barack Obamas citizenship to disrespect the nations first Black president. When launching his presidential campaign in 2015, he called Mexicans rapists to incite fear on immigration issues. He spent his presidency attacking other marginalized groups on their identity to rally up the most xenophobic and racist base of his supporters. This week, Trump was welcomed to a convention panel hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists to publicly insult the Black women journalists interviewing himand his Black and Indian female presidential opponent, Kamala Harris. Donald Trump Claims Kamala Harris Happened to Turn Black in Stunning Slur I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump responded when asked by ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott if it was appropriate to call Harris a DEI hire, which many Republicans have been recently referring to her presidential candidacy as. She was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn, and she became a Black person. It goes without saying, but this is a big fat Trump lie: Throughout her public life, Harris has long identified as being both Black and South Asian. Born in Oakland, California, to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, Harris graduated from Howard University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a historically Black sorority. But this has been documented for years. And in a room of predominantly Black journalists who have covered Harrisits obvious they know this already as well. So why did Trump resort to attacks on Harriss racial identity? Its simple: Distraction. On a platform where Black journalists tried to get him to address issues pertinent to their respective community, he instead pivoted to attacking a Black woman who wasnt even in the room. While currently dodging an opportunity to actually debate Harris in person, he took advantage of a Black journalism convention platform to test out a nasty campaign attack on her. Rather than most of the media address Trumps lack of a serious agenda to engage Black voters, holding him accountable on his racist past with this community, were instead seeing them wrestle with Harriss racial identity instead. Mission accomplished! Trump used a highly coveted Black media space to question the racial identity of a Black woman, and now the point has been officially missed. Who loses yet again? Black voterswho once again have to witness their intelligence be insulted by Trump and the mainstream media. Newsflash: A white man doesnt have the right or credibility to verify or discredit the racial identity of a person of color. Full stop. For all of the presumed gains thats been previously reported regarding Trump and Black male voters, its been dampened by the meteoric rise of Black voter approval for Harriss presidency. Last week, thousands of Black women and Black male voters held respective virtual calls in support of Harris and fundraised over a $1 million apiece. We have yet to see similar energy for Trumps campaign by Black votersdespite his audacious (and arguably false) claim that he was the best president for Black Americans since Abraham Lincoln. Trump, left, and Rachel Scott at the National Black Journalists Association convention. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty While this recent line of attack from Trump wont help him gain traction with Black voters, it allows him to once again avoid addressing any legitimate questions they have with his campaign. During the NABJ convention panel that was originally set at an hour, Trumps campaign cut it short at only 35 minutes right as he was being asked about Project 2025a controversial right-wing policy plan that could adversely impact Black Americans. For all that Trump said on that stage, he never mentioned ita missed opportunity for those who still have questions regarding it. Meanwhile, his very Black and Indian opponent called his latest stunt for what it is. It was the same old showthe divisiveness and the disrespect, Harris said in response to Trumps recent attacks while addressing members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (another historically Black sorority) during its 60th Biennial Boule. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength, she said. May we all consider Morrisons wise words and not let Trumps racism serve as another distraction from the real issues that matter in this consequential election. 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. An Orange County church ministry volunteer was sentenced to over 120 years in prison for molesting young girls. Todd Christian Hartman, 41, of Newport Beach, was convicted of molesting several young minors and possessing hundreds of explicit images of children, according to the Orange County District Attorneys Office. Hartman had repeatedly molested a girl beginning when she was 6 years old, officials said. He met the girl while volunteering at the Anaheim Vineyard Church childrens ministry. He was also convicted of molesting the girls younger sister while taking sexually suggestive photographs as she was on his lap. At the time, church leadership changed Hartmans responsibilities after they became concerned about him repeatedly pulling children onto his lap, court documents said. In 2016, Hartman contacted the father of the two sisters and admitted to the crimes. In a separate incident, Hartman was also convicted of molesting two girls in 2009 a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old. While at a sleepover at a Fullerton home, he groped and fondled their genitals repeatedly, authorities said. Investigators also discovered Hartman possessed hundreds of pornographic images of children, including children stripping, dancing in their underwear and performing oral sex. In February 2015, a search warrant was served at the Newport Beach home Hartman shared with his mother after detectives traced an IP address that had shared several child pornography images to his residence. Houses of worship should be safe havens from the evils of the world, but instead child predators transform them from a place of safety into a hunting ground for unsuspecting victims for their twisted sexual gratification, said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. No child should have the innocence of childhood robbed from them by anyone, much less someone they were led to believe they could trust. Doctor arrested after hidden camera discovered in bathroom of Southern California chiropractic clinic On Wednesday, Hartman was sentenced to 120 years to life plus an additional four years and four months in prison. Californias elder parole law allows most convicted felons who are 50 years and older and who have served at least 20 years of their sentence to be eligible for parole. Spitzer criticized the elder parole law in a Wednesday statement announcing Hartmans sentencing. While these victims and their families grapple with trying to put back together their shattered innocence, they must also deal with the fact that instead of having the peace of mind that this predator who preyed on the most innocent of children will never be out of prison, they must deal with the harsh reality that he will eligible for parole in just a few years as a result of the governor and the state Legislatures reckless and disgraceful decisions to once again put the criminals before the victimized by allowing dangerous predators to be eligible for elder parole at age 50 after serving just 20 years, Spitzer said. We will never leave the sides of our victims and when he does come up for parole we will do everything in our power as prosecutors to keep him behind bars where he undoubtedly belongs. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. About 145,000 people are enrolled in an indivdual health insurance plan this year. (Getty Images) Oregon insurance regulators have cut the health insurance rate increases proposed by insurers earlier this year but individuals are still likely to pay an increase of 5% and could see rates jump by 11%. Financial specialists in the Department of Consumer and Business Services said in a release Wednesday they had lowered the rate increases proposed by five companies offering plans on the individual market while keeping the rate proposed by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan the same. The changes would cut the weighted average increase for all companies from 9.3% to 8.1%. They left Kaiser Foundation Health Plans rate as is at 5% the lowest of six companies that will offer individual plans next year. Most Oregonians are insured through their employer, Medicaid or Medicare. About 145,000 residents purchased health insurance policies for this year on the federal marketplace, which is the only way to obtain subsidies. The rate reviews will go up for final public comment in early August, and officials will make a final decision later that month. (Courtesy of the Division of Financial Regulation in the Department of Consumer and Business Services) The rate cuts proposed by the department followed months of review by the public and state insurance regulators to make sure the policies comply with the Affordable Care Act, which requires that insurance cover certain preventive procedures at no extra cost. The reductions in the rates the companies first proposed in May follow a determination by officials that components of several company filings were above allowed limits. Comment on the rates The Department of Consumer and Business Services will have a final public comment session on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. Check the departments website, https://dfr.oregon.gov/healthrates/pages/index.aspx, for the link. Under the law, the state is in charge of reviewing and revising rates to ensure they are reasonable and not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Im glad we were able to find ways to save Oregonians money in a time when budgets are tight, Andrew Stolfi, Oregons insurance commissioner, said in a release. Our health insurance market is competitive, and we have five carriers offering plans in every Oregon county next year, which gives Oregonians more options to shop for plans to fit their budget. Regulators made the biggest cut to Moda Health Plans proposed 9.4% rate increase, trimming it by 1.8% to 7.6%. They trimmed Providence Health Plans proposal by 1.7%, bringing it to an increase of 9.5%. The biggest rate increase will be in PacificSource Health Plans, at 11.1%, just down from an initial 11.6% proposed by the company. Regulators also reviewed rates proposed by eight insurers who offer plans on the small group market to employers with up to 50 staff members. Those rates could go up an average of 12.2% if the current rates stand after public comment. Regulators only trimmed the proposals of two insurers: They brought UnitedHealthcare Insurance Companys proposal down from an increase of 13.2% to 12.7% and UnitedHealthcare of Oregons down from 18.8% to 13.3%. (Courtesy of the Division of Financial Regulation in the Department of Consumer and Business Services) When white men get together to explicitly organize as white dudes, one way or the other, sooner or later, bad things are going to happen. It didnt take long for White Dudes for Kamala Harris to start looking shady. Of all people to start it, the famously fresh and friendly Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg argued that men should support Harris because shell keep abortion legal. How thats valuable to Pete and his partner, I dont know, but the argument that men are more free when abortion is legal has to be among the most tone-deaf Ive ever heard come from someone held up as an example of an enlightened male. Depending on which peer-reviewed research you believe, somewhere between 5% and 60% of abortions happen because women are pressured into them by the fathers of those unborn children. Say it is on the low end at 20% thats more than 100,000 abortions a year because women were pressured into getting them. Thats not freedom and it certainly isnt choice. The men who are freer when abortion is legal are the worst among us, guys like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, who see women as prey and vows as optional. Ick. The millions in campaign contributions white men raised for Democratic presidential aspirant Harris cant make up for it. But that boorishness is just a taste of whats to come if white guys start thinking of themselves as a class and organizing around their white guyness. Theres a reason we have a taboo in our society against white men organizing as explicitly white male groups. Why stop at white? Why not exclude all but Christians? And not the Catholic kind either. Protestant Christian white dudes famously organized with white robes and pointy hats and burning crosses. There was intimidation and riots and lynchings, what wonderful memories we have of organized white males organizing around their whiteness. And it is not like you have to go back that far in time or ideologically. It was only 14 years ago that the last exalted cyclops of the KKK to serve in the Senate died. He, like Buttigieg, was a lifelong Democrat. It was only seven years ago, and but a stones throw from Robert Byrds West Virginia, that a decidedly pale group of protesters marched through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, at a white nationalist rally where a young woman was killed. At the time, most good people thought groups of white men organizing was a bad idea. Now, I am not really, seriously comparing Pete Buttigieg and his taupe-hued cohorts to the Klan. They, after all, are the good kind of people organizing to elect a mixed-race child of immigrants as president, an event that would have made the younger Robert Byrd turn red with rage. But theres a reason we look sideways when white men organize explicitly as white men. Once the social cost of doing so openly goes down the other side will do it, too. How long do we have to wait for the Mississippi chapter of White Men for Trump/Vance to announce their new group? How long before the Proud Boys of Charlottesville and Jan. 6 fame move their recruitment from out of the internet shadows and into the real-world middle schools? Will those events be benign? If you want to organize white men, or just white people on behalf of progressive candidates, do it with a nod to their continued social dominance, but leave the door open to others, too. CEOs for Harris would have a few Black and women members, but would otherwise be made up overwhelmingly of white men. Union members for Harris would be more diverse, but still overwhelmingly light in color. Eagle Scouts for Harris? Silicon Valley for Harris? Iowans for Harris? Idaho bowling leagues for Harris? All get white people together to support Harris without making it OK for white people to organize along racial lines. We Americans have spent the better part of two centuries getting over the racial divide built by white people excluding others from the benefits of American liberty. We ought not be taking steps backward now, even if it does make for a cool Zoom call and help Kamala Harris get into the White House. David Mastio, a former editor and columnist for USA Today, is a regional editor for The Center Square and a regular Star Opinion correspondent. Follow him on X: @DavidMastio or email him at dmastio1@yahoo.com Some of the Outrageous Claims Donald Trump Made to a Room Full of Black Journalists Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump participates in a question and answer session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention at the Hilton Hotel on July 31, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. - Image: Scott Olson (Getty Images) At this point, you can never be shocked by anything former President Donald Trump says or does, but many were surprised when the GOP nominee accepted an invitation to attend this years National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual conference. What was meant to be a civil conversation between Trump and three Black moderators quickly turned into 30 minutes of the former president spewing lies and insults, mostly directed at Vice President Kamala Harris and undocumented immigrants. In case you missed the chance to watch the Q&A session in real time, The Root has you covered with a list of all of the out-of-pocket things Trump said. Calling ABC Network a fake, terrible news network The 45th president couldnt even make it two minutes without attacking moderator ABC moderator Rachel Scott. After being asked Why should Black voters trust you? in context of his history of racial statements, the former president went on a rant about the horrible manner in which Scott posed the question. ABC's Rachel Scott opens her interview with President Trump at the NABJ conference by calling him a racist for criticizing black politicians and journalists. Trump gives a masterful response while also mentioning how he showed up while Kamala Harris did not. pic.twitter.com/AeMGH0D87I Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 31, 2024 Of course, he never directly answered Scotts question. Instead, Trump called ABC a fake, terrible news network before expressing his love for Black people and vaguely referencing his past work with opportunity zones with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Trump called moderator Scott rude and continued to attack her throughout the entirety of the Q&A. Attacking NABJ and Kamala Harris Trump wasted no time name dropping Harris after saying NABJ invited him under the false pretense that the vice president would also be in attendance. Before the Q&A took place, NABJ announced they also invited Harris to the conference, as they do with all current and past presidential nominees. Although the presumptive Democratic nominee will not be attending the ongoing conference, Harris is in talks to schedule a conversation with NABJ later this year. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. Now, Trump has said it before, but during this conversation, he once again referred to himself as the best president for Black America since Lincoln freed the slaves. HAPPENING NOW: Former President Donald Trump says he was late the the @NABJ convention due to technical difficulties. He also says hes the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/iZgeWOrGa9 Justin Odell Lundy (@_JustinLundyTV) July 31, 2024 The NABJ crowd quickly booed the former president in response, but that didnt stop Trump from standing on his claim. The former president said he didnt know the vice president was Black Trump accused the vice president of never acknowledging her Blackness until recent years. Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, has never denied her Blackness she even attended Howard, a historically Black college but apparently, this is news to the former president. He claimed Harris was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person. He continued saying he doesnt know if Harris was a DEI hire but she could be in his opinion. Doubling down on his controversial Black jobs comment When asked why he decided to attend this years conference, Trump quickly began a rant about his message to stop people from invading our country and taking Black jobs. Oh man. Donald is tanking at the NABJ conference. Hes again going with the Black jobs thing. The audience isnt happy. pic.twitter.com/t0yNU72k4c Art Candee (@ArtCandee) July 31, 2024 Yes.... he said it again three more times in fact and hes sticking behind it! Trump went on to blame Harris for the ongoing southern border crisis, calling her the worst border czar in the history of the world. Insisting Democrats allow abortions to take place after childbirth Although the GOP candidate said hes for abortions in one of three circumstances incest, sexual assault, and emergency situations regarding the mothers life Trump made the false claim that Democrats allow abortion in the ninth month and even after the baby is born. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than one percent of abortions take place after 21 weeks of pregnancy. After moderators attempted to correct the former president, he ignored them and even targeted former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Trump said Northam is willing to... rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby. This is also not true. Trump went on to say that thanks to him, the Republican party has become less radical. This is the single dumbest and worst decision in NABJ history. Whoever made this call is an idiot. And Ill say it to their face this week. https://t.co/IlJIxwbjnx Carron J. Phillips (@carronJphillips) July 30, 2024 Many NABJ attendees like X user @carronJphillips called the move to host Trump the worst decision in NABJ history. Although the conversation didnt go exactly as planned, former President Trumps appearance definitely gave Black folks plenty to talk about as the conference continues this week. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The owner of a North Portland newspaper is currently in federal custody in Alabama jail after reportedly making multiple threats of violence to churches and individuals in the Mobile area. Court documents state that, in one instance back in November, Richard Colvin called a Methodist church, threatening to kidnap, cage and rape her. Multnomah County, AMR reach agreement to fix long ambulance response times Colvin made his first court appearance in Alabama federal court on June 12, but was arraigned on July 3, entering a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. The documents further state that Colvin has a long-standing history of documented mental illness, with his family and other members of his immediate circle corroborating that history. DATA: New mapping tool shows Portlands richest and poorest neighborhoods Colvin is the owner of the St. Johns Review, a community paper which has published a weekly or month print edition for nearly 120 years. The papers director, Anisha Scanlon, told KOIN 6 News that, given the current situation, the ownership is working on being transferred to her. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. UPDATE (12:05 P.M.) Senator Bob Casey released a statement after learning that Marc Fogel would not be released. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. For years, I have been working alongside Marcs family to push the Administration to bring Marc home. Negotiating with a foreign adversary is no easy task, but as the Administration has worked to bring home high-profile Americans like Brittney Griner, Evan Gershkovich, and Paul Whelanwe have only asked that they also prioritize Marcs release. While Marcs name may not be in the news every day, he is no less deserving of a reunion with his family. This is a difficult day for Marc and his family. I have not forgotten about Marc, and I will never give up on bringing him home. I urge everyone who fought to bring Evan and Paul home to now work to do the same for Marc, Casey said. UPDATE (11:35 A.M.) Despite a push from lawmakers, Marc Fogel was not released in a Russian prisoner swap on Thursday. Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing for an Oakmont teacher to be released from prison during an reported Russian prisoner swap. Marc Fogel was arrested in 2021 on Aug. 14. He had a small amount of medical marijuana and was sentenced to 14 years. >> Family of Oakmont man detained in Russia demands answers, pleads for his freedom On Thursday, reports said that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan will be released from Russian prisons as part of an upcoming prison swap. >> Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan to be released from Russian prisons in prisoner swap Pennsylvania lawmakers are hoping the swap can be an opportunity to bring Fogel home too. >> Family of Oakmont teacher detained in Russia suing federal government Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Representatives Mike Kelly, Chris Deluzio and Reschenthaler released a statement on Thursday calling on President Biden and his administration to get Fogel added to the deal. The statement said: As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvanias Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, said the lawmakers. Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible. As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel. To learn more about Marcs story, or see how you can get involved, 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: Pittsburgh Police looking for missing at-risk woman 2 people dead after fire in Fayette County New 40,000-square-foot sports complex opening soon in Beaver County VIDEO: New 40,000-square-foot sports complex opening soon in Beaver County DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Shares of Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) fell on Thursday after the company reported earnings, on concerns about a scandal in Japan and softening demand in China. As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Toyota's American depositary shares were down about 5.6% from Wednesday's closing price. Toyota's electric bZ4X is a solid entry, but the company's EV efforts still lag its global peers. Image source: Toyota Motor. Earnings were good, but there are reasons for concern Toyota's earnings weren't bad. The Japanese auto giant reported operating profit of 1.3 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) for the quarter ended June 30, in line with Wall Street estimates. That was an increase of 17% from its operating profit in the year-ago period -- a good result, but not quite up to the growth that investors have seen in recent quarters. And there are increasing signs of bumps in the road ahead: Worldwide sales, already down 4.7% in the first half of the year, are facing growing headwinds in key markets including China and the United States. Toyota has been forced to temporarily suspend shipments of several models in Japan following revelations that several of its vehicles, including the Prius, weren't properly tested for collision safety. Sales in Japan were down over 22% in the first half of 2024. In a further blow to the company's image, Japan's Transport Ministry on Wednesday ordered Toyota to make "drastic reforms" to ensure that new-model certification procedures are properly followed in the future. That order could roil Toyota's executive suite. EVs continue to worry, but Toyota is still maintaining guidance More broadly, Toyota has been under fire for dragging its feet on electric vehicle (EV) adoption, though it has recently had success with its hybrid models as consumer demand for EVs has slowed. But there was also some good news in its earnings report: Despite the near-term concerns, Toyota maintained its prior guidance projecting a profit of 4.3 trillion yen for the fiscal year that will end on March 31, 2025. Should you invest $1,000 in Toyota Motor right now? Before you buy stock in Toyota Motor, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Toyota Motor wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $717,050!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. Story continues See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2024 John Rosevear has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Toyota Stock Is Down Despite Good Earnings was originally published by The Motley Fool Pace of NC hurricane relief improving, but nearly 2,000 still wait for aid and housing Nearly 2,000 North Carolinians are still waiting on repairs to their homes following flooding and damage from hurricanes Matthew and Florence, which struck the eastern part of the state more than five years ago. But the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency the agency tasked with these recovery efforts, which has faced the brunt of public scrutiny has been making progress in comparison to past years, according to data shared by the agency. To aid with rebuilding and repairing many of the homes damaged by the hurricanes, the state received $236.5 million for Hurricane Matthew and $542.6 million received for Hurricane Florence from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, aid was slow to materialize, and many people and families remained homeless for years after the storms. Florence hit the state in 2016, followed by Matthew in 2018. HUD approved the states spending plan for Florence and Matthew in 2020. The application period for aid under the Homeowner Recovery Program opened in June 2020 and closed in April 2023. Hurricane recovery efforts in the state span various organizations and officials. NCORR which is also called Rebuild NC was established in 2018 by the legislature, and is overseen by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. It resides within the Department of Public Safety, led by Secretary Eddie Buffaloe Jr., who is part of Coopers cabinet. Cooper this year also assigned Pryor Gibson to monitor NCORRs operations, NC Newsline reported. Last year, Richard Trumper, former executive director of disaster recovery with the Office of State Budget and Management, joined DPS as senior advisor for disaster recovery. Asked for a comment from Cooper on the recovery efforts, a spokesperson, Jordan Monaghan, said in a statement that the Cooper Administration has overseen the repair and rebuilding of more than 13,600 homes along with hundreds of roads, bridges, and public buildings in the wake of these devastating hurricanes. Despite many federal bureaucratic obstacles, NCCORR has made significant progress getting families back into stronger and more resilient homes and has outperformed other states that received this same federal grant in 2018. They will continue the effort to help families and communities rebuild, he said. What the data shows According to data shared by NCORR spokesperson Bridget Munger, 2,459 applicants have had their cases completed. Of those, 2,319 had their homes repaired or replaced and 140 were reimbursed for repairs, Munger said. One of those who is back in a home is Clara Staten, who applied for help through NCORR after her mobile home was damaged in succession by Matthew and Florence. She finally moved into a new mobile home in December 2023 after years after waiting. Staten thinks its because she constantly was reaching out to NCORR leadership and pushing for answers, including attending a Sept. 14, 2022, hearing lawmakers held to question NCORR leadership. Staten said she got her award letter in October, one month after attending the hearing and speaking with NCORR employees who attended. I raised hell with them, she said, But theres several people that I know that have not ended up like me. A lot of people dont know what their rights are. They dont know what they dont know. While waiting for aid, Staten said she remained living in her home despite water damage, mold on the walls and the roof falling into the bathroom with her two sons, stepdaughter and two grandchildren. She said she also got some aid from FEMA to make some necessary repairs to remain living in her home. She did not want to find herself stuck in a motel for years, like some NCORR applicants have been, she said. Statens grandmothers home was also damaged by the hurricanes. She also applied for help but died at the age of 104 while waiting, Staten said. Anybody that was of age, they should have been given priority. She died and never got to see her house, Staten said. But 1,895 applicants remain waiting, according to Munger. These applicants are in different stages of the application process, which has eight steps and begins at intake and ends with completion: No applicants are in steps 1 through 3, which are intake, eligibility determination and duplication-of-benefits review. 7 applicants are in step 4, inspection and environmental review. 120 applicants are in step 5, award determination. 1,078 applicants are in step 6, the contracting and bidding process. Of those, 972 projects are awarded to contractors and 106 are in the bidding phase. 690 applicants are in step 7, the construction phase. The remaining applicants are the 2,459 families that have reached the completion step. Janet Kelly-Scholle, an NCORR spokesperson, said that the agency anticipates having all awards in the hands of homeowners by the fall of 2024. Pressure on NCORR For years, state lawmakers have pressed leadership tasked with recovery efforts on delays, expressing concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency with companies contracted for repairs and rebuilds. Data presented to state lawmakers by Laura Hogshead, chief operating officer of NCORR, at the September 2022 hearing showed that 789 applications had reached completion. During that presentation, she attributed delays to supply-chain challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and federal red tape associated with using the HUD funds. On Dec. 14, 2022, she presented data showing that 889 applications out of 4,313 had been completed. This meant that since the September meeting, 74 construction projects had been completed, while 26 families chose a reimbursement option, Hogshead said in December 2022. The average application completion rate was at 17 at the end of November 2022, Hogshead said. Things are running faster now, according to Kelly-Scholle, who said that between August and December of 2023, NCORR completed an average of 64 homes per month. NCORR has averaged more than 100 homes completed per month since January, and in June, 117 families moved into the completion step, Kelly-Scholle said. Previously, North Carolina was labeled a slow spender by HUD. It no longer is, according to recent reports. NCORR is completing more homes per month than any grantee in the nation, said Hogshead in an email statement to The News & Observer. Kelly-Scholle said this calculation was made by comparing HUD reports and contacting other states to verify and that NCORR agency anticipates helping every eligible applicant and spending funds before deadlines set by HUD. NCORR is working with local municipalities and with nonprofit organizations to resolve these issues. The complexity of resolving these applications is part of the reason that HUD gives states years for funds to be spent, Hogshead wrote. Legal Aid of North Carolinas Disaster Recovery Project has been assisting survivors of the hurricanes with legal issues they face with NCORR. Emily Smiley, supervising attorney with the group, told The N&O that many of our clients still awaiting construction have faced some hurdle along the way, mostly related to NCORR policies such as proving ownership. Others do not have any significant hurdles and have just seen NCORRs process move very slowly, typically waiting for months or years to be moved from one step of the program to the next. Few of our clients have seen significant delays due to external actors such as permitting offices or co-owners, although these issues have arisen from time to time, she said in an email. She also said that now they are seeing clients with concerns about the quality of construction on their homes and the lack of a quick response or any response at all to warranty claims. Smiley also said that, as far as Legal Aid was aware, most nonprofits no longer have funding to assist Matthew and Florence survivors. Money spent Of the $236.5 million received for Hurricane Matthew, just over $231 million has been disbursed. NCORR has until Aug. 15, 2025, to spend the money and anticipates spending it by fall of 2024, Kelly-Scholle said. Of the $542.6 million received for Hurricane Florence, just over $434 million has been disbursed. NCORR has until Aug. 17, 2026, to spend these funds and anticipates spending them by the fall of 2025, said Kelly-Scholle. Under the Dome Get the latest news about North Carolina politics from The News & Observer's award-winning team. Get the free digest sent to your inbox by signing up here. Destroyed homes, looting, and a desire for revenge. A former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist has alleged serious misconduct by Israeli forces in Gaza, and a lack of discipline in the command structure, in an interview with CNN. Yuval Green, a 26-year-old former paratrooper, is one of a handful of soldiers who have served in Israels war against Hamas and are now publicly criticizing the way it is being prosecuted. Green described the behavior and alleged misdeeds of his reservist peers while serving in the Palestinian enclave, and the day he decided to tell his commanders he could no longer be part of his unit. Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 after Hamas attacked southern Israel. At least 1,200 people were killed, and more than 250 others abducted in the assault, according to Israeli authorities. Israeli military action in the strip has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injured over 90,000, according to Gazas Ministry of Health. As of early July, nearly 2 million people had been displaced in Gaza almost the entire population, according to figures from the United Nations. Green, who served as a medic in his unit, told CNN that prior to October 7 when he was recruited for reserve duty he had intended to leave the army, objecting to its conduct in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He had planned to tell his comrades on October 8, but after Hamas attacked, he felt duty-bound to support them as they were mobilized for the war. When the 7th of October struck, it was difficult for me at this time to tell them that Im not willing to come with them, Green said. So I decided to join my friends I didnt know what would be the right thing to do. Yuval Green, a former Israeli paratrooper, speaks to CNN. - CNN Atmosphere of demonizing Gazans Green told CNN that he served in the Gaza perimeter in November last year before being sent into the strip on December 2, spending 51 days in the city of Khan Younis, in the south. He said that the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were expressed openly in his unit, as they waited to be sent into Gaza, and called it the demonizing of Palestinians. In the days before we entered Khan Younis there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans, he said, adding that he heard people speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea. IDF rules of engagement in Gaza have been under great scrutiny. Green claims that IDF commanders on the ground seemed to acquiesce to soldiers desires to have fewer restrictions on their conduct than in previous incursions. I felt like my commanders were trying to kind of go with the soldiers and try to say things that they thought (were) what the soldiers wanted to hear. You know, saying things like, Were not going to have any boundaries in Gaza this time. Green said he did not serve during earlier cycles of violence in Gaza but took part in guard duty on the Gaza perimeter and in the West Bank, as well as training. A view of destruction in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on December 17, 2023, after weeks of Israeli bombardment. - Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images/File We dont care enough about Palestinian lives The war in Gaza has caused widespread material destruction to homes, infrastructure, hospitals and schools. Green says he witnessed the unnecessary destruction of Palestinian homes. Weve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons, Green said, adding he witnessed chaos I could tell you 100% that weve destroyed houses at least for reasons that we dont care enough about the lives of Palestinians. Describing the extent of the damage in Gaza, he said, You cant imagine it. Cities that are completely ruined. Palestinians carry out search and rescue operations following an airstrike on December 7, 2023, in Khan Younis. - Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images/File Accusations of looting Green told CNN that one of the things that bothered him most was witnessing what he alleged was the looting of Palestinian homes by soldiers in his own unit. Youre seeing looting by your peers all the time. That was something (that) was very difficult for me to see. I mean, people were taking souvenirs (from) the Palestinians houses, which I think directly relates to the demonization weve seen before the entrance to Khan Younis, he said. People were taking, you know, necklaces and doing graffiti on the walls and leaving behind damage to the houses that was just completely unnecessary. When asked if he thinks this behavior was condoned by IDF commanders, Green said that officially, they disapproved of such conduct but were unable to stop it. The superior commanders of the IDF, I think they do believe that this shouldnt happen looting or graffiti, Green said. But I dont think (the IDF) has the resources to stop it, and I think, you know, it all comes down to the soldiers (in) the field. You cant stop any soldier from doing things. While witnessing the alleged looting, Green said he confronted his peers, which resulted in a lot of arguments, but he was unable to sway his superiors to act: Some of them agreed with me, some of them didnt or some of them, you know, were in between. But all of them werent able to control our actions. The decision to leave In the end, one specific moment pushed Green to make the tough decision to leave his unit: when a commander allegedly ordered the burning of a Palestinian home they were stationed in. At some point, my commander told my platoon to burn down the house were staying at, Green recounted. And I went to him, I approached him and I asked him, Why are we doing that? And he gave me a few reasons, and I think those reasons were just not strong enough. They were, you know, military type of reasons, but they (were mixed up with) the revenge type of reasons. Now, I think this is just whats going on in Gaza. Israel is doing things because it needs to fulfil a type of military purpose, but it all mixes up with our need for or the Israeli need for revenge. I said, Im not willing to participate in that. Im not destroying a house that belonged to a few families that would become homeless because of that and Im leaving. And I just (left) with the next car that went out. Green said he decided to speak out publicly to put pressure on the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal. The Israeli government said this week that it was Hamas leadership that was preventing an agreement. I think there are concrete deals on the table right now, that Hamas is agreeing to, that make sense. I mean, those deals say that all the hostages would be freed and Israel is not accepting the ending of the war. And this is crazy, Green said. Green added that Israels alleged refusal to accept a deal was causing the deaths of hostages. Ive seen it from within, he said. I mean, we said nothing before we entered Gaza about the hostages. We could have killed them, you know, any moment, and its something that has happened. We know about more than 10 hostages that were killed directly from Israeli bombings or, you know, the three hostages that were killed, referring to an incident of friendly fire by the IDF in December, in which soldiers fatally shot three hostages. The possibility that hostages have been killed during Israeli bombardments is a sensitive one in Israel. There have been occasions when officials have announced that hostages were believed to have been killed while in captivity, but at no point have any such announcements been attributed to Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli army has not responded to CNNs request for comment on Greens claims. We have to tell our government to stop the war. This is the only right solution to save the lives of Palestinians that are dying every day and going through a living hell the past few months, saving the lives of soldiers, Israeli soldiers, that are now present in Gaza and dying every day, and obviously the lives of hostages. Israeli military vehicles in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, on December 25, 2023. - Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images/File Facing criticism at home In June, Green cosigned a letter with 40 other reservists refusing to serve in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. He is one of only three soldiers who have come out publicly, and his family and friends have voiced concern over his decisions. Obviously its something very controversial in Israel, but I was willing to sacrifice, you know, my privacy and (to come) out with a topic as controversial as that, because I believe that right now, its a matter of life and death. When people are criticizing me for that, and Ive heard people that said they were worried that I might get hurt in that process that always felt very weird because, you know, I went inside Gaza. I literally have risked my life. But people are now more afraid that I might get hurt, you know, by just coming out with words, he added. Its part of the problem with our situation right now. Reflecting on the violence committed by Hamas, he also urged Palestinians not to support Hamas or call for an intifada: They dont understand that those calling for violence are damaging the Palestinian cause, and have been killing Palestinians for years now I support Palestine too, but dont confuse between supporting Palestine and supporting the violence of Hamas. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on Greens allegations. Responding to Greens allegations, the IDF stated: The actions of the IDF and its operational activity in particular are subject to Israeli law and international law, which is reflected, among other things, in the rules of engagement among other military orders IDF commanders are guided by values of the IDF and lead the soldiers on the battlefield in a professional manner. When events that defer from the expected conduct occur, they are handled by the commanders as required. In some cases, IDF forces are required to act to remove a threat posed to them from buildings located in the territory of the Gaza Strip. The destruction of buildings is done with the appropriate means. Actions done otherwise, and not as a result of operational needs, are contrary to the armys orders and the IDFs values and are examined. Taking property that is not in accordance with the armys orders is prohibited by law and is not in line with the values of the IDF. Incidents in which forces acted not in accordance with the orders and the law are examined and will continue to be examined, including as part of investigations by the MPCID (Military Police Criminal Investigation Division). As a general rule, when details concerning concrete events are given, they are reviewed and dealt with accordingly. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News have reached an agreement with the Palm Beach News Guild on a two-year contract that boosts journalists pay while ensuring editors flexibility in assuring reporters and photographers adapt to the ever-changing local news environment. Front-line journalists unanimously ratified the contract Wednesday after four years of negotiations. It is the first contract agreement since voting to become a union in 2020. The contract provides flexibility to manage into the future and guarantees pay raises for every member of the newsrooms. It includes a commitment from Gannett to continue to use journalists to gather the news and serve the local audiences. A similar agreement was reached with journalists for The News-Press (in Fort Myers) and Naples Daily News. "Finalizing contracts at The Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach Daily News, Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press reflects our commitment to serving our colleagues and our valued Florida audience," said Kristin Roberts, Chief Content Officer for Gannett Media, which owns those news sites. "We intend to continue finalizing contracts across the USA TODAY Network nationwide to ensure our mutual focus remains serving our communities with essential content and news." The parties issued this joint statement on Wednesday: The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News editors and the Palm Beach News Guild are glad to reach this agreement that positions us to fulfill our shared mission of providing trusted local journalism in South Florida well into the future. The Palm Beach Post newspaper building at 2751 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. We believe these terms benefit our hard-working and talented journalists while positioning our local publications to provide stability and growth. Our mutual priority is to serve the ever-changing needs of audiences in Southwest Florida with essential journalism for the benefit of our communities. The contract opens an opportunity for labor and management to work together in meeting the many challenges our industry faces creatively and with a spirit of mutual respect. The contract sets minimum wage levels for new, five-year and 10-year reporters, photographers, producers and planners and includes a general hourly wage increase in each of the contracts two years, something that will help attract talent to our newsrooms. The contract also freezes healthcare premiums and a 401(k) match for newsroom employees and addresses training for journalists new to the company so they can confidently hit the ground running. The News-Press and Naples Daily News are both part of Gannett, which publishes USA TODAY and more than 200 local news sites nationwide. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Post, Daily News reach 2-year agreement with local union Parents of Lourdes student killed in boat crash want answers. They turned to a court The family of the 17-year-old Lourdes student killed in a boat crash on Labor Day weekend in 2022 frustrated by police and prosecutors investigation asked a Miami-Dade judge to help them obtain evidence in the case. During a hearing Wednesday, prosecutor Ruben Scolavino vowed to turn over any documents the state has in our custody and control in the case of George Pino, a real estate broker whos charged with misdemeanor careless boating offenses in connection to the crash that claimed the life of Lucy Fernandez. Lucys family, however, wont be able to obtain some of the evidence they explicitly requested, including Pinos cellphone records, after Miami-Dade County Court Judge Lizzet Martinez ruled that the request was out of the courts jurisdiction. Miami-Dade County Judge Lizzet Martinez addresses prosecuting attorneys during the arraignment for George Pino Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. On Sept. 4, 2022, Pino and his wife Cecilia Pino took their daughter and 11 of her friends on a boating outing for her 18th birthday. The celebration ended when the 29-foot Robalo operated by Pino struck a channel marker, launching all 14 people on board into Biscayne Bay. Luciana Fernandez Lucy later died at the hospital, and 18-year-old Katerina Puig, also a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, was critically injured. Puig survived but is permanently disabled after the crash. READ MORE: 61 booze containers on crashed boat in Keys and parents outraged over minor charges Attorney Joel Denaro, whos representing the Fernandez family, said gathering the records would help Lucys loved ones uncover what occurred leading up to the tragedy. But prosecutors say they dont have Pinos phone records. Also at the center of the back-and-forth was a series of photos from a camera located at the channel marker, which would have captured the accident. Information about the footage was redacted in the final report penned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, though Lucys father Andres Fernandez said he read the unredacted report. View of the channel marker #15, in the Intracoastal Waterway, site of a deadly boat crash on Sept. 4. The crash killed high school senior Lucy Fernandez, sending 14 people into the water. In sum, it states that there is a camera (facing north) which takes periodic pictures, also confirming no other boat, Fernandez said in a text message to Denaro. Its unclear if the images from the time of the crash will be handed over to the Fernandezes, as in court on Wednesday prosecutors said the state didnt possess the footage from the channel marker camera. At a hearing the day before, Scolavino emphasized that he wanted to avoid the images being released to the public because the cameras are used in federal drug and human trafficking investigations. The Fernandez family, Denaro said, recruited him to represent them because they lost faith in investigators and in the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office. Were not here for money... Denaro said at the hearing. Were here for the truth. Were here for justice. A faulty probe? Wednesdays hearing came after the Miami Herald reported that police and prosecutors didnt follow up with a key witness who contradicted Pinos main defense: That another boat caused him to slam into a channel marker at 47 mph on that calm, clear Sunday. Officers with the FWC, records show, asked Thomas Watson and his wife Melinda, a registered nurse who helped the injured, what they witnessed at the scene. Watson stated that there was no other boat involved. READ MORE: Prosecutors didnt talk to eyewitness before filing misdemeanor charges in deadly boat crash But neither the FWC nor prosecutors followed up to take written statements from them before filing misdemeanor charges against Pino. Prosecutors finally reached out to Watson this summer, nearly two years after the crash and 10 months after they filed charges against Pino. Damage to the 29-foot Robalo piloted by George Pino, who crashed his boat into a concrete channel marker in Biscayne Bay on Sept. 4, 2022. The boat crash led to the death of Luciana Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, and severely injured her classmate, Katerina Puig. Witnesses, including passengers on Pinos vessel, also told investigators that Pino didnt make any evasive maneuvers as he said he did before ramming the Robalo into the channel marker. An analysis of the GPS data on Pinos boat backs up the witnesses statements. And yet, Pinos attorney repeated the claim in a March 13, 2023, petition filed in Miami federal court seeking to limit Pinos liability from potential lawsuits from the crash. Denaro, at the hearing, slammed the probe. The ineptitude by prosecutors wasnt going to hold Pino accountable for misleading investigators, he said. All the witnesses were in the care and custody of the state... Denaro said. They just never bothered to question [them.] Defending the investigation, Scolavino pointed out that the case involved a large swath of people on the scene and that it was impossible to talk to everyone. The inquiry, he said, remains active. We interviewed everyone that we could, Scolavino said in court Tuesday. ...Our investigation is not complete until a jury has rendered a verdict. After Ken Baker's home burned to the ground during the Camp Fire in 2018, he said he continued cleaning and fireproofing what remained of his property in Paradise, California. Since that fire, he moved to the Sierra Nevada foothills of Cohasset, determined to start anew and stay in the northern part of the state, home to generations of his family. On the morning of July 24, Baker says he was getting ready to head back to Paradise for upkeep on the property when he received a notification on his phone about a new fire. This time, it was moving in the city of Chico. At that point, he said he wasn't worried, but he knew dry conditions were a concern. He thought he had done everything right to protect his new home. He bought a bulldozer and, with more than 100 feet of clearance around the house, brought in $3,000 worth of gravel to prevent grass from burning. As he watched the fire burn in the distance from his vantage point at work, he knew to call his sons. Baker told them, "Be ready in case I need you. We may have to evacuate." A day later, they lost their home in Cohasset -- this time to the Park Fire, now the fifth largest wildfire in California's history. Many in Paradise and surrounding communities told ABC News they were still on the road to recovery after the Camp Fire that began in November 2018. Now, Park Fire is triggering memories of the past, producing unease for those under evacuation warnings and families who lost their homes. PHOTO: Ken Baker moved into a new home in Cohasset, Calif., after he lost his to Camp Fire in Paradise in 2018. He said Park Fire torched his home on July 25, 2024. (Courtesy Ken Baker) The Camp Fire ultimately killed 85 people and destroyed 11,000 homes. In total, the fire decimated more than 18,000 structures. Those included restaurants, dentist offices and other sites, once recognizable, that no longer exist. Baker, who joined the National Guard and served in Iraq, said he thought he had seen it all. He became a sergeant major in the United States Army and after his service joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help others cope with post-traumatic stress. Yet the horror and destruction left in the wake of the Camp Fire changed his perspective. "We will lean forward and we will succeed, but it's been soul-crushing," Baker said. Baker's children helped him get out in time after the Park Fire broke out, he said. After the previous fire, the family had organized egg crates full of binders with important papers ready to go. Those were handy for this year's Park Fire as his family quickly gathered important documents birth certificates, marriage law casings and other belongings -- in a travel trailer. "I saw destruction on a scale that most people never see," Baker said describing his experiences in the military. "Paradise looked like that after the fire. Absolutely horrendous." Baker said driving through Cohasset is not easy -- it's in a rural area near dirt roads that are not made to be passed. There are other issues top of mind for Baker because of his firsthand experience with Camp Fire. Between incurring the cost of replacing a home, figuring out where to resettle, paying utility bills, and recalling every single item lost, it all took a toll on him. Now, he has to relive it. Even so, he said he considers himself lucky. Both of his homes were insured, he said, but insurance rates have skyrocketed in recent years. "We try to carry on as if nothing happened. But then when you're alone, or when you see something or you hear somebody else suffering, you know immediately what that feels like. And this is my community, these are my people. And they're hurting," Baker said. PHOTO: Jason and Tamara Ferguson in Cohasset, Calif, in October 2023. They lost their home to Park Fire and plan on relocating to Chico. (Courtesy Amy Campbell) Jason Ferguson's family lived in Chico, California, for decades, but he moved to Cohasset with his wife Tamara in 2008, he said. "We're just so deeply rooted here. It'd be really hard to just up and go somewhere else," he told ABC News. Tamara Ferguson, a preschool teacher, said the Park Fire moved fast once it broke out. One of her preschool student's parents first informed her of the fire in Upper Park behind the school. She says she raced home. Jason answered a call from his mom, who asked if he had Watch Duty, a wildfire mapping and alert app. He didn't, but after downloading the app he realized they were "a zone away" from an evacuation warning. Tamara said she only had about 30 minutes to pack up nearly everything in her life, particularly family heirlooms. Then, the Sheriff's Office sent a text blast urging people to evacuate immediately. The Fergusons lost their home. The Park Fire has, as of Wednesday, has grown to over 389,000 acres, according to Cal Fire. The fire, about 18 percent contained, has destroyed hundreds of structures as it hits Butte and Tehama counties. The man accused of starting the fire, Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was charged with felony arson on Monday. Prosecutors say he was spotted pushing a burning car down a nearby gully before the fire broke out. He has not yet entered a plea. MORE: Park Fire suspect charged with felony arson for allegedly igniting largest wildfire burning in US The Ferguson family said their home was uninsured. Like some in the area, the family has had to lean on a GoFundMe page that has already raised more than $10,000. The couple say their next steps will be to apply for money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Tamara Ferguson said her mother-in-law and sister-in-law lost their antique business in the Camp Fire. While her home was spared back then, she said she can "remember the day it happened like yesterday." Ellen Sannar-Welch, an educator in Chico, California, also recalls stories from Camp Fire. She spent the better part of her Friday calling the parents of her high school students to ask if they had shelter or needed anything. She said most of the time they just wanted someone who can listen. She could only get ahold of two families, but she said she told them, "'I want you to know that I will be here in the long haul. I know that this is devastating. I know I'm your teacher and maybe that's weird but we're here, we're your community.'" PHOTO: Ken Baker lost his home to Park Fire in Cohasset, Calif. He moved there after he lost his property to Camp Fire in Paradise, California in 2018. (Courtesy Ken Baker) Back in 2018, Sannar-Welch said she didn't anticipate the magnitude of Camp Fire. MORE: Record-breaking wildfires have occurred all over the Northern Hemisphere during 2023, new report finds "That day, I felt exceptionally helpless. And I felt stunted. It was like having a nightmare and screaming and no one can hear you," Sannar-Welch said of the day Camp Fire started. "Whenever there's a fire burning within 15, 20 miles of here, there becomes a sort of frenzy," she said. "There's this revving up of anxiety." Sannar-Welch said she knows families that moved three and four times just so they could find a permanent place to live. But she said since 2018, communities are now better prepared and connected through social media, like the Butte County Incidents Facebook group. "Does it change the general anxiety? To a degree. Loss is loss. Fire is so devastating," she said. "Everywhere you drive here - you can drive for 45 miles straight and you will see burn. You don't fathom it until you drive away from it." For the Ferguson family, there is still great uncertainty ahead, but they plan on finding a permanent home in Chico. "I just kind of want to get it behind me as quickly as possible and move on with our lives, you know, and PTSD? I don't know if I have that or will," Jason Ferguson said. "It's just the unknown's really hard." As Park Fire rages on, anxieties run high for communities with memories of 2018 Camp Fire originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Shasta County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that it had lifted evacuation orders for several areas in Cottonwood, Millville and Shingletown. Less restrictive evacuation warnings were also lifted for numerous areas in parts of southern Shasta County, according to the sheriff's office. As of Thursday evening, the fire had grown over the course of the day by 1,371 acres, to a total of 393,851 acres. Containment also showed a gain, to 22%, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. While some evacuations are being eased, the fire and weather conditions continue to pose problems for firefighters trying to bring the fire under control, Cal Fire said. The fire was most active in the northeast portions in Tehama County and in Butte County, Cal Fire said Thursday morning. Additional crews arrived to help in suppression, officials said. "Today will mark the first of several days where fire weather will become increasingly critical. Temperatures will rise from the upper 90s to the lower 100s. Daytime humidity will fall to upper teens today. Winds will be drier out of the south, but speeds will be close to previous days. There is increased instability in the north where we will see columns and plumes of smoke," Cal Fire said Thursday. Smoke from the fire also continues to be a problem. Air tankers flights were delayed due to smoke and visibility problems Thursday morning, according to emergency scanner traffic. Warmer temperatures are forecast for Northern California on Friday and Saturday, with the potential for thunderstorms and erratic winds. Thunder storms are predicted Friday in the northeast part of the fire in the area of the Lassen National Forest, Cal Fire said. The agency also noted that crews continue to work in areas of lava rock, steep drainages, and other difficult terrain. The fire started in the afternoon on July 24. Fire investigators said a Chico man deliberately set the fire in Upper Bidwell Park outside Chico when he pushed his mother's burning car over the side of an embankment. The vehicle rolled some 60 feet down a hillside to the bottom of a gully where it burst into flames, according to the Butte County District Attorney. The man, Ronnie Dean Stout II has been charged with arson in connection to starting the blaze. He was expected to attend a hearing in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday for further arraignment. Readers, scroll down for updates as they are posted for Thursday, Aug. 1. 9:06 a.m. Thursday: Structure damage numbers rise dramatically, critical fire weather arrives The number of structures damaged in the Park Fire rose to 483, while the number damaged increased to 47, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday morning. Most of buildings destroyed 356 are located in Butte County, while 127 structures were destroyed in Tehama County, Cal Fire reported. The agency said 85% of its damage assessment has been completed. While more structures were destroyed in Butte County, the fire scorched more acreage in Tehama County than Butte, Cal Fire said. There were 339,481 acres burned in Tehama County, compared to 52,999 in Butte County, where the fire started. 7:00 p.m. Thursday: Containment on Park Fire inches up Containment of the Park Fire is now 22%, up from 18% Thursday morning, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the agency said in its evening update. The wildfire's size is holding at 392,480 acres in Butte and Tehama counties. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Park Fire updates: Shasta County evacuations eased as fire size grows Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point USA Believers' Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on July 26, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Former President Donald Trump called on Christians to flood the polls in November, promising that if they vote him into office, they "wont have to vote again" in four years. Trumps July 26 comments came at the Believers Summit, a gathering intended to provide attendees with "practical knowledge and strategies to live out their faith boldly and counteract the prevailing 'woke' narratives," its website said. The summit, held in West Palm Beach, Florida, was hosted by Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA, a group founded by Charlie Kirk to reach young conservatives. Democrats tore into Trumps comment. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, portrayed Trumps comments as antidemocratic and a "promise to end democracy." "When Vice President Harris says this election is about freedom she means it," the Harris campaign said in a statement. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., shared a video of Trumps remarks, writing, "This year democracy is on the ballot, and if we are to save it, we must vote against authoritarianism." Trumps campaign pushed back. "President Trump was talking about the importance of faith, uniting this country and bringing prosperity to every American, as opposed to the divisive political environment that has sowed so much division and even resulted in an assassination attempt," campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in an email to PolitiFact. Prominent Republicans defended Trump, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who said on CNNs "State of the Union" that Trump was "obviously making a joke." New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu called the remarks "classic Trump-ism." "I think hes just trying to make the point that this stuff can be fixed," Sununu said on ABC News "This Week." "You know, obviously, we want everybody to vote in all elections. But I think he was just trying to make a hyperbolic point that it can be fixed as long as he gets back into office and all that." Former President Donald Trump spoke July 26 at the Turning Point USA Believers' Summit in Palm Beach, Fla., where he told attendees if they vote him into office, they "wont have to vote again" in four years. With widespread interpretations of Trumps comments, were using our In Context feature to let voters review his speech and come to their own conclusions. Trump spoke for over an hour at the summit. About halfway through, he discussed voter turnout among Christians, suggesting that they do not vote "proportionately" to their numbers. "You know, I dont want to scold you, but do you know that Christians do not vote proportionately? They dont vote like they should. Theyre not big voters," he said. Toward the end of Trumps speech, he denounced Democrats who "dont want to approve voter ID." He then implored Christians to turn out in droves and prevent Democrats from "cheating." Heres what he said: "We have to win this election, most important election ever. We want a landslide thats too big to rig. If you want to save America, get your friends, get your family, get everyone you know and vote. Vote early, vote absentee, vote on Election Day. I dont care how, but you have to get out and vote. And again, Christians, get out and vote just this time. You wont have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? Itll be fixed, itll be fine, you wont have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. "I love you, Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote." Trump concluded his remarks by emphasizing the importance of faith throughout American history and lamenting that the nation is now in decline. "We are a nation that has lost its way, but we are not going to allow this horror to continue," he said. "Less than four years ago, we were a great nation, and we will soon be a great nation again." Our sources This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: In Context: Trump tells Christians they 'won't have to vote anymore' Heat advisory issued by National Weather Service on Aug. 1, 2024, via NWS Most of Central and Southwest Florida was under a heat advisory on Thursday between noon and 6 p.m., meaning widespread heat indices between 108 to 112 degrees were expected. While most Floridians can stay inside and be cooled by air conditioning, nearly half-a-million Sunshine State residents work in outdoor jobs and have to rely on the goodness of their employer to protect them from the searing summer heat. Tampa Bay area Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor hopes the federal government will act soon to provide some of those heat protections. Castor held a news conference Thursday to again urge the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to finalize a proposed rule that would provide national protections to more than 35 million workers in both indoor and outdoor settings and likely reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplace. They [OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor] announced last month that they intend to do this; were waiting for them to get that proposed rule out so that it can be adopted, Castor said outside a Tampa Family Health Center in East Tampa. It couldnt be any more important in this day and age, as these brutally hot days just weigh on our families and weigh on our workers. The proposed rule would require employers to develop injury and illness prevention plans in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Employers would evaluate heat risks and when workers are in danger provide drinking water, rest breaks, and control of indoor heat. They also would need to accommodate new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat. In many ways, its similar to a proposal that farmworker advocates spent months working on with the Miami-Dade County Commission last year that, if enacted, would have created the first local ordinance in the state providing heat protections for outdoor workers. However, due to intense lobbying by industry interests, the proposed ordinance was first watered down then delayed after a bill was proposed in the Florida Legislature to preempt such local laws. That measure cleared the Legislature, was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April, and went into effect last month. Florida has the highest number of heat-related illnesses in the United States, with more than 31,000 emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to the heat between 2018 and 2022, according to a report by the Florida Policy Institute. The study found that in 20 Florida counties, more than one-third of residents were vulnerable to extreme heat. Nationally, heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, killing more than 200 people last year. Danger hours Dr. Ashley McPhie, chief medical information officer with Tampa Family Health Centers, advised that members of the public stay indoors if they can between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun is at its brightest. She urged people who have to be outside to wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, wear light clothing, and drink water every 15 minutes. Ernesto Ruiz, research coordinator with the Farmworker Association of Florida, told reporters there are two contextual realities that make farmworkers extremely vulnerable to illness or injury while working in intense heat. One is that they are paid by how much they produce on a piece rate basis. This strongly, strongly, disincentivizes our workers to take breaks, he said. Another problem is that the pesticides used to produce our food require farmworkers to wear long-sleeve shirts, pants, full face coverings, and hats to reduce exposure, but that only makes their bodies warmer. When OSHA does finalize its rule, theres no guarantee it will become immediate law, as it will undoubtedly be challenged by business interests, boosted by the U.S. Supreme Courts recent ruling overturning its own 1984 precedent in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which required courts to defer to federal agencies expertise when considering legal challenges to a regulation. California Democratic Rep. Judy Chu introduced legislation last year to direct OSHA to establish a permanent, federal standard to protect workers against exposure to excessive heat in both indoor and outdoor environments, but it hasnt received support in the Senate. As of April, six states had passed their own laws providing heat protections for outdoor workers, according to KFF, a nonprofit health care policy organization. But despite its excessive heat and reliance on agriculture workers, the Florida GOP-controlled Legislature thwarted any local community from enacting its own protections for workers an action that Castor blasted on Thursday. The Florida Legislature is captured by powerful special interests, she said. To think that in this state where we rely on our neighbors who work outside in construction and tourism and in the fields, that they do not value their work. They dont think they should have water breaks, that they shouldnt have the ability to get into the shade to take preventive measures. Its simply outrageous. Passengers are most likely to be stranded by these airlines thanks to an annoying industry practice Many airlines overbook and are forced to bump people from their planes. Here's a look at which carriers have done so the most. Were not on board with this. A new report exposes the US airlines most guilty of overbooking their flights a bizarre industry quirk that leaves hundreds of thousands of paying passengers grounded each year. The findings, compiled using statistics from the governments most recent Air Travel Consumer Report, found the act of turfing ticket-holders from a crowded plane last minute often in exchange for vouchers or miles worth a fraction of what the customer paid to be surprisingly common. Almost every airline is guilty of bumping people from flights due to overbooking. AP Many airlines in America engage in the practice of overselling flights to maximize profits. They assume that not all booked passengers will show up, so they sell more tickets than there are seats available, said Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator. While this approach can reduce the number of empty seats and help maintain low fares, it often leads to significant problems for some travelers and can cause frustration and stress for some passengers, Porcar said. Two Delta affiliates topped the naughty list Endeavor Air, known to most as Delta Connection, had 13.05 denied passengers per every 10,000. Fellow puddle jumper SkyWest followed with a rate of 7.99 per 10,000. Frontier was third overall with a rate of 6.47 per 10,000. The low-fare flyer snagged the boobie prize for highest number of passengers involuntarily booted, at 11,328. Fourth was Spirit with 6.41 per 10,000. Frontier made an astonishing number of calls to ground passengers against their will last year, a study showed. AP Legacy carrier Delta took fifth place (6.32 per 10,000) but according to the report, all 115,827 bumped passengers left the line voluntarily. Hawaiian Airlines and Allegiant Air were the two airlines least likely to ask you for your seat, with 0.83 and 0.66 of every 10,000 passengers moved. Hawaiian had six involuntary bumps while Allegiant reported none. If youre hoping this never happens to you, try being more valuable to the airline as a customer, experts say. The process of selection is generally random. However, airlines might prefer to start the process from the pool of passengers who do not have any loyalty status, Anton Radchenko, founder of Boston-based AirAdvisor, told Travel + Leisure. If you find yourself involuntarily leaving a plane, make sure you work the situation to your advantage, one pro said. Getty Images And while there are usually enough volunteers, suppose that you do find yourself at the receiving end of an offer you cant refuse. In that case, fight for your rights, the pros urge. Thats because many airlines will try to avoid offering you actual money, which doesnt mean you shouldnt be asking for what youre owed a few measly points or some free airport food while you wait for an open seat aint it, they say. Giving up the seat involuntarily is referred to as denied boarding, and the law provides for a compensation ranging from $675 to $1,350, which depends on delay upon arrival at your destination, Radchenko told T+L. SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Workers at BHP's Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, rejected an offer for a new collective bargaining agreement, setting the stage for a potential strike, the union said on Thursday. A total of 2,371 workers, or about 99.75% of union members, voted in favor of the strike. In a statement, the union said the call for a strike was "overwhelmingly backed by partners" that saw the offer made "no legitimate progress towards worker goals." The union reiterated its demand for 1% of dividends to distribute equally among workers and said the current offer by the company also extended work days and cut benefits. The statement said the current offer uses "one-time bonuses that try to hide the definitive loss of conditions." Chilean legislation lets either party call for five days of government mediation, extendable by another five days if both parties agree, to avert a strike. In a statement, BHP said it would request government mediation in "the coming days" and hopes to reach "an agreement compatible with worker aspirations and Escondida's future sustainability." BHP owns more than half of Escondida, along with Rio Tinto and JECO Corp. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Alexander Villegas, Brendan O'Boyle and David Gregorio) Who is Paul Whelan? What to know about Michigan man freed from Russia When women's basketball star Brittney Griner was released in December 2022 from the Russian prison system traded for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout the nation's eyes turned to the man who was left behind: Michigan's Paul Whelan. A year and a half later, Whelan was freed Thursday in a deal that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who also was wrongfully detained on spying charges the U.S. government says he didnt commit. More: Biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War could be underway, movements suggest Whelan, a former Marine who lived in Novi, was the head of global security for BorgWarner when he was arrested Dec. 28, 2018. He has been imprisoned in Russia, accused of espionage. He was convicted in June 2020 during a closed-door trial and sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a work camp. This is his story. Paul Whelan stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020. Who is Paul Whelan? Paul Nicholas Whelan was born in March 1970 in Ottawa, Ontario Canada's national capital. His parents, Edward and Rosemary Whelan, immigrated to Canada from Britain. He has a twin brother, David; a sister, Elizabeth; and another brother, Andrew. The family moved to Ann Arbor when the twins were young; they went on to graduate in Huron High School's Class of 1988. Whelan is now a U.S. citizen but holds passports in four countries the U.S.; his native Canada; Britain, where his parents were born; and Ireland, where his grandparents were born. He never married and has no children. He testified in a 2013 court deposition that he worked as a Chelsea police officer in 1988-2000, and also worked for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. Whelan joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves on May 10, 1994, according to his service record. Paul Whelan poses in front of a Washtenaw County Sheriff's vehicle in this undated photo. Whelan was hired in 2001 by Kelly Services, a Troy-based company that offers consulting and temporary workers to businesses around the world. He took a military leave of absence from Kelly Services in 2003-08 to serve in Iraq, he testified. At Kelly Services, Whelan's title was senior manager of global security and investigations. His job included campus security as well as electronic and IT-related security. He started working in early 2017 for BorgWarner, company spokeswoman Kathy Graham told the Free Press in a previous interview. Whelan was global security chief when he was arrested and accused of spying. According to business licensing records, Whelan also ran an online firearms business known as Kingsmead Arsenal. The business was started in 2012. He also testified in the 2013 deposition that he has a federal firearms license. Was Paul Whelan given a bad-conduct discharge from the Marines? Yes. Whelan worked as an administrative clerk and administrative chief and was deployed in the war against Iraq in 2004 and 2006. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant in December 2004, but a few years later was convicted in a special court-martial of attempting to steal more than $10,000 while at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq. Other related convictions included dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, wrongfully using other people's Social Security numbers and bouncing checks. He was given a bad-conduct discharge in December 2008 at the rank of private. Whelan's last place of duty was Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. This embedded content is not available in your region. While stationed in Iraq, Whelan was part of The Rest and Recuperation Leave Program, which authorized 15 days of leave to service members on yearlong deployments to Iraq, according to a 2007 story posted on the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing page of the Marine Corps website. The military paid for the travel and most service members chose to return home, but others could travel abroad. Paul Whelan in an undated photo in Iraq. Whelan spent his two weeks in Russia, saying in the interview that the leave program gives those of us who are single an opportunity to travel throughout the world wherever we want to go and experience the diversity of culture. During his military career, Whelan received awards that included the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Novi District Court records show that Whelan was also involved in landlord-tenant disputes in 2007 over nonpayment of rent while he was on active service in the military. Court records also show a case was filed against Whelan in 2011 by a Norfolk, Virginia-based debt collector for $1,210.35. Was Paul Whelan a spy? The Russian Foreign Ministry alleges Whelan was caught "red-handed" in an act of espionage. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor to the Soviet Union's KGB, says its agents found a USB drive containing classified information in Whelan's room at the swanky Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Whelan insists that he was set up, and that he was simply a tourist. He was there, he said, to attend the wedding of a friend, a fellow former Marine. In the days leading up to his arrest, he led tours of Moscow historical sites for the wedding party, David Whelan told the Free Press in a previous interview. And he shared Christmas dinner at a steakhouse in Moscow with a Russian man named Ilya Yatsenko, whom he'd met a decade earlier during one of his trips to the country. Over about a half-dozen visits to Russia since 2006, Whelan got to know Yatsenko or so he thought even visiting Yatsenko's parents and siblings in the town of Sergiev Posad, about 50 miles northeast of Moscow, David Whelan said. Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine accused of spying in Russia, arrives to attend his hearing at a court in Moscow on August 23, 2019. It was Yatsenko who gave Whelan key evidence in Russia's case against him: a USB drive containing government secrets, David Whelan alleges. "Paul expected there to be photographs on it and something else was put on that drive in order to entrap him," he said. At the time, then-President Donald Trump made no public statements about Whelan's arrest. Trump administration officials made careful and measured statements about him. More than a year after her brother's arrest, Elizabeth Whelan said: "This is ridiculous. Russia has a legal system but not a judicial system. Everybody knows that once you get on this conveyor belt, that the end result before you're popped off at the other end is 100% chance of conviction and sentencing." She was right. Whelan was convicted of espionage in a Moscow courtroom in June 2020. John Sullivan, then-U.S. ambassador to Moscow, described the conviction as a "mockery of justice." Whelan was taken to IK-17, a gulag in the Republic of Mordovia, about an eight-hour drive southeast of Moscow. There, he spent hours each day cutting threads from newly made prison uniforms. He later was promoted to sewing buttonholes. The U.S. House and U.S. Senate both have passed resolutions demanding Whelan's release. The U.S. State Department now considers him wrongfully detained and has been insistent that his conviction was a sham. A plant operated by Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner was hit by a tornado Monday. A security guard died. Does Paul Whelan's work history have ties to Russia? Though Whelan said he traveled to Russia as a tourist, he entered the country on a business travel visa supported by BorgWarner Inc., he told his lawyers in Moscow. The Auburn Hills-based auto supplier BorgWarner has 49,000 employees working among its 93 sites around the world, but spokeswoman Graham told the Free Press in 2019 that it didn't have any locations in Russia. The company would not confirm that it sponsored Whelan's Russian business visa. "As a general policy BorgWarner does not comment on travel of any of its employees, nor does the company discuss information about individual customers," said Graham in an email to the Free Press at the time. "Paul was not in Russia on company business. We are deferring to the State Department regarding updates to his situation." Although BorgWarner operates no facilities in Russia, the company does have a history of doing business there. BorgWarner supplied Kamaz Inc., Russia's largest truck-maker, with turbochargers, fan drives and high-performance fans, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents. BorgWarner parts are used in nonmilitary Kamaz trucks and Nefaz buses, and its total sales to Kamaz in 2013-15 through non-U.S. subsidiaries was $12.1 million. "For over 15 years, BorgWarner has supported (Kamaz) with advanced air-flow technologies, and we are looking forward to continuing the successful collaboration," Daniel Paterra, who was then BorgWarner's president and general manager of thermal systems, said in a 2015 news release about the Dakar Rally, an off-road rally in South America in which Kamaz trucks are used. What did Trump say about Whelan's case? Trump didn't speak publicly about Whelan's arrest during his time in office. But the former president took to his social media platform, Truth Social, in December 2022 to criticize the deal that President Joe Biden's administration made to swap Griner for Bout. "I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan," Trump wrote. "I wouldnt have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals. I would have gotten Paul out, however, just as I did with a record number of other hostages. The deal for Griner is crazy and bad. The taking wouldnt have even happened during my Administration, but if it did, I would have gotten her out, fast!" David Whelan took to Twitter, saying: "Former President Trump appears to have mentioned my brother #PaulWhelan's wrongful detention more in the last 24 hours than he did in the 2 years of his presidency in which Paul was held hostage by #Russia (zero). I don't suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero)". What did President Joe Biden do? Biden met with Elizabeth Whelan during the summer of 2022 to assure her of his commitment to freeing her brother. In the Dec. 8, 2022, announcement that Griner was coming home, Biden said: "Weve not forgotten about Paul Whelan. This was not a choice about which American to bring home. Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's. ... We will never give up." How did Paul Whelan's family respond when Griner was freed but he was not? Though they were disappointed that Whelan wasn't freed along with Griner, the family supported Biden's decision to make the one-on-one trade, David Whelan said. "There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home," he said. "The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen." Since then, he said the family has been overwhelmed by the swell of support for his brother. "Even in these hyper-partisan days, we have received emails and donations from people of what seems to be all political perspectives sending Paul their best wishes and hope for a speedy return home. Americans pulling together for an American," David Whelan said. "Paul has continued to call home on a daily basis and speak to our parents. We have been sending him updates about the support shown through GoFundMe donations as well as the many people indicating they're writing him letters and cards. ... In the months ahead, those will bring Paul great comfort. If he ever worried that he'd been forgotten, I think this will provide Paul reassurance that he remains in people's prayers." White House staff met virtually with Elizabeth Whelan in December 2022, who was told her brother's freedom remains "as high a priority as the President has," David Whelan said. Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Paul Whelan? What to know about ex-Russian prisoner Paul Whelan released from Russia in prisoner swap: What to know about Michigan man When women's basketball star Brittney Griner was released in December 2022 from the Russian prison system traded for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout the nation's eyes turned to the man who was left behind: Michigan's Paul Whelan. A year and a half later, Whelan was freed Thursday in a deal that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who also was wrongfully detained on spying charges the U.S. government says he didnt commit. More: Biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War could be underway, movements suggest Whelan, a former Marine who lived in Novi, was the head of global security for BorgWarner when he was arrested Dec. 28, 2018. He has been imprisoned in Russia, accused of espionage. He was convicted in June 2020 during a closed-door trial and sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a work camp. This is his story. Who is Paul Whelan? Paul Nicholas Whelan was born in March 1970 in Ottawa, Ontario Canada's national capital. His parents, Edward and Rosemary Whelan, immigrated to Canada from Britain. He has a twin brother, David; a sister, Elizabeth; and another brother, Andrew. The family moved to Ann Arbor when the twins were young; they went on to graduate in Huron High School's Class of 1988. Whelan is now a U.S. citizen but holds passports in four countries the U.S.; his native Canada; Britain, where his parents were born; and Ireland, where his grandparents were born. He never married and has no children. He testified in a 2013 court deposition that he worked as a Chelsea police officer in 1988-2000, and also worked for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. Whelan joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves on May 10, 1994, according to his service record. Paul Whelan poses in front of a Washtenaw County Sheriff's vehicle in this undated photo. Whelan was hired in 2001 by Kelly Services, a Troy-based company that offers consulting and temporary workers to businesses around the world. He took a military leave of absence from Kelly Services in 2003-08 to serve in Iraq, he testified. At Kelly Services, Whelan's title was senior manager of global security and investigations. His job included campus security as well as electronic and IT-related security. He started working in early 2017 for BorgWarner, company spokeswoman Kathy Graham told the Free Press in a previous interview. Whelan was global security chief when he was arrested and accused of spying. According to business licensing records, Whelan also ran an online firearms business known as Kingsmead Arsenal. The business was started in 2012, and its address is the same as Whelan's apartment on Wellington Drive in Novi. He also testified in the 2013 deposition that he has a federal firearms license. Was Paul Whelan given a bad-conduct discharge from the Marines? Yes. Whelan worked as an administrative clerk and administrative chief and was deployed in the war against Iraq in 2004 and 2006. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant in December 2004, but a few years later was convicted in special court-martial of attempting to steal more than $10,000 while at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq. Other related convictions included dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, wrongfully using other people's Social Security numbers and bouncing checks. He was given a bad-conduct discharge in December 2008 at the rank of private. Whelan's last place of duty was Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. This embedded content is not available in your region. While stationed in Iraq, Whelan was part of The Rest and Recuperation Leave Program, which authorized 15 days of leave to service members on yearlong deployments to Iraq, according to a 2007 story posted on the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing page of the Marine Corps website. The military paid for the travel and most service members chose to return home, but others could travel abroad. Paul Whelan in an undated photo in Iraq. Whelan spent his two weeks in Russia, saying in the interview that the leave program gives those of us who are single an opportunity to travel throughout the world wherever we want to go and experience the diversity of culture. During his military career, Whelan received awards that included the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Novi District Court records show that Whelan was also involved in landlord-tenant disputes in 2007 over nonpayment of rent while he was on active service in the military. Court records also show a case was filed against Whelan in 2011 by a Norfolk, Virginia-based debt collector for $1,210.35. Was Paul Whelan a spy? The Russian Foreign Ministry alleges Whelan was caught "red-handed" in an act of espionage. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor to the Soviet Union's KGB, says its agents found a USB drive containing classified information in Whelan's room at the swanky Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Whelan insists that he was set up, and that he was simply a tourist. He was there, he said, to attend the wedding of a friend, a fellow former Marine. In the days leading up to his arrest, he led tours of Moscow historical sites for the wedding party, David Whelan told the Free Press in a previous interview. And he shared Christmas dinner at a steakhouse in Moscow with a Russian man named Ilya Yatsenko, whom he'd met a decade earlier during one of his trips to the country. Over about a half-dozen visits to Russia since 2006, Whelan got to know Yatsenko or so he thought even visiting Yatsenko's parents and siblings in the town of Sergiev Posad, about 50 miles northeast of Moscow, David Whelan said. Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine accused of spying in Russia, arrives to attend his hearing at a court in Moscow on August 23, 2019. It was Yatsenko who gave Whelan key evidence in Russia's case against him: a USB drive containing government secrets, David Whelan alleges. "Paul expected there to be photographs on it and something else was put on that drive in order to entrap him," he said. At the time, then-President Donald Trump made no public statements about Whelan's arrest. Trump administration officials made careful and measured statements about him. More than a year after her brother's arrest, Elizabeth Whelan said: "This is ridiculous. Russia has a legal system but not a judicial system. Everybody knows that once you get on this conveyor belt, that the end result before you're popped off at the other end is 100% chance of conviction and sentencing." She was right. Whelan was convicted of espionage in a Moscow courtroom in June 2020. John Sullivan, then-U.S. ambassador to Moscow, described the conviction a "mockery of justice." Whelan was taken to IK-17, a gulag in the Republic of Mordovia, about an eight-hour drive southeast of Moscow. There, he spent hours each day cutting threads from newly made prison uniforms. He later was promoted to sewing buttonholes. The U.S. House and U.S. Senate both have passed resolutions demanding Whelan's release. The U.S. State Department now considers him wrongfully detained and has been insistent that his conviction was a sham. A plant operated by Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner was hit by a tornado Monday. A security guard died. Does Paul Whelan's work history have ties to Russia? Though Whelan said he traveled to Russia as a tourist, he entered the country on a business travel visa supported by BorgWarner Inc., he told his lawyers in Moscow. The Auburn Hills-based auto supplier BorgWarner has 49,000 employees working among its 93 sites around the world, but spokeswoman Graham told the Free Press in 2019 that it didn't have any locations in Russia. The company would not confirm that it sponsored Whelan's Russian business visa. "As a general policy BorgWarner does not comment on travel of any of its employees, nor does the company discuss information about individual customers," said Graham in an email to the Free Press at the time. "Paul was not in Russia on company business. We are deferring to the State Department regarding updates to his situation." Although BorgWarner operates no facilities in Russia, the company does have a history of doing business there. BorgWarner supplied Kamaz Inc., Russia's largest truck-maker, with turbochargers, fan drives and high-performance fans, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents. BorgWarner parts are used in nonmilitary Kamaz trucks and Nefaz buses, and its total sales to Kamaz in 2013-15 through non-U.S. subsidiaries was $12.1 million. "For over 15 years, BorgWarner has supported (Kamaz) with advanced air-flow technologies, and we are looking forward to continuing the successful collaboration," Daniel Paterra, who was then BorgWarner's president and general manager of thermal systems, said in a 2015 news release about the Dakar Rally, an off-road rally in South America in which Kamaz trucks are used. What did Trump say about Whelan's case? Trump didn't speak publicly about Whelan's arrest during his time in office. But the former president took to his social media platform, Truth Social, in December 2022 to criticize the deal that President Joe Biden's administration made to swap Griner for Bout. "I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan," Trump wrote. "I wouldnt have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals. I would have gotten Paul out, however, just as I did with a record number of other hostages. The deal for Griner is crazy and bad. The taking wouldnt have even happened during my Administration, but if it did, I would have gotten her out, fast!" David Whelan took to Twitter, saying: "Former President Trump appears to have mentioned my brother #PaulWhelan's wrongful detention more in the last 24 hours than he did in the 2 years of his presidency in which Paul was held hostage by #Russia (zero). I don't suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero)". What did President Joe Biden do? Biden met with Elizabeth Whelan during the summer of 2022 to assure her of his commitment to freeing her brother. In the Dec. 8, 2022, announcement that Griner was coming home, Biden said: "Weve not forgotten about Paul Whelan. This was not a choice about which American to bring home. Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's. ... We will never give up." How did Paul Whelan's family respond when Griner was freed but he was not? Though they were disappointed that Whelan wasn't freed along with Griner, the family supported Biden's decision to make the one-on-one trade, David Whelan said. "There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home," he said. "The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen." Since then, he said the family has been overwhelmed by the swell of support for his brother. "Even in these hyper-partisan days, we have received emails and donations from people of what seems to be all political perspectives sending Paul their best wishes and hope for a speedy return home. Americans pulling together for an American," David Whelan said. "Paul has continued to call home on a daily basis and speak to our parents. We have been sending him updates about the support shown through GoFundMe donations as well as the many people indicating they're writing him letters and cards. ... In the months ahead, those will bring Paul great comfort. If he ever worried that he'd been forgotten, I think this will provide Paul reassurance that he remains in people's prayers." White House staff met virtually with Elizabeth Whelan in December 2022, who was told her brother's freedom remains "as high a priority as the President has," David Whelan said. Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Paul Whelan? What to know about ex-Russian prisoner Michigan native Paul Whelan was released from Russia prison along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Thursday in a deal as part of the biggest prisoner exchange between Washington, Moscow and four other governments since the Cold War. Whelan's brother, David, released a statement on behalf of his family. It says: David Whelan, brother of Paul Whelan, poses in his house in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada on January 5, 2019. The brother of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia, says in an interview with AFP that "nothing" comes to mind as to what "could have raised" suspicions about his brother's trip "to help a friend" in Russia. "My apologies for the delay in sharing it, as I know that makes your job a bit harder. I have been waiting until I had an official confirmation that Paul was released. "Paul was a Russian hostage for 2,043 days. Thank you for covering Paul's story and helping us share our messages and advocacy for his release over that time. Paul will be receiving US government support, as all freed hostages do, in the next few days and weeks. I hope you will give him some privacy as you have done with other released hostages. "This is now Paul's story to tell and I'm sure he will, in time, communicate how he wants to tell it. It is vital that he be given agency over his life again, something the Kremlin took away for so many years. I do not represent him. Please do not send requests to interview Paul to me or any of our family members. If Paul shares with me information on how he wants media to contact him, I will pass it along over this email list. Accused spy Paul Whelan, right, as seen prior to a hearing in Moscow City Court on June 20, 2019, where he appealed the extension of his detention. Whelan, a citizen of the United States, Britain, Canada and Ireland, was detained on suspicion of spying by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in December in Moscow. "My work as our family spokesperson is over. Just as on December 27, 2018, our family has no need for a spokesperson. Our goal has been achieved and our part in this story is over. Please do not contact our parents, siblings, or relatives for interviews or reactions. We have already had media reach out to them and it's not appreciated. In particular, our parents have indicated they do not want to be interviewed in any medium. I hope you'll agree that they deserve to live their remaining years quietly, in private, and hope that no one will send a satellite van or journalist around to our parents' home as they did in January 2019. "It's hard to draw a bright line around a story like this. But while Elizabeth and I have tried to be available to you over the last few years, we are both going to be focused on our own lives and will not be as available as we were when Paul was a Russian hostage. For the purposes of managing your editors' and producers' expectations, I will not be responding to media requests for interviews or comment in the coming days and will let the statement speak for itself. It is long but hopefully there is something in it that you will be able to use. "Thanks again. I cannot adequately express my deep admiration for your hard work and courage. Some of you were hounded from Russia, or labeled foreign agents, and took great risks to follow Paul's story. Many of you kept after the story even when editors wanted you to write about other things. I realize that many of you cover Russia but I hope some of you will turn your energy to the growing use of wrongful detention as a method of extortion by nation-states. There are many families who would appreciate your help in their advocacy efforts. Every story has an ending and this is the end of the story of our family's advocacy for Paul. I wish you all well. "Goodbye. David." Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), Twitter/X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress). Contact Amy Huschka: ahuschka@freepress.com or follow her on Twitter (@aetmanshuschka). Stay connected and stay informed. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Paul Whelan's brother gives statement after release from Russia SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) A pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle on southbound Interstate 5 in the South Bay Thursday morning, authorities said. The incident occurred shortly before 4 a.m. in the area of Dairy Mart Road in San Ysidro. According to California Highway Patrol, a female pedestrian was walking within traffic lanes near the Dairy Mart Road exit when she was struck by a white Ford Fusion. She was then struck again by an unknown vehicle who then fled the area. Toddler found floating in small pond The pedestrian suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene, CHP said. Her name is being withheld pending next of kin notification. No other injuries were reported. The area near a fatal crash An investigation into the incident remains ongoing. All three lanes of southbound I-5 were temporarily closed in the impacted area for roughly three hours to facilitate this investigation on scene, as well as cleanup efforts. Those lanes have since reopened. The driver of the Ford Fusion remained near the crash and cooperated with the investigation, CHP noted. A toxicology report is pending through the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office to determine if drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision. Authorities are encouraging anyone who may have additional information about the crash or were witnesses to the incident to contact CHP San Diego Area at 858-293-6000. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Back in January 2021, thenHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer tried to convince Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to remove Donald Trump from presidential office. The Democratic leaders made a call to Pences office shortly after the January 6 Capitol riot, according to revelations in Pelosis upcoming memoir, The Art of Power: My Story as Americas First Woman Speaker of the House. An advance copy of the book, due to be released next week, was obtained by The Guardian. But Pences office left the two on hold for 20 minutes and never responded to them. Following January 6, the Democratic leadership discussed asking the vice president to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which allows for the vice president and a majority of cabinet members to certify that a president is unable to discharge the duties of the office, Pelosi wrote. She and the thenSenate Minority Leader Schumer called Pence to talk about invoking the provision, but Pence didnt reply. The vice presidents office kept us on hold for 20 minutes, Pelosi wrote. She added that she was thankfully at home at the time and could also empty the dishwasher and put in a load of laundry while waiting for Pence to respond. But he didnt. Ultimately, Vice President Pence never got on the phone with us or returned our call, wrote Pelosi. While its well known that Pelosi, Schumer, and several other members of Congress made public calls to have Trump removed from office during that time, this phone call wasnt public knowledge until now. Pence went on to publicly reject calls to invoke the constitutional provision in a letter to Pelosi later that month, despite defying Trump and his supporters on January 6 and certifying his election loss. The missed phone call is another reminder that Pence, while doing the bare minimum of certifying the 2020 presidential election, failed to step up and take action against the biggest danger to democracy when he had the chance. Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) this week introduced the Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA), legislation to help address food security in communities historically reliant on coastal and marine resources by helping them build seafood processing capacity for local use. Peltolas bill would prevent rapid offshore finfish aquaculture permitting and its harmful effects on the environment and local ecosystems by prohibiting permitting or construction of offshore fish farms in U.S. Federal waters in the absence of Congressional authorization. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. The bill encourages research on the effects of finfish aquaculture on the ecosystem and potential offshore locations that may be least impactful to the marine environment and commercially important fish stocks. "In Alaska, so many communities rely on fish and seafood production both for subsistence and good-paying jobs, Rep. Peltola said. My bill would support our local fishing and maritime communities while strengthening our domestic seafood supply chain. Ronalda Angasan, a commercial fisherwoman of Ugashik and Kanatak descent, serves as agriculture program director at Alaska Village Initiatives welcomes the legislation. My community has been fishing for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay for hundreds of years. I started at nine years old on my grandfathers boat. Our fish is high-quality, high-nutrition, and the best in the world. And its very sustainable. I know that word is thrown around a lot now, but it truly is. Now Ive been told theres a glut of our fish, and they cant be sold. Yet people say they want to build more fish farms because theres not enough food. That doesnt compute with me, Angasan said, Commercial fisherman Ryan Horwath of Kodiak, Alaska welcomes says the legislation is needed to protect shared oceans in Alaska and beyond. It was through commercial fishing in Alaska that I came to deeply value how strong seafood systems are tied to the wellbeing of coastal communities, which directly ties to the wellbeing of the ocean. This bill provides much-needed support to communities that have long been rooted in fisheries for resilience, security, and cultural heritage. It also helps protect our shared oceans in Alaska and beyond, Horwath said. View the full text of the Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA) HERE. View a one-pager on the bill HERE and a fact sheet HERE. Support for the legislation: About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) An Arnold man was sentenced in federal court on his convictions to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Milton Paschal, 44, conspired with others to distribute and posses with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine from September 2021 to March 2023. Additionally, in December 2022 Paschal possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing cocaine. Paschal was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of cocaine that he distributed to others. Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigations Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Paschal. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. (WTAJ) In 2019, after scrolling on social media, Cindy Bowman had an idea to create the Central PA Nurses Honor Guard. Its very similar to how the military, firemen and police honor their people, Bowman, Founder and president of the group, said. We just thought nurses are deserving of it too. The group is dedicated to honoring nurses who have gone before them. It started with just five members and it has now grown to almost 50. I get very emotional about it because its a wonderful way to honor nurses who have given their life to serve others, to help others, to do what they could do, Donna Detwiler, a member of the Central PA Nurses Honor Guard, explained. Altoona girl starts lemonade stand to help community The goal is to honor their colleagues courage, devotion and kindness that they put forward every day. They also look to help families begin to heal. Ray Nedimyers wife, Jackie, was a registered nurse for more than 30 years. Some of the nurses referred to her as that little dynamo that runs everywhere, Nedimyer expressed. Jackie always wanted to join the Central PA Nurses Honor Guard, but a cancer diagnosis put a stop to those plans. A group of nurses from the honor guard, along with loved ones, decided to gather around Jackies bedside for a living tribute. They thanked her for her years of caring for others and made her an honorary member. Everybody was pretty well stunned with how professional it was done, how caring they were and how well they honored Jackie, Nedimyer said. To date, the nurses have done almost 70 services for their fallen colleagues. Wanda Shaffer is one of the original five members. It has just been an honor to give them a little respect and let everyone know that they were respected by other nurses, Shaffer said. It is a hard career at times. A ceremony consists of several different things. They march up the aisle and start with an introduction. This allows everyone to learn a little background information about the person they are honoring. They then do the Nightingale Tribute and present a white rose to the person. It is put on either their casket or by the urn. This all leads up to the final call, where the group rings their bell and calls the nurses name three times to release them from their service. The group also presents the nightingale lamp to a family member at the end of the service. Even if the nurses never worked with one another, they still feel connected. Weve all been there, Shaffer explained. Weve all worked those hard hours, loved people, saved people. Its one of those things that is something that makes you feel good. During a time of grieving, they offer strength. They give comfort to families and appreciation for our fallen nurses. It just makes us feel so good inside and proud, Bowman said. Proud to be nurses. The Central PA Nurses Honor Guard is always looking for more people to join. If you would like to be part of the group you can reach out on Facebook or contact Cindy Bowman at 814-207-3310. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Reach out to Maggie Smolka if you know someone or an organization thats making an impact in the community. You can email msmolka@wtajtv.com or message her on Facebook. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. (WHTM) Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Peter K. Conforti recently passed away while off duty, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. Conforti enlisted with the State Police and graduated from the Academy as part of the 146th graduating class in 2016. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Daily Digest He was originally assigned to Troop H in Harrisburg and continued to serve in Troop L, Hamburg, until his passing. State Police say Conforti served the Commonwealth with honor and integrity and will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and coworkers. Funeral arrangements have not yet been publicly announced. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. FILE - Chester County, Pa., election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 4, 2020. A technical requirement that Pennsylvania voters write accurate dates on the exterior envelope when they send in mail-in ballots was again the subject of a court proceeding on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, as advocates argued the mandate unfairly results in otherwise valid votes being thrown out. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) A technical requirement that Pennsylvania voters write accurate dates on the exterior envelope of mail-in ballots was again the subject of a court proceeding on Thursday as advocates argued the mandate unfairly leads to otherwise valid votes being thrown out. A five-judge Commonwealth Court panel heard about two hours of argument in a case that was filed in May, even though the date requirement has been upheld both by the state Supreme Court and the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case was brought by the Black Political Empowerment Project, Common Cause and allied advocacy groups against the secretary of state and the elections boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh. They argued that enforcing the date requirement infringes upon voting rights and that none of the prior cases on the topic directly ruled whether it runs afoul of the state constitution's Free and Equal Elections Clause. The number of potentially invalid ballots at stake is a small fraction of the electorate, in the range of 10,000 or more across Pennsylvania in prior elections, and those voters tend to be comparatively older. Democrats have embraced voting by mail much more than Republicans since it was widely expanded in Pennsylvania in 2019 months before the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a legislative deal in which Democrats got universal mail-in voting while GOP lawmakers obtained an end to straight-ticket voting by party. More than a third of ballots cast in this year's state primary election were by mail, according to the lawsuit. Judge Patricia McCullough, a Republican on the panel, asked what authority Commonwealth Court has over the legislatively enacted rule. Can this court just come in and change the law because it wasnt the best thing they should have written or we dont think it has a purpose? Is that a grounds for us to change or declare something to be invalid? she asked. John M. Gore, a lawyer for the state and national Republican Party groups that are fighting the lawsuit, said the court would only have grounds to do so if the procedure was so difficult as to deny the franchise." He argued to the judges that the dating requirement is not so onerous that it denies people the right to vote. The dates serve as a backstop, Gore said, providing evidence about when ballots were completed and submitted. The mandate also drives home the solemnity of the voters choice to vote by mail, and could help deter and detect fraud, he said. County elections officials say they do not use the handwritten envelope dates to determine whether mail-in votes have been submitted in time. Mail-in ballots are generally postmarked, elections officials process and time-stamp them, and the presence of the ballots themselves is enough evidence to show that they arrived on time to be counted before the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline. Among the issues before the court panel is whether throwing out a portion of the 2019 voting law would trigger a provision under which the entire law must also be thrown out. Mail-in ballots, and the dating requirement in particular, have spawned several legal cases in Pennsylvania in recent years. Earlier this year, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the mandate for accurate, handwritten dates, overturning a district judge's decision. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled two years ago that mail-in votes may not count if they are contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes. The justices had split 3-3 on whether making the envelope dates mandatory under state law would violate provisions of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that immaterial errors or omissions should not be used to prevent voting. During the April primary, redesigned exterior envelopes reduced the rate of rejected ballots, according to state elections officials. People Are Dragging Donald Trump For Not Seeming To Know Biracial People Exist After He Questioned Whether Kamala Harris Is "Indian Or Black" ALRIGHTY y'all. Yesterday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists conference when he seemed to display confusion over the concept of a person being biracial. The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images During his sit-down with moderators, Trump was asked: "Some of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President Kamala Harris who is the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as Vice President or be on a major party ticket as a 'DEI hire.' Is that acceptable language to you? And will you tell those Republicans and those supporters to stop it?" To which Trump immediately responded: "How do you define DEI? Go ahead, how do you define it?" And when the host answers, "Diversity, equity, and inclusion," Trump pushes back, "Ok yeah, go ahead. Is that what your definition is? Give me a definition... You have to define it." Then, when pressed to answer the question, Trump said, "I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much. And she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know. Is she Indian, or is she Black?" BREAKING: Trump falsely questions whether VP Harris is Black. pic.twitter.com/pJCmJK6R0W MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 31, 2024 Twitter: @MSNBC After the interview, Trump doubled down on his false claims surrounding Harris's race via Truth Social, writing, "Crazy Kamala is saying shes Indian, not Black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!" To be clear, Kamala Harris is the daughter of the late Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian biologist who helped advance breast cancer research, and Donald J. Harris, a Jamaican economics professor at Stanford University. She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black college, and her identity as both Black and Indian is indisputable. Brandon Bell / Getty Images In response to Trump questioning her race, Harris addressed an audience in Houston. "It was the same old show the divisiveness and the disrespect," she said. "The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength." This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists.It was the same old show.Let me just say: The American people deserve better than Donald Trumps divisiveness and disrespect. Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 1, 2024 Twitter: @KamalaHarris While Harris was very poignant in her response, the internet couldn't help but be a little more...blunt. Here are a few reactions: Trump learning Kamala is biracial: pic.twitter.com/kdnrPxpx13 Derek Yeeter (@xtremelywoke) July 31, 2024 Netflix / Via Twitter: @xtremelywoke Michael Jackson / youtube.com / Via Twitter: @ABrownism Just a little diagram to make it easier for MAGAs who can't read but understand images. Hopefully. pic.twitter.com/mL4JNzsyWa Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 31, 2024 Twitter: @acnewsitics MAGA: "Biden chose her for VP only because she's a black woman."Also MAGA: "She's not black!" Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 31, 2024 Twitter: @acnewsitics Republicans encountering a mixed race person pic.twitter.com/dE6EYn3iMa nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) July 31, 2024 Netflix / Via Twitter: @NikkiMcR To walk into a room full of Black journalists and attack someones Blackness is another level of disrespect. To anyone who needs a reminder: we cant change the color of our skin, and we dont want to. https://t.co/eYyj9QfxqM Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) July 31, 2024 MSNBC / Via Twitter: @DerrickNAACP Two questions come to mind: Is it Trump's opinion that biracial people cannot exist? If so, does his running mate agree? Christopher Hale (@chrisjollyhale) July 31, 2024 x.com / Via Twitter: @chrisjollyhale So yeah. Mixed race people exist. LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) A semi-truck that was hauling hay struck two other vehicles and crashed through a sound barrier wall on an I-15 on-ramp in Layton on Wednesday night. Lt. Richins with the Layton Police Department told ABC4.com that the semi-truck was traveling southbound to get onto I-15 when it experienced an issue. Richins said the nature of the issue is still under investigation, but said it may have been a mechanical- or driver-related error. READ NEXT: Mosquitoes in Utah tested positive for West Nile Virus Heres how to protect yourself An image of a semi-truck crash that prompted road closures in Layton, Utah, on July 31, 2024. (Hailey Ward) An image of a semi-truck crash that prompted road closures in Layton, Utah, on July 31, 2024. (Hailey Ward) An image of a semi-truck crash that prompted road closures in Layton, Utah, on July 31, 2024. (Hailey Ward) Richins said the semi-truck drove through an intersection and was heading onto the on-ramp on Antelope Drive when it experienced the issue. The semi-truck struck two vehicles, with one traveling eastbound and the other traveling westbound in the intersection. Richins said the passengers of one car were injured and were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The people in the other vehicle were not injured, according to Richins. After driving through the intersection, Richins said the semi-truck crashed through the barrier wall. The driver of the semi-truck was injured, but was treated on the scene and released, Richins said. According to the Utah Department of Transportation traffic map, the incident first started around 7:10 p.m., and roads were expected to reopen at 11 p.m. There is no further information at this time. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. A YMCA in Pittsburgh is set to receive millions of dollars of renovations. The Allegheny YMCA on the citys North Side will be renovated at the start of 2025, according to a press release. Grants and donations have raised up to $24 million to fund the renovation project. The building is nearly 100 years old. It is expected to receive: Upgrades to common spaces, the kitchen, fitness facilities, the wellness floor, pool area, locker rooms and meeting rooms Renovation to 89 single-room units Installation of a sprinkler system, air conditioning, new elevators and ADA accessibility throughout the building Upgrades to access to natural light and air quality Renovation to an exam room Addition of an on-site childcare center Non-resident spaces in the building will be closed while renovations take place. Anyone who is a member to this YMCA is welcome to continue using their services at any other facility while the project is happening. The Allegheny YMCA will hold a community block party on Aug. 18 from noon to 4 p.m. Food, music and family activities will be available. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Building collapses in Pittsburghs Uptown neighborhood Stage AE will now be offering sober space FBI links local fashion designer to Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol VIDEO: New 40,000-square-foot sports complex opening soon in Beaver County DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts After Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30. Ukraine's military acknowledged an increasingly difficult situation in the Pokrovsk direction as battlefield monitoring sites indicate steady progress of Russian troops westward. "Today, they (Russian forces) are concentrating the largest number of personnel, the largest number of weapons and KAB bombs, everything they have, in the Pokrovsk direction," Zelensky said. According to the president, Russia shifted its focus to the east after its failure to take Kharkiv, a major city in Ukraine's northeast. Russia launched the offensive in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast back in May. The push eventually ran out of steam as Ukrainian forces halted Moscow's advance. The offensive tied down some of Kyiv's troops, however, stretching Ukraine's defenses thin. Russia continued to seize new villages in Donetsk Oblast and push toward Chasiv Yar as the battles in Kharkiv Oblast were ongoing. Zelensky added that Russian forces also plan to advance in other directions in the east, such as Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, or Sloviansk, but at the moment, Pokrovsk remains the main focus. Read also: Russia must be present at next peace summit to end war, Zelensky says When asked whether Ukraine will be able to prevent further Russian advances, Zelensky said that faster aid deliveries are necessary. He reminded that the Ukrainian military has formed 14 new brigades to relieve units at the front and to serve as reserves, but they are not fully equipped yet. "What do you think, in your opinion: if three out of the 14 (brigades) are fully equipped, can (Russian advance) be stopped?" Zelensky asked. Ukraine's head of state said that the second reason for Russia's unrelenting push is that Russian troops are afraid to turn back. "They are killed if they run back," Zelensky said, ascribing this to a difference between Russia's and Ukraine's values. As the third reason, Zelensky named restrictions to strike deep inside Russia with Western-supplied arms. "Russian positions are standing 30, 60, 100 kilometers (from the border), there are planes bombing us, multiple-launch rocket launchers firing at us, Grads, S-300s which they use from Belgorod," Zelensky said. The U.S. and Germany permitted Ukraine to only use their weapons to attack Russian forces within Ukraine and just across the border to disrupt offensive operations. Zelensky has repeatedly appealed to the U.S. and other allies to lift these restrictions. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Poland's President Andrzej Duda, left, shakes hands with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier prior to their talks at the Belweder Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday Aug. 1, 2024. President Steinmeier is on a two-day-visit in Warsaw on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising against Nazi occupiers. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) WARSAW, Poland (AP) The Polish capital came to a standstill Thursday on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, an ill-fated revolt against Nazi German forces during World War II. Sirens wailed, church bells rang and people stopped in their tracks, some stepping out of their cars to pay their tribute to the fallen heroes. As Poland marked the day of great importance in the national memory, news broke that the oldest surviving insurgent of the uprising, 106-year-old Barbara Sowa, died in the morning. With very few survivors left to take part in the ceremonies, it was a poignant reminder of the passing away of the generation shaped by the sacrifice of World War II. Among those who stopped in their tracks were Taylor Swift fans who were also out in the thousands for the first of the singer's three concerts Thursday evening in the city. She had warned her fans many who had traveled from afar not to panic when they heard the sirens. Earlier in the day, Polish President Andrzej Duda and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stood together, heads bowed, to remember those days of August in 1944. They paid tribute to the Wola Massacre, the mass-murder of civilians of Warsaws Wola district carried out by the Germans from Aug. 5 to Aug. 12, 1944. They were led out of their homes, tenement houses, their homes were set on fire, and they themselves were shot in the streets, and their bodies were burned. Several tons of ashes were collected from the streets and squares of Wola, in order to place them in a common grave, Duda said. The German president's bowed head and other symbolic gestures signaled remorse for the crimes of his nation. That Steinmeier "lays a wreath, bows his head, kneels before the commemorative cross, calls for respect, said Duda, speaking for the nation under brutal occupation from 1939-1945, which suffered the extermination of millions of its citizens, Christian and Jewish, and the near-total destruction of its capital city. Many Poles feel the symbolic gestures are not enough, and the previous nationalist government in power from 2015-23 allied with Duda demanded $1.3 trillion from Germany in war reparations. Germany says it will not pay and the matter was settled with compensation paid to East Bloc nations in the years after the war and with territory given up to Poland. The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took power last December, has toned down the demands but says it would still like Berlin to consider possibilities for compensation. There remains a feeling in Poland that Germans have done much more to confront their crimes against Europe's Jews than against the Poles, who were viewed as racially inferior in Adolf Hitler's ideology, and subjected to forced labor and atrocities. Warsaws revolt began Aug. 1, 1944, by the clandestine Home Army, which acted on orders from Polands government-in-exile in London. The aim was to free the capital from German occupiers and take control of the country ahead of the advancing Soviet army. Moscow, intending to rule postwar Poland, withheld help and kept its Red Army positioned on the other side of the Vistula River as the capital bled and burned. The Nazis, with their professional army and superior weaponry, killed 200,000 Polish fighters and civilians and razed the city in revenge. Today the uprising is remembered by Poles as one of the most important moments in a long history of independence struggles, often against Russia. The courage of the fighters remains a defining memory in the Polish image of itself as a nation willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Police: Attempted robbery suspect shoots self at Colfax and High DENVER (KDVR) Police said an attempted robbery suspect died Wednesday night after a foot chase in Denver. The Denver Police Department posted about the incident at 9:40 p.m. and said it happened near Colfax Avenue and High Street, at the north end of the Cheesman Park neighborhood. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Officers initially responded to a report of an attempted robbery and engaged in a foot pursuit with the suspect, the department said. The suspect while hiding, appears to have suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Police said officers did not fire any shots. The suspect was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. On Thursday morning, DPD said the suspect was pronounced dead at the hospital. The investigation was ongoing. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) The Berkshire DAs office issued a warning this week about the latest scheme going around. This latest scheme targets grandparents, these people are calling seniors and claiming they are their grandchild and saying they are in trouble and need financial help and its apparently a pretty sophisticated operation. Fraudulent jury duty calls requesting personal information on the rise in Massachusetts According to police, these scammers might even be using artificial intelligence to impersonate people. The best way to protect yourself is to hang up and contact your loved one directly even if the person on the phone says not to do so. They are typically getting the information from social media so be careful about what personal information you or your grandparents post and make sure your accounts are private so that only friends can see your pages. This fall the Berkshire County DAs office will host two information sessions in North Adams to help people learn how to prevent getting duped by these con artists. The educational effort follows a string of this kind of extortion schemes in western Massachusetts. Law enforcement agencies identified seven this year alone. Latest Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. police said Wednesday that officers arrested a man who is accused of shooting and killing a woman from Maryland on July 13. Desmond Barr Jr., 23, of Northeast faces a murder charge in the death of 21-year-old Ambria Farmer. Woman dies in broad daylight shooting near DCs Fort Dupont Park The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said around 2:30 p.m. on July 13, officers responded to a park area near the 3300 block of Fort DuPont Dr. in Southeast after they received a report of an unconscious person. When officers arrived, they found Farmer of Prince Georges County, Md. who had been shot. She died there. MPD said detectives determined the shooting was domestic in nature. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather on Thursday released his review of the investigation into the April 29 Galway Drive shooting, finding 23 officers were justified in the use of deadly force on a gunman who had ambushed a federal task force. The task force came under gunfire and a shootout ensued. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police swarmed to the scene to help. Police fatally shot Terry Clark Hughes, Jr., who had shot and killed four officers after the task force tried to serve him a warrant. Four more officers were shot and injured by Hughes. This incident signifies the single deadliest assault on law enforcement in our communitys history, Merriweathers review said. If law enforcement officers had not responded to an imminently deadly threat with lethal force, as difficult as it is to imagine, the outcome could have been even more catastrophic. Merriweather sent his letter to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, whose agency investigated the shootout. Officers recount April 29 The review was based largely on officers accounts of the fatal day, given through interviews with CMPD. There was no body-camera footage of officers approaching Hughes or of Hughes opening fire, Merriweather said. A lone CMPD officer on the task force had a body-camera, according to the letter, but he was on the street in front of the house when Hughes started firing from a back window. It is unclear if the camera was recording. When Hughes later jumped out of a front, second-story window, the officers camera was blocked by the car being used as cover. The Observer previously reported that the marshals planned to implement body cameras in North Carolina by the end of June. But theyve declined to say whether or not theyve done that. Three task force officers declined to be interviewed but submitted written statements, the review said. Two other task force officers declined to be interviewed or offer a written statement. Barry Lane, a spokesperson for the Marshals Service, declined to comment on the marshals who fired their weapons at Galway Drive would not speak with CMPD detectives. The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task force of the U.S. Marshals Service which includes federal, state and local law-enforcement had arrived at the house to try to convince Hughes to turn himself in on felony fugitive warrants for eluding police in a January chase in Lincoln County and felonious possession of a firearm, officials have said. Three task force members were killed: State Department of Adult Correction Officers William Alden Elliott and Sam Poloche, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Tommy Weeks Jr. CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, who was among officers who responded to the shooting after it started, also was killed. The shooting captured the attention of national media, as well as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Joe Biden, who both visited Charlotte shortly after. CMPD asked to interview all officers who shot at Hughes that day. Four officers working for the United States Marshals Service who fired weapons Senior Inspector Eric Tillman, Senior Inspector Austin Acheson, Senior Inspector Derek Miller and Deputy Marshal Joshua Shuffler declined to be interviewed as a part of CMPDs investigation. Tillman, Acheson, and federal ATF officer Arthur Philson, who also declined to be interviewed, gave written statements. Miller and Shuffler also declined to give any statement. The letter clarified when the four fallen officers were struck. Timeline of April 29 events By 1:35 p.m., the first of hundreds of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers arrived to the scene to assist and extract the fallen officers, Merriweathers letter says. Eyer and other CMPD officers approached the houses rear through a nearby homes backyard. They were looking for a safe route to three downed officers. Eyer and others made their way to a tree where Weeks had been shot. Hughes struck Weeks first, as he took cover behind a backyard tree with Poloche. Then Hughes shot Elliott and another task force officer, who were at a fence on the side of the home. Eyer, when he arrived to help at 1:35 p.m., went to the tree. Then Hughes shot him and Poloche as they took cover behind the tree. Weeks, Poloche, Eyer and Elliott never fired their guns, Merriweather wrote. The 23 officers who did fired a total of 340 rounds at the home and Hughes. At 2:39 p.m., Hughes girlfriend called 911 and told dispatch that she was hiding in a closet with her 17-year-old daughter. There was no evidence that either the girlfriend or the daughter or anyone else ever fired from 5525 Galway Drive, Merriweather concluded. CMPD ruled out a second shooter in May, saying Hughes acted alone. Hughes had a Radical Arms RF-15 rifle, and police found 29 spent rounds from it inside the house, mostly upstairs and near the side windows hed been shooting from. For 17 minutes, CMPD has previously said, officers exchanged gunfire with Hughes, before he jumped from a window at the front of the home and was fatally shot by police. Deadly force justified Merriweather wrote that he, as district attorney, doesnt charge people with crimes. He simply decides whether or not to prosecute a charged crime. Generally, the DA does not review police decisions not to charge an individual with a crime, he wrote. However, in officer-involved shooting cases, the DA reviews the complete investigative file of the investigating agency. The DA then decides whether he agrees or disagrees with the charging decision made by the investigating agency. Merriweathers report provided more context on why some officers at the scene believed there was more than one shooter inside. Some of those present believed there to have been an additional shooter who fired on officers from the residence after the decedent was killed in front of his residence, it says. Its not a surprising misunderstanding, Merriweather wrote, given the confusion present on scene. But its contradicted by the evidence: radio traffic that announced Hughes was down and body camera footage that captured a shot fired by an officer who thought he saw movement in a window shortly after Hughes went down. Theres no question that the 23 officers who returned fire on Hughes did so in defense of themselves and of their fellow officers, Merriweather concluded. China's central government invested 325.1 billion yuan (about $45.6 billion) in road construction in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region from 1953 to 2023, the regional government's information office said Wednesday. The total length of roads open to traffic in Xizang currently stands at 123,300 km, with paved roads accessing 666 townships and 4,596 administrative villages, the information office said at the press conference. Xizang is the only provincial-level region in China where road construction is fully funded by the central government. Over the past 10 years, Xizang has implemented 5,805 projects for rural road construction and built or renovated 58,700 km of rural roads. An official from the regional transportation department said that Xizang will continue to promote the construction of the expressway network and accelerate the connectivity of all cities and key land ports. AYDEN, N.C. (WNCT) Law enforcement conducted an investigation at an Ayden home Thursday morning. Ayden Police Department officers were joined by Greenville Police Departments Emergency Response Team in executing a search warrant at a home on Allen Drive. The investigation stemmed from a shooting into an occupied dwelling on July 28, according to a news release provided to WNCT from Ayden Police. The release did not state where the shooting happened. Police did not provide other details, but asked anyone with information into the shooting to call the department at 252-481-5844. Police stated the investigation is ongoing. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Police investigating shooting death in Las Cruces EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) is investigating a shooting that resulted in the death of a 44-year-old man late Wednesday evening, July 31. About 11:15 p.m. July 31, Las Cruces Police and Fire departments were dispatched to the report of a gunshot victim at an apartment at the 200 block of west Madrid Avenue. First responders arrived to find a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his chest. The man was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, according to LCPD. LCPD said they are not releasing the mans name until his next of kin have been notified. Preliminary information from the investigation indicates the 44-year-old man was armed with a knife and tried to force his way into an apartment. A 24-year-old resident of the apartment, who was armed with a handgun, discharged at least one round that struck the man, according to LCPD. No other injuries were reported. Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to call LCPD at (575) 526-0795. This is a developing story and we will update once we learn more. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Local police departments are warning residents of a paving scam that in some cases is costing people thousands of dollars. A company calling itself Green Paving & Masonry is conducting the scam, police in both Hopkinton and Milford said recently. There is such a company by that name, based in Boston, but it's not involved. "They're getting money from people upfront to do the work and they disappear," said Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino of the scammers. "They're bilking people out of hundreds or thousands of dollars." The scam is not new, Hopkinton Police Detective Sgt. Gregg A. DeBoer added. "This is a long-term thing," he said. "It's been going on for as long as I can remember. It's like an organized retail scam. It's a group of Irish travelers it's generally people from Ireland or the UK." Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said scammers offering to do various property repairs are "bilking people out of hundreds or thousands of dollars." Bitcoin scam: Two Southborough residents recently lost more than $30,000 Scammers start by giving a low quote for a property repair DeBoer said scammers typically target several communities at a time. They'll look for older people and approach them, offering to do jobs such as paving a driveway, repairing a walkway or even pulling ivy from chimneys for a cheap price. When the victim agrees, the scammer begins to do the work. "That's when it starts," DeBoer said. The scammer will claim to find a much larger problem that needs to be fixed immediately. They'll quote the person a big cost for the work but will give them a "deal," because they're already on the job. DeBoer said victims often feel pressured at this point, so they agree and give the scammer a deposit. Computer virus scam: Elderly Hopkinton resident was taken for $10,000; New York man charged "They leave with the money, and they never come back," DeBoer said. Tusino said scammers will even present victims with "high quality" business materials such as business cards and pamphlets with QR codes to make them look more professional. "These guys aren't affiliated with a legitimate company," said Tusino. "This is 100% a scam." Police advise residents of 'red flags' to watch for DeBoer said residents need to be wary. He said most legitimate businesses don't approach people to do a job without some sort of inspection. "If they're coming up to you, soliciting you and you didn't solicit them, it's a red flag," DeBoer said. "If they quote you a price that is significantly lower than what everyone else charges, that's a red flag." Tusino said if people are concerned, they should call police. All businesses that solicit must have a permit with the town, he said. "Call us and we'll come out and check them out," Tusino said. "If it's all good, it'll be a quick chat. If not, it can save a lot of money." Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime. This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Milford, Hopkinton police warn residents of so-called paving scam CHICAGO Police on Thursday released an image of the vehicle allegedly used in connection with the shooting death of Cook County Sheriffs Deputy Rafael Wordlaw. Authorities are seeking help locating and identifying a green-colored older model Chevy Tahoe. The drivers side rims appear to be different, police added. Man charged in killing of off-duty Cook County Sheriffs deputy is a convicted felon, authorities announce The latest update on the killing of Wordlaw comes hours after prosecutors charged 32-year-old Cordarrow Thompson of Chicago with first-degree murder, along with six other felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and attempted armed robbery. Thompson is charged with shooting and killing Wordlaw, 31, during an attempted armed robbery at a gas station in the 500 block of East 67th Street, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the citys South Side, around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 30. Officials allege Thompson tried to rob Wordlaw at the gas station with two guns before a shootout ensued. Ultimately, both men were struck by gunfire with Wordlaw later dying at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Officials allege that Thompson fled to a different hospital in a ride-share to seek treatment after refusing to cooperate with police and providing false information. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Thompson was arrested within three hours of the shooting. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Suspect accused of firing handguns at car full of people on MS Coast arrested in Gulfport The search for a man who police said fired two handguns last month at a car full of people ended Monday after the 19-year-old turned himself into Gulfport police, authorities said. Police said last week they were searching for an armed and dangerous suspect who allegedly fired two handguns this month at a vehicle with several people inside. Police identified Jabari Tyre Whitehead, 19, as the suspect. He turned himself in Monday morning and faces six counts of aggravated assault, Gulfport police said. The shooting occurred July 27 near the intersection of 33rd Avenue and 24th Street, police said. The police department said it was notified of the shooting July 31. No one in the vehicle was injured, Gulfport Police Sgt. Jason Ducre said. Several adults were inside the car. Ducre said it is unclear if the shooting was random or if the suspect knew the vehicles occupants. Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident or Whiteheads whereabouts to contact the Gulfport Police Department at 228-868-5959 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898. Police trial using drones as first responders to emergencies Drones can get to an incident within minutes and free up officers Police are trialling the use of drones as first responders to emergency calls. A demonstration this week of the so-called drone as first responder, or DFR technology, showed how a drone could be speedily deployed to find a missing person. Norfolk Constabulary is running the trial with unmanned aircraft which, if trials are successful, will be sent to emergency incidents, a force spokesman confirmed. The trial was part of a multi-million-pound scheme announced by Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative former chancellor, in his final Budget. Mr Hunt said in March: Police officers waste around eight hours a week on unnecessary admin with higher productivity, we could free up time equivalent to 20,000 officers over a year. So we will spend 230 million rolling out time and money saving technology which speeds up police response time by allowing people to report crimes by video call and where appropriate use drones as first responders. Gives invaluable eyes in the sky During the demonstration a simulated emergency call from the University of East Anglias campus prompted police drone operators to scramble their craft over the campus, hunting for a missing person reported nearby. Supt Taryn Evans, the National Police Chiefs Councils strategic lead on drones, said: The Norfolk trial is an important showcase of just how effective DFR can be at supporting our response to 999 calls, arriving on scene quickly and giving invaluable eyes in the sky. Each trial enables us to test how DFR could work in different environments and support different operational purposes, enhancing both public and officer safety. A spokesman for the policing body added: By getting to the scene of any incident in an urban or rural fringe environment within minutes and providing a birds-eye view directly into a forces incident room, the emergency response can be much better tailored. Drones will be able to provide a bird's-eye view of incidents and send pictures back to the police's incident room Drones have taken over a number of tasks that used to be carried out by police helicopters, which cost thousands of pounds per hour to fly. The Norfolk trial is part of four such schemes across the country. Thames Valley Police tested drone responders at the Isle of Wight Festival this year. A police spokesman said this would be repeated in further trials at a range of events over the summer. Last year, Devon and Cornwall Police used its drones to track dangerous drivers, using on-board cameras to record footage of inappropriate motoring from as far as four miles away. Around 400 drones in total are flown by the UKs 45 police forces. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Police unions exist to advance the best interest of their members, even when officers are accused of wrongdoing. But three weeks after an Illinois sheriff's deputy killed Sonya Massey in her own kitchen with a bullet to the face, Sean Grayson's guild went the other way and experts say the move is significant. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police , a chapter of the largest national police union, announced in a rare move this week that it was dropping a grievance it had previously filed for Grayson, a former Sangamon County sheriffs deputy who shot the 36-year-old Black woman in her Woodside Township home after she called 911 to report a possible intruder. The deputy has since been fired and is being held without bail on murder charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. The killing of Massey has sparked national outcry over police brutality, coast-to-coast demonstrations and a federal probe by the Justice Department. Experts say the union's response to Massey's killing is rare, but it shows a growing attentiveness by police unions to public sentiment over police shootings and reflects the egregiousness of her death. "Since 2020 and the murder of George Floyd, what we've seen is, simply put, more caution and less boldness, because there's recognition that there's been a shift in public perception of law enforcement," Michael Lansing, a professor of history at Augsburg University in Minneapolis who has studied the history of police unions, told USA TODAY. Stories of justice and action across America. Subscribe to USA TODAY's This is America newsletter. People take part in a rally and vigil for Sonya Massey, who was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy, at Washington Square Park in New York on July 28, 2024. Evidence in Sonya Massey's killing led to outcry, union response Shawn Roselieb of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council said the union initially represented the officer and tried to get him reinstated, actions that are standard union procedure. "Our obligations under the collective bargaining agreement and to our members do not take away from the sympathy we feel for the family and loved ones of Sonya Massey, Roselieb said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and with all those impacted by this tragedy. It's "extremely rare" for a police union to drop a grievance so early on in the case, according to Jorge Camacho, policy director for the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, and a clinical lecturer on policing and law. He attributes the shift to the outraged community response to Masseys killing and the mountain of evidence against Grayson, including body camera footage from the deputy next to him. Its more common for unions to drop grievances after an officer is already convicted, since the law often requires that an officer convicted of a felony be fired, which would render a grievance moot, he said. Body camera footage released by the department after the killing paints a shocking and gruesome picture. While Grayson barked at Massey to put down a pot of boiling water from another room, she ducked down and said "I'm sorry." He fired three shots at her, and the one that killed her entered below her left eye. You have to just ask why, Camacho said. Why is it that this one officer was so fearful for his life apparently, or at least so dismissive of the life of Sonya Massey, that he reacted with deadly force? Lansing said that body camera footage created a record of Grayson's actions "at the core of why the bargaining unit is backing away from supporting him." The union did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment from USA TODAY. The power of police unions A police union traditionally backs its members accused of misconduct when they are facing disciplinary action. That became an established pattern in the 1970s and 80s, according to Lansing, the author of a forthcoming book about post-World War II policing in Minneapolis. "Whenever there was a labor dispute, including over the actions of an officer and the use of deadly force, we saw police unions loudly, staunchly defending those individual officers facing some kind of discipline or punishment or even some type of civil lawsuit or criminal charges," he said. Their obligation is to ensure the best economic interest of their members. For a member's conduct to be so egregious that it defies the union's own ethics and beliefs and prompts the union to abandon the member is "profoundly unusual," Lansing said. Police unions largely derive their power from political and social influence, Camacho said, noting their hard power is actually quite limited. They are legally barred from striking, a defining capability of most unions, but they are viewed as the authoritative mouthpiece of police and public safety experts and wield great political power from relationships with government officials. But there has been a shift to taking community sentiment into account, a concern that was historically reserved for police chiefs, mayors or other public officials who view themselves as being more directly accountable to the community. While its too early to say whether the Massey case will mark a new chapter in police union-community relations, Camacho said the starkly different response this week at least reflects a heightened sensitivity to public sentiment that has historically been lacking. I think now, police unions are realizing that if you lack public support, then you will lose politically in the long run and police unions are really sensitive to political losses, Camacho said. And I think that they feel that they've suffered a number of political losses over the years, and they're wary of inviting more political losses by fighting a disciplinary case that they ultimately view as unwinnable, or if it is winnable, it's for virtually no gain. Police unions are reacting more cautiously Unions have become more politically savvy, Camacho said, and are paying more attention to addressing community grievances, especially since Floyd's murder. Lansing noted that police and police unions still have plenty of public support take the popular "back the blue" sentiment and display of American flags with thin blue lines as proof but unions are approaching deadly force cases with more "caution," he said. In the Floyd case, the union that represented Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder, severed ties and condemned Chauvin's actions caught on video but denied that there was a larger problem of racism within policing, the Minnesota Reformer reported at the time. The local union representing the officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor in her own home, also in 2020, stood by the officers and later criticized a DOJ report that found Louisville police had violated the rights of citizens. When former Huntsville, Alabama, police officer William Darby fatally shot a man after he called 911 six years ago, union leaders stood by his side. Officers in Alabama likely dont fear the same repercussions from alleged misconduct that those in Illinois will, Camacho said. So they have to play a different political game and engage in a different political calculus than officers elsewhere. Camacho predicts that some police unions at the local level will be softening their tone, especially in cases where misconduct is less contestable, political gain of fighting repercussions is minuscule and where officers view themselves as politically vulnerable. But in cases where the evidence is less clear, perhaps when there is no body camera video to test the officers representations of what happened, Camacho said unions may feel less inclined to bow to public pressure and will stick to the officers' defense, even if misconduct is later proved. Contributing: Michael Loria, USA TODAY; Steven Spearie, the Springfield State Journal-Register This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sonya Massey's killing prompts rare response from police union PREBLE COUNTY, Ohio (WDTN) If you see an email regarding your anti-virus/computer protection running out, dont freak out and click it. The Preble County Sheriffs Office is warning residents to be aware of this scam as it has increased in prevalence recently in the area. Residents who fall for the scam click on the email and are given a phone number to call. Once on the phone, this phone call directly leads to the resident turning over access to their bank account information. 1 dead after crash on U.S. 127 From there, the scammer tells the resident that they have accidentally deposited a large sum of money into their account. The scammer then convinces the victim to give the money back by sending it to the scammer. By this point in the scheme, the victim has turned over access to their bank account information and an large amount of their own money. The sheriffs office advises that residents send all questions and concerns to the vendor directly. Contact your local sheriffs office if you believe that you have fallen victim to this scam. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. Police are warning motorists about fake parking tickets that appear to be authentic and prompt victims to pay the fine by scanning a QR code that could potentially reveal a persons personal and or credit card information. In a post to Instagram Tuesday, officials at the Alhambra Police Department said it had received multiple reports of fraudulent parking citations on vehicles. If you receive one of these citations, DO NOT scan the QR code, officials said. Scammers create QR codes to trick people into visiting a fraudulent website or downloading malware that could compromise their personal information. Fraudulent parking citation with QR code placed on a vehicle in Alahambra. (APD) Fraudulent parking citation with QR code placed on a vehicle in Alahambra. (APD) An authentic parking ticket issued by police in Alhambra. (APD) An authentic parking ticket issued by police in Alhambra. (APD) I think its awful. It seems like everything you do nowadays, you have to be really careful, Alhambra resident Garret Park told KTLAs Ellina Abovian. Now, even parking. Everything nowadays is out to get your money. I feel like this is just another one of those things that people have to be careful about. The fraudulent citations look like a store receipt with a QR code, and while one version of parking tickets issued by APD also comes in a similar form, that citation only refers people to the citys secure website, which is www.cityofalhambra.org. The other type of parking citation issued by the citys police department is a yellow ticket accompanied by a white envelope. 82 arrested, 2K pounds of stolen copper wire seized by LAPDs Heavy Metal Task Force Those who find a fraudulent parking citation or are unsure if the ticket is legitimate can call Alhambra PD Parking Section at 626-570-5119. Its unclear how many of the fake parking tickets have been put out or if the suspect or suspects placing the fraudulent citations on cars were wearing law enforcement uniforms. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. According to 2017 data from the Guttmacher Institute, 88% of abortions took place before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy at 12 weeks. (Getty Images) Its an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even after birth. Former President Donald Trump brought it up in the June debate against President Joe Biden, saying Bidens position on restoring abortion access would lead to doctors being able to take the life of the baby in the ninth month, and even after birth. Trumps newly announced vice presidential running mate, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, told Fox News this week that Biden wants taxpayer-funded abortions up until the moment of birth. And candidates in states such as North Dakota and Montana have campaigned on that rhetoric in recent months, saying some states allow post-birth abortions or abortion the day before a due date. In reality, abortion after birth does not happen, because it would be categorized as murder under all state laws. And while abortions do occur later in pregnancy, they are exceptionally rare and happen for many diverse reasons, such as a fatal fetal diagnosis and financial or travel barriers that extend timelines. Abortion-rights advocates say the rhetoric is used because public opinion polls show support becomes more mixed for abortion after 24 weeks, which is the second trimester of pregnancy and the medically recognized point of viability, when a fetus can reasonably be expected to survive outside of the womb with medical interventions. That argument was seemingly bolstered by an anti-abortion groups campaign strategy meeting against Amendment 4 in Florida this week, a ballot question that would restore abortion access to 24 weeks in the state where a six-week ban is currently the law, before many people know theyre pregnant. During a presentation, the campaign organizers displayed a slide that said, How we win: We win by talking about late-term abortion. Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision, abortion was only protected as a federal right until viability, at which point it could be restricted by states. So if a Democratic presidential administration or Congress were to re-establish and codify Roe as the standard, third-trimester abortion would likely remain restricted in many states. In some states where abortion is legal and there is no restriction by gestational age, such as Alaska, it is still unavailable past the second trimester because there are no clinics that provide it. According to 2017 data from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization that gathers provider-specific data from across the country, 88% of abortions took place before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy at 12 weeks. A little over 10% happened between 13 and 20 weeks, and 1.3% occurred after 21 weeks, about halfway through the second trimester. Out of 862,320 abortions tracked that year, that means 11,210 happened after 21 weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a slightly lower number of 1.1% after 21 weeks, but does not receive abortion data from Maryland, as it is voluntary reporting. Guttmacher reaches out to individual clinics to collect data, and several of the small number of clinics that take patients later in pregnancy are located in Maryland. I dont need people to feel comfortable with it The time between 21 and 40 weeks is a long span in a pregnancy, and in 20 states, abortion is generally banned after 22 or 24 weeks. Only nine states and the District of Columbia dont ascribe gestational limits to their abortion laws, and of those, only four Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon and Colorado and the District of Columbia have clinics that openly say they will take patients past 28 weeks. One of those is Partners in Abortion Care in Maryland, where Dr. Diane Horvath is chief medical officer. That clinic opened in October 2022, and saw about 500 patients in its first year of operation. Horvath told States Newsroom that because there are so few clinics that will take patients at an advanced stage of pregnancy, the people who come to them have generally had to make it through many barriers to access care. That includes their home state laws, travel barriers, time restrictions and costs. In 14 states, a near-total ban on abortion is the law, and five others have bans before 12 weeks. Nobody ever thinks theyre going to need a later abortion, but when you need it, you need it 100%, Horvath said. Just like youd never imagine yourself needing a later abortion, this could happen to you or anybody that you love. The idea of an abortion happening in a persons third trimester of pregnancy can be uncomfortable for the average person, Horvath said, and for some physicians. Some doctors may have their own objections to it, or they may just choose not to make their feelings known about it at all for fear of being targeted by anti-abortion activists. Nobody should have to participate in that type of care, she said. But when a position is open at her clinic, she receives hundreds of applications. Horvath said in all the time shes been practicing abortion care, shes never seen a patient who walked in during their third trimester of pregnancy who wanted to terminate simply because they were tired of being pregnant, as some anti-abortion groups might suggest. The idea that people are choosing that path carelessly is just wrong, she said. The circumstances in which people are seeking abortions later in pregnancy are really dire. This is not to say every abortion has horrible circumstances, but by the time you find yourself later in pregnancy, lots has gone wrong for you, and this may be due to something that was completely out of your control, Horvath said. Its so easy to demonize when you dont want to understand something. The most important point, she said, is that there isnt a line in pregnancy where the government becomes more well-equipped to make decisions about a pregnancy than the person carrying it, and there is no possible way to fully understand what a person making that decision is going through. Its possible to feel uncomfortable about this care and the circumstances under which it occurs and still support someones ability to get that care when they need it, Horvath said. I dont need people to feel comfortable with it. Women interviewed about abortions had fetal anomalies, financial difficulties As States Newsroom has reported through a series called When and Where: Abortion Access in America, there are many situations when a clinical diagnosis of severe fetal anomalies happens at a routine anatomy scan, which is typically scheduled at 20 weeks. That leaves only two weeks to get an appointment in a majority of states with legal access and post-Dobbs, it can be a tall order to get an appointment that quickly, as clinics have been inundated with patients from other states where no access is available at any stage. Katrina Kimport, a professor at the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health program at the University of California San Francisco, has published at least two studies about abortions that take place in the third trimester, including one that detailed interviews with 28 women of different races between the ages of 18 and 46. Their gestational ages ranged between 24 and 35 weeks. One woman in Kimports study who had already had a complication with a previous pregnancy was assured at 20 weeks that everything was going well this time. But at 29 weeks, her doctors observed problems with the fetus brain and initially said she shouldnt worry too much. But further testing showed pieces of the brain were missing or concave, and specialists eventually told her there was no possibility it was compatible with life. Theres a heartbreaking number of ways that pregnancy can go wrong, Kimport said. Two women didnt know they were pregnant until their third trimesters both of whom were still having regular menstrual cycles, indicating they were not pregnant. Others reported significant financial difficulties affording the procedure, which can cost at least $500 during the first trimester and increase to tens of thousands of dollars in late stages of pregnancy, on top of the costs of out-of-state travel for some of the women. One of the women reported that she and her boyfriend were living on the street. To the extent any of them received financial assistance to obtain the abortion, according to Kimports research, it was through local or regional abortion funds. Many insurance providers do not cover out-of-state abortion care. Anti-abortion physician says there is never a reason for abortion late in pregnancy The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research arm of anti-abortion rights organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, did not grant an interview for this story, but sent along its own prepared papers on the subject. In one of those papers, the Institute points out there is some research that indicates fetal anomalies or maternal health conditions make up a minority of abortions that happen late in pregnancy, and more often it is because of unplanned pregnancy, economic considerations and relationship issues. Horvath said it is true that the circumstances include people who are dealing with complex situations in their own lives, like one patient she could remember whose house burned down. That patient was already in a shelter with her children, Horvath said, and could barely provide for them. While some might suggest having the child anyway and putting it up for adoption at that point, Horvath said that isnt something that should be forced on a person. The idea that somebody owes society or an infertile couple a baby is not just, she said. We have one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, so to force someone to continue a pregnancy beyond the point theyve decided is not the right time is putting them at risk to give a baby to someone else. The Institute also quotes an anti-abortion rights physician who says there is never an appropriate situation for an abortion at that stage of pregnancy to take place. The infant may need to be delivered prematurely and die as a result of that, but it is not necessary to take the infants life, said Dr. Byron Calhoun, a known anti-abortion activist perinatologist. Further, if a fetus has an adverse prenatal diagnosis, all patients should be offered perinatal hospice care since this is far better for maternal health than any elective abortion. Perinatal hospice allows the parents to be parents and provide all the love they can for their child. The Institute did not provide evidence that hospice care is better for maternal health, but perinatal hospice is an option for anyone who wants to do that rather than have an abortion, when the fetus is typically given an injection to stop the heart and then removed from the uterus. Kimport said she has also interviewed women who could not deliver a baby vaginally because of a health condition, and would be forced to have a Cesarean section surgery if abortion was not available. Physicians who are affiliated with the Lozier Institute have also told news outlets such as the Washington Post that up to the moment of birth means any stage of pregnancy past 22 weeks, whereas others would think of it as the last two to three weeks of a 40-week pregnancy. Some of the failure to push back on these really outrageously false claims comes from the fact that there are so many things that are wrong about it and its hard to know where to start, Kimport said. PONCA, Neb. (KCAU) The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will be hosting its 30th annual Powwow with a four-day celebration. The powwow is a celebration of the tribes culture, heritage, and traditions, and will feature a variety of dancers, drum groups, and vendors. Neb. Game and Parks looking for meat processors to help food banks The Powwow will be held from August 8 to 11 at the Ponca Community Grounds, located southwest of Niobrara, Nebraska. Grand entries on August 8 will begin at 7 p.m., on August 9 at 1 p.m., August 10 at 8 p.m., and August 11 at 1 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. This years powwow will include a Team Dance Contest, a youth lacrosse demonstration, a cornhole tournament, a horseshoe tournament, and archery. In addition to the powwow, the tribes diabetes program will also be hosting a Family Fun Run at 5 p.m. on August 9. Walkers and runners are welcome on the 2-mile course, and prizes will be awarded to every age division. For more information, visit the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Powwow Facebook page. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. An arrest warrant has been issued for Hector David Rivera, an actor best known for his work in the "Power Rangers" franchise, after police said he assaulted a man in Idaho. Rivera, who played the Green Ranger, "pushed an elderly man to the ground after they exchanged words about a parking issue" on Friday, according to the Nampa Police Department. After pushing down the man, who was using a walker, police said Rivera left the man on the ground and drove away. MORE: 'Power Rangers' actor Austin St. John charged with COVID-19 fraud "The man who was battered was helped up and he is going to be OK," police said. Police shared video of the incident and a photo of Rivera on Facebook in order to help identify him as the suspect. They are now seeking his arrest. PHOTO: Hector David Jr. attends the 4th Annual Rock To Recovery Fundraiser At The Fonda Theatre at The Fonda Theatre, Aug. 24, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Harmony Gerber/Getty Images) It is not clear if Rivera has retained an attorney, and ABC News was not immediately able to reach him for comment. Rivera had previously been scheduled to appear at Magic Valley Comic-Con in Twin Falls this weekend, but in a comment on Instagram, event organizers said he would no longer attend. "He will not be at the Comic-Con," organizers commented. "Just like all of you, we just found out as well." The actor, who goes by Hector David Jr., was a series regular on the TV series "Power Rangers Samurai" and also starred on the show "East Los High." 'Power Rangers' actor Hector Rivera wanted for allegedly assaulting man using walker originally appeared on abcnews.go.com SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) While there were no Powerball jackpot winners in Wednesdays drawing taking home $154 million, there was a single ticket worth nearly $1 million sold in San Francisco, according to California State Lottery officials. The winning ticket, worth $987,439, was sold at Buddies Market at 696 Chenery Street in the Glen Park neighborhood. It matched all five numbers but did not match the Powerball number, officials said. The winning draw was 23, 34, 37, 50, 58 and a Powerball of 7. Meet the 13 UC Berkeley student-athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics The next Powerball draw will be on Saturday and has an estimated jackpot of $171 million. Last week, it was announced a $10 million California 200X Scratchers ticket was sold in Dublin. Last month, a Powerball ticket worth $621,419 was sold in Milpitas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign rally at Legends Event Center on Dec. 20, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has qualified to appear on the Colorado ballot in November as an unaffiliated presidential candidate, the Colorado secretary of states office announced Thursday. Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan submitted a petition with 21,702 valid signatures. They needed 12,000 signatures. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Kennedy campaign as of Wednesday said it had qualified or had collected enough signatures to qualify for access to the ballot in 42 states. It intends to be on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. More than 50% of Americans now identify as Independents, Shanahan said during a press conference this week. There has never been a better opportunity for a third-party candidate to have success, especially with a unity ticket. In Colorado, there are almost as many unaffiliated active voters than registered Republican and Democratic voters combined. The Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, has not yet qualified for the Colorado ballot. Democrats have not yet chosen their candidate, though its expected to be Vice President Kamala Harris. Polls indicate that Kennedy has virtually no chance of winning the election, but he could draw support away from one of the major-party candidates. So far he appears to be attracting support in roughly equal measure from the right and left. The Libertarian Party of Colorado intends to run Kennedy as its presidential candidate, but that plan is opposed by the national Libertarian Party. Whatever the outcome of that dispute, Kennedy would be permitted to appear on the Colorado ballot only once. He cannot appear two times, nor can he appear with multiple affiliations, secretary of state spokesperson Jack Todd said in a text. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. senator and attorney general who was assassinated while running for president in 1968. He has been criticized for spreading misinformation about vaccines. The election is Nov. 5. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Primary day voting results in Arizona came in slower. Why that's likely to happen again in November Chatter from election officials, journalists and temporary workers filled the halls of Maricopa County's election headquarters as the first results from Tuesday's primary dropped about 8 p.m. on election night. Hours later, that buzzing excitement had given way to a cautious wait. Some races, including key congressional primaries and a high-profile GOP faceoff for the county recorder's seat, remained too close to call. Meanwhile, county officials had released just one additional round of results a small batch of a few thousand election day ballots from areas of downtown and central Phoenix geographically close to the election facility. Tallies from the polls wouldn't be fully reported until 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, about an hour behind election night results in the higher-turnout 2022 midterms primary. The wait affirmed fears officials in Arizona's most populous county have harbored for months: A new state law that was designed to hasten full unofficial results actually delayed publication of election night returns. It's a wait that could escalate tensions come November, when politicians, pundits and voters across the country will be eagerly awaiting election results from one of America's most consequential battlegrounds. The new statute was was created in reaction to another recent law that requires recounts in races with wider margins than had been required before, which in turn created fears that more recounts could disrupt the state's election certification schedule. Getting it through the Arizona Legislature this spring required compromises from election officials including one that stipulates counties must count the number of early ballot envelopes received at each of their voting sites and report those figures to the public on election night. That counting process delayed the return of election day tallies to Maricopa County election headquarters. In the county, memory cards containing election day tallies travel back to election headquarters on the same trucks as early ballot envelopes, meaning workers couldn't start compiling same-day voting results at the county's tabulation center in downtown Phoenix until after the envelope-counting procedure at the polling sites was complete. In 2022, the county saw a record number of early ballots dropped off at the polls during the general election. The final report of results for people voting at the polls on election day came about 2 a.m. If county officials' prediction for the fall is on target, results of same-day voting on Election Day Nov. 5 may not be available until close to 3 a.m. Arizona time on Nov. 6. That would be 5 a.m. on the East Coast. "It really depends on the volume of drop-offs," said Assistant County Manager Zach Schira. "It's going to be, as every election is, unique to whatever those circumstances are." The new law's intent was to improve transparency amid skepticism of election returns and to speed election results for a public grown weary of waiting days, sometimes even weeks, for final tallies. It produced faster results in the primary compared with past election cycles, said Rep. Alexander Kolodin, a Scottsdale Republican who helped craft the legislation. Theres not a major race that remains uncalled, Kolodin said Wednesday, 17 hours after the polls closed. While none of the myriad races on the ballot have been officially decided, results in a few key races such as the Republican U.S. Senate contest, the GOP Maricopa County recorder's faceoff and the Democratic Maricopa County sheriff's contest became clear late on election night. But others, including Democratic primaries in Arizona's 1st and 3rd congressional districts, were still too close to call as of Thursday. Those squeaker races are farther down the ballot. But in November top-of-the-ticket contests, including the presidential race, could be decided by a hair. Kolodin acknowledged the hand count requirement delayed some expected ballot drops on election night. But, he argued, the delay was offset by other provisions in the law. They included a requirement that election officials process and count early ballots as they arrived at election offices, and mandated they tabulate all election day results until finished, rather than breaking for the night and resuming the work Wednesday morning. The net gain is faster results," he said. Maricopa County officials said they'd long been tabulating early ballot results in the weeks ahead of election day and had historically dropped all results from in-person voters at the polls on election night. They plan to staff up on poll workers and train them extensively on the new counting procedure. Nonetheless, Schira said he's preparing for election night result drop delays of anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes. The wait is likely to be met with impatience and anxiety from those invested in the results of top-of-the-ticket races. "Parties, candidates, invested citizens all want to see results reported as quickly as possible," Schira said. "They are heavily invested in those outcomes, and we understand that. But our main focus is complying with the law, and the law tells us that we have to hand count these at the sites." A complex set of figures Slow results aren't the only thing that could contribute to election night rancor. Poll workers' count of early ballot envelopes results in several related, but different, numbers that could confuse voters this fall. For instance, poll workers counted about 85,000 early primary ballot envelopes dropped off at vote centers on Tuesday. The total which is counted by hand and may not be exact didn't include early ballots dropped off over the weekend and on Monday, deposited at freestanding drop box locations Tuesday or received by postal workers on election day. It also didn't include a small number of provisional ballots, which are cast when there are questions at the polls about a voters eligibility that must be resolved before their votes can be tallied. Overnight, scanning machines at Phoenix-based Runbeck Election Services counted a little over 95,000 early ballot envelopes. The company provides voting materials and services for jurisdictions across the country and scans Maricopa County's early ballot envelopes to create snapshots of signatures that election workers compare to voters' autographs on past ballots and other official forms. By midday Wednesday, county election officials were reporting that about 113,000 ballots remained to be counted. The scanned number is larger because it included early ballots received at freestanding drop boxes and mail sorting centers on Tuesday. The total number of outstanding ballots added early ballots received immediately before election day and provisional ballots to the total. But the three different numbers in circulation ballot envelopes dropped off at vote centers; ballot envelopes received from vote centers, mail centers and drop boxes; and then that number combined with provisional ballots could pose communication challenges. Meanwhile, county officials have long expressed worries that an intense focus on any election discrepancies in battleground Arizona could result in harassment of election staffers. Schira said election officials will instruct Runbeck workers to separate out different categories of ballot envelopes while scanning them in November so that those received at the polls, those cast at drop boxes and those received by postal workers on election day each get their own scanned total.In documents summing up the poll workers' count and scanned totals for the primary, officials also note the differences between the various figures. "Folks are going to think what they want to think when it comes to what the hand count is versus the scanned count," Schira said. "If folks want to make a deal of that, that's up to them. We're complying with the law." Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps. Sign up for her weekly election newsletter, Republic Recount. Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, @maryjpitzl. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona elections: Why slow results could stoke national anxiety Sir Keir Starmer at a briefing with Merseyside Police chief Serena Kennedy following the knife attack in Southport - TEMILADE ADELAJA The Prime Minister will host police leaders from around the country on Thursday to discuss disorder which has spread across the country in the wake of Southport stabbings. Sir Keir Starmer is to meet force chiefs after violent protests in the Merseyside town spread to London and Hartlepool. Fifty-three police officers were injured in clashes in Southport on Tuesday that followed the deadly knife attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday. Dozens of far-Right protesters were arrested on Wednesday night after a rally outside Downing Street, while riot police faced down men in balaclavas at a march in Hartlepool. The unrest came after incorrect claims were made on social media that the suspect who was charged overnight was an asylum seeker who arrived in the United Kingdom in a small boat. A No 10 spokesman said: The Prime Minister will convene senior policing leaders in Downing Street today to offer them the Governments full backing following multiple high-profile incidents of extreme violence and public disorder on our streets. At a roundtable this afternoon, he will say that the shocking events in Southport this week serve as a reminder of the bravery of our emergency service workers and the vitally important work they do to keep the public safe. The spokesman said the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, but added: He will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law. He will commit to working in partnership with police forces across the UK and reiterate that they should not hesitate to use their powers to stop mindless violence in its tracks and make sure justice is served. Sir Keir and Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, have said those responsible for the violent scenes should face the full force of the law. The rioting in Southport followed a peaceful vigil to remember the three girls killed in the attack six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar that took place nearby. Patrick Hurley, the MP for the town, accused the mob of using the death of little kiddies for their own political purposes. Calling the protesters beered-up thugs, he pointed to intelligence that suggested the vast majority of those taking part were from out of town and said the peaceful memorial was representative of the real Southport. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has suggested the English Defence League (EDL) could be proscribed as a terror group in the wake of the Southport riots. Supporters of the EDL were blamed by police for violence outside a mosque on Tuesday night, in which a police van was set on fire and officers were attacked with rocks. Wednesdays Enough is Enough rally in Whitehall was promoted by Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who founded and once led the EDL. The Metropolitan Police issued a warning ahead of the planned rally saying that any disorder will be dealt with swiftly. The force told protesters to remain in the immediate vicinity of the Downing Street entrance gate and to leave by 8.30pm, sweeping in to make arrests after the deadline passed. Crowds hurled bottles and pyrotechnics towards police officers as they shouted chants including England till I die and We want our country back. Writing on social media, Richard Tice, the chairman of Reform UK, accused the establishment liberal class of trying to smear anyone who asks questions as far-Right. Mr Tice added: But violent protest against police is utterly wrong and plays into the Lefties hands We have condemned riots of any kind and attacks on police. But we are also the only party asking serious questions about lawless Britain. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Americans released in prisoner swap with Russia are back on U.S. soil, welcomed by Biden and Harris This image released by the White House shows Evan Gershkovich, left, Alsu Kurmasheva, right, and Paul Whelan, second from right, and others aboard a plane Thursday after their release from Russian captivity. (White House via AP) Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were freed Thursday as part of a massive prisoner swap that involved Russia, the U.S. and several European countries. At 11:37 p.m. Eastern time, a plane carrying Gershkovich, Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where they were greeted by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden and Harris spoke briefly with members of the news media, with the president saying the experience felt "wonderful" and was a result of alliances with other world leaders who "stepped up" for the United States. "This is an incredible day," Harris said. Under the deal one of the most significant prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West since the Cold War and negotiated by nations bitterly divided by Russias war in Ukraine 16 prisoners sought by the West were freed in exchange for eight Russians held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Those released by Russia were three American citizens Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva along with U.S. permanent resident and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, five German citizens and seven Russian dissidents, according to national security advisor Jake Sullivan. All were considered "wrongfully detained" or, in the case of the Russians who were being held by Russia, political prisoners, he said. Also waiting on the tarmac Thursday night were the families of the three freed Americans. Whelan was the first to descend the stairs, where he was met by Biden with an outstretched hand. Gershkovich followed, with an initial embrace by Harris before shaking hands with the president and moving on to his family lifting his mom off the ground in a bear hug. Kurmasheva was the last to descend, and after hugging Biden and shaking hands with Harris, she was engulfed by her two daughters and husband in a family-sized hug. The Biden administration said Gershkovich and the other detained Americans disembarked from Russian aircraft in Turkeys capital, Ankara. The plane took off from Ankara around 8 p.m. local time, roughly 10 hours before it landed in Maryland. The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy, Biden said in a White House address earlier in the day, surrounded by the loved ones of the returning prisoners. "Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years," Biden said. "All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.... Soon, they'll be wheels up, on their way home to see their family. Sullivan called the negotiations one of the largest and certainly one of the most complex exchanges in history. Speaking at a White House news briefing, Sullivan said that he was with Biden on Thursday morning when word came from Ankara that the exchange was complete and that the president spoke directly from the Oval Office with the prisoners and some of their relatives. President Biden delivers remarks on the multinational prisoner swap from the White House. With him are, from left, Mikhail and Ella Gershkovich, parents of journalist Evan Gershkovich, and Danielle Gershkovich, the journalist's sister. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Typically a reserved, unemotional figure, Sullivan choked up as he noted the time he had spent over the years talking to the prisoners' families. As you can imagine, those are tough conversations, but not today, he said. Today excuse me," he said, taking a deep breath and putting his hand to his chest. Today was a very good day." The exchange represented a hard-won diplomatic achievement for Biden, who has long committed to bringing home wrongfully convicted Americans. But the deal was also critiqued for its striking imbalance. Those being released by Russia were largely regarded by the West as innocent people unjustly detained by Moscow for political reasons. They included American journalists and peaceful Russian political dissidents. Those being released by the West, by contrast, included a notorious convicted Russian assassin, alleged spies and a suspected malicious computer hacker. Administration officials rejected the idea that the deal will encourage further hostage-taking by countries or groups hoping to blackmail Washington or other governments to secure concessions. Sullivan said American citizens have been taken hostage both during periods when the U.S. refused any sort of negotiation or swap and when it did make deals. Among the Russians released was Vadim Krasikov, an assassin serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder in central Berlin of a Chechen militant. Germany required much persuasion to release Krasikov. When the Biden administration started attempting to secure Whelan's freedom shortly after taking office, Russia insisted on the release of Krasikov. But Germany adamantly refused to release someone it considered to be such a brazen offender. The negotiations took on added urgency after the arrest last year of Gershkovich and the death in prison of leading Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken began suggesting widening the population to include potential swaps the Germans would be interested in, according to a U.S. official familiar with the talks. Blinken brought up the idea with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, at a meeting of the Group of 7 leading industrialized nations last year, the official said. Finally, Biden appealed personally to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who relented. Germany is receiving five of its citizens in the swap. Sullivan took pains to credit the president: This was vintage Joe Biden, he said. Rallying American allies to save American citizens and Russian freedom fighters. He also mentioned Vice President Harris, noting she engaged face-to-face with Scholz on the issue of prisoners this year at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Short video clips released by Russian state news agencies Thursday showed Gershkovich in a bus, then on a plane, rubbing the back of his head and smiling. The 32-year-old reporter was arrested in March 2023 by Russian security forces and accused of being a spy when he was on a reporting assignment to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia's main spy agency, alleged that he was acting on U.S. orders to gather state secrets charges that he, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government rejected as false. In this image made from video provided by Russia's Federal Security Service, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by a Russian agent as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow on Thursday. (Russian Federal Security Service / RTR via AP) Nearly two weeks ago, Gershkovich was convicted of espionage in a trial the U.S. government denounced as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony. Whelan, a U.S. citizen, was detained in 2018 on espionage charges after traveling to Moscow for a fellow Marines wedding. The corporate security director from Michigan was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The prisoner exchange also involved the release of Kurmasheva, a Russian American editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She was detained in October while visiting her elderly mother, and last month, Russia sentenced her to 6 years in prison after accusing her of spreading false information about the Russian army. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian activist, politician and opinion columnist for the Washington Post, was convicted of treason in April 2023 for condemning Moscows war in Ukraine. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Biden said his work to free the hostages began before he took office in January 2021. During his transition to the White House, he said, he instructed the national security team to dig into all cases of hostages being wrongfully detained. As of today, my administration brought home over 70 Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad, many since before I took office, Biden said. In a pointed jab against Republicans who push for greater U.S. isolationism, Biden said the exchange would not have been possible without allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. They stood with us, and they made bold and brave decisions," he said. "So, for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. Today is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world. Friends you can trust, work with and depend upon, especially on matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this. Our alliances make our people safer. Gershkovich, who was based at the Wall Street Journal's bureau in Moscow at the time of his arrest, was the subject of an extensive "Free Evan" campaign. The Journal sold #IStandWithEvan T-shirts and put a ticker on its website indicating how many days, hours and minutes Gershkovich had been detained. On Thursday morning, the clock kept ticking at 491 days before it was replaced by a banner headline about the swap. Planes believed to be carrying prisoners from Russia arrive at the airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday. (Associated Press) After Gershkovichs conviction last month, Biden said the reporter had committed no crime and was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American. There is no question that Russia is wrongfully detaining Evan, Biden said in a statement. Evan has endured his ordeal with remarkable strength. We will not cease in our efforts to bring him home. The deal marked the first high-level prisoner exchange between Russia and the U.S. since December 2022, when WNBA star Brittney Griner was released in return for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Amid the celebration Thursday, the family of Pittsburgh teacher Marc Fogel, who was detained in Russia in 2021, questioned why he was not part of the release. Fogel was charged with smuggling drugs; the U.S. has not designated him as "wrongfully detained" and he is serving a 14-year sentence. "We are completely heartbroken and outraged that Marc has been left behind while the U.S. government brought other Americans home," the family said in a statement. The family accused the U.S. government of "stonewalling, double standards, and today abandoning Marc to die in prison for less than an ounce of medical marijuana prescribed to manage his severe decades-long spinal disease." They demanded that Biden, Blinken and other administration officials say Fogel's name, "designate him as wrongfully detained, and bring him home." Speaking at the the White House, Sullivan said the administration was "actively working" to secure Fogel's release, along with Americans held in Syria, Afghanistan and other countries around the globe. Blinken also reassured the families of those still wrongfully detained that the Biden administration would not forget them. "My pledge to the families of those still separated from their families is the same that I made to those returning home today," he said. "We will not forget you, and we will not rest until you see your loved ones again." Times staff writer Susanne Rust contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Undocumented immigrants are shackled before boarding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), charter jet for deportation on Oct. 15, 2015, in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) GEO Group, one of the worlds largest private prison companies, is ramping up its lobbying operation as lawmakers in Washington eye budget cuts to alternatives to detention programs. The private prison giant spent $690,000 on federal lobbying during the first six months of 2024, more than it spent in the first half of any other year during the Biden administration, according to OpenSecrets analysis of lobbying disclosures filed on July 21. During former President Donald Trumps administration, GEO Group lobbying expenditures hit a new record but then started to decline after Biden entered the White House. Shortly after taking office in January 2021, Biden issued an executive order aimed at phasing out the Justice Departments contracts with private prisons. But the private prison industry had already started to turn to immigrant detention and surveillance, which falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE. This pivot began under former President Barack Obama in 2011 when GEO Group acquired BI Inc., a company that manufactures GPS tracking devices. Around that time, GEO Group began lobbying on alternatives to detention within ICE, according to federal lobbying disclosures. In 2020, BI Inc. inked a five-year $2.2 billion contract with ICE to continue running the agencys Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, which the company has been working with ICE on since 2004. The program uses technology such as ankle monitors and phone apps to surveil immigrants instead of keeping them in custody. The program is one of ICEs alternatives to detention initiatives. Tae Johnson, former acting director of ICE under both Biden and former President Donald Trump, described the program as a humane, cost-effective, and community-based case management service. But since the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program launched in 2004, and expanded in 2011, it has come under intense scrutiny by researchers and lawmakers who claim it is too punitive. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, 25 Democrats wrote that immigration authorities cannot reasonably call Isap an alternative to detention if the program effectively subjects more immigrants to the agencys supervision while it simultaneously expands formal detention programs. A 2022 Guardian investigation found that BI Inc.s surveillance technology malfunctions, sometimes injuring people, and that the companys case managers have few protocols governing key decisions they make regarding the duration and level of surveillance. As of 2023, funding from ICE makes up nearly half of GEO Groups total revenue, according to the companys latest annual report. Of the approximately $1 billion in revenue GEO Group gets from the agency, about $337.8 million is related to the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. In 2023, Congress was unable to pass several agencies spending bills for the 2024 fiscal year, including DHS. Instead, it approved those agencies budgets for the first six months of the fiscal year, spanning from October to March. With another six months of funding left to be decided, GEO Group has ramped up its lobbying efforts. GEO Group lobbied on the DHS appropriations bills and the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. It has also lobbied on the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which would limit eligibility for asylum, continue construction of the wall between Mexico and the U.S., among other provisions. The company disclosed lobbying on federal contract monitoring and supervision services, location monitoring services, issues related to deportation of federal prisoners and issues related to ICE, immigration enforcement, and alternatives to detention. GEO Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But Kyle Virgien, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Unions National Prison Project who focuses on immigrant detention, told OpenSecrets that these issues all concern the use of surveillance technology. Jason Morin, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies the political influence of the private prison industry, suggested that the reason why GEO Group might have ramped up its lobbying efforts is the potential for a loss in income and funding. In 2023, fewer immigrants were placed in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. As a result, GEO Group saw revenue from electronic monitoring and supervision services fall from $132.6 million in the first quarter of 2023 to $86.8 million in the first quarter of 2024. The companys second quarter earnings report will be released on Aug. 7. In addition, the White Houses budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year would cut funding for ICEs Alternatives to Detention programs from $442.7 million for 2024 to $359.6 million. GEO Groups current roster of lobbyists include multiple former government officials who have since entered the revolving door, including former Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.), who previously served on the House Appropriations Committee. Another GEO Group lobbyist is Lionel Aguirre, a former staffer for Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) who was on the House Homeland Security Committee at the time and is currently the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committees Subcommittee on Homeland Security. GEO Group also hired Sarah Beatty Rogers, former Chief of Staff for former Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) when he was on the House Homeland Security Committee. Detention facilities can only hold so many individual people, said Morin. And so this allows them to further expand their grip on immigrant detention, whether thats within a physical boundary or outside of that boundary. In the private prison industry, its incredibly important for these companies to have intense lobbying efforts, Virgien told OpenSecrets. Their business is basically dependent on government money flowing into their bank accounts. Roby, Aguirre and Rogers did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication. This story was produced in partnership with OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. Khadija Alam is a reporting intern at OpenSecrets. She can be reached at info@opensecrets.org Sen. Daniel McCay and Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka speak at a press conference, Thursday, Aug 1, 2024, after the Utah Supreme Court ruled Utah still cannot enforce its law prohibiting abortions except in cases of rape, incest or health. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News By the time the courts finish litigating the state abortion law, thousands more lives may be lost, said Sen. Dan McCay on Thursday morning. Its extremely disappointing for us who have been advocating for an end to this brutal practice abortion. McCay along with pro-life organizers held a press conference expressing sorrow over a state supreme court ruling that prevents the state from enforcing its law prohibiting abortions except in cases of rape, incest or health. Democratic politicians in the state celebrated the ruling. The Riverton politician has not ruled out anything he said he will be calling a special session and is open to a constitutional amendment. The court handed down the ruling Thursday morning, which allowed a district courts order to continue blocking the law from going into effect. The ultimate constitutionality of the law has yet to be determined by the courts. This means abortion remains legal for up to 18 weeks in Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Deidre Henderson expressed disappoint over the ruling and said it would delay protection of the most vulnerable Utahns. We are hopeful that this decision will be a temporary setback and the laws will take effect following resolution of the case, said Cox and Henderson. We are grateful for the states current restriction on abortions after 18 weeks. Regardless of this outcome, our administration will continue to fight for all Utahns, including the unborn. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said the office respectfully disagrees with the decision and while they are disappointed, they are not deterred. As the Court recognized, it did not decide the ultimate question in this casewhether the Utah Constitution protects a right to abortion. It does not, just as the federal constitution does not, said Reyes. As the case now heads back to district court, we will continue our vigorous defense of SB 174s constitutionality and its careful balance of the right to life for both the unborn and living. McCay said he has notified Cox he intends to call a special session. The intent of the session would be to move the states gestational ban from 18 weeks down to 6 weeks: a heartbeat law. This would not replace the law banning elective abortions, McCay said it would be in place until the courts rule on the ultimate constitutionality of the trigger law. Though McCay said he was disappointed in the decision, he said he has hope for the final outcome. If 6,000 lives lost in the process are not enough for the court, McCay said there may be even more, upward of 15,000 to 20,000 lives lost, by the time the case is finalized. It surprised McCay the court did not notice the harm that would come by not removing the injunction. While McCay said he has not yet spoken with his Republican colleagues about the special session, he said many of them have been supportive of pro-life measures in the past. Some of his colleagues have already spoken out expressing frustration with the ruling. Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a joint statement regarding the Utah Supreme Courts decision, The U.S. Supreme Courts landmark Dobbs decision reinstated the authority of our state to regulate abortion policy. The Utah Legislature thoughtfully acted to ensure the state had a strong policy in place to protect both the unborn and the life of the mother. We are deeply disappointed by the Utah Supreme Courts ruling today preventing our states abortion law from taking effect more than two years after the Dobbs decision. Through this ruling, the Utah Supreme Court is undermining the constitutional authority of the Legislature to enact laws as elected representatives of the people of Utah, continued Adams and Schultz. Utah House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, who sponsored the abortion law being challenged, said she was extremely disappointed in the ruling from the state Supreme Court. She said Utahns value life. As legislators, we are committed to upholding those values in our laws. Its deeply unfortunate that Utahs strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision, resulting in the deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state, said Lisonbee. We are consulting with our legal counsel on next steps for the litigation and are confident that we will ultimately prevail on the merits of the case. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said he was deeply appalled by the ruling and said it ignores the intent of the framers of the Utah Constitution. Since the injunction was put into place, over 6,000 pre-born babies have been terminated. This court has perpetuated this travesty, allowing innocent lives to be lost. We must stand firm in preserving the rights of the unborn, said Teuscher. Utahs history has consistently aimed to protect life, and it is disheartening to see this legacy disregarded by an activist court stretching to reach its opinion. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah president and CEO Kathryn Boyd said, While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah looks forward to this unconstitutional law being permanently struck down so that we can continue to provide quality, affordable health care to Utahns, free from political interference. Pro-Life Utah, Utah Eagle Forum and the Abortion-Free Utah Coalition issued a joint statement expressing sorrow over the ruling, saying since the district court put the injunction in place, Over 6,000 babies have been killed by elective abortion in the state of Utah. Leaders from these three organizations also spoke at the press conference alongside McCay. Merrilee Boyack, the chairman of Abortion-Free Utah Coalition, said, Today, the state supreme court stated that irreparable harm to Planned Parenthood Association of Utah was more important than the lives of thousands of pre-born children. Boyack said it was appalling the Utah Supreme Court put the needs of a business before the lives of children, and also said the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest. Im here to say that the public does have an interest in the lives of thousands of pre-born children who are going to become citizens of Utah, said Boyack. The public does have an interest in sparing so many thousands of women a lifetime of regret by feeling that they only have one choice. And Im here to say that the public does have an interest in welcoming all life, whether planned or unplanned in the state of Utah. Gayle Ruzicka said she waited for years for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and knew it would happen, even others said it would not. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, the issue was sent back to the courts. It does not say, Ruzicka said, it goes back to the courts for judges to decide, for activist judges to rule that its okay to continue to kill these little unborn babies. Leading off her remarks, Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, said she was heartbroken to think that the Utah Supreme Court could place the potential financial irreparable harm of a business whose bottom line is dependent upon the killing of pre-born babies above the irreparable harm of those very same babies that are facing death every single day in the state of Utah. Taylor said Pro-Life Utah will amp up its effort to help women facing unemployment and continue to offer financial support, emotional support and baby supplies to women. The Utah House Democratic Caucus released a statement saying they celebrate the Utah Supreme Courts decision. As the lower courts review this law, we urge our colleagues and the judiciary to continue considering the harmful impact this ban would have on the health and well-being of Utahns, said the Utah House Democratic Caucus. As your representatives, we promise to stand by you and continue the fight for your healthcare rights. The Utah Senate Democrats released a statement saying they applaud the courts decision. As this case moves forward, we hope that the lower courts will thoroughly consider the constitutional issues at stake and continue to protect the rights and well-being of Utahns. We stand with all the individuals affected by this legislation and will continue to support efforts to ensure that reproductive healthcare remains accessible, and rights are upheld. Republican attorney general candidate Derek Brown said Dobbs returned the decision back to the people and their elected officials. He said Utahs law protects both the life of the unborn child and the life of mother. I am disappointed by this decision, which could deprive the people and their elected representatives from the ability to make these difficult policy decisions, said Brown. However, I am proud of the attorneys who have ably represented the state of Utah in this matter. As Utahs Attorney General, I will continue to vigorously defend the constitutionality of SB174. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian King and running mate Rebekah Cummings said the ruling was a win for Utah families and said the bill should have never been signed. As Utahns, we value agency and freedom, and we believe that the government has no place dictating the most personal, private decisions in our lives, said King and Cummings. You deserve a governor who respects your family enough to stand up for that freedom instead of putting it on the chopping block in pursuit of partisan political interests. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America released a statement saying the ruling leaves unborn children in Utah unprotected for the time being, but said Utahs law is the will of the people and expressed confidence it would prevail. Katie Daniel, policy director for the organization, said, Lives will continue to be taken by abortion with the delay of Utahs pro-life law. Its hard to fathom that unborn children who have heartbeats, who smile and suck their thumbs, and who feel pain can still be aborted in Utah. Utah is a pro-life state that values babies in the womb and their mothers. While 21 states have laws in effect protecting life at 15 weeks or sooner, Utahs law that would protect the lives of more than 3,000 babies annually continues to be blocked. Salt Lake County Democratic Party chair Jade Velazquez called the ruling a huge step towards protecting Utahns right to choose. Politicians have no place involving themselves in a Utahns decision of when to start or grow their family, said Velazquez. This is a deeply personal decision that should continue to be only between a patient and their doctor. Donald Trump campaigns in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as his campaign has now publicly turned its fire on Project 2025. (Getty Images) As Donald Trump continues to flounder around his response to a sustained assault from Democrats over policy prescriptions in the Heritage Foundations Project 2025, his rivals are sticking the knife in further. The DNC is out with a new memo on Thursday detailing how conservatives hope to use a second Trump presidency to expand state-led efforts to monitor women who get abortions even if they do so in states where the practice is legal. Those efforts directly conflict with Trumps stated desire to leave the issue up to state governments. A shift in federal policy could end up being a clear thumb on the scale in favor of conservative states who wish to police the practice of abortion outside their borders. The ex-president has trodden a winding path on the issue of abortion rights. He routinely insists that he does not support a national ban on abortion and wants the issue left up to the states, even as he simultaneously and repeatedly has claimed credit for the end of federal protections on abortion. He has also endorsed any conservative state government push to monitor womens pregnancies in past interviews. In two separate instances this year, Trump implied that he would not oppose any Republican push to level such surveillance against pregnant women. Donald Trump campaigns in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as his campaign has now publicly turned its fire on Project 2025. (Getty Images) Democrats have seen an angle of opportunity here, and are now tying the former president to language in the Project 2025s section on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.) The project details how it would direct a conservative HHS chief to get rid of guidance around the agencys rules regarding patient information disclosures, including a portion which explicitly states that a health care provider would be prohibited from reporting a patients intent to seek abortion care in a state where the practice is legal to government officials in the patients home state. A pregnant individual in a state that bans abortion informs their health care provider that they intend to seek an abortion in another state where abortion is legal. The provider wants to report the statement to law enforcement to attempt to prevent the abortion from taking place. However, the Privacy Rule would not permit this disclosure of PHI to law enforcement under this permission for several reasons, reads the HHS rule guidance Project 2025 wants to delete. The conservative-led effort describes the rule guidance as unnecessary and ideologically motivated fearmongering about abortion. Trump has made efforts within the past few weeks to burn his bridges with Project 2025. The project is a collaboration of dozens of groups that support his campaign and is spearheaded by officials with direct experience in Trumps first administration. Its policy lead announced that he would step down this week, an announcement which was quickly celebrated as a successful targeted hit by the Trump campaign. Notably, the deletion of any rule guidance on confidentiality in health care would not change the rules themselves. The agency would have to go through the formal rule review process to amend or throw out a HIPAA rule finalized by the agency earlier this year which HHS officials said was meant to better protect patient confidentiality and prevent medical records from being used against people for providing or obtaining lawful reproductive health care. But Project 2025 and Donald Trumps running mate, JD Vance, both have stated clear opposition to this rule. Abortion is not health care it is a brutal act that destroys the life of an unborn child and hurts women. Congress did not authorize HHS to extend special provisions for abortion such as these under the guise of health care. The Proposed Rule unlawfully thwarts the enforcement of compassionate laws protecting unborn children and their mothers, and directs health care providers to defy lawful court orders and search warrants, read a letter to the agency Vance signed on to in 2023 when the rule was first proposed. Vance has sought to aid Trumps efforts to find a more politically palatable abortion position ahead of the general election. Explaining how his own statements in support of a national ban gelled with his running mates, Vance said this month: Im the vice presidential nominee and not the presidential nominee, and if I want my views on abortion to dominate the Republican party then I run for president. And I didnt and I havent. Donald Trump ran for president. JD Vance shakes hands with Donald Trump, his running mate for the 2024 election, at the RNC. Vances far-right views have become a drag for Trump in polling since his selection as vice presidential nominee. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Obviously as a member of the campaign Im going to support... states making the decision, having a respect for the will of the voters to decide what local abortion policy will be, he added. But Democrats are seeking to remind voters that much of Trumps policymaking in a second term would likely mirror his first i.e. carried out by political appointees across government and not necessarily through the stroke of a pen at the White House. "Because of Trump, prosecutors looking to enforce draconian anti-abortion laws in the states are now free to go after reproductive health data in mobile apps, said DNC national press secretary Emilia Rowland in a statement to The Independent. But Trump and Vances Project 2025 agenda would go even further calling for every abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and incidental pregnancy loss from medical treatments like chemo to be reported to the federal government under a Trump administration, tearing away health data privacy protections under HIPAA, and allowing states to surveil patients and doctors, monitor pregnancies, restrict womens freedom to travel for abortion care, and ultimately use health data against patients and providers in court. This isnt about policy, its about control. HONOLULU (KHON2) With rising childcare costs straining many families, a new bipartisan proposal in Congress could offer relief. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The proposed legislation seeks to modify existing tax credits to make childcare more affordable and introduce a new program to retain childcare workers. The average annual salary for these workers is just over $30,000. Maui man standing strong after car, prosthetic legs stolen Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., warned of the potential collapse of the childcare industry, stating, If this industry collapsesand I would say were on the verge of collapseits going to have a detrimental impact on our workforce and our economy. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., emphasized the need for reform, saying, If entering the workforce, or re-emerging into it, is impeded by unaffordable childcare, then we as a nation have to figure that out and do better. The senators believe they have sufficient support to pass the bill in the Senate. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news However, its future in the House remains uncertain, with some Republicans arguing that the government cannot afford the proposed childcare funding. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Hundreds of former Bitwise Industries employees in Fresno and across the U.S. stand to benefit from a proposed $20 million settlement hammered out over seven months of mediation and negotiations. Although the settlement isnt due to be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge until at least November, documents filed this week in the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Delaware outline details of the agreement, including an initial distribution of $6 million for an estimated 750 employees of the defunct Fresno-based technology firm once the proposal is approved. This equates to approximately $8,000 per class member a meaningful recovery for abruptly terminated employees, many of whom were not paid their final wages and are still struggling to find employment, wrote Rene Roupinian, an attorney with the law firm of Raisner Roupinian LLP representing former Bitwise employees in a federal class-action lawsuit. The settlement agreement also calls for a subsequent allocation of $14 million for eventual distribution to employees who do not opt out of the agreement. When weighed against the risks of an adverse outcome, with respect to both liability and to damages, the $20 million that will be realized under the Settlement Agreement is a very favorable recovery, according to attorneys representing the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Jeoffrey Burtch and the class-action employees. Not all of that money, however, will be going to the jilted workers. The settlement agreement allows lawyers in the two separate class-action lawsuits to seek up to $1.8 million in attorney fees plus expenses from the initial $6 million distribution, and up to one-third, or about $4.6 million, in fees and expenses from the subsequent $14 million payout. In addition to the Raisner Roupinian firm in New York, other legal counsel representing the former employees in both state and federal lawsuits are the Erickson Kramer Osborne LLP law firm in San Francisco, Brian Whelan of the Whelan Law Group in Clovis, and Roger Bonakdar of Fresnos Bonakdar Law Firm. Bitwise Industries, founded in Fresno in 2013 by co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., was a highly touted symbol of efforts to revitalize downtown Fresno and provide technology training for people in need of economic opportunities. After partnering in the renovation of several downtown buildings into hubs for small technology businesses and other companies, Bitwise began rapidly expanding its footprint, first to other California cities, and then to communities across the U.S. But the expansion masked financial troubles that were more serious than most people realized. The companys meltdown became apparent over the Memorial Day weekend of 2023, when Soberal and Olguin told employees that they were being furloughed immediately. Soberal and Olguin were fired by the remaining Bitwise board members several days later. The employee furloughs, which formally became terminations in mid-June, led to the class-action lawsuits on behalf of the workers: one in federal court, the other in the Fresno County Superior Court. Both the federal and state lawsuits allege that Bitwise and its leaders violated provisions of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification or WARN Act, which require companies to give at least 60 days notice to employees before layoffs. Employees also contend that the Bitwise owed them unpaid wages and benefits for the weeks before the furloughs were announced. Bitwise and several associated companies filed for bankruptcy in late June 2023. Former employees of Bitwise Industries browse tables representing dozens of prospective employers during a June 16, 2023, job fair hosted by Workforce Connection and the City of Fresno at Fresno City Hall in response to the companys mass layoff of nearly 400 workers in the greater Fresno area. Where is the money coming from? Early on in the bankruptcy case, Burtch reported that there appeared to be few, if any assets, available from which claims from creditors could be paid. Over the past year, however, several potential sources of money were identified to at least partially satisfy creditors. Court records indicate that much of the money for the employees settlement agreement is coming from an array of insurance policies taken out by Bitwise officers and directors totaling about $11.5 million. That includes the unspent share of a hotly contested $5 million policy from Scottsdale Insurance purchased by Bitwise to cover defense of Soberal, Olguin and other officers and directors in potential civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution. But Burtch, the bankruptcy trustee, also asserted that a $5 million loan repayment by Bitwise in April 2023 to a trust associated with then-Bitwise board member Mitchell Kapor a technology entrepreneur who founded software company Lotus in the early 1980s represented an improper preferential repayment only about two months before the bankruptcy filing. As part of the settlement agreement, that money will become part of the funds to be distributed to employees. Kapor and several of his capital management companies will also contribute an estimated $3.4 million to the settlement fund. Motley Fool Ventures, formerly headed by another Bitwise director Ollen Douglass, will chip in another $75,000. A tangled web of responsibility The collapse of Bitwise Industries triggered not only the companys bankruptcy filing and the class-action lawsuits by employees, but a slew of other civil lawsuits alleging fraud and mismanagement by Soberal, Olguin, board members and other company leaders. Most of those lawsuits remain on hold while the bankruptcy case is pending. Soberal and Olguin were also the targets of criminal investigations by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service and a civil complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Soberal and Olguin were indicted in November on felony charges of wire fraud and conspiracy, and in July agreed to plead guilty in federal court to the charges. They will be sentenced in November. Federal agents reported that Soberal and Olguin assumed full blame for defrauding investors, lenders, board members and their employees in the financial scheme that led to Bitwises downfall. Court documents indicate that Burtch had reason to believe that the companys board of directors might bear at least some responsibility. Shortly after the bankruptcy filing in June 2023, Burtch began investigating potential claims including breach of fiduciary duty claims against directors and officers and other claims. Based on that investigation, (Burtch) concluded that the Estates had viable claims against the Non-Management Directors based primarily on an alleged failure to exercise oversight , court records state. In general terms, it appears to be undisputed that the co-CEOs had been falsifying financial information for years before Bitwises inevitable collapse, according to court documents. The Trustee alleges that if reasonable oversight and reporting systems had been implemented, their fraudulent indeed, criminal conduct would have been discovered earlier, and steps could have been taken to avoid the sort of damages that Bitwise actually suffered. The board members deny these allegations, the documents state. The settlement does not apply to the remaining array of civil lawsuits against Bitwise, Soberal, Olguin and other officers and directors. Another major bankruptcy settlement Earlier this year, the federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved a settlement between the bankruptcy trustee and 1861 Acquisition LLC, a company that in 2022 agreed to advance Bitwise Industries cash in exchange for rights to anticipated COVID-19 employment tax credits. The company sued Bitwise alleging that, rather than forwarding the tax credits to 1861 Acquisition, Bitwise instead deposited the money into its own accounts. In settling that lawsuit, in late April 2023 Bitwise paid 1861 Acquisition the nearly $6.2 million that was owed. Burtch alleged that the repayment represented an improper preferential transfer only about two months prior to the bankruptcy filing and sought to reclaim that money for the bankruptcy estate. While 1861 Acquisition disputed Burtchs assertion, a settlement was hammered out and approved by the bankruptcy court in which 1861 would repay $4 million in exchange for a release of the claim on the transfer. That agreement was approved by the court on June 21. Proposed US rule would ban airlines from charging parents additional fees to sit with their children FILE - Travelers pass through Salt Lake City International Airport on May 24, 2024, in Salt Lake City. On Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to announce a new rule that would require airlines to do everything possible to ensure parents can sit with young children on flights. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a new rule that would ban airlines from charging parents more to sit with their young children. Under the proposal, released Thursday, U.S. and foreign carriers would be required to seat children ages 13 or younger next to a parent or accompanying adult for free. If adjacent seats arent available when a parent books a flight, airlines would be required to let families choose between a full refund or waiting to see if a seat opens up. If seats dont become available before other passengers begin boarding, airlines must give families the option to rebook for free on the next flight with available adjacent seating. The Biden administration estimates the rule could save a family of four as much as $200 in seat fees for a round trip. Flying with children is already complicated enough without having to worry about that, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. Airlines for America, a trade association representing the industry, said in a statement that airlines already make an effort to accommodate families. Each carrier has established individual policies, and all make every effort to ensure families sit together, the group said in a statement. But Buttigieg said only four airlines Alaska, American, Frontier and JetBlue already guarantee that children ages 13 and under can sit next to an accompanying adult for free. Congress authorized the Department of Transportation to propose a rule banning family seating fees as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which President Joe Biden signed in May. The legislation also raises penalties for airlines that violate consumer laws and requires the Transportation Department to publish a dashboard so consumers can compare seat sizes on different airlines. The department will take comments on the proposed family seating rule for the next 60 days before it crafts a final rule. Airlines have been pushing back against the Biden administrations campaign to eliminate what it calls junk fees. In April, the administration issued final rules requiring airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for canceled or delayed flights and to be more upfront in disclosing the fees they charge for baggage or cancellations. Airlines sued to block the fee rule and earlier this week, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stopped it from taking effect, ruling that it likely exceeds the agency's authority. The judges granted a request by airlines to halt the rule while their lawsuit plays out. Asked whether the family seating rule could face the same fate, Buttigieg noted that the Transportation Department also has the backing of Congress, which authorized the rule. Any rule we put forward, we are confident it is well-founded in our authorities," Buttigieg said during a conference call to discuss the family seating rule. ___ This story was first published on Aug. 1, 2024. It was updated on Aug. 2, 2024 to correct the U.S. Department of Transportation rule that airlines challenged in court. It was over the disclosure of feeds, not customer refunds. Imagine walking out to your car to go to work and finding it missing. Ohio is now in the top ten states for automobile thefts, and with those odds stacked against you, you may have to do more than the obvious to defend your car from criminals. News Center 7s Mike Campbell is investigating the rise in car theftshell show you how to keep your car from becoming another statistic. Watch Thursday on News Center 7 at 11PM. Climate activists sit on a tarmac at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Several activists are demonstrating for more climate protection at the airport. (Julius-Christian Schreiner/dpa via AP) BERLIN (AP) An overnight protest by climate activists at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany forced a three-hour halt to cargo flights, officials said Thursday. The protest by the Last Generation group followed demonstrations last week at Cologne-Bonn Airport and then at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, which significantly disrupted passenger flights. Federal police said five activists attached themselves to the ground inside the airport perimeter shortly after midnight, and another two were prevented from doing so, German news agency dpa reported. They were removed at about 5 a.m. Last Generation said they didn't set foot on the runways. Leipzig/Halle is an important air freight hub. Airport spokesperson Uwe Schuhart said air cargo movements had to be suspended for about three hours starting at 12:30 a.m. There didn't appear to be a significant impact on passenger flights, which don't arrive and depart during the night. The airport's website showed the first plane leaving at 5:41 a.m., about 15 minutes late. Police said the activists, who had cut a hole in the perimeter fence, were detained. Last Generation is demanding that the German government negotiate and sign an agreement on a global exit from the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030. Last month, the German Cabinet approved legislation that would impose tougher penalties on people who break through airport perimeters. The bill, which still requires approval by lawmakers, foresees punishment ranging up to a two-year prison sentence for people who intentionally intrude on airside areas of airports such as taxiways or runways, endanger civil aviation, or enable someone else to. Currently such intrusions only draw a fine. WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, the White House said. Astonishing in scope, the trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The deal was the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the past two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, with seven nations agreeing to give up 24 prisoners. It was trumpeted as a diplomatic feat by President Joe Biden, who called the news an incredible relief and said the detainees' brutal ordeal was over. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, he said in an address from the White House while joined by families of four three Americans and one green card holder who were released. But the welcome news was still sure to spark concerns over the imbalance of the deal with Russia freeing journalists, dissidents and others convicted in a highly politicized court system in exchange for people the West regards as rightfully charged and whether it gives foreign actors seeking leverage over the U.S. an incentive to take prisoners. Under the deal, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the U.S. vehemently denied and called baseless; Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. Emma Tucker, the Journal's top editor, called it a day of great joy and said: I cannot even begin to describe the happiness and relief that this news brings and I know all of you will feel the same. Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, the Democrat said, Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. The dissidents released included Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, 11 political prisoners being held in Russia, including associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and a German national arrested in Belarus. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained. Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the U.S. as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter in 2018 were nearly killed in Britain by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich, which Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovichs, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and U.S. officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. U.S. officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have also said were false and trumped up, and he was serving a 16-year prison sentence. Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the U.S. released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Brittney Griner, whod been jailed on drug charges. Mountaineer Gas Company trucks drive on Charlestons West Side in November 2023 as the company worked to restore service following an outage. (Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch) Staff of the states utility regulating agency found no systematic failure by West Virginia American Water during a water main break that infiltrated gas lines on Charlestons West Side last year, leading to a gas outage that affected hundreds of people for weeks. In a filing last week, Public Service Commission staff recommended the water company review its internal hand-off policies during shift changes, prioritize reestablishment of access to paved over valves and develop maintenance standards specific to its West Virginia operations. Staff concludes the Companys maintenance practices and operating procedures are adequate to ensure safe, reliable and reasonably continuous service to their customers, subject to the implementation of the Staff recommendations, the PSC staff wrote in their filing. The gas outage was reported Nov. 10, 2023. It affected nearly 1800 people, with full gas restoration completed Nov. 27, 2023. According to the PSC filing, a West Virginia American Water main near Beatrice and Madison streets on the West Side developed a leak and flooded the nearby gas lines operated by Mountaineer Gas. According to a timeline by the water company, the leak was first reported by customers around 1:50 p.m. Nov. 10, 2023. A work order was issued to a day shift employee, but the employee was unable to respond before the end of their shift. At 3:50 p.m., a Mountaineer Gas employee called the Kanawha Valley Treatment plant concerning the leak and a supervisor was notified. An evening shift worker arrived at 4 p.m., and by 4:30 p.m., the employee confirmed the leak and was told by Mountaineer Gas Company staff that the leak was infiltrating the gas lines. Water company crews worked until after midnight. By 5:15 a.m. Nov. 11, 2023, more than 15 hours after the leak was reported, waterflow had been reduced enough to allow workers to place a repair clamp on the water main, stopping the flow of water. Field operators were unable to access valves that had been paved over, contributing to the repair time, the PSC staff wrote. Valves are a key component of the distribution system and their maintenance is a critical function of operations, PSC staff wrote. In order to properly maintain valves, their location has to be known and they must be readily accessible from the surface. The leak infiltrated 46 miles of gas lines on the West Side, officials said. Mountaineer Gas employees dug up gas lines at more than 300 locations to clear water from them. Workers also went door to door to restore service to customers. The state Public Service Commission first opened a general investigation into what happened during the outage Nov. 16, 2023, at the request of Gov. Jim Justice. The commission dismissed that case Jan. 26, 2024, and opened new investigations into the two respondents, West Virginia American Water and Mountaineer Gas Company. The investigations focus on reviewing maintenance practices and whether each utility acted reasonably and had procedures in place during and following the outage, to best serve its customers and the public at large. In the gas company investigation, PSC staff said in April that the gas company acted appropriately in response to the outage. The gas company also filed a lawsuit against West Virginia American Water, alleging it was to blame for the outage and demanding the water company pay the significant costs related to restoring gas service as well as costs associated with the civil actions filed in relation to the outage and damages. A class action lawsuit has also been filed against both companies on behalf of affected West Side residents. The PSC staff recommendations in both cases are just that. The Public Service Commission has not issued a final ruling in either investigation. A spokeswoman for the water company said the company would file a response to the staff memo by the PSC deadline of Aug. 5. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX KIDDER TWP., CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A man was arrested for DUI after police say he abandoned his disabled car and was found walking on I-80. According to Pennsylvania State Police, on July 7 around 7:00 a.m., 22-year-old Yorman Guaido-Tua from Colorado was driving on Interstate 80 when his vehicle became disabled in the center median. Man arrested after alleged Scranton stabbing Police say Guaido-Tua fled the scene on foot, went over the guard rail and into the woods. Troopers were able to arrest him a few hours later when he was spotted walking on I-80. Guaido-Tua was charged with DUI, evading arrest on foot, false identification, and various traffic violations. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Public meetings in Louisiana now require notices be sent in advance to anyone who asks A crowd fills a committee room at the Louisiana State Capitol on May 16, 2023, for a House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice meeting. A crowd fills a committee room at the Louisiana State Capitol on May 16, 2023, for a House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice meeting. (Louisiana Illuminator photo) All government bodies from the local library board discussing book bans to the state board of education debating social studies standards must send email notices of their meetings to anybody who requests them under a new law that went into effect Thursday, Aug. 1. House Bill 446 by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, now Act 617, expands an existing provision of the states open meetings law. Previously, public bodies were only required to send notices to members of the news media who requested them, but Hilfertys law now requires they be sent to anyone who asks. Open meetings laws ensure the publics right to know what governments do. Theyre part of sunshine laws that every state and the federal government have put in place to ensure transparency. Sunshine laws apply to all public bodies in Louisiana, though broad exceptions are granted to the Legislature and now the governors office. The Legislature already allows members of the public to sign up for email notices for committee hearings. Other examples of public bodies are school boards, city councils, higher education boards of supervisors and even state university student governments. Any body that derives its power from another is also a public body. For example, the LSU Board of Supervisors delegates authority to the LSU Faculty Council, making it a public body. The council then delegates authority to the Faculty Senate, which delegates authority to committees and subcommittees, making those organizations public bodies as well. All of these bodies make decisions that are important to someone, said Steven Procopio, president of the good government group Public Affairs Research Council. The smaller the board, the harder it is going to be to get information, which makes it even more important that people can get that information easily. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The law specifically requires these notices be sent out to people in the same manner as is given to members of the public body, which is usually by email. It must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, which cannot be changed within 24 hours of the meeting. Bodies are also required to physically put up notices at the site of the meeting and to place them on their website, if they have one. Members of the news media typically sign up for these emails with the communications director for the government agency, as these officials are usually in charge of sending the notices. Some agencies might set up new protocols now that the noticing requirements are expanded. These policies are likely to be different for each organization. For example, the Southern University Board of Supervisors will soon set up an email sign-up form on its website for the public, but the Louisiana Community and Technical College Board of Supervisors will send notices to anybody who emails boardmeetings@lctcs.edu to request them. The LSU System and the University of Louisiana System boards have not yet decided how to handle these requests, but email addresses for their media relations officials are on each of their websites. If an organization does not have any media relations staff, the public can also email the head of the organization, who usually has a title such as chair, director or president. Violations of the open meetings law can be reported to the Louisiana attorney general or a district attorney. Members of the public can also sue public bodies and officials who violate the law. If a violation of an open meetings law occurs, a judge can void the actions a public body took during the meeting when the law was violated. Members of the body who know about a violation but still participate in the meeting can be personally liable for a penalty of up to $100, according to the new statute Hilfertys law also requires the governors Division of Administration to set up a one-stop website for all public meeting notices. The new website will have a capability for members of the public to request electronic notices. A timeline for the creation of the new website has not yet been announced. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Putin called him a patriot. But who is Vadim Krasikov, a Russian released in the mass prisoner swap? Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the head of the Republic of Mordovia Artem Zdunov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Vadim Krasikov, the Russian at the center of Thursday's mass prisoner swap, has long topped the Kremlin's list for an exchange. President Vladimir Putin hinted earlier this year that he was interested in such a trade to free a patriot held in Germany. Now Krasikov, 58, is being released by Germany, where he has been imprisoned for murder. What was Krasikov's crime? Krasikov was convicted for the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan Tornike Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany. Khangoshvili was gunned down from behind near Kleiner Tiergarten, a central Berlin park, with a silencer-fitted handgun. Witnesses saw the gunman throw a bike, a gun and a dark wig into the Spree River nearby. Police arrested him before he could escape on an electric scooter. At his sentencing to life in prison in 2021, German judges said Krasikov had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and the resources to carry out the killing. Krasikov reportedly served in a special forces unit that belonged to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the top KGB successor agency. For Putin, a KGB veteran, freeing Russian operatives is important for the success of future undercover missions, showing that Moscow would negotiate for the agents' release even if they are caught. How did it affect Russian-German ties? The case triggered a major diplomatic row between Russia and Germany, including tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions. Krasikov and his lawyers contested his guilt, saying at the start of the trial that he had been misidentified and was born in Russia in 1970, not in Kazakhstan in 1965. Presiding judge Olaf Arnoldi said Krasikov a twice-married father of three had no previous convictions, but records showed he had been sought by Russian authorities in the killing of a businessman in Moscow in 2013. The case was dropped in 2015. What did the Kremlin say about Krasikov's case? When Krasikov was arrested, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the allegations of Russian state involvement absolutely groundless. In a February 2024 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin signaled that Russia was willing to swap Krasikov for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed in Russia on espionage charges that he, the Journal and the U.S. government rejected. Putin stopped short of naming Krasikov, but he clearly referred to him while pointing to a Russian patriot imprisoned in a U.S.-allied country for liquidating a bandit who had killed Russian soldiers during fighting in the Caucasus. What does Germany say about it? The decision to free Krasikov wasn't made lightly, the German government said. Chancellor Olaf Scholzs spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said in a statement the release of people held wrongfully in Russia and a German held in Belarus could only be achieved by deporting Russians with an intelligence background held in Europe such as Krasikov. The freedom, physical well-being and - in some cases - ultimately the life of innocent people imprisoned in Russia and unjustly held political prisoners stood against the states interest in the enforcement of the prison sentence of convicted criminal, Hebestreit said. Our obligation to protect German citizens and solidarity with the U.S. were important motivations, he added. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin spends many hours a day in contact with the military about the course of the war in Ukraine, his spokesman said on Thursday. "This is work that you don't see on camera every day, work that you don't read about in the newspapers," Dmitry Peskov said in a radio interview quoted by the state news agency TASS. According to the interview, Putin is monitoring the progress of the special operation, as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is called by the Kremlin, every day of the week. In addition, Putin frequently telephones commanders and ordinary soldiers at the front. This is "a constant practice," Peskov said. There is still "no agenda acceptable to Russia" for possible talks on a settlement of the conflict, meaning that participation in possible summits just for the sake of participation is pointless. However, Moscow remains open to political and diplomatic methods for settling the conflict, the spokesman said. By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin gave Russian nationals freed in an historic prisoner exchange with the West a hero's welcome on Thursday as they stepped off a plane in Moscow, promising them state awards and a conversation about their futures. Eight people were returned to Russia as part of the biggest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, including Vadim Krasikov, a hitman convicted by a German court of killing a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park, and two men convicted of cyber crimes in the United States, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznyov. Among those Moscow also got back: a Russian family, the Dultsevs, including their two children, whom a court in Slovenia convicted of pretending to be Argentinians in order to spy on the EU and NATO member state. The couple are thought to be "illegals" - deep-cover agents trained to impersonate foreigners, who spend years living abroad in their cover identities. In return, U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were among those released by Moscow in a complex deal negotiated in secrecy for more than a year. Putin, a former KGB officer and ex-head of Russia's FSB security service, met the eight returnees at a Moscow airport and hugged them or shook their hands, giving some of them bouquets of flowers as they came off the plane onto a red carpet flanked by a Kremlin honour guard. The first to disembark, wearing a baseball cap and a tracksuit top, was Krasikov, the hitman, whom Putin hugged. Inside the airport building, Putin, who looked visibly pleased, told the returnees: "First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on your return to the Motherland. Now I would like to address those of you who have a direct connection to military service. I want to thank you for your loyalty to your oath and your duty to your Motherland, which has never forgotten you for a moment. "All of you will be presented with state awards. I will see you again, we will talk about your future." Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the domestic FSB intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the SVR foreign intelligence service, and Defence Minister Andrei Belousov were also at the airport to welcome the group. Earlier on Thursday, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the prisoner exchange, said that traitors to his country should rot and die in prison, but that it was more useful for Moscow to get its own people home. "And let the traitors now feverishly adopt new names and actively disguise themselves under witness protection programmes," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn in Moscow Additional reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Leslie Adler and Rosalba O'Brien) Russia freed American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others on Thursday in the biggest prisoner swap deal between the U.S. and Moscow since the end of the Cold War, with a Russian assassin heading back to his homeland as part of the arrangement. A total of 26 people and seven countries were involved in the exchange, which took place in Ankara, Turkey, the Turkish presidency said. It also confirmed that Vadim Krasikovan FSB hitman jailed in Germany for a shocking daylight murderwas included in the exchange. Putin Gets Ready to Swap U.S. Captives for Russian Assassin As well as Gershkovich, fellow American and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan was confirmed as being part of the deal. Russian-American radio reporter Alsu Kurmasheva was also reported to be included, according to CBS News. Bloomberg separately cited a European official in reporting that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident, would be released. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in April 2023 on treason and other charges after speaking out against the war in Ukraine. While the agreement saw the release of Western journalists and dissidents who had originally been locked up on charges the U.S. considered baseless, Russian President Vladimir Putin secured the release of his own countrymen and others who had been convicted of major crimes. Among them was Krasikov, a colonel in Russias FSB security service. Krasikov was serving a life sentence in Germany for the chilling 2019 slaying of Chechen insurgent leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. Krasikov carried out the assassination in broad daylight in a busy playground in Berlin in front of children and their parents. After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024 National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan choked back tears during a White House briefing Thursday as he shared details of the operation that secured the release of the hostages. Sullivan said no sanctions were loosened as part of the deal and that there was no direct engagement with Vladimir Putin to secure the hostages release, but said there were extensive talks with other Russian officials. Turkeys National Intelligence Agency (MIT) confirmed in a statement Thursday that it was coordinating an exchange operation that it described as the most comprehensive of the recent period, according to Reuters. We are overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released, Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a statement. At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putins regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evans 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth. Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world. The release of Gershkovich comes the month after he was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony after being convicted on espionage charges. He was arrested by Russias FSB security service in March 2023 during a reporting trip to the eastern city of Yekaterinburg and accused of gathering secret information about a Russian tank factory on behalf of the CIA. The Journal and the Biden administration vehemently denied the allegations, accusing Russia of conducting a sham trial. Whelan, meanwhile, was detained in Moscow in 2018 and similarly sentenced in 2020 to 16 years imprisonment after his conviction on contested espionage charges. He figured in the last U.S. prisoner swap with Russia, in December 2022, in which WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged for the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. At the time, U.S. officials said Russia would not consider including Whelan in the deal. President Joe Biden said Moscow was treating his case differently from Griners for totally illegitimate reasons but nevertheless vowed to never give up on bringing Whelan home. Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist involved in the negotiations for the new swap deal, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday the arrangement is bittersweet. On the one hand, he said, the deal freed people who were rotting away in Russian prisons on insane charges, while simultaneously rewarding Putins belief that as long as he hoards swap capital he will always be able to get his killers, hackers, and spies back. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporter Lara Seligman that Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who died of unknown circumstances in a Russian prison in February, would have been a part of the swap if he had not died. 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. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), after analysing statements by Russian authorities regarding the killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chairperson Ismail Haniyeh, have indicated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is increasingly expressing an anti-Israeli position and intensifying the justification of Iranian aggression. Source: ISW Details: Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike in Tehran, Iran, which resulted in the death of Hamas Political Bureau Chairperson Ismail Haniyeh. According to Peskov, this action was aimed at undermining peace efforts in the Middle East. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement condemning Haniyeh's assassination, which, it is noted, took place during his visit to Tehran for Masoud Pezeshkian's presidential inauguration. Although the MFA did not explicitly blame Israel, it suggested that "organisers of this political assassination" were aware of the "dangerous consequences" it would have on the region. Quote: "Russia's decision to publicly blame Israel for destabilising peace prospects in the Middle East and indirectly threaten Israel with 'dangerous consequences' demonstrates Russia's increasing willingness to publicly align with Iran amid deepening Russian-Iranian military cooperation." Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has adopted more anti-Israel rhetoric and has supported information campaigns that justify Iranian attacks on Israel, including the significant missile and drone strikes on 13 April. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 31 July: Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that Israel conducted an airstrike killing Hamas Political Bureau Chairperson Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran to derail attempts to establish peace in the Middle East. The Russian State Duma revised some aspects of a recent bill criminalising Russian soldiers' use of personal devices on the battlefield following outcry in the Russian ultranationalist community. Russian officials may be taking steps to address domestic security issues following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack and June 2024 shootings in the Republic of Dagestan. Ukrainian forces struck a weapons and equipment warehouse in Kursk City on the night of 30 to 31 July. Russian border guards withdrew from Armenias main international airport. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupiansk, Svatove, Chasiv Yar, Torestsk and Donetsk City and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree on 31 July increasing financial incentives for signing a Russian military service contract, likely to support ongoing crypto-mobilisation efforts. Support UP or become our patron! PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) The Prince William County Police Department (PWCPD) said an investigation is underway after police shot and killed a man in Woodbridge on Wednesday night. On July 31 around 8:20 p.m., police were called to the 3400 block of Caledonia Circle for a report of a suicidal person. Police said a short time later, officers found the man, who they said was armed, at an acquaintances home near the 3000 block of Bromley Court. For more than four hours, officers completed numerous attempts to get him to surrender. As efforts continued into Aug. 1, police said around 5:30 a.m. officers made contact with the man and he was shot. Prince William County man found with drugs, guns and extensive collection of shoes The name of the person has not been released, but police said he is 22 years old and from Woodbridge. The police department said there was no threat to the community. The PWCPD Chief, Peter Newsham requested the Critical Incident Response Team to oversee the investigation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. The News Pyongyang wants to restart nuclear arms talks with the US if Donald Trump is reelected as president, a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea told Reuters. Trump engaged in unprecedented diplomacy with Kim Jong Un during his first term, but a second summit between the two ultimately collapsed in 2019, which the diplomat blamed on inexperienced, clueless military commanders charged with nuclear diplomacy. Hoping for a Trump win this year, North Korea is exacerbating tensions with the South, with plans to back down and let Trump score a political win for bringing peace, the former German ambassador to North Korea argued in NPR. If Pyongyang succeeds, a future President Trump may well give in this time to Kims demands. What if racism is a feature, not a bug, of our current political debates? A supporter holds a sign as members of the San Francisco Democratic Party rally in support of Kamala Harris, now the expected Democratic nominee for president after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. (Loren Elliott | Getty Images) How one party is talking about immigration is Exhibit No. 1: Infestation. Criminals. Rapists. Poison. Vermin. Invasion. You can be concerned about immigration and not be a racist, but these words are a very big tell. Exhibit No. 2: Republicans reactions to Kamala Harris all-but-certain ascension to become Democrats presidential nominee. She is a DEI hire, prominent Republicans have been saying. Harris, who has secured the delegates she needs to enter the Democratic National Convention as the nominee, would be the nations first woman, first African-American woman and the first South Asian woman president should she win in November. So, following a script familiar to many people of color and women hired for a high-skills job, her detractors are painting her as what they used to call an affirmative-action hire in my day. Affirmative action is now known as DEI, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. Many Republicans Donald Trumps MAGA minions chief among them have reduced DEI to that other rallying cry: Reverse discrimination!! Implicit in this accusation is the assumption that any skilled job a person of color or woman possesses is a job denied a white male who is more qualified and can do the job better. Lets see. Harris, who for the last four years or so has been a breath away from the presidency, is a graduate of a top-rate law school at University of California, San Francisco. She is a former district attorney and attorney general of the most populous state in the nation and was also elected to represent it in the U.S. Senate. Wherever she has landed she stood out as a success, in one highly competitive environment after another. As a prosecutor, she was tough on crime. As a senator and a debater, she has been a laser-sharp interlocutor for those unlucky enough to stand before her. But she is a person of color, a woman and is from California. Three strikes. Not even Barack Obama had that many. Theoretically, being labeled an affirmative-action hire is not a life sentence once you prove you can do the job ably. In real life, I recall, after proving myself, being told by a supervisor : Ricardo, we dont think of you as a minority. Youre good. Huh? Thanks? You gain acceptance until you get that next job and have to prove it again in ways that your non-minority colleagues dont. In that sense, it is a life sentence. Harris is proving it. If she were white, the only jab that might stick is that old go-to California liberal. But, given her law-and-order background, that one doesnt really stick. Wiser heads in the GOP are warning that calling her a DEI hire is going to backfire. They are right. People of color and women recognize that DEI insult for what it is. Its energizing to push back against it. Even voters who didnt choose Harris in the 2020 primary will rally to her. I believe voters will also rally to her precisely because they value DEI, not defined as reverse discrimination, but as deserved opportunity for voters to be represented by someone who looks like them and for talented women and people of color to reach the highest levels of leadership. Harris checks every box as a qualified candidate. What many people of color and women recognize, and what the reaction to Harris demonstrates, is that even if you do check every box, some people will always view you as a DEI hire. The toxic politics generated by President Obamas detractors portends that Harris is in for even more vilification. A whole lot of Americans understand that bringing more and different experiences to the table enriches us. Women and people of color deserve the same opportunities as white males. And equity and diversity are good values to pursue. Sadly, racism is a feature, not a bug, in our politics. But that doesnt mean it wins. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) has called out the sad irony in former President Donald Trumps recent attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, in which he questioned her Black racial identity. During a Wednesday appearance on CNNs Laura Coates Live, Warnock slammed Trump, who spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago earlier that day, for promoting division and hatred by falsely accusing Harris of not previously identifying as Black. He doesnt even recognize the sad irony of his remark, said Warnock, who is Black. In a real sense, Kamala Harris story is an iteration of the American story. The diversity that is among us and often within us. She carries that literally in her veins, he later continued. In that sense, he doesnt know who we are. If you dont know us, you cant represent us you certainly cant lead us. Among the several falsehoods Trump spewed onstage during his contentious appearance at the NABJ convention, the former president implied that Harris had previously only identified as Indian. Ive known [Harris] a long time indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage, Trump said. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? She has always identified as a Black woman, said Rachel Scott, a senior congressional correspondent for ABC News. I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, Trump continued. I think somebody should look into that. Former President Donald Trump photographed during his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention on July 31 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson via Getty Images Harris is both Black and South Asian. She was born in California and is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. The vice president, who attended a historically Black university and is a member of a historically Black sorority, has always identified as a Black woman. People on X, formerly Twitter, have pointed out thatTrumps remarks implied that someonecant both be Black and South Asian. Others have called out the fact that attacks on Harris Black racial identity disregard the differences between race, ethnicity and nationality. Harris responded to Trumps remarks during an appearance hours later at a conference in Houston, Texas, hosted by the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho. The vice president told the crowd that Trumps remarks were the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts, she said. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. Related... Reaction to news of the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich (Reuters) -Here is international reaction to Thursday's East-West prisoner exchange: WALL STREET JOURNAL Wall Street Journal editor Emma Tucker, whose correspondent Evan Gershkovich was included in the exchange, said the swap "done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President (Vladimir) Putin's cynicism. "We are grateful to President (Joe) Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didnt commit." UNITED STATES President Biden said the exchange was "a feat of diplomacy and friendship" and praised Washington's allies for their "bold and brave decisions". This would not have been possible without our allies," he said, adding: "Today is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world." YULIA NAVALNAYA Many of those freed had worked with the late Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading opposition figure. His widow Yulia Navalnaya said the releases were "a great happiness". "Every released political prisoner is a huge victory and joy. No one should be held hostage by Putin, tortured and die in Putin's prison," she wrote on X. GERMANY Germany said the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the murder in 2019 of a former Chechen militant in Berlin, was "not an easy decision". "Our obligation to protect German nationals and our solidarity with the USA were important motivations," the government said in a statement. RUSSIA The Kremlin, speaking on the day of the exchange, said it hoped those who had left Russia, whom it described as "enemies", would stay away, according to the state-run TASS news agency. Former president Dmitry Medvedev: "Let the traitors now feverishly pick up new names and actively disguise themselves under witness protection programmes." (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, Sarah Marsh, Andrew Osborn, Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Alex Richardson) The Real Estate Consumer Protection Enhancement Act, which is meant to create a more transparent and buyer-friendly housing market, officially went into effect in New Jersey Aug. 1, resulting in several new regulations for the real estate market. These guidelines which apply to residential and commercial sales, as well as rentals were introduced after a federal ruling said that the National Association of Realtors was allegedly forcing home sellers to pay excessive fees in real estate transactions. It was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last month. "Best practices will evolve as we get more guidance on the practicalities of it and as we see how this all works out in the marketplace," said Laura Gill, leader of The Gill Group at Keller Williams Village Square Realty. "I'm sure there's going to be a number of unintended consequences, which is what happens whenever you have a law that's written by somebody who's not actually in the business." If you are, or are soon to be, a buyer, seller or renter in New Jersey, here's what you need to know: . Mandatory Buyer Representation Agreements Previously just a recommendation, buyers and tenants are now required to sign a mandatory Buyer Representation Agreement with their real estate agent before starting the homebuying process, according to the legislation. This document will outline the responsibilities of your real estate agent, how they will be compensated for their work and allow them to legally advocate for you throughout the process. Gill said that going forward, buyers and renters will not be able to privately tour a property unless they have this signed agreement. Since open houses are public, though, agreements are not required to attend them, but you will need to provide a copy of the agreement if you have one. "There's some gray areas with this," she said. "So this, open houses, may be an area of real estate that ends up phasing out." Because the Buyer Representation Agreement will also outline how a real estate agent will be compensated, this leaves room for the potential of a buyer being responsible for paying their real estate agent's commission. "What these Buyer Representation Agreements state that if for some reason the seller does not agree to pay for a buyer's agency commission, the buyer may be responsible for paying that commission now," Gill said. "We don't actually expect buyers to be paying this. In fact, if a seller were not offering it, we would expect to just write that commission into the contract. It will just become part of the offer and something else that is negotiated." Additionally, she said that commission information will no longer be published on the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service, meaning that buying agents will have to reach out to see agents to know is being offered in terms of compensation. Seller's Property Condition Disclosure forms now required Seller's and landlords are now required to complete and sign a Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Form. This document will be used to outline details of the property, as well as any history of issues the property may have. Buyers and renters, and their respective representation, can consult this document before they decide to buy or rent a property. Designated Agency is now permitted Gill said that as part of this legislation, New Jersey now allows what is known as designated agency or "appointed agency." This means that the managing broker of a real estate agency will now be allowed to choose an agent within their listing office to represent the buyer or seller. Listing agents must disclose representation at open houses At open houses, listing agents are now also required to post a disclosure of representation throughout the event. This means that there will now be signs at open houses that clearly state who the listing agent represents, which is the home's seller. What this means for buyers and tips "I think in the very short term, there's going to be a lot of confusion over this because there hasn't been a lot of guidance over which forms and which versions of forms are completely required," Gill said. "I think there's going to be a big adjustment period. Buyers are not used to signing legal agreement before seeing a property and agents are not used to having to get these legal documents signed." Gill said she believes that it's now more important than ever to choose the right real estate agent to represent you. Because a Buyer Representation Agreement is a binding contract, she said it's important to ensure that you find someone with extensive market knowledge, good negotiating skills and who has the right relationships with other professionals in the industry. Through these new regulations, Gill said seller's are getting an added benefit of not having to worry about entertaining buyers who may not be serious because of these required agreements. But she said that there are several benefits for buyers as well, because these regulations are putting more transparency and legal protections in place for buyers. "You'll have somebody that really is working for you and focused on finding you the right property," she said. "These agreements also cover properties that are for sale by owner, or exclusive properties that are not listed on the MLS, so it's really for everything." Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay , on X @maddiemcgayy , and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ's new real estate rules take effect Aug. 1. Here's what to know HENRIETTA, N.Y. (WROC) More fast-casual restaurants could be coming to Henrietta, and another may be converted into a bank. At 4775 West Henrietta Road, plans have been proposed to put a Chipotle on an empty parcel that is between Burger King and Wendys. The special use permit filed asks for outdoor seating, and a Chitpolane drive-thru. A final site plan approval meeting is set for September. CityGate development, Chestnut St. in Rochester, receive Restore NY Grants Just down the way at 1012 Lehigh Station Road, a proposed Starbucks has received final site plan approval next to the Taco Bell. The 2,400 square foot space, which is also near multiple office buildings, would have indoor and outdoor seating. There is no updated timeline for construction or opening. Recent town meetings show interest in converting an empty Rachels Mediterranean Grill at 300 Hylan Drive in the Jay Scutti Plaza into a Community Bank. The new plan would add a drive-up ATM option. There is no planned next meeting on the towns website. Have a business we should know about, or know someone who does? Email Dan at dgross@wroctv.com. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. Arizona customs officers seized four million blue fentanyl pills weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds at the Lukeville border crossing in what is the largest single fentanyl seizure in the history of the agency responsible for securing the nation's borders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the seizure Thursday, but it happened a month earlier on July 1. Customs officers found the pills wrapped in 234 packages smuggled inside a utility trailer hauled by a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Arizona. In addition to its historic size, at half a ton of fentanyl pills, the seizure is notable in that it happened at the Lukeville border crossing about 40 miles south of Ajo. It's among the smallest of Arizona's eight ports of entry and does not have the resources and scanners as the larger, busier crossings such as Nogales' Mariposa or the San Luis II ports. Customs and Border Protection launched two operations in the past year to tackle drug smuggling. Under Operation Apollo-Arizona, border officials gather intelligence on fentanyl smuggling networks. Operation Plaza Spike targets the leaders of the smuggling networks, according to the agency. This is an enormous amount of dangerous drugs that officers at the Port of Lukeville prevented from reaching communities throughout the United States, Guadalupe Ramirez, the CBP director overseeing Arizona's ports of entry, said in a written statement. Port of #Lukeville, #AZ makes the largest fentanyl seizure in @CBP OFO history, 4 MILLION FENTANYL PILLS, weighing over 1,000 LBS were seized. The drugs were discovered concealed in the frame of a utility trailer. Outstanding work by team Lukeville! pic.twitter.com/KsjIhu2kPo Director of Field Operations Guadalupe H. Ramirez (@DFOTucson) July 30, 2024 The announcement of the historic fentanyl seizure happened on the same day that JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, toured the Arizona border in Cochise County. He visited portions of the border barriers built at the Coronado National Memorial south of Sierra Vista on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, he led a rally in Glendale. Standing next to the border fence, Vance relayed his mother's experience with drug addiction as a child to highlight the suffering of families who lost relatives to fentanyl and other drug smugglers across the U.S.-Mexico border. "I have been a little kid waiting at the bedside of his mother, angry that his mom took something that she shouldn't have taken, but praying to God, please Jesus let her wake up, he said in remarks from the Arizona border on Thursday morning. Arizona is, by far, the busiest route used by traffickers to smuggle fentanyl into the United States. Since the start of the fiscal year from October to June, the most recent data available, fentanyl seizures in Arizona accounted for nearly 60 percent of all fentanyl caught along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics. The 1,000 pounds of pills seized on July 1 in Lukeville is already larger than all of the fentanyl seized at the Arizona border during the entire month of June. Cartels and smuggling networks have eagerly recruited young U.S. citizens, using social media to entice them with large amounts of money in exchange for smuggling drugs at border crossings, or to pick up migrants on the U.S. side and drive them to larger cities inside the country. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Four million fentanyl pills seized at Lukeville border crossing BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Records obtained by WIVB News 4 show Gov. Kathy Hochul spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a solidarity trip to Israel last October. According to state records, more than $12,000 was spent for a total of five state employees to make the three-day trip. It included $9,500 for air travel, $1,300 in hotel expenses, $760 on meals, and $544 dollars in miscellaneous expenses. That also does not include the security detail, or a portion paid for by the governors campaign coffers. Rabbi Brent Gutmann is one of more than a million Jewish New Yorkers Hochul said she was representing during her solidarity mission to Israel in October. Its deeply important for us to hear that theres a governor that cares and understands that all people deserve the right to live, Rabbi Gutmann said. He said he supports Hochuls decision to travel abroad in her official role as governor. Its well within her purview to make that decision, he said. The decision to go and be present and stand with Israel is an important thing for a Jewish community to see. New York opens application for homeowners seeking tornado relief Others across the aisle had mixed feelings about Hochuls actions. I dont think the governor learned anything in her trip, Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker said. Kracker supported the trip, but questioned what taxpayers got in return. Shes failed to, I think, lead this state through what is an antisemitic crisis, he said. Youve got a 90% hike in hate crimes and a lot of that is directed at students on college campuses. Hochul declined our request for an interview, but in a statement a spokesman said: Governor Hochul has repeatedly condemned antisemitism and hate in all forms, and shell continue working to ensure New Yorkers of all faiths are safe. Last September, Governor Hochul launched the nations first comprehensive statewide plan to combat antisemitism which was endorsed by the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee. She fixed the bail laws to crack down on hate crimes, increased funding for at-risk houses of worship by 40 percent, and brought in a respected jurist to review antisemitism on public college campuses. The US-Israel relationship is a cornerstone of American foreign policy and should not be diminished or undermined by partisan political attacks. Hochul isnt the first New York governor to travel to Israel. Typically, state leaders make international trips to encourage business with New York, according to University at Buffalo Political Science Professor Jacob Neiheisel. Neiheisel said foreign affairs are traditionally left to federal representatives. Latest Local News Ali Touhey is an anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2023. View more of her work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. The Venezuelan people and democratic leaders now have a duty to defend popular sovereignty as demonstrated civically through their vote for freedom, and they appear to be doing so. Some may argue that they should not have gone to the elections with a National Electoral Council that is an extension of the chavista regime, among other adversities and evidence that fraud, as in previous occasions, would be the regimes way of maintaining power, delaying the inevitable day of freedom. The process should have been contested when chavismo violated the Barbados accords and Maria Corina Machado was barred from participating as a candidate. It should have been flagged the moment international observers were denied entry after it was decided theyd participate in the elections, and the irregularities that occurred during the day, which exemplified the gangster-like chavista regimes intentions, should have been more forcefully denounced. Despite the regimes perverted and criminal nature, which is true of communist governments, the Venezuelans chose to accept the challenge. They opted to vote for Edmundo Gonzalez , and the vast majority supported change. This happened in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Albania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Chile, and South Africa. People under repressive regimes, as Venezuelans are now doing, follow agreements between the parties to promote and ensure the legitimacy of those processes. They overcame tyranny by their ballots because their leaders were steadfast, and the international community was supportive. Those who ignore this and try to diminish the civic struggle that people have chosen to achieve their freedom or who undervalue nonviolence as a path to free and prosperous societies have every right to believe otherwise. Still, violence is not a guarantee of success. In their 2008 study Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, university academics Maria J. Stephan and Erica Chenoweth compared the outcomes of 323 violent and nonviolent resistance actions from 1900 to 2006. They found that major nonviolent initiatives were successful 53% of the time, compared to 26% of violent resistance actions. The investigation additionally demonstrates that nonviolent campaigns are more likely to succeed than violent campaigns in the face of brutal repression. Those who believe in and offer extreme remedies, which are not radical because radical means getting to the root of the problem, and the central issue in totalitarian systems is a lack of popular sovereignty, should amass troops and war resources to achieve their objective. However, this would be a mistake because violence rarely results in freedom or healthy nations. In 1981, Narcotics Anonymous published the basic text, which stated that insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. The same is true for both addicts and people who resort to violence. What will happen in Venezuela now is up to democratic leaders and their voters. Let us hope Venezuelans do not grow weary but continue in their civic demand through their mobilization for the nations freedom. What will the international community do? The Biden administration said Thursday it is getting ready to officially recognize Gonzalez as the countrys president-elect. This is also a subject free nations must address. The supportive position is to refuse to recognize the dictator and establish an independent commission to review all voting records and thus declare the civic oppositions victory, as all evidence indicates is the will of the Venezuelan people. If those who have taken over Venezuela over the past 25 years do not accept it, then impose an international boycott, as was done in Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. We have requested the same sanctions for Communist Cuba, as well as for Maduros dictatorship. Venezuelans are ultimately the protagonists. They will determine whether they will overcome tyranny this time or whether they will have to wait over 65 years to obtain their freedom, as we Cubans still do. Regis Iglesias Ramirez is the spokesperson for the Christian Liberation Movement. John J. Suarez is executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba The South Dakota Board of Regents meets on April 4, 2024, at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. (Livestream screenshot) The South Dakota Board of Regents meets on April 4, 2024, at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. (Livestream screenshot) The South Dakota Board of Regents changed its political activity policy at its Thursday meeting in Madison to allow public university employees to run for state legislative office. The change comes six months after the state Supreme Court reversed its decision on whether state employees can run for elected office. For decades, state employees were restricted from running for the Legislature after a 2001 ruling from the court deemed their employment a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest was a heated topic among legislators ahead of the 2024 legislative session, when Gov. Kristi Noem was tasked with appointing two empty seats in the Legislature. In February, the court announced in an advisory opinion that legislators can have contracts with state government if the money comes from the annual budget bill, but not if the money comes from any other bill. The regents earlier, restrictive policy was created as a reaction to the 2001 decision in Pitts v. Larson. Rich Helsper, an attorney at Helsper, McCarty and Rasmussen Law Firm in Brookings, represented state lawmaker and South Dakota State University employee Carol Pitts in a conflict of interest lawsuit in front of the state Supreme Court in 2001. The Supreme Courts February 2024 decision and the Regents policy change allows for more perspectives in the legislative process, Helsper said. Any concerns about conflict of interest will be handled by voters. You dont want little groups to go out to Pierre and represent who theyre employed by rather than their constituents, Helsper said. Thats not good either, but thats where the voters come in. If that issue comes up and the voters want a representative from DSU in Madison to represent their interests, then so be it. DSU Dakota State University is one of six public universities in the state. In 2001, Carol Pitts was a Republican Brookings legislator working at SDSU. Pitts told South Dakota Searchlight in a recent interview that she had asked several state officials and the Board of Regents if she was able to represent her district without conflict. The regents policy at the time said employees could run for local and state offices, as long as it didnt conflict with their work. Lyndell Petersen, for example, was elected to the Legislature in the 1970s while working for SDSU Extension. Petersen, a member of the South Dakota Hall of Fame, served in the Legislature for 18 years, including eight on the Appropriations Committee. Petersen had a significant impact on agricultural policy in the state. South Dakota Board of Regents member Randy Frederick (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) I really, really like this, because I think somebody like that would not have been able to serve under this prior to this, Regent Randy Frederick said of Petersen before the Regents unanimously approved the policy change. And that would have been quite a loss to the state of South Dakota for years, because of his expertise that he brought to the Appropriations Committee in the South Dakota Senate. The February announcement from the state Supreme Court was a big deal for Pitts and thousands of state employees, she said. The clarification promotes the citizen in South Dakotas citizen Legislature, and it allows people to focus on serving rather than looking over their shoulder. For me, it was closure, Pitts said. What I was fighting for was correct, and Im glad that it had come back forward and was clarified. Pitts chose to resign from SDSU after the state Supreme Court determined that she should not be paid by the university as long as she was serving at the Capitol. She moved to a company in the private sector, at the behest of the attorney general at the time, and resigned from the Legislature in 2002 when her legislative role interfered with a state contract her employer sought. She returned to the Legislature in 2007 and served two more terms. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Regional candy store chain plans return to the Tacoma Mall in time for the holidays A familiar regional candy vendor plans to return to the Tacoma Mall in time for the holiday retail season. Permitting was submitted in late July for a new Candy Tyme shop, with remodeling anticipated to begin next month. A media representative for the chain told The News Tribune on Thursday in response to questions that Candy Tyme plans to be open by Black Friday (Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving). The store will be in the main corridor hall between center court and the food court. Candy Tymes previous mall store closed in January 2022 after nearly 10 years of operation. Its other mall sites are at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila and Westlake Center in Seattle. The retailer also has mall shops in Vancouver, Washington, and in Eugene and Happy Valley, Oregon. The representative noted that the new store was a better location with an increase in square footage for a better display of products, and will be a permanent location. According to its website, Candy Tymes selection includes chocolates, Jelly Bellys, gummies, licorice and sugar-free offerings. The candy is self-serve and all sold at one price. A sample of the day also is offered to customers. Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap? Editor's Note: This is a developing story, with the final list of those released being clarified. Russia and several Western countries are holding a historic prisoner exchange on Aug. 1, the largest such move in almost 15 years. It is also the most significant prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian activists, journalists, and dual citizens are among those who have been freed, as well as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The last swap of this kind was in December 2022, when U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner was exchanged for convicted Russian arms deal Viktor Bout. Griner, who played in the Russian Premier League in the offseason from the WNBA, was arrested in February 2022 in Moscow on drug-related charges, just days before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She was later sentenced to nine years in prison before finally being exchanged. The latest swap is larger in scale, freeing some who have languished in Russian prison for years. Here's what you need to know about some of the individuals involved. Read also: Killers, spies and smugglers the Russians released in historic prisoner swap Vladimir Kara-Murza Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza sits on a bench inside a defendant's cage during a hearing at the Basmanny court in Moscow on Oct. 10, 2022. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images) Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributing columnist, who has condemned Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 on charges of treason and spreading "false information." The charges were widely denounced as being politically motivated. Kara-Murza is a dual U.K.-Russian citizen and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2024 for his writings from prison. A former colleague of the late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015 near the Kremlin, Kara-Murza is perhaps the highest-profile surviving Russian opposition figure following the death of Alexei Navalny earlier in 2024. Kara-Murza's health has deteriorated in prison. Read also: Alexei Navalnys life and death as main opponent to Putin regime Oleg Orlov Oleg Orlov, 70-year-old human rights campaigner and co-chair of the Nobel Prize winning Memorial group, who is charged with repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian army, is seen with his wife Tatiana Kasatkina prior to the hearing in Moscow on Feb. 27, 2024. (by Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images) Oleg Orlov, a 70-year-old civil activist and historian, has been a co-chair of the Memorial human rights group for more than two decades. He was labeled a "foreign agent" in February and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for "discrediting the military" later that month. Memorial was founded in the waning days of the Soviet Union, amid the political opening offered under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, to investigate the crimes committed by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his brutal regime. The organization later expanded the scope of its activities to crimes committed by the Soviet government throughout its 70-year tenure. Memorial also advocated for human rights in modern-day Russia. The group's human rights wing was declared a "foreign agent" in 2014, and the label was extended to the organization as a whole by 2016. A Russian court ordered the group's dissolution in December 2021, a process finalized in April 2022 amid a sweeping crackdown against civil society and domestic opposition. The group continues to operate abroad. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Evan Gershkovich U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendant's cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest in Moscow, Russia, on April 18, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images) Gershkovich, a 32-year-old journalist working for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 while working on a story about the Wagner mercenary group's recruiting methods, as well as Russian citizens' views on the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was held in pre-trial detention for more than a year. In June, the Russian Prosecutor General's office accused Gershkovich of "gathering secret information" on orders from the CIA about a military equipment plant located 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government deny that he was a spy and have reiterated that the charges are politically motivated. Gershkovich was sentenced in July to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony. He pleaded not guilty. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on July 17 that there was "irrefutable evidence" that Gershkovich is guilty and asserted that the U.S. and U.K. have a long history of recruiting journalists as spies. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed in May that Gershkovich "will be released almost immediately after the election (to be held in November 2024)." "Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING," he wrote on the TruthSocial network. Trump repeated the claim in July, asserting that President Joe Biden will "NEVER GET HIM OUT, unless he pays a "king's ransom." Ilya Yashin Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin, charged with "discrediting" the Russian army fighting in Ukraine, flashes victory signs inside a defendants' box during a verdict announcement at the Meshansky district court in Moscow on Dec. 9, 2022. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Ilya Yashin is a Russian opposition leader who formerly served on the Moscow City Council from 2017-2021. Along with the late Boris Nemtsov and other opposition leaders, Yashin protested against the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and publicly denounced the full-scale invasion in 2022. In June 2022, Yashin was arrested for "disobeying a police officer" and was subsequently accused of "discrediting" the Russian military in July. The charges stemmed from a YouTube video that Yashin made earlier that year talking about the Russian Bucha Massacre, in which Russian soldiers murdered hundreds of Ukrainian civilians in a Kyiv suburb in the early weeks of the full-scale war. Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in December 2022 for "spreading false information" about the military. His appeal was rejected in April of the following year. Paul Whelan Paul Whelan stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images) Paul Whelan, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, was detained in Moscow in December 2018 and later sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, which both he and the U.S. government deny. Whelan maintains he was visiting Russia to attend a friend's wedding. In addition to U.S. citizenship, Whelan is also a citizen of the U.K., Ireland, and Canada. Whelan was accused of obtaining a USB drive with the names of intelligence officials while in Russia. A Russophile who regularly visited Russia, Whelan had numerous associates in the Russian Navy and Defense Ministry. At the time of his arrest, former CIA officials told the New York Times (NYT) that Whelan's military record (he was court-martialed by the Marines in 2008 for larceny and check fraud) likely would have made his recruitment by the intelligence agency difficult. Former CIA officers also said that officers are rarely sent to Russia without a diplomatic passport, which Whelan did not have. Despite the multiple passports, Whelan's twin brother chalked it up to "genealogical interest," rather than a sign of a possible spy. Kevin Lik Lik, a dual Russian-German citizen, was sentenced to four years in prison earlier in 2024 for allegedly taking photos of a military site near the city of Maykop in Russia's north Caucasus region of Adygea. Lik is 18, reportedly the youngest person ever convicted of treason in Russia. Lik allegedly took the photos when he was 16 and emailed them to "representatives of a foreign state," according to Russian authorities. He was held in pre-trial detention for 10 months before being charged and convicted after he turned 18. Born in Germany to Russian-German father and a Russian mother, Lik moved to Maykop with his mother in 2017, knowing almost no Russian at the time. Alsu Kurmasheva Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir service, was arrested in May 2023 and subsequently charged with "spreading false information" after spending almost a year in pretrial detention. She was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in July. According to RFE/RL, Kurmasheva, who holds both U.S. and Russian citizenship, lived in Prague with her family and traveled to Russia in May 2023 for a family emergency. When she tried to leave Russia the following month, authorities confiscated both her Russian and American passports, supposedly on the premise that she had not registered her U.S. passport. Kurmasheva has been unable to leave Russia since then. RFE/RL confirmed that she had been charged with the so-called foreign agent violation in October while waiting for the return of her passports. RFE/RL reported that Kurmasheva's charges relate to a book she helped distribute about Russians who are opposed to the full-scale war in Ukraine. Kurmasheva's arrest and extended pre-trial detention fits a pattern seen with many of the foreign prisoners and dissidents held in Russia. Her arrest was widely condemned by RFE/RL, the EU, a number of Western countries, and a wide variety of NGOs, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International, and others. Lilia Chanysheva Lilia Chanysheva is another associate of late Alexei Navalny, and was the first to be charged with "extremism" after Navalny's network of organizations was outlawed by the Kremlin in 2021. She was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in 2023. Ksenia Fadeeva Ksenia Fadeeva was the former chief of Navalny's headquarters in Tomsk. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2023 after she was found guilty of organizing the activities of an "extremist group." Andrey Pivovarov Andrey Pivovarov is a Russian political activist who was director of Open Russia, which was branded an "undesirable organization" by the Kremlin in 2017. Pivovarov was arrested in 2021 and a year later jailed for 4 years for running an outlawed political movement. Sasha Skochilenko Sasha Skochilenko is a Russian anti-war activist who was arrested in April 2022 after she replaced labels in a St Petersburg supermarket with anti-war messages. "The Russian army bombed an art school in Mariupol. Around 400 people were hiding inside," the labels said. "My great grandfather did not fight in World War II for four years so that Russia could become a fascist state and attack Ukraine," she said. In November 2023 she was jailed for 7 years for spreading "false information" about the Russian army. Rico Krieger German citizen Rico Krieger was sentenced to death in June by a court in Belarus after being accused of committing six crimes, including "terrorism," and "mercenary activity." The sentencing occurred on June 24. Much of the trial was held behind closed doors and Belarus state media has not reported on the verdict. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko then pardoned the German Red Cross employee, Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta reported on July 30. The others being released from Russian prisons are Dieter Voronin, a German-Russian citizen accused of spying for Berlin, Patrick Schoebel, a German citizen, accused of drug smuggling, Herman Moyzhes, a German-Russian citizen accused of treason, and Vadim Ostanin, another associate of Navalny who was jailed in July 2023. Read also: Lukashenko pardons German citizen sentenced to death by firing squad for terrorism Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The video above is from a previous report. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) A missing St. Petersburg woman has been confirmed dead after her remains were found after a house fire, police said. The St. Petersburg Police Department said it had been searching for Kelli Fisher, 42, since she was reported from in late July. Hernando Sheriff cracks cold case, announces arrests following fatal overdoses Authorities said she was last seen driving her aunts car to run errands, but the vehicle was found in an empty lot on July 18. However, Fisher was not at this location. Her remains were later found after a fire broke out at a home on Prescott Street South on July 28, right next to her aunts home. According to police, Fisher would sometimes visit the residence. Photo of Kelli Fisher The Pinellas County Medical Examiners Office confirmed that the remains belonged to Fisher, and police informed Fishers family Wednesday evening. At this time, Fishers cause and manner of death has not been released. No arrests have been made in this case. This is a developing story. Stay up to date on the latest from News Channel 8 on-air and on the go with the free WFLA News Channel 8 mobile app. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Remembering one of the most shocking Wiregrass cold case murders DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) On July 31, 1999, authorities in the rural city of Ozark made a gruesome discovery. JB Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, both 17, were found shot to death in Beasleys Mazda 929 on Herring Avenue in Ozark. The teens had gotten lost while heading to a field party in Headland. Police say both girls were executed, and Beasley had been raped. After the teens bodies were found, investigators from several departments worked around the clock to find the killer, but after exhausting all leads, the case went cold.for twenty years. In 2019, Ozark Police reopened the case, and using new technology to get a DNA match, investigators linked a truck driver and local pastor, Coley McCraney, to the murder. McCraney was arrested in March of that year, and in April of 2023, after a nine-day trial in the Dale County courthouse, a jury of his peers found him guilty. The next day, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. WDHN reporters Aaron Dixon and Richard Everett covered the trial and were the first to break the news of McCraneys guilty verdict. For years, the only thing linking McCraney to the murders was the DNA match, but that changed during the trial when McCraney took the stand and admitted he had met Beasley before that fateful night. McCraney also said he had met the two the night they were killed and had consensual sex with Beasley in the sleeper cab of his semi-truck before dropping them off at the gas station where they were last seen alive and going home. McCraney lived just blocks from where the girls bodies were found. Despite the DNA match and his testimony, McCraney has maintained his innocence. During an ABC 20/20 report aired on WDHN in early May, McCraney told Debra Roberts he was looking forward to a future where the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals would overturn his convictions. Currently, McCraneys attorneys, David Harrison and Andrew Scarborough, are fighting to get their client a new trial. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A portrait of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, ca. 1590, overlaid on one of his diagrams of the sky and objects in the solar system. | Credit: Left: adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images Right: Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images. A chemical mystery lurks in the laboratory of Tycho Brahe, one of the most famous astronomers of all time. Tycho Brahe (1546-1603) was a pioneering Danish astronomy instruments enthusiast in the decades before the telescope was used for peering at the sky. Aside from that and a big supernova discovery, Brahe also experimented with alchemy, which was a common practice of the Renaissance. Brahe attempted to make alchemical medicines while other scientists tried, unsuccessfully as it turned out, to transform base elements into gold. New analyses of pottery and glass shards excavated from Brahe's lab, between 1988 and 1990, uncovered the popular alchemical ingredients of gold and mercury. The study also found common elements of nickel, copper and zinc. The big surprise, however, was the discovery of tungsten; the rare metal was first isolated by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1781, nearly two centuries after Brahe's death, according to the University of Southern Denmark. Brahe's approach to experimentation, whether in the lab or when gazing at the sky, was pioneering for its day and later taken up by illustrious astronomical figures such as Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Alchemy and astronomy were intrinsically linked for decades, according to the U.K.'s Science Museum Group. To be sure, magical arts were also part of these scientists' rationale, but there was also a desire to "discover the hidden workings of nature," assistant curator Katie Crowson wrote in the museum group post. "This empirical approach was adopted by figures associated with the scientific revolution, a period of drastic change in scientific thought in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which transformed attitudes to the natural world," Crowson added. Related: Famous astronomers: How these scientists shaped astronomy diagram of the earth with a circle representing the zodiac. in the diagram are also planets and epicycles. surrounding it is a backdrop of figurines on the ground and in the sky. latin text in two banners at the top describes the scene: Whether the tungsten was a deliberate act of Brahe's chemistry is not clear. Hints of tungsten's existence were known in Brahe's time. It is slightly possible that Brahe had knowledge: in the early 1500s, Georgius Agricola found an oddity, which we now know is tungsten, in tin ore from German state Saxony. (Back then, Saxony was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, whose vast holdings included Brahe's Denmark and Agricola's location in today's Germany.) The substance, which Agricola and others called "Wolfram" ("Wolf's froth" in German), caused difficulties when the mineralogist attempted to smelt or extract tin from the ore. "Maybe Tycho Brahe had heard about this and thus knew of tungsten's existence," stated study lead author Kaare Lund Rasmussen, who is with the University of Denmark as a professor emeritus specializing in a branch of archaeology known as archaeometry. Rasmussen emphasized that we can't say for sure, however, if Brahe meant to use tungsten. "This is not something we know or can say based on the analyses I have done. It is merely a possible theoretical explanation for why we find tungsten in the samples." a group of people standing around a small crane. the crane is lifting a stone slab that has the name of tycho brahe on it Brahe's medicinal alchemy addressed ailments such as plague. Recipes were seen as protected information at the time, and only a few people such as his patron and funder, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II may have received the prescriptions Brahe created. The researchers suggested that Brahe's "plague medicine" or theriac (a drug mixture) may have had up to 60 ingredients, including substances like opium, snake flesh and copper, and various herbs and oils. RELATED STORIES: Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe may yield clues to his death Famous astronomers: How these scientists shaped astronomy Supernova anniversary: Famous Tycho's star flared up 450 years ago Brahe created at least three recipes to counteract plague; while tungsten was found in the lab, its presence (as well as other elements not proven in reconstructed recipes) "is not a proof that they were indeed used for making Brahe's medicine," the researchers cautioned in the study published July 25 in the journal Heritage Science. Besides the sheer value of experimentation, there is another link between astronomy and alchemy: Brahe expressed confidence in "connections between the heavenly bodies, earthly substances, and the body's organs," study co-author Poul Grinder-Hansen, a curator at the National Museum of Denmark, said in the same statement. For example, Brahe held that "the sun, gold, and the heart were connected, and the same applied to the moon, silver, and the brain." This worldview, since disproven, encouraged Brahe to experiment on himself; a previous study that included Rasmussen found gold and other elements in Brahe's hair and bones. BIRMINGHAM, Ala (WIAT) Renew Birmingham will host a Cookout and Car Show event on Saturday featuring free food, giveaways and more. The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Ensley on Avenue D in front of Cottons. Organizers say there will be a free barbecue, car show, kids area and $50 giveaways every half-hour. The Worship Center in Birmingham hosting back-to-school event The point of the engagement is to give people the understanding that we are responsible in our community for revitalizing our own. Particularly the culture that we have out here, said Gerrel Jones, executive director of Renew Birmingham. It is the responsibility of the residents to change the community. Renew Birmingham is a nonprofit organization focused on revitalizing underserved communities. For more details and for registration, visit renewbham.org. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Report of missing woman in water at Revere Beach prompts emergency response A report of a missing woman in the water at Revere Beach prompted a large emergency response on Thursday. The report indicated that the woman was last seen in the water near the Shirley Avenue Bathhouse, prompting a search of the area, law enforcement told Boston 25. Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, the United States Coast Guard, and the Revere police and fire departments were assisting with the search in the water and from the air. The search was suspended around 1 p.m., with an official telling Boston 25, New information suggests the woman left the Beach area. Law enforcement will remain on the lookout. There were no additional details immediately available. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich (L), Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva (R) and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan (2nd from R), are pictured during their flight home to the United States on Thursday following their release from Russian captivity. White House Photo/UPI Aug. 1 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday said that three American citizens and one green card holder detained in Russian prisons were released in a prisoner swap. Biden said in a statement that the four "unjustly imprisoned" people released Thursday included U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian journalist with British citizenship who also holds an American green card. "Their brutal ordeal is over and they're free," Biden said during a news conference. He added they were flown to Turkey earlier today and "soon" would be flown home to see their families. Biden called the deal to free them a "feat of diplomacy and friendship" that included the release of a total of 16 people from Russia including five Germans and seven Russian citizens held as political prisoners along with Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheve and Kara-Murza. Multiple media reports Thursday said a prisoner swap is underway to free Americans held by Russia. CBS News reported that Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich (pictured), former U.S. marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will be freed. The reports cited an unnamed Biden administration official that the swap was underway Thursday. File Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE "Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty," Biden said. "Today, their agony is over." Biden added he is "grateful" to U.S. allies including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey for their support in the negotiations. U.S. citizen Paul Whelan holds up a sign denouncing the legal proceedings against him as he stands inside the defendant's cage before hearing the verdict of his espionage trial at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, 15 June 2020. Whelan, a former police officer who holds quadruple citizenship of the United States, Britain, Canada and Ireland, was arrested on suspicion of being a foreign spy by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in late December 2018 in Moscow. File Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/ EPA-EFE "This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon," he said. "Our alliances make Americans safer." Biden did not share further details on what Russian prisoners would be released in exchange for those released by Moscow. U.S. President Joe Biden reaches out to Miriam Butorin, a relative of Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, during remarks on freeing Americans detained in Russia while making comments in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI The swap was orignally reported by NBC News, ABC News, CBS News and CNN. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and Gershkovich in 2023, both charged with espionage. Pavel, Miriam and Bibi Butorin, relatives of Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was freed in the latest prisoner swap, reflect as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on freeing Americans detained in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI Kurmasheva was arrested in June 2023 on charges of spreading false information about the Russian Army. Biden was joined at the news conference by family members of those released and took a moment to lead the room in singing "Happy Birthday" to Kurmasheva's daughter Miriam. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on freeing Americans detained in Russia along side families hostages Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI . "Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu and Vladimir and rejoice with their families," Biden said. "We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong." The prisoner swap follows months of quiet negotiations, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel had told CBS News he didn't want to speculate on any reasoning" behind movement of Russian prisoners on Wednesday. Evgenia Kara-Murza and her children talk on the phone with detained journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza as President Joe Biden and families of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva look on following their release in a prisoner swap with Russia, on Thursday. Photo by Adam Schultz/White House/UPI "What I can say is that the United States continues to be focused on working around the clock to work to get our wrongfully detained American citizens home. And that continues to be the case, but no updates beyond that," he said. Ballots are seen at the Weld County Elections office in Greeley on June 25, 2024. (Andrew Fraieli/Colorado Newsline) Conservatives often insist that the United States is a republic, not a democracy. Its actually both, and many Americans use the terms interchangeably. But whats irrefutably true is that democracy rule by the people was there from the beginning, whatever republican systems accompanied and shaped it. Its also true that democratic values have only increased over the countrys history, as some of its most celebrated exponents have noted. Of the people, by the people, for the people, the most poignant expression of Americas democratic impulse, issued from no less an authority than our first Republican president. Many Colorado Republicans are confused about all this. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The founders understood that what they were creating was a constitutional democracy. We, sir, idolize democracy, John Marshall said during the Virginia Convention to ratify the proposed Constitution. The Constitution itself exposes its democratic heart at the outset: We the people. But some readers pass right over those words. This is your daily reminder that America is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Windsor tweeted last year. Its hardly the only time the states most prominent Republican has dismissed one of the nations core values, and she leaves no room for doubt about her contempt for democracy. Were not a democracy. So quit with that, Boebert said on The Charlie Kirk Show. Maybe thats where youre getting it wrong is saying were a democracy. Were a constitutional republic. Ken Buck, a Republican member of Congress from Colorado until he resigned in March, is also a democracy doubter. The founders wanted to make sure that we were represented in a Republic not a democracy, in a Republic, he told Colorado Public Radio. Members of the Park County Republican Party so disdain democracy that they passed a resolution this year that says, The United States of America is a republic, not a democracy The nation is not, and never was intended to be, a democracy. Democracy is not the goal. The resolution passed by a tally of votes like in a democracy. This kind of rhetoric has a long history on the right. In 2020, the Heritage Foundation published a lengthy report called America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy (which in hindsight tracks all too well with the think tanks authoritarian plan for a second Trump administration, Project 2025). But Republicans in recent years have intensified their opposition to democracy, and its instructive to examine why. Their motive seems not to deter tyranny of the majority but to demand tyranny of the minority. When they inveigh against democracy, what they often mean is pure democracy, where every citizen participates in policymaking. But this is a red herring, since American democracy has always involved elements of representation. A republic involves representation, too, as well as other checks on popular passions to prevent tyranny of the majority. As the saying goes, a democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner, former Heritage president Edwin J. Feulner wrote. American democracy largely does operate in a way that protects the lone sheep from the many wolves, so theres something else driving the anti-democracy emphasis. The Republican presidential candidate has won the popular vote only once, in 2004, since 1988. Conservatives on the Supreme Court hold a majority, but their rulings, such as overturning a federal right to abortion access and placing presidents above the law, often cut against the will of a majority of Americans. Trumpist Republicans like Boebert have normalized within conservative circles the notion that elections should be rejected if the outcome is unfavorable. In other words, their motive seems not to deter tyranny of the majority but to demand tyranny of the minority. Thats not a position most Republicans would advertise, but a false concern about democracy offers convenient cover. And heres a tell Colorado Republicans laud democracy when it suits them. After the attempt on former President Donald Trumps life last month, state House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese framed the attempted assassination as a clear attack on our democratic principles. Ty Winter, the assistant minority leader, who has ties to the far-right Proud Boys, mentioned at the time the importance of supporting those who protect our leaders and our democracy. The Colorado Republican Party in a lawsuit last month against party members who are trying to sack Chairman Dave Williams suggested in its complaint to the court that actions by disaffected members were a threat to a functional democracy. At times, even Boebert presents herself as a friend of democracy. So, which is it? Best to judge by their actions Republicans respect for the sovereign authority of the people. Their presidential candidate last time he ran rejected the results of a free and fair election and led an attempted coup. The Colorado Republican Party endorsed him, thereby condoning the most grievous attack on democracy in American history, and Republican indulgence of the lie that Trump won the 2020 election has degraded trust in democratic processes almost to the breaking point. They dishonor the democracy established at the nations founding, and they fail the standards that ensure it can persist. What are the favorite maxims of democracy? Marshall said at the Virginia Convention. A strict observance of justice and public faith, and a steady adherence to virtue. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Leaders in the Republican Party harshly criticized the Pentagons decision to agree to plea deals for the terrorists behind the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, believing the death penalty should have remained on the table. On Wednesday evening, news of the plea deals erupted after the Department of Defense informed the families of victims in a letter that they had come to an agreement with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. For 27 months, U.S. prosecutors negotiated with the three men, attempting to conclude the decades-long proceedings in the trial holding them responsible for aiding in the terrorist attack. Now, the three have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senator Lindsey Graham and other members of the GOP blamed the Biden administration, calling it a cowardice move. The Biden-Harris Administrations weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds, McConnell said in a press release. The plea deal with terrorists including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans is a revolting abdication of the governments responsibility to defend America and provide justice, McConnell added. The three men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who plotted the 9/11 attacks are expected to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences next week (HO/AFP via Getty Images) U.S. officials say Mohammed was the mastermind behind the attack that saw members of al-Qaida hijack four commercial planes, flying two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth was intended to go to Washington D.C. but passengers and crew stormed the cockpit, crashing the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. Mohammed was first captured in 2003. He was subjected to torture while in CIA custody that ultimately jeopardized prosecutorss chance to try the case. Johnson called the plea deal a slap in the face to the families of victims, similarly placing blame on the Biden-Harris administration. New York Representative Nicole Malliotakis similarly called the plea deal unacceptable believing the families of victims and survivors were owed a trial with the death penalty. Under Biden-Harris, we have become a doormat for thugs and terrorists. This plea deal is an insult to the victims of 9/11, Graham said on X. It sends precisely the wrong message at one of the most critical times in history. This decision is an outrage, shortsighted, and will only cause more problems for our country, Graham added. If youre looking for weird, this is it. When you think it cant get any worse, it just did. It is outrageous that the Biden-Harris Administration has entered into a plea deal with the mastermind of 9/11 and his accomplices. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accomplices, Walid https://t.co/Irgir7E5gA Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 31, 2024 Negotiations over the potential plea reportedly began in 2022. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of setting the stage to let them go free and said he would introduce legislation to stop the travesty. The White House learned of the plea deal agreement on Wednesday. The president did not play a role in the negotiations. Last year, Biden rejected part of a potential plea deal for the defendants after they requested to be spared solitary confinement and receive trauma care, the National Security Council said at the time. It is unclear what the exact terms of the plea deal are but the three men could enter their guilty pleas as early as next week. Republicans want you to know that Kamala Harris is from California, a state where anything goes, crime is out of control and undocumented immigrants and homeless people are everywhere. The GOPs California-bashing has gone full throttle, reminding voters that the vice president was a former San Francisco prosecutor, state attorney general and U.S. senator from the Golden State. Republicans are attempting to portray Kamala Harris as a cackling far-left elitist from deep-blue California with its supposedly failed policies on immigration, homelessness, business retention, crime, and more., said Kambiz Akhavan, executive director of the Dornsife Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California. That is a right-wing stereotype of top California leaders that is being aggressively promoted. Whether America believes the stereotype has a lot to do with what media they consume and who their friends are, he said. Stay Informed On Election News Sign up here to get our Election 2024 newsletter, with local, state and national political news and analysis sent right to your inbox. The state has been more progressive on issues that you can distort, said Steve Phillips, a San Francisco author and lawyer and Harris supporter. On environmental issues, for instance, Republicans like to talk about how the government is going to ban gas stoves (its not but wants to make them more energy-efficient) or plastic straws (Harris does support banning them). And then theres immigration. If she becomes president, Kamala Harris will make the invasion (of undocumented immigrants) exponentially worse, and just like she did with San Francisco, just like she did with the border, our whole country will be permanently destroyed, former President Donald Trump told reporters last week. Harris had nothing specifically to do with undocumented immigrants in San Francisco, but is enduring all sorts of California-bashing. It may have an impact. A California Democratic first? Harris is trying to become the first California Democrat to ever win the White House. Three RepublicansHerbert Hoover, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reaganhave won the White House. Harris has a California winning streak. She won a tight race for attorney general in 2010, but easily won a second term in 2014 and a U.S. Senate seat in 2016. California is a heavily Democratic state that last elected a Republican statewide in 2006. Republicans see California as a contrast to their cultural conservative message, their eagerness to Make America Great Again. California is not a great state anymorethe world is being dumped into California. Prisoners. Terrorists. Mental patients, Trump told the state Republican convention last year. Even among California Republicans, the image of Democrat-created chaos is a political weapon.. Weve had a front-row seat to Harriss soft-on-crime policies for two decades, California GOP Chair Jessica Millan Patters wrote in an op-ed Thursday for the Washington Examiner. Earlier in the week, Rep. Kevin Kiley,, R-Roseville, posted a lengthy tweet detailing what he said was Harris crime record. Californias crime crisis has three main causes: 1) Rogue Prosecutors, 2) Reckless Laws, 3) Attacks on Police. Kamala Harris has been at the center of all three, he said. Harris was San Franciscos district attorney from 2004 to 2011, and the state attorney general from 2011 to 2017. As a U.S. senator from 2017 to 2021, and vice president since then, she has supported a series of criminal justice reforms. As attorney general, she called herself the states top cop and was criticized in many communities of color for being too tough on crime. California as a liberal playground The states reputation as a liberal playground dates to the 1960s, when San Francisco became a counterculture epicenter. In 1974, Californians elected Jerry Brown, then 36, as governor, and he became one of the leading national figures in the baby boomers ascension. Brown ran for president in 1976 and was hurt by his late start, as Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination and the presidency. Browns progressive views and austere personal style got him derided by critics as Governor Moonbeam, and his 1980 and 1992 White House runs were flops. The other prominent California Democrats to run for president in the modern era were Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty in 1972 and Sen. Alan Cranston, who tried to lead a nuclear freeze movement as his chief campaign plank in 1984. Yortys bid went nowhere. Though Cranston would wind up winning four Senate terms, his presidential bid ended when he finished seventh out of eight in the nations first primary, in New Hampshire. The Republican Californians who won did share one trait with Harris. They became known nationally before their presidential runs. Hoover was a Cabinet secretary and known for his leading World War I relief efforts. Nixon was vice president for eight years, and Reagan had a long movie and television career. Reagan was a different kind of candidate, able to mobilize a conservative constituency that had not been a major force in national politics. Can Harris overcome Republican taunts about her California roots and win with a different sort of new constituency? The Golden State has passed some of the nations toughest laws on climate change and gun control. Vice President Harriss California roots resonate loudly with Gen Z and Millennial voters who see those two issues as existentially important, said USCs Akhavan.. Shell also benefit from the state mega-donors who will be behind her, eager to pour millions into her bid. .California has tremendous political and economic power, and those resources will largely flow to support Kamala Harris, especially because she is matched up with Donald Trump, someone who many Californians perceive as exceptionally divisive and unfit for office, Akhavan said. Whether Harris can overcome the challenge of being from what many regard as the nations liberal laboratory, though, remains an open question. Much depends on how Republicans define her in the voters minds. After all, said Fortier, She really is pretty unknown. Theres a lot of room for opposition research. Republican lawmakers were horrified by Donald Trumps comments questioning Kamala Harris racial identity. The GOP presidential nominees commentsin which he claimed not to know Harris was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Blackwere met with gasps at a gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. Donald Trump Claims Kamala Harris Happened to Turn Black in Stunning Slur Politico reported that virtually every Republican it contacted about Trumps new attack line was flat-out distraught by what they perceive as a self-inflicted wound not only for Trump, but for Republicans down the ballot. Other GOP figures commented publicly to argue that questioning Harris race isnt a good idea for political reasons. Its not a great idea for either of the parties to be playing racial identity politics, whether its white dudes for Kamala or whatever this is, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, according to Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) clearly didnt like what he heard from Trump, according to Punchbowl News, which noted that the lawmaker remained cautious in criticizing the former president. My comment is any time were commenting on anything but this Biden administrations failed economy, failed border, failed national security, were not gaining ground, Tillis was quoted as saying. When asked if he believed Trump should apologize, Tillis answered, Ill leave that to President Trump. Some Republicansthose not aligned with Trumppublicly slammed Trumps attacks. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is now a Senate candidate, said its unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyones racial identity. The American people deserve better, he wrote on X, a sentiment shared by Harris in her own denunciation of the attack. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), similarly called Trumps comments one of several very unfortunate slip-ups from the MAGA camp. Childless cat women, DEI candidates, now, Is she black? Is she Indian? she said, according to Axios. The outlet also quoted a pair of unnamed House Republicans who were irked by the former presidents words, one of whom said his remarks were not a demonstration on how to win over undecided voters, while another summarized Trumps NABJ interview as awful. The entire exchange was embarrassing, one said. Trump, who falsely claimed Harris had been Indian all the way until she suddenly made a turn and became a Black person, did not appear to be heading toward an apology. After making his comments on Wednesday night, he wrote a Truth Social post doubling down, accusing Harris of being a Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity! he wrote. Not everyone in the MAGA camp was upset with Trumps slurs. J.D. Vance, Trumps running mate who is himself married to the daughter of Indian immigrants, said he thought it was hysterical how the media was overreacting to what Trump said. Karoline Leavitt, Trumps campaign press secretary, also claimed Trump had absolutely helped himself with the remarks, arguing that his appearance at the NABJ conference demonstrated he is unafraid to show up and to have these difficult and hostile conversations in environments. 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. Republicans, pay attention to who Harris picks for VP. One of them should scare us. Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough delegates to become the Democrats nominee for president, she has to choose her running mate. The Harris campaign has reportedly requested vetting materials from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. There are also reports that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are under consideration. Names like Tim Walz and Roy Cooper strike me as uninspired picks. Walz, 60, has immense baggage from his time presiding over the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots that ravaged Minnesota. Cooper, 67, simply falls victim to his own age, which Democrats should seek to avoid in contrast with JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee who turns 40 next Friday. Im a conservative who doesnt plan on voting for Trump in November. However, if I were, some of these names would concern me a lot more than others. One in particular should worry Trump. Republicans can beat Harris on policy: Biden is out, but Trump, GOP won't have to change their message. Harris isn't much better. Trump should hope Harris picks one of these people for her vice presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, now the likely Democratic presidential nominee, delivers the keynote speech at the American Federation of Teachers' convention in Houston on July 25, 2024. J.B. Pritzker : While Im a bit biased as a former Illinois resident, my view is that Pritzker is a generic, wealthy politician who has overseen high unemployment, higher taxes and some of the most totalitarian COVID-19 policies in the nation. Republicans would likely dismantle Pritzker on his record as governor, and he has few pros to make up for that fact. They should want Harris to pick him. Pete Buttigieg: He would be a remarkably weak choice. Many argue that his being a gay person is the reason why, but I actually dont see that as a major difference-maker. Instead, I think his stint as a failed mayor of South Bend, Indiana, or going on paternity leave amid a nationwide supply chain crisis he had responsibility for gives Republicans very real talking points. Trump and other conservatives would have plenty of material to go after him with. Conservatives should worry about these two options Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is one of the few members of Congress being floated as a vice presidential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The Trump campaign should be afraid of Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visit the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on July 13, 2024. Josh Shapiro is the only elite choice Democrats have, and he is almost too perfect of a choice. Though he has only served as governor of Pennsylvania for a little over a year, he is a popular governor of an essentially must-win state for Democrats. He ran his campaign for governor as a moderate, and his actions as governor have done nothing to refute that. He is seemingly as uncontroversial as anyone in this race. Who will Harris pick for VP? Why Shapiro and Whitmer aren't the answers. One important consideration is his pro-Israel stance, which some progressives will view as a betrayal of the campaign. However, more than 70% of American Jews identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, and 89% have a favorable view of the Israeli people. Not alienating this population is an important consideration for Democrats, and balancing Harris questionable stances on the matter is the right path forward. The biggest strength Shapiro has is how he stacks up against Vance. The governor is smart and articulate and would fare well in a debate with the GOP vice presidential nominee. Shapiro also has far more experience in politics, allowing himself to contrast against Vance in a unique way. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Frankly, Im not sure why Shapiro would accept the position. A loss on this ticket would somewhat tarnish his political stock for 2028, an election in which he would have a fair chance at the Democratic nomination for president. However, if willing, he is the best choice that Democrats have now. The Democratic Party really only has three choices. If I were the Republican presidential nominee, however, I would dread the pick of Shapiro and hope he chooses to save his chances for 2028. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will Harris pick as her VP? Why Trump is worried about Shapiro Rescue group humbled by support as search continues for suspect in dogs death LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The Las Vegas community is still coming together to push for answers, nearly a week after Reba the English Bulldogs death. The dog was found taped inside a sealed plastic tub in the central valley last Thursday and police are still piecing together what happened. It really touched a string in peoples hearts, Megan Tomlinson of Vegas Pet Rescue Project said of Rebas story. What started as something devastating quickly turned into a true symbol of hope. It has shown us that we are not in this alone, Tomlinson said. As 8 News Now first reported last Friday, Reba was discovered in the plastic tub in triple-digit temperatures Thursday night near Maryland Parkway and Katie Avenue, near Flamingo Road. Reba the dog received treatment after being found inside a taped plastic tote during 110-degree weather in Las Vegas. She did not survive. (Vegas Pet Rescue Project) She was rescued and rushed to the emergency vet and she fought as hard as she could to survive, but Reba went into cardiac arrest and died Saturday morning. Vegas Pet Rescue Project told 8 News Now this was all due to the severe heat stroke and shock she suffered. Were tired of the abuse, were tired of the neglect, Tomlinson said. Were tired of people treating animals poorly. Rebas death was nothing short of a gut punch to everyone following her story, but Tomlinson said all that anger and sadness later sparked something. The amount of community support, she told 8 News Now. Has been absolutely humbling. Donations started pouring in to start a reward for any information leading to an arrest of the person responsible for Rebas abuse. The amount started at $5,000 on Sunday and has since grown to $25,000. This particular situation really made not only us at VPRP, Tomlinson said. But the rest of the community at large feel like OK the community is behind us. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments Animal Cruelty Detail has also been investigating, trying to track down the suspect. According to Nevada law, the suspect or suspects involved could face a $5,000 fine, up to four years in prison, and a ban on keeping animals for up to four years. We really know that they are taking this seriously, Tomlinson said of LVMPD. And they are hitting the ground and trying to solve it. A dog whose life was taken far too soon had the power to create change for any other animals in need. Reba is what made them realize, Tomlinson concluded. That we need help. According to Vegas Pet Rescue Project, Metro police investigators have a few leads they are following in the case. Anyone with a tip in the case can call 702-660-8970 or email NevadaVoters4Animals@gmail.com. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers of NV at 702-385-5555. The LVMPD Animal Cruelty Unit tip line can also be reached at 702-828-3364. Donations to Vegas Pet Rescue Project can be made at this link. Donations help provide medical care, food, supplies, and much more for pets in need. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Researchers capture first-of-its-kind sighting of 'rare' otter species that vanished over a century ago: 'Underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts' Two sea otters were recently spotted off the Oregon coast, an area where they have not been seen since the early 1900s, Oregon Live reported. The otters were seen first by volunteers with the Elakha Alliance, an Oregon nonprofit working to restore and conserve sea otter populations. Marine biologist Chanel Hason, who is the director of outreach and community relations for the Elakha Alliance, later confirmed it. "We are thrilled about this rare and wonderful sighting," Jane Bacchieri, executive director of the Elakha Alliance, said in a news release. "It highlights the resilience of sea otters and the potential for their return to the Oregon coast. This event also underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts for our nearshore marine ecosystems." Though sea otters are native to the region, they were virtually wiped out by the commercial fur trade that began in the 1700s, the Elakha Alliance explained on its website. By the early 1900s, sea otters had been effectively removed from much of the Pacific Rim, including Oregon. The Elakha Alliance has already conducted a feasibility study to determine how successful reintroduction efforts might be. The fact that two otters have apparently decided to reintroduce themselves bodes well for their chances. Sea otters could bring "profound ecological benefits to Oregon's coastal waters," the Elakha Alliance said, by performing functions such as helping kelp forests to grow by regulating sea urchin populations. Other reintroductions of threatened and endangered species around the world seem to be having good results. The reintroduction of beavers to the English countryside has transformed entire ecosystems for the better. In South Africa, lion cubs were recently born in the wild for the first time in 150 years in one area, after the species was reintroduced. Giant tortoises in Madagascar are being reintroduced 600 years after they disappeared, with experts expecting them to have a profound positive impact on the ecosystem. Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. Researchers say discovery points to possible autism cause in children Researchers say discovery points to possible autism cause in children FUKUI, Japan (WJW) Scientists in Japan said theyve discovered a significant link between certain fatty acids in umbilical cord blood and the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research team at the University of Fukui believe their findings could pave the way in better understanding how the disorder develops in children. Their study, published on July 23 in the journal Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, analyzed certain types of polyunsaturated fatty acids found in umbilical cord blood. When these acids are broken down by a specific enzyme in the body, they produce two other fatty acids: one that causes inflammation and another that reduces it, explained professor Hideo Matsuzaki in a press release. FDA warns about more ground cinnamon tainted with lead: What to know The researchers hypothesized that lower levels of anti-inflammatory fatty acid or higher levels of the opposing inflammatory fatty acid could influence ASD symptoms, Matsuzaki said. To test their theory, the researchers investigated the link between fatty acids in cord blood and the ASD scores in 200 children. Researchers obtained information about the children from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort Study, which was created to understand how kids in Japan develop in their early years. The cohort study included women who were early in their pregnancy and visited Hamamatsu University Hospital or Kato Maternity Clinic between November 2007 and March 2011. The cord blood samples were taken right after birth and preserved, while the childrens ASD symptoms and development were checked when they turned 6 years old. During their recent analysis, the University of Fukui researchers said they identified one particular compound in cord blood, called diHETrE, that might affect the severity of autism symptoms. Matsuzaki said the levels of diHETrE in cord blood at birth significantly impacted subsequent ASD symptoms in children and were also associated with impaired adaptive functioning. These findings suggest that the dynamics of diHETrE during the fetal period is important in the developmental trajectory of children after birth, he added. Can you still get COVID tests for free? While the researchers believe their findings could be crucial in understanding or diagnosing autism in the future, James McPartland, a child psychiatry and psychology professor at Yale University, told Newsweek more research is needed. This is an exploratory study investigating potential mechanisms for autism clinical features that are not established and presently not well understood, McPartland said. Its significance lies in generating hypotheses to be tested in more rigorous future studies, but it provides limited information on which to draw conclusions or guide clinical decision-making. Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting learning capability and social behavior. In 2020, about 1 in 36 U.S. children over the age of 8 had been diagnosed with it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. A Florida grasshopper sparrow carries some food. (Photo courtesy of FWC) Bird bird bird, bird is the word. Everybody knows that bird is the word! When I was in college at Troy State University, home of the Fighting Prophylactics, my buddies and I would spend aimless Sunday nights cruising around solving all the worlds problems while listening to the oldies show from 50,000-watt WLAC out of Nashville. When Surfin Bird by the Trashmen played, wed sing along with its silly lyrics. I found myself crooning those lyrics again last week when I read about the remarkable revival of the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow. Biologists have been working for a decade to save them from extinction. Ten young sparrows born and raised in captivity north of Jacksonville were released, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Among them was the 1,000th sparrow born and reared under the care of what amounts to an enormous team of state, federal, and private wildlife caretakers. About 30 of them on hand for the milestone stood off in the distance, whooping and cheering. Florida grasshopper sparrows are tiny little things, no more than 5 inches long. But their comeback is huuuuuge. Not so long ago, they were considered the most endangered bird species in the continental United States. Now theyre doing a lot better. The project has been a great success, said Anders Gyllenhaal, co-author of A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds. But theres a long way to go before we can say theyre fully recovered. Where there were once just 22 breeding birds in the wild, there are now just under 200, according to Adrienne Fitzwilliam, the lead grasshopper sparrow research scientist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The release of the 1,000th sparrow happened to be more dramatic than expected. Fitzwilliam said. Most captive birds simply walk out of their cage into the underbrush, she said, but one of them FLEW out. These little birds represent a big beacon of hope that our commitment, partnership, and holistic approach can save vulnerable wildlife from the brink of extinction, said Andrew Walker, president and CEO of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. The foundation put up $2.5 million for the effort, part of it from the sale of Conserve Wildlife specialty license plates. Why were so many people willing to work so hard to bring back such a nondescript little creature? They were driven by a tragedy involving a similar species. Disappearing duskies The Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus if youre a scientist) was first described in 1902 by a U.S. Army surgeon, Major Edgar A. Mearns. They have short tails and black and gray feathers that camouflage their nests, which they build in the low shrubs and saw palmetto of grassy prairies. I dont know how Major Means found one to describe. These birds tend to be heard more than seen. Their call consists of two or three weak notes followed by an insect-like buzz hence the name. Back then, their population was widespread across Central and South Florida. By the 1970s, though, most of their habitat had been ditched and drained and converted to pastures, sod production, and development. By 1986, the sparrow population had plummeted so low they were added to the federal endangered list. Something similar happened in the 1970s with a relative of the Florida grasshopper sparrow, a bird called the dusky seaside sparrow. Duskies made their nests in the marshes of Merritt Island and along the St. Johns River. Like the Florida grasshopper sparrow, there used to be plenty of them. The birds sole habitat was 10 square miles of Atlantic marsh near Titusville, directly in the path of advancing development from the Cape Canaveral space complex, the Washington Post reported in 1987. By the 1960s, however, road construction and pesticide spraying had reduced the population to 2,000, and a mid-1970s wildfire wiped out many of those. By 1979, only five dusky seaside sparrows were left. They were captured and brought to the Discover Island nature reserve at Walt Disney World. But there was no hope of captive breeding them, because every single one was male. Disney curators tried crossbreeding them with females from a similar species. But before the experiment could get far, the male duskies started dying off. The last one, known as Orange Band for a metal tag on its leg, was found dead in its food dish in June 1987. As far as we know, there are not any more, said a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman. This marks the extinction of the species. As one Florida writer summed it up: We put a man on the moon and killed a species on Earth. In a classic Florida irony, the Brevard County mosquito control director whose pesticide spraying and landscape alterations helped wipe out the duskies won an award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for his care and perseverance in protecting wildlife. Dusky seaside sparrows were the last bird species in America to vanish like Amelia Earhart. When the Florida grasshopper sparrow got in trouble, everyone involved was determined this would not be a rerun. Leap into the unknown In the early 2000s, the population of Florida grasshopper sparrows suddenly nose-dived. By 2013, fewer than 200 of the little songbirds remained. The birds just disappeared, Gyllenhaal said. They still dont really know why. Mindful of what theyd done wrong with the duskies, federal officials swooped in like hawks. They collected every breeding age sparrow they could find to immediately start a captive breeding program. We know its going to be hard, one federal official told me at the start of the program. Theyre small birds living in dense vegetation and theyre secretive by nature. Eggs went into incubators at a trio of breeding facilities. Much of the production was done at the nonprofit White Oak Conservation Center in northeastern Florida, near Jacksonville. It was a leap into the unknown. Picture Simone Biles vaulting from the balance beam without being able to see where shed land. Biologists didnt know if they COULD raise these birds in captivity. They didnt know the right light-and-dark cycle for them. They didnt know how much or what they needed to be fed. They didnt know if captive-bred birds, once released back into the Florida prairies, would know how to deal with predators such as skunks, fire ants, and snakes. When I asked Fitzwilliam why this little bird was worth such a huge effort, she said, Grasslands and grassland birds are in steep decline due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and fire suppression. The Florida grasshopper sparrows decline and recovery effort do not exist in a vacuum. Research, conservation, and land management for the Florida grasshopper sparrow benefit an array of species that rely on open grasslands. Plus, she said, the Florida grasshopper sparrow is worth saving simply because it exists. Finally, in May 2019, they made the first release of some of the birds. Five years on, roughly 30% of the released birds have survived in the wild, Fitzwilliam said. Thats how many wild-bred birds survive too, she said. One of the things I found remarkable about the most recent release is where it happened a place where youre likely to hear more booms than buzzes. Its the bomb While they do have wings, Florida grasshopper sparrows tend to spend most of their time on the ground. After all, thats where they find the insects that they eat. They live in Central Floridas flat, occasionally soggy dry prairies. Lots of prairies have been destroyed by development, pushing the sparrows out. In fact, there was a proposal to turn a big chunk near Yeehaw Junction into a new town named Destiny. Fortunately, the developer the type of character who wore alligator shoes with alligator eyeballs was hip-deep in some chicanery and got caught. As a result, 27,000 acres is now the DeLuca Preserve, so the sparrows could stick around. One of the places where the captive sparrows have been released is the 54,000-acre Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, which is part of the Everglades headwaters and protects the largest remaining tract of Florida dry prairie. Another is a former cattle ranch thats now the 63,000-acre Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, which is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. But the spot where the biologists released the 1,000th sparrow was someplace a little different. The Avon Park Air Force Range is a 101,000-acre bombing and gunnery range that straddles Polk, Osceola, Okeechobee, and Highlands Counties. It was ranchland until World War II, when the military took over and used it as a training base for B-17 crews for air-to-ground bombing. When they arent blowing stuff up real good, the Air Force is working on being an excellent environmental steward. Avon Park is home to more than a dozen endangered and threatened animals and a similar number of imperiled plants. When it comes to endangered species like the Florida grasshopper sparrow, Avon Park is the bomb. Thats because they take such good care of the natural landscape. Turns out the occasional explosion tends to help with the prescribed burns. They mimic the disturbance from lightning strikes, Fitzwilliam told me. Of course, the high explosive areas are a challenge to survey [for sparrows]. But weve always found birds there. I picture the tiny sparrows dodging big bombs the way the Road Runner dodged every explosive device that Wile E. Coyote threw his way. Beep beep! Speaking of weaponry reminds me: The sparrows comeback is more than just a feel-good environmental story. Its also a shot across the bow of our duplicitous Florida Legislature. Blowing holes in the argument During the legislative session that took place this past spring, our lawmakers did some colossally silly and destructive things. For instance, they claimed bears on crack were attacking people in their homes so they made it okay to shoot one (and didnt require any drug tests on the dead bear). One of the more insidious bills, sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-FoolTheVoters, was a resolution calling for amending the Florida Constitution to enshrine hunting and fishing as fundamental rights for citizens of the state. After winning near-unanimous support in the House and Senate, the amendment will be on the November ballot vying for the approval of 60% of the voters. As I have noted before, Brodeur is such a friend to the environment that he won a 2021 award from the Florida Home Builders Association. If the Sanford senators name sounds familiar, you may recall he was a beneficiary of one of Floridas unseemly ghost candidate scandals, but not one who faced criminal charges. The supposed reason for Brodeurs hunting and fishing bill was that Oregon was considering a ban on hunting, fishing, trapping, and ranching. One problem: The anti-hunting and fishing measure fell far short of the number of signatures needed to make the 2022 ballot. As is often the case with our fine Legislature, they were solving a problem that didnt exist. But their solution, if the voters approve it, would make things worse for endangered critters like panthers, manatees, and Florida grasshopper sparrows. The proposed constitutional amendment sounds fairly vanilla when you first read it. But like Wile E. Coyote, Brodeur slipped a stick of TNT in one small phrase: It says that hunting and fishing will be the preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife. In an email he sent to environmentalists who objected to his bill, Brodeur wrote, Hunting and fishing are the preferred methods of population control because, during the last 50 years, game animals are the only ones that seem to be thriving. I grew up hunting and fishing in the Florida Panhandle, so Ive handled a few shotguns in my day. But I dont need my old Remington to blow holes in Brodeurs specious argument. Hunting would not have brought the Florida grasshopper sparrow back from the brink of extinction. It took a lot of determined biologists and plenty of people buying those Conserve Wildlife license plates. Forcing scientists to turn to hunting and fishing when its not appropriate is foolish and, I fear, destructive. If this measure passes, some environmental group should announce theyre going to give Brodeur the first ever Dusky Seaside Sparrow Award. And if he asks why, just tell him hes being given the bird because bird is the word! CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronhas office is investigating petition papers filed by the No Labels Party after local election officials discovered several dead peoples names and signatures included on the paperwork, Target 12 has learned. Neronhas office confirmed last week its actively investigating the groups petition papers, which were submitted with the help of Advanced Micro Targeting, a contractor hired by No Labels to help gather signatures. The No Labels Party earlier this year successfully gathered and submitted the nearly 20,000 signatures required to become a recognized party this election year. But its now essentially a ghost party, after national leaders failed in their effort to recruit and nominate a viable third-party candidate to challenge the Democratic and Republican nominees for president. The party will likely disappear in Rhode Island after this election cycle since no local, state or federal candidate is running under the No Labels political banner. A candidate this year would need to win at least 5% of the vote for the party to be recognized again moving forward. The attorney generals office declined to comment on the investigation, but Target 12 independently confirmed the probe is focused on at least two municipalities where local election officials raised red flags with the partys petition papers. The Rhode Island Current first reported the irregularities in January. In Cranston, elections director Nick Lima said the No Labels party submitted nearly 4,000 signatures for his office to review and turned them in all at once. As soon as he and his staff started going through them, however, Lima said they quickly noticed sheets filled with potential fraud. The irregularities included the names and signatures of about a dozen dead people, he said. These are people who passed away two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, Lima told Target 12 this week, confirming hed been contacted multiple times over the past couple months by the attorney generals office in connection to its probe. That had us take a second look at all those people and scrutinize them further because once you see a pattern you really want to delve into it as an election official and make sure that other signatures arent being forged, he said. In all, Cranston referred 17 pages of names and signatures that rose to a level of suspicion to the R.I. Board of Elections. Those pages were then referred to the attorney generals office, which opened its investigation earlier this year. Lima said he wouldnt speculate on how the dead peoples signatures got onto the petition papers, but he stressed the importance of local election officials vetting paperwork. All signatures are attested to by signature-gatherers under the pains and penalty of perjury. Its a felony, Lima said about any forged signatures on election paperwork. Fraud is fraud, and we cant accept it or tolerate it in our elections process. In Jamestown, canvassing clerk Keith Ford said he contacted local police in late January and submitted five No Labels petition papers with 14 suspect signatures. He said his office contacted everyone on the papers and 10 of them confirmed they didnt sign any petition papers; one name had completed the form with a nonexistent address, he said. The Jamestown Police Department did start an investigation in which I was in contact with them several times, Ford told Target 12. They then referred the case to the Rhode Island Attorney Generals Office. Last I spoke with them it was still under investigation. Gary Sasse, who registered the No Labels political effort in Rhode Island, confirmed the national group hired Advanced Micro Targeting to gather signatures. The local No Labels group hasnt spent any money in connection to the effort, according to campaign finance records. We had nothing to do with it directly, Sasse told Target 12 last week. Our position is that wed do everything to cooperate with the Board of Elections. But this issue was between the contractor and the people investigating the situation. After the national party failed to come up with a third-party candidate for president, Sasse and the groups local attorney, former R.I. Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders, asked the state Board of Election to dissolve the party locally. The board denied the request, as the state had already certified the nearly 20,000 signatures required to become a recognized party. Texas-based Advanced Micro Targeting hired several different signature-gatherers to help the effort locally, but many of them appear to have come from out of state. No Labels petition papers in Cranston show multiple peoples home addresses listed in Dallas, Texas. No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy described the company as an experienced signature-gathering firm, which helped them petition in Rhode Island. They employed petition-circulators who had to attend multiple trainings to ensure that they knew the laws in the state, he said. Clancy also tried to downplay the seriousness of the allegations being investigated. Invalid signatures are not a sign of fraud, since invalidations could be the result of an election board applying an overly strict signature-matching standard, Clancy told Target 12 in a statement. But if any Board has evidence of a specific petition-circulator who acted improperly, we support appropriate actions to hold them accountable. Advanced Micro Targeting did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The Texas political consulting firm registered with the R.I. Secretary of States Office last July. The office in June threatened to revoke the firms registration because it failed to file an annual report. In January, Sasse told the Current the company fired two staffers over the alleged forgeries. The No Labels petition papers represent the latest in a string of questionable signatures submitted on campaign paperwork in recent years. Lt. Gov. Sabina Matoss congressional campaign last year came under fire after her nomination papers included names and signatures of several people across the state who said they never signed them. Two people working for her campaign have since been charged criminally for forging paperwork; the both pleaded not guilty. Separately, two teenagers in 2022 turned themselves in after being accused of faking signatures on nomination papers for a fellow teenager, Zachary Hurwitz, who was running for governor at the time. The teenagers who turned themselves in were charged with providing false documents. Earlier this year, multiple cities and towns raised concerns of signature fraud tied to the nomination papers of then-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since suspended his campaign. And just this week, the Woonsocket Board of Canvassers referred the nomination papers of mayoral candidate Keith Harrison to law enforcement after discovering the names and signatures of at least two dead people on his paperwork. Hes denied forging any paperwork. Lima said these issues have been popping up more frequently in recent years, even though the process itself hasnt changed in decades. Lima said hes not sure whether its all a coincidence, or evidence of a bigger issue with how campaigns are gathering signatures. But Lima said hes noticed political campaigns more frequently hiring outside firms to gather signatures on their behalf rather than building volunteer groups, as was more typical in the past. People dont come to their door as much because theres a little bit less social engagement in the world, he said. It could be getting harder now to get a thousand signatures, and maybe thats why you see more statewide candidates relying on firms or paid staff to get those signatures where in the past there may have been more volunteers. Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Tim White (twhite@wpri.com) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nesi's Notes Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. DELPHI, Ind. The 2017 deaths of Abigail "Abby" Williams and Liberty "Libby" German are "textbook" examples of a ritualistic murder, an expert witness testified Thursday, as suspect Richard Allen's defense attorneys pushed their theory that Odinists members of a pagan Norse religion hijacked by white nationalists killed the Delphi teenagers during a sacrificial ritual. Dawn Perlmutter, who wrote a book on ritualistic crime scene investigation, said the teens' deaths have "all the elements" of a murder done as part of a ritual. Branches were placed on the girls' staged bodies in a way that resembles symbols, Perlmutter said. They were found in the woods near a body of water, and their throats were slit both of which, she said, are typical of killings perpetrated by people with magical beliefs. Perlmutter, however, acknowledged during intense questioning by Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland that her findings were based on a review of a limited set of evidence. McLeland also sought to discredit Perlmutter by eliciting testimony that she reached the same conclusion a year ago, when she appeared on Court TV and before she even saw any evidence in the case. Evidence leak, suicide, Odinists: Inside the 'bizarre' Delphi murders case The testimony came on the last day of marathon hearings on several critical issues in the Delphi case, including whether Allen's defense attorneys can present jurors with evidence that Odinists from the Logansport and Rushville areas killed the girls. Thursday's hearing focused on McLeland's request to prevent the defense team from doing so. Andrew Baldwin, one of Allen's attorneys, argued that the alleged Odinists are "viable" suspects in the deaths. But at the end of the nearly 12-hour hearing, McLeland said the defense team had failed to place any of the alleged Odinists at the crime scene on Feb. 13, 2017, when the teens disappeared while hiking along the Monon High Bridge trail. How Special Judge Frances Gull rules on this and the other motions could significantly impact the outcome of the high-profile case, which is set to go to trial in October. The teens' deaths on Feb. 13, 2017, and Allen's arrest more than five years later have attracted international attention, but the case has also been bogged down by delays, controversies and seemingly endless legal and procedural rights. Allen, who's facing four murder charges in the two deaths, appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles. His mother, wife and sister sat a few feet behind him, while the girls' family members sat on the opposite side of the nearly packed courtroom in downtown Delphi. Allen has been in the custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections almost since his arrest in October 2022. But on Thursday, Gull granted his attorneys' request to move him back to the custody of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department. Delphi murders update: Will Odinism be part of trial testimony? What we learned Pushing the Odinist theory Testimonies elicited by the defense sought to reinforce their theory that someone else other than Allen killed the girls. But with witness after witness, McLeland drove home the point that there was nothing tying the alleged Odinists to the crime scene. Perlmutter, director of the Pennsylvania-based Symbol Intelligence Group, testified that the "careful placement and positioning" of the bodies and the use of natural objects like branches or sticks are "classic" indicators of a ritualistic murder. Prosecutor: Delphi murder suspect made 61 incriminating statements while incarcerated She said she reviewed autopsy records, crime scene photos and social media posts of some of the alleged Odinists that showed images of runes and symbols. When asked if she has any doubt that the girls were sacrificed as part of a ritual, she said, "None at all." But when questioned by McLeland, she acknowledged she did not examine other pieces of evidence, including Allen's confessions to the crime. She also did not look at the alibi of Brad Holder, a Logansport man who the defense alleges should've been the primary suspect. Kevin Murphy, a former Indiana State Police detective who looked into the Odinism angle, testified that the early consensus among investigators was that two to six people were involved in the killings. Murphy, who was involved in the case from 2017 to 2019, focused his investigation mainly on another alleged Odinist whose sister told investigators that he'd confessed to the crime. Officers transport murder suspect Richard Allen for a hearing Nov. 22, 2022, at Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi. Elvis Fields' sister, Murphy testified, provided "very specific" information that only someone who was at the crime scene would've known. Murphy also recalled a recorded phone call between Fields and his sister, during which she blurted out, "Elvis, why did you kill those girls?" Fields denied killing the girls when interviewed by detectives. But Murphy recounted an interaction that caught him off guard: After Fields consented to a swab test, he asked Murphy if he would get in trouble if his spit was found on the girls. Referring to a cryptic picture that Holder, the other alleged Odinist, shared on Facebook, Murphy said a post showing symbolism mimicking a crime scene "is not a coincidence." Murphy, though, acknowledged there was no physical evidence linking the men at the crime. Fields' phone also remained in Rushville at the time of the murders. Delphi hearings: Suspect Richard Allen's attorneys accuse police of hiding evidence Todd Click, a former police officer for the Rushville Police Department who helped Murphy with the investigation, said he believes the girls were killed after inadvertently walking in on an Odinistic ritual. He said he believes Holder and another alleged Odinist, Patrick Westfall, were on the Monon High Bridge trail the day the girls were killed, although he acknowledged there was no "smoking gun" linking them to the crimes. Amber Holder, who was briefly married to Brad Holder in 2018, testified about Westfall's confession that he killed Abby. But Amber Holder also admitted she only heard about the supposed confession from her ex-husband, who was drinking at the time. Providing an alternative explanation One of the most haunting images of the crime scene that has been leaked to the public is that of Libby's blood on a tree. Defense attorneys have alleged that the killers used Libby's blood to paint a letter F another clue tying the crimes to Odinism. But an expert witness from the prosecution sought to discredit that theory. Maj. Patrick Cicero, a blood specialist and forensics expert from the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office who was consulted by the state earlier this year, said the letter which he said looked more like an upside down L was likely a "transfer stain" that resulted from contact with Libby's bloody hand. Cicero said painting the letter using Libby's blood would've been "impossible" and would've required repeatedly dipping into the source of the blood. Cicero, when questioned by defense attorney Jennifer Jones Auger, acknowledged his testimony just provides an alternative explanation and he does not know how Libby's blood made it on the tree. Gull also heard arguments Tuesday on the defense team's motion to dismiss the case based on allegations the prosecution has withheld evidence that could point to other suspects or exonerate Allen. On Wednesday, Gull heard testimony on a defense motion to suppress more than 60 incriminating statements Allen made in early 2023 to his family and others at the prison where he was kept in solitary confinement. The judge will issue rulings on the motions at a later time. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Richard Allen's attorneys push Odinism theory at Delphi hearing GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) The heat is on the rise. Andrew Holder, director of community relations for Xcel Energy says the company wants people to stay safe without breaking the bank. Holder states, We want to make sure that our customers stay comfortable as we experience these hot weather days here in Colorado. We are calling these energy action days, which is a new program in Colorado this year that allows registered residential customers to reduce their energy use during times of peak demand. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Americans spend $29 billion every year on air conditioning, but there are some ways of potentially lowering that number. An easy way for customers here, as we go through these hot weather days, is just to close your blinds to reduce the amount of sunlight thats entering your house thats heating your house up, which puts less demand on your AC unit, Holder explains. According to Xcel Energy, theres a magic number to keep down those costs. Any degree over 70 degrees, well be able to save you 3%, so thats kind of the number that we all kind of look at here internally, Holder said. Holder tells WesternSlopeNow the period when most energy usage begins at 3 p.m. till 7 p.m. costing 32 cents per kilowatt. The cheapest time to be using electricity is from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. where it would cost only 12 cents. Here in Colorado is generally between that 3 to 7 p.m. window, so reducing your energy usage during that time will significantly help with your energy bill. Turning on a ceiling fan theres a number of mechanisms that customers can do to reduce their energy demand here in these hot weather days, Holder said. Officials say if you follow these steps, the numbers on your power bill wont leave you hot under the collar. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his campaign staff touted their progress in getting him on state ballots as a presidential candidate in a video news conference Wednesday, predicting people in every state will be able to vote for him. Campaign officials focused on volunteer signature-gathering efforts, but gaining ballot access has been a financial drain, the New York Times has reported. The effort to get Kennedys name on ballots is facing legal challenges in a number of states, including in North Carolina. North Carolina Democrats are suing the state Board of Elections over its decision to recognize We the People as a political party, allowing Kennedy to be on the November ballot. The state Democratic Party last week filed a lawsuit challenging the elections boards 4-1 decision. The lawsuit says the party was formed for the sole purpose of placing Kennedys name on the ballot. The decision to form a party allowed the Kennedy campaign to more easily collect required signatures. Political parties had to collect 13,865 verified signatures to qualify for recognition, while independent candidates running statewide had to collect 83,188 signatures to get their names on the ballot. Several journalists on the Zoom call asked campaign representatives questions about challenges to petition signatures in specific states. Neither Kennedy nor campaign officials took questions from North Carolina reporters. But Paul Rossi, a Kennedy campaign ballot access attorney, speaking in general about Democrats attempts nationwide to keep Kennedy off ballots, said they are throwing spaghetti at the wall. We the People is named as a defendant in the North Carolina lawsuit, along with the state Board of Elections. None of the defendants had filed a response to the suit as of Wednesday afternoon. A hearing is set for Aug. 12. Siobhan Millen, a Democrat and the only state Board of Elections member to vote against certifying We the People, said during the board debate last month that the group was created as a vehicle for Kennedys independent candidacy, not to be a sustainable political party. She noted that he is running as an independent in some states, and gained ballot access in other states by aligning with minor parties such as the Natural Law Party, the Reform Party, and the Alliance Party of South Carolina. Elections board Chairman Alan Hirsch voted reluctantly to approve We the People, but said it was a close call and that ultimately, a court would have to decide. Throughout Wednesdays news conference, Kennedy campaign staff referred to him and his running mate Nicole Shanahan as independent candidates. Shanahan called Kennedy a third party candidate, then said they were not trying to create a third party. We have approached this as a unity ticket, she said. Were not here trying to create a breakaway third party. We are here to unite the country in every way imaginable. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Thursday is the first night of the Puerto Rican Festival in Rochester, now at Parcel 5. It previously was at Innovative/Frontier Field. The festival itself is a colorful showcase of Puerto Rican and Latin music, food, community, and culture. The president of the Festival, Orlando Ortiz, is looking forward to having some specialty dishes of Latin food that are too hard to make at home. Ortiz and Rochester police say the festival goes smoothly every year without incident, overnight gatherings have led to violence in past years. The two expect it to go smoothly again, even with the venue change and have plans in place for the overnight activity. The festival has a third-party security company and will have thorough check-in procedures before people come into Parcel 5. Captain Greg Bello of Rochester police says following the fatal shooting at Maplewood Park, they are bringing in dozens of officers who were scheduled to be off. With that extra staffing, RPD will have plenty of officers around Parcel 5 to secure the perimeter. Bello added several roads will be closed near Parcel 5 and throughout Rochester; with support from MCSO and State Police. You will see a significant number of RPD officers throughout the weekend, across different problematic areas, addressing problems as theyre small before they become big, Bello said. Ortiz says the festival does not condone any extra celebrations outside of the festival, and reminds people of the security measures theyre taking at Parcel 5. We dont condone any post-festival parades or activities that happen outside the festival, Ortiz said. We always say has and always been a safe environment for people to come out and celebrate with pride, and we encourage that on-site and in a structured manner. Captain Bello says you can help Rochester before anything escalates: if you see something, say something. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. The Rock And UFLs $11 Million Ad Campaign With The US Army Didnt Go Well The Rocks deal with the US Army didnt go as expected. Last year, the Army signed an $11 million dollar deal with The Rocks UFL. The goal was to help promote recruitment to the forces, during a time of a historic recruitment crisis in the US. The deal saw the UFL formed when the XFL joined up with the USFL promote recruitment into the Army. They were supposed to help improve the amount of citizens signing up, with The Rock also posting about it on his social media accounts. However, according to a report by Military.com, the deal was an absolute disaster for the US Army. Despite spending $11 million on the promotion, the report estimates the Army lost out on a projected 38 recruits. It was noted that Army planners use various metrics to judge the effectiveness of resources. However, the resources put towards the UFL were seen as a net negative for recruiting by the Army. More details on the UFL / Army partnership In addition, they report that The Rock did not hold up his end of their deal. The contract allegedly stated that the WWE legend had to post a certain number of service-related posts on social media. Given that The Rock has nearly 400 million Instagram followers, this could have been huge for the Army. Military.com claim that The Rock was meant to post five posts on his social media. They valued each post at $1 million each, although he only followed through with two out of those five planned. Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for Army Chief of Staff General George, told Military.com in a statement; In terms of The Rock, its unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels. But were working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army. The post The Rock And UFLs $11 Million Ad Campaign With The US Army Didnt Go Well appeared first on Wrestlezone. Romania's Defense Ministry confirmed on July 31 that it had found more drone fragments near the village of Ceatalchioi, across the Danube River from the Ukrainian border. Russia attacked Ukraine overnight on July 25 with 38 Shahed-type drones, targeting port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast. Three drones were lost after crossing the border with Romania. Later, Bucharest said that Russian drone debris had once again been found on their territory. Following the attack, the search for wreckage continued for several days along the Danube River, according to the statement. Apart from Ceatalchioi village, searches were conducted near the settlements of Niculitel and Chilia Veche, but no wreckage was found there. Romania's Defense Ministry said that the drone wreckage landed outside the settlements, and no people or infrastructure had been affected. The ministry also condemned Russia's attacks on Ukraine, saying that they are "unjustified and seriously contradict international law." It was not the first time that wreckage of drones, likely from Russia, has been found on Romanian territory, which is a NATO country. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River that separates Ukraine and Romania. On July 25, Romania's Defense Ministry said it found Russian drone debris near the town of Plauru, across the Danube River from the Ukrainian city of Izmail. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in September 2023 that while Russian drones are not intentionally targeting Romania, the situation is still "unacceptable." Romania has taken measures to protect its citizens who live close to the Ukrainian border, including the construction of air raid shelters and the deployment of drone defense systems. Read also: Ukraine downs all 89 Russian drones launched in mass attack Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is forcefully rejecting calls by his primary challenger to follow President Bidens lead and retire, even as he continues to limit his public schedule due to medical issues. Ruggerio was supposed to attend a high-profile fundraiser on Thursday afternoon hosted by longtime State House lobbyist Joe Walsh at the Warwick Country Club. But Target 12 confirmed that the North Providence Democrat unexpectedly failed to show up. Word of Ruggerios absence quickly spread among Smith Hill insiders, coming months after the 75-year-old disclosed a cancer diagnosis that led him to miss extended stretches of this years General Assembly session. Walsh has not responded to a request for comment. But Greg Pare, a spokesperson for Ruggerio, said his current medical issue has nothing to do with the cancer treatment. In fact, his treatment for cancer is going very well, he said. Pare said Ruggerio is scheduled to have a minor procedure next week to alleviate pain from a nerve pressing on his jaw, which he described as a complication arising from when the Senate president contracted the shingles virus earlier this year. It is expected to alleviate the pain hes feeling, and it should be a fairly rapid recovery after that, he said. His doctors advised him to avoid crowds, because there are some viruses around. He was planning to go to the fundraiser, but at the insistence of his staff he decided not to attend at the last minute. Ruggerios absence at the fundraiser comes as he is once again facing a Democratic primary challenge from Lenny Cioe, who previously ran against him unsuccessfully in 2020 and 2022. A long list of surrogates have been door-knocking for Ruggerio in his district as he limits his own campaigning. Ruggerio is the longest-serving member of the General Assembly, first elected to the House in 1980 and then the Senate in 1984. He has served as Senate president since 2017. In a statement Thursday, Cioe argued Ruggerio is no longer able to effectively represent his constituents or lead the Senate. Last week we saw an act of incredible political courage by President Joe Biden, when he decided to step down from the race for president and pass the torch to Kamala Harris, Cioe said. Biden stepped down for the country. Dominick Ruggerio needs to do the same for Rhode Island. Even though hes not able to be present in the State Senate, hes still running because he doesnt know when time is up, Cioe added. I am calling for Dominick Ruggerio to step down from Rhode Islands state Senate. Like Joe Biden, its time to pass the torch to the next generation of state leaders. Ruggerios campaign unloaded on Cioe in response, releasing supportive statements from not only the Senate president but also from House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, North Providence Mayor Charlie Lombardi, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, state Rep. Arthur Doc Corvese and state Sen. David Tikoian. This is the type of negative politics that people are sick of, Ruggerio said. I am not surprised in the least that my opponent would prefer not to have to face me at the ballot box. He knows he cant win. He suggested Cioes progressive policy proposals are out of step with voters. While Lenny has certainly read beyond the headlines enough to know I was deeply involved in all Senate business while recovering from an illness last session and he has certainly seen the energy of our robust campaign this summer he has nevertheless chosen to take a cheap shot in hopes of drawing free media attention, Ruggerio said. The other Democrats who backed Ruggerio all echoed the campaigns insistence that the Senate president remains engaged and able to do his job. Shekarchi said, President Ruggerio is a wonderful friend and a truly outstanding partner at the State House. I know the most recent session was challenging for him, but he was just as deeply engaged in our work as he has always been maybe even more than ever, based on how often the two of us spoke. Corvese described Cioes statement as a cheap shot, saying, What is most appalling to me about Mr. Cioes stunt today is the complete lack of compassion and understanding being shown by a registered nurse. The Senate president has a physical medical condition, from which he is expected to make a full recovery, Corvese said. Mentally, he is as sharp as ever, and I have continued to work closely with him daily to deliver results for our constituents. Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesis Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Threads and Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nesi's Notes Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. Paul and Nancy Fong prepare meals for the lunch rush at the Chicago Cafe in Woodland. The family diner, established in 1903, was recently recognized as California's oldest Chinese restaurant. (Carl Costas / For The Times) The conundrum facing the Fong family of Woodland arose earlier this year, shortly after a UC Davis law professor grew interested in a sign posted above the counter that read: The Chicago Cafe since 1903. The Fongs had never given that sign much thought, beyond taking pride in running a family business with a cherished history in the community. Not Paul Fong, 76, who has worked at the restaurant with his wife, Nancy, 67, since emigrating from Hong Kong in 1973. Amy Fong has spent plenty of time at the Chicago Cafe in Woodland, Calif. Growing up, she headed to her parents' restaurant every day after school to do homework and help with chores. (Carl Costas / For The Times) And not his children, Amy Fong, 47, a physical therapist, and Andy Fong, 45, a software quality engineer at Apple. They grew up sweeping floors and doing homework in the restaurant after school, but had gone off to college (UC Berkeley for Amy; San Jose State for Andy) under strict orders from their parents to find good careers, far from the grind of restaurant work. Now, with children of their own, they were looking forward to their parents retirement; they wanted their parents to be able to relax and spend time with their grandchildren. Then, one day in 2022, Gabriel Jack Chin, a law professor at UC Davis, stopped in for lunch. Chin is an expert in immigration law, specifically the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that made it incredibly difficult for Chinese people to immigrate to the U.S. And he knew something the Fongs didnt, something that would complicate the family's efforts to wind the business down: If the sign behind the counter was accurate, if the Chicago Cafe truly had been operating since 1903, that would make it a treasure of historic significance. In January, UC Davis announced the results of Chin's research: Of the tens of thousands of Chinese restaurants serving food in America, the Fongs' unsung little diner is the oldest one continuously operating in California, and probably in the U.S. The Fongs suddenly found themselves in possession of an important piece of American history, which had been sitting in plain sight in a farm town 20 miles northwest of Sacramento. The media rushed to cover the story, and hordes of new customers followed. The Woodland City Council issued a proclamation, which included testimonials from council members about their favorite dishes. And instead of retiring, Paul and Nancy were working twice as hard. On a recent Friday, their daughter, Amy, came by the restaurant with her two children and took in the scene, in its usual state of friendly chaos. Customers occupied almost every table and banquette, many chowing down the restaurants signature chop suey which, like a lot of food served at the Chicago Cafe, is a Chinese American dish unfamiliar in China itself. Amy Fong's daughter, Kira Kranz, entertains herself during a visit to her grandparents' restaurant. (Carl Costas / For The Times) The lone waitress, Dianna Oldstad, has worked with the Fongs for decades. She bustled to and fro, greeting regulars with gruff warmth. In the kitchen, Paul and Nancy raced from cutting board to grill with plates of meat and vegetables, and handed the finished dishes off with dizzying speed. Watching over it all were mounted deer and elk and a giant stuffed peacock with its tail unfurled in blue-green glory gifts from customers over the years. Paul's pride in serving his diners, many of whom have become friends and fishing buddies, was evident. Still, his daughter noted with dismay: Theyre getting too old to do this every day. The family's dilemma was so apparent that longtime customers chatted about it as they waited for their food: Would the Chicago Cafe simply end when Paul and Nancy retired? And how could its historic import have emerged just as the Fongs were finally ready to step back? It is more complicated than one might guess to unearth the history of a Chinese restaurant that has been a fixture in a town for more than 100 years. In part, that is because of the racism of the early 20th century: Local directories excluded Asian people and businesses until the 1930s, according to Chin. So records of the business had to be found elsewhere. The Chinese Exclusion Act added another wrinkle. The law sought to prohibit immigration, but didnt completely stop it. Instead, many Chinese people purchased the identity of Chinese Americans born in the U.S., and then posed as their relatives. The immigrants who came using fake identities were known as paper sons. For a time, restaurants had their own exception to the Chinese Exclusion Act which some coined "the lo mein loophole" that allowed business owners to go to China on merchant visas to bring back employees. In the years after 1915, when a federal court added restaurants to the list of businesses allowed such visas, the number of Chinese restaurants in America exploded. Dianna Olstad, the sole waitress at the Chicago Cafe, has worked with the Fongs for decades. (Carl Costas / For The Times) Paul Fong's grandfather almost certainly came before the "lo mein loophole" went into effect. He came as a paper son, steaming into San Francisco Bay under the name Harry Young. The exact year is lost to history: The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco set off a fire that burned up reams of naturalization records and also allowed many people to add extra relatives to the rolls when the records were reconstructed. "Harry Young" made his way to Woodland, which had developed a busy Chinatown populated by immigrants who had come to work on the transcontinental railroad. At the time, many of Woodland's neighborhoods were graced by stately Victorians, laid out on large lots shaded by towering oaks. Its Chinatown was a lot less grand: a collection of wood and brick structures built along Dead Cat Alley behind Main Street. Paul Fong chops food in the solitude of his kitchen at the Chicago Cafe. (Carl Costas / For The Times) Paul Fong doesnt know much about how his family came to have a restaurant, and why on earth they called it the Chicago Cafe. He was born in the Taishan area of Guangdong province long after his grandfather had left, and they never met. When Paul was still young, his own father left Taishan to join his grandfather in Woodland; he, too, came as a paper son, under the name Yee Chong Pang. In 1973, Paul and his mother joined his father at the restaurant, along with Nancy. They would have come earlier, but because his father and grandfather had come as paper sons, there was bureaucracy to cut through even after passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, which finally opened the doors to immigration from Asia. Paul came to Woodland from Hong Kong, a mega-city that even in 1973 had a population that topped 4 million. Woodland was home to just 20,000. It was a shock. In Hong Kong, so many people, he recalled. The streets were bustling, the nightlife vibrant. The liveliest thing about nightlife in Woodland were the stars: The lack of city lights meant the stars sparkled more brightly. But Paul grew to love it. Though he spoke limited English, he made friends. Amy recalled that bags of freshly shot duck and truckloads of zucchini would be dropped off periodically at the restaurant door. When a family friend accidentally ran over a peacock, it also wound up at the restaurant mounted on the wall, not on a plate. Jerry Shaw has been a regular at the Chicago Cafe for more than four decades. (Carl Costas / For The Times) Andy said his parents shared little over the years about how the family wound up in Woodland. He recalled going to visit the Woodland cemetery as a child to pay respects to his grandfather and being startled that the etching on the gravestone said Young instead of Fong. It was the first he'd heard of paper sons. The Fong children went to the restaurant every afternoon after school. Looking back on their childhood, they could appreciate it was a local institution. Generations of families from all walks of Woodland life came for lunch and special events. At a recent City Council meeting, almost every council member had a personal story, some dating back decades. My family grew up eating at the Chicago Cafe, said Mayor Tania Garcia-Cadena. Councilwoman Vicky Fernandez recalled that her family did too. Your doors have always been open to all of us, she said, adding that because her family was Mexican American, that had not always been true of all the restaurants in town. Nancy Fong gathers ingredients during a crowded lunch service at the Chicago Cafe. (Carl Costas / For The Times) Still, as proud as they were of their legacy, Paul and Nancy were always clear on one point: Their kids would not be joining the family business. My dad explicitly told us that he wanted us to go to college. Not do what he was doing, working so hard, Andy recalled. When the time came for the couple to retire, the Fong family planned to get out of the restaurant business. Ten miles down the road, in his office at King Hall on the UC Davis campus, Chin kept thinking about that sign above the counter that said "since 1903." Chin grew up in Connecticut and does not speak Chinese. But he was interested in old Chinese restaurants for what they revealed about the history of people of Chinese descent and the legal discrimination they faced for so long. There are more Chinese restaurants in the United States than there are McDonald's, and the food they serve is remarkably consistent given much of it would never be served in China. "A lot of the foods that we think of as Chinese are actually more American and all but unknown in China: General Tsos chicken, beef with broccoli (broccoli is originally an Italian vegetable), chop suey, egg rolls, fortune cookies. Especially fortune cookies," journalist Jennifer 8. Lee explained in a 2008 essay about her book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles." Torin Kranz bides his time in an aged walk-in cooler while his grandparents work the kitchen at the Chicago Cafe. (Carl Costas / For The Times) This is especially true at the Chicago Cafe, which serves sausage and eggs, pork chops and apple sauce and, on Fridays, clam chowder, along with traditional Chinese American fare such as chop suey and chow mein. But if these old restaurants dont reveal much about Chinese food, Chin said, they do reveal a lot about America. As a law professor, Chin was interested in how elected officials and labor leaders had crafted laws to advance a larger anti-immigration agenda. In 2018, he and a colleague published a paper called "The War Against Chinese Restaurants," which laid out the innovative legal efforts including zoning, licensing and trying to regulate women's activities employed in the early 20th century to drive Chinese restaurants out of business. Researching that paper made him keenly aware of how many Chinese restaurants had operated in America and how fleeting many of them were. He knew most authorities believed the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant was the Pekin Noodle Parlor in Butte, Mont., which dated to 1909 or 1911. If the Chicago Cafe started in 1903, that made it older. Chin asked the Fong family whether he could bring in archivists to try to get to the bottom of the mystery? Sure, the family said. Paul Fong handles business calls during a busy lunch service at the Chicago Cafe. (Carl Costas / For The Times) A group descended on the restaurant, digging into dusty cabinets, the attic and the old storage room that included a bed where laborers used to grab naps. They pored over menus, tax receipts and letters. They dove into the archives of the Woodland Daily Democrat and old yearbooks from Woodland High School. By last spring, Chin and his co-researchers had produced another scholarly paper. "We believe that this is the oldest continually operating Chinese restaurant in the United States," Chin said of his finding. The modest storefront on Main Street with its cash-only policy suddenly had a new cachet. Tourists came from Sacramento and San Francisco. Locals came flooding back. You cant even get in now, said Michelle Paschke, a longtime friend whose family used to run a neighboring store. Paschke sat at the packed lunch counter on a recent afternoon, waiting to pay. All around her, other patrons were in the same situation, holding cash out like supplicants while Olstad gestured that she would be there as quickly as she could. Read more: The magical California state park that doesn't allow visitors "It's been a blessing," Andy said of the overwhelming interest. At the same time," he said, "I do want my parents to relax. And somewhat selfishly, I want them to spend time with their grandchildren. Back in the kitchen, Paul and Nancy turned out plates with a lightning rhythm, honed over years of practice. Its good I guess. It makes me pretty busy, Paul said of the lunch crowd. Still, he added, he couldnt do this forever. "I'm old," he said, smiling. But on this day, he was still working, and the orders were piling up. Nancy gestured to a plate of pork ready to be fried. Paul stepped back to the grill. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for The Wall Street Journal, may return to the United States on Thursday after being released as part of a major prisoner swap between Russia and several Western countries. Source: Fox News, as reported by European Pravda Details: The TV channel's host said on air that such information came from The Wall Street Journal, and Fox News journalists are now working to get more information. In recent days, the media have noticed signs of a potential large prisoner swap between several Western countries and Russia and Belarus. In particular, it has been reported that the United States, Germany, Slovenia and the United Kingdom are involved in this potential swap. In particular, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian dissident, imprisoned in Russia, disappeared from sight on Wednesday, their lawyers said. The trial of a pair of spies from Russia has ended in Slovenia, with media reports that they are being taken for an exchange. Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided to pardon German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death for supposedly working for the "Ukrainian special services". The reasons for this step were not reported, but Krieger's pardon is also linked to the prisoner swap. TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, reported that information about Russians Alexander Vinnik, Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoshchenko, and Maxim Marchenko had disappeared from the public electronic database of the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, which allows the establishment of prisoners' places of detention. Moscow has also previously made it clear that it wants to secure the exchange of Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the murder of a former Chechen commander. Support UP or become our patron! Three imprisoned American citizens and one American green-card holder have been released by Russia as part of a massive prisoner exchange deal involving multiple countries, President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza are among those on their way home, Biden said in a statement. All told, weve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, he said. President Joe Biden stands with family of the freed prisoners while addressing the prisoner exchange with Russia at the White House on Thursday. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images The prisoner exchange, described as the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, took place at an airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday, and involved people from seven different countries, The New York Times reported. Biden credited U.S. allies particularly Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey for their assistance in the negotiations, saying they are a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer, he added. In all, the U.S. and its allies returned eight Russian nationals as part of the deal, including individuals with suspected ties to Russian intelligence, the BBC reported. Evan Gershkovich (left) and Paul Whelan are seen at an airport on Thursday. Federal Security Service of Russia/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images National security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking at an afternoon press conference, credited numerous people working behind the scenes, and at Bidens direction, for having built and pulled off the most intricate and expansive deal of its kind in memory. He said no money was exchanged or sanctions loosened as part of it. If you had not had Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, I dont think this would have happened, he said while emphasizing Bidens diplomatic work with other countries. But, as I said in my remarks, there were a lot of other people who played a central role in building up pieces of this and then executing on that. Sullivan said they had been working on a deal that would have included the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. His sudden death in a Russian prison in February upended that original plan, though Sullivan said he personally promised to Gershkovichs parents that they would press on. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British national and journalist, was arrested on treason charges in 2022 after criticizing Russias invasion of Ukraine. Federal Security Service of Russia/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images Going into more detail about the releases, Sullivan said the prisoners families were personally notified by Biden once Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza touched down in Turkey. Later, in a call with Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva, he welcomed their freedom and then turned the phone over to their family members. A second call took place between Biden and Kara-Murza, which also included his family. It was quite a moment, Sullivan said of the scene at the Oval Offices Resolute Desk. Vice President Kamala Harris also played a critical role in the deal, having met with Germanys chancellor to help pave the way and also with the prime minister of Slovenia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the press conference. They were partners in this, she said of Harris when asked by a reporter whether Harris who was in Houston delivering a eulogy Thursday for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee had been deliberately left out when mentioning credit for the exchange. Gershkovich is seen in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on July 19. via Associated Press Those releasedinclude Gershkovich, who was convicted in July of espionage and sentenced to 16 years on charges that both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have rejected as meritless. The 32-year-old was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg. He was accused of spying for the U.S., but Russian authorities did not offer any supporting evidence for the allegations. With his arrest, he became the first American journalist to be accused of espionage since the Cold War. The Wall Street Journal had fiercely advocated for Gershkovichs release, with public news campaigns that highlighted his work and the impact of his absence on his friends, family and colleagues. On the one-year anniversary of his detention, the paper published a largely blank front page with the headline His Story Should Be Here. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying in Moscow, is seen in 2019 in a Moscow courtroom. via Associated Press Whelan, 54, was detained by Russia on espionage charges in 2018 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He was passed over in previous prisoner swaps, including those that secured the release of former Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner, to his familys disappointment. In a message to reporters in June, however, David Whelan said his brother seems to be keeping his wits about him. Kurmasheva, whos a Russian-American radio journalist and U.S. citizen, was detained last October on allegations that she failed to register as a foreign agent while working as an editor for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty. Biden, during a press conference at the White House Thursday, led a rendition of Happy Birthday to Kurmashevas daughter, Miriam Butorin, who Biden said gets to celebrate her 13th birthday with her mother on Friday. Biden embraces Miriam Butorin, the 12-year-old daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, as he speaks about the prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus on Thursday expressed gratitude to those behind Kurmashevas release. Alsus release makes us even more determined to secure the freedom of three other RFE/RL journalists, cruelly imprisoned in Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea, Capus said in a statement. We will not rest until all of our unjustly detained journalists are home safe. Journalism is not a crime. Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British national and journalist, was arrested on treason charges in 2022 after criticizing Russias invasion of Ukraine. The 42-year-old married father of three was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kurmasheva, a U.S.-Russian journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, is seen in court on April 1. ALEXANDER NEMENOV via Getty Images Biden, speaking from the White House, said Kara-Murza holds an American green card and served as a pallbearer with him at a memorial service for the late Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2018. Rumors of Kara-Murzas release had swirled in recent days after he and several other Russian dissidents disappeared from Russian prisons. Biden, in his statement, vowed to not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is returned. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home, he said. Russian opposition activist Kara-Murza gestures while standing in a glass cage in a courtroom in Moscow on July 31, 2023. via Associated Press Biden reached out to the prime minister of Slovenia, whose country was contributing two convicted Russian spies in the swap, to secure the pardon necessary for the deal to proceed last month. The call was made only an hour before Biden publicly announced his decision to end his reelection campaign on July 21, The Wall Street Journal reported. The prisoner swap included the release of former intelligence officer and convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin, according to the Journal. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been pushing to secure his release. Two of the prisoners relocated to Russia were identified by Turkeys government as minors, prompting speculation that they could be the children of Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva. The Russian couple was recently convicted of spying in Slovenia and believed to be among those traded, according to the BBC. Related... Amid the bloodiest war Europe has seen since the Second World War with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead, wounded, and missing fragments of good news are scarce indeed. So the release of many prominent prisoners of Putins brutal regime in the largest exchange between Russia and the United States since the Cold War involving 24 captives will be welcomed by many, especially since the death of imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in February. As President Biden put it in a briefing at the White House, each prisoner has endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over. Among the released were several journalists, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and Russian-British Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza. It bears repeating that none of these individuals should ever have been behind bars. As this paper wrote back in March, no journalist should be detained for simply doing their job. They were victims of the appalling clampdown that has taken place in Russia ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But Moscow always drives a hard bargain. In exchange for the journalists and others wrongly imprisoned, among the released was Vadim Krasikov, a notorious hitman who gunned down a Chechen dissident in Berlin in 2019, and others involved in violent crimes committed on Western soil. The thought of such criminals being back in Russias arms will horrify many, as will the risk it may embolden other unscrupulous regimes. It has been a deliberate strategy of the Kremlin to lock up individuals who make powerful bargaining chips as Western powers arm Kyiv; the fear will be that this will encourage such immoral and illegal tactics elsewhere. Those hoping the deal signifies a defrosting of the fraught relationship between Moscow and Western capitals are also likely to be disappointed there has been a long history of prisoner exchanges over the decades, and Ukraine and Russia swap prisoners frequently despite being at war. That it has happened now speaks to the political reality in the United States, with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump regularly attacking the Democrats for their failure to bring American citizens home. Now they are back. But the comfort of their return could quickly give way to worry over the cost. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Three Americans are expected to land on U.S. soil Thursday night after a large-scale prisoner swap involving multiple countries. From the Oval Office, families spoke with their newly freed family members. Their brutal ordeal is over. And theyre free, President Joe Biden said. Four Americans were freed from Russian custody, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Michigan security executive Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, an American green card holder who is now headed to Germany. The exchange happened on a tarmac in Turkey. Russia and Belarus released 16 prisoners. Six countries in the West released eight prisoners, including a man found guilty of shooting and killing someone in a park in Germany on Russias behalf. Republicans criticized the Biden administration for exchanging prisoners. It encourages future kidnapping, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. But President Biden says he wanted to keep families together. Blood of my blood, bone of my bones. I can think of nothing more consequential, Biden said. The White House says officials agonized over whether prisoner swaps put more Americans at risk. However, the national security adviser says the White House believes the benefits outweigh the risks. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. This photo combination shows, in the centre, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and clockwise from top left are Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Lilia Chanysheva, former coordinator of regional offices of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Memorial Human Rights Centre Oleg Orlov, artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin, government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service Alsu Kurmasheva and former head of Open Russia movement Andrei Pivovarov. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, the White House said. Who's in the massive prisoner swap between Russia and the West? Astonishing in scope, the trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The deal was the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the past two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, with seven nations agreeing to give up 24 prisoners. It was trumpeted as a diplomatic feat by President Joe Biden, who called the news an incredible relief and said the detainees brutal ordeal was over. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, he said in an address from the White House while joined by families of four three Americans and one green card holder who were released. But the welcome news was still sure to spark concerns over the imbalance of the deal with Russia freeing journalists, dissidents and others convicted in a highly politicized court system in exchange for people the West regards as rightfully charged and whether it gives foreign actors seeking leverage over the U.S. an incentive to take prisoners. Under the deal, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the U.S. vehemently denied and called baseless; Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands listening to the verdict in a glass cage of a courtroom inside the building of Emma Tucker, the Journals top editor, called it a day of great joy and said: I cannot even begin to describe the happiness and relief that this news brings and I know all of you wil feel the same. Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In his Oval Office address to the American people discussing his recent decision to drop his bid for a second term, the Democrat said, Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. In addition to Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, the Russians released included Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, and associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Five German citizens also were released, including a German national held in Belarus. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained. Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the U.S. as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter in 2018 were nearly killed in Britain by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial and conviction for Gershkovich, which Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. FILE - Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges, listens to the verdict in court in Moscow, Russia, on June 15, 2020. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File) In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovichs, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and U.S. officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. He had more than a dozen closed hearings over the extension of his pretrial detention or appeals for his release. He was taken to the courthouse in handcuffs and appeared in the defendants cage, often smiling for the many cameras. U.S. officials last year made an offer to swap Gershkovich that was rejected by Russia, and Bidens Democratic administration had not made public any possible deals since then. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have also said were false and trumped up, and he was serving a 16-year prison sentence. Whelan had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the U.S. released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for getting back WNBA star Brittney Griner, whod been jailed on drug charges. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW (Bloomberg) -- US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and other Americans freed in the largest prisoner swap with Russia since the Cold War. Most Read from Bloomberg Biden took a salute from Whelan before embracing him, and clasped Gershkovich and fellow journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds dual Russian and US citizenship, after their plane landed just before midnight at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. They were part of a deal with Russia that included a prized assassin sought by President Vladimir Putin. The swap, which took place on the airport tarmac in Ankara, included two dozen people, 16 going to the West and eight being returned to Russia. Among them were other American citizens as well as Russians convicted of crimes and imprisoned in the US, Germany, Poland, Norway and Slovenia. The toughest call on this one for other countries was that I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self interest, Biden said afterward. And really very difficult to do, particularly Germany and Slovenia. Key to the deal was the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Chechen separatist in a Berlin park. German authorities had long resisted including him in any exchange because of the brazen nature of his crime, but Putin had made his release a top priority. In addition to Gershkovich, who was arrested in March last year while on a reporting assignment in Russia and later convicted of espionage charges he and the Journal reject Russia also let go Whelan, who was jailed in 2018 and later convicted on spying charges he denies. The US categorized both men as unlawfully detained and had been seeking their release. Now, their brutal ordeal is over and theyre free, Biden said earlier at a White House appearance with family members of some of the released prisoners. The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship. Russia also freed Kurmasheva, who was convicted last month under the Kremlins strict wartime censorship laws. Such prisoner swaps are one of the few remaining areas of diplomatic cooperation between the US and Russia after Moscows 2022 invasion of Ukraine poisoned relations. US officials accuse the Kremlin of taking Americans hostage to win the release of Russian agents and others held in US prisons. Moscow denies that. Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way, and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. Its the culmination of many rounds of complex, painstaking negotiations. US officials described the swap as a success of their long-running efforts to win the release of Americans unjustly held abroad. Moscow insisted on the release of Krasikov in exchange for Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, the US said. The German government did not take this decision lightly, Steffen Hebestreit, Chancellor Olaf Scholzs chief spokesman, said in a statement Thursday. The states interest in enforcing the prison sentence of a convicted criminal was balanced against the freedom, physical well-being and in some cases ultimately the lives of innocent people imprisoned in Russia. The exchange represents a major victory for Putin, whod repeatedly pressed for Krasikovs release in the face of opposition from Germany. By freeing the killer, Putin, a former KGB officer, showed his security service agents and others working for the Kremlin abroad that he wont abandon them and will do whatever is necessary to secure their return, even amid the greatest confrontation since the Cold War between Russia and the West over his invasion of Ukraine. Putin wanted a deal before the elections because after that, all the meticulous preparatory work involving several governments could have been buried, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political consultancy R.Politik, referring to the November US presidential vote. For Putin this will be confirmation that the Americans can be flexible and pragmatic when they need something. Putin previously demonstrated his commitment to get his agents out with the December 2022 release of the arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the merchant of death, whod been sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in US prison. The Biden administration freed him in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was given nine years by a Russian court after customs officials at a Moscow airport found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February that year. Putin said in June that Russian and US intelligence services were in contact and that the Biden administration was taking energetic steps to secure Gershkovichs release. Former President Donald Trump, who once predicted Gershkovich would not be released unless he won the November election, criticized the deal as too favorable to Russia. Our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us! Trump posted on his social media site. Asked about Trumps claim that he could have freed the wrongfully detained Americans without giving up anything in exchange, Biden replied, why didnt he do it when he was president? Read More :US Catches Kremlin Insider Who May Have Secrets of 2016 Hack The latest exchange, which Turkish officials said saw two minors sent back to Russia along with the adults, included the release to the West of a number of Russian opposition figures, whove faced an intensifying Kremlin crackdown in recent years. Earlier this year, the two sides were close to an agreement that would have seen the release of Alexey Navalny, Russias most prominent opposition leader, but he died suddenly in prison before it could take place. The swap included Kremlin critics Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, as well as Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Memorial human rights group that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Russian authorities also released three other jailed dissidents, pro-democracy activists Liliya Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeyeva and artist Alexandra Skochilenko. One American who wasnt freed is Marc Fogel, a 63-year-old history teacher in Moscow who was sentenced to 14 years in 2022 after a Russian court convicted him of smuggling cannabis. He said he was carrying marijuana for medical purposes. US officials said efforts were continuing to secure his release. In Thursdays swap, Russia also released Kevin Lik, a dual German and Russian national, who was serving a four-year prison sentence for treason for an act he allegedly committed when he was 16. As part of the deal, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Putins closest ally, on Tuesday pardoned a German citizen, Rico Krieger, whod been convicted and sentenced to death in June for mercenary activity on behalf of Ukraine. The US released several Russians convicted on a variety of criminal charges. Among them was Vladislav Klyushin, a Kremlin-linked technology consultant serving a 9-year sentence for insider trading, Roman Seleznev, the son of a prominent Russian politician who was serving a 27-year sentence for cybercrime, and Vadim Konoshchenok, jailed on suspicion of violating US sanctions against sending military technologies to Russia. The US alleged Konoshchenok had ties to Russias Federal Security Service. Polish authorities released Pavel Rubtsov, jailed on espionage charges, as part of the deal, while Norway let go Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who was accused of spying. In Slovenia, meanwhile, two Russians detained as spies in 2022 pleaded guilty at a closed trial in Ljubljana and were released as part of the deal. --With assistance from Alexey Anishchuk. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Russia has released Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan as part of a large prisoner exchange between Russia and the US. Source: Bloomberg, citing sources, as reported by European Pravda Details: According to agency sources, Gershkovich and Whelan are currently on their way to destinations outside of Russia. As part of the arrangement, the US and its partners will also hand over the prisoners they are holding to Russia. More information on the swap has not yet been revealed. In recent days, the media have noticed signs of a potential large prisoner swap between several Western countries and Russia and Belarus. In particular, it has been reported that the United States, Germany, Slovenia and the United Kingdom are involved in this potential swap. In particular, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, Gershkovich, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian dissident, imprisoned in Russia, disappeared from sight on Wednesday, their lawyers said. The trial of a pair of spies from Russia has ended in Slovenia, with media reports that they are being taken for an exchange. Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided to pardon German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death for supposedly working for the "Ukrainian special services". The reasons for this step were not reported, but Krieger's pardon is also linked to the prisoner swap. TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, reported that information about Russians Alexander Vinnik, Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoshchenko, and Maxim Marchenko had disappeared from the public electronic database of the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, which allows the establishment of prisoners' places of detention. Moscow has also previously made it clear that it wants to secure the exchange of Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the murder of a former Chechen commander. Support UP or become our patron! Editor's note: This is a developing story. Turkey's National Intelligence Organization confirmed on Aug. 1 that 26 prisoners had been exchanged by Russia and the West. The exchange was carried out in Ankara. As part of the operation, 10 prisoners were transferred to Russia, 13 prisoners were transported to Germany, and three were handed over to the U.S, the National Intelligence Organization said, as cited by the Turkish media outlet TRT Haber. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released by Russia in a multi-country prisoner exchange, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed. Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was also released as part of the swap. Turkey confirmed its role as mediators in a prisoner exchange involving 26 people from seven countries U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) said. The prisoners were transported to Ankara by a total of seven aircraft, according to MIT. "This operation has been recorded in history as the most extensive prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and Germany in recent years," the statement read. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in late March 2023 while working on a story about the Wagner mercenary group's recruiting methods, as well as Russian citizens' views on the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Following more than a year of pretrial detention, Gershkovich's trial finally began in June, and he was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The charges were widely seen as being politically motivated, and Gershkovich plead not guilty. His employer, the Wall Street Journal, denounced the proceedings, as did the U.S. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist with dual U.S. and Russian citizenship, is also among the swapped, the president of RFE/RL Stephen Kapus confirmed. A court in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan sentenced her to six and a half years in jail on a charge of "spreading false information" about Russia's Armed Forces on July 19. "And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family," Biden said. The news follows rumors about a planned historic prisoner exchange involving Russia, the U.S., Germany, and Belarus. Independent Russian media outlet The Insider published a list of 24 prisoners who allegedly will be exchanged. According to it, Russia will hand over 16 people, including opposition figures Lilia Chanysheva, Ilya Yashin, Ksenia Fadeeva, Andrey Pivovarov, human rights activist Oleg Orlov, artist (Demuri) Voronin, Kevin Lik, and German Moyzhes, as well as Patrick Schobel. On July 30, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko pardoned German citizen Rico Krieger, who is also reportedly among the swapped and had been on death row following a trial in Minsk. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed that Western countries released eight Russians. The list includes convicted Russian hitman sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany Vadim Krasikov, Mikhail Mikushin and Pavel Rubtsov, accused of spying for Moscow, hacker Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin, businessman jailed for a hack-and-trade scheme, and Vadim Konoshchenok, the Insider reported. Another two allegedly exchanged Russians on this list, Anna and Artem Dultsevy, were sentenced to 1.7 years in prison for espionage by a court in Slovenia on July 31, the Slovenian N1 TV channel reported. The court also ordered their expulsion from the country. Several planes involved in transporting the swapped prisoners began arriving at European airports overnight on Aug. 2, CNN reported. One plane landed in Slovenia's Ljubljana Joze Pucnik, while other planes arrived landed in Cologne, Germany and in Warsaw, Poland. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will greet the freed U.S. citizens at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. They are expected to arrive at the base around 11:30 p.m. ET, according to the White House. Read also: Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian prison officials said on July 31 that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a jailed Russian journalist and opposition figure, was being moved from the penal colony where he was held to an uncertain destination. Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributing columnist, who has condemned Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and lobbied for Western sanctions against Moscow, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023. He is part of a growing contingent of dissenters detained amid President Vladimir Putin's increasingly severe political crackdown. Officials from Russias penitentiary service informed Reuters that Kara-Murza was being transferred from the IK-6 colony in Omsk, Siberia, without disclosing his new location. Despite Kara-Murza's poor health, his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, reported that the defense team had been unable to access their client at an Omsk hospital for two consecutive days. Prokhorovs statement has fueled growing speculation among lawyers, prisoners relatives, and journalists that the United States, Germany, and possibly other countries are preparing for a significant prisoner swap with Russia. This week, at least seven other political prisoners in Russia, including opposition figures Ilya Yashin, Lilia Chanysheva, and Ksenia Fadeeva, as well as activist Oleg Orlov and artist Alexandra Skochilenko, have disappeared from the colonies where they were being held. Lawyers have described this as an extremely unusual move. In addition to Kara-Murza, two more prisoners were reported missing on July 31, bringing the total number suddenly out of communication to 10. Prokhorov said that Kara-Murza is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 1, but it is uncertain if the hearing will take place. Hospital administrators have not confirmed that Kara-Murza has been moved. Read also: Russia must be present at next peace summit to end war, Zelensky says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian attacks against Ukraine killed four and injured 27 people over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Aug. 1. Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts over the past day Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter seven regions. Ukrainian air defense downed all seven Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia from Kursk Oblast and Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Aug. 1. The same night, Russian forces also struck Ukraine with Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched from Voronezh Oblast, according to the report. In Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk district, Russian forces killed a man in an attack on the village of Novoosinove. A 38-year-old woman was killed due to the Russian strike with KAB guided aerial bombs, while a 10-year-old boy and a 55-year-old man were injured in the Velykyi Burluk community. In the Izium district, a 58-year-old woman was injured in the Iskander-M ballistic missile attack, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Russian troops also attacked a railroad station of the state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) in Kharkiv Oblast. The conductor suffered shrapnel wounds to her head. Two locomotives, freight and passenger cars, as well as tracks and power supply facilities, were damaged, according to Ukrzaliznytsia. In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces targeted 21 settlements, including the regional center of Kherson, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. One person was killed, and 10 others suffered injuries. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian troops killed a man in the village of Marynivka in the Pokrovsk district. Three people, including two children, suffered injuries in the Hannivka village of the same district, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported. One person was injured in the town of Lyman, and another one suffered injuries in the village of Predtechyne in the Kramatorsk district. In the Bakhmut district, one person was injured in the Chasiv Yar community and two others in the Toretsk community. In Kyiv Oblast, a man and a woman were injured due to fallen drone debris. Both were hospitalized, the local military administration reported. Former Russian lawmaker and anti-Kremlin politician Ilya Ponomarev was injured during the attack on Kyiv's outskirts, the Obozrevatel outlet reported. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian forces targeted four communities in the Nikopol district, including the city of Nikopol, with drones and artillery. A 69-year-old man was injured, according to Governor Serhii Lysak. Russian troops fired 408 times at Zaporizhzhia Oblast over the past day, targeting 10 settlements and injuring a person, the local military administration reported. In Sumy Oblast, a man suffered injuries in the drone attack on the Nova Sloboda community, according to the local authorities. Read also: With Ukrainian infantry facing Russians near Toretsk Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, says it would not be surprising if online bots have been used to stir up a violent response - KGC-107 Russias fake news about the Southport stabbings is part of Vladimir Putins grey warfare against the West, a former head of MI6 has said. Russian state media were among those who falsely identified the suspect who was charged overnight as an asylum seeker who arrived in the United Kingdom in a small boat. The claims helped to fuel disorder on the streets in Hartlepool and London as well as Southport, where dozens of police officers were injured in clashes with far-Right protesters. Sir Richard Dearlove said the spread of fake news was a fundamental tactic used by Putins regime against the UK and other Western nations. He told LBCs Nick Ferrari: What I can tell you is that were in a state of grey warfare with Russia we may not feel that we are, but they certainly think they are. The exploitation of that space is a fundamental tactic in their conflict with the West. So if these bots have been used to stir up through social media a violent response, Im not the slightest bit surprised. People just dont seem to understand the extent of the Russian attitude to conflict and the way every aspect of their relationship with us will be seen as a basis to attack us. The Kremlin launched a disinformation campaign in March that spread false claims MI6 and other Western intelligence agencies were responsible for a terror attack in Moscow. People underestimate danger of Moscow Asked whether Moscows attitude towards the UK was as grave as you can recall, Sir Richard replied: Yes, I think it is at the moment, certainly towards the West. The Russians think theyre in an existential conflict with us. Thats my view of the international situation. I think we are slightly complacent and I dont think people necessarily understand the danger that were in. Sir Richard said he had not specifically heard of a fake news website called Channel3Now which was behind the false information about the Southport attacker. Clearly, its one of the sources of this activity out of Russia, he added. I think the people running these [sites] have a pretty open instruction to exploit opportunities as they identify them. Theyre not going to get clearance from Putin, but its part of the nature of their setup and how they operate Theyre not going to act with restraint. Sir Richard said his own email account had been targeted by Russian hackers despite him no longer holding an intelligence role. You can see the extent of the effort theyre prepared to put into these activities. I cant say Im a strategically crucial person. Asked whether X, formerly Twitter, had become a wild west under the control of its owner Elon Musk, Sir Richard said Mr Musks approach to the social media platform represented a split in America between those who believe in control and absolute freedom and anarchy. Lord Mann, the governments independent adviser on anti-Semitism, suggested on Wednesday that Sir Keir Starmer should take action to regulate X. The way Twitter is framing its algorithms towards violent extremism requires careful but decisive action from legislators, he wrote. Online harm is back on the agenda. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. In this image provided by the Russian Federal Security Service, Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in 2021 of killing a Chechen militant, boards a Russian plane at the airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug. 1, 2024. Krasikov was released in a multinational prisoner swap. (Associated Press) The killing was quick and brutal. But as the Russian hit man fled the scene a wooded pathway in a park in the middle of Berlin he bungled his getaway. The 2019 slaying was the opening act in a Cold War-style drama that culminated Thursday in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Soviet era an elaborate, multinational accord that freed a young U.S. journalist, a former U.S. Marine and a prominent Russian American political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with 21 others At the heart of the deal was Vadim Krasikov, the man convicted in the Berlin killing. Read more: Americans released in prisoner swap with Russia are back on U.S. soil, welcomed by Biden and Harris In 2021, a German court sentenced him to life in prison for the fatal shooting of an exiled ethnic Chechen named Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, and determined he had probably acted at the behest of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main Russian spy agency, which answers to none other than Putin himself. At the time, the audacious execution-style slaying sent ripples of unease across the continent for its unmistakable message that the Russian leaders foes were not safe anywhere not even in a highly public place, in broad daylight, in a major European capital. Almost from the beginning, Putin signaled, if obliquely, that he wanted Krasikov back. But it took years for that wish to come to fruition. People carry the body of Chechen separatist Zelimkhan Khangoshvili during his funeral in Duisi, a village in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, on Aug. 29, 2019. His assassination in Germany has sparked outrage. (Zurab Tsertsvadze / Associated Press) In the meantime, the Kremlin staunchly denied involvement in the killing, and the case triggered mutual diplomatic expulsions by Russia and Germany. The killing captivated Germany. It was known colloquially as the Tiergarten murder for its venue, the Kleiner Tiergarten park, a smaller cousin of the sprawling, historic green swath that cuts through central Berlin, a short distance from the German Parliament complex and chancellery. Authorities determined that the killer had entered the country using an alias, and even in court, Krasikov claimed he was really a construction engineer named Vadim Sokolov. Calling himself a tourist, he had seemingly innocuous sightseeing photos on his cellphone. But on the day of the assassination, his spycraft apparently failed him. Witnesses reported that he acted with brazen assurance, approaching the victim from behind, then escaping on a bicycle. Two teenagers spotted him tossing the bike into the river Spree, along with the murder weapon and a wig, all of which were recovered by police divers. Krasikov was arrested the same day. In Germany, a typical maximum sentence for murder is 15 years, but the judge said a harsher sentence was warranted. Krasikov, the prosecution declared, had carried out the liquidation of an opponent in a state-sponsored act. Read more: A Ukrainian 'King Lear' comes to Shakespeare's hometown. Its actors know true tragedy It was not only German authorities who uncovered the most damning details about the killer's background. A comprehensive joint investigation by the open-source group Bellingcat and its partners, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel and another publication, the Insider, also found the Kazakhstan-born Krasikov's FSB links, charted his movements using phone metadata and unearthed photos showing a distinctive tattoo to definitively establish his identify. Because of the gravity of the crime and the affront to its sovereignty that the case represented, Germany long balked at the notion of Krasikov, who is now in his late 50s, being part of any swap. And the discussions stayed shrouded. As recently as June, the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly declined to discuss any potential negotiations involving a prisoner in German custody. But as it became clear that no swap would be possible without including Krasikov's release, Germany's resistance eroded, and the pace of negotiations quickened. On Thursday, along with the others in the swap, Krasikov walked free. On the red-carpeted tarmac in Moscow, Putin embraced him. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for modernizing the country's border, coastal and air defense to make it strong and solid as he chaired a leadership group study session prior to the country's Army Day, which falls on Aug. 1. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at the study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Tuesday. Xi extended Army Day greetings to all service personnel, as well as the members of the militia and reserve forces, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC. Huang Jizhong from the CMC's Joint Staff Department elaborated on issues concerning the building of modern border, coastal and air defense systems and put forward suggestions. Members of the Political Bureau then had a discussion. After hearing the briefing and discussion, Xi made an important speech. He said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has spearheaded a raft of major institutional reforms and led a series of key border, air and sea defense actions. These efforts have vigorously safeguarded China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as upheld the strategic initiative of national security and development, Xi said. However, he noted that China's border, coastal and air defense is faced with new opportunities and new challenges, and stressed the need to strengthen overall planning to enhance the border defense capability. Xi called for intensified efforts to boost infrastructure connectivity and joint development to forge a border, coastal, and air defense that is conducive to both national security and economic and social development. Xi also said greater emphasis must be placed on integrating science and technology into national defense efforts, and urged more efforts to enhance friendly and practical cooperation with neighboring countries to foster a conducive environment for China's defense development. The Chinese leader also underlined the importance of improving air traffic management, boosting the sound growth of the low-altitude economy, and optimizing the civil air defense model. A Russian kamikaze drone struck the house of a former Russian lawmaker, Ilya Ponomarev, in Kyiv's outskirts overnight on Aug. 1, injuring the anti-Kremlin politician, Ukrainian media reported, citing sources. The incident was reported a day after three drones allegedly hit an area near Ponomarev's house during a previous attack on July 31. The Obozrevatel outlet wrote that the Russian Geran-2 drone exploded five meters from the Russian-Ukrainian politician's house, damaging it. Ponomarev suffered multiple shrapnel wounds, but his life is not in danger, the outlet wrote, sharing a photo of the wounded politician. RBC Ukraine also reported that according to its law enforcement sources, Ponomarev's house was hit in the overnight attack. According to Obozrevatel's sources, the two attacks in a row suggest that Ponomarev has been directly targeted by Russia. The claim could not be immediately verified, but the Kremlin has often carried out targeted assassinations against its opponents living abroad. The politician is now under protection, Obozrevatel added. Read also: Alexei Navalnys life and death as main opponent to Putin regime According to an official police report, a man and his wife were injured during the attack on Kyiv Oblast. The police did not mention the names of the victims. "Today seems to be my second birthday. The fifth attempted attack was the most unconventional and the most successful," Ponomarev wrote on X in the morning, promising details later. Ponomarev, 48, was the only member of Russia's State Duma to vote against Moscow's illegal seizure of Crimea in 2014. He subsequently fled to the U.S. and later to Ukraine, obtaining Ukrainian citizenship in 2019. After Russia's full-scale invasion broke out in 2022, Ponomarev joined Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces and called upon Russian citizens to take up arms against the Kremlin. Moscow added the politician to its list of terrorists and extremists in January 2023 and charged him with treason in February this year. Ponomarev was cooperating closely with the Freedom of Russia Legion an armed group of Russians fighting on Kyiv's side but the formation announced on July 31 that it was breaking ties with the politician. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. How the Russian prisoner swap that freed Gershkovich, Whelan took place, according to officials The largest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War took months of detailed negotiations that directly involved the president, government officials told ABC News. The deal, which freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, involved several nations and included key exchanges by President Joe Biden, according to the officials. The deal also freed Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Muza, a legal permanent resident of the U.S. PHOTO: President Joe Biden stands beside the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza in the Oval Office as they speak to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom, Aug. 1, 2024. (POTUS/X) "In the context of the war against Ukraine and the overall degradation of our relations with Russia, securing the release of Americans detained in Russia has been uniquely challenging," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. Biden said at a press conference on Thursday, "If anyone questions if allies matter, they do, they matter." Negotiations gained traction in last 2 weeks: Sources Even on the day he announced he was no longer seeking re-election, Biden, who was recovering from COVID-19, was on the phone working to secure this deal, a senior administration official told ABC News. MORE: Why were Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others being held prisoner in Russia? "The hour before he released that statement literally an hour before he released that statement he was on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart urging them to make the final arrangements and get this deal over the finish line," the official said. "This exchange is not by accident. It really is the result of a heck of a lot of leadership by President Biden and by the strength of relationships," a senior administration official said. Alexei Navalny's death affected negotiations Sullivan revealed Thursday that the U.S. and its allies were working on a prisoner deal that would have included the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was arrested by Russian officials in 2021. Russian authorities announced Feb. 16 that Navalny had died while in prison. PHOTO: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a screen set up at a courtroom of the Moscow City Court via a video link from his prison colony, May 17, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images) The U.S. negotiation team "felt like the wind had been taken out of our sails in terms of efforts to get Paul and Evan back home," upon learning of Navalny's death, a senior administration official told ABC News. MORE: Timeline of Alexei Navalnys life and activism But Sullivan, who happened to have a meeting scheduled with Evan's family that day, felt differently, according to the official. "He still saw a path forward, he thought it was going to be a little bit more of a rocky path, and it might take us a little bit longer than we thought," the official said. "He gathered the team together and he told him to not let Navalny's death totally torpedo our opportunities to get these folks out," the official said. "And he instructed them to come up with some additional options to make it politically viable, particularly politically viable to the Germans." Germany played key role in release One key sticking point, according to Sullivan, was that Russia "would not agree to the release of these individuals without an exchange that included Vadim Krasikov," who was in German custody for allegedly gunning down a Kremlin opponent in Germany. "That required extensive diplomatic engagement with our German counterparts, starting at the top with the President himself, who worked this issue directly with Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz. We are deeply grateful to Germany for their partnership," Sullivan said. To get the German's on board, a senior administration official credited not only Sullivan's work to get a proposal in place, but also Biden's relationship with German Chancellor Scholz. PHOTO: President Joe Biden (R) participates in a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) at the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 9, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE) "All culminated, really, in a call by President Biden to Chancellor Scholz, and then a follow-on visit by Chancellor Scholz in February, where, basically, Chancellor Scholz responded to the president saying, 'For you, I will do this.' The president then turned to Jake and said, Get it done,'" the official said. The administration official stressed that "nobody's turning a blind eye" to the crimes of Krasikov, or his connection to Russian intelligence service, but said "tough decisions" needed to me made to get these four innocent people back home and to their families. Swap won't affect Russian-US relations There should be no expectation of improved U.S.-Russia relations going forward, according to a senior administration official. This official said the administration has shown it can hold Russia accountable for its aggression on the world stage while "compartmentalizing out" the work on securing the release of Americans that are wrongfully detained. MORE: Biden celebrates freeing of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia: 'Their agony is over' "I would be cautious and would counsel anyone to be cautious in surmising from this that it's some sort of breakthrough in the relationship and it portends some detente with Russia or an easing of the tensions in our relationship." PHOTO: Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges, listens to the verdict in court in Moscow, Russia, on June 15, 2020. (Sofia Sandurskaya/AP, FILE) PHOTO: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who stands trial on spying charges, is seen inside an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia June 26, 2024. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters, FILE) This official said Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, pressure on NATO allies and across Europe, and the "burgeoning defense relationship" Putin is forming with China, North Korea and Iran are "of significant concern." "We will not see a policy change by President Biden and the administration when it comes to standing up to Putin's aggression." ABC News' Ivan Pereira contributed to this report. How the Russian prisoner swap that freed Gershkovich, Whelan took place, according to officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Yevgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of the political activist who has been released after more than two years - Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty I am delighted for Yevgenia Kara-Murza, the vivacious and charismatic wife of Vladimir Kara-Murza. Vladimir Putin had not only imprisoned her brave husband, but twice tried to murder him. Thursdays prisoner swap, the largest for decades, means that Yevgenia will have her husband back, to nurse to health. Their friends in our Parliament will be delighted, and frankly relieved that he is still alive to taste freedom once more. But there is a more troubling side to this story: from the way that Putin will milk this event at home, to the dark reality that the Russian leader will now see hostage-taking as quite literally a get out of jail free card for the assassins, saboteurs and spies his regime sends around the world, to murder, steal or cause chaos. Putins priority on Thursday was to reassure Russias overseas espionage agencies primarily the SVR and the GRU, his thuggish military intelligence that he would get their people back, no matter what. Above all, the FSB security agency wanted Vadim Krasikov, organised crime killer turned state assassin. The SVR and the GRU would have wanted their illegals spies living permanently in a country with fake IDs and backstories returned by Slovenia and Norway too. Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, the late opposition figure - Lukas Barth/Getty Others freed appeared to have overlapped organised crime and espionage, showing the deep connection between the two in Russia. The swap will play big in the Russian media. Russian society, especially older citizens, will be reminded of the glory days of the Soviet Union, when it was the equal of the US. By reviving this kind of trade, Putin is showing himself to be the leader who stands up to the West and forces the US to listen. But Thursdays prisoner swap only threatens to make state hostage-taking by our enemies worse. Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, was an innocent man arrested, imprisoned, charged and found guilty by a Russian state that considers itself in conflict with the West. Krasikov was a hit-man imprisoned for murder. Putin will learn from this that his ruthlessness pays off. He will reckon he can always get his people out of Western prisons. If Britain had captured, tried and imprisoned the Skrypal poisoners from GRU unit 29155, I fear that, at very least, they too would have been on Putins list. UK citizens might have been seized in Moscow or elsewhere as leverage. Russia is not the only adversary to blatantly use state hostage-taking as a bargaining tool. Iran took Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe while China seized Canadians, as well as staging Jimmy Lais despicable show trial in Hong Kong. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, released by Iran in 2022, was imprisoned for six years - Reuters I went to the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) on more than one occasion at the request of Kara-Murzas friends and family, and also at the request of people connected with Alexei Navalny. When I asked about prisoner swaps, I was given a straight no. I understood the reason, although it was frustrating. If this deal today had been done earlier, might it have included Navalny, a man who could have conceivably been a rival to Putin for power? Or was Putin always determined to murder Navalny, someone he hated so much he refused to use his name until he was dead? Vladimir Kara-Murza was a British subject, so we could justifiably argue harder for him. David Cameron and the FCDO pushed his case with the US, as did other good people such as Bill Browder, the Putin critic, and Parliamentarians from all sides. It is a good thing that there are fewer political prisoners in Russian jails on Thursday night. As Navalnys wife Yulia tweeted on hearing the news: No one should be held hostage by Putin, subjected to torture, or left to die in his prisons. Yet the reality of today is that Putin has, again, taken innocent people as hostages to get his spies and crooks home. Balancing our desire to see our people protected, while refusing to give in to this kind of blackmail, is a continuing conundrum for law-governed Western states. The danger is that, as international rivalries grow more tense, state hostage-taking by our adversaries will become worse. There are no easy answers, but for families of those now free, there is at least the joy of seeing their loved ones safe, and alive. Robert Seely was the Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight 2017-2024. His book Total War, a Guide to Russias War in Ukraine and Across the Globe will be published by Biteback Publishing in February 2025. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian shelling kills mother, daughter in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast A 40-year-old woman and her 72-year-old mother were killed during a Russian artillery attack against Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Aug. 1, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. A 46-year-old man was also injured after dozens of Russian shells hit multiple high-rise buildings, houses, a fire department building, two schools, and buses. The 72-year-old woman was killed on her birthday, Lysak added. No other details were provided at the moment. Nikopol, just across from Russian-occupied Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is a regular target of Russian attacks. Read also: Russia launches strongest drone attack on Kyiv so far in 2024 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian soldiers formally left Yerevan's international Zvartnots Airport on July 31, concluding 32 years of their deployment there. Russian forces been stationed at Zvartnots Airport since Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union and military conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. Armenian authorities informed the Russian side in March that the presence of their soldiers at the airport was no longer needed, a move that came amid rising tensions between the longtime allies. The process of their withdrawal was completed with a formal ceremony, during which Edgar Hunanian, the newly appointed head of Armenia's border guard, thanked the Russian detachment for their service. Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized the move, saying that it posed the risk of causing "irreparable damage" to the relations between the two countries, and that it could result in heightened security concerns for Armenia. Russian troops also continue to guard Armenia's borders with Turkey and Iran, and maintain a base in the Armenian city of Gyumri. Russian "peacekeepers" withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh in June, Azerbaijani authorities said. Armenia has had a historically close relationship with Russia, especially vis-a-vis its primary regional foe Azerbaijan, and has thus largely refrained from getting involved in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The calculus changed after Russian "peacekeepers" failed to prevent Azerbaijan's offensive into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, in September 2023. Disappointed with Russia and fearing renewed hostilities with Baku, Yerevan has been turning West for new partnerships. EU ambassadors approved the launch of a visa-free dialogue with Armenia in July and, for the first time in history, agreed to allocate military aid from the European Peace Facility (EPF) to the country. Read also: Armenia to hold military drills with US amid worsening relations with Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian forces have attacked the village of Novoosynove in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast and the city of Izium during the night, killing a man and injuring a 58-year-old woman. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "1 August, 05:13, the Kupiansk district, the village of Novoosynove. A garage, a car and two private houses were damaged as a result of the attack. A man was killed. Details are being established. 1 August, 00:15, the Izium district, the city of Izyum. A 58-year-old woman was injured as a result of an Iskander-M missile strike." Details: In addition, the Russians attacked the Kupiansk district on the evening of 31 July. "16:54, Velykyi Burluk hromada, the village of Shevchenkove. A private house and an outbuilding were damaged. A 55-year-old man was injured as a result of the attack." [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Syniehubov noted that the Russians attacked Ukrainian defence positions near the settlements of Tykhyi and Vovchansk on the Kharkiv front eight times, with two battles currently ongoing. On the Kharkiv front, the Russians conducted seven offensive actions near the settlements of Stepova Novoselivka, Kolesnykivka, Berestove and Andriivka. Four attacks were stopped and three are ongoing. Support UP or become our patron! "Rust" special prosecutor Kari Morrissey does not want armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to get a new trial after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year. Both Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and actor Alec Baldwin were facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Charges Against Alec Baldwin Were Dropped With Prejudice MEGA In July, the charges against Baldwin were dropped after the judge ruled that the prosecutor and police officers did not turn over evidence to the defense and had even attempted to bury it by filing it under a different case number. In light of this misconduct, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson resigned and the judge dismissed the charges against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning that he can no longer face criminal charges for the death of Halyna Hutchins. He is still facing multiple civil lawsuits related to the October 2021 shooting along with other "Rust" producers. The week after the judge dropped the state's case against Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer, Jason Bowles, filed a motion to get her a new trial, alleging that the same misconduct that happened during Baldwin's trial likely happened in their trial as well. 'Rust' Prosecutor Thinks Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Is NOT Entitled To A New Trial MEGA Last week, the New Mexico Court of Appeals granted a motion allowing the First Judicial District Court to rule on her request for a new trial, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. However, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey does not believe that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is entitled to a new trial. On Friday, Kari Morrissey responded to the motion with a brief filing, stating that the armorer's motion for release is premature given that the court has yet to receive completed briefing on the defendants motion for new trial, hear arguments on the defendants motion and rule on the motion in defendants favor, according to the Associated Press. Although Jason Bowles also filed for an appeal following her guilty verdict, he feels that the 27-year-old armorer should be given a new trial, given that Kari Morrissey had been part of the conversation with law enforcement officials to place new evidence under a different case number and did not mention it to the defense. The lack of disclosure around the new evidence led special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson to resign from the case on the third day of the trial, only hours before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed Baldwin's case with prejudice. She is, however, also the same judge who sentenced Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars. Special Prosecutor Resigned From Alec Baldwin's Trial On The Third Day View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chris Cuomo (@chrisccuomo) On July 12, within the space of only a few hours, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson resigned, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin, and Johnson was featured in an interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation to talk about the unexpected outcome of the trial. She also explained why she decided to step away from the trial. "We have an obligation as prosecutors, we have an obligation not only to the people, but to the defendant and our obligation is to make sure that all the evidence is turned over," she explained. "We don't get to decide what the defense is going to be. Our job is to ensure transparency and to ensure that the defendant has everything that the prosecution has gathered. What they do with it, that's up to them. 'Rust' Prosecutor Talks Her Moral and Ethical Obligations MEGA Describing her ethical and moral obligations to the case, Johnson said that the two are "not that different." She went on to say, "And so when I see that something isn't right, and when I see that the law isn't followed, I don't care who you are, where you are, you make the right decision. And for me, the right decision was to walk up to the judge and ask to be allowed to withdraw before that circus of a hearing got underway." Johnson claimed that she learned about the new evidence at the same time as the defense when a crime scene technician testified to its existence on the second day of the trial. During the interview, Johnson told Cuomo that she "learned about this evidence when the public learned about it yesterday, late afternoon." Erlinda Johnson Was Not Involved With Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's Trial MEGA It is unlikely that Erlinda Johnson will be involved in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's attempt at a new trial, as she was not involved in the one that occurred earlier this year. Johnson admitted that she resigned from Alec Baldwin's case based on her "evaluation of the evidence that I was privy to" but still felt that the "30 Rock" actor did "engage in some horseplay with this gun" that could have led the jury to return with a guilty verdict, had the trial made it that far. "You don't use another person as a target, as a human target, so that could potentially be reckless," she said. "And so, you know, he wasn't charged with intentional homicide. There's no question for me, there's no question Mr. Baldwin did not intend to do this. But the question is, was there wanton and recklessness and so that's why I did believe in the case. I had no idea that this other evidence had not been turned over." This Sacramento smoothie company has a twist: It sells only one kind of smoothie When Brady and Marzi Bisgaard moved to Sacramento from Hawaii three years ago, they carried more than just their luggage. They brought a business model and a recipe to their new home with Green Smoothie Co. Green Smoothie Co. sells only one kind of smoothie at farmers markets from Folsom to Sacramento to Napa, with bottled versions sold at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. We get customers from Hawaii that say, This tastes like the one on Oahu, Brady Bisgaard said. Its the same blend, same ingredients. Green Smoothie Co. co-owner Brady Bisgaard offers free samples at the Midtown Farmers Market in Sacramento on July 27. Bisgaard credits the concept to his friend Troy Yasuda, owner of smoothie company Omao Man in Oahu, Hawaii. Originally offering a variety of flavors, Yasuda consolidated to selling the most popular choice among his customers: the green smoothie. After months of helping out with the stand, Bisgaard asked to open an Omao Man in California. However, Yasuda preferred to avoid the complications of franchising and instead gave the Bisgaards the green light to replicate the idea in Sacramento. Though the recipe is unchanged, Green Smoothie Co. sources some ingredients locally. Natalie Gonzalez, left, Robert Gonzalez and their daughter Ellie, 3, purchase a drink from Green Smoothie Co. at the Midtown Farmers Market in Sacramento on July 27. We only have seven ingredients. Five greens, two fruits and then water and ice. Its always the exact same, Bisgaard said. The blend includes spinach, kale, baby bok choy, romaine, mint, mango and banana. While tropical fruits must be bought from the store, Bisgaard purchases as much as he can from local farmers. For the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturdays, this involves arriving early to gather leafy greens from Narci Organic Farms before the market opens. At the end of the day, we help bring clientele to each other. I think thats the best thing we can do, Yesenia Lopez, Narci Organic Farms farmer, said about her relationship with Bisgaards business. Returning customer Terry Luedtke purchases smoothie refill from Green Smoothie Co. at the Midtown Farmers Market in Sacramento on Saturday, July 27, 2024. Bisgaard said he also tries to source vegetables with year-round availability, like kale and romaine, from different farmers monthly. Its revolving to as many farms we can support as possible, Bisgaard said. The newly bought greens are washed and joined with the pre-prepared fruits and vegetables. The setup is simple: large bins of fresh produce and two Vitamix blenders. Brady Bisgaard washes organic kale purchased at the Midtown Farmers Market in Sacramento on Saturday, July 27, 2024. Bisgaard buys smoothie ingredients from local produce vendors at the market every week. We make it to order pretty much on site and its really refreshing, Bisgaard said. For Sacramento residents who cant make it to the farmers markets, the smoothie is available in limited quantities at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op for $8. The 16-ounce bottle of Green Smoothie Co. vegetable and fruit smoothie blend is available at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. Because Green Smoothie Co. does not pasteurize, Bisgaard makes small batches of 45-50 smoothies, hand-pouring and sealing each bottle. Bisgaard said he avoids pasteurization because it alters the drinks consistency. Theres always limited stock (at the Co-op), which is good because it drives people to go, Bisgaard said. But also it limits us on where we can expand. Bottles of vegetable and fruit smoothie blend from Green Smoothie Co. are displayed at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op earlier this month. Labels next to the price indicate the product is local to California and a staff pick. Bisgaard said he hopes success at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op will help jump-start selling Green Smoothie Co. bottles at Nugget Markets and eventually Whole Foods. Green Smoothie Co. can be found in Sacramento twice a week, Wednesdays at Capitol Mall Certified Farmers Market and Saturdays at Midtown Farmers Market. A 16-ounce smoothie costs $8 and a 32-ounce smoothie costs $14 in a refillable glass jar. What Im Eating Hello Temaki sets itself apart from other Japanese restaurants by its dedication to crafting hand rolls. Co-owner Feng Liang said she sought out its location on Laguna Springs Drive in Elk Grove because it is a highly populated area where customers could grab a quick bite. The restaurant is owned by Larry Hoang, Ann Le Hoang and Liang, who also co-owns Umai Bar & Grill in Elk Grove. We really wanted to introduce this new concept in Elk Grove. Hand rolls are very trendy in Japan, Liang said. The restaurants interior is cool gray and accented with sleek, classic oak paneling that runs along the walls and over the sushi bar. The bar dominates the restaurants center with a seating capacity of over twenty customers, while smaller tables offer a more intimate dining experience. Hello Temakis menu is a celebration of temaki or hand rolls. I ordered the set of five hand rolls ($36): salmon, spicy tuna, yuzu negihama, kanpachi and escolar. Unlike most sushi places that create cone-shaped hand rolls, Hello Temaki serves open-faced rolls so customers can see the ingredients easily. We eat with our eyes first right? Liang said. A set of five hand rolls is ready to serve at Hello Temaki in Elk Grove last week. The set includes hand rolls containing salmon, spicy tuna, yellowtail, kanpachi and escolar. An escolar hand roll is ready to serve at Hello Temaki in Elk Grove last week. The hand roll comes with seared escolar, garlic and micro cilantro on rice. The salmon hand roll, filled with fresh chunks of salmon topped with chili crisps and pickled wasabi, is an easy crowd-pleaser. However, the kanpachi stood out to me with fresh yellowtail accompanied by a crunchy mixture of shiso, ginger and red onions. The yuzu negihama is a refreshing bite of hamachi cut through with yuzu kosho, a fermented paste of chili peppers, yuzu peel and salt. The escolar is seared gently providing a smoky flavor to the butterfish, sprinkled with toasted garlic and the spicy tunas smooth filling is complemented by crisp cucumber. The furikake fries ($6) were an expected triumph. Furikake is a savory Japanese seasoning blend of dried fish, sesame seeds and chopped seaweed that is typically sprinkled over rice. It just makes sense showered over fries and paired with a creamy soy ginger aioli. The uni toast ($26 for two) is an absolutely outrageous menu item. Buttery-rich uni paired with bluefin toro, the fatty belly meat of the tuna, is served on toasted baguette slices smothered in truffle aioli. Finished off with gold leaf and microgreens, it is equally visually appealing and indulgent. Furikake fries are ready to serve at Hello Temaki in Elk Grove last week. Furikake is a Japanese seasoning blend of dried fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar and salt, typically sprinkled over rice. The Hokkaido uni toast prepared at Hello Temaki in Elk Grove last week. Truffle aioli, Japanese sea urchin and fatty tuna is served on baguette slices. Hello Temaki Address: 9261 Laguna Springs Drive, Suite 150, Elk Grove Hours: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Phone: (916) 775-6826 Website: https://www.hellotemaki.org/ Drinks: Sake, beer, wine and cocktails Vegetarian options: Tempura fried garlic string beans, avocado and mushroom hand roll, kaiware misozuke (marinated daikon stem) hand roll Noise level: Quiet Outdoor seating: No Openings & Closings 85C Bakery Cafe announced the grand opening on Aug. 16 of its Rancho Cordova location at 11009 Olson Drive #708. The cafe is currently soft opened, according to a social media post. 85C is a Tawainese international bakery chain selling coffee, cakes and desserts, like egg tarts and Hokkaido custard buns. Costa Vida has closed its Rancho Cordova location at 10831-B Olson Drive indicated by an available-for-lease sign on the building, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. Costa Vida is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain that serves Baja-style tacos & burritos. Family-style Italian restaurant chain Buca Di Beppo closed its Sacramento location at 1249 Howe Ave. after 25 years of service, according to The Sacramento Bee. TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) A board member of the Salt Lake City Firefighters Relief Association has been accused of theft from the organizations bank account and now faces felony charges. Eric Donald Kajma, 45, was charged with one count of third-degree felony forgery, one count of third-degree felony theft, and one count of third-degree felony unlawful use of a financial transaction card. According to court documents, another board member noticed several financial discrepancies after conducting an audit of the organizations recreation account, managed by Kajma. Upon discovering the discrepancies, the board member asked Kajma and the associated credit union for the bank statements. Black bear attacks hiker in Big Cottonwood Canyon, bear euthanized The board member allegedly found several unapproved purchases made by Kajma and cash withdrawals that appeared on credit union statements but not on the statements provided by Kajma. When the board member confronted Kajma, he allegedly admitted to using over $2,500 from the SLFRA account and needed to pay the organization back. It was later determined after an investigation that Kajma allegedly used the card to buy 45 unapproved items for a total loss of $3,808.40. We appreciate the thorough work done by the SLFRA audit and the Taylorsville Police Department to help lead to these charges being filed, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. The Salt Lake City Firefighter Relief Association, established in 1909, works to provide aid, financial assistance, and more to its members in the event of sickness, injury, or death. It also works to connect its members through social events. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. A district court judge on Friday granted the Colorado Republican Party's request for a temporary restraining order blocking Republicans critical of the state party from holding a meeting the next day to consider whether to fire state GOP Chairman Dave Williams and other members of his leadership team. Salvadorans honoring Saint Oscar Romero: During these difficult times, he is like a ray of hope SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) Its as if Joyce Valencia could still hear Saint Oscar Romeros voice. I met him when I was a little girl, the 61-year-old Salvadoran said. We used to gather around our radio with our grandma to listen to him. And, even now, listening to him encourages us to move forward. For a few years now, Valencia has joined the yearly pilgrimage that kicks off in El Salvador each Aug. 1 to honor Romero, who was named a saint by Pope Francis in 2018. According to the committee that organizes the event, up to 3,000 pilgrims will cover 160 kilometers (100 miles) in three days, traveling from San Salvador, the capital, to Ciudad Barrios, where Romero was born in 1917. Already known to many as Saint Romero of the Americas, San Salvadors archbishop was beloved among the working class and poor for defending them against repression by the army. But he was loathed by conservative sectors who saw him as aligned with leftist causes as the country descended into a 1980-1992 civil war. Romero was murdered as he celebrated Mass on March 24, 1980, in a hospital chapel. The day before his assassination, he sent a blunt message to the countrys military in his Sunday homily: In the name of God and this suffering people, I implore you, I order you, in the name of God, to cease the repression. Romeros influence continues to resonate in this Central American country where thousands of lives have been destroyed through decades of extortion and murder committed by the gangs. Since March 2022, President Nayib Bukeles security forces have cracked down harshly on gangs, arresting more than 81,000 people suspected of criminal involvement without due process. Human rights groups say innocent people are also being detained. Monsignor Romero is of great importance during these times, under the regime, as many human rights are being violated and very few institutions advocate for them, said Wilbert Sanchez, 21, a university student whose aunt was detained during Bukeles crackdown and freed after one year, due to lack of evidence against her. I think if he (Romero) were here, things would be different, Sanchez said. He would make a change, as he did in the past, when he tried to intercede for the peasants and others affected by the government. Soon after a 5 a.m. Mass, Sanchez joined dozens in the pilgrimage, his third since friends invited him to tag along in 2022. You can feel a very special connection during the journey, Sanchez said. What encourages me the most is faith. And learning more about our countrys only saint. Romeros pilgrimage was first organized by Catholic leaders in 2017, when the archbishop would have turned 100. The route, said Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, who was Romeros disciple and friend, is meant to unite the Saints tomb, San Salvador, with his crib, Ciudad Barrios. He was the most beloved and hated man of his time, Rosa Chavez said. It was exceptional to watch him in his struggles, his anguish, his doubts and his tribulations until he gave his life on the altar. According to the cardinal, Salvadorans participate in the pilgrimage for three main reasons: being at peace with Romero after discovering that government criticisms of him back in the 1980s were slanders, to thank him for miracles or favors, and to simply enjoy the spiritual experience of the journey. Each pilgrimage has a theme. This years mark the 500th anniversary of our encounter with Christ, said the Rev. Santos Belisario during a recent news conference. The first Mass that took place in El Salvador calls us to remember the first priests and bishops who arrived in Salvadoran territory, many of whom valiantly fight for the dignity and rights of the Indigenous people. During the journey to Ciudad Barrios, pilgrims not only pray, but also participate in dances and cultural activities in the towns where locals offer shelter and food. Religious leaders from across the country join the celebrations as well. Abraham Hernandez, 87, has completed the procession times. I hope that my age and body wont fail me this time, he said. The Salvadoran man never met Romero personally but is grateful for his political stances. He even gave his life for us, so that we would have a better government, Hernandez said. Joyce Valencia, too, feels nothing but gratitude. I thank God for our saint, she said. He is our pastor and friend. She has asked many favors of Romero and he has granted them all, including a return to good health for a girl who had seemed destined for heart surgery. Its a joy to attend this pilgrimage. To pray for our country, Valencia said. During these difficult times, he is like a ray of hope. ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Hours after Donald Trump spewed a racist attack on Kamala Harris and echoed his past birtherism of former President Barack Obama by demanding that somebody should look into her ethnicity, the vice president summed up his contentious exchange Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists: It was the same old show. At an event for Sigma Gamma Rho, a Black sorority, in Houston, Harris mention of the GOP presidential nominees outburst was brief yet to the point. It was the same old showthe divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better, she said to applause. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, not a leader who responds with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength. Vice President Harris: This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists and it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells pic.twitter.com/3LLTGv4FU7 Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 1, 2024 In a press release earlier Wednesday, the Harris campaign expanded on this point, saying in part: Todays tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trumps MAGA rallies this entire campaign. Its also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10, it concluded, alluding to how Trump pulled out of a debate that he had agreed to against Biden. Trump Surrogate Already Spinning Turned Black Comments Trumpwhose comments Wednesday came as polls show a much tighter race than they did with Biden running for re-electiondidnt repeat his earlier lines during a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, hours later. Instead, he argued that Harris campaign lacks authenticity. Everything about Kamala Harris rolloutits phony and its fake, he claimed. Elsewhere over the airwaves Wednesday, Trumps national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended his bizarre remarks about Harris having turned Black. Trump, she said on News Nation, was showing honesty. 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. Sanofi to invest 1.3 billion euros in new insulin plant in Frankfurt The logo of French drugmaker Sanofi is seen a the Sanofi Genzyme Polyclonals in Lyon BERLIN (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi will invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.40 billion) in a new insulin production facility at its existing site in Frankfurt, where it makes insulin brand Lantus, the company said on Thursday. The investment will pave the way for the construction of a 36,000-square-metre facility that will replace Sanofi's current insulin production plant in Frankfurt's Hoechst district by 2029, the company said. Last month, German media cited government sources as saying Sanofi had changed course after initial considerations to transfer Lantus production to France. At that time, the drugmaker had been considering an investment of between 1.3 billion euros and 1.5 billion euros in a new facility in Frankfurt, reports said. Among recent wins by the German government to attract healthcare investments, Daiichi Sankyo said in February it would spend about 1 billion euros to boost its work on precision cancer drugs near Munich. U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly in November last year pledged to invest 2.3 billion euros to make obesity and diabetes drugs in Germany. ($1 = 0.9275 euros) (Reporting by Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda Murray) (KRON) Police in Santa Cruz have arrested a mother in connection with the death of her 18-month-old daughter. The Santa Cruz Police Department said Korisa Woll, 38, brought her deceased child to Dominican Hospital on Sunday. Investigators believe the child passed away in the mothers care at their River Street home. The results are still pending from the autopsy. Woll was booked into jail on a count of felony child abuse. Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 7. The Santa Cruz County District Attorneys Office is handling the investigation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. SC woman stole money from employer for cosmetic surgery, travel & more, prosecutor says A Columbia woman is heading to federal prison for stealing nearly $300,000 from an area business where she worked, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Kathy Drawdy Stewart, 62, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Wednesday in a news release. Stewart was sentenced to 15 months behind bars, according to the release. There is no parole in the federal system. From 2016 through May 2023, Stewart embezzled more than $270,000 from her longtime employer, LTC Associates Inc., the U.S. Attorneys Office said. LTC Associates is an interior design and architecture firm, where the U.S. Attorneys Office said Stewart served as the companys business manager. Stewart regularly made unauthorized payments from the companys bank accounts to her personal American Express account, according to the release. The embezzlement was discovered after she attempted to make an unauthorized $20,000 transfer from the companys bank account to her American Express account in May 2023, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. A review of her American Express account showed that Stewart spent more than $100,000 on cosmetic procedures, travel, interior decorating, and retail from 2016 until May 2023, according to the release. There was no word if Stewart spent all of the embezzled money. In addition to her prison sentence, Stewart was ordered her to pay more than $270,000 in restitution, which she paid prior to sentencing, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Stewart was also fined $10,000, and her prison sentence will be followed by two years of court-ordered supervision, according to the release. The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Elliott Daniels prosecuted the case, and Columbia attorney Jonathan Gasser represented Stewart, records show. The 710 Freeway intersects with Valley Boulevard at its northern terminus in Alhambra. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) The Alhambra Police Department is warning residents that someone is leaving fake parking tickets on vehicles that include a QR code directing to a website not affiliated with the city. The fake tickets were placed on at least five vehicles in the city sometime between late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, according to Sgt. Michael Montano. The sham citations claimed that residents had not moved their vehicles for scheduled street sweeping, which immediately raised red flags for those familiar with the local parking schedule. One fake citation was even left on a car parked in a resident's driveway, Montano said. Alhambra police have not received reports of the fraudulent tickets in any neighboring cities. The knockoffs bear little resemblance to the city's actual parking citations. In images police shared on social media, they look more like a grocery store receipt. A legitimate citation is either a two-sided piece of paper with instructions on how to pay the fine, or a yellow ticket in an envelope, officials said. Neither include a QR code to make payments. Read more: These are the parts of L.A. that get the most parking tickets. Our guide to avoiding them The QR codes on the fake tickets appear to point to a fraudulent website. If a resident does find a fake ticket, they should not scan the code, as it might install some type of virus on their phone. "If you receive one of these citations, DO NOT scan the QR code, and report it to the Alhambra PD Traffic Section at 626-570-5119," the police department wrote on social media. "Remember, we will only refer you to our safe and secure city website: www.cityofalhambra.org. If you are unsure, dont hesitate to contact us!" Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Schweitzer brothers lawyers try subpoena to get police to turn over Lauro evidence HONOLULU (KHON2) Lawyers for the Schweitzer brothers have filed a subpoena on Wednesday to call upon Hawaii Police Department for all evidence relating to the new suspect in the 1991 Dana Ireland murder case. Check out whats going on around the nation on our National News page The subpoena comes after DNA experts connected a new suspect, who is referred to as Known Male #1, to the crime after collecting a fork that he discarded and sent it to the lab. Attorneys fight for evidence to clear Schweitzer brothers in Ireland murder In a Hilo courtroom appearance on July 30, attorneys for Albert Ian Schweitzer and Shawn Schweitzer argued against a judge for Hawaii police to release all collected evidence against the new suspect, Albert Lauro Jr. The Schweitzer brothers attorneys hope the releasing of new evidence will help clear their clients for their past ties to the Dana Ireland case. One of the brothers was convicted and spent decades in prison, and the other took a plea deal, but each has since been cleared and want the court to declare them actually innocent. If the court approves the request, the Hawaii Police Department will be forced to hand over evidence such as tapes, interviews, devices, communications and more. 2024.07.30_Schweitzer-SDT-1Download KHON2 has reached out to Hawaii police and the prosecutors office for comment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. A Boulder man will receive a new trial after Colorado's second-highest court determined last month that a pair of detectives improperly detained and interrogated him about an attempted sex assault instead of simply collecting his DNA as a court authorized them to do. Anyone conducting a voter registration drive in Louisiana must submit a "Voter Registration Drive Contact Form" per a new law backed by Secretary of State Nancy Landry. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry has released guidance on a new law that requires organizers to register with her office before conducting a voter registration drive. House Bill 506, sponsored by Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie, takes effect Thursday and mandates that anyone wishing to conduct a voter registration drive sign up with the Secretary of State. The law is expected to mostly affect voter advocacy groups and other non-governmental organizations such as the Urban League and Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. Landrys rules include: Organizers can sign up either in-person at the Secretary of States office in Baton Rouge or their parish registrar of voters. Online registration is available by emailing outreach@sos.la.gov. The sign-up involves filling out a Voter Registration Drive Contact Form, which is available on the secretarys website. Anyone conducting a registration drive must submit all completed voter registration applications to their parish registrar of voters either within 30 days of their completion or no later than the close of registration for the next election, whichever comes first. Anyone conducting fully electronic drives that use only the secretary of states voter portal at GeauxVote.com to register voters will not be required to register their drives. For more information, visit sos.la.gov or email the Outreach Division at outreach@sos.la.gov. Landry backed the new law after an organization failed to turn in several dozen voter registration forms that high school students had filled out ahead of last years election. The students later showed up to vote and were told they had never been registered. Landry said her office investigated the issue and learned what happened. A volunteer from the group that held the registration drive had left the forms in the trunk of someones car and forgot to turn them in, she said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST The Ohio class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine (SSGN) USS Florida returned to its homeport of Kings Bay, Georgia this morning after 727 days deployed traversing more than 60,000 miles undetected around the globe. The War Zone had the unique opportunity to interview the commanders of the Florida to get an inside look at the 41-year-old but still highly-prized and very secretive submarines long patrol. Nearly all of its missions remain unknown to the public, but Florida launched an unknown quantity of Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAMS) at Houthi facilities in Yemen on Jan. 11. It was part of an international response to the Iranian-backed rebels campaign of attacks on Red Sea shipping. That is customary for this type of operation if an SSGN is in the area. We noted Floridas presence in the region back in October for this exact type of application. This was an unprecedented deployment, the first-ever Atlantic Fleet SSGN, to go to the Pacific Fleet, Cmdr. George Thompson, Executive Officer of one of the boats two crews told a small group of reporters, including from The War Zone. The Florida circumnavigated the world. Thats a unique accomplishment, being able to prepare for not only the 5th and 6th Fleet, like we typically do, but the 5th, 6th and 7th fleets [the Middle East, Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific respectively]. For both crews to be able to operate worldwide, undetected for over 700 days, was a unique challenge that required the entire enterprise to come to bear to get us ready to do that. Sailors assigned to Ohio class guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) make preparations to moor after returning to homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, following a 727-day deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Travis S. Alston/Released Thompson, along with Commanding Officer Capt. Peter French, and Chief of the Boat, Jerry Struble offered a rare glimpse by an Ohio class submarines leadership triad into the operations of one of the most powerful, in-demand, and flexible weapons in the U.S. arsenal. Large and stealthy, it can carry up to 154 TLAMS and dozens of Navy SEALs into contested territory to ply their quiet trade. The Ohio SSGNs can also launch undersea and aerial uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs). You can read more about the four boats in this class and how they came to be in our deep dive here. The triad offered few concrete operational details about the deployment, but they did provide insights into what the boat brings to the table and what life was like for its crews during the long patrol. In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas surprise attack on Israel, the U.S. beefed up its military presence in the region. That included moving the Florida. Last November, it arrived deployed to the 5th Fleets region covering the Middle East and crossed into the Red Sea, where it worked with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group The world event always can change, French, the commanding officer said. We were en route to go relieve our other crew when the world event happened over there in the Middle East. And were always ready to execute. We got some phone calls, got some official traffic, and that was it. The plan changed, and so then we just executed the new plan. Thats what we trained for, and thats what we prepare for. It didnt really bother us at all. We are ready to deploy to wherever they need us to deploy to. In addition to serving as a Tomahawk platform, Ohio class submarines can transport up to 66 Navy SEALS. They carry out a wide range of clandestine missions including Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) and Time Sensitive Strike. The Florida and other boats in the class have lockout chambers so combat divers and Navy SEALs can enter and exit the submarine underwater. A Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) can also be installed to the top of the hull linked to either one or both of two specially modified missile tubes if required. That can accommodate swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) mini-submarines. You can see a picture of the DDS taken during this deployment below. Guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) transits the Suez Canal en route to the Red Sea, April 7, 2023. The Dry Dock Shelter for Navy SEALs is visible behind the conning tower. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elliot Schaudt The triad declined to offer many specifics about the special operations missions but did offer some insights into how they accommodate special operations forces. A full load of special operators increases the number of people on board by more than 40 percent. We had a full complement of special operations forces personnel to execute a mission set, said Thompson, the executive officer. We extended meal hours. Were serving over 250 meals, kind of around the clock. In order to accommodate that, we establish special watch teams. Its a critical mission that has a lot of safety implications. We train extensively to accomplish that, and when called upon, we can do it. During its deployment, we did some interoperability missions with our allies and partners that involve special operations forces out of the dry deck shelter and also the lockout [chambers], Thompson added. I cant get any other specifics about other missions. French offered scant details as well about how the boat works with uncrewed systems. We cant talk specifics about the operations, but SSGNs have the capability to work with undersea UUVs and launch aerial UAVs as well, he said. There are multiple uses for that. I dont have any specific example that I can give you from the recent deployment. You can read about the SSGNs uncrewed vehicle mothership abilities here. On July 2, Florida made a port call in Guam, where it underwent a preplanned expeditionary reload of its TLAMs alongside the Emory S. Land class submarine tender USS Frank Cable. That kind of demonstrates our ability to reload munitions and do repairs for deployment, said French. That was done with work from other agencies, and that was in 7th Fleet. Thats all I can tell you about that. Even though the Florida was commissioned in 1983, it required minimal repairs during this deployment, said Thompson, the executive officer. Florida is an older ship. We had no issues maintaining a satisfactory, mature readiness for deployment. Our local partners at the Trident Refit Facility (TRF) in Kings Bay do a great job in fixing us. We do more deployed maintenanceall in conjunction with crew turnover, and saw no real challenges with that. Weve learned these lessons over the last 15 years of deployed operations. While the boat didnt require much maintenance, those onboard needed a degree of attention from the triad and themselves to maintain a really high morale during the long, often monotonous undersea deployment, the triad explained. There are two crews of roughly 160, dubbed blue and gold, that rotate about every five months. For most, the journey that began in August 2022 was the longest deployment cycle theyve ever been part of, said Struble, chief of the boat. Master Chief Electronics Technician Submarine, Navigation Christopher L. Martell, chief of the boat aboard Ohio class guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) (Gold), center right, make preparations to moor after returning to homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, following a deployment to 5th, 6th and 7th fleet areas of operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Travis S. Alston/Released There was a lot of training to maintain that level of morale and resilience, he explained. Every day-to-day becomes monotonous, and the crew itself came together and celebrated Christmas underway. Thanksgiving underway. A lot of the major holidays that we have. We all did that. There were also several events celebrating particular junctures of the deployment. One was a halfway night fest to mark the deployments midpoint. They also recognize crew shifts and crossing the equator. Those festivities helped build resiliency through the crew and the camaraderie It gave them that purpose of being part of the command and to accomplish the mission at hand. The triad also broke down the crew schedules into smaller timeframes, said Thompson. To keep the crew engaged, we took the long schedule and we would chunk it down into small portions, he said. And then we would celebrate small wins, in order to always have the next thing to look forward to. So there was something that we were actually driving toward each day and each week, in order to get the mission accomplished. In addition, we had packages from home that we pre-loaded on the ship, and were able to give out around halfway night, French explained. Were able to send pictures and stuff home for Valentines Day and get stuff from the boat, from mail calls, stuff like that as well. This was not Floridas longest deployment. In 2020 it returned to Kings Bay after more than 800 days covering nearly 100,000 miles. Still, there were lessons learned this time worthy of sharing. Especially since Florida took part in the fight against the Houthis, one of the Navys most challenging efforts in decades. I think one of the big parts of the submarine culture is gathering the lessons learned and passing that on to the next team and always improving, being critical of how we do business to make sure we catch all that, French said. And I can tell you from the operations we did out there, we developed lots of lessons learned and passed those on. There were several very long messages, detailing all the things that we learned from what we did. Those lessons, French said, are placed on the database for other crews to use for their future planning. Despite what they bring to the table, the Navy is planning to decommission Florida, along with sister SSGNs USS Ohio, USS Michigan, and USS Georgia by 2028. You can read more about those plans here. Back from its long mission, Florida will now stay at Kings Bay for an unspecified maintenance period. The crews will stay on the boat, working at the Trident Training Facility on qualifications and training exercises. It is unknown how many more deployments Florida might have left. This recent trip proved once again what it can bring to the table should it depart yet again. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com Police fire gunshots and tear gas as thousands protest Nigeria's crisis. Reports say 2 were killed ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Security forces fired gunshots and tear gas to quell mass protests across Nigeria on Thursday as thousands, mostly young people, poured onto the streets to rally against the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. At least two people were reported killed. The deaths occurred in northern Niger state where protesters clashed with security forces after blocking a major road, the local Daily Trust newspapers reported. Elsewhere, police opened fire in at least two other states as crowds demanded an end to the spiraling economic crisis that has rendered the people of Africas top oil producer among the poorest in the world. The demonstrations, dubbed day of rage, called for an end to chronic corruption and bad governance. Live broadcasts from the protests showed some protesters looting warehouses and damaging public property. Three governors declared curfews in their states, saying that thugs had hijacked the protests. Rights groups and activists denounced the violence and said police used excessive force. Anietie Ewang, a Nigerian researcher with Human Rights Watch who monitored the protests, said they started peacefully and insisted the threat did "not require that level of response. There was no immediate comment from the government. Nigerias public officials, frequently accused of corruption, are among the best paid in Africa a stark contrast to the hardship suffered by the masses. The rallies kicked off with banners, bells and Nigerias green-and-white flag as protesters chanted songs and listed their demands, including the reinstatement of gas and electricity subsidies. Their removal as part of the governments reform efforts to grow the economy has had a knock-on effect on the price of just about everything else. Some carried banners reading, This hunger is too much. People are fed up and angry because we deserve better, said Jude Sochima, one of the protesters in Abuja, the country's capital. In Abuja, where a court granted an order late Wednesday to restrict the protest to a stadium, police repeatedly fired salvos of tear gas at protesters gathered in a district with mainly government offices. Police also fired tear gas at protesters in Bauchi and Borno states in the conflict-battered northeast. Many businesses shuttered amid fears the protests could be a replay of the deadly 2020 demonstrations against police brutality in the West African nation or a wave of violence similar to last months protests in Kenya, where a tax hike led to chaos in the capital, Nairobi. Though there was no single group leading the protests, which were originally planned to last 10 days, calls for the demonstrations had over the past days gained momentum on social media and mounted pressure on the Nigerian government as millions struggle in the face of economic and security crises. Prominent activist Omoyele Sowore said Thursday the demonstrators wont back down until their demands are met. The protesters said they were also troubled over the countrys deadly security crisis in the conflict-battered north, which President Bola Tinubu had promised to end when he was on the campaign trail. Fourteen months into office, the countrys challenges have persisted, and even worsened in some instances, official statistics show. Also Thursday, some groups staged demonstrations in support of the Nigerian leader. A tropical wave that South Floridians have been keeping an eye on now has a high chance of development with a forecast that steers it closer to the warm Gulf of Mexico. In 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center's area of possible development for the wave has shifted from the southeast United States to over the eastern Gulf of Mexico with a 30% chance of it becoming a tropical cyclone over the next two days. At 2 p.m. Thursday, the NHC increased development chances over seven days to 70%. To read there full story go here. Track all active storms Tropical wave near Hispaniola has 70% chance of development National Hurricane Center says a tropical wave near Hispaniola has a 70% chance of development over seven days. Storm tracker: Monitor tropical wave as it moves toward Florida Why did the forecast for Invest 97L change? Tropical waves can be notoriously hard to forecast until they develop a closed center of circulation which is a key piece in it being designated a tropical cyclone. Initially, it was thought the wave would get pinched between a dip in the jet stream and the Bermuda High. That would have sent it on a more easterly track and potentially out to sea. Now, forecasters believe it may miss the jet stream dip, leaving the Bermuda High's clockwise winds to push it into the Gulf of Mexico. Could Invest 97L become a hurricane? On Thursday, no official forecast was calling for a hurricane to form in the Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather wasn't even forecasting a potential strength, saying the wave could totally fall apart over the mountains of Cuba. FOX Weather hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross said there is a potential for a hurricane to form, but said it could also remain a sloppy tropical wave. The Gulf of Mexico is plenty warm for a tropical cyclone to form Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are as high as 90 degrees along the coast and only slightly cooler in the open water. But the temperature needed to build and feed a tropical cyclone about 79 degrees runs as deep as 450 feet in warm pools in the Gulf, said Nick Shay, a professor of ocean sciences at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science. That means a storm, especially a quick-moving storm, is less likely to bring up cooler water that could deter strengthening. Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism; subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tropical wave now Invest 97L is headed toward the Gulf. Track it here HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) U.S. Senators Todd Young and Chris Coons applauded unanimous Senate passage of their Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024. The bipartisan legislation will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration. Officials with Sen. Youngs office say The JUDGES Act of 2024 would address judicial emergencies and shortages across the country by increasing the number of federal district judges in the most overworked regions of the country, including the Southern District of Indiana. Court docs: Police find child porn on Anderson pastor/teachers phone Too many Hoosiers and Americans are being denied access to our justice system due to an overload of cases and a shortage of judges. Our bipartisan bill will help alleviate this shortage and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to have their day in court, said Sen. Young. Senator Coons and I have worked diligently with our colleagues to ensure this legislation effectively addresses these judicial shortages and fairly distributes the additional judgeships across multiple presidential administrations. The Senates unanimous support is a testament to bipartisanship and common-sense legislating. I urge the House to pass this important legislation so that it can become law as soon as possible. Docs: Noblesville man found with cocaine in butt after traffic stop arrest Officials say Sen. Young first introduced the legislation in 2020 and re-introduced it in 2021 and 2023. The JUDGES Act of 2024, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a unanimous vote in June, would act on the findings in the nonpartisan 2023 Judicial Conference of the United States report by creating the recommended judgeships during future presidential administrations. Additionally, the bipartisan bill includes new transparency requirements and provisions to ensure greater access to justice in certain high-need areas of the country. Officials with Sen. Youngs office say courts across the country are overburdened and facing a shortage of federal judges. As of March 31, 2023, there were 686,797 pending cases in federal district courts across the country, averaging 491 filings per judgeship over a 12-month period. In March of 2023, the Judicial Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan policy-making body for federal courts, recommended that Congress create 66 new district court judgeships, including one in the Southern District of Indiana, to help alleviate this crisis. The Southern District of Indiana would be part of the first tranche of the newly-created judgeships under this bill. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). WASHINGTON (AP) A bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing they would be in position to get a better deal next year. Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., center, is joined from left by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, as he offers remarks following the Senate Republicans policy luncheon at the Capitol Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dared Republicans to vote against the tax cut package before lawmakers headed home for the month. He said they would be voting against tax cuts for many low-income families and businesses. But most Republicans opposed the measure on a 48-44 procedural vote that required support from 60 lawmakers to succeed. Republicans accused Democrats of engaging in election-year messaging rather than serious legislating. Senate passes bills meant to protect children online Both parties are trying to spotlight issues they believe will play well with voters in November. Schumer put the onus on Republicans to block tax cuts that were sought by the business community and that would financially help an estimated 16 million families when fully in effect. He was also looking to counter assertions from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, that Democrats are anti-family. The question is, will Senate Republicans join us to give Americans a tax break or will they stand in the way? Schumer said before the vote. The roughly $79 billion package passed the House overwhelmingly in January by a 357-70 vote, but has stalled in the Senate. Republicans were calling for the bill to go through the Senate Finance Committee, in a process that would allow lawmakers to offer amendments to address their concerns, but that did not happen. FILE Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., offers remarks following the Senate Democrats policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, July 30, 2024, in Washington. Schumer is daring Republicans to vote against a bipartisan tax cut package aimed at expanding the child tax credit for million of families and restoring some business tax breaks. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) There were behind-the-scenes negotiations, but lawmakers from both parties accused the other of not being serious. The child tax credit is $2,000 per qualifying child. The bill aims to make the credit more fully available to low-income families by gradually making more of the credit refundable. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the changes amounted to cash welfare instead of relief for working taxpayers. Former President Trump and VP nominee Vance announce stop in Atlanta Im not so certain the American people are impressed by message votes, McConnell said. And I dont think theyll give out points for incomplete work. The bill was fashioned through negotiations by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. It would restore full, immediate deductions that businesses can take for the purchase of new equipment and machinery, and for domestic research and development expenses. The changes in the child tax credit would lift as many as 500,000 out of poverty when the proposal was fully in effect, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. The bill would be paid for by speeding up the cutoff date by which companies could submit retroactive claims for employees they kept on the payrolls during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS has said a significant majority of retroactive claims are at a high risk of fraud. With the bill seemingly lacking the support necessary to overcome procedural hurdles, Schumer had opted for months not to bring it up for a vote. But the election season presented an opportunity for Democrats to spotlight the issue and Vance. Schumer even referenced the junior senator from Ohio when speaking on the Senate floor, leaving no doubt that Vance was part of their thinking in holding the vote. Vance claimed in a Fox News interview that Vice President Kamala Harris, the leading candidate now to be the Democrats White House nominee, was calling for an end to the child tax credit. But the Biden administration led the effort to bolster the child tax credit during the pandemic and tried unsuccessfully to continue the expansion, which temporarily increased the credit to $3,000 a year, added 17-year-olds and boosted the amount to $3,600 for children under age 6. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, applauds while listening to Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake during a campaign event in Glendale, Ariz., Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Schumer called Vances claim plain old nonsense and said the 2021 expansion was one of the most significant achievements Democrats have had under the Biden-Harris administration. Vance also suggested in 2021 that political leaders who did not have biological children dont really have a direct stake in the country. He reaffirmed those remarks after clips of them resurfaced, saying this week on the SiriusXM radio program The Megyn Kelly Show that the Democratic Party had become anti-family and anti-child. Wyden, meanwhile, said: Theres always a lot of talk among Republicans about supporting families, competing with China, and cracking down on fraud in government programs, but they just rejected a bill that would accomplish all of that in one package. Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, both in competitive races this fall, spoke on the Senate floor in support of the bill. But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called Thursdays action the latest in a series of show votes designed to fail but would provide Democrats with a talking point or two on the campaign trail. Vice President Harris to make campaign stop in Savannah South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said there are good things in the legislation, but if were in a position to do this next year, it will be a much stronger bill. Thune said it wont be hard for Republicans to rebuff criticism that they were insufficiently supportive of tax relief for businesses and families. There are certain issues that voters instinctively know that Republicans are better on, Thune said. They may try to make that argument in a political ad, but I think itll be hard to sustain when most voters know that it was the Republicans in 2017 that cut taxes and that next year it will be Republicans who extend those tax cuts if we have the majority. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. The Nov. 5 general election matchup for Arizonas Senate seat is official now that rivals Kari Lake, a Republican, and Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, have won their parties nominations. Previewing the elections home stretch, Lake on Tuesday delivered remarks focused on the issues of immigration and the economy to paint a stark picture of the choice before voters, while Gallegos opening salvo centered around abortion rights, a topic expected to drive Democratic turnout this election. The Arizona Senate race is one of a handful of competitive contests in the November general election that could determine which party controls the upper chamber in the 119th Congress. Its closely watched because of Lakes prominence as one of former President Donald Trump's most loyal defenders with a national reputation for election denialism and attacking the media as "fake news." Lake defeated two primary opponents, including Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, while Gallego, a U.S. representative whose district covers a portion of Phoenix, ran for his party's nomination unopposed. Both want to succeed single-term Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who opted for retirement this November. Kari Lake says election about 'good and evil' following modest victory Leading up to Tuesdays elections, there was little doubt that Lake would defeat Lamb, who lacked the fundraising, endorsements, and public profile that typically energize a winning campaign. But Lake underperformed the expectations of a 30-point victory margin her own campaign had set in the weeks prior, winning by roughly half that margin, according to unofficial returns. Speaking to a crowd of supporters after her victory was announced, Lake reprised many of the same themes that have animated both her and Trumps campaigns. She charged Gallego is weak on border security and reminded voters of the generally rosy state of the economy under Trump. On Wednesday Lake attended a rally featuring Sen. JD Vance, Trumps vice presidential pick. Lake praised Vance, R-Ohio, and said she would vote for America First policy as a U.S. senator even if it means angering the political establishment "swamp." Though she tempered her Tuesday evening speech with a call to unite as Americans "doesn't matter if you're the pizza party, the pool party, the Democrat Party, the Republican Party" Lake framed the election as a choice between good and evil. "This is a battle between the people who want to destroy this country, and the people who want to save America, Lake said. Gallego rejected that idea when asked about Lakes remark on Wednesday. I dont think shes evil, Gallego said. "A lot of Arizonans that I disagree with politically ... I do it in a respectful manner. I don't think they're evil either. And it's sad that she's putting politics in that light." Gallego kicks off general election with renewed focus on abortion rights Gallego is putting abortion rights at the forefront of his campaign. It's a topic that has galvanized Democrats since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in 2022 and is expected to drive Democratic turnout this year in Arizona, where Republican lawmakers led the push to implement a 15-week abortion ban and a proposed constitutional amendment on the topic is coming to the November statewide ballot. On Wednesday, Gallego held a roundtable event at a feminist-styled print shop in downtown Phoenix whose decor declared women dont owe you s and dissent is patriotic. Gallego told two dozen abortion-rights advocates and doctors that he and his wife learned they were pregnant with their 1-year-old daughter during the time when it was uncertain whether Arizonas territorial-era, near-total ban on abortion would go into effect. They worried whether they would need to hire a lawyer if something went wrong with the pregnancy, Gallego said. "This is a member of Congress that's thinking about that. Imagine for a working-class family. Imagine for a single woman, he said. Lake has challenged Gallego to a debate on the topic of abortion rights. Taking questions from reporters after Wednesdays event, Gallego said he was looking forward to discussing the matter during Arizonas upcoming publicly funded series of televised debates. Republic reporter Ronald J. Hansen contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Senate race: Kari Lake and Ruben Gallego now official nominees WASHINGTON, DC (KMID/KPEJ) US Senators John Cornyn, Chris Coons, Jerry Moran, Amy Klobuchar, and Maria Cantwell introduced the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, which aims to help stop the production of counterfeit and fentanyl laced pills, as well as make it easier for federal law enforcement to take action against cartels illegal use of pill presses by requiring them to be engraved with serial numbers. Seven out of ten pills seized by the DEA are laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl, underscoring just how easy it is for this silent killer to permeate in our communities and take the lives of our innocent and unsuspecting loved ones, said Sen. Cornyn. By requiring the serialization of pill presses, this bill will help law enforcement better detect, trace, and prosecute the cartels who are using this machinery to produce these deadly pills. The US Drug Enforcement Agency seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced pills in 2023, according to a release from Senator Cornyns office. The Controlled Substances Act currently requires companies to keep records on the distribution of pill press equipment, which helps the DEA track and seize pill presses used to manufacture fentanyl-laced pills. Even as the Biden administration continues to crack down on fentanyl supply chains, there is more Congress can do to address the current leading cause of death for younger Americans, said Sen. Coons. The Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act will target an underappreciated but critical part of the fentanyl supply chain: pill press machines used for illicit purposes. I appreciate Sen. Cornyns leadership in developing this approach with me to help track pill presses in a way that properly accounts for the needs of law enforcement, legitimate businesses, and our communities. Fentanyl has taken the lives of thousands of Americans and continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States, said Sen. Moran. By imposing penalties for removing or altering serial numbers on pill presses, law enforcement will be able to more effectively target those responsible for the production of counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills and help prevent drug traffickers from flooding our country with these deadly fake pills. The Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act looks to help the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies solve crimes against drug trafficking and trace pill presses back to cartels by amending the Controlled Substances Act to require that all encapsulating machines or tableting machines be engraved with a serial number. The legislation also aims to impose criminal penalties for the removal or alteration of the serial number and for the transportation or possession of any pill press with a removed or altered serial number. Fentanyl has devastated families across Minnesota and this crisis is being fueled by those who use pill presses to make counterfeit drugs. We need to do more to fight traffickers and protect communities, said Sen. Klobuchar. This bipartisan legislation will require all pill presses to have a serial number, which will help law enforcement keep track of pill presses, fight counterfeit pill production, reduce overdoses, and ultimately save lives. The legislation was endorsed by National HIDTA Directors Association, National Narcotic Officers Associations Coalition, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, Sergeants Benevolent NYPD, National District Attorneys Association, and CPAC. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., speaks in January during a subcommittee roundtable with veterans groups on Capitol Hill in Washington. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Investigators in San Francisco said they have charged a person in connection with a string of July burglaries in the Outer Mission District and Noe Valley. He was caught just minutes after he allegedly committed another burglary. The San Francisco District Attorneys Office said the man brazenly committed the acts while out on probation. Jeyson Garcia, 25, has been charged with multiple felonies but has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all allegations. San Jose woman sent to jail for selling infested tropical fruit Garcia was apprehended by police in a stolen vehicle, and he had a recent victims stolen ID cards in his possession, said officials. He is accused of stealing over $3,000 worth of items, including tools, a toolbox, and two bicycles. The burglarized homes were on the 2700 block of San Jose Avenue and 26th Street in Noe Valley. He allegedly committed the crimes on July 24 and July 26. Residential burglaries while victims are at home sleeping are especially brazen and terrify communities, said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. My office will do everything in our power now to fight for justice in the courtroom and ensure there is accountability and consequences. No bail has been set for Garcia. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Severe thunderstorms raced across the Plains and the Midwest on Wednesday, dropping hail as large as 5 inches in diameter in Minnesota, with a 4-inch-diameter stone reported in Prairie View, Kansas. The Minnesota hailstone may have been the largest reported in the state in 38 years. Winds gusted over 90 mph at several locations in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. One of the thunderstorm complexes overtook Omaha, Nebraska, Wednesday evening, prompting severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. The storm transformed day into night, prompting social media videos showing intense, hurricanelike conditions as winds gusted to 90 mph at Eppley Airfield. A tornado was reported by authorities near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a 911 call center filed a report of a tornado near Murray, Nebraska, on the Missouri River. More than 250,000 customers were without power on Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.US, but less than 100,000 Friday morning. Most of those, 155,000, were in Nebraska around Omaha. The storms will move into the Ohio Valley on Thursday and will reach the East Coast Friday through the weekend. Update 10:42 p.m.: Shawnee County, as well as other northeast Kansas counties have been issued a severe thunderstorm warning. Severe thunderstorm warnings in Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Osage, Shawnee, Lyon, Morris and Wabaunsee Counties has expired. UPDATE 10:08 P.M.: Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Osage and Shawnee County are in severe thunderstorm warnings until 10:45 p.m. Lyon, Morris and Wabaunsee Counties are in a severe thunderstorm warning until 11 p.m. Wednesday night. UPDATE 9:18 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the following counties until 9:45 p.m.: Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lyon Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Shawnee and Wabaunsee. Dickinson, Geary and Morris counties are in a severe thunderstorm warning until 10:15 p.m. UPDATE 8:46 p.m.: The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the following counties: Geary, Riley, Morris, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Osage, Pottawatomie, Nemaha, Jackson, Lyon and Marshall. Tis warning will be in effect until 9:30 p.m. This warning comes with 60 miles per hour wind gusts and nickel sized hail. Winners of Topekas St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway announced TOPEKA (KSNT) The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a severe thunderstorm warning for several northeast Kansas counties. According to the NWS, Clay, Dickinson, Geary, Morris and Riley Counties are in a severe thunderstorm warning Wednesday evening. With this severe storm, wind gusts up to 60 mile per hour and one-inch hail could appear in some areas. The NWS advises people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building for your protection. This warning is in effect until 8:30 p.m. For more weather news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) Sevier County celebrated Smokey Bears 80th birthday on Thursday with an expo event raising awareness for wildfire prevention. On Thursday, the county held its third annual event with plenty of educational and fun activities for the family. In addition to water activities and a fire safety trailer, there was also the chance for everyone to get up close and personal with a Black Hawk helicopter with a Bambi Bucket, a fire truck, and a technology trailer teaching about the safeties in place for electrical infrastructure. Dolly Partons Stampede owner buys the Titanic Museum Its more important every year because as we know, Sevier County is growing every year in population. A lot of folks move here and a lot of people visit here. The more we interact and intermingle with this wildland urban interfaces, thats the place where the woods and the civilization kind of come together and where were interacting, the more of the chance we have of those devastating fires, said David Puckett, Sevier County Fire Administrator and Chief of Sevier County Fire and Rescue. (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) (WATE) The U.S. Fire Administration explains that the wildland urban interface is the line, area or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. An average of 3,000 structures were lost each year between 2002 and 2016 to wildland urban interface fires nationwide, according to the administration. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fire Administration, between 30 and 45 percent of homes in Tennessee are in the Wildland Urban Interface. Its really every everybodys part to take a little bit of way to try to prevent this, thats the reasoning [why] you know, Smokey Bear says only you can prevent forest fires, and thats really true. And thats the message that were trying to get out here, that its up to each one of us to take something back to reduce that, Puckett added. Sevier Animal Care Center extremely over capacity of dogs, in need of fosters Sevier Countys celebration comes just a few days before Smokeys true birthday on August 9, according to the USDA. FILE This undated file photo shows the original Smokey the Bear, symbol of forest fire prevention is shown in his National Zoo home in Washington, D.C. Smokey died in 1976. (AP Photo) While many may know Smokey mostly by his cartoon form, Smokey Bear was also a real bear who was rescued as a cub during a wildfire in Captain Mountains of New Mexico in 1950. According to the Associated Press, Smokey died at his National Zoo home in Washington DC in 1976 and was later returned to the mountains where he was found as a cub with burned paws. The AP adds that the character of Smokey Bear was created in 1944, a few years before Smokey Bear was found as a cub, because of fears that enemy shelling from Japan during WWII would cause forest fires while most of U.S. firefighters were in battle overseas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. With Vice President Kamala Harris now the expected Democratic nominee for president, she'll be the second woman, and first woman of color, to receive a major political party's nomination for president in the United States. And while Democrats' elevation of Harris since President Joe Biden's exit from the race has been largely smooth, the early reaction from the Republican Party suggests that Harris's gender (and race) may be central to their criticisms. There's certainly a history of gender being leveraged to undermine women in politics, but recent years have seen significant progress in normalizing women's success at high levels. With that in mind, Harris's campaign could tell us to what extent those types of criticisms still hold weight, and to what extent they could backfire. The 'electability' trap Attitudes about women in American politics have evolved a lot over the last 70 years. In 1958, just 54 percent of respondents said they would vote for a well-qualified woman to become president, according to Gallup. In January 2024, 93 percent said the same. That support is higher among Democrats; 99 percent of Democrats compared with 87 percent of Republicans said they would vote for a woman. (Independents fell in the middle, at 93 percent.) Of course, Gallup doesn't ask the same question about male presidential candidates. Attitudes about people of color in American politics have evolved, too. For example, in 1958, just 38 percent of respondents said they would vote for a Black presidential candidate, compared with 92 percent in 2024. Again, Democratic support is higher than Republican (96 percent compared with 88 percent, respectively). Gallup doesn't ask this question specifically about women of color, Asian candidates, or white candidates. (It more recently began asking about "Hispanic" candidates 93 percent of respondents said they would support in 2024). Overall, support for a female or Black candidate has been fairly consistent since around 2000, and the partisan split is limited in this hypothetical, with Democrats modestly more open to supporting women and nonwhite candidates. But other polling shows Democrats are particularly enthusiastic about electing a female president. A 2018 poll by Pew found 63 percent of Democrats said that they "personally hope the United States will elect a female president in their lifetime," compared to just 24 percent of Republicans. And according to a new AP/NORC poll, a majority of Democrats say electing a woman or person of color would be a "good thing" (70 percent and 61 percent, respectively), while the majority of Republicans say it doesn't matter (68 percent and 78 percent, respectively); 15 percent of Republicans and virtually no Democrats say it would be a "bad thing" to elect a female president. Of course, to have the opportunity to vote for female candidates, or candidates of color, Americans have to nominate these candidates through party primaries. In the 2020 primaries, Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump in 2016 seemed to loom large in many Democrats' minds studies have shown that sexism motivated voters' choice at the ballot box and negatively impacted Clinton's vote share in the 2016 general election. This probably helps explain why, despite expressed support for an abstract female or Black candidate, the 2020 primary saw Democrats seemingly balk at nominating someone with either (or both) identities. While a 2019 YouGov/CBS News poll showed Democrats preferred a woman or a person of color as their party's presidential nominee, the party ultimately went with the "safe" pick in Biden (and Sen. Bernie Sanders was his closest rival). These statistics point to the fact that some Americans may not support female candidates or candidates of color not because of overt sexism and racism or even implicit bias, but because of more complicated fears about whether candidates with these identities can win. This is a concept known as "strategic discrimination," which explains that women and people of color are underrepresented in U.S. politics because voters hesitate to support nonwhite, nonmale candidates based on concerns about whether other voters will support them. Of particular note for Harris's candidacy, the linked paper found Black women to be perceived as less electable than either white women or Black men, demonstrating the unique challenge she faces as a candidate with multiple marginalized identities. Another study found Democrats in the 2020 primary rated women and people of color as less "electable" than their white, male counterparts despite more often being the preferred candidate in a hypothetical matchup. And in 2019, a poll by LeanIn.org found that among Democrats, 58 percent said that it would be at least slightly harder for a woman to win against Trump as opposed to a male candidate. In that same poll, 53 percent said they were very or extremely ready for a woman president a near-identical number to that in a YouGov/Economist poll last month but far fewer, 16 percent, thought "most Americans" were very or extremely ready. One reason Biden selected Harris as his running mate was an effort to appeal to Democrats' demand for a ticket that represented an increasingly diverse party. But with Harris now making her own choice for VP almost all of the names that have been floated are white men it's clear that electability concerns remain a key factor here. A July 19-21 YouGov poll found Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents still think members of the party would be less likely to support a woman for president, compared to a man, especially if her running mate was also a woman. And according to a 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll fielded July 22-24, 40 percent of respondents think Harris will have a better chance of winning with a white male running mate, while 42 percent think that choosing a woman would have a negative impact on her campaign (just 16 percent believe it would have a positive impact). Will Harris neutralize gendered and racialized attacks? Political opponents have long exploited voters' skepticism about women and people of color in politics, and Harris's identity as a multiracial woman inevitably means voters' attitudes about gender, race and their intersection will come into play in this election, whether or not they are directly invoked by her opponents But even at this early point in her candidacy, they are. Renewing an attack they've made throughout her vice presidency, Republicans have called Harris a "DEI candidate," a label that stokes racial resentment by suggesting that success by minority individuals is not earned, or even comes at the expense of others. Other conservative commentators have suggested that Harris "slept her way to the top," a trope that also reflects sexualized stereotypes about women in politics, especially women of color. Vice presidential candidate JD Vance's attacks on Harris as a longtime politician "What the hell have you done other than collect a government check for the last 20 years?" he asked at a rally recently evoke the Welfare Queen trope, which dates back to the 1970s and demonizes single women (especially single Black women) who receive government assistance. And Vance has attacked Harris using more direct gendered tropes as well: In a resurfaced clip from 2021, Vance questions Harris's leadership capacity by referring to her (and other Democratic leaders) as "childless cat ladies," using this language to question their stake in the country's future. (Harris is a mother to two stepchildren, one of whom took to social media to defend her against the caricature.) Still, there is some reason to think that the effectiveness of racialized and gendered criticism could be stunted this cycle. For one, there's been a stark partisan sorting when it comes to attitudes that tap into racism and sexism since 2016. Research shows that racial resentment among white Americans toward Black Americans has remained stable since the '80s, but these attitudes are now more closely correlated with political beliefs and partisanship. Similarly, beliefs about women in the workplace are increasingly polarized along partisan lines. In other words, these beliefs are largely already baked into partisanship, meaning that those likely to be dissuaded from supporting a candidate like Harris based on her race or gender were already unlikely to vote for any Democrat in the first place. Moreover, women have made considerable gains in American politics since 2016. In the 2018 midterms, women's win rate in Democratic primaries was double that of men's, and 60 percent of the congressional seats flipped by Democrats in that cycle were won by women. It's not just true of Democratic women, either: In 2020, Republican women were similarly responsible for most of the congressional seats their party flipped. And of course, Harris was elected as the country's first female vice president in 2020. Outcomes like these challenge the notion that women aren't electable. In fact, in each of those election cycles, female candidates arguably had some electoral advantages. In the wake of Trump's election, the historic Women's March and the growing #MeToo movement brought renewed attention to women's issues, which prompted more Democratic women to run for office and may have helped Democrats at large by mobilizing young and female voters. Then in 2020, Republicans adopted a concerted strategy to recruit women (and people of color) to their candidate pool, as Republican women, motivated by resentment toward the progressive women's movement sparked by Trump's election, ran on a conservative counter-narrative to what they believed was a misrepresentation of women's interests a pitch that would've been less sincere coming from GOP men. And when it comes to the highest office, Nikki Haley made a convincing electability argument in this cycle's Republican primary. "My view is that Clinton's 2016 campaign went a long way toward normalizing a woman presidential candidate, and perhaps even a president," said Christina Wolbrecht, a political scientist at Notre Dame who studies gender and role model effects in American politics. "Multiple women ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, several of whom were considered credible competitors, and Nikki Haley outlasted everyone except Trump on the Republican side this year. Certainly the fact that these candidates were women did not go unremarked, but it did not seem to be as central to coverage as it had been in 2016." Since the 2022 Dobbs decision, Democrats have banked on abortion as a winning issue that would drive their voters to the polls, but while Biden appeared to be losing some of this support, Harris could refocus the race around abortion rights to her advantage. As Wolbrecht put it, "talking about reproductive rights comes much easier to Harris than it does to Biden, so we can expect that issue to be even more central to her campaign than it was to Biden's." This is all the more true for Harris because women are viewed as more adept at handling health care and social policy issues more generally. Harris is also likely be perceived as more liberal than Biden would have been because of her gender and while that's a potential pitfall in a general election, it could also give her more room to play both sides by pivoting to the center on certain issues, such as leaning into her background as a prosecutor to counter the "soft on crime" attacks that tend to dog both Democrats and women. (Notably, that tightrope is narrower for a woman of color, as Black women are penalized more than white women for using "dominant" language.) Still, a Democratic ticket with Harris at the top presents a strong contrast to this year's GOP ticket on the basis of gender alone. The GOP convention doubled down on the "tough guy" Trump persona, as did his choice of running mate, given Vance's history of emphasizing male victimhood and gender traditionalism. In fact, Trump's campaign thus far has seemed to endorse a strategy meant to energize and attract male voters, including by making inroads among men of color, even if it could alienate some female voters. Trump surrogate Rep. Matt Gaetz laid out this strategy bluntly in January, saying, "for every Karen we lose, there's a Julio and a Jamal ready to sign up for the MAGA movement." Some prominent Republicans, including party leaders and Haley, have already expressed concern about these race- and gender-based lines of attack, worried that the approach could backfire. For Democrats, countering these attacks by explicitly characterizing them as sexist or racist can also be fraught, but Harris's campaign and surrogates may have found a more effective counter, one that turns gendered attacks back on Trump and Vance: They've recently started characterizing the Republican ticket as "weird," particularly in reference to their gendered language and stances on women's issues. "These guys are just weird. They're running for, like, 'He-Man Women Hater's Club' or something," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. And Trump and Vance have taken the bait, also using "weird" to describe Harris's positions on climate and immigration. As Omar Wasow, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley put it, "The classic maneuver when your opponent has a good position is to shift the battle to new terrain. So, 'they're weird' is not only more accessible, but potentially redefines the contest to 'normal vs not normal.'" And in so doing, gendered and racialized criticism could be rendered less relevant. *** It's still early, but polling certainly suggests that Harris is a "viable" candidate she's been polling neck-and-neck with Trump, with similar levels of support as Biden, for whom a big selling point was his palatability to a wide coalition of voters and his ability to beat Trump. Whether or not Harris becomes the first female president of the United States, her status as a major party nominee, and the gendered and racialized attacks already invoked by her opponents, mean the campaign will certainly expose attitudes about women, race and politics in America. How will sexism impact Harris's presidential campaign? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The aftermath of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Photo: Serhii Lysak on Telegram Russian forces attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a Shahed loitering munition on the night of 31 July, which was destroyed by Ukrainian air defence units. In addition, the Russians deployed Grad multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and heavy artillery to attack the Nikopol district, damaging infrastructure, housing, three businesses and power lines. Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote from Lysak: "The defenders from Air Command Skhid (East) shot down an enemy Shahed in the sky over the oblast overnight. It was loud in the Dnipro district around midnight. No one was injured in the attack." Details: Russian forces targeted the Nikopol district in the evening, at night and in the morning, using Grad MLRS, heavy artillery and kamikaze drones. The aftermath of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Photo: Serhii Lysak on Telegram "[The city of] Nikopol and Chervonohryhorivka, Myrove, Pokrovske and Marhanets hromadas were affected. Infrastructure suffered damaged. Three businesses, a house, an outbuilding, an unused building and a power line were damaged. Two fires broke out, dry grass was burning," Lysak said. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] The aftermath of the Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Photo: Serhii Lysak on Telegram The official noted that the fire had been put out and there were no casualties. Support UP or become our patron! MEMPHIS, Tenn. There are several key races to keep an eye out for before heading to the 2024 Tennessee primaries and local mid-term general elections polls, which close Thursday night. There are primary elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives. Each county in Tennessee, and some municipalities, will also hold a mid-term general election. In Shelby County, there are several seats up for grabs on the Memphis Shelby County School Board, as well as the race for the General Sessions Court clerk position. AUGUST 1, 2024 TENNESSEE ELECTION GUIDE Local organizations came together to encourage people to get out and vote. I dont care who you vote for, said Tikeila Rucker, political director at Memphis For All. Vote for somebody because a no vote is just a surrender. Amber Sherman with Black Voters Matter says while she understands many people are looking forward to the presidential race in November, todays races are just as important. The things that were voting on really affect us locally and what were able to do here in Memphis, so if we arent voting in the local elections, were going to give up control over things that are really important, Sherman said. Before you head to the polls, Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips says you need to make sure you know where your precinct is. The Election Commission says a recent change in Tennessee law restricts the use of schools as polling places in Shelby County, so many polling precincts have changed. In response, election officials identified new polling locations earlier this year, said the Election Commission. Mailers were sent to those with updated addresses on file earlier this year, but for the best outcomes, the Shelby County Election Commission encourages all voters to go to Shelbyvote.com, click the know before you go banner, and confirm their polling place before heading out to vote. We had to move out of schools, so 120,000 voters got letters last February telling them they had a new location, said Phillips. I hope they kept on to those, but if they didnt they can be voter-ready by going to ShelbyVote.com. $43M Beale Street Landing hasnt seen a boat in a year Phillips says anyone experiencing any issues at the precinct can call 901-222-1200 and select option one. Polls close at 7 p.m. WREG will have results online and on air as they come in. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell dismissed calls for his resignation after a deputy he hired in the department killed an unarmed Black woman in her home while responding to her 911 call. Campbell spoke at a community healing and listening session in an Illinois church on Monday, acknowledging responsibility for the killing, which was caught on body cam video, but stopping short of promising personal accountability. "I'm going to say something right now I've never said in my career before: we failed," Campbell said, per ABC News. "We did not do our jobs. We failed Sonya. We failed Sonyas family and friends. We failed the community. I stand here today before you with arms wide open to ask for forgiveness. Massey, who was killed by Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson on July 6, was complying with Graysons request to remove a pot of boiling water from the stove when he shot her three times. Grayson, who was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct, has pleaded not guilty after being dropped by the departments local police union. Sonya Massey I speak her name and I'll never forget it, Campbell said, but he explained to community members that his resignation, he believed, wouldnt do any good. Calls for Campbells resignation during a Chicago rally came from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Masseys family. Reverand Al Sharpton and other community members are also pushing for him to step down. When I heard and saw the video, I was as outraged as I was when I saw the video of George Floyd, Sharpton said in a Tuesday speech. It is the negligence of this governments response to all of these killings that created the climate that led to Sonya. Grayson, who worked for at least five law enforcement agencies in the years leading up to his employment in Sangamon County, was dismissed from the US Army for serious misconduct before he was hired. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A shooting incident was reported at a north Abilene bar. The incident happened at Last Stop bar on North 2nd Street early Thursday morning. Abilene police confirm two people were taken to the hospital following the incident, saying they possibly suffered gunshot wounds but were not being cooperative with detectives. No arrests have been made and no further information is available at this time. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. The recent ban prohibiting Colorado Springs uniformed military members from going to The Citadel mall was changed Wednesday to allow visits related to education or religion. Previously, the military only allowed service members to visit for recruiting. An Armed Services Career Center is inside the mall. The mall has a large array of tenants including some that directly provide religious services and education, such as the newly opened Zeal Church, the Catholic Center, a free K-8 public charter school, a GOAL High School site, a nonprofit called Imagination Celebration, among others. Before the announcement, Zeal Church expected to be granted an exemption, in part, because it has a stand-alone address and dedicated door. Other tenants of the mall do not have the same large presence. The new exemption does not extend to the numerous businesses in the mall, including those that are veteran-owned. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade called out veteran-owned businesses in a statement on the ban that celebrated the malls qualities. It is a place where people come to shop, eat, worship, learn and play, he said. However, Mobolade said he respected the recent decision and agreed that safety is critical. I am working closely with Maj. Gen. David Doyle at Fort Carson, garrison leadership, local law enforcement, business partners, community organizations and mall owner, Namdar, to collaborate and improve safety to ensure the Citadel is a thriving place, he said, in an emailed statement. A board consisting of representatives from Fort Carson, Evans Army Community Hospital, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, and the Air Force Academy decided to ban service members from the mall as part of an off-limits list that also features bars and nightclubs. The order applies to all soldiers, airmen, sailors, guardians and other service members based at the five installations in town. In response to a question about specific safety concerns at The Citadel mall, Brad Sturk, a spokesman for Space Base Delta 1 provided a generalized explanation. The purpose for the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board is to prevent service members from being exposed to locations where crimes regularly occur or environments that could potentially jeopardize their health or welfare, Sturk said. Space Base Delta 1 oversees Peterson, Schriever and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, among other bases outside town. He explained in an email a service members chain of command is responsible for enforcing the rule. Violating the rule would be on par with disobeying a direct order. A spokesman for the Air Force Academy referred The Gazette to Fort Carson when asked about specific safety concerns at The Citadel mall. Fort Carson said in an earlier statement the decision was based on Colorado Springs police data. However, Colorado Springs police spokesman Ira Cronin said even though his departments data was used by military officials to make a decision, he could not say if a particular trend contributed to the ban. What specific CSPD data went into this decision, I cant say, he said. A Fort Carson employee has direct access to the police data and can generate their own reports. The police also supplies data to Fort Carson at their request, he said. The decision baffled and upset those who operate businesses and other organizations at the mall. Sign Up for free: Military Brief Your weekly local update on local military news and events, sent straight to your inbox. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. I think its really absurd, said Deborah Thornton, executive director of Imagination Celebration. I am a senior citizen female. I have never been afraid to go into that mall. The nonprofit provides numerous programs at the mall, including art classes for active-duty service members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. They come to the safety of our space, in this mall, she said. While shootings have happened at the mall, they have also happened downtown and in Old Colorado City and those violent acts did not trigger a blanket ban across a whole business district, Thornton said. Since the Christmas Eve shooting that killed Teryus Thomas and injured two including a security guard, the mall has been at the center of a concerted effort to address concerns and reinvigorate the area. The mall got a big boost from Zeal Church opening next to Hooters. It draws an average of 1,700 congregants a week, including active-duty service members, said Sarah Steffensen director of operations. On Sundays, attendees help fill up the food court and increase foot-traffic. Its a positive spillover that the church encourages, she said. We love our partners at the mall, we love our neighbors, she said. The church found out about the off-limits order through members of its life-safety team that also serve in the military. The team provides help with parking and security, she said. The announcement was heartbreaking news, she said. Before the ban, Colorado Springs police encourage the mall and tenants to call with concerns, which boosted calls for nonviolent offenses, she said. They asked, and then we did, and now we are in trouble, she said. Some of the concerns at the mall are driven by homeless people often present near the bus stops, Steffensen said, but the same type of people are present downtown. We know that is a chronic issue, that is a much bigger conversation, she said. Steffensen would like to see the board overturn the decision for the whole mall because the church believes the Citadel can be an awesome life-giving space. We want this to be a safe, wonderful, welcoming area, she said. Fort Carson said in a statement earlier that businesses may request a review of a ban once they can show adequate corrective measures have been implemented. Businesses and establishments can express their concerns through the Directorate of Emergency Services at 719-526-1453. Councilwoman Nancy Henjum will host a community conversation about the mall from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 20 at Zeal Church. A Gazette story on A1 Tuesday erred in describing the scope of the ban. The ban applies to all uniformed service members. Contact the writer at mary.shinn@gazette.com or (719) 429-9264. Madera County is cracking down on unlicensed short-term rentals, which have exploded in recent years in mountain communities near Yosemite and Bass Lake, among other places. The years-long debate on short-term rentals in Madera County has included acknowledgment of their contributions to the areas tourism economy, but also complaints to the county that too many homes are being converted, that visitors leave trash in residential areas and that overflows of cars sometimes block neighborhood streets. The county is also upset because many of these rental operators have not registered as businesses, failed to renew their licenses or become delinquent on their quarterly local tax returns. In an effort to put unlicensed operators on notice about local laws, the county granted new enforcement abilities to the Treasurer-Tax Collectors office in June. Why should you be able to operate your business when youre not even in compliance with the county that youre operating in? said Jacqueline Torres, the countys deputy treasurer-tax collector. This is allowing us to hold them accountable, saying, Were going to pause your license. You have to pay this. The countys new rules allow its Treasurer-Tax Collectors office to repossess any business license that becomes delinquent, and to deny business license renewals until all of a non-compliant operators accrued outstanding fees and penalties are paid off. The county has also updated delinquency fees and added a new $250 penalty for short-term rental owners found to be operating without a license, among other new costs. The new measures, helped by the use of software that scans thousands of rental platforms daily, could help the county collect tax revenue it has been missing out on during a post-pandemic boom in travel that has led to hundreds of millions of dollars spent within its boundaries. Data from Visit California, the states tourism bureau, show that 26% of all traveler spending in Madera County from 2021 to 2023 came in the form of visitors paying for short-term rental stays. Last year, travel spending in the county reached $430.1 million, with visitors short-term rental spending alone accounting for $120.6 million. Short-term rentals extend the lodging capability for our area and also provide another option, especially for larger families traveling together, said Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of the Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau in Madera County. Theres more generational travel. It seems like a big trend. But Salisbury said that $120.6 million in short-term rental spending reported by the state includes legal and illegal operations. This means that many of those operations did not necessarily forward general fund revenue to the county generated by its 9% tax on customers who stay in everything from hotels to motels and Airbnb-type rentals. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the countys Hotel and Motel taxes generated $6.7 million for its general fund. Many operators who are compliant with county laws will post a Transient Occupancy tax certificate somewhere visible to customers, said Tracy Kennedy, head of the countys Treasurer-Tax Collectors office. In April, the county Treasurer-Tax Collectors office had identified 400 non-compliant short-term rental operators out of a total of 1,600. (The 1,200 licensed operators show an increase in compliance from 1,066 last December and from 410 pre-pandemic.) Were dwindling that number down, Treasurer-Tax Collector Tracy Kennedy said about the hundreds of non-compliant operators her office found. The Tax Collectors office has been identifying non-compliant short-term rental operators using Deckard Technologies software that monitors 10,000 rental websites daily and maps out all listings in an area with dots. Staff can then identify which listings are licensed. Those that are not licensed are referred to the countys Code Enforcement team. Small local platforms are also added to the list of monitored websites when they are identified. Its like once you post something online, it never goes away and its in the cloud, Torres said. Once you post your short-term rental online somewhere, its going to stay there and eventually someone will find it. The significance of La Hoihoi Ea and Thomas Square HONOLULU (KHON2) In the ahupuaa of Honolulu, which lies in the moku of Kona here on Oahu, stands one of the oldest parks in Hawaii. We are speaking of Thomas Square. Thomas Square is the location of where Rear Admiral Richard Thomas had restored Hawaiis sovereignty. For five months, British rogue agent Lord George Paulet seized control over the Hawaiian Kingdom, burning all Hawaiian flags. Once realizing the injustice, Queen Victoria sent Thomas to restore what was taken from the nation of Hawaii. On the morning of July 31, 1843, with warship sails decorating the citys port, restoration ceremonies began in Honolulu. The British flag was lowered, and the Hawaiian flag was returned to its rightful place, restoring sovereignty of Hawaiis kingdom. It was later that same day, which is now recognized as Sovereignty Restoration Day (La Hoihoi Ea), King Kamehameha III declared what is our state motto today, Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono. But image the backdrop of Honolulu being much different compared to now. Picture not just the lack of buildings and development, but the lack of greenery as well. Known as the Waikiki Plain, this section of land within Honolulu is named Kulaokahua meaning plain of the boundary. It was an unpalatable stretch of open, dry and baren land that was best known for dust storms and impressive nothingness. Stories share that unlike today, the view from the square was unobstructed from Diamond Head to Honolulu Harbor. It was Archibald Cleghorn, father to Princess Kaiulani, who became largely responsible for the increase in landscaping. Honolulu celebrated the grand opening of Thomas Square in 1887, and its significance continues all these years later. Did you know? Now you do! Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. 1831 The first marriage in the settlement was Junius Rountree, son of Joseph Rountree and Martha Miller, daughter of Joseph Miller. 1833 Judge Charles Hoss Allen held the first term of the circuit court in this district. John D. Shannon was the first sheriff. 1833 Results finally came in from the first election in Greene County which began August 5 and concluded August 8. The first judges elected were Joseph Rountree, Alex Younger and D.B. Miller. Clerks were J.M. Rountree and Thomas F. Wright. 1835 John Polk Campbell and his wife, Louise T., made a deed giving 50 acres for the town site, including two acres for Public Square. 1854 The first legal execution in Greene County was the hanging of Willis Washam of Taney County for murder, one month after his conviction on circumstantial evidence. Many believed Washam was innocent. This was one of two legal hangings in the entire history of Greene County. 1858 Greene County appropriated $40,000 for a new courthouse and jail at the northwest corner of College Street and the Public Square. 1861 The Battle of Wilsons Creek was fought. General Nathaniel Lyon was killed. The Federal Army and sympathizers retreated to Rolla. The battle was considered a Confederate victory on the field, but it set forces in motion that won the war for the nation. 1861 Gen. Ben McCulloch and Gen. Sterling Price marched their Southern troops into Springfield at about noon. 1867 First Springfield street lights were turned onfour coal oil lamps on Square, with one at each street entrance. Soon five more gleamed on Boonville Ave. from the Square to Jordan Creek. 1883 A monument to Gen. Nathaniel Lyon was dedicated on the Public Square. It was moved to National Cemetery in 1885. 1900 A metal footbridge over Frisco tracks north of Commercial Street opened. It extended from Jefferson and Commercial, north to Chase. The cost was $8200. 1901 The United Confederate Veterans of Missouri and Daughters of the Confederacy erected the large monument honoring Confederate General Sterling Price in the center of the Confederate Cemetery. 1922 The Springfield Public Library has announced it soon will offer patrons rolls for their player pianos. A Springfieldian gave 22 player rolls to start the new department. 1927 Springfield began the operation of a municipal tourist park near the Federal Building (now Springfield City Hall). Campers were furnished with water and cooking space, and during the peak of the tourist season, a total of 67 automobiles were registered to say overnight at the tourist park. 1937 The last electric trolley operates 1950 A blast, believed from gas buildup, destroyed three 2-story buildings in the vicinity of Boonville and Water. 1953 A hooded Indian cobra was killed in shrubbery in the 1400 block of East Olive, not far from a pet shop. This began excitement that ended after nine or ten cobras were killed, and on Oct. 25 one captured. A City Hall artist unofficially redrew a snake circling the shield on the city seal to resemble a cobra ready to strike and it was used for decals. It was later revealed a teen released the cobras from the pet shop in retaliation for buying a fish that died shortly after its purchase. 1954 The city was rocked by a series of explosions when a carload of 105-millimeter shells exploded in the Frisco Railroads west yards. There was a five-hour bombardment of that part of time with one person injured by shrapnel. 1960 Royal-McBee (later Royal) Typewriter Company began the manufacture of portable typewriters in the new building at 2401 East Sunshine. The plant closed in 1969 after a bitter strike, with about 1000 employees affected. 1961 Lester E. Cox was named general chairman of the Wilsons Creek centennial observance, including a dedication at the Battlefield, on Aug. 10. In two appropriations, during administrations of Governors John Dalton and Warren E. Hearnes, the Missouri General Assembly gave $701,800 for purchase of 1734 acres of Battlefield. 1968 The final presentation of deeds to the U.S. government of Wilsons Creek land purchased by the state was on Aug. 10, 1968. A formal establishment program, Sept. 22, 1972, followed the success of U.S. Rep. Durward G. Hall and Senators Stuart Symington and Thomas Eagleton in obtaining authorization (but not appropriation) of $2,285,000 for the development of the battlefield. 1970 Springfield got the states fourth largest mall with the opening of Battlefield Mall in August. 1985 Three thousand southwest Springfieldians left their homes when a faulty valve at Solid State Circuits leaked chlorine gas. 1987 Hammons Tower opens. It was built at a cost of $15 million and has 22 stories with 234,800 square feet. 2016 Heritage Cafeteria closes its doors for good. 'Signs of escalation' on battlefield in Kharkiv sector, Ukraine's military says Ukraine's military said on Aug. 1 that several observations on the battlefield suggest Russia could be escalating military operations in Kharkiv Oblast. "The situation in the operational area of the Kharkiv Group of Forces remains difficult, tense and has signs of escalating," group spokesperson Vitalii Sarantsev said on national TV, in comments reported by Ukrinform. Russia launched the offensive in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast back in May. The push eventually ran out of steam as Ukrainian forces halted Moscow's advance. Sarantsev said Russian forces observed in Kharkiv Oblast were conducting internal rotations and had increased their presence in border areas. He also said there had been an uptick in sabotage and intelligence gathering operations. Elsewhere, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30 Moscow has began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction. Ukraine's military acknowledged an increasingly difficult situation in the Pokrovsk direction as battlefield monitoring sites indicate steady progress of Russian troops westward. "Today, they (Russian forces) are concentrating the largest number of personnel, the largest number of weapons and KAB bombs, everything they have, in the Pokrovsk direction," Zelensky said. According to the president, Russia shifted its focus to the east after its failure to take Kharkiv. Zelensky added that Russian forces also plan to advance in other directions in the east, such as Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, or Sloviansk, but at the moment, Pokrovsk remains the main focus. Read also: With Ukrainian infantry facing Russians near Toretsk Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy experimented for two weeks with uncrewed aerial systems and drone boats which could be used for launching swarming electronic warfare attacks, and more, in future conflicts. Dubbed Silent Swarm 2024, the event was designed to test early-stage electronic spectrum technology offerings from industry. Held at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Alpena, Michigan, the test event ran from July 15 to 26. It was hosted by the Navys Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) in partnership with the Michigan National Guard, Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Army C5ISR Center, and the Air Force Test Center. Sponsorship was provided by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Integrated Sensing and Cyber. Silent Swarm 2024 is the third iteration of the exercise, with the first taking place in 2022. U.S. Navy secretive Silent Swarm 24 exercise wrapped last week: 500+ participants; 57 technologies Large-scale experimentation event featuring swarming, small, & attritable drones Focused on distributed electromagnetic attack (EA), deception, & digital payload delivery - pic.twitter.com/jSiv0X2NoF Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) July 29, 2024 Over 500 participants from across the civilian and military spheres were involved in the testing at Alpena. Industry participants included L3Harris Technologies, Anduril Industries, Silvus Technologies, G3 Technologies, Starlink, and Northrop Grumman, among others. Companies were able to gain real-time feedback from civilian experts as well as representatives from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy on their offerings. Images released by small boat manufacturer Seasats show several of its uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) kitted out with payloads designed by the above manufacturers. Moreover, Northrop Grumman also released video footage from the event showing the integration of USVs and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) with different payload configurations. A good first week at #SilentSwarm in Michigan! Seasats small fleet demonstrated multi-boat, multi-day operations, working with our partners at L3Harris Technologies, Anduril Industries, Silvus Technologies, G3 Technologies, and Starlink. pic.twitter.com/avvOqIpkAk Seasats (@seasats) July 23, 2024 We've successfully integrated intelligent and collaborative surface and aerial uncrewed autonomous vehicles, commanding and coordinating different COTS platforms and payloads at #SilentSwarm2024. @USNavy pic.twitter.com/Ka1m8HQzvf Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) July 29, 2024 We bring folks here, technologies from industry, government labs, and academia, all focused on a central hypothesis that small electromagnetic spectrum operations employed on small, multi-domain unmanned systems can have a really beneficial impact for our deployed forces, Rob Ice Gamberg, Silent Swarm lead and fleet experimentation lead for NSWC Crane, said. While specific details on the offerings experimented with during the two weeks remain limited, we know that over 57 technologies were demonstrated. You have technologies out there, you have those unmanned surface vessels, the boats, out there, that one company [Seasats] has brought, and thats cool but its even more interesting when you can put a sensor on it and then they deploy 10 of them, with sensors, and then they can really surround an area, and just the impact that can have, and the ability to feed that information back to other sources, Sondra Laughlin, deputy lead for Silent Swarm, noted. We do a lot of networking, as much as we can, throughout the entire process. The technologies were tested within an operationally-relevant sandbox environment, which included land, air, sea, undersea, cyber, and space. According to the Department of Defense, Silent Swarm 2024 specifically focused on the evaluation of technologies for enhanced sensing, precision navigation and timing (PNT), delivery and resilience to non-kinetic effects, autonomy and electronic warfare enabled cyber operations for both autonomous and semi-autonomous operations. Behind-the-scenes footage posted by @RajantCorp showing various mesh-radio enabled land, air & marine autonomous vehicles operating at Silent Swarm 24. Rajant Kinetic Mesh networks are specifically designed for the rugged terrains & harsh physical environments seen by troops in pic.twitter.com/W0StMbwjVX Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) July 29, 2024 We bring in new technologies, we create an environment where they [industry] can bring those technologies in and experiment with them, Gamberg noted. [We] try new things succeed, fail, learn. A more detailed outline of the criteria against which the technologies would be tested during the exercise was provided by Naval Sea Systems Command last year, although its unclear if this was followed precisely. 1. Distributed Electromagnetic Attack (EA): Delivery of electromagnetic energy to include high-power microwave to deny, degrade, disrupt, & deceive an adversarys capabilities via high-mobility platforms. EA effects from many small autonomous vehicles carrying low-cost jammers & smart sensors. Utilize distributed reactive EA assets to hinder adversary spectrum sensing. 2. Deception: Distributed capabilities to create chaos & confusion in the spectrum through RF means. Targeting adversary situational awareness, command & control, & decision-making processes to enable friendly force freedom of maneuver. Deny adversary ability to maintain an accurate picture of the operational environment. Use distributed, low-observable deception devices to obscure, give false targets, & clutter. 3. Digital Payload Delivery: Digital capabilities that can be used in support of electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO). Capabilities that contribute to blinding, seeing, or targeting the adversary by degrading their ability to utilize the electromagnetic spectrum & their ability to share information over tactical edge networks. Deny adversary ability to maintain an accurate picture of the operational environment. The Navy has been heavily investing in an entire distributed, networked, cooperative electronic warfare ecosystem for years now. The broad effort extends across domains, including ship-mounted systems like the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block III (SEWIP Block III) and podded capabilities for aircraft like the AN/ALQ-248 Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) system. There is also a heavy emphasis on uncrewed systems, including expendable types to help lure away threats, such as the Long Endurance Electronic Decoy (LEED). Referred to in part in the past as the Netted Emulation of Multi-Element Signature against Integrated Sensors, or NEMSIS, which The War Zone was the first to report on, the work collectively represents a major leap forward in electronic warfare capabilities. An unclassified 2014 briefing slide with details about NEMSIS. Note the inclusion of various uncrewed platforms in the associated graphic. USN An unclassified 2014 briefing slide with details about NEMSIS. Note the inclusion of drone boats among other uncrewed platforms in the associated graphic. USN The 2024 iteration of Silent Swarm also builds on the findings from the previous two iterations of the event. [Silent Swarm] started as a small, unmanned table top exercise in December of 2021, focusing on kinetic warfare, Gamberg noted previously. We started bringing in more EW [electronic warfare] capabilities and saw it had significant impact so we thought, If it works well in a wargame, how can we bring it out into the battlefield? Our event has grown each year over the last three years, Gamberg notes. Initially, the first year [2022], we had 17 technologies that we brought up, with around 150 people in attendance. The 2023 iteration then showcased some 31 technologies, with 300 people in attendance. In addition to small UAVs and USVs, last years iteration of Silent Swarm also featured balloons roughly 20 feet in diameter for experimentation with long-distance communications. Whether or not the Navy ultimately ends up procuring any of the technologies or derivatives thereof explored during the most recent Silent Swarm exercises remains to be seen. However, the service stresses that the results from Silent Swarm 2024 will help to improve spectrum maneuver and resilience capabilities for military personnel. Broadly, the Navy has shown increasing levels of interest in drone technologies in terms of both UAVs and USVs in recent years. Smaller types which the service is either using, or extremely interested in, could well be networked together into highly autonomous swarms of the kind experimented with during Silent Swarm 2024. For example, in May the Navy established its second Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron (USVRON) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. At that time, USVRON-3 received the first four of what are expected to be hundreds of small USVs that will eventually deploy and operate with the surface forces guided-missile destroyers. Swarms of these kinds of drones, armed with various electronic warfare technologies, would be critical in a potential future conflict in the Pacific, likely involving China. Wargames conducted by the U.S. military in the past have underlined the value of swarms of relatively low-cost drones networked together; particularly during simulations of the defense of Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. At the broader level, INDOPACOM already has plans to turn the airspace and waters around Taiwan into a hellscape should China invade it. This would involve using masses of uncrewed platforms to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities, Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, INDOPACOMs top officer, revealed on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore earlier this year, so that I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything. A rendering of a notional drone swarm overlaid on top of a map of Taiwan. The War Zone/USAF/CDC Given the urgency with which the Navy expects to need such capabilities in the near future, its unlikely the wait will be long to see which technologies experimented with at Silent Swarm 2024 will be adapted for combat use. Contact the author: oliver@thewarzone.com Sir Rod Carnegie in 1988 - Ross Anthony Willis/Fairfax Media via Getty Images Sir Roderick Carnegie, who has died aged 91, was an Australian business leader once described as the closest thing to royalty in Melbourne and a celebrated Oxford rower in his youth. Rod the God, as he was known, built a high-flying reputation in the Australian mining industry, but unlike most of its big men he was never a hands-on mining engineer. A McKinsey consultant by background, he joined CRA Ltd in 1970 and was its chairman and chief executive from 1974 to 1986. CRA, an acronym of Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, was the major operating subsidiary of the historic London-based Rio Tinto company. During Carnegies era, CRA had major interests across Australia in iron ore, bauxite, coal and diamonds, as well as copper and gold on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea. Carnegie owed his rapid promotion within CRA to the patronage of Sir Val Duncan (Rio Tintos powerful chairman until his early death in 1975), but he was never Londons man. He pursued a strategy of Australianisation for CRA which sought to reduce the influence of the parent, whose holding reduced for a time to 49 per cent. Carnegie on the day of the 1957 Boat Race with the umpire, Bishop Gerald Ellison - Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images A progressive thinker, he also argued eloquently for the wider modernisation of Australian business, including greater engagement with emerging Asian economies and the dilution of traditional links with the UK. But after a series of boardroom ructions he was ousted in July 1986 and CRA was later reabsorbed into Rio Tinto. Roderick Howard Carnegie was born in Melbourne on November 27 1932 to Douglas Carnegie, a cattle breeder whose family were also piano importers, and his wife Margaret, nee Allen, who was a leading Australian art collector. Brought up among the prominent business families who were his parents friends, Rod was educated at the independent Geelong Grammar School. He went on study at the University of Melbourne, at New College, Oxford, for a diploma in agricultural economics, and at Harvard Business School, completing an MBA in 1959. At Oxford he also captained the university boat club, where he imposed a radical training regime, including weightlifting, running and 20 practice miles of rowing per day. In the 1957 Boat Race, with Carnegie at No 7, Oxford sprinted to an early lead but fell back after their No 5 oar, their biggest man, collapsed. Victory went to Cambridge by two lengths but, as Time magazine reported it, Rod Carnegies Revolution had not really failed: it had jolted the staid foundation of British rowing. Carnegie in 1992: after his time at CRA he served as director of numerous companies - Quentin Jones/Fairfax Media via Getty Images After Harvard, Carnegie joined the management consultancy McKinsey & Co in New York, where the firms guiding light Marvin Bower later recalled a very brilliant young Australian whose only fault was his refusal to become an American. Story continues Carnegie opened McKinseys Australian office in 1963 with Rio Tinto as an early client but returned to New York as a director from 1967 to 1970, when he was lured back to Melbourne as CRAs finance director, rising to managing director two years later. After leaving CRA, Carnegie was a director of many Australian companies, ranging from ANZ Banking to the newspaper publishers John Fairfax Holdings, and an adviser inter alia to IBM, JP Morgan & Co, General Motors and the World Bank. He was president of the Business Council of Australia and chaired an advisory committee on Australias relations with Japan. He was knighted in 1978 and made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2003. Rod Carnegie married, in 1959, Carmen Clarke, whose uncle Sir Rupert Clarke was a vice-chairman of CRA and whose forebear William Big Clarke (1805-1874) was the richest landowner in the then colony of Victoria. According to one local report, Carmens style and Carnegies dashing good looks and business acumen made them a sort of corporate Camelot. Carmen died in 2008; Sir Rod is survived by their three sons. Roderick Carnegie, born November 27 1932, died July 14 2024 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) Another demonstrator involved in Aprils pro-Palestine protests at the University of Illinois has been charged with mob action. 21-year-old Victor Smith was called to the Champaign County Courthouse Thursday for arraignment in the felony of mob action. States Attorney Julia Rietz confirmed with WCIA that Smith is charged in connection to the protests. Proposed University policy changes related to protesting leave some students feeling uneasy Smith is now the sixth person to be arrested as a result of actions taken during the protests. That includes Elizabeth Sotiropoulos, 35, Joseph Kleckner, 25, and Yafa Issa, 18, who were all also arraigned last month. They join George Vassilatos, 25, and Christopher Zelle, 37, who were arrested on the first day of protests. Each suspect has been charged with mob action, with Sotiropoulos and Kleckner being additionally charged with obstructing a peace officer and Zelle with aggravated battery to a peace officer. U of I spokesperson Robin Kaler told WCIA that Smith has been enrolled as a non-degree student in the past, but is not currently a student, faculty, or staff member. Kaler provided WCIA with the following statement in regard to his arrest: To be clear, Victor Smiths charges are based on his alleged participation in criminal behavior that falls outside of activities protected by the First Amendment. We respect the rights of freedom of speech and expression and remain committed to providing a safe environment for all members of our community. However, the university does not allow camping tents to be set up on campus property. When unauthorized items are placed on campus property, we inform those who place them of our policy and instruct them to remove the items pursuant with negotiated timelines. If our request is ignored, university staff will remove the items. Anyone who interferes with that removal is subject to consequences, including arrest when criminal laws are violated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. The agenda for a recent mid-summer San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors meeting was ripe for tension from the start, with two hot-button topics up for debate. First, supervisors were set to revisit a motion to declare June as Pride Month. Next up on the July 9 agenda was a vote on a new contract with Dominion Voting Systems, which provides ballot-counting machines for county elections. The two unrelated topics actually had something in common in that they sequentially spun the meeting into the latest example of how a government forum can be overtaken by misinformation, sometimes to inappropriate extremes. On this day, public comment lasted over an hour and a half. Of the residents who took the stand, the majority illustrated a penchant for spreading false stories. Over the course of the meeting, around 16 people shared misinformation about Dominion Voting Systems linked to the denial of the results of the 2020 presidential election, and about a dozen others referenced conspiracy theories about the LGBTQ+ community. As part of The Tribunes Reality Check series, we took a step back to look at the claims that were made, the damage they present and how officials try to counter the spread of false information. Speakers turn out to oppose to Pride Month declaration The Pride Month discussion was back on the agenda after being postponed from an earlier meeting. And in short order, it devolved from a simple vote on supporting a marginalized community into a presentation of explicit photos, videos and comments targeting LGBTQ+ people. As part of a call for the Board of Supervisors to reject the Pride Month declaration, Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell presented a video showing clips of naked men reportedly at a Pride event in San Francisco and elsewhere, graphic images of children receiving gender-affirming surgery, and cartoon images of children receiving oral sex that she said she found in the library of a local high school. If youre offended with nudity or lewd acts, you should probably step away, Powell said before playing the video. The video was so long, Powell had to rely on following speakers to use their time to continue the display. At times, members of the audience gasped at the graphic imagery, and Supervisor Jimmy Paulding interrupted the presentation to question the appropriateness of showing the video at a livestreamed public meeting. County counsel, if you want to pay attention, were seeing pornographic images, which perhaps run afoul of First Amendment Rights, he said. I do want to apologize to those in attendance and those at home. In defending the presentation, Powell told The Tribune in an interview that she first began to believe that educating children about transgender people was harmful when she attended a Board of Supervisors meeting a few years ago and heard someone give public comments about the subject. She said she believes that if children are exposed to Pride celebrations or are taught about gender and sexuality diversity in schools or at community events, they will be more likely to consider themselves to be transgender. Teachers are conning these children into thinking they are trans, Powell said. The train is completely off the rails. Powell has given public comment at multiple Board of Supervisors meetings, repeating false ideas about the LGBTQIA+ community. Powell said that she supports transgender people over the age of 18 but said that there is no such thing as a transgender child. She told The Tribune that she believes that by declaring June Pride month, SLO County is allowing children to be exposed to information about the LGBTQ+ community that will confuse them. Going even further, Powell said that she believes schools having books that portray LGBTQ+ relationships are part of psychological indoctrination by the communist state. She told The Tribune that she felt books that portray straight sexual relationships should also be kept out of schools. These kinds of claims, however, have been widely disproved by experts and those who work within the LGBTQ+ community. Russ Toomey, a professor of family studies and human development at the University of Arizona, is one such expert. He told The Tribune that the idea that educating children about transgender people will make children transgender is inherently flawed. We know that for millennia we have only been talking about cisgender experiences in schools, and yet a significant proportion of the U.S. identifies outside the gender binary, Toomey said. Toomey also said that the idea that children cannot be transgender is faulty and said that there is documented history of transgender people existing across cultures at many different ages. They document the history of transgender children throughout history in the United States, including children that socially transitioned in their schools and those that had medically affirming support even in the 30s, 40s and 50s in the United States, Toomey said. So trans kids are not a new phenomenon. They do exist. In a conversation with The Tribune, Director of Programming at the Gala Pride and Diversity Center Serrin Ruggles said that the misinformation being spread at meetings is nothing new but rather the latest in a decades-old cycle of false claims about the community that aims to inspire fear and anger. Ruggles said that they see misinformation most often cropping up in conversations with parents of LGBTQ+ youth. If they have been fed this stream of disinformation, their first reaction when their child comes out to them is fear and anger, Ruggles said. Often when I get that first phone call, my first challenge is to get that parent to understand what is reality for their child. According to Ruggles, the spread of false ideas about the LGBTQ+ community has meant that their job now includes unpacking false ideas before they can begin to support families and youth. They also said that when a child is met by fear and anger when they come out to their family, the risk of homelessness for LGBTQ+ teens increases something they said the center has dealt with in SLO County. Ruggles told The Tribune that the narrative about trans people being spread by people like Gaea Powell that providing education about the trans community will confuse children, and that trans people are inherently predatory towards children is not a new message. They said that the same misinformation has been parroted over decades with the intent of ostracizing different groups. They said recently it has become less socially acceptable to be outwardly anti-gay, so now the same rhetoric that was once used against gay people is now being directed at the trans community. The needle has shifted a little more towards being anti-trans, Ruggles said. In the 70s, 80s and 90s what people were saying was that it was dangerous to leave children alone with gay people because all gay people were pedophiles, and now its the same thing, but they lean a little bit more towards transgender people. Ruggles said that when people like Powell who claim to be protecting children publicly display images of childrens genitalia, reality creates a stark contrast with rhetoric. Misinformation about elections Later in the day, the board turned to address its contract with Dominion Voting Systems, and several residents quickly voiced concerns about the integrity of SLO County elections regarding the processes used to tally votes and the security of Dominions equipment. San Miguel resident Darcia Stebbens, a longtime critic of automated vote counting who has requested and paid for multiple recounts in recent years, opposed the contract with Dominion voting systems. Darcia Stebbens, left, watches ballots being counted at the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorders office on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, with Richard Patten and Sherry Martinez. She has personally financed two recounts in the past two years, one for the June 2022 4th District Supervisor race between Lynn Compton and Jimmy Paulding and the other for the November 2022 2nd District Supervisor race between Bruce Jones and Bruce Gibson. In an interview with The Tribune, Stebbens said that her opposition to Dominion Voting machines doesnt qualify as misinformation. Instead, she says she simply has concerns about Dominion machines that have gone unanswered by the Clerk-Recorders Office. Stebbens claims that the county voter rolls cannot be verified and that the voting machines can be hacked or tampered with to disrupt the vote count. However, public information specialist for the Clerk-Recorders Office Erin Clausen told The Tribune in an interview that because the machines are not connected to the internet, they cannot be hacked. In recent elections, Stebbens also believes that dead people have been kept on the SLO County voter rolls, that people without citizenship have voted, and that some people have received more than one ballot. Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano rejected those claims. Cano told The Tribune that the voter rolls in SLO County are maintained on a daily basis. People are removed based on information from the state health department, and new voter registrations are added to the rolls when people register. Stebbens also said the use of voting machines changes the pattern of election returns and delays election results. She questioned whether delays in processing mail-in ballots was an indicator of fraudulent behavior. However, Cano explained that the time it takes to process votes isnt a sign of fraud but instead reflects the rise in popularity of mail-in balloting. Cano said that the increasing use of vote-by-mail ballots has slowed the processing time because additional steps are taken to ensure the security of those ballots. In public comment and in her conversation with The Tribune, Stebbens said that she was concerned that Dominion Voting machines also had the capacity to print voting ballots and that she thought the Clerk-Recorders Office might be using the machines to forge votes. That simply is not true, Cano said. Some voting systems include ballot-marking devices that assist voters in marking their choices. These devices do not print ballots, Cano said. Instead, they mark a pre-printed ballot or produce a paper record of the voters selections for verification. Ultimately, the board approved the motions related to the Dominion machines, with all supervisors voting in favor of the contract except 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold. But that doesnt mean the suspicions will stop. And sometimes, in fact, its political leaders themselves who contribute to the spread. Supervisor denies spreading misinformation Election security has been on Arnolds radar for several years. She told The Tribune in an interview on July 10 that she has been concerned about automated voting machines since the county first adopted them as part of its election process in 2018 and that her concerns about automated vote counting were only amplified by disputes surrounding the 2020 election. San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold makes comments during a meeting on Feb. 7, 2023. Arnold said that prior to the countys most recent contract negotiation with Dominion, she consulted with cybersecurity experts who she said were not able to completely reassure her that the machines could not be tampered with. Clausen, the Clerk-Recorders Office representative, told The Tribune that this kind of approach leaves people especially those who may not be the most versed in technology reliant on sources who are dont actually work with the specific machines used in their county or elections office. This, Clausen said, could lead to people consuming or spreading inaccurate information. Arnold says she does not see herself as spreading misinformation about the machines despite multiple reassurances from past and present SLO County clerk-recorders that the machines are safe, and despite the theories spread by former President Donald Trump being widely debunked to the extent Fox News lost a $787 million defamation settlement for false claims made against Dominion. Instead, she says, she sees herself as not a technology person who is asking the same questions that citizens are posing in public comment. Arnold said that opposition to Dominion Voting Machines is not her only criticism of the election process and that she has a number of other concerns, including the time that it takes for the county to post results. Speaking to the Board of Supervisors on July 9, Cano said that SLO County election results are returned as fast as possible while abiding by normal working hours and holidays for election workers. Cano again emphasized that the main reason that verified election results take a long time to produce is the wide-spread use of mail-in voting which requires a longer process to tabulate. Cano also noted that nearly 90 percent of voters in SLO County now use mail-in ballots to cast their votes. Why does misinformation take root? The two examples at the SLO County meeting raise a basic question: Why is misinformation being embraced so widely by some people? For Cal Poly political science professor Michael Latner, the answer is simple: Conspiracy theories can give people a sense of control during times in their lives when they may feel vulnerable, unsure or scared. Likewise, Karen Douglas, a conspiracy theory expert and professor of social psychology at Kent University in Canterbury, told The Tribune in a statement that people are attracted to conspiracy theories and susceptible to believing false information when one or more psychological needs are frustrated. Douglas said this can look like a desire for an understanding of the truth and a feeling of insecurity or a lack of safety. Latner said that conspiracy theories perfectly fit the needs of someone in the situations that Douglas described. The reason that it works is because it provides a collective identity, he said. People can project their own personal insecurities and dysfunction and the things that are going wrong in their life. People can then become prone to accepting far-fetched ideas. This perspective essentially means that anyone can fall into conspiracy theories if the circumstances are right, Douglas said. However, Latner noted, when it comes to elected officials like Supervisor Arnold, the endorsement of disproven claims might reflect a willingness to parrot false ideas to gain support from the public. Latner said that in situations like Trumps election denial conspiracy theory and his eagerness to cast doubt on local elections leaders and voting machines, it is up to elected officials to slow and correct the spread of false information. However, he said, some of those leaders choose to benefit from peoples belief in misinformation and support conspiracy theories in order to get elected. When democracies find themselves in these vulnerable positions, it is people in power, people like Debbie Arnold, people who could and who have the power to say no and to stop. That is often what the legitimacy of elections rides on, Latner said. To the extent that she panders to these conspiracy theories, she is undermining democracy. Elaina Cano is San Luis Obispo Countys clerk-recorder. Clerk-recorder says misinformation endangers election workers Cano, who manages elections in SLO County, said that Arnolds support of false information about the security of Dominion Voting machines not only spreads debunked theories to voters, it also puts election workers and officials at risk. She said that since the 2020 election and the efforts by Trump to challenge election results across the country, working elections has become an intense and stressful experience for staff and volunteers. In recent years, Cano said, the county has seen a decline in the number of people volunteering to be election workers because they fear what they might face on election day. I take the phone calls on election day when people are ripping up their ballots and lighting them on fire and throwing them at their poll workers, Cano said. Because people dont believe that they are voting on a real ballot. Cano remains committed to explaining the process and proving to the citizens of SLO County that their elections are secure and accurate. She is happy to answer questions from residents. Anyone how has a concern or inquiry about local elections can reach out to her at 805-781-5080. Update: Khelsey has been located and is safe, according to police Wednesday night. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is asking for the community's assistance in its search for a missing 14-year-old girl. Khelsey Dowd was last seen at 8 a.m. Wednesday in the 23000 block of Judge Orr Road in Calhan, around 30 miles east of Colorado Springs, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. Khelsey is reported to be 5-foot and 118 pounds. Law enforcement said she was last seen wearing a pink hoodie and dark-colored pants. The Sheriff's Office said there are suspicious circumstances surrounding Dowd's disappearance, but gave no other detail in its social media post. If anyone sees Dowd, or knows of her whereabouts, they are encouraged to call 719-390-5555. CLOVER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Clover High School students will feel the effects of a new state policy limiting cellphone usage during school hours. South Carolina Education Superintendent Ellen Weavers policy says if schools decide not to enforce that plan theyd be in danger of losing state aid. Clover School District spokesperson Bryan Dillion says his administrators already had a similar plan. At the elementary and middle school level, well continue with what weve done all along. They wont be allowed to have access to their phones throughout the school day. They have to be put away, said Dillion. PREVIOUS: SC Board of Education threatens to take away funding if cellphone ban not met Clover schools open their doors on Aug. 1. Dillion says high school students will feel the biggest impact of the policy. No phones during the class day. The only time theyll have the ability to use that in Clover is at lunchtime, he said. State officials say a survey sent to teachers in June reported more than 90 percent of teachers support a policy limiting cellphone access 55% supported a complete ban during the school day. For now, South Carolina school districts are awaiting a detailed plan. They wont get it until at least September or October, and it will need to be implemented no later than January 2025. CellPhonePolicyMemoDownload We are a 1-to-1 technology district. So every student has an iPad or a Macbook. Anything that they might have been able to do on their phone, theyll still be able to do with their iPads and their MacBooks. So thats not going to create a necessary change to the instruction in how our staff work, he said. Clover students can still communicate with their parents through their student email. Chesterfield County students return to school with new rules in place Its not been an issue. Its something that has been a rule. And its been followed very well through the years, Dillon said. Education officials are also pushing a book regulation requiring all reading material to be age or developmentally appropriate possibly eliminating works like Romeo and Juliet or Junie B. Jones books. Any parent with a child enrolled in a public K-12 school in the state can challenge up to five titles a month if they feel they violate those terms. Dillion says the district will follow that policy. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Southern California man accused of stealing deputys gun, firing it at her A man from Victorville was arrested and is facing charges for allegedly stealing the service weapon from a San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department deputy and then firing the stolen gun at her. Ari Aki Young, 26, faces three felony charges, including robbery, possession of a stolen firearm and ammunition, and discharging a firearm during the crime, which happened nearly five years ago. He was expected to appear in a United States District Court in Riverside Wednesday afternoon. According to the United States Department of Justice, on Sept. 4, 2019, Young was involved in a domestic disturbance involving his mother when the unnamed deputy arrived on scene. According to the federal criminal complaint filed earlier this week, Youngs mother called 911 and pleaded for help removing him from her home. The victim, a female sheriffs deputy who weighed 135 pounds, responded to the call alone, the DOJ wrote in a news release issued Wednesday. The deputy attempted to check Young for weapons, but he resisted and threatened to heabutt her, the DOJ says. Young then forcefully knocked away the deputys baton and began to pummel her in the head and face with his fists, the news release states. While being punched in the face and head, the victim unholstered her weapon and warned that she would shoot. Instead of stopping, Young knocked the victim to the ground and straddled the top of her and grappled with her, trying to take her gun from her. Video captured by a neighbor shows the violent assault on a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy in which her firearm was taken by a suspect who shot at her with it on Sept. 4, 2019. (@esteebanana) Video captured by a neighbor shows the violent assault on a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy in which her firearm was taken by a suspect who shot at her with it on Sept. 4, 2019. (@esteebanana) During that struggle, two shots were fired from the service weapon, which Young allegedly ripped from the deputys grip. After stealing the firearm, Young allegedly stood upright racked the gun and pointed it at the deputy as she stumbled back to her feet. The deputy pleaded for her life and then tried to run away from him, charging documents state. Young then fired a shot in her direction. Video captured by a neighbor shows the violent assault on a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy in which her firearm was taken by a suspect who shot at her with it on Sept. 4, 2019. (@esteebanana) He kept the gun in his hand, racked it again and walked toward more deputies who had arrived on scene and fired a shot into the air. Deputies ultimately opened fire on him, wounding him. He was treated for his injuries and recovered. The deputy suffered severe bruising during the encounter and ended up medically retiring from the force. Because Young fired in the direction of the deputy, the DOJ says he knowingly and willfully robbed the victim of her service weapon and ammunition which belonged to the Sheriffs Department, and did so by means of actual and threatened force. Christopher Bombardiere, special agent in charge of the L.A. Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, called the attack on the deputy as she attempted to help Youngs own mother vicious and inhumane. Violent individuals will be held accountable for their merciless attacks, Bombardiere said. ATF is committed to building cases against the ruthless individuals who have no regard for others lives. If convicted as charged, Young could face between 10 and 40 years in prison. The ATF is the lead investigating agency in the case. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) An area of the southwest Las Vegas valley was closed for a few hours after an LVMPD helicopter made an emergency landing in a residential area, police said. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers on board a police helicopter made a precautionary landing in the roadway on West Pebble Road, west of South Arville Street at around 10 a.m. Officers on board a police helicopter made a precautionary landing in the roadway on Pebble Road, west of Arville Street. (LVMPD) According to police, while conducting a routine flight over the valley, the pilot and Tactical Flight Officer heard the aircraft make a sound and felt vibration. Out of an abundance of caution, the pilot decided to land, closing the roadway for approximately three hours. There were no injuries reported to any officers or citizens, according to a post on the LVMPDs X account. Additionally, no property was damaged. Police said the helicopter was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and towed back to LVMPD Air Support where aircraft mechanics will inspect it. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. KSNF/KODE A Lawrence County woman is accused of threatening another woman with a machete. Heather Carpenter, 39, of Aurora, is charged with fourth-degree assault and armed criminal action. Heather Carpenter, 39. Police say they were called to a fight in progress at a Caseys convenience store in Aurora Tuesday morning. Thats where a woman told police she was nearly hit by a pickup truck that was tailgating her and followed her into the Caseys parking lot. Police say a witness tried to get in between the two after Carpenter pulled a machete on the woman and began kicking her vehicle. Officers say they saw the machete lying on the passenger seat of Carpenters truck. Court documents say Carpenter told police that old expletive will get whats coming to her. Shes being held in the Lawrence County Jail without bond. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. Sterilized tiger mosquitoes released in Spain to fight tropical diseases on the rise due to climate change Sterilized tiger mosquitoes released in Spain to fight tropical diseases on the rise due to climate change By Eva Manez and Horaci Garcia NAQUERA, Spain (Reuters) - A Spanish laboratory is breeding and sterilising thousands of tiger mosquitoes to fight dengue fever and other diseases as climate change encourages the invasive species to spread across Europe. Using an electron accelerator, the regional government-funded Biological Pest Control Centre in Valencia sterilises and releases about 45,000 male mosquitoes every week so they can pair with females - whose bite transmits diseases among humans - and eventually reduce the overall mosquito population. "It's a species that is becoming more common with climate change ... There is a favourable environment for its development for longer periods of time throughout the year and its populations are increasing all the time," said Vicente Dalmau of Valencia region's health, agriculture and fisheries department. The specimens for reproduction come from the region, and scientists then use a machine to separate female pupae from the males, before using radiation to sterilise the males. Sterilisation techniques have been used in other parts of the world but the lab, using its experience with fruit flies, is pioneering their use on tiger mosquitoes in Europe at a time of growing concern over a rise in mosquito-born diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya. Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shows an increase in cases imported from regions where dengue is endemic, as well as an increasing number of local outbreaks of West Nile virus and dengue in Europe. The striped tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus, is spreading north, east, and west in Europe, and now has self-sustaining populations in 13 countries, including Spain. The World Health Organization said last year that dengue rates were rising globally, with reported cases since 2000 up eightfold to 4.2 million in 2022, as a warmer climate is thought to help the mosquitoes multiply faster. (Reporting by Horaci Garcia and Eva Manez; Writing by Joan Faus and Andrei Khalip; editing by Giles Elgood) Online trackers watching prisoner movements in Russia have sounded the alarm over a possible prisoner swap with the West, with the whereabouts of multiple high-profile prisoners unknown, including those of American prisoner Paul Whelan. At least seven notable Russian dissidents have been moved unexpectedly in recent days in addition to Whelan and Russian-British prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza, Reuters reported. The exact location of Whelan and Kara-Murza are unknown, their attorneys told the wire service. Russian state media RIA also reported that attorneys for Alexander Vinnik a Russian imprisoned in the U.S. said he will soon be involved in an exchange, declining to specify his exact location. RIA said that information for four Russians imprisoned in the U.S. Vinnik, Maxim Marchenko, Vadim Konoshchenko and Vladislav Klyushin had disappeared from a federal Bureau of Prisons database. Whelan has been detained in Russia since 2018, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage. The U.S. government has denied that Whelan was involved in espionage operations. He had complained of being abandoned by the Biden administration after being left out of two previous prisoner exchanges with Russia. Whelan is the longest-imprisoned American in Russia whose charges have been disputed by the U.S. government. Kara-Murza is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason after criticizing the countrys invasion of Ukraine. His attorney, Vadim Prokhorov, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that Kara-Murzas legal team has not been allowed to see him, adding that he is scheduled for a court appearance on Thursday. Prokhorov speculated that his client may have been placed on a military flight flagged by online trackers headed for Moscow earlier Wednesday. Kara-Murzas last known whereabouts were in a prison hospital near Omsk, in Siberia, Prokhorov said. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield pressed the Russian foreign minister to release Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a U.N. meeting earlier this month. We will not rest until Paul and Evan come home, and Russia has ceased this barbaric practice of holding human pawns once and for all, Thomas-Greenfield said. And thats a promise. The last prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia was in 2022 to free WNBA star Brittney Griner. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A Springdale woman won big when she purchased a $20 ticket worth $350,000, according to a news release from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. M. Monroy purchased the winning ticket at Family Mart at 1405 West Shady Grove in Springdale. ASL said Monroy is a weekly player and decided to buy a $350,000 Riches ticket on a whim in hopes of a big win and ended up with the winning ticket. Jonesboro man claims largest win in Natural State Jackpot history Im still in shock, Monroy said. Everything has felt so surreal since yesterday. She claimed her winnings at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) Claim Center in Little Rock on July 29. Monroy said with her winnings she plans to return to college and help her parents. The same day a winner from Pine Bluff claimed a $200,000 prize and an anonymous Georgia resident won $1 million after purchasing a ticket at a gas station in Prescott. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) While the Illinois State Museum in Springfield temporarily closes for construction and asbestos removal, museum staff will travel to several local locations to bring the museums programs and exhibits to the community. The closure will begin on Thursday and is expected to last three months. Officials assured that fragile objects and artifacts near the sites of construction have been covered or put in storage. In the meantime, museum staff will move daily operations to the nearby Research and Collections Center. They will also travel to Vinegar Hill Mall, Lincoln Library, the Henson-Robinson Zoo, the Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site, and more. Springfield Friday Night Jazz & Blues concert lineup announced for August While we are sad to close the Illinois State Museum for a few months, were excited about the improvements to the building and thrilled for the opportunity to serve the community through special programming and events, said museum Acting Director Jenn Edginton. Our team has been hard at work so that we can continue to bring the spirt of the Illinois State Museum to the people we serve. So far, mobile museum programming will include a lunch-and-learn about all things Illinois State Museum, Fine Art Fridays and an Educators Book Club for teachers to learn about an array of subjects and earn professional development credits. To keep up with upcoming programs and special events, visit the Illinois State Museums website. Though Springfields Illinois State Museum facility will be closed for a while, the facilities at the Lockport Gallery in Will County and Dickson Mounds Museum in Fulton County remain open as usual during this time. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. BOSTON Included in the fiscal 2025 budget signed into law Monday by Gov. Maura Healey is $100,000 allotted to the state Department of Environmental Protection to create a study to determine how best to test private wells for contaminants. The study would determine how to test the 200,000 private wells in the state that serve more than a half-million residents. Most are located in Central and Western Massachusetts, but communities on Cape Cod and the islands also rely on well water, drawn from shallow aquifers that can be contaminated by fertilizers and septic systems. These need to be tested for contaminants ranging from heavy metals to PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been linked to cancer, advocates said. This is an important first step, said Amie Shei, president and CEO of the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, which supports legislation that would require the state to oversee the cleanliness of the water supply. Safe drinking water is something many of us take granted, yet the reality is that nearly half a million Massachusetts residents rely on unregulated drinking water from private wells that could be contaminated and potentially cause negative health impacts, Shei said. This funding is an important investment toward ensuring that all Massachusetts residents have access to safe drinking water regardless of where they live. Dr. Amie Shei of the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts discusses the dearth of testing of private wells in Massachusetts Sept. 20. Legislation filed in the session that ended Wednesday proposed requiring testing of private wells on real estate transfers as well as creating a fund to help homeowners remediate well contamination. Legislators are being urged to continue to file the measures in the coming session next year. The funding for the study was added to the budget by Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Marlborough, and Reps. Meghan Kilcoyne, D-Clinton, Smitty Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and Dan Sena, D-Acton. "I look forward to the results of the DEP study to help ensure residents who rely on private wells have safe drinking water, free from PFAS and other harmful chemicals, while also being mindful of the potentially high cost of well water remediation," Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Needham and chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said in a written statement. The funding gives the state DEP resources to chart a path on how to proceed with testing the private wells by the start of the new year. Currently, municipal health departments oversee private wells, and the state regulates well drillers. While the state offers guidelines on digging private wells, there are no substantive guidelines on water quality and testing. Currently, 93% of Massachusetts residents drink from public water suppliers, many of them accessing water from the Quabbin Reservoir. From 2020 to 2022, the Private Well Program to Protect Public Health, which received $1.5 million in funding from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, tested 502 private wells across the state and found that 32% had levels of contaminants that exceeded state health standards. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: MA budget includes 'first step' toward testing private wells SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Police and state leaders say gun violence is a growing problem across Pennsylvania. State leaders are working to combat the issue and on Wednesday, the lieutenant governor brought the message to Scranton. Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis says gun violence is the issue that drove him to public service. Gun violence came to my neighborhood and shattered my sense of safety and security as a young person, said Lieutenant Governor Davis. On Wednesday, the lieutenant governor brought his statewide Safer communities tour to Scranton to celebrate a major victory in the bipartisan state budget funding for after-school programs that will help keep communities safe and give Pennsylvania kids more opportunities. We need to continue to make sure we are driving our resources to support law enforcement, but we also need to make sure we are continuing our preventative measures, making sure we are investing in an equality education system, Lieutenant Governor Davis explained. This years budget includes $56,500,000 for gun violence intervention and prevention. For the first time we secured $11,500,000 to create a statewide building opportunity through out-of-school time program which will aim to reduce community violence by providing more after-school learning opportunities for our young people, Lieutenant Governor Davis continued. City and county leaders joined the panel to talk about other needs to reduce violence in our community. Harveys Lake crash leads to accusations against council member Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell says there are practical ways the Shapiro Administration can help. Quite frankly we are in dire needs of juvenile detention centers there are 13 across the state which is woefully inadequate, District Attorney Powell said. Peg Ruddy, the Executive Director of the Womens Resource Center is also concerned with offenders who are put back on the streets. Im really going to put myself out on a limb to say we need to dedicate resources to judicial training, Ruddy said. When it comes to supporting law enforcement, Scranton Police Chief Tom Carroll weighed in on how the state can help as many departments face recruitment and retention challenges. We do not want to lower our standards, for law enforcement, we must maintain our standards, but we have to work harder at recruiting, Chief Carroll stated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. INPRS has nearly 530,000 members from more than 13,000 public employers across the state. It manages more than $46.6 billion on their behalf. (Photo from the Indiana Public Retirement System website) The Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) finished shedding its $1.2 billion worth of investments in Chinese entities this month four years ahead of schedule state officials said Wednesday. Comptroller Elise Nieshalla and Treasurer Daniel Elliott, both Republicans, celebrated the pension systems speedy action following 2023 legislation requiring divestment. Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla speaks on July 23, 2024 at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) China is one of the foremost threats against our countrys national security, and INPRS has nobly exceeding the parameters set forth in the law by divesting Hoosiers pension dollars from China ASAP, Nieshalla said. By divesting from China and focusing on investments in countries that value the principles of democracy, capitalism and freedom, we are safeguarding the best financial interest of Hoosiers and our nation, Elliott said. They commended Senate Enrolled Act 268s authors GOP Sens. Chris Garten of Charlestown, Aaron Freeman of Indianapolis and Travis Holdman of Markle for passing this necessary, common-sense legislation. Garten also commended INPRS in a statement Wednesday for making quick work of this divestment. As tensions continue to rise between the U.S. and China, removing the possibility of China freezing U.S. assets and harming public employees is simply good policy, Garten said. It is extremely important for us to continue to protect Indianas economic stability and keep Hoosier money out of the hands of adversarial states. Pulling out of China INPRS has nearly 530,000 members from more than 13,000 public employers across the state. It manages more than $46.6 billion on their behalf. The legislation required the pension system to divest from any entities on a variety of federal lists of Chinese companies that do military or intelligence work, or that are controlled by the Chinese government and its ruling political party. The legislation additionally set out a timeline: divest from 50% of any holding within three years of discovering a banned connection to China, 75% within four years, and 100% by five years. INPRS did the work in about a year. The law went into effect upon passage May 1, 2023 and divestment was done by July 1, 2024, per the news release. INPRS spokesman Dimitri Kyser said the agency has fully divested from the investments in China required in the statute, and for investments that didnt require divestment, we continually evaluate the appropriate time to liquidate investments. He said the pension system didnt lose money offloading the investments so quickly. The investments that required divestment were in public markets and therefore were generally more liquid, so INPRS was able to execute sales in the ordinary course of business, Kyser explained. And the system has reinvested the money, in accordance with its board-approved strategic asset allocation guidelines, which Kyser said are designed to maintain an appropriate level of geographic diversity to meet the Systems risk and return objectives. Garten noted several other states have modeled legislation after Indianas effort in the last year, including Florida, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. It is great to see Indiana lead the charge on an issue that impacts not only Hoosiers, but all Americans, he said. International affairs prominent in INPRS legislation China is not the only country from which INPRS has divested. Indiana Treasurer Daniel Elliott. (Nathan Gotsch/Fort Wayne Politics) State law bans investments in Sudan, and the system pulled out of Ukraine following Russias 2022 invasion. INPRS lost $200 million in two months in the sudden wars financial chaos. The pension system also follows other special instructions. It complies with federal Biden- and Trump-era restrictions on Chinese military companies and surveillance technology businesses, as well as a public trading ban on foreign companies with opaque public accounting firms. INPRS also follows state rules barring investment in companies that use environmental, social and governmental considerations in investment decisions; anti-Israeli companies; and countries that sponsor terrorism. Note: This article has been updated with comments from INPRS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX There are 75 local conservation districts in Arkansas, with each responsible for ensuring soil and water conservation for the state's residents. However, doing so is a lot harder when you don't have the necessary funding, and officials are concerned that budget cuts will reduce their ability to protect natural resources. What's happening? According to the Arkansas Advocate, state conservationists are increasingly worried that high-ranking leaders will slash funding for protection initiatives if they are deemed low value when it comes to deciding where to make budget cuts. In a state that heavily relies on agriculture, a lack of available money for conservation could be devastating, even if allocating funds elsewhere is done with the best intentions. "From their perspective, they're saying, 'I'm taking care of my agency; I'm taking care of my folks,'" Debbie Moreland, program coordinator for the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts, told the Advocate. "That's just the reality of it, but I think they're missing the point that we're a predominantly agricultural state and these conservation practices make a huge difference." With the 2025-27 biennial budget upcoming, Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called on department directors to "identify savings." Although insufficient funding wouldn't shut down the conservation districts since they were established by federal law their functionality would be almost destroyed without adequate financial support. Why are budget cuts for conservation districts concerning? Over $1 million goes toward water quality projects annually, according to the Advocate. While this is undoubtedly important, that doesn't leave a lot left to go to other conservation efforts. Indeed, the Advocate noted around $12,000 will remain for each conservation district in the 2025 fiscal year. For departments that handle flood-plain management, come up with soil and water management plans, and handle improvement works on dams, levees, ditches, and pumping stations, that's not a lot to work with. With rising global temperatures leading to increased risk and intensity of extreme weather conditions such as droughts and flooding effective soil and water management is essential to support natural ecosystems and make agricultural land more fertile when facing these challenges. What can be done to protect conservation districts? Contacting your local representatives to make your voice heard about crucial local issues can put pressure on lawmakers and officials to enact meaningful change. That includes ensuring conservation districts are appropriately funded and calling for more renewable energy projects in your area. Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. Maryland State Education Association President Paul Lemle. MSEA photo. The Maryland State Education Association is under new management. Beginning Thursday, the powerful teachers union has a new president, Paul Lemle, and a new vice president, Nikki Woodward. They replace Cheryl Bost, who had been union president for the past six years, and Theresa Mitchell Dudley, whom Lemle defeated in a statewide vote for the presidency earlier this year. Lemle is a Howard County social studies teacher who had been president of the Howard County Education Association from 2011-2017. A working musician who changed careers to become an educator, Lemle first taught incarcerated youth in Louisiana and Washington before coming to Maryland two decades ago. He has also worked in special education and as an education support professional. Lemle is a cancer survivor who said he understands firsthand the importance of good benefits and a stable career for Maryland teachers. Nikki Woodward, vice president of the Maryland State Education Association. MSEA photo. Working in our public schools should be a viable, rewarding, and well-respected career, he said. This is good for our schools and lays the foundation for every student no matter who they are, what they look like, or where theyre from to pursue their dreams. Investing in our schools and educators is the foundation of a better future for our students and for all of Maryland. Woodward is an early intervention infant and toddler specialist for vision/visual perceptual disabilities or developmental delays in Montgomery County. In a statement, she called public education an equalizer for all learners, and we must provide them with the opportunity to become their greatest selves. Woodward most recently served as the Montgomery County Education Association vice president. With 75,000 members, the MSEA is one of the most politically potent unions in Maryland, whose endorsement is regularly sought after by Democratic candidates. It can also be widely influential on policy. Bost was a huge supporter of the Blueprint for Marylands Future education reform plan, and through the years the union has mobilized teachers from across the state to come to Annapolis in support of the plan. Anti-abortion protesters gather outside A Preferred Womens Health Center of Atlanta in Forest Park. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) In the two years since Roe v. Wades overturn, states have increased public funding for anti-abortion centers the non-medical facilities meant to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancies by close to $500 million, according to a new analysis. The analysis was compiled by Equity Forward, a research organization that supports abortion rights and specifically tracks anti-abortion centers, which are also known as crisis pregnancy centers. Researchers used state budget documents and legislation to track how much money has been invested in these centers since 1995, the first year they could verify public funding for them. These facilities have become a flashpoint in the two years since Roes demise brought the end of federal abortion rights. They typically offer free pregnancy tests and sonograms, and some also provide parenting classes or diapers. But they are not regulated under the same standards as medical facilities and do not always employ staff health professionals. This report was originally published by The 19th. The Illuminator is a founding member of The 19th News Network. That means those ultrasounds can be inaccurate and they can come with counseling meant to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancies. Still, in some states with abortions bans, pregnant patients including those seeking terminations have said such centers offer the only affordable option in their region for getting an ultrasound. Even before the fall of Roe, these centers outnumbered abortion clinics three-to-one, according to research from the University of Georgia. Now, with abortion almost totally outlawed in 14 states and significantly restricted in several more, abortion opponents have pushed for boosting state funding for these centers. Some have tried to open new facilities in states seeing an uptick in abortion patients. Conservative lawmakers, skittish about the political backlash associated with pushing for unpopular new bans, have heeded abortion opponents call to promote these centers instead. Measures expanding funding for these centers were the most common form of anti-abortion legislation promoted in state governments this year, with nine states boosting financial support, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive health policy. The new report shines light on how successful those efforts have been, painting a picture of dramatic growth in just a few years. Sign up for The 19th News daily newsletter. From 1995 to 2024, researchers found, states collectively put more than $1 billion into backing these centers. Some solely used state funds while others also repurposed federal funds allocated through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Specifically since Roes fall in 2022, state funding has risen: $489 million was allocated in the last two years, as 19 states poured funding into anti-abortion centers. The largest increases are clustered in the southern states of Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, all of which have tight abortion restrictions. The procedure is almost entirely outlawed in Missouri, Tennessee and Texas; illegal past six weeks of pregnancy in Florida; and outlawed for people beyond 12 weeks of pregnancy in North Carolina. According to the report, Tennessees publicly-funded anti-abortion program, which launched in 2021, has increased funding by more than $23 million in the past two years. North Carolina has spent about $49 million since 2013 to support anti-abortion centers; more than $33 million of that was allocated after the summer of 2022. And Texas, the largest state to ban abortion, has spent about $438 million on supporting anti-abortion centers since 2005, with close to half of that money allocated in the past two years, researchers found. Its really alarming. States have chosen to take millions of dollars from comprehensive maternal health, and instead funnel money into anti-abortion centers without much oversight or accountability, said Ashley Underwood, Equity Forwards director. The impact is visible, said Kathy Kleinfeld, who runs a reproductive health clinic in Houston. While her staff can no longer provide abortions, they still counsel patients about the option, including sharing which clinics in nearby states could terminate their pregnancies. For one thing, Kleinfeld said, online advertisements from anti-abortion clinics are far more common than they were a few years ago. They are actively, aggressively coming up on the first page, always after doing the first search for abortion pill, or abortion clinic anything, she said. Anytime youre searching any of those major keywords, theres at least three to four anti-abortion centers. Increasingly, she has to direct her employees to warn patients who are calling around for appointments to make sure they do not go to one of those centers instead. Even if the centers can offer a visit sooner, she said, the information they provide may not be accurate. Kleinfeld said that even prior to Roes overturn, she often saw patients come to her clinic with inaccurate ultrasound readings they got from one of those centers. In one case, before Texas outlawed abortion, a young woman believed she was 8 weeks pregnant but when Kleinfeld and her staff viewed the ultrasound, they learned she was actually 20 weeks along. At the time, the state had banned abortions for anyone 20 weeks or more pregnant. We have this loose $438 million being funneled into these centers who are supposedly yes theyre not providing abortion, but theyre providing education and counseling and medical services, she said, referring to Texas spending. What kind of training do these people have? And whos overseeing them? Civil rights lawyers representing people incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center filed a court motion on Wednesday requesting that the state transfer or release them no later than Sept. 20, citing the aging prisons degradation and deterioration. The state has announced plans to tear down the sprawling facility in Crest Hill, near Joliet, and build a new prison on the Stateville site as part of a nearly $1 billion project that would also include demolishing Logan Correctional Center in downstate Lincoln, a womens prison, and possibly rebuilding it on the Stateville grounds. Lawyers for the Stateville inmates are trying to force the state to move ahead on the plan quickly, arguing the living conditions for people incarcerated at the nearly century-old prison are appalling. Right now theres over 420 residents at Stateville who are at risk of dire injury due to the structural vulnerabilities, degradation and deterioration of those buildings that put them at risk of serious physical injury or even death, attorney Heather Lewis Donnell said in a news conference at the law firm Loevy + Loevy. While the motion is premised on these decaying buildings, we also know that every condition at Stateville the water, the excessive temperatures, heat and cold, the vermin, the birds are all exacerbated and compounded when the structure is not secure and when it is vulnerable. The states project to tear down and rebuild the two prisons is expected to take three to five years. In addition to the lack of a start date, state officials have not laid out a plan for how those housed in the prison will be handled during the transition. The motion filed Wednesday asks the court to direct the Illinois Department of Corrections to come up with a plan that details the transfer of all (plaintiffs) from Stateville to another facility and/or their release by August 12. The motion also calls for the court to direct IDOC to transfer and/or release all (plaintiffs) from Stateville by no later than September 20. An IDOC spokesperson declined to comment on the motion. State officials have said the process of closing Stateville could begin as early as September. At Wednesdays news conference, former Stateville inmates shared complaints about the prisons conditions that included falling concrete, electrical outages and a lack of ventilation amid excessive heat. Advocates say some of those conditions contributed to the death of 51-year-old Michael Broadway, who was incarcerated at the facility and died during a June heat wave. The Will County coroners office has not released a cause of death for Broadway, who graduated last year from Northwestern Universitys Prison Education program. I know from my experience, the heat, the way it was, and Michael having passed perhaps due to the heat, I really want to see that Stateville is closed and that no other harm comes there, said James Soto, who was incarcerated for more than 40 years after being wrongfully convicted in a 1981 double homicide before being released from the prison last year. This is really a public health issue, a safety issue of those that are in there. Benard McKinley, who was also formerly incarcerated at Stateville, said the prison has so many inhumane conditions that it has to close. When that water comes down and goes for that foundation it creates what is called black mold, so when you go in these cells and you have black mold in your cells, they contribute to respiratory issues, McKinley said, noting Broadways respiratory problems. These conditions is pure torture. The court motion describes floors, beds and sinks covered in bird feathers and excrement and discolored, bad-smelling drinking water from faucets. Although some repairs have been made at Stateville, the facility continues to be extremely dangerous, according to the motion. The structural damage and disrepair to Statevilles many compromised buildings pose an ongoing risk to (plaintiffs), as well as those employed there. In one of the footnotes of the motion, plaintiffs alleged the state has stopped investing in quality care for the living and common areas and that since Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the plan to close the prison, staff has stopped coming to work or has refused to do their jobs while at the prison, leaving (the plaintiffs) to suffer in abject conditions. Asked about the court motion at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday, Pritzker said the safety concerns at Stateville are the very reasons why were taking action to replace Stateville and Logan and why were going to have to continue to make upgrades and changes in our Department of Corrections. But he stopped short of offering specifics as to when Stateville could be shut down. We want to make sure that were doing it in the right way, in the way that keeps people safe but also moves us forward with the broader plan with the Department of Corrections, Pritzker said. Meanwhile, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, a union that represents IDOC employees, disagreed with the idea of relocating people incarcerated at Stateville at this time. Instead, the union said it supports building a new prison on the Stateville grounds while keeping the current facility open during construction and continuing to make repairs as needed. We have not seen any sound rationale for beginning to move individuals in custody out of Stateville Correctional Center. There is no evidence that these individuals would be safer elsewhere in the system, AFSCME said in a statement. Deferred maintenance is a problem throughout the Department of Corrections, as are staffing shortages and outbreaks of violence. DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A band volunteer at Steelton-Highspire High School is accused of making sexual advancements toward students, according to court documents. Raymond Green Jr. 31, of Steelton, is accused of making a girl student inappropriately touch him, saying that he would want to have sex with a student, and sending inappropriate messages over social media, Swatara Township Police said in the charges filed. Green Jr. was an adult school band volunteer, and he would attend sporting events as well as after-school practices, according to a criminal complaint. Police arrest naked man running through Cumberland County street One of the alleged incidents happened on a bus after a game when police said Green was sitting next to a student and made sexual remarks towards her, including how she should come over to his house. According to the complaint, the principal reported to the SRO on May 6 about Green making unwanted alleged sexual advances towards a student. The female student reported they were getting sexual messages from Green and that the messaging between them began in January. When Green was interviewed, police said he admitted to talking to students and also making a sexual comment towards one of them. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Daily Digest Green faces multiple felony charges that include institutional sexual assault schools, corruption of minors, and unlawful contact. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault without the consent of another person. Green was arraigned Tuesday and had his unsecured bail set at $5,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAJ) The Biden administration announced Thursday the release of United States prisoners, however, Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel, was not one of them. Americans Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Paul Whelan, a former Marine, Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist and U.S. citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist, were released as part of one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the Cold War. The Americans were being held in Russia, where Fogel remains. The 24-person prisoner swap included the United States, Russia, Germany and three other Western countries. MORE COVERAGE: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan released in massive US-Russia prisoner exchange U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) was very vocal about the fact that Fogel is among many prisoners who arent returning home. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey said. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. Casey has been pushing the Biden administration to prioritize Fogels case since he was detained in August 2021. Last July, Casey introduced a bipartisan concurrent resolution that called for his immediate release and passed the Senate unanimously this June. In a one-on-one with WTAJ, Casey added the following regarding Thursdays news. Im still very troubled that Marc Fogel was not a part of this. Im going to continue to press the administration, to prioritize Marc Fogels case, Casey said. To get him home no matter what it takes. Were going to continue to press and press and press, and I think the administration has an obligation. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. In addition to Fogel, CBS News said there are still Americans in Russian Prisons, including musician Michael Leak, U.S. Army staff sergeant Gordon Black and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Your Stories Q&A: Has work stopped on Manlius Starbucks and WellNow? MANLIUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) You ask, we answer! We keep getting questions about the Starbucks and WellNow project in Manlius. Viewers are wondering if construction has come to a halt, again. A three-phase development, known as Fayette Street PUD (Planned Unit Development) is being built on Fayette Street (92) near the Highbridge Road split. Phase 1 calls for a Starbucks and WellNow Urgent Care. Construction started more than a year ago. The buildings are up and appear to be nearing completion, however, there are no crews currently on site. Whats the holdup? Code and Zoning Enforcement Official Mike Decker with the Village of Manlius said the project is waiting on a water connection. The developer is finalizing an easement agreement with an adjacent property owner to supply water for both buildings. Once the easement is finalized and water lines are in place, phase 1 (Starbucks & WellNow) construction will wrap up quickly, Decker said in an email to the Your Stories Team. Construction was also temporarily halted last November due to water connection issues. Decker said the developer, Caliber Commercial Brokerage, originally wanted to run water lines under Fayette Street, while that road was being milled and paved. Decker said the developer and Central New Yorks Water Authority (OCWA) made multiple permit attempts to the New York State Department of Transportation, but were denied access. The Your Stories Team reached out to Caliber Commercial Brokerage to get an update on the construction timeline, but are inquiries were not answered by the time we published this article. Well keep you updated! Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. As heat builds, fires rage and spotty thunderstorms associated with the North American monsoon continue in the western United States, AccuWeather meteorologists are tracking a storm system that may help ease the tinder-dry conditions in some areas but increase dangers in others this weekend. A surge of moisture with origins from Mexico and the tropical Pacific will stream northward across California and Nevada into Saturday night. "Along with raising humidity levels in California and part of Nevada, it will lead to an uptick in showers and thunderstorms," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said. "While the setup will bring the usual risk of lightning strikes, which could start new fires and gusty winds that could fan the flames of existing fires, it may bring more rainfall to more areas than what typically occurs during the monsoon," Zehr explained, "The combination of higher humidity levels and rainfall can help to ease the fire threat in some cases." On Friday, a batch of clouds and showers was seen spreading across portions of California and Nevada from NOAA's GOES-WEST weather satellite. The clouds spanned from the Grand Canyon, over Las Vegas and into central California. Weather satellites showed clouds and showers over part of the West on Friday morning. (NOAA) Most of the rainfall may be confined to the Sierra Nevada and its foothills from the storm. On Saturday afternoon, South Lake Tahoe, California, picked up 0.60 of an inch of rain, with nearly 0.30 of an inch falling on Big Bear City, California. As it advances into the Northwest later this weekend and finally across the northern Rockies by early next week, it may have little moisture left. Away from the clouds, showers and thunderstorms, the heat dome will build and strengthen in the West. Temperatures will trend upward, following a slight downward slide from last weekend to the start of the week. For example, most days through Monday will challenge daily record highs in Boise, Idaho. Highs will routinely top 100 F. Temperatures on at least one day may come within a few degrees of the all-time record high of 111 set in July of 1898 and 1960. Temperatures will climb to near 110 in Las Vegas through at least Tuesday, which will be 5 degrees above the historical average. Highs most days during the same period in Salt Lake City will range from 100 to 105, which is 5-10 degrees above the historical average and some daily record highs may be challenged. The heat is forecast to continue over much of the West this week. "In the Northwest, this feature may cause more problems than benefits, as more of the thunderstorms that occur will tend to have little or no rain but pack the gusty winds and lightning strikes that are problems for wildfires and firefighting efforts," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP At least 95 large active wildfires were being managed with full suppression strategies nationwide as of the start of August, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Nationwide, current fires have burned 2,180,281acres. So far this year, 29,278 wildfires have burned 4,512,854 acres. People have caused more than 25,000 wildfires that have burned nearly 3 million acres. Lightning ignited about 2,740 wildfires and burned 1.1 million acres. The majority of the wildfires this season in the U.S. have been west of the Mississippi River. The Park Fire in California spread rapidly and has burned nearly 400,000 acres alone, according to the NIFC. Active fires in Oregon have burned nearly 1 million acres. The existing fires are spewing out huge amounts of smoke over the western U.S. Much of this smoke has been and will continue to be trapped by the heat dome. At times, the smoke will reach down to ground level, exposing many individuals to major health hazards. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Parliament's decision to strip a jailed opposition lawmaker of his seat is "null and void", Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled, prompting calls by his lawyer and the opposition for his release and return to the assembly. Can Atalay was sentenced in 2022 after being convicted of trying to overthrow the government by allegedly organising the nationwide Gezi Park protests in 2013 with philanthropist Osman Kavala, also now jailed, and six others. All deny the charges. In January, parliament stripped Atalay of his seat following a judicial ruling. Atalay, 48, was elected to parliament in May last year to represent the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) while serving an 18-year prison sentence. The Constitutional Court had ruled in October that the imprisonment of the elected lawmaker violated his rights to security, liberty and the right to be elected. A detailed ruling by the court, published in Turkey's Official Gazette on Thursday, said the decision of the Court of Cassation not to implement the higher court's October judgment had no legal value. "Can Atalay should be released and sworn in as an MP. All his rights should be restored," Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said on Thursday in a post on X. Atalay's lawyer Deniz Ozen told Reuters the Constitutional Court ruling stated that keeping the lawmaker in prison and stripping Atalay of his status as deputy was not legal. "The court's ruling paves the way for his release," he said, adding that Istanbul's 13th Criminal Court would make the final decision. Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled twice, in October and December, that Atalay's imprisonment violated his right to be elected. But the Court of Cassation's refusal to release him on both occasions stoked a judicial crisis. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Burcu Karakas; editing by Daren Butler and Mark Heinrich) EAST LANSING Mich. (WLNS) Officials with Michigan State University say the school does not invest in the State of Israel despite months of student protests demanding divestment from the country. University officials met with the Hurriya Coalition today, who say they have been protesting for nine months asking for divestment. Jesse Estrada-White is a member and spoke about his frustrations with the school. (WLNS) $598 million of their endowment that we have an issue with, said Estrada-White. The vast majority of it comes from hedge funds, global equities, different fund managers that invest heavily in weapons. MSUs chief investment officer, Phil Zecher, said when it comes to stocks they hire professional fund managers who invest in mutual funds. We own something like two, three thousand companies through various funds. were making decisions on big global strategy pieces, not on individual securities, Zecher said. Zecher explained that if the school asked the managers to divest from a particular stock, the fund managers would simply tell the school they would have to leave the entire mutual fund. They very likely will say well you just have to leave, Zecher said. (WLNS) Zecher said some funds exclude certain things but they are not performing well. Students said they also have an issue with a bond labeled as State of Israel Aid. Zecher explained that in 2003, Israel wanted to refinance their debt and offered a bond. It was purchased, and then years later the Universitys fund managers bought the bond. Zecher said that now Israel pays the school. By us owning this bond, we are not continuing to send money to Israel, its the other way around, Zecher said. Members of the Hurriya Coalition, like Saba Saed, say they dont feel the school has been transparent. They said every time they speak with MSU officials, they get a different explanation. Im not sure why there is such an effort to defend, deflect, or create your own narrative when you could simply tell the truth, like hey this is bringing us money, Saed said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) It may seem like summer has just begun, but more than 10,000 students will return to the classroom on Thursday morning under a year-round modified calendar. Over 8,000 students in Georgetown County head back to school with new leadership, a new cellphone policy, and additional safety measures. Dr. Bethany Giles was named interim superintendent for the Georgetown County School District over the summer after Keith Price accepted a job in another district. She has over 23 years of experience in education. This is home. Its a pleasure to always be home, but Im looking forward to serving and leading our team to greater accomplishments and successes together, Dr. Giles said. One-on-one with Georgetown County School Superintendent Dr. Bethany Giles Georgetown County was among the first local school districts to implement a modified year-round calendar last year. While that schedule continues this year, there is a minor change for academic support days an opportunity for more students to take advantage of remediation opportunities. They have also implemented safety monitors in the four high schools to set up weapons detection and run metal detectors. There is also a Green Tag Bus System in place this year for grades K through 2nd. Students will have green tags to help school bus drivers know which guardian they can safely exit the bus with. Students will not be allowed to use cell phones or other devices that are not authorized for classroom use this year. Williamsburg Countys nearly 2,000 students also return to school on Thursday morning with calendar changes and enhanced safety measures. They sampled the modified year-round calendar model last year, but this will be the first full year with the changes. Were using a new modified calendar, which really means it seems like yesterday we got out of school. We think this is going to enhance the learning experience of our students, said Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Wymbs, who is in his third year as the districts leader. Dr. Wymbs said they lost about 2,000 students during the coronavirus pandemic and they are working hard to get those students back into the classroom. Still, they are excited about academic gains over the past few years. We continue to improve and were excited. Our scores are embargoed, but I think the community is really going to be excited to see the work of all our stakeholders. Its a group act. Its our community, our teachers, administrators, our students, our custodians, everybody plays a role in this organization, he said. One-on-one with Williamsburg County School Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Wymbs The district added metal detectors and implemented a clear bag policy and a no hoodie policy. They will add resource officers to elementary schools that means there will be an SRO in every school in the district. We are adding SROs in every school, and I think thats important. That will be new. Were upgrading our SROs, the capacity of our SROs, said Dr. Wymbs. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Texas National Guard soldiers stand on patrol near the bank of the Rio Grande on April 2, 2024 in El Paso, Texas. A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue in 2022. The findings run counter to anti-immigrant rhetoric that immigrants who inter the U.S. illegally hurt social programs. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes fund. The findings run counter to anti-immigrant rhetoric that undocumented immigrants are destroying social programs. In 40 states, undocumented immigrants paid higher tax rates than the top 1% of the income scale in those states, according to a study released Tuesday from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning, nonprofit think tank. The study, which uses estimates of undocumented immigrants tax contributions as of 2022, shows those totaled $96.7 billion that year. Study authors also found that undocumented immigrants would contribute $40.2 billion more per year in federal, state and local taxes if all of the undocumented population had access to work authorization. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reasoned that this boost would come from higher wages associated with employment authorization and easier compliance with income tax laws. The report also shed further light on the tax revenue provided by undocumented immigrants on the state and local level. Undocumented immigrants are paying 46% of their state and local tax payments through sales and excise taxes. Six states New Jersey, New York, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois were able to raise more than $1 billion each in tax revenue from undocumented immigrants, the nonprofit said. Undocumented immigrants pay property taxes and sales taxes, and federal payroll taxes taken from their wages, as well as income tax returns using Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers. Despite those payroll taxes funding Medicare, Social Security, and Unemployment Insurance, undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in and receive regular benefits from these social programs. They can also face barriers to getting tax refunds, including getting scammed by unscrupulous tax preparers who target immigrant communities, said Jackie Vimo, senior analyst of economic justice policy at the National Immigration Law Center in a media call on the report. There are tons of laws that prevent undocumented workers from getting benefits said Richard C. Auxier, a principal policy associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank that was not involved in the study. They get a lot of political attention. At the end of the day, theyre just normal people paying normal taxes. Alexis Tsoukalas, senior policy analyst at Florida Policy Institute, a nonprofit focused on economic mobility for Floridians, told reporters on Monday that she was struck by how much the state collected from undocumented immigrants in taxes compared to the wealthiest in the state. The current tax rate for undocumented immigrants in Florida is 8% compared to the top 1% of the state at 2.7%. This means hundreds of thousands of everyday people are contributing more than their share to public services they cannot even access meanwhile those with the most to give and the most to benefit contribute the least, Tsoukalas said. The study was released in the backdrop of a political climate where states have passed laws to arrest people who they suspect of entering the U.S. illegally, which has been a federal power, the Biden administration announced an executive action to allow for the deportation of many asylum seekers without processing their claims, and the 2024 Republican Party platform promises the largest deportation operation in American history if former President Donald Trump is reelected over presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Tax policy will also be front and center for Congress and the White House next year as provisions of Trumps tax law, passed in 2017, are set to expire. Aside from the human cost of deportations on families, policy experts and researchers are making the case that undocumented immigrants are a boon to the economy, making it an economic cost as well. Immigration and economic experts who spoke about the significance of the report on Monday highlighted the Congressional Budget Offices July report on the rise in immigration and its effects on the economy and budget, which found that this increase in immigration would add $1.2 trillion in federal revenue from 2024 to 2034. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said there are economic ripple effects to consider in the deportation of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. beyond taxes. If you deported someone and theyre no longer making taxable purchases in their community, that number would reflect a reduction in their sales tax payments to the community but it wouldnt capture that second ripple effect of the business has less profits because they have fewer customers, Davis said in a media call on the study. Auxier said that researchers have found children in an undocumented immigrant household are receiving education benefits that could be larger than the tax payments of the lower income working adults, but that this is more of an income issue than a specific immigration issue. The other side of that coin, Auxier notes, is that in the future, undocumented households may in fact give back more than they received. Those same studies tend to note that if the children go to school and they then go get jobs, now the American household is giving more than it got because the parents came here, worked, paid into Social Security, Medicare, and didnt get any benefits, he said. The kid went to school and then they got a job and then they started earning enough money that they were a net contributor. Policy experts also pointed to a labor shortage 8.1 million job openings and 6.8 million unemployed workers as a reason to embrace the economic contributions of undocumented immigrants. South Dakota, North Dakota, Maryland, Vermont, Maine, and South Carolina are some of the states facing the greatest labor shortages, according to a Washington Post analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Immigrants are already filling that [labor] gap and if we have mass deportations where millions of immigrants are torn from their family members and the country they have made home, we will not only have the human impact of this but well have a severe effect on the economy and available workforce, said Vimo of the National Immigration Law Center, a group that focuses on racial, economic and social justice for low-income immigrants. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Summit Carbon Solutions plans to build a 2,000-mile network of CO2 pipelines across the Midwest to capture carbon produced by ethanol plants and then sequester it underground in North Dakota. About 28 miles would be in Minnesota. (Courtesy of Summit Carbon Solutions) Minnesota agencies have released an environmental impact statement and set hearings on a small section of a huge project to capture carbon from ethanol plants in five states for underground storage in North Dakota. The environmental impact report filed Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce says the Summit Carbon Solutions project would have a net benefit on greenhouse gas emissions. The CO2 sequestered from ongoing annual operations would outweigh construction and operation emissions. This benefit would vary depending on the capture rate and final end use of the captured CO2, the report says. One potential end use would be for enhanced oil recovery, using the carbon dioxide to get more oil production from wells in North Dakota. The report says Summit has indicated it doesnt intend to market the carbon dioxide for industrial use. Summit has stated the pipeline could be used for that purpose in the future. Summit says the pipeline is needed to help ethanol plants lower their carbon intensity score and sell fuel for a premium price in low-carbon fuel markets. The pipeline would capture carbon from the Green Plains ethanol plant at Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The study concludes by saying that the ethanol plant could also reduce its carbon score by lowering its energy use and using renewable energy and using corn grown using climate friendly practices. While the EIS was compiled by the Department of Commerce, it is the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that will make a decision on Summits permit application, likely by the end of the year, the report says. The application is for about 28 miles of pipeline in Otter Tail and Wilkin counties in northwest Minnesota, starting at the Green Plains plant. It would cross into North Dakota south of Breckenridge. It is part of an $8 billion project to capture carbon from 57 plants in five states with about 2,500 miles of pipeline. The underground storage area is planned to be northwest of Bismarck in western North Dakota. The Minnesota PUC has public hearings planned for Aug. 20-21 and evidentiary hearings Aug. 22-23. A comment period is open through Sept. 11. Sarah Mooradian is the government relations and policy director for CURE, a Minnesota environmental group that opposes the pipeline. She said the evidentiary hearings will include expert testimony from Summit and CURE and cross examination of those witnesses. CURE released a statement Thursday on what it feels are shortcomings in the environmental report, which is similar to a previously released draft report. In the Draft EIS released earlier this year, it was clear that the agency staff who prepared it had no expertise assessing this kind of project, and had not hired contractors who did credible work, said Hudson Kingston, legal director at CURE. Garbage in garbage out is not an acceptable standard for an environmental review that will be the baseline for all future assessments of this kind of infrastructure in the state. Iowa-based Summit released this statement on the EIS: Summit Carbon Solutions respects the comprehensive review process undertaken in the final Environmental Impact Statement and appreciates the thorough assessment of our projects potential impacts. We look forward to participating in the upcoming PUC hearings and are excited about the opportunities this project will create, including opening access to new markets for farmers and improving farm incomes. Summits project would take advantage of federal tax credits of $85 per ton of carbon dioxide that is sequestered. The project has been delayed as Summit attempts to obtain the necessary permits. The North Dakota Public Service Commission rejected a permit application in 2023. A decision on a rehearing of that application is pending with the PSC. The North Dakota Industrial Commission also would need to issue a permit for the storage area. A North Dakota environmental and property rights group, the Dakota Resource Council, held a rally in opposition to the pipeline Saturday in Bismarck. A concern of some property owners is the potential use of eminent domain to force landowners to provide right-of-way for the pipeline. But under Minnesota law, eminent domain is not an option for Summit. In July, Summit gained approval in Iowa but that decision is being appealed. South Dakota voters will weigh in on a pipeline-related property rights bill this fall. Some property owners have expressed concerns about safety from a rupture of the hazardous liquid pipeline, effects on property values and damage to farmland. The environmental report says that if the pipeline were to rupture, some nearby homes could have CO2 concentrations high enough to be immediately dangerous to life or health. The report makes several comparisons to the pipeline rupture in Sataria, Mississippi, that sickened dozens of residents. It notes that the Mississippi rupture was caused by heavy rain and a landslide, but that the route area being studied is mostly flat. The 28-mile section of pipeline in Minnesota would be just 4 inches in diameter. The Mississippi pipeline was 24 inches in diameter. The main branch of the Summit pipeline also would be 24 inches. Summit has plans for another section of pipeline that would connect ethanol plants in west-central and southern Minnesota. It has not filed an application with the PUC for that area. How the public can participate The final environmental impact statement is available on the Minnesota Department of Commerce website. The final EIS will also be available for viewing at the Breckenridge Public Library and Fergus Falls Public Library. In-person public hearing 6 p.m. Aug. 20 Bigwood Event Center 925 Western Ave., Fergus Falls Online hearing 6 p.m. Aug. 21 Join by WebEx link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m44d038d6f1cefe2a665ec51b5f856c95 Webinar number: 2490 693 0888 Webinar password: MnPUC! (667820 when dialing from a phone or video system) Evidentiary hearings 9:30 a.m. Aug. 22-23, Minnesota Public Utilities Commissions Small Hearing Room 121 7th Place E, Suite 350, St. Paul Submit comments Online: https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/public-comments Email: consumer.puc@state.mn.us Mail: Consumer Affairs Office Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 121 7th Place E, Suite 350 St. Paul, MN 55101 PUC requests comments focus on three questions: Is the final environmental impact statement adequate? Should the commission grant the pipeline route permit? If granted, what additional conditions or requirements should be considered? DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Summit Carbon Solutions plans to build a 2,000-mile network of CO2 pipelines across the Midwest to capture carbon produced by ethanol plants and then sequester it underground in North Dakota. (Map courtesy of Summit Carbon Solutions) Minnesota agencies have released an environmental impact statement and set hearings on a small section of a huge project to capture carbon from ethanol plants in five states for underground storage in North Dakota. The environmental impact report filed Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce says the Summit Carbon Solutions project would have a net benefit on greenhouse gas emissions. The CO2 sequestered from ongoing annual operations would outweigh construction and operation emissions. This benefit would vary depending on the capture rate and final end use of the captured CO2, the report says. One potential end use would be for enhanced oil recovery, using the carbon dioxide to get more oil production from wells in North Dakota. The report says Summit has indicated it doesnt intend to market the carbon dioxide for industrial use. Summit has stated the pipeline could be used for that purpose in the future. Summit says the pipeline is needed to help ethanol plants lower their carbon intensity score and sell fuel for a premium price in low-carbon fuel markets. The pipeline would capture carbon from the Green Plains ethanol plant at Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The study concludes by saying that the ethanol plant could also reduce its carbon score by lowering its energy use and using renewable energy and using corn grown using climate friendly practices. While the EIS was compiled by the Department of Commerce, it is the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that will make a decision on Summits permit application, likely by the end of the year, the report says. The application is for about 28 miles of pipeline in Otter Tail and Wilkin counties in northwest Minnesota, starting at the Green Plains plant. It would cross into North Dakota south of Breckenridge. It is part of an $8 billion project to capture carbon from 57 plants in five states with about 2,500 miles of pipeline. The underground storage area is planned to be northwest of Bismarck in western North Dakota. The Minnesota PUC has public hearings planned for Aug. 20-21 and evidentiary hearings Aug. 22-23. A comment period is open through Sept. 11. Sarah Mooradian is the government relations and policy director for CURE, a Minnesota environmental group that opposes the pipeline. She said the evidentiary hearings will include expert testimony from Summit and CURE and cross examination of those witnesses. CURE released a statement Thursday on what it feels are shortcomings in the environmental report, which is similar to a previously released draft report. In the Draft EIS released earlier this year, it was clear that the agency staff who prepared it had no expertise assessing this kind of project, and had not hired contractors who did credible work, said Hudson Kingston, legal director at CURE. Garbage in garbage out is not an acceptable standard for an environmental review that will be the baseline for all future assessments of this kind of infrastructure in the state. Iowa-based Summit released this statement on the EIS: Summit Carbon Solutions respects the comprehensive review process undertaken in the final Environmental Impact Statement and appreciates the thorough assessment of our projects potential impacts. We look forward to participating in the upcoming PUC hearings and are excited about the opportunities this project will create, including opening access to new markets for farmers and improving farm incomes. Summits project would take advantage of federal tax credits of $85 per ton of carbon dioxide that is sequestered. The project has been delayed as Summit attempts to obtain the necessary permits. The North Dakota Public Service Commission rejected a permit application in 2023. A decision on a rehearing of that application is pending with the PSC. The North Dakota Industrial Commission also would need to issue a permit for the storage area. A North Dakota environmental and property rights group, the Dakota Resource Council, held a rally in opposition to the pipeline Saturday in Bismarck. A concern of some property owners is the potential use of eminent domain to force landowners to provide right-of-way for the pipeline. But under Minnesota law, eminent domain is not an option for Summit. In July, Summit gained approval in Iowa but that decision is being appealed. Even if the Iowa permit is upheld, the state utilities commission specified that construction cannot begin without approval of permits in the Dakotas. South Dakota voters will weigh in on a pipeline-related property rights bill this fall. Some property owners have expressed concerns about safety from a rupture of the hazardous liquid pipeline, effects on property values and damage to farmland. The environmental report says that if the pipeline were to rupture, some nearby homes could have CO2 concentrations high enough to be immediately dangerous to life or health. The report makes several comparisons to the pipeline rupture in Sataria, Mississippi, that sickened dozens of residents. It notes that the Mississippi rupture was caused by heavy rain and a landslide, but that the route area being studied is mostly flat. The 28-mile section of pipeline in Minnesota would be just 4 inches in diameter. The Mississippi pipeline was 24 inches in diameter. The main branch of the Summit pipeline also would be 24 inches. Summit has plans for another section of pipeline that would connect ethanol plants in west-central and southern Minnesota. It has not filed an application with the PUC for that area. How the public can participate The final environmental impact statement is available on the Minnesota Department of Commerce website. The final EIS will also be available for viewing at the Breckenridge Public Library and Fergus Falls Public Library. In-person public hearing 6 p.m. Aug. 20 Bigwood Event Center 925 Western Ave., Fergus Falls Online hearing 6 p.m. Aug. 21 Join by WebEx link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m44d038d6f1cefe2a665ec51b5f856c95 Webinar number: 2490 693 0888 Webinar password: MnPUC! (667820 when dialing from a phone or video system) Evidentiary hearings 9:30 a.m. Aug. 22-23, Minnesota Public Utilities Commissions Small Hearing Room 121 7th Place E, Suite 350, St. Paul Submit comments Online: https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/public-comments Email: consumer.puc@state.mn.us Mail: Consumer Affairs Office Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 121 7th Place E, Suite 350 St. Paul, MN 55101 PUC requests comments focus on three questions: Is the final environmental impact statement adequate? Should the commission grant the pipeline route permit? If granted, what additional conditions or requirements should be considered? This story was originally published by North Dakota Monitor, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. North Dakota Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Amy Dalrymple for questions: info@northdakotamonitor.com. Follow North Dakota Monitor on Facebook and X. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is calling on Republicans to stop the trash talk leading up to November, arguing such attacks will do little to shore up support for the GOP ticket. As Donald Trump and my fellow Republicans navigate the next steps of their campaigns, my message to them is this: The path to victory in November is not won through character attacks or personal insults, Sununu wrote Thursday in an op-ed published by The New York Times. Sununu argued the catchy one-liners against Vice President Harris, including labelling her as a bum, not a serious person, and bottom of the barrel, do not connect with the independent voters who could be crucial to the election. Independent voters are independent for a reason, the governor wrote. They are not driven to the polls by personal attacks. Candidates need to give them a reason to turn out and vote. Both Democrats and Republicans have fired off a barrage of attacks at their political rivals, especially at the presidential level. Sununu called out remarks by former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and Harris, who became the likely Democratic nominee after President Biden withdrew from the race last month. Some Republicans labelled Harris as a DEI hire pointing to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while others have gone after her laugh. Politicians usually dont lose votes for laughing or smiling too much, Sununu continued. Attacks like those waged against Vice President Kamala Harris are unserious and dont meet the moment that American families find themselves in. Voters are connected through addressing issues and concerns and when they are shown real empathy, the Granite State governor said. Sununu, who said he would support Trump after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her campaign, acknowledged the Democrats are also levying their own attacks against Republicans pointing to the Harris campaigns rhetoric that the GOP ticket is led by weird people. He also nodded to the controversy surrounding Vances childless cat ladies remark from 2021 that has reentered the conversation as of late. Instead of the attacks, Sununu urged the GOP to focus on issues he claims are a product of the Biden-Harris administration. The Democrats have a record to answer for, he wrote, adding, Mr. Trump has a record of accomplishments he can focus on that will earn him votes. With less than 100 days to go until Election Day, any time spent on personal attacks or distracting rhetoric is not just time wasted, its time lost, he concluded. Republicans must hold ourselves to a higher standard. Its what American people deserve, and its good politics, too. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard testifies on behalf of Legislative Bill 16 and a pair of constitutional amendments to create and codify the EPIC option consumption tax Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lincoln. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard followed through on his pledge to propose a last-ditch way to enable Nebraska voters to weigh in this fall on the EPIC Option consumption tax. His latest legislative effort to reach the ballot was the subject of a public hearing Wednesday, weeks after a group fell short of gathering enough petition signatures to place the measure on the November ballot. Legislative Bill 16 and two related proposals for constitutional amendments likely face an insurmountable path to passage, despite support from the Nebraska Republican Party. Many EPIC supporters seemed heartened to see a hearing room at the Capitol overwhelmingly filled with rural and urban Nebraskans who primarily support eliminating property taxes. Little organized in-person opposition Only two testifiers spoke against the measure, fewer opponents than other EPIC hearings have drawn. One speaker represented insurance interests and the other was from OpenSky Policy Institute, a progressive think tank based in Lincoln. Two people turned in letters opposing LB 16, and one person each wrote a letter objecting to the constitutional amendments. By contrast, 70 supporters sent letters in favor of LB 16, with 54 letters sent in support of one constitutional amendment and 41 in favor of the other. Political observers who know the Legislature saw the drop-off in organized opposition as an indication of the measures dimming prospects this summer. Previously, public opponents of the measure have included Gov. Jim Pillen, the states chambers of commerce, advocates for public schools, nonprofit organizations and local governments. The lack of opponents attending the hearing was pointed out by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, chair of the Revenue Committee. She introduced LB 1, the governors competing proposal, which some have called EPIC light. Linehan said the lack of opponents testifying seemed disrespectful to Erdman and to the committee. Typically, more people oppose a bill if they believe it has a chance to pass. They didnt bother to show up, said Linehan. They left it to us. One of the letters against EPIC was read during the hearing. It was submitted on behalf of 22 organizations opposing the idea, including the League of Nebraska Municipalities. Lynn Rex, that groups executive director, reached Thursday, said the groups chose not to testify as a way of respecting the committees time after a long hearing on a competing proposal. Under the EPIC plan, each political subdivision would have to hope that there is enough revenue, and that the Legislature will honor their request when compared to hundreds of other political subdivision requests, the letter wrote. Hope isnt a viable management practice. The Revenue Committee will decide in the coming days whether to advance the EPIC tax proposal to the full Legislature. EPIC would eliminate state and local property tax, income tax, corporate tax and inheritance taxes, replacing them with a broader sales or consumption tax that would apply to more goods and services than are currently taxed. Questions about the stool Erdman said Nebraskas shift in the late 1960s to a three-legged stool of taxation dividing the load between income, sales and property taxes has not worked. Ive never tried to do anything thats been more difficult than this, Erdman said. This system has been broken ever since it was instituted back in 1967. It hasnt worked. He and supporters argue that shifting Nebraskas taxation system toward sales or consumption taxes would better protect peoples property rights and freedoms. Longtime backers of the EPIC tax and a number of state and county GOP leaders attended the hearing. Others described themselves as farmers, ranchers and homeowners upset about the status quo. One testifier, Travis Buel, said most peoples incomes arent growing at the rate that taxes are, and that means the tax system is not going to work long term. Craig Bolz, a farmer from the Palmyra area, said the consumption tax would be fairer than property taxes and income taxes because the amount people pay is based on what they choose to buy. He and others said doing nothing is putting peoples family property at risk. He said it would be a sad day if he had to sell his grandfathers farm because of rising taxes. Former State Sen. Al Davis of the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska said Nebraskans might soon follow voters in Colorado and California and address property taxes through ballot initiatives. Sheridan County rancher Kay Schroder said the cost of property taxes and insurance eats up three and a half months worth of her six months of summer income. I think its important that we keep the small farmer-rancher operations in Nebraska, she told the committee. The tax situation is making it very difficult. David Wright, a rancher near Ewing who said he previously owned weekly newspapers and served on a school board, blamed population growth patterns for why its been so hard to fix property taxes. Too many people live in Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster Counties, he said, which has consolidated too many legislative seats in areas farther from the majority of farms and ranches. If were going to have a one man, one vote system, the only way its going to work is one man, one tax, Wright said. Scott Bush, a Saunders County homeowner and business owner, said he hates paying personal property taxes on the tools he uses to make a living. Im paying you rent on the tools I use to do the job that I make a living on, he said. Questions about EPIC tax rate needed Erdman and Joel Hunt, one of Erdmans legislative staffers, who helped write the EPIC proposals, took shots at the research that business groups and nonprofits have used to oppose EPIC. Hunt said any insinuation that paying for state and local services would require an effective sales or consumption tax rate of 22% is ludicrous. Hunt has said it can be done with a 7.5% rate. Rebecca Firestone of OpenSky, whose research concluded a 22% tax would be needed, defended her groups work and said it had addressed Hunts criticisms, including adding in an estimate of new revenue from the elimination of sales tax exemptions. We stand by our analysis, she said. The other in-person opponent, Robert Bell of the Insurance Federation of Nebraska, said the tax changes being proposed might put parts of the states insurance industry at risk. He said Nebraska insurers benefit from tax laws on out-of-state policies that might be impacted by some of the proposed constitutional changes, which would restrict what taxes can be levied. Erdman asked the Revenue Committee to advance his proposal for debate on the legislative floor. In order for the EPIC tax to make the November ballot, the Legislature would also have to pass companion legislation allowing a constitutional amendment to be turned in to the Secretary of States office 60 days before the general election. Current law requires such a measure to be turned in at least four months before the general election. In response to a question from State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Erdman said six states are mulling similar proposals. No state has passed such a plan. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST CHARLESTON, S.C. The man suspected of shooting three victims, killing one at a downtown Charleston apartment complex, has been arrested by U.S. Marshals in Georgia. Ryan DLorenzo Lewis, 30, was apprehended in Decatur, Georgia, Thursday. He is charged with murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, assault and battery, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime, and two counts of attempted murder. On July 5, around 11 p.m., a Charleston Police officer patrolling the Bridgeview Apartment complex heard multiple gunshots. Officers responded to the scene where the gunshots were heard and found three people suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim, identified as Brian Fokes, died on the scene. The remaining victims were immediately taken to the hospital for their injuries. The pair have since been released, according to the Charleston Police Department. Police said an argument is what led to the shooting that killed 44-year-old Fokes. Shortly after the shooting, Fokes coworkers organized a fundraiser to supplement funeral costs and help support Fokes family and children. Those who knew him said he was an advocate against gun violence and an all-around good person. Authorities say Lewis was released from the S.C. Department of Corrections on May 1 and was under the supervision of S.C. Probation, Pardon, and Parole for armed robbery at the time of the shooting. Brian Fokes via Junction Kitchen staff Brian Fokes via Junction Kitchen staff Brian Fokes via Junction Kitchen staff Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. The suspect accused of killing four people and injuring nine others during a shooting at an Arkansas grocery store has been charged with additional counts of attempted murder. Travis Eugene Posey, 44, now faces four counts of capital murder and 11 counts of attempted capital murder, according to online court records. Posey appeared before a judge early this week on the additional charges and remains held without bond, according to court records. Posey had previously pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, the prosecuting attorney in the case told CNN. CNN has reached out to Poseys attorney for comment. Posey is accused of opening fire at the Mad Butcher in Fordyce, Arkansas, on June 21. Authorities believe Posey began engaging victims in the parking lot after exiting his truck and then entered the store, Secretary of Public Safety and Director of Arkansas State Police Mike Hagar said. He then fired indiscriminately at customers and employees inside the store, according to Hagar. The suspect arrived at the Mad Butcher armed, he said. We believe that most, if not all the rounds fired by the suspect were from the shotgun. A motive is unclear, police say. Law enforcement responded to the shooting around 11:30 a.m. and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, state police said. He immediately engaged in a firefight with law enforcement, where they were able to stop the threat, Hagar said. Posey was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and taken to the Ouachita County Detention Center, state police said in a news release. CNNs Dalia Faheid, Raja Razek, Jamiel Lynch and Holly Yan contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Suspect charged with hate crime, criminal mischief for vandalizing home of Jewish director of Brooklyn Museum, NYPD says A suspect was arrested and charged with a hate crime in connection to the antisemitic vandalism of a Brooklyn art museum directors home earlier this summer, the New York Police Department said Thursday. Taylor Pelton, 28, from Queens, was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime for vandalizing the home of Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak in June, NYPD Det. Gregory Green said in a statement. Red paint was splattered on the front doors and windows of the home, and a sign was left hanging in the entrance filled with red handprints that read, Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White Supremacist Zionist, CNN previously reported. Red inverted triangles were also painted on the windows and doors a symbol that has been used by the military wing of Hamas in the recent conflict in Gaza to indicate Israeli military targets, according to the Anti-Defamation League, and used in some cases to signify support for violent Palestinian resistance against Israel. Separately, Pelton was arraigned Thursday on charges of criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime in Manhattan. Prosecutors accuse Pelton of driving into the borough with others in the hours after the Brooklyn attack and defacing the sidewalk with spray paint outside two other separate residences, according to a criminal complaint. During the arraignment in Manhattan, Assistant District Attorney Alberto Gomez said Pelton, along with five others who have not been captured, engaged in a targeted and systematic attack which spanned 3 hours, 2 boroughs, and targeting the homes of 4 board members of the Brooklyn Museum, causing damage exceeding $10,000. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office said Pelton and the group are accused of vandalizing these homes and using an inverted red triangle. Those symbols were also seen at the Brooklyn residence. Peltons attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, had no comment Friday on the charges her client is facing in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Pelton is on supervised release, according to the Kings County District Attorneys Office and is scheduled to be arraigned on October 30. The Brooklyn Museum is aware of the criminal charges filed against the suspect, spokesperson Taylor Maatman told CNN Thursday, saying its leadership believes it is crucial to distinguish between peaceful protest and criminal acts. Our museum has a long history of supporting artists free expression and uplifting people through powerful art experiences, Maatman said. Our vision remains rooted in the belief that art fosters dialogue and mutual understanding among people with diverse experiences and perspectives. The United States has seen rising levels of antisemitic incidents since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, according to data from the ADL. The most recent data from the organization, which has tracked antisemitic incidents in the US since 1979, found a 140% increase in incidents from 2022 to 2023, with a dramatic increase taking place after October 7. Pelton is next scheduled to appear on the Manhattan charges on September 23. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Suspect in woman's Boston murder ordered extradited to U.S. from Kenya Johannesburg A judge in Kenya's capital ordered the extradition on Thursday of Kevin Kangethe, 42, to the United States to face a trial for the alleged November 2023 murder of his girlfriend, 31-year-old Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found in an SUV at Boston's Logan Airport. Kangethe had been on the run and the subject of a three-month international manhunt after Mbitu's family reported her missing. Her body was found two days after she disappeared, with stab wounds in his SUV in a parking garage at the airport. Police say he boarded a flight from Logan to Kenya. He was tracked down two months after the November murder in Kenya and arrested. But just one week into his detention, Kangethe managed to slip out of a holding cell and escape from the prison in a mini-van. Kevin Kangethe arrives in court after he was re-arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Embarrassed prison officials launched a new manhunt and investigation, eventually arresting four police officers, two of the suspect's relatives and a lawyer whom they accused of assisting in the prison break. A tip-off helped Kenyan police track his whereabouts and recapture him at a relative's Nairobi home. Mbitu was a nurse in Halifax, south of Boston, who worked in group homes helping disabled people. Maggie Mbitu / Credit: Courtesy photos Prosecutors testified before Thursday's ruling that when Kangethe was arrested, he was found in possession of items belonging to Mbitu, including her driver's license, Bank of America debit card and a visa card. Based on this link between the two people, they argued the judge must endorse a Massachusetts arrest warrant and that the case met the threshold for the extradition request for Kangethe to face a first degree murder charge in Massachusetts. Man confesses to the murder of his best friend: "He was in a panic - I was in a panic." Estranged husband kidnaps his wife at gunpoint Prince Harry and Meghan Markle open up about online bullying NEW YORK (PIX11) A plea agreement has been reached with the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, along with two others, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Wednesday. The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case, a statement on the Department of Defense website read. More Local News The U.S. agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaedas attack and more than 20 years after militants flew hijacked commercial airliners into buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people. FILE- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan on Saturday, March 1, 2003, in this photo obtained by the Associated Press. (AP Photo, FILE) Families of many of the victims have said they wanted to see the men formally admit guilt. The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the terms included the mens longstanding condition that they be spared the risk of the death penalty. This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. NEW YORK A suspected Russian spy locked up in Brooklyn is being released as part of the prisoner swap that brought Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan home. Vadim Konoshchenok, a self-described colonel for Russias intelligence agency who plotted to get around sanctions to send ammo and tech from the U.S. to the Russian military in Ukraine, is part of Thursdays swap, federal prosecutors confirmed in a court filing. The swap, which was years in the making, is the largest exchange since the fall of the Soviet Union, with 24 prisoners freed from seven nations. Russia agreed to free Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal jailed in 2023, Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor. Konoshchenok was among the eight prisoners, three from the U.S., released to Russia. He was initially stopped at the Estonian border in October 2022 with 35 different types of semiconductors and other electronic components as well as thousands of U.S.-origin sniper rifle bullets, the feds allege. He was released, then arrested in Estonia a month later trying to cross into Russia with about 20 cases of bullets from the U.S. When Estonian authorities searched a warehouse he used, they found 375 pounds of ammo, the feds allege. Hes been held at Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center since last July. Before the details of the swap were made public, Konoshchenoks lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, filed a letter Thursday morning asking about his whereabouts. I have been unable to locate Mr. Konoshchenok since July 30, 2024; his son has not heard from him since July 29, 2024, she wrote. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Pravda responded, The governments understanding is that the defendant is no longer in the custody of the Attorney General, and provided a link to the White Houses news release about the prisoner swap. Shroff told the Daily News she knew of the exchange, but wrote the letter to get confirmation she could bring back to his family. She also decried the notoriously bad conditions at MDC, where Konoshchenok was held, saying he went without showers for days at a time, and was given two hard-boiled eggs and a potato several days in a row for food. For the entire time he has been at the MDC, Mr. Konoshchenok has maintained his innocence, and wanted to go to trial, she said. Part of the problem here is that he had served so much time between the time in Estonia and the time in Brooklyn is that he would have taken a plea agreement and he would have been close to done. WINNEBAGO CO., Wis. (WFRV)- Little Lake Butte Des Morts in Winnebago County recently received positive news in the waterways recovery from the PCB cleanup that took place in the early 2000s. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are a man-made chemical that was used often in the 20th century to make carbonless copy paper. In the late 1970s, the federal government banned the usage of PCBs due to their impact on human health and wildlife. The cleanup of the Fox River started in 2004, beginning with Little Lake Butte Des Morts, and ended in 2020 at the mouth of the Fox River at the southern end of the Bay of Green Bay. Jim Killian was involved in the PCB cleanup and is a sediment and dredge material management coordinator with the Wisconsin DNR. Here in Little Lake Butte des Morts, which was the first stage of the clean up of the entire 29 miles of the Fox River PCB project, hydraulic dredges were used to remove three hundred and seventy thousand cubic yards of contaminated sediment, says Killian. Thats roughly the equivalent of thirty thousand dump trucks full of wet mud. On top of removing the PCBS from the area, Killian says 114 acres of the river bed were capped with layers of sand and gravel to prevent the PCBs from entering the water column beneath the river. With that part of the project in the rearview mirror, the Wisconsin DNR announced the lake has been placed in a monitored recovery stage. Rae Ann Eifert is the Lake Michigan monitoring and sediment coordinator for the Wisconsin DNR and is in charge of the long-term monitoring of the lake. Eifert explains what is in the plans as part of the monitoring stage. Essentially that means they go out every five years to check to see the progress toward their final goals in terms of fish tissue concentrations for PCBs and then PCB concentrations in the water. The last water sampling took place in 2022, and the results of that round resulted in the lake being elevated to this monitoring stage. The next round will take place in 2027 and Eifert says this will be another stepping stone to the goal of a ninety percent reduction in the PCBs in the water. Everything is continuing to come down and it does seem like we are going to meet our goals in terms of making sure the fish are safer to eat and that environmental exposure to PCBs has really decreased in this area. However, humans are more at risk of being exposed to PCBs through the consumption of fish that inhabit the waterway. Eifert explains that anglers planning to consume the fish should still be on high alert. PCBs dont like to be soluble, they like to be hydrophobic so they like to bind to particles, explains Eifert. So your primary way of being exposed to it is not through the actual water itself, its through your actual consumption of fish. Fish advisories on the amount of consumption do continue for Little Lake Butte des Morts and many lakes and rivers across the state. Eifert says the advisories vary by fish and can vary by gender and age. The DNR reminds anglers to check for any postage signage at the boat launch of the lake or river. If there is no signage, use this application on the DNR website to find out the advisories at the waterway that you are headed out to. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Russia is suffering heavy losses, but in some places has "minor gains" in Ukraine's east, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 1. Russian troops continue to concentrate their efforts in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, deploying the most experienced assault units, Syrskyi said after visiting the eastern front. Russia is trying to break through the defenses in the direction of Zhelanne, Novohrodivka, and Pokrovsk, which has become its main target, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Fighting is ongoing in the Kupiansk sector, as well as near the canal on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into Donetsk Oblast, Syrskyi said Russian troops suffer losses near the village of Hlyboke and the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, failing to advance, he added. The situation in the Siversk sector in Donetsk Oblast was described by the commander as "difficult," as Russia is using artillery and conducting assaults, but it has not succeeded, according to him. "During active hostilities, the tactical positions of the troops can change several times during the day. As of now, there have been no significant changes," Syrskyi said in his Telegram post. The units of the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) are also conducting counter-sabotage activities to intercept Russian sabotage groups in the Toretsk sector, which has become another hotspot in recent weeks. Read also: Eye of the storm: A day in the life of Ukrainian infantry on the zero line near Toretsk Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The British teenager accused of fatally stabbing three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class this week reportedly smiled at journalists in court the same day authorities released his name. TMZ reported that Axel Rudakubana, 17, flashed a grin toward reporters in court Thursday morning before he tried to hide his face. Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9. He also faces charges for allegedly injuring eight other children, a yoga teacher, and a businessman. Rudakubana, who turns 18 next week, will be tried as an adult, said Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary. More details about the mass stabbing, which took place Monday morning in the seaside U.K. town of Southport, emerged on Thursday. Authorities said Rudakubana is believed to have taken a taxi to the dance studio, where he allegedly used a curved kitchen knife to attack children and others at a Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop. A potential motive has not been released. Two girls were killed at the scene, and a third was pronounced dead at a hospital on Tuesday, authorities said. The injured adults were identified as Leanne Lucas, 35, the class instructor, and John Hayes, a man who worked next door but ran to help the children after hearing screams. Riots Break Out After Stabbings at Taylor Swift-Themed Event in U.K. British news reports said Rudakubana is the son of Rwandan parents and was born in Cardiff, Wales. Authorities said they dont believe the attack was terror-related. Still, the triple slaying has led to riots in Southport, where people have burnt vehicles, thrown bricks at police, and pelted a mosque. That violent scene left 39 police officers injured, the North West Ambulance Service confirmed in a statement on Facebook. Of those, 27 officers were hospitalized. Swift, 34, addressed the attack on her Instagram story on Tuesday. The horror of yesterdays attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and Im just completely in shock, she said. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to their families. 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. Emergency once-a-week watering restrictions first implemented seasonally are here to stay in Tampa as the citys development boom continues to push daily water use beyond sustainable limits. The City Council on Thursday extended seasonal restrictions year-round, prohibiting households from turning on their lawn sprinklers more than once a week. The Southwest Florida Water Management District first ordered the emergency restrictions for Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties late last year amid severe drought across the region after a record dry summer. Water supply has yet to recover, despite a recent uptick in rainfall. Plus, outdoor water efficiency is decreasing as new construction replaces nonirrigated homes with thirsty lawns and automatic irrigation, according to city officials. Since the restrictions went into effect in December, daily water consumption in Tampa has decreased from 82 million gallons to 78 million gallons, according to city data. Thats a reduction of six Olympic-sized pools worth of water every day. Water is our most precious resource worldwide, Mayor Jane Castor said earlier this week. That is coming more and more into focus as more people move into the Tampa Bay region and theres a higher demand on our water supply. The city will continue to revisit restrictions, Tampa Water Director Rory Jones said. We have to look at our demands and see where we stand on it, he told council members Thursday. Eighteen percent of households are responsible for 45% of residential water demand, according to city data. Property owners face up to a $500 civil fine per violation. The city has amped up patrols Jones said. In roughly the first six months of this year, the city handed out 331 citations, totaling about $34,000. The year-round restrictions passed with only one no vote. Council member Luis Viera supports the intention, but said there had not been sufficient outreach. In his New Tampa district, There are many homeowners associations and community development districts that will fine you if your yard looks unkept, he told the Tampa Bay Times. Though the ordinance passed Thursday states that property owners cannot be penalized for the presence of unwatered grass by the city or any other entity, Viera has concerns that it will not be sufficient. Unpaid homeowners association fines can snowball into a lien, he said. Its rare, Viera said. But as an advocate for my district we need to vet that issue better before this is finalized. Irrigation is prohibited from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Reclaimed water customers can water any day and any time, as long as it is not in a wasteful and unnecessary manner. Restrictions also do not apply to microirrigation, a method of watering plants that delivers water directly to their roots, as long as the emitters use less than 30 gallons per hour. Watering schedules Watering days are based on address. If your address ends in: 0 or 1, water only on Monday 2 or 3, water only on Tuesday 4 or 5, water only on Wednesday 6 or 7, water only on Thursday 8 or 9, water only on Friday. This also applies to locations without a known address. I was target of drone assassination attempt, says former Russian MP living in Kyiv Ilya Ponomarev published on social media a photograph of himself covered in blood and bruises after the drone attack A former Russian MP who defected to Ukraine has accused the Kremlin of trying to kill him in a drone attack on his house in Kyiv. Ilya Ponomarev published a photograph of himself covered in blood and bruises after the night drone attack, which Ukrainian media said struck just outside his front door. Today seems to be my second birthday. The fifth attack attempt was the most unconventional and the most successful and difficult to defend against. But to hell with them, he said in a post on social media. More photographs showed extensive damage to Mr Ponomarevs three-storey house on the edge of Kyiv. All the windows of the house appear to have been blown out. Debris from the ripped roof and destroyed balconies litter the foreground. Mr Ponomarev was an opposition MP in Russia and renowned as being the only lawmaker to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014. He said that he was forced to leave the country shortly after the vote. He moved to Kyiv in 2019 and has been a vocal opponent of the war, helping to set up in 2022 an anti-Kremlin Free Russia Legion a unit of Russians who fight for the Ukrainian army. They have staged several cross-border attacks into Russias southern Belgorod region since the start of the invasion. The drone struck the road outside the front door of Mr Ponomarev's house in Kyiv The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had attacked Ukraine with seven drones on Wednesday evening. It said: All of them were shot down by anti-aircraft defence in the Kyiv region, Poltava region, Kherson region and Dnipropetrovsk region. The Kyiv city authorities said at least two people had been injured by falling debris from the drone attacks. The windows of Mr Ponomarev's house appear to have been blown out by the drone strike while the roof and balconies were also damaged The Kremlin has denounced Mr Ponomarev as a traitor and accused him of participating in a terrorist organisation and disseminating fakes about the Russian army. Russian agents have been linked with multiple assassination plots in Ukraine over the past decade, including against Volodymyr Zelensky which the Ukraine security services have claimed credit for foiling. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. The start of a new school year is just around the corner and many teachers and parents will be looking to purchase supplies to kick off the school year. The Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday starts Friday, Aug. 2 and allows families to save a little bit of money while shopping for supplies. In years past, Missouri has offered a state sales tax break, and local municipalities had the option to opt-out, but that is no longer the case. Two years ago, the state legislature changed the law that disallowed municipalities from opting out of that sales tax holiday, said David Holtmann, Director of Finance with the city of Springfield. For only the second time, Holtmann says the local sales tax in Springfield will also be exempt. The city previously chose to opt out because a third of the citys revenue comes from sales taxes. After last years back-to-school sales tax break Holtmann says there was no significant decrease in the citys funds. I know through my through my own personal experience, my kids are expensive, takes a lot of money to clothe and feed them and take care of them with all their other activities, Holtmann said. And sure, you can save a little bit of money getting them back ready to go to school. Co-owner of ABC Books Valerie Earhart says she has already seen parents and teachers buying books from her used book store ahead of the new school year. A lot of especially elementary teachers, but actually, all teachers usually have a library. They try to keep a library in their classroom, Earhart said. And this just makes an inexpensive way for them to be able to do that. Health Department services to return to Bengsch Building Earhart says she is glad to hear Springfield will be participating in the local sales tax exemption so that Springfield shoppers can benefit from the tax holiday. Its 8.1% here, Earhart said. So thats a substantial savings for people. You know, its almost 10%. According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, items that qualify for the tax break include clothing, personal computers and school supplies, but there are some specifications. Clothing includes but is not limited to disposable diapers for infants or adults, footwear, and material used to make school uniforms. However, clothing does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles. Each article of clothing must have a taxable value of $100 dollars or less. Personal computers and computer peripheral devices cannot cost more than $1,500. School supplies is defined as any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes. This includes but is not limited to items like textbooks, notebooks, art supplies, book bags, chalk, maps, and more. For more details and answers to frequently asked questions you can visit the Missouri Department of Revenues website. The sales tax holiday runs until midnight on Sunday, Aug. 4. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. NESHOBA COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) Tax reforms took center stage at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday, August 1. Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) and House Speaker Jason White (R-Miss.) picked up where other leaders left off on Wednesday. They discussed their legislative priorities for 2025 and pushed for some form of tax reforms in the state. WATCH: Day 2 of 2024 Neshoba County Fair speeches Reeves still wants to pursue the elimination of state income taxes. White said lawmakers will consider that and other options. The House is looking for ways to actually cut taxes, to actually reward work, not tax it. This select committee, which Chairman Bounds is a co-chair of that committee, will look at our grocery tax, as well, and figure out a path forward to at least cut it in half and reduce the burden on Mississippians when they go through the checkout line in your grocery store. And yes, let me add to that. We want to accelerate our pathway to finally eliminating the personal income tax in Mississippi, said White. In 2019, I talked about tax cuts and then working together. We delivered the largest tax cut in Mississippi history. Over $500 million returned to you every single year for the taxpayers of our state. Thats more money in your wallet, because I believe that you know better how to spend your money than any governmental entity ever will. And we need to continue to work to eliminate the income tax in Mississippi, said Reeves. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. As voters cast their primary ballots, Sedgwick County officials have ignited a debate over which government services are core to the countys mission and deserving of property tax dollars. The countys 2025 recommended budget calls for significant cuts to the zoo, Exploration Place and the county parks department. Funding for those organizations and other quality of life programming now comes from property taxes. But county commissioners are moving forward with a proposal to ask voters if they would prefer a sales tax to pay for arts, culture and recreation. Switching to a sales tax would allow the county to lower its property tax mill levy by between 2.5 and 3 mills, according to County Manager Tom Stolz. Could a sales tax in Sedgwick County reduce property taxes? Heres whats being discussed The Eagle asked candidates running for County Commission to weigh in on the nascent sales tax proposal and share their thoughts about what tax reform and the future of quality of life amenities should look like in Sedgwick County. Heres what they had to say: District 3 Republican primary Greg Ferris Ferris, a former Wichita City Council member and current local government lobbyist, told The Eagle he sees major upside in doing away with property tax funding for arts, culture and recreation in favor of a sales tax alternative. Ultimately, he said, it should be up to the voters to decide. There are some very important benefits of a sales tax, Ferris said. First, sales taxes are also paid by people who visit the county. As a hub for economic activity for the area, a sales tax would mean that people outside of the County would pay around 20 percent of the taxes. This would represent true tax relief for citizens. That statement contradicts a mailer sent to District 3 primary voters and paid for by the Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC, a Wisconsin-based group spending on Ferris behalf. The mailer states that, Unlike his opponent, Greg Ferris recognizes that holding your property taxes level just to turn around and hike up your sales tax is not real tax relief. It also claims that if elected, Ferris would stop sales tax hikes by greedy career politicians and cut local property taxes. Ferris told The Eagle he was not previously aware of the mailer and said it mischaracterizes his position on the proposal. Alan Reichert Reichert, a Spirit AeroSystems financial analyst, said he has some reservations about increasing the sales tax and lowering the mill levy. The only problem I have with sales tax is it gets levied on everybody whos spending money, from the poorest to the wealthiest, so it ends up taking a higher percentage of the poorer peoples money and the elderly who are on fixed income, Reichert said. But he does see an opportunity to capitalize on the state rescinding sales tax on food bought at grocery stores. Reichert said the county could potentially impose its own sin tax on candy and soft drinks. I dont know what the legal logistics of it are, whether well get legal pushback from the state or what, but to earmark the taxing of candy and soft drinks to make up some of the funding we need for maybe some areas like Comcare, Reichert said. People enjoy eating candy and soft drinks, and if we have any revenue left over from taxing that, maybe we can steer some of that towards the zoo and Exploration Place. Stephanie Wise Wise, a commercial real estate broker, said shes optimistic about the countys efforts to bring city leaders together and coordinate a more comprehensive tax relief plan. Its going to take more than just the county participating in tax relief, Wise said. When I talk about tax reform and functional consolidation, thats exactly what Im talking about the taxing authorities or entities talking to each other. We all serve the same constituents. We need to be working together to actually relieve the tax burden and not just shuffle it around from one side to the other. Under a sales tax funding model, if the tax produced more revenue than expected, it would be split among organizations. Likewise, if it generated less than expected, budgets would have to be trimmed the next year. Wise said shes confident a sales tax would provide sustainable funding for quality of life amenities. Weve gone through 2020 and COVID-19. I think our economy, though we say that its terrible, Im not sure that it is, Wise said. Everybodys still spending and everybodys still doing life. She said if elected, she would never vote to raise the mill levy or capture 100% of the additional revenue generated by higher property appraisals. Sedgwick County budget proposal prioritizes public safety, cuts arts. 5 things to know District 3 Democratic primary AlmaAnn Jones Jones, a trauma advocate and criminal justice activist, said the sales tax proposal could be beneficial for the community if done right. Sales tax helps us capture that money coming in from outside the county, but we want to be careful we dont let the shift from property tax to sales tax mean these assets arent a top priority, Jones said. Continued investment in the things that attract people from outside of Sedgwick County grows our revenue without putting it all on the backs of the residents of Sedgwick County. Jones said she sees other opportunities for the county to modernize how it does business, including following Johnson Countys lead by allowing the county manager to appoint a clerk, treasurer and register of deeds instead of directly electing each official. Everyone who has had to deal with paying for their tags in Sedgwick County wishes we had accountability over those offices more than at election time, Jones said. Those offices have entire independent budgets that are controlled by the elected official and the commission has no way to direct how that budget is spent or use excess funds in one office to make up for a need in another. It also creates an atmosphere for jobs in those offices to be handed out as political favors to supporters and friends. Celeste Racette Racette, a former fraud investigator, said the county should look for efficiencies and eliminate wasteful spending before levying a new sales tax. Ive been talking for four years about the waste in the citys budget. How do we know theres not waste in the countys budget? Racette said. So until I get in there and talk to the other department heads and take a fine-toothed comb to the budget, I dont want to assume that our solution is raising taxes. Sitting commissioners have repeatedly said that the tax reform proposal would not amount to a tax increase, but the county has not yet published any analysis showing the impact that it would have on residents. It would be [a tax increase] though, Racette said. I mean, the net effect is its coming out of taxpayers pockets. Whatever you call it. You call it a sales tax, you call it a property tax, you call it an income tax . . . The tax comes out of taxpayers pockets, so I just feel like were playing a shell game. She said state lawmakers in Topeka could deliver tax relief by expanding Medicaid. A spokesperson for the department of corrections said last year that expansion would provide $3.6 million in annual prison savings for taxpayers who currently cover some medical costs for inmates. Your primary voter guide to who is running for Sedgwick County Commission District 3 District 2 There is no primary in this race. Jeff Blubaugh Blubaugh, a Republican and former Wichita City Council member, said he doesnt see property tax dollars as a sustainable source of funding for arts, culture and recreation programming. Quality of life spending within Sedgwick County has grown significantly within the last four years with the addition of new projects and increased tax dollar contributions to nonprofit entities, Blubaugh said. Right now, you dont see many non-government subsidized recreational businesses increasing their spending. So, maybe its not the best time to be taking on so much new tax dollar spending. He said despite the commissions focus on public safety spending in next years recommended budget, the county has improperly prioritized non-core services in recent years. Quality of life project spending increased while core functions of County Government have suffered, Blubaugh said. Sedgwick County 911 Dispatchers were only operating at a rate of 60% employment while funding was increased for park, cultural and art. Sarah Lopez Lopez, a Democrat who was elected in 2020, said she agrees with her Republican colleagues on the commission that property tax dollars should only be used to fund public safety and other core administrative functions. The way government is currently being run with Sedgwick County and then we have 20 cities, its just not feasible to continue the way its always been, Lopez said. So any kind of reform we can find, whether its shifting those [quality of life amenities] to sales tax instead of property tax, or if its a way we can functionally consolidate certain departments with the city of Wichita or other cities we at least owe it to the taxbase to look into it further. Ultimately, she said, quality of life programming is essential to recruiting and retaining young talent, and moving away from a property tax model could be beneficial to organizations that often find their funding heavily politicized. I think its really important that whatever we do kind of takes it out of the political realm and makes it easier for them to budget going forward. A teenager has been charged with aggravated battery with a firearm in a shooting at an April post-prom party in Chillicothe. Amari Smith-Holley, 16, was charged in the shooting in which an 18-year-old male was shot, according to a July 31 news release from the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office. Given Smith-Holleys age and the charge, the case was automatically transferred to adult court, the release said. A detention hearing was held, and Smith-Holley will remain in custody at the Juvenile Detention Center until trial. More: After-prom party shooting in Chillicothe may have had gang involvement, sheriff says Just before 1 a.m. on April 28, 2024, the Peoria County Sheriffs Office responded to the Valley Lakes Center on a report of shots fired. When deputies arrived, they found a male lying on the ground in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim survived but is paralyzed on half of his body. Deputies identified the victim as a member of the group Jump Out Boys and said they were feudingwith another group known as the Snakes. In a combined effort with the Peoria Police Department, detectives used witness information and data from Smith-Holleys cellphone and iCloud account to connect him to the shooting. More: 'Clearly planned murder': Feud led to shooting death of Peoria teen, prosecutors say This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Teenager charged in shooting at post-prom party in Chillicothe Police are investigating after gunfire erupted in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westlake, injuring a teenage boy on Wednesday. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to reports of shots fired in the area of West Temple and North Coronado streets just after 5 p.m. When police arrived at the scene, they found a 16-year-old boy with a gunshot wound. Additional officers were requested to block off the crime scene while medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department treated the victim. L.A. police on the scene of a shooting that left a teenage boy injured in Westlake on July 31, 2024. (KTLA) L.A. police on the scene of a shooting that left a teenage boy injured in Westlake on July 31, 2024. (KTLA) L.A. police on the scene of a shooting that left a teenage boy injured in Westlake on July 31, 2024. (KTLA) L.A. police on the scene of a shooting that left a teenage boy injured in Westlake on July 31, 2024. (KTLA) The boy was taken to a nearby hospital where he was listed in stable condition. Police warn of parking ticket scam in this Southern California city Details are limited and its unclear exactly how the shooting unfolded, but police said a Hispanic male in a white SUV allegedly fired from the vehicle before fleeing. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A mother hugs her child as they look at floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack in Southport, England. - Credit: PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images. A 17-year boy has been charged with three counts of murder for killing three girls at a dance class in Southport, England earlier this week. The teen, identified in court Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon. Three children, Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Aguiar, 9, were killed in the deadly attack, which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class at Hart Space. Eight other children and two adults suffered serious injuries, with several still in critical condition. More from Rolling Stone Merseyside Police announced the charges during a press conference last night. They confirmed the defendant, who was arrested on Monday, is from the village of Banks, Lancashire, which is about five miles from where the stabbings took place. He was born in Cardiff. A 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday 29 July, Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside police, told press, per The Guardian. The 17-year-old cannot be named for legal reasons as hes under 18. Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire police and counter-terrorism police in the north-west. However, due to the intense public interest and the fact that the 17-year-old turns 18 next Wednesday, a Liverpool judge allowed for the defendants name, Axel Rudakubana, to be revealed at the hearing Thursday, the Guardian reports. Rudakubana will next have a hearing on October 25, with the trial tentatively set to begin in January 2025. Sarah Hammond, chief crown prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, added, We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings. Our thoughts remain with the families of all of those affected by these harrowing events. The reminder comes after far-right protestors took to the streets of Southport on Tuesday night. Following a vigil held for the young victims, masked protestors threw glass bottles and bricks at police officers and attacked the Southport Islamic Society Mosque. Local emergency services treated 39 police officers for injuries sustained during the protest, according to the North West Ambulance Service, and three police dogs were also injured. The people of Southport are reeling after the horror inflicted on them yesterday, British prime minister Keir Starmer wrote in a statement on X. They deserve our support and our respect. Those who have hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery have insulted the community as it grieves. They will feel the full force of the law. Further protests took place on Wednesday night in London on Whitehall, near 10 Downing Street. More than 100 people were arrested during the demonstration. Eight people were also arrested in Hartlepool, where a police car was set on fire by protestors. Starmer is set to meet with senior police leaders at Downing Street today. Following the attack on Monday, Swift released a statement expressing her sorrow and dismay. The horror of yesterdays attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and Im just completely in shock, Swift wrote on Instagram Stories. The loss of life and innocence and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families. Best of Rolling Stone DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Two teens are going to prison for more than 20 years after pleading guilty to the murder of a Lyft driver. Brandon Coopers family spoke in a full courtroom about the pain they still feel after he was lured to a location and gunned down. Rideshare driver dead, woman robbed: 4 juveniles arrested Theres not a day that goes by that I dont think of him, said Michelle Cooper, mother of Brandon Cooper. Police say Cooper was driving a Lyft when four teens lured him into a location to rob him. They shot inside his car, killing him. Both of the defendants were tried as adults in the case. Datrayvon Mitchell received 25 years to life for his role in Coopers murder. Tylan Peaks received 27 years in prison. Emotions were high during the sentencing. Peaks said he didnt mean to hurt anyone when he and the other defendants attempted to carjack Cooper with a loaded gun. However, the Prosecution says this is not true. Dayton teen pleads guilty in 2022 murder of Lyft driver Brandon Cooper When you bring a gun to a robbery, its likely that gun will be used and it was unfortunately with Mr. Cooper, said Montgomery County Prosecutor. Coopers mother spoke before the sentencing, addressing Peaks directly. So that life you took that fateful morning, he was an amazing young man who would help anyone, said Michelle Cooper. Both defendants issued apologies directly to the family. 2 NEWS spoke with the father of one of the defendants who says he wishes he would have done more to help before all this happened. 2nd juvenile suspect in January 2022 ride-share slaying moved to adult court And I as a parent, I feel like I let him down. Maybe if I had been there more. But hes not like what everybodys trying to make him, said Bryon Peaks, Tylans father. The other two juveniles in the case were sentenced to five and six years in the Department of Youth Services. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. UPDATE Aug. 1: The girls parents have been located, according to a social media post from Tehachapi police. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Tehachapi Police are asking for help in identifying and reuniting a child with her parents after she was found by officers outside of a Dominos Pizza. According to the department, officers found the 10 to 13-year-old girl in front of the Dominos Pizza on Valley Blvd. at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, police said through a news release. Kern County firefighters rescue dog in Borel Fire Officers said the girl appears to be autistic or has some other similar impairment. She has severely limited communication abilities and officers were not able to learn information related to her residence or guardians. She also did not have any form of identification on her person. Anyone with information on her identity or residence should immediately call Tehachapi police at 661-822-2222. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. This photo taken on July 31, 2024 shows Beijing Pass, a multi-purpose card for international visitors, in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua] The Chinese capital introduced the Beijing Pass, a multi-purpose card for international visitors, on Wednesday, facilitating their payment for transportation, tourist sites and shopping centers. With a maximum balance of 1,000 yuan (about $140.16), the Beijing Pass not only supports card payments for the Beijing Subway, suburban railways and taxis within Beijing, but also for public transportation in over 300 cities across China, including major tourist destinations like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanjing. Moreover, international visitors can also use the card to purchase tickets for 30 popular tourist attractions in Beijing, such as the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Starting on Wednesday, international visitors can purchase or refund the Beijing Pass at 15 locations in Beijing, including Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Railway Station, with a valid ID. Cardholders can top up their Beijing Pass at 490 stations across the city's 27 subway lines through service counters or designated self-service machines. They can also add funds online via the "SilkPass" mobile application. "In the future, we will continue to monitor the needs of international visitors and expand the card's functions and usage scenarios to make it more convenient and versatile," said Feng Ya, a member of staff at Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., Ltd., which issues the card. As one of China's top tourist destinations, Beijing received more than 1.65 million inbound tourists in the first half of this year, up 245.6 percent year on year, according to official data. Meanwhile, many other cities across China have implemented similar measures to ensure a smooth travel experience for international visitors. For instance, the Shanghai Pass, a multi-purpose prepaid card for foreign visitors launched this May, can be used for payments at tourist spots, convenience stores in Shanghai, and for public transportation in over 330 Chinese cities. Voters across Tennessee on Thursday had their say in the Republican and Democratic primaries for state and federal office. In the race for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Gloria Johnson won her party's nomination and will take on Republican incumbent U.S. Marsha Blackburn in the November election. Meanwhile, in the closely watched Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles held on to defeat Metro Council member Courtney Johnston. In state legislative races, incumbent state Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, chair of the Senate Education Committee, lost his Republican primary to Bobby Harshbarger, in what could be the biggest upset of the evening. And in an open state House seat in Nashville, Republican Chad Bobo and Democrat Shaundelle Brooks emerged victorious Thursday from competitive primaries. Brooks' profile has grown in recent years as a grassroots gun reform advocate following the shooting death of her son, Akilah, in the 2018 Waffle House mass shooting. Here are the latest updates. Live election results: Click here for live results from across Tennessee More than 68,000 turn out in Davidson County The final voter turnout in Davidson County was at 68,089, according to Election Administrator Jeff Roberts. Rachel Wegner Ogles: 'We came, we saw, we conquered' Rep. Andy Ogles made his first appearance at Ludlow & Prime steakhouse at 8:45 p.m. to raucous applause after he was announced winner in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District. The invite-only event, with free drinks, was full of campaign volunteers and large donors and had been buzzing since news the race was called reached the restaurant just before 8:30 p.m. Standing in a crowd of supporters, Ogles first words were: We came, we saw, we conquered. Beside his wife and three children, Ogles thanked God, his family and Tori Venable, the state director of Americans for Prosperity, an influential Koch brothers-funded political group that backed his campaign. Challenger Courtney Johnston, a Nashville Metro Councilmember, had called him to concede minutes before. He accused Johnston of assassinating his character because she cant run on her record. But the fifth Congressional district wasnt buying any of that B.S., Ogles said. He said Johnston ran a spirited race," adding that her team put in a good effort, but obviously we prevailed. As "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang began to play, he continued. The republic is at stake, he said, I won because of you. Im here for you. Evan Mealins Johnston supporters express disappointment after Ogles wins Jon Mabe, 57, from Nashville, knows the Courtney Johnston's family personally. That motivated him to come to support her at her watch party. "I'm sad and I wish things had turned out differently, he said of the results. "But she's still on the city council and I hope that she continues her work there. He praised her campaign, saying: The reason we supported her is because she is doing it for the right reasons. Brenda Griffin, 76, from Nashville, was following the news on a TV screen at the watch party earlier in the evening. I think she is a natural campaigner and did a great job, Griffin said. Griffin criticized Johnstons opponent Andy Ogles as not being approachable to constituents. He spent a lot of money from the taxpayers but there was little return," she said. Angela Gruber Gloria Johnson: 'We're building a movement' A group of about 40 to 50 supporters cheered as state Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, greeted colleague Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, with a warm embrace and hug after she won the Democratic primary for U.S Senate. The pair make up two-thirds of the Tennessee Three and that fellowship was a theme for the their speeches Thursday evening in Memphis. Both Pearson and Johnson echoed the sentiments that a new wave of politicians is coming into the fold in the Volunteer State, a multicultural, multigenerational group that represents the states socioeconomic diversity. Were building a movement here in Tennessee, Johnson said. "To fight for you and make life easier for all those who call Tennessee home. Supporters continued to cheer and intermittently broke into Gloria, Gloria chants as the she thanked them for their support. She championed campaign platforms for living wages, affordable health care and womens reproductive rights. Towards the end of her speech, Johnson took jabs at her GOP opponent in the November election: incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee. Johnson called out Blackburn for consistently voting against the Affordable Care Act, supporting the repeal of Roe v. Wade and for petitioning against gun reform in Tennessee. Johnson extended that criticism toward the Republican presidential ticket of former president Donald Trump and JD Vance, before throwing her support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. With Kamala Harris at the the top of the ticket, we will win," Johnson said. "Lets do this. Neil Strebig, The Commercial Appeal Johnston: 'The honor of my life' Courtney Johnston delivered a concession speech shortly before 9 p.m. "It's been the honor of my life," she said. "We have worked so hard, and we've left it all on the field, we have it everything we got. I believe in my message, and I will continue to believe in good, honest representation with a heart for public service to make our community better." Antonia Lopez Watch party erupts as race called for Ogles Cheers and claps sharply broke out at 8:25 p.m. in the back right corner of Ludlow & Prime steakhouse in Franklin, the site of Republican Rep. Andy Ogles' watch party. Supporters, who have been at the party for a little more than an hour, showed their phones to those seated next to them or standing at the bar. The Associated Press called the race for Ogles shortly before, delivering the incumbent a win in a close race against his challenger, Nashville Metro Council member Courtney Johnston. Robert Swope, a former Nashville Metro Council member, picked up a microphone from where Ogles was expected to deliver a speech once he arrived. His speech should take place 10-15 minutes after a concession call is made. I am looking at the Secretary of States website, Swope said, holding up his phone. He read the vote totals. Guests yelled in support, one saying, Yay, Andy Ogles! I know the local news media hates this, Swope said. The crowd laughed, and the claps and cheers continued. Evan Mealins Ogles wins in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District Incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, has held on to win the Republican nomination for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Ogles shortly before 8:30 p.m. CDT. Duane W. Gang Traffic causing delays in Davidson County reporting Davidson County Election Administrator Jeff Roberts said that heavy traffic leading to the election headquarters was causing delays as poll officials delivered results. Only some precincts had reported as of 8:15 p.m. Rachel Wegner Johnston supporters look at a tighter race than expected Jane and Phil Brown walked into the AC Hotel in Brentwood in matching Courtney Johnston for Congress shirts, receiving many compliments from those attending. The lobby of the hotel continued to fill up as more votes came in, people anxiously awaiting Johnstons appearance. As voting results came through, people are hunched over their phones, checking results. Johnston supporters are thinking it may be a harder race than they thought. Its gonna be close, said Shirley Reynolds. (Ogles) is getting a lot of votes from counties outside Davidson. Antonia Lopez Johnson greets supporters as early victory called Murmurs among supporters and staff began swirling that Gloria Johnson won the Democratic primary for one of Tennessee's U.S. Senate races. One staffer swung her phone saying, Didnt you hear? They (Associated Press) called it." It was about 7:50 p.m., by the time the woman of the hour, Johnson walked into Ghost River Brewing Co. in Downtown South Memphis. Johnson greeted supporters at a table and her first announcement, Let me get some water. Neil Strebig, The Commercial Appeal Ogles takes narrow early lead in Tennessees 5th Freshman U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles broke out with a narrow early lead in rural counties, while his challenger Courtney Johnston scored high in her home county Davidsons early vote. With just over 35% of results in as of 7:40 p.m., Ogles led Johnston in Wilson, Williamson, Marshall counties, and his home Maury County. Johnston held a significant lead over Ogles in early votes reported in Davidson County, earning more than 6,000 votes while Ogles 3,800. Vivian Jones Supporters gather in Brentwood for Johnston watch party Chatter spread throughout the AC Hotel in Brentwood as people checked in for Courtney Johnstons watch party and headed over to the hotel bar at 7:20 p.m. No music was playing, but around 40 people sat in front of the lobbys televisions, with others waiting for the appetizers and drinks to be put out. Guests were dressed in their Sunday best, some wearing American flag shirts, others in full suits. People waited expectantly, some hoping for a change in representation for their district. I am looking for a change in representative for the fifth district, said Robert Reynolds, as he stood next to his wife. We have not been properly represented. Antonia Lopez AP calls Senate Democratic primary for Johnson As early results roll in from at least 15 counties, the Associated Press called the Democratic U.S. Senate primary for state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. AP's call came around 7:15 p.m., before votes had been tallied in the state's major metro areas. Johnson was vying for the Democratic nomination in the Senate race against Memphis advocate Marquita Bradshaw, Lola Denise Brown and Civil Miller-Watkins. Melissa Brown Ogles supporters gather in Franklin steakhouse About three dozen supporters of incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, were gathered in Ludlow & Prime steakhouse in Franklin at 7 p.m., half an hour before the events official start. The guests, including former Nashville Metro Councilmember Robert Swope who said he has always supported Ogles were well-dressed, most wearing suits and dresses. Ogles had not yet made an appearance. An employee of the restaurant said the campaign rented out the left side of the restaurant, which includes the bar. The campaign is covering drinks for all guests. Evan Mealins Blackburn clinches Republican nomination in US Senate race Incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, has secured the Republican nomination in Thursday's Senate primary, easily beating out former Tennessee General Assembly policy aide Tres Wittum. The Senate Republican primary was one of the earliest races called on Thursday. Votes are still being tallied in the Democratic primary, where state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and Memphis advocate Marquita Bradshaw are among the candidates vying for the nomination. Melissa Brown Polls close Polls closed at 7 p.m. Early returns will roll in first, followed by more results as precincts begin reporting statewide. Canvassers engage 1 million statewide A coalition of progressive organizations says it made more than a million attempts to encourage potential voters to go to the polls this election cycle. The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, CivicTN, The Equity Alliance, Organize Tennessee and others made 6,250 phone calls, sent 658,573 texts and wrote 407,884 postcards to voters across Tennessee, according to a news release sent by TIRRCs voter engagement arm, TIRRC Votes. TIRRC Votes also knocked on 11,520 doors. Our canvassers had thousands of conversations with voters at the doors and on the phones, and we know our community is ready to make their voices heard this election, TIRRC Votes political director Pratik Dash said in the news release. Immigrant and refugee voters and their allies are a powerful voting bloc, and they are building a movement that shows up to vote for candidates that represent our communities up and down the ballot, in every election." Evan Mealins A slow day for poll workers Only two or three people were casting their votes at Christ Church off Old Hickory Boulevard just after 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Poll officer Ben Dobbs sat at the end of a row of mostly empty tables, save for a few poll workers. Hes hes been working the polls for more than 12 years. When asked about how things were going, his answer was simple: Slow. Really slow. He said just 84 voters has passed through the polling location so far that day. Rachel Wegner Turnout 'very light' across Davidson County Halfway through election day voting, turnout is "very light," Davidson County Administrator of Elections Jeff Roberts said by telephone. The Davidson County Election Commission polled the top 35 precincts across the county. "At 1 p.m. we had 3,392 ballots cast," Roberts said. "It's been very light." Kirsten Fiscus Early voter turnout down statewide If this primary seems to have low voter turnout, thats because it does. Early voting was down nearly 40% across the state when compared to 2020, according to data published by the Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargetts office. Turnout is up about 26% from 2016. In Davidson County, just over 40,000 people voted early, 46% lower than 2020. In Williamson County, 11% fewer people voted early than 2020. Only seven counties Bledsoe, Campbell, Clay, Gibson, Lauderdale, Lincoln and Overton increased their early voting turnout this primary compared to 2020. When compared to 2016, nearly half of Tennessees counties increased their turnout. Wilson County had 8,694 who voted early or by absentee ballot, according to the Wilson County Election Commission. So far election day has been a "light turnout," said Administrator of Elections Tammy Smith who estimates a 13,000-15,000 total turnout at the pace through late Thursday morning unless activity picks up. Kirsten Fiscus and Andy Humbles District 5 candidate seeks to rally Democrats Outside the early morning lines at Westmeade Elementary School in Nashville, Maryam Abolfalzi, the Democratic candidate in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, stood greeting voters. Wearing her campaign slogan "This is Our Fight" on a bright blue baseball hat to ward off the impending summer sun, Abolfalzi was optimistic about the long election day ahead. The primaries are really important because we have to get Democrats out to vote, she said. We have to get those numbers showing up. Its really important to show the power in our numbers that we actually are here, we are voting, we do care. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, was elected in 2022 following a Republican-led redistricting plan that split Davidson County, a longtime Democratic stronghold, into three Republican-dominated congressional districts. Ogles faces Metro Council member Courtney Johnston in the GOP primary today. Abolfalzi hopes to flip the district back to blue in November. She is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. People dont think that a Democrat can win District 5 again, but I think we can, she said. I think inspiration and hope are really important. If Im out here telling people that we can do this togetherwe need that in Tennessee. Its been really depressive for quite a while. Angele Latham Few people waiting in one 5th District precinct Theres only one word to describe the turnout so far slow. Metro Nashville Council member Erin Evans stood outside Ruby Major Elementary School, a cooling fan wrapped around her neck. The school is in the 5th Congressional District, where there is a competitive Republican primary between incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, and Metro Council member Courtney Johnston. The area also is in state House District 60, an open seat in this year's election. Its been so slow, Evans said, holding a candidate sign for Tennessee House District 60 candidate Tyler Brasher. Election officer Victor Van Cleave said 5,408 people are registered to vote at the school. Only 27 people had checked in by 8:15 a.m., but 590 people voted early, Van Cleave said. Thats 10%, so not too bad, he said. We expected a line when we opened the door. There were only three people waiting this morning. Kirsten Fiscus Slow start to the primaries in some Nashville precincts As the sun peeked out between cloud cover, and the humidity rose with each passing minute, you might not even know its an Election Day if it werent for the vote here signs outside McGavock Elementary School in Donelson. The precinct was off to an unsurprising slow start. Poll workers kept themselves busy with books waiting for more voters. Thirty minutes into polls open, only two voters had passed through. While checking one in, a poll worker expressed surprise when prompted to have the voter sign their name to the voter oath electronically in addition to the receipt paper copy. Thats new, she said. Everything is new this time, another worker replied. Kirsten Fiscus What time do polls open? Polls open at 7 a.m. CT and close at 7 p.m. CT. Do I need to bring a photo ID to vote in Nashville, Tennessee? Yes. Voters in Tennessee must bring a valid photo identification card, which can include a driver's license or photo ID issued by the state of Tennessee, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military photo ID or a Tennessee handgun carry permit that includes a photo. College student IDs, city- or county-issued IDs, and out-of-state photo IDs are not accepted. You do not need to bring your voter registration card to vote. What to know: What time do polls open in Tennessee? Where's my precinct? What to know for the Aug. 1 election This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee election live updates: Races to watch when results come in NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) August 1 is Election Day in Tennessee and voters will get to cast a ballot for their preferred candidate in multiple primary elections. However, despite low voter turnout this year compared to the 2020 primary, several consequential races are on the ballot for both Democratic and Republican voters. Below are three of the major storylines to watch on August 1. U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY Gloria Johnson and Marquita Bradshaw have been focusing their race for US Senate on ousting Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, but before either can face the incumbent, they need to win the partys nomination. Johnson is a Democrat from Knoxville who is a retired special education teacher and currently serves in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Johnson made national headlines last year as a member of the Tennessee Three. The Democratic trio faced expulsion in the Statehouse after the Covenant shooting because they broke House rules as they advocated for gun reform on the floor. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts While all three of the lawmakers broke chamber rules, Johnson is the only one of the three to survive expulsion. Johnson kept her seat by one vote, but state Reps. Pearson and Jones were expelledthough, in an August 2023 special election, both Jones and Pearson won their seats back in landslide victories. Marquita Bradshaw is an environmental activist from Memphis who has previously run for a US Senate seat. In 2020, Bradshaw ran against now-Senator Bill Hagerty. While Bradshaw did get more than a million votes, Hagerty ultimately received 62% of the vote compared to her 35%. Both women say they can defeat Sen. Blackburn in November by focusing on issues with broad appeal like abortion, gun reform, and the environment. U.S CONGRESS DISTRICT 5 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY Thursdays elections could cost one sitting member of Congress his seat. Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles is facing a well-funded primary challenger for the 5th congressional district. Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston currently represents Nashvilles 26th district, which includes parts of Berry Hill and areas near Brentwood. In 2022, former Maury County mayor Andy Ogles won a competitive Republican primary before winning the general election by a 14-point margin. Ogles also received the endorsement of former President Trump. However, Johnstons campaign has been blanketing the airwaves with ads attacking Ogles. Johnston says the one-term congressman has embarrassed Tennessee and has used his time in office to make headlines rather than pass laws. Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom Ogles has introduced more than 70 bills in his first term including Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris and the Liberty in Laundry Act, which would prohibit the US Secretary of Energy from enforcing energy conservation standards for clothes washers. He says a lot but does nothing, Johnston said of her opponent. The legislation he has put forth has been nonsense.it is all performative. Johnston said if she makes it to Washington she wants to focus on issues like immigration, the national deficit, and addressing the needs of Middle Tennessee communities. A major part of Ogles campaign messaging has focused on his previous endorsement from Trump, but Johnston says she could also get support from the top of the Republican ticket. I would put good money that if I ever met Trump, he would endorse me in a second. But I think this election is not about Trump its about Tennessee, she said. Ogles did not respond to repeated requests to be interviewed for this story. UNIVERSAL VOUCHER OPPONENTS FACE CHALLENGERS This cycle, some state Republican incumbents are facing fierce and well-funded primary challengers. Considering Tennessee district maps have been drawn in a way that favors Republican candidates in the General Election, the winner of the primary will likely go on to win the seat in November. The issue at the center of some of the races for the Statehouse is school vouchers. Earlier this month, the pro-voucher School Freedom Fund announced their plan to launch a $3.6 million campaign in Tennessee to unseat five Republican lawmakers who didnt support Governor Lees universal voucher legislation. Despite a GOP supermajority in the Statehouse, Lee hasnt been able to get this part of his agenda over the finish line. Vanderbilt Political Science professor John Geer said the millions being thrown into these traditionally low-turnout races can be a double-edged sword for the governor. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The outcome will be very interesting because if indeed these state senators survive, that will be a blow to Lees efforts here, Geer said. [Lee] has put a lot on the line and you have to give him credit because he has worked every angle and that is what he should be doing. If it doesnt work that will be a black mark. He has already failed a couple of times on vouchers. Lee has previously told reporters he has been taken note of where members of his party stand on the issue. Ive said a lot of times I get engaged in elections, and I get engaged in candidates, and Ive met with several candidates, some who are in open seats; some who are incumbents, Gov. Lee said in May. This year what Im talking to candidates about is education freedom and choice for parents. I want to know where new candidates stand on that issue because its so important to me, so youll see me talking to candidates. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April was operating in self-driving mode at the time of the crash, Washington State Patrol announced. A 2022 Tesla Model S was driving behind the motorcycle eastbound on State Route 522 in Maltby, about 25 miles northeast of Seattle, on the afternoon of April 19, according to an accident report obtained by USA TODAY on Wednesday. The Tesla was in self-driving mode and the driver was looking at his cellphone, he later told police, the agency said in a news release. When the motorcyclist slowed because of traffic in front of him, the 56-year-old Tesla driver crashed into him, according to the report. The motorcyclist, 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen of Stanwood, was killed. Here's what to know about the crash, Tesla's self-driving mode and whether the driver will face charges. A Tesla Model S is pictured in 2019. Tesla driver arrested after crash The Tesla driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide and admitted to officers that he was distracted and did not have full control of the car, police said, adding that he was not impaired. The driver posted bond before his initial hearing and the case was referred to the Snohomish County Prosecutor to determine if he will be formally charged, police said. Vehicles with self-driving capabilities are not allowed in Washington "other than those unique situations that are under certified testing arrangements with the Department of Licensing, Chris Loftis, a Washington State Patrol spokesman told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Currently three companies NVIDIA, Waymo, and Zoox are certified for testing-only in the state. Loftis also said that drivers in Washington are always responsible for the safe and legal operation of their vehicle. A car may have the capacity to be driven autonomously but that does not give the driver the legal right to do so, he said. "Our laws govern our behavior even if a specific vehicles capacity offers options outside the law, safety, and courtesy. Tesla recalls: 1.85 million vehicles over hood latch issue that could increase risk of crash Teslas autopilot and self-driving modes Many of Teslas models are equipped with autopilot and self-driving modes. The automotive company outlines some guidance for drivers who plan to use the features and warns that the features "do not make the vehicle autonomous. While using Autopilot, it is your responsibility to stay alert, keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times and maintain control of your vehicle, an article on the company's website said. Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. In April, an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that "Autopilots control may be insufficient to prevent crashes due to lack of driver engagement." During the investigation, the government agency identified at least 13 fatalities and 32 injuries that may have been caused while Teslas were in autopilot mode. Who is Jeffrey Nissen? Nissen was engaged to be married and was about to become a stepfather to three young children, a KIRO-TV reported. Nissen's fiance, Janae Hutchinson, said he was a father figure to her children and allowed her to quit her job to focus on her small business and be a full-time mother, she told the station. Its so difficult for me to try and console my kids and say, Im so sorry. Hes not coming home, she told the station. He was like a dad to them. He taught them how to work on motorcycles. He taught my youngest how to ride a bike. He took us on adventures." Hutchinson told the news station that she blames the Tesla driver for the crash. I was so angry that someone could feel comfortable enough to rely on their vehicle to move them through traffic, and that they thought they could look at their phone, and just a split second, it took somebodys life, she told the station. Hutchinson said she hopes Tesla will work on their safety features to prevent another crash. Its really ironic what is considered to be one of the safe vehicles that has the best features that can protect somebody would take someones life, she told KIRO-TV. USA TODAY was working to reach Tesla to comment on the crash. Ahjane Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjane covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com . Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tesla that killed Washington motorcyclist was self-driving: Police AUSTIN (KXAN) Texas leaders are issuing statements of their reactions to a historic prisoner exchange that took place Thursday between the United States and Russia, which freed several Americans from Russian imprisonment, including a Wall Street Journal reporter and former U.S. Marine. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released in the exchange, along with journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, and five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were being held as political prisoners. According to reporting from The Hill, Whelan was arrested in 2018 and later convicted of spying. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. government designated him wrongfully detained but had failed to secure his release in earlier prisoner exchanges that saw the release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who were released in separate exchanges in 2022. PAST COVERAGE | Why the US was able to bring home Brittney Griner but not Paul Whelan Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of collecting state secrets on the Russian military on behalf of the U.S. government. He became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War and was sentenced in July to 16 years in prison, The Hill reported. Sen. Ted Cruz U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today following the announcement of the releases: Im pleased that these wrongfully detained Americans will finally be reunited with their loved ones here at home. Their release was long overdue. I have long called on Vladimir Putin and the Russian government to release them and for the United States to increase pressure on Russia until they did so. Their unjust detention is finally over. Hostage negotiations are among the most difficult and wrenching tasks that our diplomats face. It requires wrenching choices regarding the demands made by hostage-takers, and all too often about leaving Americans behind. This blackmail is precisely why hostage-taking regimes should be treated as out of bounds by the civilized international community. Todays news revealed that Americans have indeed been left in unjust detention in Russia, and we must recommit ourselves to securing their release. I remain committed to advocating for every Texan and American who is being wrongly detained abroad, including Mark Swidan, a Texan who remains unjustly detained by the Chinese Communist Party, and Austin Tice. I call on the Biden administration will (sic) redouble its efforts to secure his freedom. Sen. Cruz Sen. John Cornyn U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after the announcement that Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich were released: I am relieved that Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich will soon return home after years of wrongful detention in Russia. The baseless charges, sham trials, and unjust imprisonment of these men is a stark reminder of Russias blatant disregard for human rights and its continued oppression of innocent Americans. I join the American people in celebrating the long-awaited release of Paul and Evan and urge the Biden Administration to continue working to secure the freedom of other innocent Americans, including Texans Austin Tice and Mark Swidan. Sen. Cornyn Rep. Lloyd Doggett U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) issued the below statement: The release of the persecuted from the horrors of the Russian gulag is a cause for celebration. It reflects the skilled, determined efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration, coordinating with allies to reunite the innocent with their families. Rep. Doggett KXAN has reached out to several Texas officials offices to ask for their statements and will update this story when we receive responses. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Texas A&M announces new details about a second new building at Fort Worth campus Texas A&M has released new details about plans for its second building at its Fort Worth campus. At a Thursday meeting, the university systems board of regents gave a green light to begin designing what will be the second new building, dubbed Research and Innovation Building A. Building A is slated to house a number of Texas A&M system agencies. Texas A&Ms transportation institute, engineering experiment station, engineering extension service, AgriLife Research agency and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are all expected to be part of the research campus. Our state agencies bring a whole different dynamic to the campus, whether through research, workforce training or other services to the community and local businesses, Chancellor John Sharp said in a statement. Sharp, a longtime proponent of the Fort Worth campus, will be retiring next June. Texas A&M will expand its presence in downtown Fort Worth with a three-building complex built on four blocks where the current law school is today. This January 2023 photo looking north shows the blocks between the parallel Jones Street, in the right foreground, and Calhoun Street. Texas A&M began construction last year on its eight-story, $185 million Law and Education Building, which is set to be completed in December 2025. Research and Innovation Building A will be adjacent to it, across from the Convention Center. A second research-focused building is also a possibility. Texas A&Ms long-range plans leave space for future expansion for Research & Innovation Building B, the university said. Building A could cost as much as $260 million, according to Texas A&M. Thats about $80 million more than the under-construction Law and Education building, which is being financed by bonds backed by Texas Permanent University Fund. Building A will be financed by tenant leases, donations and parking revenue. Its 150,000 square feet of lab space and offices for Texas A&M agencies will cost $150 million alone. The rest of the property will have space for private-sector partners and parking. A new rendering of the future campus was also released on Thursday. A new rendering released on August 1, 2024 depicts the first two buildings of the Texas A&M - Fort Worth campus amid other downtown landmarks. Texas A&M will soon begin designing the second building. It is unclear when construction of Building A could begin. A number of national and regional firms will plan and construct Building A and the campus third structure, the Gateway Building. Infrastructure and real estate firm Edgemoor, Dallas developer KDC, design firms Smith Group and Bennett Partners, and builders Clark Construction and Byrne Construction are expected to work on both projects. The multi-purpose Gateway Building will go up where the existing law school building stands now. Building A is also slated to house public and private research programs focused on a range of fields, including aerospace, defense, engineering, health science and computer-based visualization technology. An extension of the universitys new, cutting edge Visual Production Institute will be part of the Fort Worth campus. The city and Tarrant County are partnering with Texas A&M to establish the research campus. Local companies looking to train the next generation of their workforce are expected to partner, too. Dignitaries and elected officials break ground on Texas A&M-Fort Worths new $150 million Law and Education Building on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. At the groundbreaking for campus first building in June 2023, it was announced that aerospace and defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin, aviation and defense company Elbit Systems of America, and eye care giant Alcon had made corporate partnerships with the Fort Worth campus. Companies will help design curriculum and lab spaces for research and innovation programs. The Fort Worth campus will span four blocks between East 16th and East 13th streets. It will be the citys first Tier One research university. The 3.5-acre campus is expected to breathe life into underdeveloped land in the heart of downtown. The site has been home to parking lots for years, but in the late 1800s it was part of the red-light district Hells Half Acre. City leaders have lauded the development as transformative for the city. It is expected to add jobs, increase property values, boost local workforce training and attract businesses, potentially lowering the residential tax burden. Texas youth lockups are beset by abuse and mistreatment of children, Justice Department report says FILE - The Department of Justice seals is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office in Washington, May 16, 2023. Texas' youth lockups remain beset by sexual abuse, excessive use of pepper spray and keeping children isolated in cells for most of the time, the DOJ said Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in a scathing report that accused the state of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of youths inside the facilities. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Youth lockups in Texas remain beset by sexual abuse, excessive use of pepper spray and other mistreatment including the prolonged isolation of children in their cells, the Justice Department said Thursday in a scathing report that accused the state of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds in custody. The report comes three years after the department launched a federal investigation into alleged widespread abuse and harsh practices within the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, which takes in hundreds of young people every year. Staff in the detention centers have engaged in sexual acts with children, kept some for stretches of 17 to 22 hours of isolation in their cells and pepper sprayed children in their faces, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in releasing the report. Clarke also noted that about 80% of Texas children in the lockups are Black or Hispanic. This is a racial justice issue,'' she said. Our children deserve to be protected from harm and access to essential services. In a statement, the state juvenile justice department said it has a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect and had worked closely with federal investigators during their site visit in 2022. Spokespeople for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's office did not immediately return emails seeking comment Thursday. The governor's office said it would cooperate with the federal investigation when it launched. Mental health concerns, such as suicidal ideation and self-harm, were ignored while children were routinely punished for their behavior, according to the federal report. The facilities' inability to address or treat these issues were a violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, officials said during the announcement. The Justice Department said in the report that it looks forward to cooperating with the state to address the violations while also raising the potential of a federal lawsuit. This report makes clear that we are failing our youth, that we are not providing the care they need to be successful, founder and chief executive officer of Lone Stare Justice Alliance, a youth justice advocacy group, Elizabeth Henneke said. The Texas legislature has to respond with urgency. Its not that they havent been responding, because they have. But it hasnt been enough. In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation into Texas five juvenile facilities after advocates filed a complaint. About 900 youth are detained in understaffed and outdated juvenile facilities across the state, Henneke said, adding that the problems they face in the lockups highlight structural challenges including a lack of resources at state and local levels. She said judges and lawmakers should think creatively about other rehabilitation efforts because mistreatment at facilities only exacerbates trauma in young people. Texas is not the only state facing federal investigations by the government, or lawsuits from former incarcerated children over harsh conditions in youth lockups. Clark announced in May a federal probe of conditions in Kentuckys youth detention centers after a state report found problems with use of force and isolation techniques. Lawsuits have been filed this year in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey alleging harsh treatment of incarcerated children. ____ This story has been updated to correct the spelling of U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. An early morning kayaker paddles on the Colorado River in Needles, separating California from Arizona. The city became the hottest city in the nation in July. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A town of 5,200 just inside the California border along Route 66 now boasts a scorching new record the hottest monthly average temperature in the country. Needles averaged 103.2 degrees in July, surpassing Phoenixs highest average temperature last July of 102.7 degrees, according to the Arizona State Climate Office. In an X post, the department ceded the unfortunate title to Needles. Phoenix is happy to relinquish the record to Needles, now the hottest monthly U.S. city with 103.2F (preliminary avg July temp). Arizona welcomes a few new members to the 100F+ monthly temp club: Palm Springs (100.0F) and Blythe (100.7F). Welcome? This is the 2nd time pic.twitter.com/0IxUByqtWk AZ State Climate (@AZStateClimate) August 1, 2024 The post also referenced two other cities, Palm Springs and Blythe, and welcomed them to the club of cities with average temperatures of at least three digits for an entire month. "Welcome?" the post said. Jan Jernigan, the mayor of Needles, was not surprised by her town's achievement, saying: "We probably did [beat the record], quite easily." The heat is a part of the town's culture. When the City Council hosts meetings, it offers guests a basket of Red Hots candy with a sign that reads, "Needles is Red Hot," Jernigan said. Needles has learned to hold city events early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat, Jernigan said. A food distribution event this morning started around 5 a.m. and lasted only until 8 a.m., she said, before temperatures became oppressive. The town, also known for references in the "Peanuts" comics as the home of Snoopy's brother Spike, still draws tourists and residents alike to its three beaches on the Colorado River where they can try to beat the summer heat, said City Manager Patrick Martinez. The city has spent $8.4 million in grants to improve infrastructure, including updating parks, he said. "You've [got to] be waist-deep in the Colorado River" to stay cool in Needles, he said. Read more: These California counties endured the nation's longest streaks of excessive heat In late June, the region's intense heat was partly to blame for an unusual brush fire that broke out near Needles, burning 70 acres and destroying one structure. It crossed into Arizona and burned 143 acres there. Martinez said the infrastructure upgrades included beach cleanups that will help reduce the risk of future wildfires, especially during a wildfire-prone summer. This year's hot weather has contributed to fires burning 30 times as many acres statewide as last year. To fight the heat, the town operates a senior center that provides water and a cool place for people to gather. It is equipped with a generator and can be opened during an emergency if power outages put residents in danger of overheating, Martinez said. Jernigan said the most recent improvements to Needles' infrastructure aren't the end of the story. "We still have a long way to go," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Harris campaign's 'weird' social strategy seems to be working. Will it translate to votes? The Obama administration had, Yes we can. Hillary Clinton had, Im with her. And now, Kamala Harriss campaign has Weird. Last Thursday, the Harris campaign issued a press statement reacting to former President Donald Trumps most recent interview with Fox News. In it, they wrote, Trump is old and quite weird? Harris was even saying weird as far back as 2018 when she, as a contender for the Democratic nomination, said if Trump behaved the same as he did during his 2016 debate against Clinton with Harris she would turn around and ask, Why are you being so weird? Latest Harris campaign email: "Trump is old and quite weird?" pic.twitter.com/AUlr9MeRqm Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) July 25, 2024 The campaigns use of weird and more casual language in general in that same press statement, they wrote, This guy shouldnt be president ever again aligns with the internet presence Harris has embraced since announcing her plans to run for the Democratic nominee: Relatable and concise. Maybe a little weird too. The relationship with social media, especially when it comes to political candidates within the last few election cycles, is critical. Its what television did for John F. Kennedy and what YouTube did for Barack Obama this is where young people are going and where candidates need to market. And young people can immediately tell when its being faked. Thats where the Harris campaign excels, says Angela Corbo, chair of communications at Widener University. Harris's presence on social media shows all sides of her persona her seriousness and her goofiness clearly displayed on both her official vice presidential X account and her campaigns rapid response account, respectively. The campaigns communications team did not respond to Yahoo Newss request for comment. She really presents herself as this, I am Kamala, this is who I am, Corbo told Yahoo News. I think it was a strategic move on her campaigns party to say, We were criticized before for not being vibrant. Now were going to do it. As vice president, Harris was portrayed by the press and White House insiders as someone sidelined and constrained who is struggling to carve out a lane for herself. An Onion headline from 2021 captures the general sentiment toward her over the last four years: White House Urges Kamala Harris To Sit At Computer All Day In Case Emails Come Through. She just has a different energy and that energy is coming through on social media, Corbo said. Theres a very conscious choice to be represented as the former attorney general, as a prosecutor, as Momala, as an auntie, as an AKA sorority sister. [The campaign is] playing into that. Will online memes translate to polling numbers? Both coconut-pilled and Brat have already exhausted their short-lived meme lifespans, but the campaign has managed to keep up the momentum for Harris online in a way that has resonated with voters offline. Young people have set the agenda, Antonio Arellano, the vice president of communications at the youth voter-focused nonprofit NextGen America, told Yahoo News. You can bet your bottom dollar that young people are not just going to put out memes, theyre going to turn out and mobilize like never before. why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why cant I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024 When President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 election and endorsed Harris, something shifted with voters and that was reflected online. The Pew Research Center reported in mid-July that young voters were more likely to say they would replace both Biden and Trump on the ticket if possible. Bidens approval ratings from Gen Z and millennials were already at record lows in 2022. Voters were ready for someone new. The Harris campaign made sure they met her, even if it meant through memes. Were dealing with a digital generation, Arellano said. Harris is leveraging TikTok and Instagram and innovative new ways to engage with young people. Thats exactly what we need to do. Within a week of Harris launching her campaign, Vote.org experienced its highest levels of voter registrations out of the whole election cycle, the majority of which were from those under the age of 34. NextGen America saw a 166% spike in volunteer sign-ups, the organization told Yahoo News. Suggesting that Gen Z is only about memes and not about votes completely undermines and dismisses their political power, Arellano added. The momentum is on the side of an aspirational campaign thats looking forward into the future. Thats the campaign that Kamala Harris is running. Simone Biles has now surpassed all the other Olympic GOATs. Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan were freed by Russia in prisoner swap. And theres a new alphabet song in town. Hey, Thursday! Its Laura Davis here, and the weekend is in sight! Lets get you caught up on the news. But first: Lets explore the best of the American bar scene. From neighborhood taverns to the finest cocktail meccas, see USA TODAY's top bars for 2024. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. Biles' incomparable legacy Simone Biles is the best to ever do it and its not even close. In her sport. And in all others. She'd probably even crush writing this newsletter. With her second Olympic all-around title Thursday night, Biles showed why she's exceptional even among the most elite athletes. Shes now, as teammate Jordan Chiles put it earlier this week, the greatest of the greats. How she's twisted and turned to the top. Simone Biles celebrates after winning gold in the Olympic womens gymnastics all-around on Thursday. Americans freed in Russia prisoner swap Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released from Russian custody Thursday as part of a six-nation deal that was the biggest prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow since the Cold War. Here's how the swap unfolded. What they're saying: Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free, said President Joe Biden, speaking from the White House. Biden thanked U.S. allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey for helping in what he described as a feat of diplomacy. Real quick Support the Short List and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. Drumroll, please Its about to be official. Democrats began a virtual roll call on Thursday to vote Vice President Kamala Harris as the partys presumptive presidential nominee. Delegates have until the deadline on Monday at 6 p.m. EDT to return their ballots. Harris skyrocketed to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21. Within the first 24 hours, Harris had accumulated more than enough delegate support to win the nomination. See how the roll call works. Are your kids singing the new alphabet song? Have your kids come home singing their ABCs to a familiar tune but one that somehow sounds just a bit off? You're not imagining it: The alphabet song is changing. The newer version, which has become increasingly common in American primary education, takes the same tune but restructures the phrasing, instead placing the pauses after "G," "N," "Q," "T," "W" and ending with "XYZ." The closing lines are also different, now sung, "Now I never will forget, how to say the alphabet." Here's what's behind the change. A break from the news Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi: laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Simone Biles, Russia prisoner swap, Kamala Harris, ABC song: Thursday's news Things to know about the largest US-Russia prisoner swap in post-Soviet history This photo combination shows, in the centre, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and clockwise from top left are Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Lilia Chanysheva, former coordinator of regional offices of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Memorial Human Rights Centre Oleg Orlov, artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin, government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service Alsu Kurmasheva and former head of Open Russia movement Andrei Pivovarov. (AP Photo) WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. and Russia on Thursday completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries who released Russians in their custody as part of the exchange. Here are some things to know: Who was freed The 24 people some prominent, some not included a collection of journalists and political dissidents, suspected spies, a computer hacker and a fraudster. Even a man convicted of murder. Russia released 16 people, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. Both were facing long prison sentences after being convicted in Russia's heavily politicized legal system of espionage charges that the U.S. government called baseless. Also freed by Moscow was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military accusations her family and employer have rejected. Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva all arrived late Thursday at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Russia also released Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated. The most infamous of the eight people Russia got back is Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. It also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S. and two men returned from Norway and Poland. A breakthrough in US-Russia relations? That's unlikely. The U.S. and Russia have reached several prior prisoner swaps during the course of Russia's war with Ukraine, including a December 2022 trade in which Moscow freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout. But none of those exchanges resulted in a meaningful warming of relations, particularly at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to halt his aggression against Ukraine and as Washington continues to send significant military support to Kyiv. Prisoner exchanges have been a rare source of compromise and an alignment of mutually agreeable interests rather than a reflection of anything broader. Even so, the fact that the countries were able to get the deal done at a time of open hostility is notable. The Americans left behind Though Thursday's deal involves the most well-known of the Americans held in Russia, including two who have been formally designated as wrongfully detained, there are still several others who remain. That group includes Travis Leake, a musician convicted on drug charges and sentenced to prison; Gordon Black, an American soldier convicted of stealing and making threats of murder; Marc Fogel, a teacher also sentenced on drug charges; and Ksenia Khavana, who was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February on treason charges, accused of collecting money for Ukraines military. Khavana had returned to Russia to visit family. The owner of the spa in California where Khavana had been working previously told The Associated Press that Khavana actually was collecting funds for humanitarian aid. In a statement after the deal was announced, Fogel's family said it was inconceivable that he had not been included and urged the Biden administration to prioritize his release. A senior administration official, who briefed reporters before the swap on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the administration would be redoubling its efforts to get remaining Americans home. The imbalance in participants In prisoner exchanges over the past few years, the U.S. government has released criminals convicted of significant crimes, including drug and weapons traffickers and a Taliban drug lord. The latest deal was no exception, with the U.S. and Western allies agreeing to hand back to Russia criminals regarded as properly charged and convicted. The most notable example of that, by far, was Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan Tornike Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany. At Krasikov's sentencing to life in prison in 2021, German judges said he had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and the resources to carry out the killing. Throughout the course of negotiations, Russia remained adamant about getting Krasikov back, making it clear that he topped the wish list. Putin hinted earlier this year that he was interested in such a trade to free a patriot held in Germany. By contrast, the Americans and Europeans released by Russia include people who were either designated by the U.S. as wrongfully detained like Gershkovich and Whelan or generally regarded as held on baseless charges. "Deals like this one come with tough calls, Biden said but added: Theres nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad. It could have included Navalny Central to the deal was a man who never got to be part of it: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. At the time of his death in February, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving him and Krasikov as a way to satisfy Russia's relentless demand for Krasikov and unlock the imprisoned Americans. Administration officials described the sudden and unexplained death of Navalny as a setback to that effort, but drew up a new plan to present to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In the end, several associates of Navalny were released. The politics of it all Biden had foreshadowed his commitment to a deal last week, when he said in an Oval Office address announcing his plan to abandon his reelection bid: Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. On Thursday, he basked in the success of a diplomatic feat executed in the final months of his administration as he welcomed the families of the returning Americans to the White House. In an apparent jab at the America First mantra of Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee, Biden said: Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world. Trump, who during his presidency had also taken an interest in hostages and wrongfully detained Americans, claimed during the June debate with Biden that he would get Gershkovich out as soon as he won the election. On Thursday, he bashed the deal, suggesting incorrectly on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. had given Russia cash for the deal. Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps, Trump wrote. A North Carolina man has been arrested for allegedly shooting someone outside of Club 3001, 920 Lake Arrowhead Road, in April, according to Horry County Police reports. Kevin Gause, 22, was arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center with no bail. The Hoffman man is the third person to be arrested for for the shooting. Hes been accused of shooting two people in the parking lot of Club 3001, resulting in the death of Jadis Nelson, 22, of Rockingham, North Carolina. The second person had non-life threatening injuries. Nelson died on April 24 from injuries sustained from the shooting, said the Horry County Coroners Office. He was injured in the abdomen, head and brain, the arrest warrant stated. Eva Pricher, 40, of Hoffman, North Carolina and Shania Fuller, 21, of McLeansville, North Carolina, were also arrested in connection to shooting. On April 7 around 2 a.m., Pricher was driving a car with Fuller and Gause inside when Gause and Fuller allegedly got out and shot at the two victims, according to Horry County arrest warrants. Gause allegedly pulled the gun out of his waistband, the arrest warrant said Neither Pricher nor Fuller offered aid to the injured victims. Fuller could be heard saying, If anyone got a problem with (redacted) he can get handled, the arrest report said. Fuller and Pricher were arrested in mid-June for accessory to a felony or murder. They were released from jail on a $40,000 bond several days after their arrests, according to bookings. Hamas chief Ismaeil Haniyeh meets Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian (Not Pictured) in Tehran. Palestinian militant organization Hamas has said on Telegram that Haniyeh, was killed in a "Zionist raid" on his residence in Tehran. In a statement, Hamas added that Haniyeh was killed after he had attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian in the Iranian capital. -/Iranian Presidency/dpa Thousands of people were participating in the state-organized mourning ceremony in the Iranian capital Tehran for the killed leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh. The entire political elite of Iran, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and new President Masoud Pezeshkian, were also present. Khamenei conducted a prayer for the dead in front of Haniyeh's coffin. With chants like "Death to Israel" and "Death to America," the crowd expressed their support for Haniyeh and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as their resistance against Israel. The Iranian government declared three days of national mourning after the targeted killing of the high-ranking Hamas leader in Tehran. Haniyeh is due to be buried on Friday in his adopted homeland of Qatar. Haniyeh was in Tehran on Tuesday for a visit to attend Pezeshkian's inauguration as the new Iranian president when he became the victim of a night-time strike. Hamas and Iran accuse their arch-enemy Israel of carrying out the attack. Experts say that it is still unclear what exactly led to his death, asserting that it was either an airstrike or a missile attack that caused it. The site of the attack was a "special residence" in northern Tehran allegedly in the palace of the former Persian Shah which is usually strictly guarded. Hamas and Iran have both threatened imminent retaliation against Israel. Khamenei and President Pezeshkian described a punitive action as the country's legitimate right, given that the attack had been carried out on Iranian soil. In a crisis meeting on Wednesday, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council reviewed several scenarios but details have not yet been disclosed. While a tight-knit, heavily traditional community in Beaufort County reeled from the sudden murder of its leader, the somber but reverent tributes poured in from the other side of the globe. A perfect gentleman with incredible native intelligence, wrote an entrepreneur from Lagos, Nigeria, adding that the chief was loaded with wisdom of African culture. Others used the moment to commend the mans legacy. Kings dont die in Yoruba cultural heritage, wrote another Nigerian citizen, meaning the king has transformed and transitioned. But at the scene of the crime, residents of Sheldons Oyotunji African Village relied on their own small support system. They would abstain from interviews during the several days required for a series of cultural ceremonies honoring their former ruler, 47-year-old Adegbolu Adiogemo Adefunmi II. In their tradition, the goal of those burial rites is to send the deceaseds spirit to its ancestral realm. Adefunmi died just after 3:30 p.m. Monday at Beaufort Memorial Hospital from multiple stab wounds, according to the county coroners office. After a brief manhunt in the wooded area surrounding the community, police charged the chiefs own sister Beaufort resident Akiba Kasale Meredith, 52 with his murder. Investigators would not say if the killing was motivated by village politics or arose from another type of dispute. Oyotunjis official website names Adefunmi as the King of the Yoruba of North America, a title he inherited from his father. Up to 2,000 people are expected to attend his funeral, which has not been publicly scheduled. Consisting of about 10 families living in African-style stucco huts, the intentional community is located northwest of Gardens Corner, where U.S. 21 intersects with U.S. 17 in the upper reaches of Beaufort County. Adegbolu Abiogemo Adefunmi II, left, prepares to give a blessing during a ceremony for the future Rev. Ike Resource Center at the United Church on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Beauforts Historic District. Adefunmi, who was recognized as the ruler of the Yoruba, was stabbed to death on Monday at the Oyutunji African Village in northern Beaufort County. Dozens of deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriffs Office responded to the homicide call around 2:45 p.m. Monday at the village. At least one of Adefunmis stab wounds was to his neck, according to an incident report. A spokesperson for the village greeted a reporter outside the gates Wednesday morning, saying the village was not currently accepting visitors and that residents would not comment on the incident. Oyotunji welcomes outsiders under normal circumstances, receiving an estimated 20,000 visitors per year for educational tours of the community. Further down the road, a sign advises travelers they are entering a place starkly different from the coastal southern community that surrounds it. You are now leaving the United States, reads the signs black, handpainted lettering. You are entering the Yoruba Kingdom. Homes are African-style stucco huts with cinder-block walls in the Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon. Many residents try to keep life very simple, the villages king, Oba Adefunmi II, told the Beaufort Gazette in 2009. African royalty in Beaufort County Adefunmi is said to have brought Oyotunji into the modern age, opening its gates to the public for festivals and even offering overnight stays for a small price. Villagers addressed him primarily as Oba, which in Yoruba language means king. He took over as the villages ruler in 2005 following the death of his father, Oba Adefunmi I, who founded the Oyotunji African Village in 1973 in hopes of bringing African culture and religion to Black Americans. Historians believe Oyotunji was the first village of its kind in the United States, crediting Adefunmi I as the father of the Yoruban cultural restoration movement, according to a New York Times obituary. Although the community was home to over 200 villagers at its height in the 1970s, Oyotunjis current population is believed to consist of about 25 people. Its meant to emulate modern-day African villages of the Yoruba religion, which dates back to the first millennium in what is now Nigeria, Benin and Togo. There are those who were afraid of the African village. It has intrigued and scared people, Adefunmi told The Beaufort Gazette in 2009. We want to get rid of that stigma. A member of the Yoruba Dancers, part of the Yoruba Drummers and Dancers from the Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, entertained a large and enthusiastic crowd with an authentic African dance at the Gullah Festival Saturday at Beauforts Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Oyotunji residents celebrate 14 festivals every year, showing off their colorful traditional clothing along with singing and dancing. Other curiosities of the settlement such as animal sacrifices and polygamy practiced by male leaders have attracted national attention, including a 60 Minutes camera crew in 1986. Beaufort County officials have vowed to protect the villages cultural character, granting it a religious exemption from property taxes in 2005. What led to the fatal stabbing? Beaufort County detectives have remained tight-lipped about a motive behind the alleged fratricide, and little is known about the relationship between Adefunmi and his sister. A search of Merediths criminal history revealed over a dozen prior convictions dating back to 2003, including two for domestic violence, a handful for drug possession and a second-degree assault that landed her in prison for a month in 2018. Despite the villages unique sociopolitical nature, spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen says the sheriffs office is investigating the killing using standard procedures. Theyre still part of our county, he told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. We treat it just like any other location. Allen added that the sheriffs office was not aware of any significant conflicts between villagers prior to the killing. In an Instagram post shared in 2019, traditional facial scars of Nigerian culture are visible on the cheeks of Adegbolu Adefunmi II, the former ruler of the Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon. Adefunmi was killed in a stabbing inside the village on Monday afternoon. Just days before the kings death, Adefunmi told deputies his Ford pickup had been stolen from the Wimbee Boat Landing, located about 10 miles east of Oyotunji. During a late night out with friends July 24, he left the truck in the piers parking lot according to a sheriffs office report. When he returned the next day, the vehicle was gone. Investigators do not believe the truck theft is connected to Adefunmis murder, according to Allen. Funeral arrangements for Adefunmi will be organized by Allen Funeral Home in Beaufort, according to his obituary. Representatives from the Oyotunji African Village did not respond to a request for comment made over voicemail on Tuesday. Update 6 a.m.: Evergy is reporting over 36,000 people without power. Restoration times for the area are currently unavailable, Evergy says. The Free State Electric Cooperative is reporting power out for 1,100 in the Topeka/Lawrence area. TOPEKA (KSNT) Evergy reported over 100,000 Kansans were without power after severe thunderstorms moved through northeast Kansas. According to the Evergy outage map, more than 53,000 Evergy customers in Kansas are affected by 512 power outages. There are 161 power outages across the capital city. In Topeka, there are almost 14,000 customers impacted by these outages. On Wednesday night major storms with exceedingly high winds began rolling through Kansas and into Missouri causing major outages. As of 11:45 p.m., major wind damage was affecting customers in the Salina, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City areas. We had nearly 110,000 customers without power. The storm are still active across our service area and will likely cause additional damage. Restoration efforts will begin as soon as it is safe to begin working outages. As we get teams in the field, we will get a better understanding of the extent of the damage and overall restoration times. In case of emergency, call 911. Stay away from downed power lines. Thank you for your patience as we work to restore power. Statement on Evergy outage map According to FreeState Electric, there are more than 517 customers without power in Shawnee County, 285 people without power in Osage County, about 698 customers without power in Jefferson County and about 30 customers without power in Wabaunsee County. For more weather news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. The threat of a bird flu pandemic is rising but experts say the risk remains low. Are they right? The UKHSA said it is primed to initiate a public health response in the event of a widespread human bird flu outbreak - Owen Humphreys/PA The UK government has quietly raised its risk assessment of the threat posed by H5N1, the bird flu strain fuelling an unprecedented outbreak on US dairy and poultry farms. The risk of H5N1 becoming a significant threat to humans is now at level four out of seven, after it showed it could sustain itself among cattle populations for months and jump between different mammals. Dr Susan Hopkins, the Chief Medical Advisor of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the US outbreak demonstrates that influenza A (H5N1) continues to infect new mammals and spread between them. While the current risk to the UK population from influenza A (H5N1) virus remains very low, an outbreak of this kind can increase the opportunities the virus has to evolve to spread between people at some point in the future, she said. The UKHSA is primed to initiate an appropriate public health response should it be needed, she added. The spread of H5N1 to at least 129 dairy herds and numerous poultry farms across the US, as well as the confirmation of at least 14 human cases, has already been likened to a pandemic unfolding in slow motion. At the moment, the UKHSAs official assessment is that the risk of the virus gaining the ability to cause transmission between humans sits somewhere between highly unlikely and unlikely on its probability yardstick. But decode the language and you find that the UKHSA puts the likelihood of H5N1 crossing the threshold and evolving into a likely pandemic at somewhere between one-in-ten and one-in-three barely long odds. So, nearly 30 years after the virus first made the jump from animals to humans, could avian flu be about to emerge as the next major pandemic? While many of those monitoring the virus share the governments assessment about the threat H5N1 poses, several features of the US outbreaks are causing experts concern. Among them are factors like gaps in surveillance, and uncertainty over how the virus is mutating and passing from one animal to another all common problems for epidemiologists racing to understand outbreaks of infectious disease. Others are altogether more idiosyncratic, however. Milk One of the strange, unexpected and alarming things about the American cattle outbreak is the astronomically high titres [concentration of the virus] in milk, said Professor Paul Digard, Chair of Virology of the University of Edinburghs Roslin Institute. The levels of H5N1 present in milk are higher than I can get out of an egg, he said, referring to the way flu viruses are commonly grown in vaccine production. Tests in mice have already shown that H5N1 in unpasteurised or raw milk can infect animals that drink it, opening up a unique route for transmission that may be helping the virus jump to other species. Dozens of cats have contracted H5N1 on cattle farms likely as a result of consuming milk containing the virus with a high percentage of them dying. Milk can serve as a vector to other animals that can then interact with humans or wild animals, said Prof Digard. If youve got that much virus and its uncontained, spilled in the environment, then its a risk. Even as the virus continues to spread, a culture war battle over the right to drink unpasteurised milk is raging in the United States. Americans can now legally buy untreated milk in at least 14 states, with legalisation campaigns underway in several others including Colorado, which has been badly hit by the H5N1 outbreak. Professor Ian Brown of the Pirbright Institute, who has studied avian flu for more than three decades, said there was a real chance that the virus could end up in the food supply. It stands to reason that, if you dont treat the milk to kill the virus then its an absolute given that you could end up with milk going into the food chain thats contaminated, he said, describing the quantities of antibodies being detected in milk as mindblowing. Now that doesnt automatically mean, of course, that people are going to start falling over and getting very sick, but it does mean theyre going to get exposed to something they dont need to get exposed to, he said. It is a bit bizarre that weve got another pathway for exposure for people, and really there needs to be more education done, he added. There are a lot of good reasons not to drink raw, unpasteurised milk anyway, because there are all sorts of other nasties lurking in it. Surveillance blind spots Gaps in the surveillance of the virus are complicating the work of those racing to track it, raising fears that it could be spreading under the radar. The other alarming thing about the cattle outbreak in the States is that there is quite a large population of dairy workers, and some of them are itinerant farm workers, not necessarily with access to health care, not necessarily on the radar of the health system in the US, said Prof Digard. So who knows what is bubbling along under the surface that were not seeing? Since April 2024, 13 human cases of avian influenza have been reported across the US four of them associated with exposure to dairy cows and nine linked to infected poultry. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also testing dozens of other workers it suspects have contracted the virus. In all of the confirmed cases, those infected suffered mild illness, with symptoms including conjunctivitis, fever, and coughing. Outbreaks in cattle herds on US dairy farms are spread over an extremely wide area - Tom Polansek/REUTERS But the cases are spread over an extremely wide area from Texas and Colorado to Michigan. The vast area presents a significant challenge and sets the US outbreak apart from other episodes where H5N1 has jumped to humans. When bird flu broke out in Hong Kong in 1997, it was relatively straightforward for the authorities to manage, said Prof Digard. There was a very good surveillance system in Hong Kong there still is. So actually it was easy to track whod been exposed, who was at risk, and to remove the source infection and the initial outbreak was completely contained, he said. They depopulated all the live bird markets and got rid of it. Now however, the virus is not spreading in such a confined area. Its in multiple places across a big continent and you have this population of people who are exposed, who are not necessarily on the radar of the surveillance folk. Its worse. Doubt over how the virus is spreading More than four months since the United States notified the World Health Organisation of the first outbreak of H5N1 in cattle, it is still not clear how the virus is spreading between animals. The virus appears to be adapted particularly well to surviving in cow udders, and one potential vector being investigated is contaminated milking equipment, said Prof Brown. It is also believed that the virus has been spread around the country when livestock has been moved or relocated. Scientists are currently working to establish whether the virus is spreading via respiratory infection, but early tests have suggested that this is not the case. The Americans and some European groups have actually tried to infect animals through the respiratory tract the normal route you would expect, he said. But the virus doesnt really want to be in that environment it doesnt replicate at all well there. Now that is actually very good news, he said. If it was to start infecting the respiratory tract, and then you get droplet transmission there and it starts to transmit short distances through the air, that increases the exposure risk. Scientists are looking closely for signs that the virus is evolving to be able to infect an animals respiratory tract, he said. That moves things up a little bit further up that scale of concern. It is believed the virus has been spread around the country via livestock transportation - Kobbi R. Blair/Statesman-Journal via AP, File But not knowing exactly how a virus is spreading limits how well the authorities can respond to it, said Dr Krutika Kuppalli, a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America and former WHO medical officer. Effectively monitoring and halting an outbreak hinges on understanding its transmission dynamics, she told The Telegraph. Without knowing the mode of transmission for a pathogen, it is impossible to apply the necessary mitigation strategies to contain it. The authorities in the US have already taken steps including introducing mandatory testing for dairy cows being moved between states, and poultry and dairy farm workers are being urged to wear PPE. But so far there are no restrictions on moving dairy herds within states, leading to fears the virus will continue to spread. It is important to do what we can to stop the spread of H5N1 in not just mammals but also birds, said Dr Kuppalli. As long as the virus continues to spread it can evolve and develop mutations allowing it to better adapt in humans and potentially lead to human-to-human transmission. The damage it has already done While much of the debate around the virus has centred on the risk of avian influenza causing a pandemic among humans, it already has the potential to cause devastation. Since it first emerged in the late 1990s, H5N1 has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of animals around the world. When the virus swept through the UK beginning in 2020, although no one got ill and in fact it is unclear if anyone was actually infected tens of millions of birds had to be culled, costing the poultry industry more than 100 million in losses. Globally, the economic losses to the poultry industry have been catastrophic, said Prof Digard. Full transmissibility is the worst possible outcome, he said. But that doesnt mean you cant get a lot of harm and damage from a less transmissible virus, and thats something thats changed between the virus that we had in the UK and the virus that seems to be circulating in the US now. Prof Brown said: The virus could stay in animals and not infect people at all and wed still be worried about it. The livelihood of a poultry farmer thats infected with his viruses is catastrophic. He loses all of his birds very quickly. But if the virus finds its way into other farmed animals as it has with dairy cows it could threaten food security, he said. Youve got a public health dimension that is very important but youve also got food security issues here. How worried should you be? At the moment, there is a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of the current US H5N1. Even so, the scientists the Telegraph spoke to all said they believed the risk of a major pandemic developing in the near future was low. The next level of risk in the UKHSAs assessment would be reached when the virus shows itself capable of spreading between people. While there remains no evidence that the strain circulating there has developed the ability to do so, Prof Brown said that the current understanding was that only a handful of mutations were needed for it to be possible. Were not talking hundreds here. We could be talking about a relatively small number in critical places, he said, adding that the virus had already shown some signs that it was evolving to become better at infecting people. What we dont know is whether the virus can actually accommodate those mutations. While questions remain over H5N1s ability to naturally acquire the traits that would give it true pandemic potential, laboratory research has already found that it is possible. In 2011, US and Dutch researchers carried out controversial gain of function experiments and learned how to engineer the virus to make it capable of spreading from one animal to another through the air. The discovery was deemed so dangerous that the US government, which funded the research, urged that the details be kept secret to stop terrorists or hostile states from replicating the experiments. While the scientists involved in the experiments claimed it had been relatively easy to turn H5N1 into a much more dangerous virus, those monitoring the US outbreaks are sceptical that it will do the same under real world conditions. If you look at the evidence, weve had that particular lineage of virus in terms of the hemagglutinin the H5, which is in some ways the most important molecule since 1997 in humans, said Prof Digard. Ever since, its been somewhere in the world. Its never evolved to become human transmissible. Despite their claims, the scientists engineering H5N1 in 2011 had to push it really hard and transmission in the lab is not the same as transmission in the real world, he said. There are still multiple adaptations needed. But the risk isnt zero. I think thats the one thing you can say its not zero. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. On Wednesday, the Renton Police Department announced the arrest of three teens suspected of a June 18 armed robbery in the 1100 block of Sunset Boulevard Northeast. Around 5:21 a.m., police answered calls of a robbery where the victim told police that four people, two of them armed, entered the store, and took the cash registers, alcohol and vape products before leaving the store. According to police, they spotted the car and gave chase but the suspects got away. The car the suspects were driving was found in Tukwila around 7 a.m. The same day, Oregon police chased another car with two suspects and arrested a 14 and 15-year-old suspected to be involved in the robbery. On July 25, a 16-year-old, wearing the same hat seen in surveillance video, was also arrested. The fourth suspect in the video is still on the loose. Police are looking to see if the suspects were connected to crimes in other cities. A thresher shark was found washed up on Duxbury Beach on Thursday morning, officials said. Duxbury Beach Operations shared photos of the discovery, describing the shark being about 13 feet in length. State authorities were called to the beach to remove the shark for additional examination. Multiple great white sharks have been spotted off the coast of Cape Cod, the South Shore, North Shore, and Maine in recent days. Massachusetts residents can track shark sighting using the Chatham-based Atlantic White Shark Conservancys Sharktivity app. The maps menu tools allow users to filter shark sightings as recent as 48 hours, over the last 30 days, or between a custom date range. The icons on the map indicate the following: Red alert icon : A white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach Blue shark fin icon : A confirmed white shark sighting Orange shark fin icon : An unconfirmed white shark sighting Yellow icon : A receiver that detects white sharks tagged with acoustic tags and transmits the data in real-time Purple icon : A real-time detection of a shark tagged with an acoustic tag that is less than an hour old Orange icon : Detections of sharks tagged with acoustic transmitters Green icon: The sharks dorsal fin breaks the surface and the tag transmits to overhead satellites The Sharktivity app, which is available to download on iPhone and Android, tracks sightings fed by researchers, safety officials, and users who upload photos for confirmation. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Thunderstorm watches and warnings issued for Wednesday and overnight near Kansas City The Kansas City metro area is under a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday night and early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Storms are expected to reach Kansas City and surrounding areas between 10:30 and 11 p.m. and continue until 3 a.m. Thursday, the NWS reported. The storm line will move in from the west, where strong winds have already rocked the Topeka area. South and west of Kansas City, the storm watch has been upgraded to a warning. Areas including Overland Park, Kansas City Kansas, Platte City, Olathe, Shawnee and Leavenworth may see pea-sized hail and wind up to 60 mph, according to the NWS. East of Kansas City, winds could reach 80 mph, with possible hail the size of pingpong balls and frequent lightning expected overnight. The thunderstorm watch in the Kansas City area encompasses about 2.7 million. Meanwhile about 933,500 people, mostly in Kansas, are included in the storm warning area. Its time for Congress to intervene with the Bonneville Power Administration The Lower Monumental Dam is on the Snake River, in southeast Washington. (Courtesy of Bonneville Power Administration) The Lower Monumental Dam is on the Snake River, in southeast Washington. (Courtesy of Bonneville Power Administration) While energy crisis is an overused term, recent estimates show the Northwest could face a 30% increase in electricity demand over the next decade. Data center expansions, high-tech manufacturing growth and a shift from natural gas toward electricity are some factors driving the trend. Historically, the region has looked to the Bonneville Power Administration to meet rising energy demand. The BPA sells power at the wholesale level to utilities. This energy is produced at 31 federally operated dams, one nuclear plant, and other smaller power plants around the Northwest. The problem is that a 1980 law has long-handicapped the BPA. And the degree the BPA will be able to help meet the regions electricity needs in the years ahead will depend on the Northwests members of Congress getting re-engaged around the agency. The delegation has largely ignored BPA for decades, rendering it little more than a minion of the Department of Energy. If this continues, a bad situation will only get worse. How did we get here? The Northwest Power Act, approved in 1980, currently governs BPA. It was enacted because BPA in 1974 issued a notice of insufficiency, meaning it could not meet customers needs. Panic ensued. Editorials were written, meetings held and people got busy making a mess of things. The act was doomed from the start because it limits BPAs flexibility to address our situation. It imposes onerous process requirements that restrict how the agency goes about anything other than conservation and only then with the blessing of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, whose member states include Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The laws practical effect was to relieve Congress of its traditional BPA oversight role. This wasnt necessary. The statute creating the BPA allowed discretion to provide a reliable power supply. And this authority could have been used to deal with the predicted power crunch in the 1970s. BPAs policy leadership rejected this authority, wary of litigation risks. The Northwest Power Act, with its provisions geared toward helping fish and wildlife affected by hydroelectric dams, was sold as a way to end lawsuits against BPA by environmentalists. But it brought even more litigation. Amazingly, before the Power Acts approval, BPA and its customers began a power system makeover including a hydrothermal power system. The hydrothermal plan was for five nuclear power plants to be overseen by the Washington Public Power Supply System. The WPPSS Board composed of well-meaning public utility members, who knew nothing about nuclear power was given the task. Until then, WPPSS biggest project was the small 37.5-megawatt Packwood hydroelectric facility. Congress failed to ask hard questions: Why would BPA simultaneously propose a new law limiting its authority and support the construction of five nuclear projects at once? Because, in part, the power supplies of aluminum companies and public utilities were threatened, along with local economies that depended on them. And because states, tribes, fish and wildlife advocates, renewable energy proponents, and others saw an opening. All but one of the five nuclear projects failed. But the Northwest Power Act remains law anyway. Less than two years after the law was approved, the aluminum companies had new contracts with the BPA and Bonneville declared it had surplus power. Earlier power demand estimates that led to the notice of insufficiency were off. It turned out there was no crisis. Coincidence? Meanwhile, Bonneville hasnt used its authority to carry out anything other than conservation measures. It allocated slices of its existing power and has told its customers that they are on their own if they need more. And, perhaps not surprisingly, last year, Energy Northwest which is what WPPSS was renamed in the 1990s announced its intent to build 12 smaller nuclear plants. Who won and who lost? The states planning council lost. Since BPA wasnt acquiring power, it is largely irrelevant. Northwest states, tribes, and fish and wildlife interests cut billions in side deals with BPA and ignored the councils fish and wildlife Plan. Endangered Species Act listings, which BPA had hoped to avoid, happened anyway. Public utilities saw rates increase as they were required to help pay for private utility residential consumers lower power rates through an accounting gimmick known as the residential exchange. As for the aluminum companies? They left town. What should we do now? The first lesson to be gleaned from BPAs history is you cant predict the future. In time, just as the aluminum companies moved on, so too could the server and crypto facilities. I propose Congress reconsider the Columbia Valley Authority, a legislative proposal made by President Harry Truman, and then Congressman Henry Scoop Jackson in April 1949 but killed by Congress because of the fear of too much federal control. And there isnt too much federal control today? The CVA would have a presidentially appointed board and a chief executive. It would integrate and boost power, environmental, and economic development interests. A similar model has worked well in other regions. We should take a closer look at it. Other options are available but to do nothing, and allow the status quo to persist with the BPA, is unacceptable. Its up to our congressional delegation to step up to reality. Will they? If our goal is to strengthen the availability and reliability of affordable power in the Northwest, one can only hope. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Washington State Standard, like Oregon Capital Chronicle, is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and X. Toledo lumber mill to close, putting 50 out of work in seventh Oregon mill closure in 2024 Western Cascade Industries is closing its lumber mill in Toledo this week and putting about 50 people out of work. The Lincoln County Leader reported that mill employees were informed on July 22 the mill would be closing at the end of July. It's the seventh timber mill to shut down this year across Oregon, following the closure of Malheur Lumber Co. late last week. Theyre shutting the power off Aug. 1, is what Ive been told, Walt Adams, the mills general manager, told the Leader. Theyre pulling the plug here, so everybodys going to be laid off by the end of this month. Adams said the closure of the mill appears to be the result of a lumber market that has just kind of been down across the board" and that not enough logs had been coming in. Toledo City Manager Doug Wiggins told The Oregonian the mill was the towns second-largest employer. Seventh mill closure in Oregon this year The mill was the seventh sawmill or timber operation in Oregon to close this year following the shuttering of: The fact that almost all the closures have been in rural areas has meant the impact is even greater. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said he's reached out to Ochoco Lumber to try to save Malheur Lumber Co., the Blue Mountain Eagle Reported. I am exploring every avenue at the federal level that could help to meet the challenges outlined in the letter by Malheur Lumber: workforce, housing and capacity to handle responses to the wildfires ripping through Eastern Oregon, Wyden told the newspaper. A problem for overstocked Oregon forests The loss of rural timber mills is a problem for a number of reasons, including for thinning overstocked forests, said Nick Smith with the American Forest Resource Council, a timber trade group. These loggers provide the boots on the ground for reducing wildfire risks on our public lands, he said. These manufacturers provide markets for the wood that needs to come out of the forests. There are no markets where there are no industry, and Grant County is a really tragic illustration of that right now. More Oregon mill closures to come? Just about every timber company that has closed referenced the inability to get the timber required to keep the business going. The current log supply restrictions in Oregon and the likelihood of additional restrictions on state forests in the coming years, we just cant see a viable future, Hampton CEO Randy Schillinger said in closing its mill in Banks earlier this year. Smith added that in rural parts of the state, logs can only be found on federal forests with strict limits on logging. "There are multiple factors impacting the sector, but the common thread is timber supply, or the cost of the raw material to make the products," Smith said. "Weve lost five wood processing facilities and there will probably be more before 2024 is over." Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon and Hiking Southern Oregon. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Toledo lumber mill to close, putting 50 out of work on Oregon Coast Paul Williams studies how climate change is increasing invisible turbulence in the atmosphere. Though he knows it's usually safe, he still has to deal with "monkey brain" fear on bumpy flights. To help ride out turbulence, Williams distracts himself or watches his drink barely move. Paul Williams has been studying turbulence for a decade, but he still didn't like encountering it on a flight to the Dominican Republic last year. "The whole flight was turbulent mostly light, but I do remember it getting quite hairy in the middle somewhere," Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading in the UK, told Business Insider. "I stare at the equations all day, and I understand that it's safe usually almost always safe. But it's that primitive part of your brain, the monkey brain that just doesn't concern itself with logic," he said. "It can be scary." Williams's research doesn't bode well for the world's armrest-clutchers. He's found that rising global temperatures bring more wind shear to the jet stream. That means more clear-air turbulence the kind that's not associated with storms or mountains, and can sneak up on pilots. Williams in the cockpit of a plane. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) His research group found that, by 2020, severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic had increased 55% over 1979 levels. He expects it to get worse in the coming decades. But Williams has a few tricks up his sleeve for tolerating turbulence. Watch your drink Williams learned this hack from a flight attendant: If you have a drink, put it on your tray table and watch the liquid. "It always feels terrible, but actually, if you watch the water level, it's hardly moving. It's never as bad as it seems," he said. That can be more objective than whatever is happening in your head. "The surface of the drink is usually pretty steady and flat," he said. If you just go by the feel of your body, he added, "you might think it'd be being thrown around all over the place and coffee shooting out." Distract yourself and don't look out the window Williams's go-to move, though, is distraction. Rather than trying not to worry about the turbulence, he watches a movie or listens to music "something nice to focus on," he said. "Don't look out the window, because you will see the wings bending up and down, and that looks horrendous," he added. Or, do look out the window The plane's wings are supposed to bend, in order to disperse some of the energy that would otherwise cause you to bounce all over the place. You decide whether watching the plane's wings bend is helpful for you. Taylor Rains/Insider "It's a bit like the suspension in your car that smooths out the potholes," Williams said. For some people, seeing the wings do their job might be reassuring. Other adaptations might balance out the climate-driven turbulence surge, like better forecasting and new lidar technology that could use to lasers to show pilots upcoming clear-air turbulence. If airlines keep innovating, more turbulence in the atmosphere doesn't have to mean more turbulence on your flight. Stay buckled in Wearing your seatbelt whenever you're seated, no matter how smooth your flight is, will keep you secure in case of sudden turbulence. For nervous flyers, that protection could be comforting. It's also just good safety practice. Severe turbulence the kind that throws people out of their seats is extremely rare. But when it does happen, anyone unbuckled is more likely to get hurt. Wearing a seatbelt is "the closest thing you'll get to a guarantee of safety," Williams said. Read the original article on Business Insider TOPEKA (KSNT) People and businesses around Southwest 37th Street and Burlingame Road finally have access to water, after two consecutive days without. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, a spokeswoman with the City of Topeka told 27 News crews located the leak in the water main and are working to clamp it. Area residents and businesses lost access to water early in the afternoon on Tuesday, July 30. The water outage is caused by a water main break in the area. This is all happening during the heatwave that the region has experienced over the past few days. KSNT 27 News spoke to some residents in the area who told us not having running water has been a big inconvenience. KSNT 27 News also talked to an agency owner in the area who told us that it was also a big problem for not only himself and his employees, but for his customers as well. Animal hospital workers rush to help crash victims in Topeka We have clients that come in and out and we have a team here. So no restroom, no sinks. Fortunately, we did have bottled water and then today we brought in jugs of water for the toilet, for the restroom, Mike Denny from American Family Insurance said. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. TOPEKA (KSNT) The City of Topeka released the results of its summer Point in Time Homeless Count Thursday. City spokesman Daniel Garrett issued a press release on Aug. 1, 2024 containing the results of this years second count of the homeless population in Topeka. As a result, city officials found nine additional homeless people living in the city since January 2024s count. This second count of the homeless took place on July 17 and is meant to give a snapshot of conditions and circumstances surrounding the local homeless population. More than 40 people helped conduct this count. One dead in Junction City I-70 crash Garrett said 546 people and 433 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. Of these, 59% are male while 40% are female and 216 are considered unsheltered or not living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing. With the rising numbers of those experiencing homelessness nationwide, we believe its crucial to collect data more regularly, said Carrie Higgins, housing services division director. Given the warmer weather and anticipated increase, we are encouraged to see only a modest rise since January. The count also provides a valuable opportunity to connect individuals experiencing homelessness to services and resources in the community. This second count helps ensure the City of Topeka can get the appropriate amount of funding to provide services to the homeless population from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A breakdown of this years count results, along with the results of earlier counts, can be found below: July 2024 People 546 Households 433 Veteran households 46 Individuals in an emergency shelter 255 Individuals in transitional housing 75 Individuals who are unsheltered 216 January 2024 People 537 Households 442 Veteran households 47 Individuals in an emergency shelter 276 Individuals in transitional housing 58 Individuals who are unsheltered 203 2023 People 412 Households 322 Veteran households 25 Individuals in an emergency shelter 194 Individuals in transitional housing 61 Individuals who are unsheltered 157 2022 People 365 Households 297 Veteran households 37 Individuals in an emergency shelter 163 Individuals in transitional housing 54 Individuals who are unsheltered 148 2021 People 298 Households 254 Veteran households 16 Individuals in an emergency shelter 155 Individuals in transitional housing 38 Individuals who are unsheltered 105 2020 People 401 Households 306 Veteran households 40 Individuals in an emergency shelter 254 Individuals in transitional housing 51 Individuals who are unsheltered 68 (Photo Courtesy/City of Topeka) How much is the homeless camp cleanup on the Kansas River costing Topeka taxpayers? For more Homeless Issues news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. TOPEKA (KSNT) The Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center is asking for its fans to sign on to a newly launched petition as it prepares to release a new license plate. 27 News spoke with Director of Development Cynthia McCarvel with the Topeka Zoo about the petition. The zoo is looking to get 250 signatures from its fans, members and donors to help show the state of Kansas there is enough support to create the new license plate in 2025. McCarvel said zoo staff will work up designs for people to vote on later in the year through the zoos Facebook. People signing the petition need only put down their names and the county where they live. You can find the petition by clicking here. Earlier this year, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly approved Senate Bill 359 which allows for the creation of a Topeka Zoo license plate. It also allows for plate designs for the Kansas City Chiefs, Sporting Kansas City, Sedgwick County Zoo, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Current, Support the Troops and the First City of Kansas. Downtown Topeka Ta Co. opening date announced For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. The tourist tax in Venice didn't deter enough travelers. Now, the hot spot is limiting tour groups. Venice's tax pilot program to combat overtourism didn't deter enough travelers. The tax raised $2.2 million over two months as tourists continued to pour in. Venice recently set a 25-person cap on tourist groups and banned loudspeakers for tours. Tourists in Venice stuff themselves through narrow bridges in mobs. They scramble through stopped groups of people posing for selfies in front of canals. They sacrifice having even an inch of personal space just to be in public. And so do locals. Overtourism plagues the historic city that wasn't built to serve millions of people each year. That's why, in April, Venice introduced a tourist tax pilot program. Day-trippers could purchase tickets for 5 euros, or about $5.40, online or at booths at the city's entry points. Fines for not registering ranged between 50 and 300 euros, or about $54 to $324. The trial fee, enacted on 29 peak days between April 25 and July 14, was meant to deter tourists rather than raise money. But not everyone thought it was a good idea. Many locals thought the fee went against basic travel freedoms and was too low to deter tourists, and 500 people protested the tax on day one. Tourists crowd a bridge in Venice. Marco Secchi/Getty Images "The ticket is a failure, as demonstrated by city data," Venice city council member Giovanni Andrea Martini told the Associated Press in July. According to Martini, Venice saw roughly 75,000 visitors daily for the first 11 days of the tax pilot program 10,000 more daily than during three major holidays in 2023. By the end of the trial run, Venice raised 2 million euros, or about $2.2 million, in tourist taxes. A cap on tourist groups After the tax pilot program ended, Venice enacted another rule to mitigate overtourism setting a 25-person cap on tourist groups, Reuters reported. Beginning Thursday, Venice tourists who travel in groups of 26 or more may face a fine of 25 to 500 euros, or about $27 to $541. The cap does not apply to children aged 2 and under or those traveling for education purposes, such as a school field trip. The government also banned loudspeakers for group tours to avoid disrupting other pedestrians. In addition to the city center, the new rules apply to three nearby islands Burano, Murano, and Torcello. From Venice to other hot spots like Amsterdam and Barcelona, overtourism seems to be getting worse this year as locals protest visitors and governments block views at popular sites. Travelers can help mitigate the issue by visiting lesser-known countries that actually want tourists. Read the original article on Business Insider Wildfires broke out along Croatia's Dalmatian coast, near the tourist towns of Podgora and Tucepi, prompting evacuations. While no casualties were reported, several moored boats were destroyed. A total of 755 firefighters and 10 Canadair planes battled 122 fires across the country. By Thursday, authorities confirmed that all fires had been successfully contained, safeguarding homes and hotels in the region. Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News and scroll below for the latest updates on Invest 97L from Channel 9s team of meteorologists: 9:00 p.m. update The overall chance for Invest 97L to organize remains at 70%, however; the 48-hour chance is now up 40% - indicating that we are getting closer to the organization of the system. Conditions havent changed much since 2 p.m., with a tropical depression or storm possible by Sunday. Most models indicate a track to our west. Tracking Invest 97L: DeSantis declares state of emergency in 54 Florida counties For now, the greatest risk is heavy rain and flooding locally on Sunday inro Monday. The risk of strong storms and isolated tornados are possible during the same time. Of course, there still uncertainty in tracking this system as well as the strength of it if it organizes. 5:30 p.m. update Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Thursday afternoon, declaring a state of emergency in 54 of the states 67 counties ahead of Invest 97Ls potential landfall. The move marks the first step of executing the states emergency management plan, opening the door to allow local emergency management teams to begin operations. The executive order affects the following counties, including seven of Central Floridas nine counties: Read: See where you can get sandbags in Central Florida Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton and Washington. Florida is monitoring Invest 97L in the Atlantic, which is expected to strengthen and potentially make landfall as early as this weekend. It will be slow-moving and bring lots of rain that could cause significant flooding. I encourage all residents to prepare for the storm and Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 1, 2024 5 p.m. update As things heat up in the tropics, governments in Central Florida are helping residents prepare for any potential impacts from a storm. Some municipalities and counties have begun to offer sandbags to residents. Click here for a list of sandbag pick up sites in the area, and scroll below for an update on the disturbance. Click here to download our free news and weather apps. And watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News for the latest updates on this disturbance. 2 p.m. update Invest 97L now has a 70% chance of development. It is currently a tropical wave over Hispaniola. WATCH: Predicting the Path, a Severe Weather Center 9 special Development will likely be slow over the next one to two days. There is a better chance that it will develop this weekend or early next week, certified meteorologist George Waldenberger said. For now, expect a higher chance of heavier rains Sunday, Monday and possibly beyond, he said. Strong storms may be possible with this disturbance nearby in the same time frame. Photos: What will the 2024 hurricane names be? Waldenberger said he is still watching to see where circulation emerges and how organized this system can become by early next week. He said a possible stall could stretch out any possible impacts to next week. The next name on the list of named storms is Debby. 11 a.m. update Chief meteorologist Tom Terry said Thursday morning that the newly designated Invest 97L is now over the Dominican Republic and is moving west-northwest toward the Straits of Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico early this weekend. Water temperatures are in the upper 80s, adding plenty of fuel for this system to grow into Debby -- possibly even a hurricane by late weekend and early next week near our west coast, he said Terry said the overnight Global Forecast System predict a storm near the west coast of Florida late this weekend and possibly stalling or slowing near the Big Bend of Florida. Heavy rain and worse (is possible) with this scenario for the Sunshine State, he said. Earlier story A tropical disturbance near Puerto Rico continues to become more organized. The system has a 60% chance of tropical development over the weekend as it moves into the Bahamas. The disturbance will be near Cuba and South Florida on Saturday. Read: 9 things you might not know about Orlando The forecast models have shifted more to the west and show the system moving into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. It could be near the west coast of Florida as a tropical storm early next week. Watch: Brevard Zoo releases sea turtle Jupiter to the ocean If that happens, it could mean substantial rain for Florida. Where the storm will go and how strong it will be is uncertain because dry air has worked against its development. Read: 9 Investigates Central Floridas teacher shortage Channel 9 meteorologists will continue to monitor the system and provide updates on Eyewitness News. Follow our Severe Weather team on X for live updates: Traffic delays reported after crash requiring airlift in Biloxi, MHP says. What we know Authorities responded to a crash Thursday morning in Biloxi that injured two people and slowed traffic on Highway 67, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said. Two passenger vehicles collided on Highway 67 and Shriners Boulevard, MHP Trooper Landon Orozco said. One person has critical injuries and another has moderate injuries, he said. A helicopter arrived at the scene Thursday morning to airlift at least one person, the Highway Patrol said. The Mississippi Department of Transportation sent an crash alert just after 9:30 a.m. The agency warned delays could last at least one hour in the northbound lanes. Authorities were clearing the scene at 10:30 a.m., Orozco said. Hwy 67 at Shriners Blvd., Harrison County. State Troopers are on scene of a multiple vehicle crash. Please use caution when traveling through the area. pic.twitter.com/Zp6xBr8Drr MHP BILOXI (@MHPTroopK) August 1, 2024 This is a developing story. Check back for updates. An attempted traffic stop led to a pursuit and deadly shooting by police officers in the San Gabriel Valley Wednesday night. The incident began shortly before 9 p.m. when officers attempted to stop a 2015 Jeep for an unknown traffic violation in the City of San Gabriel. The driver of the Jeep did not stop and a pursuit ensued, the San Gabriel Police Department stated in a news release. Rosemead fatal police shooting The chase continued until the suspects vehicle came to a stop in the 2600 block of Charlotte Avenue in the City of Rosemead. At the termination of the pursuit, an officer-involved shooting occurred involving two San Gabriel Police Officers, the Police Department stated. The driver of the vehicle, identified only as a male, was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear what prompted the officers to open fire on the suspect. No other occupants were inside the car and no officers were injured in the incident. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A pregnant woman was stabbed to death inside her Lynn home by her ex-boyfriends brother on Wednesday morning in a crime that officials are now calling tragic, chilling, and horrific. Zachary Vozzella, 26, of Lynn, was arraigned Thursday in Lynn District Court on charges including murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the death of 25-year-old Brianna Welsh, according to the Essex District Attorneys Office. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. Welsh was found suffering from multiple sharp force injuries after her mother requested a well-being check at her apartment at Breakwater North Harbor at 254 Lynnway, Tuckers office said. Prosecutors revealed in court that Zachary is the brother of Welshs former boyfriend, 24-year-old Brendon Vozzella, who lived in the same unit at Breakwater North Harbor. Brendon was arrested on Tuesday afternoon following a report of a domestic violence incident involving Welsh, according to prosecutors. He was arraigned Wednesday morning on separate charges stemming from that incident including one count of assault and battery on a household member and one count of assault and battery upon a pregnant person. Prosecutors allege Zachary murdered Welsh while his brother was being held in custody. Zachary was ultimately arrested for Welshs murder after prosecutors said police caught him with a trash bag containing a bloody knife and clothes. Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said Welsh was three months pregnant and expecting a child, calling the incident a tragic act of violence. The tragic violence that has taken the life of Brianna Welsh and her unborn child has created an unbearable loss for her family, Essex DA Paul Tucker said in a statement. While their loss cannot be repaired or remedied, I hope that our efforts to seek justice on her behalf assures them that we and the community support them. George Sowpel was Welshs teacher at Monomoy Regional High School on the Cape and stayed in touch with her. Just a decent, good person. People who knew her would rely on her 100 percent. She wouldve been an awesome mom, said Sowpel. She just worked hard whether it was at her job or work or family or parenting Im sure she wouldve been fantastic at it Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson also offered an apology to Welshs family. I am so sorry for the devastating loss of Brianna Welsh, Nicholson said in a statement. That she was an expectant mother makes this even more tragic, chilling, outrageous, and impossible to comprehend. I appreciate the work of first responders and law enforcement, and while many questions remain to be answered by the ongoing investigation, our city is left with a profound grief. Lynn Police Chief Christopher Reddy vowed for justice on Welshs behalf. I am grateful for the work done by the representatives of the Lynn Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Office of Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker, which led to an arrest for this horrific crime, Reddy said in a statement. I want to extend our deepest condolences to Briannas family and pledge our continued support as we seek justice on her behalf. Zachary is slated to return to court on Sept. 10 for a probable cause hearing. Brendon is due back in court on Aug. 6. An investigation is ongoing. 26-year-old Zachary Vozzella is charged with murdering the pregnant ex-girlfriend of his brother. 25-year-old Brianna... Posted by Drew Karedes Boston 25 on Thursday, August 1, 2024 Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Background and historic achievements: The Manila-born Comerford arrived in the U.S. at age 23 and began her White House career in 1995 as an assistant chef. She was appointed executive chef in 2005, becoming the first woman and first person of color to hold the position. Before the White House, she honed her culinary skills in Chicago hotels and Washington D.C. restaurants. She has been celebrated for her ability to cater to the diverse tastes of both Democratic and Republican presidents. Her notable achievements include a 2010 victory on Iron Chef America alongside Bobby Flay and the orchestration of complex state dinners, such as a 2014 event for 50 African leaders that incorporated ingredients from their homelands. An image from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an electron microscope image of a measles virus particle. (Cynthia Goldsmith / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Associated Press) A traveler infected with measles flew from London to Los Angeles International Airport before traveling to Orange County this month, potentially exposing the public to the highly infectious disease, health officials said Wednesday. The person arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal B, Gate 202, on Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0711 at 2:18 p.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Officials caution that individuals who were inside the LAX terminal from about 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday may be at risk of developing measles. It is not clear how many people were potentially exposed. Measles symptoms include a fever higher than 101 degrees, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, white spots that may appear inside the mouth two or three days after symptoms begin and a rash that appears three to five days after other signs of illness. A measles rash typically begins at the face and spreads down the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more: L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020: What to do if you're exposed The sick traveler also visited several locations in Orange County: Friday, July 26: Denny's restaurant, 1168 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim (7-9 p.m.) Saturday, July 27: CVS Pharmacy, 1803 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim (12:45-2 p.m.) Walmart, 1120 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim (1-3:30 p.m.) Sunday, July 28: Anaheim Global Medical Center Emergency Department, 1025 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim (2-5 p.m.) CVS Pharmacy, 1676 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim (4-5 p.m.) Health officials encouraged anyone who was at one of the exposure locations during those times to confirm they've been vaccinated against measles. Individuals who are not immunized and haven't had measles are at risk of developing symptoms one to three weeks after they were exposed. If a person does begin experiencing symptoms, health officials advise staying home and calling a healthcare provider for guidance. Measles is highly contagious and can lead to severe disease in some individuals," Orange County Health Officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said in a prepared statement. "It spreads very easily by air and by direct contact with an infected person. People are contagious from approximately four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appears." Young children, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals are at greater risk of complications from measles, according to the CDC. Most Americans are vaccinated against measles in early childhood, though the rate among California children has declined in recent years, prompting concerns that the virus could circulate more widely. Measles cases are on the rise across the country. Read more: Hundreds of people exposed to measles at California hospital, officials say To date, the CDC has recorded 188 measles cases in the U.S. more than double the number of cases reported last year. There have been 12 cases in California as of this month. Of the cases this year, 85% of those infected were unvaccinated or their vaccine status was unknown. Nearly half of the reported cases required hospitalization, according to the CDC. "The best way to protect yourself and your family from infection is with the highly effective measle vaccine," Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. As Kamala Harriss presidential campaign prepares for the final three-month stretch before Election Day, expect North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to be an active surrogate for her, both throughout the state and the country. In the 10 days since Harris took over as the presumptive Democratic nominee and launched her search for a running mate, several high-profile Democrats, including those who are reportedly under consideration for her vice-presidential pick, have fanned out to different swing states and appeared on national TV almost daily, promoting the partys new standard-bearer. Cooper has ramped up his efforts as a campaign surrogate as well, joining MSNBCs Morning Joe the day after Harris began her campaign to tout her, holding a campaign event in Raleigh on Thursday, and rallying campaign supporters during a virtual White Dudes for Harris fundraising call Monday night. In the coming weeks, Cooper is expected to expand those efforts to include traveling to different swing states across the country to campaign for Harris and continuing to make the case for her on national TV and in other media, on top of traversing the state to make sure that we turn North Carolina blue, Morgan Jackson, a longtime political adviser to Cooper and other Democrats, told The News & Observer. Cooper was previously mentioned as being in the mix of vice presidential contenders that the Harris campaign was considering, but he formally took himself out of the running on Monday, saying it just wasnt the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket. Behind the scenes, Cooper was never asked to provide documents for Harris to use to vet him, Jackson previously told The N&O. As Cooper fielded questions about potentially joining the ticket last week, he said on the full first day of the campaign that his focus was on making sure that Harris wins in November, and pledging to work for her, all over this country, and do what I can to make sure we stop Donald Trump. Where will Cooper go? Jackson said that the swing states Cooper visits will depend on the requests that come in from the Harris campaign, but suggested that Cooper could travel to a variety of states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and even potentially Arizona and Nevada in the southwest. Cooper has already begun receiving those requests, and was asked to go to Michigan and Wisconsin in the last few weeks, but was not able to go due to scheduling conflicts, Jackson said. Vice President Kamala Harris talks with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Durham Mayor Elaine ONeal upon her arrival on Monday, January 30, 2023 at RDU International Airport in Morrisville, N.C. The Harris campaign has been deploying surrogates throughout the country in recent days. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited New Hampshire last week, and joined Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for a rally in a small suburb north of Philadelphia on Monday. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, meanwhile, campaigned for Harris in an Atlanta suburb on Sunday. Its really about the requests that come from the campaign, what they need, and how that lines up with what the governors availability is, but he is going to very much be a very active presence both nationally, and across the state, Jackson said. He takes the responsibility very (seriously) to try to bring the campaign across the line, to win North Carolina. Swing-state campaigner Democrats havent won North Carolina in presidential or U.S. Senate races since 2008, but the margins have narrowed in the two most recent presidential elections. Former President Donald Trump won the state in 2016 by 3.8 percentage points, but his winning margin was just 1.3 percentage points in 2020. Harris and her yet-to-be-named running mate plan to visit Raleigh next week. And Jackson said Harris and her campaign, including surrogates from other states, will continue making frequent visits to North Carolina through Nov. 5. Harris has already visited the state seven times this year, including twice (once to Greensboro, and the other time to Fayetteville) since the June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and Trump that led to Biden dropping out of the race just over a week ago. Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College, said that Coopers Southern roots, and his ability to speak to voters and win elections in a competitive battleground state could make him a strong surrogate for Harris in places like North Carolina and Georgia. Bitzer said its possible Cooper may be a less effective messenger in the Rust Belt, but added that wherever Cooper is asked to campaign for Harris, hell be able to deliver a message in support of Harris and against Trump that is concise, sharp, and easy to digest for the average voter. As an example, Bitzer pointed to the brief remarks Cooper gave during Mondays White Dudes for Harris fundraising call. Cooper only spoke for a few minutes, but attacked Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance, and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, saying that they had made clear that disrespect of women permeates Donald Trump land, and MAGA Republicans. The Trump campaign, responding to the line of attack on Tuesday, said that women voters are concerned about illegal immigration and the economy, and said that the February killing of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia by a Venezuelan migrant who entered the U.S. illegally is every womans worst nightmare. The campaign said that Biden and Harriss handling of the southern border has turned our nightmare into reality. Bitzer said another strength for Cooper as a swing-state campaigner is his record of winning some voters who also voted for Trump in the two past elections that Cooper and Trump have both been on the ballot, particularly in urban suburbs that lie outside big cities like Raleigh and Charlotte. Matt Mercer, a spokesman for the N.C. Republican Party, said that Cooper has demonstrated repeatedly he has failed to move the needle for Democrats. His record as a surrogate has resulted in delivering legislative supermajorities for Republicans and 22 vetoes overridden in the General Assembly, Mercer said in a statement. Democrats should beware of his promises to win for other candidates, he did famously tell Joe Biden that he would get him and failed Senate candidate Cal Cunningham over the finish line in 2020. North Carolinians know that the Biden-Harris administration has made it harder to raise a family and will vote for President Trump and Senator JD Vance to make America great again in November, he said. Under the Dome Get the latest news about North Carolina politics from The News & Observer's award-winning team. Get the free digest sent to your inbox by signing up here. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) The National Hurricane Center is continuing to monitor a well-defined tropical wave that is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the waters of the southwestern Atlantic and northeastern Caribbean Sea. Over the next seven days, it has a 60% chance of becoming a tropical depression. This will be an area to watch closely. It has been battling some very dry air so far this week and is also interacting with the islands of the Greater Antilles. Conditions are expected to become more favorable for tropical development this weekend and a tropical depression is possible as it moves away from the Greater Antilles and into the Gulf of Mexico Florida. Mostly models are now showing a greater possibility of the wave moving into the Gulf of Mexico early next week, where condition will be more favorable for tropical development. The strength of the Bermuda High is still the main driver of track. There is a lot that can change, and the system is 6 to 8 days away from bringing any potential threat. It is too soon to speculate, but there will be updates each day. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. The Naples area could be in for heavy rainfall this weekend as a tropical wave continues to churn in the Caribbean. Hurricane experts are tracking the wave, called Invest 97L as of Thursday morning and expect it to impact the Naples area soon. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most of Florida on Thursday evening. "There's some drier air that will also be in place Friday, but as the tropical wave moves northwest it's going to bring moisture and it looks like it's going to stay to the east," said Will Redman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, which covers the Naples-Collier County area. "It might shift more Saturday night and Sunday." The wave is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. Beyond that, models show various scenarios. One possibility is that the wave will get stuck in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico for several days, which would bring heavy rains daily to this region. Another possibility is that the front stays 70 or 80 miles offshore, meteorologists say. Region already above-average for rainfall this summer Southwest Florida really doesn't need the rain as the Lee-Collier area is, on average, about 8 inches above average for rainfall for this summer, according to South Florida Water Management District records. Tropical wave 8 a.m. Aug. 1, 2024. "I would say the rain will start on Saturday," Redman said. "The ensembles don't have a consensus on this thing at this point." Hurricane experts are giving the wave a 20% chance of forming into a named storm over the next 48 hours. More: Wilderness designation planned for the Big Cypress fails. Why some groups are happy "A well-defined tropical wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the adjacent waters of the southwestern Atlantic and northeastern Caribbean Sea," a Thursday morning National Hurricane Center report reads. Conditions more conducive to tropical storm formation are expected next week. Scenes from the Everglades on June 14, 2024. Three days of heavy rains saturated the south Florida with more than a dozen inches falling on parts of the Everglades including Big Cypress National Preserve. "Environmental conditions are forecast to be more conducive for development after the wave passes the Greater Antilles, and a tropical depression could form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico or near the Florida Peninsula," an NHC forecast reads. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What is Invest 97L and how will it impact Naples area Temple, Tx (FOX 44) A 51-year-old truck driver from Queretaro, Mexico is being held in the Bell County Jail after an 18-wheeler struck a DPS patrol unit which made a traffic stop. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said it happened about 1:05 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 35, near Mile Marker 295 on the south edge of Temple. The trooper conducting a traffic stop had just made an arrest and was seated inside this patrol unit along with the arrested person when an 18-wheeler struck the left side of the patrol unit. Amazingly, no injuries were reported though the patrol unit was damaged along with a Mercedes vehicle owned by the man who was arrested. Two women arrested in Grimes County sting operation The driver of the truck was identified as 51-year-old Isreal Resillas Olalde of Queretaro, Mexico. Sgt. Washko said he was arrested for driving while intoxicated with an open container and failure to slow down/move over for an emergency vehicle. Olalde remained in the Bell County Jail at midday Thursday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. Trump accepts Harris' debate challenge, hours after he said 'she happened to turn Black' Former President Donald Trump "accepted" Vice President Kamala Harris' call to debate during a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, hours after accusing her of flip-flopping on her racial and ethnic identity for political leverage. "Well, Kamala, let's go, challenge accepted," he said, to loud cheers from the crowd in Harrisburg. He did not offer details on when a debate will happen. ABC News originally planned to host a second presidential debate on Sept. 10, but with President Joe Biden out of the race, the status of that encounter remains unclear. Trump agreed to the debate about a half hour into the rally speech in which he laid out the areas in which he said they "would compare our records." Those included criticizing Harris' role in the Biden administration's immigration policy, support for electric vehicles, 80% tax rates and even taking away Americans' access to red meat. "She is the most unpopular vice president in American history," Trump said. Here are seven takeaways from Wednesday's rally and other political events. Sharks, Hannibal Lecter, Christian voter Moments Trump foes say shows he's a 'weird' guy 1. Trump's discussion at Black journalists conference goes in 'horrible manner' At the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago earlier Wednesday, Trump engaged in a flinty, at times tense interview in which he complained was "disgraceful" and carried out in a "horrible manner." He lashed out at ABC News (one of the panelists was ABC News reporter Rachel Scott) as "fake news" and griped, and alleged, that a microphone issue delayed the start of the interview. He seethed he had been "invited under false pretenses." Trump said his record showed he supported Black entrepreneurs via opportunity zones provided by legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina. "I love the Black population of this country," he said. "I've done so much for the Black population of this country," he said. He boasted: "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." The Harris campaign scoffed at Trump's assertion and criticized his demeanor at the NABJ event. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us," the campaign said in a statement. 2. Trump on Harris at Black journalist convention: 'She happened to turn Black' Trump was asked if he believed Harris owes her position as vice president to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a statement first raised by Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett. Trump equivocated before insulting Harris by lobbing a falsehood about how she has portrayed her ethnic and racial background in the past. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said. "Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person." Harris has Indian and Jamaican-born parents and attended Howard University, a historically black university where joined the predominantly black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She became a member of the Congressional Black Caucus after entering the Senate in 2017. Trump also repeated his eyebrow-raising claim that illegal immigrants are taking "Black jobs." "I will tell you coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs," he said. Asked to define what a "Black job" is, he said: "A Black job is anybody that has a job. They are taking the employment away from Black people." 3. Trump lays out key attack points against Harris at Pennsylvania rally Former president Donald J. Trump points to a man holding up a Trump-themed shoe during a rally at the New Holland Arena, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. The rally marked Trump's first appearance in Pennsylvania since his attempted assassination in Butler, Pa. A key attack strategy against Harris will be her role in guiding the Biden administration's immigration policy. During the Harrisburg rally, Trump said Harris supported sanctuary cities and called to abolish the Immigration Customs Enforcement arm in the Department of Homeland Security. He called Harris the "architect of the border invasion." Trump also alleged that Harris supported ending private health insurance and "slash consumption of red meat." He also said Harris opposes the practice of fracking in energy production. Trump brought up age in the election, as Biden is 81 and Trump is 78. He said the problem with Biden is that he is a "a bad 81." Trump said age in itself is not a factor, noting that a friend, Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, is 95 and still going strong. But one Trump hit on Harris, that she is a "bought-and-paid-for" politician, was odd considering Trump himself has accepted more than $100 million in contributions from some of the richest people on the planet. Trump has often said his wealth allows him to run campaigns that are self-financed. But in reality, he has raised money from Americans of all walks of life. And during at least one evening this spring on the exclusive island of Palm Beach, where Trump's primary residence, Mar-a-Lago, sits, he raised $50 million among some of his wealthiest neighbors. 4. Trump defends references from 'Silence of the Lambs' Trump's often repeated references to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional character from the 1991 Oscar-winning movie "Silence of the Lambs" have drawn ridicule, if not befuddlement. In Harrisburg, Trump said the analogy to the serial killer was appropriate and accurate in describing people coming across the southern border with Mexico. "It makes a lot of sense," he said. "They're coming into the country and they're coming from insane asylums." Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point USA Believers' Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on July 26, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. 5. Trump did not discuss Project 2025 Trump did not mention Project 2025, the so-called blueprint for a new Trump White House term that is heavy on extremist views and rhetoric. The Trump campaign has sought to disavow and distance itself from the 900-page plan. "Reports of Project 2025s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign it will not end well for you," wrote Trump campaign officials Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita in a statement. But the Harris campaign was having none of that. Project 2025 is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot. This is his agenda, written by his allies, for Donald Trump to inflict on our country," said Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez in a statement. 6. Trump also did not say much about the stumbles of running mate J.D. Vance Trump's relative silence on Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance was peculiar since part of the reason Vance was added to the ticket was to help win Pennsylvania and other "blue wall" states. Trump and Vance are scheduled to host a joint rally in Atlanta on Saturday. A poll released Tuesday morning by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research suggests Trump's choice of Vance as his running mate has not "augmented" the ticket's appeal. Vance, who has struggled to explain derogatory statements about women as "childless cat ladies," exited the convention as relatively unpopular and polarizing, FAU pollsters said. Just 23% of those surveyed viewed him as "strongly favorable" while 34% said they viewed him as "strongly unfavorable." FAU pollster Luzmarina Garcia said Vance's choice was aimed at bringing youthfulness to the ticket. But the resurfacing of interviews in which Vance had been harshly critical of Trump and a New York Times story citing emails showing how Vance has flip-flopped on issues have been damaging. "It also brought quite a bit of conflict," Garcia said of Vance's addition to the ticket. "The evidence is kind of really building up that this is a person who quickly changes their opinion and that really makes people hesitant to support that ticket with a second in command like that." Overall, the poll had Trump and Harris in a "statistical tie" with each getting 46% support from the voters surveyed. Harris showed strength among women, Black and Latino respondents, while Trump fared strongly with young voters ages 18 to 35. 7. Trump notes rally shooter 'disturbed' but still defends gun rights Trump's Harrisburg rally was his first visit to Pennsylvania since he was nearly assassinated during an outdoor rally in Butler on July 13. Trump thanked the crowd for their prayers and support, noted he was happy to hear the two others wounded in the mass shooting are recovering and held a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, who was killed by gunfire while shielding his family. Trump noted the assailant was a "disturbed" young man but did not otherwise discuss motives or controversies that surged about the U.S. Secret Service protection that day. Late in the speech, however, he did insist he remains a Second Amendment rights advocate. Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Donald Trump to Kamala Harris: 'Let's go' as debate challenge accepted Trump and his allies had a plan for how to hit Harris. Then he opened his mouth. Scrambling to put an end to Kamala Harris ascent, Donald Trumps campaign and outside allies came up with a plan: Hit her on immigration, her record as a liberal prosecutor and as a radical. It didnt last long. During a 34-minute question-and-answer appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump questioned Harris Black identity. He said he would pardon violent Jan. 6 rioters, and he didnt directly answer when asked if his vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, would be ready to assume the presidency. The exchanges overshadowed the attacks his political operation has made against Harris in recent days, while Trump still seems to be searching for an effective message to damage her. They dont have a narrative that theyre comfortable with about how to take down Harris, said Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based political strategist. Hes grasping around. I think hes desperately grasping around with his instincts. I don't think his team has any way to put their handle on this, and so hes instinctually grasping around for what to say. The Trump machine had in recent days begun a multimillion-dollar TV advertising blitz hammering Harris for her record on the border, an issue the former presidents campaign sees as a winner and portraying her as ideologically out of the mainstream. One ad from a pro-Trump group labeled the vice president a dangerous San Francisco liberal. Harris had even begun defending herself from the attacks, hitting back Tuesday night in Atlanta about her border record, and simultaneously releasing a nearly minute-long video framing her as pro-border security. But Trumps comments Wednesday on Harris racial background drew some of the biggest gasps from the audience, and provided Democrats with ammunition. During the appearance, Trump said Harris happen[ed] to turn Black. She was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black woman. The White House immediately seized on the remarks, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling them repulsive and insulting. After the panel interview and despite the pushback Trump and his campaign leaned into the messaging about Harris racial identity. Before his rally Wednesday night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the campaign flashed on screen a graphic of Harris laughing, with a screenshot of a news headline referring to her as Indian-American. His attorney, Alina Habba, appeared to intentionally mispronounce Harris first name when she said unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are. I know where I come from. Whether Trumps performance on Wednesday will ultimately impact his prospects in the race is not clear. The former president has a long history of making incendiary remarks, and some party strategists suspect it is a reflection of his impulse to draw attention to himself when it is not on him even when the resulting headlines are negative. In recent days, much of the focus of the media has been on Harris and on controversy surrounding Vance, who has drawn scrutiny for his criticisms of childless cat ladies, among other comments. The media is going to go into overdrive over the next 24 hours of all the bombshells from this interview, as it has every other time Trump the matador waves the red cape and the media follows, said Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee spokesperson. Meanwhile, the conversation today and tomorrow will not be on cat ladies or coconuts, etc. but back on Trump. Where he wants it. Still, Trumps eruption Wednesday was hardly a one-off. And in the days since Harris became his opponent, Republicans have struggled to navigate issues of race. Several congressional Republicans have referred to Harris as a DEI hire or DEI vice president, suggesting she was merely in her role because of her race, and not due to her qualifications for the job. The party has also veered into attacks on Harris gender. For his part, Trump over the last week has called the vice president crazy and nuts. Earlier this week, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy got into an on-air tussle with Fox News host Neil Cavuto after calling Harris a ding dong. The senator defended his choice of attack after Cavuto questioned whether that type of language could turn off some voters from Trump. Some in the party, however, have begun to push back, creating a divide on the right not only about whether they should invoke Harris race but also about how to speak about women more broadly. House Speaker Mike Johnson has cautioned conservatives against leveling attacks on Harris related to her race and gender. And on Wednesday, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley told reporters that Republicans should not mock women who choose not to have children, as Vance has recently taken criticism for doing. Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative millennial podcast host and commentator, over the last week had warned listeners that making DEI hire/cackle jokes about Harris could be off-putting for young women voters who may otherwise lean conservative. She urged Republicans to hit her with the policy instead of personal insults. Kamala Harris might deserve name calling, Stuckey said this week, but doing so will only garner her sympathy. Trump himself during Wednesdays panel declined to answer whether it was acceptable for his supporters to refer to Harris as a beneficiary of DEI policies. After asking the questioner to define the term, Trump then went on to make his claim that he initially didnt know she was Black. John Fredericks, a Trump-aligned conservative radio host, told POLITICO on Monday that the personal attacks against Kamala Harris are really ill-advised and ill-placed, and have no upside in this campaign, saying some Republicans recent DEI references were stupid. Certainly on the air, Im not doing it, Fredericks said. All you've got to do is focus on the issues. Heres a candidate that ran for president in 2020, and got beat by the fortune teller Marianne Williamson. Harris dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary in early December 2019, before Williamson who also ended her campaign before the Iowa caucuses. When you've got all the issues, youve got everything working to your favor, why are you going to use personal attacks? Fredericks said. They don't work against Trump, and they're not going to work against her. Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris at the top of the ticket a week and a half ago, Trump has been on his heels and his team has thrown out several variations of messaging in an apparent attempt to test strategies. Within the same press releases, the Trump campaign has simultaneously called Harris weak and dangerously liberal, and said the border crisis under her watch was due to incompetence, but was also by design. And while Vance has been forced to weather his own series of negative news cycles of past comments about women, Vance had embraced a specific role on the campaign as a policy attack dog against Harris. Despite the consternation by some Republicans over Trumps personal attacks on Harris, Trump has a long history of making offensive and, at times, sexist comments about women. He won the 2016 presidential election after doing so an election in which he not only lobbed attacks like nasty woman at his opponent Hillary Clinton, but also came under fire for comments made about conservative journalist Megyn Kelly, GOP primary candidate Carly Fiorina and others. Still, his remarks on Wednesday were, at a minimum, a distraction at a critical point in the campaign, with Harris about to select a running mate and the Democratic National Convention approaching. I think he has points on immigration, I think he has points on the economy, I think he has points on foreign policy, said Shermichael Singleton, who is Black and previously served as an adviser on the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Ben Carson. He added that when Trump wades into racialized attacks, he runs the risk of alienating voters who otherwise would be open to his agenda. It worries me that when you go that route and say those things, Singleton said, people wont hear the good points because they're offended. Brakkton Booker contributed to this report. Trump ally Alina Habba attacks Harris over her roots hours after the former president questioned her race Alina Habba introduced former president Donald Trump at a campaign event in Harrisburg, where she questioned Kamala Harris roots. (AP) Alina Habba, Donald Trumps former lawyer and current campaign adviser, accused Vice President Kamala Harris of not knowing her roots shortly after the GOP nominee questioned whether Harris was Indian or Black. Habba opened for Trump at his campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday evening. She mispronounced Kamala before stating: Im so excited because when I spoke at the RNC, I didnt know she was the one we were going after. But now I do. Im going to speak to you, Miss Harris! I am a strong woman, a mom, a lawyer, and an American! Habba told the crowd. And unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are! I know where I come from! And I dont play around with the Constitution, said Habba, whose parents are Iraqi immigrants. Alina Habba introduced former president Donald Trump at a campaign event in Harrisburg, where she questioned Kamala Harris roots. (AP) Habba served as Trumps lawyer during his civil fraud trial earlier this year, in which a judge ordered him to pay $454 million. She announced during his criminal hush-money trial that she had taken a new role as his legal adviser. Now, she works as an adviser on his campaign. Mere hours before the rally, Trump participated in a heated question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists. I didnt know she was Black, he said about Harris. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. The interview has been decried by strategists and political commentators as a dumpster fire. Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority gathering in Houston hours after Trump questioned her background. (AP) Trumps running mate JD Vance, the father of three biracial children, on Wednesday told The Hill that he thought Trumps comments were hysterical and accused the media of overreacting to it. The Ohio Senator added: I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris, Harris herself responded to the former presidents comments while speaking to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sisters at a Houston gathering, calling Trumps remarks the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. Donald Trump joins a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on July 31 (REUTERS) Donald Trumps false claims that Kamala Harris happened to turn Black and only recently became a Black person have inflamed racist conspiracy theories surrounding his Democratic rival. The former presidents allies have seized on his unhinged remarks by reviving racist birther claims that Trump has repeatedly used to undermine his opponents ethnic backgrounds, when he suggested that Harris wasnt born in this country during the 2020 election and years earlier doubted whether Barack Obama was a US citizen by demanding to see his birth certificate. His latest statements have turchocharged online racism that has surrounded the 2024 election, with supporters posting copies of her birth certificate and accusing Harris of changing her race for political reasons. Harriss father was born in Jamaica and is Afro-Jamaican, and her mother is Indian. The vice president has discussed at length her upbringing in a biracial family and as a Black American with family roots in both Jamaica and in southern India. I didnt know she was Black, Trump told a panel of Black journalists on Wednesday. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? he said. I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Right-wing media personalities have spent years attacking Harriss ethnicity and claiming she only uses her identities for political reasons. But in the days before Trumps latest remarks, and after Harris launched her presidential campaign, media figures and social media influencers revived bogus statements to cast doubt on her ethnic background. Kamala Harris, though she is now presenting herself as, you know, Malcolm X shes half Indian and then half Afro Caribbean, so she really doesnt have any link to the African American culture, whatsoever, The Daily Wires Michael Knowles said the same day of Trumps remarks. Barack Obama and Kamala Harris are seen as these Black people, and neither one of them is Black, said Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander. Joel Gilbert, a prolific conspiracy theorist who elevated unsubstantiated claims about Barack Obama, told Newsmax earlier this month that Harris has no common experiences with Black Americans. Trump didnt stop after leaving the stage in Chicago. He posted a video of Harris discussing her heritage with Indian American actress Minda Kaling from 2019 and called her a stone cold phony. At a rally in Pennsylvania, his campaign displayed a Business Insider headline recognizing Harris as the first Indian American elected to the Senate. The next day, he posted a well-known photograph of Harris with her family wearing saris. Thank you Kamala for the nice picture from many years ago! he wrote. Trumps latest statements have fed an information gap that his supporters have filled with racist attacks and false claims while his allies rushed to his defense in an attempt to rephrase or interpret what the former president said. Unlike you, Kamala, I know who my roots are, Trumps attorney Alina Habba, whose parents emigrated from Iraq, told a campaign rally crowd in Pennsylvania hours after Trumps remarks. Trumps running mate JD Vance whose children are biracial said reactions to Trumps statements are hysterical and then compared Harris to a chameleon. In remarks to supporters on Wednesday, he called Harris fake and phony. Trump-allied far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on social media what she said was a copy of Harriss birth certificate as alleged evidence that Harris is not Black and has never been. He also has a Fulton County mug shot, his own sneaker line, and 3 baby mamas. Trump is blacker than [Harris] will ever be! Loomer wrote. The purported copy of her birth cerficiate first circulated in 2020, showing her Black father is Jamaican and her Indian mother is listed as Caucasian. It does not state Harriss race. She campaigns on being Indian American Now all of a sudden, she becomes, shes really elevating and pushing her Black side. I think its 25 percent, maybe, Right Side Broadcasting Network host Paul Ingrassia said during Trumps rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday night. Following Trumps remarks, Fox News personality Jesse Watters said Harris is not African American, technically, because she has a Jamaican dad. President Trump is right, wrote congresswoman Lauren Boebert. She switched. Senator Kevin Cramer told reporters on Thursday that he didnt believe Trump was doubting her Blackness but making fun of the fact that she chooses it when its convenient, and chooses another race when thats convenient. In 2020, when Harris was announced as Joe Bidens running mate, Trump and his allies spread false claims that Harris was not a US citizen and ineligible to serve as vice president because of her parents nationalities. His former legal adviser Jenna Ellis told ABC News in 2020 that Harriss eligibility is an open question, and one I think Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible. Then-President Trump told reporters at the White House that he had no idea if those claims were true. I just heard it today that she doesnt meet the requirements, he said in August 2020. But thats a very serious ... Theyre saying that she doesnt qualify because she wasnt born in this country. Trump infamously promoted a bogus conspiracy theory that his predecessor was not born in the US, igniting a birther movement that relied on Islamophobia and anti-Black racism. His demands that Obama show his birth certificate in 2011 effectively launched his political career. He then disputed the authenticity of the documents for several years and didnt acknowledge that Obama was born in the US until 2016, months before his own election. In a column in Newsweek in 2020, former Trump-allied lawyer John Eastman doubted whether the 14th Amendment which plainly states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens could apply to Harris. Harris was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. Harris is both the first Black woman and first person of south Asian descent to become the vice president. Tom Fitton, president of Trump-allied right-wing activist group Judicial Watch, had also claimed that Harris is ineligible to be Vice President under the US Constitutions Citizenship Clause as he shared Eastmans Newsweek column in 2020. The lawyer that wrote that piece is a very qualified, very talented lawyer, Trump said at the time. I have no idea if thats right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president. But thats very serious. Kamala Harris, pictured swearing into office as vice president in January 2021, endured false claims that cast doubt on her eligibility for holding office because of her ethnic background (AFP via Getty Images) One year earlier, Rush Limbaugh the right-wing talk radio figure who died in 2021 said on his show: Explain to me how Kamala Harris is an African American? Her fathers Jamaican and her mother is Indian. How does that equal African American? Same thing with Barack Obama. On Wednesday night, hours after Trumps appearance in Chicago, Harris was coincidentally booked to deliver remarks to a historically Black college sorority. The vice president an Alpha Kappa Alpha alumna, among the so-called divine nine of Black Greek life groups invoked her we are not going back again campaign slogan in her address to members of Sigma Gamma Rho. Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show the divisiveness and the disrespect, she said. And let me just say: The American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. (Bloomberg) -- Republican nominee Donald Trumps campaign said it raised $138.7 million in July a tumultuous month in the campaign which saw Vice President Kamala Harris emerge as his Democratic rival. Most Read from Bloomberg The total tops the $112 million he raised in June for his campaign, the Republican National Committee and state parties. Trump, who has been relying on a lean campaign operation, entered August with $327 million cash on hand, up from $285 million a month before. Harris has yet to release fundraising figures for July. She raised $200 million in the week after President Joe Biden ended his candidacy and endorsed her. Democrats have led the money race for most of the campaign, but Trump overtook Biden earlier this summer as the president saw donations freeze after a calamitous debate performance in June. These numbers reflect continued momentum with donors at every level and provide the resources for the final 96 days until victory November 5th, the Trump campaign said in a statement Thursday. Trump and Harris are required to file monthly fundraising data with the Federal Election Commission by Aug. 20. Trumps fundraising surged ahead of Bidens in the second quarter, erasing what had once been a massive advantage for the president. Harris emergence has forced Trump to revamp his campaign strategy. His operation is now spending millions on television in a bid to define her. Trump drew interest from tech and venture capital donors in July, including investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. He held an event during the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville at the end of the month, charging as much as $844,600 a ticket. Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trumps running mate, also tapped crypto donors at a fundraiser hosted by Mike Belshe, chief executive officer of BitGo. The big donations continue to roll in. Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick will hold a fundaiser Friday for Trump in the Hamptons with a goal of raising $10 million. Co-hosts for the event include former hedge fund manager John Paulson and Omeed Malik, head of 1789 Capital. Trump is also slated to attend a fundraiser in Aspen, Colorado, Aug. 10, which includes Steel Partner Holdings LPs Warren Lichtenstein, MDC Holdings Inc.s Larry Mizel and Rugger Management LLCs John Phelan among the hosts. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Trumps comments saying Native Americans dont look like Indians resurface after remarks about Harris heritage Footage of Donald Trump complaining that Native American casino operators dont look like Indians to me has resurfaced in the wake of his shocking comments where he questioned Vice President Kamala Harris heritage. Back in October 1993, Trump spoke at a congressional hearing about the opening of Native American-owned casinos, which would have competed with his own casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The then-businessman had sued the government claiming that Native American casinos had an unfair advantage because, under federal law, they did not pay taxes on casinos on Native American land. During the hearing, Trump got into a heated exchange with Democratic congressman George Miller where he claimed that many Native American casino owners dont look like Indians. Is this you, discussing Indian blood: Were going to judge people by whether they have Indian blood whether theyre qualified to run a casino or not? Miller asked. Trump responded: That probably is me, absolutely. Because Ill tell you what. If you look at some of the reservations that youve approved that you, sir, in your great wisdom have approved I will tell you right now, they dont look like Indians to me, Trump replied. Trump appears at a congressional hearing in 1993 over a casino dispute, where he claimed that Native American casino owners dont look like Indians to me (MSNBC) And they dont look like the Indians. Now, maybe we say politically correct or not politically correct, they dont look like Indians to me, and they dont look like Indians to Indians, he added. Miller fired back at Trump, saying: Thank God thats not the test of whether or not people have rights in this country or not whether or not they pass your look test. Mr Trump, do you know, do you know in the history of this country where weve heard this discussion before? They dont look Jewish to me. They dont look Indian to me. They dont look Italian to me. And that was the test for whether people could go into business, or not go into business. Whether they could get a bank loan. Youre too Black, youre not Black enough. The clip initially resurfaced in 2016 when Trump began referring to Senator Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas after she revealed she has Native American ancestry. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago (Reuters) The video has emerged on social media again this week, first shared by Republicans Against Trump, after Trump stunningly questioned Vice President Kamala Harris ethnicity and claimed she happened to turn Black recently. In the interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference on Wednesday, Trump said: I didnt know she was Black. She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden she made a turn, and she became a Black person. Harris campaign clapped back at the remarks, saying that Trumps tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trumps MAGA rallies this entire campaign. CHICAGO - Republican 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump in a controversial and combative appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention took swipes on Wednesday at Vice President Kamala Harris's racial identity a move that comes as excitement swells for the Democratic contender. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black," the former president said of Harris, who is on track to face Trump as the Democratic presidential nominee. Is she Indian or is she Black? Because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a Black person. Trump sat for the 30-minute wide-ranging Q&A where he touched on a number of key issues important to the Black community such as Sonya Massey, the Black woman who was fatally shot in the face by an Illinois sheriff's deputy earlier this month, abortion access and why he chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate. The former president's appearance at NABJ sparked widespread backlash from some of those attending the convention, expressing an array of concerns over Trump's comments about the Black community and attacks against the media. For Trump, his remarks came at a critical inflection point of his 2024 campaign as Democrats express increasing optimism about their chances of holding the White House in November with Harris atop the ticket while the Republican continues pressing to court key constituencies, including Black voters. Throughout Wednesday's conversation, Trump was met with some boos, groans and heckling. Harris responded to Trump's NABJ interview Wednesday night during remarks in Houston. "It was the same old show the divisiveness and the disrespect," said Harris, who was addressing a historically Black sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, during its 60th Biennial Boule. And let me just say: The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us," Harris said. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who was hosting a White House press briefing at the same time as Trumps Q&A, called Trumps comments about Harris repulsive. "Wow," Jean-Pierre said when she was read Trumps comments on Harris race. "What you just read out to me is repulsive. It's insulting. No one has the right to tell someone who they are, how they identify." Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump answers questions during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 2024. Trump accused Harris of being a DEI candidate, a talking point by many conservatives using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion to disqualify people of color or women who ascend to positions of power and influence. Harris, who is Black and of South Asian descent, attended Howard University, a historically Black college. She is also the first female vice president in U.S. history and the first Black woman to hold the office, too. Shortly after the panel ended, Trump on Truth Social doubled down on his attack against Harris' racial identity, sharing a video where she is cooking with actress Mindy Kaling, who is of South Asian decent. During the video, Harris and Kaling talk about their Indian culture. Harris in the video told Kaling that she looks like "the entire one half of my family." Harris for President Communications Director Michael Tyler criticized Trump's comments as hostile and called on the former president to accept a debate against Harris. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in," Tyler said in a statement. "Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us." Trump talks about Sonya Massey, but doesn't say her name. To gasps, says: 'you're talking about the water, right?' Trump was met with loud gasps from the room when he said he was unfamiliar with the details of the Massey shooting, which sparked national outrage, saying he "doesn't know the exact case but I saw something," when asked about the case. It didn't look good to me. It didn't look good to me, Trump said. You're talking with the water right? Massey was shot by police while she was holding boiling water. Trump has previously said that police should get immunity from prosecution if he won the 2024 presidential race. Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba asked whether the police officer in Masseys case, Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean P. Grayson, who is charged with her murder, would have immunity. Trump sidestepped the question by talking about gun violence in Chicago. When asked again by Goba, Trump said that he would help a person who made an innocent mistake. If I felt or if a group of people would feel that somebody was being unfairly prosecuted because the person did a good job, maybe with a crime, or made a mistake, an innocent mistakeI would want to help that person, Trump said. The former president also doubled down on comments he made accusing immigrants of stealing the jobs of Black Americans. I will tell you that coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs, Trump said to gasps. What exactly is a Black job, sir, ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott quickly followed up. A Black job is anybody that has a job, Trump responded, with laughter from the audience, before continuing to use racist rhetoric against migrants coming to the United States. Attacks on the media Throughout the panel, Trump repeatedly attacked the press and Scott in particular for questions that were being asked. Trump in the very first question asked to him by Scott slammed her for asking why Black voters should support the former president after his criticisms of the Black community. I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said to Scott. Don't even say hello, how are you? Are you with ABC because I think they're a fake news network. Scott, FOX News anchor Harris Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Goba lead the Q&A with Trump. PolitiFact, a fact checking website, also led fact checking Trump in real time for NABJ. Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) answers questions during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 2024. Hundreds packed into a ballroom at the Hilton Chicago, which holds up to 1,100 seated, according to a hotel employee. Dozens of reporters were outside of the hotel lining up to get into the event with the former president. On Wednesday, NABJ announced that the organization was speaking with the Harris campaign to have her appear for a Q&A with the organization sometime in September. Harris on Wednesday is scheduled to be in Houston, Texas to deliver remarks for a political event. On Thursday, she will deliver a eulogy for the late-Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston. Trump throughout the presidential campaign has attempted to appeal to Black voters, a key voting bloc that overwhelmingly supports the Democratic Party. But the former president is still unpopular with many Black voters. President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 presidential campaign earlier this month, saw a drop in enthusiasm from Black voters. But Harris, who is on the path to be the Democratic nominee, has reenergized Democratic voters, including Black voters, since entering the race. Ahead of his appearance, Trump on Truth Social criticized Harris for not speaking at the convention. The Harris campaign in response to the former presidents conversation at the convention criticized his record and his treatment of the press. NABJ President Ken Lemon said Wednesday that the organization had been in talks with both the Democratic and Republican parties since January, when Biden was still running to be the Democratic nominee. Biden had agreed to speak when he was still a candidate. At the White House, Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that Biden wouldn't be speaking at the NABJ convention because he is no longer a candidate. The administration understands it's important for Black Americans to hear directly from this administration, and we have done that and not just Black Americans but all Americans, Jean-Pierre said. That is certainly something that we will continue to do. And we take that very, very seriously. Contributing: Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump criticizes Harris at NABJ event: 'I didn't know she was Black' Trump doubles down on false racial attacks on Harris, Republican senators squirm when confronted about it Republican senators ABC News spoke with Thursday squirmed when asked about former President Donald Trump falsely questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity during his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention a day earlier -- as the former president doubled down on the false attack. In a social media post Thursday morning, former President Donald Trump shared a family portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris and wrote, "Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated." His social media post reiterated his false claim that Harris only emphasized her Asian-American heritage -- something he mentioned during his interview at the NABJ convention on Wednesday. MORE: Trump falsely questions Harris' race in NABJ interview, says VP pick 'does not have any impact' PHOTO: Former President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump answers questions as moderator and journalist Rachel Scott looks on during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago, July 31, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images) During the interview, he falsely questioned Harris' race. Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now, she wants to be known as Black. So, I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?" Trump said during the NABJ interview. PHOTO: Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, July 30, 2024. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images) He went on to say that "she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went -- she became a Black person." Trump allies in the Senate tried to focus less on the former president's comments at NABJ -- when he called Harris' race into question -- and instead pivoted to what they believe are his policy accomplishments in his first term. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of the former president's, said Trump would be better served focusing on policy. Asked if it was appropriate for Trump to question Harris' race, Graham replied: "No, I don't think so." PHOTO: Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, July 31, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) "I've known the vice president for a while, she has always embraced her heritage proudly as she should," Graham said. "My problem with Vice President Harris is the policy choices she's made. I think she's live a consequential life, but on policy the country is on fire -- the world is on fire and the country is in decline. And I think we need new leadership so so that will be my approach." When pushed on whether Trump's comments were productive in pushing voters toward focusing on policy, Graham dodged, saying "I think the way back into power is to compare [Trump's] presidency with what's going on today, offer solutions to problems -- that's the way back into power." MORE: Election 2024 updates: Gov. Shapiro cancels weekend fundraisers amid VP speculation Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pushed repeatedly on whether Trump's comments were appropriate, conceded that they were likely a distraction. "I think it shifts away from the discussion I want to focus on, but it may very well be that we have a difference of opinions about what is going to move the voters," Tillis said. "I for one think its the failure on the economy the failure on the border and the failure on national security." PHOTO: Sen. Thom TIllis speaks with reporters as he arrives for a vote at the Capitol, July 31, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is running to lead the Senate Republican Conference when McConnell steps down this fall, sidestepped questions repeatedly. "I really don't have anything to say about that. I did think it was relevant that he showed up and she did not and I appreciate the fact he is willing to even appear in front of hostile environments like that one," Cornyn said. Asked about Trump's apparent confusion about Harris being biracial, Cornyn suggested that "I think we are all a combination of something right?" House Republican leaders have privately told their conference to focus their attacks against Harris on her record, sources familiar with the conversation told ABC News. The guidance came after a number of House Republicans made references to Harris' race and gender when asked by reporters about her bid for the White House with some such as Rep. Tim Burchett and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling her a "DEI Vice President" or "DEI hire." Separately, sources also told ABC News, Speaker Mike Johnson also privately told members to focus on drawing a contrast with Harris' record against the "strength" of Trump. Johnson has privately and publicly insisted this has nothing to do with race. Sources told ABC News that one member said, "pointing out she's not a white man, is not a winning campaign message." MORE: JD Vance is having a rocky rollout. How much does it matter to voters? Several Democratic senators condemned Trump's comments about Harris' race. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump's comments were "disgusting." PHOTO: Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Capitol Hill, July 10, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters) She said she admires the way Harris responded to the comments, which Harris on Wednesday night called "the same old show" with "divisiveness and disrespect." "I really admire what VP Harris said when she said she is ready to turn the page on that and start again with [a] new leader who is completely focused on how we make this government work better for hard-working families," Warren said. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called Trump's comments a "distraction." PHOTO: Sen. Raphael Warnock arrives to the Capitol following a private meeting between Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden's senior advisors at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, July 11, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images) "This is a distraction. And that's what the former president majors in the politics of distraction and division. But I don't think it will stand. Because Kamala Harris is focused on the people that she wants to represent in this country," Warnock said. ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim, Kelsey Walsh, Rachel Scott and Jay O'Brien contributed to this report. Trump doubles down on false racial attacks on Harris, Republican senators squirm when confronted about it originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Former President Donald Trump questioned his rivals race on Wednesday, saying Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black after years of only promoting Indian heritage. Trumps claim that Harris had only promoted her South Asian heritage in the past is false. Harris, who is biracial, attended the historically Black Howard University and pledged at a historically Black sorority. As a senator, she was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Speaking Wednesday night in Houston, Harris responded to Trump's comments by telling the crowd "the American people deserve better." The Republican presidential nominee made the comments during a sit-down interview in Chicago with three prominent Black journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention. The more than 30-minute interview began with Rachel Scott of ABC News addressing the elephant in the room. Trumps appearance had divided the conference, and a co-chair had quit after it was announced. Scott challenged Trump with a litany of his past statements. "A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today, she said. "You have used words like 'animal' and 'rabid' to describe Black district attorneys, she continued. You have attacked Black journalists, calling them 'a loser,' saying that the questions that they asked are quote 'stupid' and 'racist.' You've had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?" Trump replied: I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. He went on to call Scotts question nasty and rude while touting that he had been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." Here are the key moments of the NABJ interview. Trump questions Harriss race Trump visits the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention on Wednesday, July 31 in Chicago. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) A number of Trumps prominent supporters have attacked Harriss candidacy as a DEI hire suggesting that she is only the presumptive Democratic nominee because she is a biracial woman. Scott asked Trump on Wednesday if that is "acceptable language" to him. After a back and forth on defining DEI the acronym for diversity, equity, and inclusion Trump responded by directly questioning his rivals racial identity. "I've known her a long time, indirectly, he said. And she was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?" As Scott interjected to remind Trump that Harris attended a historically Black college, he doubled down. She was Indian all the way, he said. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. And I think someone should look into that too." Harriss identity as a Black woman has long been in the spotlight as the child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father. She has referred to herself as a daughter of the civil rights movement having a stroller view of marches against racial injustice she attended with her parents. I was born Black. I will die Black, she said in 2019. Police immunity Trump also appeared to hedge on his campaign vow to give police "immunity from prosecution." Kadia Goba of Semafor pressed Trump on that claim in the aftermath of the recent police killing of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who had called 911 for help. Former sheriffs deputy Sean Grayson is charged with first-degree murder in the case. Trump responded by saying the case didn't look good to him. He suggested that instead of blanket immunity, police misconduct cases should be looked at whether the officer is being unfairly prosecuted. Black jobs Trump repeated a claim he made during his June debate with President Joe Biden by saying immigrants are coming to America and taking "Black jobs," which got a notable reaction from the crowd. When pushed to provide clarity on what a Black job was, Trump did not elaborate beyond defining it as anybody that has a job. Trump: Coming from the border are millions of people who are taking Black jobs. Moderator: What is a Black job? Trump: A Black job is anybody who has a job. pic.twitter.com/vMsgafbN3a Sierra Fox (@thesierrafox) July 31, 2024 Historically, the choice of a vice president makes no difference Scott asked Trump about controversial comments made by his vice presidential pick, Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who several years ago swiped at Democratic childless cat ladies." Vance also called for the parents of children to have more votes. My interpretation is that he is strongly family-oriented, but that doesnt mean if you dont have a family theres something wrong with it, Trump said Wednesday. Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner also asked Trump if Vance, a 39-year-old first-term senator, would be ready on day one if he needed to take over as president. Trump responded by downplaying Vances political impact. Historically, the vice president, in terms of the elections, does not have any impact, virtually no impact. You have two or three days where theres a lot of commotion, as to who, like youre having it on the Democrat side, of who its going to be, and then that dies down and its all about the presidential pick, he said. Trump repeats promise to pardon Jan. 6 rioters Trump also stuck to his past statements when asked about pardoning Jan. 6 rioters, about 900 of whom have either plead guilty or been convicted in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. "If they're innocent, I would pardon them," Trump said. "They've been convicted," Scott reminded him. WATCH: Donald Trump says he "absolutely" would pardon rioters who assaulted police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, "if they're innocent." "They were convicted," the reporter interviewing Trump says. "Well, they were convicted by a very tough system," Trump says. pic.twitter.com/LefkAqbVMB PBS News (@NewsHour) July 31, 2024 Reaction Kamala Harris's campaign wasted no time issuing a statement on Trump's interview, saying he was "showing exactly who he is." Harris campaign statement on Donald Trumps remarks at the NABJ pic.twitter.com/atHw27Crfu Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 31, 2024 Harris expanded on her response while speaking at a Sigma Gamma Rho sorority event in Houston Wednesday night, saying: "The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength." .@KamalaHarris is speaking now at the 60th International Biennial Boule of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. #Decision2024 https://t.co/xVCWw4FI4U The Atlanta Voice (@theatlantavoice) August 1, 2024 Trump, for his part, said afterward he "crushed" the interview despite what he considered offensive questions. The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT! he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. Some Republicans quickly condemned Trumps remarks. Senate candidate and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan criticized Trumps remarks in an X post, shortly after his NABJ appearance. It's unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyones racial identity, the post read. The American people deserve better. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski called Trumps and Vances latest remarks against women very unfortunate, Axios reported. Maybe they dont know how to handle the campaign, and so you default to issues that just should simply not be an issue, said Murkowski. Childless cat women, DEI candidates; now, Is she Black? Is she Indian? she continued. Trump grasps for attack angles on Harris at first PA rally since shooting Former President Donald Trump took the stage in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, his first appearance in the state since the shooting at his Butler rally on July 13. Trump, whose disastrous performance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference earlier on Wednesday included him accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of lying about her race, scrambled for new attacks against his opponent, as she surges in national and swing state polls. Trump opened the rally with a dig at Harris star-studded Atlanta rally, which pulled ten thousand attendees, and featured a performance from rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Trump: Over 20,000 people couldn't get in, and we didn't need anybody to get the people here. We didn't need a star. We didn't need a star. We didn't need some entertainer pic.twitter.com/H54qw128iH Acyn (@Acyn) July 31, 2024 We didn't need anybody to get the people here. We didn't need a star, Trump said. We didn't need some entertainer. Trump, who earlier claimed Harris, a biracial woman, wasn't Black but instead recently adopted the identity, accused her of "trying to out brand a new southern accent" in her Atlanta remarks, before leading the crowd in boos against the press present at the rally, suggesting he couldn't get away with the same. The former president, who hasn't yet launched substantive policy criticism of Harris, also complained about the difficulty of starting his campaign anew, admitting that his attacks on President Joe Biden had expired. Trump: "The hard part is that 3 or 4 weeks ago I was talking about Biden." pic.twitter.com/5U03a6k0Mz Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2024 The hard part is that 3, 4 weeks ago, I was talking about Biden: Hes incompetent, hes a horrible president, hes the worst president in the history of the country. But now I say, shes the worst vice president, Trump said, acknowledging the adaptation before claiming he didnt even know her name two weeks ago. Almost seeming to miss Biden's presence in the race, Trump claimed his former opponent is Not old. You know, 81 is not old. Trump also expressed frustration at the comparison between prosecutor vs. felon from the Harris campaign, adding that Harris wasnt tough on crime, shes only tough on guys like me. Trump, who also launched confusing attacks on electric vehicles, despite reaping millions in campaign contributions from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, backed out of debates against Harris earlier this week and fired off multiple Truth Social posts fuming about her absence at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention on Wednesday. A few minutes before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump dropped a plan to completely overhaul the relationship between millions of older Americans and the federal government. "SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY," Trump shouted from his Truth Social account. If implemented, that would be a hugely expensive policy change. According to one quick estimate by a former White House chief economist, it would reduce federal revenue by $1.5 trillion over 10 years and would add $1.8 trillion to the national debt. (The extra cost is the result of interest on the new debt that would be racked up in the absence of that revenue.) It would also accelerate Social Security's slide into insolvency. And, obviously, it would be a big tax break for Americans who collect Social Security checksbut not a tax break that would be particularly good at fostering economic growth. Despite all that, the most notable thing about Trump's announcement was what it didn't include. There was no attempt to reckon with those figures, for example. No surrogates were dispatched to explain why this change is necessary or good for the economy or country. No press releases went out. There was, of course, no attempt to explain what government programs would be cut to offset the drop in revenue. For that matter, there had been no discussion of this idea at the Republican National Convention. It was not mentioned in Trump's (long) acceptance speech and was not included in the party's platform. Like so much else in the Trump era, this looks like an idea that went from the former president's head to his social media account with very few stops in between. There is something to be said for that degree oflet's saytransparency. If nothing else, it is quintessentially Trumpian: hastily conceived and not deeply considered, more of a marketing slogan than substance. Let's just call this what it is: a nakedly political play to win the votes of Social Securitycollecting Americans. Coming as it did on Wednesday morning, the "no taxes on Social Security" plan stood in stark contrast to the news the Trump campaign had made just one day earlier. On Tuesday, Trump's campaign had officially (and gleefully) sunk the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025"a 900-page document in which the conservative think tank had outlined an extensive policy plan for Trump's prospective second term. The project had been headed by Paul Dans, who had served in the Trump administration, and was central to the institutional-wide pivot toward populism that Kevin Roberts, Heritage's president, had executed in recent years. In a statement, two of Trump's top campaign officials didn't merely bury Project 2025 but also issued a threat. "Reports of Project 2025's demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaignit will not end well for you," said Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. Translation: How dare anyone try to substitute actual policy substance for whatever random thought might fall out of the former president's head on a Wednesday morning? Roberts' mistake "was thinking that Mr. Trump cares about anyone's ideas other than his own. He governs on feral instinct, tactical opportunism, and what seems popular at a given moment," wrote the Wall Street Journal's editorial board in a scathing response to the news of Project 2025 being scuttled and that Dans had resigned from Heritage. "The lesson for Heritage, and other think tanks, is that it's better to stick to your principles rather than court the political flavor of the day." Amen to that. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has launched her campaign by veering hard into an almost Trump-like policy nihilism of her own. Having already tried to memory-hole her track record as the Biden administration's so-called "border czar"read Reason's Liz Wolfe if you need to catch up on that controversyHarris is now seemingly rewriting her positions on a bunch of other things too. For example, Harris was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal when she was a member of the U.S. Senate in 2019. She voiced her support for the progressive environmental package while campaigning for president that same year. Now, she's backing away from it. This week, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign told the Washington Examiner that Harris no longer supports the federal job guaranteea promise that the federal government would provide jobs with "family-sustaining wages" to anyone who wanted onethat was a key feature of the Green New Deal. As the Examiner notes, Harris has also "backed away from her endorsement of eliminating private healthcare plans as part of a Medicare for All proposal. Her campaign also told The Hill that she will not seek to ban fracking if she is elected. That was after previously telling CNN while running for president 'There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking.'" Maybe this is Harris embracing her philosophy of being "unburdened by what has been." Maybe she's simply taking a page from Trump's bookafter all, the former president has never paid much of a price for making it up as he goes along. For both Trump and Harris, simply telling voters what you think they want to hear is possibly the most direct route to winning an election. But such a cynical approach to campaigning sidelines any discussion of policyand means the election is likely to be decided on far stupider grounds. The post Trump and Harris Are Just Making It Up as They Go appeared first on Reason.com. After over a week of Vice President Kamala Harris and her surrogates calling Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance weird, the former president attempted to play an Uno reverse card. Theyre the weird ones. Nobody's ever called me weird. I'm a lot of things, but weird I'm not. And I'm upfront. And he's not either, I will tell you. JD is not at all. They are, Trump said Thursday in an interview with conservative radio host Clay Travis. Trump was responding to Democrats new campaign strategy of labeling Republicans not only as threats to freedom or democracy as they have in the past but also as straight-up weird. Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record, and some of what he and his running mate are saying, its just plain weird, Harris said at a rally in Massachusetts on Saturday, drawing laughter from the crowd. That word weird has made its way into official Harris campaign press releases, surrogates media hits and countless internet memes. Its even seeped into the veepstakes with vice presidential hopefuls Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg all recently using the phrasing as a dig against Trump and Vance. The line of attack coincided with an unforgiving news cycle for the Republican nominee and his running mate, including clips of Vance calling Harris and other Democrats childless cat ladies and suggesting parents with biological children deserve to have more political power than non-parents. And in a particularly hostile interview at the NABJ conference on Wednesday, Trump suggested Harris had only recently started identifying as a Black woman, and he promised to pardon people convicted in connection to Jan. 6. Trump, given the opportunity to hit back after a truculent week, spun it around on his opponents, calling Democrats policies on the border, taxes and trans athletes weird. The whole thing is weird. And the way they do elections is weird. And theyre the weird ones, Trump said. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The event was moderated by, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday underwent questioning from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical about the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of a reelection campaign, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said that the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at the White House press briefing about Trumps visit to the convention, said, Thats a campaign stop for him. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former president has grown support among Black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of Black voters aligned with voting for Biden, about 77%, and about 18% of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to a May Pew Research Center report. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not soft balling and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year is an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a press conference or other question-and-answer formats, such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention Co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, said Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted in the courts should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump Senior Advisor Lynne Patton issued a statement, criticizing the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said. This will be their undoing in 2024. States Newsroom editor Andrea Shaw contributed to this report. Former President Donald Trump at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago with, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. Photo by William J. Ford CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced questioning Wednesday from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical of the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of his reelection campaign last week, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black media director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former presidents support among Black voters has grown. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, about 77% of Black voters said they would vote for Biden and about 18% of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in this falls presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center report from May. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not softballing and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year has been an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a news conference or other question-and-answer formats, including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention Co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, said Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, display signs across the street from the Hilton Chicago, where GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared at the National Association of Black Journalists convention Wednesday. Photo by William J. Ford The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family-oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump senior adviser Lynne Patton criticized the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said in a statement. This will be their undoing in 2024. Andrea Shaw contributed to this report in Chicago. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday. The event was moderated by, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday underwent questioning from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical about the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of a reelection campaign, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said that the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at the White House press briefing about Trumps visit to the convention, said, Thats a campaign stop for him. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former president has grown support among Black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of Black voters aligned with voting for Biden, about 77%, and about 18% of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to a May Pew Research Center report. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not soft balling and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year is an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a press conference or other question-and-answer formats, such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention Co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year, said. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted in the courts should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump Senior Advisor Lynne Patton issued a statement, criticizing the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said. This will be their undoing in 2024. Andrea Shaw contributed to this report. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The event was moderated by, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday underwent questioning from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical about the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of a reelection campaign, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said that the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at the White House press briefing about Trumps visit to the convention, said, Thats a campaign stop for him. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former president has grown support among Black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of Black voters aligned with voting for Biden, about 77%, and about 18% of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to a May Pew Research Center report. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not soft balling and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year is an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a press conference or other question-and-answer formats, such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention Co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year, said. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted in the courts should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump Senior Advisor Lynne Patton issued a statement, criticizing the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said. This will be their undoing in 2024. Andrea Shaw contributed to this report. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The event was moderated by (from left) Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (William J. Ford | Maryland Matters) CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday underwent questioning from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical about the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence, and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of a reelection campaign, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said that the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at the White House press briefing about Trumps visit to the convention, said, Thats a campaign stop for him. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former president has grown support among Black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of Black voters aligned with voting for Biden, about 77 percent, and about 18 percent of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to a May Pew Research Center report. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not soft balling and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year is an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a press conference or other question-and-answer formats, such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year, said. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN, and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted in the courts should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump Senior Advisor Lynne Patton issued a statement, criticizing the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said. This will be their undoing in 2024. Andrea Shaw contributed to this report. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The event was moderated by, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump is questioned by journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The event was moderated by, from left, Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor; and Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News. (William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) CHICAGO Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday underwent questioning from a National Association of Black Journalists panel in a turbulent session during which he falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black during her political career. Through the roughly 35-minute combative event, the former president rarely answered questions, lied and exaggerated, attacked Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, and criticized one of the Black journalists interviewing him, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott. I think its disgraceful that I came here in good spirit, Trump said. I love the Black population of this country. The discussion was also moderated by Kadia Goba, a politics reporter at Semafor, and Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor. Many NABJ members strongly opposed Trumps visit, especially given his treatment of high-profile Black women journalists, and the announcement of his appearance sparked a major backlash. Members were also critical about the lack of transparency around the invitation to Trump and the inclusion of a moderator from the conservative Fox network. Trump attacked ABCs Scott and called her questions rude and her media outlet a fake news network. Scott asked Trump why Black voters should trust him, especially after Trump has made false claims that political rivals such as former President Barack Obama were not born in the United States, has dined with a white supremacist at his Florida residence and has slammed Black journalists. I dont think Ive ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, Trump said. Scott pressed Trump about Republican members of Congress who have referred to Harris, who is the first Black woman and woman of Asian American descent to serve as vice president, as a so-called DEI hire. She asked if that was acceptable language. Trump didnt answer the question and asked Scott to define DEI, which she said stood for diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump then questioned whether Harris was Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a historic Black sorority. Her father is Jamaican, and her late mother was an Indian immigrant. Harris in Houston Harris, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden after he bowed out of a reelection campaign, was invited by NABJ to take questions as well, but her confirmation is pending, the organization said. She was traveling Wednesday to Houston for events including a campaign stop. NABJ President Kenneth Lemon said that the organization is working on a virtual session with Harris in September. On Trumps participation in the panel, Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, who is not related to the vice president, said in a statement, Lets remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy, she said. Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trumps behavior during the interview was hostile. Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in, Tyler said. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked at the White House press briefing about Trumps visit to the convention, said, Thats a campaign stop for him. The Trump campaign has used the invitation to argue that the former president has grown support among Black voters. Before Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July, a majority of Black voters aligned with voting for Biden, about 77%, and about 18% of Black voters indicated they would vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to a May Pew Research Center report. NABJ fact-checking In an email to members Wednesday morning, Lemon stressed that the organizations invitation was not an endorsement and that there would be live fact-checking from PolitiFact during the session. Members who attended were not allowed to ask questions. While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable, Lemon said. We also want to provide our members with the facts. Nichelle Smith, an independent investigative journalist from Virginia, said after the panel that it was clear where Trump stood with the Black community. I thought he was horribly rude to Rachel Scott, and I commend her and the other woman on the panel for not soft balling and asking hard questions out the gate because I doubt he has rarely been confronted with hard questions by Black women, she said. NABJ tradition Inviting a presidential candidate during an election year is an NABJ tradition since 1976. Former presidents have attended and participated in either a press conference or other question-and-answer formats, such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama. In 2016, Hillary Clinton attended, but Trump, who was also invited, did not. The announcement late Monday that Trump would show up caused a firestorm among NABJ members. Karen Attiah, a columnist with the Washington Post, resigned from her position as NABJ Convention co-chair. While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format, Attiah, who was the 2019 NABJ Journalist of the Year, said. April Ryan, a White House correspondent for TheGrio, a media company geared toward Black Americans, and NABJs 2017 Journalist of the Year, objected to the session in a social media post. The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact, she said. During his first term, Trump often sparred with the White House press corps, but he was particularly harsh when it came to Black women journalists, such as Ryan, Abby Phillip from CNN and Yamiche Alcindor, a White House correspondent for PBS. Ryan, who typically bore the brunt of those attacks, said the decision to hold a panel with Trump was a slap in the face to the Black women journalists who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. Editorial Director of Epicenter NYC Femi Redwood, who chairs NABJs LGBTQ+ task force, wrote in a social media post that the panel was not made aware of Trumps invite and objected, considering the damage he has caused Black queer and trans people including those who are journalists and members of NABJ. Im disappointed that in a space where so many queer and trans members still feel vulnerable will now feel even more unsafe due to Trump being invited and the possibility of his most vicious followers coming to the hotel to support him, she said. Some defenders Some NABJ members did defend the decision, such as Leroy Chapman Jr., the editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is what we need to normalize candidates for office standing before journalists, answering questions, he said in a social media post. A handful of pro-Trump supporters were able to attend the event, such as radio personality P Rae Easley of Chicago, who cheered when Trump went on stage. In a States Newsroom interview, she said that Trump has done a lot for the Black community. You got to be a fool to continue to support the policies of the Biden administration, she said. Goba asked about Trumps support for giving police officers immunity. She asked about Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help and was shot and killed by a deputy. Why should someone like that officer get immunity? Goba asked. Trump said that he didnt know the case well and said an officer could make an innocent mistake. Sometimes very bad decisions are made, theyre not made from an evil standpoint, but theyre made from the standpoint of they made a mistake, Trump said. Scott, who covers Congress, asked about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and about the law enforcement officers who were injured by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. She asked Trump if Jan. 6 rioters who have been convicted in the courts should be pardoned. Trump didnt answer the question and brought up Minnesota, criticizing protests there and across the nation that erupted after a video was publicized showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, who died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder. J.D. Vance questions Goba asked Trump about his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and his comments demeaning single women, calling them childless cat ladies. Trump never answered the question and went off-topic, attacking Democrats and falsely claiming that they were allowing abortions after birth. Scott also asked Trump about comments Vance has made about how people with children should be allowed to have more votes than those without. One of the bedrock principles of American life is, one person, one vote, Scott said. I just want to be clear here, is that the position of your campaign? Trump said that the campaign did not believe families should receive more votes and defended Vance. He is very family oriented, Trump said. Trump then veered into immigration and falsely claimed that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and rarely happens. After the event, Trump Senior Advisor Lynne Patton issued a statement, criticizing the media for unprofessional commentary directed toward the former president. Todays biased and rude treatment from certain hostile members of the media will backfire massively, Patton said. This will be their undoing in 2024. Andrea Shaw contributed to this report. (Bloomberg) -- A New York appeals court rejected Donald Trumps request to lift a gag order against him in his hush-money criminal case, which he says blocks him from fully responding to Kamala Harris claim that the Nov. 5 election is a choice between a prosecutor and a convicted felon. Most Read from Bloomberg The order barring Trump from publicly commenting on prosecutors involved in the case until after hes sentenced is necessary because Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs staff continue to receive outside messages that pose a significant and imminent threat, the appeals court said in a brief order Thursday. The decision was issued two days after Trumps lawyers argued in a court filing that the gag order was giving an unfair advantage to Vice President Harris, the presumed Democratic nominee and a former California attorney general, who has made Trumps guilty verdict the central focus of her campaign. The gag order is blatantly un-American as it continues to gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trumps campaign, said in a statement after the ruling. A Manhattan jury on May 30 found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election. Trump denies wrongdoing and claims without evidence that the case along with three other criminal prosecutions is part of a Democratic witch hunt to keep him from regaining the White House. The gag order, intended to protect the safety of individuals involved in the case, bars Trump from commenting on prosecutors or family members of the judge or court staff. Justice Juan Merchan narrowed the order after the trial to allow Trump to comment on witnesses during his appeal, which is ongoing. The former president filed an appeal weeks ago seeking to lift the entire gag order, arguing the remaining prohibitions violated his First Amendment right to free speech during his presidential campaign and barred him from fully explaining why he believes the case is politically motivated. On July 30, Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked the appeals court to expedite its decision on the gag order in light of President Joe Bidens abrupt exit from the race and his replacement by Harris, which he said increased the urgency of the request. Trump faces constant threat of punishment and fines due to alleged violations of the gag order and suffers irreparable First Amendment harms by being subjected to constant political attacks without being able to fully respond and defend himself, Blanche said in the filing. Since Harris emerged as Trumps main Democratic rival, the former presidents campaign has been scrambling to settle on effective messages to attack the vice president, a Black and Asian-American woman with a history in law enforcement, who at 59 is nearly two decades younger than her Republican rival. Trump argued that he should be allowed to directly criticize the daughter of Justice Merchan. The judges daughter has worked for a digital marketing agency that had Harris as a client. Trump also wants to publicly say that one of the lead prosecutors is politically motivated because he left his job as a senior official at the Justice Department in the Biden administration to work for Bragg in late 2022. Both of those arguments were raised by Trumps lawyers in court on past occasions to illustrate alleged bias and were rejected by the judge. (Adds courts decision on Trumps request.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Donald Trumps efforts to lift his gag order and say just about whatever he'd like in regard to his hush-money trail remain in vain. A panel of appeals judges on Thursday denied the former presidents attempt to rid himself of the remaining limitations imposed by Judge Juan Merchans gag order, Politico reported. A five-judge panel wrote in a three-page decision that Trumps contention that the conclusion of trial constitutes a change in circumstances warranting termination of the remaining Restraining Order provision is unavailing. In late June, Merchan, who presided over Trumps Manhattan criminal trial that found him guilty on 34 felony counts, lifted some of restrictions imposed by the gag order, allowing the Republican presidential nominee to publicly comment on witnesses and jurors involved in his trial. But he left a few constraints, barring Trump from communicating about prosecutors and others in the district attorney's office, for example. The panel ultimately agreed with Merchan and decided that filings by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office demonstrate that threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat. The judges also noted that since Trump is yet to be sentenced that's now set for Sep. 18 providing Merchan good reason to keep a tight rein on the former presidents comments. Donald Trump doesnt seem the least bit happy about the release of three American citizens who were wrongfully imprisoned in Russia. Why? Probably because he had nothing to do with it. The White House announced Thursday that three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza. In total, the exchange freed 16 people imprisoned in Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who had been political prisoners in their own country. The U.S. worked alongside Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey to secure the deal, according to the statement. The Wall Street Journal, where Gershkovich works, has dubbed it the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. But rather than celebrate, Trump took to Truth Social Thursday to whine that he was not on the inside of brokering the gargantuan deal. So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? Trump wrotethe first of his many questions. How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because Im sure the answer is NO)? Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps. Our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us! I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHINGand never any cash. To do so is bad precedent for the future. Thats the way it should be, or this situation will get worse and worse. They are extorting the United States of America. Theyre calling the trade complexThats so nobody can figure out how bad it is, Trump wrote. Trumps anti-diplomacy pearl-clutching is not only inane, it is also hypocritical. His own administration facilitated several prisoner swaps during his time in office. In 2019, the Trump administration oversaw the release of three senior Taliban leaders imprisoned in Afghanistan, in exchange for one American, Kevin King, and Timothy Weeks, an Australian. One month later, the U.S. freed Masoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist convicted of export violations, in exchange for the return of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton graduate student held in Iran. In October 2020, one of Trumps deputy assistants agreed to free 250 Houthi rebels being held in Oman, in exchange for two Americans, Sandra Loli and Mikael Gidada, who were held hostage by Iranian-backed militants in Yemen. Two years later, Trump lied, bragging that, while in office, hed secured the release of 58 hostages without giving anything in return. Its entirely likely that Trump is suffering from some kind of diplomatic FOMO. At CNNs infamous presidential debate in June, Trump promised that he would free Gershkovich before he even took office. As soon as I win the election, I will have that reporter out, he said, not referring to Gershkovich by name, instead calling him a good guy. Trump alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had demanded billions of dollars for Gershkovichs release but failed to produce any evidence to support that claim. Rather, Putin has repeatedly indicated that he wanted one person in particular: Vadim Krasikov, a former intelligence officer who had shot a rebel leader in Berlin in 2019. Despite the fact that Trump never got the chance to follow through on his flimsy promise, that hasnt stopped his sycophants from tossing him some credit anyway. Scott Olson/Getty Images As a first-time in-person attendee at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, my excitement was through the roof to gather in this space by and for Black journalists. But when the organization announced less than 48 hours before this years convention kicked off in Chicago that former president Donald Trump would be making an appearance, delight turned to dread for myself and countless others. Every presidential election cycle we invite the presidential candidates to come, NABJ president Ken Lemon said in a two-minute video posted on X a day before the convention. We extend that to anyone who is a nominee and in this case we have two presumptive nominees. But to me safety trumps tradition. Given the assassination attempt on the former president less than three weeks ago, my first concern was the potential threat of violence as well as the heavy law enforcement presence that Trumps appearance would involve. My second concern was that there would be little benefit to the NABJ community to invite someone who has repeatedly been aggressive toward Black members of the media, particularly women like veteran journalists April Ryan and Abby Phillip. Another important factor is that Trump is no ordinary candidate. He was convicted on 34 felony counts earlier this year, and a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Plus, he and his supporters have called to outlaw or defund equity and inclusion (DEI) organizations, which makes his appearance at a conference for Black journalists particularly frustrating. Many planned attendees shared similar concerns and didnt hold back in expressing their outrage and frustration online, with #NABJ24 trending on X. Still, a long line formed outside the ballroom where he was set to speak on Wednesday. Our fears were proven right when Trump took to the convention stage more than an hour late for a brief fireside chat with three Black female journalists. His remarks were littered with hostility and racist remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee. From the very first question, Trump took a hostile tone with ABC News journalist Rachel Scott. Scott referenced several of his past racist comments about Black individuals and communities, like when he told four congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from and used language like animal and rabid to describe Black district attorneys. She then asked him why Black voters should trust him after the type of language he has used. Well, first of all, I dont think Ive ever been asked a question so in such a horrible manner, a first question, Trump responded. You dont even say, Hello, how are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they are a fake news network. The approximately 35-minute conversation only got worse after he was asked if he thought it was acceptable that some of his supporters have referred to Harris as a DEI hire, which many interpret as a dog-whistle term for Black. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black, Trump said about Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent. So, I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black? Audible gasps were heard both in the lobby and on the livestream as the former president questioned the vice presidents Blackness. My phone quickly began buzzing with texts from friends who were livestreaming the event and were left in shock at the ignorant response. Several journalists who have attended the convention in years past told me the event lacked the family reunion vibes it typically has, thanks in large part to Trumps appearance. Many others I spoke with had even stronger opinions, saying they believe the organizations board should step down over this mess. Although Lemon says invitations to presidential nominees are extended every election year, the decision for Trump to attend seemed last minute as his chat caused several panels to be rescheduled or canceled altogether. His appearance even seemed to catch Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah off guard, as she announced via X on Tuesday that she was stepping down from her position as co-chair of this years convention, saying she had not been "involved or consulted with" on the decision to include Trump. More chaos erupted when April Ryan, citing sources familiar with the situation, posted on X that Lemon and the executive director of NABJ Drew Berry rejected Harris and her teams offer for a virtual fireside chat due to her not being able to attend in person. Tia Mitchell, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution correspondent, who says she helped orchestrate invitations to both nominees, posted a series of rebuttals to Ryans post stating that Ryan was missing context. After receiving intense backlash for her defense of the organizations decision, Mitchell has gone private on X. Nevertheless, when it was confirmed that the vice president wouldnt be attending, Trump used the moment to try and make himself look good, posting on Truth Social that he was on the way to Chicago, unlike Crazy Kamala. Watching the event from the lobby, in company with dozens of other journalists who refused to attend, I felt tense and upset. Police officers paced the floor, and strangers became supportive as we lamented the former presidents appearance at what we thought would be a safe haven for Black media professionals. Ultimately, I believe his attendance was unnecessary and counterproductive to an environment that many hoped would be free of the microaggressions we often endure in predominantly white newsrooms on a day-to-day basis. As a young Black female journalist, I feel a sense of powerlessness. I watched the organization that I once relied on to condemn this sort of callous attack on Black journalists and women instead be the one who orchestrated the moment. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more U.S. government coverage? Trump posts photo of Kamala Harris wearing Indian attire in new she became Black smear Former President Donald Trump Thursday posted a photograph of Vice President Kamala Harris wearing an Indian sari as he continued to push false racially charged claims that the Democratic presidential candidate isnt really Black. A day after accusing Harris of only recently claiming Black heritage, the Trump leaned into the controversy by sharing the photo of Harris wearing traditional Indian attire alongside her mother and maternal relatives. Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago! Trump wrote on his social media site.Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated, The message came as Trump and his campaign showed no signs of backing away from the firestorm controversy he launched during a contentious 35-minute sparring match with reporters at the National Association of Black Journalists. Trumps campaign posted a headline depicting Harris as the first Indian-American senator elected from California as he addressed a rally in Pennsylvania. J.D. Vance, Trumps vice presidential running mate, praised Trump for having the courage to respond honestly to tough questions and slammed Harris as a chameleon. Harriss father is a Black immigrant from Jamaica and she has always proudly claimed both Black and South Asian heritage. She attended Howard University, a historically Black college, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority. Like most mixed-race people, Harris says there is nothing to be ashamed of about having roots in more than one culture or continent. Moderate Republicans Thursday distanced themselves from Trumps jibe as pundits branded the statement as an unforced error that could fuel Democratic political momentum. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu joined Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in trashing Trump for the divisive and untrue claim. The path to victory in November is not won through character attacks or personal insults, Sununu tweeted Thursday. Hogan, a sometimes critic of Trump who is running a competitive race in deep-blue Maryland, called Trumps remarks about Harriss identity unacceptable and abhorrent. The American people deserve better, said Hogan. Even Trump allies in Congress declined to back his outrageous claim. We should spend less time talking about race and more time talking about how were going to get people to work, conservative Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, told Politico. Political analysts quickly branded Trumps effort to focus on Harriss identity a blunder and predicted it would boost her already surging political momentum. Trump has far stronger arguments to use than her mixed racial background, which many people can identify with, said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based Republican strategist, who suggested Trump should instead focus on tying Harris to Biden. Scott Jennings, another GOP strategist, said Trump crapped the bed with the NABJ debacle and predicted his campaign would seek to quickly move back to better attacks like the economy and the southern border. Despite the criticism, Trump has benefitted in the past from injecting racially divisive issues into campaigns. He famously championed the birther lies that claimed former President Obama wasnt really born in the U.S. That smear was in part designed to divide Black American voters by convincing them that Obama was somehow different from them. The attacks on Harris come as Trump is hoping to expand his paltry support among Black voters. He won an estimated 9% of the Black vote in 2020 but some polls have predicted he could score a much bigger share this time, especially among Black men. Those hopes are likely overblown now that Harris has replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic standard bearer and is running to make history as the first Black woman in the White House. Former President Trump demanded more details surrounding the massive prisoner swap Thursday that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody. Trump responded to the news by touting his own record of prisoner swaps in a post on Truth Social, while also questioning whether the U.S. gave cash in exchange for the once-detained Americans. So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because Im sure the answer is NO)? the former president asked in his post. Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps, Trump added. The former president continued, saying that giving an opposing country cash is a bad precedent for the future. They are extorting the United States of America. Theyre calling the trade complex Thats so nobody can figure out how bad it is! he wrote. 5 things to know about the major US-Russia prisoner swap National security adviser Jake Sullivan pushed back on that notion in the White House briefing Thursday, saying no money was exchanged and no sanctions were loosened as part of the deal. President Biden revealed Thursday that Gershkovich and Whelan, alongside Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, were released as part of the largest prisoner swap with Russia since the Cold War. Five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were being held as political prisoners were also freed. Trump has frequently criticized Biden over the detention of Americans in Russia and predicted that the president would not be able to secure the release of Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia for more than a year. A reporter asked Biden on Thursday about Trumps suggestion that he would have brought the detainees home without giving anything in exchange. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden replied. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (The Hill) Former President Donald Trump demanded more details surrounding the massive prisoner swap Thursday that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody. Trump responded to the news by touting his own record of prisoner swaps in a post on Truth Social, while also questioning whether the U.S. gave cash in exchange for the once-detained Americans. So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because Im sure the answer is NO)? the former president asked in his post. Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps, Trump added. The former president continued, saying that giving an opposing country cash is a bad precedent for the future. They are extorting the United States of America. Theyre calling the trade complex Thats so nobody can figure out how bad it is! he wrote. Live updates: Biden praises allies in celebrating largest prisoner swap since Cold War National security adviser Jake Sullivan pushed back on that notion in the White House briefing Thursday, saying no money was exchanged and no sanctions were loosened as part of the deal. President Joe Biden revealed Thursday that Gershkovich and Whelan, alongside Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, were released as part of the largest prisoner swap with Russia since the Cold War. Five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were being held as political prisoners were also freed. Trump has frequently criticized Biden over the detention of Americans in Russia and predicted that the president would not be able to secure the release of Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia for more than a year. A reporter asked Biden on Thursday about Trumps suggestion that he would have brought the detainees home without giving anything in exchange. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden replied. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. After weeks of contentious debate, former President Donald Trump spoke out against the controversial Project 2025 plan organized by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. He instead propped up his own platform called Agenda 47, an outline of 20 goals he promises to accomplish if he wins the upcoming election and takes office as the 47th U.S. president. Trumps platform establishes his position on highly contested issues like taxation, manufacturing and immigration. Policies in these areas can vastly change the lives of Georgians if Trump has the opportunity to implement them next year. Three of Trumps 20 platform points involve illegal immigration and its potential offshoots, like the proliferation of gang violence and cartel presence in the U.S. A 2019 study from the Migration Policy Institute identified nearly 340,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia, accounting for just over 3% of the states population. The majority of those immigrants were in the Atlanta metropolitan area, but the study also found small pockets in cities like Columbus, Macon and Athens. Many of Trumps immigration policies, like strengthening the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department and securing the border from drug traffic, are mirrored by legislation from Sen. Jon Ossoff. He has introduced or supported three significant bills in the last two years that align with Trumps stated mission. In September 2023, Ossoff became the fourth cosponsor of the Securing Americas Ports of Entry Act. The bill, if passed, would compel the Customs and Border Protection department to hire and train at least 600 officers every year until staffing equals and sustains the requirements identified each year. The Ports of Entry Act hasnt passed, but its goal may be achieved if Trump enters office. The first point of his immigration agenda, titled Secure the Border, promises that his administration will shift massive portions of Federal Law Enforcement to Immigration Enforcement. In the same section, Trump proposes moving thousands of Troops currently stationed overseas to the southern border of the U.S. One of Trump proposals suggests relocating overseas troops to the southern border of the U.S. As of March 2024, nearly 170,000 active-duty military personnel were stationed or deployed abroad. Almost 30% of those soldiers are in the Army, coming from large bases like Fort Moore. If Trump takes office in November and carries out his border plans, the majority of those soldiers could be routed to the southernmost points of Texas, Arizona and California instead of posts across the Middle East and north Africa. Fentanyl and opioids in Columbus Trumps platform and local legislation also emphasize the significance of advancing technology at the border. Ossoff proposed and sponsored several pieces of legislation, including the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2023, to give CBP access to more fentanyl scanners. There are more than enough Democratic Senators ready and willing to pass a strong bipartisan border security bill that would hire urgently needed border patrol officers and take the fight to drug cartels flooding our communities with fentanyl, he said in a May Senate address. The threat of terrorism associated with unlawful entry at the southern border is real. It is pressing. Opioids have presented a national and local health problem for years. Deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased by more than 700% between 2015 and 2022 in the U.S., and they doubled between 2020 and 2021 in Georgia. Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Brian said fentanyl-related deaths are becoming more common in Columbus. We have about (48 to 60) accidental overdoses every year, he said. Theres a lot of marijuana coming in laced with fentanyl. Brian said hed seen around a dozen deaths caused by fentanyl in the past year, and he expected that number to increase as the drugs usage grows. Fentanyl has also been at the forefront of crime in Columbus and Macon, with police operations resulting in dozens of kilos of fentanyl seized. A recent joint investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Muscogee County Sheriffs Office, led to the seizure of 13 kilos of cocaine and four kilos of fentanyl. The origin of specific batches of fentanyl in Georgia is hard to track, but the Drug Enforcement Administration identified Mexico and China as the two primary source countries for illicit fentanyl entering the U.S. Several lawmakers have said Mexicos fentanyl production is connected to immigrants illegally crossing the southern border, but an NPR report said the drug is seized far more often at legal ports of entry than on illegal crossing routes. Understaffed at Border Patrol International drug smuggling poses a problem to public health in the U.S., but Joseph Cuffari, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, said CBP is unprepared for the intensifying conditions at the southwest border. The agency has seized over 400,000 pounds of drugs in the last eight months, with more than half coming from the southwest border. Overall seizures across the country are lower than in previous years, but intercepted fentanyl shipments have increased by nearly 500%. Border Patrol stations and ports of entry are severely understaffed, he said. Theyre often running with a skeleton crew to process migrants. Cuffari said there is a consistently high volume of migrant encounters, which includes interactions between CBP officers and migrants at ports of entry, stations and detention centers. Sometimes, ports of entry rely on overtime from officers to compensate for understaffing, he said. It just isnt sustainable. We need more officers at the border. A spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin said the center has sufficient staffing for the number of migrant interactions. Immigration detainees being held in the Stewart Detention Center in south Georgia have a filed a federal lawsuit against the for-profit company that operates the 2,000-bed facility, citing deplorable conditions inside the prison. According to some lawmakers, like state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, one of Georgias biggest immigration problems lies with cities and counties that dont comply with federal immigration agencies. Georgia has outlawed sanctuary policies since 2009, and lawmakers continue to write bills like HB301 to enforce the states rules. HB301, which passed with support from Robertson and three other Republicans in a 4-1 vote, punishes local governments that enact sanctuary policies by revoking their eligibility for state and federal funding and allowing Gov. Kemp to suspend members of governing authorities like mayors. Trumps Agenda 47 places significant emphasis on border and immigration control, a stance the former president has maintained since his initial efforts in 2017 to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The ideas in his platform, if carried out, could partner with state and local legislation to bring significant changes to Georgia. Former President Trump returned Wednesday to Pennsylvania for the first time since he was shot at a rally outside of Pittsburgh earlier in the month, where he sought to characterize Vice President Harris as a phony and welcomed a challenge to compare their records. Trump repeatedly attacked Harris, who is the likely Democratic nominee after President Biden ended his candidacy, tying her to past positions she took during her own 2020 presidential bid but has since disavowed. Kamala is now being given a personality makeover, Trump told a crowd in Harrisburg. All of a sudden shes the new Margaret Thatcher. The great Margaret Thatcher. No, I dont think so. But youre going to learn. Harris in her own campaign rallies over the past week has said she would gladly put her record up against Trumps. The former president on Wednesday responded directly to those remarks, saying, Well, Kamala, lets go. Challenge accepted. Lets compare our records, point by point. Trump highlighted Harris past support for a ban on fracking, for a gun buy-back program, for reforming spending on police and for a single-payer healthcare system. He also attacked her over the surge in immigration at the southern border, something the Trump campaign has particularly focused on in recent days. No matter how much Kamala Harris tries to change her image, she cannot change this fact: She is the most extreme liberal candidate in the history of our country by far, Trump said, calling Harris a radical left puppet candidate who is fake, fake, fake. In the roughly one week since Harris became the likely Democratic nominee, her campaign has moved to distance her from a series of positions she took when she was a candidate in the 2020 presidential primary. She no longer supports a ban on fracking, a campaign official said, nor does she support expanding the Supreme Court. She no longer backs a single-payer healthcare system after previously endorsing a Medicare for All proposal, the campaign official confirmed, or a government-run gun buyback program. Harris also supports additional border funding put forward by the Biden administration, a break from her 2020 primary stance that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should minimally be reformed. And the campaign touted her record as a prosecutor and the Biden White Houses support for additional funding for law enforcement in response to questions about her previous comments on the defund the police movement. Earlier in the day, Trump drew backlash when he claimed Harris became a Black person, questioning her biracial heritage during a gathering for the National Association of Black Journalists. Wednesday was Trumps first rally in Pennsylvania since an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler. Trumps ear was hit by a bullet, and one rally attendee was killed in the shooting. The former president opened his remarks in Harrisburg by acknowledging the shooting and holding a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, who died at the rally. In the wake of this heinous attack, we gather tonight more determined than ever. Our resolve is unbroken and our will is undeterred, Trump said. Nothing will stop us on our mission to make America great again. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Donald Trump on Wednesday night falsely smeared Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as a proud member of Hamas. The Republican presidential nominee made the insulting remark about the top-ranking U.S. Jewish official at a rally in Pennsylvania. It came on the same day that Trump separately sparked an angry backlash for questioning Vice President Kamala Harris racial identity. VP Candidate J.D. Vance, With Biracial Kids, Calls Trump Race Slur Hysterical Chuck Schumer refused to shake the Israeli prime ministers hand, Trump said at the rally Wednesday night in Harrisburg. Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Yes Can you believe it? Hes become a proud member of Hamas. Hamas, the Palestinian group the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, led the attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israels military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas, according to the Gaza health ministry. In response to Trump calling him a proud member of Hamas, Schumer told The Washington Post: The lower [Trump] drops in polls, the more unhinged he becomes. Trump: Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Yes. Can you believe it? He has become a proud member of Hamas. pic.twitter.com/9KxLKwILKz Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024 Trumps handshake quip referred to the New York Democrats actions during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus joint address to Congress last week. Schumerwho has been critical of Netanyahus approach to the war in Gaza and has called for Israel to hold elections to replace himdid attend Netanyahus address but did not shake his hand afterward. I went to this speech because the relationship between Israel and America is ironclad and I wanted to show that, he said on CBS Face the Nation over the weekend. But at the same time, as everyone knows, I have serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted these policies. Earlier on Wednesday, Schumer made a Senate floor speech criticizing comments Trump made about Harris Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff. In an interview Tuesday, Trump agreed with a radio host describing the second gentleman as a crappy Jew. Trump also used the appearance to say that Jews who vote for Democrats are fools and that Jewish supporters of Harris should have their head examined. Trump Agrees With Radio Host Who Calls Emhoff a Crappy Jew In his speech, Schumer said it would be a mistake to simply dismiss the former presidents comments as just another Trump insult. Calling Jews fools and suggesting they are bad or disloyal because of their political beliefs is not just some juvenile insult. Its an old antisemitic trope that goes back centuries, one of dual loyalty, Schumer said. Its been used for a very long time to drive Jews out of their homes, to paint them as untrustworthy, to deny their basic dignity. So when Donald Trump goes on air and attacks Jews for the way they vote, he knows precisely what he is doing, Schumer added. Hes sowing the seeds of division. He is propagating naked antisemitism. Prior to his rally Wednesday, Trump appeared at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago, where he claimed Harris turned Black. She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person, he said, adding that somebody should look into the matter. Harris later described Trumps comments as the same old showthe divisiveness and the disrespect. 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. National security-minded Republican lawmakers are alarmed by what they see as a growing split between themselves and former President Trump on key issues, including the war in Ukraine, preserving the NATO alliance and protecting Taiwan from Chinese aggression. Trumps actions over the past three weeks have stirred confusion and concern among Republican senators who voted earlier this year to approve tens of billions of dollars to contain Russias invasion of Ukraine and to deter China from attacking Taiwan, an important U.S. ally and trading partner. Defense-minded GOP senators viewed Trumps invitation to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to visit him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after the NATO summit in Washington as a worrisome development, given Orbans close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his efforts to undermine NATOs support for the defense of Ukraine. Trump, Orban meet at Mar-a-Lago after NATO summit GOP senators who support U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine were dismayed when Trump selected Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who led the opposition to the Ukrainian assistance package, as his running mate. And Senate Republicans are feeling uneasy about Trumps assertion that Taiwan should pay more for its defense and refusal to commit to defending the island. One Republican senator, who requested anonymity, said its a big question whether Trump will support the war in Ukraine or would come to Taiwans defense if attacked by China. I dont think he desires to be in conflict or to pay for conflicts around the world, the senator observed. Theres no question where JD Vance is, the lawmaker said of Trumps selection of the Ohio senator as his running mate. Where JD Vance stands on Ukraine, Israel and China And the senator called Trumps meeting with Orban at Mar-a-Lago concerning. I cant tell you why hes doing it, the lawmaker remarked. Turned the corner Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) answers a question during a press conference after the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Greg Nash) Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) argued earlier this year that the Republican Party has turned the corner on the isolationist movement within its ranks when a majority of GOP senators voted for a $95 billion foreign aid package, which included $61 billion for Ukraine. But thats now in doubt after Trump picked Vance to join him on the GOP ticket. Opponents of continued funding for the war in Ukraine cheered the selection and touted it as a sign Trump would change course if elected in November. JD is probably one of the most outspoken individuals about continuing to fuel the flames of that bloody stalemate. I happen to agree with him. I think President Trump does as well, said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who opposes sending more funding to Ukraine. Johnson said Vances selection as Trumps running mate kind of confirms the position of, hopefully, the next administration. The president said hed end that thing in 24 hours, Johnson said, referring to Trumps comments on the war. Vance told The Hill in April that the $61 billion approved for Ukraine would be the last major assistance package of its kind to get through Congress. If Ukraine thinks that its getting another $60 billion supplemental out of the United States Congress, theres no way, Vance said. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) speaks during a campaign event in Reno, Nev., July 30, 2024. (Jae C. Hong, Associated Press) McConnell told reporters he will support the GOP ticket with Vance on it but insisted hes going to keep arguing for the importance of stopping Russias invasion. I support the ticket. I also support Ukraine, and Im going to be arguing, no matter who gets elected president for deterring Russian aggression, McConnell said. Its not just Ukraine, weve got worldwide organized authoritarian regimes talking to each other China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Irans proxies. This is a serious challenge, he warned. This is the single largest problem facing the democratic world, no matter who wins the election. And thats what Im going to be working on the next couple years. McConnell didnt explicitly criticize Trump for meeting with Orban in Florida but made it clear he views the Hungarian strongman as NATOs weakest member and someone who has undermined U.S. security interests in Europe. Hes the one member of NATO whos essentially turned his country over to the Chinese and the Russians. [Hes] been looking for ways to undermine NATOs efforts to defeat the Russians in Ukraine. So Viktor Orban, I think, has now made Hungary the most recent problem in NATO, McConnell said. McConnell also spoke out about the need to stand with Taiwan and other Far East allies when asked about Trumps reluctance to commit to defending the island nation, which is a major source of semiconductors for U.S. industry. We dont know yet whos going to be the new administration. But its pretty clear that our allies in Asia, and now you can add the Philippines to the group, are all concerned about Chinese aggression. They are watching what happens to Russia in Ukraine carefully, he said. This is the clearest example of the democratic world needing to stand up to these authoritarians, he said. Reagan had it right. Theres one thing that works. Peace you get through strength. Blame for Carlson Former President Trump greets Tucker Carlson Former President Trump greets Tucker Carlson as he arrives to the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Monday, July 15, 2024. (Greg Nash) Other Republican senators are balking at Trumps pick of Vance as his running mate and outreach to Orban. A second GOP senator who requested anonymity voiced hope that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served under Trump, would serve as Defense secretary in a new Trump administration and convince him to stay the course in supporting Ukraine. The lawmaker blamed the influence of conservative media personality Tucker Carlson in pushing Trump toward Vance and Orban. Not the way I would do it, the senator said. A third Republican senator said McConnell and other GOP colleagues arent happy with how Trumps recent moves telegraph how he might run foreign policy out of the White House if hes elected in November. I think Trump goes in and tries to negotiate a deal [to end the war in Ukraine] where they cede certain territory to Putin knowing that Putin cant walk away a loser. Putins only graceful exit from this is Zelensky and company ceding some territory, the Russian-speaking parks of Ukraine, the senator said, predicting that Trump will lean on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. My guess is that doesnt sit well with McConnell, at all. But Trump and McConnell have had a pretty rocky relationship, the source said. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), an outspoken advocate for supporting the war in Ukraine and a McConnell ally, told reporters Wednesday he thinks Trump is open to continued U.S. support for Ukraine. If you take a look at the fact that we passed a $60 billion-plus supplemental package [for Ukraine], the House passed it, Ive got to believe there was some tacit support from Trump or he could have blocked it, Tillis said. Its on us to convince President Trump why its in our best national interest to support Ukraine. Zelensky challenges Trump to release plan to end Ukraine war with Russia But other GOP senators are skeptical that Trump will support sending tens of billions of dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine if he returns to the White House. His instinct is always toward nonintervention, caution. I dont know that theres well-formed philosophy about this is. Its just his gut. He kind of does this by gut, and his gut is nonintervention, said a fifth GOP senator who requested anonymity. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Hours after Donald Trumps controversial interview at a National Association of Black Journalists conference, the former presidents press secretary Karoline Leavitt began spinning his incorrect assertions that Vice President Kamala Harris happened to turn Black. What this showed is that President Trump is unafraid to show up and to have these difficult and hostile conversations in environments, Trumps Leavitt told host Connell McShane on NewsNation on Wednesday night. He rightfully pointed out that her parents are Jamaican and Indian heritage. That is a fact, Leavitt said after McShane questioned her about Trumps jaw-dropping remarks. Trump did not directly mention Harris father Donald J. Harris, a Jamaican-American retired Stanford professor, in his remarks at the NABJ conference. When pressed by McShane, she repeated the comment. Her parents are Jamaican and Indian heritage. And Black voters do appreciate President Trumps authenticity, they do not appreciate the inauthenticity of Kamala Harris and the Joe Biden administration, she added. Leavitt tried to steer the conversation towards Trumps reported success with Black voters. I dont think that President Trump is winning a historic margin of Black voters, I know it. Look at the polls, Leavitt said, avoiding the question of Harris background. I think they appreciate President Trumps candor, his honesty, and his authenticity, Leavitt said. Same Old Show: Kamala Harris Responds to Trumps Racial Dig Republican Sen. Tom Cotton echoed her sentiments later Wednesday night on CNN, repeatedly ignoring host Kaitlan Collins questions about Trumps comments in favor of his own talking points about Kamala Harris lack of media interviews and her status as a San Francisco Liberal, a phrase he returned to many times. Trump loves African-Americans. He loves Indian-Americans. He loves all Americans, Cotton said. The point is that we dont know where she stands politically because she spent her entire life as a dangerous San Francisco liberal, and now in the last 10 days shes trying to flip-flop on every single position. In the 2020 presidential election, roughly 92% of Black voters cast ballots for Joe Biden. Early polling suggested that Biden may have lost some support from Black voters while he was still running for reelection. In polling data published by the Pew Research Center in May, about 77% of voters said they favored Biden compared to 18% who said they preferred Trump. Pews data also suggested a slightly higher number of Black voters under age 25 leaned Republican17%, compared to only 8% of Black voters over age 50. The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president, Harris campaign said in a statement on Wednesday in response. Let me just say: The American people deserve better, Harris said herself, who spoke at a Black sorority event in Houston the same day. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. Later, at his own rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump barely mentioned his appearance in Chicago. He did, however, call Harris campaign rollout phony and fake. 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. Donald Trump shakes hands with Harris Faulkner, a Fox News anchor, after speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago - Vincent Alban/Reuters Donald Trumps claims that Kamala Harris had only recently turned black have been criticised by his fellow Republicans. In a rare rebuke of their presidential nominee, a number of Republicans voiced concerns over the remarks, which have been condemned as racist. I think the better approach is to focus on the policies of Kamala Harris - thats what Ive been talking about, said Senator Steve Daines of Montana, the GOP campaign chief. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri also told reporters it was not a great idea for either of the parties to be playing racial identity politics. And Thom Tillis, the North Carolina senator, said he clearly didnt like what he heard from Trump. Appearing at a convention for black journalists on Wednesday, Trump asked if Ms Harris, the US vice-president and presumptive Democrat nominee, was Indian or black. I respect either one but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became black, he continued. Ms Harris responded by saying the American people deserve better than such divisiveness and disrespect. Ms Harris did not directly address Trump's remarks but said he had put on the 'same old show' of 'divisiveness and disrespect' - KEVIN LAMARQUE/AFP via Getty Images Trump, 78, then doubled down on his controversial remarks. On his Truth Social page, he posted a previously published photograph of Ms Harriss mothers family wearing traditional Indian clothing. Thank you Kamala for the nice picture you sent from many years ago, he wrote with apparent sarcasm. Your warmth, friendship, and love of your Indian Heritage are very much appreciated. JD Vance, Trumps running mate, piled on at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening, mocking the way Ms Harris had spoken at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the battleground states. And you guys saw yesterday she was in Georgia, and she put on a southern accent for a Georgia audience, said Mr Vance. She grew up in Vancouver. What the hell is going on here? She is not who she pretends to be. Ms Harris, 59, is of mixed race. Her father is Jamaican and her mother Indian. She spent her teenage years in Montreal, where her mother, a breast cancer researcher, worked at a hospital and university. She served as Attorney General of California before being elected as senator for the state. A tougher fight than Republicans expected After barely 10 days of campaigning, she is running level with Trump in battleground states, and Republicans are realising they face a tougher fight than most anticipated. Politico reported that virtually every Republican it contacted was flat-out distraught by what they perceive as a self-inflicted wound not only for Trump, but for Republicans down the ballot. Without mentioning Trump by name, former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a GOP candidate for the Senate, said it was unacceptable and abhorrent to attack vice-president Harris or anyones racial identity. Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist, told CNN that Trump cr---d the bed in his appearance at the NABJ convention. The only question is whether hes gonna roll around in it or get up and change the sheets, he added. Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator for Alaska, listed a series of recent mishaps by Trump and Mr Vance when talking about Ms Harris recently. Childless cat women, DEI candidates, now, Is she black? Is she Indian? she said Democrats also condemned the comments. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, termed Trumps appearance a meltdown that showed he was unfit for office. Mark Kelly, a senator from Arizona and one of the favourites to become Ms Harriss running mate, said the remarks were overtly racist. Another potential pick, JB Pritzker, said Trumps comments showed racism coming through him. This is not the first time Trump has been accused of race-baiting. For many years he spearheaded the birther movement that falsely claimed Barack Obama was not born in the US and thus not eligible to run for president. Believing it was a distraction for Americans, Mr Obama released his full birth certificate showing he had been born in Hawaii as he had said. In 2016, while running for president, Trump finally admitted as much, saying: President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump pledged to eliminate taxes on Social Security payments for seniors, a move that would cut levies for some elderly Americans but further strain benefits for those who have yet to retire. Most Read from Bloomberg Seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security and they wont, Trump said at a rally on Wednesday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Trumps pledge to cut taxes for elderly Americans, a key voting bloc, comes as the Republican nominee tries to recalibrate his campaign to focus on Vice President Kamala Harris rather than President Joe Biden, who quit the race on July 21. Trump has struggled to find an effective messaging strategy against Harris, employing attacks with racist and sexist overtones and invoking antisemitic tropes. Trump, who earlier Wednesday questioned Harris embrace of her black identity in a personal and vitriolic attack, pivoted to an economic pitch, saying she would totally destroy our Social Security system. He also panned her for being weak on immigration and supporting efforts to defund the police. The former president has made tax cuts a central promise of his campaign, but has shared few details. Hes pledged to renew his 2017 cuts on individuals and small businesses, which are set to expire next year, as well as eliminate taxes on tipped income. Thats a plan that could appeal to younger voters who are more likely to work in hospitality jobs, but the idea has been widely panned by economists. Eliminating taxes on retirement benefits is also likely to draw criticism. Wiping out those levies would increase the deficit by up to $1.8 trillion through 2035, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group also said it would speed up the rate at which the trust funds would face shortfalls and retirees would see their benefits cut. Federal projections show payments are on track to be reduced starting in 2035. About 40% of retirees owe taxes on their Social Security benefits, depending on their income level, marital status and other sources of earnings, according to the Social Security Administration. Taxing the retirement benefits dates back to a 1983 law, signed by then President Ronald Reagan, intended to keep the popular program financially viable. Trumps idea to cut taxes on benefit payments would complicate conversations in Washington about large-scale plans to find new ways to fund Social Security, which have become more pressing with projections showing the program is becoming increasingly unsustainable. But changes to Social Security are politically risky because older Americans, who are directly benefitting from the payments, are an important source of votes for both parties. Pennsylvania Polls The contest in Pennsylvania, perhaps the most important swing state that will decide the election, has tightened after Harris replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket, according to recent polling, showing increased enthusiasm among young, Black and Hispanic voters for the vice president. The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted after Biden withdrew showed that Trump had a four-point lead over Harris in Pennsylvania, down from the seven-point advantage the former president had in the survey early this month when Biden was still running. Biden had clearly lost ground in the state since carrying it in 2020, said Berwood Yost, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. Harris has energized voters who were a key part of Bidens coalition but had soured on him because of his age or the economy, he said. Well see how long that continues, but Pennsylvania is back in play, Yost said. Harris is also seriously considering Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be her running mate, which would give her campaign in the state a boost. Shapiro is the most popular politician in the commonwealth and can appeal to rural and swing voters, Yost said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Former president Donald Trump is facing criticism for recent comments made about the Jewish community in which he claimed a Jewish American who votes for a Democrat is "an absolute fool." The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a global Jewish advocacy group, condemned Trump's comments. "At a time when antisemitism is at record levels, the statement by the former president is divisive and potentially dangerous," the AJC told ABC News in a statement. "Jews as a group should not be targeted for their beliefs or how they choose to vote. Even more problematic is when individuals are singled out or targeted," the latter referring to recent comments made specifically about Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish. PHOTO: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks at an event at Planned Parenthood in Portland on July 24, 2024. ( Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) MORE: Election 2024 updates: Beshear says Vance 'ain't from Appalachia' at Harris event In a July 30 interview with New York radio host Sid Rosenberg on the radio station 77WABC, owned by Red Apple Media, Trump said that "any Jewish person that voted for her or him or whoever it's going to be should have their head examined," referring to likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Trump continued: "If you love Israel, or if you're Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel, and they happen to be in New York, you know that. But if you are Jewish, regardless of Israel, if you're Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you're a fool, an absolute fool." Rosenberg then made derogatory comments about second gentleman Doug Emhoff, calling him "a crappy Jew" as Trump appeared to agree. "Doug Emhoff, Mr. President, is Jewish," Rosenberg said during the interview. "He's Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish. Are you kidding me?" "Yeah," Trump responded. "He's a crappy Jew," Rosenberg continued. "Yeah," Trump again said. "He's a horrible Jew," said Rosenberg. PHOTO: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks to canvassers at the local party headquarters in Stevens Point, Wisc., July 27, 2024. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty) In a March interview, Trump claimed that "Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion." Emhoff responded at the time on X, writing: "Donald Trump uses stereotypes to demean Jewish Americans. He called Neo-Nazis at Charlottesville 'very fine people.' And his former Chief of Staff said he even praised Adolf Hitler. This hateful and antisemitic rhetoric is toxic. Donald Trump is the one who should be ashamed." MORE: Possible first gentleman Doug Emhoff? Who is Kamala Harris' husband? Trump's most recent comments follow his claim at a July 26 speaking event that Harris doesn't like Jewish people, despite her being married to a Jewish man. "She doesn't like Jewish people. She doesn't like Israel. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's always going to be. She's not going to change," he said at a conservative Christian event in Florida. The former president's comments come amid rising incidents of antisemitism across the U.S., with federal and local law enforcement agencies warning about the heightened tensions stoked by the Israel-Hamas war overseas. Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign responded on July 26 to Trump's comments claiming she doesn't like Jewish people, calling his vision for the country "bitter, bizarre, and backward looking" and arguing he "insulted the faith" of Jewish voters. The vice president's office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for further comment. PHOTO: Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff descend from Air Force Two at Delaware National Air Guard base in New Castle, Del., on July 22, 2024. (Erin Schaff/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., slammed Trump for repeating what Schumer called an "old antisemitic trope" about the loyalties of Jewish voters. "It's been used for a very long time to drive Jews out of their homes, to paint them as untrustworthy to deny the basic dignity," Schumer said in a July 31 speech. Schumer continued: "Donald Trump then repeated the sick idea that if you're a Jew, and if you happen to support Democrats, you should 'have your head examined' and that you're a bunch of 'fools.' Sadly, we've been here before, but it must be said again: Donald Trump's comments were reprehensible, dangerous, and prove that he is disturbingly at ease with antisemitic rhetoric." ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Isabella Murray, Will McDuffie, and Gabriela Abdul-Hakim contributed to this report. Trump's comments on Jewish Democrats, second gentleman Doug Emhoff spark criticism originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The claim that half of all marriages end in divorce has been a prevalent topic online for years. The statistic often sparks debate, regularly surfacing in social media posts and discussions. However, delving deeper into this claim reveals a more complex picture than the straightforward figure suggests. For instance, in July 2024, Alex Falcone, a Los Angeles-based comedian and writer, posted a video on Instagram, saying that the claim that 50% of marriages end in divorce was false. As of this writing, the post had reached more than 2.1 million views and 149,000 likes. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9QF_pVtC4x/ In the video, Falcone said: It's time for some unlearning, and today: 50% of marriages end in divorce. Or do they? Nope. first of all, it's a dumb thing to measure. Until the 1970s, divorce laws were very different. So really it would have been a measurement of what percentage of couples are trapped in bad situations. Also, it's a dumb statistic because it doesn't take into consideration length. So the couple that held hands while the water came in on the Titanic counts exactly the same as someone who got hit by a bus on their honeymoon. Oh, but also, it doesn't take into consideration overachievers. Some people are really good at getting divorced. And if you stay married forever, you only get to count for one. But if someone gets divorced five times, they get to be counted five times. And even given all those caveats to the statistic, no one actually bothered to measure because it would be too hard. He continued, claiming that the statistic was an example of "lazy math": That way you'd actually do this is you would track every single marriage that's ever happened, and you'd sort them into three buckets: "Still Going," "Death Did Us Part" and "Oopsie Doodle." And the reason you can't do that is because that's too much data. So a group of people put together this statistic, and you might be wondering, did they have a political agenda? Hahaha, of course. And what they did was the lazy math. They took the number of people who got married this year, and the number of people who divorced this year, and they compared them. And those are obviously dumb numbers, because those are mostly not the same people. You're basically saying that 50% of apples end in oranges. And now the craziest part. It's not even 50. If you do their bad math on their made up numbers, you get 32%. That's the current rate. So we as a society need to split up with the 50-50 myth. Similarly, one Reddit user wrote, "TIL '50% of US marriages end in divorce' statistic is very misleading. In reality, divorce rates peaked in the early 1980s and have been steadily decreasing since then. If current trends continue, only one third of today's marriages will end in divorce." Another user asked under the post: "Do these statistics account for serial divorcers? If one person causes 6+ divorces, should that be weighted the same as a person who gets one divorce and then lives happily ever after with their next spouse?" Social media posts have continued to circulate the statistics. "50% of marriages end in divorce..meaning the other half end in death," one Reddit post claimed. The claim also spread on platforms such as YouTube, X and TikTok. Various reputable news outlets have addressed the topic over the years, consistently stating that the widely circulated statistic was inaccurate. For instance, The New York Times debunked the claim in a 2005 article titled, "Divorce Rate: It's Not as High as You Think," reporting that the statistic was based on a flawed calculation: The figure is based on a simple and flawed calculation: the annual marriage rate per 1,000 people compared with the annual divorce rate. In 2003, for example, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 7.5 marriages per 1,000 people and 3.8 divorces, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. But researchers say that this is misleading because the people who are divorcing in any given year are not the same as those who are marrying, and that the statistic is virtually useless in understanding divorce rates. In fact, they say, studies find that the divorce rate in the United States has never reached one in every two marriages, and new research suggests that, with rates now declining, it probably never will. Similarly, in 2017 Business Insider published an article titled, "The common statistic that 'half of marriages end in divorce' is bogus." And in 2018, Time started an article titled, "The Divorce Rate Is Dropping. That May Not Actually Be Good News," with this: "Have you heard that statistic that half of all marriages will end in divorce? It's wrong." Measuring Divorce Rates Divorce statistics are calculated using various methods. For instance, one crude divorce rate simply calculates the number of divorces per 1,000 people in the total population per year. On the other hand, the marriage-to-divorce ratio compares the number of marriages to the number of divorces in a given population during a specific time period. It is calculated by dividing the number of marriages by the number of divorces. However, as The New York Times stressed in 2005, researchers say that these statistics might be misleading, as the people who are divorcing in any given year may not be the same ones marrying. Divorce Statistics in US The National Center for Health Statistics, a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one of the United States' principal statistical agencies, collects and publishes data on marriages and divorces in the U.S. According to the NCHS' most recent data, the divorce rate in 2022 was 2.4 per 1,000 population, while the marriage rate was 6.2 per 1,000 total population. Number of marriages: 2,065,905 Marriage rate: 6.2 per 1,000 total population Number of divorces: 673,989 (45 reporting states and D.C.) Divorce rate: 2.4 per 1,000 population (45 reporting states and D.C.) The file below provides detailed statistics on marriage and divorce rates in the U.S. from 2000-22: https://media.snopes.com/2024/07/national-marriage-divorce-rates-00-22.pdf Overall, as some social media posts underscored, since the 1970s the share of marriages ending in divorce in the U.S. has been decreasing. An Our World in Data article on the topic of marriages and divorces rates said: We see that the share of marriages ending in divorce increased significantly for couples married in the 1960s or 70s compared to those who got married in the 1950s. The probability of divorce within 10 years was twice as high for couples married in the 1960s versus those who got married in the 1950s. For those married in the 1970s, it was more than three times as likely. You might have heard the popularised claim that "half of all marriages end in divorce". We can see here where that claim might come from it was once true: 48% of American couples that married in the 1970s were divorced within 25 years. But since then the likelihood of divorce has fallen. It fell for couples married in the 1980s, and again for those in the 1990s. Both the likelihood of divorce has been falling, and the length of marriage has been increasing. (ourworldindata.org) Divorce Statistics Around the World Below you can see a chart comparing the number of divorces per 1,000 people over the decades in select countries, including the U.S.: "The number of marriages per 1000 persons decreased within the EU in recent decades, while the number of divorces increased. However, both of these trends seem to have slowed in recent years. An increase in the proportion of children who are born to unmarried couples was also observed," reported Eurostat, one of the directorates-general of the European Commission. Crude divorce and marriage rates in 2022 for the European Union countries are shown below: (ec.europa.eu) In the chart below, you can also see crude marriage and divorce rates in the EU from 1964 to 2022: (ec.europa.eu) Furthermore, the graph below that we accessed via Statista, an online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization, shows countries with the lowest divorce rates in 2020 (the most recent year for which data was available): Statistic: Countries with the lowest divorce rates worldwide as of 2020 (divorces per 1,000 population) | Statista Other rumors on marriages and divorces we have investigated include: Sources: "Countries with the Lowest Divorce Rates Worldwide." Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1226451/lowest-divorce-rate-worldwide-by-country/. Accessed 29 July 2024. Dobrin, Nikki. "Nobody In This Bosnian Town Has Ever Gotten Divorced?" Snopes, 4 Apr. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/town-bosnia-herzegovina-no-divorces/. FastStats. 13 Mar. 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm. File:Fig01 Crude Marriage and Divorce Rates Rev.Png. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Fig01_Crude_marriage_and_divorce_rates_rev.png. Accessed 29 July 2024. Hurley, Dan. "Divorce Rate: It's Not as High as You Think." The New York Times, 19 Apr. 2005. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/health/divorce-rate-its-not-as-high-as-you-think.html. Kasprak, Alex. "Is There a Relationship Between Marital Satisfaction and Weight Gain?" Snopes, 15 May 2018, https://www.snopes.com//news/2018/05/15/is-relationship-marital-satisfaction-weight-gain/. Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban, and Max Roser. "Marriages and Divorces." Our World in Data, Dec. 2023. ourworldindata.org, https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces. Shamsian, Jacob. "The Common Statistic That 'half of Marriages End in Divorce' Is Bogus." Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-divorce-rate-2017-2. Accessed 29 July 2024. Wrona, Aleksandra. "Did a Woman Married to the Eiffel Tower Divorce the Monument for a Fence?" Snopes, 15 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com//news/2023/07/15/woman-married-eiffel-tower/. Truth Social keeps shedding users, which might "portend trouble" for Trump in November Former President Donald Trumps social media platform, Truth Social, experienced its third straight month of audience decline in June, The Guardian reported, its user base dropping by 38% since last year. The diminishing audience levels for Truth Social suggest a rejection of the harsh rhetoric expressed by the ex-president and his political allies that is one of the hallmarks of the two-year-old platform, Howard Polskin, a conservative media analyst, told the publication. The decline of Truth Social could reflect diminished interest in Trump's brand of politics. In February 2022, his site had 3.26 unique users; as of June 2024, that number is now just a little over 2.11 million, according to Polskin, who monitors conservative media for his website, The Righting. If this softness persists, it might portend trouble for Mr. Trump at the ballot box in November," Polskin told The Guardian. Trump launched his social media site after he was banned from Facebook and Twitter, now called X, following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Both sites have since lifted their bans. The parent company of Truth Social, Trump Media & Technology, experienced a momentary increase in its stock price of $46 per share after the attempted assassination of the former president. However, this leap in price was short lived, the stock dropping to about $29 per share Wednesday, The New Republic reported. Earlier this year, the parent company reported a $327.6 million loss in the first quarter of 2024 and revenue of less than $771,000. Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the alliance at a NATO event, in Washington By Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said. Israel carries the status of NATO partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States. Prior to Israel's offensive in Gaza - prompted by Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage - NATO member Turkey had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel. Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel's operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade. It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Turkey had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel's "massacre" of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO's founding principles. A U.N. inquiry in June found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war. It said Israel's actions constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. Israel rejects this and says its operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people, aims to eradicate Hamas. The sources said Turkey would maintain this block and not allow Israel to continue or advance its interaction with NATO until there was an end to the conflict, as it believes Israel's actions in Gaza violate international law and universal human rights. After a NATO summit in Washington in July, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration. Earlier this week, Israel's foreign minister urged the alliance to expel Turkey after Erdogan appeared to threaten to enter Israel, as it had Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler and Christina Fincher) A crowd at the Alabama Statehouse listens to Corrin O'Brien of the Fight for Alabama Families Coalition speaker during a rally for protections for in vitro fertilization on Feb. 28, 2024 in Montgomery, Alabama. The rally took place prior to scheduled committee hearings in the Alabama Legislature on legislation to protect the procedure. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Two couples on Wednesday dropped a lawsuit against IVF providers in Mobile that claimed that the accidental destruction of their embryos constituted a wrongful death claim. One lawsuit remains. The motion from the couples requested that the court dismiss their case with prejudice, meaning plaintiffs cannot make the same claim in the same court. The filing did not state a reason for the decision. The two couples James and Emily LePage; William Tripp Fonde and Caroline Fonde filed their lawsuits against the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Mobile Infirmary Medical Center in 2021 after a patient in 2020 removed an embryo from the cryogenic environment, leading to its destruction. Another lawsuit from Felicia Burdick-Aysenne, also filed in 2021, is still pending. A hearing in the case is set for September. The parties brought the two lawsuits together to the Alabama Supreme Court, leading to a February decision that halted IVF services in the state. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In a majority opinion, Justice Jay Mitchell wrote that there was no exception for frozen embryos under an 1872 law allowing civil lawsuits for the wrongful death of children, or under a 2018 state constitutional amendment that required the state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child. Chief Justice Tom Parker, concurring with the opinion, wrote that even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory, which he argued was set in policy when Alabama voters approved the 2018 amendment. The Alabama Supreme Courts ruling, which allowed parents of frozen embryos to claim civil damages, led to several IVF programs in the state to temporarily suspend operations. The Alabama Legislature passed a bill in March that extended criminal and civil immunity to IVF clinics for operations. Messages were left Thursday with attorneys for the parties. Infirmary Health, one of several entities sued over the accidental destruction of frozen embryos at the clinic in 2020, has temporarily resumed IVF treatments at the hospital, but because of litigation concerns, IVF services at the hospital will be halted on Dec. 31. The Center for Reproductive Health, the other defendant in the case, plans to move its operations to new facilities in in Mobile and Dothan. The Legislatures bill shielding IVF providers from liability does not address when life begins. Democrats argued that the courts reliance on the 2018 constitutional amendment implies that the issue can only be resolved through another constitutional amendment. Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, have shied away from addressing that issue. After the bill went into effect, at least two other clinics providing IVF resumed services. Mobile Infirmary said at the time they werent reopening until they had clarification about the immunity the state provided. Though lawmakers said they would establish a task force to study a more permanent solution, that has yet to occur, leaving families in an atmosphere of uncertainty as they make fertility treatment decisions. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Killeen, Tx (FOX 44) UPDATE: Two of the three victims in the fatal shooting on Adams Avenue on July 31 have been identified. Killeen Police detectives with the Criminal Investigation Division have identified the two deceased victims as 51-year-old Jesse Miles and 35-year-old Anthony McKoy. In addition, one woman was wounded in this overnight shooting incident. Police were originally called to the 900 block of Adams Avenue about 11:45 p.m. on July 31 after receiving a report of a man being shot. On arrival, they found Miles. Officers began life saving measures until paramedics arrived and transported Miles to Darnall Army Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. While the investigation was getting started, police reported two additional victims arrived at a Killeen emergency medical facility by private vehicle, also suffering from gunshot wounds. McKoy was subsequently transported to Darnall, where he was also pronounced dead. A 30-year-old woman was later sent to Advent Health Central Texas with non-life threatening injuries. Police were still investigating the circumstances of the shootings on the morning of August 1. Officer-involved shooting occurs in Killeen Detectives are asking if anyone has information about this murder, to contact the Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-TIPS (8477) or go online here. You can also download the P3Tips App for IOS or Android and give an anonymous tip. All information is confidential and anonymous, and if your tip leads to the arrest of the person(s) responsible, you could be eligible to receive a reward up to $1,000 in cash. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) An NYPD sergeant was shot and another was grazed by a bullet while trying to arrest a robbery suspect in Lower Manhattan Thursday, police said. The robbery happened on the second floor of 91 Canal St. in Chinatown around 4:15 p.m., according to the NYPD. More Local News The suspect, 22-year-old Joshua Dorsett, allegedly robbed women of their purses at gunpoint, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. We believe this location is known throughout the neighborhood where people gather to play mahjong. Sometimes there is money exchanged during these games. [Dorsett] is from the neighborhood, so he wouldve known that, Kenny said. Dorsett allegedly fled the scene after the robbery and was spotted by two sergeants seven minutes later at 167 Eldridge St., according to Kenny. Man charged with shooting at NYPD officers with ghost gun in Queens: DA When the sergeants stopped Dorsett, he allegedly began to pull out a gun from his pocket, Kenny said. A struggle begins for the possession of the gun between Dorsett and the two sergeants, and a shot is fired by the perpetrator, Dorsett, Kenny said. One of the sergeants was shot in the groin, and the other was grazed in the leg, police said. Both sergeants were hospitalized are are expected to survive. Im relieved to say that our officers are both in good stable condition and are expected to make a full recovery, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. Police took Dorsett into custody at the scene. He is allegedly a known gang member who is currently on probation, police said. Today is yet another reminder of the dangers New York City police officers face every day as they go out there to keep our city safe, Caban said. The last on-duty NYPD officer shooting happened in March. Jonathan Diller, 31, was shot and killed while conducting a vehicle stop in Far Rockaway, Queens. Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Two persons fatally hit by vehicle on southern Illinois highway, sheriff says Two persons were found dead along a Franklin County highway after they apparently were struck by a vehicle while they were walking, the sheriffs office said. The bodies were found Wednesday morning in a ditch along Illinois 14 near South Jenette Street in Buckner after a passing motorist called 911, according to a news release from Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon. The names of the two victims have not been released. Investigators have located the vehicle and driver, Bacon said. Preliminary information indicates that both subjects were struck while walking along State Highway 14, the news release said. The investigation is ongoing and no other information will be released at this time. A spokesman for Illinois State Police said the agency is assisting the sheriffs office, which is overseeing the investigation. Also, Franklin County Coroner Marty Leffler declined to release information about the deaths and said the sheriffs office is handling the release of information in connection with the double fatality. One current and one former member of the Indian Wells City Council have filed a lawsuit against the city, saying they're not being allowed to run for re-election this year and renewing a debate over term limits established through a voter-approved ballot measure. The plaintiffs, Councilmember Ty Peabody and former member Doug Hanson, are both aiming to run in an election that includes three council seats up for grabs. Their case focuses on Measure J, which limits members to a lifetime maximum of two four-year terms on the council. Measure J was approved in March 2020 with roughly 61% in support, but whether it applied retroactively had to be decided in court. Months after its approval, Hanson, who served two terms on the council from 2008 to 2016, won a lawsuit in which a Riverside County judge ruled the term limits did not apply retroactively due to state law, opening the door for long-time members to throw their hat in the ring. Hanson lost his bids for council in 2020 and 2022, while Peabody, who initially served from 2012 to 2020, won the race to fill a two-year term in 2022. The city allowed a total of four candidates who had already served two terms to run again in 2022. Dana Reed won a third term on the council, while Ted Mertens lost his bid against Peabody to fill the two-year vacancy. What's in the lawsuit? While candidates who had already served two terms were issued their nomination papers in the last cycle, that hasnt been the case this year, according to the complaint filed July 10 in Riverside County Superior Court. The City has since indicated that changed circumstances allow it to apply Measure J retroactively" and has directed City Clerk Angelica Avila to reject nomination papers submitted by any potential candidate who has already served two terms, according to the complaint. Avila is named as a defendant in the case. The city says it plans to fight the lawsuit, pointing to a pair of 2023 appellate court rulings one upholding the rights of Californias charter cities to make and enforce their own laws, and another involving term limits for San Bernardino County supervisors in a statement provided to The Desert Sun this week. Those court decisions now support (Avila) in refusing to accept nomination papers for the November 2024 election from former elected officials who have already served two four-year terms, the city said. The council created an ad-hoc committee to review the ballot measure during its 2023 strategic planning session. After the committee consisting of then-Mayor Pro Tem Greg Sanders and Councilmember Bruce Whitman reviewed the decisions and discussed them with the city clerk, they decided to get an independent legal opinion from election lawyers, according to the city. Avila then concluded that the recent decisions "support the City in counting all Council terms served during a persons lifetime whether served before or after the passage of Measure J, according to the city. (Measure J amended an initiative passed by voters in 2010 that limited council members to serving two consecutive four-year terms, but allowed them to run again after at least two years away from office.) Its unclear exactly when the lawsuit from Peabody and Hanson might be heard by a Riverside County judge, but with the deadline to file for the upcoming election set for Aug. 9, it could be soon. Hanson and Peabody both declined to comment on the case until a ruling is issued. Who else is running in the 2024 election? Three at-large council seats will appear on the November ballot for Indian Wells. While Peabody and Hanson settle their dispute in court, three additional candidates Sanders, Toper Taylor and Brian Penna have been issued nomination papers to run for a spot on the council. More candidates could still emerge. With three seats up for grabs, only Sanders and Penna had filed their paperwork with the city clerk as of Wednesday. The election is Nov. 5, with vote-by-mail ballots expected to head out to voters starting Oct. 7. Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Indian Wells election 2024: Would-be candidates sue city over term limits These two RI companies are laying off a combined 263 local workers. Here's what we know. EAST PROVIDENCE A Singapore-based electric vehicle parts manufacturer plans to close its East Providence plant, resulting in 205 layoffs at the start of 2025. An additional 58 layoffs are expected in the state, as Kirby Perkins Construction in Middletown filed a layoff notice with Rhode Island's Department of Labor and Training, effective Sept. 6. Ennovi Advanced Mobility Solutions Rhode Island will shut its East Providence plant by Jan. 1, 2025 at the earliest, Human Resources Manager Barbara Finch-Byron wrote in WARN letter sent to the state. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN letters, are required under federal law to be sent to the state in advance of plant closures and mass layoffs. Ennovi, based in Singapore, plans a "strategic realignment and consolidation" of its North American manufacturing, Finch-Byron wrote. "As a result, the entire facility is expected to be permanently closed," Finch-Byron wrote. The plant is located at 231 Ferris Ave. in East Providence, bordering a school, a park and a residential area. Page 1 of Ennovi Advanced Mobility Solutions Rhode Island Inc. WARN July312024 (1) Page 1 of Ennovi Advanced Mobility Solutions Rhode Island Inc. WARN July312024 (1) Contributed to DocumentCloud by Wheeler Cowperthwaite (The Providence Journal) View document or read text According to the company's website, it has additional North American manufacturing plants in New Jersey and Jalisco, Mexico, five plants in Europe and 11 in Asia. No WARN notice appears to have been sent for the plant in New Jersey. None of the employees are represented by a union. Among the people losing their jobs are 27 mold operators, 11 automated assembly machine operators, 18 plating operators and 21 stamping press operators. Ennovi spokeswoman Sarah MacKenzie, with the public relations firm Publitek, did not respond to a request for comment. Middletown construction company plans for possible layoffs Kirby Perkins Construction in Middletown submitted a layoff notice for 58 workers, starting on Sept. 6. The layoffs will be a result of the end of its restoration project at 646 Bellevue Ave. in Newport, known as Miramar estate. It sold for $27 million in 2021. The property last sold in 2006 for $17.5 million, which at the time was the highest price ever paid for a single-family home in the city and perhaps in the state, according to a report in The Newport Daily News. According to records in the Newport assessor's office, the estate consists of three properties the mansion, a carriage house and a separate, vacant 1-acre oceanfront lot on 7.2 acres of land, The Newport Daily News reported in 2006. A section of Newport's Cliff Walk was closed between Clarendon Court and Miramar because of a sinkhole. This photo from April shows extensive work being done at the Miramar property. In 2021, when the estate sold, the previous owners commissioned a detailed study and conservation of the estate with an international team of preservation consultants and advisors, according to a 2021 news release from Gustave White Soethby's. The company specializes in "stunning custom built homes" and preserving and restoring historic properties, according to its website. A company representative said they had no comment. Page 1 of Kirby Perkins WARN 07-12-24 (2) Page 1 of Kirby Perkins WARN 07-12-24 (2) Contributed to DocumentCloud by Wheeler Cowperthwaite (The Providence Journal) View document or read text Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer. Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI WARN notices filed for these two companies for upcoming layoffs Two South MS restaurants fail their restaurant inspections for a second time in July Two South Mississippi kitchens that failed their inspections earlier in July got another failing grade when the inspector returned. Sai Kitchen at 63 Hardy Court Shopping Center, Gulfport, had a follow-up inspection July 30 for a permit renewal after failing the inspection on July 17. It again received a C. It was cited for: Food contact surface not cleaned and sanitized, a repeat offense Inadequate hand washing facilities supplied and accessible, repeat offense Sewage waste water not properly disposed Corrected during the inspection was: Certified manager, which is required for kitchens to ensure food safety practices are followed. This is the third C since October and dating back to 2019. Pizza Inn, 530 Central Avenue West, Wiggins, had a permit follow-up inspections July 25 after a failing inspection on July 16. It was cited with four violations: No certified manager Food contact surface not cleaned and sanitized, a repeat offense Improper cold holding temperatures, repeat Last inspection result not posted The restaurant has had two Cs dating back to 2022. Subway, 8837 Lorraine Road, Gulfport, was inspected July 22 following a complaint. The restaurant was cited for: No person in charge present who demonstrates knowledge and performs duty. A corrective follow-up inspection the following day showed the violation was corrected and the restaurant scored a B. This is the first C dating back to 2021. Circle K Store, 10010 U.S. 49, Gulfport, was inspected July 23 for a permit renewal. It was cited for: No certified manager. These issues were corrected during the inspection: Improper eating, tasting, drinking or tobacco use Inadequate hand washing facilities supplied and accessible. A follow-up inspection on August 1 showed no violations and the kitchen received a B. This was the third C dating back to 2016, with the prior Cs coming in 2023 and 2016. Restaurants and kitchens in Mississippi are rated A if they pass the health department inspection, B if all violations are corrected during the inspection and C if the violations are critical. The health inspection grade must be displayed in all restaurants, in kitchens such as school cafeterias, day care centers, and cafes and bars where food is made and sold. The vast majority of restaurants and kitchens in District IX pass their inspections. In July, 286 kitchens in South Mississippi scored a A with no violations, 66 a B and 10 failed their inspection with a C. Two women killed in Russian attack on Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast The aftermath of the Russian strike on the city of Nikopol. Photo: Serhii Lysak Two women were killed in a Russian attack on the city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 1 August. Source: Serhii Lysak, the Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Quote: "Two women, a mother and daughter, have been killed in Nikopol. One was 40 years old. The other one turned 72 today. This is the tragic aftermath of the Russian bombardment. They hit the city with a dozen shells. In addition to the fatalities, a civilian man, 46, has been injured. He will be treated on an outpatient basis." Details: Lysak added that the attack damaged apartment blocks, houses, a fire station, a college, a school and buses. Background: Russian forces attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a Shahed loitering munition on the night of 31 July-1 August, which was destroyed by Ukrainian air defence units. In addition, the Russians deployed Grad multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and heavy artillery to attack the Nikopol district, damaging infrastructure, housing, three businesses and power lines. Support UP or become our patron! U.S. Army wants their money back from Dwayne The Rock Johnson and the UFL: Report (WTAJ) The United States Army spent $11M on a recruiting campaign, but they couldnt smell what The Rock was cookin' and now want more than half of their money back. The Army allegedly spent $11 million on a marketing campaign with the UFL, co-owned by Hollywood and wrestling megastar Dwayne The Rock Johnson. However, they claimed they saw no uptick in recruitment, according to military.com. WWEs Raw set to leave cable TV for Netflix Steve Beynon of military.com reported that he received documents showing that the army is looking to recoup $6 million from the UFL. The documents state that the Army did not get a single recruit from the partnership. In fact, they might have lost out on potentially 38 recruits, Beynon reported. The army stated in documents that Johnson failed to live up to his end of the bargain when it came to promoting recruitment with social media posts, Beynon added. Stay up to date with the latest news in the palm of your hand. Click here to download the WTAJ app for Apple and Android devices. The UFL came to fruition in 2024, an off-season alternative to the NFL consisting of 8 teams. The UFL United Football League stems from Johnsons purchase of the XFL, the brainchild of WWEs Vince McMahon, and the United States Football League. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) The University of Illinois Beckman Institute is expected to get a brand new director this month. Neuroscientist Steve Maren will take the place of physicist Nadya Mason, who will now become a dean at the University of Chicago. Since Masons departure, Catherine Murphy served as interim director, stepping away from her leadership role in the Department of Chemistry. She will return to that role upon Marens appointment. U of I researchers consider cicada wings for antibacterial surfaces Maren is currently at Texas A&M University as the University Distinguished Professor and Charles H. Gregory Chair of Liberal Arts. He also used to be the Deans Research Fellow and Chair of the Council of Principal Investigators. Maren focuses on the neurobiology of emotional learning and memory. In fact, he is one of the most-cited behavioral neuroscientists in the world. He serves on the editorial board of Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Learning & Memory, and Hippocampus. With Marens appointment, he will bring $4.5 million in funding from the National Institute of Health to the U of I. He will continue to study memory retrieval, including memories for traumatic events. Maren said he believes that the ability to measure every neurons activity in the human brain is a feat that can soon be achieved through the Beckman Institute and its students. Before heading south, he attended the U of I and earned a bachelors degree in psychology in the late 80s. Maren was among one of the first batches students to study in the then-new Beckman Institute. Maren then went to the University of Southern California for his masters and doctoral degrees in neurobiology. On August 16, he will return to his old UIUC stomping grounds and take the first step towards his new director role, serving as interim director until the Board of Trustees approves his appointment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. US Justice Dept finds Texas violated the civil rights of youth in detention centers FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Department of Justice Building is pictured By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department found on Thursday that Texas has routinely violated the civil rights of juveniles at five of its detention facilities by using excessive force, failing to protect them from sexual abuse and discriminating against children with disabilities. The investigation, which started in October 2021, looked at the treatment of children in the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The probe found that staffers at the facilities often use physical force against child detainees, including the frequent use of pepper spray as a "first response" to address misbehavior. The report also said the facilities often lock children up in isolated solitary cells. One child named Abigail was locked up in solitary confinement for eight days in October 2022 before being transferred to a halfway house, the report found. In addition, the Justice Department's report uncovered a "pervasive atmosphere of sexual abuse, grooming, and lack of staff accountability and training." "Our findings today reflect the department's commitment to safeguarding children's' rights in the juvenile justice system," said Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, during a virtual press conference. The five youth facilities reviewed by the Justice Department as part of its investigation included Evins Regional Juvenile Center, Gainesville State School, Giddings State School, McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility, and Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex. A spokeswoman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department could not be immediately reached for comment, and the Justice Department did not announce any plans to enter into a consent decree with Texas to help resolve the problems. Clarke told reporters that Justice Department officials met with state officials earlier on Thursday to discus the findings. "We look forward to immediately turning to the reforms necessary" to address the problems, she said. According to the new report, problems at Texas juvenile facilities have persisted for years, leading the state to place the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under conservatorship in 2007. The Justice Department also previously investigated the Evins facility and found the agency failed to protect children from violence there. (This story has been corrected to say 'McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility', not 'McClennan,' in paragraph 7, after an official revision by the Justice Department) (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Frances Kerry) HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) Members of the U.S. Marshals-led Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on Tuesday afternoon arrested a Hutto man on two counts of indecency with a child by exposure from a 2023 incident. The U.S. Marshals said Jackie Selby Jr., 35, was a suspect wanted by the Hutto Police Department after authorities were dispatched on Feb. 19, 2023, to an incident of a male touching himself inappropriately in front of a juvenile that occurred in the 300 block of Arnage Drive. The Hutto Police Department investigated the incident and learned that two juveniles were victimized during two separate incidents, according to the U.S. Marshals. After Hutto Police requested assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, authorities learned Selby Jr. had an additional warrant with Travis County on a bond forfeiture with an original sex offense charge. Authorities said on July 30, Selby Jr. was arrested by members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in the 17400 block of Toyahville Trail in Round Rock where he was observed hiding under a storage shed behind a residence to conceal himself from police. Selby Jr. was transported and booked into the Williamson County jail without incident where he will await judicial proceedings, according to the US Marshals. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. The top U.S diplomat for Latin America said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won Venezuelas presidential elections and beat strongman Nicolas Maduro by millions of votes, signaling that the Biden administration could be getting ready to officially recognize Gonzalez as the countrys president-elect. Given the overwhelming evidence obtained by documented proof of millions of votes cast, Maduro and his representatives should recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the July 28 presidential election, Brian Nichols, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said during an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Americas States on Wednesday to discuss the results of the Venezuelan election. Given the clear evidence, the worlds governments should also acknowledge Edmundo Gonzalezs overwhelming electoral victory, he said. Those that fail to do so are only enabling Maduro and his representatives to attempt a massive fraud and disregard for the rule of law and democratic principles. The State Department and the White House did not answer questions about what the Biden administration would do next regarding the situation in Venezuela. U.S. officials defend their Venezuela strategy after Maduro claims election victory In a controversial decision, the Venezuelan electoral council, under Maduros control, declared him the winner in the Sunday presidential elections with 51.2% of the votes despite credible polling indicating that the opposition candidate Gonzalez had won by an ample margin. The opposition quickly came out to claim fraud. The country has been in turmoil ever since, with Maduros forces cracking down on protesters and arresting members of the opposition. The clashes have resulted in at least 12 people dead and hundreds arrested. So far, the Biden administration had been withholding judgment of the results, urging the Venezuelan electoral council to publish a detailed vote tabulation. On Wednesday, Maduro said the electoral council was unable to present the information because the system had been hacked. He then asked the countrys rubber-stamp Supreme Court to audit the results in a maneuver that experts say is against Venezuelan laws and aims to bypass the request to show the voting records. But in a swift effort, the opposition published a database online with scanned images of printouts or actas, in Spanish verifying 80% of the vote. The opposition was able to do so because in Venezuela, each voting machine prints a paper tally of the votes in addition to the digital results sent to the electoral authorities, and the opposition mobilized supporters around the country to volunteer as election monitors to obtain the paper copies. According to this data, Gonzalez won 67% of the votes and Maduro 30%. In the OAS meeting, Nichols called that paper trail presented by the opposition as indisputable evidence that Maduro had, in fact, lost the election. With the irrefutable evidence based on the actas everyone can see, it is clear that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia defeated Nicolas Maduro by millions of votes, said Nichols. Even if Maduro had won in all the remaining precincts that have not published their data, he could not surpass Gonzalezs vote total, he noted. Nichols also referred to a damning report by the Carter Center, one of the few credible international organizations invited by the Maduro government to monitor the election, that concluded the process did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic. No regional agreement However, the OAS meeting failed to pass a resolution calling on the Venezuelan government to release the detailed tabulation of the votes because several countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and a group of Caribbean nations, either abstained or were absent. The failure showcases deep divisions and the waning of U.S. influence in a region where democracy has been backsliding in recent years. For years, several Caribbean countries benefiting from oil sent by Maduro through the Petrocaribe initiative have been a reliable voting block that has opposed efforts to exert pressure on Venezuela in the OAS. Experts with the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington, told reporters Thursday they believe Brazil and Colombias abstention might indicate their governments are signaling to Maduro that they are credible mediators in back-channel efforts to offer him off ramps that would lead to a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela. But others doubt that Brazil and Colombia, led by leftist leaders with historical ties to chavismo, the political movement led by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, would help the United States convince Maduro to accept the results and leave. Brazils abstention vote came after President Joe Biden called Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday. According to a statement released by the White House, they shared the perspective that the Venezuelan election outcome represents a critical moment for democracy in the hemisphere, and they pledged to remain in close coordination on the issue. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) U.S. officials are raising alarms after chaos erupted in the streets of Venezuela following Sundays presidential election. President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory despite widespread allegations of election fraud. The country, already in a prolonged humanitarian crisis, may face another mass exodus, potentially affecting the United States, particularly in border towns like El Paso, Texas. Scenes from Venezuela resemble an action movie with massive protests including former Maduro supporters, demanding change. Despite exit polls showing Maduro losing by a significant margin, he secured a third six-year term, prompting U.S. officials to demand evidence validating the results. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported that in just 48 hours, at least 17 people were killed and over a thousand detained. Venezuelan Journalist Dereck Blanco, covering the unfolding events in Caracas, said protestors are still determined to fight for change. The people I have spoken to are still very determined to keep fighting for a change for the country, and for liberty, Blanco said. Barbara Romero, a Venezuelan activist who is now residing in El Paso, warns that Venezuelans could face extended unrest, significantly impacting the already overwhelmed U.S. immigration system. The problem will be that the number of migrants that will come will increase to historic levels, levels that have no precedents. There are at least 10 million people who voted in the last presidential election on Sunday. These people are already being persecuted and repressed by the regime, and they will seek refuge in other countries, with the United States as their main target. It would be approximately 10 million more people for a country that is not prepared to receive this amount of people and that is already going through a big immigration crisis, Romero said. Nearly eight million people have already left Venezuela. Data from the Department of Homeland Security shows that Venezuelan nationals are among the top groups of migrants apprehended at the border. Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales said what is happening in Venezuela will certainly impact the U.S. We have to know whos coming to our country and what their intentions are. Just giving them parole and hoping for the best is no longer the best course of action. We have to protect our communities. Part of that is by creating these anti-gang task forces, Gonzales said. As tensions rise, so does the desperation of Venezuelans. People are not scared of protesting anymore. They have lost their fear of dying. They are already dying of hunger, they have already lost their loved ones, Romero said. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. U.S. proposes ban on airline fees for seating parents next to kids Parents should't have to pay a fee to sit next to their children when flying, according to the White House, which is moving to ban airlines from charging families extra to be seated together. Under a rule proposed Thursday by the Department of Transportation, airlines would be required to seat parents and kids 13 and younger together free of charge when adjacent seating is available at booking. The idea of seating adults with their younger children "is common sense and also seems like something that should be standard practice," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a news briefing on Wednesday. "As someone who has personally experienced flying with toddlers," Buttigieg said he knew first-hand that families traveling with little ones do not need added difficulties. The extra cost can be the difference in whether families can afford flights for vacations or to see friends and relatives, the administration argued, noting its proposal would save a family of four up to $200 roundtrip if seat fees are $25 each. For children too young to fasten their own seatbelts or feed themselves, being seated next to a parent is crucial, yet those that don't want to pay more often end up pleading with other passengers to switch seats. If passengers opt not to swap seats, they may end up next to an unsupervised child, stressing out the youngster, parent, flight attendants and travelers, DOT said. President Biden called on Congress to ban family seating and other so-called "junk" fees early last year, with Buttigieg then urging the 10 largest airlines to voluntarily ban the fees. Four complied: Alaska, American, Frontier and JetBlue. Congress gave the DOT explicit authority to propose its rule as part of the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, the transportation secretary noted. "We are confident that we are well-founded in our authority, but it helps to get reassurances from Congress," Buttigieg noted in answering a question about whether the proposal might be challenged in court. In addition to banning airlines from charging fees to seat those 13 or under next to a parent or accompanying adult, the proposal would require that airlines seat parents next to their kids within 48 hours of booking when adjacent seats are available. If adjacent seats are not available, carriers would be required to provide passengers with full refunds or the option of waiting to see if family seating frees up. If not, airlines would have to offer the option to rebook for free or stay on the flight in nonadjacent seats. Man confesses to the murder of his best friend: "He was in a panic - I was in a panic." Estranged husband kidnaps his wife at gunpoint How Stimulating Our Microcirculation Can Have Macro Health Effects The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are heading home. They have both been turned over to the United States in whats being hailed as the most complicated prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia in decades. The exchange, which took place at an airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday involved seven countries. During a news conference, President Joe Biden called the exchange a feat of diplomacy and friendship. He added, Multiple countries helped get this done. They joined a difficult, complex negotiation at my request. Turkey reportedly helped mediate the negotiations. Three Americans were freed, as were what The New York Times described as several jailed Russian opposition figures. The article noted that the scope of the deal has little precedent in the post-Soviet era. Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway were also involved. In all, 16 were released by the Russians and eight were feed by the West after whats been described as a monthslong negotiation. Prisoners exchanged Among those freed: Gershkovich, 32, held for 16 months in Russian prison on the claim hed been spying. He was sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony. Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, also a journalist and a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor, whod been held part of a year. She was charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and sentenced to 25 years for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Paul Whelan, 54, held in Russia for more than five years, was also convicted of espionage. During a press conference announcing the exchange, the families of the three Americans released and Biden sang Happy Birthday to Kurmashevas daughter, Miram Butorin, who is turning 13 tomorrow. Family is the beginning and middle and the end, Biden said. I can think of nothing more consequential. CNN reported that the Americans are now wheels up from Turkey and headed to the U.S. Russian political prisoners released include Ilya Rashinia, 41; Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42; and Oleg Orlov, 71. Russia also freed several German nationals, and Germany released Vadim Krasikov, who had been convicted of a 2019 murder in Berlin reportedly ordered by the Russian government. The Times reported the U.S. released three prisoners, including a convicted hacker. Slovenia, Norway and Poland released four accused Russian spies. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, Biden said in a statement about the prisoners freed by Russia. According to ABC News, A senior administration official says despite this significant agreement, there should be no expectation of improved U.S.-Russia relations going forward. On X, Paul Beckett of The Wall Street Journal posted a photo of the three with an American flag. He wrote: Free. Amazing. Transmission lines carry electricity from NRG Energys Joliet Station power plant on May 7, 2015 in Joliet, Illinois. Transmission lines carry electricity from NRG Energys Joliet Station power plant on May 7, 2015 in Joliet, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) A lopsided vote on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a bipartisan bill Wednesday to overhaul the process to gain federal approvals for energy projects. The bill would also require lease sales for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and lift a controversial pause on certain liquefied natural gas exports that President Joe Biden put in place in January. The 15-4 vote demonstrated broad support for the bill, though it remains unclear if Congress will take the time in an election year to move the measure to Bidens desk. Members of both parties have complained that the process of gaining permits from federal agencies for energy projects is overly complicated and lengthy, delaying clean energy and fossil fuel production alike. The bill, sponsored by West Virginia independent Joe Manchin III and Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, aims to streamline the federal permitting process. At Wednesdays committee meeting, Manchin, who chairs the panel, said only a bipartisan effort could effectively cure the problems with energy permitting. The bill was the product of nearly two years of negotiation that included input from a wide range of interested parties, he said. Weve listened to everyone, Manchin said. And I think weve hit it right in the middle. Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, as well as independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, voted against the measure. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri also voted no. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who is in line to be the next top Democrat on the committee after Manchin formerly a Democrat retires in January, supported the bill, which could give the package momentum in the next Congress if it stalls this year. Heinrich said that while certain provisions would increase carbon dioxide emissions, the bills benefits outweigh the harms. This was a carefully crafted, bipartisan, balanced bill, he said after the vote. All of us have things we love about it. We also have a few things that were not crazy about, but thats how legislation works. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska sounded similar notes, saying the bill lacked some elements she wanted, but was overall a positive step. I think its important that we demonstrate some forward movement on permitting reform, she said. And while this isnt the end-all and be-all, as weve all acknowledged, it starts moving us forward. Environmental opposition While most Democrats on the committee supported the bill, some opposed the measure based on provisions that would benefit the fossil fuel industry. Some environmental advocates also raised that objection. Its disappointing so many senators have been duped into voting for another sweetheart deal for the fossil fuel industry in exchange for meager improvements on electricity transmission, Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, wrote in a statement. Wyden said he supported several parts of the bill, but could not support the entire package. The bill would counteract the 2022 law Democrats passed that offered hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for clean energy, Wyden said. Wyden praised provisions to overhaul mining standards, ease permitting for transmission lines and address geothermal energy. If the bill contained only those provisions, Wyden said he would support it and recommend a parade down Main Street. Unfortunately, there are a number of provisions in this bill that run contrary to what I think the effort in 2022 was all about, the transformative efforts, he said. Amendments rejected Wyden called for continued efforts to rework the bill before it receives a vote on the Senate floor. Other members, including those who voted to approve the bill, also called for continued tweaks. Murkowski, a former chair of the committee, said she was disappointed the bill did not include more on hydroelectric energy. Manchin told Murkowski he would continue to work with her on hydro provisions. Members of both parties introduced a series of amendments Wednesday. Republicans largely sought additional requirements to produce fossil fuels. Democrats sought restrictions on fossil fuel production. Manchin led opposition to all the amendments introduced Wednesday, saying they would throw off the bills careful bipartisan balance. I believe that weve identified a reasonable compromise with our bill, he said. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE U.S. Senate panel looks for ways to aid electric vehicle industry NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 02: A driver uses a fast-charging station for electric in the cell phone lot at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport on April 02, 2021 in New York City. The ten-port charging station, part of a joint initiative by the New York Power Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, looks to reduce the states carbon footprint and improve air quality. President Joe Biden, as part of his American Jobs Plan, announced a proposed a $174 billion investment in electric vehicles. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee discussed on Wednesday ways to boost U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing to be more competitive globally. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the Democratic chairman of the committee, began a hearing Wednesday by calling electric vehicle production an economic, national security and climate imperative. Whitehouse highlighted the expanding global market for electric vehicles, noting that in 2023, 20% of vehicles sold around the world were electric. We want to be a part of that action, Whitehouse said. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, requested the hearing. He pointed out several times the automotive industrys importance to the state. South Carolina is a national leader in vehicle assembly and the top tire exporter in the country, according to the states Department of Commerce. Graham said the future of vehicle manufacturing is in electric vehicles and urged policies to remain competitive in the global automobile market. His position was out of step from many in his party. Republicans have voiced opposition to increased electric vehicle manufacturing and many oppose President Joe Bidens goal of having 50% of vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Former President Donald Trump opposes Bidens support of electric vehicles and said it would ruin the economies of automaker states. But Graham, a Trump ally and a staunchly conservative lawmaker, embraced the idea of U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing and looked to strengthen U.S. infrastructure. So the bottom line is: This is coming, whether we like it or not, Graham said. And I think theres an upside to it, to be honest with you. Strain on the grid Several lawmakers raised concerns in the hearing over whether the electric grid could handle increased demand from electric vehicle charging. Graham raised the question of where the power will come from to fuel a larger fleet of electric cars. Grid demand will go through the roof, if half of cars in use are electric, he said. How can you generate enough power to accommodate electric vehicles? Jesse Jenkins, a professor of engineering and energy systems at Princeton University, said by 2035 electric vehicles will consume 17% of current total U.S. electricity. To put it another way, by 2035, EVs will consume nearly as much electricity as is produced today by the entire fleet of nuclear power plants or all non hydro-renewables combined, Jenkins said. Britta Gross, the director of transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute, said strain on the grid from electric vehicles could be minimized by charging at off-peak hours. Power demand is typically highest in the mornings and evenings. Charging vehicles at night when demand is low can help minimize the new grid investments and ensure an affordable transition, she said. China debate International competition was another highly discussed topic in Wednesdays hearing. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, a state with a large automotive industry, raised concerns about the U.S.s ability to compete with China, which leads the world in electric vehicle manufacturing and has poured government funds into subsidies and tax breaks to promote electric car development. There is not a level playing field, said Stabenow. Specifically, China is coming for us. David Schwietert, the chief government affairs and policy officer for the Alliance For Automotive Innovation, told the committee that Congress must provide incentives for manufacturers to build resilience for the future of electric vehicle production. We need to look beyond just five or 10 years, Schwietert said. We need to ensure that policies are in place to ensure the U.S. is protected, not just tomorrow but well beyond. Graham also pressed witnesses about Chinas position in the global electric vehicle market, asking Maureen Hinman, co-founder and chairwoman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a bipartisan economic policy institute, if Chinese dominance in the market was irreversible. Absolutely not, Hinman said. I think the U.S. and its allies and friends, if we move quickly to create agile, responsive and coordinated policies, could flip the script and reestablish market dynamics in a global economy. GOP skepticism Not all Republicans on the committee were as welcoming to the electric vehicle conversation as Graham. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, said he was not opposed to electric vehicles and that he owns a plug-in hybrid car, but that the government should not spend to entice manufacturing and ownership of the vehicles. Why do we need government subsidies? Johnson asked witnesses. I would say you dont. Let the marketplace dictate the speed of this innovation. Stop subsidizing this, he said. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana also pressed witnesses on the need for subsidies, repeatedly asking if theyre so swell, how come we have to pay people to buy them? Kennedy speculated that many Americans have to be incentivized to buy electric vehicles because they are more expensive to operate. The median household income in Louisiana is $55,000 a year, which is below the national median, he pointed out. A study by the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council found that while electric vehicles are just under $3,000 more up front than a gas-powered car, they ultimately cost less to fuel and maintain over time. U.S. Senate panel looks for ways to aid electric vehicle industry A driver uses a fast-charging station for electric vehicles at John F. Kennedy airport on April 2, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee discussed on Wednesday ways to boost U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing to be more competitive globally. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the Democratic chairman of the committee, began a hearing Wednesday by calling electric vehicle production an economic, national security and climate imperative. Whitehouse highlighted the expanding global market for electric vehicles, noting that in 2023, 20% of vehicles sold around the world were electric. We want to be a part of that action, Whitehouse said. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, requested the hearing. He pointed out several times the automotive industrys importance to the state. South Carolina is a national leader in vehicle assembly and the top tire exporter in the country, according to the states Department of Commerce. Graham said the future of vehicle manufacturing is in electric vehicles and urged policies to remain competitive in the global automobile market. His position was out of step from many in his party. Republicans have voiced opposition to increased electric vehicle manufacturing and many oppose President Joe Bidens goal of having 50% of vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Former President Donald Trump opposes Bidens support of electric vehicles and said it would ruin the economies of automaker states. But Graham, a Trump ally and a staunchly conservative lawmaker, embraced the idea of U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing and looked to strengthen U.S. infrastructure. So the bottom line is: This is coming, whether we like it or not, Graham said. And I think theres an upside to it, to be honest with you. Strain on the grid Several lawmakers raised concerns in the hearing over whether the electric grid could handle increased demand from electric vehicle charging. Graham raised the question of where the power will come from to fuel a larger fleet of electric cars. Grid demand will go through the roof, if half of cars in use are electric, he said. How can you generate enough power to accommodate electric vehicles? Jesse Jenkins, a professor of engineering and energy systems at Princeton University, said by 2035 electric vehicles will consume 17% of current total U.S. electricity. To put it another way, by 2035, EVs will consume nearly as much electricity as is produced today by the entire fleet of nuclear power plants or all non hydro-renewables combined, Jenkins said. Britta Gross, the director of transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute, said strain on the grid from electric vehicles could be minimized by charging at off-peak hours. Power demand is typically highest in the mornings and evenings. Charging vehicles at night when demand is low can help minimize the new grid investments and ensure an affordable transition, she said. China debate International competition was another highly discussed topic in Wednesdays hearing. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, a state with a large automotive industry, raised concerns about the U.S.s ability to compete with China, which leads the world in electric vehicle manufacturing and has poured government funds into subsidies and tax breaks to promote electric car development. There is not a level playing field, said Stabenow. Specifically, China is coming for us. David Schwietert, the chief government affairs and policy officer for the Alliance For Automotive Innovation, told the committee that Congress must provide incentives for manufacturers to build resilience for the future of electric vehicle production. We need to look beyond just five or 10 years, Schwietert said. We need to ensure that policies are in place to ensure the U.S. is protected, not just tomorrow but well beyond. Graham also pressed witnesses about Chinas position in the global electric vehicle market, asking Maureen Hinman, co-founder and chairwoman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a bipartisan economic policy institute, if Chinese dominance in the market was irreversible. Absolutely not, Hinman said. I think the U.S. and its allies and friends, if we move quickly to create agile, responsive and coordinated policies, could flip the script and reestablish market dynamics in a global economy. GOP skepticism Not all Republicans on the committee were as welcoming to the electric vehicle conversation as Graham. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, said he was not opposed to electric vehicles and that he owns a plug-in hybrid car, but that the government should not spend to entice manufacturing and ownership of the vehicles. Why do we need government subsidies? Johnson asked witnesses. I would say you dont. Let the marketplace dictate the speed of this innovation. Stop subsidizing this, he said. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana also pressed witnesses on the need for subsidies, repeatedly asking if theyre so swell, how come we have to pay people to buy them? Kennedy speculated that many Americans have to be incentivized to buy electric vehicles because they are more expensive to operate. The median household income in Louisiana is $55,000 a year, which is below the national median, he pointed out. A study by the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council found that while electric vehicles are just under $3,000 more up front than a gas-powered car, they ultimately cost less to fuel and maintain over time. A 17-year-old male has been charged with the murders of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, England, and 10 counts of attempted murder, officials said Wednesday night. Police said the accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would face Liverpool Magistrate's Court on Thursday, August 1. He is also charged with possession of a bladed article. Three children were killed and nine others injured in the stabbing incident on Monday, police said. Two adults were also injured while trying to protect the children, police said. PHOTO: This combination of pictures created on July 30, 2024 shows handout pictures released by Merseyside Police in London on July 30, 2024, of 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar (L), 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 6-year-old Bebe King. (Merseyside Police/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Taylor Swift 'in shock' after horrific UK stabbing, as police say 3rd child dies Bebe King, 6, and 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were killed in the attack. A third girl, 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died on Tuesday morning in the hospital, police said. Merseyside police said the children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school at the time. Officers responded just before noon on Monday to reports of a stabbing at a property in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, according to Merseyside police. MORE: Violent protest breaks out in UK after vigil over stabbing spree: Police Police had previously said a 17-year-old boy from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire, just outside Southport, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, police said. -ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Kevin Shalvey and Helena Skinner contributed to this report. UK police charge 17-year-old with murder following UK stabbing attack that left 3 girls dead originally appeared on abcnews.go.com China will intensify efforts to meet the growing demand for elderly care services, as over one-fifth of its population is now silver-haired. Lu Zhiyuan, minister of civil affairs, said that China has become a moderately aging society, with 297 million citizens aged 60 and above and 217 million aged 65 and above as of the end of 2023. Speaking to Xinhua, Lu acknowledged that the elderly care system faces challenges like insufficient home-based and community services and a shortage of nursing personnel, prompting the urgent need for improvement. He pledged efforts to foster a social environment of filial piety and respect for seniors, improve services in rural areas, and ensure that the basic elderly care services are accessible to all senior individuals. To better satisfy the needs of the elderly, greater efforts will be directed toward developing catering services for them, increasing the capacity of home-based care and enhancing community facilities, Lu said. China views ensuring and enhancing people's well-being as a key task of its modernization efforts. The country will deepen reform to refine its basic public service systems, focusing on delivering inclusive services, meeting essential needs, and providing support for those most in need. Lu also highlighted reform measures designed to improve the well-being of children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Police officers walk near the scene in Hart street where a man was arrested after people were stabbed in Southport Police officers walk near the scene in Hart street where a man was arrested after people were stabbed in Southport (Reuters) - Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday it has authorised the police to charge the 17-year-old male who was in custody on suspicion for the death of three young girls in a knife attack at Southport with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. (Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Ukraine has announced the first tender for the purchase of domestically-produced cutting-edge drones via the Prozorro public procurement service. Source: Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister, on Telegram Details: The government has announced a tender for the purchase of Ukrainian-made First-Person View (FPV) drones for the first time. "The time gap between the government's resolution and the first tender is less than a month," the minister noted. This is the first time the state will purchase Ukrainian drones through the Prozorro service. These cutting-edge UAVs employ machine vision for target acquisition. Notably, machine vision involves the process where a pilot identifies a target, aims the drone at it, and the drone executes the strike autonomously, even without continuous signals. This means that if the operator loses contact with the drone, it can still complete its mission. "The bidding will take place through the closed Prozorro module. All sensitive information will be classified, of course. Manufacturers, put your drones up for auction and strengthen the defenders with your innovations," Fedorov added. It is reported that thanks to competition, the state will be able to purchase drones at the most favourable price. For Ukrainian manufacturers, this is an opportunity to increase their profits and scale up. Background: Over 200 defence-tech companies have joined the Ukrainian IT cluster Diia.City. Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers (the government) adopted amendments to Resolution No. 256 dated 24 March 2023, which improve the procurement of uncrewed systems. Support UP or become our patron! Chopper Dropper Ukrainian forces have reportedly brought down a 12-ton, three-crew Russian helicopter using a tiny two-pound drone loaded with explosives. Footage circulating online shows the Mil Mi-8 helicopter burning in a field near Donetsk near the front lines of the conflict, though the incident has yet to be independently verified. For quite some time now, Ukraine has been using low-cost, domestically produced drones for long-range attacks. According to military officials, Ukraine produced around 200,000 drones in the first months of this year, compared to just 60,000 last year. As Forbes reports, the issue has gotten serious enough for Russia to send secondary helicopters to escort other helicopters. The latest successful attack comes after countless attempts. "Yesterday we wrote about the enemys attempts to operate drones against our army aviation," a Moscow-friendly blogger behind the Telegram channel called Voivode Broadcasts wrote in a post. "Unfortunately... today they succeeded." https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1818620706848227459 Drone Warfare According to the post, the helicopter was hit right after taking off. The drones are "scary for armored vehicles, infantry, and helicopters," another post by Voivode reads. Mi-8 helicopters, which date back to the Soviet era, are conventionally used to transport troops. Apart from taking down helicopters, Ukrainian forces have also used drones to attack troops and naval vessels. Earlier this year, footage emerged of a kamikaze naval drone destroying a Russian military speedboat in Crimea. The purported range of these drones is astonishing. According to Ukrainian officials, forces hit a Russian supersonic bomber a record-breaking 1,100 miles from the Ukrainian border. But it's not just Ukraine relying heavily on drones. Earlier this week, Ukrainian forces were reported to have shut down 89 drones launched by Russia in one of the largest drone barrages this year, according to Euronews. More on Ukraine: Clueless Air Force Official Spills Military Secrets to Random Woman on Dating Site Servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine fire a howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk region (Reuters) - Ukraine's human rights commissioner demanded an explanation on Wednesday from Russian authorities over the death in captivity of a member of the Azov brigade who took part in the three-month defence of the port of Mariupol in 2022. Dmytro Lubinets urged Russia to uphold the Geneva Convention on war practices after the death of Oleksandr Ishchenko, one of 22 Ukrainian prisoners put on trial in connection with their association with the regiment. Azov is banned as a terrorist organisation in Russia. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Human rights and the return home of prisoners of war remain in focus in the 29-month-old war, particularly for Ukraine after many allegations of atrocities by Russian occupation troops. The Azov regiment, founded by nationalist fighters but now incorporated into Ukraine's military, is revered throughout Ukraine, particularly for defending the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol from a Russian onslaught until the city was taken in May 2022. KEY QUOTES Marianna Homeriky, spokesperson for the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, "We have the same information as in open sources, which indicates that the defender Oleksandr Ishchenko died due to serious health problems that were exacerbated by the terrible conditions of Russian captivity, namely torture, insufficient quantity and quality of food, and lack of proper medical care." (Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Sandra Maler) The first batch of F-16 fighter jets Ukraine received encompassed six planes provided by the Netherlands, The Times reported on July 31, citing an undisclosed source. A year after the launch of the fighter jet coalition, Kyiv finally received "a small number" of its first U.S.-made fourth-generation jets, Bloomberg reported earlier the same day. Although Ukraine is yet to comment on the reports, their delivery was seemingly confirmed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on X. "F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible," the minister said. Speaking on national television, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak refused to confirm the claim, saying it is inappropriate to divulge sensitive information during wartime. This is only the first batch Ukraine is expected to receive this year, with Danish planes soon to follow, The Times wrote. This contradicts earlier statements by former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, who said in June that Denmark should be first to deliver its aircraft, followed by the Netherlands. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Kyiv was promised at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, with the first 20 reportedly scheduled to arrive by the end of 2024. Read also: How F-16s in Ukraine can help fight Russia It is unclear how many of these planes will be operational as some may be cannibalized for parts. Ukraine said it needs 128 F-16s to counter Russian airpower effectively. The number of trained pilots represents another potential bottleneck. According to some media reports, only 20 Ukrainian aviators are expected to complete their training by the end of the year with the help of allied countries, while 40 would be needed to operate the full squadron of 20 planes. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American air superiority fighter that Kyiv has begged for since the start of the full-scale invasion. Although some defense experts do not expect F-16s to become game-changers in the war, the jets may strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities and shield the country's population centers from Russia's daily bombardments. Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa said that the upcoming delivery of F-16s to Ukraine will challenge Russia's "full dominance" of the skies over the Black Sea. Denmark and the Netherlands indicated that they would allow Ukraine to strike with F-16s inside Russia, although Copenhagen said that such a move would "depend on the circumstances." Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine has received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands, consisting of six aircraft. Source: The Times with references to an anonymous source, as reported by European Pravda Details: A source informed The Times that six fighter jets, part of efforts to strengthen Ukraine's air defence, have arrived from the Netherlands, with additional jets expected to arrive soon from Denmark. Kyiv has not yet officially confirmed the arrival of the long-awaited F-16s in Ukraine, but Bloomberg reported it on 31 July. The Netherlands has also not yet confirmed the delivery. Background: Kajsa Ollongren, the former Dutch Defence Minister, informed the Netherlands parliament in a letter dated 1 July that the "delivery of the first aircraft will take place soon". On 16 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Danish jets would begin arriving "soon". According to Bloomberg, Ukraine is expecting to receive six F-16 fighters from its Western partners this summer and up to 20 aircraft by the end of 2024. The aircraft will be equipped with updated Lockheed Martin radars and modern US weaponry, including anti-radiation missiles, laser-guided bombs and medium-range air-to-air missiles. Denmark has committed to supplying 19 aircraft, while the Netherlands has pledged 24. Norway and Belgium will also be contributing fighter jets to Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! Key developments on Aug. 1: Pokrovsk became Russia's main target after Kharkiv push failed, Zelensky says Russia suffers big losses but has 'minor gains' on eastern front, Syrskyi says Ukraine received 6 F-16s from Netherlands, The Times reports Defense Ministry to purchase Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicles Russian shelling kills mother, daughter in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast After Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30. Ukraine's military acknowledged an increasingly difficult situation in the Pokrovsk direction as battlefield monitoring sites indicate steady progress of Russian troops westward. "Today, they (Russian forces) are concentrating the largest number of personnel, the largest number of weapons and KAB bombs, everything they have, in the Pokrovsk direction," Zelensky said. According to the president, Russia shifted its focus to the east after its failure to take Kharkiv, a major city in Ukraine's northeast. Russia launched the offensive in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast back in May. The push eventually ran out of steam as Ukrainian forces halted Moscow's advance. The offensive tied down some of Kyiv's troops, however, stretching Ukraine's defenses thin. Russia continued to seize new villages in Donetsk Oblast and push toward Chasiv Yar as the battles in Kharkiv Oblast were ongoing. Zelensky added that Russian forces also plan to advance in other directions in the east, such as Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, or Sloviansk, but at the moment, Pokrovsk remains the main focus. Read also: Russias advance toward key eastern highway threatens Ukraines grip of Donetsk Oblast Russia suffers big losses but has 'minor gains' on eastern front, Syrskyi says Russia is suffering heavy losses but has "minor gains" in some places in Ukraine's east, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 1. Russian troops continue to concentrate their efforts in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, deploying the most experienced assault units, Syrskyi said after visiting the eastern front. Russia is trying to break through the defenses in the direction of Zhelanne, Novohrodivka, and Pokrovsk, which has become its main target, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Fighting is ongoing in the Kupiansk sector, as well as near the canal on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into Donetsk Oblast, Syrskyi said. Russian troops suffered losses near the village of Hlyboke and the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, failing to advance, he added. The situation in the Siversk sector in Donetsk Oblast was described by the commander as "difficult," as Russia is using artillery and conducting assaults but not achieving success. "During active hostilities, the tactical positions of the troops can change several times during the day. As of now, there have been no significant changes," Syrskyi said in his Telegram post. The units of the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) are also conducting counter-sabotage activities to intercept Russian sabotage groups in the Toretsk sector, which has become another hotspot in recent weeks. Read also: Eye of the storm: A day in the life of Ukrainian infantry on the zero line near Toretsk Ukraine received 6 F-16s from Netherlands, The Times reports The first batch of F-16 fighter jets Ukraine received encompassed six planes provided by the Netherlands, The Times reported on July 31, citing an undisclosed source. A year after the launch of the fighter jet coalition, Kyiv finally received "a small number" of its first U.S.-made fourth-generation jets, Bloomberg reported earlier the same day. Although Ukraine is yet to comment on the reports, their delivery was seemingly confirmed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on X. "F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible," the minister said. Speaking on national television, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak refused to confirm the claim, saying it is inappropriate to divulge sensitive information during wartime. This is only the first batch Ukraine is expected to receive this year, with Danish planes soon to follow, The Times wrote. This contradicts earlier statements by former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, who said in June that Denmark should be first to deliver its aircraft, followed by the Netherlands. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Kyiv was promised at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, with the first 20 reportedly scheduled to arrive by the end of 2024. It is unclear how many of these planes will be operational as some may be cannibalized for parts. Ukraine said it needs 128 F-16s to counter Russian airpower effectively. The number of trained pilots represents another potential bottleneck. According to some media reports, only 20 Ukrainian aviators are expected to complete their training by the end of the year with the help of allied countries, while 40 would be needed to operate the full squadron of 20 planes. Read also: How F-16s in Ukraine can help fight Russia Defense Ministry to purchase Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicles Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) has signed an agreement with a domestic manufacturer to purchase ground-based kamikaze drones, the Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 1. Throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in drone technology, revolutionizing warfare. For outnumbered Ukrainian forces, drones have been one of the key weapons to strike Russian warships, naval bases, oil refineries, and airfields inside occupied territories and deep behind enemy lines. "(Ground-based kamikaze drones) are an important component of our defense strategy, as they can effectively perform tasks to defeat the enemy," Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said. According to the ministry, the DPA also signed an agreement for the supply of ammunition. The name of the manufacturer has not been disclosed. "In total, during this visit, we signed agreements worth more than Hr 3.7 billion ($90 million)," said Maryna Bezrukova, the head of the agency. Kyiv has the production capacity to produce more than 3 million drones a year, but requires financing from foreign partners, Deputy Strategic Industries Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said. In the first half of 2024, Ukrainian soldiers received six times more drones than last year, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraines Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi said in July. Read also: Russia used new distracting drone type during recent attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says Russian shelling kills mother, daughter in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast A 40-year-old woman and her 72-year-old mother were killed during a Russian artillery attack against Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Aug. 1, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. A 46-year-old man was also injured after dozens of Russian shells hit multiple high-rise buildings, houses, a fire department building, two schools, and buses. The 72-year-old woman was killed on her birthday, Lysak added. Nikopol, just across from Russian-occupied Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is a regular target of Russian attacks. Read also: Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 4, injure 27 over past day, hit railroad station Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko and World Bank Regional Director Bob Saum have signed a new financial agreement on the first tranche of $3.9 billion from the United States in 2024, Ukraine's Finance Ministry announced on Aug. 1. "This is the first tranche of direct budget support from the United States in 2024. The planned amount of financial assistance from the United States for the current year is $7.8 billion," the statement read. The Ukrainian government decided to attract a $3.9 billion grant from the U.S. for salaries and social support programs, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on July 23. Shmyhal added the funds would be delivered "soon" through the World Bank. The agreement was signed as part of the Peace in Ukraine project, which has been the main tool of the World Bank in providing financial assistance for Ukraine since the beginning of the all-out war in 2022. Over $25 billion has been raised via Peace in Ukraine, and the new deal will increase the amount to almost $30 billion, most of which was provided by the U.S., according to the Finance Ministry. As the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion continues to put pressure on Ukraine's economy and business, the World Bank plays one of the most crucial roles in supporting the country's economic sector. The World Bank said that 1.8 million more Ukrainians are living in poverty than in 2020, in a report released on May 29. The report was based on a survey conducted in collaboration with the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). It found that 9 million Ukrainians, out of a total estimated population of 32 million, were living in poverty. While the situation is dire, the World Bank said it would be much worse if Ukraine had not received foreign aid to help pay for pensions and salaries. Read also: Ukraine reaches preliminary deal with bondholders on debt restructuring Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief on situation in Donbas: Russians suffer great losses but achieve minor success in some areas photos Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has reported that he worked in Ukraine's east for three days with the brigades which are holding the defence on the Kharkiv and Toretsk fronts. Source: Syrskyis Facebook page Details: Syrskyi stated that the main tasks when working with the brigades was to assess the situation in the combat zone, analyse the efficiency of performing combat actions, solving the issues connected with supplying the units with ammunition, UAVs, radio-electronic warfare systems and assisting the commanders in the organisation of combat action. Syrskyi noted that combat action of various degrees of intensity is ongoing on all the fronts where the Russian offensive continues. In some areas, at the cost of considerable losses, the Russians did achieve minor success. Photo: Facebook/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "The enemy keeps concentrating their efforts on the Pokrovsk front, deploying their most experienced assault units in an attempt to breach Ukrainian defences on the Zelanne, Novohrodivka, Pokrovsk axis. Heavy fighting is ongoing on the Kupiansk front near the settlements of Pishchane, Stelmakhivka and Makiivka but we hold our positions," Syrskyi said. He added that the situation on the Siversk front is complicated. The Russians are actively using artillery and conducting assaults, but to no avail. Heavy fighting is also ongoing near a canal on the approaches to the settlement of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, without either of the sides changing their positions. In addition to this, the Russians are attacking the positions of the Defence Forces near the settlements of Niu-York, Pivdenne and Zalizlne. On the Kharkiv front l, heavy fighting is ongoing near the settlements of Hlyboke and Vovchansk, but Russian forces have no success there and suffer significant losses. Photo: Facebook/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Quote: "During intense combat actions the tactical positions of troops can change several times a day. As of now, there have been no considerable changes. The National Police of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Military Police carry out counter-sabotage actions. Their units are currently detecting and neutralising sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy in urban areas on the Toretsk front." Background: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that after the Russians' failed assault on Kharkiv in early summer, they changed their main objective, and now their priority is capturing Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. The Pokrovsk front is constantly mentioned in the reports of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where most Russian attacks are carried out. Support UP or become our patron! During a visit to Turkiye, Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, has met with Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat to finalise the ratification of a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. Source: a statement by Ukraines Ministry of Economy on Thursday, 1 August, as reported by European Pravda Details: The Ukrainian delegation in Turkiye discussed a variety of issues, including improving conditions for mutually advantageous trade, Ukrainian-Turkish commercial cooperation, food security and Black Sea demining. Separately, the parties discussed the establishment of a free trade zone upon ratification of the Agreement. The Ministry of Economy said the Ukrainian parliament has not yet made the appropriate decision. Quote from Svyrydenko: "When the agreement has been ratified, all the coastal countries of the Black Sea, with the exception of Russia, will be combined into a single economic space." Another topic covered at the meeting was how to prevent Russian sanctions from being circumvented with the help of Turkish businesses. "Ukraine expects Turkiye to continue to take measures to block the supply of dual-use goods that Russia uses for military purposes," the statement said. Ukraine and Turkiyes presidents, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signed the Free Trade Agreement in Kyiv in early February 2022. Ukraines Cabinet of Ministers approved the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with Turkiye in May. Support UP or become our patron! A destroyed Russian drone. Stock photo: Serhii Naiev, former Commander of Ukraines Joint Forces, on Telegram Russian forces targeted Ukraine with Iskander-M ballistic missiles and seven Shahed UAVs on the night of 31 July-1 August. Ukrainian air defence units have destroyed all Russian drones. Source: Ukraine's Air Force on Telegram Quote: "Air surveillance troops detected and tracked seven Shaheds. All of them were shot down by air defence units in Kyiv, Poltava, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts." Details: The Russians reportedly fired the Iskander-Ms from Russia's Voronezh Oblast and temporarily occupied Crimea, while the Shaheds were launched from Cape Chauda (Crimea) and the Russian city of Kursk. Background: Earlier, it was reported that one Shahed had been shot down over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The wreckage of downed Shahed drones in Kyiv Oblast caused injuries to two civilians and damaged a residential building. Support UP or become our patron! UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis sat down with ABC News Linsey Davis to talk about the dangers to global stability, from conflicts to climate change. Since 1945, the United Nations has addressed issues that transcend borders, with the world's problems being debated at the General Assembly Building in New York. Francis, a diplomat from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, has served as his country's permanent representative to the United Nations since 2021. He was elected to serve as the UN General Assemblys 78th president in 2023. PHOTO: President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ambassador Dennis Francis gives an interview on July 3, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Future Publishing via Getty Images, FILE) ABC News talked to Francis at the General Assembly Building's iconic hall about Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russia, climate change, South Sudan and his message to the next president of the United States. ABC NEWS: Every president probably has had their own tumult. FRANCIS: Yes. ABC NEWS: But it just feels like on your watch, it's especially busy. But do you feel that? FRANCIS: Yes, I do. Folks who have been here for quite some time say theyve never really seen it quite like this before. So many challenges emerging at the same time; peace and stability is under increased duress. I think there are 55 conflict situations in the world. 55. ABC NEWS: The UN Security Council approved a ceasefire plan that was backed by the United States. And in the meantime, we've seen no change from Hamas or Israel. Does the Security Council have sufficient power? FRANCIS: The question is power over whom? As critical as Hamas is as a player in the Middle East crisis, Hamas is not a state. The General Assembly, for example, had called long ago, in October of 2023, for a complete ceasefire in Gaza. We cannot police the world. The UN doesn't have a police force. The UN speaks and tries to change behavior through its positions and principles, its values. I would like to see, and I think the only one that is really credible, a two-state solution. Where Israel and the Palestinians live side by side in peace and security. Weve had wars in the Middle East, between the two sides, repeatedly. Are we going to continue this cycle of death, degradation, pain, suffering indefinitely? ABC NEWS: UN-backed groups believe that maybe as many as 500,000 Palestinians are on the verge of famine. Do you think enough is being done to provide relief and aid to the Palestinians? FRANCIS: We, as the UN, have a concern that more can and ought to be done. We've watched the people of Palestine suffer in the most heartrending way. And the hope is that those who have the capacity and the power to make a difference, in terms of the delivery of aid and support to those people, will step up and do the honorable thing, consistent with the requirements of international human rights and humanitarian law. ABC NEWS: You mentioned that there are currently 55 conflicts going on globally. FRANCIS: Yes. ABC NEWS: Of course, top of mind: the war in Ukraine, which is now in excess of two years. What do you see as the likely outcome there and the responsibility of the UN? FRANCIS: What really needs to happen is that the Russian forces need to pull back and remove themselves from the territory of Ukraine. That is the only credible outcome insofar as we at the United Nations are concerned. ABC NEWS: Do you feel that Russia should have a permanent spot on the UN Security Council with veto power? FRANCIS: That's not a decision for me. That's a decision for the membership of the United Nations. ABC NEWS: But if it were up to you? FRANCIS: It isn't up to me because the president does not have those powers ABC NEWS: I know you recently returned from Namibia. Namibia and Africa, in general, both extremely vulnerable to climate change. FRANCIS: Yes. ABC NEWS: And I'm wondering if you are concerned, with regard to the UN secretary general has described this as a highway to hell, that this is a moment of truth. FRANCIS: I normally wear a pin, and for some reason today I forgot it. Its a 1.5 degree pin. That's the temperature at which we need to keep the increase in global temperature above pre-industrial levels. That is important, because for a number of countries in the global south, particularly small island developing states, low lying coastal areas, anything above that would be utterly cataclysmic. PHOTO: People line up to register for a potential food aid delivery at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Agari, South Kordofan, on June 17, 2024. (Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) ABC NEWS: Let's talk about South Sudan. There are reports that 25 million people are in need of aid, famine is looming, 8 million people have been displaced from their homes. Do you feel that the world is paying enough attention to the atrocities going on there? FRANCIS: No. ABC NEWS: And why do you think that is? FRANCIS: Insufficient attention has been paid to the conflicts in Africa and, in particular, what's going on in South Sudan. It is in a very desperate situation. And I would urge, I would urge the international development community to pay greater attention and to be more forthcoming in the context of humanitarian aid. Not just for South Sudan, but there are other places as well, for Somalia, Mali, other places, because human suffering is going on at an alarming rate. And those of us who have the capacity to do something about it need to act. ABC NEWS: How do you feel that the outcome of America's presidential election in November will impact the UN? FRANCIS: The UN does not have a political preference for governments. So whomsoever occupies the Oval Office come November, I'm sure the UN will be in a position to interact with, discuss policy with, and come to decisions that are in the best interests of the world in general. ABC NEWS: Do you have a message for the future president of the United States? FRANCIS: Let's join together and take some bold decisions, bold decisions to begin in earnest to repair some of the problems that are daunting us in the international society climate change, sea level rise, antimicrobial resistance, artificial intelligence. Ensuring that we harvest the best benefits that can advance science and advance human society without necessarily importing the risks and threats that could unravel the social fabric of society. UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis lays out the worlds biggest challenges originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A day after a five-year-old boy was rushed to a hospital after falling off a third-floor balcony, Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe called the conditions of the apartment unacceptable and revealed a citation has been issued against the property. No family should have to live in unsafe housing conditions and Landlords have a responsibility to ensure safety for their tenants, Keefe said in a statement Thursday. The conditions at 54 Shirley Avenue are unacceptable. Today the City of Revere issued a citation for building violations on this property. Keefe said Reveres Code Enforcement Task Force, in partnership with Inspectional Services Department and other agencies, will perform inspections of the the property. The five-year-old fell from the balcony of the Shirly Avenue apartment around 2:20 p.m. The boy was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and was in stable condition Wednesday night. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW As pressure on the county council to release its full report into questionable and possibly illegal spending by county employees mounts, the council is falling back on a dubious excuse: it needs a unanimous vote to do so. One legal expert disagrees. He said that all it needs is a simple majority. The excuse continues to keep the report hidden, exacerbating growing concerns about transparency. If the demands from the public to release the 30-plus page report from Greenville-based law firm Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd, werent enough, the Beaufort County Sheriffs Office demanded last week to see the report unabridged and underacted. The demand was met with the new county administrator, Michael Moore, saying only the council has the authority to release the report. Any action the council takes requires a vote; but in this case, the council says they must get all eleven yes votes to proceed with the release. Council member Paula Brown first made mention of the unanimous vote in her response to a series of questions emailed to council members. Council Chair Joe Passiment doubled down on Wednesday. That is the advice we have received, he said through a text message. Refuting the premise, Jay Bender, a long-time South Carolina media law and administrative expert, says the council only needs a simple majority to release the full report. If they claim the attorney-client privilege, the privilege goes to the county, and decisions in the county are made by a majority vote of council, Bender said. So all it takes is a majority. I think they either misheard that or their attorney is confused. Bender added that he isnt aware of any action that would require a unanimous vote from the council. If a majority vote would suffice for the release of the report, the council is already halfway there. Council members David Bartholomew, Paula Brown and Tom Reitz have advocated for the release of the report and continue to push for more transparency. The three voted to have the proposed executive session instead be turned to a public discussion at their last meeting. The three council members would only need to convince three others to join them to gain the six-member majority needed. Chairman Passiment did not answer Wednesday when asked if a vote for the reports release to the public or the sheriffs office would be held at their next meeting. Trust and transparency The councils apprehension to release the report is leading members of the public and law enforcement officials alike to scratch their heads. (The report has) been under lock and key for about a month and a half, said Sheriff P.J. Tanner during a July 25 interview. Limited access by those who were a part of the council, but theyve not allowed anyone else to review it. If there was no fear and they think that theres no issues with any kind of criminal activity on anyones part, then why? Why are you resisting giving it to law enforcement? I mean, thats a valid question, right? When you act suspiciously, it causes people to be suspicious, Bender said. So far the council has only released a six-page summary of the report that claimed there was no evidence of criminal activity among other opaque language parsing the difference between malfeasance and misfeasance as differing categories of wrongdoing. Tanner, frustrated with having not seen the report, questioned the validity of the summary during the July 25 interview. He pointed to the mysterious purchase of $36,000 of weighted blankets from a company owned by the husband of a former member of the county administrative team as a known incident that should be present in the audit. How can you suggest theres no wrongdoing, when you know good and well there is, he said. They just dont want you (the public) to know the details, and obviously they dont want law enforcement to have or know the details surrounding the issues of Beaufort County for the past couple of years, Tanner said. The county has never provided us anything. They circled the wagons early on and its been like that for a year. UNC-Chapel Hill Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts delivers remarks May 11, 2024 during UNC-CH's Commencement. (Photo: UNC-CH video feed) In a memo he sent introducing himself to the campus community, UNC-Chapel Hill interim chancellor Lee Roberts expressed a desire to move toward applied disciplines. He wanted steer more students into high-demand fields to satisfy critical state needs. This is corporate-speak, resonant of Robertss career in the financial sector, so insipid as to be almost meaningless. But Robertss pablum reflects a deep cynicism about the value of learning that has infected the thinking of the Republicans running UNC. The University of North Carolina was founded to polish the manners of a plantation elite. Latin and Greek were the core of the curriculum, and President James K. Polks mastery of the classical disciplines represented perhaps the finest academic feat accomplished by a Carolina student before the Civil War. This model of education was frankly elitistand deeply intertwined with the fundamental demons of Southern society. Later administrators like the great Edward Kidder Graham would expand and modernize the university, but through the 1930s the leading scholars of UNC (particularly the innovative Southern sociologist Howard Odum) focused upon the pure pursuit of knowledge over its practical implementation. Other institutions of higher education in North Carolina were closer to the vocational ground. In the 20th century, legislative leaders created teacher colleges (often called Normal Schools) to train educators in the major regions of the state. The school that was then called North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical University was founded as a land-grant college in the 1880s. Like most of the land-grant schools, NC State originally focused more upon the Mechanic (engineering) part of its mission over the agricultural programs that became the schools trademark. But as the university found its footing, agricultural education became an important staple of NC States education. Future governor Jim Hunt studied tobacco poundage controls while being elected States student-body president twice during his undergraduate career. So, skill training is not foreign to the UNC systems tradition. But the university system decided to take a different and more idealistic path in the mid-twentieth century. One of the greatest accomplishments of the World War II generation was to democratize access to liberal-arts education. The percentage of college students majoring in the humanities peaked in that era, as returning veterans sought to learn about the histories and literatures of the world they had just saved from fascism. North Carolina, in turn, followed suit. At the height of the post-war higher-education boom, the state converted a teachers college in the mountains into the University of North Carolina at Asheville. UNC-A was designated a public liberal arts college, one of the few in the country, and it is a lovely gem in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Republicans running North Carolina today seek to jettison UNCs finest inheritance. UNC long ago outgrew its origins as an elitist academy for the Southern aristocracy. As generations have now attested, the systems flagship campus is the University of the People, and the smaller, lower-cost campuses across the state reflect this democratic promise even more profoundly. Republicans pay lip service to a right-wing and rather disingenuous conception of citizenship, but what they really intend to do is to abolish authentic education and leave a sort of nationalistic indoctrination curriculum as the only remnant of the liberal arts on campus. The primary mission will be to train workers to labor cheaply for large corporations, serving the business interests that fund the Republican majority. UNCs founding was not without sin, and UNCs history is not without blemishes. But the 17 schools that shine across the state are too valuable to abandon to utilitarian education. They must not become right-wing trade schools. Unfortunately, Republicans ranging from the dimmest backbenchers on Jones Street to UNC-Chapel Hill trustees running for statewide office share this deplorable vision for higher learning. If we allow UNC to decline in this way, we will have failed our students, and the inspiration that drew more than 12 generations of North Carolinians to nourish and perfect an archipelago of academies that serve something greater than the corporate bottom line. NHC shifts the placement of potential tropical development, Includes more of Gulf of Mexico RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) While chances remained at 60 percent Wednesday for a tropical wave in the Atlantic to form into a tropical depression or named system, a lot of uncertainty remains for areas from the southeast U.S. to the Flordia Panhandle. The large tropical wave Thursday over Puerto Rico is producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday morning. Development of the system is not expected in the next two days, but over the next 7 days, there is a medium chance the wave could become a tropical depression this weekend or early next week, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said. NC county emergency services reminds folks to plan with 60% chance of tropical development The system is moving generally west-northwestward towards the Bahamas and Cuba an area more conducive for development, forecasters said. But, there are many variables still in play. One of two models examined by the CBS 17 Storm Team had a major change in the track on Wednesday of a potential system. The American or GFS model, shows a southern track for any system that develops taking it eventually into the Gulf of Mexico and then to the west coast of Florida on Monday, according to CBS 17 Meteorologist Rachel Duensing. The European model showed a big shift from just earlier in the day Wednesday, Duensing said. That model now shows the system moving over the Greater Antilles before also turning into the Gulf of Mexico and hovering near the Flordia Panhandle. Carolinas could see tropical system early next week; 60% chance of development Also, Duensing said two key questions lead to uncertainty. The European model in red compared to the American (GFS) model in green. We dont know exactly where the system will form where will the center actually develop, she said. Because of that uncertainty, models cant decide where to take the system because, again, it cant agree on where the center will be or where it will go. She also said the timing is critical. Development is not expected at the earliest this weekend but if it has too much interaction with land while trying to form, that can be a challenge for it to form, Duensing said. Once the center of a storm forms were going to have a much better idea of what to expect, she added. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com. Delegates for an anti-war, pro-Palestinian voting blocare calling for Democratic National Convention organizers to allowa doctor whos been on Gazas front lines to speak at the presidential nominating event about the humanitarian crisis. The uncommitted delegation represents a movement of Democratic voters who oppose the Biden administrations support for Israels military offensive in Gaza. The movement sprang from the frustration of voters many of whom are Muslim and Arab American who refused to cast their Democratic primary ballot for President Joe Biden because of his Gaza policy. What started as a statewide protest vote in Michigan spread across the country, garnering hundreds of thousands of votes and resulting in what the movement said is 30 uncommitted delegates for the DNC, where thousands of delegates will formally nominate the Democratic presidential candidate. The delegationshope is that having Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan address DNC attendees from the convention floor about what she has witnessed in the Palestinian enclave will help the Democratic Party face the human devastation of Israels U.S.-funded siege, which is entering its 10th month. The Democratic National Convention is a chance to declare our values to the American public, to set the tone for the next four years, June Rosenbaum, an uncommitted delegate from Rhode Island, said on a call set up Thursday morning by the delegation. The Democratic Party cannot espouse the values of freedom, justice and equality at home while being the party of death and destruction abroad. The Democratic Party cannot oppose fascism at home while enabling genocide abroad. For 18 years of my life, I never heard a single person speak up for Palestine, they said. With a DNC speaker with experience on the ground in Gaza, we can make it so no American can ever say the same. Dr. @Tanyaalih, who we are asking to be given a speaking spot at the [@DNC], is uniquely positioned to speak to the pain that has been kept hidden from us. Shes seen it up close. - @Junesfinalrose#NotAnotherBombpic.twitter.com/eb0J42RxAu Uncommitted National Movement (@uncommittedmvmt) August 1, 2024 The delegation said it sent written requests to Democratic National Committee representatives and convention planners nearly a month ago but has yet to hear back. The request includes for Haj-Hassan, an American pediatric intensive care physician, to have five minutes of speaking time on the convention floor during evening programming. The group asked for one of its delegates to have speaking time as well as language in the DNC platform that calls for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an immediate embargo on U.S. offensive weapons to Israel. We have been trained to protect human lives. We have been trained to preserve human life, Haj-Hassan said on the Thursday call. But what has become incredibly and absolutely clear is that it is impossible to do amidst a military campaign that is not only targeting civilian life wherever it is in the Gaza Strip but also targeting everything thats indispensable to human life, from water to fuel, food, health care and infrastructure. Im not a politician. In fact, Im not even an activist. My life prior to this year has been spent primarily doing clinical work, she said. But Im hoping to provide moral witness to the delegates of the Democratic National Convention because an end to this military campaign is the only way to preserve human life under the current circumstances. And so it is vital that the most powerful decision-makers globally hear firsthand accounts from myself and from my colleagues that can impact our foreign policy. Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan examines wounded children at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on March 16. The "uncommitted" delegation set to attend the Democratic National Convention has asked that Haj-Hassan, an American pediatrician, be allowed to speak at the convention about the humanitarian crisis she has witnessed in Gaza. Abdel Kareem Hana via Associated Press Convention officials told HuffPost on Thursday that there was no news to share yet about the delegations request but that programming decisions have not yet been finalized beyond nominee acceptance speeches on the final two days of the convention, which will run Aug. 19-22. Our convention will be a celebration of all that unites us as Democrats because, though we may not see eye-to-eye on every issue, we all operate from the same set of shared values, convention spokesperson Emily Soong told The Washington Examiner in May, before Biden exited the campaign, regarding the uncommitted delegation. We will continue to work around the clock to plan a successful convention, welcome all our delegates to Chicago in August, and bring the story of our party and president to the American people. Uncommitted representatives have repeatedly asked to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris now that she has replaced Biden as the likely presidential nominee. Harris has already been more outspoken about the plight of Palestinians and more critical of Israels offensive, however she still positions herself publicly as pro-Israel and has yet to call for a U.S. arms embargo. Its almost like theyre looking for a reason to support her, Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman (D), a Palestinian American who recently spoke with Harris, told CBS News of the uncommitted delegates. Its like, We really do want to support you, we just need the bombs to stop. Abbas Alawieh, a spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, which organized "uncommitted" votes in the Democratic primary, speaks at a news conference in Dearborn on Feb. 28, the day after the Michigan presidential primary. Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images A spokesperson for the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment. In Thursdays call, the delegation expressed that the decision to ask for Haj-Hassan to speak about Gaza is partly rooted in civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamers historic speech at the 1964 Democratic convention. Hamer used her speech to highlight the racism that plagued Mississippi and the dire need for more Black representation in the states Democratic Party delegation. This years DNC is expected to bring thousands of protesters from across the country, many of whom will demand a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and the halt of U.S. weapon transfers to Israel. Related... Strange New World Ever wondered what the underside of a massive ice shelf in Antarctica looks like? We know now after an underwater drone mapped the hidden side of one in Antarctica, The New York Times reports, revealing a dramatic landscape of deep crevices, sculptural terraces, and wide divots dug into the ice. The scientists behind the effort published images of the ice shelf's underside as part of a new study in the journal Science Advances, which was meant to help gauge how fast ice in Antarctica is melting due to global warming. The images reveal a strange icy landscape seemingly shaped and sculpted by strong ocean waves, melting and eating away these gargantuan floes of ice in in Antarctica. "I couldnt stop looking at it," University of Gothenburg, Sweden oceanographer and the study's first author Anna Wahlin told the NYT. "We had no idea it could look like this." Melting Point Wahlin and her co-researchers relied on their 20-feet-long robotic colleague, an underwater drone dubbed Ran, to swim under the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica to capture its hidden underside using sonar. The images from the drone are helpful because they upend scientists' understanding of how ocean waves impact the evolution of ice shelves as they melt. Peter Davis, a British Antarctic Survey oceanographer and study contributor, told the NYT that scientists thought the waves would smooth out the hidden watery depths of the ice shelf, but the images from the drone show that's clearly not the case. "It looks like a beach after the tides gone out," he said about the underside. This wealth of information could help scientists forecast more precise sea level increases from global warming, New York University mathematics and ocean science professor and study contributor David Holland told the NYT. And this information may also inform us on how to make more resilient major cities and neighborhoods in low-lying areas, which are in danger of geting swamped by rising sea levels. Let's just hope society pays attention to what the ice shelves are telling us. More on Antarctica: Huge Iceberg Falling Apart as It Drifts Away From Antarctica Undocumented immigrants should soon be able to get state cell service subsidy Migrants check their phones as they wait at a San Diego transit center in June. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Even Californians without Social Security numbers should soon have access to a state subsidy that will make cellphone service more affordable. The California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision last week that the California Universal LifeLine Telephone Service Program, known as California Lifeline, be offered to Californians without a Social Security number. The commission needs to formally vote on the matter, with its first opportunity at its Aug. 22 meeting. The move comes 10 years after the CPUC decided to stop requesting Social Security information from applicants but then never did. The issue was first reported by CalMatters . The commission is in charge of California Lifeline. The service offers qualifying participants discounts of up to $19 monthly on cellphone service, up to $39 off a service connection and eliminates a range of local, state and federal fees. There is also a federal Lifeline program, but its discounts are less, including up to $9.25 off monthly service. Both are concurrently available to customers, according to the commission, but the federal program continues to require a Social Security number. Chinese national Zhang Hao uses his phone at Iris Avenue Station in San Diego, where he and other asylum seekers were dropped off by Border Patrol agents. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) The service consists of unlimited talk and texts, and varying amounts of data. Users in certain government programs may be eligible for the discounts. Anyone already enrolled in a public assistance program , such as Medicaid and Medi-Cal, Section 8 housing, CalFresh or the Women, Infants and Children Program, also known as WIC, qualifies under program-based assistance. Applicants can also qualify based on income. For instance, a family of four would qualify with a total annual gross income of $48,400 or less. It's unknown how many people the commission's latest move will affect. About 1.4 million Californians use the service, according to the commission, with program enrollment up 31.1% since June 2023. Read more: If you get free phone or internet in California, watch out for this snag Pew Research estimated there were 1.8 million unauthorized immigrants in California in 2021. Participants are enrolled with a private phone provider. This is generally done by third-party vendors, often street teams, who solicit in front of public buildings such as social service benefits offices or near supermarkets. The service is funded by surcharges applied to California cellphone users. The Public Utility Commissions ruling isnt new, however. The group decided to drop Social Security numbers on applications in 2014 , arguing that such an ask was a barrier to usage for some. At the time, the move was opposed by Cox Communications and other telecommunications companies that were concerned with fraud. In place of Social Security numbers, the commission asked for government-issued identification. The Public Utility Commissions decision came two years after the Federal Communications Commission revised the federal Lifeline program to require applicants to provide the last four digits of a Social Security number on applications. Read more: L.A. County to offer discounted home internet to lower-income residents in some neighborhoods The state Public Utility Commission previously told CalMatters in February that it had already "implemented its 2014 decision." Yet, California Lifeline applications still asked for Social Security information. The nonprofit Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles put this issue back in front of the commission with a letter on Aug. 30, 2023, requesting immediate implementation of the 2014 ruling, according to commission documentation. Once the decision is formally approved, Social Security number requests are expected to be removed from the LifeLine application within three months, according to the commission. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. BOURBON COUNTY, Kan. The Bourbon County attorney resigned Monday, giving just two days notice. Tiana McElroy, whos been the county attorney since 2021, sent her letter of resignation to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Monday. Tiana McElroy The letter said today would be her last day. McElroy gave no explanation for her departure. It will be up to Governor Kelly to appoint her replacement. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. University of California President Michael Drake announced Wednesday he would be stepping down from his role at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Drake began his tenure in July 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic as the first Black president of one of the largest public university systems in the country. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as president of the University of California these past several years, and I am immensely proud of what the UC community has accomplished, said Drake. At every turn, I have sought to listen to those I served, to uphold our shared UC values, and to do all I could to leave this institution in better shape than it was before. Im proud to see the University continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of countless Californians through research, teaching, and public service. During his time as president, Drake had multiple accomplishments. He implemented the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, increased the number of students in the system, created a tuition stability plan and secured a five percent funding increase over five years. Over the next year, we will continue the work that we have focused on during my tenure. That includes expanding student support and creating paths to a debt-free UC education, ensuring that more California students can reap the benefits of a UC degree, building on the Universitys academic and research excellence, and working to promote a safe and respectful community that fosters a free exchange of ideas, Drake said. Drakes tenure was also marked by rocky waters and he had to traverse many labor and political issues. He joined the university system in July 2020 in the midst of COVID-19, and had to balance competing views of what restrictions should be on campuses. In 2022, he faced the countrys largest higher education strike and also faced other labor union disputes. UC campuses were rife with turmoil at the end of last academic year when pro-Palestinian encampments were erected on campus, with clashes breaking out between protesters and hundreds arrested at UC Los Angeles. The UC Board of Regents will soon create a committee to search for the next president of the UC system. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The barbecue meat smokers on the roof of Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ at Eric Church's Chief's honky-tonk on Broadway, have been removed because they did not obtain a permit for rooftop barbecuing. The Tennessean, which published feature stories about the new Broadway BBQ restaurant this week, learned on Thursday that Nashville Fire Marshal Office inspectors discovered the restaurant was operating meat smokers without the proper permits on July 23, according to Nashville Fire Department Community Services Officer Kendra Loney. The restaurant, which smokes 15 to 18 hogs per week in a round-the-clock operation, used the rooftop deck of the restaurant, branded "Hell of a Q." Food is also cooked in kitchens on the 5th and 6th floors of Chief's and the restaurant remains open and operating as usual, according to representatives. The kitchen is using smokers inside the restaurant to execute the menu. Nashville Fire Department responded to a fire alarm call when smoke from the barbecue equipment filled the enclosed bar area on the roof and the stairwell on July 23, Loney said. The smokers were located in the outdoor area of the rooftop restaurant, but the smoke was flowing through an upper stairwell door. Loney said the restaurant had all the necessary permits and inspections completed when it opened in May, along with the rest of Chief's, but that the pit-barbecue smokers were not included or approved for use on the roof. Fire Marshall Office staff followed up with staff at Rodney Scott's with information about how to obtain proper permits and necessary inspections to smoke meats on the roof. Representatives of Chief's and Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ declined to comment on the removal of the smokers from the roof. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Eric Church's Chief's Nashville bar has BBQ smokers removed. See why Craig Cowden points to a pump jack on his Breezy Point Ranch in Pampa on July 7. Cowden said he often spots problems with oilfield electrical equipment such as a pumpjack with faulty wiring or a power line lying on dead grass. Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune When a spate of wildfires tore across the Texas Panhandle in February and scorched 20,000 acres of Craig Cowdens ranch near Skellytown, he decided he had had enough. Cowden took on a second unofficial job: looking for possible fire hazards on his family land, including checking on the electric lines that power oil and gas equipment. Unlike the utility companies that run power lines across a region under state oversight, oil and gas companies typically string their own power lines from utility poles to their work sites. Texas relies on the operators to maintain those lines. Not all of them do. And the state agencies that regulate the energy industry and the power industry said theyre powerless to regulate power lines in the oil patch. Cowden, 38, spots problems such as a pump jack with faulty wiring or a power line lying on dead grass. Hes filed complaints with the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees oil and gas operations. The agency inspected some of the issues he reported, Cowden said. That made him lucky a lawyer said others have had to file lawsuits against oil lease owners to get dangerous electric equipment fixed. I have enough to do on my plate, Cowden said. I dont need to do their job too, but thats basically what Im having to do in order to get change. The series of devastating February fires burned more than 1.2 million acres. Electric lines for oilfield equipment were blamed for at least two of them, state records show. The disaster revealed the danger of what are effectively unregulated power lines built by oil and gas operators a problem Texas lawmakers tried and failed to fix 15 years ago. State Rep. Ken King, a Republican from the Panhandle who led the investigation into the recent fires, said he would prefer not to push a new law next year to address that regulatory gap. Instead, he wants the Railroad Commission to write a rule defining its role in investigating energy operators for electrical problems and notifying the state Public Utility Commission if the electricity needs to be turned off. But in a statement to The Texas Tribune, the Railroad Commission said it doesnt have any formal role in regulating power lines. And the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees electricity in the state, told the Tribune it lacked legal authority to inspect oilfield power lines too. King and other legislators said the result is "a regulatory 'no man's land'" that leaves the Panhandle residents vulnerable to more wildfires as they have been for years. I would never do anything to damage the oil and gas industry in our state; its too important, King said. But that being said, one tiny part of the industry does not have the right to burn millions of acres and destroy all these other industries every couple years because they wont clean up their own mess. In 2006, eight fires merged to become the East Amarillo Complex Fire and blazed for nine days, setting a record for the biggest fire in the states history that stood until this years fires. Attorney Joe Lovell said improperly constructed power lines owned by an oil and gas operator caused the North Fire, which became part of that 2006 complex that burned part of Cowdens property. Lovell sued the operator on behalf of landowners and families of two people who died. Three years later, Texas legislators passed a law that required oilfield operators to build and maintain their power lines according to the National Electrical Code. But the law did not specify a penalty or an agency to enforce it, so there were no consequences for violating it. Power lines have caused 14,236 fires that burned roughly 2.7 million acres since 2005, said Jake Donellan, the Texas A&M Forest Services field operations department head. The agency historically did not track how many of those were caused by oilfield electric lines in particular. Its now working on adding a subcategory to record that information. Oil operators are responsible for their own lines In the Texas Panhandle, where oilfields are spread across private ranches, oilfield operators often rely on a single power utility that serves the region. Each operator that needs electricity at a worksite is responsible for tying into the nearest power pole. The process of requesting a connection and hiring electricians to do the work can take six to nine months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Jason Herrick, president of Pantera Energy Company. It is up to the operator to get it to the location, Herrick said. Pantera owns 1,800 wells in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and southwest Kansas. The company checks the condition of its electric lines and poles twice a year, including inspecting the Johnny Balls that weigh the lines down and prevents them from clashing together and sparking, Herrick said. The operator also inspects its oilfield equipment daily. Not all oil and gas operators take care of their wires, said King, who chaired the investigative committee created to investigate the February fires. Some wells produce small amounts of oil and operators watching costs might not spend money to maintain them, he said. Kings committee, which includes two other House members and two members of the public, found the regulatory oversight of oil and gas operators grossly deficient especially for companies overseeing those low-producing or non-producing wells. In February, lawyers say a rotten utility pole owned by the utility Xcel Energy, which serves more than 3.7 million customers in Texas and seven other states, snapped and crashed onto dry grass. That ignited the fast-spreading Smokehouse Creek Fire that burned for nearly three weeks, killed thousands of head of cattle and set a new record for the largest wildfire in Texas after torching more than 1 million acres. Xcel Energy acknowledged its equipment was involved in starting the blaze. Additionally, evidence showed that private power line equipment on oilfields started at least one of the other fires at that time and is suspected of causing another, according to Texas A&M Forest Service investigator reports. An investigator at the Grape Vine Creek Fire found that a metal conduit wasnt attached with brackets to the electrical pole, so it blew around in the wind, causing sparks. Two sources told the investigator that an oil and gas operator owned the pole but the investigator could not determine who owned the pole or the electrical equipment, according to the investigators report. At the spot where the Windy Deuce Fire started, three power lines around a pump jack were strung through the branches of a small tree, the state investigator found. The fire went on to burn more than 140,000 acres, incinerating homes around the city of Fritch and putting residents on edge in the city of Borger where a prescribed burn months earlier created a firebreak that saved countless homes. Windy Deuce is the classic example of what happens when nobody enforces the law, said John Lovell, an Amarillo attorney. Lovell is representing a rancher who filed a claim to get money from the oilfield company that they believe owned the power lines, Polaris Operating. He said the power lines got close enough to each other for electricity to jump between them, melting aluminum in the wire and causing the fire. Attorneys for Polaris, which was in bankruptcy proceedings when the fire happened, did not respond to a request for comment. Lynn Cowden, left, and Craig Cowden on their family ranch. During the February Panhandle wildfires, the Cowdens had to transport their cattle to other parts of the country. Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune Residents have nowhere to turn for help At Breezy Point Ranch, Cowdens cows graze around the dozens of pump jacks. Old leases from the 1920s were passed down from one oilfield operator to the next leaving Cowdens hands tied. While the land on his ranch is his, the minerals underneath it are not. So, he has to deal with the equipment. Hes lost at least one cow to electrocution from an electrical line that shorted out. One operator for many of the wells told Cowden to sue the company if he didnt like how the equipment was managed, he said. Others have filed lawsuits to get fixes. In Archer County, a family sued the oil and gas lease owner on their property in 2017 to get electrical equipment fixed. The operator fixed the equipment two weeks before the case went to trial, said John Lovell, the attorney also involved in the Windy Deuce case. We had to spend I dont know how many tens and tens and tens of thousands of dollars to get them to comply with the law, Lovell said. Cowden said that operator for many of the oil sites on his ranch has not been easy to work with, and its gotten worse since he presented photos of the conditions to lawmakers at the hearings that followed the February fires. The company was supplying electricity to one of Cowdens water wells but Cowden said they cut it because they said it needed to be inspected. He said hes not against the oil and gas industry, but wants there to be accountability and prudent operations. Eliminating the ignition is a problem we should take on, Cowden said. I dont think theres been an adequate response to that. The full program is now LIVE for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 57 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more. See the full program. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A New Jersey man who allegedly caused a flight to be diverted to Salt Lake City because of his alleged unruly behavior is being charged after the incident, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Utah. Eric Nicholas Gapco, 26, from Delanco, New Jersey, is facing one count of interference with a flight crew and one count of attempted damage to an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, the attorneys office said. READ NEXT: Utah man sentenced for posing as doctor, selling unproven COVID cure infused with silver The attorneys office said Gapco engaged in disruptive and life-threatening behavior and called him an alleged unruly passenger. Gapco was onboard an American Airlines flight that departed from Seattle, Washington, on July 18, 2024, according to the attorneys office. The flight was en route to Dallas, Texas, but was diverted to Salt Lake City after the alleged incidents on the flight. Gapco failed to follow instructions to remain in his seat, propositioned a flight attendant for sex, was repeatedly loud, vaped, bothered other passengers, locked himself in the lavatory, and attempted to open the aircraft exterior doors multiple times while the aircraft was in flight, the attorneys office said. Gapco also allegedly assaulted and intimidated crew members and a flight attendant while on the flight. Crew members restrained Gapco during the flight, and he was arrested after the flight landed at the Salt Lake City International Airport. Gapco is scheduled to be in court on Aug. 1 for his initial appearance on the indictment. The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the Salt Lake City Police Department are investigating the case. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case, and U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah announced Gapcos indictment Wednesday. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. The July 2024 release of grand jury documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's 2008 conviction in Florida for sex crimes renewed old claims that former U.S. President Donald Trump had sexually assaulted minors alongside the late financier. Such claims have nothing to do with newly released documents, as these newly released "Epstein files" do not once mention Trump. However, court documents accusing Trump and Epstein of raping a 13-year-old girl identified as Katie Johnson are often shared alongside these claims. Though unrelated to newly released documents, these filings are authentic and concern allegations first made in April 2016. Though the Johnson cases were dismissed or withdrawn, those claims laid the groundwork for, and lent perceived credibility to, other entirely unsourced rumors that the former president had settled myriad other lawsuits with underage assault victims, pointing to evidence of his alleged "pedophilic disorder." The Johnson claims, however, originated due to the aggressive efforts of a publicist using the false name Al Taylor. In 2016, investigative reporters tied the Taylor persona to a former "Jerry Springer Show" producer, Norm Lubow. For this story, Lubow confirmed to Snopes he had acted as Taylor and played a role in filing and promoting the Johnson claims. Lubow's involvement does not disprove that Johnson is a real person, but it does show that those claims were aggressively promoted and aided by someone who has a professional history of using individuals to create fictional salacious drama, and that is a fact both he, and lawyers working for the plaintiff, attempted to downplay or hide. In early July 2024, a mix of old claims that former U.S. President Donald Trump committed acts of sexual violence against minors in the 1990s reemerged. These claims asserted that newly released "Epstein documents" contained evidence "confirming Trump as a co-conspirator with Epstein in an underage sex trafficking scheme," referring to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: The reason "no major media outlet covered it," at least in July 2024, is that none of these recently released documents contained any such evidence, or even any mention of Trump. On social media, as Snopes has previously reported, "Epstein docs" or "Epstein files" generally refer to grand jury testimony relating to the multimillionaire's 2008 conviction on, and controversially lenient sentence for, the charges of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. Produced for a lawsuit between Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, these documents are periodically unsealed by a Florida judge per a court agreement. While Trump's name has appeared in past releases, the July 2024 release of documents did not once mention him. Despite this, several social media users shared images of court documents describing a graphic rape allegedly perpetrated by Trump while claiming the documents were new: These court documents are part of a lawsuit that allege in 1994 an associate of Epstein recruited a 13-year-old girl, originally identified as Katie Johnson, to become his sex slave. Epstein raped the girl, the documents claim, and also forced her to have sex with Trump on multiple occasions in both New York and Florida. The filings also include testimony from an anonymous witness corroborating the allegations. These images accurately show real court documents, but not ones connected to the ongoing release of Epstein grand jury files. Instead, these allegations were made in late April 2016, and Snopes first covered the court filings in June 2016. The written complaint included graphic accounts of the alleged rapes, including the claim that Trump refused to wear a condom and instead threw money at the girl and told her to use it for an abortion. The case was filed in U.S. District Courts in California and New York. Though these lawsuits were dismissed or withdrawn, the claims attributed to Johnson laid the groundwork for, and lent perceived credibility to, other entirely unsourced rumors that the former president had settled myriad other lawsuits with underage assault victims, pointing to evidence of an alleged "pedophilic disorder." Memes referencing that latter series of claims, which originated in a subscription-only blog post from a conspiracy theorist with a history of false claims, reemerged following this recent dump of "Epstein docs." As Snopes discussed in August 2020, there was and remains no basis to the claims stemming from those rumors. During their 2024 round of promotion on social media, however, these two categories of child rape and abuse claims often merged into a single assertion about Trump settling lawsuits related to the purported sexual assault of multiple minors: Despite their centrality to the "Trump is a ped*ph*le" narrative and to allegations mainstream media has been "ignoring" them, investigations by reporters at Jezebel and The Guardian found numerous red flags in the 2016 court filings and story. Among those red flags was evidence that tied the case to an aggressive media campaign initiated by an individual calling himself Al Taylor. Taylor's story, as told to Jezebel, was "that he'd heard Katie's story for the first time [in 2014], after meeting her at a party" and that "as a former psychology major in college and reality TV producer people were always telling him things unsolicited, even now that he's retired from television." To Jezebel, he claimed (without evidence) to have worked as a producer for "Inside Edition." In the months before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, however, The Guardian connected the Taylor persona to a former producer for "The Jerry Springer Show" named Norm Lubow. In 2016, Lubow strongly denied to Jezebel and The Guardian that he was Taylor. However, when Snopes spoke to Lubow in July 2024, he confirmed that he was, in fact, Taylor and said he did aid the accuser in her first lawsuit and in promoting the claims within it to journalists. Thomas Meagher, an attorney who represented someone identifying herself as Johnson in 2016, declined to comment for this story. In this story, Snopes shows how Lubow's involvement remains a key red flag undermining the Johnson claims. A History of the Trump-Epstein Allegations Since Donald Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, opponents have highlighted his connections to Epstein. The two ran in the same Palm Beach social circles in the 1990s, and they appeared together in video from a 1992 party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club: In 2006, Epstein became the subject of local and federal investigations into alleged sex and human trafficking probes, and in 2008 later reporting would reveal he was given a "sweetheart" deal by federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to plead guilty to crimes involving only one victim. Beginning in 2015, however, details of the potentially large number of victims not a party to the plea deal were reported, including stories of Epstein taking large cadres of girls to parties with powerful men and testimony from numerous women who say they were lured into Epstein's orbit and sexual servitude with promises of fame and connection. Against this backdrop, as well as the rise of Trump during the GOP primaries, the Johnson claims first became public. On April 26, 2016 apparently without a lawyer a person identified as Johnson filed a lawsuit against Trump and Epstein in a California U.S. District Court. According to the complaint, Epstein trafficked Johnson as a sex slave in 1994 after another girl recruited her at a bus stop when she was 13. She wrote that she was forced to sexually gratify both Epstein and Trump on multiple occasions. The gossip site Radar Online published a short story on April 28, 2016, noting the filing, but even it was skeptical, highlighting the fact that the person filing the claim had given apparently bogus contact information, using the address of a foreclosed house whose owner had recently died. Indeed, that California case was dropped for failing to state a proper claim under the law it cited. Filings indicate that the court was unable to contact the person who filed the complaint at the address she provided or locate a forwarding address for her. A few months later, however, an anonymous Jane Doe filed a nearly identical case in a New York U.S. District Court. For the New York case, Doe was represented by a New Jersey patent attorney, Thomas Meagher, who later confirmed to news outlets that his client was the same person who filed the Johnson claims. By then, a widely shared video of a woman identified as Johnson, shown with a pixelated face and disguised voice, accompanied press coverage of her case. Numerous journalists, advocates and political operatives had attempted to get, or had been promised, in-person access to Johnson. These promises never panned out. Steve Baer, a conservative mega-donor whose extensive email contacts helped to push the claims, for example, told Jezebel that he never met the accuser in person, despite many attempts. Only one outlet, the now defunct millennial-targeting site Revelist, scored any sort of interview with the accuser. In July 2016, after first being promised an in-person meeting by Meagher, Revelist's Emily Shugerman had to settle for a conference call that left her questioning whether Johnson really existed. "I don't know if the Katie Johnson I spoke to is the same girl who Trump allegedly raped in 1994, or if that girl even exists," she wrote. The next month, Lisa Bloom, a prominent attorney known for fighting high-profile sexual abuse cases, helped organize and publicize a news conference at which Johnson was to appear and outline her allegations against Trump. But the accuser backed out at the last minute, leaving "a room full of waiting reporters," as Vox described, without answers and dropped the New York case days later. These 2016 allegations did not spread far despite being covered at that time. This was partly for the reasons outlined above, and also due to the aggressive way in which the story was being promoted to the press. To that end, a large factor inhibiting large-scale coverage of the Johnson claims was that journalists figured out that a former "Jerry Springer" producer with a history of trolling the media had been a key player in promoting them from their inception and played a role in crafting the initial California filing. This crucial backstory may have been lost in the drama of the final months of the 2016 election and Trump's surprise victory, and this context is often ignored when the Johnson claims are referenced in the context of the 2024 presidential election, the purported release of "Epstein files," or in support of anonymously sourced claims of serial sexual abuse of minors by Trump. Norm Lubow and the 'Al Taylor' Campaign As Jezebel's Anna Merlan reported in June 2016, the campaign to alert news outlets to the claims against Trump began nearly a year before the California filing. In August 2015, Gawker which was, at the time, part of the same media group as Jezebel was approached by a self-described PR representative named Al Taylor. "I've got some good info on Donald Trump for you," Taylor told the outlet. Taylor's contact with Gawker apparently ceased by March 2016, and Gawker "never purchased anything, or published any stories, related to the info that it received from Taylor," wrote Merlan, who was uninvolved with Taylor's initial outreach. The California complaint was filed a month later, receiving limited press coverage. That initial filing garnered enough attention, however, to attract the interest of lawyers who helped file a lawsuit in New York, and of political operatives like Baer, who pushed the claims aggressively. Though central to the promotion of her story, these individuals had, at best, limited access to the accuser, and that access was largely controlled through Taylor. In July 2016, based on several lines of compelling evidence, The Guardian's Jon Swaine linked the person using the name Al Taylor to former "Jerry Springer Show" producer Lubow, who reportedly staged the fights for which the show became famous. Lubow never confirmed the allegations to The Guardian. Instead, when Swaine quizzed Taylor on his true identity, he replied: "Just be warned, we'll sue you if we don't like what you write. We'll sue your a**, own your a** and own your newspaper's a** as well, punk." When Merlan confronted Taylor on the allegation that he was actually Lubow he told her texting from the phone number listed as Johnson's in the initial sexual assault complaint to "suck my d***, b****." Snopes reached out to Lubow through an email associated with the Al Taylor persona and through a Facebook profile of a "Norm Lubow" who described himself as a past segment producer for "The Jerry Springer Show." Through both channels, we asked whether Taylor and Lubow were the same person and whether that person played a role in crafting the April 2016 complaint filed against Trump. Lubow eventually confirmed to Snopes via a blocked phone number that he was, indeed, Taylor and that he had, under this pseudonym, helped the accuser with her first legal filing, with the video that accompanied her claims and with promoting those allegations to the press. He claimed to Snopes that he wasn't trying to be tricky by using the name Al Taylor, but that past media smears leveled against him by "The Jerry Springer Show" necessitated the new name. Lubow's involvement in the case is relevant, in Snopes' view, because Lubow has pushed false stories about celebrities to the press in the past, and because one of Lubow's main professional jobs was, other outlets have reported, to make up salacious stories for television segments, to enlist people to pretend that they were players in those stories and to keep them from telling anyone it was all a lie. Lubow was referring to a 1998 scandal in which former guests of the show alleged that the over-the-top and often violent segments they participated in were entirely scripted. In a report aired by the investigative news program "20/20," several former "Springer" guests named Lubow as the producer who recruited people for numerous entirely made-up segments. Lubow first made a name for himself in the late 1980s as a pro-marijuana "revolutionary" character named Rev. Bud Green who frequently appeared on television talk shows including "Springer" only to be "kicked off" after lighting up. Lubow also reportedly has a history of pushing false stories about celebrities to news outlets. As described by The Guardian in 2016, "Lubow was connected to a contentious claim, raised in the 1998 documentary movie Kurt and Courtney, that Courtney Love offered a fellow musician $50,000 to murder her husband, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana." The New York Post reported that, in 1995, Lubow was behind a tabloid newspaper story alleging that O.J. Simpson bought illicit drugs on the day Nicole Brown was killed. In the Revelist interview, the person identifying herself as Johnson explained that "Al Taylor" i.e., Lubow had played a pivotal role in helping her craft the complaint against Trump. "She said they had been introduced through a mutual friend, who urged her to go to Taylor with the story," Revelist reported. "The friend believed Taylor had the resources to bring her accusations to light." Lubow's involvement does not prove that Johnson's claims are false or that she does not exist. However, it does show that the claims attributed to this person were aggressively promoted and aided by someone who has a professional history of using individuals to create fictional salacious drama. This is a fact both Lubow, and lawyers working for Johnson, attempted to downplay or hide. "I definitely don't mind you answering this question," Meagher advised the person identifying herself as Johnson during the interview with Revelist. "But because of all the hoopla about the peripheral characters in this, I certainly don't mind you saying that you got help, but I don't want you to identify who helped you." Lubow told Snopes he stands by his story in that he heard about the Johnson allegations from a friend at a party sometime around 2014 and then helped her move forward with the lawsuit, produce the video and publicize her allegations to the media. Independent Evidence for Johnson's Claims? The accuser's attorney, Meagher, told Shugerman, the Revelist reporter, that centering the narrative on Lubow allows "the sins of others to be visited upon my client." The problem, though, is that all the evidence for this case came to the public through him or with his apparent involvement. Some commentators including Lubow himself in a phone call with Snopes have argued that the similarities of Johnson's stories to other victims of Epstein recruitment by other young women with promises of modeling gigs, trafficking those girls to parties with powerful men makes the Johnson claim compelling, regardless of Lubow's involvement. That argument becomes circular, however, when one considers that detailed stories from Epstein's victims were publicly known well before any Johnson filings were made. Julie K. Brown, the journalist who uncovered the federal government's plea deal with Epstein in 2008, pushed back on the notion that journalists had ignored the Johnson claims, writing on X that, "The woman just wouldn't talk, and her lawyer would not confirm she was even legit. The address she gave on her first lawsuit was false. She was linked to political operatives at one point." I don't know if it's fair to say it's a story reporters missed. I looked into it, spent a lot of time on it. The woman just wouldn't talk, and her lawyer would not confirm she was even legit. Her first two lawyers were patent lawyers. They wouldn't talk either. The address she julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) July 10, 2024 Lubow's involvement does not preclude the reality of the Johnson allegations. "Could her story be true?" Brown wrote. "Yes. As we speak, there are probably some powerful men associated with Epstein who have hired lawyers to pay off women. There are probably NDA's attached." Trump, for his part, has previously been held liable for sexual assault in civil court, and has been found guilty of charges that involve paying off a woman to silence her about sexual contact with him. Further, the former president has bragged about sexual misconduct on tape. Such facts provide documentary evidence supporting the notion that Trump has a history of sexual assault, but not against children. The actual documentary evidence in support of the latter claim is inexorably linked to Lubow and is tied to a person Johnson who may, in all reality, not exist. The Bottom Line Recent claims that new documents prove the validity of the Johnson claims are false, because these documents are from 2016 and have nothing to do with what have become known as the "Epstein docs." Viral claims that Trump has a history of sexually assaulting children first emerged with the Johnson lawsuits in 2016. Pictures of court documents related to the case have lent perceived credibility to additional unsourced claims of child abuse that followed, and memes frequently combine the two claims. Such claims are not new, come with several red flags and originated with an aggressive push by a serial fabulist. Sources: Brown, Julie K. "Perversion of Justice." Miami Herald, 19 Dec. 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20191220152533/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article238237729.html. Crockett, Emily. "The Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Raping a 13-Year-Old Girl, Explained." Vox, 3 Nov. 2016, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/3/13501364/trump-rape-13-year-old-lawsuit-katie-johnson-allegation. Gerstein, Josh. "Udge Unseals More Details in Jeffrey Epstein Underage Sex Lawsuit." Politico, 7 July 1925, http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2015/07/judge-unseals-more-details-in-jeffrey-epstein-underage-sex-lawsuit-210065. Here's How That Wild Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Raping a 13-Year-Old Girl Hit The Headlines. 25 June 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160625140503/http://jezebel.com/heres-how-that-wild-lawsuit-accusing-trump-of-raping-a-1782447083. Howard, Dylan. "Trump Sued By Teen 'Sex Slave' For Alleged 'Rape' Donald Blasts 'Disgusting' Suit." RadarOnline, 28 Apr. 2016, https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2016/04/donald-trump-sued-sexual-abuse-jeffrey-epstein-claims/. I Talked to "Katie Johnson," the Woman Accusing Donald Trump and Jeffery Epstein of Rape, and Am More Confused than Ever | Revelist. 29 Aug. 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160829161646/http://www.revelist.com/politics/i-talked-with-katie-johnson/3573. Kasprak, Alex. "Unsealed: Both Trump's and Clinton's Names Appear in New Epstein Court Docs." Snopes, 6 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/01/06/epstein-list-trump/. Kessler, Glenn. "Analysis | Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: No Links Shown in Latest Documents." Washington Post, 13 July 2024. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/11/trump-epstein-documents-ted-lieu/. Klein, Edward. "The Trouble with Andrew | Vanity Fair." Vanity Fair | The Complete Archive, https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/ac60f552-4163-4d39-a36b-d2014fe20062. Accessed 29 July 2024. Littleton, Cynthia. "Springer Fights Peace Pact." Variety, 4 May 1998, https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/springer-fights-peace-pact-1117470426/. Mangan, Dan. "Trump Guilty on All 34 Counts in Hush Money Trial, Historic First for a Former U.S. President." CNBC, 30 May 2024, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/30/trump-trial-verdict-hush-money.html. Media Memories. Jerry Springer Show Fake ? 20 20 Investigation. 2023. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMPd_to0Vc. Merlan, Anna. "The Source Pushing The Trump Rape Lawsuits May Not Be Who He Says He Is." Jezebel, 8 July 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160708092518/http://jezebel.com/the-source-pushing-the-trump-rape-lawsuits-may-not-be-w-1783270283. Mikkelson, David. "Did Trump Pay $35M to Settle Child Rape Claims Against Him?" Snopes, 18 Aug. 2020, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-child-rape-settlements/. ---. "Lawsuit Charges Donald Trump with Raping a 13-Year-Old Girl." Snopes, 23 June 2016, https://www.snopes.com//news/2016/06/23/donald-trump-rape-lawsuit/. NBC News. Donald Trump Makes Lewd Remarks About Women On Video | NBC News. 2016. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYqKx1GuZGg. News, A. B. C. "Newly Released Grand Jury Documents in Epstein Case Reveal Alleged Victims Accused of Prostitution." ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/newly-released-grand-jury-documents-epstein-case-reveal/story?id=111599027. Accessed 29 July 2024. Swaine, Jon. "Rape Lawsuits against Donald Trump Linked to Former TV Producer." The Guardian, 7 July 2016. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/07/donald-trump-sexual-assault-lawsuits-norm-lubow. "This Conservative Mega-Donor Is the World's Most Successful E-Mail Harasser." National Review, 22 Oct. 2013, https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/conservative-mega-donor-worlds-most-successful-e-mail-harasser-jonathan-strong/. U.S. Justice Department logo is seen at Justice Department headquarters in Washington By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday debuted its first-ever whistleblower program offering monetary awards to tipsters who report certain types of corporate misconduct, an effort designed to ratchet up the pressure on companies who face allegations of wrongdoing. The program, which officials previewed in March, is designed to fill gaps in existing U.S. government whistleblower programs and incentivize both people with knowledge of corporate wrongdoing and companies who might be implicated to inform the government. We're doubling down on a proven strategy to ferret out criminal activity that might otherwise go unreported, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters. Under the program, which will run initially for three years, whistleblowers who report original information about certain corporate offenses will, if a prosecution results in a forfeiture of assets, be eligible to receive a certain portion of that penalty. Tipsters can receive up to 30% of the first $100 million in asserts forfeited and up to 5% of those between $100 and $500 million. It is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Justice Department during the Biden administration to pressure companies to voluntarily alert prosecutors about potential criminal activity in their ranks. The company's leadership now has to grapple with the increased possibility that if they don't self-disclose misconduct, an individual whistleblower might beat them to the punch, Monaco said. The program is designed to capture conduct not already covered by existing whistleblower programs run by civil regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, officials said. Justice Department officials said they are especially interested in foreign corruption schemes outside the authority of the SEC, health care fraud against private insurers and certain financial crimes including defrauding regulatory agencies. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) (Bloomberg) -- US officials are still pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza but concede its harder than ever after a suspected Israeli strike killed a top Hamas leader in Tehran, according to people familiar with the Biden administrations thinking. Most Read from Bloomberg The viability of the months-long US effort to secure a pause in the Israel-Hamas war and free Israeli hostages was thrown into question after a missile strike in Tehran on early Wednesday killed Ismail Haniyeh, the groups political chief and a key representative during rounds of so-far futile negotiations. This attack, while justified, will be a setback for talks, said Emily Harding, former director for Iran on the US National Security Council and now an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Israel has been under tremendous pressure to bring home the remaining hostages, so they must have calculated that the operational benefit of killing Haniyeh was greater than the prospect of successful hostage exchange. Key Arab nations involved in the cease-fire talks also said the killing complicates efforts to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas, which the US has designated a terrorist organization. Egypt, which has acted as a mediator, said the timing and lack of progress on the talks indicate the absence of Israeli political will to calm the situation. The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, posted on X: How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Israel hasnt officially claimed responsibility for the killing of Haniyeh. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government has vowed to eliminate every Hamas official since the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza. Pursuing a cease-fire deal has been the Biden administrations policy for months, and the administration doesnt appear to have an alternative path. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a cease-fire the importance that that has for everyone remains, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia on Wednesday, adding that the US wasnt informed of the strike in advance. We will continue to labor at that for as long as it takes to get there. John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters that were obviously concerned about escalation, although we dont believe that an escalation is inevitable, and theres no sign that an escalation is imminent. Its too soon to know what any of these reported events could mean for the cease-fire deal, he said, adding it doesnt mean were going to stop working on it. The administrations position will be fundamentally unchanged, said Jonathan Lord, a former Pentagon official and director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security. It is going to doggedly pursue a deal, continue to tactically limit any escalatory response from Iran and its proxies and partners and support Israels ability to defend itself. Limiting the risks of wider escalation will be a challenge. The killing came just hours after an Israeli strike that killed one of Hezbollahs top leaders in Beirut, increasing the prospect of a wider war in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke of retaliation, vowing that Israel has prepared the ground for its severe punishment. Talks Frozen The talks between Israel and Hamas will probably be frozen for the time being as the militant group will wait to see what happens with Iran and Hezbollah first, Ryan Bohl, a Middle East and North Africa analyst at RANE, a risk consultancy for investors, said to Bloomberg Television. In April, after Israel killed two Iranian generals in the Syrian capital Damascus, Tehran fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, its first direct attack. Israel and allies including the US blocked most of the incoming fire. The latest assassinations are likely to further fuel criticism in the US and elsewhere that Israels leaders are avoiding a truce for domestic political reasons. The assassination of Haniyah is likely to put an end to the current state of negotiations, said Dan Mouton, a former National Security Council official and a fellow at the Atlantic Councils Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. Ending negotiations may be politically advantageous for some inside Israel who do not want to grapple with the need to form a post-conflict government or the inevitable independent investigation into the Oct. 7 attack, Mouton said. --With assistance from Michelle Jamrisko, Raeedah Wahid and Joumanna Bercetche. (Updates with comment from analyst at RANE.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Insights from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Reuters Aug 1, 2024, 6:09pm EDT The News Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and 15 others Thursday, in the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War. Former US Marine Paul Whelan, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza were also among the 16 released by Moscow in exchange for eight Russians being held in the West. The deal was a feat of diplomacy that underscored the importance of having allies, US President Joe Biden said in remarks at the White House. The deal could boost Bidens legacy as his tenure in the Oval Office winds down, but critics warn it could encourage Russia and other adversaries to take hostages as political bargaining chips. SIGNALS Semafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories. Swap shows Russias hostage-taking strategy works Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN Releasing criminals in exchange for innocent Americans shows that Russias strategy of taking hostages works, because if they wait long enough, the West will eventually accede to their demands, said Adam Hickey, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justices National Security Division in a statement to Semafor. Some German officials have similar concerns about the perception of having caved to Russias demands. What do you do when this becomes a business model? one asked The Washington Post. US officials privately worry about abductor states Source: The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal called the exchange emblematic of a new era of state-sponsored hostage-taking by autocratic governments seeking leverage over rivals. The State Department discourages Americans from visiting a number of countries, including Russia and North Korea, because of the risk that they could be detained and used as leverage. Privately, US officials call them abductor states and fear their number will grow unless there are new measures to deter them, The Journal reported. Timing of swap could be related to Biden presidency ending Source: Reuters Its possible that Russian President Vladimir Putin calculated that it was better to do business with Biden instead of waiting for the next administration and possibly having to start from scratch, Reuters reported. Former President Donald Trump had previously insisted that if reelected, he could easily get Gershkovich released without any concessions. In May, he posted that Putin will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING! US sees no link between prisoner exchange talks and war in Ukraine The White House says that negotiations with Russia on a prisoner exchange and any potential negotiations over the war in Ukraine are not related. Source: Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, at a briefing on 1 August, European Pravda reports Details: When asked whether the prisoner exchange negotiations could lay some groundwork for diplomatic efforts in the context of the war in Ukraine, the Biden adviser stressed that the United States does not see a connection between the two. Quote: "We see those are operating on separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange, and the other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in that kind of diplomacy." Details: Ukraine has repeatedly insisted that it will not negotiate with Russia as long as it refuses to follow the Peace Formula based on the UN Charter. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side is seeking to involve a representative of the Russian Federation in the second Peace Summit. Background: On Thursday, Turkiye officially confirmed the exchange of 26 prisoners held in prisons in seven different countries: the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus. Among others, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine Paul Whelan, German citizen Rico Krieger, who was imprisoned in Belarus, and Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin were released. Support UP or become our patron! Insights from Reuters, Bloomberg, The Register, and South China Morning Post Aug 1, 2024, 10:35am EDT North America The News The US is preparing new rules to restrict other countries from exporting semiconductor chips to China, according to reports. These kinds of chips are crucial for advanced computing and artificial intelligence technology. The restrictions could make exceptions, however, for shipments from some US allies, including Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. Shares in ASML, a Dutch firm that makes chip printing machines, surged on the reports. The rules would be the latest in a series of blocks designed to stop Beijing from getting its hands on advanced semiconductor chips or the means to make them itself, as the US tries to maintain a technological edge over the country. SIGNALS Semafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories. US is trying to curb China without alienating allies Sources: Reuters, The Register By exempting key chip manufacturers in allied countries from the new proposed restrictions, Washington is trying to balance a hard stance on China with not alienating allies who need Chinas market, Reuters noted. Almost half of Dutch manufacturer ASMLs first-quarter revenue came from China, and the company one of industrys biggest players has already felt the impact of other US restrictions on its balance sheet, The Register added. But with so many countries exports exempted from the rules, its unclear what effect they will actually have on Chinas chip ambitions, if any. Chinese telecom giant Huawei is enjoying a resurgence Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg A flash point in the US long-standing tech trade war with China is telecom giant Huawei. Washington blacklisted the company years ago, and has tried to cut off the companys network of chipmakers. Huawei initially faltered, but support from Beijing kept it afloat and now its doubled its profit, made its own chips, and stepped up competition with Apple. Huaweis resurgence is a cautionary sign for the US, The Wall Street Journal wrote: American restrictions are inadvertently bolstering the companys resilience, echoing the age-old adage that what doesnt kill you makes you stronger, one analyst said. American protectionism is here to stay Sources: Politico, South China Morning Post Bidens war on tech has helped to grind US-Chinese diplomacy to a halt, Politico wrote. Thats set to continue: Regardless of who wins in November, the next US government will likely pursue a protectionist and unilateral foreign policy, an Asian researcher argued in the South China Morning Post. Trumps America First strategy, which includes a proposed 60% sanctions on Chinese goods, would entrench this stance, but Democrats have also shown they are prepared to put tariffs on Chinese goods to show political strength at home. The next American president is likely to be haunted by turbulent domestic politics and a sceptical world, while Biden may be remembered with nostalgia, the academic wrote. LAPD is investigating an attack on a 21-year-old USC student was found seriously injured inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times) A 21-year-old USC student was found seriously injured Tuesday evening inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles police say she was the victim of an apparent attack. The young woman was found at about 10 p.m. in an upscale apartment building in the 1200 block of Hill Street. She was taken to a hospital, where she was in critical condition, according to L.A. police Capt. Kelly Muniz. The incident is under investigation by the L.A. Police Department. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the woman's parents had become concerned after not hearing from her. She was discovered by a family member who had gone to check on her. The sources, who were not allowed to speak publicly about the investigation, described the woman as having a head injury and suffering from trauma. Read more: 'Justice was not done': Man acquitted on state charges for shooting at deputy faces federal charges Investigators are conducting a forensic scrub of the apartment as well as talking to neighbors and checking surrounding video security systems. Authorities did not say whether there were any signs of forced entry. The building was described as a well-secured, modern apartment complex where a one-bedroom unit rents for $2,600 a month. Anyone with information related to the attack is asked to contact detectives at (213) 996-4104 or (213) 996-4150. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Utah still cannot enforce its law prohibiting abortions except in cases of rape, incest or health, according to a recent court ruling. The ruling was handed down by the Utah Supreme Court on Thursday. The legal battle will continue even though the law will still be blocked from going into effect. The question of whether or not the law itself is constitutional will continue as the lawsuit plays out in lower courts. It also means abortion remains legal in Utah for up to 18 weeks into a pregnancy for the time being. Once the ultimate constitutionality of Utahs abortion law is determined, that could change. The case in question, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. State of Utah, arose after the United States Supreme Court overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Abortion was sent back down to the states as a result of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. It was a 4-1 decision with Chief Justice Matthew Durrant as the lone dissent. The opinion of the court upheld a decision from a lower court to block the law. The court said Planned Parenthood Association of Utah presented serious issues with the law to prove its standing. Citing a different case and saying though the court did not analyze the Utah Constitution to resolve that case, the court said, Our recognition of an individuals fundamental right under the federal constitution to make ones own medical decisions raises serious issues about whether the similarly worded provision of the Utah Constitution also protects this right. The court said the state did not address the balance of harms when in district court, and in this case, the balance of harms weighed toward continuing to block the law. While the court agreed the state has an interest in protecting life, it said the state did not address the injury to it that would occur if the law was still blocked. Writing the dissent, Durrant quoted a previous opinion to say plaintiffs have to show distinct and palpable injury that gives (them) a personal stake in the outcome of the legal dispute. Our precedent firmly establishes that this traditional rule safeguards core principles, among them the separation of powers mandated by the Utah Constitution and the integrity and efficiency of the judiciary as a whole, wrote Durrant. Durrant said he disagreed both with the district courts decision and with the decision handed down by the Utah Supreme Court. He said Planned Parenthood Association of Utah lacks standing. Though the organization said individual patients would be prevented from challenging the law on their own, Durrant said he did not think that was the case. Because abortion is a monumentally significant legal issue, there are multiple national advocacy organizations, PPAUs parent organization among them, that have both the desire and the means to fully litigate challenges to laws restricting abortion access, said Durrant, adding the case in front of him proved the very same point. Durrant also said women who were worried about coming forward in a public lawsuit could file using pseudonyms, and so the idea that Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has the standing to file the suit does not hold water in his view. The difficulties that PPAUs patients face are genuine, but they are not that different from those faced by many others who wish to challenge a laws constitutionality, said Durrant. Appellate litigation is undoubtedly too expensive, inconvenient, and time-consuming. But if these factors alone are enough to justify the exercise of third-party standing, then we risk a dangerous expansion of that doctrine. Durrant said his opinion is the preliminary injunction blocking the law should be overturned and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah should be denied third-party standing. Utahs abortion law Once states could decide their own abortion laws, Utahs law went into effect. Originally sponsored by Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, and Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, the law was passed and signed in 2020. It prohibited abortions except in cases of rape, incest or health. When carving out the health exception, the law prevented providers from performing abortions in cases of Down syndrome or cerebral palsy an abortion could only be provided in cases of a severe brain abnormality causing a person to live in a mentally vegetative state. Two physicians would need to uniformly diagnose the defect. The health exception allowed for mothers who would die unless they had an abortion or they would have a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. The law carved out avenues for enforcement. If a person was found to have performed an abortion, they would be guilty of a second-degree felony. In the state of Utah, a second-degree felony may be punished by one to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. A physician who performed an abortion would have the violation reported to the body that regulates their licensing. Abortion clinics who violated the law could have their licenses revoked. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah filed a suit in 2022 over the law in Utahs 3rd District Court. An injunction was shortly issued, which blocked the law. The case was taken up by the Utah Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood v. Utah The suit named the state of Utah, Attorney General Sean Reyes, Gov. Spencer Cox and Director of the Utah Division of Occupational Professional Licensing Mark Steinagel as defendants. Planned Parenthood alleged Utah violated rights protected by the state constitution and also that it fails strict scrutiny. First, it eliminates wholesale the fundamental right to determine ones family composition, claimed Planned Parenthood in the filing. Second, it also affects existing parent-child relationships, as well as the relationship between potential parents. The organization argued since these rights are protected, the law would be subject to a legal test known as strict scrutiny: To pass strict scrutiny, a law would have to be narrowly tailored to address a compelling state interest. Planned Parenthood also argued the law violates a right to bodily integrity and imposes a religious view on when life begins onto Utahns. The state of Utah argued in a filing that the Utah Constitution does not explicitly protect a right to abortion and it also does not protect an implied right to abortion. The binding test for interpreting the Utah Constitution asks what ordinary speakers of the English language would have understood the constitutional text to mean when it was adopted, said the state. When Plaintiffs ten cited provisions were adopted in 1896, not one person in Utah would have understood any one of them to protect an implied right to abortion. Attorneys for Utah drew on the states long history of prohibiting abortion laws that were in effect when Utah was a territory, not a state. After the state adopted the state constitution, it still had laws against elective abortion. The state said the framers never intended for the Utah Constitution to imply a right to abortion and the Legislature has the authority to pass laws in this area. As for the specific constitutional rights Planned Parenthood pointed toward, the state said those do not protect an implied right to abortion. With regards to Planned Parenthoods claim about imposing a religious view onto Utahns, the state said, Plaintiff has not identified a single Utah law ever held to violate this provision by imposing on Utahns a state-mandated view as to an inherently spiritual and religious question. If Plaintiffs argument were correct, such a case should not be hard to find. The state also contended the law did not have to be subject to strict scrutiny because it did not violate the state constitution. Even if it was subject to this legal test, the state said the Legislature demonstrated compelling interest. Attorneys for the Utah Legislature filed an amicus brief in support of the state. The Legislature seeks to preserve its prerogative to act as the voice of the People and to enact legislation reflecting policy choices, even on controversial and emotional issues, and to have the legislation reflecting those policy choices implemented without undue interference from the courts, the brief said. Counsel for Pro-Life Utah also filed a brief in support of the state saying after studying Utahns at the time of the constitutions ratification, it is clear Utahns viewed abortion not just as a genera subject of legislative regulation but as a basis for criminal prohibition. On the spectrum of subjects ranging from what the framing public agreed ought to be punished to what the framing public agreed ought to be constitutionally protect, abortion fell firmly in the former, the brief said. Abortion was not a right it was a wrong, legally and morally. The people did not understand the Utah Constitution to protect what they abhorred and criminalized. The League of Women Voters of Utah filed an amicus brief in support of Planned Parenthood. The brief argues most women seek abortions out because of finances and denying them abortions will harm them economically. The organization also argued even though abortion was criminalized in the state, women still had abortions. The case was argued before the Utah Supreme Court and the decision handed down Thursday is not the end of the legal battle, as the suit will continue in lower courts. The other law about abortion clinics After the initial suit from Planned Parenthood was filed, the Utah Legislature passed a law in 2023 about abortion clinics. The law required abortions to generally occur in hospitals and prevented the state from licensing more abortion clinics. It also would require abortion clinics to stop operations on Jan. 1, 2024. Cox signed it into law on March 15, 2023, and then lawyers for Planned Parenthood Association of Utah filed a supplemental complaint to the existing suit to challenge this law as well. A district judge issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which blocked it from going into effect. During the 2024 legislative session, Lisonbee sponsored another bill with McCay to repeal parts of the law in order to simplify the legal issues. That bill made several important policy changes and clarifications to protect both the sanctity of life and pregnant women who are experiencing rare and dangerous complications during pregnancy, said Lisonbee earlier this year. And that is important because those provisions remain in the bill and they will not be repealed. What was repealed was the language about the state no longer issuing licenses and the requirement that abortion clinics meet the definition of hospitals. Lisonbee said the repeal would allow the courts to focus on ruling on the constitutionality of the underlying trigger law. If the courts decide to uphold the other law, then elective abortion would no longer be legal in Utah and this issue about the clinics would be moot. Are trigger laws upheld in other states? States like Florida and Texas have survived legal challenges to their abortion laws. Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Florida passed a heartbeat law banning abortion after six weeks. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law in 2022. But prior to the heartbeat law, the Florida Legislature had banned abortion after 15 weeks that was challenged by Planned Parenthood. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the 15-week ban and that allowed the six-week ban to go into effect a month after the state Supreme Court made that decision. The heartbeat ban was only slated to go into effect after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the 15-week law. The Texas Supreme Court also upheld the states abortion law after a group of women challenged the law claiming they could not get abortions, though they had complications. The court said the state allowed for life-saving abortions and upheld the law. One state did see laws restricting abortion get struck down by the court. The Kansas Supreme Court struck down a law aimed at banning the abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation where fetuses may be dismembered and another law requiring abortion clinics to heighten their standards of care. The justices said the Kansas Constitution protects a right to autonomy and that remains a right to abortion is protected. The lone dissent Justice Caleb Stegall said the majoritys decision marked a departure from how state government usually operated. It is noteworthy that the majority cannot bring itself to acknowledge the governments compelling interest in unborn human life, wrote Stegall. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Utahs trigger law on banning abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the mother, will still be on hold after the Utah Supreme Court ruled to keep an injunction placed against it on Thursday. The five justices on Utahs highest court ruled to uphold the injunction, 4-1 with Chief Justice Matthew Durant dissenting. The trigger law passed in 2020 was set to go into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which happened in 2022. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU) has since sued the state of Utah, claiming the trigger law was unconstitutional. In response, a Utah judge granted a preliminary injunction on the trigger law, effectively placing a hold on the law pending an outcome of that lawsuit. The district court did not err when it concluded that PPAU had raised serious issues about the constitutionality of S.B. 174. The court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that PPAU and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the injunction, Chief Justice John Pearce wrote in the opinion. Likewise, the court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that the balance of harms tipped in favor of enjoining S.B. 174 while the parties litigate its constitutionality. Justice Durant said in his dissenting opinion that the sheer importance of the issue made a legal challenge on the trigger laws constitutionality inevitable. He argued, however, that those litigations do not require the courts to extend public interest or third-party standing. The most straightforward avenue would be for one of PPAUs patients either to file her own lawsuit or join PPAUs, Durant said. Because PPAU has not shown that it is unlikely that another plaintiff would come forward, PPAU is not entitled to claim public-interest standing. PPAUs lawsuit battling the near-total abortion ban will still work its way through the lower court. How is Utah responding to the ruling? Reactions to the Utah Supreme Courts ruling have been expectedly mixed along ideological lines. Planned Parenthood of Utah celebrated the the ruling, saying the decision comes to a benefit for its patients throughout the state. Todays decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah, said Kathryn Bond, president and CEO of PPAU. While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over. Planned Parenthood Association of Utah looks forward to this unconstitutional law being permanently struck down so that we can continue to provide quality, affordable health care to Utahns, free from political interference. State Sen. Dan McCay, who co-sponsored Utahs trigger law, countered PPAUs sentiment in a press conference on Monday alongside pro-life community leaders. One thing that is guaranteed from the injunction today is that the unborn, or the innocent, will lose their lives today because of these actions, said McCay. While we are discouraged about todays outcome, Im still encouraged about the likelihood that S.B. 174 from 2020 will be found constitutional and will be held up to match the will of the people and restrict access to abortion in the state of Utah. The decision made today is a grim reminder that our society has strayed far from the moral compass that once guided us, said Mary Taylor, President of Pro-Life Utah. We mourn for the countless unborn lives that will never have the chance to experience the world, and we grieve for a society that fails to uphold the fundamental right to life. On the other end of the aisle, Utah Democratic Party released statements celebrating the ruling, calling it a victory for Utah families. The last thing Utahns need to worry about when deciding how to grow their family is government interference, said Diane Lewis, Utah Democratic Party Chair. This decision also defies attempts by MAGA Extremists in the Utah Legislature to restrict Utahns constitutional freedoms. Their invasive obsession with controlling peoples healthcare does not represent the people of our state. McCay said he would be asking Gov. Cox and legislative leadership for a special session of Utah lawmakers to shorten Utahs abortion ban from 18 weeks to six weeks matching other states with strict abortion bans such as Florida and Iowa. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch) The Utah Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday morning that upheld an injunction blocking enforcement of a 2020 trigger law that bans nearly all abortions across the state. The 4-1 opinion from the Utah Supreme Court which is comprised of three women and two men affirmed a district courts decision to enjoin the enforcement of the ban while Planned Parenthood of Utah and the state continue to litigate the constitutionality of the law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Associate Chief Justice John Pearce authored the opinion, in which Justice Paige Petersen, Justice Diana Hagen and Justice Jill Pohlman joined. The district court did not err when it concluded that (Planned Parenthood of Utah) had raised serious issues about the constitutionality of SB174, Pearce wrote in the prevailing opinion. The court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that (Planned Parenthood of Utah) and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the injunction. Likewise, Pearce continues, the court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that the balance of harms tipped in favor of enjoining SB174 while parties litigate its constitutionality. Nor did the court act outside the bounds of its discretion when it concluded that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest. Planned Parenthood Association v. State20240801 Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, however, filed a dissenting opinion. He argued that Planned Parenthood lacked legal standing to request an injunction. While (Planned Parenthood) asserts that the enforcement of SB174 would cause it to suffer various economic and reputational injuries, none of the arguments in its complaint or request for a preliminary injunction rely on those injuries, Durrant wrote in his dissenting opinion. (Planned Parenthoods) arguments instead are premised on the harms SB174s enforcement would cause to the rights and interests of PPAUs patients. As the majority agrees, PPAU must show that it has standing to assert these claims on its patients behalf. While the district court concluded that Planned Parenthood had standing to assert those claims based on legal precedent establishing public interest, the majority now affirms that decision on different grounds, holding that (Planned Parenthood) may assert these claims based on the concept of third-party standing I respectfully disagree with both conclusions, Durrant wrote. Durrant also argued he would reject Planned Parenthoods legal standing for an injunction for another reason and he warned the court is risking a dangerous expansion of legal standing. The difficulties that (Planned Parenthoods) patients face are genuine, but they are not that different from those faced by many others who wish to challenge a laws constitutionality, he wrote. Appellate litigation is undoubtedly too expensive, inconvenient, and time-consuming. But if these factors alone are enough to justify the exercise of third-party standing, then we risk a dangerous expansion of that doctrine. The ruling immediately reverberated across the state. Democrats and Planned Parenthood representatives celebrated, while Republicans and anti-abortion advocates expressed disappointment. At least one Republican lawmaker said he will ask the Legislature for a special session to restrict Utahs current 18-week abortion law while court battles over the trigger law continue to play out. Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, is joined by anti-abortion advocates Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, Merrilee Boyack, president of the Abortion-Free Utah Coalition, and Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, for a news conference following a ruling by the Utah Supreme Court that for now leaves in place an injunction on the states near-total abortion ban on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch) Deep disappointment from Utahs Republican leaders The reaction from the Utah Supreme Courts ruling was swift and scathing. It may also prompt Utahs Republican-supermajority Legislature to hold a special session to further restrict Utahs existing ban on abortions after 18 weeks of gestation. Hours after the court issued its ruling, the sponsor of the trigger law, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, called the decision extremely disappointing. He said letting the injunction stand will mean the unborn, the innocent will lose their lives today because of these actions. He also told reporters he plans to request a special legislative session by the end of the year to further restrict Utahs current 18-week ban while the courts continue to hash out the more sweeping trigger law that would ban almost all abortions, with some exceptions for rape, incest and certain health issues. Were going to look at making it much shorter, he said, pointing to other states like Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Iowa that ban abortions past about six weeks of gestation. Other Republican leaders including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz expressed deep disappointment in the ruling though they did not immediately say whether they would indeed support McCays proposal or agree to call a special session. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss options with Sen. McCay, lawmakers and the governor to determine the next steps, Adams, R-Layton, said in a statement to Utah News Dispatch. In response to questions about McCays request for a special session, Cox said in a statement to the Dispatch, We are still reviewing the opinion and will be having discussions with the attorney generals office and legislative leadership regarding every possible option to determine the best way to proceed to protect our most vulnerable. While disappointed, the governor said in a separate prepared statement, We are hopeful that this decision will be a temporary setback and the laws will take effect following resolution of the case. He also expressed gratitude for the states current 18-week ban, and added, regardless of this outcome, our administration will continue to fight for all Utahns, including the unborn. Adams and Schultz, in a joint statement, went a step further, and accused the Utah Supreme Court of undermining the constitutional authority of the Legislature to enact laws. Its the second ruling from the Utah Supreme Court in less than a month that Utahs Republican legislative leaders have criticized. On July 10, the court handed a major win to plaintiffs in an anti-gerrymandering lawsuit a decision that the Senate president and House speaker said made a new law for voter initiative power, creating chaos and striking at the very heart of our republic. Asked if legislators planned to act in any way to respond to the courts ruling in the redistricting case, Adams told Utah News Dispatch theyd evaluate. House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, who has sponsored more recent anti-abortion legislative efforts, said its deeply unfortunate that Utahs strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision, resulting in deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state. We are consulting with our legal counsel on next steps for the litigation and are confident that we will ultimately prevail on the merits of the case. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, wrote in a post on X that he was deeply appalled by the decision, and he went as far as to deem the Utah Supreme Court an activist court. This ruling stretches the bounds of judicial interpretation, disregarding the historical context and intent of our states framers, Teuscher wrote. For over a century, Utah has upheld laws that protect the sanctity of life and reflect our communitys values. The framers of the Utah Constitution never intended to enshrine a right to abortion, and this decision undermines the clear historical stance our state has taken on this issue. Teuscher said that since the injunction was put in place, thousands of pre-born babies have been terminated. This court has perpetuated this travesty, allowing innocent lives to be lost, he continued. We must stand firm in preserving the rights of the unborn. Utahs history has consistently aimed to protect life, and it is disheartening to see this legacy disregarded by an activist court stretching to reach its opinion. Democrats, Planned Parenthood celebrate Meanwhile, Democrats and Planned Parenthood representatives celebrated the decision, characterizing it as a win for womens rights and reproductive health, and one that acted as a check to Utahs Republican-controlled Legislature. However, they also acknowledged the battle over access to abortion in Utah is not over. Todays decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah, Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Utah said in a prepared statement. While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over. Boyd told reporters Thursday afternoon the ruling was one step as the issue makes its way through the courts. While she said she cant predict how the case will ultimately play out, we will continue to litigate this issue. We will continue to fight, she said. Honestly, this is a battle. I dont want to say (lawmakers) are waging war against the people of this state, but in a sense they are. They are restricting peoples ability to live their lives the way they want to live their lives. Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (left), and Lisa Petersen, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, speak to reporters during a virtual press conference on Aug. 1, 2024. (Screenshot by Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch) Boyd said the ruling indicates the court considers it a serious question whether the near-total abortion ban violates Utahns rights in the constitution. That includes the right to bodily autonomy, bodily integrity, the right to care for ones family, and the right to gender equality. While the court did not decide at this procedural stage whether the ban violates those rights, it did reject the states argument that the Utah Constitution must allow Utah to ban abortion, she said. In effect, she said the ruling highlighted the harms the near-total abortion ban would cause to Utahns who seek abortion and to those medical providers who care for them. Camila Vega, staff attorney for Planned Parenthood, said she disagreed with Durrants dissenting opinion and the court majority got it right. That is what all of the case law in Utah tells us, it is what the U.S. Supreme Court case law tells us, Vega said. This is not something that should be up for debate. Boyd also emphasized that Planned Parenthood of Utah is a health care provider providing essential services to the people of Utah all across this state for reproductive health, not just abortions. Boyd said Planned Parenthood of Utah looks forward to this unconstitutional law being permanently struck down so that we can continue to provide quality, affordable health care to Utahns, free from political interference. Utah House and Senate Democrats issued statements applauding the courts decision. By preventing the immediate enforcement of SB174, the court has recognized the potential irreparable harm that this law could inflict on individuals seeking reproductive healthcare, Senate Democrats said in a prepared statement. We believe that healthcare decisions should be made by individuals in consultation with their healthcare providers, free from undue government interference. As this case moves forward, we hope that the lower courts will thoroughly consider the constitutional issues at stake and continue to protect the rights and well-being of Utahns. House Democrats said the ruling ensures that essential healthcare services remain accessible. Across the country, we have seen the devastating impact of aggressive abortion bans on women. Today, Utah avoids joining those statistics, House Democrats said. As the lower courts review this law, we urge our colleagues and the judiciary to continue considering the harmful impact this ban would have on the health and well-being of Utahns. Where does Utahs abortion law stand now? The ruling in Planned Parenthood of Utahs lawsuit with the state of Utah is a major development in litigation thats gone on for more than four years as the states Republican supermajority Legislature has sought to restrict access to abortion and protect the unborn. Their effort was emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which removed the federal constitutional right to an abortion. In hopes that Roe v. Wade would eventually be overturned, the 2020 Utah Legislature passed SB174, known as a trigger law that banned nearly all abortions at any stage of pregnancy, except in certain circumstances. Those include cases of rape or incest, if the mothers health is seriously at risk, or if two maternal fetal medicine physicians agree the fetus has a lethal birth defect or a severe brain abnormality. When Roe v. Wade was indeed overturned in 2022, Utahs trigger ban then became law but only briefly before it was put on hold by a legal challenge from Planned Parenthood, which successfully sought an injunction from a district court. Since then, abortions have remained legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of most pregnancies under a 2019 law. That status will remain while the lawsuit over the near-total trigger abortion ban winds its way through the courts. What if the Utah Legislature restricts 18-week law to 6 weeks? In response to that possibility, Boyd told reporters shes not surprised, but Planned Parenthood will wait for anything new to develop as we continue to litigate our case. Should something new develop, well be right there, well be ready to go. Asked whether additional legal challenges to any new laws would be wrapped into the current case over the trigger law, Vega said that would depend on what lawmakers do. Well keep all of our tools in our tool kit, but we have to see what that looks like if it does come to pass, she said. If the Utah Legislature were to restrict Utahs current 18-week law to six weeks, Boyd said it would further harm Utah women seeking abortions. That limits the ability for a woman to seek the care that she desires. We know that abortion bans cause harm, she said, pointing to studies released since the Dobbs decision that indicates increased maternal and infant mortality rates. A six-week ban would likely restrict abortions for women before many even realize that theyre pregnant, Boyd said, or could lead them to feeling rushed to make a decision about how to proceed. It could also force more Utahns to travel out of the state to seek an abortion or further restrict people who may travel to Utah for abortion care. Regardless of what the Utah Legislature decides to do, Boyd said were not going to back down. If they want to pass a new ban, if they want to create more hardship for the people of Utah, were going to be here to help fight for the people who cant, she said. Were committed to health equity. Well be bold and unapologetic, and we will make sure that everyone has, to the best of our ability, the power to control their own bodies, their lives and their futures. Utah abortion statistics Here are some facts about how often abortions take place in Utah, according to the most recent state data published by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services: In 2021, the total number of abortions performed in Utah was 3,127 and the number of abortions performed for Utah residents was 2,978. The highest ratio of abortions per 1,000 births in 2021 was in Salt Lake County, with a ratio of 109.7 abortions per 1,000 births. The lowest reported was in the states southwest health district with a ratio of 11.6 per 1,000 births. In 2021 the most common reasons for their abortion that patients reported were socio-economic (1,473), elective (925), or contraception failure (447). These three total 2,845 of the 2,976 reasons for women living in Utah to have an abortion. Almost half of abortions sought by Utah residents in 2021 were conducted between five and six weeks of gestation (1,310), while 834 were conducted between seven and eight weeks of gestation. Contributing: Alixel Cabrera DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST FILE - The Utah Supreme Court listens to oral arguments involving Utah's abortion trigger law, on Aug. 8, 2023, in Salt Lake City. A near-total abortion ban will remain on hold in Utah after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A near-total abortion ban will remain on hold in Utah after the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law should remain blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality. Democrats cheered the decision, which means that abortion will, at least for now, remain legal up to 18 weeks under another state law that has served as a fallback as abortion rights have been thrown into limbo. The panel wrote in its opinion that the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah had legal standing to challenge the state's abortion trigger law, and that a lower court acted within its purview when it initially blocked the ban. Their ruling only affects whether the restrictions remain on pause amid further legal proceedings and does not decide the final outcome of abortion policy in the state. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to determine whether the law is constitutional. The trigger law that remains on hold would prohibit abortions except in cases when the mothers life is at risk or there is a fatal fetal abnormality. A separate state law passed last year also allows abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest. Utah lawmakers passed the trigger law one of the most restrictive in the nation in 2020 to automatically ban most abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. When Roe fell in June 2022, abortion rights advocates in Utah immediately challenged the law, and a district court judge put it on hold a few days later. Kathryn Boyd, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, celebrated the ruling Thursday and said she hopes the lower court will ultimately strike down the trigger law so they can continue serving patients without political interference. Todays decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential reproductive services right here in Utah, Boyd said. While we celebrate this win, we know the fight is not over. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he was disappointed by the court further delaying the laws implementation, but hopes it will only be a temporary setback. Sen. Dan McKay, the sponsor of the trigger law, told reporters Thursday after the ruling that the Legislature will likely seek to bring down the existing 18-week limit to a six-week limit as a short term solution while the trigger law is tied up in litigation. A special legislative session on abortion is a possibility this year, he said. In a joint statement, Utahs Republican legislative leaders, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, accused the state Supreme Court of undermining the Legislatures constitutional authority to enact laws for the people of Utah. Several other Republicans who had worked to pass the law, including Rep. Karianne Lisonbee of Davis County, criticized the court for keeping it on hold. Its deeply unfortunate that Utahs strong pro-life law continues to be tied up in litigation more than two years after the Dobbs decision, resulting in the deaths of thousands of unborn babies in our state," Lisonbee said. Meanwhile, House Democrats praised the decision and urged their district court colleagues who will be reviewing the law to consider how it could jeopardize the health and well-being of Utah residents. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision, most Republican-led states have implemented abortion bans or heavy restrictions. Currently, 14 states are enforcing bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks of pregnancy before many women realize theyre pregnant. Besides Utahs, the only other ban currently on hold due to a court order is in neighboring Wyoming. When the U.S. Supreme Court determined there was no right to abortion in the federal Constitution, a key legal question became whether state constitutions have provisions that protect abortion access. State constitutions differ, and state courts have come to different conclusions. In April, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an abortion ban adopted in 1864 could be enforced but lawmakers quickly repealed it. Abortion figures to be a major issue in Novembers elections, with abortion-related ballot measures going before voters in at least six states. In the seven statewide measures held since Roe was overturned, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates each time. David Salazar speaks to media in this file photo when he previously worked for Milwaukee Police Department. He resigned from UW-Milwaukee Police Department on Thursday. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police chief resigned Thursday in an explosive letter that lobbed multiple criticisms at his former employer. UW-Milwaukee placed Chief David Salazar on administrative leave in late April for reasons that are still unclear. In his resignation letter, the former chief accused UWM of failing to address antisemitism on campus, conducting a biased investigation against him and failing to investigate others in the department he led. UWM disputed the allegations in Salazar's resignation letter, which was shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other media outlets. The university said it was "deeply disappointed" to learn of his resignation through news reports and his lodging of "false accusations against the institution and its employees to deflect against his own misdeeds." A UWM spokesperson said Salazar was the subject of a misconduct investigation that began in March and was in its final stages when "he resigned publicly and attacked the university in anticipation of the investigations outcome." The Journal Sentinel requested records on the investigation. UWM has not released the records. Under state law, it must notify the subject of a public records request in this case, Salazar of the request and allow him the opportunity to block the records release in court. UWM said in a statement Salazar's allegations were "gross misstatements and contrary to any facts." In Salazar's resignation letter, he said he was falsely accused of violating UWM's consensual relationship policy for allegedly surveilling a female police department employee. He said the investigation cleared him but UWM ignored evidence of "gross incompetence and false statements by members of the UWM Police Department" he presented during that investigation. Only after Salazar said he elevated the evidence to UW System President Jay Rothman did UWM open an investigation, he said. Then he said UWM on July 19 opened another investigation into him for possible code of conduct violations. "Despite my full cooperation, it has become obvious that the investigative process is corrupted, and the outcome is preordained," Salazar wrote. Salazar's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for the records referenced in Salazar's resignation letter. He also said in his letter UWM leaders were "reluctant" to address antisemitic incidents on campus this spring and divided over whether an April 19 incident was antisemitic. Hillel Milwaukee, a Jewish student organization, organized an Israeli "shuk," or outdoor market, to celebrate Israeli culture and food. Pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded Jewish students at the April 19 event in a manner one Jewish student later described as "terrifying." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee Police Chief David Salazar resigns KANSAS CITY, Mo. President Biden signed a law into legislation yesterday to name the VA outpatient clinic in Kansas City, Kan. after Captian Elwin Al Shopteese. The law was sponsored by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). There is no one more deserving of this honor than Captain Shopteese, said Sen. Marshall. His service to our nation exemplifies servant leadership and will be memorialized for generations to come. I am glad to see the President sign our legislation into law and am honored to have been a part of this project. Elwin Shopteese was originally from Mayetta, Kan., which is about 30 minutes north of Topeka on Highway 75. Shopteese was born in Mayetta on July 16, 1921, and was a member of the Prarie Band Potawatomi Nation. Shopteese immediately enlisted in the Kansas National Guard upon graduating from high school and became a member of Company E, 137th Infantry Regiment. Shopteese and his company were involved in several battles in various parts of the European theatre of World War II, most notably the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. Murder charges filed in 1985 Missouri cold case Shopteese received a battlefield commission for his combat leadership at Omaha Beach, as well as a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service in World War II. After the war, Shopteese returned to Kansas, attending Haskell University in 1946 before continuing his service in the Korean War. After returning from war once again, Shopteese committed himself to serving his fellow Native Americans and the Potawatomi nation. Shopteese was a Tribal Council member and was directly involved in the creation of the Indian Community Alcoholism Resources Expeditors (I.C.A.R.E.) Recovery Home. He served as the executive director of this resource and recovery home until he died in 1992. Captain Shopteeses legacy of service to our country and the Native American community will be forever honored and preserved for all who come through the doors of the Captain Elwin Shopteese VA Clinic, said Sen. Moran. I am pleased the President has signed this legislation to honor a Kansas veteran who dedicated his life to his country and his community. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Van shot while driving on Business 85 in Spartanburg Co.: report SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) Deputies are investigating an apparent road rage shooting along Business 85 in Spartanburg County. According to a report from the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office, a man reported that a passing motorist shot his work van while driving on Business 85 near Hearon Circle. The victim said the driver of a white Honda Accord with a North Carolina license plate pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the side of his van, the report stated. The man told deputies that he may have upset the driver by cutting him off as they tried to pass him on the right. The Honda Accord then reportedly got off the highway at exit 4 while the victim continued home before calling the sheriffs office. Deputies found a single bullet hole on the right sliding cargo door of the van. No injuries were reported in the shooting. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. By Go Nakamura and Ted Hesson HEREFORD, Arizona (Reuters) - Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for illegal immigration during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on Thursday and claimed that migrants were overwhelming U.S. schools and hospitals. Vance, speaking in front of the border wall in the town of Hereford, called Harris a failed "border czar" and said she should have worked with U.S. agencies to deal with illegal crossings, even though Harris was tasked with a narrower role of addressing migration from Northern Central America. "Kamala Harris as border czar was asked to coordinate all these functions in government and she's done nothing," he said. Republicans have tried to hold Harris responsible for high levels of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden, a Democrat who dropped his presidential bid last month. Biden's exit paved the way for Harris to become the likely nominee. Harris has responded by emphasizing her support for a bipartisan U.S. Senate border security bill introduced earlier this year. Republicans rejected the bill after Trump came out in opposition. "Donald Trump does not care about border security," Harris said during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday. "He only cares about himself." While the number of migrants caught illegally crossing the border soared to record levels under Biden, they have plummeted since Biden issued new border restrictions in June. U.S. Border Patrol caught around 57,000 migrants crossing illegally in July, two U.S. officials told Reuters, the lowest monthly total since September 2020 when Trump was still president. Vance, a Republican U.S. senator from Ohio who often speaks of his childhood exposure to drug addiction, said Harris' policies had allowed fentanyl to enter the U.S. although most convicted fentanyl traffickers in recent years were U.S. citizens. Vance said American children "feel overwhelmed with migrant children who shouldn't be there" and that hospital wait times "have exploded" because migrants are seeking healthcare. The Trump campaign did not immediately provide supporting evidence for either assertion. "The human toll of this is the thing that we cannot forget," Vance said. (Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Go Nakamura in Hereford, Arizona; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis) Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the GOP nominee for vice president, defended his running mates attacks Wednesday on Vice President Harriss biracial heritage, calling the reaction hysterical and comparing Harris to a chameleon. Vance was asked by reporters traveling aboard his campaign plane about former President Trumps comments earlier in the day in which he mocked Harriss heritage and falsely claimed the vice president became a Black person. I frankly just think its hysterical how much the media is overreacting to it, Vance said while traveling to a campaign rally in Arizona. The President doesnt do scripted BS stuff. He actually goes into hostile audiences, he answers tough questions, he pushes back against them, but he actually answers them and how nice it is to have an American leader whos not afraid to go into hostile places and actually answer some tough questions, Vance continued. So what he said, I thought it was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris, Vance said. Shes flip flopped on every issue. Shes fake. Shes phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride. NOTUS first reported on Vances comments. Trump earlier Wednesday sat for an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, where he was asked about claims from other Republicans that Harris was only elevated to the top of the Democratic ticket because of her race and gender. Ive known her a long time indirectly. Not directly very much, Trump said. She was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian, or is she Black, he continued. She has always identified as a Black woman, ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott interjected. But you know what, I respect either one. But she obviously doesnt. Because she was Indian all the way then all of a sudden she made a turn. And she became a Black person. And I think somebody should look into that, Trump said. Harris is Indian American and African American. Her mother emigrated to the United States from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica. She also attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Wednesdays remarks were not the first time Trump or his allies have attacked Harris biracial background. Donald Trump Jr. in 2019 shared and later deleted a tweet from a right-wing account that claimed Harris was not an American Black. Trump himself in 2020 floated the false theory that Harris might not be eligible to serve as vice president because her parents were immigrants. He was also a leading proponent of the false conspiracy theory that former President Obama was not born in the United States. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) criticized the Biden administration over the plea deal it struck with three prisoners accused of helping to plan the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Just today, I heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice cut a deal with al Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. It was reported today, Vance, former President Trumps running mate on the GOP ticket, told the crowd Wednesday during a campaign rally in Glendale, Ariz. Now as someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that is ridiculous, but its not surprising. Now just think about the point that weve gotten to. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris have weaponized the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but theyre cutting a sweetheart deal with 9/11 terrorists, he continued. We need a president who kills terrorists, not negotiates with them. The agreement was reached between Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi on Wednesday, the Defense Department announced in a release. The three of them were charged jointly, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi bin al-Shibh in 2008 and again in 2012 for their alleged roles in the attacks on 9/11. Nearly 3,000 people were killed after the terrorist group al Qaeda hijacked two planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The Pentagon did not provide further information about the details of the deal. The New York Times reported that the three of them will receive a life sentence, but that the possibility of the death penalty is off the table. The reported plea deal received criticism from other Republicans as well, including Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). The Biden-Harris Administration has done the unthinkable: theyve agreed to a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, and two of his accomplices, Johnson wrote in a post on social platform X. McConnell echoed the sentiment, calling the decision cowardice. The Biden-Harris Administrations cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace, he wrote on X. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the governments responsibility to defend America and provide justice. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday that the White House had no involvement in the plea deal. The White House learned yesterday that the Convening Authority for Military Commissions made the independent decision to enter into pretrial agreements, negotiated by military prosecutors, with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other 9/11 defendants. The President and the White House played no role in this process. The President has directed his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter, Savett said. President Biden has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since taking office, and he has directed the U.S. government to take action to protect the American people from terrorism time and again as we continue to work both unilaterally and with our partners to disrupt and degrade terrorist networks around the world, he continued. Updated at 11:42 a.m. EDT Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) suggested Thursday that fear of a second Trump administration motivated Russia to agree to the historic prisoner swap with the U.S. Vance, former President Trumps 2024 running mate, called the prisoner exchange great news in an interview with CNN. We certainly want these Americans to come back home. It was ridiculous that they were in prison to begin with, Vance said. But we have to ask ourselves: Why are they coming home? And I think its because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trumps about to be back in office, so theyre cleaning house, he said. Thats a good thing, and I think its a testament to Donald Trumps strength. The prisoner swap, which involved seven countries, was the largest prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia since the end of the Cold War. President Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about Vances remarks during a White House briefing Thursday. I dont follow, he said, before moving to the next question. 5 things to know about the major US-Russia prisoner swap More than two dozen prisoners were part of the swap, according to the Turkish presidential office, which helped facilitate the exchange. The prisoners were released from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus. Among those freed by Russia were Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Biden confirmed in a statement. Others freed include Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident and prominent Russian opposition politician. Allies of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny are reportedly included, as well. What historic prisoner swap means for US-Russia relations The prisoners freed by the West included Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin, according to Turkey. A reporter asked President Biden on Thursday about Trump previously saying he would have gotten hostages out without giving anything in exchange. Why didnt he do it when he was president? Biden replied. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Update: Police said the roadway should be clear. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) A vehicle on fire is causing traffic delays and congestion on Interstate 26 in North Charleston Wednesday afternoon. The fire is near the I-26/I-526 interchange, where the roadway splits off towards Mount Pleasant at exit 212C. Witnesses say North Charleston Fire and law enforcement crews are on the scene assisting with the incident. North Charleston Police said there are no reports of injuries. News 2 has reached out to police for additional information. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at a press conference in the Miraflores presidential palace three days after his controversial re-election. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa The power struggle following the disputed presidential election in Venezuela has become more heated. Authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro said that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, belong in prison. "As a citizen, I say: These people should be behind bars," Maduro told journalists in Caracas on Wednesday. The opposition maintains that it won Sunday's election, in which Maduro was declared the winner despite allegations of fraud. The US is demanding that the electoral authorities make the lists of the votes cast public. Maduro has promised to audit the results of the election. But the country's Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which could ultimately have the final say, is seen as deeply loyal to his government. Maduro labelled Machado and Gonzalez criminals and cowards, and tried to pin the blame for the violent protests that followed the election on the opposition. According to non-governmental organizations in Venezuela, at least 11 people died in the riots. Human Rights Watch sid it had received reports that as many as 20 people had died so far. According to the Attorney General's Office, more than 1,000 people have been arrested. The opposition blames the government for the protests. "After the clear electoral victory that we Venezuelans have won, the regime's response is murder, kidnapping and persecution. These crimes will not go unpunished," Machado wrote on Platform X. Meanwhile the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) wants the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Maduro. "It is time for justice," Luis Almagro said on Wednesday at an emergency meeting of the organization in Washington. Before the election, Maduro had warned of bloodshed and civil war in the South American country if he was not re-elected for a third term. Almagro claimed that Maduro was now carrying out that "bloodbath." "It is time to press charges and request an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against the main perpetrators, including Maduro," Almagro wrote on Platform X. "We will request this indictment with an arrest warrant," he said at the Washington meeting. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating Maduro's government for alleged crimes against humanity in the country. The government in Caracas rejects the accusations. The emergency meeting of the OAS saw the organization's Permanent Council unable to reach a common position on the situation in Venezuela. A resolution calling for the publication of detailed election results and a guarantee of freedom of assembly failed to gain majority support. Seventeen member states voted in favour of the draft, 11 abstained and five other countries did not send a representative to the meeting. Maduro's government unilaterally withdrew from the OAS several years ago, and accused it of being in the service of "imperialism." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a small copy of the constitution at a press conference in the Miraflores presidential palace three days after his controversial re-election. Jeampier Arguinzones/dpa Members of the Venezuelan community living in Central Florida are calling for free and fair elections in the South American country. Hundreds of people rallied Wednesday night in Melbourne. It comes after President Nicolas Maduro remained in power after an election that drew widespread criticism. Read: Venezuelas Maduro asks top court to audit the presidential election, but observers cry foul The main goal of the rally was to support freedom in Venezuela. We will participate from a distance. To help a little bit. We have to do something. We cannot stay at home sleeping while our people are fighting and dying, said rally organizer Gerard de Sola. Watch: Thousands flock to International Drive to protest crucial Venezuela presidential election The supporters waved signs and banners as they walked along the Melbourne Causeway. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Venezuela's Gonzalez should be recognized as election winner, says top US diplomat (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State For Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols on Wednesday urged Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and foreign governments to acknowledge Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of Sunday's election. Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of American States, Nichols said that the reason Venezuela's electoral authority (CNE) had not yet provided detailed results of the vote was either because it did not want to show Gonzalez's victory or because it needed time to falsify the results. The CNE has declared Maduro the winner of the election, a result that has been derided as implausible by the opposition, independent pollsters and many foreign governments. (Reporting by Sarah Morland) A flood-damaged house is shown Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, on Seymour Lake in Morgan, Vt. Storms dropped more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain on some northeastern areas of Vermont on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, causing another bout of violent flooding. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke) MORGAN, Vt. (AP) Vermonters started removing debris and silt from their houses and yards and pulled out damaged goods from homes on Thursday as crews began the process of repairing roads from the latest bout of violent flooding that came just weeks after more widespread flooding in the state. In Morgan, near the Canadian border, trucks continuously traveled a stretch of closed road delivering dirt and gravel to some heavily damaged roads. The roads with sections washed away were inaccessible by car, leaving some residents stranded. The flooding early Tuesday morning ripped the ground and road away from around Richard and Patty Morley's house and foundation on Seymour Lake, depositing rocks, silt and debris in their yard and covering their dock. Across the road, Toad Pond Road was crumbled and washed away in parts. The water came down Toad Pond Road off the hill, a mile or two up the road, and a lot of headwater pressure coming down and the streams and culverts couldn't handle it and this is where it ends up, said Richard Morley. "It washed out all of this but more importantly it ended up in the lake. That to me is more of an issue." He, his wife and 6-year-old grandson evacuated at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, walking through knee-deep rushing water after neighbors who live across the road arrived to help them leave. The small town got over 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in about three hours, overwhelming roads and cutting out some home foundations, said Bruce Remick, a town selectboard member. The flooding caused a tremendous amount of damage to state and town roads, he said. Gov. Phil Scott said at a news conference Wednesday that the latest storms to hit the state have undone much of the cleanup and recovery work from its last major bout of flooding only weeks ago, and he called on residents to stick together. This time, its especially bad after workers spent the past three weeks working furiously to recover from the last flooding, Scott said. It feels much worse than a punch or a kick. Its simply demoralizing. But we cant give up. Weve got to stick together and fight back against the feeling of defeat. State officials said preliminary information indicated that 50 homes were destroyed or suffered significant damage. More than half a dozen roads were closed, a lightning strike knocked out water for part of the town of St. Johnsbury, and flooding had contaminated several wells that serve the village of Lyndonville. In Washington, Democratic U.S. Sen. Peter Welch asked Congress to pass a supplemental disaster aid package. We cant recover without that federal help, he said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday night. I just cant stress this enough. We need Congress to step up. And we need the help of all of us here because well, its Vermont this time, it may be New Hampshire next time. It may be Texas next month. And I believe all of us have to help one another when an event occurs causing such harm to people we represent. And its through no fault of their own." Vermont experienced major flooding earlier in July caused by what was left of Hurricane Beryl. The flooding destroyed roads and bridges and inundated farms, and it came exactly a year after a previous bout of severe flooding hit Vermont and several other states. ___ McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Kamala Harris new presidential campaign views North Carolina not just as a potential bonus prize on the electoral map this fall, but the possible linchpin in her path to victory against her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. Democrats started spending money early on in a state they insisted they could win in the presidential contest. Now senior campaign advisers tell McClatchy that Harris replacement of President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee has not only scrambled the race, but the map as well, raising the odds that Americans will be waiting Election Night on the results from North Carolina and Arizona not just Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to learn who has won the White House. A senior campaign official said that North Carolina Gov. Roy Coopers decision on Monday night, publicly withdrawing himself from consideration to join the ticket as Harris vice president, had no impact on the calculus driving their strategy in the state. That strategy, officials said, has been fueled instead by internal data focused on the kinds of new voters moving into the state, modeling the electorate and their propensity to vote, and examining special election and off-year election results data that holds regardless of Coopers choice and that campaign officials believe is far more predictive than head-to-head polling conducted months in advance. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives for a rally during a campaign stop at Westover High School on Thursday, July 18, 2024 in Fayetteville, N.C. And all of that data is telling Harris advisers that North Carolinas fast-changing electorate will make for a very competitive race in November, the official added. I dont really view it as a Blue Wall path, or a Southern path, or a Western path. I dont think thats how people should think about this. There are seven or-so states, all of which have been extremely close cycle after cycle, Dan Kanninen, battleground state director for the Harris campaign, said in an interview. Theyve been effectively toss-ups, Kanninen added. So I think all seven of those are gonna be close. The difference is, we have built an infrastructure designed to win a close race. The Trump campaign has not. DATA DRIVING CONFIDENCE The Biden campaign now transformed into the Harris campaign has made frequent stops in North Carolina. Harris will make her eighth visit of the year and her first as a presidential candidate to the state next week, and will bring her yet-to-be-announced running mate to Raleigh with her. On paper, Harris faces an uphill battle in a state that has gone for a Democratic candidate for president only twice in the last 50 years: for Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Barack Obama in 2008. Since the last presidential election, North Carolina Republicans have grown their registration numbers by 156,000, while Democrats have shed 126,000 registrants, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections numbers that on their face appear to challenge Harris in her quest to exceed Bidens 2020 performance, when he lost the state to Trump by 1.3% of the vote, or 74,000 votes, his narrowest loss that year. That is just the continuation of a long trend that began in 2016, when Democrats held a voter advantage of nearly 645,000 over Republicans, said Matt Mercer, communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party. If you want to talk about the impact that Donald Trump has had in North Carolina, Mercer said, its Democrats shedding half a million voters to either Republicans or unaffiliated voters. That is a stark repudiation of a party that essentially controlled North Carolina for a century. But the Harris campaign told McClatchy and N&O their data indicates voter trends across the state are working in their favor, with 57% of newly registered voters in North Carolina since 2020 being millennial age or younger, 34% identifying as Black, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander, and 38.7% being registered as unaffiliated with either party three cohorts that are increasingly breaking for Harris in their polling. Campaign leadership is drilling down at the county level on which districts saw Nikki Haley Trumps strongest and most moderate challenger in the Republican primary overperform her statewide total, with 25% or more of the GOP vote, including in New Hanover, typically seen as a state bellwether, and Union, an historically conservative area. Even still, Kanninen said registration numbers dont necessarily predict the electorate that will show up in the fall, noting the campaign is planning an aggressive push to maximize the states one-stop voting system, where residents can turn up at a polling site both to register and vote at the same time. What I will tell you is that the on-the-ground enthusiasm that we see in North Carolina has been incredibly strong maybe historic in the past week, and weve had a campaign thats been built to capitalize that, in a way the Trump campaign has simply been absent, Kanninen said. He pointed to a gathering to train volunteers in Greenville days after Harris entered the race that drew nearly 100 people a relatively sizable crowd in a small city that surprised the campaign. While both Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, and Biden both ultimately invested in North Carolina, neither did so until much later in the election cycle, Kanninen noted, placing those campaigns further behind in building the infrastructure he said would be needed to win. The Biden-Harris campaign has been investing in the state since February. Building out early has allowed the campaign to reach out to a key voting bloc rural Black voters earlier than they would have otherwise, and also begin their effort to cut the margins of Trumps support among moderate Republicans and middle partisans in rural counties, Kanninen said. We put into place infrastructure early leadership teams on the ground in February and March, building robust teams throughout the spring, now to the point of having 150 staff in North Carolina that will get much, much bigger before the end of the summer, Kanninen said. Were at scale, and building to a greater scale, so that when people start paying much closer attention after the convention and beyond, well have the people, the resources, the volunteers to capitalize on that and drive it, which really matters in a close race. ROBINSON MADE POSSIBLE BY TRUMP Confident that the data supports a potential victory, Harris campaign has settled on a clear strategy in the state: tying Trump to the Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. North Carolinians have a long history of ticket-splitting, choosing candidates of different parties down ballot. But Kanninen argued that Robinson was a creature of Trumps making, indelibly tied to the former president. I dont think its a one-off that Mark Robinson exists in a vacuum from Donald Trump. I think he is made possible by Donald Trump, Kanninen said. Donald Trump endorsed him, and vice versa. He spoke at the convention, Kanninen added. And I think theres no escaping the fact that the sort of politics you see from Robinson looks, feels and sounds just like Donald Trump. And I think that will be on the ballot. The Harris campaign believes that Robinsons record calling LGBTQ+ Americans filth, stating he would not compromise on abortion restrictions and quoting Hitler on social media will prove toxic to moderate Republicans, Republican women and independents, recreating the coalition that challenged Trump and supported Haley in the GOP primary. Those voters are really turned off by that sort of toxic MAGA rhetoric, and Mark Robinson is a direct throughline to Donald Trump. They see that as a sort of MAGA ticket, so to speak, Kanninen said. I think that is a winning playbook for people who are new to the state, but do not ascribe to those kinds of politics. Mercer said the state Republican Party is prepared for the attacks. Its a campaign, right? Both sides do their best to work to define their opponent, he said. But the Trump campaign does appear to be taking threats to its hold on North Carolina seriously, taking out a television ad buy in the state starting Thursday. I think youre always looking at solidifying your position, Mercer said of the ad buy, and, despite having a strong position, you dont want to get complacent, either. So its treating it with the appropriate levels of concern. Neither side is expressing exuberant confidence. Kanninen, for his part, acknowledged the race for the state would come down to the wire. Theres some political gravity that I think is true in a place like North Carolina, or in some of the other core battlegrounds, he added. Theyve been really close races, theyre destined to be really close races. McClatchyDC reporter David Catanese contributed reporting. Its very dire. After months of agonizing, Franklin Co. votes on failing 911 system fix The decision came down to the wire, but Franklin County agreed to ask voters in November to approve a sales tax increase to fix its deteriorating 911 system. The cost of upgrades is expected to be $17 million to $20 million, plus several million more each year in licensing and maintenance expenses. The higher end of the cost range also will fix a problem with radio dead spots in the county in areas like Kahlotus and in buildings in urban areas where firefighters and law enforcement cant radio for help. If the county were to try to finance just its portion with Motorola, without adding the additional equipment for dead spots in urban areas, it would be looking at about $3.5 million a year in payments. Motorola is expected to bring forward an engineering proposal with firmer numbers by the end of August. Franklin Countys legal team presented eight sales tax levy options for commissioners to consider Wednesday after Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the board last week county attorneys needed direction as soon as possible. Tuesday, Aug. 6, is the deadline to file a November ballot item. They chose their own No. 10 proposal, instead. Finding a number After failing to get a second from one of the other commissioners on the option to levy a 0.2 cents sales tax with no sunset, Commissioner Stephen Bauman suggested a new option of levying a sales tax of 0.2 cents with it automatically cutting back to half that amount in 5 years. That proposal also died when he couldnt get a second commissioner to support it. A 0.2 cents, or 2/10ths of a penny, sales tax increase is 2 cents on a $10 purchase. Its the same amount Pasco approved in 2022 to pay for its aquatic center. Commissioner Clint Didier seemed to be in favor of a 0.1 cent sales tax levy, which Benton County Emergency Services Director Jay Atwood said might cover the minimum $3.5 million financing costs. Atwood noted that there will be variation from year to year and the commissioners would need to plan to cover any gaps. Despite Didier seeming to favor the 0.1 cent option, he never made a motion to vote on it. Atwood said that the decision needed to be made as soon as possible, because radio failure has become a matter of when, not if. He explained that channels on the obsolete VHF system are already showing signs of failure, which means that firefighters and emergency medical crews will have to use a busier channels, which could overcrowd them. Its going to continue to draw down until theres nothing left. What that ends up looking like is we have no radio service for fire and EMS, Atwood said. Its very dire. Chairman Rocky Mullen said he was in favor of taking Baumans suggestion and dropping from 0.2 cents to 0.1 cents after three years instead of five, which would allow them to cover the infrastructure upgrade costs and then have ongoing funding for maintenance. The tax on sales in Franklin County would raise an estimated $21 million over three years and then drop to $3.5 million a year based on current sales predictions. Didier said he was still concerned it wouldnt pass, but told his fellow commissioners he would vote yes as a show of unity. I too am concerned it will not pass, but then again we need a system thats going to fund us, Mullen said. I dont really see any other alternatives. Built with parts from eBay. Tri-Cities leaders rush to replace failing 911 system What were the options? The eight options offered ranged from a 0.1 cent to 0.2 cents collection with different caveats, such as the time limited sunset the tax, a sunset when a certain amount was collected and a time limited reversion to drop down to 0..05 cents after the initial period to raise money for the more expensive replacement costs. Public safety officials have staunchly advocated for the 0.2 cents because it will cover the initial cost and ensure the county isnt kicking the can down the road. Connell Fire Chief Ken Woffendon told the three commissioners last month that there are ongoing considerations that necessitate levying the larger amount. He noted that while there is a large, upfront one-time cost to upgrade the towers and radios, there will be annual ongoing costs as well. He said these annual fees for licensing the frequency would be an insurmountable cost if the county isnt able to help rural areas with them. What will it pay for? All of the fire stations and most of Franklin Countys first responders use radios tied to an obsolete VHF transmission system. This VHF equipment, mounted on communication towers atop mountains and ridges in the area, already has significant coverage problems, and there is concern that they may fail before replacement projects can be completed. For years the Tri-Cities has relied on parts from eBay to maintain the equipment, but even that is no longer available. The planned upgrades would see all Tri-Cities first responders brought onto the newer, digital 800 mhz frequency. That bandwidth is already used by the police agencies, with the exception of the Franklin County Sheriffs Office. That means those agencies would also all need new radios. Under the plan theyre looking at, regular maintenance and upgrade should be included in the annual costs. Benton County is looking at other revenue sources to pay for their portion of the upgrades. While they still have VHF equipment to be replaced, their lift is much lighter because the federal government helped pay for their upgrades because of Hanford site security. Alternative radio system Commissioner Didier previously suggested that Franklin County should look into a company called Everbridge, with the idea that they could use satellite and cell phone frequencies instead of VHF. He said he spoke with an employee of the company while on vacation and was told they could do the job for much less. However, commissioners were told earlier this year that the technology, using satellite services such as Starlink, was still years away from being a viable option. The company in question also does not appear to offer this technology. Everbridge specializes in mass communication notifications during emergencies, not 911 infrastructure. Its E911 services are for routing calls for companies that need mobile solutions, such as their client Loomis. Those systems still rely on traditional 911 infrastructure, but Everbridge helps organize their communications. Its also unclear how, or if, this would integrate with the Tri-Cities 911 communications system, called SECOMM. It would also essentially result in Franklin County fire districts and the sheriffs office being on a completely separate communication mode from other first responders throughout the Tri-Cities. The Democrats new presumptive nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has a tough task before her: In less than one hundred days, she has to rebuild a fractured party while making the case that shes best suited for the top job. The good news is that she doesnt have to do it alone. Theres a deep bench of potential vice-presidential candidates to complement her strengths and counteract her weaknesses. She has a once-in-a-generation shot at choosing an expert communicator and campaigner who can litigate her case quickly and effectively, all while bringing in new voters. She should choose Pete Buttigieg as her running mate. I worked for Barack Obama off and on through both campaigns and his two terms in office. He won the presidencytwicein part because of his ability to raise policy expectations and expand the electorate: mobilizing record participation from young Americans and other communities historically left out of the political process. Thats where, in 2024, Pete Buttigieg comes in. A son of the Midwest, Buttigieg is a former Rust Belt Mayor, polyglot, and Navy veteran, and for the past three and a half years, he has served as secretary of transportation. He has the highest name recognition and favorability of anyone on Vice President Harriss shortlist. In last weeks Marist poll, he was also the top pick for suburban and rural voters (after Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, who says she is not interested in the job). Buttigieg also has a robust, intact fundraising and field network that hauled in $100 million during the last presidential cycle, largely through first-time donors. But heres where things get kicked up a notch: there is no other politician in either party who can effortlessly appear on Fox News and Bill Maher and TMZ Live. Buttigiegs regular media interviews and viral congressional testimonies exemplify what an unafraid, sharply skilled leader he is. We shouldnt underestimate the potential of this. Against manufactured chaos, he outlines policy and dismisses bad-faith questions without absolving his opponents of lessons in moral clarity. One example: Look at his refusal to take the bait onand I feel very stupid as Im typing thisa Fox News question about Marjorie Taylor Greenes views on emasculation tied to electric vehicles. Buttigieg rejects false us-versus-them narratives. Hes respectful. He disarms with a physical smile and an intellectual shiv. Imagine him joining a President Harris for that version of America every day. Now imagine the bluster of J.D. Vance and Donald Trump. Buttigiegs engagement with voters who disagree with him gets results in practice, too. He won the 2020 Iowa caucuses by speaking regularly with moderate and conservative communitieswithout sacrificing his liberal policy positions. He ultimately won sixty-one of ninety-nine counties across the state, including those that flipped from Obama to Trump in the previous general election. This is going to sound like a minor thing, but its not: Hes also up to the job on Inauguration Day. Transportation isnt the sexiest of topics. Behind the scenes, Buttigiegs experience rectifying supply-chain and consumer-protection issuesno, stay with me!is evidence of a set of credentials that matter deeply in a changing world. He has taken on massive corporations, most recently Delta. And he has won. Younger Americans cite economic concerns as top of mind. Buttigieg is young enough to understandand experienced enough to advise onrapid evolution in things like AI and technology. With China and India investing heavily in these arenas, wouldnt it benefit the American worker to have a vice president who gets it? Im not saying the guy is perfect. No candidate is. On the Obama campaigns, plenty of voters were disappointed when proposals fell short of policy in governance. The hard reality is that you really need those sixty votes in the Senate to pass legislation. (Speaking of, it would be a miss to choose a VP candidate who might take away a Senate or governors seat from a Democrat.) There will be no savior with a magic wand this election cycle, either. Some voters dont like that compared with Bernie Sanders, Buttigieg has been more moderate on popular issues like universal college. Others have taken issue with his ties to elite institutions. Its fair to debate those points, though theyre less likely to affect a general election than a primary. We also need to talk about Gaza. The latest Harvard IOP poll showed that support for a permanent ceasefire is 5:1 among all young voters, with majorities sympathizing with both Israeli and Palestinian civilians. As of this writing, thirty-nine thousand peoplemostly civilianshave been killed in Gaza, many with American weapons and all with American support. Would Buttigieg do what a Biden-Harris administration thus far has not? Would he call for conditioning military aid and insist the United States abide by international law? It remains to be seen. That Buttigieg has made limited comments on the catastrophe is not surprising, its outside the scope of his role as secretary of transportation. But as a high-profile Cabinet member and someone on a vice-presidential shortlist, he has a real chance to work with a future President Harris to course-correct an archaic, disastrous foreign policy. It could help alleviate the dire humanitarian conditions of our own making. It could also help with a victory. Seven hundred thousand Democrats voted uncommitted in the primary. One hundred thousand of those votes were in Michigan, a state Biden won only by 140,000 in 2020. The Uncommitted movement has continued to push Vice President Harris on changing policy and winning back their votes in a general election. Thats where Buttigieg could be an asset. He could join progressives and denounce Hamas and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahus tactics; he could vehemently reject the inexcusable rise in anti-Semitism and simultaneously aim to protect free speech on campuses. In demanding accessible humanitarian aid and advocating for the safe return of hostages, there is an opportunity for Buttigieg to lean on his military experience. What is certain is that he is better positioned than any other VP hopeful to rebuild our damaged credibility, given what he does so well as a statesman: He rejects falsely binary positions and crafts narratives (and policy) that reflect multiple simultaneous truths. I am hopeful. Buttigieg is the partys best chance for expanding the electorate and evolving the platform. Hes multilingual. Hes comfortable on the world stage. He is deeply connected to blue-collar voters. He polls exceptionally well. Most important, as a young husband and father of two with a modest home in northern Michigan, he speaks openly about his own familys struggles and triumphs, which mirror what many Americans deal with day to day. That type of empathy doesnt exist across the aisle. The stakes have never been higher. This is an immense generational opportunity for the party, in and out of battleground states. It is a critical moment for American democracy. Vice President Harris should choose Pete Buttigieg because he raises the bar on the conversations we ought to be having on the direction of our country. I hope she does. Its the winning ticket. You Might Also Like Just a few days after Vice President Kamala Harris made her first presidential campaign stop in Georgia, her office has announced shes coming back. The vice presidents office announced that she and her running mate are going on a nationwide battleground state tour starting on Tuesday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Savannah is the fifth stop on that tour. Vice President Harris and her currently-unannounced running mate will visit the coastal Georgia city on Friday afternoon. They will also visit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan; The Research Triangle in North Carolina, Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. She was in Atlanta on Tuesday for a star-studded campaign event. The vice president was joined by Migos rapper Quavo and featured a performance from rapper Megan Thee Stallion. RELATED STORIES: The vice president is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the November general election. She has not formally been offered or accepted the nomination, but is expected to do so at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois later this month. Former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last month. He and vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio will hold a campaign rally in Atlanta on Saturday. ABC News and political experts put together a list of possible running mates who Harris could choose, including: Senator Mark Kelley of Arizona, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. This will mark the vice presidents seventh visit to the Peach State so far this year. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A Victorville man previously acquitted of state level charges after allegedly beating a female sheriff's deputy and shooting at her with her own gun now faces a new federal case. Ari Aki Young, 26, was arrested Wednesday on federal charges stemming from the encounter that took place on Sept. 4, 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They include one count of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of using and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and one count of possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition. The federal complaint was filed July 28. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada speaks about federal charges filed against a Victorville man accused of attacking a sheriff's deputy in Victorville in 2019, along with ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jose Pedro and San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus. The incident The deputy had been summoned to a 911 call from Young's mother who asked to have him removed from the home. "The victim, a female sheriffs deputy who weighed 135 pounds, responded to the call alone," U.S. DOJ spokesman Ciaran McEvoy said in a written statement. The deputy patted Young down to check for weapons, he said. "Young resisted and threatened to headbutt her. Young then forcefully knocked away the deputys baton and began to pummel her in the head and face with his fists." "While being punched in the face and head, the victim un-holstered her weapon and warned that she would shoot," according to McEvoy. Young attempted to grab the weapon and two shots were fired as the the two struggled over the gun, officials said. "After he had the gun, Young stood upright, racked the gun, and pointed it at the deputy as she staggered to her feet, pleaded for her life, and tried to sprint away from him," McEvoy said. "Young then fired a round toward her." Young allegedly fired another shot as other deputies arrived at the scene. They returned fire, wounding him before taking him into custody. The injured deputy medically retired following the incident, officials said. Portions of the incident were captured on cell phone video by a witness. The first trial Young was tried in March of 2023 on state-level charges including attempted murder and assault with a firearm on a peace officer, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. He denied the charges and also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury ultimately acquitted Young of all the charges, except for a single county recklessly discharging a firearm. Young's defense attorney argued that his client never pointed the weapon at the female deputy, NBC4 reported at the time. If hes found not guilty, then what happened to me?, the ex-deputy, Meagan McCarthy, told NBC. "This is just how I feel if a video proof of a crime occurring is not enough to change a narrative that people hear, then what will be enough? Conviction could bring decades-long sentence Young was scheduled to make an initial appearance Wednesday in federal court in Riverside. Federal jurisdiction results from the legal premise that the firearm and ammunition allegedly stolen during the robbery had traveled in interstate commerce, prosecutors said. Defense attorney Raj Maline, who represented Young during his previous trial, told ABC7 he was outraged by the new federal case. "It's unbelievable that they would stoop this low," he said. "I've never seen anything like this in 25 years. This is about as low as I've seen a prosecutor go." U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada called the alleged attack "completely unacceptable." "In responding to a domestic disturbance call and trying to protect defendants mother, the victim was met by a defendant who allegedly beat her, robbed her of her service weapon, and shot at her as she ran for her life," he said. "Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line for us every day and deserve to be protected from violent attacks such as this one. Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms Los Angeles Field Division Special Agent in Charge called the alleged attack "inhumane." "These violent individuals will be held accountable for their merciless attacks," he said. "ATF is committed to building cases against the ruthless individuals who have no regard for others lives." If convicted as charged, Young could face between 10 and 40 years in federal prison, officials said. This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville man acquitted in alleged deputy attack faces federal case Violent passenger says he ate 10 weed edibles, tries opening plane doors, feds say An American Airlines passenger forced a Dallas-bound flight to land in a different city because of his violent and dangerous behavior, including repeated attempts to open the planes doors and his assault on a flight attendant, federal prosecutors said. The flight crew and passengers had to restrain Eric Nicholas Gapcos hands and feet with flexible restraints until the flight from Seattle landed in Salt Lake City on July 18, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Utah. Gapco, 26, of Delanco, New Jersey, was arrested when the flight landed, according to prosecutors. Gapco continued to engage in violent and erratic behavior at the Salt Lake City International Airport, where he smashed the glass door of a holding cell, court documents say. He denied consuming illegal drugs or prescription medication, but later told his arresting officers he ate approximately ten marijuana edibles, according to a motion for his detention. Gapco said he didnt know how much THC, a psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, was in each edible, the motion says. Gapco was indicted July 31 on charges of interference with a flight crew and attempted damage to an aircraft, the U.S. Attorneys office said in a news release. His federal public defender didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on Aug. 1. On the July 18 flight, prosecutors said Gapco wouldnt stay in his seat, tried to take a flight attendants seat, propositioned a flight attendant for sex, was loud, yelling, vaping and disrupting others. He also locked himself in a plane bathroom, went on to try to open the flights doors and is accused of trying to hand another passenger a bag of pills, according to prosecutors. Gapco assaulted and intimated a flight attendant and aircraft crew members, prosecutors said. The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority, American Airlines told McClatchy News in a statement on Aug. 1. We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding. American Airlines didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on Aug. 1. After Gapco broke a glass door at the Salt Lake City airport following his arrest, Gapco was taken to a hospital to be medically evaluated, according to prosecutors. He continued to be belligerent and combative with medical staff and the police, prosecutors wrote in the motion for his detention. At one point, he spat on an officer. Galcos temporary detention was granted on July 23, court records show. He is due to appear for his initial appearance in court the afternoon of Aug. 1, prosecutors said. Army officer gropes 16-year-old on flight, then assaults another passenger, feds say Passenger lied about girlfriend having bomb on flight after they broke up, feds say Delta employee groped woman flying home from Taylor Swift concert, feds say. Predator Passenger assaulted flight attendant who helped nurse try to give him Narcan, feds say Virginia's new General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond opened just before the 2024 legislative session. (Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury) At a meeting of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council last month, the panels chairman held a brainstorming session on pressing FOIA issues. Two dramatically different viewpoints emerged in the responses, highlighting the challenges of changing Virginias spotty transparency laws to better balance the publics right to know with governments ability to function. Several FOIA Council members in seats reserved for citizens floated ideas about increasing transparency and making it easier for Virginians to see what public officials are doing. But the ideas from council members who represent government interests mainly focused on ways to make FOIA less of a hassle for government bodies and potentially allow more secrecy. I just found it kind of sad that there seemed to be just such antipathy to people using this statutory right, said Megan Rhyne, who attended the meeting as executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. The number of things that they were asking to have reviewed was kind of indicative of how the FOIA Council has become much more government-leaning. Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, the FOIA councils chairman, opened the discussion about FOIA priorities after noting that the council had leeway to set its own priorities this year because the General Assembly hasnt given the advisory body a big workload of topics to study. The council didnt take any major action at the July 17 meeting, but the conversation could tee up topics for future meetings and potential recommendations to the General Assembly. Lola Rodriguez Perkins, the county attorney in Surry County who was recently appointed to fill the FOIA Councils seat reserved for local government representation, relayed a concern that existing law doesnt do enough to maintain the secrecy of closed sessions held by city councils and county boards. Transparency exemptions allowing closed meetings on sensitive topics, she said, should extend after the meeting to prevent the public from finding out what occurred behind closed doors. Individuals come out of closed session and then have conversations with members of the public or send emails to other members, Perkins said, noting that emails recapping what happened in a closed session wouldnt necessarily be exempt from FOIA. Simon indicated he had some reservations about such a broad expansion of closed session secrecy. I think I understand the concern, Simon said. Im not sure I share it necessarily. Perkins suggested other changes to the law to prevent people involved in lawsuits against government bodies from filing FOIA requests after the court-overseen document discovery process has concluded. She also floated the idea of giving school officials 45 days to respond to some education-related FOIA requests to align with longer timelines laid out in the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The federal law lays out rules for maintaining the privacy of student records while allowing parents access to information about their own child. Virginia already has a public records exemption that protects information about individual students. Virginias FOIA law allows up to five business days for an initial response to a records request. Deadline extensions are allowed for particularly complex or time-consuming requests. Lindsay Fisher, a lawyer in Gov. Glenn Youngkins office who was appointed to fill a citizen seat on the council, raised concerns about abuse of process by people filing too many FOIA requests that seem to deal with the same topic. Im thinking of one specific example that Ive seen in a past life of someone who is making the same request multiple times but [it] is worded differently, Fisher said, adding that prolific FOIA requesters can gum up government offices and make it harder to respond to other inquiries. Other council members suggested ways FOIA could be improved to benefit the public. Maria Everett, the FOIA Councils former executive director who recently took a seat on the board, suggested beefing up rules on meeting agendas to make it harder for public bodies to take action on big policy items without letting the public know its coming. She pointed to the city of Petersburgs surprise selection of a casino developer earlier this year after a closed session, when the public had been led to believe the city was following a competitive bidding process and had no notice such a major decision was being made that day. Chidi James, a personal injury lawyer whose firm was recently involved in wrongful death litigation against the University of Virginia over the mass shooting at the school in 2022, suggested revisiting the list of FOIA exemptions that seems to grow and grow and grow. I just think its a good idea just to regularly take a look at what they are and see if we might have too many, James said. UVA officials have refused to release a report on the shooting prepared by an outside law firm. The Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville is challenging that decision in court. Simon, the state legislator who leads the FOIA Council, offered his own recommendations for how transparency could be strengthened. He said hed like to reexamine the widely invoked working papers and correspondence FOIA exemption that can be used to block the release of communications involving the governors office, General Assembly members, university presidents and local government leaders. Simon also said hed like to look at how public bodies handle FOIA exemptions that are discretionary, meaning officials can choose to release the records or choose not to disclose them. The feedback Ive gotten is that whenever theres a discretionary disclosure issue the agency or public body tends to default to non-disclosure, Simon said. Asked for his takeaways on the FOIA Councils discussion, Simon said this week that hes convinced the state needs to change the culture of how FOIA is handled at all levels of government. I wish some of the constituencies represented were as concerned with how to make records accessible as they were with the question of how to deal with outliers or frequent flier types who seem to be a thorn in their sides, Simon said. I think there are probably things that can be done that can solve both problems. What are we voting on today? Find your Tennessee sample ballot here, more It's time for Tennessee voters to cast their ballot in the 2024 primary and local general elections. But what exactly are people voting on today? With the race for the White House in the main focus, there is still a matter of U.S. Congressional seats and state legislature positions that are up for grabs this election cycle. There are several key seats on the state and federal level that voters will be deciding on including whether incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, will hold on to the Republican slot against opponent Tress Wittum, and in the 5th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, hopes to defeat challenger Courtney Johnston, a Metro Nashville council member. Here's a look at where Tennessee voters can find what they are voting on and where to cast their ballots. What am I voting for today? Voters in Tennessee can cast their ballots in primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the state legislature in addition to local school board and other county seats. Tennessee election updates: Democratic Senate primary, GOP race for 5th District among races to watch Where can I find an Aug. 1 sample primary ballot? There are a couple of ways to find your ballot for the 2024 primary. You can find sample ballots on most county election websites. Not sure what the website is? Head to tnsos.org/elections to find your county's elections commission website. You could also download the Tennessee voting app, GoVoteTN. The app is supported on Apple and Android systems. Not looking for another app on your phone? There's a web version too at web.go-vote-tn.elections.tn.gov. The app allows voters to look up sample ballots, polling locations, who represents them and more. What time do polls close in Tennessee? Polls opened this morning at 7 a.m. CT and close at 7 p.m. CT. Where do I vote? To find your polling location go to GoVoteTN.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Where do I vote? Find your precinct, Tennessee sample ballots here NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A man involved in a single-vehicle crash Wednesday on the exit ramp of Interstate 64 eastbound to I-264 in Norfolk has died, Virginia State Police said. State Police said Austin Trevor Hale, 30, of Virginia Beach died as a result of the crash. They said that while it happened Wednesday, they were unsure of the time. (Photo Virginia State Police) Around 7:17 p.m., a call came in of a grey 2019 Toyota 4Runner located in the wood line on the exit ramp of I-64 eastbound to I-264 westbound in Norfolk, State Police said. The caller, a friend of Hales, told dispatchers he was concerned for Hales wellbeing and safety, as he had not heard from him all day. The caller said he had found Hales last known location, and routed the location back to Hales home, State Police said, and while looking for Hales vehicle on that route, the caller said he saw skid marks on the left shoulder of the interstate ramp leading into the wood line. After stopping to take a look, the caller found a vehicle in the wood line on its side against a tree, State Police said. Norfolk Fire-Rescue were sent to the vehicles location, where the driver later identified as Hale was found unresponsive, State Police said. They said its not known if alcohol or speed contributed to the cause of the crash. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Within the last 36 hours, all four candidates seeking the office of Vermont lieutenant governor have taken part in primary election debates on the airwaves of Vermont Public. The Republican hopefuls debated on Tuesday, and Wednesday was the Democrats turn. Winooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner is trying to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman in the Democratic primary. Renner believes the state should consider a sales tax increase, among other means, to boost K-through-12 school funding amid a shrinking student population. Zuckerman disagrees. I think its an option that we should explore, Renner said. A sales tax isnt just something that Vermonters contribute into. Its visitors as well, and I think that educating our youth is something that everybody who comes to Vermont should take part in. While tourists might pay some of that, its still a huge portion is paid by working-class Vermonters who just cant take any more on their shoulders, Lt. Gov. Zuckerman said. What I would consider doing is, second homes. Last year, VTDigger found that more than a third of Vermont towns have a lower property tax rate for second homes than primary residences. Zuckerman says addressing that difference would help alleviate many Vermonters tax burdens. On the Republican side, climate change is a great concern for former democratic state lawmaker John Rodgers of West Glover. He says Vermonters like himself whove implemented sustainable farming and forestry practices on their land arent being supported financially for doing so. Former Rutland City Alderman Gregory Thayer holds a different level of concern. We sustainably manage our forests, and our property is providing ecosystem services for thousands of Vermonters, but we as the landowners get no benefit, Rodgers said. And I think more of us need to treat the planet like we do on our farm. Not that I dont believe humans have an effect on it, but I dont believe its a big problem, Thayer said. Last year, you cited it was the hottest in history, but theres years prior and theres going to be years in the future that its not. Storms are going to happen, he noted a short time later. Its Mother Nature. Its human nature. Its Gods world. For anyone who hasnt voted early and doesnt intent to do so, Vermonts state primary is on Tuesday, August 13. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that its journalist Evan Gershkovich, wrongfully convicted in Russia for spying, has been released from captivity following what the publication referred to as the "largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War". Source: The Wall Street Journal Details: The WSJ reported that Gershkovich and several other US citizens got off a Russian aircraft at an airport in Ankara, the capital of Turkiye, on the afternoon of 1 August. In addition to Gershkovich, Russia released Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident, alongside a number of other political dissidents. Gershkovich, 32, was held in a pre-trial detention facility in Russia for over a year under drummed-up charges of espionage. He was then sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison in a closed three-day trial. According to the WSJ, the prisoner swap was organised by the White House, American diplomats, and the CIA. As part of this effort, US President Joe Biden called Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob on 21 July, just an hour before announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race, to request a pardon for two Russian spies to be included in the exchange. CIA Director William Burns travelled to Turkiye last week to meet his counterpart there and finalise the logistics for the exchange, the WSJ said. Background: On 1 August, the National Intelligence Organisation of Turkiye (MIT) said that the "most ambitious prisoner exchange in recent years" between Russia and Western nations took place in Ankara. The swap involved prisoners held in the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus. As part of the exchange, Vadim Krasikov, a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in a Berlin park, was released in Germany, which caused disappointment in the German prosecutors office. Support UP or become our patron! Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to be released from Russian jail on Thursday as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange deal. According to the BBC, a senior U.S. official confirmed that the Biden administration had reached a deal to free three U.S. citizens imprisoned in Russia: Gershkovich, U.S. Marine vet Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. More from Variety The exchange is believed to involve 24 prisoners in the U.S., Russia, Germany and three other Western Countries, the BBC reported. Gershkovich and Whelan had both been jailed on espionage charges that they and the U.S. had vehemently denied. After being arrested in March 2023, Gershkovich was sentenced last month to 16 years in prison after pleading not guilty to the charges. He had been reporting on the ground in Russia, but had received press credentials from Russias foreign ministry. Whelan was arrested in December 2018 after arriving in Moscow to attend the wedding of a fellow former Marine, and was also sentenced to 16 years in prison. Kurmasheva, meanwhile, was arrested in October 2023 on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent and spreading false information about the Russian army. She was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement following reports of Gershkovich and Kurmashevas release, saying: They were detained and sentenced on spurious charges intended to punish them for their journalism and stifle independent reporting. Their reported release is welcome but it does not change the fact that Russia continues to suppress a free press. Moscow needs to release all jailed journalists and end its campaign of using in absentia arrest warrants and sentences against exiled Russian journalists. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was released from Russian captivity on Thursday as part of the largest prisoner swap between Russia and Western nations in decades. Gershkovich had been imprisoned for nearly 500 days and was recently sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on assignment in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Russian authorities claimed he was obtaining information for the CIA, though the allegations against Gershkovich are widely assumed to be false and have been denied strenuously by the Journal. Gershkovich was released around 11:20 a.m. Eastern time at an airport in Ankara, Turkey. Several other prisoners were also released, including Russia-critical journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, and American former Marine Paul Whelan, who had been imprisoned since 2018. Russian hit man Vadim Krasikov, who was imprisoned in Germany after receiving a life sentence for killing a Chechen rebel, was released back to Russia as part of the deal. In total, the swap involved two dozen prisoners from at least six countries, according to The Wall Street Journal. "The exchange is emblematic of a new era of state-sponsored hostage-taking by autocratic governments seeking leverage over rivals. It was negotiated as tensions soared between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine," the Journal reported on Thursday. "It also offers sobering evidence of the asymmetry between the U.S. and Russia in this new, piratical order. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can order foreigners plucked from restaurants and hotels and given lengthy prison sentences on spurious chargessomething an American leader can't do." While this is the largest prisoner swap the U.S. has engaged in in recent years to free citizens imprisoned in Russia, it isn't its first. In December 2022, WNBA player Brittney Griner was released in a swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout after being held for almost nine months on drug charges. While securing the release of Griner, Gershkovich, and other American citizens from wrongful Russian captivity is vital, it may also work to incentivize Russian authorities to continue jailing Americans on false charges. "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy," President Joe Biden said shortly after Thursday's prisoner swap. "Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family." The post Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich Released From Russian Captivity appeared first on Reason.com. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity, in the State Dining Room at the White House on August 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So, if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Aug. 1, 2024, on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Whelans release marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Aug. 1, 2024, on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Alex Wong | Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. The Lewis and Clark County commissioners on Tuesday approved spending $695,113 in federal funds to purchase asphalt to be used to repave the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. The funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used to buy 8,458 tons of asphalt from Helena Sand and Gravel, the sole bidder, commissioners were told. The performance grade 70-28 asphalt will be used primarily for paving the large parking areas east and west of the Fairgrounds Complex Building. Jesse Whitford, Lewis and Clark County construction coordinator, said the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, Lewis and Clark County Public Works and city of Helena are working on this project in partnership in an interlocal agreement. A county official said in February the city of Helena would help with prep work for the parking lot and would do the paving, also to be paid with federal funds. Jenny Chambers, public works director for Lewis and Clark County, said the actual paving of a portion of the lot would likely be sometime in August, after the Last Chance Stampede and Fair. The remainder of the project would be completed sometime next summer. Its an innovative partnership, she said, adding it demonstrated great teamwork between the county and city. WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 01: U.S. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity, in the State Dining Room at the White House on August 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Aug. 1, 2024, on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and was sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Welcome end to a searing nightmare Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Thursday on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (This image cannot be republished unless you have a Getty subscription.) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE President Joe Biden, joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on Aug. 1, 2024, on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON The United States and Russia completed a multi-country prisoner swap Thursday that brought home several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The exchange included a total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including seven of its own citizens held as political prisoners. Western nations released a total of eight Russians as part of the deal. President Joe Biden said in White House remarks the negotiations were a feat of diplomacy that wouldnt have been attainable without cooperation from allied nations. This deal would not have been made possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, Biden said. They stood with us and they made bold and brave decisions released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably being held, and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So if anyone questions if allies matter, they do, he added. Statement from U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, a Rhode Island Democrat and a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Today is a day that many have been hoping for, praying for, and working towards for a long time. I am relieved that Americans wrongfully detained by Russia including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich are coming home. Its an announcement made possible because of the tireless leadership of the United States to reunite our citizens with their families and loved ones. We must be crystal clear in the face of todays long-awaited news. Those being released today deserve their freedom from Russian authorities. As we celebrate their release, we must not lose sight of the Americans being wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. We also must hold Vladimir Putin and his goons in Russia accountable for their barbaric war in Ukraine, their repeated violation of fundamental human rights, and use of innocent people as bargaining chips. I thank President Joe Biden and his entire administration, my colleagues in Congress, our allies around the world, and the countless advocates who never gave up on freeing these unjustly detained Americans. Biden was accompanied by family members of the three American hostages released Thursday while he gave his remarks. He said they spoke by phone with their loved ones earlier in the day and planned to meet them at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when their plane landed. Biden said he tasked staff during his transition into the presidency with determining where Americans were held abroad and working on plans to get them released. As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans, who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad; many since before I took office, Biden said. Additionally, I issued an executive order in 2022, authorizing penalties, like sanctions and travel bans, on those who hold Americans against their will. Biden, who is not running for reelection, said he would continue working during his remaining months in office to bring home other Americans who are wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during the White House press briefing that officials had completed one of the largest, and certainly the most complex exchange in history. Journalists, dissidents freed Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced to 16 years in prison last month during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Whelan, of Michigan, was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who worked for Radio Free Europe, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who won a Pulitzer Prize for passionate columns written under great personal risk from his prison cell were among the prisoners freed in the swap. Kurmasheva was sentenced to more than six years in prison in July on claims she spread false information about Russias military, a charge rejected by her family and officials. Kara-Murza, who holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom, is a long-time critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Russian officials detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to 25 years in 2023. Prior to his imprisonment, Kara-Murza accused Russian officials of poisoning him. Biden noted in his remarks that Kara-Murza holds a green card and was a pallbearer with him at Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCains funeral. Cheers from Congress Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, wrote in a statement that Thursday marked a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and all who have been working tirelessly to get him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones, Peters wrote. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow released a written statement that Whelans freedom was wonderful news. After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, Stabenow wrote. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Marc Fogel from Russian prison. This prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison, Casey wrote in a statement. Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment, Casey added. His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in a statement he was thrilled the hostages were returning home, but expressed concern that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime. We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett who is held in Afghanistan, McCaul said. We must get all of them home to their families too. Sullivan said during the White House briefing that officials were actively working to secure the release of Fogel from Russia as well as Americans being held in Syria and Afghanistan. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said in a statement the release of the Americans marks a welcome end to a searing nightmare for them and their loved ones. These Americans should never have endured the hardships imposed on them by the Kremlin, but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration and their families, including Pauls sister Elizabeth, Evans parents Ella and Mikhail, and Alsus husband Pavel, their ordeal has finally come to an end, Cardin said. The Maryland Democrat also urged Americans considering travel to Russia, especially dual nationals, to learn from the experiences of these wrongfully detained Americans and avoid traveling to Russia. Want to interfere with the election? Lawyers should be held accountable for it, ABA says The American Bar Association says that attorneys who helped former President Donald Trump try to overturn the 2020 election should be held accountable by state bar associations, and that the legal profession must protect democracy during the 2024 election. The bar association the world's largest voluntary organization of lawyers is calling on the nations 1.3 million lawyers to lean on their legal training to volunteer as poll workers and to provide free legal advice to local election officials instead of taking action to undermine democracy. Its all part of a bipartisan effort co-led by former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, who served under President Barack Obama, and retired Judge Michael Luttig, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by President George W. Bush. The bar association put the pair in charge of leading the professions response to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnson and Luttig gave USA TODAY an exclusive interview before they release their recommendations to the rest of the field at a nationwide summit on Friday. They are uniquely qualified and are uniquely obligated to defend Americas democracy and the rule of law, among other things, Luttig told USA TODAY. Lawyers take an oath to do just that. And then, by way of almost a footnote, lawyers were largely responsible for the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Luttig and Johnson have been holding events in swing states to find out how lawyers can apply their training to restore faith in American elections. Retired Judge Michael Luttig is the co-chair of the American Bar Association's Task Force for American Democracy. Lawyers aided efforts to overturn the 2020 election Luttigs former law clerk, John Eastman, was the architect of former President Donald Trumps plan to send fake slates of electors to the National Archives and then-Vice President Mike Pence to pressure Pence to refuse to certify Biden's win on Jan. 6, 2021. Eastman faces disbarment over his actions. Trump and his allies filed 64 lawsuits in six battleground states seeking to overturn the election. In a 2022 report called, "Lost, Not Stolen," Luttig and several other judges and experts went through each case and concluded, "Donald Trump and his supporters had their day in court and failed to produce substantive evidence to make their case." Rudy Giuliani also lost his license to practice law in New York over lies he told while representing Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and an ethics board in Washington, D.C. recommended his disbarment. Another Trump ally, Kenneth Chesebro, who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his role in Trump's effort to overturn his 2020 loss in Georgia, had his law license suspended in Massachusetts. Other lawyers who were charged in Georgia for their actions related to the 2020 election include former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, and campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis. Stephanie Lambert was charged in Michigan for actions related to a voter data breach. There were also lawyers who signed onto fake electors certificates in swing states. Representatives for Trump, Eastman, Giuliani, Chesebro, Clark and Ellis did not provide comment for this story by deadline. In 2020 and 2021, you had lawyers opportunistically signing on to making spurious, ridiculous, false arguments, false assertions of fact that gave credibility to the effort, and as a profession, we have to turn that ship in a different direction, Johnson said. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is the co-chair of the American Bar Association's Task Force for American Democracy. Its the lawyers obligation Ellis, who pleaded guilty in Georgia, told a judge through tears, What I did not do but should have done, your honor, is to make sure the facts that the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true. In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence. She said she erred in relying on lawyers with many more years of experience to provide her true information and would not have represented Trump if she had known what she knows now. A court in Colorado censured Ellis, meaning a judge wrote in a formal, public document that she engaged in misrepresentations about the 2020 election. Luttig specifically referenced Eastman, his former clerk, calling the underlying legal theory for blocking Biden's win tenuous. He said if he had been in the Oval Office with Trump, he would have told Trump, This is not a course that you should ever pursue, and I will not support you if you choose to pursue this course. And thats what lawyers should be saying every day of the week in every context, Luttig said. Theres nothing at all wrong, generally, with a client pressing the lawyer to make any possible argument that can be made. They dont know. Its the lawyers obligation to say to the client, This is not something that we can argue or that I will argue on your behalf. Luttig said hes under no illusion about the state of the legal profession, and that there are hundreds if not thousands of lawyers out there who will do whatever a client asks them to do. Johnson added: Youre going to find a lawyer under some rock some place whos willing to make a ridiculous argument as long as he gets his money up front, and we want to try and steer the profession away from this. Disagree better Johnson said lawyers are often leaders in their communities, and they should use that standing in order to instill faith in elections, not doubt, and that means providing information to people to dispute false claims. He pointed specifically to training that lawyers receive in conflict resolution and mediation, and the decorum theyre required to show in courtrooms. He said that training can help them discuss difficult issues with ordinary people, helping the country disagree better and turn the temperature down on our political rhetoric. Speak to community groups, churches, school boards, parent meetings, Johnson said. Take a leadership role in talking about how elections work, how elections dont work. Be an advocate for democracy. Shoot down misinformation that gets ricocheted around social media. Just like doctors responded to the call in COVID-19, we want lawyers to do the same for democracy, he said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ABA calls on lawyers to protect election, punish election subversion Poll workers check in a voter during Georgias May primary at a Marietta polling place. Local election officials across the country face a poll worker shortage, and a coalition of election leaders, nonprofits, and businesses are making a push for more on Aug. 1, National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. (Matt Vasilogambros | Stateline) This week, a coalition of election officials, businesses, and civic engagement, religious, and veterans groups will make a national push to encourage hundreds of thousands of Americans to serve as poll workers in Novembers presidential election. Poll worker demand is high. With concerns over the harassment and threats election officials face, and with the traditional bench of poll workers growing older, hundreds of counties around the country are in desperate need of people who are willing to serve their communities. On Aug. 1, there will be a social media blitz across Facebook, TikTok, X, and other platforms that will encourage Americans to spend a few hours helping democracy. Theyre being asked to wake up before sunrise, welcome voters to polling places, hand them a ballot, and make sure the voting process goes smoothly. In New Hampshire, which holds its state primary on Sept. 10, voting advocacy groups are still taking stock of which town and city voting wards have enough volunteers and which ones need more. Right now we have volunteers that are calling clerks to confirm polling hours and availability (of volunteers), said Olivia Zink, executive director of Open Democracy New Hampshire, which helps recruit poll workers. The organization has not yet reached all 234 towns or municipal polling wards, Zink said. But Zink says shes hoping that outreach in August will inspire more volunteers. These are important roles on election day, and in order to have a strong democracy, we need really good, strong volunteers, she said. Many sites will see long lines and frustrated voters; they may face unexpected problems such as a power outage or a cantankerous voting machine. Nearly all will hand out scores of tiny I Voted stickers. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that works with election officials to improve the voting process, established the recruitment day in 2020. The commission offers a social media toolkit, full of suggested hashtags and cartoon video snippets, to help local election officials reach potential new workers. There are 100,000 or so polling places across the country, and the agencys website shows potential workers how to sign up. Serving as a poll worker is the single most impactful, nonpartisan way that any individual person can engage in the elections this year, said Marta Hanson, the national program manager for Power the Polls, one of the leading nonpartisan groups in the recruitment effort. Poll workers are the face of our democracy and the face of our elections, she told Stateline. Launched in the spring of 2020 during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Power the Polls gathered nonprofits and businesses together to help election workers close the gap left after many poll workers, who tend to be older, decided to no longer serve due to health concerns. Nearly half of the poll workers who served in 2020 were older than 60. The groups effort recruited 700,000 prospective poll workers nationwide. It is our vision that every voter has someone who looks like them and speaks their language when they show up at the polling place, and that election administrators have the people that they need, Hanson said. Polling places still need poll workers. This year Power the Polls is tracking more than 1,835 jurisdictions, spanning all 50 states and the District of Columbia, that the group identified through outreach to election administrators, monitoring local news and working with on-the-ground partners. Of those jurisdictions, Hanson said, 700 towns and counties have really, really high needs. For example, Boston needs 500 new poll workers by its Sept. 3 primary, while Detroit needs 1,000 more people to sign up before November. In small towns in Connecticut and rural California, officials are desperate to find 20 people to help. Los Angeles County is looking for people who speak one of a dozen languages that are prevalent in the area. In suburban Cobb County just outside of Atlanta, Director of Elections Tate Fall said recruiting poll workers has been difficult, but not at the level shes heard about in other communities nationally. Her team has found success at farmers markets, Juneteenth festivals and senior services events. Among her challenges, she said, is that many of the poll workers who have signed up this year are new and need more training and practice before November. She also worries about reliability. Its just we have a lot of people sign up and then they never mark their availability, or they only want to work in their precinct, Fall said. We need people that are a bit more flexible. But overall, were doing good. In New Hampshire, the picture of which communities are in need is still emerging. But towns will need to move quickly: The Secretary of States Office is holding a series of trainings for voluntary ballot inspectors in the first few weeks of August, Zink said. While state statutes and guidelines apply, much of New Hampshires election day operations are the discretion of the moderator including how to recruit and deploy volunteers. Some cities and towns, like Manchester, will pay volunteers an hourly rate. Others make it strictly a volunteer position. Moderators are encouraged to pick a group of volunteer ballot inspectors with an equal balance of party registrations, if possible. And while volunteers are usually residents of the polling districts, sometimes moderators may recruit from outside the town for certain positions, if necessary. Those who are interested in helping out should first contact the clerk for their town or city polling ward, Zink said. I think that its important for us to find younger poll workers, Zink said. Our poll workers have been doing that for 20 or 30 years, and its important that we find some new, younger volunteers that might be willing to spend election day registering voters and checking folks in. Over the past four years, local election officials have been bombarded by misinformation, harassment and threats fueled by the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. To ease voters skepticism about ballot security, officials will often welcome them into the elections office and give them a tour. In Nevada, Carson City Clerk-Recorder Scott Hoen goes a step further by inviting skeptical residents to see the election process firsthand as a poll worker. Lo and behold, once they go through the cycle, they understand and they can touch, feel it, see it, know it, understand it, that we run a really good, tight election here in Carson City, Hoen said. I think they have a better comfort with me now doing that, teaching them whats going on. In Marion County, Florida, Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox has been worried about people who believe the 2020 election was stolen working as poll workers and potentially disrupting the voting process. But the required training to become a poll worker has alleviated some of that concern. Weve had them, and they actually become some of our advocates in this process, he said. Joseph Kirk, the election supervisor for Bartow County, Georgia, said that, beyond learning about the voting system, being a poll worker is just fun. Kirk tells voters that its an opportunity to take a day off work, get paid, meet new people, see the characters of the community and enjoy a good meal, since some poll workers bring in homemade food to share. And for the high school government students he recruits in their classes, its a way to participate in elections as early as 16. Its a community, he said. And being part of it is really special. Bulletin reporter Ethan DeWitt contributed to this report. The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of the health risks of extreme heat, as new temperature records continue to be set globally in the wake of the climate crisis and the persistent summer heat in southern Europe. Europe is the fastest warming of the six WHO regions, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said in Copenhagen on Thursday. People in the 53 member states of the region are paying the highest price for this, he said. Estimates show that there were around 489,000 heat-related deaths per year worldwide between 2000 and 2019, including an average of around 176,000 per year in Europe. Over the past 20 years, heat-related mortality has increased by 30% Kluge said. The number of heat-related deaths has risen in almost all countries in the region where monitoring is taking place. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently warned that the world would have to adjust to permanently changing temperatures in summer due to the climate crisis. Kluge called for communities to be made more resilient to heatwaves by developing action plans and said the negative health consequences of high temperatures are largely avoidable with the right measures. "If we are better prepared for a hotter Region, we will save many lives, both now and in the future," Kluge said. He added there were also things individuals could do to help them adapt to hotter temperatures and advised people to avoid strenuous activities during the hottest times of the day, keep their own homes as cool as possible, drink water regularly, and generally look after themselves and others. A child plays in the fountain in the Svatopluk Cech Park. ulova Kateina/CTK/dpa Warrant issued for Power Rangers actor accused of assaulting a man in Idaho over a parking spot, police say An actor who played the Green Samurai Ranger in Power Rangers shows and movies has been accused of assaulting a man over a parking spot in Idaho, and police say a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The Nampa Police Department alleges Hector David Jr. pushed an elderly man to the ground after they exchanged words about a parking issue, then left him on the ground and drove away. Police said they posted a photo and video of the incident on Facebook to identify the person involved. Our community identified him, and we have since learned that he is an actor who played the Green Power Ranger Hector David Rivera, 35, of Nampa, Idaho, aka Hector David Jr., police told CNN. David played the Green Samurai Ranger in a series of shows and movies from 2011-2015. Authorities have been unable to locate David, who is charged in an arrest warrant with misdemeanor battery, according to police. Magic Valley Comic-Con organizers in Twin Falls, Idaho, announced Wednesday the actor would no longer be making an appearance at the event over the weekend where he had previously been billed. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) When students in Washington County return to the classroom on Thursday, theyll see lots of renovations at the middle school. Built in 1995, its one of the oldest buildings in the district. It includes a complete overhaul of the inside with a new library, gymnasium, classrooms and technology. You want the kids and the teachers to feel proud of where theyre going, and you want to make sure that everybody is safe and secure. And were adding some new security measures that we have in the other schools, that will make this, itll just be a better learning environment for the kids, said Vickie Harden, Superintendent, Washington County School District. Renovations began in March. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2024-2025 school year. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) Funeral services were held today for Lafayette Police Department Sr. Cpl. Segus Jolivette, who was killed in the line of duty Thursday. The services were officiated by pastors Eugene Reiszner and Kevin Lalonde of Our Saviors Church in Opelousas. See the service in its entirety above. Jolivette is survived by his wife of 13 years, Alexis, and his five children, Ajah, Segus SJ Jr., Asher, Austyn and Grayson. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, and the rock upon which his family leaned, his obituary reads. His wife and children were his world and he took immense pride in being their protector and their foundation. His passion for his work was perhaps the only thing that came close to rivalling his profound love for his family. The ultimate balance of heart and duty, his obituary continues. An Opelousas native Born on a Saturday in early June 1989, Jolivette grew up, went to school and got his start in law enforcement all in Opelousas. Jolivette graduated from Beau Chene High before starting his law enforcement career with the Opelousas Police Department in 2010. He served about four years at OPD as a patrol officer before joining the Lafayette Police Department, where hed spend his next 11 years. Jolivette is remembered by the Lafayette Police Department as an officer whose commitment extended beyond daily duties, as he was a member of the honor guard, a member of the SWAT negotiator team, and spent much of his free time supporting the explorer program, helping local youth gain a better understanding of law enforcement operations. Tributes and condolences continue for LPD officer killed in Jeanerette standoff The 35-year-old officer also previously served as a school resource officer at J.W. Faulk Elementary School. The Lafayette Parish School System said in a social media post on Friday that Jolivette never hesitated to provide security at extracurricular events at Ovey Comeaux High School, Northside High, and other schools throughout the parish. Our LPSS family is deeply saddened by the loss of a man dedicated to the safety of our schools and our community, the school systems post read. Family, friends and law enforcement gather for vigil for slain officer in Jeanerette His dream job Being a police officer is a dream he had ever since a young age, a dream that he pursued with unwavering determination, according to Jolivettes obituary. His legacy will forever be remembered and honored through the lives he touched and the example he set for all who had the privilege of knowing him, Jolivettes obituary reads, and that his spirit will live on in the hearts of those who currently serve, and those he served and protected. During a candlelight vigil Tuesday, Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said Jolivette was a police officer who showed up every day with an infectious smile and was a person who spread a smile, full of love. Family members of Jolivette shared memories of the fallen officer during the vigil held outside the Lafayette Police Department, saying his determination and passion of being a police officer inspired his own children. He has pursued that diligently throughout his life to the point that his sons never wanted to be anything else for Halloween or for any school dress-up days. They all wanted to be police officers like him, one family member said. One family member said that being a police officer was more than a job to him, saying Jolivette never took off his uniform. To see the support of the community, you guys showing it back to him with the same energy that he gave to every one of you without even asking, it speaks volumes to him and I promise you, he is smiling down and gracious and thankful that his life meant something to everyone, the family member said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Latest News Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. The fate of another incumbent hangs in the balance during Thursdays primaries in Tennessee. Its been tough to oust incumbents this cycle, with just three Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.); Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), to a fellow member; and Bob Good (R-Va.), pending a recount getting knocked out so far. But first-term Republican Rep. Andy Ogles faces a well-financed challenger on Thursday who has questioned his effectiveness and trustworthiness during his short time in the office. Further up the ballot, another general election Senate matchup will be set as Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn finds out who her Democratic opponent is potentially drawing a member of the Tennessee Three. Here are the races to watch today: TN-Sen: Democrats are mounting a long-shot campaign to unseat Blackburn, whos running for a second term. And some are hoping their likely Democratic nominees star power can make a difference in the deep-red state. State Rep. Gloria Johnson gained national attention last year as a member of the Tennessee Three. Johnson, along with state Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, protested on the floor of the Republican-controlled state House for stricter gun laws in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at an elementary school. Pearson and Jones, who are both Black, were expelled for violating House rules (and were later reappointed and then won their reelection bids), while Johnson, who is white, narrowly avoided getting expelled. Their actions attracted national Democrats and brought renewed attention to state legislatures especially during an off-year, when there were few high-profile elections. But it will be difficult for Johnson to replicate that momentum in a fairly red state in a year that has such a competitive Senate map for Democrats, who are prioritizing protecting their incumbents in Republican-leaning states like Ohio and Montana. Johnson, whos also running for reelection to her state House seat, faces three other Democrats for the nomination, including Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental activist and her partys 2020 Senate nominee who lost to Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty by almost 30 points. Johnson has the biggest fundraising advantage over her primary opponents $5 million raised since joining the race last September, with around $2 million on hand as of early July though thats paltry compared to Blackburns haul. Blackburn faces a nominal primary challenge as well. Democrats have not had a strong showing statewide in Tennessee recently. Blackburn won by around 11 points in 2018, and incumbent Republican Gov. Bill Lee was reelected by a more than 30-percentage point margin in 2022. TN-05: Ogles faces a primary challenge from Nashville Metro Council member Courtney Johnston, who has outraised him and outspent him on the airwaves. Johnston, who has been a member of the council since 2019 after ousting an incumbent, has slammed Ogles as being a do-nothing Republican and accused him of chasing headlines. And Conservatives with Character, an outside group funded primarily by Tennessee businesspeople, has gone after the incumbent over his taxes. Combined, Johnston and Conservatives with Character have blanketed the airwaves with more than $1 million in advertising through the primary, according to ad tracker AdImpact. Ogles has spent around $230,000, and has been boosted by $120,000 in ads from Americans for Prosperity Action. Johnston has pointed to reports raising concerns regarding his campaign finances and allegedly inflated resume as reasons hes not fit for another term. But Ogles, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, does have one thing on his side: an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. While the power of Trumps endorsement has weakened in recent primaries, it could give him a boost with the GOP primary electorate. And unlike Good, the Freedom Caucus chair who narrowly lost his primary but faces a recount Thursday, Ogles isnt running against a Trump-backed challenger and hasnt publicly enraged as many members of the GOP conference as Good has. TN-09: Longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen is no stranger to a primary challenge and he has another one today. Three Black candidates, all of whom have unsuccessfully challenged him in the past, are looking to unseat Cohen, who is white and represents the Memphis-based predominantly Black seat. Cohen has been consistently reelected in this district. M. Latroy A-Williams, who most recently primaried Cohen in the midterms, earned 12 percent of the vote then. Former county party chair Corey Strong, who got 15 percent of the vote in the 2020 primary, has hit the incumbent for being in office for almost two decades. Kasandra Smith, a law enforcement official, earned 6 percent of the vote in 2018. Polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern. A version of this story first appeared in POLITICO Pro's Morning Score newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Pro. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) Discover Peoria teamed up with the Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association and the Peoria Civic Center to keep the states largest water-related convention in Peoria. On Thursday, a contract was signed in the Peoria Civic Center to bring Watercon to Peoria for three more years beyond the 2025 convention. Central Illinois only Plant Based Expo held at Peoria Civic Center Saturday The convention brings together utilities, regulators and students as they attend exhibitions, educational sessions and networking opportunities for participants. According to Discover Peoria, the 2026 convention is expected to generate more than $582,860 in direct spending with a total economic impact of an estimated $903,254 to the local economy. It is also expected to generate $34,900 in local taxes. The conventions will be held on: April 14-16, 2025 April 12-16, 2026 April 11-15, 2027 April 2-6, 2028 More information on Discover Peoria is available here. More information on other upcoming events at the Peoria Civic is available here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. WAVERLY, N.Y. (WETM) A Waverly man is behind bars on felony charges after he was arrested following a domestic incident back in July. According to a release from Waverly Police, 40-year-old Mark J. Reekstin was arrested on Saturday, July 27, at 2:15 a.m. on the following charges. One county of strangulation in the second degree, a felony. Criminal mischief in the second degree, a felony. Two counts of assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor. Criminal obstruction of breathing, a misdemeanor. Two counts of menacing in the third degree, a misdemeanor. Endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. Waverly man arrested following Sayre police chase involving motorcycle Police said that Reekstin was arrested after a report of a domestic disturbance and assault at a home in the village. Police said that an investigation found that Reekstin also assaulted the female victim another time at the same home, but that incident wasnt reported at the time. Reekstin was taken to the Tioga County CAP Court on July 27 and was held for further legal action. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) A 43-year-old man was arrested for possession of narcotics on Tuesday, after the Williamson County Sheriffs Office Organized Crime Unit executed a search warrant for narcotics, WCSO said in a news release. The WCSO Organized Crime Unit and executed that warrant on Gilmore Street in Taylor, the release said. This embedded content is not available in your region. During the search, officials found a handgun and around 18.8 grams of suspected cocaine, and WCSO seized it during the search, the release said. A 43-year-old man was arrested for possession of narcotics on Tuesday, after the Williamson County Sheriffs Office Organized Crime Unit executed a search warrant for narcotics, WCSO said in a news release. (Courtesy WCSO) The man arrested was identified as Slade Brockman, according to WCSO. He was released from parole in April 2024. Additionally, the agency said he was also out on two separate felony bonds in connection with two possession charges of more than 4 grams of methamphetamine from this year. Brockman was charged with manufacturing/delivering of a controlled substance in penalty group one greater than or equal to 4 grams and less than 200 grams, according to WCSO. The seizure of nearly 19 grams of cocaine and a firearm from a parolee send a powerful message: We will not tolerate criminal activity, and community protection is our top priority, WCSO Sheriff Mike Gleason said in the release. The incident remained under investigation Wednesday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Weekend events you wont want to miss SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Springfield warmly welcomes travelers from around the world, providing a diverse array of attractions. Our compilation showcases venues where you can savor delightful cuisine, uncover hidden treasures, and partake in thrilling adventures in the Queen City of the Ozarks. Summer concert lineup across the Ozarks Where to go: Springfield is always alive with activity. Whether its the First Friday Art Walk, the largest and most extensive Bass Pro store, the Springfield Cardinals, or the Springfield Conservation Nature Center and Dickerson Park Zoo, theres an abundance of attractions to enjoy. Take a look at our compiled list: Top 6 must-see places when you are visiting Springfield This weekends events: Outside of Springfield: 50th Annual Ozark Craft Fair Finley River Park All weekend What to eat: Springfield takes pride in its diverse array of cuisines sourced from around the globe. Whether your palate craves classic all-American fare, Japanese delicacies, Mexican flavors, Italian creations, Chinese specialties, Thai delights, succulent steaks, elevated bar cuisine, or the unique Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken, a brief journey will open up a world of delectable tastes for you to savor. 5 unique restaurants you must visit when in Springfield Some notable restaurants according to 417mag.com: Avanzare Italian Dining Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar *closed Sunday* Jimms Steakhouse & Pub Metropolitan Grill *closed Sunday* Ocean Zen Bambinos Cafe City Butcher and Barbecue Pineapple Whip Nearly Famous Deli & Pasta House Cafe Cusco Cesars Old Mexico Zayka Indian Cuisine Neighbors Mill Bakery & Cafe Black Sheep The Sub Shop Piccolo Contemporary Italian Wire Road Brewing Company Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. The Democrats' objection to JD Vance, Trump's running mate, rests mainly on what he has said about women over the years - Alex Wong/Getty Images How weird is JD Vance, Donald Trumps pick as vice-presidential running mate? Well, the Democrats would have you believe the answer is very. The true impact of Kamala Harriss honeymoon is hard to assess, but theres no doubt her campaign is enjoying an injection of vigour, money and recruits. Seizing the moment, the Democrats have started to do something that Joe Bidens decrepitude made impossible: attack. And their main tactic right now is to blitz the Democratic-adjacent media (from podcasts to TV networks such as MSNBC and CNN) with references to Vance being odd. Every liberal pundit, senator, governor and wannabe partner for Harris is saying the same thing over and over again that the Ohio senator is weird. It appears to be working. Heres a small sample of whats being said: Hes just weird; Hes weird and creepy; Just plain weird; Hes such a weirdo; Deeply and profoundly weird; Weird is probably generous. You get the idea. Their argument rests mainly on what Vance has said about women over the years, building to his infamous disdain for Democratic childless cat ladies, such as Harris herself, with no stake in the future of America. And some of his pronouncements do undoubtedly have a queasy quality to them. In 2019 Vance said during a speech: We think babies are good and we think babies are good because were not sociopaths. In 2021 he made another speech in which he said: Lets give votes to all the children in this country and lets give control over votes to the parents When you go to the polls, you should have more power than people who dont have kids. The weird narrative wouldnt be so effective had it not plugged into that uncanny knack the public have of judging politicians with their guts rather than their minds. So the fact that Vance appears to wear eyeliner is one of those trivial but important whispers that adds to the sense there is something strangely unknowable about him. Theres nothing wrong with wearing eyeliner, but because its Vance it implies hes not on the level. There was also an internet rumour that he once had sex with his sofa (a story that a Twitter prankster has since admitted he made up), adding to Vances reputation as an atypical politician, though not in a good way. (I knew a boy at school who engineered a comparable assignation with a mattress and he never, ever lived it down, so dont expect this to go away.) What has the Republicans rattled is not just the polling nationally Harris has narrowed a gap of six percentage points to just one and is leading in four of six battleground states but that since Sleepy Joe said goodnight the Democrats have replaced witless self-defence with aggressive mockery, which is surprisingly hard to repel, although it remains to be seen how long it works once Trump himself goes into full attack mode in the autumn. In response, Republicans have resorted to labelling the Democrats cheerleaders NPCs or non-player characters. In video games, NPCs flesh out the story and are not controlled by a player. Calling your cultural enemies NPCs blind followers lacking independent thought has become common on both sides. This dehumanisation is going to push the political culture to even uglier depths, saying that opponents are not real, but Matrix-style programmable, fleshy manifestations of algorithms. That tech titans such as Elon Musk (who called one of his children X A-12) endorse such terms should be a cause for concern. In video games, NPCs tend to end up getting run over or shot to pieces with no consequences. That way of thinking about actual human beings doesnt feel like a great way to build back unity in the free world. One bad turn deserves another, it seems. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, July 25, 2024. New York magazine had a cover that showed Harris sitting atop a coconut with the headline Welcome to Kamalot. | Brendan Smialowski For a brief shining 24 days June 27 to July 21, to be specific it looked like something had fundamentally changed on the American media landscape. Beginning with the debate that led to Joe Bidens withdrawal from the presidential race, there seemed to be new, green shoots of skepticism in the medias questions, and there was appropriate soul searching about the presss complicity in concealing the presidents condition. It was news when the White House press corps played hardball with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. And Fox News senior correspondent Peter Doocy, whose style of questioning has been described as pointed and at times heated, was suddenly starting to seem like one of the cool kids, not the token conservative reporter always sparring for a fight. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump also seemed to mute the omnipresent drumbeat that Trump is a real and present danger to American democracy the favorite storyline of the political left. Then Kamala Harris emerged as Bidens successor. And after the brief intermission, the pro-Democrat programming returned at warp speed, with an avalanche of stories extolling her experience as a prosecutor, her close-knit relationship with her stepchildren, her loyalty to Biden, and even her joyful and charismatic laugh, to name but a few. Perhaps the most cloying was the essay in The Washington Post that compared listening to Harris laugh to listening to music. To be fair, its hard to separate voters enthusiasm for Harris from the medias enthusiasm for Harris. They are symbiotic and exist in an media ecosystem that regards anyone enthusiastic about Donald Trump as dangerous or dim-witted or in the new, trendy lingo of Democrats, weird. Thats not to say that the celebration over Harris isnt genuine, and that she wont prove to be an effective candidate for her party. Utah Sen. Mike Lee cautioned this week that Harris should not be underestimated, noting that Republicans would make a huge mistake by discounting her. Even the conservative news site The Dispatch has said that Kamala Harris energizes weary Democrats. Shes polling better than Biden did against Trump, and theres a sense among some Republicans that, when it came to relentlessly pounding Biden for his struggles, theyre like the dog that finally caught the car and realized maybe that wasnt such a great idea, after all. Not so the press, which seems energized by the month of delayed-onset reporting on Bidens condition, and triumphant about the ascendance of Harris as the Democratic standard-bearer, a promotion that came about with dizzying speed without a single vote cast. Consider The New York Times editorial calling for Biden to step down, which landed the day after the Trump-Biden debate. The nations most influential media outlet set off the slow avalanche toward changing the Democratic Party ticket. Being first, the Times allowed others to go all in for change, the presidents fury notwithstanding. New York magazine was exuberant, with a cover that showed Harris sitting atop a coconut with the headline Welcome to Kamalot, harkening to the rosy Camelot characterization of the John F. Kennedy presidency, an image famously crafted by JFKs widow. Welcome to Kamalot! Our new issue grapples with the two weeks that reshaped the 2024 election and the thrill of taking a risk on Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Read our latest now: https://t.co/SxuIO6orTx pic.twitter.com/GKeozlI5TO New York Magazine (@NYMag) July 29, 2024 There, of course, has never been a glowing reference to Donalot. Instead, there has been a spate of articles taking off on Democrats calculated talking points about Trump and his running mate JD Vance being weird. The weird designation also part of the broadcast media onslaught has since been expanded to include some of Trumps supporters. Many of the pieces are opinion columns, but some are news articles that purport to explain why weirdness is suddenly in the news. The effect is the same: The Democrats talking point gets out in the world at zero cost, as in the Chicago Tribune piece headlined Harris and Democrats keep calling Trump weird Heres why. In Politico, there was a headline about Harriss past position on fracking that was framed as a Trump accusation. After outcry, the headline was changed, per Fox News. Politico is calling something Harris is on record and on video several times over saying she is in favor and will ban fracking, as a "Trump accusation." pic.twitter.com/RwjxRfF4XX Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 29, 2024 Its hard to convince Republicans that this is not a coordinated media effort, similar to what was seen as a coordinated media effort to protect Biden earlier in the year. To be sure, separate newsrooms produce the stories, but each is chasing the same save democracy at all costs storyline. Consider the headline on The Atlantics lead story Tuesday: Whats Genuinely Weird About the Online Right. Or Vanity Fairs lead story: All of the Crazy Things Trump Said to a Roomful of Black Journalists. Fox hosts, meanwhile, are pouncing on what they call the rebranding of Kamala Harris via the media, with anchor Trace Gallagher and longtime host Sean Hannity both doing segments pointing out what they see as sycophantic coverage. Kayleigh McEnany, a former press secretary for Trump who is now a Fox commentator and co-host of the show Outnumbered, foresaw the Kamalot frenzy days before the New York magazine cover debuted. She was tweeting about it the day Biden dropped out, after she saw Jamal Simmons, Harris former communications director, say on CNN that little girls see Harris like a real-life Wonder Woman. KAMALA CAMELOT! Here we go. I remember young women grabbing her by the hand like shes Wonder Woman. pic.twitter.com/hQPpd1VItH Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) July 21, 2024 Earlier today, she told me that its strange that legacy newspapers arent writing critically about Harris association with Biden, whose unfavorable ratings helped drive the campaign to get him to step down, or the voting record that once got Harris named the most liberal U.S. senator. Its a fair question. As the vice president, she owns this administrations agenda and failures on any issue, Kamy Akhavan, executive director of the University of Southern California Dornsife Center for the Political Future, told the Sacramento Bee. There have been a few articles examining Harris record, McEnany said, including ABCs report on Harris remarks about police defunding after George Floyds death, and The New York Times article entitled Why the Kamala Harris of Four Years Ago Could Haunt Her in 2024. But Harris seems to be escaping the kinds of questions that Biden was getting a few weeks ago under heightened press scrutiny. Where is the press clamoring for Kamalas first press conference? Wheres the press clamoring for her first serious sit-down interview? Weve seen a revamped Kamala Harris, someone who performs much better on the rally stage than she did a year ago, someone who in general seems to have perfected her ability to speak in front of cameras, but wheres the clamoring for an unscripted moment? ... Im waiting for the clamoring from the media. Its in their interest to have her do a free-wheeling sit-down or a free-wheeling press conference, McEnany said. She said that positive articles published about Harris and her campaign have a measurable effect that can be seen in public polling. Look at her favorability prior to becoming the de facto nominee, and look at her favorability after. Its a perfect example of the power of the media. In December of last year, 39% of voters had a positive view of Harris, compared to 55% who viewed her unfavorably, a Los Angeles Times poll showed. According to this review, Harris hasnt recorded a positive net approval rating since June 2021 and is notably less popular than Mike Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney and Al Gore were after the same number of days as vice president. The analysis also found Harris has an even worse approval rating than President Biden, who scored two points better with a net rating of -14, Newsweek reported in December of 2023. This week, Newsweek reported that Harris approval rating has surged: An ABC News/Ipsos survey of 1,200 adults released on Sunday showed that Harris favorability rating stands at 43 percent, 8 points up from the 35 percent favorability rating she recorded in a previous poll conducted before President Joe Biden ended his 2024 campaign. Harris, on her own terms, is one thing. Kamala plus media is quite another, McEnany said. Shes not wrong. 'We're here for the long-term.' New all-boys Catholic school to open in Bond Hill More than three decades after a Catholic school closed in Cincinnati's Bond Hill neighborhood, a new Catholic school is set to open in the long-closed building. Xavier Jesuit Academy, a Jesuit Catholic primary school, will open Aug. 14 for class. In its first year, the school will serve 45 students in third, fourth and fifth grades. The academy plans to accept students through eighth grade. The school fills the old St. Agnes school building at 1601 California Ave., a Catholic elementary school that closed in 1993. As a Jesuit school it already has established links with St. Xavier High School and Xavier University. It also boasts a leadership board full of big names and deep pockets. Kyle Chandler, founding principal, and the Rev. Nathan Wendt, founding president, stand in front of the new Xavier Jesuit Academy. After a $9 million renovation, the school is set to open in August for classes. The Board of Trustees represents the city's Fortune 500 companies, state politicians and more. The board is comprised of 18 members: Michael Keating, former president and CEO of The Christ Hospital Health Network. William Moran, former senior vice president of the Fifth Third Bank. Eric Kearney, former state senator and current president of the African American Chamber of Commerce. Patricia Robertson, former Procter & Gamble executive; former board chair of DePaul Cristo Rey. Every board member has donated to the school, according to Greg Vehr, vice president of advancement for the school. Vehr was the spokesperson for the University of Cincinnati and former senior vice president for development at the Dragonfly Foundation Private donations funded the school's $9 million renovation and will also support student scholarships. The tuition of Xavier Jesuit Academy is around $12,500, according to Kyle Chandler, founding principal. Chandler said no family would have to pay that price. At most, families could pay $1,000 for the year. Some would pay nothing at all. This is the main entrance of the new Xavier Jesuit Academy. The school will welcome up to 45 students in its first year. Ohio's EdChoice vouchers will also cover the costs. The taxpayer-funded program provides all students at or below 450% of the federal poverty level with a full voucher to attend a private school. For those in higher tax brackets, the voucher's value decreases proportionally. The scholarships are important because the academy will serve many low-income students. Bond Hill is a neighborhood of about 7,000 residents, 21.5% of whom live below the poverty line, according to an Enquirer neighborhood report card. At the school, roughly 75% of Xavier Jesuit Academy students are expected to qualify for free or reduced lunches, according to Chandler. Even big Cincinnati-based companies are in on the creation of Bond Hill's only Catholic school. P&G is funding the school's art room, while Kroger is helping to pay for the kitchen, which will be another classroom for students to learn about food. 'There's a connection' After graduation, students can attend any high school that's their "best fit," but Chandler said that St. Xavier High School is "the standard." As the high school's president and an academy board of trustee member, Timothy Reilly is adamant that, despite their connection, the academy will not be a feeder school for St. Xavier High School. "It is not about what high school, it's always about the young man," Reilly told The Enquirer in an emailed statement. St. Xavier High School in Finneytown is a predominantly white all-boys school, with a minority enrollment rate of just 20% according to its website. "There's no doubt, with our name, say 'Xavier Jesuit Academy,' there's a connection," Vehr said. "The connection is Jesuits." St. Xavier High School plans to start a "big brothers program" between the two schools, according to Reilly. Why open now? The school opens at a time when many Catholic elementary schools across the nation are declining. The 2024 National Catholic Education Association report found 20 new schools opened while 55 schools either closed or consolidated in the past school year. Cincinnati alone has faced the closure a number of Catholic schools through the last decade, including St. Joseph in the West End and St. Martin of Tovas in Cheviot, both closing last year. Mother of Mercy High School closed its doors in 2018 to merge with McAuley High School. Before that, St. Peter Claver and St. James of the Valley shut down in 2015. With St. Joseph closing its doors, Xavier Jesuit Academy is the only Catholic school in the city to be partnered with a predominantly Black parish, Church of the Resurrection. It's one of only three predominantly Black Catholic congregations in Cincinnati, according to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Church of the Resurrection shares its space with Xavier Jesuit Academy, which replaces the former St. Agnes Catholic school. With St. Joseph forced to close its doors, Xavier Jesuit is the only school to be connected with any of those three parishes. Despite that, Xavier Jesuit Academy's president, the Rev. Nathan Wendt, said he feels confident that the school has a sustainable future. The school is focusing on ensuring that it has the resources and donations to maintain the Jesuit education model. "We're here for the long term." Wendt said. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New catholic school to open in Bond Hill this August West Palm Beach police have arrested a 34-year old Lake Worth Beach man whom they said "broke into City Hall and dropped his dope and dipped last weekend." Jake Foster Machado faces one count of unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure and one count of possession of a controlled substance, which police say turned out to be cocaine. Officers arrested him Monday afternoon at a drug-rehabilitation center in western Palm Beach County and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. Machado remained in custody Wednesday afternoon, a day after Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set his bail at $7,000 and appointed him a public defender during a hearing at the jail. As a policy, the county Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases. WEST PALM NEWS: Vita lawyer looks to nullify West Palm Beach mayor votes on Sunset Lounge management agreement Video spotted man under arrest crawling about West Palm Beach City Hall A portion of City Hall was evacuated on July 22 as the Police Department and West Palm Beach Fire Rescue responded to a report that a white powder had been discovered on the floor of City Commission chambers. The City Commission was scheduled to meet later that day, and an employee prepping the chambers made what police described as an "odd find mens clothing and a plastic bag with white powder on the floor." "A portion of the building was evacuated as a precaution while hazardous materials technicians from the West Palm Beach Fire Department tested the powder," police said in a statement describing the incident. "The powder was determined to be cocaine, and crime scene investigators collected the evidence, including a mens T-shirt and a pair of Nike sneakers. WPBPDs Detective Bureau and Special Investigations Division assisted the City Hall Unit in the investigation." Video assisted in that investigation, too. The man hadn't broken into an abandoned building on a forgotten street; he broke into City Hall. The video showed the burglar "broke into the building after 5 a.m., July 20 and took off his shirt and shoes, and rolled and crawled around the floor as he made his way toward the chambers. The burglar thrashed around the building for about 30 minutes before ending his rant. He tried to force other doors open to get back inside but was unsuccessful and left, heading west on Banyan Boulevard," police said. Ordinances, zoning and land use are usually the topics that dominate at City Hall. But the man who became known as "the cocaine burglar" changed that as news of the July 22 incident spread. WEST PALM NEWS: Mayor Keith James briefly hospitalized after a fall near his home West Palm commissioner hopes break-in leads to better City Hall security Amid the mirth who breaks into the building where the mayor and City Commission meet and leaves an illegal drug? Commissioner Shalonda Warren noted the incident should generate discussion about improved security at City Hall. "The events that occurred today were very concerning to me where the City Hall was evacuated," Warren said as the July 22 City Commission meeting closed. "I know safety and security, although we want it to be proactive, quite often measures that are taken are reactive. And I'm hopeful that, based on the things we saw today, that we see that there may be some changes and revisions and protocol or policy where we perhaps can even see motion detection or heightened security for this facility and for the staff here at this building. I think it's important to recognize that there are always opportunities to do better and that we take advantage of those opportunities every chance that we get." Warren said the incident was a reminder of the struggles some silently endure. "I think it is important that we check on our strong friends, that we look at the people in our lives and we make sure that people are OK," she said. "Check on the people that are close to you. The people we think are the strongest and have the broadest shoulders are those that carry a great deal of weight for themselves and for others. "We do not know what anyone encounters, but grace is free. I think any opportunity we have to extend grace, we should take that opportunity, boldly, and be as graceful to other people as we can, because we do not know when we will need anyone to be graceful toward us." Sign up for our Post on West Palm Beach weekly newsletter, delivered every Thursday! Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man charged with leaving cocaine at West Palm Beach City Hall FILE - The Greenbrier Hotel, a five-star resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., is seen on Nov. 30, 1998. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is in a fight to keep his iconic Greenbrier Hotel. (AP Photo/Jon C. Hancock, File) CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is in a fight to keep his iconic Greenbrier hotel. A legal notice announcing a public auction for the luxury resort near White Sulphur Springs due to unpaid debts was publicized in the West Virginia Daily News Wednesday only the latest development in the Justice family's financial woes. Justice, who owns dozens of companies and whose net worth was estimated by Forbes Magazine to be $513 million in 2021, has been accused in numerous court claims of being late in paying millions of dollars he owes in debts for family businesses and fines for unsafe working conditions at his coal mines. He began serving the first of his two terms as governor in 2017, after buying The Greenbrier, which has hosted U.S. presidents and royalty, out of bankruptcy in 2009. The PGA Tour held a tournament at the resort from 2010 until 2019. His family also owns The Greenbrier Sporting Club, a private luxury community with a members-only resort within a resort." That property was scheduled to be auctioned off this year in an attempt by Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Virginia, to recover more than $300 million in business loans defaulted by the governors family, but a court battle between the Justice family and the bank delayed that process. Wednesday's notice said the auction involves 60.5 acres including the hotel itself and the adjacent parking lot and is scheduled for August 27 at 2 p.m. at the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg. A spokesperson for Justice said the impending auction is not a state government matter and the governor's office wouldn't comment. Campaign staff did not return an email from The Associated Press Thursday. In a statement to West Virginia MetroNews, Justice attorney Bob Wolford accused lender JPMorgan Chase Bank of aligning with the Democrats to undermine the next Republican Senator from West Virginia. The statement said that the Justice family originally secured a $142 million loan in 2014 from JPMorgan Chase and that only $9.4 million in debt remains after payments made as recently as June of this year. On July 1, the governor was notified by JPMorgan Chase that it had sold Justice's loan to Beltway Capital Management, which declared it to be in default. A U.S. Senate financial disclosure report filed by Justice on July 13 after the loan was sold to Beltway identified The Greenbrier debt to be between $25 million and $50 million. Let me be clear that the Greenbrier will not be sold, and the Justice family will take all necessary action to ensure that there will not be any adverse impact on their ownership of the Greenbrier or the Greenbriers operations and the ability of the Greenbrier to continue to provide world class service for its guests will be uninterrupted," Wolford told MetroNews. West Virginia Democratic Party officials said in a statement that the resort's foreclosure is not the result of a political stunt, as the Justice family's attorney contends. It is a direct consequence of his own financial incompetence, they said. JP Morgan Chase declined to comment. COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) Westmont Elementary will not be ready for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 5, according to a statement released by the school this evening. In a press release sent to families on July 31, Principal Angela Young addressed the situation and acknowledged the inconvenience. In an effort to ensure our students receive a quality education from day one in a safe, positive environment, we will hold instruction for the first week of school at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center (PAC), located at 1000 Market Street, in Evans, said Young. During this time, students will be engaged in exciting instructional activities, and other memorable experiences to enrich their learning. Open House will also be held at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center on Sunday, August 4 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. According to Young, meals and transportation will be offered, with security provided by the Columbia County School District Police Department. Throughout the week, grab-and-go breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge, daily, for students during our temporary placement. School buses will transport students via their assigned routes to the PAC, and a car line will be established for pick-up and drop-off, she said. Safety and security is a top priority and measures are being put into place to include secure entry access points and monitoring by our Columbia County School District Police Department. Additionally, our school nurse will also be on site to assist with medication distribution. Families of students who need self-contained classroom settings should expect to be contacted with information about temporary accommodations. To accommodate students further, a Learn from Home option is available and laptops will be provided for those who choose this to participate. Parents are asked to complete a survey to select which method of learning they prefer. This is a developing story. Count on WJBF NewsChannel 6 for more information as it becomes available. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. Another Hollywood union has throw its weight behind Kamala Harris on Thursday as the Writers Guild of America West Political Action Committee has formally endorsed her for president. The WGAW PAC is endorsing Kamala Harris for president. She has consistently supported writers, most recently refusing to cross our picket line during the 2023 strike. As president, she will continue the great work of the Biden-Harris administration to protect labor rights, create good jobs, promote competition and protect workers pensions, the guild said in a statement. Since entering the presidential race 11 days ago, Harris has attracted big support from various sectors of Hollywood, including other unions. On July 22, the day after Joe Biden withdrew from the race and Harris declared her candidacy, The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees endorsed her, declaring that Biden-Harris has been the most pro-union administration in history and Vice President Kamala Harris has played a pivotal role in delivering landmark policies and legislation to benefit IATSE workers. The American Federation of Musicians endorsed Harris the next day. For musicians concerned about protecting their rights against exploitation both intellectually and at work, and ensuring the security of our pay, benefits, and retirement, Harris is the clear choice, the union said in part. Harris has also drawn considerable support from Hollywood power brokers, executives and stars including Disneys Dana Walden, CAAs Bryan Lourd and Octavia Spencer. She has also broken several fundraising records in the brief time shes been the presumptive Democratic nominee. The post WGAW PAC Endorses Kamala Harris for President: She Has Consistently Supported Writers appeared first on TheWrap. CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) State Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung is one of two candidates in this years Republican primary for mayor of Cranston. Shes running against incumbent Mayor Ken Hopkins. Watch our interview with Fenton-Fung above, and see his responses to the survey sent by 12 News to each of the candidates below. VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need for Election 2024 Why do you want to be mayor of Cranston? Im an action person. I dont spend endless months and years bemoaning issues; Im a bulldog that tackles the problems that everyone is running away from. I want to make Cranston the most dynamic city in the region, and have us ready to be firing on all cylinders for the challenges of the next 5-10 years. I foresee the potential for strong revitalization on the eastern side by partnering with the states BioMed sector, and increasing our focus on attracting healthcare partners into the city. We also need to grow family friendly activity in each one of our village hubs like Pawtuxet Village, Rolfe Square, and Knightsville, to support those small business centers. Currently, the city is on its heels, with a general malaise and no real exciting plan for the future. Many neighbors feel less safe, and point to a lack of general upkeep. I dont think the ARPA COVID funds were used strategically, and the taxpayers are not getting a strong value for their money. Taxes have gone up three straight years under Ken Hopkins, and now hes proposing to allow the schools to issue their own tax bills. The Budlong pool fiasco has been awful hes trying to force through a pool 2/3 smaller than the original size that the neighborhood came out strongly to reject. Hopkins lost the ice bubble in 2021, and now the remaining rink is in desperate need of repairs. Poor responses by the administration to constituent concerns are a constant complaint I hear at the doors. If Im a business owner looking to relocate, I wouldnt have faith that Cranstons current administration is executing properly, and would be very hesitant about investing here. What previous experience of yours do you think has prepared you to serve as mayor? After I defeated Speaker Mattiello in 2020, I dove head first into the opportunities as a State Representative, and have been lucky enough to serve on and learn so much while on a wide array of commissions and committees. Ive served on Corporations, Small Business, Environment, Education, Health & Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Labor, and many commissions that have given me the opportunity to work holistically on addressing some of the biggest issues Rhode Island faces. Weve accomplished so much, like lowering copays for life saving medications, eliminating taxes (a personal favorite), increasing support for our public schools, and increasing funding for critical infrastructure like our roads and school buildings. I understand how important it is for short and long term planning, and how to navigate the sometimes complicated waters at the State House as one of the more bipartisan members of the chamber. Ive also always worked well in team environments. That camaraderie is what we need to tackle big issues, and something we desperately need to restore in the city. In Cranston, the current mayor and council are constantly at each others throats, one is now suing the other, and nothing gets done. Hopkins and the Republicans lost control of the council his first year because the mayor couldnt get along with Councilman Ferri a Republican who then flipped parties. We then lost out on $8 million for a community center because the two sides didnt trust each other so they tossed their hands up in the air and walked away from it all. Its maddening! Under my administration, were going to be #TeamCranston, no matter your political party or who you voted for, and I think that will yield much better results for our neighbors. I know I get criticized sometimes on talk radio for always saying we instead of I but in reflection, thats because when you dont care who takes credit, you get a lot more done. None of us can accomplish huge things individually. In my role at our states major trauma hospital, its a constant collaboration; healthcare is a total team sport. Thats how Ill approach big issues as mayor. I care that we tackle the big issues with gusto, and well hire highly skilled individuals with true expertise in their areas to get it done. What do you think is the biggest issue facing Cranston in the next two years? Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. We have an enormous problem with flooding in the city, and as storms are getting more intense, we see more property damage and surrounding erosion. Our road repairs need to be coordinated with all the utilities for less inconvenience for our neighbors and better results. The state set aside about $100 million to help replace lead pipes. Well lets get our fair share of that money, and while were digging up the area, lets work on drainage infrastructure, and any other repairs before we seal the road back up. Weve also got to work on more renovations to school buildings across the city, so that our children learn and thrive in safe environments. Most of these schools need targeted renovations, not complete rebuilds. Lets work smarter and make sure theres a high yield for taxpayer money. What do you think is a hidden gem in Cranston? The diamond in the rough is Meshanticut Lake. Since it became part of my state representative district in 2023, Ive worked well with the DEM and Senator Gallo to get the funds to get true civil and environmental engineering studies to figure out how best to comprehensively restore the lake to good health. Theyve already removed more than thirty dead/ill trees from the lake region, and now are working with neighbors who may have accidentally built on or are maintaining (out of the kindness of their hearts) areas that we need to return to their natural habitation. Its a work in progress, and once those recommendations are in, well work with the neighborhood and the state and go from there. Where can voters go to find more information about your campaign? www.CranstonIsBack.com FULL COVERAGE: Your Local Election Headquarters Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nesi's Notes Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) Camron Segalla is one of two candidates in this years Democratic primary for mayor of Pawtucket. Hes running against incumbent Mayor Don Grebien. Watch our interview with Segalla above, and see his responses to the survey sent by 12 News to each of the candidates below. VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need for Election 2024 Why do you want to be mayor of Pawtucket? Im running for Mayor to put the power back into the hands of the great people of Pawtucket, where it belongs. The current administration has done little to tackle the issues people are facing in Pawtucket. The administration doesnt talk about homelessness; they dont talk about our failing infrastructure, they dont talk about lowering the tax burden on Pawtucket taxpayers, they dont direct the tax dollars to projects that will benefit the people, and they never ask the people what issues they want to see addressed. People are tired of being ignored. If I win, I will center my policies around the will of the people. Im not looking for power for powers sake; Im looking to direct that power back to whom it belongs: the people. What previous experience of yours do you think has prepared you to serve as mayor? While I have no political or supervisory experience, I have been in situations that have prepared me to serve as Mayor. As Mayor, handling the budget will be one of my primary functions. When my grandmother got sick, she needed to find a way out of her debt so she could afford to buy healthier food and resources for her illness. Being on a fixed income made this problematic. I was able to structure a budget that allowed her to pay off her debts in 6 months. She then had more disposable income to purchase the things she desperately needed to improve her life. As Mayor, I will structure a budget to pay off our debts and prioritize spending to benefit the people. I have also been responsible for training new hires at my current job. This role has taught me how to lead by example. As Mayor, I will oversee multiple departments throughout the city. I will have to hold myself to the highest standard if I expect the same from the heads of these departments. I also understand that I dont have all the answers. This will benefit me greatly as Mayor. If I dont know the answer to a problem facing the city, I wont pretend to know the solution. I will do all the research necessary to find the best solution to the problem. What do you think is the biggest issue facing Pawtucket in the next two years? The biggest issue facing Pawtucket in the next two years will be homelessness. Now that the COVID era protections, like the eviction moratorium, have ended, thousands of residents in Rhode Island have faced the threat of eviction. Many have already faced eviction. The current number of residents experiencing homelessness is already too high; if this trend continues, we will face an even bigger homelessness crisis than we are already experiencing. Pawtucket is a working-class city. Rents have become unaffordable, making it extremely difficult for residents to survive. Ive spoken to many residents who are concerned about paying their bills. Many are forced to decide whether to pay their utility bills, pay for groceries, or pay their rent. We are all one missed paycheck from experiencing homelessness, and that is not acceptable to me. What do you think is a hidden gem in Pawtucket? The Guild Brewing Company is a hidden gem in Pawtucket. They created a beautiful beer hall out of an old mill building and not many people know its there. I discovered them because they host the Summertime Pawtucket Farmers Market every Friday from May through October. Where can voters go to find more information about your campaign? Voters can visit my website at Segalla24.com to find out more about my policies. You can find me on Facebook as Camron R. Segalla. I also have a Facebook group called Camron Segalla for Mayor of Pawtucket. You can also follow me on X @CamronSegalla and Instagram @camronrsegalla FULL COVERAGE: Your Local Election Headquarters Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nesi's Notes Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) attempted to troll President Joe Biden on Thursday, but the White House ended up with the high ground on social media. Mace posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Biden is MIA and asked, Why is no one talking about it? Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it? Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) August 1, 2024 Although Mace probably thought she was scoring political points, thats not exactly what happened. Right around the time Mace was claiming Biden was missing in action, news broke that his administration had arranged a massive prisoner exchange deal involving multiple countries. The deal freed eight Americans, including journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. RawStory noted that many people slammed the congresswomans badly timed post but, perhaps, no troll tweet hit harder than the one posted by the White House, which needed only three words to put Mace in her place. Those three words? Hes been busy, posted above Bidens own message about the hostage release. The reaction to the White Houses mocking of Mace was pretty heated. What is Nancy Mace up to? Oh wait, the House is in recess. Franklin (@franklinisbored) August 1, 2024 Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) August 1, 2024 Lmao it feels so nice under all this shade being thrown Bill DeMayo (@BDeMayo) August 1, 2024 The WH throwing shade on Nancy Mace is what I live for! Donamaria (@FraidNotz) August 1, 2024 are you ok? has your family checked on you Nancy? Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) August 1, 2024 Mace responded to the White House mockery a few hours later, trying to spin things in her favor by claiming the president was busy letting off the mastermind behind 9/11. Busy letting off the mastermind behind 9/11. https://t.co/IcFA8bnI3w Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) August 1, 2024 But that just led to more mockery and receipts. Meanwhile youre busy exploiting 9/11 Political (@political) August 1, 2024 You violate the honor code on a daily basis. For someone whos not supposed to lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do, you sure do a lot of lying and tolerating. (@CarasikS) August 1, 2024 Liar. Please provide any and all evidence that you can produce to prove that Biden had anything whatsoever to do with the plea deal that will keep Mohammed in jail for the rest of his life. The DOD Rear Admiral in charge wrote that the decision was made by the prosecution team. Smiley Blanton (@SmileyBlanton) August 1, 2024 Her's a congresswoman gaslighting America. The mastermind and the others were sentenced to life in prison and they were sentenced that because they were illegally tortured! That would have come out in trial. Mace is just another traitor to the truth ! Kerry Krueger (@kerry_krueger2) August 1, 2024 The Convening Authority for Military Commissions entered into pretrial agreements that will mean life in prison an agreement to respond to questions from the verified 9/11 family members - something a trial would not have offered. Peggy Skala (@PeggySka) August 1, 2024 Related... Three American citizens and one green card holder, unjustly imprisoned in Russia, will come back to the US within the agreement on the prisoner swap between Moscow and the West. Source: European Pravda with reference to the statement by the White House Details: The statement on behalf of US President Joe Biden says that within the agreement the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were "political prisoners in their own country", was negotiated. Moreover, Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal reporter; Paul Whelan, a marine; Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist; and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dissident who has British-Russian citizenship and a green card, will come back to the US. Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan. Free! pic.twitter.com/NCuSAbjOxc Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) August 1, 2024 Biden thanked Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkiye for their participation in the liberation of the prisoners. "This is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer," he added. Updated: Later, Biden posted a photo of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, as well as Marine Paul Whelan, who were released from Russia as part of the exchange. "After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families," the US president tweeted. After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024 Background: In recent days, the media have noticed signs of a potential major prisoner swap between several Western countries and Russia and Belarus. The United States, Germany, Slovenia and the United Kingdom were reported to be involved in this potential swap. On 1 August, the National Intelligence Organisation of Turkiye (MIT) said that the "most ambitious prisoner exchange in recent years" between Russia and Western nations took place in Ankara. The swap involved prisoners held in the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus. As part of the exchange, Vadim Krasikov, a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in a Berlin park, was released in Germany, which caused disappointment in the German prosecutors office. Support UP or become our patron! White House refuse to comment on delivery of F-16s to Ukraine The White House has refused to confirm the delivery of the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from partners. Source: National Security Advisor John Kirby during a briefing, as reported by European Pravda Details: Kirby was asked if he could confirm media reports about the delivery of the first Western fighter jets to Ukraine. Quote: "Youd have to talk to the Ukrainians. Im certainly not going to talk about weapons capabilities. I will only add that, to remind, as we have said and said at the NATO Summit, that the process of providing F-16s to Ukraine continues to move forward. We said that they will be operational by the end of the summer. We have no reason to doubt that." Background: Kyiv has not yet officially confirmed the arrival of the long-awaited F-16s in Ukraine, but Bloomberg reported it on 31 July. The Times stated that Ukraine received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands, consisting of six aircraft. However, the Netherlands has not yet confirmed the delivery. Support UP or become our patron! Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny could have been included in a prisoner swap between Moscow and the West if he had not died in prison on Feb. 16, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a briefing on Aug. 1. Independent experts and Western politicians say that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for Navalny's death. Some argue that Navalny was killed intentionally, while others say he died due to harsh conditions and lack of medical treatment. Sullivan's statement came after a major prisoner exchange that involved 26 people from seven countries U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus. Eight of them, including convicted Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, were returned to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and three Navalny associates. "We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny. Unfortunately, he died," Sullivan said. "In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan's parents and I told that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news and that we were going to work day and night to get to this day. That work continued over the course of the past few months and culminated into today." Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in northern Russia, after being convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent. Leonid Volkov, the former chief of staff to Navalny, also said that the Russian opposition leader was supposed to be included in the prisoner exchange. "This is the very exchange in which, as we had hoped, Alexei Navalny was to be released in February this year," Volkov wrote on Telegram. "But Putin decided he wouldn't give Navalny up for anything. And killed him just a couple of days before the exchange could take place," he added. Prior to his death, a Moscow court had sentenced Navalny to another 19 years in prison in August 2023 after being convicted of "creating an extremist community," namely the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The EU, the U.S., and the U.K. criticized the court's sentence, saying it was politically motivated, and demanded the immediate release of Navalny. Read also: Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. White women: Your whiteness will not save you from the GOP. Vote accordingly | Opinion Ive been ashamed of my fellow white women for far too long. Yes, I said ashamed. I know white women can do better for our neighbors, friends and families, and yet our voting record has repeatedly shown that we disproportionately vote for conservative politicians that have so clearly shown they do not care about women. Your whiteness will not save you from the horrors planned for women under a second Trump Administration. Opinion So this November, white voters white women, especially must step up next to voters of color to help push Donald Trump out of contention. White women are the largest voting bloc that consistently votes majority conservative, so pushing the GOPs numbers below 50% would mean a landslide Harris win. However, its going to take white Americans to convince other white Americans; this has to be white on white work. And, as recently as last week, Im finally able to say that thousands of white women showed up to Answer The Call. White women broke Zoom In the last two weeks, there have been nationwide Zoom calls rallying support for presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris. It started with the Win With Black Women event, a forum for American Black women to gather, support and donate to Harris campaign. Over the course of four hours, more than 40,000 people, mostly Black women, raised more than $1.6 million. Black men organized a similar call for the next day with 53,000 people and raised $1.3 million. Then, Latinas for Harris organized and raised more than $110,000. The gauntlet was thrown. Within hours, the Answer The Call: White Women for Harris event was organized by Moms Demand Action leader Shannon Watts. More than 100,000 people attended, and the surge in donations to Harris campaign temporarily broke the Democratic Partys website. White women raised a staggering $8.5 million. Since then, hundreds of thousands of women and men have shown their support for Harris candidacy in the past two weeks in race-based identity groups, and more than $11 million has been raised to beat Trump this November and all of it in less than two weeks since Harris announced her candidacy. But the key is winning white women over to the Democratic ticket, Black voting activists say. White women are largest voting bloc Though American women as a bloc have reliably voted for Democratic candidates in every election since 1992, according to the Center for American Women and Politics, its largely been women voters of color holding that line. A majority of white women have voted for the Republican candidate since the 2000 presidential election, when white women were almost equally split between Democrat Al Gore and Republican victor, George W. Bush, the center reports on its website. In contrast, a large majority of Black, Latinx and Asian women have supported the Democratic candidate for the entirety of the time period in which data has been available. Even after four years of lies from the Trump administration, the center reports that exit polls in 2020 showed that up to 55% of white women voted for a second Trump term, while 90% of Black women voters supported Joe Biden and almost 70% of Hispanic women. In short: White women have historically voted for conservative politicians and policies that ultimately harm women and people of color, while women of color tend to vote for liberal policies that are more equitable overall. This election, however, Im hopeful white women will finally flip the script. Work needed on conversion Ill admit that I was initially uncomfortable with the idea of a call for white people to organize. That kind of rallying has historically led to robust sales of tiki torches and bedsheets with holes in them, but the calls from Black social media influencers were encouraging. Hey white women? Its time to step up and talk to your kinfolk about Kamala Harris, posted Imani Gandy, a lawyer and journalist who goes by the handle @AngryBlackLady on X, formerly Twitter. We can do this but you need to help. White supremacy wont die until white people see it as a white issue they need to solve rather than a Black issue they need to emphasize with, said Dwayne Reed, a Black social media influencer, author and educator. These Black men and women are spreading the message that white women can and must do better in 2024. Maybe, finally, white women are starting to realize that. So, white Democrats: We must stop relying on Americans of color to do the work in our own communities and start educating our neighbors about the issues at stake in this election. Im sorry to tell you that some of our friends and family members will only listen to the argument if another white person is saying it. Historically, we have voted according to our own interests alone, enriching our bank accounts while systematically removing rights and government assistance from Americans who do not share our privilege and skin color. But with the fall of Roe and the horrifying promises the GOP candidates are making about further elimination of womens rights and voting rights, I hope now moderate and conservative white women will understand the GOP is coming for them, too. Yes, its deeply uncomfortable for many white people to talk about their race and identity politics in America, but our voting record has forced us to this point. Im only sorry it took us so long to get here. Not only could white women be a driving force to help elect the first female U.S. president, but perhaps finally we might earn our place in the sisterhood. In order to do that, white women must understand: Your whiteness will not save you. Vote accordingly. Why attorney for latest Columbus murder suspect says his client acted in self-defense An attorney for one of two suspects charged with murder in a deadly shooting at a Columbus garage said at a court hearing Wednesday that his client acted in self-defense. Markale Mickles, 19, is charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in the death of Quentin Scott Jr. Scott was shot and killed July 7 at a parking garage on Broadway, according to police. Mickles pleaded not guilty to all charges before Judge David Ranieri. Detective Bobby Jackson with the Columbus Police Department spoke at the court hearing and said Brandon Day Jr., who was previously charged with murder in this incident, identified Mickles as someone who was involved in the disorder that led up to the fatal shooting. Mickles was identified as the shooter in video from the scene, Jackson said. Day, whose murder case is still active, didnt shoot his weapon, according to previous court testimony. He did pull a weapon during the incident, which he legally owned, according to court testimony, but someone else involved in the disorder disarmed him. Mickles shot after Day was disarmed, according to Jacksons testimony. Ranieri found probable cause and bound the case over to Superior Court, which moves Mickles case forward. District Attorney Don Kelly was prosecuting the case against Mickles Wednesday morning. Every murder case is important to our office, every case that comes in our office is important to our office, Kelly said. William Kendrick is the defense attorney for Mickles. Kendrick claims his client acted in self-defense. If you go to disarm someone and take away their legally possessed firearm, then youre going to cause a melee, Kendrick said. How I tracked our defense for Mr. Mickles came out of, where did the first illegal act take place, and I believe the first illegal act is the (attempted) disarming of Mr. Day. I was called a childless cat lady once. It was in response to an article I wrote last year about the authoritarian ideology coming out of the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank. I told my kids; they thought it was funny. I didnt tell my cat because I dont have one. So when I saw J.D. Vances comment about childless cat ladies running the Democratic Party I was hardly surprised. He is nowhere near as original as he seems. He belongs to a movement, often referred to as the New Right, that is far more complex and extremeand, yes, weirdthan most people understand. On the face of it, Vance appears to be living a lie. On the one hand, he carries the aura of meritocracy. Hes a Yale Law School graduate and a former junior private equity associate; he had a transgender friend; he married the daughter of South Asian immigrants; and he was once sensible enough to have called Trump morally reprehensible, a form of cultural heroin, and Americas Hitler. On the other hand, he is a hillbilly and a man of the people, he claims to speak for the forgotten white working class, he appears to be a sincere convert to Catholicism, and he demands that our political leaders be free of the malign influences of billionaireslike the private equity titans who funded his own political career. Vance explains it all as a matter of changing his mind. Many people, finding this explanation preposterous, put it down to hypocrisy jacked up with ambition. But the contradictory sides of J.D. Vance fit together neatly once you understand something about the movement he represents. In the article that earned me my first childless cat lady accolade, I pointed out that the roots of the New Rights ideology lie in a particular interpretation of the work of the midcentury political theorist Leo Strauss. To cut a long story short: The New Rights understanding of Straussianism makes a crucial distinction between what he calls exoteric and esoteric communication. The exoteric stuff is what you tell the little people who are thought to be simpleminded and religious by instinct. Esoteric messages are what you tell your fellow leaders and allies in private as you prepare to rule over the herd (for their own good, of course). Leaders of the New Right, such as Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, the architect of Project 2025, and Christopher Rufo, the mastermind of the critical race theory hysteria, present themselves as members of a new intellectual eliteeven as they cast themselves as representatives of ordinary folk. (Roberts, in conversation with Ted Cruz in 2022, commented that driving big trucks is one way we can defeat cultural Marxism in America.) Yet they are unabashedly elitist, and this is a key part of the New Right movement to which Vance belongs. They manufacture lies for the little people, but they do it all in service of some greater truth, at least in their own minds. Vance evidently sees himself as a member of this club, which may explain why he is so comfortable portraying himself as a wholesome hillbilly despite having gone to Yale and become a Silicon Valley elite. As I also pointed out in my essay on Claremont last year, another key figure in that New Right tradition is German political theorist Carl Schmitt. The most important thing to know about Schmitt was that he was a Nazi; the second-most-important thing is that he was profoundly anti-liberal. He saw the attempt to ground a state on the ideas of individual rights, the rule of law, and rational policymaking as a horrible betrayal of the calling of politics. All that mattered was standing up for the nationthat is, a particular people who shared common blood and lived on a designated soiland doing whatever it took to defeat its internal foes. A proper leader, he suggested, must rise above the law. Schmitt adored Hitler for that reason. The men of the New Right adore Trump for essentially the same reason. Vance articulated a version of this blood-and-soil anti-liberalism at the Republican National Convention. Noting that some of his ancestors were buried in a cemetery in Kentucky, he said he hoped that seven generations of his family would be buried there as well, even if they would die fighting to protect it. That is the source of Americas greatness. When Vance kissed the ring of the man he once tagged as Americas Hitler, then, it wasnt because he had changed his mind about Trump. Its because he, with the help of his New Right friends like Roberts (whose new book features a foreword, which TNR obtained this week, by Vance), came to appreciate better the virtues of an authoritarian leader. This helps explain the contradictions that run through Vances political careerhow someone who owes his venture-capitalist riches and Senate seat to a few billionaire benefactors can pretend to champion the little guy. In the New Right worldview to which Vance subscribes, hierarchies of power are a fact of life. There will always be those at the top in society, and there will always be a mudsill; the powers that be are ordained of God. The only real question is whether the top ranks are staffed with the woke cat ladies of the left or the manly trad men of the New Right. Thus, laboring in Washington on behalf of the private equity and tech titans who have ascended to the throne of the modern economy isnt an act of hypocrisy on the part of an ambitious politician. It is a sacred act of duty to uphold the order of being. In Vances world, power, God, and money are all on the same side, and lies are just another way of speaking a deeper truth. Why Mexico was in the dark about the arrest of top Sinaloa cartel leaders Days after the surprise arrest on U.S. soil of two of Mexico's most wanted fugitives, the details of what exactly transpired remain murky. Among those questioning how the powerful drug traffickers ended up in handcuffs at a private airport outside El Paso is Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said this week that U.S. authorities have kept his government in the dark about the operation. We need more information," he said. "We need them to tell the truth." The president has come under heavy criticism for being blindsided by the capture of Sinaloa cartel leaders Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Mexican authorities say they weren't informed about the operation until after the two suspects were detained July 25. They say they still aren't sure whether an account of the incident proffered by Zambada's laywer that the 76-year-old Zambada was kidnapped by Guzman Lopez and delivered to U.S. authorities is actually true. Read more: The secretive life and stunning downfall of Sinaloa cartel boss 'El Mayo' Zambada That Mexican officials still know so little about a major law enforcement operation executed by a close ally against two of their nationals underscored just how much security cooperation between the two nations has deteriorated under Lopez Obrador, who has furiously defended Mexican sovereignty and has regularly accused U.S. officials of overstepping their authority on Mexican soil. Trust between the nations has been shaky since 2020, when former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of drug trafficking. Lopez Obrador, who said he had not been informed about the investigation, persuaded the Trump administration to return Cienfuegos to Mexico, where he was freed and later awarded a major military decoration by the president. The Cienfuegos case in which Lopez Obrador labeled the U.S. evidence "garbage" strained U.S.-Mexico relations. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents grumble that their work in Mexico has been hampered by local authorities. U.S. officials also complain that Mexico isn't doing enough to counter fentanyl trafficking, and have slammed Lopez Obrador for incorrectly insisting that the synthetic opiod is not produced in Mexico. Lopez Obrador, meanwhile, accused the U.S. government of "spying" and "abusive meddling" after the DEA announced that it had infiltrated the Sinaloa cartel faction known as Los Chapitos, alleged kingpins who are the sons of the imprisoned El Chapo and specialize in smuggling fentanyl. Read more: She sang for 'El Chapo.' Now the cartel kingpin's lawyer wants to be a ranchera star Cecilia Farfan-Mendez, a researcher at the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, said "there is very little bilateral work" between the two nations despite a recently renegotiated plan for cooperation on security. News releases touting cross-border law enforcement collaboration, she said, were mostly for show. "What happens at the operational level has remained very empty," she said. For many Mexicans, the rationale behind the U.S. silence in the recent case is humiliating, but understandable: U.S. officials simply dont trust their Mexican counterparts in a nation where cartels control vast stretches of territory and have long paid off local cops, mayors and high-ranking officials. Los gringos were not going to confide in the Mexican government for an operation that was so delicate, historic and sensitive, columnist Carlos Marin wrote in Mexicos Milenio newspaper. Mocking the Mexican inquiry into the matter, Marin continued: What is the Attorney General of the Republic going to do ... ask for the extradition of the U.S. agents who planned and executed this very singular feat? A long lineage of cases against crooked Mexican law enforcement authorities attests to the rationale behind Washingtons lack of confidence. In the most sensational recent instance, Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexicos former security chief and the former face of the anti-drug war, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn last year of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. Read more: Soldiers and civilians are dying as Mexican cartels embrace a terrifying new weapon: Land mines Derek Maltz, former director of the DEAs special operations division, said he was not privy to information about the arrests of Zambada and Guzman Lopez, but he wasnt surprised to hear Mexican officials say they had been kept out of the loop. Its a very sensitive situation, Maltz said. We know the Mexican government is super corrupt and we know high-level ops have been compromised for years. Maltz noted how for years Zambadas former partner, "El Chapo" Guzman, slipped through the hands of law enforcement after U.S. officials shared detailed information about his location with their Mexican counterparts. We'd call him Houdini, Maltz said. He would escape every effort at the last minute. Obviously they were on the payroll. Things haven't changed. Mexican officials are on the payroll and constantly monitoring U.S. law enforcement efforts to go after the kingpins. Maltz said even with the near-misses and suspected leaks, there was little U.S. agents could do because they are operating in a foreign country. Guzman was eventually captured by Mexican special forces in 2016, extradited and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison. What exactly happened July 25 remains murky and swirling with intrigue. What is clear is that Zambada and Guzman Lopez were aboard a plane that took off from somewhere in Mexico and landed Thursday in a small airport in rural New Mexico, just across the Texas state line from El Paso. U.S. officials at first said Zambada had been tricked to get onto the plane. But Zambada's laywer later asserted that Guzman Lopez had forced Zambada on board and tied him up, essentially kidnapping him. Speculation has spread in Mexico that Guzman Lopez sought to turn in the elderly, rival capo in hopes of leniency for himself and his younger brother, Ovidio, who is also in federal custody in the United States facing drug-smuggling charges. But Guzman Lopezs lawyer told reporters in Chicago on Tuesday that his client has no deal in place with federal prosecutors. You ask if it was a delivery, if it was capture, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Mexicos security secretary, told reporters. That is part of the investigation and part of the information that we would be expecting from the government of the United States. Linthicum and McDonnell reported from Mexico City, Hamilton from San Francisco. Times staff writer Cecilia Sanchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The inhabitants of North Sentinel Island may be the last "uncontacted" people on Earth and they'd like to keep it that way. For centuries, the island's reclusive, Indigenous people (known as the Sentinelese) have rejected most attempts by the outside world to infiltrate their tiny tropical home in the Bay of Bengal. In fact, anthropologists have no idea how many Sentinelese people live on the secluded island; estimates vary between 50 and 500. What Little We Do Know About the Secluded Island The few glimpses of life on isolated North Sentinel Island paint an intriguing picture of an untouched society of hunter-gatherers. The islanders live in basic structures, spearfish from dugout canoes and wear no clothing at all. What's amazing is that this almost Neolithic society exists less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from neighboring islands where Indigenous cultures have mixed with the modern world, not always with happy results. "[These tribes] have been living on the islands for centuries without any problem. Their troubles started after they came into contact with outsiders," said Madhumala Chattopadhyay, an Indian anthropologist, in an interview for National Geographic Magazine. She was the first woman to visit the isolated tribe in the 1990s but has vowed never to go back. "The tribes of the islands do not need outsiders to protect them, what they need is to be left alone." Case in point: In 2018, North Sentinel Island made the news when a young American missionary named John Allen Chau was killed on the island after repeatedly ignoring the Sentinelese's warnings to stay away. Chau was only the latest in a long line of unwelcome outsiders (two Indian fishermen, merchants, escaped convicts, fisherman and filmmakers) whose intrusions onto the island were met with an angry volley of arrows. History of North Sentinel Island North Sentinel is part of a much larger island chain called the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, currently an Indian union territory. There are 184 islands in this tropical archipelago located in the Bay of Bengal about 300 miles (500 kilometers) off the coast of Myanmar (Burma) and 700 miles (1,200 kilometers) from India. Only about 30 of the islands in the chain are inhabited and are home to Indigenous people like the Onge and the Jarawa, who speak different dialects than the Sentinelese language. North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. NormanEinstein/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0 In the 18th century, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were first explored by Dutch, Austrian and British merchant ships looking for the best trade routes to the spice-rich Asian subcontinent. In 1771, a ship with the British East India Company was the first to spot signs of life on North Sentinel Island: cooking fires flickering in the night. The first permanent European settlers arrived in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the 1850s when the British built a penal colony on Great Andaman Island about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from North Sentinel Island to house colonial prisoners from British-ruled India. In 1896, a prisoner tried to escape on a raft and washed up on the shore. A search party found him a few days later, dead from multiple arrows. The prisoner's death confirmed previous reports from a shipwrecked Indian merchant ship of "small naked men firing arrows" on North Sentinel Island. The island and its unwelcoming inhabitants remained unperturbed for another half century. Anthropologists Try to Make Contact In 1967, the Anthropological Survey of India sent a team of 20 people (including police and Indian authorities) to attempt to make peaceful contact with the Sentinelese, who were known to fire arrows at any fishing vessel or naval ship that got too close to its beaches. But instead of being greeted with the anticipated hostility, the anthropologists landed their boat on an empty beach with no people in sight. In fact, during the anthropologists' first trip to the small island, they saw no Sentinelese at all. According to TN Pandit, one of the leaders of the anthropological expedition, the Sentinelese must have seen the outsiders coming and gone into hiding. Pandit and his team followed footprints into the jungle until they came to a clearing with what he described as 18 "nicely built" lean-to huts. Each home had a well-tended fire in front of it, and hastily abandoned meals of roasted fish and fruits. He estimated that 40 to 50 people lived in the Sentinelese village. The anthropologists left gifts for the Sentinelese coconuts (which don't grow on the island), iron rods and plastic utensils but when they made further attempts at return visits in the 1970s and 80s, their contact party was repelled each time. The Closest Thing to Peaceful Contact In the early 1990s, the Anthropological Survey of India made another attempt to establish contact with the Sentinelese. The outreach team included the first female anthropologist to join the endeavor. Madhumala Chattopadhyay specialized in the Indigenous tribes of South Andaman Island but had never been to North Sentinel. Both Chattopadhyay and her parents were required to sign waivers from Indian officials acknowledging the danger of the expedition. When the team arrived, there were the usual armed men on the shore, but instead of gesturing angrily and firing their weapons, the Sentinelese calmly walked toward the shoreline. Floating Gifts "We started floating coconuts over to them," recalled Chattopadhyay in a National Geographic article. "To our surprise some of the Sentinelese came into the water to collect the coconuts." Perhaps it was the presence of a woman, but for some reason the Sentinelese let down their guard. Some of the tribesmen waded out to the boat and examined it. They happily accepted all of the coconuts. They even allowed some of the outsiders to walk around the beach and interact with Sentinelese women, teenagers and children. But they weren't allowed to enter the jungle or see the village. Another Attempt at Friendly Contact Encouraged by the interaction, the anthropologists returned a few months later with a much larger team. But the the situation quickly soured. The Sentinelese weren't satisfied with collecting floated coconuts, so they boarded the ship and took the whole bag. One Sentinelese man even tried to grab one of the policemen's rifles, mistaking it for just another scrap of metal. The police officer forcefully took it back. "The man got angry and whipped out his knife," said Chattopadhyay. "He gestured to us to leave immediately and we left," she says. Death of an American Missionary on North Sentinel Island Since 1996, Indian law has made it illegal for fisherman, tourists, researchers or other civilians to approach or land on North Sentinel Island. In 2006, two fishermen from Myanmar made an emergency landing on the island and were killed by the Sentinelese, their bodies buried in the sand. But that wasn't going to stop John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old evangelical Christian missionary and adventure blogger who hired local fishermen to take him there in November 2018. Chau was part of an international movement of young adventurers who yearned to bring Christianity to the "unreached" corners of the globe. Chau was a well-trained outdoorsman, according to an in-depth profile in The Guardian, and he submitted to several rounds of vaccinations to ensure that he didn't bring any outside diseases to the Sentinelese. Tragic Diary Entries Chau chronicled his missionary trip in a diary and came prepared to deal with any "contingencies" of contact with hostile residents, including dental forceps for removing arrows. When Chau first waded up to the Island, he brought a large fish as a gift. "I hollered 'my name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you,'" Chau wrote in his diary. The Sentinelese responded with arrows. Chau came back and dodged even more arrows, including one shot from a young boy that pierced Chau's waterproof Bible, according to another profile in The New Yorker. "If you want me to get actually shot, or even killed with an arrow then so be it," wrote Chau in his diary that night. "I think I could be more useful alive though, but to you, God, I give all the glory of whatever happens. I DON'T WANT to die." Tragically, that's exactly what happened. According to the fisherman who smuggled Chau to the island, they saw the Sentinelese drag his body to the beach and bury it. The Indian government was unable to recover Chau's remains. Now That's Prudent In 2021, the Anthropological Survey of India issued a document recommending a "hands-off, eyes-on" policy toward North Sentinel Island. Instead of trying to visit the island, the government should offer protection from the "four Ts" that threaten the Sentinelese's untouched Eden travel, tour, transport and trade. Original article: Why North Sentinel Island Is Off-limits to All Visitors Copyright 2024 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company The U.S. District Court trial challenging Dodge City's method of electing city commissioners began Monday with testimony from plaintiff Alejandro Rangel-Lopez, who asserted the at-large system unconstitutionally diluted the ability of Latino residents to be represented at City Hall. The suit says Latinos, who make up 65% of the city's population, hadn't been able to overcome barriers to elect a "candidate of choice" to the five-member commission in more than 20 years. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) A U.S. District Court judge set sentencing for October after Wichita resident Austin Shoemann entered guilty pleas to charges tied to a "hate-fueled crime spree" in 2022 that including threatening to harm three Black people at a convenience store and threatening to injure or kill Black people who visited a white woman's home in Wichita. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA A Wichita man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to hate crimes by waving a gun and using racial slurs to threaten two Black juveniles entering a convenience store and to prevent a Black adult from intervening on behalf of the minors. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said Austin Shoemanns hate-fueled crime spree led to pleas on two counts of interference with federally protected activities, two counts of interstate threats and one count of interference with housing. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023. This defendant committed serious hate crimes when he used guns and death threats to terrorize two Black children and an adult who came to their aid, Clarke said. Racially motivated threats and violence, in any form, are unacceptable in our society. Schoemann acknowledged that from January to August 2022 he interfered with federally protected housing rights of a white woman by making threats to shoot or kill any Black people who visited her home. He admitted to sending videos and messages to the womans family members and others that included threats to harm Black people. Racially based violence and threats of violence should never be tolerated, said Kate Brubacher, the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas. The Justice Department will defend civil rights and prosecute anyone who harasses and threatens people based on their race. A federal judge scheduled sentencing of Schoemann for Oct. 16. The plea agreement says he could be sentenced to 63 months to 84 months in prison. A 30-year-old Wichita man could face from five to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to hate crimes and making death threats toward Black children. Austin Schoemann pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of interference with federally protected activities, two counts of interstate threats and one count of interference with housing, the United States Department of Justice. said in a news release. He was charged with the hate crimes in May 2023. During his plea hearing, Schoemann admitted to using a gun and racist language to threaten two black children entering a southeast Wichita QuikTrip on July 27, 2022. Schoemann also used a gun to threaten a Black woman who tried to intervene, the release said. There is no place for race-based violence in the state of Kansas, said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. Every individual is entitled to the fundamental right to live their lives without fear and intimidation based solely on their race. In another instance, Schoemann threatened to hurt or kill any Black people who visited the home of a white Wellington woman, violating her federally protected housing rights. These acts occurred from January to August 2022. Schoemann further admitted that he sent videos and messages to the womans family members and others in which he repeatedly threatened to shoot and kill Black people, according to the DOJ news release. Schoemann faces from 63 to 84 months in prison and will be sentenced Oct. 16. Racially based violence and threats of violence should never be tolerated. This reprehensible behavior is illegal and subject to federal criminal prosecution, said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. The Justice Department will defend civil rights and prosecute anyone who harasses and threatens people based on their race. The FBI and the Wichita Police Department investigated the case. Wichita man charged with hate crimes for violating rights of Black children, adults Users across Russia reported problems on Aug. 1 with accessing YouTube's website and watching videos, according to the DownDetector and Downradar monitoring sites. The news comes days after a Russian lawmaker warned that the government would deliberately slow down YouTube loading speeds in response to Google's refusal to comply with Russian authorities' demands. According to DownDetector, the large-scale outages began shortly after midnight, when over 400 complaints were recorded in a sudden spike. The number dropped to roughly 200 complaints at around 9 a.m. local time. The largest number of problems were reported in Moscow Oblast, but users also experienced issues in western regions like Leningrad Oblast or Krasnodar Krai or in the far-eastern reaches of the country, like Vladivostok. At the moment, it remains unclear whether the problems stemmed from a technical malfunction or intentional interference. Problems with YouTube were noted in some other countries, like the U.K. or the U.S., throughout the day on July 31, though not in such high numbers and before the outbreak of outages in Russia. Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said on July 25 that the Russian authorities would throttle the video service's speed by up to 70% by the end of next week. Russia's crackdown on freedom of speech, particularly regarding information that contradicts its narratives about the full-scale war, has intensified since 2022. On July 12, Russian pro-state outlet Gazeta.ru reported that the Russian government plans to block YouTube entirely in September, although the Kremlin denied this claim. Earlier in July, YouTube blocked accounts of several Russian artists who found themselves on the EU sanctions list over their support for Moscow's war effort, such as Yaroslav Dronov (Shaman), Polina Gagarina, or Grigory Leps. Read also: Moscow plans to block YouTube in fall, Russian media claims Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Former President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in Bozeman soon in support of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Tim Sheehy, a spokesperson for the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday. Sheehy is challenging three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in one of the most closely watched races in the nation. Trump endorsed Sheehy earlier this year, calling him an "American Hero" in a statement. Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and former CEO of a Belgrade-based aerial firefighting company, has never run for elected office, but has a number of key endorsements in addition to the former president. U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, Gov. Greg Gianforte, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the National Republican Senatorial Committee one of the main bodies tasked with bringing a Republican majority back to the U.S. Senate are all backing Sheehy. Trump previously visited the state four times during the 2018 election to campaign against Tester and in support of now U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, who unsuccessfully challenged the Democrat in that cycle. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Rosendale teased another Senate bid and eventually threw his hat in the ring. But less than a week after he officially announced his candidacy, Trump endorsed Sheehy and Rosendale bowed out. "I LOVE MONTANA! Tim Sheehy is an American Hero and highly successful Businessman from the Great State of Montana," Trump said in a statement on Truth Social at the time. "He is strongly supported by our incredible Chairman of the NRSC, Steve Daines, and many other patriotic Senators and Republicans who have endorsed our Campaign to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. I also respect Matt Rosendale, and was very happy to Endorse him in the past - and will Endorse him again in the future should he decide to change course and run for his Congressional Seat. But in this instance, Tim is the candidate who is currently best-positioned to DEFEAT Lazy Jon Tester, and Regain the Republican Majority in the United States Senate." In a written statement following the endorsement, Sheehy said he was "incredibly proud and honored" to have Trump's support. Republicans on Capitol Hill are determined to flip the Senate, which is currently narrowly held by Democrats. The Tester-Sheehy race is one of two contests in which an incumbent Democrat is running for reelection in a state that President Joe Biden lost in 2020, making it one of seats most likely to flip in Republicans' eyes. This rally is set to take place roughly a month after the assassination attempt on the former president in which a bullet grazed his ear. Whitney Bermes, communications director for Gallatin County, said the sheriff's office is "planning ... for a safe and peaceful event." According to the Montana Talks radio program, which first reported the news, the rally is set to take place at 8 p.m. on Aug. 9. Sheehy's campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday. This story will be updated. Wildfires can create their own weather, including thunderstorms and tornado-like fire whirls an atmospheric scientist explains how A large pyrocumulus cloud forms over a wildfire near Redding, Calif., in 2018. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images Wildfire blowups, fire whirls, towering thunderstorms: When fires get large and hot enough, they can actually create their own weather. In these extreme fire situations, firefighters ordinary methods to directly control the fire dont work, and wildfires burn out of control. But how can a fire create weather? Im an atmospheric scientist who uses data collected by satellites in weather prediction models to better anticipate extreme fire weather phenomena. Satellite data shows fire-produced thunderstorms are much more common than anyone realized just a few years ago. Heres whats happening. The wildfire and weather connections Imagine a wildland landscape with dry grasses, brush and trees. A spark lands, perhaps from lightning or a tree branch hitting a power line. If the weather is hot, dry and windy, that spark could quickly ignite a wildfire. When vegetation burns, large amounts of heat are released. This heats the air near the ground, and that air rises like a hot air balloon because hot air is less dense than cool air. Cooler air then rushes in to fill the void left by rising air. This is how wildfires create their own wind patterns. Fires create their own wind patterns and weather as their heat rises. The illustration is based on a coupled fire-atmosphere computer model, WRF-SFIRE-CHEM. Adam Kochanski/San Jose State University/WIRC What happens next depends on the stability of the atmosphere. If the temperature cools rapidly with elevation above the ground, then the rising air will always be warmer than its surroundings and it will keep rising. If it rises high enough, the moisture will condense, forming a cloud known as a pyrocumulus or flammagenitus. If the air keeps rising, at some point the condensed moisture will freeze. Once a cloud has both liquid and frozen water particles, collisions among these particles can lead to electrical charge separation. If the charge buildup is large enough, an electrical discharge better known as lightning will occur to neutralize the charges. Whether a fire-induced cloud will become a thunderstorm depends on three key ingredients: a source of lift, instability and moisture. Dry lightning Wildfire environments typically have limited moisture. When conditions in the lower atmosphere are dry, this can lead to whats known as dry lightning. No one living in a wildfire-prone environment wants to see dry lightning. It occurs when a thunderstorm produces lightning, but the precipitation evaporates before reaching the ground. That means there is no rain to help put out any lightning-sparked fires. Fire whirls As air rises in the atmosphere, it may encounter different wind speeds and directions, a condition known as wind shear. This can cause the air to spin. The rising air can tilt the spin to vertical, resembling a tornado. These fire whirls can have powerful winds that can spread flaming ash, sparking new areas of fire. They usually are not true tornadoes, however, because they arent associated with rotating thunderstorms. Decaying storms Eventually, the thunderstorm triggered by the wildfire will begin to die, and what went up will come back down. The downdraft from the decaying thunderstorm can produce erratic winds on the ground, further spreading the fire in directions that can be hard to predict. When fires create their own weather, their behavior can become more unpredictable and erratic, which only amplifies their threat to residents and firefighters battling the blaze. Anticipating changes to fire behavior is important to everyones safety. Satellites show fire-created weather isnt so rare Meteorologists recognized the ability of fires to create thunderstorms in the late 1990s. But it wasnt until the launch of the GOES-R Series satellites in 2017 that scientists had the high-resolution images necessary to see that fire-induced weather is actually commonplace. Today, these satellites can alert firefighters to a new blaze even before phone calls to 911. Thats important, because there is an increasing trend in the number, size and frequency of wildfires across the United States. Climate change and rising fire risks Heat waves and drought risk have been increasing in North America, with rising global temperatures more frequently leaving dry landscapes and forests primed to burn. And climate model experiments indicate that human-caused climate change will continue to raise that risk. As more people move into fire-risk areas in this warming climate, the risk of fires starting is also rising. With fires come cascading hazards that persist long after the fire is out, such as burn-scarred landscapes that are much more susceptible to landslides and debris flows that can affect water quality and ecosystems. Communities can reduce their vulnerability to fire damage by building defensible spaces and firebreaks and making homes and property less vulnerable. Firefighters can also reduce the surrounding fuel loads with prescribed fire. Its important to remember that fire is a natural part of the Earth system. As fire scientist Stephen J. Pyne writes, we as humans will have to reorient our relationship with fire so we can learn to live with fire. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kyle Hilburn, Colorado State University Read more: Kyle Hilburn receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Wildfires in Colorado burn dozens of homes and structures, threaten hundreds more A helicopter looks to make a drop of water as the Quarry wildfire burns in the foothills near the Ken Caryl Ranch development Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, southwest of Litteton, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) A wildfire burning in Colorados heavily populated Front Range region has burned dozens of homes and outbuildings, while a second fire crept within a quarter-mile of evacuated homes near Denver on Thursday. Authorities said they were hopeful that hundreds of threatened homes could be saved. But firefighters working in the tree-covered foothills on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains faced sweltering temperatures, and some were sidelined by heat exhaustion. The struggle to contain the blazes came after authorities said Wednesday that a person was killed in a wildfire west of Lyons, Colorado. The person's remains were found inside one of five houses that burned. Almost 100 large fires are raging across the West. The largest, in Northern California, has burned more than 400 houses and other structures, officials reported. New, large fires were reported in Idaho, southeast Montana and north Texas. About two dozen homes and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed in a wildfire near Loveland, Colorado, authorities disclosed after an initial survey of the burn area. Meanwhile, the Quarry Fire southwest of the Denver suburb of Littleton encroached on several large subdivisions after people in 600 homes were ordered to evacuate. By Thursday afternoon, firefighting aircraft zipped back and forth between the blaze and a nearby reservoir. Planes skimmed the surface to scoop up water and hovering helicopters pumped water into their tanks before returning to the fire to dump their loads. Jim and Meg Lutes watched from an overlook near their house northeast of the fire as smoke plumed up from the ridges. Their community west of Littleton was not under evacuation orders, but the couple had been ready to start packing a day earlier when flames could be seen blanketing the mountains. It can come over that hill pretty quick if the wind changes, said Jim Lutes, 64, pointing to a nearby ridge. Five firefighters were injured Wednesday, including four who had heat exhaustion, said Mark Techmeyer, a spokesperson with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office. The fire was in steep terrain that made it difficult to access but had been held to less than one square mile (1.8 square kilometers) with no houses yet destroyed, authorities said. It remained a major hazard, with hot temperatures and low humidity elevating the danger. The fire was discovered Tuesday night by a deputy on patrol in what authorities described as "open areas. It was small at first but quickly spread. I think anytime that you see a small fire in an area like that at 9:00 at night, it makes you scratch your head a little bit," Techmeyer said at a Wednesday briefing when asked if he thought the fire was suspicious. On Thursday he said the fire has proven to be one of the most challenging firefights Ive seen," as helicopters passed overhead. He was flanked by hillsides where firefighters labored to keep the blaze from hopping a road separating the conflagration from populated areas. If we lose that fight, the fire is coming this way, Techmeyer said, motioning toward dense neighborhoods and Littleton. The ranks of firefighters more than doubled since the day before, from 75 to 155, most of them volunteers. No structures had been lost as of Thursday afternoon but authorities expected the battle to be a long one. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which operates a large facility just outside the evacuation zone, closed it as a precaution. Miles to the north near Lyons, officials lifted some evacuations and reported making progress on the Stone Canyon Fire, which has killed one person and destroyed five houses. The cause is under investigation. California's arson-caused Park Fire northeast of Chico continued to grow, covering about 610 square miles (1,590 square kilometers) as of Thursday morning. That's more than 25 times the size of New York's Manhattan Island. Losses also increased. The latest updates tallied 437 structures destroyed and 42 damaged, according to Cal Fire. The fire was 18% contained. Authorities said they faced critical fire weather in the coming days with potential triple-digit temperatures, thunderstorms and erratic winds. Almost 6,000 personnel were helping battle the Park Fire as more fire crews arrived from Utah and Texas. Scientists say extreme wildfires are becoming more common and destructive in the U.S. West and others parts of the world as climate change warms the planet and droughts become more severe. ___ Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Who will win in Arizona in November? Its a toss-up like it has been for years Arizona is considered a crucial swing state that could help propel either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris to the White House in November 2024. With the exception of Democrat Bill Clintons win there in 1996, Arizona has voted Republican in every presidential election from 1952 through 2016. Democrats won the presidential election there in 2020, but Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump. It wasnt always this way. Before the 1950s, campaigning in Arizona was a relatively simple matter for candidates such as Carl Hayden, a Democrat who served as a U.S. senator from Arizona from 1927 to 1969. Oratory wasnt a big thing. I just told them I was a Democrat, Hayden said in 1971. Stacks of ballot drop-box signs sit in storage in a Maricopa County election office in June 2024. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images A 2-party state emerges In the 1950s, the party balance in Arizona began to change for a number of reasons, including demographic shifts. This era ushered in a more competitive two-party system in Arizona, giving Republicans an upper hand. During this decade, more Republicans moved from the Midwest to Arizona, disproportionately settling in the Phoenix area, in Maricopa County. Conservative Democrats in the more rural areas of Arizona also gravitated toward the Republican Party as the Democratic Party became more liberal and they felt more aligned with conservative Republicans. Other factors were at play such as the influence of the states leading newspapers, The Republic and The Gazette, which were led by newspaper publisher Eugene Pulliam in Phoenix. Pulliam wanted to create a two-party state, and the newspapers editorials reflected this by publicly endorsing Republican candidates. Arizonas Republican Party came to power as a business-friendly and reform-minded party, eager to reform the states tax structure and increase spending for education and other social programs. This mirrored the relatively moderate Main Street Republicans across the country at the time. The party, though, also had a conservative populist and fundamentalist religious faction, which would grow in subsequent years and become more influential. Since 1966, Republicans have controlled the states House of Representatives and have lost control of the State Senate on only a few occasions. While Republican dominance in the state legislature has declined in recent years, Republicans continue to control both bodies. They also currently have six of the nine congressional seats. Arizonas governor, Katie Hobbs, is a Democrat but the first Democrat in several years to hold the office. Arizonas political scene today Today, Republicans currently outnumber Democrats in terms of party registration in Arizona 35% to 29%, with 34% classified as independents or unaffiliated voters and the rest listed as Libertarian or affiliated with the Green Party. At the same time, Arizona qualifies as a swing state because Democrats have, indeed, done well in recent statewide elections, showing an increasing amount of strength, often, though not always, outdoing the Republicans. In 2018, Democrats won statewide races for U.S. senator, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction and a seat on the public utility corporation commission. In 2020, Arizona voters elected another Democrat to the U.S. Senate, Mark Kelly, following Sen. John McCains death in 2018. And Biden defeated Trump in the state. In 2022, nearly all the candidates nominated by Republican voters for statewide office took the public and false position that the presidential election had been stolen from Trump. Some of these election deniers won their primaries with Trumps endorsement and went into the general election with his backing. But Republicans lost the important statewide offices of U.S. senator, governor, attorney general and secretary of state to the Democrats. People attend an anti-immigration rally in February 2024 in Yuma, Ariz. Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images No single issue for Arizona voters Democratic candidates in Arizona have done particularly well in recent years with women, minorities including Latinos, Black people and Native Americans young people and independents. They have also gained the support of some moderate Republicans who are unhappy with more extreme Republican candidates. Democrats have also benefited from the migration of more liberal people from California over the past few decades, an increase in the size of the Latino vote and greater support from college-educated women in suburban areas. There is no single issue driving these voters, who are concerned about everything from reproductive rights and immigration to education and the economy. Democratic success has rested on votes in the largest urban counties of Maricopa and Pima, both of which have been growing. This is especially true of Maricopa, which has grown significantly over the past few decades. Republican candidates have done well with rural voters. These voters tend to be more conservative on economic issues involving government taxing and spending and on social issues, where their views often reflect evangelical religious beliefs on matters such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. Rural votes have been decisive in some elections, pushing Republicans to wins when urban voters have been badly divided on candidates and issues such as immigration. Abortion-rights demonstrators rally in Scottsdale, Ariz., in April 2024. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Arizona can go either way in 2024 If Arizona can be considered a purple state, moving from Republican red to Democratic blue, it is largely because Maricopa County, where more than 60% of the states total votes come from, has a mix of Democrats and Republicans. Change has been especially apparent in recent elections in suburban areas in the counties with wealthier and well-educated populations. Other important counties, including Pima, have not changed all that much in their partisan leanings over the past few decades. Arizona has shown signs of changing from a Republican stronghold and may be properly ranked among those states most likely to qualify as a swing state. But this, in itself, tells little about how it is going to swing in any given election. Much will depend on the issues and personalities involved. Democrats hope that an Arizona ballot measure on abortion that voters will decide on in November will generate voter turnout favorable to them. The measure would protect the right to have an abortion up until fetal viability, typically up until 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Republicans hope another ballot measure that would make it illegal, under state law, to cross the border without a visa could help win them votes. Polls suggest Arizona voters are most concerned about jobs and the economy, immigration, and government taxing and spending. Compared to voters in other swing states, they appear especially concerned about immigration. Republicans seem particular fixated on these issues, while Democrats have a more diverse set of concerns, including, in 2024, abortion rights and preserving democracy. In November, Trump is likely to do well in Arizona on the immigration issue but poorly on the abortion issue. For Harris, the opposite is true though she has gotten the endorsement of some Republican mayors in Arizona border towns. Putting Harris on the ballot in place of Biden has rejuvenated the Democrats. Polls suggest she has had greater appeal to women, young voters, independents and Latinos and could cut into Trumps narrow lead. Overall, there is the possibility of considerable change in voter sentiment as the election campaigns unfold. Arizona is a state that can go either way. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: David R. Berman, Arizona State University Read more: David R. Berman 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. After Winning In Arizona, Election Deniers No Longer See A Problem With The Results One of the predictable, yet striking, aspects of the rights periodic embrace of election denialism is that those who espouse it only see problems when they lose. That dynamic played out again this week. Election deniers such as former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and former secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem won big in Arizonas Republican primaries on Tuesday night, and readily accepted the results of that election. Yet if things dont go their way in November, experts told TPM, expect to see them unleash another torrent of conspiracy theories questioning the legitimacy and security of the states election system. Heads I win, tails you lose is a spoiled toddlers mindset, said Justin Levitt, an election law scholar and professor at LMU Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. And anyone whos not a toddler sees through the flawed logic pretty quickly. This weeks sudden embrace of a system that these same candidates had previously declared unsafe and marred by fraud is part of a pattern among election deniers that, experts warn, could continue in November: easily accept their victories if they win or cry fraud if they lose. Its quite possible that Arizona will see further efforts to delegitimize their elections if some of these candidates lose, David Becker, the executive director and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, told TPM. We see the former president continuing to spread lies about our elections and election officials all over the country continue to prepare for the possibility that a secure, transparent, independently verified election will be attacked and that supporters of the loser will be incited. A number of election deniers won key GOP primary races. Most notably, Lake who has continually questioned the integrity and legitimacy of the 2020 and 2022 elections and refused to concede her gubernatorial loss was chosen as the Republican senate nominee. Finchem, the failed secretary of state candidate and frequent purveyor of election conspiracy theories, defeated incumbent state Senator Ken Bennett for the Republican nomination. After his victory on Tuesday night, which he accepted readily, Finchem thanked his supporters on X, saying that its clear that they want a leader who will fight for secure elections. Both Lake and Finchem have challenged Arizonas use of electronic voting machines, falsely claiming that the machines are inherently vulnerable to catastrophic cyberattacks. And even though Tuesdays primary races both used electronic voting machines to tabulate ballots, Lake and Finchem had no qualms about the results. The election denial movement is largely predicated on the false belief that any election not resulting in a certain Republican victory has somehow been stolen, said David Levine, an election integrity consultant. Lake continues to be a key cog in the movement. Every time Lake has been presented with evidence to debunk her conspiracy views, she has opted to double down on them instead, he added. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who has been a particular target of election denial ire and a fierce defender of the integrity of Maricopa Countys election system, lost his primary to Justin Heap, a member of the far-right Arizona freedom caucus. Its very ironic that all of these people who question the results of the election when they lose dont question the results of the election when they win, said Mark Kokanovich, a former federal prosecutor in Arizona and attorney at Ballard Spahr. The hypocrisy is beyond the pale and glaring. Even though election deniers did well in their Republican primary races, these and similar candidates underperformed in the 2022 election. It remains to be seen whether the seeming voter distaste for election denial continues in 2024. Past history seems to indicate that in a state as closely divided as Arizona, embracing lies about democracy and elections, attacking public servants throughout the state, has proven not to be a particularly effective general election campaign strategy, said Becker. If they lose, we may well see the election denial machine kick into gear again, with dangerous conspiracy theories that only serve to weaken trust in the system. FILE - Poll workers sort out ballots at the Kenosha Municipal building on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. A judge refused Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, hold his ruling allowing disabled people in Wisconsin to be emailed absentee ballots. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) A judge refused Thursday to put on hold his ruling that allows disabled people in Wisconsin to be emailed absentee ballots at home in Novembers presidential election in the closely watched battleground state. Republicans asked the judge to not enforce his ruling while their appeal is pending. But Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell on Thursday rejected their arguments, saying putting his ruling on hold would inflict significant harm on both the disability rights advocates and the public interest. It will now be up to the state appeals court to decide whether to pause the ruling that opens up a new way for an unknown number of disabled voters to cast their ballots in swing state Wisconsin before the Nov. 5 election. Mitchell granted a temporary injunction on June 25 that allows clerks to email ballots to voters who self-certify that they cant read or mark a paper ballot without help. The voters can then cast their ballots electronically at home using devices that help them read and write independently. The voters are still required to then print and mail the ballots back to the clerks or return them in person. Other absentee voters can request ballots electronically, but they are then sent in the mail and not electronically. Voters then physically mark the paper ballots before returning them in person or via the mail. Previously, state law allowed ballots to be transmitted electronically only to voters in the military or those overseas. All absentee ballots have to be received by clerks before the polls close on Nov. 5 in order to be counted. Neither side involved in the lawsuit had an estimate as to how many disabled voters may use the electronic ballot to vote. Nearly 100,000 Wisconsin adults suffer from vision difficulties, according to statistics compiled by state health officials. A little more than 307,000 adults have difficulty moving, including difficulty walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting or carrying things. Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters and four disabled voters brought the lawsuit in April. The Republican-controlled state Legislature intervened and filed the appeal and request for a stay while that is pending. The Legislature's attorney, Misha Tseytlin, indicated during a court hearing Tuesday that he would ask the appeals court for a stay in the case. He did not return a message for comment Thursday. The plaintiffs argued that many people with disabilities cant cast paper ballots without assistance, compromising their right to cast a secret ballot. Republicans argued on appeal that the judge wrongly disrupted the status quo too close to the election. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which represents the elections commission, also argued that the process was open to security risks and could cause confusion. The elections commission has begun the complex process to comply with the court's order, its attorney, Karla Keckhaver, said in court Tuesday. That includes issuing guidance to more than 1,800 local clerks who administer elections and training them on the software needed to send the ballots, she said. Questions over who can cast absentee ballots and how have become a political flashpoint in Wisconsin, where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. HOWELL COUNTY, Mo. Police in Wisconsin arrested a man in connection with stolen Missouri cattle in August of last year, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. 27-year-old Jordan Leisgang, of Seymour, Wis., was taken into custody on July 25. In August 2023, a resident in Howell County helped Leisgang purchase and transport 450 cattle from Arkansas to Wisconsin. According to a release, Leisgang refused to pay the victim for the cattle and blocked communication going forward. Missouri AG investigates Ellisville womens gym locker room use Nearly a year later, on July 17, the grand jury in Howell County charged Leisgang for receiving stolen property. Eight days later, the Outagamie County Sheriffs Office in Wisconsin arrested him. The Missouri State Highway Patrol states that Leisgang is awaiting extradition to Missouri and will be held on a $100,000 bond. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. An empty high school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images) Wisconsin students are continuing to struggle with unprecedented mental health challenges with LGBTQ+ kids and girls facing disproportionate challenges, according to the Department of Public Instructions 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Summary Report. The survey, which took place in the spring of 2023, included responses from 1,882 students in 42 public, charter and alternative high schools across Wisconsin. Over half of surveyed students 51.6% reported experiencing anxiety, while 35% of students reported experiencing depression almost every day for two weeks in a row or more and about 20% reported non-suicidal self-harm. Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement that schools play a critical role in addressing mental health needs of children across the state. It is imperative that we implement inclusive policies in our schools instead of isolating students in need, Underly said. We must invest in additional mental health services in our schools and prioritize the mental well-being of our kids alongside academic achievement. LGBTQ+ and female students reported a disproportionate number of mental health challenges when compared to their peers. According to the survey, 79% of students surveyed reported experiencing anxiety, 63% reported experiencing depression and 40% reported considering suicide. The report included quotes from some respondents to the survey who were invited to offer open-ended feedback. Its a really hard thing to be Transgender and gay in this state. I will always feel uncomfortable and unsafe here. No matter whether in school, in the store, or on the streets, I feel Im always going to get judged or worst hurt, one student wrote. Over a quarter of female students 28.3% reported that they were likely to harm themselves a rate double that of male students. Over two-thirds of female students 66.8% reported experiencing anxiety and 45% reported experiencing depression. People around my age that you consider Genz, are struggling, another student wrote. We are all having to deal with these expectations of our age group while having to act our part in our dying society. We are rapidly becoming the most depressed and zombied age group of all The technology you have built has given us more self-hatred, unachievable expectations, new mental illnesses and has crushed our sense of communication Please understand that we are trying our best to find ourselves and it is difficult when the world that we look up to can be so cruel, and we feel we need to go through it alone Underly said Wisconsinites need to do better to support kids. We need to listen to them about their thoughts, their feelings, their concerns, and let them know they can trust you and that they and their mental health are a priority, Underly said. Its not just that we can do better. Its that we must do better. And we have the knowledge and resources to do just that. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Wisconsin's first LGBTQ historic landmark to be dedicated in Milwaukee The Black Nite tavern on Plankinton Avenue was torn down in 1966 to make room for freeway expansion. Next week, Milwaukee buildings will glisten pink, blue and white as the Wisconsin Historical Society dedicates the first LGBTQ historic landmark in state history. The location is near the Black Nite tavern in Milwaukee, the site of Wisconsin's first LGBTQ uprising, in 1961. When will Wisconsin's first LGBTQ historic landmark be dedicated? The landmark dedication is at 3:30 p.m. Monday, followed by a community celebration. Sponsored by the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, it's also the first state landmark to honor a Black transgender person. Where is Wisconsin's first LGBTQ historic landmark? The landmark dedication is in downtown Milwaukee on the southwest corner of West St. Paul and North Plankinton avenues. What was the Black Nite Uprising? The Black Nite Uprising took place outside the Black Nite tavern on Aug. 5, 1961. The event started when four servicemen invaded the Black Nite tavern, later igniting a brawl. Josie Carter, a young Black transgender woman, defended the space during a time when drag queens were often not accepted in bars and those of the LGBTQ were marginalized. Who is the landmark commemorating? The landmark is honoring Carter and the Black Nite customers for their sense of community, pride and call for action. The Wisconsin Historic LGBTQ project will sponsor costs of illumination as nearby buildings and the Hoan bridge light up in pink, blue and white transgender pride colors. Why is Josie Carter important to Milwaukee? It's possible the 1961 uprising in Milwaukee is one of, if not, the earliest LGBTQ uprisings in U.S. history, according to a New York Times story. Carter's efforts to bring people together to defend their rights drew immense media attention, shining a light on the struggles of the LGBTQ community. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's first LGBTQ historic landmark to be dedicated in Milwaukee A 21-year-old woman was assaulted and left unresponsive in an apartment in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night. The attack was reported at about 10:30 p.m. when Los Angeles Fire Department officials responded to a welfare check at WREN Apartments located near Hill Street near Pico Boulevard. Paramedics found the unresponsive woman inside her first-floor apartment. The woman is reportedly a student at USC, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was rushed to a local hospital in serious medical distress, said LAFD. At about 1 a.m., hospital staff reported the attack to the Los Angeles Police Department after determining her injuries were due to a physical assault. Detectives were seen dusting for fingerprints on a glass barrier outside the womans apartment. The WREN Apartments complex located on the 1200 block of South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) The glass barrier of the patio areas leading to first-floor residences at the WREN Apartments complex in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) The WREN Apartments complex located on the 1200 block of South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) The glass barrier of the patio areas leading to first-floor residences at the WREN Apartments complex in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) The WREN Apartments complex located on the 1200 block of South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) The WREN Apartments complex located on the 1200 block of South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA) Its unclear whether the suspect possibly scaled the glass barrier and landed in the patio area before accessing the womans apartment. Its also unclear whether the patio door was unlocked or whether anything was taken from the womans home. Tenants at the apartment complex were notified of the criminal investigation on Wednesday morning. Some were shaken by the news of the assault and were worried for their safety. The reason I chose this apartment is because they have 24/7 security, said a resident named Yi. Thats why I dont consider living on the first floor cause the patio area is maybe not quite safe, you have another door to enter the apartment. Police have reminded residents to always keep their doors and windows locked at all times. On Thursday night, officials confirmed the woman remained hospitalized in critical condition. No further information about the assault or the suspected attacker has been released. Anyone with any information on the case can contact LAPD Officer Marcenik at 213-996-4150 or Detective Arroyo at 213-996-4104. Nancy Fontan contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Two inmates at Montana State Prison have been charged with the kidnap and attempted rape of a correctional officer in the prison's high security unit in June. Michael Spell and Bradley Crisman are both charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempted aggravated sexual intercourse without consent in Powell County District Court. Neither have entered pleas to the charges, but are expected to do so at their initial appearances Aug. 27. The Electric, an online news site in Great Falls, first reported on the charges. Crisman had already been imprisoned in 2012 on a 75-year sentence for sexually assaulting a real estate agent in Great Falls while posing as a potential home buyer. Spell is one of the two oil field workers involved in the highly publicized kidnapping and murder of Sidney teacher Sherry Arnold when she was jogging near her home in 2012. Spell was sentenced to 100 years in prison for his role in that case. According to charging documents, Crisman, 35, regularly spoke to other inmates about kidnapping and torturing women while working in the prison's kitchen on the high-security housing side of the facility. Other inmates later told investigators Crisman had specifically spoken about a female correctional officer on their unit. Video of the inmates' cell block captured events in the day room but provided only a limited view into their cells during the incident on June 8, according to charging documents. Two correctional officers were checking doors on the cell block as the inmates were leaving to eat dinner. Spell and Crisman stayed behind, and Spell appeared to grab something from his cell, according to court records. Spell reportedly tried showing a female correctional officer the object, which is not described in court documents, and with Crisman pulled the officer into his cell when she approached. The other correctional officers were "under a second" away from being able to enter Spell's cell before they closed it behind him, according to prosecutors. He was seen on surveillance cameras calling for help and fighting to get the cell door open as other staff race over to assist them. Spell at some point exited the cell and was hit with pepper spray from multiple directions before he was taken to the ground. The female correctional officer was in Spell's cell for over a minute before other officers were able to remove her, according to court records. Crisman is seen on surveillance cameras being removed from the cell approximately a minute later. In a report following the incident, the second correctional officer said he could see Crisman trying to remove the first correctional officer's pants after the inmates had drug her into the cell. Despite the officer's attempts to open the door electronically, Spell was able to keep the door shut. Once Spell exited the cell and was in handcuffs, the arriving officers closed the door because they did not realize the female officer was still inside with Crisman, according to court documents. In her written report, the female correctional officer said Crisman had told her he had a shank and threatened to stab her if she kept screaming for the other officers. Both inmates agreed to be interviewed by Department of Corrections investigators and, according to court documents, both offered "incoherent" explanations for the incident. Crisman said he did push the correctional officer into Spell's cell but only after Spell started pulling her into the cell. Spell reportedly told investigators he and another inmate planned to hold the officer hostage to get inmates "more rights." Both men admitted to smoking "spice," a synthetic cannabinoid, in the days leading up to the incident, according to court records. A search of Crisman's cell after the incident also turned up a notebook including detailed narratives about his desire to tie up and torture women, according to prosecutors. Assistant Attorney General Patrick Moody, a deputized prosecutor for Powell County to handle prison cases, filed the charging documents against the two inmates July 25. "The safety and security of the people who work for the DOC in our facilities and in Montana communities are of the utmost importance to the department," Montana Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said in a statement Thursday. "Any act of violence inflicted upon our staff members will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." Woman arrested in Burke Co. after reports of disposing of stolen U.S. mail onto roadway BURKE COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) A woman has been arrested after reports of a suspicious female rummaging through mailboxes and being seen disposing U.S. mail onto the roadway. According to authorities, Burke County Dispatch received a call on July 30th, from a resident in the Northlake Drive Subdivision reporting a suspicious female later identified by investigators as Jessica Rae Mabli rummaging through mailboxes in the neighborhood, and later told deputies that Mabli was heading towards Highway 25 North. According to the Burke County Sheriffs Office, a traffic unit officer was actively patrolling Highway 25 North and spotted a white Volkswagen leaving the Northlake Drive, and when the deputy initiated a traffic stop, the vehicle made an abrupt turn onto Four Points Road, where the deputy observed Mabli, disposing of U.S. Mail onto the roadway. Authorities say that Mabli was apprehended without further incident after a brief chase, and they state that Mabli was accompanied by her minor child, who was seated in the front passenger seat, and after a search warrant, officers found a significant quantity of mail from Burke, Richmond, and Grovetown neighborhoods, along with numerous credit cards, drivers licenses, social security cards, and checks. According to investigators, initial findings suggest that stolen credit cards had been used for unauthorized purchases at local stores. According to the Burke County Sheriffs Office, Mabli has been charged with Theft by Possession of Stolen Mail (2 Counts), Possession of Fentanyl, and Cruelty to Children 2nd Degree, and Mabli has been booked into the Burke County Detention Center. The Burke County Sheriffs Office states that anyone who may have been affected by mail theft in Burke, Columbia or Richmond Counties needs to report the incident to their local law enforcement agency. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. ROCKFORD, Mich. (WOOD) A Hudsonville woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a preschool in Rockford. Wednesday in Kent Countys 63rd District Court, Susan Kacsits, who worked as a bookkeeper and accountant at Saint Peters Lutheran Preschool, was arraigned on an embezzlement charge. According to court documents, on June 3, the Rockford Police Department began investigating a fraud complaint at the preschool. Susan Kay Kacsits appears in court with her attorney for arraignment on embezzlement charges. (July 31, 2024) The preschools director claimed someone had forged and fraudulently deposited four checks totaling more than $17,000 into an account the school doesnt use, adding that the only people with access to checks were her and Kacsits. The director later turned over evidence showing between November 30, 2015, and May of this year, there were around 50 instances of embezzlement that totaled more than $224,000. Grand Rapids nonprofit closes, citing brazen embezzlement During an interview with police, court documents say Kacsits admitted to forging the directors signature and embezzling the money. Court documents also show Kacsits stated she did not know why she took the money. A teacher who worked at the school with Kacsits for 14 years said shes in awe of the accusations. Its just a wonderful place of a bunch of women working together to service the families in Rockford and to hear that a so-called friend of ours, who we thought was our friend, was stealing from us, Katy Joseff, a former teacher at Saint Peters Lutheran Preschool, said. Its just very much a betrayal. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said embezzlement charges are common. Small organizations, weve had big corporations that have been impacted but I think the biggest issue is in the small organizations it has more of an impact, Becker said. Former financial adviser pleads guilty in $260K embezzlement case Embezzling more than $100,000 is a 20-year felony but he said the odds of a person serving significant jail time for the crime are unlikely. A probationary term is very common. The legislature in Michigan has made a decision that incarceration offenses are the violent offenses, Becker said. I think the biggest thing were trying to do, especially with the small organizations, is get restitution. He said having systems in place can help businesses or organizations ensure they wont become a victim. That outside individual coming in and checking the books and then having multiple people, one person cant handle the checks and also balance the checkbook, Becker said. Rev. Jason P. Peterson, Pastor of Saint Peters Lutheran Church, released a statement: Shortly after the conclusion of our school year this spring, preschool leadership recognized discrepancies in the preschools finances. Immediate action was taken to avoid further loss, and procedures have been put in place to prevent a similar situation from occurring again. At no time was the integrity of curriculum, instruction or student safety in our program significantly compromised by these events. An investigation by Rockford Police was able to confirm the identity of the person responsible, and the case is now being handled by the Kent County Prosecutors Office. We hope that the Lord will grant repentance to the person responsible and justice in the courts, as well as provide that restitution be achieved so that the funds recovered can be put to work for the benefit of our students as they were originally intended. We look forward to a blessed start to a new school year next month, and to both continuing and improving upon the work of St. Peters Preschool without interruption. Rev. Jason P. Peterson, Pastor of Saint Peters Lutheran Church Kacsits bond was set at $50,000 and she must pay 10% by Friday evening or turn herself in. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. New Delhi Police in India found a 50-year-old American woman chained to a tree in a forest in the country's western Maharashtra state, where she claims her Indian husband left her to die. Maharashtra Police told CBS News the woman, identified as Lalita Kayi Kumar, was found in a forest in the Sindhudurg district of the state, about 280 miles south of India's financial capital Mumbai, on Saturday after local shepherds heard her cries for help and alerted authorities. Photos and videos broadcast by Indian news outlets showed an emaciated-looking woman clad in ragged, loose clothing being assisted by rescuers in the middle of a forest, with one of her legs affixed to a tree with a metal chain. After rescuing her, police brought Kumar to a hospital in Sindhudurg and she was later transferred to the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behavior of the Goa Medical College and Hospital. The police said doctors treating her had informed them that she suffers from psychiatric problems but was medically "out of danger." A video broadcast by India's India Today TV channel showed medics surrounding Kumar on a hospital bed as she wrote a note to communicate her story. In it, she says she is unable to speak and alleges that her husband left her shackled in the jungle to die. "Injection for extreme psychosis which caused a severely locked jaw and inability to drink any water. Need intravenous food. 40 days without food and water. Husband tied me to a tree in the forest and said I would die there," the note read. Police recovered a photocopy of Kumar's U.S. passport, an Indian ID and other documents from her possession. They have filed an attempted murder case against her husband, named as Satish, the police inspector in charge of the investigation, Vikas Badave, told CBS News. "We registered an attempt to murder case on 30th July," Badave said, adding that officers "have very little information about her husband right now." Badave said the Maharashtra Police had sent a team to Tamil Nadu state, several hundred miles away in southern India, in search of her husband, as the woman's Indian ID references an address there. Police were also trying to find her relatives. Badave told CBS News on Thursday that officers had been unable to record a formal statement from Kumar as doctors had advised against it thus far. Dr. Anil Rane, the medical superintendent of a psychiatry institute in Goa, told CBS News that Kumar was transferred back to the hospital in Sindhudurg on Wednesday evening as "her condition had improved," but he declined to share any further information on her treatment or condition due to privacy laws. The police said they were in contact with the U.S. embassy in India regarding the case, but the embassy declined to comment when asked by CBS News. Indian news outlet NDTV reported that an expired Indian visa was found on the woman's American passport suggesting she had lived in India for 10 years. "There is some progress in the investigation," Badave told CBS News, "and we are looking at all possible angles and trying to verify her every claim." Man confesses to the murder of his best friend: "He was in a panic - I was in a panic." Estranged husband kidnaps his wife at gunpoint How Stimulating Our Microcirculation Can Have Macro Health Effects A Missouri resident on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of a pregnant Arkansas woman who was lured to her death with a fake job opportunity, federal prosecutors announced. Amber Waterman, 44, faces a mandatory life sentence in federal prison without parole for the killing of 33-year-old Ashley Bush. She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15. An autopsy determined that Bush died from penetrating trauma of the torso, authorities said in a press release. The mother of three was about 31 weeks pregnant with a girl she planned to name Valkyrie Willis. Waterman had intended to claim the baby as her own, but the unborn child also died, prosecutors said. According to a federal complaint obtained by HuffPost, Waterman admitted to creating a Facebook account under the name of Lucy Barrows in October 2022 and publicly offering baby items for expectant mothers. Ashley Bush is shown in a photo, via the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas. Benton County Sheriff's Office Prosectors said Waterman used the Facebook account to communicate with Bush, saying that she would help her get a job. Bushs fiance said that he and Bush met with Lucy on Oct. 28, 2022, at a public library to discuss employment opportunities with a company called Conduent, according to the complaint. Another meeting was set for Oct. 31 at a convenience store in Maysville, Arkansas. On that date, Bush got into Watermans truck so she could go meet a Conduent supervisor, authorities said. But Bush was instead driven to Watermans home in Pineville, Missouri. Bush was reported missing that same day. Meanwhile, first responders were called to assist with an emergency report of a baby not breathing in Pineville. Waterman said shed told first responders that she gave birth to the child in her truck while on the way to the hospital, according to authorities. She ultimately acknowledged that the child belonged to Bush. Detectives investigating Bushs disappearance were led to Watermans home, where they found the truck that Bush was last seen in, according to the complaint. Authorities also spoke with Watermans husband, who allegedly said that he observed his wife cleaning blood from the truck and burning the cleaning rags in a barrel. Waterman told her husband on Nov. 2, 2022, that she had killed Bush, but she quickly changed her story to say instead that Lucy had killed her, according to the complaint. She then led her husband to Bushs body, which was covered in a blue tarp near their home. With her husbands assistance, Waterman burned the body and hid the remains a short distance from their residence, the complaint said. Watermans husband later showed detectives where the charred human remains were located, it added. Prosecutors have charged the husband with being an accessory after the fact to kidnapping resulting in death. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in October. Related... Woman seeking help to prevent cars crashing into her home Woman seeking help to prevent cars crashing into her home BEVERLY HILLS, Mo. Cars are repeatedly slamming into a womans home, and she says she isnt getting the help she needs. In March, an intoxicated man fleeing from a robbery he committed crashed into Lucy Williams home. It left her with major damage to the foundation, including cracks around the walls and ceilings and a massive hole in the side of her home. And another car crashed into the stop sign in front of Williams home, just feet from her home. As of Wednesday, MoDOT says an engineer is investigating. Mayor Brian Jackson says he is sympathetic and is willing to work with the Missouri Department of Transportation if theres a solution the city can be a part of. Williams says the incidents have been financially and emotionally difficult, as she is simultaneously handling medical issues. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Andrea Brawley, 46, of Conover, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for stealing more than $300,000 from her elderly relatives, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. PAST COVERAGE: Catawba County woman allegedly stole more than $300K from elderly couple through scheme Brawley exploited her relationship with the couple to access their money and property from August 2016 to January 2023, according to court documents. She was supposed to manage the couples finances but instead stole money from their bank and company accounts. The victims suffered financial losses because Brawley failed to make payments on their home equity line of credit, leading to the foreclosure and loss of their residence. She also drained their retirement accounts by forging retirement distribution forms without their knowledge. Brawley hid her crimes by lying about the cause of the foreclosure and the victims financial and personal affairs. She kept the victims away from family members by taking their cellphones, impersonating them when communicating with third parties, taking them to various locations around the state, and preventing them from returning home. She also stole their identities. Brawley pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Nov. 28, 2023. She was released on bond and will be ordered to a federal prison. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell described Brawleys conduct as outrageous and ordered her to pay $628,174 in restitution. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). Woman whose mother was killed doesnt know if SC death penalty ruling brings family justice Woman whose mother was killed doesnt know if SC death penalty ruling brings family justice COLUMBIA, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Death row inmates in South Carolina will soon face a deadly decision: whether they want to receive their final punishment by firing squad, the electric chair or lethal injection. Wednesdays major ruling from the state Supreme Court clears the way for officials to restart executions after more than a decade, but its unclear when that might happen or if lawyers for death row inmates can appeal the ruling. The Associated Press reported that there were even mixed opinions among the justices with Wednesdays ruling. Despite the decision, a woman whose mothers killer is on death row doesnt know if shes any closer to justice. Urai Jackson. Its literally a nightmare that never goes away, said Samantha Leitner. Its been 30 years since her mom, Urai Jackson, was killed. I literally found my mother the day before my 25th birthday and I just had my 55th birthday, so Ive literally spent all of my adult life fighting for her to have a voice in this system and for justice to be held in her case, said Leitner. In 1997, Gary Terry was convicted and sentenced to death for killing Jackson. Almost 30 years later, Terry remains on death row. Its been draining, difficult, obviously emotionally fracturing, said Leitner. On Wednesday, South Carolina justices issued a ruling saying that the firing squad, lethal injection and the electric chair are all legal. The fact that he gets three choices really irritates me, but I get it, nobody wants to do state-sponsored death, said Leitner. But some crimes deserve the punishment. The AP says while all five justices agreed to part of the ruling, two felt the firing squad was not a legal way to kill an inmate and one of them believes the electric chair is cruel and unusual punishment. Justice 360, a group of lawyers for death row inmates, sent the following statement: Justice 360 and the other attorneys representing the men on death row in South Carolina are disappointed in the outcome of the Owens case. We are currently evaluating the next steps in the litigation and remain committed to advocating for the protection of our clients rights. Leitner doesnt know if shes any closer to justice, but shes hopeful. I understand that the legal process is an extremely slow process, however I never thought in a million years that it would be thirty years later, she said. South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty also sent Queen City News a statement on Wednesdays ruling, reading in part: SCADP deeply disagrees with the South Carolina Supreme Courts ruling that allows the state Department of Corrections to restart executions in South Carolina. Allowing executions to begin again in the state would force renewed trauma on victim family members, who will relive the original crime as executions make the news. It will also cause a stressful and traumatic experience of DOC employees participating in premeditated, state-sponsored murder The death penalty has been shown to be cruel, corporal, and unusual, through evidence presented at the trial in August 2022, just as it has been shown to be racist, classist, costly, and ineffective. SCADP remains committed to fighting this irresponsible decision. Our message remains consistent: if the state of South Carolina wants to create true community safety and healing, we should abolish the death penalty and put our limited taxpayer dollars towards effective violence prevention programs, including child abuse prevention, mental health care, treatment for substance use, and community violence interrupters. Killing the 32 people on death row who are already behind bars does nothing to make us safer. Executive Director Hillary Taylor Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is the betting favorite to be No. 2 on the Democratic ticket, but his handling of a sexual harassment case may hurt his chances. The issue has come to a head, with a little-known womens rights organization urging Vice President Kamala Harris to think twice. In a statement headlined Gov. Shapiros Failures Enabled Sexual Harassment, the National Womens Defense League said that the Harris vetting team should consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governors office. The group claims to be a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preventing sexual harassment. Shapiro, 51, is the chief executive of a crucial battleground state rich in electoral votes, where Harris is set to campaign with her yet-to-be-named running mate on Tuesday. Speculation had mounted that based on the location of Tuesdays rally, in Philadelphia, that it may just be Shapiro. Kamala Harris VP Frontrunner Accused of Sex Harassment Cover-up Shapiro has come under fire for his administrations move last year to pay nearly $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against one of his longtime aides. The deal involved a non-disclosure agreement. Governor Shapiros office should have done a better job preventing sexual harassment happening in his own office by former cabinet secretary Mike Vereb, including protecting the survivor who bravely came forward, ensuring that any other potential survivors felt safe in speaking up, and ensuring the harasser didnt have the opportunity to do further harm after the complaint, Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Womens Defense League said. We deserve leaders who will not brush sexual harassment under the rug, but will put accountability above politics. We need leaders who prioritize effective policies, protocols and a culture that prevents sexual harassment and protects survivors. She later told the Daily Beast that if Shapiro really wants this to be full and transparent, that he should allow the woman the option to tell her story. Shapiro addressed the matter publicly on Thursday after giving a statement first on Wednesday to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. The governor's office highlighted his long track record of protecting survivors and prosecuting predators when he was attorney general, including exposing "child sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Catholic Church. Governor Shapiro and his Administration take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports," his spokesperson Manuel Bonder said in the statement provided to the Daily Beast. Those procedures are implemented in every instance where complaints of discrimination or harassment are made and all allegations are promptly and fully investigated to ensure employees feel comfortable to report misconduct. In order to protect the privacy of every current and former Commonwealth employee involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific personnel matters. A fellow Democrat running for state treasurer in Pennsylvania also suggested Shapiro was involved in a coverup of the matter, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, when she tweeted last week that she wanted a vice presidential pick who doesnt sweep sexual harassment under the rug. Shapiro has faced other ethics questions, too. Hes been seen sitting courtside with a donor at a 76ers game and caught flack for accepting pricey tickets to numerous other sporting events, potentially violating his states gift ban. And progressives sympathetic to Palestinian causes dont want him on the ticket either as Israels war with Hamas in Gaza rages on. Shapiro is a vocal supporter of Israels right to defend itself, while critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has criticized anti-Israel protests, pushing to forcibly end the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania. His positions have raised free-speech concerns and have now led pro-Palestinian activists to try to sink his chances of joining the ticket, The New York Times reported Thursday. As of Thursday, the Harris team was still actively vetting potential candidates. Theyre watching the J.D. Vance experiment go horribly wrong and they want to be sure theyre doing their due diligence, a longtime Democratic operative told the Daily Beast. In addition to Shapiro, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, the Harris team is also reportedly taking a close look at Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Beyond the sexual harassment scandal, Shapiro lacks foreign policy and military bonafides. Unlike rival contenders Walz and Kelly, Shapiro didnt serve in the military, and he lacks national political leadership experience. (Walz is a two-term governor and a veteran who served for 10 years in the U.S. House; Kelly sits on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, served in the Navy, and commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavor.) Editors note. This story and headline have been updated with expanded context and comment from both Gov. Shapiros office and the National Womens Defense League. 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. Gov. Josh Shapiro during a campaign event for President Joe Biden at Montgomery County Community College January 5, 2024 in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) As speculation around Gov. Josh Shapiros chances of becoming Vice President Kamala Harris running mate continued to build Wednesday, a national nonpartisan organization focused on preventing sexual harassment in state government said the governor had failed to prevent sexual harassment in his office. Governor Shapiros office should have done a better job preventing sexual harassment happening in his own office by former cabinet secretary Mike Vereb, including protecting the survivor who bravely came forward, ensuring that any other potential survivors felt safe in speaking up, and ensuring the harasser didnt have the opportunity to do further harm after the complaint, Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Womens Defense League, said in a statement. Davidson Tribbs said as Democrats and the Harris campaign consider vice presidential candidates, we urge them to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governors office. The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Governor Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Shapiros office paid $295,000 in public money to settle a female employees complaint that Vereb, a longtime ally and top aide to Shapiro made improper, lewd and sexually charged remarks and that the administrations handling of the situation forced her out of her job. Vereb resigned abruptly on Sept. 27 shortly before the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the details of a complaint the woman had filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in May 2023. The settlement resolved the PHRC case and required the woman to discontinue a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Under terms of the agreement, the governors office did not admit liability, and she agreed to waive future employment with the governors office, but she would be permitted to work as a lobbyist to the office. The settlement includes a non-disclosure agreement that bars each side from discussing the terms. The Capital-Star is not naming the woman because of the nature of the allegations. She told the Capital-Star on Wednesday that she is solely focused on what happens moving forward for other women in Harrisburg, which she notes will need Shapiros leadership. There is a large package of bills waiting to be discussed and ironed out that have been introduced by both chambers. But this package is quite substantive and hits multiple angles, she said. I am most interested in ensuring third independent, unbiased parties are involved in investigations, which is being championed by Senators [Kim] Ward and [Maria] Collett, a true bipartisan effort of women. She added she hopes to see unity across the Capitol as these bills come forward in the fall session for the women and even men in Harrisburg. I have yet to hear Shapiros thoughts on these bills but I look forward to seeing him lean in and protect the women of Pa. Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder said in a statement to the Capital-Star that the governor and his administration take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports. Those procedures are implemented in every instance where complaints of discrimination or harassment are made and all allegations are promptly and fully investigated to ensure employees feel comfortable to report misconduct. In order to protect the privacy of every current and former Commonwealth employee involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific personnel matters. Bonder added that Shapiro has a track record of protecting survivors and prosecuting predators, pointing to his record as state attorney general. He exposed decades of child sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Catholic Church and put those who abused children behind bars. As Governor, he has repeatedly called on the Senate to send him a bill which has already passed the House to provide victims of sexual abuse with an opportunity to achieve justice and accountability. When the bills were introduced, Bonder said in a statement that Shapiro supports accountability and transparency measures in every branch of government, adding the administration was encouraged that legislators were including themselves in that accountability. Rep. Abby Major (R-Armstrong) has been a vocal critic of how Shapiros office handled the allegations against Vereb, and told the Capital-Star that its had a chilling effect on women who work at the Capitol. Women are scared because even though this Vereb victim got a payout, she lost her job, Major said. Women who work at the Capitol may rely on lawmakers for their employment, she noted and be unwilling to come forward if they think they might lose their jobs. Women are afraid to come forward, and it has fed into this culture that is the status quo in Pennsylvania. The package of bills aimed at addressing harassment in the Capitol were introduced late last year. They include: HR 276: A resolution to amend the House Ethical Conduct Rules to add non-verbal acts to the definition of sexual harassment, add a prohibition on members accused of sexual harassment from engaging in House-related services or duties, allow a person to appeal their complaint, and increase transparency to the number of complaints filed before the Ethics Committee. HB 1901: Amend the PennWATCH Act to include information on each settlement paid to an individual or employee HB 1902: Amend the Right-to-Know Law to redact the name of a sexual harassment or assault victim from a settlement agreement before its publicly released HB 1906: Enshrine federal non-disclosure agreement law into state law, prohibiting the enforcement of pre-employment non-disclosure agreements and non-disparagement agreements, as well as voiding agreements in place prior to a dispute arising HB 1948: Create a framework allowing the Commonwealth to seek reimbursement from individuals whose actions result in settlements of judgments paid by the Commonwealth. None of the bills has advanced out of committee. Major said she is not optimistic that they ever will because the appetite for such legislation does not exist in Harrisburg. But she said if and when other women come forward, she will offer support, regardless of whether theyre making accusations against a Democrat or a Republican. According to a 2019 Joint State Government Commission survey of legislative, judicial, executive, and independent state agencies, sexual harassment claims had cost taxpayers $1.9 million. The National Womens Defense League released a report last fall on sexual harassment in state government, and found it to be a pervasive and ongoing problem. The report found at least 130 state lawmakers accused of sexual harassment by 359 individuals over the past decade. There appeared to be little accountability for harassing behavior: Nearly 60% of lawmakers attempt to remain in office immediately after an accusation and in 55% of the incidents identified, no official action was taken against the accused official. Nearly 90% of accused lawmakers are reelected. Five lawmakers had been accused of sexual harassment in Pennsyvlania since 2013, the report found, with little effort to change the system and fix the problem. We deserve leaders who will not brush sexual harassment under the rug, but will put accountability above politics, Davidson Tribbs said Wednesday. We need leaders who prioritize effective policies, protocols and a culture that prevents sexual harassment and protects survivors. Peter Hall of the Capital-Star staff contributed reporting This article was updated at 7:33 p.m. July 31, 2024 with comment from Gov. Shapiros spokesperson, and on Aug. 1, 2024 to include a previous statement about the package of bills introduced. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST WASHINGTON The Pentagon has launched a review that could revoke 20 Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers involved in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, marking the militarys latest effort to acknowledge that some medal recipients and memorials dont measure up to standards of valor and honor. Since 2020, after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, the military has increasingly sought to reckon with vestiges of racism. It has erased the names of treasonous Confederate officers from some of its most iconic bases. Now, the Pentagon is poised to strip the nations highest award for valor from soldiers who slaughtered Native American noncombatants, including women and children at Wounded Knee Creek. Those actions come as the military increasingly diversifies. More than 40% of troops identify as people of color, according to the Pentagon. American scout and Indian fighter, William Cody (left), with the American General, Nelson A Miles and two other horsemen near Pine Ridge, South Dakota, a few days after the Massacre at Wounded Knee. On July 19, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the review by five experts to examine the actions of 20 soldiers involved in the fighting at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, on Dec. 29, 1890. Austin directed the panel to present him with recommendations by Oct. 15 on each medal awarded. Austins order comes more than three decades after the U.S. Senate declared the battle to be a massacre. The Army killed as many as 375 Native American men, women and children, according to a 1990 Senate resolution. The review follows more recent attempts in Congress that have failed to garner enough support to force the military to account for Medals of Honor issued at Wounded Knee. Austins order is especially significant in part because the Medal of Honor has become imbued over the years with a reverence bordering on the sacred, according to a senior Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Medal of Honor is much more than being in combat and doing well, the official said. The Medal of Honor goes to those who decide to do much, much more than fight. They display honor, gallantry a word we dont use every day. Theres a case to be made that there was no honor present at Wounded Knee that day. Thats why we need this review. Aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre, South Dakota. 1890. What happened at Wounded Knee Creek In 1890, a government Indian Affairs agent misinterpreted a Lakota Sioux religious revival ceremony known as a Ghost Dance as a call for insurrection, according to a 2024 University of Oklahoma College of Law paper by Dwight Mears, an Army combat veteran and former professor at West Point. President Benjamin Harrison ordered the Army to prevent an uprising in South Dakota. The 7th Cavalry arrived at Wounded Knee Creek and sought to disarm the Lakota. A gun discharged during that attempt followed by bitter fighting. The battle shifted to a ravine. It ended when soldiers fired cannons at Native Americans seeking shelter. Allegations of noncombatant deaths soon emerged. Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles relieved the 7th Cavalry commander and ordered an investigation. Miles wrote to his superiors and expressed his strongest disapproval over the killing of noncombatants. In a private letter Miles wrote, I have never heard of a more brutal, cold-blooded massacre than that at Wounded Knee. Mears cited the Armys latest historical account of the day. The first shot fired might have been an accident, the result of a soldier trying to disarm a Lakota. But whatever the source, it led to indiscriminate firing from soldiers and some return fire from the Lakota. In the ensuing action, many Lakota men, women and children sought to escape via ravines that cut through the area. The soldiers also employed artillery despite the presence of numerous noncombatants. When it was over, as many as 300 Lakota had been killed, including women and children, according to Army historians. There were 25 soldiers killed, some likely by friendly fire. The Wounded Knee site became a place of remembrance for Native Americans, and the massacre a rallying cry in struggles for Native American rights, according to the Library of Congress. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies in front of the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Feb 29, 2024. Why Medals of Honor were awarded At the time, the Medal of Honor was the only medal available to award to soldiers. It would be decades before other medals such as the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and Bronze Star were awarded. The guidelines for awarding the medal had evolved from the Civil War when it was established and required soldiers to have faced combat. By 1916, Congress intervened to establish standards for the Medal of Honor and authorized a board to consider revoking medals from recipients who didnt measure up. That review resulted in more than 900 Medals of Honor being rescinded. Most of those taken back had been awarded during the Civil War to soldiers who had reenlisted. Medal of Honor that would have been similar to those award to soldiers at Wounded Knee. What the Pentagon review is trying to accomplish Austin ordered the panel to look at each soldiers actions during the engagement at Wounded Knee, according to the memo establishing the review. He tasked the Army with producing each soldiers personnel file, and reports and investigations into the actions during the battle. The panel will consider the standards that applied when the medal was issued and recommend revocation of medals for soldier who didn't qualify. At the time, Army regulations required soldiers to avoid civilian casualties when possible. Austin identified disqualifying actions that would revoke a medal, including intentionally attacking civilians, murder and rape. Some of the Medal of Honor recipients at Wounded Knee also appear to have failed to meet the requirements of valor of their day, according to Mears. Mears found that two soldiers might have their medals revoked because their actions, while not criminal, failed to meet the standard of distinguished conduct. One of them, Pvt. Matthew Hamilton, was awarded the Medal of Honor for rounding up and bringing to the skirmish line a stampeded pack mule. If a soldier did act honorably at Wounded Knee, rendering medical aid under fire, for instance, he should be allowed to retain his medal, the senior Defense official said. But any dishonorable action should result in revocation, the official said. This is tied up in the militarys review of renaming bases and the placement of statues celebrating the Confederacy, the official said. Some will view it as trying to rewrite history or being woke. In this case, thats not a valid concern. Ultimately, nobody can view actions at Wounded Knee as something to be proud of. No reading of history, no historical contextualization, can rationalize actions on that day. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wounded Knee Medal of Honor recipients may face revocation WYNNE, Ark. Thursday was the first day of school for Wynne Public Schools in east Arkansas, but as students and teachers come back, the district continues to rebuild after last years devastating tornado. Twenty-five hundred students in Wynne Public Schools, the home of the Yellowjackets, went back to school Thursday. Its been great. This is the first time in two years now that our kids have started all at one place, one location, said Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Moore. For students attending high school, the start of a new school year means attending class on their temporary campus. Wynne High Schools temporary campus We fail to understand how resilient kids can be and to see our senior class step up the way they have and take to the new campus and not complain and know that this is a needed thing, said Communications Officer Aaron Russell. On March 31, 2023, a tornado touched down in Wynne, destroying businesses, homes, the high school, and lives. Four killed, dozens injured by tornado in Wynne, AR Repairs are still being made to damaged buildings. The arena where we are in right now still has to have the roof done and all the windows and doors replaced. The old library still needs a roof. When that is done, the damaged buildings will be finished. Were hoping to get started on the new high school soon, but we still dont have that approval from the state of Arkansas, said Moore. The district has since unveiled renderings of the new Wynne High School. Russell said the design incorporates tornado facilities for students. We are praying and hoping as things get rebuilt, we see some families move back, Moore said. Wynne Public Schools hopes to have a tentative groundbreaking for the new high school on August 26. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. (Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinpings warm welcome for the Italian prime minister offers a pointed reminder to European leaders of the economic benefits of engaging with China and also of the potential risks. Most Read from Bloomberg Italian diplomats hailed Giorgia Melonis five-day trip as a success after she secured a sit-down with Xi and a clutch of cooperation deals, as well as glowing reviews in Chinese state media. To pull that off, she avoided criticizing her host for supporting Russias war machine or overcapacity in key tech industries, according to public statements, though did warn trade ties between Italy and China must be rebalanced. Her reception suggests Beijing is seeking to fan tensions between European Union members with the promise of lucrative bilateral ties for some, even as the 27-nation bloc as a whole moves closer to the tougher US approach to trade with the worlds no. 2 economy. There is probably a bit of that divide-and-conquer mindset informing the welcome, said Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. Meloni had faced a delicate balancing act when she landed in Beijing on Saturday aiming to reset links with Beijing after controversially pulling Italy out of Xis Belt and Road Initiative last year. But Xi, too, can benefit from a relationship with Italy as both sides look to prepare themselves for the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House next year. By singling out Meloni and Hungarys Viktor Orban, the most prominent far-right leaders in the EU, Xi is also playing on the faultline running through European politics as new populists emerge to challenge, and in some cases displace, establishment parties. Both Olaf Scholz of Germany and Frances Emmanuel Macron have seen their authority compromised by domestic problems amid growing support for the far right. While Macron was treated to a tea in a residence once used by Xis father when he visited China last year, he ultimately walked away with few concrete gains. Scholz echoed US complaints about an unfair glut of Chinese exports when he visited in April. Theres also some calculation that Macron might be in a weaker position, whereas Meloni is representative of the resurgent right, Chong said. Melonis willingness to bring Xi into discussions over Russias war in Ukraine also suits the Chinese leader. In recent years, the Chinese president has sought to portray himself as a neutral arbiter on the world stage capable of brokering agreements such as last years accord between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Chinese diplomacy was particularly active in the week leading up to Melonis visit, with Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, visiting Beijing for Kyivs first high-level trip in eight years. Chinese officials also presided over a gathering of rival Palestinian factions who signed an agreement to establish an interim reconciliation government in a document dubbed the Beijing Declaration. One Italian diplomat argued that despite Xis support for Russia, bringing China into negotiations on Ukraine is valuable because its one of the few countries that can influence Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meloni has little power to influence the European Commissions probe into subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles, which is the most pressing bilateral issue between Beijing and the EU. But if Xi can encourage countries like Italy to consider a more conciliatory approach to China then hell make it harder for the bloc to take decisive action on other issues. With the EU seeking to maintain a united front on tariffs, Chinese firms are preparing their response, planning factories inside the bloc to get around the restrictions. BYD Co., for instance, is planning its first European car factory in Hungary, rewarding Orban for years of courting Beijing. Another electric vehicle firm Chery Automobile Co., has partnered with a Spanish company there and plans to begin production later this year. The challenge posed to the EU by Chinas EV producers encapsulates some of the more fundamental dilemmas at the heart of the blocs dealings with Beijing. China represents the biggest market for German car producers the flagship industry in the EUs biggest economy and as such is indispensable to company profits. Yet the rapid advances of Chinese EVs threaten the future of firms such as Volkswagen AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG, which are struggling to navigate the transition from combustion engines. Germanys particular vulnerability to any retribution from China creates tensions with countries like France that have been pushing for a more assertive response. Thats likely part of the Chinese calculation, analysts say, when Xi decides to embrace Meloni and Orban. Despite Melonis decision to pull out of the BRI, theres a sense in Beijing that the Italians are not among those pushing hardest for retaliation against what the Europeans say are Chinas unfair subsidies. So there may be some belief that it may be possible to win over Meloni to soften the EUs overall stance. --With assistance from Donato Paolo Mancini. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. President Joe Biden meets with the families of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza after their release in a prisoner swap with Russia, Thursday, August 1, 2024, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz) Michigan officials are hailing the multi-country prisoner swap announced Thursday between the United States and Russia that will bring home several Americans, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan of Novi. A total of 16 people from several countries who were detained by Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were traded for eight Russians held by Western nations. Today, a Michigan family can breathe a long sigh of relief after a years-long nightmare, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Paul Whelan, a proud United States Marine and Michigander, is finally coming back home along with Evan Gershkovich, a journalist, and several other Americans. When Paul was unjustly arrested in 2019, he was on his way to Michigan, and I am grateful to the [Joe] Biden-Kamala] Harris administration for successfully negotiating his peaceful release. Its been five long years, and I know Pauls family and every Michigander is excited to welcome him with open arms and lots of love. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist echoed Whitmers statement, crediting tireless diplomacy by the Biden-Harris administration, adding that the release was a testament to our power to get things done and leave no American behind. Whelan was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, on charges he and American officials have repeatedly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in Russias prison system. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting for the Wall Street Journal and sentenced last month to 16 years in prison during a secret trial. The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials have vehemently denied the charges. Both of Michigans U.S. senators welcomed the news of Whelans release. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.), called it a joyous and long overdue day for Paul, his family, and everyone who worked to bring him back home to Michigan. For the past several years, I have worked with Administration officials, my colleagues, and Pauls family to press for his release, and Im beyond relieved that today marks the end of this unimaginable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones. Michigan welcomes him home with open arms, said Peters. Both Peters and fellow U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) led a bipartisan resolution last October calling for Whelans immediate release, one of several passed since his detention. Wonderful news today! After more than five years, Paul Whelan is coming home, said Stabenow. I know the past years have been excruciating for Paul and his family. Im so glad they will be seeing Paul soon. Thank you to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for your incredible work to bring these Americans home. Peters raised the issue of securing Whelans release with top Cabinet officials in both the Trump and Biden Administrations, including current National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in June of 2021. Michigans congressional delegation also celebrated the news. Paul Whelan is on his way home, thank God. Pauls liberty was unjustly taken from him for more than five years, said U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham). He lost his job, his dog, and his home; now he has the opportunity to regain his life. Thank you to President Biden, the Whelan family, and my colleagues in Congress for the tireless work and advocacy that made this remarkable moment possible. Stevens, who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Hostage Task Force, led passage of a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives which called for Whelans release in the last three congressional sessions. Stevens also worked to include in the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation proclaiming March 9 as U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day Act, as well as the Supporting Americans Wrongfully or Unlawfully Detained Abroad Act, which provides travel cost assistance to families of hostages so they can advocate for their loved ones in Washington D.C. That act also encourages the federal government to provide physical and mental health resources for released individuals and their family members. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) praised the news, while also noting Whelan and Gershkovich had been wrongfully detained by Russia as political prisoners after sham trials with no evidence of wrongdoing, adding that they and their families had suffered through a terrible ordeal. But even on the darkest days, they never gave up hopeand neither did the American people. Now, we are grateful Paul and Evan are on their way home to be reunited with their loved ones, Kildee said. U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) called for the release of other Americans wrongfully detained across the world. Im so happy that the Whelan family will be reunited after years of separation, said James. MICHIGAN NATIVE PAUL WHELAN IS COMING HOME! Now our nation must continue to work to bring all Americans wrongfully detained abroad home! But at least one member was also concerned about the precedent it could set. Im overjoyed that Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich are coming home. Pauls parents, Ed and Rosemary, were constituents of mine and have spent nearly 6 agonizing years wondering if theyd ever get to see their son again, said U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton). While the release of Paul and Evan is long overdue and worthy of celebration, we must be careful not to establish a new norm by accepting when our adversaries conflate innocent civilians with real criminals. Americans are not bargaining chips. We must be extremely careful to not incentivize future wrongful detainments and force more Americans to live through the nightmares Paul and Evan have lived. States Newsroom reporter Jennifer Shutt assisted with this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A New York appellate court on Thursday rejected an appeal from former President Donald Trump, who sought to lift the gag order imposed on him earlier this year in his New York criminal hush money trial. The courts decision means that a version of the gag order as amended in June remains in place for now. The former president has been largely unsuccessful in fighting the order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the historic trial that ended in a conviction for Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business documents. The case revolved around a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels made by Trumps former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, allegedly at his direction. Trump is barred from attacking prosecutors and court staff, and from revealing any identifying information about the jurors. The gag order never barred him from speaking about Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The amendment in June lifted parts of the original order, allowing Trump to attack witnesses including Daniels and Cohen, and to speak about the jurors in ways that do not reveal any personal information, but cited safety concerns about removing other parts. The appeals court determined that in that move Merchan had properly weighed petitioners First Amendment Rights against the courts historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm. Throughout the seven-week trial, Trump was found to have violated the gag order 10 times, resulting in a $10,000 fine. At the time of Trumps conviction on May 30, Merchan set his sentencing date for July 11. A July 1 Supreme Court ruling, however, threw a wrench into the plan. The high court determined that a U.S. president has absolute immunity for official actions he takes as part of his core constitutional powers. Merchan is expected to weigh in on how the Supreme Courts immunity decision applies to Trumps hush money case in September. Trumps new sentencing date is set for Sept. 18. A comptroller report from New York State released last week, detailing the condition of locally owned bridges and the budget needed to fix them. Across the state, there are around 18,000 highway bridges. More than half of these bridges are locally owned and operated by towns, villages, or other local municipalities. For more information, we spoke with Simonia Brown, assistant comptroller for the local government and school accountability division. Over 50% of the bridges across the state are locally owned. 875 of those are in the North Country, Brown explained. What we found is that 10% of New York States locally owned bridges are in poor condition. In the North Country, bridges are identified and categorized as follows: Clinton County has 110 local bridges, 17 of which are in poor condition. Essex County has 132 local bridges, 11 of which are in poor condition. Franklin County has 144 local bridges, 19 of which are in poor condition. While this may seem upsetting, Brown assured us that there is some good news. In the North Country, they actually have the highest share of bridges that are rated in good condition. So thats how Clinton, Essex, Franklin and just the North Country region overall is fairing compared to the rest of the state. Whereas I mentioned 10 percent of locally owned bridges across the state are rated in poor condition, Brown told us. So, is there a safety concern here? Brown said that A poor bridge, which is what we have been talking about and focusing on, does not necessarily mean a bridge is dangerous and going to fall, right? What it essentially means, is that this is an area where funding should be prioritized to ensure that essential repairs are made so that it doesnt become an unsafe bridge and need to be closed. According to Brown, the priority is funding, and making sure the state is investing enough money into maintaining these bridges. So in New York, theres a Bridge New York program. Since 2016, Bridge New York has essentially funded, 1.7 billion dollars has been allocated to local governments to help with bridge infrastructure, repairs, maintenance and upkeep, Brown concluded. In the North Country, 88 projects have received over 140 million dollars in funding. About 60 million of that has gone specifically to Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties. You can check out the full report here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The lieutenant at the police department who spearheaded the effort to secure a new camera system for the city says the cameras will only be used for help in solving major crimes and they do not collect personal data. Read next: Watch live as Realty Building demolition continues in Youngstown Lt. Mohammad Awad of the Detective Bureau said he has been trying to get the Flock camera system for three years. The major hurdle had been funding, he said, but earlier this week, City Council voted 5-1 to use $200,000 that three council members donated from the American Rescue Plan funds awarded to their wards. Those council members were Pat Kelly, D-5th Ward; Mike Ray, D-4th Ward; and Julius Oliver, D-2nd Ward. The only council member who voted against the cameras was Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward. Awad said the city will install 59 cameras, with 56 at fixed locations. The cameras record license plate numbers, as well as the makes and models of vehicles. They do not collect personal data, Awad said, and images are kept for 30 days. The three cameras that will not be used in fixed positions will be moved to various parts of the city where officials may think they are needed on a temporary basis. The cameras will only be used for major crimes like homicides or robberies, Awad said. They will be a help in aiding investigators in tracking vehicles that witnesses tell them were used in those crimes. Often, investigators will get a vehicle description from witnesses at a crime scene but they do not have a license plate, Awad said. He said police can enter any data they have at the scene and the cameras will search for that type of vehicle. The more information investigators have, the more they can narrow their search, Awad said. Davis said she is opposed to the cameras because the city has to rely on Flock Safety, the company that owns the cameras, to purge the database every 30 days. She said even though the cameras do not record personal data, they could have someones license plate and someone could use the plate number to identify a person who is not connected to a crime or they could track a vehicles history. She also said Flock has a nationwide database, so anyone in the country could have access to the information. Niles and Liberty use Flock cameras as do Poland Township and Canfield, who have the cameras installed in school zones. Youngstown has speed cameras in school zones but those cameras are different from the Flock cameras. According to Flocks website, their cameras are used in 5,000 communities across the country and are also used by private businesses. There is a section of the web side called SolvedStories, where the company spotlights crimes that were solved with help from the cameras. Awad did not give a timetable as to when the cameras will be up and running. He said he hopes to have them up within a few months. The city also recently began using drones and has been using the ShotSpotter gunshot sensor detection system for years, but Awad said this is a foray into new technology. Im excited to use Flock, Awad said. This is our first step using intelligence-driven data to help solve crimes. The city could use more cameras in the future, Awad said. He said Youngstown was laid out for a population of 150,000 people, so there are a large number of entrances and exits onto highways and freeways that need to be monitored. This is just a drop in the bucket, he said. We want more long term. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine wants a second leaders summit expected later this year to pave the way for the end of fighting, President Volodymyr Zelenskiys chief of staff said. Most Read from Bloomberg Andriy Yermak has led Kyivs efforts to organize the meeting to achieve a fair peace settlement after the first gathering in Switzerland in June failed to win over key nations from the Global South. Zelenskiy is pushing to convene the second summit before the US elections in November with Russia potentially present at the table. The efforts come as Ukraine and its western allies fret about Donald Trumps return as president amid growing fatigue and lack of major breakthroughs on the battlefield. The most important expectation for the second summit is for it to shape major prerequisites for stopping the hostilities, Yermak told Bloomberg in an interview from his office in Kyiv on Wednesday. We need to end this war as soon as possible to get a just peace. Yermak said the gathering will be held in a country from the so-called Global South, probably in the Middle East, in a show of the worlds unity amid Russias attempts to divide it. The previous peace summit held in Switzerland last June was marred by Vladimir Putins demand that Ukraine give up a significant chunk of its territory as a prerequisite for peace, which Ukraine has repeatedly rejected. Russia wasnt invited to the meeting, while China declined to attend. Although Ukraine attempted to focus on topics which could gain broader consensus, such as nuclear security and the return of abducted children, the summit also failed to gain the support of key nations such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Securing Chinas participation next time is of crucial importance to Ukraine. The country is a big player who is really able to influence Russia, Yermak said. So far, the signs are not promising. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba during a visit in Beijing last month that the time was not yet ripe for peace talks to end the war with Russia. --With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. A reshuffle is being prepared at Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address on Aug. 1. His statement comes after months of reports about the possible replacement of several Ukrainian ministers. "Personnel decisions are being prepared at the Cabinet level," Zelensky said without elaborating. In early July, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing sources in the presidential team, that Zelensky was considering dismissing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has been in office since 2020. According to the outlet's sources, potential replacements for Shmyhal included Yulia Svyridenko, the first deputy prime minister and economic development minister, or Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Ukraine's oil and gas giant Naftogaz. Zelensky said in March that Ukrainians can expect more government reshuffles in the future, following a shake-up of his inner circle. Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksandr Kubrakov and Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi were then dismissed in May. Read also: EXPLAINER: Does Ukraine have political opposition? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Zelenskyy: Russia will no longer attempt to capture Kharkiv; they have new priority Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that after the Russians' failed assault on Kharkiv in early summer, they changed their main objective, and now their priority is capturing Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. Source: Zelenskyy's interview with French journalists Quote: "The entire eastern front is challenging. The main objective today, after their failure to capture Kharkiv, which we understand is no longer feasible, has shifted. Their primary focus is no longer the entire east, though Sloviansk is not excluded. However, I would say that today Pokrovsk is their priority. The Pokrovsk front and the city of Pokrovsk are their main targets. Of course, there is also Kostiantynivka, and yes, they are targeting Toretsk and have plans for Sloviansk, but these are just plans. The largest concentration of personnel, weapons, and all their available resources are now focused on the Pokrovsk front." Background: The Pokrovsk front is constantly mentioned in the General Staff reports as the area where the Russians are carrying out the most attacks. Support UP or become our patron! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a reshuffle in the Ukrainian government can be expected soon. Source: President Zelenskyys video address on 1 August 2024 Quote from Zelenskyy: "I held a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to discuss the recovery [of Ukraine] following my visits to Kharkiv, Poltava Oblast, the Volyn region and Rivne and the meetings I held there. We discussed [the progress of] construction projects, key recovery priorities, and who can ensure that all of the objectives set by the government can be met. We are working on a reshuffle among key leadership positions and additional measures that will ensure that more Ukrainian children will be able to attend schools in person instead of online, to give them back a normal school life as much as its possible to do so now, during the war." Details: Zelenskyy also said that several foreign leaders are expected to visit Ukraine in August. Quote from Zelenskyy: "Second, our relations with our partners. We are working on agreements that will be signed this August. This includes security agreements; for example, tomorrow we will launch negotiations [concerning a security agreement] with another European country. We are also planning the visits of [foreign] leaders to Ukraine and working out the content of our negotiations regarding the long-term philosophy underpinning our agreements. Its particularly important to ensure our countrys stability for years to come. This can serve to provide us with more opportunities right now, this year, in light of the existing threats and challenges. Of course our main task is to ensure the success of the Ukrainian defence forces, [to balance] the state budget, and [to ensure] social stability in Ukraine." Background: In early July, sources close to Zelenskyy told Ukrainska Pravda (UP) that he was "tired" of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and was likely planning to fire him. On 10 July, UP wrote that First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko was the only candidate being seriously discussed as a potential replacement for Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. It was reported that Andrii Yermak, the head of the Office of the President, perceives Svyrydenko as 100% loyal and part of the president's team. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, is reportedly being considered to replace Denys Maliuska as Ukraines Justice Minister. As a result, Stefanishyna will vacate her current position. On 23 July, it became known that the Ukrainian parliament announced a "break" until August. UP reported that no further meetings of the Verkhovna Rada are planned as of now. Support UP or become our patron! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will negotiate a security agreement with another European country, though he did not name the country. Source: President Zelenskyys video address on 1 August 2024 Quote from Zelenskyy: "[O]ur relations with our partners. We are working on agreements that will be signed this August. This includes security agreements; for example, tomorrow we will launch negotiations [concerning a security agreement] with another European country." Details: Zelenskyy did not say which country Ukraine will negotiate a new agreement with. He also said that several foreign leaders are expected to visit Ukraine in August. "Its particularly important to ensure our countrys stability for years to come. This can serve to provide us with more opportunities right now, this year, in light of the existing threats and challenges," Zelenskyy said. He added that Ukraines main goal is to ensure the success of the Ukrainian defence forces, [to balance] the state budget, and [to ensure] social stability in Ukraine. Background: On 18 July, Ukraine and Czechia signed a bilateral security agreement following the Group of Seven's Vilnius Declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. Later the same day, Ukraine and Slovenia also signed a security agreement, the 25th such bilateral agreement for Ukraine. During the NATO summit in July, Ukraine signed security agreements with Poland, Luxembourg and Romania. Also, on the sidelines of the summit, the Ukraine Compact, a multilateral document containing commitments to support Ukraine, was signed. Support UP or become our patron! FILE - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa gestures during his inauguration ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare, on Sept. 4 2023. Zimbabwe police have arrested 18 political activists and hauled some of them off a plane, their lawyers said Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in the latest clampdown by the government. (AP Photo /Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File) HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) Zimbabwe police have arrested 18 political activists and hauled some of them off a plane, their lawyers said Thursday, in the latest clampdown by the government after warning it would crush opposition protests ahead of its hosting of a meeting of the southern African heads of state this month. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group said it was representing the activists, who were detained on Wednesday. Among the activists arrested is Namatai Kwekweza, a 25-year-old pro-democracy campaigner and the inaugural winner of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize in 2023. The prize is awarded by the late United Nations secretary-generals foundation to young people committed to the principles of democracy. Amnesty International has condemned the arrests, while Annans foundation said it was deeply concerned by the incident. Kwekweza and three other activists were removed from a plane on the tarmac of the Robert Mugabe International Airport in the capital, Harare. Another 14 activists were arrested the same day for holding a protest in another town. The four taken off the plane are being charged with disorderly conduct for being part of a courthouse protest in late June demanding the release of 77 opposition party members who have been in pre-trial detention for over six weeks. The 77 activists were arrested at a barbecue at the house of one of their leaders. Police said they gathered with the intent to promote violence, breaches of peace or bigotry. A mother and her 1-year-old baby were among those detained. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from autocrat Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017, has been accused of cracking down on political opposition in a similar way to Mugabe, who had led the country for 37 years since independence. Numerous opposition members, university students and labor unionists have been arrested since Mnangagwa, 81, became president. He denies being oppressive but has warned the opposition against what he has called inciting violence. Authorities have moved to subdue any new protests ahead of the meeting of southern African leaders in Harare on Aug. 17. Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe's first lady and others were sanctioned by the United States earlier this year for alleged involvement in gold and diamond smuggling and human rights abuses. ___ AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa Teens invent remarkable device while searching for way to save community: 'Can be implemented anywhere in the world' Beyza and Diyar are two members of the Turkish Team Ceres, runners-up in the Earth Prize who created a new crop-boosting technology called Plantzma. Euronews reported that the idea came from Beyza's reading on exoplanets, faraway planets orbiting stars other than the sun. "I was reading NASA's articles so much, and NASA has so much work about plasma and its wide range of uses," she told the publication. Plasma is a state of matter like solid, liquid, and gas. It's what happens when a gas is so charged with energy that molecules can't hold onto their electrons. As Euronews pointed out, plasma is "rare on Earth but abundant in space." Beyza, Diyar, and their team developed an ingenious way to use plasma in farming. Their Plantzma device does two things to help. First, it treats seeds, creating microscopic cracks in their outer coatings. This makes it easier for the seeds to sprout, so more individual plants develop, increasing yields. "In the direct treatment, we treat the seeds in a container with plasma before cultivation and this increases the resistance to diseases, drought, and other environmental stressors," Diyar told Euronews. Second, Plantzma can be used with water to turn it into an eco-friendly, nitrogen-rich fertilizer. "In the indirect treatment, we treat irrigation water with plasma, enriching its properties to benefit plant growth," said Diyar. "That process turns the water into plasma fertilizer which supplies essential nutrients for the plant and stimulates fruit and vegetables." That kind of help is sorely needed since Turkey is being severely affected by the Earth's rising temperature and the extreme weather that follows. "Our idea for Plantzma originated from the agricultural challenges we observed in our community and family," said Beyza. "Many people we know work in agriculture. They face significant issues due to drought and crop failure there has been a 40% decline in precipitation rates, leading to an 80% crop loss." But a single Plantzma device, which costs roughly $190, can reduce fertilizer use by 40% while still preventing 60% of crop loss, Euronews said. The team intentionally designed its product for use in even the poorest areas of the world. "The solution can be implemented anywhere in the world where agriculture is [prevalent], including many places that don't have access to modern technologies," said Beyza. The team is trying to raise funding to achieve that. Meanwhile, Diyar is starting a major in electrical engineering at NYU Abu Dhabi, while Beyza intends to major in environmental engineering and political science. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet. Congressional candidates in Central Washington are largely in agreement with their respective national party platforms regarding abortion. After the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Republicans are leaving abortion laws to the states discretion. Delegates showed united support with Trumps abortion platform at this years Republican National Convention. The platform committee agreed to Trumps new document, passing with an 84 to 18 vote. This is a dramatic shift from the partys stance over the last 40 years. In 1984, the party platform included an amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendments protections apply to children before birth. The platform, in 2016, included support for a national ban of abortions performed 20 weeks after pregnancy. In March, the Republican Study Committee, which represents all House Republican leaders, released a budget that endorses a national abortion ban with zero exceptions. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 14 states have passed near-total abortion bans. In the 18 months following the decision, the number of abortions in the U.S. steadily rose, according to the Society of Family Plannings report in May. Abortion is legal and protected in Washington state. After the Dobbs decision, total abortion patients were up 18% in 11 Planned Parenthood clinics in Central and Eastern Washington, according to information from Sen. Maria Cantwells office. The data compares numbers from January-May 2022 and 2023. Idahos abortion ban went into effect in August 2022. The Yakima clinic reported a 5% increase in abortion patients during that time frame, but more significant increases happened in Kennewick, Pullman and Walla Walla with additional patients from Idaho, according to Cantwells office. Lindsay Johnson, chief external affairs officer for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Greater Washington and North Idaho, said abortion is really top of people's minds in this election. Our reproductive rights and our access to basic health care are on the line right now. A June poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a majority of Americans support abortion access. Eight in 10 Americans oppose Congress passing a federal abortion ban, the study found. In an April video posted on TruthSocial, Trump said he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, and declined to endorse a national ban. Vice President and expected Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris supports a national right to abortion. In the Biden administration, Harris vocally objected to abortion bans. She visited an abortion clinic in March, which White House officials believed had never been done before by a president or vice president. While in the Senate, she co-sponsored a bill that would have banned state-level abortion restrictions. Johnson critiques incumbent Republican Congressman Dan Newhouses voting record, specifically his support of the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2023. For any elected official who's making decisions and voting on policy, we hope that they trust pregnant people and trust providers, Johnson said. Newhouse is facing challenges from seven candidates in the upcoming Washington primary election. In general, Republicans Jerrod Sessler and Tiffany Smiley are running to the right of Newhouses more moderate policies. Democrats Mary Baechler, "Birdie" Jane Muchlinski, and Barry Knowles are running to his left. Independent Benny Garcia and "MAGA Democrat" John Malan are running outside the two-party system, and support Trump. Protests outside the Planned Parenthood office in Yakima have increased since Dobbs, Johnson said. Ron Thomassom, a retired Gateway Church pastor, protests outside the office on Tuesdays. He experiences a mix of support and disapproval from passersby but hopes to change incoming patients minds. I'm praying and seeing that there's a big change coming, said Thomassom. There are two branches of Planned Parenthood. One provides services to patients and educates community members. The other participates in election efforts. The 501(c)(4) Planned Parenthood Advocates of Greater Washington and North Idaho partners with the groups like the Yakima County Democrats to canvass voters. The Yakima County Democrats chair Lindsey Keesling thinks the abortion issue should not be framed in black and white terms. She had a miscarriage and received medical care as a result. That medical care, depending on your insurance, is coded as an abortion, even if you had absolutely no choice, said Keesling. She knows Republican women who are similarly worried about the lack of nuanced rhetoric concerning abortion access. The Yakima County Republicans platform states that all health care decisions are personal rights that must rest with each individual. Parents and legal guardians have the ultimate decision-making authority over, and responsibility for, their children." It also states: "We support the protection of innocent human life, pre-born or born, through all stages of life up to natural death. Each candidate for the 4th Congressional District spoke to the Yakima Herald-Republic about their abortion platforms, among other issues. Below are their responses, in alphabetical order by last name: Mary Baechler Democrat, Yakima Reproductive justice is a top priority for Baechler. She worked as a midwife and founded a baby stroller company. Baechler believes that people should be free to make their health care decisions alone and highlights that the more countries restrict abortion access, the more their abortion rates increase. If you look at the best practices in the world, it's countries like the Netherlands. Their (abortion) rate is so much lower than ours, said Baechler. She attributes this to more access to contraceptives and health care education. Benny BG3 Garcia Independent, Grandview Garcia identifies as pro-life but in cases where a mother is at risk, he is more lenient. All I can say is I hope for the best and pray for the best for the child and for the mother to be healthy, said Garcia. He supports the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for couples struggling with pregnancy and would not support a national ban on abortion. Barry Knowles Democrat, Covington and Yakima Knowles, who doesnt fit squarely in the Democrat mold, said he was happy when the Supreme Court made abortion a state-level issue. He said he doesnt feel strongly over whether Americans should have a right to reproductive care, but believes the federal government cannot make the decision. Me personally, I don't care. I think that people should vote in each state and decide what they want, said Knowles. John Malan MAGA Democrat, Grant County Though pro-life, Malan thinks reproductive rights should be determined by each state. If they wanted it, they can have it. I don't like it. I don't believe in it. I don't want it. But if the people want it, let them go kill themselves. I don't care, said Malan. He is glad Roe v. Wade was overturned and would not support a national ban on abortion. "Birdie" Jane Muchlinski Democrat, Richland Health care is a freedom and we need to be protecting freedoms across the board, said Muchlinski. She supports creating a federal right to contraception and IVF. She is against a national ban on abortion, saying that building a family is a private decision for individuals to make for themselves. Dan Newhouse Republican, Sunnyside The Dobbs decision will not change abortion access in Washington, Newhouse said. Pro-life himself, Newhouse wants to create ways to steer women in the direction of giving birth rather than seeking an abortion. He supports a federal right to IVF. We should do everything we can to preserve life and help the individuals that find themselves in these very difficult positions to help them make the decision to preserve life, said Newhouse. Jerrod Sessler Republican, Prosser Sessler, a conservative Christian, thinks abortion should be decided on the state level. While he is pro-life, Sessler believes there are situations where a doctor and patient need to decide what is best for them. And I would say generally those situations are going to be unbelievably rare, said Sessler. On his website, Sessler says that people are pushing for legislation that will allow doctors to kill babies weeks after they come out of the womb. However, it is illegal to kill a newborn in all states and no state is trying to pass a law to change that. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that doctors perform only 1% of abortions after 21 weeks gestation. Tiffany Smiley Republican, Pasco Like the other conservative candidates, Smiley labels herself as pro-life. She approves the issue of abortion being decided by individual states. Smiley worked as a triage nurse for an OB/GYN clinic in Spokane. She supports IVF, saying, We should make it easy for families to grow and bring life into this world, and we need to make contraception easy, accessible, and affordable to women. Jasper Kenzo Sundeen's reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com. Joe Kent and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez are vying for Washington's 3rd Congressional District. (Courtesy of the campaigns) Hungarys economy could grow by 1.8-2.2% this year and 3.5% could be achieved by all means next year, the finance minister said. Mihaly Varga told commercial channel M2 that it was good news that in a European comparison, Hungarys second quarter growth figures were the third highest behind Portugal and Spain. The Russian-Ukraine war continues to weigh on European economies, with competitiveness problems and high energy prices also having an effect, he said. Germanys struggle with its own challenges and a crisis has also dragged Hungary down, Varga said. He expressed hope that the next half year would see Germany returning to economic growth, which in turn could boost Europe. He said he was optimistic about the future, with all international forecasts showing significant growth in the Hungarian economy. The economy will expand in the second half, but developments in the US will be decisive, he added. Varga said that 3.5% economic growth was feasible by all means for 2025, with 1.8-2.2% being a realistic projection for this year. An uninterrupted increase in real wages for the past 9 months and expanding consumption also support growth, he said. Hungary received investment grade rating from rate setters in May-June, and the government measures of June will help maintain the positive ratings in the autumn, he said. ********************************* You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! Osteria aims to create a remarkable experience for every guest, combining authentic Italian flavors, a modern gastronomic approach, a relaxed cosmopolitan atmosphere, and an exciting interior design. Wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, fresh homemade pastas, charcoal-grilled meats, and tantalizing seafood dishes are the constant features of our seasonally changing menu. 1. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Budapest, Hungary in 12th district and I also spent a lot of time in Balatonfured as a child. So both the big city and the rural environment influenced my childhood. 2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose? I've always been a lover of Italy for some reason I feel a strong connection to Mediterranean countries. To this day I say that when I get older I would like to live there. :) 3. What would you miss most if you moved away from Hungary? As I believe is the case with most people, I would miss my family the most. 4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do? The best way to explore the city is on foot and in our small town there are many beautiful buildings and charming streets. With a delicious specialty coffee in hand and enjoying an artisanal pastry you can have great walks in the 5th, 6th, and 7th districts. Don't miss the Buda Castle, walk across the Chain Bridge, and stroll along the riverside at sunset. In the evening, have a glass of Hungarian wine at Marlou. 5. What is your favourite food? I cant name a favourite but Im always happy to eat pasta. 6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise? Water polo for sure, but in theses days padel has also had a big impact on me. 7. What is your favourite place in Hungary? Lake Balaton, Tihany. 8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue? Fortunately, I've always known what I want to do, so it's hard for me to imagine something else for myself. Though for a day, I'd love to be a professional jazz pianist. 9. Whats a job you would definitely never want? I really respect all the doctors, but I could never be one myself. 10. Where did you spend your last vacation? We went to Rome with colleagues to visit a restaurant and tried to get inspired. 11. Where do you hope to spend your next one? I will be going to Stockholm unfortunately I was there during Covid and couldn't explore the city as I would have liked. 12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen? U2, Snatch 13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist? Music has always been a peculiar part of my life. 14. Red wine or white? I prefer white. 15. Book or movie? Movie 16. Morning person or night person? Actually, I can do both - I enjoy and am capable of waking up early, but I can also stay up late in the evening without any problem if needed 17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about? I feel passionate about environmental protection because I believe in the importance of a sustainable future and the preservation of natural resources. 18. Buda or Pest side? For me Buda. 19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about? After quitting water polo I had to start a completely different life which was very scary at the time. Now I am very grateful for where I work, what I do. 20. What would you say is your personal motto? "Late nights at dirty bars and early morning coffee." :-) YPS Open Houses YORK -- York Public Schools will hold their Open Houses on Monday, Aug. 12. York Elementary School will hold theirs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by the York Middle School Open House from 6 to 7 p.m. and finally York High School will hold theirs from 7 to 8 p.m. Yorkshire Playhouse Melodrama YORK -- Get ready for a popcorn-throwing, fast-paced, family-friendly melodrama Because Their Hearts Were Pure... Or the Secrets of the Mine at the Yorkshire Playhouse. Rising Stars - actors aged 12-18 - are ready to take the stage in this hilarious melodrama on Wednesday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. Purchase tickets at www.yorkshireplayhouse.com/box-office/melodrama Annual Pork BBQ YORK -- The Annual Pork BBQ will be held at the York County Fair on Thursday, Aug. 1 with serving taking place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pioneer Farm Family Presentation YORK -- The Pioneer Farm Family Presentation will be held under the Tent at the York County Fair on Friday, Aug. 2 starting at 7 p.m. Figure Eight Races YORK -- The Figure Eight Races will be held in the Grandstand at the York County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 3 starting at 6:30 p.m. A Pit Pass costs $25; Adults cost $15; Kids 6-12 cost $5 and 5 and under are free. CASA for York County Duck Race YORK Tickets for the CASA for York County Duck Race are now available at the York Chamber of Commerce office during regular hours. They are also available from CASA for York County Board of Directors members. Support the CASA advocates who support the foster children of York County by purchasing a Duck for the second annual race. Cost of a duck is $5, all of which goes to the local program. The race will be held on Sunday, August 18, 2023 at the Family Aquatic Center in Mincks Park in York at 4 p.m. Prizes this year are $1,000 in cash, a $750 Chamber card, $500 gift card to Grand Central for groceries, a $300 Ace Hardware gift card along with 5 Lucky Duck prizes of $100 cash each. Duck tickets and cookies will also be available at the York Farmers Market this summer. Watch the CASA for York County Facebook page for announcements. Scrap Tire Collection Day FAIRMONT -- The Fillmore County Supervisors, Little Blue NRD and Trailblazer Resources Conservation and Development will host a Scrap Tire Collection Day with funds from a Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy Grant on Wednesday, Aug. 7 from 12 4 p.m. at the Fairmont Air Base in Fairmont (1.5 miles East of Hwy 81 on Road 11). You must unload your own tires. No rims, no tubes, no commercial businesses, no early or late drop-offs and Fillmore County residents only. We will need the tire type and count for anything not weighed. Scale tickets for big loads are appreciated and required for semi loads. Call Larry at 402.759.1165 with questions. Soil Health Field Day YORK -- A Soil Health Field Day will be held on Thursday, Aug. 8 from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the 4-H Building on the York County Fairgrounds in York. The schedule is as follows: 9:30 10 a.m., Registration with coffee and donuts; 10 10:30 a.m., Jennifer Rees of UNL Extension will speak on Compact Extracts: What weve learned so far; 10:30 11 a.m., Nathan Mueller of Nebraska NRCS will speak on Making Winter Wheat a Success; 11 11:30 a.m., Katja Koehler-Cole of UNL Extension will speak on Soil Health & Summer Annual Cover Crops; 11:30 a.m. 12 p.m., Nick Arneson of The Nature Conservancy will speak on Protecting Your Bottom Line with Resilient Cropping Systems; 12 1 p.m. Lunch; 12:30 1 p.m., Nate Pflueger of Pheasants Forever will speak on Cover Crop Options That Help Local Game Birds; 1 2 p.m., Full Season Cover Crop Site Visit. A free lunch will be provided by Chances R Catering. Please RSVP by Aug. 1 at https://nebraskapf.com/event/soil-health-field-day/?instance-id:1109 or contact Nate Pflueger at 402.646.5426 with questions. Renault Triber Safety Rating: The Renault Triber, manufactured in India and exported to South Africa, has received a 2-star safety rating in the Global NCAP crash test under its new protocols. However, it had earlier scored a 4-star safety rating when tested under the 2021 Global NCAP protocols. In India, the Renault Triber is available at prices ranging from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8.98 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi, making it the most affordable 7-seater car. Despite the affordable price tag, the sales are low, and people show almost no trust in the vehicle for several reasons. 2024 Renault Triber Crash Test It showed good protection for the drivers and passengers head and neck but weak protection for the drivers chest in both frontal and side impacts. The structure of the vehicle was rated as unstable. Despite this, it displayed good protection for the head, abdomen, and pelvis on the side impact. The car comes only with two frontal airbags as standard and does not offer side airbags even as an option. ESC is also not fitted as standard. It scored 22.29 points out of the maximum 34 points for the adult occupant. Child occupant protection was a serious concern as it lacks ISOFIX anchorages, resulting in poor protection for the child. It scored 19.99 points out of 49 points for child occupant protection. The performance for the Q3 dummy, representing a 3-year-old, was poor, exposing the head in the forward crash and showing inadequate protection for the neck and chest. The protection of the Q1.5 dummy, representing an 18-month-old, was good in both tests. The Global NCAP has mentioned in its report that the tested model was made in India and the test is valid for Africa. For those who are unaware, Renault not only manufactures and sells the Triber in India but also exports it. New Delhi: With the recent release of a trailblazing trailer of the highly anticipated film Thangalaan and its chart-topping first single, "Murga Murgi", the makers are sparing no effort in keeping the excitement around the movie at an all-time high. Now, to further elevate the mounting anticipation, the team has declared August as "Thangalaan Month", leading up to the film's grand release on August 15, 2024. The creators unveiled a vibrant poster to mark the beginning of Thangalaan Month, accompanied by a thrilling caption: "A storm is on its way The #Thangalaan month begins! Get ready for an adventurous ride #ThangalaanFromAug15" The star-studded cast of Thangalaan is also set to embark on a nationwide tour, making stops in key cities across India. Fans in Hyderabad will have the chance to meet the team on August 4th, followed by Chennai on August 5th, Bengaluru on August 6th, Mumbai on August 7th, and Kochi on August 9th. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the films leading stars, including 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, Pasupathy, Daniel Caltagirone, GV Prakash Kumar and Director Pa Ranjith. Thangalaan promises to be a cinematic spectacle, drawing inspiration from the real-life history of the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) and its exploitation during the British colonial era. The film is poised to continue the South Indian cinema's tradition of presenting unique and compelling narratives. Starring Chiyaan Vikram and Malavika Mohanan in pivotal roles, Thangalaan will hit theaters globally in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam on August 15, 2024. The films music, composed by GV Prakash Kumar, is expected to further enhance its appeal. New Delhi: Riju Ravindran, the brother of Byjus founder has been ordered by a judge to pay 10,000 dollars (over 8 lakhs rupees) a day until he assists in locating 533 million dollars that the company is accused of hiding from US lenders. The directive comes amid a nearly two-year-old dispute over the missing funds, further intensifying the challenges faced by the troubled edtech firm. Lenders have demanded the return of 533 million dollars after Byjus defaulted on its obligations. Riju Ravindran is one of the three directors of Think & Learn Pvt., the company that runs the Byju's brand. US Bankruptcy Judge Bendan Shannon has denied a request to pause the legal battle over Byjus US debt which would have allowed Riju Ravindran and the company to find new lawyers.The American lawyers representing Riju Ravindran and Byju's units want to withdraw from the case, citing an "irreparable breakdown" in their relationship with the clients. Riju Ravindrans lawyers have been ordered by the judge to continue representing him and the company until at least a hearing next month. This decision follows a turbulent period for Byju's, which borrowed 1.2 billion dollars from US lenders in 2022. Within 18 months the company missed key financial reporting deadlines and had its offices raided by regulators in India. They also faced accusations of defaulting from US lenders. Byju's has since faced accusations of fraudulently transferring 533 million dollars from a shell company in the US. Despite these allegations, the company has maintained that its actions were legitimate. New Delhi: Energy Efficiency Services Ltd on Thursday said it has inked a pact with RajCOMP Info Services to promote energy efficiency and enhance public service delivery in Rajasthan. Under this partnership, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) will offer UJALA products and services on RISL's e-Mitra portal. This collaboration aims to leverage the extensive e-Mitra network to promote energy efficiency and enhance public service delivery throughout the state, EESL said in a statement. According to the statement, EESL, a joint venture of public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Power, and RajCOMP Info Services Ltd (RISL), an entity under the Department of Information Technology & Communications (DOIT&C), Government of Rajasthan, have signed an agreement. RISL will create awareness among e-Mitra kiosks about the availability of EESL services on the platform, facilitating the sale of UJALA products and services to consumers across Rajasthan. RISL will also promote EESL's online marketplace, EESLMart, by placing affiliate links and QR codes on its website, applications and kiosks. By utilising the widespread presence and established infrastructure of the e-Mitra network, energy-efficient solutions such as LED lighting and efficient cooling systems will be made accessible even in the most remote corners of Rajasthan. This will reduce energy consumption, lower electricity bills, contribute to a greener environment and generate new employment opportunities. "By leveraging RISL's extensive e-Mitra network, we aim to make it easier for consumers to access and adopt sustainable technologies that will not only reduce their energy costs but also contribute to a cleaner environment," EESL CEO Vishal Kapoor said. Rameshwar Lal Solanki, Technical Director, DOIT&C, Government of Rajasthan, stated that e-Mitra has a strong legacy of supporting its partners through its extensive network of over 80,000 e-Mitra kiosks. In its previous collaboration with EESL, e-Mitra facilitated the sale of approximately 80 lakh LED bulbs, valued at around Rs 57 crore. At least five Kanwar Yatra pilgrims were killed and three others injured on Thursday morning in Latehar district, Jharkhand. The fatalities and injuries occurred when their vehicles encountered a high-tension wire. The incident took place at Tam Tam Tola in the Balumath police station area around 3 am. The pilgrims, who were returning from the Baba Baidyanath temple in Deoghar, encountered the accident when their vehicle struck an electricity pole. The accident caused the high-tension wire to fall onto the vehicle. The injured individuals have been hospitalised. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today criticised the Samajwadi Party and Congress accusing them of thugging the people of Uttar Pradesh by making false promises. Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, Yogi also narrated a story of four thugs who defrauded a farmer. CM Yogi said that in the 2027 assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party will be wiped out in the state. "There were four thugs who decided to deceive a farmer who was taking home a goat. They decided to make the farmer believe that he was holding a dog and not a goat and they did it. The innocent farmer was deceived by the swindler as he believed that one person could lie and not all four. Such was the khatakhat-khatakhat scheme. Where is Rs one lakh bond (promised by the SP-Congress)...I can say with conviction that not khatakhat but in 2027, it will be 'Sapa-chat' (or Safachat meaning clean sweep)," said Yogi Adityanath. CM Yogi further said that in 2027, the BJP will hold SP-Congress accountable for the Rs 1 lakh bond promised by them. "I want to urge our MLAs to go to the people and ask them to seek clarification about the bond of Rs 1 lakh from them (opposition)," said the Chief Minister. Slamming the Samajwadi Party over the reservation issue, CM Yogi said that the OBC did not get even the mandated 27% reservation during the SP regime. "During the SP regime, in no government jobs, OBCs were given 27% reservation. During their time, it was pick and choose policy....During that time, the uncle-nephew pair (Akhilesh and Shivpal) went out for extortion during Lekhpal recruitment. But no such thing exists today even we recruited over 5,000 lekhpals," said the CM. The Chief Minister further said that he has not come to politics for employment but has come to punish those doing wrong in society. The CM was responding to the Gomati Nagar incident where some miscreants harassed a woman during waterlogging. Delhi has been the battlefield of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Central government led by the BJP since 2015. The Aam Aadmi Party has been in power in the national capital since 2015. However, the party led by Arvind Kejriwal was quick to challenge the central government's control on administrative issues and police. It has been demanding full statehood for Delhi as well. Just like the opposition-ruled states are at odds with the Centre-appointed governors, the Delhi government has also been a loggerhead with the Lieutenant Governor. The Kejriwal government, which has been in power for nearly a decade, has frequently clashed with Lieutenant Governors (LG), who are political appointees executing the directives of the central government. In light of these tensions, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has included a promise in its election manifesto to grant Delhi full statehood. This change would effectively liberate the administration from the influence of the LGs, who often act as representatives of the central authority. The tussle started after the Union Home Ministry issued a notification in 2015. The notification effectively placed the LG in charge of the capital, granting him full control over 'services,' which includes the authority to post or transfer civil servants in Delhi, overriding the Chief Minister. The Delhi government has subsequently moved the High Court and the Supreme Court challenging the notification. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over the administration and control of services except for public order - police and land. The apex court noted that the LG is bound by the advice of the council of ministers. The recent death of three UPSC aspirants due to basement flooding led to the blame game once again with both the AAP and the BJP taking on each other. While the BJP demanded Arvind Kejriwal's resignation, the AAP accused the LG of hampering the work. However, the political blame game is just the tip of the iceberg as the bureaucracy under the Delhi government has also been divided into two camps - one that sides with the AAP and the other with the LG. This was evident from a video released by Delhi Minister Sourabh Bhardwaj in which the Delhi Chief Secretary's uncooperative behaviour was evident. , , IAS IAS , pic.twitter.com/DShr4Zc2KW July 28, 2024 Delhi Minister Aatishi said, "Do watch this video of Delhis Chief Secretary. Note his contempt for the Minister and the governmentThis attitude and unresponsive of the bureaucracy towards the needs of the people of Delhi is coming from the GNCTD Amendment Act. This Act snatched the powers of the elected govt- given by the Supreme Court - and gave them to the Central Govt. As a consequence, the officers ONLY follow the directions of the Central Govt. So the BJP is snatching power from opposition-ruled states via their Governors: LGs and the bureaucracy. The people of Delhi are paying a very heavy price for this hubris of the BJP." BJP LG pic.twitter.com/MEuLAEtx9y AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 30, 2024 On the other hand, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar accused Saurabh Bharadwaj of sitting on key legislation for five months to tackle waterlogging in the national capital. The rains have time and again exposed Delhi's drainage system. Yesterday's rain led to long traffic jams and waterlogging in the national capital. Many areas in Delhi have been dug up for laying down new sewer pipelines and the work has slowed down after the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In the peak summer, Delhiites face drinking water shortage, in winter, they face smog and shelter problems and in rain, they face flooding. Arvind Kejriwal has been promising to clean Yamuna river in the next five years since 2015 but it's yet to get done and people pay their Chhath obeisance while standing in hazardous foam. For every problem that Delhi faces, the Aam Aadmi Party find a reason to blame someone else. When there was a Congress government in Punjab, AAP used to blame them for stubble burning cauing smog in Delhi. After AAP came to power in Punjab, Delhi government now blames Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, for water crisis, Delhi blames Haryana. For every problem, AAP always finds a scapegoat, rather than solving the problem. In the AAP vs BJP tussle, the 'Aam Aadmi' has become the casualty. While people suffer during every season in Delhi, the power tussle remains a priority for the BJP and the AAP. If the BJP thinks that Delhiites are fool enough and can't see through their optics, then the saffron party leaders are in for a rude shock. If the BJP thinks that they can win Delhi assembly polls by creating problems for Delhiites and blaming it on the AAP, then they will get a double surprise. On the other hand, if the Aam Aadmi Party thinks that it can let the problem become worse and escape from its governance responsibilities, then it's their biggest mistake. While the LG may have been trying to hamper the Delhi government's work, it's the responsibility of the elected AAP leaders to get the work done at any cost. Merely holding multiple press conferences and passing the buck by blaming the Centre is not going to work for long. People will ultimately question their MLAs and they elected leaders may find it difficult to justify delays in getting the work done. The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea from the Muslim side challenging the maintainability of lawsuits filed by Hindus regarding the Shahi Idgah Mosque-Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute in Mathura. The ruling was delivered by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain, whose decision was reserved on June 6, 2024. Consolidation of Suits Justice Jain's bench is handling 18 suits related to the dispute, with 15 of these being consolidated for joint hearings. The Muslim side had filed an application under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC to challenge the maintainability of the lawsuits, which claim that 13.37 acres of land in Mathura, including the Shahi Idgah Mosque area, belong to Krishna Janmbhoomi. Background of the Dispute The lawsuits pertain to a 13.37-acre land parcel in Katra, Keshav Dev, with the primary relief sought being the removal of the Shahi Idgah Mosque from the land. Devotees of Lord Krishna claim that the mosque was built on land that belongs to the deity and that the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna lies beneath it. They allege that an illegal structure was erected by Muslims over the Krishna Janmbhoomi land. Court's Verdict The High Court extensively heard arguments from both sides over multiple hearings. The judgment, initially reserved on May 31, was reopened to allow Adv Pracha one more opportunity to address the court before being reserved again in June. Ultimately, the High Court rejected the Muslim side's plea, affirming the maintainability of the Hindu suits, thus paving the way for further legal proceedings on the substantive issues of the case. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday grilled Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with the alleged assault case involving AAP MP Swati Maliwal. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan presided over the hearing and postponed the decision on Kumars bail plea to next Wednesday. The SC told Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi that the bench was alarmed by the details documented by the Delhi High Court. Is this kind of goon supposed to work in the CMs residence, the Supreme Court asked Bibhav Kumar who allegedly assaulted AAP MP Swati Maliwal earlier this year. The bench questioned Singhvi about whether the Chief Minister's residence could be considered a private bungalow and if such individuals were appropriate to be working there. In response, Singhvi stated that the injuries involved were non-serious and noted that the FIR was lodged three days after the incident, which occurred on May 13. "Every day we grant bail to contract killers, murderers, robbers but the question is what kind of incident, the bench said, reported PTI. Kumar has contested the Delhi High Court's July 12 order denying him bail, asserting that the allegations against him are false. He also argued that his custody is no longer necessary since the investigation has concluded. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Delhi government regarding his plea. Kumar acted as political secretary to Delhi CM and has been in judicial custody for 75 days, Sanghavi said during the hearing. Bibhav Kumar is accused of attacking Maliwal on May 13 at Kejriwal's official residence. An FIR was filed against him on May 16, citing under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to criminal intimidation, assault or using criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe, and attempt to commit culpable homicide. He was arrested on May 18. (With inputs from PTI) A woman riding a motorbike encountered harassment from a group of men while navigating a flooded road in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The troubling incident went viral on social media platforms. Lucknow police are actively identifying individuals involved in a misconduct incident reported in the Gomti Nagar police station area. As a result of the incident, the inspector of Gomti Nagar, the chowki in-charge, and all police personnel present at the chowki have been suspended. The DCP, ADCP, and ACP have been suspended in connection with this case. The video depicts a woman sitting on the back of a motorbike with a man when a crowd abruptly encircles the vehicle. The footage shows that while some individuals attempt to splash water on the riders, others are seen groping the woman on the waterlogged street in the state capital. Eventually, the bike stopped moving as the crowd hindered the path forward. According to media reports, the harassment incident took place under the Taj Hotel bridge in Lucknow during the day. Lucknow: A viral video shows people mistreating a woman during rain and causing a ruckus under the Taj Hotel bridge. Police intervened, dispersed the crowd, and are identifying those involved pic.twitter.com/7TJxUYKmIv July 31, 2024 The situation intensified when some men tried to pull the bike from behind, causing the pair to lose balance and fall on the flooded road during heavy rainfall. The video also shows a man allegedly groping the woman before forcefully tugging the bike. Fortunately, someone helped the woman stand up after she fell from the bike. Numerous social media users on X expressed their outrage at the men's actions and condemned the incident. A massive conspiracy is unfolding in Jharkhand, where Bangladeshis are allegedly occupying tribal lands in the Santhal Pargana region. This region, comprising six districts - Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj, and Pakur - has seen a significant influx of Bangladeshi immigrants, who are reportedly changing the demographics of the region. In today's episode of DNA, Zee News exposed a massive conspiracy unfolding in Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana region, where tribals are facing a threat from Bangladeshi infiltrators. These Bangladeshi infiltrators are illegally occupying tribal lands and, in groups of 100-150, are attacking tribal families. Under the nose of the administration, illegal infiltration continues, and tribals are being subjected to atrocities. Today, we will show you an exclusive report on this issue. The Zee News team reached a village in Pakur where a tribal family was attacked by 150 Bangladeshi infiltrators. This tribal family was attacked because they wanted to remove the occupation of Bangladeshi infiltrators on their land. The local administration has failed to take action, despite court orders directing them to evict the illegal occupants. In one instance, a tribal family was attacked by over 150 Bangladeshi immigrants when they tried to reclaim their land. The family is now fighting for their lives in a hospital. The opposition has slammed the Hemant Soren government for its inaction, alleging that the administration is turning a blind eye to the issue. The Jharkhand High Court has also expressed concern over the illegal influx of Bangladeshis in the region. According to sources, these immigrants are being secretly settled in the region, with some even being provided with fake documents. The local administration has failed to take action, despite knowing about the issue. In 2023, police officials had complained about Bangladeshis being sheltered in madrasas in the region. They had also alleged that these immigrants were obtaining fake documents and getting their names included in the voter list, posing a threat to the state's internal security. Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan had also raised concerns about foreign immigrants marrying tribal women, leading to a change in the region's demographics. Last month, Home Minister Amit Shah had expressed concern over the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration in Jharkhand. He had promised to bring out a white paper on the issue if his party came to power in the state. The Jharkhand High Court had also asked the state government to come up with an action plan to stop the illegal influx of Bangladeshis in the region. However, no concrete steps have been taken so far. Watch tonight's episode of DNA for a detailed report here: New Delhi: Actor-philanthropist Sonu Sood's fans recently celebrated the national hero with a 100ft tall poster, featuring the Indian flag at the top. This heartfelt tribute, which resonates with Sood's audience, was unveiled on his birthday following the release date announcement for his upcoming action film 'Fateh'. Sood announced that 'Fateh' will hit the screens on January 10, 2025. The announcement was made with a brand new poster, which has peaked the curiosity among the fans. Have A Look At The Post: Produced by Zee Studios and Shakti Sagar Productions, the film marks Sood's directorial debut. The actioner, which promises to be at par with Hollywood actioners, explores real-life instances of cybercrime and features an exciting star cast. Apart from Sood, 'Fateh' stars the legendary Naseeruddin Shah, who is said to be playing the role of a hacker, and Jacqueline Fernandez. Promising to elevate Indian action cinema, Fateh boasts breathtaking action sequences choreographed by Hollywood stunt expert Lee Whittaker. The film, which was shot across diverse locations, including India, the USA, Russia, and Poland, is set to make a significant impact as 2025 begins. New Delhi: In the wake of the recent Wayanad landslide tragedy which claimed several hundreds of lives actress Rashmika Mandanna has stepped forward and donated Rs 10 Lakh to the @CMOKerala relief fund. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urged people to stay united in this time of crisis, just as they did after the 2018 floods in the state. The Kerala government declared a two-day state mourning. Several South stars have expressed their heartfelt condolences to the families of the affected. Tamil actor Chiyaan Vikram made a generous donation of Rs 20 lakh to the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund. Vikrams manager Yuvraaj took to social media platform X (formerly called Twitter) and shared the news of his donation. Pained by the sad news of the devastation caused by the recent landslide in Kerala's #Wayanad district that left over 150 people dead, 197 injured and several others missing, Actor @chiyaan today donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. pic.twitter.com/mxb7O7YSSN Yuvraaj (@proyuvraaj) July 31, 2024 Pained by the sad news of the devastation caused by the recent landslide in Keralas #Wayanad district that left over 150 people dead, 197 injured and several others missing, Actor @chiyaan today donated a sum of Rs 20 lakhs to the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund, wrote Yuvraaj. Union minister and actor Suresh Gopi also reacted to the unfortunate incident and wrote a note reading, "My heart aches for the people of Wayanad who are facing unimaginable tragedies. The recent landslides have claimed innocent lives, including children, and left many more missing. The heavy rains have turned our beautiful Wayanad into a scene of devastation, with hundreds still feared trapped. Our brave rescue teams are doing everything in their power to save lives despite the harsh conditions. In these trying times, let us come together to support the affected families and communities. Let us also urge the authorities to expedite the process in addressing the underlying issues causing these tragedies. Together, we can rebuild and ensure a safer, more secure future for Wayanad." Rashmika Mandanna will next be seen in Pushpa 2: The Rule co-starring Allu Arjun. The film is scheduled to release in December 2024. New Delhi: Imagine the frustration of ordering an expensive smartphone online only to receive a set of cups instead. This is exactly what happened to a 42-year-old resident of Mahim, Mumbai. He claims that he received tea cups instead of the Rs 55,000 Tecno Phantom V Fold 5G smartphone he ordered from Amazon. According to a report by news agency PTI, the customer has filed a police complaint against Amazon, accusing the company of cheating. Chavans frustration grew due to Amazons unresponsive and unhelpful customer support. Although he was initially assured that his issue would be investigated, Chavan claims the company did not follow up or provide any investigation report. This lack of support led him to take the matter to the police where he has reportedly shared CCTV footage of the delivery person. Last month, a woman in Bengaluru experienced a shocking incident when she found a snake inside her Amazon package. Tanvi had ordered a Microsoft Xbox controller from Amazon India, but when she opened the parcel, she was stunned to discover a snake inside. New Delhi: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has directed Iran to launch a direct attack on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, reported ANI citing the New York Times report containing statements from three Iranian officials, including two Revolutionary Guards members. Khamenei issued the directive during an emergency session of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, soon after Iran reported the death of Haniyeh. Haniyeh was assassinated around 2 a.m. local time, following a ceremony and a meeting with Khamenei. The killing has stunned Iranian officials, who have labeled it as a serious breach of red lines. Both Iran and Hamas have pointed fingers at Israel for the assassination. However, Israel that is currently at war with Hamas in the Gaza strip has neither acknowledged nor denied any killing. Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president. The NYT further noted that Israel has a history of targeting enemies abroad, including Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders. Over nearly 10 months of conflict in Gaza, Iran has sought to balance its approach by intensifying attacks through its allies and proxy forces in the region, while trying to prevent a full-scale war with Israel. In its most direct assault on Israel, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones in April in response to an Israeli attack on its embassy compound in Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of several Iranian military commanders. "Now it is unclear how forcefully Iran will respond, and whether it will once again calibrate its attack to steer clear of escalation. Iranian military commanders are considering another combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa but would make a point of avoiding strikes on civilian targets," the Iranian officials said, reported ANI. Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters and is also the commander in chief of the armed forces, instructed military commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and the army to prepare plans for both an attack and a defence in case the war expands and Israel or the US strike Iran, the officials said. Former US President Donald Trump launched a sharp personal attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in the forthcoming presidential election, asserting that she, having identified as 'of Indian heritage' for years, suddenly 'turned Black' a few years ago, according to CNN. Trump further alleged that Harris abruptly changed her identity and now seeks to be recognised as Black. The Republican candidate was addressing a gathering of black journalists in Chicago when an interviewer asked him why black voters should consider backing a candidate with his history of racist attacks on political rivals. Responding to which, Trump questioned the heritage of the democrat leader Kamala Harris. I didnt know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? Trump said while addressing the group's annual convention, reported AP. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, attended Howard University, a leading historically Black college, where she joined the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. During her tenure as a U.S. senator, she was part of the Congressional Black Caucus and supported legislative efforts to enhance voting rights and reform policing. Trump has previously made similar remarks. For years, he promoted the "birther" conspiracy theory, suggesting that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, as reported by CNN. Harris quickly garnered Democratic support after Biden withdrew, raising over USD 200 million in her first week as a presidential candidate. The White House swiftly condemned Trump's remarks as "insulting," stating that only Vice President Kamala Harris can address the matter herself. "As a person of colour, as a black woman, who is in this position, standing before you, at this podium...what he said is insulting," White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said at the briefing on Wednesday (local time). "No one has any right to tell someone, who they are, how they identify, that is no one's right. It is someone's own decision," she added. Harris is the first woman, the first Black, and the first Asian American to serve as vice president. If she wins the upcoming election, she will become the first female president of the country. Flash Hezbollah issued on Wednesday a statement mourning its top military commander Fouad Shokor, who was killed by Israel a day earlier in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs. "Our resistance presents him as a symbol of decisive commitment and firm resolve to continue the jihad until the liberation of the land, the holy sites, and the people from the injustice and brutality of this usurping, criminal, and murderous entity," said the statement. Fouad Shokor's martyrdom will be a strong motivation for his fellow fighters to move forward with steadfastness and courage to preserve the achievements, victories, and capabilities, and to achieve the goals and hopes this great leader was looking forward to, it added. Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will give a speech on Thursday afternoon to voice Hezbollah's political stance with regard to this attack, according to the statement. An Israeli drone fired on Tuesday evening three missiles at a position near the Shura Council of Hezbollah in the Dahieh suburbs in southern Beirut, killing Shokor and five other people and wounding 74 others. I have stayed away from writing much about Novembers elections because its been a constantly changing picture. Biden dropping out, Harris getting the coronation, Democratic euphoria, VP speculation, then Roy Cooper publicly announcing he was dropping out. Whats a political pundit to do? There are four reasons I think Cooper made the announcement. Im sure he was tired of all the questions and speculation. He didnt dare leave the state for any extended time because when he does Lt. Governor Reckless Robinson, thinks hes in charge. Cooper is a great campaigner and is vitally important in helping Democrats down the ballot. But the biggest reason is that Roy Cooper wants to run for the US Senate against Thom Tillis in 26. Theres more energy and enthusiasm among Tar Heel Democrats than Ive seen in decades at least since the 2008 Barak Obama contest. They now believe they can deliver 19 electoral votes for Harris and also win down ballot elections. Suddenly, theres a resurgence in believing we truly are a swing state. Obama carried North Carolina in 2008 but lost to Romney by 2 percentage points in 2012. Trump won in 2016 by only 3.6% and again in 2020, but by a narrow 1.4% margin. Democrats are saying Donald Trump is yesterdays news and has all the votes hes going to get. His campaign rants and outrageous boasts may even lose him some votes. Bidens withdrawal left the GOP floundering and J.D. Vance is certainly not helping them. Lets look at important stateside races. The current 7-7 split between Republicans and Democrats in congress will not survive. Republican legislators have so gerrymandered the congressional districts that it is hard to foresee Democrats winning more than 3 of the contests. The most consequential contest in our state will be the governors election, where contrasts couldnt be greater. Democrat Josh Stein is hoping to keep alive the streak of Attorneys General who ascended to the governors office. Mike Easley started the modern trend by winning in 2000 and Roy Cooper followed suit in 2016. Weve not witnessed a candidate like Mark Robinson, who surprisingly won the Lieutenant Governors race in 2020. Read some of his quotes that help explain why we call him Reckless. Some folks need killing. Black Democrats are slaves. He claims the Moon landing and 9/11 were faked. Transgender women should find a corner somewhere outside to defecate. LGBTQ+ people are maggots and Michelle Obama is a transgender woman. This list could go on. No wonder Governor Cooper is scared to leave the state. The Hill, an online political newsletter, compiled 32 of the most recent polls on the race. It shows Stein leads Robinson by only 2.6 points, 40.9 vs. 38.3. Most seasoned observers are amazed. While the polls might be close, money, the mothers milk of elections, isnt. In the required second quarter financial filings, Stein raised $13 million and had almost $16 million in the bank. Robinson ended the quarter with $6.6 million. We are hearing whispers about what a Reckless Robinson administration might be like. It sounds eerily like what Project 2025 proposes. Robinson has reportedly told legislative leaders he will stay out of the budget process. Instead, he will devote his attention to downsizing and dismantling state government. First on the chopping block will be the Department of Transportation, a traditional target of whichever party isnt in power. He will then plunge into the Department of Health and Human Services, the largest state administrative agency. And it is no surprise that the Department of Public Instruction will be revamped, with Mark promising to reduce the bureaucracy and return money and authority to local school systems. Wonder how lawmakers will accept his effort of handling state funds? Since judicial decisions are increasingly partisan, appellate court races are of vital importance. There is only one State Supreme Court election, with current Justice Allison Riggs (D) running against Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin. If Riggs prevails, the current margin of 5 Republicans and 2 Democrats remains. There are three races for the Court of Appeals. Incumbent Democrat Carolyn Thompson is facing Thomas Murry. Incumbent Republican Valerie Zachary runs against Eb Eldred and Democrat Martin Moore faces Republican Christopher Farmer. Currently there are 11 Republicans and 4 Democrats on this court. And every Council of State office will be up for election with a guarantee we will see new faces in the office of Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor and Superintendent of Public Instruction. More on these contests as they develop. Enjoy the Olympics because TV, your mail box and social media will be chock-a-block with nasty political ads starting later this month. Many important decisions will be made by voters in November. Regardless of where you live or what political persuasion you might have, the one message that is critically important this year is to register and vote. CONCORD On behalf of newly elected board President David T La Franque II, and the board of directors, Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County is announcing a change in leadership. Erica Vaughan will take on the full role of executive director. She is an experienced executive with over 25 years of experience in nonprofit, business development, and management. She served as the executive director of The United Way of the Greenbrier Valley for three years and has now moved from Habitat director of development into the executive director role for Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County. In addition to her professional roles, Vaughan has worked as a business consultant for nonprofits and is the founder and CEO of the Joyful Noise After School Program, a childrens ministry. She has also served on the finance and trustee committees and held board positions for various nonprofit agencies, including Carnegie Hall, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, the Childrens Youth and Advocacy Center, and the Greenbrier County 4-H Foundation. Vaughan graduated from West Virginia University with an MS in communications and marketing. She has been recognized as one of the 2022 Most Remarkable Women in West Virginia and is an active member of Lewisburg United Methodist Church. A press release said Vaughan is not just a professional with a wealth of experience, but also a leader known for her confidence, determination, and unwavering commitment to success. She is a respected role model for positive change and has consistently demonstrated her leadership skills throughout her career, making her an inspiring addition to the Habitat team. Officials said Habitat Cabarrus is as strong as ever and will continue to thrive with business as usual. With Ericas leadership, they said, we want all to be assured that Habitat Cabarrus still stands with its core mission of supporting, creating, and sustaining affordable housing in our community while establishing strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. One of the most pressing challenges for modern businesses is the efficient management of IT operations (ITOps). The increasing complexity of IT infrastructures means that maintaining operational efficiency without compromising performance and security is no small feat. Traditional methods of IT operations management often fall short, leading to inefficiencies and increased operational costs. This is where a GenAIxOps strategy can make a significant difference, according to LogicMonitor. Karthik Sj, general manager, AI, LogicMonitor, said, GenAIxOps is a transformative approach to managing IT operations. It seamlessly integrates generative AI, AIOps, and comprehensive cross-domain observability, enabling businesses to automate and enhance their IT processes at unprecedented scale. However, this shift is not just about adopting new technology; its about fundamentally rethinking how IT operations are managed to achieve better outcomes with the injection of newer technologies like GenAI and large language models (LLMs) to drive better outcomes and business value. According to Gartner's 2024 CIO Agenda, AI/machine learning (ML) (94 per cent) and GenAI (86 per cent) are poised to be the top transformative technologies over the next three years for CIOs in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region. At the same time, 78 per cent of CIOs are increasing their investments in business intelligence/data analytics.(1) These statistics underscore the growing importance of AI driven approaches like GenAIxOps in the IT landscape. The benefits of a GenAIxOps strategy There are five key benefits of a GenAIxOps strategy: Improvement in operational efficiency: AI algorithms can analyse vast amounts of data in real-time to identify patterns and anomalies that might be missed by human operators. This lets businesses address potential issues proactively before they escalate, reducing downtime and ensuring smoother operations. GenAIxOps also enhances productivity by automating routine tasks, so IT staff can focus on more strategic initiatives. Additionally, the cross-domain nature of GenAIxOps enables better coordination between IT teams, further boosting efficiency. AI algorithms can analyse vast amounts of data in real-time to identify patterns and anomalies that might be missed by human operators. This lets businesses address potential issues proactively before they escalate, reducing downtime and ensuring smoother operations. GenAIxOps also enhances productivity by automating routine tasks, so IT staff can focus on more strategic initiatives. Additionally, the cross-domain nature of GenAIxOps enables better coordination between IT teams, further boosting efficiency. Provision of actionable insights: traditional IT operations often suffer from an overload of alerts and data, making it difficult to identify what requires immediate attention. GenAIxOps streamlines this process by correlating related alerts and prioritising them based on their impact on the business. This means that IT teams can identify and address the most critical issues quickly, improving response times and reducing the risk of significant disruptions. Moreover, the generative AI component can provide detailed, context-aware recommendations for resolving issues. traditional IT operations often suffer from an overload of alerts and data, making it difficult to identify what requires immediate attention. GenAIxOps streamlines this process by correlating related alerts and prioritising them based on their impact on the business. This means that IT teams can identify and address the most critical issues quickly, improving response times and reducing the risk of significant disruptions. Moreover, the generative AI component can provide detailed, context-aware recommendations for resolving issues. Enhancement of security: a GenAIxOps strategy can enhance an organisation's security posture significantly as AI can detect unusual behaviour patterns and potential security threats in real-time for swift action to mitigate risks. This proactive approach to security protects sensitive data and maintains customer trust. The cross-domain visibility offered by GenAIxOps also helps in identifying complex, multi-vector security threats that might be missed by siloed security solutions. This proactive approach to security protects sensitive data and maintains customer trust. The cross-domain visibility offered by GenAIxOps also helps in identifying complex, multi-vector security threats that might be missed by siloed security solutions. Cost efficiency: GenAIxOps reduces the need for extensive manual intervention by automating routine tasks and improving the accuracy of issue detection and resolution. This leads to lower operational costs and more efficient resource allocation, delivering cost savings that can be reinvested into other strategic areas. Furthermore, the predictive capabilities of GenAIxOps can help optimise resource allocation and prevent costly outages. GenAIxOps reduces the need for extensive manual intervention by automating routine tasks and improving the accuracy of issue detection and resolution. This leads to lower operational costs and more efficient resource allocation, delivering cost savings that can be reinvested into other strategic areas. Furthermore, the predictive capabilities of GenAIxOps can help optimise resource allocation and prevent costly outages. Support for scalability: an AI-powered approach to IT operations can scale to accommodate organisational growth easily, ensuring consistent performance and reliability. This scalability means that IT operations can keep pace with business growth without compromising on efficiency or security as IT infrastructure becomes more complex. Overcoming barriers to implementation Businesses can also drive innovation across operations by experimenting with new technologies and approaches without the risk of overwhelming their IT teams. This creates a culture of innovation where new ideas can be tested and implemented faster, keeping organisations ahead of the competition by improving services and offerings continuously. Karthik Sj said, Implementing a GenAIxOps strategy requires a shift in mindset and approach. Business leaders must recognise the value of AI and be willing to invest in the necessary tools and training to accommodate new workflows and ways of working with using AI at the workplace. This investment must be in the technology itself and in building the skills and knowledge required to leverage AI effectively as by doing so organisations can unlock the full potential of GenAIxOps to drive significant improvements in their operations. However, there are two key barriers that must be overcome to achieve success: education and trust. Business leaders must ensure that their teams are well-versed in AIs capabilities and limitations. Organisations can maximise the benefits of their GenAIxOps strategy by staying informed and adaptable. Continuous learning and adaptation are essential as AI technologies and methodologies are evolving constantly. At the same time, there must be confidence in AIs ability to deliver accurate and reliable results for it to be effective. This requires transparency and explainability in AI algorithms, letting IT teams understand and trust the decisions made by AI. Building this trust is essential for the widespread adoption and success of GenAIxOps within an organisation. Driving innovation and long-term success While the journey towards a GenAIxOps strategy is not without its challenges, the potential rewards are substantial. Business leaders who embrace GenAIxOps can expect to see improvements in efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness as they position their organisations to be more agile, innovative, and resilient in the face of future challenges. By leveraging the synergies between generative AI, traditional AIOps, and cross-domain observability, GenAIxOps represents a significant leap forward in IT operations. Organisations can harness the power of AI to transform their IT operations and drive long-term success with the right investment in tools, training, and education. GenAIxOps is not just a new buzzword but a paradigm shift in how we approach IT operations. As the technology landscape continues to evolve, those who successfully implement GenAIxOps will be well-positioned to lead in their respective industries. (1) https://www.gartner.com.au/en/information-technology/insights/cio-agenda-an-australia-and-new-zealand-perspective GUEST OPINION: Building brand awareness is crucial for the success of any small business. However, budget constraints often limit the marketing strategies available. The good news is that you don't need a huge budget to make a big impact. In this article, we'll explore affordable and effective ways to boost your brand's visibility. Understanding Brand Awareness What is Brand Awareness? Brand awareness is the extent to which consumers recognize and recall your brand. It involves more than just knowing your logo or company name; it includes understanding what your brand stands for and the emotions it evokes. Why is Brand Awareness Crucial for Small Businesses? For small businesses, brand awareness is vital because it helps build trust and loyalty among customers and grow business. A well-recognized brand can lead to higher sales, customer retention, and word-of-mouth referrals. In a competitive market, it's often the difference between success and obscurity. Tips for Small Businesses to Increase Brand Awareness 1. Leverage Social Media Marketing Social media is a powerful tool for small businesses to increase brand awareness. It's cost-effective and provides a platform to reach a broad audience. Choosing the Right Platforms Not all social media platforms are created equal. Identify where your target audience spends their time. For instance, Instagram and TikTok are great for visual content, while LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketing. Creating Engaging Content Content is king. Share content that resonates with your audience, whether it's entertaining, informative, or inspiring. Use a mix of images, videos, and stories to keep your feed dynamic. Using Hashtags and Social Media Trends Hashtags are essential for increasing your content's visibility. Research trending hashtags relevant to your industry and use them strategically. Participate in social media trends to boost engagement. Engage with Your Audience Respond to comments, messages, and mentions. Engaging with your audience humanizes your brand and fosters a loyal community. Don't just promote; be part of the conversation. 2. Content Marketing on a Budget Content marketing is a long-term strategy that can significantly increase brand awareness. Blogging and SEO Start a blog on your website. Write articles that answer common questions in your industry or offer valuable insights. Optimize your posts with SEO best practices, like using keywords and meta descriptions, to improve search engine rankings. Guest Blogging and Collaborations Collaborate with other bloggers or businesses. Guest blogging allows you to reach new audiences and establish authority in your niche. Creating Infographics and Visual Content Infographics are a great way to present data in an easily digestible format. They're shareable and can increase your reach. Use tools like Canva to create visually appealing content without breaking the bank. 3. Outsource Your Digital Marketing Efforts Hiring a digital marketing agency can be a smart investment for small businesses looking to enhance their brand awareness. These professionals bring a wealth of experience and specialized knowledge, ensuring that your marketing efforts are strategic and effective. Choosing the Right Agency When selecting a digital marketing agency, consider their expertise in areas relevant to your business, such as SEO, social media, and content marketing. Look for agencies with a proven track record of success in your industry. Collaborating with Experts Agencies can offer a fresh perspective on your brand and identify opportunities you may have overlooked. They can help you create and execute comprehensive marketing strategies that include everything from content creation to SEO optimization. Maximizing Your Investment Working with a digital marketing agency can save you time and resources, allowing you to focus on your core business activities. For those seeking top-notch assistance, consider Shout Brisbane SEO services. They specialize in helping small businesses boost their online visibility, providing tailored solutions to meet your unique needs. By partnering with experts, you can ensure that your brand is consistently represented across all channels, ultimately increasing your brand awareness and driving growth. 4. Utilizing Influencer Partnerships Influencer marketing isn't just for big brands. Small businesses can leverage micro-influencersindividuals with a smaller but highly engaged following. Finding the Right Influencers Look for influencers who align with your brand values and have a genuine connection with your audience. They don't need millions of followers; authenticity is more important. Micro-Influencers vs. Macro-Influencers Micro-influencers often have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers. They are more relatable to their audience, making their endorsements more credible. Creating Authentic Partnerships Work with influencers to create authentic content. Whether it's a product review or a behind-the-scenes look at your business, authenticity resonates with audiences. 5. Email Marketing Strategies Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your audience. Building an Email List Start by collecting email addresses through your website, social media, or in-store promotions. Offer incentives like discounts or free resources to encourage sign-ups. Creating Valuable Content for Subscribers Your email content should offer value. Share tips, news, or exclusive offers. The more valuable your emails are, the more likely subscribers will engage with them. Personalizing Your Emails Personalization can significantly increase open and click-through rates. Use the subscriber's name and tailor content to their interests. 6. Local Marketing and Community Engagement Engaging with your local community can boost brand awareness and build strong customer relationships. Participate in Local Events Sponsor or participate in local events. It's a great way to get your brand in front of potential customers. Collaborate with Other Local Businesses Partnerships with other local businesses can expand your reach. Consider co-hosting events or offering bundled promotions. Utilize Local SEO Optimize your online presence for local searches. Ensure your business information is consistent across all platforms and encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. 7. Leveraging User-Generated Content User-generated content (UGC) is authentic and cost-effective. Encouraging Customer Reviews and Testimonials Ask your customers to leave reviews and share testimonials. Positive reviews can significantly enhance your brand's credibility. Sharing User Stories and Photos Encourage customers to share their experiences with your products or services. Share their stories and photos on your social media and website. Running Contests and Giveaways Contests and giveaways are a fun way to engage your audience and encourage UGC. Offer a prize for the best photo or story featuring your product. 8. Measuring and Analyzing Brand Awareness To refine your strategies, it's crucial to measure and analyze your brand awareness efforts. Key Metrics to Track Monitor metrics like social media engagement, website traffic, and customer feedback. These indicators can help you understand your brand's reach and perception. Tools and Platforms for Monitoring Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing analytics to gather data. Adjusting Strategies Based on Data Analyze the data to identify what's working and what's not. Adjust your strategies accordingly to maximize your brand awareness efforts. Conclusion Building brand awareness on a budget is entirely possible with the right strategies. Focus on creating engaging content, leveraging social media, and connecting with your local community. Remember, consistency is key. Implement these tips and tricks, and watch your brand recognition grow. Sonar, the leading Clean Code solution provider, has expanded its SonarCloud offering with the availability of two new plans, SonarCloud Enterprise and SonarCloud Team. SonarCloud, the companys fully managed SaaS solution for improving the quality and security of human-developed and AI-assisted code at scale, is used by thousands of organizations to analyze proprietary and open source projects. With the new Enterprise and Team plans for SonarCloud, Sonar empowers development teams of all sizes to deliver Clean Code with confidence. When code isnt clean, it can cause business outages, security risks, and poor application performance. Sonars Clean Code solutions help developers catch bugs, quality concerns, and security flaws early in the development process, as code is being created. This allows them to find and resolve issues before they can make it through to production, improving developer productivity, software quality, and business performance. Our ROI in SonarCloud kicked in from the first month. We were able to gain a better understanding of the quality of our code and start rolling out suitable adjustments for the engineering team, said Furkan Yavuz, QA lead for Recognyte, an AI-driven real estate intelligence company. As organizations increasingly adopt AI assistants to write code and develop software, having scalable, flexible solutions, with high availability and built-in security has become a business imperative. The new SonarCloud plans ensure developer teams can leverage SonarCloud as their needs grow, to continuously reduce exposure to risk at all levels and sustain the performance of their software, growing business through systematic development and delivery. The adoption of AI coding assistants and the push for faster software development have increased code volume and raised reliability concerns. However, most code scanning tools are just adding to the growing list of issues that are potential threats to business, most of which are false positives. Developers need to be empowered to find issues early and be motivated to fix them with the tools they love and have confidence in. Development teams who use SonarCloud are able to pinpoint and remediate as early in the development process as possible, said Fabrice Bellingard, VP of Product at Sonar. Features Made for the Enterprise SonarCloud Enterprise offers organization-wide portfolio management, new authentication and security features, executive reporting functionality, simplified administration, enterprise service-level agreements, and dedicated commercial support for all customers. Additionally, SonarCloud Enterprise is available on AWS Marketplace, ensuring simplified procurement and onboarding. Centralizing Controls. Managing multiple organizations in a DevOps environment can be difficult, causing a lack of visibility into the overall security of the companys software and the needed actions to improve it on various levels. Specific features include: Enterprise hierarchy, portfolio creation, organization-wide configurable settings, project PDF reporting for technology leads and managers, and security standard reports for IT security teams. Authentication and Security. Organizations tend to use a combination of different tools in their DevOps toolkit to ensure code quality and security, on top of multiple linters to support the complexity that comes with leveraging a variety of languages. Managing organization and group membership to various solutions and ensuring they are synchronized can be a large administrative effort, and lead to security risks. Features that support this and ongoing security assurance include: Single Sign-On (SSO), synchronized access management, and more scalable token management. Simplified Administration. At onboarding, default settings can be prepared and applied to all projects with organization-wide project configuration. This relieves the tedious and slow task that large enterprises face of configuring a high number of projects, project by project. Automated project creation at scale also supports ease in standing up SonarCloud. It enables the auto-creation of projects in SonarCloud that were initially built in an enterprise DevOps platform. Additionally, enterprise billing means that billing can be done as a single entity while being applied to multiple organizations. More about the SonarCloud Team Plan Flexible plans to meet the needs of all organizations. SonarClouds existing Private Repo plan has been replaced by SonarCloud Team and will continue to provide the reliable, SaaS solution that users trust and rely on today. At an affordable price, SonarCloud Team provides all the benefits of the SonarQube Community Edition plus additional features like branch analysis, pull request decoration, and injection flow detection. With the Team plan, developers can scan both public and private projects for actionable insights that enable consistent and efficient Clean Code delivery all in a simple, fast time-to-value SaaS model hosted by Sonar. Teams also have control to define the quality standard they want their codebase to follow. As a company rooted in open source, the Free plan of SonarCloud will continue to be available and will evolve through the year. SonarCloud on AWS Marketplace SonarCloud is available on AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog of independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This enables seamless access to Sonars SaaS solution and acceleration of its deployment for AWS customers globally, whether on the Enterprise or Team plan. Hosted at AWS and replicated across multiple availability zones, data remains accessible in case of hardware failures or natural disasters. In addition, Sonar has joined the AWS Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Program, which will help it to provide improved customer support and cloud cost management. Through its membership in the program, Sonar will increase the visibility of its services to AWS customers and partners. More information about SonarCloud on AWS Marketplace can be found here. When developers arent burdened by fixing issues downstream, they have more time for creativity, quicker release cycles, and advanced problem-solving, which all support a more positive developer experience and contribute to higher retention and lower recruitment costs, added Bellingard. Features described in this release will be made available throughout 2024. To learn more, visit our SonarCloud page, here. Fighter jets take part in training in small hours China Military Online) 12:46, August 01, 2024 Fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade under the PLA Air Force take off successively during a flight training exercise in the small hours of June 17, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Hang) A fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade under the PLA Air Force soars into sky during a flight training exercise in the small hours of June 17, 2024. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Hang) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Flash Boeing announced on Wednesday its Board of Directors has elected Robert K. "Kelly" Ortberg as the company's new president and chief executive officer, effective Aug. 8. Ortberg, who will also serve on Boeing's Board of Directors, will succeed Dave Calhoun, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire from the company, having served as president and CEO since January 2020, and as a member of the Board of Directors since 2009. "The board conducted a thorough and extensive search process over the last several months to select the next CEO of Boeing and Kelly has the right skills and experience to lead Boeing in its next chapter," said Steven Mollenkopf, chair of Boeing's Board of Directors. Mollenkopf also extended thanks to Calhoun for his "strong leadership" at Boeing, first as chair and then as CEO. "I'm extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company," said Ortberg, 64, adding that he is committed to working together with the more than 170,000 employees of the company, "with safety and quality at the forefront." Ortberg began his career in 1983 as an engineer at Texas Instruments, and then joined Rockwell Collins in 1987 as a program manager and became its president and CEO in 2013. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Aptiv PLC, a global technology company and an industry leader in vehicle systems architecture. He is the former chair of the Aerospace Industries Association Board of Governors, according to Boeing. CHICAGO Calls of Justice for Sonya rang through the sanctuary of a church on Chicagos West Side on Tuesday at a rally hosted in response to the death of Sonya Massey on July 6. Massey, a Black woman, was killed in her home by Sangamon County Sheriffs deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson, who is white, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct stemming from the incident. But for activists organizing around Masseys death, Graysons charges are not enough to satisfy their calls for justice. There is something wrong with policing in the state of Illinois, the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Network helped organize Tuesdays rally, said. Sharpton, who spent Monday with President Joe Biden discussing the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, renewed his calls on Congress to pass a version of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was introduced in 2021. But the longtime civil rights activist said while bill is stalled in Congress, Illinois should act on similar legislation. Weve got Black faces in high places in Illinois. Well, stand up and do something, Sharpton said. We didnt elect you to give us a press release. We want justice, we want fairness, we want equality. And if you cant do the job, then step back and let some people with some backbone step up and do what needs to be done. Sharpton called on Illinois officials to enact more police reforms through a Sonya Massey Law, a name echoed in chants from the crowd throughout Tuesday evenings rally. In this law we need to make it illegal for police to be switching districts, Sharpton said. This proposal comes, in part, from Graysons work history. The 30-year old worked in six law enforcement agencies over four years before Masseys death. Before joining the Sangamon County Sheriffs Office, he worked in Logan County, where he disregarded orders during a high-speed chase and faced at least one misconduct complaint. Some measures outlined in the George Floyd Act are mirrored in Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act, such as body camera requirements, a ban on chokeholds and expansions to police misconduct databases. While that law, which sparked significant opposition from Republicans in the years since its passage, has been amended several times, some want further reform. Chicago-based civil rights lawyer Antonio Romanucci, who worked on the George Floyd case, said Tuesday that the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will provide activists an opportunity to lobby Gov. J.B. Pritzker and legislative leaders at the state Capitol to amend the SAFE-T Act. Specifically, he advocated for instituting a waiting period for officers transferring between departments to allow for proper vetting. We want to fix this hole, Romanucci said. The SAFE-T Act is flawed. Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, defended the SAFE-T Act in a statement Wednesday, but said he would consider new ideas in response to Masseys death. We took steps to address this in the SAFE-T Act by requiring law enforcement to report misconduct violations when an officer is terminated or when an officer resigns under investigation of criminal offenses, he said. However, our work is not done, and I am open to any ideas for legislative action to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again. Romanucci also pointed blame for Masseys death at Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell and called on him to resign. Masseys father, James Wilburn also called on Campbell to step down. Campbell attended a listening session facilitated by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday, where he apologized and said his department failed Massey, her family and the community. He also said he did not plan to resign. He wanted to ask our forgiveness, Wilburn said. Anyone else in my family can forgive him, but Im not. Because he has my babys blood on his hands. Hes got to go. Wilburn indicated that if Campbell didnt resign and if no one else ran against him, he would take matters into his own hands and try to unseat Campbell, who was first elected to his position in 2018, and reelected in 2022. Im not announcing my candidacy yet, Wilburn said. But I will. But I will. Masseys family is being represented by Ben Crump, dubbed by Sharpton as the attorney general for Black America. Crump has risen to national prominence in recent years after he began representing families of Black people killed by law enforcement officers, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, Daunte Wright and others. The rally Tuesday was the latest in a growing list of marches, rallies and protests held in response to Masseys death. Activist groups declared Sunday, July 28, a day of mourning for Massey and groups held events in New York, Los Angeles and St. Louis among other locations. In Springfield, around 300 people gathered at Comer Cox Park with the Massey family as part of the nationwide demonstrations. On Saturday, Chicago saw a rally calling for police reform and a downtown march attended by hundreds. That march was organized in response to Masseys death as well as the deaths of two Black men Samuel Sharpe Jr. and DVontaye Mitchell in Milwaukee earlier this month. That group also wants Congress to pass reforms initially introduced in 2021. The murder of Sonya Massey is one of the most horrific police killings Ive ever seen, Frank Chapman, one of the organizers of Saturdays protest and longtime left-wing activist, said in a statement last week. And just like Congress refused to pass an anti-lynching bill for a hundred years, they are refusing to pass the George Floyd bill now. Andrew Campbell contributed reporting to this story. CHICAGO Flights at OHare International Airport could soon be partly powered by lower-emission fuel made from leftover fats, oils and greases. Sustainable aviation fuel is set to become available for use by carriers that fly in and out of the busy airport, after Chicago-based United Airlines became the first to purchase the fuel at OHare, the carrier announced Wednesday. Sustainable fuel is seen as key to meeting the aviation industrys goals to cut emissions. The purchase was touted as a win by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who highlighted a recently-enacted state tax credit for sustainable jet fuel. United purchased up to 1 million gallons of fuel from producer Neste to be delivered to OHare this year, with the first delivery expected Saturday. The sustainable fuel will go into a centralized system at OHare where it will be mixed with traditional jet fuel, and the mix will be available to all carriers at the airport. For now, sustainable fuel must be blended with conventional fuel for use in commercial aircraft. Sustainable aviation fuel is already in use elsewhere, and the Neste fuel is available at at least 25 airports globally, according to the company. For United, OHare will be the fifth airport where the carrier will purchase sustainable aviation fuel, after airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Amsterdam. Aviation makes up 2% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and 12% of transportation emissions. In the U.S., use of sustainable fuel jumped to 15.8 million gallons in 2022, data from the energy department shows. United said sustainable fuel can lower greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 85% when the entire lifecyle is taken into account, including how its made and how its delivered to airports. In Illinois, when it comes to clean energy and transportation innovation, Pritzker has tried to position the state as a hub. That has included a focus on electric vehicles, such as a tax credit deal to bring electric school bus- and truck-maker Lion Electric to Joliet, where the plant has been operating below capacity. It has also included the jet fuel tax credit, which allows carriers to earn a credit of $1.50 per gallon purchased. Illinoiss position as a hub of innovation with some of the most connected airports in the country perfectly aligns with the work of companies like United to build a more sustainable future for travel and reach our shared goal of zero emissions, Pritzker said in a statement. United President Brett Hart said the tax credit enabled the purchase of sustainable jet fuel at OHare. While the market for SAF is still in its infancy, there is a huge opportunity today for airlines and policymakers to work together to support its continued growth, he said in a statement. (Sustainable aviation fuel) at OHare was made possible thanks to Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Legislature passing tax incentives. Flash People take part in a protest against the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in the West Bank city of Hebron, on July 31, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Countries in the Middle East on Wednesday strongly condemned the alleged Israeli attack earlier in the day that killed Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed early Wednesday when their residence was hit in Tehran, according to a statement by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, adding the attack was under investigation and the results would be announced later. The Israeli army has no comment on the incident yet. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the assassination of Haniyeh as "a cowardly act and a dangerous development," calling on the Palestinian people to "unite, be patient and steadfast in the face of Israel," according to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA. Meanwhile, Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on social media platform X that, "We consider it a cowardly act," which "pushes us to remain more steadfast in the face of the occupation and achieving the unity of the Palestinian forces and factions." The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces on Wednesday declared a general strike across Palestine, condemning the assassination, according to WAFA. Describing the attack as a "terrorist act," the Syrian Foreign Ministry highlighted in a statement that the "heinous act" follows a series of Israeli assaults on various locations in the region, including the occupied Syrian Golan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The ministry further denounced the attack as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and "a blatant breach of international law." In a post on social media platform X, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "strongly condemned the treacherous assassination" of Haniyeh, saying the act was "a despicable attempt to undermine the Palestinian cause, the resistance of Gaza, and the rightful struggle of our Palestinian brothers." The Turkish president called for a united stance from the Islamic world to end the "oppression" in Gaza, adding his country will continue to support the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital A statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said, "This aggressive operation is a flagrant violation of international laws and a threat to security and stability in the region." The ministry called on the international community to be responsible and take necessary measures to stop the repeated attacks and violations of the sovereignty of states, the statement said. Jordan said this act, a violation of international law and international humanitarian law, is "a provocative crime" that will lead to more tension and chaos in the region, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry. Sufian Qudah, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed Jordan's position in condemning political assassinations, violence, and terrorism regardless of their motives. Qudah also expressed Jordan's condolences to the State of Palestine and its people, and to the family of Haniyeh and his companion, may they rest in peace. In a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Egypt said the dangerous Israeli escalations in the past two days "will ignite confrontations in the region in a way that causes serious security consequences." "The coincidence of this regional escalation amid lack of progress in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza increases the complexity of the situation, indicates the absence of Israeli political will for achieving calm, and undermines Egypt and its partners' efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip," it said. In a press conference, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf condemned the "treacherous and heinous terrorist act," describing the "blatant disregard for basic humanitarian, legal, political, and ethical norms" as "appalling." Attaf also extended his deepest condolences and sympathy to the Palestinian people, noting that the Algerian people share in their suffering during this difficult time. Since Oct. 7 last year, Israel has been launching a large-scale strike on Hamas. According to Gaza health authorities, the Israeli offensive has led to the killing of over 39,445 Palestinians in the enclave, while the UN estimated that nearly 2 million people there have been displaced. Nebraska lawmakers could still deliver property tax relief by expanding an existing property tax credit program if Gov. Jim Pillen's effort fails, the Revenue Committee was told Wednesday. State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth offered LB33, which would increase a program under which property owners can get income tax credits for school property taxes paid. His bill would add $300 million to the program this year, bringing the total allocated to $860 million, and another $300 million in 2025, bringing the total to $1.16 billion. Brandt called the proposal a "fail safe" for the special legislative session, suggesting it as an alternative if more transformative proposals founder. "We can pass this, go home and tackle the problem again in January," he said. The Revenue Committee heard Brandt's bill on Wednesday along with several others that could become part of a broader property tax proposal or provide an alternative means of reducing property taxes. Pillen called lawmakers back to Lincoln last week for a special session aimed at solving what he called Nebraska's "property tax crisis." The three bills comprising his proposal were heard Tuesday. The tax-related portions of his plan, LB1, faced stiff opposition, with critics vastly outnumbering proponents. Those testifying against the bill included major agricultural groups, which have been among the most outspoken advocates of property tax relief. Business groups also lined up against the bill. LB1 would create a new property tax credit aimed at offsetting school property taxes and paid for by expanding sales and other taxes to more than 100 goods and services. It also would cap property tax revenues for cities and counties. LB2 and LB3, which would make changes in the state budget to help support the new tax credit, also drew several opponents. At Wednesday's hearing, the committee chairwoman, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, acknowledged that nothing introduced so far has the votes to pass. She introduced LB1 on Pillen's behalf during the special session after championing his unsuccessful proposal during the regular session this year. The day's hearings included another attempt by Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard to replace existing state and local taxes with a broad-based consumption tax. After previous legislative attempts failed, backers of the so-called EPIC Option proposal had mounted a petition drive to put the idea on the November ballot this year. But their signature-gathering efforts also fell short. Erdman urged the Revenue Committee to advance his bills to the full Legislature so they can be debated, negotiated and revised. He said the consumption tax is the answer to Nebraska's tax problems and predicted the state would eventually adopt the idea. LB30, from Sen. Jen Day of Omaha, would provide homestead exemptions for partially disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, while Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue proposed LB27, which would provide income tax credits to offset the cost of property taxes for lower income homeowners or renters as well as for farm and ranch land owners with smaller operations. Top Journal Star photos for July 2024 1. Yes. They look better and require less maintenance. Most high-end housing areas have them. 2. Yes. Wood fences can weather and look unsightly, plus masonry walls help to block sound. 3. No. Residents should have a choice of what kind of barriers are put up near their homes. 4. No. Allowing a variety of materials will be better for aesthetics, and costs may be lower. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say. Masonry walls may be sturdier, but mandating them is problematic. Vote View Results Flash Tourists view the sunset on the Green Island in Taitung, southeast China's Taiwan, July 23, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] No matter what the Taiwan authorities led by Lai Ching-te say or do, the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China will not be changed, the legal basis of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 cannot be shaken, and the historical trend that China will and must achieve reunification is unstoppable, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday. Lin made the comments at a regular press briefing when refuting recent remarks of Lai. "There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," Lin said. "This is an undeniable fact." He said that the UNGA Resolution 2758 resolved once and for all the question of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations. It made clear that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is a part of China, not a country. It also made clear that there is only one seat for China in the United Nations, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal representative, precluding "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." Lin noted that the one-China principle has been observed by the UN and its specialized agencies. Taiwan is referred to as "Taiwan, province of China" in all of the UN's official documents. It was clearly stated in the official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the UN Secretariat that "'Taiwan' as a province of China with no separate status," and the "'authorities' in 'Taipei' are not considered to ... enjoy any form of government status." Lin said that the UNGA Resolution 2758 once again clarifies the one-China principle, and the one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus in the international community. "How can it be 'wrongly interpreted?'" Lin said, refuting Lai. "How can the Taiwan region talk about 'sovereign status' when it is a part of China?" The spokesperson further asked. Taiwan's participation in activities of international organizations must and can only be handled in accordance with the one-China principle, said Lin, asking "How could there be 'international participation?'" "The one-China principle is unshakable, the trend of China realizing complete reunification is unstoppable, and the pursuit of the 'Taiwan-independence' separatist agenda will only lead to a dead end," Lin said. Flash This photo shows Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh (C) in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] China is highly concerned about the death of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh, and firmly opposes and condemns the assassination, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday. Lin made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on a Hamas statement that Ismail Haniyeh had been killed by an Israeli attack in Tehran. "We are greatly concerned about the incident, firmly oppose and condemn the assassination, and are deeply worried that this incident may lead to further instability in the region," Lin said. "China always stands for resolving regional disputes through negotiations and dialogue," Lin noted, adding that a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire should be realized in Gaza as soon as possible to avoid further escalation of conflict and confrontation. The number of financial aid applications is down across the Universities of Wisconsin system, an early indication that enrollment may be down this fall as well. Last fall, the federal government made widespread changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid application. The update was intended to smooth out the process and increase eligibility for lower- and middle-income families. But the rollout has been plagued by errors, leading to months-long delays in telling students how much financial aid theyre getting and therefore which, if any, schools they could afford to attend. The UW system is in the process of compiling its school-specific FAFSA data. But applications are down 10.3% across Wisconsin, including private colleges. Thats a little better than the nationwide average of 12.8%. UW-Madison attributes a significant drop in first-year student financial applications to the FAFSA errors and delays. UW-Madison has processed 17,653 applications for first-year students this fall, compared with 30,446 for the 2022-23 school year and 28,206 for the 2023-24 school year. Will that mean fewer students in the fall? Its still unknown, but initial numbers show that enrollment might not be down as much as universities have feared. While the number of FAFSA applications can be a predictor of what will happen with enrollment, its nuanced: During the 2022-23 academic year, about a third of the UW systems students paid for college without any kind of financial aid. That year, about 46% of UW system students received some type of federal aid and around 19% received Pell Grants, federal aid for low-income students that is not repaid. Its also hard to predict enrollment based on FAFSAs because the same student can list multiple schools theyre applying to UW system or others on a FAFSA application so they can compare multiple financial aid offers. Two of UW-Madisons hallmark financial aid programs, Buckys Tuition Promise and Buckys Pell Pathway, require students to file the FAFSA to demonstrate financial need. Its the same at other UW system schools that offer tuition-waiver programs, such as UW-Milwaukee. Its still too early to tell, UW-Madison interim director of student aid Scott Owczarek said of whether the FAFSA delays might affect participation in the waiver programs. Well be able to confirm our fall enrollment after our official census reporting date for the semester. Across the UW system Prospective students still have time to submit the FAFSA and be notified of financial aid options before the start of the school year, and most UW system schools enrollment processes are fluid and dont rely on stringent deadlines. At UW-Milwaukee, projected enrollment is still where school leaders hoped it would be, despite fewer FAFSA applications and lower rates of students submitting applications at the start of the year, financial aid director Tim Opgenorth said. Our fear was enrollments would be way down, but right now, actually, theyre holding in there, Opgenorth said. So, were very glad that were seeing very similar type enrollments as last year. And while UW-Stevens Point was down 14% in overall applications as of earlier this month, enrollment was down only 8%, financial aid director Susan Johnson said. Were down in awards, but not as bad as it was in the beginning, when we were down 35%, Johnson said. Were always going to get more FAFSAs than we get students who are enrolled. Any enrollment decline, however, is problematic for the UW system, which is trying to increase enrollment amid widespread budget deficits. The system hopes to boost the number of graduates by thousands of students by 2028 and will start tying pay increases for most chancellors to how well they keep students coming back to campus each year. Stopgap measures The FAFSA debacle is still not over: UW system schools financial aid departments are waiting to make corrections or for the federal government to start processing a small percentage of paper applications. During the 2023-24 academic year, with delays looming, some UW system schools sought to push back enrollment and housing contract deadlines or get a preliminary financial aid estimate in students hands. UW-La Crosse financial aid director Christina Hayes said preliminary aid offers were the campus strategy this spring. For most students, their original offer matched their final one. We just wanted to try and get those aid offers out as soon as we could, because we know students and families are trying to make decisions on where they want to attend, Hayes said. Weve never done that before, but its something we did just because there was so much back and forth with the (U.S.) Department of Education. The spring months were excruciating for UW system financial aid departments: Rather than using all of the fall and some of the winter months to process thousands of student financial aid packages, the process was crammed into a few weeks by using overtime and pulling in employees from other departments; as errors occur, financial aid departments have reached out to students individually because colleges ability to correct forms was limited. UW-Madison, with with one of the UW systems most stringent enrollment and housing deadlines, pushed the date for enrollment decisions and housing contracts back by two weeks. It helped give prospective students more time to make decisions, Owczarek said, as aid offers went out on April 25. To get through all of the applications at UW-Milwaukee, the financial aid department pulled recent retirees back in; at other schools, it was all hands on deck as people from other departments were helped process applications. On top of processing thousands of financial aid packages, financial aid departments found themselves reaching out to students and families, one by one, to make corrections to their forms. And unlike previous years, when colleges could upload a batch of corrections all at once for multiple applications, staff have been stuck doing them one at a time. Batch edits wont be available at all for 2024-25 applications, the Department of Education announced Tuesday. Its definitely a lot more work because youre sending each student and parent emails individually, Opgenorth said. Youre having to make corrections individually, and its all manual, whereas in the past, you would just make the corrections in your system, upload it that night and (revisions) would come back two days later. Flash Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Mulambo Haimbe, Zambia's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, in Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Mulambo Haimbe, Zambia's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, in Beijing on Wednesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that last year, the two heads of state jointly announced the elevation of China-Zambia relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, leading bilateral relations on a new journey. China appreciates Zambia's adherence to the one-China principle and stands ready to consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, Wang said. He called on the two sides to jointly activate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, coordinate the comprehensive development along the line, help Zambia turn its resource advantages into development momentum, and enhance its independent development capacity and industrialization level. Wang also briefed Haimbe on the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, saying that China will focus on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which will bring new opportunities to developing countries including Zambia. China is willing to strengthen the exchange of governance experience with Zambia, support it in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and help to advance its modernization process, he said. Noting that the new summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing this September, Wang said that China is ready to take this opportunity to work with African countries to make the event a success, carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Africa, and take the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future to a new level. Haimbe offered congratulations on the success of the plenum, saying that Zambia looks forward to learning from the successful experience of the CPC in party governance, improving its own governance capacity and better serving the Zambian people. Zambia cherishes its traditional friendship with China and will, as always, abide by the one-China principle and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Haimbe said. "President Hichilema paid a successful visit to China last year. He is looking forward to attending the new FOCAC summit and believes that the summit will be a complete success," said Haimbe. Haimbe said that Zambia is willing to take the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties to push for greater development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. He added that more Chinese enterprises are welcome to invest in Zambia and the two countries are willing to strengthen cooperation on agriculture, energy and mining. The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs. When it comes to disasters in the United States, most people think of major storms and earthquakes that hit coastal areas. But a study from the nonprofit Rebuild by Design and New York University says disasters happen everywhere across the country. The study looks at information on hundreds of federally declared disasters from 2011 to about 2021. It also examines the $60 billion that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, gave state and local governments. The study finds that eight of the nine counties with the most federally declared disasters since 2011 are in Kentucky. One is in Vermont. These counties have several times the number of disasters as the national average of three in the past 13 years. A federal disaster is declared when a bad natural event is so costly that local government officials do not believe they can recover. So, the governor of the state asks the president to declare a disaster which frees federal money set aside for this purpose. Amy Chester is director of Rebuild by Design. She said, California and Louisiana and I would say now even Texas, Florida, for sure, they soak up all the oxygen when you hear about these giant storms. Chester added, But what youre not hearing about are these storms that are happening all the time, and thats just becoming ...regular to places like Vermont. Chester also noted Tennessee, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Iowa and Alaska as having a lot of disasters. We want to show that climate change is already here, Chester said of the data, which covers 2011 to 2023. It does not include heat waves, lack of rain or diseases, like COVID-19. Before she studied the data, Chester said she thought Vermont would be safe from climate change. Instead, it has many disasters. Its awful, Chester said. It just keeps happening to them. Vermont recently flooded again because of heavy rain from Hurricane Beryl. Disasters in unexpected places In July 2022, at least 40 people died, and 300 homes were damaged when a flood struck Floyd County in eastern Kentucky. It was the 13th time in 12 years that the federal government declared the rural county a disaster. Judge Robbie Williams is the administrator of the county with about 35,0000 people. He said, After that flood, I had 500 homeless people looking at me, Judge what are we going to do? Williams added, Its overwhelming and its just a matter of time before it happens again. Then, in 2023, Floyd County was declared a disaster again for the 14th time since 2011. But Floyd County is not the nations most disaster-prone county. Neighboring Johnson County has had 15 disasters declared by FEMA. Floyd Countys government received more than $35 million in FEMA disaster aid since 2011. But that is not a lot of money compared to other counties hit by hurricanes. Five counties received more than $1 billion in FEMA aid. Three of them are in New York state. They are led by Manhattans New York County, which got $8.9 billion after being struck by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. FEMA notes that flooding is the most common disaster in the U.S. Since 2011, FEMA has paid more than $41 billion in aid following hurricanes, the most of any kind of disaster. Susan Cutter is with the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute at the University of South Carolina. Cutter said: What the data tell us is that the frequency and severity of disasters at local-state scales is increasing with rural, suburban, and urban places being affected nationwide. She was not involved in Chesters research. But she added, More needs to be done. Geography and regulations In Floyd County, Judge Williams said geography and government regulations make it tough for the area. The county is in the mountains. People live in the narrow valleys, he said. When it rains, the creeks and rivers overflow. Were seeing historic levels of flooding, Williams said. Its only getting worse. Environmental regulations bar local officials from dredging the creeks. Silt from the mountains keeps building up, Williams said. Some creeks were about six meters deep but are now shallow enough to walk across, he said. "The problem is there is nowhere for the rain to go, Williams said. Samantha Montano is a professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Montano said what is more important is how state and local policies create or reduce the risk of future disasters. In Floyd County, the local government is using FEMA money to buy the homes of 150 residents to move them out of a flood area, but some do not want to leave, Williams said. Until we get those homes out of these flood wayswere still going to have these issues, Williams added. Im Jill Robbins. And Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Seth Borenstein reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________________ Words in This Story county n. an area in a state that has its own local government overwhelming adj. an amount too big to deal with effectively scale n. a level or size of something in relation to other, similar things that are bigger or smaller regulation n. a rule or law that governs a kind of activity or industry disaster-prone adj. likely to have a disaster dredging n. the process of removing mud from the bottom of a river or canal to make it deeper so boats can pass silt n. dirt that is carried by rivers and streams to lower areas of land management n. the effort of overseeing and controlling a business, government office or organization creek n. a small stream shallow adj. not deep We want to hear from you. Our comment policy is here. China has expressed strong dissatisfaction to Japan about what it called smear attacks against China at recent high-level meetings with the United States, India and Australia, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. A ministry statement said that Liu Jinsong, the director general of the Asian affairs department, conveyed solemn representations and serious concern at a meeting the previous day with Akira Yokochi, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy. Liu pointed out that Japans smear attacks on China are self-contradictory to its statement of promoting the strategic and reciprocal relationship between the two countries, the statement said. Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday, Japans foreign and defense ministers agreed to bolster military cooperation with the U.S. at what are known as 2+2 talks with their American counterparts. A joint statement said Chinas foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others and that such behavior represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The U.S.-Japan talks were followed by a meeting on Monday of the foreign ministers from the Quad countries the U.S. Japan, India and Australia. The joint statement did not mention China by name but expressed opposition to the militarization of disputed features and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea. The Chinese government has complained repeatedly about the U.S. deepening ties with other countries in the face of Chinas rise, which President Joe Biden has made a priority during his four years in office. The Foreign Ministry statement said China urges Japan to stop making irresponsible remarks on Chinas internal affairs a likely reference to Taiwan and called on Japan to stop colluding with certain countries to form small circles that lead to confrontation. A Japanese Embassy statement said that Yokochi had expounded Japans positions at the meeting and made representations on various China-related topics, but it did not provide any details. MDT/AP The first batch of mainland travel permits for non-Chinese permanent residents of Macau and Hong Kong has been officially issued. This marks a significant step towards enhancing cross-border mobility. The newly-introduced permits allow holders to travel to and from the mainland multiple times within a five-year validity period, with each stay capped at 90 days, according to the report from CCTV News. Since July 10, eligible residents have been applying for these permits, which promote greater exchanges in business, tourism, education and cultural activities between the mainland and the two Special Administrative Regions. The permits, designed as electronic card-type travel documents, eliminate the need for a visa for short-term visits. China Travel Service (CTS) has announced the agency is prepared to manage around 30 applications daily, accommodating both online and walk-in applicants. The application process is streamlined, allowing for completion in as little as 10 to 20 minutes so long as all required documents are correctly provided. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and possess a valid Macau or Hong Kong permanent identity card, a passport with at least six months of validity, and a recent photo. In some instances, a photo can be taken at the travel service center. The application fee is HKD260 for Macau and Hong Kong residents, while those from the mainland seeking to renew or replace permits will pay RMB230. Nadia Shaw Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital yesterday, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the conflict even as the U.S. and other nations were scrambling to prevent an all-out regional war. Irans supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the groups Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Irans new president in Tehran and only hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Irans ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut. The dramatic assassination of Hamass top political leader threatened to reverberate throughout the regions intertwined conflicts. Most explosively, the strike in Tehran could push Iran and Israel into direct conflict if Iran retaliates. We consider his revenge as our duty, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his official website. He said Israel had prepared a harsh punishment for itself by killing a dear guest in our home. Bitter regional rivals, Israel and Iran risked plunging into war earlier this year when Israel hit Irans embassy in Damascus in April. Iran retaliated and Israel countered in an unprecedented exchange of strikes on each others soil, but international efforts succeeded in containing that cycle before it spun out of control. Haniyehs killing could also prompt Hamas to pull out of negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in the 10-month-old war in Gaza, which U.S. mediators had said were making progress. And it could enflame already heightening tensions between Israel and Hezbollah which international diplomats were trying to contain after a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Tuesday evening, Israel carried out a rare strike in the Lebanese capital that it said killed a top Hezbollah commander allegedly behind the rocket strike. Hezbollah, which denied any role in the Golan strike, said yesterday that it was still searching for the body of Fouad Shukur in the rubble of the building that was hit in a Beirut suburb, killing two women and two children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the killing of Haniyeh. Asked by reporters in Manila about the Tehran strike, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he had no additional information to provide. But he expressed hope for a diplomatic solution on the Israeli-Lebanon border. I dont think that war is inevitable, he said. I maintain that. I think theres always room and opportunity for diplomacy, and Id like to see parties pursue those opportunities. But international diplomats trying to defuse tensions were alarmed. One Western diplomat, whose country has worked to prevent an Israeli-Hezbollah escalation, said the double strikes in Beirut and Tehran have almost killed hopes for a Gaza cease-fire and could push the Middle East into a devastating regional war. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment. Israel often doesnt comment on assassinations carried out by its Mossad intelligence agency or strikes on other countries. Iranian media showed videos of Haniyeh and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hugging after Pezeshkians inauguration ceremony Tuesday. Hours later, the strike hit a residence Haniyeh uses in Tehran, killing him, Hamas said in a statement. It also quoted a past speech by Haniyeh in which he said the Palestinian cause has costs and we are ready for these costs: martyrdom for the sake of Palestine, and for the sake of God Almighty, and for the sake of the dignity of this nation. Pezeshkian vowed his country would defend its territory and make the attackers regret their cowardly action. An influential Iranian parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy was to hold an emergency meeting on the strike later yesterday. Hamas military wing said in a statement that Haniyehs assassination takes the battle to new dimensions and will have major repercussions on the entire region. It said Israel made a miscalculation by expanding the circle of aggression. Speaking to the AP, a Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the loss of Haniyeh wont impact the group, saying it had emerged stronger after past crises and assassinations of its leaders. Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had lived in exile in Qatar. The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yehya Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack. In the West Bank, the internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Haniyehs killing, calling it a cowardly act and dangerous development. Political factions in the occupied territory called for strikes in protest at the killing. In April, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three of Haniyehs sons and four of his grandchildren. Meanwhile, Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, said that a strike Tuesday night on a base southwest of Baghdad killed four members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia. The group accused the United States of being behind the strike. ABBY SEWELL, BEIRUT, MDT/AP The Court of Final Appeal (TUI) has upheld an appeal by the Public Prosecutors Office, leading to a retrial of ex-assistant prosecutor general Kong Chi. It remains unclear whether the retrial will cover all original charges or focus solely on the secret society offence, for which he was previously acquitted, as cited in a TDM report. Kong Chi received a 17-year prison sentence for various offences including corruption, abuse of office, and unjustified enrichment. He was acquitted of the secret society charge due to insufficient evidence. The Public Prosecutors Office appealed in April, citing significant errors in the courts case assessment. They argued for the conviction of all defendants on the secret society charge, as cited in the same report. The retrial will also involve three other defendants, including lawyer Kuan Hoi Lon, who was previously acquitted of all charges. The prosecution has requested a minimum 10-year sentence for Hoi Lon. For the secret society offence, the prosecution seeks an additional 12-year sentence for Kong Chi and six-year sentences for each of the other three defendants. A local man in his 30s has allegedly slapped a coffee shop owner and threatened him with a knife after expressing dissatisfaction with the shops service. In a report by the Public Security Police and according to the shop owner, the confrontation began around 4:30 p.m. two days prior, when the suspect exhibited sudden emotional distress. During the altercation, the shop owner was struck in the face. Approximately five minutes after leaving the establishment, the suspect returned, placed an 11-centimeter fruit knife on the counter, and issued a threat, stating, I will get a gun next time, before departing. The police apprehended the suspect on a nearby street roughly 10 minutes after the report was made. Witnesses indicated that the dispute arose over the service attitude of the shop owner while purchasing coffee, after which the suspect allegedly retrieved a fruit knife from his residence with the intent to intimidate the owner. The suspect has denied any physical attack. However, police confirmed through surveillance footage that the suspect had indeed inflicted harm by slapping the shop owner in the face. LV The Public Security Police Force (PSP) is continuing its Thunder 2024 anti-crime patrol operation, which seeks to improve the public security environment and prevent illegal activities throughout the city. Earlier this week, PSP dispatched 25 criminal investigators to inspect hotels in the Central District. They intercepted and investigated 119 people (78 men and 41 women) but no suspicious persons were brought in for further questioning. PSP affirmed that it would adjust its strategies to suit the present security situation, increasing patrols in key areas at relevant times. Related The Health Bureau currently employs 34 specialist physicians to address the main chronic diseases in the community, such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This assurance was provided by Wong In, the director of the Praia do Manduco Health Centre, during the Ou Mun Tin Toi forum program. The programs focus yesterday was on the pilot project for managing chronic diseases in the community. The project, which has no specified start date yet, aims to enhance collaboration between the public and private sectors. It also aims to improve the family medicine system by establishing a team of specialist doctors in this field, along with general practitioners from health centers and community family doctors. Related The concession agreement governing the operation of Macau Slaughter House Ltd. has been extended for an additional five years. As per a notification from the Financial Services Bureau, the concession awarded by the SAR to the slaughterhouse is currently in effect and will remain so until June 4, 2029. This renewal follows two years after the initial contract was signed, which has now undergone revisions. The company is required to pay a land rent of 411,750 patacas. Furthermore, the government has indicated it will not authorize any loans that the slaughterhouse may seek; however, it may provide subsidies as financial assistance. Related AG&P Industrial (Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company of Manila Inc.) entered the renewable energy (RE) space after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cresphil Inc., Energy Stream Power Corp. and Royal Eijkelkamp for the exploration and development of geothermal resources. The consortium is initially developing the Biliran II Geothermal Energy project in the Biliran with an estimated capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) to 70 MW. - Advertisement - Cresphil and Energy Stream, as the project proponents, will oversee government permitting, procurement of requirements, planning and reporting in compliance with the rules, regulations, and policies of the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and local government units. AG&P Industrial said it would serve as the technical partner and EPC contractor, bringing its expertise and resources in infrastructure development and project management, including civil works and earthworks and the construction of necessary facilities for the drilling, power plant and other related infrastructure to support the successful implementation of the project. AG&P Industrial has built over a century of legacy from shaping the modern face of the Philippines to building oil and gas and clean energy mega-projects worldwide. This alliance signifies our entry into renewables in the clean energy sector that we are spearheading through our leading downstream, liquid natural gas/natural gas line of business, AG&P Industrial president Alex Gamboa said. He said the Biliran project would not only enhance energy security but also drive sustainable economic growth and environmental stewardship. The project is expected to be constructed and operationalized within three years, he said. The partnership brings together our forward looking vision for clean energy through increasing geothermal capacity in the Philippines and nearby regions. A stable source of renewable energy, with a small land and visual footprint, geothermal energy reduces the use of fossil fuels, producing minimal carbon dioxide and near-zero nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide, Cresphil chairman and chief executive Jose Silvestre Natividad said. Energy Stream chief executive Carlos Ruiz said the alliance is a critical step towards bringing the Biliran II geothermal project online. Ruiz said the latest 3G evaluation of the Biliran II Geothermal project area suggested that it is a separate and distinctive geothermal system of Biliran Island. Based on power density calculations in areas with initial resource boundaries, the BIIG project has geothermal energy potential of up to 50 to 70 MW in a 11,178-hectare area that will increase the capacity of renewable energy and contribute towards Green Energy Auction Program, designed by DoE to help achieve the governments target of expanding renewable energy in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2035 and 50 percent by 2040, he said. Netherlands-based Royal Eijkelkamp chief executive Huug Eijkelkamp said they are honored to be a part of the consortium to bring online the project and unlock the geothermal assets value. Currently in the pre-development phase, we will bring to the project advanced drilling solutions, including training and supply of equipment for the geothermal exploration scope, he said. Metro Pacific Agro Ventures (MPAV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), said Thursday it signed agreements to acquire 100 percent of Universal Harvester Dairy Farms Inc. (UHDFI) for over P700 million. UHDFI, based in Maramag, Bukidnon, owns the Bukidnon Milk Company brand and produces fresh milk, flavored milk, yogurt and cheese products, with presence primarily focused on key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. - Advertisement - UHDFI is the largest state-of-the-art dairy production facility in the country, the showcase model for community, private sector and government partnership and also a major supplier for the National Dairy Authoritys (NDA) milk feeding program, primarily focused on ensuring schoolchildren have regular access to high quality fresh milk. Establishing this strategic beachhead in Mindanao complements our dairy farms in Luzon, bringing us closer to our mission of achieving nationwide food security. Our operations in Laguna have not only improved the accessibility of fresh dairy but also fostered an ecosystem of milk farmers who supply to us, creating a virtuous cycle of increased domestic milk production, said MPIC chairman, president and chief executive and MPAV chairman Manuel Pangilinan. With our new investment in Bukidnon Milk Company, we anticipate replicating this success in Mindanao and other regions of the country, said Pangilinan. MPAVs acquisition comes after its previous investment in The Laguna Creamery Inc. (TLCI), known for popular brands Carmens Best ice cream and Hollys Milk. TLCI doubled its sales in just two years since partnering with MPAV. MPAV said that by combining the resources of TLCI and UHDFI, it aims to establish a national dairy champion with farms across the country, a nationwide reach and a comprehensive range of products. MPAV said its continued investment into the dairy industry supports an underserved segment of the economy. The NDA reported in March 2024 that the country continues to import 98 percent of its milk demand. It targets to reach a milk production of just 5 percent of local demand by 2028. Bukidnon Milk Company is highly complementary to our existing dairy business. This investment not only enables us to achieve nationwide distribution but, more importantly, this is a significant step for us to achieve our aspiration of becoming a Dairy Masterbrand where we will be providing the Filipino consumer the full range of dairy products from ice cream, milk, yogurt, cheese, butter and other milk derivative products that is 100 percent fresh and 100 percent local, said MPAV president and chief executive Juan Victor Hernandez. The completion of the acquisition is subject to various conditions, which include regulatory consents and other customary closing conditions. The How Family, founders of UHDFI in 2015, will work with MPAV in ensuring a smooth transition of operations. We are proud of what weve built with Bukidnon Milk Company. Since breaking ground in 2015, we have created thousands of jobs and raised the economic benefit in our value chain. We have narrowed the technology gap with our Asian and Western counterparts, pushing the boundaries of dairy innovation in the Philippines, said Dr. Milagros Ong-How, founder of UHDFI and representative of the How Family. UHDFI is a testament to Filipino ingenuity, perseverance, and the power of agriculture to transform lives. We believe that MPAV is the right partner to take our vision to the next level. This partnership will not only expand our reach but also enhance the quality and range of dairy products available to Filipino consumers. We look forward to contributing to the continued growth and success of the dairy industry in the Philippines, said How. Cebu Pacific (CEB) is set to launch direct flights from Manila to Chiang Mai this October, with its signature Piso Sale, allowing Filipino travelers to explore the mountainous region of northern Thailand. Starting October 29, 2024, the airline will operate weekly flights from Manila to Chiang Mai on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and from Chiang Mai to Manila on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. - Advertisement - Travelers can book flights from Manila to Chiang Mai for as low as P1 one-way base fare, exclusive of fees and surcharges, from August 1 to 6, 2024, for the travel period between October 29, 2024 and March 30, 2025. Manila Chiang Mai will be the fourth route that CEB will operate in Thailand. The airline also flies from Manila and Cebu to Bangkok, with the option to fly to Suvarnabhumi Airport or Don Mueang International Airport. We share the anticipation of many Filipino travelers as we prepare to launch the only direct flights between Manila and Chiang Mai. This new route will provide our passengers the opportunity to explore Thailand beyond its urban attractions. Chiang Mais natural heritage, ancient temples, and laid-back atmosphere promise a tranquil escape for every Juan, said Xander Lao, CEB President and Chief Commercial Officer. With flights to Chiang Mai made more accessible and affordable, Filipino travelers may now embark on scenic trails in Doi Inthanon National Park, enjoy a leisurely stroll in Mae Rim District, or visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep one of the most venerated temples in Chiang Mai. Passengers may use their existing Travel Funds to book flights and avail themselves of other add-ons. CEB also offers other payment options, including credit or debit cards and e-wallets. CEB currently offers flights to 35 domestic and 26 international destinations spread across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Seoul, South KoreaLeaders of a South Korean union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics staged a protest Thursday outside the house of the companys chairman and heir, after fresh negotiations failed. Thousands of union members stopped working on July 8 for what was initially meant to be a three-day strike, part of a long-running battle over pay and benefits. The union subsequently extended the work stoppage indefinitely. - Advertisement - It is unclear exactly how many workers have downed tools, and Samsung has said the action is not affecting production, posting record growth and profits earlier this week for the second quarter. If a delay occurs in semiconductor processing, the effects wont be immediate. It takes weeks or months, Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), told Agence France Presse (AFP). The union engaged in eleventh-hour talks with management for three days, until Wednesday, but has failed to reach an agreement. Union executives gathered on Thursday outside Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yongs house, holding pickets that read Samsung Electronics strike, Lee Jae-yong should be accountable. Another displayed a picture of Lee holding a finger to his mouth with the caption, Shh! Labour union, whats that? Samsung strike, whats that? A handful of police were deployed at the premises and the protest was interrupted by the police warning the union they were not allowed to chant. In the 25 days since the strike began, all Lee has done is attend the wedding of the son of Asias richest man and give out Samsung phones to Olympic athletes that are worth over 30 billion won ($22 million), union member Kim Jae-won told reporters. Lee was a guest at the wedding of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambanis youngest son Anant in July. Last week he attended a banquet co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the Louvre Museum. The union claimed that the company was trying to break the strike with illegal means, including creating a blacklist of strike participants. We will publicize all of this, Son Woo-mok, head of NSEU, told AFP. Labor suppression, unfair labor practices, industrial accidents, the list continues. Samsung said Wednesday it was communicating and discussing to ensure that this labor union strike ends early, adding there was no problem with responding to our customer volume. The first labor union at Samsung Electronics was formed in the late 2010s. The National Samsung Electronics Union, which has around 36,000 members, or nearly a quarter of the companys total workforce, claims labor organizing remains taboo at the company. Two years ago, the union staged a demonstration in front of Lees residence, successfully securing three additional holidays. In 2020, former Samsung employees faced criticism for their unorthodox protest methods, which included grilling pork belly, drinking soju, and strumming guitars outside Lees home. Members of Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. (PPFPI) has lauded the joint initiative of Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release an African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine by the third quarter of 2024. PPFPI chairperson and AGAP Partylist Representative Nikki Briones hailed the development as a significant step forward for hog raisers who have suffered substantial losses due to the persistent ASF outbreak. Briones made the statement during a press conference on Thursday. - Advertisement - The move was a great help for our sector, especially that the vaccines will be given free. Its a ray of hope for us, Briones told reporters. He said hog raisers will surely benefit from this, as 600,000 swine will inoculated for free, utilizing the P350 million budget for the inoculation process. However, Briones said consumers should brace for the possible uptick of pork meat prices if the free ASF vaccines are depleted. This means hog raisers will shoulder at least P550 to P600 per dose of vaccine for their swine, an added operational cost for them. So, prices of pork meat might rise in the coming months. But this can be averted if the government will add the budget to procure free vaccines, according to Briones. Briones, on the other hand, asked the government to also roll out vaccines for Bird Flu which has been hurting poultry owners in the country. If we can at least prevent these viruses from affecting the hog and poultry industry, then prices of these commodities will eventually go down benefiting the consumers, Briones maintained. Out of the Departments target of 600,000 doses, around 150,000 doses of A-VAC ASF Live are expected to arrive in the Philippines by the third quarter of 2024. On its official website, the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine is developed by the AVAC Viet Nam., JSC and is described as a freeze-dried, attenuated vaccine that is cultivated on the DMAC [Dieps Macrophage cell] cell line. The said vaccine is intended for pigs that are four weeks old and above with a recommended single-dose administration and a protective immunity period of at least five months. The rollout will be strictly voluntary and will prioritize eligible commercial farms, semi-commercial enterprises, and clustered backyard farmsmost likely in the Red and Pink Zonesunder the strict supervision of the DA-Bureau of Animal Industry. Under the DA Administrative Circular No. 2, series of 2022, the Amended National ASF Zoning and Movement Plan defines Red Zones as municipalities or cities with confirmed ASF cases that spread to other barangays in the same municipality or city within 15 days, while Pink Zones include the Metro Manila as well as cities and municipalities where ASF is not detected but demarcated immediately around the Red Zone. Head of Sudans army and Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, escaped an assassination attempt on Wednesday July 31 in eastern Sudan. According to an army statement, two drones carried out an attack on a military base in Red Sea state, where General al-Burhan was taking part in a graduation ceremony. The army estimates that five people were killed and several wounded, but General al-Burhan survived. He reappeared a little later to assert that drones dont scare the army. We will continue the war as long as the enemy is in the homes of civilians and as long as they surround the cities. We will not surrender, we will not negotiate and we are not afraid of drones, he declared. The drone attack took place during a graduation ceremony at the Gibet military base, some 100 km from Port Sudan, the countrys administrative capital since the start of the war in Khartoum on April 15, 2023. The war pits the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, formerly allied to the army and led by Mohamed Hamdane Daglo. Sudanese television, which was broadcasting the graduation event live, interrupted its transmission for around fifteen minutes. According to witnesses, General al-Burhan left the ceremony after the attack. A video later showed him in the towns hospital, surrounded by Sudanese chanting slogans in his support. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. On Wednesday, RSF legal adviser Mohamed al-Mukhtar told Reuters the attack was the result of internal disagreements between Islamists. Further details on the claim were not immediately available. In a historic ruling, Guineas former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and seven other military commanders have been found guilty of crimes against humanity for their role in the 2009 stadium massacre. The verdict, delivered in Conakry, marks a significant milestone in the countrys pursuit of justice and accountability. The court sentenced Camara and his former police chief to 20 years in prison for ordering a brutal crackdown on unarmed protesters. The incident, which occurred at the Stade du 28 Septembre, resulted in at least 150 deaths and numerous rapes when soldiers opened fire on demonstrators opposing Camaras presidential bid. This trial, described as symbolic by lawyers representing survivors, signals a potential shift away from a culture of impunity in Guinea. However, the path to justice has been fraught with challenges, including prison breaks and multiple trial adjournments. The verdict extends beyond Camara, with varying sentences handed down to other defendants. Notably, Aboubacar Toumba Diakite, who famously shot Camara in 2009, received a 10-year sentence. While the trial has been hailed as a crucial step towards justice, concerns remain. Compensation for survivors is yet to be determined, and recent arrests of activists have raised questions about the current military administrations commitment to human rights. As Guinea grapples with its turbulent past, this verdict serves as a powerful reminder of the potential for accountability. It sends a clear message that even those in the highest positions of power can be held responsible for their actions, potentially paving the way for similar efforts across the region. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Nearly nine months' worth of joint replacement surgery has been missed in the UKaround 160,000 operationssince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study led by the University of Bristol has found. The research suggests that returning to pre-pandemic levels will not tackle the backlog, and even with rapid expansion, it will take many years, if not decades, to fix this joint replacement crisis. The study, published in The Bone & Joint Journal today, looked in detail at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the numbers of joint (hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle) replacement surgery carried out in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The researchers analyzed National Joint Registry (NJR) data between January 2019 and December 2022 inclusive, which includes all NHS and privately-funded hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle replacement operations. The study compared the period including and after the pandemic (2020 to 2022 inclusive) to how many operations would have been performed had surgery continued at the same level as 2019. The research team found that by the end of 2022, almost three-quarters of a year of planned operations71.6% of 2019 activity and 158,994 joint replacementshad been lost. This gap continues to increase and therefore the recovery from this deficit does not appear to have started. Knee, shoulder, and ankle surgery has been affected more severely than hip and elbow surgery. The NHS has been more impacted than the private sector. By 2022, NHS activity was still only 73.2% of 2019 levels, whereas operations in the private sector had increased to 126.8% of 2019 levels. The private sector is now the main provider of joint replacements (53% in 2022) in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Wales and Northern Ireland have been worse affected than England. Both countries recorded a backlog of more than a year's worth of operations between 2020-2022; 136% in 2019 for Wales and 121.3% for Northern Ireland, whereas the deficit in England was 66.7%. Jonathan French, Clinical Research Fellow at the Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Science (THS), and corresponding author, said, "Patients awaiting different types of joint replacement surgery in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have been affected disproportionately, and recovery to pre-pandemic levels will be challenging. This will inevitably lead to many patients enduring unnecessary pain, disability and wider decline in mental and physical well-being." Michael Whitehouse, Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedics at the Bristol Medical School: THS, and senior clinical lead for the paper, explained, "If capacity was immediately expanded by five percent on top of 2019 levels, it would take until 2040 to address the backlog. An immediate ten percent expansion, if possible, would still take until 2031 to catch up. This represents a severe challenge that is currently underestimated in planning and provision that requires prioritization to mitigate the impact of debilitating joint related conditions on patients." Tim Wilton, Medical Director of the NJR, added, "The value of the volume data held by the NJR is that we can glean an accurate insight into the longer-term impact of COVID on the supply and demand and provision of surgical orthopedic services. There is a clear need to plan and adjust service volumes based on this insight and research, so that patient waiting list numbers start to reduce across the different joints. These data, being based against the volume of cases done in 2019, are likely to be an underestimate of the catching-up required as the volume of cases was growing every year before 2019 rather than being static." Joint replacement surgery is a common and very effective surgical procedure used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal problems including osteoarthritis and acute trauma. Joint replacements are long-lasting, with over half of hip and knee replacements lasting over 25 years, and 90% of shoulder replacements lasting over ten years. More information: An analysis of the effect of the COVID-19-induced joint replacement deficit in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland suggests recovery will be protracted an analysis of the National Joint Registry', The Bone & Joint Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1302/0301-620X.106B8.BJJ-2024-0036.R1 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Anna Tarazevich from Pexels People who've had a history of smoking can get a lung cancer spotted earlywhen it's most treatablethrough annual CT screening. Unfortunately, most Americans polled in a new survey didn't know this potentially lifesaving screen exists. "The survey shows that we have a significant amount of work to do in increasing awareness about lung cancer screening," said Harold Wimmer. He's president and CEO of the American Lung Association (ALA), which conducted the 2024 Lung Health Barometer survey. Getting a tumor detected via an annual CT lung scan raises the odds of five-year survival from stage 1 to 4 lung cancer by 63%, according to the ALA. Under current American Cancer Society guidelines, yearly lung cancer screening with a low-dose CT scan is currently recommended for all people aged 50 to 80 who smoke or used to smoke, and who have at least a 20 pack-year history of smoking (meaning a pack of cigarettes smoked per day for 20 years). The new ALA survey canvassed 4,000 people across the United States about their knowledge of lung health and lung cancer. Only 38% of respondents knew that CT scans were now an available screening option for folks at high risk for lung cancer. Still, even that number is an increase from prior years, Wimmer noted. "Compared to our 2022 Lung Health Barometer, we saw a 27% increase in awareness of lung cancer screening," he said in an ALA news release. In other findings: Only about a quarter (28%) of respondents knew that lung cancer is still America's leading cancer killer. Only 10% thought it was a cancer likely to affect women (women are often affected). Most (73%) of respondents had never spoken to their doctor about their risk of lung cancer, and only 42% were concerned they might get the disease. According to the ACS, about one in every five lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked. Seven out of 10 of those surveyed were hopeful that lung cancer treatments and outcomes have improved over the past decade. However, only 15% were aware that survival has increased dramaticallyby over 50% in the past 10 years. "The American Lung Association's new survey provides a critical look at public awareness and attitudes regarding lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.," Wimmer said. More information: Find out more about lung cancer screening guidelines from another respected group, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Copyright 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers are looking to nature for inspiration on how to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening condition affecting thousands every year. In 2014, Professor Kai Zacharowski, Director of the Clinic for Anesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy at the Goethe University Hospital of Frankfurt, Germany, was treating a particularly complicated case of Ebola in a patient with acute respiratory distress. As the man's condition worsened, Zacharowski reached for a new experimental druga molecule naturally occurring in the human body (FX06)that he hoped could stabilize the patient. The intervention worked. An outcome that was both professionally inspiring and personally fulfilling. "We were able to save the life of a human, a father and a colleague," said Zacharowski. Pandemic connection This experience came to Zacharowski's mind several years later when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. His department at the hospital was responsible for treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients in the Hesse region of Germany. A large-scale multi-country research effort was formed to try to understand how this treatment could be used to prevent COVID infection progressing to its severest and most life-threatening form: acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The COVend project, led by Zacharowski, began in the midst of the pandemic in November 2021. Researchers set out to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and systems biology to better understand how FX06 works in individual patients and determine its therapeutic value as an effective drug, with no known side-effects, for use in the fight against COVID-19. "We are optimistic that our research will provide unprecedented insights into ARDS," said Zacharowski. Wider reach The research team's mission didn't stop there, however. Although COVID-19 drew attention to this very frightening condition, it can be triggered by a variety of factors, including bacterial or viral infection, sepsis, trauma, surgery or blood transfusions. It can also be caused by inhalation of toxic fumes or liquid. Currently, no effective therapy exists for ARDS and it is a difficult condition for intensive care wards to manage. The COVend researchers estimate that there are between 30,000 and 120,000 cases of ARDS in the EU every year, and that it accounts for around 10% of all intensive care admissions. It also has a very high in-hospital mortality rate of up to 45%. Acute respiratory distress occurs when fluid builds up in the air sacs (alveoli) of a patient's lungs, preventing them from filling properly with air and stopping oxygen getting into the body, often with fatal consequences. Patients who survive often suffer permanent scarring to their lungs. "ARDS is a devastating condition that not only has a high mortality rate, but also results in a long recovery for many survivors," said Zacharowski. Natural protection FX06 is a protein fragment naturally present in the human body which binds to the cells lining the blood vessels, helping to protect them. The drug can potentially reduce the mechanical cause of ARDSwhen fluid from very small blood vessels leaks into surrounding tissue, including the alveoli. The COVend research team have successfully put together the first clinical trial for the use of FX06 in mild and moderate ARDS cases. They are currently recruiting around 260 patients in France, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Spain. Results are expected sometime in early to mid-2026. The aim is to identify which patients will benefit most from being treated with FX06. To do this, the COVend team are profiling hundreds of molecules in patients' blood and using AI to study their role in disease progression. "This is a fascinating molecule because it can be used in so many ways," says Dr. Petra Wulfroth, COVend innovation officer and chief scientific officer at F4 Pharma, an Austrian biopharmaceutical company that is a partner in the project. The research carried out could also prove useful for possible future pandemics as the treatment is directed at a condition that could be set off by a range of different pathogens. "My dream would be to see this molecule used in intensive care whenever the permeability of small blood vessels is increaseda potentially life-threatening situation." Breathing like a birdor fish Currently, in the absence of an effective pharmaceutical intervention, ARDS patients are often given oxygen or placed on a ventilator to assist their breathing. In severe cases, their blood can be oxygenated outside their body using a technique known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). These treatments can, however, have severe side-effects on the patient. With ECMO there is a risk of infection or clotting, while prolonged use of a ventilator can damage lung tissue. Professor Margit Gfohler, who teaches biomechanics and rehabilitation engineering at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) in Austria, is leading a project called BioMembrOS that will run for three and a half years until mid-2027. Together with her colleague at TU Wien, Michael Harasek, a specialist in chemical engineering and membrane science, they are coordinating an international research effort to develop an alternative respiratory assistance device inspired by the natural, and highly efficient, breathing mechanisms of fish and birds. "We need completely different approaches if we want to develop new devices for respiratory support that don't have the problems we see with current options," she said. When we breathe, oxygen moves from the lungs to the bloodstream through the alveoli and a network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. At the same time, carbon dioxide passes from the blood to the lungs so that it can be expelled from the body when air is exhaled. This process is known as gas exchangeand it is severely compromised in ARDS when the alveoli are flooded. Gas exchange allows the body to replenish oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide, both of which are necessary for survival. Novel membrane The BioMebrOS team, which brings together researchers from Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and South Africa, are working on developing a novel membrane structure based on the structural design of birds' lungs, which exchange gas more efficiently than those of mammals. They will also incorporate certain aspects of fish gill respiration, namely their surface contact with fluids. The idea is to create a device with a membrane that both removes carbon dioxide from the patient's blood as it passes through and infuses it with oxygen. "Nature has bioengineered the most efficient solutions to life's challenges," said Gfohler. "By adopting the structural and functional characteristics of the most evolved gas exchangers, we will create a radically improved technology." The first goal of the BioMembrOS researchers is to develop a small, testable prototype of this membrane structure and test its efficiency in in-vitro blood tests. "The overall goal for the future would be to make it so efficient and small that we could implant it in the patient," said Gfohler, who hopes that devices incorporating their membranes will be available for patients within the next decade. COVID-19 may have helped to draw public attention to the significant suffering caused by ARDS, but the challenge is far wider. ARDS is seen in huge numbers of patients worldwideand respiratory diseases are the third largest cause of death in the EU. Whether through research into new molecular drugs or improving the way we build medical ventilators, more research is needed to reduce the distress caused to patients around the world. Nature may prove to be an important ally. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain In 2021, the World Health Organization declared climate change the greatest global health threat to humankind in the 21st century. The hotter-than-usual temperatures felt around the world have had severe impacts on our health. Some effects of climate change are more visible, like more heat strokes, asthma, pneumonia and severe allergies. Others are less obvious, such as Lyme disease, mental health issues, and sexual and reproductive health problems. Direct impacts: Respiratory illnesses and heart disease The health of our planet is closely intertwined with our own health. In some ways, it's easy to connect the dots between climate change and its negative impacts on our health. During recent unprecedented heat waves, for example, hospitals experienced higher rates of hospitalization and emergency room visits from patients seeking treatment for infectious diseases, heat stroke, pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. Dr. Anna Gunz is a professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and a pediatric intensive care physician at Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Center. Throughout her career, she has witnessed the devastating effects extreme heat events can have on patients. Increasing awareness about the effects of weather events due to our warming planet is key to prevention. Gunz, an associate professor in the department of pediatrics and president of the Pediatric Environmental Health Committee for the Canadian Pediatric Society, emphasizes the need for health education on specific issues. For instance, extreme heat can affect medications like heart drugs, blood thinners, blood pressure medications and mental health prescriptions. These medications must be stored in cool conditions, and high temperatures can compromise their effectiveness, risking the health of those who depend on them. Gunz suggests updating health systems and policies to better protect vulnerable groups like children and seniors from poor air quality or extreme heat. This includes proactively identifying medications that can be affected by heat and finding alternatives. Health-care providers should also connect with community organizations for additional support and check-ins. Additionally, housing should be evaluated for features like open windows, shaded green spaces, water reserves and supportive neighbors. Schools and community organizations should implement heat day policies to determine if it's safe for children to play outside for extended periods. Indirect impacts: Vector-borne diseases and social issues For Lesley Gittings, professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, it's important to also consider the social issues as they relate to health problems exacerbated by our warming planet. "There are all these different threats that can directly affect the individual. Then, there are these context modifiers such as food insecurity, safety and violence, that can impact mental health and physical health," said Gittings, a community-engaged health equity researcher. In addition to her research on the social and environmental determinants of youth health, Gittings teaches an undergraduate course entitled Climate Change and Health (HS3650), as well as a master's course, Environment, Health and Sustainability as part of Western's new Health Equity and Sustainability Master's Field in Advanced Health Care Practice. She explained that extreme weather events, high and low temperature extremes and changing precipitation patternswhich can also lead to droughts, floods and wildfirescan cause a myriad of health issues. For example, since 2009, there has been a steady increase in cases of Lyme disease due to a surge in ticks that thrive in warmer temperatures. Climate events can also impede people's ability to access health care, shelter and nutrition and can cause indirect impacts on mental healthwhere people may experience intense emotions from witnessing the effects. "The environment is a determinant of health," said Gittings. "It is so obvious, yet there aren't enough explicit spaces to look at those relationships. If you're not being explicit about what you're looking for, you're not going to be able to see it. You're not able to treat it. You're not able to document it." In addition to vector-borne diseases, there are water-borne illnesses such as diarrheal diseases. There are also knock-on effects in relation to sexual and reproductive health. For instance, droughts might change the location of where water can be collected, so an individual person may have to take a different, riskier route or walk a longer distance to collect water, which may make them more vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. Other examples of indirect impacts include changes to food production, displacement and forced migration resulting in malnutrition, conflicts over resources and impact on one's overall well-being. "Understanding the health effects of climate change is just the first step," said Gittings. "To truly address both the direct and indirect impacts, we must also address environmental injustice." Gittings noted the impacts can vary in severity when applying geographical aspects, physical vulnerabilities and social vulnerabilities. Being able to tailor the support for each demographic and applying a holistic approach is key. "I think climate change shows those cracks in our social system" Gittings said. "We need to have a lens to environmental justice, power and equity when we're looking at health issues. So, to me, addressing a social issue is also addressing a health issue and a climate change-related health issue." Planetary health is synonymous with our health Currently, Gunz and Gittings are working together on the Land-Based Healing | Nature for Healing program at Children's Hospital at LHSC to encourage integrating nature-based solutions into health care and nurturing a stronger relationship between health and the environment. Some of these solutions include implementing nature prescriptions and encouraging people to spend time in indoor and outdoor spaces that have elements of nature. Gunz is also the founding medical director of the Ontario Children's Environmental Health Clinic at Children's Hospital at LHSC. She is conducting research to further illustrate the impacts of high temperatures and wildfire air quality on people's health. In one study, Gunz looked at infectious and respiratory cases and found illnesses related to these exponentially increased around 33 degrees Celsius with hospitalizations appearing following an average of a seven-day delay after the heat events. There are also additional studies looking at air quality and its associations with different health outcomes. "Our health cannot be separated from the health of our environment or the health of our societies," said Gittings. "Healing our health means healing our societies and healing our environment." This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When Bristeria Clark went into labor with her son in 2015, her contractions were steady at first. Then, they stalled. Her cervix stopped dilating. After a few hours, doctors at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia, prepped Clark for an emergency cesarean section. It wasn't the vaginal birth Clark had hoped for during her pregnancy. "I was freaking out. That was my first child. Like, of course you don't plan that," she said. "I just remember the gas pulling up to my face and I ended up going to sleep." She remembered feeling a rush of relief when she woke to see that her baby boy was healthy. Clark, a 33-year-old nursing student who also works full-time in county government, had another C-section when her second child was born in 2020. This time, the cesarean was planned. Clark said she's grateful the physicians and nurses who delivered both her babies were kind and caring during her labor and delivery. But looking back, she said, she wishes she had had a doula for one-on-one support through pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Now she wants to give other women the option she didn't have. Clark is a member of Morehouse School of Medicine's first class of rural doulas, called Perinatal Patient Navigators. The program recently graduated a dozen participants, all Black women from southwestern Georgia. They have completed more than five months of training and are scheduled to begin working with pregnant and postpartum patients this year. "We're developing a workforce that's going to be providing the support that Black women and birthing people need," Natalie Hernandez-Green, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Morehouse School of Medicine, said at the doula commencement ceremony in Albany, Georgia. Albany is Morehouse School of Medicine's second Perinatal Patient Navigator program site. The first has been up and running in Atlanta since training began in the fall of 2022. Georgia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the country, according to an analysis by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. And Black Georgians are more than twice as likely as white Georgians to die of causes related to pregnancy. "It doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor. Black women are dying at [an] alarming rate from pregnancy-related complications," said Hernandez-Green, who is also executive director of the Center for Maternal Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine. "And we're about to change that one person at a time." The presence of a doula, along with regular nursing care, is associated with improved labor and delivery outcomes, reduced stress, and higher rates of patient satisfaction, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Multiple studies also link doulas to fewer expensive childbirth interventions, including cesarean births. Doulas are not medical professionals. They are trained to offer education about the pregnancy and postpartum periods, to guide patients through the health care system, and to provide emotional and physical support before, during, and after childbirth. Morehouse School of Medicine's program is among a growing number of similar efforts being introduced across the country as more communities look to doulas to help address maternal mortality and poor maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black women and other women of color. Now that she has graduated, Clark said she's looking forward to helping other women in her community as a doula. "To be that person that would be there for my clients, treat them like a sister or like a mother, in a sense of just treating them with the utmost respect," she said. "The ultimate goal is to make them feel comfortable and let them know "I'm here to support you.'" Her training has inspired her to become an advocate for maternal health issues in southwestern Georgia. Grants fund Morehouse School of Medicine's doula program, which costs $350,000 a year to operate. Graduates are given a $2,000 training stipend and the program places five graduates with health care providers in southwestern Georgia. Grant money also pays the doulas' salaries for one year. "It's not sustainable if you're chasing the next grant to fund it," said Rachel Hardeman, a professor of health and racial equity at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Thirteen states cover doulas through Medicaid, according to the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Hardeman and others have found that when Medicaid programs cover doula care, states save millions of dollars in health care costs. "We were able to calculate the return on investment if Medicaid decided to reimburse doulas for pregnant people who are Medicaid beneficiaries," she said. That's because doulas can help reduce the number of expensive medical interventions during and after birth, and improve delivery outcomes, including reduced cesarean sections. Doulas can even reduce the likelihood of preterm birth. "An infant that is born at a very, very early gestational age is going to require a great deal of resources and interventions to ensure that they survive and then continue to thrive," Hardeman said. There is growing demand for doula services in Georgia, said Fowzio Jama, director of research for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. Her group recently completed a pilot study that offered doula services to about 170 Georgians covered under Medicaid. "We had a waitlist of over 200 clients and we wanted to give them the support that they needed, but we just couldn't with the given resources that we had," Jama said. Doula services can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars out-of-pocket, making it too expensive for many low-income people, rural communities, and communities of color, many of which suffer from shortages in maternity care, according to the March of Dimes. The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies study found that matching high-risk patients with doulasparticularly doulas from similar racial and ethnic backgroundshad a positive effect on patients. "There was a reduced use of pitocin to induce labor. We saw fewer requests for pain medication. And with our infants, only 6% were low birth weight," Jama said. Still, she and others acknowledge that doulas alone can't fix the problem of high maternal mortality and morbidity rates. States, including Georgia, need to do more to bring comprehensive maternity care to communities that need more options, Hardeman said. "I think it's important to understand that doulas are not going to save us, and we should not put that expectation on them. Doulas are a tool," she said. "They are a piece of the puzzle that is helping to impact a really, really complex issue." In the meantime, Joan Anderson, 55, said she's excited to get to work supporting patients, especially from rural areas around Albany. "I feel like I'm equipped to go out and be that voice, be that person that our community needs so bad," said Anderson, a graduate of the Morehouse School of Medicine doula program. "I am encouraged to know that I will be joining in that mission, that fight for us, as far as maternal health is concerned." Anderson said that someday she wants to open a birthing center to provide maternity care. "We do not have one here in southwest Georgia at all," Anderson said. In addition to providing support during and after childbirth, Anderson and her fellow graduates are trained to assess their patients' needs and connect them to services such as food assistance, mental health care, transportation to prenatal appointments, and breastfeeding assistance. Their work is likely to have ripple effects across a largely rural corner of Georgia, said Sherrell Byrd, who co-founded and directs SOWEGA Rising, a nonprofit organization in southwestern Georgia. "So many of the graduates are part of church networks, they are part of community organizations, some of them are our government workers. They're very connected," Byrd said. "And I think that connectedness is what's going to help them be successful moving forward." 2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Australian national data show First Nations women face almost twice the risk of stillbirth or "sorry business babies" compared to non-First Nations women. To address this inequity, Australia's national stillbirth action plan focuses on ensuring culturally safe stillbirth prevention and care for First Nations women. But first, we must understand the underlying reasons for the ongoing disparities in stillbirth rates and other pregnancy-related outcomes. We argue much of the inequity can be linked to the ongoing impact of colonization on First Nations women and birthing. Here's why. Ongoing intergenerational trauma First Nations people have lived in Australia for at least 65,000 years. Prior to European invasion and settlement in 1788, more than 2,000 generations of First Nations people lived in connection to family, community, Country and their ancestors. Colonization saw First Nations women stripped of their traditional pregnancy and birthing practices, including use of medicinal plants, techniques for active labor and pain control, and songs for labor. From the mid-1800s to the 1970s, First Nations babies and children were forcibly removed from their communities and placed with non-First Nations families. Loss of land, violence and abuse, medical experimentation, cultural suppression and other systemic injustices have led to widespread intergenerational trauma that contributes to poorer health outcomes today. Intergenerational trauma described in four minutes. Credit: The Healing Foundation Maternity services aren't designed for First Nations women Historical violence and exclusion have led to an intergenerational distrust of colonial systems, services and spaces among First Nations people. First Nations people have been expected to adapt to a Western health service, rather than these services adapting to First Nations people's ways of knowing, being and doing. There is also a shortage of First Nations health-care workers. This further limits First Nations people's access to culturally responsive care. Recognition of the importance of Birthing on Country has led to services like Waminda and Birthing In Our Community. But there aren't enough of these services for all First Nations women. And barriers to setting up the services persist. Resources aren't designed for First Nations women Pregnancy information resources have historically been designed for a colonial audience. These resources do not speak to First Nations women and have rarely been developed by and with First Nations people. More contemporary initiatives have better engaged First Nations people in, or have them lead, resource development. The Center of Research Excellence in Stillbirth's Indigenous Advisory Group recently led the development of the Stronger Bubba Born pregnancy information website and resources for First Nations women. The information is the same as that given to non-First Nations women, as part of the Safer Baby Bundle, but it has been culturally adapted for its target audience. Stronger Bubba Born introductory video. Credit: The Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence Racism and discrimination in maternity services While some First Nations women face overt racism in maternity services, many more are discriminated against through implicit biases. This is where care providers' unconsciously held beliefs about First Nations people influence their judgments of and interactions with pregnant First Nations women. Active stereotypes that are commonly applied to pregnant First Nations women include assuming drug and alcohol use and a perceived unsuitability for motherhood. This stems from the historical marginalization of First Nations people. But implicit bias isn't the only source. Institutional racism also contributes to worse health outcomes among First Nations women. It occurs because of embedded structures or policies that perpetuate racial disparities, and it often goes unnoticed by non-First Nations midwives. Institutional racism plays out in various ways, including restrictions on the numbers of family/support people able to visit. All of this leads to power imbalances and First Nations women being less likely to attend antenatal appointments. Providers don't understand First Nations health The Australian First Nations view of health differs from the Western view. Connection to family, Country and community defines First Nations people's health, rather than illness, disease, and notions of "risk." Physical, spiritual, cultural, social, emotional and mental health are interconnected, and land is a source of strength, identity and healing. These concepts form the foundation of Birthing on Country and underscore the importance of self-determination in providing culturally responsive maternity care. Yet maternity care providers have limited knowledge of First Nations women's cultural needs and little education and training on this. Where to from here? To eliminate racial disparities in stillbirth rates in Australia, our health system and broader society need to recognize the effects of colonization and the structural forces that continue to influence First Nations people's health. This requires acknowledging and sitting in discomfort with Australia's history. The Healthy Yarning Guide is a workshop based on two-way learning and yarning for non-First Nations maternity care providers and maternity service administrations. The workshop aims to empower people to sensitively discuss stillbirth prevention with First Nations women. Participants learn about Australia's history and the effects of colonization in First Nations women and birthing, as well as what culturally responsive care looks like for First Nations families. We have a long way to go in ensuring First Nations women and families receive high-quality, culturally responsive maternity care. But formal education within maternity services is a crucial place to start. (In this article, we use the term "First Nations" to refer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. We acknowledge there is variation in preferences for the terms "First Nations," "Indigenous" and "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.") This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain After scrolling social media, you might be tempted to ditch your typical oral care regimen in favor of melted coconut oil, or other similar oils, for a practice known as oil pulling. A method of traditional Ayurvedic medicine native to India, oil pulling involves swishing oil in your mouth for about 1015 minutes before spitting it out, and proponents of the process have touted various oral health benefits. Y. Natalie Jeong, professor and chair of the Department of Periodontology at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, explains the claims and what really needs to be done to take care of your teeth and gums. Are there benefits to oil pulling for oral health? Supporters of oil pulling believe it cleanses the mouth naturally without chemicals, enhancing dental hygiene. Additionally, some claims suggest it detoxifies the body, improves skin health, and alleviates symptoms of migraines and allergies. Is there evidence to support these benefits? Currently, there is no robust scientific evidence to confirm that oil pulling effectively reduces cavities, whitens teeth, or improves overall oral health. This doesn't necessarily mean it is ineffective; rather, it indicates that its efficacy has not been scientifically established through sufficient, well-designed research. Challenges such as small sample sizes, lack of control groups, and uncontrolled variables contribute to this lack of definitive evidence. Consequently, the American Dental Association does not endorse oil pulling as a dental hygiene practice. While oil pulling might help remove loose debris around the gums and teeth through its swishing action, it is less effective than brushing and flossing. Once a biofilm or plaque has formed, oil pulling is no more effective than rinsing with water, as it cannot disrupt plaque like mechanical methods such as brushing or flossing can Can oil pulling be harmful to your oral health? Oil pulling is generally considered safe and unlikely to cause harm directly. However, there is a risk if individuals become overly reliant on its perceived benefits and neglect established oral hygiene practices, such as brushing, flossing, and avoiding smoking. Completely substituting traditional dental care with oil pulling can pose significant risks to oral health. Additionally, accidentally swallowing large amounts of oil during the process could lead to digestive issues like an upset stomach or diarrhea. What do you tell your own patients about oil pulling? I generally do not recommend oil pulling as there is no solid scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness. There are other, more effective methods proven to enhance oral health, such as: Brushing your teeth: Brushing after meals helps remove food debris and plaque trapped between your teeth and gums. Remember to brush your tongue as well, as bacteria can thrive there. Flossing: Flossing at least once a day helps remove food particles and plaque from between the teeth and along the gum line where your toothbrush can't reach. While I wouldn't discourage those who want to from using oil pulling as a pre-brushing rinse, it's important to follow it with brushing and flossing. Adding oil pulling to your routine is unlikely to cause harm, but it should not be expected to provide significant benefits. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A new model to predict the risk of serious complications after shoulder replacement surgery has been developed in a collaboration between researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Bristol, and University of Copenhagen. The model could be an important tool to help both patients and doctors make more informed decisions about this common procedure. Shoulder replacements are becoming increasingly common, with some countries seeing a 17-fold increase in surgeries over the past decade. However, serious adverse events including medical complications requiring admission to hospital can occur in over 5% of patients. The new study, published in The Lancet Rheumatology provides patients with personalized estimates of their risk. "Despite seeing a year-on-year rise of serious adverse events after shoulder replacement surgery, there is as yet no prediction model in widespread use to provide patients with personalized estimates of their expected risk," explained Epaminondas Markos Valsamis, lead author of the new paper. "Patients, caregivers and clinicians have previously identified the importance of being able to make accurate predictions of patients' outcomes to make well-informed decisions." In collaboration with researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Bristol, the Oxford team used data from the National Joint Registry and NHS Hospital Episode Statistics in England to develop their risk prediction model. They analyzed information from over 40,000 shoulder replacement patients, looking at factors such as age and medical conditions. The research team then externally validated the model on patient data from 6,600 shoulder replacements in Denmark, demonstrating that it performs consistently well and can be applied broadly, beyond just the original English population. "We found it was accurate and performed well both in England and Denmark and demonstrated that it has 'clinical utility,' meaning it is beneficial to use in clinical practice," said Markos. The resulting model was able to take inputs such as age, sex, and whether a patient has certain medical conditions, and accurately predict their risk of experiencing a serious adverse event, such as chest infections, heart attacks, and strokes, requiring hospitalization within 90 days of their surgery. "Patients need to have realistic expectations about their surgery, and this model helps bridge gaps in their understanding," said Gillian Coward, National Joint Registry Patient Representative. "Armed with their personalized risk information, patients can work closely with their surgeon to decide on the best course of action for their individual circumstances." "As complications from shoulder replacement can significantly impact a patient's quality of life and recovery, as well as being a major cost driver for health care systems globally, patients, clinicians and health care systems all stand to benefit from this type of predictive tool," said Jeppe Vejlgaard Rasmussen, shoulder and elbow surgeon, University of Copenhagen. More information: Epaminondas Markos Valsamis et al, Risk of serious adverse events after primary shoulder replacement: development and external validation of a prediction model using linked national data from England and Denmark, The Lancet Rheumatology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00149-8 Journal information: The Lancet Rheumatology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain PSU (problematic smartphone use) describes a pattern of behaviors, thoughts and feelings linked to smartphones that resembles an addiction, such as feeling panicky or upset when the phone is unavailable, finding it difficult to control the amount of time spent on the phone, using it for longer without feeling satisfied, and using the phone to the detriment of other enjoyable or meaningful activities. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London conducted two studies at schools investigating the association between PSU and mental health in young people. One study was with young people aged 1618 years and the other was with 1316 year-olds. These studies are among the first to evaluate PSU and mental health outcomes in adolescents. Problematic smartphone use is linked to mental health Overall, 18.7% of 1618 year-olds and 14.5% of 13-16 year-olds self-reported PSU, with higher prevalence among girls. Findings published in Acta Paediatrica revealed 1618 year-olds who reported PSU were twice as likely to experience anxiety and almost three times as likely to experience depression compared to those who did not report PSU. Findings published in BMJ Mental Health revealed nearly half of 1316 year-olds with PSU reported symptoms of anxiety (44.4%) compared to 26.4% without PSU. Over half of 1316 year-olds with PSU reported symptoms of depression (55.6%) compared to 35.8% without PSU. This study also investigated if PSU was associated with mental health over time and showed increases in PSU scores over a four-week period were linked to increases in self-reported anxiety, depression and insomnia. In the first study, conducted from January 31st to 8th March 2020, 657 1618 year-olds completed assessments of PSU, anxiety, depression and insomnia. In the second, researchers measured PSU and changes in anxiety, depression and insomnia in 69 1316 year-olds over a four-week period in 2022. Many young people want to cut down time spent on smartphones Both studies also found that many young people wish to spend less time on their phones. Almost two-thirds of 1618 year-olds reported that they have tried to cut down on their smartphone use, and one in eight said they wanted help to reduce their use. Those with PSU were five times more likely to say they want help to cut down on their smartphone use compared to their peers without PSU. Similarly, nearly 90% of 1316 year-olds reported that they had attempted at least one strategy to limit their smartphone use, including putting it on silent or turning off notifications. The researchers say the findings reveal that adolescents are aware that their smartphone use needs to be managed and are receptive to the idea of boundaries around use. "Adolescent smartphone use is a huge concern for parents and caregivers. We found that problematic smartphone use was linked with anxiety, depression and insomnia across two separate adolescent age groups using two different research methods," says Professor Ben Carter. "By revealing the link between problematic use of smartphones and poorer mental health, and demonstrating that young people are aware of this problem and are eager to manage their use, these studies highlight the need for evidence-based interventions to help adolescents struggling with difficult behaviors around their smartphone use." Sixteen to 18 year-olds were recruited from five secondary schools across London, East-Midlands and South-West England; 1316 year-olds were recruited from two secondary schools in London. Distinction between smartphone use and screentime In the first study, researchers also found TikTok and Instagram usage was higher among 16-18-year-olds who reported PSU, compared to those who did not. There was little difference in usage of WhatsApp, general gaming or general internet usage. The study highlighted a distinction between PSU and screentime, described as the number of minutes spent on the smartphone rather than problematic behaviors surrounding its use. They found screentime was not associated with anxiety or depression in 1618 year-olds, although did directly link to increased insomnia. Strategies to reduce smartphone usage Further analyses, also published by the researchers in Acta Paediatrica, revealed that putting their smartphone on "do not disturb," turning off notifications, and leaving the smartphone in another room at bedtime were reported to be the most effective strategies for reducing PSU. In contrast, restricting access to specific apps, using a locked box during revision, and turning on grayscale were considered to be the least effective strategies. "The good news is that adolescents are reflective and insightful about their usethey understand that smartphones bring downsides as well as benefits. Many young people in our studies employed reduction strategies, showing they are already taking active steps to manage their smartphone use," says Dr. Nicola Kalk. "They found silent mode, removing notifications and placing the phone in another room at bedtime as the most effective. These are the same strategies which university students found helpful to reduce smartphone use. "We hope these findings encourage parents and caregivers to have a conversation with their adolescents about their smartphone use which acknowledges both benefits and harms, and allows them to explore reasons why their adolescent might want to reduce their use, as well as the most effective tools to do so." More information: Nicola J. Kalk et al, Problematic smartphone use: What can teenagers and parents do to reduce use?, Acta Paediatrica (2024). DOI: 10.1111/apa.17365 Ben Carter et al, 'There's more to life than staring at a small screen': a mixed methods cohort study of problematic smartphone use and the relationship to anxiety, depression and sleep in students aged 1316 years old in the UK, BMJ Mental Health (2024). DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301115 Ben Carter et al, A multischool study in England, to assess problematic smartphone usage and anxiety and depression, Acta Paediatrica (2024). DOI: 10.1111/apa.17317 Journal information: BMJ Mental Health , Acta Paediatrica 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: Progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population, category 1 patients. Credit: The Lancet (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00814-6 If metastases occur in the body, but the original tumor remains undetectable, this is referred to as "cancer of unknown primary" (CUP). But if information on the tissue of origin is missing, neither organ-specific chemotherapy nor targeted drugs are available. A large international study involving more than 630 patients from 34 countries shows how this phantom cancer can be treated. The results are published in The Lancet. The team led by Professor Dr. Alwin Kramer, examined cancer cells and genetic fragments in the blood of study participants for known cancer mutations for which there are already approved drugs available. The team found these in about a third of CUP patients within the trial. Treatment with the appropriate substance significantly extended the time in which the cancer did not progress and probably also overall survival. Dr. Kramer is Head of the Clinical Cooperation Unit "Molecular Hematology/Oncology" of the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Senior Physician at the Department of Hematology, Oncology and Rheumatology at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and head of the "Carcinoma of Unkown Primary (CUP)" task force at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg. The phase 2 trial "CUPISCO" is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03498521). Searching for properties of tumor cells against which suitable weapons already exist In up to 5% of cancers, no primary tumor can be detected, which massively limits the treatment options for the majority of those affected. Patients receive non-specific chemotherapy and thus only achieve an average survival time of less than one year. "There have been few new findings on CUP syndrome in recent decades," says Professor Kramer. "Studies have only shown that therapies based on molecular analyses to determine the tissue of origin are no more successful than standard chemotherapy. "We took a different, primary tumor-agnostic approach and looked for molecular characteristics of the tumor cellsmore precisely, the underlying gene mutationsthat have already proven to be effective targets in other types of cancer and for which targeted drugs are available. A total of 636 patients were included in the study at more than 150 participating clinics. All patients were newly diagnosed with unfavorable subtype CUP. Initially, all patients received three cycles of non-specific standard chemotherapy. The participants in whom the cancer was temporarily halted in this way were then randomly divided into two groups: 110 patients received a further three cycles of standard chemotherapy as a control group. Of the remaining 326 patients, those in whom the scientists found 1 of 12 selected target mutations were then given the appropriate drug. If none of the sought-after mutations were present, a so-called immune checkpoint inhibitor was given in addition to the chemotherapy, which does not have a targeted effect but stimulates the body's own cancer defenses. During the average two-year follow-up period, the study physicians examined how long the cancer did not progress under the respective therapy and when it resumed its growth. There were no differences in the severity of the side effects. About a third of patients benefited from targeted therapy "The comparison between the group with mutation-targeted therapy and the control group is particularly interesting from a medical point of view," says Prof. Kramer. The difference in the time until the cancer became active again was just under four months on averageeight months for targeted therapy and four months for standard therapy. "In some of the patients with targeted therapy, the cancer had not progressed any further even at the time of the final evaluation. It is therefore possible that the disease will remain under control in the longer term if there is a good response to the therapy," says Kramer. "Based on our results, I assume that around a third of patients could benefit from targeted therapy and gain additional months to years of disease-free survival. In patients with suitable genetic changes in the cancer cells, this treatment is clearly superior to standard therapy." The follow-up period of the study continues, so that definitive figures on overall survival will also be available in around a year's time. The CUPISCO study is not only the largest intervention study of its kind for cancer of unknown primary. In response to the complex patient recruitment process of the CUPISCO trial, the scientists centralized and published in 2022 the globally very heterogeneous diagnostic criteria for CUP syndrome into a new guideline for the diagnosis, differential diagnosis and treatment of this tumor entity. Also new is the proof that the genetic analysis of fragments of the tumor genetic material from blood samples is as reliable as corresponding examinations of tissue samples itself in patients with CUP. "This evidence is extremely important, as tumor biopsies often do not provide enough tissue material for all the necessary analyses, especially in CUP syndrome," says Kramer. "For targeted treatment, as we have now successfully carried out in our study, we are therefore dependent in many cases on liquid biopsy, i.e., tumor genetic analysis from the blood. In order to improve the care of CUP patients in the future, this method should be approved along with the tissue-based tests already available for CUP diagnostics." Results have already been incorporated into European guidelines Based on the results of the CUPISCO study, the scientists conclude that all patients with newly diagnosed CUP syndrome should undergo a genetic analysis of the tumor genome either on tumor biopsy material or a liquid biopsy in order to identify targeted treatment options. This recommendation for tumor genetic analysis and subsequent targeted treatment of patients with CUP syndrome was recently included in the newly formulated European guidelines for mutation analysis and precision medicine treatment of advanced tumor diseases and was published in the Annals of Oncology. More information: Alwin Kramer et al, Molecularly guided therapy versus chemotherapy after disease control in unfavourable cancer of unknown primary (CUPISCO): an open-label, randomised, phase 2 study, The Lancet (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00814-6 M.F. Mosele et al, Recommendations for the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with advanced cancer in 2024: a report from the ESMO Precision Medicine Working Group, Annals of Oncology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2024.04.005 Journal information: Annals of Oncology , The Lancet Provided by Universitatsklinikum Heidelberg This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The latest trial of a new antibody drug that delivers potent chemotherapy directly to cancer cells for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer moves ahead to be studied further in a Phase III trial. Results of the Phase II study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers at Yale School of Medicine looked at the antibody drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan (SG)also known as Trodelvy. The study's results were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on July 31. The findings are hopeful for patients with endometrial cancer (a type of uterine cancer), which is the most common gynecological cancer and the sixth most common cancer in women globally, with over 417,000 new cases and 97,000 deaths reported in 2020. When the combination first-line treatment for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer fails, there are currently few options. "This is the first publication demonstrating the clinical activity of Trodelvy in uterine cancer," said the study's first author Alessandro Santin, MD, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine and clinical research team leader for Gynecological Oncology at Yale Cancer Center. "In collaboration with Immunomedics and more recently Gilead investigators, I have been working with this antibody drug conjugate in my lab since the beginning of its development. This is a major 'bench-to-bedside' accomplishment for uterine cancer patients." SG is also being explored for its usefulness in delivering chemotherapy into the cancer cells of multiple types of metastatic solid tumors. In the TROPiCS-03 Phase II basket study (a study that looks at drug effectiveness in patients who have different cancers, but share the same biomarker), patients received 10 milligrams per kilogram of SG on day one and day eight of a 21-day cycle. In a heavily pretreated population (that is, patients had already received multiple rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy) with advanced, recurrent endometrial cancer, 22% responded to the treatment. Researchers reported that 61% of patients had a reduction in target lesions (22% of the patients fulfilled the criteria of partial response, which was a 30% or more decrease in the size of the tumor). In patients that responded to the treatment, cancers remained stable for an average of 8.8 months without progressing. As the trial continues, 29% of patients are still on treatment. No safety concerns were identified in the trial, and patients experienced manageable side effects such as fatigue and nausea. Dr. Santin said the results of this trial, TROPiCS-03, mean researchers will be able to move forward to a Phase III trial. More information: Alessandro D. Santin et al, Efficacy and Safety of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors (TROPiCS-03): Analysis in Patients With Advanced Endometrial Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024). DOI: 10.1200/JCO.23.02767 Journal information: Journal of Clinical Oncology Provided by Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Anna Shvets from Pexels A drug prescribed for diabetes and weight loss has been shown to reduce brain shrinkage in Alzheimer's patients by almost 50%. The drug, called liraglutide, is one of the glucagon-like peptide receptor (GLP-1) agonists which also includes semaglutideknown as Wegovy or Ozempicwhich are licensed for managing overweight and obesity and for type 2 diabetes. However, scientists are discovering further applications for these drugs beyond their original purpose. In a study involving 200 patients with Alzheimer's disease, led by Professor Paul Edison at Imperial College London, the brains of patients who had taken liraglutide showed a significant reduction in shrinkage and reduction in cognitive decline compared to patients who had taken a placebo. The shrinkage was seen by brain imaging of the frontal, temporal, parietal lobes and total gray matter of the brain. These are the parts that control memory, learning, language and decision-makingall critical functions often affected by Alzheimer's disease. The new research, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC 2024) in Philadelphia and which is yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests liraglutide may protect the brains of people with mild Alzheimer's disease and reduce cognitive decline by as much as 18% after one year of treatment. The researchers say that although it's not clear exactly how liraglutide is working on the brain, they believe its protective effect is due to the ability of the drug to influence multiple processes happening in the brain like inflammation, tau protein aggregation, insulin resistance and amyloid leading to a slowing of reduction in brain volume. This could be analagous to statins protecting the heart by reducing cholesterol levels. Professor Paul Edison, Professor of Neuroscience at Imperial's Department of Brain Sciences, said, "We think liraglutide is protecting the brain possibly by reducing inflammation, lowering insulin resistance and the toxic effects of Alzheimer's biomarkers or improving how the brain's nerve cells communicate." Reducing brain shrinkage Loss of brain volume is a common marker of Alzheimer's disease. As the disease progresses and damage spreads through the brain, additional areas and lobes become affected, and the brain gradually shrinks. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 204 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease seen at 24 clinics throughout the United Kingdom. Half were given a daily injection of up to 1.8 mg of liraglutide, while the other half received a placebo injection. Before the study began, all patients had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their brains to evaluate structure and volume, as well as having glucose metabolism PET scans and detailed memory testing. These tests were repeated at the end of the study. Although the study's primary endpoint, which focused on changes in the glucose metabolism in the brain, was not met, the secondary endpoint of changes in scores for clinical and cognitive measures, as well as the exploratory endpoint of brain volume, showed a statistically significant improvement. Those in the study who received liraglutide had nearly 50% less volume loss in several areas of the brain, as measured by MRI. Researchers also conducted cognitive testing in the patientsbefore treatment and at 24 and 52 weeks. Although the study was not originally powered to assess cognitive changes, researchers found that patients who received liraglutide had an 18% slower decline in cognitive function over the course of one year compared to those who received the placebo. Professor Edison explained that because liraglutide and other GLP-1 analogs are already licensed for managing obesity and diabetes, its path to treatment for Alzheimer's could be swift. He added, "If scientists are able to further demonstrate that this is working in patients with Alzheimer's disease phase 3 trials, and the FDA approves it for Alzheimer's, this drug could then be immediately available." Two independent phase 3 trials are already underway, with findings due at the end of 2025. More information: Paul Edison et al, Proposal ID: 89799, Evaluation of Novel GLP-1 analogue in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, 30 July, Alzheimers Assocation International Conference Jennifer Draughon, president of Neptune Aviation in Missoula, walked briskly through the company's airplane hangars near the airport on Wednesday to talk about 30 years of aerial firefighting and how it has adapted and evolved. With over 220 employees, including 37 air tanker pilots, the firm is one of the larger private employers in Missoula. And Draughon, a former collegiate track and field athlete who once worked at Boeing, is one of the few female leaders in the aviation industry. With the climate changing all over the world and wildfires becoming more frequent and intense, Neptune's nine air tankers that can each drop 3,000 pounds of fire retardant are more in demand. They go everywhere from Florida to Montana to Chile. "One of the things that I think we've had to shift is (the work) used to be seasonal," she said. "I think, watching the news, those once-in-a-10-year-span fires are happening like on a yearly basis. So it's pretty catastrophic and it is becoming pretty much year-round. So for Neptune, definitely back in the day it used to be seasonal. You knew you were gonna go out in March and come home in August. Now that's not the case so we prepare for all year round." When the BAe 146 air tankers aren't flying, they go through a meticulous maintenance schedule. Draughon also has to make sure employees have a solid work/life balance. The company has an air attack division and a general aviation maintenance division; they broker charters, they have a flight school and the company owns NorthStar Jet, among other things. Draughon said there are very few women in general in the aviation industry, fewer in the aerial firefighting sector and very few in leadership positions. "Am I usually the only one in the room? Yeah," she said, laughing. "I mean, I think just in aviation in general, it's a male-dominated industry. And most people know that. I think the latest statistic I've read, which it's been a while since I've looked, but I think women are about 20% of the aviation workforce. So I do not know a woman leader in aerial firefighting." She pursued her dream by working her way up through the company, and she said she would encourage anyone to do the same. "If it's your dream, you should go for it," she said. "It's not without challenges. But really, if you come in with confidence, go after what you want to do, keep learning and understand that, I really truly believe everybody brings a unique perspective to the table and the more inclusiveness we can have the better we're going to be. So I just think go for it." She acknowledged that there's not a huge amount of mentorship out there for women who want to get into the industry. "Young girls don't see a lot of women in aviation, so it's kind of like not something that they put in their mindset when they're young," she said. "So I think we could do better with that. I try to do that. I think industry-wide, if we could do that, mentor as a woman if you're in the business." Draughon said the industry needs bright minds and there are good-paying jobs to be found. "We have an amazing leadership team and they bring incredible talent to the table," Draughon said of the company. "And we all just pretty much love what we do." TASHKENT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A delegation led by Jiang Jianguo, executive vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for bilateral human rights exchanges from July 25 to Aug. 1. In Tajikistan, the delegation met with Commissioner for Human Rights in Tajikistan Umed Bobozoda, Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashuriyon, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Farrukh Sharifzoda, respectively. They also held discussions with representatives from Tajikistan's religious, youth, and other departments, as well as university presidents, experts, and scholars. In Uzbekistan, the delegation attended a roundtable meeting on trends in international and regional human rights and met with Akmal Saidov, the first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament of Uzbekistan and director of the National Human Rights Center of Uzbekistan, as well as with leaders from the Supreme Court, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Agency of Information and Mass Communications. During the exchanges, the delegation presented Chinese President Xi Jinping's important discourses on respecting and protecting human rights, and the important arrangements for adhering to the correct outlook on human rights and strengthening human rights protection through law enforcement and administration of justice, as outlined in the resolution recently adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee. The delegation also explained China's contemporary outlook on human rights and its related achievements and experiences, expressing commitment to following a Chinese path of human rights development and promoting a comprehensive advancement of human rights. At the same time, they fully affirmed and actively coordinated with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for their alignment with China in stance and actions on international human rights issues. People from various sectors in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan praised China's remarkable achievements in the new era, which feature a people-centered approach, comprehensive deepening reforms, and high-quality development. They also praised China's human rights development path and experiences, noting many similarities between their own and China's human rights concepts. They also expressed willingness to continue strengthening human rights exchanges, mutual learning, and cooperative development with China, and to jointly promote global human rights governance. In Tajikistan, Sharifzoda said during the meeting with the delegation that the country would implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state of Tajikistan and China, and firmly oppose the politicization of human rights issues and double standards. In Uzbekistan, Saidov noted that he has repeatedly read the Russian version of a book of extracts from Xi's discourses on respecting and protecting human rights and strongly agreed with the viewpoints expressed in the book. He believed that China's achievements in poverty reduction and human rights have made significant contributions to the world's poverty reduction and human rights development. For the second time in 15 months, a man accused of raping a woman in his bedroom in Butte pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and two misdemeanor assault charges. Prosecutors filed the same charges against 28-year-old Seth Logan Leitheiser last year and he pleaded not guilty to them in April 2023. The state dismissed the charges in December, saying initial DNA tests could not link Leitheiser to the alleged rape. But prosecutors reserved a right to refile the charges if they got additional evidence. They say advanced DNA testing was completed this past April at the State Crime Lab and a cervical swab from the victim contained Leitheisers DNA. Prosecutors say Leitheiser raped the woman orally, vaginally and anally on March 4, 2023, so they filed three separate counts of sexual intercourse without consent. They charged him with two counts of misdemeanor assault for allegedly pulling the womans hair and dragging her by the hair during the assault. Each of the rape charges in this case is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and the assault charges are punishable by up to six months in jail. Leitheiser told police he did not have any sexual contact with the woman and said she had never been in his bedroom, but he then requested an attorney before answering any more questions. He was soon arrested but posted bail and remains free now on a $50,000 bond. Leitheiser and his attorney, Angie Miller, appeared before District Judge Kurt Krueger for Thursdays arraignment. The alleged victim said she and several friends were at Leitheisers residence on a Friday night and early Saturday morning, drinking alcohol and partying, and she went into a bedroom to lay down. She said Leitheiser came into the bedroom, lay on top of her and they began kissing. He put his hands down her pants and that was consensual, too, she said, but the mood changed after another woman came into the bedroom and left. The alleged victim said Leitheiser became physically aggressive and the sexual assaults began. She said she told him to stop several times but he did not, at one point pulling her to the floor by her hair when she tried to leave. She said Leitheiser eventually allowed her to leave the room. She said she and a friend left the residence, went to St. James Healthcare where a rape exam was performed, and called police. Police applied for a search warrant for the residence and Leitheiser was taken to the Butte jail. His clothing was confiscated and secured as evidence, and a search warrant was granted for police to obtain a DNA swab from Leitheiser. WASHINGTON Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the mastermind of al-Qaida's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The development points to a long-delayed resolution in an attack that killed thousands and altered the course of the U.S. and much of the Middle East. Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week. Defense lawyers requested the men receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty pleas, according to letters from the federal government received by relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed outright on the morning of Sept. 11. Terry Strada, the head of one group of families of the nearly 3,000 direct victims of the 9/11 attacks, invoked the dozens of relatives who died while awaiting justice for the killings when she heard news of the plea agreement. "They were cowards when they planned the attack," she said of the defendants. "And they're cowards today." Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the full terms of the plea bargains. The U.S. agreement with the men came more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaida's attack. It came more than 20 years after militants commandeered four commercial airliners to use as fuel-filled missiles, flying three of them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Al-Qaida hijackers headed the fourth plane to Washington, but crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit, and the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The attack triggered what President George W. Bush's administration called its war on terror, prompting the U.S. military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and years of U.S. operations against armed extremist groups elsewhere in the Middle East. The attack and U.S. retaliation brought the overthrow of two governments outright, devastated communities and countries caught in the battle, and played a role in inspiring the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprisings against authoritarian Middle East governments. At home, the attacks inspired a sharply more militaristic and nationalist turn to American society and culture. U.S. authorities point to Mohammed as the source of the idea to use planes as weapons. He allegedly received approval from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, whom U.S. forces killed in 2011, to craft what became the 9/11 hijackings and killings. Authorities captured Mohammed in 2003. He was subjected to waterboarding 183 times while in CIA custody before being sent to Guantanamo, and targeted by other forms of torture and coercive questioning. The use of torture has proven one of the most formidable obstacles in U.S. efforts to try the men in the military commission at Guantanamo, owing to the inadmissibility of evidence linked to abuse. Torture accounted for much of the delay of the proceedings, along with the courtroom's location a plane ride away from the U.S. Daphne Eviatar, a director at the Amnesty International USA rights group, said Wednesday she welcomed news of some accountability in the attacks. She urged the Biden administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which holds people taken into custody in the so-called war on terror. Many since were cleared but are awaiting approval to leave for other countries. Additionally, Eviatar said, "the Biden administration must also take all necessary measures to ensure that a program of state-sanctioned enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment will never be perpetrated by the United States again." Strada, national chairperson of a group of families of victims called 9/11 Families United, had been at Manhattan federal court for a hearing on one of many civil lawsuits when she heard news of the plea agreement. Strada said many families have just wanted to see the men admit guilt. "For me personally, I wanted to see a trial," she said. "And they just took away the justice I was expecting, a trial and the punishment." Michael Burke, one of the family members receiving the government notice of the plea bargain, condemned the long wait for justice, and the outcome. "It took months or a year at the Nuremberg trials," said Burke, whose brother New York City fire Capt. Billy Burke died in the collapse of the World Trade Center's North Tower. "To me, it always been disgraceful that these guys, 23 years later, have not been convicted and punished for their attacks, or the crime. I never understood how it took so long." Burke's brother ordered his men out but remained on the 27th floor of the North Tower with two men who'd stayed behind: a quadriplegic who, because the elevators were out, was essentially stuck there in his wheelchair and that man's friend. Also Wednesday, lawyers for Saudi Arabia argued that the country fought against terrorism and al-Qaida in the 1990s and should not be a defendant in lawsuits seeking over $100 billion for relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U..S. District Judge George B. Daniels listened to arguments about evidence in the 2-decade-old Manhattan case. Lawyers for relatives of 9/11 victims say a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia gained influence in the Saudi government and aided the 9/11 hijackers who flew the planes in the attack. Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 attackers were Saudis. Photos: 9/11 tributes through the years The High Court has ordered the state to pay nearly half a billion shillings in compensation to the families of the 148 students who lost their lives in the 2015 Garissa University College attack. Nine years later, each family will receive Kes.3 million as part of this settlement. The court also awarded varying compensation amounts to the 14 individuals injured in the attack, who filed the case alongside Kituo Cha Sheria. The compensation amounts were based on the severity of their injuries. One of the notable cases is that of Rose Gikonyo, who received Kes.10 million. At the time of the attack, Gikonyo was a first-year student at Garissa University College, pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Education (Science). She was rescued by the Kenya Red Cross and AMREF at around 12:00 pm, over six hours after being shot. Evidence presented in court showed that Gikonyo was hospitalized for about three months and later underwent six months of rehabilitation for her injuries. The judges, Mugure Thande, Anthony Ndungu, and Daniel Kemei, considered the worsening of her back injury, which led to paralysis of her lower limbs and loss of bladder control, in determining her compensation. Speaking to the media after the award, Gikonyo, now confined in a wheelchair, expressed her forgiveness towards the perpetrators. Ive forgiven those who did this to us, she said. The four gunmen who carried out the attack were killed at the scene, and Mohamed Kuno, the man who orchestrated the attack, was killed in a raid in Somalia in 2016. Following her ordeal at Garissa, Gikonyo enrolled at Kenyatta University to continue her education. The judgment has been favorable to us. They have promised to award us damages for the injuries. We are so grateful to our lawyers who have done their best to make the case successful, Gikonyo said. The journey has been quite tough, but we didnt lose hope. We knew that justice would be served. The three-judge bench also awarded Ronald Moranga Kes.7 million, Evaline Chepkemoi Kes.6 million, Anderson Owalla Kes.5 million, Kasyoka Mwambeko Kes.5 million, Ben Mwiti Kes.4 million, Stanley Muli Kes.4 million, Annastaciah Mikwa Kes.3.5 million, James Muli Kes.3 million, Risper Nyakari Kes.3 million, Alfred Kithu Kes.2.5 million, Mercy Chepkorir Kes.1.2 million, Narius Kipngeno Kes.1.2 million, and Dancan Obwamu Kes.1.5 million. Following the ruling, the government will pay over Kes. 441 million to the families of the deceased Garissa University students and Kes 56.9 million to the survivors. In 2019, a court found three men guilty of charges related to the attack. Rashid Charles Mberesero, Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Hassan Edin Hassan were convicted of conspiring to commit the attack and of being members of Somalias al-Shabab Islamist militant group. Sahal Diriye Hussein, a fourth man, was acquitted of all charges. All four men are Kenyan nationals, except for Rashid Charles Mberesero, who is Tanzanian. Mohamed Ali Abikar and Hassan Edin Hassan were initially sentenced to 41 years in prison, but their sentences were later reduced to 25-and-a-half years. High Court Justice Cecilia Githua acquitted them of being members of the al-Shabab militant group, but upheld the lower courts convictions for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. Rashid Charles Mberesero, who received a life sentence, was found dead in his cell at Kamiti Maximum Prison in November 2020 in an apparent suicide. The court imposed a stiffer punishment on Mberesero after determining he had been caught hiding on the campus roof following the attack and could neither explain his presence in Kenya nor at the university. China Southern Airlines to resume direct flights between New Zealand's South Island, Guangzhou for summer Xinhua) 16:30, August 01, 2024 WELLINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines will resume its direct service between New Zealand's Christchurch and south China's Guangzhou for an expanded summer season, starting at the end of October. The airline will fly seven days a week during the peak season between Dec. 17, 2024 and Feb. 12, 2025, with 75 percent more seats than during the same period last year, which is a boost for the Chinese New Year period, Christchurch Airport said on Thursday. This is a boon for all those choosing to celebrate the Chinese New Year in New Zealand's South Island, as well as providing more opportunities for travel and commerce, bringing significant benefits for travelers and the regional economy, said a statement of the airport. For eight years since 2016, The Chinese airline has offered direct flights to Christchurch, with close to 400,000 passengers using the Guangzhou service, it said. Gordon Bevan, general manager of aeronautical development at Christchurch Airport, said a memorandum of understanding was signed with China Southern Airlines earlier this year, which not only aims to boost tourism but also focuses on enhancing education and high-value cargo services, boosting regional economy and international connectivity. The return of China Southern Airlines and the increased services for Chinese New Year will provide a valuable two-way connection for more than 20,000 Chinese residents living in the South Island to reunite with their friends and family, celebrate their traditions, and enjoy the festivities as they welcome in the Year of the Snake, Bevan said. Currently, China Southern Airlines operates a regular air route between Auckland in New Zealand's North Island and Guangzhou. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A Muslim in eastern Uganda burned his 19-year-old daughter with a flat iron on July 21 after learning that she had converted to Christianity, sources said. Naasike Maliyati of Nampologoma, Butaleja District said she attended an evangelistic crusade with a friend in the course of a visit to her grandmother in Lwangoli, Busoba Sub-County, Mbale District, on July 15. When they called people to give their lives to Christ, I also went and prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, Maliyati said. When I went back home, I told my sister that I had left Islam. She went and told our dad of my conversion to Christianity. The following Sunday Maliyati, a student at Noor Islamic Institute in Mbale, attended a church service, and upon returning home found her father, 44-year-old Abdulrahim Kutosi, and uncles angry with her, she said. They tied me up, beat me, and finally my dad picked up a hot flat iron and hot water and burned me [on the buttocks] and shouted loudly that I was an embarrassment to the family, Maliyati told Morning Star News. I was burnt for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, as my father furiously continued shouting that I had ashamed the family. He continued saying that even Allah is annoyed with me as the pain continued inside my body. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up She heard him order her to stop attending church services before relatives put her on a motorbike and left her near the Namatala River, she said. A Christian on a motorcycle who happened by, Nicolas Ndobooli, rescued her. I saw someone yelling for help and calling, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Ndobooli told Morning Star News. Being a Christian, I decided to stop and took the risk and put her on my motorbike to the clinic. He paid 30,000 Uganda shillings (8 USD) to admit her for medical treatment, he said. Area Christians have condemned Kutosis cruel treatment of his daughter, sources said. The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented. Ugandas constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate ones faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Ugandas population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country. In a dramatic turn of events, Zipporah Kinya, the Deputy Majority Leader and nominated UDA party MCA, has introduced a fifth impeachment motion against Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza. This move follows the Meru County Assemblys withdrawal of a previous impeachment motion just hours earlier. The withdrawal came after a controversial Meru High Court ruling, which required the intervention of the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders. The County Assemblys order paper for the afternoon sitting on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, included a Supplementary Order Paper for considering the Special Motion for the removal of Meru County Governor, Hon. Kawira Mwangaza, through impeachment. The MCAs confirmed that yesterdays sitting featured a Notice of Motion for Governor Mwangazas removal by impeachment, as per Article 181 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Section 33 of the County Governments Act, 2012, and Standing Order No. 65. Earlier, the Meru High Court had instructed Governor Mwangaza and her legal team to appear before the Njuri Ncheke Council on July 31. However, the elders declared they would not mediate and advised politicians against involving the Council in political disputes. In filing the new motion, the assembly contends that the courts referral to the Council undermines the seriousness of the constitutional issues at stake. The Ministry of Health has alerted the public to an Mpox outbreak after confirming the first case in the country. The infected individual was traveling from Uganda to Rwanda via Kenya, and the case was detected at the Taita-Taveta one-stop border point (OSBP). On July 31, the ministry issued a statement detailing the nature of the disease and outlining ongoing response measures. Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni explained that Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral illness marked by a distinctive skin rash, fever, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease spreads through direct contact with the skin and lesions of infected individuals, including those in the mouth or genitals, and can also be transmitted via respiratory droplets. The ministry noted that Mpox is endemic to forested regions in East, Central, and West Africa and that a global outbreak has been ongoing since May 2022, with peak cases reported in August 2022 and between June and November 2023. The ministry stressed that even a single case constitutes an outbreak and, given the significant population movement within the East African region, there is a heightened risk of further transmission. Cases have already been reported in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Diagnosis of Mpox is confirmed through laboratory tests conducted on skin lesions. These tests are available at the National Public Health Laboratory and other specialized facilities across the country. The ministry noted that Mpox typically resolves without complications within 2-4 weeks, although symptomatic treatment may be necessary. Complicated cases should be referred to medical professionals for specialized care. The statement also pointed out that other common diseases, such as chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, and allergic reactions, can present similar symptoms. In response to the outbreak, the ministry urged the public to adhere to essential public health measures, including frequent handwashing with soap and water or using hand sanitizer, seeking medical advice if symptoms arise, avoiding close contact with symptomatic individuals, and visiting the nearest health facility for proper management. The ministry also announced that it would work with local authorities to monitor and control the outbreak, promising to provide further updates as the situation develops. For further information, the public is advised to contact the Ministry of Health Hotline at 719 or call 0729 47 14 14 / 0732 353535. Morara Kebaso, a 28-year old lawyer and businessman has ignited the internet after his near-perfect imitations of President William Ruto started going viral. Kebaso, who was virtually unknown just a few weeks ago, has quickly become the internets darling, quickly racking up over 50,000 Tiktok followers in a matter of days. The young businessman, who runs Morara Home Furniture and employs over 85 people, came up with the idea to impersonate President Ruto, not only nailing the speech and mannerisms but also bringing along a couple Ruto signatures Kaunda suits and sunroofed Prados. I have always had this suit with me. It had been sitting in my closet. So, when I came up with the idea to impersonate the President, I simply went back to the closet and wore the suit, Kebaso says. However, it was long-sleeved. So, I had to take it to the tailor to shorten the sleeves just like the President. Besides speaking on top of a car, a habit the President loves, Kebaso also directly addresses the nation by speaking behind a podium, complete with the coat of arms. One of his most popular videos on Tiktok, where he mimics President Ruto giving a speech to the nation, has been viewed over 1 million times and likes by tens of thousands. I did not expect this kind of reaction, he says. It just happened. I was not even on Tiktok, I just joined in July and quickly got thousands of followers. Clearly, Kenyans can resonate with my content. While he still insists that he is not a content creator, Kebaso says that his duty it to inform the masses in a language they can understand. Ruto loves speaking to Kenyans from the top of cars. Thats why I adopted the same style to communicate my message, he says. I am trying to reach the common mwananchi by not just entertaining them but also educating them creatively. Its my way of passing around civic education. On whether he is afraid of being a target of the DCI, who lately have been abducting and even kidnapping people critical of the government, Kebaso says hes unafraid as he not only knows the law but also believes he is breaking no law. I am not afraid. Fear is the biggest enemy. I always encourage people to live fearlessly and approach life that way. So, Im not worried of being a police target, he says. If they want to come for me, they are welcome. Ill have my day in court, Ill defend myself. My wife is also prepared to bail me out of the worst happens. I am not ruled by fear. The married father of two also took time to inspire Kenyan youth, revealing that he has dabbled in various businesses before hitting it big in the furniture industry. I started hustling at 16. Ive tried many businesses. Ive had a hotel in Kawangware, I have owned a liquor shop, Ive done online writing, Ive done translation and transcription, Ive been an MC, Ive been a waiter, Ive done countless things before venturing into furniture, he reveals. Despite his spirited activism, Kebaso says that he has no intentions to view for office, fearing that the move would corrupt him. I dont think I can run for office and still be honest, he says. Politics is very dirty. For me to successfully vie, I have to compromise my values because of the corrupt nature of ascending to office which involves bribery, blind allegiance to a political party and such stuff While risky, Kebaso says that his family totally supports his work, revealing that his wife is firmly behind him despite the fears of arrest. My wife is very supportive, she knows the man she married and she supports my dream. Sometimes she gets worried but shes ready for anything. She says she has a savings ready for my cash bail, he says. President William Ruto has voiced concerns about the misuse of the governments free internet services, criticizing online users for engaging in unproductive activities. Speaking at the groundbreaking listing of the Linzi Sukuk on the Unquoted Securities Platform of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, Ruto explained that the government had provided free Wi-Fi nationwide to empower Kenyans to generate income. However, he noted that many users have been using the service for what he described as Kusalimiana, or exchanging encouraging messages with political leaders, particularly during the recent protests over the Finance Bill 2024. It would be a very good experience, apart from what is going on now, the platform is being used kusalimiana, Ruto remarked. He humorously added, Sometimes you can become the architect of your own troubles. When we delivered Wi-Fi across Kenya and made it free, we intended it to be used for good purposes, but sometimes it is used to send us encouraging messages. The President emphasized that the last mile connectivity project aims to help young people earn income through e-commerce. He highlighted forex trading and investing in government bonds as potential avenues for young people to utilize internet connectivity to generate income. We are delivering the last mile connectivity through our digital superhighway. We are expanding this to every ward in Kenya to provide young people nationwide with access to digital jobs and digital commerce, Ruto stated. Trading Government Bonds and Shares at the NSE Ruto expressed a particular interest in promoting digital commerce, including trading government bonds, shares at the stock exchange, and forex trading. He stressed that increasing internet accessibility across Kenya would open up opportunities for more people to access digital jobs and engage in e-commerce activities. Additionally, the President announced that Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa assured him that the company is actively working on a project to enhance e-commerce in the country. Ruto mentioned that Safaricom, in collaboration with the National Treasury and other stakeholders, would present a progress report on the project within the next three months. The CEO of Safaricom has assured me that they will leverage their extensive network to create a platform for Kenyans to conduct business and expand our e-commerce footprint, Ruto said. I have engaged with various stakeholders, including the National Treasury and the Central Bank, along with companies like Safaricom, to develop retail trading of shares and bonds. I have been assured that within the next three months, we will see more Kenyans participating in bond trading, shares trading, and forex trading, all accessible online, he added. Former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, and nominated MP John Mbadi have resigned from their leadership positions in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, the opposition party confirmed these resignations, attributing them to President William Rutos recent cabinet nominations. President Ruto appointed Joho to head the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy and Oparanya to oversee the Ministry of Co-operatives and MSMEs Development. Mbadi is posed to lead the Treasury ministry, and Opiyo Wandayi, who also resigned as ODM Secretary for Political Affairs, will oversee the Energy docket, once vetted and approved. The resignations were officially announced during a Central Management Committee meeting held on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Beatrice Askul Moe, who was nominated as Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs and Regional Development, also resigned from her role on the Party Elections Committee. ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna issued a statement confirming the receipt of resignations from John Mbadi, Opiyo Wandayi, Wycliffe Oparanya, Ali Hassan Joho, and Beatrice Askul Moe. The party has officially released its officials who were recently tapped by President William Ruto for national duty as Cabinet Secretaries, Sifuna said. The party plans to fill these vacancies after further consultations. The Central Management Committee also emphasized that ODM remains independent from the ruling party, Kenya Kwanza, and will continue its role as the Opposition. To fill the leadership gaps, ODM announced new appointments: Suna East MP Junet Mohamed will become the Minority Leader, while Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo will assume the role of Minority Whip. Saboti MP Caleb Amisi will chair the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), with MP Wilberforce Oundo as his deputy. Gunmen in southern Nigeria on Tuesday (July 30) kidnapped a prominent Christian woman and wife of the attorney general of Delta state from a church Bible study in an attack that left her driver and a policeman dead, according to various sources. Joan Onyemaechi, also known as Ada Anioma, was abducted from the King Jesus and I Church in Asaba, capital of Delta state, area residents said. A representative in the federal House of Representatives in 2015 and commissioner for Technical Education before her resignation earlier this year, Onyemaechi is married to state Attorney General Peter Mrakpor, who is also the states Commissioner of Justice. Besides killing her driver and the policeman in the kidnapping, the gunmen also reportedly wounded another policeman and a civilian. Church members Kenneth Ohen and Austin Okoronko told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the gunmen stormed into the church building while members were holding a Bible study. Her police security men were killed before she was dragged into a car and drove off by the gunmen, Ohen said. The attack caused pandemonium as church members scattered amid the shooting, church members said. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up Motives for the kidnapping were unclear, especially as her family reportedly has not received a demand for ransom from the assailants. Bright Edafe, spokesperson for Delta State Police Command, confirmed the kidnapping and killings, telling Christian Daily International-Morning Star News officers have been deployed to areas of the Delta to track down the gunmen. We appeal for calm from the church members and public, Edafe said. On Jan. 23, 2023 in Delta state, assailants described as Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians and wounded and kidnapped others in Toru-Angiama village, Patani County. In the 2024 WWL of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as it was in the previous year. Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023, according to Open Doors 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300. Nigeria was also the third highest country in number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report. An accomplished researcher in genetics and sickle cell disease is returning to Georgia to lead a science and medical collaborative that aims to find new treatments and cures for the disease. Solomon F. Ofori-Acquah, PhD, is currently director of two research enterprises, both of which he started: the West African Genetic Medicine Center in the University of Ghana and the Center for Translational and International Hematology at the University of Pittsburgh. Upon arriving in Georgia in September, Ofori-Acquah will have a joint faculty appointment at Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) as the Calvin Smyre GRA Eminent Scholar Chair. The position involves leading the Georgia Solve Sickle Cell Initiative, coordinated by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) in partnership with Emory, MSM and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. In his leadership role, Ofori-Acquah will marshal the states strengths in sickle cell disease research and care. He will also work closely with a transdisciplinary team of investigators across the state to expand the footprint of treatment at Childrens, carrying out clinical trials and improving access to new therapies and treatments. Dr. Ofori-Acquah is the ideal candidate to forge new collaborative approaches to fight a disease that brings great suffering to children and adults, says Tim Denning, PhD, GRAs president and CEO. He deeply understands sickle cell disease and has worked to translate findings to benefit patients and improve access to essential medicines for the disease in Africa. And he has made a major impact in educating young scientists and clinicians to advance the field. The appointment marks a return to Georgia for Ofori-Acquah. From 2007-13, he served as assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory, during which time he founded and led the universitys Center for Endothelial Biology, a research effort that explored cells in the inside lining of blood vessels, lymph vessels and heart. Im glad that Dr. Ofori-Acquah is returning to Georgia to help lead the fight against sickle cell disease, says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. This would not have been possible without the partnership between Emory, the Morehouse School of Medicine, the Georgia Research Alliance and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. It is this type of forward-thinking collaboration that positions Atlanta and the state of Georgia to take on the greatest healthcare challenges of our time with unmatched expertise and support. Dr. Ofori-Acquah is world-renowned and exactly the right researcher to lead Georgias Solve Sickle Cell initiative at this important moment in time, says Donna Hyland, CEO of Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. As the nations largest center in the country for children with sickle cell disease, Childrens has been working to forever remove the pain and suffering of this disease from our patients, and Dr. Ofori-Acquah is going to help us achieve this goal. Dr. Ofori-Acquah's appointment as the Calvin Smyre GRA Eminent Scholar in Sickle Cell Disease is a moment of pride for Morehouse School of Medicine, says Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, president and CEO of the college. His exceptional expertise, combined with our global genomics focus, will transform sickle cell disease research in Georgia, marking a significant shift in the landscape of healthcare innovation. Ofori-Acquahs career of nearly 30 years is characterized by significant contributions to genetic medicine and sickle cell disease. He has spearheaded several research projects funded by NIH, the World Bank and other organizations. One of his most important contributions is a theory about what happens during a sickle cell crisis. Ofori-Acquah suggested that during such a crisis, patients have too much of a dangerous molecular component called heme in their blood, which can damage blood vessels in the lungs and trigger a condition known as acute chest syndrome, a complication that brings a life-threatening illness similar to pneumonia. To test his theory, Ofori-Acquah used mouse models to demonstrate the process. It was the first time that an animal model mimicked acute chest syndrome in humans, a breakthrough that has helped other scientists study the disease and explore ways to treat it. His 2013 paper on the topic has been widely recognized and cited by other researchers. Born in Cape Coast in the central region of Ghana, Ofori-Acquah began his professional journey in the fields of hematology and medical laboratory sciences, working at a hospital in Kent, England. After earning a PhD in molecular genetics from Kings College London, he focused his efforts on research, exploring the complexities of diseases like sickle cell disease and their genetic underpinnings. Another notable aspect of his work is his involvement with the Ghanaian Genome Project, for which he has delivered several public lectures on how genomic research can help manage and potentially cure sickle cell disease The Georgia Solve Sickle Cell Initiative, which Ofori-Acquah will lead, was launched in 2021 as a collaborative involving Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, GRA, Emory and Morehouse School of Medicine. Building on research and clinical strengths in Georgia, the initiative adds mindpower, lab infrastructure and expanded treatment facilities. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which damaged red blood cells fail to deliver oxygen to tissues in the body. The disease afflicts millions of people worldwide, brings great hardship and suffering, particularly to children. Georgia has the third highest incidence of the disease in the U.S. The chair that Ofori-Acquah will hold is named for longtime state Rep. Calvin Smyre (Columbus), who served in the Georgia General Assembly from 1974-2023. When Smyre left the General Assembly in 2023, he was the longest-serving member in its history. On May 31, 2024, President Joe Biden appointed Smyre to the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board. Never underestimate the influence of a woman. Demographer and historian, Dr Gina Zurlo presents robust evidence in her 2023 book Women in World Christianity that women have always been prime movers in the growth of Gods gloriously diverse global Church. This is certainly born out in my experience. At the age of 16, I was challenged to commit my life to Jesus by the mother of a high school friend. Dinner-table Bible studies and life-skills discipleship with the family established me in a faith that has lasted 40 years and taken my wife and me all over the worldguided by significant women along the way and even still. For my inaugural opinion piece, I am prompted to introduce myself in this way because of a wise woman in Scripture. She is introduced as the mother of the mysterious King Lemuel in Proverbs 31. We are not sure who this king was, but Lemuel means belonging to God and I quite like the idea that it might be a pseudonym for King Davids son Solomon, whose mother was Bathsheba. You will know the chapter well, but probably for verses 10-31, which describes a well-to-do woman of excellent character. Preceding those verses, however, is a woman giving counsel to a king, a mother to her son, concluding with, Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT). Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up Bathshebas situation was culturally complex, and we must use great caution in our interpretation of it. But imagine if it was her saying those words, and her creating a vivid depiction of the Psalm 31 woman fully released into her giftedness. Bathsheba. Who suffered abuse at the hands of the most powerful. Whose faithful husband was murdered. Whose seven-day old child died, and who went on to live the rest of her life in the well-to-do home of the one who turned her life upside down. The contrasts are stark. If these are Bathshebas words, it represents a potent image of trauma transformed, a wrecked life redeemed by God. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves ensure justice. Surely this is a key responsibility for followers of the God of justice and righteousness serving in broadcast media. Followers of the One whose purpose was to bring Good News to the poor proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORDs favor has come. (Luke 10:18-19 NLT) How many people are there in the world who have found liberty in Christ in the harshest circumstances and are serving to foster life where they previously experienced death? How many stories of transformation are there to tell? Are such examples not paramount among Gods glorious deeds? Such glimpses of Gods New Creation on this side of eternity give hope to us all as we wait for the fullness to come with Christs return. Therein lies motivation to publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. (Psalm 96;3 NLT). My life is one of those journeys from a volatile upbringing in a hostile context without Jesus to a place of flourishing and influence because of Jesus. A life transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit as I consistently seek to obey the Lords gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12c NLT. See also Isaiah 30:21). My wife and I left marketplace employment in our mid-20s to follow the Lords call to support the Fathers global purposes. Learning, serving, and caring form the bedrock of what we do in our walk with Jesus. My roles have varied but leadership responsibility in global missions found me while I was still relatively young, and I have been deeply shaped by elders from all over the world ever since. I have a passion to see the gospel, in all its whole-of-life transformative power, made available throughout the nations, especially where it is least accessible or understood. Moreover, I believe that is best achieved together as the diverse body of Christ in mutual submission. To synthesize the Apostle Pauls perspective, our participation in the purposes of God as the people of God is to co-create New Creation. That begs further explanation, but the principle is a golden thread throughout the New Testament and the fulfillment of expectations in the Old. We all have unique cognitive lenses through which we perceive the world around us. Lemuels mothers empathy for those silenced suggests that she had experience of powerful people who drunkenly act lawlessly and neglect justice, thus shaping the lens she looked through. My perspective is deeply informed by my indigenous Maori heritage, suppressed within the white household of my mother and unstable stepfather. My biological father, meanwhile, went on to become a church planter. On his side, my ancestors were the first inhabitants of lands that were colonized by the British Empire and rapidly populated by people of the European diaspora. Migrants from wider Asia now settle in ever increasing numbers but the dominant power and paradigm in our nation remains Eurocentric. Over more than 30 years of missions service, Majority World Christian leaders affirmed that my hybrid lens helps me see their frustration in ways that remain unfocused for many people of European descent. In their June 13, 2024, article Women, Leadership, and Movements for the journal Missiology, US Americans Gina Zurlo and Dave Coles provide a great example of the ability to adjust our lenses. As a result of their long-term exposure to the global Church, the angle of their view widened such that when they examined the historical growth of World Christianity a stunning reality came into sharp focus. In their conclusion they noted that there would be no twentieth-century shift of Christianity to the Global South (Majority World), nor its tremendous numerical growth, without women working as indigenous evangelists, raising their children in the faith, and spreading the message of Jesus among their local networks. In light of the prophetic message from Lemuels mother and spurred on by research like that presented by Zurlo and Coles, we will platform servants like those faithful church-growing women whose voice is rarely heard. In addition, believers from throughout the majority World, those living with a disability, in impoverished or hostile contexts, and others on the margins of influence will feature over time. They are not mute. They are all perfectly able to communicate themselves. Yet their voices are too easily muted by others with powerful megaphones. We will share evidence-based analysis from biblically faithful believers located all over the world, including the West, but my desire for the opinion section of Christian Daily International is to develop a balanced harmony by amplifying the perspectives of those previously unheard. As they bear witness to their lived experience of an integrated gospel, we will all be influenced by their faithfulness to the Lord, often in the midst of persecution. Furthermore, their stories, perspectives, and convictions will help to nurture a greater sense of Christian unity across the nations. If you know of people who fit Lemuels mothers criteria, or if you are among them, please reach out to voices [at] christiandaily.com. Together, let us give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. (1 Chronicles 16:8 NLT). NewsVoir New Delhi [India], August 1: JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. (JKLC), a Flagship Company of JK Organization today announced its Financial Results for the First Quarter of Financial Year 2025. Composite Scheme of Arrangement Further as a part of Company's ongoing efforts to enhance Shareholders' Value, the Company's Board today approved the Composite Scheme of Arrangement which provides for the Merger of its Subsidiaries viz Udaipur Cement Works Ltd (UCWL), Hansdeep Industries & Trading Company Limited and Hidrive Developers & Industries Limited into itself subject to various Regulatory Approvals & Compliances. The Appointment Date for the Merger is 1st April 2024. Commenting on the Composite Scheme of Arrangement, Smt. Vinita Singhania, Chairperson & Managing Director (CMD) of the Company said, "the Consolidation of fragmented Cement capacities into a Single Business Focused Listed Entity shall result in Enhancement of Value for all the Stakeholders." Sustainability The Company is implementing a Project for enhancing its TSR from 4% to 16% in a phased manner at its Sirohi Cement Plant as a part of its Green Initiatives. During the Quarter, the Company has successfully commissioned WHR 3.5 MW at Sirohi. Capex The Company's Subsidiary, Udaipur Cement Works Ltd. (UCWL) had successfully commissioned its 2nd Clinker Line of 1.50 Million Tonnes Per Annum in October 2023, whereby its Clinker Capacity has doubled to 3 Million Tonnes Per Annum. The Cement Grinding Capacity of 2.5 Million Tonnes Per Annum was commissioned in March 2024. The Company is expanding its Cement Grinding capacity at its Surat Grinding Unit from 1.35 Million Tonnes to 2.7 Million Tonnes. The Project is likely to cost Rs.225 Crores to be funded through Term Loans from Bank of Rs. 150 Crore & the balance from Internal Accruals. The Company is also putting up a Railway Siding at its Durg Cement Plant at a Cost of Rs.325 Crores to be funded through a Debt of Rs. 225 Crores & the balance through Internal Accruals. The Company is expanding the Clinker Capacity at its integrated Cement Plant at Durg in Chhattisgarh by putting up an Additional Clinker Line of 2.3 Million Tonnes Per Annum & Four Cement Grinding Units aggregating to 4.6 Million Tonnes Per Annum at Durg in Chhattisgarh and also Three Split Location Cement Grinding Units with aggregate Cement Grinding Capacity of 3.4 Million Tonnes Per Annum at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Madhubani in Bihar & Patratu in Jharkhand. The Project is likely to cost Rs.2500 Crores & is proposed to be funded through Term Loans from Banks of Rs.1750 Crores & the balance through Internal Accruals. Outlook Considering the Government's focus on Infrastructure Development & Higher Budgetary allocation towards Infrastructure Development and various Other Initiatives for Housing & Road Development, the Outlook for Cement Sector is quite positive in the coming year. JK Lakshmi Cement Limited is a part of the prestigious JK Organisation which is over hundred and thirty-five years old and boasts operations in India and abroad with a leadership presence in the fields of tyre, cement, paper, power transmissions, sealing solutions, dairy products and textiles. JK Lakshmi Cement, started in 1982, is a renowned and well-established name in the Indian Cement industry for four decades and has an annual turnover of over Rs 6000 crores. The Company has a formidable presence in Northern, Western and Eastern India's cement markets, with a vision of reaching Cement Capacity of 30 Million Tonnes by 2030. The present combined capacity of the Company is about 16.5 Million Tonnes per annum. The Company offers a wide range of products under Smart business solutions (SBS), such as, JK Lakshmi Powermix- Ready Mix Concrete (RMC), JK Lakshmi Plast- Gypsum Plaster and JK SmartBlox- Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks (AAC Blocks). (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 1: InfoComm India, India's foremost professional audiovisual (Pro AV) exhibition, is set to return to Mumbai from 3-5 September 2024 at the Jio World Convention Centre (JWCC). This year, InfoComm India 2024 expands beyond Pavilions 1 to 3 at JWCC, incorporating Jasmine Hall (at Level 3) for an even larger showcase of innovative solutions. It will showcase over 250 brands from more than 10 countries, including 35 first-time exhibitors. InfoComm India 2024 will be held. Registration is now open for professionals and businesses looking to deepen their Pro AV expertise. Visitors can discover a plethora of solutions ranging from the latest in digital signage, to intelligent video conference systems, from artificial intelligence (AI) in LED virtual production to naked eye 3D displays, smart classroom solutions, interactive immersive projection mapping and more catering to a wide range of sectors such as education, finance, live events, urban development & smart cities. The exhibition will showcase top-tier products and innovations from renowned global brands and emerging industry players, including AERO, BENQ, Crestron, Harman, QSYS, Barco, AET, Samsung, and PeopleLink, along with WACOM, DVSI, Neotouch, Yotech Infocom, Onfinity Technologies and 30 more who are exhibiting for the first time at InfoComm India. With an expanded show floor space at Jasmine Hall, visitors can look forward to even more innovators in the Pro AV and technology space including TOYO, 4 Squares Corporation, Altex, Black Box and Wah Lee to name a few. AVIXA will also be making its presence felt at Jasmine Hall with interactive and knowledge-packed seminars hosted at its booth throughout the three days. The 2024 InfoComm India Summit will offer over 48 free-to-attend seminars across 14 specialized tracks led by over 50 industry leaders as speakers. A glimpse of the exciting lineup of sessions includes a kick-off overview "Navigating New Horizons: Insights and Innovations Shaping India's Pro AV Landscape" led by David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, Executive Director and CEO, AVIXA , 'Live Events & Experiential Planning' exploring Pro AV application for live events, as well as industry-focused sessions dedicated to smart cities, hospitality, and education sectors like "Future of Learning Spaces", "Securing the Future: Cybersecurity Strategies, Economics, and Risk Management", Digital Signage in the AI-age which explores real-world strategies using AI, VR, and digital platforms for immersive experiences. "India's digital transformation is truly inspiring," said June Ko, Executive Director of InfoComm India. "We see a vibrant energy and a thirst for innovation across the country. InfoComm India 2024 is our way of bringing together the brilliant minds and passionate hearts that are shaping this new era of technology in India. We envision InfoComm India as the premier destination for the Pro AV community to exchange ideas, foster partnerships, and collectively drive the industry forward." Connection is at the heart of InfoComm India 2024. A host of networking opportunities are designed to connect attendees with industry experts, thought leaders, and peers. They include the Breakfast Networking Hour at Luminary Lounge (Jasmine Hall) on 2 and 3 September, 9.30 am to 10.00 am; Flashtrack seminars and networking events at the AVIXA booth; daily New Technology and Products Show Floor Tours and more. For full details on exhibitors, products, summit agenda, registration, and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.infocomm-india.com. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PRNewswire Gurugram (Haryana) [India], August 1: BharatRohan, a pioneering agritech company, in collaboration with Kosher Climate, announces the launch of a groundbreaking Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) project. Spanning across 12,000 acres and benefiting over 6,000 local farmers in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. The AWD project will revolutionize traditional irrigation practices. Farmers are equipped with 30cm PVC pipes to monitor water levels, allowing them to irrigate only when necessary, conserving water and reducing reliance on motor pumps and electricity. By intermittently drying the fields, AWD introduces oxygen into the soil, which discourages the anaerobic conditions necessary for methane-producing microbes to thrive. This periodic oxygenation helps significantly reduce methane emissions, a critical step towards combating climate change. BharatRohan provides comprehensive training and support to farmers, alongside advanced drone-based crop monitoring for precise farming decisions. "We are excited to partner with Kosher Climate on this transformative project," said Amandeep Panwar, Co-founder & Director at BharatRohan. "By integrating innovative technologies and sustainable practices, we are not only addressing crucial environmental issues but also enhancing the profitability and sustainability of farming in India." BharatRohan drone-based imaging technology validates drying cycles and PVC pipe installation. Hyperspectral imaging monitors soil moisture, detects drought stress, and ensures efficient water use, enhancing crop health. The practice of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) not only offers environmental benefits but also empowers farmers by increasing soil nutrient availability, promoting better root growth, and boosting crop yields through more efficient nutrient uptake. Additionally, the project facilitates the generation of approximately 10,000 carbon credits in its inaugural year, following the successful completion of two drying cycles. This not only underscores the project's environmental impact but also augments farmers' incomes through carbon credit revenues. The implementation of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) can reduce water usage by approximately 30 to 40 per cent without compromising crop yield. This practice also contributes to lowering methane emissions, enhancing environmental sustainability. These benefits make this technology an advantageous approach for both resource conservation and sustainable agriculture. Further, this opens the opportunity for carbon farming. - Dr Sudarshan Dutta, Lead, NbS (Agriculture), Kosher Climate India Pvt., Ltd. Before learning about Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), we used to flood our fields continuously, believing it was necessary for rice cultivation. Now, with the AWD technique, we only irrigate when needed based on the water visibility in the pipe installed in my field. This change has saved us a significant amount of water and diesel, reduced weed growth, and enriched our soil, benefiting our crops. Additionally, we have been able to earn extra income, which we invest in better technology like Drone based crop monitoring. BharatRohan's training and support have been instrumental in implementing this practice, says Rakesh Kumar, Barabanki Farmer. About BharatRohan BharatRohan is an agri-tech start-up specializing in UAV/Drone Spectral Imaging-based Decision Support Systems (DSS) for farmers. They offer a comprehensive procurement platform to institutional buyers with traceability as the key value addition. The solution is vertically integrated and offers farmers and FPOs access to markets through buyback arrangements. The value proposition for paying customers is access to pesticide and residue-free agricultural commodities, along with a farm traceability platform. The company is tapping into the export market demand, which can offer higher margins to farmers. About Kosher Climate Kosher Climate is an internationally reputed consultancy firm dedicated to guiding businesses in achieving sustainable development and growth. They offer a comprehensive suite of services, including Carbon credit generation, monetization, Environmental Impact advisory, Renewable Energy advisory, and corporate sustainability compliance and reporting. A significant aspect of their work involves assisting project developers in securing carbon finance, ensuring the longevity of climate projects. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1762856/BharatRohan_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 1: Akme Fintrade (India) Ltd, a BSE and NSE listed non-banking finance company (NBFC) focusing on vehicle and business loans in rural and semi-urban geographies, has reported significant growth in its financial results for Q1 FY25 and is pleased to announce the appointment of Shiv Prakash Shrimali as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately from July 29, 2024. Financial Highlights: * Interest Income: INR 19.19 crore in Q1 FY25, a 25.98% increase from INR 15.24 crore in Q1 FY24. * Interest Expense: INR 8.20 crore in Q1 FY25, up 27.71% from INR 6.42 crore in Q1 FY24. * Fee & Other Income: INR 2.13 crore in Q1 FY25, a 79.77% rise from INR 1.19 crore in Q1 FY24. * Total Net Income: INR 13.13 crore in Q1 FY25, a 31.24% increase from INR 10.00 crore in Q1 FY24. * Operating Expenses: INR 1.80 crore in Q1 FY25, a 6.69% increase from INR 1.69 crore in Q1 FY24. * Profit Before Tax (PBT): INR 9.11 crore in Q1 FY25, up 123.61% from INR 4.07 crore in Q1 FY24. * Profit After Tax (PAT): INR 8.61 crore in Q1 FY25, a remarkable 185.73% increase from INR 3.01 crore in Q1 FY24. Operational Highlights: * Assets Under Management (AUM): Grew by 5.10% to INR 424.33 crore. * Disbursements: Recorded at INR 36.19 crore during Q1 FY25. Commenting on the results, Akash Jain (CEO) said, "We have entered the new financial year on a strong note, with the first quarter performance in line with expectations. Our interest income grew 25.98% year-on-year to Rs. 19.20 crores, while PAT increased 185.7% year-on-year to Rs. 8.61. This reflects our strategic focus towards expanding our customer-base and geographical reach. We continue to strive to increase our footprint to more regions across the country, and also have several new products in the pipeline, such as specialized loans for farm equipment, Solar Rooftop loans and for women entrepreneurs. This aligns with our motto to empower the rural, less privileged sections of our nation with easy financing options. Our AUM grew 5.10% sequentially to Rs. 424.33 crores, while disbursements stood at Rs. 36.19 crores for the quarter. Overall, we are optimistic about the new fiscal year and well positioned to capture growth opportunities." In addition to the strong financial performance, Akme Fintrade (India) Ltd. is excited to announce the appointment of Shiv Prakash Shrimali as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). This strategic addition to our management team aligns with Akme Fintrade (India) Ltd.'s vision and strategic plans for growth and excellence. Shiv Prakash Shrimali brings with him an illustrious career spanning over four decades, during which he has demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills. His vast experience encompasses strategic planning, business management, P&L ownership, financial management, operations management, new business/branch setup, and resource management (both human and material). Prior to joining Akme Fintrade (India) Ltd., Shrimali served as the Chairman of Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank. He is widely recognized for his proficiency in business development and his ability to formulate and implement strategies that drive significant growth, particularly in the banking and financial services sectors. "We are thrilled to welcome Shiv Prakash Shrimali to our team," said Nirmal Kumar Jain, Chairman & Managing Director, Akme Fintrade (India)Ltd. "His extensive experience and proven track record in the industry make him a valuable asset as we continue to pursue our strategic goals and enhance our operational capabilities." About Akme Fintrade (India) Limited Akme Fintrade (India) Limited is a BSE and NSE Listed company. Incorporated in 1996, Akme Fintrade is a non-banking finance company (NBFC), offering vehicle and business loans in rural and semi-urban geographies. The company provides lending solutions for rural and semi-urban populations. Its portfolio comprises Vehicle Finance and Business Finance Products for small business owners. Their key borrowers are individuals and small business owners requiring vehicle loans and business finance. The vehicle financing comprises used commercial vehicles, 2-wheeler loans, and used 2-wheeler loans. Disclaimer:- This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. These statements include descriptions regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company or its directors and officers with respect to the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ from those in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and assumptions which the Company believes to be reasonable in light of its operating experience in recent years. The Company does not undertake to revise any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN New Delhi [India], August 1: The manufacturing sector in India is emerging as a cornerstone of economic growth, bolstered by the government's Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. These efforts promise substantial benefits for investors, highlighting the sector's growing importance and potential. This sector's growth potential is closely tied to its ability to inspire confidence among consumers and investors alike, with a strong customer-first approach driving its success. Recent developments highlight a strong trend in the manufacturing sector, marked by significant investor confidence. A newly launched manufacturing fund by a Mutual Funds company has seen remarkable success, attracting substantial investments. This success reflects the robust potential of the sector and the trust it garners from investors, making it an appealing option for long-term wealth creation. In response to growing confidence and rising demand among customers, PNB MetLife has introduced its new fund - the PNB MetLife Bharat Manufacturing Fund. This fund provides an opportunity for customers to participate in the growth of the manufacturing sector and create long-term wealth. It is an actively managed equity fund that allows the fund manager to leverage their experience and analyse macro-level trends to outperform a benchmark or index returns. The fund is available through PNB MetLife Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) that offers triple benefits: * Life cover to secure your family's future and big dreams * Long-term wealth creation opportunity * Tax-free returns PNB MetLife is known for high investment repute and strong performance, exemplified by the performance of PNB MetLife equity funds which have consistently beaten the benchmark returns in the past. 99% of their equity funds are rated 4 or 5 star by Morning Star, a reputed global rating agency. India's manufacturing sector holds strong potential which can be seen from the impressive growth of the NIFTY India Manufacturing Index, delivering returns of 25.31% compared to the NIFTY 50's 15.29% over the past five years (as of 30th June). Even the recent budget allocations have further supported growth, with investments in infrastructure, ease of doing business, and policy reforms driving expansion. Manufacturing Sector is an enabler for India's USD 30 trillion economy Economic Growth Driver: As per a conservative estimate, the Finance Minister stated that India will be at least a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047. India's manufacturing sector holds significant potential for growth, with projections indicating an 18-fold increase over the next 24 years. Despite the sector's current contribution of approximately 13% to India's GDP in 2022, it remains underdeveloped compared to other Asian economies. For instance, manufacturing accounts for 18.67% of Indonesia's GDP and 23.88% of Vietnam's GDP. This disparity underscores the opportunity for substantial expansion in India's manufacturing sector, which could significantly enhance its contribution to the country's GDP and overall economic growth. Sector-Specific Growth: McKinsey projects that eleven key sectors could contribute to an incremental ~80% increase in gross value added, including chemicals, basic materials, capital goods, automotive, and pharmaceuticals. These sectors make up about 90% of the Nifty Manufacturing Index, underscoring their importance in driving industrial growth. Additionally, a report from another leading global management consulting firm -Bain estimates that India's exports could reach a trillion dollars by 2028, reflecting the sector's high growth potential. Economic Stability and Labor Advantage: India's macroeconomic stability, coupled with a large pool of skilled and semi-skilled labour, positions it uniquely among developing economies. The country's significant domestic consumption base offers a captive market for producers. Infrastructure Development: The government is committed to maintaining strong fiscal support for infrastructure development over the next five years, with an allocation of approximately Rs 11 lakh crore. This investment aims to enhance infrastructure, including roads, railways, and airways, which are crucial for supporting the manufacturing sector. Notable achievements such as the expansion of the National Highway network, extensive electrification of railways, and the increase in operational airports are key drivers of this growth. Import Substitution and Global Realignments: Government Initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes aim to increase domestic value addition and reduce dependence on imports. The shift in global supply chains, including the notable example of Apple's increased production in India, highlights India's growing role in global manufacturing. Budget Boost to Manufacturing: The recent budget has further invigorated the manufacturing sector through initiatives such as the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, which improves access to finance, and mandatory onboarding in TReDS. The establishment of twelve new industrial parks, rental housing for industrial workers, and the Critical Minerals Mission will also drive growth. Strengthening tribunals to expedite insolvency resolution will enhance the business environment and competitiveness. Investment Opportunity PNB MetLife's Bharat Manufacturing Fund is positioned to capitalize on these growth drivers and is one of the best NFOs to invest in 2024. Available through PNB MetLife's ULIP plans like PNB MetLife Goal Ensuring Multiplier, PNB MetLife Wealth Plan and PNB MetLife Platinum Plus, it encourages disciplined savings and long-term wealth creation. Investors can participate in India's vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) by 2047. The fund is available at a special Rs 10 NAV from 1st to 15th August 2024, aligning with India's growth story and aspirations. In conclusion, India's manufacturing sector presents a compelling investment opportunity, supported by robust economic fundamentals, policy support, and significant growth potential. The Bharat Manufacturing Fund offers a unique chance for investors to benefit from this promising landscape, ensuring long-term wealth creation and financial security. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], August 1: Galgotias University is proud to announce the hosting of a special exhibition in association with the Space Applications Centre (SAC) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), titled "Vikram Sarabhai Space Exhibition" as part of "National Space Day Celebrations" to commemorate successful landing of Chandrayan-3 on the South Pole of Moon on 23r August-2023. This exhibition will be held from August 1st to August 3rd, 2024, at the Galgotias University campus in Greater Noida. The event is expected to draw over 10,000 school students from the surrounding regions, providing them with a unique opportunity to explore and learn about the advancements in space technology through interactive displays, models of satellites and launch vehicles, and interactive sessions with ISRO scientists. Dr Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University, expressed his enthusiasm for the event, "This collaboration with ISRO represents a significant opportunity for our students and the community to engage with cutting-edge space technology. We are committed to providing a platform that not only educates but also inspires the next generation of scientists and innovators." Paresh Sarvaiya, Senior Scientist and Incharge of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Exhibition (VSSE) at SAC-ISRO, emphasized the importance of the event: "Our goal with the 'Space on Wheels' exhibition is to make space science accessible to all, especially young minds. We believe that by bringing this knowledge to students, we can ignite a passion for space research and exploration." The press conference for the event was addressed by three ISRO scientists: Paresh Sarvaiya, Senior Scientist and Incharge of VSSE SAC-ISRO; Vikas Gupta, Senior Scientist at SAC-ISRO; and Shivangi Jaiswal, Scientist at SAC-ISRO. They provided insights into the exhibition's objectives and the role it will play in fostering an interest in space technology & its various applications among students. This exhibition is part of a broader effort to promote space-based applications and inspire young students to pursue careers in the space industry. Galgotias University is honored to host this event and looks forward to welcoming students and educators to this exciting experience. Galgotias University, sponsored by Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society and situated in Uttar Pradesh, is a prominent institution dedicated to academic excellence. With NAAC A+ accreditation in its first cycle, the university offers a wide array of over 200 programs across 20 schools spanning Polytechnic, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and PhD courses. Consistently ranked among India's top universities, Galgotias University is recognized for its innovative approach, achieving "Excellent" status in the ARIIA Ranking 2021. Since 2020, Galgotias University has received the highest 4-star rating from the Ministry of Education Innovation Cell (MIC) for promoting innovation and start-ups on campus. The university is proud to be one of the 16 Governing Members of the IIC Consortium Uttar Pradesh and was selected as a Mentor Institute with funding support by the Ministry of Education Innovation Cell in 2023. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN New Delhi [India], August 1: In a remarkable recognition of entrepreneurial excellence and societal impact, Abdussalam Hassan Chokly, the visionary founder and chairman of the Telal Group, was honoured with the Global Icon of Arab fashion Award at the esteemed APJ Abdul Kalam Award for 2024. The ceremony was organized at the Delhi Vidhansabha, Old Secretariat, New Delhi. The Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to scientific development, humanities, students' welfare and Contribution to Entrepreneurship as well. The APJ Abdul Kalam Award recognizes Chokly not just for his business acumen, but also for his significant contributions to education, healthcare, and community development across multiple countries. His journey from a small town in Kerala to building a global fashion and lifestyle empire epitomizes the spirit of innovation and perseverance. Under his exceptional leadership, the Telal group has grown from a single store in Dubai to an international conglomerate operating across 12 industries in 9 countries, with over 1800 employees. Today, the group's commitment to quality, innovation, and social responsibility has set new benchmarks in the Middle Eastern business landscape. The award ceremony was graced by several distinguished dignitaries. Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Raj Niwas Goel, Manoj Kumar, Member of Parliament from Sasaram, Imran Hussain, Cabinet Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Election, Aaley Mohammad Iqbal, Deputy Mayor Delhi Municipal corporation, Dr Mazin Al Masoudi, Ambassador of Arab League Mission, Delhi and many more. Expressing his happiness, he quoted "I am deeply overwhelmed with a profound sense of gratitude and humility. This recognition, named after one of India's most visionary leaders, carries a weight of responsibility. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's life and work have been a constant source of inspiration throughout my journey. The Telal Group has always strived to be more than just a business entity; we see ourselves as catalysts for positive change, whether it's through job creation, skill development, or our initiatives in education and healthcare. As we move forward, we are more committed than ever to nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. I am deeply grateful to the award committee for considering me worthy of this recognition. I am also thankful to my family for their unwavering support, to my team for their dedication, and to our customers and partners for their trust." As the Telal Group prepares to expand to 100 retail outlets across Europe, GCC, and Asian countries by 2025, this award stands as a testament to Chokly's global vision and his role in bridging cultures through business. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], August 1: Metalogic PMS, India's leading Metals & Mining intelligence firm, successfully hosted the conference on Steel & Metals for Defence Sector. The conference scheduled for 31st July 2024; Wednesday held at Indian Habitat Centre in New Delhi aimed to highlight the pivotal role of steel in meeting India's rising defence needs. The event was presided over by the esteemed presence of distinguished dignitaries including Bandaru Dattatraya, Governor of Haryana, Government of Haryana, who was the Chief Guest at the event., S. K. Jha, CMD Midhani Limited, Vijay Sharma, Director Jindal Stainless Ltd., S V Chakravarthy, Director (Commercial), SAIL and, P V Raja Ram, Director (Production) with Addl. charge of Director (Technical), Bharat Dynamics Limited. Monica Bachchan Duvvuri, Founder & CEO of Metalogic PMS mentioned that, "We are thrilled to host this conference, which aims to highlight the significant contributions of the steel and metals industry to India's defence sector. By bringing together industry leaders and experts, we hope to spark new ideas and collaborations that will drive innovation and strengthen our nation's defence capabilities." The discussions during the event were focused on the growth trajectory of Indian defence sector and its needs from the steel industry to ensure national security and reduce reliance on imports. Country's defence sector has started producing and exporting indigenous goods with annual domestic defence production, reached nearly Rs. 1.27 trillion in FY24, a 16.7 percent rise from Rs. 1.09 trillion in the previous fiscal year. In addition, the sector also recorded highest-ever defence exports, reaching USD 2.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. This significant milestone marks a 25 per cent increase from the USD 2 billion reported in FY23. However, the sector still faces challenges like inadequate availability of input materials domestically, which are used for producing defence specific products like special alloy grade material and light weight high tensile products etc. India still ranks amongst the largest defence and arms importing nation accounting for 9.8 percent of the global arms sales. The recent advances in steel manufacturing, fabrication technologies, light weighting of steel was highlighted during the course of the event. In this regard, Bandaru Dattatraya mentioned that Defence Ministry has set the target of 70 percent for sourcing of arms and guns produced from indigenous material by FY2027 with the possibility of broader pathways for smaller as well as large scale players. He further added that Defence Ministry has provided level playing field to domestic manufacturers of around 101 arms and ammunitions by planning imports substitution model. He concluded by adding that this initiative of the government has led to substitute the imports of few defence related equipment including arms and ammunitions like helicopters, ATV, and small range missiles, etc. In the recent Union Budget of FY25 announced by Fin Min Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been allocated Rs. 6,21,940.85 crore, the highest among the Ministries. The allocation to MoD for FY 2024-25 is higher by approx. Rs. one lakh crore (18.43 per cent) over the allocation for FY 2022-23 and 4.79 per cent more than allocation of FY 2023-24. Indian steel industry is thriving to supply its steel and reduce the reliance on imports of the defence sector. This event will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to explore the critical role of steels and metals in strengthening India's defence capabilities. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 1: Gradding, one of India's leading study abroad platforms, has introduced an innovative hybrid program aimed at alleviating budget constraints and addressing the skill gap challenges faced by aspiring international students. To do this, we held a webinar where students get to know about smart programs along with resolving their doubts from the industry experts. Students enrolling with us will begin their coursework in India and complete it on campus in the top nations like the UK, USA and Australia. This will reduce the total cost of studying and help students gain the required skills for global marketplace. The speaker threw light on the advantages of smart programs, such as no IELTS, SAT, GRE, etc, doubling the chance of getting a visa, no LOR or SOP and saving up to 20% money. Besides, students who missed the chance to enrol in the fall intake can be admitted to the January intake along with significant cost and time savings. This means they can pursue STEM-designed master's degrees under INR 13L, which would otherwise cost crores. He further highlighted the smart programs in detail. These programs give exposure to students to pursue their courses both in their native country and abroad. This is possible as through these, they can pursue their first semester in India and continue the course overseas. He further added the benefit of dividing this. It is due to the exposure and skills they will be gaining, which would be valuable in the global market. Besides, it will also reduce the cost of overall education as when in their native land, students do not have to spend on living expenses or accommodation. This is why these programs are gaining popularity these days. However, 65+ students enquired about their dreams in our online session, while over 20 students walked into the offline event. This helped them to resolve their queries from the industry expert in one-on-one sessions. Besides, 25+ students got their on-spot letter from their dream university overseas. Towards the end of the event, Mamta Shekhawat, Founder of Gradding, brings the benefits of pursuing education in the US with these smart programs to focus. She also positively highlights the concern about study and skill gaps that are filled by these programs and how the study abroad platform can ease the process of completing the journey. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) India PR Distribution Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 1: An aid event aimed at supporting underprivileged children was successfully held in Kishanpur village, Mathura. Organized by Dr Premveer Singh and generously sponsored by AIIMS Pharmacy, the event took place at the Child Education and Care Centre. A total of 163 volunteers and beneficiaries participated in the event, which featured a variety of engaging activities that attracted many enthusiastic participants. The organizers emphasized that the success of the event was largely due to the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, who played a crucial role in its smooth execution. On the day of the event, volunteers worked collaboratively to provide a range of aid materials to the children. These included crackers, cakes, chips, pasta, golden chocolates, biscuits, books, Natraj erasers and sharpeners, ballpoint pens, children's books, fresh food, tissues, and socks. Additionally, volunteers organized games and educational talks to help the children understand the importance of education. To ensure the children had an enjoyable day, the event included several fun activities. Volunteers not only played games with the children but also delivered educational talks that highlighted the significance of education in their lives. This approach enriched the children's knowledge and boosted their confidence for the future. Surendra, the head of the beneficiary organization, expressed deep gratitude for the volunteers' selfless contributions and noted that the event brought new hope and opportunities to the children at the orphanage. The event provided not only tangible assistance but also emotional warmth and encouragement to the children. The success of this event showcased the community's commitment to supporting underprivileged children and laid a solid foundation for future similar activities. We look forward to more volunteers and members of the community continuing to support and participate in such charitable initiatives, bringing more warmth and hope to children in need. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) Electric vehicle manufacturer Ather Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies (ARACT) to develop and supply NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) and LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) and other advanced chemistry cells on Thursday. Both companies will focus on building market-relevant solutions in India's journey towards the indigenisation of Electric Vehicle technologies, according to a press release. In June, Amara Raja Energy and Mobility acquired a Rs 170 crore (20 million euros) stake in Norwegian battery manufacturing company InoBat AS, the company informed the exchange in a filing. The company informed the exchanges that it is acquiring around 4.5 per cent stake in InoBat AS and after the acquisition, the stake of the company will increase to 9.32 per cent. The move was aimed at enhancing its capabilities in the production of batteries for electric vehicles custom-designed to meet the specific requirements of global mainstream and specialist OEMs within the automotive, commercial vehicle, motorsport, and aerospace sectors, and has shown significant growth in recent times. Reacting to the development, Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO at Ather Energy, said, "We're taking a significant step forward by promoting homegrown cell technology. This will help us optimise costs and enable us to source lithium-ion cells tailored to Ather's specific requirements, further enhancing our ability to innovate and scale efficiently. Our aim is to help the domestic industry grow significantly to support India's energy demand now and in the coming future." Vikramaditya Gourineni, Executive Director, Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd said, "At Amara Raja, we have significantly progressed in our efforts to build world-class facilities to manufacture cell and battery packs customised for Indian conditions. Our recent collaboration with Gotion-InoBat will accelerate our efforts towards the same." Ather Energy has designed and built its battery packs in-house and currently has two manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu. As per the company, one manufacturing facility is dedicated to battery production and the other to vehicle assembly. The EV manufacturer has recently announced its plans to open a third facility in Maharashtra which will allow Ather to get closer to more markets in the country. Amara Raja had announced an investment outlay of Rs 9,500 crores to establish a 16Gwh capacity gigafactory in Telangana. Additionally, the company is establishing state-of-the-art advanced research and innovation centre called 'ePositive Energy Labs' in Hyderabad to enhance its R&D capabilities," the release read. (ANI) Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone on Thursday reported that its net profit or profit after tax jumped 47 per cent year-on-year during the April-June quarter to Rs 3,107 crore, its earnings results showed. During the same period of the corresponding year, the net profit was Rs 2,119 crore. The Adani Group's ports business' revenue from operations grew 21 per cent during the quarter to Rs 7,560 crore, as against Rs 6,248 crore registered in the 2023 quarter. "2024-25 has begun on a strong note for us with a stellar performance on both financial and growth fronts. On the financial front, we posted all-time high earnings. But for the temporary disruption in Gangavaram Port, which is now fully restored, our Q1 cargo volume would have been at 114.7 MMT, a 13 per cent increase," said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ, as per a company statement. "On the growth front, we won two new port concessions and a port O&M (operation and management) contract. We are proud that four of our ports featured in World Bank's Container Port Performance Index 2023," said Ashwani Gupta, During the quarter, it clocked 109 million tonnes of cargo volume, up 8 per cent year-on-year. The growth was primarily driven by containers (up 18 per cent) and Liquids and Gas (up 11 per cent). The company said it had a temporary disruption, leading to a loss of 5.7 million tonne at its Gangavaram Port, which is now fully restored. Mundra port in Gujarat handled the highest-ever quarterly volume by any Indian port, at 51 million tonne. Mundra, Kattupalli, Hazira, and Krishnapatnam featured in the World Bank's Container Port Performance Index 2023. The index benchmarks ports globally across multiple parameters including productivity, efficiency and reliability. During the period, Adani Ports signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority to operate and manage Container Terminal 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port, Tanzania. It has four berths, with an annual cargo handling capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent). It managed 0.82 million TEUs of containers in 2023. The first mothership arrived at the Vizhinjam Port, India's first transhipment port equipped with South Asia's most advanced container handling technology. Adani Ports has seven strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast (Mundra, Tuna, Dahej, and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra and Vizhinjam in Kerala) and eight ports and terminals on the East coast of India (Haldia in West Bengal, Dhamra and Gopalpur in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry, representing 27 per cent of the country's total port volumes. (ANI) PRNewswire Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 1: Microland Limited, a global digital transformation leader, today announced it has been awarded the prestigious World Class 5-star rating by the Service Desk Institute (SDI), the industry accreditor that certifies the quality of IT service and support operations worldwide. This accreditation recognises our relentless efforts in delivering superior services to Clifford Chance employees and their global stakeholders. Microland is the third company globally and the first company in India to attain this accolade. We are honoured to share this distinction with Clifford Chance, the first law firm in the world to secure this recognition. Our partnership with Clifford Chance has been hailed by SDI as unparalleled and authentic, further consolidating our commitment to delivering exceptional services. Amid dynamic operational shifts, our service desk team has consistently delivered outstanding service. Our service desk has significantly contributed to Clifford Chance's ability to adapt to changing work practices in recent years. This highlights the commitment and effort of our service desk team, who continuously strive to deliver high-quality services, improve IT operations, and empower Clifford Chance to deliver outstanding support to their global partners and clients. Our joint investments and collaborative efforts with Clifford Chance have played a crucial role in achieving this accreditation. This shared dedication has allowed us to enhance our service desk capabilities and deliver unparalleled support. The accreditation is a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence and reflects the collaborative efforts of both Microland and Clifford Chance. Karthikeyan Krishnan, Senior Vice President and Geo Leader - Europe, Middle East and Africa, Microland, said, "We are delighted to have achieved a World Class 5-star rating from SDI. Microlanders have diligently worked to enhance service delivery and to achieve exceptional customer satisfaction for global enterprises. It is heartwarming to see our efforts recognised with the highest-level rating. We remain dedicated to continuous improvement and are committed to maintaining this World Class 5-star rating consistently in the years ahead." David Wright, Chief Value and Innovation Officer, SDI, commended the team's efforts, saying, "We observed a brilliant team at work firsthand during the audit, and everyone should be very proud of what they have achieved. This rating is a true reflection of Microland's passion and dedication to enabling business value and driving sustainable improvements. I extend my congratulations to the entire team on achieving a World Class 5-star accreditation, which is a worthy reflection on their commitment and hard work." Kieran Charnock, Director of Service Management, Clifford Chance, praised the team's stellar effort, saying, "We are thrilled to achieve the World Class 5-star rating by SDI with Microland. For over a decade, we have worked tirelessly with Microland to co-create value, fostering trust and collaboration. It is this enduring relationship that has empowered us to consistently deliver the highest level of service to our global stakeholders." About Microland Microland is committed to "Making Digital Happen" by allowing technology to do more and intrude less. They make it easier for enterprises to transition to next-generation digital infrastructure through their extensive service portfolio including Cloud and Data centers, Networks, Digital Workplace, Cybersecurity, and Industrial IoT. Incorporated in 1989 and headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Microland has more than 4,500 digital specialists across offices and delivery centers in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. About Clifford Chance Clifford Chance is one of the world's pre-eminent law firms with significant depth and range of resources across five continents. As a single, fully integrated global partnership, we pride ourselves on our approachable, collegial and team-based way of working. We always strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, which include corporates from all commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations. We provide them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm's global standards with in-depth local expertise. About Service Desk Institute (SDI) Service Desk Institute (SDI) sets the globally recognised best practice service desk standards that provide clear and measurable benchmarks for service desk operations and professionals. The standards are designed to encourage service desks to embrace and value best practice in order to raise the quality of service delivery. Media Contact: sobia.sahar@microland.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1343841/Microland_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL New Delhi [India], August 1: The world of cinema and television continuously evolves, reflecting our ever-deepening fascination with historical figures and pivotal moments. The resurgence of interest in historical biopics underscores the industry's commitment to storytelling that not only entertains but also educates. Such projects offer audiences a rich tapestry of past events, bringing to life the achievements and struggles of influential personalities who have shaped history. This genre, blending rigorous research with creative production, highlights the profound impact of historical narratives on contemporary society. In a remarkable development, a new biopic series is poised to shed light on one of the most significant reformers of the 19th century. This series delves into the life of a transformative figure whose contributions have left an indelible mark on modern India. The production promises to be a compelling exploration of the figure's profound influence on education and societal reform during British rule in India. The biopic is the brainchild of producer and actor Shoaib Hussain Choudhary, whose vision was sparked in 2013. During a conversation with Dr Masarrat Ali, a dedicated advocate for the historical figure's legacy, Choudhary was inspired to bring this monumental story to the screen. Dr Ali, based in the USA, was a prominent promoter of the figure's life and work. Tragically, Dr Ali passed away during the early stages of research, a loss that deeply affected Choudhary. Honoring his friend's commitment, Choudhary chose to continue with the project, supported by Dr Ali's family. The biopic chronicles the life of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, an eminent 19th-century reformer and educator. Following the 1857 mutiny, Sir Syed emerged as a leading advocate for modern scientific education in India. His journey led him to the United Kingdom, where he studied the British education system with the intention of replicating it in his homeland. His pioneering efforts began with the establishment of small madrasas, where English and Urdu were the primary languages of instruction. In 1875, he founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School, which later evolved into Aligarh Muslim University--a testament to his vision. The project, based on Hali's "Hayat E Javed," required an immense amount of research and effort. The production team faced numerous challenges, from meticulously recreating 19th-century settings to ensuring historical accuracy in every detail. The shooting faced delays, particularly with permissions to film on the Aligarh Muslim University campus--an oversight Choudhary felt was a disservice to the legacy of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Consequently, the production recreated historical settings in Mumbai and utilized old havelis in Meerut, spanning five cities over two years. The series boasts a distinguished cast, including Arif Zakaria, Akshay Anand, Urdu poet Azhar Iqbal, Deepak Parashar, and NSD gold medalist Diksha Tiwari, among others. Over 250 actors contribute to bringing this historical narrative to life. Professor Shafey Kidwai, a Sahitya Akademi Award recipient, curated the screenplay, while dialogues were penned by MM Kamalee. The meticulous attention to detail in both script and production aims to capture the essence of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's life and his role in shaping modern India. As post-production progresses, anticipation builds for a series that not only honors a national hero but also provides audiences with an immersive experience of a transformative era. This biopic stands as a testament to the enduring relevance of historical figures in contemporary storytelling, promising to illuminate the legacy of one of India's most influential reformers. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL New Delhi [India], August 1: Excitement is building as Hyderabad prepares to host an extraordinary convergence of industry innovation, collaboration, and sustainability. From August 16th to 19th, 2024, the HITEX Exhibition Centre will be the epicentre of technological advancements and sustainable solutions as it welcomes the 8th edition of the Hyderabad International Machine Tool and Engineering Expo (HIMTEX), the 3rd edition of the India Process Expo & Conference (IPEC), and the inaugural Eco Sustain Expo. HIMTEX 2024 is set to amaze with its showcase of cutting-edge advancements in machine tools and engineering technologies. Over 300 exhibitors will present their latest innovations, providing attendees with a unique opportunity to explore a wide array of machinery, equipment, and solutions in metalworking, automation, robotics, tooling, and industrial engineering. Srikanth T G, Business Head of HITEX, shared his enthusiasm: "As we approach the event dates, the excitement is intense. We are excited to bring together such a diverse and dynamic group of exhibitors and attendees. This year, HIMTEX, IPEC, and the Eco Sustain Expo will offer an unmatched platform for discovering the latest technological advancements and sustainable solutions meant for the manufacturing sector." While the India Process Expo & Conference (IPEC) will spotlight ground-breaking advancements in process industries, the Eco Sustain Expo will debut with a strong focus on sustainable technologies. Vinoth Sasidharan, Project Head of HIMTEX 2024, highlighted the tremendous synergy created by co-locating these events: "The integration of HIMTEX, IPEC, and Eco Sustain Expo will not only drive efficiency and productivity but also foster a culture of sustainability amongst the manufacturing fraternity. Attendees will benefit immensely from the opportunity to explore complementary technologies and form valuable partnerships during these four days here at HITEX, Hyderabad." Beyond the extensive exhibitions, the events will feature a meticulously curated agenda of seminars and networking sessions. These sessions are designed to provide attendees with insights into emerging trends, best practices, and opportunities for professional development. Additionally, business matchmaking sessions are planned to facilitate meaningful interactions and collaborations between exhibitors and visitors. For more details on HIMTEX 2024, and event updates, please visit the official website at www.himtex.in. About HIMTEX: The Hyderabad International Machine Tool and Engineering Expo (HIMTEX) is an annual flagship event dedicated to showcasing the latest advancements in machine tools, industrial machinery, and engineering technologies. HIMTEX serves as a catalyst for industry innovation, bringing together manufacturers, suppliers, and stakeholders to explore new opportunities, foster collaborations, and drive growth in the machine tool and engineering sector. Join us at HIMTEX, IPEC, and Eco Sustain Expo 2024 for an unforgettable experience that promises to redefine industry standards and propel us into a future of innovation and sustainability. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) BusinessWire India Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 1: India Circus by Krsnaa Mehta, a flagship brand under the Godrej Enterprise Group, has further solidified its presence with the inauguration of its 7th store in Mumbai city. With ambitious plans to expand to 50 new stores nationwide by the end of 2025, of which 20 are currently operational, India Circus marks a significant milestone in its expansion strategy. India Circus, acquired by Godrej Enterprises has emerged as a frontrunner in the home decor, design, and lifestyle sectors. The brand is celebrated for its contemporary Indian aesthetics, seamlessly blending traditional Indian artistry with modern design sensibilities. India Circus honors and celebrates India through its myriad designs, offering a magical journey from the palaces of Rajasthan to the banana plantations of the Cauvery Delta. "Our new store in Mumbai underscores our deep-rooted connection with this vibrant city," stated Krsnaa Mehta, Founder of India Circus. "It reflects our commitment to providing culturally inspired products that enrich the lives of our customers." India Circus's expansion comes at a time when the brand is on track to achieve significant revenue growth, targeting Rs 400 crore by FY2026, up from its current revenue of close to Rs 100 crore. This ambitious goal reflects Godrej Enterprise' vision for India Circus to cater to the evolving demands of Indian consumers while maintaining high standards of quality and creativity. The brand's methodical and deliberate offline expansion strategy prioritizes quality over quantity, ensuring each store location is strategically planned for maximum impact. Krsnaa Mehta, reflecting on the brand's journey, remarked, "We are committed to delivering exceptional design, superior quality, and affordable pricing, making our products an integral part of every home. Our goal is for India Circus to resonate with everyone, offering pieces that are not just aesthetically pleasing but also accessible and functional for everyday use." India Circus's approach to offline expansion is twofold. Firstly, it aims for customers to experience the tactile and visual elements of the products in person. By allowing them to touch, feel, and see the craftsmanship and quality up close, a deeper, more tangible connection with the brand is created. Secondly, this offline presence supports and enhances online sales. Once customers have experienced the products in-store, they are more likely to make subsequent purchases online, confident in the quality and design they have already witnessed firsthand. This integrated strategy not only boosts the physical store presence but also drives digital growth, creating a cohesive and robust retail ecosystem. The new Mumbai store, situated at Lokhandwala, will showcase India Circus's diverse product range, featuring home decor, fashion accessories, and lifestyle products. Each item embodies the brand's dedication to offering unique and aesthetically pleasing options for contemporary Indian homes. From vibrant cushion covers and exquisite tableware to elegant wall art and eclectic furniture pieces, India Circus consistently delivers stylish yet affordable solutions to elevate aesthetics. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 1: StratAspire Innovations Pvt. Ltd., an innovative startup founded by seasoned technology and business leaders, proudly announces its official launch in India. As a fully owned subsidiary of StratAspire Holdings Pte. Ltd., registered in Singapore, the company aims to empower Indian businesses to harness the transformative power of generative AI, a market projected to reach USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. Founded by veterans Yuji Akaba, Washizu Yoshinori, Saburo Takahashi, Raja Mukherjee, and Aalok Ajay Purohit, StratAspire Innovations is poised to join the tech revolution in India. The executive management committee includes Abhishek Chandel leading technology, Prasanna Lohar focusing on blockchain, Navaneethan M for cybersecurity, Srihari Prasad driving sales and business development, Nidhi Vadhera heading branding and marketing, and Haruka Nagahashi managing operations. With a core focus on high-end AI, generative AI, Google Cloud, cloud cost optimization, cloud security, and cybersecurity products, StratAspire Innovations addresses data utilization, talent shortages, cost concerns, and security issues head-on. The company crafts tailor-made solutions that combine cloud, generative AI, and Web3 technologies to meet specific business needs. StratAspire Innovations provides unwavering support from initial implementation to ongoing operations, ensuring businesses thrive in the AI-powered future. StratAspire Innovations is not only focused on India but is also expanding its global footprint with an existing presence in South Africa, Japan, and Singapore, and soon in Thailand and Australia. Mark Milanese (Australia), Gorge Queiroz (South Africa), and Kenta Matsuoka (Japan & South Africa) are joining forces for international expansion. With a team of Google Cloud-certified engineers, StratAspire Innovations boasts hands-on experience from over 100 generative AI projects, ensuring practical know-how and innovative solutions. The company understands the intricacies of the Indian IT market, catering to both large enterprises and agile startups, and offers end-to-end solutions, from generative AI adoption strategy consulting and custom solution development (leveraging Google Cloud's Vertex AI and Gemini) to post-implementation support and performance optimization. StratAspire Innovations embraces agile methodologies to adapt quickly to India's dynamic generative AI landscape and leverages a deep local network to anticipate trends and stay ahead of the curve. The company also provides specialized tech talent solutions to address the growing demand for skilled professionals in cloud computing, generative AI, legacy system modernization, cybersecurity, and more. Their network of top-tier engineers champions seamless integration into teams to accelerate digital transformation. StratAspire Innovations believes in fostering mutual growth and is poised to become the leading force in generative AI application development and digital transformation in India. The company views their clients' success as their own. Message From The CEO "I am incredibly proud to have co-founded StratAspire Innovations alongside my esteemed colleagues Raja Mukherjee, Washizu Yoshinori, Yuji Akaba and Aalok Ajay Purohit. Together, we've assembled an exceptional team of leaders, each with a proven track record of building successful ventures in the technology sector," said Saburo Takahashi, CEO of StratAspire Innovations. "Our combined expertise and passion for innovation fuels our mission to empower Indian businesses with cutting-edge cloud, AI, Web3 and talent solutions. We are dedicated to being at the forefront of this technological transformation, making these powerful tools accessible and impactful for our clients." Based in Bengaluru, StratAspire Innovations Pvt. Ltd. is a subsidiary of StratAspire Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore-registered company attracting significant interest from international investors eager to participate in India's flourishing IT sector. StratAspire Innovations specialises in cloud computing, generative AI, Web3 and Talent solutions. As a Google Cloud Partner, they focus on innovation, customer-centricity, and social impact to be a catalyst for growth and transformation in the Indian technology landscape. For more information, please visit www.strataspire.ai (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], August 1: GD Foods MFG (I) Pvt Ltd., the Indian food products company behind TOPS, one of India's leading FMCG brands, proudly announces its partnership with Femina Miss India, 2024 as the Co-powered by Partner. This partnership underscores the brand's dedication to supporting and empowering women who embody grace, talent, and ambition. Femina Miss India, 2024 will be the 60th edition of the Femina Miss India beauty pageant, which marks a historic milestone as the pageant celebrates its diamond jubilee year. Femina Miss India, an iconic platform that has given Indian women the opportunity to make a mark on the global stage for six decades, celebrates the diversity and dynamism of Indian womanhood. As the Co-powered by sponsor, TOPS aims to amplify this platform, showcasing its dedication to promoting confidence and leadership among young women across the country. As one of India's most trusted and loved consumer brands since 1984, with a large share of women consumers, TOPS is proud to be closely associated with the aspirations and dreams of Indian women for the last four decades. G.D. Foods Vice Chairman, Nitin Seth shared, "We are thrilled to partner with Femina Miss India, an iconic event that celebrates the spirit of Indian womanhood and excellence. At G.D. Foods, we believe in empowering Indian women to make a mark on the global stage and celebrating their achievements. This collaboration reflects our commitment to supporting young talents who inspire and lead with ambition, passion, and determination." The Femina Miss India diamond jubilee edition will culminate in a star-studded finale where the reigning Miss India will crown her successor. The ultimate winner will represent India at the prestigious Miss World pageant. With a diverse product range including iconic brands like TOPS ketchup, noodles, pickles, and culinary sauces, the TOPS range of products have been a staple in Indian kitchens for generations. Endorsed by Kareen Kapoor Khan as its brand ambassador, TOPS enjoys a strong domestic presence and has successfully expanded its reach to consumers in 30 countries worldwide. TOPS is a leading processed food brand that has been serving Indians since 1984. With a diverse portfolio of products including category leaders such as TOPS ketchup, noodles, pickles and culinary sauces, the brand has been serving the culinary needs of Indian consumers from breakfast to dinner for decades. TOPS is a brand with a strong domestic footprint and also boasts an international presence in 30 countries across the world. Not merely limited to traditional retail, the brand enjoys a prominent national presence in all trade verticals - General Trade, Modern Trade, Institutions, HoReCa & e-Commerce. Cementing its status as a global brand, TOPS is present in stores, supermarkets, restaurant chains and cash & carry stores across the globe. TOPS is a preferred consumer brand with a legacy of excellence and consumer trust that goes back nearly 40 years. Both the brand and its Vice Chairman, Nitin Seth have been awarded and recognised on various prestigious platforms including the Economic Times "Best Brands" award, Reader's Digest's "Most Trusted Brands" award, "Budding Entrepreneur of the year" award by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce and "World's Greatest Brands & Leaders 2018-19" award by URS Media, to name but a few. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) SMPL Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 1: The SilverZone Foundation, a trailblazer in educational initiatives, recently hosted a transformative round table discussion on "School Alignment with National Curriculum Framework" at the Four Points by Sheraton in Jaipur, Rajasthan. This event aimed to empower school leaders and educators with the necessary strategies and insights to align their educational practices with national standards. The event gathered thought leaders, educators, and visionaries to delve into the crucial role of education in promoting alignment with the National Curriculum Framework. Attendees were provided with invaluable insights into the importance of curriculum alignment, methods for integrating national standards into school curricula, and the essential role of educators in fostering these aligned educational practices. The event was managed by the Worldwide Scholarly Alliance (WSA), New Delhi, an organisation committed to empowering education leaders, fostering leadership excellence in high school education, and facilitating a seamless exchange of knowledge among key stakeholders in the education sector. "At SilverZone Foundation, our mission is to provide educators with the tools and knowledge needed to drive meaningful change and promote excellence within their institutions," said Kamal Kishore, Managing Director of SilverZone Foundation. "This discussion served as a platform for school leaders to exchange ideas, learn from experts, and collaborate on strategies to enhance curriculum alignment in education." The event featured a keynote address by Anand Kumar, a renowned education leader with two decades of experience in school administration. Kumar highlighted the critical importance of aligning school curricula with national standards and offered practical strategies for educators to implement in their schools. His presentation was followed by an engaging Q&A session, allowing participants to discuss real-life examples of successful curriculum alignment initiatives in schools. Participants expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to gain practical insights and strategies for promoting alignment with the National Curriculum Framework. The event concluded with a collective appreciation for the valuable discussions and knowledge shared throughout the day. About SilverZone Foundation: Headquartered in New Delhi, the SilverZone Foundation (www.silverzone.org) is a registered trust dedicated to fostering comprehensive development of students from Grades KG to 12 for more than 2 decades. Focused on promoting excellence among young learners, SilverZone organises Olympiads at the international level across continents designed to identify, nurture, and enhance students' skills and talents globally. With a bold emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical abilities, SilverZone has assessed over 30 million students across more than 50,000 schools and institutes. Backed by a formidable global network of 150,000 educators and 11,000 channel partners in over 90 countries, the SilverZone Foundation is a trailblazer in educational and academic development. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) About 2.08 per cent or Rs 7,409 crore of the withdrawn Rs 2,000 banknotes have not yet been returned to the RBI, about ten months after the deadline to deposit or exchange them at bank branches were over. This essentially means 97.92 per cent of the total value of the high-value Rs 2,000 banknotes are back in the banking system by the end of July 2024, the Reserve Bank of India said in an update on Thursday. The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, the date on which RBI decided to withdraw the banknote. The last day for the public to avail of exchange or to deposit high-value Rs 2000 banknotes at the banks was October 7, 2023. However, the window for depositing and/or exchanging the Rs 2,000 banknotes continues to be available at the 19 issue offices of the RBI. Those 19 RBI issue offices are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram. People from within the country can send Rs 2,000 banknotes through India Post from any post office to any of RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India. The Rs 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender. The Rs 2000 banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy expeditiously after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time. The objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. (ANI) Cinephiles, get ready to witness stars Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in action avatars. The duo is all set to come up with 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' series on November 7. Directed by Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' is the Indian installment of the global 'Citadel' franchise. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Hv4ouOywh/?hl=en On Thursday, the makers unveiled a gripping teaser of the show. In the teaser, Varun and Samantha's characters can be seen disguising themselves as they take on different missions. A new version of Raat Baaki playing in the background is a major highlight of the clip. Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Saleem, Sikandar Kher, Soham Majumdar, Shivankit Parihar, and Kashvi Majmundar are also a part of 'Citadel: Honey Bunny'. Announcing the release date of the show, Raj and DK in a statement shared by Prime Video said, "Citadel: Honey Bunny is a swashbuckling blend of gritty, fast-paced action and compelling drama with exceptional performances. We are excited to introduce Varun as an edgy action hero, and Samantha has upped her action game to the next level." They added, "We are also thrilled to have joined with the powerhouse Kay Kay Menon once again and are lucky to have an incredible cast," stated Raj & DK. "Ever since the series was announced, we have received overwhelming support and anticipation from fans, and that has been truly gratifying. So, it is only natural that we include fans in our date reveal today. The response to the teaser has been very heartening and we believe it is a testament to the dedication of the entire team. We cannot wait for audiences across the world to enjoy one of our most ambitious projects yet!" 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' is set against the vibrant tapestry of the '90s. Executive produced by the Russo Brothers' AGBO, Citadel and its subsequent action-espionage original Series traverse the globe, evolving the story of spy agency Citadel and its powerful enemy syndicate, Manticore. Each series born from the world of Citadel stars top local talent and is created, produced and filmed in region--bringing about stylistically unique shows with strong cultural identities rooted in their respective country of origin. The Italian Original, Citadel: Diana, is the second series to debut from the world of Citadel (launching October 10, 2024) and will be followed by India's series, Citadel: Honey Bunny starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha on November 7, 2024. Season Two of Citadel, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will begin production this year, with Joe Russo serving as director. (ANI) James Gunn has commemorated the tenth anniversary of the release of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', reflecting on a decade of interstellar adventure that has left a significant mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Taking to Instagram, Gunn shared a nostalgic photograph from the film's promotional tour, featuring himself alongside stars Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-GjdkLvxVI/ "Yesterday Superman wrapped. And today is the ten-year anniversary of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' being released in theaters in Europe," Gunn wrote in his post. "What an astounding ten years it's been." The image captures Gunn with Pratt, who played Peter Quill, and Bautista, who portrayed Drax the Destroyer. Launched in 2014, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' introduced audiences to a motley crew of cosmic heroes including Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. The franchise quickly gained popularity for its unique mix of humor, heart, and thrilling space adventures. The films are celebrated for their eclectic soundtracks of '70s and '80s hits and their balance of high-energy action with emotional depth. Following the success of the original film, the franchise expanded with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' in 2017 and continued to grow through appearances in other Marvel films and a third installment. The series remains a fan favorite, known for its strong character dynamics. In addition to celebrating this milestone, Gunn is currently concluding his work on another high-profile project. The director has recently wrapped up filming for the rebooted superhero film 'Superman', which is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025. Gunn shared his gratitude towards the film's cast and crew, emphasizing the collaborative spirit that defined the project. "And that's a wrap," Gunn posted, accompanied by a photo from the set. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life." He continued, "Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor." https://www.instagram.com/p/C-D7IDmv3xv/ 'Superman', previously known as 'Superman: Legacy', stars David Corenswet as the titular hero and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will explore Superman's struggle with his dual identity and alien origins, offering a contemporary take on the iconic character. The cast also includes Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and Milly Alcock as Supergirl, among others. (ANI) Kevin Costner's 'Horizon: An American Saga -- Chapter Two' is set to world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, reported Variety. The second sequel of the Western epic was cancelled earlier this month from its planned August 16 release in the US theatres. 'Chapter Two', which Costner directs and appears in opposite Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, and Danny Huston, will open at the Lido out of competition on September 7. The international premiere will be followed by a showing of the first "Horizon" film, which premiered at Cannes in May to a seven-minute standing ovation. New Line Cinema's 'Horizon: An American Saga' is a multi-faceted depiction of the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. In addition to directing and starring, Costner served as a co-writer with Jon Baird and produced through his Territory Pictures. "My dream was always to show 'Horizon: An American Saga -- Chapter Two' at the Venice Film Festival," Costner said in a statement. "The fact that now they have decided to show 'Chapter One' earlier in the day and then the world premiere of 'Chapter Two' that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director's vision. I'm indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey." Barbera shared, "It is a great pleasure and honor to host the world premiere of the chapter two of 'Horizon: An American Saga,' alongside its chapter one. This late addition to the lineup of the Venice Film Festival pays a heartfelt and respectful tribute to the visionary project of a great actor and director, who invested himself in the epic reconstruction of the years crucial to the founding of the country, digging beyond myth in search of authenticity capable of restoring a piece of history in its complex and contradictory reality." The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 28 to September 7, reported Variety. (ANI) In a display of courage and resilience, actress Hina Khan has shaved off her hair as she continues to battle stage 3 breast cancer. The former Bigg Boss contestant shared a heartfelt video on social media, capturing the emotional moment where she bid farewell to her iconic 'pixie' hairstyle. In the video, Hina Khan shared a heartfelt message, saying, "You can win this only if you will embrace yourself, accept it and I choose to accept my battle scars because I believe if you will embrace yourself you are one step closer towards your healing and I really really want to heal and focus on that part and that aspect of my life." https://www.instagram.com/p/C-IjIJeyHIi/ "I don't want to go through that phase where every time I put my hand in my hair and a bunch of hair falls, she said, adding, "It's very stressful, it's very depressing. I don't want to go through that." She emphasized the importance of mental health saying, "I want to tell you all this that if your mental health is okay then your physical health is 10 times better. So, in order to work on your physical health, you got to focus on your mental health." "I want to stay positive and happy and do all the possible things so that in my journey I don't have any mental stress at least," she continued. Showing a trimmer, she said, "I want to focus on my mental health and do all those things through which I can at least fight back mental stress." "To all you people out there who are going through these tough times, especially women, I know how hard it is, it's very stressful, it's very painful, don't put yourself through all this, just simply buzz it off before it starts falling," the 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' actor said. "Remember you are still you, nothing is going to change, in fact you are more beautiful. Embrace this new version of yourself. Embrace this new truth, this new journey with every breath, every cell, every single time, in every way possible," the 'Hacked' actor said. "I am going to put on a wig whenever its necessary, but I am also going to carry this bald head that I am gonna have, proudly," Hina affirmed in the video, as she addressed her followers, urging them to embrace their true selves amidst adversity. Hina Khan, widely recognized for her roles in popular television shows, has been transparent about her health journey, using her platform to raise awareness and provide solace to those facing similar challenges. In her social media post accompanying the video, Hina wrote, "The pixie says ADIOS, It's time to BUZZ it off ! Here's another attempt to Normalise the hardest phase of this journey, aesthetically speaking." Her message resonated deeply, drawing an outpouring of support and admiration from fellow celebrities and fans alike. Throughout her ordeal, Hina has maintained a positive outlook, focusing on her healing and continuing to engage in her professional commitments, including upcoming music videos and projects in the OTT space. (ANI) Odisha BJP MLA Ashok Mohanty said that the BJD leaders have lost their trust in Naveen Patnaik after Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Mamata Mohanta resigned from the Rajya Sabha and also from the party on Wednesday. Mohanty further stated that Mohanta had resigned because she knew that if she stayed in the party, then she couldn't develop her region, so she left. "BJD leaders have lost their trust in Naveen Patnaik. BJD's allegation is false. We have numbers in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha . She is resigning from her party because she knows if she stays there, then she can't develop her area. So she left," he said. On Wednesday, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that he had received the resignation letter of Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Mohanta and had accepted her resignation with immediate effect. Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Dhankar said, "Honourable members, I have to make an announcement. I have received a letter today from honourable member Mamata Mohanta, representing the state of Odisha, resigning her seat in the Rajya Sabha. She has resigned her seat by writing to the chairman and handing it personally to me." He further said, "... I have accepted the resignation of Mamata Mohanta, a member representing the state of Odisha, with immediate effect." In her resignation letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman, Mohanta wrote, "I do hereby tender my resignation from the membership of Rajya Sabha today, i.e., July 31, 2024. I have taken this decision consciously." Mohanta also took to her official X handle and posted about her resignation. She said, "I have resigned from the post of Rajya Sabha member today. The Biju Janata Dal Party president chose me as a member of the District Council and a member of the Rajya Sabha and gave me the opportunity to serve my district." In her resignation letter to Naveen Patnaik, Mohanta said, "I do hereby resign from the Primary Membership of Biju Janata Dal today, i.e., July 31, 2024. I sincerely express my gratitude to your good self for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of Mayurbhanj and also to take the cause of Odisha at the national level." She added further, "However, I feel that there is no requirement of the services of myself as well as my community in the Biju Janata Dal. Therefore, I have taken this hard decision in the public interest." (ANI) Waging through inclement weather conditions, the Madras Engineer Group (MEG), an engineering unit of the Indian Army that began work on erecting a temporary Bailey Bridge in landslide affected Chooralmala, is making steady progress towards its completion. Taking to its social media handle, the Indian Army Southern Command Pune posted on X, "Persevering and relentless, despite facing inclement weather, rising water levels and the challenges of working through the night, the Madras Engineers Group (MEG) team is inching towards completing the bridge at Chooralmala." As per reports, the rescue team can transport the rescue vehicles, cutters, food and water to Mundakkai only after the completion of the bridge. Currently, numerous volunteers are working tirelessly among the rubble of houses and buildings to detect any signs of life. After two massive landslides struck Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday morning, causing extensive destruction, rescue operations are being intensified, political leaders are engaged in discussions, and financial aid is being mobilised for the region. The first landslide occurred in Mundakkai, a town, and the second in Chooralmala. The massive landslides wreaked havoc in the region, damaging houses and roads, uprooting trees, and swelling water bodies, which hindered rescue operations. Relief and rescue efforts are currently underway. The landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala, Wayanad, have resulted in 167 confirmed deaths, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. According to sources from the Department of Information and Public Relations (PRD) Control Room in Wayanad, 96 victims have been identified, including 77 men, 67 women, and 22 children. Post-mortem examinations have been conducted on 166 bodies and 49 body parts. A total of 75 bodies have been handed over to relatives. Rescue personnel have brought 219 individuals to hospitals; 78 are still receiving treatment, while 142 have been moved to relief camps. In Wayanad, 73 people are hospitalised, and five in Malappuram. Amid the rising death toll, the Indian Army has intensified its efforts to rescue people stranded after the landslides. According to the Ministry of Defence, "The Army has set up a "Command and Control Centre" headed by Major General VT Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, along with Brigadier Arjun Segan, at Kozhikode for coordinating HADR efforts." Naval aviation assets provided due support for the transportation of SDRF and state administration officials. Multiple aircraft are on standby at Thiruvananthapuram, Sulur, and Thanjavur to provide air rescue at short notice. Besides the aid in terms of medicine and first aid, ECHS Polyclinic, Kalpetta, is providing the services of doctors, nursing assistants, and ambulances to the flood operations columns. In the wake of the devastating landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district, Union Minister George Kurien visited the affected area on Wednesday to assess the ongoing rescue operations. Kurien took stock of the rescue operation underway and also met the victims at the relief camps. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased in the landslides. "The Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased in the landslides in parts of Wayanad," PM's office said in a post on X. The post further said that the injured would be given Rs 50,000. (ANI) Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday became emotional over the 'parivarvaad' statement by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari during a parliamentary session and urged Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to expunge those remarks in the House regarding his political journey. In a sombre tone, while taking umbrage to the remarks by the BJP MP, Kharge said that he felt bad about it and did not "wish to live for long in this environment." Soon after the laying of the listed paper in the House, the Congress leader pointed out that BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari had referred to his political journey and said his (Kharge's) entire family' was in politics. "He made a comment regarding 'parivarvaad.' I request that this be expunged from the records," Kharge said. The leader of the opposition further said he was a first-generation politician and provided details of his political journey, which began after he joined the Congress party. He mentioned that his father had died at the age of 85. To this, Chairman Dhankhar wished him an even longer life than his father but Kharge quipped, "I felt bad. I don't wish to live for long in this environment." Stating that he had been in the chair when BJP MP Tiwari had made his remarks, Dhankar said he did not think the BJP leader had meant to convey anything wrong to Kharge but assured the Congress leader that he would minutely examine the records. "Every member of Parliament is respected and Kharge Ji's life has been in public for almost 6 decades. I have said this many times and there are many respected members here too. Any word that hurts Kharge ji will not remain on record," said Chairman Dhankhar. (ANI) The STF team on Wednesday apprehended a person and detained three others. Pranab Jyoti Goswami, CPRO of Assam police, said that, acting on intelligence input received at the STF, Assam, foreign cigarettes violating COTPA, tax norms, etc. would be transported by a truck bearing registration number HR-38Z-8530 from Silchar to Raipur (Chattisgarh) and the truck was intercepted at Amingaon area in Kamrup district. "On being searched, 11 big cartons of foreign cigarettes hidden under furniture consignments were detected and seized. A total of 22,000 cigarette boxes and 4,40,000 cigarettes were found, and the driver, Parashu Baishya, was apprehended," the CPRO of Assam police said. "Based on the confession of the driver regarding stocking point, a raid was carried out at the premises of MR King Godown located in Boragaon and the manager, Sahil Dewan, and two others, Ashique Ikbal and Ajit Saloi, were picked up," the CPRO of Assam police said. Necessary legal measures are being taken. Further investigation into the matter is underway. More details are awaited. Earlier, Assam police seized 30,000 Yaba tablets worth Rs 9 crore in Cachar district and arrested an accused in connection with the same, police said on Saturday. The search operation was conducted on the night of July 27 following a specific input regarding the transportation of narcotic substances in the Katakhal area under the jurisdiction of Dholai Police Station. The arrested accused has been identified as Abdul Alim (42) a resident of Saptagram village under Dholai police station. In this connection, a scooty used in illegal transportation has been seized. The consignment of the narcotics substance is illegally transported from Aizawl, police said. (ANI) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday headed to Wayanad to take stock of the situation in Kerala constituency that was rocked by devastating landslides in which death toll has risen to 167 and hundreds more still missing. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hour of July 30, causing extensive destruction. Rescue operations are being intensified, political leaders are engaged in discussions, and financial aid is being mobilised for the region. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were scheduled to visit Wayanad on Wednesday morning, but the authorities informed them that they would not be able to land due to incessant rain and adverse weather conditions. "Priyanka and I were scheduled to visit Wayanad tomorrow to meet with families affected by the landslide and take stock of the situation. However, due to incessant rains and adverse weather conditions, we have been informed by the authorities that we will not be able to land. I want to assure the people of Wayanad that we will visit as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide all necessary assistance. Our thoughts are with the people of Wayanad at this difficult time," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X on July 30. The first landslide occurred in Mundakkai, a town, and the second in Chooralmala. The massive landslides wreaked havoc in the region, damaging houses and roads, uprooting trees, and swelling water bodies, which hindered rescue operations. Relief and rescue efforts are currently underway. 167 people have been declared dead in the aftermath of the landslides as per the Kerala Revenue Department. According to sources from the Department of Information and Public Relations (PRD) Control Room in Wayanad, 96 victims have been identified, including 77 men, 67 women, and 22 children. Post-mortem examinations have been conducted on 166 bodies and 49 body parts. A total of 75 bodies have been handed over to relatives. Amid the rising death toll, the Indian Army has intensified its efforts to rescue people stranded after the landslides. The Indian Army is builidng a 190-ft-long Bailey bridge is being built to connect the severely affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala and speed up rescue operations. Rahul Gandhi won both Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli and Kerala's Wayanad seat but the latter decided to represent Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha. The Congress leader also won the seat of Wayanad, which paved his entry to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 3,64,422 votes. Priyanka Gandhi is slated to contest the bypolls in Wayanad. (ANI) Uttarakhand government has issued a safety advisory for Chardham Yatra pilgrims amid forecasts of heavy rainfall across the state. Authorities have appealed to devotees to delay their journeys until weather conditions improve and to remain in safe locations. DGP Abhinav Kumar has urged pilgrims and devotees to be cautious and to start their journey only after breaks. He emphasized the importance of staying in safe places and following local authorities' instructions. "The Meteorological Department has issued an alert for heavy rain in most districts of Uttarakhand. Your safety is our priority," the DGP said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall alert in Uttarakhand for the next five days. Earlier, two people were found dead and another injured after they went missing following a cloudburst at Jakhanyali in the Ghansali area of Tehri Garhwal district. The deceased were identified as Bhanu Prasad (50) and Anita Devi (45). A spokesperson from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said that after receiving information about the missing individuals, the SDRF team conducted a search. They recovered two bodies and rescued an injured person, who was carried out from a 200-meter-deep ditch and taken to the hospital. The bodies were handed over to the district police. In another incident, in the Bhori Dera area of Haridwar, two children died and nine others were injured when the roof of a dilapidated house collapsed due to heavy rainfall. The deceased were identified as Aas Mohammed (10) and Nagma (8). The District Magistrate and SSP visited the site to assess the situation, spoke with local residents, and ensured the injured were taken to a local hospital. Compensation for the deceased and injured will be provided as per government orders. Earlier on Wednesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a 'red alert' for Uttarakhand. Following Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's instructions, Commissioner of Garhwal Division Vinay Shankar Pandey inspected disaster relief camps and affected areas in Tehri district. Pandey visited Government Inter College Vinak Khal, Tingarh village, and Budhakedar, addressing the concerns of affected residents and meeting with disaster-affected individuals and officials. He assured them of the government's commitment to effective disaster relief. He reviewed relief camp arrangements, including power backup, television access, children's education, and livelihood support. (ANI) Frank Thomas Tom Shumate, Jr., arrives at the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and Courthouse for a hearing in May. On Wednesday, a bankruptcy judge ruled Shumate will no longer be in charge of two of his companies, Superior Ready Mix of Texas LLC and WFO LLC. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Superior Ready Mix of Texas LLC employed more than 60 workers before it ceased doing business in December. Patrick Danner/Staff photo Vehicles are shown in this file photo traveling along I-10 in front of Superior Ready Mix of Texas LLCs former concrete batch plant in Cibolo, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Superior Ready Mix of Texas LLC operated a concrete batch plant at 146 Motts Parkway in Marion. It filed for bankruptcy protection in May. The plant has since been disassembled. Patrick Danner/Staff photo Businessman Frank Thomas Tom Shumate Jr. will no longer be in charge of two of his businesses that are mired in bankruptcy in San Antonio. After hearing arguments that the businesses bankruptcy estates have been grossly mismanaged, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta ruled that Shumate who lives in Sarasota, Fla. should not remain in control while the companies proceed in bankruptcy. He does not have a full or coherent understanding of how these debtors are being operated, Gargotta said Wednesday. I dont think we can really get a full sense of what has transpired in these cases. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The two companies operated concrete batch plants before they filed for bankruptcy in May. The filings stopped efforts by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff, Ark., to foreclose on the companies' real estate. Superior Ready Mix of Texas LLCs operated in the Motts Industrial Park along Interstate 10 in Marion. It has blamed its December shutdown on the city of Cibolo, which issued hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines because the company never obtained a building permit before erecting the batch plant. Cibolo has jurisdiction over the park. WFO LLC operated its plant in Crandall in Kaufman County outside Dallas. The company and Superior shared headquarters in Marion. Another Shumate business, Lone Star Cement LLC, has assumed operations at the WFO plant and is using the trucks and equipment of both WFO and Superior. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In Superiors Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the judge ordered the case be converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation. That means a Chapter 7 trustee will be appointed to liquidate Superiors assets and distribute proceeds to its creditors. As for WFO, Gargotta ordered the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee to manage the companys affairs. I cant let Mr. Shumate be at the helm in that case because, quite frankly, for lack of a better word, hes not disinterested, Gargotta said. This case is predicated on WFOs relationship with Lone Star Cement. And Mr. Shumate is on both sides. Gargottas rulings Wednesday mark the latest blows to Shumate, whose business empire has been crumbling amid bankruptcies and legal battles. In the case of his bankrupt oil field services company, Shumate has disputed allegations that its books and records were burned and buried. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Superior received millions of dollars from Cinch Wireline Services Inc., its bankruptcy trustee also has alleged. Gross mismanagement The U.S. Trustees office, which is part of the Justice Department, had moved to convert both cases to Chapter 7. James W. Rose Jr., an attorney for the office, offered examples of what he considered gross mismanagement going on at the companies. They havent provided any lease information with Lone Star Cement, neither WFO nor Superior has bank accounts and Shumate signed the bankruptcy schedules without knowing their accuracy, Rose said. Such documents include detailed financial information about a debtor. These cases need independent trustees appointed immediately for the creditors, he said. A trustee can make decisions about actions that are appropriate and need to be taken for the benefit of all creditors, to preserve the assets and to investigate insider transactions which there are many. I bet there are a lot more that we dont know about. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Michael Colvard, bankruptcy lawyer for Superior and WFO, opposed bringing in bankruptcy trustees to replace Shumate particularly at WFO. You take him out of the batch plant operations, its going to go up in smoke, Colvard said. If it goes up in smoke, whats going to happen? Do you really think that you can put this thing in a Chapter 7 proceeding and one of our panel trustees is going to convert it back to a Chapter 11 and then go and operate a batch plant? Which one of them has any inkling of knowledge of how to operate a batch plant? If the batch plant goes under, he added, many of the secured creditors would be hurt. Numerous concerns Gargotta wasnt persuaded by Colvards argument. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The judge expressed a variety of concerns: Shumate provided vague testimony at times while on the witness stand, the bankruptcy schedules he signed arent accurate, theres a paucity of information in both cases, and that WFO had more than $23 million in revenue last year but none this year. Gargotta also cited the inclusion of some pricey automobiles in the bankruptcy schedules, including a 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo valued at $300,000. Weve got some really nice cars that, for the life of me, I cant understand why they are necessary for the operation of either debtor, the judge said. It begs the question: Why do we have these in these businesses? Why are they being used? Whats the point to it? With the input of creditors, Gargotta seemed confident that a trustee could be found to move the WFO case forward. WFO listed $9.5 million in assets and $7 million in liabilities. Superior reported $12.7 million in assets and $10.6 million in liabilities. Superiors concrete plant has been disassembled since it sought bankruptcy protection. Union Education Minister and BJP MP from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Thursday greeted everyone on the occasion of 'Sambalpuri Din' (Sambalpuri Day). He also paid tribute to the famous Sambalpuri literature scholar Satya Narayan Bohidar on his birth anniversary. He said that the scholar's dedication and sacrifices in enhancing the dignity of Sambalpuri language, culture and literature will always be remembered. Taking to the social media platform X, he said, "Tribute to late guru Shri Satyanarayan Bohidar, a famous Sambalpuri literature scholar, on the occasion of his birth anniversary." In another video released by Dharmendra Pradhan on his social media platform X, he talked about the importance of Sambalpuri culture and appealed to people to take forward this language and culture. He said, "Today is August 1; today is Sambalpuri Din; greetings to all on this special day.". He said that celebrating Sambalpuri Din on the birthday of Guru Satyanarayan Bohidar will spread the Sambalpuri language and culture around the world. "To celebrate Sambalpuri Din on his birthday will spread the Sambalpuri language and culture around the world," said the MP from Sambalpur. He thanked the personalities and different organisations in Odisha for working towards taking Sambalpuri culture forward. He stated, "Odisha's leading social reformers, cultural and social organisations, and other people who help spread Sambalpuri culture are welcoming.". He then highlighted the work of the BJP government in building the Rangabati Centre of Excellence in IIM Sambalpur. He said, "Under the leadership of the Narendra Modi government, a centre for excellence was opened at IIM Sambalpur for research on Sambalpur history and culture. This is a moment of joy and pride." He further said, "Sambalpuri culture is a culture that keeps us happy by witnessing someone's happiness.". He appealed to celebrate Sambalpuri din and spread Sambalpuri culture. "Let's celebrate Sambalpuri din and Sambalpuri Asmita ra din and work together towards taking Sambalpuri language and culture forward. This will be the real tribute to the poet," he said. Sambalpuri Din marks the birth anniversary of Guru Satyanarayan Bohidar, whose contributions and dedication to the promotion of the dialect through his books gave the Western Odisha language a specific identity. Bohidar was born today (Aug 1) in 1913 at Sonepur, then undivided Sambalpur. (ANI) Congress MP Manickam Tagore gave an adjournment notice in Lok Sabha on Thursday regarding water leakage in the Parliament lobby. In his notice, Manickam Tagore stated that the water leakage highlights "potential issues with the building's weather resilience, just one year after its completion." "I rise to address concerns following yesterday's heavy rains, which caused water leaks inside the Parliament lobby along the path used by our President of India when entering the new Parliament building," the Congress MP said. Manickam Tagore proposed forming a specialised committee, including all party MPs, to inspect the building thoroughly to address the issue. https://x.com/manickamtagore/status/1818833965253640294 He added that the committee will focus on the causes of the leaks, evaluate the design and materials, and recommend necessary repairs. Additionally, it should establish a maintenance protocol and ensure transparency by publicly sharing its findings, as mentioned in the notice. The Congress MP further urged all members to support the initiative to "uphold the safety and integrity of our Parliament." As per today's schedule, Union Minister Amit Shah is expected to introduce a bill to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in both Houses of Parliament. Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the statutory resolution regarding Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi will move a motion in support of the second report of the Business Advisory Committee presented to the House on July 31. Union Minister Ravneet Singh will move a motion for the election of two members to the council of the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM). Union Minister Manohar Lal is expected to move a motion for the election of two members to the Advisory Council of the Delhi Development Authority. Matters under Rule 377 will also be taken up for discussion today in both the Houses and further discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25 will also be held today. The discussion and voting on demands for grants under the control of the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for 2024-25 will be held in both Houses. Union Ministers Jual Oram, Shripad Yesso Naik, Suresh Gopi, Ajay Tamta, Ravneet Singh, Tokhan Sahu, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, and Murlidhar Mohol will lay papers on the table in Lok Sabha for their respective ministries. Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jitendra Singh, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Kirtivardhan Singh, Raksha Nikhil Khadse, and Sukanta Majumdar will lay papers on the table in Rajya Sabha today. Discussions on the workings of ministries including Housing and Urban Affairs and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare will be held in the upper house. The discussion on the workings of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was initiated by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari on July 31. The monsoon session of Parliament commenced on July 22 and as per the schedule, the session will conclude on August 12. (ANI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at various locations in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli on Thursday in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Ramalingam murder case. Ramalingam, who had opposed the Dawah work of leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly involved in converting Hindus into Islam, was murdered in 2019. Earlier in July last year, NIA raided 21 locations, including the residences of five absconding proclaimed offenders (POs) and suspects in Tamil Nadu. In August 2019, the NIA filed a chargesheet against 18 individuals, including the five absconding accused persons, before the NIA Special Court, Chennai. The NIA Special Court, Chennai, had declared these five absconding accused persons as proclaimed offenders. Ramalingam was allegedly murdered on February 5, 2019, in Paku Vinayakam Thoppu, Thanjavur, by members and office bearers of the PFI. Ramalingam, who had opposed the Dawah work of leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly involved in converting Hindus to Islam. NIA had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakhs each to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of any of the five absconders. The prosecution of others already arrested in the case is currently underway. Earlier, the NIA had filed a chargesheet against 18 accused persons, including the five absconding accused persons, on August 2, 2019, before the NIA Special Court, Chennai. The NIA Special Court, Chennai, had declared these five absconding accused persons as Proclaimed Offenders. Raids in the districts of Thanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tirupur, Villupuram, Trichy, Pudukottai, Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai, led to the seizure of several digital devices (mobile phones, SIM cards and memory cards) and documents, the NIA stated. Ramalingam was brutally murdered on February 5, 2019, in Paku Vinayakam Thoppu, Thanjavur allegedly by members and office bearers of the PFI, which had conspired the assassination. The NIA said that the accused persons had avenged Ramalingam by killing him in an extremely violent jihadi manner as he objected to the forcible conversion of underprivileged persons by Dawah Team / Proselytization team dispatched from Arivagam, Theni. According to NIA investigations, the violence was instigated to instil fear among the opponents of the outfit, declared as an 'unlawful association' under UAPA by the Government of India on 28th September 2022, and to drive a wedge between the communities by inciting communal hatred and violence. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a review meeting with officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre on Thursday morning, to assess the situation of rescue and relief operations in areas affected by heavy rainfall. During the meeting, CM Dhami said that rescue teams had been active throughout the night, relocating people to safety due to the impact of the rains. "We received information about the disruption of life in many areas across the state. Consequently, rescue teams worked through the night to move people to safer locations," he said. The Chief Minister assured that he is maintaining constant communication with the local administration. He instructed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams to remain on high alert in the affected regions. "I have directed officials to assist those affected by the heavy rainfall and to relocate individuals endangered by rising rivers and drains to safer places. Everyone has been instructed to stay vigilant," Dhami said after the meeting. He also mentioned that relief and rescue operations are ongoing in severely affected areas such as Rambada, Bhimbali, and Jakhaniyali. CM Dhami is staying informed about the situation through discussions with local administration and public representatives and has instructed them to assess the damage and take immediate action. The Chief Minister emphasized that ensuring the safety of residents, as well as devotees and tourists, is the top priority. "Our entire team is working promptly to address the situation. We request everyone to travel only after obtaining updated information about the weather and current conditions," Dhami added. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall alert in Uttarakhand for the next five days. Uttarakhand government has also issued a safety advisory for Chardham Yatra pilgrims amid forecasts of heavy rainfall across the state. Authorities have appealed to devotees to delay their journeys until weather conditions improve and to remain in safe locations. DGP Abhinav Kumar has urged pilgrims and devotees to be cautious and to start their journey only after breaks. He emphasized the importance of staying in safe places and following local authorities' instructions. "The Meteorological Department has issued an alert for heavy rain in most districts of Uttarakhand. Your safety is our priority," the DGP said. (ANI) Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday attacked the central government over the employment-linked incentive schemes presented as part of the Union Budget and said that "B in Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) budget stands for "Betrayal." "A week into the 'Kursi Bachao Budget', the academia and the industry awaits clarity from the Modi government on its Tokenism regarding the so-called 'employment-linked incentive' schemes," Kharge posted on X. The Congress chief said that crores of youth want a permanent solution to their plight of jobs, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government "bitterly deceives" them by not even giving a "temporary solution!" "We ask 2 questions to the Modi government on these SHAM schemes: When will the Modi government provide details of the schemes? Neither the youth nor the industry, which is to be NUDGED, according to the FM, to provide Internships, First Time Jobs or Training has any know-how about the contours of the 5 Employment-Link Incentive Schemes. A government, which could not create a conducive environment for Private Investment and took measures to plunge it, is now acting as if it will suddenly NUDGE 500 top companies, to hire 4000 interns per year! Was there any stakeholder consultation before imposing this half-copied idea from the Congress Manifesto?" he asked the government Kharge said that the Congress Manifesto had a Right to apprenticeship, but PM Modi's government's budget has mere internships forced upon the industry with no long-term solution in sight. "The Congress Manifesto had a 'Right to Apprenticeship' - which is a structured system of training where individuals, known as apprentices, learn a trade or profession through a combination of on-the-job training and classroom instruction. On the other hand, the Modi government's budget has mere internships forced upon the industry with no long-term solution in sight," he said. He further claimed that the BJP government does not want to recruit SC, ST, OBC, and EWS youth in the public sector. "Why are none of these Employment-Link Incentive Schemes missing the Public Sector component? Is it because the BJP wants NO recruitment of SC, ST, OBC and EWS youth in the Public Sector - through reservation?" he said. Questioning the government, Kharge asked, "Why are all these schemes providing "temporary" employment/internships?" "For instance, the incentive scheme for first-time employees, which offers a Rs 15,000 subsidy is paid out in three instalments; the second instalment is only payable if the employee undergoes a compulsory online financial literacy course. Why should employees in every unrelated sector be expected to do this? More worrying is the clause stating that the subsidy is "to be refunded by the employer if the employment to the first timer ends within 12 months of recruitment." If the employee switches jobs in 10 months, he/she has already received the benefit of the scheme, but the employer is required to bear the costs. Would any small employer take this risk?" Kharge asked the government. The Congress chief demanded clarification from PM Modi's government on the Union Budget. "The minimum wage (average) in India is about Rs 13,300. It looks as if no new intern/hire in these SHAM schemes even getting that. Modi government should clarify this. The 'B' in BJP's Budget stands for 'Betrayal'!" he stated. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23 and said that to provide on-the-job training to youth, the government will launch an internship scheme to provide opportunities to one crore youth in the top 500 companies over the next five years. Sitharaman proposed that for the interns to get exposure to real-life environments an internship allowance will be provided of Rs 5000 per month. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to assess the situation following a cloudburst that caused significant disruption in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts. The Union Home Minister assured the Chief Minister of providing central assistance and the support of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhu held a meeting with officials regarding search and rescue operations following the cloudburst in the state, where more than 50 people are missing and two bodies have been recovered so far. "We held a meeting here. The cloudburst incident took place around 4:40 a.m. Around 50 people are missing. 2 bodies have been recovered. Heavy rain is expected in the next 36 hours. The DC, SDRF, and NDRF teams have reached the spot. I have also spoken to the Union Home Minister," said CM Sukhu. Taking to the social media platform X, the Chief Minister wrote, "Very sad news has been received about more than 50 people missing due to a cloudburst in Rampur tehsil of Shimla, Padhar tehsil of Mandi district and Jaon, Nirmand villages of Kullu. Teams of NDRF, SDRF, Police, Home Guard and Fire Services are engaged in relief, search and rescue operations. The local administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations smoothly. I am in touch with the officials and monitoring the relief and rescue operations. The state government is committed to providing all possible assistance." Notably, the water level in the Beas River has increased due to heavy rains in the region. Mandi police, in a press release, stated that during the heavy rainfall last night, a cloudburst was reported in Village Rajban near Terang, under the jurisdiction of Police Post Tikkan in Police Sub Division Padhar. Due to the cloudburst, two houses were completely washed away and one was partially damaged. According to a release from the district administration in Mandi, due to the heavy rains, the water levels of the Beas River have increased. This has caused silting and due to this, the gates of the Pandoh Dam have been opened. Water and silt from the Pandhod dam will be released as well. The administration appealed to residents to not venture near the river. Former Himachal Pradesh CM and State LoP Jairam Thakur said, "I have just spoken to the CM and got the information that more than 50 people are missing, and one person has lost his life... It won't be right if I start blaming the government, but I think that the damage we suffered last year, I think the preparation in that regard hasn't been done to prevent such conditions. The damage that was caused is yet to be restored, but the state govt is working. I have talked to our party president and Health Minister JP Nadda. NDRF teams are working there."(ANI) The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1 that sub-classification within the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes (SC/STs) reservation is permissible. A 7-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud overruled the earlier judgement by a five-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah matter, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes. Besides CJI Chandrachud, other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Bela M Trivedi, in a dissenting opinion, said that she disagreed with the majority judgement. The Seven Judge Constitution Bench was dealing with issues relating to the sub-classification of reserved communities like SCs and STs. CJI Chandrachud, while overruling judgement on Chinnaiah that held subclassification of the scheduled classes is impermissible, said that even at the lowest levels, the struggles with the class do not disappear with their representation. Justice BR Gavai said there are categories within the SC/STs that have faced oppression for centuries and opined that the state must evolve a policy to identify the creamy layer among the SC/ST category. Justice Trivedi, in a dissenting judgement, said that in the absence of executive and legislative power, the states do not have any competence to sub-classify the castes and sub-classify the benefits reserved for the entire Schedule Caste Justice Trivedi, in a dissenting judgement, said sub-classification by states would amount to tinkering with the Presidential notification under Article 341(2). The Central Government had submitted before the Supreme Court that it is in favour of doing sub-classifications among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The Supreme Court was dealing with the constitutional validity of Section 4(5) of the Punjab Act, which depends upon whether any such classification can be made within the class of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or whether they are to be treated as a homogenous class. The Punjab Government had stipulated that fifty per cent of the vacancies of the quota reserved for Scheduled Castes in direct recruitment shall be offered to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs, subject to their availability, by providing first preference from amongst the Scheduled Caste candidates. On March 29, 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck down the provisions, relying on the decision in E.V. Chinnaiah. The appeal was filed in the top court against the High Court judgement. In August 2020, the top five-judge bench referred the matter to a larger bench. (ANI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired an all-party meeting in Wayanad on Thursday to discuss the situation as landslides claimed over 100 lives. The meeting was held at the APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Hall in the Civil Station in Wayanad. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, and 167 people were declared dead in the aftermath of the landslides, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, Deputy Leader PK Kunjalikutty, Kerala Ministers K Rajan, AK Saseendran, P Prasad, K Krishnankutty, Roshi Augustine, Veena George, Kadannapally Ramachandran, OR Kelu and Muhammad Riyas, among others, attended the meeting. Chief Secretary V Venu, DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb, district collector VR Megha Sree, and other higher officials were also present at the meeting. The Chief Minister will visit the affected areas in the district later in the day, the Chief Minister's Office said. Assistant collectors from Idukki, Palakkad, and Kozhikode districts have been deployed to support the Wayanad district administration in the aftermath of the landslide. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) held high-level meetings, and control room activities and is operating at full capacity given the situation. KSDMA Member Secretary Sekhar L Kuriakose earlier briefed his team on the current situation. NDRF Deputy Commandant S Shankar Pandian is coordinating the NDRF team from the KSDMA headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Despite the ongoing heavy rainfall, KSDMA and other agencies are working tirelessly to expedite rescue operations and provide relief to the affected areas. The Indian Coast Guard Disaster Relief Team, in coordination with the Indian Army, Indian Navy, NDRF, SDRF, and District Administration, is on the ground in Vellari Village in Wayanad, after the devastating landslide. Coast Guard officials said that rescue teams are actively searching for missing persons and providing urgent aid and support to the affected. Teams are on the ground, providing aid and support to those affected. Our priority is to ensure safety and swift recovery. Earlier, soldiers of the 122 Infantry Battalion of the Territorial Army from West Hill Barracks, Calicut commenced search and rescue operations from Vellarimala towards Attamala through severely landslide-affected areas. The Indian Army has ramped up its rescue operations, successfully evacuating several people from affected areas to safety. Troops from the Army's Madras Sappers constructed an improvised 100-foot bridge overnight and opened it to the public. This will further aid the rescue operations and assist in quickly evacuating stranded people. Major General VT Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, said that the bridge construction would allow the Army to bring heavy equipment to the rescue site. Major General Mathews said that on Thursday, more than 100 bodies were recovered after multiple devastating landslides struck Wayanad in Kerala, adding that over 500 Army personnel are engaged in the search and rescue operation. "We have been here supporting the Kerala government and people since July 30. We have recovered 100+ bodies, and the overall body count is much higher. We have also rescued many people," he said. Kerala Health Minister Veena George informed that the genetic samples are being taken from the recovered body parts. According to sources from the Department of Information and Public Relations (PRD) Control Room in Wayanad, 96 victims have been identified, including 77 men, 67 women, and 22 children. Post-mortem examinations have been conducted on 166 bodies and 49 body parts. A total of 75 bodies have been handed over to relatives. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 each for the injured. (ANI) The owner, identified as Anil Gupta was taken to St. Stephen Hospital where he succumbed to injuries. The police said that Anil Gupta was reportedly closing the shutter of the shop when all of a sudden the roof collapsed, trapping the owner. "This incident took place when the owner was closing the shutter of the shop then all of a sudden the roof collapsed. There is no other floor in the shop. The roof of the shop is of iron girders." Police said. Fire Brigade, ambulance, and electricity officials were called to rescue the trapped owner. Anil Gupta was rescued and taken to St. Stephen Hospital where he succumbed to injuries. In another incident, a fire broke out in a plastic factory in Delhi's Mayapuri area on Thursday morning, officials said. According to the Delhi Fire Services Department, plastic material kept inside the factory was destroyed in the fire which broke out at around 9:30 am. Upon receiving information, four fire brigade vehicles were sent to the spot and started an operation to douse the fire. It took around an hour for fire services staff and officials to bring the fire under control. No casualties or injuries were reported, officials said. (ANI) After the Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot issued a show-cause notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, Karnataka Congress leaders on Thursday termed the move "politically motivated," and said that Bharatiya Janata Party had "misused" the Raj Bhavan. Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara alleged that the BJP is using the Governor's office against the state government. "We discussed about the show-cause notice. We are going to take a decision on that. All this we will discuss in the Cabinet meeting. I can not reveal the legal position of the show-cause notice. It's politically motivated. They first tried ED, CBI and now they (BJP) are using the Governor's office," Parameshwara said. Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the Bharatiya Janata Party had "misused" the Raj Bhavan. "Raj Bhavan has been misused by the BJP it is very very clear. They used the power in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi, and West Bengal and I can give you various numbers of examples. So there is no surprise and we thought that our Governor was compared to other BJP Governors better but looks like he also becoming a puppet in the hands of the BJP. The way he is approaching things is very regrettable and unconstitutional. Today is cabinet meeting and after that meeting, our people will brief, what we have to say," Rao said. He further said that it is a legal issue and this is an attempt to "destabilise." "First they used ED, CBI and now they are using Raj Bhavan also. The Cabinet Meeting is being called for this reason," he added. State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said that the show-cause against Karnataka CM is on the "wrong premises." "Right now it is in the stage of show-cause notice being given to Karnataka CM which is on the wrong premises. We are discussing that in the Cabinet today. The Chief Minister has nominated a Deputy Chief Minister to preside since allegations are against the CM and show cause notice is being issued so he feels like he should not be part of the discussion. He asked us to have a discussion and take a decision," Patil said. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar also reacted over the matter and said that he would explain everything after the Cabinet meeting. "See after the Cabinet meeting, I will definitely come and react to it. I will explain that there is a Constitution, there is a democracy, and there is the will of the people. We will explain all of this," he said. Speaking on his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar said that he has requested the PM to help the state as the population has increased a lot in the state. "Bengaluru is a very important city which gives them a lot of revenue, the world leaders and world investors are coming to Bengaluru. In the time of Manmohan Singh, big infrastructures were given to Bengaluru... Now, that the population has increased a lot, I requested the PM to help us... We met the defence minister as well. We requested for the financial funds that are committed in the budget," he added. The Karnataka Governor issued a show-cause notice to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 27. Earlier, a complaint was filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and nine others for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority. The complaint alleges wrongdoing by Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathy, his brother-in-law Malikarjuna Swamy Devaraj, who claimed to be a landowner, and his family. It was further alleged that MUDA created fake documents and obtained plots worth crores of rupees. Snehamayi Krishna has raised several questions in his complaint. (ANI) Southwest Research Institute was awarded a $35.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy to support advanced communications and intelligence technologies. Google Earth An experimental camera system is affixed to the roof of an autonomous humvee at Southwest Research Institutes West Side campus on May 29. Christopher Lee An autonomous humvee at Southwest Research Institutes West Side campus on May 29. Christopher Lee A rendering depicts Southwest Research Institutes future Center for Accelerating Materials and Processes. Some of the the facilitys work will support a nearly $17 million contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory. SwRI Southwest Research Institute was awarded a $35.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy to support advanced communications and intelligence technologies for use at sea and in the air. The five-year deal for work on some of the Navys cryptologic systems began in June and runs through 2029, with an optional two-year, $14 million extension. Cryptology deals with coded and encrypted communications, and the technologies SwRI has developed helps users detect and intercept electromagnetic signals. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We detect and acquire (radio frequency) energy in the air, and then we process that through various methods and then help provide information to the U.S. Navy, because theres a lot of moving parts, said Robert Torres, SwRIs senior program manager leading the effort for its defense and intelligence solutions division. The division will oversee the work to be performed on the nonprofit research organizations West Side campus. The deal includes support for associated equipment from installation, calibration, integration and training to life-cycle logistics support, spare parts management, maintenance, repair and technology updates, according to SwRI. Nearly 350 people work in the division, and Torres said that various staffers will phase in and out to work on this contract, which is a continuation of previous work the institute has done for the Navy. Weve been pretty successful providing our expertise to the U.S. Navy, Torres said Thursday. SwRIs two previous contracts with the Navy each lasted for about five years, with each generating about $20 million in revenue. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As part of SwRIs work with electronic warfare systems, its developed cryptologic equipment that identifies and responds to encrypted or coded radio frequency signals. The systems under the contract generally include an antenna sensor that acquires the signal and the processing equipment to analyze the data it collects, Torres said. Our cryptologic equipment enhances battlespace awareness through intelligent signal surveillance of the electromagnetic environment, he said. SwRI has contributed to this field for 70 years, Torres said, and its work continues as technologies evolve. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As the technology has expanded, weve grown, and weve developed technology to advance with the capabilities out there, he said. The pace keeps picking up. Technology is a moving target. SwRI has developed signals intelligence equipment to support the U.S. and allied militaries at sea, in the sky and on land. Its cryptologic technologies are used in 300 applications supporting the U.S. military, as well as allies including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Its electronic warfare work for the Air Force led to the construction of an $18.5 million, 33,000-square foot facility about 3 miles from Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. It broke ground on the site in May, and SwRI said more than 50 staffers and consultants will work in the single-story office building that includes labs to develop advanced aerospace and defense technology. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday said that the Telangana government have decided to categorize ABCD according to the Supreme Court's verdict on SC Sub-classification. Responding to the landmark verdict given by the Supreme Court on SC Sub-classification in the assembly, Revanth Reddy announced in the Assembly that the State government would also take necessary steps to implement reservations for Madiga and Mala sub-castes in the current job notifications. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said "In the context of the Supreme Court's verdict on categorization, I recall that the previous government had suspended Sampath Kumar. On December 23, 2023, we sent Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and Advocate General, Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha to the Supreme Court to argue on the categorization issue." "Our efforts have borne fruit. We sincerely thank the Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench for its verdict. In line with the Supreme Court's verdict, the Telangana government will decide on categorizing A, B, C, and D. We will also ensure reservations for Madiga and Madiga sub-castes in the current job notifications. If necessary, we will issue an ordinance to this effect". the chief minister added. Earlier, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1 that sub-classification within the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes (SC/STs) reservation is permissible. A 7-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud overruled the earlier judgement by a five-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah matter, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes. Besides CJI Chandrachud, other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Bela M Trivedi, in a dissenting opinion, said that she disagreed with the majority judgement. The Seven Judge Constitution Bench was dealing with issues relating to the sub-classification of reserved communities like SCs and STs. CJI Chandrachud, while overruling judgement on Chinnaiah that held subclassification of the scheduled classes is impermissible, said that even at the lowest levels, the struggles with the class do not disappear with their representation. (ANI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest. The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting today that was attended by leaders of all political parties, state ministers, and other officials. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, loss of lives, and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. "Our focus is to rescue those who were isolated and stranded. I appreciate the efforts of the Army personnel. They have informed us that most of the trapped individuals have been rescued. Bringing down machinery to rescue those trapped under the soil was difficult and building the bridge eased the efforts. The construction of Bailey Bridge has been mostly completed," CM Vijayan said while addressing the media in Wayanad. The Chief Minister said that rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing people and highlighted that the next focus will be on rehabilitation. "Rescued people are temporarily shifted to camps. Rehabilitation works will be done at the earliest, as we have done in earlier situations too. I request that the media avoid meeting people and shooting inside the camps. You may talk to them outside the camps, it is important to protect the privacy of the individuals," he said. "Most important is giving psychological support to the survivors. We have to avoid the spread of the epidemic. Not only human beings, but many animals also died in the calamity. Have to bury them all properly. A committee of four ministers will camp here and coordinate activities. For those who lost certificates, the government will re-issue them," he added. NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi said that over 200 deaths have been declared and bodies were being recovered on Thursday following the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad. He said that there are sufficient teams of central forces in the affected site to undertake the rescue operations. The Indian Coast Guard Disaster Relief Team, in coordination with the Indian Army, Indian Navy, NDRF, SDRF, and District Administration, is on the ground in Vellari Village in Wayanad. The officials said that rescue teams are actively searching for missing persons and providing urgent aid and support to the affected. Teams are on the ground, providing aid and support to those affected. Our priority is to ensure safety and swift recovery. The Indian Army has ramped up its rescue operations, successfully evacuating several people from affected areas to safety. Troops from the Army's Madras Sappers constructed an improvised 100-foot bridge overnight and opened it to the public. This will further aid the rescue operations and assist in quickly evacuating stranded people. (ANI) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday visited the landslide-affected Chooralmala in Kerala's Wayanad. Rahul and Priyanka were accompanied by Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal at Chooralmala. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, loss of lives, and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a high-level meeting today that was attended by leaders of all political parties, state ministers, and other officials. He said that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest. "Our focus is to rescue those who were isolated and stranded. I appreciate the efforts of the Army personnel. They have informed us that most of the trapped individuals have been rescued. Bringing down machinery to rescue those trapped under the soil was difficult and building the bridge eased the efforts," CM Vijayan said while addressing the media in Wayanad. The Chief Minister said that rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing people and highlighted that the next focus will be on rehabilitation. "Rescued people are temporarily shifted to camps. Rehabilitation works will be done at the earliest, as we have done in earlier situations too. I request that the media avoid meeting people and shooting inside the camps. You may talk to them outside the camps, it is important to protect the privacy of the individuals," he said. NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi said that over 200 deaths have been declared and bodies were being recovered on Thursday following the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad. He said that there are sufficient teams of central forces in the affected site to undertake the rescue operations. The Indian Army has ramped up its rescue operations, successfully evacuating several people from affected areas to safety. Troops from the Army's Madras Sappers constructed an improvised 100-foot bridge overnight and opened it to the public. This will further aid the rescue operations and assist in quickly evacuating stranded people. (ANI) Gwalior Crime Branch has arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in defrauding an elderly woman of Rs 38 Lakh in the city, an official said on Thursday. The elderly woman, who is a doctor, was defrauded in the name of an enforcement agency in April this year. Following her complaint to the crime branch, the police began an investigation and arrested the two accused identified as Shahrukh and Laiq from Bhopal on Tuesday, the police added. Superintendent of Police (SP) Dharmaveer Singh told ANI, "An elderly woman, who is an MBBS doctor, was defrauded in the name of an enforcement agency on April 9 in Gwalior. She told the police that she had received a call, and was told that a consignment which had been booked by her had a lot of objectionable items like drugs and some fake passports. She was further told that her consignment was being investigated at a police station in Lucknow." According to the police, the victim told the accused that she had neither booked any consignment nor sent anything. After that the accused made the victim talk to a person who posed as SHO (Station House Officer) of Lucknow. Later the woman was told that it was a big crime and its investigation was transferred to the CBI. The accused talked to the lady by posing as a CBI officer as well, after that for several days they also talked to her through WhatsApp calls, the officer said. "The lady was pressured that some bank accounts were opened using her IDs and an amount of about Rs 3 crores was deposited in those bank accounts. These amount were linked with human trafficking cases. After this, the woman got very scared of these allegations. She was pressured again that if she wanted a fair investigation, she needed to transfer all her money into their (accused) account. They (the accused) will investigate it, if nothing comes out during the investigation, then they will return that amount to her account," SP Singh said. "The accused sent a fake CBI arrest warrant and also a fake letter to the woman for transferring the amount. The woman thought that she had not done anything wrong, and then her amount would be returned to her account after a probe. Therefore, the woman transferred an amount of about Rs 38 lakhs from her account to their (accused) bank account. Later when she realised that the money given did not return and she came to know that cyber fraud had happened with her then she reported it to Crime Branch Gwalior," the officer said. The Crime Branch team registered an FIR and began an investigation. The officer arrested two from Bhopal on July 30. One accused has been identified as Shahrukh and the other is Laiq. Both the accused were questioned after which their links were known and it came to notice that the entire amount of the fraud was transferred into 18 different bank accounts, he added. The police have taken the remand of both the accused and further investigation into the matter is underway, SP Singh added. (ANI) Two massive landslides had struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad in Kerala in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction to lives and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. Congress MP Jebi Mather expressed her grief over the tragedy and said "It is a big tragedy. We are still unable to measure the magnitude of the tragedy. Five to six members from so many families have gone missing. This is a moment we all have to work together for and make sure that we bring back the condition to normal." Further, she said "We need to take a lesson from this tragedy. Rehabillitation is important and this should be declared as a national disaster. At this moment, I wish to say that the Congress is doing their best to help the affected people." Earlier today, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday visited the landslide-affected Chooralmala in Kerala's Wayanad. Rahul and Priyanka were accompanied by Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal at Chooralmala. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a high-level meeting today that was attended by leaders of all political parties, state ministers, and other officials. He said that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest. "Our focus is to rescue those who were isolated and stranded. I appreciate the efforts of the Army personnel. They have informed us that most of the trapped individuals have been rescued. Bringing down machinery to rescue those trapped under the soil was difficult and building the bridge eased the efforts," CM Vijayan said while addressing the media in Wayanad. The Chief Minister said that rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing people and highlighted that the next focus will be on rehabilitation. (ANI) Attacking the opposition in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Railway Minister Ashwini said We don't make reels, we do hard work unlike you people who make reels to show off. He said, "We are not the people who make reels, we do hard work unlike you people who make reels to show off." He said that the Narendra Modi government has improved the working conditions of the loco pilot by bringing amendments in 2016 "The average working and rest times of Loco pilots are decided by a rule that was formulated in 2005. In 2016, the rules were amended and Loco pilots were given more facilities. All the running rooms - 558 were made air-conditioned. Loco cabs vibrate much, heated up and hence more than 7,000 loco cabs are air-conditioned. It was zero in the time of those people who today show sympathy by making reels," the minister said The Union Minister was referring to a July 9 post by the Congress where they had posted a video of LoP Rahul Gandhi interacting with Loco-Pilots claiming that the Pilots' lives were in pathetic condition. "The Loco Pilots of our country are taking responsibility for the travel and lives of crores of Indians in very pathetic conditions. They are neither getting adequate comfort nor any basic facility inside the engine. For the safety of Indian Railways as well as crores of passengers, change in their lives is necessary," the Congress post had said. Meanwhile, in his speech Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw appealed to all the members of parliament to not politicise the railway and said that this institution is the lifeline of India. While speaking in Lok Sabha he said "Railway is the lifeline of India, the Indian economy relies on the Indian railway. Railway is a service for the common man of this country". "I request this house to focus on strengthening, modernising and improving the operating procedure of railways and depoliticising these issues" he added. He further said, "I thank members of parliament who suggested constructive suggestions for the development of railways. I also want to thank the opposition and ruling party MP for applauding government efforts". He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their guidance and for addressing the financial issues of the railway. He said "I would like to thank PM Modi for the guidance and support that he provides. I also thank FM Nirmala Sitharaman for addressing the biggest issue of railways, which is the lack of investment, on the direction of PM Modi she has solved this issue by record allocation in the budget for railways. I also thank those 12 lakh workers of railways, the railway family who operates over 20 thousand trains every day." (ANI) The officials of the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police, and Border Security Force (BSF) have recovered a large consignment of weapons, ammunition, and explosives from a remote location in Kalakote in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The White Knight Corps posted on X and said, "Op Gulabgarh. Based on specific intelligence, a joint search operation by the Indian Army, J&K Police, and BSF was launched. The operation has led to the recovery of a large consignment of weapons, ammunition, and explosives from a remote location in Kalakote, Rajouri. Search operations are continuing." Earlier today, the Army's Rashtriya Rifle unit attached to the Romeo Force, in a joint operation with Poonch police's Special Operations Group (SOG), apprehended an active associate of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), a banned terror outfit, from the Magnar area in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch. According to an army statement, the terrorist identified as Mohammed Khalil was taken into custody by the Rashtriya Rifle of the Romeo Force on July 30. The officials said that a foreign pistol was recovered from the terrorist. They have also traced an active WhatsApp number based in Pakistan, through which a handler was assigning tasks to Mohammed Khalil. Security Forces also recovered one AK 47 and two Magazines according to the Dysp Operations in Rajouri. According to the officials, the accused was assigned tasks including collecting information about the area and guiding terrorists from one location to another. Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Home, a total of 28 people, including civilians and security personnel, were killed in 11 terror-initiated incidents and 24 encounters or counter-terror operations up to July 21 this year. Responding to the query of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pradeep Kumar Singh on behalf of the MHA, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai submitted a written reply in the Lower House pointing that there is a "decline in the number of terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir" compared to previous years. The data mentions that a total of 14 security personnel and 14 civilians were killed up to July 21 this year, while the number of killings was 44 (30 security personnel and 14 civilians) in 46 terrorist-initiated incidents and 48 encounters or counter-terror operations in the Union Territory in 2023. As per the data, 146 people (91 security personnel and 55 civilians) were killed in 228 terrorist-initiated incidents and 189 encounters or counter-terror operations in the erstwhile state in 2018. (ANI) In the aftermath of the landslide in Wayanad, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's appeal for contributions to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) has garnered significant support. Through campaign drives, donations are pouring in from different quarters to aid the affected areas. In Thiruvananthapuram, under the leadership of MLA VK Prashanth, a campaign titled "Vattiyoorkavu Stands with Wayanad" was launched on Thursday to support the disaster-stricken region. The event took place at the residence of TKA Nair, the Former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. This initiative encourages individuals to contribute Rs. 100 to the CMDRF to assist the affected areas of Wayanad. TKA Nair highlighted the importance of the initiative, stating, "It's a great humanitarian initiative in the context of the irreplaceable loss in Wayanad District. Most regrettably, Wayanad has been going through such natural hazards repeatedly. We have to remember that Wayanad is an ecologically fragile area. Every development and intervention must consider that fragility. The latest havoc is a sad reminder that we often neglect ecological and environmental considerations. It's not the time to delve into environmental problems but to support the Chief Minister's efforts to provide immediate relief and rescue. I congratulate MLA VK Prashanth and his colleagues." Addressing the opposition to the CMDRF campaign, he remarked, "Such a campaign against the CMDRF is deplorable. This is not the time to find fault but to act and lessen the people's misery. We have enough time later to examine how to avoid such recurrences in the future." On the controversy between the state and the centre over advance warnings, he said, "Certainly, this is not the time for the Kerala government or the Government of India to blame each other. Now is the time to provide immediate relief to the people. Until the dead bodies are buried, is this the time to say we sent this letter?" The campaign focuses on mobilizing contributions from residents and businesses. Organizers hope to gather a significant amount through these efforts. Despite the negative propaganda against the relief fund, this initiative aims to reinforce the public's trust and ensure the fund's effectiveness. (ANI) Assam Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mondal made a controversial statement on Thursday, saying that not Rohingya but BJP is a big threat to the country. "BJP is a threat for India, not Rohingya. Rohingya may be a threat but the BJP is definitely a threat to Indians for their wrong policies, management, communal, hatred speeches, and their adoption of communal policies. If someone says that India is in danger, it is only because of the BJP," Mondal told ANI. The Congress MLA also questioned the competence of the Border Security Force (BSF) for not being able to stop Rohingya infiltration. Is the national boundary open for all? What is BSF doing at the border? Why lakhs of rupees are being spent on them? If the force is not sufficient, increase the force, and battalion to protect our boundary," Abdur Rashid Mondal said. The central government is denying Chinese aggression. If the government has failed to protect the boundary of India, then the government should resign. It is not the duty of the general public," he further added. Talking about the statement of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about providing shelter to Bangladesh refugees, Congress MLA said that the government will provide shelter and will not give citizenship. "When there is turmoil situation in Bangladesh during the anti-reservation movement, at that moment somebody may come. If someone seeks shelter, the government will provide shelter, not give citizenship. In 1971 also lakhs of foreigners came to India and sheltered here. After the Independence of Bangladesh, they returned to their land. What to do and what not to do is decided by the Government of India," Abdur Rashid Mondal said. Talking about the Assam Chief Minister's comment on Rohingya infiltration, Congress MLA said, "In Assam, the government can fall at any time. So they are trying to unite the Hindus. Muslims are coming from Myanmar or other countries; it is nothing but a political statement to polarize Hindus against Muslims. They have lost the confidence of the public. They lost the Ayodhya parliamentary constituency in the last election. In Assam also they are losing their faith and many senior party leaders are leaving the BJP."(ANI) The transfer took place at an event hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on July 31. The technology named "DNA Aptamer for Prostate Cancer Detection" has been transferred to Dr Swapnil Sinha, HUMMSA Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, India. This "DNA Aptamer for Prostate Cancer Detection" technology is developed by Prof Prashant Mishra and team from IIT Delhi and is capable of binding to the specific oncogenes and could be useful as theranostics for prostate cancer. Meanwhile, the other technology "Photonic Chip based Spectrometric Biosensor" for pathogen detection has been transferred to Mr. Nitin Zaveri, UNINO Healthcare Private Limited, Mumbai, India. This new technology has been developed by Prof. Joby Joseph and team from IIT Delhi and will enable quick and accurate detection of the pathogens, thereby aiding in the prevention of infectious diseases. Secretary of MeitY congratulated the teams for the successful transfer of these technologies and stated "We envision a future where technology transfer continues to drive innovation, collaboration, and sustainable development. Measures are needed to be taken to ensure the successful adoption, implementation, and commercialization of the technology". Technology transfer ceremony took place in the presence of several distinguished dignitaries such as S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director, IITD, Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, Sunita Verma, Senior Director; Group Coordinator (R&D in Electronic and IT), MeitY, FITT Team, Prof Neeraj Khare, the CI of the project and Dr. Sangeeta Semwal, Scientist E, MeitY. Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi has played an instrumental role in fostering this technology transfer. (ANI) Bobbies Cafe, the No. 1 pick in the Express-News ranking of Top 10 breakfast restaurants in San Antonio, will move from its longtime South Side home this summer for a spot on the North Side. The new location is the former home of The Magnolia Pancake Haus at 606 Embassy Oaks. Mike Sutter/Staff Key lime and peach pies from Bobbies Cafe & Pie Bar. Paul Stephen / Staff Peach and key lime pies from Bobbies Cafe & Pie Bar. Paul Stephen / Staff Bobbies Cafe and Pie Bar, the No. 1 pick in the Express-News ranking of Top 10 breakfast restaurants in San Antonio, will move from its longtime South Side home this summer for a spot on the North Side. The new location is the former home of The Magnolia Pancake Haus at 606 Embassy Oaks, which moved to North Loop 1604 last year. But Bobbies South Side regulars can take heart: Owners Greg and Ana Ferris also plan to open a new Bobbies Cafe location just 4 miles east of the current South Flores location on Goliad Road by the end of the year. RISE AND SHINE: San Antonios Top 10 breakfast spots Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bobbies Cafe, the No. 1 pick in the Express-News ranking of Top 10 breakfast restaurants in San Antonio, will move from its longtime South Side home on South Flores Street (shown here) this summer for a spot on the North Side. The new location is the former home of The Magnolia Pancake Haus at 606 Embassy Oaks. Mike Sutter/Staff They plan to keep the current location of Bobbies Cafe on South Flores Street open as long as possible before the move to Embassy Oaks, Ana Ferris said. Theyre aiming for sometime in September, with hopes for a transition so smooth that South Flores would close on a Monday and reopen on Embassy Oaks on Tuesday, she said. The story of Bobbies Cafe stretches back more than 50 years, even before the late Bobbie Padilla put her name on the South Flores location in 1986. Under the stewardship of Bobbies grandson Greg Ferris and his wife, Ana, Bobbies offers a breakfast menu almost 50 dishes deep, including omelets, blueberry pancakes, three-egg combo plates, Anas Fancy French Toast, even a two-handed biscuit stuffed with chicken-fried steak called the Morning Wrecker. Bobbie's Cafe, the No. 1 pick in the Express-News ranking of Top 10 breakfast restaurants in San Antonio, will move from its longtime South Side home this summer for a spot on the North Side. The new location is the former home of The Magnolia Pancake Haus at 606 Embassy Oaks. Owners Greg and Ana Ferris celebrated getting the keys to the new location Tuesday. Greg Ferris That chicken-fried steak anchors a lunch menu that adds burgers and Tex-Mex favorites to the mix. On the strength of the overall menu, Bobbies Cafe also ranked among the Express-News Top 10 Country Cafes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The change comes amid an uncertain future for the lease on South Flores, Ana Ferris said. They tried to buy the building but couldnt work out a deal, she said. The biggest heartache is that we dont want people to think were leaving the South Side, she said. The South Side is what made us. Bobbie's Cafe, the No. 1 pick in the Express-News ranking of Top 10 breakfast restaurants in San Antonio, will move from its longtime South Side home this summer for a spot on the North Side. The new location is the former home of The Magnolia Pancake Haus at 606 Embassy Oaks. Mike Sutter/Staff They chose the much larger Embassy Oaks location to relieve the waits at the South Side location, which can stretch to two hours on the weekend, she said. They plan to add beer, wine and mimosas to the menu at the new location, where theyll stay open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Plans are already in place to open another Bobbies Cafe location at the former home of Neptunes Seafood House at 1922 Goliad Road, hopefully by the end of the year, Ana Ferris said. That location will keep the same hours as Embassy Oaks and also offer beer, wine and mimosas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The government informed on Thursday that no engine failures have been reported by the Indian operators related to the Boeing 737 Max aircraft recently. The minister of state in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, said in the Lok Sabha that out of the total fleet of 56 Boeing 737 Max aircraft registered and operating in India, there has been one recent occurrence in May 2024 on B737 Max aircraft of Spicelet, wherein Eng No. 2 oil filter bypass light illuminated. As a precautionary measure, the single-engine landing was carried out by the pilot in command and the aircraft landed safely. As intimated by the airline, crew and passengers have not reported any discomfort during this landing. On the measures taken by the government to ensure the safety of passengers travelling by air in India, Mohol informed that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft through the mechanism of various inspections, audits (planned and unplanned), spot checks, night surveillance, etc. If any serious lapses or non-compliances are observed, DGCA takes action against the organisation or personnel. The enforcement action is taken as per the procedures laid down in the Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual (EPPM), which include suspension, cancellation and imposition of financial penalty. DGCA publishes its Annual Surveillance Plan (ASP) on its website, which provides the details of the planned surveillance for the year. DGCA, through a system of surveillance, spot checks, and night surveillance, ensures that the airlines and the maintenance organisation continue to comply with the regulatory requirements against which they were initially approved. In case of non-compliance, DGCA ensures that the airlines or maintenance organisations take the necessary corrective action. In case of violations, DGCA may initiate enforcement actions against the airline, organisation, or personnel, which may include warning, suspension or cancellation of approval, certificate, or licence, including imposition of financial penalty. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted a field inspection of areas affected by heavy rains in Kedarghati, Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night. During the inspection, he directed the District Magistrate Rudraprayag to speed up the work of repairing the damaged roads and footpaths. He said that people from affected places should be brought to safe places soon. During the inspection of the affected area, the Chief Minister met the devotees and inquired about their well-being. He directed the District Magistrate Rudraprayag to bring the devotees stranded on the Yatra route to safe places as soon as possible as well as provide food and other essential facilities. The Chief Minister also directed to make a complete assessment of the damage caused by heavy rains in the affected area. He said, "The permissible assistance amount should be made available to the affected immediately. Instructions have been given to streamline the supply of road connectivity, electricity and drinking water to make life normal in the disaster-affected area." District Magistrate Rudraprayag Dr Saurabh Gaharwar informed that as soon as information was received about pilgrims being stranded on the Kedarnath Yatra route, they were being brought to safer places, and arrangements for food and medical facilities were made for them. He said that by 1 pm today, about 300 pilgrims had been brought to safer places. He said that people were being moved to safer places from landslide-sensitive places. The process of building bridges and damaged roads washed away by heavy rains is also in progress. Earlier CM Dhami reached the disaster-affected areas of Rudraprayag and Kedarnath route where roads broke due to river erosions and heavy rains on Thursday and inquired about the well-being of the devotees. (ANI) After the video of woman being harassed went viral, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said that the Uttar Pradesh government needs to restart the 1090 women's helpline. A recent video from Lucknow had gone viral on social media which showed a woman riding pillion on a bike being harassed by a group of men. Dimple Yadav talked about the video and said that the government must identify the people and take action against the people. "The government must take action on this. There are videos and recordings of this, so the government can easily identify the people who did this. They had so proudly formed squads like the Romeo squad and Juliet squad are just namesake and have not done anything," Yadav said. She also commented on the number of harassment cases that have increased over time and the Uttar Pradesh government needs to restart the 1090 helpline for the women. "The number of harassing cases against women have been on the rise lately. The Uttar Pradesh government needs to restart the 1090 helpline for the women," she said. Earlier, on July 9, a man was accused in the rape case of a minor and was arrested following an encounter with the police in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, police said on Tuesday. According to the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), a case was registered on Monday based on an application received in connection with the rape of a minor girl aged about one and a half years in Sadarpur under Noida Sector-39 police station area. Subsequently, a police team was formed to arrest the wanted accused in the said incident. With the help of electronic surveillance and local intelligence, police traced the accused and nabbed him on Tuesday. As per the information from the officials, the accused was hiding in the forest of Sector 42 under the police station area.(ANI) After nature's havoc in Kerala's Wayanad, Piyush Anand, Director General of the National Disaster Response Force, said on Thursday that four teams are currently present in Wayanad and they are trying their best to save as many people as possible. Anand told ANI, "We responded immediately. The situation is still unfolding. It's a very bad disaster which has happened. Specifically, how many casualties, it's not possible to give the number as of now. The main challenge that we faced was that the main bridge washed away. Our team had to cross the bridge which was flowing at a high current and then they had to set up a rescue centre there. There was a lot of mud and slush, our men had to carry their equipment on their backs which was very heavy." He further mentioned that as of now there are 12 teams in Kerala and four of them are in Wayanad. "NDRF teams are engaged in rescue work. Our four teams are present there. We rescued people using the rope rescue technique. Indian Army and Air Force are also present there; the Indian Army is trying to build a Bailey bridge there. Air Force has rescued many people and they have also delivered food items to the trapped people. We are trying our best to save as many people as possible. It has been a great cooperative effort as many agencies are involved in this," the NDRF DG said. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest. The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting today that was attended by leaders of all political parties, state ministers, and other officials. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, loss of lives, and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi said that over 200 deaths have been declared and bodies were being recovered on Thursday following the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad. (ANI) Amid the dispute over the 99-year lease of the British-era hydel power plant - Shanan Hydroelectric Project with Punjab, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over a high-level meeting of senior officers of the State Government on Thursday. The Shanan Power House, located in Jogindernagar, Himachal Pradesh, has been a subject of contention since the lease executed in 1925 between Raja Joginder Sen, the ruler of the then Mandi state, and Colonel BC Batty, a British representative. Although Punjab has relinquished its ownership of the Shanan Power House, it has yet to return control to Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister directed the officials to present the case strongly and effectively in the Supreme Court, emphasising that the state government is determined to restore all the rights of Himachal Pradesh over the project. "The present state government will fight vigorously to get back the rights of Himachal Pradesh so that the people of the state can get benefits of this project," said the Chief Minister. He said that the Shanan Hydroelectric Project, built during the British era, was given on lease to the Punjab Government for 99 years in the year 1925. The lease agreement was signed between Raja Joginder Bahadur, the then ruler of Mandi and Chief Engineer of Punjab. He said that the lease period ended on March 2, 2024 and as this project falls in the territory of Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab Government must now hand over this project to Himachal Pradesh Government without any delay. "The State Government is committed to ensuring that the benefits of the project are redirected to the people of Himachal Pradesh. As the legal proceedings were in process, the government is preparing a strong case to reclaim the project", reiterated the Chief Minister. Principal Advisor to Chief Minister Ram Subhag Singh, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh Anup Rattan, Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Chand Sharma, Principal Secretary Devesh Kumar, Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Special Secretary Arindam Choudhary and other senior officers were present in the meeting. Notably, the central government ordered that the status quo be maintained on the Shanan hydropower project, over which Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have made competing claims. Punjab has moved the Supreme Court over this issue. Punjab has presented its case in the Supreme Court, asserting that it is the rightful owner and in lawful possession of the Shanan Power House Project under the central notification of 1967. The state government, through the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), currently exercises control over all assets associated with the project. (ANI) An Indian Army court martial has found a jawan not guilty of allegations of outraging the modesty of the daughter of an officer with whom he was attached as a 'Sahayak' for a long time. The case started in August 2019 when the officer's daughter levelled the allegations against the soldier and the court martial announced its findings on July 11. The accused soldier is from the Corps of Signals and was attached to the officer, who was staying in a civil area in Delhi. "The Court finds that the accused signalman is not guilty of the charge," the court said. The presiding officer of the case is a colonel-rank officer and the verdict pronounced by him is subject to confirmation by the senior Army authorities. The Army Court, giving reasons for the decision, said that after carefully considering and examining the evidence presented before it by the prosecution as well as by the defence, it thinks that the prosecution has not been able to prove the charge against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, the woman had officially levelled the allegations against the soldier three months after the alleged incident took place, as she wanted to focus on her studies for entrance exams. The counsel for the soldier, Advocate Anand Kumar, said that this case got stretched throughout due to administrative issues but finally justice from the military court was delivered. "The verdict only reposes faith in the justice delivery system of the Indian Army and further that equality before the law has been further established," he said. (ANI) In a rare honour, Super 30 Founder Anand Kumar has been designated the Honorary Ambassador of Korea Tourism for 2024. The agreement was signed in New Delhi on Wednesday. Anand will also go to South Korea for the official designation ceremony at the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), Seoul Office. "Anand Kumar, who has been quite popular in South Korea due to his pioneering Super 30 initiative, also saw the best-seller book on his life published in the Korean language. The movie 'Super 30' starring Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan was based on the life of Anand Kumar," Myong Kil Yun, Regional Director for India and SAARC Countries, KTO said. He said Anand Kumar's pioneering initiative in the field of education would encourage bright students to explore the opportunities South Korea offers. "It will offer an opportunity to Indians, especially the students of the 14-18 age group, to explore Korea's vibrant culture, historic landmarks, and delightful cuisine, creating lasting memories. Parents can also nominate their children for the Korea Super 30 programme by filling out the application form," he added. The choice of Anand Kumar as the Honorary Ambassador of Korean tourism is significant for boosting ties with Korea through cultural exchanges and opening avenues for students. Korea has also come up with the Korea Super 30 travel packages to let young students visit the country without hassles and explore the opportunities and get acquainted with the culture. Anand Kumar said it was a good initiative in modern times to give students the much-needed exposure to a technologically advanced country. "For me, it will be a new experience to be part of a student exchange programme at the international level. In modern times, distance does not matter. I am looking forward to this new campaign," he added. Anand Kumar said that becoming the Hon Ambassador of Korean Tourism was not the recognition of Anand the teacher, but all the teachers of India. "It also shows the respect an educationally advanced nation like South Korea gives to teachers," he added. (ANI) The passenger, identified as Yaseen Dulat Khan, could not produce the supporting documents for carrying such a large amount of medicines. He was later handed over to Customs for further action in the matter. "Based on behaviour detection, CISF surveillance and intelligence staff noticed suspicious activities of a passenger at the Check-in area, Terminal-3 of IGI Airport. The passenger was later identified as Yaseen Daulat Khan (Indian) bound for Kabul via Dubai by Fly Dubai flight No. FZ-442 (STD-0410 hrs). On checking his baggage through the X-BIS machine, some doubtful images were noticed." CISF stated in a press release. Thereafter, the passenger was allowed to complete the check-in formalities and was kept under close watch through physical and electronic measures. After clearing the check-in process and immigration formalities, the passenger was intercepted by CISF surveillance and intelligence staff and was brought to the departure Customs office. On thorough checking of his check-in baggage and hand baggage, in the presence of Customs Officials, a huge quantity of medicines of approximate value Rs 33.5 Lakh were detected. On inquiry, the passenger could not produce supporting documents for carrying such a huge quantity of medicines. Later, the said passenger along with detected medicines was handed over to Customs for further action in the matter. (ANI) A CBI court in Visakhapatnam on Thursday sentenced three former postal officers to five years of imprisonment in an embezzlement case and also imposed fines on them. The Additional Special Judge Court for CBI Cases convicted Kodamachili Rajendra Prasad, then Sub-Post Master, I Satyanarayana and P Appalaswamy, the then Postal Assistants, Sub-Post Office, Yeleswaram, East Godavari District and imposed fines of Rs. 7,000, Rs. 8,29,000, and Rs. 8,59,000 on them respectively, said the CBI. After the pronouncement of the judgement, convicts were sent to Central Prison, Visakhapatnam to undergo the sentences imposed by the Court. CBI had registered the case on 28.03.2013 against the accused. It was alleged that the Postal employee Kodamachili Rajendra Prasad, while working as then Sub-Post Master, Yeleswaram Sub-Post Office, East Godavari District in connivance with I Satyanarayana and P Appalaswamy, both the then Postal Assistants of Sub-Post Office, Yeleswaram, East Godavari District entered criminal conspiracy among themselves to cheat the Postal Department and the depositors. In pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, the Recurring Deposit amounts received through the agents collected from different depositors under Mahila Pradhan Kshetriya Bachat Yojana (MPKBY) during the period from 21.10.2009 to 29.09.2012 had not been entered in the Accounts of Post Office and thus a total amount of Rs. 30,56,429/- (approx) of the depositors in 153 RD accounts were misappropriated for themselves and caused corresponding wrongful loss to the Postal Department and the depositors, said CBI. The chargesheet was filed by CBI against the accused on 25.04.2014. After the completion of the trial, the Court held the accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly. The conviction comes in the wake of a meticulous investigation and effective prosecution by the CBI team presenting plausible evidence which was upheld by the Trial Court, said the CBI. (ANI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday congratulated Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale for winning the bronze medal at the men's 50m rifle 3P event at the ongoing Paris Olympics. "It is a matter of great pride for our Maharashtra, I congratulate Swapnil. He has brought glory to the state and the country. Swapnil is a ticket collector in the railways, and I am sure Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will soon make an announcement in his honour," the Deputy CM said. Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu also congratulated Kusale on his bronze medal triumph in the men's 50m rifle 3P event at the Paris Olympics and said it is the first time that India has won three medals in shooting events in the same Olympic Games. "Heartiest congratulations to Swapnil Kusale for winning bronze medal at Paris Olympics! He has become the first Indian to win a medal in Men's 50m rifle 3 positions category. It is for the first time that India has won three medals in shooting events in the same Olympic Games. The entire shooting contingent has done India proud. I extend my best wishes to all our players for the upcoming events. I wish Swapnil Kusale wins more laurels in the future," the President said in a post on X. Kusale became the first Indian shooter to win a medal in the men's 50m rifle 3P event. The shooter clinched the bronze medal for India in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men's Final after finishing in third place with an aggregate of 451.4. He secured India's third overall medal in shooting. In the qualification round, Kusale finished seventh in the men's 50m 3P to qualify for the final at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Indian shooters Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Swapnil Kusale both appeared in the men's 50m 3P qualification round at the Paris 2024 Olympics.On his Olympic debut, Kusale finished seventh with a score of 590-38x. While Tomar ranked 11th with a total of 589-33x. Only the top eight shooters qualified for the final round, and Tomar failed to make his place in the final round. The People's Republic of China's Liu Yukun registered the qualification Olympic record with a total of 594-38x. Kusale was also the first Indian shooter to make a place in the men's 50m rifle 3P medal event at the Olympics. (ANI) Rhyma Castillo is a trending reporter for the Express-News and a member of its Digital Go Team. She can be reached at rhyma.castillo@express-news.net. A native of San Antonio and a Texas A&M University graduate, she is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience. She has reported on politics, immigration, climate change, gun violence, and workers rights. Additionally, she excels in lifestyle and entertainment writing, covering music, television, video games, technology, and relationships. In her free time, she enjoys painting, drawing, cooking, hiking, climbing, gardening, playing video games, cuddling with her cats, and making music with her band. Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Thursday informed Lok Sabha that social media monitoring of CISF personnel is done at every level to evaluate their psychological state. "Social media monitoring of CISF personnel is done at unit/zone/sector level to know about involvement/influence of some negative elements. The mentor and buddy pair system has also been implemented at every unit/airport to evaluate the psychological state of CISF personnel," Murlidhar Mohol said. In a reply to a question asked by Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut whether the Government has any monitoring system for scrutiny of CISF personnel at airports to know about their involvement or influence by some negative elements or activities which result in bad behaviour with passengers, the Minister of State in the Ministry of civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed that CISF has developed a Personal Information System, a web-based project, where the personal and professional profile of deployed personnel are updated by Supervisory Officers. He further informed that the Personal Profile Sheet and dossier of all CISF personnel are maintained at the unit level and the same is transferred to the next place of posting. The specific remarks/comments in the personal profile sheet of an individual are taken into account while deploying them at the public interface. Regular behaviour detection/soft skill training is imparted to CISF personnel. Motivational and awareness sessions are organized at the unit level regularly to enhance the moral and motivation of CISF personnel to perform their duties diligently and professionally, he added. On June 6, CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur allegedly slapped actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut at the Chandigarh airport. Kaur was later transferred to a unit in Bengaluru pending a disciplinary inquiry. (ANI) Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court put a stay on proceedings of the trial court in a case filed by children against their parents for restricting usage of mobile phones and TV. A brother-sister duo, an eight-year-old boy and a 21-year-old girl, registered a case against their parents at Chandan Nagar police station in October 2021 alleging that their parents used to forbid them from using mobile phones and watching TV during the lockdown period. The police had arrested the parents and also presented the challan before the district court. Recently, the father of the children, Ajay Chouhan filed a petition before the Indore Bench of MP High Court to dismiss the case under Section 482 CrPC. "A 21-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother had lodged an FIR against their parents at Chandan Nagar police station in Indore in October 2021. The police had registered a case under sections 323, 342, 506 and 34 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 75 and 82 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act," said Dharmendra Chaudhary, lawyer on behalf of parents. The children alleged that their parents harassed them, deprived them of food, and forbade them to watch TV, especially not letting them use mobile phones. There were other issues in the house as well. Due to this, the children went to live at their aunt's (Bua) house, and after that, they lodged an FIR. After completing the investigation, Chandan Nagar Police presented the challan before the district court, Chaudhary said "Recently, the main accused in the case, father of the children, Ajay Chouhan had filed a petition before the Indore Bench of MP High Court under section 482 CrPC in the case. On hearing the matter on July 25, the High Court stayed the proceedings of the trial court," he said. (ANI) Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed that the Mahayuti government will be formed in Maharashtra after the Assembly elections. Bawankule said, "The day Uddhav Thackeray associated with the Congress, everyone left him. His party used to win 18 seats in the Lok Sabha when he was with BJP. Uddhav Thackeray, along with Congress, has lied to the people. He tried to malign the image of PM Modi. INDIA bloc said that if PM Modi came, he would change the constitution, rob the rights of Adivasis and misguide the people. Mahayuti government will be formed in Maharashtra." He further stated that people of the state are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Congress party leaders misled the women in the state and asked them to vote for them and they would start giving Rs 8,500. Now these people have disappeared. We will conduct district meeting and tell the truth to the people. We will convince the people and form a double-engine government in the state to serve 14 crore people," he added. The Lok Sabha polls 2024 have given a boost to the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) winning seven seats, the Congress 13, and the NCP-SP one, taking the total tally of the alliance 17. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. (ANI) Amid heavy rainfall in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand Director General of Police, Abhinav Kumar informed on Thursday that the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days due to weather conditions and 12 NDRF as well as 60 SDRF teams are engaged in rescue work. "We had received a weather warning for heavy rainfall in the state for 48 hours. Given this alert, police, NDRF, SDRF and local administrations were put on alert. After rainfall started last night, we started getting news of mudslides, rocks falling, etc., from different areas. In the night itself, teams were sent to several places for rescue and relief. All state & central agencies are engaged in rescue & relief. The CM has visited the Tehri and Rudraprayag districts and met the affected. He also mentioned that till now, 11 people have died, and 8 seriously injured in different districts. "Around 1000 people were stuck in Kedarnath till morning & 800 people were on the trek route there- work is on to rescue them. We have suspended the yatra for the next two days due to weather warnings. We have restricted the movement of pilgrims on the Yamunotri and Kedarnath trek routes. The state government has taken the help of the IAF and private helicopters to rescue those stranded in Kedarnath. 12 NDRF teams and 60 SDRF teams engaged in rescue work," the DGP said. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted a ground inspection of the rain-affected areas in Tehri and Rudraprayag on Thursday. Heavy rains in various parts of the state on Wednesday night have caused heavy damage to roads, foot-bridges, power and drinking water lines as well as agricultural land. As soon as the information of the disaster was received, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami became active from the night itself and reached the State Disaster Operations Center at night and inquired about the damage caused by heavy rains across the state. He instructed the officials to remain in alert mode. When Chief Minister Dhami stood on the front, his entire team also got involved in rescue and relief work with full force. In Rudraprayag district, the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police took charge of the rescue operation from late night itself. With better coordination of SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration, about one and a half thousand passengers stranded on the Kedarnath Dham Yatra footpath and various stops were evacuated safely by 5 pm. (ANI) The state police have identified 194 posts on social media that were spreading misinformation and have issued legal notices to social media platforms for their removal. The breakdown of FIRs is as follows: four in Thiruvananthapuram City, two each in Ernakulam City and Palakkad, and one each in Kollam City, Ernakulam Rural, Thrissur City, Malappuram, Wayanad, and Thiruvananthapuram Rural. To combat the spread of false information, cyber police have increased their patrolling on social media. The authorities have warned that legal actions will be taken against individuals who create and share misleading posts about the CMDRF. The Kerala police are urging the public to refrain from engaging in or disseminating such activities and to support genuine relief efforts for the affected people in Wayanad. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, loss of lives, and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department. The death toll in the tragedy has crossed 200 and many are still missing. (ANI) Taking to X, CM Mamata Banerjee shared, "Our demand to the Government of India is to roll back GST from life insurance and medical insurance premium on grounds of people's health imperatives. This GST is bad because it adversely affects people's ability to take care of their basic vital needs. If Government of India does not roll back the anti-people GST, we will be bound to hit the road." CM Mamata Banerjee has been at loggerheads with the Centre and demanded the release of funds for the 100-day wage employment and housing scheme. Earlier TMC leader Kunal Ghosh criticised the BJP for withholding funds for the 100-day wage employment scheme, attributing it to the BJP's loss in the 2021 Assembly polls. Ghosh highlighted that TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to release a white paper detailing budget allocations to West Bengal, a demand that remains unmet. "The central government has not provided funds for the 100-day wage employment scheme, forcing the Chief Minister to disburse Rs59 lakh from state funds. They cite irregularities to justify withholding funds while BJP-ruled states like UP, Odisha, and MP receive money. We will continue our protest inside and outside Parliament until funds are released for the 100-day wage employment scheme and the housing scheme," Ghosh stated. Ghosh insisted that Sitharaman must produce the white paper requested by Banerjee. "In the last four financial years, the BJP has collected Rs4.64 lakh crores in taxes from West Bengal, with pending dues exceeding Rs1.71 lakh crores. We need a white paper on funding for MGNREGA and the housing scheme. The protest will intensify under CM Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee," he added. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has requested Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to ensure the safe return of people of Uttarakhand stranded in Myanmar. The Chief Minister has apprised the Foreign Minister that more than 15 men and nine women from Uttarakhand have been kidnapped by Myanmar call centres and are being forced to work in call centres in Myanmar. He said that due to this situation, the families of the victims are going through trouble and mental agony. He said that this incident has also created fear among the people of Uttarakhand. In this regard, the Chief Minister has sought assistance from the Foreign Minister to expedite the process of the safe return of the citizens of Uttarakhand, referring to the news published in a news daily on July 31, 2024. Eight Indian nationals, victims of a scam centre in Hpa Lu, Myawaddy, were successfully rescued and handed over to Myanmar police and immigration authorities yesterday. The Indian Embassy in Myanmar expressed gratitude to the Myanmar authorities and local support for their crucial role in the rescue operation. According to a statement by the Embassy of India in Myanmar, the victims had fallen prey to an international crime syndicate operating in the Myawaddy region on the Myanmar-Thailand border. The embassy reiterated its advisory against fake job rackets that lure Indian youth through social media and other unverified sources. (ANI) A visit by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a cobbler's shop has opened a door of fortune for him, as people are offering him Rs 10 lakhs for a pair of shoes stitched by the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Ram Chet (cobbler), while he was on his visit to Sultanpur for a hearing of a defamation case, after which he went to his shop and tried his hand at stitching footwear. Ram Chet said that he is getting offers of bags full of cash and become popular. People are coming to click selfies with him, passers-by are stopping their cars to greet him, and he is now the man in demand. Speaking with ANI, Ram Chet said, "I was stitching the slippers when he arrived here. He asked me about how I do this. I explained to him how I stitch and then he tried his hand at stitching a footwear and pasting a shoe." Ram Chet asserted that Gandhi's visit has unfolded a new chapter in his life and he is no longer a common man, as he is popular now. "Since Rahul Gandhi has visited my shop, my life has changed. People are calling and meeting me. My life has changed since his visit. People are stopping their bikes, cars and greeting me. He has given me a lot of respect." He further conveyed that people are offering him a huge sum of money for the footwear Gandhi had stitched, they are offering me as much as Rs 10 lakhs. "The offers are becoming bigger. A person from Pratapgarh confirmed that it is the same shop where Rahul Gandhi stitched the shoes. He offered me Rs 5 lakhs to buy that shoes. He offered me bags full of cash, but I refused. I won't sell them. I will keep it to myself only," he said. Highlighting the increased number of people at his shop, he said, "There is no increase in the income but I am getting a lot of respect. People are coming to honour me and click selfies with me." A day later, Ram Chet got a sewing machine from the Congress leader. This machine makes it easier to stitch shoes and will help Ram Chet in his work. While responding to a reporter's questions, the cobbler jokes, "Rahul Gandhi is my partner. We run the shop in partnership." Rahul Gandhi gifted a shoe stitching machine to the cobbler he visited on his way back to Lucknow after appearing for a defamation case in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Sharing a post on X, Congress said, "People's leader Rahul Gandhi met cobbler Ram Chet in Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) yesterday and understood the intricacies of his work." The post added, "Now, a shoe stitching machine has been sent to him, which will make it easier for Ram Chet to stitch shoes. 'Aise hai aapke Rahul, Jan-Jan ke Rahul.'" On his return a day before, Gandhi stopped briefly at the cobbler's shop and tried his hand at mending a chappal as could be seen in a video that was posted by the Congress party on its social media platforms. (ANI) The property was acquired under Section 68(E) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS). A case has been registered and the property belonging to the drug peddler Manzoor Ahmad Mir, son of Ab Jabbar Mir has been taken to a preventive custody for drug peddling. The accused, Manzoor Ahmad Mir, has also been taken into preventive custody earlier under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS). Kupwara Police has urged all residents to assist in the fight against drug peddling by providing any relevant information. Kupwara Police has urged the locals for their cooperation as an essential factor to combat this menace. Earlier in a day, in the fight against drug traffickers, Bijbehara Police Station has attached a commercial complex valued at over Rs 2 crores, belonging to the late Abdul Rashid Dar of Tulkhan Bijbehara. The property was identified as being acquired through the illicit drug trade, specifically the trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The attached properties include a commercial building constructed at a prime location on NHW 44 at Semthan Bijbehara, covering an area of 5 Kanal 12 Marla under Survey No. 291 Min. The individual was involved in Case FIR No. 210/2020 under Section 8/15-29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, registered at Bijbehara Police Station. In September 2020, an underground room in the compound of the deceased Abdul Rashid Dar was discovered containing a substantial quantity of contraband substances, presumably poppy straw (Fukki) packed in gunny bags and plastic barrels. The investigation revealed that the deceased had acquired this contraband substance from illegal sources and stored it for further illicit sale to the local youth, thereby promoting drug addiction and their illegal trade. A total of 126 gunny bags weighing 2600 kgs and 60 plastic barrels (1395 kgs) of the contraband substance were recovered from the spot. Anantnag Police have taken firm action against drug peddling by attaching the commercial complex constructed with illegally acquired money. (ANI) Launching a scathing attack on Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha for his 'reel' remark made in the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'reel minister' got angry because he was asked for accountability. "Modi ji's reel minister got angry because he was asked for accountability. NDA 1.0 thought that he would not be asked for accountability. They forgot that the opposition has also become very strong. They will have to introspect. The previous railway minister used to resign after feeling guilty. Rise above publicity and reel ministership, become the railway minister and answer the country," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said. Congress MP Deepender Sing Hooda also condemned the 'reel' remark made by Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha and said it "shows arrogance". "The one who is responsible for building railway track has not built even an inch of railway track in Haryana and he is talking about reels," Deepender Singh Hooda said. "We are demanding the railway tracks, three railway tracks are approved but not even a single inch of railway track has been built in the past ten years," Hooda said. Congress MP further said that the union minister's statement showed arrogance which we condemn. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi called Vaishnaw a 'Reel Minister' and demanded his resignation based on the increased rail accidents. "BJP ministers do not take moral responsibility for their failures... In the last 2 months, 4 goods trains derailed, 14 people died and many were injured but despite this, the Railway Minister did not take any moral responsibility and tried to intimidate the opposition... Last year about 300 people died in Balasore, the number of train accidents has increased in the last 1-2 years but the Railway Minister is busy making reels, he is not the Railway Minister but a 'Reel Minister', a 'Derailment Minister'," he said. "Based on the accidents that are happening, he should resign but it is the tradition of BJP that no one takes responsibility... His (Ashwini Vaishnaw) entire statement was not satisfactory and he ran away from accountability, this is why the parties of the INDIA alliance walked out," the Congress leader added. Earlier, Railway Minister Vaishnaw said, "We don't make reels, we do hard work unlike you people who make reels to show off." He said that the Narendra Modi government has improved the working conditions of the loco pilot by bringing amendments in 2016. "The average working and rest times of Loco pilots are decided by a rule that was formulated in 2005. In 2016, the rules were amended and Loco pilots were given more facilities. All the running rooms - 558 were made air-conditioned. Loco cabs vibrate much, heated up and hence more than 7,000 loco cabs are air-conditioned. It was zero in the time of those people who today show sympathy by making reels," the minister said. The Union Minister was referring to a July 9 post by the Congress where they had posted a video of LoP Rahul Gandhi interacting with Loco-Pilots claiming that the Pilots' lives were in pathetic condition. "The Loco Pilots of our country are taking responsibility for the travel and lives of crores of Indians in very pathetic conditions. They are neither getting adequate comfort nor any basic facility inside the engine. For the safety of Indian Railways as well as crores of passengers, change in their lives is necessary," the Congress post had said. Meanwhile, in his speech Vaishnaw appealed to all the members of parliament to not politicise the railway and said that this institution is the lifeline of India. While speaking in Lok Sabha he said "Railway is the lifeline of India, the Indian economy relies on the Indian railway. Railway is a service for the common man of this country". "I request this house to focus on strengthening, modernising and improving the operating procedure of railways and depoliticising these issues" he added. He further said, "I thank members of parliament who suggested constructive suggestions for the development of railways. I also want to thank the opposition and ruling party MP for applauding government efforts". He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their guidance and for addressing the financial issues of the railway. He said "I would like to thank PM Modi for the guidance and support that he provides. I also thank FM Nirmala Sitharaman for addressing the biggest issue of railways, which is the lack of investment, on the direction of PM Modi she has solved this issue by record allocation in the budget for railways. I also thank those 12 lakh workers of railways, the railway family who operates over 20 thousand trains every day." (ANI) San Antonio police officer Jeremy Morgan, right, watches his body cam footage from November 2022 showing Alexandra Shay West Seyberts damaged vehicle on U.S. 281 at TPC Parkway during the first day in the trial of Alexander Castro on July 31. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Defendant Alexander Castro appears in court during the first day of his trial on July 31. Castro is accused of manslaughter in the traffic crash death of 24-year-old Alexandra Shay West Seybert on U.S. 281 at TPC Parkway in November 2022. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Judge Stephanie Boyd listens to counsel at the bench during the trial of Alexander Castro on July 31. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News The trial began this week for Alexander Castro, who was driving home from the driving range after having several beers in the summer of 2022 when he rear-ended a woman, killing her. He now sits in a Bexar County courtroom as he faces a manslaughter charge. Castros trial, which began Wednesday, is being held in the 187th District Court, Judge Stephanie Boyd presiding. If convicted of manslaughter, Castro could face up to 22 years in prison. Castro, who was 37 at the time of his arrest, is accused of driving intoxicated and twice the speed limit before striking and killing Alexandra Seybert, 24, on July 22, 2022. According to San Antonio police, Castro was driving his Chevrolet Silverado in a construction zone on U.S. 281 near TPC Parkway when he rear-ended Sheybert, who was stopped on the highway. She later died from her injuries. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Traffic was at a standstill during the time of the crash because of a separate crash that had blocked both northbound lanes. Investigators obtained evidence indicating that Castro had been drinking alcohol at a driving range and several North Side bars before getting into the crash. In an opening statement, prosecutor Daniel Escobar told the jury that roadway evidence revealed that Castro was driving over 90 mph without braking before crashing into Seybert. They believe Castro got behind the wheel after drinking several beers and rear-ended Seybert, killing her. Castros defense attorney, Gary Hillier told the jury that he believed that Castro wasnt responsible for Seyberts death but it was another woman who caused a separate crash near the scene. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He told the jurors that because of a wrong-way crash on U.S. 281, Seybert was sitting in standstill traffic. Moments later, she was fatally rear-ended. Hillier also believes SAPD is also responsible for their lack of action in these two major crashes. Hillier said officers were at the scene during the first crash, which was about 20 to 22 minutes before the crash that killed Seybert. They put out no flares. They didnt put police vehicles in the way. They didnt call one of their buddies on the radio and say Hey man can you go and protect the scene. Hillier said to the jury. Prosecutors presented SAPD officer Jeremy Morgans body camera footage to the jury. On the stand, Morgan said he was initially called for a separate crash that involved a wrong-way driver. It was during his investigation of the first crash that he was notified of another crash involving multiple vehicles. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On the video, Morgan can be seen coming into contact with Castro, who was sitting in the driver seat of his Chevy Chevrolet as the airbags were seen deployed. An interaction between Morgan and Castro ensues as the officer attempts to understand what happened. Castro tells the officer that everyone hit their brakes, and he couldnt stop. After a short time, Morgan sees a Honda, driven by Seybert, that also was involved in the crash. Seybert was unconscious, suffering from a massive wound on her forehead, Morgan told the court. She was seen on police body camera video, slumped over the center console of her Honda, toward the passenger seat. When asked if he should have removed Seybert from the vehicle, Morgan testified he and other officers should have waited for EMS. In conversations with police after the incident, Castro said Seyberts Honda came under him from the right side of his vehicle. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The driver was erratic and it flipped me over, Castro told police. During cross-examination, Hillier questioned Morgans actions following both major accidents on the highway. He said Morgans lack of action during his investigation into the first accident led to traffic building up on the highway. Hillier stated that the first crash occurred at 1:56 a.m., and that is when Morgan began investigating. Approximately 23 minutes later, the crash involving Castro occurred. When asked if he did anything relating to SAPD policy for roadway incidents, Morgan testified he had his lights on from his patrol car to alert drivers on the highway of the incident but that traffic was backed up. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed on Friday that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) was planning a raid on him following his 'Chakravtyuh' speech in the parliament on July 29. The Congress MP said that he was 'waiting with open arms' after ED 'insiders' told him that a raid was being planned. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, "Apparently, 2 in 1 didn't like my Chakravyuh speech. ED 'insiders' tell me a raid is being planned. Waiting with open arms, @dir_ed. Chai and biscuits on me." This comes after Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking on the Union Budget 2024 in the Lok Sabha on July 29. He said farmers, workers, and youngsters of the nation are terrified He criticised PM Modi for prominently displaying the lotus symbol and claimed that a new 'Chakravyuh' had been created in the 21st century. "Thousands of years ago, in Kurukshetra, six people trapped Abhimanyu in a 'Chakravyuh' and killed him. I did a little research and found out that 'Chakravyuh' is also known as 'Padmavuyh' - which means 'Lotus formation'. Chakravyuh' is in the shape of a Lotus. In the 21st century, a new 'Chakravyuh' has been formed - that too in the form of a Lotus. The Prime Minister wears its symbol on his chest. What was done with Abhimanyu, is being down with India - the youth, farmers, women, small and medium businesses. Abhimanyu was killed by six people. Today, too there are six people in the centre of 'Chakravyuh'. Six people control India today too -Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Ajit Doval, Ambani and Adani," he added. The LoP said that the budget has stabbed the middle class, which enthusiastically banged thalis when asked to do so by Prime Minister Modi. The LoP said that the 'Chakravyuh' that the central government has built is harming crores of people. BJP Lok Sabha MP Anurag Thakur took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statements on Mahabharata and Chakravyuh on Wednesday and said that some people are 'accidental Hindus' and their knowledge of Mahabharata is accidental too. Anurag Thakur attacked Rahul Gandhi's Chakravyuh statement and said that he did well by raising the topic of Chakravyuh because this country has well seen many "Chakravyuhs of Congress Party." He attacked Congress by counting 7 Chakravyuhs while saying that the first Chakravyuh was Congress itself, which divided the country. Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded BJP leader Anurag Thakur for his speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, where the latter responded to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's earlier address and described it as "a perfect mix of facts and humour." "This speech by my young and energetic colleague, Shri @ianuragthakur is a must hear. A perfect mix of facts and humour, exposing the dirty politics of the INDI Alliance," PM Modi posted on X. The budget session of Parliament began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12. (ANI) Pakistani security forces have reportedly detained several peaceful protesters from Hub Chowki and Karachi who were demonstrating against "brutality" by the administration. Since July 28, 2024, the authorities have detained hundreds in connection with the Baloch National Gathering, a march aimed at highlighting human rights issues in the region. Activists claim that excessive force has been used by government security forces to block protesters from reaching Gwadar, the march's destination, and that an internet blackout has been enforced in the city. Patricia Gossman, Associate Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, emphasized the need for Pakistani authorities to respect the right to peaceful protest and use only "necessary force when nonviolent means fail." She stressed the importance of safeguarding protesters' rights and preventing the situation in Balochistan from escalating further. Meanwhile, a UK lawmaker John McDonnell introduced a resolution denouncing the violent reaction of Pakistani security forces to a peaceful demonstration in Gwadar, Balochistan, organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). According to The Balochistan Post, the resolution highlights the rally's purpose of advocating for justice for missing persons in the region. It calls for the restoration of internet services, transparency regarding those detained or harmed, and an end to violent responses against peaceful protests. The resolution also underscores the dangerous conditions for human rights advocates in Balochistan, where the Baloch National Gathering on July 28 faced a severe crackdown, leading to several fatalities, numerous arrests, and protesters left without basic necessities. The ongoing unrest in Balochistan involves significant human rights violations and a push for greater autonomy and fair resource distribution in the province. (ANI) The situation in Balochistan continues to worsen as the Pakistani defence forces have brutally cracked down on the Baloch community, as they gathered across Balochistan for Baloch National Gathering. The protestors allege that Pakistani defence forces are trying to stop them from participating in nationwide gathering, which hold the government and the defence forces accountable for their "brutality." However, despite severe violation of human rights in Pakistan, the international media has cornered the issue of violence in Balochistan, according to protestors. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, in a media statement, urged the international media to provide coverage to the issue. "Balochistan has now become a completely war-torn region. And the Pakistani state is using all its machinery and power to stop this peaceful public gathering and is committing the worst human rights violations," the statement read. Highlighting the ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan, the rights group said, "For the past 48 hours, the internet has been completely shut down in Gwadar and most parts of Makuran, while phone networks have been shut down since yesterday evening. A complete undeclared curfew has been imposed in Gwadar and nearby areas. No one is being allowed to enter or leave Gwadar." The statement also elaborated on the atrocities Pakistani defence forces are inflicting on Baloch caravans that were travelling to Gwadar for a national gathering. Reportedly, a Baloch National Gathering caravan, including thousands of people, departed from Quetta yesterday morning. They were stopped and obstructed by the Pakistani military, Frontier Corps. The caravan reached Mastung after overcoming these multiple barriers, where the Pakistani military opened direct fire on the caravan, carrying hundreds of women and children. 14 participants were injured in this barbarism, three of whom were critically injured and are now receiving treatment at the Quetta Trauma Centre. Following this, the military forces burst the tyres of all the convoy's vehicles, rendering them useless, and shattered the windows with direct fire. The caravan intended for the Baloch national gathering is currently holding a peaceful sit-in in Mastung. The BYC further alleged that peaceful protestors were raided in Balochistan and several have been "forcibly disappeared," while others have seen them being booked in false cases. "To sabotage the Baloch National Gathering, in the past week, peaceful activists preparing for the national gathering have been raided in various parts of Balochistan. Five people from Karachi and several from Quetta have been forcibly disappeared, and several false FIRs have been registered against peaceful activists in various parts of Balochistan," the statement read. Terming the entire Balochistan region a "war zone," the BYC urged global media houses and journalists to respect journalistic values and principles, and cover the issue. "For the past 48 hours, the entire Balochistan has been a war zone, but it is deeply regrettable and a matter of shame for the journalistic community that none of the so-called Pakistani mainstream media and journalists has uttered a word about this serious issue, but are all criminally silenced. We appeal to all media houses globally and journalists to respect journalistic values and principles to provide coverage of the war-like situation in Balochistan, the complete curfew in Gwadar, and the severe brutality and oppression by the Pakistani state," the statement added. (ANI) The United States has reached a plea deal with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, the US Department of Defence said on Wednesday (local time). Mohammed, often known as KSM, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the terror attacks. In 2008, Mohammed was charged with a list of crimes including conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, and terrorism and material support of terrorism, according to CNN. The US had said it would seek a death penalty for Mohammed. Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have also reached plea agreements, according to the Pentagon. According to the New York Times, the men agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence instead of a death penalty. On September 11, 2001, the United States faced the deadliest terrorist attack in its history. More than 3,000 people were killed in the terror attacks. In a span of just 102 minutes, the twin towers of New York's World Trade Centre collapsed after planes hijacked by Al Qaeda operatives crashed into them. On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the northeastern US to California. They seized control of the jets to use them as passenger-filled missiles. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington, Virginia, and yet another one crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching its presumed target. The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 overcame the hijackers and the plane crashed in a field, preventing another target from being hit. (ANI) Hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday said that his nation has delivered "crushing blows" to enemies in the last few days, CNN reported. Netanyahu, during the address to the nation, however, didn't claim Israel's responsibility for Haniyeh's killing. Notably, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh's assassination. "Three weeks ago, we attacked the military chief of Hamas, Mohammad Deif. Two weeks ago we attacked the Houthis, in one of the farthest attacks the Air Force has carried out. Yesterday we attacked the military chief of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr," the Israeli PM said. Netanyahu said Israel is facing "challenging days" and it will "settle score" with anyone who harms the country. "These are challenging days. There are threats From Beirut. We are ready for any scenario. We are prepared," CNN quoted him as saying. "We'll settle the score with anyone who harms us, anyone who massacres our children, anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who hurts our nation, blood is on his head," Netanyahu added. He further affirmed that Israel will keep fighting until the aims of the war are achieved. Netanyahu referenced previous calls he has received to end the war in Gaza, saying, "I did not give in then and I am not giving in today." Reacting to Haniyeh's death, the White House said it "can't confirm or verify" reports from Hamas that the group's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital of Tehran. United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, however, acknowledged that the deaths of Haniyeh in Tehran and Fuad Shukr in southern Beirut Tuesday "certainly don't help with the temperature going down." "I'm not going to be Pollyannish about it -- we're obviously concerned about escalation," Kirby told reporters during Wednesday's White House press briefing. "All of this adds to the complicated nature of what we're trying to get done." In another development, Hezbollah confirmed the death of senior commander Fuad Shukr on Wednesday, as reported by CNN. "We celebrate the great jihadist leader, dear beloved brother Fu'ad Shukr (Moshin), as a great martyr on the path to Jerusalem," Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday. Israel said on Tuesday itself, that its strike in Beirut killed Shukr, whom it blamed for a deadly Saturday attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 children. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas announced a national day of mourning Wednesday over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as he condemned the killing as a "cowardly act and dangerous development.," the Times of Israel reported. Palestinian flags were flown at half-staff for the day, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported, as Palestinian factions announced a general strike and called for demonstrations in the West Bank. Notably, the mourning for the leader of the terror group marked a rare moment of Palestinian unity amid fragmentation and uncertainty about Gaza's future leadership after the war. (ANI) Thousands of Baloch protestors joined the Baloch National Gathering in Quetta despite facing all kinds of "state oppression" by the Pakistani administration. Baloch Yakjehti Committee said that the 'Baloch nation' raised its voice to the world and sent a message to the Pakistani state that it won't remain silent against "oppression." "Thousands of people joined the rally in Quetta against state oppression. Despite all kinds of state oppression against Baloch Raji Machi, the Baloch nation raised its voice to the world and sent a message to the state that the Baloch will not remain silent under any circumstances," the BYC said in a post on X. It further urged Baloch people to fully participate in the protests across Balochistan. "We once again request the people of Balochistan to fully participate in the protests across Balochistan and send a message to the state that Baloch genocide will not be tolerated," it added. https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1818651500517679131 Earlier in the day, Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch alleged that a heavy police contingent was deployed outside the Karachi Press Club to stop the press conference by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. "A heavy contingent of police was deployed outside the Karachi Press Club to stop the press conference of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee," she stated in a post on X. https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1818579713930973282 Meanwhile, the situation in Balochistan continues to worsen as the Pakistani defence forces have brutally cracked down on the Baloch community, while they gathered for the Baloch National Gathering. The protestors allege that Pakistani defence forces are trying to stop them from participating in nationwide gatherings that hold the government and the defence forces accountable for their "brutality." Notably, since July 28, the Pakistani authorities have detained hundreds in connection with the Baloch National Gathering, a march aimed at highlighting human rights issues in the region. The ongoing unrest in Balochistan involves significant human rights violations and a push for greater autonomy and fair resource distribution in the province. (ANI) US Vice President, Kamala Harris, hit back at her presidential rival and former President Donald Trump over the latter's remarks against her racial identity and said the American people "deserve better." She asserted that today the country faces a choice between two different visions, and alleged that Trump and his campaign aim to take the country "backward." Harris was speaking at a Houston fundraiser on Wednesday (local time), hours after Trump claimed that Harris, after being of "Indian heritage" for years, "turned black" a few years ago. "In this moment, we face a choice, between two very different visions for our nation. One focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And we in this room, are fighting for the future," she told the donors. "As we work to move our nation forward...there are those who are trying to take us backward. You might have seen their agenda, they call it Project 2025 and it is a 900-page agenda of extremism," Harris added. Speaking on Project 2025, Harris claimed that it would raise taxes on the middle class, and cut taxes on billionaires, and would end the Department of Education. Attacking Trump further, the Vice President said, "We are not going back. We all remember what those four years were like, and today we got yet another reminder. This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. Let me just say, the American people deserve better." She added: "The American people deserve a leader who does tell the truth, who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that differences don't divide us, they are an essential source of our strength." Trump made the comments at a gathering of black journalists in Chicago when an interviewer asked him why black voters should consider backing a candidate with his history of racist attacks on political rivals. Trump responded by questioning Harris' heritage. "She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?" CNN quoted him as saying. "I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went - she became a Black person," he said. "I think somebody should look into that too." Speaking further, Kamala Harris said that "we are the underdogs in this race," reiterating that there are under 100 days until the November election. "Let's level set," she said. "We are the underdogs in this race. We have work to do ... good hard work." "We are not fighting against something. We are fighting for something," Harris said. "We know how much is at stake." Kamala Harris is of Indian origin. Her mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. She was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically black university, Howard University, in Washington. Notably, Trump has made similar comments in the past as well. For years, he pushed the "birther" conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, according to CNN. Kamala Harris is of Indian origin. Her mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. She was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president. Also, if she wins the upcoming polls, she will become the first woman president of the country. The White House was quick to denounce Trump's comments, calling it "insulting" and said only VP Kamala Harris can speak for herself on the matter. Kamala Harris' husband and the Second Gentleman of the US, Doug Emhoff, also reacted to Trump's remarks, saying that the former president was "a worse version of an already horrible person" with his remarks, The Washington Post reported. "The insults, the BS - it's horrible, it's terrible, it shows a lack of character - but it's a distraction," Emhoff said at a campaign fundraiser in Maine. "It's about what's at stake in this election." Last week, President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and nominated his deputy, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic nominee for the race. Harris' takeover has re-energised the Democratic campaign that had faltered following Biden's performance in the presidential debate against Trump, leaving the party in doubt about Biden's chances of defeating Trump or his ability to continue in the White House if he had won. Harris rapidly consolidated support among Democrats in the hours after Biden stepped aside, and she raised more than USD 200 million in her first week as a presidential candidate. (ANI) Israeli actress Niv Sultan, who played the role of Mossad agent in the Apple TV spy thriller, shared a coy message after Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran's capital, Tehran on Wednesday. Sharing a wordless message on her Instagram story, Niv Sultan can be seen drinking a cup of coffee and then winking at the camera. Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported. In a statement to Mehr News Agency, the IRGC said that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Tehran. "With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred," the statement read. Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a Press TV report. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his nation has delivered "crushing blows" to enemies in the last few days, CNN reported. He made the remarks hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. In his address to the nation, Netanyahu did not claim Israel's responsibility for Haniyeh's killing. Notably, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh's assassination. "Three weeks ago, we attacked the military chief of Hamas, Mohammad Deif. Two weeks ago we attacked the Houthis, in one of the farthest attacks the Air Force has carried out. Yesterday we attacked the military chief of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr," the Israeli PM said. Netanyahu said Israel is facing "challenging days" and it will "settle the score" with anyone who harms the country. "These are challenging days. There are threats From Beirut. We are ready for any scenario. We are prepared," CNN quoted him as saying. "We'll settle the score with anyone who harms us, anyone who massacres our children, anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who hurts our nation, blood is on his head," Netanyahu added. He further affirmed that Israel will keep fighting until the aims of the war are achieved. Netanyahu referenced previous calls he has received to end the war in Gaza, saying, "I did not give in then and I am not giving in today." Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced a national day of mourning on Wednesday over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as he condemned the killing as a "cowardly act and dangerous development," The Times of Israel reported. Palestinian flags were flown at half-staff for the day, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported, as Palestinian factions announced a general strike and called for demonstrations in the West Bank. (ANI) Of the 29 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 13 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwest, and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor China's military activity. In a post on X, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said, "29 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 13 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern and southeastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1818813901867491703 Earlier on Wednesday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said that 25 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels were detected operating around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Tuesday to 6 am (local time) on Wednesday. This latest incident adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ and military exercises near the island. The Taiwan Strait, separating Taiwan from mainland China, has been a frequent area of contention, with Beijing viewing Taiwan as a breakaway province and asserting sovereignty over the island. The latest incident comes amid heightened regional security concerns and underscores Taiwan's ongoing vigilance in defending its airspace and territorial integrity against Chinese military activities. Amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, China has increased its military presence and conducted frequent drills in the region. The manoeuvres are seen as part of Beijing's ongoing pressure campaign against Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province. (ANI) Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day state visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal were present on the occasion. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh met officials from the delegations of the two nations. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who arrived in India, on Tuesday. During the meeting, the Vietnamese PM expressed gratitude and thanked India for the warm reception. "I want to thank you for your time, seeing me this afternoon. I want to thank you for your efforts in arranging my visit to India with such short notice and a very tight schedule. I would like to thank the two foreign ministries for making the best preparations for this visit," Pham Minh Chinh said. Further, Chinh also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his win in the third consecutive term and termed this a 'historic victory.' "I would like to thank India for the warm reception accorded to me during my stay in India. It is a vivid testament to the importance that India places on its relations with Vietnam. I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Modi's re-election for the third consecutive term. This is a historic victory." Chinh said. In response, Jaishankar expressed pleasure and stated that Chinh is one of the earliest visitors after the elections and that the government has taken over in its third term, adding, "It's a very special privilege to receive him." Further, Jaishankar conveyed his condolences for the death of Secretary General Niren Fu-Chang. "I would, Excellency, also take the opportunity to convey my condolences on the loss of the Secretary-General, General Secretary, and Excellency Niren Fu-Chang. We were represented on the occasion of his funeral by the National Security Advisor. The prime minister himself expressed his deep sorrow. We will convey that to you in person," said Jaishankar. "Senior members of the cabinet, as well as the head of our party, have signed the condolence book, underscoring how close our relations are," Jaishanakar added. Highlighting India-Vietnam relations, Jaishankar expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to review bilateral relations and discuss strategic trends in the region. "Your visit allows us to review our bilateral relations, and also to assess the strategic trends in our region. I know the Prime Minister looks forward very much to his discussions regarding both subjects with you. And I would today, of course," said Jaishankar "And again, I assure you that we have prepared very, very well for this visit. There will be, I think, 10 agreements, and three announcements, and we will be taking steps that will certainly set the course for the further development of our relations," he added. The Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, welcomed the Vietnamese PM at the airport on Tuesday. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said the visit of the Vietnamese PM will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. "Warm welcome to PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam as he arrives in New Delhi on a state visit. Received by MoS @PmargheritaBJP at the airport. India & Vietnam share civilizational links and a longstanding friendship based on mutual trust. The visit will further strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership," Jaiswal posted on X. In a earlier press release, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, "India and Vietnam have age-old historical and civilizational ties, which were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister to Vietnam in September 2016. India considers Vietnam as a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision." (ANI) Former Italian undersecretary: Chinese market important for Italian companies (People's Daily App) 16:48, August 01, 2024 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to China from July 27 to 31. What is the significance of this visit? What is the appeal of the Chinese market to Italian entrepreneurs? How should we view some Western countries advocating decoupling from China? The People's Daily asked Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. (Produced by Lin Rui and Zhan Huilan; Interns Hua Mukuan, Wang Yuqi, Li Yuan, and Liang Yaran contributed to this video) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen during a public Bexar County Election Board meeting inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen, left, and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai answer questions from reporters following an election board meeting held inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Callanen plans to retire after helping the Bexar County Elections Department through the upcoming general election in November. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai looks over sample applications for ballot by mail during an election board meeting meeting inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen tells members of the Bexar County Election Board to look over sample applications for ballot by mail during a meeting inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and Democratic Chair Monica Alcantara attend a Bexar County Election Board meeting inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen, from left, Sheriff Javier Salazar and Democratic Chair Monica Alcantara, attend a Bexar County Election Board meeting inside the Double-Height Courtroom at the Bexar County Courthouse on Monday, July 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Jacque Callanen, who has run elections in Bexar County for two decades, has been personally threatened for doing her job and has been dragged into court by voting rights groups. But its unclear whether either of those facts played into her decision to step down as elections administrator. Callanen hasnt said much at all about why shes retiring, though she has been under pressure from progressive voting groups and potentially from some members of the county election commission to step aside and allow someone new to take the reins of the Bexar County Elections Department. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Still, the threats and harassment increasingly faced by election officials, paired with the increased demands placed on them by Republican-led state legislatures, has led to an exodus of officials around the country. Those factors could also make Bexar Countys search for a new elections administrator that much harder. Turnover in elections offices across the country grew from 28% in 2004 to 39% in 2022, according to a report released this spring by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. In Texas, the turnover rate this year alone is 41%, which the report says is likely an underestimate since the 2024 data was collected in January. Callanens official retirement date is Jan. 24. This will allow for a smooth transition, as you have time to search and select the most qualified candidate to begin the first of the year, to continue to build upon the successes of your Election Team, she wrote in her June 28 retirement letter to the five-member Bexar County Election Commission, which will hire the next administrator. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The county has yet to post her job, and its unclear how soon that will happen. Commissioners Court wont be asked until Aug. 6 to approve the use of a yet to be identified firm to conduct a national search, said Jim Lefko, spokesperson for County Judge Peter Sakai. But county officials shouldnt expect a big pool of applicants. Election professionals that are doing the work now are super busy, and they may not be looking for job opportunities because theyre focused on conducting the election in their area, said Tammy Patrick, chief executive officer for programs at the National Association of Election Officials, also known as the Election Center. I think there are a lot people that may not be thinking about What am I going to do after this election? Aside from preparing for the Nov. 5 presidential election, officials are working toward August state primary elections in 14 states and September state primaries in four states. Election officials looking for new jobs may want to wait and see how the November election shakes out in the county where they aspire to work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Sometimes just issues evolving from the election can change who might apply for the job if you have recounts or election contests or anything like that after, said Jennifer Doinoff, president of the Texas Association of Elections Administrators. Doinoff has been Hays Countys elections administrator since 2016. In other words, potential job seekers may wait to see if Bexar County is prone to the same bitter fights over vote tallies that have broken out elsewhere. Attorneys across the country are gearing up for fights over certification of presidential vote tallies, particularly in the swing states where the victory margins are expected to be tight. Though not considered a swing state, Texas hasnt been immune from election challenges at the local level in the wake of the nations 2020 presidential election the most litigious in recent history, which former President Donald Trump falsely claimed had been stolen due to widespread voter fraud. Losing Republican candidates for local office in Harris, Tarrant and Dallas counties have requested recounts. Bexar County hasnt seen such requests so far. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Threats all too common Callanen, 78, is the latest Texas elections official to step down. In August 2022, the entire Gillespie County Elections Office in Fredericksburg its elections administrator and her two deputies quit, citing death threats and stalking. Heider Garcia, a nationally lauded election director, resigned in April 2023 after he found himself at odds with the new Tarrant County judge, who had campaigned on creating an election integrity task force despite no evidence of widespread election fraud. Michael Scarpello announced his retirement in October 2023 as Dallas County elections administrator to spend time with family after just three years on the job. Within weeks of his announcement, Dallas election commission hired Garcia to replace him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As Scarpello prepared to leave office that December, he faced complaints from county commissioners that the countys November election was riddled with problems something Scarpello emphatically denied. Callanens long tenure was once the norm among elections administrators, but its becoming a rarity. Nationwide, election officials serving jurisdictions with more than 100,000 voters, like Bexar County, have been in their role for an average five years. Thats according to a 2023 survey of local election officials by the Elections & Voting Information Center housed at Reed College. Threats and harassment are all too common with many reporting fears for safety as a motivation to leave service, the survey found. Callanen too has faced threats. During the 2022 primary election, a poll watcher with a gun trailed her as she oversaw election workers securing ballots from polling sites. She told reporters at her June retirement announcement that threats had already started in connection with Novembers election, but declined to elaborate. In recent years, she has also faced criticism from voting rights groups who say she hasnt done enough to expand voting access. Theyve twice sued her over her plans to reduce the number of polling sites. Irate lawmakers Recent Texas legislative actions havent made it any easier to retain election officials. Senate Bill 924, passed in 2023, required large counties to open more primary and general election day polling sites a staffing and logistical challenge. House Bill 1217, passed that same legislative session, extended early voting days and hours. Neither change came with more funding for county elections offices. The legislative changes and then just changes with our society overall have just made it a difficult job to manage for some people, Doinoff said. The Legislature, which reconvenes in January, now appears poised to take on the states appointed election officials. More than half of Texas 254 counties, including Bexar County, appoint nonpartisan election administrators to run their elections and handle voter registration. The rest rely on elected county clerks and tax-assessor collectors, which are partisan positions. In 2023, the Republican-led Legislature passed a bill that abolished the Harris County elections office (created in 2020) and returned its responsibilities to the elected county clerk and tax assessor-collector leaving then-Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum without a job. State and Houston-area Democrats contend the bill was a partisan effort to disenfranchise voters of color while Republicans cite ongoing issues with Harris County elections. State Rep. Reggie Smith, R-Sherman, who chairs the Texas House Elections Committee, is considering broadening that legislation to remove appointed elections administrators statewide. So political So whats to make anyone want to run Bexar Countys elections? For one, the Bexar County Elections Department has a solid reputation among election officials, both in Texas and across the country. Nationally, people know about Bexar County, and they know about the great work and the data-driven office that Jacque has established, so I think the county should be in a good spot, Patrick said. Callanens annualized salary is $163,632, according to the county. While the Bexar County Election Commission wants to draw as large an applicant pool as possible, that doesnt mean theyre ruling out local candidates. Although we are going to do a national search, we know we have qualified citizens and qualified (county) employees that can do the job as well, County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti said at the commissions June 28 meeting. He sits on the commission alongside Sakai, County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark, and Monica Alcantara and Kris Coons, the respective chairs of the countys Democratic and Republican parties. Callanen told the Express-News that she has two employees who could take over at a moments notice and run the countys elections. She declined to share their names or their positions in the department, citing the scrutiny election workers are already under. Indian-origin Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy has said that many Indian Americans in the US have been offended as US Vice President Kamala Harris has "cast aside" her Indian identity. Ramaswamy recalled that Kamala Harris leaned onto her Indian American identity when she ran for office in California and added that she wears a different identity when it is politically convenient on a national stage. Speaking to Fox News, Vivek Ramaswamy said, "On a very personal level, my parents were immigrants to this country, legal immigrants from southern India, the very same part of India that her mother also immigrated from. I think it's a hard fact, it's just a fact whether you like it or not, that many Indian Americans in the United States are indeed somewhat offended by the way Kamala has suddenly cast aside the Indian American side of her identity." "She leaned into it when she ran for office in California, big Asian American and Indian American population. So, she wore that when it was convenient. She's wearing a different identity now when it's politically convenient on a national stage," he added. Speaking to Fox News, Ramaswamy said that Kamala Harris' leaning into identity politics opens the door to criticism. He stated that Harris' candidature lacks vision for the US. He said, "I don't think we should be relying on these ethnic identities at all. We're American. And the problem is when you're Kamala Harris and you actually do lean into your identity politics, then you open the door to that type of criticism." "But if you ask me, that shouldn't be how this election is decided one way or another. It should be decided on our own identity as Americans and what our vision is for the future of the country. And the number one thing missing in Kamala Harris's candidacy is that she lacks that vision for the country. That's what we've got to focus on," he added. Kamala Harris's ethnic identity is becoming a key issue in the US presidential election campaign. It came under further scrutiny after former US President Donald Trump launched a strong personal attack on Vice President and rival in the upcoming presidential polls, Kamala Harris, by claiming that she, after being of "Indian heritage" for years, "turned black" a few years ago, CNN reported. He further claimed that Harris "all of a sudden, made a turn" in her identity and wants to be known as black. Trump made the comments at a gathering of journalists in Chicago when an interviewer asked him why black voters should consider backing a candidate with his history of racist attacks on political rivals. He responded by questioning Harris' heritage. "She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?" CNN quoted him as saying. "I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went - she became a Black person," he said. "I think somebody should look into that too," he added. Kamala Harris is of Indian origin. Her mother is Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. She is the first woman of colour and the first Asian American vice president. If Harris wins the upcoming polls, she will become the first woman president of the country. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has hit back at Donald Trump over the latter's remarks against her racial identity and said the American people "deserve better." She asserted that today the country faces a choice between two different visions, and alleged that Trump and his campaign aim to take the country "backward." Harris was speaking at a Houston fundraiser on Wednesday (local time), hours after Trump claimed that Harris, after being of "Indian heritage" for years, "turned black" a few years ago. "In this moment, we face a choice, between two very different visions for our nation. One focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And we in this room, are fighting for the future," she told the donors. "As we work to move our nation forward...there are those who are trying to take us backward. You might have seen their agenda, they call it Project 2025 and it is a 900-page agenda of extremism," Harris added. (ANI) The United Nations Security Council has urged for urgent diplomatic efforts to "change the trajectory" and seek a path towards regional peace and stability amid rising tensions in West Asia following the recent killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's military commander Fuad Shukr. "The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss alarming developments in the Middle East," Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs told the Council in the briefing of the UNSC held on July 31. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran's capital Tehran early on Wednesday, while a day earlier Hezbollah's most senior military commander was killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut. The UNSC under-secretary general said that Iran in a letter to the Council President has accused Israel of carrying out an attack that killed Haniyeh and Tehran claimed it was a "serious infringement" of Iran's sovereignty and territory integrity and a "blatant violation" of international law. DiCarlo cited a pledge by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to avenge Haniyeh's death. Various non-State armed groups aligned with Iran across the region have also threatened to retaliate against Israel, she added. The UNSC under-secretary general cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks stating that Israel had launched strikes against three fronts, including Hamas, Hizbullah and the Houthis and stating that that his country was fighting an existential war with Iran. "Today's strike in Tehran follows in the wake of several recent escalatory events in the region. While violence continues unabated in Gaza after months of relentless diplomatic efforts, the situation across the Blue Line and inside Lebanon is on an increasingly worrying path," DiCalro said. Saying that recent attacks pose "a serious and dangerous escalation," DiCarlo emphasized the need for "diplomatic efforts to change the trajectory and seek a path toward regional peace and stability." Stating "communication by means of missiles, armed drones and other deadly attacks must end", the UNSC official calling on the international community to "work together to prevent any actions that could make the conflict much bigger and wider very quickly." DiCarlo called for "swift and effective diplomatic action for regional de-escalation." "This Council plays a crucial role in this regard. The time is now," she said. The Council's emergency meeting on the killing of Haniyeh comes after a request by Iran that was supported by Russia, Algeria and China. China, Russia, Algeria and others condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN underscored Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Hizbullah and other terrorists. He urged members of the Security Council with influence over Iran "to increase pressure on it to stop escalating its proxy conflict against Israel and other actors." Japan's representative to the UN Shino Mitsuko expressed concern that "the region is closer than ever to a large-scale conflict that would be difficult to contain". Russia said termed the "political assassination" as "a serious blow to mediation negotiations between Hamas and Israel towards a ceasefire in Gaza". The Russian representative warned against efforts to drag Iran into a regional confrontation, noting that it will destabilize a region that is already at a boiling point. He stressed that "the key to de-escalation is an end to the bloodshed in Gaza". The representative of Iran condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Teheran on official invitation to attend the inauguration of the country's new President, Speaking at the UNSC Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani "This crime is not isolated," he said, adding that it is part of a broader pattern of aggression against countries of the region. Stating that Iran has exercised maximum restraint, he said certain countries, particularly the United States, have shielded Israel from any responsibility for the massacre in Gaza and other malicious activities in the region. The Council must hold Israel accountable, including by considering the imposition of sanctions, and otherr measures, Iravani said. Iran, he added, "reserves its inherent right to self-defence, in accordance with international law to respond decisively to this terrorist and criminal act when it deems necessary and appropriate". US representative Wood said Washington was not involved with Israel's strike on the Hezbollah leader and was not aware of or involved in the targeting of the Hamas official, saying that "we have no independent confirmation as to Hamas' claims regarding his death." He said the United States would continue to lead diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza, reduce regional tensions and prevent a wider war. "A broader war is neither imminent nor inevitable, although the opportunistic attacks by Iran and its network of terrorist proxies and partners across the region have repeatedly brought us closer to a regional conflict," Wood said, adding that Israel has a right to defend itself. Israeli envoy to the UNSC said, "We'll respond with great force against those who harm us." The representative of Israel, Jonathan Miller, said the UNSC meeting has been called for by "the number one sponsor of terrorism", responsible for the most horrifying barbarism across the region -- Iran. "Tehran has used its proxies -- Hamas and Hizbullah -- to target Israel and its citizens from every direction," the Israeli envoy said. The representative of Lebanon Hadi Hachem said that Israel's aggression had reached "our capital, Beirut". The culprit is the Government of Israel and its Prime Minister and the victim is "your ceasefire resolution". "Lebanon and its people do not want war," he said," Hachem said. (ANI) The All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, named after MI Rudomino, hosted a teleconference between Russia and India to commemorate the 225th birth anniversary of Russian poet Aleksander Pushkin, TV Brics reported. This teleconference between Russia and India was the fourth for TV BRICS. However, this time was the largest in terms of the number of participants. Students and teachers from 20 higher education institutions from Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab, and Haryana participated in the teleconference, according to TV Brics report. These included Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad, and Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara. The Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature co-organised the teleconference and the broadcast was supported by Russian House in New Delhi. The theme of the teleconference was "Reading is the best teaching. Reflections on Happiness." The hosts of the teleconference were Aleksandra Burman, Head of International Projects at TV BRICS and Tamara Skok, PhD in Philology, head of the "Modern Russian" international project. Mikhail Antsiferov, Attache at the Russian Embassy in New Delhi, and Elena Remizova, Director of the Russian House in Mumbai, delivered the remarks at the teleconference. They emphasised the importance of such events for establishing stronger cultural and educational contacts between India and Russia, according to TV Brics report. During the teleconference, the foreign participants learned about the universal concept of happiness from Pushkin's works and recited poems written by him in Russian. They watched video sketches of places where the Russian author lived and wrote. The places included Mikhailovsky, Zakharovo, Bolshiye Vyazem, Prechistenka in Moscow, and others. Aleksandra Burman noted that the "Modern Russian" project of the TV BRICS international media network with the participation of foreign partners has been running a series of teleconferences between Russia and India for two years to study the Russian language and learn about Russian culture. Pavel Kuzmin, General Director of the Library for Foreign Literature, stressed that reading literary works in different languages helps representatives of different cultures to understand each other. He further said, "We would like to tell about the culture of the BRICS countries and to find the common, deep traditions and human relations that are common to all the inhabitants of the BRICS countries. BRICS is first and foremost a community of people who share similar values." Indian Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature President Charanjit Singh, who moderated the teleconference, expressed hope that the teleconference would help foreign students better understand the work of Aleksander Pushkin. Singh said, "We hope that in this process, Pushkin's genius and his ideas not only about happiness but also about life in general will be revealed." Meenu Bhatnagar, Associate Professor, Centre of Russian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, talked about her impressions of the lecture by TV BRICS representatives. She noted that the interactive lecture prepared by Tamara Skok and Aleksandra Burman gave the participants an understanding of how Pushkin expressed happiness in his poems, according to TV Brics report. She said, "The teleconference dedicated to the 225th anniversary of Pushkin's birth was a humble tribute to this great Russian poet who continues to instill a love for Russia and the Russian language and literature not only in Russians but also in foreign students studying Russian." Previously, Russia-India teleconferences were dedicated to international friendship, Russian hospitality and Pancake celebrations. In 2022, the TV BRICS lecture "Peculiarities and Identity of Russian Regions" was held at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in a face-to-face format for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students of the Department of Russian Studies. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh held a meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Thursday. The two leaders will hold discussions to further energise the India-Vietnam ties, including the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. [{c813638b-78f3-46a8-9f3a-0a2e6a9e3512:intradmin/ANI-20240801062251.jfif}] In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Taking India-Vietnam partnership to new heights! PM @narendramodi extended a warm welcome to PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam at Hyderabad House. Substantive discussions to further energise the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the agenda." Earlier, Pham Minh Chinh paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He paid his tribute by laying floral wreaths at the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was laid to rest. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Remembering Bapu and his timeless ideals! PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat." Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal were present on the occasion. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh met delegates and ministers from each other's countries. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who arrived in India, on Tuesday. During the meeting, the Vietnamese PM expressed gratitude and thanked India for the warm reception. "I want to thank you for your time, seeing me this afternoon. I want to thank you for your efforts in arranging my visit to India with such short notice and a very tight schedule. I would like to thank the two foreign ministries for making the best preparations for this visit," Pham Minh Chinh said. Further, Pham Minh Chinh also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his win for the third consecutive term and termed it a 'historic victory.' "I would like to thank India for the warm reception accorded to me during my stay in India. It is a vivid testament to the importance that India places on its relations with Vietnam. I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Modi's re-election for the third consecutive term. This is a historic victory." Chinh said. In response, Jaishankar expressed pleasure and stated that Chinh is one of the earliest visitors after the elections and that the government has taken over in its third term, adding, "It's a very special privilege to receive him." Jaishankar offered his condolences on the death of Secretary General Niren Fu-Chang. He noted that Pham Minh Chinh's visit would allow reviewing bilateral ties and discussing strategic trends in the region. The Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, welcomed the Vietnamese PM at the airport on Tuesday. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said the visit of the Vietnamese PM will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. "Warm welcome to PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam as he arrives in New Delhi on a state visit. Received by MoS @PmargheritaBJP at the airport. India & Vietnam share civilizational links and a longstanding friendship based on mutual trust. The visit will further strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership," Jaiswal posted on X. In an earlier press release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, "India and Vietnam have age-old historical and civilizational ties, which were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister to Vietnam in September 2016. India considers Vietnam as a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision." (ANI) The Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi was called on Thursday morning to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the death of an Indian fisherman, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said. The statement said that a collision was reported earlier the same day between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat 5 nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island. Out of the four Indian fishermen who were on board the vessel, one died, another is missing, while two of the fishermen have been rescued and brought ashore to Kankesanthurai. A search is ongoing for the missing Indian fisherman. Indian Consulate Officials in Jaffna have been instructed to immediately rush to Kankesanthurai and extend all possible assistance to the fishermen and their families. The statement added that the government has always emphasized the need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humane and humanitarian manner. It also said that the existing understandings between the two governments in that regard must be strictly observed and that efforts should be made to ensure that there is no recurrence or resort to the use of force. The statement said that the government attaches the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian fishermen. Issues relating to Indian fishermen have been raised regularly at the highest levels with Sri Lanka. Earlier on July 23, The Sri Lankan Navy apprehended nine fishermen hailing from Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram, as per the Rameswaram Fishermen Association. According to the fishermen's association, 535 boats went to sea for fishing on Monday. On July 19, fishermen in Rameswaram held a massive protest against the frequent arrests by the Sri Lankan Navy and demanded the immediate release of 74 fishermen who had been arrested so far this year. (ANI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, has moved the Lahore High Court against her arrest in a third case of Toshakhana, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. Bushra Bibi filed a petition through Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa. The petition stated that Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan had been granted bail in the Toshakhana case. However, the couple was re-arrested in a new case with malicious intent. The petition stated that the female officials assaulted and humiliated the petitioner during the arrest in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. It further said that Bushra Bibi was arrested in a third case without a warrant from the NAB chairman and was imprisoned as an act of political victimisation. The petitioner has requested the court to take action against the jail superintendent and the female officials who were involved in the assault on the petitioner. Bushra Bibi also urged the court to declare her arrest in the third Toshakhana case illegal, according to a Dawn report. Meanwhile, Imran Khan also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, requesting details of cases filed against him, Dawn reported. Khan (71), who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on multiple charges, including the Toshakhana case, cypher case and the unlawful marriage case. His wife has also been behind bars for months. On July 29, an accountability court in Rawalpindi extended the physical remand of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, by 10 days in a Toshakhana case, Geo News reported. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had presented the couple before the court after the previous seven-day remand expired and submitted a progress report on the newly filed case to the judge. The hearing was attended by NAB Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi and the investigative deputy director of the case, Mohsin Haroon. During the hearing, the defence lawyer Salman Safdar opposed the extension in remand sought by anti-graft body's team. The hearing also witnessed an altercation between Imran Khan and the NAB prosecutor general. "My wife has no links with the Toshakhana, why is she being punished," Imran Khan said, adding that the former first lady wasn't a public officeholder while he served as Pakistan's PM. Taking a jibe, he further said, "The NAB officials are sellouts who would do anything for money." Attacking the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, the NAB prosecutor challenged Khan to buy a complete dinner and tea set for Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 30,000 from Rawalpindi's Raja Bazar, as he referred to the state gifts the former PM had received from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "Did Muhammad bin Salman gift you a dinner set and tea set worth PKR 30,000," Abbasi asked the PTI founder, as per the Geo News. After the arguments, the court adjourned the proceedings until August 8, directing the NAB team to present Imran and Bushra Bibi at the next hearing. (ANI) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday (local time) that he did not expect a surge in attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria, as they have in the past. Speaking to reporters as he departed for the Philippines, Lloyd Austin said that the safety of American troops is really important to him, adding that the US has taken some measures to protect itself. Asked about attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria and whether they are connected to rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Austin responded, "Do I see the attack, the recent attacks connected to, well, I think it's all connected, but I think, quite frankly, I don't see a return to where we were several months ago, not yet." "And certainly, we'll keep our eye on this. The safety and protection of our troops is important to me. That's why, you know, you saw us take some measures to protect ourselves here most recently as we took out some UAVs, which are about to be launched. We have the right to do that, and we will continue to do that to protect our troops," he added. When asked about the Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh's death in Tehran, Austin said, "I don't have anything for you on that. And we certainly have heard the reporting, but I don't have any additional information for that." Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian. Meanwhile, the US military carried out a defensive airstrike south of Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, ABC News reported, citing two officials. Speaking to ABC News, one of the officials said, "US forces in Iraq conducted a defensive airstrike in the Musayib in Babil Province, targeting combatants attempting to launch one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWAUAS)." The official said, "Based on recent attacks in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command assessed that the OWAUAS posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces." Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi officials had reported blasts in an area south of Baghdad, which is a hub for Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, the umbrella name for Iranian-backed militia groups operating under Iraq's Defense Ministry. In a statement provided to ABC News, the Popular Mobilization Authority said, "Forces affiliated with the 47th Brigade... were exposed to an explosion of unknown nature, which resulted in the martyrdom of several people and the injury of others." The airstrike carried out by the US on Tuesday was the first one in Iraq since February, when a drone strike killed a top leader of one of the Iranian-backed militia groups the US had said was responsible for nearly 170 rocket and drone attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria. The attacks against US bases stopped after that airstrike, except for two attacks in April. However, new attacks have been reported during the past week, according to an ABC News report. The US has called its airstrike conducted on Tuesday defensive and targeting terrorists preparing to carry out an attack. These airstrikes have become commonplace in Yemen, where the US has been targeting Houthi militias planning attacks against commercial shipping around the Red Sea. A US official hinted that the airstrike conducted on Tuesday demonstrated the US' commitment to protecting its personnel, ABC News reported. The official said, "We maintain the inherent right to self-defence and will not hesitate to take appropriate action." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called Vietnam an "important partner" in Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. He stated that the two nations have good coordination regarding the Indo-Pacific and support "evolution and not expansionism." While delivering a joint statement with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at Hyderabad House on Thursday, PM Modi said, "Vietnam is our important partner in our Act East Policy and our Indo-Pacific vision. There is good coordination between our views regarding the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific." PM Modi extended a warm welcome to Pham Minh Chinh and his delegation. He offered condolences over the demise of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He said, "I warmly welcome Prime Minister Pham Ming Ching and his delegation to India. First of all, on behalf of all Indians, I express my deepest condolences on the demise of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He was India's good friend and under his leadership, India-Vietnam relations also got a strategic direction." Stressing that ties between India and Vietnam have strengthened in the past 10 years, PM Modi stated, "In the past decade, our relations have expanded and deepened. Over the last 10 years, we have elevated our ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Our bilateral trade has increased by 85 per cent. Our cooperation has flourished in areas such as energy, technology, and development partnerships. Defence and security have got a new direction. In the last decade, our connectivity has increased and now we have over 50 direct flights." Speaking about his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, PM Modi said that they held discussions on all areas of cooperation and took several measures to prepare a roadmap for the future. He said that the development in the two nations has gained momentum due to India's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam's 2045 vision. He said, "In our discussions today, we extensively discussed all areas of mutual cooperation and took several steps to prepare a roadmap for the future. We believe that due to India's 'Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam's 2045 vision, development has gained momentum in both countries. This is opening up many new areas of mutual cooperation and therefore, today we have made a new Plan of Action to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. New steps have been taken for cooperation in the field of defence and security." He said that the two nations have agreed that the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be reviewed and concluded at an early date to realise the mutual trade potential. PM Modi said, "The agreement reached on a credit line of 300 million dollars will strengthen Vietnam's maritime security. We have also decided that cooperation will be emphasized on the subject of terrorism and cyber security. We agreed that the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be reviewed and concluded at an early date to realise the mutual trade potential." Earlier, the two leaders held a meeting at Hyderabad House. PM Modi welcomed his Vietnamese counterpart and the leaders greeted each other. Earlier, Pham Minh Chinh paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He paid his tribute by laying floral wreaths at the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was laid to rest. In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Remembering Bapu and his timeless ideals! PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat." Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal were present on the occasion. PM Modi and Pham Minh Chinh met delegates and ministers from each other's countries. (ANI) . At the forefront of the Sindhi Foundation's demands is the immediate release of Priya Kumari, a Sindhi Hindu minor, abducted three years ago in Sindh Province of Pakistan. Her continued captivity symbolises the broader issues faced by the Sindhi Hindu community. The Foundation also drew attention to ongoing human rights abuses against Sindhis in Pakistan. According to the Sindhi Foundation, these abuses are state-sponsored, aiming to homogenise society in favour of Islam and the Urdu language. This has created increasingly difficult circumstances for Sindhi Hindus, leading to land occupation, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. The Sindhi Foundation asserted that the crimes against Sindhi Hindus are part of a broader state-sponsored agenda in Pakistan. They claimed that the government's policies aim to marginalise non-Muslim communities and promote an Urdu-speaking Islamic identity. The Sindhi Foundation has vowed to persist in their protest until their demands are met, including the safe return of Priya Kumari. They have called on international agencies to suspend aid to Pakistan until the human rights violations against Sindhis cease. The protest in Chicago is part of a series of demonstrations by the Sindhi Foundation, aiming to raise awareness and garner international support for the Sindhi community's plight in Pakistan. (ANI) The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday announced that Hamas military wing commander Mohammed Deif had been killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. In a post on X, IDF stated, "We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated." https://x.com/IDF/status/1818926099432161437 The Israeli military said that it obtained intelligence confirming his death in the past few hours. Deif was targeted in a strike at Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafa'a Salameh's compound in Khan Younis area on July 13, The Times of Israel reported. A day later, the IDF confirmed the death of Salameh. However, it did not have final information on Deif. The IDF believed that its intelligence indicated that Deif visiting the compound belonging to Salameh was highly accurate and the two Hamas military officials were together in the building that was hit with several heavy munitions, according to The Times of Israel report. Israeli fighter jets had patrolled the building for half a day before conducting the strike after the IDF had early indications that Deif was with Samaleh. The two jets were in the air above the site. After the military received confirmation that Deif had arrived at the compound, the jets were given the order to target, which was conducted within just a few minutes, according to The Times of Israel report. Israel's confirmation regarding Deif comes a day after Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported. In a statement to Mehr News Agency, the IRGC said that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Tehran. "With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred," the statement read. Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a Press TV report. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his nation has delivered "crushing blows" to enemies in the last few days, CNN reported. He made the remarks hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. In his address to the nation, Netanyahu did not claim Israel's responsibility for Haniyeh's killing. Notably, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh's assassination. "Three weeks ago, we attacked the military chief of Hamas, Mohammad Deif. Two weeks ago we attacked the Houthis, in one of the farthest attacks the Air Force has carried out. Yesterday we attacked the military chief of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr," the Israeli PM said. Netanyahu said Israel is facing "challenging days" and it will "settle the score" with anyone who harms the country. "These are challenging days. There are threats From Beirut. We are ready for any scenario. We are prepared," CNN quoted him as saying. "We'll settle the score with anyone who harms us, anyone who massacres our children, anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who hurts our nation, blood is on his head," Netanyahu added. He further affirmed that Israel will keep fighting until the aims of the war are achieved. Netanyahu referenced previous calls he has received to end the war in Gaza, saying, "I did not give in then and I am not giving in today." Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced a national day of mourning on Wednesday over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as he condemned the killing as a "cowardly act and dangerous development," The Times of Israel reported. Palestinian flags were flown at half-staff for the day, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported, as Palestinian factions announced a general strike and called for demonstrations in the West Bank. (ANI) Annasofia Scheve covers trending news for the Express-News. She can be reached at Annasofia.Scheve@express-news.net. Annasofia has bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Missouri. She is an Ohio native, and wrote for Cincinnati Magazine and the Cincinnati Enquirer before joining the Express-News in 2023. Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while speaking at Hyderabad House on Thursday praised India's outlook in today's world and its strategy during COVID-19. He said that he shared their strategic vision as it is changing dramatically. "We shared the strategic vision of the world today, especially the dramatic change in the natural environment and human development. And the world today with artificial intelligence, and cloud computing is changing fundamentally- the way we produce, the way the world is run, and the way humans behave. Digital and green transformation, circular economy and the knowledge and sharing economy and climate action," he said. The Vietnamese PM said that India also played an important role in the fight against COVID-19 with four types of vaccines, from which Vietnam also benefited. "India also played an important role in the fight against COVID-19 with four types of vaccines, from which Vietnam also benefited. And even in the production of Covid-19 treatment medicines, we also imported quite a quantity from India," he said. Pham Minh Chinh said that security challenges in the Asia Indo-Pacific region are fierce and to tackle this, the world needs international solidarity. "The Asia Indo-Pacific is a locomotive for growth in the world and major power politics take place fiercely here. Security challenges, especially non-traditional security challenges interspersing with each other are becoming fiercer. The state of the world today and the issues that the world faces are of a global, comprehensive and horror people nature. Therefore, we need an approach and a global methodology, upholding multilateralism, calling for international solidarity with the people as a driver and the actor of all policy," he said. He added that today, there are intertwining opportunities intertwined with challenges, but there are more challenges than opportunities. The Vietnam PM expressed gratitude to PM Modi for sending a National Security Advisor when Vietnam's Comrade General Secretary Nguyen Fuchsiang passed away. "I would like to extend my gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and the leaders of India and Indians for the deep condolences and the sending of your national security advisor to the funeral service to express the condolence at the passing of Comrade General Secretary Nguyen Fuchsiang, an extraordinary leader of Vietnam who has devoted his entire life for his people," he said. He said that the issues of Vietnam might change in the future, but the bond of friendship and cooperation shall never change. "The special bond between Vietnam and India shall never change and on the contrary, shall grow more enduringly, concretely, more effectively going forward. I would like to extend my best regards from President Dolam, President of the National Assembly Chen Tangman, to Prime Minister Modi and the leaders of India. With warm fondness and friendship over the past two days, Prime Minister Modi and Indian friends have given me a warm, hospitable welcome from the bottom of your heart, full of trust, and affection once again to India. I believe that I've sensed a feeling of warmth, as though I'm coming home," he said. In the end, he thanked Prime Minister Modi and all the Indian people for the warmth extended to him during the visit. (ANI) Tel Aviv [Israel], August 1 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that aircraft of the Israel Air Force (IAF), in cooperation with the fire center of the IDF Southern Command, attacked and destroyed in the Khan Yunis area in Gaza launchers loaded with rockets that were aimed at the territory of Israel. The IDF also said the fighters of the brigade combat teams under the command of it 162nd "Steel Formation" Division continue to operate in the Rafah area of Gaza. In addition, forces of the IDF's Nahal Infantry Brigade are currently operating in what the IDF called a "targeted manner" in the Tel al-Sultan area in Gaza, and have destroyed a building booby trapped with explosives in the area from which Hamas terrorists were operating. At the same time, forces of the IDF's 252nd "Sinai" Division continue to operate against terrorist infrastructures in the center of the Gaza Strip. Also, in the last day, under the direction of the IDF's 454th Artillery Brigade, an aircraft attacked and eliminated several terrorist squads that posed a threat to Israeli forces in the region. Finally, the IDF reported that over the last day IAF aircraft and fighter jets attacked about 35 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, including armed terrorist groups, military buildings and other terrorist infrastructures. (ANI/TPS) Lauding the ties shared between the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that Buddhism is a common heritage that has connected the people of India and Vietnam on a spiritual level. Delivering a press statement during the visit of Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh to India, PM Modi also appreciated the shared cultural heritage between the two nations. "To conserve our shared cultural heritage, India will cooperate in the conservation of the temples of "Block F" of the World Heritage Site 'Mi Son'. As we all know, Buddhism is our common heritage, which has connected the people of both the countries on a spiritual level," Prime Minister Modi said in his press statement. He also extended an invitation to people from Vietnam to come to India and explore the Buddhist Circuit here. "We invite people from Vietnam to the Buddhist circuit in India. And want that the youth of Vietnam should also take advantage of Nalanda University." The ancient Nalanda University, established around 1600 years ago, is considered to be among the first residential universities in the world. The new university campus is created to be a replica of the historic Nalanda University. The university is conceived as a collaboration between India and East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. Meanwhile, in his press statement, PM Modi also spoke on the economic aspect of the bilateral relationship between India and Vietnam. "Agriculture and fisheries are important parts of the economy of both countries. These sectors are related to people's livelihood and food security. We have decided that germplasm exchange and joint research will be promoted in these areas," PM Modi said. He also highlighted the importance of Vietnam in India's Act East Policy. The Prime Minister said, "In our Act East policy and our Indo-Pacific vision, Vietnam is our important partner. There is good coordination between our views regarding the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific." "We welcome Vietnam's decision to join CDRI," he said. Notably, CDRI (The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure), formed by India in 2019, is a unique global climate initiative that brings together governments, multilateral agencies, the private sector, and academic institutions to strengthen the climate resilience of key infrastructure, including roads, airports, and power grids. "Once again, I welcome Prime Minister Pham Min Ching. Your visit is adding a new and golden chapter to our relations," PM Modi said, concluding his statement. Earlier today, PM Modi and his Vietnam counterpart, Pham Minh Chinh at Hyderabad House here in the national capital, jointly inaugurated the Army Software Park at the Tele-Communications University in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Various delegates from both sides signed several Memorandums of Understanding, aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties between both countries. Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. (ANI) Jamal Baloch, a Baloch activist from PAANK, raised concerns over the Pakistani security forces targeting the peaceful protesters in Balochistan and the surge in atrocities committed on Baloch people. The activist was speaking in front of the International Court of Justice in Netherlands. The situation in Balochistan has seen Pakistani security forces detain several peaceful protesters from Hub, Chowki, and Karachi who were demonstrating against the "brutality of the administration". Internet services and shops have also been shut down for the last several days. In a post on X, on Wednesday, PAANK, the Baloch national human rights department, shared the speech of one of its media coordinators, who was speaking in front of the International Court of Justice in Netherlands. https://x.com/paank_bnm/status/1818722279066681544 Media coordinator Jamal Baloch said that Pakistani forces have been targeting innocent civilians in Balochistan for 75 years. "In front of the International Court of Justice, there has been a long-standing demand for justice for Balochistan. For 75 years, Pakistani forces have been targeting innocent civilians in Balochistan, killing them barbarically, attacking and burning down houses, and reducing hundreds of villages to ashes. Yet, no justice has been seen for the people of Balochistan," he said in the video. Jamal also mentioned about the recent crackdown on peaceful protesters by security forces. "Against these atrocities, a national gathering was organized where thousands were prepared to unite and demand justice, and to raise their voices against the Baloch genocide. However, Pakistani forces began a crackdown against these peaceful demonstrators" Jamal added. Jamal stressed that it has been announced that the sit-in will continue until justice is served, regardless of the cost. The international community is called upon to listen to these voices that are currently under attack. Over the past five days, a large number of people have been killed by Pakistani forces, with direct shootings being reported. Many injuries have been sustained, and thousands have been forcibly disappeared. Just two days ago, peaceful protesters were run over by military vehicles driven by Pakistani forces, resulting in heart-wrenching scenes, he emphasised. Moreover, Jamal said that hundreds of injuries were inflicted, and assistance to the injured was prevented by Pakistani forces, with medical help being denied. He further highlighted that justice for Balochistan will continue despite atrocities by Pakistan Security forces. The political landscape of Balochistan is defined by both separatist aspirations and demands for greater autonomy within Pakistan. Baloch nationalist groups argue that the region's resources should mainly benefit the local population and that they should have greater control over their governance. Conversely, the Pakistani government has focused on suppressing insurgency, which has intensified local discontent. (ANI) Emphasizing that New Delhi-Hanoi strategic partnership has entered a new period, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday, extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Vietnam. "Let me take the opportunity to extend my cordial invitation to his Excellency, Prime Minister, to visit Vietnam in the nearest future to reciprocate the kindness and hospitality...," Vietnam PM said as he was holding a joint press statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House in the national capital. The Vietnamese Prime Minister praised PM Modi's leadership, emphasising that under his leadership, India had become the fifth-largest economy in the world and one of the top powers with a striking global role. "Having made its mark, the leadership of the BJP and the prime minister have brought about great benefits to the Indian people. We are deeply impressed by the whole market of his exact prime minister such as electricity coverage for 28 million poor households, 5G connection, social security and a dramatic increase in people's living standard and food security for all including 800 million who benefit from from free food," he said. PM Chinh added that this is a result of a great effort from the Indian government. He said that strategic partnership between Vietnam and India has entered a new period, deeper, greater trust, with great effectiveness, to live up to the interest and aspiration of two peoples Peace Corporation development in the region and in the world. "Under the leadership of...Prime Minister Modi in his third consecutive term, India would continue to bring about greater benefit to the Indian people, achieve even more splendor successes in the future, and achieve Viksit Bharat 2047 to make India a developed country...," he said. The Vietnamese PM further expressed interest in becoming a part of India's Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and agreed to establish a deputy foreign ministerial level for the economic diplomacy dialogue. "We've decided to be part of India's CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure)... We also agreed to establish a deputy foreign ministerial level for the economic diplomacy dialogue," he said. The two sides redoubled the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation...in the South China Sea, he said, adding, "A peaceful settlement of disputes based on respecting international law, especially UNCLOS 1982. We agreed to share information and work together to make the South China Sea- waters of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation..." Further highlighting and commending India's role in the fight against Covid-19, the Vietnamese PM said that India also played an important role in the fight against Covid-19 with four types of vaccines from which we also benefited. "Even in the production of COVID-19 treatment medicines, we also imported quite a quantity from India...," he added. "Prime Minister Modi and I are pleased to witness the immense gains in bilateral relations, especially since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership. During his visit 8 years ago, we reiterated the priority and the importance that our two countries give to each other in our respective foreign policies," Chinh said. He said that the two leaders agreed to continue to preserve and cherish the traditional ties between Vietnam and India as close, trusted and faithful friends. (ANI) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) expressed gratitude towards British lawmaker John McDonnell after he introduced a resolution in the UK Parliament, condemning the heinous actions of Pakistani security forces against peaceful protests in Balochistan. John McDonnell introduced a resolution in the UK Parliament, condemning the actions of Pakistani security forces against peaceful gatherings in Balochistan, on the sidelines of the Baloch Raaji Muchi being organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). https://twitter.com/BNMovement_/status/1818945161742676174 In a post on X, the BNM mentioned, "John McDonnell, Member of Parliament of the British Labour Party, for addressing serious human rights violations in Balochistan in the British Parliament. McDonnell raised issues such as forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and restrictions on expression and peaceful gatherings by the Pakistani army." "A motion has been tabled to discuss these violations, demanding an end to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and restrictions on expression and peaceful assembly by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan," the BNM added. The British Politician also noted that the BNM has written to various members of the British Parliament, urging them to support the motion tabled by John McDonnell so that the issue could be debated in the British Parliament. The letters called for attention to the serious human rights violations in Balochistan. Additionally, the same post also highlighted that members of the BNM have been in contact with members of various countries, particularly the British Parliament, for many years. They have repeatedly requested that all members raise the issue of serious human rights violations committed by Pakistani officers in Balochistan. McDonnell in his statement, added that his party is urgently drafting a detailed report for heads of state, the United Nations, and international human rights organizations regarding the recent events in Balochistan and the latest wave of genocide. This report will further aim to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Balochistan and demand accountability from Pakistan for these serious violations. Additionally, the same statement also stated, "In September of this year, special representatives of United Nations human rights subsidiary organizations agreed to meet with BNM representatives. During these meetings, the party will brief the special representatives on ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan, with the goal of raising the issue within the United Nations." The situation in Balochistan has been marked by ongoing tensions and conflicts involving Baloch activists and Pakistani security forces. There have been numerous reports of human rights abuses in the region, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture. (ANI) The Indian Embassy in Lebanon on Thursday, advised all Indian nationals to leave Lebanon as tensions escalates in the region after the rocket attack at Golan Heights. The embassy advised the Indian nationals to not travel to Lebanon till further notice."In view of recent developments and potential threats in the region, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice. All Indian nationals are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon," the Indian embassy in Lebanon said in a statement. Meanwhile, it further advised the Indian nationals living in Lebanon to exercise extreme caution and avoid any movements. It also asked them to remain in touch with the Indian embassy in Beirut. "Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Beirut through their email id: cons.beirut@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +96176860128," it stated. https://x.com/IndiaInLebanon/status/1818959647828586937 Tensions have further escalated after the rocket attack at Golan Heights, allegedly fired by Hezbollah killed 12 children. In response to the attack at Golan Heights, The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in the Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (local time). Fuad Shukr, the "most senior Hezbollah military commander," was killed in the Israeli strike, the IDF said in a statement. Shukr sat on the Jihad Council, Hezbollah's top military body, and was considered to be the head of its strategic division. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, he has been managing Hezbollah's attacks against Israel, including the deadly strike in Majdal Shams over the weekend that killed 12 children, according to the military. The IDF says Shukr was "responsible for the majority of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs" and for the terror group's "force build-up, planning, and execution of terror attacks against the State of Israel," as reported by The Times of Israel. Moreover, earlier today, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that Hamas military wing commander Mohammed Deif had been killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. In a post on X, IDF stated, "We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated." Israel's confirmation regarding Deif comes a day after Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported. In a statement to Mehr News Agency, the IRGC said that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Tehran. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his nation has delivered "crushing blows" to enemies in the last few days, CNN reported. He made the remarks hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. (ANI) Japan's House of Representatives Speaker Nukaga Fukushiro on Thursday said that Japanese companies are keen to invest in India, emphasising on promoting the exchange of human resources between the two countries. Referring to the economic relations between the two countries, Fukushiro said that more economic cooperation will provide employment opportunities to the youth of India and will also give a boost to the economy of Japan. Japan's House of Representatives Speaker Nukaga Fukushiro called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Parliament House Complex on Thursday. Fukushiro is currently leading a parliamentary delegation to India and is on a five-day visit. He emphasised on increasing cooperation between the two countries in the field of technology like IT, semi-conductors and artificial intelligence. Referring to the strategic relationship between the two countries, Fukushiro said that Japan and India are two strong democracies on the Asian continent based on shared democratic values and the rule of law. He further said that Asian peace and prosperity will be established through close cooperation between India and Japan. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, referring to the ancient and deep relations between India and Japan, said that both civilizations have a shared heritage of Buddhism which connects the citizens of the two countries. Birla described this type of people to people contact as the foundation of friendly relations between the two countries. He further expressed happiness over the large number of tourists and pilgrims coming to India from Japan every year to visit religious places related to Buddhism and said that this develops mutual understanding between the citizens of both countries. While referring to the commitment of the Indian Parliament towards women empowerment, Om Birla informed Fukushiro that several important bills including the Nari Shakti Vandan Act were passed in the first session of the new Parliament House. Describing the budget session as the most important session, Birla mentioned India's growing economic progress and how India is moving ahead in every field. Further, he referred to the shared democratic values of India and Japan, and told the Japanese delegation that around 650 million people participated in the Lok Sabha elections held this year. He added that in India, on an average, there are more than 2 million voters per constituency, adding that the election process in India is conducted by the Election Commission, which itself is a constitutional body. Moreover, Birla said that the Election Commission of India has a record of conducting free, fair and transparent elections. Referring to the country's long democratic journey, Birla said that since independence in 1947, the Indian people have developed their country through democracy. He added that during this period, there have been extensive socio-economic changes in the country. Further expressing pride, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that many challenges in the country's development journey have been resolved by the public representatives of the country through consensus-disagreement and discussion dialogue. Referring to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for the third consecutive time, Birla said that today the economy of India is growing rapidly and added that due to the strong and transparent government in the country, there are huge possibilities of economic investment. There are also ample opportunities for investment in the states. Birla expressed happiness and said that many Japanese companies are working in India. He expressed hope that the mutual cooperation between the two countries will continue to grow in the field of economic investment and technology. Highlighting on promoting cooperation between the parliaments of Japan and India, Birla said that both the countries can further strengthen the people to people relations through parliamentary diplomacy. He further said that both the parliaments can share their best practices, innovations, good traditions, achievements, which will enhance mutual understanding between the two parliaments and pave the way for new aspects of cooperation. He suggested that parliamentary delegations of both the countries should visit each other's countries regularly. Birla stressed that the Parliamentary Friendship Group should have regular dialogue on various subjects so that we can benefit from each other's experiences. Referring to the maximum use of digital technology in Parliament, Birla said that major changes are being made in this direction in India due to the digital revolution. The Lok Sabha Speaker stated that participants from more than 100 countries come for training and capacity building organized by India's Parliamentary Training Institute PRIDE. Further hoping that both the Parliaments consider creating a framework for cooperation between the Parliamentary Training Institutes, Birla expressed happiness and said that due to the strong relations between the two Parliaments, not only has there been closeness in mutual relations, but many new dimensions have also been added to them with the changing perspective. Recalling his visit to Japan for the P20 Summit in 2019, Birla said that in that meeting, wide range of issues was between the two sides on trade, technology and sustainable development. Japan's House of Representatives Speaker Nukaga Fukushiro congratulated Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on being elected as the Speaker for the second consecutive term. He thanked Birla for giving the opportunity to watch the proceedings of House and also appreciated the efforts of the Om Birla to strengthen India-Japan relations. Moreover, Fukushiro also expressed his condolences on the landslide accident in Kerala. (ANI) Jaideep Mazumdar, Ashish Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary (South) and Randhir Jaiswal, MEA Spokesperson held a special briefing on Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to India, on Thursday. "Defence collaboration, as I have said, is a very important pillar and both leaders recognize that industry collaboration is a priority. Indeed, defence industry cooperation has emerged as a very significant area," Mazumdar said. The MEA Secretary further noted that India and Vietnam signed an implementation arrangement for defence industry cooperation. "We have signed an implementation arrangement for defence industry cooperation which establishes a framework for such cooperation. Then we also have an overarching approach to defence supplies for Vietnam, guided by their specific requirements...," he said. Moreover, he highlighted that technology transfers in defence prooduction was also discussed by the Vietnamese PM. "Technology transfers in defence production was also one of the areas identified by the vietnamese side as an area of their interest," Mazumdar added. Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. Earlier today, PM Modi and his Vietnam counterpart, Pham Minh Chinh at Hyderabad House here in the national capital, jointly inaugurated the Army Software Park at the Tele-Communications University in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Various delegates from both sides signed several Memorandums of Understanding, aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties between both countries. Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while speaking at Hyderabad House on Thursday praised India's outlook in today's world and its strategy during COVID-19. Pham Minh Chinh said that security challenges in the Asia Indo-Pacific region are fierce and to tackle this, the world needs international solidarity. (ANI) Israel's Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon prophecy about one of the masterminds of Hamas' October 7 attack - head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif came true on Thursday. The Israeli army released a video on August 1 of an airstrike in Gaza that killed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, last month in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. The Israeli army said in a statement that fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis and the death of Deif was confirmed "following an intelligence assessment." Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement. Earlier, in an interview with ANI, the Israeli envoy had said, "Mohammad Deif escaped 4-5 times as we tried to kill him over the years, so we had to make sure this time, especially after October 7, it is the final one because he is the chief of staff of Hamas in a way and the symbol of what happened on October 7..." Deif is believed to have survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts over the years, but each time he survived. On the morning of October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, Al Jazeera aired an audio recording message from Mohammed Deif in which he said that the attack was the beginning of the 'Al-Aqsa Flood' against Israel. "I think, also from the practical capacity that he has, we have to make clear that he is like Osama Bin Laden, people like that cannot live in our world in no way, and I think, hopefully, he is dead, and the point is made clear," he had predicted days earlier. Israel's confirmation regarding Deif comes a day after Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Iran's capital, Tehran. While, a day earlier Hezbollah's most senior military commander was killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut. On being asked how Israel is trying to ensure minimisation of collateral damage, while trying to pinpoint Mohammad Deif, the envoy had said, "First of all, in general, the figures that we get of dead are the figures given by so-called Ministry of Health of Hamas in Gaza...so they have an interest in inflating numbers, and another element that is very important to know that this is the effect that for them everyone is civilians, they never differentiate between terrorists or fighters (whatever you call them) and between civilians, so from their point of view all the dead are civilians." He mentioned that Israel had 'two of them on target, and not only Deif.' "I remind you that at the beginning of the war, they tried to frame Israel for attacking a hospital, which afterwards we found out that it was a misfired rocket of their own," Gilon said. The Israeli army released a video on August 1 of an airstrike in Gaza that killed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, last month. The Israeli army said in a statement that fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis and the death of Deif was confirmed "following an intelligence assessment." Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday announced that Hamas military wing commander Mohammed Deif had been killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. In a post on X, IDF stated, "We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated." (ANI) In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sits inside an airplane at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) AP Three American citizens freed from captivity in Russia arrived in San Antonio on Friday to be treated at a Brooke Army Medical Center facility that helps former prisoners prepare to reenter society. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland late Thursday before heading to BAMC. A plane carrying the trio touched down at Kelly Field on San Antonios Southwest Side early Friday morning. A U.S. official said they would spend the day resting and recuperating. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayor Ron Nirenberg said he was proud that BAMC, part of Joint Base San Antonio, will help in rehabilitating several freed Americans. Its standard U.S. government practice for former POWs, freed hostages and others released by hostile governments to be brought to the military hospital at Fort Sam Houston for evaluation, counseling and recovery. In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Paul Whelan, center, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges, is escorted by Russian Federal Security Service agents, left, as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) AP Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, gained their freedom in an elaborate prisoner swap involving seven countries and the release of 24 prisoners in all, 16 held by Russia and eight by Western governments. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gershkovich, 32, spent 16 months in a Russian prison on what the U.S. government said were sham charges of espionage. Whelan, 54, was arrested in 2018 at a friends wedding in Moscow and charged with possessing Russian military secrets. Kurmasheva, 47, was serving a 6-year sentence in a penal colony for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian Army. FILE - Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia on May 31, 2024. Kurmasheva, a dual Russia-U.S. national employed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was convicted July 19 of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced to 6 years in prison. Her family and RFE/RL have rejected the charges. AP BAMCs reintegration program is staffed by physicians, psychiatrists, physical therapists and other specialists under the command of U.S. Army South. It dates to the end of the Vietnam War, when returning POWs needed help coping with the trauma theyd endured. Former captives who have gone through the program include Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina, who was kidnapped and imprisoned by the Rwandan government for more than two years; WNBA star Brittney Griner, a Houston native and two-time Olympic gold medalist who was held in a Russian penal colony; and Pvt. Travis T. King, a GI who was detained by North Korea for 70 days after illegally entering that country. Paul Rusesabagina, who saved hundreds of Rwandans during the genocide by sheltering them in the hotel he managed, is detained in Rwanda after being arrested on sham terrorism charges. He was eventually freed and flown to the U.S., where he entered a program at Brooke Army Medical Center that helps ex-captives cope with their trauma and reintegrate into society. Government Handout Whats the aim of the treatment? The process seeks to help former POWs and hostages overcome the debilitating effects of captivity and isolation and return to their professional, community and family lives with as few complications as possible. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is a very complicated joint operation involving hundreds of people, according to an Army document describing the program. Operational planners, aircrews, medical professionals, security officers, attorneys, chaplains, and specialists in finance, personnel, public affairs and logistics are involved in these operations. Family members also assist in the process, at first through phone contacts and later during family reunions. The process is about helping the returnee gain control of his emotions, a Pentagon spokesman, Army Col. Steve Warren, has said. One of the methods the psychologists use to help the returnee is to allow him to tell his story. A facility at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio helps former prisoners prepare to re-enter society. William Luther/Express-News file photo How does it work? Reporter Evan Gershkovich hugs his mother, Ella Milman, as President Joe Biden, right, looks on at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following their release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Vice President Kamala Harris, from left, and President Joe Biden greet Paul Whelan at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Alsu Kurmasheva, center, hugs her daughters Miriam Butorin, left, and Bibi Butorin at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet reporter Evan Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press President Joe Biden, right, places his American flag pin on Paul Whelan at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following Whelan's release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich, right, is greeted by his father, Mikhail Gershkovich, center, and other family members on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Alsu Kurmasheva, right, is greeted by family members on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Behind them are Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press President Joe Biden, left, hugs Alsu Kurmasheva at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets colleagues at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets his collegues following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Paul Whelan, center, stands with Alsu Kurmasheva, center left, Evan Gershkovich, center right, and family as they prepare to pose for a photo upon their arrival at Kelly Field after being released by Russia, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press According to the Army, there are three phases. The first, Initial Recovery, begins when the hostage or POW is returned to U.S. custody. Theyre given a medical examination and a psychological assessment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The second phase, Transition Location, happens once they arrive at BAMC. They undergo a more thorough medical exam, have formal debriefings and are guided through psychological decompression. In phase three, called Home Base, the former captives meet with their families to address significant closure issues that may have arisen from their captivity, according to the Army. WNBA player Brittney Griner arrives at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Dec. 9, 2022, after being freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia. Like many former prisoners, she went through a program at Brooke Army Medical Center that helps ex-captives cope with their trauma and prepare to re-enter society. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Who else has been treated there? Perhaps the most famous of the facilitys alumni is Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the sole American prisoner of war held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was treated at BAMC in 2014. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after walking off his post. He spent 1,797 days in captivity, and testimony revealed that hed been chained for long periods to a box spring. At BAMC, Bergdahl was encouraged to talk about his ordeal. He was later booted out of the Army for desertion. In 2008, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell employees of defense contractor Northrup Grumman went to BAMC after being held captive in Colombia by a guerrilla group for more than five years. Gonsalves, Howes and Stansell were captured by the revolutionary group FARC after their plane went down in Colombias southern jungle on Feb. 13, 2003. They were constantly under guard, slept on the ground or in crude beds and ate whatever their captors fed them. After their release, they were flown to BAMC. In their book, Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle, the three former hostages said their caregivers at BAMC rarely allowed them to be alone. Griner also wrote a memoir about her captivity in Russia. She was convicted of drug possession after Russian authorities found cartridges of cannabis oil in her luggage. She was freed in exchange for the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the merchant of death, who was serving a U.S. prison sentence for crimes that included conspiracy to kill Americans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Nukaga Fukushiro, and his delegation including members of the Japanese Parliament and business leaders representing major Japanese companies. The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Japanese speaker underscored the robust India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. It highlighted the key areas of collaboration and mutual interest with a focus on people-to-people cooperation, besides reiterating the importance of parliamentary exchanges between India and Japan. "They expressed satisfaction at the progress made on the current target of 5 Trillion Japanese Yen investment set between India and Japan for the period 2022-27 and discussed ways to further consolidate the business & economic ties for the period beyond 2027," the Prime Minister's Office said in an official release. Both sides deliberated on how to strengthen cooperation in traditional manufacturing (monzukuri) as well as modern domains like semiconductors, EVs, and green and clean energy. "They recognized the importance of the successful and timely completion of the flagship Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project. Nukaga proposed that India and Japan nurture and train NextGen workforce in different trades, including by conducting training in Japanese language, culture and work practices; and underlined the role of the private sector also in these endeavours. He said these resource persons will play the role of bridge between the two sides in times to come," according to a PMO release. Prime Minister highlighted the conducive business environment and reforms undertaken in India for more investment and technology from Japan and assured the visiting delegation full support of the Government of India for these endeavours. (ANI) A proposal by the Chinese government to issue individual online identifiers for the general public has triggered severe concerns pointing out that authorities could use this system to further tighten the already strict social control protocol in China on Friday, Nikkei Asia reported. The upcoming measure in China would use the National Network Identity Authentication (NNIA), as a trial application which has already launched in app stores earlier this year. The app will obtain a cyberspace ID composed of letters and numbers along with a "cyberspace certificate" which will be used as authentication on all internet platforms in the country. The Nikkei Asia report claimed that China, unlike many other countries, already requires its internet users to enter their mobile numbers connected to identities and other personal information, while signing up for online services in the country. The draft was floated by the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) calling it a move intended to "protect personal information security" by "minimizing the excessive collection of personal information by Internet platforms." Lester Ross, an official of the Beijing office of a US law firm WilmerHale while explaining the law said that "The draft would allow government regulators to collect personal information without sharing it with Internet platforms, addressing some popular concern over excessive data collection and privacy protection while government regulators continue to have access to real identities". Notably, to obtain a cyberspace ID through the authorised app, the users would need to upload their ID card, scan their face to verify their identity, and link their account with a phone number. Lao Dongyan, a Tsinghua University law professor, made a series of critical posts on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of X stating that "The real purpose of the proposal is to tighten the control of individuals' online speech and behaviour". She added that protecting personal information is just a feint, at least not the main purpose," Lao said. The Nikkei Asia report, however, claimed that all her posts have now been censored by Weibo. In one post the professor mentioned that the ID would enable the authorities to collect all traces individuals leave on the internet, including browsing history and the cyberspace certificate would be made using the internet a licensed privilege that requires approval. Although the Chinese state draft of the move claims that, the identifiers would be granted on a "voluntary basis,". But Lao does not believe the same, instead she claims, that the Chinese government once also said the facial recognition systems now ubiquitous in the country would be voluntary, too. The Nikkei Asia report claimed that China had begun requiring real-name registration for mobile phone numbers in 2010, and started nationwide real-name registration for all internet services in 2017. Currently, more than one billion internet users in the country handed over personal information to online platforms, which includes ID numbers, names, phone numbers and facial biometric features. The Nikkei Asia claimed that it had talked with three Chinese lawyers belonging to Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen all of whom were agreeing that Lao's assessments could be true. However, they demanded that their names must not be reviled. According to the same Nikkei Asia report the Beijing-based lawyer said "The real purpose is to exert comprehensive control over individuals' internet access rights and expression, as a more stringent social control measure,". He also added that the government can already obtain whatever personal information it wants from internet platforms, and implementing the ID proposal would remove the need to do so. Instead, they could simply access anyone's online activity directly after this. The lawyer also predicted, that "the issuance of cyberspace certificates means that individuals' access to the internet will be cut if the authority is unhappy with their online speech or behaviour". The lawyer was also sceptical of the justification of protecting personal information. (ANI) Highlighting the remarkable bilateral trade between India and Vietnam, Ministry of External Affairs, Secretary (East), Jaideep Mazumdar said that the bilateral trade is around USD 15 billion, adding that both nations' leaders feel that this could be "significantly increased". Vietnam is one of India's closest partners in the ASEAN region and a pillar of India's Act East Policy. "It is a country with which we have a long and historic and civilizational relationship, which has blossomed into many different fields," the MEA Secretary said while addressing a special briefing on Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh's visit to India. He added that defence, security, economic, trade, investment and people-to-people contact, are very bright areas of our cooperation. Emphasising that Vietnam today is a rapidly growing economy, he said that similar to India's Viksit Bharat 2047, they also have Vietnam 2045 vision to become a developed country, a high-income developed country by 2045. " The Vietnamese prime minister referred to it several times that we have similar ambitions. Our bilateral trade is about USD 15 billion, although both sides do feel that this could be significantly increased. And the very large business delegation that accompanied the prime minister speaks to the interest that Vietnamese business has in India," he said. The secretary further noted that both sides today, also signed a number of agreements, nine in all, to further broaden and deepen cooperation. They cover everything from cooperation in medicinal plants to customs cooperation to radio and television programming, legal field, heritage conservation, and many more. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam PM Chinh jointly inaugurated the Army Software Park at the Tele-Communications University in Nha Trang, Vietnam. An MoU detailing the plan of action to advance a comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Vietnam 2024-2028 was exchanged by Vietnam Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. An MoU between Prasar Bharti and Voice of Vietnam for cooperation on radio and television was signed between Do Tien Sy, President of Voice of Vietnam and on the Indian side Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO Prasad Bharti. "Both sides discussed common security challenges and agreed to further enhance our defense ties, which is a very important pillar of our partnership," he said. Mazumdar further said that two lines of credit agreements were signed between Vietnam's Ministry of Finance and the Import Bank of India, amounting to USD 300 million. Vietnam also announced that it will join the coalition for disaster. "Resilient infrastructure and the early completion of procedures for joining the International Solar Alliance was also indicated," Mazumdar added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh held a meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Thursday. PM Narendra Modi reiterated that Vietnam is a critical pillar in India's Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific. Speaking about his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, PM Modi said that they held discussions on all areas of cooperation and took several measures to prepare a roadmap for the future. He said that the development in the two nations has gained momentum due to India's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam's 2045 vision. He said that the two nations have agreed that the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be reviewed and concluded at an early date to realise mutual trade potential. Meanwhile, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while speaking at Hyderabad House, praised India's outlook in today's world and its strategy during COVID-19. He said that he shared their strategic vision as it is changing dramatically. Pham Minh Chinh said that security challenges in the Asia Indo-Pacific region are fierce and to tackle this, the world needs international solidarity. He said that the issues of Vietnam might change in the future, but the bond of friendship and cooperation shall never change. Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. Pham Minh Chinh also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He paid his tribute by laying floral wreaths at the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was laid to rest. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. During the meeting, the Vietnamese PM expressed gratitude and thanked India for the warm reception. Further, Pham Minh Chinh also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his win for the third consecutive term and termed it a 'historic victory.' (ANI) Dubai [UAE], August 1 (ANI/WAM): Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a phone conversation with Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, discussed serious developments in the Middle East region. They discussed efforts to end escalation in all its forms and reach a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed affirmed the importance of boosting the efforts of the international community to improve the humanitarian response to the escalating crisis and ensure the protection of all civilians in the Gaza Strip. He underscored the importance of putting an end to extremism and halting escalating tensions and violence in the region, which threaten regional and global peace and security, as well as accelerating the drive to alleviate the suffering of civilians in the Strip. He also touched on developments in the situation in Sudan and their humanitarian repercussions. (ANI/WAM) The bail plea was heard by the duty magistrate Abbas Shah, who grannted Hasan the bail. He also granted the bail to other PTI activists against surety bonds worth Rs 50,000 each. An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad had earlier handed over Raoof Hasan to CTD on a two-day physical remand in the anti-state propaganda case, according to ARY News. The investigative agency presented Hasan before the ATC judge upon completion of his physical remand. After hearing arguments, the ATC approved a 2-day remand of Hasan and had sent him to CTD for further investigation. Hasan was shifted to Adiala Jail on Tuesday late at night. The Adiala Jail administration has also confirmed the development, according to ARY News. According to Islamabad Police, law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretariat based on concrete evidence. The police stated that the PTI Secretariat had been operating as the hub of an international disinformation network through its digital media center. On July 22, Islamabad Police arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Raoof Hasan in the federal capital. The arrest was made at the party secretariat in sector G-8. During the raid, the Islamabad police seized computers and records from the PTI central office, which are now part of the ongoing investigation. (ANI) Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised the importance of the South China Sea during his state visit to India, and said that as much as 60 per cent of global trade passes through the region, which is why it is of utmost importance to have free and open waterway, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. In a special briefing on the State Visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam today, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar said, "Both sides discussed the importance of the South China Sea..." "The fact emphasized by the Vietnamese PM that as much as 60 per cent of global trade passes through the area and the importance of a free, open and free waterway and lines of sealions was of utmost importance," he stated. Secretary East further mentioned that both Vietnam and India share an inclusive and rules-based region. "Freedom of navigation and overflight is of utmost importance and a peaceful, stable, secure, free, open, inclusive and rules-based region is something that both Vietnam and India share..." he said during the briefing. Delivering a press statement during the visit of Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh to India, PM Modi also appreciated the shared cultural heritage between the two nations earlier today. He also highlighted the importance of Vietnam in India's Act East Policy. Prime Minister Modi said that there is good coordination between India and Vietnam views regarding the Indo-Pacific. "In our Act East policy and our Indo-Pacific vision, Vietnam is our important partner. There is good coordination between our views regarding the Indo-Pacific. We support evolution, not expansionism. We will continue our cooperation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said. Various delegates from both sides signed several Memorandums of Understanding, aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties between both countries. Pham Minh Chinh, who is on a three-day State visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi received his Vietnam counterpart at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The two leaders shared a warm hug as they greeted each other. He then inspected a Guard of Honour by the combined defence services. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he had productive talks with his Vietnam counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and the two countries have deepened cooperation in a range of areas including technology, security and connectivity. PM Modi said in a post on X that he and the Vietnam leader discussed sectors like defence, maritime trade and green economy and that India cherishes its friendship with Vietnam. "Earlier today, held very productive talks with PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam. India cherishes the strong friendship with Vietnam. Over the years, we have deepened cooperation in trade, energy, technology, security, connectivity and more," PM Modi said. "Cultural and people-to-people linkages have also become stronger. In our talks today, we took stock of the ground covered in the last few years and also discussed sectors like defence, maritime trade, green economy, MSME where we see immense scope of closer relations," he added. In his press statement at Hyderabad House after bilateral talks, PM Modi said Vietnam is an "important partner" in India's Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. He said there is good coordination between the two countries in their views concerning the Indo-Pacific. PM Modi also appreciated the shared cultural heritage between the two nations. He also extended an invitation to people from Vietnam to come to India and explore the Buddhist Circuit here. Emphasizing that the New Delhi-Hanoi strategic partnership has entered a new period, PM Pham Minh Chinh extended an invitation to PM Modi to visit Vietnam. The Vietnam Prime Minister praised PM Modi's leadership, emphasising that under his leadership, India had become the fifth-largest economy in the world and one of the top powers with a striking global role. He said that the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India has entered a new period. (ANI) The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) led awareness sessions on food import regulations and requirements at a capacity-building workshop hosted by the Indian Embassy in Bhutan, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a press release. The four-day comprehensive capacity-building workshop was held from July 29 to August 1. The programme was inaugurated in the presence of Bhutan Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay and Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Dorji. They personally met with the inter-ministerial experts from the Government of India and reviewed the topics extensively. In a statement reflecting optimism about the initiative, the Bhutanese PM expressed confidence that the interaction would foster mutual understanding and trust between the two nations. He highlighted that this collaboration is expected to enhance trade and empower entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and farmers in Bhutan by helping them navigate the complex regulatory landscape and engage in formal trade with India. He also thanked the Indian Embassy for conducting the workshop. "FSSAI was an integral part of the Inter-Ministerial delegation at the workshop, with the objective of empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and producers in Bhutan with crucial knowledge and skills to facilitate and enhance their agricultural exports to India. The workshop was organised through a concerted effort by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), in collaboration with key Indian governmental agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and FSSAI," the release stated. The workshop covered essential aspects of trade policy, regulations, and procedures, with a special focus on key agricultural products such as apples, oranges, potatoes, areca nuts, processed food items, and timber. Manvesh Kumar, Director, Trade and International Cooperation Division, represented FSSAI at the workshop and made the participants aware about the food import procedure and the significant intricacies of regulatory and testing requirements. Recently, India and Bhutan took a significant step to strengthen bilateral ties in food and agricultural product trade by signing an agreement between the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). This agreement aimed to ensure that Bhutanese food and agricultural exports meet the safety standards of India, eliminating the need for double inspection and reducing compliance costs for Bhutanese businesses, the Ministry added. (ANI) The officials of the Indian Consulate General in Jaffna, visited the Kayts police station and met two fishermen who were among the four, whose boat capsized upon collision with a Sri Lankan naval boat. The Indian Consul General, Sai Murali, ascertained the well-being of fishermen, Muthumuniyandu and Mookaiah. He also assured them of all possible support. The Consulate officials also facilitated phone calls to their families in India to ensure their welfare. "@CGJaffna visited Kayts police station and met 02 Indian fishermen, Muthumuniyandu and Mookaiah, who were among the 04 fishermen whose boat capsized upon collision with an SL Naval boat," the Indian Consulate General in Jaffna said in a post on X. "CG @saimurali_IFS ascertained their well-being and assured them of all possible support. Consulate officials facilitated phone calls to their families in India to ensure their welfare," it said in a subsequent post. https://x.com/CGJaffna/status/1819060511977492768 The matter pertains to a collision between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat 5 nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island on Thursday. Out of the four Indian fishermen who were on board the vessel, one died, another is missing, while two of the fishermen have been rescued and brought ashore to Kankesanthurai. In response to this, the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi was called on to the Ministry of External Affairs and a strong protest was registered over the death of an Indian fisherman. Meanwhile, the search is ongoing for the missing Indian fisherman. Indian Consulate Officials in Jaffna have been instructed to immediately rush to Kankesanthurai and extend all possible assistance to the fishermen and their families. The Ministry of External Affairs affirmed that the government has always emphasized the need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humane and humanitarian manner. It stated that the existing understandings between the two governments in that regard "must be strictly observed" and that efforts should be made to ensure that there is "no recurrence or resort to the use of force." The statement added that the government attaches the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian fishermen. Issues relating to Indian fishermen have been raised regularly at the highest levels with Sri Lanka. https://x.com/IndiainSL/status/1818982667456774560 Earlier on Thursday, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka and the Consulate General in Jaffna secured the release of 20 fishermen from Sri Lanka. "High Commission @IndiainSL and @CGJaffna in cooperation with GoSL authorities secured the release of 20 Indian fishermen. DHC @DrSatyanjal and other officials met the fishermen today, ascertained their well-being and assured their repatriation within a day," the Indian High Commission said in a post. (ANI) US President Joe Biden welcomed the prisoner exchange deal between West and Moscow, which will see the return of four Americans detained in Russia, terming it a "feat of diplomacy." The United States and Russia carried out a historic prisoner exchange on Thursday, under which, two dozen detainees, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, are being released, CNN reported. In addition to Whelan and Gershkovich, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were also freed. "Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza," President Biden said in a statement. "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we've negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia--including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over," he added. Biden, also shared his gladness on X and said that the American detainees have begun their journeys back to the US. "After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families," President Biden said in a post on X. https://x.com/POTUS/status/1819068590680682579 The US President, in his statement, also thanked Washington's allies who helped during the 'complex negotiations' adding that "Our alliances make Americans safer." "I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome-- including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer," the President said. Biden further affirmed that the US administration will keep working to bring back all remaining American hostages across the world. "And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home," he stated. "Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong," Biden further added. This massive swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia, Belarus and Germany, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to Moscow's key demand - releasing convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, CNN reported. A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including four Americans. Meanwhile, the plane carrying Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap arrived in Moscow from Ankara, Turkey on Thursday (local time), according to state news agency Ria Novosti. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, received the Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap as they disembarked a plane upon arrival in Moscow from Ankara, Turkey. (ANI) Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of Joint Base San Antonio at a ceremony at Randolph AFB on Wednesday. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of Joint Base San Antonio at a ceremony at Randolph AFB on Wednesday. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Personnel from Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph attend a change of command ceremony on Wednesday. Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of the joint base. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of Joint Base San Antonio during a ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, center, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, pins the Legion of Merit on Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers, outgoing commander of Joint Base San Antonio, during a change of command ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of the joint base. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers, outgoing commander of Joint Base San Antonio, addresses the crowd during a change of command ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of the joint base. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers, outgoing commander of Joint Base San Antonio, during a change of command ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of the joint base. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, left, commander of the Air Education and Training Command; Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland, center; and Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers during a change of command ceremony at Randolph AFB on Wednesday. Driggers handed off command of Joint Base San Antonio to Oakland. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, left, commander of the Air Education and Training Command; Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland, center; and Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers during a change of command ceremony at Randolph AFB on Wednesday. Driggers handed off command of Joint Base San Antonio to Oakland. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, left, commander of the Air Education and Training Command; Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland, center; and Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers during a change of command ceremony at Randolph AFB on Wednesday. Driggers handed off command of Joint Base San Antonio to Oakland. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of Joint Base San Antonio during a ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland assumed command of Joint Base San Antonio during a ceremony Wednesday at Randolph AFB. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer As Brig. Gen Russell Driggers handed off a military flag, signifying the official change of command at Joint Base San Antonio, he might have felt relieved, and not only because the ceremony was held in the cool confines of Hangar 41 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. He was taking leave of the nations largest joint base, home to Randolph and Lackland Air Force bases, Fort Sam Houston, the Camp Bullis training range, a major hospital, an ambulatory surgical center, and 80,000 military and civilian personnel as well as the headaches that come with such vast responsibilities. As commander of JBSA technically, the 502d Air Base Wing Driggers oversaw a support and logistics organization that provides everything required to run military bases, including housing, light bulbs, toilet paper and food for dining facilities. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In a flag-decked ceremony Wednesday attended by some 500 military and civilian guests, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and business and civic dignitaries, Driggers put the job and its challenges in the hands of Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland. Driggers is heading back to Germany for the fifth time in his career. He will be the J5 director of strategy and plans at Headquarters, U.S. European Command in Stuttgart. A command pilot with 2,337 hours in the air, Driggers had led JBSA since May 2022. Hes an Air Force Academy graduate who was named Field Grade Officer of the Year at the headquarters of U.S. Air Forces in Europe in 2010. He is a former deputy commander of NATO Mission Iraq in Baghdad. Oakland, a 1996 Air Force Academy graduate, is also a command pilot, with more than 2,600 hours in the F-15C/D fighter and the T-38 and T-37 jet trainers. His most recent assignment was as director of operations and communications at the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph. In that job, he oversaw initial skills instruction and undergraduate flight training for the Air Force, joint commands and international troops. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Previously, he commanded the 87th Flying Training Squadron at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio and the 39th Air Base Wing at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Wednesdays ceremony was full of pomp and circumstance. The Air Force Band of the West played patriotic songs, and Driggers, Oakland and Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of the AETC, all made speeches. Robinson awarded the Legion of Merit to Driggers and presided over the traditional handing of the guidon, a long pole bearing the flag and unit ribbons of the 502nd Air Base Wing, to Chief Master Sgt. Gilda Alexander and ultimately to Oakland. Im proud to serve the 502nd Air Base Wing and the community of Joint Base San Antonio, and Im excited to get started. I think Ive got a great foundation to start with from my predecessor, and its an awesome opportunity, Oakland said afterward. As JBSA commander, Oakland will deal with civic leaders and elected officials in San Antonio, 20 smaller communities, four counties and four congressional districts. Hell also serve more than 266 mission partners, including his old command, AETC, and others including U.S. Army North and the Armys Installation Management Command, both located at Fort Sam, and the 37th Training Wing at Lackland, which on any given day is home to as many as 5,400 recruits in basic training. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Its a mission with constant challenges. Persistent mold in military housing is among the most stubborn. In a recent interview, Driggers recalled hanging some dress blue uniforms in a closet at his residence on Fort Sam in May before leaving town to investigate a fatal plane crash at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. The next time he opened the closet door, he was alarmed to find ugly green patches of mold on the uniforms. This closet just happens to be adjacent to the master bathroom. Now, theres no visible signs of water intrusion or anything, but you can imagine the humidity that comes off of the shower and whatnot, Driggers said. So thats just an example of how easy mold can set in in this environment, even whenever youre doing everything right, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A Google search led to a fix: vinegar, water, a brush and some elbow grease, followed by a visit to the dry cleaners. The mold problem arose anew a few weeks ago after photos of mold in unoccupied dormitory rooms at Lackland were posted to a Facebook page. In response, a squadron commander organized her airmen to clean up the rooms with the help of the bases civil engineers. Driggers said he saw nothing wrong with ordering a GI party, as clean-up tasks by lower-ranking personnel are often called. The UAE Embassy in India, in collaboration with the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) and Andhra Pradesh government, convened an economic and investment roundtable in Vijayawada, during which the dignitaries explored greater economic cooperation between UAE and the state of Andhra Pradesh, informed a release on Thursday. The event was co-chaired by UAE Ambassador to India, Abdulnasser Alshaali, and Andhra Minister for Minister for Industries and Commerce and Food Processing, TG Bharath. UAE participants at the roundtable included Ahmed Aljneibi, the Director of the UICC, as well as representatives from UAE companies; Abu Dhabi Ports, Air Arabia, Aramex, DP World, DUCAB, Emaar, Emirates Airlines, Emirates NBD, FlyDubai, the Lulu Group, and Tabreed. From the Andhra Pradesh side, 50 senior government officials and company representatives were present at the event. Speaking on the occasion of the roundtable, the UAE envoy, Alshaali underlined the centrality of Andhra Pradesh within the UAE-India strategic partnership, and the need to exert all efforts to increase people-to-people, economic, and investment engagement. "It is essential to increase the level of economic and investment collaboration between the UAE and Andhra Pradesh. The participation of more than 10 major UAE companies at this roundtable strongly attests to the significance of Andhra Pradesh, and the UAE's willingness to support the state government's ambitious investment and developmental agendas," he said. The Ambassador went on to highlight that improving air connectivity between the UAE and Andhra Pradesh was critical to increase people-to-people engagement and to spur direct investment. It was underlined that UAE carriers could undertake up to 35 direct flights per week to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati, which would allow for an increase in over 500,000 passengers per annum to Andhra Pradesh's airports. Direct air links between the UAE and Andhra Pradesh would not only provide increased consumer choice and economic opportunities for the people of Andhra Pradesh but also enhance the state's position as a vital regional and international aviation hub, the release stated. The UAE envoy, while speaking to ANI, said that the UAE is keen to make investments in Andhra Pradesh and is looking into the areas of connectivity and aviation. He also emphasised that trade between the state and the Gulf nation has risen by 15 per cent and people from Andhra make up the top percentage of Indians living in UAE. "I had an excellent meeting with the new CM. We also have a sizeable business delegation comprising of UAE companies who are keen on pursuing previous investments in the state as well as exploring new investment opportunities. We want to see how we can improve connectivity to the state, especially aviation...People of Andhra Pradesh make the top percentage of Indians living in UAE," Alshaali said. "We want to have even stronger ties with the state. Today Andhra is ranked 11th in its trade with the UAE and this does not reflect the true potential of it as a state...We are looking at opportunities in the film industry, to make the lives of the people of Andhra easier, to improve connectivity between Andhra and UAE, and to invite people of other states to Andhra and see what it has to offer to the world. Bilateral trade has increased by more than 15 per cent," he added. Further at the event, Aljneibi, the Director of the UICC, provided participants with an overview of the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and highlighted the ability of Andhra Pradesh's business community to leverage not only this agreement but also other recent bilateral initiatives to expand their investment presence in the UAE. During the roundtable, several UAE companies outlined their investment plans in both Andhra Pradesh and India more broadly. An interactive discussion was also held between participants from both sides, with cooperation in a range of sectors canvassed, including agriculture and food processing, aviation and aerospace, biotechnology, electronics and IT, automotive, petroleum and petrochemicals, and shipping, logistics, and ports. During his visit to Andhra Pradesh, Ambassador Alshaali also met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu. Alshaali congratulated CM Naidu on his recent appointment as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and affirmed the UAE government's desire to expand tangible engagement with the state across all facets of the bilateral partnership. Notably, Andhra Pradesh ranked as the UAE's 11th largest trading partner among India's 28 states and eight union territories, with total trade reaching USD 1.46 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, as per the release. Over this same period, bilateral trade between the UAE and India stood at 83.64 billion. The UAE is India's second-largest export destination, third-largest trading partner, and fourth-largest investor. (ANI) Joe Biden told the daughter of one of the hostages freed in a prisoner swap not to have serious guys until youre 30. Mr Biden broke from his speech on the historic release of Americans detained in Russia to pull Miriam Butorin, the 12-year-old daughter of Aslu Kurmasheva, to his side and ask the room to sing Happy Birthday to her. As you all know, we have a tradition in the Biden family. We sing Happy Birthday, he said. After the song, he had some advice for the girl, who turns 13 on Friday, saying: And remember, no serious guys until youre 30. God love you. Joe Biden sings Happy Birthday to Miriam Butorin, 13 - Alex Brandon/AP Mr Biden earlier confirmed that negotiations had resulted in the release of 16 people, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens. They include Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was arrested in 2023 on spying charges, Paul Whelan, a former US marine, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and Russian opposition figure, and Ms Kurmasheva, a Russian-American reporter. In exchange for 16 prisoners released from Russia, the US coordinated the release of eight Russian criminals including Vadim Krasikov, the bicycle assassin who killed a Georgian national in Berlin in 2019. On Thursday Mr Biden hailed the deal as a feat of diplomacy that was a testament to having good allies who make bold and brave decisions. The statement came almost two weeks after Mr Biden stepped back from the presidential race following criticism of his age and mental acuity. He has been replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket by his vice president, Kamala Harris. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Doug Emhoff told a crowd in Concord Wednesday that his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, is the only presidential candidate who will protect reproductive health rights. (Annmarie Timmins | New Hampshire Bulletin) Voters Meg Locker, Joseph Reidy, and Shideko Terai traveled different journeys to a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Concord Wednesday. Locker, 27, was actively but a bit reluctantly supporting President Joe Biden for a second term when he withdrew from the race on July 21. Reidy, 70, was an enthusiastic Biden backer who felt the president was forced out of a second term he could have won. As a Biden volunteer, Terai, 71, watched voters struggle with questions about the electability of a president she respects. Each now identifies as an enthusiastic, all-in Harris supporter. They were among the few hundred Harris backers who came to the IBEW Local 490 office Wednesday to hear from Harris husband, Doug Emhoff. I kind of felt like a breath of fresh air as a young woman in New Hampshire (when Biden stepped down), and I was like, Absolutely, this is a campaign I can, like, fully, wholeheartedly support, said Locker, of Pembroke. I think theres this energy and a resurgence and being excited for voting again. I think a lot of people my age were a little frustrated that this year is kind of duplicating what we saw in 2020 and there was almost like no hope. But with Harris running, its like, OK, there could be some change. Emhoff and several other Democrats who spoke Wednesday described the next election, from the top of the ticket down, as decisive for access to reproductive health care. They noted that New Hampshire is alone in New England in not protecting the rights to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception. They pointed to a recent Republican-backed bill that would have banned abortion after 15 days, something few Republicans in the Legislature supported. The U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade, with help from justices appointed by former President Donald Trump, was high on the list, too. What we really have is a stark choice between a life of freedom, fundamental rights, progress, moving forward, a place for all of us, Emhoff said, reminding the crowd that Supreme Court justices serve for life. So whos going to pick those next Supreme Court justices? Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? The crowd was loud and unified: Harris! Terai, of Cornish, arrived at the rally wearing a shirt that read Brass Ovaries, and Vote. Protecting the right to abortion and other health care are priorities for her. As the co-chair of the New Hampshire Asian American & Pacific Islander Democratic caucus, Terai said Harris, who would be the first Black and Asian American president, offers her something that not even Biden could. You know, were just so excited to have a woman as a president that looks like us, she said. Reidy, a former union worker from Kensington, never doubted Bidens ability to serve as president or win another term. Age didnt force him out, he said, party pressure did. Im very impressed with what he got done, said Reidy. Everyone talks about what they would like to do but they are not acknowledging the Congress that he was up against and what he got done against that. Thats what I feel is impressive. Reidy hopes Harris will reach out to what he called the fence sitters, voters who dont know her and have not made up their minds. Asked what those voters need to hear, Reidy had a suggestion. That its less about me, Kamala Harris, and its more about us and what we need, he said. So please dont think of it as voting for me. Think of it as voting for the country. He worries too that Republicans knock on Harris laugh could sway voters whove seen it ridiculed in internet memes without knowing about her work as former attorney general and U.S. senator and current vice president. I dont want to say this, but sometimes her excitement worries me, he said. Its like a kid in a candy store. It doesnt affect her voters at all, but the people on the fence might not view her as serious. Standing next to Reidy, Randall Walden, 77, of Manchester, was wearing a shirt supporting Harris and an old pin supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. Walden had no complaints with Biden and now he has none with Harris. Even though I was so loyal to him, I think we would have had trouble, he said. Alisa Dooley, 27, of Wakefield, was leaning toward voting for Biden but wasnt excited about it. Harris delivers the excitement he didnt, she said. I think she really represents a lot of the great things about America, Dooley said. Shes a strong political candidate in that Im looking for someone who knows how to compromise but also who knows how to take a stand. When Harris took Bidens spot in the race, Dooley began hearing from her friends. Its so monumental that this has happened, more people want to know whats going on and actually be involved, she said. I would say the switch to Harris has really brought a lot of energy. The switch to Harris has also energized older voters. Kathy Downes, 70, of Dunbarton, volunteered with the Harris campaign the day after Biden endorsed her. She was an unapologetic Biden supporter but having a female candidate was especially exciting, she said. Downes texted a friend photos from the rally Wednesday, including one of a poster that said, Run like a girl. Kamala for president. In her message, Downes told her friend she was thankful to have arrived in time to get a seat. The friend replied, You go lady! In a second message, Downes friend referenced a 2021 comment from J.D. Vance, Trumps running mate, about the country being run by a bunch of childless cat ladies. She asked Downes, Did you save a seat for a cat? Candidates for governor, congress to face off in Delaware Journalism Collaborative debates Candidates for governor and Congress will face off ahead of the Sept. 10 Delaware primary at two debates. All qualified candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties have been invited to participate in the debates sponsored by the Delaware Journalism Collaborative. The collaborative comprises 23 independent newsrooms and media organizations statewide, including Delaware Online/The News Journal. Heres what we know about the upcoming debates. Who will be participating in the debates? The first debate will feature the candidates running for governor. This may include Democrats Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin OMara, as well as Republicans Jerrold A. Price, state Rep. Mike Ramone and lifelong Delawarean Bobby Williamson. The second debate will feature candidates running for the First States lone seat in the United States House of Representatives. This may include Democrats Earl Cooper, state Sen. Sarah McBride and Elias Weir; and Republicans businesswoman Donyale Hall and John J. Whalen III. An in-depth look: Delaware's governor race gets crowded with 3-way primary for Republicans, Democrats When will the debates take place? The gubernatorial debate is scheduled to take place at the Dover Public Library on Wednesday, Aug. 14, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The congressional debate will take place in the main branch of the Wilmington Public Library on Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long answers a question during the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League's debate on Monday, May 20, 2024, at Canaan Baptist Church near New Castle. Can voters attend the debates? According to the press release, attendance for both debates will be through invitation only. However, Delaware voters will be able to access and view the debates on both the DJC YouTube channel and Facebook page. The gubernatorial debate can be watched at youtube.com/live/P5CeDNUkSdE, while the congressional debate can be watched at youtube.com/live/TpfNbfsXp4Y. For more information, residents can email info@dejournalism.org. Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. Reach her at omontes@delawareonline.com. Related: Shakeup in Hall-Long's campaign for governor weeks ahead of Delaware primary This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Journalism Collaborative announces upcoming debates A 20-page report on Delawares Unemployment Insurance fund and what transpired in the months following the discovery of more than $181,000 embezzled from it was quietly released to state lawmakers on July 30. The report from the state's departments of Labor and Finance outlines how the embezzlement was discovered last year, and the steps Delaware has taken since to address the systemic problems with managing the nearly $350 million fund. The Labor Department in late May confirmed that former unemployment insurance administrator Michael Brittingham was found embezzling more than $181,000 from the fund last year but would not explain why the fraud wasnt publicly disclosed for months after the investigation ended. A man walks to the entrance of the Delaware Department of Labor facility in Wilmington. When the embezzlement came to light publicly through media reports, state department heads pledged to provide a full report to the General Assembly explaining the issues surrounding the fund. The report released this week outlines the sequence of events from the embezzlement discovery to present day, steps that have been taken to strengthen controls and more efforts that are underway, but it neglects to explain why the fraud was never disclosed to the public until media outlets began asking questions. READ THE FULL REPORT ON THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S WEBSITE The lack of public disclosure has been a focal point for the Delaware Coalition for Open Government, which has argued that the state is required by law to disclose illegal activity in official reports. That groups board members argue the embezzlement issues should have been disclosed in the auditors special report released in March. Coalition board member John Flaherty said Wednesday the report is not satisfactory. He said they are left wondering why the state failed to disclose the fraud sooner, and whether there are other instances theyve failed to disclose. TRANSPARENCY: Why an open government group is calling on Delaware to investigate embezzlement problems It does not address the concerns we expressed publicly about the lack of notification by the Division of Accounting and the Auditor of Accounts, he said. There is always a double standard state agencies telling the public what to do. They themselves do not comply with their own rules and regulations, in this case a statute. Its why, Flaherty said, on Monday the coalition called on the federal Labor Departments Office of Inspector General to provide federal oversight of the auditing and accounting problems facing Delawares unemployment insurance fund. Members of the Senate Republican Caucus continued to call for legislative hearings on the matter, which Democratic leaders said Wednesday are not out of the realm of possibility. Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn said legislative hearings will help restore the public's trust in these agencies. "The fact that this was able to occur in the first place and the General Assembly was not notified sooner is unacceptable," he said. "Public officials must be held to a higher standard. Whether elected, appointed, or hired, those of us paid with taxpayer money must be held accountable if we break the publics trust. In order to fully get to the bottom of what happened, hearings that are open to the public should be held." Maintaining an appropriate level of confidentiality The report briefly touches on Delawares need to maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality due to the investigation involving alleged criminal conduct by a state employee to ensure a full and fair investigation. What made disclosure particularly challenging for state authorities was that Brittingham took his own life the day he was suspended from his position on April 3, leaving no one to charge criminally. Typically, any charges filed would trigger public disclosure. State officials in the report claim the embezzlement wasnt disclosed so authorities could determine whether others were involved; put in place appropriate controls and training programs to prevent further issues; and maximize the chance of recovering the stolen funds. Many of these efforts remain underway, the report states. The report outlined near-daily steps authorities were taking to address the embezzlement, including promptly informing multiple state agencies along with the federal Labor Department and its Office of the Inspector General. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: Delaware offers little explanation for why embezzlement issues never publicly disclosed By Aug. 23, 2023, the investigation had concluded, as noted in the report and confirmed by Labor Department officials in May, and state officials began the process of recuperating the stolen funds through Brittinghams estate. By mid-November, the Labor Department was made the administrator of the estate, which the report says was published in the Delaware State News three times: Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13. Delaware Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend said he was heartened by how quickly action was taken to terminate the employee and revoke all access. He refrained from criticizing state officials, pointing out that they were also trying to determine if there were any accomplices. They didnt sit on their hands, they acted immediately, he said. I cannot confirm that the state code that (the open government group) is citing relates to active investigations. At what point was it verified there were no accomplices? At that point, I think its safe to announce. The report notes that on Aug. 23 the investigation was transitioned to the state Department of Justice and became a civil matter because of Brittinghams death and officials had determined no other individuals were criminally involved in the theft. What reforms are being made? The state report also details ongoing issues that plagued the Division of Unemployment Insurance, many of which have been known to officials for years. Like many other states, unemployment insurance operations have historically been underfunded and understaffed, the report states. The pandemic and related enhanced benefits severely exacerbated these challenges. Making matters worse was the reliance on antiquated systems to manage the fund and handle transactions. While efforts were taken to address these systemic issues, the report emphasizes that officials cannot rule out Brittinghams impact on the lack of progress. A gray mailbox for unemployment insurance claims stands outside the Delaware Department of Labor's Wilmington office building on Thursday, April 2. "The former UI administrator, as a leader within UI, was provided a high level of autonomy and trust as part of his job responsibilities... the report reads. We cannot confidently assess the degree to which the former UI administrator contributed to the lack of progress or inhibited efforts toward resolving known accounting and control deficiencies. Several measures have already been taken to address these issues, including hiring nationally recognized accounting firm BDO USA. Other initiatives and recommendations in the report include: Modernizing the states unemployment insurance systems. Reforming the states benefit wage ratio methodology to be more responsive to economic changes, simplify the tax administration, rate schedules and reporting, and improve insurance fund solvency. Exploring opportunities for expanded ethics training. Enhancing funding for technology, operations and human resources. Proposing legislation to implement Rap Back services for unemployment insurance employees to ensure ongoing updates of employee criminal history. Delaware House Democratic leadership in a statement Wednesday said ensuring the unemployment system operates with the highest standards of accountability and integrity is a top priority. The General Assembly has passed several measures that support the labor department and the unemployment insurance system, they noted. These legislative actions are vital in reinforcing the necessary reforms and ensuring the department has the tools and resources it needs to serve Delawareans during their most challenging times, Democratic leadership wrote. This process is extensive and ongoing. We will continue to work with DOL to ensure our UI system is robust, accountable, and most importantly, able to provide the necessary support to those in need. New details on fraud incident The report also revealed new details of how the embezzlement was discovered and provided context to why recommendations also included enacting legislation for Rap Back checks on key employees. A Division of Unemployment Insurance employee responsible for the accounting of the fund alerted human resources to suspicious activity by Brittingham on March 31, 2023. Brittingham allegedly directed a temporary employee to issue a tax refund check to an employer account that shared his home address, according to the report. The employee who discovered this activity also shared a court document that showed Brittingham had engaged in fraudulent activity as an officer of a homeowners association. FUND MANAGEMENT: Delawares unemployment insurance fund poorly managed and can bring risks, experts say This alleged criminal conduct would have been flagged for state officials sooner if unemployment insurance employees were part of so-called Rap Back services, which give ongoing status updates of key employees criminal histories. This conduct reportedly occurred after Brittingham passed a background check and was hired by the state. Typically, employees must pass a background check upon hire, which is then updated every five years. The same day the suspicious activity with the insurance fund was flagged, the division director confirmed that checks totaling $181,184.68 were issued in January and March 2023 to a business account at Brittinghams home. State officials met over the weekend to discuss the allegations, with plans to remove the employee from the workplace that following Monday. Brittingham was immediately suspended April 3, and all security access, identification, and equipment was turned in. He also was barred from entering department facilities or contacting staff, the report stated. Later that afternoon, department staff learned from Harrington Police that Brittingham had died by suicide. Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-598-5507. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Report on fraud within Delaware's unemployment insurance fund released Delaware under heat advisory until Friday night. Here's the forecast, how to stay safe Delaware is under a heat advisory starting at 10 a.m. Thursday until 8 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast for the state is calling for temperatures in the upper 90s with high humidity. The heat index for the state will range from 104 degrees in Dover to 88 degrees in Bethany Beach. There's a 20% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Kicking off the month of August today with highs in the mid 90s in many areas. Heat index values this afternoon near 100. Isolated thunderstorms possible (20% chance) as well. Heat and humidity continues through Friday. Stay cool out there! #PAwx #NJwx #DEwx #MDwx pic.twitter.com/K0tWjugcX5 NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) August 1, 2024 The forecast for Friday is much of the same with sunny skies and highs in the 90s. There's a 40% chance of storms in the afternoon. Delaware weekend forecast While temperatures will remain warm, the forecast for the weekend is calling for rain throughout the state. Saturday and Sunday will be partly sunny with a 50% to 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the 90s on Saturday and upper 80s on Sunday. How to stay safe in the heat: What to know when extreme hot weather is forecasted What is the heat index? When the body sweats, the perspiration evaporates, cooling the body. When the humidity is high, the sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly and the body doesn't cool itself as well. Therefore, the body feels warmer. The heat index represents the heat you're feeling outside. Here's a chart to help you find out what the heat index is. You can also use this heat index calculator. Heat index calculator How to stay safe during a heat advisory Drink plenty of fluids. Stay in an air-conditioned room. Stay out of the sun. Check up on relatives and neighbors. Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Who is most vulnerable in the heat? According to the National Weather Service, heat is among the leading weather-related killers. These are the groups most impacted by high temperatures: Young children and infants are particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness and death, as their bodies are less able to adapt to heat than are adults. Older adults, particularly those with preexisting diseases, take certain medications, are living alone or with limited mobility and are exposed to extreme heat can experience multiple adverse effects. People with chronic medical conditions are more likely to have serious health problems during a heat wave than healthy people. Pregnant women are also at higher risk. Extreme heat events have been associated with adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality, as well as congenital cataracts. How to handle pets in the heat When heat waves hit, dogs are also susceptible to heat stress and head strokes, according to the American Kennel Club. If your pet is exposed to extreme heat, the AKC suggests getting your dog to a shady spot, applying ice packs under the dog's front legs on their chest, and pouring cold water over their head and body. Dogs should be given water to drink. A cooling mat for the dog to sit or stand on would be helpful. PETS IN THE HEAT: Does Delaware allow pet rescues from vehicles? What state law says, who can intervene In addition, according to the American Kennel Club, with temperatures 85 degrees or higher for a sustained period, dog owners need to be careful with hot asphalt, pavement and sand. The hot surface can cause blisters on your pet's paws. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware heat advisory: How to stay safe, what is heat index Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed Donald Trump is unaware of race and gender in defense of the former president after he questioned Vice President Kamala Harriss race. I didnt know she was Black, the former president said Wednesday during a tense question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists conference. Trump continued: She happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I dont know, is she Indian or is she Black? ... I respect either one, but she obviously doesnt, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person. Harriss father is from Jamaica and her mother is Indian. On Thursday morning, Kilmeade admitted that bringing up Kamala Harris race was not a winning issue before saying whether shes Black or Indian, it doesnt matter. Brian Kilmeade defends Donald Trump as being unaware of race and gender after the former president questioned Kamala Harris race during a Wednesday discussion. (Fox News) Hes just running against a Democrat. I think the thing is, President Trump is so unaware of race and gender, Kilmeade continued. A lot of people say: Wow you dont talk to women like that. You dont talk to minorities like that. He said Im running against that person. Thats all he sees, the Fox anchor added. The co-hosts also discussed the series of questions that Trump faced, which the former president described as nasty and said the questions were asked in a horrible manner. Kilmeade advised: In that situation, you should really be briefed ahead of time that youre probably going to be walking into a hostile environment. In contrast to Kilmeades defense of Trump, Jessica Tarlov, co-host of Fox News The Five, called his NABJ interview a complete dumpster fire for the former president. Many others have criticized Trumps remarks. Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications, similarly wrote on X: An absolute dumpster fire of a performance by Trump from start to finish. Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where he questioned Harris background (REUTERS) Republican strategist Sarah Longwell also slammed Trumps showing, telling CNN: He looked old, he looked unable to parry in the conversation, unable to grab a thread and talk about it effectively, drive a message. That was one of the worst performances Ive seen. Political commentator Jon Favreau tweeted: I cannot believe this Trump interview with Black journalists is real. This may be one of the worst interviews hes ever done, and thats saying something. Later on Wednesday, Harris herself responded to his comments. The presumptive Democratic nominee told Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sisters at a Houston event that Trumps remarks were just the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect. In the short time that she has run for the White House, Harris has faced a barrage of racist attacks, with a number of Republicans calling her a DEI hire. PHILADELPHIA, Mississippi At least one more political speaker at Thursday's Neshoba County Fair announced he is considering running for governor in 2027, while several others threw support behind Donald Trump in his race for the nation's highest office. Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson on Thursday became the third political speaker this week at the Neshoba County Fair to say he is considering a campaign for the state governor's office in 2027. State Auditor Shad White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann also made nods to a potential run in 2027 on Wednesday. In an interview with reporters regarding a speech Gipson gave at the fair Thursday morning, Gipson said he is considering whether to run for the state's highest office, but he is mostly focusing on his role as Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner. "I'm praying about that," Gipson said. "I'm carefully considering it, and I've not made a decision, but I will keep praying. I want to be the best Agriculture Commissioner. That's my goal." Gipson said he has recently had a few fundraisers and spoke to his staff about campaign financing. "I have started looking into that," Gipson said. Other speakers at the fair, such as House Speaker Jason White, R-West, told fairgoers he isn't done with conversations to explore Medicaid expansion in Mississippi, major tax cuts and conservative education reforms such as school choice, to name a few. Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson raises the Bible while speaking about the controversial opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Gipson, White, as well as other state officials such as State Treasurer David McRae and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, all voiced support for presidential candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming Nov. 5 election. "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have steered the national economy into the ditch, and we've had to fight every day," Reeves said. Secretary of State Michael Watson, as well as several state judicial candidates, such as Byron Carter, Sen. Jenifer Branning, R-Philadelphia, Ceola James and Jim Kitchens also spoke at the fair Thursday. Below is some of what some of the speakers said Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair. Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson Other than telling reporters he might run for governor in 2027, Gipson advocated for further tax cuts for Mississippians, especially the personal income tax. "There's one direction taxes need to go in Mississippi, and that's down, down, decrease the taxes," GIpson said. "We pay enough taxes. For every dollar that you earn, it gets taxed multiple times different ways. Income tax, federal and state, you got sales tax, and then when you die, there's estate tax and every tax in between and your car tag tax, land taxes, (it's) tax to death." Gipson told eventgoers that conservative leadership on both the state and federal level is the only clear path forward for the nation, and that people need to support Donald Trump's bid against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris. Gipson also took shots at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which he alleged was sending labor union workers onto farming properties to "recruit" farmers and prevent them from doing their jobs. OSHA visits businesses in the construction industry as well as the agriculture sector to inspect working conditions and make sure businesses remain in federal compliance, among other things. "I see more regulations coming out of Washington, D.C., today than ever before, and it has got to end," he said. "OSHA, they want to send somebody out to every farm in Mississippi and tell you how to run your farm, tell you how to run your business and get a union labor out there to do it for him." In his closing, Gipson spoke out against foreign agricultural land ownership in Mississippi. According to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture released in November, 942,435 acres in Mississippi are in foreign hands as of December 2022. Foreign land ownership makes up 3.1% of all acreage in the state and 3.8% of all the privately held property. Secretary of State Michael Watson Watson in his speech said his office plans to challenge the Biden administration in court regarding executive order 14019, which designates federal agencies to expand voter registration access through partnerships with state agencies as well as through federal initiatives. Watson said he reached out to the White House to gain more information about how that effort would work in Mississippi, but he was rebuffed. "It basically turns all federal agencies into voter registration orders and get out to vote arms of the current party in power," Watson said. "I'm not attacking DC here, but that's unamerican, it's unconstitutional." During his speech, Watson also thanked the Mississippi Legislature for working on legislation to restrict people from collecting mail-in ballots from those who have difficulties delivering them and then take them to a polling location. The act is known as ballot harvesting or ballot collecting. Watson also addressed campaign finance fraud and reiterated his desire to move its enforcement from the attorney general's office to his. He noted he has seen many cases be sent to Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office but nothing was ever done. "I'm not here to attack, but I am here to ask you to do the jobs," Watson said. "One of the things that Florida did, they assigned an Assistant Attorney General for the Secretary of State's office to make sure these crimes are being prosecuted. Perhaps we do that." Mississippi House Speaker Jason White White first and foremost took no time at all to say that unlike other speakers during the political speech portion of the fair, he is not announcing that he will run for governor in 2027. White said he is still fiercely pursuing legislation to give parents the option to send their child to a private school by using their state appropriated portion from the Mississippi Student Funding Formula. White specifically said this upcoming session he plans to work on legislation that will allow students to move from any public school to another, and to give parents more financial flexibility with those state funds. When asked if it is even feasible for some students to move to any school in the state because of transportation needs, White said his team is working on several solutions, including corporate and local transportation partnerships and possibly even a tax credit. "That's a hurdle," White said. "Now we have had some meaningful talks with communities who are willing to get corporate America and even Mississippi communities to get involved in the transportation aspect. We are thinking outside the box to what could be different." As for Medicaid expansion, which failed to become law this past session, White said he may also consider another round of debate on it. "The direction we go with policy next session, to a large extent will depend on the presidential election, who's sitting in the White House and who's running CMS as we move forward in Medicaid, and how we're going to cover working, low-income Mississippians," White said. White also said he is continuing to work with his team at a robust reform of the state's tax code with the goal of eliminating the personal income tax. Gov. Tate Reeves Reeves, who is in his second and final term as governor, touted his administration's successes in economic development, as well as his support for Trump and what he calls the Mississippi Momentum. He also spoke about the importance of the fair and its significant setting for state leaders to openly engage with the public on policy issues. "What we've tried to do in each of our speeches, while certainly having fun, but is being serious and talking about policy ideas, and a lot of really good policy ideas that have led to the greatest economy in Mississippi's history started right here from this fair," Reeves said. "Whether it was cutting taxes, or the Mississippi miracle, or our efforts to improve workforce development, workforce training, they started with ideas right here. It's a way to get those ideas out to the public." This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Andy Gipson considering run for Mississippi governor in 2027 Here's when to stop for a school bus on different roads and highways in Indiana As students all over the Central Indiana area head back to school in the coming days, more school buses will be on the roads. To ensure students get to school safely daily, here are the school bus laws and safety rules that drivers need to know: 'Stop-arm' law for school bus safety It is illegal for Indiana drivers to pass a bus that is stopped, has its red lights flashing and its stop-arm is extended. This applies to all drivers on all roads except for oncoming traffic on a divided highway where the road is separated by a barrier such as a concrete wall or a grassy median. Cars are only required to stop if they are traveling in the same direction as the school bus on divided highways. Back to school news: Some elementary schools end in fifth grade, some in eighth. It matters more than you may think For drivers on a two-lane road, all vehicles traveling in both directions must stop when a bus's stop-arm is extended. For drivers on a multi-lane paved road that has no divider in the middle, vehicles traveling both ways must stop when the stop-arm is extended. Drivers caught violating this law could face a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, as well as lose their driving license for 90 days. Here's how to respond to stopped school buses. Other school bus safety tips for drivers The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute also has a list of ways everyday Hoosier drivers can help keep kids safe when traveling to school. When backing up out of a driveway or leaving a garage, check for children walking by or on bicycles before backing out. Drivers should be aware of school zones and make sure to follow the speed limits posted, as well as be aware of any children walking to school or the bus stop in those areas. More school news: Some schools are already back. Really. See which ones in Central Indiana go back earliest Watch for children playing and congregating near bus stops. Drivers should always be alert for children walking near or in the street, especially around pick-up and drop-off times for school buses. School bus safety tips for parents The ICJI also recommends that parents teach their children basic traffic safety rules so they can be best prepared when heading to their bus stop. Here are some other tips they recommend for families: Students should arrive at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to come. Before the first day of school, parents should visit the us stop with their child and show them where they can safely wait for the bus. Remind your child that they should not run or play around the bus stop. Students should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and the doors are open before approaching the bus. Students should never walk behind a school bus. If students must cross the street they should be at least 10 feet in front of the bus before crossing the street. Students should make eye contact with the bus driver before crossing the street to make sure they can see them. If a child drops something near a school bus, the safest thing to do is to alert the bus driver right away. Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter (X): @CarolineB_Indy. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana's school bus stop-arm law and when you should stop Vice President Kamala Harris responded to former President Donald Trump following his false claims about her racial identity Wednesday. Harris, whose mother is Indian and father is Jamaican, said the American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, when Trump said Harris now "wants to be known as Black" in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on July 31. Harris made history as the first African American and South Asian American to be elected vice president, USA TODAY reported in 2020. Heres what to know about Kamala Harris parents. Who is Kamala Harris father? Donald Harris, 85, is an emeritus professor at Stanford University whose research interests include economic history, macroeconomics, economics of technology, and development economics, according to his Stanford profile. He joined the faculty in 1972 and retired in 1998, according to a description of his professional career. Harris also served as an economic consultant to Jamaicas government, according to the description. He was a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met his future wife and Harris mother, Shyamala Gopalan though the two later divorced the New York Times reported in 2020. More: What did Kamala Harris do in California? Who is Kamala Harris mother? Shyamala Gopalan was a scientist whose work was described as sparking many advances in the role of progesterone and its cellular receptor in breast biology and cancer, activist organization Breast Cancer Action published in 2009. Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009, according to NPR. Gopalan had two goals, "to cure breast cancer and to raise her two daughters," Harris said in a social media post in March. Gopalan was also active in the civil rights movement, CNN reported in 2020. USA TODAY reporter Joey Garrison contributed to this article. Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who are Kamala Harris' parents amid questions over racial identity District 6 Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda expresses her concerns regarding proposed changes to the city charter while being interviewed on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Mel Zarb-Cousin, managing director Magik Theatre, conceals a smirk while watching tensions flare on the dais during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 6 Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda raises her concerns regarding proposed changes to the city charter during a meeting of City Council on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 1 Council Member Sukh Kaur, right, gestures to District 2 Council Member Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, left, as she raises a concern about proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 3 Council Member Phyllis Viagran speaks on the proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 10 Council Member Marc Whyte listens to a colleague speak during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the citys charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Attendees listen to discussion on the dais regarding proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Mayor Ron Nirenberg listens to City Attorney Andy Segovia address a question during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 9 Council Member John Courage asks questions about proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News A copy of the Charter of the City of San Antonio lays a top a colorful bag during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News First Assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio, left, and City Attorney Andy Segovia, right, answer questions during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 7 Council Member Marina Alderete Gavito listens to Interim Assistant City Manager John Peterek answer a question during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 2 Council Member Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addresses members of the Charter Review Commission during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Charter Review Commission Co-Chair David Zammiello addresses a question raised by City Council on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 6 Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda listens to discussion of proposed changes to the city charter during a meeting of City Council on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 5 City Council Member Teri Castillo shares her thoughts on proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News A likely mayoral contender pushed sweeping changes to San Antonios city charter on Thursday a move that drew the rebuke of Mayor Ron Nirenberg and fell flat with the majority of City Council. District 6 Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda proposed amendments that would potentially allow council members to exert more control over the city attorney and give voters some say in who serves as trustees at city-owned CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System. But the third-term council member didnt get very far. Advertisement Article continues below this ad H.E.B. ADDITION: True Texas BBQ just opened in San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg listens to discussion during a meeting of City Council discussing proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Let me just remind the council, this is not open season on the city charter, Nirenberg said. I think it would be a disservice to our community and to the process if we just make this an open season on any idea that yall have to put on the ballot. City Council is set to vote next week on which charter amendments to put on the Nov. 5 ballot for voter approval. VACANCY FILLED: Judson ISD board fills trustee vacancy with a former colleague Advertisement Article continues below this ad Though Cabello Havrda has yet to officially announce her bid for mayor, shes expected to run for the open mayors seat in the May 2025 election alongside Council Members Manny Pelaez and John Courage, who launched their campaigns earlier this year. Council Member Adriana Rocha Garcia is also mulling a run. Beto Altamirano, CEO and co-founder of the AI firm Irys Technologies, launched his campaign for mayor in June, making him the first candidate from outside City Hall to seek the citys highest elected office. The mayors race loomed over Thursdays special council meeting, which Nirenberg had called to find consensus on charter amendment recommendations that the Charter Review Commission handed off to council in early June. The commissions 15 members all of whom were Nirenberg appointees had worked since December to devise changes to sections of the charter covering the length of the mayor and council members terms, their pay, and the city managers eight-year term limit and salary cap. City Manager Erik Walsh, left, and Interim Assistant City Manager John Peterek, right, listen to discussion during a meeting of City Council on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Cabello Havrda and a handful of her colleagues criticized Nirenberg for keeping tight control over the Charter Review Commissions charge, with little or no input from council members. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Throughout this process weve been focusing on propositions that directly impact City Hall operations and our government officials, she said. While these are important changes to the city charter, were missing opportunities to propose amendments that directly affect our residents daily lives. We need propositions that empower the people we serve, not just the way we serve them. She proposed an amendment that would allow San Antonio voters to elect two trustees each to the boards of SAWS and CPS. Currently, the council appoints six members of the SAWS board of trustees (the mayor is the seventh member), and it ratifies the five-member CPS boards picks for open seats. Nirenberg also serves on the electric utilitys board. Cabello Havrda proposed another amendment that would either allow the City Council to hire the city attorney or give it the authority to hire its own attorney. City Manger Erik Walsh currently hires and fires the city attorney. As it stands, with the city attorney accountable to the city manager, theres a risk that legal opinions are filtered or laundered before they get to the City Council, Cabello Havrda said. She has been one of the most vocal critics of City Attorney Andy Segovia. In May, she called for him to be fired because she was dissatisfied with his legal advice as well as his unwillingness to schedule a closed-door meeting to discuss the status of city contract negotiations with the firefighters union. Advertisement Article continues below this ad District 4 Council Member Adriana Rocha Garcia listens to colleagues discuss proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Only two of Cabello Havrdas colleagues voiced support for her ideas on Thursday. District 10 Council Member Marc Whyte, whos also a critic of Segovia, supported changing how the city attorney is hired. District 1 Council Member Sukh Kaur agreed with the need for elected trustees on the utility boards. Cabello Havrda told the San Antonio Express-News that politics played no role in her decision to introduce potential amendments so late in the process. Any speculation that her actions were driven by a likely mayoral bid, she said, is insulting. Ive been doing this all along, she said. I think people are maybe paying attention to me a little more now because they think Im going to run for mayor, but Ive been doing this for five years. Courage took aim at Cabello Havrda, Pelaez and Whyte for not supporting an amendment to increase council pay in order to open up the position to more people. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Council members earn $45,722 annually, and the mayor makes $61,725. City Manager Erik Walsh listens to City Council discuss proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Its interesting that all three of those council members are lawyers, earning additional, sufficient income outside of being a council member, Courage said. Well, they could probably work for free. But the rest of us cant do that. Courage also pointed out his own silence on the topic of increasing the mayors pay, saying he hasnt voiced his opinion because hes seeking that office. He blasted Cabello Havrdas city attorney proposal, especially in light of her support for amending the charter to eliminate the caps on how much the city manager can be paid (no more than 10 times the lowest-paid city employee) and on how long they remain in the job (no more than eight years). If we support and trust the city manager, then we should rely on him or her to choose the best professional to give us the best advice and not turn around and play politics, he said. Mayor Ron Nirenberg is interviewed following a meeting of City Council to discuss proposed changes to the city charter on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Nirenberg skirted the Express-News question of how much he thinks the race to replace him played a role during Thursdays meeting. Thats for you to speculate on, not me, he said. You can legally vote twice for the same person in this Green Bay Congressional district Have you heard the one about voting twice for the same person legally? No, this isn't a bad set up for an even worse punchline about Chicago elections. This is the real scenario playing out in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district on Aug. 13 and Nov. 5. Residents in that district will vote in two separate elections that will have the same names on the same ballot for the same position, but only to serve different terms. You might remember the controversial early retirement of U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher. Back in February, Gallagher announced he wouldn't seek reelection in the fall, citing a desire to enter the private sector and spend more time with his family. What was controversial was when the Republican announced that he wouldn't be finishing his term and instead exited on April 19. Timing of Gallagher's resignation triggered call for special election That date is important because state law requires a special election to be held to fill a vacancy in Wisconsin's congressional offices if the vacancy occurs before the second Tuesday in April in the year of a general election, which would have been April 9, 2024. Since Gallagher resigned ten days after that date, it allowed Gov. Tony Evers to order a special election in the district during the August and November primary and general elections. Now voters will be voting in a special election to send someone to Congress to finish Gallagher's term that ends Jan. 3, 2025 and voting to elect a new 8th congressional representative whose term will start Jan. 3, 2025. Both of those races have the same candidates running and will be voted on the same ballot. So what does that even look like? For Democrats, it's straight forward since Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN, is the only Democrat running. Thus, if you are voting Democrat in the August primary, you will see her name once for the special election and once for the partisan primary and then will see her name twice again on the Nov. 5 ballot where she will face the winner(s) of the Republican primaries. But for Republicans, get it could a little hairier. Three Republicans running for Congress in Green Bay district There are three Republicans running: State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, former state Sen. Roger Roth of Appleton and Green Bay businessman Tony Wied. All three got enough signatures to be on the ballot for the special election and the partisan primary, so voters will see all three names twice in their Aug. 13 ballot. Then the winner of each of those races in August will be on the Nov. 5 ballot for the special election and the general. Odds are, it will be the same person but that's not guaranteed. There is a world where one Republican candidate wins the special election primary and a different Republican candidate wins the regularly scheduled partisan primary. Or a world where Lyerly beats the Republican in one of the elections and then loses in the other. I don't think there is a high chance of that happening, but there isn't a non-zero chance either. Why this matters is two fold. My abortion opened my eyes. Here's what I learned after my own experience. First, the House of Representatives currently has 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats and three vacancies, two of which were held by Republicans (one of which is Gallagher's seat) and one by a Democrat. At full strength, this means that the House balance would likely be 221-214. But if Lyerly flips that seat for the lame duck session between Nov. 6 and Jan. 3, it could be 220-215. By historical standards, thats a really narrow margin. Only twice since World War II has the majority held that small a share of seats when it was at full strength. With margins that close and potentially another contested presidential election on the line, every representative will matter. Additionally, if this scenario wasnt bonkers enough, heres a fun fact: The FEC treats the special and regular elections as two different contests, which means candidates can raise twice as much from donors. Creating a huge advantage for the one Democrat running who doesnt have to use any of that money to win, not one, but two, primaries. Kristin Brey is the "My Take" columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mike Gallagher's resignation sparked special election for U.S. House In Louisiana, a new law allows all arrest booking mugshots to be public Booking mugshots are back in Louisiana with a new law repealing restrictions to their publication and distribution taking effect Aug. 1. Republican Shreveport Sen. Alan Seabugh said he sponsored Senate Bill 24, signed into law by new Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, at the request of sheriffs who said the previous law passed two years ago with the support of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards was burdensome, costly and potentially hindered criminal investigations. "I got a text message on Christmas Eve from a sheriff that said, 'All I want for Christmas is to end the booking mugs law,'" Seabaugh said in an interview with USA Today Network. Critics say the publication of arrest booking mugshots before innocence or guilt is determined can negatively impact the lives of those found innocent or wrongly arrested. But lawmakers overwhelmingly agreed to reverse the 2022 law that restricted their release by a vote of 61-37 in the House and 26-10 in the Senate. "I understand and sympathize with someone who is arrested and isn't found guilty, but these booking mugs should be a matter of public record and a tool for law enforcement," Seabaugh said. "(Law enforcement) sees great benefit in sharing booking mugs." The previous law didn't restrict the use of all booking mugs, which Seabaugh said created confusion among law enforcement as well as a cost for personnel to determine what mugshots should be public and what mugs should be restricted. "We had testimony that it would take a full-time employee just to determine which booking mugs should be public and which shouldn't, so this was a straight up repeal of the previous law," Seabaugh said. More: What's the latest on effort to repeal, reduce Louisiana state income tax? Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Booking mugshots are back in Louisiana after repeal of previous law How many places can you fly to from TF Green Airport? A look at the airport by the numbers WARWICK When it comes right down to it, an airport is all about numbers, and here are the numbers that tell the story of Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport: 7 airlines serve TF Green Southwest Airlines is Green's largest carrier, but its share of the total passenger traffic at the airport has slipped in the last decade. Ten years ago, Southwest flew just under 50% of the total passengers using Green. Now, it's about 32%. And the lineup of airlines serving the airport has shifted over the last decade. Back then, five carriers served Rhode Island's largest airport: Delta Air Lines, Jet Blue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways. Today, seven airlines fly out of Green, with the additions of Allegiant Airlines and Breeze Airways, plus the return of American Airlines, making up for the loss of US Airways. T.F. Green Airport, as seen in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated air travel and the number of passengers using Rhode Island's main airport. Flying direct? 36 direct destinations from T.F. Green It seems airlines change their schedules frequently, and charter operators can offer flights to destinations beyond what the scheduled airlines do, but, as of the end of July, here are the destinations to which airlines fly directly from Green: Atlanta, Baltimore, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago Midway, Chicago OHare, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Greenville-Spartanburg, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New York LaGuardia, Newark, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Punta Gorda, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, San Juan, Sarasota, Savannah, Tampa, Vero Beach, Washington Dulles, Washington National and West Palm Beach. 92 flights a day used TF Green last year Well, that depends on how you look at it. In all, Green reported 64,972 flight operations last year. An "operation" is, generally speaking, a takeoff or a landing. So, if a plane lands at Green, and then takes off, that counts as two operations. The federal government also counts other, rarer, circumstances, such as aborted landings. Operations are broken down into two broad categories: itinerant and local. "Itinerant" describes aircraft that leave the area when the flight is done and "local" are aircraft that stay in the area. Itinerant flights are what most people mean when they talk about air travel. Those are broken down into three groups: commercial air transport, military aircraft and general aviation, which is any flight that does not fit into the first two groups. Commercial air transport, which involves moving passengers and/or freight, is divided by the capacity of the plane. "Air carriers" have more than 30 seats, while "air taxis" have 30 or fewer. So, when talking about the number of "flights" from T.F. Green, most people mean itinerant air-carrier operations. If that's the case, then the airport had 33,497 operations in 2023, or an average of 91.8 flights per calendar day. Here are the other stats for Green operations for 2023: Air taxis: 8,150 General aviation: 14,804 Military: 297 Local: 8,224 3.5 million passengers used TF Green last year Three times already this century, T.F. Green has had to rebuild its passenger numbers after devastating economic events hammered the airline industry: The 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 The Great Recession of 2008 The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 After 9/11 grounded all but military air traffic, passenger numbers eventually climbed to an all-time high of 5.7 million in 2005. The Great Recession and lingering effects of airline industry reorganization in its wake pushed that down to 3.6 million by 2014 before gradually climbing to 4.3 million in 2018. The pandemic pushed the total number of passengers down to 1.3 million in 2020, the lowest at least since 1996, when the Bruce Sundlun Terminal opened and Southwest started flying out of Green, when passenger numbers hit 2.5 million. The numbers have risen each year since the pandemic began, to 3.5 million in 2023. And, the first few months of this year have shown a 10% increase over last year. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A statistical look at TF Green The tropical wave approaching the U.S. and Florida's West Coast, including Fort Myers and Lee County, has now been designated Invest 97L by the National Hurricane Center. The storm could potentially bring coastal flooding to Southwest Florida, which has already experienced above average rainfall this summer. Track all active storms Spaghetti models for Invest 97L Chances are continuing to increase for when Invest 97L could approach Florida and the United States, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. "The latest models show it going into the eastern Gulf and then exploding there," said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok. "Residents from Louisiana to Florida's West Coast have to be ready in case it rapidly intensifies." The National Hurricane Center is giving the system a low chance 30% for development over the next 48 hours. Chances for development over the next seven days is at 70%. Tropical wave 8 a.m. Aug. 1, 2024. Forecasters with the Hurricane Center said a tropical depression could form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico or near the Florida Peninsula. Where it could develop remains unknown and ranges from over the eastern Gulf of Mexico or far southwesternAtlantic Ocean, including in the vicinity of Florida. If sustained winds reach 39 mph, it could become Tropical Storm Debby, the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. AccuWeather meteorologists said development "may be slow initially ... but it may strengthen as is approaches Florida this weekend with an uptick of downpours, thunderstorms and surf." Don't be confused by the National Hurricane Center's tropical outlook map. Although the colored area may look like the Hurricane's Center "cone of concern," the orange area on the agency's tropical outlook map actually signifies where a tropical cyclone could develop, not where a storm could go. Tropical cyclone is the generic term that covers all tropical systems, including tropical depression, tropical storm and hurricane. Here's the latest update from the NHC as of 2 p.m. Aug. 1 as forecasters track the system: Invest 97L could become tropical depression, Tropical Storm Debby A well-defined tropical wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Southeastern Bahamas, and the adjacent waters of the southwestern Atlantic and northeastern Caribbean Sea. Excessive rainfall forecast Development of this system should be slow to occur during the next day or so while it moves west-northwestward over portions of the Greater Antilles. However, environmental conditions are forecast to be more conducive for development after the wave passes the Greater Antilles, and a tropical depression is likely to form this weekend or early next week over the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula. Residents in the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and Florida should monitor the progress of this system. Formation chance through 48 hours: low, 30 percent. Formation chance through 7 days: medium, 70 percent. Spaghetti models: Latest models on where Invest 97L could go as it moves toward Florida Special note about spaghetti models: Spaghetti model illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts. Will Invest 97L strengthen over or near Southwest Florida? The outlook "The latest models show it going into the eastern Gulf and then exploding there," said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok. "There is low steering flow in the eastern Gulf so once it gets there, it's kind of stuck and over warm water, it can intensify. At this point, it can go almost anywhere. There's just nothing in the Gulf to steer it and there's very concerning. "I don't trust it and don't like it. Residents from Louisiana to Florida's West Coast and Panhandle have to be ready in case it rapidly intensifies. And if it sits there (in the Gulf) it can intensify. The slower it moves, the stronger it can become." Pastelok said forecasters will have a better idea on what will happen once the invest moves through the Caribbean islands and mountains, which could slow development and organization. "Sunday, it could blow up in the eastern Gulf." What impact can Lee County, Southwest Florida expect from Invest 97L "Downpours and gusty thunderstorms will spread westward across Cuba and the western islands of the Bahamas on Friday before spreading over the Florida Keys and the southern part of the Florida Peninsula on Saturday. "Along with the potential for urban flooding will be the risk of waterspouts and hazards for beach and boating interests, at the very least," AccuWeather said. "As the system approaches and begins to strengthen, rip currents will increase in strength and number along the Florida coastline this weekend. "Should the storm stay east of Florida, the rough surf conditions will spread northward along the Atlantic coast. If the center migrates farther to the northwest, then surf conditions will build along the Gulf Coast." Who is likely to be impacted? Precipitation outlook for Aug. 1-4, 2024, as a tropical wave approaches Florida. No matter where the tropical wave goes, expect surf and seas to build well in advance of it, along with dangerous rip currents, AccuWeather said. "All that can be said with confidence is that elevated rain chances are probable in the Florida peninsula this weekend," said Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist at WeatherTiger. " Itll take a few more days to sort out what may become of this messy wave. "Given current trends, theres a fair chance that 'something' forms over the weekend in the general vicinity of the Florida peninsula, though a wild card is how much the wave is disrupted by land interaction over the next few days." Truchelut works with the USA TODAY Network-Florida to provide the latest storm information Florida residents need. Hurricane forecast: A rainy Florida sideswipe or a festering Gulf storm threat? Forecasters urge all residents to continue monitoring the tropics and to always be prepared. That advice is particularly important for what is expected to be a very active hurricane season. Weather watches and warnings issued in Fort Myers, Lee County National Hurricane Center map: What are forecasters watching now? Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include: Interactive map: Hurricanes, tropical storms that have passed near SW FL Excessive rainfall forecast for Naples and Collier County Support local journalism by subscribing to The News Press. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Invest 97L spaghetti models. Fort Myers, Lee County storm impact Lebanon City Police Department have charged a 47-year-old New Jersey man with sexual assault of a minor. On July 6, 2024, police began an investigation into the sexual assault of a 13-year-old juvenile at a Walnut Street residence. Police said they quickly developed Jose Enrique Rivas, of Newark, New Jersey, as the suspect. As a result of numerous interviews, review of video surveillance, and other methods of investigation, charges were filed against Rivas, police said in a release Aug. 1. Rivas is shown on video cameras on July 6 laying on the couch of the of the Walnut Street residence, according to court records. Video footage then shows Rivas go upstairs, enter into the bedroom around 4:30 a.m. where the juvenile resided. According to police, the juvenile later left the room and had a text exchange with her aunt about the incident. She then went downstairs and told her grandmother, "I was just rapped and he is still upstairs." According to court documents, the grandmother found Rivas still laying in the juvenile's bed. Police said Rivas was arrested in New Jersey on July 31 and was awaiting extradition to Lebanon County as of Thursday morning. Rivas is charged with statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and indecent assault. The Department of Human Services operates a 24/7 hotline to report suspected child abuse or concerns about the welfare of a child. ChildLine can be reached at 800-932-0313. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: New Jersey man charged with alleged sexual assault of Lebanon PA minor Duke Buckner, Republican candidate for South Carolina's 6th Congressional District, at a town hall in Richland County on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Abraham Kenmore/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA Republican Duke Buckner is trying to convince voters of South Carolinas 6th Congressional District that its time for a change after 32 years. Do you want more of the same, or do you want better? Buckner asked about 30 people who attended his town hall event Wednesday to hear from the man challenging U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. Buckner, a 51-year-old attorney, is challenging South Carolinas senior congressman for the second time. He lost in 2022 by about 24 percentage points. Clyburn, who turned 84 last month, is expected to cruise to a 17th term in the House representing the Palmetto States only safe Democratic seat. Beyond differences in their ages and politics, the two hail from different parts of the state. Buckner lives in Walterboro, where he was born, raised and elected to town council for one term. Clyburn, a native of Sumter just outside the district lives in Columbia. South Carolinas current congressional districts (S.C. Senate Judiciary Committee) The 6th District runs from Columbia south to Charleston and extends from rural counties on the states southern border with Georgia to rural Williamsburg County in the Pee Dee. Since the Legislatures post-1990-census redistricting, the 6th has been drawn as South Carolinas lone majority-minority district, though the states growing population is changing the composition. But it is still among the poorest congressional districts in the country, and Buckner tells voters he can turn it around economically. The issues are the economy, crime and education, Buckner told the SC Daily Gazette following his event at the Richland County Adult Activity Center. And I have a path, a plan that will help to improve those three. Clyburn declined Thursday to address his opponents campaign. Buckners policy goals include cutting corporate tax rates for businesses that hire a certain number of people. He didnt specify how many. He also wants to eliminate the federal Department of Education and send the money to state education agencies, amend the U.S. Constitution to require Congress to balance the federal budget, and guarantee free medical care to every pregnant woman. For nearly two hours Wednesday, Buckner fielded questions and comments from attendees on questions of policy and his own personal history. Buckner said he was a Democrat for years. When he wanted to vote for third-party presidential candidate Ross Perot in 1992, his father told him to vote for Democrat Bill Clinton instead, and he did. But he left the Democratic Party after meeting then-Gov. David Beasley at the 1997 dedication of the Tuskegee Airmen Monument in Walterboro. Buckner said he was later invited to a Republican Party meeting and discovered he agreed with the principles of self-reliance and entrepreneurship captured in the state GOP creed. And now Buckner is hoping to convince other voters to break away from old patterns of voting. Vote for the person who you believe is going to best represent your ideals and whos going to get the job done, he said during the town hall. Mr. Clyburn has had 32 years to get the job done for the 6th Congressional District. Whatever he has done, he has done. It is time to pass the baton. Joe Biden did it. He passed it, Buckner said. Following Bidens July 21 withdrawal from the presidential race, Buckner wrote a lengthy opinion piece calling on Clyburn to follow the Bidens example and criticizing Clyburn for his continued support of the president he helped put in the White House. Asked how his campaign will win Black voters, Buckner, who is Black, said he has volunteers for a ground game of knocking on doors and making phone calls. He also plans to pay for advertising on television, radio and social media. According to the latest federal disclosures, Clyburn had $1.9 million in his campaign account June 30, compared to $45,000 in Buckners account following his June primary win against Republican Justin Scott of Walterboro. No Democrat challenged Clyburn. Some attendees of Buckners town hall were strong supporters already. Attendees after a town hall with Duke Buckner (who is not pictured), Republican candidate for the 6th Congressional District, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 in Columbia. (Abraham Kenmore/SC Daily Gazette) Tracy Robins, 53, a former public school teacher, is involved with the organization Richland County Conservatives. She is knocking on doors for Buckner and other local candidates. She estimated putting 3,000 campaign hangers on doors already. Im for small government. I want to cut budgets, cut the spending, cut the wasteful spending, said Robins. Im less interested in the social issues. Im kind of moderate when it comes to that. Anna Herron, a 26-year-old business analyst, is also involved with Richland County Conservatives. She said she still had questions after hearing Buckners answers about reducing spending, including his proposal to re-allocate federal spending on education rather than cutting it. Spend the taxpayer money on the essential governmental responsibilities, she said. Roads, defense I dont know of any others. Others were simply curious. Marah Grant, a 23-year-old media coordinator for a magazine, said she is a Democrat but wants to see change. I like everything that (Buckner is) saying. I agree with a lot of it, she said after the town hall. Let us know what you think... SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX South Dakota one of 26 states not implementing new Title IX rules Gov. Kristi Noem speaks at a press conference about a new initiative to "Defend Title IX Now" in 2022. Noem has regularly advocated to protect Title IX rules for women in South Dakota. New Title IX rules took effect in nearly half of U.S. states Thursday, but South Dakota wasnt one of them. The rules wouldve prohibited discrimination based on things like sexual orientation, gender identity (which includes protections for being transgender or nonbinary, for example) and sex characteristics in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. But an injunction in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri prevents the new rules from taking effect in South Dakota as well as Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and North Dakota. Other legal challenges prevent the rules from taking effect in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, too, USA Today reported. More: Bidens new Title IX rules are all set to take effect. But not in these states. Gov. Kristi Noem, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Joe Graves all praised the injunction. On X, Noem called the rules an unconstitutional rewriting of Title IX, and said that this important ruling will ensure that mediocre men can never take opportunities away from exceptional women. In a press release, Jackley said the decision protects female athletes and the original intent of Title IX. Graves said he was pleased with the outcome of the injunction since it relieves school districts of legal threats for failing to comply with the new regulations. In another lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, more than a dozen South Dakota schools were identified as having students whose parents are members of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative political action committee and parents rights group that has lobbied for book bans and been called an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. If the injunction in Missouri hadnt gone through, the following schools wouldve been the only ones in the state that didnt have to comply with the new Title IX rules this school year: Earlier: As South Dakota sues federal government over Title IX, school districts await guidance Sioux Falls All City and R. F. Pettigrew Elementary Schools, Ben Reifel Middle School and Washington High School; Brandon Valleys Middle and High School; Lennoxs Elementary and Junior High School; Tea Area School Districts Legacy Elementary, Middle and High School; Brookings Medary Elementary School; And, Flandreau Elementary, Middle and High School. Other schools couldve been included on the list at later times, according to a 2024 Title IX Regulations: Pointers for Implementation document the US Department of Education released this month. Moms for Liberty has active South Dakota chapters in Minnehaha, Pennington, Hughes and Meade counties. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New Title IX rules will not be implemented in South Dakota For veterans: Military families can sign up to receive funds for back to school items The Indiana Military Family Relief Fund (MFRF) is once again launching its annual Operation Back to School initiative to support military and veteran families as they prepare for the upcoming academic year. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by military and veteran families, this program is designed to alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with school expenses, ensuring that children of military personnel and veterans have the resources they need for a successful school year. Details about Operation Back to School Operation Back to School provides financial assistance to eligible military and veteran families to cover essential school-related expenses. These expenses can include purchasing school supplies, clothing, backpacks and other necessary items that children need to start the school year on the right foot. The program aims to ensure that children of service members and veterans can attend school with confidence, without the added stress of financial constraints. Eligibility requirements To be eligible for the Operation Back to School program, applicants must meet specific criteria: Military status: Applicants must be a veteran or a current or former member of the Indiana National Guard, Reserve components or active-duty military stationed in Indiana. Residency: The family must be residents of Indiana. Financial need: Applicants must demonstrate a financial need. This can be shown through documentation of income, expenses and any extenuating circumstances that contribute to the family's financial situation. School-aged children: The assistance is specifically for families with children who are enrolled in K-12 education for the upcoming school year. Assistance amount: Eligible families can receive $500 per dependent child to cover school-related expenses. Application period: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. Aug. 30, 2024. Lifetime limit: There is a lifetime assistance limit of $2,500 per veteran, although exceptions may be made in emergency circumstances upon review by the Indiana Veterans' Commission. More benefits available: Many Monroe County veterans are eligible for VA health care but haven't signed up How veteran families can apply Applying for the Operation Back to School program is a straightforward process designed to be as accessible as possible for military and veteran families. Here are the steps: Gather documentation: Applicants will need to gather necessary documentation, including proof of military status (e.g., military ID, DD214 form), proof of Indiana residency (e.g., utility bill, lease agreement), and proof of financial need (e.g., pay stubs, tax returns). Complete the application: The application form for the Operation Back to School program can be found on the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) website, www.in.gov/dva/. Applicants should fill out the form accurately and completely, providing all required information. Submit the application: Once the application form is completed, applicants can submit it along with the required documentation. Submissions can be made online through the IDVA website or by mail to the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs office, 777 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Review process: The IDVA will review applications on a rolling basis. Approved applicants will receive financial assistance to cover eligible school-related expenses. The amount of assistance will be determined based on the demonstrated financial need and available funds. The Operation Back to School program is a testament to Indiana's commitment to supporting its military families. By providing this crucial assistance, the Indiana Military Family Relief Fund helps ensure that children of service members have the tools they need to succeed academically and thrive throughout the school year. For more information, visit the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs website or contact my office directly. If you are interested in volunteering to drive for the DAV Van, need assistance filing a VA disability claim, or have questions about federal, state, or local veterans benefits, please contact my office. Steven Miller, Monroe County Veteran Service Officer; 812-349-2537; smiller@co.monroe.in.us. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana veteran families can sign up for funds for back-to-school items Two Roanoke artists have completed a mural in Bedford dedicated to those in the military with a special focus on the often-underrepresented communities and individuals in service, including women and people of color. The mural, an effort led by the private nonprofit Bedford Get Together, is one of multiple projects to help people in the community connect with people who they otherwise wouldnt, said Julie Stanley, vice-chair of Bedford Get Together. The organization has held other events such as Our Bedford Story, an initiative toward giving current and former Bedford residents the opportunity to share their life experiences, and the group hosts smaller-scale projects to benefit other nonprofits. The push for the mural began early last year. After a concept brainstorm, the formation of a committee, several meetings, proposal solicitations and a statewide call for mural artists, Libby and Josh Nolan-Shafer, of Tandem Arts Collective, were selected to carry out the project. They work together really well as a team they help each other and support each other, Stanley said. Libby, whose father is a Navy veteran, was especially proud of the idea of honoring the military, the town and county of Bedford and certain minorities through centering on communication and reunification. The mural depicts a female soldier returning to her family after being away and portrays multiple forms of communication such as morse code. I think whats cool about it is its a concept thats going to make a lot of people in Bedford relate to it, Josh said, sharing his pride in the murals unique take. There [are] so many impactful elements, Libby added. The mural took about one month to paint as the artists typically had to stop each afternoon due to the heat. Now, only the task of adding a top coat remains. Josh and Libby hope the mural will draw more interest in public art. Stanley expressed her excitement that now, there seems to be a huge interest in other murals coming to Bedford. The general public is invited to the dedication of the mural from 5 to 6 p.m. on Aug. 18 at Centertown Park. More information about the mural and artists can be found at bedfordgettogether.com. As students prepare to return to school, the North East Independent School District announced the creation of an Emergency Response Team trained and equipped to "neutralize" a potential shooter. KIN MAN HUI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS While students and teachers are gathering pencils, pens and notebooks to return to the classroom after summer break, San Antonios North East Independent School District is bracing for the school year with a very different kind of gear. The district, the regions second largest by enrollment, announced on Thursday the creation of an eight-member Emergency Response Team. If there is a life-threatening incident, they will rapidly deploy to contain, control and neutralize any threat to the safety and welfare of our students, staff and visitors, the district said. The announcement included a photo of a marked Northeast ISD police cruiser with a ballistic body shield propped against it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Members of the new team are trained and equipped to handle emergency situations, the district said. Several have military backgrounds, and one has SWAT experience, North East said. Superintendent Sean Maika said the district wants to be the best district at the prevention of school violence but is also committed to implementing additional layers of security. North East ISD already has a police force. Officers are stationed at each of the districts middle and high schools, and there are armed safety specialists at elementary schools. The Emergency Response Team is different because all eight of them are going to be training together, so they will be able to work together as a team if needed, said Aubrey Chancellor, the districts executive director of communications. They will be divided in teams of two throughout our school district, and theyll have quadrants theyre assigned to patrol. She added that the team will have additional equipment that our police officers do not have, including ballistic shields capable of withstanding rounds fired by semiautomatic rifles, Chancellor said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The district is covering the cost of the new positions by reallocating funds internally, Chancellor said. Officials have applied for grants to offset the cost of new vehicles and equipment, which she estimated at $250,000 to $300,000. The new team is under the command of the districts police chief, Wally McCampbell. Chancellors statement that team members will have rifle-rated shields is significant because high-powered, AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles have become the weapon of choice for school shooters, including those responsible for the 2022 Uvalde shooting, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut and the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The police response to the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde was hobbled by the lack of rifle-rated shields, the Express-News reported on Sunday. Nineteen fourth-graders and two teachers were killed by a teenager wielding an AR-15. The first officers on the scene rushed to the classroom where the assailant was holed up. They retreated after he fired a volley through the door and the wall, injuring two officers. Uvalde police then issued urgent requests for law enforcement agencies to bring rifle-rated shields to the scene so they could confront the attacker. The U.S. Marshals Service delivered two rifle-rated shields to the school, but the first did not arrive until 48 minutes after the gunman began his rampage and 42 minutes after officers began asking for the equipment. The Uvalde Police Department had two pistol-rated shields, but they would not have protected officers against the attackers rifle, a special Texas House committee reported after investigating the massacre. Shiga, Aug 02 (News On Japan) - Monks training in Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, performed the 'Isaki-no-saotobi' (jumping from a beam at Isaki) ritual, diving into Lake Biwa from a pole 7 meters high. 'Isaki-no-saotobi,' held annually on August 1st at Isakiji Temple in Omihachiman City, is a traditional event believed to date back to the Heian period. The monks dive into the lake bearing the wishes of the people, an act known as 'sacrificial practice.' The pole, extending about 14 meters from a cliff, saw twelve monks who had completed a 100-day spiritual practice at Mount Hiei, jumping one after another from the 7-meter height, hands clasped in prayer. Source: YOMIURI By Rachel Okporu Fadoju Six protesters have been reportedly shot dead, with many others sustaining injuries in the ongoing hardship protest in Suleja, Niger State. Naija News learnt that the victims were killed while security operatives were struggling to dislodge a group of protesters who mounted a barricade on a section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway, trapping motorists for several hours. However, an uproar occurred after the arrival of the reinforcement team, which was sent to restore sanity to the area. A resident of Hassan Dalatu Road, Suleja, identified as Yahaya Nda Isah, was reportedly hit by a stray bullet while on his bike in front of the Suleja Police A division, where protesters had assembled. A nephew of the deceased who spoke with Daily Trust said his uncle was on his bike without joining the ongoing protest when the bullet fired to disperse the protesters hit him on his chest, and he died on the spot. He said, He was my uncle. He was not even protesting. He was passing in front of the Police A division where some people were protesting when stray Bullet hit him on his chest and he died. As I speak with you, I am in his house alongside other mourners. Its unfortunate. Another victim identified as Mallam Abu also said died on the spot with three other people shot at the same scene while 2 others were shot at the Suleja Junction on Abuja-Kaduna road. Spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said some hoodlums also attempted to set the Tafa LGA ablaze, but security operatives dispersed them. He said, The miscreants attempted to set the Tafa LGA ablaze, they were dispersed by the Police and military. Kaduna road and toll gate was cleared. By Ikenna Ngere Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State encountered a strong backlash from #EndBadGovernance protesters at the Port Harcourt Government House on Thursday after he offered them money for pure water. Naija News reports that the governors attempt to placate the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria demonstrators with a small monetary gesture and a request for them to disperse intensified their discontent. Addressing the protesters outside the Government House, Fubara said, I thank you for being peaceful. I thank you for coming. I feel your pain. I want to assure you that I will deliver your message to the President. Here in Rivers State, we will do everything to make life better. But all we need from you is to support the Federal Government. We know there is hunger but just be patient with the government. I will give you a small thing for you to drink pure water. At this point, the protesters erupted in frustration, shouting, No, no! Keep your money. We want good governance in Nigeria. Tinubu must go. The governors attempts to calm the crowd and clarify his intentions were unsuccessful, as the protesters continued to express their anger. Fubara eventually waved to the crowd and departed from the scene outside the Government House. By Ifreke Inyang At least three governors have declared curfew in their states, after violence broke out during the first day of the nationwide protests against hunger and bad governance in Nigeria. Kano state governor, Abba Yusuf, is the third governor to impose curfew. Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe had earlier taken similar steps to restore calm. Buni imposed a curfew in Potiskum, Gashua and Nguru areas of Yobe.. Yusuf declared a 24-hour curfew in Kano State, to further prevent looting and vandalisation of businesses and killing of innocent citizens. He directed all security agencies in the state to ensure full and immediate compliance. The French political class largely welcomed the new position expressed by President Emmanuel Macron in support of the autonomy proposal under Moroccos sovereignty as the only solution to the Sahara conflict. Most of the French political leaders, including in the left, welcomed the decision as conducive to strengthening French Moroccan ties and contributing to finding a lasting solution to a conflict that has long-lasted. In any democracy however, unanimity is ruled out. Most criticism to the new French unambiguous position in backing Moroccos territorial integrity came from some members of the left, communists and green politicians. Support for Macrons Western Sahara move came also from ardent opponents of the President like Marine le Pen, head of RN at the assembly and the party that won most votes in the recent European elections. The French government has been too slow to recognize Moroccos decades-long steady commitment to stability and security in Western Sahara, an integral part of the Cherifian kingdom. We must support all the pragmatic initiatives of the Moroccan authorities that will make it possible to consolidate peace in this territory, le Pen wrote on X. A similar position was expressed by another right-wing politician leader and head of LR political party, Eric Ciotti. I am delighted with President Macrons progress on this essential issue. I hope that this declaration will result in an indispensable and lasting rapprochement with our Moroccan friend, he said, adding long live the French-Moroccan friendship. Jean-Luc Melenchon, Head of the left coalition LFI and NFP, which won the snap elections, has yet to make his position public. In 2023, he had said that loving Morocco, meant subscribing to the legacy of the Green March. Prominent NFP winner in the recent snap elections Karim Ben Cheikh, welcomed the French position which he said he defended for a long time. The proposal for autonomy in the Sahara is the only realistic solution which makes it possible to address the issues of development, security and regional stability, for the benefit of the local populations, Karim Ben Cheikh said in a statement. Several experts and academics have also welcomed Frances move, noting that French Presidents support for Moroccos Sovereignty over its Sahara is clear, irreversible and a step in the right direction. Jerome Besnard, professor of law at the Paris Cite University, said in this vein that this position by France does justice to Morocco and its Sovereigns since the current situation is a consequence of the errors of colonial policy with regard to border delimitation. He argued that the decision will help to bring about a definitive settlement of one of the oldest international conflicts still being debated at the UN, and that Frances support would lay the foundations for enhanced economic and security cooperation between the countries of the European Union and Morocco. Frances decision to support Moroccos sovereignty over its Sahara region puts the relationship between the two countries back on track, geopolitics expert Emmanuel Dupuy on his part commented. This is a positive evolution of Frances long-awaited stance, which previously lacked sufficient clarity and coherence compared to Moroccos position, president of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe (IPSE) said, adding that the French government has now aligned its policy with the hundreds of other countries that recognize Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara. Dupuy, who is professor of law at the Paris Cite University, expressed confidence that this move will encourage other European countries to join the growing international support for Moroccos sovereignty over its Sahara. As the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty gains support by global powers to end the Sahara conflict, Algerias reactions confirm its standing as the real party to the conflict and reduce the Polisario to its actual status of a proxy militia. Prior to France making its new clear-cut position in support of Moroccos autonomy plan and its sovereignty over the Sahara, Algeria issued a statement denouncing France and Morocco while threatening to take retaliatory measures. As soon as the French position was made public, Algeria rushed to recall its ambassador to France. The Polisario reacted later parroting Algerias rhetoric. Algiers had recalled its ambassador to Madrid and took economic retaliatory measures, when Spain backed the autonomy plan as the most realistic solution to the Sahara issue. Algerias whimsical reactions not only violate the principle of sovereignty in interfering in a French and Spanish sovereign decision, but it also proves that Algeria is the genuine party to the Sahara conflict. Algerias positions and reactions to sovereign decisions in support of Moroccos autonomy plan and sovereignty over the Sahara territory show to the international community who blocks any progress towards the autonomy solution, as a win-win, feasible, and realistic solution. These Algerian hysterical reactions vindicate Moroccos stand which insists that any resumption of the UN process requires the participation of Algeria, which it rejects. Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch arrived in Nouakchott on Thursday to represent King Mohammed VI at the inauguration ceremony of Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani as President of Mauritania for a second term. Ould El Ghazouani has comfortably won Presidential re-election in July after securing 56.12% of the votes in the first round. Following his victory, the Moroccan King sent him a message of congratulation and reaffirmed steadfast determination to work with him to enhance further cooperation set between the two countries which are building a model partnership based on strong bonds of brotherhood and solidarity. On his part, the Mauritanian president renewed, in a message of congratulations to King Mohammed VI on Throne Day, his resolve to work together with the Monarch to strengthen and develop cooperation relations between Morocco and Mauritania, in the interests of the two brotherly peoples. Angola, which is mediating in the conflict, announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached on Tuesday July 30 between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, which supports the M23 rebellion in North Kivu. A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Kinshasa and Kigali in the conflict between the Congolese army and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebellion in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Angolan mediator announced on Tuesday July 30. The second ministerial meeting between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, held here in Luanda under the mediation of Angola, resulted in the establishment of a ceasefire that will take effect at midnight on August 4, 2024, said the Angolan presidency. Since the end of 2021, the armed forces of the DRC and the rebels of the M23 (March 23rd Movement), a Rwandan-backed movement that has taken up arms again after several years of dormancy, have been clashing in North Kivu. Large swathes of the region are in the hands of the insurgents. The ceasefire will be supervised by the ad hoc verification mechanism, which will be strengthened, Luanda said, referring to the pacification system already created in response to the violence. The agreement follows a 15-day humanitarian truce that expires on August 3, and commits the belligerents to silence their weapons and provide humanitarian personnel with unhindered access to vulnerable populations. The first two weeks of the humanitarian truce were announced by Washington on July 5. However, this has not been respected in some areas. In particular, four young civilians, including two children, were killed on July 15 in a bombardment in Bweremana, a town in the Masisi region located some fifteen kilometers west of Goma, the provincial capital. In a dramatic turn of events, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, Sudans military leader, narrowly escaped a drone strike during an army graduation ceremony in eastern Sudan. The attack, which claimed five lives, underscores the ongoing turmoil in the country since the 2019 uprising that ousted long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. The incident occurred in Gebeit as the ceremony concluded, with two drones targeting the gathering. Videos circulating online captured the chaos that ensued, showing people fleeing and looking skyward as the attack unfolded. Remarkably, footage later emerged of a smiling Burhan surrounded by cheering supporters, seemingly unfazed by the assassination attempt. In his first reaction after escaping the assassination attempt, General al-Burhan was reported as saying We will continue the war as long as the enemy is in the homes of civilians and as long as they surround the cities. We will not surrender, we will not negotiate and we are not afraid of drones, he reportedly said. This attack comes against the backdrop of a bitter conflict between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group. The fighting has forced the military leadership to operate primarily from eastern Sudan, near the Red Sea coast. The timing of the attack is significant, coinciding with recent developments in peace negotiations. The RSF leader had expressed intentions to participate in U.S. and Saudi Arabia-brokered ceasefire talks in Switzerland. However, the military-controlled government has set conditions for these negotiations, insisting on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration as a prerequisite. The conflict has spawned a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions, with over 10 million people displaced since April 2023. As the country grapples with this turmoil, the assassination attempt on Burhan adds another layer of complexity to Sudans already fragile political landscape. Ukraines military intelligence agency (GUR) has claimed it had provided the Tuareg separatist rebels with information that facilitated the devastating attack on Malian government troops and their allied mercenaries from Russias Wagner Group, now called Africa Corps. Malis military has acknowledged, in a rare admission of a defeat, that it had suffered a large number of deaths in a two-day clash with Tuareg rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militants in a town bordering Algeria last week. Also, dozen of Russian fighters, who were accompanying Malian government troops on patrol, were reportedly killed or captured by Tuareg separatist militants. In a surprise turn of events, Andrii Yusov, GURs spokesman, made a startling revelation this week that the agency was involved in the deadly ambush in the West African nation of Mali, thousands of miles away from the frontline in Ukraine. The rebels received necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals, Yusov stated. According to observers, Ukraine seems to have been able to flip Russias playbook, possibly disrupting Wagners African gold operations and emerging as a surprise regional power broker. The fight is global now. You cannot limit it to one theater, said security analyst, Omar Ashour, highlighting the strategic shift. Even if its less than 80, it is a highly significant loss for Wagner, Ashour told Euromaidan Press. Were talking about a small company size if you lose one in one operation, thats a big loss. The scale of this loss is seen as rather unprecedented for Russian forces in Africa, who have been active in Mali and other countries to support local regimes and counter Western influence. The attack has sent shockwaves through the region and posed significant questions about Russias proxy strategy in the Sahel. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted On July 30, 2024, a resolution lifting the arms embargo on the Central African Republic. The embargo had been imposed in 2013 after the start of the civil war, then modified and renewed in 2023. Arms destined for the army were still subject to a declaration requirement. Bangui is now hailing a diplomatic victory that puts an end to a terrible injustice. The satisfaction of the authorities of the Central African Republic (CAR) is expressed by Sylvie Baipo Temon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who speaks of pride and satisfaction, evoking a happy result, the fruit of long and hard work during which the CAR had to battle to recover an essential right to its sovereignty. Indeed, this was a recurrent demand of the Central African authorities. Over the years, however, the embargo had been relaxed. Since 2022, the authorities have only had to report arms purchases to the monitoring committee. A kind of right of oversight that upset Bangui. The Central African Republic said it was losing the upper hand against armed groups in possession of increasingly sophisticated weapons. Viva Aerobus Viva Aerobus The low-cost Mexican airline Viva Aerobus plans a new route between San Antonio International Airport and the popular business and vacation destination of Guadalajara. The route will begin on Dec. 2 and fly back and forth between San Antonio and Guadalajara International Airport in Mexicos Jalisco Valley four times a week, according to a news release from the airport. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Viva is also ramping up its service between San Antonio and Monterrey, Mexico, starting on Nov. 1, according to the airport. That route currently operates twice a day and the airline plans to increase it to three times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. San Antonio already has a direct flight to Guadalajara operated by the Mexican airline Volaris, according to the airports website. Volaris introduced the flight in 2013, with its CEO, Enrique Beltranena, calling Guadalajara the Silicon Valley of Mexico. He also mentioned that thousands of migrants from the area had settled in U.S. cities and wanted to travel back to visit friends and relatives, with the alternative being a 28-hour bus ride. Viva Aerobus is doing so well expanding its nonstop service to Mexico, Jesus Saenz, director of airports with the city of San Antonios Aviation Department, said in a written statement. Guadalajara is a popular destination for business travelers, tourists who want to check out the birthplace of mariachi music and for people in our community who want to visit their friends and relatives. The San Antonio flight is one of eight that Viva is launching from Guadalajara International, with half of those to U.S. destinations. The four new routes to the USA will strengthen the regions international connectivity, Vivas CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua said in a written statement. We see great potential in the Guadalajara market. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The new flight announcement is a patch of blue sky in an otherwise gloomy week for the San Antonio airport after JetBlue Airways revealed that it will cut its daily flights between San Antonio and Boston and between San Antonio and New York as it struggles to return to profitability after losing $716 million in the first three months of this year. A spokesperson for the airline said it was leaving San Antonio due to under-performance and lack of customer demand. Boston has long been a coveted flight destination for the local business community. After JetBlue pulls its service, travelers will still be able to fly nonstop to New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport on Delta Air Lines. Saenz told the Express-News that his team was a little surprised by JetBlues decision and that the daily Boston flights have mostly been full. He said the airport aims to attract another airline to offer a nonstop route to Boston. Boston is very critical to us, he said. Were already leaning in and having conversations with other carriers about obtaining that service. Or if at some point JetBlue wants to resume service, then we would be excited for that as well. Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani received, on Thursday in Nouakchott, Moroccos Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, who represented King Mohammed VI at the investiture ceremony of the Mauritanian Head of State for a second five-year term. In a statement to MAP following the audience, Akhannouch said that he informed the Mauritanian President of the Kings determination to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Akhannouch also conveyed the Monarchs congratulations to the Mauritanian President on his re-election, and his wishes for further progress and prosperity for the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Head of Government stressed that the Mauritanian President expressed, during the audience, his firm desire to consolidate the brotherly relations between the two countries and to further develop them in the interests of the two brotherly peoples. Akhannouch also said that Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani asked him to convey to the King his greetings and wishes for further prosperity for the Kingdom. Winston Nguyen, a Saint Anns teacher charged with preying on students, during his arraignment last week. Photo: Alex Kent This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. The texts started coming in right after the arrest, a symphony of vibrations in the pockets and Rachel Comey fanny packs of Brooklyns private-school set. Students messaged their friends and parents, who in turn formed frantic group chats with other parents. The details were fuzzy on June 6, but what they knew for sure was this: Winston Nguyen, a math teacher at Saint Anns School, where parents pay up to $60,525 a year for a nontraditional, grades-free education that might one day gain their kids entry to Brown or Harvard, had been arrested in front of students. Six weeks later, Nguyen, 37, was charged with 11 felony counts, accused by prosecutors of posing as a teen and fellow student on Snapchat, where he allegedly asked children at Saint Anns and three other Brooklyn private schools to send him nude, sexual images. Had this been Nguyens first felony, an unforeseeable, unpreventable incident that caught the school off guard, the reaction from parents might have been more shock than blind outrage. But they had been uneasy since finding out years earlier that Nguyen once served a prison sentence for fraud long before Saint Anns, knowing full well of his criminal past, had hired him. Not only did school leadership brush off parents when they expressed concerns, parents say, but administrators allowed Nguyen to work as a private tutor for students and moved him from office administration to the classroom, despite the fact that he had never worked as a teacher and did not have professional experience in mathematics. Nguyen, as it would turn out after his arrest, had a long history of deception prior to his conviction: Hed conned roommates, friends, and his own family. Saint Anns is known as an artsy, bohemian alternative to the elite private schools across the East River with just as much social clout (its popular among celebrities, and alumni include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lena Dunham, Zac Posen, and Jennifer Connelly) and academic prestige (a quarter of this years graduating class is going on to an Ivy League university). Parents say they feared interrogating leadership about Nguyen could be interpreted as their clashing with the schools liberal bent, and none of the 12 interviewed for this article would speak with their names attached, out of fear that they would upset the administration or get canceled by other parents for breaking ranks. For parents tired of walking on eggshells, Nguyens arrest was a turning point. They wrote letters demanding that anyone still at the school who was responsible for hiring Nguyen be fired. The staggering reality theyre now faced with is that Saint Anns wasnt conned. The school deliberately exposed students to a criminal and misled parents and faculty when it claimed to have done its due diligence: Nguyen was not caught lying about two of the schools he claimed to have worked at previously. What remains is not only the damage Nguyen allegedly inflicted on his young students and their families but an institution and a community in crisis. An unwritten contract between parents and the school is that the former will stay at arms length, putting faith in administrators and teachers to educate their kids without much interference. Theres no PTA, and the oft-repeated saying is that as a parent, you drop your kids off at kindergarten and pick them up at graduation. As some parents talk about pulling their kids out of the school and others call for an independent investigation, they all are asking the same question: How did the school they had entrusted with their kids, one that claims to be unabashedly committed to excellence, welcome a con man into the classroom? Nguyen grew up far from the moneyed neighborhoods where many of his former students live, raised by parents from Vietnam who lived in Texas and worked hard to send him to a private high school outside Houston. He got into Columbia University and, in 2005, moved to the city to begin his Ivy League career. It didnt last long, according to a former roommate, who said Nguyen claimed his studies were derailed by mental-health issues. Nguyen took two years off from school and began living a peripatetic life, bouncing around from Mexico, where he spent time with an organization that taught children about sexual responsibility, according to his Facebook page, to Oregon, where he worked on Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, to a part-time job as an administrative assistant at Summerbridge, an educational program based in the Town School on the Upper East Side. In 2009, when Nguyen returned to Columbia, he seemed to be a changed man. Hed embedded himself in a new group of younger friends, mostly freshmen, who recalled this confident, somewhat enigmatic older classmate seemingly appearing out of nowhere in their suite one day. They described him as both magnetic he easily chatted up bartenders and knew security guards by name and eccentric, citing the time he created a jungle room in his apartment to house his two pet rabbits, two chinchillas, and three cats. In 2013, Nguyens family made the trip from Texas for convocation, where he posed in a cap and gown with his father and sister outside the university gates. About that time, he picked up work as a part-time home aide to Bernard Stoll, approaching 90, who had recently gone blind and needed someone to help him and his wife, Flo, around their Upper East Side apartment. He quickly endeared himself to the Stolls, cooking meals for them and reading to them, and they even spent Thanksgiving together. Nguyen at Columbias 2013 convocation. Photo: Doan Nguyen/Facebook And he showered his friends with generosity: picking up group bar tabs, taking them to see Hamilton when tickets were pricey and hard to come by, and treating them to over-the-top dinners at expensive restaurants like La Grenouille. His friends didnt question where the money came from. I really thought he was Asian royalty, one of them said. Plus there was at least one plausible explanation for his spending spree: In July 2014, he appeared on Jeopardy!, where he won $10,067. Nguyens charisma and cash opened the city up to his friends in ways they otherwise couldnt afford. During his Jeopardy! appearance, hed told Alex Trebek of his passion for ballet, namely, that he collected signed pointe shoes: Its a little odd and fun. By that point, Nyguen had joined the Young Patrons Circle of the New York City Ballet, donating thousands of dollars over the course of five years; he occasionally slipped backstage at Lincoln Center. He attended performances, poker fundraisers, and galas around the city. He was often photographed at such events, usually posing in a tuxedo and colorful bow tie. Nguyen befriended numerous dancers, most of them female. When the sister of one was getting married, he joined the bachelorette party in Florida, where he posed with the group in front of Disney Worlds Cinderella Castle, wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a pink checked bow tie. (Friends say Nguyen later told them he paid for the trip.) Outwardly, he built himself up to be a socially connected, Ivy Leagueeducated, budding philanthropist. In reality, he was a college dropout. Despite posing in his cap and gown, Nguyen did not tell his family that he hadnt earned enough credits to finish college, according to a former roommate. I was very upset about that, they said. I left the apartment while they were there because I hated that he was lying. He was living in an unremarkable three-bedroom apartment in Harlem he shared with two others. Nguyen was in charge of collecting rent and paying the landlord. But in 2014, the roommate learned that Nguyen hadnt paid rent for eight months hed been pocketing the money. The cracks in Nguyens public persona eventually started to show. After he made a young dancer uncomfortable by entering the womens dressing room, the New York City Ballet banned him from going backstage, according to a former roommate. (A spokesperson for the ballet said that backstage areas are typically not open to the general public, the fact of which ballet administrators needed to remind Nguyen after several trespasses.) His focus on younger women in particular began to unnerve some of his friends. We always felt like we kind of aged out because he moved onto the ballet girls after us, said a friend who was 18 when he met Nguyen at Columbia. It was like he always had a younger set of friends he was befriending. It was always unusual to us, and I think at one point we told him to be careful because we felt like there was a line being crossed. Many of Nguyens friends only knew the version of himself he wanted them to see. So it was a surprise when, in May 2017, he was arrested at the Stolls Park Avenue home. Initially, they assumed the arrest had something to do with his relationships with young dancers. Instead, they found out that Nguyen had funded their nights out by stealing from the Stolls, opening multiple lines of credit in their names, and withdrawing large sums of cash from their checking accounts. To cover up the theft, he had forged eight bank statements and, at one point, he created an email account posing as the Stolls adult son to deal with the couples condo board when they were late paying maintenance fees. When the Stolls daughter-in-law noticed the discrepancies in the couples expenses, she called the police. By the time he was caught, Nguyen had stolen $335,000. Three months later, Nguyen was indicted on a variety of theft and fraud charges and for endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. Former friends say he lashed out afterward, accusing them of pressuring him to spend and therefore steal the money. He said that he felt like he couldnt live up to expectations, class-wise, said a former friend he first met in college. He twisted the story. Jeopardy! in 2014. Photo: Jeopardy/Youtube In 2018, Nguyen agreed to a plea deal that included six months in prison and forfeiture of items hed bought with the Stolls money (including three Disney autograph books, 14 gold-colored goblets, a bag of Harry Potter coins, and multiple sets of suspenders and bow ties). As part of the deal, Nguyen was required to finish college; he did just that, completing his final course that December and earning a B.A. in classics. The following month, Nguyen began serving his sentence at Rikers Island, where he became a prison-reform advocate, twice calling into The Brian Lehrer Show to push then-Mayor Bill de Blasio about issues at the jail, including its dilapidated state, slow mail delivery, and why there was a program for mothers to visit with their newborns but no program for new fathers. I know this sounds like a very Ivy League thing to say, but theres a lot of diversity, community, and peacefulness here. Theres a very strict moral code, he said of his fellow inmates. After his release, he sent a letter arguing about the jails definition of sexually explicit material and sued the head of the Department of Correction over conditions at Rikers. (The suit was thrown out.) Soon, Nguyen was building a different persona, finding a full-time job at Saint Anns, a place that attracted the kind of people hed been trying to ingratiate himself with for years Hollywood actors and directors, intellectuals, and the very wealthy. The school itself was a status symbol, one that well-connected New Yorkers would recognize, and its insular nature seemingly worked to Nguyens advantage. The fact that parents were often kept in the dark and seemed to accept that as a condition of their childrens exclusive education allowed him unique access to his next alleged victims their children. Like schools across the country in 2020, Saint Anns was scrambling to adjust to remote learning. That year, the school sought to hire a special assistant for COVID-related projects. Nguyen had a connection through his old boss from Summerbridge, Maureen Yusuf-Morales, who had recently started as the head of the upper school, overseeing grades six through eight. After an interview and background check, he was hired by Vince Tompkins, the head of school, and Melissa Kantor, the dean of faculty. (Tompkins and Kantor did not respond to interview requests.) The next school year, however, Nguyen added math teacher to his job title. It may have helped that hed lied, stretching his resume to include schools that members of the Saint Anns community would recognize: Nguyens professional experience listed on the schools directory claimed hed worked as a diversity consultant for Columbia University, East Harlem Scholars Academy, and the Town School. A representative for East Harlem Scholars said theres no record of Nguyens having worked there. The Town School said he never worked as a diversity consultant. A spokesperson for Columbia said they were unable to verify the work history of consultants. Yusuf-Morales was not aware that Nguyen was misrepresenting his previous work experience to Saint Anns, according to her lawyer. Saint Anns hiring philosophy opened doors to Nguyen he might not have found at other schools that require degrees in education. The school has a reputation for catering to gifted students, and it adopts more of a college model where experts lead classrooms, such as scholars, researchers, mathematicians, musicians, working artists, and writers, according to a report from a consulting firm hired by the school a few years ago. These teachers are given an unusual amount of freedom. The ethos around Saint Anns has always been that its faculty driven, said a parent. Another parent said that this hiring philosophy is part of the appeal for many families: The thinking goes, Why have someone with an education degree teach fine arts or English when a painter or writer can? But it can also cause problems. Parents said students in younger grades, where foundational skills are taught, are sometimes left with inexperienced instructors who struggle to effectively teach their kids. Theres such spottiness in terms of teacher quality, said a parent. With no grades, it can be difficult for parents to assess their kids progress, and the school has what it calls an intentional structure where parents are asked to communicate with their childs division head rather than their teachers, because the central relationship in the school is between teachers and students. The math department in particular is treated as an afterthought, parents said Kantors husband, a poet, taught math at the school for several years. Many parents hire tutors, either because the school suggests it or theyre alarmed at what their kids arent learning in the classroom. Some are paying almost as much in tutoring as tuition, said one. Nguyen was one of those tutors for hire. A month into the 202122 school year, Nguyens math students searched his name online, found stories about his criminal past, and asked him about it. Administrators quickly went into damage-control mode: That day, Tompkins, the head of school, emailed parents of students in the class with the subject line A note about Winston, notifying them for the first time that the school had knowingly hired someone with a criminal record to teach their children algebra. He told parents that Nguyen had proactively disclosed his past conviction for what the school called financial crime during the hiring process and that the school had conducted a standard background check during which it seemingly did not find out he lied about parts of his work history. We considered the nature of the situation carefully at the time, discussed it at length with Winston, spoke to individuals who provided strong references, and ultimately made the decision to proceed with hiring him as an administrator, he wrote. Tompkins went on to share, I can assure you that as with any teacher we hire, we are confident in Winstons ability and fitness to educate and care for our students. He added that Yusuf-Morales and the eighth-grade dean had met with Nguyens students and would support the students and Winston in moving forward together and ensuring that the classroom remains a place of trust centered around learning. When parents read the email and faculty members found out about Nguyens crimes, several of them contacted administrators, who they say dismissed their concerns. One parent said that when they met with Tompkins, he told me that they were still comfortable with how they had handled hiring [Nguyen], and the whole matter, and they didnt feel it was something that needed to be told to parents because they were comfortable with him in the classroom. The school reiterated that it had always hired nontraditional candidates, the parent added. Though what made Nguyen particularly unusual is that not only was he a nontraditional candidate; he also was not an expert in the subject he was teaching. Yes, there are a lot of teachers with nontraditional backgrounds, but historically they have been people who were actually experts, the parent said. Since COVID, the qualifications seemed to be much sketchier. One of the many social events Nguyen attended as a high roller before his fraud arrest. Ultimately, parents moved on, in part because they felt they had no choice. Competition to get into Saint Anns is fierce, and parents with children whove managed to attain a coveted seat are hesitant to rock the boat and potentially jeopardize their childs standing with the school. In a system without grades, parents said reviews by teachers and administrators have extraordinary power over their academic future. Theyre also playing the long game. Once a loose school for genius artist types, Saint Anns is now viewed primarily as a pipeline from Brooklyn to the Ivy League. As with other private schools in the city, there are fears around kids being counseled out if they struggle to keep up academically. Three parents whose children were counseled out of Saint Anns describe the process as cold and confusing, with little communication from the school. Parents worry not only what this might do for their childrens college prospects but also their mental health. Nerves were rattled after Ellis Lariviere, an artistically talented eighth-grader with an attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia, died by suicide in early in 2021, after the school told his parents he was not welcome back for high school. (Tompkins and the board were subjects of a lawsuit filed by the boys parents, which is ongoing.) It helped Nguyen that he knew how to spin his story into one of remorse and redemption. He told a food writer interviewing him about prison meals that since serving time, hed found religion and had refocused his life on helping others. He said, I keep thinking, What can I make of this for the greater good? Helping my students helps me. He also proved to be a good math teacher. Students liked him. He inspired kids to do their work and offered them extra support, said a parent whose child was in his class. In hindsight, its hard to know what his motivations were in offering support. He had a polarizing effect on some of his colleagues, however: Some came to view him as a hardworking teacher, while others were uncomfortable with the way he endeared himself to students. Parents said he gave kids gifts, kept candy in his office, and treated students to boba tea and Starbucks. Two years after Nguyens criminal history became widely known to the Saint Anns community, the school leaned into it. This past year, he taught a seminar called Crime & Punishment, including an examination into what constitutes a morally appropriate punishment and under which the state can justifiably deprive someone of their life and liberty, per the schools course catalogue. Another part of the course promised to look at the merits of the criminal justice reform bills currently up for consideration in New York State. Early this year, the Brooklyn district attorneys office received a report that a suspicious Snapchat account was soliciting sexual images of minors, including Saint Anns students. At the same time, a parent made a similar report to the school. Settling into his role as the new head of school was Kenyatte Reid, a Saint Anns parent who had worked in the citys public-school system for three decades. He later told parents that he had consulted with the parent of the alleged victim and gave them control over whether to tell the rest of the school community. The parent opted to stay quiet. In a written statement to New York, Reid said, Saint Anns administrators had no prior knowledge that Winston was under investigation in any capacity and only learned of the potential case against him following his June 6 arrest. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing review. In March, Reid spoke with Nguyen about unrelated matters and told him the school would not be renewing his contract, which was set to expire in August. A few months later, investigators began to home in on Nguyen. On June 6, a few hours after classes let out and just days before the end of the school year, Nguyen was arrested outside the school building while investigators bearing a search warrant went inside to seize electronics and other evidence. It was common for kids to be at school late for clubs and activities, and some students witnessed the arrest. Parents messaged each other until one dominant group chat called SA Concerned Parents took hold, eventually growing to over 250 confused, angry, and worried members. I think every single Saint Anns parent would tell you they are for second chances and they are very left leaning and understand the flaws in our criminal-justice system and the need for reforms, one parent told us, but not at the expense of children. Another parent who recently left the school said the arrest only affirmed her familys decision. I kept thinking, Why am I spending $60,000 a year for a school where the teacher has no experience? And now theyve got this guy who was a felon? You know, it just seemed kind of crazy. It just made me like, We are leaving and good riddance. Im out. In the middle of the night, Reid notified parents of Nguyens arrest and followed up four days later to say he was a suspect in an ongoing investigation regarding the dissemination of inappropriate sexualized images. (If Nguyen tried to contact anyone, Reid wrote, they should notify the school.) In the absence of more communication from the school, the group chat turned into a firestorm of rumor and speculation. Parents pieced together whatever information they could glean from their kids: Several teenage boys had been contacted by an account with a Bitmoji for a profile photo and a mash-up of popular Brooklyn names and were sent a photo of a clothed teenage girl, along with a message asking if they had any photos to share in return. With the details of the alleged crime still a mystery, parents zeroed in on whom they believed should be held accountable. There was speculation among some parents that Nguyen had been hired as part of new initiatives in 2020 after the summers racial-justice protests. That June, Tompkins sent a three-page email to the school community outlining, among other things, steps to diversify the schools faculty and broaden its outreach for job candidates. I think some of Vince Tompkinss decision-making wasnt just about kids education, said a parent. I think some of that has backfired pretty spectacularly. One group of parents decided that anyone who was still working at the school who had played a decision-making role in hiring Nguyen needed to be fired. Tompkins was already retired, and Kantor was moving on to become assistant head of school at Trinity, the prestigious private school on the Upper West Side. That left Yusuf-Morales, who they knew had worked with Nguyen previously. On a Zoom organized by parents with more than 100 participants, some people encouraged each other to write individual letters to the school, according to multiple parents who tuned in. The group chat became, in part, a place for a subset of predominantly white parents to air longer-held grievances against Yusuf-Morales, an immigrant woman from a Muslim family. According to multiple people in the chat, parents took issue with her responsiveness and tone; one parent alleged that shed told them to check your privilege. When a parent equated the mood of the chat to a witch hunt, another parent responded that theres nothing wrong with a witch hunt if it catches a warlock. Nguyen and his attorney, Frank Rothman. Photo: Alex Kent Nguyen and Rothman during a court appearance last week. Photo: Alex Kent When Nguyen was finally charged last Thursday, the allegations laid out in the criminal complaint were worse than parents imagined. Using the Snapchat handles hunterkristoff and haircutbongos, Nguyen allegedly operated a child-sex-abuse ring that victimized five girls and one boy, ages 13 to 15, who attended Saint Anns, Berkeley Carroll, Packer Collegiate, and Poly Prep Country Day. The complaints narrative begins in May 2022, seven months after Saint Anns parents and faculty had first expressed concern about Nguyen teaching. Posing as a fellow student, Nguyen started a sexually explicit chat with a student that went on for a year and a half, and at some point included asking the student to send him explicit images. Another student was sent a sexually explicit video. The pattern continued up until the week before Nguyens arrest, when he allegedly offered to pay one victim for a video of them engaged in sexual performance. (His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.) There are hard-core Saint Anns parents who precisely chose the school because of the lack of parental involvement, said one parent. And then this happens and it forces the recalibration: We were okay trusting you, and you abused that trust. In the group chat, conversation bounced between the alleged crimes and curriculum ideology. Some called for the school to clean house. Reid, for his part, tried to lower the temperature of heated parents, who read his first two emails after Nguyens arrest and felt they were once again being shut out. He held listening sessions with roughly 20 parents at a time, providing a sounding board for their distress. The mood was heavy, but not angry; Reid himself was emotional, a parent said. The sessions proved to be a turning point, and some left feeling optimistic that Reid would continue to communicate with them in a more human way than Tompkins had. Still under pressure, Reid later said that the school hired attorneys from Debevoise & Plimpton, a large white-shoe law firm based in New York, to conduct an external investigation into how Nguyen came to be hired in the first place and his time at Saint Anns. But with the investigation barely underway, Reid announced in a letter on Tuesday that Yusuf-Morales would not be returning for the upcoming school year. While that decision may have satisfied her critics, others are reeling. My reaction is that Mo is being used as a scapegoat in this situation, said a faculty member, who added that some fellow employees are very upset and angry at how all of this has gone down. So far, they havent been able to get clear answers on why their colleague is leaving. This is a place Ive worked at and have loved dearly, they said. It is full of so many wonderful teachers, administrators, parents, and students. But the core of the school feels rotten to me after this. Des Salomone, an employment-discrimination attorney hired by Yusuf-Morales, spoke in broad terms but conveyed a similar message. In my general capacity as an employment and civil rights attorney, I am seeing more and more instances of brilliant, consummate professionals facing fallout in connection with their principled work in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Salomone said via email. Its a deeply disheartening trend because usually the people who undertake such work embody marginalized identities themselves. Yusuf-Morales did not have the authority to hire, and did not hire Nguyen, Salomone added. The damage of Nguyens alleged crimes has put the larger Brooklyn private-school network on edge. Packer, arguably Saint Anns largest rival in the borough and where one student was allegedly victimized, made a point to distance itself from both the school and its hiring practices. Hours after Nguyen was charged, Packers head of school, Jennifer Weyburn, sent a letter assuring parents that their school has a robust application and vetting process for all employees of the school and treat any reports of employee misconduct with utmost seriousness. I think its the vanity that made Saint Anns so hospitable to this kind of hire, said a parent, who felt sick learning the specifics of what Nguyen was accused of doing to children. That gifted-and-talented bullshit, the We only select the best kids, and the idea that in this special culture we dont have to go through the typical hiring processes because we hire gurus, we hire philosophers, whatever, she told us. It could all send a parent who believes in a progressive education, like, running to the Upper East Side. Editors Note: This story has been updated to clarify that a parent, not the district attorneys office, first reported a suspicious Snapchat account to the school. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty Images On July 16, the S&P 500 index, one of the most widely cited benchmarks in American capitalism, reached its highest-ever market value: $47 trillion. Of those 500 publicly traded companies, just seven of them made up a third of that valuation. To put it another way, 1.4 percent of those companies were worth more than $16 trillion, the greatest concentration of capital in the smallest number of companies in the history of the U.S. stock market. The names are familiar: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, Alphabet, and Tesla. They are all Silicon Valley, if not by address than by ethos. All of them, too, have made giant bets on artificial intelligence, hoping that the new technology will target better ads (in the case of Metas Facebook and Instagram), make robotaxis a possibility (as per Elon Musk), or, in the case of Nvidia, just make the chips that allow the technology to run in the first place. For all their similarities, these trillion-dollar-plus companies have been grouped together under a single banner: the Magnificent Seven. In the past month, though, these giants of the U.S. economy have been faltering. On Friday, the Nasdaq, an index of 100 tech companies shares, had fallen more than 11 percent from its peak in early July, entering a technical correction, after the likes of Google and Meta revealed that their spending on AI technology had far exceeded Wall Streets expectations. This is an amazing about-face, like weve crashed into a brick wall, Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust, told Bloomberg. This rout has led to a collapse of $2.6 trillion in their market value which, as one Twitter commenter pointed out, represents the entire market cap of Nvidia, which for a brief moment a couple of weeks ago was the most valuable private company in the world. There has been bad news all around. For example, Teslas new self-driving future seemed a lot like its old self-driving future that is, a big promise that seems unlikely to come anytime soon, if at all. And Microsoft, which owns a large minority stake in OpenAI, reported that its AI cloud-computing business hadnt grown as much as investors had expected. This steep decline in the Magnificent Seven stocks might seem like a clear signal that Wall Street has already become disenchanted with AI, that the thesis it would revolutionize industries and create a massive productivity boom anytime soon may not be such a sure thing. And that is true at least to a point. Wall Street seems to be coming to grips with the fact that AI is the kind of industry that has great marketing already built into the name. Its like saying you work in cures sounds great, if it works. Clearly, ChatGPT shows that the technology is viable. But the worst scenarios, which involve mass layoffs and a sudden concentration of political power, have also not come to pass. AI hasnt really replaced a significant number of jobs, and in the cases where it has, employers have ended up hiring people back anyway. (Lets set aside the hyperbolic predictions around Matrix-like scenarios or superintelligent computers.) That has led to something of a vibe shift. It is commonplace now to denigrate something mediocre or sloppy as having been created by AI. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs issued a deeply skeptical report on the industry, calling it too expensive, too clunky, and just simply not as useful as it has been chalked up to be. Theres not a single thing that this is being used for thats cost-effective at this point, Jim Covello, an influential Goldman analyst, said on a company podcast. AI is not going away, and it will surely become more sophisticated over the next few months, to say nothing of the long-term potential. This explains why, even with the tempering of the AI-investment thesis, these companies are still absolutely massive. When you talk with Silicon Valley CEOs, they love to roll their eyes at their East Coast skeptics. Banks, especially, are too cautious, too concerned with short-term goals, too myopic to imagine another world. So what if its not cost-effective? Its the future! Be that as it may, public companies rely on public dollars, and Wall Street has taken an about-face on its winners-take-all strategy. Another index of smaller companies, the Russell 2000, has risen by more than 11 percent amid the Magnificent Sevens rout. In terms of dollars and cents, that comes out to be about $300 billion, or less than 2 percent of the Magnificent Sevens peak valuation. But it signals that there is something much bigger going on. This is a broad base of companies, like consumer brands including E.l.f. Beauty and Abercrombie & Fitch, which simply dont have as much capital to do anything effective with AI or where the technology is beside the point. Look nobody is going to invest in a company just because it doesnt use AI. Wall Street has not gone Luddite all of a sudden. Whats happening here comes down to what Covello was talking about: the boring but necessary work of deciding what is cost-effective. Update: this story was updated to add Fridays deeper sell-off of tech companies. Who was freed from Russia According to various reports, these people have been released: Evan Gershkovich The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter had been imprisoned in Russia since March 2023 and was accused of espionage an allegation he, the Journal, and the U.S. all deny and whose unfair treatment has been widely publicized by the Journal and many other publications. Paul Whelan A 54-year-old former U.S. Marine who was detained at a hotel in Moscow in 2018 and was also accused of espionage which the his family and the U.S. also deny. He was convicted and in 2020 sentenced to 16 years in prison. Alsu Kurmasheva The 47-year-old Russian-American journalist was working as an editor for Radio Free Europe in Prague when she was arrested in 2023 after returning to Russia to visit her ailing mother. Ilya Yashin The prominent 41-year-old Russian dissident worked with opposition leaders Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov. He was serving a 8 and a half year prison sentence for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Kara-Murza A 42-year-old Russian-British activist, filmmaker, and journalist who has been a vocal critic of the Kremlin. The prominent Russian opposition figure was arrested over his criticism of the war in Ukraine after returning to the country in 2022. He has been writing columns for the Washington Post from prison. Oleg Orlov An 71-year-old activist who is co-chair of the Russian human rights group Memorial. Lilia Chanysheva A 42-year-old former accounting analyst who worked to expose corruption in the republic of Bashkortostan, and ran Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny office there. She was convicted on extremism charges last year and is being sent to Germany as part of the deal. Ksenia Fadeyeva A 32-year-old Russian dissident who was a member of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys staff. She had been detained since 2021, and is now being sent to Germany as part of the deal. Rico Krieger A German national who had been sentenced to death in Belarus after being accused of terrorism. Best in Class The Strategists carefully chosen and rigorously vetted flagship shopping guides. Learn about our methodology here, and find all our Best in Class guides here. Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers While restaurant-quality dishes can often be achieved in a home kitchen, without the proper equipment, the same cannot be said for pizza. To mimic the intense radiant heat of a commercial pizza oven, you need a pizza stone or steel. The premise of using any kind of stone or steel is that it serves as a thermal mass, holding the heat of the oven, and radiating it back into the product, says Peter Reinhart, a faculty member at Johnson & Wales University and founder of PizzaQuest.com. The best pizza stones or steels need to retain a lot of heat. Id advocate for buying as thick a steel as one can afford and is willing to handle, says pizza consultant Gregorio Fierro. Its heavy, but the good news is that it just lives in my oven. It doesnt take up much space and it helps with thermal mass in other baking applications as well. Im a chef and culinary educator at Drexel University who has been using stones for decades to make pizza at home. For this guide, I tested seven stones, irons, and steels in ovens and on grills. The main differences between them were in the time it took to preheat (the thicker they are, the longer it takes) and the time it took the stone or steel to recover, or get back up to cooking temperature to cook the next pizza at the same temperature as the previous one (the thinner they are, the longer it takes). I also talked to eight chefs, pizza experts, and cookbook authors about what to look for and what to avoid in equipping a home oven or grill to level up your pizza. Of course, if youre a home pizzaiolo, you might want to consider a dedicated pizza oven. What were looking for Material Nearly any food-safe material capable of absorbing and retaining heat can work as a thermal mass for baking. But some materials are superior for durability, ease of cleaning, and heat retention. Many chefs recommend a cordierite baking stone. This naturally occurring mineral compound is composed of magnesium, iron, aluminum, and silicon, and can withstand high heat and has good heat retention. The thicker and larger the stone, the better. Joe Beddia, chef-owner of Pizzeria Beddia and author of Pizza Camp, says cordierite is in regular deck ovens. They are heavy (and cumbersome), but theyre great. You dont even need to take them out of the oven. He and other experts I spoke to also appreciate how durable cordierite stones are. Versions made of cast iron or steel conduct and retain heat better than stone. Pizza steels typically cost about double what a cordierite stone costs but are also very durable. Pluses of a steel are its durable, wont shatter, and conducts heat beautifully, says Reinhart. Maybe too well its possible to burn pizza even in a home oven. Weight Mass is important for heat retention, but it needs to be balanced with convenience, ease of storage, and maneuverability. Stones and steels can range from just a few pounds to nearly 30. Dimensions A large rectangle or square provides a versatile platform for a variety of baking applications, whereas a smaller, more specialized stone can be limiting. Stones and steels can be as small as a ten-inch round to as large as a 16-by-16-inch rectangle that covers the rack of a typical home oven. Best pizza stone overall Sur La Table Cordierite Pizza Stone $60 $60 Material: cordierite | Weight: 12.6 pounds | Dimensions: 22 x 13.5 x This heavy, expansive Sur La Table pizza stone fills the rack of a typical home oven to create a deck-oven-style floor (a large flat-stone surface common in ovens at pizzerias). It took me just over 30 minutes to heat, and it had excellent heat retention. Like other cordierite stones, it can withstand thermal shock. Given its generous size, it can handle two personal-size ten-inch pizzas, a row of baguettes or pita, or two large loaves of bread. With a dusting of cornmeal and a pizza peel, baking with this stone feels close to professional pizza-making. While the cordierite stones themselves are all fairly similar in features, I like this one best because it encompasses all the features Im looking for: It is large enough to bake just about anything, light enough to pull in and out of the oven easily, even when hot, and thick enough to have strong heat retention and make multiple pizzas. Peggy Paul Casella, author of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Cookbook and founder of Thursday Night Pizza, has a rectangular cordierite stone in the top third of her oven. Call me a traditionalist I like the vibe of it. Its how pizzas are traditionally made. Size was also important to her: Its as big a rectangle as I could find, she says. It fills the rack of my oven and it is pretty much indestructible. You want a big rectangle, and you want it as close to an inch thick as possible. $60 at Sur La Table Buy Best-looking pizza stone Le Creuset Stoneware Round Pizza Stone $90 $90 Material: glazed stoneware | Weight: 5.63 lbs | Dimensions: 15 round While best known for its enameled cast-iron cookware, Le Creuset makes a double-sided pizza stone out of stoneware. The nonstick side has its familiar brightly colored glaze, while the reverse is unglazed. When I tested it with a flatbread and a pizza, both slid right off without requiring the ball-bearing-type action of cornmeal or semolina traditionally needed on unglazed stones. Its relatively lightweight (just over five pounds) and dishwasher safe, and it looks as attractive on the table as it does in the oven. Chef Liz Sempervive of Lilah prefers this type of pizza stone. The stoneware has the ability to control the heat to avoid burning the crust. For me, some char is nice, but burnt is bad. The stoneware also absorbs moisture and helps create a crispy crust. $90 at Amazon Buy $90 at Amazon Buy Best smaller pizza stone Williams Sonoma Square Pizza Stone $60 $60 Material: cordierite | Weight: 6 lbs | Dimensions: 14 x 16 x 1/2 For an occasional home pizza-maker, the Williams Sonoma stone is an easy one to pop in and out of the oven when needed. Just as with the Sur La Table, this cordierite stone is designed to mimic a brick-oven floor, absorbing moisture and radiating even heat. I found it worked particularly well for flatbreads and when sprinkled with cornmeal to create lift and reduce friction. $60 at Williams Sonoma Buy Best pizza stone for grilling HENCKELS BBQ Pizza Stone $38 $38 Material: cordierite | Weight: 9 lbs | Dimensions: 17.5 x 13.6 x 0.5 inches While most cordierite stones can be used in both an oven and on a grill, the Henckels glazed cordierite stone is specifically designed for outdoor pizza-making. It can withstand temperatures up to 1,500F, and at nine pounds, it is light enough to be a grill accessory and not a permanent fixture, as a heavier stone or steel would be in an oven. I used it to cook a New Havenstyle clam pie on my grill, as I wanted a combination of smoky, garlicky seafood flavors. When thoroughly preheated for 30 minutes, it yielded the leopard spotting more familiar on a Neapolitan-style crust and a slice that was cooked evenly throughout, rather than drooping at the end. $38 at Amazon Buy $38 at Amazon Buy Best baking steel overall Dough-Joe Samurai Pizza Steel $110 $110 Material: steel | Weight: 16 pounds | Dimensions: 15 x 15 x The pizza steel has only been around for home use since 2012 but has found widespread popularity among pros and home cooks in that short time. Its essentially a thick piece of armor plating on which people cook pizza, says Fierro. Much better heat retention and not damage prone. Cons? Heavy as hell. The 16-pound Dough-Joe Samurai Pizza Steel is my personal favorite, as it balances value, durability, and quality, and it creates the perfect pizza. Chef Hee Chino Chang of The Markley restaurant is also a fan and uses this steel at home. Pizza is all about cooking out moisture and radiating heat, he says. At the restaurant, the pizza oven goes up to 1,000 degrees. The steel lets me get similar results at home at half the temperature. While not much larger than the Sur La Table steel (below) in area, the mass of the Samurai means it retains substantially more heat. That becomes important for recovery time, allowing for multiple pizzas in quick succession, all with the signature leopard-spotted crust of a properly cooked pie. $110 at Amazon Buy $110 at Amazon Buy Best lightweight baking steel Sur La Table Bread & Pizza Baking Steel, Black $100 $100 Material: steel | Weight: 7.5 lbs | Dimensions: 14 x 14 x For those interested in moving to a baking steel without the over-25-pound commitment of a professional-level steel, the Sur La Table option is a quarter-inch thick and 7.5 pounds. The steel is pre-seasoned and, unlike stones, is unbreakable. It can also be used as a griddle on a grill or stovetop. I tested simple Neapolitan-style pizzas with this steel and found it got as hot as a heavier-grade steel but needed some extra time to recover after the first pie. $100 at Amazon Buy $100 at Amazon Buy Best professional-level baking steel The Original Baking Steel $169 Material: steel | Weight: 27 pounds | Dimensions: 16 x 16 x 3/8 Baking Steel started the trend for pizza steels. The 16-inch square version comes recommended by Alexandra Stafford, author of Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad, who prefers steel to stone because it is a better conductor of heat. For pizza, this means your dough will spring in the oven, which will lead to glorious bubbles throughout your crust, she says. Because it retains heat better than stone, it will help keep your oven at the proper temperature as you open and close it while launching and removing pizzas. $169 at Baking Steel Buy The Baking Steel in action. Photo: Jonathan Deutsch Best cast-iron pizza stone Victoria 15-Inch Cast Iron Comal Pizza Pan with 2 Side Handles $56 $56 Material: cast iron | Weight: 1.5 lbs | Dimensions: 15 round Less common than the cordierite or stoneware versions on this list is the cast-iron baking stone or pan, also called a comal, which is used in Latin American cooking for tortillas, arepas, or other items. Cast iron doesnt conduct heat as well as copper or steel, Reinhart says, but its wonderful and wont warp. Chef Brian Lofink, culinary director of the Royal Group, agrees. The Victoria Iron is incredibly easy to use, he says. The pan seasons extremely fast. I set it on my Weber gas grill for 30 minutes on high and lightly rubbed it down with oil. The pizza slid right off the pan with no issues and gave a cracker-crisp crust without burning the undercarriage of the pizza. The pan, being cast iron, was able to maintain its heat, so I was able to fire off six pizzas in a row without the stone losing any heat and therefore I didnt lose any time. Like the Le Creuset, the Victoria is designed as both cookware and tableware. Its two handles make it easy to make the transition from grill to table. $56 at Amazon Buy $56 at Amazon Buy Photo: Brian Lofink Other pizza essentials weve written about get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Recommended by Experts A series where we find out which products the professionals (who really know what theyre talking about) actually use and really stand behind. Read more here. Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of Fox. Generally speaking, we know how snoring happens: The back of the tongue and the soft palate where the dangly uvula hangs collapses down onto the back of the throat, resulting in narrowed airways, explains Dr. Anthony Izzo, medical director of the Sleep Center at Community Neuroscience Services. But of course, the deeper cause of this phenomenon varies from person to person. Your breathing issues could be the result of the medical condition sleep apnea. Or they might stem from sinus problems or seasonal allergies, or weight gain, or age (as we get older, we lose muscle tone in our throats, too). Experts also warn against alcohol, sedatives, and sleeping on your back. With this range of culprits in mind, we asked Izzo and three other veterans of the sleep-disorder world to recommend anti-snoring tools. The products that follow are aimed at opening up those airways, whether by adjusting the position of your body on your bed or the position of your tongue in your mouth. Update on August 27, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products. Smart Nora $360 $450 now 20% off $360 This smart device comes with an inflatable pillow insert that will gently move your head once it detects snoring. This movement helps position you onto your side to help your airway stay open and reduce snoring. According to Dr. Fatima Khan, founder of Riven Oral Care and a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, its a great device for snorers who dont have obstructive sleep apnea and dont require more in-depth monitoring from a medical professional. The great thing about Smart Nora is it is non-invasive and you do not need any oral appliances, she says. You can also adjust its sensitivity to both sound detection and movement. $360 at Amazon Buy $500 at Smart Nora Buy DoTerra Breathe Essential Oil Respiratory Blend $39 $39 Certain scents like eucalyptus can help loosen mucus in the sinuses or the back of the throat to allow for better airflow. For patients who want to try essential oils to open up their airways, Gelb cites the Breathe essential oil blend by DoTerra as a popular choice. Its a respiratory blend that includes eucalyptus, mint, and lemon oil that you apply to your chest like Vicks VapoRub and breathe in. Gelb notes, however, that this is only a temporary thing and not a long-term solution for the underlying issues that are causing the snoring. $39 at Amazon Buy $39 at Amazon Buy Zzoma Positional Device $290 $290 If your snoring is severe, you may consider investing in a positional device thats designed to prevent you from rolling onto your back. Shah recommends the Zzoma Positional Device, which fits around your waist and helps maintain a constant side-sleeping position. $290 at Zzoma Buy AVEOtsd Tongue Repositioning Device $99 $99 The Aveo is a tongue-repositioning device that Khan says is especially great for people with dentures. It works by gently pulling the tongue forward while youre asleep, to keep it from blocking your airway. Another benefit is that unlike other devices that reposition your jaw to combat snoring which can potentially change a persons bite this does not. $99 at AVEOtsd Buy Night Shift LE Sleep Positioner for Sleep Apnea $399 $399 This is another positional device Shah likes thats worn on the back of your neck. It vibrates when you turn over onto your back and increases the intensity of the vibrations until you change to a position that better opens up your airways. $399 at 1800 Cpap Buy MedCline Shoulder Relief System From $270 From $270 Izzo likes to recommend this pillow system for patients who need to sleep on their sides for snoring or sleep apnea but find it difficult to stay on their side due to a lifetime of back or stomach sleeping. The unique pillow has an arm pocket for either arm to take pressure off the shoulder and help prevent bending the upper spine or neck. It can even be purchased using FSA funds. From $270 at Amazon Buy $250 at MedCline Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. I was waiting for it, tbh. It sounds like he has been doing this for decades. Fucking monster. EDIT: his stans had the accusations removed from his wiki page. I went and edited them back on at one point and they were removed AGAIN within hours. Soemone arguing that the only sourse was a TERF reporter (I mean, honestly fuck her too, but still) as if the podcast wasn't the women speaking IN THEIR OWN FUCKING WORDS. I listened to every second of it. I sure as fuck hope theyll put it back now. But I imagine they'll continue caping for this white man Edited at 2024-08-01 03:08 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Looked at his wiki and it appears his fans scrubbed it again. There is a war in the edits, Tortoise media isn't good enough for them. I hope more mainstream publications actually pick this up. Reply Parent Thread Link I get not wanting to take news from a terf, but the podcasts are the women speaking IN DEPTH about it and I hate that he has an army of people fucking doing this. I used to be a fan too, but fuck him forever. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Paul Caruana Galizia also worked on this story, not just Rachel! In fact he did most of the reporting. Rachel Johnson isn't even part of Tortoise Media, she's a freelancer who was contacted by a source Look up Paul's background, he's l000% legit Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I had about five minutes of sympathy for Gaiman fans because learning a widely revered figure you admire is actually a POS is hard to hear. Many of us writers looked up to him but his fans are really trying to bury this. EVEN IF everything was consensual, you're still caping for a huge creep? Saw a user say this on reddit "People are in denial that their favourite who responded to their one 'Ask Tumblr' moment or made a pretty quote about books and writing that inspired them to slog through Nanowrimo could actually be a monster. If they knew how he actually thinks about his fans, they'd drop his books." Edited at 2024-08-02 12:04 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I 1000000% believe these women. I read that T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon defended him or similar. While completely admitting that I haven't looked myself, can someone confirm this? Sorry I suck. Reply Thread Link oh wtf?? kingfisher?? girl.... Reply Parent Thread Link I dont follow her, but what I saw from other folks commenting on Bluesky at the time (when the story first broke) she took the need more/better sources approach or similar - I dont think she ever actually defended him, and I believe the posts have since been deleted. It was all in a long thread responding to someone else and a bit difficult to follow tbh. Reply Parent Thread Link https://bsky.app/profile/tkingfisher.com/post/3kyojj5yngc2r FWIW she did respond to the latest news with Christ on a crutch. Reply Parent Thread Link God that would be hugely disappointing if so - I would hope she'd at least change her tune at this point. I do think there was a point in time where it seemed at least semi-credible that this was a smear campaign but it's clearly NOT at this point. Reply Parent Thread Link This honestly chills me. I loved his books growing up I cant engage in any of them or the related media again if the claims are credible. I hope he faces consequences for his actions. Reply Thread Link This is terrible. I believe these women, and I'm disgusted, disappointed, and hurt as a fan of his. It's awful when your faves do monstrous things. :( Reply Thread Link Absolutely disgusting. I believe these women and it all seems to follow a pattern with him. I read the allegations from his former housekeeper/property manager and I wanted to puke. I'm still shocked this is barely making waves. I see so many women defending him because this story wasn't broken by legacy media and I'm just... Reply Thread Link ughhhhhhhhhh god knows how many more there are. I really hope his career is kaput after this but he's a rich white man...... ugh Reply Thread Link Unfortunately I'm sure he'll be fine but there was a rumour a few months ago that people were pulling his blurbs from future books because they knew more would get out. Reply Parent Thread Link ok kill him Reply Thread Link just the other day i was like, "I think gaiman is the only male author i'll willingly read" JOKES ON ME Reply Thread Link terry prachett is great if you're looking for a replacement Reply Parent Thread Link if it ever comes out pterry was also a horrible person in secret, i will be devastated. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link One of my fave authors used to be China Mieville but he also is shit (his accuser wrote a big blog post about it, I can't google it now but it was out there a few years back at least). Reply Parent Thread Expand Link 5 decades of impunity wtf :( he must have abused so many women while becoming successful, its enraging, may he rot in hell. Reply Thread Link Amanda Palmer told Scarlett (the woman from NZ who first approached Rachel to tell the story) that she was the 14th woman to come to her. Fourteen. FOURTEEN and she did nothing. And those were only the women who had gone to Amanda about it. Reply Parent Thread Link jesus christ i was just wondering if/where amanda had been responding to this. i think i'm on her email list but i don't follow her anywhere else and seldom open up her emails. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Wait, so Amanda knew about this and kept mum? And with her being one of the really loud feminist artists in the early 2010s?! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link "On Saturday, Gaiman's Goodreads account indicated he was reading a book by the title Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder in what could clearly be read as a diss at Palmer. It was just last Sunday that Palmer announced on Patreon that the couple were separated." Damn. Maybe Amanda confronted him and that's why he added those books about dealing with a narcissist to his goodreads account and then claimed he was hacked, maybe he was trying to discredit her in case she said something after the breakup."On Saturday, Gaiman's Goodreads account indicated he was reading a book by the title Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder in what could clearly be read as a diss at Palmer. It was just last Sunday that Palmer announced on Patreon that the couple were separated." (source) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link allegedly this fucker is trying to use autism as an excuse as to why he did this and i'm like don't lump me in with you you sicko Reply Thread Link He only admitted having it a few weeks before this all came out which means he KNEW it was coming and so he revealed his diagnosis to use it as an excuse. So gross. Reply Parent Thread Link I did not realize this was the timeline. Absolutely disgusting behaviour by him. Reply Parent Thread Link These BASTARDS ALWAYS do this. ALWAYS!!! Reply Parent Thread Link Ew, gross. An abusive former friend of mine did the same to me, like.. no, autism doesn't make you abusive, shut the fuck up. Reply Parent Thread Link autism is not an excuse for being abusive, ignorant or even insensitive towards others. i hate people like him, i hate him. Reply Parent Thread Link Jesus Christ. How awful. He was my favorite author at one point :( men ruin everything. I hope these women are okay. Reply Thread Link Well, if legacy media isn't going to pay attention, I'm glad the UN at least seems to give the slightest of shits. These poor women. Their bravery, particularly in coming forward under their full names, is incredible. I can also only hope that both Scarlett and K are feeling proud of themselves, no matter the outcome. Their bravery sparked all of this. And while I hope for the sake of women everywhere that there are no more women left to come out, I sincerely doubt this ends at five victims. (The third is a woman who shared her story on the podcast Am I Broken: Survivor stories, which dropped this week.) Just a tragedy all around. Reply Thread Link Shit, at this point I'm ready to declare an automatic red flag if a man is a prominent SF/F author. I'm pissed (gaiman was one of my favorite authors), but also unsurprised. I've also found his sudden silence on tumblr VERY telling. Reply Thread Link Seeing people saying, "B-b-but my Good Omens s3!" Like if you can not play Hogwarts Legacy bc of JKR you can not watch a show or it ffs. Reply Thread Link I'm wondering will it even get made after this? I don't think they started filming it, and if that's correct I can't imagine Tennant staying involved unless he absolutely can't get out of his contract or something, and if he does pull out then there's no show. Reply Parent Thread Link It's Amazon so I assume his contract isn't something he can get out of, but he does have clout. I wonder if he can demand a different showrunner. Reply Parent Thread Link Sadly a lot of people still bought Hogwarts Legacy. Reply Parent Thread Link Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts on the Express-News Crime Team. She can be reached at ezavala@express-news.net. Born and reared in San Antonio, she graduated from Fox Tech High School in 1981 and has been a newspaper journalist since she graduated from Texas Womans University at Denton in 1985. She has worked at five daily newspapers in Texas, including The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Denton Record-Chronicle. ASSPs Safety 2024 Conference & Expo Kicking Off Soon in Denver The organizations annual event runs from August 7 to 9, 2024. Safety professionals dont have long to wait for the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Safety 2024 Professional Development Conference and Exposition. Celebrating its 63rd year, the annual event brings together safety experts and exhibitors from around the world to engage in educational and networking opportunities. Safety 2024 takes place from August 7 to 9, 2024, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Safety 2024 offers attendees over 200 educational sessions, with an emphasis on best practices, industry trends and innovations in safety products. Led by safety experts, these one-hour sessions ensure that there is something for every attendee, covering a broad range of topics such as risk management, workplace violence and AI. Attendees can also earn 1.5 continuing education units (CEUs). Dr. Jessica Kriegels opening session touches on enhancing accountability within team, emphasizing shared ownership and purpose, and setting a collaborative tone for the entire event. The expo features 550 exhibitors, offering the latest advancements and opportunities to engage with companies directly. Special features include the Career Advancement Center, Flash Sessions, and a PPE fashion show. Networking is also a key component, with tech demos, a Wednesday night social and various meetups on the schedule. Activities such as the Board Walk & Talk and the Speedy Stroll/Fun Run provide informal networking opportunities. The expo and these networking events ensure that attendees can build valuable connections and gain actionable insights to enhance safety practices at their organizations. Foot Protection for Women Proper footwear fit is critical to performance and safety for women on the job. What is the research around womens foot design and which features go into ensuring womens safety? Work boots serve several vital functions. The safety toe protects the upper of the foot. Robust soles shield the underfoot. Expertly designed traction reduces the incidence of tripping. However, when optimizing shoes for safety features alone, the resulting footwear products sacrifice efficiency and fit and amplifies many daily challenges for workers. The impact on women is outsized due to inaccurate size grading from the associated mens last and cuff of the boot. The Daily Impact of Improper Fit Over the course of a workday, female workers spend hours of standing, walking, and lifting heavy objects. These actions require the musculoskeletal system to produce forces. Any mismatch in fit of the product to the worker can cause inefficiencies, slowing the worker down and predisposing her to injury. Footwear products should enhance the fit in addition to other safety features to decrease injury risk and enhance ankle stability and efficiency. Properly fitting, ankle stabilizing footwear is essential for womens performance and safety on the jobsite, but as current designs often fail to account for gender-specific anatomical differences, there is an increased risks of injury and inefficiency. Workers recognize the negative impact from prioritizing safety features over fit. More than half of surveyed workers reported pain or fatigue in their feet, knees, hips, and backs with many associating their ailments to poorly fitting footwear. Common safety modifications (e.g. safety toes, stiff cuffs) can limit normal gait function in workers, with female workers again baring an outsized impact. For instance, the internal dimensions of work boots were compared against the dimensions of over 200 workers feet and showed most workers had excessive space in the length and inadequate width in the boots, which can result in a tripping hazard. Moreover, poorly fitting footwear, as seen in the study, can result in excessive toe clawing (or bunching of the toes) to stabilize the boots onto the foot. Consumers should find footwear that provides both the necessary protection and matches their foot dimensions to enable efficient movement throughout the day. Anatomical Differences in Footwear Fit Even in identical foot lengths, there are gender-specific anatomical differences that affect the fit and therefore performance of footwear. On average, women have a larger calf and ankle circumference than men with the same length foot. Women also tend to have a higher arch, smaller instep, and a shorter metatarsal length from the heel than men. This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Head Protection in Hot Weather: Staying Safe While Keeping Cool PPE considerations to help industrial workers mitigate the impacts of heat stress. Temperatures are rising across the United States and the world on average, year after year. Summers especially are becoming hotter and hotter, accentuated by record-breaking heat waves. In fact, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), last year was the warmest year since global records began in 1850 at 1.18C (2.12F) above the 20th-century average of 13.9C (57.0F). This value is 0.15C (0.27F) more than the previous record set in 2016. Meanwhile, the 10 warmest years in the 174-year record have all occurred during the last decade (20142023). In the United States alone, last summer more than 6,500 daily heat records fell in cities and towns all across the country. Such temperature increases are affecting the planet in strange ways; animals are changing migration patterns, plants are blooming earlier, and average annual snow coverage is shrinking. The environmental impact is being heavily documented, but what about the effect on the daily lives of workers? More specifically, what impact do rising temperatures have on people who work outdoors during the warm months, especially industrial tradespeople and construction workers? Theres no question that construction workers and related industries across the United States are feeling the impacts of climate change and heat stress. Heat is the number one cause of weather-related death in the United States, and those working outdoors are disproportionately affected by extreme heat. As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 2011 to 2021, there were 528 worker-related deaths in the United States due to environmental heat exposure. In the face of rising temperatures, staying cool and safe on construction sites is more crucial than everlives depend on it. Thankfully, industrial tradespeople, construction workers, and their respective employers are recognizing this trend, and they are planning accordingly, including introducing new types of PPE designed to not just keep workers safe from injury, but safe from the heat. Even during the high summer months, workers must equip themselves with full PPE to ensure they are safe and compliant with their worksites respective standards. However, they must also find ways and methods to stay cool on the job. That is why the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) launched its Heat Illness Prevention campaign in April 2022 to educate employers and workers on heat hazards and provide resources to keep workers safe. OSHAs message is simple yet effective, emphasizing water, rest, and shade. This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Rising Risks: Heat-related Fatalities and Hospitalizations in the U.S. Upstream Oil and Gas Extraction Industry As summer temperatures rise, the threat of heat-related illness and death to oil and gas workers increases. Oil and gas extraction (OGE) workers have the potential to be exposed to extreme heat conditions. Particularly in areas where OGE activities are extensive such as southern or western Texas (i.e., the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin, respectively), summer temperatures can routinely exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (F). These workers perform physically demanding outdoor work over 12 or more hours per 24-hour shift, increasing the potential for exposure to heat stress conditions. Studying Heat Risks in OGE Workers A recent study by investigators at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) highlighted the toll that heat stress and a combination of related factors have on the health and safety of workers in the upstream OGE industry in the United States. In the study, NIOSH scientists analyzed two databases to learn more about serious heat-related illnesses experienced by OGE workers and factors that may increase the risk for such illness. To identify potential heat-related fatalities, the scientists used the NIOSH Fatalities in Oil and Gas Extraction (FOG) Database. This database collects detailed information about OGE worker fatalities from the years 20142019. Data on these fatalities are pulled from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports, autopsy and medical reports, media coverage, and other sources. Cases of environmental exposures in which heat, hot, and temperature were mentioned were identified and reviewed for evidence that the fatalities were caused by heat. If available, data extracted included worker demographics, recorded ambient and core body temperatures, physical activities preceding the fatality, heat-related symptoms, new employee status, evidence of heat-stress training, and other occupational risk factors such as positive post-mortem drug results from toxicology screens. In addition to the NIOSH FOG database, the scientists also used the OSHA Severe Injury Report Database to examine trends among worker hospitalizations due to heat. The database includes information on severe work-related injuries reported to OSHA, including incident descriptions (e.g., date, location, North American Industrial Classification System [NAICS] code, and the source and nature of the injury). Cases of hospitalization due to temperature extremes or environmental heat among OGE company types were identified for the timeframe beginning in January 2015 through May 2021. This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Trying to Beat the Heat Some key elements of OSHAs proposed rule on heat injury and illness. Health risks and injury due to working in hot, summer conditions are regular and serious worker safety concerns. The BLS reports that 479 workers in the U.S. died from heat exposure during 2011-2022, and there were an estimated 33,890 work-related heat injuries and illnesses during 2011-2020. Thats not surprising given that workers around the United Statesand the globeare witnessing record temperatures. Last year marked the hottest year for the world since global temperature record-keeping began in 1850. Here in the United States, the heat wave that hit the West during the first week of July 2024 broke more than 50 local temperature records. To help address this serious worker safety issue, OSHA released its proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Rulemaking, the full regulatory text of which you can read at www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/rulemaking. However, let me summarize several key takeaways: The proposed rule goes into effect when employees are exposed to temperatures of 80F for longer than 15 minutes in a 60-minute period. Employers must monitor for that. When temperatures hit a high heat trigger of 90F, employers must provide a minimum 15-minute paid rest break at least every two hours. They must also implement methods such as buddy systems and employee observation to look for heat-related injuries. Employers must develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. The plan must include an evaluation of heat risks, implementation of requirements for drinking water, rest breaks, and control of indoor heat when heat increases risks to workers, and a protection plan for new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions. Employers must provide training on heat hazard prevention and outline procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness. Employers must take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency. Also, they must implement specific acclimatization procedures for new and returning workers to gradually adapt them to high heat conditions. Employers are required to maintain records related to heat exposure and the implementation of the heat injury and illness prevention plan. Remember, this is not a final rule; its a proposed rule. Anyone wishing to make comments on the proposed rulemaking has 120 days from the time it appears in the Federal Register. To do so, visit federalregister.gov, search for the rule, and find the Submit a Formal Comment. Also, we can expect possible legal challenges and similar pushback. For now, its likely that OSHA will continue making heat injury and illness citations via the General Duty clause, and many state OSHA agencies have existing heat standards. Still, monitoring OSHAs proposed rule will be essential. This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Turkeys state energy operator BOTA? Petroleum Pipeline Corporation has announced that it will increase natural gas prices for residential use by 38%, starting 1st August. BOTA? will also increase gas prices to small to medium-sized industrial customers whose annual natural gas consumption is 300,000 cubic meters or less by 33.1%. The company says it reached its decision "taking into account market conditions, market price stability, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority's (EPDK) decisions regarding tariffs and changes in purchasing-operating expenses." Turkey largely relies on gas imports and is highly dependent on Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The country also buys liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, the U.S., Nigeria and Algeria. According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), Turkey imported natural gas worth $4.54 billion in June, good for 18.2% of total imports. According to EPDK energy regulator data, domestic natural gas production mainly in the Thrace region accounted for less than 1% of Turkey's 60 bcm national consumption in 2021. The natural gas price hike comes just over a year after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to supply free gas to households during his re-election campaigns last year. We will provide free natural gas for household consumption up to 25 cubic meters monthly for one year, Mr Erdogan said at the inauguration of the onshore natural gas port in the northern province of Zonguldak. Turkey discovered Natural gas at the Sakarya field off the coast of Zonguldak in 2020, and at the adjacent Caycuma-1 field in 2023, with total volumes having since been estimated at 710 billion cubic meters (bcm). Erdogan said Turkey's Black Sea gas fields would initially produce 10 million cubic meters of gas per day before ramping up production to 40 million cubic meters per day. When we reach full capacity, we will be able to meet approximately 30 per cent of domestic consumption yearly from here, Erdogan said. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The central bank will oversee the implementation of cryptocurrency transactions, which are expected to begin before the end of 2024. This move is a strategic response to Western sanctions that have caused payment delays and disrupted trade. Russia has legalized the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for international trade. Authored by Nik Hoffman via BitcoinMagazine.com, In a significant legislative move, Russian lawmakers have passed a bill permitting businesses to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in international trade, according to a report by Reuters. This development is part of Russia's strategy to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. The new law, expected to take effect in September, aims to address delays in international payments, particularly with key trading partners like China, India, and the UAE. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, a proponent of the law, announced that the first cryptocurrency transactions will occur before the year's end. The central bank will establish an "experimental" infrastructure for these payments, with further details pending. "The risks of secondary sanctions have grown," Nabiullina stated. "They make payments for imports difficult, and that concerns a wide range of goods." The legislation also includes regulations on cryptocurrency mining and the circulation of other digital assets but maintains the ban on cryptocurrency payments within Russia. The central bank highlighted that payment delays have caused an 8% drop in Russian imports in the second quarter of 2024. Despite efforts to shift to trading partners' currencies and develop an alternative BRICS payment system, many transactions still rely on dollars and euros via the SWIFT system, risking secondary sanctions. Nabiullina emphasized that these sanctions have complicated import payments, extending supply chains and increasing costs. This decision by Russian lawmakers aims to mitigate the economic challenges posed by sanctions and ensure smoother international trade operations. Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the Duma lower house of parliament, reportedly told lawmakers, "We are taking a historic decision in the financial sphere" by passing this legislation. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Alternative battery technologies, such as cost-effective LFP batteries, are gaining traction, with major automakers like Tesla and Ford embracing them for their electric vehicles. Global battery investments are declining for the first time since 2020, primarily due to a slowdown in China's market and shifting demand dynamics in Europe and the US. Following four consecutive years of significant growth, this year is set to see a sizeable decline in global battery investments for the first time since 2020, according to Rystad Energy research. A slump in battery infrastructure investments in mainland China is largely responsible for the global slowdown, as the Asian economic powerhouse navigates phases of growth driven by policy change, increased electric vehicle (EV) adoption, supply shortages, rising raw material costs and rapid capacity expansion. A global leader in battery dynamics, China has maintained its position in lithium-ion battery (LIB) development, largely attributed to its early adoption of industrial-scale projects and rapid production growth to match its ambitious EV expansion plans. As a result, production surged more than 40% in both 2021 and 2022. Despite the pace of annual growth slowing from 2022 onwards, we understand this to be a consequence of maturity and sustained capacity expansion. With the nation achieving self-sufficiency in battery supply, Chinas attention has turned strategically towards Europe and the US, where major manufacturers are progressing from planning to production, albeit still at a nascent stage of development. In Europe, the interdependency of EVs on LIB production underscores the concern raised by investment declines this year. This downturn is primarily driven by diminishing EV market demand, which in turn poses risks of project delays and cancellations in EV infrastructure. These challenges highlight broader issues in the EV sector, evident in the financial reports and stock prices of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) globally, including Chinese manufacturers that are facing profitability issues. Furthermore, subsidies incentivize sector growth, yet high energy costs, labor expenses and bureaucratic hurdles impede progress for the industry at large. In contrast, the US has seen exponential growth in lithium demand amid increasing concerns over secure supply chains. Despite efforts to ramp up LIB production, both Europe and the US struggle with nascent industrial infrastructure. To mitigate reliance on Chinese supply chains for critical minerals, both Europe and the US are implementing policies to bolster energy security. Looking ahead, China's stronghold in global battery investment and lithium trade appears secure due to its primary access to essential resources. China's dominance in battery investment and lithium trade seems unshakeable for the foreseeable future, given their control over key resources. However, building a battery factory from scratch takes years and navigating local regulations adds even more time. This means the market two years from now remains unpredictable. Collaboration across the entire supply chain is crucial for the industry's health Duo Fu, Vice President, Battery Market Research, Rystad Energy Learn more with Rystad Energys Batteries Solution. Chinas domestic industry is undergoing consolidation as it aims to offer higher-quality battery products in the form of diversified technological advancements. Despite a surge in investment in recent years that fueled rapid LIB capacity expansion, a slowdown in demand has prompted some companies, particularly those from non-traditional sectors unable to compete on price, to exit the market. Moving forward, mere capacity expansion will prove inadequate without robust technical support. The LIB sector is witnessing a surge in innovative technologies focused on cost savings, enhanced energy density and improved safety measures. Amid these developments, the LIB sector faces challenges of insufficient high-quality production capacity, although robust companies continue to expand. As the sector enters a period of adjustment, technological innovation emerges as the linchpin for its future development. Reflecting these shifts, Chinese LIB company stocks peaked in early 2022 before gradually declining. This year, 32 listed companies in China's lithium battery sector forecast 2024 earnings ranging from a net loss of CNY 580 million ($80 million) to a profit of CNY 2.822 billion ($397 million), marking a significant year-on-year decrease. Consequently, the enthusiasm for LIB investment has waned, ushering in a phase of stability as the sector matures. Alternative battery technologies are gaining momentum, with cost-effective solutions such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries emerging as attractive options. Tesla has announced a partnership with CATL to ramp up mass production of LFP batteries through a license royalty service (LRS), while Ford is reportedly exploring a similar strategy. Mercedes and Stellantis have paused their European EV battery factory projects to reconsider their approach, potentially shifting towards more affordable LFP cells. Additionally, three South Korean battery factories have outlined plans to increase LFP cell production capacity. Advancements in battery technology include the development of new materials such as composite copper foil, silicon-based anode materials, high-nickel cathode materials like lithium ferromanganese phosphate (LFMP) and lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (LIFSI). These innovations aim to lower costs and enhance efficiency. Improvements in battery structural systems, such as the introduction of larger-sized 4680-cylinder batteries and solid-state batteries, are also under way, potentially altering the capabilities and longevity of batteries in future markets. By Rystad Energy More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Some traders are betting this week that oil prices could hit $110-$130 in November as Middle East risks reached a boiling point amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. Oil prices rallied on Tuesday and Wednesday, and were also rising on Thursday morning, following the news of Israel assassinating Hamass political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and a senior Hezbollah official in Lebanon. Brent Crude prices soared past the $80 a barrel mark this week as tensions in the Middle East flared up again, with Iran vowing to retaliate for the Israeli actions, especially the hit on the Hamas leader on Iranian territory. As prices spiked and tensions escalated, more than 300,000 call options in Brent were traded on Wednesday alone, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That was the highest volume of call option contracts traded in a single day since April this year. The call options give traders the rightbut not the obligationto buy assets at a certain price, the so-called strike price, by a certain date. In early April, traders flocked to the crude oil options market, trading record numbers of call options that Brent would hit $100 per barrel in the coming months, in the previous major escalation of tensions in the Middle East when drones from Iran attacked Israel. This week, the call options trades were dominated by large call spreads, including spreads betting on $87 to $90 oil price for October, and $110 and $130 spreads for November, showed the data compiled by Bloomberg on Wednesdays options market. Early on Thursday, Brent Crude traded 0.8% higher on the day, at $81.40, following a jump on Wednesday amid fears of a possible direct Israel-Iran conflict. The market will likely need to price in a larger geopolitical risk premium until these tensions subside, INGs commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a Thursday note. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: While some US trade partners may have limited options for retaliation, the uncertainty surrounding Trump's trade agenda poses risks for US energy producers and global energy prices. The U.S. presidential elections are four months away, but in some capitals, politicians are already getting nervous. Donald Trump has vowed to slap tariffs on pretty much everything that comes into the country. But some are getting nervous in the U.S. as well because a tariff policy could upend energy commodities. The tariff approach that Donald Trump has proposed as what seems to be the center of his trade policy is not new for him. He has favored protectionist policies since his first term in the Oval Office, and there was no reason to expect he would suddenly change tack. But there is worry that tariffs would ignite trade wars and U.S. exports would suffernotably in energy. Reuterss Clyde Russell wrote this week in a column that the tariff approach would very likely affect U.S. energy exports to Chinawhich is also the primary target of that tariff approachin a negative way. According to him, China could essentially ban all energy imports from the U.S. in response to the tariffs. That woulndt be good for oil or LNG prices. Yet it would be good for Europe, which is another big importer of U.S. energy commodities and which will benefit significantly from lower commodity prices in a scenario where Trump imposes tariffs on Chinese imports, and China retaliates with a ban on U.S. oil and gas imports. Europe, however, is in a precarious position because when Trump suggested he would put tariffs on all imports, he also meant European imports, apparently, because there is much stress in Brussels and plans are being devised on the EUs response to a change in U.S. trade policies. Per a Financial Times report from last month, the bloc is preparing two alternative responses to Trumps trade policies, should he get elected. The first one is offering a trade deal to the new administration. The other is threatening retaliation. We have to show we are a partner for the US, not a problem, a senior Brussels official told the Financial Times. We will look for deals, but we are ready to defend ourselves if it comes to it. We wont be guided by fear. It is, however, precisely fear that is urging officials on in their preparations for a second Trump presidency because they remember the first one and the tariffs that the U.S. administration slapped on some European imports at the time. Back then, Trump imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum. The EU retaliated with its own tariffson U.S. motorbikes and whiskey. It will not be much different this time, either. The EU cannot afford to threaten that it would stop buying U.S. liquefied natural gas or oil in order to retaliate for potential tariffs. That move is possible for China because China has access to alternative energy suppliers, notably Russia. The EU does not. Effectively, the EU does not have a whole lot of retaliation options against the U.S.especially in energy. Yet U.S. energy producers could find themselves in trouble, too. Reuters Russell suggests a hypothetical situation, in which all of the United States trade partners retaliate against Trump tariffs with their own. This, Russell writes, would make U/S. energy exports more expensive and force producers to offer discounts in order to stay in the global oil and gas trade game. Yet the chances of such a scenario actually materializing are rather slim. For starters, as noted, some of the U.S. largest buyers do not really have an alternative supplier, so they would simply have to keep buying U.S. oil and gas as beforetariffs or no tariffs. This is true for the EU as well as Japan, which is bound by G7 sanctions against Russia to minimize its imports of Russian energy commodities. Whats more, shunning U.S. commodities by those who can afford to do it, such as China, would pressure the prices of U.S. oil and gas, making those more palatable even with tariffs. To see what will actually happen in the event of tariffs, well have to wait until November. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com In this April 11, 2018, file photo, a high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass. Steven Senne/Associated Press Across the street from Madison High School in the North East Independent School District, the rattling sounds of a late-summer marching band rehearsal mingled with pop music welcoming customers inside a new vape shop. The walls of Smokerz Paradize are lined with electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, their vibrant labels touting flavors like cotton candy and orange creamsicle. But the store also is full of warnings signs and stickers barring anyone under 21 from entering, let alone purchasing the dessert-flavored merchandise. Smokerz Paradize, a vape shop that opened in May across the street from Madison High School, has multiple signs warning those under 21 not to enter. Melissa Manno/Express-News. Kameron Davis, 22, vapes outside the Thrive Youth Center, a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth in San Antonio, in 2019. Lisa Krantz Smokerz Paradize, a vape shop that opened in May across the street from Madison High School, has multiple signs warning those under 21 not to enter. Melissa Manno/Express-News. Employee Claire Collingwood exhales in 2018 at the Hazel Sky Smoke and Vape store on Texas 151 in San Antonio. Tom Reel/Staff photographer Various packages on display in 2018 at the Hazel Sky Smoke and Vape store on Texas 151 in San Antonio. Tom Reel/Staff photographer FILE - Varieties of disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices manufactured by EB Design, formerly known as Elf Bar, are displayed at a store in Pinecrest, Fla., Monday, June 26, 2023. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, shows fewer high school students are vaping. About 10% of high school students said they used electronic cigarettes in the previous month, down from 14% from the same survey conducted last year. Fewer high schools students also smoked cigarettes and cigars. The use of e-cigarettes among middle school students was about the same as last year. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press FILE - In this April 10, 2018, file photo, a high school principal displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students in such places as restrooms or hallways at the school in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) Steven Senne/Associated Press We strictly follow the rules of the city, state and our own company for the safety of the community and our business, an employee there said, who asked for anonymity because the retail chain, which has 17 area stores, didnt authorize him to speak to news media. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Yet students who cant buy vape pens or other trendy devices across the counter have plenty of other options online, school officials say, and that ready availability is proving a constant challenge to the anti-vaping crackdown launched last year under a new state law. Theyre especially worried that fully two-thirds of thousands of San Antonio students who faced disciplinary consequences under House Bill 114 since it took effect last September were inhaling THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Of the 3,565 disciplinary incidents for vaping reported at Northside, North East, Judson and San Antonio ISDs last school year, a far smaller proportion were caught with nicotine. No matter what it contains, Texas now requires students be placed in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, or DAEP, if they are found with a vape device on campus. Most of them end up in DAEP educational settings previously reserved for students who commit more serious offenses, including violent ones. Others are assigned to on-campus programs by school districts that use a caveat in the law to avoid overwhelming already-strained alternative schools. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The prevalent substance abuse problem in schools has shifted from alcohol to marijuana products since the pandemic, said Tyler Shoesmith, the NEISD executive director of pupil personnel services. Its likely due partly to convenience. Minors seeking alcohol must find someone older to buy it for them. THC, on the other hand, can be purchased on social media and shipped right to a students house more readily accessible than alcohol ever was, Shoesmith said. If schools had the same number of students smoking pot in the bathrooms a few decades ago as are vaping it today, there would have been a huge community uproar, Shoesmith said, with parents piling into board meetings and law enforcement agencies intervening on campus. The harsher penalties may have deterred some students from vaping at school, but administrators say others have found creative ways to feed their addictions more discretely. Vapes come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, said Katherine Lyssy, director of student advocacy and school choice at Northside ISD. There are all kinds of ways to hide them. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the open As the head of discipline at San Antonios largest school district, Lyssy knows a thing or two about the tricks that students, quite literally, have up their sleeves. Theyve got vapes that look like highlighters, water bottles, disposable cups of coffee, Lyssy said. Some of these kids will do it right in front of their teachers. They will be sitting there exhaling into their hoodies. Northside ISD saw a total of 1,664 vaping incidents last year 1,077 for THC, 529 for nicotine and 58 for CBD, or cannabidiol. The THC cases are felonies and those caught with it are criminally charged. Its the drug of choice across San Antonio school districts, disciplinary records show. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At SAISD, 498 of 677 vaping incidents involved THC last school year. At Judson ISD, it was 389 of 486; at North East ISD, it was 441 of 738. The use of THC in vapes has been on the rise since 2018, Lyssy said. Before that, students caught using them on campus would be expelled even if it was a first offense. Back then, school districts had to send confiscated vapes to a crime lab in Austin for testing. Now, the Northside ISD Police Department can test a vape device on-site to determine whats inside it. Northside ISDs elementary schools had 24 reports of students possessing vapes with THC last year. Younger students usually steal the devices from older siblings and bring them to school for show and tell with friends, Lyssy said. The district has seen a dramatic drop in the number of middle school students caught with THC vapes since the 2022-2023 school year, decreasing from 657 to 353. It could be because of the state-mandated crackdown, but Lyssy also credits the Second Chance Academy, a Northside ISD program for students caught vaping or using alcohol on campus who up until then had a clean record. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Students placed in the program join a cohort of a dozen others for a 10-day curriculum that includes social and emotional learning and researching the substance they brought to school. It takes place at students home campuses, allowing the district to comply with HB 114 without overloading its alternative schools. High schoolers caught vaping nicotine or CBD also undergo alternative placement on their home campus if its their first offense, but that has not been as effective as the middle school program and is constantly a revolving door, Lyssy said. Its similar to an in-school suspension, but those assigned to on-campus DAEP cant participate in school-sponsored activities or eat lunch with other students. Technically, the law says (first offenders) must be sent to alternative schools, but the length of time and what that looks like, we have some autonomy over, Lyssy said. Judson ISD also handles first offenses for nicotine and CBD vaping with on-campus discipline, basing the workaround on its status as a district of innovation, a Texas Education Agency designation that gives it more flexibility to comply with state laws. When it comes to an illegal substance like THC, we definitely want to address that, but when a student just has a vape on them or has a nicotine substance in it, we want to try to guide that behavior rather than just immediately having to switch their educational environment, said Lacey Gosch, Judsons assistant superintendent of technology. In February, the district installed 50 vape sensors at its three high schools as a pilot program to test the technology. The sensors monitor the air and send out an alert when vape particles are detected. Administrators then check the bathroom that triggered the alarm and the associated timestamp on nearby security cameras to identify students inside. The sensors did not reduce the number of vaping incidents. Gosch said they did help campus principals better understand trends in e-cigarette use, but the district has no plans to expand the program for the new school year. Shoesmith, the NEISD head of discipline, said his district experimented with vape sensors several years ago but found that the alerts were sending administrators on wild goose chases, comparable to all the car alarms in a single parking lot going off at the same time. Were always open to any intervention ideas out there to help us stem the tide of vaping, but it doesnt seem like theres a viable technological solution yet, he said. Beyond impulsivity Nearly 15% of all NEISD vaping incidents last year occurred during the first month of school, before HB 114 kicked in. Shoesmith said the law has helped discourage some repeat offenders whose cases were previously handled on campus from continuing to blow clouds at school. But it doesnt erase a mental health crisis among youth that has contributed to the vaping epidemic, he said, and the district is focused on providing support and community resources to help students face whatever might be causing their behavioral issues. When youre talking about kids that are taking felony-level substances to school, most kids wont do that because they understand what the consequences are, Shoesmith said. If they are willing to bypass those internal measures and say, Well, I still want to do this and I am so desperate to do this that Im going to do it in school, then there are some underlying factors there. Thats more than just impulsivity. It can be hard for teachers to detect THC in the classroom because of the devices ability to conceal both the smell and themselves. Some products are designed to blend in with other school supplies (an example is marketed at highlightvape.com). But the potency of the drugs makes it easy to tell when a student with a low tolerance is intoxicated, Shoesmith said. They struggle to respond to their teachers, fall out of their seats and sometimes show up in the nurses office with the familiar symptoms of consuming too much cannabis, a condition dubbed greening out. Its as if they took the highest strength drug and took it without knowing what the outcome would be and their body is not able to accept it, Shoesmith said. They dont have the ability to withstand the amount of chemicals that have gone into their system. They cant function. Its scary, he added. Shoesmith believes it will take a multi-faceted approach to snuff out vaping. The public should advocate for heightened state regulation of vaping companies and talk to city officials about using zoning rules to keep vape shops from opening close to neighborhood schools. Having a vape shop across the street from a high school doesnt seem like its in anyones best interest, he said. From his vantage point behind the counter, the employee at Smokerz Paradize near Madison High School has seen only a handful of minors try to skirt the law since the shop opened in May. He said the store has passed with flying colors whenever police test it with sting operations, sending students in to try to buy vapes or other paraphernalia. We want to be here for a long time, and we have invested thousands of dollars in this, he said. Were not going to find a shortcut to get more money because every shortcut leads to a dead end. Local shops arent often the issue, said Marcella Bianco, the director of government partnerships for the Austin-based CATCH Global Foundation, which offers school-based programs to prevent e-cigarette use among youth. Bianco said family members play a major role in introducing minors to vaping, even if its not intentional. If a vape is laying out, a young person who looks up to their older sibling might think, They do it, so it must be really cool and OK for me to do, too, she said. Schools nationwide use the CATCH My Breath vaping prevention program to engage students. The nonprofit also publishes community resource guides to help parents understand the prevalence of e-cigarettes and gauge their childs risk of trying them. Unfortunately, these kids are coming in younger and younger. Even kindergarteners are showing up to school with e-cigarettes, so we need to educate parents on what they are and how to talk to their kids about it, Bianco said. The vaping industry has leaned into deceptive packaging, Bianco said, creating vapes that look like water bottles, lipstick and flash drives to teach kids how to be dishonest. To make matters worse, companies offer discreet shipping, hiding vapes in sneakers or clothing to prevent interception by postal workers or parents. While e-cigarettes have been hailed as an effective tool for quitting smoking, Bianco cited the serious long-term effects that vaping can have on health, including severe damage to lungs. The high concentration of nicotine in a single vape can be double, even triple, whats in a traditional pack of cigarettes, causing some kids to develop an addiction even after vaping just once, she said. The situation highlights the complex geopolitical interests in the region, with Iran potentially seeking leverage over Azerbaijan and Armenia balancing ties between Iran and the West. The alleged arms deal has increased tensions in the Caucasus, with Azerbaijan threatening military action and Armenia asserting its right to self-defense. Allegations of Iranian double-dealing are setting the South Caucasus on edge, threatening to disrupt the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process at a delicate stage. A tangled web of interests among all the players concerned is making it particularly difficult to separate fact from fiction in a supposed arms sale. The intrigue traces its origins to a July 24 report by a UK-based Iranian opposition media outlet, Iran International, alleging that Tehran has sold $500 million worth of arms, including suicide drones, to Armenia. The source for the piece was a senior military official in the Middle East who was granted anonymity for security reasons. Iran International also reported that Iranian-Armenian cooperation involves intelligence cooperation, training and the establishment of bases on Armenian soil. Iran International has generated controversy in recent years. According to an investigation published by the Guardian, the outlet has received funding from an offshore entity with links to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Meanwhile, a state-affiliated media outlet in Iran labeled Iran International as a platform of the Zionist regime [Israel]. Both Iranian and Armenian officials have denied the arms sale report, which seems to blend bitter Middle Eastern rivalries with an unsettled Caucasus conflict to create a potentially combustible geopolitical mixture. The mere rumor of an arms deal caused an uproar in Azerbaijan. Caliber.Az, an outlet considered a mouthpiece for Azerbaijans Defense Ministry, asserted that the article was fake news, intended to derail Azerbaijani-Iranian relations. Those bilateral ties have strengthened significantly over the past year, with development of the North-South trade corridor acting as the binding agent. These claims are entirely fabricated, a commentary published by Caliber.az stated. It appears that certain actors are intent on sabotaging the burgeoning relationship between Azerbaijan and Iran by spreading false information. This tactic mirrors past efforts to artificially create crises between the two nations. At the same time, the Azerbaijani government appeared to hedge its bets in case the report contained at least a grain of truth, issuing a statement the day after the publication of the Iran International account, warning that Armenias systematic provocations could cause Baku to renew military action as a means of preventing Armenian rearmament. The military exercises conducted by the United States in Armenia, the provision of lethal weapons to Armenia by France, and the initial phase of military aid in amount of 10 million euros provided to Armenia by the European Union under the guise of the European Peace Facility encourage the occupying state Armenia to carry out such provocations and indicate its preparation for another war against Azerbaijan, the statement read. If these provocative actions against our country are not stopped, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan will take necessary response measures using all means at their disposal for the purposes of self-defense, the statement continued. There are considerations supporting the notion that the arms-sale report is a piece of disinformation, and others that suggest it could be true. But there is no clear way to verify the information. From Irans viewpoint, any such deal would seem to entail large risks and a comparatively low reward. Selling arms to Armenia would be sure to rile Azerbaijan and Russia, two key trade partners along the burgeoning North-South corridor. The strategic partnership between Russia and Armenia has collapsed over the past year as Yerevans allegiances have shifted Westward. Yet, the sanctions-bound Iranian government could always use the extra cash generated by a new arms deal. Such a sale could also be seen as giving Tehran additional leverage in its dealings with Azerbaijan. Bakus close strategic relationship with Israel has long rankled Tehran. From the Armenian perspective, the government is eager to bolster its defense capabilities in the wake of the Karabakh war and would doubtless welcome the addition of Iranian drones to its arsenal. At the same time, strategic engagement with Iran would risk upending its efforts to build closer ties to the United States and European Union. The alleged arms deal comes at a point when peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan seem at the same time close to the finish line, but at a standstill. The Armenian Foreign Ministry, responding to the Azerbaijani statement, as well as Bakus claims of ceasefire violations along the border, stated it was the sovereign right of any country to take action to defend itself. The Republic of Armenia does not have any other goal in the field of defense and security beyond the protection of its internationally recognized territory, the Foreign Ministry said. In the process of army reforms, the Republic of Armenia operates exclusively within the framework of international law. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) has disclosed that Colombias Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) has pulled out of a deal to buy a 30% stake in Occidentals CrownRock assets. Last year, Occidental announced a deal to acquire CrownRock and its significant Permian Basin assets in a cash and stock deal valued at ~$12B. In May, Occidental reaffirmed plans to sell $4.5B-$6B of CrownRock assets within 18 months of closing the purchase, set to be completed by August. Occidental hoped to use part of the proceeds from the Ecopetrol deal to pay down debt, which had ballooned to $18B at the end of Q1. According to Occidental, "Ecopetrol will have an option to elect for the Rodeo Midland Basin Joint Venture to acquire the CrownRock assets, resulting in an indirect ownership by Ecopetrol of an undivided 49% interest in the CrownRock assets," if it fails to strike a deal with Ecopetrol. Previously, Bloomberg reported that Occidental was marketing the sale of up to $5B of blue-chip bonds to finance its acquisition of CrownRock. Last week, Reuters reported that Occidental Petroleum is close to an agreement to sell assets in the Barilla Draw region of Texas to Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) for about $1 billion. Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that a deal may be announced in the coming weeks if talks don't fall apart. However, a rival bidder for the Permian Basin assets could still emerge. Reuters first reported in early May that Occidental was exploring a sale of part of its operations in the Permian Basin that could fetch more than $1 billion. On its part, Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa revealed the company is considering buying gas assets in Colombia from Canadian operator Canacol (OTCQX:CNNEF) due to ongoing concerns that Colombia will lose gas self-sufficiency in five years. Despite being one of the highest dividend-paying Oil & Gas stocks, Bank Of America recently downgraded EC shares, noting that Ecopetrol has struggled to replenish reserves, with the current reserve replenishment ratio at 48% and a lower average reserve life of 7.8 years. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: High energy costs and uncertainty about energy supply have prompted four out of ten German manufacturing firms to consider either relocating production abroad or limiting it in Germany, a new survey showed on Thursday. In addition, more than half of Germanys industrial firms employing 500 people or more are now considering moving production outside Germany or limiting production in Germany, according to the Energy Transition Barometer 2024 published by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, IHK. German manufacturing companies, especially the energy-intensive industries, have been struggling with high energy costs since 2022 when energy prices soared following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Commenting on the results of the survey, the associations deputy managing director Achim Dercks said The trust of the German economy in energy policy has been severely damaged. Policy makers have failed to show companies that they can have reliable and affordable energy supply, Dercks added. The high energy costs have been a key reason for weak manufacturing and industrial activity in Germany over the past two years. Energy-intensive industries, especially chemicals and fertilizers, have been hit the hardest. The German industry has almost lost a decades worth of growth in production, the Federation of German Industries, BDI, the industry body, said in a report in May. Germanys industry is unlikely to fully recover from the energy price shock and return to the competitiveness from before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chief executive of Germanys top utility, RWE, told the Financial Times in April. The German industry has a disadvantage, RWEs chief executive officer Markus Krebber told FT, noting that Germany is now seeing structurally higher energy prices as it depends on LNG imports. Despite reducing significantly its dependence on Russian gas, Europe remains exposed to natural gas supply and price shocks as it lacks any buffers in the system, Krebber told FT at the end of last year. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Saudi Arabia could raise the price of its crude grades loading for Asia in September, on the back of higher benchmark prices in the Middle East, but weak refining margins could limit the potential hikes. Saudi Aramco, the worlds top crude oil exporter, is expected to raise the official selling price (OSP) of all its crude grades loading for Asia next month, according to a Reuters survey of four refining sources. The Kingdom could raise the price of its flagship Arab Light grade by between $0.50 and $0.80 per barrel for September compared to August prices, to a premium of between $2.30 and $2.60 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai average. The Oman/Dubai average is the benchmark on which Middle Eastern crude exports to Asia are priced. The Dubai benchmark has strengthened over the past few weeks with backwardation widening between the first and third month. Backwardation typically occurs at times of market deficit, and in it, prices for front-month contracts are higher than the ones further out in time. However, refining margins are weak in Asia and could limit the potential of a Saudi price hike for September, some of the respondents in the Reuters survey said. They expect the OSPs of all grades to Asia to be raised by between $0.50 and $0.80 per barrel. Saudi Arabia typically announces its OSPs for the following month around the fifth of each month and does not comment on the pricing. The Saudi announcement of its oil pricing for September could give the market some clues about where the Saudis think oil demand is going. Before the announcement, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), the OPEC+ panel monitoring the oil market, is meeting on Thursday. The panel is not expected to recommend any changes to the group's current production policy plan. Most market observers reckon that OPEC+ would wait to see how summer demand will have held up by September, before potentially starting to unwind part of the current production cuts. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Commodity trading major Gunvor has struck a deal to acquire 50% of a biofuels project in the Netherlands as part of a diversification push following record profits in the past two years. The Financial Times reports that Gunvor already operates two biofuel plants and is doubling down on the sector despite weakening demand for biofuels. The commodity firms move stands in stark contrast to recent decisions by two oil supermajors to take a step back from biofuels because of demand trends. Last month, Shell said it would pause construction of a biofuel plant in the Netherlands amid slackening demand in Europe. The facility, in Rotterdam, was going to be one of the largest in Europe but now its future has become uncertain. Also last month, BP said it would scale back its biofuels expansion plans and instead boost investment in oil production with a new project in the Gulf of Mexico. Gunvors new asset, also in Rotterdam, is owned by refiner Varo Energy, which has previously teamed up with BP on biofuels as well. The facility is set to produce sustainable aviation fuels and biodiesel from waste oils. The market for SAFs is potentially huge but production is difficult to scale from waste oils because not enough of those are being produced to satisfy the potential demand. Even so, the EU has mandated blending 5% of sustainable aviation fuel to jet fuel beginning next year, making Gunvors investment quite timely. The blending requirement will rise to 6% by 2030 and to 20% by 2035, per EU plans. Large-scale production and adoption of SAF are critical to meeting the airline industrys goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, Gunvor owner Torbjorn Tornqvist said in comments on the deal with Varo Energy. Europe is a good neighbourhood to invest in this space, the chief executive of Varo Energy, Dev Sanyal, said, as quoted by the FT. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com LINCOLN Nebraska lawmakers could still deliver property tax relief by expanding an existing property tax credit program if Gov. Jim Pillens effort fails, the Revenue Committee was told Wednesday. State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth offered Legislative Bill 33, which would increase a program under which property owners can get income tax credits for school property taxes paid. His bill would add $300 million to the program this year, bringing the total allocated to $860 million, and another $300 million in 2025, bringing the total to $1.16 billion. Brandt called the proposal a fail safe for the special legislative session, suggesting it as an alternative if more transformative proposals founder. We can pass this, go home and tackle the problem again in January, he said. The Revenue Committee heard Brandts bill on Wednesday along with several others that could become part of a broader property tax proposal or provide an alternative means of reducing property taxes. Pillen called lawmakers back to Lincoln last week for a special session aimed at solving what he called Nebraskas property tax crisis. The three bills comprising his proposal were heard Tuesday. The tax-related portions of his plan, LB 1, faced stiff opposition, with critics vastly outnumbering proponents. Those testifying against the bill included major agricultural groups, which have been among the most outspoken advocates of property tax relief. Business groups also lined up against the bill. LB 1 would create a new property tax credit aimed at offsetting school property taxes and paid for by expanding sales and other taxes to more than 100 goods and services. It also would cap property tax revenues for cities and counties. LB 2 and LB 3, which would make changes in the state budget to help support the new tax credit, also drew several opponents. At Wednesdays hearing, the committee chairwoman, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, acknowledged that nothing introduced so far has the votes to pass. She introduced LB 1 on Pillens behalf during the special session after championing his unsuccessful proposal during the regular session this year. The days hearings included another attempt by Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard to replace existing state and local taxes with a broad-based consumption tax. After previous legislative attempts failed, backers of the so-called EPIC Option proposal had mounted a petition drive to put the idea on the November ballot this year. But their signature-gathering efforts also fell short. Erdman urged the Revenue Committee to advance his bills to the full Legislature so they can be debated, negotiated and revised. He said the consumption tax is the answer to Nebraskas tax problems and predicted the state would eventually adopt the idea. Others touted options that would provide targeted property tax relief. Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha offered LB 22, which would create a universal homestead credit under which the first $100,000 of valuation of an owner-occupied home would be exempted from property taxes. LB 30, from Sen. Jen Day of Omaha, would provide homestead exemptions for partially disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, while Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue proposed LB 27, which would provide income tax credits to offset the cost of property taxes for lower income homeowners or renters as well as for farm and ranch landowners with smaller operations. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of July 2024